#creel house layout

[henrysglock]

What is it with the Duffers and Numbers

Because I'm me and I can't rest until I've parsed out number shit with dates in Stranger Things...I decided to use OEIS to see if there was an kind of pattern in important dates. Our important dates being: 1959 -- Creel Murders 1971 -- Willel Birth Year 1979 -- HNL Massacre 1983 -- Mothergate 1985 -- Keygate 1986 -- The Rifts

From here, I decided to find duration differences between events. March 1959 -> (?) 1971 = 12 ≤ x ≤ 13 years (?) 1971 -> Sept. 1979 = 8 ≤ x ≤ 9 years Sept. 1979 -> Nov. 1983 = 4 < x < 5 years Nov. 1983 -> July 1985 = 1 < x < 2 years July 1985 -> March 1986 = 0 < x < 1 year

This is where OEIS came in handy.

If we round down, we get 0, 1, 4, 8, 12.

This sequence includes all relevant ages for El and the Creels:

Henry and Alice are 12 and 15 respectively when the Creel murders happen. Henry's Virginia is 36. Henry's Victor is 40.

Edward and Virginia, are also presumably 12 and 15 when their Creel murders happen. Edward's Victor is listed as being 35. Edward's Alice has no age listed.

Born in 1947, Henward were 24 when El was born.

El and Henward are 8 and 32 respectively when the first gate opens.

El and Henward are 12 and 36 respectively when Mothergate opens.

El is 15 or close to it when Vecward, now 39, opens the Rifts.

The Mindflayer, while not being a gate-opening event, occurred in '84, which also appears in the sequence.

That's really freaky on its own.

However, If we round up, we get: 1, 2, 5, 9, 13. This sequence is known as the Euler Path:

What makes this so interesting is a) it's a well known pattern (if you're a math nerd you've heard of it before. Suzie would absolutely know this pattern), and b) it has Implications™

Essentially, the Euler Path/Circuit is the longest single, non-overlapping path between two points.

Being a biology nerd myself, my favorite Stranger Things science connection is this:

The Eulerian path is routinely used, nowadays, to reconstruct genomic sequences for ancestry tracking/taxonomic tracking. It's essentially a highly-accurate, DNA-based version of what Dustin did with D'art in ST2. It's an algorithmic puzzle-solving strategy.

The most relevant connection is actually tied to the definition of a Eulerian Path/Cycle, and that is:

Timelines, The Missing Creel Door, the 5-Room Puzzle.

As we've seen in Em's post here, the very structure of the Creel house changes in the show:

A founding puzzle related to the Euler Paths theory is the 5-Room Puzzle.

Now, our house has six rooms, including the foyer/hallways, which makes it slightly different from the 5-Room Puzzle. I was able to find a variety of solutions to each, and there was one pattern that emerged:

They're almost the same, but based on the odd-evenness of the door assignments...they're distinctly different. Each path variation in Edward's house begins in the chess room. Each path variation in Henry's house begins in Victor's study. Both end in this odd, unseen console/kitchen area.

They start differently, separated by a wall. Edward's house has the doorway between those starting rooms, Henry's does not. It doesn't matter. They both end up in the same room.

I'm working on finalizing a look at the loops and cycles version of these paths, and I'm fairly sure there's a pattern in there too, but I have to nail down a couple of other details before I go posting them.

[ai-luni]

You are everything good in this world - Part 2.2

Peter Ballard/Henry Creel/001 x fem!reader

Series Masterlist

Word count: 6.5k

Summary: You knew something wasn’t right, you knew it all linked up but you just didn’t want to admit it. When you finally see him again, you let yourself be selfish and ignore it.

Warnings: Vecna/Peter Himself, follows season 4 plotline, Smut 18+, very dubious consent, Angst, bad writing, cliff hanger

A/N: I couldn’t help myself, I really want to flesh out the aftermath of Vecna taking you and the kids finding out and everything along vol 2. Also I’m not a writer, my writing is not the greatest, some scenes if you can’t tell may be more boring than others for which I’m sorry. I’m gonna dip now :)

Across the street from an abandoned park was a rundown blue house you were currently standing in front of with a bunch of school kids. Only two days ago if someone had told you this was how you were going to spend your weekend, you would’ve laughed. But now you are completely invested in looking after and helping these kids and you’d be damned if you let anything happen to them under your watch.

Steve and Nancy undid the boarded door while you stood next to Robin watching on from off the porch.

“It’s locked. Should I knock, see if anybody’s home?” Steve rattled the door handle a little more while you looked around with a little plan of your own. 

“No need.” Robin spoke out to the team once she caught on to your plan. You handed her a brick from off the ground, “We found a key!” 

Smashing the stain glass window on the door, the group of you ventured into the house. Dustin handed you a torch from his backpack while giving you a suspicious side eye to which you replied with ”What? I was a kid once too, you know.” and shared a small smile. 

Everyone was spread out across the little entry hallway, you looking into a dusty front parlour room next to the door before Max spoke up and gathered the group together.

“Hey, guys... You all see that right?” Her flashlight was pointed towards an old grandfather clock.

“Is this what you saw,” Your face dropped in realisation and deep down in this moment you were so impressed at these kids' abilities to draw clues together, “In your visions?”

Max nodded wearily and tensed up completely. You dragged her gently back to your side with a hand on her shoulder. You looked to Lucas who was by her other side in only a matter of moments.

“I mean, It’s… just a clock.” Robin stepped forward to examine the clock, “Like a normal old clock.”

“Why is this wizard obsessed with clocks? Maybe he’s, like, a clockmaker or something?” Steve let out, you couldn’t help the smile that creeped its way onto your face that you tried to suppress. 

“Think you cracked the case Steve.” Dustin wiped him out. Your hand covered your mouth to stifle a chuckle and stay serious.

“All I know is, the answers are right here, somewhere.” By this point, you trusted Nancy’s instincts. She was a smart girl and this time, you could feel it too. There was something about this place that didn’t feel right. 

“Okay, everyone stay in groups of two.” She looked over the group, mentally pairing everyone then turned to you. You shook your head with your hand out, you were okay looking alone - you were the sensible choice to be the one alone but you also felt something deep down calling you. There was something about this place that dug down within you, and you know you had to challenge it alone. Nancy nodded, “Robin, upstairs.”

You walked to the back of the house behind the stairs, there was a bedroom downstairs and you made your way in. There was something familiar about this room, you couldn’t place it for the dear life of you. Maybe it was the pattern of the wallpaper, or layout of the house, maybe it reminded you of your middle school days with friends or the smell of the dust and rotting wood. You couldn’t put a finger on it and you felt a little selfish for leaving the kids behind for it but you had to know. 

You gathered it may have been a kid’s room. The now broken and weathered bed was single and there were little gadgets and nick nacks around that a little kid might own. You looked through the bookshelf and found mostly books about bugs and spiders in particular. And in the dresser - that you took a good while to talk yourself into actually touching for the sake of curiosity - you found little button up shirts of various patterns. You were certain this was the room of Henry Creel, the son. 

You got a chill at the thought of being in the room of a little dead boy, touching the clothes of a little dead boy. A dead boy? 

None of the articles mentioned Henry died, it was a triple homicide and Henry was sent into a coma. Henry never died. You were mindlessly rummaging through the shirts in the dresser as you let your thoughts run wild until you lifted one shirt up and screamed falling backwards and dropping the shirt back in the drawer to cover the black ugly spider that was hiding underneath.

Spiders. SPIDERS. FOR FUCK SAKE THE SPIDERS, THE VISIONS, THE COMA, WHERE DID THAT BOY GO, 001. 

You were on your ass in the middle of the room, huffing and puffing in thought. Your mind was absolutely scattered and you knew there was a commonality amongst it all but your mind was too scrambled to properly bring it to the forefront of your mind. You knew and maybe you just didn’t want to admit it but deep down you knew. 

Your thoughts were interrupted by Max and soon after Lucas ran into the room. Max kneeled beside you, helping you to your feet as she asked if you were alright. 

“We heard you scream and,” Lucas left his sentence unfinished as he helped Max help you up. You let out a little sheepish chuckle at how pathetic your reasoning was going to sound.

“Yeah there was just a spider that scared me.” You laughed out and Max and Lucas joined in, mostly laughing in relief but it was a calm moment either way. 

The light in the middle of the room flicked. You stopped laughing immediately looking at Max and Lucas to see if they saw it as well. They nodded and it flickered once more before you walked out of the room. The light beside the stairs flicked, then the entry hallway light. 

Little did you know on the other side, a large slimy man labelled as Vecna heard a scream of someone he once knew. He checked the room it came from and found no one. He knew it was you, he was just unsure if he had heard your voice once more in his mind or if it was really you this time. He had to check every time and was disappointed every time. 

“Guys!” Max called, gathering everyone back to the entryway. The thought of this creature and Peter put on the back burner of your mind but still lingered. You agreed with yourself to not tell the others yet. 

“It’s like the Christmas lights.” Nancy whispered.

“The Christmas lights?” Robin asked, you remember Dustin mentioning christmas lights the other say however still felt just as confused as Robin. 

“Yeah, when Will was upside down, the lights came to life.” 

“Vecna’s here. In this house.” Lucas said and a child ran down your back. Could he tell you were there? You had so many questions, Lucas finished, “But just on the other side.”

“I think he just left the room.” Robin said once the lights stopped flickering. 

“Did he hear us?” “Could he see us?” Questions circled around the room, Lucas looked to Max telling her to put her headphones on and Nancy stepped forward taking charge again. 

“Wait, wait. Everyone turn off your flashlights and spread out.” You did as she said and soon Robin called out, her flashlight flickering.

“I GOT IT! I GOT HIM!” The light died down, “Or at least I got him..?”

The light transferred to Steve’s flashlight, we followed it up the stairs and eventually found our way through a little door in the wall to the attic. In a circle in the middle of the attic, all of your flashlights overheated and exploded. You ushered the lot of them out of the room and back to the car.

The kids turned on the courtesy lights on inside the car when getting in, Dustin in the backseat held up the last torch left in the car for you to grab your first aid kit out of the trunk of the car. You guided them to the food you brought and advised them to eat, you’ve been in that house through the sunset and had a long drive back in the dark. Nancy was slumped in the front seat in pure disbelief. We all knew that the surge was definitely caused by Vecna. 

You sat in the driver's seat and took a moment to recollect yourself, the group of you settled down, ate snacks and after about half an hour Steve was ducked next to the open door of the driver's seat negotiating the plan to drive back to Hawkins. You would drive first then swap with Steve through the night.  Nancy will drive in the morning to Eddie’s hideout. Then it was ‘go’ time. 

It was as boring as it sounded, Robin sat in the passenger seat as you drove, Steve and Nancy were asleep in the back and Dustin was squished in the middle window seat as Max fell asleep on Lucas next to him. You didn’t want to turn the music on and disturb the kids in the back so Robin just looked through your tapes and made fun of your taste in music. She joked with you and though couldn’t help yawning every now and then, promised to keep talking to keep you awake. 

You talked about your favourite movies and finally in your last hour talked about the new movie Top Gun. You mostly bonded over how good looking a couple Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis were, however that turned quickly into whether they should make a sequel. You were adamant there should be a sequel where Maverick teaches Goose’s son as a pilot. Robin thought it was a ridiculous idea. 

Soon enough you swapped with Steve and fell asleep in the back of the car. There was no traffic and the ride was much quicker than it was getting to the house during the day. You suggested they head back to your house and sleep for a couple hours at least. There was a minor protest amongst mostly Dustin but you were the adult in the car and the power of your pointed finger and a little “Uh ah.” was enough to shut up anyone in this car and do as you say. It was the one power you enjoyed greatly. 

They did that, the boys were sprawled out on your living room seats, robin collapsed on your living room rug. You sent Max back to the guest room, Nancy followed and got comfortable on a reading chair because she was adamant you should sleep in your bed for once, as thank you for all the help you’ve given them. Wow and how you missed your comfortable bed. 

The lot of you slept for about 4-6 hours - some waking up sorer than others - and planned to head to the store to pick up supplies for Eddie. You picked up food for the kids and coffee for yourself, enjoying that cup more than you ever thought you could enjoy a cup of coffee while sitting in the passenger seat as Nancy drove. 

“Can I sit in the car for this visit ‘cause this is gonna totally and royally suck.” Robin said sitting behind Nancy, her hands rested on the shoulders of her seat. 

“It’ll be fine.” She said.

“I just can’t stand to see those dull eyes of Eddie’s break again. I really really can’t.” You would’ve laughed at her tone but you knew she was actually being serious. 

“At least he can drink himself into feeling better.” Steve piped up from the very back, waving the six pack around. Your head fell into your hands, moment ruined.

“That’s what my mom does.” Max said nonchalantly, staring straight out the windscreen.

“Why don’t we just give it a trial run. Hey Eddie, uh, good news first this time. We got you some Dustin approved junk food and that six-pack you requested. Oh yeah! And we found Vecna only the bad news is that he’s in that other, darker, much scarier dimension, and the gate’s closed, so we have no way of getting to him. Like, he’s entirely shut off to us, so you’re basically screwed.” Robin kept going and the energy in the car was dropping rapidly, “and, no no, I know you were already screwed, but now you’re like, doubly, triply screwed.” 

“Woah woah okay... Maybe we just don’t put it like that.” Lucas said, getting concerned. 

“We’re one step closer to finding Vecna. That's what we say. That's what's important.”

“See Robin, positive spin can make all the difference.” Once again Steve and Robin started to bicker again before you spoke. Your face dropping instantly as the sight.

“Oh Shit.” Everyone shut up and poked up to see what was happening. As Nancy pulled around the corner, you saw a crowd of cars, reporters and police surrounding the house. You all got out of the car and snuck around the reporter's van.

The police talked about a homicide on the lake, one of the kids on the basketball team. It was after he finished speaking that Eddie finally contacted Dustin’s walkie. 

“Eddie. Holy Shit, are you okay?” Dustin spoke into the thing, trying to shield it from the crowd. 

“Nah man. Pretty… Pretty goddam far from okay.”

“Where are you?” Dustin asked into it again.

“Skull rock. Do you know it.?” All the kids nodded, Dustin started to point it out but Steve took over, leading up into the trees.

“Hold tight, we’re coming.”

You followed in a little group behind Steve and Dustin. Steve was absolutely certain Dustin was leading them in the wrong direction by his compass and turned us around.

“Okay, so apparently we’re going this way now? I swear to god, if they get us lost…” Max spoke to Lucas, he didn’t respond and she asked, “Hey, are you okay?”

You walked in front, letting them have their moment and joined Robin and Nancy as they walked. 

“Does that make us friends? I mean… officially?” You heard Nancy say.

“Uh yeah. I mean, right?” Robin replied, a stutter in her voice you picked up.

“Right.” Nancy smiled and joined their side.

“You guys weren’t friends before?” You piped in.

“Nope. Uh… nah.” Nancy said, almost self conscious of the fact.

“It wasn’t until all this happened and I had to prove to her there was nothing going on between Steve and I before she could trust me.” Robin said, slowly getting more playful again as she spoke. You let out a voiceless ‘Oh’ with the nod of your head now understanding, a large knowing smile growing on your face.

“What’s with you two anyway? … If you don’t mind me asking.” You asked without even really thinking. You figured she might be uncomfortable talking about it with you but she actually answered.

“Nothing. Nothings going on, I… I have a boyfriend. Jonathan Byers,” you smiled to yourself at the name Byers as Nancy continued, “He’s just in California right now and things are happening and…” 

“And what about those two?” You asked, head pointing behind you when Nancy trailed off. You got the vibe she didn’t want to talk about Jonathan at this moment. 

“Yea, they’ve been together for a while, I’m pretty sure.” Nancy answered, focusing on her step. You smile though, glancing behind you as you walk. They made a good pair.

“What about you Y/n? Do you have anyone?” Robin asked, Nancy quickly giving her a distasteful look. 

“You don’t have to answer that.” Nancy said but you shook your head.

“It’s okay. I did, a good while ago now.” The two girl’s faces dropped with apologetic faces until you looked at them with a reassuring smile, “His name was Peter and we met at the lab but you know. It’s okay really.” 

You finally made it to Skull rock, stopping to catch your breath for a moment.

“Me too man… Me too.” You heard Eddie say when he saw you, face painted with confusion. “Is that… Nurse Y/n?”

“Why yes, yes it is.” Robin replied for you with a cheeky smile. 

Eddie explained his situation to the gang, eating and drinking like he’d been starved all day because he likely was. You leaned against one of the rocks just resting your feet.

“Do you know what time this was? The attack?” Nancy asked.

“Yeah no, I… I know exactly what time it was.” Eddie replied, taking off his watch, “My walking wasn’t the only thing that got soaked.”

“9:27.” Nancy read out.

“Same time our flashlights went kablooey.”

“Which means what, exactly?”The genius Steve was asked.

“That, that surge of energy was Vecna attacking Patrick.” Nancy explained.

“Well, we’re one step closer - we know how Vecna attacks.” You butt in, trying to make the situation feel a little brighter.

“And where he attacks from.” Lucas added on.

“So we just need to sneak into his lair in the upside down and drive a stake through his heart.” Max added sarcastically but you honestly just thought about how you didn’t want to have to go all the way back to that house again. They continued to talk about Vecna and then El came up in the conversation and you started to withdraw a little. 

“Hey, uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?” Eddie called out and Lucas gave you a little thumbs up by his side to check on you at the mention of El. You smiled at the sweet gesture and nodded. 

Dustin stopped pacing and out of nowhere…

“BOOM!” You jumped a little where you stood, “Badda… Badda… boom. I was right. Skull rock was north.”

“Seriously? You’re serious. This is Skull Rock, Okay! You’re totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now!” Steve was arguing back with Dustin and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes and let out a little chuckle. They just couldn’t help themselves. 

“Yes. And no. This compass worked correctly when we left the Wheeler’s. It was correct when we got in the car on Curly but it started to slip the further east we went. NOW it’s waaay off. When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was wrong.” Dustin explains. 

“So you were using faulty equipment. You’re still wrong!” Steve retorted. You never thought you’d admit you were actually intrigued about a story of a compass. Dustin continued explaining his theory.

“Except it isn’t faulty. Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?”

Any electromagnetic field.” Lucas answered with a look of realisation on his face.

“Yep. In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power. So either there's some super big magnet around here, or…” Everyone tensed up, slowly but surely starting to understand themselves.

“There's a gate.” Lucas finished Dustin's answer and you caught a glance with Nancy. 

“We’re nowhere near the lab.” She said wearily.

“What if, somehow, there’s another gate? A gate that we don’t know about. It’d have to be smaller. Way less powerful.” 

“How, why?” Steve asked.

“No idea, all I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we’ve seen anything like it, it was a gate.” Dustin continued, you stop for a moment and your eyes widened as Dustin kept talking, “And I hope it is because then we’d have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Max from this curse.”

“The lake?” You muttered under your breath once Dustin finished talking. The two of you shared a knowing look and he flashed his compass at you before you both started walking back down.

“Where are you going? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Eddie’s still a wanted man. We can’t just take a hike into the woods.” Steve yelled.

“This little steel capsule might be the key to saving both Max and Eddie. What say you, Eddie the Banished?” Dustin stopped, turning to Eddie.

“I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I’m being totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea. But, uh, the Shire... The Shire is burning.” Eddie stood up, “So Mordor it is.”

Surly enough you Followed Dustin back down to the lake where the compass led. Shortly after, the lot of you devised a plan, using Eddie’s boat to go out and actually see if the attack from last night left a gate. 

Eddie and Steve pulled the boat off the shore and helped Robin in to pass supplies. Nancy pulled you aside and asked if you could look after the kids if they went out there and in a serious moment, you swallowed the guilt and feeling of being selfish  shaking your head. 

“I need to see this gate.” The whole day, ever since you stood in the middle of Henry Creel’s room, you knew in the back of your mind that Vecna had something to do with Peter. You had to know what happened to him. Nancy stood still as you started to walk back to the boat, her jaw hanging open. You followed along this whole time for the sole purpose of looking after those kids and she just didn’t understand why all of sudden you had a change of heart.

“But -” She stuttered and it caught the attention of everyone else for a moment. 

“I… I can’t explain how or why I know this. Not right now but, I know Vecna has something to do with Peter. And the lab and El and… I need to go.” You looked to Lucas, quickly side-eying Max and nodded to him as a silent ask to look after her. He nodded back to you. The group was silent, only most of them knew the whole story of Peter but no one had the guts to question you.

“Who is Peter?” The only words that broke the silence as you got on the boat was a confused Eddie whispering to Robin.

“Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people tops, okay.” Dustin moved to get on the boat and Eddie stopped him.

“It’s better this way.” Nancy tried to justify it to Dustin, “Look out for Max and keep an eye out for trouble.”

“You keep an eye out.” Dustin retorted and you let out a snort, mouthing a silent ‘good one’ at him, “It’s my goddamn theory!”

“You heard Nance.” Robin said.

“WHO PUT HER IN CHARGE.” 

“I did.” You said moving to the end of the boat towards Dustin

“Look, there’s more snacks in my bag and… I can’t believe I’m doing this. Here, take these alright” You threw your house keys towards him to which you let out a sigh of relief when he caught them. You kept your hand out towards him, “Compass.”

Dustin let out a whine and threw you the compass then stepped back to let Steve push the boat into the water. Steve jumped on the boat before he could get his feet wet.

“YOU SAID FOUR!” Dustin yelled, unhappy again and Steve only replied by mouthing a ‘sorry’ to him.

“Bedtime at nine, kiddos!” Robin yelled and you let out a laugh before yelling out after a “Please be careful!”

You only made it a good few metres out there before you stopped.  The compass in your hand was completely freaking out like you’ve never seen before. Steve started to stand up and prepare himself to dive into the lake. 

“Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins high swim co captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then… It’s gotta be me. No complaints, all right?” We let him have it. He took his shoes and shirt off, Eddie and I tied a flashlight in a plastic bag for him and he got ready. 

“Good luck.” Eddie said, handing Steve the bag.

“Thanks.” With that, he dived in. Placed a comforting hand on Nancy’s shoulder. And she didn’t reject it. We watched the light sink and sink until it was too faded. Nancy started counting the second on her watch.

“Where are we at, Wheeler.” An anxious Robin asked.

“Closing in on a minute.” An anxious Nancy replied. 

The boat fell into silence again. And for a moment, you tried your best not to let your heart sink before Steve did. But the boat rocked before you saw him back above water.

“Oh thank god.” you muttered.

“It’s more of a snack sized gate than the mama gate bit still, it’s pretty damn big.” Steve let out breathless before being dragged back into the water.

“STEVE!” All four of us yelled out in pure shock. Nancy was the first to jump in, without hesitation she started taking her shoes off and dove in. The rest of you followed off the boat, Eddie being last of course.

You’d never seen a place like it, the upside down. Especially after swimming to the bottom of that lake with a first aid kit in your hand, the place was freezing and smelt funny. Worse than any ointment you’ve encountered.

None of that matter when you caught the sight of Steve on the ground being attacked by massive bats. Nancy charged at him with the ore of the row boat in her hand. The rest of us followed and continued fighting for our dear little lives.

You dragged Steve away from the scene to look after his wounds, the others following soon after. Your brain was completely foggy and the only thing you remember form that moment was Robin rambling something about Steve getting rabies.

“Guys...” Nancy warned the group, movements stunned. You looked up and saw a large figure just on the horizon. Your stomach sunk, you assumed it was Vecna. Surely. There was no one else in the upside down that we knew of right?

“Holy shit. HOLY SHIT.” Eddie started to freak out, not to say you weren’t either but he vocalised it for you. He was pacing back and forth and letting out the most nervous, fearful laughter you’ve ever heard, “there’s no way, this is RIDICULOUS.”

“We’re gonna die.” Robin muttered.

“We gotta go.” Nancy said, finally coming to her sense, “GUYS WE HAVE TO GO.” 

The lot of you were trying to get up, Nancy and Eddie helping Steve to his feet and Robin helping you pack up your supplies. The lot of you frantic until you heard a voice. 

“Y/n.” It called your name in its deep, scratchy voice. There was a hint of confusion in his voice. All five of you turned to face the creature when you heard it, so taken aback to hear him speak out of its scary confident, manipulative tone.

You stood up to face it, hoping you might be able to stall for the kids to make run away, this gestured by your hand flicking away down by your side. They caught on soon enough, scurrying to gather their things. In the meantime you walked closer to the thing. You figured at this moment you had little to live for except to look after these kids. That was until you looked into its eyes and you realised why you needed to be here.

“Peter.” You breathed out. His state was so intense but so familiar. you were so sure of it. “Peter?”

He watched you;  he missed watching your every thought play out on your face. You’re face played out complete shock to complete terror and concerned. He wasn’t the same person you knew, he was never someone you knew. 

You stepped closer to him. The four teenagers behind you planning to run had stopped to watch for a moment. Three of them held a face completely drained of colour, out of fear or sympathy or whatever, whatever it was, Eddie couldn’t match it. Instead he watched on as this insane person was willing walking towards the most terrifying creature he’s ever seen, calling him Peter and sounding almost relieved. Nancy had to usher him away, promising to explain later. 

“Y/n.” He repeats in his calm tone. You reached your arm out to him and instinctively he did too in return. With little to no hesitation, you placed your hand on his. His touch was slimy and textured and cold. What you could barely call skin was crawling under you.

You met eyes with him again swallowing all your pride and almost a decade of trying to get over him deep down. He was much taller than you remembered but reaching up on your tippy toes, you coaxed him into placing a soft kiss on what was left of his lips to which he bent down for. In an uncanny way, his kiss hadn’t changed, despite his appearance and everything that had happened, the kiss felt like nothing normal but for what it was, it felt like the Peter you knew. Memories started to cloud your mind of him again. 

“I missed you.” It was all you could find the mind to say. A foul tasting residue from his skin dripping down your neck.

“I know.”

You didn’t even think to check but the four teens behind you had only just started running after seeing the scene that just unfolded behind you. There was no time for questions but there will certainly need to be answers later. Answer none of them knew if you’d be alive to give. 

“What happened?” 

“I was set free.” He said it was a matter of factly, trying to fix the cracks in his mannerisms you’d started to break.

“The missing children. Everything… Was it all you?” He transformed into Peter. The Peter you used to know and a single tear started to fall from your eye. His gentle, warm human touch pulled your head to his chest. His touch was still slimy and foul but if you let go of your mind enough, it felt like it once did. 

“It is the most freedom I have ever known and I do not expect you to understand.” Your heart audibly cracked into two. “But I know you will try. I have lived many lives y/n. And very little has made a difference to what I truly am. Your presence has only played a small role in my being. I am not the Peter you thought of me as.”

Your tears were pooling in your eyes so that every blink would send out a new drop down your cheek. You couldn’t find any words to say so you said the words you wished to say to him ever since, “I know. And I still love you.”

“Sweet y/n.” He caressed your hair. Somehow he couldn’t let you go, just not now at least. “You are and will always be the purest specimen I’ve found yet.”

He held your waist, so light the way you swore you remember it. You thought about this moment every single night that it was less of a memory and became a fantasy once more. Your gaze was exactly as he remembered it. 

He did think about you, often. Too often. Being with you was the most powerful he’d ever felt, even to this day and yet the most like an equal he;s ever felt to anyone. While brewing in his solitude and hatred, he cringes thinking back to the side you brought out in him. But now, having you back, that side seems to bubble back up to the surface like nothing ever changed. And he wanted to be your Peter again.

“I’m not the Peter you think I am.” He repeated, his voice softened.

“I know.” He wiped the tears from your cheek and left his hand on your jaw. And he kissed you once more. You cried into his lips and gripped him tight. For a short moment you let yourself forget and let it believe you’d gotten him back. Maybe it was selfish, but you wanted to ignore everything you found out he’s done and just have him back.

You gave him love that his inner child so greatly craved, so badly he desired you that not even his greater conscience could keep it together. And then he remembered how he left you and he aches for you. Your soft delicate hands on this human skin in your mind reminded him how good you felt and all the feelings flooding back again. 

His hands landed on the button of your jeans and you let him take them off you. Lifting you up, legs around his hips and pressing you up against the nearest surface. He worked on his own pants now and you just watched him. You know the deeper you let this go, the harder it’ll be to return to reality.

Your eyes were closed in thought but the moment he entered you, you returned to reality. You weren’t ready for it, it was rough but there was no turning back now.

He was moving like there was no tomorrow, hands steadied on the wall your back was up against and head hanging low. He seemed as though he needed this more than you.

The tears were still spilling from your eyes but you were more composed than you were moments before. With a tight grip to the back of his shirt you called out for him. 

“Peter!” It wasn’t a call of pleasure by any means and he whipped his head up to look at you. His eyes were frantic, so desperate that they searched your face, deep into your eyes for any sign of pleasure. Something was different, something was wrong. It wasn’t like the last time, this was wrong but he didn’t know what. 

You placed your hands on his jaw, asking him to stop moving to which he listened. You took in a deep breath, then let it go. 

You took in another deep breath - rubbing small circles on his cheek with your thumb - then let it go again. Your eyes were soft and forgiving and never once leaving his. He took the next breath in with you, his chest rising against you and letting go together. 

“Good… Peter.” He heard your slight hesitation before Peter fell off his lips, you knew there was more to him then what you knew but right now he wanted to just be your Peter. Out of all the lives he lived, he always felt Peter was the weakest. But right now, it was the only version of himself he could feel. Not Henry, not 001, not Vecna. You made him Peter and Peter was desperate. Peter was desperate for validation, Peter was desperate to heal his inner child and Peter was at your mercy in pleasure and temptation that he knew no other version of himself would give into. 

“I want to be your Peter.” He was breathing deeply like you coached him too. He let his forehead rest against yours. 

“Go. My Peter.” And he did, slowly this time.  You were ready this time and less afraid. You relaxed around him. This time brought a new meaning then the last time he experienced this with you. But he missed your hums and moans, and the way your eyelid fluttered. It all felt easier with you.

His hands found your warm, soft waist again. His fingers were burning to the touch as much as his gaze along your jaw. It wasn’t long before he was pulling gentle moans out of you and himself likewise. His thumb trailed to your clit like you once taught him and you let out a particularly long sigh at the feeling.

“You’re a quick learner.” You couldn’t hold back your chuckle at this whole situation. He let out a chuckle too, a genuine little laugh that was entirely involuntary and unplanned. Something within  him snapped at that moment.

Deep within his thoughts, he rutted into you. The further he ventured, the rougher his movement built. You made him laugh, he could laugh. It’s been a decade of ingenuous emotion and feelings, and this person makes him laugh like it’s nothing. He knew he had to keep you this time. The Peter in him was slowly mixing with Vecna, as though one version of himself had taught the other how to feel pleasure and sympathy. He thought of the way he left you and hurt you the way he was hurt and he knew he couldn’t leave you again. The Vecna he was now desired you as much as Peter did. 

“Ooah!” You let out with a particularly hard thrust, hand steady on his shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have left you there alone.” He admitted in a completely bitter spit of his tongue. “I won’t leave you again.” 

“I sh-“ he pounded into you, “couldn’t” again, “of left,” again, “you.” 

There was no rhythm or pattern to his thrust, the man was desperate.

“It’s okay Peter.” He covered your mouth with his hand and he stopped moving. You fell onto his shoulder, panting and desperate to catch your breath. 

“I was never your Peter but I am your Henry now.” You looked at him, hesitant and a little afraid at his sudden change. You woke up in that moment, he was no longer this human vision he hid from you as he was the creature you’d seen before holding you, inside of you.  He watched your face intensely. He wanted you to face reality and stay with him, he wanted you by his side. 

“H- HenryYOAgh” you stuttered in mild hesitation until he rammed into again. That was all he needed to hear from you.

“I need you,” “stay with me,” “I can’t lose you again,” “I can’t lose this feeling,” “I can’t let them ruin you,” 

“It’s okay, Henry.” You were afraid but melted into him. Him like this truly made you feel guilty, that you’d give in so easily like you have no morals but you did in fact consider for a moment doing anything he asked of you. But he was right, he wasn’t the Peter you knew. 

“I have to set you free y/n.” “I have to keep you with me always.” 

He was slamming into you, ripping scream after scream from you. His voice was husky and he smelt absolutely foul but you gripped him like there was no tomorrow. 

Your hands were slipping down his arms and before you could even register what was going on, you undid completed.

“Just like that Y/n.” He repeated, holding you and taking you through your climax. Once satisfied, he carried you in his arms bridal style, coaxing you to sleep in his arms, enjoying the feeling of your complete and utter trust.

Tags 

@nightless @spookyconsultingcriminal @zaggprincess @mrskatpotter

[nances]

So why Will?

Writing out some thoughts and analysis on this matter, if you can call it that. This turned out way longer than intended, and it was supposed to be solely about Vecna, but I’m putting this out there nevertheless.

Starting out

I just want to know how tf is Vecna able to appear in this shot? Does this mean he’s always been able to shift between realities, it’s just that he wanted to open a gate solely for the upside down & the Mind Flayer to seep through into the real hawkins?

We can see here that he’s followed Will through the forest, instead of taking a head start through the Upside Down

Seems to be utilizing telekinetic powers here

Yet, in this shot, the background noises sound like those of the Demogorgan’s rather than the growl more characteristic to Vecna. We do see a dark figure looming right behind Will prior to this shot

Why couldn’t he take Will right then and there on the road? Was fear a factor? Will initially appears startled, but as he runs home and dials 911, he grows more afraid as the scene progresses. Perhaps, in order to form a “powerful psychic connection” he needed the boy to be scared out of his mind

Will is taken to the other side in a blip. The lightbulb showcases a spike of energy, in a similar fashion to the way the party’s flashlights bursted when Patrick was killed.

Later, when Hopper and then the laboratory men investigate this shed, it appears as though a portal has been opened here. Yet, season 4 demonstrates Vecna psychologically torturing and killing his victims brutally before ripping a hole in the fabric of time and space.

As far as we know, in season two the mothergate remains open. This means the portal that opened in the shed has remained there ever since. There’s no mention of this, however, when Will’s loved ones tie him up to a chair in order to reach him. Is this a plot hole? Or does this mean that when the Mind Flayer summons the demodogs, this is the gate they run through? The gang swiftly barricades itself in Joyce’s house, so this essentially happens off-screen.

So what exactly happens in season 1?

I think at this point, in the year of 1983, Vecna hasn’t yet fully tapped into his potential. He’s been recovering from the fallout of his and Eleven’s stand off for four years. He might have been probing for a way to reach our world for a while, without success. November 6th is the day Eleven unintentionally opens the mothergate.

Later that day, Will is taken.

So what is the takeaway?

Perhaps here Vecna realized that there’s a gate now. Perhaps the reason why the Upside Down looks like Hawkins is because that is where the gate was opened. The russians arrive in Hawkins because they’re unable to open a proper gate in their home country. Perhaps this factors into it in one way or another? Up until this point, the upside down was this sort of a vacuum, and unspoiled realm that existed in Henry’s mind. The second that the gate opened, Hawkins’ layout was replicated. We know for a fact one person alone wouldn’t be able to get every single detail down to Nancy’s shoebox and study cards right, so this must have been happening on some sort of transcendental level. We know there’s the multiverse theory, according to which there are countless replicas of our own universe, and perhaps we saw one of those created from scratch, except it’s rotten and spoiled by the twisted mindspace of Henry Creel. Perhaps the Upside down is still a vacuum, everywhere but Hawkins though. Perhaps this is the reason why a connection couldn’t be made in Russia. There was no child with psychokinetic powers to make tangible contact with the other side, they were solely operating by generating massive amounts of energy.

I’m going to be frank, I don’t believe Will has ever been involved with the laboratory, nor have his parents. That’d be one massive plot hole. Everything that is happening with the lab seems new, alien to Joyce. Lonnie never brings up anything pertaining to such a thing. Will isn’t a number.

Will is a traumatized little boy, that grew up in a broken family, is dealing with the scary realization, and i quote “that he doesn’t fit into the 1980s definition of normal” and he’s gotten his fair share of abuse from his father, presumably both psychological and physical.

We know that he is also “sweet” and “sensitive” and based on what Joyce tells us in season 2, he’s demonstrated complete and utmost selflessness throughout his life.

He is the complete opposite of Henry Creel, who’s been apathetic, sadistic and demonstrated borderline psychopathic behavior ever since he was a little child.

It must have made sense for Vecna to use his little Charles Xavier ability and latch onto this pure, innocent little child that has had so much trauma on his plate already. He must have been looking for someone whose psyche was already wavering, and by coupling that with the fear of a scary boogie man that’s out to get you, he was successfully able to claim his first “victim”.

He must have figured out that by establishing contact with the real Hawkins, this way he’d be able to inch closer to Eleven, and a way to unleash his vengeful sentiments.

Either that, or perhaps he conflated Will with Eleven. He’s not omniscient. He operates through people’s minds. Perhaps it appeared that Will was broken on a level that resembled Eleven’s psyche in a lot of ways. Perhaps he meant to take Eleven all along, but this “powerful psychic connection” that made it possible for him to take Will weakened him to the point that he had to retreat for a while, which in turn allowed Will to hide.

He then must have realized that he got the wrong kid, and perhaps that’s when he decided he’d use Will as a vessel, as the first flayed one. It makes a lot of sense; who would be able to suspect that this sweet, timid little child is actually a spy for this hellsent entity? Hopper and Joyce essentially hinder this plan, and it seems to take Vecna a year to figure out how to start implementing it again. Will is already “contaminated” by the Upside Down, Vecna’s already got a connection to him, so it’s easier to try and arrange a full scale possession this time.

Look, I really doubt that Will has powers. Because at this point, this deep into the series, we probably should have gotten some subtle indication of that. His nape tingles seem to be more of an imprint that this vile entity left on him, even after exiting his body. Sort of like Harry Potter being the last horcrux. It’s entirely possible that he has gained some sort of abilities, “true sight” as Mike puts, as a result of this altercation.

There is the possibility of him being an indigo-child type of case in a similar fashion to Henry Creel. We know that Henry started using his powers as a tool for his sadistic behavior very early on. It seems like these powers have an element of evil to them, as they’ve been weaponised in every instance in this show. The other numbered children are programmed to be killing machines. Had Will had these sort of abilities, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tap into them, since we never see him act with any malice. It would have made sense for him to be able to use this to his defense whenever he’d been picked on by bullies or abused by his father, but at this point, introducing an element like this whether it be in the form of flashbacks or something else, would feel forced and glued on, and it would frankly feel like riverdale.

Now I really hope that they handle the actual reveal, whatever it ends up being, in a clever way, instead of having Vecna growl out another cliché, bad guy monologue for Will as a means of exposition for the audience.

These are just some thoughts I’ve been having, I could be 100% wrong about all of this but this is just a take on what makes the most sense to me within both the context of the story and a narrative standpoint. Apologies if this is incoherent, I’m typing this on my phone and frankly, am too lazy to proofread everything

Edit: I want to add that there’s a possibility there was no conflation to begin with. Perhaps finding a vessel was his plan all along. And for the reasons I’ve listed above, he chose Will.

[buck-yyyy]

rewatching st4, and i have no proof, but. uh. the layout of chrissy’s house, in her vecna vision? seems really similar to the creel house. just saying.

[shieldofiron]

BTS: for Vecna Vision 3D?

Oh Maan... So many scenes are my favorite but the Joyride chapter going into Steve's Vecnavision is so actually my fave.

This whole sequence was in Steve's perspective and he's not exactly the most observant of guys so there's several layers of dramatic irony in him agonizing over Billy and coming to a realization about his sexuality at the worst possible time, aka in the middle of the upside down trying to get out. Meanwhile Billy's clearly having his heart broken by how well Nancy and Steve work as a team, and do things without thinking for each other. Poor Billy thinks its a failure of communication that he has to voice his needs (it's actually good communication.)

This sequence's got everything I want: Steve realizing he's bisexual, sexy wound tending, Billy ripping out a demodog's heart or something, car chases, Robin with a makeshift flamethrower, tender homoeroticism, and Vecna being THE drama.

Eddie and Billy flirt so much in this scene my beta converted to a full on metalsandwich reader mid-fic. Not a joke, she ONLY ships them as a triad because Eddie's SUCH a flirt. He really is just like that.

I wrote it on a plane to Austin, TX and didn't have wifi access but I mostly accurately got the town layout.

The cyclone of demobats is my favorite part, it took me a while to figure out where I wanted the sequence to go, but I love the idea of swarms and swarms of them attacking, like in The Birds. Side note, is the Creel house meant to look like this or like Bates motel?

They do show that electricity kind of does exist in the upside down, and that objects there are from a particular time, so Billy figures out pretty quickly that hotwiring a car might be a possibility. One thing I wanted to play with is that from the moment Billy figures out that the lake gate is a no go, he is not stopping until he gets them home, he can't even stand still for one moment. While Nancy is gathering clues, he's scavenging as quickly as possible. That's part of what makes him a good team member- he takes risks and works fast, because he's used to obstacles making things harder.

And can we talk about Billy's healing factor? I'm dying to talk about his healing factor. This is the first time we actually get to see him really use it, he grabs things with his bare hands that would make the rest of them shrink back in fear, like crushing demobat skulls with his bare hands. I particularly love the part where Robin asks about upside down rabies, and Billy says he's pre-infected. I wanted him to have that sort of careless dark humor about his powers, like a certain someone who shares a lot with Billy.

And finally, Steve's VecnaVision. While I appreciate Nancy's in canon, it doesn't reveal a whole lot, actually it seems to step her back in character development all the way to season 1. I understand Barb dying is her thing but it seemed a little less evolved. So I had to imagine what Steve's biggest fear would be. First, Vecna plays heavily on his intelligence, which is an obvious pain point, but then goes further. Steve is a really protective person, which of course Vecna sees as a weakness. I really wanted to show that Vecna is most powerful here, and that he can cause physical sensation, completely warping a person's sense. Why show someone a vision limited by the powers of boring physics when you can do anything. Steve's Vision includes a lot of earthly references, he's thrown through the ground, digging into dirt. He's very solid and defined, ans his sense of self is the same way.

Later when Billy goes into his vision, everything is liquidy, scenes dripping and swirling and drifting, because I wanted to show that Vecna tailors his vision not only to the person but the way the person views the world. Billy's in a moment of transition, and he feels sort of insolid and unsure about so many things. He loves the ocean, but there's a fear there too, because the ocean can also be loss.

Maybe when I write the sequel we'll get to see what Vecna would do for everyone else.

Unusual asks

[pacinglikeghosts]

baby it's halloween (and we can be anything)

ronance | ronancetober challenge | day 1

“What’s it like?” Robin asked as she, Nancy, and Steve walked in a perfectly timed stride towards their doom. Robin wanted to say she was being hyperbolic, or at the very least incredibly over dramatic, but with every step towards the old, dilapidated Creel house, the pit of anxiety that had settled in her stomach since Eddie told the group about what happened to Chrissy grew bigger and more nauseating.

“Monster hunting?” Nancy questioned as her lips quirked up, though her gaze remained steely and focused on the path ahead. “You should know, you’ve done it before.”

Robin shook her head, adjusting the grip on her flashlight. “Shooting a gun,” she clarified. “And I would hardly call what I did at Starcourt ‘monster hunting…’ I barely even remember it, first of all, since between the Russian drugs and the concussions Steve and I got from him smashing the car into Billy Hargrove–”

day one: upside down (or, my take on that scene in the woods from 'the piggyback.')

as always, layout credits to bunivys! and credits to @lionydoorin for creating the challenge!

read it here!

[manycoloureddays]

🥺🛒🎶🧐🎃👀 for the fic ask game!!

emily!!! hi!!! thank you 🥰

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

hugs!! there's so much you can convey about character dynamics, relationships, and emotions through a hug, and i love watching them just as much as i love writing them! i love using them platonically, i love using them romantically, two of my favourite fics to write have featured many, many, hugs. it's a way to slow down movement and plot too, spend a little time reconnecting to the pov character's train of thought.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

i love to read and write romance, but the core of most of my fics (and my work in general) is finding love in community. i love found family, i love friendship, love as a choice and an action and a force for healing is so important to me narratively. hugs are one way of showing that, but i'll also usually incorporate a cooking/eating scene because cooking as a love language and family coming together to eat and talk and connect are big parts of my life that i like to sprinkle into my stories. hand holding, finding love in even the darkest times, finding solace and help and strength in your community, all of them show up regularly too.

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

i can't listen to music while i write because i get too distracted, i work much better with ambient noise. but i do have lots of writing playlists that i'll listen to when i'm walking my dogs, cleaning up, and generally getting ready to write, so that i'm in the right headspace once i get there. at the moment i've been listening to my nancy & robin playlists quite a bit, partly because they're two of my favourites and partly because i'm gearing up for some ronance scenes!

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

it depends on the story! sometimes i get sucked down a rabbit hole researching weaponry for a fantasy au or the layout of a city i've never been to for a fic that needs to feel particularly grounded, other time i only google things like "when did [movie/song/book] come out?" or "what time does the sun set in july in [insert place here]?" to make sure i'm not totally off base!

🎃 Do you write fics for certain holidays? Which is your favorite holiday inspired fic?

i'm such a slow writer that if i try to write a spooky fic for halloween, i'd end up posting it in january!! i'm trying to think if i've ever actually finished one for the holiday itself and...... i don't think i have. but i do love to read them! i return to these two fics every christmas: pining for you - the librarina and as long as we have we - lady_ragnell

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

you've heard bits and pieces about a lot of my wips, so i'll try and give you something you haven't heard yet! in the next chapter of my fix it fic, we're finally at the end of spring break and the kids, nancy, robin and eddie all have to go back to school (which will be interesting for certain individuals who have become incredibly codependent in recent chapters. anyway, it's nancy pov and it's a sinclair wheeler carpool situation, with nancy dropping erica off at the middle school when she sees some of the basketball team hanging around attempting something like menacing. erica puts on a brave face, but nancy can tell something is up and even though the sinclair's haven't given a full rundown of the events at the creel house, nancy isn't stupid, she can take a fairly educated guess. needless to say, the basketball team learns just how scary nancy wheeler can be. and once the fix it fic is finally finished, i'll be able to dedicate more time to finishing the fic where steve dies (temporarily) which will be fun and devastating!!

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 19 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Aquaman #42 is a tie-in to the “Drowned Earth” event, following on his skewering at the hands of Poseidon in Justice League #11. Navigating his way through a dead realm is kind of a weird way for Dan Abnett to close out his run on the series, but it’s still a satisfying issue. Great art from Lan Medina, Vicente Cifuentes, and Gabe Eltaeb.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman #59 continues the “Tyrant Wing” arc with Batman acting a little unhinged on Penguin’s tip that Bane is running Arkham from the shadows, continuing his criminal empire to kill throughout Gotham. It’s interesting to see Batman alienate his allies again in his pursuit for vengeance.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #1 begins a new volume setting up an alien adventure in Britain, building upon the previous series but not requiring it as reading, from David Avallone, Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Taylor Esposito. Bettie Page, paranormal investigator, is still a weird but entertaining remit and this opening issue does a good job of continuing in that vein as Bettie travels to England to investigate the Queen having been abducted by aliens. Ohta’s art also just keeps getting better and better.

| Published by Dynamite

Black Badge #4 employs a unique approach to flashbacks, with a solid spot colour in otherwise black and white image from Tyler and Hilary Jenkins. It’s a neat technique that really makes the scenes stand out.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Bloodborne #7 continues to question the realities and relationship of religion and science, even as the city’s fate becomes bleaker and the disease threatens more and more citizens. While I think I preferred the existential terror of the first arc more, this is still highly enjoyable.

| Published by Titan

Cold Spots #4 delivers a little bit of explanation as to what Grace has been brought to the island to do. I say a little bit, since there’s still a lot left unanswered in this penultimate issue. Gorgeous artwork from Mark Torres. You can almost feel the coldness coming off the pages.

| Published by Image

Cover #3 is some amazing storytelling. Somehow Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, and Carlos M. Mangual are layering more and more into the narrative with each subsequent issue in such a brilliant way that you barely notice how many disparate pieces are being presented. It’s like an intricate tapestry being woven before us. This issue even has a special sequence illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz of a fantasy story I desperately want to read the rest of.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Crimson Lotus #1 begins a new series from John Arcudi, Mindy Lee, Michelle Madsen, and Clem Robins giving an origin story to Yumiko Daimio, one of Lobster Johnson’s enemies and grandmother to the BPRD’s favourite jaguar. It’s good, and an appearance early on from Rasputin just further shows some of the intricacies of the Hellboy universe.

| Published by Dark Horse

Devil Within #2 keeps the creepy factor up as Samantha and Michelle try to get help for Michelle’s possible possession. Excellent moody atmosphere provided by the art from Maan House and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Black Mask

Doctor Strange #8 begins “The Price” but it’s really just a continuation of the “Two Doctors” arc, building off the corruption of Strange’s former student. Mark Waid gives us some very interesting developments here regarding who is targeting him, along with Kamma finding out something Stephen wishes she wouldn’t, and the revelation of the location of one of the other gems from Cyttorak that were revealed to exist in X-Men Black.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #12 ends the second arc with some lies, half-truths, and compelling confessions. The theme of change and mutation that has been evident since the first issue really comes to the fore this issue as some huge changes occur for the cast.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Exorsisters #2 gives more background to how the sisters came about through a deal with infernal powers by their mother. The art from Gisèle Lagacé and Pete Pantazis really is a huge draw.

| Published by Image

High Heaven #3 spends some time with Heather as she deals, kind of, with the loss of both David and Ben. Very weird things continue to go on in heaven with the usual great art from Greg Scott and Andy Troy. The Hashtag: Danger back-up remains funny with the lengths that the team goes to in order to save one of their own, only to have her kill herself again. And the prose pieces nicely round out the entire package.

| Published by Ahoy

Hot Lunch Special #4 delivers the penultimate chapter to not just one of the best crime stories I’ve read in years, but also just one of the best stories I’ve read in years period. Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito have really got something special here, with intriguing characters, an ever twisting plot, and some incredible visual. The layouts for this issue, breaking down the pacing, are just wonderful.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #9 is another staggeringly good issue, with a change for the Absorbing Man as he’s tapped to go up against the Hulk. While I am a little sad he didn’t stay legitimate following his redemption arc in Black Bolt, his development here from Al Ewing is pretty intriguing. Also love the art as the regular team of Joe Bennett, Ruy José, and Paul Mounts trade off pages with guest artist Martin Simmonds. The former illustrating the Hulk and the latter Creel before alternating in the battle between the two.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity 8 #7 begins the third loop “The Gospel According to Emma” from Lewis Trondheim, Fabien Vehlmann, and Olivier Balez. This reboot of the timeline starts off incredibly wrong as the Marshal approached to assist this time turns on the crew and effectively strands them in this timeline. There’s some interesting bits of grave robbers stealing treasure and overtones of the Marshal’s religion.

| Published by Lion Forge / Magnetic Collection

Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther #1 begins the final of these two-issue “Infinity Warps” mash-ups. Like the rest, it is incredibly well done. Jed MacKay, Jefte Palo, Jim Campbell, and Joe Sabino craft a tale merging Ghost Rider and Black Panther, seamlessly blending the two into something magical. The art from Palo and Campbell may well be the best of any of these minis and the art on all of them has been very impressive. Love the design for Zarathos.

| Published by Marvel

Judge Dredd: Toxic #2 has the violence and toxicity spillover as the explosion at one of the waste facilities causes increased fear and tension amongst the scrubbers hired to keep Mega-City One functioning. Paul Jenkins is crafting a tale full of the problems that come with xenophobia and the art from Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Jason Millet just makes it visceral.

| Published by IDW

Justice League #12 has some really nice art from Frazer Irving for this penultimate chapter of the “Drowned Earth” event. Also, a very interesting revelation from Poseidon when it comes to the invading sea gods.

| Published by DC Comics

Justice League Dark #5 kicks off a new arc dealing with the ramifications of the first one, “The Witching Hour” crossover, and previous unrevealed tales of what happened with Detective Chimp after inheriting the Oblivion Bar. James Tynion IV gives some nice nods to the original Shadowpact series aided by beautiful art from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Adriano Lucas.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Space Race #2 introduces us to another member of the team, giving us a bit of his backstory, and largely making us want to drop him into a deep dark hole and forget that he’s there. Peter Calloway does a wonderful job of making Roger Freeman thoroughly unlikable, it’s kind of astonishing.

| Published by AfterShock

Lightstep #1 is a very different kind of sci-fi tale, mixing almost the feel of the decadence of Rome under Nero or Caligula and the high concept science fiction of a society that measures the class of its citizens by genetic similarity to their progenitor, and thereby assigns how “fast” they live. As I say, different from Miloš Slavković, Mirko Topalski, and Andrej Bunjac. Slavković’s art reminds me a bit Pasqual Ferry mixed with John Watkiss. The story itself somewhat reminds me of Watkiss’ work on John Jakes’ Mulkon Empire. On top of that, it’s part of a broader video game/media franchise from Eipix Entertainment, of which this looks like only the first volley (a novel and video game are forthcoming).

| Published by Dark Horse

The Lollipop Kids #2 continues to be a fantastic and fabulous comic from Adam & Aidan Glass, Diego Yapur, DC Alonso, and Sal Cipriano. The art alone from Yapur and Alonso would be worth the price of admission, but the characters, setting, and overall plot just elevate this beyond a typical kids fantasy type deal.

| Published by AfterShock

Low Road West #3 gets significantly stranger and much more surreal as reality seems to be growing thinner. We’re still not any closer to really understanding what’s truly going on, but it doesn’t really matter. Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Flaviano, Miquel Muerto, and Jim Campbell are telling one hell of a compelling story.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Mae #10 has Mae deal with some stuff in our world before stocking up and returning back to Cimrterén to resume her search for her father. Gorgeous artwork as always from Gene Ha and Wes Hartman.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar

Marvel Knights #2 sees Matthew Rosenberg and Nico Henrichon join Donny Cates for this chapter, giving a bit of back story on how Banner roped in Castle into searching out the various heroes and leads to a confrontation with Elektra. Still no closer to understanding what happened here, but it does get weirder with a hallucinatory Karen Page. Henrichon’s art is just perfect for telling this story.

| Published by Marvel

Middlewest #1 is a magical debut of this new series from Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. It’s a fantasy grounded in the reality of growing up hard in Middle America, with Abel dealing with an abusive father, while just trying to be a kid. But there’s a talking fox and devastating sentient storms. Rather inventive stuff all around. I’m also getting the impression that Jorge Corona should really be a household name. Between No. 1 with a Bullet, Old Man Jack, and now this, he’s been killing it recently.

| Published by Image

Night Moves #1 is a pretty great debut from VJ Boyd, Jordan Boyd, Clay McCormack, Mike Spicer, and Shawn DePasquale. It’s a gritty crime drama with occult overtones, but most of the weirdness is just simmering under the surface so far as the protagonists work to find out what kind of mess they’re in. McCormack and Spicer’s art really capture the feel of the seediness of the story well.

| Published by IDW

Optimus Prime #25 brings it all to a close, with a flashback through Optimus’ life and little vignettes of the various Transformers from John Barber, Kei Zama, Josh Burcham, and Tom B. Long. I’m really going to miss this world. 

| Published by IDW

Pearl #4 is probably the most stereotypical Bendis issue to date, but the dialogue doesn’t tip over into the ridiculous territory. Most of this issue is a conversation between Pearl and tattoo boy, but at least it’s interesting conversation and not random pop culture references repeated as questions.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #5 gives a bittersweet end to this story, filled with loss and sacrifice. It’s kind of fitting considering how bleak both this and the first series have been. Wonderful art from Oleg Okunev, Guy Major, Michael Garland, and Marko Lesko.

| Published by AfterShock

The Punisher #4 may well be one of the bloodiest, most violent mainline 616 Marvel Universe Punisher issues yet as Jigsaw and an assortment of Hydra goons attempt to kidnap Frank from prison. Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski are continuing to keep this book moving at a breakneck pace, like an action movie that barely takes any moments to breathe.

| Published by Marvel

Quantum & Woody! #12 brings this volume to a close, with an interesting character study of the brothers at the hands of GATE and X-O Manowar.

| Published by Valiant

Rumble #9 brings “Things Remote” to an end with an epic battle between the Esu and Rathraq’s friends, leading to an interesting realization for Rathraq and what he wants out of life. Stunningly beautiful art from David Rubín and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Image

Shadowman #9 continues the “Rag and Bone” arc as Alyssa and Jack confront Sandria Darque. Gorgeous artwork from Renato Guedes, Eric Battle, and Ulises Arreola. 

| Published by Valiant

Shuri #2 continues the search for Black Panther, while back on Earth the women of Wakanda form a council to figure out how to maintain and administer the nation while he’s missing. Definitely some interesting concepts and character points from Nnedi Okorafor. Phenomenal artwork and layouts from Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Force #2 is probably one of the bleakest, mean-spirited stories I’ve read in a while. This isn’t a bad thing, but the story’s a bit of a downer as the nature of an irradiated world without hope seems to permeate everything, including characters like Jessica Drew who are normally at least a bit more level-headed. Priest is writing a very dark story, with some complicated characters like Peter’s granddaughter who grew up in the Old Man Logan universe and a Peter Parker who looks like he was abused by Uncle Ben.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Geddon #4 kind of spoils the need to read Spider-Force #3 out in three weeks, which just kind of adds to the downer feel of that series. This issue turns darker itself with a bevy of betrayals. Christos Gage has kind of stacked the deck against the spiders, I wonder how they’re going to get out of it in the finale.

| Published by Marvel

Stellar #6 concludes the series and it is incredibly messed up. The conflict between Zenith and Stellar is bizarre and perverse, but I don’t really want to go into it more because spoilers would ruin its impact. Joe Keatinge, Bret Blevins, and Rus Wooton have done an amazing job with this series. Highly recommended.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Sukeban Turbo #1 is another series originally published by Glénat Editions in France, translated into English for North American markets. It’s a mix of teenage rebellion, crime, and following a boy band from Sylvain Runberg, Victor Santos, and Shawn Lee. The art from Santos is worth it on its own, very impressive layouts and storytelling.

| Published by IDW

Summit #10 kicks off the third arc for the series and like most of the Catalyst Prime series recently it undergoes a bit of a change in status quo. Val finds out that she hasn’t been hallucinating, but hearing the voice of another of her team that was essentially vaporized during the event, before having her life turned upside down as the government starts hunting her. Amy Chu continues writing the series, while she’s joined by Marika Cresta fully for the art here.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Tony Stark: Iron Man #6 begins “Stark Realities” and the launch of Tony’s eScape virtual reality game. Dan Slott, with a script assist from Jeremy Whitley, does a great job of making it feel chaotic at launch, with some ordinary and extraordinary problems occurring. The pissed off griefer is hilarious.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1 is an interesting reinterpretation of Carnage’s origin to fit within the new mythology being crafted in the current Venom series, also building off the recent two-part arc there with the Maker, from Donny Cates, Danilo S. Beyruth, Cris Peter, and Clayton Cowles. This is more very entertaining outgrowth of the Marvel Universe from Cates and gives us a quite possibly deadlier Carnage.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #4 concludes the first arc in fairly straightforward fashion as the team deals with BRODOK and the women transformed into giant monsters. Some nice little character moments from Kelly Thompson and great art from Stefano Caselli and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

The Whispering Dark #2 continues its existential and moral crisis as the squad commits war crimes as they struggle to survive. There’s something off about how everything is happening, in how Christofer Emgård is writing the narration, but I’m not sure if it’s just the in-story reason of the go-pills. It feels like the squad is already in Hell and being judged.  

| Published by Dark Horse

Other Highlights: American Carnage #1, Archie #700, Black AF: Widows & Orphans #4, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7, Burnouts #3, Days of Hate #10, Dejah Thoris #10, Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #2, East of West #40, Encounter #8, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option #2, Go-Bots #1, Jughead: The Hunger #10, The Long Con #5, Love & Rockets #6, Lucifer #2, Lumberjanes #56, Mars Attacks #2, The New World #5, Olivia Twist #3, Project Superpowers #4, Rick & Morty Presents Pickle Rick #1, Smooth Criminals #1, Star Wars #57, Star Wars: Solo #2, TMNT: Urban Legends #7, Underwinter: Queen of Spirits, Xena: Warrior Princess #10

Recommended Collections: 24 Panels, Accell - Volume 3: Turf Battles, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows - Volume 4: Are You Okay, Annie?, Crude - Volume 1, Dark Souls Omnibus, Delta 13, Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate, Flavor, Immortal Hulk - Volume 1: Or is he Both?, Justice League - Volume 1: The Totality, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 4: Coming Home, Resident Alien - Volume 5: An Alien in New York, Spidey: School’s Out, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses - Volume 3, Unnatural - Volume 1: Awakening, Venom - Volume 1: Rex, The X-Files: Case Files - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy wonders if there’s going to be any light in our real darkest hour.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1288

Monday, November 18, 2019

 Winter arrived early this year and is here to stay. I started a project yesterday going through our photo albums and labelling them to help when we want to look for a particular picture. I ended up scanning a bunch to send to friends and family to share in a bit of nostalgia. It was fun going down memory lane.

 The Immortal Hulk #26 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). So Bruce/Hulk has commandeered a Shadow Base site and has declared that he and his supporters are going to change the world. He spends a lot of time arguing with one potential ally while another ally listens in. Meanwhile the media paints Bruce as a terrorist and the far right go on the attack. I have an interest in current world affairs and this book reflects what is happening right now, which makes for a very interesting read. The Hulk isn't going to rampage willy nilly but has a specific target in mind.

 Guardians of the Galaxy #11 - Donny Cates (writer) Cory Smith (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is a very quick read since it is mostly good guys fighting bad guys and setting up next issue's conclusion where someone saves the day.

 Detective Comics #1015 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Doug Mahnke & Jose Luis (pencils) Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin & Matt Santorelli (inks) David Baron (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Mister Freeze successfully resurrects his wife Nora and then throws her into the deep end of crime. I can't blame her for going off the deep end and kicking Victor to the curb. Meanwhile, Batman, Lucius and Alfred race to find a cure for the innocent victims that got frozen. Will Mister Freeze help? The art in this issue really stood out.

 Event Leviathan #6 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Alex Maleev (art) Josh Reed (letters). The identity of Leviathan is revealed and it's no one that I know. You're going to have to Google Mark Shaw to learn more. I care more about what he and his minions are going to do next.

 Runaways #27 - Rainbow Rowell (writer) Kris Anka (pencils) Kris Anka & Walden Wong (inks) Dee Cunniffe & Jim Campbell (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The kids don costumes and head out to fight crime with Doc Justice. Cosplayers are happy.

 Punisher Soviet #1 - Garth Ennis (writer) Jacen Burrows (pencils) Guillermo Ortego (inks) Nolan Woodard (colours) Rob Steen (letters). Punisher fans rejoice. This is a top notch team telling a two-fisted tale of Frank versus the Russian mob. Throw in a copycat crime fighter and I'm hooked for the rest of this 6-issue mini. Welcome back Garth.

 Elfquest Stargazer's Hunt #1 - Wendy and Richard Pini (story) Sonny Strait (art) Nate Piekos (letters). The more things change, the more Elfquest stays the same. I recognised these elves immediately and decided to see what's up with them since I was really into Cutter and Skywise from the very beginning going back forty years. We catch up with Skywise in this new story. He's got a young daughter now and lives in a peaceful fairy land called Starhome. If you like pure fantasy you should give this a try

 Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #3 - Jody Houser (writer) Adriana Melo (pencils) Mark Morales (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Gabriela Downie (letters). The girls going to the Mad Hatter for help wasn't a good idea. Jervis almost manages to control them for his own nefarious purposes. Now they're on the road again to who knows where. I'm hitching along.

 Black Cat Annual #1 - Jed MacKay (writer) Joey Vazquez (art: Felicia & Peter) Natacha Bustos (art: Bruno) Juan Gedeon (art: Dr. Korpse) Brian Reber (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). This is three separate capers rolled into one big heist. Spider-Man and the Black Cat get married in order to facilitate the robbery. I liked how everything interconnected and how Peter was conned into helping. This is one annual worth picking up.

 Catwoman #17 - Joelle Jones (story & art) Laura Allred (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Oh man, am I ever glad I didn't bench this book when Joelle went on hiatus. When she writes and draws a book the product is far superior than most. From the cover to the very last page this issue gave me shivers. We're resuming Selina's battle with the crazy Creel woman and Catwoman is going to have a little help from a friend. I can't wait to read the next issue.

 Fallen Angels #1 - Bryan Hill (writer) Szymon Kudranski (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The four pages before the credits page absolutely captivated me and then the rest of the issue grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and didn't let go. I was wondering what the heck happened to Psylocke (real name Kwannon) after reading Excalibur #1 and here we have answers. She's leading a new team of mutants going after a very deadly villain by the name of Apoth. So far she's recruited Laura/X-23 and young Nathan/Cable. This title gets added to my "must read" list.

 Far Sector #1 - N. K. Jemisin (writer) Jamal Campbell (art) Deron Bennett (letters). This new comic by the award winning science fiction and fantasy author introduces us to Green Lantern Mullein. She's investigating a murder in a city where three alien races co-existed peacefully until now. It's the first murder in 5 centuries in a city with 20 billion citizens. This book lost me right there with that unbelievable stat. The art is absolutely gorgeous but a rookie Green Lantern dealing with this crime is too far-fetched for me. If this were a regular detective in a regular city I might have continued reading. I just don't buy a green Green Lantern in an idyllic world.

 The Dollhouse Family #1 - M. R. Carey (writer) Peter Gross (layouts) Vince Locke (finishes) Cris Peter (colours) Todd Klein (letters). This is one creepy comic book about a 19th Century dollhouse bequeathed to a little girl in England in the early eighties. There's magic involved when the girl can shrink and play with the dolls in the house. There's the mystery of where the dollhouse comes from. The creepy part is the Black Room in the house. This issue starts with a crash landing and ends with the punishment of an abusive husband. I am very intrigued.

 Morbius #1 - Vita Ayala (writer) Marcelo Ferreira (pencils) Roberto Poggi (inks) Dono Sanchez-Almara (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Michael the living vampire is back on the racks and he's still trying to cure himself of his bloodlust. This starts off with a dumb costumed mad scientist villain followed by Morbius attacking the bad guy's henchmen all to abscond with the experimental serum that might cure him. They never establish what the bad guy's serum was going to do, which made the effect on Morbius predictable at the end of this issue. The only thing that might get me to read more is the hot blonde vampire hunter who shows up and the art in this was superb.

 X-Men #2 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) Gerry Alanguilan (inks) Sunny Gho (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Boy, Jonathan Hickman isn't coasting with these mutants. First (spoiler alert) he kills off a major character and now he's adding even more intrigue with a mating of Krakoa and another island. All mutants, good and not so good, were brought together on Krakoa but I always wondered when the not so good ones would start to do not so good things. Apocalypse steps to the fore here. I liked how Cyclops and his kids behaved during their mission to explore the new island.

 The Batman's Grave #2 - Warren Ellis (writer) Bryan Hitch (art) Alex Sinclair (colours) Richard Starkings (letters). The art does most of the heavy lifting with nary a caption or word balloon in the first 12 pages. Bryan's pages looked great. Warren then weighs in with a summons for Batman from Commissioner Gordon using the Bat signal. A crooked lawyer has been murdered. I like when Batman plays detective.

 Future Foundation #4 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Alti Firmansyah (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Can the kids keep evil Reed from getting a piece of the Miracle Man? Looks like it. But wait, there's more. Next issue's conclusion to this story should be just as exciting as this one.

 Joker: Killer Smile #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Andrea Sorrentino (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Steve Wands (letters). I'm always willing to try a new book when I see Jeff Lemire's name in the credits because he usually manages to entertain me. I'm not a big fan of the clown prince of crime especially after the Joker became darker and started to kill people. This is the story of Doctor Ben Arnell, a psychologist trying to cure the Joker after the killer's most recent incarceration in Arkham Asylum. It's a story of mind games where a good man finds himself succumbing to the influence of evil. This is another good DC Black Label book worth reading.

[aemiron-main]

the creels’ disappearing door and magic, colour-changing wallpaper

So, we’re not only seeing two different versions of the Creel murders in Dear Billy and The Massacre at Hawkins Lab- we’re also seeing two different Creel houses entirely. In chatting with @henrysglock, there’s some noticeable differences, but specifically, one room.

See that room in front of “Henry”? The one with the white door in it and the green wallpaper?

Yeah, that’s this room:

They are 100%, absolutely, undeniably, the same room in the same part of the house. The Creel house can be a maze sometimes, but this part of the layout is undeniable.

But if those are the same room, then where did the door go? And why did the walls change from green to red?

I would be willing to bet that the UD version of the Creel house has green wallpaper in that room, with a white door. As well, Max and Lucas are in the timeline where Victor talked about Henry, and are also in the timeline where the wallpaper is red.

Meaning that this guy, whose house has the green wallpaper:

Is Edward.

There’s also something rattling in my brain about Henry/Edward having two almost identical cardigans, the only difference being that one is red and one is green.

Max and Lucas also talk about a door to a secret lair when they’re in that room- a room that just happens to have a door that disappeared. A door, that interestingly enough, would have led to Victor’s study.

And when we see the UD version of the Creel house, the entry to that room is conveniently hidden every time.

Here it is, cut JUST out of view by the camera angle:

Here it is again, it’s hidden by Nancy’s head this time:

[henrysglock]

As promised forever ago: The layouts of the Creel house ground floor.

Note: These two maps have alterations! There are also some rooms we don’t see in those maps, so those are mapped based on the assumption that everything else has remained the same. It may not have.

I consulted with Em on these, but if anyone sees anything they want to question…go for it!

[henrysglock]

anyone want to explain to me why the layout of the creel house is wrong and virginia has [*checks notes*] BROWN HAIR???

also. gay powers activate.

[henrysglock]

Funny to me how almost every negative trait ascribed to Henry in the VR game is Shadow Brenner talking. Like okay, sir, who are you trying to convince here?

It’s also hilarious to me that Vecna’s taunts sound just like Shadow Brenner irt choices of taunts/vernacular/etc…I smell bullshit. I smell “Oh, I’m the one in control, I’m not being influenced” when really it was entirely too easy to take control and all of Vecna’s shit reeks of Shadow Brenner. The best indicator of brainwashing is believing you’re resistant to brainwashing.

Which…it’s all 100% giving NINA, something we all know isn’t straightforward.

Hell, they even reference NINA-type dynamics for Shadow Brenner making Henry relive his old memories, particularly of the lab:

So I really, really am wary of claiming most of this as canon (something I’ve been saying since they teased it back in November).

Also: They’re very protective of 001, but Vecna shows up in things as un-canon as the Puzzle Tales game. So…I don’t take Vecna canonicity very seriously here, especially not as a meter to judge Henry/001 by…not to mention that they wouldn’t make any major, canon-altering reveals in a fucking video game. Like…come on, guys.

And on top of that: Half the shit we supposedly know about pre-Vecna Henry from the game is told to us in memories being replayed to Henry by the Shadow as Vecna tries to pull his shattered/jumbled mind together and keep control of the hive. The other half is given to you by the Shadow when it’s studying Henry! There’s no way in hell they’re as straightforward as you think they are. It’s all silly, terrible gameplay!

And they say as much:

It’s all a big experiment! And you think it’s going to just tell you everything you need to know about Season 5??? Be serious.

Didn’t think I’d have to say it, but: Let’s not fall for the NINA “taking everything at face value” trap again.

Even further…Vecna isn’t even subtitled as Henry/001:

As far as I’m concerned: We have net zero new information about Henry/001 as a person scoping out of his lab flashbacks…which is consistent with games and novels and comics not being strictly canon!

You’re telling me you’re gonna worry about the canonicity of a game where Virginia’s hair is brown and the Creel house layout is fucked up while Vecna struggles to put his mind back together? None of this is strictly canon. It can inform on canon, it can (and does) double down on existing subtext, but it’s honestly nothing that we haven’t seen already.

As always, never forget: THE FILM IS THE THING. The play, the TV show…they’re canon. Not a video game.

(the link to the interview will be added when I’m back to my laptop)

[henrysglock]

Does the VR game contradict TFS or the filmed canon?

Both, but some of the contradictions may be, in part, due to the fact that the Henry-memories that we experience are fed to him by the Shadow. Some parts, like his relationship to Brenner, might be a little skewed by that as the Shadow tries to convince Henry to join it.

Contradictions per TFS:

VR Henry was 12 when he entered the lab, and he's characterized as "obedient" and "eager to please/show off". Henry in TFS is 14, neurotic, rebellious, and prone to Shadow-fits.

There's also no mention of Patty in the VR game, as far as I've seen.

Virginia in TFS had blonde blonde hair, VR Virginia has brown hair.

Nevada/the caves/Henry's flaying haven't been mentioned, and I'm heading into chapter 6 of 9 after finishing the lab memories arc.

Henry doesn't recognize the Shadow...at all. He doesn't recognize Dimension X, either. The Shadow is trying to possess him and take him into the hive. If he were flayed, that wouldn't be necessary.

A couple things that are consistent:

The Shadow keeps trying to get you to kill a bird, and TFS Henry goes after animals first to avoid killing humans. But that's contradicted by the plot point where you kill a person rather than the bird to rebel against the Shadow, so...

The Shadow takes on multiple forms to try and convince Henry to join it, but it never does any of this stuff:

There aren't any visions of the future, everything is purely coercive (threatening or non-threatening), and the Shadow never drops any helpful hints the way TFS Henry's shadow-visions do. I'm here wondering if this game should be the thing called "The First Shadow", because Henry here very much seems to be the first iteration.

Contradictions per filmed canon:

While the ages match up, the temperaments don't. How is Henry, 12, an obedient people-pleaser while also having killed his mother to escape Brenner? The game contradicts itself on this one ^^ Henry was supposedly a good subject, but you're given the option to murder a man in your first run through the "kill the bird" experiment set. In fact, if you're resisting the Shadow, you're supposed to kill the guy rather than the bird solely to rebel against the Shadow. Makes me wonder how reliable the characterization is overall/how much is the Shadow trying to convince Henry he's obedient and eager to please.

Young Henry and orderly Henry alike call Brenner "doctor", even in private. The mentions of Papa come from the Shadow as far as I've seen.

Henry and Brenner in VR seem to have had something of an amicable working relationship/Brenner seems to have at least attempted to act like he cares about Henry, even though Henry supposedly never does his chores/slacks off. Again, though, not sure what was real and what was manipulated by the Shadow to try and coerce Henry.

Virginia has brown hair, not bottle blonde.

The Creel house layout is entirely wrong.

See what I mean?

You'd have to be facing the mystery door in the family room to be able to see the stairs that way, which would make Victor's study the dining room.

So...somehow they swapped the family room (the lumax piano scene room) for the parlor and Victor's study/the front room for the dining room. Here's another way to see it:

And there are some things that fit weirdly...overall.

Henry supposedly threw a kid off playground equipment when he was 10...this has me staring at Henry in Nevada and wondering if the kid whose arm was broken was different than the boy Henry put in a wheelchair.

The Shadow was not in spider form, you as the player shape it while playing as Henry. This contradicts both TFS and Filmed Young Henry, both of whom already seemed to have the Mindflayer...in mind, if you will.

The Shadow taking the form of Brenner does make sense irt TFS, though, since Brenner has all these weird "trying to get back to Dimension X" and "being overlaid with the Mindflayer" moments.

Fun to note, not necessarily within the bounds of the ask: Henry has yet ANOTHER!! House of leaves moment. I've talked about Haunted by Poe before and its status as a companion piece to HoL.

Well. Henry at one point, when subjugating the Shadow, says something along the lines of "While you were playing Doctor, I was taking over/taking control". And my brain went "Huh. I've heard that before, right?"

I sure had :) Control by Poe, on the Haunted album.

There are multiple others in the game but I don't have time to lay them out right now.

[aemiron-main]

was victor watching henry draw?

This scene caught my eye today:

It’s interesting because one of the main things I’ve been asking myself when it comes to the Creel murders is “whose eyes are we looking through?” and while of course there’s creative liberty with shots/not all shots are directly through somebody’s eyes, the Creel house scenes in particular are very specific about POV and whose eyes we’re seeing through.

So, whose eyes are we seeing through in the above scene? It’s automatically not through Henry’s eyes, because he wouldn’t have been looking at himself/seeing himself.

Well, to answer this, let’s take a look at the layout of the Creel living room:

See that chair on screen right? That chair is EXACTLY where the camera was positioned during that shot of Henry drawing. They chose to shoot the scene of Henry drawing from the pov of that chair- or of someone sitting in it.

Now, during Victor’s retelling/when the scene of Henry drawing plays, we get this line:

“I could see he felt something was wrong” Victor could literally see it- this shot of Henry sitting at the table and drawing was possibly through Victor’s eyes. He likely watched this happen, watched Henry react to the flickering lights. But we don’t see what happened after. We don’t see if Victor asked Henry about why he was reacting that way. In general, there’s a lot to indicate that we aren’t seeing the full story of the Creel house (especially considering that they lived there for two years according to the newspapers), and I think this is yet another example of it. It’s also interesting that we do not see this scene during Henry’s retelling.

The way Henry sits there and draws also reminds me of this scene with Will and Joyce- where Joyce is watching Will draw with crayons at the table, just like Henry is drawing with crayons at the table. Joyce and Victor are already extremely paralleled, so it would make sense for there to be another parallel between them.

[henrysglock]

hey so how much awareness do the alt timelines have of each other?? I'm assuming that Edward and Brenner(both) are obviously aware of multiple timelines, but like...is El??will??Henry?? When the timeline switch happens, is it like a swap of places or just, like, possession?? Also also, in s4, it's implied that henward did not have the ability to open gates until he absorbed El's powers in s3....so then, his version of the ud did not breach in the real world until then, but then, are there different dimensions that are all being referred to as the ud, or different sections of it?? Or is Edward responsible for the changes in the atmosphere of the ud in each season?? I would love to hear your theories cause i find that you're able to analyse these things in such an accessible way that it is easier to take as a well thought out canon interpretation :)

All good questions, Nonnie!!

Brenner, at the very least, is aware of both. He's got a whole Dr. Who thing going on, which heroesbyler has talked about before. Edward, if we're correct in our who's-who in the Creel house flashbacks, is aware of the timelines via his powers/time exploration. Henry, in NINA, talks about spending years with 001 in the Rainbow Room, as if 001 is separate from himself (001 being Edward, later Vecna). So yes, I'd say that by the time we hit 1979, they're all aware of each other.

As for El, she doesn't seem quite awake yet, One might say (god that was bad haha). She's definitely confused re: the events of NINA, but I don't think she's put it together that there's something weirder going on than just one man having a violent psychotic break because of Brenner.

Will, though...that depends on what he experienced in the UD in 1983. He doesn't seem to be outwardly aware of any time differences, but then again...El didn't even know Henry existed until she was reminded of him. So there's definitely a nugget in his 1983 memories.

In regard to timeline swaps: if we're talking about swaps in present/80s canon...it's hard to say. There are some dead giveaways, like Scott randomly changing houses, Will's eye color changing from being listed as brown to clearly being green, Hopper randomly forgetting that Scott exists at all in ST3 when he met him firsthand in ST1...the list goes on. It's hard to match up which timeline goes with which season, though. It does seem like we're currently in the Henry timeline, given the layout of the Creel house (door in the chess room vs no door/wallpaper color swaps in that same room), but it's difficult to track outside of that.

If we're talking timeline collisions, that's a bit different. I'm of the opinion that certain dates are pinch-points, where the timelines meet and things get messed up. The 1959 murders, the 1979 massacre, Will's vanishing/El (supposedly) opening the gate in 1983, the Russian key of 1985, and now in 1986...all seem to be these pinch-points. They're moments where a version of Henward screws things up in an attempt to break free of whatever prison he currently finds himself trapped in, and by the time we get to 1986...everything is messed up.

It's a bit easier to track in NINA (though not by much I'll admit). At least there we can track hairstyles, handedness, formality, speech patterns, inconsistencies in dialogue, etc...and we're consistently swapping between which of the two timelines we/El are viewing.

Re: Vecna's ability to open gates vs the UD discrepancies...I'd agree with you. The up-down UD, the literal upside-down, has not breached into the RSU until ST4. Before that, all we see are right-left doorways.

Within the right-left UD, there is a distinct biome. The right-left UD has the demogorgon(s) and demodogs, wherease we see none of those in the up-down UD. We also see no demobats in the right-left UD, which are the sole creatures in the up-down UD. They're distinctly different spaces, and seem to be completely separate from each other.

(This is furthered by the distinct separation between Vecna and the Mindflayer, which...we never see the two of them together. Vecna never uses the Shadow, and he's a different person entirely from the guy we see shaping the Shadow. It stands to reason that, at least in ST1-2, they are separate. ST3 is a weird situation with the possessed Billy-Heather pair, with Billy acting distinctly like Edward despite Vecna's UD not being open. There's also a matter of Billy's vision, which is distinctly different from Will's shadow-walking pre-possession. Billy's is closer to a true Vecna vision, which makes me wonder if ST3 isn't Vecna and Mindflayer guy working in tandem. It would explain the change in flaying method, which is distinctly Vecna, and it would tie up the plot hole of how Vecna got El's powers if he's separate from Mindflayer guy.)

At this point, the different versions of the UD are just being referred to as a whole...and that is a telltale sign of our characters lacking the realization that they're entirely different guys in entirely different spaces.

That would neatly explain many of the atmosphere changes/added mental components/etc. that we see between ST1-3 and ST4.