#the foreshadowing the subtext the parallels

[arthursfuckinghat]

The fate of Evelyn Miller is so fucking fascinating, I had no idea.

Although Dutch admired him like a saint, his books and writings were heavily criticized by others in the same field as him. Miller wrote very poetic and socially progressive novels (a big deal considering the time period), his empathy and understanding of the world around him was the main reason for the criticism.

He was painted as a fraud and a fool who had ideas far above his station, his books also sparked a lot of controversy in the gang. When Dutch tried sharing 'wisdom' from one of the books, Lenny was especially critical of Miller's philosophies. Lenny also said that Miller was a fraud, a man who came from a privileged life and was pretending to live like a lower class citizen. Dutch took it personally, but carried on reading, he does this in a few interactions with explaining or reading out some of Miller's writing to gang members.

But the interesting part is despite Dutch preaching Miller's philosophies and reading his books to the last letter, he proved to not fully understand the meaning behind the writings after all.

It was shown that Miller was an advocate for nature, the Wapiti, and native Americans in general. He tried to help them with the situation regarding the peace treaty and convinced Arthur to help them too. Miller's allyship with the Wapiti was met with a lot of scrutinization, he was insulted by guests at the mayor's party for sympathising with minorities, but Miller still aided them when they needed it.

And as we know, this is quite the opposite to what Dutch did. Dutch took advantage of the Wapiti and helped fuel the war between them and the army for his own gain. He preached his idea of a fair and free world, but killed innocents and indoctrinated the vulnerable. He preached second chances, but shot without hesitation. He preached loyalty, but left his sons to die.

I could go on, but ultimately, Miller was also critical of himself. He pushed himself hard to write and improve, so much so that he died of starvation whilst trying to finish his last book. His last request was wanting his body to be burned so he could soar in the air with the eagles.

Dutch loving and preaching Miller till his dying day only further cemented the hypocrisy that ran deep in Dutch as a person. He fed on the thrill that came from leading people to a 'better world' - and it killed them all.

[mid-knight-black]

Madney/Buddie parallels like this live rent free in my mind because what do you mean this is not foreshadowing??? The so called “subtext” is just plain old text at this point smh 🫠🫠🫠

[and there are people who still call buddie fans delusional and that we are “seeing” things that aren’t there 🙄]

[mashkdemss]

And that's the exact same reason Mike told El she was pretty when she dressed feminine? Or he kissed her in the Snowball when he was feminine? Or told her he loved her new style? Make it make sense 😂

Actually, I'm even glad that I was asked such a question, because I wanted to continue my thought from the last post. Now I will tell you why I think that Mike is not attracted to girls and that his feelings for El cannot be considered romantic.

Important: you can consider Mike whoever you want, bisexual, asexual, gay, even straight. but I think that he is gay, because there is a huge amount of evidence for this, and if his feelings for Will are confirmed, then it will be much more logical to say that he is gay.

Let's start with the first season, where the arc of the romantic relationship between Mike and El begins:

I think it's obvious that El looks like a boy at that point, it's mentioned several times in the series, perhaps this was the reason why it was easier for Mike to treat her kinder than Dustin and Lucas did. Another reason for this occasional kindness on Mike's part is that El helped Mike find Will. Mike's main goal, after all, was to find Will, and that's why he needed El. He didn't treat her like a cute girl he fell in love with at first sight, he treated her exactly as a weapon or their key in finding Will (as rude and unfair as it may sound to El, but nevertheless, these are Mike's words)

Why Mike kissed El, or asked her to dance, or called her pretty, is hard to understand unless you've been in his situation. And by situation, I mean social pressure and expectations, and how they don't match your internal identity.

Let me explain: when you're a little boy who doesn't yet fully understand that he's gay, who lives in a small conservative town in the 80s, in a nuclear family with a father who makes homophobic jokes at your expense, you're going to try to be more normal. You're going to model your parents' relationship, you're going to model your friends who are openly attracted to the opposite sex, you're going to model your behavior on stereotypically masculine men on TV, etc. And you're going to end up telling yourself that you HAVE to like girls, because otherwise you're "wrong."

If it weren't for Lucas, who with his childish stereotypical thinking noticed Mike's affection for El, or if it weren't for Nancy, who for the first time saw her brother with a girl, asked if he liked her, then Mike would not have decided on a romantic relationship with El. When Lucas comically depicts Mike kneeling in front of El to show him that Mike is supposedly in love with El, Mike at first does not even understand what Lucas means. The final point in the question "Was Mike in love with El in the first season" is put by the words of Finn Wolfhard, when asked about Mileven relationship, he said that at the time of their meeting, Mike did not even have a thought about love in his head.

Only when he realized that he had a good chance to start a relationship with the first girl he met who wasn't disgusted by him (Lucas' words btw) did he decide to take things into his own hands and start showing her the signs of attention that he could see in the movies, for example. And a kiss, an invitation to the ball, or little compliments were these signs of attention, albeit very, very childishly awkward.

Also, don't forget that words and their hidden symbolism play a big role in interpreting the ideas of this show (crazy, stupid, bullshit, etc., they all matter). Let's remember when else have we heard the word "pretty"? I can think of two instances: In Season 1, El looks at a picture of Nancy and calls her pretty, and in Season 3, El tells Billy that she saw his mother in visions and that she was really pretty. In both cases, there is no romantic subtext, especially the first moment, because it is a direct foreshadowing/parallel to Mike's words. When El calls Nancy pretty, Mike agrees. Reluctantly, but he still agrees. The fact that he may find Nancy and El pretty does not confirm his attraction to girls, because if finding El pretty = being in love with her, then Mike is also in love with his sister, which is obviously not true. Besides the parallel between El and Mike's sister, I want to say that finding someone of the opposite sex beautiful when you're gay is a completely normal experience. Like, I'm a lesbian myself and I may find some guys good looking, but that still doesn't mean I'm romantically interested in them, romantic attraction is different.

Mike initiates the kiss in season 1 and 2, and the reason for this is because of the pressures of heteronormativity, he takes on the role of the man in the heteronormative relationship that everyone expects of him. And then later, during the kissing scenes in season 3, El is the one who initiates the kisses. El leans in while Mike basically stands there like a statue. Mike takes her hands off of him. During the second kissing scene in season 3, El is the one who holds Mike's face in her hands while Mike literally just sits there. Even though he is still affectionate with El as time goes on + as she develops her own identity + comes across as more stereotypically feminine, we see him become more and more uncomfortable with it, especially during the last kissing scene in season 3.

Mike and El's final kiss in season 3, or to be more precise, Mike's reaction to that kiss, is a whole other conversation, because I think that was his final stage of realizing his lack of attraction to girls. He may not have realized yet that he liked boys, but he did begin to understand that he wasn't interested in El or girls in general. I won't dwell on that, I'll just say that if Mike really liked girls, that embarrassing scene wouldn't make sense. If he didn't realize then that he didn't like girls, then what? I don't think he realized that he just didn't like El. That would be weird, because given his previous attention to her, it's unclear what could have changed in El so much that Mike "fell out of love" with her in one season.

Anon also mentioned that Mike liked El's new style, but I don't even see the point in analyzing that, because it's just a parallel to Hopper, who literally said the same thing. Another parallel between Mike and El's parental figure, nothing romantic.

Now I want to tell you why I think Mike isn't attracted to girls, but let's move El aside a little to look at Mike outside of their relationship.

Mike is the only one from the entire party, or even from the entire series, who does not show interest in the opposite sex, with the exception of his partner. Dustin is dating Suzie, but he still thinks Phoebe Cates is hot. Lucas is dating Max, but before that, he also competed with Dustin for Princess Daphne in slot machines, and also called Max "perfect in her own special way." Max is dating Lucas, but he likes to look at boys in magazines and finds Ralph Macchio attractive. El, apparently, enjoys the idea of Max dreaming about other guys, and El also imagined herself in the heroine's place when she watched Hopper's TV. If we consider other, slightly more adult characters: Steve actively shows interest in other girls, Nancy has a poster of Tom Cruise in her room, and Robin, the first confirmed LGBT character in the series, also showed interest in Tammy Thompson, Phoebe Cates and Vickie.

Mike, on the other hand, has never shown any interest in girls other than El. Ever. When Max shows up at school, Mike is the only one who is extremely negative towards her and tries hard to keep her out of the team, acting in complete opposition to the rest of the party. His negative attitude towards Max not only helped create an interesting dynamic between them and make El jealous, but it was also an interesting way to differentiate Mike from the other boys based on his attitude towards girls. I've heard people justify his behavior by saying that he misses El and doesn't want Max to take her place, but that sounds crazy because how could Max take her place? Does Mike really think that if Max takes El's place, he'll have to date her and forget about El? That doesn't make any sense. The only way Mike's behavior makes sense is if he was jealous of his friends' (and especially Will's) attention to Max and didn't want Dustin and Lucas to have a love interest while Mike has no one to project his feelings onto.

When Dustin and Lucas compete for Princess Daphne in a game, Mike shows no interest in it. When Dustin says his girlfriend is hotter than Phoebe Cates, Mike makes his signature face. He doesn't respond to it, while Lucas expresses his doubts that Susie couldn't possibly be hotter than Phoebe Cates. When Ted calls El a "sweetie pie," Mike makes that face again, even though there was no reason to do so.

Oh, and let's not forget about those shots, which could very well be a complete accident, but could also be brilliantly planned symbolism:

Even though the main characters are 14 years old in season 3, in the midst of their teenage years and growing up, Mike still has no interest in girls other than El, both because he is fixated on her and because he has no attraction. The scene in the mall where Mike, Will, and Lucas are looking for a gift for El has always caught my attention. Especially that moment when the boys stumble upon a lingerie store and, as befits normal teenagers, get scared and run away. I find this scene interesting because of what the boys are looking at: based on the sequence of shots, it is clear that Lucas is looking at women's underwear, Will is looking at the bottom of the underwear, which can also be identified as men's, and Mike is looking at stockings, which have no clear gender.

This is an interesting decision, because if Mike was attracted to girls, there would be no point in putting a shot with gender-neutral underwear after it. While this may sound like an argument against my point, I'm mainly just bringing this up to include this screenshot of a post from the official Stranger Things Twitter account:

And finally, let's get back to the take on the Tom Cruise poster in Nancy's room.

Did you know that posters can say a lot about the person whose room they're in? In the show, we also saw Billy's room, who is obviously attracted to women, which is why he has posters of women in bikinis. We also see Steve's room, who is also attracted to women, which is why he also has posters of women in bikinis. And what do we see in Mike's room? Yeah, I think you know what I'm talking about... A half-naked muscular dragon being fought by a little wizard? Oh, okay.. A poster for the 1982 movie "Conan the Barbarian"?!? With another half-naked muscular man, I guess... Okay, but there's also a woman in the corner of that poster, right? Yeah, I hate to spoil the fun for you guys, but this is definitely not the kind of movie a man who likes women would watch. "Conan the Barbarian" is FULL of misogyny, toxic masculinity and... half-naked muscular men, yes.

In general, I think this topic can be discussed for a long time, but I will probably stop here and I will be glad if you share your thoughts if you do not agree. I will be grateful if someone explains to me why he thinks that Mike is bi or even hetero, since I am not used to looking at this character from this point of view

[pinksmonkey]

Posting my Ultimate Byler Evidence/Analysis List here directly because it probably makes it more convenient and I should have done this a while ago. XD

There is so much proof for Byler being endgame in S5 of Stranger Things. They are so cute together, and so much in the show has been building up to their relationship. I just wanted to share some of my favourite Byler analyses, because they are so cool, detailed, and in-depth. I love reading about all the hints, symbolism, and subtext for Byler, it's amazing how much thought must have been put into all these things. Why go through all the effort of adding these details if they aren't actually going anywhere with them? Mike is so queercoded, and they are truly in love with each other.

🫥 Just gonna leave some good Byler analyses here 🤐

Most of the links go to written Tumblr posts, and a couple of them are Reddit posts. So it's a lot of reading. If you prefer watching videos over reading, I highlighted my Byler YouTube playlist in green so it's easy to find.

And apologies for any of the links that aren't working, I know some of the posts have been deleted now sadly, but there's no way I'm re-numbering all these so I'm just leaving them in. My fellow Bylers, please stop deleting your amazing posts. ;-;

So anyway, here is the list of some of my favourite Byler evidence/analyses of all time (not in any particular order):

1. Mike's Season 4 Monologue To El

2. Camera Roll Byler Proof Part 3

3. Mike's Monologue and Milkvan

4. Mostly Byler Post Index

5. Dawson's Creek Parallel

6. "My Experience With Stranger Things"

7. What Ollie Learned From Film School

8. Byler Music Analysis

9. Why Don't The Duffers Discuss This?

10. ST Theories Masterpost

11. If Byler Isn't Endgame Then Someone Screwed Up

12. Byler Crumbs From The Cast and Crew

13. Favourite Combination of Endgame Byler Proof

14. I Doubt Byler Then I Remember This

15. The Fact That We Have This Interview

16. You Know Your Ship is Endgame When

17. Mostly Byler Post Index 2

18. Losing Hope Of Byler Endgame?

19. Why I Think Byler is Endgame

20. So Many Thoughts on This

21. Mike's Wall Art

22. Painting Miscommunication Leading to Mike's Monologue Coded

23. Yes, That Scene Did Foreshadow Mike's Monologue as Disingenuous

24. Mike's Monologue Didn't Sit Right With Me

25. Blue And Yellow Pen

26. That Tweet Is So Sweet

27. Heart Eyes, Literally

28. "My Process of Realizing Byler is Real"

29. Looking at Will, Not El

30. High School Musical Parallel

31. Said It Before and I'll Say It Again

32. Delusional Milkdud?

33. ST Writers Twitter Analysis 1

34. ST Writers Twitter Analysis 2

35. For When You Are Doubting Byler

36. Is Mike Bi or Gay?

37. Fully Convinced

38. The Ultimate Byler Playlist (my Byler YouTube playlist)

39. 100% Confident

40. Mike in S4 and S2

41. Mike Is Angry With Himself

42. It's Been A Year, Mike

43. Rink-O-Mania Remodel

44. The Development Of Will And Mike's Relationship

45. Mike's Lies

46. El Was Holding So Much In

47. Flickergate + Lettergate

48. Did Mike Ever Like El Romantically?

49. Mike Is Stupid

50. Byler Won't Write Itself

51. What's The Alternative Explanation?

52. Comparing Mileven and Byler

53. It Was Always About Them

54. Mike Is Not Ok

55. He Has A Love Interest

56. Will's Happy Ending

57. Trying To Be Normal

58. It's Not That Milevens Are Homophobic

59. Byler Is Reality

60. A Proper Look At El's Shrine To Mike

61. Mileven Through The Seasons

62. Suspicious

63. I Can't Doubt Byler

64. D&D Soulmates

65. Let's Talk Phones

66. Not Delusional

67. What Do They Want?

68. The Main Character

69. Mike's Mental Health

70. So Close

71. This Look Confirms Byler Isn't One Sided

72. Mileven Is Bones

73. They Don't Care About Mileven?

74. The Airport Hug Will Always Be Famous

75. The Monologue Mystery, Why Did They Lose?

76. The Cabin Scene

77. Why Couldn't Mike Say It For 2 Seasons?

78. He Was Trying To Find Will

79. Mike The Surfer Boy

80. Mike Definitely Shows Attraction To Girls

81. The Cast Knows

82. Mileven Loses On All Fronts

83. The Bouquet

84. 53 Minutes And 5 Seconds

85. Pink Panther

86. El And Choice

87. Will's Spotify Playlist

88. He'll Come Crawling Back To You, Begging For Forgiveness

89. Mike's Character Arc Prediction

90. It's The Same Look

91. Will's Truly Happy Ending

92. That's The Same Look, Right?

93. You're The Heart

94. Mike And El's Relationship In S4 Was Really Weird

95. Fireworks Parallel

96. Mileven Has Been Built Up For 4 Seasons

97. Not Stupid: The Fate of Mileven and Byler

98. This Suddenly Makes So Much Sense

99. Metaphors In Filmmaking

And unfortunately Tumblr will only let me add 100 links per post, so when I've posted part 2 of this list, I'll link it here: Part 2

[greenfiend]

Analyzing the Letters within ST

and how they all hint at the possible letter revealed at the very end of the show

While we all love to speculate on Mike’s possible hidden love letters to Will, revealing his true feelings and them finally getting together; the show is hinting toward something else. Something more heartbreaking.

CW: death.

The first significant letter within the show is Hopper’s letter for El. In it, Hopper reveals his feelings that were difficult to verbally express. It’s also worth noting that Hopper was seen as dead at this point. So, two important things to note:

Communication between one “dead” character and one alive character.

Revealing feelings that were difficult to express in person.

The next time we see a letter is El’s letter to Mike. This one is mostly lies. El makes her time in Lenora sound more pleasant and palatable. Some things to note:

While El is alive, she moved to “the west” which symbolizes death (where the sun sets).

El creates a “watered down” story of her true life in Lenora. The truth was too unpleasant.

Next we are given some information about Mike’s letters addressed to El. Mike is unable to write “Love, Mike” and instead writes “From, Mike”. Most of us can understand that this is clearly set up for the introduction of a “Love, Mike” letter addressed to someone.

We also see Will bring up the fact that Mike did not write him any letters. Whereas he wrote El “a book of letters”. Mike is defensive in response stating “that’s because she’s my girlfriend, Will!”. Some things to note here:

A “book of letters” is a strange and unnecessary statement. The association between a “book” or story and letters is clearly made here. This is likely foreshadowing.

Mike associates letters with romance.

Also, while the build up for a “Love, Mike” letter has been established, there is now build up for a letter addressed to Will.

Next we have Max’s letters addressed to Billy, and her friends. Max attempts to give Lucas a letter but he refuses to take it and says “I don’t need a letter, I’m right here.” There’s a lot to note so I’ll start with Max’s letters for Lucas and her friends. Let’s breakdown the things to note:

Lucas saying he doesn’t need a letter because he’s “right here” is very relevant because it tells us that letters are only necessary if one person isn’t present. Also, Lucas saying he’s “right here” is a nod towards Will in the first season.

Max wrote these letters for her friends because she thought she was going to die. Another association between death and letters here.

Max later reads her letter to Billy and there’s so many things to note.

Billy’s name is also William. There’s a frame where we see his grave say “William” on it and we see another grave with “_YERS” written on it. AND the song “Letter to Willy” played during the scene. Clearly this scene is loaded with Will foreshadowing/subtext.

Billy is dead. Max expresses her feelings towards Billy “before it’s too late” aka before she dies too.

Max ends her letter with “Love, Max.”

Letter to Willy

This is the song that played when Max read her letter to Billy, but it also played during two other scenes.

During this scene, Mike expresses guilt over El being gone and him not going with her. Will validates his feelings and tells him that it’s scary to say how you really feel aka expressing one’s true feelings. This all occurs while they are in the middle of digging a grave for a man who died as a hero.

During this scene, Dustin informs Eddie’s uncle that Eddie died a hero. Some parallels are made with the time Mike told Lucas that Will was heroic in the very first episode.

Mike’s Windbreaker

It’s clear as day that the costume designer went the extra mile to add a pocket on Mike’s shirt that appears like a letter. That letter is also on his left side, so exactly where his heart is. Most of us are already aware of this fact, but it’s still very relevant here.

SO… with all that information, what can we decipher from all these clues?

There will be a significant letter written by Mike next season. It’ll imply romantic feelings. This letter will end in “Love, Mike”.

Will will be the recipient of a letter. As Will complained to Mike that he did not send Will any letters, that letter likely will be from Mike. The letter will start with “Dear Will”.

This letter likely will reveal true feelings that were difficult to express in person.

The death foreshadowing surrounding Will (the graves with his name on it, the dead William, burying the dead body, etc) and the association with letters being sent between one dead and one alive character likely means that: Will is no longer alive when this letter is written/received.

There may be a book or story attached to the letters.

This all leads me too…

Now before I breakdown what I believe fits into these blanks, I want to clear up a couple of things that have been brought up before:

“This letter was just revealed to be a letter from the ST writers to us fans during ST day years ago.” Yes that is true. However, it wouldn’t make sense for them to post it like this if that’s all it meant. That’s pretty lame to be honest. We know they love to be vague and cryptic with their clues of what’s to come in the show, why wouldn’t they be doing that here as well? Plus this letter fits perfectly with the set up I just described. Perfectly. I’ll explain that soon.

2. “This is… not about a couple”. Yes they said that but it’s incredibly vague. That could mean a lot of things. It could even simply mean they aren’t a couple yet within the show, or because one of the characters is no longer alive…

Now let’s properly break down the letter.

“anyway I think you’ll ____ sorry I couldn’t get it done ____”

These lines imply that the writer of the letter attached something to it. The writer likely thinks the recipient will like whatever they attached.

The writer then apologizes about something. The wording makes it seem like they’re apologizing about not completing whatever is attached on time. If time is what they’re apologizing for, this is likely Mike writing this. Mike has been associated with running late many times throughout the show.

This is my guess: “anyway I think you’ll like [the ending]. sorry I couldn’t get it done [on time]”

The next part is easy and was confirmed by the writers:

“but you mean so [much to me]”

Obviously whoever wrote this letter cares deeply about the recipient.

“and it’s been [so hard being without you]”

I guessed this part. The writer is making an excuse as to why they weren’t able to complete something on time. It makes sense that the writer was struggling from being away from the recipient and thus that was the excuse for the delay. This would make even more sense if the writer was struggling with grieving the recipient.

“hope this is [enough to] last until [we meet again]. Love, [Mike].”

The “enough to” was simple enough to complete, not much else can fit in that context.

I guessed the “we meet again” because of many clues. Mainly because of the death foreshadowing surrounding Will and Mike, specifically: Will dying first followed by Mike. Also, the Russian code “when blue meets yellow in the west”. Going “west” symbolically means “to die” as the sun sets in the west. So, if I’m correct, and Will has passed on, then Mike will meet him again soon.

Now, the date “November 6, 1983” is there because…

The attachment is the complete story of the entire show, beginning on that very specific date. The book attached to the letter, or the “book of letters” if you will. Mike wrote the story, or rather finished the story for Will. He couldn’t “get it done on time” because Will likely passed on prior to the completion of the story. He wrote the story, which is the “watered down” version (like El's letter) of the true horrors he and Will experienced, and others too. The story was written so he and Will could survive everything in the end and become heroes. I talk more in depth about that theory here.

While the death foreshadowing is depressing and the temptation to ignore and dismiss it is high… it still does exist. It cannot be denied. But keep in mind, there may be some form of resurrection at play in the show, it’s not like they haven’t done something like that before.

[nobylerdoubt]

Heyy I was talking to my friend who ships milkvan she made a few good points.

In season 4

Milkvan and jancy parallel because they are both lying to their partners to stop them from worrying.

Secondly, she made a point that love is a feeling, to like something is a choice. She said that even though el didn't know her likes and dislike before s3 ( when she asks max) she has always known love. And has loved Mike.

Well she had mixed up platonic and romantic love ( we have seen mike parallel hopper)

Also a common one el wouldn't leave mike, someone who has kept her safe. Well we have already seen their relationship in ruins and seen her leave mike for max. But it is a common one obv.

Her points were mostly based on jancy and milkvan parallels in s4.

Do you think jancy and milkvan truly parallel in s4

Thanks for asking!

I do think there is a point that Jancy and Mileven do parallel in S4, however I'm of two minds with this:

At this point, as much as I'm rooting for Jancy and do believe they'll end up together, I'm not 100% sure if thats what's necessarily gonna happen. Jancy isnt necessarily my specialty when it comes to themes, hints, and foreshadowing.

Thier parallel could be to juxtapose how an endgame couple deals with secrets and miscommunication vs a couple that is not endgame.

Parallels are not meant to be mirror images of each other. If all of the couples in the show were written the exact same way, that wouldn't be good writing. Instead, parallels are used to foreshadow a couple getting together, or highlight the differences between those couples, or a couple that's not going to be endgame. That's why I think it's meant to reveal that either Jancy is not endgame, more than it's meant to highlight how differently these couples are going about this.

Jonathan and Nancy's miscommunication comes from a place of care for the other, at personal risk to themselves. Jonathan doesn't tell Nancy that applied to Lenora community college, because he feels he needs to stay close and protect and provide for his family, and he doesn't want to hold her back. We see this majorly in season three, because Nancy and Jonathan get into a fight because he needed that job to provide for his family, but she was being held back.

Jonathan and Nancy speak very highly of each other at the beginning of the season regarding the reason why they aren't seeing each other over spring break. The gist of that back-and-forth scene is that while they have their own reasons for staying behind (Jonathan staying to care for his family while Nancy stays to work on the newspaper) they're on the same page. If Jonathan had told Nancy why he didn't want to go to Emerson, she would have understood because she understands that he is protective of his family, and she loves that about him. Jonathan knows that too, but he doesn't want to hold her back. Because Jonathan knows that Nancy is ambitious and he loves that about her. The entire miscommunication is born out of care for each other. 

On the other hand, the miscommunication between Mike and El is rooted in selfishness. If you go with what is explicitly said in the show, Mike doesn't say "I love you" was to protect his own feelings - so that it would hurt less when she inevitably leaves him. If you go with the Byler subtext, the reason he doesn't tell her is because it isn't true. Either way, Mike is kind of stringing El along for his own purposes - he doesn't think he's good enough for her, so he's protecting himself from more pain while keeping her in a relationship with him OR he isn't actually in love with her, but he wants to keep her around because he thinks he needs to for his own image and his own comfort.

El lies to Mike about having friends and being well adjusted in Lenora - because she doesn't think she's good enough for Mike either. So instead of being honest with Mike and trying to lean on him for support (especially since, like he said, he has experience with bullying), she lies to make herself look better in his eyes, and make herself more desirable for him. (Which Mike is doing the same thing, as we understand him showing up that crazy elephant at the airport was the show that he wasn't being true to himself, trying to make himself more desirable to El.)

Finally, Jancy ends the season working together to repair the house. This likely symbolizes that they will work together to repair their relationship. However in this same scene Mike and El work separately, picking up trash, and Mike finds Will. This likely symbolizes that they will kind of "pick up the trash/rubble" of their relationship separately, and Mike, of course, will find love with Will.

Plus, hill pairings.

Okay, for the second point, I wildly disagree that "to love someone is a feeling but to like something is a choice" (because never have I ever chosen to like something), and that El has "always known love".

She hasn't. She's been deprived from real love for her entire childhood. She's basically a newborn when she first escapes the lab (see the 'born pretty yesterday' trope.) Over the seasons she understands love more and more - love from friends, love from Hopper/a parent/family, sibling love with Will and Jonathan, and best friend love with Max.

This is gonna be something I mention in my Season 2 Mileven post eventually - but theres a scene in Season 2 where El is watching TV and is fixated on this soap opera ("they'd be aghast!"), and what this scene really illustrates for me just how much romantic love is a wildly unfamiliar concept to her. A concept that had first been explained to her, in a kind of butchered way, by Mike in season 1, and if you read my Season 1 Mileven post - you already know that I think Mike has a distorted heteronormative idea of what romantic feelings are in the first place.

As someone on the Ace/Aro spectrum, let me tell you - differentiating romantic and platonic feelings is really hard. Especially when you have no framework for what romantic feelings even are.

And like you already pointed out - there's been comparisons of Mike to Hopper, El initially asked if Mike would "be like her brother". She's already confused her romantic and platonic feelings.

And let's just say that she does have romantic feelings for Mike - that doesn't mean that Mike loves her back. And that's enough reason to break off that relationship. Mike deserves to love someone, and El deserves to be truly loved.

And "El would never leave Mike because he's done so much for her," first of all: kind of a toxic relationship dynamic to stay in a relationship because you feel like you owe it to the other person, second of all: she doesn't have to leave him. They can still be friends! Breaking up with Mike doesn't mean never seeing him again and abandoning him. Their best scenes and interactions are when they aren't actually in a relationship anyway.

[sassylittlecanary]

Smallville is a show for the English nerds because it’s just ten seasons of dramatic irony and foreshadowing and homoerotic subtext and poetic parallels packed into every scene.

So many character dynamics — Clark & Lex, Clark & Lana, Lex & Lana, Lois & Clark — are so layered because you know they’re doomed or saved by the narrative, you just don’t know how they’ll get to that point.

[vicholas]

my initial interpretation of the rudy-toriel church scene combined with all the moments establishing asgore as chummy with carol was that carol was cheating on rudy with asgore. the more i think on it the more my reading was probably way off but part of me wishes it's real anyway because i love chaos and strife

I think you're ignoring a pretty important thing here and it's that Rudy is Asgore's best friend. I really don't think Asgore would have an affair with his best friend's wife, especially not when said best friend is hospitalized. It doesn't feel in-character.

You're ignoring another important factor here and it's that Asgore and Rudy have a fair amount of subtext between them. Remember the UT alarm clock?

I know this is UT and not DR but it still feels pretty significant to their relationship.

This doesn't really contradict your theory about Asgore and Carol but I'm going somewhere else. I'm going somewhere stupider: It'd be fucking funny if he's dating both. It probably won't happen and this is really more "something I think would be really funny if it happened" than "something I can say with confidence I think will happen in future chapters" but listen.

I'm gonna be insane for a second but I have wondered for a while if there's any chance the events + characters established in the Dark World could be in any way paralleling real things from the Light World. I don't mean it as in a 1:1 parallels where every character has their own clear equivalent, but rather as in broader parallels where sometimes a single character in the Dark World mirrors multiple things in the Light World.

We had Queen in chapter 2 acting as a controlling and misguided maternal figure towards Noelle which parallels her relationship with her mother; we had Tenna mirroring how Kris (and Asriel probably) was affected by the Dreemurr divorce, but he also embodies a sense of nostalgia for the days when Kris was younger that's shared by various characters in the Light World. We joke about the game being the divorce game but it IS interesting that how divorce is, implied or explicitly, very present in the relationships between the adults of both worlds. There's a marked theme of kids having to rely on themselves because they are surronded by unreliable/buffoonish adults: You have Susie who is heavily implied to suffer from parental neglect and you have Ralsei who has no parental figures; you have Lancer who has 3 parental figures and they all suck in their own way. All the kids end up having to take more responsibilities than its normal for someone their age. I'd argue you can make a good case about Kris and Susie having the weight of the world on their shoulders because of the prophecy parallels their loneliness in the Light World and how they only have each other to deal with their own problems with no outside support.

Anyway. None of this actually matters because this is not a serious post.

I'm here to be silly and say: I think it would be really funny if Rouxls fail polycule is a parallel/foreshadowing to Asgore dating both Rudy and Carol. They are surprisingly similar in a lot of ways. They are both pathetic dudes who are trying to get together with someone who has zero interest in them but who's co-parenting a child with them (Queen and Toriel), and in both cases they get together with an already established couple yet still don't give up on wooing Queen and Toriel. Toriel was a queen in Undertale, Toriel = Queen. Lancer is a prince, Asriel was a prince in Undertale. Mindblown. It's all connected. It most likely won't happen but I'm having fun here so who cares. Asgore is gonna fix the Holidays marriage through his sheer failness.

[deception-united]

Hi, don’t know if it’s already been asked, but how do I find a good B story? I understand that it should resonate with the A story but I’m struggling to find something

Thanks for asking! In essence, the A-story is the main focus, while the B-story provides supplementary narrative elements that contribute to the overall richness and complexity of the story. Both storylines usually intersect or influence each other in some way, contributing to the cohesion and coherence of the narrative and generally making it more interesting for the reader. Here are some tips to achieve this.

Have the B story explore or depict the same themes as your A story from a different perspective or angle.

Consider subplots that are indirectly related to the main plot but still tie into its themes or motifs.

Delve into the past of a character or the world of your story, like a backstory or flashbacks.

Have parallel events or challenges happening simultaneously with the main plot. These can intersect with the A story at key moments, driving the narrative forward while offering new perspectives.

Create a character or situation in the B story that contrasts with or complements elements of the A story.

Expand the world of your story by focusing on a different aspect of the setting, culture, or history to add worldbuilding and increase the reader's understanding by adding depth to the overall narrative.

Give characters in the B story their own goals or motivations that intersect with or diverge from those in the A story.

Ensure that the B story elicits an emotional response from the audience, whether it's empathy, excitement, or curiosity. This will help engage readers and keep them invested in both storylines.

Look at the relationships between your main characters. Is there a subplot that involves a secondary character's journey or development that could complement or contrast with the main storyline?

Use the B story to foreshadow events or themes that will be important later in the main storyline, like subtle hints and subtext.

Happy writing!

Previous | Next

[kdramastrix]

One thing we know about TDJ is that it's INCREDIBLE when it comes to foreshadowing and parallels and while i was rewatching this scene i noticed this:

Interestingly, the professor literally quotes Yohan's mindset when it comes to the corrupt justice system here. Yohan LITERALLY says later on "There's no justice in real. It is all just a wicked unfair game."

Which tells me that he DOES agree with Yohan, he just doesn't agree with his ways. But then he goes on about how Yohan has illogical rulings & stances and has passed weird impractical laws. Which has no substance, only Bias and i really like that Gaon is witty enough to recognize that little undercurrent of dislike & tinted passive aggressiveness the professor has for Yohan.

Onto Gaon's intuition and his ability to understand the subtext here. I like that he recognizes that MJH not only despises Yohan, he also harbors injustifiable abbhorence for his ways which further leads to him suggesting that Gaon infiltrate Yohan's space, that too, not just by playing spy but by being Yohan's JUDAS.

Judas who was one of the most important people to Jesus, a companion, a devotee, a lover, a lifeline. and because he was so much, his betrayal wounded all the deeper, fatal even.

Gaon is aware that his professor is not only asking him to dig dirt on Yohan but to actually INDULGE & blend into Yohan's life to find his ultimate weakness (that is so fucking gay OMFG im trying to stay sane, wise and political here but jfc, pun intended). For him to actually UNDERSTAND and USE the word of Judas for his role is so. Yeah. Okay. Let me take a moment here.

Additionally, i would also like to point out THIS foreshadowing.

Even as Gaon & the Professor essentially stand on the same side rn, they are still standing at odds with each other IN Yohan's court, faces away, eyes set at different points, different goals.

While the professor is looking at the Balance (symbol of justice), Gaon is gazing into the darkness, a void unbeknownst to him, a field he is not certain of, unbiased yet unafraid.

Which basically translates to how they will oppose each other & that force which will compel them to disagree with each other is going to be none other than Kang Yohan.

I just really. Love this bit. And i was so gagged when i watched it so i had to come and talk about it hehe.

[marley-manson]

I did end up rewatching Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows last night and it was both worse than I remembered in terms of like, pacing and problematic elements, and even gayer than I remembered, which overall makes it better than I remembered because I'm here for one reason only.

Like it's genuinely mindboggling the sheer amount of homoeroticism they crammed into 2 hours without ever crossing the plausible deniability line. It had to be gayer than I remembered because there's too much for a human mind to retain. And like, every variety of it. Gay jokes, gay references, sexual innuendos in dialogue, visual sexual innuendos, homoerotic villainy, freudian subtext, married couple bickering complete with disbelieving reaction shots from observers multiple times, the basic emotional conflict of the story and all the characterization that stems from it, crossdressing both in a silly way and in a 'lets add some homoerotic background elements to this club we're in' way, parallels between Holmes and Watson and their respective het love interests, a villain threatening one to hurt the other multiple times, the entire plot existing as a vehicle to explore their feelings for each other...

Even a female character who fits extremely neatly into the love interest role in terms of her contribution to the story and screen time and singlehood and attractiveness, but isn't a love interest. And in fact is pointedly replaced by Watson for the dance scene at the climax, because Watson is a better partner for Sherlock.

Also Mycroft was textually gay, which I'd forgotten lol, and describes Watson's marriage in a way that tells us he believes Watson is mostly gay and Mary's an exception. The plausible deniability here is that it can be taken as a joke about Mycroft being too gay to understand heterosexuality, but like, not in the context of the rest of the narrative lbr lol.

Like I cannot overemphasize that the content of the story is that Sherlock and Watson had been fucking in the past, Watson broke it off to get married and get some distance because he was sick of living in an action movie, Sherlock is in love with him and really mad about this and Watson still loves him and is deep down torn between gay adventure and hetero normalcy. None of this is textually stated, but it's absolutely crystal clear.

Also the narrative structure is kinda homophobic with Sherlock sacrificing himself at the end to save Watson and his new heterosexual life, but it was so obviously forecasting a third installment forcing Watson to admit he misses Sherlock and needs their life together back and (one hopes) burning his marriage to the ground because of it (foreshadowed with Watson's lack of enthusiasm for 2nd attempt at Brighton honeymoon in the last scene, calling back to Sherlock's jealous accusations about him not liking Brighton, and therefore, just like the way the structure of the ending unfolds with the reveal that Sherlock had the upper hand the whole time in the main plot, demonstrating that everything he said that sounded like petty jealousy about Watson being repressed, not being suited to marriage, just as happy adventuring with Sherlock as he would be on his honeymoon if not more, etc, is also right, bc that's the narrative function of this kind of call-back.)

I mean the fact that the third movie is stumbling lost through development hell and no one could settle on a script makes me wonder what they were actually planning, but yk. All the elements sure are there. It'd even be easy to do it 15 years later, with Sherlock staying fake-dead as a way to self-sacrificially bow out of Watson's hetero life and try to move on, only for Watson to somehow learn he's alive amid a crumbling marriage and rush to find him. But I doubt we'll ever see any version of a 3rd movie at this point lol.

[sherbertilluminated]

Things that surprised me in Don Karlos (1787)

the language of love/desire is undistinguished by gender. Everyone's aware of gendered expectations of course but those expectations don't prevent characters from expressing their romantic and Romantic feelings. The gay subtext is text; all desire is equally pure and true and also equally shameful and forbidden

"I love my mother." "O my God!"

The gender on Eboli holy shit

The Spanish Armada sinks in the middle of this play and the court barely notices. The bearer of the bad news lost five sons but such is life and death in the teeth of Empire

The stage directions. All of them

Near the end of the first act Carlos asks Posa to call him du

The Count of Egmont is mentioned a couple times in the play. What were Goethe and Schiller doing in 1787 that they both decided to write such queer plays about the occupation of the Spanish Netherlands

An honest-to-goodness knife-to-the-heart moment.

"I am satisfied with myself." my heart.

Carlos needs Posa to explain to him that he's been shot

"He was my first love" from a sixty-year-old man who has been married thrice.

Furthermore the way that Carlos's and Phillip's speeches parallel each other in describing their love for Posa "Ich hab/er hat ihn/mich lieb, gehabt, sehr lieb." Yeah I bet

THE GRAND INQUISITOR?!?!? Like. the Spanish Inquisition is foreshadowed early in the play with mentions of an auto-da-fe but after Posa's death the Inquisitor himself shows up as the embodiment of Phillip's worst impulses and just. shuts the play down

Anyway it's not a surprise that the 18th-century theatrical classic is good but I am shaking with how good it is. I need to make my own translation NOW or someone needs to find the circuit in my heart that responds to good drama and switch it off

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

just out of curiosity – why do you like sukugo??

i've just never seen any of the accounts i follow/my mutuals celebrate this pairing so i'm really curious!

:))))))))) i smiled so wide getting this ask anon. PLS DON’T BE ALARMED just take my hand and let me tell you abt two deeply violent homoerotic men….

okay so when it comes to sukugo i just. ADORE their dynamic and relationship. it’s one of my favorites in the entire manga and i truly think akutami COOKED with it . not only the shinjuku fight itself (which is, ofc, what sold me on the ship) but also the foreshadowing beforehand!!! like sukuna telling gojo that he’ll be the first one he kills…. the two of them making the same kind of pose in their respective volume covers (vol. 4 & 14….. another parallel which is even more devastating when you remember that the number four is associated with death in japan)….. both of them being referred to as ”the strongest.”

i actually didn’t pick up on a lot of it until we got to shinjuku!! but i just think akutami teased at their importance to each other so well and so early on.

WITH THAT BEING SAID . their dynamic. their parallels. yes. they’re both the strongest and the most isolated and those two things are synonymous. it ties into one of the most central themes of jjk that equates absolute strenght to absolute solitude — it’s a kind of curse. a curse and a blessing. and they both have it.

the main difference is that gojo knows what it’s like to be understood and loved — but sukuna doesn’t. so he can’t feel lonely. he’s never known what it’s like to not be alone. but gojo has!!! gojo has felt love and felt what it’s like to be understood, and when geto died a part of him died too. he’ll always be lonely. he’s the loneliest character in the series. and when he looks at sukuna he sees the exact same isolation that’s plagued him since the moment he was born. so what does he do about it?

he tries to teach sukuna about love.

^ and THAT’S . the most delicious dynamic ever. i take no criticism. i’ll die on the hill that this concept and their dynamic is one of the absolute highlights of jjk. it’s so GOOD. it’s so insanely good. gojo wants to teach sukuna about love/cure him from his solitude by killing him. and vice versa. it’s inherently violent and inherently tender and it makes me INSANE. to me that’s the greatest appeal of sukugo!!!! violence as tenderness is a trope very near and dear to my heart (and also VERY frequently associated w queer subtext in media…. just putting that out there……) and they do it so good. they have a blast killing each other.

also i just NEED to say how much i love the ”teach you about love” line. it’s one of my favorites in the manga and akutami utilizes it so well!! he repeats it over and over as foreshadowing and to build up the sukugo dynamic. the final reveal that gojo is ”the one who will teach [sukuna] about love” made me weep (even though it was so obvious)…. it’s just so deeply. idk. it just says so much about gojo as a character :(( the fact that he wanted to teach sukuna about love. i’ve seen some people who think that part is ooc but i disagree completely!! gojo has never concerned himself w the morals of others. not really. toji kills riko but gojo still has a respect for him and allows him to say his final words. he never hated geto despite his crimes. he supports yuji fully no matter how many people die because of him. etcetc. same with all his students.

gojo looks at sukuna and sees someone who is just as alone as he is. so deeply, deeply alone. him wanting to change that is not ooc in the slighest because that’s quite literally what drives gojo as a character:

he’s just such a genuinely good person at his core. and it coexists with the way he sometimes disregards morality. this is a hot take but i genuinely think gojo’s character blossomed fully in his battle with sukuna….. i don’t see him as ooc in it at all. he genuinely wanted to reach sukuna!! he knew he was the only one who could even hope to do so. and he tried his best.

and, i would argue that he succeeded.

SEGWAY TIMEEEEEEEEE LET’S GO. okay so let’s talk abt one of my favorite panels in the jjk manga, the panel that solidified sukugo as one of my favorite pairings Of All Time:

(two diff translations bc i love them both :3)

THIS. wow. wow. wow. i could talk abt this panel alone for hours and hours but i’ll try to be coherent……

there’s just? so much meaning to be found here??? for both of them????? not only is it a fundamental moment for gojo — being praised and acknowledged and accepted as himself rather than the strongest — but it’s also proof that gojo did reach sukuna!!! he’ll remember him forever. sukuna will never fully be entirely isolated because even millenia into the future he’ll still remember gojo. gojo nestled his way into sukuna’s heart.

and that’s just . so romantic isn’t it???? so beautiful???????? this is the culmination of gojo’s efforts; the most genuine expression we’ve ever seen on sukuna’s face. he actually looks happy.

i cried seeing that panel btw 😭😭 not a joke!! i was already crying when i started chapter 236 bc i knew how it’d end but this panel (+ the one w geto cheering gojo on in his cult leader fit) made me SOB. not exaggerating. i’ve never cried so much reading a manga… T_T

so!!!! yeah. i just love sukugo. their dynamic is so interesting and beautiful and i can never get enough of it. sometimes i love it more than stsg… don’t tell geto that though……..

[stranger-eelio]

Hi ! I’m working on a video, what’s something you think ppl should know b4 getting into the stranger things fandom?

HIII <3

with the show itself, i would say the biggest thing to keep in mind is to read between the lines. there's a lot of important subtext that i missed on my first watch, because 1) i was 13 when season 1 came out, and 2) i wasn't looking for it. nothing is said or done without reason, both from a writing / directing perspective and a set design / cinematography perspective. there is foreshadowing and parallels and subtleties everywhere you look, as long as you actually look.

as far as the fandom goes, i would say to be aware that there are lots of different corners of the fandom [like the bylers, the steddies, the milevens, the ones who are only focused on the story] and that there isn't a lot of communication between each corner. [i know that as a byler i almost never interact with the milevens, i've only ever spoken to milevens who went out of their way to be rude to me] it can be really cliquey sometimes, especially with the shipping war, but mostly it is just so much fun to be here. i feel like all the incredible fanart, the mutual freakouts over leaks, the support we give each other with fan works and art, the playlists we make together, the conversations and friendly debates we have, and the overall vibe here completely overshadows the occasional negative interaction.

but really, as long as you are kind, supportive, and open-minded, you will be welcomed here with open arms. [ and if you're new, say hi ! make friends ! we don't bite :3 ]

[humbledragon669]

S2E2 - The Clue Write Up P2 - London (Present Day) post credits up to the departure of Michael et al

I’ll jump straight in, seeing as that’s what happens in this episode as soon as the credits are finished, and I have a couple of things of note about this short scene in the record shop. Let’s have a little look at the background music first, shall we? Just in case you weren’t aware, it’s a Dusty Springfield song called “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”, and it’s really the lyrics to the first verse that have my interest:

When I said I needed you You said you would always stay It wasn't me who changed but you and now you've gone away Don't you see that now you've gone And I'm left here on my own That I have to follow you and beg you to come home

There’s something desperately heartbreaking (to me anyway) about these lyrics if you take them as potential foreshadowing of the Final 15. I feel like that might be a bit of a reach, though that’s largely to do with where it’s been placed in the timeline, and that we don’t really hear those lyrics very well unless we’re really paying attention. I think it’s more likely a nod to the way Maggie is feeling at that point in time, though the lyrics for the second verse are perhaps more appropriate for that:

You don't have to say you love me, just be close at hand You don't have to stay forever, I will understand Believe me, believe me, I can't help but love you But believe me, I'll never tie you down Left alone with just a memory Life seems dead and so unreal All that's left is loneliness, there's nothing left to feel

It’s not just the lyrics that make me feel that this subtext isn’t (for once) driven towards the hero couple. This particular verse kicks in good and proper (with a tiny uplift in volume so that we can make those lyrics out) exactly when we get a close up shot of Nina across the road, as Maggie is explaining her reason for not crying. And whilst we’re on the subject of crying, we’ve heard a very similar version of a snippet of this conversation before:

There are quite a few similarities between these two conversations - a male character observing a female one crying on their own territory, both of whom openly acknowledge that they have been crying, and accepting the social taboo that holds, whilst the male character appears unaware that acknowledging tears can cause a breaching of that same social taboo. With all that said, I don’t know what purpose that mirroring serves. I was asked not so long ago if I have ever noticed parallels between episodes in this very fashion, but this particular parallel ends with the themes - the timing of both conversations are in different episodes of each season and at different times in each episode. Parallels aside, I feel like Aziraphale’s reaction to Maggie’s tears is an interesting one - I mean, has he really never seen a human crying in his 6000 years of existence on Earth? The realisation that dawns on his face when Maggie has to guide him through the etiquette of the situation suggests that this really is new territory for him:

His face just keeps giving his inner thoughts away, because there’s quite the look of surprise on his face when he hears that Maggie and Nina were locked in the coffee shop together the previous evening, so Crowley has clearly forgotten to mention that particular faux pas to him (or perhaps “forgotten” might be more appropriate). And look how delighted he is when he finds out Maggie is in love:

Slight plot hole here, and we’re going back to season 1 again to see it.

AZIRAPHALE: There’s a very peculiar feeling to this whole area. I’m astonished you can’t feel it. […] Love. Flashes of love.

It’s a long way back I’ll grant you, but there was a time (in the second episode of the first season) that we were made to believe that Aziraphale could feel love. So why can’t he feel Maggie’s love for Nina? Perhaps she hides it too well? Or maybe she’s not really in love, or if she is, it isn’t that strong? Alternatively, does it have something to do with Aziraphale’s angelic abilities? Happy with his personal circumstances as they are, has he become less attuned to them? Or maybe even less able to use them? I don’t really have a feeling about which of these theories (if any of them) is most likely, and I’d be happy to hear any others that people are harbouring.

I also find Aziraphale’s reaction to Maggie’s request for advice pretty interesting.

MAGGIE: What am I going to do? AZIRAPHALE: (stammering) Can I get back to you on that? I think, right now, I’m a bit out of miracles.

Chill out mate, the poor woman just asked you for some advice, not for you to interfere using your Heavenly abilities (that she knows nothing about). I mean, I get that he doesn’t want to perform any miracles because he doesn’t want to attract any attention. Perhaps it says something about the way he deals with problems, believing that performing miracles is the only way that he can offer a solution? And that wording isn’t exactly the most empathetic thing to say to someone asking for love advice is it? I mean, if you take away the fact that he is referring to miracles in a very literal sense, what you’re left with is a sentence that sounds an awful lot like “you’d need a miracle to sort all of this stuff out, you’re in a right mess”. At least he manages to sound like he wants to help I suppose.

The address we see for The Resurrectionist pub is an interesting one, particularly in the context of this particular episode:

So let me just point out - “Goat Gate” is a fictional address in Edinburgh. Not just that number on Goat Gate, that entire street doesn’t exist at all. Which makes the choice of it being Goat Gate interesting, given how important goats will become later in this episode. I feel like there might be another subtextual link given the goat as a symbol of Satan, making the “66” part of the address pretty significant. I think this might be a rabbit hole that would be all too easy to fall down, so if anyone wants to take that and disappear into the void, please be my guest - for this blog, let’s just say it’s something of interest and move on.

Last item of note for this scene - I find Aziraphale’s reaction to the announcement of the arrival of the angels on Earth uncomfortably out of character. Sort of. Not that he reacts that way as such; I find his panic pretty appropriate. It’s the fact that he openly tells Maggie “they’re here”, and then goes on to ask he if she can “feel them”. She’s human. Why would she be aware of their presence? And why would he involve her in his distress? It would have felt much more appropriate to me if he had just bumbled some excuse and left in a hurry, there’s just something about these couple of lines of dialogue that don’t sit right with me.

Quick little point - how much of the panic on Aziraphale’s face when Jim declares it time for the bookselling to begin is because of the Gabriel situation and how much because Jim is actually trying to sell books?

I’m sure narratively it’s all the former, I just love the idea of the latter because we all know just how much worse that would have made everything; first the archangels arrive and now somebody has SOLD A BOOK. We wouldn’t need Armageddon or a Second Coming, this would probably have been the end of Aziraphale’s world right there.

There are a couple of things to note about this exchange regarding the “plume”. Firstly, Aziraphale doesn’t seem to be aware that there is such a thing. It makes me wonder what methods he thought Heaven were employing to detect miracles in the first place (after all, we know he’s been reprimanded for being too frivolous with them from his comments in 1793), and clearly he’s never been privy to witnessing one of these plumes in the past. Secondly, he appears to be surprised at the strength of the miracle that was performed. This stands to reason if we take the story as read - that he and Crowley have performed a miracle together. It would certainly be a surprise to know that the two of them could perform a miracle of such strength when performing it together. And that little scoff shows Seraqael certainly doesn’t believe that Aziraphale is capable of casting such a miracle himself. These last two observations do mean my meta about Crowley not doing anything takes a bit of a knock. Unless you include the possibility that Gabriel’s power was somehow tapped into and used during that miracle casting (which I do still consider a possibility, given the colour of the plume matches Gabriel’s archangel eyes). What is absolutely clear about this interaction between the Heavenly entities is that none of the visitors believe Aziraphale had anything to do with the miracle - they believe Gabriel did it and that Aziraphale is hiding him.

Easter egg time! Feels like it’s been a long time since we had one of these.

Another one of Terry’s books making it into the show, this time it’s the first in his Discworld series. I’m going to put my hands up here and admit to never having read them. I have tried, more than once, reading The Colour of Magic, but for whatever reason I just can’t get into it. Don’t hate me.

I feel like there is a special layer of lying being employed by Aziraphale in his rebuttals here - he’s just been told that the miracle that was cast was of phenomenal power. His response? “Oh yeah, I did that so a couple of humans could fall in love”. And it’s so obvious that he knows he’s on really thin ice here - we have some really classic mannerisms that tell us Aziraphale is panicking HARD. The stuttering, the exaggerated hand gestures. I’m pretty sure that if he didn’t have a record in one of his hands, they would be wringing away like the clappers - you can actually see that he repeatedly tries to bring his hands together but that darn EP just keeps getting in the way. Quick note: I find it interesting that he feels the need to explain to his guests what love is - whether this relates to what I was pondering earlier and the abilities of angels to feel love, or whether it’s more an indication of his personal opinion of their abilities as compassionate beings I couldn’t say.

Another Easter egg (sort of):

Alright, so this is probably less of an Easter egg, more of an interesting morsel of information. “The Wicked Bible” is the book that Jim uses to try and kill the fly with. This is a real edition of the Bible, so called because of an unfortunate typo that states that the seventh commandment reads “Thou shalt commit adultery”. I don’t know that it has any subtextual meaning to the storyline, but it’s a cool little piece of religious trivia - shelve it away, it might come up in a pub quiz one day 😉

Whatever you believe about the miracle that was performed to hide Gabriel, it’s obvious that Aziraphale is far from convinced that it worked:

This is the face of an angel who is genuinely in fear of what’s about to happen. This expression actually got me to wondering how different Aziraphale’s reaction to the arrival of Michael et al is to Gabriel’s arrival. For a start, he tries to send Gabriel away, yet this three he invites in, without any sort of prompt or threat. He even has a very compelling reason for not allowing Michael, Uriel, and Seraqual into the bookshop at this point - Jim. I made the argument that Aziraphale didn’t really seem to be frightened of Gabriel when he arrived in episode one - I’m of a mind that his contrasting behaviour with the three visiting angels in this episode backs that up.

I’m going to end this part (and yes, this has been a little on the short side for me, but we have THAT pub scene coming up, and I just don’t think I can tag it on to the end of what I’ve already done in this section) with a little chapeau, and this one goes to the lovely Mickey Ralph, who I understand is responsible for the article we see Aziraphale reading. Here’s the original:

As I understand it, Mickey was responsible for the translation of that article into multiple different languages, using the translations to produce authentic-looking newspaper articles from other counties. There’s a little write up that you can read about it here. I don’t think I’ve talked about my love of the level of attention to detail specifically in this season just yet, but this tiny detail absolutely reminded me of it. These newspaper articles must have taken a fair amount of time and effort to produce, are only seen for a fraction of a second, and yet make the scene feel so much richer for their presence. Amazing work Mickey, thank you.

And on that positive note, I’ll wrap this part up. I had hoped to get to the next chunk of the minisode but I should know better than that by now, shouldn’t I? As always, questions, comments, discussion: always welcome. See you for the next one! 😊

[hamliet]

How does "AFO gave Tenko Decay" theory being confirmed takes away from Tomura's agency? I'm just trying to understand your point of view. Of course, AFO is saying that none of the decisions Tomura made were his own, but that's simply an exaggeration of what we already knew. We already knew that AFO groomed him and that he was the reason Tenko saw the world in a certain way and why killing was a normal thing to him. And we knew that AFO expected Tomura to wish for more power. So what changed? AFO didn't make people on the streets ignore Tenko, didn't manipulate heroes into not seeing villains as people, and he didn't manipulate Tomura into wanting to destroy everything instead of becoming the new king of the underworld. Tomura made the decision to kill all heroes and destroy Japan. AFO being the one who created Tomura, which we already knew for years, doesn't really take away from the fact that it was Tomura who hurt and killed all those people. And if it does somehow take away from his villainy and the fact that he was the one who decided that he wanted to lash out at the world, shouldn't have people complained about this years prior to this? Because AFO being the main reason for Tomura being a villain was made obvious a very long time ago.

Same person as in the ask about Tomura's villainy not being taken away from. Forgot to add, but we have characters that did bad things and did mean them but are still should be treated as people - Dabi and Toga. None of their agency was taken away. Dabi chose to kill people fully aware, no agency being taken away here. Same with Toga. AFO never was their behind their villainy, he's only the reason why Touya survived. AFO is being sympathised with - through Yoichi. Who is the only one who was genuinelly upset seeing his brother die, and who is the only person AFO ever actually loved in his own way. The only person all of this OFA hunt and vessel-raising was done for, from AFO's perspective. Redemption, atonement and salvation are something one has to want, it's a choice someone has to make. He is treated as this Evil because AFO had all the opportunities to change and never took them. He can't trust people because it would mean giving away something from himself. He is someone who got stuck with emotional maturity of a toddler and could never make the right choice - and it's not his fault. The narration from his backstory is very much sympathetic too.

You're welcome to disagree with me, Anon. But the irony is that you're stating exactly my problem with it: that it's

simply an exaggeration of what we already knew.

Although I'd argue it's more like shooting a spider in terms of exaggeration. Like, there's escalation, and then there's "are you okay" levels of exaggeration. And when you have an exaggeration to this level, you better have a good reason for it. That spider had better be hoping to end the world. But here... that's not the case.

My main point is that: if it doesn't add anything to a story, it shouldn't be there. Yeah, that's harsh, and enjoyment is something added, etc. But, at its most stringent, a plot twist must add something to the story--to its meaning, to illuminate the past chapters, etc. This doesn't do that, which you're kind of even pointing out yourself. And it's such a big reveal, given a horror factor, that it doesn't work to just ignore it either.

I think AFO literally orchestrating Tenko's BIRTH is like... so out of the realm of "grooming." It's into the realm of "defies reasonability and is almost laughable." It's not a parallel or commentary on real life society with subtext, which BNHA has tried to maintain for a long time. Instead it's like... it's such an escalation that it shatters immersion.

What does this add to the narrative? Honestly, it adds nothing that we didn't already know and makes what we already knew "oh wait not actually the most important part," and hence it's not a good reveal.

Like, it wasn't foreshadowed. Was anyone thinking that AFO had orchestrated Shigaraki's birth? It wasn't really implied at all. The quirk thing was implied, but this is just... a dramatic escalation.

It adds nothing in a subtext sense either. Predators irl seek out children who are vulnerable. They don't orchestrate literally everything from creating their very existence by urging their parents to have kids.

The funny thing is that I'm not actually opposed in theory. But in execution, it's bad. See, as much as I'm saying "this is ridiculous," it's because the story as set up didn't set this up.

It could work much better as commentary on social realities like the Todoroki quirk marriage. However, as is, it's nonsensical given that we know AFO was looking at other kids as possibilities. So it also has a whiff of retcon. Again, it could have worked if the story had played more into the god complex or hinted that Kotaro was being manipulated or whatnot. But BNHA hasn't done either of those things. So again I ask, why?

Thematically, one of my favorite aspects of BNHA is society's nuanced flaws. Yes, the flaws that hurt Shig all still happened. Tenko was still ignored. So if society is a problem, then why does Horikoshi need to portray one geriatric dude with a weird interest in strangers' sex lives as the entire reason Shigaraki even exists? Does this add to that theme? It does not.

It adds nothing beyond making it a moral necessity to save Shigaraki.

We also don't have any hint that we're not to take it at face value or to think it's a distortion; Deku isn't challenging him on this. It'd be easy to throw something like that in there, but it's not there.

Anyways, this is my opinion. You're welcome to disagree, and like I said, I'm still cheering for Shigaraki.