#will Byers

[hazawhite]

“We all have to grow up ”🍂

[claywheelr]

S5 Mike Wheeler confesses his feelings for Will to El because he doesn't know what to do with them, constantly stumbling over his words, fidgeting with his hands, making absolutely no eye contact, totally freaked out by the fact he's saying all of it out loud, and finally El stops him, looks directly into his eyes, and says, "Mike, it's okay, I understand." smiling warmly which immediately calms him down, stopping his multiple attempts to explain himself out of anxiousness

Paralleling this scene S01 - EP03

Also the outfits matching hello?

[conflictofthemind]

Thoughts on "Escape from Camazotz"

Oppressive Suburbia, Conformity, and Season 5 Themes

I've long thought that a major focus of Season 5 will be the contrast between the families of The Wheelers and The Byers, and exploring how non-traditional family environments can be freeing vs the oppressive structure of the nuclear family.

In a Wrinkle In Time, Camazotz is a planet controlled by the big bad of the book, the "IT", who forces the citizens into a conformity that resembles American suburbia. All of the houses the same, the citizens the same, doing the same things at the same time without individual identity. Without anything different. Different means a lot of things, but with Stranger Things dropping different in reference to Will's identity and the presumable themes of this season, it will heavily codify as queerness and how it threatens the cisheterosexual family model.

Henry was raised in the 1950s, a decade still revered by conservatives for it's traditional family dynamics that supposedly were the peak of culture and happiness for all. That was all a lie, of course, and Henry knew so as he shows to Nancy and Eleven during his monologue. The second most conservative decade aside from the 1950s in American society is widely considered to be the 1980s.

The Creels will serve in parallel to The Wheelers; the worst example of what they could become and the damage that this type of family could do to a child that is different in any way. Notice how Vecna selectively shows Nancy visions of The Wheelers dying, but not anyone else she may consider family or friends (like Jonathan).

That is; unless they change their ways and come together as a healthy functioning family facing their traumas, The Wheelers will be toast.

Karen has been moved up to a main character role this season. Ted's actor says the father starts to show up more for Holly (hold that) and realizes he wants to act differently. Holly has been recast. Finn has said Mike goes on a much more personal journey this season, and steps up as a leader.

Oh, also: the catalyst for all of this is that Holly goes missing. The contrast will help show how the Byers (including El and Hopper here) were able to pull together and help solve Will's disappearance, versus how the Wheelers as a closed off nuclear family grapple with Holly's vanishing.

Each of the Byers is in some kind of a non-1950s conformist relationship, but particularly Will (not in one now but we all know he will be). I think El might represent, after she breaks up with Mike, the fear of the unmarried woman being satisfied without a husband. The above shot really emphasizes my point.

I predict that Will will end up coming out to his family rather early on, and we will see all of them immediately accept him with little surprise or push-back. Will is a visible gay man who comes from an open minded non traditional family (divorced, non-married, adoptive) that is willing to have honest conversations.

But this theme will place the most focus on the Wheelers. Mike is the main character of said family and this will particularly focus on his arc, and his acceptance of his queerness in the midst of suburban conformity.

He is not visible, he comes from a Reagan-supporting family who don't communicate with each other. He is not particularly close with his family like Will is. He pushes his feelings down and tries his damn hardest to be normal despite it all. His trauma hasn't really been addressed at all. He is falling back into his usual habits - the one thing he dared to do different (grow his hair long) has gone back to how it was.

It's not all doom and gloom though. This season above all will be a redemption arc of the American nuclear family, how they choose to escape their conformity and learn to be there for each other, thus overpowering Vecna. Not that the Wheelers are going to end this personally.

"Great, more hysteria. Just what we need". "It's the news, now indistinguishable from the tabloids".

[bylertruth3r]

When blue (Mike) meets yellow (Will) in the west (California)

@chirpsythismorning

[thai-09]

an attempt at a quick animation of Wil smiling 🫠

[fluffyfangirl]

I love each of them. If you even care.

[alcalystrasz]

I know this has been said many times but... Except Kali and Byler, what exactly are we supposed to memorize from this season?

[mikeslawyer]

thinking about how next season will is gonna discover that mike jumped off a cliff in s1 and had it not been for el, will would’ve come back to his best friend being dead. and that everyone except for will knew about it but no one has ever told him. jesus christ.

[seigneurambigu]

Here’s some things I’ve drew during english test and french class today because I was bored !!

[teambyler]

Will's van speech is even more tragic when you think about it

Think about how obvious the painting was about Will's love, with a HEART on Mike's shield. Despite all the time and distance apart, Will made this very special painting to make clear to Mike that he loved him.

It was a BOLD move by Will. Whether it was in a best friend way, or boyfriend way, it said HE LOVED HIM. Talk about courage coming from small-town 80s Indiana. He probably had much of his speech prepared using "I" and "me" in place of "El" and "she." (Maybe not the "I need you" part... but it was still all clear enough to communicate that, if Mike wanted something romantic, Will wanted it, too.)

I keep seeing people say Will cried because he let out his feelings. But look at what Will says here:

Will is throwing away his ORIGINAL PLAN with the painting. Will was talking about what he was doing right this moment. HE is ripping off the Band-Aid. All of Mike's talks about El in s4 convinced Will that Mike was straight and would never like him back. He will NEVER give his painting the way he'd planned and declare his love for Mike.

He HAD hope, but now it's gone. Will is GIVING UP:

Will is doing what he thinks Mike needs, putting his and his sister El's happiness above of his own, no matter how much it hurts him. It's what pure, selfless love makes you do.

What will Mike think, when he finds out the truth?

P.S. Follow and read my blog! I have so much to say!

[bylerworld]

something that always gets me about this scene is how this simple conversation was everything will wanted. his eyes glisten, he looks so touched by mike's words and by how mike opens up about will's friendship being different, about how important it is to him. will looks so hopeful because this is what comes first, the fact that they are best friends and will was not feeling things alone, they both had felt like they had lost that special bond. and the way will quickly grabs the painting and packs it completely destroys me, like, that was really all it took from mike for will to get all of his confidence back, to regain confidence and willingness to share his art and what he feels for mike GOD are you kidding me all he wants is to have mike by his side in whatever way he'll have him, it'll always be enough for him.

[hazawhite]

🍂🍂🍂

[lavenderstobins]

stranger tweets part 6

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 5.5] [part 7]

[conflictofthemind]

the dam broke today and the leaks keep on coming...

they are filming stunts tonight at the radio station and the person there spotted Will with their binoculars, and heard him screaming bloody murder multiple times

they also overheard: “GIVE ME YOUR ????, STEVEEE RUNNN RINNNNN” (no context given as to whose line this is)

[bylertruth3r]

Will saying "Mike is gonna find out and he's gonna be mad" to El is foreshadowing about Mike finding out Will lied about the painting in s5 and being mad about it ,the Duffers are so smart for adding the painting subplot because Mike has to thank El for the painting and El is gonna be like "what painting?" and Mike's gonna figure out the painting really is from Will and that Will really meant those things that him feel so loved, plus Finn said Mike is gonna have leader moments in s5 and that's what Will wanted for Mike because he's known him for more than a decade and he knows the real Mike who Mike felt like he had to repress to become a different person because it's what he thinks people expect from him and i think he's also a people pleaser and he has a really low self-esteem and Will makes him feel loved while El makes him feel insicure and Mike wants to feel needed and Will needs him and El doesn't

[androgynouswizardbanana]

When are we as a community gonna accept that Will did not put syrup on his eggs in s3. There were pancakes on his plate.