#stranger things i ship you with

[rogue-durin-16]

MATCHUP FOR

@missy-mochi

Flaws: I'm really shy, nervous (I think i am hypersensible), naive and apologize too much. Sexuality: not sure myself. I'm 22. Defining traits: kind, gentle, supportive and goofy when i'm with my family and close friends, and I can't stop making gifts for them. It is very rare to see me sad or angry, especially angry. My family can't stop calling me "angel" because of my personality! Hobbies: I really like cooking, drawing, writing while listening music! (metal and celtic are my favorites!) Appearance: I'm 5'0 (or 1m53), a bit chubby. I am a chubby hobbit lol. I have short dark chocolate hair, with tiny silver strands due to my eternal stress. I have hazel eyes, freckles on the nose and I love wearing gothic/witchy outfits. MBTI: INFJ. Love language: I really love gifts, words affirmation and touch. Zodiac sign: aquarius. Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff. Insecurities: I am pretty insecure about myself in general, I am really scared to hurt people, to make mistakes all the time, and a bit about my body sometimes. I am just scared to be not good enough.

From Stranger Things I Ship You With:

Robin Buckley

Dynamic

Angel x Enchanted™

Quote

«Say my name, Sun shines through the rain. A whole life so lonely, and then you come and ease the pain.»

Okay I literally didn't make the rules with this one.

I pulled out my compatibility charts and saw that not only ENTP was the ideal matchup for INFJ, but also Aquarius and Sagittarius's chemistry is off the charts.

I can confirm both by personal experience too

Robin calling you angel (which she does very often mind you) will make you weak on the knees. Like, I'm just gonna beg you real quick to imagine Maya Hawke's voice saying 'angel'.

I'm 100% sure Robin Buckley suspected you were a witch for a good couple of months due to your looks.

She investigated it. I'm not kidding.

This leads to an ongoing joke between the two of you in the future. She says you put a spell on her.

Listen. Listen to me. She's currently restrained by society so she can't fully be herself but she has a corruption kink. No one fight me on this one, I know what I'm talking about.

Which means that you being the loveliest, most naive person in the entire world is for sure up her alley.

Robin can't cook for shit so you're a life saver for her. She is IN LOVE with your cookies.

This tall, lanky lesbian lives in a constant slouched state to mildly adapt to your height (which is impossible but the girl tries).

Definitely tilts your chin up when you're about to kiss.

You two can laugh until you're out of breath, but just when you're alone.

Steve is reticent at first. He fully believes you're a witch so Robin's "she put a spell on me" joke is not funny to him.

He also thinks you're too good to be true but Robin is completely smitten, so you best believe he'll be supportive.

I am a Robin Can't Draw truther, so she'd be in awe of your drawings and lose her mind if you ever sketch her.

This is the second Robin x artsy!reader matchup I write, I think she has a type.

Will make fun of you listening to metal but fall in love with Celtic music (same).

So random but she associates Eternal Flame by The Bangles with you and Steve will never lose an opportunity to call her a fucking sap for that.

You leave her breathless everytime she sees you. Genuinely doesn't understand what you got to be insecure about.

Will scold you for saying sorry too much but I feel like she can be a bit like that too around the people she crushes on anxious queen.

She understands your hypersensitivity on a spiritual level, so you best believe she'd be careful not to overwhelm you.

Not as much as she's in love with you duhhh.

#hello there are you my soulmate? #because I'm your local entp sagittarius (⁠☞⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)⁠☞ #robin buckley #stranger things i ship you with

[fairyrona]

i am not in the least sorry <3!!

#manifesting their friendship #demo-cows #they're on a farm #ofc i had the gays interact with cows #hope you enjoy the cows as much as robin and will !!!! #will byers #st5 #will byers fanart #robin buckley #robin buckley fanart #will and robin #do they have a name??? like friend ship name #wow friendship #stranger things #byler #<target audience #will byers s5 #robin buckley s5

[bethhiraeth]

fuck personality tests, who have you got set for your Netflix profile pic?

#if you still have netflix #their new password sharing thing is bullshit #for mine I have the beautiful #nancy wheeler #my beloved #tag who you have #wednesday #stranger things #(bonus points if you and your partner each have half of a ship) #byler #ronance #steddie #lumax #elmax #are top tier ones #netflix

[cuepickle]

I headcanon Steve as bi, for the meme I’ll allow it

#look I just believe in my heart of hearts that robin constantly calls Steve gay #but like not in a derogatory way #she’d call him pet names in a derogatory way #also if you hc Steve differently that’s cool man you do you it’s all love #my art #doodle of the day #stranger things #steve harrington #robin buckley #stranger things season 4 #sts4 #also attribute this drawing to any ship you like it’s all love it’s all LOVE homies

[transvampireboyfriend]

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6 - part 7 - part 8

"I'm just saying, if the heat bothers you so much, you could cut your hair" Nancy points out, after declining Eddie's pleas for her spare scrunchie.

Robin sits on Nancy's lap, clutching the back of Steve's seat and she looks at Steve through the side mirror like she's afraid that he's about to go on a mission to defend Eddie's honor or something but Steve rolls his eyes at her. He's not that gone.

Or at least he knows how to hide it well.

Eddie's lost several of Nancy's favorite hair accessories and two weeks ago she bowed to never lend him any ever again.

Which, does not stop Eddie from asking her anyway at least once a day.

But the point is, even if Steve wanted to, Eddie's honor cannot be defended in this situation.

Nancy's leaning behind Argyle's back now to glare at the metalhead. Steve can see them in the rearview mirror.

Eddie gasps "I would never" he says, clutching his chest dramatically.

Steve secretly breathes a sigh of relief.

Johnathan chuckles at the wheel. "But you could" he comments, eyes on the road.

Steve can see Argyle subtly laughing and shaking his head out of the corner of his eye.

Today is a rare occasion, Jonathan is driving them in Steve's car.

The goal of Steve's rant earlier about having to drive them everywhere was to get Eddie to drive them, so Steve could sit shotgun and watch Eddie drive.

Instead, Jonathan had offered first and then Steve couldn't go in the backseat because he's in charge of their map.

But whatever, this is fine too. He trusts Jonathan and it is nice to get a break and to be able to fully turn around when he's talking to someone in the backseat.

"Jon, I would lose all my sex appeal, you don't get it" Eddie answers, getting a box of Twinkies from one of the many bags they packed and placed on the floor of Steve's car.

"I get it" Argyle chimes in, watching Eddie pull out a Twinkie and shaking his head no when Eddie offers him one.

"You'd still be sexy with short hair" Robin comments from her seat on Nancy's lap.

Everyone turns to look at her.

"What?" she shrugs "I can say that"

Nancy chuckles into her shoulder.

Steve opens their map again to stop thinking about Eddie's 'sex appeal', even as the guy is excitedly munching on a Twinkie in the backseat of Steve's car.

He's got cream in the corner of his mouth and he clearly put more in his mouth than he can comfortably chew. He's leaning one elbow on Argyle's shoulder, his hand holding half a Twinkie, his other hand holds his mop of hair up in a high bun, causing his cut off tank to sit barely covering his nipples, his tattoos on display and his armpit hair fully visible.

Steve's fairly certain nobody else in this car would get it, but to him the sight is mouth watering. The guy is practically irresistible.

"I don't think i would've gone on even half the dates I've gone on if i didn't have my hair" Steve muses, for something to say and to add to Eddie's point, even though he agrees with Robin.

Almost everyone answers with agreeable noises, except Eddie and Robin.

Robin snorts and says "You are relentless"

While Eddie says "You don't get dates for your hair" at the same time. In a tone that suggests he thinks this is an obvious thing.

"I mean- it doesn't hurt" provides Nancy, she sends Steve an apologetic look but Steve waves her off. It's a compliment as far as he's concerned, he loves his hair.

Eddie finishes his treat and opens a new one while everyone else gives their opinions.

"For a lot of people, hair is a big part of attraction" Jonathan is saying, trying to seem like he's not speaking from experience.

"Especially hair as luscious as Steve's" Argyle agrees, leaning forward to lightly comb the side of Steve's hair, making him laugh.

"Thanks, man" Steve says overlapping Eddie's response.

"And I agree!" he exclaims "I'm saying he doesn't get dates because of his hair." Eddie goes on, waving his new Twinkie around for emphasis. "People throw themselves at Steve, and always will, but it's not because of his hair" he repeats.

Steve feels his cheeks heat up but still asks "Then why?"

"Well, because you're very pretty!" Eddie answers easily, like everyone should already know this.

Steve keeps his eyes carefully trained on the map, like he needs to study it meticulously, right this moment, while they're in the middle of a highway.

His cheeks are burning up and he can feel it spreading to his ears.

"And that's if they don't know you!" Eddie continues "If they do know you they know you're kind and brave and strong ...and generous and funny. Who wouldn't want all that in a date?" Eddie finshes.

Oh I don't know, you? Maybe? Do you? Steve thinks.

"Even bald, people would still go crazy for you" Eddie adds, his words slightly muffled towards the end as he shoves almost all of the new Twinkie in his mouth but apparently thinks better of it, biting all but a small piece.

"Here. You want the rest of this?" Eddie offers Steve, talking through his mouthful, and presenting the small piece with his ringed fingers, right in front of Steve's face.

Without thinking, Steve leans forward and takes it with his mouth, his lips burning where they touched Eddie's fingers.

As Eddie retrieves his hand Steve realizes what he just did and how quiet the car got.

He sends Robin a panicked look through the side mirror as Jonathan awkwardly clears his throat.

"Argyle's got nice hair" Robin tries.

The car immediately fills up with enthusiastic agreement and Steve slowly breathes out.

He can't bring himself to look at Eddie as he chews on his bite. He practically licked Eddie's fingers. Unprompted! The guy probably meant for Steve to grab the treat and then eat it. If he even accepted it at all!

Steve feels like an idiot and he frowns at the map again, willing himself to ignore the goosebumps in his arms and the tickling on his lips.

He doesn't see Eddie worriedly staring at him for the remaining of their conversation, until Nancy takes pity on him and offers up her spare scrunchie to distract him.

part 2

#if there's one thing you should know about them is this: they are sooooo dumb <3 #steddie #steveddie #steddie headcanon #stranger things #. #i hope the car configuration isn't too confusing here #also i didn't tag the other ships bc they're so minimal and I don't wanna clog those tags #also this could be platonic. or it could be polycule. you decide :) #i might have a part two but don't tell #also if this by some curse this is seen by someone who was there when i acted like Eddie is acting here SHUT UP #this is fictionalized and NOT YOUR BUSINESS #steddie lake fic

[hart269]

Chrissy : Eddie, I love you

Eddie : But I love Steve

Steve : But I love Nancy

Nancy : But I love Jonathan

Jonathan : But I love Argyle

.

Y/N turning to Robin : I love you

Robin : I love you too

#they queerbaited us all but jere we are #also i know some of these aren't ships but oh well #stranger things #stranger things incorrect quotes #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #stranger things x y/n #stranger things x gn reader #stranger things x you #chrissy stranger things #chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler x reader #jonathan byers #jonathan byers x reader #robin buckley #robin buckley x reader

[kazswift]

platonic relationships in media are actually so much more important to me than romantic ones. not sorry

#i just decided to open my mouth today #found families mean the WORLD to me #six of crows #tbh #the party #stranger things #EVERYONE IN > #THE DRAGON PRINCE #SHE RA #CARMEN SANDIEGO #across the spiderverse #???? like. #in every piece of media ever. #found families are my everything actually. if you care #i still like romantic ships OBVIOUSLY #(wont shut up about byler kanej rayllum etc) #BUT the platonic ones are what keep me interested and ultimately what make the media so special to me #OH AND ALSO!!! #HEARTSTOPPER #!!!!@ #HOW COULD I FORGET #radio silence #ofc.

[mimymomo]

In ‘Lucas on the Line,’ Lucas Sinclair experienced countless bouts of racism and micro aggressions including but not limited to:

Had children run away from him and refuse to touch him because they thought his Black skin color would rub off on them. This happened IN THE THIRD GRADE! And he never told his parents about it!

Calmed his anxiety about being the only Black kid in his homeroom class by coming to the realization that since there was no other Black kids that meant he most likely wouldn’t be bombed

Had to install a camera in his locker because his property got defaced by a glitter bomb

Lost his first and only black friend/mentor who supported him thanks to an ACTUAL MAKESHIFT BOMB being installed in his locker that caused a janitor to go to the hospital for 1st/2nd degree burns (and the white boy who did it barely got punished)

Got teased that the only reason he got on the basketball team was because he was Black

Comes to the realization that he might’ve actually only gotten in the team because the coach has a history of recruiting Black boys for the team regardless of their skill level

Gets called an Oreo (for uneducated: white on the inside, black on the outside) by racist bullies. Erica (who apparently has also been called this) sticks up for him and is the only one who understands what the insult means which means Mike and Dustin don’t know/understand the lengths of how deep the racism Lucas experiences in Hawkins on a daily bases

And these aren’t even all of them! These are just examples I had from the top of my head!

And despite all this happening in the book, “fans” have STILL FOUND A WAY to turn this book about Lucas and his struggles as a Black boy in a mostly white suburban town and his deteriorating relationship with Max and make it about Byler!

The fact that Lucas, one of the only characters of color on this show, can’t have ANYTHING to himself without people using him to push their ships is so aggravating!

He and Erica constantly get shit talked and miss characterized by fans, get excluded/cut out of group shots, and barely get any fanart/fics about them and their struggles compared to the white characters (I could make a whole new post about the terrible way this fandom treats Erica but I won’t do that here). Hell don’t forget that the fandom constantly tries to dispute the racism Lucas received in S2 from Billy was either not really racism, just a moment that Duffer Bros. put in to “ruin” Billy’s character and ultimately can be tossed out and ignored.

The only time I ever see Lucas get any large amount of attention is either due to 1) Lumax (but let’s be honest: 90% of the lumax tag on here isn’t even about them and has now become Elumax 2.0 and most post are people praising ElMax and then being like “oh Lucas/lumax is cute too” in the tags and that’s it). 2) people creating “parallels” of Lumax to their ship of choice (mostly Byler and Mileven) as a way to say that their ship is gonna be canon or 3) to say that he’s bisexual.

And all that is fine and whatever, ship and headcanon things to your hearts content, but if you only care about Lucas if he’s helping push you ship narrative or because you think he’s gay (to the point where some people actually read snippets of the book that talked about Lucas coming to the realization that Black boys like him can be considered attractive and only acknowledge the “queer” reading of the text and completely ignored the big race element that was the main focus), I’m sorry but, that’s not cool. The fact that 95% of the Lucas Sinclair tag isn’t about Lucas himself but white characters like Steve, Eddie, Byler says everything about how the fandom treats him.

I’m just so tired.

Lucas Sinclair deserves the same respect that the white characters get!

I leave you one of my favorite sections of the entire book: Lucas learning to become unabashedly himself:

Rant over.

Edit: in my blind rage I realized I forgot to edit out the Twitter handle. That’s completely my fault. Please don’t hate that Twitter user. I’m just coming back to fix that.

#stranger things #stranger things spoilers #lucas sinclair #lucas on the line #st season 4 #you know what? I AM gonna tag all the popular ships #if you clog the Lucas/lumax tags I’m gonna clog yours #Byler #steddie #mileven #steve harrington #eddie munson #will byers #mike wheeler #Lucas Sinclair deserves better #also stan lumax for clear skin

[yendts]

buckingham my beloved

#idc that they never met in canon you can pry this ship from my cold dead hands #i will make the pretty girls kiss #and give robin a girlfriend that’s actually good for her #it’s what she deserves #buckingham #robin x chrissy #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #chrissy stranger things #stranger things #st #st4 #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie

[plistommy]

#I get it, Joe

#I’d be giggiling too next to Joseph and Dacre #Not shipping them irl we all know they’re just good friends but I love how he gets with his pals #This is why metalsandwich with Steve in the middle matters bc you know damn well Joe wants it LMAO #Love that #This is honestly me admiring my friends too #They’re nice to look at #I get it Joe #I get it #LOL #joe keery #joseph quinn #dacre montgomery #billy hargrove #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things

[rogue-durin-16]

MATCHUP FOR:

@celie-voss

My name's Marie, I'm 26, my pronouns are she/her and I'm a bisexual ace.

My most defining trait is probably my humor, my sarcasm and the faces I make (mostly i don't even know I'm grimacing until someone reacts to the face I make). Also I always cary some sweets with me (my love language is food and cooking and I always try to provide some sweets for my friends.)

My flaws are mostly my mental issues. Some people say I'm smart aleck, I know a lot of stuff (unnecessary and nerdy things mostly) and am kinda verbal incontinent, so stuff just blurts out sometimes. I live in chaos, but I guess that because of my ADHD.

I'm kinda shy (you know why) and I seem very cold and unapproachable until you meet me, than I'm bubbly and like a excited Chihuahua. I love to gossip, mostly about royals (it's a family thing) and I love drama, eventhough had a lot of that in my own life.

I'm a infp-t and deep down, behind my sarcastic and sometimes cold appearance, a little romantic. I'm a pure Hufflepuff with some Slytherin traits (depends on my phases) and I love cars (old muscle cars) and animals (especially big and scary dogs, just want to pet these good Doggos) Oh, and I guess my driving style is one of my flaws, been called Panzerfahrer within my group of friends. But hey, no risk no fun, right? I mean I grew up with jackass soooo... S My taste in music is wide ranged, from classic music, metal and everything alternative, to rock'n'roll, rap and some medival bands. In my freetime I mostly watch movies or tv series, I always need some noise.

I'm chubby with midlenght hair, mostly dyed red or orange, I have some piercings, flesh tunnels in my ears and some tattoos. I love cozy and oversized shirts and sweaters, chucks and ripped jeans. My most recognizable features are my freckles and my always bright colored glasses.

My hobbies are reading and writing, singing (I used to play bass, ukulele, keyboard and tried to learn guitar), knotting bracelets, shooting (been in a sports shooting club and I own a bow), cooking and driving.

From Stranger Things I Ship You With:

Vickie

Ship Dynamic:

Choir Nerd x Band Geek™

Quote:

«All these people think love's for show but I would die for you in secret».

Duffers give my wife a surname challenge.

You kinda give off Robin vibes ngl.

Vickie thought you wanted to kill her at first and I'm 100% certain about this. You just looked mean

But also so pretty? Platonically of course because she's definitely not attracted to girls. Like, at all, but women are so pretty, specially you, you're so pretty—

You get introduced by Robin probably because 1)It Takes One To Know One and 2)she's in band with Vickie and in drama with you.

After talking like five minutes with you Vickie realizes two things; you're definitely the opposite of mean, and she definitely likes girls.

Your sarcasm and humor makes her dead ass snort. She gets loose with you and she's actually kinda brutal sometimes.

You encourage her to get a tattoo and she's anxious the whole way there, but for sure she'll get more because it was so fun.

She's definitely the one to ask you out. And then she literally dies.

Chaotic couple but like, love that for you.

You give off the vibe of two grandmas who have been married for DECADES.

You're so romantic around each other but like, hush, no one has to know.

You two could plan a successful, traceless murder together (Ravenclaw x Hufflepuff) and I don't even know how to explain this but that's some couple goals shit.

INFP x ENFP SUPREMACY.

She'll drag you anywhere with her. Maybe it's the grocery store, maybe it's Canada. You'll never know, she's just random like that.

Vickie gets super giddy when you cook for her. She definitely tries to help at some point and fails miserably.

Now she just sits by the kitchen counter and rambles to you about any gossip she got from band that day.

She sports the brightest smile while you introduce her to your plant babies (two plant moms here I'm telling you).

You two are The Helpers. Always willing to lend a hand. The both of you run to the gym after the "Earthquake" when you find out they organized a shelter/infirmary.

I'm talking SPRINT to your car. Lost no time in getting there (thanks to your... Driving style.)

Talking about driving style. This woman will smile like a maniac when you drive her around. Everyone's like "Vickie no, you're going to die" and she's just climbing into the passenger seat like 😃.

You taught Vickie how to knit and she gifted you the ugliest scarf you've ever seen. You love it.

Some people may not understand the way you live, it's so chaotic and hard to keep up with, but you and Vickie just Know How To Do It, so you're in constant tandem.

#vickie stranger things #stranger things i ship you with #stranger things matchup

[eddiezpaghetti]

Okay, so my experience with Stranger Things is a weird one.

I didn't care when it first came out, started to watch it out of "might as well" in 2020, wasn't interested in it enough to make it past S2, forgot about it outside of going "oh, hey, cool, there's a lesbian in it now, I guess," in S3, got really annoyed when "Running Up That Hill" got popular from it because it was a song I listened to on fucking loop after one of my best friends died in high school and I fully expected its appearance in the show to ignore the whole survivor's guilt theme of the song (and was very happy to learn later that it did the exact opposite of ignoring the lyrics), saw people drawing Eddie, suddenly got a lot more interested, watched just the fourth season like a fucking psychopath because I was seriously only there for Eddie, then got interested enough to start the show over properly, having mostly forgotten what I did watch of the show before.

And let me tell you something from the perspective of someone who started with the complete fourth season, who wasn't there from the start, who wasn't tainted by ship goggles or this internal battle of hope and despair, who wasn't theorizing about what the painting could be or expecting Mike and Will to kiss when Volume 2 happened or rooting for Mike and Eleven's relationship to go down in flames or whatever the fuck. Just someone who went blind into Season 4.

It's really fucking obvious that Will and Mike are gonna be endgame.

Like holy fuck. It's so fucking blatant I don't even know why people are nervous.

No sane fucking person would shoot this scene this way if they wanted the audience to care about El and Mike as a couple. Despite being all blurry in the background, Will's reaction to what's happening here is smackdab in the fucking middle, clearly showing that the important part is what's going through his head here. What he's feeling. It's like the opposite of that scene from Kingdom Hearts II where Sora and Riku reunite and Kairi just fucking vanishes into the aether while it's happening because, despite the fact that she was standing between them when the scene began, she doesn't matter to the scene, so she's just kind of gone when the camera angle changes. Will could have been behind one of their heads, or so far in the distance he blends in with the background, but he's not. He's so obvious that despite being massively blurred out, he's still the first goddamn thing you look at. What, you think that's an accident? You think he's in the middle of this dramatic fucking scene because of a mistake? He basically has a big flashing neon arrow pointing at him with "THIS IS THE POINT" being screamed through a megaphone.

And then this?

They're paired up like they're taking fucking prom pictures. Each one of these pairs is so fucking close to one another and so fucking far from everyone else. It's not, "Oh, they're standing vaguely near each other in a group shot," it's fucking Noah's Ark out here. Again, there's no way to take this as an accident. It's not just a framing issue. If they wanted to make the shot look balanced while still not hiding anyone else behind El, they would have scattered people around much more naturally. Even if they wanted to keep Nancy with Jonathan and Hopper with Joyce, there's so much room on that hill for three people to stand on El's left and three on her right. But they didn't do that. They put Mike and Will together on purpose in the most obvious way possible.

Like I get that coming up with crackpot theories is fun in and of itself and I'm not blaming anyone for having fun. I totally get the appeal of arguing a point and reaching for every stupid little thing to pull into it because it's like a game, okay? I've done that. But if you're trying to actually convince someone (whether it's someone who wants to believe or someone who's pissed at the very idea that Mike and Will could be in love), stay away from blue and yellow lights, stay away from costume design, stay away from the existence of closets in backgrounds. And don't worry about whether Mike's gay or bi when he's in love with Will either way. I'll give you a little tip about persuasion: You're only as strong as your weakest argument. Even if you've got strong stuff in there, too, the person you're trying to convince is going to dismiss anything you say as complete insanity the second you start going on an entire tangent about the shape of a character's fucking pocket.

Sometimes, clothes are just clothes. Sometimes, there's a closet in the background because it helps establish that a character is in a bedroom. Sometimes, blue and yellow are just a couple of colors that look nice together. And sure, it might be set designers and costume designers and cinematographers smirking and winking at the audience from behind the camera. But if the show was just those things, instead of those things in the context of everything else, they wouldn't be saying anything of note.

But this?

This tells a story all on its own. Someone with no context can look at this and automatically assume that each paired person is standing with someone they care about deeply, seeking comfort as they watch some sort of disaster unfold. And yeah, romantic couples usually come in twos, and we live in an amatonormative society, so that's going to be the first association anyone makes seeing a bunch of people paired off.

It's the same reason you look at this

And go, "Oh..."

"Those two are probably a couple."

And I genuinely don't understand how people could have watched S4 Vol. 2 and gotten scared. Because as someone who went in with no investment whatsoever, I just looked at these two--

--and went, "Oh, those two are a couple. Good for them." And I moved on. Shut up about the trees for five seconds and just see the forest for what it is.

Oh, and if you're still nervous? Little thing from a storyteller here: You don't leave a hanging thread like "Will confessed his romantic feelings for Mike by projecting them onto El, but Mike either didn't understand or at least didn't say he understood," without coming back to that later. That's Chekov's gun hanging on the wall, babes. It's gonna fire at some point. If Mike was going to reject Will's feelings, if they weren't relevant, they would have had that discussion in Argyle's van. There'd be no reason to leave you in suspense.

#byler #meta #stranger things #theory #I mean I fucking guess #in the same way gravity is a fuckin' theory. #It feels silly that I even have to say this honestly. #Watching people freak out over these two feels like I'm being pranked. #Like you guys aren't pulling a Goncharov are you? Just making believe there's any chance these two aren't gonna be endgame? #Like completely ironically? And I'm too autistic to catch it? #It genuinely feels like I'm explaining that red and blue make purple here. As if you guys should have learned this in kindergarten. #Or like watching whole-ass adults watch Cinderella for the first time and being on the edge of their seat #wondering if she's going to live happily ever after with the prince or not. #It feels like I'm talking DOWN to people and I don't WANT it to feel like that but it's so obvious and I don't want people to be like #anxious for no reason you know? #Like I get that we're all scarred from queerbaiting and I know you guys are biased from years of shipping these kids. #But like. These guys? The most obvious 'there's only one way this could go' couple I've ever seen? You're scared about THEM?

[emblazons]

So I already pointed out that the Aerith "No Promises to Keep" song was emulating The Greatest Showman for the performance and high affection!Clerith aspect (likely because Loren Allred sings both)—

but what I didn't realize until I watched the TGS scene is that they pulled both romance options from it...only the high affection!Cloti scene handhold was inspired by Zac Efron & Zendaya's characters.

...honestly I'm not surprised, just amused they used so much from one place. This feels like finding all the parallels to Game of Thrones shots in FFXVI lmaooo

#there is no ship commentary going on here! I just love that you can CLEARLY see where inspo was drawn with games same as TV/film #also imagine thinking I spent 2 years doing parallel analysis for stranger things & it would stop when I moved to other fandoms on main LOL #clerith #cloti #cloud strife #tifa lockhart #aerith gainsborough #ffvii #ffvii analysis #ffvii spoilers #final fantasy #the me tag

[findafight]

Smh y'all keep forgetting Robin and Steve are weirdos who have minimal boundaries about sharing with each other

#steve harrington #robin buckley #stobin #steddie #i ship it but sometimes yall get on my nerves about forgetting steve would tell robin about things before eddie #stop!!! forgetting robin!!! #stranger things #finda's rambles #tbh its mostly when its like. steve and eddie are dating and he doesn't tell robin right away like what are you talking about #he would have told her the moment he got a date. he might not tell her WHO to not out him but hed tell her he was dating someone

[gtgmurdersomeone]

Forget how many times Joyce says "WILL" in s1, let's talk about how many times mike says "WILL ARE YOU OKAY" or "WILLLL" in s1 and s2

(OMG THIS GIF SHUT UPPP)

#byler is endgame #anti mileven #anti milkvan #byler endgame #byler is canon #byler tumblr #mike wheeler is gay #mike x will #stranger things #byler #i will go down with this ship #WILLLLL #mike is a masive boy liker #we can see you mike #mike atleast TRY to hide it

[robynrocksforbrains]

Mike Wheeler is important and there's nothing wrong with analyzing him

Since y'all wanna be insufferable bitches about it I'm gonna explain to you why he's important, why Will loves him, why his struggles should be acknowledged, and why his character depth is pivotal to byler endgame being a satisfying conclusion for both Mike AND Will. Deal with it!

We are not seeing smoke where there isn't a flame. We are seeing smoke where there is a literal fucking forest fire.

Starting off with something a lot of people aren't ready for but I've seen more people talking about: Mike is the main character of s1 at the very least. He is the character that brings us into the world of stranger things. He is the character that the writers chose for this. Mike is the main character of s1 and it was an instant hit. The writers love Mike. Contrary to popular belief, giving a character an arc where they are struggling and their behavior changes from what is normal for the character we know and love does NOT mean the writers hate that character. It means they deliberately chose to give that character complexity and depth. Your inability to like characters that do anything wrong ever is not the fault of the writers. Your decision to act as if a character is not important is not reflective of the actual narrative because it in fact is in direct opposition to the narrative. So just to be clear, if you genuinely believe that Mike isn't important, or that the writers hate him, or don't care about him, or that his story "takes away" from any other character's - ESPECIALLY WILL'S - you are simply wrong.

In s1 and s2 Mike is established as an extremely caring person. He's loving, loyal, brave, intelligent, and trying his best. He is also established to be hot headed, someone who speaks without thinking quite often, someone who is capable of hurting his friends despite that being the last thing he wants to do. He is all of these things and more. He is a human. He is a kid. So in s3, when suddenly he is entirely different, it is completely logical to assume that there is a reason for that. He did not just wake up one day and decide he wanted to be an asshole, push Will away, make his friends feel abandoned, and echo the same sentiments their bullies held. Something is happening with him. He has so much going on in his head and it is painfully obvious. He's holding something in, he's hiding from everyone and from himself. We see glimpses of what he's trying to hide after Will calls him out on his behavior. Will gets through to him. Mike is usually unresponsive to tough love, except for when it's coming from Will. After their fight, it is obvious that he's trying to be better. But he still doesn't wanna face certain things, and he doesn't know how to navigate that. Because he's 13 years old.

There is a reason for all of that internal conflict. There is a reason it comes pouring out of him at certain times. He's crumbling. He is quite literally falling apart because he's holding on to too much. It's not a stretch to assume that, it just takes basic media literacy. Why would the writers have Mike act this way if he was just supposed to be a one dimensional character? Why would Finn be directed to portray Mike the way he does if there was nothing more going on? There are times where Mike looks like he's in physical pain because of his internal conflict. There is a reason for that. And acknowledging that DOES NOT mean people are taking away from Will. That's the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. Do y'all seriously not understand that more than one character can have emotionally complex storylines? Genuinely asking, is this a new concept for you?

Will's love for Mike

Will is head over heels in love with Mike. That is very much established. So when you're dismissing the emotional depth of Mike's individual arc because you think acknowledging it "takes away from Will" you are actually diminishing the significance of a huge aspect of Will's emotional arc. By taking away the significance of Mike, you take away from the significance of Will.

Let's do a quick recap of the very significant role Mike has played in Will's entire life:

Mike is Will's first friend.

They have grown up together and it can be assumed that they've reached important milestones together.

Mike has always been a safe person for Will. He's been a constant in Will's very chaotic and unfair life. Until the summer of '85, Mike had always been something good in Will's life. (That's not to say he is no longer something good, but it can be assumed that the summer of '85 is the first time Mike has been a causal factor in Will's unhappiness)

When Will went missing, Mike did not hesitate to search for him. It wasn't even a question of if. The moment he knew Will was missing he knew exactly what he'd be doing that night. He spearheaded the search amongst the party. He was the leader.

When Will came back, Mike was the only person that didn't treat him like he was gonna break. He cared for him, and he was there for him, but he didn't treat him differently; Will tells us as much. Which means we can infer that the way Mike was with Will in s2 - how gentle and loving he was - was nothing new. He had just always been like that.

When Will was possessed, Mike stayed by his side. Even when it was scary, even when it could've gotten him killed, he stayed. Because once again, for him, it wasn't even a question. That's just where he knew he needed to be. He was in the shed when they were trying to get through to Will. He was set apart from Lucas and Dustin, but he also wasn't equated to family. And his retelling of the story of the day they first met was the final push Will needed to find a way to communicate.

After a year of things being "weird" between them, Mike tells Will that he didn't deserve to be treated the way he had been. Mike tells him that he wants them to be okay again, and for the rest of the season he puts in the work.

Things get rough in s3, and at the beginning of s4, and despite all of that, Will confesses his love (albeit veiled). In a moment where Mike is feeling awful about himself, he tells him that he loves him and needs him, and he tells him why. And to him it doesn't matter that he's breaking his own heart to do it, because it's Mike. Mike, who makes him feel like he's not a mistake at all, and that he's better for being different. For Will, there was no other option. The person he loves was hurting and he knew how to help, and so he did.

Mike is the first person Will tells about Vecna still being alive. Because they're back to being a team. He knows he can trust Mike, and Mike seems to be very determined to prove him right.

SO.

These are all real and canon aspects of Mike's presence in Will's life. Will falling in love with Mike isn't something that just happened for no reason. Will fell in love with Mike because of who Mike is. When you acknowledge that, and when you acknowledge the reasons they've set out for why Will loves him - the reasons Will literally told us - you can better understand Will. But when you dismiss all of these things about Mike, you are dismissing a large portion of Will's emotional and romantic arc. You aren't being a Will Warrior. You are erasing so much of him and his feelings and his lived experience. That is not the hill you wanna die on.

Will loves a person. Not a feeling. Yes, he says that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake and that he's better for being different. But that's not why he loves him. He feels that way because he loves him.

Mike is a fully fleshed out character with his own feelings and struggles and fears and traumas and motivations. He's not a plot device. He's not just an accessory to Will's arc. He's not a character that was written only to be Will's love interest. He's Will's love interest because he's Mike.

If Mike didn't matter, and if Mike didn't play a significant role in byler, then they would be able to write in a love interest for Will in s5 and have it be somewhat satisfying. But they can't do that. Will's love for Mike has so much depth because Mike has so much depth. It is genuinely crazy that this has to be stated and that I have to back up this claim because it is simply a canon fact.

So yes, the rain fight affects Mike's character development and his involvement in it is important. Yes, the van scene literally could not exist without Mike and therefore his involvement in it is incredibly important. Yes, every single byler moment has an impact on Mike, and Mike has an impact on it because they are BYLER moments. Yes, Mike will have a lot of significant moments - with Will AND on his own - in s5 because his arc deserves and needs as much attention as Will's in order to execute byler endgame in a satisfying way.

No, none of these facts negate Will's importance or take away from his story. If anything, they add to it because Mike and Will's arcs are corresponding and intertwined.

Mike's struggles

To name a few

Dysfunctional family

Has been bullied his entire life

Extreme self worth issues

Inferiority complex

Hero complex

Lack of self preservation

Suicidal ideation (has been on display since SEASON ONE)

Internalized homophobia

To get this out of the way: Mike's internalized homophobia is allowed to be discussed. Discussion of it is not the dismissal of Will's internalized homophobia. Surprise surprise, two queer kids in the 80s have internalized homophobia! Who'd'a thunk it?! Their internalized homophobia presents in different ways but it is there for both of them. I personally relate to the way Mike's is portrayed way more than I relate to Will's. So why is it that we can't discuss it without being accused of erasing Will's experience? Or without people saying that we're "copy and pasting" Will's story? Because quite frankly, that feels dismissive of my - and likely many others' - real and lived experience. So please for the love of all things that are good just stop with this talking point because it will never hold up.

Moving on

I'm not gonna do a full breakdown of all of Mike's issues. Because contrary to popular belief, there are a lot. And that would be exhausting and I'd get carried away and it's not the point of this post. The point of this post is to defend the acknowledgement and mere existence of them.

If you're a byler that for some reason thinks Mike only exists to be Will's love interest and his trophy as compensation for his trauma, let me ask you this: Have you considered how awful it would be to have a queer character's individuality and emotional depth completely ignored for the sake of focusing on the queer character that "really matters"?

If Mike's own issues, with his queer identity and otherwise, aren't thoroughly explored... What's the point of all this? If Mike really is insignificant in this storyline and his individuality has no effect on it.. where's the emotional payoff? If his perspective doesn't matter... Why have the writers gone to such great lengths to ensure we don't have that piece of the puzzle yet?

Analyzing Mike and understanding Mike is very important to understanding byler. Once again, I think it's crazy that this needs to be said.

I also think it's important to note that characters can have similar struggles. There's no rule against that. Just like real life. Characters having similar struggles is not a bad thing, and acknowledging that their struggles are similar is not dismissive of either character. We're talking about STRANGER THINGS. Jonathan and Nancy's thing is "we've got shared trauma". They have literal matching scars. Shared experiences are some of the main building blocks for this show's romances. Byler has a TON of shared experience, basically their entire lives. We already know that. So wouldn't it be so beautiful for them to learn that they've been struggling with the same thing this whole time? That the entire time they felt alone in what they were going through when really they had each other and they never even knew it? Wouldn't it be so beautiful for Mike's acceptance of Will and Will's love for him was also a step toward accepting himself? Wouldn't it be beautiful for Will to learn that his love makes Mike feel like he's not a mistake? None of that would be in the realm of possibility if Mike didn't have emotional depth and if his individuality wasn't important.

And that leads me to my concluding point...

A satisfying execution of byler endgame hinges on Mike's individual emotional arc being handled well

God I hope this isn't controversial to say. I sincerely hope most people haven't forgotten that.

Here's a hypothetical:

Imagine season five has been released. You're watching it, and you notice that Mike has been relegated to just a supporting character for Will. We don't get any of his perspective. We don't get any explanation for his s3 and early s4 behavior. His breakup with El doesn't have any real tangible effect on him, it's really just used for El's character development. We never see him pining for Will like we saw Will pining for him. And then suddenly Mike is learning about the painting and then suddenly he's confessing his love and then suddenly byler is canon and official.

Now wouldn't that just be awful? Wouldn't that be unfair to the audience, to Mike, and to Will? For us to never learn just how much Mike had to go through to even be able to say it out loud? For Mike to never get the chance to prove to himself through word and action that he is the heart? For Will to never get an explanation for why things did get so "weird" between them? It would leave us with one big, nagging question: What was the point of everything Mike has said and done throughout the entire show if his conclusion is that lackluster?

Disregarding Mike for a moment (I know that's incredibly ironic given what the entire point of this is but just bear with me) - how would that be a satisfying conclusion for Will? I mean, Will's s4 arc was basically dedicated to showcasing his struggle with his sexuality and with his love for Mike. We were shown just how deep that love is. We were shown how patient, unselfish, unwavering, and beautiful that love is. So how would it be satisfying for Mike's love for him to not be shown with just as much depth? How would it be satisfying for Mike to just be a one dimensional character whose s5 arc is essentially "break up with girlfriend, wait to find out best friend is in love with him, say he loves him back, then they live happily ever after"? I think Will deserves for his love to be returned with the same intensity at which he gives it. And I think it should be clear to the audience and to Will himself.

Back to Mike!

Mike has been through so much shit. I don't think anyone that is denying that actually believes he hasn't been through shit. Because you'd actually have to watch the show on mute and with your eyes closed to think this kid hasn't had just the worst time. It's so ignorant to act as if this stuff hasn't affected him. There's stuff we've seen but there's stuff we also haven't seen. There are issues he has that date back to his childhood pre-canon. Just like Will, Mike has been a queer kid growing up in 80s smalltown conservative america. Acknowledging the pain he 100% carries because of that is so important. His perspective has been withheld from us, not because it's unimportant, but because it's the final puzzle piece. If we had Mike's perspective in s4, byler wouldn't be a "will they won't they" (even though we all know they will). If we got his perspective in s4, byler would be a "100% certain without a doubt they will". But the thing about his perspective is that it's so much more than just loving Will. It's fear. It's pain. It's insecurity. It's doubt. It's the belief that his happiness just doesn't matter all that much. All of that has to be explored. All of that has to be laid out in the open for us in order for byler endgame to feel earned. Mike's emotional payoff will lead to byler's emotional payoff.

Mike has known he loves Will. In s5 we will see him make a deliberate and active effort to overcome the things keeping him from doing something about it. And then he will do something about it.

And so when it finally happens. When both Mike and Will finally know that their feelings are requited, and when their arcs end with us knowing that they will face whatever life has in store for them together, that will feel earned. That will feel like the logical conclusion for both of them. Not just for Mike. Not just for Will. For both.

And Mike is just as important to that conclusion as Will is.

And one last thing...

Some people are going to talk about Mike more. Some people are going to talk about Will more. Because newsflash, people have preferences. Some people just relate to Mike more, or they find his emotional arc extremely compelling, or they just like him. It isn't an attack on Will or any other character. No one is saying Mike is more important than any other character (I'm sure there are people that say that but they are a vocal minority and they are simply wrong). We are just saying that he is important. If you wanna engage in media analysis, please understand that "main character" or "central character" does not mean "only important character" and "only character that should be analyzed". If you wanna talk about Will and only Will, that's fine. But you don't get to act like people that talk about other characters are doing a disservice to your fave, because that's not how any of this works.

#mike defenders i need you to back me up on this #i hope my points come across well #anyway #the way people have been talking about mike lately is so infuriating #its called BYLER analysis because its the analysis of BYLER the ship involving will AND mike #st fandom consistently proving that they have absolutely no idea how fandom works #its almost like people wanna talk about things they care about and you dont get to tell them to shut up #if you dont wanna see people talking about mike you can just mute tags about him #but if you dont wanna talk about mike youre missing a huge part of the byler puzzle and thats your loss #please just let people discuss whatever they want to discuss as long as its not ACTUALLY harmful #sometimes i think y'all are allergic to fun #byler #mike wheeler #mike wheeler analysis #will byers #< this is about him too #byler analysis #byler endgame #stranger things