#Lonnie: take! me! seriously!

[zahri-melitor]

So reading through various 90s Batccomics means I’ve been enjoying every time Anarky shows up, and by god does Lonnie ever exude some stupol energy.

You ripped that rant straight from Red Flag, young man. You have intense SEP member energy. You have a specific beef with everything SAlt for being your nearest enemy. I predict you’re going to be organising a protest against the pedagogical insult that is marking any moment now.

This child is such a stereotype I’m amazed half his sentences don’t start “solidarity with [since devolved section of the USSR]”. He needs to sneak off to badly photocopy more pamphlets on African starvation due to Western Imperialism on the school photocopiers.

I’m guessing I’m supposed to disagree with his statements? But it’s just so much Babby’s First Political Awakening stuff that I just want to set him up with a student union election campaign and watch him spend half his time yelling insults at the other socialist parties on the SRC, most of which have ridiculous names. Except he’s running around electrocuting people instead.

[thestrangestthing89]

There are thankfully only a handful of people who swear this is a conservative, Christian show but it's interesting to me considering how negatively the show depicts religion.

S1 - There aren't any direct references to religion but subtle hints. It's implied Hawkins is a typical middle class suburban neighborhood. It's 1983, Reagan was president, and there are hints of the towns Christianity through the bullies. When Will goes missing there are several comments that make it clear that the people in this town aren't surprised. The middle school bully makes a comment that he got "killed by some other queer" and says his father was talking about it. Parents in the town talk about Will being gay. We see Steve's friends - the high school bullies - also making homophobic comments about Jonathan and his brother. The bad guys are homophobic. They also all lose fights this season. The show takes an anti-bullying stance and you are supposed to feel for Will and his friends here. He's a child that's gone missing and the people in the town don't seem to care much or act surprised by it.

There are a few exceptions to this - Joyce mentions to Hopper that Lonnie called Will gay slurs because she is also worried he got killed because he's gay. Hopper takes this seriously during a time when absolutely no one would have criticized him for ignoring this situation. Plenty of people were ignoring gay people dying during this time. No one would have batted an eye at a cop acting like this didn't matter. But Hopper pays attention and puts together a search team. So there are a few people in town who do care - Scott Clarke being one of them. And obviously the rest of our main cast doesn't care what people say about Will because they help to look for him all season. The good guys aren't homophobic. The good guys care about Will. And this includes all of our main characters - the people the audience are supposed to root for go against homophobia and bullying.

(Edit: I forgot to include a conversation between Joyce and Lonnie. When Will's fake body is found Lonnie wants Joyce to see a pastor and Joyce says no. Lonnie is trying to convince her she is crazy. He's the bad guy, and the first thing he wants to do to "fix" the situation is to get Joyce to talk to a pastor. It's another negative association with religion. Joyce is right here. She isn't crazy. And Lonnie isn't being comforting when he says this. He's being controlling and dismissing her feelings. It's clear from what we see of Lonnie that he's an asshole. He abused Will and Jonathan (and likely Joyce as well), he tried to turn Jonathan against his mother when Will went missing, he exploited an opportunity for money. He's not a person we are supposed to be rooting for.)

S2 - This season has a more direct reference to Christianity and it's the Reagan signs on some of the front lawns in Hawkins. This isn't surprising considering again, it's a middle class suburb. Reagan was a popular president at the time and got elected by popular vote twice despite his mishandling of the AIDS crisis and a number of other issues. His name is synonymous with the Christian right. During his time in office, the pro-life movement started to take hold, and he cut back on welfare reform and disability rights to name a few of the problematic things he did. Basically, anyone who wasn't an able-bodied, straight, white, middle class Christian male was struggling and yet he won twice. These days, his name is often compared to Trumps - they openly hated the same groups of people.

This sets the stage in a subtle way for what's going on with the main characters. Because our characters are all outcasts - gay, black, disabled, poor, etc - they are struggling to fit in to mainstream society (which makes it so ironic this show is mainstream). Even Hopper who is your typical straight, white, leading man struggles to fit in - his daughter died and he is coping with depression and substance abuse issues. Things no one discussed openly at the time and were viewed as shameful.

So we have the Reagan sign on the Wheelers front lawn. This tells me that at least Ted is a Reagan supporter which makes sense given this is an upper middle class white family. I am skeptical of Karen (or anyone else in this family) being conservative but I will get to that in S3. Dustins house has a Mondale sign so they are democrats which makes sense - Dustin has a disability and his mother is a single parent. Reagans policies would have hurt them. We don't see the politics of the other boys families but I think it's a safe bet to assume they are democrats. Will's family is poor and his mother is also a single mother. Not to mention that there are hints both Joyce and Jonathan suspect he is gay and they love Will so much, there is no way they would have ever voted for someone like Reagan. And even though the Sinclair's are also an upper middle class family they are black and while no group of people votes in the exact same way, Reagans policies were incredibly racist. Lucas mentions struggles to fit into Hawkins because he's black in the book Lucas on the Line. His family wouldn't have fit into this town even though they are financially well off. It's a mostly white town and that would have absolutely resulted in them being on the receiving end of racism on a regular basis. So even though their family technically conforms, people would not have accepted them.

So we know that our main characters don't fit in and we know Reagan represents all things Christianity and conformity. One of the main themes of the show is "forced conformity is killing the kids" a line directly stated by Eddie in S3 so more on this in a bit.

Something else happens this season that isn't a direct reference to religion but an adjacent theme and it's the conversation Nancy and Jonathan have with Murray. They are trying to figure out how to take down Hawkins lab and get people to believe them. Nancy doesn't understand at first why presenting the evidence they have won't work. And Murray says - people don't want to see whats behind the curtain. It's comforting. They like the curtain. - So they water down the story so the town will understand it in a way that they won't resist. This, I believe, is essentially what the writers are doing with this show. They are watering down that this has been a show that is anti-conformity from the beginning and there are signs of it in S1. But they know if they come right out and say that a main storyline is a queer coming-of-age story, a lot of their mainstream audience isn't going to watch. So up until now anyway, they have been subtle about it. But the audience is starting to notice something is off, especially with Mike in S4 because things aren't adding up.

S3 - It is now the summer of '85 and while there aren't direct references to Christianity, we still get some hints of conservatism. The only reference to religion is a passing comment that Dustin's new girlfriend Suzie is a Mormon. There is also a passing comment made by Max in S2 that there were Mormons at the door when Billy questions her. It was Lucas and she is trying to hide him from her racist brother, so she lies and says she was talking to Mormons. These comments are pretty neutral even though Dustin mentions Suzie's father wouldn't approve of him because he isn't Mormon himself. At the time we are seeing this moment, it's hard to tell if Dustin is telling the truth (everyone thinks he's making up his girlfriend this season.) But we see more of this in S4.

And then there is the comment by Karen Wheeler about Margaret Thatcher. She's on the phone with someone and says "I don't know Cath, maybe if I was Margaret Thatcher that'd be an another story." (this is in episode 5 by the way). A lot of people take this comment to mean Karen is conservative but I feel like it's so vague. We have absolutely no idea what the context of this conversation is or even who she is talking to (presumably one of the mothers from the pool). It's unclear if she was saying something positive or negative. We don't know what she is talking about, all we hear is her say Thatcher's name. So I feel like it's a leap to assume it was a conservative statement she was making.

I have a hard time believing that Karen is conservative (or at least not ultra conservative like a lot of Reagan supporters) for a few reasons. One of which is the contempt she has for Ted. She is frequently rolling her eyes at him or annoyed in some way and we know in canon he is the guy who represents conformity. However, Karen doesn't. This season especially she is shown to not be happy with her life. She is supposed to be a conservative housewife, but she almost has an affair and makes a few interesting comments. One of which was during her conversation with Nancy about her job. Nancy is discussing her misogynistic bosses and Karen gives her helpful and supportive advice about not fitting in. It seems personal, and from what we know about her, this sticks out. Because she seems like she is a typical housewife. I always felt like there was more to her backstory, but she seems to relate personally to Nancy's story of being an outcast at her job.

There is also her relationship with Mike. In S1, we see her trying to connect with him emotionally and get him to talk about his feelings about Will going missing. Karen is clearly someone who her kids can talk to, even if they resist sometimes. And her kids don't exactly fit in or represent conformity. She has been shown to be worried about her their safety repeatedly, Mike in particular, and we never see her trying to force them to conform in any way. And this is a thing that someone in her position would have absolutely been teaching her kids - conservative, Christian values. But we don't see anything like this or any hint of this. So I don't buy the 'she's conservative' theory. I don't think we've seen enough evidence of that. And while the Wheelers are probably a family that goes to church on Sundays, I don't get the impression this is a major influence in their lives. There is no religious paraphernalia around the house and this would have been a very common thing for a family that was pro-Reagan to do. I feel like they are passively conservative. It's the popular, normal choice and Karen and Ted are the epitome of doing things because they think they are supposed to. But this hardly makes them die hard believers.

S4 - This is where religion becomes more direct. Eddie is reading a Newsweek article about the dangers of D&D. During this time Satanic Panic was spreading. People feared for the moral values of the US during a time of extreme conservatism. Eddie clearly thinks this article is a joke. He's mocking anyone who conforms and it's clear Dustin and Mike agree. They are outcasts and they know D&D isn't dangerous. Eddie makes them feel like being different is ok.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Jason. He's your typical straight, white, christian male and fits in perfectly. He's the star of the basketball team and has the perfect cheerleader girlfriend (at least on the surface). He's the opposite of Eddie. And he is the villain in this story. THE GUY WHO CONFORMS PERFECTLY IS THE VILLAIN. He gets progressively more insane as the season progresses. He's charismatic and he quotes the Bible to rile the town up to hunt Eddie and Hellfire club down. They are all in a panic about the murders that are happening and the cops aren't doing a great job containing things (they also don't have all the information to be fair). But by the end of the season, Jason is completely unhinged and holds Lucas up at gunpoint. He's also part of the reason why Max ended up dying. It's Satanic Panic that drives this attitude forward. People are panicking over the loss of morals and blaming that for the reason why bad things are happening. Which I think will make for an interesting lead-in next season with regard to a more openly gay storyline.

On top of this display of religious fundamentalism, we see Suzie and her family. They are Mormons and we know her father is strict with regard to religion. However the family we see is chaotic. Suzie's sister Eden mocks Suzie for basically being a goody two shoes. Eden also has no hesitation about getting high and clearly is not abiding by Mormon values. Suzie doesn't always either. If there is a cause she believes in - like helping Dustin - she only has a little bit of guilt about going against her father and her religion. Her father is pretty much a joke. He's a fumbling idiot the kids need to outsmart in order to get the information they need. It's not exactly a positive representation of religion. Suzie shows that even though her religion is important to her, she is capable of thinking for herself. She hacks Dustins school computer and a government computer (although she doesn't know all the info about what she is doing here) with little hesitation. Her religious morals aren't exactly stopping her from doing something illegal or unethical. She's a hacker above all else.

At the end of the season we see Ted - the dude who represents all things common - reacting negatively to the news about what's going on in Hawkins. The guy who represents conformity is questioning the "propaganda" the news is coming out with to describe the situation in Hawkins. He is questioning the status quo. This is meant to show how even Ted is noticing something isn't adding up about the "normal" explanation of things. Something, at this point, that the audience should be questioning especially with regard to Mike. Because if even Ted can see something is going on here, then surely the audience can too.

The series has gotten progressively more direct about its anti-conformity theme which is why it makes no sense for them to suddenly forget this in S5. This show has always been about and for outcasts. The Wheeler family is a cautionary tale that Nancy said in season 1 was so depressing. She wants the opposite of this, which is why her and Steve and their 6 kids is never going to work (there are a lot of reasons why this is never going to work). And it's also why Mike and El aren't going to be endgame. Those relationships are there to represent conformity and none of the characters in those relationships are happy. They are the expected, normal relationships. If they wanted the audience to like these relationships they would have been written more positively.

So it's funny to me when people say the show is never going to go against the status quo because they have literally been doing this from the start. It's what the entire show is about. All of the characters are outcasts. All of them. So if people are claiming to like and support them, then they need to get behind the anti-conformity theme. And if they can't do that - this show is simply not for those people and it never was.

[candyskiez]

a thing I wanna take a moment to appreciate is catra's arc of being there for adora more. because like, yeah. she can be self centered at times. that's the point. thats one of her major character flaws that we see her grow from. that's the point of having a flaw. and I really like how she grows from it.

one of her main issues is how personally she takes everything and how centered everything is on her and adora. when adora leaves the horde, she only sees the war as a conflict between THEM. not between the rebellion and the horde. it's all about her and adora. that focus on taking everything personally is the thing that bites her in the ass so many times. that's what holds her back so hard for so long. she's her own worst enemy in that sense. and in season five, we see her unlearn that. we see her realize, no. seriously. adora never stopped caring about her just because she liked lonnie too. love doesn't work like that.

a thing I wanna point out is I think catra was lying when she said she wasnt doing it for glimmer. we see her look upset at the thought of glimmer being hurt. she cares about her. a lot. the realization of just how serious this is, this isn't just distant harm anymore. she learns to see the bigger picture. she learns to show other people compassion. not just for adora, but for herself. we see her worried about scorpia, about entrapta, even if her focus is still on adora. and she learns! she learns to be healthier about it! to have relationships with people who aren't adora so they aren't dependent on each other! she becomes friends with glimmer and bow, genuinely. she starts working on repairing things with entrapta and scorpia. she makes friends with melog. she forms connections outside of adora, not just for adora's sake, but *for herself.* she learns how to love people healthily. she learns how to look out for herself while also looking out for others.

a thing I really love is her line "I promised her a long time ago I'd look out for her. it's time I made good on that." because it's so huge for her development. she realizes she can't keep running away anymore. her running has an impact on people. her leaving has an impact on people. even if it's easier to think that nobody cares when she disappears, nobody's effected by this. yes, there is. and she's finally realized that. and she's terrified of staying because it feels like she's just inviting disaster by letting her guard down for even a second. they could leave at any time. why give them the chance to?

but maybe they won't. maybe leaving them so they don't leave her hurts them just as bad as her being abandoned. maybe she leaves for no reason. maybe...maybe she has to be better. THATS why her saying she'll stay is so big. "I can't keep doing this. I'm hurting adora by doing this. it's not me protecting myself. its me self destructing and hurting everyone around me in the process. it's not fair to them. adora needs my help, and I need to be there to give it. even if she doesn't survive this, she needs someone to be there when she goes. because knowing her, she's trying to handle this all by herself. I'm going to try and fix this. I can't keep running."

so she goes back. she can't keep running, because that's not fair to adora. and she's there. she's there when adora needs her, when shadow weaver dies, when she's weak and injured, when she's breaking down. she's there. two big things I wanna point out.

• "no, I'm not leaving. whatever happens, I am staying with you."

this. this is HUGE for her arc. she runs away whenever things get hard. that's one of her big flaws. and here she has the strength to stay. to stick with it. she stays even when shit gets bad. because she's finally realized, adora needs her here. she sees her self destruction for what it is. adora is being a self destructive bastard right now and she needs someone here. this isn't adora playing the hero, this is adora having serious issues. and she's there. she's there, because adora needs someone there. and she's finally seen that for what it is.

• she doesn't think her love is requited, yet she tells adora she loves her anyway.

she thinks adora sees her only as a friend. this is big because she's realized. adora needs to realize how much people want her. not when she's she ra, not when she's useful. but as adora. she needs to hear that someone wants her at her lowest. even if they can't save the world, please wake up. please keep going. because I want you in my life, at least for a few more seconds. you didn't make anything worse. you tried your fucking best and I see that and I see you. I love you, even if you don't love me. so please. don't die on me. if this is the end of the world, then let's take it on together. this isnt your fault. you deserve to live. not because you're she ra but because you're adora. because you're brave and a little over dramatic and can't act to save your life and loyal as shit and love with your whole heart and *you* deserve to live. so keep going. please. I love you.

season one catra would die before she admits she cares about someone. here though, she can. because she's realized it matters.

she tells adora she loves her because she sees the bigger picture now. because she understands adora now. what adora desperately needs is to realize shes worth more than a weapon. she deserves the world. she doesn't think adora feels the same but she tells her, because shes realized adora needs to hear that. that even at her worst, adora makes such an impact on peoples lives. not because she's a hero, but because she's adora. because she wants things. because shes her. and she wants ADORA to live. even if she doesn't feel the same. even if things are awkward and tense after this, she wants adora to finally realize that she's wanted. because adora helped her realize that, and she wants adora to realize it too. she's willing to show her all the messy shit inside her head even though it hurts, because she cares about adora more than she cares about hiding. am I making sense? no. but have these disjointed ramblings anyway. live laugh catradora baby.

[sparks-olivarpente]

Byler reunion fics list

Here is a list of "Will and Mike haven't talked for months/years and now find their way back to each other" fics I've read and loved! If you know of other such fics or have written one, please reblog and add them :) Thanks to the writers <3

are there still beautiful things? by @aceoflanterns will attends an open mic poetry night at a local cafe, invitation courtesy of one max mayfield. this turns out the unexpected effect of seeing one mike wheeler again… and maybe also sparking a conversation long overdue.

see me (i'm waiting for the right time) by agustplz (shout_out_lou) It's been ten months since the last time Mike and Will last spoke. Mike shows up at his dorm in Chicago, determined to fix things for good.

the gaps and the silence by @parkitaco (delusionaltogether) "Oh my God, I had such a crush on you back then," Mike says, laughing a little, and sounds so easy with it that it takes Will a couple of seconds to process. or, will and mike reunite 5 years after their friendship ends

bury me in metamorphoses by @hiscleric It’s been seven years since Will Byers vanished from Hawkins for the second time; seven years since he picked up his life, moved across the globe, and finally settled. OR: Running away and the reunion of a lifetime.

anything, anything by inblue It isn’t before Will is inside Mike’s two-bedroom apartment for the first time that Mike realizes a part of him had expected the world to implode as soon as he stepped past the threshold, as if Will’s presence in Mike’s apartment would trigger some sort of ancient curse or something. Or: Five years after the Byers family leaves Hawkins, Mike and Will rediscover each other within a small apartment in New York.

things lost, buried, and found again by iwannabeyourpoetry It’s December 1993 when, in the wake of Lonnie Byers’ untimely death, Will finds himself returning to Hawkins for the first time in years—a morose husk of the person he once was.

Lost Without You by Julia_Skysong After graduating, both Mike and Will struggled to adjust to life after the Upside Down. It didn't help they had already drifted apart. But now, 8 years later, Mike finally reached out again, and the 2 struggle to rebuild their friendship while also hiding their romantic feelings for each other.

The Crossover by @futureboy-ao3 (nbfutureboy) Will Byers, a comic book author and illustrator at the very beginning of his career, initially turns down the invitation to Hawkins ‘HorrorCon’. But after hearing that a certain musician has gone missing - and despite the fact that Mike and Will haven’t spoken since their high school graduation - he can’t seem to shake the feeling something’s seriously wrong. With embeded sounds and songs! :D

More Than a Metaphor by Nikocat Will Byers returns home from college for the first time for Christmas break and he's a bundle of nerves. He's reckoned with some deep truths while away at school, finally coming to accept that he's gay. While he can be open and honest in his new city of New York, Hawkins is an entirely different story. Or Will Byers comes out to the people he loves and gets more than he bargained for.

Reunion by Nymphadoragreenleaf Will comes back after two years away and Mike can't wait to spend the summer with him! But there's someone with him… bonus: Mike being secretly good at cooking &lt;3

The Cemetery Dance by oceanfruit Will doesn't like his memory. He calls it his inflammable wood-- No matter how long it sits out and dries, a fire can never quite catch. Even with the challenges, he tries to forget, hoping one day he'd become unrecognizable. Yet there are things, people, that exist with him in a ghost-like manner. or, Will works in a restaurant, his memories wont let him alone and he can't stand the flickering light. When someone from his past walks in… AU full of mystery!

Path of the Paladin by olliecoddle "A paladin who has broken a vow typically seeks absolution from a cleric… " or, a few hours after delivering his father’s eulogy, Mike Wheeler punched his former best friend squarely in the face.

Can This Be a Real Thing (Can It?) by Pseudologia They’d graduated and Will had disappeared — not just to Mike, to everyone. It’s not like it was mean-spirited. He needed to leave Hawkins in the rearview, to figure out who he was without the ghosts of monsters at his heels (…) Except, well, now Mike is sitting here, at a gay bar…

Fool Me Once by @queerxqueen It took nearly three years of growing apart, but Will Byers has finally gotten used to life without Mike Wheeler. He has El, he has Max, he has his art, and, as of two days ago, he has a full ride to art school in Chicago, so things are good. Right? So when Mike climbs through his window one night and stumbles back into his life, Will’s not prepared for the resurgence of old feelings…

I Wanna Be Anything You've Lost by @edelweiss-coffee (scout_thewise) Will left his hometown after graduation, determined to get to know himself in New York City. It's 1992, he has a great job as a florist at The Secret Garden, and life is beautiful and fulfilling. He wouldn't change a thing… -or- Someone familiar has been hired at the coffee shop below his loft, and Will's avoidance tactics are taking a rough blow.

meet me at memory lane by @smoosnoom Still, it’s fine. It’s all fine. He’s allowed a bad day or two. It’s fine. “Will?” What’s not fine, however, is when he finds Mike Wheeler on his front porch step. or, It's senior year, and, after three years of silence, Mike and Will find their way back to each other.

Shrike by StepfordSnarker It's the late '80s, and Will is coping with the loneliness of having left the Party behind (…) It's the early '90s, and Mike is coming to understand that there are some people worth losing your false sense of self for. But now that Mike and Will have parted ways, this realization may have come too late.

Stepping On the Last Train by @suzieburself After everything they've been through, it is Mike who rips off the final band-aid of their friendship. Years pass of Will pretending like he never thinks about Mike at all. Years pass of him forging his own life and finally letting go. But when a young boy shows up at Will's apartment, it becomes clear that he'll never fully be done with Mike Wheeler.

I’m a Wreck (Without You Here) by @talkingtothelights Mike has been living 2,200 miles away from his family and hometown for the past fourteen years. He rarely visits, but when he receives heartbreaking news, he’s forced to return home for a funeral. It’s in this unfortunate chapter of life that Mike must come to terms with the consequences of abruptly running away from home and perhaps reconnect with the one person he’s tried his damnedest to forget about.

[anti-spop]

i don't think it's a very popular ship but what do you think about catra x lonnie?

obviously they had zero romantic interactions in canon, but just based off their personalities, do you think they would make an interesting couple? i feel like a rivals to lovers trope could be done between them, if written by actually good writers.

Now... that's a ship I never thought about, honestly.

I mostly think of Adora x Lonnie personally, because I feel like canon Catra and Lonnie's relationship is too hostile to me. But you know, I would've liked Lonnie to have a bigger role in Catra's arc. Or a bigger role in the Horde, honestly. It surprises me Lonnie was never Force Captain or something like that. Like maybe she proves herself and she and Catra start working together. Lonnie resents Adora for leaving as well, so maybe they could bond there? From the little we know about Lonnie, she seems cynical but also observant of her surroundings. That could've worked with Catra, I believe, who refuses to let anyone see her insecurities. And instead of shaming Catra for it, maybe Lonnie reluctantly starts having heart-to-hearts with her.

As much as I like Scorpia, Lonnie seemed to actually take things seriously. And of course, her having more of a role would actually deepen the supposed friendship Catra and Adora have with the Horde trio.

Well, this is all I could really think of, and I hope it makes sense. I still can't really see anything romantic between them, even with these scenarios I came up with, but I do think it would be better than C//A lmao.

[campbyler]

helllooo!!

i hope you’re all doing well!

just gon leave my overall thoughts on this spectacular, insane, gut wrenchingly beautiful chapter:

- first, thea your writing has me rocking back and forth insanely while sobbing with taylor swift on loud speaker in the background. it’s just. ugh. it’s so. you’re so talented <3

- michael. inhalers should be put in your silly little fanny pack at all times. just shove your snacks into your pockets if you’re that desperate

- lucas is always right.

- hopper knows

- i keep re-reading the asthma attack scene (beforehand) and i have no idea why will was crying - feel like i’ve missed smth but it really showed that mike does, in fact, — no matter how hard he tries to deny this — care about will and i think that perfectly sets their relationship into the ground if yk what i mean?

- will flinches a lot and this will probably be brought up again?? i think it aligns with his dad, lonnie, as in “follow the sparks (i’ll drive)” (which may i say is BEAUTIFULLY written by suni) it’s shown that will has a fear of cars driving past a certain limit - even though mike was driving somewhere around 85 (i forget now but i’m trying) because of lonnie. feel like this’ll be brought up again.

- “Like – what might Will do, if Mike were to kiss somewhere that wasn’t his lips? If he didn’t give Will a clean break; if he were messy about it when he pulled his mouth away from Will’s, if he trailed his kisses along Will’s skin instead? Would Will like it, if Mike used his mouth to trace along the length of his jaw, down to his neck, working his way into that nook of space behind Will’s ear? Would he get mad, Mike muses, if Mike bit into his skin where his neck meets his shoulder, or would he be okay with a bite like that? Would he push Mike away, or would his breath hitch, would his fingers tighten in Mike’s hair, would he bring his other hand up to cradle Mike’s head, too? Would he also have the thought that not all the marks they leave on each other have to hurt – that not all of them need bandaids to heal, that some of them can be smoothed over with a kiss instead? Will’s breath hitches, and all ten of his fingers are knotted into Mike’s hair, and Mike kisses the spot he’s sunk his teeth into so swiftly . . . Mike wonders if he’s gotten carried away, if he got so engrossed in whether or not he could do something, he hadn’t stopped to consider whether or not he should. He brushes another kiss against Will’s skin, apologetic and cautious, and then another – further up, back by his ear, right at the curve of his jaw.” okay, i LOVE the way you’ve characterised mike here. the fact that he’s an over thinker, he over thinks how will is feeling, he over thinks if he’s doing the right thing and overall is being tender with affection as he, quote-unquote, “doesn’t hate will — and that’s all he’s willing to admit”. gotcha buddy…

- “i like your bucket” i had a cheeky giggle

- “Mike thinks he would very much like to hate Will – he thinks his life might be a lot easier if he did. But he doesn’t, and that’s as much as he’s willing to admit.” excuse me. ex—fucking—scuse me?? evil. evil for that ending. you know. you know what you’re doing. and it’s painful >:(

- last, but oh ho-ho not the least. i kid you not when will kissed mike i had to pause. take a large, over exaggerated step back. blink. blink again. look around. then, re-read the first sentence. and scream.

no but seriously, this chapter was absolutely beautiful. again, thea, your writing is amazing and it’s so refreshing to read.

furthermore, please don’t feel like you have to get a chapter done by a dead line if there is something that causes a slower pace! take all the time you need! <3

HELLO!!! WE ARE DOING GREAT!!!!! i am Sat for this ask ty for leaving all your thoughts!! let me try to respond point by point:

SHSH HH . SHH. HSHHHHHSHHSHHSH . why would you say that. WHY WOULD YU SAY THAT!!!!!!! now iiii am rocking back and forth insanely while sobbing with taylor swift on loud speaker in the background!!!!!!!!!

he is more frequently hungry than he is having an asthma attack!!!!!!! he's a growing boy!!!!! let him live!!!!!!!!!

lucas IS always right.

hopper probably definitely knows.

it's not super obvious in the narrative because mike has an asthma attack before he can bring it up LOL but since i'm not sure if it gets addressed in ch05, as the Author, i will confirm: will is a frustrated crier! he is frustrated at himself for the circumstances they've found themselves in and because max and justin are both rightfully mad at him so he is assuming Everyone hates him. he didn't get the same pep talk from max that mike got from lucas so he's just in his feels a little bit! he's good tho fr :)

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we ummm. we all love writing mike as an overthinker because that's just #true so the kiss scene was fun bc it was like. mike's actions were being carried out through his thoughts and it was a neat little trick to balance as a writer :')

i personally actually fr say "any questions? comments? concerns? complaints? compliments?" to my team in shift meetings so that was fun to bring in here and it was a nice moment to diffuse the tension LOL

mwhaha and hehe and hoohoo and so on and so forth

thank you so much for your kind words and leniency with the chapter going up!! i am sure that it Will happen again so to have the reassurance of everyone's patience has been so nice :') <3

[thetargaryenbride]

Nail To The Coffin - Chapter 5

Warnings: curse words, abusive father 

Pairing: Steve Harrington x f!Byers!Reader

Word Count: 8K

A.N: We’ve reached the point in the story where we meet Lonnie and see what kind of influence he had on reader. In the show it’s not specified what he had done in order for him to divorce Joyce but I looked it up and it turns out he was quite an abusive piece of shit. I’ve made that part of him stand out a bit more, hence why I’ve put the warning. Of course, feel free to give constructive criticism if you feel like something can be improved in the story or if I’ve made the characters OOC. It’s very important for me to try keep the characters in character so please correct me if you see me stray from that path haha. Hope you like the chapter~  ❤️

Masterlist || Chapter 4 || Chapter 6

After the discovery at the morgue, Hopper had brought you back home before driving off towards the lab, leaving you worried beyond belief. But that worry had gotten pushed aside momentarily when your eyes landed on an unfamiliar car parked in front of your house.

You quietly opened the front door and poked your head inside, not wanting to alert anyone as you strained your ears to hear if someone was in there.

“I don’t know what to do,” you heard your mother’s voice, and your body relaxed. For a moment there you had been filled with panic, thinking that this unfamiliar car had something to do with the people from outside the restaurant. You thought Hopper was right when he said he didn’t know how far they could go and that maybe they had come here to take you and your family.

“This whole time… I… I could… I could feel him,” she rasped out. “He was… He was so close. He was right there. I knew he was alive. Our hands… our hands were almost touching. Now it’s like I… God, it’s like I can’t feel him anymore… Don’t look at me like that.”

Before you even had the time to feel confused about what she was talking about and who she was talking to, you heard a familiar voice that you had hoped to never hear again.

“Like what?”

“Like how everybody is looking at me. Like I’m out of my damn mind!”

“Hey… You’re not gonna like this but I think you need to seriously consider the possibility that all this… It’s in your head.”

“I can’t believe you had the audacity to show up,” you snarled as you strolled further into the house, causing your parents to snap their heads to look at you.

“Y/N,” your mom stood up immediately and rushed to your side, pulling you in a tight hug. “Where have you been all day, sweetie? I got worried,” she sniffed as she looked at you, cupping your cheek and running a finger over the band-aid there.

“I’ve been with Hopper. We, uh…” you hesitated, your eyes darting between her and your father, as your hand went to grasp hers. “I’ll tell you all about it later, ok?”

“Hey, kid,” your moment was interrupted by the man approaching you and your soft expression morphed into an angry glare.

“Ma… I thought you threw away the trash,” you grumbled and your father let out a huff.

“Don’t speak to me like that, kiddo.”

“Or what? What are you gonna do? Hit me?” you challenged and your mother shut her eyes in despair, lips tightening. “And don’t call me ‘kiddo’. You don’t have that right,” you rushed past him as you went to your room and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a flashlight before heading out and towards the front door again.

“W-where are you going?” asked Joyce incredulously and you spun to face her.

“I dropped my bag in the forest, not far away from Hopper’s place. I’m going to go take it. If he’s still here by the time I come back, I’m gonna go sleep at a friend,” you explained as you quickly jogged out of the house, not giving your mom a chance to catch up with you and stop you. The plan was to go look for your bag tomorrow at sunrise and then go back home to wait for Hopper’s return before the funeral.

 At least you hoped and prayed that he would return.

But with your father in the picture, you didn’t want to stay at the house at all.

It took you a while.

You had to go all the way to the bottom of the quarry and trace your steps but eventually, you had reached the place where you had collapsed and gotten high to the point of passing out. You frowned as you bent to pick up your bag, rummaging through it to check if all your belongings were in there, just in case.

Everything was intact.

Good. At least one thing was ok in your life. It was small and insignificant but it was something.

“Fuck,” you muttered as you looked at your watch, noticing it was around midnight. You had been out here for a couple of hours.

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned much eerier than you gave it credit for. You got chills all over your body and the horrible, gnawing sensation you had gotten the night Will had disappeared returned full force. You froze as you heard growling not too far away from you and rushed to turn off the flashlight, pressing your back against the tree. There was some shuffling and shortly after a deer came out of the bushes. You let out a sigh, body relaxing slightly.

But then something whizzed past your hiding place and jumped on the animal, tackling it on the ground. You gasped, hands flying to cover your mouth in an instant in order to stifle the noise. You were able to make out the shape of the creature. It looked nothing like an animal even if the way it tore off the deer’s flesh resembled a carnivore. If anything, it looked more like a disfigured human with no face. You tried to breathe as quietly as possible so as to not alert the creature. It didn’t have a face. It didn’t have eyes. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t hear you.

‘Probably the lack of some senses is compensated by the strength of others, like its ears.’ You thought to yourself as you breathed shakily into your palms.

Just like it came, it was gone, dragging the deer with it. To where you had no idea and you weren’t going to stick around to find out. You grabbed your bag and ran for it, not stopping for a second. You kept looking over your shoulder, thinking the monster would suddenly jump out from behind a bush or a tree and tackle you. You felt like it was watching you. Like it was just playing with you. Maybe it was just your imagination. Maybe it was just all in your head. But maybe it was real and this was just the creepiest “tag, you’re it” game you’ve ever played.

You ran and ran and ran until you reached your house, halting in front of it and giving the perimeter a scout with your eyes, hoping that you wouldn’t see the monster. When you didn’t see or hear anything, you let out the breath you were holding which sent you into a coughing fit. Only now did you feel the burning in your lungs.

After taking a couple of deep breaths and a moment to rest and calm down, the burning sensation was chased away and you could finally breathe normally. You silently entered home and cursed under your breath when you saw your father sprawled on the couch. You really wanted to leave and keep true to your threat of sleeping at a friend but you were so absolutely scared of going outside in the dark, not to mention exhausted, that you just wanted to curl under the covers and sleep it all off. But first, you needed a nice, long shower.

The shower helped your body relax. The tension was gone and replaced by calmness washing over you as you let the body wash and the hot water do their wonders. The pleasant sweet scent of [favorite scent] was welcomed after you had spent the past half an hour being able to smell only one thing – fear.

And it was definitely one of the most suffocating things you had the misfortune of exploring.

After drying your hair and throwing on some loose cotton pants and a t-shirt, you were ready to pass out. But your room seemed too big, dark, and empty. You did not have the courage to sleep here all alone. It was silly and you knew it. You were supposed to be braver. But sometimes you couldn’t stop fear from overtaking you and turning you into its prey. In such moments, all you needed was your family. So you didn’t hesitate to rush to your brother’s room, quietly opening the door and slithering in. You tiptoed to his bed and gently slid under the covers. He shifted a bit and turned around to face you.

“Did I wake you up?” you whispered guiltily and he shook his head.

“I wasn’t exactly asleep.”

The two of you lay in silence for a while until you decided to break it.

“I um… have something to tell you,” he propped himself up on one elbow in order to show he was all ears and you bit your lip as you tried recounting everything that happened. “Remember how me and mom saw that… thing in here a while back? And then she saw it again yesterday and judging by the hole in the wall, maybe she saw it today too?” you asked and he nodded. “Well… I was out in the forest until now and I saw it again,” you revealed and even in the dark you could see his eyes widening and filling with panic.

“Oh my God… Are you all right? I-it didn’t do anything to you, right?” he asked frantically and you sat up to grasp his shoulders and calm him down.

“I’m fine! It didn’t notice me. Then I ran when it went away.”

“W-what was it doing there?”

“Hunting? It took down a deer, tore it apart. I couldn’t very well see how because it had its back turned on me for the majority of the time. But the sounds of it all… Gosh, it was scary as hell,” you uttered and he engulfed your form in his arms. “I didn’t dare make a sound or move because I was too afraid it was going to hear me and come for me. I didn’t stop running after it left. I thought I would either c-choke to death or be torn to p-pieces. It was so scary,” you whined and his hold on you tightened.

“This thing is never going to hurt you, ok? Not while I’m around. I promise,” he muttered firmly in your hair and you nodded, burying yourself in his chest as you tried to calm down. “C’mon… try and get some sleep,” he whispered as he laid you back down and pulled the covers over you.

“I’ll be right here.”

“So, you and Nancy saw the same creature on the picture of Barb you had taken? And Nancy saw it near Steve’s house when she went to investigate?” you asked Jonathan as you were rummaging through your wardrobe for some black clothes and he nodded.

It was very early in the morning and nobody had woken up yet except you and Jonathan. You two were barely able to sleep for a couple of hours before waking up with the sunrise. Even if they were a couple of hours, it helped make you feel a bit better, considering you barely slept ever since Will’s disappearance. If you hadn’t passed out and slept for a whole night thanks to the drugs, you didn’t know how you could’ve properly operated now.

“I was thinking of going to investigate today. I’ll tell Nancy after the, uh… the funeral. I feel like she’d want to join me,” explained the boy and you bit your lip.

“Well, I’ll come with you. I suggest we get some weapons and practice shooting before going. We can’t go out there unprotected,” you offered.

“And you and Hopper went to the morgue to check the body? It really was a fake?” he asked quietly, hoping to hear your confirmation yet again.

You had told him about the fake body because you needed him on your side. You needed to team up in order to go against all this. And if Hopper didn’t return… then you really would need all the help you could get. So you told Jonathan and you had faith that he would keep it together and be able to help you.

Your mother on the other hand was a totally different story. You wanted to tell her so she could calm down but you were sure this would send her into another frenzy. Not to mention if she learned what you and your brother were planning on doing, she’d completely freak out and try to stop you. You were torn.

“Yes… it was a fake…”

Shortly after, you put on some black jeans, a black turtleneck and tied your hair in a ponytail before heading into the kitchen with Jonathan following you. He noticed the quick sneer you threw your father’s way and frowned. He didn’t want Lonnie here either. He hated him as much as you did. But Jonathan has always been more on the meek side. He wasn’t as expressive as you were about things. His hatred could be seen simmering within his eyes and in the twitching of his hands while in your case it was shown through glares, sneers, and sometimes curse words or sass.

He couldn’t blame you for not being able to hold back when it came to show your hatred for the man. You’ve experienced his abuse firsthand.

Not only would he get drunk and cheat on your mother but sometimes, when their arguments became too much, he would raise a hand to her. Rarely, but he’d still do it.

You have always done your best when it came to protecting Jonathan and Will, ushering them to hide in your room, the three of you staying there under the covers pretending it was a tent and you were outside camping and talking to each other, listening to loud music, trying to drown out the shouting. Many times you had tried being brave. When Lonnie would begin shouting at the boys for literally no reason, you would usher them into a room and begin arguing with Lonnie, going chest to chest. You always shifted his attention from the boys to you. You would insult him and belittle him, turning yourself into the main target so he could focus his anger and abuse on you instead. It was your duty as the oldest sibling. Most of the time, this would happen when your mother was at work. When she was present, what Lonnie did was neglect and ignore you. When he was alone with you, his disgusting side would show. On a couple of occasions, he’d even hit you. You had to beg Jonathan and Will not to tell anything to your mother because you didn’t want to worry her. You used to cover your bruised cheeks with foundation and your split lip with dark red lipstick.

Then one day, almost two years ago, things got way out of control. He and Joyce had gotten into a super bad argument. You and the boys had rushed into Will’s room, deciding to play music to drown out the shouting. But this had not given you peace of mind. You had been so tired of dealing with your father’s abuse you had wanted to put an end to everything. You had wanted your mother to finally divorce him.

The boys had been sitting on the bed, talking about funny things while listening to Will’s favorite song. You had your back glued to the door, arms crossed and one leg propped against it as you tried to listen to the shouting match through the music. Jonathan had given you a few signs to sit with them on the bed and join in on the storytelling in order to better distract Will. But something inside you had snapped that day. You couldn’t stand any of this any longer.

You had decided to go intervene in your parents’ argument. You had screamed out everything you thought and felt about the man and demanded they got a divorce. You had even pushed him away from your mother because he had been standing way too close for comfort. He had gotten so furious he backhanded you. The hit had been so hard it rattled your entire skull and sent you to the ground where you had hit your head one more time, knocking you out cold. Joyce had been absolutely outraged. Jonathan and Will who had been watching from behind a half-open door had immediately rushed to your side. Joyce had begun hitting Lonnie’s chest and screaming at him, joined by Jonathan shortly after, the two of them successfully managing to kick the man out of the house. In the meantime, Will had been crying and shaking as he tried to wake you up.

You had woken up sometime later with the most shattering headache ever, a burning cheek, and a split lip. Your bruises had taken a whole week to heal and your concussion had taken almost sixteen days to get rid of. You had had to struggle with dizziness, nausea, headaches, blurry vision, exhaustion, and sensitivity to light for some time and your family had to take care of you as if you were a baby and not the oldest sibling. You had never felt more vulnerable and useless.

Needless to say, your mother had contacted Hopper about it and he had acted out a restricting order. Lonnie couldn’t come close to any of you even after he tried apologizing many times after the incident. Your mother had filed for divorce. This incident had been the last straw. She easily had been able to take custody of all the children which eventually caused Lonnie to move out of town for good.

“What are you doing?” asked Jonathan quietly as he watched you open the fridge and take out different products.

“I’ll just make some sandwiches for the kids.”

“The kids? Are you thinking of going to the Wheelers?”

“Yepp.”

“Why?”

“I just have something to discuss with them,” you replied reservedly as you expertly cut tomatoes and ham. Your brother decided not to press you any further and silently came to help you make a couple of sandwiches.

“You’ll come to the funeral, right?” he asked hesitantly and you paused in your movements before nodding and resuming. “Ok… ok,” sighed the boy. “I know that this is a fake body that we’re burying but… we have to keep appearances as you said, right?”

“Right… Do me a favor and… don’t tell mom about the fake body yet. She’s probably going to freak out and refuse to have the funeral and that will draw attention on us. Bad attention,” you whispered as you wrapped each sandwich in a napkin before shoving them in a bag. “We have to keep playing their game, don’t we?” you gave him a tight smile before pecking his cheek and going to grab your black leather jacket, hurriedly leaving the house.

“Y/N?” Mike’s surprised voice greeted you as he opened the door. “W-what are you doing here? The funeral is in two hours!”

“I just want to talk to you, kids. You need to know some stuff that I learned,” you informed him and he let you in, leading you down to the basement where Eleven was sitting on the couch.

“Y/N,” she smiled when her eyes landed on you and you grinned, sitting next to her and giving her a side hug with your free arm which she shyly returned.

“I bring food alongside the news,” you lifted the fabric bag before placing it on the coffee table in front of you and digging out sandwiches for each of you.

“Oh, I love your sandwiches! I swear everyone always go to the diner you work at just so they can get your sandwiches and burgers!” exclaimed Mike as he quickly bit into the food and you smiled.

“I’m glad so many people ended up liking them. You gotta thank Amy for letting me integrate some of my recipes. The secret is all about the sauces,” you winked as you happily watched the children eat, smile growing when Eleven muttered ‘Delicious’ as she ate. “But I’m not here to talk about my recipes. I’m here to talk about Will. Are Dustin and Lucas coming? I don’t really wish to repeat the story.”

“Yeah, they should come any time now.”

Shortly after Mike had spoken out the words, the doorbell had rung and the two boys had joined you in the basement.

You told them all about your discovery yesterday. About the interrogation you and Hopper did, about his suspicions that higher-ups were involved in this, about Will’s fake body, and most importantly about the monster you had encountered in the forest last night. They had been quite terrified about the turn of events but showed bravery nonetheless. They, in turn, told you about all conclusions and suspicions they had formed about the whole situation and about sneaking Eleven into the school and having her use the ham radio to channel Will. And now they had gotten the idea of speaking to Mr. Clarke and ask for information about the Upside Down.

An hour and a half had passed as quickly as someone snapping their fingers and Mike had to go get ready for the funeral, leaving you four at the basement. Dustin and Lucas decided to occupy themselves with some game, leaving you and Eleven sitting in silence.

“You know, if you ever get tired of the boys you can always come to me. We can spend some time together, go pick pretty clothes, do each other’s hair; that kinda stuff. Just have fun, us girls,” you smiled at her and she returned it as she reached to grasp a strand of your hair, then moved her hand to your face and softly traced the lines of your features before quickly withdrawing her hand.

“Pretty,” she muttered and you gave her a big smile as you did the same, finger tracing the side of her face and bopping her on the nose before you withdrew it.

“Pretty,” you said and she smiled before closing in on herself again. You pitied the poor girl. It was obvious that she didn’t have a normal childhood and was traumatized beyond belief. She couldn’t even speak properly. You couldn’t even fathom what kind of disgusting people would keep a child and abuse it and prevent it from learning. You wanted to do anything in your power to protect her and shower her with the love and care she needed and deserved.

Bad people.

You wondered if these bad people were the same who fucked up with the monster and got Will into this mess. Who else could it have been?

“Say… are the bad people you were talking about the same who created this whole mess?” you asked after a while and she hesitated for quite some time before nodding. “Who are they? The NSA? The Department of Energy?” she shook her head. “Was it the scientists? From Hawkins Lab?” you whispered and her eyes snapped to look at you, filling with fear.

Your face fell.

“Don’t tell,” she whispered as her eyes shifted to look at Dustin and Lucas who were busy laughing about something and you nodded in understanding.

If the boys knew that the lab was for real responsible for this whole mess, they would definitely go straight there in a reckless attempt to investigate. You really didn’t need anyone else to follow in Hopper’s footsteps. Especially children. It was probably better if they stuck with the “suspicions that higher-ups were involved” narrative for now. Eleven probably thought the same which is why she hasn’t told the boys about her entanglement with the lab yet.  

“It’s time to go!” came Karen’s voice, interrupting your train of thought.

You gave Eleven a tight hug, rubbing her back soothingly.

“We are going to fix this… I promise.”

You went to the funeral.

Even though there were a couple of moments when you had hesitated.

You didn’t approach the crowd of people standing in front of the open grave and the casket. You stood far away from them all, not caring what any of them would think. To be fair they would probably think you were too upset and in denial or something. All you could focus on now was the Hawkins Lab, Eleven, the monster, and Hopper.

Gosh, Hopper. You had forgotten about him for some time there. He didn’t call. He didn’t show up at the funeral either. Heavy worry was nestling itself in the pit of your stomach. You already wished for this farce of a funeral to end so you could get in your car and go hunt that monster and find your brother. A familiar figure entered your vision, interrupting your thoughts.

“Hey,” greeted Steve awkwardly and you gave him a small smile.

“Hi.”

He came to stand in front of you and looked at his feet, seemingly gathering some courage in order to properly face you.

“I, uh… I’m really sorry… about the camera incident,” he finally uttered as he lifted his gaze and locked it with yours. “I acted way out of line. You were right that the issue could’ve been handled in a peaceful way instead of with humiliation and breaking things,” he admitted and you gave him a tired, close-eyed smile.

“It’s all right, Steve. I know you were just being overprotective and jumping to action before thinking with your brain, as you always do. You just have to work on that-”

“I know! I will… I will,” he looked bashfully at the ground.

“I’m not the only one who you should be apologizing to, though,” you sighed as you nodded your head in the direction of your brother.

“Yeah… I plan on doing that.”

The two of you sat in silence for a while as you observed the people standing up to leave and throw roses into the gaping hole in the earth.

“I’m sorry about your brother,” murmured Steve and you shook your head.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for… That’s life for you,” you whispered as you looked down at your foot that was drawing patterns into the dirt.

Suddenly, you felt strong arms engulf your body, startling you.

“Don’t bullshit me… you loved that boy more than anything. Just… admit that you miss him and that you wish he was here. Cry, scream, anything. Don’t lock yourself off like that,” he muttered in your hair and you sighed as you rested your chin on his shoulder, arms going to grasp at his sweatshirt.

“I do miss him,” you whispered and he hummed.

You stayed like this for some time.

You could feel he was about to say something when your eyes landed on Mike, Dustin and Lucas, following Mr. Clarke.

“Excuse me, Steve, I gotta go,” you apologized as you broke the hug and hurried to leave his side and follow the boys, leaving him to stand there in utter confusion.

“We have questions… A lot of questions,” you heard Mike say to Mr. Clarke after you entered the building and noticed them standing not far away from you. You briskly walked towards them as they headed for a nearby table to sit at.

“Y/N,” greeted Mr. Clarke as he stood up to face you. “My condolences,” he offered his hand and you politely shook it.

“Thank you very much. I hope you don’t mind me joining you? I gotta look after them,” you smiled and he nodded, pointing at a free seat next to Lucas.

“So, you know how in Cosmos, Carl Sagan talks about other dimensions?” Mike didn’t beat around the bush and asked as soon as all of you gathered around the table. “Like, beyond our world?”  

“Yeah, sure. Theoretically.”

“Right, theoretically!”

“So, theoretically… How do we travel there?” inquired Lucas.

“You guys have been thinking about Hugh Everett’s Many-Worlds interpretation, haven’t you? Y/N, was it you who got them into it? I remember you being into that kind of material at one point,” lifted a brow the teacher and you chuckled.

“Well, you know me. I’m very much into Iron Man, have been since I was a kid, so there were a couple of times when I dived into engineering and physics. Then I jumped into the different subdivisions like nuclear physics, relativity, quantum mechanics,” you shrugged and the boys gaped at you in what you assumed was awestruck admiration. “But you know, I feel like history, archeology, anthropology, languages, and that kinda jazz is more my thing,” you cleared your throat and shifted in your seat, crossing your legs. “So what was Everett’s Many-Worlds interpretation about? It was something about parallel worlds? Parallel dimensions?” you tilted your head as you crossed your arms, rocking lightly in the chair as you picked your brain so you could remember what you had read about this.

“Yeah, exactly! It’s about parallel universes. He theorizes that there are parallels that exist, just like our world, but different infinite variations of it,” he explained. “Which means there’s a world out there where none of this tragic stuff ever happened.”

“Yeah, that’s not what we’re talking about.”

“We were thinking of more of an evil dimension, like the Vale of Shadows,” intervened Dustin. “You know the Vale of Shadows?”

“An echo of the Material Plane where necrotic and shadow magic-“

“Yeah, exactly! If that did exist, a place like the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?” blurted out Mike and the teacher sank into a moment of deep thought before fishing out a paper plate and plucking a pen out of his pocket.

“Well… Picture an acrobat standing on a tightrope,” he described. “Now, the tightrope is our dimension. And our dimension has rules. You can move forwards or backward… But what if right next to our acrobat, there is a flea? Now, the flea can also travel back and forth, just like the acrobat. But here’s when things get really interesting. The flea can also travel this way-” he showcased. “-along the side of the rope. He can even go underneath the rope.”

“Upside down,” all of you muttered simultaneously and the man nodded with a smile.

“Exactly!”

“Ok, so we have these parallel worlds and one of them is obviously more flexible than the other. They are the flea, we are the acrobat. We can’t go to the… Upside Down… The question is, how is a connection made between the worlds that allow mingling to occur? That allows the flea to reach the acrobat? Is it like some sort of a tunnel? A wormhole? A… a gate?” you tried putting your thoughts into words and Mr. Clarke hummed.

“Well, you are correct. It would be impossible for us to travel to this place. Now, I don’t know why you’d suggest that the flea could be able to travel to here because that’s also impossible-“

“Let’s say it’s just a theory,” you intercepted.

“But let’s say that there is a way to form such a connection between the worlds that will allow the flea to travel to the acrobat and the other way round. You’d have to create a massive amount of energy. More than what humans are currently capable of creating, mind you, to open up some kind of tear in time and space. And then,” he folded the paper plate and pierced it with his pen. “You create the doorway.”

“A gate,” voiced Dustin and Mr. Clarke nodded.

“Yeah… but as you said, this is only…”

“Theoretical!”

“I have another thing to ask,” you pondered. “Let’s say that, as I already theorized, a connection – a gate – already exists. How do we… recognize it? How do we find it?”

“Well, I think if such a gate existed, we’d already know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us up whole,” the last sentence sent you into a stupor.

This whole time, Will has been stuck in a whole other dimension. Another dimension right next to yours that you didn’t know how to access. Obviously, there was a gate. But that gate could be anywhere. It could have opened in the corner of some abandoned building for all you knew. It would take you days to search every nook and cranny in Hawkins, not to mention the outskirts and the forests. Days that could very well be Will’s last days alive because he was all alone in there, being hunted by a monster.

“Y/N!” someone snapped their fingers in front of your face, jerking you out of your zoned-out state.

“Are you all right?” asked Lucas and you gulped, nodding.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m… fine… I need to… go find my brother,” you smiled tightly as you stood up and excused yourself. “Thanks for coming, Mr. Clarke. And thanks for the explanation.”

The more you thought about where the gate could be located as you hurried to reach your car, the more you began realizing some things. For example, the monster took Barbara from Steve’s backyard. The following day, Nancy saw it nearby Steve’s house. Last night it appeared in the forest area near your house which wasn’t that far away from the Harrington’s residence. It had appeared in your house three times now too. And Will… it must have snatched Will right from the shed back home. There was a certain perimeter that the monster roamed through which meant the gate was somewhere in that forest area.

If this theory turned out to be true, that would save you a couple of days worth of searching. You were sure that Jonathan and Nancy would have cracked this by now and you were right. You bumped into them on your way to your car and Jonathan had explained to you exactly what you had been thinking about.

“It’s a good thing that we all share the same brain cell,” you joked and the two smiled. “So, you found a weapon?”

“Yeah,” he showed you the gun and you nodded in approval.

“Alright, I’ll go back home and grab the one we have. We’re gonna need more than one. Then I’ll come find you, ok? Take this,” you instructed your brother as you pulled a walkie-talkie out of your bag and shoved it into his hands. “The kids actually have some brilliant ideas, you know? They easily communicate with those even if they are far away from one another. I’ll be able to find you quickly.”

Earlier this morning you had fished Will’s walkie-talkie from underneath his bed because you had the feeling that you would need a little help with communication. And now your intuition proved to have been correct. You gave Jonathan Will’s walkie-talkie while you kept your own in your bag.

You had gotten one back when the kids got obsessed with them because Will had insisted you have one as well. You had to admit it was actually quite ingenious because you were able to communicate even if you were far away from each other. It was better than a phone because it was just as effective and not as expensive. And gods, mobile phones were extremely expensive – something only rich people could afford.

“See you out there, sis.”

“See you.”

A month ago

“Kid? What are you doing here?” asked Hopper with a tone and expression that were a mixture of curiosity and a tinge of worry.

“I need a… I need a favor,” you fidgeted as you looked at your feet. “Do you think you can… teach me how to shoot a gun?”

“Where is this coming from?” he asked gently as he came to stand in front of you. “Hey?” he put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed in order to grab your attention, lowering himself a bit so he can get a better look at your face once you finally lifted it to meet his. “I know it’s a dumb question but… is everything alright?” 

“It’s just that… The defense techniques and the combat you taught me are useful… when I’m against one or two people… not four,” you muttered and he shut his eyes in anguish, letting out a long sigh. “I need to be able to protect myself better; and my family if need be.”

“You’re under eighteen. You don’t have the right to own a weapon yet,” he drawled tiredly.

“That didn’t stop my fa… Lonnie, from buying one for me,” you crossed your arms as your foot kicked an invisible pebble.

“Yeah, ‘cause he is a psychopath,” groaned the man and you let out a small smile.

“It’s not like I’m gonna carry a weapon with me whenever I go. I know it’s illegal. I just… I just want to learn. I want to have the knowledge…just in case. Besides…I’ll be eighteen soon anyways.”

 “Alright… fine…” he relented. “But just. a little. practice…ok? You’re not gonna be using any weapons outside of that. We’re gonna set some rules and you’re gonna follow them if you want to learn,” he waved a finger and you nodded at his ultimatums.

“Thanks; old man.”

BANG!

“Whoa… didn’t know you could shoot,” praised Jonathan and you smirked. You couldn’t wait to rub it in Hopper’s face. He hadn’t been hard to convince to teach you per se, but he had been so strict during the couple of practices you had and he’d made sure to always remind you of the rules and lecture you. You weren’t an idiot. You understood very well what you could and couldn’t do. You had self-control and were able to respect the set boundaries and law, yet he treated you like a child.

You wanted to kill the damn monster, throw it at his feet and say ‘See? I told you those skills would come in handy.’ But you weren’t sure if you’d be able to do that. You weren’t sure because he might not even be alive. You weren’t sure because you might end up dead on this little monster-hunting trip you were preparing to set out on.

BANG!

Another shot was fired, pulling you out of your rotten with worry thoughts.

“You’re getting better and better, Nancy. You’re definitely a natural,” you complimented and she smiled bashfully.

Only your poor brother seemed to struggle with shooting. But that was all right. As long as you had two people on the team who could be the offense, it was good if there was someone who was the defense and the lookout.

“I think it’s time we get going. Let’s not waste daylight.”

But you had ended up wasting the daylight. You had spent hours looking throughout the forest, hoping to find the gate, but you had come out empty-handed. You had to listen to Jonathan and Nancy’s talking for most of the time, cringing when your brother had begun talking about the picture and describing what he had seen in Nancy who had in turn gotten defensive and the two of them deflated, leaving an awkward feeling to creep in the atmosphere of your group.

“Can you stop?” asked your brother as he pulled the cigarette out of your mouth, making you frown.

“What’s the big deal? You know that I smoke.”

“But never this much. You’re practically leaving a trail of cigarette butts.”

“Well, if we get lost or snatched by the monster into its world, at least people will be able to track us down thanks to my trail of crumbs,” you sassed. “So, don’t be a sourpuss, Hansel! Trust the process!” you lightly elbowed his side in an attempt to diffuse the tension and worry that had engulfed your group after the falling of the night. Not that you hadn’t been tense and worried when you had set on this journey but the darkness made it all the eerier and the fear that had suffocated you last night began creeping back in bit by bit.  

“It’s not funny,” he berated you grumpily and you just ruffled his hair before walking ahead of him, the three of you moving in silence for a couple of minutes before you heard Nancy and Jonathan stop. “What, are you tired?” asked the boy and you turned to look at them in confusion.

“Shut up,” hushed him Nancy as she looked around.

“What?”

“I heard something.”

You strained your ears and you really did catch a distant sound that was similar to wailing. The three of you followed it and shortly after you stumbled upon a wounded deer.

“Oh, God,” whispered the girl as she and Jonathan got closer to the body, illuminating it with their flashlights. But this scenario was too familiar to you. Your body shuddered and you immediately pulled out your gun, head turning left and right sharply, scouting the perimeter for threats.

“It’s been hit by a car… We can’t just leave it,” Nancy’s voice made you snap your head in their direction, eyes widening when you saw they had kneeled right next to the deer, touching it.

“You idiots!” you hissed as you rushed to their side, grabbing Jonathan by the collar of his jacket and Nancy by her arm, pulling them up and dragging them away. “Do you have a death wish!?”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Just stay quiet and move away!” you whisper shouted as you dragged them further away from the body, the three of you gluing yourselves to the trees and waiting in silence. You could see Nancy wanted to say something but before she had the chance to open her mouth, the deer squealed as something snatched her away, making you all jump in fright and look at one another.

“As I said… hunting!” you whispered snippily and the others gulped nervously.

The three cautiously began following the trail of blood and bones, hoping to find the body and possibly the monster but it was nowhere to be found.

“Where did it go?”

“I don’t know… Do you see any more blood?”

“No…”

Jonathan went to look in one direction, Nancy went to check another, and you were left standing in the middle, not knowing who to follow. You weren’t supposed to separate. You had to stick together. You cursed under your breath as you decided to follow Nancy. A minute or so later you found her kneeling at the base of a tree and you approached her with a confused frown.

“What are you doing?” you asked as you joined her on the ground and your eyes widened when they landed on the opening in the tree, covered in what seemed to be vines and slime. The sound of distant growling sent shivers down your spine. “You found it,” you whispered. “You found the gate! Still think I’m crazy?” you asked with raised eyebrows and she gave you an apologetic smile.

While you three had roamed the forest earlier, you had caught up Nancy and Jonathan on what you believed about parallel worlds and how you thought that the monster came from one and that it had most possibly dragged Will and Barb in there. They had been skeptical about it and you couldn’t really blame them but it always felt good when people got the proof they wanted and you got to tell them ‘I told you so’.

Before you could say anything, Nancy crawled closer to the gate and thrust her arm past the barrier.

“What are you doing?” you snapped in panic.

“I’m going in-“

“You think I’m gonna let you go in an unknown place alone?” you tsk-ed as you grabbed her arm and pulled her away. “I’m not letting you take such a risk… If you want to go in, do it. But I’m going in first and making sure it’s safe… Or as safe as it could be considering there’s probably a monster in there,” you sighed as you took her place, not giving her a chance to protest, and pushed through the slimy membrane seemingly without hesitation and with full on bravery on the outside but with rapidly beating heart and panic on the inside.

To say it was disgusting as your whole body passed through unknown substances was the understatement of the century.

You were glad when it was finally over and you crawled out of the constrictive tunnel. You were quick to stand up and look around. For a second you thought you were tripping because this place was the absolutely same as the one you came from. It was the same forest with the only difference being that it was darker, eerier, with more blue tones and lots of what seemed to be slimy vines and cobwebs covering the whole area. There were also some kind of particles floating around, falling like snow, which unnerved you.

You were about to give Nancy a signal that she could join you but when you turned around you saw her already crawling out of the hole and standing up, looking around with the same confusion as you. She was about to say something but you raised a finger to your mouth, signaling her to be quiet, and the two began moving and exploring the place.     

Your trek didn’t last long as a sharp sound made you whirl and point your flashlights at the source. You gaped in shock as you saw the back of the monster too busy munching on its prey to notice you… yet. Memories from last night invaded your brain and you had to clench your hand into a fist in order to stop the shaking. Your flashlights began flickering which only added to the scary situation you were stuck in. Nancy took a couple of steps back and you were about to follow her example when you heard her step on something, the sound of squelching echoing all around. The monster reeled its head in your direction and roared.

Your body ran cold.

You hadn’t been able to properly see how it had torn the deer last night. You had wondered how it was able to do it when you hadn’t seen a mouth. But now you got the explanation you needed. Its whole head was just a gigantic mouth that resembled a flower as it opened. It was one of the most disturbing things you have seen.

“Jonathan!” screeched Nancy as she dropped the flashlight and began running. You cursed as your eyes snapped between the gate and her retreating form and you quickly followed after her, cursing again as you began losing sight of her, her silhouette disappearing between the multiple trees.

She kept screaming Jonathan’s name which to an extent helped you locate her but you also wanted to scold her for all the screaming because if you could locate her thanks to it, then the monster surely could as well. She was drawing all the attention onto herself and she was going to end up dead because of it.

You breathed heavily as you ran, eyes squinting in the dark as you tried to find her. When you finally did, you let out a sharp relieved exhale and you forced your legs to run faster. She shrieked when you grabbed her arm and you clasped a hand over her mouth before shoving her body against a tree, keeping her and yourself very still as you heard the monster come closer and stop near you on the other side of the tree. You heard it stroll slowly as it tried to figure out where you had hidden. You steadied your ragged breathing and pinned Nancy with a look, warning her to be quiet as you waited for the monster to go away.

When it did, you let go of her and nodded with your head in the direction of the gate. It wasn’t very far and you could hear your brother calling your names on the other side. You sprinted towards the tree and threw yourselves on the ground. You didn’t hesitate to push Nancy forward, practically shoving her into the tunnel and pushing her into Jonathan’s waiting arms on the other side. Your head snapped to look behind you as you heard the growling and screeching of the monster sounding too close for comfort. When you saw that Nancy had fully passed, you quickly followed after her. You have never crawled that fast in your life and you have never been this relieved to be back in the familiar forest.

“Oh, God,” muttered Jonathan shakily as you crawled out and he quickly pulled you far away from the gate and into his arms, hugging you tightly. “Don’t you ever do that!” he snapped wobbly and you nodded against his shoulder as you let out shuddering breaths and tried to calm down, the three of you hugging each other tightly as if afraid someone was going to disappear.  

Now you knew what the animals felt like when hunters like your father mercilessly chased them for the thrill of the kill.  

[manyfandomocs]

Descendants OC Introductions

because I had an idea for a big plot and universe and here we are. This is No One Mourns The Wicked, my Wizard of Oz focused Descendants verse. In this universe, Oz lost contact with the rest of the world years and years ago and by the time Descendants rolls around, is thought to be a genuine fairytale and not true. Until a tornado blows through and brings 10 children to Auradon and the Isle of the Lost

so much of Oz lore is gonna be pulled from various sources and some just made up by me but Wicked (book and musical) is a large part of the inspo, especially for names

and thanks to @randomestfandoms-ocs for helping me go with Descendants

Orion Diggs (Mike Faist FC), Audrey and Chad ship. Son of Oscar Diggs, otherwise known as the Wizard, he is the main reason they were whisked to the Isle and Auradon as Orion artificially created the tornado with the help of Lilliana. He lands in Auradon

Eden Thropp (Brittany O'Grady FC), Jay ship. Daughter of Elphaba Thropp, otherwise known as the Wicked Witch of the West, she is one of the most skilled sorceresses of her age. She lands in the Isle and struggles with the lack of magic.

Nadia Thropp (Logan Browning FC), Uma ship. Daughter of Nessarose Thropp, otherwise known as the Wicked Witch of the East, she has little interest in big magic and is more interested in science. She lands in Auradon and hates being separated from her cousin Eden.

Lilliana Taylor (Maia Mitchell FC), Mal and Evie ship. Daughter of Locasta Taylor, otherwise known as the Good Witch of the North, she is not the strongest sorceress but she is the best at planning, and she loves to plan for herself, which is why she used her powers to help Orion create the tornado. She lands in Auradon

Garrett Upland (Evan Mock FC), Jane and Carlos ship. Son of Glinda Upland, otherwise known as the Good Witch of the South, he is close to Nadia and had the least desire to leave Oz so he's not enjoying being forced out but he's trying to make the best of it. He lands in the Isle

Donovan Gale (Milo Manheim FC), Gil and Harry ship. Son of Dorothy Gale, he always wondered what it was like being around other humans besides Orion, who seems to have the opposite desire. He's relatively lonely aside from Opal and desperate for friends, and lands in the Isle

Bennett Chopper (Jonathan Daviss FC), Faye Tigelaar ship. Son of Boq Chopper, otherwise known as the Tin Man, he is always here for a good time. He always likes to gain interest in people though it doesn't really last and he lands in Auradon

Faye Tigelaar (Katherine Langford FC), Bennett Chopper ship. Daughter of Fiyero Tigelaar, otherwise known as the Scarecrow, she prides herself on her smarts, even being known as a know-it-all which makes it hard for her to connect with others. She lands in the Isle

Landon Lahr (Drew Ray Tanner FC), Lonnie ship. Son of the Cowardly Lion, he proves that he's not like his dad was and is very reckless and unafraid to do absolutely anything. He lands in the Isle and is very excited to roam somewhere new

Opal Baum (Abigail Cowen FC), Ben ship. Daughter of Princess Ozma, she is the rightful future ruler of Oz, a job that she takes seriously. She loves meeting others and finding out what they're like, she's long had a crush on Donovan and lands in Auradon

[talesofliia]

"Stranger Things: The First Shadow": My Experience and Impression ❤️‍🔥

"Stranger Things: The First Shadow" is an absolutely unforgettable experience for fans of the series, taking them on an out-of-this-world journey. I was absolutely blown away by the fantastic production and performances. 🎭✨ Here are some interesting insights about the play!

• "The First Shadow" serves as an excellent prequel to "Stranger Things", offering viewers new details about the show's fictional universe. It sheds light on the pasts of familiar characters and the events that set the stage for the series we know and love.

• The story is divided into two chapters: “The Girl from Nowhere” and “Captain Midnight”. There was a brilliantly staged opening scene and then the theme tune of “Stranger Things” played. 🎶

• Set over 20 years prior to the events in the series, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” introduces us to younger versions of familiar characters such as Joyce, Hopper, Bob, and others who will later become the parents of the kids from “Stranger Things”, along with Henry Creel, his family and Dr. Brenner.

• One important new character, not (yet) introduced in the series, was Patty Newby, the adoptive sister of Bob and Henry’s love interest. She was portrayed as good-hearted and compassionate.

• Young Joyce was just as much of a badass as she is in the series! I absolutely adored her in the play because of her confidence and determination. 🔥 Plus, it was interesting to see that she was quite popular with the guys!

• It’s still surprising to me that she chose to be with Lonnie over Bob or Hopper. It feels like an unusual choice. 😅 However, without their relationship, we wouldn’t have Jonathan or Will, so it’s an interesting twist of “fate”…

• Young Hopper was struggling to live up to his father’s expectations of him, but as we know, he later becomes a police chief, following in his father’s footsteps.

• Fun fact: Joyce invited Hopper for a drink after her shift but he was supposed to leave and had to decline (as far as I understood). Jopper was always meant to be but it just happened much later. 🥹

• Joyce and Hopper have always been an iconic duo, not only when they want to have fun, but also when solving mysteries together! It’s in their blood! Bob was also there to help them.

• Young Bob was a lovely character, passionate about radio and infatuated with Joyce, who didn’t take him seriously at first. He also served as comedic relief in the play (like some other characters).

• Karen (Nancy and Mike’s mother) was portrayed as a real flirt, often seen making out with Ted Wheeler. Also, It’s crazy to see how Ted changed from a jock to a couch potato. 🙈

• While some have suggested that Karen wanted to kiss a girl in the school play, this wasn’t explicitly stated in the story. Karen volunteered to read lines with Patty, another girl, and there happened to be a kiss scripted. So, whether Karen is bisexual or not isn’t confirmed but remains a possibility.

• It was fascinating to explore the history and background of Henry Creel, witnessing his struggles with the desire to be normal, how his powers developed, and how love ultimately failed to save him. Additionally, gaining insight into Brenner’s storyline was equally captivating.

• The play expanded our understanding of the “Stranger Things” universe, delving into secret government experiments and Dimension X.

• We got to see a very special character at the end of the play. 🤫 I’m not going to retell the plot and spoil everything, but if you’re interested, you can read it here.

• There were some other minor characters in the play that contributed to the overall story. The cast was absolutely brilliant, but I was especially impressed by Louis’s acting skills (who played Henry). 👏🏻

• I can’t even imagine how much they invested in this production! The staging, decorations, props, and costumes were marvelous! And the special effects created this incredible immersive experience that left the audience in awe! 🤩

• A special shoutout to London’s Phoenix Theatre, which truly elevated the entire experience! Alongside the cool merch, they even had a bar designed to resemble the “Scoops Ahoy” ice cream parlor from “Stranger Things”. 😃

• As you can see, this stunning play left a lasting impression on me, and it’s an experience I’ll cherish forever, especially as a huge fan of “Stranger Things”. 😍 Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the play – I’ll be more than happy to answer them if I can! 🙌🏻

[stranger-rants]

I don't say this to invalidate Jonathan as an abuse survivor, nor do I encourage people to treat survival like a competition in any way. This is so that people understand the differences in what Jonathan and Billy were up against. Here's the abuse of children wheel for reference:

Note: This wheel isn't exhaustive. There could be abusive behavior that is unaccounted for. The Duluth Model is also not perfect, as it focuses primarily on the abuse of women and children by male abusers. Still, this model provides a good overview of what abusive behavior can look like.

Long Post Under Read More...

My memory isn't perfect, so feel free to correct me, especially when it comes to Lonnie Byers. I will also reference Runaway Max insomuch that it provides a possible look at Neil's behavior in the overall canon with an awareness that the novel itself isn't actually consistent with the TV timeline. While events may or may not be the same, the abuse that is portrayed in the book and Neil's characterization is consistent with what is implied or explicitly shown in the show.

We don't know a lot about Lonnie's time with Joyce, Jonathan, and Will. What we do know is that Lonnie was emotionally abusive towards both Jonathan and Will for being sensitive. He's not a good father, but in terms of long term power and control over Joyce, Jonathan, and Will, he has none. This is taken from him when Joyce separates from him. This act also empowers Jonathan to take a stand against him.

When we look at the wheel, there is some attempt at physical violence. The extent of violence towards Jonathan and Will is unclear. It's implied that he was emotionally and physically abusive towards Joyce, and a bad spouse who only cared about his desires. He used homophobic language towards Will, and Jonathan as the older sibling tried to protect Will from the ongoing arguments between Lonnie and Joyce, and any possible domestic violence he was responsible for.

Lonnie Byers used intimidation tactics on Joyce and the children. He may have tried to use institutions against Joyce to "win" arguments, but this isn't clear. The Byers are isolated because of their class, but it's unclear if he intentionally tried to isolate his children from their peers. He is emotionally abusive towards both his children. He doesn't appear to be economically responsible, as he contributes nothing to the family and attempts to exploit his son's death for profit. He does attempt to use his privilege as an adult to push and threaten Jonathan who with Joyce's help is able to kick him out.

Any power and control Lonnie has over his family has already been lost by the time The Byer's story is established in the first season. He comes back into their lives briefly as Will disappears and is presumed dead, when he tries to cash in on suing the quarry. He is a cheater, an alcoholic, and an opportunist. He is a dog with no bite, though, as any adult privilege and institutional power he may have had was ruined by his own reckless behavior and neglect. He is an abuser who neglected his responsibilities as a parent. However, he is not as we will see with Neil this kind of "mastermind" when it comes to power and control.

No child should have to take a stand against an abusive parent, but Jonathan did so with a relatively lower risk to his safety as Lonnie had already lost significant power and control over his family through Joyce's separation from him. It was still brave. It doesn't invalidate the seriousness of the situation to say this. It is just to establish that Joyce, Jonathan, and Will were and are in a different stage of "recovery" than Billy who I'll discuss next.

Without a doubt, Billy's father has more power and control over Billy than Lonnie has over Jonathan and Will. That doesn't invalidate anything Jonathan and Will may have gone through, but it's also important to be real about the danger of immediate harm an abused person is in when we have discussions like these. Unfortunately, Billy's story is split up into pieces across different mediums and he never gets to tell his own story. Still, there's more than enough evidence to show that Billy is at higher risk of being harmed by his parent and the kind of harm done to him spans almost all categories in the power and control wheel used above.

If we work backwards, we know that Neil abused Billy's mom. His physical violence is explicitly shown. Billy tries to protect his mother as a child, but he's also thrown to the ground. Then, Billy's mother leaves without taking him making him vulnerable to Neil's violence on a regular basis. This is not true for Jonathan and Will. Neil having full custody of Billy is dangerous for Billy, who has no rights or privileges to protect him as a child. Neil is continually able to use his adult privilege to control Billy and punish him if he does anything "wrong." Again, this is not true for Jonathan or Will.

If we take anything from Runaway Max to be true in combination with what we know to be canon in the show, Neil has used almost every single method on the power and control wheel to abuse Billy and there is no indication that he has stopped the entirety that Billy is on screen. Neil uses intimidation effectively to make Billy do what he wants him to do. This isn't true for Lonnie, who can't force his children to listen to him anymore. Neil threatens to send Billy away in the book (using institutions), and he moves Billy far from California in both the book and show which is a way of isolating Billy and using his adult privilege to control who Billy is able to see and where he is able to go. Lonnie doesn't have that kind of control over Jonathan and Will.

Similar to Lonnie, Neil is emotionally abusive. This kind of abuse is perhaps the most common, and it can do serious damage to a child's well being. This is where I want to emphasize that just because Lonnie isn't as immediately dangerous as Neil doesn't mean he didn't harm his children or that they don't need to heal from his abuse. That being said, Billy was still being subjected to this kind of abuse from his father who also called him slurs and hit him with no one to protect him. He had been abandoned by his mother who was the only one to express any joy or love for him. This did not happen to Jonathan and Will who still have a mother who loves them.

Continually denying a child their parent's love and actively teaching them that they're unlovable through emotional abuse and abandonment doesn't encourage any child to act positively or help others or be nice. Why would it? There's no motivation to try when the child is taught that no matter what they do they will be mistreated. That's what we see happen to Billy.

If you've read the book, then you know that Neil beats Billy unconscious. This may or may not be true for the show, but Neil's physical violence and Billy's reaction to it heavily imply that this happens regularly. Billy isn't shocked and he doesn't fight back. People have argued that Jonathan is braver than Billy because he pushes Lonnie away, but again Billy's situation is much more dangerous as he lacks any kind of support system outside of his father's custody over him and Neil is quantitatively more violent than Lonnie.

When people see scenes of Billy being abused or read about them, I want people to understand that these are not one and done incidents of abuse. They represent a pattern of behavior. A pattern of power and control over Billy by his abuser. When people look at these scenes, they need to understand that these things were happening to Billy frequently even if we don't see it happening frequently on screen.

I've seen people argue that Billy at ~12 years old is "continuing the cycle of violence" by bullying other kids while he's being abused, but I think that it's pretty harmful to compare a child's violence to that of their adult abuser. There are a multitude of cases of child abuse where a child exhibits violent behavior after enduring prolonged abuse at home. To say that child is now becoming the abuser isn't right, and it is that kind of thinking that trap these abused children in a dangerous situation without intervention.

Jonathan and Will weren't surviving the same situation as Billy, and they weren't left with the same choices to make. You can argue that everything is a choice, but a child who is in the custody of their abuser will behave a lot differently from a child who has a safe adult to live with. Children and even teens don't have all the tools to cope with abuse, so to praise one for surviving well and to condemn the other for not surviving well ignores the role that adults in our society play in protecting all abused children. We can't pick and choose who deserves to be treated with human dignity.

Billy has endured more abuse than Jonathan and Will. Neil is more violent than Lonnie. Neil has more power and control over Billy than Lonnie has over Jonathan and Will. Jonathan and Will have a loving mother and friends. Billy's mother abandoned him, and his step mother doesn't protect him. These should not be controversial statements to make, but I think people look at statements like these and think that saying these things invalidates the abuse that Jonathan and Will went through. It doesn't. It's just different, and it's ironic when the people who say that we're invalidating their trauma go on to mock Billy's suffering or use either Jonathan or Will as models of who Billy should be while surviving abuse.

At the end of the day, we've got to stop comparing apples to oranges here. Yes, I know. I've technically compared the two here, but it's only to establish that really these situations are different even if all child abuse can cause harm no matter the "degree" of it. We can't always predict how that will impact a child, but we do know things like early intervention and support systems matter. The fact that Jonathan and Will had that but Billy didn't, does matter.

[dalekofchaos]

The lack of consequences for Jim Hopper

It really bothers me that Hopper is never called out for his bullshit. And it seriously bothers me that El took his name and that the fandom and the Duffer Bros glorifies the guy when he can come off as abusive as Brenner and Lonnie, but gets away with everything because David Harbour plays him and because the Duffer Bros likes the character and everyone acts like Hopper is a good dad and J**per is relationship goals.

Let’s look at what Hopper has done throughout the series

Selling out El to Brenner and absolutely no consequences. It was never brought up again. Not even when El called out Brenner on his shit. This seriously pissed me off. You could’ve had Brenner playing two face with the Americans and the Russians. The Russians keeps Hopper hostage, while the Americans helps him restore El’s powers and sending Sullivan and his forces to kill The Byers and Mike(also ordering Will’s abduction) and Brenner trying to manipulate El by using the knowledge of what Hopper did to save Will. This could’ve given a neat character arc for El. they could possibly force El to go dark and we’d have Brenner and El as the villains in season 5 or have Hopper and the party to save Jane from Brenner’s manipulation aka Hopper being the angel on El’s shoulder(and actually apologizing for everything) while Brenner is the devil whispering in El’s ear.

The fact that, because he sold her out to Brenner, El was still alive and only he knew, so he decided to take advantage of that and get another daughter out of it.

Keeping El prisoner and constantly promising her that she would be able to see Mike and the others "soon", despite clearly having no desire to follow through on that promise.

Treating El like she's a regular kid by giving her regular punishments (no tv), when she's not a regular kid, and has no other way of passing the time while he, again, keeps her prisoner.

Threatening to send El back to her abusers when she calls him out on the previous two points.

And El still lives with this fuck after everything he’s done and took his last name. Gee, you didn’t think she wanted to take HER MOTHER’S NAME???? Hell, Becky could’ve agreed to look after El and even moved to Hawkins so El could see her friends and so El could see her mother. But nope, we have to force this El and Hopper dynamic and act like he was never an abusive turd towards her.

Getting ridiculously overprotective with El because she starts spending so much time with Mike (and why would that possibly be something they would do? Oh right, keeping them apart for almost a year).

Lying to Mike, a fourteen year old child, about the possibility of his grandmother being seriously injured (something that's happened before), then outright threatening him when he gets called out on it. And that's after writing out a letter that, while very guilt-trippy and "This is all about me!", was still better than what he did. But oh no, since he wrote the letter, that makes it all okay, right? Ugh. Oh and guess what? HE NEVER FUCKING APOLOGIZED TO MIKE and yet Mike still hugged him, but not his literal best friend since Kindergarten

And threatening Mike resulted in unnecessary conflict between Mike, Max and El. Mike refuses to tell anyone what Hopper did and god, season 3 is shit.

Treating Joyce like absolute shit, acting like he's entitled to her.

SO MUCH police brutality, from straight-up torturing someone (no matter how much of a slimeball that someone is, it's still fucked up) taking someone hostage, to gunning down an entire group of people because he was upset that Murray was taking too long (from Hopper's perspective) to talk their way through.

And HOPPER IS NEVER CALLED OUT ON THREATENING MIKE! Mike never tells anyone. Can you imagine the righteous fury coursing through Nancy’s veins if she found out what Hopper did to Mike in Season 3? She’s already pissed off at the sexist pricks at her work, then she finds out? Imagine Joyce, Karen, Nancy, Jonathan, El and Steve ALL find out what Hopper did to Mike and then they give him the "intervention” calling him on his shit or hell, Hopper’s screaming at everyone, everyone’s screaming at him, Hopper puts his hands on Mike,  Ted’s had enough and punches Hopper’s lights out. He should’ve lost the respect of everyone, lost custody of El(El lives with Joyce and has her name changed back to Jane El Ives) and everyone hates him and he sacrifices himself because he has nothing left. 

The worst part? He hasn’t been called out on his shit when it was relevant, he hasn’t been called out when it could’ve been integral with Brenner’s return and he will never be called out. Now everyone wants to act like Hopper was always a good dad to El, he never sold her out to Brenner or threaten to send her back to Hawkins lab or threatened Mike. Everything he did gets swept under the rug and that’s complete and total bullshit. 

At least Jonathan acknowledged taking naked pics of Nancy was wrong. At least Steve realized he was an asshole and had the best damn character arc in the series. Even if he died, at least Billy somewhat apologized to Max, had he lived I think Billy could’ve made amends to everyone and work to be a better person, probably find some closure by confronting Neil for his abuse and finding his mother to find that closure and work to be a better person afterwards and this is coming from someone who hates Billy Hargrove. All I’m saying, everyone acknowledges to some degree what they did was wrong. Hopper never has any sense of guilt for the shit he’s done in the series.

The Duffer Bros and fandom’s glorification of Hopper is very similar to how DONTNOD/Deck Nine hero worship David Madsen in the Life Is Strange games. For those unfamiliar with LIS. David Madsen is Chloe Price’s step-father. He abuses her, puts cameras all over her house and makes her feel like a prisoner in her own home. Then at school, David stalked and harassed Kate Marsh and Rachel Amber and to some degree, Max Caulfield. The only difference? There is one scene where David is called out on his shit. Now why am I comparing this to the glorification to Hopper? Cause in the game developers minds, ONE good deed is enough to whitewash and act like 3 years of being an abusive step-father and stalking girls at school never happened. And speaking of, in LIS 2, they fucking gave him a second chance at life, but Kate Marsh, the girl he stalked didn’t, she died. 

Hopper is borderline abusive towards El, he wants to control her, threatened Mike and feels like he owns Joyce. Hopper is abusive, yet no one wants to call him out on his bullshit.

You might be thinking “he did have consequences, he was in prison in Russia” and “he said he was a curse, see he does feel guilt” that wasn’t consequences and that wasn’t his guilt. He didn’t own up to ANY OF HIS SHIT. He didn’t think selling El and the party to Brenner was bad, he didn’t think treating El like shit was bad, he didn’t think THREATING A FUCKING CHILD WAS BAD and good fucking god, fuck Hopper. 

You know what? Maybe Hopper having no consequences for his actions and not being called on his shit is a commentary on the police being abusive monsters who get away with everything...on second thought, The Duffer Bros aren’t that smart and just refuse to let their favs be called out on their shit. 

[nellsaf]

I mean, seriously, guys, no one thinks that Jim's words in the letter that El is reading fit so well with these shots.

guys, guys, literally...

WHY IS IT STILL NOT TALKED ABOUT

"But I know you're getting older"

El grows up, she has nowhere to go. She will have to accept everything that happens and move on.

"Growing"

I think what is meant here is that Joyce is growing further, "growing spiritually." She literally survived the manipulative relationship with Lonnie, Bob's death, everything that happened to Will. She's strong and growing.

"Changing"

is changing... OMG, YOU JUST LISTEN TO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

"And I guess...

if I'm being really honest,

that's what scares me"

Mike is afraid of change, that's obvious. These changes are what he managed to understand in himself during this time, but understanding does not mean accepting, which is why he is afraid.

"I don't want things to change"

Will needs something that his feelings do not spoil anything. He doesn't want change. Doesn't want anything to change in their relationship with Mike, because it's important to him. He needs Mike, he needs something to be around. Therefore, he thinks that if the truth comes out, then Mike can step back.

"So, I think maybe that's why

I came in here,

to try to maybe... stop that change.

To turn back the clock"

"To make things go back

to how they were"

And Mike knows that not much will return to their places. He knows, but as we'll see in s4 he'll try to do things "right" because that's the way things should be done...right?

... And now just try to say that the byler is one-sided .....

thank you for taking the time to read!

[thestrangestthing89]

So who knows about Mike and Will...

I think Jonathan not only knows about Will's feelings but he picked up on Mikes too. He's known Mike since he was 5 and there is no way he didn't put that together after their road trip. It's probably a safe bet to assume Argyle knows too. He's very observant and was in the car with them and their angst for hours. There have also been hints that Joyce and Karen also know or at least suspect something. Positive their friends are clueless, though I do think El at least suspects by the end of season 4. It will be interesting to see if Nancy knows but I don't think she does. She assumed Mike liked El with no evidence back in season 1 (she saw them interact for like a minute). Considering her own problems with heteronormativity (Steve) it's not surprising if she doesn't realize. I don't think it would bother her and it's possible that she maybe suspected over the years of seeing them together but I think for her (and most of the audience) the simple fact that Mike started dating El and kissed her was enough to convince her that he's straight.

Which leads me to Hopper. I'm pretty sure he already put this together...

In season 1 Joyce tells Hopper that Lonnie used to call Will gay slurs and this is the comment that gets Hopper taking her seriously. He's dismissive and rude to her before this. But when she says this he immediately starts listening. He's investigating his disappearance like a hate crime. There are also many hints (from the Wheeler parents and from the bully at school who mentions how his dad says Will got "killed by another queer") that people in this town talk about Will being gay. Adults who don't even know him believe that Will was killed because of this. There is no way Hopper wasn't aware of this. So Hopper at this point at least suspects that Will might be gay. It was important enough that his own mother brought it up to him. What Hopper knows of Mike in this season is that he completely ignored him when he told him to stay out of the investigation. But his other friends did as well. So up to this point I don't think he notices anything about Mikes feelings other than he cares about his friend.

Which leads me to season 2 and what happens in the intervening time. There is a year between season 1 and 2 where it's implied that Hopper was regularly checking in on the Byers. Not to mention helping with Will and his trauma and going to his doctors appointments. If Hopper was homophobic in any way not only would he not have looked for Will when he went missing (yes it's his job, but plenty of cops ignore problems when the happen to people they don't like, especially a gay kid in the 80s) but he wouldn't have repeatedly checked in on him and worried about his well-being. It's also very possible in this time that Hopper saw Mike and Will together. Mikes protectiveness of Will in season 2 didn't come out of no where and it was already heavily implied in season 1 that they hang out all the time.

Then there is season 2 where Mike and Will are together the entire time. Hopper sees how Mike is at the hospital, he sees Will remembering Mike when he's possessed (when he could only remember his mother), he sees Mike in the shed giving a very emotional speech to a possessed Will and sees Will responding to Mike when he wasn't able to respond to Joyce and Jonathan (at least not initially). It's Mike that connected to him and got him to communicate with them. It's Mike who realizes Will is trying to sacrifice himself to save everyone. And it's Mike who comes up with a plan to protect him. Hopper is there for all of this.

Then there is Mikes melt down. This was not about El but El was the tipping point that sent Mike over the edge. He's overwhelmed and Hopper is the one who is there to hear it. Mikes says things like "you're a liar" and "you're disgusting" to Hopper. Which really make no sense. Hopper never lied to him because Mike is never shown to ask him about El. Why would he when he saw her "die"? His belief that she was alive was grief, not him actually believing it. He never once actually looks for her. So Mike saying these things doesn't add up to be about Hopper especially the "you're disgusting" comment. It does however make a lot of sense if Mikes protectiveness of Will at the lab was being viewed as romantic at least by Mike. And his speech in the shed is definitely romantic. This is why I think Mike realized how he felt back in season 2. Him melting down at Hopper seems like it's not only about the situation and trauma but also his identity. And Hopper comforts him about it. I also love the moment when El is about to kiss Mike and Mike is just standing there with his eyes open not moving. Hopper is right there for that too. And he interrupts the kiss. I don't think this was the gross trope of "over-protective dad not wanting his daughter to get a boyfriend". I'm pretty sure he's trying to spare Mike here.

5. Then there is season 3 and the hostility between the two. Hopper uses words like "unnatural" and "unhealthy" and "very wrong" to describe Mike and El's dynamic. He's correct even though he handles it badly. The interesting thing about this is that those words are typically used to describe same sex relationships but they are directed towards the hetero couple. While on the surface it seems like Hopper just wants both of them to spend some time apart, I think considering everything else that's happened prior to this is leading Hopper to be a little confused by Mike. Where he went from being glued to Will's side and protective and caring of him, to obsessing over El and ignoring Will. It's also possible he's seen Will during this time and maybe noted that he was a little sad and connected the dots. I think the scene where Mike and Hopper are arguing in the car says a lot. Not only about the way Hopper is viewing his relationship with El - unnatural and wrong - but I think he's trying to give Mike a push to stop fucking around and go back to his friend. Very curious what happened during the rest of this car ride back to Mike's place.

6. There is also the letter Hopper writes to El and Mike that we hear as the voice over at the end of the season. This was not just about El and their relationship but Mike as a person too. It's all about how growing up is scary and how change is ok. At the mall, Hopper makes an interesting comment to Mike when the kids are leaving. He says "Mike, be careful". Not be careful with her or take care of her. This comment isn't about El. He's telling Mike specifically to take care of himself and be careful. He's looking out for Mike the person not Mike his daughters boyfriend.

Now obviously Hopper and Mike have very limited interaction with each other in season 4, but all of this leads me to believe that Hopper at least suspects that there is something going on with Mike and Will. And I think considering we are about to get protective Mike again, he is going to see a lot more moments between them. Not to mention the fact that Mike and El either already broke up or are about to and I don't think either of them are going to be upset, just relieved.

I also want to take this moment to note that the comments about how Hopper is going to be pissed Mike's dating another one of his kids are incredibly irritating not to mention wrong. I know some of them are meant to be funny, but the comments about how Hopper is going to give Mike the shovel talk and lecture him are just gross. It implies that no one cares about Mike and that he's tolerated because they love Will and this has never once been shown to be true.

Hopper has been protective of both of them. He cares about both of them. I think he sees that Mike is really struggling and is trying to help him but doesn't really know how. Hopper and Mike have very similar personalities where they internalize everything until it's destroying them and I think Hopper recognizes this even if he doesn't know what to do about it.

As a side note: Hopper is definitely not homophobic and has never been shown to be even though there were plenty of chances for him to show this with Will in the same way that Lonnie did. His relationship with Murray is also telling. Pretty sure he's gay and Hopper and Joyce know this. Hopper has noticed him flirting with every Russian who is near them. He makes a comment in season 3 when they are under the mall. Murray is talking in Russian to a soldier but the conversation goes on longer than it needs to and they are both laughing. When Hopper asks him about it Murray says he was being nice and Hoppers reaction is basically "is this really the time?". All this to say that I'm pretty sure Hopper is going to be very supportive of both Mike and Will and I can see his relationship with Mike improving a lot once that happens.

[steveharrington]

Hi! I just saw your post about Steve being abandoned by the narrative and I found it so interesting, but I have a question and a wonder on your thoughts.

First, how was Steve supposed to die? I knew he was suppose to die in s1 initially, but I assumed it was at the hand of the demogorgan, but if Lonnie helped Jonathan and Nancy, ig he wasn't there. Was he supposed to die in the pool instead of barb, and she didn't exist in the og script? But that feels a lil too early considering other things hadn't happened yet, so how did he die?

Also, I was thinking about whta you said in regards to Steve getting tortured has an almost light hearted tone to it, and im wondering what you think may have contributed to that tone? He's getting beat up, he's begging for his life, the general is intimidating, what about the scene somehow makes it feel less scary than other scenes? Part of me wants to sya the lighting, since it's in a well lit sterile room, but even in those lab scenes with El in the beginning, it was still scary. Idk what do u think?

so the funny thing is that the duffers apparently don’t even remember how they were going to kill steve, just that he was gonna die and lonnie would take his place during the demogorgon fight before joe keery charmed them too hard and they changed their minds

(this was apparently said during netflix geeked prior to s2 according to this rotten tomatoes article)

as for the torture scene, i just think they added way too much like…joking around? his whole little spiel about the uss butterscotch and the way he stops to be like “or maybe it’s gelato where you come from 🤣” and the fake out when the guards laugh, it’s all very goofy and kinda going in the direction of a comedic scene until they knock him out and then you’re like holy fuck. idk if the duffers intended that, maybe they thought it would be like a way to subvert audiences expectations and kinda sucker punch us the same way steve gets sucker punched, but it just creates a weird….vibe. there’s also the bit where he and robin are giggling and refusing to answer and when they suddenly start pulling on steve’s nail with pliers it just becomes insanely dark insanely fast, to the degree where i saw a gifset of that scene recently and i thought like wow that last gif (plier fingernail bit) looks like it belongs to a different gifset just from how quickly the tone changes. in scenes where el is getting tortured or hopper is getting tortured it’s treated So Seriously there’s absolutely zero comedy there are zero jokes or bits written in, which makes sense! it’s torture! but for steve i really think they struggle to write him in any mode but comedic and it just strikes a weird tone

[gmwsuperfan5467890]

Other Opinions on American Housewife

I just posted an opinion on Triplor and why I am not a huge fan of the ship. Here are my other opinions.

-Katie>>>> Greg. Katie is more aware of her flaws, which makes her really likeable (to me), while Greg sometimes acts like he is a saint for putting up with Katie, which rubs me the wrong way. Though most of the time, he loves and accepts his wife for who she is, so I’ll forgive him for that.

- The cliffhanger of Katie being pregnant at the end? Horrible. She clearly does not want any more kids. She is always talking about how tired they make her and how she can’t wait until they all leave for college. Now you’re telling me that she is going to do it all over again for another 18 years?! Let this woman relax and enjoy the empty-nester life, she doesn’t need anymore kids!

-I just remembered another reason why Greg makes me mad. There was an episode where he kept on badgering Katie about having another kid and she kept on telling him no and then he got pissed and acted like she was the villain???? Excuse me sir, you’re not the one who has to be pregnant for 9 months, then push that baby out of your hooha and then take care of that baby for most of the time, so shut up. And then the episode’s ‘happy ending’ is Katie considering having another baby to make Greg happy. Oh fuck off.

-One thing I have not seen addressed. Katie and Greg are in crisis mode when they hear about Taylor hooking with Trip but them hearing about Oliver and Cooper preparing to touch their girlfriends’ boobs is okay to them?? Keep in mind that Oliver and Cooper were like 15 max at the time while Taylor was older than them for all the instances this type of thing happened.

-I am neutral on Anna-Kat and Franklin’s relationship. I usually don’t like the trope of little kids dating because I find it weird, let kids be kids. But in this case, it’s more realistic. When they start ‘dating’ their relationship does not really change, they still act like how they used to and when they have big moments like the ‘proposal’, it’s not played seriously, which I appreciate.

- One thing I love about the show is that the characters and their dynamic with each other are so complex. For example, Anna-Kat is her mother’s favourite, which would theoretically mean that she wouldn’t lack any love or attention yet she craves the love and attention of her siblings yet there are times where she is excluded or isolated by them because of Katie’s favouritism and because she is much younger than them.

- I also loved how creative some of the episodes are: for example, the episode where the hoodie Katie picks determines how the rest of her day goes was so engaging to watch and definitely one of the best episodes of the show.

- I also liked that every season had a big event that the characters had to work towards ie the gala, prom and election.

- Doris and Angela deserved better, they needed more plots and more backstory. I think it would have been interesting to have an episode in Angela’s or Doris’s perspective. Or they could have done an episode every season where it was in the perspective of a different housewife.

-This show has a diversity problem in general, to be honest.

-This show has a lot of disney/Nickelodeon actors. Two examples I want to point out because I haven’t seen people talking about them: the guy that played Lonnie is from True Jackson VP and Audra was in that Girl Meets World episode (I think it was called Girl meets She don’t like me).

-The actress that plays Katie’s mum voices Beatrice Horseman! And she is in Shrinking (10/10) show

-The general consensus here is that Oliver and Cooper are in love (which I 100% agree) but have we talked how Brie and Charlotte are paralleled to them which in my mind means they are also in love. Brie and Oliver are both bi and had feelings for each other but those feelings were not as strong as the feelings they had for their respective best friends, while Cooper and Charlotte are both gay and suffering from comp-het. Like I’m sorry, the whole, ‘Whatever my best friend does with their SO, I have to do exactly the same’ thing is really gay.

[chirpsythismorning]

How can you still think that Henry is not El's father? Look at this parallel! No hate, just trying to understand

https://www.tumblr.com/bylertruther/715418989849870336?source=share

This is the first time I’ve seen anything more substantial than the Darth Vader/Luke parallels, so I am intrigued! It is technically Vecna saying both things, both times. We see him do this with El in s3 and then Max in s4 with This will all be over soon, so he does have a penchant for repeating things for dramatic effect. BUT the fact that it is a father/daughter dynamic in this case, is quite incriminating. 

The main thing that puts me off with this theory is that it would be quite predictable? There were a lot of fans acknowledging the Darth Vader/Luke parallels between Henry/El on Reddit when s4 first premiered. Though to be fair, even now no one really takes the theory seriously, despite it being something a lot of casual fans picked up on and still bring up for discussions on there, so at least there’s that? But still, that’s just another reason why it sort of puts me off, the idea of it being this big revelation in s5, despite it being something people easily hypothesized only to discard just as quickly, and how that would be kind of disappointing? I think it being easy to guess is also why I was convinced it was simply put there as a misdirect to block people from finding out the truth?

And yet, this is pretty interesting to me and so I am intrigued at the very least!

I am convinced Joyce is El and Will’s mother though. Like 100%. Terry is very obviously placed as a misdirect, as is Lonnie (reminder that the Duffers love misdirects/red herrings).

Technically, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Joyce to be their mother AND Henry to be their father, being that El/Will would have been born in 1970, when Joyce was 28 and Henry was 23? However, we’re also getting the play The First Shadow, which is set in 1959, when Joyce was 17 and Henry was 12, so I feel like it would be weird to establish them crossing paths all the way back then and again later in life, only for her to get pregnant? Regardless if it was like done in the lab or not, it would just be an odd choice, that's all I'm saying!

With that being said, IVF does exist. The first successful IVF procedure wasn’t until 1978, so 8 years after El and Will were born. But this is a TV show and so years can be off from time to time. This would also be a lab doing this, a lab that is known for not reporting dangerous procedures performed on unsuspecting subjects, so I wouldn't go as far as to say it's completely out of the realm of possibility.

I also do think that Henry is heavily queer-coded, so it’s likely we could get a backstory for him in s5 that sort of delves into that part of his life, and how his perceived queerness might have been what got him involved with doctors prior to Hawkins Lab. This was alluded to, with him saying he’d been poked and prodded for years, with the language surrounding it being directly tied to his queer-coding.

What this does remind me of though is Aliens (1986), which Paul Reiser aka Dr. Owens also starred in. His character Burke comes off one of the good guys early on, with him even making the classic, I’m one of the good guys jokes (same as Owens does in s2), only to end the film being the one who had been directly working against them, from the very beginning. According to the original script, he even refers to our lead character as 'kiddo' A LOT, which Owens also does throughout the series with Will in s2 and El in s4. In the film, it’s alluded to that his character signed a document setting all of this in motion, dated 6/12/79, which… fucking interesting considering what revelations we could still have in store for in regards to the lab's true origins in s5.

And so, could the lab have impregnated Joyce via IVF with Henry's sperm? Arguably, it's possible!

Maybe Henry and Joyce didn’t interact in the 70’s, but perhaps after being away from the lab for a short time, Henry was for the first time in his life in an okay place, maybe he even experienced his first love, only to lose him, with the lab perhaps taking advantage of his vulnerability, roping him back into a permanent life there? And then maybe, a few years pass, and with him being unaware, they used his DNA to impregnate Joyce? 

This could then follow the whole one kid is in the experiment group (El) and one kid is in the control group (Will) theory?

This would also perhaps fit into the Brenner being tasked with focusing on the experiment group (El) and Owens being tasked with focusing on the control group (Will).

This does remind me a lot of a couple scenes in particular...

4x05: The Nina Project

This sequence above is almost a direct parallel to El's series long recurring flashback of Terry (2x07: The Lost Sister):

El calling Terry her home, warranted a correction, because no, Terry is not El's Mama, nor her home.

And thereby repeating that scene in a sense, with Brenner saying You're home now. You're home, this time with no follow up to correct it? And with a shot that looks very freaking in terms of what the blocking could possibly signify?

Could this mean that El's home is the lab then? She was born (conceived) in the lab, which is why that is more the truth than the assumption that Terry is her mother? (El also gives off Will vibes in some of these close-ups above, where you cant see her hair length. Instead what we get is the notable Byers bob, which is interesting...)

4x08: Papa

Then there's this...

We have both Brenner and Owens attending to El, as she is having flashbacks to her birth.

And AGAIN we get this focus on this female doctor (who appears to also be rocking the Byers' hairstyle....). This is after El has finally been faced with the 'truth' regarding the massacre at Hawkins Lab, and so why are they wasting all of this crucial time having El stare in the direction of where this woman is standing, literally squinting with a confused expression? She literally looks at this woman more than she does at Brenner and Owens (that close-up of El staring directly at her before she gets the first flashback is so insane, I want to scream) And why does she appear to have identical nail polish to Terry in her flashback, with them being juxtaposed back to back in those shots?

I think that what this all could essentially mean, is that our understanding of El's birth is not what it seems.

We hear 2 baby's crying during her flashback right before she banishes Henry to the upside down in 4x07. We see that there are inconsistencies with the flashbacks, with us even seeing a baby in the womb at one point, from the perspective of El who is also in the womb, meaning she was looking at another baby alongside her??? And we even get from Terry's flashbacks a moment where one baby is being held by Brenner, followed by him looking back to the source, almost confused (bc there's one more?)? And so that then begs to question if this was an intentional twin birth, or it just ended up being the case?

I guess with all of that at play, it's hard for me to distinguish what is real and what isn't anymore.

I mean, isn't there an official still of Henry at Project Nina? Did we just scurry past that without thinking about the implications of it?

That opens up a whole new can of worms because it begs to question, again what is real and what isn't real, even further? How much are the lab in control of what is going on? Do they know what Henry's plan is based on some type of secret information we don't have? Or are they also pawns in Henry's game, making choices without even realizing that he is behind them because he is playing with time?

I guess I don't really see why Henry would turn back the clock though, in this context? Like going back to 59 and what happened back then, which led to all of this coming into play? I just struggle to understand how that would be dealt with in a way that wouldn't feel sort of like, why tho?

I also as of now subscribe to this being a time loop situation based on evidence that goes back to the very first episode. So when there's time trickery involved, I guess it's just a lot easier for me to imagine Henry turning back the clock for a specific reason, with it being in relation to Joyce and Hopper specifically (and the vague plot of the play thus far supports that possibility more to me?)

Basically the crack theory I'm subtly subscribing to rn, is that something horrible happened in the OG timeline in relation to Will/El. I think Lonnie could have been involved, and it's likely the lab was involved in covering it up because they were responsible for him as he was a volunteer who went haywire basically.

And so Henry, turning back the clock, is him making an attempt to give Will and El a second chance in a world that he views as a horrible place that let him (and them) down.

I think that could fit into Henry's motives being a lot more justified than we are expecting, with him experiencing both being impacted by the lab and having to deal with societies demands of him fitting their mold.

I am intrigued at the very least by the prospects of this being like a plan from the lab, with the focus on eggs/demogorgan imagery being inspired by the movie Aliens. I can't think much further how that would work, but I can imagine it at least!

And no offense to you, but this combined with the Darth Vader/Luke parallels still doesn't quite manage to outweigh all the foreshadowing connected to Hopper, which goes all the way back to s1, literally right after the opening credits of the pilot episode. Whereas this is starting to only be added into the narrative in s3 (barely!).

While I will continue to be open to anything and everything, I'm still leaning more towards this being a misdirect, just as Terry and Lonnie were, for an audience that has a lot of surprises in store in s5, which they couldn't see coming in the first place because of all the red herrings they fell for easily along the way.

TBH I see more connecting the Creels to the Wheelers in terms of a secret familial revelation. And I don't see that being something that would happen simultaneously with this, so for that reason, I'm out (for now at least!).