#this is also mike wheeler coded btw

[astrobei]

(gestures at couple) so who in this relationship is all time low coded and who’s blink 182 coded

[daydreamsandcloudnines]

No thoughts just:

- Will Byers who asked Jonathan if his hands were ok JUST WHEN HE BARELY SURVIVED THE UPSIDE DOWN

- Will Byers all giddy seeing all of his bestfriends in Ghost Busters costume and hyping up Lucas's Vencman costume

- Will Byers asking why Jonathan wasn't with Nancy during the incident with Mrs. Driscoll at the hospital

- Will Byers letting Max join them on halloween without seeking Mike's approval since he thought Mike won't mind as he saw how excited Dustin and Lucas was

- Will Byers having the time of his life third-wheeling Lumax (just a headcanon btw 😗)

- Will Byers willing to stay with Dustin if only not for the fact that it's already late and has to go home before Joyce starts talking to the lights again, jk 🥹

- Will Byers being the only one who told Dustin 'Welcome Home' and invited him to play DND for the next day which shows how much he missed him and spending time with him and the others

- Will Byers probably hurt when Dustin couldn't make it to the DnD campaign but doesn't blame him since he knew Dustin's feelings are valid for feeling left out just as soon as he came home from camp and being all excited for his friends to talk to his girlfriend, Suzie (little did he know that Dustin was just having a code red mission with scoops troop and didn't mean to skip his campaign)

- Will Byers interrupting Jonathan and reiterating to the officer that they are El's brothers ergo she's their family ergo LET THEM SEE HER!!

- and just William Byers with Michael Wheeler

- LASTLY, WILL BYERS WHO HAD TO CANCEL HIS WHOLE AS* EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN AND IS ALSO PROBABLY EXHAUSTED FROM TAKING DOWN CASTLE BYERS JUST SO THE PARTY CAN FOCUS ON THE BIGGER PROBLEM AT HAND (MINDFLAYER)

'Your honor, my client is guilty of being an angel' - probably me if i ever become Will's lawyer after he was charged for whatever they did at Las Vegas

William Byers, please continue existing

[pretty-emo-dad]

NO BECAUSE YOU ARE SO RIGHT

Some specific lyrics that stick out to me and what I relate to them in canon

“There’s comfort in the bottom of a swimming pool

Im holding my breath for you

There’s no doubt in my mind that if you could then you would try

Crack my ribcage open

And pull my heart right through”

OKAY SO MAYBE CONTROVERSIAL BUT I THINK THIS FITS BYLER BUT LUCAS AND MIKE. Hear me out, both are obviously worried for him and I do think that Mike can See their worry but he knows that he is too closed off for them to get him to open up (some (me) might argue that he does this on purpose). They both look at him and think about him with concern but he just will not let them help. BUT HE NEEDS TO GET HIS RIBCAGE CRACKED MAN !!!!!

“There’s comfort in the silence of a Living Room

The Tv is on for you

Hide in your basement while your house burns down”

This part of the song makes me think about the Wheeler family angst BUT SPECIFICALLY the Ted/Victor parallels w the burning cradle and “while your house burns down”. ALSO it makes me think of the basemen starting out as a safe place for mike but eventually turning into the empty shell of a living space when his depression gets worse

“Your teeth are loose inside of your gums

They will eventually fall out”

I VERY FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT MIKE HAS A FEAR OF GROWING UP. I am rewatching and want to do a full length analysis on why and how this is but loosing teeth is a very uncomfortable part of growing up and loosing people is also an uncomfortable part of growing up, it’s just so mikes fear of loss/of growing up-core

“I am a creature of a culture that I create

I’m the last on on the dance floor

As the chandelier gives away

And I am permanently preoccupied with your past

I’ve been around long enough to know

That the good things never last, they never last”

This reminds me of @/aemiron-main ‘s analysis of Mike thinking that he is the problem instead of his queerness or anything else being the problem with him, he is actually just a ball of self hate and failing repression. THEN. THE DANCE LINE it reminds me of the sno-ball so fucking much dude AGH. The “your” that Mike (in song ig) is speaking to can change depending on how you look at it but I very firmly believe that in this specific line it’s El because he has the care and concern for her and he’s also involved in the aftermath of what she went through. And the last lines come off to me as him acting older than he actually is and having that fear of loss and being so “mature” that it’s actually immaturity

“How low is your self esteem?

How low can it possibly be?

And I know, I know you’re in love with me

And I’ve been ignoring you”

In this part, I still the the “you” is El, but it’s also himself. He knows that Eleven is in love with him and he knows that he hasn’t been a good partner to her, but he’s also berating himself for having such a low self esteem that it’s “getting in the way” of his relationship (even though that is notttt what’s going on at all. My king is in repression mode rn)

“I will stop bloodying my pants and shorts

I will address the issues I cannot ignore

And I will do the things that I think you might like

And I will be alone, probably the rest of my life”

Continuing the theme of repression mode, I think this is Mike trying to get better and out of his depression but it just ISNT WORKING because he still doesn’t view himself as worthy when it’s just him. He has to be useful to somebody to be worth it, so he continues to do things that he thinks other people will like, but it’s not working and is actually making things worse. It makes him continue to loose the people closest to him

BEGGING you guys to listen to this when you have the chance because it is such a Mike Wheeler song. It feels a lot like how I think Mike experiences his depression and how it think it’ll feel for him when he gets vecna’d, and there are lyrics in there that feel so personal to him. PLEASE like it will help you understand him better I think (it did for me idk)

Also like a lot of the songs The Front Bottoms make are very Mike Wheeler sooooo

[greenfiend]

thoughts? STREAM a recurring theme

very BYLER coded song (Why do i sense that Mike/Will loves Kenny Roger) such a good song btw

Thank you for this ask and bringing this up! I’ll be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve watched Ghostbusters so I forgot about the whole “don’t cross the streams!”

Cross the Streams (also known as Crossing the Streams) is in reference to when two or more Proton Streams cross paths. X

I’ll just go and outright say it for y’all: there’s phallic symbolism here. Lol kind of like this:

So I did some research and found this out:

This is from the original script of Ghostbusters so the wording is a bit different (beams not streams). But my god, that is VERY interesting.

So basically what I gather from this is:

“Crossing the streams” is a metaphor for gay sex. Dustin says “don’t cross the streams” as they walk past the Wheeler’s house with a Reagan sign up (who was notorious for being homophobic and ignoring the AIDS epidemic.) If one does “cross the streams” they will be punished badly.

Thank you for sending me these asks! Sorry for responding late!

[most-canon-non-canon-ship-poll]

literally hoping they break up in the last season

Why Mileven is shit - a submission-based essay, part 2/3

Mileven - a currently canon het ship from the Stranger Things fandom between Michael (Mike) Wheeler and Jane (Eleven) Ives/Hopper/Byers/IDK

they NEED to breakup (AGAIN) in the final season let's start w their character arcs rn. el was born in a lab and was raised VERY strict to be a weapon and shit. she escapes and now her whole arc is finding herself and being who she is separate to what people tell her she is. mike comes from a lowkey conservative family with parents who are married only to fit into the normal, not because they love each other. his arc, similar to his sisters' struggle in earlier seasons, is to not fall into conformity just because you feel like you should. both of these stories line up with the main moral of the show: be who you are even if it isn't "normal" ot whatever now how does mileven go against this? mike, and a bunch of ppl around el, in the earlier seasons keeps telling el what she should do/be. even in the later seasons we see mike refering to el as a "superhero" (which she doesn't like). neither of them feel free to be themselves around the other (shown by el lying to mike and mike being WAY out of character around el, etc). mike literally can't tell el he loves her while not under pressure. mileven sometimes parallels mike's parents' and sta.cy (a failed conformity relationship) and other bad relationships ANYWAYS it also reallyyyy pains will byers (who's been canonically in love with mike for like years, and mike's best friend) to see this. also, milevens keep harassing will/mike shippers on anon even months after the last season. like they have a hate discord server just for it. anyways i love mike and el but ohhh my god there is still SO much i haven't mentioned about how bad they are together (and how bad shippers often are, sometimes being violently homophobic and calling bylers delusional and shit)

OOOH IT FUCKING SUCKS THEY ARE SOOOOOO BAD FOR EACH OTHER JESUS THEY DON'T COMMUNICATE LIKE EVER THEY ARE BOTH CLEARLY IN IT BECAUSE OF THE EXPECTATION OF A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE THEY CAN'T CONFIDE IN EACH OTHER THEY DON'T SHARE ANY INTERESTS THEY'RE HAVING CONFLICT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THANK *GOD* I AM UTTERLY CONVINCED THEY ARE HEADING FOR A CANONICAL PERMANENT BREAKUP. NOT TO MENTION THEY ARE BOTH GAY AS HELL TO ME. YOU SEEN THAT "THIS SHIP IS SO CANON AND IT'S A LESBIAN AND A GAY MAN" TWEET? YEAH. FUCK THIS STUPID FUCKING SHIP NOT TO MENTION THE SHIPPERS ARE FREQUENTLY OPENLY HOMOPHOBIC. UGHHHHHHH KILLING BITING (this is my fave btw)

they have no chemistry or buildup unlike the other st couples. they kissed season 1 right after she asked if he would be her brother. hes very obviously compensating for something. i think i gagged when they made out in season 3. speaking of. thats all they do. make out. they dont really have meaningful conversations. this also comes from the fact that when mike met her she was fresh out the lab that abused her for like 11 years. she was not socially ready to understand the bounds of a platonic relationship let alone a romantic one. anyway mileven break up s5 will happen i believe it. if nothing else. cross ur fingers gamers

the sheer homophobia and general toxicity that the fans of this ship create is absolutely insane when their perfect (read: mischaracterized) straight (read: homosexually-coded) couple is judged for having toxic or incompatible elements is insane. the only good romantic aspect between these two characters is in a cringefail "wow this really doesn't work at all" i-want-to-put-this-dynamic-under-a-microscope-and-study-it-because-it's-an-absolute-trainwreck" kind of way. el has been abused and cut off from society her whole life and at 12 years old she immediately gets together with this guy at whose earth shattered after his best friend went missing who then has surviors guilt after she almost does which is misconstrued as romantic rather than unhealthy obsession and trauma. and so on and so forth.. there's just so much wrong they lie to each other So Fucking Much despite truthfulness being very important to them and they ignore their friends to make out (which is filmed in a way that is meant to feel uncomfortable btw lmao) and el doesn't understand mike's trauma from bullying and he doesn't understand how she doesn't want to be built up into being a superhero etc etc. and it's just so increasingly bad I want to rub my temples just thinking about them. they're just so bad for each other and their relationship has done nothing but make them worse in general but for some reason their ship is viewed as fluffy or cute or whatever the hell. anyway mike is so heavily coded to be fucking gay and in love with his best friend (and el can be interpreted to be lesbian coded) and I just need to get them out of there amen

I'm gonna make a list bc the reasons are many: 1) their first casual interaction they get together but in the same conversation she asks him if she can be like a sister to him 2) all their "cute moments" are them making out in the 3rd season with still absolutely no chemistry 3) their only actual cute scene is them dancing at the snowball yet in the same scene they portray the same way two couples that are not romantic 4) mike becomes a terrible person when he's with eleven 5) eleven literally GOT OUT OF A LAB SHE WAS RAISED IN and this is the first guy she dated 6) she can't even say he's a good kisser 7) mike can't tell her that he loves her (bc he doesn't) and the only time he does he makes this whole ugly ass speech up about how she's his "superhero" even though she doesn't want to be seen only for her superpowers 8) in said speech, while listing the things that he loves about her, he only names her superpowers + he lies multiple times 9) EVEN AFTER SAID SPEECH she is still mad at him and won't talk to him (probably bc she saw right through his bs) 10) she spent a whole 6 months lying to him about all of her life 11) mike is clearly gay and is meant to be with his childhood best friend will 12) mike idolizes her and doesn't see her as an actual person 13) eleven needs to be her own person (ffs she just got out of a lab) 14) the ship sucks and even the authors and actors say so

they have NO chemistry. they kissed after one week of knowing each other when they were 12 and eleven didn't even know what a romantic relationship was at the time, given the fact that right before mike kisses her she says "will you be like my brother?". they spent the entirety of season 2 apart with mike calling el on his walkie and el watching romantic movies on the tv for a year (then will is in trouble and mike says 'fuck it' and goes full protective boyfriend mode but this isn't about byler so i digress) and start dating soon after they meet again even though they haven't had a SINGLE conversation and are barely friends. season 3 comes along and the writers do their utmost best to show us how incompatible they are. their makeout scenes are uncomfortable, they break up at the beginning of the season and neither one of them seems particularly bothered that their first relationship is over. in fact, the happiest we see el in the entire series is during the time they're broken up, when she gets close to max (who she actually has chemistry with, by the way) and finally experiences freedom, being a teenage girl and etc since mike had been "keeping her all to himself" for like, a year. aside from that, he doesn't go after her at all after she dumps his ass (literally) but when he and will have a fight, he bikes across town in the rain just to apologize, that boy is GAY. finally, the theme of season 4 is lies and once again, mike and el spend the season apart (once again, mike spends the season with WILL) and right before they part ways, they have a big fight about mike being unable to so much as WRITE "love, mike" on his letters to el, let alone say it, and he bullshits his way through it and refuses to say the actual reason until vol. 2, when he apparently "confesses" that he's afraid he'll lose her if he says it (okay, amigo, you're gonna lose your girlfriend who was literally begging you to say 'i love you' not even a week ago, aham, totally valid excuse). conclusion: they don't know each other and they don't act like themselves when they're together. mike hides his nerdy nature, el feels like she has to be the amazing superhero he's always viewed her as or else he'll lose interest and it just feels like they're both grasping at straws because this relationship has been dragged on for too long that they don't know how to break up permanently. they are afraid of losing each other, but not romantically, as mike was el's first semblance of family after escaping the lab and mike feels like it's his duty to protect and care for el. also, mike is gay. in other words, FREE THEM.

[rotisseries]

came here to talk ab zelda but quick intermission. U ADDED A LITTLE LESBIAN FLAG TO UR BIO !!! ITS SO CUTE !!! ok intermission over

WOOAHH ok off the bat , lore cool. i love reincarnations and evil bitches using ancient tools to remake the world (this is your thesis for watchinf/readinf inuyasha btw. 😊♥️)

so ok i'm guessing that this is what happened in the game, each of them are based on the 3 goddesses im figuring (power/courage/wisdom) :DDD

AHHH RORI I SEE THE VISION EHEHRHJWDJSKDKOAKSOA WILL BYERS CODED .................. LIGHT AND PROPHESY ESPECIALLY. TRUE SIGHT AND ALSO HOW MIKE LOOKS AT HIM GAYLY ...... ALL THE LIGHT SYMBOLISM AROUND HIM COMBATTING MINDFLAYER/VECNA TEE HEE. and "Link traveling or being sent to these other lands in their time of need" hashtag mike wheeler season 4 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

verrrrryyyyyyyyyy stranger things coded especially the map part

also v stranger things coded

yes my bio! i think the lesbian colors are so pretty obviously so I was finally like oh I should put it in my bio!

anyway YES the lore is so cool!! I think it would be cooler if they'd do something more with ganon and not just have him be one-sided evil everytime but that is a discussion for another day!

and yeah the triforce is split! I don't know as much about the lore from the earlier games but I believe you used to actually be tasked with getting all 3 triforce pieces in most of the games, but then a lot of the more recent ones it's just become a link and zelda (courage and wisdom) have to fight ganon (power) thing. so yeah a lot of the earlier lore is the 3 triforce pieces and the 3 goddesses who created those triforce pieces, and those triforce pieces I think were also physical objects, and then the few more recent games it's more about another goddess, hylia, and her mortal descendant line, who all have the triforce of wisdom, and every generation's zelda has to work with link (triforce of courage) to defeat ganon (triforce of power) and it's no longer a physical object it's just magic they have.

and yes zelda and the light and wisdom it's SO WILL!! personality wise I don't think every zelda is equally will but that part sticks.

anyway thank you for reading the wiki you are the realest mutual

[bylerpoet]

one day i'll write an essay about why rory gilmore is a great character and she's so well written and her ""downfall"" is just a natural response to the way she was brought up. but that day is not today

[shreya11111]

Shows are not meant to be analyzed deeply and picked apart from every angle with every micro expression studied for some hidden meaning, that’s the tumblrification of media and ultimately bad media literacy. If the audience can’t figure out something just by following along and watching a show’s twist and turns, then it’s bad writing. So I’m sorry to say that Byler can’t happen because it would be fanservice for the very online and the toxic gay nerds who think they know better than the rest of us just because some (usually creepy) “media scholar” tells them the color of Mike’s pants actually means Byler will happen on the summer solstice if you look close. Mike and El are obviously endgame because that’s the story the show is plainly telling 🤷‍♀️

media literacy is…

according to https://www.medialit.org/reading-room/what-media-literacy-definitionand-more

what we bylers do when we analyze stranger things as a show isn’t something new. a lot of us have been part of fandoms where this has been done several times, or we just naturally do it as a part of our media consumption. it isn’t just restricted to tumblr, so idk where you’re getting that from. @naturallybrielle literally has a tiktok account where she makes analysis videos so…

there are also accounts like @causeineedu and @/girlskth that make analysis videos on tiktok on this topic.

how is it bad media literacy to a) do exactly what the definition of media literacy is and b) analyze a show that is clearly meant to be analyzed?

and before you come saying that “it’s not that deep” or that “the duffers wouldn’t put this much effort into the details” i would like to direct you to this tweet:

the duffers themselves have said many times before that they put care into the details of this show. so why are we so wrong to analyze? they clearly want us to.

the fact that noah schnapp confirmed that they’ve been building up will’s feelings for mike since SEASON 1 should tell you this much.

besides, a lot of the analyses and theories i’ve seen in the byler fandom make tons of sense. it’s literally the reason why the byler community has grown so much. and this is coming from someone who used to ship midleven immediately post season 3, but stopped early 2020 (i think?) due to the anti-midleven analyses i read which made so much sense. mike and el are simply not a good couple. they would be so much better off as platonic friends.

also going back to the part about the analyzing of facial expressions - i’m assuming you primarily mean mike’s facial expressions. you see, the thing is that we, as an audience, do not have direct access to mike wheeler’s thoughts. we don’t know what’s going on inside that very complex mind of his. the only thing we have left to rely on are his facial expressions, body language and general actions. we don’t have much other choice BUT to analyze those aspects of him. and when we realize that mike’s actions directly contradict with his facial expressions/tone of voice/just the subtext in general, then what conclusion are we supposed to draw other than him not being genuine?

you also oversimplify the analyses we do in this fandom. it goes deeper than just the color of mike’s pants or whatever. yes, we may bring up color coding when it comes to mike and will but it’s not just some random color is it? it’s typically blue and yellow in reference to the “blue and yellow meets in the west” theory. which, if you actually paid attention to the show, you’d see that it makes sense. there are MULTIPLE times throughout this show (and especially in season 4) where mike and will have been color coded blue and yellow respectively.

aside from color coding, we also look very very deep into the characters, into the overall narrative, into the parallels/foreshadowing/subtext. we spend a lot of time actually trying to unravel what the duffers are trying to say with this story - which btw is completely valid. just like any other form of art that tends to be analyzed, analyzing stranger things (a tv show which is another form of art) makes complete sense.

and come on now, if you think that midleven is endgame because that’s what “the story of the show is plainly telling” then i’d seriously like you to rewatch the show, but this time with no inherent biases and with an open-mind.

in conclusion, byler is endgame and byler nation will never stop analyzing and having fun.

[doriandrifting]

Stranger Things x A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 Parallels = Byler

This is going to be a long one, but I promise it’s worth it!

So if you’ve watched Nightmare on Elm, you’ll know that Vecna was heavily inspired by Freddy Krueger. Freddy attacking children through dreams and using their trauma against them vs Vecna entering their minds and using their trauma against them. Vecna’s long hand is very reminiscent of Krueger’s knife glove. There’s also the fact that 001’s father is played by the same actor who originally played Krueger, Robert Barton Englund. There’s also like a million other reasons why this is connected but that’s just some background to make a bigger connection.

What some people may not know is the the second elm street movie is basically known as the gayest horror movie of its time. The entire movie was queer coded, but just barely tbh. And it actually created a lot of problems for the main actor who was closeted at the time.

^ Jesse is the main character in the movie and he is coded as a bisexual, or gay person depending on your interpretation, struggling to come out. Freddy exploits these struggles throughout the movie.

So the movie opens up with The Walshes (…The Wheelers… lmao) living in the house of the previous main protagonist of the first Elm Street movie. Her name was Nancy (!!!)

Now Jesse has a love interest, Lisa (…El…) but every time he tries to pursue her, his nightmares keep getting in the way. (The equivalent being Mike trying to be with El, but him being unable to say he loves her, hindering their relationship. Also, there always being a convenient plot every season that keeps Mike/El apart).

During the movie, Freddy keeps possessing Jesse in very queer ways, sending him to a gay bar, materializing when Jesse is trying to physically engage with Lisa, and eventually Jesse shows up in the middle of the night in his male friend/crush’s bed and asks him to watch and see if he gets possessed. Basically the whole damn thing is one big metaphor about his running from his queerness.

At the end of the movie, Lisa begs Jesse to fight Freddy. And she gives him this big declaration of love that allows him to break free and become his hetero self again. (I mean…this is just the inverse of the piggyback scene.)

Here’s Jesse btw:

Here’s Mike this season:

Basically there’s the scene that’s supposed to lend itself to Jesse being a bit eccentric, and queer, and he puts on the above ridiculous outfit to dance (…roller skate…). Cue everyone giving Mike a funny look and Argyle making note of his outfit.

Since we know the Duffers were referencing Elm Street this season, isn’t it strange that Mike is the one being paralleled and dressed like Jesse, not Will, the main character who’s arc this season is about being queer?

Definitely will not be surprised if Mike is Vecna’d next season and his queerness is subtextually or explicitly used while he is taunted by Vecna. But unlike in Elm Street 2 , I think this will lead to Mike coming to terms with himself once he is saved.

[wheelercurse]

Anti hero is so me coded and as a Mike kinnie is also Mike Wheeler coded btw

[kaypeace21]

Do you think there’s any references to Chucky within the show? Asking because of the recent Chucky show so I got curious and decided to ask.

I feel like maybe it'd be the opposite. That chucky show writers would be referencing st.

The main character in chucky show is: Highschool boy named jake wheeler- is an artist and openly gay , has shit dad who doesn't support him etc.

Pretty much a mesh of Will byers and Mike Wheeler.

Professional writers sometimes reference eachother's works if they like the work. (Duffers do it all the time). Like how Mrs Driscoll is a reference to " body snatchers", brenner is a ref to the famous horror film "the birds", Nancy is a ref to "nightmare on elmstreet", jonathan byers is named after John byers of the "x files", the mayor Larry is named after the mayor villain in "jaws", etc.

Also a little unrelated but it's like how in the show skam- Isaac dates girls but is actually gay. In the season he comes out-he dates a girl who he himself says "looks like eleven from stranger things" .When another guy says that's rude isac jokes "what? she's cute if you like 13 y old boys". They literally have Isaac who is pretending to be straight date a girl who looks like El. And isaac says anyone who dates a girl like El is probably actually into 13 y old boys , not girls. Isaac aka the writers straight up said Mike wheeler (like Isaac ) is gay. Before s2 of st even dropped.

Netflix even posted a "stranger things video" of "8 ( st character) meeting Even (skam character)"

Even is isaac's boyfriend btw... the same isaac who low key dragged Mike as the repressed gay he is. And Isaac also dated a girl that resembled El- before dating Even. Like bro.... XD

I think professional writers (who like st) see the gay coding in mike and Will- and joke about how gay Mike is. And low key ship byler XD. The chucky writer (being gay) and making a character he could relate to and also...at least on face value ... a mesh between Will and Mike and giving him the last name "wheeler" . Is interesting. If its not simply a coincidence.

Pretty much professional writers are like m*leven who? You mean ...Mike and Will? The 2 gay boys who are in love, right? ! XD

Professional writers sometimes reference eachother's works if they like them. Or they communicate with eachother through their film/TV they make- and throw in inside jokes lol. Like wes craven and raimi would literally diss eachother (over and over) by throwing in negative references to the others' works into their own respective films lmao. And this fight all started because wes craven dared to insult " Spielberg's jaws" in 1 of his films. link here explaining that whole cat fight lmao

Duffers: skam writers you think Mike wheeler is gay (and used your gay character isaac to do show it )? Well , yes , you're absolutely right.Want to do a Netflix colab with one of our st characters and isaac's bf ? XD

[thewrongmoon]

mike wheeler NEW spotify playlist predictions

i already posted this about my predictions of new spotify playlists dropping tomorrow, and because i love to be proven right and need validation that i am correct, here is my predictions for a new mike playlist:

side note - if i do all of this and there is A. no new spotify playlists at all or B. everyone gets a new playlist BESIDES mike and will...... i will be mildly upset. anyways.

side side note: a lot of these are based on the music chart i made, so it's primarily 70s/80s music, but i know that the actual canon playlists dont care about time period accuracy... so. oh and also 90% these are from the playlists i've been working so long on so. sneak preview if you're interested in that ig

THE SONGS:

Paint It, Black - The Rolling Stones (1966)

so i know mike liking "darker" music is a highly debated topic. But the fact is that they made an effort to make mike look edgier, and ultimately i see them showcasing that in his new playlist. this one is a classic, the whole thing is a metaphor for depression, and i think it fits mike's s4 character arc perfectly.

Suburbia - Pet Shop Boys (1986)

A song about how boring/dull suburban life is. the key here is the last verse of the song: "Suburbia / where the suburbs met utopia / What kind of dream was this / so easy to destroy? And who are we to blame for the sins of the past? / These slums of the future? / suburbia" Up for interpretation, but i think what it's saying that suburban life is the "ideal" life, playing into the nuclear family theme, and how quickly it can crumble apart. obviously fits the wheeler family; perfect "utopian" image, but a closer look shows how distant the family is.

Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order (1986)

when i tell you this song has been on my mike wheeler playlist foreeeever. it's so so fitting. I can't even explain how fitting this song is so i'm just going to give you some lyrics:

"Livin' a life that I can't leave behind /There's no sense in telling me / The wisdom of the fool won't set you free /But that's the way that it goes and it's what nobody knows /Well, every day my confusion grows"

"I feel fine and I feel good /I'm feeling like I never should /Whenever I get this way, I just don't know what to say /Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday?"

I Want To Break Free - Queen (1984)

this one of many deceptively-coded songs i'm including on this list. at first glance it could be a mlvn song, but a closer examination makes you realize how byler coded it is. could be a double metaphor- wanting to break free from heteronormativity, but also maybe wanting to break free from vecna's curse.

Shake the Disease - Depeche Mode (1985)

(i'm the #1 believer in depeche mode fan mike btw, so if none of the new songs on his playlist are by them, i will be SO fucking disappointed.)

like i've said previously, deceptive song. the lyrics themselves have two possibly meanings: a man promising his girlfriend that he will give up a bad habit for her to "prove" his love for her. the other meaning: a man suffering from internalized homophobia. both are perfect for mike. i much prefer the internalized homophobia explanation, and that's the vibe i first got when hearing this song, but, yknow. they're vague enough to not spoil anything.

here's the lyrics, idk, let me know what you think their meaning is:

"Here is a plea from my heart to you /Nobody knows me as well as you do /You know how hard it is for me to shake the disease /That takes hold of my tongue in situations like these"

That's Really Super, Supergirl - XTC (1986)

this is a purely mlvn song. in essence, a song about a man in a relationship with a super hero, he feels like she's abandoning him and their relationship, and despite the fact that she has super powers and is saving the world, she cannot fix their relationship. super fucking fitting, if you ask me.

Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra (1976)

not sure if it's quite his genre, but by god if the lyrics don't fit. honestly, i will go insane if they include any song with mention of a phone call in the lyrics. anyways, the song is about a guy trying to call his ex, who never picks up. heres some lyrics:

"Are you still the same? /Don't you realize the things we did, we did /Were all for real, not a dream? /I just can't believe /They've all faded out of view"

Out in the Cold - Judas Priest (1986)

dipping our toes into some metal here. basically a song about a guy who has been left by his lover, and he calls for them to come back for him. could play into mike's insecurities, and also foreshadow him being a damsel-in-distress next season.

Homosapien - Pete Shelley (1981)

okay, so this one is kind of a joke. i'm putting this on here ONLY TO SAY: this is the gayest possible song i can think of them putting on mike's playlist. like mike wheeler's days as a heterosexual are fucking over with if this song graces his playlist. do i really expect it to? no. but do i hope it does? yes.

Where Did Our Love Go? - Soft Cell (1981)

title is pretty itself is self-explanatory. can be a mlvn or byler song.

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen (1976)

fuck it, another gay song i don't realistically see them adding but i want them to anyway.

Bringin' On The Heartbreak - Def Leppard (1981)

mlvn song. kind of goes into how mike is giving el the "best" of him, but it's still not good enough. yea.

I Could Show You How - Naked Eyes (1983)

another deceptive byler-coded song. gonna just give you the lyrics:

"You've been away for so long /You walked out on me /There's no communication /No letters for me /And I wish that I could break this chain of reaction /Turn my feelings into action"

Still Loving You - Scorpions (1984)

do not let the heterosexual couple on the cover of this album fool you, i did pick this for byler. you could view it from a mlvn lens for sure, though that was not my intent.

"Yes, I've hurt your pride /And I know what you've been through /You should give me a chance /This can't be the end"

Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles (1970)

The lyrics may appear somewhat romanitic at first, but the way that they're sung, and with how many times they repeat, they begin to sound like either a cry for help or like they're trying to convince themselves they are true. i do consider this a mlvn song.

Senseless - Erasure (1986)

michael wheeler gay yearning ost

Why Can't This Be Love? - Van Halen (1986)

originally thought this would be a mlvn song but surprise, it's a byler song because it's about unrequited love

Better by You, Better Than Me - Judas Priest (1978)

(this particular song has an extremely controversial history but i picked it only because i liked the lyrics lol.)

basically, this song is about a guy telling his friend to tell his lover how he feels because he feels his friend can do a better job of conveying it.

That's the Way (I Like It) - Dead or Alive (1984)

you can put any dead or alive song here tbh they're all gonna serve the same purpose of being extremely gay, i just liked this one the best

Oh! Darling - The Beatles (1969)

a song pleading for a girl to not leave. the lyrics make whatever relationship was at stake sound very co-dependent. paul really strains his vocal chords to sing this one, which adds to the intensity of the pleas.

"When you told me, you didn't need me anymore /Well, you know I nearly broke down and cried /When you told me, that you didn't need me anymore /Well, you know I nearly fell down and died"

Ordinary World - Duran Duran (1993)

a song more mike wheeler-coded has never existed. if this was time period-accurate mike wheeler would be crying his eyes out to this DO YOU HEAR ME?

one of many fitting lyrics from this song:

"What is happening to me? /Crazy, some'd say /Where is my friend when I need you most? /Gone away"

It Doesn't Matter - Depeche Mode (1984)

moody song about a man lamenting the loss of his romantic love despite his feelings still remaining. i consider it a byler song, jealous and depressed mike vibes for sure.

"I am happy that I have you /Even though you're not here now /I know somewhere you are dreaming /Though it's definitely not of me"

and that's basically it! i have just a couple more, but these are my top contenders. the duffer brothers personally owe me 5 dollars for anyone i do get right btw

[willthecleric]

how do you really tell the difference between queercoding and queerbaiting?

i saw someone say that queerbaiting is more obviously promoted, I guess to make sure they do the baiting, and queercoding is less obvious, probably in order to not spoil or ruin anything that's coming, right? But the owners of the stranger things' social media have been hinting at Byler a lot, like they put them in photoshoots with all the main couples, they did that byers residence but it's actually the wheelers' thing, the "one true pairing vs. third wheel" but they made byler the true pairing, and more-

so my point is, how can you tell that they're not queerbaiting? i'm not saying they are btw, im just genuinely asking how do you tell :)

hope you're having a nice day!

Good question! And I do agree with you that they definitely have been hinting at Byler. But my guess is that they think it is safe to do that because they realize that most people will not see the hints as being what they really are. Because they know that most of the fandom/audience is heteronormative (and there is homophobia as well).

Yes, queerbaiting is generally obviously promoted. They tend to be rather in your face. With all the characters making comments and the characters adamantly denying it (an example being Johnlock from Sherlock). Other times the characters in question may say comments to each other that sound very obviously romantic, but don’t really mean anything in the end. We don’t ever see either things with Byler. Not even once has a character even implied they think Mike and Will have feelings for each other. And any romantic coded moment with them is treated seriously by the show and meant something to Mike and Will (ie the shed scene and ‘crazy together’). Queerbaits also don’t work to damage the straight pairing(s) involved or annoy the shippers. I don’t think I really need to get into what they did with Mi**ven because S3 speaks for itself lol (plus even before S3 it had issues and was dissed by the writers).

Byler does not follow the general pattern for a queerbait and has a lot of evidence. I feel like the Duffers did a straightbait if anything.

I hope this helped! I am having a nice day, thanks. And hope you are too. :)

[vampwitchcoven]

SPOILERS FOR THE "REBEL ROBIN" PODCAST

I'M LISTENING TO IT RIGHT NOW

robin has a crush on barb??????????? barb is queer confirmed?????? HOLY MOLY BROLY THEY WERE GIRLFRIENDS???????????? "Barb is like me" gay. THEY USED TO TALK IN 6TH GRADE. NEW SHIP UNLOCKED. NEW SHIP UNLOCKED. HOLY SHIT. OMG. FRIENDS TO LOVERS THINGS. ROBARB. I love Robin being a theatre kid. HER TEACHER IS ALSO GAY. HELL YEAH. omg tammy thompson. gay. "people that are different don't last long in hawkins". "barb has nancy". its so gay. "DO YOU THINK IT'S POSSIBLE YOU'RE PROJECTING" SAY THAT TO MIKE WHEELER BRO. well maybe she DIED, robin. i cant. anyway. guys i love robin and barb's friendship. and i just found out about it. anyway. running away...mike... lol sorry. the teacher knows she's gay...it seems like it... OH SHIT SHE NEEDED TO AVOID SOMEONE. WHO. IS. IT. HOLY FUCK THEY BASICALLY CONFIRMED GAY WILL. SHE SAID HER AND BARB AND WILL WE'RE "DIFFERENT". THE QUEER CODED CHARACTERS, SHE INCLUDED HERSELF WITH THEM HOLY FUCK. "the way youre talking about feels like a literal monster" sir you are going to be very surprised. he's gAy jk jk but could be. *eye emoji* hardy har har. WHAT DID BARB AND THE TEACHER TALK ABOUT HOLY FUCK. MYSTERIESSSSSS. OKAY I LOVE THIS VERY MUCH I WANT MORE.

btw i exaggerated a lot they never confirmed any queer stuff but HINTING also will and barb are practically confirmed as queer here

[spectraling]

My problems with S3

Salty rant in no particular order below the cut

What the HELL happened to the Byers? They went from being the emotional heart of the show to literally having one brief scene together in ep1 and then Will and Joyce had a hug by the end of ep8, which btw Jonathan DIDN’T EVEN JOIN IN ON??? He was literally in the background in that scene, are you trying to tell me my boy Jonathan Byers would not come out to hug his family after all that shit they just went through???? Jonathan and Will spent like what, four episodes standing next to each other and they barely even exchanged a single line?? Not a comforting touch, a hug, anything??

The Byers’ financial situation and how that could’ve given them some interaction, weight to Joyce’s desire to move and also the Byers talking about that AT ALL was lying right there for the taking. Joyce and Jonathan both had obvious concerns about losing their jobs

Joyce got to spend time doing something else than worrying about Will this season which was nice (instead running after manchild Hopper, great), but where are the repercussions of that? With the growing up theme I was hoping for Joyce to start to look into herself, about letting go and who she is when she’s not a mom

Jonathan was once again reduced to being Nancy’s sidekick, spending most of his time following her around and standing next to her while she drove the plot forward with a vengeance. He spent most of his time in the beginning being an abrasive grump and his pov was barely there with the lack of Byers fam content, which made his argument seem as weak as it did in s2. His scenes with Nancy hit the ground running, were rushed and few and far between. As soon as Jonathan was not by Nancy’s side he disappeared entirely from the plot until she called on him again. He didn’t have one single scene without her

Nancy Wheeler would never, ever stoop so low as to mock Jonathan for a) his socioeconomic position and b) his trauma with his dad. A super ooc low blow. Nancy can obviously be ignorant about how economical strife affects others, but actively mocking him??? This is not the Nancy that approached Jonathan “the freak” in s1 and expressed her concerns despite the entire school side-eyeing her. At least Jonathan got to sass back at her later

Where was Nancy’s backstory that was hinted at before the season? Was hoping for her to get some development OUTSIDE of her rallying to save the world 24/7

Will starts out the season having a semblance of an interesting, very relatable arc (abandonment issues, afraid of growing up, done with The Straights) that then goes nowhere in lieu of The Plot and Will just... doesn’t have a lot of beef with the MF. This thing and the other monsters of the UD fucked him for life, let him have something badass to do like I dunno, give him powers you cowards, let him fight the MF you cowards

Also let Will talk to his family about his issues, or have it be a point that Jonathan is now busy with Nancy and how he misses him. Jonathan being somewhat conflicted about spending all this time outside his family and the potential guilt and effect that has on him. Will destroyed Castle Byers that he and Jonathan built together, where the hell were my brotherly feels???

There was a lot of talk about “new pairings” with the characters, but everything felt very same-y. Jopper goes off on their own, jancy does the same thing, El and Mike have a ton of screentime devoted to just them, Steve and Dustin amped up their bromance to eleven, etc. Even when characters that usually aren’t grouped together were in the same scenes, they barely got anything to say or do (Lucas being said to “become closer with Jancy” was a flat out lie or referred to literally physically standing next to them). Where was Nancy and Joyce solidarity, El and Will siblings, Mike and Nancy bonding over their family falling apart, Jonathan and literally anyone but Nancy?

Villain focus completely shifted from the US government to the spoopy, evil Russians with their spoopy language. Stereotypical, tacky and bland af. Being American is Great and in no way problematic! Go patriotism/capitalism!

The abundance of action and cgi. Omg all of the action sequences. It felt like 70% of the season was spent on El throwing shit around with her powers and Hopper fighting Russian dudes. I remember being halfway through the season and thinking they really should’ve slowed down the plot. But that’s an issue with too little time for too many characters. I had no time to bond with any of the characters I liked since the plots were So Big and So Many that they ate up every opportunity for emotional intimacy and reflection. We had time for a goddamn ad for coke but not for the Byers to interact like once???

Also the whole infection/MF working in the shadows thing? Completely wasted potential. It was set up to induce paranoia in the characters and the MF tricking, playing with and torturing them, people not knowing who to trust which could’ve lead to some really compelling scenes. Nope, it’s just a big meaty version of the MF and now it’s running around town trying to fuck El up while nobody conveniently notices and tons of people died but who cares

Robin was shoehorned into the plot and magically had all the skills it took to figure out the code, could decipher Russian with no previous knowledge (the languages she listed as knowing are not at all related to Russian and why tf does she know so many languages??). At least she slapped Stobin in the face and gave us some actual LGBT rep since the doofuses are hellbent on beating around the bush with Will infinitely

Erica was 100% SASS and nothing else. It got old really quick

The entire plotline with Steve/Dustin/Erica/Robin took up about 60% of screentime with memes and sassy jokes and provided about 5% of relevance in the grand scheme of the plot. Everything they found out in the Russian facility could’ve been relayed by the Russian guy Jopper kidnapped

Which btw, why did a random Russian dude take up that much screentime? He had way more emotional development than 80% of the core cast. Also did we need that much Murray?

Speaking of, I did not need Murray doing his creepy, invasive psycho analysis thing on Jopper like he did Jancy last season. It was terrible and lazy writing then and it’s terrible and lazy now

Steve complaining about popularity “not being that great really” made me want to punch him in the face even more than usual. Nobody gives two shits about a rich white boy who got everything he pointed at, all the popularity and more girls than he could count at school while stomping on the outcasts

Also didn’t need that jab at Nancy in his heartfelt scene with Robin (which was funny bc Robin has a lot of similar traits to Nancy)

Karen and Billy was gross, but at least Karen stopped herself to go back to her unfulfilling but legally sound marriage. No need to rock that boat unnecessarily! A completely mediocre man is just fine for her I guess. At least she got a kickass scene with Nancy

Why in the fucking world did Billy get as much screentime as he did. Why on earth did this asshat, racist abuser get some bs sob story about his awful childhood when we have 47 other, way more sympathetic and interesting characters that could’ve been explored instead. And then he did some stupid “grand heroic sacrifice”. I cried more when the Russian dude died

Max was a victim of Billy’s abuse for years which was completely undermined by her ooc constant concern for him and overblown grief at his death

El being oh so concerned about Billy when she knew he was the asshole who had abused his friends Max and Lucas (and beat up Steve) before felt really insincere

Hopper was a huge, loud, violent jerk this season and I’m not having it. I felt sorry for Joyce having to put up with him and then he presumably died heroically (??? he’s obviously still alive guys) and I...didn’t really care? Was kind of on the Jopper train but have no hopes for it now. Where was their supposed “history” together that was hinted at before the season? It just felt like Hopper constantly acting like a huge, controlling manchild and Joyce having to pep/comfort/discipline him. No sense of back and forth support

What the fuck was that music number with Dustin and Suzie?? Omg cringe. I could feel how the characters all died inside

On the subject of music, they stole Jancy’s theme song and gave it to Steve and Robin and then Mileven. Mileven also stole Jancy’s “I love you”, which was clearly hinted from the name of the song on the soundtrack titled “The first I love you”, which is literally a rehash of their theme “The first lie” in s2. A huge slap in the face to end the season with

[s-t-r-a-n-g-e-r-t-h-i-n-g-s]

Hey guys!! I finally finished s2, and I'm so happy to be back!!! This is going to b a master post of my reaction, so if you haven't finished it, don't look (unless you want spoilers like some kind of heathen.) These are in no particular order it's just my genuine reaction.

----------------------------------------

Holy moly!!

That was so good wow but like I'm sad

RIP Mews. Man I know they said there would be a major character death, but I wasn't think THAT major.

Jk it's Bob and I'm salty. Like he was so sweet. He knew he would die, and he sacrificed himself. I feel bad bc at first I didn't like him, but I'm so sad he died.

I. Love. Dustin. Only a precious baby like him could tame a fucking demogorgan (demodog) he's precious. When he was rejected by the girls at the end I was so mad bc he is perfect those girls can choke.

Speaking of Dustin, his friendship with Steve? Golden. Actually perfect.

Which brings me to I LOVE STEVE!!! He is the #1 best babysitter you guys. He cares about everyone so much and he's just amazing. I love him.

Eleven is so sassy wth

I love my angsty daughter

Her living w/ Hop? Priceless.

Speaking of El, Terry Ives. The fact that she has been reliving the same horrifying thing every single day is so scary. I cried so much. That's torture.

Also 008??? SHOOK. Her powers are so cool wtf?!? Like amazing, but homegirl needs to chill with the revenge a lil bit

But back to el. Her powers are so much stronger!! I'm proud.

Multiple demogorgans? No ma'am.

Will being possessed by a shadow monster virus thing? No ma'am.

But they got it out!! I love everyone (especially joyce) they're all so smart!

Speaking of smart the Morse code thing?? With Will? Genius.

Side note I like this new doctor he's so much better than brenner

I can't believe that son of a binch Brenner is alive kmn.

Is Troy dead bc like he wasn't there but that's ok w/ me

Barbs parents broke my heart into a million pieces

But at least she got a funeral finally

Also Nancy + Jonathan? Not mad. I love Steve, but I'm not mad.

BILLY SUCKS

I hate him with my whole being

But Max? Yes. Max + Lucas? YES!

I love Mike Wheeler and so does Will Byers, sorry o don't make the rules.

MILEVEN REUNION

MILEVEN REUNION

MILEVEN REUNION

I was so happy

+ I thought Mike would kill Hop

Hopper is my dad btw he's everyone's dad including ELEVEN HELL YEAH!!

Snow Ball!!!! The Suffer Bros™ stayed true to their name this season, but at the end they saved my life. I cannot believe it. I'm blest.

(im ignoring the part where the big monster was over the middle school)

That's all that's on my mind rn bc my thoughts are abuzz but it was so good!!! I'm beyond happy!!