#but it also kinda is
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Why The Dragon Could Represent Will's Self Harm
TW: Discussion of self harm
This is an idea I've had swimming around in my head for awhile but I didn't start seeing the evidence for it until recently.
Why the dragon is connected to Will
This point is pretty easy to explain— the dragon in Will's painting was painted by Will.
I mean, it's a pretty simple reasoning but it's solid. Even without getting into the nitty gritty of the creation theory, you can point to the fact that since Will painted the dragon, he essentially created it. Will conjured the dragon in his painting, so he will likely conjure the dragon in some form during the climax.
It's always possible that Vecna could conjure the dragon, but dragons aren't really his MO. Vecna's into spiders, not dragons. It makes much more sense fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons to be the one to conjure the dragon. Thank you to @bylrndgm for pointing out that Will has some winged creatures (possible dragons) on his bedroom wall in Hawkinsand while looking for screenshots I found this dragon toy behind Will (in a scene where he’s being self deprecating no less)
This could also be another Vecna/Will parallel. In season 4 we see little Henry draw his spider monster before turning it into a reality in the Upside Down. Will painted the dragon, so he'll create a real dragon. Similarly, if the spider monster (Mind Flayer) that Henry created is meant to also himself, then could the dragon that Will creates also be himself as well?
How the dragon could represent his self harm
This part is going to take a little more explaining than the last part. I'll start with explaining Will's self harm.
Will doesn't really self harm in a traditional sense, rather we see him emotionally harm himself. While there are a few moments where we see Will stick up for himself, (the rain fight, Rink-O-Mania) there seems to be a line where Will no longer asserts his feelings outward but rather directs them inward and ends up hurting himself in the process. The rain fight results in the destruction of Castle Byers, and when Lucas tries to apologize to Will later, Will claims that it doesn't matter anymore. Something similar happened at Rink-O-Mania, where initially Will is able to defend himself but then later claims that he actually "deserved it."
And then, of course, we see Will harm himself emotionally when he gives Mike the painting under the guise of it being from El. Here we see a recurring aspect of Will's self harm, his self sacrificial nature.
In episode 1x01, Will sacrifices Will the Wise in the D&D game for the sake of the rest of the party. In episode 2x08, Will tries to sacrifice himself again when he instructs everyone to "CLOSEGATE" despite the fact that this would kill him. These two instances combined with the painting show how little regard Will has for his own self preservation, so long as others are saved.
What's interesting about all three of these instances of sacrifice is that they involve fire, burning, or even the dragon itself. The most obvious one being Will's dragon painting, which he uses to try and fix Mike and El's relationship and therefore hurts his own feelings.
When Will sacrifices himself in 1x01, he does so while casting fireball.
In order to get the mind flayer properly out of Will in order to properly close the gate, they do so by burning it out of him (and Will even receives a physical burn from Nancy in this scene).
Why this would manifest as the dragon
ST tends to use its supernatural and horror elements to explore themes of mental illness. The most recent and obvious example being the Vecna's Curse plot from last season, which was used to explore trauma and suicidal ideation. The NINA plot was a look at trauma and repressed memories through a sci-fi lens. In the case of Will, his true sight episodes were a supernatural spin on PTSD flashbacks. The show rarely ever has monsters just for the sake of monsters. Even the giant flesh monster from s3 was likely used as a metaphor for forced conformity and patriotism.
So then, when a big dragon gets manifested in the show, likely by Will, I don't think it would be just a big dragon for the sake of having a big dragon; I think that the dragon would likely be used to represent some kind of aspect regarding mental health. And based on what I've mentioned above, the aspect in question would likely be Will's self destruction.
How would a dragon be used to show self harm?
Something important about Will's dragon is that it has multiple heads.
It's been theorized as to exactly how many heads the dragon would have. Would it have seven heads like the dragon in revelations? Five heads like the Tiamat from D&D? Or just three heads like Will's painting? (Likely the last option) No matter how many heads, the dragon in each example has multiple heads, enough heads to be able to cause harm to another one.
Considering that the Duffers often pay homage to other sources, I was wondering if there was any examples in other media or mythology to a self destructive dragon— and then I remembered the Ouroboros
The Ouroboros is an ancient multicultural symbol that has taken on a few different interpretations depending on the culture it comes from, but is always represented as "a serpent or dragon eating its own tail."
The ouroboros usually represents the cycle of death and rebirth, but is also commonly seen as a symbol of self destruction.
Will doesn't realize that his self harm hurts others
Something that I don't think Will is quite aware of is that whenever he self harms or self sacrifices, he believes he is only harming himself but doesn't realize that he's harming others. When he sacrifices himself in D&D and subsequently goes missing, he doesn't see the pain and distraught that it brings to everyone. When Will gives his dragon painting to Mike under the guise of it being from El, he doesn't realize that he's actually hurting both of them through his attempt to save their relationship.
What this could mean for the dragon is that it could be harming itself, like in the case of the ouroboros, but it could also be causing damage to everything around it in the process. Imagine, for example, the dragon breathing fire on one of its other heads, but it ends up setting fire to part of the town. A dragon literally at war with itself whose self destruction spills outward, just like Will.
In the terms of how this works thematically, this is how the dragon could be used to show Will's journey toward selfishness. Contrasting his many instances of self sacrifices, Will learns that the real answer to saving others involve saving himself, and that's how they defeat the dragon.
Prediction for how this could happen in the show
Here's a rough timeline for how this could play out in the show:
We see Will's self destructing nature build up throughout the season
The dragon ends up manifesting at the climax, likely in episode 7
The dragon manifests at a point where Will is at his lowest, possibly considering sacrificing himself for the benefit of others. He doesn't realize that this would do more harm than good
The dragon tries to destroy itself but does damage to everything around it in the process
Will realizes that he was the one who created the dragon and has to contend with why it was created
Part of defeating it means Will has to have a personal realization
This point is a little less fleshed out but the party defeats the dragon together as part of the final battle before the final confrontation with Vecna
tagging: @howtobecomeadragon @smalltown-babygirl
#tw sh#tw self harm#will byers#will byers has powers#stranger things#stranger things theory#stranger things 5 prediction#anti milkvan#tagging for just that one part#byler#<- target audience#not byler related#but it also kinda is#my theory#long post
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I'm sorry but if the only reason Yukio pisses you off is his traits of mental illness and depression then I don't trust you around any human person ever.
Seriously.
What the fuck?
#blue exorcist#ao no exorcist#aoex#yukio okumura#this isnt pointed to anyone in particular#but it also kinda is#look#i get it#you arent responisble for the mental well-being of anyone but yourself#but berating fictional characters for having these traits?#holy shit!#you're insane!#I've spent 9 years of my life like Yukio and that shouldn't be what makes it so easy to recognize hes just a mentally ill teen#please get yourself a counselor or therapist#its just a character with depression#well written depression#or just dont read what you dont like?#its not for me to tell you what to do but#i know that as a person with depression im happy to see a character like Yukio out there in the media
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Not Perfect
#[Woag 13k+ notes??? yall are crazy for my simple angst /j/pos]#quick lil comic#ouuughhfh they are everything to me...#people mentioned that Curly is also kinda guilty and gave me an idea#mouthwashing#alvory's art
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5 sexiest things a woman could wear
Full suit of armor
Just an oversized teeshirt
blood of her enemies
leather jacket
Super cool sword on her back
#Putting this on my main bc it needs to be said#Also could apply to men! I’m just not applying it to men cause I’m a lesbian. But definitely a lot of gender neutral things here#wlw post#me being annoying#funny#lesbian#Chappell roan#Kinda#tho this post was written before that
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✦ Bread ✦
#he's helping#own art#own characters#CanisAlbus#art#artists on tumblr#Machete#anthro#sighthound#dogs#canine#animals#bread and soup kinda lad#I'm not sure if it was the case in all monasteries but usually monks baked their own bread I believe#also huge fan of the big strong baker with nerves of steel archetype#and another one of those “I've never drawn this pose before” moments
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i think we’re chill we talked for a bit
he let me get close to take this pic! :)
#bill cipher#gravity falls#bill cipher gravity falls#unreality#also i saw some people tell me to/not shake his hand???#he’s okay ig kinda creepy#roomie cipher#squidflavoredsoup
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mouse bites™
#anybody do this yet?#house md#hate crimes md#house md game#mouse bites#gregory house#hilson#james wilson#lisa cuddy#robert chase#allison cameron#eric foreman#house md meme#he needs mouse bites to live#shoutout to whoever made the house game generator thing#this took me way too long#house#dr house#also if you notice house's clothes kinda changing colors when he holds the mouse bite serum#its because i had to recolor it myself#i couldn't get the shades of gray to be exact#oh well#i also drew the nosebleed lmao#every house episode ever#generic house episode#editing this to say#this is not an original meme at all#I just ds-ified it tbh#ive seen some people not know it but i recommend you look it up#or like iykyk i guess
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How Bill was defeated and captured by Ford in my Gf AU! He basically just tricked Bill into accepting a deal that trapped him within Ford's mind and under his control :]
He may have gotten a little out of hand though....
>:)
Next post :]
#i am on a ROLL these days so have one last comic before I peace out for like another month or so#I KNOW I keep forgetting to draw Ford's sixth finger and I am SORRY alr#something something toxic relationships can lead you to adopt some negative attributes#and behaviors both as a shield to the abuser but also as a sword#Bill pushed Ford too far and Ford pushed back- what can I say?#my art#gravity falls#gravity falls fanart#gravity falls au#stanford pines#ford pines#grunkle ford#bill cipher#gravity falls bill#billford#<-kinda?? not really??#tw eyestrain#tw scopophobia#tw eye contact#tw graphic violence#HWINEBHABWNAJCAHOWEEATOWEUB AU
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close enough
#rdpsart#undertale#sans#gaster#i like looking at their relationship#(if they ever reunite. if theres even a reunion to have)#as a marcy and simon kinda situation#i also liked to put a twist on the “everyone forgot gaster” thing#and made it so that. hey gaster's not all there too lol#i thought it would be interesting hehrjhe
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Myself included tbh
#it’s a lifestyle#spn#it’s kinda a tumblr rite of passage at this point too#literally yesterday I found out ab the soap2day closing like this#and then ten minutes later people started texting me and posting on other apps freaking out#supernatural#destiel#destiel confession#destiel confession meme#dean winchester#castiel#this is also a little bit for the 196 girls who are inevitably gonna see the template eventually#196#Reddit 196#reddit refugee#HOW ARE PEOPLE STILL SEEING THIS ITS BEEN LIKE 6 MONTHS
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#Ghost makes videos#new tag#So actually there is a video of this somewhere on the internet with this kind of edit.#but for the life of me I couldn't find it#so I made one#so this is kinda original?#maybe#animals#coyote#badger#also fun fact! Coyotes and badgers often hunt together!#so these two are most likely friends in the ecosystem
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Never liked you anyway
#pokemon#pokemon art#zangoose#seviper#my art#this was supposed to be just a doodle page but i wanted to draw zangoose with the seviper and it spiraled#but thats also why the composition is kinda dookie. my bad
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I thought about them again, i really like when halloween specials show characters in fun costumes, specially when the characters already usually wear costumes…
#sadly the cover of the yj halloween chapter doesnt have cassie and also just dresses them as their seniors#which is kinda boring#young justice#cassie sandsmark#kon el#tim drake#bart allen
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Just a cute lil thought:
Since Bruce's kids all love to play around and hide in his cape as Robins, I wonder if he makes them blankets out of the same materials as his cape so they can have a piece of security when Bruce isn't there?
I remember in Dick and Jason's older comics (correct me if I'm wrong), they used to stay up late waiting for Bruce when he'd go out as Batman alone, so I'm gonna take this as confirmation that all his kids have done this at some point.
So now I'm totally gonna hc that in order to encourage his kids to not stay up late for him or as a way to help them feel more safe and secure when he's not there, he makes them all blanket replicas of his cape for them to snuggle with :')
And also just imagine his kids all grown up, and they STILL have the blankets with them, regardless of if they've moved out.
#all Bruce's children probably associate his cape with safety so just imagine lil security blankies for all his kids 🥺#his cape is also like kinda impenetrable to certain projectiles/dangers so its like an actual security device for his kids too lol#batman#batfamily#bruce wayne#batkids#batfam#batdad#Dick Grayson#Jason todd#cassandra cain#tim drake#duke thomas#damian wayne#dc comics#let bruce wayne be a loving dad dc cmon#Robin#nightwing#red hood#black bat#red robin#signal#fanatical posting
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A little obsessed with the "utterly burnt out & can't quite figure out how to make it work in this economy" depiction of Mario in the concept art.
Look at him. He's so tired.
#You just want to give him a hug and a crisp 20$#Makes me wonder if they were planning on having Mario with a lot less self confidence at the beginning#which explains the ''Super Luigi Bros'' logo#It would've been a lil weird but I'm also kinda here for it#I'm rolling this around in my mind as an AU#Super Mario Bros#Mario Movie#Mario movie concept art
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Getting out of the comfort zone can be uncomfortable.
#i havent finished the manga yet so Im working on vibes only#the vibes say: these two are worth exploring#their dynamic compells me#also these two characters are annoyingly relatable in their own ways#laios touden#the autism knight#I GET IT#I GET IT NOW. WHY HE'S CALLED THAT WAY. I REALLY DO#laios dungeon meshi#laios#dunmeshi laios#laios thorden#laios x kabru#kinda#my art#art post#kabru of utaya#kabru#kabru dungeon meshi#delicious in the dungeon#doodles#dungeon meshi#delicious in dungeon#dunmeshi#doodle skadoodle
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