Hello everybody, you can call me TJ, because Tobias makes me sound like either a super villain or a tax collector. I'm endeavoring to write my own version of Stranger Things 5, and have it completed before the fifth season actually comes out on Netflix. Why? Because we all know that whatever the canon ending is, it won't be the beautiful, happy ending we all want for our beloved characters.
Some of our favorite party members are almost sure to die, and characters who could potentially come back from the dead might not. Even if everyone gets to live in the end, let's face it, it still won't be nearly as gay as we'd all like. So here I am, a published author, writing a huge, sweeping fanfiction that will make me exactly no money, all so I can give the characters a happy ending, and make them as gay as I am in the process.
Just a heads up, though - the happy ending will still be open ended, with room for more character development, and said happy ending does not guarantee a happy beginning or a happy middle. I'm just trying to provide the fandom with an alternate story that you can build your own stories around.
That said, I want this to be an interactive project. I want your input. Send me your theories, your headcanons, your desires for these characters. I don't want this to be my take on what season five should be, I want it to be everyone's.
So, ATTENTION DUFFER BROTHERS! THIS IS A ROBBERY! STRANGER THINGS SEASON FIVE AND ALL ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO THE FANS NOW!
Just a heads up to anyone looking to follow in this idiot’s footsteps — I am not a guy you want to have this discussion with. Really.
I, along with the rest of the queer community, have been through so much of the garbage that people like this have seen fit to put us through, and we have come out the other side as warriors. On the one hand, it has made me more patient and understanding. On the other hand, it means I will defend young queer individuals from hate speech like this with every bone in my body. I went through years of homophobic people like this one physically assaulting me, all so kids today wouldn’t have to.
I stayed strong when I got outed in elementary school. I stayed strong when the boys on the playground held me by my hair and shoved dog shit down my throat. I stayed strong when they held my nose and forced me to swallow it. I stayed strong when a popular boy asked me out as a prank. I stayed strong when the video of me saying yes was posted on all my classmates’ Facebook and MySpace pages. I stayed strong when I got cornered in the bathroom by a bunch of jocks. I stayed strong when they shoved my head into the toilet. I stayed strong when they flushed it and I had to blow air out through my nose so fucking hard just to not drown. I stayed strong when I had to walk back into the cafeteria with my hair plastered to my head and water dripping down my front. I stayed strong when my very first boyfriend killed himself. I stayed strong when I got beat to hell in the locker room for looking anywhere but my feet. I stayed strong when I spent years in physical therapy so I would be able to walk again after what they did to me. I stayed strong when I came to school with a doctor’s note and the same boys who had put me in the hospital reported me for forging it. I stayed strong when I was forced to arrange a meeting between my doctor and the school principal. I stayed strong through founding my high school’s Gay Straight Alliance. I stayed strong as I replaced the posters for it every day after they’d been vandalized. I stayed strong when a man in a grocery store parking lot cat-called my trans friend. I stayed strong when he realized she wasn’t what he’d been expecting. I stayed strong when he came at us with a knife, and I stayed strong when he put it through my hand. I stayed strong when my friends Korbin and Matt were killed in two completely separate hate crimes. I stayed strong when neither of their killers were convicted. I stayed strong when I found out that I would be able to get married one day, and I stayed strong when people immediately tried to take that right away from me.
But today’s kids? I don’t want them to have to stay strong. I want them to be allowed to cry when they hurt and not have to expect more pain as a result. I want them to go to school worried about their SATs, not whether or not they’ll be attacked by their peers for something they can’t control. I want them to dream about getting married without the addendum that it won’t be real.
So, @, when you come onto my post made by a queer for other queers, calling us disgusting fags — firstly, know that nobody wants you here. If you hate queer people that much, block the associated tags and you’ll never have to hear when we’re making everything about us ever again.
But you lost your right to a quiet, calm resolution when you decided that this was a good place for your hatred. It says in your bio that your blog is not safe for queers. Well guess what? My blog is not safe for you, and you would have to be stupid not to realize that (although based on your comment I have to assume you only made it through the first three sentences of the original post, seeing as I went on to discuss all the other reasons Eddie might have been wearing that bandana).
So let me ask you a question: after everything I went through at the hands of people like you, what on earth makes you think you can take me? After everything I put up with in the hopes that one day queer kids wouldn’t have to fear for their lives if they got outed, what could you possibly do that would make me back down?
Meanwhile, you? You lost your shit because someone on the internet suggested that a fictional character might not be straight. If queer folks really have made everything all about us, then why do straight characters in fiction outnumber queer characters a thousand to one? Or hell, why do straight people get to decide whether or not queer people can get married?
Queer kids on the internet see themselves in Eddie Munson, because he’s different, because everyone villainized him even though he was innocent. When you see him through a screen, a fictional character, you can see him as a human, a victim of stereotype and circumstance. But when you see us in the real world, actual people, you call us names. So don’t kid yourself. If Stranger Things were real, and you were actually there, you would be Jason Carver. Eddie Munson would hate you. And you would deserve it.
So keep your hate speech the hell off of my posts, and take a good long look at yourself while you’re at it. Who do you think you’re helping? Do you think young queer kids are going to see you calling them slurs and decide they should be on your side? Or did you just leave that comment to make kids feel bad about themselves? Honestly.
Content Warning: discussion of flagging, sex, sexual preferences, HIV/AIDS, drugs
Y’know, I’ve seen a million takes on the handkerchief Eddie has in his back pocket. I’ve seen people who prefer Eddie as a top in fanworks point at it and say, “there’s your proof, no point in denying it.” On the other hand, I’ve seen people who prefer him as a bottom say that he is unaware of the implications of the bandana, or simply write his bandana to be in his other pocket. I even saw a fanfic where it was because Eddie didn’t know his left from his right.
But I think there could be more subtly to it. As a gay guy, I gotta tell you, there’s a million reasons for Eddie to have that bandana in his pocket.
One is the obvious — he’s flagging his preferences so other queer men know what he’s looking for. The pocket he wears it in canonically would indicate that he prefers a top/dominant role in the bedroom. Now that could meant submissive top or dominant bottom, not just dominant top. The color is another issue. A black hanky is indeed representative of S/M, but in the 80s, around the time of the HIV/AIDS crisis, black and white hankies were worn to represent safe sex. Basically, “Hey, it’s cool if we hook up as long there’s protection.” Does Eddie have handcuffs hanging in his room? Yeah. Would that indicate an interest in S&M? Yeah. But the black and white hanky DID have another meaning at the time the story takes place.
Another option is that Eddie wants other queer people to think he’s a top, even if he may not identify that way. As a short king myself, I have to say that in certain situations (see: gay bars), I tend to attract more aggressive guys. By dressing and acting in a more aggressive, masculine way, I can sort of deter those kinds of guys when I’m not looking to hook up. I found that was less true when I lived in San Francisco, but while living in a small town (like Hawkins), I see a lot more of that “masculine tops” and “feminine bottoms” mentality. Also a lot more of the “no such thing as a true switch” mentality. Now, I’m not old enough to tell you what it was like to be queer in the 80s, but there wasn’t nearly as much information about being gay back then. You could only learn from other individuals — no looking up how gay sex works on Google. So it wouldn’t shock me if that whole “who’s the man in the relationship?” thing was something queer folks had to reckon with way more than we do now. Basically, for Eddie, that bandana could be a sign to other queer folks that he’s a safe person to talk to, while simultaneously working as a deterrent to “doms” who wouldn’t know safe, sane, and consensual is it slapped them on the ass. And, even today, there’s a lot of those.
Or, given Eddie’s, er, career path, it could be a sign to potential buyers. If you’ve never been a gay man, you might never have heard of poppers. In the 80s, it was known as the gay drug. And honestly, it still sort of is today. In a queer space, you can say poppers and everyone will know what you’re talking about, but I’ve mentioned it to straight friends and had to explain it, since they’d never heard of them. I’m one of those so-sober-he’s-boring people. I’ve never done recreational drugs, and I rarely drink. I’m often the designated driver, and I’m happy ordering a Shirley temple at the bar while my friends get sloshed. And I still know about poppers. The idea is to make anal sex more comfortable and enjoyable. So, by flagging, Eddie could be signaling that it’s safe to ask him for some.
If Eddie is flagging for non-sexual reasons — just trying to signal to other queers that he’s safe — the pocket he chooses could be incidental. What if he’s a switch? I’ve read articles saying that you can take a bunch of bandanas, tie them together, and wear them like a belt to show you’re a switch, but as far as I can tell, that wasn’t a thing back then. Whether or not it should be a thing now, from a fashion standpoint, is another issue. Something that I like about Eddie is that he does actively go out of his way to create a safe space for other “freaks.” It’s a really endearing part of his character, so flagging without sex being his actual goal makes sense for him.
The last possibility I want to address here is probably something that angst writers will eat up. I’m gonna tell a personal story here, just heads up. What if Eddie has been TOLD that he is a top? I was in a long-term relationship with this guy — I mean we were living together and talking about marriage, adopting kids, it was serious. And he basically said that I was bad at bottoming. Really, he just wanted me to top all the time, but he got it in my head that I wasn’t a good bottom, that I made unattractive faces, or it took me too long, or fucking whatever, but after we called it quits, I didn’t have sex for four years. Because I thought that the way I enjoyed having sex wasn’t enjoyable for my partner. If Eddie did have a partner who made him feel insecure about his preferences, he could be flagging as a top, maybe even believing that he is a top, because his experiences bottoming haven’t been great. In truth, he could be a switch, or hell, just a straight up bottom, but not want anyone knowing about that side of him.
Finally, just to wrap this up, I want to point out that this was all just food for thought, not what I see as the “correct” way of viewing Eddie’s bandana. Basically, I just wanted to show writers that they don’t have to say Eddie didn’t know he was flagging if they want him to bottom in their fics. I honestly think the fanfiction community gets hung up on top vs bottom way more than is actually realistic. While I am one of those people who does have a definite preference, I think I’ve run into more switches than tops OR bottoms, doms OR subs. And at the end of the day, we’re all just getting off to fictional characters, trying to find content that caters to our own preferences, so there’s absolutely no reason to fight each other about it.
Aaaaaand that’s that. I’m curious what you guys think about all this, so feel free to comment or shoot me a message or something.
Update: @nam-draws reminded me that Eddie’s bandana has implications in the metal scene as well, I wanted to talk about those as well!
So, one of the bands that we see Eddie likes a lot is Judas Priest. He’s got a pin on his vest and two posters in his room. Their lead singer, Rob Halford, is a homosexual man — he officially came out in 1998, but he had a coming out song, Raw Deal, way back in ‘77, that he said queer fans recognized for what it was while going over the heads of straight fans. Halford wore a bandana in his back pocket whenever he performed, and some metalheads started wearing them as well, trying to emulate his fashion. He contributed hugely to metal fashion; according to Rob Halford himself, the aesthetic of his outfits on stage came from the San Francisco gay BDSM scene in the 70s.
In the photo above, you can see what his look entailed. Note the handcuffs! We see that Eddie has handcuffs hanging in his room, not to mention his belt buckle. It could mean that he’s into BDSM, or it could be in homage to one of his favorite musicians. That’s another way authors can play with the implications of his costume and set design — maybe Eddie is super kinky, or maybe he just wants to emulate Rob Halford! It’s up to you. So maybe Eddie wears his bandana like that as part of his metal fashion instead of his queer fashion. After all Rob Halford ensured that the two would have significant overlap for half a century to come! There is another musician who Eddie could be paying tribute to (although I think it’s less likely for reasons I’ll get into in a bit).
James Hetfield, co-founder, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of Metallica also wears a bandana in his back pocket on stage, but not for flagging purposes. He claims that he shouts into the bandana before a show, so if he loses his voice on stage, he’ll always have an extra yell in his back pocket. Just for reference, Judas Priest released their first album in September of 1974, but didn’t get mainstream traction until their Sin After Sin album released in April 1977. Metallica, on the other hand, released their first album in 1983, and didn’t see commercial success until their Master of Puppets album released in 1986. It’s also worth noting that Metallica hasn’t found its way onto Eddie’s battle vest yet, likely because he discovered them recently. Basically I’m saying that if Eddie really is emulating either Halford or Hetfield, Halford makes more sense from a timeline standpoint.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (when it comes)
Warning: SPOILERS FOR ALL STRANGER THINGS EPISODES UNTIL THE END OF SEASON FOUR VOLUME TWO
So, as you guys might know, I'm currently writing a fanon version of Stranger Things Season 5. The idea is to be canon compliant up until the very end of the fourth season, and from there, give all the characters the fifth season that we, the fans, want for them. I've been looking at as many theories and repeated tropes in fan content that I can - but I want to see if I can hear from you guys directly.
So here are some questions for YOU! Your answers will inform how I write the story, so please leave a comment if you can!
So tell me, what do you want to see in regards to:
Mike Wheeler?
Alright, let's face it, Mike was a mess last season. He fell in and out of Will and El's good graces several times. Of course, we as viewers know that he's struggling with his own identity, his own self-worth tangled up with what El thinks of him, as we heard him tell Will. So...
How can Mike find his own self-worth as a separate entity from El?
How can Mike find support from his family and friends during that self-discovery?
What might cause El to set a boundary between herself and Mike, necessitating his acceptance of himself?
How should Mike react to the death of Eddie, who he clearly idolized?
How will Mrs. Wheeler's new overprotectiveness come into play as Mike goes on to fight yet another deadly battle?
What events or situations would bring Mike closer to his sister Nancy?
Does Mike already have an idea of Will's feelings for him?
How would he react to the reveal?
Given Mike's struggles, should he be Vecna's next target?
What would Vecna's attack look like to Mike?
What might Mike be forced to confront about himself?
How would the other party members react to seeing Mike being attacked?
How might Mike's behavior change after being forced to confront those things?
Lucas Sinclair?
Lucas has consistently been the least problematic character on the show, and yet he can't seem to catch a break. His friends ridiculed him for having mainstream interests (basketball), but he still chose them over his new friends on the basketball team when it came down to it. When one of his new friends, Patrick, was a victim of Vecna, he felt he didn't have the right to mourn him. That grief likely combined with his grief for Max when she was attacked, and from what we saw, he hasn't left her bedside. So...
How will Lucas be affected by everything he went through in season 4?
How will he feel Max's absence?
How can he realize he did nothing wrong when he joined the basketball team?
Would Lucas have unresolved feelings about how Mike and Dustin treated him?
How would he deal with those feelings?
What would make Dustin and Mike realize they treated him poorly?
How will Lucas' guilt over not reaching out to Max manifest now that she's in a coma?
How can he overcome that guilt?
What could possibly convince him to leave her bedside?
What should Lucas' hero moment be in the new season?
Erica Sinclair?
Erica has become more developed and important to the plot in every season, and the final season should be no exception! She was shown to have matured immensely between the third and fourth seasons, and after being instrumental in the party's plan to defeat Vecna and being physically attacked by a bunch of jocks, we can expect her to continue to evolve. The last we saw of her, she was standing by her brother at the hospital. So...
How will her experiences in season 4 change her?
How will being forced to adapt so quickly and at such a young age hinder her?
How can her youthful imagination help the party?
What unique roll could she play in the battle against Vecna?
What more could we see from her commitment to her brother?
How will their relationship as siblings change, now that they have so much shared trauma?
How does Erica feel about what happened to Max?
How might the party's treatment of her change after what happened to her last season?
Doctor Owens?
Doctor Owens has gone from Will's glorified psychiatrist in season two to a major part of El's support group and our last known connection to the original experiments at Hawkins National Lab. Unfortunately, the last time we saw him, his fate was unknown, left in the hands of Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan. So...
What did Sullivan do with him?
How could Owens successfully convince Sullivan that El isn't the threat?
How might he convince him to help her fight Vecna?
What information might he have that would prove helpful, or even crucial, in the fight against the Upside Down?
What assistance might he be able to provide to the party?
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (when it comes)
Warning: SPOILERS FOR ALL STRANGER THINGS EPISODES UNTIL THE END OF SEASON FOUR VOLUME TWO
So, as you guys might know (like all seventeen of you), I'm currently writing a fanon version of Stranger Things Season 5. The idea is to be canon compliant up until the very end of the fourth season, and from there, give all the characters the fifth season that we, the fans, want for them. I've been looking at as many theories and repeated tropes in fan content as I can - but I want to see if I can hear from you guys directly.
So tell me, what do you want to see in regards to:
Jim Hopper?
Hopper had it rough last season, what with being imprisoned, starved, tortured, and made to do slave labor. Also, he had to break his own ankle and foot to the point of being able to get it through a cuff multiple times and then run on it. We saw him bond with Dimitri, revealing the effect the Vietnam War had on him and his life. On the bright side, he finally got together with Joyce and made it home, reuniting with El. So...
How will his experiences affect his actions and behavior now that he's back in Hawkins?
How will his newfound romance with Joyce be a support to him?
How might it be tested?
What might trigger his trauma in the new season?
How can he overcome that trauma?
How might he be forced to address his past?
Who might he confide in and why?
How might his injuries hinder him?
What part does he have to play in defeating Vecna?
How has he changed towards El in the time they've been apart?
How will he react to the danger she'll have to put herself in?
How can El's story resolve Hopper's guilt over what happened to his daughter?
Joyce Byers?
Joyce continued her epic saga of being the best, most competent woman television has ever seen in season four. She may have topped herself yet again, successfully sneaking into Russia, breaking Hopper out or prison, and then breaking BACK IN. She got together with Hopper and successfully brought him back to Hawkins. So...
How would Joyce react to finding out everything that happened to her kids while she was gone?
How might she change towards the kids, knowing what they did?
Would she trust them more or become more protective?
Was Joyce aware that Jonathan was stoned at the beginning of season 4?
How would she react to the reveal?
What might prove to her that Will is more capable of looking after himself than he was in seasons one and two?
What does Joyce's relationship with El look like since she's been her guardian?
How will Joyce's dynamic with Hopper change now that they're together?
What still needs to be said between them?
What should Joyce's new mission be in season five?
Jonathan Byers?
Jonathan saw a lot of character development last season. He found a new best friend in Argyle, and a sister in El. He showed much-needed support for Will, and he decided that he didn't want to go to college with Nancy, instead applying to the college Argyle plans on attending. So...
How will he tell Nancy about his change of plans?
What prompts him to tell her?
How would he interact with Steve after what Nancy said to him at the cabin?
What led him to change his mind about college with Nancy?
How will his support of Will and his sexuality drive Will's plot forward?
How would he interact with Mike, knowing what he knows?
What actions might Jonathan take to counter his residual guilt for being "distant" ("or stoned")?
How might he be outed to his mom for smoking weed?
How would Jonathan feel about Argyle entering the Hawkins group's dynamic?
How will his dynamic with Argyle change?
Argyle?
Eduardo Franco gave us an amazing portrayal of Argyle as a new addition in season four, even though his character was mostly relegated to comic relief. What we do see of him is that he has a tendency to lose his cool in a crisis, he could be Eddie's new supplier since he has access to the good shit, and he considers Jonathan to be his only friend. So...
What role could he play beyond comic relief and being a supporting character for Jonathan?
How will his friendship with Jonathan evolve?
How will he fit in with the other party members?
What might make him believe he has friends other than Jonathan?
How will he find his place in the party?
How would he interact with Nancy?
How will he react to the Upside Down and the creatures from it?
What is Argyle's home/family situation?
Wtf should his last name be???
I literally don't care how well formed your ideas are - I want to hear your thoughts on as many of these points as possible! Please be kind to each other in the comments; we're allowed to have different opinions and desires for these characters.
(ALSO, I know that weed is like, totally normal nowadays, but in 1986, it was still illegal. Season four made a point of showing us that Jonathan is hiding it from his mom, and that Joyce seemed shocked when Murray suggested that her kids might "smoke some ganja," so it probably does need to be addressed. Tbh, I'd be fine with it if it was just an "oh gosh, I was the same at your age" situation, but I'm curious how y'all think Joyce would actually react.)
Warning: SPOILERS FOR ALL STRANGER THINGS EPISODES UNTIL THE END OF SEASON FOUR VOLUME TWO
So, as you guys might know (like all seventeen of you), I'm currently writing a fanon version of Stranger Things Season 5. The idea is to be canon compliant up until the very end of the fourth season, and from there, give all the characters the fifth season that we, the fans, want for them. I've been looking at as many theories and repeated tropes in fan content as I can - but I want to see if I can hear from you guys directly.
So tell me, what do you want to see in regards to:
Steve Harrington
The last we saw of Steve, he was mourning his failed love confession to Nancy, but he was happy to see Robin getting along with her crush, Vickie. Unfortunately, due to the two-day skip, we never got to see Steve react to what happened in the Upside Down. So...
How should Steve be affected by what happened in the Upside Down?
How should his relationship with Dustin evolve?
How should he react to Nancy's rejection?
What might he do to prove (at least to himself) that he isn't stupid?
How should his friendship with Robin impact his actions?
What part does he have to play in the final showdown?
Dustin Henderson
Dustin is the only character to have been shown actively grieving Eddie's death. Clearly he was heavily impacted by losing his friend, and on top of everything, he also suffered an injury to his leg. So...
How should his grief impact his actions and behavior?
How might Dustin change towards Steve after losing Eddie?
How will he try to keep his promise to Eddie to look after the other party members?
What problems might his injury cause?
What problems might his grief cause?
What will his strategy be to defeat Vecna?
Nancy Wheeler
Nancy was left questioning a lot at the end of the season, including her relationship with Jonathan. She has a newfound respect for Steve, and she became close with Robin as well. Vecna also singled her out, showing her a vision of his future plans. So...
How should Nancy's friendship with Robin pay off?
How might her opinion of Jonathan change?
How will she react when she finds out he lied about them going to college together?
How should she resolve her feelings about Jonathan and Steve?
How might we see Barb's death still affecting her?
What new badassery does Nancy have in store?
Did Vecna single Nancy out for a reason?
What did Nancy's vision mean?
How might she react if it started to come true?
To what lengths would she go to stop it from coming true?
What lasting effects will Nancy be dealing with after everything that's happened?
Robin Buckley
Robin had finally plucked up the courage to talk to Vickie by the end of the season. She befriended Nancy and continued to be Steve's main support, and she also was shown trying to get Steve and Nancy back together. So...
Would she still try to set up Steve and Nancy now that Jonathan is back?
How should her relationship with Vickie progress?
What more would you like to see of her friendship with Steve?
How might that friendship be used against them?
What role should Robin play separately from Steve?
How should her newfound friendship with Nancy evolve?
What could that friendship change narratively?
How should Robin's intelligence from Season 3 be used in Season 5?
Would Robin feel guilty about not doing something more about her bad feeling, blaming herself for what happened to Eddie?
And FINALLY,
As the only four people who were with Eddie when (or at least shortly after) he died, how would they react to seeing his body used as a puppet by Vecna?
Which of them would be hopeful they might save him, and which of them would insist that he was still dead?
What would their plans be regarding Eddie (either to save or to stop him)?
How did Steve, Nancy, and Robin respond to Eddie's death in the first place???
How would they respond to getting Eddie back?
I literally don't care how well formed your ideas are - I want to hear your thoughts on as many of these points as possible! Please be kind to each other in the comments; we're allowed to have different opinions and desires for these characters.
Warning: SPOILERS FOR ALL STRANGER THINGS EPISODES UNTIL THE END OF SEASON FOUR VOLUME TWO
So, as you guys might know (like all seventeen of you), I'm currently writing a fanon version of Stranger Things Season 5. The idea is to be canon compliant up until the very end of the fourth season, and from there, give all the characters the fifth season that we, the fans, want for them. I've been looking at as many theories and repeated tropes in fan content that I can - but I want to see if I can hear from you guys directly.
So tell me, what do you want to see in regards to:
Will Byers?
Will has been shunted to the side in the previous seasons, and he really needs to be one of the most vital characters moving forward in order to do his character justice. So...
How should Will contribute to the party's victory this season?
What would you like his coming out to look like?
Who should he come out to?
What should their reactions be?
What is Will's connection to the mindflayer, Vecna, and the upside down?
What should the parallels between Will and 001 be leading towards?
Does Will have powers?
What are they, and how did he get them?
How should the powers be revealed?
Eddie Munson?
Clearly fans of Stranger Things want Eddie to return. That said, he did die at the end of season four, and his character arc came full circle. So...
What should Eddie's NEW character arc look like?
Does he even need a new character arc, or should he just be controlled by Vecna?
How can we justify Eddie's resurrection?
What more would you like to learn about his backstory?
How should the rest of the characters respond to his return?
What lasting effects will there be from his death and subsequent resurrection?
If Vecna is going to control Eddie, what is he going to use him for?
Max Mayfield?
Max was in a coma at the end of this last season. El tried to contact her consciousness (like she did with her mother in season two) and was unable to find her. So...
Where is Max's consciousness?
What should happen to her?
What did Max write in her letters?
Which characters would open their letters and which ones would refuse to?
Is her life dependent on Vecna's defeat?
How can Max contribute to story, either actively or passively?
Should she wake up before or after Vecna is defeated?
What lasting effects will she have to deal with once she's awake?
Eleven?
El was left questioning both her abilities and her choices at the end of season four, wondering if she should have stayed with Dr Brenner longer. So...
How should El regain her confidence?
How should her newfound family bonds with Hopper and the Byerses effect her actions?
How should the after-affects of everything that's happened with Hopper be dealt with?
How should she gain greater agency and autonomy (without Mike or Hopper making her choices for her)?
How should the drama between El and Mike be resolved?
I don't want to ask you guys too much all at once, so I'll leave it here. I literally don't care how well formed your ideas are - I want to hear your thoughts on as many of these points as possible!
So for anyone that isn’t well versed in metal, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at Eddie’s taste in music for anyone wanting to write fanfiction or make fan content of any kind.
First off, let’s look at the bands we know Eddie listens to from costume design, set design, and the script.
Metallica and Black Sabbath are the ones we know about from the script itself. Looking at Eddie’s battle jacket, we can add W.A.S.P., Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, and Accept (from the pins), Motörhead, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth (from the patches), and Dio from the back patch. Then, if we look closely at Eddie’s room in the trailer, we can see that he also likes Anthrax and Liege Lord. Now, a lot of these bands would be considered heavy metal:
Motörhead
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Mercyful Fate
Accept
Dio
Liege Lord
Black Sabbath
A couple would be considered Thrash Metal:
Metallica
Megadeth
Anthrax
But one straddles the line between shock rock, heavy metal, and glam metal (or as Eddie would have called it in the 80s, hair metal):
W.A.S.P.
So, Eddie likes heavy metal, thrash metal, and hair metal - in that order, right? Well, not necessarily. Anthrax actually prompted the creation of the term “thrash metal,” after their 1984 song Metal Thrashing Mad, and as such, there weren’t a ton of thrash bands on the scene in 1986. So, it may not be that Eddie prefers heavy metal to thrash; it may just be that heavy metal is a well established genre that he’s been exposed to for a longer period of time.
Then there’s W.A.S.P. - our little hair metal outlier. Hair metal, or as it’s usually referred to today, glam metal, is actually a source of tension in the metal community to this day. The entire culture around metal as a musical genre is heavily based in nonconformity, with popular metal bands creating music that would be seen as less accessible to the general public, because they refuse to fall in line with the mainstream.
Metal is a form of protest on top of being a great musical genre. A part of what classifies different types of metal (thrash, black, death, etc.) is what the lyrics are protesting against. For instance, black metal tends to be very anti-Christian, and thrash metal, emerging in the 80s, tends to be anti-conservative, anti-establishment, anti-war, and anti-environmental destruction. Check out Disposable Heroes by Metallica for strong example of this.
Hair metal came onto the scene at about the same time as thrash metal, and boy did metalheads have a lot to say about it. Hair/glam metal is still metal, but it’s more accessible, more pop-influenced, and as a rule, doesn’t really protest much through lyrics. Instead, the songs were designed to be just mainstream enough that they could top the charts and make more money as a result. Think Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Dokken, Twisted Sister, and Bon Jovi. But for metalheads, this was a departure from everything they stood for. Metal couldn’t conform to the mainstream’s expectations and still be metal.
Now, W.A.S.P. is kind of a special case, because although their sound is very much based in hair metal - pop hooks and guitar riffs combined with a blend of heavy metal, hard, and punk rock, with songs starting off slow and building in tempo with the occasional shred guitar solo thrown in - nothing else about them was palatable for the mainstream.
Their lyrics were considered highly offensive, so much so that their first single, Animal (Fuck Like A Beast), was removed completely from their first album release in the US, so it could be sold in chain stores. Their live performances were equally shocking: this is why they are classified as “shock rock.” They became known for cutting up meat with chainsaws on stage, and then throwing said meat into the audience, as well as very raunchy displays of partial nudity, S&M, and simulated sex acts. W.A.S.P. actually became quite controversial in later years for their misogynic lyrics, being accused of promoting abuse and sexual assault.
But forget the politics for now. What does this mean for Eddie? Well, by virtue of also being shock rock, W.A.S.P. gets a bit of a pass when it comes to the conformity of hair metal, since they were still completely unpalatable for a mainstream audience. But the thing I want to point out is that Eddie doesn’t hate W.A.S.P.’s sound. He might actually enjoy other hair metal bands as well, but wouldn’t feel comfortable advertising it.
This is all just food for thought. You can use this information however you like in your fanworks. Maybe Eddie’s trying to keep up an image and secretly loves ABBA, who the hell knows? I just thought I’d share this for anyone who wanted a little extra insight in the character and his music taste. It also might be cool to note that throwing horns (see Eddie in the picture below) originated with Ronnie James Dio back when he joined Black Sabbath in 1979. He said that his grandmother had used the gesture to ward off evil.
ALSO, I have to add this last part because the vocabulary used by metalheads can be confusing to the uninitiated. So, ‘metal’ is an umbrella term for all kinds of metal music. 'Heavy metal’ is ALSO an umbrella term for all kinds of metal music, but it can also refer to the specific musical style established by the bands listed above under 'heavy metal’: Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Iron Maiden. So someone might refer to thrash metal as a subgenre of heavy metal, and then turn around and say that they prefer thrash metal to heavy metal. You just kind of have to use context clues to figure out how the words are being used.
ALSO ALSO, please stop calling Eddie a punk, goth, etc. Those are different things. If in your fanwork Eddie is actually a goth, then by all means, but as he exists in canon, he would consider himself a metalhead. (could be funny to see how he reacts to other characters mixing it up tho)
You know, I’d like to think so! Even if we don’t see any evidence in canon that Eddie’s partial to power or doom metal, I think he’d partake just because of the name 😂 Also, I feel like Cirith Ungol takes inspiration from Sabbath stylistically, so I don’t see why not!
So for anyone that isn't well versed in metal, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at Eddie's taste in music for anyone wanting to write fanfiction or make fan content of any kind.
First off, let's look at the bands we know Eddie listens to from costume design, set design, and the script.
Metallica and Black Sabbath are the ones we know about from the script itself. Looking at Eddie's battle jacket, we can add W.A.S.P., Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest, and Accept (from the pins), Motörhead, Iron Maiden, and Megadeth (from the patches), and Dio from the back patch. Then, if we look closely at Eddie's room in the trailer, we can see that he also likes Anthrax and Liege Lord. Now, a lot of these bands would be considered heavy metal:
Motörhead
Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Mercyful Fate
Accept
Dio
Liege Lord
Black Sabbath
A couple would be considered Thrash Metal:
Metallica
Megadeth
Anthrax
But one straddles the line between shock rock, heavy metal, and glam metal (or as Eddie would have called it in the 80s, hair metal):
W.A.S.P.
So, Eddie likes heavy metal, thrash metal, and hair metal - in that order, right? Well, not necessarily. Anthrax actually prompted the creation of the term "thrash metal," after their 1984 song Metal Thrashing Mad, and as such, there weren't a ton of thrash bands on the scene in 1986. So, it may not be that Eddie prefers heavy metal to thrash; it may just be that heavy metal is a well established genre that he's been exposed to for a longer period of time.
Then there's W.A.S.P. - our little hair metal outlier. Hair metal, or as it's usually referred to today, glam metal, is actually a source of tension in the metal community to this day. The entire culture around metal as a musical genre is heavily based in nonconformity, with popular metal bands creating music that would be seen as less accessible to the general public, because they refuse to fall in line with the mainstream.
Metal is a form of protest on top of being a great musical genre. A part of what classifies different types of metal (thrash, black, death, etc.) is what the lyrics are protesting against. For instance, black metal tends to be very anti-Christian, and thrash metal, emerging in the 80s, tends to be anti-conservative, anti-establishment, anti-war, and anti-environmental destruction. Check out Disposable Heroes by Metallica for strong example of this.
Hair metal came onto the scene at about the same time as thrash metal, and boy did metalheads have a lot to say about it. Hair/glam metal is still metal, but it's more accessible, more pop-influenced, and as a rule, doesn't really protest much through lyrics. Instead, the songs were designed to be just mainstream enough that they could top the charts and make more money as a result. Think Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Dokken, Twisted Sister, and Bon Jovi. But for metalheads, this was a departure from everything they stood for. Metal couldn't conform to the mainstream's expectations and still be metal.
Now, W.A.S.P. is kind of a special case, because although their sound is very much based in hair metal - pop hooks and guitar riffs combined with a blend of heavy metal, hard, and punk rock, with songs starting off slow and building in tempo with the occasional shred guitar solo thrown in - nothing else about them was palatable for the mainstream.
Their lyrics were considered highly offensive, so much so that their first single, Animal (Fuck Like A Beast), was removed completely from their first album release in the US, so it could be sold in chain stores. Their live performances were equally shocking: this is why they are classified as "shock rock." They became known for cutting up meat with chainsaws on stage, and then throwing said meat into the audience, as well as very raunchy displays of partial nudity, S&M, and simulated sex acts. W.A.S.P. actually became quite controversial in later years for their misogynic lyrics, being accused of promoting abuse and sexual assault.
But forget the politics for now. What does this mean for Eddie? Well, by virtue of also being shock rock, W.A.S.P. gets a bit of a pass when it comes to the conformity of hair metal, since they were still completely unpalatable for a mainstream audience. But the thing I want to point out is that Eddie doesn't hate W.A.S.P.'s sound. He might actually enjoy other hair metal bands as well, but wouldn't feel comfortable advertising it.
This is all just food for thought. You can use this information however you like in your fanworks. Maybe Eddie's trying to keep up an image and secretly loves ABBA, who the hell knows? I just thought I'd share this for anyone who wanted a little extra insight in the character and his music taste. It also might be cool to note that throwing horns (see Eddie in the picture below) originated with Ronnie James Dio back when he joined Black Sabbath in 1979. He said that his grandmother had used the gesture to ward off evil.
ALSO, I have to add this last part because the vocabulary used by metalheads can be confusing to the uninitiated. So, 'metal' is an umbrella term for all kinds of metal music. 'Heavy metal' is ALSO an umbrella term for all kinds of metal music, but it can also refer to the specific musical style established by the bands listed above under 'heavy metal': Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Iron Maiden. So someone might refer to thrash metal as a subgenre of heavy metal, and then turn around and say that they prefer thrash metal to heavy metal. You just kind of have to use context clues to figure out how the words are being used.
ALSO ALSO, please stop calling Eddie a punk, goth, etc. Those are different things. If in your fanwork Eddie is actually a goth, then by all means, but as he exists in canon, he would consider himself a metalhead. (could be funny to see how he reacts to other characters mixing it up tho)
