[better-queer-rep]

disaster demisexual Mike Wheeler who's just SO confused

he thought he was supposed to like El because Lucas and Dustin teased him about it, but does he really feel that way? Sure, he likes her and she's really cool and badass but does he like-like her?

but he can't be gay, right???! He doesn't really feel that way about guys except...

Wait..there's Will. Is that what it means to feel that way for someone?

[crispycreambacon]

The Space Belongs to the Ace

Happy International Asexuality Day! I thought I'd make a tribute not only to all my fellow aces out there but also to space. To me, my asexuality is, on some level, connected to outer space, and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

If you don't know what I mean by that, let me tell you why.

Space has always meant a lot of me as a kid long before I discovered my asexuality. It is defined as a near-perfect vacuum. Outside of celestial bodies, there is almost nothing out there. No air. No other signs of life as far as we are concerned.

Yet if you look beyond, you can discover something beautiful... You can discover stars that have been here for over a millenia. You can discover spirals that are expanding and will continue to expand. You can discover colours and shapes that can captivate you or even comfort you, telling you that everything will be okay.

That's how I felt when I was finally able to label my experiences. That same wonder astronauts feel when they make a new discovery about space? It is the same wonder I felt when I first heard the term "asexual".

Now there are people who are pushing us out of the LGBT+ community. Even after we built our own as they insisted, people still harrass us for "not being oppressed enough" or for "making up a sexuality" or even "endangering the kids by confusing them with something unnatural".

It's 2024. We can't keep pushing away our fellow members when the world is already pushing us away from society. Exclusionism has only ever served to tear us apart while the people who want to hurt us sit back and let us do the work for them. We can't keep doing this. We deserve to have our space.

We belong here too.

[will80sbyers]

Mike was terrified of losing Lucas to his new friends, he's always scared that all the people he loves will want to leave him at one point 🙁

[nilefreemans]

characters in their 30's and older exploring their sexuality and discovering themselves beyond their teens and twenties is so important and beautiful and worth telling

[hazaddd1223]

Happy birthday!!mike⭐️⭐️🩷

[tay-swifts]

Kristen Stewart & Katy O'Brian in 'LOVE LIES BLEEDING' (2024)

[kidovna]

manifested mileven at the snowball in 2016, so now I’m manifesting byler at senior prom🪻🌻

[willbyershandmoles-deactivated2]

why do you think the ST fandom is seemingly more parasocial than other TV fandoms, even by parasocial fandom standards?

ST is one of the biggest media properties rn, so they'll have a huge fanbase which means more parasocial people in terms of numbers. aside from that, there's a draw from the younger audience because of the young cast as stars, so therefore ST also just has a lot of younger people who are immature af.

[thestrangestthing89-deactivated]

Honestly this fandom is fucking bizarre. I grew up in the OG Harry Potter fandom that was mostly teens and it wasn't like this. There were of course some crazies who took things too far. Large fandoms always have those people. But it feels like this one lately has been mostly crazy people with boundary issues and problems with basic human decency. I think part of it immaturity for sure. But part of it is social media and the fact that in general, the internet is a nightmare these days. A lot of people are fleeing social media or just not using it as much because of how toxic it is. The HP fandom was mostly pre-social media and I think that helped most people have better boundaries with the cast that was the same age. But people in this one act so entitled with everyone who works on this show and genuinely seem to think they know them or are in a position to demand things from them. It's so unhinged. I feel like there is a handful of people who are normal and the rest just need to calm the fuck down. In comparison to other fandoms right now - I think a lot of it has to do with the young audience trying to outsmart the adults. They love lecturing the writers and adults in this fandom about how they know better. They want to prove that they can keep up with a show that's not specifically for teens. And the result is people constantly getting upset and picking fights. I haven't seen this happen in other fandoms. Shows that are for adults have mainly adult fans, and shows for teens have mainly teen fans and even those aren't full of this much drama. This one does though and it's a lot of people trying to show off and keep up with something complicated and then they get upset when someone knows better.

[merth-or-nothin-deactivated2025]

All true.

When I was the same age as a lot of people active in the ST fandom, I was into both Harry Potter and Twilight. Both fandoms were diverse and had fans of all ages. None of the bullshit you see here existed.

People got into little arguments here and there. Sometimes people would rib each other. But there was no harassment. There was no doxxing. There was no stalking or demanding that the writers do what the fans say.

Some of these people are so fucking delusional. Their own peers have no interest in being around them and their parents don't even want to hear their whining. Yet they think that if they scream and throw temper tantrums, the Duffers are going to bow down and do whatever they say.

If the only people willing to talk to you exist behind a computer screen, you aren't powerful or influential.

If your blood pressure goes up because some stranger on the internet doesn't like your ship or said your blorbo was ugly, you need to log off from social media and find something else to occupy your time.

Fandoms are supposed to be fun. They aren't supposed to be a warzone. Other fans don't owe you anything. The creators of the show also don't owe you anything. The extent of your power is to either watch or not. That's it.

[gmaybe666]

be gay do crime

part 7 of my ‘roadtrip’ comic 💐💘✨

[clownwix]

I drew this a long while ago and never posted it. Anyway Argyle supremacy!!

[aroplatonic]

Platonic love is beautiful. Platonic love is valuable. Platonic love does not need to be anything "more". Platonic love can be intense. Platonic love can be the most important thing. Platonic love is enough.

[jace-targaryen]

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) dir. peter jackson

[byler-alarmist]

Jonathan: Do you remember the first day we met? It was the first day of senior year. I knew nobody. I had no friends. I felt so alone, and so scared. But I saw you on the pizza van, and you were alone too, just smoking by yourself. And I just walked up to you and I asked.....I asked if you wanted to smoke some weed. You said "yes".......you said yes. It was the best weed I ever smoked.

[imactuallyreallycool]

Day 1 of @bylerween2023 Ghosts & Hauntings

[stranger-comet]

Day 1 of @bylerween2023 : Trapped in the Upside Down

I’ll have maybe one or two more additions for the week!

[patrickspens-deactivated2023122]

idk i just keep thinking about how like. seven thousand people were murdered. if seven thousand people were murdered in america there would be massive outpourings of public grief but because the people murdered were far away and belonged to a country the us doesnt support theyre just statistics and numbers to like everyone around me and theyre just going about their days. i have literally never heard seen this level mass murder on a short condensed time scale like this in my lifetime and no one is reacting. i feel like im going insane

[fluffyfangirl]

I need them to hug in season5 so bad.