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dayflies
disclaimer, i wasn't really a byler truther until like three days ago. when i first watched stranger things i just watched for the whole kids in the 80s fighting monsters schtick. i didn't rly ship anyone, like i was very neutral about every romantic relationship, honestly i only cared about the monster fighting and the friendship-isms lol and was very blind to everything else. but then the other day when vol. 4 came out i was like "wouldn't it be funny if they were kids in the 80s fighting monsters while also facing the epic highs and lows of coming of age as a queer teenager" and then something in my brain just CLICKED?? to quote twt user reigbastard (so me):
i wasn't strong enough to resist the coming of age monster-fighting shared trauma childhood best friends gays in the eighties vibes
not to mention the Repression... maybe they are actually just made for me, personally
and its super embarrassing how emotionally invested i am in byler now but yeah. i have two days left to submit some stupid exam ass-ignment so i guess that explains a lot. this is def not a cry for help <3
the playlist (and it's in order! somewhat. look at me making narratively sense, who would've ever thought)
a few select stand-outs:
1. i will
mitski
haha will get it lol. but yeah. i think this fits mike - he's very fiercely protective over his friends in general (@ that one time he was willing to QUITE LITERALLY KILL HIMSELF TO SAVE DUSTIN'S TEETH), but he's especially protective over will. he's always, always making sure he's okay, his well-being is incredibly important to mike and it's very sweet to see how caring and gentle and touchy he is with him. ykw i think he would take all of will's fear and grief and put it inside himself if he could. but i also read that mitski didnt have anyone to write it to at the time of writing, so the song is about what she wish someone would tell HER, so if u wanna get meta it could be from will's perspective as well
And all the quiet nights you bear
Seal them up with care
No one needs to know they're there
For I will hold them for you
unrelated but writing those reddit jokes and looking up the ages of the characs made me realize mike is YOUNGER than will??? i always thought it was the other way around bc will is so TINY in comparison to the other core four but hmmm yeah A (oldest, gentle) x B (youngest, protective) does have its merits
I'm still afraid of the dark 
10. ARE WE STILL FRIENDS
tyler, the creator
in every byler fight, mike somehow manages to work will's queerness in for like no reason lol (see purposeful choice of words), but regardless of how badly they fight they will always, always, circle back to being best friends - i'd say inevitably but it ISN'T inevitable when making amends is a Conscious Choice both of them make because they don't want to lose each other. mike seems to have a problem with apologizing to everyone, EXCEPT will but that might be my rose-colored glasses lol. either way, post-s3 fight he biked to will's house in the rain to apologize, and i don't rmbr him doing anything nearly as dramatic for anyone else, and it makes sense given how much he treasures their friendship. nothing is worth losing the close relationship they have built over the years.
at the same time guess there's this bitter sweetness to it. i'm mostly referring to s4 here: we know will loves mike in a non-platonic way, and regardless of whether mike reciprocates or not, he is not in a place right now to admit that. their friendship comes with this weird grey area that will knows mike won't address any time soon - as far as he's aware, mike doesn't even know there IS a grey area, only will knows and he kinda has to live in that
Announcing our things and you don't know how to inform
Are we still friends? (This can't end)
12. iris
goo goo dolls
this song is soooo. i don't really have anything else to say about it except pure intimacy and the mortifying ordeal of being known versus the rewards or being loved. also its incredibly queer coded??
And I don't want the world to see me
One look, dark room
I'm just a hollow root pushing through
'Cause all I ever wanted is here
3. right side of my neck
faye webster
sweet puppy love and infatuation with a side of yearning <33 when mike and will's relationship isn't Fraught they're just. two peas in a pod since kindergarten and there's this very sweet, pure side to their relationship, and they're fighting monsters but they will always have each other!! things will be okay!!
You're gone from here
7. let you break my heart again
laufey & the philharmonic orchestra
8. brother
the aubreys
this is literally just mike's awkward denial expressed in song (and it's super funny bc that's FINN SINGING and if you know anything about his track record it's just peak humor. finn-wolfhard-i'm-not-gay-:D-that's-a-that's-a-that's-a-that's.mp4). r/AITA: i (14, M) flew to cali to visit my gf (15, F) and her brother who is my childhood best friend (15, M). i think maybe i'm like, in love with my friend so i accidentally made him thirdwheel us for an entire day bc i cant look him in the eye without feeling like a shitty bf. AITA?
All I ever wanted
All I want is
Always you
It's always you
And we're not out of the tunnel
I bet you, though, there's an end
Stay with me
Hold my hand
There's no need
To be brave
And while you sleep
I'll be scared
So by the time you wake
I'll be brave
2. the bug collector
haley heynderickx
mike at his best part 2. this is one of my favorite (platonic) love songs because it just describes wanting to make someone feel better in such a compelling way. ri said the other day that her creative writing prof had said the more personal and specific writing is, the more relatable it becomes and it’s counterintuitive but TRUE and like this is the epitome of that. i think collecting bugs that are “out to get him” is such a perfect metaphor for mike's protectiveness over will, and his willingness to do whatever he can to ease will's pain (collecting bugs should be a love language). also i mean, there are things that are out to get will, and mike, this batshit insane twelve year old, was willing to fight them tooth and nail to save his best friend, so you could interpret it in a very literal way as well?
mike at his best part 2. this is one of my favorite (platonic) love songs because it just describes wanting to make someone feel better in such a compelling way. ri said the other day that her creative writing prof had said the more personal and specific writing is, the more relatable it becomes and it’s counterintuitive but TRUE and like this is the epitome of that. i think collecting bugs that are “out to get him” is such a perfect metaphor for mike's protectiveness over will, and his willingness to do whatever he can to ease will's pain (collecting bugs should be a love language). also i mean, there are things that are out to get will, and mike, this batshit insane twelve year old, was willing to fight them tooth and nail to save his best friend, so you could interpret it in a very literal way as well?
And there's a centipede
Naked in your bedroom
Oh and you swear to God
The fucker's out to get you
And I digress
'Cause I must make you the perfect morning
I try my best
To scoop the slugger out the window
3. right side of my neck
faye webster
sweet puppy love and infatuation with a side of yearning <33 when mike and will's relationship isn't Fraught they're just. two peas in a pod since kindergarten and there's this very sweet, pure side to their relationship, and they're fighting monsters but they will always have each other!! things will be okay!!
You said you can't change your haircut
But it looks good anyway
I kinda wonder where you got it
And I doubt you even paid
The right side of my neck
Still smells like you
[...]
[...]
I wonder if you got home
But we just said goodbye
You looked back at me once
But I looked back two times
4. everybody's changing
keane
ah yes, we are getting into the nitty gritty of [intense fear of growing up]. you and me both, w. byers. with will it’s kind of this unique case – he holds onto his childhood because he holds onto his life from before he got lost and his life went to shit. His memories from Before are associated with hanging out with the core four, playing DnD with them, and especially his closer bond with mike, and when the others begin to grow up, get other interests and move on from DnD he is the only one remaining, left feeling like the others are removing themselves from him
but also I think it’s important to keep in mind that will's unwillingness to "grow up" alongside his friends doesn't mean he is unchanged. the others are getting gf’s and moving on but will has changed in a more fundamental way that obviously wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been trapped in some horrifying alternate dimension lol. there’s a very large discrepancy between the two kinds of changes, and you can tell the other core four are expecting him to change along with them in the same way but he CAN’T.
there's also the fact that will is a gay kid - he ISN'T going to have the same coming of age experience as them no matter what. yk he byler argument in s3 - "it's not my fault you don't like girls", You Know The One: gay-will-byers-Deniers (so losers) always say that it isn't queer subtext bc mike just meant that in the context of will's fear of Getting Older but HELLO!!! things don't have to be about just one (1) thing, in fact they rarely are? the byler argument was about will's fear of change AND the first verbal acknowledgement of his queerness (that isn't like. a slur from his school bullies or his dad). not to mention that it's fiction, and the dialogue is written by Real people, like obviously if something is worded weirdly, it's probably for an actual reason but i digress
keane
ah yes, we are getting into the nitty gritty of [intense fear of growing up]. you and me both, w. byers. with will it’s kind of this unique case – he holds onto his childhood because he holds onto his life from before he got lost and his life went to shit. His memories from Before are associated with hanging out with the core four, playing DnD with them, and especially his closer bond with mike, and when the others begin to grow up, get other interests and move on from DnD he is the only one remaining, left feeling like the others are removing themselves from him
but also I think it’s important to keep in mind that will's unwillingness to "grow up" alongside his friends doesn't mean he is unchanged. the others are getting gf’s and moving on but will has changed in a more fundamental way that obviously wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been trapped in some horrifying alternate dimension lol. there’s a very large discrepancy between the two kinds of changes, and you can tell the other core four are expecting him to change along with them in the same way but he CAN’T.
there's also the fact that will is a gay kid - he ISN'T going to have the same coming of age experience as them no matter what. yk he byler argument in s3 - "it's not my fault you don't like girls", You Know The One: gay-will-byers-Deniers (so losers) always say that it isn't queer subtext bc mike just meant that in the context of will's fear of Getting Older but HELLO!!! things don't have to be about just one (1) thing, in fact they rarely are? the byler argument was about will's fear of change AND the first verbal acknowledgement of his queerness (that isn't like. a slur from his school bullies or his dad). not to mention that it's fiction, and the dialogue is written by Real people, like obviously if something is worded weirdly, it's probably for an actual reason but i digress
So little time
Try to understand that I'm
Trying to make a move just to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody's changing, and I don't feel the same
You're gone from here
Soon you will disappear, fading into beautiful light
'Cause everybody's changing, and I don't feel right
5. spring day
bts
THEE song about missing a friend, the YEARNING, the GRIEF, the unfiltered LOVE YOU STILL HOLD TOWARDS THAT PERSON… yeah. yeah. not to say that mike and will aren't friends but there is a tangible change in their relationship from s3 and onwards, with will feeling the loss of mike who has always been the one person to always be there until he's suddenly occupied with being a boyfriend, and both of them feeling the physical loss when will moves to cali. there's this resentment towards e/o too: will's angry at mike for abandoning his friends and "destroying everything" to "swap spit with some girl" in the s3 byler Fight, and later he confronts mike for barely keeping in touch after he moved. with mike it's a bit more subtle bc he's confused and deep in seventh circle of denial hell part 3, but in s4 he's super (PAINFULLY) awkward and dismissive around will when they're reunited, before accusing him of being a moping douche and stuff lmao. but it comes from a place of missing each other to the point of not really know how to deal with it: these boys have been by each others' side since kindergarten and now things are suddenly changing and the ONE THING that was supposed to remain the same and easy just ISN'T ANYMORE. instead it's just weird and awkward and different
THEE song about missing a friend, the YEARNING, the GRIEF, the unfiltered LOVE YOU STILL HOLD TOWARDS THAT PERSON… yeah. yeah. not to say that mike and will aren't friends but there is a tangible change in their relationship from s3 and onwards, with will feeling the loss of mike who has always been the one person to always be there until he's suddenly occupied with being a boyfriend, and both of them feeling the physical loss when will moves to cali. there's this resentment towards e/o too: will's angry at mike for abandoning his friends and "destroying everything" to "swap spit with some girl" in the s3 byler Fight, and later he confronts mike for barely keeping in touch after he moved. with mike it's a bit more subtle bc he's confused and deep in seventh circle of denial hell part 3, but in s4 he's super (PAINFULLY) awkward and dismissive around will when they're reunited, before accusing him of being a moping douche and stuff lmao. but it comes from a place of missing each other to the point of not really know how to deal with it: these boys have been by each others' side since kindergarten and now things are suddenly changing and the ONE THING that was supposed to remain the same and easy just ISN'T ANYMORE. instead it's just weird and awkward and different
보고 싶다
I miss you
이렇게 말하니까 더 보고 싶다
Saying this out loud makes me miss you more
너희 사진을 보고 있어도
Though I’m looking at your picture,
보고 싶다
I still miss you
너무 야속한 시간
Time is too cruel
나는 우리가 밉다
I hate us–
이제 얼굴 한 번 보는 것 조차 힘들어진 우리가
us who now became to find it difficult to see each other even for once
[...]
[...]
니가 변한 건지
Would it be that you’ve changed
아니면 내가 변한 건지
or I’ve changed
이 순간 흐르는 시간조차 미워
I hate even the time that is passing right now
우리가 변한 거지 뭐
I guess it’s us that have changed
모두가 그런 거지 뭐
I guess everyone has changed
[...]
[...]
You know it all
You’re my best friend
아침은 다시 올 거야
The morning will come again
어떤 어둠도 어떤 계절도
Because no darkness or no season
영원할 순 없으니까
can last forever
6. landslide
fleetwood mac
HAHA. ha. this is the most fucked up song in the universe. ST is in many ways a coming of age story, and i think it becomes esp clear in s3, with the whole narrative arc of letting go of your childhood, and while that was represented on will's part by gf's and no more DnD etc. etc., i think for mike, This was the moment that marked the end of his childhood - his childhood friend moving out of the town they grew up in
even the moments leading up to the move are significant for mike's development: while they're helping the byers move (btw whenever i say the byers, el is counted in. she IS a byers!!!), there's two scenes where mike interacts with will and with el. the byler scene is very sweet, it's the whole "what if you wanna join another party" (what if you find a new best friend), "not possible" exchange, and it p much reinforces the fact that they are still best friends. the mileven scene is ?????????? el tells mike she loves him and mike looks very confused and then she kisses him but his eyes are open and they're standing in front of AN OPEN CLOSET OF ALL THINGS and then she walks away and he just looks SO out of his mind and not in a good way and it's just absolutely insane. lots of realizations, lots of coming of age themed milestones for mike that day lol. i rmbr watching that with my younger cousins and i wasn't rly paying that much attention but even then i was like "huh that was kind of a weird reaction"
fleetwood mac
HAHA. ha. this is the most fucked up song in the universe. ST is in many ways a coming of age story, and i think it becomes esp clear in s3, with the whole narrative arc of letting go of your childhood, and while that was represented on will's part by gf's and no more DnD etc. etc., i think for mike, This was the moment that marked the end of his childhood - his childhood friend moving out of the town they grew up in
even the moments leading up to the move are significant for mike's development: while they're helping the byers move (btw whenever i say the byers, el is counted in. she IS a byers!!!), there's two scenes where mike interacts with will and with el. the byler scene is very sweet, it's the whole "what if you wanna join another party" (what if you find a new best friend), "not possible" exchange, and it p much reinforces the fact that they are still best friends. the mileven scene is ?????????? el tells mike she loves him and mike looks very confused and then she kisses him but his eyes are open and they're standing in front of AN OPEN CLOSET OF ALL THINGS and then she walks away and he just looks SO out of his mind and not in a good way and it's just absolutely insane. lots of realizations, lots of coming of age themed milestones for mike that day lol. i rmbr watching that with my younger cousins and i wasn't rly paying that much attention but even then i was like "huh that was kind of a weird reaction"
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too
7. let you break my heart again
laufey & the philharmonic orchestra
this song is so fucked up, like it's sooo fucked up. the epitome of being in deeply in love with someone and knowing its unrequited but being so utterly devoted to them that you are just UNABLE to stop loving them and are willing to subject yourself to the heartbreak. oh will byers you, you lovesick, pining FOOL. r/relationshipadvice: my (15, M) childhood best friend (14, M) is coming to visit, and its been five months since the last time we saw each other. he's dating my sister (15, F), but everytime i'm with them i spend the day being a thirdwheel. i am also deeply in love with him. HELP ME!!
I'm just tryna understand
What I am to you
More than songs, we've exchanged
Midnight calls
Sunset views
[...]
[...]
Some day
One day
I will stop falling in love with you
Until I do
I'll be thinking of you
Let you break my heart again
8. brother
the aubreys
this is literally just mike's awkward denial expressed in song (and it's super funny bc that's FINN SINGING and if you know anything about his track record it's just peak humor. finn-wolfhard-i'm-not-gay-:D-that's-a-that's-a-that's-a-that's.mp4). r/AITA: i (14, M) flew to cali to visit my gf (15, F) and her brother who is my childhood best friend (15, M). i think maybe i'm like, in love with my friend so i accidentally made him thirdwheel us for an entire day bc i cant look him in the eye without feeling like a shitty bf. AITA?
unrelated but writing those reddit jokes and looking up the ages of the characs made me realize mike is YOUNGER than will??? i always thought it was the other way around bc will is so TINY in comparison to the other core four but hmmm yeah A (oldest, gentle) x B (youngest, protective) does have its merits
I call you up, you say you're living
And on the outside you're breaking
And I know you want me around
And I'm just tryna be your friend
And I'm not tryna be a bummer
I'm just tryna be your brother
I'm just tryna be your brother
[...]
[...]
Why can't I call you my baby?
Cause I can and I won't
9. animal noises
beabadoobee
beabadoobee
okay like. yeah this is another song about missing your childhood, but i really think it becomes prominent in another way when they move away from each other. they miss each other, and they miss spending time with each other in the carefree way they could only really do as like ten year olds. i really do believe mike and will have spent HOURS imitating animal noises while playing with toys like there's no way they didn't
I'm still afraid of the dark
But mornings are scarier
'Cause when I'm awake
I spend half of my day wondering what
To do
[...]
[...]
I miss the mornings I spent making animal noises with you
I just need someone to hold but I guess that I'm getting too old
It's something I keep getting told
I guess that I'm getting too old
For this
10. ARE WE STILL FRIENDS
tyler, the creator
in every byler fight, mike somehow manages to work will's queerness in for like no reason lol (see purposeful choice of words), but regardless of how badly they fight they will always, always, circle back to being best friends - i'd say inevitably but it ISN'T inevitable when making amends is a Conscious Choice both of them make because they don't want to lose each other. mike seems to have a problem with apologizing to everyone, EXCEPT will but that might be my rose-colored glasses lol. either way, post-s3 fight he biked to will's house in the rain to apologize, and i don't rmbr him doing anything nearly as dramatic for anyone else, and it makes sense given how much he treasures their friendship. nothing is worth losing the close relationship they have built over the years.
at the same time guess there's this bitter sweetness to it. i'm mostly referring to s4 here: we know will loves mike in a non-platonic way, and regardless of whether mike reciprocates or not, he is not in a place right now to admit that. their friendship comes with this weird grey area that will knows mike won't address any time soon - as far as he's aware, mike doesn't even know there IS a grey area, only will knows and he kinda has to live in that
Announcing our things and you don't know how to inform
Your power and dreams, though you cannot go through all
You're caught in this matrix, don't know where you're playing
You made it, could be your favorite if you make it your friend
Are we still friends? (This can't end)
Are we still friends? Are we still friends? (Need someone to say hi)
Are we, are we, are we, are we still friends?
Can't say goodbye
Can't say goodbye, goodbye
11. oceans
seafret
literally the piniest song to ever pine. what the fuck. i know mike is stuck in the seventh circle of homosexual denial hell but i also think this song makes so much sense for him. feeling there is an infinite amount of space between him and will when before things used to be so, so easy. knowing that some part of him maybe wants to be with will but also feeling like will deserves better than him. repressing his emotions bc 80s internalized homophobia etc etc
seafret
literally the piniest song to ever pine. what the fuck. i know mike is stuck in the seventh circle of homosexual denial hell but i also think this song makes so much sense for him. feeling there is an infinite amount of space between him and will when before things used to be so, so easy. knowing that some part of him maybe wants to be with will but also feeling like will deserves better than him. repressing his emotions bc 80s internalized homophobia etc etc
I want you
And I always will
I wish I was worth
What I know you deserve
You know I'd rather drown
Than to go on without you
But you're pulling me down
Feels like there's oceans
Between you and me once again
We hide our emotions
Under the surface and try to pretend
12. iris
goo goo dolls
this song is soooo. i don't really have anything else to say about it except pure intimacy and the mortifying ordeal of being known versus the rewards or being loved. also its incredibly queer coded??
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
13. you are in love
taylor swift
sorry that the lyric section is so fucking long, there's just so much that fits them specifically? the knowing each other so well you're able to decipher facial expressions and quick glances and things that are uttered out loud and things that aren't uttered out loud, the strange look on his face before he says "you're my best friend", the picture in his office (mike's basement is plastered with will's drawings on every single fucking surface), will understanding why love makes people "crazy" whereas before he thought it was gross and was fairly certain he'd never fall in love
sorry that the lyric section is so fucking long, there's just so much that fits them specifically? the knowing each other so well you're able to decipher facial expressions and quick glances and things that are uttered out loud and things that aren't uttered out loud, the strange look on his face before he says "you're my best friend", the picture in his office (mike's basement is plastered with will's drawings on every single fucking surface), will understanding why love makes people "crazy" whereas before he thought it was gross and was fairly certain he'd never fall in love
One look, dark room
Meant just for you
Time moved too fast
You play it back
Buttons on a coat
Light-hearted joke
No proof, not much
But you saw enough
[...]
[...]
One night he wakes
Strange look on his face
Pauses, then says
You're my best friend
And you knew what it was
He is in love
[...]
[...]
And so it goes
You two are dancing in a snow globe, 'round and 'round
And he keeps the picture of you in his office downtown
And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars
14. posing for cars
japanese breakfast
when have I ever made a playlist that doesn’t have posing for cars honestly… it just makes me so !!?”!/!(“!!?”)! every time I listen to it, like it genuinely makes me lose my shit. it’s the perfect love song idc idc, it’s so intimate and raw and the guitar solo… as michelle put it herself: “I wanted to have this long, sprawling solo, this kind of sonic narrative, where everything that can’t be said in the lyrics or in that moment out loud can be expressed through the guitar”. it’s so perfect for them and their kind of unspoken, tender love that has been with them and grown with them for years upon years
when have I ever made a playlist that doesn’t have posing for cars honestly… it just makes me so !!?”!/!(“!!?”)! every time I listen to it, like it genuinely makes me lose my shit. it’s the perfect love song idc idc, it’s so intimate and raw and the guitar solo… as michelle put it herself: “I wanted to have this long, sprawling solo, this kind of sonic narrative, where everything that can’t be said in the lyrics or in that moment out loud can be expressed through the guitar”. it’s so perfect for them and their kind of unspoken, tender love that has been with them and grown with them for years upon years
I'm just a hollow root pushing through
I'm just the empty space inside the room
And how could you ever conceive
This adolescent heart skipping beats
When all your love, it grows full and firm beneath
Without a festered thought, without an emerald want
Just a single slow desire fermenting
