#nbdnw

[beau-is-here]

Big whopping s5 spoilers

(Ik everyone and their alt account is posting abt this rn but I'll just give a spoiler warning anyway)

This coming out scene literally says nothing about the future of Byler. It's the same with Robin's speech about Tammy Thompson, and how Robin saw Vickie kissing another girl and ran away because she knew Vickie wasn't the one again, and how everyone else thinks because it's perspective. In Will's point of view, even though he has accepted that he's gay, he will never think Mike would like him back. Ever. He's seen Mike kiss el, say that he loves el, and everything else, but it's still will's perspective. Do we really believe Willian Byers, a character who self sabotaged in the back of the van to tell his crush that said crush's girlfriend needs him? Do we believe that same character who further self sabotaged by convincing his crush to say that he loves his girlfriend? Do we believe the exact same character who literally had multiple scenes looking at life in the most negative way, saying again and again and again that they had lost, that he is weak???

Fuck that, Will Byers is the most unreliable person to have a take on. If we want to believe Mike Wheeler doesn't have feelings back, let's wait for Mike wheeler to be the one to fucking say it, not Will.

Stay strong, fellow Byler. We WILL prevail!

Yk what? I'm starting a new gate. Never back down never what gate, or NBDNW gate. This means, even if Will says that Mike isn't "like him," we don't believe it until Mike says it to Will or anyone else himself!!!!

[beau-is-here]

More spoilers because I am very generous

Things we didn't see in volume 2 regarding Byler:

1. The allusive painting conversation, which still hasn't happened. It's coming in the finale.

2. Noah said that he spent the most time recording with Mike and yet the only had a few scenes together this whole season so far and like 4-5 of them most weren't with the whole party; he's spent so much more time taking to Robin, for example, which was a bunch, a bunch of 1 on 1 scenes.

3. The final episodes of Volume 5 were supposed to be about resolved Will's romantic feelings for Mike. However, we get a coming out scene that more focused on Will being afraid of how the ENTIRE PARTY wouldn't be the same if he came out. Is that really "resolving" said romantic feelings if said romantic feelings a. Probably still exist for Will and b. Have yet to actually include him resolving those feelings with Mike. This wasn't a satisfying end to Will's 3 SEASON MINIMUM STRUGGLE. One coming out scene doesn't address the pining he's endured for so many years for his best friend

4. Why would Will ask about the whole "how did you know Vickie wanted to date?" and the "snowball turns into an avalanche" thing, because why would Will want to know if Mike would date if he didn't think Mike has feelings for him??? Pick a side, Byers, either he's been sending you signals for 18 months or he "isn't like" you.

5. Don't forget that half of Will's scenes in this volume were him feeling nothing but dread and despair and being all "we lost. I'm weak. I killed those innocent people. I'm the reason we lost the children." Why would the duffers spend so much time for will to say things that pretty obviously aren't true to show that his guilt and grief lead him to be unreliable to the other characters and the audience in terms of telling the truth. His narrative taints our view of the story, and the duffers wouldn't highlight it so regularly in so many seasons if it didn't lead anywhere, if Will was right and Mike really "isn't different like that"

6. NO MILEVEN KISS YET? Kali telling el that she's basically trying to run away from her problems by hiding in the comfort of Mike? hmmm

[beau-is-here]

Vol 2 spoilers below!

I thought about the whole byler crisis for awhile, and I guess this is good for the ship. Just because the duffers felt it would be good to send a message in ep 7 to young queers that helps them accept if they have a crush that is unrequited, it doesn't mean that the ship won't happen. Even though Will thinks and has accepted that Mike won't like him back, which, yay character development(?), we could still have Byler happen. It might actually make byler so much more healthy than other ships that are more codependent (Jancy and Mileven) because Will won't have this underlying foundation in the relationship that he "needs" Mike. So, looking at this positively, there's still a good chance for Byler, they just needed to address the emotional background and development first.

All the duffers need to do now is lock tf in and have Mike do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, CARRY SOME DAMN EMOTIONAL WEIGHT FOR ONCE!