#willelmike triangle

[gayofthefae]

Thinking again about:

“You saw that girl and she was in the sandbox, and she was crying"

"You gave her your tonka truck"

"And i told you we couldn’t afford to buy another one."

"You said she should have it"

"because she’s sad. She’s sad, Mommy.”

@sspiderj: x

[will80sbyers]

The Love Triangle

[theoriginalsapphic]

Okay, it's been long enough:

Mike was trying to call Will; not El.

The ending scene in season 3 is about Mike and Will; not Mike and El.

How can I be so sure about it? It’s simply by one of the most basic rules of storytelling: show, don’t tell.

To put into simply terms, “show, don’t tell” it’s a technique which transmits information to the audience through actions, words, subtext, thoughts, senses, and feelings, etc., rather than by straight-up telling the audience through surface exposition.

To use a film that probably everyone is familiar with as an example, in Up it’s showcased how Carl and Ellie were deeply in love with each other through a five-minute wordless montage of their life. Without that scene, even if Carl had spent the rest of the movie saying how much he loves Ellie and how he misses her, the audience would probably had not formed an emotional connection with Carl and his story of love and loss like they did with a five-minute scene.

What’s more effective? Which one evokes a more vivid image in your head?

Sarah was sad, so she started crying.

Sarah laid motionless, tangled in a disarray of bed sheets she hadn’t changed in over a week. Tears leaked down her temples and into her ears, but despite the mild discomfort, she remained frozen, glued to the threadbare mattress.

Show, don’t tell.

So, with that being said…

Why do people believe that the last scene in season 3 is about and Mike and El and mlvn?

Up until here, it could be said it’s debatable whether this is about Will or El; El is in the U-Haul truck with Joyce, while Will is in the other car with Jonathan. Both vehicles are on seen on frame driving away, so it could easily be about either of them or even both of them. also, nice parallel with the season 2 finale, with, once again, both Will and El in different vehicles driving away while Mike is framed in front of the Byer's home.

However, that changes during the length of the scene.

What is Mike afraid of?

But what changes he is scared of? The series doesn’t tell; it shows.

The series doesn’t say aloud that Mike is scared of changes related to Will, but it shows it by having Mike somberly stare at the Byers’ house in this scene. If the series wanted to show that Mike’s emotional reaction in this scene is about El then they would have him look at something that the audience can immediately connect with El, like Hopper’s cabin or Eggos or anything that we would immediately relate to her.

The scene that follows this scene just reinforces that this is about Mike and Will by drawing a visual parallel between the two times that Mike felt like he has lost Will.

And even having a verbal confirmation by Mike himself the following season.

Following this train of thought…

Why do people still think that the phone calls were meant for El?

I’m not going to say that Mike told El that they were communicating through Cerebro, or that they couldn’t talk through the phone because the government may had been spying on them because that doesn’t matter.

What matters is what we were shown in the screen, and we were shown is that… El never complained or even mentioned phone calls. Will did.

El never mentions any phone calls or struggling to communicate through the phone with Mike in the entire season. The whole ‘phone calls’ situation is a topic of conflict brought between Mike and Will; not El.

The series has Will verbally express his discontent with Mike’s lack of phone calls while El never even talks about it, so why would anyone relate ‘Mike won’t stop calling’ with El when she never raised a problem about it?

El later appears in the scene that shows the audience that Mike did try to call, but the series doesn’t focus this scene about Mike and El at all. It focuses on El and Max instead.

The series has the chance to relate Mike’s missed calls with El in this scene. Instead, they show two things:

Missed calls were never a source of conflict between Mike and El but is one between Mike and Will, thus confirming that Mike’s missed calls were meant for Will— not El.

El’s priority is saving Max and not her relationship with Mike, just like it will be in season 5.

[booksandpaperss]

Actually the fact that the Dufferino bros could’ve so easily done the shitty but classic move of putting El in the middle of the love triangle and having the tired drama of two best friends fighting over the same girl, but INSTEAD they put MIKE in the middle and had his best friend aka another boy as one of the love interests tells me all I need to know about how much respect they have for typical heteronormative tropes lol

[eclipsebyler]

Will and Mike’s relationship has everything El and Mike’s relationship lacks.

Meeting El in the woods isn’t fate nor destiny, because it’s just simple dumb luck — Mike doesn’t only think that, he believes it. It’s the truth. 

In Mike’s perspective — they only met by pure chance, by accident. They aren’t meant to be together in the long run. Or maybe they weren’t meant to be for each other at all, because he thinks El just needed someone, not him specifically.

And then you got him declaring a love confession to El by the end of the season, saying a completely different narrative:

Doesn’t sound so convincing, does it? (It looks like El doesn’t believe it herself.)

Ironically, the only flashback we see of Mike and Eleven's "love" throughout the monologue is that exact moment: their meeting in the woods — a scene full of contradictory statements from Mike. 

On one hand, he says they just met out of pure dumb luck. And then he turns around and says his life started that moment. Which is the truth? Well you can scroll back above or rewatch it. Because it's right there.

Mike isn’t alone in these thoughts, however, about their relationship.

El doesn’t see herself with Mike and their relationship to last in the future. It’s implied when she pertained to him as her first boyfriend, meaning she could meet more people: 

She also questioned whether Mike still loves her or not. Even with Mike sending her a bunch of letters and focusing on her when they reunited at the airport and spent the day in Rink-O-Mania — she picks up on his lack of affection.

In El’s perspective — Mike doesn’t love her for who she truly is, that he just sees her for her superpowers. And when she lost it, that’s where their love ends. This letter is explanatory in itself. From, El. Not Love, El.

Mike and Eleven’s relationship throughout the seasons has developed to the both of them thinking the other doesn’t love and need them anymore. To them not seeing their relationship to last in the future. To them doubting their own self worth because of each other. And you expect me to believe a love confession full of contrasting statements would just fix all of that? 

It’s so easy to just let El hear the word I love you from Mike, and Mike hear El say she needs him, and for them to communicate to resolve that. But the show had to go through all these lengths only for it to be resolved by one person: Will.

Mike heard El needs him from Will. El heard Mike loves her because of Will. Will’s love for the both of them is what fixed their problem. 

And interestingly, comparing from the points above - Will and Mike’s relationship has everything Mike and Eleven’s relationship lacks.

Approaching Will in the first day they met, in their kindergarten’s swings, was Mike’s choice. It’s not by chance or fate. He went to him by himself, asked him to be his friend and to him   — meeting Will is the best thing he’s ever done.

Will on the other hand, who’s canonically in love with Mike, sees himself with him not just on a certain period of time - but also in the future. 

Loving Mike and spending time with him is something he would do for the rest of his life. It’s not just a childhood crush that he can get over with so easily. Especially considering they’ve known each other for 10 years and are best friends. He will always need him. And without him, he would feel lost.

And Mike feels the same way. He couldn’t lose, Will. Home isn’t the same without him. 

They both canonically make each other feel like they’re better for the way they are. Will doesn’t feel like a mistake when he’s with Mike and he makes him feel better for being different. And Mike is the heart of the party and he’s not someone who should feel useless because there will always be people who needs him. Will’s painting had made him realize that. 

In good days and in bad days, Will and Mike will always be together.

Them being endgame and canon is going to close both of their arcs beautifully, and it’s not just because they’re a gay ship, but because that’s literally what the show has been building up to. I don’t think the writers put so much effort in their bond only for it to amount to nothing and waste all of it. Remember when they took most of the day filming the van scene? And literally how every scene of them has such beautiful cinematography and dialogue? 

Yeah. We are so getting that Byler endgame (and Milkvan bones) in Season 5.

[emblazons]

MIKE WHEELER x LOVE TRIANGLE IMAGERY

Stranger Things S03E01 - Suzie, Do You Copy part i (insp)

[bye-bi-byler]

Has anyone drawn this picture as El+Mike+Will?

Mike would be in the middle looking troubled, kissing El with eyes open (because duh) and Will is leaning against Mike pining

it’s 👩‍🍳😘

[lighthouseas]

no bc i actually love your new url

esp since you dedicated it to willelmike one of THE platonic ships of all time i #explodes

YESSSS finnie u get it

[i-dont-bite]

will thinks he's augustine when he's actually betty

[maddy-ferguson]

once you see the single nancy vision you really can't unsee it

[glitchinginhyperfixis]

bylers, listen up. we need a name for will, el, and mike’s love triangle. what should it be?

[gayofthefae]

Forever funny to me how the Stranger Things marketing (in terms of the love triangle) was

Season 1: the party

Season 2: BYLER

Season 3: BYLER

Season 4: BYLER

Like not only did they market Byler over Milkvan every time it was an option even before there were supporters, but in season 1, as I've somewhat mentioned THEY DIDN'T MARKET MILKVAN. They had ONE photoshoot and their whooole thing with merch and posters and stuff was the power of friendship and friend groups.

Byler is romantic and singled out from the rest of the party while El is grouped in with every other member of the party to Mike.

(And it's actually really sweet when you think about their arcs. Will gets to be special and El gets to be normal)

[hazellevessque]

You know what? Screw the ship war. Who say I have to choose between Blyer and Mileven? Mike had two hands. Willelmike supremacy.*

*Note than I am not shipping Will and El (that would be disgusting) just the fact that Mike is dating Will and Eleven at the same time.

[booksandpaperss]

the way the willelmike love triangle is the only love triangle in media that I have ever genuinely enjoyed. kudos to the writers for that

[emblazons]

MIKE WHEELER x LOVE TRIANGLE IMAGERY ⤷ Will "coming between" El and Mike

part ii: group shot emphasis S04E03 - The Monster & The Superhero (El Emphasis) S04E09 - The Piggyback (Mike Emphasis)

[will80sbyers]

it's so funny because Will Byers haters are so passionate about putting Will and El and Mike against each other, you don't understand anything about the show if you think these characters don't have profound love for each other that will never be broken, you missed so much and still miss it trying to make up fake scenarios on why El hates Will or Will hates El or Mike hates one of the other two etc to me that's literally a sign that you're trying to cope with the reality that they will end the show with the strongest love no matter how the dynamics in that love triangle move around, Will and El are brother and sister and understand each other better than most and Mike has so much love for both Will and El that's making him look ridiculous, and viceversa Will and El both love Mike so much that they would burn the world down to keep him safe and happy, the love between willelmike goes WAYYY beyond the love triangle no matter how that ends