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Another bunch of scenes for future seasons of Stranger Things. Considering the characters involved, I would expect these to take place in season 3 or later.
Continuing the idea that Max and Jane end up as friends, they're hanging out when Max makes some comment about her step-father. It's innocuous enough that everyone else just lets it slide, but Jane recognizes what it really means. (Camera-work note: Probably a shot blurring out everyone else as they carry on, but a focus on Jane looking a bit intense.) She goes home and tells Chief Hopper, who would love to do more, but explains the limitations and procedures of his job. He promises to stop by Max's family's place to take a look and maybe find something, but not to expect anything.
He chats with the stepdad, not about anything in particular, just a "Hey, stopping by, how do you like the town?" sort of thing. Nothing of note comes up. He leaves on an inconclusive note and goes back home.
The next day, Max confronts Jane, asking why Chief Hopper visited. Max says that when Billy got home, her step-dad went ballistic. While Max isn't all that fond of her step-brother, she is still a reasonable person and doesn't enjoy her step-father being abusive. There's the standard "I was only trying to help!" and "Well, don't!" exchange, with Max storming off and Jane feeling a little a bit crappy about it all.
There's an uneasy tension between the girls when they're all hanging out, though this is really only noticeable to the audience through camera angles and whatnot. Jane isn't trying to push the issue, because she's not really sure what she can do or how to make anything better, and Max doesn't want to start drama.
UNTIL! Kali and crew end up in town. Kali wants Jane's help to continue to take out their enemies, starting with someone who is nearby. As she's making the pitch, Kali can tell there's something bothering Jane, who then explains how she screwed up her friendship with Max. Kali offers to help make things better using her brand of justice, though Jane insists on not killing the jerk. They agree on a plan of action, if Jane helps the crew take out a few folks in return.
A bit later, Max's stepdad is driving home, all alone on a back country road, when his car starts giving him some trouble. He pulls over to try to figure out what's going on, and that's when Kali, Jane, and the others strike. They threaten him, using a combination of their powers and the normies' posturing, into being less violent to his family, especially his son, and promise to destroy him if he screws up again.
A few days later, Max meets up with the gang after school, but notices Jane's not there. She asks about her friend, and learns that there was something Jane needed to take care of and left right when the bell rang. (Thus begins daily forays into the world to take down the scumbags that were involved in the experiments!)
As the season goes on, there are some scenes about Max's family life, concentrating on her step-family. Billy is continuing to be cautious around her and his father. Every so often, something happens that causes Billy to ball up in self-defense, ready for his father to strike. But, to his surprise, his father diffuses himself and walks away. This leaves Billy feeling even more nervous, as the "good times" stage is lasting longer and longer, which is making him believe that the explosion will be even worse when it comes. He's spending more and more time avoiding his father to minimize the chance of it occurring.
Adding to his fear is some new feelings he's realizing and understanding. He doesn't have his father putting him down all the time and reinforcing certain beliefs, so he's able to approach certain things differently. One of these is how he feels about Steve. Part of destroying Steve's previous social standing was to establish himself in the school's social hierarchy, but part of it was also to impress Steve. Billy finds that he's actually attracted to Steve and is trying to figure out what to do about it. He's still interested in women, which makes it more of a mess, especially with the representations of bisexuals in the world during that time. And, at the back of his mind, is the fear of how his father would respond.
One day, he finally confronts Steve. The two hadn't had much contact, thanks to Max, but Billy manages to corner Steve in an isolated area, in such a manner that there is no back-up should things go south. Steve is understandably freaked out, hands balled into fists, ready to defend himself, but is shocked when Billy seems very subdued and lays it out in plain terms and almost sounds like he's making a compromise that benefits Steve more than himself. Steve is thrown for a loop, partly convinced this is a prank and a bunch of Billy's friends will jump out from the trees around them, then finally realizes that this is real.
Let's not forget that Billy has been physically violent toward Steve. As someone with self-preservation instincts, Steve navigates his response with the care of someone walking through a field of pissed-off mares. He opens up with acknowledging that Billy's confession took a lot of bravery and that he respects Billy's sexuality, but says that he doesn't trust Billy after how Billy has treated him. But, he continues, as he sees Billy's shoulders slump in defeat, he will keep it secret and would be willing to get to know Billy better.
The two get closer and Steve manages to find a support group for queer folks a few towns away. They go together, with the excuse that they're going to a gym, or to a car show, or something more socially acceptable.
As Billy is able to accept himself and understand himself better, he becomes a nicer person overall. He's still wary of his father and Max, though. At school, he's less concerned with being the best and does better overall, though falls in the social rankings a bit, but he doesn't care. Someone even calls him gay and he doesn't even fly into a rage. He brings it up to Steve, who immediately promises that he didn't tell anyone, only for Billy to cut him off to tell him that the other dude was just being a jerk.
Something comes up when Steve and Billy are hanging out together, so that Billy is brought into the fold of the conspiracy. At first, everyone is a little concerned, especially Max, but Steve vouches for his new friend and there's not much time to really argue the fact. Plus, this means they have another vehicle and legal driver to deal with monsters!
At some point, Billy and Max have a heart-to-heart moment, in which he apologizes for being a crappy step-brother. It's one of those awkward sibling moments, with a lot unsaid but understood, because they are still close enough for Max to have seen what was going on at home and recognize the cause and effect of her step-dad's actions. They're not best friends, but they're on better ground.
This leads to a heart-to-heart between Max and Jane, and, while Max is still a little miffed about the interference, she isn't overly upset this time because everything is a bit better at home. She inadvertently finds out what the trade-off was, so she is a little horrified, but offers to help drive off Kali and the others.
Been sitting on this for awhile. Whoops.
Continuing the idea that Max and Jane end up as friends, they're hanging out when Max makes some comment about her step-father. It's innocuous enough that everyone else just lets it slide, but Jane recognizes what it really means. (Camera-work note: Probably a shot blurring out everyone else as they carry on, but a focus on Jane looking a bit intense.) She goes home and tells Chief Hopper, who would love to do more, but explains the limitations and procedures of his job. He promises to stop by Max's family's place to take a look and maybe find something, but not to expect anything.
He chats with the stepdad, not about anything in particular, just a "Hey, stopping by, how do you like the town?" sort of thing. Nothing of note comes up. He leaves on an inconclusive note and goes back home.
The next day, Max confronts Jane, asking why Chief Hopper visited. Max says that when Billy got home, her step-dad went ballistic. While Max isn't all that fond of her step-brother, she is still a reasonable person and doesn't enjoy her step-father being abusive. There's the standard "I was only trying to help!" and "Well, don't!" exchange, with Max storming off and Jane feeling a little a bit crappy about it all.
There's an uneasy tension between the girls when they're all hanging out, though this is really only noticeable to the audience through camera angles and whatnot. Jane isn't trying to push the issue, because she's not really sure what she can do or how to make anything better, and Max doesn't want to start drama.
UNTIL! Kali and crew end up in town. Kali wants Jane's help to continue to take out their enemies, starting with someone who is nearby. As she's making the pitch, Kali can tell there's something bothering Jane, who then explains how she screwed up her friendship with Max. Kali offers to help make things better using her brand of justice, though Jane insists on not killing the jerk. They agree on a plan of action, if Jane helps the crew take out a few folks in return.
A bit later, Max's stepdad is driving home, all alone on a back country road, when his car starts giving him some trouble. He pulls over to try to figure out what's going on, and that's when Kali, Jane, and the others strike. They threaten him, using a combination of their powers and the normies' posturing, into being less violent to his family, especially his son, and promise to destroy him if he screws up again.
A few days later, Max meets up with the gang after school, but notices Jane's not there. She asks about her friend, and learns that there was something Jane needed to take care of and left right when the bell rang. (Thus begins daily forays into the world to take down the scumbags that were involved in the experiments!)
As the season goes on, there are some scenes about Max's family life, concentrating on her step-family. Billy is continuing to be cautious around her and his father. Every so often, something happens that causes Billy to ball up in self-defense, ready for his father to strike. But, to his surprise, his father diffuses himself and walks away. This leaves Billy feeling even more nervous, as the "good times" stage is lasting longer and longer, which is making him believe that the explosion will be even worse when it comes. He's spending more and more time avoiding his father to minimize the chance of it occurring.
Adding to his fear is some new feelings he's realizing and understanding. He doesn't have his father putting him down all the time and reinforcing certain beliefs, so he's able to approach certain things differently. One of these is how he feels about Steve. Part of destroying Steve's previous social standing was to establish himself in the school's social hierarchy, but part of it was also to impress Steve. Billy finds that he's actually attracted to Steve and is trying to figure out what to do about it. He's still interested in women, which makes it more of a mess, especially with the representations of bisexuals in the world during that time. And, at the back of his mind, is the fear of how his father would respond.
One day, he finally confronts Steve. The two hadn't had much contact, thanks to Max, but Billy manages to corner Steve in an isolated area, in such a manner that there is no back-up should things go south. Steve is understandably freaked out, hands balled into fists, ready to defend himself, but is shocked when Billy seems very subdued and lays it out in plain terms and almost sounds like he's making a compromise that benefits Steve more than himself. Steve is thrown for a loop, partly convinced this is a prank and a bunch of Billy's friends will jump out from the trees around them, then finally realizes that this is real.
Let's not forget that Billy has been physically violent toward Steve. As someone with self-preservation instincts, Steve navigates his response with the care of someone walking through a field of pissed-off mares. He opens up with acknowledging that Billy's confession took a lot of bravery and that he respects Billy's sexuality, but says that he doesn't trust Billy after how Billy has treated him. But, he continues, as he sees Billy's shoulders slump in defeat, he will keep it secret and would be willing to get to know Billy better.
The two get closer and Steve manages to find a support group for queer folks a few towns away. They go together, with the excuse that they're going to a gym, or to a car show, or something more socially acceptable.
As Billy is able to accept himself and understand himself better, he becomes a nicer person overall. He's still wary of his father and Max, though. At school, he's less concerned with being the best and does better overall, though falls in the social rankings a bit, but he doesn't care. Someone even calls him gay and he doesn't even fly into a rage. He brings it up to Steve, who immediately promises that he didn't tell anyone, only for Billy to cut him off to tell him that the other dude was just being a jerk.
Something comes up when Steve and Billy are hanging out together, so that Billy is brought into the fold of the conspiracy. At first, everyone is a little concerned, especially Max, but Steve vouches for his new friend and there's not much time to really argue the fact. Plus, this means they have another vehicle and legal driver to deal with monsters!
At some point, Billy and Max have a heart-to-heart moment, in which he apologizes for being a crappy step-brother. It's one of those awkward sibling moments, with a lot unsaid but understood, because they are still close enough for Max to have seen what was going on at home and recognize the cause and effect of her step-dad's actions. They're not best friends, but they're on better ground.
This leads to a heart-to-heart between Max and Jane, and, while Max is still a little miffed about the interference, she isn't overly upset this time because everything is a bit better at home. She inadvertently finds out what the trade-off was, so she is a little horrified, but offers to help drive off Kali and the others.
Been sitting on this for awhile. Whoops.
