✶ BYERSALICE ✶

they may have CGI’d it out, but i’ll never let the world forget that will byers had an earring in mike’s gay little fantasy of him

But then...we lose it somewhere. Even if we hold on a platonic byler, "Will self-actualization is our goal" interpretation, we would have the painting, which we are told is important, having some other meaning—but that never materializes. The mindflayer kaiju doesn't look like the painting monster; it has one "head" and spider legs, in a mirror of its more classic shadow form. MF/Henry/Will is never fully explored (evil will theory) and Henry/El/Kali is never utilized that way either. Its not Mike leading the OG party, either—Mike damn near does the least in the end with his flare gun. So, none of its visual explanation makes sense, based on what Will painted and what he said to Mike about it.

So then, by course of elimination, the painting was meant to be a fully relational plot device. Only...the fact that Will's painting (and just Will) was needed for Mike to tell El he loved her S4 was never addressed, even though some of its residue lives in how he didn't say ILY when she died? Will is somehow ready to be FULLY honest so Vecna can't use things against him...but is still technically lying about who the painting is for, which would induce MORE fear about being left because now he's alone in knowing he's lied to both Mike AND Eleven.

Only...then we never use Vecna's powers on Will OR Mike. They are both left without any acknowledgement of the need for Will's support of Mike/El's relationship, the painting, or even romantic/emotional fears via Venca. The original plan was ALSO apparently to never touch the notion of byler again until Noah asked for "closure," and then Eleven dies—or "can't contact" them ever again, even though that premise hasn't held for four full seasons before this barring her not being alive.

We just...skip it. Will is now out and gay, and we never talked about his romantic feelings outside of self-acceptance. Mike still ends up in the basement "without girlfriends, playing dnd for the rest of his life" with Will and the party, exactly like Will mentioned in the van scene that included the painting. El is still no longer with Mike—without him saying I love you—and likely dead, even though there was no reason to kill her REALLY. We have just destroyed Will's hope, Mike's redemption as the "heart" of the party, and even a proper romantic romeo and juliet mileven ending...all because we didn't address a painting, and complete the cyrano trope.

and by me losing respect for them, i lost respect for their work, entirely. i am not taking ANYTHING (that doesn't benefit me, lmao) they've done as canon, my brain is cemented into thinking that my own ideas of the characters are correct.

that's how y'all will break free, the only good thing they did was give a shit ending, and that really gave us the power to do thousands of rewrites, and fix its, or alternate universes. i would rather read everything y'all could write over and over than watch canon.

it is painful seeing how bad they ended it, especially for the care and love we have to these characters. but a bad ending is good for fandoms (a great example is the hunger games, the ending is perfect, and that's why there aren't as many fics, people are happy and there's not much to do when almost everything you wanted is done)

and with this crazy ambiguous ending, plus all the plot holes, it's basically free reign to own all the characters back. they are yours now, you can headcanon them however you want to. there's no bigger show of hatred than ignoring what the duffers are trying to force down our throats. make everyone gay, make an abo au, fuck it, now they are al ponys if y'all want to

im already sniffing every single fic like it's cocaine, i know these characters better, because i paid attention, and because i definitely care more about them