Romantic Pop Idol

It's weird enough that Murray is there. I mean, sure, you could say he's "like family" after everything they all went through, but he interacted more with the adults and older teens than the ones graduating. But, whatever, he has a long history with the Byers-Hopper family at that point, at least.

But Derek?

Yeah, he's friends with Holly now, sure, but none of her other friends are there.

And don't give me that whole "Mike, he's like my best friend now" crap. They barely interacted, but suddenly Derek is enamored with Mike by the end.

Honestly, it may as well be that he lives with the Wheelers now because his family ended up dying in that barn. And his house probably wasn't in great shape afterwards, either. They don't even bother showing Derek with his family, let alone reuniting with them. For all his bluster, he clearly loves them if Vecna was able to use images of them dead to coerce him. All it would have taken was a scene showing Derek remembering that his parents were still tied up, at the very least.

But, no, all that mattered to Derek by the end was being a part of the Wheeler family.

they ARE a married couple.

they DO have a cat.

and they ARE MADLY IN LOVE!

1. Vecna/the Mindflayer “like it cold”. Supposedly they’re both dead, but trauma remains. I’m sure Will and Mike studied in New York because that’s where Jonathan was and it’s better for the Byers to share expenses, but at some point they most likely decided to move to a warm place.

2. After New York, San Diego is the Mecca for comic book artists. I’m 100% convinced they got day jobs, but they also wanted to still be able to access the industry.

3. San Diego is Max’s hometown and I’m 100% convinced that the second they graduated from college in Indiana, Max and Lucas moved there. It would’ve been easier for them to move to a place where they already have friends who know the city.

4. I don’t see Mike and Will as Big City people. I don’t see them yearning to climb the corporate ladder like Nancy, or thriving in a gritty environment like Jonathan. New York is good for them because it’s gay-friendly and has a lot of culture and art opportunities, but they’re more gentle souls and at some point there’s nothing that NYC can offer to them that other cities can’t also offer at a (slightly) more affordable price and with a gentler, more laid-back lifestyle. I see them taking up surfing, having a daughter or twin daughters (who is or are actually good at surfing), and a dog, and living in a renovated beach cottage.

they ARE a married couple.

they DO have a cat.

and they ARE MADLY IN LOVE!

So after the grad student cut down the tree and discovered it was the oldest tree in the world he quit studying forestry and went to study salt flats (can’t cut down the oldest trees in the world on salt flats no siree none of that happening) and he was being interviewed about his research, but in the middle of the interview the reporter just stops and says “wait aren’t the guy that…”

i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience

Can we all agree this is one of the CUTEST byler scenes of all time, i mean, Mikes excitement is everything to me. Because in that moment, he sees Will and everything he’s been through. His Will who has been through hell and back has POWERS. The sheer excitement on his face giving us a small glimpse into his personality from seasons 1-2. Not to mention the line he says is so cute because Will is, “A sorcerer. A real-life, honest-to-God sorcerer”

But, on the other hand, he hyped it up so much that he seems as delusional as they all claim Bylers to have been.

Like, sir, the final two episodes are among the lowest rated of the entire series, fans ended up with so many questions that the Duffers were unable or unwilling to answer after the finale, and the show was largely snubbed by the Emmys.

He was one of many to use the "landing the plane" metaphor in regards to the supposed success of the final season. Sully putting the plane down in the Hudson was a more successful landing than this. At least he had the excuse of a flock of geese taking out his engines. He had to scramble and use all of his training and experience to mitigate a disaster (and he did).

Meanwhile, the Duffers had a lot of time and a lot of money, only to come away with...this.

Vs Mike thinking he lost Will

Fandom creators spend hours of their free time to create something to make fandom thrive...for free and for the love of the game.

And what do they get? A wholeass heap of fuck all. No reblogs, no comments, no nothing. And people are surprised that creators are dropping out left, right, and centre??

"Why is there no long fic anymore?" "Why did my favourite writer stop?" "Why is my favourite artist not posting anymore?"

So, yeah, being able to crawl to either the gate or the tunnels should have been completely out of the question, let alone getting far enough away to recover in the time allotted.

And don't even get me started on how Kali, having been shot in the stomach, would have been able to cast an illusion to begin with (assuming she was somehow still alive), let alone know when and where to do it.

The only thing dumber than the ending we saw was the ending Mike came up with, especially since all El wanted was for Mike to understand her decision and to help the others understand it. Instead, he convinces them that it didn't happen, that she's still out there somewhere.

The Duffers lost the plot to their own story.