#I spent so long answering this lmao

[yellobb]

5 and 13 for the ao3 asks 😌

Thank you so much for the ask!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

5. Did anything you read make you cry?

Gosh, yes. Quite a few actually.

To be completely honest (and please skip to the recs if you don’t want to read me over sharing), fanfic is my escapism, and I love using it to make myself feel better, but sometimes I just need to sit with the pain that I’m in. A lot of the times, when I’m feeling super shitty, I’ll seek sad stuff out so I can get my tears out and have that catharsis. It may not be the healthiest, but it’s also not the worst.

The main ones that get to me are MCD (especially final battle fics that end with one of the boys killing the other), break up fics where we really get to sit with one of the boys for their spiraling, and ones where Simon feels insecure about his body. These recs are mostly MCD, since I’m having trouble finding the other ones are way more difficult and I’ve already spent 45 minutes on this ask lmao. But here you are, fics I read this year that made me cry (please mind the tags on all of them)!

i love you, im sorry by @/lovely_weiying. Jesus Christ, this one. This fic reached deep into my heart and tore it right out. Fuck, dude. It’s got Simon dealing with a lot of issues, and goes completely above and beyond with its MCD. Major trigger warning for suicide on this one. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart.

Post-it Note Boys by @/CanadianSnow. Another MCD. This one hurts, but it’s one of the sweetest and most heartfelt fics you’ll ever read. It spans a lifetime of doodles on post-it notes that Simon gifts to Baz. Not much can be said about this fic that hasn’t already been said, since it’s one of the more well-known ones, I believe. Technically I didn’t read this one for the first time this year, but I did give it a reread and cry, so I’m counting it lol

my heart lies in your bones by @/doodleishere. This is perhaps the saddest body swap or magical mishap I’ve ever read. It's another MCD, so be warned. Simon is fighting a creature, but Baz follows him. When Simon tries to cast a spell that will give him a better view of the creature, he accidentally switches bodies with Baz and doesn’t realize what he’s done until Baz is killed. In. Simon’s. Body. So now Simon is stuck living in the body of the man he accidentally killed. This is full of so many heart-wrenching moments, but it does have a happy ending, so it's a bit safer than the previous two recs.

I'm here, my little puff by @confused-bi-queer. The only non-MCD on the list (technically). This one is so gut-wrenching because it’s written entirely from Natasha’s perspective, before her death and through the Veil. Listening to Baz’s self-hatred is hard enough when it’s not through the eyes of his mother, who loves him despite the things he thinks she’ll hate him for. This could easily be seen as canon-compliant, and it has a sequel where Natasha and Lucy come back through the Veil 20 years after the first time to meet the entire Snow-Grimm-Pitch family, so you have some fluff to help with the pain.

And the final one: my tears ricochet by @annabellelux. Huge shoutout to Marta for helping me find this again, since this is the first one that came to mind when I started thinking about this question, but I could not for the life of me find it. This fic is MCD, so be warned. Simon kills Baz in the final battle and immediately regrets it, but it’s too late. Baz talks to his mother after death, and she decides to pass on, so Baz decides to deliver her message for her. When he returns, though, he can’t talk to Fiona or Malcolm, so he has to face a distraught Simon in order to avenge his mother’s death. There are no words for how much this fic destroyed me (in the best way), especially when Baz first comes through the veil and has to witness the grief his death has brought. I cannot recommend this enough (and don’t worry, it has a happy ending :))

13. What trope do you think you read the most of?

Honestly, that’s a great question. When I’m reading, I tend to read through the general searches, then find a fic I love and try to find all the fics similar to that. I end up going down a lot of rabbit holes that way. Here’s some tropes I know I’ve read a lot of (non-Simon Snow ones have the fandom in parenthesis):

Hanahaki AU

Time Travel (usually the “the boys see their future” kind)

Pining Baz (sorry babes)

Getting Together

Hurt/Comfort

Stark Industries Field Trip (yes this is a trope in the MCU Spider-Man fandom. There are almost 1000 fics)

Magic reveals (BBC Merlin)

Again, not really sure which I’ve spent the most time reading, so those are in no particular order. I’d give out some recs, but there are too many to broadly encompass the categories, so let me know if you want ones from a specific trope and I got you!

[safyresky]

"work wife"???? But not actual wife??

LOL no not actual wife! Both the work wife and I have actual husbands instead 🤭🤭 And my husband is JUST as crazy as I am and WILL do farther daytrips like the absolute insane mans he is! Which is one of the MANY reasons I married him--his weirdness matches my weirdness 💖💖💖💖💖

As a fun fact, the craziest day trip/road trip we have done: we went to IKEA about two ish hours away. Came home, realized upon unloading new bedframe that he had misplaced his wallet somewhere. So what did we do?

WELL IKEA was closed but you bet your ass we got BACK in the car and drove BACK to the pit stop (an hour?? ish?? away??) that VERY night and checked the trash there and asked the people inside (who were sups friendly! They checked the tapes for us and everything!) if they'd seen it. They hadn't! So, we drove BACK home and the next day, after work, we yeeted ourselves into the car and drove BACK to ikea to see if they had it

AND THEY DID!

He was so relieved and then we had IKEA hot dogs for dinner, his treat bc he had his wallet again 🤭🤭🤭 (they are pretty good but costco ones I think deffs are better!)

BUT YEAH. My actual spouse is just as unhinged as I am and I love him about it 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[bunnihearted]

🫖🐭☁️🍚

[happylandfill23]

same picture

[crows-home]

hey! i hope you don’t mind me asking, but do u have any fics you recommend reading? (specifically sonic fandom ones)

im so sorry anon but im probably the worst when it comes to fic recs. I just started using the bookmark function on ao3 like last month. There's probably tons of fics that i've read and absolutely loved, but never saved and are just collecting dust in my history ToT

i'm going to shout out a few of my favorite authors whose works i absolutely adore and some fics under the cut!

There's definitely more authors and fics i missed, but this is what i was able to come up with!! in general, the sonic community is full of so much talent and i'm just really happy to be here :)

@cozyqueerchaos - I love every single piece they put out honestly and these fics are the reason i dipped my toes more into the sonic fandom years ago. they're THAT good. love them all.

@phantomruby - another wonderful fic writer that everyone should check out. "Slipping Away" makes me cry fr, although i haven't caught up on the latest updates. everything just makes my heart go oshfdsfhd

@chaoxfix - sonic fics are wonderful sonic takes are top notch i dig everything. the understanding of the characters and archie is just phenomenal.

@teamxdark - fell in love with the Tales of Avalon series and fell harder in love with the team dark Boomtober fics and dynamics and aaaaaa, wonderful writing and style.

@rubyiiiusions - every fic is a joy to read and every story really just gets your attention and keeps it till the end. i've bookmarked a few of them since last week :)

I went digging through my history and here are some of my personal favorite Sonic fics!

radio silence under a yellow sky by chaox Summary: Sonic finds out Tails is missing. And more importantly, that no one's been looking for him.

A gen fic about Sonic finding out Tails was MIA during Forces it's so so good i think about it a lot

falling by sonosuke Summary: Shadow likes a boy

sonadow during SA2 I'll cry. so angsty but it makes me :')

Birds of a Feather by SonicaSpeed123 Summary: Sonic has been trapped in Camelot for three years, but he's started to make a place for himself that he can finally be comfortable in with his beloved Lancelot Something has been bothering him, though: If all the people of this world look like the people back home, where is Sonic's lookalike?

Lansoni. Part of a series of SatBK mini fics that i really love, but this one especially because it answers the question of 'what about the Sonic doppleganger?'

you can hardly swallow your fears and pain by chaox and sketchjii Summary: Shadow is usually better at putting up that cold, unfeeling front, isn't he? Or maybe that's him. (or: sonic doesn't need to be in touch with his feelings if he pretends they don't exist in the first place)

One of my all time faves i love it so much i dont think i have the right words. shadow tries to give sonic mental health advice. it does not go well. takes place some time after Forces.

the time has come again for stars by rubyillusions Summary: (five times someone notices sonic and shadow are in love and one time they do something about it)

sonadow, Teen. obsessed with how the characters are written here and the way all of their friends interpret their relationship it's just so cute and sweet and shit and i love it a lot.

against every odd by eggskie Summary: "We're friends?" Nine asks, small and timid, and oh, doesn't that break Sonic's heart. "Of course we are. We always have been. Or we always should have been." Or: Nine isn't used to being cared about

wanna see how hard i can cry? Gen, Sonic Prime fic about sonic and tails and what they should have been.

Dreams Don't Come True by Skyblaze Summary: Short, mildly humorous fic with sonadow flavouring. It also takes the mickey extensively out of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 Next Gen game. Warning: not to be taken seriously.

This fic is just really silly i like it a lot :)

A largely platonic cave by mousewritings Summary: "You know I uh, love hanging out with you and all, but do you think we could go somewhere that's not a cave for once?" Shadow stares at him. "What do you mean, go somewhere that's not a cave? Think you're too good for caves?"

Sonic Boom Sonic and Shadow (pre-slash sonadow) my beloveds <3<3 this fic is so funny they're so insufferable

Also, uh. I know you said only Sonic fics but i'm going to add a few more fics that i really really love from different fandoms because i reread them a lot, i hope you don't mind! ^^

Our way by shpeeper Summary: Overall, the mission was pretty simple. Sniper was instructed to track the spy for a week, figure out his daily patterns, then put a bullet in his brain when no one is around. No one told him there would be a kid. An AU in which Spy raises Scout alone, and Sniper is hired to kill Spy.

Oh my fucking god i could go on about this fic. Sniperspy, Teen, TF2. filled with action and danger. Every time a new character would get introduced, i would have fun piecing together who they were in my mind. the first chapter already had me emotional, it's been in my brain for YEARS. And don't even get me STARTED with the twist at the end. holy shit.

Desmodontinae by Romiress Summary: Kirk wakes up in a Gotham that is not his own. A what-if, where Gods and Monsters Batman winds up in the DCU. Originally intended as a short oneshot, and expanded out into a small story, exploring the differences, struggles, and conclusions. Focuses primarily on Kirk Langstrom (G&M Batman), with a side or Hernan Guerra (G&M Superman), Damian Wayne, and Bruce Wayne. Guest appearances by various other Robins, Clark and Jon Kent, and several others.

The Gods and Monsters DC team means so much to me and oh my god this fic was made with so much love and care for the characters. It's been a while since i read it, but i remember this fic had me staying up literally all night, eagerly going through all the chapters, one at a time. i was in bed kicking my sheets quietly irl lmao.

[rabble-dabble]

A Karkat who isn't out to his friends about his blood color yet has to go to John to get patched up because all humans bleed red and thus John wouldn't think it's weird that he does too.

question but is it homoerotic to patch up your fellow friendleader so tenderly when he trusts no one else to and also linger your touch but only slightly subtly so as not to alert him to your pining gaze?

[solasan]

social media edits: marnie ross (@infamous-if) (x)

[sms] oreo-ion (1 min ago): Ross, I *will* take away your twitter privileges if you don’t learn to watch your pottymouth. [sms] marnie ross (now): SHUT UP WE WON IM GONNA GO JUMP IN A POOL

[akkivee]

THERE WERE TWO JIROS ON MY SCREEN GUYS!!!!!! TWO OF THEM!!!!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[tectco]

Hello, just wanna start this off by saying that I love your art. I've decided to ask my favourite artists for art tips as I wanna get into it, but no matter what I do it never looks right. So, any tips?

WARNING YOU JUST OPENED THE FLOOD GATES GET READY FOR A LONG ASS POST

WOOOOO BOY, first off huge fucking compliment i honestly didn't think i was anyone's favorite artist (despite what my friends say) and i find it super cool of you to try and draw

Anddd nowww the cowards will run out as soon as you read more

okay so first things first, disclaimer! I AM NO PROFESSIONAL BY ANY STANDARDS, IM JUST SUPER INTERESTED IN ART, DO NOT TAKE MY WORDS AS GOSPEL AND YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE MY WORDS OF ADVICE (you didnt say i was but just to cover my ass)

I am still learning as an artist so this will just be advice that helped me, lets just hope i can remember what got me here, and this will be just me jotting down my thoughts as they come so maybe im not the best person to come to about this (i may repeat what other people say in terms of art so bare with me)

SO WITHOUT ANYMORE DISCLAIMER! YOU WANT ART TIPS FROM ME? WELL GET READY FOR SOME BULLSHIT FROM A PERSON WHO'S BEEN SO ARTSY FARTSY IN THEIR ENTIRE LIFE AND HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, WELL COME INTO THE SHIT TRAIN!!

Now i dont know if you are an intermediate artist, beginner, need help in specific areas or whatever the hell else but! here's the three main points i always wanted to scream at artists who are just starting out!

Your art WILL look like shit in the beginning

References and inspiration are YOUR FRIEND

DONT be afraid to trace

(I know I know this feels like regurgitated and it probably is BUT HEY STICK WITH ME)

does your art looks fucking trash? THATS GOOD!! KEEP DRAWING!! My art looked fucking ugly when i started and some might say (me) it still does, but thats okay!! You learn more and more from just drawing without any tips, art is a pure skill that builds up, do not be discouraged!! The point of art isn't to be the greatest in the world, it's to be at peace with what you create so if your art looks good to you and you are in a happy place in your progress, you are basically successful in my eyes at least (this doesn't mean to quit learning obviously but it'll come in time, be patient, do not push yourself! that's how you stop loving art and we don't want that happening!)

Ever find yourself asking "man why the fuck does (include art shit here) not look accurate??" well here's a tip, USE REFERENCES! DO NOT BE LIKE ME WHERE YOU JUST WING IT OR ELSE YOU'LL BE CRYING OVER YOUR DRAWING TABLET LIKE I DID AT SOME POINT!! Pay attention to the shapes of the reference, break it down and draw over it if you need to, shapes are very important in art and you need to be able to draw whatever you want in the most basic forms (im no good example of this, i really need to practice more aughhh). As well as references, inspiration is KEY!!! Everything is inspired off each other, nothing is original, so steal from your favorite artists!! Look at their speedpaints, look at how they use colors, analyze how they draw anatomy in their style, see how they use shapes, etc etc, learn from who you consider are the "greats of their times"!! USE ALL THE INSPIRATION YOU HAVE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!LITERALLY COPY THEM IF YOU WANT EVEN IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DID THAT, YOU'LL LEARN WITH TIME!! just whatever you do, don't compare yourself so heavily against other artists, i know its hard, i do it myself even! If there is an artist who has a style you so so want, don't crumble if you can't draw in their style perfectly, you'll never win against someone in their art style. I suggest taking inspiration from multiple artists and mashing them together until it looks good in your eyes!!

That actually leads me to my next point! TRACING IS OKAY!! Now obviously I do not mean directly tracing over like some lines, showing it off/posting it and calling it completely original. I mean tracing over the references i mentioned before, or like what i said before, i believe you should actually trace from your favs! (don't call it original like i said before), tracing can help build memory on how to draw certain things like how i took a photo of my hands before, traced them, and then put it to the side to redraw it, making me understand futher how hands work! OR like how i traced a piece of art that i liked to understand how the artist drew their bodies, tracing is used by total professionals in the industry so do not be afraid!! You have total permission from me to trace my art and learn how to draw my wack ass bodies

and for a little extra bit, little bit of a hot take (I'm actually not sure how much of a hot take this is), i don't think you HAVE to learn the fundamentals to get into art. NOW BEFORE YOU RUN OFF SCREAMING AND SHITTING, IM NOT SAYING YOU DON'T NEED THE FUNDAMENTALS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!! I'm just saying that if you want to get into art as a complete hobbyist and just want to draw to yknow draw and be happy, you should just go for it! Again don't make art something you hate! I completely encourage learning the fundamentals but don't ever feel like you're failing just because you don't, get into it when you have the time! be patient with yourself, this goes for any hobby/skill but just sink some time into it, i promise you will get further in you hobby than if you push and rush yourself into complete burn out

OH AND HERES MY ULTIMATE TIP! THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO DO ART!!

Uhhh i think that's everything? Im not exactly sure how comprehensible this is or how the spelling is since i am not beta reading this! But apologies if this wasn't what you were looking for! (if anybody even read this far) and i hope that if you asked your other favorite artists they answered with anything better than whatever this is! I wish you alot of luck in your art journey and thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about art! OH AND REMEMBER TO TAKE BREAKS

[konfizry]

because who's gonna vouch for her existence? who can say for sure that she is a real person who existed, say, 5 months prior to the game's events?

no one!!!!!

[icedb1ackcoffee]

Once again I am rereading Corrupted by Design. This time I went on a twenty minute rant to my bestie over the phone how much I loved it because???? Anyway not to thirst too hard but your writing is like HONEY and I am essentially an obese bear pawing at your hive. Etc etc LOVE your work and just had to gush because UGH.

Also, a little question for funsies: were there any scenes you were most inspired or excited to write?? What were/are they are why were they your favorite?

OMG not an icon calling MY words honey!!! you are literally the pillar of the feyd brain rot community and to hear that from you made me shout @ my phone LMAO. love love love your fic, and i am so in awe of your work. it is seriously a delight to read. just the perfect blend of horror and romance, with some of the best writing i have ever read.

one particular scene that i enjoyed writing was absolutely the balcony scene with feyd. up until this point, he was only a dark politic figure, then a looming presence in the background, then a real danger when he scarred the reader. he was intrigued by her already, but focused on other things. that balcony scene was the first time they were alone, and he wanted to find out more about her and sought her out of his own free will. i wanted it to be as full of tension and intrigue as possible. with the death sentence/short-term Imperial Immunity, it sort of gave him permission to speak so freely with her. the scene isn't perfect but i'm really happy with how i transferred what i was thinking onto the page!

i was also really inspired to write that first scene with the reader and the Baron in the dining hall. that was the first scene that came to me when i was daydreaming in the shower (lmao), and i knew i had to write it down and continue on w the story!!! i keep my notes app open on my phone to write down scenes or lines of dialogue that come to me.

& of course i am the most excited writing the chapter(s) i'm currently writing!!!

ty for the question love and i'm so so happy you're enjoying it aaaaa

[emblazons]

hi marie, its me again <3 the anon with byler doubt haha ... you made such great points! and tysm for such a thorough response.

I am SO CURIOUS how do you think they'll get Mike and Will together? I think that's the aspect that has me doubting the most because it feels so so MESSY and they can very easily mess it all up if they aren't careful.

Explaining Mike's internalized homophobia etc might be something too difficult to unpack in just one season, on top of everything else going on as well with the world literally ending. I also don't know what the point was of having Mike say he loved Eleven if it wasn't true, what do you think they were trying to achieve with that?

Do we truly think she'd be okay with breaking up with Mike? And if the answer is yes, how will that affect Mike and El's dynamic going forward, you think? Will they really not only break up milkvan, but leave elmike underdeveloped in favor of Byler?

I look at the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle and that has been a mess for seasons now and still no resolution, so I don't know how they'll do it for Mike and Will. I fear they'll go for the "easy route" (aka milkvan endgame) to focus on the supernatural and other characters more. Because if Byler is endgame I feel like they'd need to devote a great chunk of the season to them in order to explain wth is going on with Mike specifically + giving him closure with El.

I suppose something else that gives me doubt is how Mike and Will have been sidelined in these last few seasons to give more screentime/protagonism to other characters and dynamics, so I don't know if I can fully believe the Duffers care THAT much about romantic!Byler if that makes sense.

Hopefully this all doesn't sound overly pessimistic or something, I am genuinely curious about your thoughts in some of these more like looking for reassurance tbh! Especially after reading your response to my first ask <3 TYSM once again!!

hello again!

To be honest, you've got a lot of questions that require separate (and equally detailed) responses, but...let me see if I can briefly explain each, and maybe link to other analyses I've done that might help make sense of why I say.

note: some of these are just my frankest opinions unfiltered, but I do have analytical reasons for all of them. Your questions are also asking things it's taken several rewatches and a year to sort through so...apologies if you just get the simplest version of the idea delineated here haha. also, a cut, because this got really long.

1: How do you think they'll get Mike and Will together? Transparently? I'm not really all that into specifics, because expecting specific things means I'm going to fall into the trap of thinking I'm the one writing it when I'm not and then say The Duffers "lied" or "messed up" because I expected something they never put in there. That said—in terms of plain setup, they will need to address the painting because that was a critical plot point from damn near minute one of S4, and now it's become fully integrated with not only Will's feelings for Mike, but Mike's own sense of El's feelings for him.

Beyond that...I think El will need to be the one to initiate the "complete" breakup, because she's the one who wanted space in the first place, the one who is repeatedly having her romantic partner paralleled to parental and tragic figures, the one refuses to be vulnerable & who built lies into their relationship...and the one whose general arc centers around reclaiming autonomy and choice from the men in her life. I also think Mike will be the one to initiate the romantic aspect, if its not a bit mutual.

2: Mike's internalized homophobia etc might be something too difficult to unpack in just one season - I disagree. We managed to sort through introducing Will's romantic feelings and sense of his queerness in a single season just fine...and Mike has had queer-coding show up throughout every season if you know what you're looking for.

The fact that this boy already has a one way sign into his closet, has repeatedly yelled about "boys only" every season AND shows clear signs of male attraction already has most people (even the supposed 'GA') suspicious of his sexuality, and combined with his devotion to will + the wider context, there are plenty of ways to introduce the idea of him liking boys explicitly that don't require any intense delineation...unless you expect them to say "he's gay" out loud, which they didn't do when Robin came out, and still haven't done for Will either...despite everyone knowing damn well they're gay.

3: I also don't know what the point was of having Mike say he loved Eleven if it wasn't true - I think that most of the breakdowns I've done of parentified!mike make clear that the love he has for her is somewhat genuine...though its being written as misplaced familial love, because he spent so much time believing he needed "a girl" to assuage his insecurities.

While I absolutely lean toward a gay!Mike reading myself, it's still clear even without a label that Mike's love mirrors Hopper's more than it resembles any of the love given by potential romantic partners to other women across the show—and Mike, given that he was being told by Will that El needed him to say he loved her for her to win, did what he thought was necessary to help her.

I do not think his love for her is a lie—I simply think it isn't romantic, and has now been so conflated with something negative in El's mind that it wouldn't matter if he mean't it romantically anyway. That said: narratively, Mike had to say he loved El because unless the fullness of what was expected (an I love you) was accomplished, it would hang over the story and any relationship Byler might have. El needed to hear it...so she could reject it, which she did.

4: Do we truly think she'd be okay with breaking up with Mike? yes. I think El will be absolutely 300000% just fine being broken up with Mike lmao. She has Hopper back now (who she was mourning the loss of, and therefore looking to fill with Mike emotionally), on top of having Max's "there's more to life than stupid boys" at the fore of her mind saving her.

Mike is also paralleled to parental and abusive figures in El's mind, on top of the fact that she has been keeping him at an emotional distance for the entirety of S4. Given that she and Lucas will probably also get closer in the search for Max...I'm quite sure she's not going to take it as hard as people imagine, especially given the fact that we already know she was happiest in S3 when they were broken up.

I also don't have any expectation of ElMike being super close friends (beyond party bonds + civility) either, which...I mean if you are I apologize but. I don't see that happening in canon, so them being developed deeply as friends before the show ends is not important to me as a plot point, and doesn't really have any canonical backing considering their ongoing lack of platonic connection outside of the necessary + lack of common interest. That's even a note thematically in the show...which means its makes sense for them not to be that close by the end of the narrative.

5: Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle and that has been a mess for seasons now and still no resolution, so I don't know how they'll do it for Mike and Will. Truth be told, that love triangle has a resolution—Nancy has chosen Jonathan, and continues to, even though she flirted with Steve when she felt lonely. Nancy's arc has always centered around choosing something different than her parents and has from S1—her brief flirtation with Steve aside, her loyalty to Jonathan hasn't changed, though they are absolutely not a perfect couple.

If anything, the end of S4 set up Jonathan and Steve learning to be friends less so than anything implying Nancy might choose Steve instead—Jonathan is finally in a narrative position to choose something for himself now which frees him up to be honest with Nancy, and even outside of that, Nancy is far more likely to end up with single than she is with Steve—which is the exact opposite of how they've set up Mike to be with Will rather than El over the course of the season.

6: I fear they'll go for the "easy route" (aka milkvan endgame) to focus on the supernatural and other characters more. I don't agree. The supernatual plot has always been well-integrated with the romantic elements in every couple across the board, from Mike's "first love lost" energy happening when El disappeared in S1, Lumax bonding in S2 in a fight with demodogs, Jancy's bonding across S2-3 happening in the lab seeing the gate, while Will was un-possessed, and while they fought the thing monster in the hospital....and Jopper in Russia fighting a demogorgon in S4.

The Duffers have never slacked in setting up their romances in conjunction with the supernatual plots, and there's no reason to think they're gonna start with Byler, especially given Will's mirroring of Vecna/Henry, the way the day his disappeared is the day the UD is frozen, and how he's the one who can sense him...while now having Mike glued to his side.

7: if Byler is endgame I feel like they'd need to devote a great chunk of the season to them in order to explain wth is going on with Mike specifically + giving him closure with El. The 5th season is going to bring all of the characters together again, and they've already said Will is central to that. I've written before about the reason why they had to sideline Will in their plot to make a narrative point, but regardless...like I said before, if you know how to read subtext, Mike being queer won't come as all that much of a surprise.

Note: I've done several (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) analyses on Mike and his arc, which might help.

Beyond that...again, I honestly don't think The Duffers care much to make ElMike besties like fanon seems to think they should be (they haven't done it with any of the other romantic couples they've broken up) so...closure can include civility and acceptance for them the way it did S2 Steve with Jancy, imo. What Mike needs most is to gain the courage to accept himself and realize he doesn't need a girl to assuage his insecurities—and him being casual friends with El the same way he is casually supportive canonically with Max makes more sense than trying to skirt over all the mess of their relationship for the sake of an attached fandom ☠️

—that was a lot to cover, but hopefully that cleared up my position on a lot of your questions? I would also encourage you to take a look at my ST commentary tag & analyses highlights list (soon to be updated again) and even my asks for more context, on top of maybe giving the show a rewatch in its entirety if you can.

Sidebar: I also encourage you to dig into my Duffer Brothers tag and commentary (see bottom of the page), because knowing who made the show is just as helpful as understanding the show itself.

Its really easy to get caught in other people's wants and headcanons for the show if you don't keep going back to it yourself, so—as lovingly as possible, I really do encourage you to just sit and watch it with the "byler knowledge" you have from users like me, your other fave analysts, and maybe some of the "old guard" like @kaypeace21, who was integral in my own development of opinions before I dug in for myself. If you're ever doubting, that's always your best bet.

That said: It's literally impossible to summarize a framework crossing nearly 37 hours of TV in a single ask (or even 20)...which is why I've got almost a year worth of posts about it (and have evolved my depth of understanding dramatically over time).

The same way you can't spark notes your way through a degree without missing a lot of context, even me saying this with evidence won't help a lot if you haven't dug into it yourself—and doubt will repeatedly creep in if you're trusting me over the show itself, even though the show is where I've pulled all this from lmao.

—this got really long, but....I hope it helped. And again, sorry if I seemed short anywhere lmao. This was a lot to cover. Still, as always, thanks for the ask!

[flufallo]

I feel like they're very alike tbh

[clits-and-clips]

Do you see a difference in not smoking weed? I’ve been trying to cut down. I smoke like 3 spliffs a day if I’m really stressed lol and it’s going on 5 years since I started. I will admit, I have cut down a LOT imo. I used to chain smoke back to back like 6 or more a day especially when I was together with my ex. But what helps you get your mind off of smoking or trying to fight the urge?

Ah jeez, I quit the day he broke up with me because I thought maybe he would take me back lmao, but I wanted to quit for a long time before that so that made it easier. I'm definitely less agitated, less anxious but I still have anxiety. I was smoking all day every day for two years, before that it was every day but not consistent throughout. I've been reading a lot, but when I cant concentrate on that I just sit on my phone a lot or watch TV shows. To be honest I really don't know what's distracting me the most... probably all the appointments I've been forcing myself to go to. The main thing for me is my anger issues, I hate being an angry person and weed made it worse (because it stems from my anxiety) my advice would be I guess to find something that genuinely takes the focus off it. Reading (find a good series), TV, art, if you have pets play with them, reorganise your stuff and cull (did a lot of that moving back home), cleaning is a good one but I dont have the energy for it anymore. Sorry if this is long haha. Focusing on my pets is a big one cause I have to be more independent with it and do it myself. Gardening!!! Buy some plants and take care of them lol. My parents and siblings are a massive help and keep me distracted so if you have a good family or circle of friends ask for their help! Set small goals and work towards them

[spaciebabie]

What's the storyline for your ocs?

nerdy straight A middle school student katherine quin and her pals realize that their government sucks ass and b/c they are impassioned naive youth, entangle themselves in a state of affairs that will stay w/them for the rest of their lives

more under the cut b/c i wrote a lot more than i thought i would kasfjksdfjksfj (i have big feelings abt this story)

i (officially) made the story when i was 14! all the characters are based off me and my experience 2 some extent (especially katherine i mean i made her bi, biracial, gave her a mole, made her like indie games etc). originally the story was going 2 have a happy ending, but as ive grown i have more of an appreciation for....well endings that are not so happy. im thinking i change it. it would make sense w/what happens in it anyway (the story of revolution is not as happy and triumphant as 11 year old me imagined when i first acted this out w/my brother. honestly like ive changed the story entirely 2 be my own but i still gotta thank my bro cuz the orig storyline that inspired it when we played legos 2gether was a conjoined effort and i borrowed many of the characters)! as im drafting it now, the story is not particularly happy lol

the story tells a sort of generational loop that katherine goes thru? if that makes sense? i wont go too much in depth b/c spoilers but its a story of history repeating itself again and again and the endless loops pain and suffering cause and how people are scared/too comfortable/too angry to change the cycle. i think that katherine being a history nerd in the midst of watching history unfold again before her very eyes grants her a certain point of view other characters dont have (except a few who have lived experiences). although this awareness will come later in the story when she's older

it will also touch on something young folks feel 2day where ppl frequently ask, "why is this happening today? havent we progressed?" and katherine will ponder that herself (although the situations that happen in the story are strictly to the story ajsfsjfd i cant talk abt and link real life tragedies it would be too much for me). and i think that as she gets older in the story and gains knowledge and wisdom from what she goes thru, she'll hafta bear this horrifying knowledge that the sands of time dont just erode the past, but the present and future as well.

i was not expecting 2 write this much KJSFKJSDJFKSJDF

anyway! i care this story a lot. its like my childhood and has grown with me as ive aged. im really compelled to make it the best it can be and i get a lot of imposter syndrome b/c i know the ideas i have and the story itself as a whole is good, but im worried my execution will fall flat. idk its kept me from moving forward w/it or talking abt it for years.

tldr; two can basically be summed up by this image:

are things going 2 get better? can they get better? questions i think about as i write and think thru this story.

[ergativeabsolutive]

no wait spill the calendar nerd discourse, I want to know how we know that it's really tuesday

Well, what is Tuesday? The easy answer is that Tuesday is kind of a social construct and it's only "Tuesday" relative to our specific calendar system, which is 100% a human invention, but that goes without saying. I don't even need to say that weekdays as a concept are far from unique to the now-dominant western calendar, but I don't think it's useful to equate different calendars with each other (and more importantly i'm way more knowledgeable about the system I actually use and the history surrounding it), so I'm going to limit this to the system where today is actually called tuesday.

The real answer is that our calendar isn't just some arbitrary thing that we're just "keeping track of", but a complicated mathematical system that has been kept under extreme scrutiny for generations by nerds and religious officials all over the world to ensure that it remains in sync with various astronomical features, the seasons, holidays, etc. In fact, it was designed that way intentionally, so that we wouldn't have to "keep track", as that post says.

The Roman calendar was originally a 355-day lunar calendar, and like other lunar calendars, it was supposed to have an additional intercalary month every few years, which in the case of the Roman calendar was traditionally between February and March. Unlike modern lunar calendars though, the way this was supposed to work wasn't really codified, and instead it was placed in the hands of the priests to "keep track of", which as you can imagine usually meant "manipulate for political purposes". For example, if someone you don't like is in elected office, maybe the year should be shorter so they have a shorter term... 😏

That also meant that if Rome's religious officials were ever, say, busy doing other shit, sometimes the calendar would just get neglected and be allowed to get out of sync. So when Julius Caesar was elected pontifex maximus, and then proceeded to spend over a decade at war, the calendar basically got an entire season out of sync, because he was too busy fighting to actually do his job effectively. That's why, after the civil war ended and his power was secure, one of the first things he did was solicit the help of Egyptian astronomers to invent the Julian calendar. It was intentionally designed to keep track of the seasons etc. without human intervention, because clearly "human intervention" wasn't working. And for what it's worth, the Gregorian calendar is basically only a relatively minor adjustment to that same system, which otherwise has worked pretty consistently ever since. In other words, that post is kind of talking about a problem that really did exist at one time, but was already identified and solved over 2000 years ago.

Of course, at the time, the Roman calendar didn't have a 7-day week at all, they used an 8 day week, which operated according to its own rules and I don't really know much about it tbh. But I go into all this because, as far as the Romans and the people who use their calendar are concerned, the transition to the 7 day week happened after the Julian reform, which means that this transition happened relatively recently, well within recorded history, grounded in a system we know was already internally consistent. And in fact the 7 day cycle that the Romans gradually began to adopt around this time came to them via Greek astrologers, who based their system on the traditions that had already existed in West Asia. When the Romans adopted the 7 day week, they named the days of the week after the classical planets, and by extension, the gods associated with them. So, Tuesday is called "Tuesday" (tīwesdæġ/Tīwas dag) because for astrological reasons they associated this particular day in the 7-day cycle with Mars, and the Romans equated their god of war Mars with the Germanic war god Tyr/Tiwaz, so it ended up getting called that in English/other Germanic languages. It's important to mention that early on, this astrology-based naming system could be interpreted differently depending on when one considered the day to begin in the first place. It's possible to imagine a timeline where today was actually named "Saturday" in our system instead, without actually being a different day. Regardless though, there is, at least, archaeological evidence of dates as we would expect them to be, knowing this, being recorded just under 2000 years ago. So yeah, today really is Tuesday (or Saturday ig). It's definitely not Wednesday or Sunday, at least.

Despite the pagan roots of the weekday names though, the actual transition to the 7 day week as the default, as you might expect, is associated with the rise of Christianity, and the system as we know it was eventually codified by Constantine. And of course, once you have a consistent pattern codified into both religious and secular law, it's kind of hard to screw up. And again, we haven't.

tldr "tuesday" as such is kind of an arbitrary concept, but we know that the underlying calendar system is consistent, and Tuesday itself came about through, to put things extremely simply, the interaction between astrology and something like at least half a dozen different cultural-religious traditions, such that it doesn't really make sense to think today is anything else while you're still adhering the Gregorian calendar at all. As far as I'm concerned, "is today really tuesday" is two separate questions: "Is our calendar system internally consistent or has there been a mistake in its reckoning of days since it was codified" (which this answer was about, and the answer is yes) and "has the 7 day week in general stayed consistent and been accurately reckoned for its entire history and was that accurately integrated into our system in the first place", but that's more of a historical and religious question, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't really have to have anything to do with with "Tuesday" or secular dating.