Camacan

She/her - rambles, theories and analysis galore! Follow my blog for Palestine: @camacan-fightingforpalestine

[cherryhatter-deactivated2015072]

KICK THE CAN!

Let’s play the biggest game of kick the can on the internet.

To kick the can, reblog it. I wanna see how long this can go on for.

[camacan-cmwrites]

GO S3 Spoilers

Oh man, I have some thoughts on this finale and I need to let them out.

I'm sorry, but I absolutely loved that finale, and I do not care what anyone else says. Was it perfect? No, of course not. Would it have been better as a full season? Yes. But for what it is, I think its everything it needed to be and more.

Just to get it out of the way, I don't care that Crowley and Azi didn't kiss. Think about it for a moment. These two have been crossing paths for almost 6000 years. If we forget about the kiss at the end of s2, we don't lose any of what made their relationship special.

The reason (and least imo) we were so endeared to Aziracrow in the first place wasn't to do with anything physical. It was their conversations. It was their care and concern for one another. The bickering. The poking fun at one another. The apology dance. The bookshop. The Bentley. Their connection against all odds, on opposite sides of a cosmic war. It was the fact that even as supernatural beings, they found so much joy and adventure in the everyday human world.

Would an earth-shattering, cosmic kiss between them have been great? Yeah, but we don't need it to satisfy or justify their love for one another. This show has never been a romantic drama. It's a supernatural comedy based around this couple. God even confirms it as much herself; "your love was the messiest, most predictable...". Their love was never about getting to kiss each other. It was simply being together, enjoying life together, as an "us" and not as "boyfriends" per say (if that makes sense). Not to say that they aren't a romantic couple, they absolutely are, but they are almost beyond "dating" in a way, more like "life partners". (Again sorry if this is confusing).

And on top of that, the "kiss" we with Aziraphale touching Crowley's lips is almost more narratively satisfying. We all remember of course how Azi pressed his fingers to his mouth after the S2 kiss. I enterpret this as him both processing it and trying to "hold" the kiss there on his mouth, like trying to keep it there after Crowley walked out. And apparently Micheal Sheen(?) confirmed that in that moment, Azi was thinking "do it again."

In my own headcanon, Azi keeps pressing that spot on his mouth during the time skip to S3, again trying to hold onto Crowley in whatever small way he can without breaking his heart.

Then in the bookshop one last time, Azi and Crowley have to say goodbye to one another, believing they'll never see one another again, it almost makes more sense for Azi to resolve that feeling his had in him with the finger kiss. Yes they could've just kissed normally, but in his mind, he's been kissing Crowley for years via the finger touch, again reminiscing on the moment. So for himself, he's almost resolving that by giving the finger kiss to Crowley. The finger kiss was always his way of kissing him, now he just gets to give it to him properly. And honestly, that's way more intimate than any actual kiss would've been.

I've seen some people say that the s2 kiss was a chekov's gun that needed to be resolved, but imo, it was Azi's finger moment that was the chekov's gun. It connects back to the s2 moment perfectly, it represents all the quiet tenderness Aziracrow have shared for millenia, and it closes an arc for Azi and let's him finally embrace his love in a way that represents his emotional state.

Now, with more screen time, this whole arc could've been fleshed out more, but the main gist of it across every season is that Azi always prioritised the fate of humanity over his own wants and desires (which links to his moral compass as the angel). But at the end of it all, he finally got to have that one moment to be in love in a way that seals the yearning he's held onto for all of time.

Now as for the whole "turning human thing." In all fairness, it sucks that they don't have their memories. Admittedly, I was waiting for the moment that they would remember each other. But I think it says so much more about their relationship that against all odds again, their souls found one another without ever needing all of the backstory. Once again, out of all the billions of people in the world, they always choose one another and still enjoy a similar sweet life together in the normal world.

That's not even to mention the fact that we know from the end credits that they find each other in every other universe. So even if you absolutely despise the ending we were shown, then there's another, equally canon one in another AU. They've basically given the fandom free reign with the characters now, as no matter what ending you wish to have happened, you can absolutely find that ending in this universe. So long as you have an imagination.

Also, I've seen people say that they ruined Crowley's personality by taking away all his swagger. And to that I say, the character was also more than the cocky exterior. For starters, a lot of Crowley's rougher edges come from his anger with Heaven, Hell, everything. The demon was perpetually pissed off at the whole universe, and for a good reason. So of course he's not going to have that side to himself in a Godless universe where he didn't have to go through all that trauma. Now, if you prefer him as that grouchy archetype, then your opinion is valid. Just don't forget that pre-fall Crowley was VERY different. He was excited about the universe, full of energy and genuinely passionate about the stars. He was as Aziraphale said, an artist. So Anthony Crowley is going to be closer to that version of Crowley.

Also. It's not as if Anthony Crowley had no swagger at all. Re "I'm not going to give you my number....I'm going to wait for you", his awkwardness about being gifted his own book and his matter-of-fact dismissal of shooting stars.

Plus, Aziraphale is a different version of himself in this new dimension too. Yes he still has his sweet optimism and quirks for food, but he's not the same "lazy" bureucrat as we knew him. Its almost as going through what they went through and learning the lessons they learnt, Azi and Crowley's souls and personalities were changed as a result, even without memory. Is that character growth I see?

One final thing. I do absolutely believe that OUR Aziraphale and Crowley still exist out there (1. The told God to make a Godless universe without angels and demons, but they never said she couldn't make OTHER universes with them. And 2. In the multiple universes with an Azi and Crow, our versions must be out there somewhere.)

But having said that, I'm not mad that we didn't get to see our Az and Crow instead of the human ones. Let's remember, S1 was narrated by God. She was the one calling the shots. We were only seeing what we were seeing because she deemed it worthy of showing. All of S1 was shown from her POV, almost like a bird's eye view of the whole thing. And even though we didn't hear her in 2 and 3, like she said in the bookshop, she was always there. We needed have summoned her.

And so naturally, we're not going to see the universe with our Azi and Crowley because she's not calling the shots anymore. We were technically never supposed to see their story; it was her divine intervention that brought them to us. So now, they are free to live out their immortal existence together, away from God and Satan, away from Heaven and Hell and away from our prying eyes.

Besides, human Azi and Crowley have all they need. They don't care about what other versions of themselves could be beyond it all, because they have each other. And that's all that matters. The same goes for us. We're welcome to explore those other possibilities in our own time, but all that really matters is that they can be together. And that's enough.

Overall, I'm very happy with the ending. Like I said before, it needed to be a full season, but the writers have basically given us all the puzzle pieces to fill in the rest as we please. And ultimately, I'm just glad it wasn't another Bury Your Gays. (Trust me guys, I'm a byler fan, I've been burnt enough in the last few months. It sounds bare minimum but at least we have them in canon).

[roomtempseltzerwater]

“they didn’t even kiss” do you want queer characters with emotional depth or do you just wanna see two men tongue each other???

[camacan-cmwrites]

What a good day to be an EPIC fan.

[camacan-cmwrites]

Soundtrackgate Pt.2

Part 1 to this is here, mainly just my initial theories around the leaked titles.

First, glad to see that I was right about the leak being true, doesn't happen often 🙃

But anyway, the soundtrack is out now for most people. I have another 2 hours to wait for it, but once its out I'll listen in and confirm (to the best of my ability) which songs were used where.

So just to reiterate again, the songs are all out of order (don't ask me why). And ofc, songs have been reused from previous seasons AND songs already used this season may come back for the finale. Anything can happen.

So, instead of trying to place every song, I'm just going to call out the ones I think we've yet to hear. Disc 1 is Red, Disc 2 is Green

1(2)- Starr

1(29)-Seeing in Technicolour

1(36)-Pale Brown Mist and 1(28)-Mist Engulfs the Lab (these are together for a reason)

1(46)-Never Forget

2(6)-Chaotic Good, Chaotic Bad

2(7)-Just Us and the Crickets

2(8)-Life Has Been So Unfair to You

2(41)-Siege of Dimension X

2(44)-You're the Curse

Ok, so here's my reasoning behind all of this.

Starr feels a little sus to me. Usually with these tracks you can tell pretty easily which scene it's been used in. But I can't place this one at all. The only way I think it could've been used before is if it connects to the military some way (i.e stars, badges). But then again, stars were more associated with the Soviets in the 80s so maybe not. But if it has yet to be heard, the only way I think it could work is if it has something to do with the play

We know from the trailer today that the girls will either be in Henry's play or will see it. So maybe like "stars of the stage"? And I have no idea why it has 2 r's. But whatever it is, it doesn't stick out as being too important.

Pale Brown Mist and Mist Engulfs the Lab are a pair to me. There was no sign nor mention of mist in the lab or otherwise so far, which makes me think it's going to spread in the finale to raise stakes and distract Hopper. And this shot from the trailer seems to prove that:

Notice the background?

Life Has Been so Unfair to You is basically confirmed to be in the finale. Hopper says this line to El in the trailer (with a shot of Will over it my heart broke 💔). Hopper is going to have another powerful monologue for El that's going to have this song playing in the background.

Siege of Dimension X feels self-explanatory. No one besides Holly has actually been around Dimension X yet (and I doubt you could call her escape attempt a "siege"). Although the current plan doesn't really involve anyone directly attacking Dimension X, it looks likely that the Mindflayer is going to attack them. Ergo, they're going to go to battle in Dimension X.

Now the rest of these are much more speculative, so bear with me.

Just Us and the Crickets feels a little out of place. I can't really think of anywhere this song fits. I would love if this song kicks off a Will and Mike conversation (i.e "us"). Maybe Mike is awkward and starts off with "we're alone, just us and the crickets", then Will goes "there's no crickets in the UD." Idk, bit of a wild guess but we'll see. Could also be an epilogue song but who's to say.

Chaotic Good, Chaotic Bad. Now we're getting into the real meat. From the little I know about DnD, Chaotic Good and Chaotic Bad comes from this moral alignment grid. It basically describes whether your character is good or evil, and whether they follow the law or not. We've been theorising that Will is slowly becoming more like Vecna, and will have a villain arc in the finale. Vecna, as we know, is completely evil and follows no rules. And if Will is corrupted by Vecna, that would therefore make Will the Chaotic Evil. But who do we know is a good character that tends to break the rules?....

Oh yeah, MIKE WHEELER. It also makes sense since Mike is our dungeon master, and the one most heavily associated with DnD terminology this season.

So my theory is that this song is about a fight between Mike and Will, while Will is possessed. This could lead to all sorts of outcomes. Byler Angst, Byler Confession, Byler Kiss..... (who said that?)

Never Forget also sticks out to me. If you follow the memory loss idea that's been circulating for a few days, then this could be good proof for you. I can picture a world where someone (*cough Will cough*) will suffer from some kind of memory loss. Especially if they had just been infected with Vecna's mind for a while (*cough WILL cough*). Walk with me, what if we see a parallel of s2 with the Byers + Mike trying to help Will remember who he is. Leading to the alleged monologue Finn has to deliver, in which he recounts Will's achievements and his love for Will. And boom, Will's memories are back, he says something like "I could never forget you Mike", big reunion and the credits role.

The last two I want to talk about are Seeing in Technicolour and You're the Curse. In my last theory, I said how Seeing in Technicolour feels queer-coded, and that You're the Curse is the direct contradiction to You're the Heart, aka Mike's song, from s4. And thankfully, I think both songs still haven't been heard yet, so this theory lives! HUZZAH!

If I'm right about my previous theory of a Byler battle, then You're the Curse works well with that. The way I see it plays like this:

-Mike and Will are in the Church (CHURCHGATE IS REAL I SWEAR). Just Us and the Crickets plays as Mike tries to get Will to talk about everything. Paralleling Jancy, they won't talk to each other, thinking its not the right time.

-A back and forth argument plays out, interrupted as Will is possessed. Through Will, Vecna starts mocking Mike, and a Byler battle plays out. Chaotic Good, Chaotic Evil plays.

-Vecna/Will gets a hold on Mike. Mike gets Vecna'd and the every-awaited Mike POV plays out. You're the Curse plays, as Vecna, via Will, uses Will's words against Mike.

-In some way, Mike and Will manage to free themselves from Vecna. Possibly a confession that breaks Will free, who then guids Mike out of Vecna's mind. Once free and back in the church with everything out in the open, Seeing in Technicolour plays. As they both finally see themselves and each other for what they are, embracing.

Honestly? If something along those lines doesn't play out in the finale, I might just wrote that as a oneshot or something. Hold me to that guys.

So overall, this tracklist is only doing good things for my Byler Hope. I AM DELUSIONAL BUT I AM FREE!!!!

[camacan-cmwrites]

I have more holes to poke in the show overall:

• These kids had better be essential to Vecna completing his plan. Because wtf do you mean we spent 2 whole episodes of Max and Holly escaping while bonding and growing stronger together, only for Holly to immediately be captured again and have all of her agency stripped again?

• You mean to tell me you brought back a character that parts of the fandom hated who was a big part of El's arc just to have her push El into suicide for 3 episodes? Not even an hour after El was talking her dad out of suicide and self-sacrifice?

• What was the point in showing the kids trying to hype up Henry? I know its supposed to be sinister how easily he manipulates them but I couldn't take their "find the light" chant seriously. Waste of time.

• You mean to tell me we had time to bring back Mr. Clark and give him a role in the plan, but not enough time to let Mike be a functioning character for more than 3 seconds?

• What was the point in the Rovickie miscommunication over the drugs? When you could've had Vickie be mad she got stood up at Enzo's (which you forgot about btw). And therefore let us have some development or insight into their relationship outside the supernatural plot? I think they actually thought we had time for a whole scene of comedic relief in what's meant to be the darkest season of the show.

• Let me get this straight. You guys had Jonathan and Steve act like complete idiots and ignore all of their development over the years to fight for Nancy, only for her to end up with...none of them? Why even bother bringing up the possibility of Stancy in S4 if you knew Nancy wasn't going to pick him? Also, if she knew her and Steve weren't right for each other, why did she never try to shut Steve down? Why did she keep all of their S4 interactions a secret from Jonathan if it didn't mean anything to them? Also also, why waste screen time bringing in the ring if you were only going to use it for 5 minutes (istg if they do the same with the painting....)

• Has Mike done.......anything? Like at all?

At this rate only the reddit dudes are going to be happy eith the ending, because the only thing they've done well is Steve and Dustin's relationship

[camacan-cmwrites]

My Theories on the Score Titles

So the titles for the songs on the ST season 5 score got leaked and I want to talk about them (full credit to @totallytaloons for the ss: https://www.tumblr.com/communities/byler-reference/post/803857052933947392/so-i-just-found-these-score-titles-not-sure-if?source=share)

First of all, I know since this is a leak its needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. But these seem like very believeable titles compared to ones from previous season.

The one most people are talking about is the track "I Don't Like Girls." Now, a common pattern with most of the titles is that they come from either direct quotes from the scene they play over or they describe what's happening in the scene. So it's possible that someone will say they don't like girls.

A lot of people think Mike's going to be the one to say it. And I here you, and I want to agree, but I just think it fits more with Will. I think this moment is going to play out as a parallel to the rain fight scene in s3. This could even be Will's coming out to Mike. It could be him (perhaps in the heat of an argument) going "well you were right, I don't like girls."

Moving on from that, I want to check off the songs I think we've already heard (PSA: Just because we've already heard a song doesn't mean it won't come back. Very often songs from previous episodes or seasons are reused in different contexts. And they still carry the same meaning)

-"Don't Be a Stubborn Punkass Like You" - self-explanatory, its from the El and Hopper moment in the UD where she patches him up.

-"Hawkins Hitmakers"- probably the song playing when Steve and Robin are first introduced at WSQK.

-"Map to a Secret Location"- I think this has to do with Holly going to meet Max with the map

-"Telemetry Tracker"- either from when they come up with the plan for the tracker, when they shoot it or when the gang follow the Demo into the UD

-"Memory Go Round"- likely from the montage of Max venturing through Vecna's memories.

-"Vessels"- a stretch but I think it's from when Vecna gives his monologue to Will (that's the only reference to vessels so far)

Now there's probably more but those are the only ones I can place. And again we know some previous songs have been used in Vol 1 already (both Kids and Being Different featured). So what about the rest?

I'm going to try and pair some of the songs to certain characters based on what we've heard so far of Vol 2 and what we know about our cast rn:

-"Hide in the Light" = Max (the tactics she used in s4 to hide from Vecna -could also refer to another Vecan victim using the same tactics later one

-"Karen's Back = Karen (either from when she attacked the demo in ep 2 or could be saved for if she gets out of hospital)

-"You Die, I Die" = Steve and Dustin (wwe know they say this from the trailers)

-"Real Life Honest to God Sorcerer =probably Will

-"I Need You to Believe in Me" = El and Hopper or El and Kali (if I remember right, "I Need You to Trust Me" was a song in season 3 ft. in a moment between Hop and El. So could be a parallel)

The rest seem fitting for an action scene of some kind (the fact that Dimension X is officially being mentioned has me worried)

But there's a few specific ones I want to talk about.

"Seeing in Technicolour" is interesting to me. I feel like we've heard it said in the show before but I can't place it, so if anyone knows please enlighten me. But anyway, the idea of Technicolour, multicolour, dare I say rainbows.....the writing is on the wall. Not to mention the UD is mostly dark blues, blacks and whites. So there's opportunity there for a big contrast. I don't think this is specifically Byler related but it is queer-coded.

"He's Still Human." Walk with me here a minute. We believe from trailers Will is going to get possessed. A Will villian-arc has been theorised. Some people love the idea that Will has to die to defeat Vecna since he's part of the hive mind. I.e, Will is a monster. Monster have historically been a facete of queer media from decades, representing how queer people have been portrayed as contagious/sick villians. Soooo what if there will be a debate about whether or not Will has to die to save everyone, and a certain someone jumps in to defend him with "He's Still Human". Which would therefore be a metaphor that Will is still Human despite being gay (because duh).

-"You're the Curse". This one had me shell-shocked for a moment there. Because this title is a direct contradiction to this song:

Something something the words Will used to inspire and guide Mike now being twisted against him something something.

Yeah so anyone who believes Mike is going to be Venca'd are being fed. I can really picture it playing out with Vecna showing Mike all these past memories with details twisted to hurt him. (Imagine if a fake Will is the the one to say "You're the Curse" oh I am sick).

Going back to what I was saying about queer media being portrayed as an illness, it would be interesting if they play into the idea of hell, curses and queer identity. As in Mike being the one to curse Will to his hellish torment by making him gay (a little cliché but the point stands).

Also, do you guys remember back when the S4 soundtrack was first released? And how people overplayed Being Different with You're the Heart to make a Byler song? Well, what if this is that? Only altered (in a minor key perhaps) to make it more sinister. Then suddenly, Will and Mike being brought together isn't bright, it's terrifying. And Vecna plays it as such to manipulate Mike.

Ok, the final song I want to talk about is "A Love Supreme." Now, my first thought when I saw this was "BYLER!" But on second viewing, I think this could connect to churchgate.

Growing up Catholic, I would've heard that phrase being mentioned in religious contexts, sometimes in mass and prayer etc. Basically saying that God's love is supreme to all. In fact, there was a jazz album released in the 60s by John Coltrane that includes religious themes called "A Love Supreme." So with that in mind, what better track to underscore a churchgate moment? Where Mike and Will's love is powerful enough to beat hellish monsters and the Conservative Christian norms of the 80s.

Again just to reiterate, this is not confirmed by any means. I doubt this is the full list so we're missing pieces of the puzzles, and for all we know these could be fake titles. But its definitely given us a lot to chew on before tomorrow (!!!!)

[camacan-cmwrites]

Threetttobeexactgate Theory

So I saw this post this morning, and at first glance I thought "oh, its three to be exact gate haha." But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

I thought back to season 4 first. The big theme last season was the idea of 4. Four victims, four gates, four cracks between the UD and Hawkins etc.

But I think this season might be about 3 this time.

Here's a quick list of things that I found:

-At first, Vecna takes just one kid, Holly. But then while the Turnbow Trap is happening, 3 more kids are taken. Will confirms this in Sorcerer after seeing the other 3 kids in his vision. So originally, if the Demo had gotten Derek, 4 kids would've been taken that night, but instead Vecna only got 3.

-Mike mentions 3 waterfalls in his rooftop conversation with El. Which could be nothing, but pipegate has led us to believe that water symbolises emotions.

-When Max is talking to Holly about her prison, she mentions 3 doors, 3 different choices one has. Either take your own life, accept your fate or escape. Max had tried to escape, but then went back to the second door and accepted her fate. But now with Holly, she's going back to the 3rd door and trying to escape.

-In Will's 7mm film, we see 3 different memories- meeting Mike, drawing the rainbow ship for Joyce and building Castle Byers with Jonathan. These 3 memories, along with Robin's pertinent words, are what allow him to accept himself and unlock his powers.

-This is a stretch, but Will mentions how Joyce is 5"3, basically saying there's no way someone of her height could scare off a Demo. Personally, I think its a little too specific for a throwaway gag. Why not just say she's "five foot nothing?"

-Again this is a stretch, but on El's missing poster in episode 1,there's a $3000 reward out for her. Evidence:

-Vol 2 is 3 episodes long. In this volume, we expect to see the party making progress i.e Max and Holly's escape, Will uses his powers more, El and Kali reconnect etc. This comes after all the failure they had in Vol 1, which was 4 episodes long.

-Season 5 is also 3 Volumes long, unlike last season being 2 volumes. Last season, the team lost. But this season, the team will come to some kind of conclusion

-And of course, Will takes out 3 demos, which Mike emphasis with his "three to be exact" line. This line is followed up seconds later by the line "it matters!"

Now, what do all these threes mean? Well, like theinspo post, I think Mike and Will are going to have 3 major moments. And if we think about the 3 waterfalls comment again in realtion to Byler, it adds up. In Vol 1, Mike and Will were trying to contain the water (i.e their feelings) but it kept exploding out. But waterfalls are much calmer, free and flow out in steady streams. So it could mean that there will be three moments where Mike and Will's feelings are going to come pouring out - like a waterfall.

But how does that relate to the main plot? That I'm not so sure about yet. But like Lucas said, I don't believe in coincidences anymore.

And for a fun final thought: 4 was the reoccurring number last season. 3 is the reoccurring number this season. Last season was when we learnt about Will's feelings for Mike. This season we hope to learn about Mike's feelings for Will.

4 + 3 = 7

"It was a seven"

[camacan-cmwrites]

I'm just going to come out here and say this. I want Byler to happen because I know how powerful their representation could be, but I want Mileven to break up more because of how much it could represent ME specifically.

I don't say this to hate on Milevens or anything- ship what you want to ship as long as you don't attack anyone for it- but Mileven as a relationship reminds me so much of my first relationship.

For context, I was 12 when I met my ex, as was he. We became friends pretty quickly because he joined my friend group. But after a few weeks of knowing him, all my friends started saying how I must like him because we talk a lot. This was before I ever even got to form a full opinion of him, let alone work out if there was anything there on my end. So when he asked me out days later and my friends had unintentionally put this expectation in my head, I said yes and went into that relationship uncertain of myself and my feelings. Needless to say I was pretty unhappy, and was basically stuck living with this label I wasn't brave enough to walk away from (now tbf it didn't really count as dating imo cause we never kissed or went out on a fate or anything). But I completely lost myself for a full year before we finally went our separate ways.

I was the Mike here. I was insecure in myself and my feelings. I felt like a failure because I couldn't show my ex enough affection. I didn't explore what I really wanted from a relationship, and so I accepted the bare minimum (not that my ex was a bad person, but just that when I wasn't reciprocating, he stopped trying to communicate with me). And our relationship also dragged our friends into the crossfire.

In the end, I was so much better after we broke up. I started to actually learn about myself. I released I was bi. And in my case, I've been happily single since.

So for me, a Mileven breakup would mean so much. If it can teach even one kid that they don't have to stay in their first relationship, that they don't have to base their feelings on other people's opinions, if it can save one person from making the mistakes I did, then it would be everything.

[prismhearts-electric]

I've never been sure how much we should analyse Jancy as Byler's mirror couple, so I could be way off; but I was thinking about how to understand volume 1 and remembered that Jancy parallel a lot, like they paralleled Mike and Will's miscommunication in season 4. So...

What if the ring also represents Byler? Jonathan is committed to Nancy, but we don't know Nancy's answer yet; Will is committed to Mike, but we haven't gotten Mike's answer yet.

[camacan-cmwrites]

If we go a step further, what if the ring is going to be a parallel to the painting? Johnathan wants to use the ring to repair the gap between him and Nancy, and to further their relationship. Will wanted to use the painting to fix the radio silence between him and Mike, amd to hopefully further their relationship. Will had to conceal the paintings true meaning by pretending it was from El. Maybe Johnathon is going to have to do something similar, which would reinforce the byler/fancy parallel.

[camacan-cmwrites]

Now that I think about it, maybe Robin was talking about herself in the monologue. To paraphrase, she says "I was looking for answers in someone else...I had all the answers."

Maybe she was referring to how Will was asking her about how to tell when someone likes you. He was looking to her for answers on how to interpret Mike's signals, and what that means. So essentially she's saying "its up to you to find out what you want, and it's up to you to love yourself." Robin can't tell Will if Mike likes him. Only Will can read Mike's cues.

[ce-ru-le-an-na]

where are all the costume-design-colour-theory-and-deeper-psychology-of-stranger-things people at ??

i need someone to help analyze the symbolism of mike + el basically wearing the inverted versions of each other's outfits plsss !!

i'm too dumb to properly analyze this but i just KNOW it means something...

my current thoughts based on what i've seen other ppl say + my own analysis + opinions:

- mike's associated colour is blue

- will's associated colour is yellow

- el wears all gray (+ red shorts) throughout vol. 1

el is wearing mike's blue hoodie over her gray sweater in this scene + mike is wearing a gray jacket over his blue shirt. i'm sure someone else can figure out the overarching symbolism behind their inverted clothes but the thing that's specifically catching MY eye is their necks !!!

the collar of mike's shirt is yellow and the bandana around el's neck is blue,, something something, mike's gray jacket is symbolic of the comfort / protection / familiarity he feels in being el's boyfriend / being needed + cared for by el, but his yellow shirt collar symbolizes his connection + deeper feelings towards will ??

something something, the same is true of el but instead of having a loose, partially unbuttoned shirt collar like mike, el's blue bandana is tied snugly around her neck,, something something, her relationship with mike is figuratively choking / suffocating her + his desire to be needed by her is continuing to hold her back ??

that's kinda all i can think of for now + it might mean nothing but... it also might mean something...

i literally feel like a conspiracy theorist but i KNOW the stranger things costume department is working overtime + i'm convinced that every little detail is important in some way...

ok guys lmk if you think i'm onto something or if i'm just ON something 💀

(+ also pls feel free to add any of your own thoughts / ideas about this !! i feel like a crazy person !!!)

[camacan-cmwrites]

Oh you ATE with this line of thinking.

The first thing that really struck me about this shot was the grey in this shot. Personally, I associate grey with dullness, boredom and as being satagnated. So with that in mind:

Mike is wearing blue and yellow (the yellow being Will's colour on his collar for closeness as you said). BUT it's somewhat covered by his grey jacket. This to me symbolises how Mike is covering up his connection and true feelings for Will by staying in this stagnant, greying (ahem dying) relationship with Eleven. (Keep in mind here the the grey jacket is only there for these scenes with El and the possible Byler shared looks at picnic table earlier)

El meanwhile is wearing a grey shirt with a blue hoodie over it (again as you said the blue collar shows the relationship is suffocating her, great spot). Now El wears this grey shirt for all of volume 1. Earlier, she had been training in it and was annoyed at not being able to fight Vecna herself. That on top of her red shorts (which you can associate with rage) indicates that she is feeling stuck, unable to fight Vecna and use the rage she has against him. Then when she's with the party, she covers it with her blue hoodie. This suggests that she's concealing her unhappiness with her relationship with Mike

Just to develop that last point more, El is hiding her inner struggle with her relationship. Exactly like what she was doing last season at rink-o-mania. The only difference being that Joyce and Hopper are privy to her struggles this time. So not only is she back to pretending the relationship is a cover for her happiness like before, but this relationship is preventing her from showing any of her fears and concerns. Notice how her red shorts are out of site in this shot, showing that with Mike, all she feels inside is grey.

And then theres the obvious solution that Mike and El are paralleling each other in their outfits, struggling to be individuals in this relationship. They are so codependent on each other in their outward expressions.

Hats off to you OP, this is a great catch 👏

[camacan-cmwrites]

Will saying "I'm not gonna fall in love" in s3 was already painful enough.

But knowing what we know now about what happened to him in the UD at 12 YEARS OLD.....

Brb gonna go cry for a month

[sylviethewise]

HE'S JUST A TINY CHILDDDDDD

[camacan-cmwrites]

And if I said they chose this picture for the book instead of one with Will actually being asked by the girl to dance specifically so they could have Lumax blocked next to Byler next to the then single king Dustin?

And if I said that Byler are in the centre of the image with the snowflake decoration creating a crown-like affect around Will's head, showing us that he is the crown for power and loyalty while Mike is the heart?

And if I said the words "do you want to dance" line up with Mike's chest, almost suggesting that these are words from his heart?

AND IF I SAID THE BORDER IS YELLOW WHILE THE BACKGROUND IS BLUE??

[pavuchokk]

the christians are defrosting, oh im sooooo ready to see them rampaging in december. the season is not for you moron

[camacan-cmwrites]

As a Christian, I approve this message 👌

[camacan-cmwrites]

I'm fully convinced that the reason the promo is centred around rewashing the show is because they want to remind the GA of both the importance of Mike and Will's bond, the problems in El and Mike's relationship and to feed the time travel/flashback theories

(I.e by looking back at the show as a whole the GA will have a fresher perspective going into s5 and will better understand how the show will end, similar to my believe that by going back into Will's memories of the UD they'll find the answers on how to beat Vecna).

[grahamsblood]

sooo…. is this stancy propaganda or what?

[camacan-cmwrites]

As much as I don't want Steve to die (we're going to be pissing the GA off enough with Byler, they and us won't be able to handle this) but........

I fear they are teasing Steve's last words to us. 🫣