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apatheticlexicographer · 11 months

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i'm about to get mauled ALIVE for saying this but here goes:

i think m'leven's relationship should be based on a mutually requited crush. both the implications it would have on their personal development as characters and the message it would send to the audience would be substantially more impactful, healthy, and progressive than if they only dated out of obligation. in fact, the thematic message of their relationship SIMPLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE without a foundation of genuine romantic attraction.

still with me??? okay, good.

when shows deal with romance they tend to fall into the categories of either having pretty much every character shipped with every other character at some point, or of having the endgame ships be the most obviously pushed from the start. byler has definitely been built up from the start, but the majority of the show's audience didn't consider it as an option for canon until s4, when they started making it blatant. hell, a lot of people didn't even realize WILL was queer until s3 (again, when the show started to place heavy emphasis on it), and even then a lot of people thought he might be ace rather than gay.

mike and el, on the other hand, were practically the show's flagship couple for the first 2 seasons at least. it wasn't until s3 that their popularity started to dip and their relationship began to receive a lot more criticism. which makes sense, considering they hadn't actually been IN said relationship in the previous seasons. they had a couple of romantic interactions, sure, but we didn't see how they would interact *as a couple*. people obviously couldn't predict how their dynamic would actually pan out!!! that isn't to say that the negative aspects of their relationship were a bait-and switch, though: red flags were visible since at least s2, but they were far from being the focal point and a lot of shippers interpreted them as being cute (like el's jealousy over max).

having a show acknowledge the fact that the first person you get a crush on (because correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm pretty sure they're canonically each other's first crush???) isn't necessarily your ~soulmate~ is a great thing. even better when they go a step further, and play with the concept!!! the text of stranger things doesn't actually push m'leven as a paragon of romantic love. if you listen to what the other characters say about their (romantic) relationship, their opinions are entirely neutral/negative???

lucas teases mike about his crush in s1, but calls him hopeless in s3. hopper is out of line with how agressively he acts about their relationship, but the resolution of that character arc for him is about him acknowledging that he's been overbearing and accepting that he needs to let el grow up, and NOT some hammy realization that "what they have is true love, i was wrong to interfere!!!" max thinks their clinginess is sweet at first in s3, but she isn't very close with either of them. once she and el start to bond AND SHE LEARNS THAT EL HAS NO EXPERIENCE WITH ROMANTIC ATTRACTION OUTSIDE OF MIKE she encourages el to assert her own self-worth and dump him. [which... actually mirrors the progression of opinions in a lot of audience members??? 🤔🤔]

and those are just a few examples!!! i won't go on an exhaustive list, because honestly we'd be here all day.

furthermore, m'leven's steady downward trajectory is not the only instance of the show basically dunking on the trite expectation that a character's first love interest is automatically their happily-ever-after, AND the recurring motif that any relationships a character explores before their endgame ship are wrong because the alternate love interest is Bad.

dustin has his first crush (onscreen, anyway) on max in s2, but ends the season happy despite his sadness over rejection and later gets together with a girl who's basically his perfect match. in s3, robin confides to steve about how she was so far gone for tammy that she would cry into her pillow. in s4 she's able to laugh over just how bad her singing is without denying it, and is tentatively flirting with vickie. joyce was genuinely really happy with bob, but after having time to heal from the tragedy of what happened to him she's ready to move on with hopper.

again, not an exhaustive list. why??? because outside of m'leven, the only relationships where the characters ARE each other's first love interest are: lumax, whose entire arc together is about growing up as a couple (you know, the exact arc m'leven shippers pin on mike and el, as if it would make sense for 2 couples to have the same format and message...); stancy, which is only one prong of Love Triangle Hell and the controversy around it speaks for itself; and TED AND KAREN. WHO ARE POINTED OUT EXPLICITLY BY THE TEXT OF THE SHOW IN S1 NO LESS, TO BE AN EXAMPLE OF A WORST TIMELINE FUTURE THAT CHARACTERS DO NOT WANT TO REPEAT.

but if you're reading this, you already know all of that.

the point i'm trying to make is that stranger things shows a consistent palette of themes across all the relationships it portrays. i've obviously been going over the romantic ones, but this applies at least as much to the plationic bonds as well. those themes are of GROWING AND MATURING, of SHIFTING DYNAMICS, and of BECOMING SECURE IN YOUR PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE.

i'm sorry but to present a pair of characters with apparent mutual feelings; to elaborate on how dysfunctional their relationship is; and to ultimately reveal to the audience that actually they were both just confused, they never had feelings for one another in the first place and that's why their relationship didn't work out; sends an extremely mediocre message, to put it nicely. all the characters learn from that lived experience is "don't date people you don't have feelings for, and if you were unsure about how real those feelings were... get good???" meanwhile, all the audience learns from that VIEWED experience is "if the relationship doesn't work, it's because the people involved don't like each other enough." if byler goes on to be canon and is immediately much healthier, that only enforces that shitty message. in that situation the only reason THEIR relationship works while mike and el's didn't is that they actually have feelings for one another!!!

from a show which has explored complex arcs and messages with *LITERALLY EVERY OTHER RELATIONSHIP* they touch on, this would be beyond disappointing. particularly as the central message for the arc of 2 of the mainest main characters in the whole show!!!

on the other hand, to present a pair of young characters at the start of the show and flag them as having an obvious mutual crush; to allow them to explore that crush as a serious prospect; to have them realize that their relationship is dysfunctional; and to have them move on as friends; sends???

a great???

fucking???

message???

they both get to progress and move on as more enriched people than they would have been without their time in a relationship, and that is fucking wonderful.

el has a deeper understanding of romantic interactions based on actual lived experience and not just TV shows. she's able to develop into her fledgeling sense of identity more securely with the knowledge that relationships can change, and that's okay. not everything has to be forever.

mike understands how to process and manage his own feelings much better, and is equipped with a firsthand understanding of how a relationship can become emotionally dysfunctional without proper communication, making him ready to enter a new, healthier relationship. he has displayed the same overprotective behaviours towards will as he has to el, but he's begun to learn how to manage them so that he doesn't stifle his partner. after previously failing to communicate his feelings to both el and will in s3 when he fought with them, he's been making a deliberate point of doing so in s4. this didn't work with el when he tried to open up about his own experience with bullying, but it DID work with will when he admitted to his failings in balancing relationships.

are either of them finished in their personal arcs??? no, of course not!!! they're not even fifteen!!! but they have both grown as people, not in spite of their romantic relationship, but BECAUSE of it. you don't change as you grow up, so much as you start to understand yourself better. but self-discovery and subsequent self-acceptance CANNOT come without self-explaration.

it's okay to try things out, and it's okay if they don't end up being right for you.

meanwhile, the broader message about relationships that this imparts on the audience is an extremely important one. one which gets overlooked continually by storytellers in every industry. one which the show itself has brushed on, but not explored in depth.

one which fandom, in particular, likes to ignore.

ATTRACTION ≠ COMPATIBILITY

(...and that's okay!!!)

#hahaha i'm gonna get so much hate over this #preparing to lose a few followers tbh ToT i know a few of my moots and followers are Adamant gay mike truthers #jsyk i don't even dislike or necessarily disagree with gay mike???#taps the *sexuality is a spectrum* sign #he can ID as gay AND he can have a crush on a girl. get kinsey scale'd #i mean i'm an unlabelled mike truther bht i'm favourable to either bi or gay interpretations #also!!! as an aro person who had crushes on guys and girls as a kid #i get legitimately very pissed off by just how adamantly ppl base their opinion on whether mike is gay or bi #in whether or not he had a 'real' crush on a girl at age twelve #i just don't say it bc i'm not usually in a controversial mood #anyways labels are social constructs. not in a sarcastic way that is LITERALLY WHAT THEY ARE. TEXTBOOK DEFINITION #have a nice day <333 #(all this is ofc assuming that anybody still reads long meta posts which is doubtful tbh 💀💀)#byler #mike wheeler #el hopper #anti mileven #mike wheeler analysis #el hopper analysis #byler analysis #byler theory #byler meta #stranger things #stranger things thoughts #stranger things theory #stranger things analysis #stranger things meta

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otrtbs · 1 year

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Okay, we all know ahb! James and Regulus did not get a Brazil house Christmas together, but the holidays are coming up and I've been thinking a lot about what a Brazil house Christmas would look like and I thought I would share some thoughts because I love Christmas dearly.

James would insist that everyone come to Brazil to see them during the first Christmas and even though it's summertime there, he's committed to the traditional winter aesthetic!

James cuts up a bunch of oranges and dehydrates them in the oven and Regulus sews all the dehydrated oranges together with twine to make garland to decorate the house (they both sit in the kitchen together and work silently side-by-side just happy to be together in their house) (photo for reference ⤵️)

Barty and Evan get there a week before everyone else and are absolute menaces (what's new?) They somehow manage to break the star at the top of the Christmas tree and they are petrified to tell James because James Potter takes Christmas the most seriously™️ like they would rather tell Regulus, seriously, before they had to tell James they broke his precious tree

Unbeknownst to them, Regulus and James bought a spare star just for that reason, but Barty and Evan scour the town anyway to find 'the best star in the world' to make it up to them. They come back with a glass star that has a picture of Regulus' face taped to it and James loves it so much he nearly cries. Regulus hates it. So much. But he'll let James have this one.

Marlene and Dorcas arrive a day early to surprise everyone and after Barty is done admonishing Marlene for missing their weekly phone call the week before, Marlene takes James into the kitchen to catch up.

James pours the wine while he (futilely) attempts to explain why it's fancy and what notes of fruitiness and hints of vanilla it has (he's trying to learn about wine from Regulus, but it's still not going too well) and Marlene complains about the sweltering heat because James has had the oven on all day dehydrating oranges and claims next Christmas should be spent at Sirius' and Remus' flat where it's actually winter and James protests because his house is 'literally the Christmas house.'

Dorcas helps Regulus string up the last minute orange garlands while they talk about Italy and all the Basilica's Marlene and Dorcas have been too

Lily and Mary arrive next with a million presents for everyone all meticulously wrapped and decorated and Barty and Evan lose their minds because neither of them have seen so many presents before (they immediately start shaking all the boxes as they try to guess what's inside)

When Sirius and Remus arrive, Sirius takes great offence to the Regulus star at the top of the tree and employs Mary and Lily on a secret mission to print a photo of himself and tape his face to the star as well in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep (it's a big success and in the morning everyone has a good laugh looking at Regulus' and Sirius' faces on the star side by side) Regulus hates the star a little less now

Sirius and Remus bring their dog with them and Barty and Evan delight in chasing the dog around the house everywhere until Regulus banishes all three of them (Barty, Evan, and the dog) to the beach to play around.

Lily makes the best chelsea buns in the world for breakfast with her secret recipe and the house smells delightful all day

On Christmas Eve Regulus can't sleep and he comes down the stairs to find Sirius sitting on the bottom step, his face lit by the fairy lights (James insists they keep on throughout the night)

They have a long conversation about their lives and how they have the family they've always wanted. They talk about how grateful they are to be together and this Christmas Eve they both feel a little bit like children again, but it's not sad this time. It's nice.

When Sirius eventually goes to bed, Regulus goes to sit by the Christmas tree that's all lit up and he stares out the open window at the dark night. The house is silent because everyone else is asleep except James, who comes down to check on him once he realises Regulus isn't in bed.

Regulus points out the angel ornament that has a picture of James as a baby for the face and quietly whispers that that ornament is his favourite. James smiles because his mum sent him that ornament so he could have a piece of home with him.

There is mistletoe everywhere thanks to James who is obsessed with it. He's always trying to 'trick' Regulus into standing in places so he can kiss him under the mistletoe (Regulus knows exactly where every single piece of mistletoe is hung and will occasionally,,,, as casually as possible,,, stand underneath some and wait for James to notice)

The entire house is filled with love and light and laughter and sheer chaos and Christmas turns into a weeks long celebration that bleeds into New Years because everyone just loves being all together

They do all agree to spend next Christmas at Remus' and Sirius' though and James is only convinced by the idea of snow.

Dorcas would play the piano while Marlene and Barty sing the most off-key (very drunk) version of 'Baby It's Cold Outside'

Mary sings 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and nearly brings everyone to tears

Sirius sings 'All I want for Christmas is You' and tries his very hardest to hit the high notes (it's actually impressive)

Remus is the bartender during this Christmas karaoke sing-along night and it's thanks to his heavy-handed pours that anyone is brave enough to sing anything at all

Everyone joins in to sing 'Wonderful Christmastime' except no one can get the lyrics right/at the same time so it's more a mess of chaotic laughter and jumbled lyrics with 'ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong' thrown in very loudly (Regulus actually mumbles under his breath much to James' delight and regards the scene very very fondly)

Outside, the sunflowers in the garden are growing so tall they could practically touch the sky.

#these are just some silly little thoughts i had #if an ahb christmas was going to be a thing #i think it would look like this a little bit #art heist baby!#i was gonna write a little one shot about this but i decided not to do that #because im afraid it would be too much like an alternate ending #and this is not that #!!!!!#so confusing bullet points work better i think hahaha #anyway here is some jegulus content for this holiday season!#some art heist content in general i suppose #if u hate this you can ignore it hahaha #but i love christmas so much !!!!#nat writes #<- ish????

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skitskatdacat63 · 9 months

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2023 Belgian Grand Prix - Sprint - Fernando Alonso

#he is beating the 'pissy in interview' allegations #yes he was pissy earlier but valid #when i wished him a happy birthday like 14 hrs ago this is not what i envisioned for today hahaha #well lets hope for better tmr!#i hate tho how quick people are to accuse him of getting toxic w the team #the team messed up earlier thats a fact hes valid for being annoyed that doesnt mean hes gonna go full war criminal calm tf down!#fernando alonso #f1 #formula 1 #fa14 #we do a little bit of f1 #2023 belgian gp #2023 belgian grand prix #anyways its been a long upsetting something of a day #sleeping btwn events fucks up my brain so much i cant believe its only been like 6 or so hours #i should go back to bed!

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carnivorousyandeere · 6 months

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now that i've got that posted, um... here's some brainrot with Yan Patron and specifically a Landscape Painter!Darling...

Inviting you to stay in his summer home, a small mansion disguised as a cute cottage, replete with a full staff and groundskeeping crew.

"Rent?" He sounds utterly baffled, as if the concept has never occurred to him before. "Hmmm, no...."

"What do you mean, no? Do you... really intend for me to live here for free?"

Free. What a funny concept. "...I will accept payment in the form of a landscape of this house."

Before you can ask about this odd arrangement, he clears his throat and leaves the room. He doesn't seem to like eye contact, or talking with you all that much, but at least he... likes your art enough to give you a place to live for the summer?

His walls come tumbling down sporadically. Most times, he seems to avoid you like the plague, as if your mere presence might be enough to reduce him to ashes.

But one morning, he wakes to find you washing paint cups in the kitchen sink. The light shines off your skin, your hair, spots of paint dotting your hands and forearms. He can't help himself, can't stay away any longer. He silently walks behind you and wraps his arms around your waist, resting his chin atop your head with a satisfied sigh.

He misses the way you freeze in his grasp. He laughs softly against the top of your head, his breaths raising the hairs on the back of your neck. "You know we have maids for that, don't you, dearest?"

#i hate him so much HAHAHA. i would feel like dogshit having maids clean up after me #like why can't you pay them to pursue their dreams too?! you have the money for it... asshole..#my thoughts #yandere #yandere oc #yandere imagines #yandere scenarios #yandere x darling #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere cw #moot moot 💕

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happyheidi · 9 months

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I hope you and your dog's enjoy your generic balcony

Omg #fav

😂😂😂 this is all meant as fun . And I love it so much

ok but genericbalcony is such a fun url tho!

And seeing as I have no life. I present to you: @genericbalcony

#hahaha I’m laughing so hard at all the anons today #I friggin LOVE YOU!!#your humor #so generic and AWESOME!!#and to ppl thinking it’s hate it’s not! it’s meant as fun . a play on the stupid first anon #I love this so much #this is the funniest ask ever I love u anon

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katiekatdragon27 · 4 months

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Y'all can't cage my cringe! *starts breakdancing and explodes*

Oookayy, this is gonna be interesting to explain lol.

SO! My siblings (@rainbow-wolf120) and I have gotten back into DND recently and we unanimously decided to base our characters on our latest fixations. That means we have a halfling bard/thief Rayman clone, a dwarf fighter Skylanders fusion, and a human cleric AU A. Sphere lol.

However, I decided to take some liberties with him and instead of using his canon movie personality for the character, I used his personality and design for post-"A Heightlander's Escape" (yes, my flatland 4th dimension AU has a name now lol, feel free to refer to it as either idc.)

More lore below lol (note: there is like a whole story synopsis, and it is very long):

First off, backstory.

A. Sphere (or Abel Spherious as he is refed to in this campaign) was a very powerful cleric of dimensionality. He was incredibly gifted with magic at a very young age, so his grandfather proposed he joined the ministry to continue his magic evolution. Although he did not truly believe in there being higher dimensions than his own, he would do the usual rituals and sacrifices to maintain his phenomenal power. He even tried to teach lower dimensional being the 3D dimension to gain more favor of this supposed 4th dimensional god, but little did he know that was his downfall.

Abel's old kingdom had been attempting to deal with the "flatlander" ecosystem that was just on the outskirts of town. Labeled "Flatland," some wanted it preserved, others wanted it wiped out. The ministry would henceforth pray on the issue in hopes of some divine intervention that would give a clear answer to this dilemma. However, Abel was not one to wait on answers from gods he did not believe in.

Taking matters into his own hands, the Head Cleric decided to make contact with these aquatic flat creatures one-on-one attempting to prove that they were more intelligent than the public gave them credit for. Needless to say, it went poorly.

Desperate to spread this ideology and save these creatures, Abel did something you were never supposed to do; pull a 2D creature into a 3D world. He completed his goal of by teaching a small square lawyer of the 3D gospel, but the news spread like wildfire, leading to fear, disgust, and unbridled anger towards both the flatlander and Abel. After going to royal court with his square companion, he was ex-communicated from the ministry and lost his status as Head Cleric. It was there that war was declared by their rival kingdom that wanted Flatland exterminated.

As the war broke out, Abel did everything in his power to ensure that the flatlander (who he had started calling "Anthony") got back to Flatland safely, even at the cost of the cleric's own life. As a massive fire raged through the forest where Flatland was held, Abel fled with Anthony to get the little square stabilized back in his home environment.

Abel's efforts paid off, getting the square back in the lake just in the nick of time, but Abel ended up engulfed in flames, accepting his death as his actions caused this whole mess in the first place.

However, his efforts did not go unnoticed. Just before Abel was completely consumed, a young 4th dimensional goddess, the Tender-hearted Angelica, scooped him up and saved his life.

The two's relationship started very rocky. Angelica knew that Abel was supposed to die in that forest, but she intervened. If she was found out by their superiors, they were sure to get more than an earful. With the possible chance of being executed for saving this unworthy cleric, she takes Abel to a pocket dimension up in space. She gives him an angelic halo that allows for him to breath freely with little consequence.

Abel was very angry and sad for the few weeks his spent in the 4th dimension. Having basically lost everything, he felt that there was nothing left for him and that still living was meant to be a cruel joke just to punish him farther for going against these powerful gods and using their magic without deserving it. However, Angelica keeps insisting that he did deserve to live, but not as a punishment. Instead, he was meant to expose the hypocrisy in the teachings of the ministry and recreate a new one with the proper values (much like what Abel told Anthony when showing him 3D).

As the two spend more time together hiding from other 4D gods in the pocket dimension, they get closer and eventually become very close friends. They learn that they have more in common that initially thought, with their wishes to teach and preserve dimensional beings others may deem as disgusting and deplorable. They also learn that they have a common connection in Spherious (Abel's grandfather and Angelica's first real apostle).

If given the opportunity, Angelica would have gladly kept Abel in this pocket dimension to provide her company, but a mission is a mission. It needed to be completed.

After the war had ended, leaving both kingdoms in ruin, Angelica decided to finally bring Abel back to Earth. They briefly explained Abel's mission to him one more time. As Abel shows his understanding, Angelica provided him with a gift of companionship. Using her divinity, she managed to track down the "Anthony" Abel spoke very fondly of. They granted the square a blessing that allowed him to be out of the water and accompany Abel in his travels.

As a last parting gift, Angelica blessed the halo still around Abel's head with magic properties that allowed him to be a cleric once again. He was no longer part of a church, but with the favor of this goddess, he could still do his magic. It was significantly weaker for a plethora of reasons, but it was better than nothing. Although Angelica did not want Abel to dedicate his life to her, they did want him to send her updates on his mission by burning letters during his rituals for her.

As of now, Abel has joined this rag-tag group of adventurers into the unknown after living in the woods for a couple months. He is still needs to complete his mission, so maybe Chipa Chapa and Brawler Dude (yes my siblings named their dnd characters these shush) can help him out.

Second off, design choices.

Like my last post on "A Heightlander's Escape", Abel still has the eye scar. However, when he was brought down to Earth once again, he was placed down "on the wrong side", so his scar switched sides.

Also, since Abel isn't transparent, the scaring is actually visible and impacts his ability to hold things and walk and stuff. His right hand can no longer use magic, but it is able to use weapons, hence the mace. The glove he wears on that hand helps with gripping and preventing blisters. His left hand is still able to use magic, although it is much weaker than before he went into the heavenly 4th dimension. He is working hard to get back to his stronger original self.

The halo was first used for breathing, but then changed to be a magic amplifier. Without it, Abel cannot use any sort of magic. He has a mace for when his magic fails (which is common now) and a shield for protection.

Abel original "priestly" outfit was basically destroyed in the fire, so Angelica decided to help him make a new one, which explains the major contrast (but still similar design) between the two.

All the other design choices were because I thought it looked cool. I think he deserves it after all the shit I put him through.

Also, Anthony sits in Abel's cloak fluff. Its soft and assists in Anthony's sensitivity to gravitational forces.

Third off, A. Sphere and A. Square;s friedship.

These two as so similar in motivation now. At first, the meeting was transitional. I do something for you so you do something for me kinda deal. However, the two learned that they get along incredibly well, and when Abel comes back from 4D, realizes he is the farthest thing from a god and beings treating Antony more as a partner than a subject.

Anthony still "worships" Abel and all his powerful magic but knows that Abel is not the god his initially thought he was. Although he failed his mission on spreading the 3D gospel (and low-key dying oof), he can definitely be there for Abel's mission. He is there to be supportive, and that is what he will do. Maybe he'll learn some spells of his own too lol.

They are very much friends here. Imagine a witch and her familiar lol.