The Best People in Life are Free

Hi, I'm Dearie. 30s. She/They. Fandom Grandma. Full-Time Jonathan Byers defender. Occasional gifmaker. Sometimes I remember to write. Mostly I make jokes. Ask box is always open!

[jonathanbyersphd]

Ooh, Sienna, would've been cute

[octaviaabadassblakee]

I need fat female characters in tv whose weight is inconsequential. It means nothing to the story.

She's fat and gets the guy and no one bats an eye.

She's fat and the hottest chick in the sorority and that's normal.

She's fat and an actress and she gets good roles.

She's fat and she's funny and she has character depth and growth.

She's fat and the main character and no one mentions her weight once.

I'm fat and my weight doesn't play a part in my day to day conversations, or plans, or friendships. Why can't I have that on tv?

[cutthroat-crimson]

Minors of tumblr don't use your given name, don't use your school email, don't say your home town, don't state your birthday and don't post irl pictures

I'm giving you a cookie and a shoulder pat

[spke-blogg-deactivated20200529]

[jonathanbyersphd]

Just finished work already don't want to go to work tomorrow

[jebiknights]

"i love that we all agree on this fanon!" and then the fanon is a shitty take that just shows their internal biases towards specific characters and does nothing positive for the character they actually like

[jonathanbyersphd]

Gang, you're NAWT going to believe this but they found my wallet that's been missing since last year

[ex-riddlecats]

i'll be honest it gets kind of annoying when ppls immediate canned response to an m/f ship is "she deserves better" because over half the people who say that then proceed to hyperfocus on some yaoi with the man involved and never give the woman a second glance. forgive me but i think she deserves better than being girlbossed off screen and never mentioned again

[kiwimintlime]

*feministly*: women should never be centered in stories because Bad Stuff™ might happen to them

[charitydingle]

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 2004, dir. Raja Gosnell

[jonathanbyersphd]

I am capable of making dinner

[whooooomp]

giving all my favorite characters enormous trust issues and then forcing them into being vulnerable in front of whoever in their life is the closest to being considered a "friend". make them fearfully reveal something about themself and tremble while waiting for how the other person responds (and fully expect to be ridiculed or dismissed)

[bigtittygothmom666]

[awwww-cute]

Went to a pet store today and saw this GIANT rabbit

[sweet-bitsy]

So you decided to throw money at it like a stripper

[silverghostash-deactivated20260]

stop the objectification of rabbits now

[molabuddy]

really specific trope i like that i feel like can only be explained in a diagram

[unyieldingsilence]

‎

[claudette-monet]

Rainlit Evening in Paris by Claudette Monet

[jonathanbyersphd]

Evil, toxic Jancy who are like no no the reason we keep hooking up every time we're within a 5 mile radius of each other is cause of shared trauma we are not in love we swear 🙂‍↕️

[throttlegainwell]

Do you think that Nancy would have been happier in Boston if Jonathan had gone with her?

Honestly? Not really. Boston was never feasible, not the way it was introduced or pushed; it was always kind of a fantasy, even the way they talk about it. It always represented greater conflict to me.

Jonathan would not have been happy in Boston--at least not the way the show went about it--and so I think that would have put strain on the relationship, just like he worries about. Maybe if Jonathan is in a better place and in a position to pursue his own goals by her side, on even footing, things are fine. Especially with the Nancy we see in S4, confident in her goals and sure of herself. But even aside from being away from Jonathan, Nancy seems to be in an abysmal place emotionally by the end of the series, and who can blame her? It was going to be a very difficult period of her life no matter what.

Boston, by that point, becomes a way to hide, to run away from her problems. I know, I know, "independence", "real world", sure, fine, whatever. But that's still a kind of bubble, you know? And throwing herself to the wolves all alone and making things as hard as possible just feels like she's punishing herself and ignoring what she just went through. She's not running toward a future she wants but away from a past that has devastated and taken so much from her. She's trying to prove something. With Jonathan there, she has someone who understands and knows, but she tends toward insularity, you know? She has an ally and clings fiercely to that and doesn't necessarily branch out; she just pushes forward. So maybe he's a tempering force for that instinct, or maybe he's not; I can see an argument to be made either way.

Anyway, my greater point is that Boston represented a life that Nancy isn't sure she wants anymore and Jonathan's tendency toward self-abnegation. It never represented growth or happiness, and Jonathan still wouldn't have been happy because as much as he loves Nancy, he can't shape his whole life around her goals; that's not healthy or sustainable for either of them. And the reality of that dream isn't compatible with the place Nancy finds herself emotionally by then. Too much has changed. Jonathan's presence might have made it bearable, or he might have helped her see she was unhappy and make a change, or maybe it's a Band-Aid.