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chirpsythismorning · 1 year

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Your last post is amazing and I want to share with you that I had a similar journey when it comes to shipping byler.

I first watched the show when season 2 had just come out in 2017, and I was a hardcore milkvan shipper (I was 13 and I didn't know any better and lacked critical thinking skills lmao). While watching season 3 for the first time I noticed Will being gay (I gasped at the rain fight scene), but just like you I assumed milkvan would be endgame. After watching the infamous last milkvan kiss in the last episode, I was left with a weird feeling about it for the next week but I was never able to put my finger on what exactly had felt so wrong in that scene.

Like you, I also have never shipped ships where I didn't notice that there was clear buildup towards endgame (I even watched outer banks for the first time earlier this year and a lot of the fandom swears there has been jiara buildup from the first season, but I know that's not true and the only scene I can identify as true buildup is in the last episode of season 2). However, two years ago I began studying film and how it works, first in highschool and last year in college. I learned a lot about visual storytelling and I also gained an incredible amount of media literacy. Exactly a year ago, a month before vol 1 came out, I was bored and decided to rewatch the whole 3 seasons.

With my older age now and my better understanding of cinematography and narrative, I stopped liking milkvan in the first season because of the born sexy yesterday trope, but I also began to notice how Mike was surrounded by queer coding, both narratively and by the framing of his scenes with Will (the hand hold close up hello). Then I got to the end of season 3, watched that kiss again... and I noticed Mike's eyes were full open and the closet (Wills closet!) door was perfectly dividing Mike and El as if there was a wall between them. That's how, years after, I realized why that scene had felt so wrong to me the first time I watched it. I saw that boy was gay.

However, I was still skeptical precisely because I never fell for queer coding. But I went onto to Tumblr and I decided to read byler theories. I went in with an open mind and I realized that it made perfect sense and it was set up way too perfectly, so it couldn't be a coincidence, either it was queer waiting or true.

I went into vol 1 so excited, I noticed Mike's queer coding on episode 1 alone was SO heavy (I went 🤨 with his bedroom posters and one way sign, the way he looked at Eddie, the people he wanted to ask to be subs in Hellfire...). Then when he dropped the famous "were friends, were friends!" that's when I knew they were going there. And they I saw that he couldn't say I love you to El? That was the moment I smiled widely, and ever since that moment, I've known byler is endgame and I've never had a single doubt ever again. Not even in the aftermath of volume 2. I knew Mike's speech being based on the painting attributed to El when it's actually Wills mimicked the plot of many teenage early 2000s movies (yes I was the girl who wrote you that love letter not her, I'm the one who actually loves you like that... And then boom they always end together). Then, El wasn't speaking to him, and I saw the last shot with the couples standing together. I knew that it was intentional for them to be positioned that way, and at this point I knew it wasn't queerbaiting

YES!

It's so cool to hear other bylers experiences with being introduced to all the evidence and just hearing about similar experiences in general!

I feel like a lot of bylers are just sort of lumped in with this naive stereotype of someone who always falls for queer-bait? Like we kind of just get lumped into it when the circumstances for Byler are completely different than the queer-bait ships that came way before.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being a frequent queer-baitee. There literally isn't. Especially bc queer-baiting is referring to instances when a queer non-canon pairing is supported by the fans and the creators sort of humor it while knowing full well it won't happen?

Obviously times are changing at like lightening speed.

For example Stranger Things came out in 2016 and tbh 2016 is a completely different era of representation that 2023. 2016 was like the end of the queer-baiting era almost, give or take a few years. As we got closer to the 2020's, we started to see more queer rep that I feel like wasn't very overtly obviously queer-bait, but often queer characters at the forefront as the main or being more than just another example of the 'bury your gays' trope.

Also I took film classes in high school and I'm now majoring in film studies! So that was also something that no doubt had a massive impact on my perspective of things changing throughout that time from s1 to s4's release as well!

Even despite that I am a little bit slow about catching onto things, and so like it doesn't even matter that I have extra terminology under my belt or something. For example, I have a sister who hates movies, but when I do manage to convince her to watch a movie or show that I think she'll like, she'll notice stuff I didn't notice upon watching for the first time, while I on the other hand didn't notice that detail until like my 3rd rewatch. And it seriously pisses me off so much!!!!! She doesn't even appreciate her gift!

I remember watching s4 with her, and literally having no knowledge of anything outside of half paying attention while watching, she was like, Mike's pocket looks like an arrow... And I just looked at her completely silent and had to look away like seriously fuck you I had to go online and hear hundreds of bylers obsessing over it to think about it that way. But that's also just us as a fandom seeing stuff simultaneously and figuring it out together. Maybe I would've figured out the arrow pocket myself if I had actually not been exposed to the flurry of theories while s4 was promoted and released.

Still, it just goes to show that while yes extra knowledge about film is extremely helpful, like very helpful obviously, someone without any experience can be capable of picking up on things you missed regardless. And I do love that because it's just a reminder that no matter peoples bias' we can work together and figure shit out.

Also why I sometimes still enjoy lurking reddit bc they can be smart, and even a homophobes POV can come in handy bc I feel like they are avoiding the gay subtext at all costs so they're able to focus on things that we might overlook?

I do notice that a lot of people treat bylers like they are pervs and need to stop shipping boys together bc it's just not going to happen and we shouldn't be crying queer-bait, or this or that?

But like, first of all, it's half-canon my friend. One of the characters is, in canon, in love with the other. And there's still one more season left. And the other character has no idea that the other character is in love with them...

That doesn't happen bro. It just doesn't.

And not only that but, we were obviously milkvans at one point... I personally skipped entire episodes for those bitches...

And yet, even despite that, I also noticed something off between them just like 90% of the ga did before even looking up theories or picking up on byler fully.

This isn't a case of a bunch of people shipping two boys for shits and giggles (and even if it was, who fucking cares).

What's happening on Stranger Things is not something that happens, ever. You don't make the main couple become this pairing that the audience is indifferent to in the 3rd and 4th season, practically repeating the same storyline of them being incompatible, only to make their love for each other fail at saving the day... and with unresolved feelings between the main guy and his best friend being unaddressed... It's not a thing.

If more fans realized that this isn't even about shipping and it's just about literally paying attention beyond seeing what you want to see, then they'd understand where we're coming from. I shipped Milkvan but it's clear to me that the story is trying to convey they are not right for each other. I'm not going to hold onto a romantic relationship between two characters who met when they were like 12 and were sort of pressured into being romantic instantly, just bc love at first sight or something? That's stupid. If it was built up more satisfying, and if Will wasn't there being in love with Mike and with Mike clearly holding similar feelings then it wouldn't be what it clearly is. A fucking story that is clearly heading in the direction of a straight-bait/endgame main queer couple.

#byler #queer-baiting is sooo complex #the history behind it is also soooo complex #bc back in the day gay people were so vilified that ANY representation was a fucking godsend #even being teased and mocked was like well we're getting something?#it was at least something #that's the shitty part #but over time #dead gay character after dead gay character #it got exhausting #it wasn't even unique anymore #it wasn't something anymore #it was just the same recycled tropes reused by coward showrunners #who instead of telling the audience it wouldn't happen #they would joke about it very subtly in the show #like so subtely barely even there #but never actually have the characters talk about it #while also joking about it all the time in press #it was always like a big laugh fest while also humoring it even though... they knew it wouldn't happen #so byler is so interesting bc despite will being in love with mike #they refuse to go beyond discussing the other side of it #if they wanted to avoid queerbait they would have had mike be obviously aware of will's feelings rn and end the confusion #instead they tell fans that mike is still clueless #and then they're like next question #WHY do that if you see that everyone is starting to hate your main ship and support them?#why not be like sorry not happening?#probably because it would be awkward to backtrack from that statement when it does happen *gunshots*

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baby-xemnas · 4 months

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this is kinda sappy but w/e!! U made my 2023 more fun and full of love for pairings I fell super hard for and ur art and ideas constantly brightened up my day or inspired me and I really enjoyed every piece!! So thank u for bringing a bit of joy into the year and I rlly hope u enjoy 2024. Happy new year!!!

sappy is good, i love sappy, im a very sentimental person and i value immensely any instance of emotion that i could bring out of anybody be it by art or words

so I'm very happy - i say it every time BUT IT'S TRUE EVERY TIME!

thank you so much for your message and im happy and grateful that you spent the time to express your feelings to me, it really does mean a lot

giving you a huge hug and wishing you the best in 2024!!!!!!!!

#its 3:20 and i am very drunk happy new year #please stay with me guys in 2024 you are so awesome #despite shitheads and getting cancelled for being russian and having an edgy sense of humor u guys made the final #quarter of the year so fun for me #i havent been in a big fandom in a while #it has its upsides and downsides #but you definitely made me wanna stick around #i appreciate every ask every tag every reply #i read all of them and im so glad that this obsession of mine got such positive resonance #i once again repeat myself but it bears repeating because it's important to me!#and its important to me that you know that i love all of you so much #sorry for when i get whiny if I'm annoying #i hope you let it slide you are so nice after all #thank youu anon #thank you EVERYONE #anonymous

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josephslittledeputy · 9 months

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I should wait till wednesday to post but I can't refrain, so, posting a small snippet of what I've been doing this past month (been reworking chapter 3 of willa's dark fic.... why does writing have to take so damn long)

“You haven’t touched your food.”

“That’s because I’m tied to a fuckin’ chair, John.”

“Ah, right.” His chin juts up, signaling one of his men over.

“What?” She snorts when the peggie lifts a fork full of mashed potatoes to her mouth. “Not gonna make airplane noises too?” Begrudgingly, she leans forward, knowing that she needed the food and to continue playing this role. “Gotta say, it’s better than that other godawful concoction the other night. Are you sure you made this?” This time she directs the question at John, smiling when his fork stops halfway to his mouth.

“You should be grateful I’m doing this at all, Deputy. I could have left you down there with the others.”

“Oh, yes! I am sooo grateful John. Thank you for taking me out of your metal prison and putting me into a wooden one.” Taking another, more forceful bite, she cringes when her teeth scrape against the fork, wanting nothing more than to feed herself for once. But she had yet to earn that privilege. God forbid she stab a fork into someone, as if she wouldn’t just use her teeth if she really wanted to. "So what, are we trauma bonding now or something?"

"What?"

"Well, you shared your trauma then pried mine out too. So what's that make us, hm?"

John stabs the fork into his steak and lifts it to his mouth, chewing thoughtfully after. "I'm trying to help you, Deputy. Don't you see that?"

She leans forward, taking a bite when the peggie lifts the fork to her mouth. Now it's her turn to chew thoughtfully. "What about your parents, John?” Silence. Not even the peggie guards make a noise, though they do exchange nervous glances. "Let's talk about that. About how you broke up your own family… landed yourself in an even worse situation." She tilts her head, satisfied when his jaw clenches with anger. "Alone."

"Enough!" He slams a fist on the table, causing his plate to jump and drawing a few eyes from the guards outside. "We're done here." The chair scrapes against the floor and the thump of his aggravated footsteps slowly fade away.

"Was it somethin' I said?" She flashes the peggie at her side a shit eating grin.

#god these two *will* be the death of each other though #a little humor amongst the darkness of this chapter #my girls been carved up like a thanksgiving turkey and *still* pesters john like a mosquito on the wall #also i think all of the peggies are so relieved that willa escapes johns ranch despite it being bad news for them bc she really is the #absolute worst captive they've had. theres a reason john had to put that bit in her mouth weporgijewr shes a mouthy little shit #tbd #also been working on some cel & gabriel but i need to make it angstier... hes gotta be more angry that cel just shows up after #being the one who exposed the truth and ruined his life wpoigrjerw (which tbh his life was a lie so idk she did him a favor 🤷🏻‍♀️)

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theriu · 2 years

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Normal Bloggers: My blog is a cultivated garden. I post/draw/write for this particular fandom so people who come to me can be assured they’ll find more of the content they love. I must continue to share this kind of content, lest my beloved followers lose interest and wander away.

Me, a spastic tumblr veteran: I toss out whatever fancy strikes me like brightly colored lures into the sea. Those who come seeking further treasures land in a kalaidescope of directionless chaos. Some of them like my particular flavor of randomness and stay, and we have a good ol’ time. I have never posted about miraculous ladybug before today and rarely will again. I throw a star trek headcanon into the universe then return to stocking my fridge with memes and cat videos. At night I stalk the notes of favorite posts of mine for nice comments, like a gremlin eating treats under the bed.

#river rambles #tumblr #miraculous ladybug #tumblr memes #star trek #inspired by the zooming popularity of my recent mlb/princess bride post #and the smattering of new followers resulting from it #thank you for coming and deciding it was worth a stay despite the lack of actual ladybug content #I love you all please enjoy my family friendly blog of chaos #humor #nightblogging

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theres-whump-in-that-nebula · 10 months

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Whumpers, what are your earliest memories?

Mine is from when I was about two or three. I was in a stroller, at my cousin’s Irish dancing recital. After the recital, my aunts were talking down to me in the stroller, and to each other. I was experiencing extreme anxiety because I couldn’t understand what they were saying, when I felt I should have been able to communicate with them like they were communicating with each other. I was also very tired and dazed. I did not cry though… I probably looked normal on the outside.

I also remember when I was about four or five, I went to the beach with my dad and one of his friends. I somehow found my way onto the dock, planted my little rear end on a jet ski, untethered it from the dock, and started floating into the sunset. There was an old lady lounging in a donut inflatable out some way; she said something to me, but I couldn’t understand what she said, despite trying really hard. I’m assuming it was something along the lines of “Oh my god get off that jet ski you’re going to fucking DIE, kid,” but again… couldn’t understand a word of what she said, and got frustrated because she was speaking English (without an accent) and I should know how to understand adults speaking English to me.

At this point, my dad is yelling at me from across the water, and a young lifeguard drags the jet ski back. On land, my dad lectured at me very harshly as he led me back to the car. I didn’t know I had done anything wrong, and was very confused. At some point this guy starts quoting the Bible at me, and the only thing I could pick out were the words (spoken very emphatically), “Your days are numbered.”

“My days are numbered?” cue a vivid mental image of a calendar, with dates listed for every day of the week, “What does that mean?” Later on I figured out this was the Bible’s way of referencing death at God’s hand which just made me even more confused as to what I did, until at age thirteen, I figured out, “Oh a baby who can’t swim floating on a jet ski is terrifying, actually.”

Tagging: @kaleidoscopr @redd956 @hereissomething @astudyinpanda @c0ldbrains @straight-to-the-pain

#tag game lol #I had a thing with not understanding people very well (or at all) as a child idk if that’s normal kid stuff or what lol #Like you know how in dreams people’s speech is a blur? That was how I (mostly) interacted with the world from ages two to six #My best friend at the time would talk to me a lot (she was a couple years younger) and she was still partly in the “babbling” phase #and couldn’t speak clearly at all #so I just kind of nodded and went along with it despite having no idea what the hell she just said #Which I continued to do with everyone else into adulthood; as soon as someone talks to me I zone out whether I want to or not lol #My life has been a perpetual cycle of: “Why can’t I do that; am I stupid or something?” > studying it intensely > excelling at it #Like humor. No one laughed at my jokes in my first year of public school; so I watched what made people tick…#By the time junior year online English class rolled around I had the teachers and students in stitches almost constantly #Likewise with understanding people: I zone out all the time; but I can quickly replay what I heard in my head and ask a question to verify #if that’s what they said; then give an appropriate response to it #Basically I repeat 70% of what people say to me during conversation to make sure I’m not missing anything #As a result I’m now pretty good at figuring out what people are saying if there are language barriers or speech abnormalities involved #But do NOT give me verbal directions; I can and will forget them the instant you walk away

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yandere-monoma · 4 days

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Im reading kill your ego right now and ill admit im a bit biased because John and Roxy are my favorites of all the human kids but I just have to know your thoughts on John Lalonde!!

HEHEHE don't tell the others but john lalonde might be my favorite of the kye kids hehehe

my DARLING little dark academia boyo. it's especially fun thinking about him at the moment because i'm in the middle of a homestuck reread with some friends and it's really reminding me of all the similarities between john and rose in the early acts. the way they both misrepresent and resent their parents for the interests they share (or don't share) and the way they try and avoid their dumb lame parents and all their lovey dovey shit

so it's fun taking john and giving something really to complain about and avoid. we take away the self-loathing and (psychotic) depression/chucklevoodoo influence that the egberts are cursed with and we replace it with a superiority complex and a whole lot of pretentiousness. john lalonde is an incredibly proud academic and scholar and you WILL know that he's an intellectual if it's the LAST THING HE DOES!!!

now, john's main problem with mom, as we'll see later in the fic, isn't that he thinks she's being passive aggressive with him, because i think that is honestly a very rose-specific result of her capacity to overthink. he's just honestly disappointed with her. as with all of the lalondes, john goes through the parentification that mom lowkey pushes all of her kids through by neglecting them emotionally, and he takes it pretty hard. he's overwhelmed by the endless attention, he's walking on tiptoes because he never knows when some new ridiculous thing is going to happen, and he can't even get space because who KNOWS what will happen to her and the house if he tries to stay away for an entire week???? and because he's so combative, he's incredibly loud and open about how it's affecting him. he is ready to trauma dump within a moment's notice about his mom's alcoholism, his mom's love bombing, his mom's flaws in general

though of course, he doesnt have any, no, he's perfect 🥰 HE does everything right its just everyone else thats wrong!!! and that's another point of conflict between him and everyone. his mom is into science and fantasy and literature, sure, but not the RIGHT kinds, because john's into the right kind and everyone should be into sci fi like he is, duh. both he and rose actually dabble in different types of reading and writing in this verse, but clearly HE'S the literary genius since HE reads all the good smart books while she reads a whole lot of dumb books that only horny nerd girls like 🙄 and he clearly sees jade and dave as on a lower level to him and takes every chance he can to try and 'assist' them because they're too dumb and naive to take care of themselves. lucky them, though, because they actually get to be kids, and he wants to protect their innocence just as much as he wants to protect his own status and reputation

so! at the end of the day, he's pretty much a rich boy who had to grow up too fast and is incredibly bitter of that fact, but he won't let that bitterness get in the way of all the interests and people he's so incredibly passionate about. i think john egbert is kinda aimless in a lot of ways (like we don't even really know what he wants to do when he grows up) and while i don't think john lalonde has decided a career just yet, he's someone who is constantly working on some sort of creative project for himself and can easily imagine himself in quite a few different paths for life. i think he's full of love and the capacity for empathy but struggles to access it as he drowns in his frustration over the life he feels trapped in. he's incredibly sensitive which is why we see him flying off the handle so often because he's got such a delicate little ego that feels threatened so often (god does johnny have npd i think he does rip)

and i think he dearly dearly dearly loves his mother as every lalonde child does (not that he openly shows it, which of course he's going to regret with EVERYTHING he has) and he will utterly be in PIECES when she dies. he's a mama's boy through and through but he doesn't want to come across as one, he wants people to see him as a respectable and independent bachelor but he doesn't want to show weakness either. he wants to be a leader (because his mom is a leader!!) but honestly he's still the pushover we know and love and he's constantly at the whims of his mother, especially physically, because he's such a cute lil proper boy haha i always imagine him with like cute styled hair and stiff lil preppy outfits and thin wiry glasses (if he even wears glasses, i love the thought of him getting pushed into either wearing contacts or fully just already having some bonkers corrective surgery done on him already)

and hes SUCH A CUTIEEEEEEEE I CANT WAIT TO SHOW HIM OFF MORE WHEEEEEEE

#fic: kill your ego #john lalonde #i think it's super cute that honestly without dad's influence he loses so much of his goofiness and humor #john lalonde and john strider are both so soooo serious and sulky it's so cute #especially cuz i do think a lot of john's more depressive and moody traits are an inherent part of his core #that gets exaggerated through being in more abrasive environments #also i think it's so easy to see that john is like. being prissy and bitchy but like #he LOVES being a lil bitch he's having so much fun but also he's sosososososoooo pissy like #god the narc injury of it all its actually funny i only just clocked this in him despite thinking about him for months rip HJSKFLG

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