#OH and this song is SO achilles and patroclus coded

[hnbka]

my tears ricochet IS byler as will gets vecna'd.

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe All the hell you gave me? 'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you 'Til my dying day

i will not be explaining how easily this connects to byler's story, please do the math on your own

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And you're the hero flying around, saving face And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?

will would want nothing more than to be selfless and just rid others of himself because he thinks he's a burden to others, he doesn't have the same sense of self-worth does. mike gets to be this hero if will dies from vecna even though mike was, well, mike. to will, he wasn't much of a hero, just really rude and distant. the wake connects back to will being missing, "my life started the day i met you/the day will went missing??" will thinks mike didn't even care that will went missing, so why was he at the wake, at the search parties?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet

mike loves will, we know this. so if will was vecna'd and his bones were all crackly like max's, he would be the first weeping over his body. so this is bitter will, why do you care now?

And I can go anywhere I want Anywhere I want, just not home And you can aim for my heart, go for blood But you would still miss me in your bones

mike is home for will, and mike won't accept will back as anything more than a friend. barely that in the beginning of s4, even in the end. so, will can't go home, properly, to mike. and the you can aim for my heart, go for blood?? mike pushing will away, being just a terrible friend in s4, but he still misses him in his bones.

And I still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky) And when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)

bffr, the sleepovers? the nightmares? this line is byler

(okay extra lines in the song)

You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same

mike felt like he had to end his feelings for will, but it killed him just to do it (he literally, physically couldn't cause bro is whipped)

And you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain Crossing out the good years

"why am i the bad guy?" good years also being s1 and s2 byler when they were more comfortable in their friendship/mike's internalized homophobia wasn't showing so hard

You turned into your worst fears

this one can be interpreted. mike's biggest fears could include l*nnie, losing will or even ted. and he turned into all of those (not lonnie abusive, but homophobic and makes will feel bad so the comparison kind of works)

'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave

used to. he used to.

[dukeofdelirium]

Let’s talk about something more positive: what are your top 10 gay ships?

Oh god idk if I have 10 but let’s see!

1) lawlight. 1000000000% LAWLIGHT lmao! I’m obsessed. OBSESSED with them. I’ve been obsessed with this ship for over 14 years. They make me actually rabid and crazy like nothing else. Everything about this ship and their dynamic drives me nutty. They are the only real “enemies to lovers” ship I’ve ever gaf about or probably ever will. There’s something sooooo Shakespearean tragedy coded about this pairing and they are genuinely so fun to analyze to me. I’ll never get bored of them!

2) byler! Definitely byler!!! I love this ship so much. Best friends to lovers is always gonna be my favorite overall trope (despite the lawlight obsession) because I just think it’s gahhhh so sweet!! Mike and Will being together will be the perfect conclusion to stranger things imo and I’m so excited for the final season!!

3) korrasami! I remember when they went canon. I was so shocked I didn’t even believe we actually WON with a gay ship. This pairing was groundbreaking for cartoons and is the reason we have gay rep in kids shows now too

4) zukaang! I am a multi shipper so I ship Aang with Katara and Zuko too. I love Zuko and Aang’s dynamic and I think there is a ton of canonical support for this ship, too. I guess they’re technically an “enemies to lovers” but I don’t rlly think of them that way. Anyway, I think they’re cute!

credit to Noquelle for the fanart!

5) patrochilles, obviously there’s the Iliad but there’s also a novel called The Song of Achilles which I highly recommend if you’ve never read it and want gay rep. It’s a beautifully written novel that is about Achilles and Patroclus and makes an argument for the interpretation of them being lovers (which was common in ancient times)

credit to awanqi on Twitter for the fanart

6) frowise??? Samfro???? Sam and Frodo from The Lord of the Rings! I’ve always loved these two. And if you think the films are gay, the books are gayer. They cuddle, hold hands, kiss and tell each other they love each other in the novels. They are precious and I love them soooo much

7) this one’s gonna sound silly but me and my friends ship quimbry (Quil and Embry) from Twilight lmao. We wanted gay rep and then it just kind of snowballed. I have like 7 fanfics on my ao3 written for them …. 😂😂😂 idgaf that they’re fanon either cuz they’re real to me and I’m obsessed with them. My ao3 is the same as my tumblr btw if you wanted to read my fics! it’s dukeofdelirium

8) (edit I can’t believe I forgot them!) WILMON from Young Royals! Such a sweet pairing and I was so obsessed with them when I watched this show. Such a good show too. Highly recommend and the actors had amazing chemistry

9) REDDIE? I remember this one breaking my heart a bit. I’m not a hugely active shipper of it but it’s cute and really sad

10) Jack and Ennis from Brokeback Mountain:(((( this movie really and truly ruined my life and did something to me when I watched it as a 10 yr old. Somethin about growing up in the south as a closeted gay boy…. Heath and Jake were insane in this film their chemistry was nuts

Hmmm I can’t think of anything else at the moment! I’m very particular about the stuff I ship, it rlly has to scratch a niche itch in my brain for me to be really and truly obsessed with it.

Thanks for bringing something positive to the ask box! :) what are your favorite gay ships, anon?

[fl0r4l]

Oh my god this song is so Patroclus and Achilles coded