before i fully realized i was bi, i used to say stuff like, “you know, in another life, i think i could’ve been bisexual!” 

and idk i feel like that’s the kind of dumb shit that mike wheeler would say that would cause like... lucas and max and literally everyone to turn and look at the camera as if they’re on the office 

had a thought

F this, F that, F everything

me whenever people harass other people just because they have different opinions in ships

before she and her mom moved into forest hills, max had a rule about lucas not calling her house, she would call him when she could. and more often than not “when she could” was the middle of the night. lucas was obviously not crazy about this, but he knew enough about max’s home life to figure the slap on the wrist he’d get for one of his friend’s calling late was disproportionate to whatever would happen if neil or billy caught max. max was never caught, lucas’ parents slept through the phone ringing the first two nights, but the third night the ring woke them up and lucas’ nonexistent volume control gave him away. his mom got up to tell lucas to get off the phone, but when she arrived at his door it was immediately clear lucas wasn’t talking to one of his party members. he was audibly nervous and throwing out shy compliments left and right. he called his mystery friend pretty, then apologized a moment after. “oh sorry, how about beautiful? handsome? cool? tubular?” he laughed, they agreed on cool then continued their conversation about video games. he was so respectful and kind and smitten and sue wanted to be upset but honestly couldn’t have been more proud of her son. she just went back to her room and explained it all to charles, they’d have normally been more strict about that sort of behavior but it was so sweet and lucas was such a little gentleman, it reminded them of the start of their relationship, if they’d called him out he’d just get more secretive. so they let it slide, shook their heads and laughed whenever they overheard lucas’ scrambling for the phone at two in the morning, exchanged glances when he alluded to the “cool new girl” he may or may not have liked and when he introduced them to his mystery caller sue cashed in her bet for what her personality would be like. after the summer starcourt mall burned down they stopped hearing ringing in the night, mystery caller stopped showing up around the house, but again, lucas was grown, he would come to them when he was ready.

I'll try to draw other stuff in between but i wanna do one of those "are we soulmates in every universe" videos with some of the ships i like

Hot take: I love that relationships like Lucas and Max, Mike and Will, Mike and El, Nancy and Jonathan, etc. are making mistakes and having relationship problems. Otherwise, they’re just people with common interests and shared trauma - and shared trauma can feel like a stronger basis but it’s not. It’s more vulnerable and closer for sure but not inherently sturdier longterm. Not growing beyond just common interests and possibly shared trauma is how a lot of childhood friends to lovers/high school sweethearts DON’T stay together (as seen in Astronomy by Conan Gray). So I’m really happy that we get to see that growth onscreen because the key to longterm relationships of any kind isn’t ultimately chemistry or even necessarily closeness but rather ability to grow together (Grow As We Go by Ben Platt).

soulmate au where when you turn sixteen you get a red string on your finger that connects to your soulmate, but max has gone blind due to vecna's attack so when lucas turns sixteen she holds her breath and expects to doubt him if he says they are, but when he hugs her and whispers in her ear she knows its true

I re-watched The Piggyback today and my main takeaway was how much I fucking love Lucas and how he deserves so much better. The scene with Max. God it wrecks me. But the scene where HE’S READING HER THE TALISMAN WHEN SHE’S IN A COMA?!!! I will never ever recover from that. And the way he has taped up the little drawing Max made of them? Pain. Agony. Love him

The "I love you" problem

Mike's main problem in S4 is that he can't say "I love you" to El, but why is that a problem in the first place?

Stranger Things uses the show don't tell technique exceptionally well, so why would they change that for their main pairing?

Lucas and Max have never said they love each other on screen, but there is no doubt that they do. We see it in S2 when Max opens up to Lucas. We see it in S3 when they playfully banter with each other. We see it even when they take sides in the Mike and El debacle, they still go right back to being comfortable and having fun with the skittles at the hospital. We see it when they make fun of Dustin together when helping the Byers move out. We see it in S4 when Lucas invites Max to his game, then expresses his concern about her and her wellbeing, despite being broken up. We see it when Max listens to Lucas's game on the radio, despite rejecting his ticket to go see it in person and seeming like she didn't care about it. We see it when Lucas rejects Max's letter and instead insists that he's there for her, right then. We see it when Lucas doesn't leave Max's side after she almost gets taken by Vecna the first time. We see it in the Creel house, them planning their movie date, Lucas's agony when Max dies, the way he moves her body out of the way of the gate, the way he stays by her side when she's in the hospital.

Joyce and Hopper have shown their love too, wothout ever saying it. We see it when Hopper is always Joyce's first call when something is wrong, we see it in S2 when Hopper is right there to support Joyce and Will at each appointment, we see it in S3 when Hopper goes to Joyce for companionship and to complain about Mike, we see it in S4 when Joyce goes to Russia to save Hopper without a second thought, we see it when Hopper endures torture to protect Joyce, we see it when Hopper does what he can to ensure Joyce's safety when she gets to Russia.

Nancy and Jonathan have also shown their love. We see it in S2 when Jonathan tells Nancy that Steve asked him to take her home after the Halloween party because Jonathan was willing to give up his chance with Nancy as long as Nancy was happy, we see it when Nancy leaves Mike behind in Steve's care to go support Jonathan when they had to burn the Mind Flayer out of Will, we see it in S3 when Jonathan risks his only source of income to help Nancy pursue her story, we see it when Nancy talks about secretly keeping Jonathan in Hawkins when it was time for the Byers to move, we see it in S4 when Jonathan and Nancy are both able to list multiple qualities about the other that they love, we see it when Jonathan risks his relationship with Nancy in order to ensure that Nancy can follow her dream.

We are shown the love of many pairings, multiple times, so why are Mike and El different?

Clearly, El doesn't feel loved anymore, which is important. In S2, Mike called her everyday until the Mind Flayer appeared. At the beginning of S3, they spent all of their time together, but only a few episodes in, it was clear that their relationship wasn't built on companionship and trust like Jopper's, or honesty like Lumax's. Their breakup was the beginning of the end.

El breaks up with Mike for lying to her, and although they make up at the end, their relationship isn't the same. Before S4, Mike says he loves El once on screen, and El isn't even in the room. El later tells Mike that she loves him, but he doesn't say it back.

Then, in S4, after months of El writing "love" and not getting it in return from Mike, El expresses that she doesn't feel loved anymore.

But, that's okay, right? Because we've heard Mike say it before, nevermind the fact that he pretended to not remember saying it, so that must mean he does love El, right? After all, Mike isn't the best at showing his emotions to most people, so it's not totally unrealistic that he wouldn't say "I love you" very often. He doesn't even need to say the words, he just needs to say "of course I do" (or something along the lines of that). But... but he doesn't say that. He says "who said that I didn't" and "I say it" (which we know is a lie) and "you're being ridiculous" and "you know what I think of you." But, clearly El doesn't know, since she expressed the fact that she thinks Mike doesn't love her.

This, in and of itself, is a major difference from all of the other cannon pairings. With everyone else, they know their partner loves them because they've shown them that they love them. With El and Mike, El clearly doesn't feel like Mike has shown her that he loves her. In fact, she feel the opposite. She feels like he has shown her that he's scared of her and that he thinks she's a monster.

We've only seen the "I love you" problem one other time, back in S2 with Steve and Nancy. Nancy didn't love Steve, and in the end, she couldn't say it to him. She is able to express her love for Jonathan later on, so clearly she doesn't have a problem expressing her feelings because of the way she was raised.

This parallel between Mike and Nancy and Steve and El is too obvious to be an accident.

In the end, Mike is able to say "I love you" to El, but he surrounds it with lies and half truths, and instead of it being a freeing experience, the vines keeping El trapped only tighten when he says he loves her.

He says a lot of stuff, but we only see one memory, and this memory is framed in a lie.

We are shown a lie and we are told, by Mike, that it is the truth.

The show don't tell method showed us the tightening vines throughout the monologue. It did not show us Mike's love for El.

A Deep Dive into Milkvan and Byler's Development: If Milkvan Was Endgame All Along, Why Was it Written Like This???

SO. I've been rewatching st with my mother, who's never seen it before. And she was a fan of milkvan throughout seasons 1 and 2. Viewing those seasons again I could see why, they're cute. However, come season 3 and INSTANT distaste. And, listen, my mother is not the consciously shipping gal. She simply routes for main character pairings as writers intend, doesn't read between the lines, doesn't nothing. And she does NOT know my own opinions on the pairing. In other words, completely unbiased, uninternet drama influenced eyes. We've now reached season 3 and, after getting through a chunk of it, I asked her,

"so what do you think of Mike and El?"

and she expressed to me that they seem to be, quote:

"not very good together."

She said El's character doesn't suit the way she's acting now (in the first few episodes, concerning Mike), that Mike is more likeable and interesting when he's away from her. She doesn't like the way they ditched the party, and when it comes to their 'making out' the scenes are seen by her from Hopper's perspective (in other words, distasteful). She claimed that they'd be much better characters as friends.

And ya know what, she's right. And I mean like - duh, that's what we've been saying all this time, I'm not stating anything new here. But guys, wouldn't it be strange if the central couple of the show, pivotal that it is liked by audiences and is rooted for by them as they are THE pair, would be so dislikable like this? So uninteresting, so cliche.

I mean, okay, let's do a little mental experiment I like to do to test if I'm not just acting delulu. Let's play a game. In this game, milkvan ARE meant to be endgame. They are in love, they were all along, and they're here to draw in viewers and appease all El stans. Now, seasons 1 and 2 their relationship is honestly fine. Surface level, yeah, people will watch and appreciate them. They perfectly blend in with all the other neat pairings of the seasons, and have their own unique character traits to stand out as a main couple.

Just pretending our mate Will doesn't exist, we now get into season 3. Now, writers have nothing to lose here. If you've finished season 2, you probably like milkvan already. The issue is that they're already together now, so what's the conflict going to be? The arc? And every central couple needs that conflict to stay juicy.

Just take a look:

Jancy: quarrels, struggle to understand one another

Jopper: not yet together, one sided? will they won't they

Lumax: ...

Lumax? Lumax. Huh, guess they were simply together. Some loveable bickering, maintained a friendly dynamic while clearly in closer proximity. Well then, writers can do the same for milkvan right? Well, yes easily. But one might argue that since they are supposed to be THE pairing they need more going on between them than that. So what'll it be? Well, it seems that writers thought,

"hey, why not break them up?"

ok so.. that's a bit risky. I mean you want people to like this ship, if you break them up then that threats: 1. there being a disliking to one or both characters, 2. coming off generic if done incorrectly, 3. the break up might make no sense considering how in love they came off as just a season ago. But hey.. it could work, if done right. Some kind of misunderstanding, similar to Jancy. Maybe an argument leading to a sudden parting. I mean, yeah, Yeah! I can see that. Perhaps Mike is being too overprotective whilst El's trying to sacrifice herself for something, so she NEEDS to separate herself from him attempting to hurt him less. Or, I dunno, something akin. What's crucial is that us, AS THE AUDIENCE, still know them to be deeply in love. I mean, we have to still want them to be together. And we've seen couple trouble before. Just take a look at Lumax season 4 - did you or did you not want the best for both of them as a pair? You most likely did. See, it's doable. So did people like milkvan season 3 the same way, even after a separation plot? No.

Okay well, there are obviously those who'll always love milkvan no matter but, see, season 3 tainted it. "We need to write them like this cause it's more realistic to teenager behavior" my ars. You can make it messy without making it icky. Not only did it sour their unique dynamic, it flabbergastingly stomped on Mike as a character.

Honestly, I feel Mike has always been a mild struggle to write. Season 1 his motivations were 'find Will' (who still doesn't exist in our mind game yet shh) and 'protect El'. This worked well for him. Afterwards though, El and Will became more separate plots to him. But as a main character it remained integral that he be closely linked to them somehow. This sets him apart from Lucas and Dustin, who can easily be given any arc any season as their plots have the flexibility of a side quest nature. Since what Mike does is meant to matter more - with there probably being a better way of phrasing that but you know what I mean - it's harder knowing what he'll do when El and Will (who we'll GET to sh.) are their own separate people. And Mike is just a boy, he doesn't have super powers and he isn't a cop, which leaves there even less for him to do which is of significance. Season 2 writers decided upon having him support Will's arc, making himself of enough relevance by being able to take credit for some Will development in the story, and the plots that surrounded that, and then Mike was thrown a little bone by being the one to come up with the idea of burning those vines in the finale.

Truthfully, you don't really remember Mike's deeds much when reminiscing the series. It isn't like Dustin who's bond with Dart sticks to everyone, or Nancy and Jonathan responsible for kicking out Hawkins Lab. This is due to them, again, being able to traverse all sorts of adventures without limits. But my guy Mike can't do dat. Sadly, this kind of leads to him coming of as a little.. well... insignificant. And I know I know, the Mike truthers are gonna come at my throat. And hey! I love him too. I only want the best for my boy.

This makes season 3 a unique case cause it seems that, for the plot they decided they wanted, writers actually had to almost entirely change his character. I mean mate s2 Mike and s3 Mike are two different peoples, don't even. And I don't believe that the Duffers had their story and character turnouts completely drawn out from the very start at all. If I was to guess, I'd assume they have vague ideas of little plots they plan to include in future, but there is definitely a lot that has come unpredicted or changed throughout st's runtime. And one of those phenomenons are Michael Wheeler. So they decided to make this guy a di-

So they decided to make him more douchy, more movie typical teenage guy. It's not as if he wholly sucked, he didn't, but he didn't really do much. Whined about his girlfriend, separated the party. I mean what even was his arc? (UnLESS–)

You see, if milkvan is written to be loved, then season 3 was strike one. All of its charm was stripped away. It seems they had some cute scenes after their reconciliation, but it's not enough. It's just sort of

"oh, ok, so they're happy with eachother now. yayy."

and Stranger Things should want to be anything but boring. Sure they often enjoy indulging in tropes, but they always do something different with them. Something standoutish. And from this point on milkvan just got dull. Either writers ran out of ideas or lost interest, honestly (still with our mind game of telling ourselves they're meant to be).

But it's okay. Look, so season 3 was a bit rocky, maybe lost a couple of fans for the guys, but it is salvageable. Easily, easily. Looks like we want a plot of Mike struggling to tell El he loves her. Great! Much to work with.

So let's get into it. Season 4! Choices were... made. And, okay, now we can't go any further without bringing in our boy Will.

Mike is intrinsically tied to Will and El and has been from the start. Maybe Will was more of an accident. Maybe s1 Will was just a plot device for Mike, then s2 Will was a plot device again and Mike needed to be there as the main boy character. Come season 3 and it seems their relationship still matters. Will was sidelined - hard - so most of Mike's moments revolved around El. But as his bond with Mike is the only that's been properly built up, that's the only friend we'll get him interacting with in a way that matters. So the Mike and Will tie continues!

But that does not have to be the case for season 4. Now the writers have a chance.

They made Will gay.

Ok so.. ok so yeah that's fine. Yeah! I mean they didn't have to do that, might put them in hot water with the bylers since milkvan is their golden beauty but.. you know what no no that's okay. He's been hinted at being queer since episode 1, why not make it canon! Cool that works. Explore that, especially since we now have Vecna who can easily target Will for this. Give him a boyfriend! Or a guy crush. He's at a new school now? That's cool. Maybe we can explore some new male character Will's taken interest in. Hey maybe he meets someone who interests him which rises to surface his whole sexuality plot and-

he's in love with Mike.

Ok. No. No. What are you doing? What do you mean?? You didn't have to do that. Strike- strike EFING TWO mates! Strike. 👏 efing. 👏 2!

This was part 1. I am tired and gots to get my ars in bed. But ohohoh, do not worry. I am just getting started.

a memory kept forever — hwang hyunjin. best friends to lovers. conversation inspired by a lumax scene in s4. (1.1k words)

“What are you thinking of?”

You blink up at Hyunjin when you feel a large palm rest gently on your shoulder, squeezing it to get your attention. He doesn’t mention anything about the way your eyes focus and unfocus, he simply waits until you’re ready to answer him.

It’s past midnight where you are in Chan’s living room, having padded here after unsuccessfully falling asleep in his guest room during one of your sleepovers. You wonder what Hyunjin’s doing awake. Maybe he couldn’t sleep either.

You fiddle with the blanket that’s wrapped around you, scooting aside to leave room for Hyunjin in case he wants to sit down next to you.

He does.

“Just a time when I was happiest.” Hyunjin doesn’t ask what prompts you to think about it, simply nods his head as he extends his arm so it’s resting just behind you on the couch’s headrest. He’ll get closer as minutes pass by until your thighs are touching and he fiddles with the end of your hair the way he knows you like.

“Was I there?” You let out a breathy laugh at his question which triggers a smile to pull on his lips. When you look at him, he’s looking back with a glint in his eyes. You know he’s trying to hide his hopefulness – that maybe your happiest memory litters him all over it.

“That’s presumptuous of you.” The silver glow of the moon through Chan’s slitted windows does a wonderful job highlighting the way Hyunjin’s face brightens at your teasing response. You press your lips together to try and suppress your smile.

(You fail.)

Instead, you choose to lean a little more towards where he’s seated next to you, hovering slightly as if to test the waters. You and Hyunjin have cuddled multiple times before, but tonight feels different. He responds by pulling you down his chest.

Nights like these remind you of it. The time when you were happiest.

+

(flashback)

The quiet sound of an OST playing from your television plays in the background. Close to romantic.

Hyunjin had come over on a whim, simply because your schedules hadn’t aligned lately, and he missed spending time with his lifeline. He likes when he’s with you. He doesn’t have to outsmart time with you.

He sighs in content when he feels your fingers tugging lightly through his hair, getting to work the moment he positions himself in front of you on the couch. Your touch is gentle as you start to section through his hair, massaging his scalp in the process.

With closed eyes, Hyunjin feels himself completely relax.

You hum along to the music, allowing yourself to enjoy the moment of comfort. Lately, thoughts have been plowing through your brain and putting your mind at work. Always exhausted. Always sorrowful. But it never feels that way with Hyunjin.

All you can think of is the way his hair feels through your fingers and the quiet music playing in the background. Nothing else. This is nice.

You don’t know how long you stay there, with your best friend positioned just between your legs, and it’s only when his warm hand rests on your thigh that you bring yourself back to reality. Your fingers twitch in his hair when you feel the contrasting warmth of his palm – he notices. The gesture is distinguishable because it’s you. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have batted an eye.

“‘M almost done.” You tie up your messy work, using the tie wrapped around your wrist. “Go take a look.”

Hyunjin’s eyes, which had been closed in total relaxation, flutter open when he hears you speak. He hums in acknowledgement, grabbing his phone from the ground to check his reflection through the camera.

Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the way he can see you looking at him expectantly, but Hwang Hyunjin lets out one of the girliest giggles.

“Did you just giggle? Hwang Hyunjin. 23 years old. Giggling over the way I braided his hair?” You tease, tucking a stubborn strand of hair behind his ear.

“Oh, you think you’re so funny, hm?” He argues despite the fluttering in his heart.

“I wasn’t trying to be.” You giggle, and the sound has Hyunjin rolling his head back to rest on the couch seat so he can see you better. You could stay like this forever, or until Hyunjin has to leave at—

“Oh, the time! Jinnie, it’s nearing 8pm!”

“So you’re kicking me out after bullying me?” He juts his lower lip out in a pout, and you laugh as you look down at his half-lidded and tired eyes. Braiding his hair always made him sleepy.

“I would hardly call that bullying.” You reach out to pat his cheek, where his head still rests on the couch, and you gesture for him to get up. “But seriously, don’t you have that thing at Chan’s tonight? I’m sorry I held you up. I didn’t think I would take so long—”

“No.” He interrupts you, hand tentatively reaching out to grab your hand that had come in contact with his cheek seconds prior. You have to blink to process his response. What does he mean, no?

“Think I wanna stay.”

“Oh.” An unexpected smile grows on your lips. “Okay.” You respond, hand still in his. You think you haven’t felt this content in a long time.

You notice the shift in the air. Maybe it was because it was late at night, or because you hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Or maybe it was in the way he was looking at you right now, with a soft smile on his lips and with every intention to hold your hand for the rest of the night.

(end of flashback)

+

“Well, was I there?” His giggly response pulls you back to the present, tethering you to this moment, on the couch with him. You ponder over his question, wondering if you should respond truthfully.

And then you feel his hand lace with yours, like he did that night, and your heart stutters at the contact. His hair is shorter now, but he’s adamant on growing it out again. You think you might know why.

“You might’ve been there.” Gentle and fond. Silver bells ring from the way you speak, and Hyunjin finds his hold tighten around you. You look up at him to give him a warm smile, and he smiles back at your confession. He knows what you mean. And you can tell from the way he’s looking at you that he knows.

You laugh at being caught, and he laughs back, and it’s a moment that feels so simple. It’s the middle of the night, and it’s so quiet, and the moon is tinting his face in a glow, and it feels so easy.

You cement every second of this moment with him, committing every detail to memory. Something’s telling you this moment will be one you’ll look back to in a few days, or months, or the rest of eternity. So you hold his hand tighter.

You’ll remember this clearly.

Byler is so obvious even without all those proofs because they gave mlvn the stancy storyline of Nancy not being able to say "I love you" to Steve because she's in love with Jonathan (and Mike couldn't say it to El because he's in love with Will) and they didn't give that storyline to Jopper, Lumax and Jancy or even Duzie which are healthy couples who don't lie about who they are to each other and never felt unloved by their partners, Jonathan still tries to help Nancy's relationship with Steve by lying and saying that Steve asked him to bring Nancy home even though he's in love with her just like Will lying about El commissioning the painting and trying to help Mike's relationship with El even though Will is in love with Mike, they gave Will the classic "you won't think it's gross when you get with someone" but Joyce said "when you fall in love" because she didn't want Will to realize she knows he's gay, she meant "you won't think it's gross when you get a boyfriend", plus Mike wants to feel needed and Will needs him and El doesn't and Millie said El realized she's her own superhero and that she's gonna realize who she is without Mike, and Mike said that asking Will to be his friend was the best thing he's ever done and that his friends are great but they're not Will and Will said Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake , plus the painting thing, Mike said those things to El because he thinks she commissioned the painting and after he finds out Will lied about the painting and loves him back when he breaks up with El he's gonna kiss Will first

they put the stancy break up and mlvn argument in the same episode

[Lumax voice] Turn Around, Look At What You See! In Their Face...

(If you couldn't already tell: I have finally lost all my marbles.)

I'm sure this has occurred to other people by now, but if El's memories leading up to the 4.07 monologue are ripped directly from Brenner's (<- slayful Nat post, required viewing), and she runs in to see One killing Two...then doesn't it stand to reason that that is what Brenner saw when he ran into the Rainbow Room in 1979?

Now before anyone hops in to correct me: There's definitely a version of things where Brenner finds El alone in the rainbow room after the massacre. That's not in question. We all know that happened at some point.

(Regardless of the manner of death...no broken bones or gouged eyes...okay!)

However, as I'm sure we're all aware...these guys are different guys.

(This detail has been beaten into the ground but always bears repeating)

So, what is in question is what close-up Brenner saw when he ran into the Rainbow Room.

Those duplicate memories appear to belong to close-up Brenner:

i.e. not the Brenner who runs in and sees El at the start of 4.08. (This isn't to say that that Brenner doesn't have those memories or similar ones, but he's not the Brenner whose memories are being featured. Begone, thot.)

So, arguably, if El has close-up Brenner's memories...then she should be running in and seeing what he saw, no?

So what did he see? Someone just slightly shorter than him, who walked close enough to warrant a tight shot.

That POV (as has been discussed ad nauseam by many) is far too tall to be any version of El:

But it is about the right height for someone a few inches shorter than Brenner...something like:

So, tl;dr: I want to play a clip for you.

I love choreography and camera work. That's art right there.

However, that video doesn't include the subtitling that accompanies the visuals that link El finding One to Brenner finding El:

Now, it's difficult to compare anything after this point (though not impossible, can't keep a south Wisconsin boy down. I will be using them for comparisons later)...because of course that's when weird, random blood starts appearing:

Hence, the clock is visibly frozen after that point:

This smacks, to me, of the same kind of shit that happened with 004 when the kids were bullying El—Scenes that never actually happened in the real past being spliced into a tape that cuts off and then picks back up like no time had passed/nothing had been spliced in. It makes more sense if you read the post I linked, since the video in that post makes my point clearly.

< TANGENTIALLY RELATED >

The anime nerd in me is tempted to liken this whole deal ^ to JJBA/DIO's time-stopping stand "The World" in...that's right...Stardust Crusaders, wherein DIO pause time for everyone but himself, which I'm certain others have done as well.

Tbqh...I'm still here:

Specifically a reference to The World/DIO vs Star Platium/Jotaro, both of which are time-stopping stands...(Much to think about irt Jotaro/Star Platinum developing time-stopping powers later on in terms of El, sure, but also in terms of "Everything was hard for [One]...He walked in here, and it was like something had changed. He told me he had figured it out.").

[Distant screaming as I'm forcefully prevented from going on a "Stardust Spider-Stardust Crusaders-Dio Brando-Joestar Family-Dio's Bone-Green Baby-Green, Green Grass of Home" tangent in this post...and don't get me started on DIO's regen healing/vampirism from the ancient stone mask...don't get me started on King Crimson and Golden Experience Requiem either...]

Not to mention the DIO reference with One linking this scene to (you guessed it) Edward Munson:

Edward Creel proven once again, but this time it's via goddamn JJBA and Brenner fuckery. (And yes, yes, I know about DIO the band. This ain't about her. Things can have multiple meanings. It was a Choice to associate Henward with DIO and Eddie with DIO. I rest my case.)

< ANYWAY, TANGENTS ASIDE >

As I said earlier, close-up Brenner is shot at a distance baby El could never have achieved. She passes out on the far side of the room, entirely too far away to have been anywhere near close enough for a close-up of Brenner's face, height aside.

However, ignoring the blood fuckery and disappearing gate cracks:

Some-One else has enough energy left to walk towards the doors. All the way over, in fact. So while those close-up shots are 100% out of range for post-gate baby El, they're very much in-range for 3:46 PM One.

Tl;dr: It's entirely possible, if not likely (based on the choreography and camera-work in these scenes) that close-up/angry Brenner was addressing One rather than baby El.

Whenever you doubt Byler, remember that Will was planned to be in love with Mike from the start. Remember that Finn and Noah had to take a chemistry test. Remember that Mike has never had moments like that with anyone but Will. Remember the Venkman Lucas/Max Mike/Will foreshadowing. Remember every heart to heart Will and Mike have had. Remember the Variety interview. Remember Brett Gelman. Remember Eleven wasn't supposed to come back after season 1. Remember how most of the cast ships Byler. Remember how Byler has way more chemistry than Marijuana. Remember that the Duffers have taken inspiration from many shows with best friends to lovers tropes. Remember that Shawn Levi is for Byler. Remember Finn and Noah are for Byler. Remember the scripts. Remember the Eyewitness parallel. Remember the Byler docs. Remember nobody believing us about Will being gay and calling us delusional when we were right. Remember that Mike and El have nothing in common, and never have normal conversations. Remember the Duffers saying they don't believe in love at first sight. Remember Mosquito breakups being shown as comedic. Remember Byler fights being shown as a serious breakup. Remember Season 2. Remember the final placements in Season 4. Remember the show cares about detail. Remember Megamind is paralled to doomed relationships. Remember that, Byler, Jancy, Jopper, and Lumax are endgame couples, and have been all paralleled to each other at least once. Remember how the four endgames are always standing together. Remember the Duffers calling Mildew puppy love. Remember the cast's reaction to the monologue. Remember the stupid ass monologue in general. Remember Causeineedu. Remember NaturallyBrielle. Remember Millie improvising in almost all Mormon scenes. Remember the duffers mentioning one of their favorite shows growing up was a show where a man fell in love with his best friend who had a gf, and it turned out he shared those feelings. Remember that Mozzarella is paralled to Byler, but Byler is always the better version (You make me feel better for being different/You think I am a monster [] I say it/You didn't have to) and many more. Remember that Byler is absolutely going to be endgame, and they wouldn't build it up for 4 seasons for it to be unreciprocated. The duffers make mistakes, everyone does, but they know what they're doing (they made a hit show) and if you're still doubtful, it isn't just them writing it. Also, we have the music, the sets, the outfits, and camera angles on our side as well. Let MinnieMouse deny it all they want, but Byler is endgame along with Jopper, Jancy and Lumax. We have already won. It's been confirmed many times before, we just have to wait to prove it. And in those to years more proof will come, and we've gotten a lot of it already and it's only been 2 weeks. I know that sounded really stupid, but I see a few people giving up hope that the Duffers can pull this off (including myself at times) and I think despite all the proof we have we all need to hear this, especially with the Malaria shippers flooding everyone's inboxes lmfao. Anyways have and anazing day/night Byler nation. I am done with my rant.

i think the one of the many reasons why mike’s monologue to will in s2 is more believable/genuine than the one to el in s4 is because he doesn’t paint out meeting will as something meant to be, or love at first sight, or destiny.

we would never really know who wrote the tweet where the st writers say they do not believe in love at first sight, it could’ve been anyone since apparently sometimes it’s not even the writers tweeting, if im correct? but, it’s still important to include anyway because the writing shows it still.

mike explicitly admits to will that meeting el was not destiny or fate, but pure dumb luck. in other words, there was no higher power driving them to be together no matter where they were in the world. it was just by chance. he then goes on to say that he only brought her in the house because she just needed someone, not that he magically fell in love - which is what he later contradicts by saying that he had immediately loved her in that moment. he lied. in s1, his first words when he sees el for the first time are quite literally, “it’s not will.” he initially planned to send her to an asylum after finding will.

that, plus the writer account saying they do not believe in love at first sight, shows that mike’s monologue to el in s4 is a load of bs.

mike’s monologue to will in s2 does the exact opposite, which is why it’s more believable.

not only does he not have to say ‘i love you’ to say ‘i love you,’ but in this scene, he does not give the universe credit for meeting will. there was no ‘destiny’ involved; he just happened to see will just as alone as he was and they bonded over it. mike emphasizes that it was his concious choice to approach and ask will to be his friend. he quite literally ends the monologue by saying, “it was the best thing i’ve ever done.” he gives himself the credit.

it was the best thing he ever done because of the life he’s lived with will. he did not know in that moment he met will that it was going to be best thing he’d ever done, he didn’t know how much he’d love him, he didn’t know the chaos that’d eventually come. all he knew was that he finally had a friend, and that’s what makes it so genuine and pure. the love grew naturally.

there was no love at first sight, because the writers do not believe in that, nor does the writing itself. jopper was not love at first sight, their love took time. lumax was something that both didn’t expect. jancy was something both didn’t expect either, one already being in a relationship and simply sharing her condolences and the other a rejected loner with set opinions on others.

the only one that didn’t follow this formula was mike and eleven. mike didn’t consider el in a romantic way at all until lucas told him that he should “just marry her already.” (ep2 or 3, i forgot). it was reallyyy early on. there was nothing natural compared to the others. mike felt he had to just because she is a girl and his friends said so.

i mean look at the face he makes right before he even kisses her the first time (after comparing her to family):

el sees mike as her caretaker in s1. mike is the first to provide any real care and shelter. but, she’s traumatized. she clings and follows on to the first person to show her real care. i don’t even think she saw him in a romantic way either until he kissed her. because she sees him as a caretaker, she follows through with it like she has to. now i do think there was some sort of eventual romantic feelings for mike on el’s side later in the series, but it’s not a healthy type. it’s a very skewed perspective due to trauma.

the only other relationship that does follow the same formula is mike and will.

they are endgame.

gootbye 🫶