Sort of random rambling nonsense but you’re the person with the closest opinions to my own I think (you even have a Clarke url and she’s still my favorite ever!) so apologies if it comes off bitter and unhinged BUT. I love byler, prefer it even, as a ship because I love Will and the childhood best friends trope sucks me in every time, but the fandom is literally insane and I can’t stand it. I think it’s because I’m in my 20s and a lot of them are teens but some of the behavior is just inexcusable honestly? “El has to be independent” horrible takes everywhere, Mike HAS to be gay (which is just biphobia most of the time), Will will NEVER be happy unless he’s with Mike and never moves on, Mike only liked El because she had no hair and looked like a boy at first, etc. Don’t even get me started on the “proofs” that get so unhinged that I genuinely wonder if some of them are ok—today I saw one comparing a shot from the Suzie scenes to the last supper painting???? And even though I am neutral on mileven it’s clear that’s what they’re going with so all of this absolute byler endgame certainty everywhere also baffles me. The thing is, I find the ship adorable still, but I really wish the stans could get a collective reality check because they’re embarrassing and obnoxious and sometimes. I wonder how they could’ve watched vol2 and not realized they’re telling the unrequited love angle in canon and can just make transformative content to alleviate that in fanon. /end vent
OH ANON I LOVED THIS ASK SO MUCH, thank u for sharing how you’re feeling and i can just say: SAME, FUCKING SAME. first i’m gonna say something if u know me/my account, u should know that i was (i think i still am, i’m just on....hiatus) a hardcore byler shipper since 2016/season 1, when this ship used to be a crackship and a joke for many people, it was TOUGH back then, i’ve been loving them for years, bc just like u said: childhood friends to lovers is amazing, it’s one of my favorite tropes ever, i have many other ships like this... and just like u said i also love will, i LOVE will, with all my heart (i’m a willelsteve stan since 2016), and now about the fandom i’ll say, it was understandable having hope before vol 2, the whole mike not saying i love you to el was a bit weird to me and to the rest of the fandom, my account before and after vol 2 is two different accounts lmao, before vol 2 i was being hopeful, i made some gifsets with theories and all, i thought that the only way the story would make sense was if byler happened/mileven break up, but after vol 2 something changed, it was like if something finally clicked you know? every missing part, every doubt, every confusion i had disappeared and things became cristal clear to me, and i sit and thought about everything that happened in season 4 and the past seasons and i finally took my byler shipper glasses off and i saw how naive i was being, also a little dumb lmao, u don’t need to be smart af or understand everything about media to know that the direction byler is going is the unrequited one, byler actually never stood a chance, mike and will’s relationship was important to will for him to find out he is gay, it’s actually a little cliche i know but it makes sense, if it wasn’t mike it would have been lucas, or dustin, but since mike is will’s best friend it was him, and it makes sense will would fall in love with the first person to show him kindness and was friendly, we all know how caring mike can be with him, so it makes sense, i can talk about myself like i find out i was bisexual bc i fell in love with my best friend, and spoiler alert we didn’t work, but i will always be grateful for her because i was able to find out who i am (insert the i know what u are meme here lmao), which i think is the same for will, this is the story the duffers are telling, this is part of will’s storyline.... now let’s go to some topics:
the “el has to be independent” take: BULLSHIT, i think if u have been watching the show u should know that el, just like joyce and nancy are independent af, el was away from mike in s2 and she had adventures by HERSELF to find out who she is, to find out about her powers, her mom, etc....in season 3 she also had adventures by herself and max, and in season 4 we saw her again going back to the lab by herself to figure stuff out and get her powers back.......so as we can see, ELEVEN IS INDEPENDENT, but at the end of the day she always comes back to mike bc she’s IN LOVE with him and people need to accept that, it doesn’t make her weak or not independent, it’s part of who she is, she’s in love, female characters can be in love and independent, they don’t have to pick one, they can have BOTH. PERIOD.
the “mike has to be gay” ............sigh.......... tbh anon i’m tired of talking about this, i’ve already talked about how the byler fandom can be biphobic af sometimes which is one of the reasons why i’m.....distant from them now, so i’m not gonna speak about this again, just know that if u don’t think that mike ever had any romantic feelings for el ur literally embarrassing urself, he’s not confused or anything, mike was created in love with el.... let’s talk about mike btw, remember how i said that after vol 2 something clicked? so mike is part of this, mike has SO MUCH overlooked trauma and people don't even realize it, el’s “death” is season 1 marked him for good, and everything we are watching now is the result of this trauma, season 2 is not the “best mike season” like people say, mike was depressed, going through pstd, he literally says to will that he thought he was going crazy, and after all that sadness he finds out el is alive again and WOW, it was like he finally could breath again, we can see in his eyes, the longing, the sadness, the relief..... and just like that he had to let her go again so she could save the world ONCE AGAIN, and he was so scared, he was crying and he made her promise to him that she would be back..... and then we have season 3, el can’t leave her house bc you know my baby girl is wanted in 65656564 countries lmao so #GIRLBOSS of her if u ask me, so mike has to go to her house to spend time with her since she cant leave her house that much or go to public places, and that makes him be distant from his friends for a little bit but can we blame him? like i know that he could manage his time better but lets not forget that hes also a kid KDJGSNJDKGNKJGNSG like he was what? 13? in season 3? do u really expect a 13 year old to know EVERYTHING? but people say “lucas can do that with max just fine” first max it’s not el, like i said el is wanted in 545645645 countries, it’s easy to manage ur time with ur friends/girlfriend when ur girlfriend can hang out with u all the time, like lucas can take max to watch movies, mike can’t, anyways you know what i mean, this is getting too long so i will link u to these posts where i talked about mike and mileven and how i think his storyline makes sense in s4 here and here, the show have been telling us about mike’s insecurity and fear about losing el for seasons now, but we weren’t paying attention....
and finally the “Will will NEVER be happy unless he’s with Mike and never moves on” BIG SIGH, i said it once and i’ll say it again: DON’T REDUCE WILL DOWN TO HIS FEELINGS FOR MIKE, JUST DON’T, it’s part of him? YES, but it’s not everything about him as a character, the whole “Will will only be happy if he’s with mike” is such bullshit bc idk if u noticed but will already lived without mike, bc he never had mike to begin with, you can't lose something you never had, if we could take away the trauma from the upside down off him we could see that will can be happy just by being next to his friends, to his family, tbh i feel like will’s storyline is about growing up, being able to love and accept himself and understand that he’s loved, he’s not a mistake or a freak, that’s will’s character, and i hope more than anything that my baby boy can learn how to love himself and finally be free, el kind of had the same stuff in season 4 too, when she finally stand up to her abuser and said she’s not the monster, ofc it’s still a working in progress bc she blames herself for max now but is still something, and i want will to have that too.
and FINALLY the “proofs” i’ll just say: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i’m sorry jfkgnkdjnsdkjgndksjgndkgnskjgndkjgn i laugh so much everytime i read their theories, they are so unserious, they are queerbating themselves and they don't even realize that, they DO need a reality check asap.... but hey whatever makes them happy i just hope they're not assholes when none of this happens
ok i already talked too much, bottom line is: ship whatever u want, whatever u love, byler is such a sweet ship, they are cute af (the fandom is nasty tho), but we all know this is not the direction the show is going and as long as you know that....be free, u can ship non canon ships you know, shipping is not about canon or endgames, is about a dynamic u love no matter what. and we know that will has feelings for mike and like u said we can work with that, i know it’s sad when ur favorite pairing it’s not canon but what can i say? it happens, i have many non canon ships and i still adore them more than anything in the world.
(i'm sorry if there are any typos, i’m sleepy af)
4 notes
·
View notes
this is just my opinion but i think any good media needs obsession behind it. it needs passion, the kind of passion that's no longer "gentle scented candle" and is now "oh shit the house caught on fire". it needs a creator that's biting the floorboards and gnawing the story off their skin. creators are supposed to be wild animals. they are supposed to want to tell a story with the ferocity of eating a good stone fruit while standing over the sink. the same protective, strange instinct as being 7 and making mud potions in pink teacups: you gotta get weird with it.
good media needs unhinged, googling-at-midnight kind of energy. it needs "what kind of seams are invented on this planet" energy and "im just gonna trust the audience to roll with me about this" energy. it needs one person (at least) screaming into the void with so much drive and energy that it forces the story to be real.
sometimes people are baffled when fanfic has some stunning jaw-dropping tattoo-it-on-you lines. and i'm like - well, i don't go here, but that makes sense to me. of fucking course people who have this amount of passion are going to create something good. they moved from a place of genuine love and enjoyment.
so yeah, duh! saturday cartoons have banger lines. random street art is sometimes the most precious heart-wrenching shit you've ever seen. someone singing on tiktok ends up creating your next favorite song. youtubers are giving us 5 hours of carefully researched content. all of this is the impossible equation to latestage capitalism. like, you can't force something to be good. AI cannot make it good. no amount of focus-group testing or market research. what makes a story worth listening to is that someone cares so much about telling it - through dance, art, music, whatever it takes - that they are just a little unhinged about it.
one time my friend told me he stayed up all night researching how many ways there are to peel an orange. he wrote me a poem that made me cry on public transportation. the love came through it like pith, you know? the words all came apart in my hands. it tasted like breakfast.
3K notes
·
View notes
invisible scars (referenced previous talk here)
[ID: A colourless, digital Trigun comic of Vash and Wolfwood talking about Wolfwood's scars. They're both laying in bed and topless. Vash lays on top of Wolfwood, playing with the rosary around his neck. Then, Vash kisses a spot on Wolfwood's chest. Wolfwood asks, "What are you doing?" Vash smiles sadly, "You got shot here. In the last town we visited. You didn't even bother moving."
Vash props himself up over Wolfwood, who frowns slightly. Wolfwood is quiet for a moment before he says, "You remember that, huh?" Vash grabs Wolfwood's left wrist and brings it to his face. "And here." He kisses another spot there. "When you helped free the hostages from that robber..." Wolfwood dismissively says, looking away, "Was a lucky shot." Vash huffs, “Don’t brag. Jeez.”
Half of Wolfwood's expression is shown, eyes returning to Vash who is now sitting up, continuing to say, "And..." Vash goes on and kiss Wolfwood's right palm. "You got cut here, even though that girl was aiming at me." A moment from the past flashes, of Wolfwood grabbing a knife aimed at Vash, his hand bleeding.
At present, Vash moves down and puts another kiss on Wolfwood's right shoulder. "And here, from watching my back." Another memory flashes of Wolfwood and Vash back to back. Vash looks back as Wolfwood grins while holding Punisher, bleeding from multiple gunshots in his shoulder.
"And," Vash combs up Wolfwood's hair to reveal his forehead, "Here." A final memory shows Wolfwood with a regeneration vial in his mouth while getting shot on his temple. The next panel is framed in blood with Vash at the center, eyes wide and stunned in horror. The next panel is a closed up shot of Wolfwood's eye, locked on Vash's face.
Back to present, Vash’s head is bowed down as Wolfwood raises a hand to his nape and says, “Spikey.”
Wolfwood looks serious and frowns as he says, "We talked about this. Those were my decisions. They're not there anymore. Forget about them." Vash looks very sad before he smiles ruefully and says, "I still see them. All the time." He leans down so they touch foreheads. Wolfwood’s sorrowful expression can be seen as Vash says, "You protect so much. I could never forget what you've done to me. And many others..."
In the last image, they're drawn more cartoonishly. Wolfwood sweats and asks, "You don't actually remember every wound, right?" Vash points at a spot on his chest. "Kuroneko left a scratch here 7 times." Wolfwood, startled, says, "Why the hell are you keeping count—" End ID]
Credits for ID here and here
4K notes
·
View notes
soon it'll be dawn again
transcript under the cut ⏬
page 01
Fig: no way? - you're still up?
Riz: Wh– yes?
Riz: Why'd I not be.
page 02
Fig: I me~~ean - that took.
Fig: whole day.
Riz: Yeah?
Fig: 'm beat.
Riz: you should sleep.
page 03
Fig: nah. my guy's still up
Fig: I wanna hang out.
page 04
Riz: That's really nice.
Fig: Hah! - Nobody ever expects an Archdevil rockstar to be nice.
Riz: … yeah. - 's just budget work tho. (the stuff I'm working on) - I've heard it's boring.
page 05
Fig: yeah, but you do it…
Riz: It keeps things going, right? - Nothing happens if nobody sits down and - does the thing.
Fig: That's right… - though. Yeah.
page 06
Fig: sometimes it's someone else who - doesn't want the same thing to happen.
Riz: … - mm.
page 07
Riz (off screen): …It took me a long time to get that not everyone likes doing what I do. - 's probably because you guys are so nice– - or. - kind.
Riz (off screen): to anyone too, not just. - the people you /love/.
page 08
Riz: that's not how it is elsewhere. - The world's– not. hostile. - but 's not like it's kind.
Riz: So I'm doing as much as I can now…
page 09
Fig: Hey.
Riz: ?
Fig: Go dig some dirt with me.
page 10
Riz: [blank speech bubble] - oh you meant like - actual dirt. (not incriminating information)
Fig: o yea.
Fig: there's clay in the backyard soil. - sometimes when I'm sun deficient or something I go touch dirt for a bit.
page 11
Fig: here u go
page 12
Riz: uh
Fig: now we make a thing! - 'm pretty good at freehanding a bowl.
Fig: I'll show u
page 13
Fig: just– yep, flatten that out as evenly as u can, then–! - actually ur nails'd be so good at cutting out the strip. [larger than usual space] wait. - wait. wait u can carve patterns with them! we HAVE to try
Riz: uh - What. do I carve?
Fig: anything!!!
page 14
Fig: and– yep just seal the inside uh. seam?
Fig: yep that works - okay time's up! all contestant hands up
Riz: [blank speech bubble] - okay - wh. what's next?
Fig: haha - watch this.
(sound effect text): FWOO—MP
page 15
Riz: WH– DON'T JUST DO THAT???
Fig: Now it's fired!
Riz: THAT WAS NOT SAFE
Fig: (actually it's just dry. if u add water rn it'll dissolve)
Fig: ok catch!
Riz: [blank speech bubble] - careful!!
Fig: dw no need haha
page 16
Riz (thought bubble): oh - it's warm…
Fig: now I want you to throw this.
page 17
Fig: u gotta do it - c'mon
page 18
Riz: wh– - It's like 3AM right now
Fig: oh it's not /fired/ fired it's not gonna make a loud noise
Riz: And then just? leave a pile out here?
Fig: pour water over it & it'll be gone I told u
Riz: but
page 19
Fig (off screen): RIz.
page 20
Fig: I've done all this before.
Fig: Can you trust that at least?
page 21
Riz: no, I– - I do. - I trust you.
page 23
Riz: okay what happens now
(sound effect text): glob
page 24
Fig: we do it again!
page 25
Riz: wh. [larger than usual space] What do you mean. (this clay's too wet also)
Fig: see! you're already learning
Fig: [blank speech bubble] - there are flows that are futile to fight. - The world changes.
Fig: Things change.
page 26
Fig: I've learned my lessons with "forevers". - But - as an artist
Fig: I can give you one thing: - You can always do it again.
page 27
Fig: most of everything depends on the rest of the world, - but this. - making new. - that's yours as long as you want it.
page 28
Fig: So?
page 29
Riz: Yeah. - Yeah! - let's make another one.
2K notes
·
View notes