Joe Locke Laying Out The Script For Telling Off An Abuser. Ben Hurt Charliepermanently. Period, End Of

Joe Locke laying out the script for telling off an abuser. Ben hurt Charlie—permanently. Period, end of story. No matter what happens, how much therapy Charlie attends or how much Nick loves him, that scar will never disappear. They stick into your skin like a tattoo that can’t be removed. Ben gave Charlie his ED. He set those events in motion. Yes, Tao outed him, but it was an honest mistake. Charlie said so himself. Charlie’s Mental Illness is Ben’s fault. Him acknowledging Ben abused him is a HUGE step forward and I am so beyond proud of him. Charlie will get better with time, but he will NEVER be the person he was before Ben. That boy died the day Ben stole that first kiss—and Charlie’s innocence.

Sorry.

1980s AIDS Crisis (TW: CSA)

Oh my god, this has 1980s AIDS crisis written all over it. Gay men were not allowed to donate blood until MAY 2023 because people were scared they would get AIDS since it mostly occurred in gay men. Will’s blood becoming the antidote as a gay man would be revolutionary. The town would see him as a monster and likely refuse the treatment due to his UD connection, but it’s implied they’re turning it down because he’s gay. What am incredible story for Noah Schnapp to tell as he recently (January 2023) Came Out. Honoring those who came before him and encouraging people to advocate for the removal of these laws.

There was a huge stigma around touching people with AIDS. Many people wouldn’t do it. They treated people (even HIV positive ones, those who didn’t have full-blown AIDS) like lepers, alone in an isolated world without human connection (sound familiar?). It wasn’t until Princess Diana visited an AIDS ward and hugged the patients on camera that people began to understand. Freddie Mercury also played a huge role in this movement as he died from the disease. It’s mentioned multiple times, especially in Season 1, that Demogorgons are attracted to blood. Using Will’s blood to lure them somewhere only for it to kill them is so metal and epic and I want to see it NOW!!

There’s also a high chance that Will is the victim of CSA by Lonnie. So (this is awful, but I need to include it, I’m so sorry 😣) Lonnie could have accidentally (or intentionally) given Will HIV that went untreated, either because no one knew or they couldn’t afford the treatment. It’s horrible, graphic, and disgusting, but it adds such a richness to the story. Do we think Lonnie was gay and using Will as a proxy (again, so sorry) or is it generational? AKA: it happened to Lonnie and he passed it to Will. Whatever way it comes out, I really hope they use this storyline and shine a light on those that battled with this awful illness and the prejudice that came along with it. HIV/AIDS is not a curse or a punishment from God. It’s a manageable medical condition that should in no way elicit ostracism from society. Unfortunately, people like Will did experience this social shunning and it’s time the world sees it and confronts its prejudice, especially with everything happening in the news. Hug someone with HIV, they’ll appreciate it more than you know. Rant Over. ❤️🩸

Will's blood is The Cure

This is a short theory because it kind of just explains itself: Will is THE CURE because his blood will be able to be used to create an antidote for whatever consequence the UD bleeding into the world is going to carry along with it.

Will was there for A WEEK, survived the Mind Flayer's possession and his body was unscathed. Billy's body seemed to suffer damage by sunlight (granted, it was summer unlike in S2 when Hopper says it was a 'cold October') but Vecna himself tells Max that her brother was 'weak'. Did he mean mentally, physically ... or both?

Will survived without food, but like Erica said in s3, she WOULD drink the green liquid if she had to, because humans can survive a while without food, but without water, the human body dies. So I believe Will survived by drinking whatever LIQUID he could find (slimey and gooey drinkable radioactive UD stuff, my poor son ...) and this created some sort of immunity in him. Using Will's blood, they might be able to create some sort of vaccine or antidote. Hell, his blood in itself might also be able to be used as some sort of weapon.

... i don't think the people of hawkins will see it this way at all, and this is something the group will discover at one point in the season and not straight up. so while Will is the cure, the entire town is going to think he's the CAUSE.

i picture a scared, aggressive hawkins that is ALREADY targeting Hellfire blaming 'Zombie Boy' for this, or at the very least, considering him eddie's replacement as the new 'leader of the cult' because him surviving that week alone in the woods is already suspicious enough.

the 'exorcism' imagery for him in s2, coupled with how the Creel house was 'exorcised' ... yeah

so Will is going to be dealing with his connection with Vecna, hawkins thinking he's some evil, a Forgotten Birthday tm storyline and a broken heart because he's in love with his best friend and doesn't know if his best friend loves him back or if their unique connection was just all in his head this whole time.

# the unholy trinity of badassery

Hashtag tense chord holds

So we have the ransom of s4. Mike's heart for El's life.

But I expect s5 to be the true payoff to Murray's words and Mike's penchant for being late.

But what will Mike be too late for?

And for what will he make it in the nick of time?

What will the ransom be? Could it be the two people most in danger, and the two people that mean the most to Mike? Her for him? Him for her? The girl who was found in exchange for the boy who was lost? 

Or will our heroic sacrificial paladin, Will's knight in shining armour, step up, casting himself off the metaphorical (or physical - eep) cliff once more? Paying the ransom to save the ones he loves.

A photo essay inspired by this post

I heard Hold On, We're Going Home on the radio on my drive home yesterday and this is what my brain supplied me with so 🤷‍♀️

"Edddd-he-he-he-heeeeee!"

The sound of Dustin's wail splits through the rumbling of The Upside Down as they were racing back to the gate.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no! Fucking idiots! What happened to not being heroes! Steve thinks as he picks up his pace, sprinting faster than he ever has, towards where he thinks he heard the sound come from.

He comes to a skidding halt next to the pair. Dustin, clinging to a lifeless Eddie, his tear-streaked face turned up to the sky, a guttural scream ripping from his little brother's lungs as he howls in agony. It threatens to break through his concentration, but Steve's training is stronger.

"What happened?" Steve asks, trying to peel Dustin off of Eddie so he can get a better look at his wounds. It's obvious it was the bats; they're either dead or writhing around them. But it's like Dustin can't hear him; he's just weeping and rocking Eddie back and forth.

"Dustin!" Steve snaps, finally gaining the boy's attention, his eyes snap open and the grief and heartbreak in their innocent depths are almost too much. Steve knows it would've broken him this time last year, it still could if he doesn't keep his head on straight, "Let go. Let me help!" Steve insists, trying again to get Dustin to let go.

"Steve," Nancy mumbles, sympathy lacing her tone as she reaches out for him and Dustin over their shoulders, but he just holds his hand up to silence her.

"No! He's not going!" Steve asserts, "Dustin, off!" he demands, wrenching the boy away and all but throwing him into Robin's waiting arms. 

She's the only one who knew about the EMT course, she helped him read through some of his textbooks when he'd had to take the day off because he'd had the flu, she knows he's the only one that has a chance to fix this mess. 

Steve reaches for Eddie's throat, but there's a gaping hole on one side, it's bleeding a lot but not squirting, so he's hoping that it's just superficial. Blood's pooling around Eddie but not enough to have hit an artery, he's bleeding out, but it's slow, he can fix this. He presses his fingers into the other side of Eddie's neck. There, a pulse. Barely, but definitely there, once, twice then nothing.

He wastes no time in starting chest compressions, "Robin! Count," he pleads, he knows it'll be easier if he doesn't expend all his energy trying to do both at once.

"One and two and three, one and two and three, one and two and three," she copies his movements, only stopping counting when he searches again for a beat before continuing when he does.

He half hears Nancy trying to get what happened out of Dustin, how it happened, how long ago, but the kid only knows half of the story. He explains how Eddie cut the rope and ran off, how he made it back through the gate by himself, how the bats dropped out of the sky as he wobbled out of the trailer and how he found Eddie.

"He was- he was talking," Dustin gets out between sobs, still shaking in Robin's grasp, the two of them watching Steve work intently.

"When?" Steve asks, still pumping Eddie's chest, half listening to Robin keeping count. 

Dustin doesn't say anything for a second, then he splutters, "I- I don't…"

Except Steve doesn't have time for I don't know's, he needs to know, and he needs to know now, "Think, man!" Steve beseeches impatiently.

"Steve!" both girls snap, confusion written all over Nancy's face, fury on Robin's, mad at him for snapping at Dustin. She wraps her arms tighter, more protectively around the boy, pressing her chin into the top of his head, but she's still counting for him. Dustin's her favourite out of the boys and honestly, he can't blame her, he'd probably say the same if he had to choose.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Dusty, but c'mon, I need to know," he implores.

Dustin nods, breathes deeply and sets his shoulders, scrunching his brows in concentration, "I don't know, he was bleeding, but he was talking, and then he said… but then he was gone, and then you arrived," he recounts, thinking hard he nods to himself, "Seconds, fifteen, twenty? Maybe more, but definitely less than a minute," he decides.

Steve nods back at Dustin, "That's good. That's so good, man. I'm so proud of you," he tells him as sincerely as he can, but he's starting to get tired. He knows he can't do this much longer, his body is screaming at him from everywhere, but he won't stop. He can't. Not just for Dustin's sake but for his own. 

Because honestly, he hasn't been able to stop thinking about Eddie since the boathouse, since he'd pressed broken glass against his neck and left a bruise at the bottom of his back that hasn't gone away, that has him thinking about that moment every time it twinges, and he's already decided that there's no way this is going to be it, he won't let it end this way, not if he can help it.

Nancy's found some fabric from godknowswhere and is doing her best to wrap up the worst of Eddie's wounds. It's only when she runs out of material that she stops working and feels at Eddie's neck, "Pulse!" she shouts. Steve knocks her hand out of the way to check himself and sure enough, weak but there, proof that Eddie's heart is beating by itself.

"Move! Gate! Now!" Steve demands, using every bit of strength he's got left to lift Eddie from the ground. The girls grab either side of Dustin and high tail it to the trailer, Steve moving as fast as his legs will carry him after them. "C'mon, Eddie, just hold on, we're going home," he tells him, holding him more securely as he waddles up the steps.

Dustin's holding the door open for Steve as the girls drag the dining table under the gate, Robin climbing up onto the wooden surface and boosting Nancy through to the other side. Dustin pulls the door closed behind Steve and Eddie, then grabs a dining chair, dragging it next to the table and using it as a step to wobble up on the table surface. Nancy's already clambered off the waiting chair that Dustin had used to launch himself through the gate and is dragging the table into its place, climbing back up to catch Dustin as Robin carefully boosts the boy through to the other side. 

Robin jumps down and helps Steve climb onto the chair and then the tabletop with Eddie in his arms then she climbs back up, and hops a few times. It worries Steve given the way everything here is slowly decaying that the table will crumble beneath their feet, but it doesn't. She leaps at the gate, clinging to its sides and lifting herself until she's falling, landing ungracefully into Nancy's waiting arms, Dustin doing what he can to help them keep their balance. 

Steve nods to himself as he watches them get situated, ready to catch Eddie. All he has to do is get them both through the gate and then they're on the homestretch. All his training tells him Eddie needs a hospital like yesterday but looking at the unconscious boy in his arms, he stalls, something deep in him just can't let Eddie go. Not again.

"Steve," Robin calls, his attention immediately snapping to her, and he just knows from the look on her face. She knows, she sees him, it'll be okay, he just has to trust her and he does. He sucks in a breath and lifts Eddie as high as he can and when he feels the pull from the other side he pushes him towards it, Eddie floating between worlds landing heavily and awkwardly in Robin and Nancy's arms. Steve sucks in a breath when they catch him and between the three of them manage to get back on the ground, laying Eddie down gently on the mattress on the floor. 

Steve doesn't hang around to watch as they do their best to get Eddie comfortable, as soon as they're off the table, Steve grabs the dining chair, dragging it onto the tabletop, stepping up and through the gate, landing heavily on the surface before rolling off onto the ground.

Robin and Dustin have already disappeared and Nancy's screaming into the phone, "I know you can hear us, you bastards! Man down! Get a doctor to Memorial now!"

Steve crawls over to Eddie, kneeling over his patient, pressing his fingers back into his neck. He's still got a pulse, and he isn't bleeding too intensely from anywhere he can see, but Steve knows he won't be able to lift him again, his arms just won't take it. It doesn't stop him brushing gentle fingers over his cheek, wiping away some of the grime, "That's it, Eds, we're home now, man. You just rest, we'll get you the help you need," he mutters to him. 

When he sits back on his heels, he looks up to see Nancy's already waiting with Eddie's legs in her arms. He smiles gratefully at her, but he's distracted from actually thanking her when a car honks outside. They glance at each other and lift, carrying Eddie out and into the waiting car.

Of course you taught Dustin how to hot-wire a car! Little shits, the pair of you! Steve thinks affectionately, as he and Nancy lay Eddie gently over their knees in the backseat. Robin's behind the wheel, thank god! She sticks her foot flat on the gas pedal as soon as the backdoors are closed, panicking and shouting "shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" as Dustin screams for her to "slow down!" as they peel out of the trailer park.

Steve's got one hand on Eddie's neck, holding a pile of napkins from the car's console to the open wound with his thumb, feeling the beat of this pulse through his fingertips, gently stroking Eddie's hair from his face with the other. "You've got some explaining to do when you get better, Eddie Munson. Don't think being a hero means I'm gonna forget about ignoring orders," Steve mumbles. 

Nancy hears him, glances sadly over but doesn't say anything, just turns her face away and focuses on the carnage outside, seeing the way the gate ripped Hawkins apart. 

"Just hold on, Eds, you're doing so good. Just stay with us, man. We've got you. It's still gonna be your year, just you watch! I swear we're gonna get you that diploma if it's the last thing I do. We'll have you back on your feet in no time, so I won't hear any excuses. I bet Dustin's told you I'm a pushover, and I am for that kid but don't think you're not getting out of it that easy. You might be cute, but you're not my kid brother," Steve rambles, because he can't do anything else to help, but he remembers reading in his textbooks that the unconscious can still hear, that talking to them can help bring them back to reality, and he's been knocked out enough times by now to know that it's true. 

"And you're on babysitting duty too. Someone's gotta help me wrangle these damn kids, 'cause I love Robin, but she's useless at it! You and me we're gonna get this one's attitude in check before the big bad world comes to bite him in the arse," Steve tells Eddie knowing he'll know who he's talking about, knowing Dustin will too. He hopes a bit of levity will help, but instead of the protest he half expects, a quiet sob is the only sound that comes out of the front seat. 

Robin reaches over and puts her hand over Dustin's where it had been white-knuckle clenching his seat, giving him the comfort Steve can't right now, and it's almost like they've switched roles.

She's even gotten used to driving, she seems almost as comfortable as he is when he's behind the wheel, and she's as good as he is too, if not better. Not that that surprises Steve. She's always been bigger, brighter and smarter than him, and he loves that so much about her.

"Then when you're all better, and you've finally graduated, you can go off and be a big rock star and shout to the nation instead of the school cafeteria," Steve mumbles, gently removing the tangles and dried blood from his hair. It makes him impossibly sad, but he says it because he knows that's what Eddie wants, what he'd wanted since that damn talent show.

It's not even close to what Steve wants, he wants Eddie to stay with him, to choose to rant to him about the state of the nation's politics and how anything is made better if you add cheese, but it's not an offer he's sure he could ever make and definitely not something he wants to admit aloud especially when Eddie's unconscious.

They're around the corner from the hospital when Eddie makes a guttural rumbling sound that Steve knows isn't good. Shit! Everyone in the car seems to pick up on the tension that automatically fills his body as he presses his fingers harder into Eddie's neck, his pulse is there, but it's weakening. Robin presses down on the gas, the car screeching to a halt outside the ER entrance, Dustin leaping from the vehicle before it's even stopped moving, screaming for help. 

Robin pulls open the car door, grabbing Eddie under his shoulders, helping him and Nancy manoeuvre Eddie carefully out of the backseat, "We're here now, Eds, they're gonna fix you, okay? Just hold on a bit longer, baby, and we'll soon have you home," he tells him as he holds the bloodstained paper to his neck, barely noticing when two nurses arrive with a gurney.

The girls practically have to hold him up as soon as Eddie is safely laid on the bed.

The four of them follow him into the hospital as far as they're allowed anyway, a nurse pressing a firm hand into his chest. Steve wants to argue, he wants to go with Eddie, he wants to make sure they look after him properly, but as he looks at the nurse he realises immediately why he recognises her, it's Stinson. She doesn't say anything, just nods at him, but he understands that she's saying, I've got it from here, so he takes a step back, watching helplessly as the door swings shut behind her.

Dustin and the girls crowd into his chest, relief and grief and love, and all he can do is hold them tight and hope and pray he's right.

I can’t say enough good things about this story. Absolutely incredible. If you love somebody like Will Byers, please read this Fic. NO ONE deserves to suffer for helping someone they love. This one hit extremely close to home. ❤️‍🩹