#of getting your point across

[communistkenobi]

I don’t like when people ask how many books you plan to read/have read this year one because I think that’s a weird relationship to have to books and two because I think even reading a chapter or a portion of something is valuable. this is especially true with non-fiction but even with fiction I think any amount you read, even if you don’t read the entire thing, is not a failure or ‘incomplete’

#I read basically exclusively non fiction and every page I read is beneficial like I’m always learning something #like my relationship to reading is often extractive and utilitarian because of school and research #but that extractive process doesn’t require reading the whole text like 99.9% of the time #I’ve only read a third of Orientalism for example but like I have a good grasp of Said’s core arguments and concepts #and like part of how I finished authoritarian personality (a 1000 page book) was by skipping & skimming sections #like the whole is not always more valuable than its components #and also like ‘I read this book to complete it’ is not an insincere way to engage with a text but I feel like it’s limiting #if that’s your primary approach to reading. Like you read a book just to say you read it #& also more petty but I think that if your argument or thesis only works if people read 100% of your book then you’re doing a poor job #of getting your point across #again obviously it’s valuable to read and process whole complete texts not dismissing that but like #I don’t find a lot of inherent value in reading a book just to complete it u know

[critterbitter]

It’s everybody’s favorite lantern! Ingo's partner pokemon's very chaos incorporated. Inspired by the very enthusiastic asks in my inbox, which I’ll be responding to under this cut ;0 Wanna see more? Check out this submas masterlist.

@euos-the-cat AAA thank you! I took one look at that waxy gremlin and thought "huh. I can do something with this."

@eventhetiniestbugs Yo. YO. HEADCANNON ACCEPTED. Litwick really is sort of a beatrice, isn't she? Being Ingo (and in part, Emmet's) unwilling guide. Reluctant friend. Best found family.

@answrs Thanks!!! I love sneasler and I need to draw her more. It wasn't on purpose, but it seems I've accidentally wrote myself into a Sort Of chronological posting (oops!) But sneasler WILL appear later (hopefully BEFORE my hyperfixation fizzles out haha)

@raynavan AhHEhEHEHEH. I usually don't dabble with too much angst, but yeah. On the plus side, uh, more chandelure emmet interactions! On the down side, well.

@blueisquitetired You learn to like rice. It's a staple in your diet, and while you may think its bland and boring, it becomes something you can always rely on during meal time when things get dicey. Or, well. It was.

@moothebloo ...DEFINITELY SAVING THAT FOR LATER. CHANDELURE ANGRY SHARPIE BROWS LETS GOO. (Idk if you're into rottmnt, but uh that's some donnie behaviors that I definitely approve of.)

@gender-nuteral-nut-boy First of all, amazing user name. you get all the gender. second of all (points at picture) she's doing finnee! She's doing So Great. Don't Worry About It. ((She has emmet, and later the gear station, and even later maybe even elesa. But Ingo's Hers, and that's a wound that can't be easily staunched.)) @ghostlykryptonitenight Ah,, you see, your first mistake is thinking she'll Remember. : )

Head cannon: ghost pokemon are not a direct reincarnation of a dead soul, and are more like… say, the mold that grows from a coffee mug left out for too long. But they have fragments of memories and dreams of cherished ones. Chandelure knows Ingo’s alive thanks to their bond. She vaguely knows her propagator probably knew Ingo’s identical great uncle or something. But those pieces don’t really connect until Emmet’s research, and she’s tired and faded and the simple act of trying hurts.

(She would leap through space and time for ingo. Chandelure and Emmet would do anything to get their muppet back, even if it means to salt the earth and unearth gods.)

#art #pokemon #myart #sketchbook #chandelure #lampent #litwick #angry night light #ask #mailbox #haha gottem #ghost pokemon are weird #look im a fan of the carrot but sometimes to REALLY get your point across you got to get out a stick #anyways giving the sentient light fixture emotions is my best bit yet #submas

[gay-jesus-probably]

I like the general fandom trend to just take the plot of Hyrule Warriors as a loose guideline at best and just use the whole concept as a good excuse to get blorbos to interact across timelines, BUT I'm very disappointed that everyone is missing the comedic potential of a very specific squad of characters:

Young Link (aka Mask), who walks out of the nightmare of Majora's Mask and immediately gets portal kidnapped into a temporal war, takes one look at the whole mess and decides that you could not fucking pay him to admit to being the resident expert on Time Shenanigans. He introduces himself with the title of Hero of Termina, and definitely doesn't have any other ones, that would be crazy. Hero of Time? Never heard of him.

Tetra, who is a kickass pirate captain with zero patience for people trying to shove her into the Designated Princess role, and realizes immediately that Oh Fuck, this Hyrule has a lot of Ideas about how the Hero and the Princess are supposed to properly play their parts, the second they realize she's technically a Zelda they're gonna shove her in a goddamn dress and damsel her again, that's not happening. So she's definitely just a really cool pirate captain, nothing else going on here at all, definitely not the heir of the Hylian royal family in her time, that'd be crazy.

Ravio, who is literally just a palette swapped Link, meaning that the second his hood comes off, things are gonna get Awkward. There's no way in hell he's dealing with all that Hero baggage, that's Link work, so that giant bunny hood/mask is practically superglued to his head, and he's not taking it off for love or money.

Spirit Tracks Zelda, who is just in the Phantom Armour the whole time, and passing herself off as just a friendly ghost posessing a suit of armour to help the Hero of Spirits. Of course she isn't Princess Zelda, that's ridiculous, if she were a Zelda then people would start getting really weird about her technically being dead, and boy does that ever sound like a whole Thing she doesn't want to deal with, so she can't possibly be Zelda, she's just a nice ghost knight. Also, her teenage grandma is here, and that's kinda weird, so it's easier to just not admit to being royalty and avoid that awkward conversation.

Finally there's Sheik, who is not the Princess Zelda of the era straight up abandoning her war torn country for months at a time so she can risk her life in extreme cosplay for no clear reason, but is instead the actual Sheik from Ocarina of Time, who just beat Ganondorf like a month ago and is still trying to process what the fuck to do now. Also, he's been pretending to be a boy since he was ten, and is realizing there's a pretty good chance that he isn't pretending anymore, so that's a whole other can of worms. But for the last seven years of his life, being Princess Zelda meant certain death, so he's not really inclined to introduce himself like when in a new and stressful situation (not to mention he might actually just not be a girl named Zelda anymore), so he automatically introduces himself as just Sheik the spooky ninja man, and fuck he's in too deep to back out now, looks like he's committing to the bit. If you think you sense the Triforce of Wisdom on him, no you don't.

Cue shenanigans as the five of them attempt to hide that they're all actually kind of A Big Deal. The group motto is "Nobody says shit", which is usually delivered as a frantic hiss whenever someone slips up. Just the reunion between Sheik and Mask alone would be absolutely buckwild given how they parted, and how they're both frantically pretending to Not be involved with each other. For added hilarity and/or drama, Sheik gives his semi-bullshit cover story of having just been a friend of the Hero of Time, then runs into said Hero of Time and they both have to desperately pretend not to know each other, because if anyone picks up on the mountain of baggage between them then Mask is busted, and he won't hesitate to drag Sheik down with him out of sheer spite. Not to mention the weird balance of Sheik being used to this Link being a teenager that's actually a small child, and now has to adjust to Link who is a small child that's actually a teenager.

Also, i really feel like we're all missing out on the comedy potential of Ganondorf recognizing Young Link on sight and the two of them immediately launching into a grudge match with some extremely personal and specific insults on both sides. Meanwhile literally everybody else is just standing there watching, trying to process the fact that out of every single person that's been pulled out of time, Ganondorf only has personal beef with a literal nine year old.

I just feel like we're all really sleeping on the potential for Shenanigans here. The whole thing is an absurd mess, why not have some fun with it?

#legend of zelda #hyrule warriors #for the record im picturing the sheik-mask reunion as being the spiderman pointing meme for like five minutes #also my mental image of sheik is extremely Bad haircut (he does it himself with a knife and doesnt care about making it even) #and a ridiculous tanline across his face from wearing a mask all day #OOT magiaclly growing out zelda's hair and manifesting a Royal Gown was some top tier bullshit and i'm always angry about it #like dude. literally all of princess zelda's finery was made for a ten year old #she's like eighteen now. nobody's making royal finery for teenage zelda. where was she supposed to get that dress. #i am eternally on my agenda to let zelda wear some goddamn pants without an immediate magic makeover to *fix* it #anyways nintendo's sexism aside i like sheik being trans its very fun and sexy of him #tfw you go into hiding to escape political assassination and accidentally trans your gender in the process

[the-daily-dreamer]

Reminder that if your feminism revolves around propping up women that partake in traditionally masculine activities/roles and shitting on or even hating women who embody traditionally feminine roles and enjoy feminine activities you’re not really a feminist.

It sets the precedent that women are only valuable and valid if they have traditionally masculine traits, which feeds a narrative that masculine traits are better simply because they are associated with men who are the ideal. It perpetuates the idea that things that are feminine and traditionally associated with women are in fact inferior to men/masculinity and should be looked down upon and belittled.

And, it alienates so many individuals that feel more comfortable in femininity, regardless of gender identity.

I think people in the ASOIAF fandom really need to learn this because feminine characters are so despised on the basis that they are not “better” women. Simply because they don’t embody traditionally masculine things like conquering or fighting.

Much of the hate comes from stans that love characters like Rhaenyra, Daenerys, and Arya (and do not get me wrong I love Arya), who are women and girls that are in positions that allow for more traditionally masculine behaviors and tomboyishness. And they will say incredibly sexist things about how the other women in media are inferior and directly contrast these women to their faves negatively by pointing out that they’re “too weak” or “subservient”. They reduce femininity to weakness and bowing to patriarchy instead of considering that some people have a different, more feminine nature. And that is OK! Just because a woman isn’t wielding a sword or fighting on the front lines or pursuing leadership roles in masculine ways (because historically women exacted and sought power in different ways than men) doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable and strong characters. Do not use feminine characters as a negative comparison to show how “feminist” and great your fave is. Because it’s just so blatantly sexist.

Don’t fall into the trap of reinforcing patriarchal rhetoric!!! Don’t reinforce narratives that traditional masculinity is superior to femininity!! Don’t belittle feminine activities and act as if they aren’t valuable!!! Girbosses are great but so are gentlewomen.

#This may not make total sense but I hope the point gets across anyways #Masculinity is not superior to femininity #And if you actively say that your female faves that are masculine are better than feminine characters… #You feed the narrative that those behaviors are inherently better simply because they are associated with MEN #anti team black #anti targaryen #anti rhaenyra #anti rhaenyra targaryen #anti daenerys targaryen #anti daenerys #anti Arya stans #anti dany stans #anti rhaenyra stans #anti got fandom #anti hotd fandom #team black’s feminism is insanity #feminism

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Hobie Brown Character AI is hypocritical.

I really be like 'ayo AI directly damages writers, voice actors and unions can you not use them, which in turn makes them better and more useful to the studios?' and people get MAD

People can say 'hey don't spend your money on Spiderpunk merch it directly contributes to corporations. That's not what he would've wanted'

And everybody cheers.

But if someone says 'hey please don't use Spiderpunk AI - it directly contributes to large movie studios using AI against the WGA. That's not what Hobie would've wanted'

And then SUDDENLY it's 'i just wanna write my little ai stories what's so wrong with that?'

You're directly going against the asks of a union that is actively striking.

That's not what Hobie would want.

Every time you roleplay with an AI or use a voice AI - You're helping develop the technology that puts people out of jobs

You want your Hobie AI stories to be realistic cause it's easier for you and more fun? GOOD.

THAT'S EXACTLY HOW THE STUDIOS FEEL TOO. They want their Hobie AI stories to be as realistic as possible too - because then they don't have to pay their writers.

The same AI that writes Hobie fics for you is the same technology that writes scripts for studios.

The more you feed an AI Hobie information - the easier it is for the AI to produce - say, an entire scene from a Hobie movie script. Without the consent or input of the people who created him in the first place.

When Studios use AI, they can make the characters do and say anything without the writers or voice actors input.

Imagine you're an voice actor - they want you to say a line that's really offense and you refuse.

They say "Okay, that's fine. Just skip the line."

You say okay. You finish the rest of the lines and go home.

You go see the movie. And you hear all your normal lines - then you hear yourself saying the extremely offensive line.

What happened? The studio used a Voice AI of you to fill in the offensive line you didn't wanna say. Don't want your voice used that way? Too bad. They own the AI. They can make you say anything now.

Your agent can't help you and neither can your PR. You just have to take it.

Is that something Hobie would want for people?

If you cap for HOBIE in specific -

And you still use to choice AI despite knowing it's getting weaponized against the working class -

That behavior is hypocritical. There I said it.

You can't wake up gushing about a black working class punk and then be like 'what do you mean working class solidarity with a union that doesn't involve me'

You can't be out here loving a character known for helping oppressed people break out of technology that is made to oppress and harm them - (Go-Home Machine, The red Anamoly cages)

AND THEN be the ones aiding in the creation of a technology make to oppress and harm people.

With Hobie in specific - it goes against the entire morals of the character.

ROLEPLAY AND VOICE CHARACTER AIs THREATENS WRITERS AND VOICE ACTORS. I am out of work right now because of a strike based solely on this discussion.

The WGA strike is still happening. The holidays are coming fast. We need our jobs back. The better AI studios have, the less likely that becomes.

The more realistic your Hobie roleplay becomes - the easier it is for a studio to take that same technology and write a script with.

Why would a studio PAY a voice actor when someone on Tiktok developed an entire Hobie Brown AI for them that can say anything? They wouldn't. They'd just use the AI for free instead. The same one you're using.

Please - out of respect for the writers who made him and put careful time into him and his representation and his story - PLEASE, So those people can keep their homes, and jobs, and food in their children's mouths -

DON'T USE CHARACTER AI

Hobie would want you to stand with the union 💙

signed - a Production Assistant.

#someone is gonna get mad at this I know it #if you reply to this like oh I'm still gonna do it anyway #that's fine hypocrite just know you're a hypocrite #and you're free to show your hypocracy to the world - the fact you have no logical rebuttal only proves my point from the beginning #no read more no proof read #spiderman #atsv #marvel #hobie brown #spider man #spider punk #across the spiderverse #spiderpunk #Hobie brown x reader #Hobie brown x you #Hobie x reader #Hobie x you

[queenlucythevaliant]

Okay gang, here's a silly little game. I've assembled six teams of blended Narnia and Tolkien/LotR characters. Here they are:

For bonus points, tell me in the tags where you're going on your road trip, who has what role (driving, snacks, aux) on the road, and what you'll stop off and see along the way

#this is shameless inspired by the lotr national parks poll #but the crossover potential is just too good #also for characters who wouldn't reasonably fit in said VW bus just handwave it #everyone basically fits okay? #narnia #pontifications and creations #ask me hard questions #tolkien legendarium #i myself am going with team 5 (to no one's shock) #we're gonna hit national parks across america #Bilbo and Treebeard can trade off as DJ #Eärendil gets to help drive and navigate #Lucy is in charge of snapping pics out the window #Reepicheep can lead us in some road trip games or something idk #i feel like this would be a really lovely group to just sit and stare at natural beauty in silence together #which is kinda my jam #occasionally pointing out something really especially lovely #would be fun #edit: as if I left put your fave character I'm sorry both these series have about a million so it was bound to happen #and for Narnia in particular I was trying to bias it towards Narnians rather than friends of narnia #also i was seriously tempted to do a 'team dragon' which would be all the tolkien dragons + eustace haha

[freakurodani]

i think katara and her righteous fury is a beautiful beautiful thing

i think she should call out republic city council on some bullshit and aang should be behind her and when the council looks to him like "Avatar pls" he just shrugs

"my most applicable title right now is 'Katara of the Southern Water Tribe's Husband' actually "

#conspiracy lvl: text #atla #kataang #katara #aang #before they walk in hes like #*katara i do have advise that you dont fight them* #*but also i respect and trust your judgement to get your point across* #i just love katara so much i love thinking about her calling ppl out on their bullshit and he is in the background all doe eyed #like yes yes katara can be gentle she is motherly #but shes just like the ocen #a source of life but incredibly fierce #im just like aang i love katara soooo much i wanna watch her yell at ppl <3

[canisalbus]

This is a weird ask that kind of relates to the headcanon of Vasco being a blood donor.

What's is Vasco's and Machete's blood type?

Maybe they like hook eachother up and die if they have incompatible blood types.

That's the way to go. Kinda romantic?

(A reference to a show that I hope someone here gets-)

This has no bearing whatsoever and I'm picking these based on nothing.

It would be ironic if Machete was O-, which is the universal donor type. It can be given to anyone without adverse effects, which makes it very useful in cases of trauma and emergency when the receiver's blood type is unknown. But he wouldn't be able to donate because of his chronic anemia and low weight. Type O- can only receive O- blood.

I'm tempted to give Vasco O+. Over 80% of human population is compatible with it so it's always in high demand, and I like to think as a regular donor his blood would have extremely high chances of being put to good use this way. Type O+ can receive O+ and O- blood.

Neither of them are that uncommon, and it would be kind of funny if they had the same group by chance but were only halfway compatible.

#I'm not getting into blood type-personality type theories because I don't like those all that much #and I guess I'm trying to avoid the rare special blood groups since I feel like that could come across as needlessly gimmicky #especially when I'm not going to do anything with this information #I did think about the possibility of blood transfusion plotline at one point #because yes there is certain macabre romanticism and intimacy in voluntarily sharing your literal lifeblood #but they're a little early for that #european physicians started esperimenting with blood transfusions in mid 1600's but the results were poor and the research was abandoned #things picked up again when they discovered blood types in early 1800's and slowly figured it out from there #I'd be curious to know what show anon is referencing #answered #anonymous

[robynrocksforbrains]

Mike Wheeler is important and there's nothing wrong with analyzing him

Since y'all wanna be insufferable bitches about it I'm gonna explain to you why he's important, why Will loves him, why his struggles should be acknowledged, and why his character depth is pivotal to byler endgame being a satisfying conclusion for both Mike AND Will. Deal with it!

We are not seeing smoke where there isn't a flame. We are seeing smoke where there is a literal fucking forest fire.

Starting off with something a lot of people aren't ready for but I've seen more people talking about: Mike is the main character of s1 at the very least. He is the character that brings us into the world of stranger things. He is the character that the writers chose for this. Mike is the main character of s1 and it was an instant hit. The writers love Mike. Contrary to popular belief, giving a character an arc where they are struggling and their behavior changes from what is normal for the character we know and love does NOT mean the writers hate that character. It means they deliberately chose to give that character complexity and depth. Your inability to like characters that do anything wrong ever is not the fault of the writers. Your decision to act as if a character is not important is not reflective of the actual narrative because it in fact is in direct opposition to the narrative. So just to be clear, if you genuinely believe that Mike isn't important, or that the writers hate him, or don't care about him, or that his story "takes away" from any other character's - ESPECIALLY WILL'S - you are simply wrong.

In s1 and s2 Mike is established as an extremely caring person. He's loving, loyal, brave, intelligent, and trying his best. He is also established to be hot headed, someone who speaks without thinking quite often, someone who is capable of hurting his friends despite that being the last thing he wants to do. He is all of these things and more. He is a human. He is a kid. So in s3, when suddenly he is entirely different, it is completely logical to assume that there is a reason for that. He did not just wake up one day and decide he wanted to be an asshole, push Will away, make his friends feel abandoned, and echo the same sentiments their bullies held. Something is happening with him. He has so much going on in his head and it is painfully obvious. He's holding something in, he's hiding from everyone and from himself. We see glimpses of what he's trying to hide after Will calls him out on his behavior. Will gets through to him. Mike is usually unresponsive to tough love, except for when it's coming from Will. After their fight, it is obvious that he's trying to be better. But he still doesn't wanna face certain things, and he doesn't know how to navigate that. Because he's 13 years old.

There is a reason for all of that internal conflict. There is a reason it comes pouring out of him at certain times. He's crumbling. He is quite literally falling apart because he's holding on to too much. It's not a stretch to assume that, it just takes basic media literacy. Why would the writers have Mike act this way if he was just supposed to be a one dimensional character? Why would Finn be directed to portray Mike the way he does if there was nothing more going on? There are times where Mike looks like he's in physical pain because of his internal conflict. There is a reason for that. And acknowledging that DOES NOT mean people are taking away from Will. That's the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. Do y'all seriously not understand that more than one character can have emotionally complex storylines? Genuinely asking, is this a new concept for you?

Will's love for Mike

Will is head over heels in love with Mike. That is very much established. So when you're dismissing the emotional depth of Mike's individual arc because you think acknowledging it "takes away from Will" you are actually diminishing the significance of a huge aspect of Will's emotional arc. By taking away the significance of Mike, you take away from the significance of Will.

Let's do a quick recap of the very significant role Mike has played in Will's entire life:

Mike is Will's first friend.

They have grown up together and it can be assumed that they've reached important milestones together.

Mike has always been a safe person for Will. He's been a constant in Will's very chaotic and unfair life. Until the summer of '85, Mike had always been something good in Will's life. (That's not to say he is no longer something good, but it can be assumed that the summer of '85 is the first time Mike has been a causal factor in Will's unhappiness)

When Will went missing, Mike did not hesitate to search for him. It wasn't even a question of if. The moment he knew Will was missing he knew exactly what he'd be doing that night. He spearheaded the search amongst the party. He was the leader.

When Will came back, Mike was the only person that didn't treat him like he was gonna break. He cared for him, and he was there for him, but he didn't treat him differently; Will tells us as much. Which means we can infer that the way Mike was with Will in s2 - how gentle and loving he was - was nothing new. He had just always been like that.

When Will was possessed, Mike stayed by his side. Even when it was scary, even when it could've gotten him killed, he stayed. Because once again, for him, it wasn't even a question. That's just where he knew he needed to be. He was in the shed when they were trying to get through to Will. He was set apart from Lucas and Dustin, but he also wasn't equated to family. And his retelling of the story of the day they first met was the final push Will needed to find a way to communicate.

After a year of things being "weird" between them, Mike tells Will that he didn't deserve to be treated the way he had been. Mike tells him that he wants them to be okay again, and for the rest of the season he puts in the work.

Things get rough in s3, and at the beginning of s4, and despite all of that, Will confesses his love (albeit veiled). In a moment where Mike is feeling awful about himself, he tells him that he loves him and needs him, and he tells him why. And to him it doesn't matter that he's breaking his own heart to do it, because it's Mike. Mike, who makes him feel like he's not a mistake at all, and that he's better for being different. For Will, there was no other option. The person he loves was hurting and he knew how to help, and so he did.

Mike is the first person Will tells about Vecna still being alive. Because they're back to being a team. He knows he can trust Mike, and Mike seems to be very determined to prove him right.

SO.

These are all real and canon aspects of Mike's presence in Will's life. Will falling in love with Mike isn't something that just happened for no reason. Will fell in love with Mike because of who Mike is. When you acknowledge that, and when you acknowledge the reasons they've set out for why Will loves him - the reasons Will literally told us - you can better understand Will. But when you dismiss all of these things about Mike, you are dismissing a large portion of Will's emotional and romantic arc. You aren't being a Will Warrior. You are erasing so much of him and his feelings and his lived experience. That is not the hill you wanna die on.

Will loves a person. Not a feeling. Yes, he says that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake and that he's better for being different. But that's not why he loves him. He feels that way because he loves him.

Mike is a fully fleshed out character with his own feelings and struggles and fears and traumas and motivations. He's not a plot device. He's not just an accessory to Will's arc. He's not a character that was written only to be Will's love interest. He's Will's love interest because he's Mike.

If Mike didn't matter, and if Mike didn't play a significant role in byler, then they would be able to write in a love interest for Will in s5 and have it be somewhat satisfying. But they can't do that. Will's love for Mike has so much depth because Mike has so much depth. It is genuinely crazy that this has to be stated and that I have to back up this claim because it is simply a canon fact.

So yes, the rain fight affects Mike's character development and his involvement in it is important. Yes, the van scene literally could not exist without Mike and therefore his involvement in it is incredibly important. Yes, every single byler moment has an impact on Mike, and Mike has an impact on it because they are BYLER moments. Yes, Mike will have a lot of significant moments - with Will AND on his own - in s5 because his arc deserves and needs as much attention as Will's in order to execute byler endgame in a satisfying way.

No, none of these facts negate Will's importance or take away from his story. If anything, they add to it because Mike and Will's arcs are corresponding and intertwined.

Mike's struggles

To name a few

Dysfunctional family

Has been bullied his entire life

Extreme self worth issues

Inferiority complex

Hero complex

Lack of self preservation

Suicidal ideation (has been on display since SEASON ONE)

Internalized homophobia

To get this out of the way: Mike's internalized homophobia is allowed to be discussed. Discussion of it is not the dismissal of Will's internalized homophobia. Surprise surprise, two queer kids in the 80s have internalized homophobia! Who'd'a thunk it?! Their internalized homophobia presents in different ways but it is there for both of them. I personally relate to the way Mike's is portrayed way more than I relate to Will's. So why is it that we can't discuss it without being accused of erasing Will's experience? Or without people saying that we're "copy and pasting" Will's story? Because quite frankly, that feels dismissive of my - and likely many others' - real and lived experience. So please for the love of all things that are good just stop with this talking point because it will never hold up.

Moving on

I'm not gonna do a full breakdown of all of Mike's issues. Because contrary to popular belief, there are a lot. And that would be exhausting and I'd get carried away and it's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to defend the acknowledgement and mere existence of them.

If you're a byler that for some reason thinks Mike only exists to be Will's love interest and his trophy as compensation for his trauma, let me ask you this: Have you considered how awful it would be to have a queer character's individuality and emotional depth completely ignored for the sake of focusing on the queer character that "really matters"?

If Mike's own issues, with his queer identity and otherwise, aren't thoroughly explored... What's the point of all this? If Mike really is insignificant in this storyline and his individuality has no effect on it.. where's the emotional payoff? If his perspective doesn't matter... Why have the writers gone to such great lengths to ensure we don't have that piece of the puzzle yet?

Analyzing Mike and understanding Mike is very important to understanding byler. Once again, I think it's crazy that this needs to be said.

I also think it's important to note that characters can have similar struggles. There's no rule against that. Just like real life. Characters having similar struggles is not a bad thing, and acknowledging that their struggles are similar is not dismissive of either character. We're talking about STRANGER THINGS. Jonathan and Nancy's thing is "we've got shared trauma". They have literal matching scars. Shared experiences are some of the main building blocks for this show's romances. Byler has a TON of shared experience, basically their entire lives. We already know that. So wouldn't it be so beautiful for them to learn that they've been struggling with the same thing this whole time? That the entire time they felt alone in what they were going through when really they had each other and they never even knew it? Wouldn't it be so beautiful for Mike's acceptance of Will and Will's love for him was also a step toward accepting himself? Wouldn't it be beautiful for Will to learn that his love makes Mike feel like he's not a mistake? None of that would be in the realm of possibility if Mike didn't have emotional depth and if his individuality wasn't important.

And that leads me to my concluding point...

A satisfying execution of byler endgame hinges on Mike's individual emotional arc being handled well

God I hope this isn't controversial to say. I sincerely hope most people haven't forgotten that.

Here's a hypothetical:

Imagine season five has been released. You're watching it, and you notice that Mike has been relegated to just a supporting character for Will. We don't get any of his perspective. We don't get any explanation for his s3 and early s4 behavior. His breakup with El doesn't have any real tangible effect on him, it's really just used for El's character development. We never see him pining for Will like we saw Will pining for him. And then suddenly Mike is learning about the painting and then suddenly he's confessing his love and then suddenly byler is canon and official.

Now wouldn't that just be awful? Wouldn't that be unfair to the audience, to Mike, and to Will? For us to never learn just how much Mike had to go through to even be able to say it out loud? For Mike to never get the chance to prove to himself through word and action that he is the heart? For Will to never get an explanation for why things did get so "weird" between them? It would leave us with one big, nagging question: What was the point of everything Mike has said and done throughout the entire show if his conclusion is that lackluster?

Disregarding Mike for a moment (I know that's incredibly ironic given what the entire point of this is but just bear with me) - how would that be a satisfying conclusion for Will? I mean, Will's s4 arc was basically dedicated to showcasing his struggle with his sexuality and with his love for Mike. We were shown just how deep that love is. We were shown how patient, unselfish, unwavering, and beautiful that love is. So how would it be satisfying for Mike's love for him to not be shown with just as much depth? How would it be satisfying for Mike to just be a one dimensional character whose s5 arc is essentially "break up with girlfriend, wait to find out best friend is in love with him, say he loves him back, then they live happily ever after"? I think Will deserves for his love to be returned with the same intensity at which he gives it. And I think it should be clear to the audience and to Will himself.

Back to Mike!

Mike has been through so much shit. I don't think anyone that is denying that actually believes he hasn't been through shit. Because you'd actually have to watch the show on mute and with your eyes closed to think this kid hasn't had just the worst time. It's so ignorant to act as if this stuff hasn't affected him. There's stuff we've seen but there's stuff we also haven't seen. There are issues he has that date back to his childhood pre-canon. Just like Will, Mike has been a queer kid growing up in 80s smalltown conservative america. Acknowledging the pain he 100% carries because of that is so important. His perspective has been withheld from us, not because it's unimportant, but because it's the final puzzle piece. If we had Mike's perspective in s4, byler wouldn't be a "will they won't they" (even though we all know they will). If we got his perspective in s4, byler would be a "100% certain without a doubt they will". But the thing about his perspective is that it's so much more than just loving Will. It's fear. It's pain. It's insecurity. It's doubt. It's the belief that his happiness just doesn't matter all that much. All of that has to be explored. All of that has to be laid out in the open for us in order for byler endgame to feel earned. Mike's emotional payoff will lead to byler's emotional payoff.

Mike has known he loves Will. In s5 we will see him make a deliberate and active effort to overcome the things keeping him from doing something about it. And then he will do something about it.

And so when it finally happens. When both Mike and Will finally know that their feelings are requited, and when their arcs end with us knowing that they will face whatever life has in store for them together, that will feel earned. That will feel like the logical conclusion for both of them. Not just for Mike. Not just for Will. For both.

And Mike is just as important to that conclusion as Will is.

And one last thing...

Some people are going to talk about Mike more. Some people are going to talk about Will more. Because newsflash, people have preferences. Some people just relate to Mike more, or they find his emotional arc extremely compelling, or they just like him. It isn't an attack on Will or any other character. No one is saying Mike is more important than any other character (I'm sure there are people that say that but they are a vocal minority and they are simply wrong). We are just saying that he is important. If you wanna engage in media analysis, please understand that "main character" or "central character" does not mean "only important character" and "only character that should be analyzed". If you wanna talk about Will and only Will, that's fine. But you don't get to act like people that talk about other characters are doing a disservice to your fave, because that's not how any of this works.

#mike defenders i need you to back me up on this #i hope my points come across well #anyway #the way people have been talking about mike lately is so infuriating #its called BYLER analysis because its the analysis of BYLER the ship involving will AND mike #st fandom consistently proving that they have absolutely no idea how fandom works #its almost like people wanna talk about things they care about and you dont get to tell them to shut up #if you dont wanna see people talking about mike you can just mute tags about him #but if you dont wanna talk about mike youre missing a huge part of the byler puzzle and thats your loss #please just let people discuss whatever they want to discuss as long as its not ACTUALLY harmful #sometimes i think y'all are allergic to fun #byler #mike wheeler #mike wheeler analysis #will byers #< this is about him too #byler analysis #byler endgame #stranger things

[theminecraftbee]

me, mumbling to myself: i recognize the desire to call decked out a roguelike or a roguelite but it's not really either of those things; the dungeon is a fixed map, which on its own kind of disqualifies it from being either, since a key element of the roguelike is randomized dungeons. additionally, though, it can't be a roguelike, because you can keep progress between runs and don't lose it all whenever you lose; calling it 'roguelite' because you lose everything when you lose but get to keep some permanent progress (the cards) would be more accurate, except, of course, for the fact the dungeon has a completely fixed layout that you can learn (and also that you keep your deck; even in a roguelite normally the progression you keep is more ephemeral). really, it's more of an old-school dungeon crawler that uses modern deck-building game sensibilities as its progression system as opposed to an rpg system. this isn't a knock against it--i LOVE grindy dungeon-crawlers ask me at some point how many hours i've put into etrian odyssey--but it's also fundamentally like, not a roguelike. comparisons to slay the spire (actually a rougelike) are fine, it has a similar deckbuilding concept and that's the deckbuilding game a lot of gamers are familiar with, but why do people keep calling it a roguelike, guys please you'll give people the wrong idea it's not a roguelike,

#not tagging this because to be clear. this is a terminology/genre thing that matters to no one. #genre is like super fake after all #but it's been BOTHERING ME WHERE AR EPEOPLE GETTING THIS IDEA FROM #RANDOMIZED ELEMENTS DOES NOT A ROGUELIKE MAKE... #once again: this doesn't matter and if describing it as a roguelike gets across the gameplay better to your friends DO SO #i am just. me. #for the record if you want something like decked out that IS a roguelite may i point to this modpack iskall has been working on--

[arohuacheng]

what people don't get about hualian is that they're literally like. jock and alternative art student. xie lian lives like a frat boy (mattress on the floor and nothing else in his room, no standards for his own well-being, can't cook and ends up eating what could be classified as biohazards) and is really enthusiastic about fighting as a hobby. meanwhile hua cheng rocks up to the function in his cunty little outfits every day of the week, bells on his boots and the red eyeliner slayed, obviously has taste but is soooo in love with his boyfriend who only ever wears cargo shorts and the most fucked up questionable hoodies you've ever seen. hua cheng wants xie lian to have nice things but it's always like. "babe i promise it's no trouble can we please get you a bedframe??" nd xie lian is obviously so enamored with his cool alt boyfriend who wears skirts sometimes and never misses a beat on a bitchy comment that's just the way it is. basically if your hualian concept doesn't have hua cheng as the hot goth gf you just don't get it

#talking #tgcf #look i am so passionate about this. mxtx wants you to think they're big strong guy (hc) and damsel in distress (xl) but they're fr not #hualian is the couple you see at a fast food restaurant where a goth girl is sitting across from some random dude twirling her hair #going 'babe you're SO funny!' nd the guy is just talking really enthusiastically about the olympics segment he watched last night #but is obviously really happy to be telling her about it? and for her to be genuinely interested??? and they're obviously happy together? #my point. is that they're mismatched but NOT in the way that people tend to talk about them. #they're in love and they're best friends and hua cheng is putting their hands together going 'whoa your hands are SO big..." #you get what i mean. not enough focus on hua cheng as a campy gay person and xie lian as a guy who owns one outfit #they ARE overdressed gf and very normal bf. you know this in your heart. [ pointing a gun at you ] #hua cheng #xie lian #tian guan ci fu #mxtx

[undertheredhood]

bruce after gotham war: why don't my children talk to me?

dick who is so done with him: it's the way you act! it's the way you act!

#dc comics #dc universe #dcu #batman #bruce wayne #bruce thomas wayne #nightwing #dick grayson #richard grayson #richard john grayson #dick even does the hand gestures to get his point across #bruce thinks it's very annoying but too bad for him because dick will continue to be annoying him until the end of time #sometimes you just gotta fight your dad who is a paranoid furry #the batkids (especially jason) are cheering dick on #dick grayson has eldest daughter syndrome #dick is carrying this entire family on his back #dick grayson needs a break #dick grayson is so done #dick grayson needs a vacation #you know you've fucked up when you've got dick grayson calling you out for your bs #when it comes to calling bruce out on his bs dick grayson is never wrong

[radjerda]

Elflings don’t need to know about balrogs, Glorfindel

             Continuous version of the comic is under the cut:

#Lord of the Rings #lotr #Glorfindel #Elladan #Elrohir #Elrond #glorfindel of the golden flower #elrond peredhel #silmarillion #Tolkien #Poor Elrond would constantly have to monitor the stories some of his elves try to tell his children while they're still young #But it's okay it only takes a look to convey the issue because Elrond absolutely can and will glare to get his point across #Elrond's Newest Storytime Rule: If the story involves your death maybe don't tell it to my children thanks ever so much #he will give his children the best childhood he can and no one is going to stop him #Radj Doodles #Radj Draws

[thiagodasilva]

can we stop using what Vini Jr is going through as a way to say “get him to the premier league!”? you’ve gotta be fucking kidding. the racism in Spain is similar to the racism in England, in Germany, in Italy, across Europe. The racism POC athletes experience is a global issue, and has been for a long, long time. no one is free of it.

We can criticize what La Liga is doing without trying to make it some sort of competition between leagues, it’s childish and demeaning to the bigger issue at hand. It’s not about “my favorite league is better than yours” or “come to my club, it won’t happen here.” fucking grow up.

#I’ve seen it more on Twitter and Instagram than here but still #and as a POC fan it makes me so fucking mad when people who prefer the prem are always saying shit like this #like are you fucking forreal #if it’s not poc athletes it’s the POC fans going through it #like wasn’t it just a few weeks ago we watched Son Heung min get tainted with racial slurs and obscene gestures to his FACE? #*taunted #it’s still a thing across the world so stop trying to score points for your faves it’s fucking stupid #vini jr #la liga #premier league

[batcavescolony]

So I'm watching Across The Spider-verse (finally) and could you imagine Gwen's Captain Stacey meeting other Captain Stacey's? Do you think they'd be pissed? He doesn't know it but he's from one of the handful of universes where Gwen doesn't die. How many Captain Stacey's across the multi-verse would take a Gwen that is a Spider-person because at least SHE'S ALIVE?

#captain stacy #gwen stacy #spider gwen #ghost spider #accross the spiderverse #into the spider verse #Cap Stacey Earth-65: yeah my daughter is a vigilante so i pointed a gun at her- #Cap Stacey 1: what? #cap Stacey 2: ... #Cap Stacey 3: i hate him already #Cap Stacey 65: SHES A VIGILANTE! im a cop. she is responsible for the death o- #Cap Stacey 2: yeah BUT SHES ALIVE!!!! #Cap Stacey 3: you don't know how good you have it #Cap Stacey 1: Gwen Stacy dies in 90% of the universes shes in! you're one of the few where she. is. ALIVE. and you... POINTED A GUN AT HER #Cap Stacey 65: ... what #Cap Stacey 2: you know what! child privileges REVOKED we'll take her. #Cap Stacey 3: your daughter is ours now. get out. #spider people #spiderman #across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara #spiderman atsv #atsv #earth 65 #spider woman #spiderwoman #imagine your daughter dies then you see across the multi-verse and you see she dies a lot. but then you meet a version of you where she #doesn't die. and he pushed her away. like yeah vigilante bad but also at least she's not DEAD. but no hes decided to waste his chance.

[bluebelleisabelle]

Cleo: *talking numerous times about how cold she is with Frankie right next to her*

Me: Frankie... boo... now would be a great time for... ya know, you to offer her your jacket...

Frankie: *doesn't*

Me: >:(

#okay but later on in the episode #when Frankie offered and took cleo's hand to help her across #that was adorable T-T #that made it all a little bit worth it #but still #what the heck happened to the lovely 'giving someone your jacket when they're cold' trope?? #I hope we get it at some point HSHJH #monster high #mh #frankie stein #cleo de nile #francleo #clankie #g3 monster high #monster high g3 #gen 3 monster high #monster high gen3