#season 2 byler my beloved

[gayofthefae]

Has anybody talked about this parallel yet?

And I don’t mean crazy together/friends.

Will talking to Mike about friendship and solidarity with tears in his eyes over the years.

[nicxxx5]

i think about the fact that we technically don't know if mike knows that his sister gave will a burn scar back in s2 all the fucking time

[bylerween]

Announcing the daily themes for BYLERWEEN 2024! 🎃🦇👻

Each day has three themes: a Halloween theme, a show theme, and a one-word theme. Feel free to use inspiration from just one, two, or all three themes for each day!

Day 1: Sunday, October 27:

Horror AU

Demo Creatures

Summon

Day 2: Monday, October 28:

Masquerade

Turn it Upside Down

Spell

Day 3: Tuesday, October 29:

Graveyard & Zombies

Young Byler & Old Byler

Haunt

Day 4: Wednesday, October 30:

Pumpkins & Skeletons

The Party

Transform

Day 5: Thursday, October 31:

Costume Contest

Trick or Treat, Freak (2x02)

Sweet

Day 6: Friday, November 1:

Movie Night

Hawkins Lab

Fire

Day 7: Saturday, November 2:

Fortune Telling

Season 5 Era

Shiver

🎃🦇👻

Extra prompts and ideas for these themes are under the Read More cut!

amazing art by @magentamee!!!

Here are some additional ideas that you can use as inspiration for each day's themes! You don't need to follow these prompts at all, but feel free to jump off of these ideas.

Day 1: Sunday, October 27:

Horror AU: Make an AU of your favorite horror movie, show, video game, or book. Feature Mike and Will as the villains, or as the final ones standing.

Demo Creatures: Demogorgans, Demodogs, and Demobats, oh my! Revisit our favorite creatures from the Upside Down. Will Dustin’s beloved D’Artagnan make a reappearance? Or create a brand new kind of Demo Creature!

Summon: Will the Wise and the brave paladin Michael are summoned to complete a quest! Or maybe at a spooky sleepover, Mike and Will accidentally summon a demon.

Day 2: Monday, October 28:

Masquerade: Will kisses someone handsome at the masquerade ball, but they had a mask on - was it Mike or someone else? The party shows up to the ball to have a good time, but are surrounded by enemies in masks. Hidden identities, lots of dancing, and a raucous good time!

Turn it Upside Down: Explore the Upside Down, whatever that means to you! Will and Mike go through a gate into the Upside Down, or flip the whole ship on its head: Willow and Michelle around Halloween, underexplored AU’s, flipped ship dynamics. Go crazy with it.

Spell: Enchantments, curses, and magic. Has Hawkins been placed under a spell this Halloween? Will the Wise casts a spell, or has to undo one.

Day 3: Tuesday, October 29:

Graveyard & Zombies: Buried bodies, graveyard shifts, and ghosts. Will and Mike work at the graveyard and have to stop an undead army from rising, or maybe that’s just where they share their first kiss. The “Zombie Boy” nickname still stings Will when it’s thrown around at school, or maybe not so much after Mike fights their bullies.

Young Byler & Old Byler: What did Mike and Will get up to on their first, second, third Halloween together? How do Mike and Will celebrate Halloween once in college, or in their 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s? How are they spending Halloween in 2024?

Haunt: What still haunts Mike and Will all these years later? Mike searches for Will who is haunting him while still stuck in the Upside Down. Mike and Will bravely face the Hawkins Haunted House, or move into an actual haunted house as adults.

Day 4: Wednesday, October 30:

Pumpkins & Skeletons: Will and Mike carve pumpkins together, make a pumpkin pie, or investigate the mystery of the rotten pumpkin fields in Hawkins. The party fights against skeletons come to life, or a mystery in Hawkins begins when an unlikely skeleton is found.

The Party: Any and all Party Halloween shenanigans! Explore party dynamics during the spooky season, from pranks to trick or treating. What was the party’s first Halloween together like? The party attends or hosts a Halloween party.

Transform: Transformations of any kind! Werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein, or just the kind of transformation that happens when you are stuck in the Upside Down for a week.

Day 5: Thursday, October 31:

Costume Contest: The party is going all out for costumes this year! Or is it just an AU? Dress Mike and Will up in historical clothes, clothes from your other favorite fandom, or anything else! No matter what, Mike and Will are dressed to impress this year.

Trick or Treat, Freak: A perfect day to appreciate our beloved season 2 Halloween episode. Ghostbusters, Max Mayfield has joined the party, Will sees a shadow in the sky. Crazy together.

Sweet: What’s Halloween without candy? Mike and Will share their favorite candies, or maybe they’re just being extra sweet to each other this Halloween.

Day 6: Friday, November 1:

Movie Night: Whether it’s the whole party or just Will and Mike, at the movie theater or just hanging out in the basement: Byler is cozied up and watching their favorite Halloween movie. Or, what if the party is making an amateur horror flick?

Hawkins Lab: What goes on there, and how are Will and Mike involved? Mad scientists, dangerous experiments, and kids with powers.

Fire: Bonfires to keep our boys warm on a chilly October night, the fire under a wizard’s cauldron, Will the Wise casts Fireball, or a dark night lit only by candlelight.

Day 7: Saturday, November 2:

Fortune Telling: Look into the crystal ball and tell me what you see! Will or Mike get their fortune read and things go awry! Horoscopes, tarot reading, palm reading, tea leaves: does knowing the future make things easier, or so much worse?

Season 5 Era: Time to daydream about our season 5 era! Speculate about what spooky things will happen based on the behind the scenes pictures. What does the next Halloween after season 4 look like for Mike and Will? Is there still time to trick or treat when the world is ending?

Shiver: “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” What has Mike and Will shivering with fright: a supernatural creature, something ancient and mysterious, or a strange deadly virus that has the whole town shivering? Mike and Will get trapped somewhere cold. Will insists that “he likes it cold.” Or maybe there’s just a chill in the air - it is autumn after all.

[steveharrington]

major hornets nest moment here but i must speak my truth. its so fascinating to me how will byers was clearly written with the driving motivation and intention of making him a beloved fan favorite character and instead he falls so flat that, if you asked the average casual viewer of the show who doesn't engage in the fandom like, say, your coworker, the odds of him even being in their top five of favorite characters is pretty low.

will's disappearance kicks off the plot, singlehandedly. the first episode is literally called the vanishing of will byers. his name is shouted so much in the first season that most people would recognize the reference if you used the right cadence and desperation that winona ryder does. after not being featured much in season one, you'd think season two would've just like launched will/noah schnapp into stardom with how much more screentime he's given and how dramatic his plot is that season. but instead the fan favorites of season 2 were by and large el, hopper, dustin, steve, max, even bob who's barely there. that's not to say that there AREN'T will fans out there (and online i understand there are like entire armies dedicated to him/byler, but i'm talking about the average opinion of viewers as a whole, not just in fandom spaces) but think about all the stranger things merch you see in stores, the halloween costumes, the characters that appear in promotional materials when the show has partnerships with brands....will is so rarely featured. idk if any of yall ever got the chance to visit the stranger things pop up shop in any of its various locations, but there was such little mention of will in the stores theming or merchandise that it was almost funny. actually it WAS funny, to me, someone who does not care for him

i think the flop can be attributed to many things. one, noah schnapp is just not a very good actor and he doesn't have the same appeal in his performances that millie, sadie, caleb, gaten, priah, or finn do (although finn i've noticed is also kinda falling out of favor from majority audiences). one could argue that noah schnapp intentionally isn't given much to do, which is true and i'll circle back to that, but the decline in his acting between seasons 2 and 3 is truly a sight to behold. when he's not like tied up and screaming, he reallllllly struggles on the smaller scale performances compared to the other cast members his age. he doesn't really have the charm that gaten does or the humor that priah does or the depth that caleb does. (i don’t feel bad about saying this, btw, given noah schnapp’s behavior)

back to the vanishing of will byer's screen time. my beloved prettymuchit's eric striffler commented on how diminished will and mike's roles in the story have become in s4. "noah schnapp is below the grips on the call sheet" is my fav line, but he also makes an observation on finn's role that i think is soooo accurate. when mike and will are kneeling down next to the pizza dough freezer and watching el just kinda twitch while she fights vecna in her mind, eric and his co-host miles say "this is so embarrassing! finn's like, 'oh so gaten's fighting the monster? and i'm kneeling next to a tub at a pizza place? i used to be this show" and i think the same exact sentiment can be superimposed onto will

but i think this happened naturally, as the nature of the show is to shift its focus from character to character. not to mention the duffer brothers' obsession with tweaking their story to give audiences what they want. i've always held the belief that there isn't one main character of stranger things, rather a rotating circle of characters depending on the season you're watching. season one is mike, season two is hopper, season three is el, season four is max imo. again that's a little subjective and arguments could be made to swap those a little, but overall i think those characters stories and point of views take center stage during each of their respective seasons. by season 3, the duffers wanted to kick things up to a larger scale. the UD is no longer targeting just will, it's targeting the entire town. this works because a THIRD season in a row where this one kid specifically gets possessed would just be bonkers, so they kinda had to let him take a backseat. i'm not sure why they didn't let will be more involved in the mystery-solving portion of season 3....to this day that decision baffles me, but what's done is done and the will that everyone watched in season 3 literally just kinda follows everyone around and gets a small little slice of a plotline about wanting things to go back to normal, but alas

it like totally worked, though. though there are MANY complaints commonly made about season 3, i've never heard anyone offline complain that there wasn't enough will byers. i think the group in s3 that had the most success like, commercially, would be scoops troop and then a bit farther back i think most audiences enjoyed hopper/joyce/murray's dynamic. i think if there had been a huge outcry in the minimizing of will's role, the duffers would've backpedaled immediately. they aim to please. they can't even commit to killing of a main character out of fear that audiences will lose interest if we permanently lose hopper or max, so they just do some creative writing that allows them to milk the emotional consequence of those characters deaths without actually writing them off. if audiences on a large scale demanded that will be center stage, he would be. but they dont!

final point: i think will gets fucked over by the duffers obsession with romance. in season one, two of will's strongest dynamics are with his mom and brother. which like, yeah. theyre his immediately family and he is 12. but in seasons 2 and 3, jonathan spent all his screen time with nancy and from 2-4, joyce has spent all her screen time either with hopper or in the pursuit of finding hopper. these characters are written together as a package deal, typically. it was refreshing and unexpected to see jonathan get a whole season with a friend of his very own and his siblings, but they barely took advantage of that. jonathan and will get ummmm one (1) scene to talk about their emotions in a fucking 20 hour season. it's hard for will to be a main character when he rarely gets to interact with the people that make up the other half of his main dynamics.

as for byler, im of the belief that it will not be endgame because i just don't think they're going to break up mike and el at this point. i could be completely wrong and stand corrected, but im like 90% sure lol. i do think that will's s4 storyline resonated with a lot of people. even eric striffler! i think the issue is that the vastttt majority of people who watch this show above the age of like 15 do not feel invested about the romantic relationships between any of the kids. because why would they!!! theyre literally in middle school for 3/4 of the show. you would be hard pressed to find a vocal will stan online who doesn't also dedicate 90% of their engagement with the show to byler. which makes sense, because most if not all of will's scenes revolve around mike to some degree. but according to neilsen, the majority of stranger things audience is consistently in the 18-49 age range season by season. its more likely for adult audiences to identify with adults (or characters who are narratively treated like adults, like steve and nancy) than with any of the kids. esp when the kid in question, despite being written as the focal point of the show, has less relevant plotlines, less interaction with other characters, and an actor who just doesn't deliver on charm the way his fellow younger costars do

[the-thing-in-the-dark]

🐛 Noa's 200 follower event 🐛

🍄 intro post 🍄

🥺 tysm to the 200 lovely people who decided to follow this shitty blog

send me as many asks as you want idc my inbox is literally covered in cobwebs at this point and i'm actually organised and have less work now so i'm bored

sorry i got a bit carried away with the backstory lol

You are exploring the forest and come to a clearing with many weird plants and animals. Echo, the Phantom Whisperling that's been following you around since you discovered it, chirps from under your hat, wondering why you stopped. You are an explorer and you are documenting many undiscovered flora and fauna of the Forgotten Woods. Certain plants an animals are hard to find. If this is your first time you can only find a limited number of plants - no animals. If you have explored before but not the Forgotten Woods, you can find all the plants - but only some of the animals. If you are a seasoned explorer and have been to the Forgotten Woods before, you can document all the plants and all the animals. Which plant or animal do you document first (if you can find it)?

🌱First timers (followers)🌱

🍄🌌: Phantom Glowcaps

I'll give you a really weird fun fact

🌿🌒: Moon shade Ferns

I'll drop some lore about the Forgotten Woods

🌙🕯️: Ebonfall Blooms

I'll give you a weird/creepy quote from me or one of my books

🐾Explored before (mutuals)🐾

🐦‍⬛🔮: Spectral Shadowcrow

I'll describe your blog in three words

🪻🪬: Gloomveil Blossoms

I'll make you a playlist that suits your blog's vibe (i don't hv spotify so keep that in mind)

🦊🌲: Forestflame Faerie

I'll make you a moodboard based on your blog/vibe

🫎Seasoned explorers (close mutuals or ik u irl)🫎

🦌🌫️ : Wraithglow Stag

I'll make your explorer persona as a DnD player

🐆🌧️ : Stormfeather Leopard

I'll write you a letter on why I love you + I'll give you a nickname

🦅🌪️ : Whirlwind Harpy

I'll drop some crazy/weird/funny lore about me. I don't have that much so the first three people who request this one will get it. (2/3)

💀Ask me anything (everyone) 💀

🦝 : Echo!!!

Ask me anything and I'll answer it

Remember mutuals can access anything in followers and close mutuals can access anything in mutuals and followers as well as their own sections. I stole the divider from canva and all the images from pinterest. This will end when it is not pinned.

tagging all my mutuals because it's been a week and this has like 8 notes

@moutainrusing @delusionaltogether @annabannnananana @shipspainfulships @whydontyourealize-viennawaits4u

@onlyinitforthefandoms @ashes-to-ashesxx @y-o-n-t-a @pastels-and-chaos @lilythefirst819x

@totalcharliespringsimp @moonysm @bartyjrsevan @thatdambreadcat @prongsbitch

@bleep-bloop-boo @ivysfandoms @pangothepangolin @mentally-unstable-childofhades @im-ur-sleep-paralysis-demon

@noahher @bonksyoucutely @yourlocalbadgerscales @last-great-all-american-bitch @moonyswarmsweaters

@mo0ns-and-stars @winnienora14 @undergroundglendower @lovemike0 @enbysiriusblack

@ros3kill3r @beauty-queen-official @reggiesswimteacher @the-marauders-are-ghosts @a-great-tragedy

@prideandfanfics18 @wastingawayinmyroom @cheekyboybeth @sunnysolace7 @gems-and-jewels

@hehenorahhehe @stars-on-my-bedroom-ceiling @zombie404 @hunterofartemis-12 @anything-for-my-moony-1971

@onlytenstarsinthesky @fiveguysshake @regulus-cannot-swim @ddanthedumbass @damsnackbar03

@reggiesswimminginstructor @williamgayers @fangirlghost-19 @blueandyellow7 @martukyymm

@im-on-crack-send-help @thearcher1003 @liggy-not-potter @queerthirsttrap @piedpiperlikesthings

@outromoony @garden-of-runar @obsessedwith15deadwizards @lilcri84b1 @cafffeineconnoisseur

@wishiknew224 @daydream-of-a-wallflower @swiftlybyler @throwbackgaylor @james-potter-yall

@chaserofstars11 @rudamaruda520 @marylily-my-beloved @thedvilsinthedetails @jamespotterbbg

@onlymelonlyy @ratsinpots @idk-what-to-put-here-123 @discoveredreality @mysticalthingphantom

@starchaserandsunseeker @notmybabies @vampiregirlsblog @byler-invested @androgynous-bhajipav

@miseryoforpheus @ghostofyourvampiregf @besthingiveverdone @rhettaisokay @rhysthedarkforestfey

@p3arlsgardenn @dakarihopsrealities @staringathesunbabe @pumpkin-gizzards @themortalityofundyingstars

@morninggloryrising @longtallglasses @deadchaoticcosmos @stranger-theory @ollieolioly

@gaysforbyler @greentealycheejelly @leodores @my-beloved-fandoms @imaddticedtobyler

@my-castles-crumbling @internal-organs58 @questionablebookmouse @the-lionsheart @normal-is-a-raging-psychopath

@starpupsys @supercitofus @willbyerslove @strawberrybyers @wakeupthemembersofbylernation

@justremuslupininamask @sweetronancer @willbyersoffical @e-reblogs @bylertruth3r

@fire-but-ashes-too

[kiirotoao]

The Byler Season-Episode Parallels

I know that this was a topic of conversation months ago already, but I have to bring it up again because it is one of, if not my favorite, pieces of Byler evidence. And it’s a meta detail once again (I think that I’m going to talk a lot about meta details on my blog because they’re so fun to explain haha).

The detail in question? The Byler season-episode parallels. Basically, Byler have key moments in season 1 episode 1, season 2 episode 2, season 3 episode 3, and season 4 episode 4.

I firmly believe that none of the season-episode parallels are coincidences. These moments are set up too perfectly.

Allow me to explain :).

In season 1 episode 1, we see the establishment of Mike and Will’s relationship.

Will is honest to Mike about the last roll in their D&D game, the roll that wasn’t high enough to cast fireball. So Will admits to Mike that “the demogorgon… it got me.” And Mike doesn’t reply to that, as far as we see. He just frowns a little, likely confused as to why Will would admit his loss.

As short as this interaction in season 1 episode 1 is, it ends up being the perfect setup of each moment I’m about to highlight. Not only that, but this interaction is crucial to both of their developments as characters in general. For the s1e1 moment, Will is honest about the roll, specific, too, with the failing 7, and Mike is unaware that the demogorgon is real and about to attack Will. Their respective dispositions in this moment continue on through the show:

Will is honest and open, and Mike is unaware of certain truths.

And before I get into how the pattern shows up in each season-episode parallel, I want to highlight it in other moments throughout the show.

In season 2, Mike complains about Max ruining Halloween night when he doesn’t even speak to her or know her, emphasized in the coming episodes when he finally does talk to Max, while Will admits that he was open to her and let her join trick-or-treating with the Party. Also in season 2, before the boys and Max show d’Art to Mr. Clarke, we focus on a very brief moment between Mike and Will wherein Mike concernedly and unknowingly inquires about Will’s fearful expression when Will honestly explains what he heard in his last Upside-Down episode and his connection to hearing d’Art.

In season 3, after the sauna test, Mike ignorantly argues that, between him and El, “it’s not over, okay, we’re just taking a break” (when by all means verbally, it totally is over) and Will counters him by declaring his honest observation, “she said she dumped your ass, that doesn’t sound like a break!” And now, this is such a tiny detail in the dialogue, I know, but I think it’s interesting how in season 3 episode 5 when Jancy and the Party take off to go look for clues at the Holloway’s, we get a quick exchange of a peeved Mike saying, “seriously?” while realizing (meaning he clearly wasn’t aware of the seating situation beforehand) that he has to sit in the trunk - side by side with a shrugging Will who acceptingly and bluntly says, “welcome to my world.”

Then in season 4, in the Rink-O-Mania fight, Mike complains to Will that “you should have told me she was having trouble.” He didn’t know El was being bullied. Meanwhile, Will calls out all kinds of honest truths about El lying, about Mike being “mad that [Will] didn’t talk to [him],” about the minimal calls and “book of letters;” Will knows it all.

Again and again, Mike is not in the know about something while Will is, and each time, Will honestly and truthfully lets Mike know what’s going on. This pattern of Will’s honesty and Mike’s unawareness happens all the time. It constitutes their characters, especially when they’re together (but not exclusively when they’re together! I could go on and on with examples of how they interact with others but I think that’d make this post too long).

So now, let’s look at the how the pattern plays into the rest of the season-episode parallels.

In season 2 chapter 2, we have the beloved “crazy together” scene.

“It’s like… like I’m stuck.”

“Like, like, stuck in the Upside Down?”

“No. You know on a View-Master, when it gets, like…”

“Caught between two slides?”

I love how Mike finishes Will’s sentence - Mike is aware of what’s going on to an extent! At the very least, he knows Will very well to finish his thought. But in general, we open this moment with Mike inquiring about what Will went though. He’s asking questions while Will explains.

“Yeah, yeah. Like that. Like, like one side’s our world, and, and the other… the other slide is the Upside Down. And… and there was this noise coming from everywhere. And then I saw something.”

“The demogorgon?”

Again, Will explains while Mike asks questions. In this case, Mike is unaware that the problem at hand is no longer the demogorgon but something much bigger.

“No. It was like this, this huge shadow in the sky. Only, it was alive. And it was coming for me.”

Terrifying as that notion is, Will is right on the money. He knows that the Mind Flayer is coming for him, as it does in the following episode.

“Is this all real? Or is it like the doctors say, all in your head?”

After everything, Mike is in disbelief. It’s a lot to take in. And Mike is unaware of the reality of what Will sees.

“I don’t know. Just… just please don’t tell the others, okay? They won’t understand.”

And once again, Will makes it known, honestly, that he doesn’t want Mike to tell anyone else about the information he just shared. He wants to be understood in his situation, not pitied.

“Eleven would.”

“She would?”

Mike goes on to mention Eleven in this conversation, yet another thing that he’s unaware of - where Eleven is and if she’s even alive.

“Yeah. She always did. Sometimes I feel like I still see her. Like she’s still around, but she never is. I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Me, too.”

“Hey, well, if we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together, right?”

“Yeah. Crazy together.”

So the both of them lie with thoughts unsolved, with both uncertainty and certainty together. And thus ends their exchange; “Hey, well, if we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together, right?” “Yeah. Crazy together.”

Also, side note because this moment is so sweet and iconic for a reason: I think that this entire “crazy together” moment is so special because this is the first time we see Will explain his episodes without hesitancy or deep fear. And at the same time, Mike understands his explanations (unlike Owens, who has yet to bridge the gap between the realities). And despite not being able to see each other’s situations, they both believe each other’s words, listen to each other, and just get each other. Their synergy is truly endearing.

Now, in season 3 chapter 3, we have the infamous rain scene.

A lot happens in this scene, and I think nearly every word from Mike and Will perfectly highlights their respective unawareness and honesty.

“Will, come on! You can’t leave, it’s raining. Listen, I said I was sorry, all right? It’s a cool campaign. It’s really cool. We’re just not in the mood right now.”

Despite all Mike’s efforts, this really just feels like a ramble to me. “You can’t leave, it’s raining,” he exhorts, thinking of Will’s safety and yet doesn’t realize how serious Will is and that Will is going to leave no matter what Mike says. “Listen, I said I was sorry, alright?” he continues, and again doesn’t realize that an apology isn’t going to help anymore; the damage has been done. He then says, “It’s a cool campaign. It’s really cool,” which may be true, but then he finishes with, “We’re just not in the mood right now,” which doesn’t address the true reason why he and Lucas don’t want to play.

So then, we see Will’s parry:

“Yeah, Mike. That’s the problem. You guys are never in the mood anymore! You’re ruining our party.”

And I think this highlights Will’s perspective perfectly. Whereas Mike dances around caring about Will but ultimately not caring about him - Will gets straight to the point. He feels like Mike is “ruining [their] party.”

“That’s not true!”

And so, behold. Mike’s go-to argument phrase: “that’s not true!” This is plain denial of what’s been said, and it doesn’t see into the matter fully.

On the other hand, Will is the one to extrapolate on the matter.

“Really? Where’s Dustin right now?” (Mike doesn’t reply.) “See? You don’t know and you don’t even care. And obviously he doesn’t either, and I don’t blame him! You’re destroying everything, and for what? So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?”

Will points out Dustin. Even though neither of them know where he is let alone the gravity of the mission he and the Scoops Troop are conducting, Will is the one to acknowledge Dustin’s absence. He’s sincere with his emotion and his frustration, and he even lashes out at Eleven. But if you ask me, I think that his calling her “stupid” was more of an emphasizer to really show his anger with Mike. Regardless, he’s clearly mad here and true to his anger.

Mike matches his anger, likely offended that he brought up Eleven, and hence, the line.

“El’s not stupid! It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”

Now, this line is interesting. For one, Mike is assuming that Will doesn’t like girls. The assumption ends up being quite correct, but it baffles me that Mike would appear to know this. Even more painfully yet, Mike isn’t aware that he is indeed the reason why Will doesn’t seem to like girls. Will doesn’t show interest in any girls throughout the seasons, but he also doesn’t show interest in any other boys. It’s just Mike.

And for a moment, the two switch places.

After Mike says this, Will is left speechless. He can’t even express what he thinks after hearing that - his honesty is suddenly curbed.

And suddenly, also, Mike seems to realize what he’s done. Looking a bit regretful, he attempts to mollify things by saying,

“I’m not trying to be a jerk. Okay?”

But then, they switch back in the very end.

“But we’re not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? That we’re just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?”

Mike asks all this thinking it’s rhetorical. Of course Will wouldn’t expect that. Of course he wouldn’t expect them to never move on to other things in life like romance. So naturally, he’s shocked when Will answers,

“Yeah. I guess I did. I really did.”

Their exchange closes with Will’s true and honest reply; he really did think they’d continue doing the same things they used to love.

After all the subtly stewing conflict between the boys, Mike and Will finally address the elephant in the room. As much as it’s not a happy exchange, it faithfully portrays the two’s attitudes.

And lastly, in season 4 chapter 4, we have the pep talk scene, as well as the apology scene that follows. Season 4 chapter 4 is one of my favorite chapters ever because of how richly we see everyone’s emotions - and Mike and Will are no exceptions. I can’t even talk about just one scene because they have two amazing moments together in this episode that follow the pattern.

First, we have the moment in Jonathan’s room.

“I… I mean, I don’t think they’ve actually thought this through. If this goes on for a month, or months, and people can’t get a hold of us, they’re gonna totally freak out. Meanwhile, my mom’s probably having a panic attack already. And then what about Hawkins? That lady’s just supposed to keep it ‘contained.’ Like you can contain any of this without El. I mean…”

From the very beginning, we see Will worrying out loud about his mom, Hawkins, about how ridiculous it is to try and keep any of this mess “contained.” Will worries in front of Mike, allowing Mike to hear his thoughts.

“Yeah.”

While Will is ranting, we see Mike more internally worrying at first. He’s looking at El’s letter. The newfound, “from El.” He doesn’t open up about it until Will sits beside him.

“If you keep staring at that, it’s not gonna change. You know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He then crumples up the letter and throws it away.

Mike has to be guided to realize that things won’t change so easily, and that he can’t contact El right now. Will points him to that conclusion.

“Before the cops came, me and El, we… we had a bad fight. We never fight. I mean, we fought before, but just, like, silly fights, stupid fights. But, I don’t know, this one just felt more adult. Like, it… it just felt more real. Like… like it was a fight you can’t come back from.”

Mike talks about his fight with El which I think he very vaguely describes as “more adult… it just felt more real.” He also calls it “a fight you can’t come back from.” He seems to be unsure about what happened or what he should do.

“Maybe I should’ve said something, and if I would’ve said that thing, then maybe she’d want me there with her, wherever she is.”

“No. Look, Mike, you’re gonna see her again, and whatever it is, whatever you didn’t say, you can say it to her then.”

Will backs him up with advice and confidence that El will be okay. And even though Will supposedly can’t look into the future, he is right about this, that they’ll see her again.

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“She’s gonna be okay. She’s not in Hawkins. That’s what we should be worrying about.”

“You don’t trust Owens?”

I find this question, “you don’t trust Owens?” to a bit more thought-provoking than I think it was ever intended to be, but I wouldn’t trust Owens! It’s almost debatable if he truly saved Will back in season 2: his diagnosis was wrong. But the point is that Mike is asking about Will’s perspective here. I remember the first time I heard Mike ask this, I was thinking the exact same thing Will replies:

“No, uh, I don’t know. I mean, he’s been good to us and good to El, but he wasn’t able to protect me. That was you guys who saved me. That was you guys.”

That closing repeated line is just the sweetest thing ever for Will to profess, and it’s also very true! It was Bob, Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Owens who helped saved him. It was never just Owens.

And I don’t have much to say about their final lines that relates to this post, but I do love the synergy once again when they both believe that they’re going to step out into the fire together. “Looks like it’s gonna be up to us again.” “It always is, isn’t it?”

Finally, later on in the episode, we have Mike and Will’s heart to heart. (And side note: I think it’s a really sweet detail that Mike and Will move from Jonathan’s room to Will’s room, showing how their conversation shifts from worry in a less familiar place to a pure, heartfelt confession in Will’s very space that he calls his own.)

“Thanks, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For knocking some sense into me. I mean, I was being a total self-pitying idiot.”

Now, as much as Mike is being quite open and honest in this entire scene, I love what the two say next that displays how it was always Will who was honest and, despite not talking about it, hindsight made Mike see that he was wrong:

“Oh, I didn’t say it.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Also, [emotional, tender music playing] starts up here! Just wanted to point that out, lol

“Hey, also, about, uh, about the last few days-“

“You don’t have to say anything. I… I was being a total jerk to El. I deserved it.”

“No. No, no, no, you didn’t deserve anything.”

Will takes the blame. He opens himself to the blame, but Mike shuts him down and arguably doesn’t acknowledge how much this means to Will - Will promptly stops packing his things and pays attention to Mike here while Mike keeps talking.

“Listen, the truth is, the last year has been weird, y’know? And I mean, you know, Max and Lucas and Dustin, they’re… they’re great. They’re great. It’s just… It’s Hawkins. It’s not the same without you. And I feel like maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I don’t know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something. Does that make sense?”

Will nods to this. He’s listening. And honestly, I don’t think that I have anything to say about Mike being unaware here other than him being seemingly unaffected by Will’s tearfully pining expression, but anyway - what makes this moment so intimate is that Mike is showing his heart, here. He’s being honest and honest about none other than Will. He basically tells Will that he missed him and that home doesn’t feel the same without him.

“I have no idea what’s gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I… I think we should work together. I think it’ll be easier if we’re… we’re a team. Friends. Best friends.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.”

Mike admits he’s unsure about the future. He “has no idea what’s gonna happen next,” but still, he wants to be by Will’s side through it all. A bit stunned, I imagine, Will can only reply, “cool.” To which Mike immediately reinforces.

This scene is truly special as it highlights a lot of Mike’s honesty, and I think that’s why this scene is so emotional. Besides the looks they give each other and the music and the camera zooming in, that is.

And if Will and Mike’s dispositional pattern isn’t enough, there’s more. In every season-episode parallel…

Mike is always on the left side of the screen while Will is always on the right! And even though the s1e1 scene and the s4e4 heart-to-heart scene don’t show this directly, we see them in over-the-shoulder shots on the left and right of each other.

Each moment (save for s1e1) has a key word or phrase repeated by the boys! We have the iconic “crazy together” in s2e2. Then we have the declaration, “stupid” as an adjective in s3e3. Finally, in s4e4, we have the back-to-back, “cool.” I love the easy and childish vernacular of each one, highlighting their relationship that is so uncomplicated and has longevity since they were young kids. These words are simple. They understand each other through the simple.

There are patterns in the wardrobe choices! I’m not sure how deeply intentional all these choices were, but I find a rationale behind each one, so here’s that: in s1e1, Will is in all three primary colors while Mike in a very dark blue, practically black. I think this can show how Mike is in the dark about what’s happening while Will is covered in red, yellow, and blue, each color of which show up throughout the show and highlight how Will is about to set off this journey. Then in s2e2, they’re dressed very similarly with their Ghostbusters outfits. I think this shows how they’re both on the same track, both afraid of what’s to come, but at least they’re together. Crazy together. In s3e3, the two are dressed in each other’s primary color, Mike in yellow and Will in blue (and gray), in which I’m aware I may need to explain the show’s general color usage, but truly, Mike is often dressed in blue and Will is often dressed in yellow, so their contrast in this scene helps depict how they’re in conflict. Lastly, in s4e4, we see them in their respective colors as they renew their friendship.

We also see the lighting alternate every season, from a dark atmosphere in s1e1 to a light one in s2e2, back to a dark and rainy one in s3e3 and then a light one in both scenes in s4e4. This one might be a stretch, but it would point to season 5 including a darkly-lit moment between them (meaning, potentially, flickergate??? 👀).

Overall, I think that these moments not only parallel in season and episode, but they all also reinforce the characters of Mike and Will. I really think that there’s a meaningful reason why we get these one-on-one moments and show their relationship expand through each one: the show is rooting for them and their growth.

(Thank you once again for coming to my very long TED Talk <3)

[wallywise]

Why byler would change the world ?

(I apologize I’m not a English-speaker, I’m learning in school but it’s a English literacy so I probably made a lot of mistake :’)

This was inspired by @lordystrange !

(Its probably not very good but I tried to offer my thoughts and thinking about it ^^

It’s a great question to begin with, but it’s pretty simple to understand

First of all, stranger things is one of the most seen show in the world, so do we know a lot of world-famous show that have gay main couple ? No, or at least I didn’t know any, If byler is endgame (it will be) a lot of person will see it, the WORLD will see it

It won’t be a silly ship that the duffers would create just to please people or to fill an agenda, no it was built since the beginning, people would have been trick into watching a gay romance since the beginning (straightbaiting my belove <3)

It’s not just a couple, it’s kids that fell in love, because queer children exist, because we exist, we’re not alone and we have the right to be seen on screen.

Because it hurt to see all those straight happy-end everywhere and just a gay character in the back, whose only personality is being gay, because we don’t want a bury your gay, because we don’t want a random boyfriend to appear in the last 2 minutes of s5. Because it’s just not what we need. The world need to see two kids falling in love, just pure love, because it’s not wrong, we’re not wrong and that’s the most important things in the world

Because we deserve to have good representation and I don’t talk about gay romance like heartstopper i talk about representation in a show that is not created for a queer public. A show that isn’t based on queerness

I want to see a world where Mike and Will love each other and it’s just as normal as Lucas and Max, it’s just love after all

Because we were insulted for thinking that mike and Will could be a cute couple in s2, because we were mocked for thinking that Will might be gay in s3, because we are again ridiculised for thinking that maybe Mike and Will, a mlm ship, could be endgame

Just imagine the impact on popculture ! Stranger things would be one of the first and biggest main couple straightbait (at least as I know :’) It would be incredible, it could be one of those series/films couple that are classic, constantly referred to, just a part of pop culture. Because right now between all these famous couple there is mainly straight couple, or at least the most famous are always straight Ross and Rachel, Leïla and Han Solo, Peter Parker and MJ, i can’t think about any endgame *very* famous gay couple

Plus they’re so adorable, they are really what the other need, Will NEED mike and mike want to be needed they’re just perfect for each other and I live just to see them happy, to see Will happy because he deserve it, because he can’t be another of those character who just suffer

Byler endgame is the right choice because it just make so much more sense, they were built since the beginning, they’re mean to be together since even before s1, the « crazy together » was planned before s1 and El was supposed to die at the end of the first season, I’m sure the duffer know exactly what they are doing, and why are they doing it

That’s why i think Byler endgame could change the world, it would probably change popculture, it would give a good exemple to futur tv show, people don’t necessarily want the main couple to be straight, the genre doesn’t change that, it doesn’t matter if it isn’t a gay romcom, a gay couple can be one of the main endgame couple !!

(+ bonus : Toxic mileven shippers that insult us because of that since the beginning would be wrong and that my dear will go down in history !)

Thanks for reading this It was probably very messy I added stuff as soon as I had ideas and I didn't read it again because it's late I need some sleep but I just wanted to list it all a bit xD

[crazytogether1984]

Happy international byler day!!!💙💛

To me everyday is byler day but we shall celebrate this very very important day

I can’t believe it’s been a year since we got one of the most significant byler scenes in the whole show and a subtle (not very subtle but Mike’s a little oblivious) love confession from Will

Season 2 Byler my beloved 💙💛

💙💛

[willbyerswithagun]

Season 2 byler height difference my beloved

[fromxxthexxashes]

My thoughts on Supernatural if it were on different networks/platforms.

ABC: No gore. No brutal murders on screen. So much melodrama. A lot more characters. Many love triangles. Maybe Destiel, but if it was leaning that way they would have had a complicated on and off thing. It would probably play second fiddle to an over complicated romance for Sam.

HBO: More gore and darker themes. More explicit content (lots of seggs). Also F-bombs. Mostly from Dean. Dean’s alcolism and Sam’s demon blood addiction would have been highlighted more and it would be way darker. Destiel would be a thing and they would probably get together pretty early on.

Amazon: So much more blood. Like all the blood and all the gore. Hard core seggs. Also SO SO SO many f-bombs and other taboo curses not allowed on network television. Again, most of them from Dean. Just watch The Boys. It would basically be that, but switch the supes for monsters.

NBC: imagine if supernatural had a baby with a procedural cop/hospital/fire-fighter show. It would basically be monster of the week all the time, with some more romance. Destiel is like a fifty-fifty chance (in the later seasons when the general viewers are less afraid of gay people), but if they were together they wouldn’t get as much attention as Sam’s romance, which would probably be Eileen and everyone would love them, but still.

FOX: It would have gotten canceled after season three.

Netflix: Possibly better VFX, depending how popular it is. Shorter seasons, so way less filler episodes. I feel like it would be way more dreary or way more action packed. They would certainly queer bait Destiel, but I feel like they would be more into it than the cw (Byler vibes yk). Seeing as it is a mostly male show with mostly white leads and no sapphics in the leading role - it would not have been canceled after one season. Also seeing as Netflix wasn’t making their own shows in 2005, the time-line would have been pushed WAY up.

CBS: Less gore. It would be a procedural, monster of the week thing. It would still have its long run time. Way more drama and more suspense. Probably less humor. The only humor would come from some flat jokes or like a beloved comic relief character. Probably lots of copoganda.

Disney channel: No gore at all. Also no death, except rarely mentioned things in the past. John would probably be written as a better father. Dean and Sam would be high schoolers. They wouldn’t kill the monsters, they just put them in monster jail or some shit. Think Wizards if Waverly place (there would probably be a cross over tbh). Sam would definitely be a monster fucker dater. Him and Madison would probably be endgame. Destiel would 100% be a thing, but that’s because they’d make Cas a girl. Cas would still be an Angel, with fluffy white wings and white clothing. Also, no demons, just vampires, ghosts, and goblins and shit like that.

Nickoldian: A) An incredibly overdramatic show on teennick. Think soap opera for teenagers. They would probably make Cas a girl and there would be a love triangle with Sam and Dean. They go to like a private school for monster hunters or something. Horrible ratings. Would barely make it to 2 seasons, but it would a have a very small, but devoted fan base. B) Deeply unserious. It would probably involve Sam and Dean befriending most of the supernatural creatures. It would involve minor comical injuries mixed with mild adult humor (like Icarly and Victorious). It would be Dan Sch*ender era, so, you know, f**t.

Cartoon Network: it would be a cartoon (duh). No blood or onscreen deaths. Either a spin off of Scooby-Doo or very reminiscent of it. Either way, it would have the vibes of Mystery Incorporated. They would definitely lean more into the “Sam is a nerd” thing. If it was made during recent years, they would incorporate more magic, and Dean and Cas would be together and sickeningly adorable.

Freeform: It would be during the ABC family era technically. They’re teenagers but they’d be played by people in their late 20s. So much melodrama. Way less gore. Lots of dead bodies, but no gory deaths. PLL but instead of stalkers it’s monsters. A lot less humor. Inappropriate relationships.

BBC: it would probably be pretty much the same, except they’re, you know, British.

[ivypool]

stranger things, wings of fire, the last of us (tv and game), and the 100

stranger things

favorite male character: lucas and steve

favorite female character: el and nancy

least favorite character: nobody hates billy more than i do

prettiest character: nancy or robin

funniest character: erica

favorite season: s3 probably, even though i really do love all the seasons s3 is just so comforting to me. i just love the aesthetic of s3 and the elmax scenes, it’s just a really fun season, and summer 2019 was a pretty good time in my life so i have a lot of good memories associated with s3. also that’s when we were introduced to robin for the first time :’)

favorite episode: dear billy or mall rats

favorite romantic ship: i am elmax's #1 fan, i loved them since s2. i do also really love ronance, and some honorable mentions are byler, henclair, jargyle, steddie, buckingham and stonathan. i pretty much ship everything that isn’t canon LOL

favorite family ship: willel + jonathan, and i headcanon max & steve, max & nancy, steve & robin as all being familial relationships so i love those too

favorite friendship: the fruity four, scoops troop, will & robin, max & robin, max & the party, steve & the party (just the whole party with each other in general tbh)

worst ship: h*rringrove, or really any ship with billy in it since i saw some people shipping him with eddie too…if anyone’s reading this and you ship billy with anybody stay the hell away from me thanks. m*leven also sucks just let them be platonic besties pls

wings of fire

favorite male character: starflight my beloved

favorite female character: carnelian…she’s literally just a background character who appeared in one book but i love her so much she had so much potential. and i really like tsunami and snowfall too

least favorite character: riptide he sucks, he’s not even remotely interesting

prettiest character: glory or blaze

funniest character: qibli or sunny

favorite season (arc): the first arc will always hold a special place in my heart

favorite episode (book): i loved a dangerous gift so much

favorite romantic ship: a tie between blacier and snowlynx

favorite family ship: the dragonets of destiny, tsunami & anemone & turtle, glory & deathbringer (i headcanon them as familial instead of romantic)

favorite friendship: the jade winglet

worst ship: ripnami, glorybringer, any of the DoD shipped with each other

the last of us

favorite male character: this is a basic answer but joel. i love him sm he’s my dad

favorite female character: riley :((

least favorite character: if abby has 1000 haters im still one of them. if she has 1 hater its me. if abby has 0 haters it means i have left this world. (david also is obviously awful but my first instinct was to say abby)

prettiest character: dina <3

funniest character: ellie

favorite season: the first game is the only game. tlou 2 who?

favorite episode: left behind

favorite romantic ship: rellie and dellie

favorite family ship: joel & ellie, ellie & dina & jj, i also love ellie & tommy and ellie & tess

favorite friendship: ellie & sam, ellie & jessie & dina

worst ship: ellie with any man, ellie x abby is also a terrible ship though

the 100

favorite male character: murphy

favorite female character: octavia and clarke

least favorite character: honestly fuck kane, finn, titus, cage, cadogan and pike i hate them all. i’m also not a fan of abby

prettiest character: octavia and raven <3

funniest character: murphy although octavia had some funny moments in the earlier seasons too

favorite season: 2, 5, 6

favorite episode: either eden (s5 ep1) or nevermind (s6 ep7)

favorite romantic ship: niytavia, clexa, and lunaven are so special to me. i also like bellarkecho as an ot3

favorite family ship: CLARKE AND MADI they’re seriously everything to me

favorite friendship: clarke & raven, octavia & madi, echo & madi, madi & murphy, clarke & murphy, raven & murphy

worst ship: i can’t ship bellamy and clarke without echo, so b*llarke ig. i also don’t really care for raven & murphy romantically, i think they work better as friends, and maybe i’m really biased towards loving niytavia but i just hated octavia and levitt

leave a series in my ask box

[deedoop]

tag game: stranger things addition 👻

I was tagged by @harringroveera the funniest mother fucker on my feed rn I love their edits

1.ride or die ship (your otp): harringrove..but God so many others..it's so hard to choose just one

2. most annoying ship: byler but honestly only because the fans are rabid annoying children

3. second favourite ship: Eddie/Chrissy such good vibes

4. favourite platonic relationship: Jonathan and Argyle

5. underrated ship: ARGILLY ALL THE WAY BABY

6. overrated ship: no ship is overrated everyone loves things and that's valid anyways so steddie

7. one thing i would change in canon: the shit writing of the latest season

8. something canon did right: Killing Brenner

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: Honestly all my fanfics, they're old now and not the best, but I'm really proud of putting myself out there and I hope to return to writing soon

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Eleven my beloved

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Billy because Billy shows the complexity of human nature, the capacity for change and how sometimes the hate around us can form us

12. character i hate the most and why: neil, karen, the predatory cougar moms (stole this answer from previous because they are right)

13. something i've learned from the fandom: some people can’t separate fiction from reality and it shows (stole this answer from previous because once again. Right.)

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Hurt/Comfort, Dom/Sub, Fluff

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: OH GOD UH..UH.. FUCK UHM.. honestly probably Money For Nothing by the Dire Straits or Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen

Tagging: @harveydentfanclub @bbygirlbilly @nogitsunbae @rosalyfart @prettyboybillyhargrove & anyone who wants to do this

[unnecessarilygrandiose]

I posted 6,888 times in 2022

That's 3,566 more posts than 2021!

181 posts created (3%)

6,707 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@m-e-w-666

@krekdon

@will80sbyers

@babbling-brook-of-books

@geisofbullshit

I tagged 3,211 of my posts in 2022

#&lt;3 - 138 posts

#greywaren spoilers - 77 posts

#lmao - 42 posts

#oh my god - 28 posts

#my horror movie twins - 24 posts

#trc - 23 posts

#omg - 23 posts

#byler - 22 posts

#ronan lynch - 21 posts

#ofmd - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#dare i say i like this theory even more than the 'mike has been in love with will all al—[rattling sounds] no wait sorry i'm sor—[gunshots]

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

you're telling me the goddamn duffer brothers described season 4 using lyrics of the archer??? which is, idk, only the most anxiety inducing song in taylor's discography???

all of my heroes died all alone?!

316 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

#4

marwa my beloved you are an icon a true legend breaking through the spell of a literal djinn you will always be famous

323 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

#3

they killed my wife

649 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

#2

gentlefolk, bring forward your candles and hold hands with the person sitting next to you. we have gathered here today for this prayer circle, on the eve of volume two release, to manifest the following:

eleven dumps mike's ass, but this time for good

byler have several intimate and hopeful scenes

stancy do not get together

jopper officially get together

lumax get back together

steddie and ronance get to have more scenes together

robin lives

eddie lives

brenner gets his ass handed to him

vecna gets his ass handed to him

we get one(1) flashback to One(001) because jamie campbell bower is pretty

do we honestly expect all of these things to come true? no. but we are nothing if not delusionally optimistic. let us close our eyes and pray🕯️🕯️🕯️

856 notes - Posted June 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

the way ronan and gansey were both infatuated at first sight and lived in half-denial about it for months meanwhile adam and blue went through a whole internal enemies to lovers

1,357 notes - Posted September 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[emblazons]

Hi :) Who are your top 5 st characters?

Hello! And…well. They don’t exist in any real hierarchy in my mind, but the characters I tend to enjoy the most are:

Mike Wheeler (he was my first favorite character when I watched the show in 2016, and my loyalty will not waiver. Also, he’s become fun to analyze moving into s5).

Jonathan Byers (also one of my first favorites when I first watched the show. I think he’s also probably one of the characters I most relate to).

Will Byers (he wasn’t my first favorite, but I’ve always had a soft spot for him and it’s only grown exponentially since Season 2. He’s beloved to me always lmao).

Nancy Wheeler (I actually really enjoy her as a character and also relate to her somewhat, at least in terms of her interests, ambitions and perfectionistic tendencies. I don’t always love her decisions, but I enjoy her as a character a ton).

Lucas Sinclair (literally just the best boy. My actual favorite character right now if you force me to choose, if only because he seems the most honest, most human, and most deserving of good things next to Will).

—that said…I love all the characters, and enjoy spending time on them all (including several not on this list). These are also just my favorite solo—I actually enjoy the dynamic between El and Max more than any other than Byler, because their relationship and the effect they’ve had on each other is fascinating.

Really though…I’m just an overall fan of stranger things, which means I have an attachment to every one of these characters & more. It’s hard for me to narrow to 5 LOL.

thanks for the ask!

[kiirotoao]

Welcome :)

It’s Hana the hair clip girl; you probably know me best for my Byler thoughts and headcanons on TikTok @ hana.kakerutori!

Main tags to peruse:

#byler = most of my original posts

#beautiful beautiful beautiful = art or analyses that I love beyond measure, may not be Byler

#my damn byler heart = the posts that drove me insane

#made me lol = self-explanatory

#i’m having a moment = late night thoughts

#gifs for the soul = some favorite gifs I’ve reblogged

#add ons = thinkpieces from fellow Bylers that I added my thoughts to

#oh headcanons I do adore = headcanons, mine or reblogged

#op can i kiss you = posts that made me fall in love

#byler analysis = most my analyses, some might not be?

#asks my beloved <3 = answered asks from my inbox <3

#my art = for when I occasionally pick up a pencil

Some favorites:

Analyses

Byler and Confrontation (part 1.5)

The Byler Season-Episode Parallels

“El’s not stupid”

My Top 7 Byler Moments (Byler Day 2023)

“We’re friends. We’re friends.” deep dive

The painting

Mileven’s break up, relationships, and bonds (answered ask)

Mileven’s “buildup” (answered ask)

The case against and for Byler

Fanart

Christmas Byler

The hug they deserved (part 0.5)

Spidey Will and MJ Wheeler

Musings

Byler have the same shoe size

Will the beloved headcanons (The Party edition)

Will the beloved headcanons (family edition)

“It’s you. It’s always been you.”

The Claddaugh and Will’s painting (answered ask)

Season 2 Mike 🥺

My AO3:

Byler content is specifically in my series “For the heart” 😉

And if you’re wondering about the blog name:

kiiro (黄色) = yellow

to (と) = and

ao (青) = blue

(also I already have a blog kakerutori so I decided to pick a new name and really lean into Byler-centricism haha)

[illbeyourreasonwhy]

for the ask game, 001 heartstopper, 002 byler, 003 bobby cañero-reed :)

literally such good choices too

Heartstopper

Favorite character: Charlie my beloved. But also Elle <3

Least Favorite character: Harry, no explanation needed

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Charlie/Nick, Tao/Elle, Tara/Darcy, Mr. Ajayi/Mr. Farouk, annnd I can't think of a fifth

Character I find most attractive: hmm I'm not really physically ~attracted~ to people in general per say and most of the cast is younger than me anyways so I don't know if I feel comfortable calling any of them attractive tbh

Character I would marry: Tara

Character I would be best friends with: Tori, I feel like we'd vibe well. But also Nick, and also Elle (and, like, pretty much all of them)

An unpopular opinion: I'm not really involved in the fandom so I'm not sure how unpopular this really is, but - Tao's a really good friend, actually, and I'll fight anyone who tries to argue with me on this

My Canon OTP: Nick & Charlie

My Non-canon OTP: none of them I think?

Most Badass Character: Nick, my brave boy

Most Epic Villain: Ben (though I don't know if I'd call him epic)

Pairing I am not a fan of: Charlie/Ben, for obvious reasons

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): literally can't think of any

Favourite Friendship: the Paris squad <3

Character I most identify with: Nick, and also Tao

Character I wish I could be: Elle, she's amazing and I love her with all my heart

Byler

When I started shipping them: season 2

My thoughts: I think to me they're more of a lowkey ship, like if they just remain friends for the rest of the show I won't be devastated or anything, as long as their relationship is handled well. But I do ship them and their relationship is probably my favorite of the entire show (esp their relationship in season 2). I just love how much they trust and rely on each other, and how much they care about each other and the fact that they would literally do anything for each other. And like, I just want them to be happy. They've been through so much, let them be happy, I'm begging.

What makes me happy about them: Pretty much the entirety of s2 is my happy place when it comes to them. Also like I said, they care so much about each other, they would literally risk their lives for each other and have in fact done that and more, and they understand each other so so well. Also the shed scene in 2x08 makes me cry every time I watch it, so there's that.

What makes me sad about them: Just the way their relationship has been going since season 3. Even if they're not going to happen, even from a purely platonic standpoint, it's so disappointing to see Mike go from completely devoted to Will to basically not giving him the time of the day in s3 and parts of s4, and while I'll wait for the end of the show before passing any final judgements, right now comparing where they were in season to 2 to where they have been ever since Mike got a girlfriend makes me kind of sad (no hate to El though, love her)

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I don't think I read enough fanfic to have an opinion on thiss

Things I look for in fanfic: Again, I don't read enough fanfic

My wishlist: First of all I want them to be happy, especially Will who hasn't known a day's peace in four years - LET THEM BE HAPPY, PLEASE. As long as they're happy and alive and on the same page, with no more misunderstandings and hurt feelings between them, I'm good. I just want them to be a team and to take care of each other.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: literally don't ship either of them with anyone else

My happily ever after for them: They confess their feelings for each other, preferably on Mike's initiative, get together and live happily with the full support of their friends and family without ever having to deal with anything related to Vecna or the Upside Down ever again, and Hopper despairs of the fact that his kids seem doomed to fall in love with Michael Wheeler.

Bobby Cañero-Reed

Bobby my beloved I miss him so much thank you for sending him <3

How I feel about this character: I love him, I miss him, he deserves everything good and I'll forever mourn the fact that we don't get to see him get that (although he was in a pretty good place where we left him so that's good at least)

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Liam

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: him and Elena own my entire heart

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't think I have one?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I mean this isn't just limited to him but like... to actually get to see him in s3! Like I said we left him in a pretty good place and I'm grateful for that, but I would have loved to see him navigate his relationship with his first boyfriend, learn more about the lgbtq+ community, and man the love triangle would have been everything and I'm devastated that we didn't get to see it play out. And also just in general I would have loved to see more scenes with Elena, they're the best sibling duo.

Favorite friendship for this character: the boy squad! they're dumbasses and I love and miss them dearly

My crossover ship: none I don't think, although I did read a few fics where Cartero meet Tyrus and I am here for that friendship