#she TOLD us and mike she doesn't feel that way and they showed that with how they ended the season. when mike realizes what he's been

[bylertruther]

season five isn't going to be the byler show because we all have brains and recognize this is an ensemble sci fi show obviously, but it is kinda funny to hear people argue that because the duffers specifically point out in their pitch that will is gay and gets kidnapped soon after realizing it, then in season one have everyone who isn't "in the know" assume that this occurred because he's gay, thus really linking this realization with his disappearance both supernaturally and also to those outside of the main cast. this means that you can't separate the two. there's more to it of course, but will being gay and the consequences he faces for that is intertwined.

not only that, but they then reveal his kidnapper to be will's perfect character foil--love vs hate, light vs dark, hope vs despair, optimism vs cynicism, freedom vs subjugation, light wizard vs dark wizard, etc.

vecna spends all of season four preying on those who are traumatized and "other". he enshrouds them in their darkness until they succumb to it and believe it to be true, and gains strength from their despair.

what does will spend all of season four doing?

he stays by mike's side and banishes his deepest, darkest insecurities by basking him in his light. he listens to mike's worries and his secrets and tells him no, you're wrong, you're absolutely wrong and here's why. this is who you really are: someone worthy, capable, and strong. don't listen to that voice in your head; it's lying to you, mike. he gives mike hope and a way out of his darkness. he frees him from the grips of self-hate out of the goodness of his heart, not because he stands to gain anything from it.

vecna uses people's darkest and scariest memories to trap them and will uses one of mike's happy and safe memories to help him.

vecna gains strength from pain and rage and will gains strength from love and acceptance; acceptance that he felt from mike all his life and then acceptance that he specifically received from jonathan in the back kitchen.

time and time again, season four made sure to show us that they are two sides of the same coin and will's story cannot be extricated from mike and his romantic love for him, so like... season five is not going to be the byler show, but it also ... kind of is going to be the byler show lmao.

if season five is going to feature will then automatically it will feature mike and if it features them then it will pick up on their unfinished plot from season four and if love and acceptance are vecna's weaknesses and love and acceptance are what byler feel and receive from each other then... how is it not the byler show?

obviously other stuff is going to happen because they're not the only two characters in a romance show, but like ... to act like season four [for them] wasn't all about their relationship, the unsaid things that sit between them, and how will's love for mike is not only what made him able to finally say i love you to eleven for the first time but also precisely the love that he was trying to get from her, and that somehow that isn't going to bleed into season five and be resolved and be the exact kind of love and acceptance that will defeat vecna because will's otherness is rooted in his queerness and season five is literally his coming of age and also he's the focus and we'll be exploring his relation to everything because he is In Fact Actually connected to Everything and always has been is just .... weird. and nonsensical.

#mine #like. it isn't but it literally is the byler show idk wht to tell u man. every ending has a beginning and will is that beginning. #his disappearance is tied to him being gay. his otherness is BECAUSE he's gay. his first trauma was homophobia. #milkvan is bones bc mike said ily due to will's confession but will's confession does not apply to eleven. she doesn't feel that way. #she TOLD us and mike she doesn't feel that way and they showed that with how they ended the season. when mike realizes what he's been #searching for has been right beside him all along paired with will being in the most danger he's ever been in.. do you really think it #won't lead to some realizations? when their season four plot was literally their relationship being built up? when s4 showed u how #every problem that mike has with eleven is nonexistent with will? when they told us that the one person mike can't lose is will? will's #weakness is the trauma tht stems from his otherness and once he receives that love and acceptance vecna won't have anything #to draw strength from in him. and since this is stranger things we KNOW that love will defeat evil bc it always does. like. what's #not clicking. not every single second of every single episode is going to be byler falling in love being boyfriends and no one is saying #that lol but to act like will's gayness is not inherently tied to the plot and his coming of age and like will being a focus doesn't #automatically make mike a focus too especially since he's 'figured some stuff out' but still has more stuff to realize it's like. i just #don't understand tht sentiment. they cast will knowing he was going to be a big component of st. the show started with him and it ends #with him. and they said in s4 that mike is the leader guiding everyone. n tht without heart [aka mike] will would fall apart. #literally what is not clicking someone explain it to me bc i don't understand. 🤨📝🧐

[wynnyfryd]

Trailer Park Steve AU part 6

part 1 | part 5

October

It's Wednesday night, which means dinner at the Hendersons. Steve finally decided to show his face — and no, not because Dustin's doorstep song and dance had any effect on him; it was partly because he was sick of hearing muted metal music from across the street and mostly because he hadn't left the trailer in three days and he was starting to feel and smell like shit.

So, anyway. Dinner. Ma Henderson's pulled out all the stops: prepped a homemade lasagna, stocked the fridge with full-sugar sodas and bought the good brand of key lime pie; invited the Sinclair and Wheeler kids to make a little party of it. (Nancy was 'unfortunately too busy to attend,' thank fucking god.)

But then Ma got stuck late at work, so now it's all hands on deck. Mike and Erica are setting the table — Steve can hear Mike bitching at her because she told him the knives go the other way, dumbass; Lucas is at the fridge filling cups with ice and Pepsi and muttering to himself about how much better Coke is; Steve's got an eye on the oven, waiting for the cheese on the lasagna to bubble up juuust right; and Dustin is using "prepping the salad" as an excuse to corner Steve and annoy the ever-loving crap out of him.

“What do you mean it’s hard?” Dustin whines, dropping a handful of shredded carrots into the wooden bowl. “Just talk to him!”

Steve takes a deep breath. Mourns, briefly, for the night he could have had; the girls he could be doing hand stuff with in the back of the Beemer instead of putting up with this kid's shit. “I don’t wanna Just Talk to Him." He bends to peek through the oven door. "And, also: get off my ass about it, alright? I came to dinner, I'm heating up the lasagna. I'm, like, participating or whatever. What more do you want?”

“For you to talk to Eddie! Obviously!" Dustin's tossing the greens so aggressively that it kinda feels like he wishes he was pummeling Steve instead, and when he throws his hands up, little flecks of iceberg lettuce go raining to the floor.

Steve eyes the leafy green confetti. "You're cleaning that up."

"Come on, dude," Dustin begs. "It's been two weeks! What's the point of having friends who are next door neighbors if they refuse to get along?”

Behind them, Lucas supplies in a weirdly strangled tone: “This really doesn’t seem like the way to get him to talk to Eddie."

Thank you. Steve couldn't agree more. He turns to tell him as much and realizes the reason Lucas' voice sounded like that is because he's trying to make one trip to the dining room at any fucking cost. He's got an armful of drinking glasses and three cans of Pepsi tucked under his chin, and he's about to fumble the whole wobbly stack.

"Jesus Christ, man, cut that out!" Steve swoops in to grab the cans before they can join the lettuce shower Dustin just made. He doesn't care how much he loves Claudia, he will leave without helping if they splatter soda all over this floor. Mews the Second can lick it clean for all he cares, he's so for real. "Two at a time," he says sternly, taking the extra cups from Lucas’ hold and handing him back a reasonable amoint. He sends Lucas out of the room with a knee to the ass.

"Hey!" Lucas pouts.

"Hey yourself," he grins.

Lucas sticks out his tongue like a child (because he is one, Steve reminds himself), and when he shoulders the swinging door to the dining room he almost brains his little sister, who makes a graceful side-step and comes strutting through undeterred.

"Are you two nerds done playing good cop, annoying cop with Steve?"

"Ah-!" Dustin gawps. "I better not be the annoying cop!"

"Uh, yeah. Obviously, you are." She props a fist on her hip, a little tyrant in the making, and Steve’s ribs go tender with a fond, vaguely proud ache. He really loves her so much. "Now scram. I need to borrow Steve."

On second thought.

Surely at some point these kids, like, owe him money or some shit for the amount of weary sighs they've caused him to let out. Like, financial compensation for the years taken off his life? Something?

"Yes, Erica?" he asks, nostrils flared; eyes closed.

"You should talk to Eddie."

"Oh, Jesus fucking Christ." Steve looks up to the ceiling, pleading for anyone to grant him strength, then he turns to pull the lasagna out of the oven and watches the bubbles sizzle and pop in the hot cheese until he no longer feels like blowing up at a little girl. "Okay. Okay. And I should listen to you because…?"

Screw financial compensation.

He deserves a presidential medal for how calm he's keeping his tone.

Erica's glaring fiercely at him when he glances her way, and why is every kid he knows such a brave, confrontational little shit? "Because," she explains, "He's being mean to my brother."

Oh, fuck no. "What do you mean?" he asks, voice dropping to an urgent hiss as he feels his hackles raise. Like hell is he letting some Billy 2.0 hang around his kids. "Is he, like- Is he saying shit about you guys?"

She spares him from trying to find a tactful way to ask what he's really asking. "No," she says shortly. "But he is being a bastard about him joining the basketball team—"

"Language—" Oh, what's the point.

"—and those two nerds out there? Are obsessed with him. Especially Mike. Like, ob-sessed.” She writes the letters out in the air in front of her to really drive home the point. “Mike likes whatever Eddie likes, so you need to convince Eddie to like Lucas before Lucas loses his friends over this stupid 'jocks versus freaks' crap." She lowers her voice and jabs the skywriting finger into his shoulder hard enough to bruise. "And if you tell Lucas I said any of this? It is on. sight, Steve. I will crush you."

"Jesus Christ."

"So, we good?"

"Uh huh," Steve stammers. "Y-yep. Understood."

Wow. So dignified, Steve. Really loved how you let a ten year old intimidate you. He's saved from any further bullying by the sound of keys jangling in the lock.

"Dusty!" Claudia calls out through the door, "Dustybunny, can you come help? My hands are full!"

In the dining room Steve hears Dustin groan while Mike and Lucas start immediately tearing into him for the name, mocking 'Dustybunny; oh, Dustybun!' in stupid sing-song tones.

"So I'm just gonna..." Steve says awkwardly, inching toward the door. "Go get that."

"Mhmm." Erica gives him an unimpressed look. "You do that."

—

"Oh, Steve, sweetie, thank you!" Claudia says when he opens the door, cheerful and sweet as always. He goes to take her bags from her, but she drops them all at her feet and steps forward to give him a hug, a firm and tender thing that makes an annoying lump form in his throat.

"How are you?" she asks, stepping back to look at him; eyes raking over his face, hands on his cheeks. Really looks. She frowns at whatever she sees. "How's your mom?"

"Can you please just talk to me?" Steve begs, shivering in the hallway because they haven't budgeted for turning on the heat just yet. Wasn't supposed to get this cold for another pay cycle. He tugs the ends of his sweatshirt sleeves. His limbs feel stiff and tense, a budding anxiety like there’s a bomb in the base of his spine.

"Steven, darling, not now," his mother sighs as she sinks demurely onto the couch. "Then when!" he explodes. He doesn't want to yell at her, but, "Seriously, when? When are we going to say anything to each other that actually fucking matters, mom? I feel like I barely even know you anymore!"

"Yes, and I feel a migraine coming on; are you quite finished?"

"….She's fine," Steve answers.

Could be true, for all he knows.

The wrinkles between Claudia's brows deepen, like she wants to press the subject but decides to hold her tongue. "That's good to hear," she settles on after a moment, giving him a gentle pat on the cheek before stepping away with a subtle look that’s not mad, just disappointed.

Steve kind of wants to cry.

"Mom! Food!" Dustin hollers from the other room.

Steve rolls his eyes. "I swear I try to teach him manners."

"Well, good luck with that," she grins, the shadow of tension between them dissipating. Her mood is good like that. Resilient. Strong. Immune to outside force.

Steve’s moods, on the other hand, are more like those stainless steel fridges that promise to remain spotless but then end up covered in grubby handprints. (Exhibit A: he’s doing it right now.)

Thankfully Claudia’s got enough sunshine in her for the both of them. “Come on,” she says, extending a hand and wiggling her fingers for him to grab hold. “Let's eat."

—

part 7

#trailer park steve au #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #dustin henderson #claudia henderson #erica sinclair #lucas sinclair #mike wheeler

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

aita for calling out someone for being manipulative towards a trans friend? Names have been changed for privacy reasons and TLDR at the end because this is long.

I (24f) am cis but have had a lot of trans friends (binary, nonbinary, and neopronoun) throughout the years and am very supportive so i take this very seriously. So I met this girl my first year in college (we were 18 at the time) and we became friends. We're polar opposites, she talks a lot and I don't, she parties a lot and I like to do more sophisticated things, she's a typical extrovert basically, and I'm more introverted. Anne (24f) was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. I don't know when, she just told me this years ago. I've seen tiktoks about bpd and researched Google about bpd a little so I know all about how they have fave persons and will "mimic" people in the friend group and become clingy, manipulate, etc. I've seen pics of her in high school, noticed that she was a theater kid, she said she was good at acting and even said she thinks her bpd helped with her acting although I'm not sure how, but she said she only joined the theater club because a boy she had a crush on was in theater. That should've been my first red flag but I was naive. She has a degree in something else (not theater) because our second year in college her favorite character in a TV show did a certain job, she got interested in that, and now she also does that as a living. She doesn't talk about her bpd, she's only mentioned it a handful of times. I can count on one hand how many times. And I get it because she said someone once told her people with bpd should be sterilized and not be allowed near children. Which is really messed up and I hate that someone said that.

However on with the situation. One of our friends Mike (25m) is a trans man. We met him four years ago. He's very handsome, broody, introverted, intelligent, great listener, very accepting and understanding, similar to me but opposite to her. Now we didn't know he was trans until two years ago, because I asked him on a date and he turned me down, and when I asked why he told me that he was mostly T4T and only viewed me as a friend. We were like woah you're trans, okay that's cool, etc. He explained that he was lucky enough to get on puberty blockers and transition young etc which is why he passes. I said okay I'm not trans and you're mostly T4T fair enough.

Well last year Anne suddenly tells us that she is trans too. She says she's bigender. She says she is okay with either she her or he him because she feels like a man and a woman at the same time. Some days she's a woman, some days she's a man, and some days she's both, according to her. She says she does not like they them pronouns. Suddenly her and Mike are spending all this extra time together. Last month he confided in me that he thinks he's in love with her, after years of him only seeing her as a friend, and then they started officially dating.

Here's the problem: she has not changed her outward appearance, her name, started any kind of medical stuff, joined any groups, bought a binder etc. We all continue to call her she and her because she fully presents as female and doesn't have a problem with it. Also she's very effeminate in body language, the way she talks, etc. I know technically I could call her a he or a him, too, but she never asks me to or corrects people when they call her she because well technically she is a she too. Mike is the only one who uses he and him pronouns with her as often as she and her, but she has never thanked him. It really feels like she's saying she's trans and then going about her life exactly as a cis woman simply to convince Mike to date her.

First off, Anne and Mike are NOT compatible. She likes to party, smoke weed, talks a lot, I'm not sure how she graduated with such good grades or why she does so well in her job because she is honestly a LOT to handle and I'm saying that as nice as possible. Mike would never touch weed or go to clubs and he says he would be fine staying home while she does those things but how could you trust someone to party while high and not hook up with others? I've seen her make out with five people in one night at a frat party. They also had wildly different childhoods, such as she grew up in a conservative community and doesn't speak to her family, and he grew up in a liberal area and is close with his family. But more importantly she has a history of joining theater because she had a crush on someone in theater (plus she admits she is good at acting, so maybe she is acting now?) and getting a degree and job in a field because a favorite fictional character did that and now this? It feels like she was attracted to him, found out he usually dates other trans people, and found a way to continue being cis but claim to be trans without having to do anything trans related, basically mimicing her favorite person. As soon as they met they hit it off, or should I say she clung to him and pretended to have the same likes and dislikes whenever they were alone I assume.

It sounds terrible I know, which is why I discussed this with a group chat first that neither of them are in, and the group chat not only agreed that she is far too "obnoxious" for him (those were NOT my words!) but that she is faking being trans in an attempt to make him fall in love with her (which seems to be working.) I would NEVER have gone further without making sure with them first. So then a few of the people in my group chat and I held an intervention with Anne alone. The six of us (the others don't live close enough to come) met up with Anne at her place and told her what she was doing was wrong and gross and that she needed to get help for her bpd and to stop catfishing Mike. She didn't take well to what was said, which I anticipated, but she went crazy. She was screaming at us, insulting us, sobbing while yelling etc, literally said if we ever contacted her again she would call the cops, so we left.

I immediately called Mike before she could and asked him to meet me at a restaurant nearby and that it was very important. Since Mike doesn't know anyone in the group chat I went alone and I explained EVERYTHING before she could gaslight and manipulate him even further. He left, did not finish or pay for his food. I messaged him several times, but a few hours later he texted me to never to speak to him again, and then blocked me on everything. I showed up to his house and Anne was there. Mike said if I ever contacted him again he would get a restraining order on me so I left. I've discussed this with the group chat and now suddenly half of them changed their mind and don't want to talk about it anymore. Several of them left the group chat. Not only that but several of my friends who know either Mike or Anne or both have blocked me on everything. When I've tried to contact these friends through other means and explain everything, they either didn't respond or said for me never to contact them again because I was being transphobic. Listen I know under NORMAL circumstances you shouldn't question when someone comes out but this is NOT a normal situation, and now I am concerned Anne is unsafe for Mike but also an unsafe person to know, as she literally is trying to destroy my life because I called her out on some seriously messed up and abusive behavior.

TLDR am I the asshole for trying to protect my trans friend from a potential stalker?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[omartinyosef]

ST5 POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!

GUYS I FOUND THIS ON REDDIT AND ACTUALLY IT'S QUITE INTERESTING

ST5 Leaks/Fleaks

Gen Plot

Season picks up briefly where we left off in 1986 before jumping into either late 1987 or early 1988. The season is contained entirely in apocalyptic Hawkins. Things with the government are shaky. Owens doesn't appear in the beginning of the season and it's unclear if he's returning, but Ellen Stinson is the new Owens. Hawkins is like a combination of the UD and Kamchatka.

Labyrinths/Mazes being important to both the supernatural plot and the interpersonal relationships. They're inherently linked.

Two songs to be featured are 'Listen to Your Heart' and 'Alone,' both of which were apparently foreshadowed in a previous conversation between Hopper and Joyce, similar to how Hopper's "I'm the puppet, you're the master" to Joyce in S3 basically foreshadowed Eddie's 'Master of Puppets' in S4.

S1 and 2 scenes being referenced are "Nancy and Mike's conversation in the bathtub" and "Hopper + Lando Calrissian"

Lots of importance in COLOR CODING and blocking from the final shot of S4, and a good chunk is told in the costuming—like passing the torch from one character to another as their arcs overlap. For example, Hopper and Will share the "am I the curse and therefore putting my loved ones at risk by being near them?" sentiment for S5, therefore their wardrobe in the final shot of S4 is similar. Joyce/Jonathan and Nancy/Mike's costuming also similar for the same reason, whereas Eleven stands out because she's the first one coming into her own this season. The white for her represents shedding of false skins.

Character duos this season will be primarily dressed in colors of blue/green and yellow/red.

There's lots of symbolism and foreshadowing for every character in S5 from the moment Will touches his neck in the last sequence of S4.

S4 focused on themes of lies and miscommunication, and everyone is going to have to work through these lies before they can defeat Vecna.

Murray and Argyle are both back. Dimitri and Yuri don't seem to be in the beginning of the season.

One thing left unresolved with the Russian plot. Something important will happen involving the machine and the green liquid from the Starcourt bunker. Reference of Dustin vowing to die with Steve when they initially discovered it.

Hopper, Joyce, Mike, Will, and El had to be away from Hawkins, otherwise Vecna wouldn't have won.

An important death that they're nervous about given the reception to Eddie (not Joyce or Jonathan—see details below).

Eleven

We'll see her unlike we've seen her before. A badass who doesn't take shit from anyone. Not a Monster, not a Hero, Jane. Think: adult El could be headed for a Charles Xavier type role.

Erica, Lucas, and El will share scenes together.

El has significant blocking and development with many characters this season.

Max, Eleven & Max

The "kaleidoscope of colors" from a script the writers posted makes a feature in both the scene where young El remembers her mother's love in order to defeat Henry in the lab, as well as the scene where El revives Max. This is significant because it's the first time we see El using her powers on someone in a non-violent way.

El was able to revive Max because of she, herself, being revived in the bunker by Brenner and Co. It's a show, don't tell moment from the writers.

Max getting Vecna'd was foreshadowed in the beginning of 2x01.

Will, Henry/Vecna, The UD

Filming was supposed to commence mid-June, but Noah and Jamie were set to begin in May due to more complicated costuming. Will is going to require heavy prosthetics at some point.

Will's character design is blocked in three stages. The more the UD bleeds into Hawkins, the more connected to it he feels. The gates being open will physically influence him, especially when he's not as mentally strong.

He's kind of like "the card up Vecna's sleeve."

It appears they want to confuse the audience about Will.

Will wrestling with his own morality

Henry/Will mirrors. Will will sympathize with Henry because, unlike El, he knows how and what Henry thinks, and he can feel him.

Vecna and Will are very similar, but the difference is Will is made stronger by love not hate. They will play into that duality.

Vecna was nerfed in S4 compared to how we see him in S5. He'll be much stronger.

At the beginning, he'll be taking a hiatus while he plans how to divide and conquer now that everyone's back together in Hawkins.

Soteria will be the key to saving Will. If they want Will to be untraceable to Henry, they'll have to insert it into his neck and it'll be painful. Vecna not having access to Will fucks up his ability to leave the UD.

Byler/Mileven Triangle

Apparently, it's complicated and up in the air as of now.

Mike dealing with guilt this season. He feels guilty/responsibility for El. He feels stuck in a loop that keeps him from a truth he's scared to face.

Will and Mike to spend a good chunk of the season together based on character designs and blocking.

Will telling El that Mike won't like being lied to comes back with the painting. During a pre-time jump scene in 5x01, while everyone's together plotting how to defeat Vecna and brainstorming how to save Max, Mike brings up the painting El commissioned for a D&D analogy. Will has to pull Mike aside and confess he lied about El commissioning the painting. Mike gets angry, because he doesn't know about Will's feelings and feels embarrassed that Will thought he was that pathetic he needed to be given a pep talk. Their own version of a "fight you can't come back from." Immediately after their fight, we get the time skip.

Mike's character motivations are unclear and seem to be kept under wraps. After the time jump, he and El won't be talking as much because he's keeping the details about Will's painting from her. She's gonna ask what's wrong between him and Will, and he lies/is very vague.

Joyce, Hopper, Jopper

Joyce feels immense guilt/responsible over Bob's death since she's the one that asked him to help in S2, which is why she pushed Hopper away at first.

Hopper has a secret from S1 that was never addressed, and it comes back to haunt him.

Joyce sustains an injury in S5 that is reminiscent of the way someone was injured in S3, but it isn't critical and she'll be okay.

Jopper are the most established couple after the time jump. Lots of bickering still, but Hopper trusts Joyce more than he ever has.

Jonathan, Nancy, Jancy

So far, does not seem like a breakup is happening.

Jonathan's still lying about the college letter and distant because of it, and Nancy thinks he's not as into the relationship and that there might be someone else. She confronts him, which leads to a talk. She's touched by the lengths he would go to try and protect her and any of their future children even from himself.

A moment where we're led to believe Jonathan dies but doesn't, like Hopper in S3.

Hopper-Byers Family

These five characters slowly unraveling their arcs together and have always been closely linked. Their perfect endings are together.

We see the family combining, especially in relation to El.

Joyce gets to witness Hopper being paternal and tender towards the boys.

Scenes with Joyce, Jonathan, and Will

Hopper being back lifts a weight off Jonathan's shoulders.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, now time to shine.

''(...) sentiment for S5, therefore their wardrobe in the final shot of S4 is similar. Joyce/Jonathan and Nancy/Mike's costuming also similar for the same reason, (...)''

Okay. How did we see Nancy in S4? Confused. Confused with the love triangle between Jonathan, her and Steve. Jonathan is her actual boyfriend. And Steve is her posible love interest again.

So, putting this in byler language: Nancy = Mike Jonathan = Eleven Will = Steve

If Mike's and Nancy's character's clothing is important at this point of the time line and that means they feel similar feelings, this could mean that byler has a chance. BUT then we read this: ''(...) He (Mike) feels stuck in a loop that keeps him from a truth he's scared to face.'' And

''Mike's character motivations are unclear and seem to be kept under wraps.''

THIS LITERALLY MEANS BYLER. FOR REAL. Like byler could be endgame. Also, remember Eleven's injury in S3? Do you remember the leak of a shoe covered in blood?

It's Joyce. ALSO YOU CAN READ THAT WE'LL HAVE SCENES BEFORE THE TIME JUMP. And here it comes. Look at this freaking hair:

Does this look more like this

or this?

The season 4 bowl cut right? So maybe this is right in some part? I dont know. But that could make sense why Will is wearing Mike's pants, because his clothes were in California by that moment. But i really do think that the pic that was leaked a few days ago is before the time jump.

Im so late with this info haha :) but i kinda think some things here make sense. Even if this is too well explained to be a leak.

#stranger things s5 #st5 spoilers #stranger things 5 #st5 #stranger things #st5 speculation #st5 leaks #st5 production #will byers #stranger things season 5 #will byers is gay #byler tumblr #william byers #byler is endgame #byler endgame #byler nation #byler #mike wheeler is gay

[teambyler]

Will's anti-Vecna song should be David Bowie's "Heroes"

We know from the new BTS pic that he has headphones and a Walkman. Like Max, he might be fending off Vecna:

Max's anti-Vecna song was highly personal to her. It helped her through her guilt and depression and feeling like she deserved to die.

For Will, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" is cute, but it doesn't have emotional weight. It might have helped a child Will in the Upside Down in s1, when it made him think of home and Jonathan, but he's all grown up now. He's changed.

If Byler becomes realized, David Bowie's "Heroes" is the perfect song for Mike and Will's relationship that would help Will resist Vecna. It's canon that Will likes David Bowie: kid Mike prefers the androgynous rock star over Kenny Rogers (s2e1).

@surferbeto on YouTube comments:

This is a heroic love song. Bowie starts out crooning but pretty soon he ramps up and belts it out hard. This song is about risking getting shot by East German border police and dragged over barbed wire for love. This is about young love against impossible odds. It's about that gloriously tragic fantasy... of giving our life in some grandly romantic way to save the life of our beloved. Maybe by taking a bullet for them and dying in their arms in the shadow of the Berlin Wall.

Having David Bowie's "Heroes" in the show would call-back to Peter Gabriel's somber 2010 cover from s1, when Mike hugged his mom thinking Will was dead. But Bowie's original is defiant, triumphant, and bittersweet. (Seriously, if you haven't yet, listen to it before reading further. It's perfect.)

It would play when Mike and Will have their first kiss. Their song of losing each other is now of finding each other.

If Byler is realized, it could play as Mike and Will dare to hold hands in the school hall, as we fade out to the end credits.

Will would put it on his Walkman. If Will and Mike are bullied for their relationship, "Heroes" perfectly expresses their defiance and willingness to love each other despite the harm that might come to them.

It's the song that would most help Will in case he gets Vecna'd. It doesn't just remind him of Mike; it culminates his journey over the five seasons. As a kid he told Jonathan he's not a baby, not just a victim. Despite seeming shy and weak, he has a huge amount of quiet courage, but his struggle in s3 and s4 was largely internal. ("I'm not gonna fall in love.") Show creator Matt Duffer says about s5: "Will's going to be a big part and focus... We're starting to see his coming of age, really... You're starting to see him come into his own." If Byler becomes real, then his fight becomes external, confronting the homophobia in Hawkins and the literal hell threatening his friends. He will rise to the occasion.

"Will really takes center stage again in [season] 5," Ross Duffer told Variety. "This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality – it’s Will coming into his own as a young man."

In s2, Will only allowed Mike to protect him because he didn't feel pitied by Mike; Mike saw his strength. A stronger Will will pay him back and protect him from the twin dangers they face.

It's Will's turn to be the hero. His fight for others is his fight for himself. "Heroes" perfectly expresses his journey of defying all odds to fight for HIS RIGHT TO LOVE.

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

#byler #will defends mike with a gun #stranger things #vecna #speculation #song #should i stay or should i go #david bowie #heroes #headphones #walkman

[0daylighthours0]

(part 2) A Deep Dive into Milkvan and Byler's Development: If Milkvan's Destined Endgame, Why's it Written Like This???

The decision to confirm Will to be in love with MIKE is wild, and I'll tell you why.

When you add a third party to a t.v show relationship, if the first relationship isn't perfect, people gunna start rooting for the third party. Take Stancy for instance.

Throughout s2, we got the vibes that Jonathan held feelings for Nancy. This was clear. But Nancy was still with Steve. This means, in order for us not to sympathize more for Jonathan, Nancy and Steve gotta be ✧ tight ✧. I mean, their issues must be kept at a low, and at the end of the day it's gotta be clearer to us that Nancy does in fact love Steve. Welp, that wasn’t the case. Stancy's relationship ✧ struggled ✧, justifying intimate moments between Nancy and Jonathan - making us feel as if he'd be better for her after all. A smart writing choice, as Duffers intended Jancy as season 2's endgame pairing.

Now, I'd like to point out the foreshadowing of this development.

Come the wrapping up of s1, and it seemed Nancy had retreated back to Steve.

They'd clearly reconciled and - to an outsider - all would appear to be going smoothly. But us as the audience know that not to be the case.

One reason? Well, she'd just shared a suggesting moment with Jonathan.

So our minds weren't on Steve and this show of his with Nancy. Rather, we read into Nancy's slight discomfort, and wondered if perhaps she'd prefer being with Jonathan instead.

This was of course intentional. I'd like to briefly bring to attention the similarities in these moments to ones at the end of s3 - between Mike and Will, and then Mike and El.

Here a conclusion to milkvan's seasonal drama is made, them seemingly staying together, parting on good terms. Hm. And milkvan's moment is.. kinda like stancy's. They got back together because, well, El said she loves Mike. And Steve loves Nancy. And Mike loves El right? The way Nancy loved Steve- But just, coincidentally, we have byler's reconciliation too.

This came before the guy's makeup with El, because, why? This was quite the interesting decision mates. It means that whilst he spends that moment with his girlfriend, our minds are fresh off of Will. People might read into the way he's acting in contrast, just maybe, the way they did during stancy. And people did. That's a bit of a fumble on the writers' part, if you ask me. I know you're trying to let us know that Mike's now on good terms with both members, and his and El's goodbye needs to be the dramatic finishing of the season, but, man, did byler even have to make up at all here you guys? I mean this miscommunication of theirs lasts through to s4 (just like janc-). Why not sort their good terms out later or earlier on, so that we have more mindspace here to focus solely on milkvan, our main main? Or at least, why not just have Mike apologize to Will and be done with it? He could even apologize alongside Lucas, making the moment less personal. And Will could simply forgive him, give a dudely pat it out, and that's it. We wash our hands.

But nah. There's this electricity in the air. The swelling music, the prolonged looks, this doesn't.. seem like a simple make up. It's startlingly short, making us feel as if there have been things left unsaid. And that line,

".. Not possible."

It's so... implying. What do you mean? Why are you looking at eachother like that? What am I meant to get from this scene?

And it isn't a closing reconciliation either, they haven't properly ended their season's drama. I mean no one even apologized for the argument, we're just sort of left with this. Left with the hint of a story that might be further explored - their moment coming off more as anticipation for what's to come than a conclusion. Maybe just a bit like Jonathan and Nancy s1.

But so what? That does not have to mean anything romantic between them is to be told. After all, El just expressed to Mike that she loves him. This means that these sweethearts are practically fortold as endgame, right?

Alright I'll stop stalling.

Season 4.

So. Will is in love with Mike now. Huh. Well, I don't recommend this. As I said, you risk people rooting for Will beyond their hopes for Mike and El as a couple. If this is a plotline you desire, it has to be navigated with precision. So this means that milkvan must be on their A game. Struggle between them has got to be handled delicately. As we see in stancy, and as we saw in s3, just making up at the end of it all isn't good enough. You can risk this mistake once, but we must like these guys together throughout season 4, more than we sorrow for Will. Infact, Will's feelings must not be made too big of a deal. Mike and El are going to stay together, so we should feel a bit sorry for him, but not gather any hope that things will actually work out to his favour.

Like Dustin in s2. He sprouted small feelings for Max, and so did Lucas. Lumax were the endgame, so Dustin's feelings were craftly navigated and not made more important than Max and Lucas' bond. We don't really feel that Dustin is in love with Max, moreso that he likes her and has some moments of jealousy aimed at Lucas. Noone really wanted him with her more than they rooted for Lumax, though we did sympathize for him and feel bad for him regardless.

So yeah, this can easily be written out for Will too. If his story's purpose is meant for the exploration of a gay kid navigating a still homoph#bic time, then there's a lot that can be done without even having to spare much screen time between him and Mike. Focus on his fear of judgement from Jonathan moreso maybe, or have Argyle say something - it can be whatever, mention something homoph#bic, mention something not homoph#bic and give Will hope, whatever - which sets off a thought or idea for Will that prepares his arc for the season.

Back to Mike and El - so we want a 'scared to say "I love you"' subplot. That's good, that good. Fleshes out Mike, plays into El's fears. Shouldn't be too hard.

There's already a mild problem though. This plot is playing out twice at once. We have our boy Will hosting this same fear of rejection by Mike - at least that's how things have been shot. His dread is portrayed through his restraint and timidity in revealing his painting to Mike. Will's painting is basically his version of a confession - the guy too selfless, shy and afraid to express his love outright.

So playing out this storyline at the double is.. a choice. I mean, Mike telling El he loves her is a big deal for the milkvans, shouldn't this romance dominate as much screen time as possible in order to be fully pumped up without any sidetracks to other insignificant in comparison feelings? S3 was already quite clumsy, why not have Mike and El's activities soak in all viewers' engrossment without any departures? Maybe spend a bit of time demonstrating how likeable and wholesome they actually are together. Now that we have Will's affection ontop it all, what's important is that Mike and El's camera time spent matters. They can be angsty, they can withhold some misunderstandings, but they still have to be a good. couple.

Oh yeah, also, Mike should blatantly display feelings for El and El only - duh.

.

..

huh ?

huh ? ? ?

#part 3 is on its way 💪 #anti milkvan #anti mileven #byler #byeler #stranger things #stranger things byler #stranger things 4 #mike wheeler #will byers #byler is endgame #byler endgame #byler is real #byler is canon #byler analysis #byler proof #byler rights #byler tumblr #byler nation

[byler-alarmist]

Disclaimer: I am not anti-Vickie by any means. I think Vickie seems very sweet (although there may be something going on with her we don't know) and I will fully support her and Robin if the Duffers can prove to me in S5 why they work together.

That said, I am going to examine the one, glaring issue I have with Rovickie. If you're not put off by that, read on!

So, most of the criticism leveled against Vickie is that we don't know anything about her. That's true; we don't.

However, my main criticism is:

Does Robin know anything about her??

All we hear from Robin in S4 is that Vickie is the girl of her dreams, but we never hear why. In all her gushing/agonizing to Steve, Robin never tells us what about Vickie makes her so special.

Is she smart? Funny? Ambitious? Kind? Is she a pro at playing poker?

Even Tammy Thompson, whose role in S3 was purely offscreen, got a shout out of traits that Robin valued ("she has dreams!").

We can't say the same for Vickie. All we know is:

-she laughed at one of Robin's (Steve's) jokes

-she likes Fast Times

-she talks a lot when nervous

-she possibly likes boobies

And those last two were only figured out by Robin in the final episode of S4.

If Robin's feelings for Vickie are more than mere infatuation based on looks, wouldn't Robin have told us more than the most surface-level things about her?

And if your immediate response to this "well, she just hasn't spent enough one-on-one time with her to know!" .......that's exactly my point.

The writers have shown time and time again that the shallow relationships where tbe couple got into it without really talking or getting to know each other do not last .

I'm reminded of Lucas telling Mike "you're just blind because a girl isn't grossed out by you." 👀

All this in the same season where Robin is spending one-on-one time with Nancy, getting to know her and respect the things that make her "her". Rather than just looks, Robin gets to see Nancy's drive, intellect, leadership and bravery.

She calls her a "genius", says she is "full of surprises", and learns even more about her when Nancy opens up about her relationship inecurities. Robin sees her complexity.

I don't know about you, but to me, this is the core of why Rovickie is not as compelling as a ship. If they are meant to be endgame, why was Robin paired with Nancy all season?

Surely there could've been some plot device to bring Vickie into the fold, just like Max was brought into the Party back in S2.

Vickie could've been trapped with Robin and the older teens after some supernatural things happened at rhe pep rally or other school function and they got separated from the rest, or she could've been related to the Creels and the gang needed to ask her for help. It's a TV show; they can do whatever they want.

Either way, they decided not to involve her in the main plot of the show at all, preventing both Robin and the viewers from getting to know her fully. I believe this was intentional and will have consequences for their relationship in S5.

One final thought- in early S4, Robin tells Steve that she has found the girl of her dreams but can't get the courage to ask her out, whereas Steve goes on a ton of dates but has no idea what he wants.

I think it would be VERY interesting if their roles were actually swapped, i.e. by the end of S4, Robin is the one who doesn't really know what she wants, and Steve is the one who realizes he has found the (person) of his dreams.

#hope this made sense #it wasn't really meant to be a ronance post #but i felt i had to mention that part at the end #st analysis #robin buckley analysis #stranger things analysis #st thoughts #st brainrot #ronance #stranger things #anti rovickie #<-i'm not really but this is so i don't offend ppl who have these kind of takes blocked #robin buckley #vickie stranger things #st vickie #st4 rewatch #tammy thompson #wlw ship #st ships

[pinkeoni]

...but what was Will really saying in the van?

This a post a year after the fact, when post people have already said what needs to be said, but you know what!! This is my blog and I can say whatever I want.

Will talking about himself and using El as a guise is pretty obvious. The handful of people who say that it really was from El are few and far between. El doesn't gaf about DnD, she's not even in the painting, and she even told Mike herself that she didn't know what Will was making.

Whether or not Mike actually believed Will's lie is something that I'm personally on the fence about, but I'm not talking about him today! There are plenty of great Mike posts about this if you want a Mike analysis.

The cinematography supports this as well. At the start of the scene, Will is established on the left side of the frame, and Mike is on the right. When Will tells Mike that El commissioned the painting, we get a shot of the mirror where they swap places.

The switching of frame placement suggests that something is off, and mirrors in film can be used to show deception. The shot supports the idea that Will is not being fully truthful, which is backed up by what we already know. Each mirror shot is also prompted by a shot of Jonathan, suggesting that this is always from his point of view. We also know that he was able to see through Will's lie, so that supports this idea.

But we don't get the entire monologue from this angle, because really Will isn't entirely lying, he's just lying about whose feelings it really is.

It's no secret that the painting is an expression of Will's love for his friends, but also his romantic feelings for Mike. The positioning of the painting itself as a phallus (take a shot every time I've said "phallus" in a recent analysis) displays this in the visual language of the show along with the written one.

I think that gender and the use of pronouns is important here. Will states the entire monologue using "she" and "her" and places El in the place of himself. So what he's essentially saying "My sexuality is a wonderful thing that can bring both of us joy, but only if comes from a girl." In context Mike seems specifically anxious about El so Will is reassuring him from that angle, but it also stands that Will doesn't see his sexuality and feelings as good enough to cure an ailing Mike.

There was scriptgate and the infamous "I hate who I am" line which everyone remembers where they were for, but when the scripts were said to be fake, this line seemed to no longer hold any weight within the fandom and was widely disregarded. He loves himself, actually!

But legitimacy of the script aside, does this line still ring true? Even if it were real, a unspoken internal dialogue in an action line doesn't matter unless the show actually expresses it. So do they?

After all Will said it himself, "you make [me] feel like [I'm] not a mistake at all. Like [I'm] better for being different." So that must be how he feels, right? And yet—

—he doesn't really look like someone proud of his sexuality, does he?

I find the idea that Will doesn't suffer from any internalized homophobia rather absurd. It's definitely informed by external homophobia, but it would be different if Will fought back, but instead we see time and time again Will turning his pain inward. "Zombie Boy" leads to "It just makes me feel like more of a freak." and "It's not my fault you don't like girls" leads to the destruction of Castle Byers. I know that that line is informed by Mike's internal projection and might not be intended to be homophobic, although the statement still is homophobic despite intent. If Will knows he is gay and just heard that from his friend, of course he's going to take it that way. We see a little bit of Will standing up for himself, although this usually results in Will apologizing or not accepting apologies from others even when he deserves it. The bedroom scene in Dear Billy is a big step forward because not only does Mike apologize and assert that Will wasn't in the wrong, but Will actually listens.

It is true that Will accepts that he is gay and doesn't seem to fight it, although as others have pointed out, this doesn't necessarily mean that Will is necessarily proud of who he is. The van scene is just another example of Will taking that external pain and forcing it inward. There is likely to be consequences resulting from his lie that affects all three of them, but Will has decided to go a route that (he believes) will benefit Mike and El and only cause himself pain.

Look at this way. Let's say that Will hadn't lied about the painting being from El, that he was totally honest about the painting coming from him, but Mike didn't understand it as a romantic gesture. Not only would this not really make sense, and require Mike to be a level of oblivious on an absurd level, but it would also communicate something completely different. The new meaning would be this: Will is proud of his sexuality and able to take ownership of it, and the trouble comes from Mike not understanding. The conflict is now completely external.

I've seen debate on whether or not Mike really did understand what Will was saying although I think that's beside the point. If Mike did understand that Will was talking about himself, then this was not communicated to Will. The above scenario leads the conflict to be solely relieved by Mike finally understanding, and while there is surely to still be an external conflict between Will and Mike, Will's conflict of sexuality remains to be internal. Even if Mike did tell Will that he knew it was from him, this wouldn't necessarily solve Will's problem. The remedy to Will's internal conflict can only come from himself, by being able to proudly put his name to his painting.

#will byers #byler #stranger things #my analysis #btw— i hope none of my commentary regarding mike and mike analyses comes off as a jab. thats not my intention at all #im not saying not to look at mike or analyze mike #im just saying that this particular analysis is will focused #and other very talented analysts have made their own posts about mike in the van that you should check out if you wanna hear more about tha #perspective

[balanceoflightanddark]

Meanwhile, at the Avatar Studios cafeteria:

Sokka: First, they told me to not hog the smarts of the group. Then they tell me I'm not funny. Stupid micromanaging...

Toph: You and me both...

(Pan to a table with Zuko and Mai talking with Gene Yang)

Zuko: What kind of writing was that?! You wrote me like I was an egotistical manchild! And you wrote Mai-

Mai: I'll handle this...you wrote me like a sociopathic spoiled brat!

Gene: I'm sorry you feel that way. I was just trying to use my experiences to develop your characters.

Zuko: I find out that you're ghostwriting for the new movies, I'm coming after you!

Mai: Yeah, and I'll show you what it's like to be on the wrong side of my knife.

(Stabs a dagger into the table, scaring both Gene and Zuko)

(Pan over to another table with Mike, Bryan, and Azula who is munching on some mochi and has a fruit drink. She has her boots on the table cause at this point, she couldn't give a fuck)

Mike: The movie's dull. It feels like we're going through the motions and nobody is learning-

Azula: I learned not to pull another Smoke and Weed. Especially after my one-shot. But I'm not on the writing team, so what the hell do I know?

Bryan: Okay, look. We're gonna repair your image. And the way we're going to do that...is with a new scheme we cooked up!

Azula: Well for starters, I cook up the schemes. Second, we've been over this. 180s in my character doesn't work.

Mike: Well we can't exactly let you beat the heroes and upset the status quo. Nor can we just let you become a hero. You have a reputation to uphold!

Azula: Buddy, if you can't see the potential in a child soldier healing in what's supposed to be your "Golden Age", we have nothing to say to each other.

#atla #atla shitpost #atla comics critical #anti atla comics #anti bryke #anti gene yang #atla incorrect quotes #azula #princess azula #sokka #toph #zuko #mai #incorrect quotes #incorrect quote #incorrect quote source: looney tunes back in action

[mikesbasementbeets]

this is gonna be long, but i want to explain why i think mike wheeler is gay

we all know mike is queer, i'm not gonna try to prove that he wants to kiss boys (because duh), i want to look at the things that indicate mike is specifically gay, not bi - the relevant difference being, in mike's case, attraction to women. in my opinion, the show is full of evidence that points to mike's specific brand of queerness being not only attraction to men but also lack of attraction to women. (which is why i'm writing this, i just think there's so much textually in the show that backs it up) i'm mostly going to focus on his dynamic with el, but i want to make it really clear first that i love el, and i believe mike really does love el too, just not in the way he thinks he should. his arc is about realizing that the love he feels for el is not romantic (while the love he feels for will is).

romantic ambivalence towards el

this has been rehashed so much since the season 4 monologue, but the way mike talks about el when they first find her in the woods, about sending her back to the asylum, handing her over to mike's parents, and getting her out of the way so they could focus on will, and then later calling her a weapon and using her to find will... this is not love. obviously

he starts feeling protective over her when she confides in him that she's in real danger - mike is naturally protective, he’s the paladin of the group, and because she's under his care, he feels responsible for her safety, defending her even from dustin and lucas. he develops a bond with her. however... nothing about this is romantic. the duffers compare their relationship dynamic this season to elliot and E.T., but alongside mike, the audience is told (by everyone except mike himself... he can never seem to get the words out. more on that later) that mike likes eleven... so we start to believe it

there are so many analyses of mike being the one targeted by the homophobic bullies (and we know why - mike is queer). but more than that, the very first time the idea of mike and eleven as a romantic pair is introduced in the show, the scene is interrupted by the homophobes. while lucas is imitating mike professing his love to eleven, troy show ups and starts talking about will, using homophobic language to provoke the party, particularly mike, and then tripping mike as he tries to get away from them. it's the juxtaposition of these two ideas: mike being teased by his friends for possibly liking el vs. mike facing homophobic bullying

anyway, before the bullies show up, when Lucas starts teasing mike about the way he's been acting with el, mike doesn't get it (and he continues not to get it throughout the series... this is a theme), and lucas has to spell it out for him. it's so obvious mike, you like her.

a few episodes later though, lucas actually calls bullshit on himself -

"you like that a girl's not grossed out by you."

it's not that either of them actually like each other but, as lucas says, and as is repeated by mike and others several times, "she's like a stray dog." they're both using each other, mike to find will, and el for safety and protection (not that this is necessarily bad on either of their parts, it's just not romantic)

later, almost immediately after finding out about el, nancy asks mike if he likes her. (a boy and a girl? oh, they must like each other.) mike's response is a very adamant "ew, no, gross."

this scene is interesting to me because you could take it several ways: nancy lies about not liking jonathan, so then mike lies about not liking eleven... (which is still fine, he may think he does at this point) but i actually think it's more than that. season 3 shows us a mike that associates growing up with liking girls. and before eleven, mike hasn't ever liked a girl. at this point, he's still in the mindset that it's okay for him to not like girls "yet." and if he tells the truth so vehemently that nancy must think he's lying... he's probably ok with that (lucas is right, he likes that a girl's not grossed out by him... and he likes the idea of other people thinking that too... maybe it makes him feel like he's growing up, or like other people think he's growing up. idk though that's just speculation).

soon after this scene with nancy is the scene where mike tells el that when this is all over, she can move into his house and his parents will take care of her. genuinely... he was imagining his family adopting her... his sister would be her sister, his parents would be her parents, she could even have his old bedroom

and then she asks if that means he would be her brother... and he realizes something's not right (honestly though i don't think he even understands where it went wrong at this point).

he was feeling a protective big brother type of love for this scared, lost kid he found in the woods, but when everyone started assuming he "liked" her, it all started getting confused in his head. he assumes he must like her, because he's been conditioned his whole life to think that's just what happens (it's classic comp het!!!)

you could argue that he did really have a crush on el, but just never fell in love with her, but i think the far more logical, narrative based explanation for it is compulsory heterosexuality and internalized homophobia... he was told by all his friends and family that he must have feelings for this girl, so he believed them and tried to act accordingly.... but here's the thing. he has never ever gotten the hang of it

extreme discomfort with expressing romantic feelings toward el

mike's storyline in season 4 was entirely centered around his inability to have an open, honest conversation with his girlfriend. specifically, a conversation about their feelings toward each other. honestly, it's about time el called mike out for this. ever since their first kiss in season 1, every time he has had a moment alone with el, (except for their makeout scenes in s3 i guess... but he's kissed her to avoid using his words before. their first kiss.) mike has tried, struggled, and ultimately failed to voice his romantic intentions or inclinations toward el. (and if we know one thing about mike..... he hates lying)

it's such a pattern that it seems obvious to me that the nature of mike's feelings toward el have not changed over the course of their relationship. even the first time, when he tries to explain that he wouldn't be like her brother because..... that would be weird. why, mike?

he is talking around telling her that he likes her, which... fair enough, honestly. he's hinting at it and trying to get her to understand, and i mean, it's hard to tell someone you like them. and like, he's 12. this is fine

but it's about the context. and it's about the pattern

mike is constantly trying to explain how he feels about el, but he keeps putting it in a romantic framework, and that's his problem. it isn't romantic. it never has been. so he can never find the right words, because the ones he thinks are supposed to fit don't feel right, and mike doesn't want to lie to el. friends don't lie

this discomfort also extends to other expressions of romance, like kissing

🧍🏻 yes, he makes out with her a lot in season 3, but like... he's in way too deep at that point. this is heteronormativity and comp het at it's peak. el is his girlfriend (and they're months into their relationship atp), he's a 14yo boy with a heterosexual facade to keep up, and like, kissing is a fun way to pass the time... (it's better than spending it idk talking and finally getting to know each other, right?) and there's also that drawing of will behind her and the way he moves her hands away like he doesn't want her to touch him... idk seems kinda gay to me

......and then there's this

just like in the season 1 scene, with lucas' teasing cut short by the bullies, it's about the juxtaposition. mike's scene with will, followed by an intimate jancy moment, and then this. el kissing mike while he stands (eyes open) in front of a closet (in will's room), the light inside it lit up over his head. i really think this scene is a big moment in mike's realization of what he's feeling, and what he has been feeling. (one of many... he is just constantly being struck with how gay he is in season 4) the coding of this scene cannot just be about mike simply not having romantic feelings for el specifically, (or about it having started as a real crush that just didn't develop further or something). his absolute indifference to el, a girl (the girl he supposedly likes), kissing him is what is making him realize his queerness... which means that part of his queer revelation is disinterest in girls. they're showing us with every narrative technique in the book that mike doesn't have romantic feelings toward girls.

speaking of which

truly, what is this about if it's not mike projecting... what else could this mean (yes, sure, it could mean a lot of things, and maybe they really did mean it more like "yet," but they chose this line. it's way too on the nose to not mean this: mike doesn't like girls.)

it's about a lot more than el. she just happens to be the unfortunate one in the role of "mike wheeler's girlfriend" (she truly deserves so much more). throughout season 3 we're shown over and over again mike's romantic ineptitude with el. lucas, still assuming mike's romantic feelings toward her, spends a good amount of time this season literally walking mike through how to interact with his girlfriend. mike simply doesn't get it. still.

it doesn't feel natural to mike to have a girlfriend, he doesn't want to pursue el romantically, so he has no idea how to act.

i fully believe that lucas has been doing this for mike since the beginning of their relationship. he teased mike about being with el before the movie double date, mike presumably having confided in lucas about his relationship, and vice versa. mike has definitely been taking intensive notes from lucas.

and this isn't just mike being romantically inept in general. his relationships with el and will continuously parallel and contrast each other. (their fights and mike's reactions, for example) and in season 4, with no help from anyone, mike flirts so naturally with will. like he can't help it.

but with el, he's been forcing it since day one.

in real life, obviously things are wayyyy more complicated: relationships, gender, sexuality, all of it. but this is a fictional show that is telling a specific story, and so when i put together all of the narrative evidence from his entire relationship with el (especially when comparing it to will), it seems clear to me that the story stranger things is telling is not about a bi kid confused about his feelings between a girl he sort of likes and a boy he loves; it's about a boy realizing, through the constant juxtaposition of his relationships with a girl and a boy, both of whom he truly cares about, that he actually likes the boy and not the girl. aka, he's gay.

indifference toward other women

there's so much more in their relationship i could point to (other character/relationship parallels, heavy platonic/familial coding, etc), but i'll move on from el. honestly, i'm almost done though... mike doesn't really even interact with any other girls on the show that aren't adults and/or related to him. unless i missed something, the only other girl mike actually interacts with is max.

and istg they are the most platonic just look at them

but seriously, max's whole introduction into the show was primarily contrasting dustin and lucas' positive reaction to her with mike's negative/indifferent one. mike is a complex character with lots of little feelings, but i agree with most of the analysis i've seen about this: mike resents max's presence initially because it reminds him that he doesn't actually like girls in the way that his friends do, that what he has with el is not the same sort of first crush romance that he wants to pretend it is, the kind his friends are actually experiencing now. he sees max, and he sees the way dustin and lucas look at max and... he doesn't get it.

he doesn't like el (his love interest and girlfriend) he doesn't like max, (the only other girl his age he's even been on screen with), he's never shown interest in talking about, looking at, or pursuing any other girls. but... he is in love with his boy best friend. he did smile incredibly dreamily at eddie in the cafeteria. he does have more than one poster of a buff shirtless man on his bedroom wall.

i don't want to go on a bunch of tangents about minute details so i'll end the actual analysis here. i think those are the most important and relevant points. if you've read this far i appreciate you.

here's a couple more random things i consider gay mike subtext

the way his friends react vs the way mike reacts to a girl almost undressing in front of them

self explanatory

you're seeing this, right?

(should i make a post about all the shots of will over mike's shoulder?)

i know this isn't about mike liking boys but. look at him.

mike wheeler... i know what you are

.........gay

#byler #mike wheeler i know what you are #love and respect all headcanons but this is the canon supported truth imo #i'm not 100% satisfied with this i feel like theres so much nuance to it i can't really capture #and also there's an image limit fsdkfhb #but idk let me know your thoughts either way i'd love to hear them #mikesbasementbeets posts

[paintingformike]

actual canon and factual things found in the show itself that reveals the red flags and problems of mileven and shows how they’ve been treating byler’s relationship way more seriously and as a healthier relationship that directly contrasts mileven:

mike’s place in his relationship with el is the source of his insecurities. he constantly tries to be another person in order to impress el and feel worthy of her, as he feels inferior in their relationship (he even admits it himself, calls himself a “random nerd” that can’t begin to hold up to her level). it would be all fine and dandy if it was actually el herself that reassured him that it doesn't matter and that she’d love him either way, but it was will comforting him instead, the selfless pining love interest that prioritizes his happiness over everything else.

will, the second love interest, was the only person who gave mike needed reassurance and comfort throughout the entire season and he’s seemingly the only person mike is able to open up to and be vulnerable with. he continuously fails to actually communicate and express himself to his own girlfriend, but spends the entire season doing the exact opposite with will.

mike and el don't seem to be able to connect and level with each other the way will and mike can. in the mileven season 4 argument, el goes out of her way to tell mike that he will never understand her struggles, even though he has also been bullied his entire life. she feels different from him. however, mike and will don't even need words in order to understand each other (“i didn’t say it” “you didn’t have to”). they see each other as equals in every sort of way (“i think it’ll be easier if we’re a team”).

lumax and mileven this season were both written to have major relationship problems, but the difference is that lucas and max solved their issues with proper communication and didn't need to have other people involved in the mending of their relationship. however, when they seemingly “fixed” mileven’s relationship, they made the conscious writing decision to make will be the one to push mike to talk to el in the hopes that his words would help her survive. it wasn’t something mike himself planned, he was just prompted to do something. will was also the one who talked mike through his insecurities in the van when he was on the verge of giving up on his relationship, convincing him that el still needed him. it wasn’t the words of his own girlfriend that made mike feel cherished, loved and needed, but will’s. they effectively tied the second love interest so deeply into the narrative direction of mike and el’s relationship so that he’s the sole reason they’re still holding up right now. mike would’ve never done anything if it hadn’t been for will reassuring him that his relationship with el still had a chance, since he wholeheartedly believed that el didn’t need him anymore. but will lied and masked his own feelings in order to achieve this. how does will know for sure that what he was saying about el was what she truly felt? how do we know for sure that mike wouldn’t start questioning his relationship with her once the truth is revealed, and that everything he believed to be el’s feelings were actually will’s?

the writing choices made for mileven seems to contradict how they’ve been writing the other good canon couples in the show. jancy, lumax, and jopper have never needed verbal expressions of “i love you” to affirm that the romantic love is very much still felt from them. it is shown, not told. so what does it mean when el seemingly needs a verbal affirmation of love from mike in order to feel secure in their relationship and feel romantically loved by him? why can't they just prove it through their actions and their moments together? and no, you can't just use the “every relationship is different” reasoning, because these are characters from a piece of media and a show/series, not real life people, meaning their has to be a specific pattern followed by the writers in portraying real, authentic relationships. mileven shares little to no similarities with the other relationships they’ve built up over the seasons, but is eerily similar to stancy, a relationship that was portrayed to be shallow and ultimately failed to last. they’re also the only relationship to be portrayed as a “love at first sight” trope, while all the other relationships are built on a developing friendship and are somewhat slowburn (including byler when they eventually become canon).

since season 3, they have been directly contrasting how mike deals with conflict between will and el, and everytime he has a fight with el, he also coincidentially has one with will. they also all happen back-to-back, meaning you’re meant to compare them as opposing parallels.

with el, mike would deflect blame and has to be pushed by other people to apologize and take action. in season 3, he was complaining and wondering what he did wrong and needed lucas to constantly coach him through confronting el, and in season 4 he blamed outside forces like “mouthbreathers” for ruining their relationship when the main problem was with himself. this time, he never apologized to her at all (although you could argue he was about to do it in the surfer boy pizza scene but was ultimately interrupted).

with will, mike immediately takes responsibility for his own actions and doesn’t need to be pushed by other people to apologize to him. in season 3, he bikes through the pouring rain and calls himself the asshole for going too far, and in season 4, he looks affronted at the mere idea of will thinking he deserved the treatment he got from him, and calls himself the self-pitying idiot for the way he acted towards will.

it is undeniable that all the intimate heart-to-hearts between mike and will this season were portrayed to have romantic undertones. oh, but aren’t they just two completely platonic besties that happened to be glued next to each other throughout the majority of the season while most of the other characters played a role in the supernatural plot? where’s the proof that their scenes were meant to be read romantically? well, an obvious romantic trope where they were constantly interrupted from staring intently at each other was used across all their crucial scenes together, which is something they’ve only done with canon couples in the show 🤔

meanwhile, will sabotaged the few moments that mileven had together in season 4, and they never got to be alone except for their fight. and if you really think about it, even in the past seasons, mileven moments are mostly very lighthearted or comedic and almost always in public spaces where they never get to have serious, deeper and meaningful conversations (especially in season 3 when their relationship was played as a joke), while the majority of important byler moments are private and its always them having a genuine heart-to-heart with each other. there’s underlying tension in their scenes that isn’t present in most mileven scenes.

think long and hard enough on why mike was purposefully separated from el for the majority of the season and they had him spend the most time talking about his feelings to will, while showing how somehow, the second love interest knows exactly how to reassure him through his problems the way his own girlfriend has never actually shown to be doing before. while they gave the person in the middle major problems with the person he’s currently in a relationship with, they simultaneously developed his relationship with the second love interest and built up romantic tension between them. it’s literally a writing technique and a way of showing which would actually be the more compatible partner for the one in the middle, no matter how you look at it.

“ok, but didn’t mike already say ily to el? theres no chance byler is gonna happen when theyve already fixed their relationship” maybe i’d buy it if they decided to do this in the last season, where there’d be no more room left to doubt. however, there’s still an entire season left which also happens to be will’s coming of age season, meaning anything could happen and the trajectory could completely change. trope subversions and plot twists exist, and coincidentially, little women was in the inspiration board for season 4 wherein one person in the middle of a love triangle declared a love confession towards the one person people thought he’d end up with, but the story still went a complete 180° and he ended up with her sibling instead (who happens to be a painter like will 🤔), when the story was nearing towards the end. sound familiar? maybe you shouldn’t get too cozy and comfortable when the writers have said they are going to complete will’s arc and tie all loose ends, meaning the relationships will continue to develop while the chararacters interact with each other over the course of an apocalyptic setting. they aren’t just gonna spend the entire season fighting monsters, their personal relationships are obviously gonna continue to move forward in the plot, especially when the major villain of the story also takes advantage of their personal traumas and histories to prey on them. their personal arcs are still tied to the supernatural plot, one way or another.

#another long post to quell anyone with byler doubts #because we have enough proof in the narrative itself that points to byler endgame #not just with lighting or color coding or minimal subtext #the painting itself still hasnt fulfilled its purpose in the willelmike situation #and will’s arc cant be completed without mike learning the truth about everything including his feelings #byler #byler proof #byler analysis #will byers #mike wheeler #st #stranger things #byler analysis by me

[ninthskzmember]

Birthday, debut. Part III

Part two

Idol!skz word count: 1,7k. warnings: Hyunjin is a jealous fuck.

Requests are open :)

"Hey mate" Chris greeted Luke and shook his hand.

"Hey guys," Ashton came in behind his friend, followed by Michael and then Calum.

A general "hey" came from my member's side, as did the other two guys. Then there was an akward silence between all of us.

"Moonjin, congrats on your performance!" Ashton exclaimed and came my way to hug me, and I disappeared in his arms.

"It's like a huge Changbin is hugging her." Seungmin commented and, once again, won a punch from Minho.

"Hyungggg," he cried while rubbing his stomach again.

"Told ya." Minho glanced at him with a sarcastic smile on his face.

"We got you this as a gift; I know you love it." Calum spoke for the first time towards me, handing me a six-pack of Australian beer.

"Thank you!" I smiled at him, taking the beverage from his hand as he gifted me one of his smirks, one of the kind where his eyes disappear. "And thank you for coming all the way here. It really means a lot to me." I looked at the four of them.

"It's nothing; you're our friend, mate! It's the least thing we can do." Mike smiled. "You're always coming to us; it was our turn."

"Yeah, that's right," Felix said with an overly deep voice, winning a gasp from Ashton and Michael.

"I honestly always forget you've got that voice, bruh; you do not fail to surprise me." Ashton joked around, trying to be nice.

Thank God the eight of my guys laughed lightly.

"He's my fairy with a truck driver's voice." I joked, and my best friend laughed and placed his arm around my shoulders.

"When are you coming to work with us?" Michael asked

Hyunjin was surprisingly quiet, just observing the whole interaction.

"So you came all the way here just to exploit me?” Another joke came from me.

"No. But we always have a great time together! And I'm inviting all of you," he said, looking at my members too.

"I'm sure 3racha would love to." Jeongin responded, smiling sweetly.

"Anytime, mate," Chan said. It's kind of weird when Chris is talking almost monosyllabic.

Minho kindly engaged in a conversation with the Australians, and Hyunjin took advantage of the situation to pull me aside.

"I thought Calum wasn't here." His deep stare was nailed to my eyes.

"I thought that too." I blinked repeatedly. "He did not even make a sound when Luke called... And you know, I can tell those kinds of things."

"Yeah, we know you're obsessed with the man," Hyunjin said, rolling his eyes. I ignored his comment; he was just trying to make drama.

"But it's sweet," he gave me the most deadly look when the words came out of my mouth. "That they're here," I raised my eyebrows. "I never did that for them."

"That was surely your man trying to make it up to you and taking his whole band to not make it obvious," he replied with his arms crossed over his chest.

"No, Cal's not that type." I denied it as I glanced over to the man in the subject: "If he messes up, he'll own up to that."

"Oh, so he's your man," he said, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Yeah." I nodded just to upset him.

He has been getting on my nerves all day.

I saw how his ears turned red from anger and jealousy, which made me laugh inside my head, but he did not show it.

"Felix" Hyunjin called our best friend, "Talk to her; I cannot stand her. She's being Mini-Minho again."

An angry Jinnie walked away from me, and I smirked funny. Felix came all the way to me.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"He's being toxic. Calum has barely talked to me, and he is being dramatic." I looked at the blonde one and said, "You know me, Lix."

"He's sensitive. And so are you, even if you don't show it. Think about how you would feel if Lia was here instead of Calum."

"Yeah, as if it doesn't happen at least two times in a day," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Moonjin-ah!" I heard a familiar voice come from the open door, letting my female best friend be seen.

"RYUJIN," I said, opening my arms and encouraging her to come to me.

She rushed through the people and hugged me tightly

"Congratulations, mama," she smiled widely, and I did the same to her.

"Thank you! We were just talking about..."

"Moonjin-ssi sunbaenim" Yeji came in behind my best friend and said, "Congratulations on your debut." She bowed at me along with Yuna and Lia.

"Thank you." I bowed back and looked at Chan, who was looking at the scene.

"I think I need to shut up sometimes," Felix whispered at me.

"Ya think?" I threw a deadly look at him.

"MOONJIN UNNIE" Another voice, agitated this time, made its way to my ears. "I'm so sorry, I was peeing." She laughed and hugged me.

"I hope you washed your hands," I joked at Chaeryeong and all the girls, and Felix laughed.

"I did not," she said, caressing my face with his wet hand, which had obviously been washed but not dried.

"MoonJin-ssi" My manager caught my attention. "There's people that wanted to congratulate and say hi."

"Yeah, sure." I smiled. "Tell them to come in."

Not two seconds later, Suga came into the dressing room, along with the rest of his members. Immediately everyone—except for 5SOS—bowed at them. The 5SOS members bowed after realizing that everyone did.

"Congratulations Moonjin!" Suga bowed and then hugged me.

"Thank you, Yoongi-ssi." I smiled at him.

All the BTS members came one by one to hug me and congratulate me.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Taehyung talked to me, and I looked at Hyunjin rapidly. He wanted to take me out to dinner tonight.

"I think I've got this thing with my members..." I almost whispered.

"No, you don't," Seungmin said out loud, and Minho took action again.

"We wanted to take you out too," Luke said out of nowhere.

"Oh, three groups frightened for her love," Lia said in a Phoebe Buffay way quietly to Yuna, but not quietly enough for me not to hear. Not from her.

"We can arrange a small party in our house." Namjoon offered, and Jungkook nodded in agreement.

"Sure!" Chan came into the conversation. He definitely liked the Bangtang boys more than the 5SOS boys. "I'd offer our dorm, but it's pretty small," he added shyly.

"It's no problem. We'll take care of it." Suga smiled

I did not make this clear, but... I'm pretty close with Yoongi. We like to write and produce a lot together. He helped me a lot with my album. Being close to him and working with him is pretty much spending time with his members too.

Felix often gets kind of possessive over me when Yoongi is around. He told me that he's afraid that I'd drift apart with him.

So yeah, the majority of my members are pussies. Seungmin, Minho, and I get tagged like the 'cold and heartless ones'. Sometimes even Jeongin.

"Everyone is invited!" Jin said it out loud, and I laughed.

"Thank you, Sunbanim," the Itzy members bowed at the Bangtan boys and also did the rest of us, thanking them.

The boys left the room, but not before Jungkook gifted me another hug and congratulations.

Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna followed the BTS steps and left us all alone again.

"Where are you staying?"

"Four Seasons," Calum replied.

"Y'all are wealthy bitches," I laughed.

"Youngblood did pretty well, actually," Luke replied to me with a smirk on his face.

"You know, I really like that song... The one that talks about a knitted sweater for two."

"Oh, so, the one that you helped write," Ashton added, and he let out a little laugh. His kind of little laughs

"Talk fast. Ro-mance" Jisung did a little dance while singing a part of the song, making me laugh.

"No, Ji, sing YOUR song." I jumped excited.

"Oh yeah, wait," he said, clearing his throat. "Whyyyy, won't you love me?"

"Damn, he can hit those notes," a surprised Ashton said again.

"They all have their songs." I looked at the four guys.

"Yeah? From Youngblood?" Luke raised his eyebrows, kind of excited.

"Most of them," I nodded. "So, Chan is a hundred percent Youngblood. Then Minnie is―"

"Don't call me that," both Minho and Seungmin protested at the same time.

"Bro, you'll take whatever I say," I frowned at Seungmin. "As I was saying, Minho oppa..." I corrected myself this time while looking at him. "... is Valentine. Binnie is If Walls Could Talk. Hyunjin-ah is―" I was cut off again.

"Hyunjin Oppa," he corrected me.

"Oh, so now you're oppa?" I looked at him with one of my eyebrows raised.

"I am," he maintained eye contact.

"Alright," I said, "Hyunjin oppa is more." Calum looked at us attentively, knowing my love for that song.

"Oh, by the way, all of these are talking about the music itself, not the lyrics." I cleared and kept talking. "Jisung is Why Won't You Love Me? Felix is obviously a better man. Minnie wants you back. And Innie is woke up in Japan." I finished, and the room was silent.

"You've been thinking about this, haven't you?" Felix asked

"A bit, yeah."

"You could have gotten me Ghost of You."

"Nah, I'm not ruining those amazing songs with y'all. The ghost of you and Lie to Me are untouchable."

"I'm satisfied with my song," Chan said, out of nowhere.

"It was the easy option," Changbin added.

"It was not." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"It was. Giving the leader the title track," said Minho.

"Hey!" I frowned again. "You're supposed to be on my side of sh*t. You're breaking the contract," I pointed at him.

"Contract?" a few of the guys asked, not really understanding the situation.

"Oh, that shit I didn't want to participate in?" asked Seungmin.

"Yeah, 'Cause you stink. That's why I'm Mini-Minho and not Mini-Minnie."

"I don't want you to be mini-minnie-me."

"Eenie meenie miney mo lover" Jisung started singing again, and everyone laughed.

"Don't you think you're frighting too much today, noona?" Jeongin asked me to be by my side.

"Yeah, right?" I looked at him, thinking, "I think I'm kind of hormonal." I moved my head to the side, and he laughed.

to be continued...

Guys if you wanna get tagged in my updates, please leave a comment letting me know! I'll make a taglist <3

#skz #skz imagines #stray kids #skz ninth member #stray kids imagines #lee know #lee felix #bang chan #kim seungmin #seungmin #jeongin #changbin #han jisung #hyunjin #imagine #imagines

[thestrangestthing89]

I feel like for the most part, the show has done a great job showing what life was like in the 80s but that doesn't mean they aren't allowed to take artistic license with some things. It's not a documentary but a fictional show being written in 2023. They are allowed to add a more modern approach to certain things since that's where the audience is coming from.

I think the main message of the show is supposed to be about found family and overcoming adversity. The bullies always lose, and not only that, the bullies aren't ever part of the main cast. Billy was there for two seasons and was the bad guy and he dies. The middle school bullies lose. Steve was a bully in Season 1 and reformed and is likable now. Jason dies.

All of the main characters are outcasts in some way and find support with each other. I don't think this is unrealistic. People who don't fit in tend to band together. But I also don't think it's a problem if people who would have normally been homophobic IRL aren't shown to be on this show. A cop in real life would have likely been homophobic, but that doesn't mean they are required to show Hopper as that. He already knows Will is gay because Joyce told him in the first episode. His "is he?" comment in response to this was not judgmental, he was looking for clarification. He's gone out of his way to help Will. He could have ignored that he went missing and no one during this time would have questioned it. But that didn't happen. He's consistently show as someone who doesn't do things in the conventional way (a major theme of the show). This show likes to invert tropes and not having Hopper be depicted as the cowboy someone like him frequently is shown as, isn't a bad thing. It's keeping in line with the themes of the story. He's messier than this and he frequently questions and works against authority/institutions to protect his family.

Same thing goes for the Wheelers. They are shown to slowly start questioning their conventional upbringing even though they have a Reagan sign on the lawn. Karen almost has an affair and isn't happy in her marriage. She is also shown to emotionally support her kids. She isn't going to suddenly start shouting homophobic things at Mike because she mentioned Margaret Thatcher's name one time in a vague conversation. They are allowed to show the complexities of human behavior. Even Ted starts to question the media propaganda at the end of the season. He's realizing that the normal explanations aren't holding up. It doesn't matter if this would or wouldn't have happened IRL. It's a story. And showing them questioning convention falls in line with the themes of the story they have been telling from the beginning.

I think the Reagan sign is there to show what kind of town Hawkins is and how the Wheelers fit into that. But when the whole town starts hunting Hellfire Club we can plainly see that the parents are not on board with this and are worried about their kids. They are questioning the mindset of the town. They are questioning the conventional ideals they were taught. They think separately from the masses because the masses are hurting their kids.

The bullies have consistently worked against the main characters. The whole point is that they work together as a team to overcome their problems. I think Season 4 was meant to be a set up for what's to come for Mike and Will next season (and obviously for the rest of the characters too but specifically with regard to homophobia). It's showing how these characters are outsiders in their own town, but not within their group. Like it always has. It has consistently done this since the beginning. This isn't working against the 80s backdrop in any way. They are using familiar themes from 80s movies and giving them a modern twist. They aren't trying to write another 80s movie as if we still live in that time.

#forced conformity is killing the kids #also the adults #byler #gay mike wheeler #will byers #jim hopper #stranger things

[wheelercurse]

Mike Wheeler + Closets

or a brief guide to Mike's queercoding.

Using a closet is the most basic and overused way to queercode a character. This is one of the classic symbolism. Of course, not every time a character is framed next to a closet means that they're queer-coded, it depends on the context, but Mike has this motif when the scene is related to his relationship with El or Will.

The closet is used as a metaphor to represent an LGBT person hiding or repressing his true identity because they conform to society's expectations. Mike's arc has been about accepting his true self and stopping conforming.

Here are some examples of when they used the closet motif to queercode Mike (and Will too):

1.

This is the loudest one of them. El told him she loved him too, and Mike couldn't say it or kiss her back. And that scene happens when Mike is perfectly framed in an open closet. They're telling you what's the reason he couldn't say it.

In the last shot, he's literally left confused, and the closet illustrates his inner conflict: the tension between embracing his true self or conforming.

This scene is after his heartfelt moment with Will, which works as the resolution to their conflict in this season. They promised to keep playing d&d.

During the rain fight, Mike revealed his mindset. He believed that growing up meant stopping playing games and starting dating girls. He clearly was conforming.

2.

The first shot of Mike this season is him reading El's letter while next to an open closet. And then they gave us a shot with a big "one way" sign pointing at his closet. The same way they introduced Will painting his gift to present his subplot this season. Mike's first scene showed his inner conflict this season: embracing his true self or keep conforming.

Then we saw him putting on his Hellfire Club shirt. It seems like he was accepting himself and embracing who he is. That he keeps wanting to play d&d.

But then, he arrives in California dressed as how he thought Californians wear and start acting weird with Will, and he can't even write "love" to El.

3. In the closet (at Rink O' Mania)

I can't believe they got away with this one. The track that plays during their fight at Rink O Mania is called that, and it starts playing when Mike is in the frame.

Yes, it's also called that because El was in the employees-only room hiding, and it's like a closet. But again, who was the one perfectly framed in front of it while arguing with Will that they were only friends? Mike.

Of course, the song is also to queercode Will, who is also in the closet, because this season, his whole arc is about hiding his true feelings for a boy.

Fun fact: This melody is a variant of another called Tribulations, which means troubles and events that cause suffering. It's like they're suffering because they're in the closet.

4. Will's room.

The closet is present when Mike apologizes for his fight at Rink O Mania. You can see Mike sitting in front of the open closet. Again, it’s a symbol for both of them. Mike is opening up more about his feelings, but they still hide their true romantic feelings.

At the end of this scene, Will takes his painting. They’re a step closer to being honest with each other. I talk more about the painting subplot here if you’re interested in reading it.

5.

What if I told you Mike’s queercoding has been there since season one?

This scene alone doesn't give us queercoded vibes because, yes, Mike was hiding El from his mom to protect her. But then... we have this conversation with Karen and Mike.

Karen brought up Will in the conversation and said she didn't want Mike to feel like he had to hide something from her. And Mike was hiding a girl (his future girlfriend) in his closet. It's self-explanatory.

And it's more incriminating that Jonathan and Will's scene, when he's clearly talking about Will's sexuality, it's worded similarly.

Both invited them to talk and assured them they would always be there.

Conclusion: Mike is also queercoded, and saying he's written as straight, it's just plain wrong.

#byler #byler analysis #mike wheeler #mike <3 #the queer subtext is THERE learn to read it #I can't believe some deny Mike is also queercoded #the closet motif is a joke to YOU???

[chirpsythismorning]

Mike’s monologue makes so much more sense when you remember, he’s a frickin’ Paladin...

Paladins take their oath very seriously, and I do think that the whole theme of friends don't lie, is in part loosely inspired by this oath that Paladin's make, and how one of their most defining qualities is swearing by tenants of honesty.

All of us often overlook the D&D aspect in the show and how central of a role it plays, arguably even more so than parallels with the hundreds of movies they refer to for inspiration, and that's why this moment of Mike's monologue with El in s4, along with Mike's monologue with Will in season 2, is so important to consider if we want to be ready for what's about to go down in s5.

It's as if Mike is acting out an oath of devotion to these two characters. Though his oath to Will comes off a lot more genuine, it's unfortunately undermined slightly by the oath he presents to El, because they're both attempting to be an oath of devotion. By saying he loved El the moment he saw her and how his life started at that very moment, he's contradicting what he said to Will just hours before about how meeting El was simple dumb luck, as well as directly paralleling (and in turn undermining) what he told Will back in s2, which is that meeting Will/asking to be his friend was the best thing he's ever done.

Mike is inadvertently breaking an oath he once made, while also creating a new oath that stands on false grounds.

We've talked about the whole Watch out dominos, your dominos are gonna fall, and how it's related to Mike because he's in the shot equally to Argyle as he says it. But seriously you guys, it's related to Mike.

It's about the internal struggle he's been having for a few years now, growing and growing and him sort of refusing to examine it closely, because he knows that he's in a situation where he's supposed to be devoting himself to El. It's the expected path, and not only that but he also feels indebted to El after all she has done for him (also what the ga thinks which is why they argue even if Mike doesn't love El, they shouldn't break up bc it would hurt her.... Mike shares the ga's logic...), and so as it becomes more and more clear to him that she loves him and wants him to love her, he's trying his best to accept it, while also not being able to because he knows deep down he's breaking an oath that he already made if he follows through with this.

While I think there are a bunch of different factors at play, very likely Mike is aware of what his heart truly wants, which is why he's having such a hard time following through with devoting himself to El. Because deep down, he knows he's already devoted to someone else.

Luckily (tragically), Mike is breaking his oath because he thinks it's the right thing to do. Which just makes him even more of a Paladin if you think about it. The fact that him not wanting to break an oath is why he's been struggling for so long.

I don't think he knows that he's hurting Will while he's doing it, because the oath has more to do with him and being honest with himself, and I don't think he knows he's hurting El by doing this either, because he's under the assumption she wants him to say all of these things. He had doubts originally because there were reasons to have doubts as a result of Mike stalling for so long, but I just don't think Mike would go through with the monologue, if he thought that it wasn't what El wanted.

What makes Mike's arc so painfully tragic, is that he is led to believe at this point that El wants him romantically more than she needs him and that's the whole problem. He is unable to love her in the way she wants him to at this point, and he knows this. And he's still holding back.

That's another thing that's so sad about Mike going through with it in the end anyways, because I think a lot of his guilt stems from knowing that El wants him to love her, and yet he's unable to meet her halfway. And then going through with it in the end, when he doesn't truly mean it, that's... like he's breaking every code in his own book by doing this.

And it is likely going to really affect him.

The dominos are gonna fall. Not just for him, but for everyone.

The good news is that there is a standard way for this to play out, based on D&D rules and interestingly enough, it fits quite well with what s5 is likely to entail...

#byler #stranger things #d&d #stranger things 5 #mike wheeler #paladin #stranger things theory #stranger things meta #st5 predictions

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Though Stevie was beginning to push the boundaries of her gender expression, Dustin, like the rest of the party, didn't catch on. Though he did say things like "Your new look is...interesting" with a lingering expression at her flowy crop tops and dangly earrings. But Stevie wanted Dustin to know, even if it was scary. Even if she was worried she would lose her brother. Robin had said to her, "You don't have to tell anyone until you're ready, but if you are ready, you just gotta bite the bullet."

She really did feel ready, and given that Dustin was the one from the younger group she spent most time with, she figured it would be nice to include him into the pool of people who knew to call her Stevie, who knew to refer to her with female pronouns.  So that the times when she, Eddie, Robin and Dustin were hanging out, would be one less time she had to be Steve. 

She was at his house, he was showing her a new game he had got for his birthday. "From Suzie." He grinned. "Maybe you could get Eddie the same thing, I reckon he would like it too. Its expensive, but I know you have a crush on him. If you wanna be his boyfriend you gotta woo him." Dustin said.

Stevie tensed, let the silence linger. "Dustin." she said. "I know you've noticed I've been dressing different. Maybe acting a little different."

Dustin nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing, trying to understand where this was going. "You don't have to come out to me Steve, we figured you were gay when Mike caught you kissing a guy at Nancy's NYE party." He said it so flippantly, it took Stevie aback. Dustin misread Stevies face again, but how could she blame him? "We didn't tell any I promise, he just told us because Will was having a crisis and he wanted him to know it was cool to be gay because Will thinks you are cool, and you know, I guess I do to." He joked.

Stevie smiled. "I appreciate that but...I'm not gay. I mean I'm bisexual really and I do like Eddie, but if we got together I wouldn't be his boyfriend. Dustin." Bite the bullet bite the bullet bite the bullet. "I would be his girlfriend."

Dustin frowned.

"You don't have to understand straight away." Stevie added. "I took twenty years so....But I hope this doesn't change things."

"You wouldn't be my brother anymore." Dustin said.

Stevie shook her head.

Dustin took a moment, then said. "I have always secretly assumed you and Robin were evil twins. I used to think it was a dizygotic thing you know but monozygotic makes far more sense."

"I don't understand this science stuff you're saying." Stevie replied.

"It means I'm excited to have a sister, dingus." He said, pulling her into a hug, and then adding in a bored voice. "Monozygotic twins are identical by the way, right down to the gender. You really should have paid more attention in class, then maybe I wouldn't have to explain when I'm being nice to you." 

Stevie felt warm, at the insult from Dustin, treating her the same he always had. The way Mike treated Nancy. The way a little brother treats an older sister. 

(collection of my stevie drabbles on ao3)

#transfem stevie #transfem steve harrington #stevie harrington #steddie #mtf steve harrington