Queer Codices

A place for me to obsess my favorite media and the meta narrative and cultural implications of queer coding. I just love queerness in storytelling.

[byelerheart]

?

[miwibrainrot]

"it will pay off"

it was never fucking mentioned again

[teambyler]

I love this comment!

Our snowball literally rolled into a PLOT HOLE.

This was Will in Episode 5, seeking advice from Robin on how she got the courage to talk to VICKIE:

There was ZERO setup for Will concluding that Mike was his "Tammy." None.

-teambyler

[mikesbasementbeets]

LET ME IIIIIIIIIN

[wickeddreamerr]

There was absolutely nothing

[willbyers-deservesbetter]

maybe im just tired of queer people constantly being the butt of jokes

[akdw]

Watching the latter half of Season 5 made me realize just how good we’ve had it the past 4 seasons so here’s, imo, the best thing abt each one:

Season 1 had the best atmosphere. It was soo eerie, and the Upside Down was legitimately terrifying. Not to mention the iconic Christmas lights, like those are the best visual effects this entire show. It really encapsulated that mysterious, creepy atmosphere by hiding the monsters and allowing the characters to figure out the truth. It perfectly captured the small-town mystery/horror vibe and it was absolutely INCREDIBLE. (as a side note I think it also had the best characterization. Every single character was represented so perfectly and purely.)

Season 2 had the best character dynamics. It had a mix of the already-great dynamics from Season 1(The core four boys, Jonathan and Nancy, Will with his family) and also added even more: Lucas and Max, you can see how Mike cares for both Will and El(Mike in general is a GEM this season), Dustin and Steve’s bond forms, Jonathan and Nancy’s bond gets deeper…It’s a great mix that has a lot of the amazing character dynamics

Season 3 had the most fun. The colors were so bright and poppy, and Starcourt Mall was an amazing setting with how diverse and colorful it was. Not to mention we get epic character moments like Steve and Dustin’s handshake, El and Max’s shopping montage, and everything about Alexei. While re-watching the entire show, I laughed and grinned the hardest during this season.

Season 4 had the best representation of theme. Stranger Things has always been a show focused on friendship and love, but this season really doubled down on it. Vecna is a metaphor for isolation and depression, and everything about Max’s arc perfectly represents that theme of friendship over all else. When fighting Vecna, they’re not just fighting some supernatural horror, they’re fighting the symbol of isolation and depression. (As a side note I think it also had the best song usage-The Running Up That Hill remix, the Separate Ways remix)

And Season 5…oh boy…

[willelmikes]

the thing is i would've been okay with no byler if they had actually, you know, written a good story, like, outside of it,

[queercodices]

Dbd fandom how are we feeling about Monty’s actor playing Orpheus in Hadestown

[ab0g1arka]

you know Stranger Things has fully misplaced the narrative when Maya Hawke has to stop filming and go:

“hey quick question. do Lucas and Max know Robin and Vicky are gay and dating”

and the answer is apparently no, so she has to ask permission to whisper about her girlfriend in front of them.

this. on the show that brands itself as “for outcasts.”

sure. very underground. very radical. very whispercore.

and then an interviewer says, hey, why did you break up Robin and Vicky in the epilogue but keep Lucas and Max together?

and the Duffers go:

well Lucas and Max are just too pure 🥺

Robin and Vicky were just a high school romance 🤷‍♂️

ah yes. heterosexual teenage angst = sacred text

queer teenage love = temporary side quest

what else did they trivialize? glad you asked.

Will Byers’ feelings for Mike.

notice how Noah Schnapp talks about it.

Will loves Mike. clearly. intentionally.

notice how the Duffers talk about it.

“oh it was just a crush. anyway.”

they write one of the most uncomfortable coming out scenes known to man. Noah literally says it felt like a press conference. Will looks like he’s about to pass out. Vecna apparently terrorizes him into self-realization.

and then… nothing.

Vecna never uses it. the finale never uses it. the story never uses it.

so what was that for. set dressing? aesthetic? emotional damage?

and then Noah has to go on record and say he asked the Duffers to actually close the Will and Mike storyline in the finale because they intentionally left it ambiguous for FIVE SEASONS.

they write a scene. great! finally! closure!

and then they go:

“no thanks, best friends :)”

sir. that was not subtle. that was a fourth-wall elbow to the ribs.

all because a fandom made up largely of queer people. you know. historically marginalized people. dared to hope that the main gay character might get something resembling happiness after five seasons of trauma, possession, bullying, isolation, and yearning.

this is the same show where in season one Mike literally throws a guy to the ground for being homophobic about Will.

that’s why queer fans showed up.

that’s why outcasts showed up.

and now the writers are confused why people are devastated?

there’s a line from an article I cannot stop thinking about:

“as for Will, his suffering and pining may have taken place on screen, but his joy and future romance are disappointingly left to the imagination.”

yeah. that’s it. that’s the tweet. that’s the thesis.

after how they handled Robin, Vicky, and Will in season five, I never want to hear Stranger Things call itself a show for outcasts ever again.

you don’t get to market yourself as a safe place and then whisper the joy.

[ventusvia]

I have to admit that the scene in the finale where hopper gets vecna‘d is actually SO GOOD, like I knew that el wasn’t dead (plot armour bla bla) but still, THIS is what I wanted the entire final battle to look like

a battle of the minds, showing the main characters their darkest fears come true, slowly driving them insane

THIS is how you do a final battle with horror instead of action, to show that you can’t win with guns, but with love

it could’ve been so good

[new-ronantics]

somebody said the finale should’ve involved the core 4 getting vecna’d simultaneously and having to find their way back to each other inside vecna’s mind whilst battling/confronting their worst fears… good god what we could’ve had…

[two-wizards-in-a-trench-coat]

we need more mean butches in media that never reconnect with their feminity and never feel longing for the nuclear life they gave up on. and I mean nowwwwww

[two-wizards-in-a-trench-coat]

AND THEY DONT BECOME COPS

[demadogs]

stranger things created one of the most interesting love triangles of all time and then shot all three of them

[lirithomas]

I’m sick of the language that people in these tags are using.

“I feel schizophrenic.” Or “Schizophrenic Mike.” or some other bullshit.

Believe me, please! Believing in an internet theory about a TV SHOW is NOTHING like being schizophrenic.

Mike had a hallucination or false memory of saying goodbye to his friend before he lost her because he never got the chance to before. OR Vecna gave him that vision. Schizophrenic people aren’t the only people who have hallucinations, anyway.

For a group that constantly says they root for the outcasts and are mad at the Duffers for putting them down, ya’ll love to put down an extremely marginalized group of people.

And when I try to tell people, they are just like “Sorry :/“ AND DON’T CHANGE ANYTHING!

Please stop using this language!

Sincerely, someone who actually suffers because of this illness.

[starvedmaxxxie]

Kitty Nancy got a gun..somehow..

[noyouwerebeautiful]

s5 really felt like

volume 1: go white boy go

volume 2: no white boy not like that

volume 3: white boy i've never seen anyone fuck it up like that

[itswhatyougive]

Another Mike-Hopper parallel: losing their beards in the finale

[butchrobin]

do i even need to say it.