#lenora frames

[chirpsythismorning]

Rick Conroy's Recent Rentals:

Romancing the Stone (1/2/3)

As a refresher, this is a shot from 4x02: Vecna's Curse. Robin, Max, Dustin and Steve are using the Family Video's database to look through the most recent rentals of all the Ricks in town as hints for which one Reefer Rick is, so that they can find his address to track down Eddie.

Unfortunately for them, the selection here for this specific Rick didn't give off 'reefer' vibes and so they moved onto the next one. Luckily for us, the Duffers are nerds and this could be important.

While there are several Rick's they skim through, this one in particular had me intrigued. And so I will be analyzing these films, as well as whether or not they could have been inspiration for s4 or whether they may even be predicting events still yet to happen in s5.

3. Romancing the Stone (1984)

The plot of Romancing the Stone revolves around an American Romance/Adventure novelist, Joan Wilder, who has to travel to Colombia to save her sister. While there, she gets stranded in the jungle, though 'luckily' she runs into an American exotic bird smuggler, Jack T. Colton, who has a lot of experience in said jungle and whose basically her only hope in finding and saving her sister.

What makes this movie probably the most interesting out of the three, is that it's directed by Rob Zemeckis. If you don't know, Zemeckis also directed Back to the Future (1985).

In fact, if you look close, you'll see an interesting parallel that makes my explanation for this analysis a whole lot easier to transition into.

Basically, Zemeckis revealed later in life that the success from his film Romancing the Stone was what allowed him to make Back to the Future in the first place.

And so this just makes this iconic Marty McFly outfit kind of hilarious when you realize it's actually paying homage to another character.

Which means that this....

Could also mean this...

Not only do the costumes check out in terms of us being able to potentially associate Will with this character Jack, but the actual context of the story also makes it hard not to.

Jack is framed as someone who has way more knowledge and experience within this jungle in comparison to the protagonist, Joan, whose only ever explored adventures in her writing, not in reality.

Remind you of anyone?

Basically, I think that the reference to this film could be hinting at Mike and Will in the upside down together.

We know there have been a lot of hints leading up to that potentially in s5, though right now we don't know what it will for sure look like (whose going first? Mike or Will?), it's very likely to happen in some shape or form.

I do think that this film could act as a simple reference just like Sixteen Candles, with the meaning linked to ST being easy to spot and point out, Ie. Jack/Joan represent Will/Mike.

The main thing in this film that I think is an undeniable parallel, is this mention of a treasure map that Joan is planning to use as ransom to get back her sister. This map is labeled in big block letters with 'El Corazon' AKA the heart.

I obviously don't think we're going to be dealing with any lost treasure in ST like we see in this film, just like I don't think all the Lord of the Rings homage means we're going to see Will destroy a ring.

We're talking about both basic and complex parallels here, happening with hundreds of films/series at once, at different levels, and how the Duffers manage to make all of that fit organically to create a unique story on its own.

We all know how the heart plays a big role in s4 and what is likely to follow in s5 (the painting!!!). I do think this homage could be quite simple, but it could also be deeper because, again I am not satisfied with simple, as some of you probably know by now.

I also want to try to come to a close with this little 3 part series, which is easy to do because in regards to Will's character, it does feel like a sort of arc that could definitely play out going into the final season:

Sixteen Candles --> birthdagate

Teen Wolf --> memorygate/twelvegate

Romancing the Stone --> apocalypse-byler

My working theory rn is that Will is going to be in danger right at the start of s5, which we already saw foreshadowed at the very end of s4. There is this unspoken understanding that Will's connection to Vecna could mean bad things to come for Will, maybe even that destroying Vecna once in for all could also affect (kill) Will.

It's likely there is going to be discussion about the option of using Will's connection to find Vecna, and everyone sort of predictably being against it, bc of that unspoken understanding this could end very badly for him. But it's also possible that Will would be willing to do what he has to, even if it means putting himself in danger, especially if it means saving everyone. And simultaneously it would make sense for him to leave out all the details about his connection to Vecna as it starts to get worse, all while conflict between him and El and Mike is coming to a head, where Vecna is showing him things that are bringing him to a really low point, ie. everyone forgot your birthday, your friends/family don't love you, yada yada.

Then I think something is going to happen that is going to cause Will to be separated from everyone again... However, I don't think this going to last for more than one-two episodes. And it's likely we would see what he's up to in that time. This would make it parallel to s1 to an extent, but not to the extreme that we never see Will during that time or that he's separated for the course of the entire season. Just enough that it feels like deja vu basically.

And yes I do think it's possible Will has time powers. Though I don't want to make any crazy claims... I'm going to.

Basically, I think that Vecna would greatly benefit from making Will feel like it was better that he was never found in the first place (I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods). And so what he's doing by bringing Will to this low point of hopelessness, is whats going to lead Will to essentially reverse him being found after going missing... That could benefit Vecna greatly presumably. Could it possibly even have the capacity to act as a reset for him of sorts? Maybe. And also, couldn't Vecna play this up to Will as him being able to save everyone and let them be happy, without him, bc he's at a point where he's made himself believe that he deserves it (FUCKING CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT)

And so time passes (A TIME JUMP). Maybe it takes us to the 5 year anniversary since Will's disappearance (1+ years of our Will stuck in the upside down)... But something isn't right, something is missing. Something's wrong. And I think that we would see the characters figuring it out fairly quickly after the time jump is presented to us (anniversary affect). I think Mike in particular could figure it out first even (along with Joyce and Jonathan, hence the s5 foreshadowing intended with this promo), making him a quick target of Vecna, also contributing to him joining Will in the upside down fairly early on, post time-jump (also post Mike's boyliker realization, but Will won't know that...).

This is just a theory! But it does have a lot of interesting things surrounding it that make it at least plausible to me.

First of all, it reminds me so much of s2 and the whole Zombie boy arc with Will. He was in the upside down for a week and got dubbed that nickname. And yet now it makes me wonder if that could have been hinting at something more prominent still to come related to Will and his arc (we know he has this tendency to predict things with his art...).

This also ties into the whole controversy surrounding Will using a gun in s5. There's been this talk forever, how it doesn't make sense for Will to ever use a gun bc that's not like his character at all, as he's been shown to be quite scared and so it doesn't make sense for him to suddenly be comfortable with using a gun in a high stress situation.

However, what makes this sort of ironic to me is the literal narrative principle, Chekgov's gun, which states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. Alternatively-explained, suppose a writer features a gun in a story; if the writer features it, there must be a reason for it, such as it being fired sometime later in the plot.

Remind you of anyone?

This means that starting the story from the very beginning with Will knowing how to use a gun and trying to protect himself with it, but failing to do so, followed by four seasons of him being scared frozen in situations of confrontation... Means that the gun is bound to go off!

Will using a gun in s5 in this scenario would also be supported by Will going through quite a transformation after being in upside down circumstances for 1+ years...

Quite frankly, I don't think it make sense for Will to be this character that is known for freezing and being powerless the entire series, all the way up until the very end. It makes a lot more sense that this final time around, after seeing that for 4 straight seasons, we are going to see a big change in him, which tends to happen to people that go through traumatic experiences and yet still manage to adapt and survive.

Will after 1+ years in the upside down probably knows how to shoot a gun and probably is more sure of himself and less skitish than s1-4 Will.

Also, this provides a lot of character development that Noah gets to have the affordance of exploring as an actor. Like, let's give Noah some wiggle room here to show off what he's capable of for Will's character, which is so much! We know Noah jokes about wanting Will to suffer immensely because it's fun for him to play and act out, but more than anything it's also challenging in a good way. And this would really test the limits of Noah's abilities, which is why I do think it would be a wise choice narratively to make his characters evolution well rounded for the overall story.

Will going from what we expect him to always be like, to being something thats much the same in the important ways (he's still Will obviously), while also being different (see what i did there) as a result of him facing all of his fears in order to survive.

And it also makes the official battle in the end, of him finally facing Vecna off, alongside El and the party, that much more satisfying and believable as an outcome. Because by that point he will be ready, just like they'll all be ready after having finally come together despite everything.

This theory also reminds me a lot of Verse 3 in Time After Time, which is the only verse left out of the scene in 2x09 at the snowball....

There has been speculation these lyrics could be foreshadowing what's to come, and so it is interesing to think about this, with all these other theories related to Will's upcoming arc:

It's giving Sixteen Candles meets Teen Wolf meets Romancing the Stone (also Mike running out of time crumbs! go off I guess!!)

Also, I just like to think that this reference specifically to Romancing the Stone confirms not only apocalypse-byler, AND Will Byers with a gun but also ponytail-Mike in s5???..

Oh and maybe even the highly anticipated Murray & byler confrontation, bc why not...

AGAIN this is just a theory. Don't come at me! Make your own crack theories it's fun and we can all go crazy together!

Honestly I hope I'm wrong bc I would love to be surprised (I can't wait to be surprised regardless).

And yet that wont stop me from trying to figure it out with what they're willing to give us in the mean time!

Until next time (ST5 inspo board, here we come)!

#stranger things #st5 predictions #stranger things theory #stranger thigns meta #byler #will byers #romancing the stone #st movie inspo #st5 inspo board #this is such a chaotic post #but i made it out alive #also parallels to romancing the stone i would like to see in s5: #will saving mike with his gun skills in the upside down shortly after mike arrives #will talking about how lenora was nice compared to hawkins and how if they make it out of this alive will wants to go away for college #and mike just like wait... all by yourself? what about us? #also this really does support the prospects of byler being murray'd #murray's house has always been framed as this like safe house with all the perfect capabilities to survive the apocalypse... #and for what? #to not take advantage of that? #I definitely think it could play a role in s5 somehow... not sure when or how but i sense the inevitable

[illuminatedquill]

Princess Lenora and The Starboy

A Sabine Wren & Ezra Bridger Fairytale

Story Summary: A younger Sabine listens to an old fairytale told by her father, Alrich Wren.

~ the Princess ~

"Sabine, please do be careful up here. The steps are treacherous," called Alrich Wren to his daughter. The mountain path was relatively easy for the average Mandalorian, having been scouted and paved generations prior, but Alrich was not from the warrior class - and he was feeling that fact more and more with every step up the mountain.

It feels like someone poured sand into my joints, he thought grimly as he clambered over another low rock. By the Force was he thankful that Ursa was not here to witness this. She'd never let him live it down.

Sabine, all of eight years old, turned around and rolled her eyes at him. Her hair was cut short, similar to how her mother styled it, barely brushing past the nape of her neck and dyed a striking magenta color (much to her mother's disapproval). She wore a gray combat suit tailored to her scrawny frame, sans the armor plating that was custom to Mandalorian warriors. Sabine was not yet of age to receive her birthright, as was customary to all Mandalorian younglings, but it was coming soon.

"I think you should be worried more about yourself, Father," replied Sabine. "I'm doing just fine by myself."

Alrich wiped the sweat from his brow. The weather on Krownest was at its warmest for this season which, honestly, didn't mean much to anyone who lived here. It just meant that the cold was less biting than usual. "Remind me why you're here again," he said, throwing a stern look at his daughter.

Sabine shrugged. "For moral support, of course," she said with a cheerful smile.

"Uh-huh," he said dryly. "And not because you want to skip out on your studies again."

She crossed her arms - a gesture that reminded him violently of his wife. Sabine was more like her mother than either were willing to admit, which probably explained why they butted heads often. Alrich couldn't help but smile at her.

"Studies are boring," Sabine complained. "I'm going to ace it all, anyway."

Alrich sighed. It was true, of course. Sabine was a child prodigy, blessed with intelligence and aptitude towards any subject she put her mind to. The problem wasn't with her mind, her parents noted. It was with her attitude and rebellious demeanor.

In these dark times, it meant trouble.

"That's not the point of your studies, Sabine," he said. "It's a matter of discipline."

"Discipline is also boring," she countered.

This was not an argument he was going to win. Alrich shook his head and kept hiking forward until he finally caught up with his daughter. With an exasperated sigh, he fondly ruffled Sabine's hair.

"Father," she whined. "Don't mess up my hair, please."

Alrich grinned and began to put more vigor into his ruffling when he spotted something from the corner of his eye: a patch of white flowers, bursting up from the frost.

"A-ha," he said. "We've found it."

Sabine frowned and turned to follow his gaze. "Flowers? That's what we came all this way for?"

Alrich stepped forward, his footfalls crunching heavily in the snow. "Not just any flower, Sabine," he said. "Come, get a closer look."

She did and her eyes widened in recognition. "Lenora flowers," she said. "From the fairytale? These are real?"

"Of course they're real," said Alrich. "And unique to Krownest. These flowers don't grow anywhere else in the entire galaxy."

Sabine sat down to study them more closely. Her brown eyes sparkled with interest. "What makes them so special?"

Alrich sat next to her, grateful for the momentary rest. "Lenora flowers can grow in the adverse conditions of Krownest. Even during the harshest of winters, they continue to thrive. To our people, they are symbolic of unwavering loyalty and perseverance."

Sabine glanced at him. "And love?"

He nodded. "Yes. That is why they're your mother's favorite. I gift these to her every anniversary."

The look his daughter gave him turned sly. "And whenever you upset her, I gather. Because today is not your anniversary."

Alrich coughed to hide his embarrassment. "That's nonsense," he replied. "I was just feeling in the mood."

She grinned at him. "Your secret is safe with me, Father."

He patted her on the knee. "Good girl."

Alrich turned his attention back to the patch of flowers. "Do you remember the fairytale, Sabine? Princess Lenora and the Starboy?"

Sabine scrunched her face, thinking. "Vaguely. Were there star whales involved?"

Alrich smiled, pleased. It had been some time since she had last heard the fairytale. "Yes, there was. Would you like to hear the whole story again? We have time to spare before we need to head back."

His daughter gave him a knowing look. "And you want to rest your knees some more, too."

He laughed. "Ah, Sabine. Sharp as always."

She smiled at him. "Go on, then. Tell me the story."

~ a long time ago ~

As you know, Sabine, Lenora flowers are named after our distant ancestor, Princess Lenora. Legends say that she was the first leader of Clan Wren, and our family are descended directly from her line.

A long time ago, however, Princess Lenora and her people were not living on Krownest - they were fleeing a heavy conflict from another world, seeking a new home. That conflict had devastated their home world to the point that it could no longer sustain life and, fearing for the future of her clan, the Princess gathered the remaining survivors and they fled to the stars.

A few ten thousand souls were all that remained and their lives were in the young Princess' hands. She was strong, brave, and fierce - a running theme in all Clan Wren women, I've noted - but the galaxy tested her and her people to their limits.

No world would accept them. They could find no refuge anywhere. What little valuables they had taken with them were bargained away for food and water and fuel. And, with enough time passed, those began to run out.

Her people starving, homeless, and beginning to lose hope, caused the Princess to grow dispirited. One late night, after hearing the crying of her people, she called out to the stars - begging, pleading for anyone or anything to help.

And the Starboy answered.

Those born from the stars, Sabine, are special; their hearts are made from pure kyber. But they could be fickle folk, too, prone to pranks, thievery, and other mischievous acts. Dealing with them meant that one had to be careful. They were tricksters, capable of performing great feats of magick.

The Princess knew this. Making a deal with the Starboy was an act of pure desperation and could lead to disaster down the line - but her people were in need of salvation.

"I will help you, dear Princess," offered the Starboy. "I can find your people a new home. But you must offer me something in return to match the value of my talent."

"We have no valuables left to bargain with," the Princess replied. "What would you have of us?"

The Starboy thought about this for a while. He had no interest in physical possessions - but he was very lonely. There were very few of his people left; he could not recall the last time he had seen another starborne.

He realized what he desired from the Princess: companionship. Someone to stay by his side, always.

So, the Starboy made his offer. "I would ask for your friendship, in exchange for my help."

Surprised, the Princess nevertheless reached out her hand. "I accept," she said.

And henceforth, the duo journeyed together with her people amongst the stars to find a new home.

The Starboy knew that the deal struck between him and the Princess would end the moment they found a suitable planet for her people, so he sought to delay the ending as much as possible. Using his magick to keep feeding her people and fueling their ships, the Princess didn't mind - and even grew to love the Starboy, despite his antics.

The adventures they had all over the galaxy were the stuff of legend, Sabine: they saw planets made of smoke and song; met various aliens of indescribable beauty and absurdity; sailed through fields of endless ice and light. The Starboy delighted in showing the Princess and her people the endless wonders of the galaxy.

One day, they came across a pod of star whales, stuck in a vast maze of shifting star dust. With the Starboy's magick and the Princess' ingenuity, they led the lost star whales out to safety.

Grateful, they pledged to return the favor one day, should they ever ask. But, to the Starboy, they left a warning: a great Witch had arrived from the deep space beyond their galaxy and sought the Starboy for his power. Someday, they warned, the Witch would find him and destroy all he held dear in order to obtain his power.

After the star whales departed the Starboy grieved, for he knew that his time with the Princess and her people was soon nearing its end. With a heavy heart, he delayed no longer and led them to a new world - one that, in time, would be known as Krownest.

The Princess and her people were overjoyed at the sight of their new home. They thanked the Starboy for his help with celebrations of song and food. But the Starboy could not accept their gratitude, as he was too burdened with sadness at his imminent departure.

Their deal was concluded - and danger was coming. The Starboy had fallen in love with the Princess and her people. To keep them safe, he decided to leave quietly in the dead of night.

But Princess Lenora stopped him. "Do not go," she said. "Stay with us. This is your home, too."

"Our deal is finished," replied the Starboy. "I have done as requested. You have no need of me anymore. And the Witch is coming."

The Princess reached out and grasped his hand. "Then make a new deal with me. Stay with us. We will defeat this Witch together. And when we do so, you must give something to me."

"I have no personal possessions," said the Starboy, smiling. "No valuables on my person. What would you have of me?"

"Give me your heart, Starboy," replied the Princess. "And stay by my side, forevermore."

She reached out her hand. Instead, however, the Starboy gave her a hug, glad to have a companion at last.

But it was not meant to be, Sabine. For the Witch arrived the very next day and brought war with her.

Princess Lenora and her people were the finest Mandalorians the galaxy had ever seen. They fought with everything they had for three days and three nights. The surface of Krownest became battle-scarred and burned; the Witch's magick brought about an endless frost that still plagues our home to this day.

Despite the bravery of Princess Lenora and her clan, they could not win the battle. The Starboy, his heart breaking at their courage despite the overwhelming odds, concocted a final plan to trick the Witch.

On the fourth day, the Starboy offered himself up to the Witch. Eager to devour his heart and obtain the source of his power, she ripped open his chest -

Only to find it empty.

"Where is it?" she hissed at him, furious to be deprived of her prize. "Where is your heart, Starboy?"

"I have given it to another, Witch!" yelled the Starboy in response. "It will never be yours!"

The Witch howled in fury and began to reach for her magick to punish Princess Lenora and her people -

With a final effort of magick, the Starboy called to the star whales -

And they came to his side in a flash of starlight. "We have come to repay the favor," they said.

"Take this Witch back to whence she came!" said the Starboy.

"It shall be done," the star whales answered. And they surrounded the Witch, their arms reaching around her, tightening and tightening. From the ground below, the people cheered - except for Princess Lenora. She leapt into a ship and flew out to meet the Starboy, still clutched in the Witch's grasp.

"Come home with me!" she cried out. "You promised to stay with me, Starboy!"

But the Starboy looked at his beloved Princess and shook his head. "I must go and see this through, Princess. I have to make sure the Witch never comes back to hurt your people."

The star whales began to glow with a fearsome light, signaling their departure into the deep reaches beyond our galaxy. The Witch howled and struggled but could not escape their grip.

The Princess cried out one last time: "You must promise to come back. I will wait for you; do you hear me?"

The Starboy smiled at her, possibly for the last time. "I accept this deal, Princess. A part of me will always be with you, until I return."

With a final burst of dazzling light, the star whales vanished into space, leaving behind a trail of stardust. And with them, the Starboy and the Witch.

In the years to come, the Princess waited patiently for her beloved Starboy to return. His heart, given to her as per their deal, was buried on a distant mountain top to keep safe. Every night, she travelled to the spot where his heart lay and sat down, looking up at the night sky.

She watched the stars wheel endlessly above. Every now and then, one of them twinkled at her; the Princess wondered sadly if that was the Starboy, letting her know that he was still out there.

When many years had passed, and she began to lose hope, the Princess wandered up to where the Starboy's heart was buried and found a patch of beautiful flowers growing there. Upon seeing them, she made a vow: that as long as the flowers bloomed on Krownest, the love she shared with the Starboy would never die - and that one day, they would be reunited, forevermore.

~ the Princess, revisited ~

Alrich watched his daughter carefully, gauging her reaction to the story's end.

Sabine stared at the flowers, seemingly lost in thought. He chanced a glance at his chrono - the hour was growing late. They needed to head back soon.

Finally, after a few long moments, Sabine spoke. "Lenora was stupid," she remarked.

He blinked at her, shocked at her response. "What?" he asked.

Sabine stood up and wiped angrily at her legs, clearing off loose snow and dirt. "You heard me. She was stupid."

Alrich quirked an eyebrow at her. "How so?"

"She waited. Like an idiot. I wouldn't have waited."

"Ah," said Alrich, understanding dawning on him. "I see. You would have gone to find the Starboy."

Sabine reached down to the patch and plucked one of the Lenora flowers. She handed it over to Alrich, who accepted it with a nod of thanks. "Obviously. She loved him! Why wait?"

He stroked at his beard and gently placed the flower into a pouch on his belt; later, he would press it into a bookmark for Ursa. "Hmmm. You raise a fair point, Sabine."

His daughter shook her head. "I can't believe that's how the story ends."

Alrich smiled at his daughter. "That's the wonderful thing about stories, you know? When you tell it, you can decide how the story ends."

Sabine looked at him, blinking in astonishment. "Really?"

"Certainly. That's how the story was told to me. But you can change the ending, if you want." He stood up, swiping at his legs to clean them. Once finished, he beckoned to her and started walking down the mountain path leading back to home.

Sabine was quiet for the next few minutes, thinking it over. "I think I know how I want the story to end," she said as they walked.

Alrich glanced at her, curious. "Tell me, then. Tell me how your story ends."

Smiling slightly, Sabine began to speak. "One day, a wise and powerful wizard brings a map to the Princess . . ."

Epilogue (many years later)

~ the Starboy, found ~

The Noti convoy moved slowly under the bleak Peridea sky. It was a scene that Ezra Bridger had become accustomed to over the past few years but there was a significant difference to this time.

Sabine Wren, his longtime friend, had come to find him at last. After double-checking the instrument panel on the Noti hover-dome to ensure everything was working properly, he snuck another glance at Sabine just to ensure that she was actually there.

Ezra had lost count the number of times he had dreamed this exact scenario: Sabine Wren, coming to save him, like some avenging Mandalorian angel.

But it wasn't a dream this time. She was real. Her head was leaned back, eyes closed, arms crossed, boots propped up on the dome's surface - it was almost like back in the old days, lounging on the Ghost during the Rebellion.

He felt a soft smile grow on his face at the sight of her. How much he had missed her company.

Sensing his stare, Sabine popped open an eye and smiled back at him. "Thinking happy thoughts?" she asked.

"Hard not to," he replied. "They're all about you."

Her smile widened. "Ah, flattery. You're a flirt now, Ezra Bridger?"

Ezra's cheeks flushed. "Oh, well - no. Not very many people to flirt - well, talk, really with here on Peridea."

Sabine chuckled. "The Noti seem nice."

"They are," agreed Ezra. "But not exactly the most interesting species to hold a conversation with."

"Well," remarked Sabine, "it's nice to know that I'm good for something. Other than rescuing helpless Jedi."

Ezra snorted. "Oh, I've missed you."

Sabine grinned at him. "Back at you, goober."

Rolling his eyes, Ezra reached down and rummaged through his pack. After a brief moment of searching, he found what he was looking for: an old storybook.

With a grin, he plopped it on Sabine's lap. "Found this, by the way."

She let out a breath of surprise. "'Princess Lenora and the Starboy?'" she asked. "Where in the stars did you find this?"

"Thrawn had it. Long story, but I stole it from his office. Part of his weird museum of collectibles."

Sabine snorted and flipped through the pages. "It's still your favorite, right?" asked Ezra.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "Never dreamed that I'd actually meet real life star whales. Or travel to another galaxy, even."

"We've had pretty crazy lives, now that I think about it," Ezra observed.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Sabine. A pang of melancholy went through her as she read through the story; her father reading this to her, late at night, flashed vividly in her memories.

"Didn’t like the ending," said Ezra. "We never did find out if the Princess and the Starboy ever reunited."

Sabine closed the book. "They did reunite," she said. "That's how I told the story."

Ezra looked at her. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "My father told me that if you don't like the story's ending, then just change it. So that's what I did."

Ezra shook his head and smiled at her. "That's so very . . . you, Sabine."

Sabine shrugged. "Who else am I supposed to be?"

He laughed. "True. I wouldn't have it any other way."

She grinned and leaned back in her seat. "You're not getting it any other way, Ezra. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

"Oh, good," he replied dryly. After a brief pause, he added quietly, "Thanks for finding me, Princess."

For a moment, he thought Sabine hadn't heard him. Then, just as quietly, Ezra heard her answer.

"Anything for you, Starboy."

#sabezra #sabine wren #ezra bridger #alrich wren #star wars rebels #star wars #ahsoka #ahsoka show #sabezra fanfiction #natasha liu bordizzo #eman esfandi

[house-of-vandernacht]

So given my earlier post about the possibility of Lenore getting shot in the head, and blood splatter being all down her front. My buddy theorises that Lenore and Annabel died together, telenovela style. Two birds with one bullet. For a bit of silly fun I posited something ridiculously telenovela and appropriately gothic doom. Lenore is behind Annabel, hastily ushering her into a waiting hansom about to elope. As Annabel mounts the carriage step, someone is already waiting in the shadowy interior. They pull the trigger, shooting Annabel in the chest, but its a through and through, hitting Lenore, killing her almost instantly. Annabel tumbles backwards into the prone Lenore's arms. Annabel struggles to roll over, touches Lenora's pale, yet still warm cheek. She sees that Lenore is gone/dying, and utters something suitably saccharinely dramatic, such as,

"I'm right behind you, pet. Wait for me in the Kingdom by the sea." or "Please don't leave without me, my love." or something like that. Cue death rattle. Overhead camera angle pans out framing the two of them on the ground intertwined in a dying lover's embrace. Even extra points if its raining, and overcast.

#nevermore webtoon #nevermore webcomic #lenore vandernacht #lenore nevermore #annabel lee nevermore #annabel lee whitlock #white raven

[quixoticall]

This Could Get Ugly 5. Recording Studio 3B

Summary: It's 1983 and The Downsides need another lead singer and you just happen to need a band--it's a perfect match. The only issue? You have to pretend to be in a relationship with your bandmate, Steve Harrington, but you can't help but be drawn to the band's broody guitar player.

pairing: s.h. x fem!reader, e.m. x fem!reader, j.b. x n.w., r.b x n.w.

warnings: Brief mention of pregnancy, Steve in his King!Steve era briefly, again with the misogyny

A/N: Happy Stranger Things Day! I want to say thank you to everyone who's reading this old and new readers alike! Every notification makes me so excited and I'm just happy to be here, ya know?Listen, I know we're really Steve-centric right now but you got to trust me on this, we are laying a FOUNDATION here right? Remember we're covering six years' worth of drama and we are just getting started, trust me!

wc: 4.8k

MASTERLIST🎸

Previous Chapter 🎹🎺

***

STEVE: Yeah, I know I had fucked up. Like, as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I don’t know why I did it, I think I felt threatened or something. Listen, I think about what happened all the time and there isn’t one singular moment that we can pinpoint where everything went south, really, we all made mistakes, a lot of them. But sometimes, I can’t help thinking to myself that if I had just handled that day at the restaurant better, our whole lives would’ve been different. Or… who knows? Maybe not, maybe we were always meant to end as bad as we did.

***

June 7th, 1983–Los Angeles, California

A few days after your lunch with the Downsides, you see your own face peaking at you from the cover of a Subrosa magazine on a grocery store newsstand. 

You glance around before surreptitiously crouching down for a closer look.

It was a grainy picture of you and Steve, sitting across from one another at lunch, clearly in conversation. The picture had been taken from outside the restaurant and framed in such a way that it looked like it was only the two of you dining together. You can tell by the looks on your faces that it was before everything had blown up—the two of you looked like you were enjoying yourselves.

Sultry Songstress Sees Upside with the Downsides’ Flirty Frontman reads across the top of the page, and you gag. They sure do love their alliteration over at the Sub.

You briefly wonder to yourself what Steve and the others will think of this once they see it. Shrugging that thought off, you toss the magazine into your cart.

***

You actually find out pretty quickly what Steve and the others think about the cover later that evening when you receive a call from an unknown number.

“Hi, it’s Robin,” you hear from the other line as soon as you pick up.

“Hi Ro—”

“Robin Buckley, from the Downsides? I don’t know if you remember me, but we met at lunch the other day when my friend made a huge ass of himself and— ow, Steve that hurt, God.”

Sounds of some sort of physical struggle echo through the telephone line until you decide to interrupt.

“Hi Robin, of course I remember you and your ass of a friend, what can I do for the two of you? Also, how did you get my number?”

You’re more curious than bothered when you ask the latter question.

“Four.”

“Pardon?”

“Four. There are four of us. See, you asked what you could do for the two of us but it’s not just me and Steve. Nancy and Argyle are here too—” At this point, you hear a faint ‘hello’ and ‘what’s up’ from the background—"For the sake of full disclosure I felt that I should mention that. Jonathan is visiting his family in Lenora Hills, otherwise, I’m sure he’d be here too. Oh, and to answer your question I got your number from Murray.”

“Uh-huh.” 

You glance at your wristwatch; there’s a party in the Hills that you were planning on going to and you were going to have to leave soon if you didn’t want to be stuck in traffic all night.

As if she had read your mind, you hear some shuffling on the line before Nancy decidedly takes over the conversation with a much more serious tone.

“Hi, sorry to bother you this late but we wanted to ask if perhaps you had seen the latest issue of Subrosa? It seems like you and Steve are on the cover.”

Exhaling a laugh, you answer, “Yes, actually, saw it at the grocery store today, sorry you guys didn’t make the front page, I’m sure you’ll get them next time.”

“What? No, I mean, have you read the article? They’re printing lies about you both,” Nancy stutters out, indignantly.

“They’re saying that you and Steve had a private lunch and that he’s been seen sneaking out of the Hotel Mormont for weeks and that you might be pregnant? They’re even alluding to a fight breaking out between him and Jason Carver of all people.”

 This causes you to fully chortle.

“I wish, that guy deserves a few punches to the face. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though, everything they say about me is a lie.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t they supposed to have some journalistic integrity? Don’t they get in trouble for printing lies like this? Have you tried to contact their editors about this?”

The confusion you feel about this conversation is outweighed by how weirdly touched you feel that these girls who had only met you once seem so offended on your behalf.

“No, I mean, it’s a gossip rag, not like The New York Times or anything,” you placate, “and after all the terrible things they’ve said about in the past, I’m kinda just glad they got a half-decent picture of me.  I appreciate you all calling about it though.”

And then, after a beat, you address the band’s lead singer, who has been oddly quiet throughout the whole exchange.

“I hope being pictured with me didn’t sully your reputation, Flirty Frontman.”

Really, you didn’t care if Steve was bothered by the whole thing, you just hoped that he wasn’t making his bandmates call you on his behalf. You didn’t know what to make of the guy quite yet. On one hand, he was completely sweet to you most of the lunch, he spent the meal asking you questions about yourself and refilling your drink without you having to ask. But the tantrum he had thrown reminded you a little too much of the dangerously self-absorbed musicians that had grown sick of these last few years.

“Me? No, I’m fine. Did you see how great my hair looked?”

You laugh silently at his answer. His hair did look great in the photo, but you were not about to give him the satisfaction of letting him hear that from you.

He continues, “Plus, they never really said anything terrible about me. They’re like, totally after you which is why Nance and Rob have been so worried, I guess. Are you good?”

His question comes out more hushed than everything else he’s said, and you are once again reminded of the earnest smiles you exchanged across the table a few days ago.

“I’m fine, Harrington, this is a regular Tuesday for me.”

With that, you bid goodbye to the band, citing your lateness, but not before expressing a very sincere thanks for their naïve concern.

The unexpected phone call makes you hit traffic, as you had predicted. You spend nearly an hour and a half in the back of a cab, the whole time, you can’t stop replaying the conversation you just had in your head.

Maybe there was more to the Downsides than met the eye?

***

This theory is proven, in part, after Hopper sends you a demo recording of some of their songs the following week.  

The Downsides, you quickly find out, are good, like very good. Their music is like nothing you’d ever heard before: experimental and fun but polished and very technically sound. Steve’s vocals are annoyingly impressive—his growly timbre grounding the lighter sound and keeping it from sounding too saccharine. You can see them dominating the charts and blowing The Letterman’s and every other one-trick band out of the water.

The track they wanted you to jump on was part of the demos Hopper had sent out. It was called “Feel It”, a romantic song, tinged with melancholy but paired with an upbeat synth sound.

You had been sent a copy of the lyrics that included a cue for you to come in.

You practiced your part for days, agonizing over how you wanted to deliver the lyrics, and eventually, you came up with exactly what you wanted to do after making some minor adjustments.

You were actually excited to record the song until you remembered that you would have to come face-to-face with the band’s two asshole guitarists again.

On the day of the recording, you tried your best to be early, but you had been up tossing all night which caused you to oversleep then you lost your keys, and you were moving at the time, so your things were all over the place. You also had to turn around and come back when you realized you had forgotten the gift basket of cookies you were planning on bringing for the band—something left over from a package Charles Riva's team sent you as an apology for him blowing you off. All in all, you were about thirty minutes late.

You pulled into the Starcourt parking lot a harried mess and as you rounded the corner into the studio, you could hear the booming voice of Eddie Munson.

“She’s probably stuck circling the parking lot trying to find some working-class sucker to park her car. Harrington, why don’t you go check out there? Maybe you’ll get papped again and get another 5 minutes of fame.”

You hear Steve respond and while you can’t make out the words, you can tell he’s annoyed, embarrassed, or possibly both.

You can see the faces of every other band member fall like dominos as they each caught sight of you rounding the corner to stand directly behind Eddie.

Eddie though doesn’t seem to pick up on what’s clearly written on all their faces and persists through his tirade, “She’s only coming for the photo opp anyway—she doesn’t care about any of this.”

It’s Argyle who finds his voice first, “Eddie, man, isn’t that her?”

Eddie whips around and with comically wide eyes, looks down at you, grimacing.

You consider telling the guy off but decide against it.

If there is one thing you have learned these years it’s that while the male artists can throw fits, yell, scream, and even damage equipment without anyone as much as blinking an eye, one emotional misstep from you and you would be branded a diva. They would say you were difficult, rude, and find any excuse to toss you aside like they had so many women before you and you refused to let them have that satisfaction.

So, instead, you smile at the band, eyes lingering on Eddie for just a moment longer than on anybody else, to let him know that you had heard him, and then say brightly, “Sorry I’m late everybody. I brought some cookies.”

***

EDDIE: Yeah, it was a dick thing to say, and I regretted it immediately and not just because she brought us cookies.

I wasn’t—that wasn’t me.

I was just so angry about everything that I had lost, and I didn’t know where to put it all and then she shows up: this rich, spoiled girl who just seemed to float through life without a single fucking care or struggle, and suddenly I had an easy target.

I felt bad about it until she changed my fucking lyrics.

***

Unlike their guitarists, most of the band seemed pleased to see you and you spent a few minutes greeting everyone and handing around cookies while Eddie and Steve kept their respective distances—Eddie, sulking in a corner and Steve doing a poor job at pretending to tune his guitar.

“Okay kids let’s give the voices some space to do their thing,” Hopper says waving them through the door sounding more like a disgruntled parent than a manager.

In the end, it’s just you, Steve, Murray, and the sound booth tech. The latter two are busy prepping the sound and mic, leaving you and Steve standing in the back.

“Hey, I wanted to apologize about what I said the other day at lunch,” he leans in close to your ear, his eyes transfixed on his shoes.

“I didn’t mean it—not really. I guess I was just lashing out because, well, they keep changing things about the band without even talking to us. First, they made us go pop, then they made me give up lead guitar to Eddie because his previous band didn’t want him anymore, and then it seemed like they wanted to replace me with you and like, it’s not that I wouldn’t want you it’s just that—well they never even asked what we wanted, you know? I was frustrated about that, and I took it out on you and I’m sorry about that.”

You watch him as he digs the toe of his sneaker into the carpet, eyes downcast, clearly waiting for you to respond. You’re too busy contemplating his words, however, because an apology was the last thing you were expecting from him, much less such a sincere one.

Out of all the difficult men you had dealt with in your life—producers, musicians, lawyers, managers, former flings, hell, even your own father—you had never received an apology from any of them regardless of how poorly they’d treated you.

Steve’s eyes finally trail up to meet yours, searching your face for signs that he didn’t say the wrong thing yet again.

Seeing no trace of dishonesty on Steve’s face, you decide to trust the apology for what it is and nod in acceptance.

“I get it,” you say, and truly, you did, “I’ve had most of my career decisions made for me, and a lot of times, they weren’t really what I wanted. It makes the whole thing feel kind of…empty, doesn’t it?”

His face floods with relief as he nods along in understanding.

“Yeah, like does success matter if we can’t do things our way? Me and Rob, we’ve been best friends since we were little and this has always been our dream and now that it may be coming true, it doesn’t feel like we imagined. I guess that’s kinda stupid though, expecting things to be like you imagined them as a kid,” he laughs at himself nervously.

“No, it’s not,” you counter, “that’s not stupid at all.”

You understand Steve’s disillusionment completely because it mirrors your own.

“Listen, I get how you feel, trust me, but you got to keep going. You guys are good, and I think you could all be big one day and then it’ll be you who’s calling the shots and then you can kick me and Eddie to the curb,” you clearly say the last part in jest but that doesn’t stop the shame that rolls across Steve’s face.

“Hey, don’t say that. You’re really talented and we’re lucky that you’re doing us this favor. We’d be even luckier if we could get you to stick around. Munson I could give or take, though.”

His joke makes you laugh so loud that Murray turns around and glares.

***

Steve was sent into the booth first to record his final vocals for the song, leaving you to observe.

As they set Steve up, your eyes kept bouncing over to the newly appeared Eddie, trying to figure out what exactly he was doing there.

“I wrote the song,” Eddie explains, after catching your eye.

“Oh,” you say, not bothering enough to hide your surprise, “well, congratulations, it’s a good song.”

You catch him eyeing the plate of cookies at your side. You open your mouth to offer him a cookie, but the echo of his words rings fresh in your mind, so instead, you reach for one and make a big show of savoring it.

Steve records his part of the vocals in five takes. He appears a bit nervous at first but eases into his groove rather quickly.

As the audio engineer is setting up the booth for you, you feel your own nerves rise. You wanted this to go well. You wanted to impress Steve and Hopper and even Eddie.

They signal you into the booth and the first two times, you record the song exactly how it’s written. Then, on the third one, you switch up the final chorus.

The original lyrics were: Fear in your heart, can’t conceal it/ But baby, my loves your cure, can’t you feel it? / Lay your hope bare next to mine/ and even if the world caves in, we’ll be fine

You changed the lyrics to: Fear in your heart, can’t conceal it/ But baby, my loves your cure, can’t you feel it? / Lay your flaws bare next to mine/ because when the world caves in, I’ll leave you cryin’

The change was slight, you thought, but meaningful.

The original version—Eddie’s version—was too hopeful. It was a boring portrayal of lovers staying with each other through thick and thin.

Your change added some conflict and dimension to the narrative. You made it better.

“What the hell was that?” Eddie pushed past Murray to yell into the mic that fed into the booth.

You roll your eyes at him dramatically interrupting your take, “I was just trying something out.”

Hopper pulled Eddie back by the shoulder while Murray wrestled the mic from him.

“Woah, sweetheart, pump the breaks. That was good. Better than the original. Can we run that one more time but with your lyrics instead? Harrington, we’ll re-record some of your parts too.”

Hopper has to all but carry Eddie out the door after he hears that.

***

EDDIE: The thing that pissed me off the most was that her version of the song was better. I just didn’t want to admit it because I wrote that song about Chrissy, about how even though I was so scared I was going to fuck up our relationship, she understood that and was willing to work through that with me. Her version was much closer to what actually happened and that hit a little too close to home.

***

“Woah, what did you two do to Eddie?” Robin demands as soon as you and Steve are dismissed into the hallway. “Hopper pretty much had to drag him out in tears!”

You worry at your bottom lip, caught in the wondering eyes of the group. At the time, you felt like you were doing the right thing, but now you wonder if you had forgone the common courtesy of at least letting him know you had changed the song. You didn’t want to come across as unprofessional as he accused you of being.

“I should probably go talk to him,” you say in response.

“Geez, Robin. Was the third degree really necessary there? This is just like last week’s DMV visit all over again,” Steve chastises as they all watch you walk away.

***

You find Eddie in the smoking area, cigarette in hand. “Hey, listen can we talk—"

Eddie turns dangerously to face you, cutting you off.

“You know what your fucking problem is? No one’s ever said no to you so you think you can do whatever the hell you want and that everyone else just rolls over and gives it to you because you’re so pretty and charming and rich.

“Well, you may have the rest of those assholes fooled but I see right through you, okay?”

Your eyes narrowed in response before you snap back.

"First of all, you don't know anything about me, so stop pretending that you do. I have worked hard to be here, just like the rest of you, and as far as this song goes, my name is going to be attached to it too, so I have just as much of a right to give input as you or Steve. It was wrong that I didn't say anything to you beforehand, sure, and I apologize for that, but let's not pretend that you've been the epitome of professionalism here either because you've been an ass to me since we've met, and I don't know why but I won't stand for it again. Fuck you, Eddie Munson,” you spit out before turning on your heel and stomping away.

***

EDDIE: That was hot, not gonna lie.

***

“Are you really going to let some mangy metalhead from Bumfuck, Nowhere keep you from finally doing what you want?” Murray asks exasperatedly when you call him to complain about the exchange later that night.

“Listen, I’ve recorded a lot of songs in that studio, some of them great, most of them mediocre, but today blew all of them out of the water. The band’s never sounded better and neither have you, frankly. If you gave up the chance to finally write your own songs and sound this good while doing it, that would be flat-out idiotic. You know that, right?”

The line goes still.

“Yes,” you finally say.

“Great, now that that’s settled, why don’t you get some rest, huh? Ruining Muson’s day must have tired you right out.”

You exhale a laugh before saying goodbye.

Although you would never say it to his face, you were grateful for Murray. It was nice having someone looking out for you.

***

MURRAY:  Brenner loved the track. After that, we had a very short time to make a lot of big things happen. The Downside’s debut album was already 70% recorded, but now that we had a whole other person on vocals, we had to scrap a good portion of the work they had already done and rerecord with our new vocalist. We couldn’t even celebrate our victory because we were just getting started.

Those poor kids had no clue what was coming.

***

When your phone rings a few mornings later, you suspect it’s Murray again with an update on the song, and while you’re right about the message, you’re wrong about the messenger. 

“Hi, it’s Steve, uh, Harrington. Obviously,” you hear a familiar voice crackle over the line.

“Oh? And to what do I owe the honor Mr. Obviously?” you respond.

“Oh, very funny. Listen, I wanted to call and let you know that we just heard from Hopper that Brenner and his guys liked our song, and they want us to continue, you know… recording together and stuff. So, yeah, would that be something you’re interested in… being a part of, you know, the band?” his voice wavers a bit as he asks.

“Is that even a choice?” you fire back, “I was under the impression that once Brenner gave the go-ahead, it was pretty much a done deal.”

He clears his throat in response, “I think you deserve to have a choice. I talked to the rest of the band, and they agree and if you don’t want in, we’ll back you… even if that means breaking our Starcourt contract.”

The line goes silent as you contemplate the gravity of what Steve has just said. The Downsides would be willing to put their own career at risk just to assure you the luxury of choice.

The answer was easy after that.

“I’m in,” you say after a few moments of terse silence. “I want to be a part of the band.”

You can all but see Steve pumping his fist on the other side of the line.

“That’s great! That’s great news. I’m glad my asshole tendencies didn’t put you off,” he laughs, relieved.

“I mean, it was a tough sell,” you tease back, “but I think we can be good together. The band, I mean.”

You wonder if you’ve said the wrong thing when his joyous peals of laughter stop suddenly at your words.

“Actually, um, about that,” he begins, once again nervously, “I’m really grateful that you’re giving us—the band—a chance and that you were nice enough to record the single with us in the first place. And, I mean, I know I’m already pushing my luck with the universe and you but maybe—uh, maybe today it’s my turn to be the luckiest guy in the world? Who knows?”

You have absolutely no clue what he’s getting at, and you let him know as much.

“Right, hm, I was wondering if I could take you out, on a date, to celebrate us becoming a band but also like, you know, a date. I know I made a total ass of myself, but I really like you, and I think you're gorgeous and talented and smart. I know I may not deserve another shot, but I would love it if you gave me one.”

You’re at a loss for words. First, you’re not even sure if you want to trust Steve fully, not quite yet. Sure, he apologized, but a part of you wonders if he only did it to get on your good side once he had seen how your pre-established infamy could serve him after that Subrosa article ran. Murray mentioned how radio runtime for the few EP songs The Downsides had in the rotation tripled since the publication. It definitely wouldn’t have been the first time you were being used like this.

Even if you could find it in yourself to look past that (and who knows, maybe you could?) there was still the matter of what Murray and Hopper had so delicately mentioned that day at lunch.

“I’m sorry, Steve, I don’t think that would be very professional. Especially on account of our…  front-facing, romantic narrative.”

“Our what?”

***

MURRAY: I thought that Hopper had gotten his team on the same page about the more personal aspects of the band’s arrangement, but apparently, I was wrong. None of them had any clue what was going on and the thing about running a ruse is that people that are in on it kind of have to know that they’re in on it.

A few days before we began re-recording, the girl called me all in a tizzy because she accidentally spilled the beans, not knowing that Harrington had no clue at all about the plan.

I then call Hopper; it turns into this whole thing. We had to arrange an emergency meeting with the two of them and the entire legal team.

A bit slow on the uptake, that Harrington kid, but he got there. Eventually.

He was harder to convince than the girl, though. At least she didn’t have a problem with lying to the public. But Harrington was all about that Midwestern “integrity” and “letting the music speak for itself”. Hop eventually had to spell it out real simple for him: either they do this, or the entire band was cooked.

STEVE: I guess after like 15 years the ruse is finally up, huh? Yeah, the relationship was fake. Or, at least, it started out that way. Listen, it was complicated and we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

But, if you’re asking about what I was thinking when they finally told me their plan, well, I wasn’t happy or on board at all. It felt like we had already given up so much of ourselves for this—like, where do you draw the line, you know?

But then Hopper reminded me that it wasn’t all about me: Nancy had dropped out of college to be in the band, Jonathan…he had his sick little brother to take care of, and even Munson was going to be in trouble if he didn’t fulfill his contract with Starcourt.

It was selfish to say no, in my opinion. And really, what was I losing? I got to make music for a living and parade around, pretending to date a total hottie while doing it. I mean, the only way it could’ve gotten better was if the relationship had been real.

***

After what feels like days—but is most likely hours—with the Starcourt legal team, you and Steve are finally released with a very long grocery list of instructions that include a minimum number of required public appearances; a very specific list of acceptable PDA; and interestingly, enough, a sample NDA in case either of you wanted to “be involved” with anyone on the side.

“Nothing says romance like NDA, right?” you weakly joke in an attempt to break the ice.

“How are you so okay with this?” Steve shoots back, seemingly stunned.

“Well, it’s not like this is my first rodeo, or my fourth, or my sixth.”

And before he can question further, you tell him everything, starting with Jason fucking Carver.

***

STEVE: I couldn’t believe it. They had been forcing her to pretend to be involved with all these guys for years. It was super fucked up, but she stuck with it. That’s how much she wanted it. How could I possibly let her down after that? Especially with my own selfish, dumb feelings? She was right, we needed to keep it professional, no matter how hard that was going to be for me.

NEXT CHAPTER 🎤

Taglist: @rexorangecouny , @persophonekarter

#steve harrington x reader #eddie munson x reader #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #stranger things x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x you #robin buckley #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things x you #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfic #band!au

[henrysglock]

a crack theory that's been rattling around in my head for a while:

stranger things is actually a frame story. it's about a longitudinal CIA social experiment regarding family units and how they respond to strange circumstances. For example:

The likelihood of parents who have experienced strange events to believe their children when said children experience strange events

The likelihood of those parents (as compared to "normal" parents) to either support or abandon a child who goes missing and comes back "wrong"

The effect of peripheral eldritch trauma on children

There are no children with psychokinetic powers or monsters from other dimensions, just visual/practical effects teams that make it look like these things exist.

The demogorgon is a man in a suit. The Mindflayer does not actually exist, everyone who reports having seen the full thing is a paid actor. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. Vecna is also a man in a suit. No, he's not Henry Creel. But he plays him!

The study runs on a 27 year cyle, beginning with a single family (the Brenners) in "1943", resetting with the turn of the first set of children to parental age circa 1970, and continuing on through "the 80s". Hawkins, IN, Lenora Hills, CA, and Rachel, NV were all created as "sets", and everyone in them besides our core group is a paid actor.

El is the sole control group child, meant to act as a balance to Will Byers but without the influence of the outside world, much the same as 001 and Henry Creel. Brenner, the original child participant, now runs the control group as a paid actor. Henry and the other adults in the lab, the second wave of childhood participants, were "recruited" as unpaid actors. The other lab children seen in NINA are paid actors. The practice of subjecting children to both the belief in their psychokinetic powers and interdimensional monsters was restricted to highly secure laboratory settings after the first iteration of those "laboratory" children, 001, was driven half-insane by the Mindflayer mind-control placebo effect.

Will Byers was swapped for a paid actor in 1983, and no one's figured it out yet. Mike Wheeler is a goverment plant, which is why he knows so much that he arguably shouldn't know. El was meant to stay in the lab, but her escape was aided by [REDACTED] in 1983.

Every production error we see was intentional by the Duffers as a characteristic of the researchers: little oversights, inexplicable changes, retcons, and ever-increasingly complex plot as they attempt to account for escaped subject Eleven. Production errors, but on purpose. They serve as the only way we can tell that what we're seeing on screen isn't reality, but is instead a silly, terrible play.

#crack theory #i just have to laugh about it #the whole thing is just one big CIA truman show

[shandy-and-champagne]

I'm a firm believer that you can tell the s5 arcs from the loose ends we already have so:

Unresolved plotlines for Mike, El and Will:

"it's not my fault you don't like girls" never addressed. never apologised. never explained.

will destroyed castle byers and it was intrinsically tied to his feelings for mike. mike does not know this. jonathan does not know this.

mike never told will what it was he couldn't say to eleven until the monologue

joyce's job added NOTHING to the plot except to keep the phone lines busy, making it easier for mike and will to push each other away

mike supposedly never wrote will any letters

mike still thinks will likes a girl in Lenora (probably)

will lied about the painting, which was the whole basis of mike's piggyback monologue

will is in pain, pining and sobbing, CONSTANTLY framed as emotionally between the couple but has actively tried to remove himself from the equation by pushing them together. The audience sympathises with him and he's literally the only thing keeping makayla going.

we still know literally nothing about what is going on inside michael wheeler's head. but explain to me why he hyperfocuses on will's behaviour during a date with his girlfriend. explain why he uses that soft voice and soft eyes and heartwarming smile only with will. explain to me why his breath catches and he simps for will's art but can only describe his girlfriend as a superhero.

el didn't feel loved. she likened mike to papa in her mind. mike saw it in her eyes that she was starting to understand that she didn't need him anymore.

The DIRECT AND INTENTIONAL parallel of:

"you never say it"

"I say it"

[...]

"eleven you're being ridiculous!"

VS

"Thanks for knocking some sense into me, I was being a total self-pitying idiot"

"I didn't say it"

"you didn't have to "

It felt like "a fight you can't come back from" and despite knowing exactly what she wanted him to say he felt he needed to "explain [him]self" and agreed he was scared to tell those he cared ('care' but... you don't love me anymore?) about how he really felt because "what if they don't like the truth"

el has barely spoken to mike since his speech

"i feel like my life started that day i found you in the woods" (pans to will's heartbroken expression)

So in summary in s5 I expect the breakup, the confusion, the painting conversation with el, and one beautifully angsty byler fight/confession/kiss scene

#byler #just the facts #byler endgame #now with script shenanigans

[thestrangestthing89]

Mike and El's behavior towards each other hasn't changed throughout the series. They haven't had any growth. S1 and S4 are essentially the same with regard to how they interact.

S1: Mike and El meet and have a plan for their time together - finding Will even though they are both scared. S4: Mike and El reunite and have a plan for their week - pretending to be the perfect couple even though they are both unhappy with their relationship.

S1: Their interactions are about finding Will. Every conversation (except 1) is about Will and how to get him back. S4: Their interactions are about Will - He's framed in every shot, in the back of Mike's mind constantly. Their relationship is centered around Will's feelings.

S1: The one conversation they have that isn't about Will is about bullying. It's a brief conversation. She says she understands. S4: Mike tries to talk to her about bullying again and she shuts him down. This wasn't a thing they bonded over.

S1: El lies to Mike repeatedly and Mike gets upset about it. S4: El lies to Mike about her whole life in Lenora and Mike gets upset about it.

S1: El is scared and defensive and accidentally attacks Lucas. Mike gets mad and she runs away. S4: El is scared and vulnerable and attacks Angela. Mike gets upset with her and they fight. She runs away.

S1: Mike triggers El's trauma with Brenner several times. He is also compared to Hopper several times (he finds her in the woods, takes care of her) S4: Mike triggers El's trauma with Brenner. He is also compared to Hopper several times (bringing her eggos after a fight, the platonic way they reunite)

S1: After El runs off, Mike and Dustin go looking for her. She's their best hope of finding Will. S4: After El runs off, Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle go looking for her. She is in danger and is also the best hope of saving their friends in Hawkins.

S1: The group reunites and continues to work together to find Will. S4: The group reunites and continues to work together to help Hawkins.

S1: El exhausts herself trying to save everyone. At the end of the season she is laying on a table and Mike is talking to her telling her to hold on and keep fighting. El ends up sacrificing herself to save them. S4: El is struggling to fight. She is laying on a table and Mike is talking to her telling her to hold on and keep fighting. El ends up losing. (As a side note, I'm pretty sure Mike was flashing back to the moment in S1 here. It would account for some of his hesitation (obviously some of it is that he is lying). He pushed her to keep fighting then and she ended up "dying". He feels guilty for having to push her again. It's essentially the same situation).

S1: El feels guilty for putting the group in danger and doesn't try to find Mike. Instead she wanders around the woods until Hopper finds her and takes her in. S4: El distances herself from Mike for a lot of reasons. She reunites with Hopper and her family at the end.

So why is it that so many people can realize that Mike and El's interactions in S4 are a problem but not in S1? I think a lot of that has to do with their ages. People are more forgiving of mistakes when a 12 year old is making them than someone older. But interpreting their relationship in S1 as adorable is so weird to me. They have gone out of their way to make it clear that it isn't. The writers are seriously driving home these comparisons over and over again. They want people to see it. It's not bad repetitive writing - they are trying to tell us something. When they do a storyline like this TWICE, you need to pay attention. It's there for a reason. Their relationship hasn't changed at all. It's the same as it ever was. So if people can see that their interactions in S4 are a problem they need to take a look at why their interactions in S1 are ok. Because they are the same.

#anti mileven #byler #gay mike wheeler

[ladyfromaspookyforest]

This is in response to this post by @cluelessbees which was in response to this post by @howtobecomeadragon (this is so annoying of me, I'm so sorry). But I love to talk about the clothes in shows, so I couldn't stop myself. Both posts are good reads if you haven't already seen them. The gist of the first one is that Will's clothes in season 4 blend into the background and the gist of the second is that despite blending in, Mike is always aware of Will.

And I was thinking about framing. Here's the scene when Mike comes to talk to Will before leaving Lenora. This is the first time he manages to articulate since he's arrived that he misses Will and still wants Will in his life.

As that scene goes on and the camera focuses more closely on both Mike and Will's faces, we see less of the yellow wall and the dresser. As Will begins to feel more and more seen, he is positioned further in front of the white door.

When we get scenes of Will and Mike connecting, Will is contrasted against the background from Mike's POV, but he still matches the color scheme. It's like Will is intentionally trying to disappear but Mike can see him anyway.

He's also generally more visible in scenes when Mike looks at him versus scenes where we don't see him through Mike. Take these two. Mike never fully turns around to face Will in Suzie's room. In the second shot, he is fully facing Will and Will is contrasted against the blue sky.

And sticking out more as the scene goes on and Will begins to feel more seen doesn't only apply to Mike.

When he's feeling sad and left out in the pizza kitchen, he's standing in front of this yellow wall, but when we're seeing him from Jonathan's POV, he's in front of grey. He's more visible.

And some of my personal faves:

Once he returns to Hawkins, Will's yellow doesn't blend with the landscape anymore. He's surrounded by greenery and almost everyone else in the final shot is wearing blue. Because now that he's back, Will is being seen again. By the Mind Flayer (or Vecna idk). This is a great way to signal to the audience that Will's brief stint as background/B Plot is over. He's Important again. He's someone to be looked at.

#will byers #byler #stranger things wardrobe analysis #my dumbass post

[storybook-tiles]

au where byler starts dating at the end of s3 and we get byler long distance boyfriends

Will sending a sketch or a small painting with every letter he writes so Mike will have new art to put up on his walls

Mike doesn’t really let anyone in his room much anymore, but if he did it would take keen eyes to spot the picture of Will pinned to his cork board, all messy hair and beaming smile, and paint covered hands as he stands by his easel

Will only has one picture of present Mike in his room (trying to pin down mike for a picture lately is as difficult as trying to scoop up the small fish from Lovers Lake barehanded) but he frames it and uses it as a reference to draw Mike (not that he really needs it, having spent much of his childhood trying to commit Mike’s face to memory)

Long phone calls that only end when joyce or karen have to tell them to get off where they talk about everything but their problems. whispering ‘i love you’ before they hang up

Mike being extra defensive about his and Will’s relationship to a degree no one on the party has seen before. Lucas and Dustin assume that he just misses him lots. Will doesn’t get brought up in casual conversation anymore, not without Mike getting grumbly and snappish

El being a touchy subject as well. Dustin convinced that they’re going to get back together but every time he brings it up Mike’s chest grows tight and he can’t breathe. It’s too far from the truth for his liking and Mike is all too aware of the consequences of his relationship with Will getting out

Will telling the girls in Lenora that ask him out that he’s taken, but never elaborating on the subject. When El asks him about it he says that it’s just a white lie to let them down gently. he tries to ignore the twist of sadness in his gut

#feel free to add i’m just spitballing #byler #mike wheeler #will byers

[somediyprojects]

Meg the Moth Woman stitched by Lenora Howden. Pattern ($4.99) designed by NightSpiritStudio.

“Finally found the perfect frame.”

#cross stitch #inspo #x #night spirit studio

[detective-and-dreamer]

Lenora returns from the world's worst vacation with some papers, a knife, and guilt (1,485 words of mostly h/c with some Nemesis spoilers):

"There!" a zailor calls, leaning over the rail and pointing. Other shouts follow; Emory barely hears them. He's already halfway down the gangplank.

It's been days hours months some time since they saw her off. In that time, he has lost three crew members - more than he had hoped and less than he had imagined. Two have abandoned them for any ship they could find heading back to London. One has willingly gone ashore despite everyone's protests (what madness, he thinks, just as he had when she'd told him of her plans).

But he has not lost her.

Between her staggering and his sprinting, both of them nearly fall from the dock as they meet. She clutches his arms and leans against him while he steadies them both.

"Em'ry," Lenora slurs into their collar, and then her full weight is upon them.

Cursing, they carry her up to the ship, heedless of their stitches. The Meticulous Doctor plucks her from his arms with a glare while the rest of the crew rushes unbidden to their posts. No glass rain falls. None of the deck's boards turn to paper. Nobody suffers any sudden changes of anatomy. The Iron Republic, it seems, is willing to let them leave without a parting shot.

"Just get us out of here," says the Meticulous Doctor when he tries to follow her. A few loose curls frame her face, as much a testament to anxiety as their own disheveled state.

The work, at least, is easy as breathing. Emory runs up their mother's flag to hold off all but the most daring or idiotic pirates; they'll have to remember to take it down again when they leave Shepherd's Wash. Orders and warnings fly back and forth across the deck. He doesn't think they've ever pushed the Aegis this hard, but everyone just wants to be home. They want it so badly that nothing will stand in their way. Corsairs? Zee-monsters? Hardly threats at all. He lets himself get lost in it until the Taciturn Explorer elbows him in the side.

"Doctor's waiting," he mutters, practically ripping the wheel from their hands.

"Change out the flag before the Navy-"

"-spots us, aye. Go."

Lenora's eyelids flutter when they enter the cabin. She murmurs something he can't quite catch, and then she's out again. The Meticulous Doctor rises from her bedside and squeezes Emory's shoulder on her way towards the door.

"Someone apparently patched her up before she left," she says. "She's just exhausted. Come find me if anything changes, or she asks for anything when she wakes up." Emory nods and takes her place in the ornate wooden chair. Joining Lenora in sleep would be better, but he knows he won't be able to relax until they've made it to safer waters.

He starts playing cat's cradle so he isn't just sitting alone with his thoughts. The thin string is worn and will need replacing soon, but it doesn't snap as they lace it back and forth between their fingers. Zailor's bed to calm Zee. He glances at Lenora; she doesn't toss and turn with nightmares or even shift around in her usual manner. He hates that stillness, but she's still breathing and doesn't look ill, so it's not as bad as it could be. They refocus - diamonds to cat's eye to -

A soft rustling of blankets and small hands slipping between his own to take the string. Fish in the net.

"Nora," they breathe. "Are you-"

"I'll be fine," she says flatly. "They...took a lot of the pain somehow, both physical and emotional. I can't remember it very well. How are you and the rest of the crew?"

"...There's three gone. Not dead, far as I know, just left. Hadn't been with us before, aside from the Prim Engineer...'course, there were a lot who never came to begin with." He reaches out to retrieve the string for two crowns before coiling it and shoving it into his pocket. "Everyone else is all right. I think we're damned lucky, to be honest."

"I suppose you're right." Lenora sighs nonetheless as she sits up fully. "I hated the idea of subjecting anyone to this, so if they wanted to return home I can hardly blame them. I'll still pay them, even, just for enduring it." She looks over at him and narrows her eyes suddenly. They have no idea what minute change of expression she's caught, but they know they can't get away with any further omission.

"One of the deckhands didn't go back. They're..." He gestures the way they came. "Tried to convince them otherwise and they just snuck off soon as they could."

"God," Lenora groans, burying her face in her hands. "Why? That place is..."

"Hell?" they offer with a weak smile. It gets her to laugh, at least, even if it sounds half like a sob. "I don't know what they wanted. Not sure they did. I should've tied 'em up, maybe."

"I don't know if they would have thanked you for it or not," she says with a shake of her head. "If it was the doctor, or someone like her, I would have been able to say with some certainty that it was just a temporary madness, but...as you said, we had picked them up not long before our departure. Perhaps it was always their goal."

"Could be." Emory says. Normally the two of them are much more stringent when it comes to evaluating new recruits, but when several of their usual crew members had understandably declined to join this particular voyage, they'd had to take what they could get. It doesn't make things any easier, but there's nothing to be done about it now. There are plenty of pirates in that area; hopefully they'll join up with someone instead of staying in the Iron Republic itself.

A dull thud startles them both. Lenora's leather satchel is laying on the desk, papers threatening to spill out. Something wrapped in rags is already on the floor. She stares at it, taking a long and shaky breath, and when Emory picks it up a bit of fabric falls away to reveal the hilt of a knife.

"Fuck," she says, which is rare enough that they nearly hurt their neck with how quickly they turn to look back at her. "I don't - I don't know why I picked it up, I just - I couldn't leave it, but-"

He wraps it back up and drops it into a desk drawer. They can hide it somewhere later, or throw it into the Zee if she'd prefer. The rest is put away neatly for her to study later.

"...Come here?" Lenora asks in a small voice, worrying a stray thread on her blanket.

Emory doesn't bother to strip to his undergarments, but removes his belt and shoes before slipping into bed and pulling her into his arms. She curls into them immediately, resting her head on their shoulder. They press their cheek to her hair. It's devoid of its usual bergamot scent, instead uncomfortably metallic and smoky. He doesn't turn away.

"...I'm sorry," she says after a minute, tracing a soothing pattern along the side of his neck. "You shouldn't have had to go there. None of you."

"We all agreed," they remind her.

"I know, but..."

"It's over now. Besides," he says in another attempt to lighten the mood, "you did say we'd be well-paid."

"Of course." She doesn't take the bait; he can feel her frown. "In fact, I'll double what I promised, since it was so much worse than I could have imagined. You all deserve it."

"You don't need to, but I'm sure there'll be no complaints," Emory says.

Any response is cut off by a sharp knock on the door. He extricates himself and returns to the chair as a concession to propriety.

"Come in," Lenora says after lying down again. The Meticulous Doctor is hardly fooled, judging by the arch of her eyebrow, but then again their...involvement is an open secret. She's already given him a lecture that still embarrasses him to think about, despite having spent his life around zailors (it's the clinical tone, he thinks).

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

"I'm all right. I wasn't very wounded by the time I left."

"I know that, but it's impossible to tell what might have happened to someone in a place like that. No symptoms of illness, no lingering changes?"

Lenora shakes her head, but still consents to another examination. Emory puts on his discarded pieces of clothing and slips out while the two are occupied.

"All good?" the Taciturn Explorer asks as they return to the helm.

"Good as it can be, I think," he replies. A longer and more painful discussion is in their future, he's sure, but it can wait.

For now, he just needs to get them home.

#my writing #Lenora #Emory #and assorted crewmates #fun fact: the Taciturn Explorer has known Emory since he was a kid and isn't disrespectful exactly but knows when to give him a shove #just “ffs go tend to your.....whatever she is to you” #nemesis spoilers

[queen-paladin]

March 2024 Reading Wrap Up!

Hiya guys, since I have been on a book reading craze lately (I want to read 30 books before I turn 30 and am now on 13 in March, which says something). I enjoy Goodreads, but little to no people read my reviews. My most popular one on Goodreads has *drumroll* six likes *confetti*. And I have a lot of feelings and thoughts and nowhere to express them...so why not here!

That being said...Books I have read in March of 2024! Better late then never!

What I read and my own personal, take it with a grain of salt thoughts on them below:

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

(YA Fantasy)

Summary:

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

I am usually not the type to stay up late reading because I have to know what's going to happen. I usually set the book down and tuck in bedtime.

This book was an exception.

I was on the edge of my seat, forgetting the time and hour, wanting to read just one more page because I had to know what would happen. The pacing was just right, the world was beautiful and dangerous, and I enjoyed the characters. Scarlett was a breath of fresh air in a genre notorious for internal misogyny in it's female protagonists. Timid and Proper and Responsible, but grows on her own and learns to take initiative.

The environment was very reminiscent of the Night Circus, imagine like, if the Night Circus was a town built on illusions, and you have Caraval. But the Night Circus, rereading it as an adult, had an insufferable MMC who has a girlfriend who sacrifices so much for him, then the MMC who cheats on his girlfriend for the FMC, and then when the girlfriend has the truth confirmed to her, she gets upset and briefly lashes out, the writing then frames her as An Evil Woman Scorned for doing so (which is...yikes) Justice for Isobel Martin. She should have done a full Carrie White style Everyone Dies rampage and I would have rooted her on the whole time.

There's none of that crap here! We have a lovely romance between Scarlett and Julian full of all sorts of wonderful, chemistry-building moments.

But what got me was the story- the various twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, gasping and clinging. I was captivated. Entranced by it's spell. This is a roller coaster of a book, so just hold on and enjoy the ride. I am so glad I read this book, it gave me a feeling and experience I hadn't had with a book in ages, one where I had to stay up late, because I had to read what would happen next.

5/5

The Unlovely Bride by Alice Coldbreath

(Romance, Historic, Fantasy)

Summary: Lenora Montmayne leads a charmed life as the most beautiful woman at King Wymer’s court, surrounded by admirers. And then disaster strikes. The red pox sweeps the summer palace at Caer-Lyones and Lenora’s fair face falls victim to its ravages. Without her looks, what does Lenora have left to her?

If ever there was a knight the crowd loves to hate, it’s Garman Orde. Even his own family despises him. Then one night a heavily veiled lady offers him an extraordinary bargain. And he finds out that Lenora Montmayne was never just a pretty face.

Review: Any marriage of convenience story I will read, and I will devour it. I've been looking forward to this book for a while, and I do love the premise. And most of all, I love the setting! This lovely world that is part medieval England part not because fuck it, it's not history, just the vibes. And I LOVE our female protagonist. Leonora relied on her looks and nothing else for years to get by, and now that they are gone, she relies on her own person. She loves kitty cats, she believes in prophecies and fortune-telling but is smart, pragmatic, and determined. She and Garman have a nice romance with some great lines and moments (and some nice spice). My complaint is that while the first half is amazing, the second half kind of drags, and not much happens, it could have used more tension, more stakes, and more plot. I may read another Coldbreath book sometime, just because I love the world of Karadok, but I'm not sure.

3.75/5

Medea by Eilish Quin

(Historic, Fantasy)

Summary: The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud.

As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband, but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she had never conceived of, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall.

Review: Ok, ok, I have so many feelings about this. I was...sadly disappointed by this book. Medea is probably my personal favorite of the Ancient Greek Women, if not, my favorite of the spicier, more controversial, morally grey ones (Hera, Circe, Medusa, Clytemnestra, etc)

But, my biggest issue with this book, and it's big, is that I don't believe there is a love story between Medea and Jason. The writer makes him unlikable from the get-go, to where he has numerous Kick The Dog (tm) moments like physically abusing Medea and killing one of Pelleas's daughters when she won't stop crying. Medea herself doesn't justify them, and she keeps thinking of "eh, he's sometimes kind of good-looking, but he's okay."

Like, Medea in this book, after meeting Jason, she flat out tells her brother that he is the man she loves the most in her life (which...YIKES for the implications. But in order for any Medea story to work, I HAVE to believe she is madly, desperately in love with Jason. There's no oath where Jason swears before the gods to stay with her, so then there's no hurt. She kind of has to marry Jason to preserve her honor according to Aunt Circe, but not out of love. Since there's no romantic chemistry, the sacrifices Medea takes make more sense and the betrayal hurts even more so then when she does what she does in Corinth, she is extremely sympathetic at least in the beginning.

Like, she has a moment after Jason revealed he cheated on her and is leaving her for Glauce and she goes "oh, poor Glauce is a victim like me." Which begs the question for this version- why doesn't she just kill Jason himself? She calls Glauce a poor baby victim, she kills Glauce, not Jason. If she loved Jason that much, then she would hate him more, and killing Glauce would make more sense. She wants to watch Jason suffer.

Also, I feel like Eilsha Quinn is a bit afraid of the moral nuances of Medea. She has her "I didn't really MEAN to!" moments and there is one character she kills who she then re-animates (like she re-animates her brother, so oopsie Daisy, she's actually not a kinslayer! And he just...vibes with them as the third wheel lives with them, and helps look after the kids. This makes it less tragic because A) She's not a murderer who risked and left everything for him, she's more "perfect" and not as flawed, and B) when Jason betrays her, she's less alone and has an immediate support system there in her brother). And the kid- killing she does to trick Jason and then she re-animates them later, or tries, to but no, that failed and they're dead dead, whoops. Even if Medea purposely killing the kids was the invention of Euripides, I want to believe Medea is capable of purposely, intentionally doing some violent, controversial things and this seems to be afraid of her spice, her teeth.

The writing is pretty, and I liked the beginning with learning about her childhood, but this was a letdown.

I did order Hewlitt's book of Medea, which is higher ranked on Goodreads so my hope is higher for that one.

3/5

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

(YA, Fantasy, Romance)

Summary:

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

Review: This book was utterly beautiful, breathtaking, and heartbreaking all at once and yet uplifting and then it breaks your heart again. The world is simple and lovely. It's a mix of World War One/two aesthetics with a fantasy setting. It's basically You Got Mail but fantasy and more focus on the drama then the comedy.

The romance is lovely, there is such a beautiful love story between Roman and Iris as they sort out their feelings, reveal their secrets, doubts, failures, grief, and insecurities, and learn more about where they fall for each other. Plus, the twists and turns were a lot of fun and the pacing was just right.

I have no faults or complaints, this was just a lovely, lovely book and I look forward to the sequel because THAT was quite a note to end on!

5/5

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Summary: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

Reveiw: This is such a hyped, beloved, popular book that is so many people's baby and favorite series and it...it was okay.

It wasn't bad.

But I didn't find it phenomenal, amazing, spectacular, life chagning.

It was good. It was okay.

I honestly got extremely tired of trying to learn how the over-complicated Arthurian society worked. It's explained in a super info-dumpy way that the characters get, but I don't. And the pacing was way too slow, I feel like it needed to shave off a good hundred pages, or fifty, perhaps.

I do enjoy the main girl, Bree, alright. She doesn't take bullshit, but has moments of vulnerability. As well as exploring race, grief, family history and the scenes with root magic were amazing. The beginning was fantastically done, it was the middle part where it peterred off for me.

But the rest of it, not gonna lie, was kind of...eh.

And, ngl, I am more Team Nick. Sel is a giant jerk who treats her like garbage, yet people root for them and want them to be together, and I'm like....??????? why? At least Nick, white saviory as he can be, is trying and cares for her and affirms and appreciates her strength.

I respect that this is so many people's favorite book and that it speaks to them and moves them. But for me, if none of these people made any content around this book and said nothing, based off of my opinion independent of others, if you plopped this book on my lap and said nothing about the hype about it...I'd still say it was just okay. That might be my controversial hot take, but it's just what my personal experience was from this book.

3/5

Currently Reading: The Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Lemming, The Death of Jane Lawrence by Starling, Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies by Fawcett, and Twisted Love by Ana Huang.

#reading #books #bookblr #bookworm #literature #booklr #goodreads #books and reading #book lover #book wrapup #bookish #reading logs #reading thoughts #caraval #stephanie garber #alice coldbreath #the unlovely bride #divine rivals #letters of enchantment #roman kitt #iris winnow #rebecca ross #legendborn #tracy deonn

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

I ship so many ships, but not in a poly way, in a "if there was a different time frame au" way. Like I ship Steddie, stonathan, and Jargyle. Not all at the same time, but all in the same au.

I mean this post is about the spicy six, it's the spicy six, they're all gay and they basically all dated each other at one point.

Steve knew he was bi when he was thirteen. He knew instantly that he liked boys and girls because he'd get crushes on both genders. Jonathan knew he was pan when he was eleven. He used to collect magazines from the trash and have a collection of them, he would look at the boys and girls on the paper.

In middle school, I headcanon Steve and Jonathan actually were friends with each other. They knew each other from photography club. And they used to have playdates all the time. And when Steve was fourteen and Jonathan was twelve, the younger one told him about him being queer. And Steve got scared because what if Jonathan finds out? So, he shoved Jonathan away and ran.

In high school, Steve dated Nancy, who had a crush on Barb and Jonathan. When Jonathan was dating Nancy, he realized he didn't like her. And when he was in Lenora, he wanted to kiss Argyle the whole time they were friends. And he did.

And when Eddie called Steve 'big boy', that awakened something in him. And when he threatened him with the glass. Steve realized that he had a new crush. And it had to be on Eddie "the freak" Munson. And when Eddie came back as a vampire, Steve told him the truth about his feelings. And obviously Eddie, who had been crushing on him for years, liked him back.

Nancy wasn't upset that both of her exes were dating men. She herself, was dating a woman. Robin, Steve's best friend, cought her eye when they were fighting against Vecna together.

You see what I mean, though? I ship so many ships, but not all at the same time. Like, I also ship Lucas and Max, and Max and El. But not at the same time. Or at the same time. Poly Max is amazing.

#stranger things #steddie #ronance #jargyle #stonathan #i personally love steddie and platonic stonathan so... #steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #argyle #jonathan byers #nancy x barb #barb stranger things #fruity everyone at this point #fruity six #fruity four #spicy six

[bylerposting]

The Weird Time Pattern of the Hawkins High Yearbooks

First shelf: 1966, 1967, and 1968

Second shelf: 1972, 1973, 1974

Third shelf: 1978, 1979, 1980

Fourth shelf: 1984, 1985, 1984

There's three years of consecutive yearbooks, and then a four year skip in between.

@henrysglock pointed this out in reply to my tags on one of his posts: On the very far right of the image, there seems to be another yearbook poking out from the third shelf. Upon looking at the image again, I realized this everything is actually all on one bookshelf

Same green/white color scheme, the shape of what looks to be a tiger, and I can't even tell what year that is because its way-too perfectly out of frame.

So, if we were to assume there's another row of 3 yearbooks on the shelf next to it, that would account for the four-year skip. Problem solved

But this is the weird-timeline show, so (murray voice) Lets indulge in this fantasy for a moment.

If we keep the same four-year skip and go further back in time, the set of yearbooks above the first shelf would be 1960, 1961, and 1962. And if we go even further back, they'd be 1954, 1955, 1956. Completely skipping over 1959, which is when (most) of TFS takes place.

If there was a 1986 book and we continued the four year pattern, we'd be leaving the 80s entirely and entering the 90s (1990, 1991, 1992). But, since there's an 84 book there, if we continue the four year pattern, we get 1988, 1989, and then 1990.

1984 and 1985 are the only two years there would be a Will Byers yearbook photo, considering we skip over 1983 (the same year he went missing), and him living in Lenora would result in no 86 yearbook photo. (which we don't have anyway)

1984, 1985... 1984... The time travel subtext is subtexting.

#st5 filming #st5 leaks #st5 bts #st5 speculation #time travel #timeline theory

[deanismysavior]

Master Doc for Scene Analyses and Theories

1. The Mileven monologue breakdown/Will monologue comparison

2. The Lumax/Mileven Contrast + Byler parallel

3. The Mileven monologue + Mike/Brenner parallels and S2/S4 confession parallels

4. Byler S3+S4 fight scenes plus Brokeback Mountain parallels

5. Monologue Cut to Mileven meeting

6. Dear Billy Scripts Analysis

7. S2 Will possession + S4 Love Confession + Supernatural parallels

8. The Rink O' Mania fight + Apology

9. Why Mike Has Been Acting WEIRD Weird Since He Arrived in Lenora

10. Murray and the Dinner Table Scene

11. Byler X High School Musical

12. The Wheelers: Nancy and Mike relationship breakdown

13. Mike and El relationship breakdown

14. Quarry scene analysis

15. Mike's queerness and Mileven/Byler framing contrasts

16. Mini Analysis of Plato's Allegory of the Cave + Byler

17. What Mike Losing Will Really Means

18. 4x08 Papa Script Breakdown

19. Mike Wheeler: writing vs calling

Listen to the Stranger Things + Byler angst/yearning crossfade transition playlist!

This is intended to be listened to in order with the crossfade setting enabled and set to 5 seconds. For best experience, use headphones. Enjoy!

#byler #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things #stranger things analysis #stranger things theory #st #st4 #st3 #stranger things 4 #stranger things 3 #will x mike #mike x will #master doc #Spotify

[heavencasteel420]

In honor of my finding out that Eduardo Franco was in American Vandal, I am ruminating on a story where a Stranger Things character is framed for spray-painting dicks all over the place. There are two possible directions:

The Lenora Hills version, where one of the Byers-Hopper siblings is framed for doing the dicks. All three possibilities are ridiculous (Jonathan doesn’t have the requisite serotonin, Will is clinically well-behaved, and El only barely understands why spray-painting dicks everywhere is funny) but they’re new in town and fall under suspicion. Possibly Nancy and Mike are also visiting. This version has the advantage of Argyle’s presence being natural, but since most of the school is California randoms, the wide-ranging nature of the original can’t come close to being captured.

The Hawkins version, where either Eddie Munson or Tommy Hagan is framed for doing the dicks. Argyle is also there. He moved and he’s very bummed about it.