#dimension hopper system

[its-me-renmimi]

Dimhopmultiversal

[pt: Dimhopmultiversal]

Dimhopmultiversal - A gender in the dimension hopper system connected to being a dimension hopper of multiverses / a multiversal dimension hopper. This gender is connected to multiverses, multiverse aesthetics, dimension hopper aesthetics, dimension aesthetics, and althood / dimhood.

Day 9 (Dec 18th): A term related to your blorbo's source | @mousesquared Tagging: @thecoffeecrew404 @radiomogai @daybreakthing @dimensen

This term was inspired by one of my own OCs! No guessing is required ^^

[en8y]

[IMAGE ID: two horizontal flags with nine stripes; each flag has an icon of a rainbow flower in the center. it has a wide smile. the middle stripe is twice as large as the rest of them, which are equally sized. the first flag has these top three colors: warm brown, warm yellow, and orange-pink. the second flag has these top three colors: purple-pink, deep pink, and bright light green. each flag has these bottom six stripes: medium blue, off-white, medium blue, bright red, medium yellow, and dull green. END ID.]

dihopkidcoric: a gender connected to being a kidcore dimension hopper; this gender is connected to kidcore, kidcore aesthetics, dimension hopper aesthetics, dimension aesthetics, and althood/dimhood!

darlikidcoric: a gender connected to being a kidcore darling; this gender is connected to kidcore, kidcore aesthetics, darling aesthetics, lovecore aesthetics, and dasimhood!

@radiomogai @liom-archive @obscurian

[io-archival]

Dimensen - an umbrella term connected to alternate dimensions, multiverse theory, subdimensions, pocket dimensions, fate, soulmates, and the like.

Dimension Hopper System

[ID: a rectangular flag with 8 equally-sized horizontal lines and a thicker one in the middle. colors in this order from top to bottom: brown, yellow, rosy pink, dark grey, tan off-white, dark grey, pale grey, light grey, grey. End ID]

an dimensen (link) gender system in the vein of the prince / princess / royal systems by @/pupyzu

made this cause i couldn't stop thinking about how cool it is sdfghj

Dimension hopper system genders are genders connected to being a dimension hopper of [ x ] / an [ x ] dimension hopper. they are connected to [ x ], [ x ] aesthetics, dimension hopper aesthetics, dimension aesthetics, and althood / dimhood.

These terms should be named as 'dihop[ x ]' or 'dimhop[ x ]' - for example, a subdimension dimension hopper system gender might be called 'dihopsubdimension' or 'dimhopsubdimension'. ( and here's a coining post for dihopsubdimension (link) )

@radiomogai , @calor-hour , @oneofmanyarchives , @rev-term-systems

[ID: a rosy pink line divider outlined in black. End ID]

[fivebecomesnone]

so... about this undertrack ticket system... could you explain it :00

BOY CAN I EVER

okay it's not THAT crazy but still

PART 1 - TICKET TYPES & WRITING

There are three ticket types:

Standard - It is a train ticket. It has a destination printed on it. You go from Point A to Point B. There's not much to say about this.

One-way - Technically all tickets are one way, but these are specifically for those escaping dying/collapsing/hostile/etc. realities. No destination, as it sorta works on a "get off where you like" system.

Railpass - For frequent travellers, often dimension hoppers that can't or don't want to travel under their own power. Infinite use, more like a keycard, has the user's info on the back.

Info is written on tickets in Mettaton's handwriting, which I've been drawing as fancy cursive + blue ballpoint pen, but you can interpret however you like.

PART 1.5 - DESTINATION

The format is [LETTER][LETTER][NUMBER]. This is a complicated system called an "Ace Attorney reference." You can use letters that feel representative of the AU, go ham, or pull from Ace Attorney cases (the Undertrack Official Canon™️ way).

PART 2 - CAR & AREA

okay i haven't worked this one out. just write funni numbers/letters that look realistic. good luck!

PART 3 - CLASS (THE GOOD STUFF)

hehehehoo.

The classification is split into two sections: Hazard + Hazard Level, and Accommodation. They are A-Z or 1-9. You can string together as many letters or numbers as applicable.

It serves as a quick summary of the passenger, although they generally also have a more detailed profile Somewhere in the system that can be pulled up as necessary.

Hazard is self explanatory: the risk that the passenger poses to the train or others. Can be voluntary or involuntary. It is accompanied by a 1-9 number, either overall or one-per-hazard.

Accommodation is what the passenger needs, either to survive (e.g. a fish needs water) or like a real-life accommodation (e.g. assistance navigating the train).

Without further ado: here they are!

Classification tips:

- Hazards are generally defined as "beyond what a (IRL) human could do". For example, I could grab someone and trap (E) them, but I'm not specifically adapted to do so.

- Don't worry about the number. It's just to make the system more realistic: if you don't like powerscaling, don't think too hard about it.

- If a character has a powerset like "can do all of these on command", you can just put down reality warping (major) or something similar.

- I used the left column as inspiration for the right, but they're not like. perfectly matching or anything.

- If you want me. to explain. PLEASE ask!!!

Hope you enjoyed! I will close with the art I've already made + blank templates to make your own. If anyone wants to design a Railpass back I'm travelling for a week, so be my guest!

[gingerteaonthetardis]

Headcanon (and I will die with this headcanon)- Rose absolutely saw Nine while dimension hopping and HE was the one to get her hopper locked onto the proper timeline, what with all his jiggery-pokery expertise... And then there was the bit with a little angsty hiccup from a meddling time-beetle! I think that's why she kept telling Donna that "this is wrong, it's so wrong." Because she knew Nine had made it work!

oh stop, this is so GOOD and something i'd never considered before!! i'll just go ahead and integrate that into my dw belief system...

[cr33pz-mck3nna]

I'm rewriting Glitchtale with no prior knowledge of it(and it's good?)

Mmm okayyyyy guess it's time to explain my actions and why you shouldn't burn me at the fucking stake-(and why you may just wind up being able to say "I hate Glitchtale except this AU in particular"....atleast I hope-)

So to explain, man I shouldn't even call this a Glitchtale rewrite, because I'll be honest...I know absolutely nothing about Glitchtale except Pink bitch and how her potential was WASTED!!! I don't even know her name! So I pretty much took pinkie pie over here and the Glitchtale name and said FUCK YOU to every other aspect of Glitchtale. Be aware harsh criticism is unwanted, the tags "DLDR" and "DLDI" are there for a reason, if you're a bitch you and your comment are getting blocked and deleted as to not offend anyone or sway their opinions on my AU due to your UNWANTED HARSH OPINIONS. And now, if I have your attention, without further ado..

Your story starts at the end of their story. Another genocide route and this time Sans is loosing. Frisk prepared themself for the final blow and Sans for his demise before the child suddenly stopped. Frisk, closed-eyed small child Frisk, suddenly opened their eyes and Sans felt pure dread for the first time in his life. That's not Frisk.

Staring back into the inky void that are his eyes was a pair of glowing pink eyes, doesn't sound normal ik but even less normal when you clarify that they were COMPLETELY PINK!!! Not even a shred of another color is those strange eyes... And suddenly they smirk at him, a smirk that slowly turns into a wicked grin as they raise their left hand, the reset button appearing for a second before a finger snaps and-

!!!FATAL ERROR!!!

System restart

....

MOD DETECTED!!

Starting....

Glitchtale Prime(REWRITE AU!!!)

Glitchtale Prime REWRITE AU or simply Glitchtale Prime or GPR follows a young woman, a dimension hopper as it seems, and a glitch in the system, Elizabeth Beverley, whom no one not even Sans himself knows who she is, what she is or where she came from. And a strange entity called "The Dreamer", or as Liz refers to them, VOID.

By the actions of Liz taking control of Frisk as you just saw and resetting a new AU was born, one where Frisk does not exist at all and Liz is instead the main character. In this AU Liz is a strange human, seemingly connected to the Ink and Error Sanses, who is possessed(?) by a virus-like entity of the sorts which is VOID and the two are accompanied in their travels by none other than Flowey who got his shit wrecked and now kisses ass bcs he's low-key terrified of Liz.

Liz's relationship with VOID is inspired alot by Cynessa(Murder Drones) while Liz's relationship with Flowey is inspired by the relationship between The Traveller and Paimon(Genshin Impact).

GPR takes place further into the Undertale timeline then most other AUs as Liz, having taken the place of Frisk, waited until she was a strong enough adult before falling down a fucking hole-

GPR is a prequel of sorts to a bigger project of mine, one that may very well never happen due to the sheer size, something I like to call Underverse Prime and so if anything comes of GPR just be aware that parts of Liz's backstory may change or not make sense until the story of her relative is told in UVPrime Act 1.

If you enjoyed this then please consider supporting as it will take much motivation for anything to come about this. And if you do like it let me know if I should start a separate blog for Undertale and specifically my AUs. Also one final note, considering GPR and UVPrime, proshippers can fuck off but shippers are very welcome, I'm quite curious to see what comes from any fanbase that may come from GPR or UVPrime!

Happy new year my lovely little gremlins! -Creepz

[bouncingbluebeast]

How do the Earth-Number designations in Marvel get decided?

((Is there like an inter-universe archiving system that dimension-hoppers started like an address book?

"Ah I took a wrong left at Earth-5 and had a run-in with Doctor Who, now I'm knocked all the way over to Earth-36510..."

I ask because I'm trying to figure out a "fan-number" I can use for my Hank without stepping on anyone's multidimensional toes.))

[athingimdoingnow]

Day 2: Oops! All tropes!

Today we have a real one page ttrpg. I have read it already, but I’m going to reread it closely.  Also just for your information this one is FREE read it before my review if you want, I think it’s like 5 minutes max. Check it out. Why not?

This is technically a TTRPG.

So it’s about fandom, of course, specifically fanfic, and the idea is to be a dimension hopper and get endings per world. What are the worlds? Determined by fandom and tropes, which there is a handy linked perchance site for (only for tropes, fandoms determined per group). What’s the goal? To… get an ending, and move to the next world. So it’s a theoretically light, simple one, very rules-light, and I will be evaluating it at least partially as a one-person TTRPG. For those unfamiliar one person TTRPGs are more like journals or writing experiences with dice mechanics attached (though there are no dice attached in this one). I think it could easily be played with multiple people but also as a one-woman, so that’s important here.

Anyway.

Originality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I mean it’s a fanfic TTRPG. I will be flabbergasted if I run into even a single one of those again across all my systems.

Mechanics: ⁉️

Day two and I am already inventing new rankings. So. This game does not have mechanics. Not even a little. There are no dice, there are no stats, there are no encounters, there is not even a character sheet really. It feels more like a writing exercise or fun text-based RP you’d have with a friend than… a TTRPG. 

Replayability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay so look. It might be literally not a TTRPG in many ways. However, you cannot look me in the eye and tell me that the idea of spinning a wheel for a fandom and a wheel for a trope and playing as some sort of meddling dimension hopper does not lead to incredible replayability. I mean have you seen the amount of fanfic on AO3? I haven’t, and I’ve been on there for years. I haven’t seen a fraction! So sure, it’s replayable.

Variance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Theoretically even if you roll the same trope it would be for a different fandom. You gotta put in some elbow grease for this, but there’s immense variance just in a single run from “session to session” (doesn’t really have formalized sessions), so making a whole new character or playing with a different group of people would yield entirely different results.

Character Creation: ⭐

One ability and one disadvantage with three (pre-built) options to choose from for each. You have to put in a lot of legwork on your own, there’s no mechanical nuance (naturally), there’s not really gonna be anything, unless you, the player, are very invested and flesh out the character on your own. In all fairness that’s definitely the way to enjoy this game, and how I would play it. However, one must meet the game where its at, in a vacuum, and this one isn’t it.

Overall: ⭐⭐

I wanna give this one a higher score because I think it’s awesome but it’s a one-pager with no mechanics, I think I’m obliged to keep it low. The creator has not made anything since this, which is a real shame! They at least haven’t put it out on itch.io. This is notably their first ttrpg, and it’s super interesting and seems fun, even if I think it’s lacking as an actual system, so I hope in the future they invest more heavily into a mechanical side. (Also it was put out like two months ago so this might be a hasty thing to say “aw man I hope they make more” about, admittedly)

Quick aside, mechanics can be narrative based. I’ve seen narrative-based tarot card systems, but that’s still mechanically satisfying and explains how you play the game very clearly. Just figure I should clarify while we’re early on. Anyway.

Check out the page!

This one is FREE, did I mention it’s FREE?

Oops! All Tropes! by AnalogCG

[stoneyweezin]

when i think of a stereotypical stoner i think of pauly shore in encino man. like saying “don’t tax my gig so hardcore cruster” is my favorite thing in the world so… i present to you stoner!reader being adopted into the party (before argyle of course) and more than likely pissing off all the adults.

-

𝘋𝘖𝘕𝘛 𝘉𝘌 𝘚𝘜𝘊𝘏 𝘈 𝘚𝘘𝘜𝘈𝘙𝘌

not proofread

mentions of drug usage. reader is of age.

⋆⁺₊⋆☽⋆ ⋆☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆☽⋆ ⋆☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆☽⋆ ⋆☾⋆⁺₊⋆

first person to catch on to your antics was eddie.

he saw how you were the most functioning high person he’s ever seen.

specifically because his bud would have him pretty chilled out.

it was a dead giveaway after you all had basically fought in an alternate dimension and all you could say was

“these vibes are so grody.”

your tongue sticking out as you fake gagged

on the top side, they had entered the upside down through your closet, surprisingly. billy and steve standing watch, while simultaneously hating each other.

the room smelled like your favorite scent and weed.

steve knowing the smell all to well while it took billy a minute to catch on.

not really liking you or the party but mainly was in it to protect max and also himself from getting possessed again

he mainly didn’t like you because while he was in recovery you told him he looked like “sunshine in a bar”

whatever the hell that meant

but he took it wrong and from that point resented you and your stupid curly hair

speaking of your curly hair… you’d hide joints in it

eddie was jealous he hadn’t thought of it first

mainly picking into your fro hoping you had a spare, which resulted in you two slapping at each others hands like cats in an alleyway

joyce had pulled her humorous moments from you

enjoying how you panicked not so much compared to the rest of the group when things were getting hectic

hopper was sick and tired of you being an absolute ditz at times

you’d look at him with so much confusion when he’d speak, he felt his inner cop wanting out

“ hey hopper, my pal, i get you’re a narc but this is life or death here… i prefer going out with a lil kick in my system yeah?”

he couldn’t stand you and your teenage madness

el had her times where you made her laugh even though she was fighting for her life and others

“hear me out primo, you got some abilities nobody else has. now does that make us useful? not at all but we’ve got heart. we fight, you fight, it’s fair game.”

for some reason pep talks from a person buzzed out their mind was a lot more genuine

it was even once with billy, the brawn, didn’t want anyone to see him panicking about going into the creel house

feeling slight guilt about max being the target after all her trauma…

hence him almost dying

“you freaking out aren’t you?”

“fuck off.”

“hey don’t be so sharp! if it were up to me i’d have you smoked like a chimney but i get you’re struggling buddy.”

your hand would lazily lay on his shoulder as you two sat in front of the creel house

he’d lean into your hand unconsciously but ignoring the look on your face

when the earthquake happened, your house basically fell apart

steve offered you to stay in his house

his parents taking you in with crooked grins because of the fact you were clearly a stoner

it was nights after the earthquake where you’d lay on his floor and talk about everything

“i mean… el is pretty rad. she closed an entire gate to a world just because the chick was pissed creatures were fuckin with her friends.”

steve would nod as he watched you blabber

“if you had powers what would you have?”

your elbows would be at the edge of his bed, eyes gazing into his before his lips would go into a thoughtful flat line

“uh… i don’t know what’s that one power rogue has”

“that chick with the white piece in her hair? so a copycat”

“no not a copycat”

“soooo a copycat.”

you’d fall on the floor giggling at steve trying to save his reasoning

after everything you’d all often help out at the school, sometimes going out and looking for any survivors

obviously you and eddie would catch yourselves sparking up

billy wanting in but once in a blue moon, as well as steve.

[its-me-renmimi]

Branchoisen & Dimhopbranchois

Branchoisen - A gender under the dimensen umbrella related to infinite parallel and/or alternate realities branching off from one’s own based off of the choices one makes.

Dimhopbranchois - A gender in the dimension hopper system; being a dimension hopper of branching universes. They are connected to branching universes, branching universes aesthetics, dimension hopper aesthetics, dimension aesthetics, and althood / dimhood. 

Day 5 (Dec 14th): A gender within your fav gender system that fits your blorbo's "vibes" | @mousesquared Tagging: @revenant-coining / @rescanwriter / @gamercod

Think you know what characters inspired these terms? Feel free to send me your guesses! Any time from now until ~5 days after the end of the event (Dec 24th 2023) ^^

[en8y]

[IMAGE ID: two horizontal flags with nine stripes; each flag has an icon of a robotic arm in the center. it is outlined in dark red, with red-orange, orange, and light yellow accents. the middle stripe is twice as large as the rest of them, which are equally sized. the first flag has these top three colors: warm brown, warm yellow, and orange-pink. the second flag has these top three colors: purple-pink, deep pink, and bright light green. each flag has these bottom six stripes: red-orange, off-white, red-orange, light orange, orange-yellow, and bright yellow. END ID.]

dihopanitronic: a gender connected to being an animatronic dimension hopper; this gender is connected to animatronics, animatronic aesthetics, dimension hopper aesthetics, dimension aesthetics, and althood/dimhood!

darlianitronic: a gender connected to being an animatronic darling; this gender is connected to animatronics, animatronic aesthetics, darling aesthetics, lovecore aesthetics, and dasimhood!

@radiomogai @liom-archive @obscurian

[castleclerics]

brenner being in charge of the UD ?? and his dimensional wizardry

ok i rly wanted to spend more time on this and round out an exact theory and timeline of events but i cannot spend any more time on this bc every time i do i get a headache so apologizes if this is a little all over the place and sounds more like i was jotting down notes lmao

so “turnbow” means “dry stream”

this storm drain literally being a dry stream

HNL being parallelled to UD here since they're talking about will (very possible subtext about him going through the gate the demogorgon opened up in the shed, into the UD to hide from it.) and hopper going to the other side of the drain on the inside of the HNL fence to check for will, them lying making it seem like it will isn't "there" (but he is)

UM.. LMAO… vecna literally being in charge of the UD/hivemind system ?? hello brecna???!

henry saying this about mayor kline. (ALSO HIM GETTING THROWN IN A COP CAR LIKE OFF TO JAIL IS CRAZYYY SINCE THE MIND IS A PRISON/LOST IN THE DARKNESS LMAOO) then hopper goes "you can protest all you want henry you just gotta go through the proper channels first." literally henry being "released from his prison" by el as brenner says (his fault).

and this????

it’s interesting that the russians were rly just using kline to pave their way into hawkins and in my humble opinion i see the russians in the show as representative of either the undead army or UD monsters, so brenner may be their way into hawkins (the visions vecna showed nancy of the monsters in their neighborhoods) or he may be intrinsically tied to them which only makes sense with all of the brenner is literally a dnd monster theories etc. especially this absolutely beautiful one

mayor kline also gets called a "swine" a LOT by the protesters, it's literally their chant, and henry is stood in front of everyone, leading it. "swine" is very representative of the virus of the hivemind, makes sense if brenner has parallels to kline. brenner himself is spreading this virus.

also knowing that brenner has his fixation with dimension x in TFS and starting out in nevada then moving to hawkins (this is just my base knowledge i haven't seen it yet very unfortunately )):) and wanting to open gate to it like the russians in s3

so putting all that together...

ummmmm something something brenner is vecna in his weird cosmic alien undead twinner way for the 45436345 time and i want to go home

something something idk when but brenner throwing henwart out of UD and clearing the dimension and throwing the people out of that timeline turning them into the "undead army" then a gate opens into their world so that's the only place they can go. (“you shouldn’t have looked for me because now i can see you, now we can all see you.” “you let us in and now you’re going to have to let us stay” etc. but it wasn’t el’s fault it was brenner’s) and if i’m somewhat right why did brenner do that. for what. and you did this for what. control??? that's all he wants control.... YEAH MAYBE OVER AN ENTIRE DIMENSION LOL

kline throwing people who run small businesses under the bus thus ruining the town and letting russians pave way into hawkins to open a gate = brenner throwing henry + whole population of hawkins out of UD timeline thus letting vecna and them pave way into normal hawkins in s5 hello literally:

now that vecna’s body is destroyed and his mindscape evaporated from el’s void when he “died” now what?

would it be too insane to say that brenner will take vecna’s place in s5 thus becoming the next ruler? and being in charge of the UD especially with all the realty references in the show… and brenner being "dead" literally gives him the opportunity to be reborn into a new body/a new timeline. hello can anyoen hear me.

was brenner once ruler of UD then vecna took his spot so now he's taking back his spot????????

hopper saying this feels indicative of that governing that brenner may already (??) have on the UD since it's a "re-election". kline's supporters won't like that he forced the protesters off without shunning them, but kline says when he throws the big fourth of july bash, that's all the voters will remember.

the other times we've seen an election in this show includes the one in s2. with signs all over saying "vote here nov 6"

this all seems like pretty strictly s5 stuff but i think it's huge. the idea of there being sides and a choice/vote.

now, i believe on nov 6, there was a splitting of a dimension. i'm not gonna get into that right now bc it would be a post even longer than this so just stick with me...

idk who exactly the "voters" will be but "the fourth of july bash is all they would remember" literally independence day, representing nov 6, the day the rightside up and upside down got their independence from e/o.... and all of that has to do with the realty and land stuff like!!!! and brenner is involved heavily dude

the fair also serves as a major distraction since there are literally russians killing people in the middle of it. this also includes the fireworks as holly sees the trees moving but karen tells her to look back up at the fireworks.

idk all of this is giving of vibe of brenner like "no one will remember me cutting off the UD timeline because all they'll care about is that i "saved" our world from theirs. (even though he did exactly the opposite, just like kline letting russians in)

something something the town being oblivious and unaware of the undead army living amongst them in s5 due to the ruler of their town because they're being distracted because of something he does in relation to the independence of their nation..... the new radio station being run by HNL which will definitely be a distraction.....

lastly, some imagery of brenner taking over:

s4 starts and ends the same way.

the visual of brenner literally turning back time then it starting to come back to 0 just like how once max dies, the clock in the UD starts resuming time (at least the seconds do, the other hands don't move, but still it's moving) and the gates start spreading. and they make sure to have the ticking of it the whole time brenner is doing the crossword puzzle, CROSSWORD like dimensions and gates intersecting each other!!!!! just like all of the clock sounds happening as the gates expand.

then he finishes crossing the worlds i mean words right as the timer dings (like the gates connecting at the library with the clocktower and final clock sound as the gates sends a final shockwave yayyy) and sets down his pencil.

after, he starts getting ready for the day. almost like it's showtime, it's his turn now.

also the paperboy throws a lot of newspapers but they zoom in on four houses at the end, the fourth being brenner's door before he opens it :)

also just thinking about "the piggyback" and how there were several examples of characters piggybacking (el off of max, mike off of will's speech, etc.) what if brenner piggybacks off of vecna and his "death"?

i'm tired

[henrysglock]

The First Shadow's Fucked-Up Time Frame

Pulling this out of my time-loop post for reference reasons.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

We all know the TFS timeline is messy as hell and doesn't actually align with anything that's possible in filmed canon...or within its own time span, even.

For example, the attack on Mr. Newby happens both some point after October 1st, 1959 and before November 20th, 1959...but the papers for the incident report it on March 20th, 1958:

The timeline we're given also largely fabricated, as I pointed out in relation to the newspapers with dates that don't actually exist.

However, much like NINA, the sequence itself being fake doesn't mean the events didn't happen. It's just not happening in the time frame we're told it's happening in:

It's a set of real events, just portrayed on a different time scale.

The paper about the attack on Mr. Newby, dated March 20th, 1958, is released exactly 610 days, or 20 months, prior to the Creel murders on November 20th, 1959. It's not necessarily the exact dates that are important here (again, these dates are relatively unreliable), but the gap between the dates.

When put in accordance with filmed dates(i.e. setting the release of this paper exactly 610 days prior to March 22nd of 1959), the paper for the attack on Mr. Newby would have been released on July 20th, 1957. This would be in line with Edward Creel's move to Hawkins in the spring of 1957.

This July date is especially funny to me considering we get "throwaway" lines like this...with shots in filmed canon from summer-time:

Top: Joyce and Jim beginning their investigation into the attic attack. Hopper Sr. is questioning why Joyce and Jim are investigating, rather than attending school. Bottom: Alice and Henry with the rabbit death scenes in filmed canon, the setting showing full foliage and both children in summer clothing. "Is it summer break?" I don't know. You tell me, Chief.

Per TFS, Henry went missing in a cave system near his home town of Rachel, Nevada (didn't exist until the 70s, but we're looking past that for now) at some point in the year prior to the attack on Mr. Newby. We've been told that Dimension X was involved in this event in Nevada, something happened there that left "Henry" altered physically. He was also flayed at some point around this time.

This all coincides with Henry's dramatic mood shift from a "normal and good" boy to one suffering from Mindflayer-induced psychosis. This change happened in tandem with the Nevada incident, dating back 10 months prior to the attack on Mr. Newby:

If we set Henry's initial disappearance in line with filmed canon like before, it becomes September of 1956.

New additions:

If we apply the 610 day rule to Henry's "first day of school", then Oct. 1st, 1959, becomes Jan. 29th, 1958, which is over a year before the Creel murders on March 22nd, 1959, but well after the attic attack on July 20th, 1957. So that's a no-go.

However, if we sequester that pattern to the newspapers and instead apply the "Henry moved to Hawkins 8 months after his disappearance" (See: Moving in Oct. 1 and being taken in by the lab Nov. 20th/Dec. 2nd making exactly 2 months, give-or-take), we get a move-in date somewhere in late May of 1957.

Picture me making THE single most deadpan face staring at "We'll retcon Will's birthday to May 22nd" AND all of the weirdness about the on-screen Creel family's move-in day looking like May-June.

[hbyrde36]

Times Like These (The Anniversary Edition)

CH 1 CH 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10

Chapter 11: Broken

WC: 4999 | AO3 link

The house was a flurry of activity, with everyone rushing around to make their final preparations as the clock ticked down to dusk when they would set off for Benny’s to put their plan into motion one last time. 

At least Eddie hoped this would be the last time. 

He didn’t see Steve again until they arrived at the old abandoned burger place and started unloading the sound system, speakers, and wire from the back of his van, stacking it all near the gate that led to the Upside Down. 

Hopper and Nancy stood guard with weapons drawn as he and Steve traversed back and forth into the other dimension, making sure everything was set up and ready to go for Robin and Chrissy to provide the distraction that would draw the bats away from Vecna’s lair.

They stole sideways glances at each other as they worked, not speaking or even properly making eye contact until El pulled them both aside to talk.

“It does not change much from your side of things, but I wanted to explain. I will not be piggybacking into Eddie’s mind. I will wait until Henry is distracted and go into his mind directly.”

Eddie tilted his head, impressed. It was a good idea to change tactics. “Like sneaking in the back door while he’s looking out the front. Okay, yeah, I get it.”

“Yes!” She agreed brightly. “Since he has seen in your mind and has an idea of our plan he will be looking for me in your memories, while I will be sneaking in through his.”

“So what do you need me to do?”

“You still need to think of some happy memories to hide in. The longer you keep him busy, the more time I have to get close before he realizes. The important thing is, you must keep moving, do not let him get too close. I will not be looking for you, so you will be on your own. Jonathan will signal Joyce again with the flashlight when it is time for Steve to pull you out.”

She held Eddie’s gaze firmly until he nodded his understanding, then turned to Steve. “But—If he starts to float, do not wait. Pull him out right away.”

Steve dipped his chin. “I will.” 

“What if you need more time?” Eddie asked. 

“I won’t.” She insisted, her tone leaving no room for argument.

All too soon it was time to separate, the goodbyes and good lucks a bit more somber this time around without the rest of the kids there to witness it.

Hopper gave Eddie an unexpected pat on the back before walking off with Joyce to share a private moment by the cars. Jonathan shook his hand, while Nancy gave him a warm smile and a squeeze on the arm before the two of them wandered off as well, keeping an eye on El while she waited for her dad.  

Robin was the next to approach, pulling him into a surprisingly tight hug, and whispering a quiet “good luck” before giving up her place to Chrissy and making her way over to where Steve stood.

Chrissy took him into her arms, rocking them side to side as she buried her face in his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing her in as he held her back, this precious girl, the only constant he’d really allowed himself to have this go around. She whispered soft words of encouragement to him, making him promise to stay safe while he did the same to her.

When they finally broke apart he found himself staring over her shoulder at the place where he and Steve had shared their own emotional goodbye in the last loop, the moment everything had changed, when he’d been cradled so gently in the other boy’s arms. 

It was the same spot where Steve stood now, holding Robin this time, as they too made quiet promises to each other to be careful, where he gave her his baby, his precious nail bat to protect herself with, because weapons would be of no use to him where they were going, wouldn’t help if and when Eddie started to float. 

“Remember, no matter what happens, one way or another I’ll see you on the other side.” Chrissy said, drawing his attention back.

He tried to smile at her, to nod, but the pit in his stomach wouldn’t allow for much more than a twitch of his upper lip. He took her hand instead, squeezed it. 

“See you on the other side, Chris.”

He looked up again to find Steve’s eyes on him now too, and they walked together in silence to Steve’s car, Joyce already waiting for them in the passenger seat. 

Eddie did his best to clear his head on the way to the Creel house, staring out the window as he cataloged the happiest moments of his life, pretending not to notice the way Steve kept trying to catch his eye in the rear view mirror.

To be extra safe, they parked Steve’s BMW behind the dilapidated house where it couldn't be seen from the street. There was no reason to think Jason would be out looking for them this time, but they were taking no risks. 

Before they parted in the front yard, her for the jungle gym across the street, and them for the attic where they suspected Vecna would be lurking on the other side, Joyce faced them both and smiled.  

“You can do this honey, I know you can,” she said, cupping Eddie’s cheek with one hand before doing the same to Steve with her other. “Take care of each other up there. I’ll come check on you after the final signal.”

-

Eddie could feel Steve's gaze on him again, the weight of it heavy, as they held their lamps aloft and carefully climbed the stairs to the attic. They had to be as quiet as possible, so as not to draw Vecna’s attention before the others were ready.

They took up positions by a window, leaning against the wall on either side of it so they could see out to where Joyce was waiting to signal them, and after a moment of eerie silence, where they could hear nothing but the barest of sounds emanating from both of their headphones, Steve pulled a notebook and pen out of the inner pocket of his jacket, scribbling something on it quickly before holding it out to Eddie.

Scared?

Eddie made no move to take the pad out of his hand, only stared down at the single word inked there in stark black on the white page. He swallowed hard, shrugging as he looked away from Steve’s penetrating stare. 

Of course he was scared, he wanted to say. He was fucking terrified. 

That their plan wouldn’t work—that it would. 

That he’d die and it would all start over again—that he’d die and it wouldn’t, no more 1ups, game over.

Steve pulled the notebook back to himself, flipped to a fresh page and wrote again, shoving both the pad and pen forcibly into Eddie’s hands, as if to say he wouldn’t take silence for an answer this time. 

Why didn’t you want me here?

Though they were more than fair, the words stung to see. 

God—Eddie had really fucked up, hadn’t he? And it wasn’t like this was the first time it occurred to him that he’d handled things badly this time around, he was well aware, but it was hitting him hard now as Steve stared at him, looking so hurt and angry. 

But what could he do? They were out of time for confessions or explanations. 

Eddie wrote back, knowing his short apology was entirely inadequate, but it was all he could offer under the current circumstances. 

I'm sorry, It’s complicated. 

Steve read the note with a clenched jaw, shaking his head.

The signal came then, three flashes through the window from Joyce, and Eddie was officially out of time. He met Steve’s wounded gaze and wished he’d been brave enough to do it all differently. 

At that moment Eddie made up his mind, and maybe it was a little—or a lot—too late, but he decided this was it, it was going to work this time. He could do this, El could do this, they could all do this. And when it was over he would tell Steve everything—all of it. From what they’d been to each other once—what he’d hoped they’d been at least—to how he felt about him now. He would hold nothing back, and whatever would be, would be. At least then he could say he’d tried.

Steve started to tuck the notepad away but Eddie reached out to grip his wrist, stopping him, and gently pried it out of his hand, jotting his last words down as quickly as he could. 

He pressed the pad of paper back into Steve’s grip, holding it for a few beats longer than necessary, letting their touch linger as he looked deep into Steve’s eyes one last time, pleading with him to understand. 

I AM sorry. Talk later? Let me explain?

Steve pursed his lips, face softening slightly as he took the words in. 

Suddenly there was another flash on the window, Joyce signaling them again with her light. They needed to hurry. 

Eddie gave Steve a sad smile, wordlessly removing his headphones and handing them over along with the Walkman he unclipped from his belt. He turned, feeling safe with Steve at his back and looked up into the rafters—could almost picture Vecna hanging there by all his tentacle-like vines in the other dimension.  

“Okay asshole, I’m here—no music. You win. I give up.”

Eddie waited—thirty seconds, a minute—to see if anything would happen, but of course it wouldn’t be that easy. 

It was always going to be a long shot, making Vecna believe he was actually here surrendering. The enemy knew their plan, had seen it play out in different ways through Eddie’s own memories. If he was going to pull this off, he’d really have to sell it.

He took a deep breath and opened himself wide, letting the pain he’d been collecting like rain water fill his heart to spread throughout his chest, running through his veins like a raging river. All those things he’d tried to push down, and hold back, and sure, they’d spilled over once or twice over the course of days but now he let it flow freely. He thought about it all—the terror of seeing Chrissy succumb not once, not twice, but three times on his watch. He recalled his own deaths too, how he’d known on some level exactly what end he was sentencing himself to when he’d cut the rope, leaving Dustin safely behind as he went to lead the bats away. 

He remembered every moment of failure from the first loop to this one in vivid detail.

And Steve. 

He thought of Steve, and let Dustin’s voice fill his head again, weakly crying out, He’s gone.

Eddie sniffled, choking back tears as he took a few shaking steps forward, closer to where Vecna should be, and away from his heart, dragging his feet through the thick coating of dust on the old wood floor. 

“I thought about what you said, about this being my fate?” His voice, though hollow and ruined, was loud in the unnatural silence of the room. 

“You were right—” He shook his head, dropping his voice low, almost a whisper. “Of course you were right. I’m no hero. I can’t save anyone—I can’t even save myself.”

There was a shuffling behind him as Steve moved. Eddie didn't turn to see but he could feel the other boy getting closer and held out a hand to ward him off. The movement stopped immediately.

Eddie hung his head, listening, standing stock-still as seconds gave way to minutes, and still nothing. 

Panic began to set in. Their whole plan was hinging on this, it all fell apart if he didn’t get Vecna on the hook.

“Come on goddammit!” He shouted, kicking an old coffee can full of nails clear across the room with a loud clatter. “You offered to end my suffering and I want–I want out… whatever it takes. I just want it to be over!”

One deep breath.

Two. 

“What are you waiting for?! You want me to beg? I’m begging! Take me you motherfucker!”

Another sound, a creak and a footstep, the air behind him shifting. Eddie readied to wave Steve off again but the other boy started to speak before he could even lift his arm. 

“I knew it. I knew it shouldn’t be you.” Steve snarled. “You can’t even play bait right. Have you always been such a complete and utter failure, Eddie?”

Eddie knew better than to fall for it this time, and he knew Steve better than to think he’d ever say anything to him with that level of vitriol in his voice, no matter what he’d done.

The guy was good, though. Eddie had to give him that. Subtle, just like before he had no way of knowing exactly when it’d happened but he was in Vecna’s thrall now. 

It was time.

He backed away from the thing that had again stolen Steve's beautiful face and turned it into something twisted, slamming his eyes shut against the image, doing his best to conjure up the first good memory in his arsenal. 

He sat across from Wayne at the little two-seater table in the kitchen in the trailer—a room in a place that was so comfortable and familiar to him now, but on this day, his 12th birthday, still hadn’t quite felt like home yet. Wayne had to work that night, couldn't afford to take the time off, but did his best to make the day a special one for his nephew anyway. He’d woken up much earlier than usual and taken Eddie into town, so he could spend what few quarters he’d managed to scrounge up playing games at the arcade. Now they were back, about to dig into a small but decadent triple chocolate cake, Eddie’s favorite, after splitting a couple cans of SpaghettiOs for dinner—Eddie’s other favorite.

He didn’t expect to receive any gifts. 

It was already the best birthday he’d ever had, and his only wish when blowing out his single birthday candle had been that he get to stay with Wayne forever, and maybe return the favor someday—take care of Wayne when he was old and Eddie was grown. 

But though he hadn’t been expecting any presents, he’d be lying if he said that the guitar Wayne gave him that night wasn’t the best one he’d ever received. Before leaving for work that night Wayne showed him three chords—G, C, and D, and told him if he could master those he’d be able to play something like half the songs on the radio. 

Eddie nodded reverently, and Wayne chuckled, dropping a kiss on the top of his head before leaving for his shift. 

He practiced those damn chords until his fingers bled, and loved every minute of it. It was still his happiest birthday to date.  

The trailer faded away and suddenly he was in the backstage area of the Hawkins Middle School auditorium, waiting for his turn to go on at the annual talent show. 

The other two members of his band stood watching the other acts from the wings with wide eyes, but Eddie? He was transfixed by Chrissy Cunningham as she rehearsed, twirling her pink glittery batton with incredible precision, throwing it up high in the air, and catching it with ease each time.

Until the one time she didn’t, and the stick bounced off of her palm and landed right at his feet. Eddie smiled and quickly bent to pick it up, moving to hand it back but as she reached out began to twirl it between his fingers like it was a drumstick, a skill developed out of boredom and as a way to hone the kind of dexterity he needed in his hands to play the type of music he loved. 

She giggled, clapping at his display when he bowed and returned the tool of her trade. 

He liked making her laugh, he realized—just plain liked her full stop, actually.

They sat and talked as they waited their turns and Eddie discovered that Chrissy was kind, and as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. He found himself wishing they could be friends, as dumb an idea as that was. She was a cheerleader, a popular kid, top of the food chain, and he was already well on his way to earning the title of Freak. They could never be friends, save for these few stolen moments behind the big black curtain. 

Except Eddie knew better now. They would be friends someday, best friends if he had anything to say about it. For a moment he wished he could go back for real, tell that little boy and girl how they’ll save each other—how much they’ll come to mean to each other one day. 

The theater lights went out, throwing the backstage area into an abrupt twilight as the scene around him shifted and changed—no longer age-worn linoleum cracking under his sneakers, now his bare feet rested on soft carpet, the walls surrounding him covered in the most hideous plaid wallpaper.

It was dark, the room unlit save for a few slivers of moonlight peaking in between the blinds as he climbed into the bed where Steve already lay. It was a night from exactly one week ago, in the previous loop, the last one they’d spent together before dying. 

Steve pulled him close, wrapping him up in his arms, entwining their legs until Eddie didn’t know where he ended and Steve began. 

It all felt so real, and so good. Like coming home. 

Steve was warm and solid and when Eddie nuzzled into his neck he didn’t pull away, he leaned in, rubbing his cheek against Eddie’s hair and pressing lips to it. 

It would have been easy to stay there in that memory as long as possible, but the fear of Vecna showing up and tainting it in some way was enough of a motivator to have Eddie wracking his brain for the next happy thought. 

He hadn’t really prepared for more than this, he wasn’t exactly a walking fount of good times, and it felt like he’d already been stuck in this mindscape, or whatever it was, for too long—but he tried. 

The only thing on his mind now was SteveSteveSteve, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when he blinked and found himself back behind Benny’s getting ready to head into the Upside Down, only to hear those two little words fall from Steve’s lips right behind him again. 

“Eddie, wait.”

He smiled to himself, waiting for the familiar touch of Steve’s hand on his elbow but it never came, instead there was a cool rattling breath on the back of his neck. 

Eddie whirled, gasping at the sight and scrambled backwards to get away from the vile creature that was now in front of him, much too close for comfort. Vecna, in his true form, a humanoid nightmare covered in taut sinewy flesh and raw meat.

His heart pounded and panic crawled up his throat like bile as he backed into the building, his hands slapping at the wall, searching for the gate that should be there. He just needed to get away, get enough distance between them so he could think, maybe come up with another memory to hide him. 

But then the wall was gone, something more like wet tree bark beneath his hands now. His vision swam, the light around him growing and changing, the sky no longer the blues and pinks of dusk—he was surrounded by a blood red haze. 

His fingers kept searching anyway until they brushed up against cold dead skin. He recoiled, screaming, and looked back to find the body of Fred Benson wrapped up in vines, and mounted like a trophy on a pole. 

This was not his memory, he’d never seen this place before, but needed only one guess to figure out where he was. No longer stuck in his own mind he must be in Vecna’s now, with no idea how to get out. 

A rushing sound filled the space between his ears, the rhythmic whooshing of blood as it pumped through his body, so loud inside his own head.

There was a thing out there that could help him, it was… it was right there on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t—

His vision narrowed, the world whiting out around him, tipping on its side and he felt himself falling—falling for much longer than it should have taken to hit the ground. 

He landed on his back, blinking hard and tried to sit up, but he was so tired. He’d been running—hiding from something. He was almost sure. 

A familiar sound began far off in the distance, he strained to hear it, tried to recognize it, but his own pulse was still so loud and distracting. 

A pair of legs in jeans and sneakers—moving, alive—a girl, came into view.

He shrank away from her, unsure.

“Eddie? You shouldn’t be here. It’s time for you to go.”

“I don’t—how—what?”

Oh. 

The girl was El, she was his friend. He couldn’t remember before, couldn't seem to think straight.

“El,” he breathed, as she helped him to stand, shaking his head to try and clear some of the fog. “I–I don’t feel so good.”

“He’s dying, Eleven.” Vecna’s deep rasping voice boomed nearby as he approached them. “You can’t even save one of your friends, yet you expect to stop me?”

He raised a long gnarled claw in Eddie’s direction but El stepped in front, mirroring him with her own hand raised, the force of their power like a shimmering heat in the air between them.

Suddenly the strange noise got louder, and it wasn’t just noise, Eddie could make out the vocals now, the beating of the drums, the thrashing of the guitar.

“You hear it, the music?” Eleven shouted to him as she continued to hold Vecna at bay. “That is Steve calling you back to him. Look for him, Eddie. Find the way out. You have to hurry.”

The more he concentrated on it the better he could hear the rhythm and pulse of Master of Puppets being pumped into this place, beckoning to him—Steve and Joyce too, shouting his name—and he felt a little more like himself.

“What about you?” Eddie asked.

“I’ve got this.” She said, never taking her eyes off her target. In the next instant she let out a primal scream, a fierce shriek unlike anything he’d ever heard before, and Vecna went flying up in the air, his arms seemingly pinned to his sides. 

Eddie cast his gaze around wildly, looking for anything out of place in this hellscape, and finally spotted a faint light on the horizon that had to be his portal. He ran. It was a long way off but he gave it everything he had, arms pumping, legs burning. 

He stumbled, woozy and lightheaded, but caught himself—kept going. 

As he got close he could see himself floating there in the attic, Steve clinging to his leg, reaching for his hand, and without a second thought hurled himself head first into the mirage.

-

Eddie took a deep shuddering breath.

It was dark.

He was cold.

He couldn't feel anything.

“Steve?” He sobbed.

“I’m here, I’m here.”

Arms tightened around him and suddenly Eddie could feel again, everywhere Steve touched him at least, and something hot and wet that was dripping down his face. 

It was still dark.

“I can’t–I can’t see anything.”

Steve rocked him gently. “You’re safe. You’re safe, I’ve got you.”

He tried to move, to touch back, but there was an awful grinding pain.

Eddie hissed. “My arm—”

“Don’t try to move, okay? I don’t–” Steve's chest shook, Eddie thought he might be crying. “I don’t know how badly you’re hurt yet–”

It all went quiet abruptly.

Eddie drifted in the dark. It was a lot like the place he went between loops. 

“Eddie? Eddie?!”

He came back to himself with Steve shaking him, screaming his name. He tried to respond but every effort felt like far too much. Maybe he was dying again. If so, at least this time it would be in Steve’s arms. 

There were far worse ways to go.  

-

Eddie woke up.

It was a first for him, at least in recent experience, to wake up from unconsciousness in a hospital like a normal person instead of falling back into his body in the past.

His head ached but it was a distant thing, thanks to good ol’ prescription painkillers no doubt.

He blinked his eyes open slowly, a little stunned that he could see at all, but it was blurry and unfocused. There was a shapeless form wearing Steve’s clothes asleep in a chair by his bed, what looked like Robin in another by the door. He wondered how long he’d been out, if it was the same night. He tried to raise his arm, to reach for Steve even though he was too far away. But the arm was too heavy in its cast.

He fell asleep before he could try again. 

When he roused next, it was to low voices arguing quietly nearby.

“You don’t know that.”

“Seems pretty fucking clear to me, Robin. I’m–I'm gonna go. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Steve–”

“Don’t! Just—call me if anything happens?”

“Okay.”

A door closed, heavy and final.

That didn’t sound good. 

Eddie burned to know what they were talking about but sleep once again sucked him under mid-thought.

-

When he woke for good the sun was shining in through the windows, and Wayne, Chrissy, Robin, and Dustin were all sitting around his bed. He could see again.

It was Wayne who first noticed the change, jumping up out of his chair to hover over him.

“Boy you ever scare me like that again I'll kill you myself, you hear me?” The man muttered as he leaned down to give him a hug.

Eddie chuckled hoarsely into his uncle's shoulder, and could have cried with how happy he was to see him and his familiar gray stubble, the smell of Marlboro Reds wafting off his jacket. “I missed you too, old man.”

“You-all keep an eye on him,” Wayne said to the small crowd as he headed for the room’s door. “I’ll go and tell the nurse you’re awake.” 

Like he was going to get up and run away. 

Eddie carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position with his one good arm, surprised to find he wasn’t feeling worse. 

“What happened?” He asked, now that they were alone.

“They got him!” Chrissy beamed. 

“Hopper said they burned what they could–” Dustin elaborated, swallowing thickly. “And chopped the rest up into little pieces after El destroyed his mind. It’s over, for real this time.” 

Eddie sagged in relief, sinking back into his pillow.

“Oh thank fuck. Do you think that means the rest of it’s over too, the loops I mean? I don’t think I can do it again, man.”

“Well, since we don’t know what caused you to start looping to begin with there’s no way to know for sure, but if the catalyst is you dying, and here you are very much alive even if you did give us quite the fucking scare you asshole!” Dustin swatted him in the shoulder above his cast.

“Hey! Watch the goods!”

“I would say odds are you're safe from having to go back again. As long as you don’t, y’know, die for a while.” 

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Eddie grinned, hoping to draw a smile out of the kid, but he remained solemn and serious.

“Good.” Dustin said, flatly.

Eddie sighed. “Dustin, I–”

“We almost lost you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Eddie wanted to say more, but voices could be heard making their way down the hall towards his room, and he needed to know what he was supposed to say to them.

“Listen, quick, before they come in.” Robin jumped in, grasping the situation just as he had. “The official story is that you were attacked and kidnapped by the same serial killer who murdered Fred and Patrick, the long lost son of Victor Creel. You managed to escape, and Joyce and Steve found you on the side of the road and brought you here. If anyone asks for details just tell them you don’t remember.”

The last word was barely out of her mouth when the door swung open, revealing Wayne along with a doctor and two nurses, who quickly went about examining him. 

He got lucky—very lucky. As bad as he’d looked when he was brought in, unconscious and pale and covered in blood, it all boiled down to a few bruises and a broken arm. The doctor’s had worried for his sight, since much of the blood had seemed to come from his eyes, but on closer examination they couldn’t find an actual wound, and he passed a vision test with flying colors.

They wanted to hold him one more night for observation, but that was it. Come the next day he’d be free to go home, with a follow-up appointment scheduled for 6 weeks from now to come back and have his cast removed. 

Still, throughout the course of the day everyone paid him a visit, with one notable exception.

Steve never showed. 

No one brought him up and Eddie was too afraid of the answer to question it. 

He’d asked if they could talk later, pleaded with Steve to let him explain—and supposed his absence now was answer enough. Clearly Steve had decided he wasn’t worth hearing out. 

Chapter 12

Special thanks to @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

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[twelvegate-blog]

Trolls, princesses, clowns and elephants

This line could be a big clue. Hopper says that this whole time he's been chasing after some other kid: El, not Will.

But in S1 and S4 we see him literally chase after Sarah. So, that line could hide the truth. That this whole time Hopper has thought that the kid he's been chasing after in his memories was Sarah, but his kids are actually Will and El.

He also tells El that before meeting her he was living in a cave. When he chases after Sarah, he pretends to be a troll who wants to eat some roasted princess. In Nordic folklore, trolls live in caves. Will mentions weird flowers in a cave in 1x08 (they also mention a proud princess). And now we know that Henry vanished and wound up in Dimension X when he was a kid, and was found near a cave system in Nevada.

But there's another connection between Will, El, Sara and Hopper. Elephants.

There's a pink elephant in Jane's crib, but only in S1, when Hopper and Joyce are there. It's not there in S2.

There are yellow elephants on Sarah's pajamas. Plus clowns, wheels and acrobats.

Will was afraid of clowns when he was a kid, and there are parallels between him, Sarah and Pennywise's first victim in the IT miniseries.

S3, the scene of the keys (Will and El are the keys to save the world)

Joyce and Hopper mention their kids as they pass two boys with H's on their jackets (twin imagery and reference to Henry) and the Elephant Ears sign.

(gif by let me risk a little more light)

And Jo found this about the torture Hopper was subjected to in Russia. It's all connected.

[quotablefanfiction]

The hospital was more focused on “who are you” and “what year is it” rather than “do you know what a rice cooker is”, which in retrospect may have been a mistake.

hospitals don’t typically have standard questions to identify dimension hoppers (chp. 1)

You, Have Always Wanted a Place to Call Home by Bluethursday (AO3) The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System – Explicit – Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán #Alternate Universe #Quite Literally #Fluff #Mild Hurt/Comfort #Still dealing with a Victorian obsession with tuberculosis #Bingge’s homicidal imperialistic tendencies #Not quite a redemption arc #Obsessive Behavior #Possessive Behavior #Size Difference #First Time #Sex

Proud Immortal Demon Way’s, lovable trash-lord, Luo Bingge, goes on a search to find his own Shen Yuan. Things happen.

The image of his other self, defending, worshipping, Shen Qingqiu, haunted him. The hands in his hair, the gentle Qi filling his meridians… he dreamt of a man who was not his former Shizun, but wore his face, for months on end with no respite before making his choice.

*this can be read as a sequel to He Was Made for Untidy Rooms and Rumpled Beds OR it can be read as a stand-alone.*

Part 2 of Into the Binghe Verse series (AO3)