#not whatever the Duffers have going on

[tender-emotional-music]

If byler isn’t a threat, then why do people claim Will is coming between Mike and El?

*Regina George voice* So you agree? You think there’s actually a chance Mike could end up with Will?

[bylertruther]

el has never been able to kill vecna. she wins the battle by casting him away, but she fails to win the war. he's patient zero for powers, absorbed the powers of all the lab kids, has the upside down and all of its monsters on his side, and has even absorbed her powers.

she's a force to be reckoned with, but she's not stronger than him. not even with the help of everyone fighting together and hitting vecna from every single angle was she able to defeat him. she isn't the cure, she wasn't the right choice, the risk did not pay off, they rolled the die and they came up short, the odds were not on their side, and blahblahblah insert every other phrase that people used in this season alone to defend that choice here.

she fights, but she doesn't come up with plans. she knows him from her childhood, but she doesn't have direct access to his mind. she's brave, and she's strong, and she's powerful, but it's not enough to win on her own in a one-on-one fight.

will knows vecna's plans. he knows how he thinks, what he thinks. he has a direct status update on how he's doing. he's the first to know when something is happening regarding the upside down and vecna. he's familiar with the upside down, with possession, with the man that's eluded them for so long. he has access to invaluable knowledge that no one else does. it's not something that he has to think about—he just knows. and he's never been wrong.

the demogorgons knew where he was, but they never killed him or camped at his house. we know that he was dragged to the library, which is where the rifts collide, instead of being instantly killed like so many other victims. we know that he manipulated the lights in a way that is different to how the teens did it in season four, and that he also managed to make them move in a circle the way that the lab kids did. we know that there was a point in time when vecna wanted to kill everyone but him. we know that there was a time when vecna wanted him and sent in dogs to get him back. time in the upside down is stuck not on the day that el first opened the gate at eight years old, but on the day that will entered it. furthermore, if henry entered the upside down as we know it on that day years ago, then that also means that will was able to shape it to look like hawkins.

dustin rolled an eleven and lost. eleven went against vecna with the help of everyone and lost. the gates opened up and max is now missing. it's a repeat of season one. everyone that told them this was a risky idea and that they weren't ready was right.

meanwhile, mike and will worked together as a team with no daylight between them in season two, and they managed to close the gate and save the world. they failed to do that in season four, because they were keeping things from each other and thus weren't working as a true team. when they finally start being entirely truthful with each other again in season five, we'll undoubtedly see them save the day again.

will told el that they would fix this together. erica subbed for lucas against vecna, rolled a twenty, and won. will was positioned next to a "the cure" poster, is the only person truly aware of vecna, has a greater connection to the upside down than we previously thought and capabilities that we've yet to uncover, cast the winning fireball against their campaign villains before, was associated with the number twenty and one, has beat the odds more than once, is vecna's character foil, and is confirmed to be getting a bigger focus next season.

it's all right there.

[jonathanssweatercollection]

you still resent nancy and jonathan for getting together???? for “hurting steve’s feelings”??? despite the fact that he verbally supported their relationship like 2 hours after seeing them together. this from a season that released 6 fucking years ago. a season prior to him saying that he was NOT in love with nancy anymore. do you want me to call shawn levy and tell him of your dilemma. bestie do you need to rewatch the source material

[paintingformike]

tbh people always seem to forget that it was the duffers themselves who chose to write a storyline and a set up way too convenient for byler endgame to happen...like honestly if i shipped byler before s4 came out then i suddenly found out that will’s feelings for mike are being revealed at the same time as mike’s inability to say ily to el then i wouldve gone batshit crazy idk its literally too perfect and obviously planned out 😭 will being in love with mike was already a huge enough plot point to go through with...but mike being unable to love el the way she wants him to at the same time? like ik i talk about this all the time to the point im starting to sound like a broken record but cmon. think critically

[wheelercurse]

so…

[nyxi-pixie]

just pulled the burglary of the century and stole this format from this post from @will80sbyers. im sorry. i needed to push my mikes binder of wills drawings agenda.

[ariesbilly]

was max supposed to be a main character like did the duffers bring in billy and max with the intention to kill both of them off like they do every new character but max got to stick around longer for whatever reason and now theyre making up for it lmfao like i just genuinely cannot fathom why they would do that to her in season 4 like for what reason.... 

[moderngirlmp3]

as a society i think we need to talk less about eddie munson

[scoobydoomidnightblue]

I don’t even really ship Jargyle because there’s too many good ships and Everything is just boring compared to Ronance but WEED BOYFRIENDS

Like, now that I think about it, it’s great that Jon has a close friend right now. Argyle also just lets Jon take over and goes with his flow. It’s good for Jon to be able to get to assert himself a bit. He got silenced a lot as a kid, he entirely did. (Lonnie totally told him not to talk and used Joyce’s “issues” against him) I know the Duffers have forgotten about/aren’t doing any of that but it’s good just personally to see my Jon from s1 get a friend even if he’s still holding stuff in. He’ll find himself and I just don’t want him to end up like his dad. (It’s why I was so interested In s3 when Jon and Nancy started to have relationship trouble and Jon just put all the blame on himself in the elevator at the hospital, even Nancy was surprised. It’s not Nancy’s fault, she just needs different things and I’d be very worried that she’d cut him down more and he either just stays silent, or worse, snaps.)

Sorry I went way too deep on that. These non-canon ships are saving my life… for the good thing, they can be WEED BOYFRIENDS!

Also, I have the week off and I’m rewatching Daredevil, not a good combination. Seriously though, Foggy sees Matt as his life-partner and Matt just tramples all over him. Ik he’s got trauma and he’s gotta learn but main character syndrome is getting to you buddy. Foggy risks everything for you all the time.

Foggy Karen and Matt should all get married, it’d make taxes easier.

[marypsue]

not to be a horrible shipper all over your plotfic but what would the ships look like in your ageswap au?

The sample I posted does rather invite the question!

I should put out there, as a general rule, I'm not all that interested in Mike/Will and I don't have plans to write it anywhere. I don't really vibe with it, generally, and I believe I've mentioned previously (but maybe only in tags) that I really hate the way the Duffers conceived of and have been handling the possibility that Will might be gay. And many of the ways parts of the fandom have acted in response. I get that it's important to some people, and I don't want to rain on anybody's parade, but I've seen so much bad behaviour from the showrunners all the way down that it's pretty firmly put me off.

With that said, though. This fic was undertaken before I'd had much exposure to the fandom, and also, the roleswap plays...well, a role. I'm a sucker for a good triad relationship, especially the Monster Hunting Trio, and in this version of things, that's Mike and El and Will. So this is probably the only time you're ever going to see me writing reciprocated romantic feelings between Mike and Will. It's just that El is also there. And the entire context of their previous relationships with each other has changed. It feels different. I don't know. I'm operating on vibes, here.

Also because of the roleswap, this is one of those rare places where I'm not mashing Steve and Nancy and Jonathan's faces all together. Nancy and Jonathan are the Hopper and Joyce of this fic, and Steve is the Karen Wheeler. He'll be fine in his loveless marriage while the other two are off having fantastic post-saving-the-world sex. Maybe he'll have an ill-advised affair in the future. Who can say.

(Also Nancy and Barb had a brief on-again-off-again fling post-Nancy's-divorce, which has been over for some time as of the action taking place. Long enough for Barb to find a more stable relationship with the other local lesbian...)

I'm pretty sure that's it, as far as romance goes. Apart from the teen squad, it's pretty secondary to the plot in season 1, and I'm sticking with that. (Also, I need lots of time and space to fully mine the hilarity of Steve being Mike's literal actual father.)

[chirpsythismorning]

This is everything the Stranger Things writers have posted publicly about the WGA strike:

TIMELINE

May 3rd:

Stranger Things writer Caitlin Schneiderhan tweets picture from personal Twitter account of sign from the strike that reads 'Pay us or Steve Harrington is toast'

May 6th:

Official Stranger Writers Twitter account makes post on behalf of the Duffers Brothers. They have since pinned this tweet to their profile. "Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we're excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then -- over and out. #wgastrong

Bonus:

May 12th:

Stranger Things writer Kate Trefry posts picture from personal Tumblr account of sign that reads, 'Byler won’t write itself'

As far as I know, the two writers that posted on their personal socials are the only writers from ST that even have personal accounts that are public, whereas the rest of the writers do not.

What does make me take a pause though, is that, while yes they did post these pictures from their personal accounts, which is about as official as it gets, they also cryptically did not include themselves in said pictures...

This just got me thinking about how Stranger Things is quite literally Netflix and vise versa. They are practically one in the same, where one without the other just doesn't make sense.

While this conflict of interest might run deep for many writers out there fearing to speak out against their employer, for us, the consumers, the fans, we as a collective have so much more power than we realize.

In contrast to the writers, streamers can't just fire their consumer base sometime down the line, out of spite for speaking out. Without consumers, neither Stranger Things nor Netflix would be what it is today.

We have the affordance of being able to speak up the loudest of anyone. And so why wouldn't we take advantage of that?

There are so many people out there protesting: writers, actors, others in the industry and even outside of it who are also taking a stand, many who need support so that they can continue to fight in the upcoming days, weeks, months, without being deterred by corporations that are making them feel greedy for demanding a contract that at most, asks that they be paid fairly.

And so I want to encourage anyone that is reading this, but fellow fans of Stranger Things especially, who have so much power in this strike when it comes to getting Netflix's attention, to consider taking the time to do whatever you can individually + with the masses as a community in order to best support the strike.

Follow the Strike! If you're active on various social media already, please be sure to follow the official accounts advocating for the strike via Instagram (@writersguildwest/@wgaeast), via Twitter (@WGAWest/@WGAEast). Engage with posts from folks that are out there daily, many with whom you can find by following tags like #WGAStrong, #WGAStrike and #WritersStrike. Although most fans are not able to join in picketing themselves, we can at least recognize all of those out there's individual efforts and do our best to show that we're paying attention and listening!

Spread the word! Show support any way you can by sharing posts and articles about the strike, or even fun memes to inform others in a more engaging way. This is the official site for the WGA strike if you want to learn more about what’s going on before diving in! And make sure to stay up-to-date here as things continue to unfold!

Donate! The Entertainment Community Fund is endorsed by the WGA for anyone that wants to support those affected by the strike financially. And this thread on Twitter is an incredible resourse, as it provides an ‘easy, one-click, stress-free, accessible-to-all-budgets’ ways you can support folks on the front lines.

Also! Consider donating through this link for the Entertainment Community Fund, where the money donated still goes directly to that fund, this is just an organizing page for Stranger Things fans specifically! By allowing fans to see how much of an impact we make as a collective, in real time, this could encourage even more ST fans to want to contribute. In a best case scenario, if this GoFundMe were to reach impressive proportions of donations from fans, that could lead to news outlets reporting on it, which could allow an opportunity for even more eyes on the strike, while also even more importantly being able to provide financial support to those that need it.

Trend! On social media, use #StrangerFansforWGA to trend or even just to reach other fans also looking to come together to support the strike!

While I know this post probably wont reach anywhere outside of Tumblr, I want to make a point to encourage those of you that are on other platforms to inform fans in those spaces about the strike and what they can do to help!

We might not all agree on everything, but I think we can agree on at least one thing... @Netflix & all major streamers and networks out there, who are still refusing to make a fair deal: PAY YOUR WRITERS!

In the mean time, if you're interested in working on different ideas for initiates we can carry out as a fandom, please reach out to me! I might only one person and I might not have all the answers and solutions, but I do know that with more of us working together, our odds of making an impact are much greater!

Over and out!

[mimymomo]

In ‘Lucas on the Line,’ Lucas Sinclair experienced countless bouts of racism and micro aggressions including but not limited to:

Had children run away from him and refuse to touch him because they thought his Black skin color would rub off on them. This happened IN THE THIRD GRADE! And he never told his parents about it!

Calmed his anxiety about being the only Black kid in his homeroom class by coming to the realization that since there was no other Black kids that meant he most likely wouldn’t be bombed

Had to install a camera in his locker because his property got defaced by a glitter bomb

Lost his first and only black friend/mentor who supported him thanks to an ACTUAL MAKESHIFT BOMB being installed in his locker that caused a janitor to go to the hospital for 1st/2nd degree burns (and the white boy who did it barely got punished)

Got teased that the only reason he got on the basketball team was because he was Black

Comes to the realization that he might’ve actually only gotten in the team because the coach has a history of recruiting Black boys for the team regardless of their skill level

Gets called an Oreo (for uneducated: white on the inside, black on the outside) by racist bullies. Erica (who apparently has also been called this) sticks up for him and is the only one who understands what the insult means which means Mike and Dustin don’t know/understand the lengths of how deep the racism Lucas experiences in Hawkins on a daily bases

And these aren’t even all of them! These are just examples I had from the top of my head!

And despite all this happening in the book, “fans” have STILL FOUND A WAY to turn this book about Lucas and his struggles as a Black boy in a mostly white suburban town and his deteriorating relationship with Max and make it about Byler!

The fact that Lucas, one of the only characters of color on this show, can’t have ANYTHING to himself without people using him to push their ships is so aggravating!

He and Erica constantly get shit talked and miss characterized by fans, get excluded/cut out of group shots, and barely get any fanart/fics about them and their struggles compared to the white characters (I could make a whole new post about the terrible way this fandom treats Erica but I won’t do that here). Hell don’t forget that the fandom constantly tries to dispute the racism Lucas received in S2 from Billy was either not really racism, just a moment that Duffer Bros. put in to “ruin” Billy’s character and ultimately can be tossed out and ignored.

The only time I ever see Lucas get any large amount of attention is either due to 1) Lumax (but let’s be honest: 90% of the lumax tag on here isn’t even about them and has now become Elumax 2.0 and most post are people praising ElMax and then being like “oh Lucas/lumax is cute too” in the tags and that’s it). 2) people creating “parallels” of Lumax to their ship of choice (mostly Byler and Mileven) as a way to say that their ship is gonna be canon or 3) to say that he’s bisexual.

And all that is fine and whatever, ship and headcanon things to your hearts content, but if you only care about Lucas if he’s helping push you ship narrative or because you think he’s gay (to the point where some people actually read snippets of the book that talked about Lucas coming to the realization that Black boys like him can be considered attractive and only acknowledge the “queer” reading of the text and completely ignored the big race element that was the main focus), I’m sorry but, that’s not cool. The fact that 95% of the Lucas Sinclair tag isn’t about Lucas himself but white characters like Steve, Eddie, Byler says everything about how the fandom treats him.

I’m just so tired.

Lucas Sinclair deserves the same respect that the white characters get!

I leave you one of my favorite sections of the entire book: Lucas learning to become unabashedly himself:

Rant over.

Edit: in my blind rage I realized I forgot to edit out the Twitter handle. That’s completely my fault. Please don’t hate that Twitter user. I’m just coming back to fix that.

[superblysubpar]

🎵 " She's Seen All the Classics, She Knows Every Line" 🎵

Just once, I want my life to be like the movies. Preferably one from the list below. But no, no, John Hughes and The Duffer Brothers did not direct my life.* - Stranger Things stories inspired by some of my favorite movies of various decades.

Most of these are not straight "AU's" of the films, but more my love letter to them. I'm excited to share these, and I hope you enjoy** // My blog is 18+

🖤 no tag lists for this, as I don't really have a schedule or way to organize that

Oh, Loverboy!

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the films Dirty Dancing and Footloose

Hey Girl, Don’t You Realize

A Robin Buckley story inspired by the films Some Kind of Wonderful and Say Anything

You’ve Got To Love Her

An Eddie Munson story inspired by the films Pretty In Pink and The Breakfast Club

I Fell So Ceaselessly

A Nancy Wheeler story inspired by the films Heathers & Clue

So, Kiss Me

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the film She’s All That

Oh, But You’re Lovely

A Robin Buckley story inspired by the film My Best Friend’s Wedding

This Will Be, The One I’ve Waited For

An Eddie Munson story inspired by the film While You Were Sleeping

When You Call My Name, It’s Like A Little Prayer

A Nancy Wheeler story inspired by the film Never Been Kissed

Bonus:

Impossible To Ignore

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the film You’ve Got Mail

Don’t Have To Be Rich, To Be My Girl

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the film Pretty Woman

But Wouldn’t It Be Beautiful?

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the films 13 Going On 30 and Burlesque

It Takes Two To Make A Thing Go Right 

A Robin Buckley story inspired by the film The Proposal

I’ll Be Waiting

An Eddie Munson ( and a touch of Steve Harrington) story inspired by the films John Tucker Must Die & A Cinderella Story

Forever, As I Am

A Nancy Wheeler story inspired by the films 27 Dresses and Legally Blonde

Bonus:

I'm Your Hell, I'm Your Dream

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the film How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days

I’ll Be Seeing You

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the film The Notebook

Holds You Captivated

An Eddie Munson story (with quite a bit of Steve Harrington too) inspired by the film The Devil Wears Prada

I'll Take You There

A Steve Harrington story inspired by the films Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Miss Congeniality

Baby, I'm A Wreck

A Steve Harrington story in a Spiderman AU

So Baby, Take My Hand

A Steve Harrington story in a Jurassic Park AU

I'll Seek You Out // Well, I Think I Know

Two stories heavily inspired and in a semi-Twilight AU | Vampire Eddie, Werewolf Steve Harrington

🖤Each individual story will have their playlist linked with masterlist

*paraphrased from the iconic speech Olive gives in the film Easy A.

**Because I am working on writing in my personal career, outside of Tumblr life, I need something not only for research and practice, but also for FUN. So, these are projects I will be working on slowly - I don't really have set deadlines yet or know if I ever will. They won't update by decade or character, just whatever I'm working on is the order they'll go in. However, each story will upload at once - not chapters spread over time, but as long "oneshots" typically split into two to three parts.

[carigm]

MAJOR POTENTIAL SPOILERS/LEAKS REGARDING S5 (WARNING)

Last Spring/Summer, a semi popular fandom account on Twitter got sent some leaks about S5, focused on the first half of the season. At this time, many fandom accounts were receiving supposed leaks, so our attention was a bit scattered and we didn’t focus on any of them too much. A popular leak account on Twitter (unrelated to ST) also mentioned that they had gotten the first half of S5 leaked, and that this source is “never wrong”. Now, it is hard to tell if these leaks are the same as the ones that the specific fandom account I’m talking about received, but something to keep in mind. Her leaks were given to her by a person named James (which I assume is a fake name). These leaks were also posted on Reddit, last year, by her (the person in the fandom that got the leaks from James) but some major things were omitted in that post. I’m gonna leave a link here in case you guys want to read the discussion.

I’m sharing these leaks with you because some things from them are kinda lining up with what we’re seeing from S5 production. Keep in mind that these could be fake/wrong, and James himself said he didn’t have info on the last couple of scripts.

According to James, Mike dies in Ep. 3. I’m adding more screenshots later for more context, but the gist of these leaks is that Mike bites it, mlvn never breakup nor do they get a resolution, and Byler is left up to interpretation but never really happens. (I don’t really need to get into how shitty this all is writing wise)

Let’s go over the things these leaks might have potentially gotten right, according to what we know so far.

1. James said that the time jump would occur in ep. 1, after an establishing scene where S4 left off. He said the time jump would place us in late 1987/early 1988. He also mentioned there would be a series of flashbacks showcasing stuff from before the time jump. The dates he gave do seem to be accurate, and David Harbour had a shaved head right before they went into filming, which could imply pre time jump scenes.

2. According to him, after Mike dies, they find a letter he had been writing. Some of us were theorizing Finn had a letter in his back pocket in those rooftop pics. Could’ve also been Finn’s script and he just stuck it there (who knows).

3. He said that Joyce gets badly injured in ep.3, and since there’s speculation Winona was seen filming at the hospital, some people think that means she was taken there because of her injury. It’s important to notice that Natalia, Cara, and Finn were also supposedly seen filming at the hospital, and that the production called for many extras for nurses and paramedics. So whatever they’re filming at the hospital, it might be bigger than Joyce getting injured in her leg. Let’s remember Max is at the hospital too. I’m not 100% sold on this part of the leaks.

4. Today it was revealed that they’re setting up to film at Stone Mountain. (This is where they filmed UD scenes for S4)

Apparently production might have purple tentacles out already. (UD vines?)

Cara Buono mentioned, in that video shared by Ross Duffer, that she was filming stuff from Ep.2. This was around 2 days ago.

The people that know about the leaks think this is where Mike dies in ep. 3. Here’s some further context:

Here’s some stuff he said about mlvn:

Which is just….meh, because like I said, it doesn’t look like him and El ever breakup before his supposed death. Plus Byler never gets any resolution.

Now some things that might disprove the leaks (I’m trying to be impartial here)

1. These leaks mentioned Argyle a couple of times, saying he has a hero moment at some point. Eduardo made it sound like he’s not coming back to the show, but tbh he could just be lying. He’s listed for ep.2 on IMDb (and yes I know anyone with an account can edit that site)

2. These leaks say that Mike is very insufferable for the 3 episodes he’s alive, basically lashing out at everyone, specially El, and just overall behaving like an asshole. I really didn’t get that from the ElMike rooftop scene, in fact he seemed very gentle with her. People that know about these leaks think that the rooftop scene is Mike maybe apologizing to El and them having a heart to heart, right before he dies (no comment).

All in all, if Mike is dying this early, I’m sure we’ll know soon enough. The rest of the cast is gonna be filming for like a year, and Finn will be done in like two weeks 💀

I also hope there’s more leaks soon (on Reddit) so that we might compare them to these and see wtf is up.

I know someone is gonna inevitably ask why leaks would be out almost a whole year before they started filming when we usually get them during filming or post production, but I’ve been told these leaks happened around the time the writer’s strike began, which is when they were originally gonna start filming. I was also told other shows had issues with leaks around that same time.

I don’t want to get too much into the truly awful writing we’re facing if these are real but…First, I believe it’s a total disservice to Mike’s character. One of your mains since S1 and you don’t even offer him the option of dying towards the end of the season? Even fucking Eddie got that. Two, it seems like a very easy cop out for not having to make Byler canon. Let’s just have neither ship be endgame and that way we don’t get queerbaiting allegations. It also stands in a zone too close to torture porn for my liking, because sure let’s kill the character two of the most traumatized characters in the history of TV love most. And yes, it’s also a disservice to El and Will’s characters. And lastly, if that supposed letter vaguely alludes Mike having some sort of sexuality problems (we don’t know atp) it is pretty fucked up they just killed him off like that. Sure let’s not explore any of that, but give a half assed explanation via letter ex machina. This is looking like Supernatural finale levels of bad to me.

Another point, I distinctly remember the Duffers saying, after S4, that they could never kill off a character like Mike because it would be too painful, and that ST would cease to be ST and lose its identity. They didn’t want to be like GOT. I sincerely hope they actually meant this and were not trying to be cheeky or whatever the fuck.

It would be genuinely insane, and quite frankly, a highlight of their lack of writing abilities.

I hope the leaks are wrong, but I felt like it was necessary to warn everyone just in case. I know I’m not watching something this awful.

[pinkerthings]

the importance of mike and will simply getting each other, cont. (pt 3):

i covered the significance of Mileven not understanding each other here, and the first part of byler getting each other here. time to finish what we started ! Continuing on with--

season 2:

Crazy together, because byler isn’t byler without it:

This scene is important. It’s a direct parallel of a couple Mileven scenes, like the grocery store scene of Mike trying to tell El he loves her & the season one scene of Mike talking to El about the snow ball.

There is no confusion in this entire scene. Will tells Mike what he’s been experiencing, Mike understands, and tells him if one of them goes crazy, they’ll both go crazy. They are in it together. Literally crazy together. I don’t know what else anyone could want from this scene. It’s the epitome of Mike and Will understanding each other.

In episode 3 during Will’s “episode” seeing the Mind Flayer again, lo and behold, who is the one to find him in the field?

Of course you’re the one to find him Michael ! You’re always the one to find him !

Later on in episode 5 Will is in his bedroom explaining the shadow monster visions and feelings to Mike, and he just gets it, even if he doesn’t get it.

Finishing Will’s sentences, not asking a lot of questions, understanding what he’s trying to say, etc. Mike is just getting what he’s saying.

He’s also trying to be positive and uplifting, reassuring Will that everything will be fine.

And then we get the byler handhold:

bad pic but we all know what it looks like so idc !

Moving on, one of my favorite parts about season 2 is just how much Mike and Will content we get. They are literally glued to each other's hips for nine episodes. The rest of the party us off doing whatever it is they were doing and Mike has literally not left Will's side once.

The hospital scene where Will (being partially possessed by the Mind Flayer) doesn't remember Hopper nor Bob, and barely remembers Joyce, but recognizes Mike almost instantly ? Just how much space does Mike take up in Will's brain? Get a grip Byers!

season 3:

Season 3 is interesting because this is where things start getting ...... weird between them. Starting in episode 1, the first scene they have together is the movie theatre scene, where Will senses something is wrong and Mike immediately notices. I mean, literally right away.

(peep the blush on both their cheeks when they first sit down lmao.)

Will senses something and has this far away look on his face, to which Mike interrupts his thoughts with, "Hey, you okay?" Will nods and says yes. Mike presses again, "You're sure?" And Will says, "Of course." Mike then nods and leans back in his seat.

The first minutes of season three, we are met with a protective Mike, similar to season two. The Duffers are still showing the audience, "Hey! These two are best friends! Mike watches over Will and Will watches over Mike, and they are very protective of each other."

For the first few episodes of season 3, they seem to be in this awkward rut, but still somehow are almost always at each other's sides ? (interesting considering there's always one person who disrupts their compatibility)

Their next interaction includes Will thinking Mike and Eleven's little "curfew at 4" stunt is "gross," right before feeling the shadow monster and touching his neck (but that’s a theory for another day).

Episode 2: Mike lying to Eleven about his Nana because he doesn’t want to hang out with her (per Hopper’s wrath) and the boys shopping at the mall. (Just another example of Mileven not understanding each other. Their relationship is almost always centered around lies !)

Next is infamous “I dump your ass scene,” yet another example of Mileven misunderstanding each other that I should have included in post one.

Episode 3: The byler fight !

Begins with Will waking up Lucas and Mike with medieval music and his speech about d&d, which I find….interesting.

“I have seen into the future, and I see that today is a new day. A day…free of girls.”

Now, this is Will Byers we’re talking about, he’s not the biggest fan of girls. But that line is interesting. We know the Duffer’s love putting little hints and clues in earlier episodes to allude to future things. (Or maybe I’m just delusional)

Lucas isn’t that opposed to the d&d game with Will, but Mike is a little weary because it’s so early in the morning But he eventually gives in and plays the game.

Mike and Lucas are clearly uninterested in the game, unlike Will, who is clearly invested and trying to have fun.

Mike answers a phone call in the middle of the game thinking it could be El, and ends the game with an easy way out. Will gets upset and tears is costume off, shutting off the music and heading outside.

Mike’s ENTIRE demeanor changes in an instant. It goes from annoyed and bored to apologetic and empathetic in a literal second.

“Will, I was just messing around.”

Michael, you certainly weren’t, but just realized that your attitude actually hurt your best friend and you feel bad about it.

“Will, let’s finish for real. How much longer is the campaign?”

Will says, “Just forget it, Mike.”

And Mike says, “No, you want to keep playing, right? We’ll just call the girls after.”

It doesn't matter what Mike wants, because Will wants to keep playing, Mike is willing to push his immature attitude aside and play the game for his best friend.

“I said, forget it, Mike!” Will yells.

Mike has a hurt look on his face, sort of similar to the s2 e2 look on Will’s face when Mike is slightly annoyed at him for letting Max trick-or-treat with them. It’s the look of, “Oh no, I made my best friend mad and I didn’t mean to. How could I do such a thing?!”

Will says he’s going home and pushes past Lucas and Mike, and only one of them follows.

You guessed it !

“Will come on, you can’t leave, it’s raining.”

This scene makes me giggle because since when has RAIN stopped anyone in this show from accomplishing anything? Will has literally been through hell and back and Mike is worried because he doesn’t want him biking home in the rain?

Anyways byler rain fight:

Mike literally says it himself:

El’s not stupid.

(crazy + stupid = love)

Mike literally says himself he and El aren’t compatible.

(screw tumblr for only allowing 30 images per post)

next part coming i promise !!!!

[vivizology]

completely out of the blue (kinda), but does anyone else have this fear/dread of what reactions general viewers/anti-bylers will have if byler is canon? let me elaborate.

last season, especially during pt2, it was stupidly clear that will was gay/had feelings for mike. it’s not even that this was a sudden thing because most fans that delve deep into theories and scenes from the show can tell you, with definitive evidence, that will being gay isn’t new. so, after s4 pt2 dropped, everyone picked up what the duffers put down and figured it out, finally!! but oml the pushback was more than i expected, and you see this a lot with shows and movies with (god forbid) more than one queer or non-white character. people were automatically saying the duffers were pandering to the bylers, who if you weren’t there pre-pt2, were getting a lot of “recognition” as the byler theories became more popular.

what i’m trying to say is, and sorry if i’m rambling at this point 😭😭, that does anyone else have a fear that the casual viewers will just relentlessly shit on byler?? the homophobia is actually gonna be crazy. like they’re just gonna call it woke, pandering, unexpected, or whatever. and i’m not one to care what people think, especially about a show, but i feel like this is just going to infuriate me if it does happen. i’m just so tired of people lacking any brainpower to infer and see past what society expects these characters to be. like OMG U CAN LITERALLY WATCH THAT SCENE IN S3 WHERE MIKE SAYS THE INFAMOUS LINE, “it’s not my fault u don’t like girls!” yeah so yall r stupid and i hate everyone and i love will byers and i cannot stand people calling him slurs like that’s why ur mom doesn’t love u BYE