#this is the only way to go with byler getting murrayed

[nyxi-pixie]

i dont trust a bitch that hates ronance

like wdym u like stedd1e(<3) or god forbid fucking h4rr1ngr0ve(😒) but you dont like ronance🤨🤨🤨🤨

like if u dnt ship it bc ur rooting for robin and vickie or ur a super yay jxncy person or smt sure whatever. but if u HATE ronance??? i do not trust you.

[spicybylerpolls]

Well, unknown hero agent man / pen symbolism anon, i hope you're reading this, cos you hit the nail on the head! this kind of symbolic storytelling is not only a fine art of cinema (being lost these days a little sadly, what with the whole netflix speedy turnover etc), but exactly what (good) films of the horror genre aim to do.

horror has long been a way to creatively tell 'normal' dramatic stories through subtext and symbolism. not sure if this is still a way around traditional censorship but im sure it began that way. films like the exorcist, the shining, rosemary's baby... all classics that are filled with subtext. its also an exciting way to talk about things that might seem trite or too bleak when portrayed as a 'straight' drama (this is the term meaning 'non-genre based' or 'non-musical' lmao). So you could say that ST is NOT straight, in more ways than one 😉

but much of this will go over casual viewers heads, so its finding the balance between making a story believable on the surface (another dimension exists! scary government men trying to kill us!) and subtextually (the UD as a metaphor for trauma/AIDS/closeted homosexuality/abuse etc) if viewers are clever enough to see/feel it. i say feel because much of storyviewing is instinctive instead of analytical.

so ST incorporates both - not just metaphorical, vague storytelling, but also real issues too. but it goes one step further, and actually has characters talk explicitly about reading deeper into stuff (murray's behind the curtain speech). it's a very meta show, even for a genre piece, which is why it astounds me that some people think it's not that deep lol. and some people think that only literature can be deep, but never tv or movies - which is an insult to anyone who has ever been passionate about cinema tbh. It's a statement that would probably rip the heart out of the duffers' chests and stomp on it. these guys are super nerds who have dedicated their adult lives to this passion project. as finn said, 'most people make it then just cash in - im so glad they still care'.

I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable talking about the beauty of this storytelling on your main. it really does surprise me that the fandom is so censorship obsessed because sexual metaphors have long existed in visual media, and especially in horror films. there used to be a long post about byler and a potential sex scene at lover's lake on here, but the user disappeared and the post went missing. it was about all the sexual imagery in ST, with a focus on byler in s4. i especially loved how they mentioned mike's introduction, where he was just in underwear: it is both appropriate for the setting, but also gets the audience used to him as a growing lad with a body and draws attention to those uncomfortable, potentially sexual aspects of being a teen. i mean, he was in tiny pants for god's sake. did we need to see that? why did we see it? etc etc

hilariously, they also referenced the always sunny in philadelphia scene where a character is in a therapist office talking about a pen being a dick. he then puts it in his mouth and chews the pen lmoao

i think you'd enjoy @therainscene's rod symbolism post too. I'm personally hoping for some explicit sex scenes with byler, because the show so far has arguably been telling that story metaphorically already for 4 seasons, and bringing it out of the subtext could be a storytelling device in itself. bringing byler's secrets into the light. after all, this is a period piece that aims to shed light on a bygone era. its not a propaganda piece that needs to remain coded; the reasons for staying secretive still exist for mike and will in the 80s, but times have changed since then for us as a global audience, and more importantly, the aspirational message has changed. what message would the duffs want to send to viewers that are still bigoted? clearly one of the beauty of homosexuality, seeing as will, our fav gay boy, has been the darling sympathetic victim of the show since s1e1. the show needs to remain true to both the 80s while also having a strong message for this decade in order for modern audiences to be able to gain something from watching this story; in order for there to be a reason the show exists at all.

so to answer your question, i had never picked up on the pen symbolism until now, but i immediately agree, not least because 1) it must have a meaning that connects to byler's conversation otherwise why does it just interrupt them with no reason? (from a storytelling pov), and 2) because of the always sunny scene lolllll

thanks for the discourse! if you stick around into s5, im sure we will be able to start discussing this on our mains. it'll be a new era and there might even be gifs/pics of byler to accompany our 'spicy' discourse haha!

Amazing/fascinating points! Thanks for adding to the discussion!

[willbyerssupremacist]

“the wheelers can’t love”

i feel like most people view ted and karen’s relationship affecting mike in the sense that it made them unable to express their love, however, i think otherwise.

don’t get me wrong, they were definately affected by ted and karen, just in a different way. the way i see it, they can and have expressed their love for others multiple times in the show.

nancy not only said that she loved jonathan in season 4, but we can tell that she meant it because she pointed out every single thing about him that made her fall in love with him in the first place.

mike has also expressed his emotions on the show. though he didn’t say the words “i love you”, mike’s season TWO monologue is a clear example of mike genuinely expressing his feelings, and we can see that he does it without hesitation.

the way i see it, it isn’t that the wheelers can’t show love, it’s that they are trying to express their love to the wrong people. they are putting on a facade, they are settling for people who they know deep down that they truly do not want to be with, just like karen and ted’s relationship.

in fact, murray even explains this to jonathan and nancy, so i’m not sure why so many people are hooked on the idea that the wheelers cannot express their love at all.

“nancy couldn’t tell steve she loved him” because she didn’t! which is the same reason i believe mike can’t tell eI that he loves her, because he doesn’t, not in the way she wants him to.

the wheelers were affected by their parents because they have this distorted idea of what “love” is meant to be, they conform to what is expected of them in a relationship and suffer in silence, just like karen.

there is such a drastic difference between jancy / stockholm syndrom and byler / malignant tumor.

with steve, nancy was trying to be someone she wasn’t. even barb said it, she was acting different. with jonathan, nancy was able to actually be herself. they didn’t have a superficial relationship. their relationship actually had a build up, they fell for eachother naturally. they can be their true selves around eachother, there’s no pressure. they can talk to eachother and comfort eachother. that is why nancy can so easily express her love for jonathan, because it is real and she isn’t forcing herself to be someone that she isn’t.

the same exact thing can be said for mike and eI vs him and will. it’s genuinely scary how similar these two situations are. we’ve seen that eI (bless her soul, this isn’t her fault either) has shown no interest in the things that mike likes. she ignored his toys in season 1. she didn’t like it when he burst into song in season 3, which was him showing his true personality. at the end of season 3, we even see that he holds back from getting excited over presents and dnd. and don’t even get me started on how mike tried to be a completely different person in lenora. not to mention the fact that these two never seem to be able to tell eachother the truth or sit down and have a rational conversation about their feelings.

with will, it’s different. will already knows mike. will and mike have been best friends their entire life. will loves mike for who he is, which is why mike is so comfortable being himself around will. the amount of heart-to-hearts these two have had this past season, let alone all the other seasons, shows that mike is able to truly open up to will. in fact, mike pretty much only opens up to will. mike is always the first to apologize to will and he has stated how much he truly cares for him multiple times without hesitation.

“i’m the only one who cares about will!”

“if we’re both going crazy, we’ll go crazy together. right?”

“it was the best thing i’ve ever done.”

“he’s quiet today.”

“i feel like i lost you.”

“it’s hawkins, it’s not the same without you.”

i mean, why do you guys think everybody says they miss season 2 mike? mike didn’t randomly start being an asshole in season 3, he just started to hide his feelings and conform to what he thinks he needs to be in a relationship. 

“It's forced conforming. that's what's killing the kids. thats the real monster.”

honestly, he needs to get murray’d next season. someone tell this poor boy that he does not need to suffer in an unhappy relationship and pretend to be someone he isnt for the rest of his life...

[hawkinsp0st]

i present to you: byler getting murray’d but gently, quietly, urgently, at the end of the world.

it’s practically the apocalypse and the gang is spending long nights at murray’s planning their final attack on 001. mike and will don’t leave each other’s side, and murray finds them several times at 4am, still sitting at his kitchen table, sneaking glances at each other or brushing fingers while they draw up blueprints for their plan, crumpling papers of failed ideas and tossing them at each other playfully, brushing knees, speaking in hushed tones, clinging to each other for hope.

murray goes into the kitchen for a glass of water late one night and he overhears mike, to will: “i’d do anything to keep you safe. no, will, don’t argue with me. anything. i’m not letting you go out there.” murray tries his best not to eavesdrop but he can feel the pangs in mike’s heart from several feet away. murray peeks his head around. the two boys’ hands are interlocked on top of the table—more specifically, both of mike’s hands are over one of will’s as will uses his other hand to sketch out a plan, presumably the one mike is arguing against, one that puts will at the center of the action.

as mike speaks, murray sees how will holds onto every word. how, when mike speaks, will hears. he gets through to him. and the way will’s eyes glisten… god, has murray seen that look before.

will yawns and finally leaves the table to go to bed—they’ve all been crashing on various pieces of murray’s furniture in the depths of pure exhaustion—nodding to murray on his way out, and mike just sits there, taking a sip of water, exhausted, but leg bouncing, nervous energy thrumming. he feels a hand touch his shoulder and jumps.

“wha—murray! shit, you scared me.”

“yeah. and you’re scaring me.”

“hmm?” mike blinks.

“look. this isn’t going to be easy to hear. hawkins is a closed-minded place. but this?” murray gestures to the red lightning flashing outside his window. they’re used to this now, in hawkins. “this is bigger than hawkins.”

“yeah, i—“ mike furrows his brow slightly. “murray, i know that. this could be the end of life as we know it.” mike’s eyes are fixed on the chair across from him now, where will had been sitting.

“you don’t get it, wheeler. what you two have?” murray points between mike and will’s empty chair. “it’s our only hope.”

mike looks up at him now, wordless. because what else could mike possibly say?

murray sits next to mike. “whatever you do… whatever happens, mike? don’t ever let him go. not for a second.”

mike nods somberly. “i know. i’ve made that mistake before.”

murray shakes his head. “no, no. this is different. you know what i’m trying to say.”

mike blinks. “i’m not sure i do.”

murray sighs, hand back on mike’s shoulder, firm, because this really is life-or-death: “when you tell that boy that you love him, how you love him, he’ll be our most powerful asset. with your love, he won’t be contained.”

mike gulps.

“listen. mike. we all know how special he is. but when you’re with him, he believes it.”

mike’s eyes start to water.

“and that look in his eyes, mike? when he looks at you? when i see that, i start to believe, for the first time in two years, that we’re actually going to make it out of. this. thing. alive.”

mike looks terrified, disheartened. “i don’t want him in danger.”

“i know. me neither. and you’re the only one who can really protect him. he will listen to you, wheeler, in a way he won’t listen to his other friends or even his mother.”

another red flash of lighting outside, then a loaded crash of thunder.

“mike… you might not be the smartest person i know—“

“hey!”

“—but i know you’re not stupid. you know what you have to do. don’t do it for me. do it for him.” murray points toward the room where will went to sleep, and gets up with his glass of water. “he needs you. goodnight, mike.”

mike sits up higher, and his leg stops bouncing. he does know.

•••

and if the next morning, mike leads the gang into a secluded area of the woods, everyone following behind him except there’s will at his side, the two boys hand in hand, and announces, “here’s how we’re going to kill 001,” and he sees a glimmer of hope in everyone’s eyes for the first time in ages, he’ll know it was the right thing to do, telling will he’s in love at 5am under the crimson sky on murray’s fucking back porch, of all places.

the paladin and the cleric, heroes again, march into battle.

[emblazons]

you know I just fully processed this (though I've had the thought for a fair amount of time), but...people are always talking about how Byler need to get "Murray'd," but honestly I think its moke likely that they will get Murray's advice by proxy...from Jonathan.

Jonathan has been privvy to damn near every moment of Byler's friendship and growing romance, on top of also being a Byers + understanding that Will is probably going through the same thing he did with Nancy: going out of his way for a Wheeler because they're in love, but never saying it because that Wheeler is supposedly in love with someone else.

He's been Murray'd before, and even mentions it at the end of S3 when the Byers are moving to Lenora...and now we know he's not only confirmed (in his own way) that Will is in love with Mike, but seen every single inciting incident of Mike & El's downfall in S4.

If anyone is gonna sit Mike down and get him to realize he's denying his feelings for Will (the same way Nancy denied her feelings for Jonathan)...its gonna be Jonathan.

Its literally the only thing that makes narrative sense lol

[mikesmelodrama]

eleven doesn't need a boyfriend to be happy. (an analysis)

some mlvns say bylers hate el but that just isn't correct at all?

the argument is near always that "wanting mlvn to break up means you hate el because she's happy with mike"

now, first of all: did you ever stop to think whether mike happy with el?

because maloobans also say things like "just because will likes mike doesn't mean mike has to like him back."

okay! with that same logic, just because el likes mike doesn't mean they have to stay together. their relationship has been rocky for a while. mike has trouble saying he loves el. if els feelings are unrequited in s5 (which i don't believe because i think she realised she doesn't love mike at the end of s4 and neither love each other anymore), it wouldn't make sense to keep them together.

second of all: is el the happiest she can be with mike? in s3, we see el finding herself with max who says "there's more to life than stupid boys." and el IS happy without mike, but i believe she was still in love with him in s3 and that's why they got back together. however, i think mike wanted to stay broken up at the end of s3 but was caught off guard by the love confession

i'm not even gonna get into the shitshow that was mlvn in s3 but y'all have seen it, so...

third: i'd assume most mlvn shippers are straight - therefore they're watching the relationship through a heteronormative lens, and thinking that el would need a boyfriend to be happy is a heteronormative idea.

some melvins say they want mlvn to get married and have kids, which is also a heteronormative idea.

i don't necessarily like eddie but in his wise words: "forced conformity is killing the kids."

so, what do we learn from this?

el needing to be in a relationship goes against the idea stranger things is trying to push. the idea that stranger things is saying over and over over again is that you don't need to be "normal" according to society.

for example:

dustin is disabled. will is gay. lucas is black. max is (likely) disabled in s5 if she wakes up. joyce is a single mom. robin is gay. jonathan is bullied. murray believes in alien conspiracies.

obviously, all of those things (except the alien conspiracy lol) are normal but in the 80's they weren't treated as such, or even now.

with characters like that, is ST really going to push a relationship like mlvn to be endgame? NO.

you don't need to be in a straight, unhappy relationship because it's what society wants you to do. you can be a freak, and just because a boy and a girl are friends, doesn't mean they need to be together.

also, "boy finds traumatized girl in woods, takes her under his wing, they fall in love, end of story."

does that sound like what's best for el? because when you think about it, el doesn't need mike and vice versa. she hasn't needed him since she moved in with the byers, because she has a loving family & friends. mike isn't the only important person in her life.

and having els arc to be diluted to being some nerds superhero girlfriend with very little personality of her own wouldn't be a good way to end s5 on.

having mike just be rude to will for no reason and magically figuring out all his troubles with saying i love you to his girlfriend (that can't possibly have anything to do with him being queer, can they?) and them being happy forever wouldn't be a good way to end s5 on.

what el needs is to be independent and learn what she likes without a boyfriend she's heavily codependent on. SHE DOESN'T NEED A RELATIONSHIP AND ISN'T READY FOR ONE.

the truth is, she doesn't know enough love and healthy relationships to be with mike while being independent and figuring out her own identity. i honestly believe even canon elmax would work out better than mlvn, even though i'm a single, independent el truther at heart.

hope you liked my little ramble!

i really hope we get platonic elmike in s5 cause we were ROBBED 😭

[chirpsythismorning]

Something the byler fandom doesn’t fixate on enough is that, not only are Will and Mike going to end up together, but ALL of the other characters alongside them are going to be reacting to them getting together…

JONATHAN AND NANCY?? STEVE AND ROBIN AND VICKIE??? KAREN?? TED??? HOLLY??? LUCAS AND DUSTIN?????? EL AND MAX?!!?!? ERICA??!!??? MURRAY??’!!!!!!! HOPPER AND JOYCE?? 😭

Like I genuinely don’t think we’ve actually sat down and thought about all the ways this could play out. Some of them could find out before others? Or maybe they’ll all find out at the same time? What if someone finds out before even Will and Mike do??!!!

Feeling unwell

[strangertheories]

The Stranger Things Q&A panel at a convention today (actors of Chrissy, Alexei and Karen)

I was not able to ask any questions, sorry guys! The queue was long and I dislike crowds a lot so I avoided it. However, the panel host pointed at me when talking about the cosplay in the fandom and complimented my cosplay- people clapped! Except she said "oh my goodness chips ahoy!" (I am a Robin cosplayer) and I am in fact not cosplaying chips ahoy.

I've included most answers here, nothing really about S5 though except confirmation that filming begins in June for Cara, what they'd like to happen and no Byler. There was a lot for the Hellcheer shippers as well since Grace got asked about that. There were a few questions they refused to answer, most of which were about their fellow cast members. Except for when the crowd wanted to kill Mike when asked which of the party should die (bit harsh). One person said Will and Grace was outraged.

Cara (Karen)

Her daughter cosplays anime

Audition - started in 2015, in person followed by a series of auditions, only one to meet Duffers before set

Huge Walking Dead fan, loves Star Trek, anime vicariously through child, Genshin Impact

Likes the nostalgic bits - happy it's introducing 80s music to younger generation

Favorite part to act was the scene where she first met Billy as it was fun to shoot and they were laughing between takes

Cara never learnt to swim so had to get lessons to film a shot of backstroke in S3

Sad that Benny died, as well as Eddie and Chrissy because she wonders what could've been

Her daughter was 2 when she started stranger things so she grew up with the cast and it's bittersweet to see kids grow

Thinks pineapples DO belong on pizza

Wants Angela to die in S5 (because she's mean) with a whack to the face from another roller skate

S5 shooting begins in June!

She was surprised at how gruesome Chrissy's death was even though she'd read it in the script but thought it served as a good departure from previous seasons

Carnival scene was best location to film on as they built a carnival and you could go on the rides when it wasn't being filmed

Grace (Chrissy)

Audition - sent in a tape, only had to try once because she was the only one to play her nice

Grace is a big Doctor Who fan, particularly number 10

Would be a demodog if she could play anyone else

Favorite part of shooting was working with Joe Quinn as he's super talented and fun

Most stressful scene to shoot was running from Vecna (crying, screaming, running, etc was exhausting) especially since Jamie Campbell Bowers walks super slowly

Would kill Vecna to save Eddie

She thinks Eddie and Chrissy would've been together but says that "they are [together] now" (💀💀) which got a huge laugh

Says third season is the best

Would be a potato if she could be a food

Not tired of Chrissy Wake Up. Was asked to sing Chrissy Wake Up but she didn't

Was nervous people would be glad she died so she'd be out of the way so was pleased people love Chrissy

Dear Billy (04x04) is the best episode in her opinion

Thinks pineapples don't belong on pizza

Enjoyed dying for the first time but actually found it hard to watch. They wouldn't let her keep snapped Chrissy to hang from her ceiling

Alec (Alexei)

Audition - just generic scenes, wrote the character around him

Big anime fan (Demon Slayer, Hunter X Hunter)

Says the 80s nostagia shows the power of music (and marketing)

Favorite people to work with were David and Winona (mother and father figure of set)

Favorite part to shoot was the scenes with the slushies. It was cherry "because it was in the script" (he was asked why he chose a cherry slushie)

Would be "Cool Dustin" if he could have played anyone else (he is his favorite character, loved Gaten's performance from S1 as he's unique)

First shot outside of Murray's house was very scary to film as he wanted to impress the cast

He says the first season is the best season

It was unexpected that people clung on to his character and the reaction from social media although he did anticipate people would be sad from the death

Doesn't want Eddie to come back, says more main characters should die

So that's that! I got to speak to Cara as well and she was lovely, I'll be seeing them later today as well for photos/autographs (:

[freetobeeyouandme]

Chapter 3: I Get My Ass Kicked by an Elven Princess

The next chapter of my Byler Isekai AU is now up on Ao3! We learn about Will's backstory, get some Byler bonding, and most importantly, Mike gets to use his new sword. What could go wrong?

Tags: M, Graphic Descriptions of Violence, Fantasy AU, Canon Typical Violence, Canon Typical Horror, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn

Summary:

Mike Wheeler hates High School, so when he almost dies and falls through a portal to another world, he’s not going to complain. Especially not when that world does not only have swords and magic but seems to work exactly according to the rules of his favorite tabletop role-playing game. But his euphoria might be short lived because the party of adventurers he falls in with turns out to be the target of an evil god and the fate of the world might rest on their shoulders. So, exactly like his games of D&D. Except the wanna-be Paladin soon realizes that being a hero is much harder in real life than it is in-game. - Or, Mike gets isekai’d into a world where D&D is real.

An excerpt and taglist below the cut:

Excerpt:

By the time Mike, Will, and Jonathan make it back home, the number of people they have to give the bad news to has halved. Because the Byers’ house only has so many beds, Lucas had left with Dustin, ceding his to Mike, and the pair had taken Max with them. Mike’s not sure what to do with the elf’s sudden kindness, but as the sun sets on Hawkins, the day’s excitement catches up with him and he’s not going to turn down a bed. He is a little disappointed to find Dustin had taken his backpack and everything but the books inside of it with him though.

When they arrive, El and her parents are playing cards, the Sorceress and her father competitively while her mother seems to only have joined to while away the time. Mike had finally found a moment to ask Will and Jonathan about their family situation on their way back when Jonathan mentioned that Mike should show the sword to Hop. Apparently Hop wasn’t the boys’ actual father, although neither of them seemed fond of the man who was. Hopper and their mother had found each other years after she left that man, and he had taken to her sons as if they were his own. And when Will and his friends brought El home, he had immediately become protective of the girl. Mike thought that was sweet, and the Byers genuinely seemed to love each other, something he wasn’t always sure applied to his own family.

True to Jonathan’s word Hop watches almost hungrily as Mike pulls the sword from the leather scabbard Murray had also provided while Will tells them about the Wizard’s ‘prophecy’. It’s the first time the harengon looks at him with something other than contempt, but Mike isn’t sure he likes this other expression either.

Thankfully Hop turns back to his cards when Mike’s eyes meet his, apparently unwilling to admit his curiosity. He pulls a red, beautifully illustrated card from his hands and throws it on top of the pile on the table.

El drags her eyes away from the sword and growls when she sees what her father has done.

“You got a plan on what to do with it?” Hop asks, nodding at the sword with feigned nonchalance.

Mike considers it. “Learn how to use it, I suppose. I’m not going home so I might as well take advantage of this.”

“Learn to use it how?”

He frowns. “Uh, like you use a shortsword, I guess?”

Mrs. Byers laughs, looking up from considering her own cards. “He means what class you had in mind.”

“Wait, you get to choose your class?” Of course, back in his world, he had chosen his characters’ classes, but that was a game and he was the author of those characters’ stories. He hadn’t expected that to translate to real life quite so literally.

Hop huffs a barely audible laugh that has Mike stare at him in disbelief. He didn’t think the man was capable of expressing joy.

“It’s like with every other profession,” he explains, with a shrug. “You pick what you think suits you and hope it works out for the best. But trust me, there are enough green-eared youngsters who think they want to become some world famous Wizard and remain the same green-eared nobodies even after years of study.”

Next to Mike, Will rolls his eyes. His expression is fond, though. “I thought we’d agreed, as a family, to never speak about that again?”

“You were a Wizard first?” Mike asks, intrigued. He places the sword on the table where everyone can continue ogling it and takes a seat.

Will shrugs as he joins him. “Well, emphasis lies on tried. I sucked at it and then I got lost in the woods for a week when I was twelve or so and Selune helped me find my way out. So that put an end to it.”

“So you decided to dedicate your life to the goddess?”

“I’m a better Cleric now than I ever would have been a Wizard, and besides, it’s not all that different serving her. Except she helps me finally understand magic.”

Mike weighs his head. It makes sense, although he’s not sure he understands that kind of religious devotion. He supposes if the god his parents believed in was a little more hands on, a little more available and granting his followers magic powers, it would be easier to believe in him. But as it stands Mike doesn’t think he’d be capable of the same kind of faith as Will seems to have in his goddess – not even if some god were to come to him in his dreams tonight.

Far more important to his choice: “Do you think I could learn magic?”

“Every living being has a connection to the magic that flows through this universe,” Will explains. “In some it is stronger than in others, and it manifests in different ways. Not everyone can actively channel magic, but I don’t see why you couldn’t try. Here.” He grabs Mike’s sword, and before his mother can reprimand him for doing that at the table and before Mike understands what his intention is, he drags his thumb over the sharp edge of the blade.

Mike has never considered before what color the blood of fantasy creatures such as dragonborn must be, but what wells up in the path of the blade is red and runs in a thick rivulet down the pad of Will’s finger. He swallows at the unexpected sight of it.

Will hisses slightly as he cuts himself, but his expression when he presents the cut is tranquil. He takes Mike’s hand with his uninjured one, guiding it to hold his bleeding finger, then nods towards the cut. “Don’t worry, I can heal myself if this doesn’t work.”

Mike grimaces. “You might have to. Maybe I will be a wizard.”

Will laughs with a nod at the sword. “Murray said he’s seen you wield that, so I doubt it.”

Mike feels his cheeks warm at how correct that assessment of him is. He’d played a Paladin in Hellfire’s last campaign, and he’d become partial to that class. Pure spellcasters were too complicated for him because there were always too many spells to memorize, but he did like the versatility of having some magic at his disposal. And while he wants to learn some magic now – why wouldn’t he, if magic is real here? – he also wants to learn how to use the sword he’s been given. He won’t have that opportunity if he ever goes back home.

Unofficial Tag List (aka you interacted with my snippet posts, please tell me if you want me to not tag you in the future (or want to be added)): @smalltownwheeler @wheelerpilled @wrong-energy @willthelies @foodiewithdahoodie @doggo9 @gardenfairie @beelikesbyler @beverlysclown @yickarus @sourdough-el @hessolivagant @hesquietoday @oldfashionedmorphine @total-serene560 @bylersrise @hawkinsunderground @longtallglasses @generalstorecashier @usnaavi @camel-casing @bylersbear01 @turningsoft @casatoan

[flaringgoosebumps]

I know this has already been said somewhere but Byler has already been Murray'd just not in the way he usually does it.

On the way to Alaska he says, "I'm not exactly an expert in parenting but for what little it's worth, I think you did the right thing. The responsible thing. Your children, Bless their mischievous souls, they like to get involved. This way, what? They play too much Nintendo, eat too much junk food, smoke some ganja, pound some beers, experiment sexually. I mean really, what's the worst that can happen."

It's very interesting that he said this because these are all things that mostly the boys on the show have canonically done (with some exceptions)

- Your children like to get involved?? Yes that's literally why anyone is still alive lmao

-Play too much video games? Not specifically Nintendo but s2 opens with Mike literally stealing money from Nancy to go to the arcade. Plus, the series opened with them playing a game that took ten hours and Mike still begged for more time.

-Eat too much junkfood? When El spies on Mike after their break up, there is a table full of junkfood trash beside them, and Mike is chowing down on some Doritos.

-Smoke some ganja? Johnathan and Argyle are stoned out of their wits and barely hold a conversation so that's already going on and usually it isn't long until younger siblings partake too.

-pound some beers? Nancy did that at this age, Lucas did that the episode before (I think)

-Experiment sexually? I was floored that he said this because the only time I've ever heard it was when someone refered to queerness and usually just as innocent as kissing. And I find it interesting that he said it because they left before Mike even tried to make up with El and the last thing they saw was her storming to her room, that only seems to point to Mike and Will since Johnathan and Argyle were almost too stoned to function.

Murray had Will on his investigation board so I can only assume that he looked into their lives quite a bit, at least enough to draw the conclusion that it was a possibility that Will could've been hate-crimed. And for this man, who was previously a total recluse that held nearly everyone that stepped on his doorstep at gunpoint to zoom over to California asap when there is just the mere idea that Hopper might still be alive and Joyce needs his help, means that he's developed an emotional closeness with Joyce. At least. Especially since he's willing to be on the phone with her for a long period of time and yell in a panic when she gets quiet. Which means, there is a possibility that he could know. He knew about J4ncy and J0pper, be probably picked up on Byler immediately but this is just a theory.

I won't even get into my biased perspective that Murray feels queercoded and seems to have no interest in women but russian men and that alone would be enough for him to know about Byler since it would be an experience he would have had as a gay man.

Anyway, the point is, Byler has already been Murray'd and I love that for us lol

[maddy-ferguson]

People wanting or expecting the Party members to be "finally you guys" when Byler becomes canon.... why do you guys want to see bad writing so badly

i know like it's very fanfic-y, which is fine for yk. fanfics. first, the only character who would react like that to a couple getting together is murray. second, who would expect them to be queer and be into each other...lucas who was coaching mike through his relationship in s3? dustin who hasn't hung out with the party for more than five minutes in ages? el who doesn't know being gay is a thing? max who's in a coma and has talked to will twice like sdkjskd and even if someone did figure it out there's just no way it would be an oh my god congrats bro for bagging him we had a bet going we actually talk about you being gay 24/7 we've been having this conversation since 1981 we were so shocked when mike and el got together because we thought you guys were like a couple! situation.

[deanismysavior]

Okay guys hold on, so I'm rewatching s4e3 and I think I picked up on something...

So before Joyce and Murray leave for Alaska, post the roller rink scene, we get the really awkward dinner conversation where Mike is being really passive-aggressive with El and is still being pissy with Will, but we get this very intentional parallel between Mike and El's relationship and Ted and Karen's relationship, in which both El and Karen leave the dinner table after Mike/Ted said something.

Now I think it's really important to talk about this parallel in context to what happens next, because we've been shown throughout the seasons that Ted and Karen's relationship is an extremely unhealthy dynamic that lacks chemistry, romance, or mutual understanding, but most of all, love. So when we see this clearly being paralleled to Mike and El's relationship, what should our takeaway be? Well, first, they're clearly not on the same page at all in this scene, but we're also getting the sense that there's no love or mutual understanding shared between them at this moment in their relationship, and both Mike and Ted in these scenes seem pretty unbothered by their partners walking off.

Directly after this, we see Murray say, "I sense tension," and then he sort of turns it into a joke by asking if it's the risotto that's causing tension and asking if it's bad.

Now we also know from previous seasons that Murray is a love expert and he can smell bullshit about relationships from a mile away. There is no way that he was oblivious to the awkwardness that just transpired between Mike and El, and he's likely picking up on a lot more than he's letting on, but he decides to bring up the risotto instead as a way of steering the conversation towards something lighter as he's likely not trying to air dirty laundry over the dinner table.

Now, if this assumption is correct and Murray was able to correctly key in on the dynamics that are at play between El, Mike, and Will, then it makes what Murray says next far more interesting and telling.

When Murray is on the plane with Joyce heading to Alaska, she says she's worried and feels guilty over not telling the kids about Hopper and wonders how they're going to handle themselves in her absence. She's wondering if she was doing the right thing by leaving them out of her plans.

In response, Murray says, "Your children, bless their mischievous souls, they like to get involved. This way, what? They play too much Nintendo, eat too much junk food, smoke some ganja, pound some beers, experiment sexually...What's the worst that could happen?"

Now, this is a funny bit of dialogue, but if we actually take apart the things in this list, most of these are pointed. We know that Will loves playing Nintendo. We know Jonathan and Argyle smoke pot and drink occasionally. And snacking is pretty general, but this last bit about experimenting sexually....

We know that Mike and El are the only established couple that are together in Lenora. Nancy and Jonathan are in separate cities, Argyle is single, and Will is single and in love with Mike.

But if Murray saw that scene between Mike and El play out, one that perfectly parallels the passionless marriage that Karen and Ted are trapped in, wouldn't he deduce the equal lack of passion between Mike and El while he was there?

So my question is...who was Murray implying would experiment sexually?

From what he saw, Jonathan and Argyle didn't display any sort of romantic interest in each other since they were just high and confused for the whole dinner, Mike and El were paralleling Ted and Karen, and El left the table, so that leaves us with Mike and Will.

Assuming I'm correct about Murray's astuteness, I'm thinking he knows a lot more about the dynamic that exists between Mike, Will, and El than he's letting on, and his comment about tension was not just directed at Mike and El's dynamic, but also at Mike and Will's.

I know we've been talking about what if Byler gets Murray'd, but what if they already did?

[findafight]

i think a lot of people (in fandom in general, not just in st fandom) forget that shipping isn't just about the potential for canon. And that shipping something doesn't mean you have to think it will go canon or want it to go canon.

i kind of ship byler but not in canon because I don't think it would be done right. The show is really bad at relationships, and the only one of the canon kids/teens romantic relationships that has been done well is lumax.

Yeah. you are absolutely correct that the show doesn't know how to handle romantic relationships. especially starts/ends of them. Murray being involved in two out of the four currently canon romo relationships getting together is so annoying and tbh lazy. They couldn't figure out a way to get them to confess without having a third party tell them to bone? And like. we all saw how steve and nancy ended and how the duffers treated that...... Lucas and Max are so amazing though thank god for them.

Having canon ships is fun, I even have shipped things when they became canon when I didn't before! but it's certainly not the be-all-end-all that some folks are trying to push. Legit one of my favourite ships right now has next to zero canon backing and absolutely no possibility for being canon and is a rarepair. Which is fun and freeing. I get that blr would be a big deal with the build up, and the representation, but tbh I don't want it if they're gonna fuck it up. I don't trust like that.

[the-princess-cut-from-marble]

· ✫  · .  BYLER MASTERLIST . ·  ✫ ·

i’d love to see me from your point of view (this one is insanely good like i'm so serious)

kiss it better

head over heels

i never found out 'til i'm head over heels

undertow

unbreakable connection

mama said you can't hurry love

darling, you got to let me know (should i stay or should i go?)

can't hold out forever

inkling

it's like i'm frozen but the world still turns

the red envelope

or should i go

when the dust settles

loving you is easy?

geography notes and doodles

august

i want to know what love is (i want you to show me)

a very murray mistletoe

yesterFriday

even the nights are better since i found you

happy birthday

in fragments

it's just polyester.

shrike

lovely to sit between comfort and chaos

friends don't look at friends that way

i can't go back to not understanding what you mean to me

the yellow box

delivery boy

you adored me before

friends don't lie

rest stop

words unsaid

the heart of hawkins

now i would do most anything to get you back by my side

turning out

help me hold onto you

borrowed time

parking lot

as the seasons change (we do, too)

the smile just for him

waiting for somebody like you

the right idea

kiss chapped lips and a fat joint

it's dangerous to go alone!

the first

i'm tearing you asunder

us against the world

jealousy (turning saints into the sea)

it's you

so why don't we go (somewhere only we know)

the evening speaks

you'll forget about your days away

a game of truths

i'm walking out beyond the line

my life begins and ends with you

i will prolly keep updating as i go thru all the fix-it fics on ao3 lmao for now enjoy

[wheelerssecret]

OKAY GUYS HEAR ME OUT

I know this could have been noticed before, but I haven't seen anyone talking about it, so I'll just let it here

EVERY main character was mentioned in this thread

El, Will, Dustin, Lucas + Max, Joyce + Hopper, Erica, Steve, Murray

EXCEPT for Mike, Nancy and Jonathan

I thought the "will they" or "won't they" could be about Nancy and Jonathan because they haven't been mentioned before and because in the final of the season 4 they were trying figure out what is going on with their relationship

BUT, they ARE in a relationship, it's not like we don't know if they will be a couple or not because they already ARE a couple

So I thought that this tweet here

Could be about them, because they have fallen in love but with their problems, and the distance their relationship kinda of cooled down a little and this tweet can be about them getting things back the way they were (but I don't know it makes sence, it's just something in my mind, and it not enter on the time-frame theory)

BUT if my thoughts are not so delulu

The only other main character without a tweet IS MIKE!!!!!

And this tweet can only be about him and Will, he's the only one missing, EVERYONE has a tweet in this thread, WHY DOESN'T HE HAVE ONE?

This tweet is about byler, we know that already

But I just had to theorize about this, Idk

I'm going insane, I know that

[buck-yyyy]

BYLER - BEGINNING OF A TIME LOOP

!! major character death and angst !!

THIS WORK IS UNFINISHED AND WILL NEVER BE FINISHED

It was an odd feeling, the end of the world.

You’d think that it would make you feel hopeless. Lost, confused. Scared out of your mind, and maybe ready to die.

But the only thing that Mike felt was cold, hard determination.

And sure, he was afraid. It would be impossible to not be.

But as he sat awake in his bed in Hawkins, watching the puffs of spores float through the air for what could easily be the very last time, the only thing on his mind was how ready he was to end this.

For good.

His door opened, and he looked over.

Oh. Nancy.

She was wearing full camouflage, her hair tucked out of her face with a practical bandana. She even had her gun, already strapped across her chest, her hands wrapped around the handle and barrel.

“Mike. Get up. It’s time.”

He took a deep breath, readying himself.

“Am I the last one up?”

Nancy nodded, watching him carefully.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m ready.”

She turned around, glancing back briefly before walking out of the room and pulling the door shut.

He pulled on his clothes: a white tee, a black denim jacket with a soft, fuzzy collar, loose and flexible black cargo pants (each pocket full of useful tools and supplies), and sturdy leather boots that they’d nabbed ages ago from some military store.

As he went to leave, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on his wall.

God, he looked grown up. He didn’t look like the skinny little fourteen year old kid that he did two years ago, when all of this started. He was taller, leaner (though still thin). His jaw was sharper; and his Adam’s apple pressed against the skin of his throat, bobbing as he swallowed.

He pushed back the twinge of resentment that arose with the thought of any lost teenage years.

Sure, it wasn’t fair—but it didn’t matter. That wasn’t the point.

He was ready.

He pushed open the door, walking out into the hallway and making his way down to the living room, where the entire group was sitting strewn around the room, staring solemnly at the floor.

The atmosphere was thick, choking; anxiety filled the room with an uncomfortable fog that made Mike want to run back to his room, slam the door shut, and hide away forever.

But instead, he joined the others on the couch.

“Hey,” Lucas greeted, raising his head.

“Hey,” Mike responded absentmindedly. He stretched his arms, cracking his back. “We need to go over the plan again.”

Robin pulled out a large roll of paper, spreading it out across the Wheeler’s coffee table. She looked up to Nancy.

“Nance? You want to do it?”

She nodded, taking a steadying breath before moving forward and pointing at the marked up paper.

“Okay. We have five teams. Steve, Robin, Dustin, and Erica, you guys set up. You’ll be going in first, making sure the coast is clear of bats or dogs, or God forbid a full-grown.”

“Demogorgon,” Dustin interrupted. “And we’ll carry through as Scoops Troop, thank you.”

Nancy nodded, clearly holding back an eye roll.

“Right. And you’ll be fully armed, with spears and shields. Chest plates go underneath your clothes. You have them on?”

Erica rapped her knuckles against her chest, the solid noise indicating a thick vest underneath.

“Got ‘em.”

“Once you’re in, you’ll set up the way for everyone else. We know the path, that shouldn’t be an issue; we know that he’s camping out in the library. But we do need you to defend while everyone else comes through.” She took a deep breath, pushing back a stray hair. “Once… Scoops Troop clears us, everyone but Murray and Joyce come through. You two are reconnaissance, you’ll make sure that there’s no dangers from outside the gate. And if there are?”

Joyce held up a large siren. “We’ll let you know, hold them off, and help you get out, if needed.”

Nancy nodded again.

“Good. Once everyone is in the Upside Down, we spread out—but once we find him, we stay together. Scoops Troop is outer defense, flanking at the sides. You’ve got the Molotovs, if he tries to get away, flame him. Don’t let him get out. Trap us all in, if we have to; we’ll find a way to get out after he’s dead.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Me, Hopper, Lucas, and Will, we’re all ranged—we’re the third ring. We stay behind Hopper.” She glanced over at Will, who was staring grimly at the plan, his jaw quivering slightly. “Will, I know you don’t want the gun, but we don’t know enough about the extent of your powers to let you go in without it. And Lucas, you have enough arrows, right?”

Lucas reached for the large quiver leaning against the couch, picking it up and setting it next to the crossbow by his feet.

“Plenty.”

“And just to be clear,” Hopper said gruffly, pushing his way to the front. “She’s going over this plan, but I’m the one in charge. I tell you to get out, you get out. You need to listen to everything I tell you once we’re in.”

Dustin gave him a mock salute, and Nancy gave him a quick nod, before turning back to the map.

“El is the center ring. She’ll be the one doing the majority of the fighting, we know this. That leaves Mike and Jonathan—and you two will be flanking El. Both of you are armed,” Mike glanced over at the crowbar and nailed bat, respectively, sitting off to the side, “but you’ll only be stepping in if necessary. Keep El safe. That’s your job. The majority of any real fighting will be done by the rangers and El, and she needs to focus.

El raised her hand, standing up straight from her spot leaning against the wall.

“And once it’s over? What then?”

Nancy grimaced.

“From what we can tell, it might start to fall apart. Erase itself, maybe, I don’t know—nobody does. But whatever happens, we run like hell. I don’t care how fast you can run the mile—you run ten times faster than whatever you’ve got. Joyce and Murray will have the gate prepped for removal, and they should be able to stop it from closing, we’ve practiced that. They’ll get us out, remove the stoppers, and then it’ll close and we’ll have won.” She allowed herself to smile at all of them, beckoning them to do the same. “And it’ll be over. Permanently.”

Lucas clapped his hand against Dustin’s back, his face pulled into a perfectly serious expression.

Despite the forced confidence, something squirming in Mike’s chest insisted that it wasn’t enough.

It’s not going to work! the thing screamed, pounding its invisible fists against his rib cage. Everyone’s gonna end up dead!

Mike shook his head, his thick messy curls bouncing against his neck.

No, we’re not, he told himself sternly. It’s a good plan, and nobody is going to die. We won’t let that happen.

And if someone does? the thing retorted.

He paused.

Then it’ll be me.

~

Everything was going perfectly, and it fucking sucked.

The unease creeping in around the edge of Mike’s mind was no longer just creeping in; instead, it was full-blown constant panic.

Not panic that he was in the Upside Down.

Not panic that he was only some thirty feet away from Vecna.

Panic that something was going to go wrong, and it would all be his fault.

He clenched his crowbar tightly in his hands, the cold metal a relief from the buckets of nervous sweat dripping off of his body.

“Shit—Jonathan!” he yelled, dropping the crowbar and running forward, jumping up to reach for El’s leg—but she was already up too high before he could reach her.

A deep, echoing laugh came from the front steps of the library where Vecna stood.

“You’ve lost. Accept it,” he said, his voice buttery and sickly sweet. “Or die with her.”

“Mike!” Jonathan called out. “Here, if I lift you up, we should be able to reach her!”

“But she’ll still be in the trace,” Will said.

Mike spun around.

“Will? What are you doing, you’re supposed to stay in your ring?”

Will dropped his gun into the mud, straightening out his shoulders.

“There’s no other way. He doesn’t know about me yet.”

“Will, no,” Jonathan said sharply. “You can’t, it’s too dangerous.”

“Hopper already approved it,” Will replied, walking forward.

“What?”

Vecna watched curiously as Will walked forward, his smaller frame trembling.

“Will Byers. The boy who came back to life.” He laughed. “Though, can we really consider it living, what you’ve been doing?”

Will looked up at the sky, taking a deep steadying breath.

Mike was frozen in place, his feet stuck to the floor with panic. Across the way, Jonathan appeared to be in the same situation, his eyes wide and terrified as he watched his little brother stand at the front of the fight.

No one moved, nor even dared to breathe.

Everything hinged on this—but what if it went wrong?

What if—

Before Mike could finish his thought, Will screamed, throwing his arms out wide. As he screamed, small crackles appeared at his fingertips,

vecna dies, UD starts to fall apart

A sickening crunch snapped Mike out of his panic—a second too late.

Will crumpled to the ground, his face covered in the blood still leaking from his nose.

The world moved in slow motion.

He was vaguely aware of Jonathan running at him, grabbing at his wrists and trying to pull him back, but he slipped out of reach, darting forward and turning over Will to face him.

“Will!” he heard himself yell through the ringing in his ears. “Will, you have to get up, you got him! He’s gone! We can go home!”

Will didn’t respond.

“Will,” Jonathan said, his voice slowed through the fog. Mike could barely hear it, but his voice was cracking heavily, as he pushed down the thick sobs that threatened to escape from his throat. “Will, no, please.” He knelt down next to Mike, wrapping his fingers in Will’s shirt and pressing his forehead to his chest. “Fuck. Fuck, no, what am I supposed to do?! Will, you can’t—“

Nancy ran up behind Jonathan, her hand pressed to her mouth and her eyes wide.

“Mike, Jonathan,” she whispered, kneeling down next to them both. “It’s too late. We have to go, now, everything—it’s all falling apart.”

“No! No, why the hell would we leave him here, he’s just—he just needs to get up! Help me carry him!” Mike insisted, pulling at Will’s wrists. His body moved limply with the gesture, following Mike’s every movement.

Jonathan backed away, turning around with one hand clasped against his mouth, his back heaving as he retched into Nancy’s shoulder.

“Mike. We have to go, okay? We can’t—“

“I’m not leaving him!” he shouted. “We can’t leave him! He just needs to wake up!”

At some point, Hopper had joined the group. He clasped a hand on Mike’s shoulder, pulling him up.

“It’s too late, Mike,” he said, his tone flat yet oddly gentle as he pulled him back away from Will. “He’s gone. We have to go. We have no choice.”

“Then fucking carry him!” He was screaming now, his voice cracking heavily. “We can’t leave him here, he’ll die!”

Hopper watched him closely as Nancy led a shaking Jonathan away.

“Come on, kid. We gotta leave him. We can’t lift him up through the gate.”

“I don’t fucking care,” Mike hissed. He wiped away some of the blood from Will’s upper lip, smearing it on his white shirt. “We’re just going to have to figure it out. He just needs to get to a hospital.”

Hopper let out a deep exhale.

“I’m sorry, kid. I’m sorry.”

In one fell swoop, he picked up Mike and slung him, kicking and screaming, across his shoulder, casting a final look at Will’s still body before jogging ahead to catch up with the others.

“Put! Me! Down!” he shouted, pounding his fists against Hopper’s back. “We have to go back for him! We have to—“ He twisted around in Hopper’s grasp, ready to make a run for Will.

But it was too late.

The blackness had already consumed him.

His vision turned red.

“You fucking killed him!”

“Okay, is that everyone?” Steve gasped, leaning against a light post to catch his breath.

Hopper nodded.

“Yeah, we’re all here.”

“No, where’s Will?” Joyce said, peering into the gate. “He’s not back yet, did anyone see him?”

No one said anything.

She slowly looked up, turning to Hopper.

“Hop. Where’s Will.”

He looked away.

Jonathan detached himself from Nancy, moving forward to wrap his arms around his mom, pressing his nose into the curve of her shoulder.

“I tried,” he whispered, his eyes welling up and his entire body shaking. “Mom, I tried so hard, but he—“

“No. No, no, no.” She shook her head, ducking away from Jonathan. “No, he’s just on his way back. We have to keep the gate open.”

“Joyce.” Hopper set his hands on her shoulder, tilting up her chin to meet her eyes. “We have to close it, okay?”

“No!” She pulled away. “You’re going to trap him in there!”

Mike pressed his face to his knees, curling into himself on the ground.

“Hop, stop it! Go get him, what are you doing here?! He needs help!”

“Joyce. Joyce, there’s nothing more that anyone can do. We have to close the gate. We have to end this.”

“No!”

“Hopper’s right, mom,” Jonathan croaked. He’d returned to Nancy, her arms wrapped protectively around his chest. “We have to close it. He’s—“ He pressed a hand to his mouth, a spluttering choking noise escaping from between his fingers. “He’s gone. It’s too late.”

Joyce backed away from the group, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

“Stop it. Stop it,” she hissed, pointing a finger at each of them individually. They all looked away. “We can’t do this. We can’t lose hope, not when my boy is still trapped in there—we have to find him!”

Murray crept forward, slowly removing the blockers from the gate with one hand while he rubbed at his face with the others.

Joyce jerked around at the noise.

“What the hell are you doing?!” She slapped his hand away from the gate. “You’re going to trap him in there!”

Thick ropes of guilt and mournfulness looped around each of them

Hopper came in through the door, his hair wet from being freshly washed.

“You okay, kid?”

Mike stared at the wall, not bothering to look up.

“Mike?”

A beat.

Two.

“I wish you left me instead,” he said slowly, his lips dry and chapped. “You carried me out. You should have taken Will and left me there.”

Hopper looked down at the floor, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You know that wasn’t an option.”

“Well, you should have made it one!” he yelled, suddenly jerking his head away from its spot staring at the wall. He threw himself out of bed, taking long strides over to where Hopper was standing and pointing an accusatory finger into his chest. “You left him! And you took me! It was the worst fucking decision any of you have ever made!”

Hopper pursed his lips tightly.

“Kid, it was too late. It wouldn’t have done anyone any good.”

“I don’t care! I don’t care what real, actual good it would have done, you should have taken him and just let me die, because he’s done more good for all of us than I could ever hope to.” A dry, choking sob escaped from between his lips, and he lifted his clenched hand, bringing it back down and hitting Hopper’s chest. He did it again, and again, and again until he was peppering small blows over his torso, arms, and shoulders.

“Mike. Mike.” Hopper held his shoulders in place, keeping him an arms distance away. “You can’t do this. Will wouldn’t want this, okay?”

“How the fuck would you know?” he screamed, ducking out of his grasp. “You left him in the place that ruined his life! You don’t know anything about what Will would have wanted!” Stumbling backwards, his back hit the wall, and he slid down it until he was sitting cross legged on the floor.

A heavy throbbing in his head made his eyes nearly cross, the pain striking his temples over and over again until it was unbearable.

“I hate you,” Mike whispered, smacking the back of his head into the wall repeatedly. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you so, fucking, much.”

Silently, Hopper sat down next to him on the floor, keeping his hands folded in his lap as he stared up at the ceiling.

“I know,” he said quietly, difficult to hear between Mike’s intermittent sobs and gasping breaths. “Believe me, kid, I do too. I wish I could have done something more.”

“You could have carried. Him. Out.” Mike hissed. “Don’t act like you’re the victim here. You don’t matter. Will is the one who’s gone, and it’s your fault.”

“There wasn’t time, Mike. There was nothing anyone could have done.”

“Yes, there was!” He stopped, taking a deep, gasping breath. “Get out.”

“Mike—“

“Get. Out.”

Hopper sighed, smacking his hands lightly against his thighs and pulling himself to his feet.

“You’ll understand eventually,” he said, turning to give Mike one last glance before he walked out of the room.

And he was alone.

The crunch of Will’s body collapsing echoed in his mind, the scene playing out on repeat in his head as he curled up into his knees, fat tears drilling uncontrollably down his face to the rhythm of his sobs.

Will was gone.

Will was gone.

He’d never again get to see his sly grin during campaigns, or the way he scrunched up his nose when he was focusing on something. He wouldn’t ever hear the velvety sound of his laugh when he thought one of Mike’s jokes was funny, or his slightly off-tune voice as he belted along to one of his bands in the basement.

He wouldn’t get to put an arm around his shoulder, or give him a lingering hug.

He’d never see him again.

He fell asleep like that—curled into a little ball on the floor, his clothing still stained with dirt, grime, and the thick, blotchy patches of Will’s blood.

A knock on his door woke him up several hours later.

And as he opened his eyes, something inside of Mike shattered.

It wasn’t that Will was gone.

It wasn’t that he watched him die.

It wasn’t that his own sobs still echoed in his mind.

It was the fact that he wasn’t in the hotel room in Indianapolis like he’d fallen asleep in—because he was back in his room in Hawkins.

Another knock at the door startled him, and he sat straight up, clutching desperately at his covers.

Nancy walked in, her bandana from yesterday pushing her hair back out of her face and her large gun still strapped across her chest.

A chill ran down his spine.

“Get up, Mike. It’s time.”