#anti elmike

[nobodyinourstars]

My life would be 10000000000000000000000% happier if the Byler presidents direct Stranger Things.

They aren't the Duffer brothers, they're the Byler brothers 💙 💛

[dragonpasta]

ok, so I know there are so many signs pointing to byler being canon, but I want all of you to know that even if the duffer brothers leave their relationship "up to interpretation", I AM GOING TO BALL MY FUCKING EYES OUT. IF THEY DON'T HAVE AN EXTREMELY EMOTIONAL KISS WITH TEARS ON CAMERA, I WILL SUE THEM FOR EMOTIONAL TRAUMA.

[nobodyinourstars]

Mike be like: WHAT???? MY BOYFRIEND ISN'T SITTING AT MY SIDE!!! THAT'S A BLASPHEMY!!!!

This image is so fucking hilarious I can’t believe I only just discovered it

[willelworld]

i know the painting subplot has been analyzed to death but. i have a thought.

will lies to mike to repair his and el’s relationship through will’s own feelings, with the painting as the medium to exhibit that love alongside his words.

if mileven stay together, that would mean will’s lie, to an extent, worked out in the end. if mike’s monologue is to be taken as a good thing, the lie worked, and mike and el’s love is stronger for it.

if mileven stay together, it would be narratively rewarding will’s lying. and we all know one of the core, explicit messages in this show. friends don’t lie!

[halfshelley]

mike don't get paralleled to one of el's dad figures challenge (impossible)

[gayofthefae]

There's a moment where both their fake joyful personas drop at the same time

[nobodyinourstars]

For me, that's why Mike get this reaction at the Rick-O-Mania fight, When will said:

"You called maybe a couple times, it's been a year, Mike"

It's because he tried to call Will, he spent nights awake trying to call Will, every single day, and he get clearly hurt when Will said he called "a couple times" and then Mike realizes Will doesn't even know about the calls while Joyce was on telemarketing, probably Joyce forgot to tell Will about Mike calls, since she was working a lot everyday.

"joyce has this telemarketer job, she's always on the phone, mike won't stop whining about it" is so subtle and genius and perfect

[phoebebuggers]

what if i said i laughed out loud

[bylertruth3r]

WHAT, i mean mlvn breaking up in a place about forced conformity would be very powerful (this is not confirmed yet so take this as a grain of salt), according to leaks this scene is crucial

From here

I mean baseball in Stranger Things has always been used to show forced conformity and Mike and El's relationship is built on forced conformity and Mike wanting to be normal, in s5 Mike is gonna accept that he's gay and he won't try to be normal anymore, according to leaks the scene is crucial and I can understand that since they possibly broke up in that scene

the video

[queen-of-hawkins-why-ler]

"They won't split up the MAIN couple of the show >:(((" and the main couple of the show in question is a girl whose arc has actively included her becoming progressively more self-reliant and less dependent on her boyfriend across ALL seasons + a boy who has been staring wistfully at his best friend's lips and reaching for his hand since they were like 12

[wistfulenchantress]

Friendly reminder that Mike shows no romantic interest in El until he is told by multiple people (Lucas, Nancy), that he looks like he is showing romantic interest in her.

El can barely string two sentences together, desires to be pretty like Mike's sister, and doesn't know what romance is.

Their first 'romantic' scene together involves Mike trying to change the subject and El comparing their relationship to brother/sister.

[nobodyinourstars]

Guys plis stop calling Mike and Will gay!! They are so straight🙄🙄!!! Mike just look at Will's lips cause they are best Mates 👍💯

[whereintheworldisspencerreid]

idk why milevens think bylers hate el. i love my girl with all my heart and i want the best for her and the best for her would to get away from her gay little boyfriend

[teambyler]

El's arc of "pleading with the wrong people" in s4 (Byler analysis)

There's a pattern in season 4. El's learning the difficult lesson that you can't always rely on other people to be what you want them to be:

There was no point in pleading with Angela to prop up her lie to Mike. There was no point in appealing to Vecna's humanity. There was no point in hoping that Mike would be a boyfriend who'd make her feel loved.

El had huge issues of feeling worthless and like "a monster" in s4. With such a low opinion of herself, she kept looking to others to solve problems she needed to take on her own.

That's why Mike's "love confession" -- after she had confronted Dr. Brenner for being the real monster -- was so against her ACTUAL arc in s4. She had confronted the source of her self-loathing, her abuser (Dr. Brenner). She was learning to love herself instead of pleading for love and kindness from others.

There was no happy-couple resolution for El and Mike after the "confession," because she now had a different view of what she wanted from her relationship with Mike, if she still wanted one at all:

She's focused on how she failed to stop Vecna, and she's not really opening up to Mike or seeing him as a partner in helping her process that. In retrospect, since they became official she's never really involved him in the biggest issues in her life, except to paper over them (start of s4) or to be in conflict with him (how to use her powers in s3).

To Mike, El doesn't seem to NEED him the same way she did before (exactly what Mike had feared). She's moved on to other matters.

She is in a different place now. And so are Mike and Will:

-teambyler

[noodlesbatches]

when they say “I love you.” but Mike kept ALLLL of Will’s drawings.

[stranger-theory]

"What is.. friend?" -El Hopper

How can a girl who knows nothing about friendship be in love with a boy a week after meeting him?

"How do I know what I like?" -El Hopper

How can a girl who has no idea what it means to actually like something know she likes and is in love with a boy?

I don't even have to pull this out of my ass for it to be crazy, this literally comes from straight from the show.