Bro at this point I'm gonna need someone to tell me all the Sword lore because I swear to god if I don't know all of the lore in Phighting I'm going to explode

Listen I'm not usually into gangbangs but ya'll-

The Director’s Club is changing!

Where should we let the scorpions loose? In the needle?

some in the needle 😇 some outside

forget about endgame couples for a moment and let's focus on what of all the Will storyline is actually plot relevant, because if there's one thing i'm pretty sure of, is that all the emotional pain he's been through this season will be addressed nextseason.

why do i think that?

it was stated before that we would find out why Will was the first one to be taken to the upside down and it occurred to me that out of all the pain he went through by hiding his feelings for Mike and supporting Mike’s relationship with El, the most fucked up thing he got in return was the person he loves saying that the day Mike started to live is the day Mike also found out that he was missing. And that didn't go unnocited by the characters. The camera focuses both on Will and Jonathan (though you could argue that it’s about the whole monologue, not just that part, but same difference). 

Now, if this was simply a statement to reinforce Mike's love for El... well, my guys, it would be the most horrible thing EVER. Of course it still is, but it makes me wonder, from a writing pov, WHY they chose to include that. 

We know that in the main plotline the upside down stopped "aging" when El opened the gate, which is "coincidentally"  the day Will went missing, consequently leading to El and Mike’s meeting. 

If the point of that confession was simply that, a confession, that sentence would have been TOTALLY unnecessary.There was no reason for Mike to say that. they could have given him different words to confess his love, there was no  need to hurt Will specifically in the process... unless it was building up to something else, unless it's drawing our attention to that day specifically and what led to it, unless there is meaning to Will missing and El coming into Mike's life on that day. 

It was still shitty of Mike of course,  but i can see how putting such a sentence right there brought attention to it, which is, i suppose, what the writers wanted to stand out (or am i giving them too much credit? I’m 50/50 on this, i can’t decide either lmao)

What made us mad the most this season is the way they had Will express his feelings as El, the way he said El commissioned the painting, the way Mike kinda repeated Will's words to El. Will was, in a way, "sacrificed", to give El more space. Which, if you think about it, is exactly what happened the day Will went missing. He went, she came. 

Remember also how people kept inferring that El and Will looked alike in S1? Maybe it's a small detail, but it's something that came up over and over in the story. 

The fact that Will basically confessed to Mike by masquerading it as El's feelings makes me feel even more strongly about this. It's like El and Will are somehow connected, like two sides of one coin. 

It's probably not the case, but I do wonder if Will was taken because he was mistaken for El that very first day... There's definitely something about the writing choices this season that makes El and Mike's relationship feel like it stands on  Will's ashes and the more I think about it, the more it feels intentional. 

Will confessing by using El's name MUST be addressed. His painting MUST be addressed again. Those lies cannot simply fall flat. There are too many parallels between El and Will (and both their relationships with Mike) at this point to ignore them. They have always been there but it feels like they were put at the forefront this season and that Will's feelings for Mike aren't simply the Duffer finally deciding to make Will's sexuality explicit, but to draw attention to the fact that he and El? feel the same way, they are so much alike, they have always been. 

That first day, after opening the gate, El went missing from the lab. Everyone was searching for her, One specifically would have searched for her the most because he wanted her to open more gates (and it was the first time he could reach into Hawkins to actively do that). Is it that far fetched that his underling, the demogorgon, got the wrong person?

I don’t know if i like this theory or not myself, but I think it’s perhaps worth thinking about. 

(assuming it was the demogorgon who took him and not One himself. someone pointed out that in that first ep, Will closes the door of his house and the door gets opened by telekinesis-kind of powers, which would definitely hint at One more than a demogorgon. this would definitely make my point moot lmao but still if it was One who targeted Will, WIll MUST have something that One wanted from him)

I don’t want to delude myself, but I think we have reason to believe that Will will be the center of next season like Max was this season. He’s inherently connected to the beginning of the upside down, it all started with him. To explain the upside down, they must address his dissapearance once again (One’s actor already said that Will was the center of it all and the Duffers said they would explain why he was taken) and contrary to how it felt like at first watch, I now realize that S4 was nothing more that the beginning of everyone’s character arc. 

None of the problems that came up in S4 have been resolved by the end. We felt like they would because it was split in two volumes, but Vol 2 left everything unresolved and if anything it created more confusion. 

Nancy and Jonathan’s problems? Unresolved. Steve’s feelings for Nancy? Unresolved. Robin’s storyline with Vikie? Unresolved. Vecna himself is unresolved. El’s independecy character arc is unresolved. Mike’s ooc behavior with WIll? Unresolved. His monolugue to El? Never addressed or acknowledged after the fact so also unresolved. 

I know at first it might feel like the monologue resolved the problems between Mike and El, but the truth is that every watcher KNOWS that it was brought upon by Will’s sacrifice. That makes it feel WRONG. It was the result of LIES. 

Lies are what are keeping the Jancy storyline open and I have reason to believe it’s the same for Mike and El. We haven’t seen the end of their characters’ arcs at all. It’s going to conclude in S5, this was just the beginning. 

I can handle construction noises but forcing Bon Jovi across the neighbourhood seems like overkill

how the swarm of demo-bats scene could have been handled. (im not really an expert in physics of sounds but idk. maybe this is just a what if.)

when i first saw that little bit of Eddie shredding his guitar in the upside down, i was soooooo happy. MUSIC!!!! IN THE UPSIDE DOWN!!! AS A WAY TO FIGHT!!! which has always been a recurring theme all throughout the seasons. but the way they handled it in canon was kinda lame. not to mention, dustin was there, a renowned genius kid and for sure wouldn't just half-assed The Bat-tle™.

don't get me wrong, i LOVE that scene. but i was expecting they used music as a weapon, too, not just to attract demo-bats and buy their friends more time. (and they have been using music as a weapon!!)

but, how? through sonic boom or whatever. like acoustic feedback above 85 decibels. everybody hates that ear-splitting noise that happens between an audio input and audio output, but not us, rock music enthusiasts. frankly, feedback distortion is a major element in heavy metal.

anyways where am I going with this? THEY HAVE AMPS. yep, Dustin, I saw that. also they could simply grab a mic from school. or they could grab more speakers and more mics and more cables at school. or eddie might have used the ones they used in their band. they could call Mr. Clarke to ask how to do it theoretically. the first mic was invented in the 1660s. there is no excuse.

now i think it's kinda lame, the musical element was like, you know, brushed off just for novelty reasons. i get they're in a rush but that's Dustin's specialty, being creative. it was not really used there. my guy, you were at AV club.

the high intensity sound waves would have killed the bats. they could play the guitar on real hawkins so it would have sort of reverb effect on their end and they wouldn't suffer from earsplitting shit, just the bats.

im probably talking shit. im sorry. anyways thats just an idea.

Hhhmmm. Saw takes i don't like uh, my dudes, if an artists doesn't want to inculde somebody in their drawing they do not have to. If it's not a commision you paid for you do not get to tell them they should inculde somebody in said drawing, that's just how it is

imagine: you get your memories back after years of amnesia to find out your whole species is dead and earth doesn’t exist anymore. that the only thing left of your culture is your weird ex and his busted honda civic that barely even works that he stole from the government when he was 13. And he’s been taking members of an alien species for trips in his honda civic and they’re all like “woah it’s so cool” and you get upset because it’s NOT COOL it’s a honda civic, the turn signals don’t even work “wow it can go up hills” yeah OF COURSE IT CAN GO UP HILLS EVERY CAR COULD DO THAT. but they’ve never seen a car before so everything it does is the coolest thing ever. And your ex’s only tool is a fucking screwdriver which is somehow also cool to this dumbass alien species even though it’s a fucking screwdriver so you just look like an idiot screaming about how none of this is even cool it’s actually really shitty but your whole planet is gone so you can’t even prove it but also you’ve had a constant drumming sounding in your head since you were 10 slowly driving you insane. I would become evil too.

theres actually no rules to transitioning and youre allowed to want contradictory things for your transition. it's fine if you only want some of the changes that come with hrt and take preventative measures for the rest (like wanting bottom growth but not body hair or vice versa). you can want to have vagina AND a dick. you can be a woman and want top surgery, or wear a packer. you can be a man and want to have a pussy. you can change your transition goals one or a million times or not have any goals at all and just take things as they come or as they feel right.

there are no rules.

I love the new trend of people saying "you can do whatever you want forever"

Like that's such a powerful and precious statement and we could all use a little more doing whatever we want forever, and not worrying so much about boxes & labels

It switches the focus from "being valid" in the eyes of others and says "fuck it, you decide" and I adore that

debbie almost drowning a girl for humiliating her + sheila leaving a sick nun on the side of the road for blogging about her, they’re so real

Learning that fans hated Applejack and called her "boring" is crazyyy to me because I genuinely, unironically believe AJ's the most complex character in the main six.

Backstory-wise, she was born into a family of famers/blue collar workers who helped found the town she lives in. She grew up a habitual liar until she had the bad habit traumatized outta her. She lost both her parents and was orphaned at a young age, having to step up as her baby sister's mother figure. She's the only person in the main gang who's experienced this level of loss and grief (A Royal Problem reveals that AJ dreams about memories of being held by her parents as a baby). She moved to Manhattan to live with her wealthy family members, only to realize she'll never fit in or be accepted, even amongst her own family. The earlier seasons imply she and her family had money problems too (In The Ticket Master, AJ wants to go to the gala to earn money to buy new farm equipment and afford hip surgery for her grandma).

Personality-wise, she's a total people-pleaser/steamroller (with an occasional savior complex) who places her self worth on her independence and usefulness for other people, causing her to become a complete workaholic. In Applebuck Season, AJ stops taking care of herself because of her obsessive responsibilities for others and becomes completely dysfunctional. In Apple Family Reunion, AJ has a tearful breakdown because in she thinks she dishonored her family and tarnished her reputation as a potential leader –– an expectation and anxiety that's directly tied to her deceased parents, as shown in the episode's ending scene. In The Last Roundup, AJ abandons her family and friends out of shame because believes she failed them by not earning 1st place in a rodeo competition. She completely spirals emotionally when she isn't able to fulfill her duties toward others. Her need to be the best manifests in intense pride and competitiveness when others challenge her. And when her pride's broken, she cowers and physically hides herself.

Moreover, it's strongly implied that AJ has a deep-seated anger. The comics explore her ranting outbursts more. EQG also obviously has AJ yelling at and insulting Rarity in a jealous fit just to hurt her feelings (with a line that I could write a whole dissection on). And I'm certain I read in a post somewhere that in a Gameloft event, AJ's negative traits are listed as anger.

Subtextually, a lot of these flaws and anxieties can be (retroactively) linked to her parents' death, forcing her to grow up too quickly to become the adult/caregiver of the family (especially after her big brother becomes semiverbal). Notice how throughout the series, she's constantly acting as the "mom friend" of the group (despite everything, she manages to be the most emotionally mature of the bunch). Notice how AJ'll switch to a quieter, calmer tone when her friends are panicking and use soothing prompts and questions to talk them through their emotions/problems; something she'd definitely pick up while raising a child. Same with her stoicism and reluctance at crying or releasing emotions (something Pinkie explicitly points out). She also had a childhood relationship with Rara (which, if you were to give a queer reading, could easy be interpreted as her first 'aha' crush), who eventually left her life. (Interestingly enough, AJ also has an angry outburst with Rara for the same exact reasons as with EQG Rarity; jealous, upset that someone else is using and changing her). It's not hard to imagine an AJ with separation anxiety stemming from her mother and childhood friend/crush leaving. I'm also not above reading into AJ's relationship with her little sister (Y'all ever think about how AB never got to know her parents, even though she shares her father's colors and her mother's curly hair?).

AJ's stubbornness is a symptom of growing up too quickly as well. Who else to play with your baby sister when your brother goes nonverbal (not to discount Big Mac's role in raising AB)? Who else to wake up in the middle of the night to care for your crying baby sister when your grandma needs her rest? When you need to be 100% all the time for your family, you tend to become hard-stuck with a sense of moral superiority. You know what's best because you have to be your best because if you're aren't your best, then everything'll inevitably fall apart and it'll be your fault. And if you don't know what's best –– if you've been wrong the whole time –– that means you haven't been your best, which means you've failed the people who rely on you, which means you can't fulfill your role in the family/society, which makes you worthless . We've seen time and time again how this compulsive need to be right for the sake of others becomes self-destructive (Apple Family Reunion, Sound of Silence, all competitions against RD). We've seen in The Last Roundup how, when no longer at her best, AJ would rather remove herself from her community than confront them because she no longer feels of use to them.

But I guess it is kinda weird that AJ has "masculine" traits and isn't interested in men at all. It's totally justified that an aggressively straight, misogynistic male fandom would characterize her as a "boring background character." /s

At the time of writing this, it's 4:46AM.

hey. dont be sad. combine gochujang + soy sauce + sesame oil + toasted sesame seeds and mix with cooked rice. add a fried egg on top and serve with nori. ok?

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