#but el likes trying new things so much more than mike and I really believe that she will get her own friends and stuff

[pretty-emo-dad]

I think that younger elmike where Mike is El’s emotional support hangout friend to older Elmike where el is Mikes emotional support hangout friend is so important

#stranger things #mike wheeler #el hopper #eleven hopper #Jane hopper #LIKE DO U SEE YJE VISION #like u know that one friend you cling to at parties when u don’t know anyone else? #that El in season 3 bc Mike knows the party better #but el likes trying new things so much more than mike and I really believe that she will get her own friends and stuff #it will be so role reversal #and also showing that el has grown into herself more #el is introvert to extrovert and mike is extrovert to introvert btw. #if u even care #elmike #platonic Elmike

[byerseason]

my personal opinions on byler & mike’s character

most people believe mike is clueless or at least he just suspects will’s feelings. well, sometimes i agree with that but in general i think mike knows. actually he always knew. let’s look at everything from the beginning.

both mike and will always lived in a small town full of homophobia. we know will personally experienced homophobia from his dad and other people in hawkins. mike and will are friends since kindergarten and mike obviously witnessed all of these homophobia will went through. maybe mike experienced it too, we know ted said “see what happens?” for a reason. especially with lonnie, mike witnessed everything he did to will, we all know will shares everything with mike. so from their point of view, this thing called “homosexuality” is something really bad and all it causes is harm and hate. it’s something forbidden.

now let’s see what happened in all seasons. in season 1, a cool girl magically comes into mike’s life and shows interest in him. “you’re blind, because a girl is not grossed out by you” now mike has a chance to be normal like people expect him to be. and he’s a child, it’s not that deep. he can try. no deep feelings, no love, just be normal.

in season 2 this chance is taken away from mike leaving a trauma to him. after all, el was special and he cares for her so much. and the fact that she sacrificed herself just to save him and his friends is not something we can overlook. and adding to this trauma, something really bad is happening to will and they don’t even know what is it and how to fix it. he does his best, he never leaves his side because it’s something a good friend would do right? it wasn’t that forbidden thing the adults get angry about and it shouldn’t be. after el’s return and will being safe, mike had this chance again. el was here, she was incredible, a superhero who saved will and the world, and she was ready to be in a relationship with him. snowball scene was mike telling will “i’m moving on, you should move on too or we will get hurt by this.” because you know, these things always hurt will and nothing else.

in season 3, mike continues to this “moving on” as we can clearly see. this time a little bit grown up, or at least trying to grow up. distancing himself from will and all his friends, focusing on el all the time and for some reason not being able to maintain a friendship with will while dating el. this speaks volumes actually. it’s both him trying to be normal as expected and distancing himself from will to make sure he is normal too. to me that’s all the “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls.” scene. while mike is fighting back, will makes it harder for both of them without realizing it. i think -like everyone- the ending of season 3 was mike realizing it’s not working and it’s getting serious. he’s growing up, they’re growing up and everything is becoming clearer.

will and el moving to california was a new chance for mike. he ignored will, well at least he tried even though it’s clear he felt his absence especially in school, he didn’t reach out to him thinking maybe this is the chance for both of them to move on. and then el’s letter happened. mike thought will really did it, he moved on, he was able to move on while mike isn’t. if we think deeper, he is even working on a painting for her, something he used to do with mike. so yeah, will is normal, it worked for will, while mike is still dealing with this. when they reunite i think it was much more than just jealousy. disappointment, anger maybe? especially after he saw he brought the painting to the airport. apparently will wasn’t planning on giving all his attention to mike, who was visiting him after months, but he was planning to give the painting to the girl he likes, it was probably the reason of his excitement, not mike. so this is what makes mike want to focus on el more and ignore will during rinkomania scenes. when el mentions angela and will gives a reaction to this, mike is sure he was right and this day is about angela for will.

but he finds out he was wrong. well, the painting is still for a girl but at least he was wrong about angela. will was just upset because mike was being lied to, and he was hurt by mike being distant from him. this is what leads mike to sincerely apologize to will, as always. he always does that, if will says “where is dustin right now?” mike realizes his mistake and tries to fix it. if will says “we used to be best friends” mike realizes his mistake and offers to be best friends again. that’s all their dynamic about.

after mike and el’s fight, mike comes and explains what happened to will but it’s more like he is asking for an advice, he wants will to understand him. “it was a fight that you can’t come back from.” he wants will to agree but he doesn’t, this is when we start to understand mike’s inner struggles. he brings up this topic to will three times. none of these conversations are like two best friends giving each other relationship advices because mike never tells will what is the problem. for some reason he doesn’t want will to know he can’t tell her girlfriend that he loves her. we all know will and mike are sincere enough to tell these things to each other, they always do. but if he can’t, there must be a reason. maybe mike himself doesn’t know the answer either, maybe he doesn’t want will to understand his situation because he thinks will successfully moved on, who knows?

in the desert scene, he brings the topic up again, without mentioning what is “that thing”, but this time will seems like he understands. “sometimes, i think it’s just scary to open up like that, to say how you really feel, especially to the people you care about the most.” mike never mentioned he is struggling to say how he feels but will understand, he always did. this conversation would continue with mike opening up to will if it wasn’t interrupted, so mike brings it up once again for the third time, in the van scene.

this time he is being more open but he is still struggling to say one thing, which will completes for him “you’re scared of losing her.” well, mike was wrong. will wasn’t getting it until.. the painting scene. mike is not stupid, he knows will spent days working on it. he knows eleven doesn’t know about what this painting is about. he knows he doesn’t make el feel like “she is not a mistake at all” especially after their fight, remember that line from the script “she’s already beginning to understand she doesn’t need me, i saw it in her eyes” he knows el doesn’t need him, he knows will well enough to understand he is lying. the way he looks at will admiringly is him thinking “he didn’t move on, we’re still the same.” and also him being aware of what will is doing for him, breaking his own heart and sacrificing himself just to make mike feel better. also, he notices will is sobbing, he looks at him and even if he didn’t how could he not? he had tears in his eyes during all the monologue and he was sobbing right next to him. so is there any reason for mike to not say anything to his best friend sobbing next to him if he didn’t know the reason? the mike i know would immediately ask what was wrong if he was clueless. he knows why will is crying but he doesn’t know what to do about it. mike’s situation is pretty sad when you think about it, he probably feels like he’s stuck.

then we have the desert reunion scene. this time we clearly can see how stuck he feels between el and will, he doesn’t know how to get out of this without hurting any of them, and also himself. the way he looks at them looks like also him being afraid of damaging their bond.

then the monologue scene.. this scene may mean lots of different things, i am not sure either.

it may be mike being aware of what will is doing, how he is sacrificing himself once again, how mike is gonna have to lie and hurt everyone in the end, how the things are gonna be way more complicated or mike realizing he was wrong about thinking will has feelings for him.

my season 5 expectation is seeing a mike wheeler who stops fighting back and embraces his feelings, without hurting both of them.

that’s my point of view that changes almost everyday lol. i don’t know if there are many people who believes mike isn’t clueless so i wanted to share my thoughts. 💛

#byler #mike wheeler #will byers #byler endgame #byler analysis

[gayofthefae]

He's crying. But it isn't just "please come back to me, I love you". It's more complicated than that. I'm currently in the space that he's faking the romantic bits like love at first sight and telling the truth about everything else.

Mike tells him "you're the heart". He's reminded by Will "your words can help" and he knows that the truth won't but he knows what Will, and he once said "If I had said that thing..." and he has the opportunity to say that thing now to save her.

I think these tears are more in the vein of "please work. God, please work." Because this was a strategic decision. A strategic decision made with love, but a strategic decision nonetheless.

That's why Will has to encourage them. It shifts the scene from organically and emotionally begging her to come back to consciously assisting her, although still emotional, of course.

It started "El, please come back to me etc." Then Will reminded him. And he turned around and said "El, I don't know if you can hear me..." He started something new. He wouldn't have said it otherwise because before he was just begging her to come back to him. But then, he was trying to help. Ever the personal-life curse of Mike Wheeler, he tried to help and in the long run it's going to make it worse.

This wasn't just Mike begging her to come back and it managed to help. This wasn't him taking the opportunity of knowing it would help to say it like in the shed with Will. This was choosing his words specifically to help as best he could to bring her back to him. He was just trying to keep her alive. He isn't thinking "I hope you can hear that I love you, even if it doesn't help I want you to know". He's only saying it so it helps. He's saying "please believe me please work please believe me please work".

Other posts have covered how he pulls from others' words - Eddie talking about finding him and Dustin, his own speech to Will in season 2 - that's because he's choosing his words carefully. Lovingly strategic. The ideal combo to give her the most strength. That's why it sounds forced. Because he's choosing his words, not pouring his heart.

In the shed, he told Will how he felt; he told Will a story. Because he knew that the truth was filled with so much love. But here, he knew the truth wouldn't help, would maybe make it worse, so he picked his words carefully crafted to be exactly what she wanted to hear, went bullet by bullet through their fight, quoted the words of more honest people in more earnest moments, and did his best to help. In the shed, he let his filter down; poured his heart out. In this moment, he tried. That's why it felt forced. He had to try.

Even GA and some Milkvans agree, even if you think it was the truth...he was saying it for her, not him. That's why he braces himself for the effort he's about to exert the moment right before he says it.

If it was really the culmination of his arc, since we already know Brenner was the culmination of hers, he would have done it for himself. The reason it feels forced is because it wasn't written to sound unfiltered. Watching this scene, I didn't feel relief on his behalf that he could finally say it, because I didn't see any transition from not being able to say it the whole season...because there wasn't one. I couldn't root for what I didn't know was about to happen because I didn't even know he could say it yet. Because he couldn't. He forced himself to.

I was not relieved on his behalf because he wasn't. I was not proud of him doing it for him because he didn't. He did it for her. But her arc wasn't about that either. So now we're just stuck.

In conclusion, he told her he loved her because he wanted her to survive and he isn't begging "please know that I love you" he's begging "please believe me and please let it help"

#stranger things #byler #mike wheeler #ily speech #subtext

[mlchaelwheeler]

Mike Wheeler + devotion (parallels)

It's no secret that Mike is the most head-strong and stubborn member of the original party. He refuses to apologize (unless it's to Will, but I digress), he hates adding new people to his friend group, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Who and what he's truly devoted to sheds a lot of light on his true feelings-- which we haven't seen explicitly since the now-edited 3x08 script ("what the hell just happened here?"). Let's look at a parallel of Mike's portrayal of devotion to his loved ones in S1 and S2, looking at Will vs. El.

In S1, Will is missing. His body turns up, but Mike is the only character on the show (besides Joyce, Will's mother) to refuse to accept that Will could be dead. The narrative focuses heavily on how Will's disappearance and "death" impacts Mike-- much more so than the other members of the party. Mike and Will clearly have a special relationship that transcends a platonic friendship.

In 1x01, Mike (and the rest of the party) are told by Hopper that they're not allowed to go searching for Will. Obviously, Mike is not happy about this. He decides to go look for Will anyways though, because Mike is rebellious, couldn't care less what the government thinks (good for him!), and is unable to sit around while Will could be in danger. Mike physically puts himself in what could be harm's way-- while defying the police-- to find Will.

In 1x03, Mike sees what seems to be Will's body get pulled out of the quarry and completely snaps. He yells at and hits El, he bikes home without waiting for his friends, and he sobs into his mother's arms. Yet the next morning, he hears a muffled voice on the walkie for 0.002 seconds and immediately knows it's Will. He literally saw Will's body, but refuses to believe he's actually dead-- even though the rest of the party has accepted this fact. When Lucas asks Mike how he knows Will is still alive, Mike doesn't even have a reason. He just knows. He believes it because without Will, he's lost. He'll do reckless things like jump into the quarry without a second thought.

In S2, we have an eerily similar situation, but this time, El is missing and presumed dead. It's also important to note that the scene below actually takes place the same night El "dies" and Will comes back from the Upside Down.

After seeing Will at the hospital (I'm presuming it was after, but it could've been before I guess), agents show up at the Wheeler's to question Mike. He looks through the window and sees El. Now, he had just seen her die, sacrificing herself to get rid of the demogorgan. Mike has every reason to believe she's dead-- just like when he saw Will's body in S1. When he sees her in the window, he doesn't even try to go after her. You think maybe they'd include a scene (after the agents leave) of Mike calling for El outside his house or trying to look for her the next day.

But they didn't. Mike sees El and decides he's not going to do anything about it. Where's that same devotion he had towards getting Will back only a few days prior? Because that Mike Wheeler would've been scoping out the lab, investigating the gate, and defying the agents to find El again-- if he was truly in love with her, like he stated in the infamous monologue.

Mike clearly did not have the same devotion towards getting El back that he did for Will. In fact, if Mike really was in love with El from the first moment he met her, he should be trying even harder to find El than he did for Will. But instead, he just moves on.

In 2x02 it's revealed that Mike has tried reaching El through the walkie for nearly a whole year. Milkvans use this as proof that Mike has been in love with El this whole time. However, I think it's just an attribute of his personality. Mike is loyal, stubborn, and devoted. El is a new friend of his, helped save Will, and sacrificed her own life for him and the rest of the party. Of course Mike's trying to reach her! This is the same Mike who was so devoted to saving Dustin's life he nearly committed suicide. Mike would be calling any member of the party every day if they sacrificed themself and went missing in the process. It's just who he is.

When Mike attempts to reach El on the radio, he mentions that they all wish she was there. This is clearly a platonic moment, showcasing the closeness of the party and their shared guilt over El's sacrifice.

El even contacts Mike! He has clear proof that she is in fact alive and out there. Yet does he do anything about it? No, he does not.

Upon hearing (or seeing her? I'm still confused by this moment honestly) El, Mike shakes his head, shuts off the walkie and leaves the basement. He doesn't try to contact her further, ask any of the other party members if they've had similar happenings, or investigate her whereabouts. Instead, Mike spends the rest of the season at Will's side, which stops his nightly calls to El-- even though this is the first time he's gotten a hint she's alive since seeing her outside his window nearly a year ago.

To recap, Mike saw concrete evidence both Will and El were dead. He saw Will's body with his own eyes and went to his funeral. He saw El disappear in front of him, taking the demogorgan with her. After that? He hears Will (faintly for 0.002 seconds) but doesn't see him again until after he's been rescued. He physically sees El the same night she "died." That should be more than enough for him to launch a town-wide search for her. If that wasn't enough, he also heard her speak his name! But he ignored that too.

These parallels make it clear Mike was not in love with El from the first moment he met her. He's always held Will as his first priority, and you can tell by looking at how devoted he is to Will vs. El. It's always been Will for Mike-- Hawkins isn't the same without him (Hawkins is the same without El though). He will go to the ends of the earth to make sure Will is safe and by his side. <3

#ok here's the analysis i was talking about earlier. MILKVAN IS BONES #like. this just does not scream milkvan love at first sight endgame to me sorry <3 #byler #mike wheeler #stranger things analysis #sarah.txt

[wibble-wobbegong]

Mike’s Romantic Hope

I’ve mentioned this topic in a couple of my other Mike analysis, but I really want to dive into the timeline of Mike’s journey with his romantic hope. More specifically, I want to address the hope he held at the end of S3 and the impact it had on his behavior in S4 as well as where he stands going into S5.

The Ending of S3

Now, I’m aware that this is popularly accepted as the point when Mike realized he had feelings for Will. It seems that way on the surface, but I heavily disagree with that theory and I’ll be working off my personal belief that he realized his feelings back in S2.

Acknowledging that Mike is well aware of his feelings for Will in S3, I’d like to step back to an important moment between Mike and Will before breaking down the ending.

The rain fight. As much as this gets discussed, I find it interesting how little the implications of this scene are talked about in regards to how Mike views his relationship with Will. We all know that Mike’s line about sitting in his basement and playing games for the rest of their lives was a moment of Mike projecting his owns wants onto Will.

The thing about that line is that we also know that the idea of playing games in his basement for the rest of their lives is much more than just the surface level implication. Games and childhood are both heavily tied to Mike and Will’s love for each other and the idea of doing that for the rest of their lives implies an “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” We especially see this in the way Mike reacts to the Byers’ moving, as he isolates himself and plays games in his basement alone with his drawings from Will around (he’s been going through them). I also believe that was when he realized that his feelings ran deeper than just a crush, that they were more than something he could get over by growing up. Those feelings were never something he’d simply be able to move past by trying to be normal.

So, Mike attaches his love to the idea of spending the rest of his life with Will in his basement playing games. How does this affect the way Mike views his relationship with Will? Will’s response to this accusation is to say that, yes, he does want that very same thing Mike is afraid of. He feels the exact same way, wants the exact same thing. Mike’s feelings are being reciprocated here, even as Will remains unaware of that.

Mike never gets the chance to talk about that fight with Will, apologize, or even really process it until the Byers have already moved away. He then goes through his period of isolation and realizes that he’s deeply, truly in love with Will in a way that cannot be ripped out of him no matter how hard he pulls. Between the move in July and the Byers return in October (to gather their things), Mike meets Eddie, who encourages him to accept his differences. Mike needed that sort of person in his life at the time, to tell him that his feelings were okay.

By the time October hits and the Byers have returned, there have been four important things established in Mike’s life:

1. He’s in love with Will.

2. Will seemed to feel the same way before he moved.

3. He’s taken steps towards accepting his sexuality.

4. He and El are broken up for good (it’s been four whole months).

At the end of season 3, these things are all true for Mike. These things come together to influence this scene:

He’s speaking in code, the same way Will was when he told him that he was ruining the party. What he’s asking here is more than just, “What if you find a new best friend?”

He’s also asking, “Do you still want to be a part of my party, where we sit in my basement and play games?”

He’s asking if Will still feels the way he felt before he moved, back before they fought. Mike, who realized with the dim light of his Nintendo and the loneliness of his now-empty basement that he is in love, is asking Will if he loves Mike too. Will isn’t aware of it because he isn’t aware of Mike’s feelings, but nonetheless he says it’s not possible for him to let those feelings go either.

Mike’s smile after that? Pure joy. I’m putting him in my pocket and taking him to see the wonders of the world.

This ends fantastically in Mike’s mind, and he approaches El and makes light-hearted conversation. He’s awkward about it, still a little insecure, but he’s being himself. El doesn’t shut him down this time. They’re broken up and it’s the best interaction they’ve had all season. Mike cringes at himself, but he’s making an effort to have a friendship with El even though they broke up.

And then El kissed him and confesses her love. After four months of being broken up.

Mike just got confirmation that Will feels something for him too, and now El has pulled him back into a relationship he can’t reject without breaking the promise he made El way back in S1. He promised her a romantic relationship, and promises are things he feels he can’t break. The situation has obviously grown more complex since then, including El’s crave for comfort after Hopper’s death and Mike being terrified of outing himself before he’s ready, but the result remains the same: Mike has to continue this relationship with El. It crushes him. He’s just gonna through a massive emotional realization and taken many baby steps forward, only to be pushed backwards.

Mike doesn’t want things to change again, he wants Will to stay and he wants to keep playing games in his basement with Will. He wants to be with Will, and that’s been ripped out of his hands.

And yet, Mike had no reason to think what Will said about his own feelings isn’t true. It hurts that much more because Mike had hope, still has hope, a hope he can’t chase after.

Impact on S4

That brings me to S4. How does Mike’s ending hope in S3 impact the way he acts in S4?

For starters, let me remind you that Mike believed Will was ignoring him for a vast majority of those six months between the October return and spring break. Will’s actions were directly contradicting his words, and if we know anything it’s that actions mean more than words. He’d promised that he wouldn’t move on, unintentionally said that he loves Mike too, and then is almost radio silent for six months. Almost all of Mike’s calls go unanswered. He likes a girl, now. Everything Mike is being led to understand goes directly against what Will told him.

When he gets to California, there’s a lot going through his head. There’s anger at being ignored, a longing for Will, jealousy of this girl El mentioned (Will bringing the painting did not help at all), butterflies at seeing how Will has changed, and nervousness around having to pretend to be happy with El again. He still has to keep up his role of the perfect boyfriend, the straightest boy on the planet, so everything ruminating around in his brain leads to the most awkward half-hug I’ve ever seen in my life.

That anger at being ignored grows even more when Mike still feels like he’s being ignored by Will at Rink-o-Mania, fueling the fire that will become their fight. Mike lists all these reasons he’s frustrated, and Will tries to explain them away and Mike isn’t having it (Mike actually squints at Will and raises his hands a little at this part, in a ‘are you serious?’ motion).

“Yeah, whatever man.”

The second part of the fight though is what really gets at Mike. When Will asks about them, asks, “What about us,” Mike reacts with romantic intention because, in his eyes, what’s happening is layered with his knowledge of both of them wanting to spend forever together, playing games in his basement. He’s still under the impression that Will moved on and found some girl in California to paint for instead of Mike. He’d fallen for some girl and moved on from Mike. But, the line catches his attention, because now Will is talking as though he doesn’t understand what happened to them. Mike’s demeanor changes completely for that split second.

Then, Will goes on and starts making claims that he thinks are fact, but Mike knows he’s wrong. Mike does care about what he has to say. He did try to call. Will brings up his letters to El, which Mike views as an inherently romantic thing, so he gets defensive. As much as Mike wanted to be with Will, he was still trying to be El’s boyfriend and keep himself safely in the closet. Mike expresses his frustration in the fact that Will never reached out either before cooling down and saying that they should just focus on finding El.

Mike’s perspective is interesting, especially when we see how he seems to contradict himself. He shows frustration at Will moving on, despite he himself continuing to pretend to date El. He’s angry that Will seemingly ignored him all day, but he continues to his behind the facade of El in that first part of their fight rather than approaching the root of the issue. Mike’s perspective would’ve been just as unreliable as Will’s is in this situation because of these contradictions. Neither of their perspectives will paint a full picture on their own (hence the choice of only letting us see Will’s perspective throughout S4).

Now, I’m gonna skip over his fight with El because this post is specifically about his romantic interest, so we’re jumping straight over to after he receives the letter “From, El.”

This isn’t technically a break up. As @heroesbyler pointed out in one of her posts, this is El telling Mike that she doesn’t love him either. They’ve reached an understanding that neither of them are in love with each other (a beautiful set-up for the SBP conversation. i love argyle but GOD DAMNIT). Even though he’s still technically in a relationship, he knows that El doesn’t love him romantically. That’s why I think he was suddenly so much flirtier than he was willing to be beforehand.

He no longer has to worry about hurting El by not being in love with her. A weight has been lifted off of him, and he’s suddenly more free to move in his own feelings. With the knowledge that Will never meant to ignore him, that the girl he thought Will liked was someone Will clearly would never like, and that he doesn’t need to worry about El, Mike is suddenly much more open to reconnecting with Will and flirting.

He’s a flirt here:

And here:

And I think this counts too (hand holding):

His belief that Will might feel the same is brought back to life and spurred on by their heart-to-heart in 4x04. Mike’s hope is alive and thriving. I think that the only reason he didn’t approach the topic of their relationship directly is because he was hyper-focused on saving El once Unknown Hero Agent Man tells the Cali group that El is in danger. Mike puts his friends’ safety above literally everything else, even his own life, so it makes perfect sense that he’d be more worried about finding El than having that conversation with Will. One of those could wait, the other could not.

The next step in this equation is the Van Scene. I have talked about it over, and over, and over, so I won’t delve into it here but Mike did understand Will I’m that scene and it gave him insurmountable amounts of hope.

Something I want to note, real quick, is that while Mike is no longer afraid of hurting El by not being in love with her, he’s still scared that she won’t want him around at all now that they’re broken up. He doesn’t see himself as valuable to her if he isn’t her boyfriend. Those ideas are coexisting, no contradicting.

All of this combined, Mike’s talk with El at the SBP would definitely have been a break-up talk. Mike’s face when El says that she misses him, not loves him, is so happy. El confirms that she still wants Mike around, but she isn’t taking back her stance about not being in love with him.

Mike’s at an all time high right now. He isn’t gonna lose El and he has no reason to doubt that Will loves him back. Things are going great.

“You’re the heart.”

That one line is all it takes to grind that hope into dust. Suddenly, Will doesn’t love Mike back. He was talking about El in the van. El still loves Mike, and not being in love with her would hurt her. She still needs him to be her boyfriend. It doesn’t make sense, but Mike doesn’t have time to question it, so he jumps into action and starts spewing ‘El’s’ words right back at her and throws in some things he’d used to communicate his love in the past. It’s all bullshit, and both Mike and El know that.

At the end of the season, Mike has no reason to believe Will loves him anymore. If he ever did at all. Yet, he’s still choosing to stand by Will’s side and letting El go because Mike is still very much so in love with Will. It couldn’t be torn out of him by growing up, and it won’t be torn out of him just because Will doesn’t feel the same.

Going Into S5

That’s where we’re starting S5 at. Mike has 0 reason to believe Will loves him back, but he’s gonna stay with him anyway. The ball is in Will’s court right now, but he doesn’t know it. Will is unaware of all of this which hurts even more. Miscommunication is such a bitch.

There are a lot of ways S5 could go with their relationship, but the painting fight is gonna be the trigger. Mike is gonna be so, so confused when El breaks up with him and he finds out that she had nothing to do with the painting. He just had all his hopes stomped on, and as stubborn as Mike is, that’ll be hard to come back from. Will has to admit that his feelings were disguised as El’s in order for them to move forward.

I’d have to be Dr. Strange or some shit to give you an accurate prediction of how their plot will go in S5, but I can say that Will has to make the first move and that Mike is gonna go through a shit storm of feelings about it all. All that on top of Eddie’s death, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts isolating himself again. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an actual divide driven between Will and Mike that only ~supernatural intervention~ could bring them back together, similar to lu/max this season.

Thank you for reading!!! I know it was a long one, but this is something I’ve been wanting to dig into for a while. I’m sorry if I sound like I’m repeating myself sometimes, it’s just that there are so many angles to come at these scenes and perspectives from. This is definitely one for my fellow mike enthusiasts though >:)

#byler #mike wheeler #mike analysis #this was so fun to write #i love talking about mike #all the time #i have never beta-ed a post and i never will

[nowmemoriees]

HOPPER'S LETTER × BYLER

- season 3 finale analysis

Now that y'all are bringing up Hopper's letter again, it's time to reinforce byler coding affirmations here.

We know there are some parts of this letter that are related to Mike's feelings, and part of this has already been pointed out before season 4. But this new season made this make much more sense.

- "Feelings.... Jesus, the truth is, for so long I've forgotten what those even were."

- "Lately, I guess I've been feeling.. distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something."

Season 4 perfectly demonstrates this is about Mike's feelings about Will. First of all, at the end of season 3, Eleven said "I love you" to him, so how could Mike think she was pulling away from him?.

But then we remember he had a fight with Will, a fight he could never apologize for, a fight that messed up all of those years they've spent together.

"Listen, the truth is the last.... year, has been weird. Max, and Lucas and Dustin, they're great. It's just, it's Hawkins, it's not the same without you".

That's why Mike says "the last year." because they haven't seen each other for 6 months, but Mike already felt he was losing Will even before that. When he was dating El.

Season 4 starts and Mike finds out (through another letter 👀) that Will may like someone else and is painting for someone else. Mike tried to call Will so many times, but Will never picked up the calls, so Mike thought he had already lost Will.

"I feel like I lost you or something."

Then we keep listening to Hopper's letter.

- "I miss playing board games every night"

The focus is now on the abandoned cabin. In season 3, Mike and Will's fight was because of this. Missing playing board games. Of course is something deeper than that. -Missing doing the things you love with the one you love, as it used to be.-

In season 4, we saw that Mike joined a DnD club. He was doing what he loved again, but not with the one he loved. Lucas and Dustin were great, but it was not the same without Will.

And Will also says something about this.

"We could play DnD and Nintendo for the rest of our lives". He still wants to spend the rest of his life playing with Mike. Nothing has changed.

We are shown the abandoned cabin as the letter voiceover keeps going. It looks exactly how we see it again in season 4... with Mike and Will in there, having their last heart-to-heart until the catastrophe starts again.

- "I know you're getting older, growing...

...changing" (and the focus is on Mike again)

"I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's whats scares me....

Here we have the demonstration that Mike was thinking about Will. He was looking at HIS house. Otherwise, he could have gone through hopper's cabin. but he didn't.

... I don't want things to change."

- "So I think that's why I came in here. To try to maybe.. stop that change. To turn back the clock, to make things go back at how they were."

And this is the confirmation. This scene perfectly parallels the scene in season 1 where Mike thought Will was d3ad.

In both scenes Mike believed he lost Will.

So, Hopper's letter hinted Mike's feelings towards Will and it explains Mike's behavior in season 4. But people still believe that Mike could not be bi/gay because that idea came out from no where? sureee....

#stranger things #byler #st4 #mike wheeler #byler is endgame #theories analysis

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

Alright, ik it's been a little while but now it's time for room/character closeup #3

~Max & El's room~

Right off the bat I think it goes without saying their room is quite a bit more *fun* than some of the others; it was heavily inspired by the early s3 aesthetic (before everything went to shit that is), like when Max was helping El try out a new style, so I hope that shows in the colors and patterns I used for the wallpaper/rug/beds

(Also- this isn't character specific- it just makes me happy how the chair matches the wallpaper and the bedspread matches some of the colors in the posters)

Speaking of the posters

I remembered Max introducing El to comics at their sleepover (also s3) so I wanted to use posters that had that comic book/pop art feel to them, hence the pieces over the beds

Max is on the left. I felt like the sheer *attitude* it conveyed was something she would appreciate, that it suited her

El is on the right, and there's like a whole tangent to that one* but it's also another call-back to that s3 moment of Max showing El her comics and telling her who Wonder Woman is (listen I just really loved their dynamic and interactions in s3 ok)

*You might be wondering "duck why would you put a superheroine poster over El's bed are you really taking such a cliche/obvious approach with the decor here"

Listen babe. It's nuanced, okay?

First of all, yeah basically. I'm fine with being cliche. I do what I want and it fit the general vibe I was going for

But more importantly, remember how I mentioned in... one of the other notes posts for this au I honestly don't remember which one at this point- how a recurring theme here will be characters reclaiming things? At least I think I posted that, I know I wrote it down somewhere-

But anywho, yes, this is one of those instances

So I think, before now, El would have gotten to a point where she really resented "superheroes" -or more accurately, being compared to them

After everything. After being taken from her mother and having her childhood stolen from her in order to train her into a mini super soldier. After always having to be the strong one and fighting every battle. After always having to be the superhero for everyone else and still feeling like she can't ever seem to hit the bad guys hard enough to keep them down for good, to keep her friends safe. After having all those expectations and all that pressure on her for years when really she just wants to move on and be a normal kid and get to live her life

And yeah, maybe also after Mike's weak ass speech at the end of s4. I'd probably feel pretty icky if my boyfriend tried to encourage me by reminding me that my value comes from being a sword and shield rather than a person, if I kept getting put on this suffocating pedestal of always having to push myself to keep everyone else safe, and if I believed that was the very reason I was loved

[Don't take this the wrong way I love Michael Wheeler he's like a son to me but I do think that his and El's relationship was very unhealthy and that he didn't handle things very well]

So uh. Yeah. El hated superheroes for a little bit. I'm not sure when they put that poster up but it wasn't when they first moved in

However

After getting away from the place tied to so much of her trauma, so many of her burdens; after getting out of the situation that kept forcing her into the superhero role, I think her views on superheroes just as an objective, fictional concept would start to soften

And also I think the way Max handles it- treating her like she's awesome and strong and special but not dehumanizing her, trusting her but not pressuring her, encouraging her to be and embrace herself- that has something to do with it as well. It teaches her that she can be a superhero if she wants to be, but she doesn't have to. She does have superhuman abilities, but she herself gets to decide what, if anything, to do with them

When they all ditch Hawkins and move into the new house, El doesn't have to fight anymore. They've left the Upside Down and all its monsters, the empty lab and all its ghosts, behind them. For the first time in... well, pretty much her whole life, she doesn't have to fight, she doesn't have to use her powers, she doesn't have to play the hero. She gets to just... be a kid. A person

And everyone still loves her. Everyone still treats her like a part of the family, like she matters

So maybe she doesn't have to be a superhero. And maybe she doesn't have to hate them, either

But the concept is still something tied to her identity, something floating in the back of her mind; it's an identity in which she found value and strength, at a point in her life when she didn't really know who she was yet

So she still thinks about heroes. And she slowly comes to appreciate them in media, like the comic book heroes Max tells her about. Distinctly separate from herself and from her reality and past. From that safe distance away, they're admirable, captivating, impressive, compelling. And, yeah, maybe a little relatable

And... she finds that she's ok with that

She finds that she likes it, actually

Until eventually El has a strong appreciation for heroes, for their strength and what they stand for, because she understands them- but she doesn't have to be one of them anymore. Removed from the dangers and the expectations, she can see heroes- and herself- simply for what they are, instead of through that lens of pain and resentment and obligation

In the place she has found herself in life, she comes to terms with the fact that she is badass, she is important, she has value, and that those facts remain even when she isn't fighting anything

And in knowing it isn't required, that the people around her see her and love her for who she is rather than just what she can do, passively being likened to a hero doesn't feel so crushing anymore. Maybe she even starts to casually refer to herself as a hero from time to time, maybe jokingly, maybe ironically, maybe sarcastically, but deep down she does still feel that tie, that connection, in some ways- only now it doesn't hurt

And now she loves superheroes, enough to put one on her wall

[Btw, this whole analysis thing was heavily allegorical for my relationship with gender and I hope that shows. Superheroes=womanhood/femininity. If you get it you get it]

That ran away from me a little bit. Um. Moving right along, I guess

The third poster isn't that deep tbh I mostly picked it because it matched the wallpaper colors lol but I do think "good things are coming" would be a nice message to wake up to for two people who have been through so fucking much already at such a young age, remind them that they still have a wonderful life ahead of them despite the horrors in their past, y'know?

And then there's Max's skateboard, at the foot of her bed

It's symbolic it's important it matters that she brought it with her

She got hurt pretty damn badly at the end of s4, and nobody knew for sure if she was even going to survive, let alone whether she'd be able to skateboard again

But she did survive, and her body got pretty fucked up but she was in recovery, and maybe she'd never be quite the same again but she wasn't going to let that stop her, she wasn't going to give up

Her legs aren't as strong and her balance isn't as good as it used to be but she's determined to use that skateboard again no matter how many times she falls over relearning how to do it (and someone is always there to help her get back on her feet, if she wants them to. Yes it's Lucas how did you know)

Anyway I just think Max Mayfield is an incredibly strong brave person and she gets what she wants and what she wants in this case is to be the zoomer of the household

I don't suppose there's really much more to say about the room, so... guess that's a wrap for this one

#full house au #stranger things fanfic #stranger things headcanons #current wip #max mayfield #el hopper byers #here have some notes #lumax #<-very briefly referenced but i love them

[t-h-i-n-g]

I saw your post demanding requests and it was really funny! Can you please write an eleven x reader where the reader is generally not very shy but becomes very much so around her crush/es.( you can also make it a mike x eleven x reader if you want). And eleven is understanding yet finds it amusing and endearing at the same time. Also can eleven be more aware of the world, please? If required it can be set during or post season 4 for that. And since I'm not giving much of a plotline, maybe eleven kills a big spider for the reader as the has a huge fear of spiders. Also the reader has never had a girlfriend/boyfriend before so she's sort of afraid of her feelings. Thank you in advance!

Different

a/n: hi!! Tysm for requesting, sorry it took a bit to finish. My motivation hasn't been the best but I got this done. I edited a few things from the request but not much, hope you like it!!!!

word count: 900+

summary: she sat across from you in the booth, lightly eyeing you with a smile. you would not have thought you would spending your spring break in California once again fighting the monster’s that were in the upside down. it didn’t help that the girl that was not even three feet away from you was making you a nervous wreck.

warnings: spiders, otherwise than that I don't believe there's any but if there is let me know!!

st - masterlist m.masterlist

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You folded the last piece of the pizza box. Holding up the object and looking at it from every angle. Satisfied with your work you turned to El, meeting her eyes with a light smile.

"Alright, I think these should do the trick," you said nodding. She put her elbow on the table, placing her chin onto her palm.

"I don't know," she mumbled, "I think you'll have to try them out first to confirm." You quirked a brow at her. Her features lit up as you brought the glasses to your face.

"Hm, I'm surprised they actually are working as well as they are. I mean I can't see any-" you cut yourself off when you heard giggling. Removing the shades you saw El with a hand over her mouth. Her body shaking silently as soft chuckles made their way past her lips. You couldn't help yourself from mirroring her action.

"They looked pretty cool huh?" You questioned in a fit of laughter. She nodded.

"Oh, for sure. They go with your skin tone so we'll," El joked, leaning forward in her seat. She crossed her arms on the surface, balancing herself on her knees resting on the bench. You bit your lip, trying to contain your nervousness at her new proximity. Silence fell over the air as the laughter died down.

You bounced your leg lightly while your fingers tapped the table. A random rhythm being heard. You anxiously looked away from her eyes. Not being able to handle their intense stair. However the thumbing stopped and your body tensed as a hand covered yours. Your brows raised as you turned back to Jane.

Her head tilted slightly as she held a smile on her face. You gulped, taking in the sight of your hand in hers. She fidgeted with your fingers gently. Taking her other hand she held yours in both of hers.

"You know," she paused briefly,"I missed you." Your eyes widened even more than what should be possible. You stuttered trying to find a response.

"I-I uh… yeah, I mi-issed you too, El," you said, nodding. She laced her fingers in yours, holding them as her chin once again fell into her palm.

"That's good, this would have been awkward if you didn't," she mumbled, lightly swaying your hands side to side. You let out a nervous chuckle.

"Well of course I missed you. Why wouldn't I-I have?" you questioned softly. She shrugged.

"Your letters seemed different then what you are like in person," El stated, "You always have so much to talk about in them, but now that your here…It takes some work to get something out of you. But that's okay, it's cute."

"Cute?" you squeaked out. She giggled, nodding.

"Yeah, it's cute," she confirmed. "But once this is all over we're gonna have to work on that." You placed your other hand on the table, tapping your fingers once more. A breathy laugh fell from you.

"That depends if it will end," you mentioned. She frowned, gently taking your other hand in her free one.

"It will end. It has to… if it doesn't I don't know what we're gonna do," she stated with a sigh. A smile making it's way back onto her face. "At least I got you though." You shook your head.

"You got everyone, El. Will, Mike, Jonathan, me, even the people back at Hawkins, everyone's here for you. Like you're here for them." She rubbed her thumb across your knuckles.

"You know what I mean," she mumbled, "You know that I'll be there for you differently than I'll be there for them. Like how I have you differently then them." You stiffened, lightly gripping her hands. You shakily nodded your head.

"Yeah, I know." She smiled, peering into your eyes, trying to ease your nerves.

"And we'll work on this," she squeezed your hands, "Once it's all over." A soft smile made it's way to your featured.

"Yeah, that wo-" you cut yourself short. Eyes widening at the sight of an unwelcomed being crawling on the table. You jumped up, standing on your stair and climbing over the back of it into the new booth. "Oh hell naw, kill it kill it!" you screamed pointing at the spider settling itself on the scrap boxes.

El also stood out of her seat. Scared by whatever had caused your reactions. She placed a hand over her heart as it steadied. Her eyes landing on the little arachnid.

She huffed quitly to herself before picking up the sliced pizza box and walking it past you. Causing you to shrink away while she took it to the exit. Setting the box outside. She came back in to you, to see you peaking yourself behind the booth.

She giggled lightly coming up to you, El once again took her hands in yours and pulled you out of the seat.

"You know I hate spiders," you whined. She shook her head giggling. "You should have killed it."

"It didn't even touch you, there's no need to kill it when it hasn't caused any harm," she stated, swaying your arms. Your face scrunched up.

"Still, then it doesn't get the chance." El let out a light laugh, pulling you slightly closer.

"I could totally completely wreck you if I got the chance. You gonna kill me then?" she questioned with a quirked brows. You tried to come up with a reasonable excuse.

"Like you said you're different," you replied with a shrug.

-----------------

likes and reblogs are appreciated :)

#stranger things x reader #eleven x reader #el x reader #eleven x you #eleven x y/n #eleven x yn #eleven imagine #eleven oneshot #eleven fanfic #jane hopper x reader #jane hopper x you #jane hopper x y/n #jane hopper x yn #jane hopper fanfiction #jane hopper imagine

[marypsue]

Been thinking about Stranger Things s1 characters in the events of Dracula and vice versa (because they’re both ‘small groups of loosely-related characters experience a supernatural mystery from different perspectives and ultimately have to team up to figure out what’s really going on and how to fight it’ stories about The Power Of Friendship And Love And Also This Gun I Found), and. 

Jonathan Harker somehow has an even worse time in the Upside Down than he did at Castle Dracula. Mina Murray-to-be-Harker absolutely refuses to believe that he’s skipped town and left her at the altar, because...something something Christmas lights? (She also doesn’t need to do a blood exchange with the monster to track its movements, here, because psychics are well established in the series lore, but she might need to be a little cagey about who she tells about that...) Disgraced presumed-crackpot Dr. Van Helsing is, of course, the only one who believes her. At first. 

Joyce Byers’ youngest son is Not Himself. The doctor she really couldn’t afford was convinced it’s tuberculosis and she’s making herself hysterical over it, but that wouldn’t explain why Will’s acting so strangely lately. Or why he seems to be losing so much blood. With her husband...abroad, her family out in the country, her older son working long hours as a solicitor’s clerk to try to keep them out of the poorhouse, and no one else to turn to, the friendship she strikes up with a wounded American soldier ends up becoming a lifeline. In more ways than one, because as it turns out, this isn’t the first time Jim Hopper has seen blood loss like Will’s...

Also featuring such highlights as: 

Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler work for the same solicitor, him as a clerk and her as a secretary. Her fiancé assumes she’ll give it up once she becomes Mrs. Harrington, but Nancy’s discovering she doesn’t really want to, and that she might have more in common with the ‘New Woman’ than she’d realised. 

Lucy Westenra disappears from rich popular Arthur Holmwood’s pool party, and her friends and boyfriends shut the entire fucking town down to look for her. Barbara Holland gets preyed on by a vampire and nobody but her parents and Nancy notice, and half of Whitby ends up getting eaten. 

Everybody assumes El is a boy or an escaped mental patient more than ever in the Victorian era. Slapping a hat and some skirts on her is the most effective disguise imaginable. (Her powers in a Dracula AU are probably more mesmeric in nature than telekinetic, but she can still ‘find’ people.)

Van Helsing may actually have been involved in MKUltra. It’s never quite made explicit, but he certainly knows a lot more about what’s going on than he ever fully reveals to the others. 

I have no idea how Mike and the Party fit into this version of things, but there are definitely some Frog Brothers vampire hunting shenanigans involved. 

Quincey Morris is still a yeehaw stereotype in 1983 Indiana. No one questions this. 

#stranger things #dracula #i started to make a point about 'jonathan' and then realised: they both have jonathans #they also both have winona ryder if you stretch the definition of 'dracula' to include coppocula #i was doomed to care too much about this show from the very start #(...drac tries to pull some 'i have crossed oceans of time' bullshit on joyce and she hits him with an axe) #it feels very weird to tag this after having blogged about dracula for my entire blogging career but #dracula spoilers #for the daily crowd #what really gets me is that almost all the names still work between both settings (with a hundred years between them) #like 'dustin' might stand out in victorian england or 'abraham' in 1980s USA but otherwise? #anyway I've been stewing on this ever since i saw season 1 and the daily folks' posts have been really giving me some things to chew on

[lavaspark]

As much as I totally get and love the whole “what if Will gets Vechna’d” theories flying around right now let me interject a new idea:

MIKE gets Vechna’d.

(Because yes my guy is overhated and DEFINITELY has enough trauma to qualify argue with the wall)

I imagine the vision would probably be his friends and family leaving him (because I firmly believe Mike has separation anxiety ok) and he apologizes to Not-Will for everything and maybe admit he doesn’t know if he even really loves El anymore and Not-Will just emotionlessly looks at him and says

“I wish you had never worked up the nerve to speak to me that day on the swings”

And of course in the real world assuming Mike is now back in Hawkins with the California gang are FREAKING OUT along with the rest of the Hawkins kids. Nancy would probably be panicking and trying to get him to wake up because that’s her little brother. She CAN’T lose her little brother, and of course Dustin Lucas and Max would be desperately trying to figure out what Mike’s favorite song is and they wouldn’t know because idk they just hadn’t listened to music together in a while.

But they would be running out of time and Eddie would be freaking out about losing another one of his adopted Hellfire kids, and realizing they’re running out of time Will would panic and grab onto Mike hoping to stop him from floating and refuse to let go even though Jonathan would be trying to pull him away and he would start crying hysterically because he never got to tell Mike anything about how he felt and now he was going to die.

And then Mike would start floating and Will wouldn’t let go and he would get pulled up into the air with him and in a last ditch effort Will would start quietly singing what he thought was Mikes favorite song because he would DEFINITELY know what Mikes favorite song was.

Mike would be about to be killed by Vechna when he would hear Will’s voice, and a window would open up because he was singing his favorite song, and Mike would remember they’d listened to it once before he left. Will had called it weird and rattling, nothing like his music. They’d laughed about it and it had felt nice, nicer than spending time with El ever felt.

The memories of him and Will on the swings, on Halloween, playing DnD, the first campaign Will had ever been Dungeon Master for (he’d knocked over a can of soda on the board, Mike had suggested that he play it off as a “Cola-Flood” caused by a booby trap. Dustin had laughed so hard he’d shot more soda out of his nose.

Those memories would flash through his head and he’d see his body floating through the portal, Nancy sobbing hysterically and reaching in vain for his legs, Lucas and Dustin silently shouting to him and each other. Arms wrapped firmly around his shoulder and head pressed against the side of his own was Will. Will’s voice the only thing he could hear, voice strained and shaking with sobs singing his, Mike’s, favorite song.

And then Mike would run, he would run faster then he’d ever run in his entire life. Towards Will, towards Nancy, towards Dustin and Lucas and Max, who he thought might finally be warming up to him. He wouldn’t make them cry, he couldn’t.

And then Mike Wheeler would wake up.

Him and Will would plummet out of the air and crash to the ground, the impact knocking the air out of both of their lungs. Will’s arms would still be wrapped around his neck and he’d be laughing and crying and hugging him and Nancy would run to him frantically hug him and tell him if he EVER did that again she’d ground him for the rest of his life. Lucas and Dustin and Max and Steve would crash into them and they’d all lay there for a moment laughing and crying equally and throughout all of it Will would STILL be holding on to Mike.

And maybe they’d kiss, or Will would finally tell him how he felt.

And somehow, I don’t think Mike would mind if that were the case.

#stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #byler theory #Byler #dustin henderson #steve harrington #eddie munson #Vechna #alternate universe #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler

[lupon]

I feel like a big part of the reason people believe El can’t be happy without Mike is because of how poorly “The Lost Sister” landed with the audience. El’s s2 plot wasn’t about the supernatural, it was all about who El is, what she wants, and how she feels. It didn’t really do much to push the main plot and is kind of more of a side story. I’ll admit, I’ve skipped it more then once when I’ve rewatched, but now after s4, I’m realizing how much that episode actually did for her character. 

What El wants most in life is a home and a family. It’s brought up a lot throughout the episode, and is the main reason why she runs away. She feels like she’s missing a family, which is why she leaves to find Mike, her mom, and then Kali. She’s looking for somewhere that feels like home. We get the parallel of Mike, Hopper, Becky and Kali all offered her a home, which was exactly what she wanted. Mike at the end of s1 said she could live with him in his house, and specifically mentioned his mom, another thing El wants. When Hopper first brought her in, he said the cabin would be her new home. Later, when he’s telling stories about himself, El asked if she had a mom, and started crying when he said she was gone. Then El finally finds her mom, and runs away to see her. Becky then shows her the room that was supposed to be hers, and says this would be her home. Even with Kali, she kept saying that their meeting was what her mom wanted, and also claiming she was home. 

Hopper betrayed her by lying and taking away her TV, she ran away. Becky betrayed her by calling the police, and she ran in search of a different family without a seconds thought. Kali betrayed her by trying to force her to kill someone, and by getting in her head and showing her Brenner. So she ran back to the first family she ever knew. El didn’t trip Max out of romantic jealousy, it was her feeling replaced and betrayed. That’s why the moment comes back when she’s thinking of things that make her angry when she tries to move the train. Every other memory in that scene is one of her feeling like she had her life taken from her, which is exactly what she felt when she saw Mike with Max. This also lines up with how Mike feels, he didn’t want Max in the party because he felt like he’d be replacing El. 

Also worth noting is the reason why she didn’t kill the man in the apartment. She saw a family photo on the ground. She was looking at the kids. She realized that if she killed him, she’d be taking away their father. Despite how much she hated him for what he did, she knows how much it hurts to lose a parent, so she refused to let Kali kill him as well. 

Then there’s the whole monster theme. El was watching Frankenstein on Halloween night, specifically the scene were a small girl is asking the monster if he wanted to play with her. El isn’t the girl in this scene though, she’s Frankenstein’s monster. Robin in Surviving Hawkins talked about the Frankenstein book, and it’s really cool how it parallels El’s story. Robin says the quote: “He (the monster) was scared and confused and left to fend for himself, which doesn’t excuse things but I think the whole point is that pretty much everyone behaves in monstrous ways” Similarly, El has hurt people whenever she gets scared or angry. Like Lucas in s1 right after he claimed she was a monster, he and Mike started fighting, so she threw him out of anger. S4 she hit Angela after she ruined her day, and later called herself a monster. Mr. Hauser then asked Robin who she thinks the monster in Frankenstein was. Robin then states: “Well, Frankenstein for starters, the doctor I mean, playing God like that pretending that scientific innovation is more important than humanity.” This is clearly talking about Brenner, as we see El face him and say she wasn’t the monster, it was him. Brenner pushed aside his humanity for the sake of innovation, stealing kids from their homes, numbering them, imprisoning them, and often hurting them when they disobeyed. All for the sake of making them stronger. 

Kali understood that others saw people like herself and El, as well as her band of outcasts, as monsters. Instead of trying to prove herself to anyone, she embraced it. Like El, she had been betrayed and lied to by people she called her family. She explained to El that no one would see her as anything other than a monster. Kali believed the only people who wouldn’t, were other people who society viewed as a monster. Which is why Mike saying she wasn’t a monster despite her throwing Lucas, and despite the fact that she opened the gate which took Will away, was such a profound moment in her life. For the first time in her life, El was treated like a person. That moment was a big part of the reason why she decided to go back. Because of that, she realized Kali was wrong, that there were people out there who would love her and see her as a person rather than a monster. Her last line in the episode was: “I’m going to a friends house. I’m going home.” Her whole s2 plot was her looking for a home, and she found it. 

This is why she doesn’t need to be romantically with Mike in order to have a happy ending. El’s goal in life was never to find romance. It was always about family, which is why she asked if Mike would be her brother right before he kissed her. If anything, him kissing her diverted her from the life she truly wanted. All she ever wanted from the start was a home. A mother. Friends. Family. To be normal. To feel like she belonged in the world. She wandered the Wheeler house envious of Nancy's life. She wanted to be pretty like her, with big family and close friends. The end of s4 is the closest she’s been to having all of that. She’s back at the cabin, her first ever home. Hopper is alive and is officially dating Joyce, her mother. She’s surrounded by friends and family who love her. The only thing missing is Max, the person who told her she could take control of her own life, and was the only one that made her feel normal. Mike may have been the one to tell her she wasn’t a monster, but Max was the one who told her she was human, hence the “Am I your pet?” line. Max showed her the world, how to discover what she liked, how to let go of all the stress and pressure and simply have fun, and most importantly, that El shouldn’t have to be afraid of what everyone else thought. They could be silly and weird together, simply because it made them happy. No one could control who they were or what they did, because they made their own rules in life. Max showed El that there was more to life than what everyone had been telling her. 

This opened the door to her realizing she didn’t need Mike. Mike was the first person to ever show genuine love and care for her (excluding Benny since he died so quickly) and she was attracted to that love. She spent her whole life being abused and scared of people, and couldn’t remember a time when she knew kids her own age. So to feel like she was loved and safe for the first time ever, of course she’d want to stay close to him. She spent that whole year thinking Mike was the person for her, because she wasn’t allowed to go out and discover who she was. Mike was all she really knew, other than couples she saw in soap operas and romance movies. Max was the very first person to say she didn’t have to be with Mike. We even saw El looked at a picture of Karate kid, showing that she was starting to show interest in people other than Mike. Her world was expanding outside of him for the first time. This was progress for her. Seeing the world outside of Mike meant she was discovering new interests, such as Wonder Woman, photo booths, shopping, games, and dressing up. She was learning about herself without him because she couldn’t do that while she was with him. 

El needs Mike in her life in order to have a happy ending, but they don’t have to be together for her story to have a satisfying end. El can have everything she ever wanted out of life without dating Mike, or anyone. 

#I love el #her story is so well done #I want to see her with a bunch of new hobbies at the end of the series #she just wants to try everything #Not a monster #el hopper #eleven #mike wheeler #byler #elmax #kali stranger things #the lost sister #milkdud bones #anti milkvan #platonic elmike #elmike

[swanqueenelmaxshadowhunters]

Elmax fanfic - trick or treat episode fix it.

summary: Eleven was upset that Hopper didn't come home and she decided to go trick or treating anyway. And that's the best thing she could have done.

Just as she was about to approach them, another kid jumped in front of the party, wearing a strange white mask and screaming while waving a knife and a pumpkin bucket. The party screamed, and Eleven couldn't help but laugh at the way Lucas screamed.

Then, the kid lifted her mask, and Eleven found herself staring. It was a girl.

"Pretty," El whispered to herself.

The girl laughed at her friends and teased Lucas for sounding like a little girl. El burst into giggles and, even though she wanted to scare her friends too, she realized she wasn't wearing a cool costume.

So, Eleven grinned as an idea formed in her mind. She concentrated and lifted the strange object attached to Lucas' backpack. She didn't know what it was, but it would surely scare him.

Eleven tried to maintain her concentration as she made the object move and lift. Lucas's eyes widened, but Mike and Dustin immediately turned on their heels, looking for something. El could tell they were searching for her by the look in their eyes.

"Holy shit, this is something, stalker," the girl said, watching in awe as part of Lucas's costume seemed to come to life.

"El?" Mike and Dustin said together. "Where are you?"

"El?" Lucas's eyes widened even more, and he also turned on his heels.

"Who's El?" the girl asked, and started looking around too.

Eleven was having too much fun watching her friends trying to find her, but she really wanted to be with them that night. That was the whole reason she had disobeyed Hopper. He was going to be so mad at her, but that didn't matter now because she was just a few steps away from her friends.

"Hi," she said as she took off the sheet.

"El!" the party squealed and ran to her, engulfing her in a tight hug.

"I can't believe you're here!"

"We thought we had lost you!"

"Oh my god, you're really here!" the boys exclaimed all at the same time, and Eleven couldn't be happier.

"Teeth," she said, poking Dustin's mouth once they pulled away and she took a closer look at her friends.

"Oh, you like these pearls?" Dustin smiled, making a weird sound, and Eleven just blinked.

She looked at Lucas, who just shook his head, then looked at Mike and Will. Her eyes locked with that girl again, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, that's Max!" Dustin said excitedly when he saw where El was looking. "She's new at school and in Hawkins, so we invited her to come trick-or-treating with us!"

"Pretty."

#elmax #stranger things #max mayfield #eleven hopper #elmax fanfic #elmax fic #elmax fanart #elmax stranger things #elmax supremacy #mad max #eleven stranger things #max x eleven

[flohamilton]

Hi can you do a headcanon about someone who's autistic went to Hawkins and meeting the main characters. What is their interaction

hi so disclaimer, i know autism is different for everyone and what i have written may not be accurate or relatable to everyone!! if ANY part of this seems inaccurate or offensive in any way please please please let me know so i can fix it!!

first of all i feel like the older kids (robin, nancy and steve in particular) would be so stoked to hang out with you and just chill

if you are more quite and reserved they would be happy to just have you sitting in on the group as they laugh and joke around with each other

if you're more outgoing they would be super excited to listen to whatever you are passionate about

i think especially robin, she would always be so excited to learn about whatever topic you are interested in and just seeing the joy on your face would make her light up

sometimes when you get overwhelmed or overstimulated robin and nancy will pull you off to the side to help ground you and make you feel more comfortable

i can totally see robin trying so hard to make you feel comfortable by distracting you and telling you about her day or about something funny that happened to her and steve

but in true robin fashion she starts rambling on and on to the point where you actually start feel worse than before she started talking

nancy has to kick her in the shin to make her shut up

if you don't drive, steve is always happy to give you a ride and will literally take you anywhere you want to go

steve would also be your personal body guard

if anyone was every rude or mean to you he would not hesitate to put them in their place

he has famously never won a fight in his life but the poor guy will always be willing to stick up for you when you need it, even if he ends up with a black eye or some bruised ribs

i think the younger kids would look up to you a lot

the kids have always been outcasts of sorts and have been led to believe that being different is a bad thing, but you show them that it's okay to be different

will especially likes to hang out with you, he is also pretty reserved so sometimes while the rest of the gang is being rowdy you two are just on the sofa watching tv or will is showing you his latest sketches

dustin would always be including you in the conversation if he notices you're not speaking much, he would just like to randomly check up on you to catch up/have a nice conversation, aww he's such a cool and sweet kid who loves his friends very much

i think lucas would always give you a ticket to his basketball game, but if sporting events aren't really your thing he will be so understanding and happy to know that you listened to his game on the radio

el and max love you and always try to join in on whatever you may be hyper-fixating on (i'm thinking new crafts and hobbies!! they would always be right there with you, making trips to the craft store)

mike and eddie in particular would always be inviting you to sit in on hellfire club meetings

eddie would let you plan a campaign with him and would love to hear of all of the creative things you come up with

also eddie would try his best to never smoke or do any sort of drugs around you if that makes you uncomfortable

in conclusion the gang absolutely adores you

they're so supportive of you and will always be there to help you through meltdowns or times where things get overwhelming, they are such a great group of people <3

#stranger things #stranger things x reader #stranger things headcannons #stranger things 4 #stranger things x autistic reader

[wibble-wobbegong]

S4 Wheelclair

Let’s talk S4 Lucas and Mike.

I really, truly do believe that people undermine their importance to each other because it isn’t given the same emphasis as Mike/Will or Lucas/Max. They aren’t in love so that’s a hard comparison to make, but they are best friends. Actual best friends. Dustin literally says that Mike and Lucas are closer than he is with either of them, and he’s right!

I’m gonna be covering their history, Lucas’ POV, Mike’s POV, and then their potential S5 arc. This is a very broad analysis, so I won’t be going into the grainy details in this post, or else it would be MASSIVE lmao

History

Most people are probably familiar with this, but I feel like I need to point out some things that often get glossed over. Keep in mind this is a brief summary.

In S1, there are two major things established about Mike and Lucas:

- They’re very close friends

- They’re both incredibly determined to find Will

We see them established as close friends through small things like Lucas’ teasing, having Lucas be the one to pull Mike away after the pissing incident, Dustin suggesting that Lucas is jealous, and their argument being resolved.

There is a ton of emphasis places on Mike and Lucas’ friendship in S1. One of the bigger of the side plots is this fight that Lucas and Mike get in because they’re disagreeing on the best way to find Will.

For Mike, when Lucas started going off on his own, I think there was a huge fear of losing Lucas too. We talk about how Mike only apologizes to Will, but he reaches out and apologizes to Lucas with that handshake. He does so teary-eyed, hoping Lucas will forgive him.

I think Lucas was frustrated with Mike because he doesn’t understand why Mike would do things that seem stupid when they have to be looking for Will. Lucas’ perspective isn’t stressed as much, but he was happy to shake Mike’s hand and move past their issues.

There are also moments like the end of S1 where we see Mike throw himself on top of Will and then Lucas throwing himself on top of both of them. That’s something else that connects Mike and Lucas, which nobody else really seems to have except the Byers family.

Mike’s relationship with Will is something we see heavily because y’know. He’s in love with Will. However, there’s also a fair amount of emphasis placed on Lucas’ relationship with Will. We see Lucas’ determination to find Will, we see them being close in S2 and S3 through their hugs and teasing Mike together. Lucas, Mike, and Will were put together for a reason.

In S3, there’s a lot going on for them. Firstly, Lucas was trying his hardest to be supportive of Mike. Yes, Mike was putting on a show and trying to win over Lucas’ approval by acting like a Straight Man, but Lucas didn’t know that. He was there for Mike and he tried to help him through his relationship problems with El.

From Lucas’ perspective, he saw one of his best friends struggling with his new relationship and was just trying to help. He and Mike were the only ones going through these sorts of problems, as Mike was trying to follow in Lucas’ footsteps in some ways.

From Mike’s, he was trying to put on a show in front of Lucas and Will — his closest friends at the time. He was trying to act as much of a typical Heterosexual as possible, and he was very much so seeking Lucas out to do this. He spent a lot of time looking to Lucas whenever he would act like an asshole because he was trying to be like him (not that Lucas is an asshole, but they were both trying to grow up and is resulted in them acting like dicks sometimes).

Essentially, Lucas and Mike are very, very close friends and we saw them heading down the same path in S3. They were as close as ever and their dynamic hadn’t changed much, but rather than butting heads they were much more agreeable with each other as Lucas tried to empathize with Mike’s struggles.

Lucas and Mike are best friends and their relationship is given a lot of emphasis considering their platonic nature (in comparison to their other weighted relationships being romantic).

Lucas’ POV

Lucas’ POV is something I find interesting, because we talk a lot about Mike feeling alone, but Lucas was also alone in his situation. When Lucas continued down the path of being normal, Mike started backtracking and returned to being a nerd and a freak. It left Lucas somewhat stranded, and when we have that confrontation between them in 4x01, Lucas was appealing to things he knows Mike understands. He says he’s tired of being bullied and that he’s tired of being made fun of by girls, which is something that is established that happens for Mike was back in S1 (he faces a lot of bullying and girls are grossed out by him).

For Lucas, he’s trying to be normal to escape the severe racism he faces as a black kid in the middle of Indiana, which was only made worse by being a nerd. Lucas goes on a journey in Lucas On the Line (LOTL) that heavily describes his experience with racism and his love for Max. He also wants Max to come back, hence the, “tired of being made fun of by girls.”

Something important from LOTL is Lucas getting to be friends with other black boys and seeing these qualities that are beautiful and unique in people like him, which was something Lucas definitely needed in his life. That’s not something Mike would see, as Mike only saw them as jocks.

These aren’t the same things Mike is going through, Lucas doesn’t know what’s going on with Mike, but he knows that Mike can at least understand why he’s doing this. He and Mike were on the same page in S3, and suddenly Mike is backtracking and is no longer trying to grow up and be accepted by the world. Lucas and Mike aren’t on the same page anymore, and Lucas feels alone and abandoned. We see it when he realizes he’s been replaced by his little sister.

Another thing in LOTL, Lucas gets annoyed by Mike thanks to his sudden rise in assholery after the Byers moved. Specifically, it’s around the start of school that the conflict between them starts to kick in a little. Mike’s dealing with stuff he won’t tell anyone, but Lucas doesn’t understand that and he doesn’t have to. As far as he knows, both he and Mike lost Will and they’re both affected similarly. He thinks this is about El. Lucas has never really been a fan of Mike’s relationship with El, and this is definitely adding onto that.

At the end of the season, we see Lucas complete his arc of realizing that he’d rather be a freak than a raging psychopath normal. He’s accepted that the life he thought would be good for him, that would make him happy, is one that ultimately rejects him and he learns to reject it in return. He no longer holds this need to be normal, which is important because Mike was trying to not be normal at the beginning of the season too. It’s what their conflict was about.

Mike’s POV

Mike’s perspective on his relationship with Lucas at this point seems a lot like he’s having an internal war. He’s finally learning to embrace himself and making steps to accept his sexuality, and in accordance he’s playing DND and hanging out with outcasts, which is the exact opposite of what he was trying to do in S3. However, there are some things that suggest that there’s still a part of him that wants to be like Lucas.

Like, I’m their confrontation, the way Mike reacts shows a lot more reluctance and that what Lucas is saying hits closer to home. He’s not being argumentative, showing that same complacency he had in S3 that differs from his stubbornness with Lucas in S1 & 2.

On the table at the cafeteria, we also see this book which talks about learning how to play sports. That doesn’t make any sense for any of the Hellfire Club members. Except for Mike. That part of Mike that still wants to be like Lucas has him reaching out to learn about sports and how to play. He’s torn right now.

As established in S1 & S3, Lucas’ approval in regards to Mike’s acceptance with his sexuality means a lot. Lucas was the one who initially pushed him to consider El as a romantic interest, the one to point out that girls don’t like him, and the one to walk him through a lot of relationship problems in S3. Assuming LOTL is canon, we also know that Lucas thought Mike was the “worst person to be around” right as school started after Mike’s isolation. Mike’s reaction to the move was deeply rooted in his feelings for Will, and I personally think this when he really came to terms that he was in love with Will (not necessarily the first time he realized he had feelings, though. I think that was the S2 monologue). Lucas reacting like that to Mike’s post-isolation probably felt like a rejection in some way.

Mike also doesn’t really understand the depth of Lucas’ need to be normal. Mike can never have the experience Lucas has. Mike won’t be able to realize that Lucas wants to be around other black people and people who will help him become normal/popular because of his experience with racism. That creates a divide, because Mike doesn’t see the motivation to become normal beyond what he and Lucas have in common, which is being bullied and being made fun of by girls. Mike is realizing that he doesn’t care about girls, though, and the bullying itself never seemed to bother Mike much. He only ever got upset when it came to his friends being targeted.

Games and being an outcast and DND are all important to Mike’s journey of self acceptance, but more importantly Eddie was important to Mike’s journey. Lucas didn’t seem to get along with Eddie, which was something that made it even harder for Mike to be on the same page as Lucas. Eddie’s heavy queer-coding (no not steddie) sets him up as a role model for Mike in a lot of ways. Mike is seeing someone like him be completely, honestly himself. Zero shame. That was something Mike needed in order to move towards accepting his sexuality.

At the end of the season, Mike has gotten over El. He’s ready to truly give up on being normal, just like Lucas has.

S5 Predictions

As for S5, I think Lucas and Mike are both starting off on the stance that they’ve finally given up on being normal.

Lucas thought Mike had accepted being an outcast already, but he doesn’t know about Mike giving up on trying to be straight.

Mike doesn’t even know that Lucas is against conformity now.

I think we’re gonna be getting a reconciliation arc between them in S5. Especially considering that we’re returning to S1 dynamics, I’m hoping we’ll get S1 callbacks as well. I think we’re gonna get a scene of them really talking it out; Lucas admitting that he was wrong, and that he’s sorry for leaving DND behind while Mike apologizes for not being a good friend. I hope that leads into a coming out scene between Mike and Lucas.

Mike coming out to Lucas is the ideal, in my opinion. Lucas is so heavily tied to Mike trying to be straight and he’s sought Lucas’ approval of that straightness, so for Mike to come out to him and be accepted would be the best way to satisfy Mike’s acceptance of his sexuality in words.

For Lucas, I want that conversation to lead to him getting his best friend back. He spent a lot of S4 feeling alone, and almost all of pre-S4 as well. Lucas deserves to have his friend back, for Mike to bring him back into the party (I know he never technically left but emotionally…). I need for Lucas to feel like he hasn’t been abandoned, that he hasn’t been replaced.

Lucas and Mike need to really accept each other, and I think their arc will play heavily into that idea in S5.

bywheelclair hug to end the post :) these three make me wanna bawl like a BITCH bro

#wheelclair #lucas analysis #mike analysis #byler tumblr #not beta’ed bc i hate beta reading #fuck it we ball

[koala2055]

Yay opinion time:

Volume 2 kind of sucked.

Like sure, it had some great parts and I guess the plot worked, but it could have been so much better.

Eddie's death made no sense. I get that they wanted him to have a resolution of him not running for once and shit, but it didn't make sense for him to die because of it.

a) Steve survived numerous demobat wounds

b) All the bats died literally seconds later

It really didn't do much for Dustin's character growth either, tbh. Like sure it encouraged him to be responsible for the others but like really, Dustin was doing that anyway.

And Eddie had so much potential. The fandom loves him. There were so many things they could have done with his character, but no, they stuck to their formula and killed the new guy.

Which brings me to Max.

In that brief moment where I believed Max was dead, it hurt. Especially with Lucas and El there, unable to do anything about it.

It was powerful. And exactly what the group would have needed to push themselves forward.

I'm not saying I wanted Max to die. She was a brilliant character and this season she had so much development. But it would have been an amazing plot point, so much better than killing Eddie. It would show us that there are actually stakes here, that the characters aren't indefinitely shielded by plot armor.

As for the other deaths... I'll be honest I barely even realized Jason died. It was so fast and it really didn't mean anything.

Brenner's death was painted as a tragedy and I fucking hate that. I suppose I could understand his apparent change of heart with the whole Nina project, but after he trapped Eleven again- I don't understand how they were trying to paint him as a sympathetic character or whatever they were doing. That man was a monster and he deserved to die.

The cast and advertising for volume 2 promised deaths and we just... didn't get any good ones.

Which brings us to the other part of the false advertising, the queerbaiting.

There were three super strong queer ships after volume 1, and they were byler, steddie, and ronance.

Now I never put too much faith into ronance, it didn't seem like it made sense since they just introduced a love interest for Robin, so that wasn't too significant.

Steddie had a lot of support. And it definitely seemed like a possibility. But assuming their plan was to kill off Eddie anyway, I'll let it slide.

Byler.

The level of teasing and hinting at Byler from the cast was unprecedented.

And what happened?

Almost nothing.

Sure, we get more hints that Will is queer, but nothing is explicitly said.

And worst of all, they used Will's unrequited love to further mileven. That made me furious.

Complete queerbait.

I don't know why I expected better.

And many people have pointed out the problems with Mike's love monologue to El, so I'm not going to bother. It was stupid.

Mileven wasn't terrible at all, it had genuine build up and wasn't just romance for the sake of romance. But claiming that Mike fell in love with her the day they met is just- stupid. And making El need that speech to motivate her instead of just finding the strength within herself was a bit meh.

I'll probably make another post with the things that they did right, but for now I'm done ranting.

#rant #vent post #stranger things #st4 #st4 volume 2 #st4 spoilers #stranger things spoilers #eddie stranger things #max stranger things #byler #steddie #ronance

[deanismysavior]

I do not know what is up with R3ddit but guys out there literally think the duffers are just going to give Will a background love interest in S5 or something. Do they really think they are going to give their main character a background love interest in S5? when they have introduced a love interest (Vickie) for one of their more minor character (Robin)?

Like, do they even realize how fucking ridiculous it sounds? So they were more encouraged to introduce a new love interest for one of their minor characters than to introduce a new love interest for their main character? Not hating on Robin here but objectively speaking she is not exactly a main character like Will is.

Not to mention the duffers could already have introduced a new love interest for Will in S4 by making him meet with a boy in Cali. Yet they have not.

Like I really am trying to see their point here. Do they think the Duffers would just hate Will so much that they make him suffer, throw him in an unrequited love storyline, and build up Mike's rejection... for what exactly? For ''realism''???? Why would they do that to their main character who is the only canonically confirmed gay boy on the show??? When they wouldn't do that to Robin??

Fuck off with your ''realism'', really. It's not realism you guys want. It's just cruelty and suffering and hate crime you guys want to see.

The Duffers aren't going to introduce a fucking homophobic heartbreak storyline for their main, I'm sorry if you guys want to see that happen but it's not how things work. I'm saying this to Melvins who want and expect this to happen as well, if you are reading this ask. It's not gonna happen. And if it happens, then the Duffers would give their only gay main character the most homophobic storyline for no reason other than suffering tbh, when they could have introduced a new love interest for Will already without involving him in Mike's storyline.

Do you guys really believe the Duffers would be that cruel and write something like this than to believe that they are breaking Melvin up since at least S3 by showing us how their relationship doesn't work because they are not compitable?

To be honest, I think the reason a lot of people, especially Reddit Bros, think this is because they don't view Will as a main character.

I've noticed a trend in which a lot of (mostly guys let's be real) in the GA kind of write Will off as an unimportant character. I think a lot of people are more focused on El and her arc, and are invested in the Vecna storyline, but they really don't view Will to be significant outside of his connection to Vecna.

Basically, they view Will as a plot device and not a character, which is why they're so comfortable with the idea that he ends up sad, alone, or dead, because they're viewing him as a way of getting from point A in the plot to point B,

But this is explicitly NOT how the Duffers have written Will, and they've made that pretty apparent, especially in recent interviews saying that Will is going to be a main focus in season 5, which means that Will's emotions, motivations, and struggles ARE important to the storyline. And that also means that his feelings for Mike WILL get more explicitly addressed.

But because they continually view Will as a side character or as less important to the plot, they couldn't even fathom him actually getting a well-developed arc in which he could potentially have a real love interest.

And yes, I do think homophobia has something to do with the fact that a lot of these dudebros don't really seem to care about Will as a character.

Anyway, Will Byers deserves better and he deserves his mf hero arc and he deserves love and affection from his boyfriend Mike Wheeler.

#byler #byler endgame #byler nation #ask #will byers #will byers my beloved #will byers deserves better #will byers main character #stranger things #st