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parkitaco · 2 years ago

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27 + byler!!

The world is ending, but Will has never been happier.

Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, because people have died, and more could meet the same fate at any moment, and there's certainly no shortage of things to be upset or worried or angry about, but Will can't help it. For the past week, he's been walking on air, hiding grins behind his hands and blushing and stumbling over his words, and it's all because of Mike Wheeler.

He'd thought Mike would be angry about the painting, he really had. As soon as Mike and El had broken up, Will had seen impending doom coming for him, knowing full well that all it would take was one conversation - hey, so about the painting - what painting? - for everything to unravel. He'd spent weeks stressing about it, nearly giving himself a heart attack every time one of them glanced his way trying to figure out if they knew, if one or both of them had figured it out.

And then, last week, one of them did.

Hey, can we talk? Mike had asked, poking his head into his bedroom, where Will had retreated to for some peace and quiet earlier. Everyone has been staying in the basement, all jumbled together in a pile and taking turns keeping watch for demodogs and whatever else Vecna is throwing at them, but during the day they're mostly free to roam the house, provided they have headphones around their necks at all times. Will has taken to hiding away in Mike's room, the only room in the house that makes him feel even remotely safe, and Mike seemed to have no issue with it- on the contrary, he seemed pleased with the arrangement.

Will had frozen, the pencil he'd been sketching with tumbling from his hand as he stared at Mike, fearing that the other shoe was about to drop.

Uh- yeah, he'd said shakily, doing his level best not to look at the painting, which Mike had painstakingly pinned up to his wall, because the universe just really has it out for Will Byers.

Mike had sat down gingerly on the end of the bed, looking apprehensive, and Will had wondered what Mike could possibly have to be nervous about. He's not the one who'd been caught in an elaborate, incriminating lie.

Will, Mike had started shakily, sounding fragile and almost afraid, like the scared little kid Will had once known, why- why did you lie to me?

Will had broken down crying, never able to control himself in these situations, his feelings always spilling over and betraying him, and Mike had wrapped him in his arms, whispering hey, it's okay, I'm not mad, it's okay, God, Will, I'm so sorry, and it had been so outside the realm of Will's imagination, especially when he'd been preparing himself for the worst, that he'd just cried harder, clinging to Mike desperately.

Then the unthinkable had happened.

Mike had grasped at Will's chin, tilting his face up to look at him and swiping Will's tears at him. Will had felt exposed, vulnerable and stripped clean of every last secret, tear tracks marring his face, but Mike had smiled at him, looking at him like he was something beautiful.

Then Mike had tilted forward, closer, closer, and pressed his lips to Will's.

So, naturally, Will's been a little distracted this week.

There have been other kisses, quick ones behind closed doors whenever possible. They've had conversations, in low voices and stilted patterns, constantly interrupted and fractured by the other people in the house, of which there are many. There's a longer conversation to be had, things that Mike keeps saying he needs to explain in more detail than the rushed I've been pushing you away because I was scared and I'm so sorry, it's you, Will, it always has been, please forgive me that he uttered on the day of their first kiss. But Will, for once, isn't worried about the things they've left unsaid. He's enjoying these secret, small moments with Mike whenever he can get them. It feels like he has his best friend back, and something beyond that. It's new and exciting and Will can feel electricity thrumming under his skin whenever Mike looks his way.

Like now, for instance. They're sitting in the kitchen with the older teens, half-listening to them talk about making a run to the store later or something along those lines, and Mike keeps glancing Will's way, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Will returns it every time, blushing furiously, and were Jonathan not so wrapped up in his conversation with Nancy and Steve he'd surely be shooting Will a knowing look right about now.

Will stands, pushing back his chair and clearing his throat. "I'm going upstairs," he says, addressing the older teens, who all nod distractedly at him and barely pause their conversation, "If I'm not back down within an hour assume I've been Vecna'd."

He heads for the stairs, ignoring Jonathan's call of "that's not funny, Will!" and heading for Mike's room.

There's a patter of feet on the stairs behind him, and Will smiles to himself as he reaches the top, pausing until he can hear Mike right behind him before whirling around all at once, laughing and catching Mike's wrist before tugging him into the room and closing the door behind them.

Mike yelps good-naturedly, careening into Will as he tugs sharply at his wrist again and pulls him close. "Hi," he says, forehead brushing Will's as a grin spreads over his face.

"Hi," Will echoes, matching his grin and reaching up to wind his arms around Mike's neck.

This is all the decorum either of them have before Mike is surging forward and catching Will's lips with his own, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing him firm and slow, like he means it. Will is quickly learning that Mike Wheeler is a very, very good kisser, always steady and warm under Will's palms as he cups his face and tilts his head to the right, angling closer. Mike hums appreciatively, pressing closer to him, and Will's skin feels alight with joy as he swipes his tongue over Mike's lip.

"You're so- pretty," Mike huffs, pulling back a little and looking at Will with wide, adoring eyes, and Will feels like he could spend forever melting under Mike's warm gaze. If everything goes to shit and Vecna wins, at least Will can die happily saying that he got to kiss Mike Wheeler.

"So are you," Will mumbles, pressing forward for another kiss. Mike shivers, stepping backward and pulling Will with him, legs bumping against each other. The backs of Mike's knees make contact with his bed, and he sways on his feet, breaking the kiss as he tumbles unceremoniously backward, holding out a hand for Will as he scoots up onto the pillows.

Will grins and reaches out to thread his fingers through Mike's, pausing for a moment to admire the boy sprawled out before him, kissed-red and smiling with his dark hair spilling over the pillows. He wants to sketch him. He wants to kiss him again immediately. He wants to spend a lifetime wrapped up in his arms.

Evidently growing impatient, Mike gives his hand a sharp tug, and Will laughs as he falls willingly onto the mattress, ending up sprawled across Mike with his face shoved into the crook of his neck. "You're a dork," he proclaims, as Mike reaches up and runs a hand through his hair. Will is all too aware of the seconds ticking away, of the fact that any minute now someone could come knocking, checking to make sure they're both still alive or demanding that everyone meet in the living room to discuss next steps or whatever else. These moments with Mike are precious, but they never last long.

Will shifts, tilting his head to face Mike's, and Mike grins as he dips forward to kiss Will one-two-three more times. Will shivers, thinking absently that he doesn't think he can ever get sick of kissing Mike, doesn't think he'll ever lose the thrill that shoots up his spine when Mike's lips brush against his own. That's the thing about the end of the world - it makes you think in an all-or-nothing sort of way, in forevers and nevers, a constant flip flop of what if we die and what if we live?

The world is ending, but if it doesn't, Will knows that he wants to spend forever with Mike Wheeler.

Evidently, Mike is on a similar wavelength - the life-or-death one, that is, because he pauses halfway between kisses four and five and pulls back to stare at Will, eyes wide and serious. "Hey," he says quietly, "Can I tell you something?"

"Always," Will replies, another apocalypse sort of word, but he means it with every fiber of his being.

Mike smiles softly, looking delicate and gentle as he trails a hand over the side of Will's face. "I love you," he whispers, smiling a little sadly, "I love you so much, Will. And I would have told you anyway, and I know you probably could have figured it out on your own, but- if something happened to one or both of us and I hadn't said it, I... well. I don't want to take that chance."

Will blinks hard, fighting tears, like he so often does, and he presses his forehead firmly against Mike's, clinging to him tightly. "I love you too," he whispers back, for all the same reasons that Mike just said, "I love you and we're going to be okay because we have to be, but- no matter what happens, just- don't ever think that I wouldn't do anything for you, okay?"

Mike exhales softly, a small, warm smile on his face, and he pulls Will closer, closing all remaining distance between them. Will lets it happen, pliant under Mike's hands, still unused to being wanted this way, to having Mike reach for him and pull him close and kiss him slow like he's trying to get it right. For all the electricity, Will has never felt more safe than he does when Mike holds him like this.

There's no way to tell what's going to happen next, Will thinks as Mike nuzzles closer still, nosing at Will's cheek until Will tilts his face up into a kiss, soft and sweet. But he has this moment, and he has Mike Wheeler, and he thinks that for now, that's more than enough.

#thank u for this i hope u enjoy <33 #27 - pulling the other one towards them #this got unexpectedly angsty i'm sorry #haven't written painting reveal/apocalypse byler in a hot minute so #yeah !!#byler ficlet #mike wheeler #will byers #new relationship #secret relationship #established relationship #stranger things

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reikunrei · 1 year ago

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okayyyy so i made a post abt this last night that was just a short ramble trying to piece my thoughts together but basically... i’m just really curious how will’s (possible) powers might manifest and what they might be, and i’m trying to like. reason out how i feel about them and what i personally think would be cool or fitting...

lots of people have talked about this before (like user pinkeoni has made some really good posts abt it, and i think heroesbyler has had good discussions abt it too) and what his powers might be, and a lot of them revolve around creation or light, both of which i’m very fond of

this isn't so much a theory or prediction as it is a "these are things i noticed and i think this would work well with the themes of the show" type of spiel. it ended up way longer than i wanted it to and goes off on multiple tangents because i can't stop myself, so i'm putting it under the cut lol

it's more just for me to try and articulate what i'm feeling about it, but if anyone actually reads this mess, you're more than welcome to share your thoughts :3

with the creation stuff, it automatically makes me think of the UD taking the shape of hawkins... because we know that henward grew to hate that town so why would vecna shape the UD to look like the place he hated? i suppose it could be bc he wanted to take revenge on the town, so why not daydream about it and destroy your scale model of it to get some catharsis, right? but... then it's frozen on the night will went missing? it’s possible that the UD could have simply taken the shape of hawkins when the s1 gate was opened and made the two worlds touch, thus making the UD a true "mirror" dimension of hawkins. but i also really like the idea of will getting sucked into the UD, panicking, wishing he had his hiding places to go to to escape from this monster chasing him, and poof! now he's in hawkins and all of his hiding places are there (he's good at hiding!) but it's still the "wrong" hawkins

but anyway, i want to move on to the "light" angle because there's so many things that i love about the possibility of will's powers taking the form of some kind of light to counteract the darkness created by vecna and the UD ("hide in the light" thank u max)

i especially think it would be cool for it to take the shape of some kind of fire or flame, even if the powers themselves don't behave like fire, like it's just a stylization choice to give some sort of visual that the characters and audience can see

i don't recall if there's any specific moment where any version of henward/vecna/001 or other characters talk about burning or fire as a form of destruction in a metaphorical/symbolic sense, but we see it enough of it literally throughout the show. fire is a means of causing pain, of killing, of destroying

season 1, nancy and jonathan think to burn the demogorgon to a crisp because, hey, that'd be a pretty effective way to kill something, right? so they carry that theory over into all the other seasons

season 2, we see hopper using his lighter to maneuver through the tunnels below hawkins, and the vines flinch away from the flame. we see owens and the lab using fire to cull the "weeds" still growing out of the gate. we see will react physically to the burning, feeling the pain through the link with the hivemind, and requiring it to be cold in order to not be in physical agony

season 3, uuuh i can't remember any direct usage of fire against the fleshflayer other than the fireworks, but that's more about the explosions than the flames imo lol. but we do get the sauna test (best s3 episode hands down mwah love it) and the aversion to heat that we see in billy and also in heather, though less prominently

season 4, we get murray's killer flamethrower scene and hopper using the flaming spear to keep the demogorgon at bay. our hawkins crew relies heavily on use of fire (flambé) in order to take out vecna's physical body

so there's just a lot of fire and fire as a means of destruction. but i can't help also thinking about how fire isn't purely a means of harm. fire keeps us warm, it brings us light in the darkness, it cooks our food and brings us health. the sun, a giant ball of fire, is essential for life to exist on earth. i especially keep thinking about how wildfires are a necessity to the planet, and in places like healthy grassland ecosystems, fires are crucial to burn out old growth to make way for new, fresh green, which the animals there then rely on. letting old growth continue to sit and dry out and die isn't good. it has to be removed completely so that new grass shoots can take over

(not to mention that allowing for controlled burns and letting wildfires run their course in a regular system ultimately allows for fewer, less destructive wildfires to happen. if there's no old, dry growth to burn, then there's less stuff to catch on fire)

how does this tie into the show, though?

to me, it makes me think of the concept of simply living with your trauma, not talking about it, and pretending everything is fine, when all that's doing is creating more kindling for a bigger, more destructive fire. it makes me think of season 2 and the conversation will has with jonathan about how everyone keeps treating him like he's gonna break, and the instructions joyce and hopper got from owens to just "treat him how you normally would." you can ignore trauma all you want and pretend everything is fine, but it's going to be more destructive in the long run. instead, letting him talk about it, listening, letting him burn things down a little bit, will be healthier because it'll clear out that old, dry grass clogging everything up and leave a clean patch of earth for him to build back up with new, healthier growth. you can take a weed wacker to it all you want, but those old roots are still there

not to mention the way they get rid of the mind flayer is to "burn it out of him." they literally let the "fire" run rampant, cranking up the heat to make his body inhabitable to the mind flayer, clearing out those nasty "weeds" so will can grow on his own (more or less) unimpeded

and then there's the s1 flashback scene between will and joyce where he's drawing will the wise shooting green fireballs. joyce asks, "why does he need fireballs if he's so wise? can't he just outsmart the bad guys?" but will explains that sometimes the bad guys are smart too, so he needs the fireballs

only here, they're green because he doesn't have a red crayon. this specific tidbit makes me think of how will's powers are currently repressed in some way. at that time, it was possibly because his powers "hadn't come in" yet, if we want to follow the idea that powers are a symbol for puberty or coming of age

he hasn't "found his flame" yet, so to speak (which is what got me thinking about all of this at all last night bc of the song 'find your flame' from the sonic frontiers ost the absolute slapper that it is) and at this point it's obvious that any awakening of his powers will happen in s5 when he's no longer being suppressed, much like how he currently has to suppress his true feelings, or how he's been unable to move on from what happened to him in s1 and 2

he has to use "fireballs" because sometimes the bad guy is smart. sometimes the bad guy has a trick up his sleeve (like *checks notes* literally not being able to die) and your original plan won't work. you can stock up on weapons, you can create as many sneaky ambushes as you want, you can solve all of the bad guy's riddles, but sometimes you need the fireballs

and, once again, we come back to how i feel like will's powers won't be literal fireballs, or something he physically wields. when it comes to el, henward, and kali, as well as the other powers that we see from other subjects, it's all something that they do. and here's where i start to struggle with how i want to articulate what i think about will's powers...

to me, will's possible powers aren't a weapon in the way that we've seen other powers used, or at least framed as, a weapon

like... i guess i do think that it's something that he can "do," but it's less "i'm going to move this thing with my mind" "i'm going to go into your head and walk through your memories" "i'm going to make you see something that isn't really there." like, he himself, his person, his mind, his essence, his intent, is the power. will byers is the light. why else constantly bask him in rays of sunshine, hm?? lol

again, i want to touch on the possibility of the UD hawkins manifesting simply because he wanted it to. he didn't think about it, he didn't deliberately go like "okay and now this house is here and this place is there" it simply... was. it just happened without much of his input other than a vague wish and panic

if we want to make it into something more deliberate, it makes me think of lio fotia in promare. the movie is basically about this group of people who suddenly developed "burnish" abilities, where they contain fire and have some sort of fire powers. they're persecuted by the rest of the planet, and are treated as terrorists and locked away in prisons and experimented upon. the fire, or "promare," inside of them is a double-edged sword, where they supposedly rejuvenate their bodies, but if they don't let it burn, it instead kills them and they turn to ash. spoilers i guess (you should definitely go watch this movie i highly recommend it), but near the end of the movie, lio is taken captive by the antagonist, kray foresight, and our other main chara galo thymos tries to save lio. kray lashes out using his burnish powers and tries to burn galo, but lio launches his own flames toward galo to protect him. when galo's firefighting team finds him, he's on fire, but he doesn't notice because the fire doesn't hurt him. it's a special kind of flame that doesn't burn! in the end, in order to save the world, they have to let it fully burn one last time, and galo and lio work together to wrap the entire earth in a massive wave of fire, and it's fire that takes the form of water. it engulfs everyone, but everyone realizes that it doesn't actually burn

i'm getting off topic but !! now we start getting less into "will has fire powers" and more "his powers are light and warmth" instead. like lio and galo's combined powers and intent (that's the other thing, that final big burn is different than the rest because of the intent behind it), it's not actually about the fire, it's about its purpose

he needs the fireballs to fight the bad guys, but in the case of our "bad guy," literal fireballs don't work. henward's past is a complicated one, and a lot of where he's been led was caused by his lack of a proper support system. he was villainized for being different. even when he was found by someone who "cared" for him, it was for that man's own personal gain, not because he actually cared about henward

henward was only ever burned and then left in the cold. nobody gave him a second chance like el, nobody listened to him like will. he was forced to fend for himself on his own in the darkness. he came to rely on the darkness. vecna literally focuses on the darkest thoughts of his victims in order to gain enough power to open gates. and sure, focusing on negative emotions gives all of our characters with powers some burst of strength

but then we're shown that love is what makes them even stronger. focusing on happy memories, memories of friends and loved ones, memories of the love itself, is what allows el to overpower 001 in the lab and to close the gate in s2 and to break billy out of his tether to the fleshflayer. and even in that final showdown in s3, she's not using her powers. she's burned out. in that moment, it's not the powers themselves that save them, it's the message behind it

will's whole character is about love and understanding. he puts himself last consistently, he puts the needs of others above himself, and he does not know how to be a little bit selfish when it comes to his feelings. he's sensitive, he's kind, he's artistic, he cries easy, he relies on his friends and family to feel safe and loved, and without them, he feels lost and hurt and alone. and there might be ups and downs, but he gets that love and support from them. they always have his back. he knows what it's like to feel pain and to suffer, but to have people who will stay by your side unconditionally through it all

and that's something he can offer to vecna and his alternate versions. he can offer that love, and that warmth, and that light in the darkness. and once again, i think it would be neat if it was less of a literal flame or source of light, and that it was will who is the source of light. like, he is the example for henward/vecna to see. he's the proof that despite all the bad shit there is in the world, there are people who will still love you anyway. there's people who will listen to you and care for you even if everyone else shuts you out

and even if it does take the form of something literal, of an actual flame or glowing ball of light or more of those glowy particles, it's not a weapon like the other powers we've seen

it's also about just shining a light on all the good stuff that's mixed in with the bad stuff. again, there is no black and white (thanks brenner, you fuck). henward was miserable in his life, he hated it and was frustrated that he felt trapped in a cage, and he only saw all the bad in the world. he couldn't see any of the good mixed in (ie. the possibility that he was friends with scott clarke as a kid, or even the fact that victor was really so caring and loved his son so much) because he just assumed it was all bad and he'd have to start from scratch to get any of the good he wanted

even focusing on the negative thoughts and feelings of his victims, vecna was able to be evaded by thinking of happy memories that took place at the same time as the bad ones. "hide in the light." again and again, we see max use memories, both past and present, to free herself from his clutches. good memories that still exist alongside the bad ones. and if vecna acknowledges that there's still good mixed in among the bad, his whole source of power, the foundation for his plan, completely crumbles

if will's power has to do with light, then he'll be the one to shine the light on all of the good memories that henward had mixed in among the bad. and this isn't to victim blame this 12 year old boy who was miserable and didn't know what else to do, but it's instead about his lack of support system, and how it's understandable to have grown so jaded, but that doesn't mean everything is bad, and there's still a chance for him to come back from it and change his way of thinking

henward was a wildfire waiting to happen, and rather than having someone to let him burn a little, to let out his anger and listen, he was trimmed back and suppressed. he had his old growth left there to dry out, which only added more kindling. he was never given the room to bring in new growth

and then to really tie in the use of fire to match the theme of "no black and white," i think about avatar the last airbender, and specifically the sun warrior temple that aang and zuko visit in the final book. in book 1 of atla, aang tries to learn firebending and jumps in too quickly, ends up burning katara's hands, and swears off ever learning firebending because he doesn't want to hurt anyone with it. in book 3, zuko offers to teach him, but aang is still very timid about it because of that incident in book 1. zuko also finds his firebending ability diminishing, and they surmise that it's because he no longer has this drive to find and capture the avatar. that was his source of power, his purpose, and now that it's no longer his purpose, he has to find the true way to master firebending. so, the two boys travel to the sun warrior temple to try to find answers. there, both zuko and aang admit that they really only see fire as something destructive, but the sun warriors remind them that fire is warmth and light and life. fire can be destructive, but it is not only destructive. it's something beautiful and necessary, you just have to respect it

feels pretty fitting for stranger things, yeah?

so, to wrap this all up before i go fucking crazy:

i personally think that will's powers will predominantly take the form of fire or light

i do also still adhere to some of the creation power theories, but it also wouldn't be crazy for him to have more than one power, right? after all, el can use telekinesis, track someone's physical location, and go into their minds. that's 3 pretty different things that she can do!

will is directly tied to the behavior of the lights in s1 and called back to in s4. throughout the show, and especially in s4, will is basked in sunshine on multiple occasions. sure, those instances are mostly about his bond to mike, and how mike sees him in this halo of light all the time...

but that still ties into the theme of love. those rays of light are about mike's love for will, and vice versa. but that kind of unconditional love and acceptance is something that will have to be extended to henward and vecna. therefore: light is the key

and again, it just feels very fitting to have the key be something like fire. something that's so often villainized and only seen as bad and destructive, when it truly is something that's misunderstood. unchecked, it can run rampant and cause pain and grief, but when respected, it can bring life and healing, for lack of a better word

so far, we've only seen fire used as a means of harm. it does keep our characters safe (ie. hopper's flaming spear, the flame thrower, the moltovs, etc.) but it is wielded as a weapon first, when it doesn't have to be

fire can cause pain, yes, but fire is also passion and love. light is something to be extended, to help people find their way out of the darkness, and i just think it would be really cool to see vecna, who's always shrouded in darkness, or henward who hid away in the dark attic surrounded by candles, to have a ray of warm sunshine like will byers hold out a hand to him and try to help

#okay i think i just need to stop lol. i could keep going and pull up actual evidence and stuff but #again this isnt really a theory. this is just something that i think is cool and worth thinking about irt his powers #and how they might manifest or be revealed in s5 and what their intent is #bc i could go on and on about how i feel about how will having a LACK of powers could be really cool and meaningful #but like. come on. it's really obvious at this point that he probably does have powers #so i wanted to try and reason it out to see if i could find a way for it to fit in a way that makes it really solid for me #will byers #stranger things #i say things

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