#and if i said this but 4 byler......

[lighthouseas]

top 10 favorite tropes: sexually charged ballroom dancing

[love-byers]

endlessly hilarious that mike accused will of purposefully being cold and not talking to him to mess up his day

as if that's not beat for beat what he did to will 💀

[gayofthefae]

"I should have explained myself because maybe then Eleven would have taken me with her, but - I don't know. I didn't know what to say."

That isn't what he said the first time.

"I should have said something. And maybe if I had said that thing, Eleven would want me there with her."

The sentiment of him being with her and knowing/ensuring she's safe is consistent. But he isn't actually repeating himself. There's no need for him to as a person and as a screenwriter, repetition should DEFINITELY be cut.

He's changing. He's brainstorming. He's starting to consider other angles of the "could have"s. The "what if"s.

He starts with "what if I'd just forced an 'I love you'". But I think he likely settles on what we can logically deduce for ourselves in that situation - "I made the right choice prioritizing with what I knew of the consequences at the time".So he changes. He changes.

He changes to "I should have explained myself".

"Explained myself" is NOT the same as "said that thing" and that is VITAL.

I should have just sucked it up and told her I loved her if it meant keeping her safe.

No, I did the best I could with the information I had

I should have told her the truth. Maybe she would have taken it better if I had just told her that I don't love her but it's my fault, not hers. Now she thinks it's hers and that I'm hiding it.

And, perfect timing, Will comes in with (in Mike's pov) "It makes sense why you didn't, though, don't beat yourself up. She was gonna get hurt either way and everything would have been a risk as to how much."

And Mike nods. And the next time we see him, he's saying

"Will she still even want me in her life if I can't give her the love she wants? All I can do now is to make sure she knows it isn't her fault, that's the selfless act I can do for her, but if I confess I don't love her, what other use am I to her? Will doing what's best for her by telling her it's not her fault, it's mine, instead of continuing to lie make me lose her?"

He says "explain". He starts with "maybe I should have changed the 'what'". Then he shifts to "maybe I should changed what she thought of the 'why'". Ironically, his question in the van once he's come to that conclusion is "how?".

The first pitch he makes is "maybe I should have told her I loved her" and Will says "don't worry, you'll have another chance", and he turns away and introspectively reacts with

aversion.

But then he says "maybe I should have just explained the real reason behind my actions instead of denying them all together" and Will says "that's a scary thing to do. It's a hard decision. You're doing your best", and he turns away and introspectively reacts with

understanding.

Honestly, being understood. And sometimes that's what you need to find understanding. He's been confused this whole time, that's been his whole thing, but he looks like he's starting to piece something together now - finally. Will put his own feelings into words for him to hear out loud so could finally get them and get them in a validated way.

Instinctively, he knew the first one was easier but wrong. He didn't want to lie to her. Both times Will said "if that's what you want to do, I believe in you", but only once did he agree. He knew it felt like the wrong choice the first time and you can see it. The second time was a new choice he was considering.

And you know what? While we're here. Telling her he loves her: aversion. Telling her the truth: understanding and drive. What happens next?

He expresses "what if when I tell her the truth, as I've decided is the right choice, she appreciates it but doesn't need me for anything else beyond that?" And Will says "she'll stay. You got this.", and he reacts with

Comfort.

He didn't know what to do. Then he did, but he was scared to do it. Then he wasn't so scared anymore.

He's thrilled to see her and forgets for a second but - much like El with Will on roller rink day - is reminded by seeing Will that now that she's actually here, it's real. He's committed to his actions and they're impending.

But he's not so scared anymore. Bravery, though, doesn't mean no nerves. He's hesitant and not happy looking when he talks to her about it first. He tries to lighten the mood - "the whole world went to shit and everything" - and he's watching her reactions like a hawk. It feels like less of a risk now enough that he can do it, but not so little that he isn't scared. Either way though, it's worth the risk for her to know the problem isn't her.

He didn't know what to do. Now he does. He was scared, but he's not as much anymore. Not too much to do it. They're interrupted. Okay, oh well, he'll find another time.

And now to break your heart:

Mike had an idea, Will said it was good, but Mike met that with aversion.

Mike had an idea, Will said it was good, Mike met that with understanding and agreement.

Mike was scared, Will said he had no reason to be, Mike met that with comfort.

(I'm sorry) Mike was scared for El - unrelated - and looked to Will for comfort - as he had every other time - when he tapped him on the shoulder, Will said he should tell her he loves her, and he reacts with

anguish.

This was not Mike's plan.

This was not their plan, so he thought.

Mike's reaction tells us everything about what he knew and what he meant for what's to come. This was not what he meant. That was not what he was going to say. This was not his plan.

And there's that part of you too that always wishes to go back to semi-ignorant bliss. Even if just panicked confusion. Because wasn't it nice: when telling her you loved her evoked this

And not this

Wasn't it nice when you knew...just a little less?

Wasn't it nice, in a way, when you couldn't see the happy ending so clearly?

Don't you sort of miss - when you couldn't taste it?

also fuck it for just for that list bit and the bridge of this song here's my illicit affairs edit linked because "you showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else"

[skeletal-butterflyy]

OH MY FUCK WILL IS A WIZARD!

Stay with me now, I made a post a month-ish ago analyzing D&D in stranger things (which I recommend you read *winkity wink*), specifically addressing the party’s characters. We all know that Mike said that Will is a cleric in s2 to Max. BUT, it can be confusing because will’s character is named “Will the Wise” and he is dressed like a wizard. One might be able to argue, “well his name and clothes don’t mean that much to his class” well yeah you’d be right. But one thing that DOES showcase the class of a character is the moves they are able to make.

Clerics are able to cast spells based on the domain they occupy/the god they serve. To my knowledge, wizards don’t really have this problem of needing to be in a certain domain to cast a certain spell.

In s1 ep 01 Will casts fireball, a spell that can be cast by a Wizard or a Cleric, if they occupy the light domain. Recently I saw a post that showed this screenshot from s2

And I noticed the spell that Mike was talking about in his story. Fog Cloud is a spell that can be cast by multiple classes but most notably by Wizards and Clerics in the Water Domain.

It’s not very practical for a Cleric to occupy multiple domains for storytelling aspects but also, it makes the Cleric’s gameplay just a little overpowered.

So basically, Will probably isn’t occupying two domains and is more likely a Wizard. Which begs the question, why did Mike say he was a cleric?

TLDR; Two spells specifically mentioned in the show to be casted by Will can only be casted by him if he is a Wizard or Cleric occupying multiple domains, which doesn’t really make sense.

[chirpsythismorning]

[soogmcgoog]

I know this has been said so many times but I cannot stop thinking about how in s4 they made Mike hug a bunch of people/his friends JUST TO SHOW how it DIRECTLY parallels and contrasts him hugging will?? Like that’s crazy?? And that they made him hug el just like he would hug his friends?? 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨

[spookystarfishzombie]

[smoosnoom]

(tturing)

[accidentally-i]

I hate the idea of mike having a crush on eddie…

[miwiromantics]

ok but uhh I don’t know if this has been pointed out but:

This.

And this.

Are the same right.

(Edit: I’ve been having this in my drafts for almost a year omg…anyways finally posted lol.)

[lunabug2004]

I just remembered something. Not sure if I remember it correctly but I'm gonna share it anyways 😂.

I'm pretty sure I watched a YT video a long time ago of a therapist watching the Mileven bedroom fight from s4. I don't believe he had much, if any, context. And he said that Mike was trying his best to reassure El until she brought up him not saying I love you, and then he got defensive. And I remember him also saying that he was impressed by his attempt to comfort El because he's a teenage boy and usually they aren't really good at being empathetic. And he also said him not being able to say I love you is actually a pretty common thing for couples their age and he wasn't surprised that Mike got so defensive over it.

So a therapist -- someone who knows human behavior better than the average person -- said that Mike did an overall good job during the confrontation for a teenage boy.

Now adding all the trauma onto that, I'd say Mike did a pretty dang good job. Just wanted to share this 😂.

[mysouliswithbyler]

milevens actually post 2nd grade level proof and expect us to believe them.

Like, sweetheart, I'm gonna hold your hand when I say this, but youre not fooling anyone.

[gayofthefae]

A classic, old stand by. Mike and El consistently kiss and have romantic moments at night.

And their platonic

Or negative moments are in the morning

Whereas Mike and Will consistently have positive or romantic moments in the morning

With their only night ones being either negative for their relationship or goodbyes/something final (knowing or unknowing)

Also shoutout to the shed scene which I just realized is done at night despite being romantic because it is their last moment like that before El gets back!

Also makes me wonder about the ily2 scene, which takes place in the morning, and if that is, rather, emphasizing the fact that it's the first scene in the plotline of Mike's inability to say he loves her. That would make sense as, though it's played as romantic, we now know that it is starting a big plotline for the following season.

(If you're confused, mornings = new beginnings, night = endings is one of the oldest tricks in the book. So mornings is what will be their future and nights is what is/needs to come to a close. It's near universal, if not universal)

A great, direct example of this is also simply Mike saying goodbye to El at night and then staying up at the hospital to say hello to Will in the morning in 1x08. Establishes this really clearly for the audience.

Also, of course, can't talk about lighting without bringing up...

In general, seasons are typically ended in the morning with hints and lead-ins to the future seasons - with Mike, this is consistently El. The one time it ends with El, the season ends at night.

[milarepas]

Will and Mike as parents always make sure nothing is missing, but there are some things that can get out of their hands

May was always an energetic baby, excited to run around and talk non-stop, but as she grew up, she began to develop small insecurities, insecurities that she hid from her parents

Mike is a little strict at times, one of the reasons they can get into arguments, but at the end of the day she's still his baby

[kyle-txt]

I guess imma start drawing byler everyday until byler endgame (aka st5 ep5)

Made this in IT class, we love doodling

[coniangray]

Churchgate and Mike getting hurt.

Two different topics but not so different after all.

we do know by now that mike is gonna getn hurt in the chest cus of all the foreshadowing from previous seasons and the hopsital scene where he is rumored to wake up alone in the middle of the night.

Even billy foreshaddowed this. Heck even the vr game literally showed him getting stabbed in the chest with a poke in his heart and guess whom said this before;

BOOP things work two ways sometimes. like, that alone will do it but i have more:

Plus A TON of other imagery with mikes hand on his chest or just targeting his chest in any way.

If you didnt see this other theory, it suggests mike was the fourth and final sacrifice, meaning mike was supposed to be in maxcs place at the hopsital if he didnt leave for cali.

if you notice closely his expression not only he feels sad for max and upset shes gone, but ALSO knows hes targeted, thats why he immediately flinched when will later at the cabin said vecnas not dead. He knows hes next.

plus the max flashback gives a lot of that away.

Now how does this all connect to churchgate?

op said n0ah was wearing lenses and got an eye infection, aka will was either already possesed or getting possesed in that scene. I cant guess much yet, but since this will be an action scene one will def be in danger (and i think thats will in some way). Since this scene is taking place in the upside down, it will most likely be paired with the other scenes they filmed with vines and nthe other one with the red light thats also speculated to be a possesed will.

i keep stumbling on my words cus this theory was open since LAST YEAR in my drafts and since 2022 on tweeter someone save me. Like i knew he was getting hurt, its confirmed by now but idk how to connect all those i feel LOST lmao.

Heres said theory from last year:

idk how to continue this.

me rn: