#you're the heart

[gayofthefae]

Thinking again about Mike really thinking he had a chance and that it was finally gonna happen and be okay and when Will tapped him on the shoulder, having some comfort because Will always helps and Will is his person, and he needs his person right now so it brings him comfort whatever Will is going to say. And then what Will says is "I'm not your person. I never will be. You have to do it. Do it."

Thinking again about how the most heartbreaking thing is expectation and the idea not only of general expectation that Mike had but expectations he had in that moment for what Will was going to say. His expectation would have been that Will would make it better or at worst not change it. He would have never expected Will to make him feel worse.

The worst part of this image is the surprise. Will's heartbreak was resigned and regretful. But Mike never saw his coming. Mike, for the first time, let his guard down to not see it coming. He just let it down. It was FULLY up 7 episodes earlier. I can handle the sadness. I can handle anguish. I can't handle the surprise. I can't handle the confusion.

He really thought they were gonna fix it together.

[retrokittytakeover]

Not but guys will would definitely call Mike sweetheart. like he basically already did.

[s1llycleric]

I TOTALLY FORTOT TO POST THIS YESTERDAY BUT I FINISHEF THE PAINTING REPLICA !!!!

[byler-alarmist]

Everything reminds me of them

[onlymelonlyy]

Remember, you're the heart 💛

[keykey613]

Sometimes I remember Byler fit perfectly into

"to be loved is to be seen/known"

and start crying 🥹

[wistfulenchantress]

i think about barty crouch jr at least twice a month

i think about red white and royal blue the book at least once a week

i think about taylor swift at least every other day

i think about stranger things in general at least twice a day

i think about this every waking moment of my life:

because no. just no.

mike didn't want to say i love you, and will tells him to, indirectly, and the way mike looks at her and he's so scared and lost and will tells him that he is the heart and he is what needs to hold this party together and he reacts so much to the touch and he literally forces his own emotions down for what will wants, which is for him to confess to el, because that's what he thinks will wants.

look at his face before will taps him. he was about to be honest, i think. the same way i think he was about to break up with her in the "try before you deny" scene.

but the you're the heart thing put more unintentional this is what everyone wants me to do pressure on mike and forces him to once again put his own feelings aside for what he feels obligated to do, which is love el.

i can't breathe.

[robynrocksforbrains]

I think about Being Different and You're The Heart a lot.

The fact that the van scene told us that Will is different and that sometimes he feels like a mistake for that. But then we also learn that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake and that he's better for being different. And in this scene "different" really just means "gay". Will is assuming that Mike wouldn't understand how it feels to be different, seeing as he explains how it feels. That isn't the first time in s4 someone close to him assumes he wouldn't understand what it means to be different. Yes, the van scene is ultimately about Will, and a confirmation of his sexuality, but it is also a love confession. It is intrinsically tied to Mike. Therefore, the song Being Different is also intrinsically tied to him.

Then we have the monologue, and You're The Heart. They could've named it anything. They could've named it "You're My Superhero" or "For Exactly Who You Are" or something that has to do with El. Something that has to do with the monologue itself. If they were setting up mlvn endgame. But instead they named it after something the other love interest in the love triangle said. And the choice to name it that intrinsically ties this scene and this song to Will.

The van scene cannot exist without Mike. The monologue cannot exist without Will. These songs fit together like puzzle pieces. Like two halves of the same whole. Like one cannot exist without the other.

I think about the fact that Being Different sounds like hope and love. But it also sounds like letting go. It sounds like falling with the belief that no one is gonna catch you.

I think about the fact that You're The Heart Sounds like fear. But it also sounds like clinging onto something for dear life. It sounds like being terrified to fall because what if no one wants to catch you? What if the person you wish would catch you doesn't even notice that you're falling?

I think about the fact that these songs put together sound like love, and hope, and falling, and being caught, and coming home.

I think about the fact that Mike makes Will feel like he's better for being different. And Will makes Mike feel like he's worth something. They both are written to make each other feel secure and safe. They are written to complete each other. They are written as two halves of the same whole.

I think that none of that happens by accident.

[sleep02sunshiine]

If Mike and Will are not gonna come together in S5, I don't believe in soulmates anymore/j

Also I need another heart to heart like in S2!!!

[lighthouseas]

soundtrackgate...?

*puts tinfoil hat on*

so i was just listening to the stranger things 4 soundtrack and noticed something...interesting.

you're the heart (song that played in the monologue scene), religious american (not sure where in the season this played but it sounds familiar), and unambiguous true love (played in several scenes) all appear to have the same motif.

do i know what this could mean? nope. but ! analysts do with this what you will. here's some proof:

these are portions of all 3 tracks side by side.

this post is all of them layered on top of each other

[rebellius]

should we be scared for the HEART of the party?

[gayofthefae]

The inclusion of "you're the heart" and the painting's influence is insane.

Because it is the only possible thing that could take El receiving a FULL LOVE CONFESSION AT LENGTH from "he loves me deeply" to "what does Will have that I don't?"

Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what he's saying. He loves her, that's sweet, but actions speak louder than words, and at the end of the day, what happened isn't that he said "I love you". What happened is someone took Mike from

"That's not true!" "I say it." "You're being ridiculous! What is this?"

to

"I'm sorry I don't say it more. It's not because I'm scared of you, I'm not. I've never felt that way. But I am scared that one day, you'll realize you don't need me anymore, and I thought that if I said how I felt it would somehow make that day hurt more."

and it wasn't El.

[donutdrawsthings]

People all over the world are thinking of you!

[slowthypiglordblr]

There's an obscure and criminally underrated anime based on the children's book "You're Umasou" which follows a young tyrannosaurus unwittingly adopting a newborn ankylosaurus and having to raise him. This film deserves more attention.

[byler-alarmist]

We don't talk enough about the fact that Mike was about to cry in the van scene, too

[hansoeii]

Ohh look, it's the dead boy detectives!