#does it help if i mention byler several times??

[perexcri]

In reality, she’s a part of the gyroscope; she’s just another spinning fragment of an asteroid caught in the orbit of the apocalypse, and while Jonathan appreciates the steadiness of Argyle’s presence next to him, he also still feels flutters when he captures Nancy in a certain light, when she has a certain glint in her eyes that makes his stomach twist with delight.

“You okay?” she asks, head tilted to the side.

“Yeah, brochacho–you good?” Argyle adds. He tilts his head almost identically.

Jonathan wants to scream.

if you read the beautifully tender byler fic Come Away With Me by @starsarefire824 and are interested in some Jonathan/Nancy/Argyle (or Jarncy, as I have been affectionately referring to them) nonsense that was implied in literally one line of dialogue, then boy do i have the fic for you!

ft. pizza vans, purple palm tree delight, and Jonathan realizing he’s a lot more like Mike Wheeler than he ever thought he was!

#stranger things fic #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #argyle #jonathan/nancy/argyle #jarncy #or whatever #jargyle #jancy #byler #<- tagging byler because that's mainly who i'm writing for and where most people know me lol #does it help if i mention byler several times?? #idk who cares

[byeler]

i generally agree with the sentiment of the post about liking v reblogging, but i think at its core the issue is about being able to get work out there and seen by other people. i mean this with all the respect in the world as a big fan of your work, but i’d imagine as the author of the number one kudos’d byler fic in the world (no small feat and a testament to your skill seriously) you have established a solid platform for yourself. i think overall it’s a very interesting discussion and like i said, i agree with you! no one is entitled to an engagement, regardless of the merit of their work. i just also think this adds an extra layer that’s interesting to explore. i hope this comes across as respectful, and my fr deepest apologies if not. all the love.

i do fully understand where you're coming from, but i also was not joking when i mentioned that i've said this before. if you can't tell by the date or the fact that post got a whopping three notes, i really did not carry the same presence back then that i do now. any reblog on any post or fic of mine was (and still is!!) incredibly valuable to me. i know how important it is to encourage and share fics you enjoy because that is what did and still does continue to help me. i promise i didn't post that because i want to stop people from interacting with things that they enjoy.

what really, really bothers me is the guilt trips. i absolutely endorse and support posts that say "hey, if you want your favorite authors/artists/theorists to continue to create more of what you like, reciprocate and interact with them". what i do not condone is posts that boil down to "this fandom is dying because YOU are not reblogging enough" when there are several reasons that someone might just not want to reblog. and i just don't feel like my desire for engagement overrules anyone else's desires for what they want to do on their own blog.

at the end of the day, if i post a piece of writing for free on the internet, it's already written. while getting feedback often feels like a reward for the work i've put in, i've already done the work. if someone wants to read it and enjoy it and then choose not to like or reblog or kudos or comment or acknowledge it in any way, i still don't lose anything from that. i might not gain anything, either, but that is not a loss, because i'm not entitled to someone else's time. and on the flip side, it gives me a huge amount of appreciation for those that do take the time to otherwise engage with my work, because i know it's not a requirement, it's something they wanted to do.

i know it might sound like i'm coming from a place of privilege (?) being able to say this, and i won't fully disagree with you on that, but it's something i've felt strongly about long before my writing really had any sort of traction. i also want to be clear that i can only speak for myself, and that many other authors and artists likely disagree with me on this topic. but i simply do not want anyone to feel pressured to force some sort of interaction with me for whatever reason, regardless of how much they like my fics.

#also pls don't worry you came across fine and i'm never gonna be upset for someone disagreeing/expressing their thoughts respectfully #there's definitely nuance to this #i always try to rb fics and art with detailed tags of what i loved/leave long comments because i know how important they are #but sometimes i just don't have the energy!! #sometimes i like a post intending to come back to it later but i forget about it and never do #sometimes i like a post because i like it but i don't want it on my blog #like. there are a thousand reasons. and getting upset with someone for not immediately spreading their work just comes across as so. nasty #i know it sucks when something you've worked hard on flops. it's happened to me!! multiple times!!! #but there are other ways to encourage engagement that don't include stomping your feet and demanding more from your audience. #ok i have rambled enough but i am open to more discussion on this if anyone is so inclined

[cannibalismyuri]

a boiling hot take (long post)

mike's monologue was genuine. now, wait.... cool down a bit. i'm still a byler, and i'll explain why i think this. pls read this, since this will explain several things about mike's mindset, and why byler will be endgame and milkvan is going to break up. now, the monologue was genuine, but in vastly different contexts. let me explain :

the first few lines when el is still in the bathtub are the most angry/random/desperate lines to me. bc that is the first time el is in true, real danger of dying, and mike is very devastated (understandably, he still loves her even if not romantically) bc the legitimate danger of el never waking up is immediate. this is also a trope in media (literary/digital), that when someone dies, the first thing a loved one says is pleading for them to "wake up". this is mainly related to the fact that we want to be believe that things can be fixed even if they're dead (hint! hint! milkvan bones)

after el is on the table, there's the little interruption from will to tell mike that he's the heart. now, going back to the van scene, will telling mike that he's the heart gives him so much hope and courage. why? this is bc mike has a HUGE savior complex. he needs to be needed, yes. but the matter of fact is, he has to be something or someone that will make people need him. being the heart is exactly that, "because without heart, we'd all fall apart". this again gives him hope that el still needs him, that he is still someone that is needed for her to SURVIVE.

"El? I don't know if you can hear this, but if you can, I want you to know that I'm here, okay? I'm right here" this line is so important to mike's character even though it seems like it's a throwaway line added to make the scene emotional. bc technically, why would el benefit from mike being right here? he can't help her through talking really, can he? at this point, mike is more rational about what he's saying, thinking more about how it might affect and help el, and he thinks this might help el bc el NEEDS him. and i get simple support, saying that you're here for whatever a person goes through. but they think el is in danger of dying, mike simply being there DOESN'T MATTER. because usually, a character is going through smth, so a loved one says that they are there for them to reassure them that they will get out of the situation. if el dies, this won't matter, so why would mike waste his time saying stuff that doesn't matter? since there is immediate fear of el's death? this is because he's still in the mindset that el NEEDS him, what he says and what he perpetuates is VERY different, bc he says that el is HIS superhero, while he believes that he is EL'S superhero in a way.

mike also clearly hesitates before telling el that he loves her. many people attribute this to the fact that he doesn't love her. but the thing is, mike knows (or thinks he knows) el's needs. he thinks one of them is HIM. but recently, it's been shown to him that she needs him in a way that he isn't able to give her. she needs his confirmation of romantic love. and mike DOES love el, but not in that way anymore. but remember the savior complex i mentioned before? mike will become someone he isn't to still feel needed. bc el does need that confirmation of love, but it could easily be from ANYONE else. but mike needs it to be him. so he tells el he loves her.

"I'm sorry I don't say it more, it's not because I'm scared of you, I'm not. I've never felt that way. Never. But I am scared that one day you'll realize you don't need me anymore. And I thought if I said how I felt, it would somehow make that day...hurt more." mike isn't scared of el right now, but he hasn't ALWAYS felt that way. he was scared of her when he first met her, saying that she should go back to an asylum. but mike will lie, cheat and steal to be someone that was never scared of her, that always believed in her, that always expressed how he felt, that always loved her. bc that's who she needs. a constant in her life, that hasn't ever doubted her. the one time he is truly honest is when he says that he was scared of her realizing she doesn't need him. but even that is from HIS perspective. bc her not needing him forever doesn't mean that he lost her. for him, losing her MEANS that she doesn't need him anymore. but the weird thing is, him giving her confirmation that he will be her constant WOULD make her feel like she doesn't need him. why? bc when you have explicit confirmation that someone will be a constant in your life, you aren't trying your hardest to show that you need them. mike was afraid of this, and him saying that he loves her, and her still not rlly NEEDING him would be the last straw, bc that means he's tried everything, but can't help losing her. (keeping in mind that for him this means her not needing him)

"But the truth is, El, I don't know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods." he doesn't know how to live without people needing him. for him, he wants to be needed by everyone he loves in life, bc being needed is being irreplacable. you can't move out of somebody's life if they need you, right? (this is mike's perspective) so not knowing how to live without someone is basically not knowing how to live with losing someone right? and in mike's mind, losing el is her not needing him, again. i know many bylers hate the 'life started' line since that's the day will went missing, but it has another meaning. at that point in mike's life, will was the only person who truly NEEDED him. will also NEEDED someone to save him, but the thing is, mike has almost lost the only person who needs him, and he just grasped at vague clues of him being alive. maybe the strange girl in the woods would help him/was a clue. el was like a lifeline to him, to bring back someone that needed him. also, afterwards he starts to care for el, and she obvs needs him. even if just for shelter, protection and knowledge, so he finds someone else who needs him without him actually doing anything to make them need him (like will). so he treasures the feeling. as this slowly changes bc el becomes her own person and has other sources of protection now, the way she needs him changes, and now he has to actually develop and change himself for her to need him unconditionally, UNLIKE will, who will always need him in any form. so his relationship with el gets strained.

"You were wearing that yellow Benny's Burgers t-shirt and it was so big it almost swallowed you whole." many people think this is to establish the "love at first sight" thing, but he actually didn't love her since he first saw her. he saw HOPE in her. that HOPE that she might be a clue in will's disappearance. sometimes when our emotions are at an all time high, we remember things that we don't need to, weird things. this was one of them. also, saying this, mike thinks that el will think that he's NOTICED her since the start. since el needs someone who's loved, believed in and never doubted her since the start, mike thinks that this could be her saving grace.

"And I knew, right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you. And I've loved you every day since. I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days." this is again what el needs. mike knows this, and what he's saying isn't true in the first part. it wasn't love at first sight, but he HAS loved/cared for her since then, but that isn't enough for el. she NEEDS someone who cared since the start, since people haven't ever done that for her, so mike says it." the "good days, bad days" part is again referring to being a constant in el's life, who loves her regardless of anything that she does, and while sometimes this isn't true for mike (especially for some stuff el did in s1), this is what el needs, and mike will CONVINCE HIMSELF that he loves her and always thought she was inherently good if it means that she'll still need him.

"I love you with your powers, I love you without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You're my superhero." now, el didn't have her powers in Cali, when mike started being distant/stopped saying he loved her, so mike reiterates that he loves her without her powers as well. reinforcing that whatever she does, he will always love her. "exactly who you are" also implies the same stuff. "You're my superhero is where mike goes wrong though. the common thing between will and el is that they're both different, but mike makes will feel like being different is good (crazy together). but with el, she has been brought up with the mindset that different/special is GOOD. but she WANTS to leave that mindset. she wants to be NORMAL. reiterating that she is different isn't good for her, so i don't know why the duffers put that line there. perhaps to specify that mike still doesn't know el's mindset or needs THAT well.

edit : i know now that the superhero line was improvised by finn, and tbh i don't really know if he actually knows about plot centric details or genuinely thought it was a good line, but the duffers let it slide, so it might have some relevance, so still consider the analogy.

"And...I can't lose you. Okay? Do you hear me? I can't lose you." mike is somehow still commanding el. saying that she has to fight, has to need him, bc he can't afford to not be needed anymore (lose her). to el, as someone who's been told what to do her entire life, this should deter her, again saying that mike doesn't know el's feelings that well.

"You can do anything! You can fly, You can move mountains, I believe that. I really do. But right now, you just have to fight. Okay?" again, telling her that he has always believed in her (even when he thought her powers were untrustworthy is s1) bc that's what she needs. also, telling her to fight after this, is ensuring her that he believes she can do it, defeat vecna.

so, that's my analysis. everything in mike's monologue IS genuine, although in vastly different contexts than implied. tagging a few mutuals so that this gains traction : @trashmouther-4 @crazycoven @http-byler @ash-the-wise @nancysglock @givehimthemedicine @forever-augustine @tntozier . also tagging iconic byler blogs : @paladin-n-cleric @ratt-duffer @sorry-i-panicked @will80sbyers @shandy-and-champagne @bylrlvr @andiwriteordie

#st4 #byler #anti mileven #mike's monologue #st analysis #analysis #st theory #mike's monologue analysis #stranger things #stranger things analysis #stranger things (sara's version)

[d-didis]

Part three: blue and yellow

In general, the lbgtq couples are representated with those colors in the most of queers show, one of the most famous is heartstropper and young royals

But now, ¿ what blue and yellow means ?

As I said, these colors are used a lot to represent queer or lgbtq couples, although that does not answer the question, we have to say that in some way they mean emotions, although in reality I do not know very well what it means, it is quite strange that they chose these colors to byler and not only that, but the fact that they make it so evident throughout the 4 seasons, even more so when """"a simple friendship"""" is literally associated with according to google:

“a bright and positive color, which despite being associated in some cultures with bad luck, is identified with warmth, intelligence, friendliness and joy. It is associated with light, money and also everything related to the Sun. These are some of the most important sensations that they transmit: Power.”

Mi!even and…¿ blue and yellow ?

well because I have seen several milevens shippers who say that mike and eleven represent blue and yellow because of the clothes they wear in the s3 which is generally blue and yellow, so let's go on to deny this

first point, it is true that mike and eleven used blue and yellow in most of s3 even before, literally we see how eleven wears a yellow shirt when he met mike, but this does not mean anything because the color of eleven It is purple and what I will comment on below is more than anything a fact but a personal one and it is that I never saw a mileven mentioning this (I do not deny that perhaps there was remember that it is only a PERSONAL fact) and I think that in reality I did not see bylers do it either , at least not before season 3 after the icons came out and this is because they are just colors they are nothing really although it is cute and fun to analyze if you think about it a little it really does not give anyone anything I explain? that is to say that mike and eleven dress in yellow blue may or may not mean something like byler, although it is quite curious that they chose these colors we do not have the power of anything, the end of stranger things is decided a long time ago and it may Whether we like it or not, I'm not just speaking for us bylers, I'm speaking for the fandom in general. For example, if byler becomes a canon, the milevens will be angry and if mi!even ends up being, the bylers will be disappointed too. Can you explain me better? In the end all we can do is just wait and see what the duffers do with the show, and the fact mi!even uses blue and yellow is not romantic just, just look this post

second point, based on the previous post, i will talk a little more about that and it is the fact that eleven when she is with mike cannot be herself to put it one way, because it is silly to deny that mike and eleven love each other since it is something obvious but here the difference that they love each other means that they are in love, mike and eleven are good together platonically speaking of course and that is why mike has TOO MANY parallels to people who have a close PLATONIC relationship with eleven, like the parallels with will, joyce, hopper and with brenner that although he was the one that generated the most traumas in her, if not to say the majority, he unconsciously helps eleven to discover that she is not the monster if (note that I am anti brenner) they can see all (or most of) the parallels in this post

ok ok, I got totally off topic but I think it's pretty important to understand that so that you understand what follows

part four: "just colors"

If they are just colors and they don't mean anything, why do you comment?

for the simple fact that it is cinema and almost everything happens for a reason, with this I mean that we are facing one of the most popular television shows of the moment and the duffers are intelligent, they would not be doing EVERYTHING that we have been seeing season after season in the end just let it happen, because it is not a simple shipp that was born from nothing, it is a shipp which has been developed since the first chapter, so once again it is rare that they do everything "just because" or "because they are he felt like it", now, we have a lot of more evidence of will and mike and will are yellow and blue, but now ¿that matter? Are just colors that doesn’t mean nothing and that’s the why we have a LOOOT of more byler evidence but now all this was really cute so yeah, thats all hope u enjoy

cc: here,here,here,here

[rosesradio]

random number spam: 2, 3, 18, 14, 12, 16,

thank you !! gonna put these numbers in order bc it'll bother me otherwise lol

2.) What fanfic do you wish you got more response on?

can i say all of them? 😭 i'm a shameless attention whore at this point. but no i'd probably say my most recent one, camp triple pine. it's gotten loads of attention and i'm super grateful (not to sound spoiled because i've gotten some amazing gifts but i'd love fanart, if that counts as a response...this isn't a guilt tactic though, because once when i was in the s*nders s*des fandom on wattpad i said i wanted fanart lowkey and someone called me manipulative and blocked me :') but that's a whole other thing entirely. i used to get so much attention for my tss fics back in the day i didn't want to leave...now i'm rambling--)

3.) What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

oh there's so many !! i'm gonna do a writer's update post once i finish ctp but i have a lot of ideas. one’s 10k for byler, one’s a one shot for caswen, i have a few gifts for friends i wanna catch up on, etc...

to give an idea i’ve mentioned here and there, my next long-term lawrusso fic i wanna do is a 90s lawrusso merman au. johnny’s staying with bobby at the brown family beach house and he meets daniel, a merman who he helps sort-of turn human after he “saves” daniel from drowning. he then shows daniel about what it’s like being human, daniel tries ice cream, explores the santa monica pier, tries human mating several times, and i plan for it to be super cute and fun ! plus it’s got the jessica/bobby/ali thruple together at the start bc i will force it into every lawrusso fic until people like it :-)

(p.s. if anyone steals any of my ideas you will meet your end by my hand <3)

12.) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

i definitely read all the comments i get many times :’) but i do try to respond to a lot of comments, but sometimes i get busy, and honestly the comments leave me so flustered because i feel undeserving of them, that by the time i get to them i feel like it’s been a while and it’s weird. who and what i respond to is pretty random, though i do respond to more in-depth comments, and not to just one sentence comments (but i appreciate all comments, you don’t have to write a novel but just knowing you were there is really cool !)

14.) Have you ever co-written a fic?

haha, uh...no. i’ve made plans with friends and authors i admire, but i mostly work alone. the closest i ever got was working with the most popular author in the s*nders s*des fandom on a welcome to night vale au (guess what year that was lol). we had a google doc and everything but scheduling and everything didn’t work out. i have bounced around ideas though without actually writing them into fic so if anyone wants to do that i’m happy to help !

16.) How long is your longest fic?

according to ao3, 97,252 words ! damn, i should have gotten to 100k, but i tell people 100k usually. it’s a s*nders s*des (i censor for tags not bc i hate the fandom or anything, i’m just not in it anymore...it’s embarrassing how most of my fics are for this fandom but i pretty much wrote exclusively for it for 5 years--) anyways it’s a s*nders s*des selection (bachelor) au where i condensed three books into one longfic. i believe it’s also one of my most popular books on my wattpad besides my one shots book for the same fandom. it’s got a playlist and fanart and everything...i wrote it during the driver’s ed period of sophomore year bc they never let me drive lol...good times...

18.) Recommend someone else fic! (And tag them if they have a tumblr!)

i rarely read fic, but take my most recent read, Everything Beautiful’s Fiction by narcissablaxk (i don’t know their tumblr but they’ve written a lot of fics so i’m sure someone around here does). i had a craving for ruben/chris (bc it’s adjacent to 90s lawrusso) and this filled just that ! it was hurt/comfort-y and overall a pretty good read !

i think that’s it, thanks for the ask, and i’m not sorry i rambled bc this was fun ! <3

#what do i even tag this #rose's asks #lawrusso #my dark and sexy past? lol

[kaypeace21]

i'm losing hope of byler being an endgame :( milevens say that we are invalidating mileven, besides having several scenes that they show "passion/love". they make fun of us, besides always giving reasons why mileven is an endgame, and disrespecting other people's ship, and maybe actually Will will be with another boy right?? idk but I really hope I'm not being deluded

lol  lets not focus on byler for a sec and mostly discuss mileven. what scenes show mileven’s  ‘passion/love’? Because the show invalidates mileven constantly-why they’re so aggressive/afraid of us.THEY KNOW IT’S DOOMED (they live in head canons and nothing else).  I’m going to try keeping this short by doing bullet points.

-The writers in s3 threw in a telemarketing joke just for Mike to say “El. no. sorry not interested” and hang up the phone. 

- Flo  in s1: “only love makes you that crazy and that damn stupid.”

Mike: “if we’re both going crazy. we’ll go crazy together right?”will: “yeah, crazy together “ *smile and stare longingly at eachother *————————————————————-Mike: “they do say it makes you crazy”El: “what makes you crazy?”(the exact opposite of crazy together as she continues to be confused over every explanation he gives of love 😂)————————————————————-During the byler fight  Mike says “el’s not stupid!” After this, Will calls himself “ so stupid “ 4x .  rips up photo where they said they’d go crazy together and cries . But, El after fighting with mike happily says: “there’s more to life than STUPID boys .”  El’s catchphrase being “not stupid” which she says in s2 before going to see Mike at the school. And Nancy before Mike says he loves El / Mikeduring the byler fight (about mileven) say “El’s not stupid!”

original gifs  sources

-the s3 stobin confession parallels mileven’s s3 shop confession (full analysis in link). Both El/Robin have bandages on their legs and both pairings sit together (on the floor) during their confessions- and are interrupted by Dustin. And in both straight baits- the guys use the terms “stupid/crazy” but subvert the expectation of it being romantic-as both girls say they’re not “crazy” or “stupid” for the guy. El saying “what makes you crazy?” in response to Mike. And Robin saying she was not into Steve’s “stupid hair” (similar to El saying there’s more to life than ‘stupid boys’/other saying she’s not stupid.”Also the song ‘the first i love you’ only plays twice in s3. During Steve’s romantic confession and robin rejecting him because she’s gay & El’s romantic confession and awkward kiss with mike (where Mike doesn’t reciprocate). Cause Robin/Mike are both gay and will reject the romantic confession.

- Erica making he-man and barbie kiss: “Hey , They’re in love!”Lucas (livid- and standing right next to a rainbow forcing them apart): “No, actually,  they’re not. they’re not even from the same planet.”  El even watches he-man in s1! Mileven is not in love!

Cue El and mike being compared to ET and Eliot -WHO AREN’T FROM THE SAME PLANET (by the Duffers in multiple interviews and in the pilot script ) .   And then there’s the  old euphemism of “girls come from Venus, and boys come from Mars”.  The Duffers saying mileven isn’t in love cause they’re not from the same planet (aka the same gender) -is just them telling us Mike is gay so he can’t fall for El-who is a girl/diff species. They literally have Will say to Mike “welcome to my world” as a contrast. So El telling mike he should ‘stick with his own species’ (aka boys) is another gay hint.

In s2 they even had El wear the same shirt as a 1986 movie character (staring Winona Ryder). The movie is called coincidentally “lucas”- and he’s in an unrequited romantic relationship with a gal named maggie. And he later says him and Maggie are  from “different worlds.” El being movie-Lucas in a unrequited romance, in this scenario. And the other easteregg is the Duffers have st-Lucas  say the “planet/worlds” similar to movie-Lucas.

some milevens also attribute romeo/juliet to mileven cause Dustin mentioned it while mileven was out of shot. But romeo & juliet weren’t actually in love-it was just kids in infatuation. And also used to describe the unrequited infatuation of Lucas/Maggie.

-Also when dustin in s1 says el is “like a wizard” (like Will.) Mike corrects dustin and says “more like yoda”. Really hammering down the alien references- which the Duffers reference to el in interviews all the time-by comparing her to et . In the pilot they even said mike and el are like “Eliot and et.” They said they made el dress like a ghost cause et did so- and then for the extra burn they made mike a ghost hunter/buster. And they also said that EL’s makeover in s1 was like et’s in the movie. And sorry ... who compares the girl they “crush on” with a green gross alien (yoda)- kind of shows how he sees her more as this foreign superpowered entity rather than a girl/crush. And on what planet is et /Eliot romantic??Answer is -it’s not. 

- In contrast, They have Mike and Will parallel  Diane and Venkman. In ghost Busters, Mike -is Venkman- and Will -is Dana Barret- who Venkman flirts with shamelessly until she is possessed. Dana finds a demon-dog in her fridge, and hires the ghost busters. And right before Venkman goes on a date with her she is possessed by the big-bad, Zuul, and is transformed into the gate-keeper (who controls demo(n)-dogs). Venkman proceeded to try to talk to the real Dana , ignoring her possessed form and eventually realizes how serious her condition is, is forced to sedate her. Eventually with the help of his team, Venkman closes the gate to Zuul’s dimension, rescuing Dana in the process. And Venkman plants one on Dana before riding away in triumph. While, El is a ghost and Mike is a ghost hunter XD

Notice in the same season lucas says mileven is ‘not in love’ and compares mileven to he-man and barbie .  Dustin has a  he-man & Et next to each other (along with a ghost buster sign above them, and the ghostbusters-trap next to et). This just reinforces the mileven eastereggs I’ve already talked about -  and how they want you to make the connections  about mileven not being in love. They showed et/barbie next to he-man, had El watch he-man, compared El to Et (who had a barbie-like makeover/ghost costume), so the next he-man ref of ‘not being in love’  cause rhey’re from different planets would connect in a more obvious way to mileven.  Same with Et next to the ghost trap and ghost busters sign (and El dressing as a ghost and Mike as a ghost buster-as an extra burn).

- Mike dehumanizing El is hammered down again when they compare s1 mileven to s2 dart /dustin (a demo dog) , to further show how un-romantic it is. Fin even said the duffers told him Mike saw el (OFFENSIVELY) as a “puppy’ (right after s1).  And of course millie accurately said “what a horrible way to describe me!”But the parallels are there: Dustin/Mike sharing sweets ( nougat vs eggos) for breakfast and saying they’ll have to wait for them to come home from school. And having mike annoyed, say  “a bond? cause you shared nougat?!” is dissing milevens who think the ego thing is cute/romantic. Dustin/Mike saying they ‘promised’ to take care of them and that they ‘trust’ dustin & mike. Dart killing a cat and El almost killing a cat. Dustin/Mike trying to convince Lucas- Dart & El aren’t bad. The boys thinking both El & Dart were bad guys causing both to end up running away because of that. Mike even admits in s1 he doesn’t like eggos and told El she doesn’t have to eat “like a dog” anymore.  it’s ironic when Mike says to Dustin “she’s not a dog” cause he treated her as such. Why El says in s3 angrily , “am I your pet?” It’s because he did/does unfortunately treat her this way to some degree. 

-They Parallel Mileven to Hopper & El (since mileven isn’t actually romantic)!

*teaching the meaning of promise vs com-promise. And making “promises” to eachother is not some super romantic thing- for just mileven.

* Telling her to eat “real food” vs eggos

* saying her new look is “cool”and saying it’s “bitchin” after El says the look is.

* Saying others are “corrupting her” and in response gals say neither respect her ability to make “decisions” in regards to romance. Hopper not accepting Mileven together (want them to break up)  and Mike not accepting she dumped him.

* Max saying to not let Hopper/Mike control her

*El saying “you lie” to both of them

ok , back to listing other points

- they dance to ‘every breath you take’ a break up song about a stalker ex who can’t accept he is now with her friend. The writer of the song also has said many times “it’s NOT a love song.” The duffers obviously knew that. Lumax also danced to it and Lucas was called a ‘stalker’ . El also stalked Mike in s2 (all that stuff milevens found romantic- El watching him without him knowing. Mike says he was not ok with it in s3). And in s3 he said not to do that and she just says ‘i make my own rules’.Plus, sting (the singer) mentions it’s supposed to sound romantic but the lyrics are sinister. And that the ambiguity/deceptive happy -romantic tone was intentional. Kind of like how people think mileven is healthy and in love when the show (ambiguosly says ) that it’s not -and the “opposite”.Just like the song being misinterpreted as romantic because of its deceptive packaging -mileven is the same . Mileven got popular cause everyone missed all the warning signs it wasn’t healthy (cause it was packaged as ‘cute’ and ‘ in love’) when behind the surface it was shown to be the opposite and not healthy.

 Not to mention Nancy teaching Dustin how to dance is a direct parallel to Mike teaching El. 

Mike also tries to act like Dustin, and  forces Will to dance with a girl (who’s wearing a rainbow hair clip). Trying to be a good sport like Dustin is about lumax. And right after this we see Dustin look sad about Max/Lucas dancing and Mike (next to Dustin) look sadly at Will/girl dancing in the same exact frame as Max/Lucas. As they switch between these 2 shots to emphasize their sadness/jealousy.Then they both sit down (mirroring each other) on the verge of tears before Nancy and El show up to comfort them and distract them.  As El once again (presumably) wears Nancy’s dress. Mike after El asks “will you be my brother?” “you cant go  (to the snowball) with your sister... i mean you can but it’d be really weird.” 

- before their first kiss in s1 she asked if he would be like her brother (after being compared to a cousin, and being compared to Holly, and wearing Nancy’s dress.) In s2 they even make a direct parallel to Luke &Leia (who were siblings who had a weird romantic relationship/kissed before realizing they were related). Mike (as Leia) saying “it’s a trap” to El (Luke). 

- Mike in s1 writes a d&d story for Will inspired by star wars.  in ep one Will tells Mike “it was a 7, the demogorgan it got me.”At the end of the season Mike writes a whole story of him and his friends killing a 7 headed monster, and showing the decapitated head of the monster to king Tristan (Will). Similar to how at the hospital he tells Will to not worry cause “it’s dead now”. This is right after Will rolls a 14 (cause Mike and Will are 7s together). And Mike who is a fan of starwars has King Tristan give them medals after killing the monster. Cause he wants Will/king tristan (instead of Leia -a girl) to present him with medals and be his romantic love interest (and praise him for being a hero).

- They had Dustin call mileven “bullshit” just like stancy (who were never in love). And in s3 for almost every single character in the show to dislike mileven . if that isn’t a cry for help from the writers idk what is XD

other stancy parallels: Making out on a bed to cheesy music. stancy wasn’t in love but they kissed the most in the series and nancy and steve (similar to mileven exchanged ‘i love yous’) but weren’t endgame and it was never love. Mike and Steve sing to their gfs and neither girls are fans and cut them off.In s1, both Nancy/Mike slap Steve and El and then both yell “ What is wrong with you?!”  Stancy/mileven are compared to Karen/ted who according to Nancy “never loved each other”. El is a fan of ted’s lazy boy. (Karen in s3 looks at Ted in the chair when the lyric “I should have walked away “ plays). And Steve and ted continuing to eat chicken as their gf /wife storm off from the table upset , and they do nothing. After the mileven and Karen/Ted fight- Steve says while eating “what did I do?what did i do?” And mike while eating says about el after their fight “what did i do wrong? what did i do wrong?!Steve and Ted both tell Mike to “stay on the bench/you’re on the bench.” Karen/ ted that they “never loved each other” (just like mileven and stancy which are “bullshit.”) All 3 wheelers were with people cause it seemed like the rational choice ( rich guy/ popular guy/ girl). Not to mention mike said “ I don’t remember” ( in reference to saying he loved el ) . And doesn’t say it back when el says “I love you”. Which mimics Nancy in s2 saying “I don’t remember ” (saying the stancy relationship is bs) . And she is also unable to say she loves Steve when he says“say you love me.” And Steve and el walking away as both wheelers stand there in silence. Unable to say “I love you” back.  Also, when stancy officially breakup it also pans to mileven on the porch as another parallel.And 11byers mentioned (at Christmas)  jancy has a moment but despite stancy’s issues she goes back to Steve where she looks sad over the decision .  Similar to how Byler have a moment , but then after , mileven talks about christmas  and they have that awkward kiss. In s3, steve when talking about stancy and trying to be popular even says “dustin’s right it’s all a bunch of bullshit.” (meaning Dustin’s right about mileven). Steve even says “everything people tell you is important that you’re supposed to care about- it’s bullshit.” (same season Mike mimics Lucas’ words from s1 about El being the “most important thing”.

-They also had Mike tell Max “i don’t hate you. I don’t even know you.”  Aka he can’t hate Max or love el cause he knew both for a week-and doesn’t know them. The amount of mileven burns that were in s2 -were insane XD.

other direct contrasts between Mileven & byler 

besides the ones already mentioned. 1) ‘crazy together/so stupid’ vs ‘what makes you crazy?/el’s not stupid/more to life than stupid boys & 2) ‘they’re not in love they’re not even from the same planet’ vs byler’s ‘welcome to my world’

3) Mike has drastically different expressions after the byler/mileven fights and the difference in weather and music selection ,convey how Mike is feeling. He looks regretful with Will, and almost annoyed with El dumping him.  Mileven breaks up to upbeat music on a sunny day (the break up being in front a crowd and a joke) vs the morose music and the storm shown (with just Mike and Will fighting ). We are supposed to take the byler fight seriously and the mileven one as a joke.They had Mike apologize to Will immediately. But with El he says “what did i do wrong?’ (Kind of like how ted, after pissing off karen says “what did I do?”)And then had Mike wait by the phone for her to apologize- says sexist stuff about her. Then have mike laugh/burp and talk about cheese and El to laugh about the break up/high five max and immediately oggle a pic of another boy/male celeb (unlike Will who looks sadly at the pic of Mike after their fight). And then after staring at the  teen-male celeb,  El says she’s not sure if  Mike’s a good kisser cause he’s just her “first boyfriend” and she has no other boys to compare him to (implying she’s thinking of other boys in the future).  Contrasted to Will who said he thought him & Mike would never get gfs but just spend the rest of their lives together. El after all these events, then happily reads comics  as Max says she shouldn’t hang out with Mike all the time. VS Will having him sadly read his comic to distract himself  only to throw his comic on the ground right before he looks at the pic of mike from Halloween (where they said they would go ‘crazy together’), calls himself stupid (unlike El saying there’s more to life than stupid boys/mike saying El is not stupid-aka in love ). And then destroys castle byers /crIES after the their fight. These events were perfect opposites.

4) When Mike says in the pool shed she’s the “most important thing in the world” to him. she cuts him off and says Hopper is right about them spending too much time together. But when Mike in the shed says asking Will to be his friend was the “best thing he’s ever done” (it was practically the cliche of true love breaking the curse) XD.

When Mike says to El  “you’re most important thing to me” in the pool shed. El doesn’t even acknowledge the comment (and neither should the audience- cause the words were empty). The framing of this mileven scene was not cinematic or heartfelt, and neither was the delivery from Mike. He’s not crying, trying to reach her with proclamations of his genuine feelings. There’s no dramatic music, framing, lighting or shot composition (and the scene was incredibly short).And El just responds and cuts his supposed ‘true feelings’ off- only to agree with Hopper and says “ what if he’s right”  . I didn’t speed this up FYI.

Juxtaposed to the MUCH longer byler shed scene. A literal single tear falling down his cheek as Mike , recounts the first day they met. This whole monologue is only of tight shots of just their faces (their bodies aren’t shown like in the pool shed scene). With contrasting colors of light and shadow.This is a personal moment between them and them alone- and the fact we zoom in on their faces (expresses this to be important emotionally) . And when we see Will’s reaction to Mike saying “it was the best thing I’ve ever done”. We just see Will’s face only- no music is playing and all we hear is  Will’s whimpers and Mike crying in the background.*

5) Max in s2 at Will’s house questions how Mike can still trust Will now that he’s a spy for the mf . Max (in s3) at El’s house: says that Mike doesn’t trust El- and Mike mentions that her spying is why he doesn’t trust her.  in s2, Mike: “if anyone could stop them it’s Will“. Max: “ I thought we couldn’t trust him that he’s a spy for the mf now?” Max in s3 calling Mike out  : “El has saved the world twice. And Mike still doesn’t trust her.” Mike: you want to talk about trust really?! after... Eleven spied on us! I guess girlfriends don’t lie they SPY!”

Not to mention - the fact is... El has “saved the world twice but Mike still doesn’t trust her” to fight the mf. Yet he 100% believed Will could defeat the mf -despite Will being possessed/a spy for the mf . And despite the fact Mike  thinks Will has no powers - unlike El ( but we all know he does , though :P). And, Mike even says Billy is dangerous cause  the “mf is in him ...Billy’s mind is sick, diseased” (but with Will possession -Mike still trusted him).  Max rolls her eyes and stares challengingly at Mike cause she remembers what Mike said about Will in s2- and the hypocrisy . And she finds it annoying how little faith he has in her compared to his almost unmoving-trust in Will (who at the time was possessed) . Mike has 100% trust and faith in Will-but simply doesn’t trust El.  And MAX KNOWS IT! Cause she’s paying attention. Like her facial expression/raised brow, at the end, is a challenge- you think non-superpowered Will could defeat the mf but not El with a history of fighting monsters? You say Billy possessed by the mf is dangerous- but still have more faith in Will possessed by the mf- than your own gf?! tbh El couldn’t defeat the mf (so technically him trusting Will over  El was proven to be correct). He wasn’t right about the El ‘giving up’ bs and he was still wrong for not respecting El as her “own person” with her “own free will” : not believing in El’s ability to make decisions like breaking up with him/ not believing El made the idea to spy on him, etc . But, Team work has always been what saved the day in s1-2, so over-relying on El to do it all and acting like she was the messiah ( like most of the st fanbase) was a poor plan . It’s not the El-show (it’s an ensemble cast with several mains). When they relied on her only ,to be the chosen one- she lost her powers, 30+ people d*ed, and they had to save her.

6) ) El and Will both calling for “Mike” alone in the upside down . And Mike “never giving up” on them.In the exact same ep (s2 e2) , both call for Mike from the upside down. El saves herself without Mike’s help. But Mike rushes to save Will crouching to comfort Will (whose body language mirrors El’s but who was alone in the forest after she sees mike and he did nothing). 

in s2 ep 1, both call for Mike ,but Mike only comes for Will -not el. It was like how Nancy in s1 called for Jon, and jonathan pulled her out of the upsidedown.  And as Jonathan and Mike both pull Nancy and Will back from the upside down , Jonathan says “I got you”. And Mike says “I got him “ twice. But mileven is like how barb while in the upsidedown called for Nancy (but nancy didn’t hear her screaming her name-cause it shows symbolically Nancy does not return Barb’s romantic feelings). Just like mileven.

Mike even saw Will’s dead body but the second he heard his voice he convinced everyone he was alive. Mike deep down assumed El was dead he brushed off seeing El as seeing things (like how Hopper described seeing Sarah). He even tells Max “ they took her just like they took bob” who was dead. Then a few minutes later lies and says he “never gave up” on her when she appears alive (which was a lie cause he just said she was dead). When El goes to his house Mike doesn’t ever go the forest to find her (unlike how Mike went into the forest in the pouring rain twice for Will). The truth is the only person he ‘never gave up on’ was Will.

7) They have El & Will have pics of Mike on Halloween (same night of the ‘crazy together’ speech). El only has a pic of Mike being miserable  and Will has pics of Mike staring at Will, and smiling next to him- despite the joke Mike never smiles in photos , this isn’t the case when mike is next to Will (he always smiles with Will). Cause being crazy with Will makes him happy - unlike his relationship with El who he fakes being ‘crazy’ about .

zoom in of Will & El’s pics of Mike: Will’s pic on left vs El’s on right . XD

8) Millie said El is “obsessed with Mike” so she has Mike-themed stuff all over  her room. She has a drawing with a heart that says mike on it/random heart pics, mike pic, dice that spell out mike, mikes’ stuff. So, It’s funny that mike has nothing relating to El at his place. In contrast to this, he still has 5 d&d drawings from Will on his wall (that he’s kept on his wall for 3 years despite removing an old poster from that same wall-which he gave to El). Mike even put up a 6th Will-drawing in s3- next to his new poster. And he never put a single 1 of her many drawings on his wall-just Will’s).

back to other points...

- They compared mileven to karen/billy. El in s2 , mimics Erica Kane who m(in the ep she is watching) rushes into a relationship with a writer named Mike Roy. (That relationship is not endgame-and  literally ends with one of them stalking and sabotaging their next relationship, but eventually accepting it’s over). This, also parallels Karen/ Billy. Before she meets him in s2, Karen is reading a romance book that has a guy that resembles Billy on the cover. The Duffers even mentioned they changed the cover to show the resemblance between Billy and the fictional book character. And we see Karen reading the sequel in s3 before Billy appears. Both El and Karen don’t/didn’t love Mike or Billy- they just projected onto them fictional characters they were infatuated with. El being into Mike roy- but projecting her crush on to Mike wheeler.

-They had El’s whole s2 arc be destroyed to show mileven is bad for her. “friends don’t lie” to let me lie to my friends so I can kiss mike and ditch them. lucas even said “they’re lying (about her curfew).”And lie to Mike about hearing his confession. Then in s2 trying to leave the cabin to experience the world and see my friends and fam again. To literally ignoring them all for 6 months and never leaving the cabin-despite Hopper letting me leave the house in s3.

- El in s3 says Mike treats her “like a pet” and “garbage”.

-In s1 Mike referred to her as a ‘weapon’  to help get Will back. smacked her when he thought she lied about Will being alive and said Lucas was right about her all along when he thought Will was dead and he couldn’t use her anymore. 

- They had El never apologize for spying/stalking . And  Mike never apologize for lying -despite it being the cause of the breakup . And had mike not reciprocate the kiss/ or say ‘i love you ‘ back  and had his eyes open while the same exact song plays that robin came out to: called ‘the first i love you’). These are the only 2 times the song plays in s3. The ‘first i love you’ also sounds like ‘the first lie’ - that song played when jancy said they were just friends. it sounds the same cause jancy lied about it not being romantic while mileven lied by saying it was.  He never apologized for lying cause the love is the lie- like Max said “boyfriends lie ALL THE TIME”. And it’s why the camera panned to Will when Lucas asked why Mike lied to her. And he never answers El’s question of ‘why do you lie?!’ (he just looks up silent and guilt ridden).This awkward kiss all happens in Will’s room too while Mike is in front of an open closet (while El is holding Will’s old bear).  

Plus he also fought with Hopper in s2 (’about El’) in Will’s room too. He wasn’t actually calling Hopper the liar he was calling himself “a stupid disgusting liar”out of self hate .  That scene was foreshadowing his lying to El in s3 (about his feelings for her). He blamed Hopper for his feelings for Will cause he told himself it wouldn’t have escalated if El had been around to ‘fix him’ . “I BLAME YOU! NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS OK! NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS OK. YOU STUPID DISGUSTING liar, liar, liar, liar”.starts crying.

- Mike says “i never gave up on you (to El). “ When moments earlier he says “it took her just like it took Bob.” HE’S LYING AGAIN. He always thought she was dead -he was just hoping she was alive so he didn’t have to blame himself. He felt bad for treating her like a “weapon”. Mike saw El and didn’t even bother looking for her in the woods cause he assumed she was dead and was hallucinating. Mike saw Will’s dead body- but heard his voice and got him from another dimension (for El he couldn’t even bother to walk into the woods). Despite going into the woods in the pouring rain 2x for Will in s1& 3. El and Mike both call for Mike in the upside down (Mike in the same ep only comes for Will).

- They barely spoke to each other and all they did was makeout for 1 ep (while Mike put a drawing of ‘Will (the fire wielding) wise’ on the wall to help him kiss her/ with rainbows pic everywhere in the room to signify he’s gay and lying).  All while listening to a mixtape Will gave him as he kisses El.As Mike moves her hands off him (and sings a song from ‘boy in the box’) and El says to Max later she doesn’t know if mike’s a good kisser . And Mike rushes to one of his many established double-dates with Will and lumax  (x). And Mike in s3 when dating el, removes the sign of the heart being propelled by a rainbow (which he had before meeting El in his basement) .BUT it follows him symbolically ,as a drawing of a heart being propelled by a rainbow (in el’s room- cause no matter how much he kisses el there, he can’t escape his rainbow/being gay.)

-as mileven kiss in s3 e1. We zoom in on the drawing of Will the wise (the lyrics over the pic are “a little more time can open closing doors”). And then Mike continues to sing this song from ‘boy in the box’ (cough closet).Will in s3e1 says he won’t fall in love and the song then a diff song plays “love that was new to you , you open up the door.” mileven at the end of s3 kissing in front of Will’s open closet door with Mike’s eyes open not kissing back , and saying he doesn’t “ remember “ the love you and just says it was “in the heat of the moment”. The mike song being from “boy in the box” (closet). And they make out to “I can’t fight this feeling” which the singer says is about wanting to admit your feelings to your friend of many years and being afraid it’ll ruin the relationship. Aka even when kissing El he’s thinking of Will and admitting his feelings and not being able to fight his feelings

- Mike saying about Max “awesome? you don’t even know her.” Dustin says “ i don’t have to i mean look at her.” El was said in s1 multiple times to look like a boy (specifically Will). So Dustin and Lucas had no interest in her -only Mike did. BUT when max (a girl who looked like a girl) arrived- they as straight boys  were smitten. And Mike was not interested at all (cause he’s gay). The fact people don’t realize Mike was rude to her because he thought Will liked her too makes me laugh - he even was 1/2 honest in s3 saying he was jealous of her  XD 

why in s3 (when she looks like a girl) the compliment to her look is almost the same as Hopper’s comment to her makeover in s2. Paralleling Mike to her dad is the opposite of romantic!

-people say in s3 Will saying “a day free of girls” is gay coded but everyone ignores Mike in s3 saying “BOYS ONLY”. Same energy.

-MiKE has more rainbows than Will: Mike’s rainbow bedroom blinds, the rainbow-heart wooden sign in the basement in s1, the rainbow heart drawing that says Mike in s3, a rainbow sticker in his room, byler standing behind a rainbow poster in s2. And Will with the rainbow ship and the girl he danced with having a rainbow hearts-hairclip.

- People mention Mike saving El in s3 was romantic ( when he hit Billy). But when Billy slapped max he charged in to save her too and tried punching him (despite their beef). that moment wasn’t romantic (unless you think madweheeler is- which no). Mike is just a good person- he also risked his life for dustin. He’s brave and will defend HIS FRIENDS. 

- we’re almost to the end for those not keeping tract mileven is compared to stancy, ted/karen,  karen/billy, stobin, Dart/Dustin, max &mike, barb/nancy, nancy & dustin, siblings & cousins & a parent/kid dynamic. And contrasted to byler.

- Finn, after s1, said the duffers told him,   Mike thinks of her as a “puppy/ “et” , and that Mileven was a  “first summer love thing”- foreshadowing what was mileven’s downfall during the Summer (aka s3). He repeats this “first summer love” phrase 2x.  Millie when he mentioned what the duffers said, rightfully thought the puppy thing was “awful”, but Finn was clearly told mileven doesn’t last -very early on.Summer love” by definition fails-as it only lasts during the summer.  

-It wasn’t a break it was a breakup. Like Max and Will said in response to Mike  “ she said she dumped your ass! That doesn’t sound like a break?!/ it wasn’t!’ Or El knocking all the candy out of the machine, except the kit kat Mike wanted. Slogan of kit-kat “ having a break , have a kit kat.” In other words, it was NOT a break. It was a breakup. Difference is - in s4 it’ll be El who can’t accept this fact , not Mike. Max having to correct El that Mike is her “ex boyfriend” after the breakup (in s3) foreshadows this.The other couples in s3 who fought -were always still paired together in framed shots (jancy/ lumax) were on a break (but got back together- by the end of s3,  not confident about their futures together, but they still have a distinction from mileven-based on such framing). That mileven didn’t get back together. El in s3 was always on her own and Mike was paired with Will (while the other couples were in frame). 

this could go on and on honestly. there’s so much other stuff proving mileven is not going to be endgame. Not to mention all of Mike’s queer coding (x) XD   

#byler #byeler #anti mileven