#AND NOW THERE WILL BE A G A M E

[ryllen]

.+💚. Green .💚+.

#twisted wonderland #twst #sebek zigvolt #twst yuu #twst mc #fanart #continue watching the walkthrough #o rtho is working so hard right now #fsd it was so funny when everyone were making fanarts of i dia panicly going to face m alleus #like wha a t fhe he ck a re au gu ys e xpec t me to do ahfhahdsdjd BUT IN REALITY ORTHO IS THE ONE RUNNING AROUND RIGHT NOW #when l ilia let sebek talk at the party we all just G A SP >80 S E B E K THIS BO I #WHEN HE CANONLY OPENS HIS MOUTH U JUS T #BA D BO Y BA D BO Y #CLOS E IT RI GHT NO W

[emblazons]

Thinking about how people who only (or primarily) understand Mike’s arc through a “hes queer and coming to accept it / struggling with heteronormativity/will get his happy ending when he gets with Will” lens are missing at least half of what defines his arc in the wider context / themes of the show.

Forewarning: long post (& also maybe an unpopular opinion)

Even as a queer person myself, I know that his arc isn’t solely about embracing his queerness (though it’s inherently interlinked). In Mike, you have a character who is being radically challenged by both external circumstances and his own decisions through a journey away from all kinds of forced conformity (social, familial, romantic & heteronormative) and into someone self actualized enough to live how they want…while also being strong enough to accept that they made mistakes along the way. Someone who is learning to be brave enough to say “this is who I am, what I enjoy, and what/who I love…and while it took me a lot of time to figure it out, now I can exist in the world embracing that even though it will take consistently resisting the tendency to accommodate people who think it’s unacceptable.”

Like. Even from a time before puberty (see: S3) Mike wants a life that stands apart from what’s expected of him in every area, not just in choosing a romantic relationship with another guy. He wants to continue to be a nerd and “child at heart” even though something else is repeatedly demanded of him by everyone from his parents to El in his romantic relationship. He wants to be a writer and someone who takes those nerdy interests into his adult life (cue aggressive gesturing toward the duffers themselves) and grates against all that’s been constructed for him even when he’s not (yet) brave enough to challenge it directly. Mike liking boys/loving Will is just “the final nail in the coffin” of his social and societal nonconformity—not the first (or the last) aspect of what makes him different from Hawkins or the life he was made to believe would suit him best.

Even the fact that Mike has a desire to be “normal” comes from an insecurity and fear that choosing what he truly wants will lead to him being outcasted and losing the people he cares for entirely—which is partially motivated by his queerness yes, but that also has a basis in his general interests and personality…which becomes especially obvious when you realize we are repeatedly shown that he is punished/has his wishes ignored in all areas he doesn’t conform, even long before we get into a plot where it’s clearer he likes boys.

We see it in how his parents have already started to demand he put boundaries on the time he spends playing his “childhood games” the very first scene of season one, how they demand social acceptable emotions from him when Will is missing, and how Karen & Ted want him to give up toys in S2 when he’s showing signs of depression (because they think the issue is him growing up, not that he’s struggling with loss or guilt for what happened to El).

We see it in how his own father comments about taking his CA trip away from him after calling Hellfire being a group for “dropouts” in S4 (implying that he is failing on an academic and social level that matters to wheelers—and that Nancy is good at).

We even see it in the way everyone from his bullies to his own girlfriend threaten and take things away from him when he doesn’t conform to social expectations...from Troy telling him to jump off the cliff to save Dustin in S1 (as punishment for the one time Mike stands up for himself in the gymnasium) to El jumping straight into breaking up with him and spying on him when he doesn’t do exactly what she wants him to in Season 3.

All of these moments are critical to understanding Mike as a person because they show us that, even without addressing his queerness, Mike’s desire to conform to socialized expectations involves but is not solely about him moving out of heteronormativity—it’s about him moving against everything that WASP, patriarchal, heteronormative and capitalistic and performative “wholesome American” values…and how he is learning to move past the fear of what will happen if he steps outside the lines in general, even though he already knows he hates those standards.

Mike’s “coming of age” arc is about finding the strength to choose the “path less traveled” in all areas of his life—even when it means (potentially) losing the support of the people he cares about. It’s about starting from a place of privilege and becoming okay with being outcasted from it in a way your insecurities never let you be before (which is inherently different than Will, who has always been shown to have some kind of support not just for his queerness but his artistic endeavors as well). Mike’s lack of support is why he starts from a place of deep insecurity, yes—but it’s also why him learning power of choosing to be himself, even if it means “losing” people when he’s honest about who (& what) he is will be universally powerful.

You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of what it means to know you will be okay even if people leave you. You don’t need to be queer to understand the power of stepping outside social expectations or your family’s way of raising you. You don’t even need to be queer to understand the weight of breaking up with someone you were only with to satisfy what you thought you should do, rather than be with who you want to.

The power of being strong enough to overcome your insecurities in order to “step out of line” and live and love as you want to is universal, and a stunningly brave choice no matter what or why you chose to do so. The fact that Will will be there waiting to love him in that honesty with himself is beautiful, yes—but it’s not the only lesson to be learned for Mike’s character.

Mike starting out with everything the world (or, at least America) tells would make you happy, realizing he is not happy with those things and rejecting them knowing it might have consequences is what makes his arc powerful, because he is learning (exactly like his sister Nancy) to be brave enough to accept those consequences (which for him are getting dumped, and feeling like he’s being left behind by some of his friends) to follow his own heart.

Even though The Duffers aren’t writing this into a tragic ending (aka: he’s not going to die or be left alone, because the duffers writing is inherently designed ro champion the outcast), these are the things that have (and will) make him relatable even to an audience that doesn’t know queerness. Erasing the fact that his lesson is the bravery it takes to follow your heart solely to talk about him liking guys (even Will) is to undermine his humanity, and the lessons to be learned from him by even the most general an audience.

TL:DR - the heteronormative aspect of Mike’s character is not the sole or even inherent issue within Mike, though heteronormativity is inherently built into his struggle.

There are deep dives on how his arc is also about a war against toxic patriarchy, toxic masculinity, emphasis on capitalistic and academic accomplishments over artistic ones, and even conformist relationships (whether they’re queer or not) that should be explored for his character—and I for one like him too much not to move out of just “this boy is queer because xyz” and into “let’s talk about Mike in terms of the wider scope of his cultural context and upbringing.” 🤷🏽‍♀️😂

#imma go watch the Oscars now but #i know people mean NO HARM in focusing on the heteronormative part of his arc because on tumblr esp that is inherently relatable but #it’s not the only thing that makes his character interesting! #and it’s not the only thing he’s struggling with in his ‘coming of age!’ #understanding white masculinity in America on a wider scale is SUPER helpful to understanding Mike #and in that sense Reddit is actually pretty good at catching his drift—THEY JUST DONT REALIZE THE DUFFERS ARE U N D E R M I N I N G it #erasing Mike’s queerness is to do him a disservice. I absolutely believe this. #but to deny every other part of him that isn’t just expected to be straight is to oversimplify him aggressively #you need BOTH to understand him #which is why you need both El and Will to make sense of his struggle lmao #(I still 100% believe he’s gay not bi) #(but him dating a girl was necessary to make sense of understanding that aspect of socialized expectations). #ANYWAY. Sorry for the rant lmao #mike wheeler core #mike wheeler #my st commentary #byler #< target audience #stranger things

[non-un-topo]

More clothing studies, this time from my fic Axis. I was aiming for authenticity while also trying to have each of their personalities show a little bit in their clothing choices. Two for Nicky, to show his layers.

#tog #the old guard #for reference the fic takes place in 1625 in iceland. i still don't think they're bundled enough though lol. #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #andromache of scythia #no quynh :( #these were a n i g t m a r e to crop correctly. tumblr why are you like this. #hence the cropping might look a little weird #siggy draws #i think these sketches took a month and a half lol. now i will be quiet about this fic and focus on writing something else. #what do we think about this style? the differently coloured lineart and the slight lighting? and the rough colours? #also i forgot my siggynature on ALL of these but that's ok. you know who i am sdfghf #my new obsession is clothing details i guess!! could always make it more detailed though! with lots of practice i can try. #no real director's commentary on these drawings like i usually write for my sketches asdsfgfd #just that this is mostly what they wear in the fic. add a coat for andy maybe and some mitts for joe. #and more weapons and bags and stuff #can't really see nicky's braids but he's got one big french braid and a few tiny ones on the sides of his head connecting to it. #his hair is like shoulder-blade length. it's about the symbolism!! of not making a change for a long time!! until he does cut it!! #and andy is wearing quynh's necklace under her shirt of course </3 #joe rolls his pantaloons above the knee for maximum movement (horseriding) and fashion (gay) #i have a crush on the first nicky sketch like he's so cunty for no reason #well. he's possibly supposed to be having a serious conversation/argument with andy #kudos to the ref picture i used of luca just standing Like That

[deus-ex-mona]

real talk: lxl should continue to explore romance fantasy concepts in their songs. it’s clearly working for them~

#typical prince aesthetics in romeo/julieta and nonfan… and now historical rofan in meoto… #(and there’s also whatever’s going on in tsuki no hime but that has no mv :( sadge) #sorry guys i still have meoto on the brain pls suffer with me~~~~~~~~~ #but mannnnn. i was struck by sudden inspiration for a meoto au a n d #well. ig now i understand why they skipped over the falling in love phase. romance is hardddd #i want to subscribe to the meoto expansion pack p l s i need to know what their deal is~~~~ #bc man. how in the world did they go from complete indifference to promising to stay together forever hello #what happened???????? excuse??????????? #man. m a n. ok i think im done for the night. i hope #LXL MEOTO CRISIS 2K24 #(but if anyone here wants to get into the otome isekai genre in general… i recommend starting off with ✨s u r v i v i n g r o m a n c e✨ #(it’s a great story and it’s still modernised enough to ease into the genre. and after that…) #(you can just go for the series with the most interesting premise/prettiest art/both tbh) #(though i personally recommend ✨the perks of being an s class heroine✨ ✨the villainess’s stationery shop✨ for milder content) #(and there’s also some series with both isekai and regression.) #(like they isekai after their 1st life in 20xx-> live out their 2nd life in the fantasy world -> regress to a point in their 2nd life) #(for that type i kinda like ✨i shall master this family✨ though ngl i’m mostly reading it bc i think the aunt is very pretty) #(a nd there’s the occasional modern regression story but that’s pretty soap drama-esque and the one i read got ridiculous at times lmao) #(but ofc the ones with less romance focus are fun too~~~~ like stories with multiple isekai-ed people for one) #(b u t i digress i think i’ll stop here before i lose the plot any longer ahaha~~~~)

[ctommy-chileno]

he is going places!!!

#now its time for the heavy coding of things like #m o n e y and m i n i g a m e s and u n l o c k a b l e s #tommyinnit #tommygotchi #in other news i think i have a fever #so the day it releases if it has a virus it was because i was coughing in the pc so sorry

[piningprecussionist]

Template by @juni38

Im going to be completely frank with you all... and admit that I read these options and wasn't sure how to take this chart,,, so uh. Under the cut is Another Version. I'd apologize but I've given you the option to keep scrolling ¯\_(･･)_/¯

(If you notice characters missing on Kim's side, I probably figured she doesn't know who they are lol)

For the record,,, if they *wanted* me to pull their hair-- *is shot several times before I can continue*

Uhh Matthew is here because I have been converted fully on he/him or enby lesbian Matthew I think. He lives in my brain rent free now, very gender. I'd pull his hair but also I think he mostly just deserves to have it played with nicely.

And Scott's here because 1) I enjoy trans Scott, 2) Kim Pine Brain Rot possibly, 3) idk he's like,, the exception. God damnit, I've fallen for the inexplicable Scott Pilgrim Effect. What the fuck--

I did think about doing this chart like everyone was actually applicable to my tastes, but even if they were I think the ones I didn't put up would have to fall on the caress side bc I just don't feel that way abt them lol.

Again, not to say that's the case for the gals over on that side,,, I just think I would want to be gentle w them shxkdjsdhbd with the exception for Lynette who probably deserves to have her hair pulled, but again I fear she would Hurt Me,,, but maybe in a fun way,,,

Anyway No One Look At Me....

(,, also,,, Ramona is so far over bc I think she would enjoy it,, otherwise she'd be closer to Kim in that section. Same thing w Roxie)

If anyone actually looks at this version, I'm not opposed to doing a version like this for Kim btw! Just ask for it so I feel like I'm not just Dropping This and scurrying away

#sp comic #meme #kim pine #id tag more people but i Do Not Have The Strength.... #also i like Living and I think the idea of more people seeing the suggestively taken one makes me want to Die a little #(not to say you cant reblog this or whatever im just being dramatic shdjejsdhdhgdd I am generally a fairly Reserved person) #for the kim chart- i based my other scott placement on the interaction theyve had here! i think if they interacted for real or more often + #+ he'd end up definitively in the Pull Roughly suggestion with most people #ooc #he maybe if i finish edits for everyone i could try this w the au stuff. kit's thoughts might be different here... #hey* #also let me know if i forgot anyone??? i thought abt including the robots but. no hair. and gideon the cat has Fur so. on technicality- #but like barring parents and peter i think i got most people #i guess if lainey was here she'd go somewhere in the middle or right? w/out knowing what she'd be like #FUCK I DIDNT MEAN TO POST THIS. I MEAN IT'S HERE NOW SO IM NOT REMOVING IT BUT I AM S C R E A M I N G I WASNT READY #ah i forgot crash and the boys actually. thats why i wasnt supposed to post this yet #uhhhh Pull Roughly for like all of them. except trasha. trasha gets head pats and a juice box #except for on Kim's chart. on Kim's chart she's in the pull roughly section I can't lie to myself. she hates that kid 😭 also on that note + #+ knives should probably be in the middle section. like she wants to pull it for her having copped her style and being stupid abt scott. #but I didn't put her there bc I feel like even if she wants to she wouldn't ya know? knives is a Precious Angel after all

[mysticcomfort]

Voreville Chaos pt. 1

#hehehe #me when I get you #I will #safe vore #soft vore #just keeping this in the vore tags #nonsexual vore #draw the squad #we do be the sillys #hehe my found vore fam <333 #I bully them as a treat #pro tip don’t neglect yourself they will attack you #I live in f e a r #preds do be getting wrecked by their prey #emotional d a m a g e #ENOUGH FUCKERY FOR NOW I BEGIN AGAIN TOMORROW

[sunsetcowboy]

I was in the most pain I've ever been in last night. I thought I was gonna die🙃

#i felt l ike i was going to pass out and i went to the h ospital and they were l ike 'ya n othing we can do #just keep doing what you're doing' it's clearly not working😡 #but i have s everal more a ppointments soon so h opefully so meone can h elp m e then. cause that p ain was u nbearable #n ightmare w eek nd hel l w orld #rin posting #i c ry never when I'm in p ain but i l iterally couldn't stop c rying. i felt w eak and so si ck #w hatever they say I'm not d ying go od g reat #don't worry i f eel b etter now but yeah it's still not p leasant rn😞. kind of constantly in pa in these d ays #ha te it here b estie #a sk to t ag. s orry. #d eletelater

[fragmentedink-archived]

just learned the term "compassion fatigue" and oh boy I didn't realize there was an official term for me feeling like "I care and I care until I don't. and then I'm heartless" bec my problem has always been caring too much until the point I can no longer bring myself to care anymore

I have bent over backwards to help people and when I hit my breaking point I don't have it in me to prevent them from drowning anymore

#m e #compassion fatigue #case in point: me defending Tasha and Ande at work and fivi g ghem m9re grace than ANYONE and now no one despises ande more than me lmao #they took me wanting to help and ran with it and now look where we are. im just gonna sit back and watch ande hang herself #esp bec she weaponized my autism against me??? and is teyinf to concince tasha im " #miscommunicating #give me a break

[therealtsk]

i finished alan wake 2 tonight i will never be the same

#alan wake 2 #alan wake 2 spoilers #AW2 #this is now an alice wake stan account #what the fuck #that ending #that fucking ending #also WHAT IS UP WITH THOMAS ZANE #OR SEINE I GUESS #AND THAT MOVIE??? WITH SAM??? HELLO??? #S C R E A M I N G

[biitchcakes]

let me tell you what you're experiencing soul-crushing nostalgia towards right now

your first time hearing a song

god you wish you could go back to the time you first heard it. it seemed to be there at the right time, right when you needed it most. it fit into your life like a missing puzzle piece and in that moment, everything else seemed insignificant. you probably played it too much after that. maybe it lost some of its spark. you hope to find that feeling again.

tagged by: @danversiism 💖 tagging: you !

#OOOOO yes this is good #she's def (over)played the hell out of certain songs #listens to certain ones and just -- #gets a pang of nostalgia for her early 20s in california #for her times living with lindsay #the way things were still difficult and complex but #still so much easier than they are now #hm yknow... this has inspired me #i might make a post about this at some point hKSGD #also that icon of her - one of my faves fr #( c h . s t u d y . ) #( d a s h g a m e s . )

[stardestroyer81]

Pizza Tower has single-handedly made rats one of my all-time favorite animals and I am hereby coronating myself as the number one Bad Rat fan.

The 𝓡𝓪𝓽 𝓠𝓾𝓮𝓮𝓷, if you will.

#Star's Art #Fursona #Sheep Fursona #Pizza Tower #Bad Rat #Sprite Art #Coolness #Behold... s m u g s h e e b #For a short while I had the phrase 'number one Bad Rat fan' as my status on Discord #And just recently I had the urge to take that and make a small drawing based around it! #I thought it would be a cute idea to draw my fursona wearing an oversized shirt that read the such #Though I had a VERY specific way I wanted to portray myself... #... as a smol and smug chibi sheeb #Suffice to say I think I nailed it XD #I have a version of the art where my shirt is blank so if you want the template I'll send it to you! #That aside... I'm absolutely obsessed with the rats of Pizza Tower #Literally every time I see a Bad Rat or get to play as Gustavo and Brick I always get so excited and happy!! #I'm very much tempted to make a post showcasing the different varieties of rats you can encounter in the tower... #... though for now I find that this art properly shows my love for them! #Also this is technically the first look y'all get at the latest iteration of my fursona! #If you want to see it in its entirety... keep an eye out on my City Nights in Lorenzo sideblog 👀💙

[timelessbian]

TADLER AU where the bond doesn’t dissolve

She’s sitting in Mothertongue translating the word rope when she sees her hang. She can smell the fire of torches, hear the chants of villagers, and see General Alder’s sister. And then she’s feeling an unbearable rage and sadness and she’s screaming. Then she’s being shaken and Raelle is looking at her. Raelle doesn’t say anything, but she can see the question in her eyes.

The next time she’s with Abigail in training then she’s leading a group of witches in colonial dresses in a parade. She’s watching people clap and scream the war is over. Then she’s being hit with an apple core and told to go home by a town’s person who tells her she’s still not an American. Next, Abigail hands her a tissue for the nose bleed that she didn’t cause and class is over.

This continues again and again until she see’s all of the pain. She feels the crippling of her spirit, of her skin. She’s paper thin when she talks to her knowing teacher about books about seeing into the past. Then she’s reading pages so old she can’t tell if cut comes from the paper or watching Alder write draft after draft of letters to fight for funding for injured soldiers.

Then one day she’s talking to Anacostia and seeing her look up, physically and metaphorically, to Alder while talking to her past Alder’s office. Tally walks into a wall and laughs until she can’t breathe.

“You’re fighting for me, all of me, potentially the last witch of her line, but also the part of me that one who holds you to the promises you made for a better future. I want to be part of that, so badly, it literally hurts”, she says wiggling her fingers after the healer sets her bones.

“Your loss doesn’t excuse your actions, but I understand them and I want you to keep fighting.” And because Alder acknowledges someone has felt her pain, that someone has truly SEEN her, then Tally is healed. Idk the end I just wanted to put this out there where bc we acknowledge pain we can share it with others and change.

no no keep going i'm just going to put my head through drywall about this actually 🥲

#you will forever find me S C R E A M I N G about the lost potential of exploring alder's backstory in general but esp through the bond #she was!! a traumatized child!! she signed the accords without a fully developed frontal lobe and we're not gonna unpack that?!!? AT ALL??? #something about that vs tally not knowing what she was getting herself into when she said the words...i'm talking myself into feelings now #also i do literally have something vaguely similar to this collecting dust in my drafts haha jk unless #anyway hi anon i've missed you!! thanks for this stab to the heart <3 #talder anon #talder

[deus-ex-mona]

when you’re trying to sleep but the 2 morons living rent free in your mind be like

#g o away moronxmoron l e m m e sleeeeeep #tried listening to the meoto preview with the auto captions on for the funsies and yujiro’s ‘anata no mono ni natteru’ t o o k me out aaaaaa #idk if that’s really what he’s saying for now bc my ears are rubbish bUT IF IT ISSSSSSSS #YUJIRO. WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU BELONG TO AIZO ON MAIN H ELP #auauauauauauauauuauauauauaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa #crisis be crisising this is not fair i just wanna sleeeeeep #at least the workweek’s 2/5 done… i can’t wait to spend the next week crying over lxl album 24/7 #pls album pspspspslspsps come in a day early again like the sukiitai album pspspspspsps i n e e d meoto full ver #man this is barely coherent i should really try harder to fall asleep ok gn see you when either last stage or white day kiss drops on friday #染BODY ONCE TOLD ME— #LXL MEOTO CRISIS 2K24

[darabeatha]

/ I LOVE A.CHERON- I'm so glad I did the story and got her

#;ooc #ooc #if i haven't done the story; i prob would have not caught up on her character? and would have skiped her #BUT IM GLAD I FINISHED IT- #she's so cool;; and ur honor she's like; the standing man emoji #not to mention that i just love characters that have their hair covering one eye; -insert way too many examples of characters- #i now have to pull an a.venturine and g a m b l e for him on the gacha (i do n o t gave guaranteed) BUT!! i do have 68 wishes #PRAYING SCREAMING CRYING #i do have quite a lot of side content to get gems if i fa- #NO! I HAVE TO MANIFEST!! #🗣🗣🗣a.venturine AND b.oothill will be mine TRUE🗣❗️❗️❗️ #also the drinks event is so soothing i LOVE

[dracolizardlars]

bc I've watched a couple videos about weird time signatures in videogame music recently. youtube recommended me a video titled something like "Songs in 5/4 Time" and the thing is THE THING IS. 2-D GORILLAZ IS ON THE THUMBNAIL (alongside I think Taylor Swift and some other fucking pop musicians idk). So IMMEDIATLY I'm like oh shit there's a gorillaz song in-

oh my god.

oh my FUCKING GOD.

See.. I took it as personal challenge, I stuck the video in my Watch Later and have spent the day trying to figure out for myself which Gorillaz song is in 5/4, been listening to all their singles / well known tracks cus I figured it would be one of those to get mentioned in a video like that that was clearly about pop music, and every. single. song. is so clearly and aggressively in perfect, pure 4/4 time

but the thing is

I thought "I'm familiar with Gorillaz' entire catalogue, I should be able to guess! :)"

BUT I'M NOT.

I don't like their DEBUT ALBUM very much so I haven't listened to it in YEARS

I FORGOT THERE'S A FUCKING TRACK CALLED 5/4

edit: I just noticed today's date is 5/4 in my country's format. this is completely coincidental. swear to god those numbers are haunting me

#it just hit me WHILE TYPING THE POST and I am S C R E A M I N G #I WASTED SO MUCH TIME THINGKING ABOUT THIS AND GOING THROUGH WELL KNOWN GORILLAZ TRACKS #I have very little recollection of how the track 5/4 goes except 'she turned my dad onnnnn' #I'm going to listen to it right now in uh. celebration. #oh interesting! the drum beat is in 4/4 but everything else is in 5/4! #in-universe... does Russel not know how to drum in anything other than 4/4? cus it fucking feels like it #draco speaks #if it wasnt for the tracks title I absolutely would not have 'noticed' the time signature because I only count drum beats if they're presen