#will and mike are the Big Gay™

[madebypointlesswords]

I watched the first two seasons of Stranger Things, so here's my review (i guess)

ahem

*inspects notes*

a hot mess

*bows*

that is all thank u

[citizensun]

Queerness and the House of Usher (spoilers!)

See I just added these Thoughts to the tags in @quecksilvereyes 's post but now I have Feelings too

TFotHoU (or HoU, as I will refer to it here), as expected from a Mike Flannagan show, has a bunch of Queer Rep™ to talk about. HoU is, also, about remarkably evil people - amoral capitalists who'll step over anyone if it means they'll get something from it. And look! Some of them are queer! Kinky too!

That's bad queer representation... right?

The show isn't that clear when stablishing sexualities, but we see that at least three of the Usher kids - Napoleon, Camille and Victorine - have same sex SOs/assistants with curious job descriptions. Prospero's taste for orgies probably implies queerness too, but honestly I don't remember if he gets it going with any guys in the story. I honestly have no idea about Tamerlane's voyerism thingie and Frederick is the only one with a "traditional family" going on.

Unrelated, but: Leo is definitely cheating on his bf Julius. Completely dismissing about his worries for him too. And for his cat. That's objectively evil, clearly. Vic literally killed her fiancée Alessandra, though she didn't stuff her under the floorboard, which is an L when compared to Poe's original. Cam doesn't believe in true love. Perry blackmailed his sister in law. Mean. He's also got a surprisingly high kill count for the family's disappointment, but since unlike Roderick he only killed rich people, we stan. I don't belong in Kinky spaces so I haven't got a big take on Tammie, only that - well, she's completely dismissing of her husband and sees him as a prop, just like the sex worker she hires.

Huh.

See, the nature of a story called "the fall of X family" is that X family is going to be the main character. The title kinda implies that they're falling for a reason, ergo, they're despicable fucking people. And they're queer! They're very queer. Many flavors of gay. They're the main characters, and they're monsters, and they're gay.

No, that's not bad rep.

Queerness as a movement, a community and a theory is very focused on scaping a cisheteronormative society's binaries (ie man/woman, husband/wife, public/private) and creating living conditions to those who fall outside of these categories - mlms and wlws, the trans, the nbs, the aros and aces... we are all queer, strange and estranged from this weird and limited worldview. And so we create a community for ourselves. It's very focused on care and anti-stablishment. Since a cisheteronormative society tends to be very white, rich and western, it's also focuses on anti-racism, anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism. Y'all know that, this is Tumblr and we love leftist Discourse.

I also know many, many gay people irl who are not like that at all. Libertarians, anarcho-capitalists, terfs, completely apolitical people and the like. Sexuality at it's core is personal, not political, so there are gay people out there who are perfectly comfortable with their sexuality on an individual level but do not see the point of getting involved in the broader context. They're queer, but are they...?

Well—

Not to mention there's lots of asshole gays out there! Don't you have a shitty ex? Have you never been almost run over by a drunken butch who blew cigar smoke into your face? I have! Life experiences are just like that. Maybe you should touch more grass. You'll probably find a lucky gift from your neighbour's dog, who is an astrology-obsessed bisexual and also really hot but stopped making out with you at a party once she found out you're a pisces (the neighbour, not the dog).

(Granted, none of this is as bad as implanting an experimental heart contraption into the fiancée you just killed because she dared to have ethical principles and then being so consumed with grief you stab yourself in front you'd your dad but you know how it goes. We're not the 1%.)

My point is, queer people are people. We are complex. We fuck up, and sometimes there's still times to fix things and sometimes... there isn't. We're consumed by jealousy and regret and sometimes we're so locked into our own head we stop believing the rest of the world is real too. Just like any other people, because unfortunately, queerness isn't a sign of morality.

And even if queerness does mean community, kindness and acceptance, tell me... Where the hell would the Usher kids get those from? The people around them are not really peers – they're ass-istants, blowjob-giving apartments, orgy mates, heart surgery providers, hired fitness moneybags, perfect housewives. Even if the partners are all shown to care for the Ushers, there's still a distance, a power gap, that makes the relationships fundamentally wrong.

And the partners? Arguably they're the good queer rep in the show, but look – even when Julius and Alessandra are shown to be good people (or at least people with an ethical boundary), they're not the good gays, they're simply the good SO's to a family of psychos. Exactly like Bill and Morrie, who afawk are straight people.

Which leads us to HoU's parameter of morality - Auguste Dupin. He refuses to drink the Amontillado, symbol of all the Usher opulence over the years. He got screwed over by the Usher twins and by the Raven herself, but he refused to cave in (except for the informant part, admittedly). He's not a good gay guy; he is gay and he is a good man.

The fundamental difference between our show's main tragic yaoi couple isn't that Auggie is a happily out gay man (and therefore is good) while Roderick is a sad divorced hetero (and therefore is bad). Auggie is the richer man because he is a good man; he has a spouse and children and grandchildren he loves with all his heart. He has a family and a community and he has found a sort of happiness no money can buy. Roderick owns the world – but what does he really have? What do his children even have? How could they ever build communities for themselves if they were never in one? Their father made them compete for his love. He never nurtured their bonds, he just showered them with money and excess until it was too much for them to handle. Juno herself pointed out - they were never a family. The House of Usher was only that. A house. It is empty and soulless.

What is queerness without a community? How could the people who represent the relentless corporate normativity and cutthroat capitalism ever be good queer rep? How can they even be queer?

Hear me out: on the most individual, simple level, being queer is still about not fitting in. These kids are bastards. They are are PoC and women in a predominantly male and white dominated space. They're on top of the world, but they're still outsiders to their own House. How could they not be queer?

And yes, I know this discussion takes a different turn when it comes to representation in media, but it's not like Flannagan fell into a Hays Code-era flamboyant villain trope. Queerness is just there. Just like Victorine and August are both black people in (arguably) the opposite ends of the morality spectrum, there are queer characters of many kinds here. The story just happens to be about the fucked up ones.

HoU is a poignant critique of capitalism and a surprisingly funny adaptation of Poe. We'll judge it by that. It happens to be queer – more things should be.

[crepesuzette2023]

I read your tag "when Paul presented" and assumed you meant a universe where Paul has just gone through omega puberty and Jim is mortified for him and now I cannot read it any other way?? is that what you meant or was it something even more delightful

Bless you for asking this question. What I meant was something between omega puberty and a situation more unique to Paul and Jim. The inspiration being @pauls1967moustache's observation that Paul inherited his gay eyebrows from Jim.

So, what I had in mind was that one morning when Jim McCartney looks up at the breakfast table and sees his oldest son with these delicate parabolic eyebrows (on top of all the rest). And it brings back memories of being a confirmed bachelor with musical predilections, whose charm is attractive to people of both sexes. Obviously, that nonsense had to stop at some point, so when he and Mary found themselves sheltering from the bombs that night and didn't run out of conversation, the Primitive Human Need to Procreate and Start A Family™ made itself known. And thus commenced the era of messing with the eyebrows and pointing at humping dogs to put his oldest off sex.

Mike, that one never worried him. Obnoxious, loud, big mouth. Standard issue boy. Paul, on the other hand...even as a newborn, he cried in a charming way. And the eyebrows, of course...you could tell from day one, really. Jim wept as he never had before, upon being shown the shapely pink baby...because he knew that in due time, these eyebrows would bring all the boys to the yard. (Did it *have* to be that Lennon?!) And in moments of honesty, he almost, almost thinks: it should have been me.

Anyway, something like that. Mortification—and jealousy. And eyebrows. And sex and pheromones.

Epilogue:

Long grown-up and happily remarried after an admittedly messy divorce from John, Paul lives his best life. He never looked back. His eyebrows look as if he needs to work for them, but no. This is how they grow naturally, from the skin of someone who feels himself and owns their arches. They came out illegal, and now they're the world's envy.

(On a more serious note I think it's possible Jim and Paul had some weird "oldest son/real man/eyebrows?" issues going on, but...)

[buckieduckie]

why i thought michael wheeler was gay before i even knew what stranger things was about - why i decided to watch ST in the first place

ok ok ok so yes i know this sounds crazy and insane and impossoble even. i mean you have to watch a show to know if the characters are gay, right? wrong.

But how'd you even know who mike was before you watched ST?

becauuuseee honeyyyy, ur a kid on the internet, you watch videos on youtube, lots of those will unfortunately be top 10 videos cause ur like 10 or 11 or sum shit. anyways, you see clips from popular shows and medias. some of those are stranger things clips and you get half way familiar with the characters so you know who millie bobby brown is and you know what mikes face looks like.

anyways, this brings me to my next... statement? point? anyways... so yeah, i cant remember what video i was watching or anything, but a clip from stranger things comes up. i knew it was ST cause it was popular and shit n duhhhh. ANYWAYS the clip was El Dumping Mike's Ass ™ and, i cant remember if it was the clip saying it or my own gaydar going off, but i think it was my gaydar, BUT i imeditately clocked mike as gay. i was what.... 6th grade? maybe? at the most.

anyways, i watched mike getting dumped and somehow, someway, i just knew. i just imediately knew. and yknow... part of me thinks it was just the fact that back then because i hadnt watched the show, i was comepletely utterly totally unbiased. like my slate was clean. i knew nothing of anything besides that clip. maybe it is more obvious than we think....

after that i just kinda forgot about it for a couple years untilllll....

OK so then... On to my next point of disgussion.

Why did I start watching Stranger Things?

OK OK OK OK OK SO- okkayy saurrrrrrrrr basically, i have a friend. her name is tina. (thats her nickname ok dw im not like leaking personal info chill) anyways. she sat with me in art last year, and i knew from sitting with her that year and knowing her in the previous years that she was a really big fan of stranger things. sooooooo yeah i sat with her in art and i guess she knew that i hadnt watched stranger things, so like... she realllllyyyyyy wanted me to watch stranger things she was like "omg you should totally watch stranger things youd like it so much theyre coming out with a new season this summer im so excited" so i was like omggggg but yk shes always trying to make me watch shit n ykyk, whatever.

one day she convinces me or- wait no i think she forced me, and i kinda like- caved or smt. anyways, we end up watching the first episode on her phone during art class. lmao slay. so we finish the first episode and im thinking it was really good like wow but my ass probably wont watch the second episode cause im terrible at getting commited like wow

and ok- so herereeeee, here comes the kicker- the slingshot into ST. like why i actually like continued to watch.

i was still in my h<3rt stopper (censoring cause it would be annoying if this was in their tag) hyperfixation, or more like i was just getting out of my HS hyperfixation. I watched the series 3 times so i was getting a bit burnt out, so i needed something else to fan over, something else to watch. but not anything, it had to be gay. because lord KNOWS we do NOT have enough gay shit to watch. like i need it. and- im sorry- but not crappy indie films (disclaimer- indie films are NOT all crappy, theres just... some .... iykyk💀) or weird.... weird ones that make no sense and are just there for like... sex and honestly i have no fucking clue.

no i needed GAYURIJRH anyways,,,,, so i dm Tina and im like "omg tinaaaa helllpp meeee 👹 i need gay stuff to watch theres no good ones 😭" and so she gives me a list of shows with gay characters in them, and then shes like "Will from Stranger Things is gay lmao" (pre season 4 btw) so im like, in my mind, im like "Cool 😃 Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things is gay 😃" no duckiebuckie she said will- "Mike Wheelr is gay 😃" *queue past memories and preconceived notions of the past now flodding forward*

so. i waited a couple days. then i watched the first episode again this time with my little brother and like the rest of season 1 (not all at once) and i, fully, utterly, comepletely, totally, full heartedly believed that Mike was gay (i mean he is but thats not the point right now) like- i just, believed it. i just simply took it as fact. literally no one ever actually told me Mike was gay. i had just like, thought it was canon. like i actually thought it was canon. like genuinley. its so fucking funny thinking about it now because i really actually dont think i ever saw anyone or anything actually stating Mike was gay or anything, like my own seld really had made it canon. like wow. icon. again, it couldve been that one video, but i kinda like also dont. YKWWWW- I LIKE- ok so i even went to the point of like, during or after watching the first episode, imagining a little coming out scenario LATER THAT SEASON with mike telling Dustin and Lucase (cant remember if- WAIT OH MY GODDDD I JUST REMEMBERED- WILL WASNT IN THE SENARIO I WAS IMAGINING BECAUSE MIKE WAS COMING OUT TO LUCAS AND DUSTIN AS GAY AND HE LIKED WILL- YALL I REALLY HAVE BEEN A BYLER SHIPPER SINCE THE BEGINNING HUH 🥹🥹 (btw i would like to mention that this was less of a head canon and more of a "oh this is probably gonna happen like this is whats happening" kinda thing LMFAOOOOOO

and then mike kissed el and i was like what the fuck 😟

and then from the end of season 1-4 v1 and v2 i was... convinced of the opposite 😔 💔 but HEY YOU CANT BLAME ME I WAS LIKE GA BACK THEN AND LIKE MIKE AND EL KISSED N SHIT WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO THINK

and then the byler heart to hearts started happening and i was like- oh wait- oh honey, mikey dear your gay is showing right now. LIKE I WAS A GA WHO THOUGHT MIKE WAS STRAIGHT AND I COULD STILLLL SEEEE THE FRUITINESS LIKE HONEEYYYYYYYYYYYY FRIENDS DONT TALK TO FRIENDS LIKE THAT but i digress.

anyways. then mike said i love you blah blah blah yk like yeah hes straight but i wasnt even really thinking about the subject that much

ANYWAYS what convinced me once again that mike wheeler was gay?

well, mainly @kaypeace21 's analysis about why they think mike is not Bi, but gay, yk, the iconic one. but what started inspection in the first place when i was a steadfast "wills 100% gay but unfortunately mike is 100% straight and its unrequited and i dont ship byler because its just a lil funky and weird because mike is OBVIOUSLY straight blah blah blah i mean its cute but its dEFINITELY not real blah blah" believer? because.... of ONE fateful tiktok.

Enter Tina again. were at her house, and we decide to watch stranger things tiktok compilations and crack videos n stuff cause yk that stuff is really funny and great.

So we see this one tiktok compilation and its stranger thins ofc and the title says (very gay) and shes like, ya wanna watch this one? and im like (my ass had already seen this same complilation, but i remembered the greatness that it held) so i agree.

so previously, i had watched the video and just kinda ignored the byler stuff cause i didnt ship (although i would like to make a disclaimer that i was not a mileven shipper either. i kinda just thought they were like cute and yk oh theyre the main couple cool ig it is what it is like this is how its gonna be ig) anyways, but this time (i think we had like briefly discussed mikes sexuality earlier, and decided he was prolly definitely just straight (but discussing it in the first place is like, kinda telling lmfao)) so it was on my mind. so this time, when the byler vid came on, i payed more attention. it was a rink o mania edit. and i saw his facial expression. i saw that fucking facial expression.

so me and Tina™ paused the video, and we were like "ok... so like, I think Mike is straight... but like that facial expression he just made. but like hes definitely straight right? yeah... but that expressionnnnnnn.... but like yeah, right? yeah.. anyways...." and then we watched the rest of the video.

and then pinterest came in and it was one piece of evidence after another and then the Kaypeace post.

the rest is history.

My Point?

The whole reason I started watching Stranger Things in the first place was because I thought Mike was gay. If Mike Wheeler is not gay, I will have watched Stranger Things for nothing. yes, i stayed and kept watching even after m*l*v*n was established because stranger things is just so good, how could you not? but my point still stands. The whole reason for me even deciding to keep watching after the first episode was because i thought mike was gay. and it seems that we've come full circle now, because once again, i believe mike wheeler is gay and my enjoyment (and ST) depends on Mike being gay.

tagging @aemiron-main because like idk i feel like you would find this interesting? amusing? maybe? lol

tagging @l0v3c0r3e @adorewillbyers cause i feel like yall would get it 🥺 also i need someone to read this shit because i did not just spend an hour and a half writing this for like 0 notes like no maaaaaaaaaaam

@the-homosphere cause they dared me to

[unclewaynemunson]

hellooooo there :) for the character game thing i was gonna suggest robin, but since you have already done her i’m gonna be my basic ass self and say eddie and also mike.

hitting you with two because i’m curious! (if you only wanna do one of them that’s coolio too of course) :))

have a wonderful day! <3

Yaaay thank you!

Eddie:

favorite thing about them: the fact that he never gives up. He's way braver than he gives himself credit for, repeating senior year twice and multiple times choosing to fight while he didn't necessarily have to.

least favorite thing about them: that we haven't seen him interact with Wayne :((((

favorite line: "Forced conforming, that's what's killing the kids." U R SO RIGHT SAY IT LOUDER

brOTP: i loved his dynamic with Dustin <3

OTP: steddie obviously

nOTP: i'm not a big fan of hellcheer tbh. i do like them as friends but i very much see eddie as a gay guy who doesn't understand the difference between friendly and flirty behaviour lol

random headcanon: he believes that he owes Wayne his life and it's very important for him to repay his uncle for that, even though Wayne would never expect anything in return. Eddie takes Wayne on a roadtrip "back home" to the south as soon as he has the money to do that, and when Wayne gets old Eddie and Steve happily take him in to have him live with them.

unpopular opinion: I honestly don't like anything to do with rockstar!eddie. I honestly think that would be very bad for him and a quiet, somewhat regulated life (with the band as just a hobby) would make him way happier.

song i associate with them: Can you handle my love by Walk the Moon, it's completely filled with eddie-coded lyrics (go listen to it it's a banger!!!)

favorite picture of them: SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM but i really love this one a lot bc he looks so happy and innocent here i hope this counts bc it's not technically an eddie pic lol

Mike:

favorite thing about them: i really liked how he was a refuge for El back in s1

least favorite thing about them: i guess his character development. sounds a bit mean maybe but he started out as a sweetheart and an extremely loyal friend, and over the course of the story he developed into a mopey teenager who complained about everything and treated so many of his friends badly (yes i know, he's a traumatized teenager, but as a character he's just not that compelling to me, sorry)

favorite line: "I only have like $3.50, so it's hard."

brOTP: is it bad that i don't really have one?

OTP: sorry bylers but i don't have an OTP for mike :/ i don't really have strong opinions about him and will together tbh. i care way more about El's and Will's storylines than about Mike's love life if that makes sense

nOTP: i really, really don't like him with El. maybe their dynamic was kinda sweet in s1, but i wanna see el grow into her own person and learn to value friendship over relationships.

random headcanon: when Nancy comes out to her family and Ted the Reagan Supporter™ is being totally shitty about it, Mike is the one who fiercely comes to her defense and keeps standing up for her. Underneath their constant bickering, they love each other so much, and he will always have her back.

unpopular opinion: i don't think it's super unpopular but he is very much NOT the heart of the group, like Will said. That's either Will, Dustin or Lucas, but definitely not Mike, who is actually responsible for most of their fights

song i associate with them: Stranger in town by Toto (I don't really have a good reason for this one other than that I think Mike would be a toto fan and vibe with this song)

favorite picture of them: it took me waaay too long to find this one but:

[cirque-dhomosexual]

Stranger things season 5 things I think would be really cool to see/ hope to see (in no particular order) :

Nancy being sapphic. Idc how it gets done but she needs to give in to her gay tendencies

Along that line of thinking, Ronance moments (bonus if they become a canon couple)

Karen going ape shit. I want her to fucking snap. I Need her to Mcgyver a weapon like Nancy and just go fucking crazy with it

Mr. Hauser or Mr. Clark making an appearance

Ted just disappears. We dont know where he went but he vanishes (ugh fine maybe he can get a character saving moment and shift into war™ mode. I can see him with dirt under his eyes, sleeves ripped, and tie wraped around his forehead like Rambo)

Karen protects Will and then calls him family

Joyce and Karen team up

Hopper causes a big explosion and hes proud of it

Max doesnt die

Elmax/lumax/Elumax moments

Dustin gets a hug. He needs it.

Suzy instructing them on how to synthesize napalm. It works???

Nancy kisses Robin on the lips

Johnathan is seen being a good big brother to El (pls. Im starving for byers sibling moments that isnt just Johnathan and Will)

Similar to that, El and Will being the siblings ever (Yes! I believe in byers twin supremacy)

Will gets a haircut (pls its been 7 years, let it go babes)

Will learns how to puppet master the shits from the upside down. Idk how he does it but he needs to fist fight/shoot vecna

They have a shooting competition and Nancy and Will get seriously competative. (mike is some how the worst shot of the group)

LOVE FOR LUCAS!!! PLEASE!!!! MY BOY!!! LET HIM BE HAPPY FOR ONCE!!! I CANNOT STAND THIS LUCAS NEGLECT

Lucas <3

Erica needs to full on deck a bitch. I dont know who or care but she deserves to break a bitch's nose.

Robin listens to the Cranberries

Big sister Nancy and big brother Mike moments with Holly (i feel like we deserve to see it, as a treat)

Nancy and Mike being siblings <3

Holly has to do something badass that no one expected. Like homegirl stared down a demogorgon, come on.

[domsaysstuff]

gareth from stranger things for the character ask game?? :D

Shshshsh okay, so this will be mostly my headcanons and whatever fanon things abt him that i liked bc let's be real our boy literally got like three minutes of screentime and also you gave me one of the hardest ones anon because I don't really think that much abt corroded coffin outside their relationship with the rest of the party but!

Give me a character and I will give you my thoughts on:

one aspect about them i love: i love, love, love when people make Gareth a petty little shit? Like yes, hold that grudge and yes, tease your friend on his pathetic gay crush, i believe in a little shit Gareth supremacy™

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: I think a lot of people are making fun things with his character but i have a slight problem with a miniscule part of the fandom. When he broke and told Jason where he could find Eddie I wish people understood that he is also just a child and he at first was all sarcastic abt and it wasn't until Jason got fucking violent that he spilled and it's so understandable that he did? Like you are just a child (16-18 IS still a child), you've looked at a guy who was always just a bark and no bite and suddenly you are on the ground and you don't know what he will do, it might end with a few broken bones it might end with your life, the boy who was just no bite is suddenly a crazed man sniffing for blood and you are terrified. You are just a child. It doesn't make you a coward, it doesn't make you want to stop being someone's friend, it just makes you a terrified child and people who hold it against him just kind of piss me off.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: oh, oh, oh OKAY SO

I'm in love with child of a single mother with an older sister Gareth, idk he just screams to me like a guy who would have a sister, also just something about him and Dustin just kind of getting eachother in that way. Also I think Gareth was the baby of the group before Dustin, Mike and Lucas with Jeff and The Freak both being a year older than him and Eddie ofc being the oldest of them.

one character i love seeing them interact with: obviously Eddie, but second best is Steve. Idk, i just think their dynamic in fics is nice and I wish we would have more Gareth and Steve becoming friends fics

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: like i said, steve but also! i would love more takes on how he would take on interacting with Nancy Wheeler sjdjdjs

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character:

I have this little headcanon that him and Eddie met first when they were just children when Gareth was being bullied and Eddie steped in and then got beaten up instead of Gareth. Like he's eight and there are kids bigger than him and they are looking for an easy target which he is and he think it's the end of the world and then suddenly there is this kid, older than him, one which he has never seen before, which is strange because here everybody knows everyone. At least that's what his sister always says, she always complains about it, his mother calls it teenage angst but you can't help but agree. So he should know him but he's never seen anyone this strange around here before, he would surely remember but he's here. He's scrawny and he moves all funny, like his limbs are moving before he thinks where they're going, he has a big black shirt with some scary print on it on, one that covers almost all of him, his head is shaved and he has the biggest eyes Gareth has seen. He's also yelling. Yelling at the kids to get a better target, one maybe more their age. And so they do. Afterwards when they leave, the boy turns to him and grins, his teeth are bloody, there is a split on his lip and dirt on his face and clothes but his eyes are still shining and the smile is genuine and big. "Had worse" he says and makes it sounds like a joke. He laughs and the boy somehow smiles even bigger. He's taller than Gareth and his back is illuminated by the sun. There is a slight breeze making his big shirt flutter behind him, a little like a cape would. Gareth doesn't know this boy, he must be from somewhere else, he must be a hero, like the one from the comics his sister reads.

"I'm Eddie." He says.

"It's a lame superhero name" Gareth says and Eddie laughs.

"I'm not a hero kid" He says kid in the same way all the adults say it.

Gareth looks at his big easy smile and the bruising forming on his face and the shirt that almost looks like a cape and doesn't believe him.

Years later he wishes he wasn't right.

So, that's it! Thank you anon for this!!! 💗💖

Find out my opinion about a character!

[weeswine]

Stuff I have noticed watching ST season 4 for the 5th or something time:

(Or just my rekindling of opinions and feelings)

Lucas wasn't a back stabber, he sent Jason and the crew to El and Hops old cabin (me too busy just focusing on Lucas (he is babygirl✨️))

Eddie isn't present for like 2 episodes and that is just a big wow [also Erica, miss her :(]

That classic shot of Eddie at the d&d table is not him being a dramatic whore™, rolling dice, but actually congratulating Erica

Why is Erica wearing the flag? Like slay and also the American theme song is playing but like girl?????

Erica supports the gays ✨️ (She probably is a gay 🇺🇲🇺🇸🇺🇲🇺🇸)

Angela still deserves that skate to the head [slayed !]

Murray is slay.

Still cant look at Robins outfit from the psych ward (sorry but yeah nah)

Alexei 😫

Jason is a leader but not a responsible or smart one, like he is hunting down a couple of 20 y/os and their half a dozen 14 y/o children??? And supporting his teammates to do the same (i didnt like him before but jeez dude)

also you can see his style of leadership of basketball and children hunting have some similarities sus

California Dreamin was played because ... *drumroll* THEY ARE IN CALIFORNIA!

The main group are the pick me girls of character developement (they dont develope like other characters~ they get desensitized and are used to death and gore *bites lip, tucks hair behind ear, giggles and pukes little*) but also geniuenly concerned for their sanity:

Argyle: Omg that dude dead, my 1st (?) death, the party is not here my dudes😔, wtf is happening, Ive never been through this, Im meant to deliver pizzas not dead bodies🍍🍍🍍

Byer boys + Mike: Oh my ✨️gawwdd✨️ Argyle get over it already ... like chop chop this agent died like 20 seconds ago move on !

(but they were in danger like Argyle indeed dude chop chop)

Does Yuri always just drug his coffee with sleepy pills? Like my guy thats not what coffee is meant to be used for, and the pills wouldve been low dosage cause unless Yuri is a maths wiz he wouldve been counting his mula for a while

Hop! Just dont have feet. At this point get rid of them! Get those 'orrid manky things outta 'ere!

The most horrific part of ST is not asshole Vecna and his gang, its just watching Hop get his feet dragged or him running around in the snow, no shoes, big cuts, the only thing keeping is feet on his body is Joyce, she is a super glue.

Vecna is more than just a piece of shit, hes the entire digestive system.

But him just targeting traumatised kids and touching them on the fore head, like: "Dw sweetie~ I'll fix you, shh is okay, you be nasty never again <3 Nurse Vecna will make you all better~ :)"

They are not nasty! They just been through some shit. Fuck you twerp

Freds visions with the funeral family giving ✨️Tisphone✨️ vibes ~♡

Early season 4 Mike is an asshole (dw it gets gayer *pats on head*)

Steve 🥰

Robin 😍

Nancy 😘

Eddie 🤩 (star fish boy)

Together united in harmony, they are the power Rangers💕💞✨️✨️

Dacre Montgomery (Billy) was in power Rangers (hes also aAussie which is just so oool)

Conspirewithme: #headcanons

Joyce could totally just go 1v1 brawl with the entirety of the upsidedown, Id pay to see it.

That guy who hired Robin and Steve who also worked at the arcade defo played d&d with Eddie at some point

I need to see El just have a giant therapy dog (think Perrito but Great Dame size)

Mike might be projecting Will onto El butttt he bi af, have you seen his cheekbones??? ( im watching a documentary on "Mike Gay????😱😱")

I am only up to the beggingin of episode 5, gods i hope this makes sense and im not accidently offending anyone

(Im a tag sl**)🐌

[td-scenarios]

Hey I have a really cute idea for Anne Maria, what if f!reader was falling head over heels for her and Anne Maria never had a girl fall for her? Just headcanons on how she’d react please

Thank you so much!

ahhh omg!! this is like so cute i love her sm 😭😭 this ask is so good ily <3

Anne Maria x f!reader where Anne Maria hasn't had a girl crush on her before

Nahhh like i don't even know where to start on hcs here

like

this is genuinely just so cute of an idea so i have so many thoughts over it

okay first of all, you'd definitely fall for her due to how strong and persistent she is!

as someone who likes women, i'm bias cuz,,,,cmon,,, big tough girls <33

but Anne Maria isn't big buff strong

that doesn't matter; she's perfect in her own way

anyways-

when you first show signs of being attracted to her, Anne Maria does the wlw thing of "what a great friend! she must act like this with everybody"

Then she sees you talking with Zoey and is like "hm, maybe she just doesn't like Zoey that much."

But after seeing you interact with every other girl on the island she comes to the conclusion that you two are just best friends because you think she's super likable and pretty.

To be fair, she isn't wrong just the thinking is a bit off.

And then you start complimenting her a bit more and she notices your touches begin to linger and of course the only conclusion she comes up with is:

"Man, I am really fucking hot. Go me."

Because how is one supposed to differentiate girl flirting from girl friendship?? it's impossible!

So, of course, she starts reciprocating 'cause that's like how friends act and stuff, so she doesn't understand why you're suddenly so shy and duck away from her compliments.

"Y/N Girrrlll you are lookin' HOT today!"

She then panics when you just flop down face first in the middle of the camp.

"OMG WHAT'D I DO?"

"nothing" it is extremely muffled

"ARE YOU HURT?"

a shaky thumbs up rises from your limp body

After that, she has started to pick up on your crush and is just in crisis mode™.

crisis mode one being "oh my god I was too hot and now I have to let my bestie down cuz I don't like her back."

cue an interaction where Mike told you a joke and a few of the Mutant Maggots, including you, laughed.

Initiate crisis 2

"oh my god am I gay"

it's not her fault that your laugh is so lovable!

Or, at least, that's what she tells herself when she's in her denial stage.

At that point, she doesn't distance herself at all. On the contrary, she spends even MORE time with you because she has to be like "haha yes I am ms. hetero and I can handle hanging out with this cute girl who likes me a lot. definitely, 100%"

This just leads to her being even more flustered than you are around her, but she tries her best to play it off.

At one point, you'd hand her a flower that Dawn had found that somehow wasn't mutated and she'd short circuit and hesitatingly says thank you before leaving awkwardly.

She weirdly ends up going to Mike?? 'cause he's the person that she knows that has a girl who likes him.

Best to ask someone who has experience.

He's so confused when she comes to talk to him. Cuz he knows Vito has a relationship with her but???? She never really interacts with or likes Mike

She is extremely blunt with the situation albeit a bit nervous

"Okay like, how do...okay so like when...."

It takes her a minute but she gets there eventually

Mike is so confused and is just like "???? Why are you asking me?? I thought you were straight???? Wait who likes you???? Or who do you like??" Since he doesn't know if she'd doing that thing where you cover up your motives with a vague question yk

"I am! Straight, I mean. And it's none of your business, Mike. Just answer the damn question!"

"I don't know why you'd ask me! I have no idea what to do when a girl likes you! I like blackout anytime a girl I like talks to me cause I'm all nervous."

She has to put her head in both of her hands at that one

"You're such a loser oh my God..."

He would be insulted if it weren't the truth

And after that interaction, she's out of leads 'cause Mike was the only guy she was willing to talk to besides Cameron but she was certain he hadn't been with anyone. Plus, she didn't know if any of the other girls liked girls! That was personal stuff

Cue crisis 3

"oh my god i am so lost in this situation and i definitely like her back"

she tries her best to just,,,, reciprocate??

But then she realizes that her advances are most likely taken as friendly since that's what she did at the start

So she has to become more forward with it yk

Anne Maria's two braincells finally produced the coherent thought of "oh! it's the same as dudes but with a girl."

After that epiphany, you guys get together rather quickly

happily ever after blah blah blah you get the drill

i totally wrote so much more than what u asked for im so sorry qwq i just liked the request so much and i fuckin RAN with it

[demadogs]

Here to lend a reprieve from all the negativity: the only reason people are so sure byler isn't going to happen is because the expectation of film is that it promotes the "normal and good" way of life and so when people write for film they wind up regurgitating that narrative which conveniently appeals to a wide audience.

Literally every Wheeler is meant to play up this expectation and subvert it. Ted is a bumbling sitcom father and is just as much of a nuisance as having a parent or spouse like that would be in real life, Karen is a supportive sitcom mom who is deeply unhappy in her marriage and desperately wants better for her kids, and Nancy's story subverts expectations because her distress in season two isn't solved by getting with Johnathan.....it's resolved by her getting to bring closure to Barb's family and to relieve her of some of the guilt she's been carrying. What part of Mike's storyline has really subverted the idea of a white fence, completely uncontroversial ending yet?

They've been setting up a big plot point in Mike and El's relationship by repeatedly suggesting the two aren't a good match, and for some reason Mike has rapidly gone from the kind of person to jump off a cliff for one of his friends to someone who can't sit through one dnd session without being an asshole to his oldest friend. They're heavily setting up the idea that Will is gay and has feelings for Mike. The standard resolution to this plot (which literally every casual viewer expects) is that despite all their issues Mike and El will inevitably get back together without addressing any of the reasons that their relationship isn't healthy for either character, and for Mike to find out Will has feelings for him and let him down gently because he's totally straight but he and Will are still great buddies ™ and then Will gets a boyfriend in like the last episode or something.

They're doing this on purpose and I really don't see why outside of executive meddling they would not go in this direction for the story.

youre absolutely right i have nothing to add you said it really well

[sleepy-moron]

Big warning for stranger things season 4 spoilers from the review.... If you don't want to know some fairly major things about the season absolutely DO NOT click read more

I really try not to be negative in general on this account, but I got pretty negative in this post so feel free to just not read it if you don't want to see negativity....I know we're all being negative in the tag right not and I don't really want to contribute to that vibe for the people who are trying to keep our morale up in these trying times

Okay yeah I'm kind of really fucking frustrated if this is for sure not some bs because Mike's feelings aren't explicitly confirmed until episode seven and up until then it's ambiguous, or they straight up were asked to not say anything about Mike's feelings because the Duffers want it to be a surprise: that being said

The one positive is them not treating Will's sexuality like some sort of fucking plot twist because it's been writing on the goddamn wall since season 3.

Otherwise I will be extremely fucking disappointed and have decided to throw hands assuming all of this is true. You're really gonna reduce Will to sad unrequited pining gay kid this season?? Wow can't believe stranger things never got more than two seasons. If they really went through all that goddamn work, especially the fact that Mike initiates basically every major byler moment in the show just to imply Will is gay I just straight up do not understand why?

I really want to think that we get Mike's confirmation in episode seven and they just kept his queercoding more subtle as they have seemed to do in the past. Which is still fucking frustrating but it's still better than the shitty trope that is sad gay pining. Or maybe they had to make it sound unrequited in the review as part of a contract or something.....it would be a major plot twist that would not be cool to get spoiled before the season. I really really fucking hope so

Also what the fuck is Mike's character even supposed to be this season then?? Is it just to be El's boyfriend and to be the nice straight hero friend ™ who's still ok with being friends with a gay person? Like ok is all his self discovery just going to be learning that he needs to talk to his girlfriend about his feelings sometimes?? Have they really reduced two of the original party members down to this? I'm glad Max and Lucas are getting the attention they deserve....but it's frustrating because they said there was an intention to give all of the cast focus but no we clearly are not getting that in any way because El and the Hawkins plot seem to be the only plotlines that even matter.....

Honestly I'm mostly just angry at myself for thinking that a show like stranger things would actually have the guts to so something like making byler canon.....but yeah if I'm disappointed I am sliding fully back into kingdom hearts theory mode because I at least have a few more years of soriku copium to build up until kh4 actually happens

[deeplyunnerving]

Finally had a Byler Dream™ (is that a rite of passage at this point?) and I woke myself up by being too excited to jump on tumblr and gloat about it before I even finished the episode... So in that spirit I'm going to share the dream with y'all because it was very intense. I've edited slightly for clarity bc dream logic, but don't take this as fanfiction or headcanon or anything cuz it does NOT actually make any canonical sense.

It started with some promotional material they had which we were trying to analyze. It was only in very blurry subtitles/some flash of Mike's internal landscape via the upside down that showed him being anxious abt his feelings towards Eddie for some reason, like showing he had a crush/need for approval from him. I managed to find some screencap that was more clear and seemed to be someone telling Mike something about taking pride in himself so I was like "oh that's 100% gay" and trying to post about it but it got removed because it was too much of a spoiler they'd accidentally released.

Then suddenly they had dropped the next episode of Stranger Things, out of the blue basically. I was watching it with a group of people and I'm pretty sure there was more than just the Byler but tbh that was the only part my brain tuned in on.

It went like this- Mike was paired off with Steve and Robin, and they had all gone to this strange facility to find something but were now stuck in the upside down. They had figured out that very intense emotions could re-open gates to escape the Upside Down, so they were sitting together trying to come up with memories they had that could help them. They went around, with Robin/Steve not being able to think of something quite strong enough even though they had some intense stuff. When it got to Mike, he said something about his feelings for a girl (for some reason it wasn't El, just a petty crush). Robin suddenly goes "come on, you're going to pull that straight romance shit here?". Mike is confused, Robin asks Steve to back her up but he sort of chimes in like "C'mon, I don't want to do that like this." Robin goes ahead anyways, and says "yeah, I bet all we'd have to do is to get you to read out your diary and the portal would start opening, there's gotta be some intense emotions in there all about Will". She's slightly mocking, she's pissed about being stuck in the UD/doesn't feel positively about Mike. Mike is still insistent he doesn't know what she's talking about although he's starting to get uncomfortable. Robin says that it's fairly obvious, finally gets Steve to back her up so he chimes in like "as a kind of surrogate big brother to all you kids, I've had to see the relationship between you two over the years... At first maybe it was just friendship, and maybe you could brush it off as Will feeling a certain way, but I've also seen you", and then it starts showing this montage thing of Mike/Will. It also does show Mike having a crush on Eddie to show it isn't just coming from Will. He goes on "it's your choice if you want to make it platonic, but you've been doing this to this poor boy for years, I hoped you knew what you were doing because I don't want to see Will get hurt". (He's taking on the role of Jonathan a bit here as well as Eddie in a way, apparently my brain can't tell the difference between brotherly older dudes with long hair). Mike is starting to realize now, freaking out, a sort of wind picks up around them/electricity is crackling and shit. He did know about his feelings, but he's freaking out about the idea of them being obvious to others and at the thought of confronting them, especially of telling Will.

Robin comes in a little more gently, maybe regretting how she had acted, saying something like "I know it's scary but you can't just keep running from it. You're the only one who can do this, you have to take some pride in yourself" (or something a little more heartfelt probably). Mike still pushes them both away, he's sort of sobbing at this point, and finally cracks start forming and a portal tears open. They manage to all get through the portal, back into the regular world, and somehow meet back up with the rest of the group. They're being questioned on what happened, but Steve and Robin only give the barebones of what they were doing and how they got out. Mike is still basically shellshocked by the whole situation, like still shaking, but trying to hide his tears and shit. He still hasn't met back up with Will.

I think either the episode ended there or I just paused cuz I was freaking out a little bit, but I pulled out my phone to check Tumblr and basically go "WE'RE FUCKING WINNING Y'ALL" and suddenly my brain went, "it's weird how early they released this" and then I was forcefully woken up. I was so excited though y'all I was fully sobbing too because in my brain it was being done very masterfully. In reality there's... Some flaws with the execution, but I'm glad I know now what it feels like to Win. Manifesting my dreams are at least mildly prophetic dkdkdj

[digitalgate02]

Epilogue Celebration Day FOUR & FIVE: Couples and friendships

(olde art. for full pics see these two posts)

Okay so... These 12 are very much friends of each other. So I will divide this post on the most dominant relationships in town.

The Neo 02 Squad: Daiki-Mai-Toushin-Reika-Mitsuki-Hikaru THE main team. They keep strong bonds of friendship with each other, they work together when a digimon crisis is on the radar. Daiki is a very leader-type who reinforces the concept of teamwork. Mai and Toushin are the smarter ones, Hikaru is the offensive attack, Mitsuki is the fun punny guy and Reika is the sane one(tm) of the group.

The Smart ones: Mai-Toushin-Reika-Mirai-Jin They’re the brains of the operation, but on different areas of course. Mai is the music smart, Toushin is the game/strategy smart, Mirai is the inventor smart, Reika is morality & art smart, and Jin is the emotional smart. If possible, they prevent the reckless ones to end up ded.

The reckless trio: Daiki-Hikaru-Mitsuki As the name said, are the ones to do dumb things by accident when trying to be cool. See that tree? Imagine someone having the idea of doing trapeze on it and you get Hikaru with his parkour passion. Mitsuki is the enabler, but in a good way. If Hikaru wants to take photos from a particular (and dangerous) angle, Mitsuki will support that idea, but then be scolded by Reika for doing that. Daiki is a walking disaster, but he’s a good kid.

The cool yet trolling duo: Mitsuki-Hikaru They’re very much Takeru-Hikari here. They’re like bros, they’re very much bros. It’s almost a couple! The thing is Mitsuki is too busy with his discoveries on old-fashioned stuff like phones and games to take a friggin’ hint. Is Mitsuki ace? Yes.

The Golden Trio: Daiki-Mai-Hikaru Daiki always needs a rival and a crush. But he’s not like his father, he secretly has a crush on Mai, and he has a healthy sportive rival-friendship with Hikaru. Mai enjoys spending time with these two as well.

The young ones: Takao-Yoshiya-Mirai The young ones relationship is quite similar to ol’ Takeru-Hikari as well. They’re friends, but also remembers the old Tai-Kou-Sora relationship. Yoshiya and Mirai are Takao’s besties.

The Ichijouji Geniuses: Mai-Toushin They’re normal siblings, but they’re very show offs together. Mai screams at her baby bro’s HIGHEST SCORES on gaming. She has a remix of all those sfx from the games he beat. But they fight for dumb things, like the last slice of cake. Think of Violet and Dash from The Incredibles.

The Theater Siblings: Atori-Yoshiya The sis is a fashion enthusiast, and the lil bro is obsessed with storytelling. Result? They make stories and design of each other.

The Goggle Buddies: Daiki-Takao THEY KEEP THE GOGGLES LEGACY ALIVE. As expected, Daisuke and Taichi children get along. Takao considers Daiki like a big bro. Daiki considers Takao is lil bro. If you mess with one, the other will bite your hand. Or you will be punched by their digimon partners.

The Sassy kids: Mitsuki-Toushin-Atori-Mirai These four have the power of sass.

The Responsible Squad: Jin-Mai-Mike-Reika The next gen’s dad, responsible dad and mom friends.

The One-sided Crush boys: Jin → Mike Yes. Jin is hella gay for Mike.

The Girls Power squad: Mai-Reika-Atori-Mirai Do not mess with them.

The older ones: Jin-Mai Listen to your elders!!

[broadwaycantdie]

In honor of pride month...

Newsies and their orientations/roles in the lgbt community (and relationships if applicable)

based pretty much on just what i think and if you don’t agree i’m sorry don’t hate me

jack: messiest bi ™ (dating crutchie)

davey: bicurious

crutchie: pure gold star gay boy (dating jack)

albert: doesn’t like labels, claims to “like whatever” (dating elmer)

race: the most twink ™ gay boy (dating spot)

spot: big strong muscly gay ™ (dating race)

elmer: everyone’s favorite bisexual baby boy (dating albert)

jojo: panromantic (dating tommy boy)

mush: pansexual (dating buttons)

tommy boy: biromantic and asexual (dating jojo)

smalls: panromantic asexual non-binary baby

romeo: pansexual (dating specs)

buttons: gender fluid (dating mush)

finch: straight ally

henry: questioning

specs: demisexual (dating romeo)

mike: iconic gay older bro

ike: chill straight (ally) little bro

sniper: handsome trans boy ™

kid blink: non-binary pure baby