#not tagging ST just in case

[sleepanonymous]

Going through your archived material and getting a sense for just how much these guys are massive nerds behind the scenes (Vessel especially, just wow) has struck a fear into my heart that I didn't previously consider:

Given the general age demographic, interests, and time period for being chronically online teens/young adults, it's possible that at least one of the eepies (again, my bet would be on V) has a blog here.

Whether it's for lurking or a separate interest blog, the possibility of being perceived is objectively quite low but not zero.

Anyways, do with that what you will. I'm choosing to think that, if I'm right, they're just vibing with the memes and horny posting because it seems to line up with their IRL humor.

OR you yourself are one of them + that's the real reason why you've got your hands on so much lost media. I'm on to you pal (/j)

I literally don't know how to answer this, Anon 😅 Like, I don't want to freak people out but it's also a very real possibility they're at least aware of this corner of the fandom. They're in a very unique situation where they can and do lurk in certain online spaces, and I'm pretty sure a couple of them have burners for other platforms, but thankfully I don't think any of them are actively on Tumblr (thankfully).

I can tell you that they're aware of the thirsting and memes, so if they did have a problem with it, it would be stated. What they do have a problem with is fans crossing privacy boundaries or impersonating them online. That said, I know you were joking but I have been accused of being in Sleep Token or knowing them before, so I would like to take this moment to say that I am not and I do not lol. Have I been perceived by them, though? Absolutely and it's terrifying, but it's also always been my own fault 😅😩 The more I think about a certain series of events that happened the day before and day of the Phoenix ritual, the more I hope to god that none of the guys recognized me and my friends on the barricade 😨

[parksrway]

people who tag general loz things as LU are annoying but I think that zelink shippers are even worse tbh

[pinkeoni]

I feel as though there is a desire to completely dichotomize byler when they don’t need to be polar opposites in order to fit together. They are individuals, but it’s their differences AND their similarities that make their dynamic what it is

[chirpsythismorning]

Why I Don’t Experience Byler Doubt

It’s simple. One of the most essential techniques in storytelling: Show, don’t tell.

Show, don't tell is a technique that allows the audience to experience the story through actions, words, subtext, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than exclusively through the creators' exposition, summarization, and description.

Even more importantly (assuming we want to enjoy ourselves bc this is supposed to be high quality entertainment), it adds drama. Rather than telling viewers what's happening, a filmmaker will use this technique to show drama unfold. 'Telling' is factual and avoids detail; while 'showing,' is detailed and places the human subject at the centre of the drama.

This technique is literally playing out in the narrative when it comes to Mike’s inability to tell El he loves her (or even simply write love Mike in his letters), which he never would have had to tell her (spell out) in the first place, if he had just shown her that he loved her.

It’s no fun having to spoon feed your audience. Instead, it's much more enjoyable for the storyteller to present the truth in the details, even sometimes contradicting very basic assumptions that are being outright told. Hence why, for example, when the Duffers were asked about the Vecna reveal, Ross used the opportunity to go on a mini tangent: 'the best twists are ones that you go, “Oh, I should have seen that coming.” As opposed to the twists that go, “Oh, well that just came out of nowhere.” So, “Oh, I missed these clues along the way.” But you get nervous when you’re writing it because you go, “Well, to me it seems obvious--'.

In fact, Show, don't tell is what largely allows surprise revelations to hide in plain sight. Because obviously, if a writer just tells their audience everything that's happening while it's happening, we would always see what's coming next.

And so the problem I have with downplaying or even completely refusing to acknowledge the importance of Show, don't tell, in the case of Stranger Things especially, is that, in order to comfortably subscribe to what is being told, I have to ignore what is being shown.

We see this play out all the time on Reddit in particular, which if I'm being honest is the only platform at this point that treats mere speculation about Will and Mike's relationship as if it is the end of the world. On the rare occasion the mods don't remove a byler related post, the post is either already negative towards byler or the comments are filled with fury over the poster simply thinking critically by speculating about byler. Even if you manage to get a fan over there in the comments to consider certain evidence pointing towards byler as incriminating, they'll still manage to end it by downplaying the Duffers and their abilities, because 'They're not that smart!'...

They'll ask for evidence, be presented with it, only to insist that it's all reaching because details mean nothing and everything about the show is actually just surface level, ie. it's not that deep.

Without even realizing it, they're low-key admitting that going the byler route would be smart, and yet here they are tirelessly defending a show that, according to them, has shit writers and no deeper purpose. All this does is prove that they are hoping this is the case. Because even despite being presented with strong evidence that the show might very well be epic, they would rather reject it altogether.

They would rather have one of their favorite shows suck and defend it religiously, then consider the possibility that it's good and gay...

Don't get me wrong, there are definitely fans on reddit that don't hate byler. I imagine out of the million in that sub, there's a silent majority that would be open to it. Keep in mind, most fans still active at this point in hiatus are hardcore fans, and so they're obviously opinionated, that goes for everyone on most platforms rn. And yet, I know there are very likely casual fans who are popping in there every now and then, the same people in the majority when after s4 dropped, saw that monologue and said What the actual fuck was that?

There’s a reason no other couple on the show has needed to hear the words I love you to believe it. Well, besides Steve and Nancy…

Because SHOW, DON'T TELL. That's why!

So, what do I mean when I say that Show, don't tell is why I no longer have byler doubt?

It's actually pretty ironic, but basically the moment Mike told El he loved her, that's the moment they showed us that he didn't.

I mean, for starters, how does one go about filming a romantic love confession? Because if we're being entirely serious right now, they made just about every artistic and creative choice possible to go against what a romantic love confession should look like to feel satisfying.

I mean, you'd probably want the atmosphere to be intimate, right? Make the audience feel like these two are the only two people in the room (world) for this moment?

Well, that's not the case for Mike and El, nor is it the case for literally any of their scenes in s4 (arguably a lot of their scenes in the series; Will the wise drawing in El's room, I'm looking at you). Almost all of the scenes with them together in s4 had Will in the background, often times in the literal frame between them. That is NOT how you film scenes for a romantic pairing that you want the audience to root for, from beginning to end.

You guys gotta understand, rewatch value is one of the most important aspects to this story for the Duffers. When talking about the prospects of s5, they mentioned that they rewatched all the Lord of the Rings, saying how important it was, despite what some fans might say about the ending being too long, or this or that, bc to them, it was necessary to watch it all, and to rewatch it and rewatch it, in order to appreciate the entire story as a whole, aka the way it was intended.

If you're a serious about Mike and El as a romantic pairing, but because of the way the show has set up their relationship over the seasons, you can't sit down and enjoy more than a quarter of each season bc they're either separated, broken up, or on the rare occasion they are together and happy, they're accompanied by a kicked puppy in every shot, maybe all of that's for a reason.

And that applies to the scene in Surfer Boy more than any other scene in the show, a scene that is supposed to be Mike's monologue to El... You mean a scene that directly parallels Mike's monologue to Will in s2?

When planning the end of s4, do we think the Duffers just decided they wanted this intimate moment between Mike and El to have Will in the frame behind Mike (visually piggybacking off of him, in an episode titled The Piggyback...) in almost every shot, including when he said I love you for the first time, for no reason at all? Or is it possible there was a reason for it? Just like there's been a greater reason for everything?

Like bro, I'm sorry, but even if what's being told in that scene is relevant, all of it still reads as either a lie, a partial lie, a lie of omission or a platonic truth hiding behind romantic phrasing: I don't know how to live without you = platonic (trauma bond), whereas I can't live without you/I don't want to live without you = romantic. The later is out of desire/want, the former is out of fear of the unknown.

The entire scene the lighting is blinking rapidly. And so the vibe they're going for here is uncertainty, which is quite odd for a love confession that's supposed to feel certain? Then we have El seeing all red the entire time. She's literally choking, hearing Mike struggle to muster up anything that could help her pull through, only to overhear Will calling Mike the heart, followed by Mike finally saying I love you????

And I guess according to the Duffers, nothing says true love like a love confession ending abruptly by a two day time jump...

Oh and how about, instead of them taking the time at the end of the season for El and Mike to have a private moment, where they could finally address their love for one another, let’s have them barely on speaking terms, and the one time they do talk, let’s have it be offscreen and mentioned in a private moment between Will and Mike, who in contrast to Mike and El, we're going to prioritize having a scene with them alone together at the end of this season...

In the last minutes, let’s have El look at Mike and Will, only to avoid them with visible annoyance. And THEN let’s show Mike visibly defeated by El's annoyance, instead prioritizing reassuring Will, aka his friend with whom he shares an I didn’t say it/ You didn’t have to bond...

I mean? Are we just not going to talk about it? The fact that I didn't say it/You didn't have to could pass off as a literal synonym for Show, don't tell...

It just kills me that even with all of that, the Duffers were like, You know what? Fuck it. Let's show them all the endgame couples lined up next to each other, with Will and Mike in the middle and El standing on her own in front of them. If by now they still refuse to consider it, after everything, this ending probably wont convince them anyways, but it makes for great rewatch value...

Seriously, if you're subscribing fully to the belief that what is being told is the whole truth and nothing but the truth (so help you god), then you're having to ignore all of that. And I can't ignore all of that, I just can't. Which makes it impossible for me to experience doubt anymore.

[little-demy]

I forgot that I drew my own persona as a vessel because that sounds fun before, so here's Demy the Lost Wandering Vessel

Also yeah she eats

[blaintism]

nuuuurse she's drawing the glee resident evil au again!!!!!!

anyways. please enjoy more of my silly doodles of giving glee characters roles in this story. more to come..

[emblazons]

one day the people are gonna realize that one of the most fascinatingly effective narrative devices is letting the audience understand something about the character/story before the character(s) realize it—and then letting them enjoy the twists and turns as the character moves from in the dark to enlightened.

You’re not reading too far into it—you figuring it out first (and knowing the character can’t be trusted to know themselves) is the point. But then…that requires media literacy an understanding of “dramatic irony,” and an awareness that storytelling itself can be just as much a character as the characters themselves LMAO

[bumblingbabooshka]

[TUVOKTOBER: Day 30] POV: Starfleet ensign asks fellow crewman to sit together at lunch. Lives to regret it.

[byler-alarmist]

What is it with B-names dying?

Benny, Barb, Bob, Billy.....and with the exception of Bob, they are all B.H.

Benny Hammond

Barbara Holland

(Bob Newby)

Billy Hargrove

Does it mean anything? Have any B-names survived that I'm not thinking of?

[sleepanonymous]

Okay, that's most of the asks in my inbox. I have a handful that are more lore related and/or require some actual research, including 2 from December asking when Sleep Token began kissing on stage. Did I not answer those?! Am I crazy!? Also including the Teeth of God deer ask still from April/May because yes i will eventually find enough braincells to talk about Hercules and the Arcadian deer (I have to answer this one before November because of the graphic novel 😓). There's also a newer one about Sundowning's song descriptions.

Also there was a conversation about Vessel's necklace that broke and Vessel possibly having perfect pitch that I just... didn't respond to? What the hell. What is this year? I do have a 3 day weekend coming up so with any luck my executive will function and I'll get those answers out as well.

[invertedlayers]

A little st trina doodle/wip i will never finish. I don't usually do this kind of style cause I'm not good at it lolllll. But I like it

[henrysglock]

This post is going to be rambling and speculative to say the least, but...You guys would tell me if certain types of gates had 2 ends in different times/locations (like a wormhole of some kind), right?

Like if, say, El opened the 1979 gate to Dimension X in Nevada, and that opened something to Dimension X in Hawkins in 1959, that might explain the supposed presence of monsters in TFS.

Then what about 1983? Could the 1983 gate in Hawkins have opened something in Nevada around 1953? Is that what's so special about Nevada in the 50s?

Was there a gate in Nevada in the early 50s?

(An aside, because I have to: Richard Brenner ran HNL from 1954 to 1971. Martin Brenner seems to have been there since 1959, and was in charge by 1983. Just...shrimpresting to me. Martin Brenner...you aren't a nepo baby by any chance, are you? Asking for a friend.)

And with that...you guys would tell me if Dimension X existed outside of space-time, right.

Like okay, running with the 1979-1959/1983-1953 Hawkins-Nevada theory. Henry didn't shape the Shadow until post-1979, but we do see him drawing it, fully-formed, in 1959.

If Dimension X exists, theoretically, outside space-time...then could it be possible that a young, pre-1959 Henry met post-banishment Henry via a gate in Nevada in 1953-1954?

[cocks gun] Hey Henry, in an attempt to change your fate/escape HNL ("Something that would change everything"), did you retroactively give yourself the Shadow?

Which, if it's retroactive, might explain why ST1 Jopper et. al. don't immediately connect TFS to ST1. TFS Henry may or may not be flayed, but that may not have gone into effect until 1983-1984. Thus the adults don't connect it, because it technically hasn't happened yet...or to this version of them specifically.

See: Stranger Things Day Discrepancy #1

If this all ^^ is the case, but Henry doesn't ultimately change his fate, then instead of finding the Shadow post-1979, Henry would reunited with it.

He's been known it for over 25 years. He's been flayed, and it sounds like it likely wasn't a pleasant experience, given the way VR Henry reacts to the Shadow as compared to Canon Henry:

Canon Henry reaches out to the amorphous Shadow and shapes it. VR Henry rejects it immediately. VR Henry wants the Shadow to go away. Canon Henry beckons the Shadow and shapes it.

(If there was a Henry who already had control of the Shadow, it might also answer the question of who the hell is manipulating it in the VR trailer...but again, it's speculative.)

This all might also answer a long-standing question of mine: How the hell did Will know that closing the gate would work?

Will gets flayed in 1984, and he's only flayed for a few days. In fact, he's really only possessed for about a day...and supposedly, no one has ever seen anything like this before, so it's not like anyone suggested it to him.

This means Will figured out how to cut the connection with the Mindflayer in less than a day, while under extreme duress.

Which sure, you could hand-wave it as hive mind stuff...but what if there was someone who already knew how to cut the connection? Say...someone who may not have been the primary target anymore? [Smash-cut to 4.06 Brenner: "Well, well, it looks like we have a new winner"]

Tangentially, it's so interesting to me that Will would have morse code memorized so well that he can use it under such insane duress, something that only Hopper, who's father was a WW2 vet and who was once military himself, recognizes in ST2. Will doesn't show any proclivity towards morse code until this point, though. He could have used morse in ST1 to talk to Joyce/Hopper in full words via the lights, if he knows it this well! But he doesn't.

That leads me to ask—Who do we know that:

is heavily associated with the Shadow/Dimension X

may been possessed/flayed in the past

may have experience neutralizing the Shadow

had a father who was in WW2

is around Hopper's age/is of an age where knowing morse code would be common

(The answer should be glaring, let me know if it's not)

What more did El have to learn about Henry via NINA? What was the truth Brenner meant for her to see/was withholding from her? Why does it feel like certain characters have been scapegoated, and that we may have had a man on the inside (or rather...the other side) this whole time?

Tangentially related speculation re: Will, the lights, and Henry under the cut

It makes me wonder, again, about Stranger Things Day Discrepancy #2:

If Will's messages don't count, then why does this set of messages count? Is Will even in the real Upside Down at all?

See: Stranger Things Day Discrepancy #3 and #4

(I know at least my group of friends has been thinking that Will's UD isn't the same as Nancy's or Vecna's since...forever)

And if Will isn't in the UD, then who is? Who's blinking the letter-lights, and why is that considered the first message from the Upside Down?

Why is TFS, a story about Henry, considered "the origin of the Upside Down"...

and not ST1 Mothergate/Will's disappearance?

Who made the letter-lights blink quickly, rather than the slow, glowy way Will does it with the white lights? (See also: The slow glow when the other kids touch lights in the UD/the LiteBrite)

Which program has been shown having kids with powers quickly blink lights on and off with their minds?

So again...why does it feel like we've got a man on the inside?

[maskthesimp]

Okay, I'm gonna talk about something. I'm updating my F/O list again, but I'm gonna make a new post for it because the old one is annoying me. Bugged out links n shit.

TW real quick: Abuse, incest, manipulation, murder, cannibalism.

Here's the thing, some of the characters that I am adding to that list are from a game called "The Coffin of Andy & Leyley." And the reason this may become an issue is the sensitive topics that are brought up within that game and between the characters.

I'm just gonna say it flat out right now: it's incest, manipulation, murder, and cannibalism. These characters are not good people, and I wanna make it very clear that I am not condoning the behaviour of the fanfics I read, nor the art I consume. I am also not a proshipper either.

The reason I want to make this disclosure about this game specifically and not other ones like Resident Evil or Teen Wolf, despite cannibalism and murder being part of those, is that those didn't dip into the discussions of incest. Certainly not to the degree that TCOAAL does. I'm not gonna discuss my moral standing on things like incest or whatever, since this account isn't for deeper topics like that, but I will possibly be reblogging things from this game that involve that discussion or imagery. Most of it will be x Reader but not all of it.

If the expressions of art or the references these posts make include the discussion of Andrew & Ashley's potentially incestuous relationship and that upsets you, please remember its art, and you can block the tag, block me, or scroll. We depict things that aren't always morally just, or socially acceptable in art, for the sake of expression, sharing a message, and indulgence in a specific form of media. It's a video game about serial killers driven to toxic relationships and desperate situations. Is isn't intended to be a condonation of their actions or behaviours, but it is something that I enjoy consuming out of both interest in the storytelling, worldbuilding, and understanding of the complex character relationships.

It's not just there for fan service. It's a deeply disturbing discussion about co-dependency, parental neglect, and abuse and should not be taken as an interpretation of a moral high-ground.

With that being said, please take this post as a pre-warning to block the tag and the ship if that's something you don't want coming up on your feed. Especially if you follow either of my 18+ accounts. I know multiple of my mutuals aren't comfortable with incest so hopefully, they see this too and can block it. If that stuff is fine by you, great! I just wanna indulge and have fun reading shit and sharing the art people make of this fixation I have.

Thank you, and have fun indulging in this with me if you choose to. Here's some of the tags you might wanna block if you feel the need:

Ashley Graves

Leyley Graves

Andrew Graves

Andy Graves

Gravecest

TCOAAL

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

[gabessquishytum]

smapril day 9 - "I want what he's having."

Dream/Hob/Destruction

"Blimey. I want what he's having." Olly mutters, staring across the crowded pub. It's mostly full up with students – Dream and his little brother are probably some of the oldest people in the room. It stings slightly. Dream dislikes the thought that all of these young people probably wonder what an old loser like him is doing out so late. Even so, he follows Olly's gaze towards the bar itself.

And in all fairness, Dream’s jaw does drop a little bit.

The bartender is… shirtless, for a start. Unless you count the leather harness that fits over his chest, squeezing his pretty tits together. He's got a smudge of glitter on each cheek and a cocktail shaker in one hand. He's shaking it artfully while simultaneously taking a shot of something green and nearly fluorescent.

Dream always thought that bartenders weren't supposed to drink on the job, but he's not exactly complaining. This one is obviously slightly drunk and it's not exactly a hardship to watch him. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and laughs at something one of the patrons says, tilting his head back in an almost flawless curve.

"I kind of hate that we have the same type." Olly sighs. "I bet he'll fuck you. He looks like he'd get down and lick your boots if you asked. Look at that harness. He's just asking to be played with."

Dream hums softly, and gets up on the toes of his boots to watch the bartender bending over to retrieve something from the floor. "Perhaps… but I think he might prefer you. He clearly has a plug in his hole – look, you can see it through his trousers. He's preparing for something big. The sizequeens always go for you."

Olly brushes his red hair back from his face and grins, clearly pleased by Dream’s observation. "Well then, may the best man win. And if he suggests a threesome…" He winks at Dream knowingly. It's nothing they haven't done before.

"He's already looking this way." Dream smirks. "Let us give the sweet little slut a night to remember."

He tucks his arm around Olly, sets his sights on the prize, and saunters towards the bar.

(Later, in the horrid little flat upstairs, Hob gives the two siblings a knowing look and asks if there are any more at home. When Dream says "five more, actually," Hob moans loud enough that the neighbour bangs on the wall.

Fortunately, Olly's massive hand makes an excellent gag.)

[bumblingbabooshka]

Normal Vulcan Pajamas

[lizardbrainlabs]

if i dont end up drawing anything pride related this month consider this my pride drawing actually