acid !

But let's reconsider: Why Holly? Or more like, why shouldn't it be Holly?

Vecna knows who she is, she knows if Mike Wheeler finds out his little sister is missing, he'll know who took her. He also, as established by Lucas, deliberately left the rest of the family alive, even though they would be able to tell anyone, party included, exactly what happened.

He also took Holly alone that first night, even though we know he escalated immediately after and he took the rest of the children he needed in one single night. (The number of kids could be tied to convenience, but I do think Vecna has the manpower to have pulled it off in one night, if he wanted. I actually think spreading out the kidnappings is more suspicious to military and anyone else who knows what's been truly happening, ergo a bigger risk to his plan. Not that it matters to him in the end, but you see my point.)

Taking only Holly, and her first as well, leads me to believe he wanted the party to know he was on the move and he wanted to give them time to act, too. Either that or he purposefully took Holly to get to Mike.

(I think, considering his speech to Will followed by his departure and the added clue for a possible birthdaygate, Vecna does have an ulterior move that involves breaking or using Mike in order to hurt Will. Maybe the other way around, also.)

Holly being found by Max and being in on her escape plan is also possibly a danger. He knew Holly would be most likely receptive/open to Max, since they knew each other. Which is why it makes even less sense to kidnap her at all, much less first to leave her alone in the house. Unless he's using it to his advantage: He could have taken Holly first, fully knowing she would go into the woods even though he told her not to, (maybe even telling her precisely so she would go,) so she would find Max, try to escape and either A) this leads him to Max or B) Holly escapes after he's already gotten what he needs from her and he's able to use her (as a spy or otherwise) back in the rightside up. From what we saw, he's doing whatever he did to Will to the new kids, so I doubt his goal is killing them, especially since he established trust with all of them.

the SA/rape theme has been there since s2, that's not new for people who actually pay attention to the show. (what always haunted me the most was how will had to essentially "carry his children" or more literally act as an incubator for the demodogs)

"I can feel him everywhere" and his attempt to resist and getting assaulted AGAIN by the mindflayer (specifically it entering through his throat again) was already horrific and blatant

I was hoping the vine would turn out to be a sort of intubator instead, that will was unconscious or on the verge of death and vecna forced him to stay alive and then "infected" him with something

but the fact he was alive? crying? feeling himself being tied up, entered and pumped full of whatever the fuck?

but it was hauntingggg me so I wrote a fic about it!!

I think it has potential? I think billie has potential, and I even think her as 16 could be good - like when 12 regenerated and spent so much time freaking out asking himself why he has that face!! why he knows it!! what it all means!! going from 15 who spent so much time working with emotions and telling people he loved them because he always failed before to the first face he failed to say it to is a good set up and I think it could end up really cool.

my problem is, I don't think they can do it. with all due love, these seasons sucked. there were highs every now and again but overall the story was messy and not well executed. they tried to have a fresh start but then kept pulling old concepts and comebacks from the original series which even a lot of huge fans nowadays haven't seen, much less anyone outside the fandom. they set up this big plot with all these branches and ideas and they all just ended in the sand. susan was never mentioned, lover boy is still in super hell, ruby was different but it didn't matter in the end, belinda was going to be amazing and just got reduced to nothing and mother. the rani was so important and then just? dead? didn't even defend herself? omega was the big big bad and got shot and ran. what about all the fourth wall breaks? mrs flood talking like a viewer? none of it went anywhere!! the whole plot was a mess.

15 had all these moments of being too raw, too aggressive, choosing weapons - and they did nothing with that!! it got sidelined two seconds after the moment was over when this is an usual and dangerous side of the doctor we don't get to see often. exploring his emotions could've lead to so much more than just tears and love, but they let it all go. the whole seasons felt like they were trying to find the old mix of emotional, serious and silly and they just couldn't find their footing. the themes themselves weren't the problem (as some people were complaining, imo it wasn't too silly or too weird) but the mix and match of them didn't fit, it felt out of place and unorganized.

ncuti was amazing, fresh and fun and good. ruby is a great character but they kept throwing her around in weird places - first she's a mystery, then she's completely normal, then she's somehow different and knows things, then it all doesn't matter again. belinda was (imo a bit reheated with the whole 'independant strong woman who gives the doctor shit' shtick but still) an amazing character and it was so easy to fall in love with her immediately. she was charming and entertaining and her and 15 worked great together!! but it felt like there was a story there, with her relative in the future and all these big important things happening to and around her - and where did that go? nowhere. for the last two episodes she's just been "hold baby be confused". and then they just wanda'd her. "oh I'm going to kill you all because my baby who isn't real is going to be not real again" when that was never her type of character before (not to mention my opinion on actually implying 15 and belinda had a child together) (NOT TO MENTION only doing that to hurt the doctor by ripping it all away again). and then her entire life gets rewritten to be a happy pappy mother. only to leave her in tears because she knows somehow that she's forgotten something because this was never her or her life. she was excited to see the stars and that all got taken away. what was the point of any of it?

I'm just disappointed. the well really had me thinking we were so back but then everything just fell apart. ncuti deserved a good, fleshed out season, not 16 episodes where he spends half the time off screen. I'll miss him.

still, I think billie is an interesting take, even though we are just on the edge of too many callbacks.

marichat, lila bashing, chloe redemption, reasonable adrien, besties ladynoir. what more could you want?