#mike's media tab

[mike-dobukai]

Thank you, Charles Martinet, for all the years!

[ilovecharts]

Friends, hello. Perhaps you've been wondering what your old pals from I Love Charts have been up to for the past ... decade or so.

Well, would it interest you to hear that one of the things we got up to was making an audio-first production company, Charts & Leisure?

Yeah, I agree — that's only marginally interesting. But one of the podcasts we are making, in fact launching, this very week might be interesting to you.

It's called Never Post, and it's a member-supported, employee-owned podcast about and for the internet. We want to talk about how we love this place and are frustrated by it and want to be good community members within it.

Never Post's host is the internet's own Mike Rugnetta. You know him!

It's produced by deeply brilliant people (with experience at The New York Times, Spotify and other such places), one mysterious anonymous producer and me, Jason Oberholtzer, for whatever that is worth.

We have two episodes up! Please consider giving a listen.

Episode Zero is a special table-setting roundtable conversation about creating independent media with Gita Jackson (Aftermath), Alex Sujong Laughlin (Defector Media), and Rusty Foster (Today in Tabs). You know these people!

Episode One is a proper episode format, covering the disappearance of tween-specific fashion trends, and the epidemic of Posting Disease plaguing social media. Bijan Stephen is on that one and you know him too!

I hope you all have been well. It's nice to be here with you. I hope this show helps.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Is that really JuanaFlippa?

Based on everything we know right now, the answer is "no"

What's more likely is that this is a Binary Monster pretending to be JuanaFlippa.

On a meta level, we know the admins of dead QSMP Eggs said they won't reprise their roles, but it's no fun to base lore analysis on meta alone, so here's a lore explanation for my reasoning:

First, and perhaps the most obvious explaination: JuanaFlippa never had cracks in her shell. She died long before the event where all the Eggs got kidnapped and were returned with cracked shells, yet this "JuanaFlippa" had cracks. What's interesting to note here is that during the Election Dinner when the fake Chayanne and Tallulah tried to trick Phil, he immediately pointed out that they didn't have cracks in their shell while the real Chayanne and Tallulah did. Perhaps the imposter was trying to overcompensate for their previous mistake by adding cracks to JuanaFlippa's shell not realizing that she never had them in the first place.

The reason why I specifically say this is a Binary Monster is because of the signs she left:

We've already seen the Binary Monster(s) try to replicate regular non-binary writing before when Etoiles encountered the fake Dapper and fake Tallulah (the book he showed Forever pictured below):

"My Dapper me na name" —> "My name is Dapper"

We know the Codes are constantly evolving and learning, so naturally their writing is getting better too (though we can clearly see 1s and 0s and other errors in "Flippa's" signs despite this).

But what's the Code's motivation in doing this?

In the past, we saw the Code(s) mimic Eggs because they wanted to attack and kill Presidential candidates— but that's a pretty recent development. Remember: before the elections, they were attacking the Eggs (though they also attacked Maximus and Cellbit at one point). The motivations of the Binary Monster(s) has always been unclear, and there's a lot of potential roads we could go down while theorizing, but in the interest of keeping this as relevant to the current discussion as possible, I'll focus on just one:

We have strong evidence to believe that the Binary Monster didn't want Islanders to stay on the island. It kept attacking the Eggs and leaving behind signs that said "Last Warning," strongly implying that it was trying to chase them away.

HOWEVER: shortly before the elections, QSMPGlobal tweeted an image of the Binary Monster above the Federation building.

[ Note: I thought I had this photo saved, but I didn't. I've been scrolling through their media tab for 5 minutes and Twitter crashed, so I'll have to add this photo later. It’s very late and I am so so tired. ]

This is the first time the Federation acknowledged the existence of the Binary Monster, and afterward, it said Islanders wouldn't need to worry about it attacking them. Why would the Federation suddenly acknowledge this physical embodiment of a mistake, an error, on their (supposedly) perfect Island?

The answer? The Federation took control of the Binary Monster. Why else would they suddenly deem it "not a threat"?

We could clearly see the Binary Monster deteriorating over time during the election arc. It looked shabbier and shabbier as time went on during the election arc. Something was clearly wrong with it (perhaps whatever the Federation was doing to control it hurt the Code in some way? Maybe the Federation experimented on it and made their own Binary Monsters?) But I digress-

The next time we see the Binary Monster after the Election ends is on Tazercraft's recent stream this week. Not only does it have a new upgrade (the strange OP sword Cellbit + Etoiles saw records of), it also ignores Richarlyson and opts to take a swing at Pac and Mike instead.

Now here's where things get really weird.

Earlier this week, we also saw the Binary Monster on Etoiles' stream. It didn't attack him, and instead leads him to a sharestone, which teleported him to a portal. He's given this image, then is kicked from the QSMP with the message: "The Nether Awaits."

So what does this have to do with JuanaFlippa?

...Well, that's the question, isn't it?

This is where things start getting murkier. I want to draw our attention to two specific things Flippa said before she left:

"It's not safe out there for me."

"Please keep this a secret."

The Binary Monster has already proven time and time again it's a force to be reckoned with. Why would it need to hide? Is it so that it can get closer to Charlie? (And if so, why? To mimic him? To get information?) I think a likelier answer is that the Binary Monster is trying to hide from the Federation itself.

Perhaps whatever the Federation did to shackle it— whether they experimented on it or copied it or whatever— left it damaged and weak. Or perhaps it isn't damaged at all; it just needs to lay low and needs someone else to do its dirty work for it (like sending Etoiles on a quest to find that strange shield in the Nether).

Unfortunately, a lot of this amounts to speculation because we simply don't have enough information yet. (It's also very very very late for me, so this analysis is purely driven by sleep-deprived madness and love for QSMP lore and JuanaFlippa).

Whatever's going on, we need to be very careful and think carefully about this being's motivations. Like Cellbit said: "Eyes always open."

Anyways, feel free to share your thoughts in the tags or comments or whatever, it's always fun hearing what people think of my analysis posts. You can find other analysis posts in my QSMP Info and QSMP talk tag.

[burrcapts]

Puffing Past Your Prime

Oh man, Zach just loved whenever this happened! Ever since their social media app took off and reached top 5 most downloaded in the whole country people started inviting him to spots like this all the time. Was this one some posh restaurant? Cafe? Gentleman's club? Honestly, he had no idea, he simply received an email the other day from one of their investors that the people here asked about him and would like him to become a regular member. 

Naturally Zach had zero real interest in bougie crap like that, but usually he actually found it kind of funny to see the reactions of all those stuck up old men in suits whenever they saw him strutting into their elite clubs wearing nothing other than a t-shirt and a pair of old jeans with holes in them. More than once some of those pricks even tried to have him kicked out. But the staff at establishments like this seemed to be quite good at keeping tabs on the guests’ net worth so often they ended up sucking up to him rather than the old farts.

The waiters here were giving off a somewhat different vibe though… If Zach hadn't noticed that those few men who were always on the move, carrying trays around were wearing bow ties rather than neckties, he definitely wouldn't have been able to tell them apart from the regular guests! Places like this often looked kind of samey with everyone being old and wearing boring suits, but this was like a whole next level!

Zach had only just realized, but holy crap, there hasn't been a single person in the entire room who didn't have a ridiculously huge beard! He hadn't shaved since last week so technically maybe he was included in this, but his definitely wasn't as grey or white as theirs! The shades of their beards, the levels of baldness and the colors of their suits was pretty much the only thing that differentiated each one of them!

But one other interesting thing was that they were all smoking pipes! Even the waiters were having a puff while moving around and chatting with the guests. Did Mike forget to mention that this was some super exclusive spot for pipe smokers? Whatever… honestly, the thing that Zach found the most annoying was how nobody seemed to be paying much attention to him here. He purposely tried to be as loud and obnoxious as possible, unmuting his phone and playing that dumb farming video game that was right ahead of them in most app stores. Yet even then, the best reaction he got was some of them briefly looking at him with amused faces for a moment before returning to their previous activities and conversations.

“Good day, I sincerely apologize for the delay in attending to you Mr Bennett. My name is Theodore and I am the director of hospitality at our establishment. We are so delighted that you could pay us a visit today. I assure you that our staff will do everything in our power to make your induction to the club a truly exceptional experience!”

Just when Zach was starting to consider bailing out of here those two guys appeared right in front of him seemingly out of nowhere! The one speaking in an eloquent and surprisingly resonant voice was ridiculously huge, tall as hell, with a colossal belly like pretty much all of them. While somewhat shorter yet definitely still quite decently overweight one, standing a few steps behind him must have been a subordinate of his. 

Zach began to explain that this was a misunderstanding because he had no interest whatsoever  in joining their club or anything, but despite the very hospitable and eloquent welcome neither of them seemed to be paying much attention to whatever he said as they talked between each other.

“Shall I fetch one of the pipes, Sir?”

“Oh, naturally Sebastian, forthwith!”

“What kind, Sir?”

“Mmm… I surmise that one of the sluttier variety might be the most suitable for Mr Bennett, then he will naturally feel inclined to introduce numerous new, virile members to our association so they could fuck his slutty hole on the regular. Oh… one moment… yes, while I would certainly prefer him on the heavyset side so that ass of his grows truly colossal, why don't we also make him into a bit of a cum guzzling cock whore while we’re at it? Let's ensure that he always has either the stem of a pipe or a huge, turgid fuckstick between his lips! Do you think you can find a suitable one Sebastian?”

“Certainly Sir, I will return with one promptly!”

Hearing this guy say all those perverted, ridiculous things in the exact, same cultivated and graceful Männer as if he was some kind of a sommelier talking about an expensive bottle of wine would have been quite hilarious if his body language didn't make it immediately obvious that he wasn't planning on letting Zach leave until the other waiter was back. It was only now that all those old farts who were sitting all around were finally turning their heads towards him, watching the scene with utmost fascination.

Zach shouted at them to get the security because this guy was totally crazy but nobody budged at all. Rather than being concerned they seemed to find him freaking out so much more endearing than anything. When it became clear that they were all in on it too, Zach pulled out his phone and warned that huge guy that if he didn't let him go, he would call the cops.

Only then, something that temporarily broke Zach's brain proceeded to take place. Theodore took a deep puff from his pipe and then exhaled a tiny cloud of smoke towards Zach's hand that was holding the phone. It was just small enough to completely obscure it and even though Zach knew it was merely just smoke he instinctively tried to clutch the phone tighter within his fingers, only to find them clenching into fist! What the hell?! He waved the smoke away but his hand was completely empty!!!

“What the fuck?! How did you do that?!”

“Please Mr Bennett, turning a cellphone into a puff of smoke is merely a small parlor trick. Very soon you will have a chance to witness a far more impressive metamorphosis… Oh, would you look at that, Sebastian is already approaching with your pipe right on time!”

At that moment Zach remembered thinking it was kind of strange how this guy phrased it as ‘his pipe’ but as he caught a glimpse of what the other waiter was carrying on a tray, he understood straight away. It stood there, right on top of a highly adorned, golden stand, his pipe! It was like love at first sight. He never even thought about smoking one before but now they were going to be, no, they already were, completely inseparable! Its stem was placed between his teeth first thing in the morning and only left its rightful spot when he was ready to fall asleep!

A jovial, cheerful laughter spread across the room at the immediate change in Zach's demeanor as though all those men were now recalling some very fond memory of their own. On some level he understood that what was going on right now was totally crazy, but as if under some kind of a magical spell, he couldn't help himself when Theodore offered the pipe to him. 

Even thanking the man when he offered him a lit match so he could puff the pipe to life. Which Zach proceeded to do without a slightest hitch like a seasoned smoker. That also surprised him, but there wasn't much of a chance to ask himself why he knew how to do it so expertly because as soon as it was lit, he found himself greedily sucking on the stem and moaning in blissful pleasure. 

Oh gosh, he knew that this was his first time ever, but he felt like a drug addict getting his fix. It was just delightful, such a rich flavor! Sebastian always picked out only the finest tobacco! Zach moaned again, he was in heaven, his head was swimming as he started feeling warm and so… profoundly turned on! If he hadn't been in public, he would have already been reaching for his cock, but then again, so many of the men sitting around them already had theirs out and were merrily stroking while laying back in their big, leather armchairs and puffing along.

Sebastian was pitching a huge tent in his slacks and even Theodore was fondling himself with a satisfied smile. Zach noticed that, the first thought that popped into his head was how much he hoped they would pull them out soon so he could suck them both dry the moment he was finished with this bowl. Mmm, he just loved sucking off the other sexy gents at the club, he was such a cum guzzling cock whore and absolutely proud of it! 

Zach was just about to ask them to stop teasing him and whip them out next when he suddenly realized that he'd heard those words before. ‘Cum guzzling cock whore', that's what Theodore had said when he was instructing Sebastian what pipe he should fetch! Holy shit!

Now that the shivers started running down his spine at the terrifying, unbelievable implications of all of this and the abrupt shock partially outweighed the still persisting horniness flooding his head. Zach had the chance to take notice of just how uncomfortably tight his clothes were feeling right now. He'd managed to peel his eyes away from the bearded waiters’ sizable bulges, only to immediately regret it as he discovered a massive  gut sticking out from underneath his shirt.

Not only was it extremely hirsute, but all of the body fur was completely white! It made him look like some ridiculously fat grandpa! His shirt was rolling up so much that it could be mistaken for the top half of a bikini, which seemed awfully suitable because Zach could see it stretching over a pair of absolutely enormous man boobs!

As his eyes grew wide in disbelief, he instinctively took a deep puff from the pipe to calm his nerves, only to find the belly instantaneously swelling even further in size. The shirt splitting at the front and letting his huge, chubby tits to flop down on it like on top of a wide, spacious shelf. God… he was so fucking hot! Those were the first words that appeared in Zach's head, and for the life of him, he couldn't bring himself to deny them.

Somehow in mere moments since putting this pipe in his mouth, an old, fat, bearded man became his absolute ideal of beauty. Zach saw how wonderfully chubby his fingers were now and after admiring the soft, white hairs growing on each knuckle, brought them closer to his mouth. Much to his delight he discovered it surrounded by copious amounts of silky, delicate facial fur. He took a deep inhale and then began gently blowing the smoke into his palm, as if trying to catch it and massage it into his beard. Loving the feeling of it growing longer and more luxuriant between his fingers. Oh god… what was happening to him?! Why couldn't he stop?!

“What the fuck have you done to me?!”

Zach cried out before inevitably returning to exploring his growing and expanding body practically right away. One hand caressing his belly while the other reached for his swollen cock, completely overcome by pleasure.

“Nothing that any of us hadn't experienced when we were first initiated into the club, Mr Bennett. It is quite an honor, while our plans are to ideally connect all men worldwide to their destined pipes one day, understandably we first needed to prioritize those with the means to help us achieve that goal…”

He instantly understood why those bastards had invited him here. It was about his social media site! They wanted to use it to spread this shit… and make more sexy, pipe smoking gents… Zach felt a sinking feeling in his stomach when he realized that he was already thinking of all the different features they could implement in the future to spark an interest in their pipes in every single man who had ever registered. And he knew that once they had their first puff, it would then remain as their habit forever.

No… he couldn’t… and yet he was tugging on his cock even faster now, taking deeper and deeper puffs of smoke, finding it so marvelous how those big, hazy plumes were slowly escaping from between his lips whenever he parted them. He was sure that his users were going to find it just as enchanting too once he tweaks the algorithm a little and makes sure that their feeds are filled with nothing but videos and pictures of sexy, bearded gents having a puff as they play with their meat.

The temptation to join them soon becoming truly irresistible, but for that they will of course need a pipe of their own. Zachary moaned in profound arousal, knowing full well that even if a few were to, by some miracle manage to keep themselves from outright ordering one free of charge from their special internet store, they still had collected enough metadata on all of them to ensure that one would be waiting at their doorstep the following day anyway.

Mmm… Zachary couldn’t take this… he began picturing all those mesmerizing, big bellied, bearded gentlemen with their pipes! First filling the feeds of his website, then the streets of the cities all around the globe… introducing everyone they knew into this lovely habit… the biggest cloud of smoke yet had erupted from his mouth as he moaned deeply, his stubby cock twitching and spraying his massive, hairy thighs with creamy, white seed. And he simply could not wait to suck them all off one by one!

***

Zachary was quite amused to find himself back right in his personal office. Of course nobody from among his colleagues had recognized him, but when he suddenly stepped out of the elevator wearing this expensive looking, extravagant suit and holding a heavy suitcase, they must have assumed he was an important investor and asked him to wait for someone right here since, as he very well knew, that one room was still by far the most presentable part of the entire workplace that hadn’t changed much from the days when they were only a small start up.

Naturally nobody could get ahold of ‘Zach’ as his cell phone had vanished and all calls were going straight to voicemail, so the honor of entertaining him fell on Aaron, their CTO. Zachary was actually quite impressed by just how quickly his friend had managed to catch on to everything after he began recounting the events of the previous day. But fortunately Zachary had a chance to personally assist Sebastian and Theodore with picking out just the perfect pipe for him. Even though Aaron knew just what was coming, he couldn't possibly resist his invitation to have a small puff together. Or for that matter to later allow Zachary to wrap his lips around his engorged, stubby cock as they pondered about this exciting new direction for their company, and even more importantly, the best way to introduce their colleagues to all those pipes waiting for them in his suitcase.

If you liked the story and would like to read more bear themed transformation fiction, consider subscribing to my Patreon! I post captions like this and longer stories there regularly!

I have also set up two extra accounts on twitter and bluesky for caption purposes! https://x.com/burrcapts https://burrcapts.bsky.social/

[metamatar]

ok so i am very much uninformed on politics, i decided at a younger age that i wasn't interested in it and therefore would not read or keep myself particularly informed about it. obviously this is a bad idea, and i want to change and keep myself informed on actual politics and well, abstract[?] (wrong word but cannot think of another, basically mean like. knowing which political .. stance ?? [idk. like marxist or communist or whatever] i might be.) ones as well. what's a good place to get started here? where do i look for actual politics going on in india since i'm pretty sure ndtv or whatever isn't exactly the best source? or maybe it is? idk, like i said i'm pretty uninformed on the matter but would like to learn more

so one thing is, in india you have to accept the media landscape is just dire because being a journalist with integrity is a bit like signing up to have your life ruined. all major media has been bought by hindutva already. what you have to do is more learn to read between lines, understand people's motivations, which is a matter of practice. a good way to start is to read analysis (not news reports) of the same incident in different media and you'll start noticing patterns. even more important imo is to talk and bounce ideas with a friend at a similar place as you or someone interested in politics who won't overwhelm you with their perspective. you can try online but idt its safe or advisable anymore to do that experiment online. i had debate club in university (sad) and some socialist reading groups (better) after. the thing is this journey to self education is kind of personal and im also not pedagogically oriented or trained? so lots of first person description instead of prescriptions.

i still check what's up on ndtv because it gives me a good pulse of what english language media and liberals are thinking. major newspapers i scan hindu and the indian express sometimes. online i have a look at newslaundry (also has some youtube content) and the wire, they're reader supported and haven't turned full hindutva yet. i read longer form things in the caravan and epw, but these are subscription based. i keep tabs on the latest round of hindutva fake news when alt news debunks it.

for the abstract things, i literally did an online course bc i was frustrated by what all the liberal arts grads seemed to already agree on. i did ian shapiro's moral foundations of politics which is available online as both youtube lectures and a textbook. if you want to go that route feel free but it's not necessary, you can also try to read the entries on wikipedia or stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (more expertise) when you encounter something unfamiliar and build up like that. podcasts like bbc in our time will often interview academics to give intros to many political philosophy concepts and thinkers. whatever your learning style supports! i think the important thing is to find something you are actually interested in, and take that tack. i like history, so i might read books about historical revolutions or historical forms of organising society or listen to podcasts like mike duncan's revolutions.

For communism the usual starting points are these very short pamphlets:

Principles of Communism by Engels

The Manifesto of the Communist Party by Marx

Wage-Labor and Capital by Marx

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Engels

feel free to ask for more specific questions!

[nexus-my-beloved]

This isn't my usual content but I recently (four days ago) decided to read the actual book for IT so here's a couple of headcanons (specifically centred around 1990 IT, but I'll specify which years just in case):

-1990 Eddie likely had severe anxiety around showers and baths after the time he saw Pennywise in the gym locker room showers. He probably always had a fear of the clown stretching open the drain again and reaching to grab him and drag him into the sewers. Eddie is afraid of disease and germs, though, conditioned to it, so he still took showers and baths- but he probably scrubbed hard enough to make his skin red and raw and he did it fast before rushing out, always racing against an invisible clock that when the timer was up Pennywise would grab him. This fear probably carried over to adulthood, even when he forgot about Derry, and he likely got better with it but probably still was afraid for some unknown reason- he probably took ten minute showers, fifteen at most.

-1990 Reddie headcanon: when they were kids, Richie probably had a small crush on Eddie, but he likely had more feelings for Stanley (1990 Stozier truther here but also universal Reddie enjoyer). When they were adults, though, Richie probably grew out of his feelings for Stanley and I like to think he had more feelings for Eddie that resurfaced the moment he saw him. Eddie probably liked Richie a lot when they were adults, but probably wasn't very big on him when they were kids.

-1990 Stenbrough headcanon: for years after Derry, Bill probably would say random bird species when he was anxious. He wouldn't remember who this was from or realize it was from one of his best friends until he got back to Derry, and that friend was dead. Bill likely held on hope that Stan would come, and probably felt his heart bleed a bit when he realized Stan had killed himself. He never got to fess up to the little crush he used to have.

-2019 Reddie headcanon: based on the fact that Eddie yelled "I knew it! I fucking knew it!" when they were leaving the restaurant after Richie admitted to not writing his own material, I like to think that Eddie probably watched this comedian he recognized but didn't know from where on TV and swore up and down the material was scripted from someone other than him. He didn't recognize the Tozier standup guy until he got the phone call from Mike and realized it was Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier from when he was a kid. Eddie probably kept tabs and watched Richie for years without ever realizing that used to be his best friend.

-2017 Bill Denbrough headcanon: I like to think that Bill particularly stuttered on s-words. Which means he probably stuttered like hell whenever he'd have to say Stan/Stanley sometimes. Imagine how he'd have to use nicknames instead, silly or not, and how much more important it'd be when he said just Stanley, even if it was hard.

-All Media Bill Denbrough: there's no way he could've looked at paper boats without feeling like crying. Even as an adult he probably couldn't explain it. He'd just cry.

I probably have more but I think this is a big enough post for tonight. Have these I found on Pinterest!

The sillies <3

Bowers Gang Slander but it gets progressively worse/better (depends how you see it)

Abso-fuckin-lutely it is them. I can imagine little 2017 Eddie running after Finn Wolfhard Richie with inhaler in hand and trying to keep up while Richie laughs his ass off and promptly smacks his face into an open locker and eats shit

Twink Eddie <3

In all fairness though I love adult 1990 Eddie. He looks like the embodiment of if kindness were a human being and he just makes me so happy I would hug this man and love him forever I want to keep him in my pocket

[emblazons]

"I think it would be easier if we were a team."

Day Five of @bylerweek2023 - Secret Identities aka - the Modern!Byler + DnD AU no one asked for

The details for their character sheets came from here + here, though only Mike's is confirmed secondary media. The details + story behind these versions of byler under the cut!

The Secret

The Cleric (Will) & The Paladin (Mike) have been playing digital campaigns together for nearly five years now, after Mike‘s then-newfound investment in Critical Role inspired him to hunt for an online DnD game to play for himself.

Inseparable on the pixelated battlefield, their half a decade of campaigning together has slowly turned them into the best of (digital) friends, as they’ve shared their deepest secrets in the anonymous-but-meaningful way you can only online. From Will admitting that his main concern even outside being ridiculed for his sexuality is healing from childhood PTSD to Mike admitting that his picture-perfect family hates his interests and would never accept that he likes guys, both of them have learned to defer to each other in and out of campaigns—they have grown deeply fond of each other through their characters’ adventures…and chats that mean more to both of them than they would dare admit aloud.

Even so, all the Cleric and the Paladin really know about each other on a practical level is that they’re both 20 this year, are both in college now, and that they both come from the Midwest—though they do hope to meet one day if it ever makes sense.

There really is nothing like a friend who gets to see the sides of you you’re not allowed to show in any other space—and neither of them wants to live their entire lives without someone who treats them as well as their longtime D&D companion.

The Identities

Mike Wheeler and Will Byers have been in each other’s orbit since elementary school in Hawkins, though Will’s been pretty distant about keeping tabs on Mike since he dated (and subsequently broke up) with his sister El during freshman year. Mike always enjoyed the time he spent with Will and could tell that Will felt the same, though Mike knew from the second he broke up with El that Will’s love for his family was going to take precedence over their mutual interest in the same (nerdy) things—the same way it did for his sister Nancy when she broke up with Will’s brother, Jonathan, when they went to college.

It’s been years since that happened now, though—and the last time Mike spoke to Will was when they gave each other a friendly hug goodbye the day of high school graduation. Now well into his 3rd year of college, Mike only knows that Will goes to IU just like he does…but on a campus of over 30,000 people and as an English major to Will’s Visual Arts, it’s not like they see each other.

Even so, time away from his exacting family has made Mike more comfortable, and he has slowly realized that it’s time to branch out of his solely hypothetical “rebellious” spaces and into meeting real people who share his interests—to fully embrace is love of DnD in real life to learn the fine art of figurine painting, soak up all the wisdom to be found in classic printed dungeon master guides, and experience the ruckus of a well-strategized in-person campaign. That’s why, on one rainy Friday night in March, he wanders into the Hellfire Club—the on-campus DnD group he’s heard of but never been brave enough to join.

Given his knowledge of Will from all those years ago, seeing the guy he grew up with sitting next to him for Eddie Munson’s grungy basement campaign wasn’t all that much of a surprise, actually. What was a surprise was what happened when he looked down at the table in front of the boy next to him….only to see “Will the Wise” at the top of Will Byers character sheet, plain as day.

tl;dr - you're 20, and your long-time online crush bestie who knows all your secrets turns out to be the brother of the girl you dated for five seconds at 14. Chaos ensues.

[tsugarubecker]

Curious: do the 250k new people know about adats? 🤔 A Dream Always the Same by @sevensided is known as the most staple fan literature out there where byler is concerned, and back a year or two ago it was kind of just presumed that everyone in the fandom had read it. Is that still the case? Things have changed a lot around here.

If you haven’t read it: it’s 30+ chapters and 100k words. Covers the 3 month gap at the end of season 3. Shows how Mike begins to discover his sexuality. Every bit of media referenced in the fic is historically accurate - I had 20+ tabs open when I read it, always googling something & going down another rabbit hole. This fic shows which pieces of media a queer person could have actually stumbled on in 1984 that might help them begin to have inklings of their queerness - and what that awakening process might look like.

Plus the Mike Wheeler insight is god tier. Also, the whole thing is achingly, breathtakingly full of sticky pine sap summer nostalgia. The fic practically blows humid air at you while bathing your face in too-hot sunlight.

Put on some sunscreen and read this classic Byler fic if you haven’t yet ☺️🌅📚

[sadesluvr]

it's very valid to not like the movie!! i have a pretty mixed reaction to it personally. i appreciate this movie because it made me feel like i was 8 years old again too afraid to watch my favorite youtubers playing in full screen, and the cuter moments (even the part where they built the fort) made me smile. i also very much enjoyed matthew and josh being on my screen, and matthew's portrayal of william is giving me motivation to write. however, given it's a pg-13 movie where i was expecting something more on the horror side (i am also a gore movie enjoyer so this is just me personally). i was also disappointed by the fact that mike didn't turn out to be michael, hank didnt turn out to be henry, and a part of me was hoping abby would turn out to be lizzie.

also just wanted to pop in and say chaos theory is one of my favorite william fics, and i absolutely adore tnp and follow the updates religiously!!

Thanks for bringing in your perspective! It was certainly very nostalgic in parts (the Balloon Boy gag especially) and the actual experience of being in the theatre with people who were fans was fun and I could feel the excitement. I LOVED Mike’s expressions with Abby like he really was a tired dad trying to do his best😭💛

I’m glad that you’ve got motivation to write, even with William’s lack of screentime. Less is more in some cases, so it’s going to be fun to see how you and other people interpret him!

I saw a random comment on Reddit who had the same thoughts about the gore, and whilst I didn’t mind *that* much, it definitely would’ve been cool to see some full on guts! I also liked how William didn’t hesitate to stab his daughter, he really doesn’t gaf as he should 💀

Mike not being Michael killed me in a way (😭), and I feel really strongly about it - The game lore arc has such a stronger, compelling dynamic about a family torn apart by their own fathers’ ego/evil, and it kind of baffles me why that was all dumped just for Mike to be a random guy, with Vanessa as the offspring? It clears up her story, but I think it hurt the tragedy of Mike (even though he still lost his brother, and blames himself). I would’ve been fine if they were half siblings, even! And it just opens so many weird questions about William, and how/why he kept tabs on Michael specifically…

No Henry is kind of sad for Henry fans😭😭 But I see why he wasn’t there. THEY SWERVED ME WITH HANK THOUGH!

I could just be putting my own feelings before rationality (likely since it’s a media we’ve grown up with), but for all this build up, it felt really anticlimactic.

Also, thank you for being a reader of my works! 💛💛It always means a lot :))

[rainbow-roomies]

Byler behavior according to the zodiac signs (stereotypes) ✨✨✨

🐏 Aries

threatens the Duffers with violence

yells at Mortadellas invading the tag

refreshes Latest every 5 seconds

serves byler hot takes and all caps reactions all day

deleted their blog on July 1st but came back 2 days later

🐂 Taurus

creates amazing fanart

patiently waits for 2024

would rather jump off a cliff than jump ship

Mike Wheeler apologist

a byler since 7/15/2016

👭 Gemini

writes a 100 one-shots an hour

stays up to date with every byler mainstream media mention

never misses a post

chats up everyone in DMs

on a verge of a nervous breakdown

🦀 Cancer

coos at Will Byers, applied to be his legal guardian

makes heart-wrenching edits like the rent is due

wants s1&2 Mike Wheeler back immediately

wants El to experience real familial love

is basically Joyce andJonathan Byers

🦁 Leo

comes up with dramatic first kiss/confession scenes

constantly relates byler to their own love life/queer experience

loses their shit over Mike Wheeler's lovesick stare 24/7

calls everyone gay

og main character Will truther

💃 Virgo

creates masterdocs

writes fix-its and organizes them by a billion categories

first to spot the tiniest detail in a byler scene

skeptical but somehow still delusional

cringes at the tiny cgi hearts but secretly loves them

⚖️ Libra

master of parallels (Rockie implied, therefore Byler endgame)

ready to personally give Will a new haircut

understands both Will's and Mike's pov

calmly answers angry Minnesota asks

will officiate a Byler+Elmax wedding

🦂 Scorpio

writes the longest analysis posts

hacked 8flix to get all s4 scripts

immediately saw Upside Down as an allegory of Will's shadow self

this video by kaypiece21 is their whole personality

Mike Wheeler's therapist

🏹 Sagittarius

the first one to bring back hope after July 1st (endgame pairings!)

intrepid explorer of the Montero (Call Me By Your Name) tag

makes 🤡 predictions that later turn out to be accurate

not afraid to be a byler on reddit

uses the homophobic dog as punctuation

🐐 Capricorn

proclaims byler supremacy on the daily

already planned a s5 watch party

keeps the tag clean

their posts always end up in the Top tab

won't stop until byler endgame is confirmed on the national news

🏺 Aquarius

posts regular updates on the ever-growing number of tag followers

enjoys the community aspect of the fandom

gushes over how s5 will change queer rep in media forever

found out that every song playing in a Byler scene is queercoded

time travelled to 2024 but keeps their mouth shut

🐟 Pisces

headcanons royalty

lost all touch with reality when vol1 dropped

emotional puddle over byler heart-to-hearts

makes Byler playlists

scrolled down to posts from December 2016 and hasn't come up for air since

[hugoruiz]

THE BASICS:

brand of Phone - apple, samsung, other

iphone 11

color - what color is the phone?

black

case - what color is the case? does it have a design? a popsocket?

black

locked or unlocked? - do they use a password? what type of password?

locked, password is yasmin's birthday

wallpaper - what photo is their wallpaper?

default

lockscreen - what photo is their lockscreen?

see above

USAGE:

time - how many hours a day do they use their phone?

less than two hours a day

5 Most Used Apps - what apps do they use the most?

youtube, spotify, twitter, facebook

web tabs - do they have any open? what are they?

he closes them when he's done

Google - what did they last google?

self-defense classes videos

Last Text Message - what was it and who was it from?

see above

Photos - what is the last thing on their camera reel? what image did they last save?

click here

SOCIAL MEDIA:

@ - what is their handle?

hugorz

instagram - show us their feed, or share their latest postand/or story.

see above let's pretend all the photos with other firefighters are nic and mike, thanks<3

tinder/Bumble/Hinge/Grindr/Etc. - do they have an account? what does it look like?

no

spotify - what were their top 3 songs of 2022?what did they listen to last?

me gustas tu - manu chao si te vas - sech, ozuna walk like an egyptian - the bangles

tiktok - what is their FYP like? do they post videos? what do they post?

he has the app on his phone, because someone made him get it, but he doesn't use it

facebookbook - do they use it? is it just for family?

yes, to keep up with family

tagged - @lukaplan @yasmindemirxx @nsloanefms @mikehotchner @rxbysxllivan

[mike-dobukai]

ANOTHER Mario render??? That's CRAZY Anyway I like the bubble flower it looks so visually interesting and I like the cute poses Mario does :)

[spaceorphan18]

After the Jesse question, out of the glee club characters who is close with Klaine years later in your opinion? Do you think the group is quite close as a glee club, or there are people they talk to only every few months? Do you think there are any characters they don't talk to unless they see each other in person at reunions?

Since it's a fictional world - you can really pull things in any direction you like. We do see, five years down the line, that at Rachel's Tony Party is Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes, Artie, Tina (and Kitty and Roderick I think are there?). Blaine also mentions that they see Brittany and Santana in Dreams Come True, too.

But I mean - it depends on what happens with everyone, and where they go in life.

No, I don't think the entire glee club stays as close to one another as they did in high school. But that doesn't mean they don't talk to each other or try to catch up. Thinking about my own life - there are only two-ish people I still talk to from high school. But, if I came across someone I used to know, I'd probably still be pretty friendly with them, because I had a pretty good relationship with most people during high school. I do, also, have a teacher of mine whom I'm regularly see - but she's also friends with my parents. I do know the people in town who stayed in town see each other way more regularly. And that there are a few groups of people, as I can tell from things like Facebook, that have stayed close even twenty years later (because yes, I'm that old).

But let's take a quick break down...

Rachel (and Jesse) - I feel like it depends on how famous she comes. I can see she and Kurt doing regular lunches while she's in New York, and Blaine will end up doing some professional work with her. But their lives get busy, and she doesn't see them as much as when they were in their early twenties. She's always a solid contact, though.

Mercedes - I think Mercedes is on the other side of the country, so they probably don't see her all that much. But I think every few years or so, they make it a point to get together. Plus, there's social media and text chains they all remain a part of.

Tina - I think she and Blaine keep in touch, I don't necessarily see her being close with Kurt, and Kurt kind of thinks as her as one of Blaine's friends. I also think Tina's one of those people who ends up moving to Europe or something, and they only see her when reunions come around.

Artie - Kind of depends on whether he and Tina stay together or not. I think Blaine keeps him as a contact professionally, and there's a text chain with him in it kind of thing. But I don't see either Kurt or Blaine being all that close with him, either.

Sam - Blaine always makes a point of seeing Sam when he returns to Ohio, and they message each other a lot, but their lives end up being very different, so there are times when they don't hear from each other. The nice thing, though, is that whenever they do get together, it's like they pick up right where they left off.

Brittany and Santana - The two of them are always picking up and going to other places. I don't necessarily think that Kurt and Blaine keep tabs on them, but they will show up (especially around anniversary time) and go on some kind of wacky adventure. I think there's a general respect among the four of them, and they all keep in touch more often than one might think.

Quinn and Puck - Lumping them together, not because I think they remain a couple (I kind of don't think they would?) but because I think neither Kurt or Blaine really keeps in touch with either of them in a post-high school world.

Mike - Poor Mike. I think Blaine makes it a point to stay in touch via social media, but I think he's the one that kind of goes off and does his own thing -- and is probably closer to the people he met in college over the people he knew in high school. He still remains friendly with everyone though.

Lauren, Rory, Sugar, Joe, The Newbies, The New Newbies - You know what's kind of funny. I think there's a better chance that they both keep in touch with Karofsky more than anyone in this group.

[neonscandal]

Manga Recs: Shonen Ai About Shonen Ai

Is it subverting the genre or are the characters just self aware? Either way, there's a special place in my Read List for shonen ai where a fudanshi begrudgingly realizes that they may in fact be interested in other men. Sasaki to Miyano may be to blame though I think this specific trope, for lack of a better word, resonates for another reason. I wanted to link a post where someone on Tumblr talked about how there are a lot of people like Miyano who latently discover their own identity through partaking in queer media but it's buried in my likes or one of my hundreds of open tabs.

Panel from Mashita no Fudanshi-kun by Chihaya Kuroiwa

Kicking off the last day of 🌈Pride, here are a few BL centered BL's:

Sasaki to Miyano by Kotoko Hachijou, tentatively ongoing

Gotta kick things off with the greenest of green lights. I think what entertained me the most about this was that Miyano thought "this dude wants a manga rec, let me just slide him some gay porn" in the first place. Aside from that, I appreciated the cultivation and pacing of their friendship. How annoyance can grow into care and concern and, on the flip side, how consistently loving and patient someone can be when they’re in love (even if Sasaki sometimes pushes it).

Gunjou no Subete by Nagisa Furuya, completed

This one is a bit of a stretch in that neither of the main characters are confirmed fudanshi but it's my list so I'm including it. Two friends who have been in the same class for several years are eventually split up in high school. Their closeness is highlighted by an ongoing bit where they reenact common BL and romance tropes much to the entertainment of their other friends. This bit; however, has been a vehicle to shield one of the MC’s growing feelings when they get to be too much. Also, there's a kabedon that kills me.

‼️🔞 Below contain some light spice and, subsequently, is intended for mature audiences 🔞‼️

Sensei, Mou Dame desu by Chiaki Kashima, completed spin off

An editor recently assigned to the BL department begrudgingly goes above and beyond to help a burgeoning mangaka with his first published gig to create an authentic depiction of relationships. It turns into a funny point of pride as the artist is pretty dense and largely impervious to the editor's attempts, assuming this is all a part of what editors do (they don't).

Can This Love Go Viral by Nako Mike or 75, completed

Being broke sucks when you're trying to make it big. Hypeman Natsuo and nonchalant editor Ichiya decide to move in together and realize their dying video channel sees a spike in views now that their audience assumes they're dating. How far are they willing to take it if it means they'll finally see some traction?

[agendratum]

ok so it’s been 3 thousand years and i had the tabs with the tag games opened this entire time so it’s finally time to actually reply to them, and i’ll put them all in one post cause i think my brain won’t let me tag that many people rn

10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags 

tagged by @kissporsche thank you!! now forgive me i will be desperately trying to remember any type of media that i know and characters in it that i might like (my mind - empty)

1. kinnporsche - pete (yes i will also start with an obvious one, idk if anyone noticed that i love pete but now you know that i love pete)

2. word of honor - gu xiang (sorry wkx for being second in my heart, but i think he would understand)

3. the untamed - nie huaisang (apparently currently in the moment, but fav cql character is always a tough question)

4. the devil judge - jung sunah (i support bisexual rights and i support bisexual wrongs)

5. tgcf - shi qingxuan (ignoring all the spoilers, they can’t hurt me if i don’t see them)

6. legend of fei - a-fei

7. the locked tomb - dulcinea/cytherea (listen-)

8. advance bravely - li zhenzhen (i had to)

9. love in the air - sky (he is my son and i haven’t even watched it ksljadsa)

10. svsss - shang qinghua (based on the first book and memes)

i did it, i remembered fandoms, now moving on to

tropes tag game 

tagged by @braceletofteeth thank you!!

found family or soulmates || slow burn or established but complicated || enemies-to-friends-to-lovers or best friends-to-lovers || love at first sight or get back together || morally grey character or unreliable narrator || sunshine character or sarcastic character || self-sacrificing or teamwork || fire-forged friends or childhood friends || description-heavy or dialogue-heavy || fluff or angst || high school au or college (professors) au || flower symbolism or color symbolism || hero from the start or reveal the hero near the end || body swap or gender swap || bed sharing or clothes sharing || magic au or human au || de-aged or future fic

🍂🍁 AUTUMN EDITION 🍁🍂 

tagged by @misspoetree thank you! so smart of me to be doing this in almost the end of november oof

tea or hot chocolate, cozy books or halloween movies, plaid or corduroy (had to look this word up wow), foggy mornings or twinkly nights, orange or black, pumpkin or apple pie, wool or velvet, picking fruit or carving pumpkins, libraries or coffee shops, cinnamon or peanut butter, spooky or cozy halloween, candles or fairy lights

put your playlist on shuffle 

rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. put your playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people. no skipping! 

also tagged by @kissporsche thank you again!! the only issue is i’m currently using like three different services to listen to music so to keep it fair (to myself) i’m gonna take turns shuffling my likes/playlists on all three of them for this one ooof

1. fifteen minutes - mike krol (i know this is from steven universe klasjd)

2. dark (x-file) - (G)I-DLE

3. sorry, i love you - stray kids

4. clear ft. mothica (shawn wasabi remix) - pusher (i don’t even know if the title is correct for this one)

5. give me your tmi - stray kids

6. mirror mirror - milli, f.hero, changbin of stray kids (i knew this one before and still didn’t realise that this is what us danced to on the tour, can you believe it)

7. twisted - MISSIO

8. taste - stray kids (did it actually shuffle the songs tho?)

9. scream - dreamcatcher

10. love stuck - mother mother

okaaay, do i’m gonna tag some peeps here, but obviously only do it if you want, and only the one/s you want to do, no pressure, you know the drill: @vegasandhishedgehog @greenwitching @braceletofteeth @trueplainhearts @t4tvegaspete @sugarbabywenkexing @yilinglaozuhot @the-rat-king-shriggy @guzhu-furen @petesvegas

[tunglrsillyman]

🏃💨🧍2, 8, 14 and 23 for the artist asks!!!!!!

US RIGHT NOW ⬇⬇⬇

(thank you for the ask n patience!! @_@ i ended up spending last night finishing up an old wip. ♥)

2. 5 favourites of your own work?

That's hard to say uhh...in recent terms and under no particular order it is:

8. What do you like most about your own work?

If I'm going to be honest it would be the line art and coloring/color palettes. Even if I find lining tedious, I can appreciate that I am improving slowly. I just hope I learn on some shortcuts soon. @_@ also adding in fun filters, messing with the background and adding lil highlight shapes rly do spice up the work for me.

14. How has your art changed over the years?

The wip I mentioned was actually a redraw of one of the first few drawings/concept art of my blorbo oc, Ollie. That old drawing was from 2016 iirc. It was around the time I started my first year in college so my anatomy a little wonky. Was really into Big Anime Eyes and simple shapes. Granted my workflow was. much more simpler so I would be able to finish pieces faster. That being said, I don't miss it all that much. Here's a comparison below. :3

23. Do you listen to music or watch shows while you work? If so, what’s your favourite?

:'o) Oh I consume media when I work alright. Usually music only when I'm sketching since that required more mental work to focus on the process and I wouldn't be able to take in anything if it was a podcast/stream or a show or something. When I'm lining/coloring is where I would have a yt vid/stream on the background. Shading is a mixed bag as I don't usually plan out so I would either return to the sketch to block out or Wing It on the spot. For music I usually play either an oc playlist or a dedicated artist/genre playlist. So my favorites are a mixed bag.

For streams I tune into whatever is on. Pikamee is good as well as some of the vinesauce crew sometimes (binty/rev/jabroni mike/limes), robcdee is chill, esp at the late hours where no one in your timezone is online and then you have this guy in some other part of the word cycling/walking around.

For yt I just watch video essays and w/e is on my sub tab. NezumiVA/Noah Samsen/Kuncan Dastner/SuperEyePatchWolf/J Aubrey/LS Mark are some content creators I watch while I work. Noah/Kuncan being a couple of breadtubers that covers internet trends in a social lens and influencer controversies sometimes while Nezumi and and SEPW have more content related to anime/manga analysis. LS Mark is a cartoon critic that makes good long form videos to have the background and J Aubrey is one of those creators that covers influencer/celebrity controversies and drama.