this says it all
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The thing about childhood friends to lovers and the subtrope of that that is miscommunicated “unrequited” love is that there is typically one pov we know is in love with the other in childhood friends to lovers. And because of that, the payoff is the reciprocation initiated by the other party. But to be initiated by them, it needs to not be initiated by the person we’re following, and to not be initiated by the person we’re following, the person we’re following needs to give up hope before even trying, and to give up hope before even trying, THEY need to believe that it is definitively unrequited.
Idk about y’all, but here are some key points I’ve noticed in the childhood friends to lovers trope:
- Focus on one POV
- Assumed unreciprocating causing lack of action (whether it be personal insecurity and nervousness, they’re ‘out of my league’ now, they’re straight)
- At least one of them may date somehow and seem to have moved on and possibly even be endgame only to come back so that they could have the big “I could never stop loving you”
- Romantic payoff initiated by non-POV person and treated as surprise to both the character and the audience
Because of the structuring of seasons 1 and 2/3 and 4, these could also arguably be applied to either Mike or Will because of the full POV shift for a long enough amount of time that we are once again in the dark, only knowing vaguely where Mike was at when we last checked in two years ago.
This all to say, though. All the things discouraging you are nothing new. In fact, they are the very basis and definition of the trope you are watching unfold in slowburn. Childhood best friends to lovers slowburn tv show is one of the ones you have to have the most faith in, I think, because it requires - especially a rough spot historically for queer people - longterm romantic-coded friendship.
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2022: "expect maybe byler in s5"
2022: "there won't be new characters in s5"
2024: "will byers love interest in s5"
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PLEASE I HAVE OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES 😔
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Happy pride month to the canon homos 🏳️🌈
Oh- did I put Mike there? Whoops, my bad 🤭
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Hoping this tweet is right on!
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DOMESTIC BYLER
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sometimes i think about the fact it's mike who's gonna kiss will cause will gave up already and he lost all hope for mike to love him back and i die a little everytime
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Ok listen I certainly don’t HATE the short look on Mike. I think it’ll look nice on him, show his age more. But gosh I wish they let him grow out his hair like this for s5.
Thinking about him exploring the upside down with a bandana over his nose and mouth and a ponytail holding his long hair up is so good
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Heteronormativity pisses me off so much because I know for a FACT all y'all would be shipping byler if will was a girl or if Mike was a girl cuz it'd be like
"Omg (feminine alternative name for Mike) is giving heart eyes to will they're my endgame 🥺🥺" but since Mike is a boy y'all wanna be like "he thinks will is a great best bro🔥🔥💪" and then insist Mike and el are happily together, like please be fr😭😭 y'all gotta be joking atp IN WHAT FCKING WORLD IS THIS "Best bros!!"
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I am really looking forward to the conversation Mike and El will have during or post-breakup and when Mike explains to her the feelings he has for Will, because I feel like this will be the only indicator we get of Mike's sexuality. He's probably not going to come out with it that he's gay or bi, but I think we should be able to surmise what his sexuality is based on the reasoning he gives El for why he can't be with her.
I feel like the biggest indicator we'll get is whether Mike tells El they can't work together because she is a girl or because he realizes that they're no longer compatible now that they're older. Like, he could say, "I do love you, but I think I've been mistaking the love I have for you for romance instead of friendship," or he could say, "I really *did* love you, but now that we're older, I think we work better as friends." I feel like it will really hinge on whether he admits to having loved El or not.
Low key, I think it's also very possible that Mike will remain unlabeled and that all we'll know from him is that he realizes he's been in love with Will for a long time. I can high key see him saying, "I don't know what it means or when exactly it happened, but I love Will and I know I'm supposed to be with him."
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"stranger things characters being gay in the 80s is so unrealistic!" there is a 9 foot monster who's face opens up in the show be so for real
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Mike thinks he has to be needed in order to be loved because he doesn’t think anyone could ever want him. He thinks he has to earn love via offering some form of protection. Meanwhile, Will wants Mike so much that he feels like he needs him. And it has nothing to do with Mike earning his affection — Will just loves him for who he is.
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it worked.
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completely out of the blue (kinda), but does anyone else have this fear/dread of what reactions general viewers/anti-bylers will have if byler is canon? let me elaborate.
last season, especially during pt2, it was stupidly clear that will was gay/had feelings for mike. it’s not even that this was a sudden thing because most fans that delve deep into theories and scenes from the show can tell you, with definitive evidence, that will being gay isn’t new. so, after s4 pt2 dropped, everyone picked up what the duffers put down and figured it out, finally!! but oml the pushback was more than i expected, and you see this a lot with shows and movies with (god forbid) more than one queer or non-white character. people were automatically saying the duffers were pandering to the bylers, who if you weren’t there pre-pt2, were getting a lot of “recognition” as the byler theories became more popular.
what i’m trying to say is, and sorry if i’m rambling at this point 😭😭, that does anyone else have a fear that the casual viewers will just relentlessly shit on byler?? the homophobia is actually gonna be crazy. like they’re just gonna call it woke, pandering, unexpected, or whatever. and i’m not one to care what people think, especially about a show, but i feel like this is just going to infuriate me if it does happen. i’m just so tired of people lacking any brainpower to infer and see past what society expects these characters to be. like OMG U CAN LITERALLY WATCH THAT SCENE IN S3 WHERE MIKE SAYS THE INFAMOUS LINE, “it’s not my fault u don’t like girls!” yeah so yall r stupid and i hate everyone and i love will byers and i cannot stand people calling him slurs like that’s why ur mom doesn’t love u BYE
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It's summer.
And Mike can't help himself.
I ended up drawing "buff Byers" again, sorry lol I know some people don't like it.
But I love that "short and strong x tall and skinny" dynamic. I find it really fun.
In fact, nothing gets out of my head that if Will did some sport he would gain muscle very easily.
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