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#its sweet but also opens up for my own personal theory for what s5 is gonna look like which is p dark.. n does include will w powers but in
bluemeetyellow · 2 years
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elaborating on the Power a scene of mike coming out to el would have... like just the fact that especially if mike goes thru an arc this season where he eventually feels safe enough to admit to himself that he’s gay and that he’s been hiding/repressing it to survive in Hawkins... and how that would line up with how El’s been running from her past for the last few seasons but in s4 she finally has to really confront it and so he’d understand, in his own way, what it’s like to always be hiding in plain sight because there’s people who want to hurt you that go along with the things you are burying... But how exhausting it becomes to always be trying to blend in and run away... and now he’s seen the way El was able to face her past head-on this season and it gives him the courage to want to stop running too and really reckon with what he’s been running from himself. Especially because now he knows he has people who.. *looks back at Will* who understand what it’s like and have found their own people and know places where they don’t have to hide who they are either. LIKE something like that would only strengthen their friendship while also giving each of them their own development. it just... god that would just be so beautiful :’)
OR THIS MONOLOGUE IS BEFORE THE SORTA CLIMAX OF THE ARC AND MIKE AND EL BOTH PROMISING EACH OTHER THEY’LL FACE THEIR OWN STRUGGLES HEAD ON... LIKE. COME ON YOU CAN’T TELL ME THAT DOESN’T HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO HIT LIKE A TON OF BRICKS!!
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wibble-wobbegong · 1 year
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The end of the year is near! Give a shoutout to your favorite blogs and tag them to spread positivity before the year ends! (from: a secret anon)
FUCK YEAH!!!!
okay my favorite theory/analysis blogs
@aemiron-main - actually i hate him. im lying. all he does is cause me unimaginable pain and suffering. no but genuinely a genius theorist and has eyes like a hawk!! he does a fantastic job at thoroughly combing the show and finding the littlest details that don’t make sense in order to build a bigger picture and i eat it up every time! love him even though i think he’s goading me to kill myself whenever he reblogs one of my posts and the tags start with “wibble what if i told you”
@bugsbenefit - my absolute favorite blog to read about narrative analysis from!!! they do an amazing job explaining oddities from a narrative position as well as identifying ways certain theories are either supported by or don’t work with the way the narrative needs to flow in S5. she’s also super skilled at keeping my attention throughout a post with the way she writes
@bylerschmyler - love this guy because they’re not afraid to point out the flaws of something and create counter arguments but they also aren’t doing that stuff to discredit a theory but rather challenge its strength!! like they won’t press on if the original theory can go against the counter points they make. PLUS they create incredible theories of their own!!! the mike is the 4th victim stuff is really good
@finalgirlbyers - idc if they consider themself an analysis blog or not because I do. they regularly have fantastic takes and explain things in a quick and easy to understand way. she genuinely has a great grasp on the show but she’s also very open minded which is always so nice to see!! like if you’re looking for short, sweet, banger posts that hit the nail on the head i am pointing at their blog
@heroesbyler - ok. stav is the only person whose analysis i have legitimately cried over. the approach she takes to covering the very serious and dark topics of stranger things is something i really appreciate because she doesn’t curve the pure horror of some of the stuff going on. if you really wanna feel just how horrific the gay horror show is i’d recommend reading some of stav’s analysis because she NAILS it and does not mask just how fucked up it can get.
@laozuspo - james always has some incredibly niche but great insight to the show!! theory wise, i’m always amazed by how intricate his research for a theory will get so when you read his posts it’s just evidence on top of evidence and it’s always really engaging and VERY interesting. radiationgate had me hooked for days because there was just SO much to explore regarding that topic and there were so many little details that just make so much sense!!!
@mlchaelwheeler - MY SISTER IN MICHAEL DEFENSE!!! one of the original mike defenders and someone who i trust to accurately talk about mike’s character, which is saying a lot because i’m Me. ALSO she kick started so many great conversations!! iirc, she was the one who made the original theory about henry having been the one who kidnapped will, not the demogorgon way back in like. June. she’s been on it longer than any of us
favorite authors :)
@andiwriteordie - ok SO i have to tell you guys that this shit??? my life hasn’t been the same since i first read this. i know it’s an older one but it’s in my top three fics of all time i legitimately adore it!! pure jet fuel for that last week before V2 dropped and honestly part of me still really wants that final scene to happen in S5 ngl. like it kills me every time i read it but it’s just so GOOD
@astrobei - oh suni, how i her love writing. always a GREAT time when you’re reading an astrobei fic, and i think my favorite is still this one!! it’s just got such a fun vibe and the characterization is immaculate and the plot is really intriguing! it’s one of those fics where you can’t stop reading even though it’s like half the length of an entire novel. sometimes sleep is worth the sacrifice and this fic is one of them
@blueeandyellowmakesgreen - top ten reasons to kill myself; this ficlet. jade i absolutely love you but this??? fuck you for making me go through that not once but TWICE. i felt that shit in my SOUL and it HURT. it hurt SO BAD. writing so good it makes you immobile for 6.5 hours because you can’t stop replaying the image in your head 🖕🖕 (<3)
@/byeler - ok not actually @-ing this person because we’ve never interacted and i’m not about to make a fool of myself by being a little fanboy loser BUT. absolutely incredible writing. reading this had me so fucking sucked in dude, like i was reading and reading and i couldn’t believe time had passed at all. pure romance can be hard for me to steam roll through sometimes but i genuinely forgot that I was a Person while reading that
@elekinetic - ummmmmm hello??? script writer of all time? you’re not just reading it, you’re not just watching it, you’re being transported inside the show with the way she writes. every single character is on point and she maintains the atmosphere of the show itself BEAUTIFULLY!!! my favorite script thus far is probably the one where eddie gets shot, though it doesn’t seem like it’s up anymore. the ending has me gasping out loud because i saw it happening in real time in front of my eyes
@smoosnoom - MOON!!!! OHHHHH MY GOD i can’t even recommend one specific thing because every fic is just soooooo giggles twirls my hair. i am the number one smoosnoom fanboy. i fucking eat that shit up!!! like, whenever it’s time to read a smoosnoom fic I don’t just open the fic i KNOW i’m not moving till i’m done so i get some snacks and get really comfy and then i dive in and don’t move till i’m finished. every fic absolutely slays i cannot recommend every single fic enough
favorite editors!!!
@strangersynth - do i really have to say anything?? it’s time. like no shit he’s one of the best editors around and i think everyone knows that at this point. THE editor!! absolutely obsessed with every video. i really like the way she takes clips that aren’t really character clips but just stuff you wouldn’t even really think of or remember to build the tone of the video and it always comes together so well!!! like it’s the small details that he nails and that make the videos so incredibly delicious
@/thatgaymood - ok they just made a lot of funny edits + they’re really good at adjusting audio/visuals to make the character say and do shit that definitely didn’t happen but it’s really really well done so it’s just. I don’t know how to explain it. i was gonna find one of the more popular audios but i was scrolling their blog and found this and it made me kick my feet a little cause like. idk watch it and you’ll understand
favorite artists
@blueeandyellowmakesgreen - and she’s back! art that is so scrumptious and delicious and like. It’s like spaghetti kinda ! anyway here’s my favorite piece from jade and i will never shut up about it ever because everything about it is just sooooooo chomping biting chewing slurping devouring
@bujomoss - Hsbebbdbva bc d bujomoss is fucking!!!!! i love the way they draw mike like i love it so bad it’s not even funny. everything they make is so so good and my current favorite is this piece they did but it changes like twice a day bc bujo never does anything that isn’t one of the best things I’ve ever seen with my own two eyeballs
@gmaybe666 - BARKING BITING OH MY GOD. ok just so everybody is aware i am the biggest gmaybe fan around. legitimately i am such a fan i could gush about every single piece they do for days on end. it’s just SO good and it’s an art style i cannot get enough of. i have to scroll through their art regularly or i’ll start combusting it’s like air to me!! if i could link every drawing i simply Would but for now go give this piece some love please please please
@new-ronantics - OHHHHH MY DEAREST EEVIE!!! <33 art that is just so pleasing to look at. like it’s like biting into the most satisfying meal you’ve ever had!! amazing texture but not in the art way like if i bit into it i think it would have the texture of something i cannot even imagine but i know it would be the greatest of all time. incredibly bitable art i wish it were real food so bad. top ten bitable images
@nnilkyway - BITES HIM. ummmm ok so im definitely totally 100% normal about his art! yeah no it’s not like i turn into a wild rabid beast whenever a new nnilkyway piece is finished no definitely not bc i’m just So Normal about it. this means a normal amount to me because i am So-
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@/taeiris go to her fucking blog. not elaborating. fucking do it before I Find You.
and the non-st blog boys 💪
@ed89 - edward my funny silly guy 👊😼 it’s been a minute but he’s hilarious and his time in the st fandom will never be forgotten. also if he sees this hi ed guess who hit his first bong two days ago :)
@ronaldreaganoffical - me and ronald reagan have a bromance i don’t expect any of you to understand. they’re from way before i even joined the st fandom when i was hardly even a blog, so actually they’re one of my most treasured mutuals even though we’re no longer in the same fandoms. love you bro <3
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starship-imzadi · 3 years
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S5 E6 The Game
Riker in action everyone. Just kidding. This episode feels like "it's all fun an games until someone gets hurt." Like this opening scene: it's superficially playful but, it also highlights the vulnerability the communicator creates. It's such a small accessory and without it, it's more difficult to beam anywhere and you lose contact with your ship. Taking away someone's communicator is actually a notable threat. The scene stays playful but if you know the rest of the episode, it serves as a sort of foreshadowing.
As always, Riker looks good in blue.
I wonder if this game is what they envisioned or just what they could afford for graphics.
I recently listened to Frakes' audio commentary on Roswell and he talked about the young actors holding up really well under extreme close up and I want to say, as of this episode, he does pretty well himself.
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Most of the time I see this episode interpreted in a highly sexualised manner, the reaction to the game is often interpreted as orgasmic. It makes sense why that is BUT I disagree with it. It's kind of like interpreting Risa as a sex planet: sex is pleasurable but so are other things and not everyone wants or finds pleasure in sex. Risa is a pleasure planet.
This episode is about a game, a game that isn't sexual (yes, basically it's: put this thing in that thing which can in the most general sense describe sex but it could also describe so many other things) but a game that in its actual graphic designed is fairly innocuous. Gaming in its own right can be addictive (just think if this concept were reinterpreted for an episode of Black Mirror) and ultimately any addiction is down to neurochemistry, including but not limited to hormones like dopamine and serotonin.
I don't know what to make of this but notice Geordi is the first person Riker goes to hoping to share his new... gadget. The real question is how will it fit over Geordi's visor?...
Look at Riker brush Geordi's shoulder
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Riker walks into Ten-forward and doesn't take his eyes off Troi. 😍 And then he proceeds to tease her about her chocolate consumption.
This is an interesting scene within the context of this episode because, for Troi, eating chocolate is a pleasurable experience. It sort of show cases different kinds of pleasure.
Now that Riker tells Troi about the game, I'm not sure if there was a significance in telling Geordi first, or if it was just opportunity. Riker did specifically seek Troi out. Now the real question is: did they go try it together...
I like this inverted uniform they put Wesley in.
Worf is a bit socially awkward. He just interrupts Geordi to announce that he made cake for Wesley...like, you couldn't wait just one more second? And "i made it myself"...in a replicator?
Worf looks to Riker for reassurance.
"Wesley, was our attempt to make you uncomfortable effective" "you bet it was" yeah, me too Wes, me too.
Data's laugh!
"come by my quarters and I'll show it to you" wow...that was a bit... seductive.
Riker just carries Data
Picard got the nice tea set out, that's sweet.
Wesley's flirting has improved, he's far more comfortable with women.
Wesley walking in on Beverly is...oh so awkward. I think Beverley's pleasure response (looking at you "Sub Rosa"!) makes me the most uncomfortable of the entire command crew.
(that's what Wesley chose to wear for his dinner date?)
"it's just a fad. It's here this week. Next week we won't even know it existed" Now, I'm not sure if this is supposed to have a meta subtext but...with the highly episodic nature of TNG's format, this is literally true: on next week's episode we actually won't be aware this game ever existed...
Here's another point were star trek is supposed to be super advanced scientifically but they have to take a moment, step back, and explain that the prefrontal cortex controls impulse control and higher reasoning.
I like Wesley and I'm glad to see him back for an episode but it's a little unfortunate that yet again he has to be the one to save the ship when all the adults fail. At least now he's less of the chaotic wunderkind he was portrayed as in season 1 when the writers were struggling with everyone's characterisation.
Wow... I don't know about you but having Worf and Riker appear from around the corner and walk in like that...is ever so slightly terrifying.
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I love this shot in engineering done in the reflection of the control table top.
I can't imagine being inches from Frakes and keeping a straight face.
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(a warning to the photo sensitive much?)
Thank goodness this was an easy fix... Is everyone going to go through seritonin withdrawal now?
"get her of the screen" it's satisfying to have Riker be the one to banish her. As much as he might be faulted for introducing the game to the ship, everyone proved to be as vulnerable to it as he was. His only mistake was choosing to trust the wrong person, unaware of the true extent to which he could be used to compromise the ship. His trust was not only risking himself but also the people around him. As Riker pointed out in "In Theory" trust is a risk; this doesn't mean trust isn't worth it, but it's important to know the entirety of what you're risking.
That looks like a nice hug.
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amwritingmeta · 6 years
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My dear, you are the most interesting writer of the fandom. I truly believe without knowing you in person that you are a fine human being. This I'm asking you, because I recall a piece of Meta you wrote almost a year ago about how it will be difficult to make Destiel Canon, because of the nature of show business. Now, about your last post of the color purple. Let me ask you honestly, you don't think at some point that all this things are a proof of queerbating if Destiel doesn't go Canon? Thanks
Hello, lovely Nonny! And oh wow *blushes violently* that’s one helluva compliment. And I must stress that I’m the most average human being to ever average! But thank you for saying such sweet things! Jeez Louise what a way to spend a Sunday! :D
And omg what a callback to the early days! I do remember that post, actually. It was in response to a queerbaiting discussion, but I cannot find the original to save my life so I’ll just run with it:
I do need to clarify that I believe what I said wasn’t that it is/will be/would be difficult to make Destiel canon because of the nature of show business, but rather that our fucked up world, and what it means for a show to launch itself with a queer lead, has informed how Dean Winchester and his presentation has been handled in the media and by the cast and writers/show runners. 
And, naturally, how Dean Winchester is presented must inform how Destiel is handled as well. Because Dean is our protagonist. 
I mean, this is my theory here and I cannot prove a single word of it, so take all of this with grains of salt - all I can give you is what makes sense to me when looking at the narrative and what I see as the intent of that narrative.
Whether Dean was always meant to be the protagonist, or meant to be the secondary character to Sam’s protagonist (roles which are established in the Pilot), is of little consequence here, what matters is that you can trace bi-Dean back to the Pilot. That side to his personality is present in the Pilot. Dean was always meant to be queer coded. Why not overtly so?
Well, the way I see: the show wanted a predominantly male audience for a reason. Because the show is about deconstructing the masculine ideal and teaching boys and men that denying who you are based on the terribly old-fashioned belief that “feelings make you weak” is not only wrong, but detrimental because the truth is this –>
–> you choose who to be, and you can be ANYONE YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS
–> no one can ever tell you it’s wrong
–> there is no weird, everyone’s normal in their own way
–> and what makes a “man” is not fucking defined by the social norm bullshit of patriarchal gender oppression!!
*and breathe*
Granted, had the show actually ended in S5, this message wouldn’t have been as impactful as it is now, after thirteen years of character journey and evolution, after thirteen years of self denial and fear of happiness. But had the show ended in S5 I’m still convinced we could’ve gotten a reflection of what we’re driving towards now.
S5 could easily have climaxed with Sam and Dean ending the codependency, and Dean - instead of mistrusting Sam being able to defeat Lucifer - actually letting him go, letting him grow up, telling him “you got this”
It could easily have ended with a different angle on Cas’ arc, set up in S4 with Anna and echoed in 5x04 with Endverse human!Cas, where Cas actually chooses to give up his grace and ends up human for that final fight (not just rendered powerless and human-esque after carving that sigil into his chest)
And with Cas human, he would not have gone back to Heaven, we would have ended with Cas and Dean in the Impala, and I can see how the flirting that Dean tries to start up in 5x03 with the Thelma and Louise moment could’ve been built on throughout the season to TELL us that Dean is undeniable attracted to Cas and that it runs deeper than that and, once Cas chose humanity, they would’ve given us this love story in text for the end of the season because Cas would recognise his own feelings as well
And, you know, we could’ve gotten Sam back - the search for God and the hopelessness it rendered ending in God revealing himself and repaying Sam’s sacrifice with life and freedom… 
Because S5 is all about daddy issues in need of resolution and the codependency between the brothers highlighted (as it is in most seasons of course)
But, be aware, this is truly, truly just me seeing possibilities in the structure of the narrative and hell, I’m not going to pretend I actually know the mind of Eric Kripke, yeah? Yeah, no. 
But I honestly, truly believe the pattern of Dean’s bisexuality is there for a narrative reason, which means the reason I got into the queerbaiting discussion was to refute the claims and state my disagreement with them, because you can’t call it queerbaiting when the narrative function of this incredibly important character detail is hit on again and again and again on the show. 
It’s not there for the shits and giggles, you know? It’s not there as some sort of hook for the LGBTQ community. It is a key component of Dean Winchester’s character makeup and it’s at the heart of the reason why he ever needed to go through this journey in the first place, this journey of opening up to love and to being loved for who he is by letting go of his preconceived notions of who he has to be, notions that it’s established in canon have been informed by toxic masculinity.
And this is one of the most powerful why-hearts of any story: searching for one’s true identity and, in doing so, having to face one’s deepest fears and conquer them. 
The deconstruction of the masculine ideal is being done through Dean finding a reason to shed his toxic masculinity, and this reason is tied to his love for Cas. 
Could this have been done with Cas being a woman? YES! That’s the whole point for me. 
Cas’ gender is not important for Dean’s character progression or the role Cas plays in ensuring it - Cas the CHARACTER and his PERSONALITY are what’s important. The way these two men compliment each other emotionally are what’s important. The way they challenge and push and support each other’s growth is what’s important. This is why it has always been a love story - from first frame of footage. (to my mind) (I know not everyone agrees with this assessment)
And the POINT of Cas being a man instead of a woman is, for me, that it pushes the deconstruction of the masculine ideal to its very breaking point, because the ideal is idiotic and prescribes to societal norms that, honestly, are beginning to flake at the edges in modern society as is, thank goodness. 
The ideal is gender normative - men are men and women are women and everything is black and white and straightforward. So to build Dean Winchester into the epitome of the masculine ideal - the man’s man, the stud, the cowboy, the hero - and have him still retain all the qualities that make him that man’s man, that stud, that cowboy, that hero - while also softening him and opening him up and revealing that deep emotional life and all that longing for love and communication and equality and all the personality traits he’s always possessed (and we’ve always seen them) that, according to societal norm, are considered feminine, well, that’s a deconstruction of the masculine ideal worth writing home to grandma about, know what I’m saying?
Consider a woman being the one to open him up to love. Well, we kind of got that with Lisa, didn’t we? Only she wasn’t real. She was a representation of what Dean wants for himself: home love family - but she was, in the end, proven an illusion. Dean was not happy playing house: because he was playing house, still stuck in playing a part he never chose for himself because of course Dean Winchester was never meant to give up the life. The reason he’s broken and lost isn’t that he was raised a hunter (saving people gives his life great meaning and purpose), but that he’s stuck performing. 
So what if Cas was a woman? 
Yeah. He could’ve been a woman. But the fact that Cas is a man adds a layer to Dean’s search for his true identity that would otherwise be lost. Without the love story being Dean falling for a man, they have no real narrative way to highlight his bisexuality without baking it into the narrative simply to have him be a bisexual character. Make sense?
And they didn’t build Dean as overtly bisexual because if they had:
he would have been immediately put in a character niche and the audience they want to appeal to –>
the audience that believes in the masculine ideal as truth, or that are subconsciously influenced by it daily –>
that audience would’ve been lost to them –>
because they would’ve thought “gay” and switched channel –>
no matter how man’s man and heroic Dean Winchester still is with that pink/purple/blue label across his chest
Men enjoying following the story of a man who is attracted to other men will make the men following that story question why they enjoy it, and no man’s man wants to start wondering about their own sexuality. (yup that is a generalisation but one that is based in truth no?) 
“Liking bisexual Dean Winchester might mean I’m gay. So thanks but no thanks. Moving on.”
Like I said: societal norms = stupidity. Okay, actually, that’s not fair or true. The societal norms equal narrow mindedness and fear. And this is always forgivable, because it’s addressable and changeable. 
But this is also the reason why Dean is not canonically in our faces bisexual. (though he might as well be) (like sheesh doesn’t take a magnifying glass)
And this ^^^ is why Cas needs to be a man. Because it completes the deconstruction of the masculine ideal to such a degree, while retaining Dean Winchester’s already established characteristics, because Dean will still be all Dean once he’s actually with Cas, that the question of “What makes a man a man?” should be a resounding one. 
Is Dean Winchester not a badass, brave and tough as nails hero simply because he has softer sides and fancies dudes - one dude in particular? 
Of. course. he. fucking. is.
You are a man because you identify as a man; liking flowery wallpaper and crying your eyes out to Charlotte’s Web does not somehow transform you into something other or lesser than a man. Like… WHERE THE FUCK DID THIS IDEA EVEN COME FROM WHY DOES ANYONE ADHERE TO IT SOMETIMES I JUST
Now, about your last post of the color purple. Let me ask you honestly, you don’t think at some point that all this things are a proof of queerbating if Destiel doesn’t go Canon?
Yeah, so why am I going into great detail to clarify my stance on the structure of this narrative and the approach to Destiel through the presentation of Dean Winchester as the masculine ideal? To answer this ^^^^^ part of your ask!
Because all of the above statements and my view on how this narrative has been built, the way the characters have been built, the way all of it fits together, including my colour theory that you mention :), all of it is the reason why I argue so strongly against the queerbaiting allegations.
And it’s why I cannot, for even one second, fathom that where we’re headed is not towards positive endgame and the tying up of our love story.
Destiel, to me, is already canon. Subtext is such an important part to any text and absolutely no doubt hands down it’s extremely important to the SPN text. 
Dean’s character progression and evolution to where he’s at right now has been built through subtext, and through the deeper subtextual bond he shares with Cas. 
What’s telling is that this becomes even clearer when Cas has been missing from the narrative. Dean made leaps and bounds worth of character growth while thinking Cas dead in S7 (Sera knew what she was doing) and we got a sharpened and focused callback to the depiction of that loss in S13. (gorgeous stuff) Not to mention how Dean has acted as a catalyst for Cas’ character progression and evolution.
This is how you build a love story.
And this is why I’ve been saying since last summer that if we don’t get this love story pushed to the forefront in undeniable ways in S13 I will eat that over-priced and not-yet-purchased hat as self-punishment for being crap at interpreting this narrative, but the way S13 is going… 
All this stated, yes, of course, if they somehow fail to follow through then it will be the greatest case of queerbaiting in the history of fandom. 
But I believe, with every fibre of my being, that they’re following through. 
Okay, that got away from me a little, but it was very enjoyable to readdress the issue of SPN and queerbaiting and I’m amazed you remember that post!! Thanks so much for asking, lovely! And I hope I answered your question. :)
xx
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