bylerposting

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an idiot's guide to romance: s4 edition.

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how will our hero brave this encounter?

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Stranger Things 2.04 - Will the Wise

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it's set between s2 and s3. i don't think the show's gonna be canon, ofc. it wouldn't make sense if they're fighting monsters and then in s3 they're thrown off by the ud coming back into their world.

i hope for elmike to remain platonic and like... with minimal romance as possible. i doubt it but after s5? who knows what they'll decide to do

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So today I met Amy Parris the costume designer for stranger things at my local con and asked some specific questions with very peculiar responses. Not important but I was also cosplaying as Michelle wheeler (genderbent mike) because lesbyler

Anyway at first I asked her about colours that certain characters are seen wearing.

Question: Is there a meaning behind that?

Answer - well certain characters embody certain traits, for instance we put Will in a-lot of plaid to show his innocence and youthfulness. For Dustin we put him in a-lot of bright oranges specifically in s3. Etc

I then said

I notice that characters like Mike and Will seem to reflect colour theory in terms of complementary colours.

Her response- I can’t believe you noticed that.

In scenes with certain characters we want them to look together and complement each other through the use of colour. We want them to work well together and when it comes to planning that, a lot of thought goes into it. I consult the duffers about what draws their eye.

I then asked her about Mike’s airport outfit

Her response- well we paired with Quicksilver to create his outfit and it’s something he would have bought at the airport. This matches with the costume video from s4.

Me joking under my breath -

Who was he trying to impress anyway El or Will?

I don’t think she heard me thankfully

I said that I was excited for season 5 she said she was happy about that. Anyway she started mentioning how it was set in the fall and the use of colours reflect that.

I specifically mentioned Mike’s sweater the one we’ve seen in the bts pictures for season 5 - she was surprised I knew of it.

I then asked her if there’s a character in particular she loved putting together and she said season 5 Nancy. (I mentioned her denim jacket in s4 beforehand, which initiated this)

I then went to her panel, it was interesting, she spoke of character with development and environment and how it ties into costume. She showed us some concept art from season 4 specifically El’s rinkomania look that she called her ‘Will look’.

Anyway she opened up the panel for questions and someone asked a specific question relating to colour theory and Byler. However she deflected the initial premise of it and didn’t answer the question about the specific moment. She said that it wasn’t important 👀

I can’t think much more from the top of my head but here are some of the photos that I took

I’ll definitely be adding more later

💙💛

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The First Shadow spoilers under the cut

I want to start by saying that I think we should all take our own interpretation away from the text and have fun, but I cannot personally relate to fans that have seen the stage show and see Henry and Patty as Mike and Will.

The better (albeit still obviously imperfect) comparison would be Mike and El.

Byler theorists generally assert that El is ultimately set on a narrative arc that prioritizes finding familial love rather than romantic love. Patty literally wants to find her Mom. That's her dream and goal and at the end of the play her arc is resolved with her finding her Mom (who was possibly entirely created with "magic" but that's another conversation. Oh God please ask me how that ties into my theories about El and Terry Ives, please please.)

Also, the context within which Patty and Henry kiss is literally a theater production rehearsal. Byler theorists often lean on pointing out that many romantic interactions between Mike and El are performative and they are both acting the way they believe they're expected to, effectively often putting on a show (although the desire for connection is genuine, the methods are flawed and shallow) ... so I find it odd that Byler theorists would be asserting that two teens, in a crowd of judgy peers that are leering at the pair, who eventually kiss in a rehearsal — even if they yes, do genuinely connect emotionally and love one another (platonically) — is equivalent to the beloved and sacred Byler dynamic that is often praised (by Bylers) for its authenticity.

The characters they are portraying in that play, however, are a different matter. But I digress

I know we all (well, me and other Byler fans) want Mike and Will to kiss in season 5, but that doesn't mean we need to force the Henry/Patty kiss to be romantic. Not every kiss needs to represent Byler. Not every relationship needs to parallel Mike and Will. Let's reflect a bit.

That's my two cents. I might need to still digest these initial impressions and think on this a little more, but this is where my thoughts are currently at.

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The amount of people who would rather say something is bad writing than that the ending hasn't happened yet and they just haven't predicted it.

"such a lack of closure!" Bitch on a cliffhanger? Yeah no shit.

I view all of you as people who paused a whodunnit in the middle and wrote a 1 star letterboxd review about how the killer is never revealed, and I want you to know that.

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about to see tfs:))))

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my beautiful wife, severe thunderstorm warning, is texting me 😌😚😍😍

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Would love to know what’s being played at here, because Holly isn’t 10. Holly is 7.

So…[whips out the post where I say “and if Nell IS Holly, there’s something weird going on with the ages”]

Also…interesting choice of song. No notes 😶

Also also interesting that she sized herself down to put herself under a table. Okay Alice in Wonderland. Smash cut to all the Alice in Wonderland stuff attached to her character via leaks. Definitely has nothing to do with the fact that TFS Alice was ~10 years old. Anyway.

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Everything changed. We failed. But we need to be ready.

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everyone say yay that mike isn't wearing teal again

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Also I'm glad we got a snippet scene of Joyce's feelings about what happened to Will that night he went missing. Like, she went through a lot in s1 trying convince people her baby boy was alive and that they needed to find him and almost got emotionally manipulated by Lonnie during that stressful time and the Christmas lights communication.

They meant it when they said they're going to their stranger things roots cuz Joyce and Will's bond made us care for Will too

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everyone else being dry except mike and will????? WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED

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the way el & hopper both kind of feed off each others anger until they’re both screaming at each other is literally exactly what it’s like with me and my own dad and I need another scene like that in s5 w them

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YESSS THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH THAT IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUTTTTT

there is something so fucking dark about those s1e8 HNL scenes, idk what they put in there but there is genuine evil there. More of that in s5 please