#you're the heart

[star-41306]

How do y'all think the duffers are going to go about initiating Byler?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and would love some thoughts on how everyone thinks Byler will progress. This is my opinion on the matter. (PS: this is a very mike centered analysis as I believe his perspective is the most beneficial to the conversation since he is at the center)

Mike is hiding his feelings for Will, but what benefit does this have for those involved? To us, the viewers, we can see the pain Will, El, and Mike experience through this situation. No party is receiving what they truly need to progress their happiness and growth.

El wants a boyfriend who will tell her that he loves her for who she is as a person, not her capabilities. At the heart of this is a need to be understood, but El herself doesn't really know who she is. Her growth is dependent on finding herself without outside influence.

Mike wants a girlfriend to seem/feel 'normal' and cool. He knows who he is but is repressing it. At the heart of this is a need to be desired. Sure, El wants him, but she does not know the truth about Mike. Mike's growth is dependent on someone finding comfort in the real him.

Will wants someone to treat him normal. He knows he's a freak and while he doesn't necessarily try to hide it, he wants the comfort of not being treated differently for it. Will's growth is dependent on the acceptance of those around him.

The existence of a romantic relationship between Mike and El goes against all of this potential growth. Mike idolizes El, never being able to see past her abilities. El is unable to find herself at the cost of being mikes cover. While doing this, he rejects his true self and affection for Will, because he believes he is doing what's right. Simultaneously, Will is left feeling dejected and alone in the disregard of his feelings.

I think Mike has very low self-esteem. It comes with the territory of being a nerdy queer teenager in the 80's. I also, however, believe that when he has enough faith in himself, or the stakes are high enough, he's good at taking charge of a situation. He is selfless, a kind of selfless where you can't always tell he cares for those around him, but he would sacrifice his own comfort and livelihood for the people he loves.

But if Mike is so selfless, why isn't he fixing the situation for everyone involved? Because of one simple fact: He is clueless. He has no idea what he's doing to El or Will.

He may know Will is upset about something while in the Van with him, but that boy has no idea what's going on in Wills head. He might not even realize the painting he got from Will is the one El was talking about in her letter. With everything going on, he probably still thinks will has a girl he likes back up in Cali and this is a completely different painting.

He senses El is upset and won't talk to him, but he thinks it's because she lost to Vecna. He has not even the slightest clue it's partially due to his conditional and untrue love confession. El believes that mike only said he loved her because she finally got her powers back.

Mike thinks he gave El and Will what they wanted. El wanted a love confession? check. Will wanted mike to move on and fix his relationship with El? check. done and done. At least that's what he thinks.

Now that we have motives and perspective out of the way, here's a general idea of how I think the Milkvan-Byler transition will pan out.

We have already established in the show that Will is too selfless to confess, thinking he's saving a perfectly healthy relationship that just so happens to involve the boy he loves and the girl who saved him. There is no way he would break them up on his own, or he would have done that already. The action relies on Mike and El. They both need to respectively decide a breakup is necessary for this to work.

The breakup cannot be prompted by one or the other, it must be prompted by both. Mike cannot be the only one desiring a breakup, because El needs to take her power back and make that decision by herself. At the same time though, El can't be the only one either, as mike needs to accept his feelings on his own and stop being someone he's not. Mike not initiating would also make Will seem like a second option and completely negate Wills growth of being accepted for simply being.

El will have distanced herself from mike tremendously for this to work. They may not have broken up officially, but she's realizing Mike is not what she needs right now. She will probably be spending time with Hopper and Joyce training to fight Vecna, and the reminder that that's the only thing mike seems to like about her will only push her more towards her own sense of self. Maybe she still has hope for her and mike, but that is not her focus right now.

While El is distanced, Mike and Will will fall into the same roles they did in season 2. Will will struggle with the supernatural aspects of the plot, while Mike takes care of him and keeps him safe. This will restore Mike and Wills friendship.

Mike simultaneously will realize how much happier he is away from El, because he can't help but act like someone he's not when he's around her. He will also realize the comfort he finds in being relied on by Will. This won't necessarily prompt him into the breakup, as he still believes dating El is the best way he can support her. He might want Will, but he still feels like he can't have him.

El will be the first to initiate, but it will be mutual. I think they will have a long discussion (maybe starting as a fight) about Mikes lies in his speech and the pressure he felt to conform to this relationship. El will share how his actions have not helped the relationship, but instead made them both feel miserable, trapped, and unappreciated. They will realize that the other is not what they need, and though they will both need platonic support through this journey, they just can't be what the other needs.

While Mike and Will are reconnecting, El will finally notice... everything. The stares, soft voices, comforting, and everything will click. El might need some help understanding though, because even though she did not have a normal childhood, she is still subjected to heteronormativity even if she joined the game late. She will make the connection that that is how she should have been treated, and though they are both boys, I think a sit down with one of the other characters (Johnathan? Hopper? Joyce?) will help her connect the dots.

I think the painting and mikes feelings for Will may become an entirely different discussion later in the season, and this is what will push mike into feeling allowed to want him. The combined acceptance from El, and the implied reciprocation from Will could be the push mike needs for his own self-acceptance.

This will allow Byler to build up in a healthy way where all parties benefit and are able to build even stronger connections with each other. All through honesty, acceptance, and love, all of which have been lacking.

Thank you if you read all of this. Please let me know if you feel like this will go in an entirely different direction in ST5!!!

[diavalkitty]

I'm in a mild hyperfixation state)✨

[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 !!!!

[sara-yuna]

Honestly we don't need more byler proof than the two songs "you're the heart" and "being different" perfectly syncing up to a perfect soundtrack! It's so beautiful 💙💛🥹

Thanks to whoever showed me that this song is on Spotify last time. I don't remember who you are but it needs to be on every Byler playlist 🥹🫶🏻

[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.

[theoriginalbylergod]

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.

[star-41306]

I can't wait for the downfall of r/strangerthings when Mike and Will share a heartfelt confession and first kiss while You're The Hear x Being Different BLASTS THROUGH THE SPEAKERS!!!!!

[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!!!

[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.

[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