#i need them clocking byler together

[lune-moon-nuit]

Someone have the fanfiction of #Byler being Murrayd ??

i have read many fics of byler getting murray’d, i have read many fics of robin having a very queer coded conversation with either mike or will… i would have never thought that murray, and robin, getting paired together in s5 would come to fruition.

do you understand the power they have together to clock byler? do i understand the power they have together clock byler?

the two most honest and real people are gonna conversate and im not ready

[teambyler]

How the Duffers likely will make the general audience AWARE of Byler and CHEER for Byler

First the TL;DR. They'll probably do it with:

Revealing the Painting Lie

Will comes out to Mike

Will gets bullied for being gay, and Mike must make a choice

Mike and Will face danger together, alone, for the 1st time

And I'll spell out exactly how and why!

We in the Byler fandom have our theories: Flickergate, Lettergate, Churchgate, etc. While totally fun and while it would be amazing if they became reality, they don't answer the question of how the Duffers would manage audience expectations to make them accept and cheer for Byler.

Because we all know the reality: on a surface level, season 4 ended with a grand "love confession" from Mike to El. It appeared to have culminated a four-year arc that started from show's beginning. For the vast majority of viewers, a Byler relationship will be a HUGE SURPRISE.

This isn't just heteronormativity; it's also the fact that in every slow-burn romantic relationship in fiction, the story needs to openly tease "Will they or won't they?" for a while first. The audience needs to start thinking that these 2 characters (1) MIGHT be together, and (2) eventually that they SHOULD be together and cheer for them!

For Jonathan and Nancy, there were a lot of moments suggesting they MIGHT be together in Season 1. Then in Season 2, we had THIS episode (where Steve left Nancy wasted at the party) that made the audience think Nancy absolutely SHOULD be with Jonathan instead of Steve:

The show then dragged things out MORE before their first kiss.

Anti-Bylers raise a fair point that there "isn't enough time" to replace a relationship that seemed to have been "fulfilled" at the end of s4, with an entirely different one. Of course, the ground has been laid for four seasons, but HOW EXACTLY can the Duffers make the audience accept and cheer for Byler, after seeming to have "built up Mike and El for 4 seasons"?

Showing Byler is POSSIBLE:

First, the most obvious (and elegant) way for the Duffers to accomplish this is by revealing the Painting Lie.

The main things that make the General Audience/GA dismiss the idea that Mike likes Will back are that he (1) confessed "I love you" to El and (2) said things like "it's not my fault you don't like girls" and "we're FRIENDS" that suggest he can't be gay or bi.

The show has to address these two things, and there are ways that are pretty obvious.

The fact that El had no role in the painting COMPLETELY undercuts the "I love you" confession in the GA's mind. Milevens completely underestimate how this will affect Mike and El's relationship and how the audience will view it. El didn't commission the painting. When Will gave the painting, he wasn't describing El, but himself. Mike confessed his love to this false picture of El, one that was actually WILL.

When El finds out, she'll realize that Mike said he loved her based on a LIE. She'll realize that she accurately clocked Mike for not loving her when they argued in s4. It's likely that she'll take the initiative to break up or take a break in their relationship. (El deciding this will assuage concern that Will being with Mike would "betray" his own sister.) Mike might desperately try to repair things. Even if he does, this will show the GA that Mike's struggle for an entire season to say he loved El -- already very concerning for a romantic couple -- was a complete fiasco, and that Mike and El will PROBABLY NOT end up together.

Mike (and the GA) will be confronted with the fact that Mike felt romantic love for the first time because Will described HIMSELF. It will be apparent that Will would be a more suitable romantic interest... if he were a girl. =) It's just too bad that "Mike is probably straight"!

Now how to deal with that misconception?

We come to our OTHER Chekhov's gun that needs to fire: Will comes out to Mike. Will is still closeted at the end of s4, and his right to be out and find happiness is clearly central to his future arc. This HAS to be resolved. And he HAS to come out to his mom and his BEST FRIEND.

When he comes out to Mike, he of course won't spurn Will. Will probably explains he didn't come out earlier because he was afraid Mike would be homophobic because of what he'd said that summer, "It's not my fault you don't like girls":

If Will does, then Mike will have to explain why he said it. First, Mike probably apologizes and makes clear he accepts Will. The show (maybe Mike himself) might remind us that he defended Will from homophobia in s1. But this makes the GA wonder "Then why did he say it then?" And Mike might be exceedingly defensive when explaining himself. Will coming out to Mike is a golden opportunity to show the GA that NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS, and Mike might be dealing with internalized homophobia.

That's one way to signal that Mike might be gay or bi. And there's another!

We've been told that Season 5 returns to Season 1 themes. The Core Four are probably bullied for the Hellfire Club, and Will might be bullied for being gay. Ross Duffer says that s5 will center on Will's "emotional arc" and his "coming into his own as a young man," so his confronting homophobia in an 80s small town is quite likely. Since Mike and Will are joined at the hip in s5, the same accusation could easily extend to Mike. All this means that Mike will be confronted with the CHOICE of whether he'll stand up to anti-gay bullying. (Perhaps this is why there's a BTS pic of Mike with a bruise on his face?) It might be strongly implied to the GA that Mike is standing up, not only for Will, but for himself. Shrewd viewers would see the parallel to Mike defending Will from homophobia in s1, making them rethink that scene as well. (Defending Will would also clearly parallel Jonathan fighting Steve in s1, which showed Nancy that "only love makes you that crazy sweetheart, and that damn stupid.")

How Season 5 can make the GA CHEER for Byler:

Showing Byler is possible is the main obstacle; next is the much easier, and FUN (and agonizing) part!

First, the show has put Will through so much trauma and made clear how selfless he is, that the audience already wants him to have a happy ending. He almost certainly will suffer again in s5. We probably are reminded that as a gay person in the 80s he believes he's "not gonna fall in love." Meanwhile, the show has made clear that his love for Mike is PAINFULLY deep and won't simply go away.

Once the GA sees the POSSIBILITY of a Mike/Will romance as per above, their mental floodgates will open. As Jancy shows, It doesn't take much to get the audience to root for a relationship, after the seeds are planted. And Byler has FOUR SEASONS of seeds for the GA to look back on with fresh eyes!

How to recall those 4 seasons of material? We already know that Will is in danger and we'll see a return of "leader Mike" in s5. This likely will include callbacks (and even flashbacks) to Mike and Will's relationship in s1 and s2. There's the newly-filmed flashback from when they were young kids. This all will bring their long-time closeness to the fore in viewers' minds. But with the artifice of Mike's relationship with El knocked away, they will see it as potentially romantic and realize that this show seems to have secretly been building them up as a romantic couple all along.

Add to all that: we likely will have Will and Mike facing danger together, alone, for the first time:

It was Jonathan and Nancy facing danger together in s1 that made the vast majority of viewers ship Jancy. Mike and Will facing danger will put their LOVE (remember: the audience already accepts them as best friends who love each other!) and their willingness to RISK THEIR LIVES for each other to the fore. Callbacks, flashbacks, and dialogue will remind the GA of their sacrifices for each other: Mike putting Will before everything in s1 and s2, and Will sacrificing his feelings to help Mike be with El. They might hug each other after a near-death experience and have a mutual Gay Panic, which will be a callback (and contrast) to their non-hug at the airport. Millions will say "They should just kiss already."

There are SO MANY WAYS to get the audience cheering for Byler.

Will probably lives in Mike's house because the Byers don't have their own house in Hawkins anymore. Mike, if he doesn't know already at the season's start, will KNOW the painting came from Will and wonder if it was romantic. The tension between them in s5 will make s4 look like nothing in comparison.

When Will comes out to him, Mike might ask, "Is... there anyone you like?"

He'll ask NERVOUSLY, like he once did before:

Will probably won't answer honestly; he might make up another boy! ("I met him in California. We like a lot of the same things. He even likes D&D...") To which Mike says, "COOL." (BTW, this could obviously echo the airport scene and make viewers reassess and understand that as another miscommunication!) This leads to a new cycle of these two boys thinking their love is unrequited LOL.

Only this time the General Audience will be fully aware of it. The miscommunication trope widely used in fictional TV romances will not only tell the GA that Byler should happen, but WILL happen. Will and Mike become THE "Will they or won't they?" couple that everyone is talking about. Mike's sexuality and his feelings for Will probably aren't officially revealed until mid or late season in order to let the excitement build. If Season 5 is released in more than one volume, there will be a flurry of videos and articles revisiting past seasons, finding evidence of Mike's feelings for Will that we Bylers have analyzed and curated for years. Except for a few vocal homophobes, the show will make the GA (even people who don't watch analysis videos online) fully onboard with a Byler conclusion before it happens; the SHOW ITSELF will set-up and tease it and make the GA desperately want these boys to "just kiss already."

Season 5 will be messy. And glorious. And the most Byler season of all.

-teambyler

[queen-of-hawkins-why-ler]

Jonathan literally knows y'all. Like it makes me giddy, no one is going to need to tell him about Byler bc he spent half of his screentime in season 4 interrupting them and somberly watching them from afar, and he KNOWS about Mike, too. Literally, was standing in the doorway observing their flirtation in the bedroom scene, watched them in the mirror's reflection during the entire van scene, watched Will pine for Mike in the pizza parlor, saw all the little looks they were giving each other and how close they were sitting together while El was in the freezer.

Bro spent half a season clocking the gays, and there will be no scene where Will comes to Jonathan for advice or Mike comes to Jonathan for advice, or someone brings it up to Jonathan, because I'm fairly certain Jonathan will be the first character to outwardly acknowledge Byler. Like, in some ways he's even more in the know about it than Joyce is. Joyce knows about Byler sharing a special connection from a young age, but Jonathan is, in real time, watching grown, young adult Byler blossom into something romantic and passionate. Cannot wait for him to drop the bomb that like, "Anyways, Mike and Will are deeply in love with each other" to Nancy or Joyce. I wouldn't be surprised if he literally encourages Mike and Will to talk to each other because he's that certain that their love is reciprocated.

[steddielicious-quaerhye]

Stupid little headcanons I wanted to share

These may or may not have been influenced by the thousands of fics I’ve read and since incorporated into my standard headcanon. 

Lucas and Dustin have clocked Byler since they were ten. In their attempts to be the Best Allies Ever, their secret first kisses are with each other, where it’s clearly established that neither of them like boys. 

Robin and Steve shower together and help exfoliate/moisturize each other’s backs. 

Wayne is gay. 

Joyce is bi, which Hopper knows and supports. 

Max and Lucas fight over who gets to be the little spoon. 

Mike feels such immense guilt about his feelings for Will (his ex’s brother), that he comes across as homophobic, in that he’s Very Uncomfortable whenever the topic of queerness comes up. 

Nancy and Jonathan eventually get to a comfort level in their relationship that they realize they love when she pegs him. 

Will, El, and Max have their own little trio (once the Hopper-Byers tribe moves back to Hawkins). Max and El are fully aware that Will is in love with Mike and question him on his taste, but are the staunchest Allies. 

Steve and Tommy were each other's first kisses, but lie and tell everyone that Carol was for both of them.

Will, El, and Max also have been stealing weed from Jonathan and Argyle since they found out that it quiets the Upside Downies (aka anxiety, depression, memories of possession, etc.)

Lucas, Mike, and Dustin are firmly in the camp of freshman/sophomores who try their hardest to drink beer because it’s cool, but hate the flavour. (Lucas secretly likes the flavour of beer; he just doesn’t like being drunk.)

Chrissy survives and is very gay and repressed, in dire need of Robin to come expand her mind. 

Billy was some sort of queer and did not take it well. Neither did Neil, when he found out, and that’s the real reason they left California. 

Steve is an excellent baker. 

Eddie is secretly a massive hockey fan and a decent skater, but hides it from the Party since he doesn’t want to be a hypocrite about pucks and sideways laundry baskets. 

Erica has a crush on Dustin and will never admit it. 

The Neverending Story theme song always makes Hopper choke up. When he was in Russia, he’d hum it to himself in memory of everyone working together, so he’s got heavy emotional ties to it. 

Under his clothes, Eddie’s body is a sleeker version of (the very modern) Damiano David, especially because of the mix of gorgeous and shit and meme tattoos. 

Steve becomes a firefighter and eventual fire chief of Hawkins, while Eddie opens his own tattoo shop that has a secret queer lit backroom library. 

[kakerutori]

Byler headcanons - an extremely domestic sharing things edition!!

Because I thought of one thing and couldn’t stop

They both use 3-in-1 shampoo because they’re insane

A domestic given but they share a calendar and Mike loves Will’s little doodles for holidays, events, anniversaries, and so on

The kitchen is never individually occupied. When one of them cooks, the other is back-hugging them or they’re making things together

Blankets are also never individually occupied because cuddles

When noise cancelling headphones drop they’re both obsessed, fighting over sharing a single pair on and off

Whenever they go on walks Will takes right earbud and Mike takes the left as they listen to their shared playlist. They also hold hands btw

Every meal is basically split between them and they always feed each other

Like literally no meal, snack, candy, beverage, nothing is safe from being consumed by the both of them at any point

They have one car they use to commute to work (at a comic/editing company of course)

Similarly, they arrange for similar work shifts so that they can use the same alarm clock (and failsafe: if one of them doesn’t wake up, the other kisses them awake)

They get a house together btw

They also get a dog and go on walks together :)

And/or a cat and play with them together :)

They love stealing each other’s clothes, especially t-shirts to wear to bed

But most socks and belts are automatically in a share pile

They like to read together too, sometimes cuddling after a long day of work and reading from the same book even if they read at different paces they’ll always wait for each other before turning the page

They both need glasses and at one point have the same prescription for each eye so they often accidentally use each other’s glasses

Stealing sunglasses is also a very common occurrence

They keep a notebook together for creative ideas and build off of each other

Also, their pens and pencils never have a fixed spot, they’re always being passed back and forth around the house

They’ll share a toothbrush when they forget to buy some more (I hated writing this one but why does it feel right)

Sometimes they share gum, too (now this one’s even grosser to me for some reason lol)

The one thing they won’t share is lollipops. Gum is no problem but this crosses the line lmao

[wewebaggit]

The Big Byler Theory

This might not be well structured but I will try not to be all over the place and keep it as short as possible. So here goes.

How it's gone so far

First and foremost, Mike's got to earn it. He has been a bit of a bitch and an asshole and has not yet learned the art of apologising. The show and Mike rest on Will's enthusiasm to forgive and forget to make it seem like all's fine and dandy. Mike hasn't apologised for his homophobic remark in season 3 and neither has he apologised for repeatedly ignoring Will. (season 4 apology was lame sowie) Mike has to learn to make amends (not just with Will) and take responsibility for his words. You can't just be the heart and then simultaneously be the asshole.

Will on the other hand needs to get to a point where he "doesn't hate himself" or at least makes major improvement in his self worth. His arc can't be about realising that he's deserving of Mike's love. But love in general.

Van Scene/Garage Scene aka Byler create a Scene

People talk about how Mike doesn't make him feel like a mistake at all and apply it to Mike making him feel like he's okay/better for being gay. NO. Mike's love and friendship makes him better for being different. Different in the way he's small and shy and easily intimidated but better cuz he feels like he can voice his opinions in front of Mike. Different in the way that his clothes are colourful, he draws and is artsy and sensitive and has been regularly bullied for those qualities even by his own father but better cuz Mike plasters his art everywhere. Different in the way that his songs are "stupid" or not Kenny Rogers but better cuz he can sing them around Mike anyway. Different in the way that he was possessed by a netherworldly entity and used as a spy but better cuz Mike made him their super spy. Different in how he was alone on the swings and Mike walked up to him and asked him to be his friend and it was the best thing he ever did. Different in the way he feels not everyone understands him but better cuz Mike does and would be gladly go crazy together with him. Different in how he is usually treatedlike a baby, like a freak but better cuz Mike doesn't treat him differently at all.

But that does not give Mike a pass. The 2020fication of the 80s or the post-homophobiafication of humanity in general has made people excuse homophobia just because it came from a gay guy. People need to realise that just because you suspect someone to be homophobic, you don't just cut them out of your life. Many do. Many don't. There's militant homophobia and then there's the hate the sin not the sinner homophobia. And everything in between. So Will regardless of what he thinks about Mike's homophobia is not just gonna dump his ass. As far as Will knows Mike's just straight. He does not have Tumblr perspective. Heck he has lesser than casual viewer perspective. So his gayness is still definitely something Mike doesn't make him feel better about. Cuz Mike doesn't even know for one. And Mike is just rubbing his relationship in his face even if it's not about being homophobic but just a bad friend. (In Will's POV)

And no. This is not to call Mike the devil's spawn. But to say that an express apology is fundamental to his own arc. Because to apologise to Will he must first forgive himself for wanting what he wants.

I resent the idea that Mike is aware of AND willing to explore his feelings for Will but ONLY stops himself because he loves El so so much and doesn't want to lose her. Makes no sense. She hasn't really been sending him any signals of wanting to chuck him out of her life.

Mike's arc is about conformism. And it is because he's someone who can successfully do it without being "clocked". He isn't scared to lose her. He is scared to lose his shield. He's scared to face his "difference" cuz if he doesn't have a girlfriend he is only a boy who doesn't really want girlfriends and honestly can't get girlfriends.

And again that's not a commentary on his frog face or inability to rizz up or whatever the kids are calling it these days. It is his canon inability to know anything about dating a girl. Something that is very instinctual. (Confusion over how to get back El vs just knowing to go after Will). He keeps looking up to Lucas who's by no means an expert since that's his first relationship too. But my boy Sinclair has his hetero instincts with him. Puberty slapped Mike hard and he is now not only aware that he's attracted to boys but also that he's not attracted to girls.

It's his defensiveness and self-hate that made him lash out at Will. Was he projecting? Yes. But was he really remorseful? No. Because he intended to say what he did. That's what people do when they're defensive. Cuz it was an entirely disproportionate response to "some stupid girl". Also a hetero would know bros before hoes. (ik shit) But he completely cuts off his bros? Ya. So so straight. As seen with Lucas not finding it hard to find a balance. (It's been like this all summer - Lucas Sinclair himself said it).

So what does it mean for Byler? (That is so horribly underdeveloped LMAO I can't even bt that's for a different day).

How it should go moving forward (I feel/hope/pray/manifest)

Well, the timing of it could be anything. But that painting is gonna be brought up. And it is going to be messy. I know people want Mike to be sad and not angry, but sad and angry is just so much better and makes sense. There is a fight. Because neither are ready to lay it all out in the open. You don't suddenly gain that confidence. I hope they're separated after. If it is because of avoidance, different team ups, or both. Doesn't matter. They both need time with their thoughts and the time being spent thinking about their own selves. This growth may be through convos with their loved ones and some other self reflective moments. I think that Mike's gonna get a coming out scene most probably with Karen. Will might get a scene like the one he already got in SBP with Jonathan but maybe with Joyce. (I hope she needs to make a comeback as a mother.) It could be a private moment or a Byers family moment. I don't want a party coming out. I want the boys to share this with the people that are closest to them and their fiercest supporters and rocks. Karen for Mike and Joyce n Jonatan for Will. Also, I think it's Mike who's gonna HAVE TO expressly say it while Will's could go either way. This is cuz of the differences in their circumstances - in/visible gayness.

How do they get together? Well believe it or not, a lot of unnecessary supernatural and sci-fi plot shit is crammed in (bullshit right?) and maybe they're now more okay being around each other cuz their deepest fears have been mostly assuaged. They don't feel alone with their truth and therefore, their place in the world does not rest on the reciprocity of their feelings. Imagine not HAVING to need each other but CHOOSING to. Cuz they just really really really want it. And it would make them happy. How they pursue each other is by not hiding. Nothing too brave I feel. Just being themselves. The vibes will carry. How THE getting together scene goes - I don't know. Surprise me, honestly. But for all the shit treatment their storyline has gotten so far I want s5 to fix it so well that WHEN it happens we all go crazy together! 💙💛

[castlebyersafterdark]

do you think part of heteronormativity is shame, as well? i've been watching a reactor called hannah on YT who has been SO astute so far about all things ST4. we just reached papa and she didnt mention will being in love w mike during the van... although maybe she already clocked it and it was so obvious that she didnt feel the need to say it. she was crying like 'tell mike what YOU need as well tho!'

i just found it odd as she is rooting for rovickie and she is very perceptive in other details, like how eleven doesnt want mike to call her a superhero (during their fight scene in ep3), how lumax have the most genuine established romance of the kids, and also she has lots to say on the conflicting nuance of brenner.

i think its a combo of it being mike and will within the party that throws people off, as though it would be lazy writing from a distance for the coincidence of two party members to get together, let alone be gay. max came later so she doesnt count - arguably she only was allowed to join the party because dustin and lucas had a crush on her. unless you recognise that this story could be about two boys who happen to be friends and then fall in love, which is just as likely as any two straight friends falling in love, then i think people see it as too coincidental because of heteronormativity.

but i also think there's a taboo aspect to how good it would be. friends to lovers almost feels too good to be true anyway, because its so safe and wholesome and it isnt most people's experience of romance and love. make it two boys, who would understand each other on a level that a mixed gender couple never could, and it seems magic you know? theyre so lucky to have found each other.

It would be interesting to know if anything else about Will and Mike as an item, an idea was noticed or mentioned. I see a lot of this stuff always hinges on the van scene, but to me the van scene is so unsubtle that it it smacks you over the face with a surfboard about Will's being in love with Mike, but you can see what's happening between them so much earlier in the season. This was the culmination of the lead up. "I think there's someone Will likes" re: the painting, El says, and then Will shows up to the airport with the painting???? That literally clocked it for me and I wasn't even shipping Byler at that point!! How do people not get that? Unless they are fully all in on Mileven and have a blinder on for anything that would clock to detract from their precious MikeandEl.

All those moments before the van speech. Will staring sadly behind Mike and El. The way he's staring at Mike in his house, their talks where Will is tearing up, grabbing the painting again. Staring at Mike in the desert again. This season was just WILL IS IN LOVE WITH MIKE AND WE'RE MAKING THAT REALLY OBVIOUS and people still don't get it from the van scene, or barely understand by the end. I do not understand.

So there's gotta be an agenda, the media analysis and observation cannot be this bad. They're not looking for it, they don't want it, they are blinded by the terrible, falling apart straight couple. Which is so silly to me, because the Will in love with Mike factor is baked into every aspect of Mileven in this season. You cannot separate one from another. IT'S A LITERAL LOVE TRIANGLE. THERE ARE THREE POINTS.

Maybe it's them being these best friends and people are so up in arms about "we need to see healthy male friendships and can't guys just be friends, we should celebrate platonic love" like that's ever been threatened or not shown, are yall kidding me? This only gets brought up when queer characters are shown to possibly have something real occurring. Platonic relationships are not underrepresented. I can see that being the flimsy argument people who deny Byler want to throw out as to why it's about them strengthening and restoring their best friendship rather than a relationship - but that's what they want to see, not what we watching are seeing.

Friends to lovers being the thing - yeah, that one also might give people pause. I think along with Mileven - there's this romantic angle a lot of people prefer. Saving the mysterious girl from the woods and the boy who saved her and how they fall in love. It's very safe and generic, to be honest. Sounds a lot like something from any run of the mill YA fantasy novel. Childhood friends to lovers is special and specific and add in the two boys angle... it's not what the masses might be used to. But it's what they're getting!! I hope that a lot of people will see this story play out and it might shake their normalcy or preconceived outline for what a story like this can deliver, challenge their biases and basic interests. I think some won't get it, will hate it, but others might not know how cool and wonderful and special it might be until they see it right there spelled out and they won't have to conclude on their own. Especially the tell don't show people.

[notebooknonbinary]

Byler Week, Day 4: Summer Love

I opted to write an AU where Byler got together some weeks before the events of season 3. And then rewrote Suzie Do You Copy with that in mind lol. I’ll post this to ao3 (bc it’s Finished for once) when I finish the other fics for Byler Week.

Being boyfriends is only a little bit different than being best friends, in Will’s opinion. This is partly because they can only really be boyfriends in the safety of Will’s room. There, they’re free to hold hands and sit far too close together—Mike writing poems (for Will’s eyes only), and Will filling page after page of his sketchbook with Mike’s face.

But even being best friends is now better than it used to be, with that last secret no longer weighing Will down. Mike feels like his safe harbor in the wild storm of life.

A safe harbor that he so desperately needs. He’s been having…moments occasionally, these past couple weeks. Moments that feel like last fall’s ‘episodes’—never quite so bad as then, he’s always aware of where he is—but times when he almost feels like the Upside Down’s presence is near.

It happened last night, at the movie theater—the double date. Max and Lucas hadn’t been aware it was a double date…but for the few seconds before the feeling hit, sitting with Mike in a crowded movie theater, knees touching and sharing an armrest…he’d felt like a normal kid on a date with his boyfriend.

Then that feeling, like an icy hand had run it’s way up his neck. Bad, awful. No no no no please not again. Like so many times last year.

Mike had noticed immediately. Of course he did. He’d immediately checked with Will.

And Will almost said something. He knew Mike would believe him. He’d drop everything to figure out if something More was going on again.

But…

But they were on a date. He didn’t want to ruin that. So he shrugged and gave Mike a wry smile. “Air conditioning is chilly.” Which distracted Mike and gave them an excuse to huddle even closer together.

If it happens again, Will promised himself. I’ll tell Mike if it happens again.

Afterwards, they left Max and Lucas behind to finish their own date (aka walking around the mall and window shopping together) and went back to Will’s house. And had opted to sleep in the living room for obvious, sharing-a-wall-with-Jonathan reasons.

Reasons that are now making Jonathan go to work late with lipstick smudged on his face.

“Gross,” Will mutters to Mike, who nods in emphatic agreement. They’ve both agreed that though they are happy their siblings are happy, it’s still disgusting.

If Will walks in on them making out (ew) one more time, he’s breaking into Jonathan’s room while he’s at work and drawing dicks on his posters.

“You’re not gonna think it’s gross when you fall in love,” Joyce teases as she sits down with them.

Will blushes and focuses on putting syrup on his eggs, doing his best to not glance in Mike’s direction. Part of him thinks that his mom already knows—whether just the fact that his interests lies with boys, specifically with Mike, or that Mike reciprocates that feeling.

A beat too late, Will says. “I’d still be disgusted.”

“Okay,” Joyce chuckles.

After breakfast, Will and Mike go back to Will’s room to finish planning Dustin’s surprise welcome back, and cuddle a bit. The talk doesn’t last very long, the cuddling too comfortable and lulling them both in a drowsy state of relaxation.

But Will glances over at the clock eventually, and realizes the time. Dustin should be on his way back within an hour. Which means Hop is dropping El off here.

“El is coming over soon,” Will reminds him, beginning to pull away from Mike’s warm koala-like embrace.

“But cuddles,” Mike whines, inching closer again but only half serious.

“And Hop is coming too,” Will adds, and laughs when that immediately works to make Mike sit up.

“He’s just coming to flirt at your mom,” he mutters, which makes Will groan and shove him off the bed.

“Don’t make me think about that!”

“Well you’re the one who brought him up in the first place!” Mike whines, climbing to his feet and stretching.

Will is so busy staring at the line of Mike’s shoulders that it takes him a long moment to reply. “Uh.” He shakes his head. “I didn’t want to make El upset by us cuddling when she got here,” he admits.

Mike’s face softens from teasing rage to affection. “I told you, you don’t have to worry about El. She’s not jealous anymore. She’s already said that she thinks she wouldn’t have enjoyed dating me anyway.”

Will shrugs. “I guess. I just, if I’d been in her shoes—” Which he almost had been. “—it would have hurt, to see the person I lo—like cuddling with someone else.”

Will feels his face go hot at his almost slip. He hopes Mike hasn’t caught it. He jumps to his feet. “Anyway!! We gotta get ready to greet Dustin!”

-

They’ve put together a poster—well, Will’s done most of the drawing, but he’s not gonna brag.

Mike does most of the bragging for him.

“Will made you a poster and everything,” he says, grinning and leaning most of his weight on Will, like it’s not eighty degrees in Dustin’s room.

(Will can’t actually find it in him to mind.)

“And whose idea was it to sneak up on me?” Dustin asks dryly.

“Max,” Will and Mike say together. And Dustin sighs, glaring out his bedroom door. Out in the kitchen, they can hear Max and Lucas playfully squabbling while they clean out Lucas’s poor eyes. Dustin sighs again and turns back to the rest of them.

“The moving toys were a nice touch,” he compliments El, who beams.

“I’ve been practicing.”

“So you were gonna show us your inventions?” Mike asks. “I’m kind of jealous, honestly.”

He says that, but Will knows Mike had the opportunity a few years ago to go to a summer camp. But he’d thrown a fit at the idea of being separated from Will for a whole two months, so in the end he hadn’t gone. Mr. Wheeler had been mad about it for weeks—well, as mad as the man ever got, anyway.

But Dustin brightens at the question, a bounce in his step. “Oh man, yes! You guys are gonna be so impressed!”

And his inventions are impressive.

It blows Will’s mind if he thinks about it, how smart his entire friend group is—but especially Dustin. He’s like a mad scientist sometimes.

Mad scientists don’t generally come back from summer camp with girlfriends, however. In this, apparently, Dustin is the exception.

Which is how the entire Party finds themselves trekking their way up a hill in borderline 90 degree heat, ostensibly to use Dustin’s self-made Ham radio to talk to his Mormon girlfriend, Suzie.

-

After a brief moment where Mike has to point out and help Dustin untangle a wire that got crossed on the way up here, the radio tower is set up. It’s a feat of creation, but Will’s feeling too exhausted by the trip that he feels a little bit annoyed by it.

He’s so tired, he almost doesn’t notice another familiar chill go down his neck and spine. Oh god. No.

But, he promised himself if it happened again he’d tell Mike. It’s honestly probably better that everyone is here, though Will hates to take them out of their peaceful summer.

He sighs and opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, there’s a crackle on the radio.

“Dusty?” says a girl’s voice.

“Suzie-poo!!!” Dustin cheers. “I’ve brought my friends to meet you!”

“Suzie-poo?” Mike hisses into Will’s ear.

Momentarily distracted from his worry, Will bites back a giggle and shrugs.

He tries to imagine giving Mike a cutesy nickname like that—Mikey-Wikey?—and snorts. When Mike raises an eyebrow, he shakes his head. “Tell you later.”

“It’s nice to meet my Dusty-bun’s friends,” Suzie says. “Though I can’t stay on long, I have to help my siblings prepare dinner.”

They talk with her for a bit. Suzie seems fun and good for Dustin. Will’s happy for him, all earlier resentment gone.

The moment earlier is still sticking to the back of his mind like slime. He knows he has to bring it up once they’re done talking to Suzie.

And indeed, once she and Dustin have exchanged their last ‘I-miss-you-already’ and signed off, Will opens his mouth to speak. But, once again, he’s interrupted by the radio crackling again.

And this time, it’s not Suzie.

-

Bad, Upside Down feelings, and some random Russian translation? Is Will never going to get one break? Even just for one full year?

Once Dustin’s gotten the recording of the man, Will finally tells them what he felt earlier and yesterday.

Not entirely surprisingly, Mike is upset that Will didn’t mention it last night. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Will obviously can’t say the truth in front of their friends, so he shrugs. “Didn’t want to ruin the night.” Our date, goes unsaid.

Mike sighs and nods. “Sleepover at my house?” he suggests. “Maybe we have a Russian translation book somewhere in the mess.”

Will’s doubtful of that—Ted Wheeler’s detestment of anything related to so-called communists springs to mind.

-

Later, once they’ve torn apart the basement looking for a nonexistent translation book, the Party collectively agree to put the planning off until tomorrow. Talk turns back to Dustin’s new girlfriend.

“So that’s everyone except Will,” Dustin says eventually, brightly, turning expectant eyes towards him.

Will raises his eyebrows. “Everyone but me, what?”

“Who’s gotten a kiss!”

Then Lucas and Dustin are off, chattering away at potentially trying to set Will up with the (apparently) numerous girls in their grade that have crushes on him. The concept is, frankly, horrifying. Next to him, he can feel Mike beginning to tense up, curling and uncurling his hands into the fabric of the couch.

(Will knows now, from whispered conversations during recent sleepovers, that Mike sometimes feels a little jealous toward the girls that have had crushes on Will. Mike’s not proud of it, and it’s something they’re both working on—Will has his own tiny silent beats of jealousy towards Mike’s past crush on El.)

“I’ve had my first kiss,” Will blurts, cutting into the argument.

Mike goes very, very still.

“You have?” Lucas blurts, eyes wide. Then, grinning proudly, he asks, “Tell us about her!”

“Was she a good kisser?” Max adds, nodding immediately. She’s grinning.

Will feels himself getting redder and redder, desperately wanting to hide his face in his hands. He turns to silently beg Mike for help, but neither he nor Mike are mind readers.

No, instead Mike’s seen that none of their friends have an inkling of the truth and he’s beginning to smile himself. Traitor.

“Yeah, Will,” he teases gently. “Was she a good kisser?”

Will tries to kill Mike with his eyes. But his boyfriend’s bright grin draws Will’s eyes to his mouth. Eyes caught there, Will finds himself speaking automatically. “I mean, I don’t have anyone to measure hi-her against, but I think she was a very good kisser.”

That mouth curls into a proud smirk.

“Was she pretty?” El’s smiling softly, knowingly. She’s the only one who knows the truth.

This one is an automatic, honest response. “The most beautiful person in the world.”

Mike blinks, grin falling and face turning pinker. Will watches the color travel from his cheeks to blotch at his neck. Now it’s his turn to look desperately like he wants to hide his face in his hands.

On the one hand, revenge (even unintended) is sweet. But on the other hand, Will hopes he hasn’t made Mike uncomfortable. Mike gets oddly shy about being perceived sometimes. Probably because of all the bullying they’ve faced.

(Will wants to go back in time and break Troy’s other arm.)

El, clearly the most of observant of their friends, sees the dilemma and turns to distraction. “I would like to watch a movie. That’s a sleepover activity, isn’t it?”

Max nods. “Heck yeah! And since it was your suggestion, that means you get to pick!”

Dustin groans. “No, she’s gonna pick Grease again!”

El smiles smugly. “I like Grease.” She leads them all away to search for the cassette, turning to look at Will and Mike. “Snacks please?”

“Thank you,” Will mouths at her. She giggles.

Will drags a somewhat unresponsive boyfriend upstairs and into the kitchen. He sets popcorn to cook, then sits at the dining table.

After the movie starts playing downstairs (the volume is up too loud, Will can hear the Paramount theme music from here), Mike sits down beside Will.

“Do you really…think I’m beautiful?” he asks.

Will nods immediately. “Mike, genuinely—even putting aside my feelings for you—you are so pretty and handsome.” He smiles at him shyly. “And with my feelings in the equation, I don’t think I’d ever find anyone more beautiful.”

Mike goes a deeper red and leans against him, hiding his face in Will’s shoulder. “Thank you. I think you’re really pretty too.”

They sit like this until the popcorn is almost done, then race around gathering the rest of the snacks. They’re near juggling by the time they’ve gotten everything.

Mike smiles at Will and jerks his head towards the basement door. “Ready?”

Will nods, beaming back. “After you, Mike.”

Downstairs, Summer Nights is playing. Will can hear Mike humming along. All the worries of tomorrow (Russian transmissions, the Upside Down) seem far away and unimportant in this moment.

“Summer days, drifting away, to oh, oh those Summer nights.”

[autistic-robin]

dysfunctional, angsty el-mike-will fic because i really wanted to write from a byler-aware el’s pov

PART I : EL

The first time she killed the demogorgon, all the way back in ‘83, El thought it was over. The flashing lights sending shadows rippling over Mike’s face, the fear in his eyes as she turned toward the monster, the sound of its screech unfolding around her like Papa calling her name. 

She thought she was gone. But there wasn’t any fear in her, not like there was when she was alone in the lab, not like there was when she hurt Lucas, sent him flying across the junkyard. She was not the monster; she was the sacrifice. She was the protector. Enough, she’d said. No more. She wonders now, three years later in the cold white-walled hospital, how different everything would be if she really had died. Would Max still be alive? Would Mike still be cold to Will? Would Hopper be okay, with just Joyce? She knows it is morbid, but with Max asleep and Mike angry and Will far-away in his head, El feels alone. A small part of her wonders if that is how it was always supposed to be.

She shifts in the waiting room chair, cold leather sticking to her legs. She is waiting for Steve, who is on his way to pick her up. He told her he would be here at four-one-five. Four fifteen. El has been watching the clock on the wall, watching the minute hand tick past three, then four, then five. He is late. 

“Those chairs suck, don’t they?” 

El looks up at the sound of his voice, sees him rushing over to her, looking frazzled. 

|  frazzled: adjective. showing the effects of exhaustion or strain.  | 

“They are not that bad,” El lies, but she still takes Steve’s hand when he offers to help her up. “Where were you?”

He rubs a hand along the back of his neck, apologetic. Guilty. Before Max, El only knew how guilty felt. Now she knows how it looks: shifting eyes, strained smile, weighed-down shoulders. She sees it in Lucas and she sees it in the mirror, every day. 

And now, in Steve.

“Sorry, I was…” he shakes his head, like he’s clearing a thought away. Meets her eyes. “I was helping Little Wheeler with something. He needed some advice.”

El quirks an eyebrow at him. “About Will?”

Steve blanches, blinking a little like he’s Dustin working out a physics problem. “Uh— What do you mean, kiddo?”

He sounds cautious. Careful. El rolls her eyes, feels a small smile tug at her lips. Steve is so oblivious. 

“You really think I haven’t figured it out? I am not stupid. I have seen them together, the way Mike looks at him. I—,”

Steve’s eyes go wide-wide, and El wishes she had Jonathan’s camera. 

“Listen, kid, I swore an oath. Of secrecy.” He shakes his head like he’s clearing a fog. “Doesn’t matter. C’mon, it’s late. I told the others I’d have you back by six today. The Chief’ll kill me if we’re a second later, we both know that.”

He means the cabin. Where El and  Hopper and the rest of the Party have been staying on a “rotational basis,” ever since the rifts opened. That means Mike and Nancy stay over on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Dustin and Lucas stay over on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Weekends are spent at the hospital or Hawkins Middle, volunteering. Hopper and Joyce meet up with Murray to strategize every Sunday night, which means El needs to be picked up from the hospital by someone else— sometimes Jonathan, sometimes Nancy, but mostly Steve. He has a car and the most free time out of all of them with everything that is going on.

El did not know Steve very well before all of this— the apocalypse, the Party is calling it, even though Hopper and Joyce don’t like it when they do. Anyway, whatever it is has changed everything, because now El and Steve are friends. Kind of. 

When they get on the road, Steve pulls a mixtape out of the backpack he carries everywhere. It is a Cyndi Lauper mix that he stole from Robin, and El is not allowed, under any circumstances, to tell her or anyone— Dustin included— that he has it, or her ass is grass. They listen to it every time Steve drives her home. 

“Hurry up, Steve!” El says as he shoves it in the tape-player, and he laughs. The opening synth lines of ‘When You Were Mine’ shake through the car, and Steve rolls down the windows and whoops into the night air, and for a split-second the hot pain lodged behind El’s ribs melts. 

“I know, that you're goin' with another guy; I don't care, 'cause I love you baby that's no lie,” Cyndi croons, and El giggles out the words with her as Steve pitches his voice up comically. He sounds like a dying goose. 

“Steve, eyes on the road!” El shrieks when he closes his eyes to belt the chorus. He snaps to attention, turning the music down against her protests. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he says, laughing. “Got carried away.”

El rolls her eyes, grinning. Things settle down then, the car going quiet and still as the sky darkens outside. Hawkins is pretty at night, El thinks, no matter what Jonathan says. The sky goes all gray-purple, like Will’s watercolors, and sometimes if she’s lucky, the moon follows them home. Tonight, though, it’s hidden behind the clouds— they are looming and dark, worse than the day the gates opened up. 

El turns away from the window.

By the time they make it back to the cabin, the sky is ink-black outside. Nancy’s car is parked on the dirt path a ways away. Steve rolls up beside it and parks just as the front door of the cabin swings open and El’s dad steps out onto the porch.

“You’re late,” Hopper says gruffly to Steve, shading his eyes against their headlights. 

El hops out of the passenger’s seat and bounds across the space between them, pulling him into a one-armed hug. He smells like coffee and pine needles. There is a permanent furrow in his brow. 

“We were listening to music,” El says by way of greeting. “Got carried away.”

Steve runs a hand through his hair, a gesture El has come to understand is a nervous tic. “Sorry, Chief. You know how the kid gets about Cyndi Lauper. Not that I— I don’t listen to that crap, but… anyway. It won’t happen again.”

Hopper raises his eyebrows. Steve smiles sheepishly. El looks between them. 

“What’s for dinner?” she asks. 

Inside, Joyce is making burrito bowls for everyone— canned beans and tomatoes, pre-packaged rice, things they stocked up on the week after everything went off the rails. They scavenged enough to last them a solid five months, at least according to Jonathan. The Byers family knows how to ration; El learned when they first moved to California. Even though Joyce had a nice new job, they were very careful about saving food. Back then, though, the food was less bland. Now it is an endless rotation of canned vegetables, rice, and “non-perishable” fruit in jars. Pantry staples, Will called them when they explored the remnants of the Quick-Mart on this side of town. 

|  remnants: plural noun. a small remaining quantity of something; a surviving trace.  |

Now, El looks around at the remnants of the people of Hawkins: Joyce, handing dinner plates to Will and Mike; Jonathan, pulling out a chair at the table for Nancy; Hopper and Steve, trailing into the kitchen. Robin and Argyle and Murray will be here soon with the rest of the Party— they’ve been volunteering all day. A calm spills over her as she looks at her friends. Her family. The surviving trace. 

“El, hey,” Will says over the chatter, waving her over. He and Mike are seated at the kitchen table across from Jonathan and Nancy. “Mom’s got a plate for you in the kitchen. How was— how are you?”

There. It’s there again, behind her ribs: the ache. Max’s absence is punching a hole through her, and it’s growing every day. 

El swallows. “The hospital was fine. It was the same. Max is still asleep.”

Mike isn’t looking at her. He pushes his rice around his plate, and the fork makes a screeching sound. El’s hands twitch to cover her ears, but she keeps them at her sides. 

“Well, she will soon,” Will says, his voice quiet but firm. El meets his eyes and is surprised at the fire in them. “I promise, we’re going to fix this, El.”

El feels her expression soften. She knows Will is just trying to help, trying to “boost morale” like Hopper wants them to do, but things have never been this bad before, this broken. And it’s all because of her. 

“Will… we don’t know anything for certain anymore,” she says. 

He sighs, blinking fast, and Mike clears his throat and looks up at El for the first time since she got home. 

“Well, would it hurt to at least try for some optimism? Moping around isn’t going to change anything, El.”

His voice is flat. El steps back, feels her power wake up like a cat arching its back. 

Before she can respond, though, Jonathan slams his glass down on the table beside her. “Don’t start, Mike.”

“Why are you pissed at me? I’m just trying to help!” Mike says incredulously, swinging a hand out in outrage. He knocks Will’s glass over, and water floods the table. “Shit!”

“I’ll get the napkins,” Nancy sighs, and Jonathan shakes his head and follows her. El can hear Joyce and Hopper talking in tense whispers in the kitchen, oblivious.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, Will,” Mike is saying, trying to mop up the water on his shirt. Will is sitting rigidly, like if he breathes the wrong way Mike will run from the table. 

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” Will says, his voice tight. Mike recoils like he’s been slapped, dropping his hands from Will’s shirt, and there’s a beat of heavy silence. El stares hard at the water spreading over the placemats on the table. 

“I… El, look at me.”

El meets Mike’s eyes and wishes she hadn’t. He looks the same as he always has, so genuine. Earnest. His face is wide-open with guilt. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…” He breathes in, shakes his head at himself. “I just hate seeing you so defeated. I guess I just got angry about it, for a second. But that was no excuse to lash out. And I’m sorry.”

They broke up three weeks ago in the hospital parking lot. It was anticlimactic. El guesses that for Mike, though, the wound has not scabbed over yet. He is looking at her like she is a broken toy, and it makes something in her snap. 

“I don’t care, Mike,” El tells him, even as his eyes widen in shock and a hot flash of guilt grips her. “I don’t have the time to care about your feelings right now.”

It’s the first true thing she has said to him since they ended things. Her voice is not her own, though. It is heavy and hardened by malice. 

|  malice: noun. the intention or desire to cause harm; ill will. |

Mike’s eyes are wet with frustration. Beside him, Will has tensed up; he is staring at El like she is a bomb that’s about to go off. 

Well, she is not. El is not a weapon, not anymore. If she was, Max would be awake right now.  “Enjoy your dinner. I am going to bed early.”

She turns to leave.

“We didn’t kill her, El,” Mike says in a hard voice, and she stops in her tracks as the full weight of the guilt hits her— Max lying cold and still like a broken doll, Lucas’s shoulders shaking with the grief of it, I’m not ready I’m not ready I’m not ready—

Mike keeps talking. 

“I know you think that’s what happened, but it’s not true. There’s nothing either of us could have done—,” 

“Hey,” Hopper cuts in, heading towards them with a wary expression. Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, and Steve follow him, identical worried expressions on their faces. “Everybody just needs to take a breath.”

“It’s fine,” Mike tells Hopper, still staring at her. “El. It’s not our fault.”

“But we did kill her, Mike,” El says, because he needs to hear it. The rest of the group has fallen scarily silent, but she doesn’t care— can’t. She needs him to hear her, for once. 

“You distracted me. With a lie. You don’t love me, because you never have.”

Mike opens his mouth to retort, but El rolls her shoulders back and says, “No. Let me finish.”

It’s wrong, she knows it is, but El is tired and wounded and wants Mike to feel it. Wants him to understand; this is their punishment. 

“You have never loved me,” El says, her voice a hard, cutting thing, “because you can’t. No matter how hard you try, you can not do it.”

Mike’s chair scrapes hard against the kitchen floor when he stands. He’s breathing wrong, too short and fast like he’s run a mile. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

El risks a glance at Will. His eyes are wide and confused, glued on Mike. 

“I said take a breath,” Hop presses, holding his hands out like one of the hostage negotiators in El’s old movies. Mike flips him off, even though he’s shaking, and that does it.

El glares at him, and it takes everything in her to tamp down the twist of power in her chest, crackling like a hungry fire. 

“It means exactly what you think it means. Come apologize to me when you are done lying.”

El pushes past a wide-eyed Nancy, ignoring the feeling of Will’s stare boring into her. She heads down the hall to her old room, throwing a hand out to shut the door. It slams satisfyingly, rattling the frame. Her breath is coming in short, ragged pants, Max’s bloody face bright on the backs of her eyelids. The room tilts. 

Someone is knocking on the door, frenzied. “El! El, come on, open the door,” Will pleads. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry.”

“You didn’t—,” El starts, but she can’t breathe right and it comes out shallow. She reaches a hand out and grasps at nothing, sinking down onto her bed. Max in the hospital bed like a broken baby bird, the sound of Lucas’s screams, the whole of Hawkins swallowed up all because she couldn’t concentrate. “You didn’t do anything.”

“El, the door’s locked,” Will says. He sounds like he is crying, El realizes dimly. “Please let me in.” 

El breathes in deep, tries to hold it— Joyce taught her this on the cold bathroom counter their first night in Lenora Hills. She’d had a nightmare. Hopper, torn apart in the mall. In for four, hold for four, out for six. 

In, hold, out. In, hold, out. 

The knocking stops, and El hears Will slide down to sit on the floor outside her room. A beat of quiet stretches before he speaks again.

“I’m not leaving you. Mom and Hopper are talking to Mike. You’re not in trouble, nobody is.”

El lets out a shaky breath. When she opens her eyes, the room is still and quiet. 

“I need to be alone, Will.”

He sighs, a sound she knows too well. 

“Well, I don’t want you to be.”

El gets up and moves towards the door, but instead of opening it, she sits down with her back against it like Will has on the other side. She can hear him sniffling, and a pang of guilt courses through her. 

“I am sorry I ruined the night,” El says quietly. 

“No, no, you didn’t ruin anything,” Will rushes out, sounding painfully sad. “You have nothing to apologize for, okay? We’re all struggling, El. All of us. You’re not alone.”

She sticks a finger under the crack in the door. Will pokes it with his thumb, and El smiles to herself. Back in Lenora Hills, they spent more than one sleepless night in El’s room, coloring with Will’s best set of pastels and “shooting the shit.” She has missed him horribly, ever since the lab. Part of her is hurt that he didn’t feel important enough to talk to her in her trance, but she figures it all happened so fast he didn’t have time to think much about it. 

Nobody did.

“Mike’s trying his best, y’know,” Will says softly. There’s a warmth in his voice that El does not hear often. Some of her hurt loosens, but the image of Max’s glassy eyes flashes in her mind, and she knows she can not forgive him. Not yet. 

“I know,” she says back. “But arguing with me won’t bring her back. He is wasting his time. Our time.”

“El,” Will sighs, at a loss. He has never been able to accept disharmony in their group. 

| disharmony: adjective. a lack of agreement; conflict; division. |

“I will forgive him when we bring Max back,” El says. “But until then, try to get him to give me space. I don’t want to hurt him, Will, but I… can not be around him without doing it.”

“Okay,” Will says. His voice is quiet, scratchy like his throat hurts. “And El?”

“Yes?”

He clears his throat. El pictures him blinking fast, like he does when he’s nervous after he gets called on in class. 

“What did you mean, earlier? When you said… Mike ‘can’t’ love you?”

El sighs. She can not tell Will the truth, as much as she wants to. She heard things in Lenora, bad things about Stacy Ellis and Maria Davenport— that they’d been caught kissing beneath the bleachers and been suspended. That they were ‘sick’ for it. She thinks it must be the same for boys— that love between them is seen as wrong, somehow. El doesn’t understand why, but she knows it’s supposed to be secret if you feel that way. Sometimes, she guesses, lying can protect you.

And as mad as she is at Mike, she has to protect him. She knows Will wouldn’t care— quite the opposite, if her suspicions about them are true— but it would be like… if Will told Mike that El still wets the bed sometimes. Just mean, wrong. Not her place. 

“I was… lashing out,” she says carefully. “I just meant that I am not… the right person for him. I am not who he really wants.”

Will seems to go still. El hears his breath hitch.

“How could you—? El, of course you are,” he says, sounding pained. “What have the last three years meant, then, if you’re not… if you’re not each others’ soulmates?”

“Will,” El says, “I was confused. We both were. Mike has said the same thing to you, hasn’t he?”

A pause. 

“Yeah,” Will sighs, suddenly sounding very tired. “Yeah, but… he was just insecure. You guys will work it out.”

He does not understand. Something deep in El’s chest twists painfully, and she leans her head back against the door.

“Maybe,” El says. “But maybe not.”

She taps on the door, their secret code for when one of them has had a nightmare and cannot sleep in their room alone: short-short-long-short. Will echoes it back to her, and for a moment, everything feels half-normal again.

“I gotta go find him,” Will says. He clears his throat again. “Call me if you need anything, though, okay? I mean it.”

El feels a ghost of a smile float across her face. Her sweet brother. She hopes they make it out of this so she can see him happy. So they can all be happy. Will and El and Max and Lucas and Dustin and Mike, all together where they belong. “Alright. Love you, Will.”

“Love you, too.”

And then the floorboards creak with the sound of Will leaving, and El is alone. 

[findafight]

I'm not saying that they likely won't, but the push for them to be far closer than they are is strange and also almost always makes Robin's lesbianism or relationship about Will and byler. (Which is another issue but not what I'm talking about rn). I think it would be nice for them to have community together! But right now stranger things is a show that focuses on the monster plot. It has established dynamics and relationships that deserve fleshing out and highlighting, as it's the finale season. Which should be the season to give those relationships more depth and finished arcs rather than trying to start a new one.

If there were twenty or even thirteen episodes left I would be more looking forward to them getting to know each other, but as it stands, with eight episodes and a full cast, the last season is going to be bloated. It's not the time with how much they have to try to work in a meaningful relationship that MAKES SENSE for the characters. I'll admit, if they had hinted at robin and will even interacting let alone getting along in s4 I would feel less about this, but as it stands, it just feels like it'll be forced.

Unlikely duos are great! But they need time to breathe. Steve and Dustin were separated from their respective groups and pushed together, but did join back up with Dustin's shortly after and stayed together for the rest of the season. But that was also when Steve was alone and didn't have anyone else to be around, and Dustin didn't have time to wait, it worked. I just don't see a situation they can pull off with robin and will mostly alone together while staying in character and without wildly deviating from what has been established, where it isn't frustrating they aren't with others they actually know. I'd much rather see Will, El, and Mike than see the writers attempt to make me believe with Will or Robin would trust the other enough to share a secret they have only shared with one other person. Like that trust requires build up!! Jonathan is Will's brother. Steve was tortured alongside Robin! It requires screen time together, or at least an established relationship dynamic (which will and robin do not have) which eats at other plots already in conflict since s4. Robin and Will could be an interesting duo, but the only reason I have seen people wanting them to interact is because of their queerness, and to me there just isn't time that would be better spent on other things to establish the trust required for them to come out to each other.

With your tags from a different reblog: Joyce says Lonnie used to call will slurs, and other middle schoolers were homophobic to him (and, yeah, one mentioned his dad saying stuff too) but why would robin, a teenager, keep track of one middle schooler being called names?? I think people are really underestimating how common those casual slurs were, not that they didn't have deep impact and hurt but that people said them whenever and about whoever. Someone being called a fairy by his bully wasn't going to be a neon sign outing him. I'm sure people have suspicions, but nothing for them is confirmed. He's just that weird zombie boy Byers.

Also, being clocked is terrifying? The whole town knowing about Will before he himself has even verbalised it? Is that not a nightmare for him? And it plays on stereotypes and bigotry most of the time. It's a trope I don't particularly care for, and feels lazy to me. It takes away the power of coming out. Robin was half drugged and traumatized and scared when she chose to tell Steve, but she did choose to tell him. Jonathan and Wills conversation makes sense because Jonathan is his older brother who he seems to be close with, trying to support him and show him he has that unconditional love.

Why do so many people want robin and will to meet and immediately clock each other. What are you talking about. Robin doesn't know that boy and she doesn't care about him. She's not sharing a secret she's only told ONE other person with some random boy. He is some random friend of Dustin's that is involved with the upside down, but she isn't bonding with him. Why would Will share something that obviously is causing him distress with some girl his brother's age when he's only barely confirmed to his older brother his suspicions. They don't need each other they have separate support networks.

[nadia-zahra]

Unexpected Byler Proof

Netflix posted this for the upcoming Stranger Things Day

They chose to put in a lot of key props/costumes/sets from through out the show because everything is supposedly going to get tied together s5. But I’m gonna point out the shit that hints byler endgame and it saving Hawkins s5

First piece of imagery: the rainbow over Hawkins

Now obviously the rainbow is a gay symbol, but it’s also been seen numerous times around Mike/Will. Here's off the top of my head:

s2 Will’s rainbow rocket mentioned in shed scene

s2 Will’s snowball date is wearing a rainbow hair clip

s4 Mike standing in front of the Rainbow connection at Suzie's

s3 Max with rainbow sleeves sitting between Mike and Will

s2 Mike and Will stand in front of rainbow Apple sign in the AV club

s4 Will holding a rainbow rubber band ball when talking to Mike

Also, the lyrics from the never-ending story from s3 go along with this picture's byler saving Hawkins imagery.

"Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds" = Will's secret about being gay, being in love with Mike, and the truth about the painting and his speech will be unveiled to Mike. Mike's secret about not being in love with El and instead with Will will be unveiled to Will and El. Their secrets unfolding will be the first step to defeating Vecna.

"And there upon a rainbow is the answer to the never-ending story" = once Will and Mike confess their secrets, they will become a couple and join together to defeat Vecna and save Hawkins from what feels like to them a never-ending nightmare. Hence, the netflix pic having a big rainbow over the word HAWKINS.

Let’s look at this rainbow over Hawkins a lil zoomed out

The arcade sign, vecna’s clock, a hellfire shirt, and a tiger face within the hawkins highschool sign are in the immediate surroundings of the Hawkins rainbow. All these things correlate with byler saving Hawkins.

The Tiger correlates to Will-- in s4 he had multiple tiger objects in his room. He had a tiger figurine on his dresser, a tiger stuffed animal beside his bed, a tiger picture on his dresser, and another tiger picture behind his easel.

@aemiron-main made this post and @doriandrifting made this post that explains how arcades/games are byler coded. I’m not sure why this piece of byler evidence correlates to byler saving Hawkins, so if anyone wants to figure that out that’s be great!

Vecna’s clock being next to Hawkins just show that vecna is going to be the main threat s5, the person that byler is going to kill.

And let’s look at that Hellfire shirt

It’s got a tentacle/vine going through it with lightening striking it to the right and a demogorgon behind it to the left. I think this Hellfire shirt is Mike’s because 1) he’s the first person shown in the series wearing it 2) unlike Dustin and Eddie who wore shirts and jackets to cover it, Mike wore it as a stand-alone piece. So, the vine going through Mike’s shirt could mean he does indeed get Vecna’s curse s5, and with the demogorgon and lightening surrounding the shirt, it could also mean he gets trapped into the Upside Down similar to Will s1. Maybe when Will and Mike to save Hawkins, they'll be fighting Vecna in the ud because of Will possibly going there to save Mike. From the show, there's proof of Will going to the ud to save Mike; in their last heart-to-heart st4, Will follows Mike to sit together on the upside-down couch.

Second piece of imagery: the dice

Now there’s a couple of things to discuss with these dice but first and foremost I just need to get this out of the way: WE WERE RIGHT AB THE GAME FORESHADOWING S5!!!!!!!!! *throws fist in air victoriously*

Ok let’s get down to business. The 20 is what kills Vecna, not the 11 in the st5 foreshadow game. The fact that they included this dice roll in the pic means that it was important plot-wise. There're already clues from the show that tell us Byler = twenty (here's a link to a previous post I made ab that), but we're focusing on the new evidence this pic brings to the table. The things immediately surrounding the dice should indicate who the 20 is, and the things immediately surrounding the dice is Mike's sunglasses and Will's wizard hat. Something involving Vecna's is again seen next to byler imagery with his rose-door being the only other thing immediately next to the 20 dice. Again, it's hinting that byler is going to kill Vecna.

But let's look at how now Will's imagery is caught up in the vines and Mike's are free-floating. This alludes to Will being caught by Vecna during the battle and Mike having to be the one to save them by confessing his secrets. (EDIT: I should’ve clarified better, but I think this is Will getting trapped by Vecna during their final battle because of the rose door being right next to his trapped hat. When Max was trapped by Vecna in the UD that rose door was always there floating above them in the air.) I've already speculated that this is going to happen considering Mike's seen by Will as "the heart" of the party and has always been the one to save Will in the past (s1 Mike was nice to El which led to her helping them. In s2 he figured out the Mindflayer could spy on them + what he said to Will in the shed scene gave Will strength to tell them how to kill the Mindflayer), but it's nice to see another sign indicating what is to come.

I think that's all the byler saving Hawkins evidence within this pic, but I still think it's batshit crazy that there's any in it to begin with.

[cosmicbrowniefan]

2 minute warning

fandom/ship: stranger things, byler

summary: mike and will have finally, finally, FINALLY, gotten together. before they tell their friends and family, however, they’re going to have some fun sneaking around.

genre: one-shot, fluff, high school au

warnings: swearing, aged-up party (17), making out/slightly steamy scenes, getting caught making out, intentional lowercase

word count: 2,573

mike wheeler could not stop flicking his pen. and bouncing his leg. and twirling a loose strand of hair that had fallen out of his ponytail. he looked at the clock for what must’ve been the fiftieth time that period.

“michael!”

mike’s head snapped forward and the pen he had been fiddling with flew out of his hand and hit dustin in the head.

“ow!” 

dustin glared at mike, who turned red and muttered an apology as he picked up his pen. he turned his attention to mr. clarke up front, who had called his name. although he had been the middle school science teacher for a long time, recent retirements and budget cuts had caused mr. clarke to move up to high school chemistry. this wasn’t a decision he was ecstatic about, but he was rather excited to be able to teach his favorite group of students again.

that is, until mike started acting distracted and stopped paying any kind of attention in class these past few weeks.

“pay. attention,” mr. clarke said through gritted teeth. 

mike gulped and nodded. he knew he had pushing it lately in class. he had been beyond distracted and wasn’t paying any sort of attention to the polyatomic ion names that mr. clarke had been trying to teach.

but he had a pretty good reason.

a moment later, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. mike sprang up and headed for the door immediately. 

“mike!”

mike closed his eyes and sighed, turning around and plastering on a smile to see mr. clarke standing there, looking concerned. mike was in a rush. now was NOT the time, mr. clarke. 

“yes, mr. clarke?” mike said, smiling politely.

mr. clarke raised an eyebrow.

“mike, something has been wrong lately,” he said. “i don’t know what’s going on with you, but you haven’t been paying attention at all AND i’m afraid you’re starting to distract your classmates.” mr. clarke’s face went from serious to concerned and he stepped closer, putting a hand on mike’s shoulder. “listen, if there’s anything that you need to talk about or anything that’s bothering you, you know you can always tell me, right? you’ve got so many people in your cor-”

“yep! i know!” mike said quickly, bouncing on his heels and shrugging off mr. clarke’s hand. “i’m alright, i promise! i gotta g-”

“mike, you and i both know that’s not true,” mr. clarke said, crossing his arms and raising and eyebrow. mike internally groaned. “i just want to offer my help if anything’s happening. but if nothing’s going on, you really need to get your head out of your ass and start paying attention again.”

“uh, yep. you got it mr. clarke, i’m sorry,” mike said, nodding. “now, i really have to-”

“you’re a good kid, mike,” mr. clarke said, smiling slightly at him. “just don’t let the senioritis set in a year early, okay?”

“don’t worry, i’m not,” mike said, edging towards the door.

“and don’t forget that i’m here if you need anything!” 

“thank you!” mike called over his shoulder, stepping quickly out of the room before mr. clarke had the chance to stop him any more. he sighed and walked quickly in the direction he needed to go. he knew he had about a 2 minute grace period to be late for study hall, so that was just enough time for-

“THERE you are!”

mike grinned and shook his head as he shut the door of the high school av club room behind him. will was perched on the small table in the middle of the room, smiling up at his boyfriend. he reached his arms out and wrapped them around mike’s neck as mike came and put his arms around will’s waist and touched their foreheads together.

“what took you so long?” will said, humming happily as mike pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“mr. clarke,” mike said breathlessly, kissing will’s face all over, making the other boy laugh.

“not again!” will said, rolling his eyes but grinning nonetheless. “you promised me you were going to start paying attention in that class so you wouldn’t keep having those talks that make you late!”

“can’t help it,” mike said, breaking contact with will’s face to smile with total heart-eyes at his boyfriend. “when i know i have a 3 minute makeout session with you coming up right after, how am i supposed to pay attention?”

“maybe the idea that it could be 5 minutes instead of 3 can motivate you?” will suggested, giggling and pressing a kiss to mike’s cheek. “we have 3 minutes between classes, and you know we can both spare being a little late to next period. priorities, michael.”

“i’m so sorry, william,” mike said, widening his eyes and putting a hand to his chest. will laughed.

“come here,” will said, pulling mike in by his t-shirt. “i missed you.”

“i missed you too,” mike murmured, allowing himself to be completely taken in by will’s lips on his.

the two boys had been together for about a month and a half, now. they hadn’t told anyone yet, but they knew their time of secrecy was coming to an end. their loving looks and light touches in public were becoming way too obvious at this point. who could blame them, though? they had both been pining for each other for years, but had only recently gotten the courage to tell each other. it wasn’t that they were trying to keep it from their friends and family, either. they would all be supportive, and most of their friends had certainly caught onto their crushes by now, but there was just something so exciting about sneaking around and making out between classes. god, they were practically BEGGING to be caught at this point. it was pathetic. adorable, perfect, yes, but pathetic.

after a few minutes of fierce and heated kissing between the boys, will tightened his grasp on mike’s shirt, then let go and tapped his chest twice. mike whined and frowned when will pulled away.

will laughed, hopping down from the table.

“come on, you big baby,” he said, picking up his backpack and heading for the door. “we can do this again at my house after school.”

“but it’s not the same!” mike insisted, following will out the door and heading down the hall with him. “i mean, yeah, it’s fun, it’s DEFINITELY fun and i’m glad we can do that for longer at your house, but come ON, will, it’s so fun to do here.”

will turned and smirked at mike, stopping outside the door of his next class as the late bell rang.

“don’t be late tomorrow then, wheeler,” he said, winking and turning to go in his class.

mike stood for a second outside of the door, staring after will. he shook himself out of it a moment later and quickly headed for his study hall, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the perfect boy that somehow was his.

after school, mike and will clambered into the back of lucas’s minivan and snuck glances at each other as their friends all complained about their days and talked about their longings for spring break.

“max, max, max!” dustin said, leaning forward from the middle seat, which he was sharing with el. “can i pick a song?”

“uh, absolutely not!” max said, giving him a look that clearly said ‘what the fuck are you on?’ “you know shotgun always gets music picks!”

“yeah, but you’re ALWAYS shotgun!”

“date lucas and YOU can be in the passenger seat!”

“fine, i will!”

“fine!”

“can i be left out of this, please?”

mike and will smiled at the scene unravelling in front of them, and laughed loudly as el took max’s phone calmly and started playing her own music, much to the dismay of dustin.

max and dustin were still bickering when lucas pulled up to will and el’s house.

“bye, guys!” he said loudly over the music and the arguing, waving to el, will, and mike. “have fun working on your project!”

“have fun with them!” el called over her shoulder smiling at lucas, who returned her smile with some exasperation.

will, mike, and el walked up to the door and headed in.

“what project do you guys have, again?” el asked as she set her backpack on the floor and headed to the fridge for an after-school snack.

mike looked at will quickly, letting him take the lead.

“he’s just helping me with an art project,” will said nonchalantly. el turned around and raised an eyebrow.

“mike can’t draw,” she said flatly. will smirked.

“you’re telling me,” he said. “yeah, i know, but i have to do a portrait for my 2D design class and he insisted on volunteering.”

el smiled and hummed as she punched a hole in her caprisun.

“self-centered,” she said simply, making will laugh and mike’s eyes widen and jaw drop in mock offense.

“you’re so right,” will said. “come on, mr. ego.” mike opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and shook his head, following will back to his room.

mike closed the door behind the two of them and turned to will, who had plopped down on his bed and was waiting expectantly. 

“mr. ego, huh?”

“just get over here and kiss me.”

mike laughed, but quickly obeyed. 

will tangled his hands in mike’s long locks and took his hairtie out as they smashed their faces together.

“why do you always insist on playing with my hair when we make out?” mike said, breaking apart for a second.

“i love it like this!” will said. “and it’s not like i can mess it up in school, it’d look suspicious.”

mike nodded. “guess so,” he agreed, leaning back in. 

the two kissed for another few minutes. will fell back on his bed and took mike with him, so they were laying next to each other. the boys took a breather after laying down and stared at each other lovingly, faces flushed and gasping for breath.

“mike,” will said, “do you think we should tell people soon?”

mike pretended to think for a moment, but nodded and smiled.

“yeah,” he said. “as long as you want to. i’m ready.”

“i am too.”

“i’m just not ready for the stupid 3-inch rule to kick in,” mike said, laughing and glancing at will’s closed door. will smiled and looked down.

“yeah, the secrecy has been kind of fun, hasn’t it?”

“it has,” mike agreed. “i wish we could do- i don’t know, one last hurrah, for lack of a better term.”

will laughed. “have anything in mind?”

“not really,” mike admitted. “but i want one last hurrah.”

suddenly, a lightbulb went off in will’s head. his face lit up.

“let’s skip class tomorrow,” he said. mike raised an eyebrow.

“really?” he asked. “you okay with that?”

“yeah!” will insisted. “listen, we’ll just skip one class. the class we always meet up after. does that work for you?”

mike thought. yeah, mr. clarke was already pissed at him. what was one missed class?

“yeah,” he said, smiling, “let’s do it!”

will squealed happily and pulled mike back in, showering his face in kisses. mike laughed, melting into the perfection of the moment.

***

will opened the door to the av club room and raised an eyebrow to see mike already waiting there, sitting on the table that will was seated on yesterday.

“look who’s here early!” he said. “normally that’s me.”

“well, with no scott clarke holding me up, i was able to get here as quick as i could,” mike said, smiling and standing up, walking towards will and taking his hands.

will blushed and looked down at their hands, then back up at mike.

“i like being rebellious with you,” he whispered. mike grinned.

“me too,” he agreed, leaning down.

will instinctively moved his arms to wrap around mike’s neck as mike wrapped his arms around will’s waist, the two pressing their lips together sweetly and tenderly, the kiss full of love and emotion.

will yelped into mike’s mouth a second later, as mike heaved will up and walked him over to the table, plopping him down and leaning even closer than they already were. will felt his face grew hot and groaned, pulling mike right up against him. their kisses were still full of love and emotion, but were now much needier and breathless.

“you’re- so- perfect,” mike let out between kisses. will’s only response was to hum against mike’s lips and let out a “shit”. will felt his body heat up more and more every second. god, why did they have to be in school right now? the table was awfully uncomfortable. how much trouble would they get in if they just left right now? it couldn’t be THAT bad, right? and it would definitely be worth it.

“uh, boys?”

mike and will’s heads snapped up. they both turned bright red and widened their eyes to see mr. clarke standing in the door with a raised eyebrow. they all stared at each other for a second. mr. clarke coughed awkwardly.

“i’m not so sure this is the kind of electricity this room is really SUPPOSED to be used for,” mr. clarke said, cracking a small smile.

will and mike laughed nervously, looking at each other, then back at mr. clarke.

“i know what you’re thinking,” mr. clarke said, holding up a hand. “no, i won’t tell anyone.” the boys instantly let out sighs of relief as mr. clarke turned to mike. “i’m assuming that THIS is why you’ve been so distracted in my class?” 

mike smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. “uh, yeah, it is.”

mr. clarke nodded and looked between the two of them, amused.

“sorry for bursting in here,” he said. “when you didn’t show up to class, mike, i figured i’d just check in here real quick. should’ve minded my own business, huh?”

will and mike laughed, more comfortably this time. mr. clarke smiled and shook his head.

“listen,” he said, looking at his watch, “you two can’t skip class. but maybe, just maybe, i went to the bathroom instead of coming in here. and maybe, when i return to my class in 2 minutes, you’ll be in your seat, mike.”

will and mike glanced at each other, then back at mr. clarke, nodding enthusiastically.

“th- thank you!” will said, completely taken aback by his leniency. mr. clarke nodded.

“you’re welcome,” he said. “but do me a favor and pick a new secret spot, okay? and will, knock some sense into mike here and make sure he pays attention in my class.”

will giggled and nodded as mike blushed. mr. clarke tapped his watch and mouthed “2 minutes!”, then headed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

will and mike turned to each other, staring, then exploded in a fit of giggles.

“did that really just happen?” mike said, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head. “mr. clarke is a real one!”

“yeah, he is,” will said, shaking his head too. “well, we should probably go.”

but mike grabbed will’s wrist as will hopped off the table and bent down to get his bag.

“hey,” he said, “we still have 2 minutes.”

will raised an eyebrow, then shook his head and smiled, reaching up to wrap his arms around mike’s neck, melting into another kiss.

what a dork.

[ven0moir]

Why I think Byler will HURT before it becomes canon

As I’ve already explained in this post I firmly believe Byler is endgame. However, we’re going to have to be prepared to get our hearts DESTROYED first. Here are my reasons ... 

1. The Duffer brothers said Netflix executives cried when they showed them the season’s outline.  This is a little self explanatory but it could mean a combination of happy vs sad tears. I do believe something MAJOR is going to happen before the happy ending we’ll likely get, and that MAJOR thing will be related to Byler. It will hurt.

2. Mike has been surrounded by death symbolism/foreshadowing since s2.  SOMETHING is going to happen to Mike, especially because a lot of the symbolism we saw applied to Mike this season, we also saw applied to Max (clock imagery and the color red mainly). Mike didn’t get vecna’d this season, which ... you can imagine what that might be indicating for his journey in s5.

3. If they saved the Byler reveal all the way until s5, is because they’re planning something MAJOR for them and will likely be part of the plot. It’s not going to be as peaceful as them simply working through their issues and getting together. They left both Mitochondria and Byler inconclusive because it’s going to be a SHOCKING reveal in s5 that Mike ... actually loved Will back. 

4. Vecna NEEDS Will either out of the way or to join him ... and what’s more powerful than a Vessel that joins you WILLINGLY?  This has been foreshadowed too. It doesn’t make sense that Vecna kills Jonathan or Mike himself to get to Will, and then Will joins him, right? And they said that Eddie’s death will have major consequences. I just find there’s a connection between Eddie, a freak, dying to protect a town that hated him and how Will’s disappearance was treated in s1. Vecna doesn’t have to pull many strings to demonstrate just how cruel Hawkins can be to people who are ... Different. 

5. Vecna is manipulative, and will likely use their love against them in a way we haven’t foreseen yet. I have a couple ideas how he might do that and I sincerely tear up just thinking about it and hope I’m wrong but there’s a lot of foreshadowing that would make something like what I’m thinking plausible. I might delve deeper into what I think Vecna will do in a future post once I’ve gathered and interpreted enough hints and clues.

I might make a longer theory as to what I think might happen but it’s ... yeah, we’re going to have to be prepared because it’s going to HURT you guys! But the payoff will be great, trust 

[stranger-chichka]

Dustin, compasses, magnets, coke and eating (p.2)

After “Dustin’s “This is the answer” the accent is on the fridge in the Wheeler's house with a 7 made from the magnets. 7 is Mike's and Will's number. 7 is L upside-down. 7 is Love. Mrs Wheeler gives the police officer New Coke (which is associated with Byler) instead of water. By the way, do you remember what Dustin and Steve put in Byers' fridge in s2? The Demogorgon. If my theory's right, it also represents Byler in some way. I won't write about it here in detail, so check out the original post, but few interesting things that are connected with this scene:

most tadpoles are aquatic, but Dart isn't. He doesn't need water;

Dart hates the sun, it hurts him (Will is associated with the light, and it hurts Mike to feel that way about his friend. It hurts to think you're never gonna be together because it's not right in the community they're growing up in. Actually, that's what Dart represents - Mike's being afraid of his feelings toward Will;

Mike wants to take Dart to Hopper (=the police officer). In the same season, we see Mike having his breakdown while talking with Hopper. He calls him a liar, but he actually talks about himself. "You've been hiding her this whole time! Protecting her? You're a stupid, disgusting, lying piece of shit! Liar, liar, liar!" In s3 we see him constantly lying to El, to others, and to himself. After Snow Ball, he realised he has romantic feelings for Will but hides them deep inside to protect both of them. He knows what it means to be a gay kid in the 80s. Dangerous. And we know Mike also hates lying. Friends don't lie. He hates himself. I'm stopping here because it's a bit out of the topic, but I'll write a separate post on this scene.

"Water it down" and "Water still works" both said by Nancy seem to be important lines, considering later Dustin offers someone H2O right after. It definitely has smth to do with Byler in a negative context, but I need more time to think about it (maybe @dinitride-art has some ideas about what the Duffers are trying to imply). I want to focus on Coke. Steve is talking about El while there's Regular Coke near Eddie and Skull Rock. Later we see some Stancy scenes in that very location.

Regular Coke = Stancy, Mileven = not endgame. New Coke = Byler = endgame.

Here are some scenes with Coke I n s4, but also I highly recommend you to read this post by @awhstrangerthings. Keep in mind, the thing = love, because in s4 Mike even says to Will: “Maybe I should’ve said something, and if I would’ve said that thing, then maybe she’d wanted me there with her, wherever she is.”

New Coke on the clock during Mileven's fight above Mike’s head = he’s thinking about the relationship between him and Will at that moment.

Regular Coke during the reunion scene, where we see El's disappointed because he wrote “From, Mike” again.

At Rink o Mania we see Regular Coke 2 times - when Angela takes El to the roller rink and Mike shows zero concern about it, ignoring the fact she definitely looked scared and uncomfortable near Angela (she even looked at him for help, come on, Michael), and when we see devastated El after the accident, sitting alone and Mike, again, showing zero concern.

Regular Coke during dinner, when Mike says “She didn’t look fine.”

Regular Coke during their interrupted talk at Surfer Boy Pizza, where Mike starts talking about their fight and we don’t happen to know what he wanted to say, because Argyle brings pineapple pizza (pineapple pizza and New Coke both represent Byler) and Mike looks very uncomfortable with but later calls it good and eats pizza.

Eating = loving. El dumps Mike and he starts eating.

Mike looks at Will's painting the same painting behind Max.

We also have THIS in Starcourt Mall teaser. A blue triangle. Two pies where the boy in a blue tank top picks one.

"And don't forget, a state of the art food court is just an escalator ride away."

Talking about the food, who was "foraging for food" in s2? Dart. And what season has the most Byler moments? Season 2. And who initiates most of them? Mike.

+ this parallel once again ties Dart to Mike. Not to mention the word "dart" means a small pointed missile that can be thrown or fired. The synonyms are “arrow”, and “barb.” And who is associated with arrows in s4? Michael Wheeler. Also, “to dart” means to move or run somewhere suddenly or rapidly. And who’s always late? Whose playlist’s full of songs about running? No way, it’s Michael Wheeler again.

Let's return to the scene in Jonathan's room and how it parallels with other scenes from previous seasons.

Again, "thing" = love. Games [DnD & Nintendo] = their relationships.

During their talk in 5x03 someone knocks and Mike decides it's his mom. Doors = being in the closet.

But it's Nancy, not mom, so he opens the door. Will he come out to his sister in s5? Or does it mean he was open with her in s1?

Losing, loving and hearing.

It’s interesting that El is listening to Mike’s monologue trapped in front of the door. The door with so much Byler symbolism (credit to @themacklemorebrothers for that observation). Mike's in the closet.

And, finally. Gay love wins because that's what the whole show is about. There upon a rainbow is the answer to a neverending story.

Part 1

[shipperssafehaven]

my season five dream team ups bc i'm bored and have too much time on my hands

1. will/mike/robin/nancy

this group is literally what dreams are made of. first, you get a continuation with the ultimate slow burn that is byler. second, you get ronance which is always a plus & possibly a jealous nancy when vickie is added into the mix. third, you get nancy/mike sibling bonding for the first time in what feels like forever. and fourth, you get a will/robin "you're like me" moment. the power this group holds would be magical.

Give me a frightened & an adorably idiotic Will who is seeing visions and clocks but doesn't want to worry anyone so he keeps it to himself because everybody else already has so much going on. Let him space out at the Wheeler house only to be caught by Nancy.

Then it proceeds with Will begging her not to tell anybody but Nancy snitches to Mike because she knows the drill and is not letting another kid die on her watch. And since she's avoiding both Jonathan and Steve because she wants to know who she is outside of them, she ropes Robin in to help instead, leading to a limitless amount of gayness <3 (bc as much as i am excited to learn about vickie, i don't really have the desire to see robin with her clone).

Give me a terrified Mike who's scared to lose Will and is angry because Will actually wanted to keep him in the dark about this. Give me the most queer fight in tv history:

"i can't believe you weren't going to tell me this. this isn't a game-- you could die, will! just because you got out once, doesn't mean you'll make it out alive this time around!"

"you aren't even trying to see my side of things! if I have a connection to vecna then that gives me the perfect opening to end this once and for all!"

"there is no ending this, will! he's going to kill you!"

"that's a risk i'm willing to take."

"well, i'm not!"

2. el/lucas/dustin/erica

i really want to see el outside of mike and pairing her up with lucas/dustin/erica would do just that. dustin teaching her things and erica teaching her how to properly put her bullies in their place >>>

plus we'd get the best sibling duo that is erica and lucas. if i don't get a protective lucas who's going through it and afraid of losing his little sister (since he technically already lost someone he loved) then i'll riot

and don't forget the lucas/el bonding we'd get that would also feed into my elumax delusions. them teaming up to get max back and slowly bringing each other back to themselves & just being so vulnerable and happy in one another's company is a need

oh and as a treat, if dustin and erica stumble across kas in the upside down and it looks too much like a certain metal head so they have no choice but to get to the bottom of things on whether eddie's death truly meant the end... then i'd be down for that

3. jonathan/steve

i've been waiting for this one since season one. i want them to be forced to work together and go from reluctant allies to i'd lay my life down for you without hesitation

let them have development outside of nancy! let jonathan accidentally meet steve's neglectful parents and have him understand steve. let steve have the absolute displeasure of meeting lonnie and calling him out when he talks down to jonathan & say "you didn't want him as a son? no, you didn't deserve him as a son!" let jonathan be on the verge of tears bc nobody has ever stood up for him like that before.

these two could learn so much from each other. let steve teach jonathan how to work his damn way around a tie. and let jonathan teach steve what it's like to have a family and that it is in fact not normal to be so brushed to the side and disregarded by your own parents.

let them be BEST FRIENDS. the potential has literally been there from the start!

and for the love of god give me this moment:

"i never thanked you for the camera you got me for christmas back in '83."

"i told nancy not to tell you it was from me."

"she didn't."

oh and if argyle is not tagging along and bringing up the mood and smoking pot with the both of them, then i don't want it. they'd be a trio for the ages.

4. joyce/hopper/enzo/murray/wayne

probably my most basic answer but i am in desperate need for established jopper fluff with their besties tagging along for the ride. and i have been a bring wayne munson into the gang truther since volume one so i am DYING to see this.

hopper and wayne bonding over losing a kid.

enzo, murray, and joyce being a comedic trio.

them all being badass and saving their kids. murray giving byler a much needed moment of clarity. jopper having moments with el, will, & jonathan. enzo introducing to the gang his son (who possibly becomes a member of the party.) wayne completely crumbling when he sees kas for the first time.

the potential of it all... 🥂

[beepboop358]

A Prom in S4 Theory & Music Coding Predictions

Some leaked set pics indicate that there MAY BE a junior/senior prom at Hawkins High, which they are calling the "Lover's Ball". It's unclear if this prom will be included on screen, or if it will just be mentioned as an event coming up at Hawkins High because this flyer could just extra set decor. Regardless if the prom happens on screen or not, there will probably be some tension about 'who's asking who' to the prom that we will see in s4. Given that this picture was just leaked a few weeks ago, it probably falls closer to the end of the season sequentially.

Having a big school dance in s4 is suspiciously close to how they had the Snowball scene in s2. This would certainly follow the even/odd season patterns, (and actually add to the list of the patterns), which kind of makes me think we will see this prom on screen, or at the very least it will be mentioned in the course of the season.

The Duffer Brothers love Steven King and reference his work and especially 'IT' a lot in the show, but they haven't done anything with Carrie yet so maybe we will get a Carrie moment this season at the prom...

Carrie was on the video store fridays movie inspiration board for ST4.

At the "Lover's Ball", there will be definitely be some music coding relating to Byler. Since music coding is kind of a key thing in the show, I've been rifling through 80's songs to try and find some that may fit with s4's themes/character storylines (and I may do a seperate post about that later), but for this post I'm just gonna focus on what they might use at the prom for relating to Byler.

Since the season is most likely going to take place in 1986, I only selected songs that had a compatible release year so it would be historically accurate. (these songs would also be great for a byler playlist!)

Some strong contenders for the songs that might play at the prom to reference Mike and Will's relationship could be:

"True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986)

This song is honestly too good of an option for them not to use. I'm reallllyyy crossing my fingers for this one.

It's hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small

"And I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid (don't be afraid) To let them show your true colors True colors are beautiful (you're beautiful, oh) Like a rainbow Oh oh oh oh oh like a rainbow"

If this world makes you crazy And you've taken all you can bear You call me up Because you know I'll be there

"Heaven" by Bryan Adams (1984)

This first verse is literally just the story of Byler... 😭 The rest of the song applies but that verse verse is just sooooo accurate. (I'm crossing my fingers for this one too)

"Oh thinkin' about all our younger years There was only you and me We were young and wild and free Now nothing can take you away from me We've been down that road before But that's over now You keep me comin' back for more

Baby you're all that I want When you're lyin' here in my arms I'm findin' it hard to believe We're in heaven And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart Isn't too hard to see We're in heaven

Oh once in your life you find someone Who will turn your world around Bring you up when you're feelin' down Yeah nothin' can change what you mean to me Oh there's lots that I could say But just hold me now 'Cause our love will light the way"

"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (1986)

This song is on Will's Spotify playlist, and I thought it could also be used at the prom since it's a romantic song. I see it as an 'entrance to the prom' moment song, almost like a 'first look' - like the Mike and El moment at the snowball when she first walks in, but with Mike and Will this time. I think the lyrics clearly hint to this kind of 'first look' moment as well.

"Watchin' every motion in my foolish lover's game On this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn around and say...take my breath away"

Watchin' every motion in this foolish lover's game Haunted by the notion, somewhere there's a love in flames Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn my way and say...take my breath away"

"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (1981)

This song was originally meant to be included in the snowball scene from s2, but it ultimately was not used and "Every Breath You Take" was used for this scene instead. Since it was intended to be a part of the s2 dance, that's why I think it may be used at the prom this season. (you can read the scripts on 8flix)

——— I forgot to include this explanation originally BUT, I think this song might be used to show some anger/resentment between the two, and to show a decent amount of tension, depending on their development this season. Like maybe Mike is kind of leading Will on in private by continuing to initiate intimate scenes between them, but in public Mike is still trying to put on his “straight boy act” and kind of being a jackass about it, and this song could be used to show the tension between them that has caused.

"And I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life, (Oh lord)

Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been It's all been a pack of lies.

Well I remember, I remember don't worry How could I ever forget It's the first time, the last time we ever met But I know the reason why you keep this silence up

No you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me"

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (1986)

Some of the lyrics in this song just SCREAMS byler, just look at the 1st, 2nd and 4th paragraphs. I would be suprised if they didn't use this song in either s4/s5.

Love, I get so lost sometimes Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car But whichever way I go I come back to the place you are

All my instincts, they return The grand facade, so soon will burn Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside

In your eyes The light, the heat (in your eyes) I am complete (in your eyes) I see the doorway (in your eyes) To a thousand churches (in your eyes) The resolution (in your eyes) Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes)

Love, I don't like to see so much pain So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away I get so tired working so hard for our survival I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

"Heroes" by David Bowie (1975)

David Bowie was bisexual. A cover of his song “Heroes” is used in the show twice already, sung by Peter Gabriel. The song plays when they pull Will's fake body out of the water in season one and Mike cries in his Mom's arms, with some very queer-coded lyrics in the background, and after Hopper's letter in s3 (which is very Byler-centric)

"I will be king. And you, you will be queen 'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact. Yes, we're lovers, and that is that. Though nothing will keep us together. We could steal time just for one day We can be heroes forever and ever. What d'you say? I, I wish I could swim, like dolphins, like dolphins could swim I, I can remember (I remember) Standing by the wall (By the wall) And the guns shot above our heads (Over our heads) And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall) And the shame was on the other side. Oh, we can beat them forever and ever. Then we could be heroes just for one day We're nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer just for one day"

I just thought the above songs might be some highly likely possibilities given that they fit the year of the s4 and also make references to not only love, but the idea of hiding, pain, shame, longing, etc., and can make some (partially stretching here) references to other things in the show such as:

RAINBOWS and TRUE COLORS, SHINING THROUGH (rainbows imagery is always associated with Mike & Will in the show and a is symbol of lgbtq+ pride, True Colors shining through = who you really are on the inside finally coming out)

IF THIS WORLD MAKES YOU CRAZY ("crazy together", "only love makes you that crazy" and references the "world" motif in the show)

YOUNGER YEARS, ONLY YOU AND ME, YOUNG, WILD AND FREE (references "not wanting things to change" and wanting "to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter, and the "But we're not kids anymore" comment during the Byler fight)

ENDLESS OCEAN and SWIM, LIKE DOLPHINS (references water's significance in the show)

FLAMES (Will in front of the burning car in s4 teaser?)

LIES and LYING (Mike lying to El about how he feels)

INSTINCTS RETURNING, FACADES BURNING, WITHOUT MY PRIDE, I REACH OUT FROM THE INSIDE (Mike's feelings for Will are his instincts, the facade is the act he put on in s3 to seem straight, burning could reference Will & fire, and I think the last 2 lines of that 2nd verse reference vulnerability- perhaps in an apology/confession)

I GET SO LOST (confusion about his sexuality, feeling lost without the other) and SO MUCH WASTED TIME (known each other since kindergarten but were unaware the other felt the same way/was dealing with same things, they could have been even closer)

KINGS and QUEENS (the d&d game mike wrote where he has king Tristan give him a medal in s1)

STEALING TIME (references "turning back the clock, to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter and the time theme in s4 and time is central to the s4 plot)

AND WE KISS - AND THE SHAME (references the shame they both feel about being gay since it was so stigmatized in the 80's)

Byler @ Prom Possibilities:

If Mike and Will did dance together at the prom, they will probably get bullied because they live in a small conservative town. They will probably either run out, upset, or Eleven will step in to protect them which could lead to the Carrie moment.

Or Mike and Will will not dance together in the actual dance room, but instead sneak off to somewhere else in the school and have a private Byler dance moment where they can't be teased and it's just them together.

OR Mike and Will are still acting weird at this point in the season because neither of them is communicating what needs to be said out of fear, or one of them has confessed or done something to indicate how they feel, but the other hasn’t so everything is weird between them. There would be lots of tension from this and we would get lots of longing looks and adoring moments between the two of them from the sidelines. (I think this one is the most likely)