#the og byler defender

[unsurebisexualcore]

Lucas is a Byler shipper: CONFIRMED

[lunabug2004]

This is kinda a follow-up to my last post. I’m fully rewatching s4 rn for the first time since it came out and I’m sorry but I don’t see how Dustin and Mike are in the wrong with the Hellfire campaign/championship game situation. I love Lucas and I feel absolutely awful every time I see him sad, but I don’t think anyone was in the wrong here. I just think that they all had different priorities bc they’re growing up and unfortunately that happens.

Dustin and Mike did exactly what Lucas asked of them, they asked Eddie to move the campaign. Then they got denied and given a whole speech about how they’re the whole future of the club by a person who took them in when they felt left behind by Lucas, and people expect them to ditch HF to go to the game? I’m sorry but no. Not to mention the campaign was planned beforehand and obv no one expected the team to get to the championship game or else they would’ve had a sub for Lucas prepared. It was a scheduling conflict. It happens. It sucks but no one’s at fault for it.

[byersfanclub]

This will be considered controversial, but shouldn't be:

Bylers shouldn't be expected to love El as a character. They shouldn't be expected to care about her endgame. They shouldn't have to go out of their way to justify how Byler endgame is also what's best for El (since she'll gain independence.)

No one else is expected to do this.

J*ncy shippers aren't expected to write essays about why their ship being endgame is also best for Steve.

Lum*x shippers didn't have to bend over backwards talking about how much they loved Dustin during s2, and defend why they personally preferred to see Lucas with Max.

J*pper shippers were never expected to clarify that they love Bob, and repeatedly hype up his positive qualities whenever discussing their ship.

El is a character. People should be allowed to like her or dislike her, just like everyone else. Mlevens constantly talk about how much they hate Will, throw slurs around, and make shit up about him that directly goes against canon. But the second anyone says anything that could possibly be viewed as negative about El, they're ready to start world war 3.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the people who support the LGBTQ ship being expected to uphold this moral high ground, where they must acknowledge the other ship, care about how those shippers feel, and discuss the virtues of the character who would not be chosen if their ship is canon.

I have never seen another fandom put those expectations on people. In every other fandom, people are allowed to just not like characters and ships.

oh i completely agree. i mean i love el, but she’s not even in my top 5 favorite characters and i simply just analyze her character arc and hope that her arc comes full circle because she gets placed in this box by a lot of GA and m1lev3ns that she’ll be with mike forever and get married which just infuriates me. but no one should feel the need to constantly feel like they have to talk abt how much they love and also ppl shouldn’t feel bad criticizing her character as if she’s done nothing wrong when she absolutely has.

a lot of ppl in fandom fixate on characters they like and don’t tend to delve into others, that’s completely normal. it’s like you said abt jancy and steve, a lot of those ppl fixate on the older party and don’t really care much about the og party which is fine.

overall, agreed.

[pinkeoni]

Click to read my long and rambly complex feelings on Rovickie below

Wanting to defend Rovickie in any capacity is a little tiring because it always has to come with the disclaimer that the ship is underwritten and Vickie herself is greatly underdeveloped, because, well, this assertion is true. Rovickie is so poorly developed that Maya Hawke herself said she would have rather Robin’s story just stick to being about friendship and the majority of the fanbase ship Robin with someone she isn’t going to be wuth, and I can’t even blame any of them because of how poorly handled her actual love interest was.

But at the same I kinda can’t help but root for them despite their mismanagement. I like the energy Amybeth McNulty brought to Vickie despite her writing, and I also like the idea of Robin’s “dream girl” that she can barely talk to being a band nerd as awkward as she is. (yes Vickie being a copy of Robin is an issue, but at the same time I like the idea of similar people gravitating toward each other 🤷🏼‍♀️)

I remember reading a post that the Duffers kinda shot themselves in the foot with Vickie. There doesn’t seem to be a way to develop her without shifting attention away from someone else, but now that she’s here, it would be bad if they didn’t give her any development at all. This show has a problem with introducing more characters than it can carry and failing to give development to some of its OGs. Robin herself being one of these characters. Is Vickie a character that can only be remedied by going back in time and remedying writing mistakes of the past? (btw I’m not saying that Robin shouldn’t be on the show, but the show needed serious structural remodeling in season 3 in order to balance all of these characters, and it’s hard to imagine if it’ll be handeled well in season 5)

Earlier in this post you might have noticed that I threw a jab at the other Robin ship, which I have expressed my feelings on before. I don’t want to spend too much time dissing them here because I do understand that sapphic ships often get unnecessary hate for sheer fact that they are sapphic.

So I’ll just be point blank: I don’t think ronance is going to happen. I don’t think Nancy is queer, I don’t think that their interactions are romantic, but hey if you wanna read it that way more power to you. If the fanbase is far more into a ship that won’t happen more than the ship that is supposed to be intended to happen then this is a pitfall of the writers. And like I said before, I understand why people prefer ronance considering that rovickie is so poorly developed. They would rather Robin’s love interest be someone that she had more development with.

But I also wouldn’t want ronance to happen because I think it would be shitty to introduce a queer character to be a love interest and then completely give her the shaft. But at the same time Vickie’s writing is already shitty because of her poor development.

Sometimes you see people (milevens) on twitter saying that byler shippers don’t care wlw ships, and this isn’t an argument even worth appealing to because they are just saying this in good faith, they are saying this just to push buttons. Sometimes when an audience doesn’t engage with a sapphic ship the responsibility is placed solely onto the audience, and not the creators who have failed the sapphic ships of the show. (I’m not saying that people who ship ronance ship it for this reason, but I am saying that I don’t want to ship a wlw ship for the purpose proving that I support wlw ships)

So I guess I actually mourn Rovickie. It’s not dead, but it’s not as good as it could have been and it probably won’t be. There’s the slightest chance of the Duff’s proving me wrong, so maybe I’ll hold on to that tiny sliver of hope.

[eclipsebyler]

It's insane that most of Byler's heartwarming moments and quotes are initiated and said by Mike Wheeler and some people still think it's never going to be requited on his side.

"If we're both going crazy, we'll go crazy together, right?"

"Do you remember the first day that we met? .... I asked if you wanted to be my friend. You said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done." (This whole monologue, seriously)

"I've no idea what's gonna happen next. But whatever it is, I think we should work together. It'll be easier if we're a team. Friends. Best friends."

"Maybe I feel like I've lost you or something."

"It's Hawkins. It's not the same without you."

Notice how working together like a team is a present subtext to most canon relationships? It's not a one-sided give and take dynamic, not "I" or "You", but "Us". And Mike, when he talks to Will, always pertains to the both of them as a team- they need to be together, never dealing with things alone.

And thinking back to every moment in the show, Mike is always the first one to act and notice everything relating to Will.

Season 1 Mike who without hesitation initiated a search party for him and didn't give up on finding him, even when it's dangerous. Will being missing (and that fake death) affected him so much he shut himself off at first. He hangs and keeps a lot of Will's drawings, his admiration for his works evident. He's the first to defend him and wouldn't let Troy and the bullies badmouth him.

The entirety of Season 2 is just Mike's loyalty, care and thoughtfulness towards Will. It gives the impression that while the og party are all close friends, Mike and Will's bond is different and special. He stayed with Will all throughout the whole ordeal, always the first to notice when he was unusually quiet, gone, and acting differently. He trusts Will and is more open to him than to anyone else (and Will also trusts him the most). He's the one who pulls him out of his nightmares and visions. He literally never left Will's side and believed in him no matter what.

Season 3 Mike, even though he was mostly shown with El, never lost his soft spot for Will. He's still quick to notice whenever he isn't okay (at the cinema, during the Billy sauna fight, etc.). After their argument in the rain, he immediately went to apologize to him. It's like he can't take it if they're both upset at each other for too long. When the Byers were preparing to move, he got worried Will would move on from D&D or that he might find another party. He was the one lingering behind looking back at the house when they left, knowing how much memory it holds.

Season 4 Mike, despite their awkward and weird reunion (and prolonged tension), still notices Will even if Will just tried to fade in the background. After their fight at the rink, he also went and quickly reconciled with him the next day. He always found it the easiest to confide in Will with his feelings— his safe place—just like he is to Will. Will's monologue about him being the heart of the party meant the world to him. And by the end, when Will was clearly shown still being connected to the Upside Down, he sticks by his side again.

Whether it's platonic or romantic, no one can deny that Mike and Will share a long history and deep connection that they wouldn't ever have with anyone else. They've known each other for almost a decade.

It's not too farfetched that Mike can share Will's feelings and affection. He wouldn't reject Will when he finds out Will loves him. As a byler shipper, I may be biased to believe he already reciprocates it even. With how much he cares and initiates these moments with Will, I would even think he'll be the first to reveal he's in love with him and not the other way around.

But even from a non-shipper perspective, the 'they're-just-platonic-bestfriends' people: Mike still won't completely reject the idea of loving Will the same way. He just won't, not after his reaction to the veiled 'you're the heart' confession. And certainly not just judging by the way he holds the softest spot for this boy all throughout the show. If he does reject him though, we all know that's going to ruin their friendship and I don't think the writers would just do that?

Byler has such a great and high potential to be canon, whether you look at it in Will's or Mike's POV, and if they aren't, then that's a huge waste of building up such a beautiful bond.

And if they really didn't have a romantic subtext, why would they have so much focus with just the two of them? If they were platonic, why not include the other friends in their moments? Why would they have Will be canonically in love with him? If they did that just for another plot device and towards a rejection of all things, that would be so... I would never forgive them for that (less because they're my ship, but more on with how they handle Will's sexuality). It'll be such a harmful and disgusting narrative for many reasons.

So yeah, making them canon won't only wrap up both their character arcs beautifully, but also that would make better sense for the building up they've done throughout the show.