Lonnie could have been supressing his powers with alcohol. No really.
Keep in mind… I stopped taking science classes after my junior year of high school and then I went to an art college, I am definitely NOT a scientific expert in this 😂
Because @aemiron-main theorizing that George Smith was actually Lonnie flipped a switch in my brain and now I’m obsessed, I wanted to theorize as to maybe why we don’t see or hear about Lonnie’s powers in the show, and it might have to do with his drinking.
SO when Jonathan goes over to Lonnie’s house in the first season, we see that the house is covered in beer cans, a subtle show-don’t-tell moment possibly indicating alcoholism. And I don’t think Lonnie’s tiny girlfriend was the one putting away all of that beer by herself.
In season one we also learn that Terry, who displays powers in season two, was given a load of LSD which seems to have unlocked her powers.
If there is a drug that can unlock powers, is there then a vice that could supress it?
While LSD is a hallucinogen, meaning it activates certain receptors in the brain, alcohol is a depressant, meaning that it actually calms down brain activity.
I don’t think alcohol would completely get rid of powers the way Soteria does, but if it’s able to slow down brain activity then it could work as a power supressant. (and alcoholism doesn’t have to have a supernatural explanation, but this is a show that often uses supernatural to explain mental illness)
Imagine a young Lonnie finding out that he can supress these powers that he hates so much by drinking, that would surely be the start of a bad habit that could spiral into addiction.
Finally, I’m here to announce the results of the byler awards! Friendly reminder that this isn’t a competition and that all our creators are appreciated. This was just an opportunity for voters to shout out some of their favorites! :)
Theorist Award
1st - @aemiron-main
2nd - @causeineedu
3rd - @chirpsythismorning
Runner ups - @theonebyler and @doriandrifting
Cinematography/Symbolism Analyst Award
1st - @causeineedu
2nd - @dinitride-art
3rd - @nancysglock
Runner ups - @will80sbyers, @aemiron-main, and @hawkinsp0st
Narrative Analyst Award
1st - @aemiron-main
2nd - @will80sbyers and @causeineedu
3rd - @theonebyler, @hawkinsp0st, and @gayofthefae
Runner ups - @aurorabyler and @queerxqueen
Artist Award
1st - @noodles-and-tea
2nd - @kidovna
3rd - @vrysorcha
Runner ups - @bujomoss and @new-ronantics
Fanfic Author Award
1st - @andiwriteordie
2nd - @oceanfruit444
3rd - @astrobei
Runner ups - @smoosnoom and @blackdeathmamba
Shitposter Award
1st - @ed89
2nd - @ratt-duffer
3rd - @paladin-n-cleric, @madcleradin, @strangeswift, and @axquiva
Runner ups - @will80sbyers and @sorry-i-panicked
Silly Goofy Guy Award
1st - @will80sbyers
2nd - @quinnick
3rd - @creepycoven
Runner ups - @wibble-wobbegong, @strangeswift, and @sorry-i-panicked
Poetry/Blurb Author Award
1st - @nancysglock
2nd - @thehauntingof-nancywheeler, @hawkinsp0st, @likegoldintheair, and @cherrydrone
Dead but Beloved Award
So. It seems people may have misunderstood this award.
1st - Bob Newby
Favorite Gate Award
1st - Flickergate
2nd - MIKHAILGATE (yes, caps included)
3rd - Scriptgate
Runner ups - Birthdaygate, 8:15gate, and Babygirlgate
Favorite Analysis Award
This award has very diverse answers, so only two analysis had multiple nominations.
1st - @kaypeace21’s gay Mike analysis series
2nd - @dinitride-art ’s S4 lighting analysis series
Favorite Theory Award
1st - Flickergate
2nd - Color theory
3rd - Mike has an unsent letter to Will in his pocket
Runner ups - Birthdaygate and Mike getting Vecna-ed
Favorite Shitpost Award
In an almost unanimous vote, I’m proud to say that byler tumblr’s favorite shitpost is
“Babygirl, you’re the heart.”
Fanfiction Award
1st - Force of Gravity
2nd - a dream always the same
3rd - i’m tearing you asunder
Runner ups - i’d love to see me from your point of view and i’ll find a new place to be from
thinking about mike pushing his abuser when we are presented that nothing like that has ever happened before. mike dustin and lucas simple take whatever they get and keep going (which is heartbreaking to say the least), but that day at the gym mike went and usted troy in front of everyone, something he maybe had only pictured doing but never truly considered in real life. but he did it because they were stuffing their mouths with will’s name when will was missing, when the entire fucking world should be weeping and sad because one of the best people in the world was nowhere to be seen.
@aemiron-art give me your thoughts on this let me peek into your brain in this exact moment of s1
"No... No-no-no, Mike? Mike, stay with me, please! Mike?! Mike, wake up! Mike! Please! Please, wake up!"
"Mike, stay with me, please!"
"I can't lose you!"
(tw: blood)
So while this art was not inspired by this post, as its actually been in my art drafts since around the end of October (i'm just really fckin bad at finishing my art pieces right now, it's killing me slow)
Anyways despite that, I really think @aemiron-main's post deserves to be seen. Cause we were on the same wavelength and I think that's cool as hell 😎
and idk maybe they will like this piece as much as I do?
The reason Will and Barbara being taken into the Upside Down by the demogorogon is their feelings?
Something about @aemiron-art mentioning only Will and Barbara were taken to the Upside Down by the demogorgon drew my attention, so I started to look for more Will/Barb parallels. Here is what I’ve found (idk if anyone already wrote about it). They're followed with my thoughts and theories, be free to share yours because that's what Tumblr and this show are for!
Vanishing of Will/Barb
The scenes of their vanishings are identical - both hear growls behind, turn around and see a demogorgon. Then there’s something wrong with the electricity and after a moment - no sign of Will/Barb.
Will is taken by the demogorgon after saying “it was a 7” to Mike and having no response from him. What if it symbolises he told Mike how he feels about him? He couldn't lie to him although Lucas said it's okay. What if it was a kind of love confession and Mike ignored it (not on purpose of course. We see the moments of miscommunication between these two every season), so Will is taken into the Upside Down (=experiences internalized homophobia. Now, Barb. What if she was also in love with her best friend? What if the reason the demogorgon took her into the Upside Down too was her realisation that her feelings would never be reciprocated and they would never be together.
So, metaphorically, everything connected to the Upside Down represents how a person feels when their feelings aren’t reciprocated/when they’re rejected. Recently, I was thinking about Dart and how he may represent Mike and Will’s feelings, but now I feel like Dart represents Mike’s feelings in particular to Will (he’s growing throughout the whole s2 and we see Mike’s feelings toward Will become stronger, but then El closes the gate and he’s dead = Mike tries to bury his feelings toward Will in s3, but we see that demogorgons are alive in Russia). So, if Dart represents Mike’s love toward Will then the demogorgon that took Will and Barb represents their repressed love towards Mike and Nancy. They’re feeling awful and ashamed about themselves, a mistake. That feeling consumes them, takes them to the Upside Down.
Pizza scenes
Now I want you to look at this parallel. This is the first time we see Nancy in s1 and she’s talking with Barb about Steve. Dustin wants to treat her pizza, but she refuses. Who else refuses to eat pizza in s4, but then tries and likes it? Mike. Nancy doesn’t eat pizza, because she doesn’t love Barb romantically, but Mike does love Will that way.
Nancy & Barbara talking
“You’re better still hang out with me, that's what I’m saying” and “Can we play D&D now?”
Another two parallels are actually Nancy/Mike parallels, but it’s connected to Barb, so I added them. Both Nancy and Mike are acting weird and pretending to be someone else while dating Steve/El.
knockoff/nack (shoutout to @mikesbreathcatches for this one) = fake.
In this parallel Mike is paralleled to Steve and El - to Nancy. However initially, Nancy doesn’t want to change in front of Steve and asks for some privacy, but then changes her mind, and El starts undressing in front of the boys, but Mike stops her and tells her to go to the bathroom for some privacy.
Nancy & Barb in the car before Steve's party
In this scene Barb drives Nancy to Steve and we see she doesn’t want to go to that party. She calls the situation stupid and stupid=love, because “only love makes you that crazy and that’s stupid”, so she basically tells Nancy that she loves her and that is why she doesn’t want to be there with her, because she’s going to be with Steve and it would hurt Barb. But Nancy reminds Barb about the promise (“promise” has platonic connotations in the show and is associated with Mike/El and Hopper/El) and that this is going to be fun. After this Barb says Nancy that the reason Steve actually invited her to his home is he only wants to sleep with her and that Nancy is not that stupid (=Nancy doesn’t love Barb romantically). Nancy once again asks Barb to come with her so she wouldn’t do anything stupid (=so she wouldn’t fall in love).
We know what happened. Nancy stays at Steve’s and lets Barb go home alone and her heart is broken because of it. Mike lets Will go home alone and his heart is broken because Mike didn’t get the message, the confession.
If you’re still with me then you’ve already read the posts of incredible @kaypeace21 I added above. Her theories inspired me to look deeper in the show and i with she continued analysing it :c So, she also wrote a post on the “Rebel Robin” book and there is this quote where Barb is mentioned:
“Barb is like me…” And we know that Robin is a lesbian from s3 (and yes, I know that the information from these books isn’t official information and we can’t trust it 100%, but still).
My final thought - I do believe it’s not a coincidence Barbara and Will were taken into the Upside Down by the demogorgon. I think the reason Barbara died and Will stayed alive is because Will’s love was mutual - Mike loved him back romantically, not platonically. Unfortunately, Nancy loved Barb only as a friend and we know, she tried so hard to save her, she just couldn’t, because her love was different.
As I already said, I do believe to defeat Vecna and to destroy the Upside Down Mike and Will should confess to each other and stop to be ashamed of their feelings, they should accept themselves. These two, as a couple, will play a key role in the final battle. As Matthew Modine posted on Twitter: “All you need is love.”
ok so this wasnt the Initial Vision TM/isnt actually quite how i picture older mike but anyway heres some older byler art ft mike with longer greying hair
A collection of illustrations, comics, and writing based on villains and creatures from myths and legends around the world.
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