cypherheartnokey

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Nancy voiced Mike's feelings about Will in S4

More Jancy parallels!

or something...

[cypherheartnokey]

THANK YOU!!!

Oh my god, I loved this.

Recently I read a bit about this entire Cloudbusting-Reich-Orgonon thing too & was planning to include it in one of my upcoming posts.

This whole electricity ⚡️, thunder, Hawkins weather, Mindflayer storms topic in general has something SO suspicious about it too.

We definitely need to start exploring this further

I miss clouds. I miss you.

Your son's coming out.

[cypherheartnokey]

No shade to anyone (especially OP, I love this post)—but after seeing these hints & others, it made me even more confused & bewildered:

How can ANYONE still deny the blatant “extra/rival love interest” foreshadowing for Byler?

It’s literally so clear that Will is becoming secretly involved with *someone* else other than Mike after s4, somewhere around the end of 1986 and/or throughout 1987. Whether it be a more “serious” relationship or not!

I mean, there is SO MUCH jealousy/insecurity foreshadowing for Mike too, throughout the entire show. Do Bylers seriously think this extremely obvious & escalating set-up is going to be for nothing?

Like yeah, Mike is the absolute love of Will’s life. We all know & agree on that!

But by the end of s4—even if he suspects or even knows Mike could be queer & have feelings for him—Will still thinks Mike won’t be available / prepared / brave enough to pursue a romantic connection with him. And… as much as we hate to admit it… he’s probably right about this. At least, for some time.

And oh, how Will LONGS for some semblance of a romance. To finally experience what it feels like to be desired & act on his feelings & needs (just like everyone else!). Who could blame him after everything he’s been through? I don’t think anyone can deny this is where Will’s at at this point in the story.

There is so much more to be said about this, more than anyone is even realizing/expecting right now. But if we want to move forward & deepen our analysis of Byler (& the entire show, really!) from here on, we kinda need to start being a bit more serious about this topic instead of continually dismissing or mocking anyone who brings it up.

Sorry for the half-rant lol, as I said I loved this post & this has nothing to do with anyone specific. But after seeing the “found someone else” connection that OP cleverly pointed out, I just had to say this!!!

Tagging some amazing ppl who I know are with me on this lol. @ven0moir @offsidetracked

Nancy voiced Mike's feelings about Will in S4

More Jancy parallels!

or something...

[cypherheartnokey]

source (credits to @causeineedu for the lyrics)

[cypherheartnokey]

"Get ready for season 5, everyone. Because trust me, you guys are not ready for what's coming. So get ready," — Noah Schnapp.

"I think you find out slowly through the season, Will’s kind of love towards Mike and I think it’s a really beautiful thing; there is probably a mutual understanding and an acceptance,” — Finn Wolfhard about Mike’s arc in season 4.

"I think the Duffer brothers figured out, I would imagine, a perfect ending in five. We didn’t even know if we’d do two. So, we’re happy that people still are around and want to watch it. But yeah, I’m excited. Four was huge in scale, but I think I’d like to see the fifth season draw back on more of the dynamics of Season 1 and sort of be a little more contained, but also still be gigantic. I hope we kind of get an ending for each character that’s pretty satisfying for fans," — Finn Wolfhard about season 5.

"I mean, it’s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike. They’ve been intentionally pulling that out over the past few seasons. Even in Season 1, they hinted at that and slowly, slowly grew that storyline. I think for Season 4, it was just me playing this character who loves his best friend but struggles with knowing if he’ll be accepted or not, and feeling like a mistake and like he doesn’t belong," — Noah Schnapp about Will’s arc is season 4.

"There’s so many different things they have to address. Obviously, we hope for a coming out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world. And I’ve always been wondering, why was Will the first victim and the first one captured? I just want to see it all tie in and all work out. So I’m excited to see what happens," — Noah Schnapp about season 5.

[cypherheartnokey]

No one can convince me that this wasn't on purpose

[cypherheartnokey]

i don’t care what you’re doing rn just stop. stop and take a moment to appreciate some wheelclair photos.

okay thank you <3

[cypherheartnokey]

I can nawt do this anymore

[cypherheartnokey]

The Scripted Makeover Scene: Mike, Makeup, and El—HE'S THE SHE!

📸 credit: @alienstardustt, go like and reblog the og post!

Friendship Parallels, and Mike's Deleted Queer Coding

In this scripted scene from season one, there are heavy implications that Mike has already played with Nancy's makeup! He knows just the right amount of blush to add. He "carefully applies lip balm," knowing the trick to pucker one's lips (or "smack" one's lips) to evenly coat them. Those who have never worn makeup before do not instinctively know this—as illustrated by El needing to be taught how to apply lipstick for the first time. He demonstrates. These nuances are missing in the screen translation. Moreover, the final montage intersperses shots of Dustin and Lucas, two friends playing dress-up in a chest full of costumes. Oh, the friendship parallels don't end here, folks.

Who plays with makeup together? Besties at a slumber party, older sisters using their younger siblings as guinea pigs and test subjects, or younger kids who are questioning their sexuality and gender expression. This is a makeover montage, just like the one we got between Max and El in Season 3 at the mall—we have a direct parallel between El and Mike and a pair of girlfriends exploring their individuality, or who they want to be.

Mirrors, Conformity, and the Script's Makeover

They put on makeup in front of a vanity mirror, which is not what ends up being in the scene's final shots! The key word is "vanity"—the regard for one's self or ego. A mirror is a symbol often used for being conscious of one's self-image. After the montage, in the same sequence during the episode, the vanity mirror is swapped for a bigger mirror in the hall, one that fits both characters into a two-shot. They appear to stand side-by-side from the camera's angle, directly comparing the two. There is a lot of headspace between them and the top of the frame, with a zoom-in, two types of filmic codes to indicate inner conflict and contemplation. The intentionality is even more obvious when you realize that in the blocking, Mike follows her there, landing on his mark (you can even see Finn look for it).

This change from script-to-screen makes audiences less conscious about Mike's desire for self-expression. Rather, we are more aware of how he masks it.

All of this mirror symbolism also recalls Cocteau's Orpheus (1950), a queer-coded, star-crossed lovers story that deals with its own Upside Down—the Underworld—based on the Greek myth. In this comparison, Will is Eurydice and El is his chauffeur to guide Mike to him. Cocteau sees mirrors as insidious, a reminder of death, which ended up being true for El until her story was rewritten so she could live on. Here, this idea also relates to the death of the ego; the fading of a personal identity.

As they look at the mirror, Mike, in a baby-blue shirt, awkwardly stands there, fidgeting and squirming, surrounded by pink flowery wallpaper—a gaudy, reflexive construction of institutional gender roles trapped in a frame (a frame of mind). "Pretty…good," El repeats his compliment, reflecting his ideal and sense of self—but her tone isn't happy as the camera creeps in. Mike and El are literally, metaphorically, and emotionally mirroring each other. Perhaps Mike is awkward because she's wearing his self-expression he painted onto her. Or perhaps, it's supposed to be clear that this false ideal he has isn't perfect. It recalls the nuclear family, the loveless relationship of his mother and father, whom they look an awful lot like here (especially with the blonder hairdos Karen sports in seasons to come).

Elaborating on this idea, we later see Eleven when she's alone, staring at her own reflection in a rippling pond. She takes off the facade with a downturned expression, indicating she's either no longer happy with it or doesn't think it suits her. Then screams creating turbulence. This idea doesn't belong to her; it belongs to Mike.

Gender Swap, and Mike's Transference of Will

Then factor in that El and Will are constantly mistaken for each other by eyewitnesses and Hopper. Mike transfers his feelings of missing Will onto El. His hot-and-cold emotions are reflected onto her whenever he feels hope or despair in his quest to find Will after he goes missing. Later on, in Season 4, even Will himself uses El, and her pronouns, to confess his love for Mike, blurring the boundaries between who is actually who.

In this scene, he transforms El into a girl after she is confused for a boy because of her shaved head, which once represented masculinity, and worn Mike's clothes. Boy into girl. Will into El. I talk more at length about this idea in other posts, here and here.

El, who looks similar to Will but is a girl, is Mike's wish fulfillment. Possibly, he wished Will was a girl, and on one stormy night, they swapped places. Even more so in the script, this makeup mirror montage symbolizes this idea of transference, his unconscious feelings for Will, and a desire to explore his gender and sexuality. Yet, the magical spell of this moment is broken when Mike and El are placed in front of others and their own reflection, while Will is waiting just on the other side of that mirror (symbolically, of course).

This original script re-contextualizes that mirror scene and "pretty" line that Mil*vens love to point out as proof of Mike being straight. Instead, now it has all the intent of a Byler endgame, just as Season 1 concluded. 🕵🫆 #scriptgate

[cypherheartnokey]

KILL BILL, VOL. 1 2003, dir. Quentin Tarantino

[cypherheartnokey]

how are you? im fine

[cypherheartnokey]

Joyce Byers' daily Mike jumpscare.

[cypherheartnokey]

I feel insane for discovering this

In the official book released around December 2019 called “Will Bylers secret files” there is this page. Pay attention to the drawings!

Nothing special right? OR SO I THOUGHT!

Look at that view-master!! Do you know where else it appears? STRANGER THINGS VR GAME!! Released at the end od 2024! So FIVE tears later!

GAME SPOILERS AHEAD

When Vecna is trying to get to Will’s head and scare him, Will tries to focus on something else, a happy memory.

that got me thinking, was the viewfinder a gift from Mike to Will?

And if they are bringing this up after literally 5 years since the book released is it significant to his character????? I have so many questions

mike’s note says

In the game Will is stuck between the memories from the slides, in the beginning they are happy memories but then they are corrupted by Vecna, who’s making Will see monsters ect. I recommend watching a play-through!

After taking Will’s toy away, he shows him this

In the end, Vecna destroyes the viewfinder

im sure in that moment Will feels completely alone and abandoned which denies this part of the note

no happy memories left = no chance of escaping the evil

I’d be happy to hear your thoughts!!!!

[cypherheartnokey]

the stuff some of y’all find problematic makes me wonder if y’all ever go outside and interact with actual people

[cypherheartnokey]

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things “Chapter Two: The Mall Rats” (3.02)

[cypherheartnokey]

mike saying “what did you think, that we’d never get girlfriends” and will going “YEAH. I DID.” which is tragic and gay of him. but also hilarious and a sick burn

[cypherheartnokey]

I think Dustin is going to have another big musical moment in season 5, and he has the opportunity to play the perfect song?

Dustin's black and yellow hat feels like a nod to 'Weird Al' Yankovic, and the specific album cover he's wearing here is 'Weird Al' Yankovic in 3D. Which Eddie mentioned was brave.

A bit of a stretch but the Child in Time music in the trailer is also probably a nod to Twister, where a character named Dusty plays the song which kicks off a montage.

And that made me think it has to be a medley.

Anyway, there's a track called Polkas on 45 on the Weird Al album which has both Every Breath You Take and Should I Stay or Should I Go.

It's kind of ridiculously perfect?

Just driving around in a literal clown car.