#she also thought will was in love with el when we watched the van scene together a few months ago so. uh. that's something

[ice-sculptures]

today i watched stranger things with my mom (who has never seen the show) for 20 minutes and she had only three thoughts:

mike is a girl. she wants his "lipstick and eyeliner makeup routine"

mike and will are the same person bc of their "mushoom hair"

nancy is a guy and jancy is a gay couple

[bylrlve]

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things 5 mentioned,

Rewatching episode 2, and I’m genuinely staggered by how many times Mike peeks at Will. It’s very clear his mind is on Will, in fact. I am also staggered by just how many small byler details are in here.

His whole face drops after no. 4 too, as @starbylers observed here.

I also want to include these @chirpsythismorning gifs from the roller rink scene, as they’re brilliant:

Mike watching Will get out of the van, and seemingly offering a hand to him.

Mike openly watching Will as they take their skates.

(X) (X)

These are very deliberate acting choices from Finn Wolfhard, and he was certainly doing it on instruction.

Some other notes on 402:

The transition from Mike and El being fake -> Murray looking up looking like he’s experiencing his Seeing Clearly -> Robin talking about Vickie laughing ‘and not like a cheap, fake laugh, but a real, genuine laugh’, right after we saw Mike hiding his genuine disgust at burritos for breakfast behind a tone of fake laughter.

Mike’s whole face just drops into an unhappy, spaced-out espression when it zooms in on El - this is after Will ignored his sock joke (video here by @buckybxarnes)

As many have observed, Mike and El look genuinely miserable when viewed from Angela’s perspective, as opposed to the shot of them skating with Will miserable behind them

It’s occurred to me that in s2, 3, and 4, the byler plot really takes off in episode 2. I’m wondering if that’s also the case with s5 - I’ve reconsidered my theory that the Mike + El rooftop scene takes place after the hospital plot in ep 2, as I’ve heard that the paparazzi at the filming site were told it was in episode 1.

The door slam/open transition between Joyce going to the bank to get the 40k random for Hopper, utterly singleminded, and Mike barging into the womens’ bathroom, being kicked out, and subsequently starting an argy-bargy with Will as opposed to continuing to prioritise El… well!

The disparity in time is so interesting. El counts off 185 days since she last saw Mike - which is roughly six months, as is canon within the show (Sept-Oct 1985-March 1986). And here Mike is, saying ‘you knew she was having trouble for, like, a year’ and Will saying ‘it’s been a year, Mike’ and, in 404, Mike saying ‘the last year has been weird.’ It’s pretty obvious the last one is Mike referring to their fight nine months earlier, plus the time prior that Mike had spent pulling away from the rest of the Party to focus on El. The second one is Will potentially referencing the time that elapsed since their fight - even if it’s moreso subtext from the writers. What, then, to make of Mike saying Will knew El was having trouble for, like, a year? What subtext could be meant by this? I’d love to hear your guys’ thoughts because u can’t quite deduce this.

Mike listing off everything Will did is so hilarious given the surveillance he carried out all day on the boy, and given the fact that poor El being humiliated publicly and assaulted with liquid before she skated off bawling did not, apparently, ruin the day. On second thoughts, I understand what Will meant… she’s in trouble having Mike’s gay ass for a boyfriend.

What’s striking me now is that this fight + El’s iconic roller skate moment, are the real emotional climaxes of this episode’s M/E/W plot. It could have been Mike finding El and comforting her before she lashed out at Angela. It could have been him talking to her afterwards. It could have been at the house - him following her up to her room and silently comforting her until she fell asleep. No, no. Mike and Will airing out their grievances (and Mike betraying which of the two truly emotionally affects him more) + El handling her own shit, while Mike thoroughly disapproves.

The way that Will just wants to be Mike’s friend, but it’s Mike making it so deeply weird.

The way, also, that they stick together at the rink even after the fight, and Mike openly is more preoccupied by Will in the van. I’ve seen it observed before: the parallel between El and Will staring out the same window in the van crying: Mike looks at Will in the shot. He does not look at El in the shot.

I think it’s hilarious that Mike ends the fight by feigning concern for El - he offered her no comfort whatsoever, actively stood away from her when she was waiting for Jonathan and Argyle to arrive, ignored her crying in the van, and of course:

She didn’t look fine.

Mike and Will are blocked together, not Mike and El

The sincerity of Mike’s concern over El juxtaposed with the rank falseness of ‘no, that’s…that’s not true, maybe I was a little upset in the moment’ etc really sticks out - the defensiveness is reminiscent of the tone he took with Will during the fight, but even then he was more sincere-sounding because he was more emotionally affected.

Bylers don’t talk enough about the insanity of ‘who… who said that I didn’t?’ In context, thinking logically, Mike is very likely referring to Will here (the bullies were shouting at her, he could hear what they were saying)- and why would his mind immediately go to ‘Will thinks I don’t love El, and has told her his suspicions?’ Why would he take a defensive tone?

Seriously, 402-403 M/W/E may well be the plot that (potentially) spells out byler endgame the most.

[evilbookworm]

Mileven and Billverly parallels

Ok I’ve been wanting to do this post for a while, (if you’ve seen my blog recently it’s dropped a few hints over how Mike and Bill are compared) so I am gifting you it with the best of my knowledge on cinematography (Watching lesbianmindflayer videos)

My number one priority is mentioning that yes, I do think the Duffers are purposely paralleling them. I mean, they have mentioned loving Stephen King’s work have they not? There’s also the reference to Mr. Baldo the clown in season 2 when Bob is talking to Will about getting over his fears. Of course, this might seem like a coincidence, but then Bob brought up Maine, which is where Derry, and most of Stephen King’s works are set, so I think it’s safe to say that there are some parallels to IT.

                               

First, I’d like to point out that Mike is the Party’s leader, just as BIll is for the Losers Club. It’s never been made official or anything, but it’s there. 

You may be wondering why them being leaders has to do with anything, but I assure you It’s an important parallel. Now, we can also see some parallels between how both Mike’s friends and Bill’s friends encourage them to pursue a relationship with El and Bev.

Now I want to bring up the way Bill and Bev bonded, and how after the Neibolt house, she’s the only one that stayed with him. We can also directly compare the fight between Mike and Lucas to the one between Bill and Richie. Lucas and Richie were both jealous and concerned about safety. Richie for Eddie and Lucas for all of them.

Now a small comparison between Bev and El. Bev sees the deadlights, which grants her visions of the losers in the future.  Then we have El, who can’t see into the future but can see where people are. Here are some images:

 Not very direct, but something they have in common.                       

We also have multiple times where Bill encourages his friends to help him find Georgie, as Mike does with Will.

Now let’s talk about the kiss. The first kisses are both quite similar. Both of them are done in a heat of the moment type way. In both scenes, the girls are taken aback.  

  They are incredibly similar and one of them isn’t an endgame ship.

Mike and Bev Comparisons + Benverly and Byler

Now, let’s talk about the Ben, Beverly, and Bill love triangle being paralleled to the Mike, El, and Will love triangle. More direct comparisons with Bev and Mike here. First, and most importantly, we have the poem and the painting. Bev receives this from Ben, and Mike receives this from Will.

The poem Ben sends to Bev is anonymous, and Bev doesn’t remember it’s from Ben until the second reunion they have. While not exactly paralleled to the painting Will gives Mike, it is similar. Will makes it look like the painting is from El, and Bev thinks the poem is from Bill.  

 Now, Bev realizes the poem is from Ben twice, the first is when he kisses her to save her from the deadlights, the second 27 years later in Pennywise’s layer when Ben recites it to her while they’re trapped in their visions, though Bev previously thought it was from Bill. This could be a direct comparison to the van scene, where it’s possible that Mike knows the truth about Will’s feelings. Mike may forget about this later, unless it is confessed to him while he’s being Vecna'd.

                                               

I also think Mike will be the one to be Vecna’d, so that’s another possible parallel to Bev. Bev is the one who isn’t very expected to be taken, but she is. Just like Mike. It isn’t expected to happen to him, but it will.                 

Mike + vecna imagery

And like with Ben and Bev, Will will break Mike out of Vecna’s trance. I can’t say it’ll be with a kiss, because Mike will most likely be hovering several feet in the air, but it’ll definitely be done by Will somehow.

So, in conclusion, Ben and Bev end up being endgame, and so will Mike and Will.

Not a very in depth analysis, really, but these are some good parallels I found and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone delve into the comparisons between them. 

Anyways, BYLER ENDGAME!!!        

(P.S. I spent like 3 hours looking for the right images so please don’t let this flop 🙏) 

[thethingsweneversaid]

Am I crazy or did I just crack the mystery of the monologue scene????

Why did they lose against Vecna in season 4? What were they missing?

They lost the race against time. Time was obviously significant this season (The grandfather clock, Vecna's obsession with time, the UD being frozen in time). The time was simply up, they were too late. Who’s to blame? Mike Wheeler. 

Okay, let me explain, haha.

Throughout the whole series we all know Mike being late, or almost late to things is recurring. Every season in fact. S1: Mike’s campaign was too long, and he tried to get the party to stay past their curfew. S2: Mike was trying to get in contact with El on his walkie, almost making him late to the arcade. S3: Mike was almost late to the cinema because he was with El, making them almost miss the beginning of the movie. S4: Mike was reading El’s letter, almost making him and Nancy late for school... He begins every season with a race against time. Also worth noting that El was the reason for him being late in s2, s3 and s4. Also ALSO worth noting that in season 1, Mike begs his parents to let the party stay longer. The campaign took two weeks to plan! They need to finish it. He has no rush. While in all the other seasons (when he was late because of El), we get a "Shit! Shit! I'm going to be late"-version of Mike. He's stressed out and rushed. Not sure where I'm going with this last point, but I'm sure it means something and that it'll make sense in s5. The point is, Mike gets distracted by El.

Now for the monologue. This time, it's not Mike getting distracted by El. It's him distracting El.

Jason was obviously a key reason for them being too late as well. The scenes switch between Lucas fighting him and Mike’s monologue, comparing the two. Jason destroys Max’s walkman, destroying her connection to Lucas and the world outside her mind. Mike tries to get El to wake up by lifting her out of the freezer, taking off her glasses, Will shoves the radio away. They’re trying to get her out of Max’s mind and into the real world again. But El doesn't want to wake up. She is ready to fight for Max. The boys obviously tried to help because who knows what would’ve happened if they didn’t? They thought El was dying. When Mike begins his monologue, El looked away from Max and up “towards Mike’s voice”. She was listening to him now. Getting distracted. El continuously tells people throughout the series to be quiet when going into her “trance”. People talking distracts her, and she needs to concentrate. Mike also reminds the audience of the importance of the sensory deprivation tank. "It helps her calm down and focus on her powers". With Mike removing all the aids that help her concentrate (the glasses, the tank, the radio), while also talking to her, we can only assume that now, El isn’t only fighting to save Max, but also to stay in Max’s mind, further slowing her down.

At the end of the monologue, Mike reminds her she has to fight, and El’s eyes snap back to Max. That’s when she breaks loose from the vines. Whether you think El believes what Mike is saying and utilizes his loving words for strength or not, it’s still a distraction. I’ve seen a lot of people say that they felt impatient while watching this scene. Like «get on with it! Vecna is literally killing Max RIGHT NOW». And we're probably right to feel impatient! That's probably what the writers were going for! The audience was supposed to feel like that. El lost valuable time because of it. Mike is making them late this time too.

Will is also kinda to blame in this (I don't blame any of them, it's just an unfortunate set of events and they all did what they thought was best, but you get what I mean) Because in a way, Mike is distracted too. Distracted from the truth. That happened when Will lied to him in the van, disguising his own feelings for Mike, using El as a distraction for Mike to focus on instead. Will's guiding Mike towards a lie. He convinced Mike that El was feeling a certain way, which she WAS NOT. (For example: "You make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all, like she’s better for being different." cue Mike and El’s fight where she accuses him of thinking she’s a monster too, like everyone else.) (This also contrasts Will singling Mike out as the only person that doesn't treat him differently in season 2 in that scene with Will and Jonathan.) Mike doesn’t make El feel the way Will portrayed it in the van, though Mike is led to believe that she does.

Therefore, making the feelings that was the foundation for the monologue a lie. Both to Mike and El. It isn’t authentic. This doesn't apply to them. which brings me to my next point. 

 "A paladin swears to uphold justice and righteousness, to stand with the good things of the world against the encroaching darkness, and to hunt the forces of evil wherever they lurk. Different paladins focus on various aspects of the cause of righteousness (honesty=righteousness and honor for Mike), but all are bound by the oaths (promises, “friends don’t lie”) that grant them power to do their sacred work. Oaths, honor, and rigid rules define a paladin's everyday actions. Breaking these oaths (by lying) means their deity will revoke their powers."

This is why his monologue didn’t work. It was a lie (And Mike knowingly or unknowingly portrayed that lie to El). Without his honesty, Mike the paladin loses his powers. He couldn’t save them. 

Will’s selfless attempt to save their relationship sadly turned out to be counter-productive in every way, hindering all of them from seeing the truth. Will was also the one that told Mike not to stop, when in reality, maybe stopping and letting El be was exactly what he should've done. He's the heart. But he's Will's heart. That's what Will would've wanted Mike to do, seeing as Mike has saved him/snapped him out of his episodes multiple times by speaking to him: Of course Will thinks that's the right thing to do! Mike's doing what Will would've needed, not El.

It adds a new layer to El being upset with Mike in the cabin by the end of s4, because it isn't as simple as "she knows Mike is lying" or "She's just upset because they lost". She's upset because once again Mike doesn't trust that she knows her own limits (This being a huge reason for conflict in s3 between El/Mike/Max.) Mike worries because he cares of course, but it isn't what El needs ("Mike, I need you to trust me.") When Mike tries to help her, she fails. But she "redeems herself" when she's making her own decision, without outside influences other than love for her friends. She pushes her limits further than ever before, bringing Max back to life, trusting herself and her powers, without Mike knowing.

Mike is the heart, yes. The problem was - the heart was in the wrong place. They all got it wrong this time. They got confused and misunderstood each other. That’s why they lost. In the next season, I believe Mike and El are going to realize that they’ve both been focusing on the wrong things, and that is how they’re going to win. Still using love as their weapon - just a different kind of love that’s not distracting them from what they really need, not slowing them down. El coming fully into her own, reaching her full potential and using her powers the way she knows best, with the support of her loved ones making her stronger - not under the influence of Mike trying to stop her out of worry. And Mike’s heart being in the right place. With Will. 

I've seen other people talk about this next part, but I'm adding it in because it further proves the point.

Another indication that proves to me that at least SOME of the monologue is a blatant lie is the Romeo and Juliet parallel, with the word "Montague" spelled out behind Mike, and the "love at first sight"-refrence. "I knew right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you." That. is. a. lie. and there's just no going around it. Romeo and Juliet's romance wasn't actually real love, just infatuation. The Duffers also said they don't believe in love at first sight. For them to use that trope wouldn't just be wierd and cliché, but also contradicts everything we were shown in season 1. Are we just supposed to believe that Mike loved her, decpite them showing us otherwise?

More on the Romeo and Juliet thing in this post.

Conclusion: The Duffers are geniuses I’m never getting over this show.

[emblazons]

—woke up from literal sleep to write down the thoughts that clicked for me after I made this post about the Mike/Hopper hug last night, so. Here's the expansion of all of that lmao.

people always talk about the way Mike looked conflicted when El kisses him in S3, on top of the way he seemed fine with them breaking up until she initiated the relationship again (because of the absence of Hopper). I think this is 100% true, and it’s also the start of Mike’s spiral about protecting her we see through S4.

Mike’s “care” in lieu of "love" for El (and lack of ability to tell her he loves he romantically) is directly correlated to Hopper telling him to BE CAREFUL re: El right before he died. Almost as though Mike didn’t even have space to think of El as a true romantic partner— he was too busy trying to hold up the end of her missing “dad," and why he didn't know what to do when she started talking about how she didn't belong (because he's fourteen and not capable of filling the shoes of her father lmao).

the reason why Mike said “I was worried too much about El” is because he was—he was worried in a way suited for a father, not a boyfriend (thank you @emily-tumbles-on for that tag lol).

It’s also why he was so willing to let El go back to Owens���it’s a trusted (-ish) adult figure who could help El in a way his 14 year old self could not. It’s also why he immediately seems okay with letting her go once she says she wants to + throwing away her letter, right up until he realizes where El went is dangerous again, which meant he has to restart the protector-in-Hop’s place worry (which he doesn’t want, but feels powerless to step away from in his paladin-oath-responsibility mind).

When Mike & Will get into it at Rink O Mania over Will not telling Mike what was going on, Will interprets it as romantic attachment when it’s really giving “worried parent” not boyfriend.

That entire “you should have told me” also DIRECTLY REFLECTS the way Mike sees Will as his actual partner and equal no matter the time or distance (like in S2)—and expects him to help shoulder leadership responsibilities the way romantic/life partners would by helping him look after his charge (El).

The whole painting is confusing af for Mike because he does not see El as his partner or lover, but his responsibility in Hop’s absence—and Will, in his projection, is conflating his romantic love for Mike into the familial one between Mike & El. That's also why Mike feels so insecure about not being responsible enough (!!!) and why he looks dejected the way a parent would when you tell them you want do something they used to think was fun before having a kid when Will says “we could just play DnD and Nintendo for the rest of our lives.”

The van scene takes on a whole new meaning when you think about how the second Will made it about El, it forced Mike into a mental conundrum because he felt loved as himself at first…only to have it thrown back in with this wildly inappropriate parental responsibility he has for El because of Hop’s loss. (I watched the van scene again with this in mind and...lmao. Mike's expressions make absolute sense once you keep this conflation / confusion in mind)!

Yet another reason Mike and Jonathan need to have another conversation is because both of them have been suffering from a severe parentification—Jonathan for Will, and Mike for Eleven.

Hopper returning leaves space for both of them to move back into age-appropriate selfishness/relationships (aka think about their own wants and needs with Nancy and Will for a change) because Joyce doesn’t need Jonathan to fill the “man of the house” space, Will is going to “come of age” and have Mike, and El is gonna have her dad.

....all that to say these (and probably a million more things) become WAY clearer when you realize Mike is carrying the burden of Hopper's absence not as a boyfriend, but as 14 year old boy filling a parent space...which makes me really glad Hop didn't really die in S3 all of a sudden lmao. And also...Duffers. FREE MIKE WHEELER 2025

[strawberrybyers]

since it’s stranger things day, let’s take some time to reflect on a few facts

mike describes to will that meeting el was “simple dumb luck” but then when he’s encouraged by will to talk to el from the heart, he tells her meeting her was one of the best days of his life…??? when mike is in the van talking to will; he is speaking from the HEART. he is saying exactly what he feels also without saying it directly. go back and watch the van scene again. the tone and pace mike is speaking at shows this is something he’s been feeling for awhile and it bothers him.

just a little reminder that mike, lucas, and dustin were in the woods LOOKING FOR WILL! they stumbled upon el and when she gave an inkling that she knew something about will, mike wanted her to stay. he was quick to abandon her when they see will’s “body” get retrieved from the lake. mike is PISSED. he feels betrayed because he felt like el was his only hope to finding will, but instead there is no hope as he now believes will is dead. el had hope in mike as she felt like she could be a “normal” girl with him. she’s experiencing a type of kindness and care that she has never received before until mike reacts the way he does when they go to the lake. remember, el’s upbringing has been centered around transactional relationships. she has never just “received” kindness because someone felt like it. everybody has always had a goal when it came to el. it’s not that mike is a bad person or he did anything wrong for wanting el around to find will. i mean, hell, who wouldn’t want to keep someone around who has info on their missing best friend?? but just interesting when you think about this in the context of how mike and dr. brenner have been paralleled before. more apparent when they literally show a scene in season 4 of when mike asks el “what did you do?” and they follow up with a scene of papa asking the same thing. all i’m saying is—is that mike and el’s relationship didn’t start because of “love at first sight” like mike claims in his “love confession” to her. we literally see how their relationship came to be. just to rewatch season 1 and you’ll see it for yourself.

when will is missing, the only thing that is on mike’s mind is will. if someone mentions will, he defends him. he spends the entire fucking season looking for him and convincing everyone that he is NOT DEAD. in season 2, when el is “missing” from his life, yeah, he’s concerned, but once again HE IS FOCUSED ON WILL. where is he the entire time in season 2? oh yeah, that’s right by will’s side!! even after el walks through the door, his main goal is still helping will!! i’m not saying this to give some impression he doesn’t care about el because i think he does, but not on the same scale as will!

in season 3, mike and el break up. all it took was max to show el a friendship that is not transactional to realize “oh wait maybe i don’t need a boyfriend?”. mike and el’s breakup is actually pretty significant to both of their characters. watching how they both handle the breakup is a testament to what their characters are actually feeling. the breakup for el shows her yearn for independence once again. the breakup for mike shows that maybe he wasn’t in the relationship for the right reasons? shows how he ONCE AGAIN prioritizes will’s feelings?? el breaks up with him and he lays on the couch burping and farting, but him and will get into an argument and he’s in the rain looking for him?? i thought el was the “love of his life”?? why isn’t he after her in the rain?? HE JUST LOST HER AGAIN AFTER GETTING HER BACK AND HE SITS AT HOME??? in season 4, he explains his insecurity and fear of abandonment. he’s afraid she’ll realize he’s some “dumb nerd” and not want to be with him anymore… um, sorry to interrupt your very real feelings mike, but she kind of did that in season 3??? max tells her there’s more to life than stupid boys, then she walks up to you and says “i dump your ass” and walks away laughing… like the thing you’re worried about already happened and you stayed home?? but you LOSE will and you are up and out the door. in season 4, he TELLS will that he feels like he lost him. he hates losing will. he’ll always be right there to mend things with will because losing will brings a type of pain that he is afraid of and that was his motivation for his love confession. the day he met el maybe wasn’t the best day of his life because he met the “love of his life”, but maybe because he met her and she helped bring back THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.

[gayofthefae]

What if Mike was finally gonna tell El he loved her and wanted to be her friend in the pizza scene. Think about it. Avoiding the topic clearly wasn't helping him to not lose her, so he had been talking to Will about working up to tell her something hard to hear - that he loves her and wants to be her friend - but he was scared that she only loved him romantically and would leave him. That is, until Will told him that she would never leave him and showed him how much he sees her. That made him feel more secure and like he could tell her how he really felt without her leaving.

Like in my recent post, I misremembered another ElMike moment as more romantic than it was. I thought Mike was smiling when he was about to tell her something in the pizza place and that made me think maybe it was that he loved her. I just rewatched it. He wasn't.

This is not the face of a boy who has been desperately trying to tell El something he knows she wants to hear and finally can. According to him, his fear was admitting it to himself, providing no reason to be scared to tell her as by the time he says it out loud he would have had to admit it to himself already. The face of the boy I just described would be smiling, nervous, but just a little smile like a misremembered - similar to the one he was making a few seconds prior when he said "I missed you too". This is not that boy.

This is face of a boy nervous about how the girl in front of him will react. This the face of a boy still scared shitless that El will leave him, but with just enough confidence gained to do it. He is nervous in this image. He is watching her reaction steadily in anticipation for what he's about to say.

If what he said in his speech was true, he wouldn't be scared of her reaction. He was scared of eventually losing her and having that hurt more because he invested more, not as an immediate consequence of saying I love you. And even if he had been consciously lying, he would not have been scared for her reaction. Hell, the whole argument for him lying in the later scene is that it's the safe choice in terms of how she'll take it!

The image above is of a boy focusing on breathing in and out, watching for El's reaction to what he's about to say. Rewatch that scene. He's nervous. I do think that the van scene gave him the courage and security in his relationship to finally tell her how he really feels. But I don't think that was romantic love like we later heard from him.

And now, just like Will in his lie, he's trapped. Because you can tell someone you trust needs you that you want to be their friend. And he was ready for that much. But what you CAN'T do is tell them you want to be more than their friend knowing it's what they want to hear then take it back. So now he's stuck in this lie again. Because he was ready to tell her. But revoking what he said is an entirely different level to that truth.

And the more I talk, also, (and this isn't required to this interpretation, branch of here if you like), I don't think Mike knows his feelings for Will yet. I think that'll come with the painting reveal. In short, I think his defensiveness comes from an avoidance of the topic that he'll be forced to confront when the painting comes to light.

But this is somewhat a case of Occam's Razor. I don't think they lied that much. Mike's arc was still about not being able to tell El the truth of his feelings before she left so he spent the whole season working up to it and getting over his fear of losing her. I think his focus of this season was El and that Will didn't play into it for him yet, like we saw. "He's oblivious". But unlike we saw, I don't think that he told her that truth. The arc is what we thought it was: Mike working up to telling El the truth, but Mike and Will's arcs this season are parallels in that way: two boys building up to tell someone they love their true feelings, overcoming fear of losing them, only to, when the moment comes, trap themselves in a lie they can't take back so easily.

[wheelercurse]

Let’s put Mike’s monologue in context. And I don’t mean just its place in the story (that it happened thanks to Will) but look at the big picture. Its position in the whole season about truth and lies, but not in a black/white mindset. It’s more nuanced. 

It’s a season where characters sometimes lie, omit some truth, or are mistaken about what it’s the truth. They aren’t always completely honest for different reasons.

The season starts with a misleading scene. And we (the audience) will learn the truth of what happened when El does it too, who also was mistaken. She thought that she had caused the massacre. She had buried her memory thanks to her trauma. 

The following sequence is the narration of El’s letter. In this letter, El lies about her life in Lenora; she isn’t having a good time there. But also she said some things about her family that weren’t true, but she wasn’t lying about it. She just assumed things that weren’t true.: Joyce didn’t enjoy her new job,  Will wasn’t painting for a girl, and Jonathan wasn’t nervous because he was waiting for his acceptance letter. He has it already. 

So since the beginning, they’re telling us, “Watch out. Don’t take everything at face value.”

This season, our heroes sometimes lie, and our villains sometimes tell the truth. Or sometimes, the characters hide some truth. Even some characters gave long speeches where they were not completely honest. I already talked about one: El’s letter. But here are more examples:

Will’s speech in the van, when he’s describing his feelings as El’s. There’s some truth because the feelings are real but not from El.

Robin’s story about why she’s interested in Victor Creel. She started it with: “And I’ll tell you the truth, Anthony. These aren’t my clothes. I borrowed them because I wanted you to take us seriously. Because nobody takes girls seriously in this field.” it’s interesting because she’s telling the truth. Those clothes weren’t hers, and she used them so they could pass as students. Again there’s truth in there, but she’s also hiding something.

Steve’s speech to Nancy about his dream, which later he confesses was true, but he was omitting something. “It’s all true. But I left one part out. The most important part. You’re there.” 

Jason’s speech when he is sure that the Hellfire Club is a satanic cult. “I know what I saw. And I have come to accept an awful truth. These murders are ritualistic sacrifices.” He thinks he has discovered the truth but is mistaken. Again he wasn’t lying, but he was also not telling the truth.

Max’s letter to Billy. She’s not lying per se, but she’s saying all this like she’s suffering because she missed him. But that wasn’t the whole truth like Vecna told her. She was suffering from guilt for being relieved and happy that her abuser had died.

I’m not saying that all the speeches weren’t completely honest, but most were. One that was honest was Max’s when she admitted to Vecna that she wanted Billy to die. “You were just telling the truth.”

She completed her arc, and someone could say that Mike also completed his and told El that he loved her, but that would mean that his arc was about saying ily to his girlfriend, which brings me to another important point. In this season character’s inner conflicts were about learning, accepting or hiding some truth:

El has to learn the truth about the massacre and herself. She isn’t a monster (or a superhero)

Will was hiding his feelings for Mike.

Max has a hard time dealing with his guilt about the truth: She wanted Billy to die.

Jonathan lied about his acceptance letter because he didn’t want Nancy to throw away her dream.

Nancy also pretends everything is fine with Jonathan until she admits to Robin that she is worried about their relationship status.

So it’s not far-fetched to think that Mike’s arc was related to some truth that he was hiding or didn’t accept, especially when we had Will telling him this: “Sometimes I think it’s just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel. Especially to people you care about the most. Because what if they don’t like the truth?” and Mike nodding in a close-up.

What would it be the truth that he was hiding that he was in love with El? In that case, she would like it. That’s exactly what she wanted to hear when he couldn’t say it.

Some people would say, “well, the truth he was hiding was about his insecurities.” I would think they’re right, but:

They didn’t talk about their insecurities in a proper conversation.

It would be a good character development if we don’t have Will literally encouraging him to talk.

He didn’t use the truth motif when talking about his insecurities.

This brings us to another point.

First, when Mike told El his insecurities about how he was scared of losing her, and one day, she realized that she didn’t need him anymore, so it would hurt more. I don’t think he was lying. Mike is scared of losing people he loves, and he probably would have a hard time saying it because when he loses them, it hurts more. And you will say you’re contradicting yourself. But no, I think he wasn’t saying the whole truth like some characters because there were other reasons why he wasn’t saying ily.

Ok, now back to my point. The use of the motif. Mike used this word in three different scenes, and the curious thing is that his last statement contradicts the first two:

“Listen, the truth is, the last year has been weird, you know […] it’s Hawkins. It is not the same without you”

“But the truth is, when I stumbled on her in the woods, she just needed someone. It’s not fate. It’s not destiny. It’s just simple dumb luck.”

“But the truth is, El, I don’t know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods [….] And I knew right then and there, in that moment that I loved you.”

He was telling Will how weird his time in Hawkins had been without him. And then practically said the same thing to El but tried to paint it more romantic. He also said to Will that his meeting with El was dumb luck, and he only knew that she needed someone. But in his monologue, he described that meeting as love at first sight. Also, how could his life have started that day when he was looking for his missing friend, the one whose town isn’t the same without him? So he was lying.

I think deep down Mike knew that he was lying, but he also kept lying to himself about his true feelings. But that’s an analysis for another day.

My point is that Mike wasn’t completely honest in his monologue. There were truth in his monologue, but not everything was true.

[wheeler-fan]

Ffs why is thmblr limiting the amount of words we can put in a comment? 😭

well, I believe from what I saw in the show that Will doesn't have internalized homophobia. He knows he is gay and he accepts it. I believe he is simply mad about himself for loving Mike the way he does. He believes he has no chance to end up with him. That's what hit my eyes the most when I was watching the show.

Idk I was also thinking:" why did the duffers make Will fall in love with Mike specifically when Byler was the purest friendship of the show?". They could have showed us Will pinning on boys just like they did with Robin or Dustin(with Max). Why Mike? It doesn't make sense to me unless the story isn't over. Now, how will this story end ? I don't know but it's not over.

I doubt Mike has internalized homophobia or at least I don't see it in the show. I think Mike is lost between what he wants and what people want him to be/do. This is why he lets his mom choose his clothes , this is why he is a fan of Eddie who is against conformity , this is why in season 3 he said that a boy and a girl are supposed to hang out together and make out a lot (when it's not true. He can have friends and be in a relationship. He shouldn't be forced to make his life about his relationship the way he thought he needed to do),... I may be wrong but this is what my neutral ass is telling me.

About the I love you, here is my take : I think Mike probably saw that his parents were telling each other ily in the past but Mike saw that their relationship is a big flop so I believe that since Mike isn't sure that El is the right person for him, he refuses to do like his parents and give her false hopes. He probably thinks that ily is a word you shouldn't tell anyone unless you're sure about your feelings. Now, he saw that El needed that ily and when she was almost dying in front of him, he probably thought about smth that would make El very happy and allow her to get stronger which is that ily word. Now, I believe that this ily was a little pushed because Mike really wanted to save El (he is the heart). It didn't come spontaneously. Pretty sure that if Will didn't remind Mike about what he told him in the van, that monologue would have never happened.This is why I am not sure Mike will be able to tell her ily that easily when she will ask him to unless Mike is sure about what he wants. If when he gets his shit together, he realizes that El is the one then I think he will definitely be able to tell it to her more easily but if he realises that it's other factors such as what people expect him to be that lead him to think that being with El was the right thing to do then he will tell her ily but this time he will make it clear to her that it's not romantically. I think that El's independent arc lead her to detach herself from Mike meaning that she doesn't have that codependency issues she had before. It's good.

Thank you for listening to me btw 🙌

lmao😭 alright it's gonna be a long message😭

1. "Will doesn't have internalized homophobia"

wrong, from the very first episode we already know that Lonnie was making fun of him and bullied him for a possibility that he's gay, also he was bullied in school, was it bc of the possibility of being gay? who knows, but later we have a scene between mike and troy at school- and why did mike react like this in the first place? because troy was making fun of his missing "dead" friend saying that he's gay, that might be the proof that Will was bullied for being "gay" in school not even knowing that he's actually gay (i think that if he knew already then he was trying to deny it) Now let's focus on s3- mike tells him "it's not my fault you don't like girls" it was not supposed to be homophobic!!!! from mikes pov Will was calling his girlfriend stupid only bc he's the only one in the party without a girl and who's not interested in that stuff (yet or yk👀) and who's fault is that? definitely not Mike's 🙄(actually yeah it is your fault Michael 😭😭😭) but how did Will reacted?? do u remember? he started to think that his priority is "stupid" and that he should let it go and focus on something else like the rest of the party. In s4 we can see that he's actually struggling with his feelings for mike, he said in the van scene something like this "and when you're different, sometimes you feel like a mistake" and let's not forget the part in the script "i hate who i am" . This is for everyone who thinks that mike has internalized homophobia- it's actually Will byers and duffer brothers were telling us that since the very beginning. It's about Will Byers, it always has been.

2." byler was the purest friendship of the show" well idk what to say here, it depends. Byler is special, because dustin,lucas,will- they're all Mike's friends, his best friends, and when dustin was trying to tell mike that lucas is his best friend, mike was really mad and said that dustin is his best friend too (and to prove it he jumped of the cliff for his teeth😭) mike is really loyal, he would never pick his favourite friend, he loves everyone, and every his friend is different and he acts different around them, for example: ofc that he will be nicer to Will than to lucas, Will is a little pookie and everyone is nice to him😭(whatever he likes it or not👀) (when they were joking around in s3 it ended really bad, that shows that Will is not a person that will take that with a distance) and lucas is more a person to joke and yk do all that stuff. But there's a difference from Will's pov and I'm not talking about his feelings for mike, it's about the fact, that he shares lucas with mike, and he shares dustin with mike, but mike himself is like a safe place for him, it was his first best friend, they met in kindergarten and they were a duo, I'll risk to say that mike was always the closest friend to will mostly bc of that, but mike doesn't have his fav, he's just more calm, caring and loving around Will than Dustin and Lucas cuz Will is different, he always has been different. Their relationship was special, but it got "ruined" in s3 when we can see that mike has different priorities than Will. And did they ruin their friendship? i don't think so, ofc they argued in s3-4 but it's important, it was a sign that their friendship is different from mike& lucas or mike&dustin ones. Will's coming out doesn't have to be the end of their sweet friendship, who said that?? like, we don't know anything yet, why does everyone think it's the end of their friendship and that there's something more? i think that it will help them to develop and become a really iconic and powerful duo in s5.

3. "i doubt mike has internalized homophobia" well here i agree but that's bc i believe he's straight lmao😭😭

4. i think mike exactly knows what he wants(or who🗿), but at the same time he wants to fit, he wants to be a normal teenager with a normal life and be happy.

5. About Mike's mom choosing his clothes- i think the best season for mike was s3, he was actually himself then, and he was wearing what he wanted to, in s1 he was wearing clothes that a good son from a big rich family wears, in s2 he was literally depressed and he did not care about that💀, and in s4 he was trying to look cool, for El, for Eddie, for himself. So yea s3 was his season. I think that the time between s3-4 mike was really lost (new school, he lost his girlfriend and best friend, he was extremely bullied by the whole school etc.) and he just did not care enough to focus on his clothes that much (until hellfire club)

6."he is a fan of Eddie" well actually he was 😚(😭). And it's actually a hard thing to talk about, i see it like this- it was just mike and dustin against the whole school, and then Eddie wanted them to join hellfire, it's better to be with someone that with everyone yea? so they wanted to join, they wanted to be a part of something, they wanted to fit. We can see a huge difference between how Eddie treated Dustin and how Eddie treated Mike. That's probably the reason why mike felt like he needs to change his look (hair, clothes) to fit and be liked like Dustin.

7. "he said that a boy and a girl are supposed to hang out together and make out a lot" well not exactly. Also let's remember that it's his first relationship and he's 14, he was dealing with a horrible trauma cuz he thought El is dead so now they wanted to spend all their time together. People can say whatever they want, but mike was paying attention to his friends, maybe not as much as before El but that's not surprising, oh god they were young teenagers in love leave them alone. El is the one people should worried about cuz she literally had no life except mike, so yea max helped a lot here, she helped El to find herself, also it's very important that El finally have her own friend, and not a friend that she shares with mike.(see i said "have"😽 can't say that anymore 😭😭😭😭) but El changed after s3, and I'm sure that they are more mature rn, and their relationship will never look the way it did at the beginning of s3 again.

8. about the ily i have my own perspective, but if u believe that mike is gay or anything like that then u won't even listen to me and i don't wanna argue with a wall😭😭 but I'm focusing on Mike's character since 2019 and i still believe he's straight. Let's remember that yea he loves El but in common we have a huge trauma about losing her again, he said that he loves her when something bad was about to happen and no one was listening to him ( in s3) but this time it was different, he was scared that she's just going to leave him cuz she doesn't need him anymore (i mean she was lying to him about how perfect life she has in lenora without him so i don't blame him) and he was scared to say it, he was scared that if he will then she will leave him sooner than she already planned. Ofc it might be connected to his parents, he doesn't really use a word "love" but he's just an awkward teenager, talking about feelings is never easy and some people have a bigger problem with that and it's okay, that's exactly what makes this show real. The monologue was honest, I'm sorry but mike is literally such a loyal, caring, and loving character, he would never, NEVER say to her that he can't live without her only for her to save the world and then to leave her for her brother(or literally anyone else)he would never do that. And Will wouldn't even allowed him to do that anyway 😭 the whole theory is wild to me.

9. have u seen the leaked mileven s5 scene? well, we don't know what are they talking about, but we can see how mature mike is. He's way calmer when he talks to her, he's not losing his words like he does rn, and their conversation looks way better than the ones they already had, so i feel like it's not about mike who doesn't know what he wants, it's just about 14 old awkward teenager who's struggling with opening up about how he feels. People really blame mike that he can't say it straight to El, but did Will manage that? no. And that's totally okay, they're just teenagers, we need to stop judge them so bad😭

sorry that it's so long and late!!😭😭😭

[zannolin]

loving the stranger things posting as someone going through a sudden random stranger things phase lol. i have a question: what makes byler an interesting dynamic for you? i'm not a big shipper person personally but i like to hear people's thoughts!

it's so funny i got here because i was suffering from cares too much disease about the karate kid and i needed something to distract me and then um. it did more than distract.

sidenote: coming back to say this got??? so long. so i'm sorry lol. i'm a chronic rambler.

i'll be honest i never actually shipped byler seriously until literally 2 months ago today. i sort of went "haha what if...?" back in 2022 mostly because my friend was into it and i really love mike as a character. oh mike wheeler the character that you are...i've loved him since 2016 lol and i loved him and will as a dynamic since i saw s2. i was so sold on their friendship, and then s3 and s4 were brutal for me to watch as someone who has grown apart from a lot of friends because of similar circumstances (moving, mostly, but also some relationships, and the inherent tragedy of growing up, and the fact that having a shitty family and being 15 can do a lot of damage to your relationships if you're not careful, etc) so like basically i then got More into them because i am obsessed with friendship estrangement plots. and i like both their characters. ("like" is such an understatement even in 2022 i was unhinged about michael wheeler)

frankly they're interesting to me as a ship for all the same reasons as they're interesting to me as a friendship: devotion, knowing someone better than you know yourself, the fear of loss, the fear of change, how easy vs how hard it is to grow up with someone, estrangement, feeling like you're a bad person and self-sabotaging, etc. the funny thing is i didn't even think will was gay or that there WAS (one-sided, anyway) byler until the literal van scene in s4 because i have that little faith in netflix lol, not to mention i used to be a mileven shipper. and then s3 happened which killed my interest in that and then s4 beat the dead horse from here to california. i realized for one thing mike being queer is really interesting to me and opens a lot of room for fun angles on his canonical character with comphet and internalized homophobia, etc, and it works very well with established canon. to me.

i'm honestlyyyy kind of surprised i got into it at all because besides the fact that i'm not a big shipper anymore, i'm RARELY a childhood friends to lovers fan because 1) it's often boring to me, i'm like but why do we need something Other than friendship?? (aro alert) and 2) i personally do not enjoy romance where it's like. you end up with the person you dated in high school? like it's jsut a me thing but i go aaaaaa when it's idk 12 year olds being like "i'm in love" no you're not you're twelve. i literally have DMs of me to my sister watching s4 where i was like michael why are you saying you loved eleven the day you met her, you were twelve and spent the entire season fucking obsessed with finding your best friend and kept dropping her the second she wasn't useful for that, like i love you but you were— what. (regardless of whether or not that bullshit turns out to be, you know, Actually canonically bullshit. that was my reaction lol). um i'm rambling sorry. anyway. they just happened to hit really good beats for me where it could go either way for me (platonic or romantic) and i wouldn't mind and i'm happy with both. but apparently my brain is like What If Romance when it comes to fic for them and i'm being a bit self-indulgent. i want will byers to have nice things and i want mike to not be stuck in the world's worst written relationship ever (to me).

actually the tl;dr is basically everything i like about mike as a character has to do with his plots concerning will, and everything i don't like about what they've been doing with him lately has to do with his relationship with el, so via potentially unintentional gay symbolism, the power of friendship estrangement plots + my love of friendship breakup/makeup scenarios, and my fascination with writing queer loneliness and mutual pining, AND that "good luck, babe" edit, i ended up here.

also finn wolfhard keeps making the most ridiculously intensely tender expressions during byler scenes and i'm a simple creature i see a man with big wet brown eyes and i go oh well mayyybe....

[wibble-wobbegong]

Wibble, I need you to explain me something about the van scene pretty please. It's about Will mentioning "playing nintendo and dnd for the rest of their lives", was Mike sad about El or was he sad because he remembered their rain fight in S3? I'm not entirely sure about this, so I really need your thoughts about this.

short answer: he was thinking about el

long answer: ok so to answer this we’re gonna really have to consider the weight behind that line and the context we were given going into that scene

I’d suggest watching the scene itself while i talk about this bc i can only use photos and those don’t relay the information as well as the scene

so! context. what’re we being set up with? the stuff with mike and will us in the middle of their conversation. it seems they had been looking at stuff on the map already when will brings up vegas. mike responds to will’s question, “from vegas?” as if they had been seeing how far other things were from NINA. probably stuff like gas stations or motels or restaurants, but then will brings up vegas which doesn’t really fit with other stuff so that’s why mike asks “why?” (pronouns: whaey..? with extra breathlessness)

what’s important about mike’s body language in this scene is that he’s watching will intently, staring at will as he talks.

we see mike have this staring problem in scenes when he’s thinking about will because his eyes are naturally drawn to him. will just so happens to occupy a lot of mike’s thoughts, so it happens a lot

there’s a change in this body language after he brings up DND and nintendo, though. mike is no longer able to hold eye contact with will for very long. he’s thinking about something else and he’s thinking about it hard

why does that line trigger this change? well, let’s think about it. DND, video games, rest of their lives. those are all very important in mike wheeler code for loving will. i think it’s important to remember here that mike is still waiting for an answer from will. he’s confessed his feelings and will has yet to confirm or deny his reciprocation. will has just brought up something that immediately reminds him of the struggle of s3 that involved both will and el, specifically the romantic issue. he’s currently in the in-between phase of breaking up with el and being with will here. mike has confessed and will hasn’t responded. el has returned the sentiment that she doesn’t love mike by signing off her letter “from, el” rather than simply breaking up with him

mike being in this weird limbo with both of them and having those old memories brought up probably shone a light on mike’s biggest fear about breaking up with el; losing her. he doesn’t feel like he has value to her outside of being her boyfriend, and he’s been able to ignore it this far but will has just brought up the very thing that almost caused him to lose will because he was obsessing over el. in the same way, i think he’s afraid that when he and el officially break up and he returns to the things he pushed away, he might lose her.

his following rant is mostly filmed like this;

whenever mike is thinking about will, he’s in frame if he isn’t looking at him directly. even when the moment definitely should not call for him to be in frame, he’ll be there if mike is thinking about him. my favorite examples of this!

during this rant, mike is only occasionally and quickly glancing at will before staring back at nothing. will isn’t in frame for the vast majority of his little self deprecating speech!!

really, mike was thinking about el at that point. mike knows he’s in love with will, confessed to him, and he also knows el isn’t in love with him. waiting for will’s response has left mike with a lot anticipation and he’s started to get closer with will in many ways. he’s not afraid of what will has to say, so that isn’t what’s stressing him out right here. he’s worried about how truly embracing himself will impact his relationship with el. he doesn’t want to lose her, but they’ve already started the process of falling apart and he’s been able to distract himself from it but then will says something that hits the very core of a lot of mike’s pain around his feelings for both of them.

that’s why mike looks Like That when will says, “you’re scared of losing her.” he read mike’s mind, but just not in the way he thinks

but basically, he was thinking about el here. he’s spent a lot of time using el as a cover before this conversation, but this wasn’t what one of those moments. when he uses el as a cover, he watches will intently for reactions and he speaks vaguely. none of what mike says is vague and he isn’t looking for a reaction from will. he’s just ranting about his fears to the one person he know he can trust with this information

hope that explains it 👍

[re-rencc]

a little something i never quite finished but somewhat liked that i thought i should share in here, its a byler rewritte of the van scene from wills perspective

to read on AO3

The air seemed to shift, something heavier settled in, mike was still looking at me, my hands were sweaty and I felt like jumping out the van and begging to whoever god had the disgrace of watching over me to give me mercy and a way out of this situacion, but I couldn't do that, not when my friend needed me, not when my sister was in danger, not when their happiness was something I could reach and take with my own hands and give to them, even if in the process I gave up my own, but right now, here, in this hot van that seemed to be robbing me of air, I wanted more, how selfish of me, but I couldn't stop, so with shaky hands and my heart in my throat I gave mike the opportunity to shut down my hopes, to deny and turn around and forget that I even asked.

“can I show you something?”

he nodded and as if I wasn't wishing for his rejection my heart pumped blood a little faster and the world appeared a little brighter

I looked at the painting in my hands, perfectly rolled up and concealed from the world, my heart, my mind, the only thing that for a while felt like my only purpose in a world that no longer had room for me

a deep breathe

a hand moving

a hand receiving

the transaction was over and now there's no turning back, no chance of me just ripping it off mike's hands and throwing it at the dry road left behind us

as he slowly unrolls it everything seems to stop in my heart, but he smiles, and I feel like he doesn't notice that that painting right there is everything in me I wish to extinguish but also hold on like a lifeline, the childish games that I love so much, the longing for something that was ripped from me, the love for someone that I cannot have, and yet, he smiles, so pretty and so dangerous

“this is amazing!”

relief floods my head and clears its way to my lungs that can finally breathe again so i nod and feel myself smile

“did you paint this?”

he sounds excited and happy and my heart can't take it but it also craves more and more and it's giving me unwanted hope, hope that things can go back to how they were

I let myself go, I let myself hope as if I ever stood a chance, as if I wanted one, but this isn't about me, it's about mike

“anyway, my point is, see how you are leading us here, you're guiding the whole party, inspiring us, thats-thats what you do, and see your coat of arms here, its-its a heart, and I know it's sort of on the nose but-but that's what hold this whole party together” you hold me together “heart, be-because, I mean, without heart we all fall apart”

everything is too much and the tears collect in my eyes uninvited

“even el, especially el”

he's looking at me so intensely, like he is drinking in every word, like he takes them and with careful hands stores them away in his heart, and if that not what I have been after, a single second of his attention

“these past few months she's been so lost without you, its just shes so different from other people and …when you're different, sometimes, you feel like a mistake” like you are fundamentally wrong, like you are broken, like you were never whole “but you make her feel likes she's not a mistake at all, like shes better for being different and that gives her the courage to fight on” you give me the courage to fight on, to love, because for every moment I felt not seen, faulty, incomplete, mike was there, and loving him was the most natural thing I have ever done

“if she was mean to you, or-or she seemed like she was pushing you away it's probably because she's scared of losing you just like you are scared of losing her”

so many tears, its like I have never even cried before

“and if she was going to lose you I think she'd rather get it over with quiqly, like ripping off a band-aid”

im ripping the band-aid, quick and with no looking back

“so yeah, el needs you mike, and she always will”

I always will

“yeah?”

I take in air but still feel choked

“yeah”

the tears cannot stop, I cannot stop, I put my hand in my mouth because what's the use of crying for something that never was, so I will mourn my own heart in silence, because even if not rejected I was not truthful, as tears pour I realize that things have changed, that things had to change, that's always the realization that hurts the most, because I yearn for the sleepovers and hours playing D&D, for the simplicity of not understanding what you feel, for the almost naive and childish love

I really wished things never changed but with how much has happened that almost seems foolish to think

[dinitride-art]

I posted 3,944 times in 2022

That's 3,944 more posts than 2021!

365 posts created (9%)

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Blogs I reblogged the most:

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I tagged 3,850 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#byler - 1,196 posts

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Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i’m still stuck on the fact that they had an entire plot line in season four that was just to develop mike and will’s relationship further

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Water in the upside down isn’t there, not with the lake in season four being drained and the pool with barb not having water in it. There’s something going on there. In season three Erica says’ “the human body needs water or it will die.” Season three also has the rain fight in it. In season four mike and wills heart to heart before the shootout has mike positioned in front of wills jaws poster. During the shootout Will is in front of a painting of the ocean/some body of water. When Will coughs up the demogorgon slug he turns the tap on first. El goes into a sensory deprivation tank and in season one and four there are specific shots of people filling it with water with a hose.

In season one they thought Will drowned in a lake. Mike tried to jump off a cliff into a lake. El screamed at her reflection in a pond.

Everyone is always damp in the upside down despite there being no water anywhere.

How did Will survive a week without water? Why is there literally a watergate? Why does that gate part at the end like the sea? Why does El walk on water when she’s in the sensory deprivation tank/searching for people? Why is fire what they need to defeat Vecna? Why are there tracks on the score with the word snow in them? Why in season three does Lucas drink all their water?

393 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

#4

I didn’t post this one either! Anyways I just thought they needed to hug, after almost dying at the start of season 5

400 notes - Posted November 15, 2022

#3

OKAY SO- holy shit this might be something.

In light of the current discussion of the cabin scene and thinking it could be from mikes POV, I raise you the possibility that we’ve actually been in Mike’s perspective more than we think.

Starting with Mikes first appearance; when he’s reading el’s letter. He’s reading her letter. It could have been el writing it the whole time but no. The events being narrated are what mike is seeing and what he isn’t seeing. It’s not el telling him, it’s what he’s seeing and what he’s not.

Next: the apology. I’m saving my pictures here because I’ve got a lot to discuss a little later but, if you look at that scene I’ll bet that Will is in the light. And if you look at the car scene, I’ll bet the same thing. And the triple take. And will painting in els letter. Will is always in the light somehow. And mike is only in the light with him (from what I’ve seen so far) when he apologizes and they actually talk.

But to the main thing here, the van scene. I was watching being differnt + you’re the heart when I noticed this. I’ve been thinking that it looked more like mikes POV than wills but I couldn’t pinpoint why exactly until we started talking about light.

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727 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

#2

Will has Jonathan, he has his mother, he has El. Will Byers has people. And some of them might be unsteady, but he has one person for sure. He has Jonathan.

Mike doesn’t have people.

And I think that’s the difference between how they’ve responded to falling in love with each other.

1,072 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

“I thought that if I tried hard enough- if I was going to fall in love with a girl it would be El.”

Lucas looks at Mike. He’s staring off into the distance. Blinking eyes and shuddering breathes. Lucas doesn’t know what to do.

So he lets him talk. It sounds like he’s needed to for a while.

“But it didn’t-,” Mike’s voice cracks and he looks at Lucas with a plea in his eyes. “It didn’t work.”

Oh.

“I- I’m-. I think- I’m,” Mike looks away again, and Lucas watches him try to force words through his lips that he really doesn’t have to.

Lucas has known Mike and Will for too long to not know what this is about.

Mike starts to tremble, tears battling their way out of his eyes, and Lucas hugs him. When they pull away, Lucas starts to talk.

“Mike, you’re my best friend… and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice some things.”

Mike looks at him with wide eyes, “what?”

Lucas smiles, “you and Will, man. You’ve always been different with Will.”

“Oh… You noticed that?”

“Hard not to… but I think I finally started to understand when you made me bike all the way across town in a rainstorm to apologize to him. When really, it was just you who was apologizing.”

Mike glares at Lucas.

“And thinking about it now, you’ve always been way too protective of him. And a lot nicer to him than you are to anyone else in the party,” Lucas is on a roll now, there are years worth memories finally starting to make sense. Mikes never going to live this one down.

“Hey, wait a minute-.”

“And it’s always been Mike and Will, and then the party. Because apparently you two are just a package deal and then there’s me and Dustin and Max and even El. Like that used to make me feel like you two thought you were better than us… but it makes more sense knowning that…”

“…That I’m in love with him?” Mike admits quietly.

“Yeah. Knowing that you’ve been in love with him this whole time, man-.”

“-wait I thought you were done-.”

“Nope, this will never be over. I have years worth of this shit man. Years.”

“Oh, fuck.”

Lucas laughs.

Mike’s tone changes from lighthearted back to how it was closer to the start of their conversation, “I didn’t expect this to go well. I just needed to tell someone because I kinda felt like I was going to die if I didn’t. So, thank you for not… I don’t even know.”

“Hey, I’m sorry that I made you think that this could’ve gone badly. I-,” Lucas stops, remembering things from years ago. And remembering the look on Mike’s face. “Shit, man, I’m sorry that I was such a dick to you about El.”

“It’s fine. I probably deserved it. It wasn’t I wasn’t being a dick to you too.”

“Still, Mike. This is different.”

“Yeah, it is. I am.”

“…do you think Will is too?”

Mike stares at him, “what? No? I don’t know? Probably not. Why?”

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1,562 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[castlebyersafterdark]

my cousin watched ST for the first time recently and she's a huge m/leven shipper. she said that she liked them better in s1-2 but she still likes them now. I watched final episode with her and she literally squealed over mike's monologue. when mike said, "you were wearing that yellow benny's burgers T-shirt", she was like, "awww he remembers everything 🥹"

she actually explained to me that she likes m/leven so much because she always roots for the main couple. with byler, she picked up on will liking mike during the desert scene in 4x05 and she feels really sorry for him. she wants will to find love and move on from mike in season 5. she believes that mike's aware of will's feelings and that's why they "lost their connection".

I wonder if this is the way GA usually perceive m/leven/byler situation. but also, I have another cousin who watched ST4 last year and she didn't pick up on will being gay at all. she asked me, "why was will crying in the van scene?" and when I said that will's in love with mike, she was shocked (she rewatched the whole show later and told me, "will really is in love with mike. but mike loves el")

it's just, I think it's funny that we discuss the possibility of an implied sex scene in season 5 while there is a huge number of people who believe that will's love is unrequited or don't even realise that will's gay. so my question is, do you think duffers should have made it more obvious that mike has feelings for will? I'm afraid a lot of people will be saying that byler came out of nowhere.

Being exposed to different perspectives like this is so jarring, like I can barely comprehend loving Mike's speech? Truly baffling to me but I know so many people ate that up!! Tough to even sit through it on a rewatch! That's so odd that the mindset is to just root for the main couple no matter what, just because they're on screen? Weird! But is that how most casual watchers of movies/tv consume media? Consume is the key word. Maybe it's a lack of deeper thinking or caring to dive deeper into what's happening on screen. And of course there are people who in no way ever look for the underlying truth, even well-intentioned their mind never jumps to thinking anyone is gay. Straight as default. Not even straight as default, actually, just a non-thought at all.

That's why it's such nonsense that within fandom there's infighting and discourse over head canons and theory interpretation and arguing whether it's ok to even imply anything sexual about characters etc. Because there's a big broad world out there watching the show that watches passively to the point of non-retention. Like the people who've sat through all four seasons and don't retain character names!? How!? I know I get hyper invested in stuff more than the average person but... come on.

I'm conflicted on how I think the show should have gone, because I love it so much and I'll admit part of me bristles when too much criticism is posed towards it, and I know that makes me a little naive or annoying and sensitive, but it is what it is. I think that in an ideal world, maybe this show would have flourished with more time. As in, more episodes per season. I've seen people say that's a bad idea, because storylines could be ruined or the lore could be over complicated and I've seen other people point out that television traditionally for years followed the longer format. The binge limited episode model is modern. But, advanced effects and more expenses over time - less episodes and runtime overall. Look at something like Lost with the characters and lore and supernatural and timelines. Imagine what we could have had with a format like that with Stranger Things. So, I think we're getting what we're getting based on the runtime we have. I think the Mike arc and Byler arc is being treated as part of a twist, part of a big reveal for the most impact the final season. I think looking back it'll be more obvious for people who care to rewatch to see the Mike journey play out. But not everyone cares to rewatch shows. And so be it, that's not who the shows are made for. In the immediate - the show is for everyone. In the long term - the shows are made for people like us.

[ishikawayukis]

y gracias por dejarme spamear mis reacciones es que necesito hablar de esto🫂JAJAJAJAJ

BELLE SANJI TRYING TO STOP HIM DAMMIT!!!! Es que yo me ponía a llorar por Zoro pero después por Sanji y después por los dos JAJAJAJ pero si esa escena, todo ese suceso fue increíble LIKE el hecho que tampoco le dijeron a nadie!! Me parece una falta de respeto si alguien no mira Thriller Back that ending was way too powerful y fundamental para la relación de Zoro y Sanji (in my humble opinion)

Y hablando de todo un poco NO PUEDO CREER QUE HAY ALGUIEN QUE SE VE COMO EL POSTER DE SANJI JAJAJAJAJA y la reaparición de Hachi? That was wild pero aprecio el desglose de personaje he’s so silly and actually very precious<3 And I know this is “just an anime” pero la variedad de temáticas que se muestran/discuten siempre me parece interesante, si vine a reírme y todo but I do appreciate the story wants to get certain messages and points across or at least make people think about it

Y lloro Belle, lloro a mares JAJAJAJA es que no puedo, yo sé que todos van a tener que sobrevivir porque mil y algo de episodios and they’re still there pero 😭😭😭 ver a Luffy viendo cómo toda su tripulación desaparece UNO A UNO y no poder hacer nada *punches air* I want to cry just recalling that scene LMAO horrible porque me hizo llorar pero que increíble escena ES QUE TANTO SUCEDE EN ESE MOMENTO que simplemente lo vuelve más emocionalmente cargado

ALSO NOT THE MUSHROOM SCENE AT THE WATERFALL AND THE PRISON ONE JAJAJAJAJAJAJA SI ME MATÉ DE LA RISA me alegra que pongan este arc de por medio porque yo había quedado traumada and I needed the comedic relief. Y no apruebo la diferencia de edad + Luffy is a minor pero Boa me da un poco de risa porque me recuerda a tanto meme de ser iluso/delulu JAJAJAJA

And I knew Oda would make me cry with Ace y me da una mala espina todo esto que yo siento que voy a volver a traumarme pero quiero creer que al menos Luffy lo va a poder ver o salvar de esta aunque después suceda otra cosa JAJAJAJAJA I’m just this close 🤏🏽 to losing it all y aún no veo dónde terminaron los demás y yo ya quiero saber a dónde me los mandó Kuma porque a este punto siento que los dejó dónde el diablo perdió sus chanclas😭 JAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJA

ay pero yo feliz en serio pq también me de una excusa a mi pa poder seguir hablando AJAJAJ

sanji stopping those two dudes from telling everyone lives rent free in my mind because he gets it!!! he gets zoro so much and he knows he didn't do it to get praised or anything he did it because he thought it was his duty and mAAAAAAAAN i fucking love their we hate eachother but also understand eachother the most dynamic i'm a little insane about them LMAO

cuando vi el primer poster de sanji literal tuve q googlear si oda lo odiaba pq wtf is that man LMAO y el hecho q después lo hizo parte de la trama? oda tu cerebro es tan grande AJAJAJ no pero eso es lo q más me gusta de one piece pq la gente lo puede intentar de negar todo lo q quiera pero es terrible político pero no se toma ningún tema a la ligera. when luffy punched that fucking asshole in the face literally best moment in one piece by far nothing is ever gonna top that

no pero weooooooooooooooon, when i got to that part i was in Shambles because they were all trying so hard to save eachother and they couldn't do anything but watch how they all disappeared in front of their eyes. it's just so well done and so painful

i'm constantly side eyeing boa ngl LMAO i get why she fell for luffy like it makes sense and honestly it's fucking hilarious when she goes full delulu mode and luffy is just like *sticking a finger up his nose*. funny dynamic wish it wasn't an 11 year difference LMAO

no diré nada pq spoilers pero los lugares q kuma los deja son 10/10 para cada uno de ellos, trágicos pero demasiado necesarios esperaré con ansias tu mensaje cuando llegues a esa parte ajajaj

[strawberrybyers]

my very long explanation of why there could still be hope for byler

it’s odd to me that the dynamics between the characters literally carry the show and the duffers know that, but destroy byler. their friendship took a turn in season 3 and the audience literally has no idea why. mike treats will weird at the airport, doesn’t write or call him for the months they were apart, and the audience literally has no idea why. will then expresses how he’s feeling to mike, like the one time he really starts to open up, he masked it as el’s feelings. i understand why he did that. as much as i disagree with the writers writing it like that, it makes some sort of sense. before the release of vol2, i wrote how i didn’t think will would be the one to confess when he gave mike the painting because he feels pushed away by mike and he isn’t the one to exactly feel comfortable sharing how he truly feels. technically, i was right. will didn’t feel comfortable expressing his feelings. he even lied and said el commissioned the painting. later, jonathan points out how him and will barely talk anymore. we know jonathan is struggling, but we know will is struggling too and he feels isolated and is in general going through a lot of shit. will has never really been a character to open up fully and we see that throughout the seasons. i think the van scene would’ve been a perfect time for him to open up as himself, but he is also the one who said it’s scary to tell the truth in vol1. so honestly, will not being 100% honest is understandable and he also views himself as a mistake so i’m sure he’s afraid if mike found out about his feelings that he could potentially lose him forever.

the van scene destroyed me emotionally. will looking out the window crying while saying he feels like a mistake and how he feels like he lost mike. that was tough to watch. but like someone pointed out, will says el was pushing mike away, but as the audience and i’m sure mike knows, that isn’t true. el was so excited for mike to come visit. she’d constantly write him. she had a display in her room of things in regards to their relationship. mike and el’s last full conversation was her crying about the fact that he wouldn’t write or say “i love you”. that does not sound like someone who is trying to push their boyfriend away. go rewatch the van scene and focus on mike’s facial expressions. in my opinion, there’s a deeper level of thinking going on in his mind. i honestly thought when i first watched the scene that he was going to comment on what will was saying and question him on it because mike has to know that el isn’t the one who was pushing him away. he knows he’s the one that couldn’t say i love you. and i refuse to believe mike, the one who used to ask will if he was okay consistently based on a slight change in body language or picked up on will rolling his eyes when he was skating behind them, wouldn’t be able to see will getting emotional and breaking down in that moment. will is practically in tears looking right into mike’s eyes and mike replies “yeah” WTF! i refuse to believe that they’d go from mike wanting to be there for will in the first two seasons and especially showing their bond in season 2, that they’d make it seem like mike isn’t comfortable with will anymore and not give an explanation. we know will is gay. we know he isn’t comfortable sharing his emotions and thoughts, but we literally know nothing about mike’s motivations behind his actions towards will in seasons 3 and 4.

mike being repressed would be the perfect explanation as to why he’s been acting crappy. if he’s repressed then it makes sense he’d try to push will away. it’d make sense that he can’t say i love you to el. but instead we’re supposed to believe he stopped caring about will with no explanation and that he acts weird with will because he’s too busy with el? if that’s the case then why doesn’t he treat dustin and lucas the same way in season 4? he has no problem playing d&d with them, but when will mentions about playing d&d for the rest of their lives mike looks uncomfortable or doesn’t want to play? WHY is that? there has to be more to this. there’s no way they’d show how strong their friendship is and how much mike cares for his friends for all of a sudden for him to leave will in the dust. this boy jumped off a cliff for dustin! he stayed by will’s side the entirety of season 2. so what’s the switch up? something happened from the moment will left hawkins to mike’s visit in california. and whether they go this route or not in season 5, it will always make the most sense to me that mike realized how he truly felt about will which therefore led to his actions in season 4.

in vol 1, it’s revealed by el in her letter to mike that will had been working on a painting. she then follows it up with “he’s been acting weird lately maybe it’s for a girl he likes”. mike READS that letter. the next scene is of him in bed reading the letter. we know he knows that will was working on a painting. so when will gives him the painting and says el commissioned it, wouldn’t this bring up some sort of memory to mike that will was working on a painting that el claims was for a girl? maybe he was overwhelmed with everything going on so he couldn’t remember, but we can’t forget this is a tv show and if it’s written well then a piece of information is shared for a reason. why have el say what she said about the painting? why have mike then ignore that piece of information? i don’t know if it’s either bad writing and bad continuity or it’s leading to somewhere. also, once again look at mike’s facial expressions during the van scene. maybe i’m delusional but i feel like there’s more to that.

also, some other things that stood out to me:

-hopper tells joyce he thought he lost her and joyce’s says it back. mike tells will he thought he lost him. will tells mike the same thing it’s just disguised as el’s feelings. jopper is a slow burn so maybe byler is an extra slow burn and both couples parallel each other?

-in the van scene, mike says he feels like superman landed at his door which could mean nothing and he’s just saying a metaphor because el has powers, but isn’t this the second time he’s referenced a male movie character interacting with him in a romantic sense? someone made a post about the first time he did it i just don’t remember what movie it was.

-why did mike need will to tell him to remember he’s the heart? there was no true emotional build up to mike saying he loves el and the audience going “oh wow that makes sense as to why he didn’t say it”. he says he didn’t want to say it in case she decides she doesn’t need him anymore… which i’m trying to understand like i get it but i don’t considering they had an argument about the fact mike couldn’t say “i love you” but el wanted him to (honestly rewatching mike tell el he loves her makes me feel like we lost so badly. it brought down the little ounce of hope i had but i’ll continue writing why there’s still a chance). also, characters declaring love for each other while one of them almost dies or is in danger is usually done in the beginning of the relationship not 1-2 years later. and why did el need mike to say he loves her for her to defeat vecna? didn’t we just see her realize she’s not a monster, that she’s been abused, and that she IS powerful because she believes in herself and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks? or did i hallucinate that?

-the formation of everyone at the end. jancy is together, jopper is together, byler is together with eleven in front of them. couldn’t there be a reason for that? will is the one who touched his neck to show he still has a connection to the upside down/vecna, so wouldn’t it make more sense for will to be in front of everybody while el and mike stand next to each other? i mean also i get that el standing in front them is her analyzing the aftermath of her fight with vecna but maybe then have will and her stand next to each other? idk

- mike says him and el haven’t talked. i get it. she’s been through a lot maybe she doesn’t want to talk about anything, but we’re going into the last season which happens to be SEASON 5 and this relationship is still struggling. they keep on having miscommunications. they’re continuously separated. there’s no development in their relationship and because they’ve made mike be a jerk to will and now it seems they’ve reduced his character to just being el’s boyfriend who idolizes her, that means there’s no development for mike. they write el really well, but for some reason they cannot write el and mike together well. why is that? we know they’re good at writing relationships. look at lumax. look at jopper. jancy is a good couple, but they’re continuing the love triangle so it’s a mess and in season 4 they’re lying to each other but otherwise they were good. there’s other dynamics that are very good such as steve and dustin. we love robin and steve. we love el and max. we love robin and nancy. we love eddie and steve. we love murray, joyce, and hopper. we love the party. we love scoops troop. they are good at writing these relationships so why are el and mike struggling? why is byler struggling? it makes no sense.

we as an audience just want to know what’s going on with the characters we love. all of this has to be leading somewhere it just has to. it would be absolutely astounding if the duffers are completely unaware of how the audience would perceive the current dynamic between mike + el and mike + will. they can’t be in the dark about their own show and not realize what they’re interpreting. we are either getting byler in season 5 or they’re queerbaiting.