byler real

And you know what? After the way they treated Jane for 5 seasons I will state that the choice to have her wear a skin-tight swimsuit for half the fucking final season was insane.

It's November and everyone else is layered up. She could have easily worn a shirt or sweater over that swimsuit when she was not actively in water. I wouldn't be surprised if Millie insisted on wearing the sweatpants at this point. Why the choice to parade her around in that non-seasonable skin-tight clothing?

And after she wore a fucking collar of all things in the previous season—a collar only her abuser could unlock.

She goes from a flimsy hospital gown to her first "outfit" — a sopping wet t-shirt and nothing else, that she attempts to strip out of in front of the boys. I thought there was possibly some deeper subtext there about her upbringing. Apparently not.

It was the Born Sexy Yesterday power fantasy. It was an abused little girl attaching herself to men, constantly dehumanised, over and over, with no vindication. A fantasy about a beautiful and powerful girl who is constantly finding herself trapped.

I'm... in awe. I was engaging in good faith when the entire time her character was indeed being sexualised, even from childhood.

Similarly, a young Will Byers is graphically sexually assaulted in the season's opener and it is simply... never addressed. We see him be orally assaulted multiple times throughout the series, even communicating distress regarding this invasion of bodily privacy, and the writers seemingly don't provide any justification for it.

Portray characters who represent abuse victims. Utilise the supernatural for this purpose so it less confronting to watch. That is fine. But please for the love of god, make it mean something.

Once again, I engaged in good faith when they showed these things, including when they had Troy comment on Will's disappearance, insinuating that he had been sexually assaulted and murdered by another gay man.

All that only for him to be re-traumatised in the next season. All that to show him in a flimsy hospital gown just like Jane, tied to a bed as he thrashes in agony to exorcise the entity inside his body that... never actually left him.

He was described as "sensitive" and "delicate" young gay boy—in the Duffer's own words—and was consistently shown restrained or on his knees, his body used by other entities. All while he yearns and pines for the boy who makes him feel safe and gives him courage.

Mike leaned back against the tree, stretching out his legs and letting out a content sigh as he closed his eyes. It had been a long day, and as much as he loved the gang, he needed some time to just... decompose, to gather his thoughts a little bit.

It didn't take long though until he heard a soft rustling; the sound of feet moving through the high grass, coming closer and closer, until they stopped right next to him. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was.

"A penny for 'em?"

Will's voice was gentle, careful in a way that made Mike open his eyes, finding Will already looking back at him with a smile. It made Mike's heart beat a little bit faster, but then again, Will kind of had that effect on him all the time.

Sometimes, Mike would look over at Will doing the most mundane thing, like read a book or fix the collar of his shirt or- or brush his goddamn teeth, and Mike would get this feeling; like an electric current that grew from somewhere in his chest, spreading all throughout his entire body, like he was being set alight from the inside, almost. It was- he hadn't felt like that before, and he doubted anyone else other than Will would ever make him feel like it again.

There was a word for it, the thing he felt for Will; Mike could feel it sitting on the tip of his tongue, four tiny letters ready to spill out any second now. It made his heart beat even faster, his cheeks surely blushing a bit now. He had thought about telling Will, to let him know how he felt, that he loved him, and maybe- He wasn't even sure why he hadn't already, but he was sure that he did, and why wait if-

Will cleared his throat, then, and Mike blinked, focusing his gaze back on him. Will was still looking at him, his head tilted and his smile almost amused now, as if he could tell exactly what Mike had been thinking about.

Mike rolled his eyes and held out his left hand, palm up in a silent invitation, unable to hide the smile that formed on his lips as Will immediately met him halfway. Their fingers tangled together, seamlessly and secure, and- and that was something else that Mike had yet to get used to. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he ever would. The feeling of Will's warm hand in his, the way his thumb absently moved back and forth over Mike's knuckles, the comfortness of it all. To be honest, it made him a little bit mad sometimes, that he had spent so many years not holding his hand. He knew better now, though.

He tugged a little on Will's hand, hoping that he would understand what Mike wanted. He did, of course he did. Mike watched him as he lowered himself to the ground, carefully lying down until his head rested in Mike's lap, bringing their joined hands up to rest above his heart.

"You know," Mike hummed, his right hand finding its way to Will's head, gently carding through the soft strands of his hair. "I'd tell you all of them for free."

"Really?"

1986.

The year of S4 is also the year Zelda was released initially? The same season that gives us Will's painting? The biggest LOZ parallel imagery in the whole show? 🤔🤭

Do you see the vision?

(I can't unsee it)

Legend of Zelda 1986

Mike’s DnD character shield, the field shot in s4v2 finale, the Wise one is kidnapped and must be saved by the hero (Will/Mike | Zelda/Link)

Link to the Past

Dark otherworld, powerful evil sorcerer, monsters and inverted realities, once again Link is bearing a sword and shield, once again the Wise one is kidnapped

Ocarina of Time

Child who is othered and bullied meets a magical being who accompanies him on the start of a journey (Mike and El/Link and Navi) which leads to the hero fighting to protect the kingdom and the sage of all sages (Zelda/Will the Wise), who has disappeared into hiding after being kidnapped. Time shenanigans, reunited childhood friends trope (Link/Zelda | Mike/Will)

Majora’s Mask

A town is doomed with a time based curse by a bitter childish spirit who was wronged and became corrupted by an otherworldly force (Skullkid/Majora | Henry/Mind Flayer)

Twilight Princess

A simple small town boy is thrown into a hero’s journey by unforeseen events, leading him to meet the twili princess, the powerful Midna. Midna is cursed and her power is weakened, but with link’s help she is able to regain her power and reclaim sovereignty of her world, which is usurped by a tyrant and seeks to invade the light world. (El/Mike | Link/Midna) the hylian sage Zelda sacrifices herself in this iteration to empower and protect Midna. (Parallel to Will giving away his own wants with Mike out of respect for El, and his attempt to self sacrifice in s2)

Skyward Sword

1 am i drank two monsters and the passion is peaking so im talking about it again but im gonna try and be So Direct.

NUMBER ONE. drawing lines

we ALL know mike was drawing a line between will and the rest of his friends in this scene.

he literally says that it’s not the same without will. Blatantly. so WHY is it not the same without will? what has he also DIRECTLY TOLD US about will that makes him different? from everybody else????

BEING FRIENDS WITH HIM IS THE BEST THING HE’S EVER FUCKING DONE!!!!!! like he literally says Right Here that will is above everything else in his life. will isnt just his best friend, he isnt just his favorite person, he’s the beat thing in mike’s ENTIRE life. why would he say that and make a clear differentiation if there wasnt any awareness going on

OH BUT WIBBLE YOU SAY. WIBBLE WHAT IF HE IS SIMPLY SAYING IT WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE HOMOSEXUALITY OF IT ALL???? ok well let’s look at his behavior when will is uncomfortable Before the shed scene

and After

he just. went from being the most insane possessive “nobody is allowed near him if he’s uncomfortable” guy ever to pressuring him to do things he doesnt want to do and making him go away. For Fun. there was Zero significant emotional discovery that would have been cause for such a drastic comparison between his behavior in that moment versus the rest of the season. even before will was in danger he was still keeping him close by

mike’s behavior changes DRASTICALLY. there was an event that triggered that change. you could argue it was the snowball, but we also have a scene where we witness him Drawing The Line between will and everyone else

BUT WIBBLE, HE COULDVE JUST BEEN WING MANNING. THE TWO EVENTS ARENT NECESSARILY CONNECTED BECAUSE MIKE WAS JUST BEING HONEST AND TRYING TO HELP WILL!! HE-

liar?

liar.

LIAR.

LIAR!!!!!

we know what mike was saying in the shed is true, but he still has the incredibly prominent lighting that indicates mike is lying or hiding something. everything mike says here is provably true through parallels to crazy together and a bunch of other shit, so what is he hiding?? what could he Possibly be hiding here when we know he’s being honest about what he’s saying?

well, you know where else mike was being honest?

but he STILL has that lighting. because he isn’t being actually honest with will here. he’s downplaying the severity of his feelings A Lot. he’s hiding behind the guise of friendship in both scenes when his feelings run much, much deeper than what he’s showing.

but why would mike be downplaying his feelings in the shed scene if he’s unaware?? he WOULDNT. because he is AWARE. and it guides all his behavior from the snowball to literally his Whole Fucking Arc in s3 which is about Actively pushing will away and trying to fix himself and his feelings by growing up and “learning” to like girls. that arc didnt come out of nowhere. there was a trigger to those incredibly Conscious actions. mike wasnt blind to what he was doing when he made fun of will and projected his own inability to like girls onto him. he has a consciousness that does in fact guide his behavior when doing things Blatantly out of true character for him

1 am i drank two monsters and the passion is peaking so im talking about it again but im gonna try and be So Direct.

NUMBER ONE. drawing lines

we ALL know mike was drawing a line between will and the rest of his friends in this scene.

he literally says that it’s not the same without will. Blatantly. so WHY is it not the same without will? what has he also DIRECTLY TOLD US about will that makes him different? from everybody else????

BEING FRIENDS WITH HIM IS THE BEST THING HE’S EVER FUCKING DONE!!!!!! like he literally says Right Here that will is above everything else in his life. will isnt just his best friend, he isnt just his favorite person, he’s the beat thing in mike’s ENTIRE life. why would he say that and make a clear differentiation if there wasnt any awareness going on

OH BUT WIBBLE YOU SAY. WIBBLE WHAT IF HE IS SIMPLY SAYING IT WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE HOMOSEXUALITY OF IT ALL???? ok well let’s look at his behavior when will is uncomfortable Before the shed scene

and After

he just. went from being the most insane possessive “nobody is allowed near him if he’s uncomfortable” guy ever to pressuring him to do things he doesnt want to do and making him go away. For Fun. there was Zero significant emotional discovery that would have been cause for such a drastic comparison between his behavior in that moment versus the rest of the season. even before will was in danger he was still keeping him close by

mike’s behavior changes DRASTICALLY. there was an event that triggered that change. you could argue it was the snowball, but we also have a scene where we witness him Drawing The Line between will and everyone else

BUT WIBBLE, HE COULDVE JUST BEEN WING MANNING. THE TWO EVENTS ARENT NECESSARILY CONNECTED BECAUSE MIKE WAS JUST BEING HONEST AND TRYING TO HELP WILL!! HE-

liar?

liar.

LIAR.

LIAR!!!!!

we know what mike was saying in the shed is true, but he still has the incredibly prominent lighting that indicates mike is lying or hiding something. everything mike says here is provably true through parallels to crazy together and a bunch of other shit, so what is he hiding?? what could he Possibly be hiding here when we know he’s being honest about what he’s saying?

well, you know where else mike was being honest?

but he STILL has that lighting. because he isn’t being actually honest with will here. he’s downplaying the severity of his feelings A Lot. he’s hiding behind the guise of friendship in both scenes when his feelings run much, much deeper than what he’s showing.

but why would mike be downplaying his feelings in the shed scene if he’s unaware?? he WOULDNT. because he is AWARE. and it guides all his behavior from the snowball to literally his Whole Fucking Arc in s3 which is about Actively pushing will away and trying to fix himself and his feelings by growing up and “learning” to like girls. that arc didnt come out of nowhere. there was a trigger to those incredibly Conscious actions. mike wasnt blind to what he was doing when he made fun of will and projected his own inability to like girls onto him. he has a consciousness that does in fact guide his behavior when doing things Blatantly out of true character for him

He was even there when at first glance it seemed like he wasn't there

That's just embarrassing for Milkdud tbh. Like the other love interest being in the frame in every single one of their scenes except for their massive fight?? LMAOOOO