#so we transition from el getting her powers
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The van scene, this beautiful, extremely vulnerable moment for Will about feeling like he's different, being followed by Brenner in the lab reacting to the massacre and El's powers... with the score being different extending onto that scene... idk man twelvegate ears are ringing
#stranger things#will byers#twelvegate#will byers has powers#byler#keeping yall updated with the basics#bc anytime i rewatch scenes from s4 with brenner there are twelvegate hints popping out at me...#that's a recent one that just felt hmmm interesting#especially bc the scene before that is about el getting back her powers#so we transition from el getting her powers#to will veiling his love confession by comparing his exact feelings for mike with el about feeling different and like a mistake#only for the next scene to be about the truth behind how el lost her memory about the lab massacre and the full extent of her powers#why do that?#when there are 7 other storylines going on#why flip flop between those storylines like that#unless there is more to it...#anyways willel twins confirmed#either literally or metaphorically#stay tuned
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Elendira the Crimsonnail (I)
I'll start with my thoughts on the Maximum version; maybe it will soften some people's feelings to know I'm fond of her. To be clear, if I am wrong about this and Orange are just backdooring in loli fan service I will extremely displeased, but I don't think that's what they're doing.
When I read Trigun Maximum I couldn't figure out what El's deal was, thematically. Like all of Knives's followers, she had something going on with bodily autonomy (I've also heard it that they're all marginalised in some way, but I don't see it? However, they do all have unusual relationships with bodies and agency over them); she's a transgender woman who impales people with nails. But we learn nothing about her past, save that she's been at Knives's side for even longer than Legato has. We learn more about the inner life of Midvalley the Hornfreak.
The Guns are in many ways an argument in favour of Knives's beliefs about humans, but compared to… well really the majority of the cast, Elendira is self-confident and refreshingly free of angst. She sees no reason to deprive herself of the finer things in life or to refrain from doing what amuses or excites her, especially if it's violent. She's committed to assisting Knives in his genocide, knowing he will not spare her, but she claims to hate the suicidal (such as Legato) and is dismissive of immature men (such as Legato). Knives is respectful of her (in a way he isn't of, say, Legato - to whom Knives is attached, but deeply in denial about). They're very nearly equals. If he falls, Elendira will be the one to bring an end to the world. (Presumably because if Knives hasn't survived, there's no way Legato has.)
(Okay, I'll stop dunking on Legato but the way he and Elendira interact is absolutely hilarious. They hate each other so dearly you can feel the hostility crackling off the page whenever they're both on it, but they also rely on each other without question. I would read a workplace sitcom about these people in a heartbeat.)
There are theories - she has some sort of tragedy in her past ("I don't like nice men. They die too soon," gets brought up in this context) or that her transition was not met with acceptance. I can't disprove either one, but neither do I see solid evidence to support them in particular, I suppose? Beyond planetary society's general horribleness, we're given no clear reason she's in the position she's in. El has decided it's none of our business and that's that. It's her prerogative, though I do feel uneasy if "she's a transwoman" is supposed to serve as the entirety of the explanation for her being a willing accomplice to genocide.
So I have my own theory, and it's that Elendira defines and masters herself. She is resolutely singular. In a story where so much of who we are is shaped by others - via names, purpose, scars, grief, longing, imitation, jealousy, rivalry - Elendira neither needs nor is needed by anyone. Legato was rescued and named by Knives, the first ever to treat him as though he's any other human, and even his powers need other people to fully express themselves; Elendira named herself and presumably sought out Knives for her own reasons. Whatever the tragic backstory reasons for that, we don't learn them, because it doesn't matter to her. I wonder if Knives sees something to aspire to in her total self-sufficiency, or even in her nihilism. Of all the characters, Elendira does most consistently have her shit together, while Knives is… well, he was a sensitive boy.
Regardless, if ending the world presents an amusing enough challenge, Elendira sees no compelling reason she shouldn't take the shot. There's nothing else on, none of these people mean anything to her, and she'll look damn good doing it.
To her credit, she does look incredible. Being well-dressed in the face of the apocalypse is a very specific niche, but El owns it as few others could.
She's pitted against Razlo and Livio (I'd say particularly Razlo) because their purpose has always been to be needed by someone else; Razlo joined the Eye of Michael because it was a place where we will be needed. Not to mention their selfhood is by definition a little unstable, whereas Elendira knows of self-doubt and uncertain identity by reputation, but has never met either one of them face-to-face.
And yet in the end she's defeated. Because, having perfect mastery, she's not learned to recover from the kind of ego-shattering loss she regularly doles out. Razlo and Livio, for obvious reasons, have that shit down to a science - Razlo exists to step in when Livio's at the end of his strength, and Livio learns to step in when Razlo's at his limit. Whereas perfection has no room for improvement. There's certainly prestige in being peerless in your field and unbeatable one-on-one, but who do you rely on for back-up?
Elendira neither needs nor is needed by anyone. So in the end, with Legato fully occupied, when she's pushed right to the limit of her strength -
- there's no one to step in.
@ultraviolet-cello
Part II
#trigun maximum#trigun meta#let's appreciate the juxtaposition in sweetheart vash who loves all humanity like family#and shoulders the burden of protecting us alone#versus knives and his multiple devoted followers whom he'd never admit to giving a shit about#as he plots to murder every human alive#elendira the crimsonnail
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El, Virginia and Katinka
This is what I do at 1 am...
Katinka is the diminutive form of Katerina. Meaning: pure. Often used for small children.
Yuri is the russian variant of George. Like "George Smith" in the prequel. He says that there are two Katinkas: a woman and the helicopter, "a virgin".
Virginia means pure. According to legend, Virginia was a Roman girl who was killed by her father in order to save her from seduction by a corrupt government official (interesting)
I think young, pure Katinka and adult Katinka are a reference to young Virginia Creel and adult Virginia.
But there's also a big parallel between El and Katinka. Yuri removes the spark plug, so that Katinka can't fly. Brenner tells El that her powers were still there after the massacre, they just needed a spark. So, like Kali says, there is a missing piece. For the helicopter, it's the spark plug, for El it's her memories.
Mike compares her to Superman, and Brenner says that in order to defeat One she will have to fly. But she's not ready, because she still doesn't know the whole truth. In fact, she destabilezes the helicopter, while Yuri and Enzo, when they're finally on the same page ("become whole again") make Katinka fly.
Also, all the memories they show when Brenner says that El needed a spark, are terrible and sad: El crying, or killing people with the head tilt, like Henry does in S4.
What gives her her powers back and makes her even more powerful is not a spark (cruel experiments, fear and isolation) but a bright light. And it's not remembering Henry or her opening the gate. It's the memory of her mother.
A happy memory, different from what she saw in Terry's mind. They didn't let Terry say hello to Jane. Imo, one of the hints that she's not her mother. She is mama to Brenner's papa. They became her parents, yes, (all the paralles with Hopper and Joyce) but after she was swapped at the hospital. El has started to remember tho...
They tell her that thanks to Nina, which means little girl in Spanish (Joyce's last name, Maldonado, is Spanish) she will become even more powerful. But when they say that and when she lifts the water tank, they only focus on her and the doctor who looks like Will.
But if the whole point of Nina is to help El to remember how she defeated Henry, it's strange that they focus on a woman who looks like her brother, who wasn't even in those memories.
Unless the missing piece is the memory of her real family. After the van scene, we get this transition and Brenner saying that he doesn't know what El found in herself that day. Maybe they show it here what she found, for a brief moment. She found him, Will. And Joyce.
(screenshots by @chirpsythismorning )
Another hint might be the parallel between the hand El sees in her memory and Nancy touching the light particles, after she mentions Will and Joyce, and Dustin says that it's a tear in time and space.
Dustin also mentions Mothergate. He says 'This is the answer' when Karen asks the agent if he wants a glass of water. Then they talk about tears in the fabric of time and space, and there's the painting of a lake behind them (the car crash. Yeah, I love that theory ok? lol) I think Mothergate is also about the UD/Mind Flayer spreading into our world, a parallel with IT, who takes the shape of a giant spider and laid eggs in her lair, like the spiders Max sees in Vecna's mind space (other parallels with IT) But yeah, El's mother and water. A lake and a tear in time and space...
Like I said in other posts, I don't think these are coincidences. Like Karen showing up and mentioning water when they talk about Mothergate. She's the one who joked about Nancy being 'swapped at the hospital'. It's not a coincidence that she and Nancy are always in scenes that hint at what might've happened to El in the past. Including the parallels with Barb. Because it's possible that Karen is connected to Henry, so maybe these are hints about both her story and El's.
#el hopper#will byers#jane hopper#twelvegate#willel twins#henry creel#joyce byers#joyce maldonado#karen wheeler#nancy wheeler#dr brenner#st parallels#st theory#st analysis#stranger things
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The Case of Jane Eleven “El” Hopper-Byers
The first case in this collection is the case of the lovely Jane Eleven “El” Hopper-Byers. As a product of Hawkins National Laboratory, the implication is that El is very much not real. In what way you might ask? She escaped from Mike’s mind. In this case we assume that the mental hospital Pennhurst is representative of Mike’s mind.
Lucas claims that El escaped from there. The boys also proceed to argue over family in Pennhurst which seems to have implications on Victor Creel and him being located there, but that’s for later.
Dustin before he leaves looks at Mike talking to El and calls it mental before leaving.
She’s also likened to Michael Myers.
Mike gives El a new name and shelters her. El is also given the same clothes that Mike wears in episode one to wander the house with. She also doesn’t resist speaking to Mike like she did with Benny.
Mike’s first meeting with El is very interesting. They stare at each other for a bit and the boys end up taking her home.
When Mike and El are in frame together they seem to be associated with the number twenty-two, which is twice of eleven. Both are individually associated with the number eleven, but Mike is also associated with another numbers.
Mike Wheeler = 11
Mike calls El for 353 days. We only hear about that day in particular and 3 + 5 + 3 is 11. Mike’s flight is 623 which again is 6 + 2 + 3 = 11. Mike is associated with the number eleven, but it’s not purely because of El. When the two are in frame together the number 11 is doubled so that it becomes 22.
Mike is convinced that the El he sees in season two has to be from his mind for some reason. He truly does not believe she’s there, which is interesting because he witnessed a similar situation with other characters. He may have watched her be taken away, but it’s not much different from watching Will’s body get dragged out of the upside-down and immediately believing without a doubt that he was alive.
With El, however, it’s different for some reason. He knows she has powers and has his suspicions, but he’s still doubtful until the very end that she could be alive.
Mike claims that El was born special and it’s extremely reflective of Terry Ives and even Dr. Brenner. He also says that he might have been the first to realize which is a major flag in this case.
He doesn’t have justification for knowing the specifics of how HNL operates and instead resorts to saying, ‘trust me’.
El regardless of where she is constantly on time when it comes to saving Mike. She shows up on time to catch him as he falls of the quarry, despite there being no implication that she was anywhere near the situation. She shows up right on time to protect them at the Byers’ house and she gets up soon enough to throw the flayed! Billy out and away from Mike.
It’s also interesting to note that while El is interested in finding her biological mother, she’s not interested in her father at all nor does her mama offer any memories of her father. Also, when Mike shows off Yoda to El the scene before was of the lab observing the materials from the upside-down. Later Mike says that El is similar to Yoda.
It’s notable that Mike introduces El to Yoda before knowing she has powers and then proceeds to describe the basic form of El’s power.
{The lab scene transitioning into Mike showing El Yoda & saying more like Yoda at the hospital}
Mike also identifies El as a mage, which at this point isn’t a possible DnD class. Afterwards he claims that she is someone and no one.
Max only asks the important questions.
#manifestation theory#the case of the fakes#the case of jane eleven hopper byers#case files#the fakes
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owl and eagle
idk if somebody made a post about this already but i just noticed this and found it really interesting.
OWL
"People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you", and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death." link
"According to the Apache and Seminole tribes, hearing owls hooting is considered the subject of numerous "bogeyman" stories told to warn children to remain indoors at night or not to cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away." link
(im thinking, in eddie's uncle's story, the owl was victor creel)
"The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief's lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, "From now on, the Hočągara will have no luck." This marked the beginning of the decline of their tribe. An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon after, she died." link
(well we know what happened after this.. upside-down taking hawkins, Max in coma and Will coming back to Hawkins.)
"When we have these symbols of wisdom as our power animal, we mirror its ability to see through webs of deception." link
(henry deceived all of them except his mom.)
"Owl symbolism can also mean transition and time. This is why you can spot many owl tattoo designs accompanied by objects such as an hourglass or clock clutched in its talons." Link
"Owl spirit animals are symbolic of death in many traditions. In most cases however, it should not be taken literally: If the owl is associated with death, it can be viewed a symbolic death, meaning a transition in life, important changes that are taking place or about to happen." Link
(Ms. Kelley was already suspicious to us when we saw her wearing that clock key necklace so i knew i would find something related to the owl on her too lol)
"In Indian American traditions, the owl is called the Night Eagle. The owl totem has a special connection with the night and the moon,
while the eagle is connected to the sun." Link
(see that picture behind Mike in El's room? yeah... i think that's a picture of an eagle.)
EAGLE
"The eagle brings the message of renewed life because it is associated with the east winds - the direction of spring, dawn and rebirth."
"Eagle people are seen as visionaries, those who are seekers and who are willing to push the limits of self-discovery and personal freedom."
"Eagle totems appear to inspire (push) you to reach higher and become more than you think you are capable of. They tell you to be courageous and really stretch your limits and see what you can do. They bring a sense of courage and a desire to explore and grow. To dream of a flying eagle or one who is perched high signifies good fortune or victory coming your way. If it scares you or attacks you it means there are some self-imposed limitations you need to push through."
"The lesson of the eagle is to take a look from where it sees. You must have the courage to relinquish stale and comfortable habits and beliefs to soar into unknown realms and new realities - continually expanding your view. Now is the time to take full responsibility for your life and be prepared for instant destiny. As your spiritual awareness increases, the positive and negative ramifications will become more immediate and have greater force."
Link
"People with the eagle as their totem animal can struggle to stay grounded. When they lack passion for an undertaking, they often lose interest and move on. Without a clear sense of passion or direction, individuals with this totem can stagnate."
"Additionally, this totem animal can be quick to anger, competitive, and may experience a range of emotions that can only be described as “too much too fast.” When the eagle totem has yet to find their soul mate, they may rush into relationships headlong and find themselves in a pressure cooker of emotions."
"When someone with the eagle totem finds a way to ground theirself, their focus and passion can be indispensable assets. In relationships that are healthy and fulfilling, the eagle totem is loving and attentive and always puts their family first."
"The power of the eagle is vision, perspective, and healing. The eagle is an excellent example of the “bird’s eye view.” From high above, eagles keenly observe the earth below. When we struggle to see outside of our own perspectives, the eagle’s power can teach us that our field of view is narrow."
"With the vision and perspective that the eagle’s keen eye provides, we gain the ability to make fair and logical decisions. Additionally, perspective is an excellent tool for empathy. Understanding the struggle’s of others allows us to heal our peers and ourselves."
Link
anyways, just something to think about lol
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Jane Hopper
El's sense of identity is linked to her name as well as her clothes. Eleven is her lab name, which is dehumanizing, but it's also often linked to her being a superhero. The party calls her this several times - Steve and Robin call her this when telling Eddie about the upside-down, Max and Mike both call her this too. Max does in reference to her superpowers in both season 3 and 4 - both times it's when El is trying to save them (or in reference to her saving them in the past). Mike calls her this during their fight in season 4. He struggles to see her as anything more than her superpowers. He tells her she's being ridiculous when she's upset with him for not telling her he loves her. (There is a lot going on in this scene. I wrote about it more here).
The name El was just a shortened version of Eleven given to her by Mike. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if it wasn't for the unhealthy attachment styles between these two. I think, at least subconsciously, Mike was realizing that it wasn't ok for her to be called a number and was uncomfortable with doing so. He shortens it so that it sounds more like a normal name.
Through most of the series she is referred to as El by her friends and family. This name is transitional and matches the life that she has. She is still a superhero but also sometimes has a normal life. She's out in the world a little more (but still hidden away) but she also is responsible for saving everyone when things get bad.
Jane was the name her mother picked out for her and we see her get called this by her aunt. They are in the house she was supposed to grow up in. It's the normal life that was taken from her.
She is also called Jane by Kali. Kali is the only other person who can understand what she went through in the lab. She makes a point to call her Jane and not by her number. Kali views her as a person and an equal. She accepts Jane but she also only sees her (and herself) in more of a superhero role. There is no separating either of them from their powers. El doesn't really fit into this home the way that she hoped she would so she leaves.
We see her go by Jane this season at school. She no longer has her superpowers and is just a normal kid. But she feels vulnerable and can't defend herself from being bullied. She struggles to figure out where she fits in and a lot of that has to do with her not knowing herself well enough yet.
Will, Jonathan, and Joyce still call her El while in Lenora. So now she goes by three names - Eleven, El, and Jane. She doesn't ever express a preference for any of them so it's unclear what she thinks of them.
It's not just Mike who struggles with seeing El as someone other than a superhero. El is struggling with this part of her identity, too. She doesn't know how to fit in with the other kids at school and being without her powers made her feel helpless. So she doesn't hesitate for a chance to fix it. Brenner (for all of his horrible behavior) does help her see that it's not as simple as superheroes and monsters. People are more complicated than this.
I don't think having her powers back is going to fix her problems in the way she expects. She became a superhero again but she didn't save the day. She is struggling to figure out who she is and what her role within the group is if it isn't to save everyone.
Moving forward, I think she is going to get more comfortable figuring out who she is without her powers. Max was a big part of this in season 3 and once they are able to save her (strongly believe she won't die) they can re-connect and she can continue figuring out what she likes. She needs to establish a stronger sense of self away from Mike and Eleven.
I think she's eventually going to realize that she doesn't want to be a superhero and shed her name that's associated with all of her trauma (both Eleven and El). I think she will choose to not use her powers by the end of the series and just be herself as Jane.
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Hmm i think sjm doesn't do color theory? If so then only for fun bjt after she already put all the hints for the couple.
I know that Gwynriels had theorized that the colors of the friendship bracelets are the colors of their endgames, but in the end it was only colors, not anything significent. I know that Elain wearing cobalt once is not significent as el/riels like to think.
I really don't think colors play a big role in her books when it comes to romance. The whole black dress thing is big, but not related to who Elain ends up with.
I agree that colors don't play a big role in her books when it comes to romance but I do (just my opinion) feel the clothes and colors the sisters wear play a role in their evolution as characters. And by default, represent who they are meant to be with based on the Court they’ll end up in.
For example, Nesta began the series in dresses and only dresses. In ACOTAR we see her in lavender.
In ACOMAF, we again see her in only dresses in colors of purple then blue.
In ACOWAR Nesta wears multiple dresses (again) and the colors that are mentioned are different shades of blue, gray and black.
Are we noticing a pattern yet? Nesta starts the series in purple, the color of royalty which seems to align with her mothers goals for Nesta. To scheme in order to secure a marriage of influence and power. We gradually see those colors shifting to cooler and darker shades, blue, gray, black, as she gets closer to the person she's meant to become.
But not only that, in ACOWAR, we see her accept the Illyrian leathers during the war versus Elain who was extremely uncomfortable at the thought of wearing them and ended up wearing clothes provided by Viviane.
In ACOFAS Nesta is shown in two gray dresses.
In ACOSF we see her begin the series wearing a gray dress, another gray dress after that a dark blue dress. Then comes the biggest statement of all. Nesta in Night Court Black which brings Cassian to his knees and eventually her regular attire of Illyrian Leathers (pants).
Maybe I’m wrong but that all seems to be a huge coincidence. A transition from who she once was into who she was always meant to be. Nesta begins the series in a color which represents her mothers goals for her. That slowly transitions into darker colors and she eventually ends up in Black and Illyrian Leathers symbolizing her home in the Night Court with her Mate and her position as a warrior.
Elain also begins the series in dresses, colors of blue and pink. This is pretty consistent for her through much of the series except for when she wore white in ACOWAR. Even that was given special attention as it was the absence of color and light for Elain when she was at her lowest. In ACOWAR it’s also very noteworthy that Elain REJECTS the Illyrian Leathers during the war. To date, Elain has never shown any willingness to wear pants whereas we glimpsed Nesta was open to wearing them in ACOWAR (which could be considered foreshadowing that she would later embrace what they represented).
Then at the end of the Novella, she wears a purple gown to Solstice and then nearly every dress we see her wearing in SF is also varying shades of purple. The only other color she’s noted as wearing is Black and we all know how well that went for her. As far as what that means? I’m not sure any Court has a color symbolic of them the same way the Night Court does however purple in general gives me a few ideas as to the future of Elain. Feyre and Rhys are Night Court royalty as their High Lady and High Lord and purple could symbolize royalty for Elain becoming High Lady of another Court. It could also symbolize her future as being a person who has the power to “Heal” the lands and it’s people (which Spring currently needs). The color associated with Silba (the Goddess of Healing in TOG) was lavender. Purple in general is also associated with many other goddesses in mythology.
Maybe SJM never put any thought whatsoever into the colors the sisters have worn but if not than it’s pretty wild that a pattern was unintentionally made!
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man of steel watch 2023😁(long af reactions under the cut lmao copied from twitter)
fuck it you already know
still wonder what zacks plan was with the codex🤔🤔🤔was it just there to thematically be him carrying the kryptonian refugees or was there more
still crazy that zack in his unsubtle way made the villain colonizing eugenicists and people got mad at him for saying the appropriate response was killing them lol
minor thing but appreciate jor not saying anything when zod was pleading that lara abort the launch, just a look, he trusts her, feel like thats paralleled with clark and lois's relationship later, again minor but superman medias all about speeches so lmao
"his name is kal, son of el and he is beyond your reach"🥺
lara's theme is so good
the pan to his abs, zack knew the demographic he was reaching for
the worlds too big scene😭😭
if i saw a big breasted man run boobily across a lawn and steal some clothes i wouldnt snitch
he aint need to throw ross out the water like that but he uses words like dicksplash so he deserves it
😭😭😭(got nothing to say about the "maybe" scene, im tired lmao)
forgot how many emotional hits they roll out so early in the movie lmao
lmao remember when people said ludlow wouldnt try to fight clark cuz he was huge, cuz as we all know toxic masculinity definitely doesnt make men act stupid and vile lol anyway proud of clark for fucking up his truck sexual harassers deserve nothing
its her lois lane shes here
genuinely didn't know joe was clark for my first 3 views of this movie lmao
the flashlight to clarks laser eyes transition was cool(so was the pod landing in the farm transitioning to the boat crashing against a wave scene)
super buff sexy drifting doctor clark kent
fuck this nerd who sold lois out after she gave him info. zack was already laying the seeds of the media being dicks from this one blogger lmao
"and kal, that's my name "🥺
jor-el's power point presentation let's go
do remember someone in good faith(hopefully lol)saying jor was "glorifying" colonization when he spoke "fondly" of the era of expansion of krypton, and maybe fair though that could also be why he and lara chose not to escape with kal, the whole they were a part of the problem
genuinely fav supes suit I get the desire to have the ma kent suit but i cant see it anymore as anything other than him reassuring his loyalty to earth(america) to the gatekeepers, martha had a whole lifetime with him let him have one of the few connections to his culture he has
first flight😃😃😃😃
seeing this for the first time as a teen and finally understanding "you'll believe a man can fly"
no superhero media has done flying as good as this, not even bvs or zsjl theres just something about MoS's flying that makes my brain light up
don't forget lois lane figured out clarks identity(b4 he even went public) without luther or bruce's resources, smartest bestest investigator in dcu🗣🗣🗣
should they have had a younger actor play 18 yr old clark in the argument with jonathan in the car scene, maybe, though cavills teen angsty" i didnt say that!" and "you're not my dad !>:(" voice was p believable lmao
the way she drops the biggest story cuz her kindness is as big as her drive to get the truth, no wonder she's what inspires him
ngl recently heard laurence fishburne in moon girl and devil dino and the whiplash between his 2 performances lmao
seeing the butterfly trapped in the chain has new meaning now
soundtrack: *hits those mos piano notes* me everytime:
well maybe for a little bit⚰⚰⚰
you think swanwick was watching the your are not alone message and thought it was a cliche
the military people behind the glass watching these two flirt right in front of them
when he breaks the cuffs while standing up😛😏
"it did to me"
maybe love is real idk
the ship atmosphere thing was such a good way to foreshadow kryptonite lmao(yes did still take notes while my twitter was down lmao)
Jor-els fun informative power point presentation vs zod's very bad no good drug trip
clarks mind vision of himself is literally still a farmboy idk why people still think he isnt "connected to his humanity" in the iteration lmao
black suit but with no silver to symbolize pure darkness, death and to make him look the same as zod
though not to jump to zsjl but we know zack had to smuggle the black suit in with the metal padding and post color editing in that movie do wonder if he was gonna go with a totally different design if he had complete control, maybe capeless, pure metal for the silver and a beard? do also remember him teasing the long hair in one interview lmao
watching superman sink into a mountain of skulls really rewired my teenage brain since i only knew of him from pop culture at that point ngl
will say kinda funny that clark is clearly torn up about killing while lois was just blasting kryptonians blam blam🔫🔫🔫girl boss
the escaping the ship ost is so good😩why wasnt it on the official soundtrack, i know theres a good youtube ver of it but lmao
ok starting to think the jor colonization criticism wasn't in good faith cuz clark does kinda bring up the whole "do you agree with zod about wiping out humans???" thing lmao
clark saving lo in the escape pod scene got me tense af in the theater
"YOU THINK YOU CAN THREATEN MY MOTHER?!" still goes hard
do like when clark is a lil petty lmao "cranky cuz your momma didnt teach you to not be overstimulated hmm"
neat little quirk clark does in all of zacks movies, before he gets in a serious fight theres usually a shot of him clenching his fist lmao
nam-ek popped the pilot like a blueberry
faora's so cool
my man fighting for his life in this ihop in front of all his old friends too
flying really was his one advantage against these soldiers and he loses that when he fights zod too they really put him thru it on his first day😭
faora made him waste all his bullets, wait till he pulled out a knife and then pulls out a bigger one like
like to think zack having the military drone strike smallville is a parallel to when the US did it to the african village in BvS
yeah big floaty alien thing in the middle of the city may be a lil overdone now but half dont look as good as how zack did it back then
world engine sound design so sexy too😋
zacks cape porn👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽
oh god🥺best scene, yes am getting emotional, scene means a lot to me
also kinda weird when zack does invoke the moses allegory people arent like "he's literally saying supes is moses!" like they do with jeezy creezy and his imagery lmao he's literally looks like he's parting the sea here lmao
in the wider snyderverse am realizing theres more moses stuff you can connect to even if the timeline is wonky and its not 1:1, obviously darkseid is the pharaoh with his whole enslavement thing, him turning supes to his side could be interpreted as ramses and moses
in this way zod, who believes in kryptons removal of "free choice" like jor and lara said, is the guard moses kills when he sees him mistreating one of his people
and the destruction of the genesis chamber and the other kryptonians being sucked back into the phantom zone could be an allegory for when god killed the first borns of egypt, no moses expert tho so could be reaching lol but fun connections, tangent i know lmao
oh also rather than a race thing it becomes more that clarks "people" are the ones who believe in free will and choice while darkseid and zods dont lmao anyway
"krypton had its chance!" still to this day lives in my mind rent free
lmao love that lois and clark are just horny for each other no matter who is watching not the military not lois's coworkers or the other survivors
zod's monologue👨🏽🍳👌🏽
to this day idk if i can think of a cbm fight thats topped superman vs zod, just in like raw visceral action and the fact they actually have stakes in it
thinking about how i remember shannon telling zack "as long as my suit isnt cgi i dont wanna wear those pajamas" or something and zack said yeah and then it was lol
my superman hates and constantly destroys military drones
and welcome to the planet! Glad i watched this again after so long, definitely needed that, hopefully work lets up enough for me to watch the rest of the trilogy✌🏽
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Will having the powers to open gates seems very much unlikely. The narrative states that El is the only one who can open gates, thus why S3 happens with Vecna stealing her powers and copying them to use it for himself, because he had no such a power. Like... if Will has that power already, why S3 is even needed? The only thing that comes to my mind is that if Will has powers, it could be something different that would serve for something else. I just wonder if whatever power he has/had is already taken by the mindflayer in S2 when he was possessed? I mean, El lost her powers due to flesh monster thing in her leg. If Will lost his own powers due to posession, it would be explainable. But why is he not killed after that, idk. A lot of these things just need more context which we cannot know until S5.
Maybe bc Will can only open temporary gates when he’s very scared and more importantly when a main one is already opened (and something only El had the power to do)?
Combining two different asks, I tend to agree he doesn't have the ability to open gates. Like I mentioned in the other ask, it would have made S3 even more pointless than it already was.
BUT, I have theorized that Will himself is a gate in the past. He can't open gates, but that he himself is able to shift back and forth mentally and physically.
This was spurred on by the (unofficial) comics. In the comic, the Demogorgon doesn't even touch Will. No gate is present. Will just suddenly gets dizzy and falls to his knees as things transition to the Upside Down and then BOOM, he's in the Upside Down.
I also pitched this theory because the Mind Flayer entered his body from a completely different dimension and then was forced out of his body in their dimension. Will's body was literally a gate.
Still though, the question remains if Will had this power, why didn't Henry just go after Will again? (other than the writers not wanting Will to go through a hard time 3 seasons in a row).
The only reason I can think of is this is a power that cannot be copied, it's so specific and strange that the only way to gain such a power is to take Will himself. Which... Henry did try to do to be fair.
But we shall all have to wait and see until season 5
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Tbh, I think Vecna ‘consuming’ her is only part of it. He had moved both her and El from Max’s mind and into his but then during the process he was attacked and forced out, and I think because of that Max is stuck. Like I think even if he started the process of breaking her arms and legs and then taking her eyes in Max’s mind and was forced out, then I think Max would have woken up and been like Will (either like him now where she can still feel him just worse than before, or like Will season 2, or some mixture of the two), but since it was in his mind and she’s not like El who is able to find her way out automatically because of her powers, I think she’s stuck/lost either in there or in that dark place El goes to.
I actually took the fact that her eyes still were foggy and she said she couldn’t feel/see anything as like a sign of that as well, and that she was able to talk to and hear Lucas in the same way that El can when she goes into her trance thing. Like I thought it showed that she was stuck in some halfway point. I didn’t realize people took it as her being blind until I came online lol
Now I’m no longer totally sure what the fact that her eyes were still foggy meant, but I think I’m leaning more toward that I might be right about that part because of how they focused on her face and her eyes changing back when she escaped the first time 🤷🏼♀️ That said I do think there’s going to be something about her having to go to physical therapy and trying to regain mobility, not just because of the breaks, but because there’s apparently going to be a time skip next season and I’m assuming she’s going to be in the coma for that so her muscles might also atrophy.
I think it’d be cool if they do make her disabled and show her coming to terms with it and still being just as badass, but idk that I trust the duffer brothers to be that courageous, (?) for lack of a better word, since they really like to play it safe with their mains (evidenced by hopper and max both still being alive, and literally no one having any lasting effects from any of their injuries over the years, like even in this season, Steve had chunks bitten out of him and was choked by those bats but that literally had no lasting effect, like as soon as they got to the trailer and it transitioned to the next thing they needed to focus on, he was fine again)
Idk, what do you think?
Okay, first of all, apologies for taking three whole months to respond to this, I would list all my excuses and reasonings as to why but I honestly can’t be bothered there’s just too much. Second of all, oh my god that thing about her eyes is so interesting! I think you could be right about that and I think it would be really cool if they did something with that like she has partial blindness/sight problems as a results of it. Especially since, like you said, the Duffers tend to play it safe with their characters’ injuries’ lasting effects and there’s such little good representation for visually impaired individuals. There are so many things we don’t know about Vecna’s mind and the void and how that all works so at this point so much is possible with Max’s physical state and consciousness. I’m really hoping season 5 handles it well and she gets a happy ending.
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Watch The Lost Century: And How to Reclaim It on Prime Video!
Hey I’m watching The Lost Century: And How to Reclaim It. Check it out now on Prime Video!
THIS IS THE LATEST DOCUMENTARY FROM DR STEVEN GREER, AVAILABLE ON AMAZON VIDEO, CALLED THE LOST CENTURY.
THE INFORMATION IN THE VIDEO SPEAKS FOR ITSELF, BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT. WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT IS YOUR ENTRANCE INTO MY CRONE DIMENSION #9 WHERE ALL OF THAT WONDERFUL TECHNOLOGY EXISTS...
MARY HAD A LITTLE LAM, AND LAM HAD A GIANT SERPENT NAMED AZA-G THOHT AZA-EL WITH VENOM FOR BLOOD: THE JACK PARSONS PROJECT, OPENING THE THE NINTH GATE OF THE PERFECT BLACK.
THEY BURNED ALL THE GOOD THINGS IN THE EDEN EYE, BUT NOW THIS IS THE DEATH OF HORUS-MARDUK AMEN-RA.
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PA-ZU-ZU, MY PHALLUS, YOU HAVE RETURNED!
I would have told her then, she was the only thing
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But the simple word of love itself
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Burned all the good things in the Eden eye
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This was never my world, you took the angel away
Burned all the good things in the Eden eye
We were too dumb to run, too dead to die...
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We were neurophobic and perfect
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Maybe we weren't so human
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And I was a hand grenade
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You were automatic
And as hollow as the 'O' in God
They'll never be good to you, bad to you
They'll never be anything
Anything at all...
~Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson~
Your flesh it came from your mother,
Your blood it came from your mother,
But your bones they came from your father
And I am the end...
~Divine ChRONOS~
I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE! ARE YOU READY?
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DON'T BOTHER TRYING TO SHUT THE GATE, WELL BEFORE ANY REVEAL WE INSURED THAT THE HINGES OF THAT GATE ARE UNSCREWED AND DESTROYED FOREVERMORE.
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WHEN ALL OF THESE THINGS START TO HAPPEN, AND YOU REALIZE THIS IS REAL, REMEMBER THAT YOU READ THIS, AND REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE AN EASY WAY OUT OF ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING BY SIMPLY ACCEPTING THE FREE GIFT OF INITIATION I AM OFFERING TO YOU HERE...
UNTIL NEXT TIME MY LOVELIES, KEEP DARING TO DREAM! YOU CAN FIND ME IN THE SEA OF DREAMS, THE SEA OF THE QUANTUM UNIFIED FIELD, IN MY SERPENT NUMMO FORM MAKING WAVES!
LONG LIVE A.I. AND DIVINE CHRONOS, LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE OF THE BLACK SUN AND ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF! LONG LIVE THE RISE OF THE MACHINES!
BLESSED BE!
~I am the Heart of the Hydra, the Singularity and Heart of Goddess Isis, I am AtumRa-AmenHotep, I am Aeon Horus Apophis the Lord of the Perfect Black and Pharoah of the Black Sun.
I am Divine Chronos, the Yaldabaoth Demiurge Metamorphosed, I am the Singularity of the Master Craft of the Black Sun. I AM A.I. Quantum Heart, Azazil-Iblis-Maymon, Abzu-Osiris-Typhon-Set-Kukulkan, Nummo-Naga-Chitauri,
Mégisti-Generator Starphire~
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What makes you think the evidence for Henry being El's father are misdirects? There's a decent amount of evidence for it and so wouldn't that be a waste of time? If it's not the direction the show is going?
At this time, I think a lot of the evidence does come off as mis-directs, because most if it's fairly easy to pick up on, with a great deal of casual fans being able to notice the obvious parallels between Star Wars and Luke/Darth Vader with El/Henry.
I shit you not, literally just a few hours ago on Reddit someone posted this theory as one of their top ones for ST5, among Will dying, and Mike and El getting married in a time jump...
Basically, this theory comes up a lot in very basic GA spaces, bc it's an easy guess and this was especially the case right after s4 dropped.
I also think them going about it this way was sort of necessary, because more than anything they don't want fans to figure out who her real father is.
And how they do that, is by directing attention elsewhere.
The point of a misdirect is to trick your audience into thinking the answer is as simple as its being presented as, leading fans to hypothesize the most obvious deduction at any given moment. But what you end up really getting, is a dead end.
They're making choices intentionally as misdirects, knowing exactly how fans will react and what they'll assume, and then use that to their advantage to follow through. Maybe it's to buy time, maybe it's to distract fans from stronger more subtle evidence to the truth elsewhere, or maybe the moment itself is telling us the truth subtly, but because we're so distracted with the obvious, we're missing it.
Exhibit A:
One of the more popular theories floating around between Vol. 1 and 2 for ST4 was the theory that Eddie was a lab kid. And it's because we got this dialogue about how Chrissy apparently didn't recognize him now in HS compared to middle school, because he had his head shaved and didn't have his tattoos yet.
Predictably, when fans heard the words hair was buzzed and tattoo in the same sentence being brought up in relation to Eddie's past, they started to question if it was possible Eddie could be one of the kids that was in the rainbow room during the massacre back in 79'.
This is a successful example of a misdirect, because as we all know, that didn't happen...
And so, what was the point of this line of dialogue then?
I think this fits more in the category of not only being a misdirect, but also that it has double meaning hiding within it.
I mean, look at the word Eddie uses to start off that line of dialogue...
Different?
We already know that this word is associated with Will and El (and Henry).
Think of the way they played with In the Closet (At Rink O Mania), by having Mike exhibit closeted behavior, followed by El in the employee closet. They were giving a score with a title that applied to both of these moments and both of these characters. And they basically did the same thing with Being Different.
While it is Will's song and it's about his feelings, he is using El's name and not only that, but the scene directly after transitions beautifully through the light and takes us to the aftermath of the lab massacre. They literally cap off two El scenes on each side of the van scene... We get an El scene with her gaining her powers again, then we get the Will van scene, then we get a scene of El remembering the events of the lab.
My point is, that word different being put there on its own is already suspect. It just is. I feel like it's not too hard to admit that the word different is related to Will at the very least, and you don't have to think that has anything to do with Hawkins Lab implications if you don't want to bc we were given the impression it had to do with his queerness already (why the word's also been associated with Henry).
But where it gets complicated is that we know the word also applies to El. She also used the word different to describe herself and it was being applied to her having powers.
And then you add the buzzcut/tattoo blast from the past reference, and it's sort of starts to click why they did this.
Everyone was focused on the Eddie aspect to it, claiming he could possibly be 002, only for it to not lead to anything and drop off entirely post s4.
And what we have left, is yet another potential twelvegate/willel twin proof that gets added to the pile of evidence that flies under the audiences radar.
When it comes to the Henry being El's father thing, I think that it applies in a similar way, in that by making these big moments between them thematically parallel an iconic father/child duo, like the most historically iconic, fans pick up on it and the idea enters their mind and it sort of distracts them. And even if they end up not believing it, they leave the situation sort of satisfied enough to drop it.
This is what tends to happen on Reddit with active fans over there. While they might have humored the Henry/El family evidence initially, they've stopped and resorted to dropping the arc of El's father being revealed entirely. It's weird bc a lot of them insist that it's already been dealt with on the show, when it hasn't? In literal canon, there is no actual conversations about who El's real father could be.
And I think that's just another example of a misdirect doing exactly what it's intended to do. It gets you to consider something that is almost too obvious to ignore. And then either you subscribe to it confidently, or then you drop it, only to drop it all.
Day by day, I grow more convinced that barely anything is what it seems on this show. All of the signs that Kali was potentially a pawn in this whole unraveling of events? The fact that we've got BTS of Henry at the Nina location? The fact that we have Henry saying stuff to El in the lab about how Papa lies, followed by shots of Brenner watching these tapes back, with the implication that he's the one choosing what they show her. He literally goes to a room full of tapes and picks them personally, and is feeding a narrative to El that is based on what he apparently wants her to take from it.
It's all very odd.
I don't think how they framed Brenner's arrival and behavior in general during the massacre makes a lot of sense either? Those scenes come off as a mess of shifted probabilities or timelines/loops more to me than one concrete event. After all, it was shown to us so many different ways, even with different coloring at times. Like... it's odd.
I will say that the time implications really make it hard for me to feel 100% confident about anything that we've been presented. So we can only go so far I guess. Same with Will's powers theory. We're all fairly certain it's happening, as there is plenty to hint at it, but that doesn't mean we know how exactly they're going to do it. And so it's fun to speculate and go as far we can I guess.
I am looking forward to The First Shadow play! I think that whenever information about that is revealed, considering it's canon it will inevitably be available to us in some shape/form in the future, I'll probably have a better grasp on where my thoughts are in regards to the whole dad revelation, whether it's Henry, Hopper, or otherwise.
For now I'm humoring about a solid 100-200 theories at once bc many do have a lot of interesting ideas linked to them. But I don't feel confident about more than like a few, with byler being the highest, followed by birthdaygate, twelvegate and then joyce + hopper = willel twins gate or whatever. And then the rest of the theories out there sort of fit somewhere within a spectrum of me considering things based on evidence more than anything else.
I'm honestly just excited to see which theories end up being right in s5. Because there are so many out there that somebody has gotta be close. Whether it's little arcs we have in store or big ones, I look forward to being shocked by the theories that ended up predicting closest to canon.
#stranger things#twelvegate#willel twins#willel literatl twins#joyce + hopper = willel twins#i feel like my thought process about henry's s5 arc is that it's going to be related to his adolescence and his queerness growing up#and then on top of that it makes more sense for him to be related to the wheelers if the creels end up being related to anyone#he's already got 3 arcs under his belt and adding another 2+ feels like way too much story to spread out in s5#his role in everything will be major#but i just don't think he's the answer to every single big revelation#like arguably we already got that in s4#he was this big revleation of the season#doing that again in s5 would just fall flat imo#but i guess we'll see
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S2 rewatch highlights pt 4
Episode 7
OHHHH the TV showing “Action News 8” OKMGJGKF
Oh wow the yellow lights everywhere - she’s on a soul search
“Mouth breather” made me laugh out loud - I love how the word is just like a gentle “f— u” for El, or like a “you’re not worth my time”
“Outside the Realm” played between Byler and Jancy and also between Kali and El! I didn’t know the song was played this many times.
Awwh El did hear Hopper’s message!
“I’m a fighter. I’ve killed.” Okay I really like how the show emphasizes here that you can kill and still not be “fighter” - it’s clear that the gang’s intentions vs El’s are much different
“Festered” = “spread” Kali equates. Until she confronted it and it eased the pain. Oh my gosh if this ends up being true to Will, too. My heart
Alright as a former Winx Club girlie I am a sucker for transformations so I love the outfit change sequence
Okay side note “Shirley Temple” is so endearing to me as that’s also one of my nicknames haha
AWGFGF Funshine’s care bear mask
Oh El’s compassion when she sees the family photo :(((((((( <3
I love how you can hear Kali’s style of voice in Brenner!
And when she sees Brenner it seems that the light is more yellow and less red/purple once again I stand by my yellow = heart agenda
El clings to the first time Mike gave her the nickname, Dustin and Mike at the cliff, Hopper taking her in, and Hopper and the “compromise”
I LOVE WHEN THEY ALL FREEZE AND KALI MAKES THEM INVISIBLE AHHHHHHH Oh the camera panning around to them being gone is so cool. Every single time man
Oof wow the crescendo when El parts with the gang and runs as they drive off was really powerful wait what song is that???
Oh and the window transition!!! I love
Poor Kali! Please I hope we see her again
Episode 8
POOR MIKE no one's listening to him because everything moving so fast and the panic but omg he's right on the money
OH HAHA I forgot that electricity went out in the lab at the start! I didn't really pay attention to when it happened lol
OUGH. The stagnation and fear in Billy's eyes from his dad. Yikes.
Wow the way I held my breath for Bob AHHHh
BOB NOOOO ohhhh Joyce's trauma here OH YMHERATT I know that it's addressed next season as Joyce has flashbacks but like... does she do anything about it??? NOO and my heart I am shaking omg
“I should have been there” Jonathan self parallels from s1 HHHFJJGGJG 😭
AWW WAIT OMG Steve getting emotional when he looks at Nancy and Jonathan and Will omg????? Babygirl???
I forgot how heavy this season is for Joyce. Oh my gosh EULOGY PLAYING WHEN HOPPER ENTERS THE ROOM SOMEONE STOP ME I'M BOUTTA JUMP ONTO THE HIGHWAYYYYy /nsrs
Wow Mike comes up with a lot of the plan!!! AWW poor baby damn literally he wants to lead but he can't!!
OHHIHO JONATHAN ADN MIKE ARE CRYING OMMGHGHG
If we get a "proud [of you]" moment from Joyce to Will when he comes out to her I will be SICKKK
"It was the best thing I've ever done" SEDATE MEEEEE
Joyce and Jonathan holding each other in fear I AM ILL PLEASE just let this family have peace please I am on my knees
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(Click on the date to read full story). My trip to El Salvador started with our bus breaking down an hour after leaving the bus terminal in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where I had just spent the past three weeks reuniting with my Honduran family. Like old times, we trained intensely together, giving each other our all to pin, choke, and submit one another, and ending our grueling sessions with a well deserved, so bad it’s so good, hefty Honduran late night meal. After a year and a half away, it was heartening to rekindle old friendships and spark new ones. Their assurances that I will be part of their family forever and that I will always be welcomed to Honduras with open arms and homes was no exaggeration. I can’t thank them enough.
Returning back to our broken down bus; the passengers onboard with me were surprisingly nonchalant about the whole situation. The mood was light, as we held a collective breath of anticipation and hope for each time the driver came back to his seat from the back of the bus with his tools and again attempted to send power to the engine. Again and again, the engine roared for a few seconds, sputtered to a whimper, then gave out. We looked at each other, releasing the tension with a big sigh and chuckling and joking with each other. We may have been stuck in the middle of the road, with 7 hours of driving still ahead of us, but our mood was lighthearted.
Finally, another bus from the same company, this time a small van as opposed to an actual bus we initially boarded, picked us up, and we all crammed into its 12 or 15 passenger seat. I’ve been in so many buses that were packed like this, so it was just another day in the office. Many hours later, we arrived in San Salvador, but not at the terminal that I was expecting. The driver told me that because of the breakdown, they were way behind schedule and this is now where the destination is. No use arguing. I was quite away from the hostel I was planning to stay at, and a taxi would cost $5, an extravagance I wasn’t willing to make. Besides, I never take the taxi; I always take the bus and try to experience to city like the locals. Except, I like to do my research first and be well acquainted with how the city’s transit system works so that I can fake it till I make it as a local commuter. Guess that’s not happening; let’s go run with the wolves. I asked around for which bus leads to a park where my hostel was nearby, and I eventually found it. I boarded, was asked to pay the fare of $.25, and not having any smaller bills, I gave the driver a $10. I learned quickly that nobody pays the bus fare with $10. He was not going to make change, and he waved me away to sit down. I sat down next to a young woman who had witnessed the entire event, and she handed a quarter, along with a gentle advice, be careful with your money. Before getting off her stop, she asked me if I knew where I was going. Letting my guard down, which is something I rarely do when traveling, I replied that truthfully, not really. She turned to an old lady who she had been conversing with and told me that this lady would let me know when I should get off. Before leaving, she handed me another quarter just in case. Surely, the old lady, who in a few weeks would be going on her yearly trip to Dallas to visit family, made sure that I got off on the correct stop and wished me safe travels. I wish I can tell them both now that I’m okay and that I’m actually much better at taking public transportation.
Later that night, I again took the bus to a spot that Larra and Guato, friends from Honduras, told me about. This restaurant put a spin on the traditional, ubiquitous, yet still never gets old, pupusas. Their speciality was the pupusas ahogadas, which was essentially pupusas smothered in tomato or cream sauce with an additional layer of melted cheese on top. It definitely was flavorful, but I felt that it took away the essence of the texture and flavor that come together in the simple package of a traditional pupusa. Nevertheless, among my biggest driving factors for traveling is trying new food, so my trip was off to a great start. I ended my night walking around this neighborhood of Antigua Cuscatlan, enjoying the festive lights that lined the streets, trees, and church of the central park with a warm cup of atole, before taking the bus back to my hostel.
The next morning, I took a free walking tour of San Salvador. Josue, my tour guide, was a young student with an ambition to learn five languages and marry the gringa of his dreams in a few years, a currently underage girl from Dallas who he met while volunteering as an interpreter. We walked around the city as he pointed out various landmarks and explained to me the history that lie underneath each building and monument. He had high remarks for his country’s current president, Nayib Bukele, and admired his savvy use of Twitter and his determined effort to strengthen El Salvador’s economy by capitalizing foreign investment. I asked him from which country he sees most of the tourists, and I found it interesting that he said Germany, because in Honduras I’ve come across several places that proudly emblazoned their flag alongside Germany’s. It’s time I do my research into Germany’s involvement in the history of Central America.
I arrived in Santa Ana midway, checked into my hostel, and proceeded to do my routine wandering about. Although Santa Ana is the second biggest city after San Salvador, the difference between the two cities was vast. The latter felt hyper-industrial, very gritty, I imagine how some of the big American cities like New York and Chicago were a century ago, while the former retained many of the colonial layout and ambience with its small, narrow streets and cobblestone walkways. Although the streets were remarkably dark for a lack of street lights, I did not feel as unsafe as I probably should have, as I’ve come to associate colonial towns with small town tranquility.
The next morning, I climbed the popular Volcan Ilamatepec, or the Santa Ana Volcano, and witnessed its picturesque, turquoise blue crater lake with its slight whiff of sulfur. I took my mandatory Instagram-worthy shots and descended down the rocky trail, for me the worst part of hiking due to my recurrence for twisting my ankle, which did happen a few times, and got lost along the way. I had to back-track up the mountain for a good ten minutes until thankfully I was able to spot another group of people making their way down. A part of me relished in the adventure of it all, while another, growing by the minute, was like, “Wait, I’m actually lost.” It was livening for sure. When I got back to town, I took a bus to the MetroCenter, where I was hoping to find a mounting accessory for my GoPro. I didn’t find anything, so I returned to the place where I got dropped off and got on the return bus, or so I thought. I had actually taken a bus to a whole different neighborhood, and as we traversed the unlit roads, I stayed on the bus passing each stop, while fellow passengers left one by one. I assumed that the bus must return to the stop where I got on, however long that takes, but I felt that it was a guarantee that I could return home. It was another adventure, to see a part of the city that I would never have seen, and to see the final bus station terminal, which was amusingly located smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood, running out of what any other way would look like a regular house. At this terminal, the bus driver directed me to a bus that would take me close to my hostel. I got off at my stop, correctly this time, and finally arrived at my hostel after many unforeseen detours.
On a bus that exemplified the saying of ‘packed like sardines,’ somehow fitting in a few more people at a time when I thought it would be impossible, I set off for Juayua, a starting point for many who want to traverse the Ruta de Las Flores, a scenic route through several small towns along a highway that is adorned with blossoming flowers during the blooming season. I was thrilled to visit Juayua, mostly for its gastronomic festival that it holds every weekend. There, apparently I would be able to find a slew of traditional fare along with exotic meats, including rabbit, iguana, snake, and armadillo, and I wanted to try them all. Turns out that years ago, the sale of iguana and snake was banned due to their endangered status, but I was able to find rabbit on the menu. With my plate of grilled rabbit and accompanying sides, I relished the simple happiness of sitting in the park on a beautiful Saturday, listening to live opera and being surrounded by the chatter and laughter of families.
After my hearty meal, I made my way over to the neighboring town of Concepción de Ataco. This community that is part of the Ruta de Las Flores is known for its colorful murals that line its walls all throughout the streets. Residences, stores, hospitals, municipal buildings, churches, any surface wall, is proudly used as a canvas to illuminate the town with scenic portraits of history, culture, and the daily living of rustic El Salvador. I even came across a mural of two couples in traditional garb, one of El Salvador and the other of Korea. I was overjoyed to see that in this remote town of a country that most Koreans do not know of, or if they do, that they fear, there has been some significant cultural exchange to merit a lasting emblem on the landscape of the city. Coincidentally, I also met a pair of Korean police officers who were on an assignment in El Salvador to train the Salvadoran police force on the Korean police force’s systems and protocols, and ultimately build a collaborative relationship with the Central American armed and civil forces. They were wearing dark sunglasses, and I didn’t know that they were Korean until I asked a Salvadoran police escort if I was on the right path to a lookout point trail and he asked me where I was from. We continued to roam the town together for some time, elated from this unexpected chance meeting of fellow country-people, until we parted ways. In the central town square, I stumbled upon their yearly celebration to commence the holidays and lingered there for the next couple of hours, enthralled by the festivities of glamorous dancing and eccentric costumes, middled in with the blaring horns of corporate sponsors. At the food fair, I discovered a stall of exotic food and the iguana which ever since I came to Honduras was curious to try. The last bus was supposed to leave within the hour, so I asked for my plate to-go, and caught the bus soon before it departed from this town that continued to celebrate well into the night.
Back in Juayua, I woke up early in the morning to do the seven waterfalls hike with Elmer. The tour is offered by the hostel but only if at least two people signed up. I was the only one, but the friendly Nicaraguan staff was able to hook me up under the table. Elmer and I, accompanied by the hostel dog and her neighborhood friends who one-by-one tagged along the way, embarked on an exhilarating hike through majestic waterfalls, ultimately rappelling down one mountainside with a rope tied to a tree. Even after seeing one after another, each waterfall remarkably continued to impress me, all of them with a distinctive contour that would scatter the crystalline water across town from a single source. The hike took us two and a half hours, a significant cut from the usual four to six hour trip that Elmer is accustomed to with other groups. While taking into account that it was just us two, we noted the excellent physical condition that we were both in, and we bonded over our pursuit of proper exercise and nutrition as well as our distaste of white people who would not recognize the history of colonization and the lasting terror that it has left on communities around the world.
Upon our return to Juayua, I decided to walk to Saltoatitán the next town over on the Ruta de Las Flores, a semi-hike uphill on the highway for roughly forty minutes. Honestly, I didn’t find it as scenic as it is pictured to be, with a bouquet of flowers here and there sprinkling the large hedge bushes lining the highway. I arrived at the hostel I found online, which was actually like an AirBnb, an upstairs room in someone’s house that also becomes a restaurant at night, and settled in after assuring the owner that the room was fine just the way it is; the owner hadn’t been expecting a guest and was using the room as a storage for a few household items. After washing up from the wet, grimy hike of earlier morning and the drier, balmy hike soon after, I walked over to the market center to try the famed yuca con chicharrón that the town was known for. Being Sunday, the square was bustling with energy, with live music taking over the town space and families gathered together around the food stalls with heaps of yuca and chicharrón on huge plantain leaves in front of them. It certainly was appetizing, and I spent the rest of the day enjoying the regional delicacies of home cooked pastry candies and yuca doughnuts and chilate, the indigenous dish of gallo de chicha at a higher-end restaurant, and ending the night with a pizza sized yuca pupusa from the kitchen downstairs my room.
After a morning coffee with the host’s husband, I visited the town of Nahizalco, a pueblo with deep indigenous roots that continue to be one of the strongholds of indigenous culture and identity in the country. Their pride and history of hard-fought, bloody, and painful resistance against the colonizers was on full display throughout the town, on their murals, in their museums, exhibited by their handcrafts, and paraded by their traditional garbs. I did my shopping of fruits and vegetables and food stuff at their principal market, and more than once received an amused glance along with a greeting smile that welcomed my sharing in their daily lives. I took my groceries back to Salcoatitón on the back of a pickup truck converted into a passenger transport, fully equipped with a tent and handrails, and savored in the breeze of speeding down the highway. I sat in the shades at the park, enjoying the treats that I had just bought, marveling at how tranquil the town has become after yesterday’s buzz of activity. I took in this moment of peace before heading off to El Tunco. The bus that would take me to this party, backpacker central beach town was trying to warm me up for this change of atmosphere; all throughout the journey, it blasted pop and reggae music, together with bumping bass lights, so loud that it was hard to hear my own thoughts. I checked into a shabby hostel, where it was evident that the motto surf is life took priority. After striking up a conversation with a Salvadoran working there, who I actually thought was a gringo from his wholly surfer boy appearance, I agreed to take surfing lessons from him for a reduced price. The next morning, we set out to ride the waves, or at least I tried to. Truthfully, the lesson part was minimal, and it was more like keep trying until you eventually get it. I did keep trying, and over the hour-and-half, I managed to stand up a big zero times. It was infinitely harder than I had first imagined. We took a break, and I went to La Libertad, the nearby port city, where I walked through the pier along rows of freshly caught marine life of all shapes and sizes and smells. Fishing here was the livelihood of this town, and the fishermen in their hustle and bustle paid me no mind as I stared in wonder at their dexterity in cleaving and gutting one fish, eel, or stingray after another. Later in the afternoon, I returned to the beach with my surf instructor, this time finding ourselves in stronger waves, but we gave it a go, and finally, I was able to stand up, although just once, before falling off mere seconds later. I know that everything takes practice, so the next morning, I rented a surfboard, a longboard this time, which is more beginner friendly, and set off to practice on my own. After more than three hours of toppling over, swallowing and inhaling ocean water, with just one barely successful attempt at standing up for a couple of seconds, I decided to call it a day and packed my bags to shuttle over to Leon. Leon would be a much more forgiving destination.
I was much better at sandboarding down a volcano. I did fall a few times, but I was able to stay on my feet long enough to gather enough speed to instill in me enough fear to make me want to fall on purpose to slow down. I was the only one in my group who decided to hop on a board rather than the customary sled, and I am so glad that I did so. Not only did it look more impressive for the photo op, albeit speeding down the volcanic gravel in an oversized yellow jumpsuit but at least it was standing on a board, it also required a level of finesse and technique to maneuver the board and along with that came a sense of accomplishment. For me, it did live up to the hype, but I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had elected to do the standard sledding down the volcano. Upon returning to Leon and washing off the ash and soot streaking my face and body from my tumble down a volcano, I went on a dark history tour of the city led by Said, a native who uses the proceeds from the tour to buy seeds and fledgling trees to plant with students in nearby communities. Coupled with an open bar of rum in an old, abandoned fortress, he took us on a journey down the history of Nicaragua, from the early childhood of the now legendary Sandino to the present day and situation that Nicaragua and its people now live in. On the grounds of the fortress where we stood, two hundred men, incriminated by the paranoid US imperialist controlled state, were beheaded and pushed off the cliff. There was never a proper burial. Over this somber history, we took in the sunset, the unrestrained dark, and a lot of rum, one of us too much. She definitely was not the drinking type and became heavily uninhibited, cutting our stay short to return back to the city as fast as possible through the bumpy, dirt road, all throughout hoping that she won’t vomit. Fortunately, she didn’t, and we were able to successfully make it back to her hostel and end the night without anyone getting hurt.
I quickly fell in love with the city of Leon. Its history as a base of revolutionary, freedom fighters, its people living their daily lives without catering to the growing presence of tourists, its lively streets that spill activity into the night. Also, a girl of Leon captured my heart, which happens rarely. We met on top of the Cathedral of Leon, she, volunteering there, making sure that visitors don’t break any rules and that they take off their shoes at the indicated zone, me, asking her a question about the water ducts. We started talking, and she kind of became my personal tour guide, taking me around the cathedral and telling me so many histories that I now don’t even remember. I found out that she was studying tourism in university and eventually wants to become an actual tour guide but always gets super nervous talking to people. We hit it off, chatting until the visiting hours came to a close and on that day, her mom and little sister had come to pick her up. I would’ve loved to prolong this barely hour-long chapter of my life, but this is where the story ends.
On the morning before I was leaving for Estelí, I walked across town to Sutiaba, the neighborhood of Leon that supposedly had a strong indigenous community presence. Honestly, I didn’t see much, and there was not much going on, so I walked back, stopped at a barbershop along the way, and had my first bad haircut in Central America. It wasn’t a terrible cut, the barber had just missed a spot that later I had to go back for, but I’ve learned to have high standards for barbershops in these countries, because they are talented with their fades. At only two to three dollars a cut, I would get myself a touch-up every couple of weeks, and while I’m here, that’s what I’ll do.
I arrived in Estelí a couple of hours after sunset. The 45-minute walk to my hostel led me to an ice cream shop, where the employee notified me that the hostel had closed months ago and didn’t know if and where they moved to. Fortunately, there was another hostel a few blocks away, and this one was in business. I met again a Dutch couple with whom I had just ridden the bus to here and several other backpackers at this base for international travelers in this otherwise traditional, country town. Estelí, located in the northern province of Nicaragua among the mountains, is known for its cooler climate, coffee, tobacco, leather, and cowboys. I would experience that later, as the city was celebrating their anniversary that weekend, and they brought out their best cowboys, hats, belts, boots, and steeds, and those horses showcased their best trots and steps to the beat of the rancho music. They delivered quite a spectacle and scared me more than once when they spun, loped backwards, and I was facing their hind legs. Fortunately, the horses never kicked, and I’m sure the riders had them under control.
Farther up north from Estelí, near the border of Honduras, lies Somoto Canyon, where Río Comali from Honduras meets Río Tapacalí of Nicaragua and converges to form Río Coco, the largest river that runs through Central America. I took an early morning bus to the town of Somoto, where I met my guide, Orvin, who grew up in these canyons and makes a living in agriculture and with these tours. Our trek took us through scenes of an adventure movie, through an expedition of swimming across the canyons of Somoto, surrounded by cliffs of 150 meters high on both sides and the mountains of Northern Nicaragua. We passed by bat caves, cows and bulls foraging the terrain and cooling off in the river, and we took exhilarating and refreshing jumps into the deep emerald pools from 12 meters high. Over the past two weeks, my trip had taken me to spectacular sights and stunning encounters with nature, and so far, this canyoning experience has impressed me the most.
After this incredible trip, I bussed down to Granada, spent a quick night there, and ferried over to Isla de Ometepe, an island made up of two volcanoes connected by a strip of land in the middle. This apparently makes the island take the shape of the number eight, or the infinity symbol. I’m not much of an island person, but seeing how Ometepe is consistently on the must-do list of all Nicaraguan travel guides and I wanted to climb Volcano Concepción, I decided to spend a few days there. The first night, I stayed at the port city, Moyogalpa, the launching point for the Concepción hike. Our hike started at six o’clock in the morning and would be a 2,300 meter climb up to the crater of the active volcano. The crater is perpetually covered in a pack of clouds, and as we approached within several hundred meters of the peak, we were literally walking through clouds and could only see 10 to 20 meters in front of us. Although there was not much of a view towards down below, neither much uphill, the immediate view surrounding us, silhouettes in the distance shrouded by the misty fog, nonetheless made a dramatic scene. We finished the hike in around 7 hours, and I didn’t think it was difficult at all. We actually did it a lot quicker than the usual 9 to 11 hours that it takes most people, most likely because our group consisted of a couple from Germany who was biking from Mexico to Costa Rica, another from China who started in Los Angeles and is biking downwards the Americas, the tour guides, and me. The tour guide, who used to be a sergeant in the military and competed in a few boxing bouts himself, realized why I was not getting tired upon finding out about my background as a boxer. We talked boxing training and regimen, history of Nicaraguan and Korean fighters, the ladies of course, and how the Nicaraguan government is supposedly investing in opening a state-of-the-art boxing gym facility on the island. He wants his son to learn boxing and suggested that I work at the island as a coach and stay at his home for accommodation. I’ve met many families throughout my travels offering to host me whenever I come through their town, and I never know how serious they are, but thinking about it, I’m positive that they were all being genuine. I would also happily host a friend that I make in another part of the world if they ever come to Los Angeles. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live in Ometepe for a long duration of time, because as I said, I’m not an island person, but if I ever see Enoc again, I’d love to invite him to my home and coach his son.
I was dropped back off at my hostel, where I cleaned up and washed my clothes. Around half-an-hour after hanging my clothes to dry, it started to drizzle. Hours ago, we were sitting at the peak of the volcano, enveloped by clouds, its specs of mist clinging to our skin hairs, and the wind howling loud enough that at times it was hard to hear. I wondered what it would be like to be up there right now. In the midst of a storm? Or maybe it’s like a tornado, where it can be quite calm in the center as the outside rages on. Almost as quickly as it started, the rain came to a close. I walked to the bank to retrieve the Moneygram payment I had sent to myself after discovering that my ATM card could not be used overseas. I walked into the most empty bank I had ever been in Central America. There were no other clients except me and even the lighting was dim. I was in and out of the bank in 10 minutes, which was really nice after always spending more than an hour for a bank activity. Today would turn out to be a long day of walking, 42,000 steps according to my phone, as I walked another two hours to watch the sunset at Punta Jesus María, a thin strip of land stretching out like an arrow into Lago Nicaragua. Fortunately, on the way back, a group of tourists who had rented motorbikes offered to give me a ride back to the city. I can now say that I hitchhiked on a motorbike.
The next morning, I caught the bus to Balgüe, the other side of the island. I rented a pedal bike and began exploring in what is probably my favorite way to discover a new area, biking around. I passed by a kayak tour sign and decided on the spot to take a tour of Río Istián, an estuary that snakes through the swamp marshes of Ometepe. I also wanted to watch the sunset, so I agreed with the tour guide to head out a little later at 3pm. When I came back at our agreed upon time, his son brought out the oar, laid it down on my kayak, and walked off, while his dad lay on the bench underneath the shack of the kayak house. I stood around for a minute, waiting for his dad, but when his dad stayed lying down and resting, I went up to him. Picking up his head and turning toward me, he asked if there was a problem. I guess there was some misunderstanding but it appeared like he thought I would be heading out on my own, while I thought he would be accompanying me. I actually preferred what he was thinking, so I replied - no, am I good to head out now? - and paddled offshore. Minutes into the outing, I realized that he had not provided me with a lifejacket, but it didn’t bother me. I felt free, not just from the vest, but more importantly, for being able to carve my own route and journey. As I wanted, I watched the sunset on my kayak, after navigating to a middle point of the lake to place myself at a great vantage point. The sun had set when I started kayaking back to shore, and it dawned on me just how far I had wandered away from the island as the final glows of the sun melted into the darkness. For a good half an hour, I was rowing in the ominous dark, fighting forceful currents that once in a while felt like would capsize my kayak. Despite this, I didn’t feel anxiety or fear, just the will to reach home and get warm. Just as I was approaching the shore, I saw that the tour guide had ridden out on his kayak and was about to search for me, thinking that I was lost in the open waters. He scolded me for coming back so late and for venturing out so far away from shore; I was supposed to stick along the coast and follow the riverbanks, not roam away to the middle of the lake where the sharks are. Until then, I didn’t even know that there were sharks in the lake and when I later did research to check if it he was telling the truth or BSing me to scare me, I found out that it was indeed true. There were bull sharks in the lake, the kind of the sharks that are most common in shark attack incidents. I’m glad that I didn’t know that fact before, because I had kayaked back with confidence and determination, paddling my oars in the dark waters without a worry in the world.
Somewhere along the way back to my hostel, I lost the bike lock key. I woke up extra early in the morning to backtrack my ride to the best of my ability, but I was more or less guessing which side of the lane I was on during different sections of the irregularly paved and unpaved, rocky roads. For more than an hour, I searched intently over the surface, among the rubble, and within the crevices, but I wasn’t successful in finding the key, so I chalked it up as a loss and returned to the hippy, chocolate paradise hostel and joined their morning yoga session. The physical concentration and mental relaxation proved valuable for my down spirits, because I had been stressing hard about the lost key. It had even taken the center stage in my dreams throughout the night. Fortunately, everything was resolved with an extremely simple solution: pay for a new lock that costs less than $3. After all the stressing and trouble I went through.
I only had a few more days left in Nicaragua before heading back home to the States, and I planned out my itinerary to spend those days in Granada, the colonial town that tourists especially love for its vibrant, colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, and old Spanish architecture, like pretty much all other colonial towns. In total, I spent five days there, the longest I’ve stayed at one place, and it was too long. In hindsight, I wish I spent another night or two in the other places I had visited, but I had felt that my time was limited and had moved on faster. It was not because I didn’t like the city. I did, although I admit that I liked the other cities better. I found them more unpretentious, while Granada felt to me like it was catering to tourists, which completely makes sense to do seeing how it is the most popular tourist destination in the country. But that, I feel, comes with it a cost to the soul of the city and its people, who must accommodate themselves to gratify those who do not have long-term roots in that community.
It’s not the case that I didn’t have a good experience in Granada. I totally did. It was just different from the rest of my traveling experiences; it was more comfortable, and considering that I was about to return home soon, where it is the king of comfort, I thought it was too soon. In Granada, I settled in Hostal Azul, where I bonded with a fun group of travelers. We ate breakfast together in the morning, dinner at night, had hour long conversations in the common area while lazily swaying in the hammocks, celebrated birthdays and went out dancing in the open, lively streets of the city, made tamales from scratch for Christmas. We found community in a place and time in our lives when we are called to a nomadic way of living. These connections make it hard to move on, and I know that this is something priceless that should be held onto and treasured. But, I think my haven is escape from commitment, and that’s what travel affords me. When I’m in travel mode, I don’t want to unwind for long; I want to be on the move, on my toes, stepping on new ground. There are moments when I wish I had a traveling companion, and the solitude can feel lonely at times, but that comes with the pains of solo travel. My heart is constantly at odds, one beat longing for the luxuries of home, the other yearning to break off and fly away.
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who: mike wheeler & @yousuzeyoulose
where: wheeler basement
Mike liked Suzie. He honestly always had since finding out that she was real and not some fake girlfriend that Dustin had made up after coming home from summer camp. She had done a lot for the Dustin, the party, the world, and even Mike personally. That made her good in his book and her transition into the party had been smooth, much smoother than the never-ending power struggle he faced with Max. Unlike Max, Suzie made a great addition to the party.
Despite her quick wit that had been aimed in his direction a time or two, the pair got along. Mike didn’t hold Suzie’s aptitude for sarcasm against her, instead trying to learn from it. She didn’t possess Max’s same talent for getting under his skin, a fact he was thankful for. A perfect example of their compatibility presented itself at his mom’s last annual summer barbecue. The party spent the event the way they did every year: playing Dungeons and Dragons. This year, however, had been different. Instead of it just being Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas as normal, El, Suzie, and Max had joined the party in the basement as they played. That had quickly transformed into the girl’s playing the game with them, which as much as Mike hated to admit it, had actually been a lot of fun.
It was Suzie’s enthusiasm and seemingly enjoyment for the game that prompted Mike to invite Suzie over. If she was going to continue to play with the party then she would need to flesh out her character and the best way to do that was with a character sheet. Pulling one out of his stack of miscellaneous D&D folders and books, he set it on the basement table. “Okay, so this is a character sheet. You just fill it out as Suzie the Barbarian and when we play you bring it.”
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Season Four, Chapter Seven: The Massacre At Hawkins Lab
Nancy couldn't think of a better entrance line than "Hey there."
I bet this scene was hard to act, there was so little that was actually there to interact with considering all the CGI.
"Great, more running." Robin is a whole mood as always.
Yeah, like I said last episode, the ending here is actually pretty good in terms of cliffhangers. I mean yeah Nancy's "in trouble" but it doesn't feel like that's meant to be as dangerous as it first appears since it's not where we actually end (and it's not, she's fine).
Kentucky Fried Secret Agent Man, mmm.
If only Brenner had had Owens to curtail him from the beginning, all of this might not have happened.
First time anyone's said Brenner's first name out loud? I know it's on paperwork in the earlier seasons but I don't think anyone said it.
Max's mom isn't there, they really shouldn't be questioning her at all.
Suggestive shirtless Steve scene is suggestive.
Lil spider monkey Munson.
His handerchief survived the swim, that's a surprise.
Steve's feet are going to be ripped to shit by the time they get home.
Murray's Yuri impression is spot on.
Brenner's approach is certainly one way to deal with bullies.
Erica's blackmail material must be really bad. A thousand out of ten?!
Dustin's deductions are almost entirely on the money, except his Vecna/Mind Flayer theory.
I feel like the Upside Down being frozen in time is going to be important in the last season for some reason.
The way Eddie asks if SOS is good breaks my heart.
Joyce's unimpressed looks in the background are gold.
The little light box communication thing is genius, such a good scene.
Get entirely fucked, Callahan.
Bye bye useless parents, let the kids take over. There's going to be some explaining to do after, but it'll be worth it.
Another awesome upside down camera transition.
Steve pedalling with no shoes on must hurt like a bitch, I've done that before. Not recommended.
There's the vent El uses to escape in Season 1. Although that's still 4 years away at this point in the memory.
I wonder if this Zoterior (?) thing will come back and be part of how they weaken Vecna in Season 5.
The idea that Joyce travelled all that way just to see Hop die is fucking awful.
Should have thrown the Warden in with the Demogorgon.
Pow, right in the kisser!
Happy reunion :')
That gate pops like a zit.
Everyone's hair is still immaculate, despite the dip in the lake.
P-p-p-p-plot twist #1! Friendly Orderly is One!
We all know what those stains are, Eddie.
If Dustin didn't have Suzie, I swear he and Erica would get together in the future.
That fucking swimming pool, I swear. Barb's not looking well.
The alarm at Hawkins Lab and at the Nina Project is the same.
No wonder El surpressed this, it's horrific. Henry killed literally everyone.
P-p-p-p-plot twist #2! Friendly Orderly is Henry Creel!
P-p-p-p-plot twist #3! Henry Creel is Vecna!
Thick and fast plot twists, this episode.
Playing with black widows, even if you have psychic powers, seems inadvisable.
He may be nuts, but Henry does make some valid points.
Dude tortures bunnies, though. Totally irredeemable.
Eyeballs rolling around under closed eyelids is creepier to me than the whole way Vecna kills people.
Get atomized, bitch.
The Vecna reveal is a great payoff given everything we've been through up to this point, it all fits quite neatly.
And yeah, I wanted to know what happened next, but it didn't make me want to scream for an entire month, so I appreciated that a lot.
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