eitabzzz

Latest Posts by eitabzzz

At first I thought that what would soften Damian's heart would be Anya and when they started to get along he would change but I think I was wrong lol, despite all the situations they went through he still remains the same and it's a little frustrating....I think what will really be the turning point would be an improvement in his relationship with his mother or brother, and if not, with the forgers (loid/yor) but I don't know 🤔

I’m really hoping one of these days that Anya invites Damian over to *her* house as part of Plan B. If he doesn’t want to invite her over to his house cuz they’re not close enough to go to each other’s houses, then clearly she needs to breach that barrier herself like she has with every other one in their relationship.

I just think he would benefit from seeing what loving and supportive families look like. Kids need models for shit like that. If he can see firsthand what it looks like in action I think it would be good for him.

Even if it hurts because he would be comparing his family to hers and feeling the lonely divide of his family a bit more keenly. I think it’s still better that he knows what being a family should mean.

I don’t want him to be sad, but I also worry about him. About his reaching for a father that doesn’t seem to care for him but also seems to care for him when they interact. He tells him to take his time at dinner and chew his food so he doesn’t make himself sick. But he also leaves Damian alone at the table.

His brother and mother also left him alone there with his father. Dispite Melinda’s fear of her husband, she left her youngest son there with him alone. And I know she feels guilty about it and about not talking to him then or encouraging him when he seemed like he wanted to say something so badly. It just still sucks that he was left all alone, seemingly without a second thought from anyone but his father.

Anyway I want Damian to see what a real family dinner looks like. And what it looks like for parents to help their kids study. And to let their kids play and be silly and watch cartoons with their friends when they have a playdate. But they can’t call it a play date because that would be too juvenile for him lol

I CANNOT ACCESS THIS ACCOUNT 😣

This suddenly makes so much sense!

After reading wibble-wobbegong’s theory that Mike completely understood that Will was talking about himself in the van, I’m having divine revelations!

Do you want to go on a journey with me? Let’s begin!

Do you think Mike understands the extent of the true romantic meaning of Will’s confession YET?

YET?

I don’t think so. That will only happen when Will decides to tell him, because that information is Will’s alone to impart. 

But here’s an idea: Mike almost certainly interprets it as Will using El as a cover, because subconsciously, he wishes Will felt the same as he does. 

How do we know this? 

Because Mike used El as a cover in much the same way at Rink O Mania.  

Thus, Mike registered Will’s love as a reflection of his own, not as a standalone confession, which is why Mike does not shy away from the emotions in the moment in the way many viewers think he will do when he explicitly discovers the intensity of Will’s feelings.

Mike receives Will’s confession with relief; he views it as an acceptance, an allowance, of his own feelings. 

Look again at his expressions…

It looks like disbelief at Will’s forwardness (he visibly leans back and takes a breath):

followed by surprise:

then restrained excitement and relief:

Followed by amazement, admiration and, arguably, lovesickness. At the very least, he looks dreamy and fuzzy-warm here:

This is very in-character; Mike has always been amazed by Will’s strength, and that admiration is expressed through the attention he pays to Will, as well as his devotion to rescuing and caring for him - despite stereotypes and role models he’s had such as his dad, who seems mostly ineffective. 

It is a long-established core personality trait that Mike follows his heart despite what others may think. This is a powerful cornerstone of a personality for someone so young, and highly unlikely to disappear into adulthood. Integrity and instinct will always be a key part of the way Mike moves through the world. 

I also think an aspect of Mike’s hesitance with Will comes from respect. Mike always wants to give him space, never condescends him, and perhaps is reluctant to put their friendship on the line by suggesting that any of his previous behaviour, when Will simply needed a good friend, had romantic undertones.

Anyway, Mike in the van. 

Let’s now re-contextualise all other s4 scenes through the lens of wibble’s reading of the van scene, with a completely-aware Mike… 

At Rink O Mania, Will saw right through Mike’s attempts to use El as a cover, as Wibble said. It’s so subtle and quick that we barely notice it, because this conversation is so full of traviamentos: paths untaken. Let’s run a few scenarios.

The actual script:

Will: Not there?

Mike: No. Why didn’t you tell me she was having trouble?

Will: I didn’t know they were going to be here, Mike!

Mike: Yeah but you knew she was having trouble for like a year and didn’t tell me. 

Will: I didn’t know she was lying to you!

Mike: So that’s why you decided to be a douche to her all day?

Will: I wasn’t being a douche!

Mike: You WERE! You were, you were rolling your eyes, you were moping, you were barely talking, you basically sabotaged the whole day!

Will: Well she was lying to you, Mike! Straight to your face ever since you got here! 

It could have gone like this:

Will: Not there?

Mike: No. Why didn’t you tell me she was having trouble?

Will: I thought you already knew!

This would cut to the chase and suggest, rightly, that it wasn’t Will’s place to do so. Instead, the dialogue implies that Mike expects Will to inform him, consult him, communicate with him on important matters. This is a brilliant piece of subtle character work, and is also backed up by this trick or treating scene in s2, which is so comically married couple-ish that we have to laugh. 

I’m sorry Michael, he should have checked with you? Yes, Mike is the de facto leader of the party, but this doesn’t only imply that; it also implies that Will has been making deputy-leader decisions on behalf of Mike, which I find hilariously adorable. I mean, when did Will even approve of Max joining them? She literally just jumped out of a bush at them 15 minutes ago. 

We’ll return to this halloween moment later on. 

Back to the Rink O Mania fight. 

Will chose to explicitly say to Will that he didn’t know El was lying to Mike. Here, Will acts as a delayed stand-in for the audience, a Greek-chorus-too-late. He highlights that El is LYING to Mike. We realise that the humorous contrast of the Cali opening sequence, where what El described in her letter to Mike contrasted with what we saw on the screen, was not just lighthearted humour and innocence, but also a precursor to a major theme of their storyline this season and the show overall: lies. 

Let’s try another Rink O Mania fight scenario. 

Will: Not there?

Mike: No. Why didn’t you tell me she was having trouble?

Will: I didn’t know they were going to be here, Mike!

Mike: Yeah but you knew she was having trouble for like a year and didn’t tell me. 

Will: Why is it my place to do that?

What would Mike say to this? Would Will ever even dare say this to Mike, when their previously established relationship has always been about close communication? If we look back at that trick or treat moment, we can see that immediately after Mike walks off, Will’s face drops. The moment means more to him than simply who joins them for Halloween. We know this because Mike’s grumpiness, combined with the masked trick or treaters coming along and scaring Will, become enough of a trigger to push him into the Upside Down. 

Will is so taken aback that he literally falls to the floor, and lands in the Upside Down, the place of his trauma. Fear and emotional conflict precede his movement into this horrorscape. Fear is a trigger. Will literally fell to the ground here. I don’t think we discuss this enough. We also don’t discuss that the above shot is in slow motion, when he blinks and readjusts to where he is. 

Wibble-wobbegong also did another great post on Will and transdimensionality here 

But back to Rink O Mania…

Will: Not there?

Mike: No. Why didn’t you tell me she was having trouble?

Will: I didn’t know they were going to be here, Mike!

Mike: Yeah but you knew she was having trouble for like a year and didn’t tell me. 

Will: Well I didn’t know she was lying to you!

Mike: So that’s why you decided to be a douche to her all day?

THIS. This is the crutch that Will saw right through. What Mike meant was ‘being a douche to me.’ Hell, Mike’s cover - unlikes Will’s in the van - lasts all of ten seconds: the next thing Mike says is that Mike sabotaged the whole day, and he clearly means for HIM not just for El. 

Then, Will literally calls him out:

‘What about us?’

Oh boy. Just look at Mike’s face at this sheer BOLDNESS and AUDACITY. 

Will elaborates. 

‘What, you’re mad that I didn’t talk to you?’

Can you even IMAGINE being bold enough to confront someone you’re friends with like this, let alone the person you’re in LOVE with? The cojones on this boy! Will is PAST CARING about what might happen. He brought a fucking painting to the airport. This boy is on a mission. It’s only later, following Mike’s super-confusing signals, that Will falters. At first, he tries and tries; he comforts Mike about El, which is extreme character growth compared to s3 where he thrilled in their split, and then he brings the painting on their road trip. 

It’s clear in s4 that Mike and El’s aren’t the only conversations that have started to feel more serious, more adult. Will is trying to be sensitive to Mike’s apparent wants rather than his own here; he is hyper-aware of Mike, and paying attention to his every move. 

And like Greta Gerwig said in Lady Bird (2017), ‘don’t you think those are the same thing? Love and attention?’

Sound familiar? 

‘You WERE! You were rolling your eyes, you were moping, you were barely talking, you basically sabotaged the whole day!’

So… after Will calls Mike out at Rink O Mania, we now know that he sees through Mike to an extent. And the conversation continues to quick-fire, showing that not only are these two comfortable enough with each other to bicker candidly, but that these issues are on the tip of their tongue. Sure, they’re miscommunicating, but they’re not stuttering. 

Mike doesn’t elaborate on why he didn’t call Will, because Will fires in quickly about the letters, catching Mike off guard:

Hey Mike, why don’t you put some jam on your eyelids and invite your brows down for tea?

Instead of explaining that he did try to call Will, Mike’s brain rushes to establish that letters are for El because she’s his girlfriend. I love this line, because it doesn’t have a relation to anything except to show that Mike is more concerned with maintaining a status quo - letters are for girlfriends. What happened to logic over emotion, Mike?

The Rink O Mania fight intensifies when Will asks 

‘…and us?’

Now, I’ve seen a lot of people say that Will was being completely innocent here, like he was during the rain fight in s3. But I disagree on both counts. The implication is BOTH platonic and romantic, both times. In s3, Will had just called El a stupid girl and said Mike was ruining their friendship. Will was lamenting his lost childhood, AND lashing out about Mike’s romantic prospects. The implication was both romantic and platonic.

The same goes here. Even if Will wanted to ask the status of his and Mike’s friendship, even if it was solely platonic, it would NOT be phrased like this. Imagine speaking to a close friend you had a crush on about the status of your friendship since they’d become romantically unavailable. If you wanted to be subtle, you would NOT speak about the two of you in the same breath as them and their new partner, because such a comparison has way too many romantic implications. 

We know Will is aware of context and  human behaviour from his perceptivity about how Mike’s was acting at the rink: ‘you’re mad I didn’t talk to you?’ Will KNOWS the implications of comparing his and Mike’s relationships, whatever shape that takes, to Mike and El’s. He simply no longer gives a fuck about not being honest with Mike. He respects Mike too much to not tell him how he feels. He’s been pushing Mike away all year, but it hurts too much, and now he wants Mike to know, even if it yields nothing. This has been Will’s conflict in s4 and beyond: tell Mike and ruin our friendship, or keep ripping off the bandaid and being in pain? Will expects pain either way. At least, this way, he can be true to Mike. You can see all of this conflict in Will’s eyes when he’s painting right at the start of s4. Those eyes speak volumes. 

Will was planning on opening up fully to Mike when they meet again in California. This is the only explanation for his wanting to give Mike the painting, because what else was he hoping? That Mike would ditch El for him? No way. That’s not Will Byers. 

Right - on from Rink O Mania. Now we’re at the Byers House. 

After El leaves, Mike is worrying her note in his hand. The three boys have clearly been discussing what to do: they are in Jonathan’s room. Why would they be there unless Jonathan had just been with them before going to get a drink? This also makes Jonathan’s return to the doorway less creepy (but it will forever be hilarious)

I enjoy that Jonathan appreciates a good landscape painting. 

Anyway, before Jonathan returns, Mike does something we have NEVER SEEN HIM DO. He flirts. This blew my mind when I first saw it.

I mean, the moment is SERIOUS. They’re discussing El’s disappearance and Hawkins’ fate. Will is being attentive, mature, listening to Mike. Mike doesn’t see his internal conflict, because Will is an excellent hider. 

But then, after Will mentions being saved - which is a vulnerable admission of gratitude for his friends - Mike proceeds to SMIRK. Michael Wheeler decides to change the entire tone of this exchange. He directs the conversation into new waters. He is choosing to establish a new shape for the friendship between him and Will. This is groundbreaking - we can tell by the stunned look on Will’s face before he plays along with the joke. There is literal warmth and relief in the air, and it’s made all the better by the duality of the mood: is it reaffirmed friendship? Is it lighthearted solidarity in the face of danger? Is it romance? 

Is it all three??

We, the audience, don’t know yet. But we can feel. 

Next up, we see Mike come to Will’s room after packing. 

Mike bursts right in.

Did Mike knock? Who knows. Clearly he views Will intimately enough to burst in on him. They’re in a hurry I guess. But what if Will was changing? Mike then closes the door. Lol, Jonathan - not this time!

’I never really unpacked.’

Real subtle, Duffers. Sowing the seeds for a potential Vecna-ing. Brilliant stuff.

Mike then proceeds, again, to flirt with Will. It’s subtle because the friendship between these two has always been intimate and gentle. But then Will gets flustered, and it’s like a reiteration of what Mike did in Jonathan’s room. It’s Mike who changes the tone. Mike is out here making moves. You could say he is fresh out of fucks - his girlfriend has just been arresting and taken away to an undisclosed location, and boy is out here dressed like a citizen of Toy Town flirting with his oldest friend. Or maybe it’s a subconscious almost-surfacing of complex feelings that have long been simmering away underneath. 

Has Will ever met this Mike before? He doesn’t seem to know how to handle it.

Also notice Will’s elevator eyes and turn away. The tone change is being set for the audience, and it was set in motion by Mike - both in the narrative, and for us as viewers. We then see Mike take a deep breath and shake himself out of something. We see him physically refocus. 

The tone has been set. This is romantic. You can feel the electricity. They can feel the electricity. And the question the audience has been asking since Mike’s wtf hug at the airport - have we seen Mike and Will like this before? Is this new? - is answered when we suddenly remember that YES, we’ve seen this before. Only, we didn’t fully register it then:

and

Now let’s move on to the deserty-beautiful episode 5… The Nina Project!

I love episode 5 Will and Mike.

They’re in a new place, out under the sky, on the road, with new people - we get to see Will’s sand-themed ensemble in all it’s checkered glory, and Mike and Argyle are strangers whose interactions so far have been fraught and odd, and now they’re stuck in a van together. It’s a recipe for brilliant comedy. But Mike and Will still find a way to continue this newfound Thing that is budding between them. 

Remember, we are re-contextualising all Byler scenes through the prism of Mike understanding Will’s true meaning during the van confession. 

THE GRAVE DIGGING SCENE.  They are digging a grave, and still distracted by this electricity between them. This will never not be giggle-worthy. 

Of course, Will was concerned for him, but we can see the moment change and hear the music come in. Mike was lost in thought, but his demeanor also changes when he locks eyes with Will. He gets flustered. This is a straight fact. Undertones that may have existed in their relationship are visibly becoming overtones.

Let’s say, for conjecture’s sake, that Mike was uncomfortable because he suspected Will likes him. The same Mike who was just FLIRTING WITH WILL, you mean? If so, then the following scene, the intimate car-top heart to heart, wouldn’t be possible. Mike would instead have been avoiding Will at all costs. 

Instead, they are immediately sat on top of a car together, having an emotionally open conversation. There is even a connecting piece of dialogue, Will’s voiceover to Mike re: Argyle, which also functions as a connector, implying Will’s inner voice to himself regarding Mike. 

‘You can’t let him get to you.’ 

Oh, Willeth. He already has. 

BUT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MIKE’S POV HERE! 

On the cartop, we get the sense that Mike has a nagging, unresolved conflict inside him, and he needs to talk to Will about it. Mike is also coming to terms with this new, mature, attentive Will. Perhaps he expected Will to demand more information, what do you mean, what should you have said to her Mike? as he might have done in s3. We get a hint of this later, when Mike concedes that worrying about his romantic relationship with El seems petty considering their situation. Mike is pre-empting being shot down. He feels like a burden. 

But this new Will is soft and attentive, like in s2, way before Mike had any hope. He shows no signs of jealousy. 

NEXT, the phone booth under the desert sky. 

In many Byler moments, their rescue mission overrides their emotion, which is how most characters in ST function. Yet, the undercurrent is always there. In the phone scene, this manifests through Mike and Will touching hands: Mike clutches the phone at an intimate proximity to Will’s face, and Will places both hands on the phone to steady it, one covering Mike’s. 

If this was platonic, Mike would be the one acting oddly, not Will. Mike should have removed his hand. And he does, in the next instance, when he hands the phone to Jonathan! They even show us this direct contrast to underline it, within the space of one scene! 

We hit Suzie’s house, which is its own thing deserving of analysis, and then it’s the van scene. Keep in mind that we are conjecturing that Mike fully understands what Will is saying here.

Mike is thrilled to hear Will finally talk about how he feels, after spending all s4 doing anything but. The van speech is the most Will has said to Mike in almost a year. 

When Mike was mad at Will for not talking, it was because he wanted to hear about Will’s year in California, he wanted to hear about his life, because he cares about him and what he is going through. He wants his friend back too. He is paying full attention to Will. 

So to hear Will suddenly spew all these feelings in the van… 

well, Mike knows that using someone as a cover for your feelings is possible, because he did it! 

A few days ago no less! But more than that, Will uses the very same person that Mike did as a cover: El. And El isn’t just a friend. She’s Mike’s girlfriend. As we established when Will compared El and Mike’s relationship to his and Mike’s friendship at Rink O Mania, bringing someone romantic into a platonic comparison has romantic implications. 

On top of this, Mike has been hyper-attentive to Will all season, noticing every eye roll and grumble. The idea that he would not recognise the meaning behind Will looking him straight in the face and outrightly crying is absurd. Further evidence: Mike has spent three seasons of this show being a master clue finder, decoder and mystery-solver. 

That’s not to say his head isn’t still riddled with rocks. He is a science guy: logic not emotion. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t affected by emotion, or driven by it against his will. He is a human. Mike’s entire arc and conflict in s4 is based upon the fact that he is a person of logic who is now being overtaken by emotions. In other words, he is coming of age. 

So what does it mean if Mike knows Will is talking about himself in the van? 

Without the Dear Billy scenes, where Mike pushes his and Will’s relationship into flirty territory, we could be less sure of his desires regarding Will. It’s the 80s, there’s much to fear, there are so many complications, not least the technicalities regarding Will and El now being brother and sister. But Mike was so confident in his behaviour in those flirty scenes. He is certain, now more than ever, of Will’s importance in his life that overrides any doubt. Mike has experienced life without Will every season. He will now choose to never let that happen again. 

There are so many instances when mike carelessly and explicitly defies societal expectations to follow his heart regarding Will: 

Taking Will home at halloween, not caring what the others might think of his controlling behaviour

Rocking up at the Byers’ when Will was out of school in s2 and telling Joyce that he knows about the shadow monster

Being at the hospital when it’s strictly family there with Will. 

What would change now, when things in their lives are getting more serious in every way? 

So we are now post-van scene, and Mike has had his feelings reciprocated. Will’s confession was in code, but that doesn’t matter - because it’s the same code Mike has been using. 

Mike is content. He is amazed, in admiration and in awe, feeling relief, love, joy. He looks at the painting, stunned. I also believe that regardless of whether you believe Mike heard Will cry or not, it was narratively more important in that moment to show the audience just how devastated Will was than anything else. We the audience are 100% with Will right now, in every way. 

This is also a beautiful shot in cinematic storytelling that has been done so many times, and it gives a romantic, timeless quality to Will’s storyline, establishing him as one of the most empathetic heroes in the show. If anyone ever forgot about Will Byers in s3, they never will again. 

After this, Mike is dealing with a hell of a lot: 

The Cali gang saves El. Mike rushes to her, they hug, they part and we see Will in the middle of the shot. Then Mike then looks to Will with an ambiguous expression. It’s vague, except for the love triangle imagery. Not only would this be an obvious love triangle if they were all friends, but El and Will are now related in the show. Therefore, it HAS to be Will and Mike. 

But whose POV is this? 

We already know Will loves Mike. Cinematic storytelling has been telling us so all season, and it’s culminated in the van scene. Will has in all likelihood accepted that he has done what he set out to do: tell Mike how he felt, without any hope or expectation beyond being honest. 

But we’re still being bombarded with love triangle imagery. More so than ever? So whose POV is this??

MIKE’S. 

In the Pizza place there is more glasses-on fuckery. More avoidance and procrastination, then Argyle interrupts. 

Then, the doozy of cinematic misdirection: the I LOVE YOU SCENE. 

I won’t be speaking about lighting and cinematography too much here - please see this post by apatheticlexicographer for a truly brilliant look at the way lights matter in Stranger Things - but in the I Love You scene, it’s not even subtle. Imagine being a filmmaker and putting Will’s head floating behind Mike when he tells El he loves her, while lights flash and everyone is bathed in a death light that illuminates nothing. It’s horrific. I felt dread when I watched this. Storytelling is about creating subconscious feeling in an audience member by showing them pictures and music that, when placed in order, resonate with them and mean something. Cinematography means photography, and photography means drawing with light itself. If you don’t think the feelings you get when seeing the way something is lit are important, then just go outside on a rainy day and see how you feel compared to a sunny one. 

But lighting aside, Mike look pained before telling El he loved her. This is a guy who just realised his friend feels the same way he does. 

They spent the entire of Mike and Will’s s4 arcs showing us, the audience, that whatever these two feel for each other, it is the same. El, bless her, was just in the middle of the maelstrom - and not even physically. From El’s point of view, she knows none of this. What does she know? She was in the cupboard at Rink O Mania. She was in her bedroom crying or working on the cabin diorama. She was in freaking jail and then at NINA. 

And now she’s with them both, and there’s a painting in Mike’s bag, and they’re showing us this:

And they’re showing how she can piggyback into someone’s mind. It looks like they’re saying LOOK! SHE’S IN MAX’S MIND, MAYBE SHE SEES WHAT’S GOING ON WITH MIKE AND WILL TOO!

But they’re not.

They’re saying this instead:

YOU KNOW THAT PIGGYBACKING INTO MAX’S MIND IS A RIFF ON WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING ALL SEASON WITH WILL AND MIKE, RIGHT?

Byler isn’t a story device for what’s going on supernaturally. Byler is THE story. The supernatural shit IS the subtext for Byler. 

Everything else is subtext. Not the other way around. Honey, it’s been there all along. 

And the ending?

That awkward and unnecessary pan from Will to Mike in the van?

That moment where El ignores Mike in the cabin and slams the door?

That OBVIOUS AF line up at the end? 

I mean, look at this shot without byler goggles on. It’s just so stylised. What happened to the subtlety of season 1, where it was just a beat-down old cop and a couple of precocious kids? No longer. This is hardcore, badass epicness. They are GOING FOR IT MAN. 

I want to conclude with a thought experiment, a celebration of the flood of articles and features that will be incoming in 2024. I saw a post on here about those trashy titles that will deride byler, but imagine the beautiful editorials? The black and white photoshoots, the Esquire and Vanity Fair spreads when this sci-fi mystery show is revealed to have been one big declaration of love between two boys. The whole world will be analysing to the moon and back, rewatching, articles everywhere will be like

TWO BOYS FALLING IN LOVE? STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED

and

THE STORY BEHIND THE MOST ROMANTIC TV SHOW OF THE YEAR: How a beloved sci-fi mystery became an icon of LGBT storytelling 

and 

STRANGER THINGS: AN EMOTIONAL, UNIVERSAL STORY ABOUT FIRST LOVE

and 

STAND BY ME: How eighties kids finally got the gay love story they deserved 

and 

A COMPLICATED AFFAIR … THE DUFFER BROS ON THE TEN YEAR JOURNEY BEHIND STRANGER THINGS 

and let me tell you, it will be GLORIOUS. 

m@x and luc@s' books? sometimes they mention mike's behavior as "miserable" "very grumpy" "looks like the upside down version of him" or something like this... When someone is depressed, they won't always look sad, they can also look very angry.

does anyone know any good posts or anything at all that is proof that mike was suffering from depression? im trying to explain to someone of the GA that i know irl that mike has been showing signs but they wont take only my word for it so i wanted to show like film/framing proof or any lines or anything at all from the show that points to it

L them

this poll has almost 4000 votes and there's only 10% for mike this is so funny to me i'm sorry that boy is not loved AT ALL

#MIKE_OUT #WILL_IN #WILLSWEEP

anyone who says Mike is useless is dumb and based 🥱

I kind of hate when people say that Mike's character is useless. Like sure, he was an asshole in season 3, I get that. And even then he still cared about will in s3 (if not more than he did for el, and lets not forget the will voice). But what I don't get is when people say he doesn't care about will at all. Like tf what was the point of this show then?? Did they just skip over seasons 1 and 2 or something??

Like does this mean nothing??

(Feat. Lip glance)

So wheelclair also canon?! 🧐

..... Be serious for once in your life

i wouldn't be disappointed if it doesn't have byler scenes at the beginning or all the time tbh i'd rather they develop the characters first (but as long as they stay together in the end)

i feel like a lot of you are forgetting that s5 isn't the byler show,, the level of disappointment everyone will feel when mike and will aren't in every single scene is going to be immeasurable

it's funny because el already killed people in 1s

My pookies 😭 can't believe the writers almost made them kill in s2...and also another parallel for the wonder twins 🤭

Lucas, the last romantic in the world 😔💘

every time some milkvan shipper says that el would hit will if she found out he likes mike i lose 1 year of life 😑

"Will and El hate each other" shut the fuck up

Anyway

Y'all just mad that their reunion was 10x more beautiful and impactful than the Malnourished Foreskin reunion. Stay mad.

I was thinking about it now, sometimes I even agree when they say "it's not that deep"

Sometimes I think the whole thing about Mike’s relationship with El is taken too seriously. A lot of drama for a poor 15 year old boy.

i feel kinda dumb now because i don't know how to comment on posts or my own post 😔

like, is need a permission or something? I can only give reblogs 😪

Ahmmm¿? 🙃

sns but they messed with my fav first 😔👊🏻

Me, ready to fistfight everyone who comments "bye Will" or "bye Max" in a "there's 6 ST kids and only 5 parachutes" video

on the snowball part i don't think mike would dance with nancy anyway because he himself said that "going with your sister to the ball is humiliating" so i can forgive this one 😅

Listen there are no if, thans, or buts about it. Nancy is a terrible older sister to Mike. It's not about her refusing to play DnD, it's not even about her spending so little time with him it's about

Nancy choosing to dance with Dustin even though her brother was also sitting there without a partner

Nancy treating Max with such kindness and concern while not even sparing Mike a second glance after seeing a vision of something bad happening to him

Leaving him behind in Starcourt

Refusing to acknowledge his discomfort with being spied on and then proceeding to ask about his relationship status despite claiming they had more important things to do

The only time Nancy spends a substantial amount of time with him and shows him concern is when his connections indirectly benefit her (purposeful or not it paints a bad picture)

It's not about the sisterly teasing, it's about Nancy being so absent from Mike's life that even Ted friggin Wheeler notices. 😑 She's cool, she can kick butt, but her skill as an older sibling is lacking.

#s1: when they have to pretend to be sad for mr clark

Mike: we're just... you know... 😔

Lucas:upset 😃

#s2:the car scene

Steve: nancy? 🤔

Mike:🤨

#S3: will talking about feeling the mind flayer

will: you know what it feels like to ride a roller coaster?

Mike:yeah

Max:yes

El:no

S4: Van scene

Jonathan and arglye: 😟🤪🌿

Will:HOW ARE THEY STILL HIGH?

(I don't remember much about this scene but it was something like that)

new tag game! reblog this post with your favorite stranger things scene (other than a byler scene) in the tags,, i'm curious

São as eleições amg?

terrible day y'all i feel like SHIT i can't do this anymore i wish i could just leave this hellhole

that's what i'm saying!

I love the fact that Will made up this whole “you’re the heart” speech just to find and excuse to doodle hearts around his sketches of Mike

Cuz we all damn well know that Dustin is the true heart, I said what I said

I just found out that one of my favorite byler artist doesn't believe that byler is going to be endgame😭

"how to heal a broken heart search"

they must be talking about twitter because there are a lot of byler shipper who hate mike/srs

imagine being this delusional

something tells me milkvan was the original idea but then they changed their mind maybe they'll talk about it when the show is over

do you guys really think byler was planned since the beginning?

on tiktok too, they keep reliving season 1 like bro move on

It’s hard to be a byler and Steve stan on Twitter. Cuz a lot of people hate Steve on there so bad 😩

only at the beginnig tho, I didn't think the rest was so horrible

too much mlvn in s3 i don’t wanna see that bro

the way the stranger things fandom has the most hypocritical takes isn't written bro 😑

can't deal with their bullshit

FR lmao

sometimes i feel like im too dumb to be a byler shipper

I'm surprised at Jonathan tbh

THE WONDER TWINS ARE IN THE SAME HOUSE

ugh my little heart

didn't he apologize tho? I remember a live he did talking about it

I hate twitter sm like what is happening? Is this about Finn or Mike I’m so confused rn 😵‍💫😭

But if this is about Finn does anyone remotely him saying that or being ableist cause I don’t so please if anyone knows if he said anything like that tell me 😭

"only bylers, milkvans and weirdos" acting like they're not half the fandom 💀

If the Duffers were smart they would kill off Mike because nobody gives a damn about him except Bylers, Milevens and weirdo incels on Reddit who live vivaciously through a 15 year-old boy. The fighting would finally end and we can focus on more interesting characters.

Honestly just kill all of the Wheelers except Holly. Fuck them!

Haters gonna hate, The Wheelers deserve the world

Argue with the wall

Ahmm 😶

*Eleven with power*

Mike: because I love her and I can't lose her again!

*she loses his powers*

El: those things you say in the cabin

Mike: What? I do not remember...

*she still has no power*

Mike: I care so much about you...

*El power back* Mike: I love you! You my super hero!!

That's funny but also cute that Mike was going to give his room to her 🫂

Absolutely cackling at Mike suggesting El can just have his room and he'll move into the basement when it's all over and she doesn't have to be a secret anymore. So you agree, Michael? That you belong in the basement playing DnD and Nintendo with Will for the rest of your life?