#listen... i don't mind mike and el being a thing

[byers-bowlcut]

I've seen people say El likes the IDEA of having a boyfriend more than she actually likes her own boyfriend, and jfc it's so true 😭 Like it's all over the show:

Season 1

She's initially attached to Mike because he's the first person to give her shelter, food, genuine human care and just,, not calling CPS immediately. Her feelings for him was born from trauma and dependency in season 1. And throughout the rest of the 3 seasons, we don't see it grow past that.

Also I think it's noticeable in S1 that:

She was uninterested when Mike tried to share his hobbies with her

She also did not seem to mind AT ALL when she questioned if Mike could be her brother. He voice is neutral and curious here, not the least bit repulsed by the thought of being siblings with Mike, like girl does not care 😭

Season 2

This season has zero onscreen moments of Mike and El actually getting to know each other further. They were separated nearly the whole season.

What we DO see:

El's attachment and dependency on Mike that was developed from S1

We also find out how El spent a year of her life watching melodramatic romance films. Many other middle schoolers might identify that relationships in real life don't work like those films. But El is fresh out of lab life, she's literally learning the world through this TV, and has now become obsessed with the IDEA of having a boyfriend/relationship just like that.

Season 3

Again, no onscreen moments of El showing interest in who Mike is as a person.

The very first scene we see of them, she's trying to get him to stop singing along to the song they're listening to. She seems to like kissing Mike. But isn't shown enjoying anything actually characteristic about him, like sharing interests with him such as music.

Hopper indicates that they don't do anything meaningful together either. We see here that before hanging out with Max, El had little sense of her own style, her hobbies, her interests- meaning spending time with Mike for months probably didn't involve many talking points did it?

Also in season 3, El dumps Mike with ZERO hesitation. Then she has the time of her life with Max. The most acknowledgment we get that she's oh so heartbroken is a small frown to Max that her and Mike aren't on best terms. And even that doesn't seem so paramount cause 1 episode later she totally dismisses Mike after he explains how Hopper threatened him. She just tells him maybe Hopper was right 😭😭

It's literally ONLY once she starts becoming in danger that she starts clinging onto him again. I feel like we've seen this film before hm.

Like where are any signs that she likes Mike as an individual, and is falling for who he really is, rather than simply being attached due to trauma, and liking the concept of doing romantic things (ie: kissing, dancing at the ball, etc.)

Season 4

This is the season it becomes the MOST OBVIOUS: El loves the concept of a happy relationship and being loved, but not really loving Mike for who he is. And bringing in Will's feelings just emphasizes this point.

To start, El continues doing all these relationship-y things that she did in the start of S3. She has Mike's name and pictures plastered all over her room. She makes a "Mike box" with his pictures decorated all over it. But the thing is: this is all sort of a façade at this point. We know she's BEEN unhappy with him for months ("From Mike! From Mike! From Mike!"). But with all these items, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's in this happy, fantasy, movie-like relationship, like she probably watched in hopper's cabin in season 2.

And then, there's the sheer difference between her and WILL in their feelings for Mike. We see it right off the bat when Mike comes to the airport: Will and El both have plans to give Mike something.

Will plans to give him a painting he worked extremely hard on. The painting is a connection of what they BOTH love: DnD, and it includes their friends who also play the game. It's very personal and immediately touches Mike. What's more is, the painting illustrates the exact qualities about Mike that Will loves: his leadership, his bravery, his guidance. This painting literally spells out to us that Will truly loves Mike for WHO HE IS.

Meanwhile, El plans on giving Mike a fun reunion date. She has the whole day planned out. And immediately: we see that what she wants to do doesn't actually takes Mike's interests and personality into consideration. You can see and hear the strain in his voice when he talks about "burritos for breakfast" 😬

You can see how he's not that relaxed at rinkomania, and nervous about skating, saying he's clumsy. He probably would've much preferred movies and playing a board game, over skating. But El has her own ideas. When she brings Mike to rinkomania, she tries to act really cool about it. She wants to impress him, wants to seem like she fits in and belongs.

Her present was never actually ABOUT Mike, and about loving Mike that she would plan this huge date for him. Her present was about her desperately wanting to have this cool date like every other normal teen girl might, with a normal boyfriend, and make it seem like they have a happy perfect relationship.

And then finally we reach their S4 fight. I find it extremely interesting how Hopper's cabin is framed in the background during their whole fight. It's almost like an indication that her desperate need to be loved by Mike stems from her trying to cope with losing Hopper and the hole left by him, that clearly did not exist when she happily dumped Mike in S3.

In their fight, when the topic of bullying comes up, Mike says he understands her, but El is quick to say he doesn't. She thinks Mike doesn't understand her, but this is just as much her not understanding HIM as well.

She doesn't get the extent of Mike's insecurities (definitely partially a result of bullying), something that Mike later divulges to WILL and not her. If the writers wanted to show us how much El understands Mike and loves him for who he is, her and Mike would work through his insecurities in their rs together, NOT through a middle man.

Overall it's pretty striking that we've never once heard El actually compliment Mike, or articulate, or even show what exactly she loves about him through four whole seasons. I mean...

Attachment to him due to trauma or grief =/= loving him for who he is.

Wanting to BE loved =/= loving him for who he is.

So really in terms of a relationship, what El ACTUALLY wants is the concept/idea of a regular boyfriend, and a happy easy relationship, all in an attempt to feel normal. And that's why we see them fall apart the way they do in season 4, and why Will is currently so involved. Because Will DOES see and love Mike for exactly who he is.

#eleven hopper #mike wheeler #will byers #byler #analysis on el's character and her feelings for mike #anti mileven #stranger things

[hothammies]

mad max, the party's zoomer - apoc au character details under the cut!

---

max's role in the party:

a runner - fast and quiet, tends to be the one who makes out with the most supplies

mechanic - knows best about cars and is one of the party's designated drivers (the other being mike)

medic - not as skilled with plants and medicine like will, but is good with first aid and physical treatment!

thief - who the party sends out if they need to "borrow" from other groups (second nature to her)

skills + hobbies:

incredible with melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat -> everything she knows was taught to her by billy

decent shot, but prefers using melee way more!

stealthy, like a ninja - her and el are the quietest in the party! max's fighting style is much more brawler-like despite this

good with card games (likes poker, speed and BS) -> likes to play them with the party a lot, but in particular with dustin and lucas

skateboards whenever she can -> her favorite thing to do next to driving!

really loves listening to music (fave artists are madonna, taylor swift and destiny's child) -> likes having el or will in shotgun so they can listen together!

quirks / fun facts:

whenever dustin goes to bed, max takes his current handheld and tries to beat his high score on whatever retro game he's currently playing (dustin does not know its max who's actively beating his ass on dig dug and tetris)

she took billy's jacket and baseball bat and made them her own - very complicated relationship with him and her upbringing with her stepbro made her very skeptical and suspicious of others (especially the party when she first met them)

when she steals things, she tries to keep the party in mind when grabbing extra :')

--- other notes: ladies and gentlemen, our newest addition - maxine! i'll admit, the two characters i think i'm most shoddy on for their characterizations are dustin and max. since max's story in my au is so heavily tied to her issues with trusting people again (specifically men) and family, i'm scared that it will make her character intrinsically tied to relationships instead of having her own character. i'll try my very best for it not to be that way, of course!

for now, she's how i imagine her in the show - she's still a cheeky, sarcastic, stubborn and awesome tomboy with insurmountable trust and distance issues, and i love her for that! the circumstances that drew her to the party are currently a secret, but i will establish now that billy is tied to her storyline and how the party meets her for the first time - while billy's an interesting character in his own right, i straight up don't like him :P so i'm warning people now that billy's more a plot device for max's arc and i probably won't be diving incredibly deep into his character. this is a party centric au after all!

when i was thinking of max's character, i was trying to keep the things she liked in mind and why she was so cool in the first place! ofc, she had to skateboard, even if it was only a little, and she's honestly just great at games in general (to dustin's dismay).

her upbringing in canon and the way she acts is pure "survival instinct" behavior. she knows first aid, she knows how to drive, she escapes vecna, she's incredibly independent! she's a fighter, through and through. she's also not really one to hesitate often to be hands on, and i can see it in the way she acted seasons 2-4 :')

lucas is almost done - maybe a few days give or take!

#max in a tanktop covered in blood she is everything the lesbian in me swooned just a bit #max mayfield #lumax #stranger things #stranger things fanart #st apoc au #sammi's art

[thethingsweneversaid]

Am I crazy or did I just crack the mystery of the monologue scene????

Why did they lose against Vecna in season 4? What were they missing?

They lost the race against time. Time was obviously significant this season (The grandfather clock, Vecna's obsession with time, the UD being frozen in time). The time was simply up, they were too late. Who’s to blame? Mike Wheeler. 

Okay, let me explain, haha.

Throughout the whole series we all know Mike being late, or almost late to things is recurring. Every season in fact. S1: Mike’s campaign was too long, and he tried to get the party to stay past their curfew. S2: Mike was trying to get in contact with El on his walkie, almost making him late to the arcade. S3: Mike was almost late to the cinema because he was with El, making them almost miss the beginning of the movie. S4: Mike was reading El’s letter, almost making him and Nancy late for school... He begins every season with a race against time. Also worth noting that El was the reason for him being late in s2, s3 and s4. Also ALSO worth noting that in season 1, Mike begs his parents to let the party stay longer. The campaign took two weeks to plan! They need to finish it. He has no rush. While in all the other seasons (when he was late because of El), we get a "Shit! Shit! I'm going to be late"-version of Mike. He's stressed out and rushed. Not sure where I'm going with this last point, but I'm sure it means something and that it'll make sense in s5. The point is, Mike gets distracted by El.

Now for the monologue. This time, it's not Mike getting distracted by El. It's him distracting El.

Jason was obviously a key reason for them being too late as well. The scenes switch between Lucas fighting him and Mike’s monologue, comparing the two. Jason destroys Max’s walkman, destroying her connection to Lucas and the world outside her mind. Mike tries to get El to wake up by lifting her out of the freezer, taking off her glasses, Will shoves the radio away. They’re trying to get her out of Max’s mind and into the real world again. But El doesn't want to wake up. She is ready to fight for Max. The boys obviously tried to help because who knows what would’ve happened if they didn’t? They thought El was dying. When Mike begins his monologue, El looked away from Max and up “towards Mike’s voice”. She was listening to him now. Getting distracted. El continuously tells people throughout the series to be quiet when going into her “trance”. People talking distracts her, and she needs to concentrate. Mike also reminds the audience of the importance of the sensory deprivation tank. "It helps her calm down and focus on her powers". With Mike removing all the aids that help her concentrate (the glasses, the tank, the radio), while also talking to her, we can only assume that now, El isn’t only fighting to save Max, but also to stay in Max’s mind, further slowing her down.

At the end of the monologue, Mike reminds her she has to fight, and El’s eyes snap back to Max. That’s when she breaks loose from the vines. Whether you think El believes what Mike is saying and utilizes his loving words for strength or not, it’s still a distraction. I’ve seen a lot of people say that they felt impatient while watching this scene. Like «get on with it! Vecna is literally killing Max RIGHT NOW». And we're probably right to feel impatient! That's probably what the writers were going for! The audience was supposed to feel like that. El lost valuable time because of it. Mike is making them late this time too.

Will is also kinda to blame in this (I don't blame any of them, it's just an unfortunate set of events and they all did what they thought was best, but you get what I mean) Because in a way, Mike is distracted too. Distracted from the truth. That happened when Will lied to him in the van, disguising his own feelings for Mike, using El as a distraction for Mike to focus on instead. Will's guiding Mike towards a lie. He convinced Mike that El was feeling a certain way, which she WAS NOT. (For example: "You make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all, like she’s better for being different." cue Mike and El’s fight where she accuses him of thinking she’s a monster too, like everyone else.) (This also contrasts Will singling Mike out as the only person that doesn't treat him differently in season 2 in that scene with Will and Jonathan.) Mike doesn’t make El feel the way Will portrayed it in the van, though Mike is led to believe that she does.

Therefore, making the feelings that was the foundation for the monologue a lie. Both to Mike and El. It isn’t authentic. This doesn't apply to them. which brings me to my next point. 

 "A paladin swears to uphold justice and righteousness, to stand with the good things of the world against the encroaching darkness, and to hunt the forces of evil wherever they lurk. Different paladins focus on various aspects of the cause of righteousness (honesty=righteousness and honor for Mike), but all are bound by the oaths (promises, “friends don’t lie”) that grant them power to do their sacred work. Oaths, honor, and rigid rules define a paladin's everyday actions. Breaking these oaths (by lying) means their deity will revoke their powers."

This is why his monologue didn’t work. It was a lie (And Mike knowingly or unknowingly portrayed that lie to El). Without his honesty, Mike the paladin loses his powers. He couldn’t save them. 

Will’s selfless attempt to save their relationship sadly turned out to be counter-productive in every way, hindering all of them from seeing the truth. Will was also the one that told Mike not to stop, when in reality, maybe stopping and letting El be was exactly what he should've done. He's the heart. But he's Will's heart. That's what Will would've wanted Mike to do, seeing as Mike has saved him/snapped him out of his episodes multiple times by speaking to him: Of course Will thinks that's the right thing to do! Mike's doing what Will would've needed, not El.

It adds a new layer to El being upset with Mike in the cabin by the end of s4, because it isn't as simple as "she knows Mike is lying" or "She's just upset because they lost". She's upset because once again Mike doesn't trust that she knows her own limits (This being a huge reason for conflict in s3 between El/Mike/Max.) Mike worries because he cares of course, but it isn't what El needs ("Mike, I need you to trust me.") When Mike tries to help her, she fails. But she "redeems herself" when she's making her own decision, without outside influences other than love for her friends. She pushes her limits further than ever before, bringing Max back to life, trusting herself and her powers, without Mike knowing.

Mike is the heart, yes. The problem was - the heart was in the wrong place. They all got it wrong this time. They got confused and misunderstood each other. That’s why they lost. In the next season, I believe Mike and El are going to realize that they’ve both been focusing on the wrong things, and that is how they’re going to win. Still using love as their weapon - just a different kind of love that’s not distracting them from what they really need, not slowing them down. El coming fully into her own, reaching her full potential and using her powers the way she knows best, with the support of her loved ones making her stronger - not under the influence of Mike trying to stop her out of worry. And Mike’s heart being in the right place. With Will. 

I've seen other people talk about this next part, but I'm adding it in because it further proves the point.

Another indication that proves to me that at least SOME of the monologue is a blatant lie is the Romeo and Juliet parallel, with the word "Montague" spelled out behind Mike, and the "love at first sight"-refrence. "I knew right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you." That. is. a. lie. and there's just no going around it. Romeo and Juliet's romance wasn't actually real love, just infatuation. The Duffers also said they don't believe in love at first sight. For them to use that trope wouldn't just be wierd and cliché, but also contradicts everything we were shown in season 1. Are we just supposed to believe that Mike loved her, decpite them showing us otherwise?

More on the Romeo and Juliet thing in this post.

Conclusion: The Duffers are geniuses I’m never getting over this show.

#stranger things #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #byler analysis #stranger things theory #s5 predictions #stranger things 5 #stranger things 4 #st analysis #byler endgame #byler proof #byler theory

[howtobecomeadragon]

Mike got upset at Hopper in s2 bc Hopper was keeping El hidden... when she could've been helping Will and preventing Will's situation from getting so bad

Obviously there are other reasons too, he was mourning and missed her, it was a shock to see her, etc. I'm just saying I think this is the bigger reason.

This also ties into Mike viewing El as a superhero and how this puts their relationship in a weird space. If someone is a superhero, you're not missing them as a person, you're missing them for their powers and what they can do for you.

Obviously we saw that Mike was missing El in 2x01 and 2x02. But at the end of 2x02, we saw Mike having a new concern about what was going on with Will and that he was seeing something from the UD. Mike is confronted with the reality that he doesn't know much about the UD and doesn't know how to help. He doesn't know if this is real or just visions. He doesn't understand (although he does his best to help), the others wouldn't understand, but Eleven would. She would know, she'd be able to help, she'd know how to stop this.

Because, after all, Mike has said it before: she's a weapon. He viewed her as a way to get Will back before (partly, not claiming this was his only motivation in his relationship with El) and now in s2, Mike is missing her for what she could have done here: helped Will.

Mike does what he can to put positive spins on the situation and he provides that emotional support, which probably helped more than he knew.

But that didn't exactly stop the bad things from happening. Mike still doesn't know how to fix this thing happening to Will. He does everything he can, he comes up with the idea to spy back and to put Will to sleep, but it's still a very upsetting day or two.

When El returns, he greets her happily but as soon as he hears that she's been out there, listening to his calls, his face drops. He wanted to know she was out there. And then very quickly his anger moves to Hopper. El didn't know that Will was in trouble. She stayed away bc Hopper told her to, but she didn't know what was going on. Hopper knew. Hopper knew that El was probably one of the only people who might know enough to help, so he gets mad about Hopper hiding her, when she could've been there, she could've stepped in as soon as Will saw the Mind Flayer the first time.

Moving onto the fight scene:

Mike and Hopper both look and gesture towards this wall a lot (EDIT: credit to @runninguplenorahills for pointing this out, this is also in Will's bedroom, similar to the s3 kiss with El in the finale. just another thing pointing to this being more to do with Will than the GA might thing), and I get that it's probably the direction of where El is in the kitchen, but just like always, Will is there symbolically too. He's there in the drawings that are on the wall between them in the dead center of the shot. It's a symbol of just how bad things got with Will.

Mike looks at the drawings and says he doesn't understand how Hopper let it go on so long with El there but hidden.

Again, looking and gesturing at the walls. And there's this talk of blame here. "Don't blame her, she's already upset." "I don't blame her, I blame you."

Blame El for... just staying hidden? When Mike can tell she wasn't allowed to talk to him? That doesn't really fit perfectly with the word "blame." What Hopper might mean, instead, is for Mike to not blame El for how bad it got with Will. "Don't blame El for not coming to help sooner, don't blame her for everything that has happened the past couple days." And Mike doesn't, he says he's blaming Hopper.

Another couple things from the full fight scene:

"Protecting her?" Mike sees what happened. Hopper chose to protect El over protecting Will this season (in a way, balancing out his actions from s1, selling out El's location to Brenner to save Will).

"So I should be thanking you?" Along that same line: Mike isn't thinking about his or his family's safety. Brenner is gone, and it sounds like Hopper kept El hidden for reasons he doesn't understand or care about at the cost of Will's safety.

"Nothing about this is okay." There's so many things he's upset and overwhelmed and scared about right now. It's multifaceted, just like so many of Mike's scenes. He's not just mad bc he missed El, there's more there.

After the scene with Hopper, Mike and El are standing away from each other. He even seems to be avoiding eye contact with her? Maybe from embarrassment over his outburst, maybe he just feels weird and conflicted already, feeling the strain of having his attention split when he's already so worried about Will. But either way, the shots are framed with Mike and Hopper together and everyone else with El. He didn't rush out from that fight to stick with El, be close, hold her hand, talk with her more.

And the first time he speaks in this scene it feels a lot like another "I'm the only one who cares about Will" moment. He's put the pieces together and was considering Will's part in all of this. He's not voicing concern about El being in danger again or leaving again, his mind is on Will.

And I think this all goes to the goodbye scene between El and Mike. Mike is concerned about losing people close to him. He can't say goodbye to Will, but he says goodbye to El. She tries to kiss him, he leaves his eyes open and doesn't move closer at all. A car with Will drives away and a car with El drives away, both headed towards danger. He stares after both, scared.

GA viewers assume he's just focused on El as he watches the cars drive away, but he spent most of the season just focused on Will. GA viewers assume Mike's outburst just has to do with loving El, but he spent most of the season trying to help Will, just like s1, except this time he didn't have El, his helpful link to the UD, to make the supernatural mysteries a little bit easier.

#byler

[nikolai-vincent]

Y'all I have a big list of Byler things and I need help to make sure that everything I've stated is actually true and not my mind making things up💀🤣🤭 so prepare for a long list and I'll cut it down so it doesn't take years if you wanna scroll by it lmao

Mike tried calling Will all the time while he was in Cali (& could be the reason for weird airport interaction) Mike can't use a telephone to talk to El bc of of government listening in, so Dustin's words are about Mike calling Will but not being able to reach him.

It wasn't love at first sight, the offical season 1 trailer with the scene where they first find El, Mike's first thought is "That's not Will." And also this is Mike's plan to get rid of her from the night they found her, even though he is supposedly already in love with her since he said he loved her the moment he saw her?🤨

His monologue didn't help/wasn't fully true, El didn't have a single flashback of her and Mike throughout their whole relationship except for when they found her in the woods. They've been dating for roughly 9 months before breaking up for 3, then getting together again and currently at 6 months (so 1 year and 3 months of officially dating, having known each other fully for 3 years, although not fully because she was gone for a whole year) and yet she didn't have a single other memory besides the night they saved her?

Mike and El didn't speak that much for 2 full days while they were stuck in the van?? Even after Mike's love confession, all El was apparently talking about was how she feels like she lost the battle with Vecna and how Brenner had put it into her head and stuff.

Mike has a sort of superhero idealization for El. He's mentioned multiple times that she's a superhero, she's a machine that can help find Will, and it's shown throughout the seasons how much Mike loves superheroes. In my opinion, that's not a super great thing to compare your girlfriend to, especially after she has shown to want to be more than that, but feels like that's all she's good for now.

They never see eye to eye/always disregard the others feelings/attempt to be understanding. All of their arguments I've seen, they both try to be understanding at first, but then they shut each other down and speak for the other person when they're doubting each others thoughts (one scene perfectly showing this is their fight in El's room in season 4).

Mike and El knew each other for roughly a week (at 12 years old) before getting together and then immediately getting separated for a whole year, only to become reunited and jumping immediately into a relationship at 13 and ignoring their friends to only kiss each other for 6 months and not deepen their bond emotionally?? Then they break up like it's nothing and Mike doesn't know what she likes when he tries to buy her a gift to apologize (only after Lucas says something) (then getting into a fight with Will for the first time and apologizing as soon as possible on his own choice).

Mike has issues saying I love you (tried saying it once in s3 and couldn't even say the word "love", instead going for "blank makes you crazy" which El didn't understand. Only time he says it was in a high stress situation and he blurted it out to everyone except her, with a look of shock and confusion. S4 he doesn't say it at all, writing "from, Mike" all the time, to which he is confronted by her and only is able to say "I care for you... so much." And "I say it." ("It" being I love you) (which is a lie) That fight in El's room would've been the perfect time for him to tell her he loves her after he sees her crying to him about it, he could have perfectly said something like, "El, of course I love you. I'm sorry I don't say it, I'm just not used to feeling this way, but thank you for talking to me about it, I'll try to work on it." Or something to comfort her. In the end he is only able to say it in a high stress situation (AGAIN) and only after having a whole speech from Will, and needing Will to tell him not to stop and to say whatever it was he couldn't before. (Which, Will didn't know that Mike couldn't say I love you to her) Mike was given false hope that El needed him and felt better for being different because of him, which was a lie and those feelings were from Will himself, his speech was a veiled love confession.

Mike subtly (or unintentionally) compared both of his relationships with Will and El by saying that meeting Will "was the best thing he's ever done" but meeting El was "Not fate. Not destiny. Just simple, dumb luck." (He chose to befriend Will, by actively going up to him and asking, whereas he didn't choose to meet El, it was an accident).

Mike struggles to switch his focus between El and Will, we've seen throughout all of the seasons how Mike acts with Will and how he acts with El, and I'll be honest, they're pretty similar. He's soft, sweet, and casual with Will, and he's nice, gentle, and kind with El (just in general, relationship stuff aside). But then you put them in the same room and Mike doesn't know how to act properly with either of them, and we honestly don't see the real interactions with these three until season 3. I've noticed a lot that when Mike and El are in a relationship, they ignored everyone and just made out, but after they broke up, the whole group was together and had no issues with doing so (I guess the flayed helped with that, though lol).

Will is the only person that Mike will immediately try to apologize to if he did something wrong, whereas anyone else he blames others and doesn't apologize until someone tells him to (examples: Dustin told Mike to apologize to Lucas in season 1 after they fought, Mike was blaming Lucas and didn't want to apologize even though Mike was the one that started the fight. He didn't apologize to El in season 3 for the way he was acting, instead choosing to lie and needing help from Lucas on what to get for El as an apology (again, Mike knows nothing about El by this point still), and yet later on after he has a fight with Will, he bikes to Will's house to apologize, he blames himself, calls himself an asshole (with Lucas following, not leading). Seasone 4, the second fight that Mike and Will have is in the skating rink, Mike calls Will a douche and says he sabotaged the whole day by moping, rolling his eyes, and not talking but later on he goes to Will and immediately starts apologizing and says he was being a self pitying idiot, and telling Will that he wasn't being a douche and Will didn't deserve to be called that).

Mike and Will are very different compared to their friendships with Dustin, Lucas, or Max. (With proof being from Mike himself, saying "Max and Dustin and Lucas.. they're-they're great.. they're great, it's just-it's Hawkins, it's not the same without you. And maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I feel like I lost you or something." (Something along those lines lol)

The Duffers have compared Mike and El's relationship to Elliot and E.T, a friendship between a kid and an alien.

El was upset with Mike during the cabin cleaning scene (giving him a side eye and sighing heavily before going to her room) after Mike's supposed love confession.

Mike agreed (by nodding) when Will was talking in the desert about how it's scary to open up to people you care about the most bc of them possibly not liking the truth (Will was comforting Mike about El during this, sort of) (Why would El not like the truth if the truth was that Mike loves her?? Sus).

Mike showed a big difference in priority when it came to searching for Will vs El. In season 1 after Will went missing, Mike (+ the party) was told by the police to stay home and not interfere in the investigation. Mike disobeys and goes out (+ the party) to search for Will in the dark and rain. After meeting El, they use her as a weapon to continue searching for Will. After finding Will's "body" in the quarry, Mike switches on El and is mean and blames her for not telling the truth about Will. El then shows Mike through the walkie-talkie that Will is alive and Mike believes her (even after seeing Will's body, he has hope again that Will could be alive), he's nice to El again after this. Vs, when El goes missing at the end of S1 and going into S2, Mike believes she's dead (although not seeing a body), and doesn't go searching for her. He sees her through the window on the same night she disappeared, but he never goes out to look for her. The only thing he does for the whole year is try to talk to her through a walkie-talkie, but he never leaves his house to try and find her (even though he's seen proof of her being alive) while she's gone, Mike's priority is fully focused on Will and his possession. In season 3, Hopper threatens Mike to stay away from El (similarly to what he said about staying home and not looking for Will in season 1) and he immediately agrees and doesn't try to see her.

Mike has a lot of familial/platonic parallels with El's father figures than he does romantic, he's always paralleled with Brenner (with proof in season 4, the "what did you do?" / "what have you done?" scene at the rink) which is so bad and sad, and some scenes similarly with her and Hopper.

Gotta say it, Mike has looked at Will's lips multiple times (at least 4, off the top of my head) (which is 4 times more than he has with any of his other friends probably) and he barely does it with El. If it was a mistake during filming, they would've shot it again, bc they were obvious but they stayed in.

And just with the way Mike looks at Will compared to his other friends or even El, that boy looks more in love than the one canonically in love.💀

In both season 1 and season 2 (besides their first kiss and the snowball (which weren't planned originally, I believe)) Mike has never been the one leaning in or attempting to kiss El, he just stands and stares confused as she does all the work.

Mike has Will's art all over his basement from when they were children (and some in his room, I think?) But he throws away and crumples all of the letters he receives from his long distance girlfriend? Sus.

The difference in Mike's reactions to being broken up with romantically vs platonically in season 3. His face shows a sort of disgust and almost guilty when El breaks up with him, and his face is full of guilt and sadness when Will tells him he wanted to stay with him forever.

Mike was fruity af during his apology to Will in S4 Ep4 just saying.

Canonically Mike only smiles in pictures when Will is in them as well. (Photos in tags bc I'm at the limit😔)

It's been confirmed that Mike is clueless about Will's feelings for him, so I'm wondering why he was so affected by the 6 months away with only a couple phone calls that lead to him not even wanting to hug Will at the airport (even though he saw how happy and excited Will was to see him again) when he hugged Will perfectly fine at the end of S3 (even though they never actually resolved their first fight in the rain?) Hm. Sus.

Mike has Smalltown Boy on his (OFFICIAL) spotify playlist?? A song about "the need for gay men to flee small-town intolerance and pursue reinvention in the big city. " ???

Just a cute thing about Mike and Will beings friends since the first day of kindergarten (when they were 5 years old) and having the longest friendship out of everyone in the party.

Kind of iffy about this one but the song Tarzan Boy was playing at the roller rink (a song about being free and doing what you want) when Will, Mike, and El were at the table. (Probably not a lot of significance but still a thing).

From an outsiders perspective, Mike and El were not happy when they were skating at the rink together, from Will's perspective, they were super happy and laughing together while Will was left behind. This is shown when Angela walks into the rink with her friends, we see Mike and El from her pov and their faces are very stoic while they hold hands.

That's all I have for now, I've had these written in my notes for like 2 years lmao but please, if you've even gotten this far, let me know if anything looks inaccurate and I'll fix it:) and also feel free to add anything you've noticed as well! I'd love to see it.

#byler #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #byler analysis #<sort of

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

Trouble at Hellfire

maybe Reader and Arwen are going to see Eddie at Hellfire and you hear them (Eddie’s not in the room obviously because he would end them) talk about how annoying it is to have you constantly there (not Dustin though bc he’s an angel) & you’re already suffering with PostPartum Depression, so you go home and cry your eyes out, when Eddie gets home, you cry to him and he has a LONG chat with them and they all come over and apologize?

Warnings; angst to fluff, mentions of postpartum depression. Eddie being a sweetheart and an adorable girl dad.

Likes or reblogs are always appreciated. 💞

Repost as the tags are being a complete dick right now 🙄💞

I do not give anyone permission to copy my work.

💞💞

Having a baby was a wonderful thing, it brought her and Eddie even closer, and Arwen brought so much joy into their lives.

What no one told you about having a baby though was postpartum depression.

It's something that yn never thought of but when she started to suffer from mood swings, increased crying spells, anxiety and a feeling of hopelessness that she would never be a good mother.

She confided her feelings to Eddie and he let her cry it all out and then they went to the doctor who suggested therapy to talk it through.

It did take a little while and sometimes she had that feeling of not being a good mother but she had Eddie and all of her family and friends around her to help.

Today she was going to see Eddie at Hellfire like she did every week. He loved having Arwen there to listen to him and now that she was a bit older was fascinated by everything Eddie did.

She was a daddy's girl through and through, though she did love her cuddles with mama too.

Eddie was just finishing up work and then joining Hellfire. He should be here very soon, though he might go home to change, etc.

Yn thought he looked sexy as hell when he would come home in his mechanic uniform, slight grease stains on his body, hair in a bun and she told him so.

( and showed him too ;)

As she slips into Hellfire she pauses as she hears Mike's voice.

"It's so annoying having a baby around" Mike moans.

"No one else's partner comes here, El doesn't or Max or Suzie so why does yn get special privilege?" Mike asks and Jeff frowns.

"Yeah, having a baby crying can be annoying but what can we do?". Jeff shrugs.

"I like yn a lot and Arwen is sweet but come on! It's Hellfire Club, not a babysitting club? How can we do mega campaigns with a baby crying and Eddie gets distracted sometimes" her heart sinks even more as Gareth says this and she sighs.

She's pissed off but at the same time what they are saying is right and she feels tears pool down her cheeks.

Dustin bless him, the sweet angel glares at Gareth, Jeff and Mike and huffs.

"Shut the fuck up, none of you has kids or wives so you don't get to say what yn should be doing of not. She's one of my best friends and Arwen is my goddaughter! Enough!"

She smiles hearing Dustin stick up for her, even Lucas is nodding along with what Dustin is saying and Will.

But the words still stick in her mind and she drives home.

💞💞

Eddie is glad to be home, he just wants his two princesses by his side, to enjoy Hellfire and then spend time with his girls.

The minute he walks through the door he hears quiet sobbing and panics that maybe yn is having symptoms of postpartum depression again and rushes through to comfort his love.

"Sweetheart? What's wrong?" He asks her thinking that if anyone has upset her then he will kick their ass.

He's always been protective of his princess but he's even more so now.

Eddie listens to what Yn says, she won't name names but he is pissed. He came home from a shit day at work to his Princess crying and then trying to say it was nothing.

He knew her better than that and once he had greeted Arwen who was sleeping like an angel.

"There's my sweet girl, daddy missed you and your mama so much sweetheart" he kisses Arwen on the cheek and then settles beside yn.

"Princess, what happened?" That's when it cams out what the others at Hellfire said, she wouldn't name names just that he was probably sick of her and Arwen being there like some of the boys were.

"No! I love having you there princess and Arwen, it's one of the highlights of my week having my two princesses at Hellfire" she smiles softly and snuggles into him.

"What are your other highlights?" she asks him and he kisses her forehead.

"Coming home to you and Arwen every day, waking up with you in my arms in the morning" she melts and kisses him.

"I love you, Eddie, you big softie" he grins and cuddles her closer.

"I love you too beautiful, ooh I forgot about one last highlight! Homemade waffles on Sundays with my girls" she giggles and nods, of course.

"I think I'll still stay in if that's okay Eds?" She tells him and he nods sadly.

He understands but it doesn't stop the anger he feels at the boys. He kisses yn on the head and she smiles.

"Are you sure princess?" She nods and cuddles up on the couch.

"Yeah, just wanna spend time with Arwen, and headache" he nods and strokes her cheek softly.

"It isn't because of what some of those buttheads said is it?" she shakes her head and he relaxes.

"No, just a headache". She reassures him and he kisses her again.

Oh, he was going to give these assholes hell.

💞💞

Eddie enters Hellfire and the minute the boys see his dark look they stopped talking.

"Where's yn?" Dustin asks disappointed and Eddie glares at them, not at Dustin though he knows it wouldn't be him that made yn upset.

"She's not coming. I found her at home crying and she wouldn't tell me who but some of you upset her with what you said, she heard it all before she came in".

He looks around and notices that Jeff, Gareth and Mike look uncomfortable and he scowls.

Bingo!

"We didn't mean it, it's just sometimes it's annoying that none of our partners can come along but yn can and Arwen!". Mike says and Eddie loses it.

"She's my wife! Arwen is my little girl. Hellfire is important to me of course but nothing is more important than my girls, Yn has been struggling for a little while on and off, she's better now but she likes to be close right now and I'm not going to deny her that because you have a problem Wheeler!"

Gareth bites his lip.

"We are sorry man, we know yn and Arwen are important to you".

"The most important. I love them both so fucking much and I want them here. Do you know what it's like seeing yn look so proud during my campaigns? Arwen watching her daddy so enraptured. There's nothing like it man".

Mike looks contrite but still groans out.

"Yeah but when Arwen starts crying and you get distracted" Eddie rolls his eyes.

"She's my baby you dipshit, of course, I am going to comfort her and she's just little. Of course, she will cry sometimes".

They quiten looking abashed.

"Gather everything. We are going to do Hellfire at my house and you three are going to apologise"

Dustin is glaring at them.

"Told you Eddie would be pissed! And you gave yourselfs away!" Eddie ruffles his hair knowing Dustin would always stick up for his girls.

💞

Yn is surprised when Eddie comes home with the boys. Dustin and Will give her a big hug and Lucas too who asks if he and Max could babysit for them again.

"Of course, Arwen loves you two. I made muffins and m&m brownies would you all like some?"

Everyone grins happily and Gareth and Jeff step up and immediately apologise.

"We are really sorry about what we said earlier"

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier, that wasn't fair. We all love you and Arwen" his apology is sweet and sincere and she hugs them and gestures them both into the kitchen.

Eddie pushes Mike her way and he looks down.

"Yeah, I am sorry too. Was out of line" she accepts his apology and hugs him.

Arwen wakes from her nap and is very excited babbling away and yn cuddles her close breathing in that baby smell that is so lovely.

Then she sees her daddy and babbles even more making grabby hands at Eddie which makes her smile.

"There's my little angel. Hi, baby girl" he holds Arwen close and blows raspberries on her cheek which makes her giggle in delight and it's such a sweet sight.

Hellfire begins and she settles down with Arwen in her arms feeling a lot better and ready to watch her husband as The Dungeon Master which was always very sexy if she did say so herself.

💫💞

#eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson x wife!reader #dad eddie munson #mom reader

[catherinnn]

a little blurb to keep you entertained: Eddie and you help Mike out of a relationship crisis with El.

masterlist

"She knows I'm lying. She knows I'm lying" Mike starts repeating making his nervousness more obvious.

"But I don't understand. Why lying?" you ask trying to figure out how to help him.

Mike got himself into a big problem with El. She wanted to hang out with him today but he just said the first excuse that came to mind -a poor excuse, might I add-- and now he's in a bigger mess. That's why he came to you and Eddie for help. He had asked Lucas before but he thought his advices were only going to make the situation worse, giving how him and Max are constantly fighting. So he thought of the next couple he knew, and you two were a pretty good example. You rarely fight, at least not in front of the kids. And you are now in a three year long relationship, so you had to know a thing or two that could be useful in his case.

"Hopper. He threatened me" Mike answers you.

"He didn't threaten to kill him, he's overreacting" Lucas adds.

"You shut up" Mike quickly tells him.

"How did he threaten you?" Eddie asks. He didn't really want to help him at first. Said it was just kids stuff and they would just figure it out eventually or just forget about it. But you convinced him to at least listen to him, and now he seems interested.

"He said that if I don't do what he says, then he'll stop me from seeing El, like perminantly. He's absolutely crazy!"

"He's in deep shit now cause he handled it horribly" Lucas adds again.

"He's not wrong, you handled it awfully" Eddie agrees with him, to Mike's delight.

"What should I have said?! It was the first excuse I could think of!" Mike defends himself.

"Well, I mean, you could've just said the truth" Eddie responds.

"No, I think that would only worry El and she'd get into a big fight with Hopper" you say.

"Well, at least she wouldn't be fighting with him" Lucas murmurs but you hear him.

"No! He should care about her feelings too, and do what's best for her!" you correct him quickly.

"It's more convenient, trust me" Eddie jokes.

"Hey" you snap at him but he's quick to calm you.

"Kidding, sweetheart" he gives you a big smile and kisses your cheek, that immediately softens you.

"Could you stop flirting? I'm desperate here" Mike complains.

"Yeah, listen. I think the only way out of this mess is to explain yourself, without blaming it all on Hopper, that would only make her mad and she'd end up fighting with him" Eddie explains.

"Yeah, you're right. You should just tell her she should talk to her dad about having you over and how he feels with her being in a relationship. Parents can be hard on you when you get a boyfriend, especially at that age. So show her, you're on her side, trying to help her, and not here to make things worse" you tell him.

By the look on his face you can tell he's confused. It all seemed like too much of a problem for him, and it might be easier to just buy her a present like Lucas said. So he thanks you two for helping but he ends up making it worse.

On the other hand, they do end up back together, just like Eddie said, they figured it out eventually. But maybe this will help them to get to know each other better and in the end, knowing what the other might need in a tough situation like this, or at least on how to fix it when you fucked it up.

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson #mike wheeler #eleven stranger things

[uselessnbee]

i feel like Jonathan and Mike are a great representation of the whole "people care about mental health until you're showing your symptoms and they're ugly"

(apparently i'm really pissed so this turned into an angry rant)

the fandom hates them and talks about how their characters are ruined and how they miss the old version etc when they're both just traumatised boys who's been bottling up their emotions for so long and now they have to deal with the consequences

Jonathan has been both physically and mentally abused since he was a child, he had to help to raise his little brother, has to work while going to school because they need the money and then the whole thing with UD happened, he literally had to go casket shopping for his little brother while he thought his mother is slowly losing her mind jesus christ that is so much trauma and he doesn't have anyone he doesn't have any friends he only has Will but he's still the big brother and he won't "burden" his little brother who's dealing with so much shit already himself. and Nancy. he has Nancy. Nancy with whom he's distant now after moving to California. Argyle is literally his first and only friend. he never had anyone who he can vent to. who would listen and comfort him. who would help him deal with all the shit. he's been bottling up and burying his emotions down down and yet some of yall are hating him for the way it makes him act and he tries to cope with them

Mike had been bullied his whole life, he's lost Will so many times already, he's lost El, he's seen people die, he's seen what the UD shit can do to the poeple he loves and add to it all the internalised homophobia and all the shit god he's just a kid and already has so much trauma and his parents don't even know so he can't talk to them about it. he never talks about his own feelings. he just represses them he bottles them up he burries them deep down and won't let himself feel them. the only person he can talk to is Will. Will who he loses over and over again. Will who he's distant with right now and feels like he lost him yet again. Will who makes him feel the way the society tells him is fucking wrong and he can't talk to him about it. his mental health is so fucked up and makes him act like a jerk because that's what fucking depression does to you. the way depression makes you act is ugly. and yet some of yall are hating him for it. for being a kid who is trying to cope and survive while battling his own trauma and the demons it left him with

yes they are just fictional characters but there's a reason why some of us see ourselves in them. it's because they're relatable. the way they handle they're trauma and cope is relatable. and you would see that if you would watch the show with your eyes actually fucking open

#this went out if hand so i'm gonna delete it later #but for now i'm still pissed and i feel like some people need to see it #anyways #both jonathan and mike are just traumatised boys trying their best to cope and survive #and they don't deserve the hate they get #and i really hope they both find happiness like they fucking deserve thank you very much #until then i will protect them from yall with my own bare hands #jonathan byers #mike wheeler #mike wheeler protection squad #byler #blue's 'Mike's extreme defender' ramblings

[little-bumblebeeee]

hey! would you mind doing dustin x fem!reader...? about anything really, i just need more fics of him because i love him and i barely ever see any

phew, sorry, life got my ass before I could start this lmao. I got sick again but luckily my new house doesn't have nasty shit in the walls so let's hope this gets better 👍

Anyways, have some awkward teenage flirting and confessions with 641 words ♡

You only said yes when you were asked by a teacher if you wanted to sign up for camp Know-Where because you thought she said camp Nowhere, but next thing you knew you were on a bus full of nerds. Like, textbook nerds. The kids behind you just kept going on and on about science stuff and it gave you a headache. And when you turned around to tell them to shut up, you met Dustin.

Now you can't seem to shake him away from you, even a year later.

"C'mon, just sit in on this session to see if you like it!" Dustin says, trying to convince you to get into d&d for what seems like the millionth time in the span of this short year in which you've known each other.

"For the last time, I have better things to do, Dustin. Speaking of, you have a book report that you can't afford to get an F on if you wanna keep a good grade." You remind him, sticking a finger into his shoulder, watching red bloom in his cheeks as he rolls his eyes and walks past you into the drama room where Hellfire is held. Unfortunately, even though you prefer being alone, you don't like going places by yourself, so you have to jog to catch up with him.

You've never seen him like this before, his eyes wide and lips parted just barely as he listens so intently to Eddie's theatrical speech, you think not even a tornado passing through would shake him. You sit away from the table, watching as he yells and cheers, going through the most colorful range of emotions you've ever seen.

And when they win, who does he go to? Straight to you, taking you in his arms and squeezing tight. "So!?" He says over the yelling of his fellow Hellfire Club members, a big smile on his face. You just shake your head, letting the boy drag you outside along with Mike and Erica, the promise of his mom paying for pizza being what lures the other two, but it's Dustin that seems to capture your focus. He always seems to do that for you, doesn't he? Even in summer camp.

You've been to Dustin's house countless times, but none where him and Mike are arguing over a pizza and character sheets. The phone has rung about 4 times, his mom calling because Mike has to pack for California to see Will and El for spring break, but the boy just refused to pack on time. When he finally does leave, it's just you and Dustin.

Just you and Dustin.

You'd be lying if you said you weren't scared. Not of him, but of yourself. You get this terrible horrible feeling in your chest that you might say something stupid and mess this all up, but it seems like Dustin is one step ahead of you.

"Hey. Hypothetically, what would you say if I.. asked you to the movies this weekend. As a date." He asks you with a slight tilt of his head and a nervous smile. You can't believe your own ears. It's not like you're some science nerd or d&d fanatic like he is, so why you? You don't bother to ask, just grateful this is happening in the first place.

"Hypothetically.. I'd say yes." You reply, your shaky hand finding his own. You hate all this awkward eye contact but you can't seem to look away, not when his eyes seem bluer than normal– god, when did they get so blue?

"Cool.. cool. So.." He starts, trailing off as you nod.

"Yeah. Uh– sure." You say a little too quickly. You're both just laughing a little now, this is just too awkward to take seriously.

But now you've got a date this weekend. And you feel pretty damn good about it.

#This was a lil rushed I'm dying #But I got so damn excited for this request you don't even know #stranger things #gaten matarazzo #dustin henderson #dustin henderson x reader #x reader #stranger things x reader #x fem!reader #stranger things x fem!reader #Stranger things 4 #God I love writing awkwardness #Mike Erica and Eddie cameos #mike wheeler #erica sinclair #eddie munson #Hah #I give you fanfiction you give me nothing in return really I don't want anything in return I guess maybe just some nice words or even a lik #Idk

[queenofthearchipelago]

Look, listen, and then repeat after me:

You don't need to prove that Mike and El have a completely garbage relationship to "prove" that Mike and Will are gonna end up together.

Romantically, Mike and El have their problems. Personally, I think too many problems for them to fix healthily and move on from them. I feel they're better off as friends. And part of the reason that I, and many of you, feel that way is because they actually have a healthy foundation for a good friendship.

We don't need to diminish that Mike was the only one who helped El is season 1, when she was alone with no where to go. Yeah he was gonna turn her in at first, and yeah it was a massive plus that she could help him find Will. He still didn't turn on her after they found Will's dead body. He biked home alone, crying the entire way, and then continued sobbing into his mother's arms when he got to his house and yet the next time we see Mike, Eleven is on the ground in her fort right next to him.

He believed she wasn't the monster. He believed in her ability to do good and be good when she was scared of who she was and what she was capable of.

He cared for her well being, worried over whether she was over doing herself. He tried to teach her about the outside world, because there's so many awesome things out here and she didn't know about any of them.

When Billy nearly killed her, he picked up a pipe to bash his brains in, risking his own life in the process for her. They had other friends there, but Mike was the one with the presence of mind and the guts to do it.

He missed her when she was gone. He wants to be on good terms with her. He wants to talk things out when things go wrong. He wants to understand. He wants to be there for her. He wants her to allow him to believe in her. He wants to be a source of her strength when she needs him.

Do these things get jumbled up and weird in the context of their romance? Yes. I believe they do. But underneath that is, in fact, a healthy enough friendship that we dont need to be ripping apart every scene they have together.

At the end of season 4, El wasn't really talking to Mike. All she said was that she lost, that she'e never really lost before, and that Papa said this would happen. Yeah, maybe that's not saying much considering that Max died for a whole minute and also Mike confessed his love for her. It doesn't look good for the romance.

But for their friendship?

In a van containing her two brothers and Mike, she decided to tell Mike what happened. It was Mike she talked about Brenner to. Not Jonathan. Not Will.

Mike.

That's not nothing. All that guilt and suffering El must have been going through, and she still, on some level, despite whatever feelings what might have been having about Mike's love confession, still decided to talk to Mike about this little bit of what's bothering her.

When Mike and El figure all this out, they'll have a beautiful friendship. I think we can all agree on that. And in the meantime, we don't need to erase the incredible friendship they have now. A friendship where Mike still looks for her when she's gone. Still wants to understand her.

Maybe El doesn't reach out to Mike the way she used to. And there are ways in which we see that's a good thing. But in that hospital room, when Max was covered in casts and unconscious, El leaned on Mike. It doesn't have to be romantic. But she leaned on him. It's not nothing. She still finds comfort in him.

For Byler to be real, we don't have to go so hard to prove that nothing about Mike and El was real. They're very real. That foundation is still there. And it's good. And they'll figure it out one day.

#byler #stranger things #mike wheeler #eleven #i just think you guys really need to chill out with the ship wars #talking as if mike and el are just horrible for each other and nothing good ever happens between them #its weird my dudes #thoughtsfromthequeen

[rainbowmess823]

You absolutely cannot change my mind about this:

- Steve is the mom, Robin is the dad, Eddie and Nancy are the step parents, and Jonathan and Argyle are the really cool uncles.

- Steve definitely mothers everyone, there's curfew, there's a carpool scheduled, and, even if he doesn't admit it, he has definitely got into a shout match with a ref or another mom about his kid and another kid.

- Robin definitely fits the dad, she helps out with the kid's homework (especially languages classes), she has thrown one punch at a jock for picking on one of the kids tho she made them swear never to let anyone know that she punched someone for them, and her arsenal of dad jokes help.

- Eddie and Nancy both are step-in parents when the kids can't find either Steve or Robin, there's usually a threat of violence involved and the kids feeling extremely safe with the two tho both Steve and Robin scold all of them for it.

---

"No, Eddie! You can't say you'll summon Satan if they pick on Dustin."

"Nancy don't flash them your revolver please, I know they shoved Lucas but bullets wont solve this."

"THAT IS NOT WHAT WE RESORT TO WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT MAX AND HER WHEELCHAIR! NO PUT MY BAT DOWN!"

"I'm not mad but...when we agreed to talk I imagined the talking with less threat of bodily harm and more of 'Hey! that's my brother so back off or else.' But it works."

---

- Jonathan and Argyle are very much the chill, laid-back uncles for when the kids just want to vent or want to see a different kind of perspective.

- Steve and Eddie parent Dustin and they have Sunday morning put aside for sci-fi movies in their pajamas.

- Robin parents the Sinclairs who loves that they get Robin to themselves on Mondays bcos they get milkshakes and talk about easy stuff like how their week is so far or Robin teaching them new shit.

- Eddie and Robin share custody of Will with Jonathan and all four of them have a bi-weekly gossip session at a diner, they talk shit about ppl and judge jocks.

---

"He's so stupid but so cute."

"You are down baaaad, mini Byers."

"He was terrible in California, I wanna hit him."

"I'll hold him down and you can handle him."

"I like the way you think, Buckley."

"We have a deal, Byers."

"Remind me never to get on your bad sides."

"Please don't."

---

- Robin and Nancy parents Max and they have a day-in every Sunday morning where they play music and do their own thing, Nancy's working on her article, Robin is reading her other language book, and Max is playing tea party with Holly (who sneaks her way in every morning to play with her new big sister Max).

- Nancy and Jonathan parents Mike and it a more of a subtle parenting caring thing bcos all three of them are emotionally constipated, there's casual check-ins and subtle reassurances.

- Argyle and El are the communal uncle and child, respectively.

- The kids go to Argyle for advice about anything under the sun and loves his relax attitude on life.

- The teens love El and makes sure she gets a semi-normal childhood which mean cartoon Friday with Steve, learning new things with Robin, shopping with Nancy, listening to new music with Eddie, bedtime stories with Jonathan, and advice about what life can be with Argyle.

- Everyone is absolutely terrified of Jonathan and Robin that when being scolded the two are used as a threat.

---

"Mike you better be down here on time or I'll have Jonathan and Robin teach you about punctuality!"

"I said no, Henderson! I swear to God, I'll have Jon and Rob take you for the week instead."

"Usually I'd say "hell yeah, red!" But Jonny and Buck scare me as much as they scare you and they'll find out we did this so I'm gonna have to say no."

---

- Jonathan and Robin get along so well and together they can get so scary.

- When the entire party are hanging out together they get scared when both Jonathan and Robin being scolding them bcos it's scarier than Nancy and definitely scarier than the Updie Down.

---

"I told you it was a bad idea! We're gonna get I trouble!"

"Relaaax, Eddie wouldn't care, Nancy's always telling us to do it ourselves and Steve won't know."

"I don't think stealing booze from the cabin counts, Michael."

"Don't call me, Michael!"

"They can't say anything all three of them drank waaaay more at our age anyway."

"Dustin, you may have a point but that's not what I'm worried about."

"Will's right you guys. Robbie and Jonathan are here so maybe we shouldn't be doing this."

"We'll be fi--"

"What do you four think you're doing?"

"That better not be alcohol, mini dinguses."

"Shit."

----

Tadaaaaa? I just find it funny just how scary both Jonathan and Robin can be. Just imagine for a bit how scary those two can be together when any of the kids are theirs for the week. They'd be so chill but as soon as you do a wrong they can be so firm that none of the older teens would dare cross both of them. Anyway! Tadaaaa

#robin buckley #nancy wheeler #eddie munson #steve harrington #argyle #jonathan byers #the party #steddie #ronance #jargyle #max mayfield #el hopper byers #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things #mom steve #dad robin #family hc

[sexybabystevie]

MY FAVORITE STEVE & KIDS HC AT THE MOMENT: the kids coming to you (and steve) for relationship advice because even though they would never admit it out loud your relationship with steve is perfect to them so of course they want your opinion on their own love life 😭❤️

omg it's been so long that this has been in my inbox, i'm sorry! but i ADORE this!!!

they always pay a lot of attention to the two of you, and at first you think it's because they're not used to seeing the two of you together, or maybe that they're trying to pay extra close attention so that they have more things to tease steve about. it takes you a while to realize that, while they do ultimately like to give you both hell about how touchy and cheesy your relationship with steve is, they also have ulterior motives. endearing ulterior motives, it seems.

max and lucas come to you and steve separately after one of their many dramatic breakups, asking for advice on how to better communicate and listen to one another. this happens several times, and while it's almost amusing, you pitch the idea to steve that you should try to help them stabilize their relationship and so you try. thankfully, all it takes is a little patience and vulnerability, and the two are down from near weekly breakups to only an occasional argument.

the others seem to take notice of this, of the way that you somehow worked wonders for max and lucas's relationship, and so they're slowly but surely coming to the two of you, sometimes talking to the both of you at once.

dustin typically asks for advice on what to get suzie for her birthday or for how he should dress for their next date. however, after an incident of mismatched patterned shirt and pants, you came into the mix and made sure to give your little bits of input when you could. steve handled most things well, but you still wanted to make sure there were no other huge mishaps. dustin eventually starts going to you for some things, steve for others, and steve always gives you a mock pout of jealousy when he hears that dustin went to you for something and not him. it's all in good fun, though. in reality, it warms his heart to see that you're getting along so well with the kids.

as shy as el is, she comes to steve first about general knowledge about love in general. she knows a lot from what hopper and joyce and mike taught her, but she still sometimes doesn't truly understand things, so she tentatively asks him about it. you don't take it personal that she doesn't come to you often; she seems quite shy and reserved, and knowing how her childhood went has you completely understanding of why that would be the case. steve tells you one day that she says she admires you, thinks you're really pretty and funny but is hesitant to talk to you because she's still anxious about approaching others, and that is enough to make you smile. you try to approach her slowly, a smile here and there and a small conversation every once in a while, to try and show her that you reciprocate her compliments.

mike is an interesting story. he'll come to talk to you and steve at the same time, hiding his issues as random stories and complaints. the first time it happened, you were confused until steve told you that it was his way of getting things off his chest and showing that he trusted the two of you, whether he would admit it or not. so you always played along, almost gossiping with him so that he can have some peace of mind, and while mike could never admit it, he enjoys the way you match his sarcasm. it makes him feel a little more safe around you. (he still wonders how on earth you ended up with someone like steve, however. but even when he tells you that, the little smile at the edge of his lips tells you he isn't being genuine in his questioning).

will is the last to come to you. he's the only one to come to your first other than max, and you feel honored. he's shy and quiet like el, and while he continues to be that way the first time he comes to you, the times after that become more open. it's a little strange at first, because he seems timid and kind of scared, but just asks you on your opinion about whether you think d&d is a kids game or not. you have a sneaking suspicion someone said something rude to make him feel like maybe he's childish for liking what he does, and you're quick to reassure and defend him. he's then coming to you for just little things, such as talking about how his day went, and you slowly gain the understanding that he seems a little lonely. you try your best to help with that, including him in the group conversations and such. there's one night when he's talking to you alone in steve's kitchen after one of their sleepovers, and steve walks in and overhears a little bit of what's being said. you expect for will to freeze up and return to his timidity, but he doesn't. there's a moment of understanding, and you realize that he trusts steve too. it's a night like that, when he asks if he can come over to visit the two of you, that he says that he's different and sometimes he feels like he doesn't belong or isn't wanted, and without saying so many words, you both understand what he means. and so you do what you can, you both give him a hug, express your understanding of how he feels, and then steve suggests that the three of you go out for ice cream together.

#asks #dear anons #steve harrington #stranger things #steve harrington headcanons #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #em speaks #steve thoughts tm #momma steve

[hypezombies]

I'm sorry but why are people being called weirdos for being uncomfortable with the thought of Byler engaging in sexual activities? I'm not uncomfortable because they are both boys, I'm uncomfortable because they are FIFTEEN and I'm 21. Thinking of minors, as young as 15 too, doing sexual stuff grosses me out no matter what. It being with Lumax or Mlvn makes me equally as uncomfortable. Mind you the only one who actually already turned 15 is Will, the others are all still 14 too.

I DON'T CARE if teenagers are horny, I DON'T CARE if the show implies it, how is that suddenly supposed to change me being an adult and them being children? It's obviously going to make me uncomfortable, no matter who implies it, whether it's the show or a fan online, and no matter who it is implied about. Mike and Will, Mike and El, Lucas and Max, Dustin and Suzie, it doesn't matter. I just don't want to think about 14 yos like that.

You're okay with it cause it's realistic? Fine, but stop throwing around bullshit homophobia accusations. Same thing goes with the p3do accusations. STOP THROWING THESE WORDS AROUND LIKE IT'S NOTHING.

You're fine with implied or explicit sexual stuff? It's okay. You're uncomfortable with implied or explicit sexual stuff? IT'S STILL OKAY.

Stop fucking throwing names around and try to actually listen to people's reasoning. It's really not fucking hard

#i swear if i have to read one more time that its because of homophobia im gonna lose my shit #its really not hard to understand #byler #mike wheeler #will byers #byler tumblr

[idontbelieveyou-butthenagain-idc]

Debunking Byler Bullshit

A run down on why Bylers obviously haven't watched this series at all and are just parroting the rubbish that Bylers repeat to each other in their echo chamber of nonsense. Had they watched with their eyes open, volume turned on, and with working braincells, they wouldn't of played themselves (and continue to do so).

"Mike was jealous about the painting." and/or "Mike was awkward at the airport".

Bylers can not be serious?? None have had any human interaction in their lives?? It's called small talk!?

Mike: *Greets Will and asks about Will's interest/hobby*

Bylers: Okay so obviously Mike is in love with Will because there's no other way someone asks about their friends interest unless they're in love with them. If not Mike's an asshole. Also bad writing.

At this point it's beyond delusional. There was no indication that Mike even realised that the painting Will took to the airport was the same painting Will did for the girl El said. I mean why would he? Will can paint more than one thing at a time, and in Mike's mind why would Will be bringing the painting he made for his supposed girl crush into the airport? Even in the pizza van there's no indication that Mike realises that the painting Will's showed him is the same painting El mentioned in her letter, honestly Mike hasn't been shown to remember that part of El's letter at all (however it was shown he remembered some things from El from the letters: Hawkin's flowers for El).

They'd known why it was "awkward" had they bothered to listen because Mike and Will literally told us! Will and Mike hadn't spoken much to each other since the Byers left Hawkins, in fact Will said they'd only spoken "a few times" in the months past. They explicitly told us between the roller skating conversation and later on in Will's room, that Mike and Will felt their friendship had drifted apart hence the previous awkward-ness.

Mike wasn't jealous and he certainly wasn't an asshole either. In Bylers eyes anytime Mike doesn't validate their ship he's an asshole.

"El needing Mike to tell her he loves her was bad writing and ruined El"

Bylers gotta hang it up with: 'I didn't like it so it's bad writing'.

Firstly, we were told in S4 Vol 1 that Henry taught El her powers are strongest when she's angry/upset (negative), until she remembers her one happy memory of her mother telling her she loves her (positive).

Secondly, it tied up Mike and El's fight in the beginning of the volume, because she was struggling to feel a sense of belonging.

Mike telling her all that stuff (including the I love you) hits two birds with one stone. It circles back to her time in the labs, solidifying that Henry was wrong, El's power comes from love and happy/positive emotions. It also ties up El's issue in being insecure/ not belonging. After being arrested, kidnapped by her abuser, going through NINA, getting shot at, she had a lot of new information about herself and time to realise what she wanted for herself. Mike helps confront any residing insecurities, that she does have a place she belongs, and with that knowledge El uses that love (that Mike has for her and she has for Mike) as her strength and saves Max.

And why Mike and not Will or Jonathan?

El hasn't shared all that much screen time with either of them - Will and Jon don't have the kind of onscreen connection to El that Mike does.

Mike is literally her day 1. Mike and El meeting is what kicked the entire story into gear. Mike and El have a special bond that they share with no one else.

It's a show for entertainment, a big declaration of love during a dangerous situation is what romance is built on in TV.

"Mike's an asshole for saying his life started the day Will went missing"

First off, Mike didn't met El the day Will went missing so ??? Mike met El the night after Will disappeared. Also Mike wasn't wrong at all. Meeting El is literally when the life he knows now started, one filled with alternate dimensions, legit monsters, humans with powers, russian spies, and getting chased by the government. Bylers acting like Mike said, "I suddenly sprang into existence the second I met you and never liked anything or anyone before that. Also I hate Will."

Next, Bylers have got to stop acting like everything and everyone revolves around Will because it doesn't. Mike was literally helping El fight for her life and Max's, to then spin it around and be like, "oh but what about Will??" Yeah? What about him?! This ain't got shit to do with him.

Mike's an asshole for the "it's not my fault you don't like girls"

To start off, Mike has yet to realise Will is gay so he wasn't specifically saying it to target Will. Mike shouldn't of said it, but everyone has said something they regret in the heat of the moment. Will in fact did the same by insulting El, calling her a 'stupid girl'. Will and Mike both said things they shouldn't, yet Mike's the only one who gets hate despite the fact Mike was the only one of the two to actually apologise.

Funny how Bylers forget Mike's apology and Will's acceptance and conveniently wave off Will's own insensitive comment. Double standards much?

Mike only likes El because of her powers

Oh boy. When Mike first brought El home he had no idea she had powers, during vol 4 he was the one trying to create a plan so El wouldn't have to use her powers, and as Mike literally said: "I love with your powers and I love you without your powers". How can this be anymore clear, Mike spelt it out!

Mike calling El a superhero wasn't him loving her abilities, it was about who she is as person, someone who imbodies the traits of a superhero (eg, brave, fearless, determined, etc) Mike was clumsily trying to say her powers isn't what makes her a hero, she one no matter what. Obviously El misunderstood and Mike's declaration made her realise what he actually meant.

Finn hates Mileven and actually ships Byler

Finn Wolfhard said his favorite scene he shot for Stranger Things was the scene where Mike was trying to tell her he loves her:

Millie and Finn talking about how much they enjoy their characters being together for all these years:

Mike didn't actually mean the 'I love you' to El he just said that for her sake

Beyond the fact it would make Mike a total douche to say all that and then turn around and say: 'psych! Didn't mean it lol ✌️'. There's no indication that true considering that Mike tried to tell El he loves her before she piggybacked off Max, but was interrupted by Argyle. Had already declared his for her in vol 3 in the cabin, and tried to tell her in the grocery store. Even Lucas in S1 said Mike was in love with El! It's not 'sudden', 'random', or 'rushed'.

It would also make no sense narratively? Mike's love for El helped her save herself and Max, love overpowered Henry. The reason El saved herself was because Mike was being truthful and honest, that's why it worked! For Mike to suddenly say, "I was lying. It was meant for your step brother", would absolutely ruin the narrative message. Not to mention would legitimately make Mike into the asshole Bylers already think he is.

Lastly, the creators of Stranger Things, The Duffers, literally called Mileven 'star crossed lovers'. Finn and Millie have said many things supporting Mileven, including but not limited to:

"He's been in love with Eleven since the first season. Since he laid eyes on her." Finn Wolfhard, BravoTV, 2019

"Mike started season 1 leading the search for his missing best friend, Will Bylers. And he ended up finding someone else when he ran into Eleven. He fell in love with her." Finn Wolfhard, El Planeta Urbano, July 2022

"I don't see them really like, breaking up after they've gone through all this stuff". Finn Wolfhard, Entertainment Tonight, 2019

"She [El] loves Mike - I want them to get married. That's what I need. I need a wedding scene in Stranger Things. Period." Millie Bobby Brown, Glamour UK, 2020

"Mileven is real. I promise you that. Mike and Eleven? Ship it til the end 'cus it's happening." Millie Bobby Brown, Instagram Live, 2018

If the literal creators of the show and both cast members of the relationship say Mike is in love with El and El is in love with Mike, who the fuck do Bylers think they are to say otherwise?? Lmao jealousy really is a disease I guess. 🤷‍♂️

#Ive looked into my crystal ball and any byler who thinks they have a leg to stand on is in fact wrong ✌️ #stranger things #mike wheeler #el hopper #anti byler #mileven #stranger things spoilers #Idc anymore bylers make shit up then get mad in the mileven tag when their byler fanfic doesn't happen in the show #St discussions

[bylerspookie]

listen, I'm a gay Mike truther

but if they go the bi Mike route, I wouldn't mind at all, but if that's the case, I hope they play it out like this post:

actually, even the gay Mike route would be nice to unfold in this way- both of them feel guilty, they're in the same position, and then they finally communicate properly, and they're pleased to find out that they're not alone, and that maybe, if they don't feel anything for eachother, they're probably just not meant to be together

and maybe Eleven talks to him about Will and his painting, and there's a big realization moment for Mike, where he's like, "oh shit- I'm dumb" LMAOO

but that's one of my theories for the van scene

remember how oblivious he was?

and remember how Finn said that, "it would pay off" ?

well, the only way oblivious Mike would "pay off", now that I think of it, is if he wasn't actually oblivious and just too scared to come to terms with his feelings, or maybe his head was just running with thoughts about, "does this mean he likes me?" but he was just too scared to be wrong

but the thing is, Mike's character is literally set up as "totally oblivious" (according to Dustin) SINCE SEASON 1

so how would this pay off?

because as I said in this post:

Mike's expressions, movements, and even breathing are of someone who is understanding what Will is saying

how would a straight man, understand what a queer man is saying (but using the straight man's girlfriend as a cover) lmfao that makes no sense right?

but then again, Finn says Mike would be better off if he just opened his ears and listened

I think Mike has been too focused on himself being queer, and his internal struggles, that he hasn't even realized how obvious his friends struggles are

we see him in that last scene, before Will cries, he smiles (it looks fake for once) and nods, and then we see him look at the painting for like a full 2 minutes

just as Will said to Mike about El's letter, the painting isn't gonna magically change into the answer you're looking for, Mike

I think in this scene, despite Mike being an oblivious character, I think he was piecing things together (Mike's character is very good at that), and he was so focused on the millions of thoughts in his head that was he couldn't think straight and help his friend out, because he was genuinely having his own internal battle

what I would kill to see an unblurred version of his face when Will is crying, because we see him look directly at Will, like?

and then he looks back at the picture

he's thinking about something, clearly

because when Will says to Mike "El told me what to draw. She commissioned it, basically."

his smile drops

and listen, at this point, we know Mike doesn't love El

but it's still Will's painting, you'd think he would still be slightly happy?

but I think in this scene, he has a moment of realization, he remembered El's letter

or maybe he was like, "wait, why do I remember something else in El's letter?"

and he was just trying so hard to remember El's letter and peice together the full story

and maybe he did

maybe he didn't

but all I'm saying is, it looks like Mike is going through all emotions in the span of a few minutes

he's happy

he's neutral

he's confused (miketober flashbacks)

his breath hitches

he's happy again

he looks like he's in love

he's sad

he's confused and happy

he's trying to be happy?

I think this is what Finn meant when he said that scene was really hardest to film, because god, imagine how many different expressions he had to make? and how he had to act oblivious? and how the lighting had to be perfect? they said they used up a whole day to shoot just that one scene, like, hello???

anyway, but yeah, this is kinda messy and I'm kind've just rambling because like yeah but

lmao

#byler analysis #byler #byler is canon #byler is endgame #byler is real #byler nation #mike wheeler #mike wheeler is gay #stranger things #mike wheeler is a boy kisser #the babygirlification of mike wheeler #mike wheeler is babygirl #mike wheeler is queer #mike wheeler is in love with will byers #will byers is gay #will byers