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@michaelswilliam
[FIC UPDATE] chapter 11 of 'he chased me, and he wouldn't stop'
byler fic, wip, 22k/184 words
modern gothic take with gothic heroine!will, gothic husband!mike and gothic monster!henry creel
season five re-write/fix-it
slowburn, angst, will has powers and mike has a paladin complex
gnc!will
TW: ed and implied abuse
READ THE CHAPTER
4 year old Harry: I have to go see my wife
James: ...Excuse me?
4 year old Harry: Ginny. Is my wife. I must go see her
James: Harry you know that was a play pretend wedding right?
Sirius, who officiated it: I don't know man it seemed pretty real to me
For some reason your fic remind me of obsession, i know that the whole point is will choosing henry but i do feel like Henry, and especially the one in your fic would so make that wish towards will
hahaha, understandable. i mean in this fic, henry's one and only desire is to have will stay with him in the upside down.
In the end of chapter 12, is Mike able to see Henry approach Will or can only Will see him there? and is that why Mike was screaming for him while being dragged away by the vines?
heheh im gonna be annoying and say you will find out about it in chapter 14 buahaha
I can't express in words how happy I am of the moment "my life started...", although I managed to cry over everything that happened before that. I think this moment was unfairly missed, in the canon Mike did not face any consequences of what he said, Will forgave him and went on, as if the phrase that your best friend's life started on the day when your life turned into horror is a trifle. I really appreciate that it had weight in your fic. And it hit unexpectedly and very painfully
i think when i wrote it i also wanted to "avenge" canon will in a way too... this was the scene that stared this fic, i've wrote it nearly a year a go, i've never been so satisfied in posting a chapter, its like (pardon my methaphor) pushing out a huge piece of literal dump after being constipated for days HAHAH
thank you so much for appreciating that scene!
okay so I just read chapter 12 (and also the rest of the fic, sat down and read for like 5 straight hours it was SO good) and HOLY CRAP, YOU’RE BATSHIT INSANE. This chapter knocked me off my ass bro. This fic needs to like live in my skull permanently because every single detail is so GOOD Jesus CHRIST!! Henry messing with Will and Mike being the one to suffer for it as he tries to comprehend everything going on. I’m literally vibrating out of my seat excited for Mike’s pov because he’s just been waiting here watching as Will slips away and unsure of what to do about it- if he presses too hard, Will won’t ever open up, but if he doesn’t push then he’ll never know, too. And all the while even he is subconsciously treating Will differently. Oh Mike Wheeler I love you so dearly because he is trying so hard to keep everything together and yet can’t help but always say the wrong thing (which is definitely not helped by Henry). He’s always backed into a corner, trying to make the next best move, watching everyone around him go through these horrible things while he just watches. I absolutely love how there’s this undercurrent about the power imbalances in Mike and Will’s relationship, how Mike is allowed to go on crawls and participate in things while Will isn’t which makes Will feel powerless, but Will is involved in all of this supernatural shit and Mike feels powerless to help. And then don’t even get me started on WILL- the way Will has been so carefully pushed around by Henry to twist all of his best traits into something Will blames himself for. Will’s ability to open up and have empathy is his greatest strength, but Henry has twisted these traits for him so deeply. AHG I could rant for HOURS about this, about how Henry so gently suggested for Will to appreciate himself and let himself be a little more focused on himself, just enough that when it all comes to light Will uses these words - which WERE helpful to him - and uses them as a sword to fall on, which pushes him even deeper into these empathetic ways to where he will take everyone’s pain into himself and crucify himself onto it. He’s taking all of the blame for everything for ever daring to fall for someone kind to him, for ever daring to let himself have one thought outside of the people who need him. Henry utilized these good traits of his to completely ruin him even beyond his supernatural abilities of changing Will’s memories, that Will now fully doesn’t trust himself. Ughghghhghgh it’s soooooo good.
The holly plot is also IMPECCABLE. The rabbit symbolism (which again ties into how Henry twisted this pure thing about will to use against him, because now Will views the rabbit- something that was once good and whole- as a symbol of utter guilt for what happened to Holly) is incredible. The bracelet acting like the lights for Joyce in season one is incredible. The way Holly has been set perfectly to let the party find a reason she was taken for EL’S capture without also realizing Holly is THE perfect pawn to push Will into what is happening is genius. Henry’s perfect plan of making Will think that El is who he wants and causing Will to think that he isn’t necessary, that bringing el will make Henry win when really bringing El could possibly save Will himself is perfect. The way that Mike disrupts this perfect plan by being Will’s anchor, by reminding Will of his own humanity and changes the pull of the bracelet on Will (which I’m like 99% sure Henry is tampering with, if I interpreted that correctly) is ALSO incredible.
also also? The prose and imagery in this chapter? SPEC FUCKING TACULAR. I had chills the whole time. The religious imagery, the theatre (also side note the way you tied this to Joyce again is SCRUMPTIOUS), again with the rabbit, and river, the paladin, all of it is amazing. My favorite (throughout the whole fic too) is how Will perceives what a monster SHOULD be. My poor son should not have to be learning these things the hard way aghghg. And the prose and the language you use is like poetry it’s so beautiful TvT these are some of my favorites because this was an absolute treat to read
“It was the letter L. The one Holly had taken from her own bracelet because she had more Ls. She had become Holy for him.” - the way I gasped
“You already got me, you had me. You had me first, wasn’t that enough?” - oh will my baby
“So everyone would bleed again because Will Byers had never learned how to keep the monsters out of the house.” - so I’m gonna excuse myself to go cry now
“She called him Wi before she could say Will.” - I genuinely had to put the fic down and tear at my hair.
“Will’s bones still remembered breaking in bodies that were not his.” There’s something about this line that just gives me goosebumps
“For one second, or what might have been one, a small handprint appeared on the other side. Five fingers spread against the slick red dark, trembling like a child pushing against a window.” - just like Will in s1 I’m gonna be sick
“I’m not clean just because I’m sorry,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest, “I’m not innocent just because I feel bad about it.” - this is probably my favorite line from the chapter I’m imma restrain myself from going on another rant about it but: this exactly is the damage that Henry did to him. And it makes me sick. I want 500k more words of this by tomorrow agahhgahghhg
“This had to be said now, in this ruined church, before Mike could drag him back into the world that didn’t deserve to have someone like Will in it.” - Will believes this one way and Mike believes it the other. I’m gonna die
“I am not made of magic, Mike, I’m made of rot, and it kept growing inside me, and I could still feel it, feel it–” he pressed against his stomach, fingers digging through the ruined tunic “- felt it crawling under my skin, up to my throat, like it was trying to get out–” - I cried uhm the contrast of the magic to the rot and how they’re both wrong because both are turning Will into something other than just pure human and how that is also driving Will to do all of the things he’s doing because everyone has turned him into something other than human, subconsciously, even Will. And Henry capitalized on this by making Will feel human until Will learned who he was and twisted it. I’m gagged
“What if he makes me tell them to come after you, what if it’s my head and his hand and your blood and I can’t stop all of it?” - this line is so gorgeous
“Mike’s dark eyes stayed on his, they moved like he’s trying to remember every inch of Will’s face, then he nodded again, to himself, before his knee hit the broken church floor too hard. The sound vibrated through the nave, sharp enough to make Will flinch. Mike’s face tightened with pain, but he remained there, one knee on the stone, the other bent bneath him, sword still in his hand. Its point dragged across the floor when his grip slipped.” - I’m shaking someone has to keep me contained
“I don’t care if you think you caused it. If you want to stay then I’ll stay, I am not leaving without you.” Mike shifted on his knee, pain flashed on his face, he ignored it. “I’ll stay. I’ll stay right here and I’ll protect you and none of that other stuff gets to decide if I do.” Will’s chest hurt, stupid, honorable Mike Wheeler and– “You could burn down the whole fucking world,” Mike continued, his voice shaking now, he kept his dark eyes up at Will, “and I’d still–” he swallowed and dragged himself closer, wincing when his bruises and gash grazed against the floor, but he did not look away. “I’d still be here, I’ll protect you from anything, despite everything.” - I’m gonna go fucking feral
“The oath crossed the space between them, but they did not make Will innocent. They did not wash the blood from his mouth or the rot inside his belly. They did not unmake Bob dying in the lab, or Ted and Karen on the floor, or Holly’s hand against the membrane, and that’s why they almost broke him. No one had said it like that before, no one had stood before the worst thing believed about himself and refused to make goodness the price of staying. No one had looked at the stain and said he did not have to be clean first. Mike knelt in front of it all and stayed.” -AHGHGHGHAHAHGHHAHGAHHDHEHGHAHBHEHHAHBSHAH
“It was the closest Mike ever came to saving him.” - jumping and not for joy
(“Do you remember kindergarten?” - okay this one is unserious but I just rewatched high school musical and with tears in my eyes from the rest of this godforsaken torture dungeon I laughed for a solid two minutes because I immediately read it in Gabriela’s voice. Then I read the rest of the paragraph that went with this and went back to crying)
“Henry had never needed to pretend that his pity was devotion, he had never knelt with a sword and asked Will to believe in a lie.” - I’m gonna throw up oh Will baby oh no
“There’s a guttural cry now but it did not come from Holly, it came from her brother behind Will, kneeling now because the vines had gotten to him, yanking him down the aisle, away from the altar, away from Will, begging, sobbing, screaming for him, calling his name over and over until his voice scraped raw, his voice hoarse. Will had never heard something so foreign in his ears.” - so I’m gonna kill myself
god. what can I even say. I have so many thoughts and words and I like can’t even express them because I am so deeply enamored with this fic it’s so amazing I’m obsessed with it ahghagha
I’m pretty sure approximately 3% of this makes sense and most of that is the quotes that I took from the fic to comment on but NEVERMIND THAT. I just had to let you know because this fic makes me want to do something drastic xx
I AM GONNA SCREENSHOT THIS AND PRINT THIS OUT AND PUT IT ON MY BINDER THANK YU THAK YOUU
GOD I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE REACT TO MY FIC LINE BY LINE IT FELT ALL SO WORTH THE NO SLEEP NIGHTS SPENT WRITING THIS THANK YOUUUU
seriously these comments are the reason why i get so motivated to write! obviously i write for my own enjoyment but this drives me to give my best in my writing, thank YOU!!!!
Hi!! First I lovelovelove your gothic retelling and since I just read chapter 12 I'm feeling compelled to ramble about all the things I loved
- As I understand, or assume, towards the end Will is succumbing to Henry's control. Like, to me it reads as Henry using his powers to infiltrate and overtake Will's mind but also Will sort of exhausting himself with fighting that off. Since we know convincing WILL BYERS not to hate himself is an uphill battle, it makes sense that when he loses wtv footing he does have, he'll go tumbling all the way down. (Down the rabbit hole, even. #lol)
WITH THAT 👆 The way the scene where he brings up what Mike said and Wills own version of him being the hanger on, the afterthought, etc- and all of this just confirming what Henry is telling him (and perhaps a foundational belief for Will in general, that he IS easily forgotten and that he IS worthless, etc) I really, really relate to the rapid shutdown I got from Will
Maybe that's something with trauma, even IRL? I know for myself, as someone with a childhood similar to Will's, that sometimes it's just "easier" to slide into the darker end of things. Hating yourself is familiar, being "unsalvageable" is the standard. It makes sense in a way that mimics certainty, mimics safety.
Rambling but essentially my point is I was really blown away by how relatable that shift in Will felt. Henry is, to a reader, so OBVIOUSLY not where Will should run to. And yet, I can so so easily see how Will makes that choice.
Though ofc it stings after seeing how valiant Mike is TRYING to be lmao. Bro has his childhood best friend basically pleading to die for/with him and yet Will has finally reached the place where his arms aren't open anymore. The same boy who sees himself as constantly chasing after Mike, hand extended is now the one walking away. Painful in a way that I am absolutely eating up
- LOVEEEEE how they came through the river. GOD the show sucks so fucking bad because why did we never get anything even remotely as visually stunning or symbolic as that??? I mean season 1 has so much to paw through with the Quarry™ of it all, season 4 has the lake, there's all of El's shit with water helping her access her powers- what were they SMOKING to not play into that more?? Or at least make it more cohesive.
The demogorgans and their aversion to fire, along with certain characters affinity for water,, baby thats prime storytelling material but yknow ofc they left it on the table to do fuck of all with
- Your Byers family is lowkey the only Byers family in the world to me btw. Like don't get me wrong I love Joyce and I LOVE Jonathan- but even besides the show itself flanderizing the hell out of them, I feel like even Byers Stans™ sometimes have a habit of purifying them.
Like I love Joyce because she is a flawed human being. Yes, she's kind hearted and fierce and loving- but I like seeing you acknowledge the unfair treatment between her children. It may be understandable how Jonathan ends up as a secondary parental figure, esp in the wake of Lonnie and S1 and dududu, but it doesn't make it "fair". Joyce smothers Will in the same breath she more or less abandons Jonathan. You write these dynamics and complicated feelings SO WELL without having to be heavy handed or "tell" more than you "show"
+ Bonus for I generally dont give a damn ab the Wheeler parents portrayals one way or another, but that you Karen is a character I actively miss and feel like I'm mourning. It makes me wish the show had done more with the Wheeler parents to where they weren't, in my opinion, background characters that became Memes™ and lost all chance at substance.
- And lastly (for now lmao) I don't know exactly how to phrase this but there's something really tragically beautiful to me ab Mike all but confessing his love for Will without ever saying those words. Like two young guys in a literal apocalyptic horror, who maybe SHOULD be freed of all earthly shackles by now, but aren't. They're still in a small town in the 80s, they still have that fear beneath their skin that keeps them from just SAYING what would set them free.
And its crazy how relatable that is too!! I mean even as someone who grew up in the 2010s where, in my country at least, I got to real life witness queer couples on screen I still had this life or death fear in me about accepting being queer. And that can be hard for some of my friends who grew up without religion or in more "open" households to understand but like idk there is something So Specific to being young and feeling this Thing™ inside of you that you, for all the world, know is going to bring you to ruin.
And that's why even when the fandom jokes about Wills POV being torturous or like even when Im like GODDDD Will, can't you lock in and see Mike at your knees- it's like. Well I also remember being a teenager and feeling like there was something incurably wicked and rotted and wrong within me. Something like that is so immeasurably hard to untangle. (On top of the whole interdimensional shenanigans like DAMN girl, Will is better than me!!)
oh my god truly there is no word i can say besides THANK YOUUUU this is sososo beautfiful seriously im definitely returning back to this message whenever i need the motivation to write!!
and thank YOUUU for that shoutout about mike's confession, i think i can also relate to you, my country's not quite accepting of queer people, so I guess it kinda affect me in writing their confession too? esp since this story was set in the 80s so the social status quo was pretty much the same in a way, but beside all that... i am a sucker for people declaring their love without saying the world "love"... which also might be affected by the culture i grew up in, we dont really say "i love you" but we usually reflect in action OR even with words, but... rarely the explicit "love" was it, it was more of "i'll go to jail for you or with you" or "I'll be by your side until you die and then the hereafter" than "i love you" so i guess that's how mike's confession was born and im so happy that you can relate to will and this fic, thank you so much for reading this and for sending this lovely message!
'Mike shook his head immediately. “There is no chance in any universe I’m going back without you.”'
Do you know you have thirty minutes?? THIRTY, THIRTY.. THIRTY!!
The second I saw that line I just knew that there was no way that Henry would let Will go back with Mike of all people (or at all)😭
and youre RIGHT!!!!
honestly idk if you notice it, but EVERY time mike said something about how he'd never leave will, the demogorgons came to attack him!
when will was walking alone in the UD, there were NO monsters coming at him, none of them wanted to harm will, but the moment mike came to him, they got attacked, then again when they're at the parish hall, when mike almost got close to bare his feelings, when he was hugging will and when will ALMOST confessed to mike, the demogorgons came AGAIN!!
none of them came to harm will, they all wanted to kill mike lol
HI! I just finished reading chapter 12 and I'M SPEECHLESS. Your ability and talent is astounding!!! I've been in fandoms for more than 7 years at this point and I don't think I have ever read anything like your fic. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. Is Mike gonna go back alone with his hands empty? Is he gonna stay in the UD alone trying to find Will and Holly? Maybe you have said it before, but now that Henry has Will going with him willingly, will he give Holly back with no problem? What did Mike see? Like, it's very clear that Will was seeing Henry and hearing Holly, but what was Mike seeing in the meantime? Did he see Henry at the altar as well? Is Will gonna disappear or leave his physical body behind (I don't know about this one, I don't wanna sound dumb)?. I know you cannot answer a lot of these, but your work is genuinely incredible and I have literally no words for it. Also, did it mean anything the fact that Will called Mike Holly's brother at the end and not by his name? I adverted it like sort of a detachment (idk if it was just a writer's choice but I wanted to point that out). Also kudos to your depiction of Mike Wheeler, I love him so much, maybe just as much as Will (only in this fic, let's be clear). Anyway, amazing work, you have a genius mind, seriously. I can't wait for next chapter of this and of your Omega verse fic!!
omgg im sorry but i can only answer ONE question from this because you will find out all about it in chapter 14, i dont really want to spoil anything hehe
and YES will's referring to mike as "holly's brother" is VERY MUCH on purpose, it is to show his "detachment" from mike, especially in the last line where he said mike's voice had never sounded so foreign to him before. in a way, henry has successfully taken mike away from will. thank you sosoos much for reading this fic!!!
i was rereading ur latest chapter and lowk SHOUT OUT to lucas sinclair who kept trying to get up during the hopper-will confrontation and wouldve absolutely gotten involved if it weren't for his injury!! you have no idea how much these byclair crumbs mean to me lmaooo (also lucas sinclair always the goat in general. i love that you gave him so much more significance here compared to what he got in canon!)
also also that paragraph "He could still feel Hopper’s grip on his shirt. He could still feel Henry’s fingers over his, guiding a pencil. Both touches lived on him at once now, and his skin could not decide which one to fear first." sorry the comparison being made between HOPPER and HENRY??? HOPPER and his FUCKING RAPIST??? i thought i forgave him than i reread and hopper actually needs to die im so serious im literally distraught
thank you!!! lucas is actually my favorite of the party after will, i relate to him so so much, it's such a shame that they reduced his character to just be max's boyfriend, god he literally was fighting tooth and nail for will in season 1, he was the hero to me!
im curious, (unless this will be answered later on) if henry purposely made everyone forget about wills birthday, why wouldnt he also make holly forget about it? make him go fully unnoticed? is it just because having the one person who remembered about him being taken away from him would hurt more? or is there another reason for her remembering?
ALSO im curious if everyone brushing him aside during the battle and during the basement scene is intentional and because of henry. there seems to be a purposeful point about everyone checking up on eachother while will sits there alone for the most part. also, people are easily distracted from will to focus on other people even though will is clearly doing really bad and also needs attention.
and no one asked if he was okay after hopper shoved his head against the fucking wall?? i get that they were busy with el but shouldnt someone be checking on him???
and on an unrelated note… i saw a response to someone else’s question where you say that youre going to allow el to be mad about will and mike liking each other and i am SO glad that youre doing it that way. i obviously think that el would be okay with it and accept that its for the best… but that comes with time. acceptance doesnt come immediately and she deserves to be angry and ugly about it because SHE ABSOLUTELY HAS EVERY RIGHT TO BE ANGRY!!! her fucking BROTHER is getting with her EX-BOYFRIEND. that is insane for her. she deserves to have a real love with him and she deserves to be mad when it ends. because thats how teenage relationships work. the first person you get with probably definitely wont be who you stay with forever and thats okay. it doesnt mean that it wasnt real. relationships come and go, people change, but that doesnt make anything less real.
also, i loved the part where just before holly is taken where will says that he actually wants to eat for once. its such a small detail but it really sold the whole scene for me. it really nails the point into your head that everything is great and this is just a really happy, sweet moment. just for that to be completely turned on its head and for everything to immediately go wrong. youre a really brilliant writer and every detail feels intentional. all of the characters feel fully fleshed out while still remaining as themselves.
hiiii thank you so much for this lovely lovely message! i am wide grinning ear to ear at work lol
anyways, so to answer to your question i think the answer is simple. henry underestimates holly AND the relationship and bond she has with will.
henry doesnt know just how close they are to each other, henry underestimates the love will has for holly and vice versa, that is why it never occurs to him that she'd remember his birthday AND even give him a present for it
and that is why the bracelet is important too, i guess in a way it's a lifeline that connects holly to will that is /outside/ of henry's connection to will, i think i want to make it the 'opposite' bond against henry and will. something that so pure, with purely well intention, something that not even him can touch even with how much influence he has over will now.
and as for the people ignoring will at the end of chapter it is more of my design than of "henry" i guess, because no matter how unreliable will was as a narrator, he was not just making things up out thin air you know, he HAS been ignored, especially when others paid more attention to tell, this was not a unique incident, it happpened often that it became the foundation of will's self-disparaging thought of himself being someone's second thoughts
and thank you! i really hope i can deliver the el x mike x will resolution to their love triangle that is befitting to their characters and circumstances
Henry gladly and lovingly getting Will pregnant and Will nearly overwriting all the Upside Down trauma with so much love Henry gives him (and Will craves love more than anything)
HENRY CREEL GET AWAY FROM HIMMMMM
i love he chased me and he wouldn't stop so much! genuinely one of my favorite byler fics <3
Something that I've been wondering about is how the people around will might eventually react to him/his sexuality bc it might be something henry uses against will?
Like hopefully he won't have to come out to literally everyone given how personal it is and the fact that it's literally the 80s (fuck you st s5), but there are a lot of allusions and ties to it regarding other characters that i'm curious to see play out
The whole thing with Hopper in the most recent chapter definitely mirrors homophobic rhetoric at the time, and while I doubt Hopper is going to be a raging homophobe, I think i'd be interesting to think about his reaction
because while he doesn't seem like he'd be incredibly bigoted, i feel like it's not like he'll be immediately okay with it given his whole hypermasculine thing and the rhetoric he's grown up around
after all, his first reaction to joyce telling him that lonnie called will slurs is literally just asking if he was right about him and it definitely raises a lot of questions of how deeply rooted that mindset is for him
i know he's probably eventually going to be supportive but i feel like he also has some shit to work out as well and am interested in seeing what he's been taught, his opinion on will, and his love for joyce war against each other
i think ive answered similar question here
and yes in particular regards to hopper, i think it makes the most sense if he'd be ignorant and messy about it first, i think the closest comparison in my head would be to Jay Prichett from modern family
he really loved his son and tried, but it wasnt always gonna be perfect, something might be said wrong here and there but what mattered is that he always tried. i think that's gonna be hopper with will
I adore your writing so much you don't even know. For years and years and years I've been reading fics but never felt inspired to write anything of my own. I've hardly written anything that wasn't for school. But after reading HCMAHWS I was so wooed by how detailed and beautiful the characterization and prose were. Like everything is so detailed and makes sense. It's the world's biggest breath of fresh air and I feel like it's all the best parts of the earlier seasons of ST and double. It inspired me to start writing my own stories and finally translate all my ideas into words, and since then I've fallen in love with writing and have been writing my own fic!!
I also love how nothing is really seamless or easy in your version of things. I prefer when things aren't resolved too quickly and happily bc where's the tension in that? And might I add that the way you build and write tension?? and the horror elements??? There's so much weight in everything and that might be one of my favorite parts. The modern gothic style suits the characters and show so much, the way you write it make's it so engaging to read. And you write even the side characters with so much substance, not to mention the literal main character, Will, who's got a million layers of shit going on. None of the characters that the fandom sometimes reduces to pure kindness and perfection are written as such. There are so many layers and everything is so interesting and mysterious.
But yeah I just wanted to say that I love your story and I'm so grateful I started it!! I don't think I would've started writing anytime soon if I hadn't. Sending a million kudos
oh my god are you FOR REAL??? please share me your fic once youve posted it!!
this is honestly so sweet i am definitely gonna print this and and put it on my wall to motivate me hahah, thank you so MUCH!!!
I've seen in many Byler fics that it's usually El who breaks up with Mike because she needs to focus on herself, discover who she is as a person, and their relationship is not what she needs at the moment. And then she is fine with Mike and Will getting together or there's not a reaction at all. And somehow I feel like this is the easiest way to avoid dealing with the ugly feelings that come with a broken heart and confronting the idea that your bf/gf, whom you love, could love someone else. But personally, I'd like to see more stories (and I think it's particularly necessary for Will in "he chased me", but I'd like to know your perspective on this) where Mike is the one who makes the decision to choose Will for the first time, and not just after El breaks up with him.
i think ive answered this in the previous ask, but i'll try to elaborate again heheh
so yeah, i think the complexity of this love triangle is what makes it so good and i cannot believe not many fics have explored it yet, with the amount that we have now especially
what makes byler "buzzy" within the m11 drama is because mike CHOSE will over el. el breaking up with mike and then suddenly be okay with letting him go and taking away mike's DECISION to CHOOSE will removes the best part of byler IMO!
with all the pining will had done, being put on the sideline, it is only fair if mike CHOSE will OVER el. if mike CHOSE to make the hard decision and TAKE the step himself instead of allowing the narrative to be easy for him!
and el has every right to be angry about it, she has every right to be mad, to feel betrayed but then to also realize that she might have been the one taking will's "supposed" place in mike's life, el had the right to be livid, to be hurt and saddened AND to move on and accept and realize that heartbreaks hurt but it is not the end of the world, that there are more important things than just stupid boys, taking that away to me, is also taking her "girlhood" away
part of girlhood is falling in love with the wrong boy, being chosen over someone, and then learning how to grow out of that pain, to find your own worth, and be fine again
to me, in this scenario, mike HAS to choose will over el, el breaking up with mike and then making the narrative easy and not requiring mike to make that decision is just so lame and unsatisfying
The reason that the duffers say Erica will be fine is due to the adultification of young black children and how they are not seen as young and innocent who also deal with issues and personal traumas to overcome. It’s probably because most of their struggles come from racism and white supremacy and how the media disregards them as insignificant in comparison to white children who they believe is more relatable to general audience which couldn’t be further from the truth. Like you, I do t appreciate characters of color only portrayed based on stereotypes and not giving more dimensional like white characters. That’s why I didn’t like how the duffers wrote Lucas and Erica stories in the show. Like they don’t even touch on their parents and how even though their financial status is privileged like the wheelers, they as black people are still seen as inferior despite being so accomplished. So many things could have been touched on in the show but the duffers couldn’t be bothered to tell it beside shoving their self insert in the front.
ohh exactly EXACTLY i hate how white centric this show is... so much... honestly season 5 just made me hate it completely now, the only reason im still here is purely bc of the fics and i always try to finish everything i started, after my fics are finished i'd probably venture to other fandom
i genuinely despise and loathe the duffers with all my beings i will never forgive them for what theyve done to the sinclairs, kali and will
Are going to see more moments of gnc Will later in the fic? Like is Henry going to bring up the moment where Will was wearing that skirt and remember Mike’s reaction? Or does Will have some type of feelings of resentment towards El and maybe wishes he was more like her since she’s the daughter Joyce wanted and the “perfect” girlfriend for Mike? Also is there like a memory of Will’s first gender non conforming moment?
henry will use the fact that in the real world will would always going to be resented for who he is, and that unlike them, henry accepts will for all he is, henry never cares for his sexuality or gender identity. it never matters to him.
i think that's the most painful part, i think it's also the essence of the gothicism of this story, the monster being the one place that celebrates the side of the heroine that they so long wanted to bury
