#i do not see that happening for byler

[chirpsythismorning]

They know 😉

[gayofthefae]

I wanna see Mike with the party more because honestly that's the biggest crush behavior ever. Like I'm going back through season 2 and when he's with the party and Will isn't there, he only talks about Will. "Will was quiet today" "Is Will ok?" "Where is Will?" "Will's absent and he's not picking up". The entire party loves him and is worried about him but I love seeing normal worry and then Mike who when Will is in even potential *future* danger says nothing but that boy's name. The reason Lucas and Dustin had time for a romance plot and he didn't (he did) was because it didn't matter who she was or what she was doing, or anything for that matter except that he simply did not have time or care for any non-Will side plot. So much so that he became self aware that he was in the non-Will side plot halfway through and remedied that shit IMMEDIATELY.

Give me more Mike vs how normal people react to things happening to Will that aren't even that bad yet.

[twoelectrichearts]

I just knew that we were barely going to get anything for geeked week. That’s why I wasn’t anticipating it. I don’t like getting my hopes up. You know what I can’t help getting my hopes up for, though? Stranger Things Day. I can’t help but feel like we’re going to get something good this year for Stranger Things Day. I really hope I’m not wrong. Please please please don’t let me be wrong. 🙏🏼

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[wu-does-art]

Its Not My Fault You Dont Like Girls but its 25 secs of storyboarding and 5 of full animation, but its all differently framed than in the show and i had a deadline.

[hellinhawkins]

hey! sometimes it’s not necessary to share your opinion <3

[autistic-katara]

icl i would be at least a little happy with almost any ending for stranger things but one thing that would ruin all of it would be an epilogue (of a decade or more later)

[hawkinsunderground]

okay so theoretically the pregnancy smoking poster could refer to Joyce, who smokes a lot, right? I think she's one of the most prominent smokers in the show

SO, could it possibly be alluding to something she did during pregnancy affecting Will in relation to his connection to Vecna? or is that just the biggest reach ever lol

[hawkwidows]

you can pry will being the leia of the willelmike trio out of my cold dead hands it's everything to me

[pinkeoni]

i dont think that byler needs to have had been planned since the beginning for it to still be happening

[starsarefire824]

Am I bringing up this debate again? Yes, yes I am.

Do you realistically think Byler could/will have an implied sex scene in S5? Why or why not? Like in all honesty, I know this is a huge NONO topic but I want to know what ppl think.

lol

Hello Nonnie!

This is not a NONO topic for me at all.

But no, in all honestly, I don't realistically think there could/will be an implied sex scene in season five for byler. Or possibly any other characters honestly. other than maybe a jopper waking up in bed scene etc.

I don't think this is because things won't be happening with byler, but I honestly just don't think there will be time. There's going to be so much happening, so much plot they're gonna have to get through, so much love stories and loose ends and the vecna/end of the world of it all.

Do I think there will be tension? YES. Do I think there will be kissing? YES. Could it even be hot and heavy? Sure. Otherwise? I'm no so sure.

The only way I could realistically seeing something happen is because of the end of the world thing and a possible want of losing virginity going on before they "die".

And of course I hope Byler happens, but honestly this could be a plausible plot line for Mileven too if that's the route the Duffers' decide to go.

Also, side thought, I think if anything with Will's plot line directly addressing his sexuality and therefore his wants and desires for Mike, a masturbation or implied fantasy scene is probably way more likely than a sex scene between any of the teens.

[chirpsythismorning]

El being *12 hours earlier* than the Cali timeline when she arrives at Nina. Will saying ‘it’s been 9 hrs’ in the scene following his monologue in the van.

We know that at some point their timelines merged when they arrived to save her…

But we don’t know when exactly those alignments took place when they were still apart… which just makes you wonder…

[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.

[donghuamuqing]

Mike is an immortal god-prince that falls in love with will, who is a poor mortal artist, after seeing a painting done by him depicting mike not as a chiseled statue of fierce stoicism and perfection, but the most like a human mike has ever seen before.

It looks like mike and it feels like mike and he demands to see the artist. They go into the friendship (though they both wish it was something more) knowing mike is a god but he was planning to make will a god alongside him or raise him up as a divine patron of the arts like a muse. However, somehow, will dies. He dies away from mike, either traveling towards him or meeting him somewhere. Mike catches glimpses of his ghost, sees him in the masters’ art studios, markets, arenas, theaters, and dance halls. He sees him everywhere but they never speak. Mike chases and chases after him wanting to be together again since will is technically still here, however will knows hes only still around because he has unfinished business with mike. He knows that if they talk, they reconcile and confess, wills reason for staying is no longer tying him down and he can “move on,” so to say. He knows that if they speak, he’ll never see mike again and he cant stand to let that happen.

And so the chase continues.

[bylertruther]

do you ever think about how will probably wishes he was braver?

that he could tell mike the truth about himself without having to speak in code. that he could stick to his guns when he's been wronged and stand up for himself rather than tucking tail and turning the other cheek. that he could be less shy, less sensitive, less cowardly, and maybe then his loved ones wouldn't forget about him as often as they do.

maybe then they would pick him first, rather than leaving him for last. maybe then they would want to hang out with him and hear what he has to say. maybe then they would treat him like they used to, like he can still take care of himself just like they can, instead of like a fragile little thing that they pick up only when they need him. maybe then they would care about him as much as he cares about them. maybe then he wouldn't doubt that it could all come crashing down once they know who he really is, and always has been, because the rest of him would've been enough.

like, maybe he wishes he didn't freeze or run away so much. maybe he wishes he wasn't so afraid all the time, of every little thing. that he could be brave like mike, el, or his mom. i mean, el's been through so much, too. why can't he be more like her? why does he have to hide behind her? he hides behind her when the monsters come crawling back, and he hides behind her when he can't bring himself to say what he really means—even after getting on her case about it.

he spent so much time on that painting. he didn't let anyone see it—it was that special to him. why couldn't he own up to that? there's no monster in the van with him; it's just him and mike and this painting of the party, nothing inherently incriminating or romantic, and still—he can't help himself. he retreats back into the shadow, shrinks into himself, and tells lie after lie to the person that he never lies to, that he knows doesn't fucking deserve that, just because he's too scared.

of course he'd feel like a mistake sometimes. of course he'd hate who he is (if That script is to be believed), when he can't even talk to the one person that would understand without lying straight to his face, over and over again, like a fucking hypocrite. of course he'd feel so lost without the person that tells him it's okay to be this way and shows him that there is indeed strength in it. of course he'd hate who he is when he's encouraging someone to be true and speaking about their courage, all while being incapable of taking his own advice, and giving the credit for all of his love and efforts and emotions to someone else.

so many people died to bring him back, so many people died just because he didn't stay dead when maybe he should have, and for what? so that he can continue to hide rather than live his life? so that he can turn into a "worse" version of himself? so that he can live in fear? so that he can continue to ache for a past that he can never return to, while everyone else moves forward and berates him for not doing the same? time stopped in the upside down when will went missing, and he's been stuck there ever since, too. too much has happened for him to move on from. too much has changed—he's changed. he's too different now, in every way, and the older he gets the more clear it becomes.

of course he'd feel like a mistake. of course he'd hate who he is. he's the common denominator here: in his loneliness and in this war. the boy who came back to life when others didn't. the boy that got possessed and couldn't fight it. the boy that turned into a liar and a coward and must learn to live with it, even if it's at his own expense. the boy that can't let go of the past and whom the past won't let go of either, because even after everything, he's still connected to this great evil that won't let him go. they got it out of him, and yet the tether remains, because of-fucking-course it would.

just—why? why him? why can't anything ever go right with him? why is he always the outlier? i think that overwhelming amount of fear, shame, grief, guilt, exhaustion, and loneliness would wear anyone down, let alone a teenager that never asked for any of it and has experiences so unfathomably unique that the only other people that could have possibly understood are literally dead.

[uselessnbee]

everyone understands that Will had a hard time helping El and standing up for her because he himself has trauma from being bullied his whole life and doesn't know how to fight them back, his reaction to bullying is to freeze. but suddenly no one understands it when it comes to Mike and he's just called an asshole for not being able to stand up and fight El's bullies

i'm not saying he is innocent and did nothing wrong. he could have done more and just handle the situation better but he was just too focused on Will and was in his head and being the otherthinking oblivious dumbass that he is

but just imagine your girlfriend tells you she is having a good time and has friends, she does not mention anything bad and then suddenly she's getting bullied in front of you. when you've been bullied your whole life your first reaction is to freeze, to panic and just wait and hope it passes quickly and they'll leave you alone. Mike did not have any knowledge about her bullying or having any kind of problems, as long as he was aware those people were her friends. he himself has trauma from being bullied (he literally mentions it later on why yall keep forgetting??) and being suddenly thrown into a situation involving bullying can be really distressing.

when you have experience with being bullied even just seeing someone else getting bullied can make you freeze up and panic. and we know that Mike does not stand up for himself when he's the victim. even when you're not on the receiving end of the bullying but you just see it happening and suddenly you're a scared little kid again holding back tears desperately hoping for them to leave you alone.

and i know everyone wants to yell at me "you forgot about Mike standing up to Troy when they were saying shit about Will! so he can obviously stand up for his friends so why can't he for El??" and no i did not forget and yes you may be right but the situations are different. Mike was very well aware of Troy's bullying. he was involved in it. he was the victim there. he's had to deal with his bullying for years it was not a shocking revelation. however he did not know about El's situation at all and your reaction can be very different when you know about something and when you have no knowledge and it suddenly happens

again i'm not saying that he did nothing wrong. i'm just saying that we need to consider his trauma and his point of view and it could make him think less rationally and therefore not being able to help properly. maybe if he knew beforehand that something could go wrong he could be prepared and he would handle the situation better (even if it would be just them seeing Angela and her friends come and they would turn to Mike and say quickly that those people are mean to El he would still have at least some time and could prepare himself). but he did not know that and he was not prepared for this situation to suddenly escalate like this. he was unprepared and probably panicking and didn't know what to do so no he wasn't much of a help.

and maybe we should stop acting like this traumatised 14 years old kid needs to solve every problem and act rationally in every situation and not to make any mistakes (especially when he has no knowledge to prepare him for something distressing) and overall just putting everything on his shoulders and then insult and hate him when it does not end up perfectly well

and maybe i'm just being my overprotective extremely defensive self who's looking too much into this who knows

and i can't even properly put into words what i'm trying to say but if it makes sense to someone then great!