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kiirotoao · 1 year

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The Byler Season-Episode Parallels

I know that this was a topic of conversation months ago already, but I have to bring it up again because it is one of, if not my favorite, pieces of Byler evidence. And it’s a meta detail once again (I think that I’m going to talk a lot about meta details on my blog because they’re so fun to explain haha).

The detail in question? The Byler season-episode parallels. Basically, Byler have key moments in season 1 episode 1, season 2 episode 2, season 3 episode 3, and season 4 episode 4.

I firmly believe that none of the season-episode parallels are coincidences. These moments are set up too perfectly.

Allow me to explain :).

In season 1 episode 1, we see the establishment of Mike and Will’s relationship.

Will is honest to Mike about the last roll in their D&D game, the roll that wasn’t high enough to cast fireball. So Will admits to Mike that “the demogorgon… it got me.” And Mike doesn’t reply to that, as far as we see. He just frowns a little, likely confused as to why Will would admit his loss.

As short as this interaction in season 1 episode 1 is, it ends up being the perfect setup of each moment I’m about to highlight. Not only that, but this interaction is crucial to both of their developments as characters in general. For the s1e1 moment, Will is honest about the roll, specific, too, with the failing 7, and Mike is unaware that the demogorgon is real and about to attack Will. Their respective dispositions in this moment continue on through the show:

Will is honest and open, and Mike is unaware of certain truths.

And before I get into how the pattern shows up in each season-episode parallel, I want to highlight it in other moments throughout the show.

In season 2, Mike complains about Max ruining Halloween night when he doesn’t even speak to her or know her, emphasized in the coming episodes when he finally does talk to Max, while Will admits that he was open to her and let her join trick-or-treating with the Party. Also in season 2, before the boys and Max show d’Art to Mr. Clarke, we focus on a very brief moment between Mike and Will wherein Mike concernedly and unknowingly inquires about Will’s fearful expression when Will honestly explains what he heard in his last Upside-Down episode and his connection to hearing d’Art.

In season 3, after the sauna test, Mike ignorantly argues that, between him and El, “it’s not over, okay, we’re just taking a break” (when by all means verbally, it totally is over) and Will counters him by declaring his honest observation, “she said she dumped your ass, that doesn’t sound like a break!” And now, this is such a tiny detail in the dialogue, I know, but I think it’s interesting how in season 3 episode 5 when Jancy and the Party take off to go look for clues at the Holloway’s, we get a quick exchange of a peeved Mike saying, “seriously?” while realizing (meaning he clearly wasn’t aware of the seating situation beforehand) that he has to sit in the trunk - side by side with a shrugging Will who acceptingly and bluntly says, “welcome to my world.”

Then in season 4, in the Rink-O-Mania fight, Mike complains to Will that “you should have told me she was having trouble.” He didn’t know El was being bullied. Meanwhile, Will calls out all kinds of honest truths about El lying, about Mike being “mad that [Will] didn’t talk to [him],” about the minimal calls and “book of letters;” Will knows it all.

Again and again, Mike is not in the know about something while Will is, and each time, Will honestly and truthfully lets Mike know what’s going on. This pattern of Will’s honesty and Mike’s unawareness happens all the time. It constitutes their characters, especially when they’re together (but not exclusively when they’re together! I could go on and on with examples of how they interact with others but I think that’d make this post too long).

So now, let’s look at the how the pattern plays into the rest of the season-episode parallels.

In season 2 chapter 2, we have the beloved “crazy together” scene.

“It’s like… like I’m stuck.”

“Like, like, stuck in the Upside Down?”

“No. You know on a View-Master, when it gets, like…”

“Caught between two slides?”

I love how Mike finishes Will’s sentence - Mike is aware of what’s going on to an extent! At the very least, he knows Will very well to finish his thought. But in general, we open this moment with Mike inquiring about what Will went though. He’s asking questions while Will explains.

“Yeah, yeah. Like that. Like, like one side’s our world, and, and the other… the other slide is the Upside Down. And… and there was this noise coming from everywhere. And then I saw something.”

“The demogorgon?”

Again, Will explains while Mike asks questions. In this case, Mike is unaware that the problem at hand is no longer the demogorgon but something much bigger.

“No. It was like this, this huge shadow in the sky. Only, it was alive. And it was coming for me.”

Terrifying as that notion is, Will is right on the money. He knows that the Mind Flayer is coming for him, as it does in the following episode.

“Is this all real? Or is it like the doctors say, all in your head?”

After everything, Mike is in disbelief. It’s a lot to take in. And Mike is unaware of the reality of what Will sees.

“I don’t know. Just… just please don’t tell the others, okay? They won’t understand.”

And once again, Will makes it known, honestly, that he doesn’t want Mike to tell anyone else about the information he just shared. He wants to be understood in his situation, not pitied.

“Eleven would.”

“She would?”

Mike goes on to mention Eleven in this conversation, yet another thing that he’s unaware of - where Eleven is and if she’s even alive.

“Yeah. She always did. Sometimes I feel like I still see her. Like she’s still around, but she never is. I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“Me, too.”

“Hey, well, if we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together, right?”

“Yeah. Crazy together.”

So the both of them lie with thoughts unsolved, with both uncertainty and certainty together. And thus ends their exchange; “Hey, well, if we’re both going crazy, then we’ll go crazy together, right?” “Yeah. Crazy together.”

Also, side note because this moment is so sweet and iconic for a reason: I think that this entire “crazy together” moment is so special because this is the first time we see Will explain his episodes without hesitancy or deep fear. And at the same time, Mike understands his explanations (unlike Owens, who has yet to bridge the gap between the realities). And despite not being able to see each other’s situations, they both believe each other’s words, listen to each other, and just get each other. Their synergy is truly endearing.

Now, in season 3 chapter 3, we have the infamous rain scene.

A lot happens in this scene, and I think nearly every word from Mike and Will perfectly highlights their respective unawareness and honesty.

“Will, come on! You can’t leave, it’s raining. Listen, I said I was sorry, all right? It’s a cool campaign. It’s really cool. We’re just not in the mood right now.”

Despite all Mike’s efforts, this really just feels like a ramble to me. “You can’t leave, it’s raining,” he exhorts, thinking of Will’s safety and yet doesn’t realize how serious Will is and that Will is going to leave no matter what Mike says. “Listen, I said I was sorry, alright?” he continues, and again doesn’t realize that an apology isn’t going to help anymore; the damage has been done. He then says, “It’s a cool campaign. It’s really cool,” which may be true, but then he finishes with, “We’re just not in the mood right now,” which doesn’t address the true reason why he and Lucas don’t want to play.

So then, we see Will’s parry:

“Yeah, Mike. That’s the problem. You guys are never in the mood anymore! You’re ruining our party.”

And I think this highlights Will’s perspective perfectly. Whereas Mike dances around caring about Will but ultimately not caring about him - Will gets straight to the point. He feels like Mike is “ruining [their] party.”

“That’s not true!”

And so, behold. Mike’s go-to argument phrase: “that’s not true!” This is plain denial of what’s been said, and it doesn’t see into the matter fully.

On the other hand, Will is the one to extrapolate on the matter.

“Really? Where’s Dustin right now?” (Mike doesn’t reply.) “See? You don’t know and you don’t even care. And obviously he doesn’t either, and I don’t blame him! You’re destroying everything, and for what? So you can swap spit with some stupid girl?”

Will points out Dustin. Even though neither of them know where he is let alone the gravity of the mission he and the Scoops Troop are conducting, Will is the one to acknowledge Dustin’s absence. He’s sincere with his emotion and his frustration, and he even lashes out at Eleven. But if you ask me, I think that his calling her “stupid” was more of an emphasizer to really show his anger with Mike. Regardless, he’s clearly mad here and true to his anger.

Mike matches his anger, likely offended that he brought up Eleven, and hence, the line.

“El’s not stupid! It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”

Now, this line is interesting. For one, Mike is assuming that Will doesn’t like girls. The assumption ends up being quite correct, but it baffles me that Mike would appear to know this. Even more painfully yet, Mike isn’t aware that he is indeed the reason why Will doesn’t seem to like girls. Will doesn’t show interest in any girls throughout the seasons, but he also doesn’t show interest in any other boys. It’s just Mike.

And for a moment, the two switch places.

After Mike says this, Will is left speechless. He can’t even express what he thinks after hearing that - his honesty is suddenly curbed.

And suddenly, also, Mike seems to realize what he’s done. Looking a bit regretful, he attempts to mollify things by saying,

“I’m not trying to be a jerk. Okay?”

But then, they switch back in the very end.

“But we’re not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? That we’re just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?”

Mike asks all this thinking it’s rhetorical. Of course Will wouldn’t expect that. Of course he wouldn’t expect them to never move on to other things in life like romance. So naturally, he’s shocked when Will answers,

“Yeah. I guess I did. I really did.”

Their exchange closes with Will’s true and honest reply; he really did think they’d continue doing the same things they used to love.

After all the subtly stewing conflict between the boys, Mike and Will finally address the elephant in the room. As much as it’s not a happy exchange, it faithfully portrays the two’s attitudes.

And lastly, in season 4 chapter 4, we have the pep talk scene, as well as the apology scene that follows. Season 4 chapter 4 is one of my favorite chapters ever because of how richly we see everyone’s emotions - and Mike and Will are no exceptions. I can’t even talk about just one scene because they have two amazing moments together in this episode that follow the pattern.

First, we have the moment in Jonathan’s room.

“I… I mean, I don’t think they’ve actually thought this through. If this goes on for a month, or months, and people can’t get a hold of us, they’re gonna totally freak out. Meanwhile, my mom’s probably having a panic attack already. And then what about Hawkins? That lady’s just supposed to keep it ‘contained.’ Like you can contain any of this without El. I mean…”

From the very beginning, we see Will worrying out loud about his mom, Hawkins, about how ridiculous it is to try and keep any of this mess “contained.” Will worries in front of Mike, allowing Mike to hear his thoughts.

“Yeah.”

While Will is ranting, we see Mike more internally worrying at first. He’s looking at El’s letter. The newfound, “from El.” He doesn’t open up about it until Will sits beside him.

“If you keep staring at that, it’s not gonna change. You know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He then crumples up the letter and throws it away.

Mike has to be guided to realize that things won’t change so easily, and that he can’t contact El right now. Will points him to that conclusion.

“Before the cops came, me and El, we… we had a bad fight. We never fight. I mean, we fought before, but just, like, silly fights, stupid fights. But, I don’t know, this one just felt more adult. Like, it… it just felt more real. Like… like it was a fight you can’t come back from.”

Mike talks about his fight with El which I think he very vaguely describes as “more adult… it just felt more real.” He also calls it “a fight you can’t come back from.” He seems to be unsure about what happened or what he should do.

“Maybe I should’ve said something, and if I would’ve said that thing, then maybe she’d want me there with her, wherever she is.”

“No. Look, Mike, you’re gonna see her again, and whatever it is, whatever you didn’t say, you can say it to her then.”

Will backs him up with advice and confidence that El will be okay. And even though Will supposedly can’t look into the future, he is right about this, that they’ll see her again.

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“She’s gonna be okay. She’s not in Hawkins. That’s what we should be worrying about.”

“You don’t trust Owens?”

I find this question, “you don’t trust Owens?” to a bit more thought-provoking than I think it was ever intended to be, but I wouldn’t trust Owens! It’s almost debatable if he truly saved Will back in season 2: his diagnosis was wrong. But the point is that Mike is asking about Will’s perspective here. I remember the first time I heard Mike ask this, I was thinking the exact same thing Will replies:

“No, uh, I don’t know. I mean, he’s been good to us and good to El, but he wasn’t able to protect me. That was you guys who saved me. That was you guys.”

That closing repeated line is just the sweetest thing ever for Will to profess, and it’s also very true! It was Bob, Joyce, Hopper, Mike, and Owens who helped saved him. It was never just Owens.

And I don’t have much to say about their final lines that relates to this post, but I do love the synergy once again when they both believe that they’re going to step out into the fire together. “Looks like it’s gonna be up to us again.” “It always is, isn’t it?”

Finally, later on in the episode, we have Mike and Will’s heart to heart. (And side note: I think it’s a really sweet detail that Mike and Will move from Jonathan’s room to Will’s room, showing how their conversation shifts from worry in a less familiar place to a pure, heartfelt confession in Will’s very space that he calls his own.)

“Thanks, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For knocking some sense into me. I mean, I was being a total self-pitying idiot.”

Now, as much as Mike is being quite open and honest in this entire scene, I love what the two say next that displays how it was always Will who was honest and, despite not talking about it, hindsight made Mike see that he was wrong:

“Oh, I didn’t say it.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Also, [emotional, tender music playing] starts up here! Just wanted to point that out, lol

“Hey, also, about, uh, about the last few days-“

“You don’t have to say anything. I… I was being a total jerk to El. I deserved it.”

“No. No, no, no, you didn’t deserve anything.”

Will takes the blame. He opens himself to the blame, but Mike shuts him down and arguably doesn’t acknowledge how much this means to Will - Will promptly stops packing his things and pays attention to Mike here while Mike keeps talking.

“Listen, the truth is, the last year has been weird, y’know? And I mean, you know, Max and Lucas and Dustin, they’re… they’re great. They’re great. It’s just… It’s Hawkins. It’s not the same without you. And I feel like maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I don’t know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something. Does that make sense?”

Will nods to this. He’s listening. And honestly, I don’t think that I have anything to say about Mike being unaware here other than him being seemingly unaffected by Will’s tearfully pining expression, but anyway - what makes this moment so intimate is that Mike is showing his heart, here. He’s being honest and honest about none other than Will. He basically tells Will that he missed him and that home doesn’t feel the same without him.

“I have no idea what’s gonna happen next. But, whatever it is, I… I think we should work together. I think it’ll be easier if we’re… we’re a team. Friends. Best friends.”

“Cool.”

Mike admits he’s unsure about the future. He “has no idea what’s gonna happen next,” but still, he wants to be by Will’s side through it all. A bit stunned, I imagine, Will can only reply, “cool.” To which Mike immediately reinforces.

This scene is truly special as it highlights a lot of Mike’s honesty, and I think that’s why this scene is so emotional. Besides the looks they give each other and the music and the camera zooming in, that is.

And if Will and Mike’s dispositional pattern isn’t enough, there’s more. In every season-episode parallel…

Mike is always on the left side of the screen while Will is always on the right! And even though the s1e1 scene and the s4e4 heart-to-heart scene don’t show this directly, we see them in over-the-shoulder shots on the left and right of each other.

Each moment (save for s1e1) has a key word or phrase repeated by the boys! We have the iconic “crazy together” in s2e2. Then we have the declaration, “stupid” as an adjective in s3e3. Finally, in s4e4, we have the back-to-back, “cool.” I love the easy and childish vernacular of each one, highlighting their relationship that is so uncomplicated and has longevity since they were young kids. These words are simple. They understand each other through the simple.

There are patterns in the wardrobe choices! I’m not sure how deeply intentional all these choices were, but I find a rationale behind each one, so here’s that: in s1e1, Will is in all three primary colors while Mike in a very dark blue, practically black. I think this can show how Mike is in the dark about what’s happening while Will is covered in red, yellow, and blue, each color of which show up throughout the show and highlight how Will is about to set off this journey. Then in s2e2, they’re dressed very similarly with their Ghostbusters outfits. I think this shows how they’re both on the same track, both afraid of what’s to come, but at least they’re together. Crazy together. In s3e3, the two are dressed in each other’s primary color, Mike in yellow and Will in blue (and gray), in which I’m aware I may need to explain the show’s general color usage, but truly, Mike is often dressed in blue and Will is often dressed in yellow, so their contrast in this scene helps depict how they’re in conflict. Lastly, in s4e4, we see them in their respective colors as they renew their friendship.

We also see the lighting alternate every season, from a dark atmosphere in s1e1 to a light one in s2e2, back to a dark and rainy one in s3e3 and then a light one in both scenes in s4e4. This one might be a stretch, but it would point to season 5 including a darkly-lit moment between them (meaning, potentially, flickergate??? 👀).

Overall, I think that these moments not only parallel in season and episode, but they all also reinforce the characters of Mike and Will. I really think that there’s a meaningful reason why we get these one-on-one moments and show their relationship expand through each one: the show is rooting for them and their growth.

(Thank you once again for coming to my very long TED Talk <3)

#byler #they are endgame your honor #stranger things analysis #byler analysis #byler parallels

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madsmilfelsen · 17 days

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20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @thenookienostradamus, quyanaa!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 22 :)

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 237, 409, yeehaw!

3. What fandoms do you write for? Magic Mike (allegedly), Always Sunny (allegedly), Killer Joe, True Detective (season one, I get too weepy if I think about season four too long but someday!), Midnight Mass, Shadow & Bone, Tell Me Your Secrets, Loki, and I've got an original work snuck in there, too

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? Typically! I have a habit of hoarding my favorites in my inbox so if I take a week or three months to answer you it's because I've been thinking about kissing you on the mouth. Comments really make my day so I do my best to show gratitude to those who take the time to make them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Maybe Sinhound? I don't set out to write angst.................. ever, but ending with Mildred's funeral wasn't what I was expecting either.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All of them :) I'm a sucker for love and happy endings :)))))

8. Do you get hate on fics? no and that gets more and more shocking each time I post a new work lately as my ao3 becomes a pit of depravity while I work through everything I can't put in my novel manuscript.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? hell yeah fuck yeah. I like playing in varying degrees of consent, unhealthy or unbalanced dynamics, girls who come too fast and have weird relationships with sex, yada yada. I have a really supportive husband who I am disgustingly, deeply in love with so a lot of genuine warm and fuzzy feelings for one old man in particular generates a lot of material.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I simply don't have the mind processes for it and admire those who can mix media like that.

11. free space / no question here, send me an ask with one instead please :)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I know of! would be awfully neat though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Oh man, I had a fun star wars piece I was writing with my dear friend, Jess, when impostor syndrome struck too hard to finish-- I still have the embroidery she did of our title (the inverse must also be true) in my office hanging below my first rejection letter :)

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? every goblin couple that make out nasty style, so uh, rust/sugar :( they're so special to me and pulled me out of a Hellacious writer's block

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? My only wip is Sunday School Dropout because I sort of forgot where I was going with it, it'll come back with light voyeurism, blood drinking, virginity taking, the usual order

16. What are your writing strengths? I feel like this is question to really sell myself but honestly, hell if I know, creating place? mannerisms maybe? Beyond my general insecurities, some of the nicest compliments I've gotten are for things I did unintentionally so hard to say! I have crafted some fuckin nonlinear bangers I'll give myself that much.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAINTAIN TENSE and I HAVE NO WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF SENTENCE STRUCTURES, which annoy me and are my father's biggest complaints so I can't take them seriously enough to consciously attempt to improve on them yet. Lately, I've been smoking weed and flipping vocabulary flashcards before bed because my diction feels stagnant, a bit repetitive across pieces like.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I can't even speak english well enough to write coherently I'm not going to fuck up further with google translate. I did some ballet au's a few years back that I know have some french in it but I think I did a firmly okay job with the sprinkles of dialogue-- I know damn well my terminology is correct.

19. First fandom you wrote for? technically game of thrones, I have a sansa/sandor reunion very angrily tapped out in my notes app when season eight skipped it. The first work I posted was Seduction of Odile after I saw a post here about the potential of a rey/kylo blackswan au, reached out and asked if I could give it a try and here I am 22 works and years later :)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? I'm going to be corny but I have a soft spot for every fic that connected me with other writers who are so talented and inspiring and force me to be better so I feel like I can talk to them lmao

tagging tagging tagging @the-heartlines @labyrinthphanlivingafacade @littleredwritingcat @abeadofpoison @teeth-ing @itstendereye @barbie-nightmare-house

#it's spring and there is rain on my metal roof and peepers peeping in the swamp #i'm v happy and the will to write is strong again :)#mads levshakoff

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madwheelerz · 2 years

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Who’s Spying?

I believe that something that is decidedly not Vecna has been watching over Mike since before the events of season one even begins. We see him from some very odd angles at times and it’s almost like we peer in at him. We don’t do this nearly as often with other characters even if they are shown under framing that implies stalking. It’s not to the extent that Mike is.

(more stalking shots)

So, who do I think is spying? The mind flayer or maybe for the purpose of this post the “shadow”. Mike’s understanding of the shadow is very unsettling under this perspective, but I digress. @boysdontcryboycry pointed out that Mike’s name only appears in the second episode summary of a season, if it appears at all and so far it has appeared three times, mysteriously absent in the season three summary. The also noted that his appearance with different groups totaled to seven and all that I could think of was the relationship between seven and demogorgons.

In season two the main villain is the shadow, and this is the same for season three. In season one all signs are pointing to Vecna and we know in season four that Vecna is the big bad. This to me implies that Mike is opposite of the shadow and that while Willel are off fighting and defeating Vecna, Mike will have to deal with the eldritch monster that might have been spying on him. So many important numbers make their appearance in the Wheeler house: 8:15, the moment Karen calls off the game, 20, which we hear repeated a few times and is what will be needed to win, a campaign that took 2 weeks to plan and stopping breaks the flow. Vecna not being able to continue back-to-back once he’s been foiled.

There’s also 10 hours and two 10s make a 20. The shadow intends to utilize Will to spy- on what exactly? What is the shadow so interested in that it needs to be close to in order to understand? The shadow is capable of moving across plains so what does it need Will for? Perhaps to spy on Mike? It knows Mike’s name and nobody else’s.

The hivemind tries to grab Mike specifically.

This honestly makes the hub reference that much more ominous. Mike’s sensitivity to Will feeling the supernatural and Will feeling the supernatural specifically when it has to do with Mike. We have to remember that Will might be connected to Vecna, but the shadow is what possessed him and what likely continues to possess him. We learn in season three more fully that the shadow can go dormant and allow the host to do as it pleases.

We also see Mike in some very odd outfits, odd in the color choices. We see him in green in every season, but four. We see him in red in season one, we see him in outfits that seem to have all the colors of the clocks in stranger things, primary colors with a green background, in them.

I believe El is to Mike what demogorgons are to the shadow. That is, I think Mike created El in the same way that I suspect that the shadow created demogorgons. Micha(el) and (El)even. Now you might be wondering if he created her what about her number? What significance does the number 11 have to Mike? Well, it’s his birthday number. Mike’s birthday is 4/7/1971. 4 + 7 is 11 and even if you include the year and go 4 + 7 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 1 = 29, 2+9 = 11.

Also, the meaning of their birth names is reflective. Michael means “gift from god” while Jane means “god is gracious”. They imply something similar. The kindness of a deity. This also likely why there seems to be a glitch with the Ives because Jane didn’t exist instead her history is filling itself out as we go. That would be the kicker wouldn’t it all the parallels to Mike and different parental figures in El’s life leading up to this.

In conclusion my idea is that Willel will be going after Vecna while Michael will come face-to-face with the shadow.

#byler #mike wheeler #thoughts and theories #i'll expand this eventually #i just wanted this part out specifically

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second-string-loser · 2 years

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Being Different and You're the Heart analysis

So like most bylers I am totally in awe of the paralellism found in the painting scene and mikes monologue scene that @causeineedu pointed out and analyzed recently. The key element that they had discovered was that by layering the two music tracks from these scenes on top of one another, it creates a full and complete sounding song. However while listening to the layered tracks for literally hours I managed to come up with my own interpretation for specifically the way that these two scores, both separately and together, manage to paint the story of Mike and his feelings for Will and El over the years.

Separately, the two tracks are present in the two most climactic moments of Mike's story in Volume 2. They are the peaks of his two most meaningful relationships, they represent Will and El respectively. Being Different is longer, more consistent, and much more calming in the sounds that are used. While You're the Heart is incredibly quiet for most of its duration, slowly building to a climax before quickly disipating as a synth track creates a sense of anxiety as it builds in the background.

Here's a picture of the sound map for both songs (being different on the top and You're the Heart on bottom) so you can sort of see what i mean when i say those two descriptions instead of just trusting me.

But when you listen to the songs layered on top of one another with the idea that each song represents their respective relationships, you can sort of envision a storyline taking place as the song progresses.

First, when you layer the songs by aligning the endings (which is the way that op of the original theory did), Being Different plays for almost a full minute before You're the Heart starts. Wills song plays for longer in the beginning because it's true to real life, Mike knew Will for many many years before El came into his life. This song is longer because this relationship has more history.

Then, when You're the Heart finally does begin to play it remains almost totally unnoticeable for another forty seconds before the musical elements of this track start to peek through the consistent white noise that finds itself behind Being Different. El comes into Mikes life and is not suddenly the most important thing to him. (despite what a certain monologue would like us to think ahem) It is shown repeated thoroughly in season one that Mike's first and only goal is getting Will back. Will is at the forefront of his mind so even though El is present, Mike's focus remains on Will and the song we hear most is Being Different.

Around 1:45 the music of El's track finally becomes noticeable, but still relatively quiet compared to the way Will's track overwhelms. In season two Mike, as he always does, has one storyline concerning El, and another Will. While it's important to him that he gets El back and he is constantly making an effort to find her, once Will is in danger he does not hesitate to spend all hours of every day making sure Will is okay. Mike is now learning just how fond he is of both of these people, two people he really wants in his life, but overall most of his time in this season is spent with Will, keeping Will safe. Will's track overpowers this section of the music, but El is still here. El matters to Mike now, and it is not unnoticed.

At 2:56 an ominous synth track starts to play a few layers deep in Youre the Heart. It's a track that comes on slowly but honestly feels out of place within the rest of the otherwise calming music. It's sort of a new division between the songs, pushing its way in to show that they shouldn't be able to coexist. Mike feels as though his relationships with these two people cannot coexist, he pushes Will away in season three because that's what he believes to be necessary in order to keep his new teenage relationship working and stable.

But obviously this is not sustainable for Mike, because the two people he tries to keep separate end up closer to each other than he is with either of them, Will and El are states away together and Mike can't very well keep them in two different worlds anymore. The dissonance created by this synth track starts to become more and more until its all very disorienting. Both El and Will's tracks are quite loud at this point. Both people mean so much to Mike, he cannot and will not choose between them because he needs them both. However, with the way he has them configured in his life right now something isnt right, there is a dissonance happening, something is out of place. To be straight forward with the metaphor: there's synth music playing where synth music doesn't belong. Mikes romantic feelings for El are the synth music.

If you were to remove that slowly building synth track from You're the Heart suddenly it blends with Being Different so much better. Suddenly Mike can have both of these people in his life without it feeling overwhelming or scary.

And finally, the two songs come to a beautiful close simultaniously becuase Mike has lived a life with Will but no El, and he has also lived a life with El but no Will, but he never wants to live without either of them ever again, because they are the most important relationships in his life no matter how they exist.

Thank you for reading.

(also hey disclaimer dont come at me saying im reaching or that this probably isnt real uhhhhhh i dont fuckin care im the one who just spent three hours listening to a four minute song over and over again so shut up and let me be bonkers)

#byler #stranger things #long post #byler analysis #guys i think this is the thing that will officially classify me as a delusional byler

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mickgaydolenz · 1 year

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hi i’m about to risk it all (as in getting tumblr cancelled) by doing this tag game i was so kindly tagged by @ericbogosbian to do (thank you kaaayyy 💖💖💖). so it was nice knowing you all 🫡

first line tag game

rules: post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted on a03

-> since i am not nearly as prolific as so many fic writers, i’m just going to full on reveal the 5 fics i have actually “published” (this feels like doxxing myself and honestly i’m ready for it 😔)

1. It’s Not Paradise, But I’ll Call it Home -> aka the accursed naruto fanfic:

Lee was desperate.

Okay, so maybe desperate was too kind a word; despairing, or even completely and utterly hopeless, was much more fitting.

He needed rent money and he needed it…oh, about three weeks ago. That's how totally beyond desperate his situation was.

2. A Resolute Mind -> aka the mcml fic:

Java was to be my reckoning. The shame of my failure, burning hot and furious, would finally be absolved. I craved redemption more then I had ever ached for anything in my short, naive life.

3. Something Happens and I’m Head Over Heels -> aka the IT/Reddie fic:

Richie thinks this is probably one of the most pathetic moments of his adult life. Okay so, maybe that’s a jump, but he definitely feels extra pathetic.

He’s not sure how long he’s been standing here, but at this point the cuts of steak are definitely judging him. Hell, if he were a steak looking up at a forty something year old man staring vacantly at hunks of meat, he’d be judging him too.

4. To Everything There is a Season -> aka the midnight mass fic:

There is a dream I have quite often. No matter how many times I have it, it always remains the same.

5. Wax Minute -> aka the fic that is going to fucking have me ripped to shreds, the one i made a whole ass separate ao3 account for :)

Mike isn’t overly fond of the long shooting hours being part of a television series requires, and most especially when he’s asked to stay afterwards. Hard work he likes -the rewards of honest grit never cease to thrill him- but show business is a whole other animal he still isn’t quite prepared to handle. Sure the work is rewarding in its own way, although he often can’t recognize that worth in the minute to minute minutia of the media beast, but if he’d known the kind of schedule he’d be signing up for he might have thought twice about answering that ad.

i’m going to tag the only people i’m aware of that have written multiple fics (but as always no pressure at all guys!!) so i tag @jathis, and @squeesbysophie

#THANK YOU KAYYYY!!!#it was so nice knowing all of you can’t wait for the follower count to drop 💖🙏😔

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booksandpaperss · 1 year

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I posted 5,189 times in 2022

That's 5,189 more posts than 2021!

255 posts created (5%)

4,934 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@aemiron-main

@theonebyler

@will80sbyers

@significant-ace-nnoyance

@bookfansworld

I tagged 3,321 of my posts in 2022

Only 36% of my posts had no tags

#byler - 714 posts

#mike and will - 222 posts

#mike wheeler - 193 posts

#byler endgame - 167 posts

#mike wheeler i know what you are - 162 posts

#booksandpaperss fic recs - 81 posts

#byler s5 - 76 posts

#art reblog - 68 posts

#byler tumblr - 65 posts

#byler proof - 56 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#like yes right now the ih storyline only makes sense to ppl who already therosize abt it but that’s… bc they’ve just noticed all the clues

My Top Posts in 2022:

I fully believe with my entire soul that Will was one pronoun correction away from being kissed by Mike in the van.

Like look at how Mike was lookin at him as it is:

That is the look of someone who is thinkin about a smooch.

Can you imagine if Will had actually said “you make me feel like I’m not a mistake at all, like I’m better for being different” ???

Legit do not see any scenario in which Mike doesn’t kiss Will before he even finishes, regardless of who was in the van. Like I honestly do not think he was even aware that there were other ppl in the van as it is 😭

617 notes - Posted November 12, 2022

POV you’re looking at the two most superior endgame ships of all time

620 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

Some idiots people on tik tok: I think Will was ready to start moving on from Mike in season 4 and people need to realize that.

Meanwhile this is the Will they’re saying is ready to move on:

631 notes - Posted November 8, 2022

I don’t know about you all, but the the message I took from do revenge was that life ruining revenge is totally acceptable as long as it’s on a performative misogynistic cishet man 😌

635 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Saw this gay alignment chart (lmao) going around with the Nancy&Co fruity four, and I couldn’t resist doing my own version with the OG fruity four bc it fit them too well not to 😌

Anyways it feels so good to be so right 💅

1,035 notes - Posted September 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#lmfao the way THAT is my top post and none of my analysis is #it’s okay I love it #my top blogs ily all <3 #my 2022 tumblr year in review

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twin-scars · 2 years

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The timeline in season four confused me a bit when Will and El were talking about how much time had passed.

The Byers move three months later after StarCourt (this was July 4th, so three months later would be October 4th). Let’s say they arrive in California around October 6th. The summer year was 1985, so the Byers were still partially around in Hawkins in the beginning of Fall. But Spring Break is in March of 1986. Episode one is March 21st. By March 27th, all four gates opened. The Cali crew arrive two days later, on March 29th. (March 29th is also Billy’s birthday. Wonder if that has significance?)

El says it has been 180 or something days since they left for California but even still, it doesn’t add up exactly to 180ish days. More like, 170-something. Still though, close enough. Will says it’s been ‘like a year.’ It hasn’t.

The Byers have only been in California for about six-ish months, and that’s only if they moved to California at the beginning of October. Will and El make it sound like it has been years. It probably felt like years being separated, but honestly they haven’t been gone long at all, and they’ll probably never return to Lenora, not even for their stuff as everything was so totally trashed.

((I also find it funny they said it might take ‘months or years’ for El to get her powers back but it only took two-ish days. I mean, I guess they were really going to help her beyond just getting them back, but still, Brenner had to have known that they had very little time to begin with. As in, 72 hours or less kind of time.))

The changes with everyone have been numerous and have happened within a span of six-ish months. Damn. So Max’s Mom and Billy’s dad divorced and she moved into a trailer park and fell into a spiral of guilt and depression, the Party started high school, Dustin and Mike’s friendship with Lucas fractured (if you read the book Lucas on the Line it explains why. It’s a good book), Mike and El and Jonathan and Nancy are having relationship problems, Jonathan makes a new friend in Argyle and starts self-medicating, Joyce has a new job, Robin is falling in love with Vicky, and Hopper is in a Russian prison.

The only one who remains static is Steve, who has the same goal in every season. Which is stupid, because Steve is way more multi-dimensional than that.

Are we to believe Jonathan and Nancy haven’t seen each other at all during this time? Did they call or write? Remember, Jonathan backed out of seeing her, but Nancy wasn’t going to visit him. He was thinking she would surprise him by coming with Mike, but he wasn’t expecting her to visit. Nancy probably could have, her parents have the money for a plane ticket. If Jonathan wanted to stay for his acceptance letter, she could’ve joined him in California. The fucking high school newspaper really didn’t need her, but she probably felt it did. But obviously it was more important than visiting Jonathan. People give Jonathan shit for not visiting her, but honestly she could have visited him just as easily and didn’t.

Did they plan for a visit after that? Maybe it was easy for Nancy to not go because she knew they would be seeing each again soon anyway? Meh. Probably not, because this is a ‘conflict’.

I just have a hard time believing neither one of them were hyped about seeing each other. Like yeah sure Jonathan changed his mind, but he was lowkey hoping Nancy would come anyway. And she was annoyed by his change of heart, so why didn’t they talk? Jancy has always been open and honest with each other which is why this whole plotline is bullshit. Jonathan had no reservations about telling her off in season 1 and being all snarky.

Even in season 2 when Nancy told him to go to the Halloween party he laughed and was like ‘no I’m fucking not’...always being honest and himself. Soooo I’m supposed to believe Jonathan and Nancy were done with each other (at the point, before the Vecna stuff started going down), even though past Jancy would’ve handled this no problem?

Come on, Duffers.

#i'm just rambling #jancy

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bettsfic · 2 years

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i know in the past you've made "fix-it" scenario posts where you write out how you would've wanted a certain story to go (like the star wars sequel trilogy) and they are always so brilliant and fun and so much better than anything boring men in the writer's room came up with. in your ideal world, how could stranger things s4 plot have gone if/how chrissy survived? (i'm looking at this through my grubby lil hellcheer glasses) (pls don't feel obligated to answer! only if you have time ofc.)

very cool question!

(stranger things s4 spoilers ahead)

this got long, so i'm putting it under a cut.

so when i've written fixit things in the past, it's usually pretty easy because the writing is so sloppy and the character motivations are flat and uninteresting. so really all i do is tidy the story up and give the characters a touch more nuance.

the problem with stranger things is that it's working in the total opposite direction. it's too tidy. in fact after i got this ask i thought about it for a good half an hour and every single time i moved or changed a piece of plot, it had major repercussions for the rest of the plot. the s4 plot was woven so well that at the end i was like, there's no way i'd ever be able to write something as tightly woven as this. i lack the skill for it definitely but i also lack the interest. big plotty plots with many characters reacting to outright, unquestionable evil is just not my aesthetic wheelhouse.

which is all to say, there's nothing to really fix, exactly. i think eddie and chrissy are a huge missed opportunity, but i don't think chrissy dying is bad writing. (eddie's death was some of the weakest writing in the whole show imo [because he could have lived, like the plot did not force him to die, it just decided to, and i think there's a big difference], but the duffer brothers keep writing themselves into a corner where they make these phenomenal one-shot characters and can't keep them because there are already too many characters.)

so i think what we'd have to do is go back to season 3 and have billy live so he can stick around for the repercussions of his actions to be addressed in season 4. i really liked billy conceptually (and dear god dacre montgomery is hot) but ofc they made him a racist and so i just couldn't give a fuck about him. let's say they didn't do that and billy is still fucking awful but redeemable. (also while we're rewriting season 3, let's also say he boned mike's mom.)

billy is alive for season 4, and so max's plot would involve billy somehow so she doesn't get cursed. possibly redemption arc? we just need max out of the cursed ptsd kid fodder lineup. (by the way, that is my least favorite trope of all time. curse/monster attacks kids with ptsd only. like i watch stories like that and i'm like, yeah that'd be me. i'd be dead.)

we now have a totally unnecessary E plot in addition to plots A through D. but we're not bound by the physical constraint of production, so it's fine. i don't know what exactly would go in E plot except billy, max, and lucas feeling their feelings. which honestly i would be okay with.

that frees up max's story in plot B to go to chrissy. so she's not as far along in her vecna symptoms as the others yet but still having enough trouble to reach out to eddie for some weed. (this is where things get tough because there are so many tiny threads to consider.) but let's just say nancy's friend, vecna victim #2 becomes vecna victim #1, and his death happens near/around/in eddie's trailer somehow, so that chrissy is implicated in the murder and they both have to go on the run.

jason's plot would then turn into finding chrissy, who is missing and presumed dead because he believes eddie is a murderer on a rampage, etc. so instead of avenging her death, he's just trying to find her. all of this to say, i need chrissy and eddie trapped in a boathouse together with nothing to do but talk and fall in love. and this fits aesthetically with the "opposites attract in states of extreme danger" trope that littered 80s action movies.

so chrissy is with eddie the whole time. they escape on the water together running from jason, because by this point chrissy has sided with eddie and knows that if she gives herself up, jason will harm/kill eddie for kidnapping her or whatever.

the guy, jason's friend, is vecna victim #2 and opens the gate to the upside down. now chrissy's plot is tied firmly into plot B and everything happens basically the same except chrissy is in the upside down with the rest of the big kids and we would get some gratuitous protective eddie. which i think would also lower the pressure on steve/nancy which, i mean, i love a good love triangle and i enjoyed that tension but it feels a little hamfisted to me.

meanwhile, in our newly forged plot E, billy has started to exhibit vecna symptoms. and we know he is Doomed, because there would be a scene where he hangs out with max and has a good time and maybe even smiles. but! we don't know how far along he is in comparison to chrissy, so we aren't sure who is next.

imagine: chrissy in the upside down, her cheerleading uniform all torn up and dirty. she has no idea how to fight but she is doing her best. she's lost that cute little sweater she has. eddie gives her his jacket.

here's where i a little bit lose track of things, but roughly what would happen is that plots B and E would merge so that the big kids + dustin and lucas could try to help billy, which would fail and billy would die. (listen i hate redeemed characters dying as much as anyone else, but this is about hellcheer so sacrifices must be made.)

that leaves chrissy and eddie to take over the final scenes that max and lucas have, and eddie can still get his big damn hero moment by fighting jason, which makes more sense than lucas fighting him anyway. there is no random bat protection setup, because that's stupid. i know we sacrifice eddie's guitar solo but let's say there's a scene in episode 1 where we get to see him play at the hideout or something to make up for it.

imagine: instead of max listening to kate bush (sorry kate bush), chrissy's song that helps her get away from vecna is eddie's demo tape or something. so she's just constantly listening to eddie's music because it makes her feel safe and eddie has to pretend he's not dying about it.

imagine also: earlier in the season we have a very tender moment between chrissy and eddie, and because she is a Sad Girl that's what becomes her happy memory when she's trying to get away from vecna, forcing her to realize that even through all this nonsense that this time with eddie has made her happier than anything else ever has. she is determined to live through this so they can be together.

eddie fights jason. chrissy's in vecnaland. plots A and B merge and eleven is fighting vecna. unfortunately this part gets really wobbly because eleven and chrissy have no connection to one another. let's just ignore that because we're not even really addressing plot A here.

let's say this is either the final season or we don't know if there will be a season 5, and therefore things have to wrap up rather than escalate, which means when vecna goes to give the final blow, eleven does her thing a little earlier, preventing chrissy from having all her bones broken and dying for a minute to open the gate. let's say also that vecna is dead and not tease that he's coming back next season, so that the resolution is firmer.

chrissy falls from where she's levitating a few feet off the ground. eddie has knocked out jason or something and he goes to chrissy, holds her, there's crying, there's some cheesy line that joseph quinn somehow fucking nails about how they could have had something real.

and then! chrissy wakes up! she says something romantic and vulnerable. eddie spouts a cheesy one-liner callback to something said earlier to lighten the tension. joseph quinn also nails this because he understands the assignment. they kiss! plots A through E resolve in some way i am not going to bother thinking about.

hellcheer resolution: chrissy is in the hospital. eddie is playing an acoustic guitar. chrissy brings up the tough question: what's he doing after graduation? eddie, who still can't believe he's dating chrissy cunningham: basically nothing. maybe go on tour eventually. maybe record an album. chrissy admits she doesn't really have any plans. no decisions are made, but in the silence they both kind of realize nothing is stopping them from being together. eddie brings up jason. chrissy says her relationship with him is no longer an issue. everyone comes to visit chrissy, because they're all friends now.

tiny epilogue: chrissy and eddie (and the other big kids) at graduation. cute 80s montage set to rock music of all of them getting their diplomas. we see chrissy and eddie making out because they are now That Couple and everyone is already exhausted about it. happily ever after! the end.

bonus epilogue that provides the music for the credits, which are rolling on the right side of the screen: chrissy goes to see eddie play at the hideout.

i know this is a mess but like i said, i am no good at balancing multiple plotlines. or any plotlines, really. and i know i forgot a bunch of stuff because honestly i was playing a game on my phone while watching season 4. i'm not even going to reread this because i'll want to add to it, so. this is the best i can do.

#my fic #do i have a tag for my fixits?#st4 #fixit

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echoing-oursong · 1 year

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Hey, this is mikes-pineapple-pizza (it's a sideblog so I can't send asks from it so I'm using anon). These have to be some the wildest takes I've seen:

"Lucas is classist because he says that Eddie looks like he hasn't showered in two weeks in Lucas on the Line"-- I don't even want to dignify that one with a response.

"Vickie is emotionally abusive to Robin in s4"-- I don't even know how the hell someone came to that conclusion, honestly. Still makes my brain hurt, tho.

"El is actually the bad guy because she 'took Dr. Brenner's side' in the fight against Henry"-- I have actually read this, and it actually made me want to scream.

"People only hate Billy because he represents the 'anger of the proletariat'"-- That one actually defies logic. The fact that someone thought of this idea then wrote an entire essay on it makes me fear for the future of humanity.

Yeah, those are my top four. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, because there are a lot of insanely bad takes out there. I tried to go for the more absurd ones for this, rather than just the normal bad ones, though.

Omg hi! thanks for clarifying! And I didn’t realize that side blogs couldn’t send asks from it so that was new info so thanks. My reactions to each are going to be in the same number format for what you have it as.

1. Okay that is insanely weird and gross. Like god that’s so weird. I honestly don’t even know what to say to that take cuz it’s just so out of left field.

2. Okay this gets on my nerves. People complain about vickie not having enough screen time and yet they pull this out of their asses. Which also is so weird cuz I take this to mean that vickie was being emotionally abusive to Robin cuz she had a boyfriend and didn’t know about Robin’s crush. And was just living her own life. Like that’s not even in the ball park of being emotionally abusive to Robin. It’s just vickie living her life and somehow that’s being emotionally abusive like it makes no sense. Yep this take def makes my brain hurt too.

3. This take makes me want to scream too cuz holy fucking shit. El legit is just trying too survive and get Henry to calm down the best way she knows how- seeing kindness in people. Like she isn’t even taking brenner’s side which makes me think they didn’t watch the rest of anything where el tells brenner that he is the monster. And tells brenner to his face what a horrible person he was. She also just stands there and watches as he dies. Like there is no way that she can possibly be on brenner’s side.

4. I swear to god those people will bring up anything to make billy seem like a hero which it sucks sooo much. Also had to look up the last word of proletariat and god they will bring up anything to make it seem like billy is a saint. They constantly bring up ‘oh look he’s from a middle class or lower class’ as if that excuses his actions. Also little side rant here but Billy’s arcs barely had anything to do with the fact that he is from a lower class or working class. Is it part of his story? Sure. But it’s not a fundamental part. We don’t really see him do much work or get info that he is struggling with jobs. Unless you count season 3 but all the teens including Steve (who is rich) have jobs. And on top of that we’ve never once heard billy complain about being in a lower class structure. As far as we know in canon billy doesn’t really care or think about how he is in the class structure. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have problems or it doesn’t affect him. I’m just saying thag in canon billy doesn’t seem to care that much. Also if he wanted to be angry at the system he wouldn’t take it upon himself to hurt children because that wouldn’t be who he is angry at.

Thanks for sending this and yeah I can totally see how it’s just the tip of the iceberg. And thanks for choosing these ones cuz damn they seriously were more absurd.

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mlchaelwheeler · 2 years

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I like this season, and I like the vecna plot but the episodes are so long and there’s just a lot going on. For me it makes me realize that less is more. The first two seasons had shorter episodes and were generally simpler, but they were still able to focus on the key characters. The first three seasons only took like six months to film (not including editing ofc etc), and the first three seasons didn’t take as long to write, especially not season 1 and season 2. From the return to filming in 2020 season 4 took almost a year to film the season. Like I can understand that covid would have really impacted the filming upon the return, but I also think a hugee reason why it took so long was because it would’ve been complicated to film with the three plotlines being set in different locations, not to mention how long the episodes are.

Tbh I’d prefer shorter episodes like in s1 and s2 that don't have too many plotlines to follow, the first two seasons felt so effortless but this season sometimes feels overly complicated. The duffers said that they structure the seasons like they’re a movie almost and I do see that with the first three seasons, but this season it almost feels like we’re watching 3 separate movies lol. Idk, I know they were only going to do one or two seasons at first and sometimes it’s kinda evident imo especially considering s1 started filming almost immediately after season 1 aired and idk it feels like the same show but it also doesn’t at time lol. I want them to go back to the basics honestly lol, and can they just have the byers in hawkins next season because i don’t really want another cali road trip plot even though it’s entertaining hahahaah. Sorryyy this is a bit of a rant lmaooo

No, I totally get your frustration! I also miss the simplicity of S1 and S2 where there was really only 1-2 main plot lines going on. With S4 however, there are 4 main plots, but I feel like only 2 of them really got well-fleshed out: Hawkins and the HNL. The Hawkins plot was my favorite this season, since everything came together really well and all the characters worked so well together. The HNL plot line was also super interesting and connected so beautifully to the Hawkins plot line when 001 was revealed to be Vecna.

The cali plot line was a missed opportunity imo, since they were given almost no scenes compared to the other 3 plots (they weren't even in 4x07!) and 2 of the characters are main characters from S1. It was really sad to see Mike and Will sidelined so bad in comparison to new characters like Jason and Eddie (i love him, but the main characters deserved a good portion of his screentime imo). The Russia plot line also kind of felt like a missed opportunity, mostly bc I feel like Hopper's plot didn't really pick up until 4x06 when he was put in the demopit. His scenes in the first 5 episodes didn't seem to have really any impact on the rest of the plot this season, so I wish they would've allocated this time to the cali crew.

Another thing I was unhappy about is that only the Hawkins and HNL plots seemed to be important to the overall story. The Russia plot has no connection to Vecna at all, and only involved the upside down when the demogorgan was introduced. Now, I know the mindflayer is somehow captured in Russia, but this will probably only play a role in 4x09, or the back half of 4x08. Similarly with the cali plot line, I feel like it started off good--establishing tension between Mike, El, and Will and allowing El to struggle without her powers--but once El was "taken," the plot was seemingly put on gold. It's like the writers forgot Mike, Will, and Jonathan used to be main characters and shoved them aside in favor of El. As someone who loved that stranger things used to be an ensemble show, I'm getting really sick of how much El has been spotlighted recently. I absolutely love her, but her storyline can be developed the same without giving her 50% of the screen time of each season.

This also kind of turned into a rant 🧍🏼‍♂️ oops

#hopefully this kind of answered your question tho lol <3 #feel feee to rant in my askbox anytime haha #ask sarah #anon tag

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therealraeweber · 2 years

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I just finished ST4 Part 1. OH MY GOD. Here are my thoughts at the moment (Spoilers!)

First off. This season has been absolutely amazing so far. Definitely my favourite season of the show so far. The vibes? Unmatched. The visuals? Amazing. The acting? Phenomenal. That one scene where the kids are riding the bikes to the portal and then it flips to the upside down where the other group is doing the same thing? Will live in my brain forever.

I honestly don't have too many thoughts on the actual plot points... mostly just on the characters and the character development this season. As for the actual grand reveal at the end of ep 7, it was a little bit obvious. Still a really amazing reveal and a great twist, but not as shocking as I think they thought it would be. I mean... even just the way the kids bodies were mutilated in the lab was enough to give it away. Of course, I didn't piece together that it was 001 doing it until this episode, but still not too big of a shock. I'm really hoping Nancy was able to see all this while under Vecna's curse so they will all be caught up to speed before 11 gets back to Hawkins.

Also, that raises the question, why did Vecna choose to show Nancy all that backstory? Everyone else only relived their own trauma, so why is she getting the special treatment? Is he just toying with her? Or did he not mean to show her? Maybe Nancy did a reverse mind reading thing. Right now it's kind of seeming like a stupid move on Vecna's part, but maybe he also thinks he has a 100% chance of killing her.

Also, Nancy was still in the upside down when she was under Vecna's curse, so say he does kill her... where would the portal open up? Would it be in the trailer, where she was in the upside down? Would it be a portal from the upside down to... the upside down? Would there be one portal on the floor and one on the ceiling? The fact that I don't have a solid answer for this is the one thing currently giving me hope that she won't die in part 2.

Anyways, those are my only thoughts about actual plot stuff. Right now I'm more interested in character stuff. They were really teasing in this last episode that Nancy and Steve will get back together, which I'm not super happy about. I was team Ronance (is that the ship name? That doesn't seem right. I had to check the wiki but apparently that's it). I just think Robin and Nancy would be such a cute couple. But alas, it is not seeming like it will happen. I thought they were teasing it a little bit in the earlier episodes but they seemed to totally have back tracked on that. Nancy and Steve isn't the worst pairing... I like them together more than Nancy and Jonathan... but I think she could do better with Robin. Just saying.

As for Byler, which EVERYONE has been talking about, it is 100% going to happen. No doubt in my mind. Mike and 11 are on the rocks, and we had a lot of great scenes with Byler that really suggest they will get together. They can't have this much tension and not do anything about it. Now... I'm not really a Byler fan. I simply want 11 to leave Mike because I can't stand him and I think she could do better. And Will is absolutely on the Mike train so I say they should have a shot.

Also... that moment in the upside down with Eddie and Steve? Hello? I know it was Eddie telling Steve to get back together with Nancy, but you can't tell me that wasn't flirting. I wasn't really into Steve/Eddie (there's no ship name for them on the wiki yet... sigh) before this episode, but now I'm on board. Is everyone in this show gay? Could they be? They have the potential for so many great relationships, and yet they are still wasting time on Stancy.

As for the whole Hopper/Joyce/Russia plotline I wasn't a huge fan of it. Maybe just because it felt a little bit disconnected from the rest of the season. I'm really not sure what significance the Russian Demogorgon will have on the rest of the season, but I'm sure it will come into play somehow. I'm mostly now looking forward to Joyce getting home and realizing everything that's been happening while she's been away. I'm also looking forward to 11's reaction to seeing Hopper again. I'm prepared to sob during that whole scene.

Anyways, those are my thoughts at the moment. I'm super hyped for part 2, and really hoping they get renewed for a season 5 (if Riverdale can get 7 seasons I think they can do it too). And, hey! They haven't killed Steve yet! There's still hope!

#stranger things 4 #stranger things

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hello-yue-here · 2 years

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because none of my irl friends watch stranger things/arent caught up and i need to make my predictions somewhere ive decided to share my volume 2 predictions here because i need written proof somewhere if im right:

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD CUZ I REFERENCE VOLUME 1

-joyce hopper or murray is gonna die. one of the major deaths will be the three of them. my money is on joyce.

-steve and robin will survive. steve is too popular a character to kill off, people will literally stop watching if he isnt in it. plus im p sure some netflix head or producer or something said steve will never be killed off. i saw this in a screenshot of a news article on twitter that i can no longer find so its possibly fale but i still think its unlikely for steve to die. robin wont die because shes (so far) i think the only canonically confirmed lgbtq+ character and that would look BAD for the duffers. plus we need to see where she and steve work in szn 5. these two i think are safe.

-now. nancy eddie jonathan and argyle. one of them is gonna go. nancy dying would be a HUGE twist considering shes one of the strongest characters (do not tell me shes not. she is.) the end of volume one however makes me think this wont happen because we still see nancy in the trailers so either the trailers are a fake out to make her seem safe or shes actually safe. im up in the air. eddie is a classic case of likable character getting introduced and built up so his death will be more painful (remember bob and alexei? yeah. like that) BUT since hes so heavily queer coded and well liked by fans this could look like killing ur gays again and the duffers may have steered clear. in all honesty my gut is telling me eddie is safe but i know not to trust my gut so out of these four i dont think hes the most likely to die but its still possible. jonathan might go just to give will more angst but at the same time he hasnt been relevant enough this season to make it impactful. however if a jancy break up happens OR nancy dies vecna could use that against him and give him the boot as well. argyle is either totally safe and wont even be all too involved in the season or fighting and remain a comedic side character for szn five or hes gonna make a huge and shocking sacrifice that no one sees coming because of his comedic presence. its a toss up for him. out of these four i think eddie and nancy are the most likely to go because one of the four teens in the upside down is probably gonna go i think.

-dustin. im sorry yall but i think dustin is gonna die. hes been too safe this entire series. hes a lovable character and the glue of the group. they might kill him off to make everything seem hopeless until someone begins to rally behind avenging his death. the glue almost always dies people. im scared for dustin but i rlly think this is the end for him.

-were gonna get a new couple. it wont be steddie or ronance sorry to break it to ya but theyre rlly pushing stancy and honestly i think they might do stancy so steddie and ronance are out of the running. robin and vickie is a possibility for me. i think theyd go for that one.

-mileven wont break up im sorry its not gonna happen millie and finn both have said that theyre like soulmates or some shit in interviews so i dont see that happening anytime soon

-seeing as vecna has never targeted the same person twice (yet at least) i think max and will are both safe and all the theories and ‘evidence’ pointing to will being vecnad are just a red herring

-HOWEVER i do think mike is gonna get vecnad. like dustin he has also been too safe in this show and i think that if something bad happens to eleven or mike (likely) mike is gonna blame himself and vecnas gonna get him

-lucas might also get the chop. i dont have any reasoning for this other than my gut feeling. so maybe not.

-lumax gets back together before tho

-008/kali is gonna return. if not in szn 4 then szn 5. theres just so much left that could be done with her character that could be discovered.

-the painting is gonna be of mike (and possibly the rest of the gang as their dnd characters) and this is gonna lead to will coming out

-jasons gonna get the chop cuz he was what steve was originally meant to be. steve was supposed to die szn one as a typical douchy all american boy but he was too charming and layered ao they kept him. jasons gonna get the chop.

now. what do i WANT to happen?

-everyone survives. ronance. steddie. lumax. mileven break up. i dont know if i want byler to happen or not. i just dont hc mike as anything other than straight but hey if byler ever does happen id be down for it. i just think a mileven break up would be good for mikes character development. dustin and susie reunited. jason getting the chop. argyle and eddie become stoner besties. el and hopper reunion. everyone is happy happy happy. will any of this actually happen? most likely not.

#stranger things #stranger things predictions #stranger things volume 2 #stranger things spoilers #yall im not ready #my hearts gonna get broken i know iy

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madwheelerz · 2 years

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Who’s Spying?

I believe that something that is decidedly not Vecna has been watching over Mike since before the events of season one even fully kicks off. We don’t see Vecna really start stalking people until season four. We see Mike from some very odd angles far before that. It’s almost like we peer in at him. We don’t do this nearly as often, if at all, with other characters. Even if others are shown under framing that implies stalking. It’s not to the extent that Mike is.

(more stalking shots)

So, who do I think is spying? The mind flayer who, for the purpose of this post, I will be referring to as the “shadow”. Mike’s understanding of the shadow is very unsettling under this perspective, but I digress. @boysdontcryboycry pointed out that Mike’s name only appears in the second episode summary of a season, if it appears at all and so far it has appeared three times, mysteriously absent in the season three summary. They also noted that his appearance with different groups totaled to seven and all that I could think of was the relationship between seven and demogorgons. There is also the fact that we are introduced to the shadow as the second villain in the series after the Demogorgon.

In season two the main villain is the shadow, and this is the same for season three. In season one all signs are pointing to Vecna and we know in season four that Vecna is the big bad. This to me implies that Mike is opposite of the shadow and that while Willel are off fighting and defeating Vecna, Mike will have to deal with the eldritch monster that might have been spying on him. Additionally, so many important numbers make their first appearance in the Wheeler house: 8:15, the moment Karen calls off the game, 20, which we hear repeated a few times and is what will be needed to win, a campaign that took 2 weeks to plan and stopping breaks the flow. Vecna not being able to continue back-to-back once he’s been foiled.

There’s also 10 hours and two 10s make a 20. We learn that the shadow intends to utilize Will to spy- on what exactly? What is the shadow so interested in that it needs to be close to in order to understand? The shadow is capable of moving across plains so what does it need Will for? Perhaps to spy on Mike? The shadow was content staying in place and being dormant until the soldiers burned it as well. It knows Mike’s name and nobody else’s.

The hivemind tries to grab Mike specifically.

This honestly makes the hub reference that much more ominous. Mike’s sensitivity to Will feeling the supernatural and Will feeling the supernatural specifically when it has to do with Mike. We have to remember that Will might be connected to Vecna, but the shadow is what possessed him and what likely continues to possess him. We learn in season three with more concrete information that the shadow can go dormant and allow the host to do as it pleases.

I believe he wears blue the most frequently and red the least. Red is the color we see least associated with the Upside-down outside of brief flashes. Yellow is the color that the Upside-down was originally and blue is the color we see the Upside-down in the most.

I think Mike created El. Micha(el) and (El)even. Now you might be wondering, ‘if he created her what about her number’? What significance does the number 11 have to Mike? Well, it’s his birthday number. Mike’s birthday is 4/7/1971. 4 + 7 is 11 and even if you include the year and go 4 + 7 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 1 = 29, 2+9 = 11. Another reference to Eleven is the number of days Mike calls her. He calls her for 353 days. All these numbers add to 11 and right after his final call El goes on her hero origin journey.

Also, the meaning of their birth names is reflective. Michael means “gift from god” while Jane means “god is gracious”. They imply something similar. The kindness of a deity. This is also likely why there seems to be a glitch with the Ives family because Jane wasn’t supposed to exist originally instead her history is filling itself out as we go. That would be the kicker, wouldn’t it? All these parallels to Mike and different parental figures in El’s life leading up to this reveal.

There is also the word lifting that Mike does. It makes sense for him to be repeating what he heard from Will and/or Eddie, but for him to tell El that she “can move mountains” and “fly”? Where does that even come from? It’s not like he heard Brenner say it and if he had he definitely wouldn’t be repeating it. He also directly follows it up by telling her that she doesn’t have to do all that and that she just needs to survive.

My guess is that the words are his own and that Brenner and many other figures from El’s past are fabricated in a way by Mike. Afterall, Mike already thought that the lab was a place where the government made weapons due to stuff his father said. He’s probably also heard his father complain about Russians because the Wheeler’s are supposed to be all patriotic. I could see this plotline all coming from Mike as a part of some story that he’s made unconsciously being influenced by the people around him..

We also know how closely coke ties into El’s powers, but the first time we see coke is at the Wheeler house during the first DnD game next to Mike. Later we pan out and see that there is another one for Dustin. In season three we proceed to get an argument between Lucas and Mike regarding “new coke” and how Mike can’t believe that it’s good. In season four we see Karen give one of the cops a coke. Coke must be a pretty big deal in the Wheeler house.

(First time we see coke behind Mike)

There is also Mike’s understanding of El’s powers to consider. This isn’t necessarily about the coma comment because that makes sense. He’s seen El overuse her powers and collapse afterwards, but how did he know B*lly could hurt her in the mind space? Mike also calls their meeting “dumb luck” which is a major red flag because the events are leaning into something very different. El being a parallel to Will, El knowing where Will is, El’s powers in combination could’ve very easily been used to save Will, El appearing in Will’s color to help the boys find Will, and Mike understanding that what El is talking about is literally another world.

There is also something else that I hadn’t considered under this context before, but Mike is the only character we ever see take off his watch and actively lend it to someone else. We only see him lend his watch to El, temporarily. You could say he’s giving her time because he puts it on the same side as the other members of the party have their watches. He wants her to meet him at 3:15 which all together is 9. Upside-down that’s 6.

Someone also pointed out that the role Mike gave to El was the role of a mage, which isn’t actually a role in the 80s. Instead, a mage is a npc monster. Mike identified her this way. Contrary to giving El a npc role, Mike doesn’t actually give Max one instead she decides to identify herself a zoomer, which to quote Mike “doesn’t exist”.

In conclusion my thoughts are that Mike invented El as a way to find Will. He would’ve manipulated space and time in order to do this causing a butterfly effect.

We see in the above picture that one of Mike’s identifiers that they want us to focus on is his watch. Knowing all the references to time travel I find this particularly interesting.

As for the battle Willel will be going after Vecna while Michael will come face-to-face with the shadow. I’m not sure how far this power would extend to and how much protection Mike could offer El if this turns out to be true, but I doubt he would let her go because despite what people want to say – El is a very important person to Mike.

Numbers & Appearances

This is a mini section in relation to the number of times that certain characters appear in the summary. Lucas only appears twice in summary, Mike appears three times -mysteriously missing in season three and only in the second episode-, and Max appears four times, not including her titular episode. The order of that is literally going up 2, 3, 4 without Max’s titular episode and 5 once you include Max’s titular episode. Once again taken from @boysdontcryboycry post. Max is on there twice, but I digress. What I think this means is that Lucas will by the thessalhydra and Mike will step in which leads to him getting captured and meeting Max. I believe that the end of episode four and episode five will be the time Mike and Max really meet if this theory comes true.

Mike’s vs the Thessalhydra

Mike will battle thessalhydra. In fact, he will be leading the party against the thessalhydra and Will is going to deliver the final blow, but it will have the consequence of greatly injury or maybe even killing Mike. Will’s painting shows us Mike leading the charge against the creature, but throughout the series we see multiple scenes of creatures that greatly resemble it in Will’s art and a character that looks suspiciously like Mike’s dying at the hands of it. I also believe that the dragon will be from someone being turned.

In accordance with my theory, it’s likely that it will be El who is turned into a thessalhydra. Max isn’t there and all the boys are going to be fighting it meaning that El is, for whatever reason, unavailable. I believe they will save El and it will cost Mike.

There is also the final DnD game where Mike mimics dying after the thessalhydra is defeated and the painting depicting him leading the party against the thessalhydra. I believe he will be lost sometime during the battle against it.

My thought process is that they will be fighting the thessalhydra first. It’s weaker than Vecna as it only requires a fourteen to be completely neutralized, but Vecna requires a twenty in order for the hit to be deemed critical.

So, I think things will go like thessalhydra -> Vecna -> shadow monster in terms of the s5 enemies. This means that what they fight on the hill will be the thessalhydra.

The Therapist

I recall a long while back that someone made a comment about the Hawkin’s High Therapist and her watch necklace. I finally have thoughts about it and what it could mean. The watch itself is shaped almost very key-like as if saying that “mental health is the key” or “mental health is the solution”.

This leads me into the next stage of this theory. We only see the therapist take special interest in Max’s case. We see her call Max out and make sure that they speak. We also see something very peculiar with Max this season. She is wearing a lot of blue. Blue is a color we’ve associated with multiple things, but in particular we’ve associated them with the Upside Down, Mike, and danger.

Mike is very rarely out of blue in season four. He wears his hellfire shirt for a long period of time in the first episode. That shirt has a red face on it and it’s what he almost starts out wearing, but just before that we see him in a pure white top. We see him in pure white top again in the desert. In any case Max is heavily paralleled with Mike throughout the series and for her to be wearing colors that are normally associated with Mike while seeking therapy seems important.

In season four especially when it’s the first time we see Mike invalidate his own emotions and actively doubt his place in the lives of his friends and family. I believe this is meant to be signal that the key to solving things is for Mike to seek mental help. Plus, the green present in each meeting and Hopper the last season referring to Mike as the key with a green key in the background.

X-Men 134 Reference

So, X-Men 134. We see this comic referenced right before Will separates with Dustin. At this point we might not know the full story regarding the reference, but out of curiosity I went to search up the premise of the comic and I found some interesting parallels to the Phoenix, Jean Grey, and Mike.

Both of these characters are apart of the Hellfire Club. This club is noticeably antagonist in the comic, however. I’m not certain if that means that Mike’s feelings regarding the club are more complicated than what we see or if perhaps something else will be going down with the club.

Now Jean Grey and Mike. Jean’s name has the same meaning as El’s birth name, Jane, so I’ll spare you the details, but we already have a play on the similarity of names. Jean is associated with the Phoenix, a powerful cosmic entity. Her connection to the Phoenix lead to a great number of deaths, and resurrections. It’s also said that because the Phoenix force, the entity, felt a kinship with young Jean Grey that it kept a close eye on her.

Who have we been spying on almost from the shadows throughout the series? Mike. We keep seeking him out from behind the stairs, behind bushes, in the dark, and we see El spy on him through the void. It’s rare that we got those stalker shots in the light. I believe that this might be the connection between the shadow creature and Mike.

What I believe is Happening

I think we are quiet literally watching Mike manifest a DnD game in real life. I don’t think he manifested everything, but I do believe that a lot of what’s happening ties back to Mike and his deteriorating mental state. I believe what we are seeing is Mike’s mental state because the focus shifts quite literally depending on what Mike is focused on and what he is trying to do.

In season one he’s desperate to find Will and a girl with the perfect abilities to help them appears. She can find people across different dimensions and all she needs is tons of water plus salt. If they had never gotten the help of the adults and lab it’s possible El might’ve freed Will herself. In season two Mike’s mind is “Will, Will, Will” because he’s worried about how Will is dealing with everything.

I know we complain about Will being sidelined in season three, but who was trying to sideline him exactly? Who was pushing him away? Who was pushing Will to the back of their mind? Mike. Mike was quite literally sidelining Will. In season four we learn that he thinks of himself as just “some nerd” which would explain the sidelining off himself, and he felt like he “lost” Will. Hence both of them are on the sidelines that season.

It would also lend an interesting perspective with the fact that Mike’s feelings are constantly invalidated every season with the idea that “there are more important things” if those important things literally relate back to how he’s feeling and coping.

#byler #thoughts and theories #mike & the shadow #if this doesn't happen it'll make a dope fic though

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daincrediblegg · 2 years

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1, 3, 4, 9 for the film asks please!

1.Name a few underrated actors.

Well no. 1 on this list is My Boy Hamish Linklater, obviously. That man is better than 99% of the hollywood faps and none of them could’ve ever played Father Paul with the depth and rawness and nuance that he did and I will love him forever for it and I think he should really start getting more main roles like that actually or I’m gonna go to hollywood and pick off execs one by one personally.

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is next on my list because I actually NEED him to be in everything now. Kim’s Convenience really is genuinely one of the best and funniest and most heartwarming shows to ever to exist and I’m so happy that Simu Liu has gotten a LOT of jobs as a result- but man I see so many good potential casts for Paul too that I’m gonna go insane beating my head against the wall if they don’t happen. Like it would be a sin not to cast this dude as Uncle Iroh in a live action adaptation of ATLA. He is the best if not the ONLY man for the job and I will die on that hill. He tickles me silly every single time he shows up in The Mandolorian but lets be real: he needs more screen time bc the bit part they have him doing ain’t cutting it. Let him fully replace Cara Dune next season like please I am begging I would like to see more of him in the star wars universe and let him have an actual character to chew on like PLEASE!!!! He’s the fat star wars hero we deserve. Give him all the roles he’s excellent.

For ladies, my choices are these:

First choice for this category for me has gotta be Carla Gugino. I mean especially in the last few years? Her work with Mike Flannagan has been fucking incredible from Hill House to Geralds Game (which I feel like it’s not nearly discussed enough but it should be bc that one still like genuinely haunts me moreso than probably any other Mike Flanagan work or stephen king adaptation) and not to mention she’s a total MILF to boot anyway I just love her and I’m excited to see her and Mike tackle Poe

Stephanie Hsu coming in hot bc I Loved her in Mrs. Maisel and when I figured out she was in Everything Everywhere All At Once too I flipped my shit. She’s perfect in every way and I love her and I am so excited to see where her career takes her bc she’s just got so much and I love her.

And of course Kate Siegel. My girl comes thru for me every single time I see her and never disappoints. Would love to see her branch out from her own damn husband’s projects but honestly even if she doesn’t I don’t think I could complain bc he writes roles for her that are what she deserves. And if that ain’t love idk what is.

3.Most overrated actor(s)?

Just gonna do an mcu lightning round just to get it out of the way (god I am so gonna get fuckin lynched for this): RDJ, Chris Pratt, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch (bonus points for being so annoying that the MCU now inserts him into every movie to try and make me care about him: it’s not working), Evangeline Lily, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Bradley Cooper(this fucking guy especially I hate how often his films get nominated for oscars he’s not good the best shit he ever did was 1) produce joker and 2) play the douchebag I perceive him to be in Wedding Crashers) Tom Holland, Zendaya.

By vicarious exposure due to his recurrent involvement in projects with Hamish Linklater I must say I don’t think Dan Stevens is that good of an actor either. He can do a lot but I don’t really feel it when he does it… y’know? I just don’t buy.

Also not a big Matt Smith gal. Not really looking forward to see him in the GOT spin off either and frankly if he’s playing Rhaegar that’s an eggregious mis-cast. Like the man has no eyebrows for feck’s sake

As for actresses Jennifer Lawrence hits the top of the list for me (probably just by association with bradley cooper shit) followed closely by Vera Farminga and probably also Nicole Kidman.

4.What’s a movie you watched over and over again as a child that you still love?

God there are so many lmao but one I remember actively seeking out to view is Howl’s Moving Castle. I remember they used to run it on STARZ all the time and I would try to catch it every single time it was on.

9.Name a film you think has some of the best costume and makeup/hair design.

God that’s tough. I mean take about any GDT movie and it ticks all the boxes for me in that category (I mean the fish man suit was about 90% practical. Nobody does that anymore and Doug Jones is a king and a legend for his work as such)… but then also LOTR and The Hobbit really got me good with the visuals also and they also still hold up like insanely well. But also what I re-watched recently is The Fall. And honestly to this day the costume design in that film continues to blow me away… so I guess take all of those for what they’re worth lmao

FILM QUESTIONS

#ask games #thank u bb for supporting the film nerd in me 🥰🥰🥰

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michaelbyers-willwheeler · 2 years

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Reviews Vol 1 ST4, maybe Spoilers

This is my first time posting anything. I'm new to the Byler fandom on Tumblr, I've been reading your theories for a few months now. I've been a fan of Byler for approximately two years. The reason I'm writing today is because I've seen reviews on YT from critics who watched ST4 Vol. 1. There are reviews in Spanish (my native language) and others in different languages like English, Portuguese and others. Honestly I am puzzled and confused. I'm not being pessimistic with Byler, I guess I'm not just worried about it at this point. In general I'm concerned that several reviews mention that the plots of even Joyce, Hopper and Murray are boring or without much sense. Obviously I'm not totally guided by these reviews, but it leaves me wondering that several mention the same thing. Even M*lev*n doesn't seem to have much of a plot, the reviewers mention only a few scenes of them, but nothing memorable or important, one of the reviewers mentions that in fact El's plot if quite separate from Mike's and the others. Most of the reviews say that many characters have little screen time, although there was another review from a critic who said that for him it seemed that almost all of them have the same time, except for the characters that participate in the main plot with Vecna. Another thing that I found interesting is that one of the reviews even highlighted that Max seems to have more screen time than El herself. Now on to the California plot. Many say they are marginalized but one review in particular explained that they all have equal screen time and enough to explain their plots, that if others wanted to see them as marginalized that was his point of view, but to him no character was being marginalized at all. Finally about Byler, most say the same thing. They say and I say this in their own words, that they can't say much about that plot and all they can say is that they see innuendo. It strikes me as odd that even when they just ask about Will, they answer the same thing about not being able to say much about his plot. It's strange because of the written reviews that previously mentioned that no one had forbidden them to talk about Will's plot. But the reviews I saw all mention that they were not allowed to comment on it. Another thing that concerns me is that the reviews mention that Finn and Noah's performances were not very good, that they just weren't to their liking like in other seasons. Obviously each review has subjective views of each of the critics, that's why I'm not sad or being pessimistic. I think I agree with what the reviewer I mentioned before said, that if others want to see the characters marginalized it's their problem. Because honestly for him they all have their own plots and the timing fits as best as possible for each one. At this point I still feel Byler will be canon, I think each of the reviews made it clear that M*l*v*n is not good and in fact they have no memorable moments. The moments they do have are pretty forgettable, so said several reviews and they mention that really the plots of El and Mike are separate, each one has his own story. About Byler as I said they didn't mention much because they weren't allowed to talk about it anymore, but they made it clear that they felt insinuations. Overall, I'm still optimistic, I'm still excited. But I can't deny some concern and not only for Byler, but in general for the season or at least Vol 1. I hope each plot has its time on screen and I hope that really the critics who said that the California and Russia plots are boring are not right or maybe it's just their subjective point of view. The last thing I will mention (If I miss something maybe I will make another post) is about something interesting that the reviewer said that he thinks that no character is marginalized. He said that the California and Russia plots seem to take more importance in the last two chapters (Vol 2), something like the best of the plots have not happened yet. That's all I remember from the reviews (there are many I've seen, so if anything else comes up that I don't mention I'll make another post or you can ask me. Finally, one of the reviewers answered a Byler question that went like this: "How would you describe Byler in this season in one word? to which she replied: I think it would be "Defiant", they have a lot of interesting and strong conversations. We can see that neither Mike's monologue mentioned by Finn or Will's sad scene that Noah has mentioned, even "The big revelation" that Charlie mentioned, none of that seems to have happened yet. Everything indicates that in the last two chapters the most important thing is going to happen. So that's it, I hope you can share your opinions on the matter, I'm still optimistic about Byler and the season in general, although of course there will always be concern in me.

#byler willbyers mikewheeler

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