#confomity

[danijela08]

This was, by the way, the moment I was talking about, when Mike momentarily let his guard down. He unconsciously sent a signal that Will received. That's why his mind kicked in and he ended his projection (Tammy).

Will simply realized in that moment that Mike is not heterosexual/normal. He is like "me," so Will.

The romantic music in the background was a perfect fit. By the way, the radio mast could be seen in the background (the signal was received)

[danijela08]

The bathroom scene in St5 episode 4 💙💛

I saw this and only thought that would happen if you only read the text. It doesn't matter what he wanted to stop the leak with. Belt or jacket doesn't matter.

It was the moment after the flirt on the field (94.5 fm when blue meets yellow in the west).

The moment when Mike didn't recognize Will's flirt, but it did something with his body and heart. The pipe breakage was then the result. He hits the pipe with the shovel because he can no longer deny and suppress his feelings. This is a water metaphor: The water stands for feelings and emotions. Before they were well contained, now they just had to get out of there and both got wet. Will and Mike both tried to stop the leak. So in the subtext both tried to fight against these feelings that are now more than visible. Because what does Mike say to Lucas? Yes he says: "Lucas we got caught." Lucas was immediately in panic. Then Mike's heart capitulates and that's Dustin. He demands the authenticity of Steve. If you don't understand something, then you just denounce the Duffer and accuse them of using Chatgpt.

Since these people feel queerbaited and only see superficially (even after 7 months) they have to evaluate everything that comes from the authors negatively.Even such a small detail.

[danijela08]

Anyone who still believes that Stranger Things is a tragic heterosexual love story has unfortunately not understood the deep subtext at all. It is a truly masterful and hopeful gay love story. Mike's hard struggle against his true identity is really well written. It shows the reality as it was back then, but also as it still exists today.

On the field, Mike finally felt the real Will. Mike flirted and so did Will, but Mike only felt the touch and the laughter. His whole body and heart were on high voltage. The mind switches on (Lucas). Consequence: Escape! The heart has a trauma ,so it is protected by the mind. But feelings cannot be suppressed forever. The pressure became so high that it had to get out of Mike. The water stands for emotions and feelings. The heart felt it from the beginning (Dustin). It can no longer deny it. Mike and Will get wet. Love is stronger than fear. So it demands authenticity (quarrel with Steve). After the flirt on the field, the realization that Mike is like Will, Will ends the projection. Both experience the pipe break together, which leads to Will becoming the sorcerer that Mike always saw in him. Because Will is like Vecna (the good one). Will uses his powers to do good and saves Mike and himself from the Demogorgons (the shame).

[danijela08]

Just a little recap of Season 3. The secret, safe place where no one knows what Mike is secretly up to with El. There where El still had her powers compared to Season 4, even tho she is his girlfriend in both texts. Here in the cabin, he could be close to El (his love for Will). He has hidden his feelings, that is, El's true self, there. He suppresses and denies them, but he literally feeds and showers them with his love. He only does that because he wants to be close to Will, and there in the cabin, he doesn't have to pretend to be straight in front of anyone. So not in the outside world. But when the others are visiting, he pretends that his "girlfriend" means everything to him.

Of course, Sheriff Hopper lives there too. He mirrors Mike's control. Mike has everything under control. If Mike and El are too close then…

Every time I see these scenes, I have to smile.

This one.

Never forget who Eleven really is.

She is only his girlfriend in the text.

[danijela08]

Mike & El (S3) vs. Mike & El (S4) Beware of Byler's subtext

Season 3 In Season 3, Mike , at 14, is not yet aware of the full extent. He wants to preserve his innocence and his identity. The cabin where El now lives serves as a protected space-a place outside the world. The cabin is hidden in the forest, a place that no one else knows. There, the sheriff can keep a close watch on both of them, and yet Mike can be close to her at the same time. The two laugh, hold hands, and kiss. There is no audience there, just Mike, El, and the sheriff. He doesn't have to appear "normal" to anyone. There, he can enjoy his love for Will, which is like a private secret that no one else knows. Mike tries to confess his love to her in the season, but he finds it difficult. In front of the others, he then says that he loves her (his love was meant for the subtext). He doesn't say it directly to her, but El overhears . After the incident at the mall and Hop 's alleged death, El moves to California with the Byers. As a farewell, she tells Mike that she loves him too and kisses him. But Mike is more confused than happy. The girlfriend has become more real, and El is trying to fill that role. Through his closeness to Will, he escapes into a heterosexual facade.

Season 4 El and Mike are now writing letters to each other for a whole year. Through El, we learn that he can't say "I love you" to her. He can't even write it. So why? Here's a brief analysis. Writing it black and white in a letter would be a finality. The confession would make it irrevocable. He knows it would apply to the girlfriend/personification, even though it concerns Will. When Will moved away, she became his only tangible connection to his feelings. He communicates with her on two levels. He also writes to her to keep the illusion alive that he is "normal." The reason he hardly contacted Will is that every contact with Will reminds him of who he really is. It is his escape. That he cannot write or speak the words to El is because his heart knows that the recipient is an illusion. Because he actually meant Will. His heart knows these words actually belong to William. It would feel like a betrayal. Then there's the fear of the truth: Do I really love this girl, or do I love what she stands for? He avoids that question. That's why he sticks with the safe "from Mike." He uses personification as a shield to protect himself from the overwhelming reality of his feelings for Will.

The Time of Letters: Lies vs. True Self Dealing with the lie: A part of him clung to the letters to prove to himself , "I am straight, I have a girlfriend, everything is fine." He maintained the facade. Engagement with the true self: At the same time, it was the only place where he could "park" his tenderness and feelings. He wrote to her because he actually wanted to write to Will. But he didn't dare. He used her as a lightning rod for his longing. The kiss (El) and the hug (Will) at the airport The kiss as a demonstration: He kisses her in front of Will to erect a wall between himself and Will. It is a defensive posture. He is saying : "See? I am taken. I am normal. Don't come too close to me." It's almost a desperation to prove to himself that the lie still works. The stiff hug: Wanting to hug is dangerous for Mike. With Will, he feels the real, physical attraction that he can't control. The hug is stiff and fleeting because his whole body is on high alert. He doesn't want any real feelings to seep through . El had lied then; she isn't popular at all. Quite the opposite. She's an outsider and gets bullied. The others are so cruel to her that she loses control. El is so unhappy with her current situation. She asks Mike , "But you don't love me anymore? You never say it." She senses that she's only a placeholder for him. Mike is trapped between his façade and the essence he truly loves. The dilemma: He uses her like a "telephone line" to Will. When he writes to her, he's really confronting his feelings for Will without having to face the danger of an actual conversation with Will. The half-truth: He loves her "true self" (his love for Will). But if he were to write "I love you," he would mean the girlfriend (the lie). He blocks himself from saying it because it feels like betrayal to him. "From Mike" is the maximum amount of truth he can give. The only thing he can sign without completely betraying himself. Core point: Mike loves the "true self" of the personification but unconsciously rejects her "form" (the girl/girlfriend). She asks him , "But you don't love me anymore?" Mike asks , "Who says I don't?" Of course , he does. He loves her exactly as she is. She is his superhero. It's a tragic line. Her strength disappeared because of the distance and Mike's denial. She is no longer a heroine. She is the love and closeness between Mike and Will. Mike dodges the truth with a question. He knows she's right. But he can't admit it, because his entire house of cards (his identity/security) would collapse if he were honest. His "You know how I feel about you ; the others are nobody" is a protective claim. In that moment, when he sees her sadness, he directs it at the girlfriend. But he knows it's a lie. He pretends at "normality": He tells it to himself to numb his guilt. He wants to be the "good boy" who loves his girlfriend. So when El sees or feels herself as a monster, she is actually reflecting Mike's deepest fear-that his true sexuality is something "monstrous" or wrong. By glorifying her as a "superhero," he tries to suppress the negativity he feels within himself. The desperation: He tries to calm her (the illusion) because he is terrified that she will disappear. If she (the girlfriend) disappears, he would have to face the reality of Will-and at that point, he is still far too afraid of that. When she says, "I'm not a superhero anymore" and cries, it's because she realizes she can no longer fulfill her façade as the girlfriend. She feels like a monster or a failure because she senses that Mike's love is not directed at her as a person but at the function she serves for him (keeping his secret safe). In that moment, he lies to his girlfriend in order to lie to himself that everything is still "normal." He doesn't call her "the girl I desire" or "my partner," but instead chooses a word from a fantasy world. He doesn't love the person but her function.

She senses that his praise is directed at a mask she can no longer wear. Without powers, she is just herself-and instinctively she feels that Mike still cannot accept this "true self" (the ugly, gay love for Will). That's why she wants to become a superhero again. But in Will's presence (the catalyst), he confesses his love to her. He loves her even without powers. He loves her every single day. She felt lost because of the loss of her powers: She thought: If he doesn't love me now without powers, then the entire lie is meaningless. She wanted to hear that she still deserved to exist even without powers. But Mike only saw the superhero in her-until the finale. Of course , El gets her powers back. She is the energy between Will and Mike. His confession of love finally went to Will. He finally admitted it. Or at least he finally admitted it to El out loud first. She no longer wants to wear the mask of the girlfriend. She wants him to finally accept her for what she truly is-his gay love. When he made her into a superhero, he put a mask on her instead of seeing her for who she really was. Why did she cry? She sensed that he loved Will but used her (the personification) as a shield. That was cruel to her. She is the love for Will, yet she is used to keep Will at a distance. She also sensed the "emptiness": Her antenna knew the truth. She heard his words, but she felt the coldness of absent desire. The longing for freedom: She wants him to love her for what she truly is. Not as the imprisoned person maintaining his heterosexual façade.

[danijela08]

Finn's last interview: An INPT who does exactly what the Duffers do as well. An analysis 💙💜

It is astonishing to see again and again how often the subtext is hinted at but never spoken. The Mileven fans (the heteronormative and homophobic ones) can't help but cling to this superficiality of the series. They are looking for confirmation from the Duffers or Finn. They say, but the Duffers said: The characters believe in Mike's story. So they believe that El is still alive. Since the Duffers say it, it won't be questioned. On a textual level, it unfortunately makes no sense at all. How does Mike know about the plan? How does he know how it all went down or what Kali, El, or Hop said? The answer: He cannot know it on the textual level. It would be pure fantasy. He suffered so much after death that he could never have known it. On the subtext or meta level, however, it makes sense. It's a story, as I already said. It's Mike's story told thru D&D. The ego died. It was so painful that he himself and others believed El had died. But 18 months later he asks, "Hasn't anyone wondered how she was able to cast the spell?" Yes, exactly, the Suppression Stone. That is the true story he reveals. The first of her death was not real. He didn't change the story, but rather transformed the false into a true one. Finn is an INTP, the Duffers are INTP or INTJ. So true analysts. Finn often answers exactly like the Duffers. You can see the genius there. And seriously: The Duffers, Finn, Noah, or any of the other actors will never say or approach it like this: Yes, Mike is gay, the subtext exists, and there you see his struggle, his torn feelings, the desire or longing for Will. Then there wouldn't just be the anger of the queer community, but also that of the superficial readers, the Mileven fans. Then the Mileven fans could no longer hide behind Matt and Ross's statements, but it would be reality. Then it would be: The subtext is there, Mike is gay, and you watched a queer love story. So, one perceives Matt or Ross's words just superficially. Then there's Finn's interview: Finn's exact wording was:  „Yeah, I mean.I think like to me, like it doesn't .I think the whole point of it that I like it doesn't matter whether she is alive or dead.it sort of like, its the characters, is whatever the characters want sort of to believe or whatever the audience wants to believe.I think it's something that like, yeah, I think that the, the way that I looked at it was it's like a way of coping maybe for an actual loss, you know, and like kind of trying to, you know,yeah put a spin on it, put a positive spin on it.so yeah, so I mean,you know, maybe it's a bit of both can be true I guess. I don't know.“ The rest will follow this evening: But the focus is on it doesn't matter whether she is alive or dead. In the text, it would indeed play a role. Or a kind of coping mechanism for a loss, which one should then turn into something positive. How can one possibly see or interpret El's death positively in the text? He says exactly the same thing as the Duffers: It's what the characters or the viewers want to believe. That's what it's about. In the text, however, it doesn't make sense, and yet both leave it open for the mainstream. Or as the Duffers say: In 20 years, we will clarify El's fate, because they know very well that revealing the truth would be pointless. But Finn's words also make sense when you consider the subtext. Because there she died and yet continues to live. But why it doesn't matter, as Finn says, is because: That it actually doesn't matter because she is magic and not a human. If she were a human, it would matter.

[danijela08]

Will Byers and Mike Wheeler....the damn ego (an illusion) and why Kali is a much more important character than most people assume

Many see Kali as the evil sister who wants to convince El to die. Someone who is on Vecna's or Dr. Kay's side... but that's not her. The Mind Flayer, the Abyss, the UD, these are all metaphors, and then there are the monsters (whether Dr. Kay, Papa, the Soviets); they are all those societies that oppress others.

Kali (theophany) is a goddess; her home is the Abyss (a metaphor for darkness). Her manifestation is a snake, the tattoo we see on her neck. Naturally, Hopper doesn't trust her from the very first moment. He tells Joyce this directly. But she shouldn't be seen as "evil," because she's the opposite. She also represents love. She wants us to recognize our true selves. She's of great importance to El, Mike, and Hopper this season. And why?

Kali understands human nature; she knows what everyone is afraid of, and she wants us to face those fears. Here, she did it with Axel. When we face our fear, it can set us free. So it's just as she says. She does the same thing with Mike. A snake, by the way, isn't evil either. It's a part of Kali and also represents transformation, rebirth, immortality and healing. Kali represents passionate love. From destruction, she creates space for new beginnings.

In season 2 episode 7, we can even see her true self (background).

She is the goddess of truth and liberation; she tolerates no illusions. In episode 6, she confronts Hopper (he is as mirror character of Mike) with fear and is ready to destroy his false self-image (ego). We all have an ego (a healthy one, or it's much more about who we truly are—without lies). Hopper represents both. But in the series, the untrue ego (the illusion) predominates. The illusion is quite clear when Mike makes Eleven his girlfriend. He chooses the path of conformity, thereby suppressing his "true self" and lying to Eleven and himself. There are recurring hints of this throughout the series. She is the power that shatters illusions. Kali is not the destroyer of love. She is the destroyer of what blocks love. Therefore, Mike must shed his "impure ego" and return to his true nature—to everything he truly is. That´ s why Hop can´ t stand Kali because the "false ego" is afraid of the truth.

In the Purple Rain scene, El speaks as his girlfriend, but also as what she was from the beginning (her true nature). El can't go back to Hawkins (she would continue being this lie/his girlfriend), and then there's the military.

Mike: You...you have to get out of there! You have to get out! (He's speaking to his girlfriend)

El: None of this will ever end, not if I'm still here. (She's speaking as his girlfriend)

Mike: No, no. We'll figure something out. We'll fight back. We always do. (Mike's fantasy plan)

El: I need you to talk to the others. Mike: No. No. El: I need you to thank them for me. For being so kind to me. And teaching me what it means to be a friend. Mike, I need you to help them understand my choice. (Here she speaks as his girlfriend. Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Will have always seen her as his girlfriend, even though she was something else.)

Mike: But I don't. I don't understand. (He's afraid of losing his safe haven.)

El: I know. But you will. One day, you will. You understand me. Better than anyone. You always have. From the day we met... ...you've seen me. The real me. (Here she speaks clearly as her true self.)

Mike: Please don't leave me, El. Please, don't do this. (Here he is speaking to his girlfriend, his safe choice (conformity))

El says that as long as she lives, Henry will too. Now he's dead, but the cycle must be broken. The only way to do that is for her to leave him.She will then be free, meaning this love, and only if Mike accepts that will there be no new Vecna.The cycle can be broken by Eleven´s death. Because when love is dead (between Mike and Will), there is no military, no Vecna (hate). Because no one is hunting you down, locking you up, and doing all those bad things to you. El says to Hopper, "You protected me, but I'm not a child anymore. I decide, and you have to trust me. You have to believe in me." Love was too strong in the end. Mike had that avalanche in episode 4. The water and the damaged pipe -a true metaphor.

El: I will always be with you. I love you. Goodbye, Mike. (Her true self will always be with him if he is ready to accept it)

Of course she's not dead.

I believe the series conveys a beautiful message, and that's what matters, isn't it?

Hap-satisfied ツ

[danijela08]

Who is Tammy Thomson (the dreadful singer) 🌈

I think the story about Tammy is really well written…

And no, with Tammy (Mike) it's not about unrequited love, as most people claim. The story shouldn't tell us that. Will did receive a signal from Mike after all… so it must be about something else, right?

Many readers and fans unfortunately did not understand the significance of Tammy and claim that Mike is definitely not Will's Tammy. But that's not true. There is absolutely no reason to say that. Because Mike is Tammy. You didn't see the depth of the meta-level. With this post, I will explain tomorrow who she really is and why "Mike is Will's Tammy." Starting with Season 3 (Robin and Steve), then the field scene (the flirt), followed by the conversation between Will and Robin. Later, Robin also explains that she was only able to open up to Vickie (the alchemist) much later. Because only thru self-awareness was she able to date Vickie. In the end, the significance of Tammy in Will's coming out: "he is just my Tammy." Then there's the tower scene. Mike and Will just want to be friends for now. Which pretty much everyone misinterpreted as the end of Mike and Will. Most people believe that "Tammy" and "Best Friends" is a rejection of Mike. So many think they know that Will's feelings for Mike are not reciprocated and Will then gets over Mike.

But you missed the mirror characters and personifications and metaphors. Because they say something completely different. And as already mentioned: Mike can only be properly understood thru the mirror characters and personifications. If you read these correctly, you can see how much he feels for Will, "his best friend." Not to mention that he gives up his entire ego/illusion (girlfriend) for Will. In the end, he is himself, the real Mike, who leaves conformity/heterosexuality behind. What else did Dustin say about Eddie? Yes, Eddie wasn't perfect, but he was real.