#i could talk abt this + his connection with henry literally All Day Every Day bro i am not a fan i am a Scholar

[bylertruther]

Do you think Will could have blocked some memories of what happened during his time in the UD, like El did with what really happened in the lab? And how likely do you think it is that the duffers could bring that to the story?

confident yes + highly likely to both. this is going to be a long response, because the evidence in its favor is abundant.

the details of what happened to will in the upside down were never plot relevant before and we know that canonically everyone treated will like he was gonna break, like he was a baby, and like he couldn't handle things on his own (his exact words). given that, i doubt they were asking him about what happened even if they were curious. they only learned about what it was like to be possessed because that information was necessary in both season two and three.

now, in season four, we and the characters learn many things:

henry was a child when he first became a predator, started "reaching into others, into their minds, into their memories", "became an explorer", conceived his plan to "restore balance to a broken world", and grew the hive mind.

when henry first lands in the upside down, it does not resemble upside down hawkins at all. it's its own golden world with seemingly peaceful life forms.

henry is the one that shaped the particles, that has used its power, and that has been behind everything we've seen so far. ("it was you. always you." + the demodogs only attacking when invaded by dark particles.)

the teens learned that the upside down is stuck in time on the day that will went missing.

there are light particles which "feel good" and allow you to communicate with the other side.

will confirms that he is still psychically connected to henry directly.

season four focuses on truths, lies, and their consequences. we see that the only way to move forward, become stronger, or be saved is by uncovering and accepting your truth. not only that, but we get a hefty amount of unreliable narrating. there are some things that this season tells you and others that you have to work to discover yourself, just as the characters have. there are also some very fascinating lines about this and examples:

"I’m sorry, Eleven. You’ll have to find your own way out. Leave your train station. Stop waiting. Focus. Listen. Remember."

not to make everything about will byers, but considering the fact that the duffers didn't shoot down the idea that everything is related to will byers...

consider this: henry keeps coming back year after year, because they're all relying on eleven to fix it, but she can't. she isn't the cure, no matter how many people keep trying to force this on her. in fact, will's the one that we're shown standing in front of a "the cure" poster. this is further implied by dustin rolling an eleven against vecna and losing. the day is saved by a pair of siblings & will tells her in that same episode "it's gonna be okay, it's not that bad. we'll fix it together, okay?"

will needs to find his own way out of this neverending story. he needs to think back to what happened in that shed and directly after. he needs to remember the lights, the phone, and the stereo. he needs to recall how he managed to survive staying in that house when the demogorgon knew he was there and would appear seconds after right where he was, and why it never went after him but went after joyce instead. he needs to recall who took him and what he saw at the library. there's so much that only will knows. he just needs to remember.

"There are good people, brave friends, who have helped you fight your battle in the past. But they alone can’t win this war, not without you. I know it’s not fair to ask more of you, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think this was the only way, if I didn’t think you were the only one who might have a shot to hit this thing so hard it can’t get back up."

dr. owens is known to be an unreliable source (in my eyes). he didn't trust will at first in season two, he wasn't there for season three, and then he gets it 100% wrong in season four.

eleven hit henry and he got right back up.

they didn't win the war, even with her help.

the group has helped eleven in the past, yes, but, barring season three, everyone has banded together to help save will's life twice.

eleven "started this war" by creating henry, but she's always been removed from it. will was the one fighting to survive in season one & will was the one that got possessed in season two. she helps, but the war was only centered on her in season three because henry switched objectives and sought her power instead.

like... he's literally talking about will lol. he doesn't mean to lie, but this is a lie that has consequences. hawkins falls, max goes missing, and henry has won. will is the only one that can tell them how this story begins, who is still connected to him, and who needs to join the fight for once. will is the only one that knew how to defeat henry in season two and he's the only one that'll be able to tell them how to defeat him in season five.

(also, it's interesting how eleven's decision to "conform" by "doing what she's told" (as owens says) ends up "killing the kids" aka max. not her fault, though—max's fate was inevitable.)

"But there are others who don’t believe in you, who think you are the cause. I believe they’re wrong. I believe you’re the cure." [Cuts to Jonathan saying, "The reservation’s under 'Byers.'" as the camera then moves over him, Mike, and lands on Will who then looks up.]

will is someone everyone feels they have to protect; he's the damsel, never the hero. he's also the beginning of this story—he's the first and last bearer of his curse, the one he came back for and has not let go of still. he's the one related to "the cure". the scene literally cuts to him before going back to owens and eleven, so i'm filing that as "proof" that owens is incorrect. she isn't "their only hope".

Owens: “We should’ve just told her the truth.” Brenner: “And risk everything? She’ll find out soon enough.”

this one's funny. it explains why we and the characters don't know why henry and will are still linked, and what happened in the upside down. it would compromise everything.

"The truth is, you're regressing, Eleven. You're going backwards. [..] I know you're frightened. You're terribly frightened by what you've seen. But it's this very fear that's now holding you back. If you want Nina to succeed, you cannot hide from the truth, no matter how frightening it may be."

this one applies to many characters. will seems to have made progress in lenora, but he regresses by lying to mike and hiding from his truth. he veils his confession, pushes mike in eleven's direction, and dooms them all for it. addressing his trauma and being honest about his feelings isn't going to be easy, but he needs to do that to help them win this war.

i feel like there are more lines from this season, but this post is already long enough lol.

in addition to canon s4 evidence, it already is established that will doesn't want to revisit those experiences and whatever memories he has of them unless absolutely necessary.

in season three, when recounting having sensed the mind flayer's return at various times, will says: "I didn't think it was anything at first. I mean, I think I just didn't want to believe it."

also, did everyone forget how henry already blocked will's memories once? that was a key point of his possession, the reason for the shed scene, and joyce's biggest worry ("What happens when he can't remember anything? When there's nothing else there? What happens when my boy is gone?")

that, along with everything presented in season four, tells me that will is the missing piece. all of them fought alongside eleven and it wasn't enough. dustin said they needed will and he was right. henry is said multiple times to be a mind explorer that toys with people's memories. the duffers have ALREADY done this twice now. "every ending has a beginning." the teens figured things out, but not all of it and it contradicts what will experienced in the upside down. will is henry's perfect character foil. he's the last curse left. the show begins with the vanishing of will byers, but we don't actually know what happened to him. it literally all points in this direction.

season four was all about lies, whether intentional or not, and season five will be based on the truth finally coming out.

[ajokeformur-ray]

Omg gush abt your parental f/os! Anything you want to say abt them! ❤️

I’ve been so on edge and so anxious and so desperately in need of my parental F/Os today and this ask made me burst into tears ohhhh omg🥺🥺🥺🥺 thank you, Anaya. Thank you so so so much!!💖💖💖💖

Sorry for any typos omg I’m legitimately crying right now, I love them so much.

Under a cut so people can skip🥰

If, at any point, I could have saved Henry or Edward or both of them, I would have died right there and then in the laboratory. I would have sacrificed my entire life with them; even go so far as to never be their daughter in the first place, if it meant that my dad(s) survived and that Mary wasn’t left all alone. I am fiercely protective of them and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them. I can’t think for too long on what happens because I will burst into ugly sobbing - snot and everything. I’ve known the terrible truth since I was sixteen and it still hurts as freshly as it did the day I found out about how it all ends.

I want them so badly. I want to go downstairs into the kitchen and say “mama”. I want Mary to turn around and I want to see her face soften into affection as she puts down whatever she’s doing and comes to give me a hug. I want to break down in her arms and I want to know I’m safe; Mary’s been through trauma, too, and she understands. She knows what it’s like and she’s proud of me and of my strength... but I want to hear her say it to me. I want Henry to hug me of his own accord, without me having to ask first, and I want him to say “my brave girl. I’m so proud of you, our daughter”. I want to hear my bedroom door creak open when I’m trying to sleep and I want to feel the mattress dip, to feel Edward’s hand on my shoulder as he alerts me to his presence (even though I already knew, because he and I share the closest connection of my three parents). I want to roll over and cuddle my papa and I want to know I’m safe and loved. I want Edward to tell me that even though he does bad things and even though he once literally trampled someone to death just because he was bored, that he would never do that to me because I’m his daughter and he loves me as much as I love him.

I want them to brush my hair and to braid it. I want Henry to sit with me in front of the fire in his study and talk to me about anything he wants to. Even if I don’t understand what he’s talking about, just his voice can chase away everything bad in my life. I want Edward to go with me for a walk at 3 AM. I want to wake up in a bed which isn’t mine, even though the room’s familiar... to wake up in Henry’s home. I love them, so much, and even when I first was introduced to the book and the film, it was like I was already familiar with everything... like I’d been there before. I feel so raw and so vulnerable and nothing’s really going right and everything’s so wrong and my parents always make me feel safe and warm and whole.

They’re so beautiful and I love all of them so much. I was conceived on a night with Edward, but I’m Henry’s daughter, too, and I want to hear him say it. My family is unusual but I love them for it and as I said, I would die to give them a happy ending. In a way, that happy ending is me... but it’s not enough. They deserve more than just me and every day I try to be someone they can be proud of. I want to hug them all one by one and tell them I love them... and I especially want to be reassured that Edward loves me... he’s the darkest side, and he’s the side I connect most deeply to overall. He’s very special to me and I just wish I could look into his eyes, Henry and Edward at once, and see him looking back. 

I’m craving my parents and I hope they can feel me. They’re all so full of pain but they have learned to be patient and within that they fell in love. What happens is horrible (if you know the original novella then you already know, but add romance to the mix and it’s even more tragic) and I wish I could change it, I truly do. They’re beautiful and intelligent and tragic, as individuals and as the dynamic they share, and I want to bask in it forevermore. 

Thank you for this ask, Anaya!!!