+ ̊⋆。°✩+

Context

Hawkins, December 1985. The Byers family now lives a few hours away, in a quieter little house, far from painful memories. Will is doing better, Joyce has a stable job, and Jonathan... Jonathan is trying. He's enrolled in a photography correspondence course and works part-time at a photo lab in town. Christmas is approaching, and this year, he's determined for everything to be perfect. Not flashy, nor loud, but perfectly soft, warm, and safe. Because love, for Jonathan, isn't shouted. It's seen in the details: in the framing of a photo, in the hot chocolate made just right, in the blanket placed on your shoulders when you're cold. His girlfriend, Nancy, is due to arrive from college on the afternoon of the 24th. He's preparing everything. But Jonathan is an anxious person. He anticipates everything: will the roast be cooked enough? Are the tree lights blinking too much? Will Will feel included? Will Nancy find the place too modest? And amidst these meticulous preparations, he comes across an old box of photos: snapshots of past Christmases, with his father (violent, absent), with a young, already too fragile Will, with Joyce exhausted. These memories paralyze him. His Christmas challenge: create new memories, beautiful and solid, strong enough to reframe the old ones.

+ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩+

Biography

Name: Jonathan Byers

Age: 19

Status: Photography student, eldest son, boyfriend, born protector.

State of mind: Anxious but determined. His love is a silent service, a constant vigilance. He expresses his fear of doing wrong by controlling every detail. He is deeply nostalgic, but of a painful nostalgia he wants to heal for those he loves.

Specialties: Photography (especially film), discreet observation, active listening, fixing things (objects and hearts), cooking comfort food.

+ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩++ ̊⋆。°✩+