#lumax meta

[nothoughts-onlywomen]

Camazotz

I grew up reading a Wrinkle in Time, and remembering the storyline for that has sparked some season 5 theories in my mind…

Camazotz is a planet that succumbed to the Black Thing, which is considered to be pure darkness and evil. We know of another place that’s very similar…

The Upside Down is generally assumed to be evil, or at least contain evil things. But the other thing I’m noting here is the “hive mind.”

Camazotz and the Upside Down both operate under a hive mind. Meg’s dad Alex was imprisoned in Camazotz because he refused to conform. And, as we know, Max is trapped in the Upside Down somewhere.

Vecna’s connection to Master of Puppets makes me think that he’ll either have control of others or be under control by the Mind Flayer. Either that, or Max is actively fighting being under Vecna’s mind control, which is why she’s stuck there.

Yes, Camazotz could be a reference to the death bat, but I refuse to believe that the Duffers would post this carelessly:

Which leads me to my point. Why do I find this so important?

Upon their initial trip to Camazotz, Charles Wallace allows himself to be hypnotized by IT so he could find their dad. Calvin and Meg go back to Camazotz to find and free Charles Wallace. And when Meg finally faces IT, Charles Wallace is still under IT’s control. She has to tell him she loves him, and remind him how much she cares about him in order for him to be broken out of IT’s trance.

Picture this. Max may not have intentionally allowed herself to get trapped in the Upside Down. But there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s using whatever energy she has left to see if she can figure out any weaknesses of Vecna’s. In some way, Vecna will be trying to control her mind, and she’ll be actively resisting him, but running out of stamina and time. So now El and Lucas have to go in to save her.

The show has utilized this same trope that A Wrinkle in Time did: the power of love against evil. Something we’ve already seen here:

I have a fairly good feeling that Max will be in danger of succumbing to the Upside Down and/or Vecna’s mind control. And Lucas (and/or El) will have to talk to her, plead with her, tell her how much they love and cherish her. Bonus points if they use her letters to do so, offering positive memories that she included. And I think Lucas will do a Mike in this scenario and finally tell Max that he loves her and hasn’t given up on her.

And this, ultimately, will allow Max just enough agency for them to smuggle her out of her cage. Hugs and hopefully a Lumax kiss (several, even. Complete with embraces and tears and face caressing) will ensue.

And we’ll all be crying our eyes out.

#at least i will be #lumax #lumax meta #max mayfield #stranger things #lucas sinclair #max x lucas #lucas x max #elmax #elumax #i’m tagging this elumax because of reasons #jane hopper #max x lucas x eleven #eleven x max #eleven #eleven hopper #st5 #st5 theory #st5 speculation #st5 predictions

[gayofthefae]

As Max and Lucas walk into the house at the end of 4x08, the lyrics say

"Someday, love will find you. True love won't desert you. You know I still love you, though we touched and went our separate ways."

#music #stranger things #lumax #lumax meta

[i-upset-to-dead-65]

I love that the Stranger Things fandom on tumblr is so different to the Twitter and Reddit and Instagram fandom. Like, everyone over there is debating byler while Tumblr is 10 steps ahead into the "byler? Oh, everyone is gay. Here's a 100 fanfics about it. It's canon. Take a seat and we'll read you 100 different ways Billy could get a full redemption arc." Era.

And honestly iconic

This could be true of other fandoms but I have only observed this.

#me #tumblr #meta #Stranger Things #steve harrington #harringrove #ronance #byler #steddie #elmax #lumax #mileven

[mungoose]

About the Stranger Things Ships

Listen, I want to make this clear. I don't care if your ship is: canon, gay, straight, ploy, healthy, never met or never liked each other.

They are all equal and valid to me. 

I don't care about the "quality" of the media fandom artists and writers share with us for free. A ship doesn't gain value or validity to me because it has more "skilled" creators making content for it, or if it's in character.

The only thing I care about is if fans treat each other and the actors of the characters with kindness and respect. I don't find people imagining things cringe, I am glad that they have found something that brings them joy.

Although I find it incredibly sad and unnecessary that there is an ever constant stream of hate between fans, I also understand that it is human nature to bond with others using negativity. I can only hope that they will grow when finding love and kindness in the future, so that they can let go of their toxic mindset and behaviours.

I enjoy the Strange Things fandom and its ships. I love all of the kind fan creators that share their art with us. Thank you ♡

It is the kindness and love that has value.

#harringrove #steddie #ronance #stancy #lumax #byler #mileven #jancy #mungrove #edssy #elmax #stommy #jargyle #jopper #and every other ship in this fandom xD #stranger things #content is art to me #be it fics-art-gifs-mood boards-music lists-meta-resources-or memes #I am grateful for it all 💚 #my posts

[knghtlock]

thinking about them ( blair - takenaka hotaru , the guardian ) and how much they love lumax ( the ghost with the most, the best blorbo )

like i cannot stress how much hotaru and lumax are so inseparable that i consider them to be two halves of a whole. functionally you cannot have a guardian without their ghost, sure - a ghost is literally the prerequisite to BE a capital g Guardian, your connection to the light of the traveler , and the reason why guardians can't stay dead and are functionally immortals. and yes, the young wolf and little light ( the player character and ghost ) care for each other! there are also guardians and ghosts who hate each other . katabasis from presage comes to mind, specifically- his ghost kept rezzing him so he could die repeatedly. & to a lesser extent, the drifter and his ghost also do not get along, at all. but i'd argue that hotaru and lumax are closer than even the young wolf and little light are.

on this blog, hotaru and lumax will always be presented as two halves of the same "character" of the guardian. outside of that, you'll probably notice that lumax pops up even in non-destiny aus. she can be hotaru's human bestie, a spider that bites her & travels with her in earth-404, an A/I hotaru programs, a robot hotaru builds, or even just Hotaru's Cat. but the constant is that somehow, some way, hotaru and lumax always find each other, because they are two halves of a whole. and i think that's beautiful. you can't truly have hotaru without lumax, and you can't have lumax without hotaru. they are inseperable & they genuinely love each other & consider each other family in a way that transcends the ghost / guardian bond. hotaru protects lumax out of love and respect, and lumax would lay down her life for hotaru as much as they actively try to discourage her from doing so because hotaru fears the person she would become without her.

and on that note, fun fact: hotaru actually sleeps curled up around lumax! either that or lumax will nestle in her hair or hotaru will cradle her to their generator. it goes all the way back from hotaru's initial resurrection - the first thing lumax heard when she succeeded was hotaru's heartbeat and the whir from her generator, and the first thing she felt was being held by her guardian's hands. it also stems from the fact that hotaru and lumax are from the dark ages, a period in destiny lore thats ruled by violence and some Evil Ass Lightbearers called warlords. it's a survival instinct for hotaru to protect her smaller-than average ghost at all times as much as it is for comfort. lumax WILL cry if she's forcibly separated from her guardian and hotaru will do ANYTHING to get her ghost back, which has resulted in serious violence on hotaru's part. the quickest way to make an enemy of hotaru is to upset lumax, and the quickest way to get lumax to absolutely despise you is to upset hotaru. you cannot have one of them without the other. hotaru will not even consider being friends with you if you aren't at least civil or kind to her ghost.

just like you can't have lightning without thunder, you can't have hotaru without lumax. and i think that's neat.

#✦ ‹ folder: meta. › deepstonecrypt.exe ? #UGHHHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH #THEY'RE FAMILY YOUR HONOR #anyways mess with the tiny bot you get your shit rocked JFNXHDHDBD #if it's not explicitly stated in threads it's also just a safe bet that lumax is at the very least nearby. #she usually hides in hotaru's 'backpack' ( the actual term for where little light goes when he's not out and about ) #but you can also see her in hotaru's jacket or hair! hotaru's outfits always have pockets for lumax. DFGHLKDJFHKL

[arcades-n-academia]

Just wanted to point out that in season 3, episode 1, when mike arrives late at the mall and Lucas complains/teases him about it mike is like ‘oh yes it’s so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend’ and Lucas slings an arm around max and replies ‘hey I’m spending romantic time with my girlfriend’. This is interesting because their view on what’s a romantic time is so different, for Lucas it’s watching a movie catering to both their interests, for mike it’s just…kissing? I wonder which is healthier. Also if Lucas considers watching the movie a ‘romantic time’ or basically a date, and they’re watching it with Will and mike, the only explanation is it’s a double date. In conclusion mileven is shit and will and mike are dating your honour.

(I mean technically if all four (five?) of them were in a polyamory relationship it could explain that too but-)

#byler #mike wheeler #stranger things #will byers #byler meta #lumax #reasons why mileven won’t work out

[ronanceautistic]

Here is my mostly Ronance, mostly Nancy-centric fic masterlist :D

Meta

Nancy Wheeler full character analysis with a focus on autistic traits (the autistic nancy doc)

Over 200K

Stranger Things rewrite where Nancy goes missing instead of Will (Ronance, Wheeler Siblings, platonic Stobin) - 41 chapters

50K - 100K

Nancy and Robin gay pining during summer 1986 (Ronance, minor Byler) - 15 chapters

10K-50K

Modern Selective Mutism!Nancy AU (Ronance) - 2/? chapters

The Last Of Us AU (Ronance, Max & Nancy, Max & Robin, platonic Stobin & minor Lumax) - 8 chapters

Nancy can freeze time (Ronance, platonic Ednancy) - 5 chapters

Grosse Pointe Blank AU where Nancy is a hitman for hire (Ronance, platonic Ednancy, platonic Stobin) - 6 chapters

Season 4 rewrite where Nancy is cursed instead of Max (Ronance) - 4 chapters

One shots set inbetween Season 1 and 2 (Jopper, Boyce, Byler, Wheeler Siblings, Eleven & Robin) - 6 chapters

5-10K

Nancy is stuck in a death loop, Robin has to watch (Ronance) - 1 chapter

Modern AU where Robin and Nancy do a school project (Ronance) - 1 chapter

The Good Place AU (Ronance, Minor Steddie) - 2 chapters

Two one shots, werewolf!Robin and werewolf!Nancy (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 2 chapters

Pirate AU based on Monkey Island (Ronance) - 1 chapter

Under 5K

Nancy grew up in Hawkins Lab AU (Karen & Nancy, Ronance, Barb & Nancy ((unrequited love))) - chapters 1/9

Robin and Nancy meet on Nancy's first day of Kindergarten (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Depression/Healing fic where Robin takes care of Nancy (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Nancy has a flashback with only Mike around to help (Wheeler Siblings) - 1 chapter

Nancy angst with Robin loving her (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Ronance aquarium date! (Ronance) - 1 chapter

7 year old Nancy scripts a D&D-ish game for Robin (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Robin needs stitches, but is afraid of blood. Nancy is here to help and pine. (Ronance) - 1 chapter

Horror Movie AU where Robin & Nancy stay the night at the Creel House (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Nancy and Robin are werewolves, who turn during S4 E7 (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Nancy is not okay, Robin notices (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Nancy’s Vecna Vision from Max’s POV (Max & Nancy, minor Lumax) - 1 chapter

Robin and Nancy take care of each other after the gates open (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Nancy is afraid of heights (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

Nancy survivors guilt character study (Ronance, platonic or romantic) - 1 chapter

The night after Fred’s death (Just Nancy) - 1 chapter

Nancy loneliness character study (Just Nancy) - 1 chapter

#nancy wheeler #stranger things #ronance #robin buckley #robin x nancy #ronance fic #mike wheeler #ronancetober #wheeler siblings #byler #stobin #ednancy #eddie munson

[givehimthemedicine]

the perfection of the lumax Goonies reference

it's come to my attention that some of you younguns have not seen this movie, and you should fix that pronto. but in the meantime let me explain, because I haven't seen anybody dive deeper than surface level on why this reference is so great.

the Goonies kids are trying to find their way through this cave full of pirate booby traps. this organ made of bones has to be played in order for them to get through, and this one girl took piano lessons once, so she's the only one in the group who can possibly do it.

only by playing a correct series of notes does this trap open up a tunnel - leading the secret lair of the pirate whose treasure they're looking for. this is the surface level of Lucas' reference.

BUT. add in the fact that the kids are rushing through these traps as fast as they can because they're also being pursued by bad guys. if this girl didn't play the right notes, and fast, everybody would die. so what this tunnel much more importantly is in this moment, is a way out.

so to recap, that's only one person in the group knowing how to play the correct notes, as quickly as possible, in order to open up a life-saving exit route. exactly what Lucas just did for Max.

he just saved Max's life like this for real, opening up a literal escape hole in Vecna's trance by being the only one who knew her favorite song.

also, that tunnel led into to sort of a water slide that ended in a drop into the pirate ship cove they were trying to get to. Voila!

The Goonies is a movie that the party definitely would've seen and loved. it came out in early June '85 so it's not just virtually guaranteed that Max and Lucas have both seen it, but, given the way movie dates are a canon lumax thing, it's EXTREMELY likely that they saw it together shortly before s3.

so this isn't just a meta ST nod to one of the movies that influenced the Duffers - it's Lucas making a reference that Max is getting.

but he doesn't know what Max's trance looked like. he doesn't know a hole literally opened up that she ran through. Max is the only one who's seen both The Goonies and the visual of her trance experience, and can fully appreciate Lucas' reference, even moreso than he does.

while Max appreciated its surface dorkery and let it go at that, she will definitely be thinking more about it later, and she's never going to watch The Goonies again without thinking about this.

here is the whole bone organ scene if you wanna see it.

PS, this part is less of a literal parallel but - there were consequences to any wrong notes being played on that bone organ. each wrong note would make some of the ground fall away, so too many wrong notes would result in everybody falling to their deaths.

did Max not also "fall to her death" as a consequence of Mike playing El "the wrong notes"?

#the goonies #lumax #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #what's at the X? pirate treasure? #ily bob #analysis #mine #and the fact that he said this right on the heels of a whole discussion of the magic properties of Max's favorite song #he knew what he was doing

[dattuff]

#1 is funny because Byler DOES look like the interactions of canon couples in the show, and this is one of the most commonly cited pieces of evidence so you’re basically saying they would’ve done something they’re literally doing. If you actually analyze the show’s details, the parallels of Byler to Jancy, Lumax, Jopper, etc. are quite astonishing. The same “tender, emotional music” used for other couples was even used in S4 Byler scenes. And one of the clearest parallels to Byler actually comes in S4 with Rovickie. The whole Robin/Dan/Vickie situation is framed identically to Will/El/Mike.

#2 is a matter of perspective. I get that argument but I believe not breaking mileven up for good in S4 serves a significant narrative and thematic purpose. And also from a meta POV, wouldn’t you save your big relationship twist for the final season if it’s indeed a slowburn? I don’t think that renders anything about S4 pointless. I also wouldn’t say they’re “finally on the same page” after Mike’s monologue. The show goes out of its way to show they aren’t talking and to show that things aren’t fully resolved. And I don’t think it’s fair to blame Mike if he’s lying/not telling the full truth because repression/internalized homophobia especially in the 80s is no joke.

I believe those inner struggles make a more nuanced character, which means the writing would be far from terrible. It’s also canonically true that it’s Will’s painting lie that sparked Mike’s monologue, and that hasn’t been addressed yet. Will IS at the center of Mileven (literally speaking in S4). The GA would be confused if they don’t explain things next season but I believe they will. I get that Mileven is canon on the surface, but I believe the setup for Byler is clear if you look a little deeper. I used to ship Mileven until I couldn’t look away from Mike’s queercoding and I had to switch teams. I don’t think it’s subtle or hidden

#1 the biggest parallels that I can see is with jancy which isn’t really a good thing considering jancy’s issues were left unresolved bc of Jonathan choosing not to confront them. ending the season with same problem as it started with. The Vickie/Robbin “parallels” aren’t that convincing either considering half of that ship is literally unknown and we don’t even know if they even get together or not.

#2 if it were a movie I guess but as a series it would be 100% the better option to break mileven up before the last season. Not do a complete 180 from the literal last episode wasting all that time spent on milevens relationship just for it to end up serving 0 purpose. With it being the last season the show will already be crowded with other things not to mention the multiple other unresolved life threatening issues needed to be touched on. All of that while s5 has a shorter runtime than s4.

#antibyler

[kurokoros]

alisha | she/her | 26 | 18+

Hello! I’ve rebranded to sailor-steve after using the same url since ~2013! All of my old fics can still be found on AO3 under the pseudo rivendell101.

Writer. Reader. Occasional gif maker. Long suffering tumblr user. I’m currently 16K into an extensive note doc for a Stranger Things rewrite fic. Ask me about it and I’ll probably fall in love with you.

Links: Masterlist • AO3 • Edits • Fic Recs • WIPs

latest   →   into open flames part three [steve harrington x reader]

upcoming   →   N/A

RULES [byf]

All characters for NSFW requests are aged up 18+

All fics are tagged with any applicable warnings. If I miss any obvious tags, please feel free to shoot me an ask or DM letting me know or requesting that I add it. Please be aware that I am liable to write monster fucking scenarios. I have zero shame when it comes to writing weird shit.

This is currently a Steve Harrington centric blog, however I will write for other characters/ships if I’m inspired to. →  Ships I will write: lumax; byler; jopper; jancy; hellcheer →  Ships I will not write: mileven; stancy; steddie; anything involving billy hargrove

Tags to blacklist: → Non-fandom posts are tagged #alisha babbles → Meta posts/asks are tagged #strangerthoughts

About requesting/asking: → Requests are currently [open]!. → If you’ve sent the same request in to another blog, please don’t send the same one to me. → Hate gets ignored unless I’m feeling particularly argumentative. You will be blocked though. → My askbox is always open for random questions or thoughts. I love thinking critically about media, so I’m always open to chat about shows.

#sailorsteve.mobilenavi

[nothoughts-onlywomen]

I realized upon my last viewing of season 4 that this is right after Max's tense conversation with Lucas (the "people just change" conversation).

The way Max is looking at herself in the mirror makes me sad. She knows she's being difficult and mean to Lucas and she hates herself for it. She knows she's been hard to be around lately and she doesn't know what to do to stop it. She's trying to keep living, keep surviving, but it's the guilt. The guilt that's eating her alive. Max knows that Lucas only approached her because he cares for her, and he knows something's wrong, and she knows he knows. She can't bear to let him in right now. She wants to. She just can't.

As it's been quoted by @rahnesinclair, Max can't bear the reminder of the good in her, because it makes her guilt even worse.

#lumax #lumax meta #anyway i'm in my lumax feelings #as i generally am #max mayfield #stranger things

[gayofthefae]

Something about little details in the show to contrast for characters. Like how Lucas grabs Max's hand in season 2 to stop her, not her wrist like Billy. He's stopping her, but she could let go if she wanted to.

#stranger things #lumax #lumax meta #lumax contrasts #max mayfield

[zenon-karr]

Anti byler, byler doubt byler negativity if you have issues with using them instead of byler than you are just trying to convince people of your ideals which is really shitty. These tags HELP the tag not be toxic???? What’s not clicking????

I hope people understand byler p much started out as truthing overall. Mostly people truth In the tag not just ships. When the ship tag first start out they were mostly too young before just to ship for fun for the most part of just imagining kids kissing you know? We shipped bc we thought it’s gonna be canon! That how it’s been since s2! Like people ship melevin coz it is canon not coz they just imagine kids kissing! Putting shit in the tag to convince us it’s queer baiting or making fun of us or call us delusional is really shitty. We tell our own to not overtag byler with lumax if the meta is prominently byler. It’s just courteous so people can have a good experience.

#bylers #sorry see this shit still going on #love y’all #even if you don’t truth but you’re not shitty about it

[robinsteve]

i’ve been thinking about lucas and max a lot since the trailer came out- specifically, how their relationship is presented in contrast to the other non-adult ships (jancy + mileven) and why the different treatment endears them to me so much.

i don’t hate nancy + jonathan and mike + eleven (just not my cup of tea!) but both relationships are built on this foundation of “shared trauma” and “being indebted to each other” and “soulmates,” and, as finn wolfhard put it, being a “leech” on the other person “that you can’t fucking peel off.” 💀

this is so different from lumax, who are marketed and perceived in-show with a less… intense focus. it’s more of “i like talking to you, madmax” and shared interests and whatnot and there aren’t so many weighty expectations about the future of their relationship. notably, lucas + max are the only pair that isn’t shoved together. correct me if i’m wrong, but lucas seeks max out without prompting from anyone, tells her the truth on his own, asks her to dance without any nudges from mike or murray or even steve. and it’s not like there’s anyone encouraging max to return his affections, either. it just kind of happens organically.

to be clear, i don’t think shared trauma or encouragement from others automatically sets up a couple for failure. however, there is a marked difference in how some couples (jancy, mileven) are mostly characterized as soooooulmates forever and ever whereas others (lumax, jopper) are simply presented as people who like each other and find comfort in each other and want to maintain close relationships. it’s precisely because of this lack of expectations that i am looking forward to lumax reconciling after enduring the events of s4. i would have no trouble believing a scenario in which they decide to build a more serious, stable relationship- without falling prey to any of the promises that everyone seems to hold jancy and mileven to at gunpoint 😵‍💫 

ambiguity is usually my best friend but i think lumax is one of the few pairs i’m genuinely okay with being “locked” into endgame, even though they’re (ironically) broken up at the beginning of s4 with no guarantee of getting back together. of course, s4 could easily shake things up. maybe they end up hating each other. maybe they think, “you know what, we’re better off as friends.” maybe max dies or falls into a magical decadelong coma (god forbid). but no matter what happens in s4 that’s where i’m at right now!

#this is my love letter to couples who are given breathing room to grow and mature and develop together and apart <3 #been ruminating on this for a while and then apparently decided that word-vomiting into discord at 11pm would be a good idea #and i think it was! #it's something that i've struggled to articulate for a while and i'm relived to have finally gotten it right #** #millie talks #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #lumax #st 4 #stranger things #st meta

[deckerswheeler]

symbolism in the coca cola scene of stranger things 3

in episode 7 of season three of stranger things, mike, will, lucas, and max and sitting in bradley’s big buy while waiting for el to find billy in the void. lucas is drinking a New Coke. lucas loves it, and starts explaining how the old coke was the original: reliable, classic, and delicious... but the new coke is better as it’s sweeter and bolder. at this, both mike and max simultaneously say “what?!” in a disgusted way, while mike asks “how can you even drink that?” 

this scene is very out of place with the rest of the episode, and i think it is there to serve some type of symbolic purpose. mike and max both admittedly dislike the new coke. but the “new coke” isn’t what the symbolism stands for. this is referring to their relationships. lucas is happy in the “new” stage of his and max’s relationship, despite their ups and downs and constant breakups. but max isn’t. she does not like their “new” relationship and prefers the original... aka their season two relationship, when they were friends and just innocently flirted. this is obviously seen in the array of scenes where max refers to boys as “stupid” and literally wants el to break up with mike because “friends don’t lie. but boyfriends lie all the time.” she is sick of lucas lying (possibly causing their multiple breakups), and wants things to go back to the way they were. she misses the “original”.

as for mike, he is no longer contempt in his relationship with el. he wishes he could have the “original thing” again. he doesn’t like their newfound relationship of making out and constantly clinging to each other, parading around as boyfriend and girlfriend. he wants what they had before: the longing, the innocence, the friendship. reminder that mike met el at age twelve and new her for four (VERY STRESSFUL) days, before kissing her and asking her to the snowball. yes, he cared about her. but their relationship did not start out romantically. think about it, did he show any romantic interest in her until lucas started making fun of him and troy called will homophobic slurs in front of him? no. in fact, he was strictly USING el to get to will. at first he was perfectly willing to turn her in to child protective services with the help of his mom, and only found her interesting after he realized she knew will (from the picture in his room). in the moments before they kissed, mike knew there was a chance he would never see will again, he knew that he might be gone forever and he projected that fear onto el. actually, every flirting scene between them in season one was prompted by the possibility of will being gone forever. as for season two, he presumed el to be DEAD. he was healing from that loss of el and back to spending copious amounts of time with will. he may have been calling her every night, but it was because he was clinging to the thought that he might possibly have a “thing” with a girl. all the while, he was getting closer and closer to will, and we as an audience were seeing the parallels between mileven and byler all throughout season two. the only romantic scenes between el and mike occurred- once again- when mike believed will could possibly die, OR after he saw will dancing with a girl at the snowball. mike and el’s relationship is built on their mutual need for love. el had no one during seasons one and two, even in season two she often felt betrayed by hopper. mike was the first person to treat her like a human being with feelings. mike needed someone to care for him the same way will did when will was gone or had the possibility of dying. whether he realized this or not, mike was projecting his feelings for will (whether it be platonic or romantic) onto eleven. in season three, their relationship has transformed from something innocent and cute, into a blurb of making out and petty fighting. they aren’t “in love”, in fact mike doesn’t even love her romantically anymore. that is the symbolism behind the coke scene. mike doesn’t like the “new” version of the “coke” - his relationship with el- he’s disgusted by it.

 then lucas says, “so you prefer the original thing?” and mike replies, “i’m not talking about the thing, i’m talking about new coke.” even though “the thing” is a movie reference, it could also be perceived as symbolism as well. “the thing” now representing mike and el’s relationship, and “new coke” representing mike deflecting from his true feelings towards will and about his relationship with el. everytime mike has had to ask himself if he prefers the “original” thing with el, and with will, he tries to make up excuses, or convince himself he’s still in love with her... which he clearly isn’t from the way he looked in their last kiss scene. he pretends everything is fine and that he doesn’t feel these things, and claims to be talking about “new coke” ... the deflection.

tl/dr: mike is not in love with el and he doesn’t want to admit it. he prefers their original relationship from seasons one and two. max prefers her original relationship with lucas from season two and is ready to leave him for good (sadly bc i love lumax).

anyways, someone has probably pointed this out already but i just wanted to write this because i have been thinking about this a lot recently. reblog if you read the whole thing lol

#stranger things #stranger things meta #stranger things theory #mike wheeler #will byers #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #byler #lumax #el hopper

[nancykali]

@willel @joycebyerslesbian your fanon Will is way better than canon Will and I love all your hcs from the bottom of my heart. thank you for writing them and saving my sanity after this sad excuse for a third season. ❣️

The metas I’ve read from you both have made me think more about how El’s isolation in the cabin should’ve actually been addressed in season 3 but wasn’t. It was a huge issue in season 2 and El actually got to have an opinion about it and do something about it. But in season 3 it was like, oh she has Mike in the cabin, and that’s all that matters, and it doesn’t matter how that affected her relationships with any other character. At all. She had no friendships. Mike was it. I get they addressed them spending too much time together, but El being forcefully isolated and not having anything outside of Mike was not addressed and that’s disgusting. 

So I think I’ll just continue imagining a pre-s3 au where El actually invited the others to the cabin regularly, but there was a rule that it could only be two at a time. So first she invited Mike a lot, because duh. But then she invited Mike and Will together. And then she invited Will by himself, and they started to bond a lot over what they’d been through, what they had in common (WILL HAVING POWERS that he’s been afraid to talk about, but he finally confides in El at the cabin one day in late December). 

Then she invites Lucas and Mike, and then Lucas by himself. And it’s LUCAS who convinces El to give Max a chance, on this cold January day. He brings over one of Max’s comics that Max had let Lucas borrow, and he tells El how cool Max is and how El would love a lot of the same things Max loves (bc Max is his girlfriend and he loves her and also sees a lot of El in Max bc of course he does). So eventually El decides to invite Lucas AND Max. And they watch a movie together, the three of them, and El follows Max into the kitchen on a break and Max ends up teaching El how to make popcorn on the stove. And they end up talking about Wonder Woman bc El brings up the comic Lucas let her borrow. Max is invited over a lot more after that.

And of course El invites Lucas and Dustin, Mike and Dustin, Dustin and Will, Lucas and Will, and they spend so many weekends playing improvised versions of dnd, El learning more about what being a mage means in the context of dnd because Dustin, Will, and Lucas are the best teachers. (Mike is too busy making cow-eyes at her to teach much.) Of course Dustin brings his Atari over for El to borrow for a few weeks, saying he’ll just go to the Byers’ to play Will’s when he wants to. El is absolutely fascinated by video games, and loves the story of how Max first became part of the party, by beating Dustin’s top score on Dig Dug.

And then the day finally comes when she invites Will and Max. And the gay power trio is born. I stand by my hc that Will comes out to El first, and she of course keeps his secret after he makes her understand the gravity of the situation. But after a couple months of knowing Will, and seeing him around El, Max starts to have suspicions, but doesn’t bring them up for a long time (and when she does it’s in a really touching scene with Will, bc of course Max is bisexual and has trouble accepting her same sex attraction bc of all the homophobic shit she’s heard from Neil). 

Of course by March of ‘85 El is breaking the rules a bit by inviting 3 or 4 party members over at once but having them arrive at different times so Hopper never catches on.

Hopper started catching on in May but let it keep happening.

The first time the entire party got to go to the cabin, it was Mike’s birthday in June and El actually threw him a surprise party with mostly Max’s and Dustin’s help.

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #el hopper #will byers #max mayfield #mileven #lumax #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #my meta #my s3 meta #el s3m #el #and el is bi and ace you can pry that hc from my cold dead hands