karen. with her wine.

hi I'm losing my shit // st sideblog

[willspainting]

This is what they should have done to mike wheeler in the epilogue

[willspainting]

But since it falls unto my lot

“We have to get him out.” “Mike, there’s nothing we can do,” Jonathan says, voice strained. “Not without…” And it stings, hydrogen peroxide on an exposed nerve. Mike looks helplessly to Hopper, who looks disturbingly vulnerable with bloodshot, red-rimmed eyes. He’s reminded, suddenly, of a different night. The aching terror-despair of an earlier edition of this same dual grief, unleashed as screaming and kicking and punching and sobbing, too desperate to be embarrassed at the way it came out of him as choked little squeaks. “I can’t do this. Not again,” he chokes, not even bothering to care about how pathetic it must sound to an outside ear. But his audience loves them both enough to understand. “I know, kid,” Hopper murmurs as he settles next to Joyce, voice breaking. “I’m sorry.” (The Upside Down implodes and brings Jane Hopper with it, mere hours after Will Byers tearfully tells the world who he is. Mike Wheeler, entrenched in guilt, shame, and blame, is left to untangle a knotted web of self-conceptions and learns to strike the balance between living and remembering.)

(Mike pov of this old world must still be spinnin' 'round (and I still love you) bc I wasn't ready to shut up yet)

[will-mcfly]

i was so proud

[throttlegainwell]

Just thinking about Jonathan at Will's apartment in NY, tidying up on autopilot because he's spent a lifetime picking up after Will and taking care of him, and he's not even aware that he's doing it. Like, not a lot. But he's picking up clothes and cleaning the counter. And Will is like Jonathan. Jonathan seriously you don't need to do that. Jonathan I promise I can clean my own apartment. I need my mess the way it is. That's how I find things. And Jonathan is kind of embarrassed and startled.

[will-mcfly]

the way the stranger things fandom at large speaks about the HIV/AIDS crisis is very ill informed (shocker)… being gay and sexually active in the 80s/90s was not a guarantee of contracting HIV. will byers faced more stigma and danger in hawkins than he will amongst his community.

safe sex advocacy campaigns were in full swing by the late 80s. younger people may underestimate the sheer scale of the work people did because we weren’t alive at the time. safe sex PSAs are the norm now- that wasn’t the case then. the Reagan administration opposed widespread sex education and funding for contraception. they refused to acknowledge there was a crisis at all. ACT UP and other groups fought the NHS and FDA for many years via protests and legal battles to make AIDS treatments and preventative care possible. LGBT grassroots groups took it into their own hands and not only made condoms widely available, but incorporated them into gay culture.

if anything, will would be entering the dating scene with a massive advantage to his predecessors. beginning early encounters through a gay space was far safer than doing so outside of it, as contraceptives and safe sex information were widely distributed by activists in gay spaces, including gay bars. new york city in particular was the center of US AIDS activism and where ACT UP was founded. things were by no means peachy, but community was lifesaving, and will’s entire story is about finding community. he will be just fine and we should push back on any rhetoric that attempts to cast his ending in a sinister light

there are many factors that contribute to low education on this topic, so we have a personal responsibility to educate ourselves. here’s a few great works i’ve watched & read on the HIV/AIDS crisis:

the normal heart by larry kramer

and the band played on by randy shiltz

let the record show: a political history of act up by sarah schulman

christodora by tim murphy

angels in america by tony kushner (i recommend the 2003 miniseries)

common thread: stories from the quilt (1989)

how to survive a plague (2012)

we were here (2011)

[willspainting]

Will Byers in college in New York, going to his little gay bars and bookstores and cafes. And one day he meets Danny, who is sweet and kind, and they have so much in common and really hit it off. Danny, also raised in poverty by a single mother, after the death of his alcoholic father. Who knows what it's like to carry trauma around and nods along when Will talks about the ghosts in his head. Will is, of course, filtering the supernatural elements out to give a narrative about being lost in the woods and harassed by the residents of his small town. He gets more risky with his disclosures over time, talking about feeling like after his time in the "woods" he could sense things and see things other people didn't notice. "Now-memories", feeling caught between two slides on a Viewmaster, always feeling a little like his experiences will follow him forever. But no matter what he says, Danny always seems to just get it, and Will feels so seen and understood and they fall in love and everything is great. They wake each other from nightmares and are so, so gentle because they both know what it's like to be around cruelty and anger. Will makes his art to exorcise the demons in his mind, and Danny write poetry and songs about the ghosts creeping through his head. Eventually, Danny invites him home to meet his mom. And that's when Will Byers meets Wendy Torrance.

[remartt]

*Mike didn’t look at the book*

[will-mcfly]

being different

[escapefromcamazotz]

happy pride month will byers i love you 5ever

[will-mcfly]

i was so proud

[iloverobinbyckley]

so apparently Will has had a turtle this entire time and I haven't noticed

[willspainting]

But since it falls unto my lot

“We have to get him out.” “Mike, there’s nothing we can do,” Jonathan says, voice strained. “Not without…” And it stings, hydrogen peroxide on an exposed nerve. Mike looks helplessly to Hopper, who looks disturbingly vulnerable with bloodshot, red-rimmed eyes. He’s reminded, suddenly, of a different night. The aching terror-despair of an earlier edition of this same dual grief, unleashed as screaming and kicking and punching and sobbing, too desperate to be embarrassed at the way it came out of him as choked little squeaks. “I can’t do this. Not again,” he chokes, not even bothering to care about how pathetic it must sound to an outside ear. But his audience loves them both enough to understand. “I know, kid,” Hopper murmurs as he settles next to Joyce, voice breaking. “I’m sorry.” (The Upside Down implodes and brings Jane Hopper with it, mere hours after Will Byers tearfully tells the world who he is. Mike Wheeler, entrenched in guilt, shame, and blame, is left to untangle a knotted web of self-conceptions and learns to strike the balance between living and remembering.)

(Mike pov of this old world must still be spinnin' 'round (and I still love you) bc I wasn't ready to shut up yet)

[willspainting]

The way that willelmike if done right could have been the perfect example of "trio where everyone is the third wheel simultaneously". Like will third-wheeling the elmike autism swag. el third-wheeling the gay childhoodbestfriends. mike third-wheeling the Twins. But instead we got All That. Society if.

[shanetism]

[morphogenetic]

(wanting to make a post about something but it reveals too much about your personal life) i have had a negative experience

[willspainting]

'88-'89 era will having breakdowns in his room to similar features by melissa etheridge ok

[pinkeoni]

So obvious and so tragic upon rewatch that El’s arc has always been about exploring the world and discovering herself and not about using her powers to be a weapon. Every flashback she has regarding her powers are a nightmare for her. But she looks longingly at pictures of Nancy growing up as a normal girl and having a best friend. She explores small things like the La-Z-Boy and the phone and the TV as wistful music plays. When she sacrifices herself at the end to save her friends it’s supposed to be tragic. That isn’t the ending she’s supposed to have.