#elumax just makes sense to me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mikesbasementbeets · 2 years

Text

i’ve been thinking a lot about elmax recently and how it seems like the show is genuinely setting them up romantically, while also consistently establishing max and lucas as a romantic pair

keep in mind, this is the show that has been setting up byler since season 1. they seem to know what they’re doing when it comes to queer coding, so i refuse (for the purposes of this analysis at least) to believe they’re unaware of what they’ve been doing so heavily and blatantly with elmax, and also with max in particular (el too, but i’m focusing on max).

i've talked about why i think mike wheeler is gay. this is why i think max mayfield is bi. and elumax should be endgame.

queer coding of max mayfield

right off the bat: her name. max. just like el was at first, due to her shaved head, max is mistaken for a boy by those who don't know her. first the party, who see the name madmax at the arcade, and later dr. owens in season 4 (he might even assume that she's el's boyfriend). when she's first introduced by mr. clarke using her full name, maxine, she quickly corrects him. it's max.

this leads into the larger point of queer coding around max. her androgynous fashion sense, the way she carries herself, distancing herself from performative femininity, ie, playing video games ("girls don't play video games,"), skateboarding, making friends with an all male friend group, her general "tomboyish" presentation and attitude - all of it reads as heavily queer coded to me. i'm not saying that any of these things is necessarily queer, or mean that a person in real life is queer, but the way it all comes together in max feels like a purposeful character choice.

i'm not an expert in queer coding so there's probably a lot i'm missing, but one of the biggest signs for me is max's constant association with rainbows. the other characters have their color palettes, and max has rainbows. literally. as many times as mike and will have been coded with rainbow imagery, max is drowning in it.

and then there's the most important piece of queer coding... her relationship with el. i'll come back around to that though, because i want to talk about boys first. because clearly, max does like boys.

this shot is largely played for comedic relief, but it actually does something important for the narrative i think. it establishes again, with a max that has (once again) broken up with lucas for reasons she doesn't seem to have really explained, that max is attracted to men. my optimistic reading of it is honestly, "hey, we know what we've been doing here with max, so just in case you were thinking she's a lesbian... she's not." ...or if you want a different fun read of it... max realized she likes girls recently (i'll get to that) and is just making sure she still likes boys. ladies dig it? do they steve? oh, wait, yeah.

she's also talked about other boys with el in the past, showing pretty unambiguous interest in them

(these scenes are still so gay though seriously... "you must be an angel".... contrasting milven's scene where el didn't like mike's singing... rainbowsrainbowsrainbows... talking about kissing and then emulating a spin the bottle game, later introducing el to wonder woman while they're in bed together, waking up together always rainbows come ON)

and of course, the other most important part of this, her relationship with lucas, which is shown continuously to be one of real, romantic attraction. in season 2, this was mostly established through contrast with her relationship with dustin, who also had a crush on her. max and lucas start off by becoming close as friends, and then begin to develop a romantic connection. max and dustin, meanwhile, are established several times as not clicking in the same way that max and lucas do. they have heart-to-hearts that feel intimate and genuine, and, as steve and dustin discuss, are layered with the kind of "electricity" that denotes mutual attraction.

at the same time though, while we understand that it's genuine on both sides, we're shown that max and lucas' relationship is far from perfect.

for a couple that reads as endgame and has parallels with several of the other endgame couples, they also parallel a lot of the obviously not endgame couples. i'm gonna come back around to that too. first, the other thing.

romantic coding of elmax

elmax. honestly, i can't even get into everything i want to, because it's literally everything about them.

first of all, the start of their friendship is byler romantic coded

"i just walked up to you and i asked... it was the best thing i've ever done."

this sequence in particular though. this is. so bi coded i'm going insane. (also rainbows rainbows rainbows)

not hopper, not mike. you. (there's more to life than stupid boys. *HOLDS HER HAND*)

the next sequence is also pretty gay imo but is also kinda just gals being pals, so i'm gonna focus on the song, Material Girl by Madonna. this is definitely meant to be about eleven here, finding herself, away from mike (and it's also just a great shopping montage song), but the shot layout also subtly indicates that it applies to max and lucas too.

"some boys hug me, some boys kiss me, i think they're okay." and what about girls, max? what do you think of them? el? opinions?

(the clothes are emulating a literal rainbow flag behind her ok red yellow blue green purple and max is the orange she's part of the flag like shut UP i can't do this anymore)

and. okay. look, i'm not going to fully explain this one but i need to point it out.

getting back at the straight girl bullies (shown flirting with a boy) in front of a burger king. max taking off her sunglasses (we've talked about the symbolism of mike's shades in season 4) as they run away holding hands. taco bell coming soon. "there's more to life than stupid boys." like. am i reading way too much into this? (yes)

even back to their first meeting though, i'm seeing the seeds being planted. go ahead and read this as purely platonic admiration if you want, i don't care, but there's no way in my mind, especially after seeing seasons 3 and 4. like imagine you're a young bi teenage girl who's been hearing stories about this awesome girl with superpowers who saved everyone's life and then mysteriously disappeared, and then she suddenly mysteriously reappears, saves your life too, and walks in looking like this

personally, my tiny gay heart would stop.

yeah

but let's actually move on to season 4 for a minute.

season 4 was setting up canon bisexual max

i'm going to argue something here that i don't have a ton of actual evidence for: i think one of the reasons max broke up with lucas after season 3 is that she realized her feelings for el. max's arc in season 4 is all about her dealing with the trauma of last season, and guilt for her role in what happened. the guilt is extremely important to this. it's a big part in why vecna chooses his victims: not just kids with trauma, but kids who feel shame surrounding their trauma. most of that for max obviously has to do with billy's death. but i think there's something else that max is dealing with too.

as soon as i started season 4 i was struck with strong “queer max” vibes. first of all, her more feminine and rainbow splashed outfits from season 3 have been replaced again with the more tomboyish, androgynous style of season 2. and then there's the first sequence we get to running up that hill (which starts, funnily enough, on a scene of el walking down the hall at school, upset). the first time i watched this i was literally shocked because it read so explicitly queer to me.

first, max looks at group of girls (thinking about el, most likely)

her gaze trails after them, and then, next shot, max looks at a couple kissing

and then max looks at lucas

only after watching it again did i realize it didn't necessarily have to be queer coding (if you take it as max missing her friend and then, separately, her ex-boyfriend) but holy shit, if that's what they meant, they did NOT have to put the couple making out in between those two shots, with further shots of max looking away almost guiltily. we all know that lucas was max's boyfriend. they didn't have to precede that shot of him with the shot of the couple. that's already their established dynamic (and we haven't even learned at this point that they've broken up).

what's not been established yet though, is the idea of max and el as a couple. and i think..... that's possibly what's being hinted at here through max's perspective. the sequence of shots is so telling: 1. girl friends, 2. couple kissing, 3. ex-boyfriend. guilt. what i'm getting from this sequence of shots is that max's friendship with el is something she's thought about in a romantic light. max is making this association. and feeling guilty about it when she looks at lucas. whom, despite their closeness still at the very end of season 3, months after starcourt, she has since broken up with. the reason the show establishes for this is that max has been pulling away from everyone since billy's death, dealing with the fallout in her family, her mother's emotional absence and alcoholism, etc, and her own grief, guilt, and trauma around it. that makes perfect sense, and i'm not saying it's not true. but i think el moving away was also a factor.

it wasn't until season 4 that max was shown to have really pulled away, after el moved to california. maybe it's a reach, maybe it's nothing, but max as a character is so similar to mike, who was shown to have exactly this response to the byers' moving away: isolating himself and pushing away his friends, suffering his depression alone, and talking to no one about it. meeting el in season 3 showed us a new, bubbly happy side to max (that, yes, probably also came from the rest of her friendships and lucas, but el's is the one we were shown). max and el spend almost the entire season together, and max is undoubtedly going to be affected by her best friend moving away. especially if, like mike, it feels like she's losing more than a friend.

it's not just those shots though. when lucas tries to talk to her later, telling her he knows something's wrong... as soon as she turns around, there's a rainbow.

"right, yeah, there must be something wrong with me because i broke up with you."

then in dear billy, lucas confronts her again. and the language reminds me of karen's speech to mike in season 1. and jonathan's to will in season 4. "you know you can talk to me, right? i'm here for you."

guilt and shame are a big part of max's plot this season. the two characters most associated with that for max are billy and vecna - max feeling guilt over billy, and vecna using that guilt against her.

and those scenes also feel intentionally queer coded to me.

and then there's the dear billy flashback sequence.

while she's trying to escape vecna using her happiest memories, max is also comparing her relationships with lucas and el. they are both friendships. and they are both romantic. she thinks of them in alternating flashbacks. lucas, then el, then lucas and dustin, then el, then max's face, then lucas and dustin, then el, then max's face, and then this particular sequence: lucas, el, mike.

this may a reach, but... if she has feelings for el, she's probably feeling guilty around mike, too. this is the only shot of mike in the sequence. after this, in quick succession, it's lucas, then lucas, then lucas, and then el.

then lucas, then lumix snowball kiss, then max's face, then high fiving el, then her eyes open, and she breaks free

there are more shots of lucas than of el, but that's just the thing: max keeps trying to just think of lucas (because, as shown by the shot of mike, the way she's thinking about el makes her feel guilty, which is the opposite of what she wants), but el keeps coming back in. she thinks of her first kiss with lucas, and then thinks of high fiving el after they "dumped their asses." and that's the shot that breaks her out.

(and the song itself? 1. birthdaygate coded, 2. ROMANTIC. baby, darling, angel. you must be an angel. the voice of an angel saving victor creel from henry, el saving max. i'm reaching again. but. seriously.)

and then the flashbacks in episode 9 (and i'm not even touching el's flashback montage here). it's so difficult to be brief about this because they're literally doing SO MUCH here. i'm might have to make a separate post with every shot in this sequence because it's so good. (edit: here)

literally just. go back and watch the entire thing if you need to, but i need to go through this. elmax is unbelievably romantic coded this episode. there is no getting around it.

max chose the snow ball as her happy memory to hide from vecna in, but it didn't work. when vecna finds her, he says, "you can't hide from me, max." max turns around and, with a determined look, closes her eyes. closing her eyes almost seems like she's trying to keep hiding, but facing the door where venca is feels more like defiance. she's not going to try to hide anymore...

in the first shot, she spins the bottle in her mind, and her memories flicker from her first time meeting lucas, to the movies with lucas, to the start of her friendship with el, back to the spinning bottle, and then. the last two shots repeat. movie date with lucas, el approaching her in the street. but the lucas shot flickers shorter, and the el shot lingers, and then it's max's mom tying her hair too tight for the snow ball.

like maybe... this wasn't her at her happiest. forced conformity is killing the kids, right?

and the bottle flickers in again and it's el. it's max dancing in el's room, you must be an angel...

and then we come back to max's face and there are rainbows reflecting in the light

"is mike a good kisser?" el laughing, more rainbows

after that, she gets distracted by vecna and broken out of her memories, and when el shows up, max asks,

"are you real? did i make you?" she was thinking so strongly of her memories with el, she thought that it had worked.... and everything is romantic coded, there's nothing even to argue for here, it's just. there. seriously, like. just watch the episode. it's elmax.

after this the focus goes back to el mostly and it's still extremely romantic but i can't get into it anymore, i need to focus on max.

the way it all ends brings me back to the elumax question again. because right here, i'm clearly seeing elmax/byler vs. lumix/milven. paralleling mike's love monologue failing to help el, lucas' protection, both physically and in her mind, was not enough to save max.

that was el. that was el that saved her. (of course, she saves your life because of "friendship")

el's love for max is what saved her. not mike. not lucas. elmax.

going back to the latter half of season 3... el and max's relationship progressed very quickly through shared trauma, and max is the one there for el all season... and when billy dies, el is the one who holds her.

season 3 also made it clear that max's relationship with lucas wasn't without flaws.

all of the romantically inept things that mike was doing with el? lucas was doing them first, max was breaking up with him, and lucas was later advising mike on how to fix it. and especially by the end of the season, max seems much more like she's in el's corner than lucas'.

why i think it's possible max and lucas might end up as friends

after she's broken up with him in season 4, lucas spends most of the time just trying to be her friend again. he doesn't even seem bothered by their breakup (although we don't know how long ago it was), he seems to really just want her in his life again, to talk to him.

and, yes, they spend season 4 rebuilding the relationship in a way i think would be beautiful to see work out romantically. but i don't think it's inevitable. (remember that they also rebuilt stency this season.... as much as they might like each other, we've been shown in past seasons that their romantic relationship was flawed.)

i wish i could get into all the parallels, because they're the biggest part of what confuses me on the show's endgame goals but i really can't because it would take up an entire post. the duffers love parallels, obviously, it's one of their main narrative techniques at this point. and i think they usually work really well, because they're not trying to show that each of these characters or couples is exactly the same. they use parallel situations to exemplify the small details that make each character and relationship unique.

for example, milven and stency often parallel each other, but they're not quite the same. i don't think mike ever had genuine romantic feelings for el. he thought he liked her, but ultimately he's gay. nancy, on the other hand, did genuinely have a crush on steve (hc her as a lesbian if you want, i fully support that, but i think the show thinks she likes boys). that is the show's example of a teenage crush that sparks and then fizzles, not turning into deeper love.

whereas lumix, which also sometimes parallels these two ships (for example, their habit of sitting across from each other rather than beside. not always though... they're inconsistent), i believe is an example of a love that is real and genuine... but might not be meant to last forever. because in addition to those other two, they also parallel byler, jopper, and jancy, which i believe are endgame ships.

to be honest... all of this makes me believe even more firmly in gay mike too. because unlike mike’s complete lack of romantic feeling for el, or nancy's naive crush on steve, this is a narrative that sets up genuine, but possibly not everlasting love. a bi character discovering her sexuality by falling for her best girl friend while she’s dating a guy she also really likes. i think lucas is max’s first love, but not her only.

however

all this said, i also think it's very likely that lucas and max will end up together, and el might end the show on her own. lucas and max are NOT milven or stency, and whatever flaws they have don't necessarily spell out a doomed relationship. there's a lot of good there too, i just didn't get into it here.

and el's whole character arc has been about family, friends, and finding herself outside of other peoples' influence. i think this could still work if she were with max, since max has always been the most supportive of el's independence and self-fulfillment, but i can really see the show ending with el on her own, and it being a natural and positive conclusion to her journey

either way though, i think with everything they've been doing, they might actually confirm in canon that max and el have romantic feelings for each other (...or indicate it so obviously that they think it’s undeniable and then later confirm in interviews when most viewers don’t get it because they’re too subtle for their own good)

anyway, here's how elumax can still happen

look, i don't really trust the show to be able to pull this off, mostly because it just. isn't something that's done. not in popular media like this. but honestly, it's hard for me to grasp all of this because it feels like the show is telling me that max belongs with both el and lucas. i think most people assume she will end up with lucas after the way their relationship was rebuilt in season 4, and i think that absolutely makes sense. but i truly think elmax has been built up just as much, just a lot more subtextually. it's just that no one expects it to actually happen. 1, because lumix not ending up together would feel pretty disappointing after all this build up, and we don't want to see lucas, who truly loves max, end up alone. especially when max loves him too. and 2, because of heteronormativity - most people assume elmax are only being set us as friends, regardless of whether they're picking up on the romantic coding. and the "norm" is one romantic partner per person. but max needs el just as much as she needs lucas, and the ending season 4 proved that. lucas holding max in his arms, thinking he's alone with her, but then we see that el is actually there too. right alongside lucas. el saved max's life after she died in lucas's arms.

i could just give up and assume that elmax is platonic and they're giving max both a romantic and a platonic love story, but as i've already talked about, max is queer, and her dynamic with el is romantic. (theres so much evidence of this from el's side too that i just didn't get into)

going into season 5, max is in a coma. we already know that lucas is spending his time at her bedside. and i think it's fair to assume, based on el's priorities after the pizza dough freezer, ignoring mike completely to stay with max and lucas, and to revive max, she's going to be very focused on max too.

this is already way too long but i'm almost done, i want to briefly talk about lucas and el's dynamic from season 1. of all the party members, lucas was the most skeptical and deeply wary of eleven. he didn't trust her, and she ended up inadvertently hurting him when he fought with mike. but over the course of the season, they both learned to trust each other, having moments together than felt just as important as el's friendship with mike.

if season 5 is a return to season 1 dynamics, especially seeing the way season 4 left these two characters (sharing the same priority - max), i think lucas and el will spend a decent amount of time in season 5 together, or at least share a plotline (around max?). now that they're finally being given the chance to actually spend time together, i can see them growing much closer next season, maybe even leading to a mutual understanding and acceptance of both of their feelings towards max (maybe even falling in love?). and if max wakes from her coma to discover that the guilt and shame she's been suffering around her feelings for these two people is actually unnecessary, and that they can all be happy with each other, in whatever way they decide, even if other people might not understand?

*slides the duffers $5*

that would be an absolutely iconic ending.

#elmax #max mayfield #byler #honestly though i would sell my soul for canon elumax #if they could pull that off in season 5 i could die happy #also i'm giving the duffers a LOT of credit here i'm just choosing to give them the benefit of the doubt #this got SO LONG i'm sorry #mikesbasementbeets posts

499 notes · View notes

thefourchimes · 9 months

Text

Talking more about The Four Chimes AU because yes

so there’s been an interesting surge of apocalypse four (though most people call them vecna four) content recently, which i am very much thrilled to see

in line with that, i’m gonna share a bit more on the au that has been built from the ground up ever since last year, having definite arcs and various aus and sub aus of it already

the four chimes au

this universe has been mine and @lumaxramblings 's blood, sweat, and tears for the past year, ever since July 14

i've made a few posts about it, and shared some snippets on it in some wip weds and weekends, but i never fully explained the universe beyond the little bubble of the discord thread in the discord server im in

so let me explain now. we know this already but the apocalypse four are vecna's four sacrifices to make the four gates, but in this au, they're not just the four sacrifices. they're the four chimes too.

you see, vecna had a vision. he had remembered the story of the four horsemen of the apocalypse from a time victor creel had brought him and alice to the Church to listen

the four horsemen of the apocalypse, he had mused...and inspiration struck him.

he had a vision, and he saw it through.

and he got them all. he won.

and now he has his four horsemen of the apocalypse, or in this universe rather...his four chimes of catastrophe.

you all know who they are, but the question is, who is who? well, as @lumaxramblings has said in that fateful ask that started this whole universe in the first place, it would be:

chrissy = famine

fred = death

patrick = war

max = pestilence

as for the reason, canon itself gives some details and evidence to point out who would be who. (tw ed mention on chrissy's part)

chrissy is famine because of her eating disorder and her "hunger" to be free in a sense. fred is death because of his survivor's guilt and all the constant grave and death visuals. patrick is war because of his home life and how he's always in constant conflict. and finally, max is pestilence because of her thought process on being something that plagues others...and vecna!lucas' "you are sick."

there's quite a few more points that can be brought up, along with how some of the canon scenes actually fuel this universe, but i'll talk about that another time

so now, vecna's sacrifices are no longer who they were before everything.

now, they are his soldiers, his little experiments, his four chimes of catastrophe.

and just as they had been broken, they will now be the ones to break the world.

...

(but then...you remember, the apocalypse 4 weren't the only ones who got caught in vecna's curse and vision.

you know who else did?

nancy wheeler.

and in the four horsemen of the apocalypse lore, wasn't there something going on with the white rider of the horsemen? the fact that...there's a bit of confusion on whether the white rider is pestilence...or conquest?

...in another universe, nancy is conquest, the fifth chime of catastrophe.

an incomplete chime.

...but maybe that's a story for another day...)

—————————————————————————————————

i actually had started the fic of this already, but it's been a few months since i've updated it, oof :")

anyway, that's a bit of an explanation on the four chimes au.

it kind of becomes a s5 alternate universe in a sense? finnthony and i already have an idea on what happens all throughout the main story, complete with arcs already lmao (and that's not even talking about the sub-aus, like the conquest au...)

its lots of angst though, lemme tell you

i dont want to reveal too much but there is a lot of platonic and romantic dynamics here

platonic being the party's friendship (heh), the teens' friendship, best friend soulmates stobin ofc, and all other platonic relationships that can be connected with each member of this ragtag, traumatized group

for romance, we got lumax (with future elumax), byler, duzie, ronance, stongyle (aka steve x jonathan x argyle), jopper, and...well. a few others too, but i'll be keeping those quiet for now.

i’ll likely post more stuff at some point, to get it out here lmao and because this au is just <3

tagging the people who’ve been here all through out:

@laurienotteddy @mitski-slope @itsanotheridiot @hellsfireclub @history-of-stories @she-wont-miss

#four chimes #apocalypse four #vecna four #four chimes au #the four chimes au #max mayfield #fc pestilence #patrick mckinney #fc war #fred benson #fc death #chrissy cunningham #fc famine #nancy wheeler #fc conquest #stranger things #stranger things au #tw ed mention

26 notes · View notes

l0v3c0r3e · 2 years

Note

hi 👋

rate st ships

and

do you like

white chocolate???

omg hi !✨🧚‍♀️🌟

byler : 20/10 im 100% sure their endgame and nobody can convince me otherwise and their cute

m!leven : 0/10 their relationship was cute in s1 and s2 i’ll give them that but the rest has been shit tbh😭

ronance : 9/10 the chance of it actually happening is probably 0% but i just think their way cutter and have more chemistry then r0ckie

jancy: 7/10 i do really like jancy and think they’ll stay together but they still have some relationship problems to fix

st@ncy : 0/10 i really don’t like they’re on and off relationship and i don’t think they’ll end up together and i think nancy being with steve reminds her to much of the whole barb situation and makes her feel guilt

elmax: 8/10 i think they’re really cute and just make sense to me🤩

elumax: 10/10 its been cannon and always will be🤩

st3ddie: 0/10 i really don’t see it and they barley had any screen time

anyways thats all the ships im ranking because im lazy af😡😡😡

OH AND I DONT LIKE WHITE CHOCOLATE

#byler #elmax #elumax #ronance #jancy

57 notes · View notes

her-midas-touch · 2 months

Note

lumax, elumax and harringrove for the 4 ship classification

lumax "makes sense compels me" and also love how it was developed throughout s4

elumax "makes sense compels me” love all the dynamics and I honestly think this would be lovely ahh

harringrove “doesn’t make sense doesn’t compel me” because I just don’t see it at all personally :/

#asks #ari says things

3 notes · View notes

will80sbyers · 1 year

Text

do I believe in the Elmax is going to fuse their minds together theory and we'll get Elumax this way? Not really but it's a cool theory because like it's something new... and to me the idea of El being a lesbian just makes a lot of sense tbh even if I don't think it's happening in canon...

plus Elmax is so queercoded as a narrative that it's insane, like both Max and El have narratives that parallel the queer experience and I don't know if it was intentional or just a product of the similarities between being queer and the type of differences that they experience...

maybe it was because the whole show is meant to be a metaphor for the queer experience because Will was always meant to be the final hero so El & Max being two other protagonists (and I think the most important protagonists for now) have stories that parallel his story...

both of them feel different and like they are mistakes / monsters for their thoughts or for how they are and what they had to do... and Max with her depression was hiding from Vecna (that in a twisted way represents the truth) instead of facing him, and the "we make our own rules" is a very queercoded statement on its own....

and also El this season had a narrative about understanding she's not a monster and accepting herself with help from the love of her mom and also people in her life like Mike and Will and Hopper... all very queer-like

and I think in some way even though not exactly we can understand each other between queer people and people that have a disability or mental illness, or in general with people that have something they can't change about themselves or that is really difficult to manage

something that society wants us to just hide and basically stop disturbing them with our existence... so in a way I think we get it even if I think we have more privileges and visibility and there's still a lot to do to fix that in society for others and not just us

anyway I don't know if it's just a coincidence because when you're different you relate to other people that are or if it started from a queer metaphor with Henry & Will as foils but anyway Elmax makes sense as queercoded too and it wouldn't be that crazy as a story 🤔

#I don't think it's happening just because I don't really think the Duffers would do it #like I think Max will be saved irl

20 notes · View notes

runninguplenorahills · 2 years

Text

come and set sail on an ocean of flavor with me 🌊

Hello and welcome to my byler blog <33 This is a guide to all of my cool posts because my blog is a bit messy. Here you can find all of the {in my opinion} noteworthy things [including reblogs where I think I added something smart/funny] as well as my art and memes etc. I hope you have fun while you’re here🌈🌈🌈

theories:

Lumax love experts theory

Fullcirclegate/subverting tropes

Byler kiss at skull rock

Mike is a tool

Lettergate

Mike is going to have a heart-to-heart with Hopper

“Superman” is not about Mike’s type

“The crawl” brainstorming

“Debunking” a theory

S2 El’s romance movie foreshadowing byler endgame

The “ONE WAY” sign +two different theories surrounding it

analyses:

The vending machine

More of the vending machine

Melvins dating record

S1 Will, blue, white and orange

Cerebro

Garden hose symbolism

first day of spring break from Mike’s perspective

Byler heart-to-heart “hot take”

Mike and the male dummy

Mike’s rink-o-mania jealousy

El is projecting her need for love onto Mike

“I just didn’t know what to say”

Don’t visit me in the void

Different opinions on Mike/Hopper parallels

thoughts:

Max and El

“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”

Will missing school

The painting was a welcoming gift

Eddie and Hagrid

A closet for vacation

1 reason why st4ncy endgame doesn’t make sense

Invalidating Mike’s trauma….

calling Melvin family

Mike being protective of Will when they discover his powers

Mike carrying that trauma

Mike’s sexuality not getting addressed is such an illogical take!

Platonic byler solos willel

A lot about Mike [lying, not being able to move on etc]

On the same page about gay!Mike

Mike’s and Will’s best outfits

The idea of Mike coming out to Lucas is sadly on a wonky foundation rn

Byler would happen in a heartbeat

Mike projected his misery over his fight with Will

Epiphany about Angela

observations:

3 things about season 3

Insane foreshadowing

Queer-o-mania

Mike’s in danger

Mike’s very homosexual room

small rainbow during hellfire

Mike wheeler is a boy kisser

my thoughts on the painting situation:

Mike understood Will in the van

The painting gave Mike the courage to break up with El

commenting on melvin posts:

Part 1

Part 2

headcanons:

Halloween headcanons

Byler christmas presents

Mike is a dork and Will loves him

Byler butternut squash soup enthusiasts

Karen Wheeler headcanon

The party’s Hogwarts houses

writing:

Max’s letter to Mike

dumb ”songs”:

The Mike Wheeler rap

“The ally song” by Jonathan

“A monologue” by Jonathan

art:

Will the wise

There’s more to life than stupid boys {11/11}

Maya Hawke

El redraw

El in a cozy knit sweater

El doodles

Elumax birthday

Pumpkin Mike

Mike in the hellfire shirt

Byler boyfriendism <3

“The kiss” but lumax

Funky s3 inspired Max

cursed art:

Possessed by the milkflayer

Princess Mike

Toffifee Byers

Bylers and Milkvans

Michael with no eyes [this is actually cursed haha]

picrews:

The party

Erica

Robin, Steve, Argyle, Jonathan

Barb, Nancy, Eddie, Vickie, Chrissy, Angela

The og gay Mike truther

Byler + Elmax

Byler + Lumax

The party + Erica, dnd version

OC Josephine Thomas [reblog chain]

–> you can use all of them as pfp with credit or without idc :)

memes:

Will and Mike’s thoughts

Projection

From Mike/From El

Byler Halloween couple

What Mike thought would happen and what actually happened

Melvins taking a stranger things character quiz

gays

Come here babes

#byler #runninguplenorahills #i’m cringe but i’m free

24 notes · View notes

grapesodatozier · 1 year

Note

Here I am to talk about milelumax.

I like to throw ship ideas around with AUs and here's one: Elumax are dating- they're in college- and Mike meets them all individually and develops a crush on each of them without realizing they're all dating.

He and Lucas share a class together- some science one- and they're lab partners and Lucas is really funny and kinda 'jocky' so Mike isn't excited when they get paired together as lab partners...only to find out that Lucas is actually kind of brilliant and they challenge each other academically. A crush quickly insues.

He meets El in the library! They end up studying at the same time pretty regularly and eventually they start share smiles and then that leads to small talks which leads to them quizzing each other on their classes. Mike is like "yes pretty girl please quiz me for my exam" but one time when El is quizzing him for the same science class he's taking with Lucas she casually mentions her bf takes that class. Mike is v disappointed but never figures out that the bf is Lucas.

Finally Max. He ends up working with her at a roller rink. She trained him. They bicker all the time. But Mike,,,he likes someone to can challenge him. And Max just likes to taunt him and get him riled up. They end up making out in the break room one night and Mike is like?? Okay what now?? What are we??

Okay but here's the thing, Elumax have all figured that their 'cute guy' is the same one so Max making out with him was totally planned. After that shift she takes him back to their apartment and Mike is,,,shocked to see El and Lucas waiting on him

Sorry it's a lot but I wanted to throw this out there

AHHHH SAM OH MY GOD. i'm bluescreening so hard rn. thank you. for this gift oh my god your brain

okay i LOVE this, that's so fucking cute ))): i love college aus sm. and omg yes mike and lucas meeting and butting heads a little but then being like "holy shit okay he's really smart" and having the same sense of humor and just meshing like they've known each other forever <3 and omfg "yes pretty girl tutor me" TRUE lmaooo they're so cute ): and madwheelerrrrr omg i could write essays on them and their dynamic, bickering coworkers is SO perfect. and ofc max is the first to make a move on him that's so fucking precious i'm obsessed

elumax definitely talk about him in their gc all the time. then one day max is just like. guess who's coming over lmaooo. and they all dote on him (max is less obvious about it but she's so in on it) and playfully try to out-woo him, meanwhile mike "anyone ever has noticed me? sounds fake" wheeler is just so overwhelmed and flustered and caught off guard

ugh they are so SO cute together it's what they all deserve <33333

again THANK YOU holy shit you are a genius

#milelumax

10 notes · View notes

starsarefire824 · 1 year

Note

Heyy!! First of all, I'm sorry for the hate you were getting because of your fic.

Speaking of it, I'm planning to start reading it today. I hadn't read it yet because I was a little reluctant because I see Mike and Max almost like brother and sister so for me to see they as romantic is a big change. However, I'm familiar with your writing and I know you can do a really good job with these characters and contextualizing them into the plot. And of course, I'm am already aware of the fact that there is a romantic dynamic between them at some point.

My ask for you is: how would you explain your fic like in general, as if someone asked you "tell me about this fic", not only the first chapter as you would do as a sinopses but the entire fic? without spoilers of course lol

Again, I'm sorry for the hate you were getting for this fic, liking it or not that doesn't give people the write to harass writers.

Hey there!

It's no worries at this point. I am feeling much more positive about everything. I just have this fear of being labeled or like excommunicated from the byler community because I've written something that doesn't agree with everyone. I love byler, but I also, after being in fandomsfor a long time, like to explore some differing dynamics or throw byler into different scenarios and see where they end up! It makes it more fun when there are long lulls of news and the new season is still so far off. And Madwheeler, even platonically, have been so neglected in canon.

That being said, I'm so excited you might entertain reading! Some people who have been into madwheeler in a strictly platonic sense have decided to keep reading and others have not, and that's okay! But also, others who didn't really see the dynamic being for them at all in the beginning, are now the biggest voices in the comments rooting for Max and Mike haha! So I guess it's all very personal, and I guess I would suggest reading up through chapter 6 or 7, which is where things change from strictly platonic in nature to flirting with the line of sexual attraction and see how you feel? I think if you don't like it by that chapter, then it might not be for you, and if you are still enjoying it, then I say go ahead and continue on reading! Also, the story has some major byler and elumax vibes with some Will and Lucas centric chapters, as well some great interactions with Max and El, Luca and Will, and Dustin and the gang.

As far as as general explanation? Here goes nothin' 😅: It starts off with Max and Mike unanimously voted out of The Party , and we are not privy of what has transpired to make that happen until a little later in the story. I won't say what happens specifically because it's a spoiler, but things are sort of revealed on a non-linear time line. I specifically wrote this fic to explore some poly dynamics between the party as well as explore Max and Mike both as bisexual characters who kind of help each other figure out who they are and what they want. I'm using Max and Mike as holding up mirrors for each other and forcing themselves to look. I was also intrigued by a Twin Flame dynamic: A twin flame isn't necessarily a romantic relationship or "the one" — but they will always change your life.

"Your twin flame doesn't even have to be someone you fall in love with (although it often is). This kind of high-level, soul-based connection isn’t about romance. It’s about spiritual growth. You meet them and your life just completely changes. You start seeing the world differently."

And in doing that, in finding each other and forcing each other to face things about themselves that they were trying to ignore, it leads to healing, and they try to help each other heal their relationships with Lucas and El for Max and Will for Mike. Dustin serves as the steady glue holding them all together in their turmoil.

The story is an exploration of sexual repression, specifically regarding Mike, as well as how trauma can have ripple effect on behavior long after it's stopped. Max deals with lost time and how her body has been changed after her coma, and Mike deals with panic disorder.

And in the end, it's really just about an unexpected connection between two people who never wanted to be together in the first place and find that they aren't very different after all. It's got a lot of messy, rash teenager's decisions and the miscommunication/understanding trope is strong. And a lot of the feelings, if not the plot/characters, were based around a personal experience of mine from high school with my best friend.

I hope this helps! And I hope, lol, I've covered most of it.

A link for anyone who's interested.

#anon ask #madwheeler fic #the pact #byler #elumax #stranger things fanfic #thanks for the support #anon

8 notes · View notes