#were always meant to fall in love with el and Jonathan

[jancysmixtape]

Jancy + Mileven parallels. <3

#stranger things #stranger things season 4 #mileven and jancy parallels #mileven #Jancy #jonathan byers #Nancy wheeler #el hopper #mike wheeler #this cannot be a coincidence #their storylines match up every season #they were both planned before the show was made #Mike and Nancy #were always meant to fall in love with el and Jonathan #they are endgame #jancy is endgame #jancy supremacy #mileven endgame

[twoelectrichearts]

The way that Mike talks about El screams idolization to me. Do I think he loves her? Yes. I do think he cares about her. Do I think he’s IN love with her. No. If he actually was in love with her, I feel like he’d talk about traits and qualities of hers that he loves that are beyond just her powers. Like how Jonathan and Nancy explained why they love each other. They were actual meaningful traits and qualities. I don’t know what Mike loves about El beyond her powers.

This is literally the first thing that comes out of his mouth regarding El last season. Like, yes, that’s an amazing thing that she did, Mike. Can you also mention something else, though? What else do you like about her? What else do you admire about her?

It’s clear that Mike struggles with low self esteem and doesn’t view himself in a positive light. He doesn’t see his own self worth. To Mike, he’s unimportant. He’s a nobody. He’s nothing except a nerd, a loser, a freak who’s been bullied his entire life. He has El on this extremely high pedestal and feels like he can’t measure up to how incredible and amazing she is, because she’s a superhero. That’s what he continues to focus on. It’s not El’s fault that he feels this way either. She’s never talked about how amazing she is because she has powers. She’s never made it seem like she’s above anyone or better than anyone due to her powers. If anything, she’s talked about how she feels like a monster because she’s different. She feels like she doesn’t belong anywhere. She even voices that to Mike.

El cries to Mike, doubting that he loves her anymore because he never says it. He can’t even write it. And what does Mike tell her in response to that? Does he tell her that he loves her? It’d be the perfect time to say it if he does. She’s crying and could use some clarity and reassurance. But no, he doesn’t tell her that he loves her. Instead he tells her this. And of course brings up how she’s a superhero…

Even when he finally voices that he loves her, it falls flat to me and feels off. As the audience, we know that Mike’s initial reaction to finding El in the woods was not love at first sight. He wanted to get her back to wherever she came from and continue to search for Will. So yeah, that’s not true. Maybe he forgot what he was genuinely feeling in that moment? It’s either that or he’s knowingly lying to her. And then when he explains why he loves her… when we finally get to hear the reasons why…

BAM! Again… it all circles back to her being a superhero. He loves her for exactly who she is… a superhero who can fly and move mountains and… yeah… the momentum died when Mike brought up that. El’s reaction to that didn’t look positive either. I just felt so awkward and uncomfortable and confused watching this monologue. Seeing Will’s reaction and having him in frame didn’t help at all. Let’s not forget he basically had to push Mike to not stop and continue talking to El by reminding him that he was the heart. Why’d they choose to do that? All it did was make my heart break even more for Will. Especially after watching him give Mike the meaningful painting he made for him and the beautiful monologue where he disguised his feelings as El’s.

If they wanted me to root for M*leven, they could’ve easily had El say this to Mike. El loves Mike, right? She says that she loves him. I don’t exactly know why though. She’s never voiced why to Mike or to anyone else. I can’t solely blame Mike as the reason why I don’t ship M*leven when I don’t know why El is in love with Mike either. This could’ve been why, but no, the writers chose to not only make Will in love with Mike, but that he feels better for being different and loving him. All his life he was made to believe that he was a mistake for being different, but Mike makes him feel the complete opposite. He also mentions how El (he) is always going to need him. He says this to Mike, someone who wants and needs to be needed. You know what Will said meant the absolute world to Mike. It was exactly the kind of thing he needed to hear. How the hell do you top this?? Why would they choose to do this? Why make Will in love with Mike? Why make him have this type of love for Mike? The type of love Mike needs and wants? Why not have El feel this way about Mike and say this to him instead of Will? Throughout season 4 Mike and El just seemed to make each other feel bad and insecure pretty much the entire time. Not on purpose or knowingly, though. I don’t believe that they want or mean to make each other feel that way. They’re just not good for each other relationship wise. At least not from what I’ve seen so far. I have no idea how they’re gonna turn it around in the final season. Also, they’re just gonna throw away Will’s love for Mike? They used Will’s love for Mike to fix M*leven’s relationship then? And Will gets what? Nothing? No love for the gay character who’s unconditionally in love with his best friend? He should just be happy that his friends and family accept him for who he is? Because we know they will. That’s not going to be shocking. What would be shocking is if they didn’t. I don’t think that’s the type of twist the writers would want to do. That’d be beyond horrible. So yes, Will should just be happy and thankful that his family and friends don’t hate him for being gay. He doesn’t need love like everyone else. We don’t need to see the only gay character experience love and a relationship. Or maybe we will with some random, last second, half assed love interest. Oooo yay! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

#byler #will byers #noah schnapp #mike wheeler #finn wolfhard #stranger things #anti mileven

[inklessletter]

The Pause

I am going to introduce you to this dynamic, that I would very much like you to consider: The Pause.

Karen taught Nancy about The Pause when she was ten because she suspected Nancy was going through a hard time at school. The Pause was half a little game, half a trust promise. The rules were simple: The Pause would start when they lifted both feet from the ground. When they did that, Karen explained, time stopped for them to take out of their chests whatever was bugging them, and as long as the game was going on, they could say anything (even swearing!) to feel better, and after The Pause finished (when their feet were on the ground again), whatever they said during that time will not ever be approached again. No judgment, no hard felings. Just release.

Nancy had The Pause present during all her life, because speaking her mind wasn't always easy. She would learn soon enough that speaking up wasn't the hard part; getting heard was.

Anyway, she found herself spreading The Pause. She used it with Mike once or twice. During those moments, Nancy recalled, it was when they got along better. Sad thing they never talked about it later.

Mike had taught The Pause to Lucas, who eventually, taught it to Max in an attempt to talk to her when she was at her worst.

Nancy used it with Steve after their first encounter with the demogorgon, and it was, by far, the one who was most affected by The Pause. She had been at Steve's a few times by then. She knew he didn't have anyone to talk to about his feelings, or what he had gone through, so she taught him The Pause.

That was when Steve fell in love with her.

Then she taught The Pause to Jonathan in Murray's place, and that's when they both learned about their true feelings.

Later on, he would use The Pause with Will, who, a few years later, taught it to El.

Steve taught The Pause to several people, though. The first time he used it, it was before the Snow Ball. He wasn't expecting Claudia mentioning his dad, and everything went downhill from that. They sat in the bed before doing his hair, and they talked about shitty dads, and unrequited crushes with the same girl.

That was the second time Steve fell in love using The Pause.

The next summer, in camp, right before confessing to Suzie, Dustin used The Pause, which gave him strength to do so. Suzie found it cute enough to actually give him his first kiss.

When they first started working in Family Video, Steve learned that maybe Nancy's legacy was the best thing he got from her. He sat on the counter a lazy day and told Robin about The Pause when he saw her weirded than normal, and she obliged and told about her identity issues. She also mentioned that the weirdest thing about that is the fact that she was starting to believe that Steve Harrington was his platonic soulmate, and she was afraid to tell him because he might break her heart if he didn't feel the same.

That was the third time.

Steve taught The Pause once more, to Eddie. They sat on his kitchen countertop, and there was a whole space between them, when Eddie told that he couldn't believe that he actually was ready to die, and he didn't know what to do with that now that he didn't. Eddie told him that he was scared that he'd gave up his place in the world, and now the world wouldn't give his spot back. Eddie told him that he was as afraid to leave as he was to stay in Hawkins, because he was starting to believe that he was falling in love with this hot jackass that was making him using a communication system that implied that they were not going to talk about it anymore in the future.

Steve broke The Pause to walk the space between them and kiss him, because those feelings were not meant to be approached just once in theit life. He needed them to be real, so he could say Steve that he loved him for the rest of his life.

That was the fourth, and the last time he fell in love using The Pause.

Funny thing is, The Pause was now a secret dynamic that everyone in the group knew, but Nancy wasn't aware by that, until The Pause came back to her.

And it came from Robin.

Robin taught Nancy The Pause when they run accidentally into each other a random night in a park, in late 1986. Robin knew something was wrong with her, so she took her to the swings and asked her to lift her feet from the ground. Then, Robin explained Nancy The Pause rules, who listened attentively, not fully believing what was happening. She considered to come clean and tell Robin that she knew about The Pause, that her mom taught her when she was a kid, but she left that unsaid. Instead, Nancy talked about how she felt that her relationship with Jonathan was going nowhere, and she was afraid that they were making each other miserable. She also told Robin about that she might have developed feelings towards another person. Towards a girl. Robin told her that she liked girls, too. Nancy told Robin that she was scared about that part of herself. Robin said that she got it, but it wasn't that scary once you surrounded yourself with the right people.

They held hands there.

That was the first time Nancy fell in love using The Pause.

#stranger things #stobin #steddie #ronance #the pause #inklessletter #ficlet #fic #fanfic

[lucassinclaer]

jancy + 18 ❤️

okay so first off this was so goddamn fun!! tysm for sending this! second, this isn't proof read and i hope it actually fits, adkfjhadf

send me a things you said prompt

18. things you said when you were scared

There’s this thing Jonathan does when he looks at Nancy. She likes to think of it as the photographer's eye. Sometimes people don’t say what they’re really thinking. But you capture the right moment, it says more. Ever since they'd entered each other's orbit he hadn’t needed a camera to make her feel that seen. It's just him and that uncanny observance he has, laying her bare with a look. 

When things are fine it’s a triumph, a string he plucks that makes something in her chest sing. But it's the thing that undoes her when it gets worse.  

It’s what gives him the ability to leave her speechless in the woods. It’s what coils around her heart like barbed wire when she’s scared. It’s what makes her cry into his chest. Or it’s what makes her lash out when she isn’t ready for it. 

The quick burning anger in her resents it with an acidic meanness. “I never would have thought you were a coward,” she tells him as her thoughts clamor to justify the words as they tumble out of her mouth. Because she can’t stand that gaze, needs to disarm him like he disarms her. She just wants him to feel this same helplessness. Loving Jonathan has always meant this excruciating vulnerability. Cost and reward in one. 

It works. The repentance of him turns in a complicated twist of his features. “My mom, my siblings—they need me, Nancy! And I couldn’t risk you giving up your dreams for me, but I can’t just leave them.” 

She scoffs. The answer of a martyr. A better person than her who's never let leaving Mike or Holly behind stop her from pursuing her ambitions. 

But there’s a different kind of fury in her, too. Less sudden, less prone to pass in a few minutes when she'll regret what she's saying. Something different. 

“What about your dreams?” she asks. 

He looks like she slapped him. Actually taken aback. Like this time she's the one who might have exposed him. It’s hard not to find a kind of sickening satisfaction in that. 

“What?” 

“What about,” she repeats slowly, feeling control come back to her, “your dreams? You used to talk about NYU. All the time.” He says nothing. Somehow, it unfurls more of that simmering rage. “You think I don’t know you, Jonathan? You think that I don’t know that no matter what, Emerson or California, you were already giving up?”  

He stares at her, then looks away and she wants to scream for him to face her but the wave of fury she'd felt had broken over her head and everything else was dragging behind in its wake.  

“It was a stupid kid's dream,” he says and Nancy’s heart breaks. He’s never looked young to her before. Most times he reflected her own age, sometimes he'd look older than he should be. Never like this.  

Like a boy who's afraid. Scared out of his mind. Of leaving behind his family for something to befall them. Of not succeeding. Of being left behind. Of falling into a pattern he can’t escape, dragging everybody with him. 

Silence stretches between them and he shrinks in on himself more and more. 

“Jonathan.” She longs to reach out and twist her hands into his shirt to pull him close, but it's not the time. They can do that later and she can wrap her arms around him and card a hand through his hair and mourn for the little boy who felt he needed to leave his hopes behind for other people. “I don’t want you to sacrifice everything for me either. And neither does your mom. Or Will. Or El.” 

The anger has passed over her and left the wreckage of fear that must inevitably be faced. “Can we just start there?” 

#stranger things #jancy #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #i hope i actually transferred what i wanted to express onto the page #also gOD jancy and vulnerability i will be taking a twenty hour walk #again tysm this was so good to write for me #*mine #*fics #*ficlets

[thebrokengate]

Film and the Infamous Love Triangle: A Breakdown On the Love Triangles of Stranger Things

Stranger Things 4 seems to be the season of love triangles, doesn’t it? We have two big ones this season, so let’s talk about them! Tonight, I would like to cover with you the most common patterns of love triangles that I’ve seen used in film, include an example of each to show how Stranger Things will likely follow them with the El/Mike/Will love triangle and Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle, explain how both triangles differ from each other, and tell you which couples, according to these patterns, will most likely be endgame. I will also include and explain the category of “outliers” and why they don’t apply to either of these love triangles. P.S. dear readers, this breakdown of love triangles is meant to provide hope for both Byler and Jancy shippers, so if you are a M*lev*n or St*ncy shipper (censoring so these ships don’t cross your tags) who happened to stumble across this and don’t want to lose hope in your ship, this is your cue to continue scrolling. Now, without further ado, let’s begin!

First things first, let’s talk about the El/Mike/Will love triangle, which is one of the most commonly used forms of love triangles I’ve seen in film (if you’re a Jancy shipper who is uninterested in Byler or this particular love triangle and are just here for Jancy and the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle, skip to the next paragraph). This is the type of love triangle where the character in the middle is either already with or is predominantly interested in one character of the love triangle while also having underlying feelings for the other character in the love triangle at the same time. This type of love triangle is repeated a few times in Stranger Things (once already in season 1 with Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan where Nancy was in a relationship with Steve while also forming feelings for Jonathan throughout the course of the season which also continues into season 2, and another time with Hopper, Joyce, and Bob in season 2 where Joyce is romantically involved with Bob but she also has underlying feelings for Hopper that remain unaddressed in that season). Mike is currently in a relationship with El, but over the course of season 4, we see a build-up of feelings between Mike and Will which were already brewing just below the surface. You are meant to notice this, not only in their actions towards each other and what they say, but also in the narrative structure itself where Mike and Will are separated from El and share several heart-to-hearts over the course of the season which shows the audience their chemistry and how Will gives Mike the kind of love and reassurance that he needs, as well as how Mike makes Will feel better about himself and gives him the courage to continue fighting through each and every day no matter what challenges he faces. This doesn’t always happen, but I believe the Duffers and team decided to include a solo build-up like this without El being present to make Mike and Will’s romantic feelings more obvious to the general heteronormative-minded audience who would otherwise see their relationship as coming out of nowhere. I believe they also wanted to highlight the downfall of Mike and El’s relationship, why they don’t work, and show Mike’s insecurities that Will knows how to provide reassurance for. The El/Mike/Will love triangle places a greater focus on Will’s pain and constantly puts him in the background of M*lev*n scenes as a subconscious method of making you, the viewer, root for his happiness. The one time he’s nowhere to be seen is in Mike and El’s fight in episode 3 before she is arrested, and this is where we see their major fall and their true colors in this relationship to show the audience why they don’t work - because they don’t have a good understanding of each other and each other’s needs. This is also the kind of love triangle, as priorly mentioned, where Mike and El are already in a relationship whereas Will has never been given that chance. For a love triangle to be introduced at this stage in the show where Mike and El’s relationship was already pre-established and is just now showing its major cracks, it is most likely that Mike will end up with Will in season 5, especially because he hasn’t been given a romantic chance yet and because of how Will’s pain over loving Mike is depicted. An out-of-show example that is very similar would be the Bill/Bev/Ben love triangle from IT. In IT, Bev is already more romantically attached to Bill than Ben, while underlying romantic tension goes unaddressed by Bev and Ben until Chapter Two. In the IT: Chapter Two remake (on top of Ben’s pining that we already saw in Chapter One; think of Chapter One pining Ben as being similar to season 3 pining Will - there, but not quite as ramped up as it is in season 4/Chapter Two), we are shown multiple scenes of Ben’s pain in relation to his love for Bev - a flashback shot of his younger self crying as he walks away from Bill and Bev who are sitting together and talking in the field, another flashback where Pennywise torments Ben by shapeshifting into Bev, rejecting him, calling him names, and chasing him, and another scene where (as adults) Bev tries to remember some of her past in Derry which includes the poem Ben had put in her backpack years ago which she mistakenly believes was from Bill, the heartbreak on Ben’s face evident when Bill receives the credit for the poem instead. Bev cherished the poem because it made her feel loved, much like how Mike cherishes the painting because it made him feel loved - but both are mistaken in who the painting/poem truly comes from, Bev believing the poem came from Bill while Mike believes Will’s lie that the painting was commissioned by El. In IT, the poem served as Chekhov’s gun - the necessary trigger in the narrative that made Bev realize she loves Ben once she made the connection that it was him who had given it to her all those years ago, just the same as the painting in season 4 will be once Mike realizes that it and the feelings Will expressed in the van are not El’s but Will’s, because as the principle of Chekhov’s gun states, “every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed”. Mike still doesn’t know that the painting and those feelings are Will’s, therefore the principle of Chekhov’s gun is not yet complete. This type of love triangle, when set up in this manner, most often ends with the character in the middle falling for the character going through the most pain over said love triangle, and this is true of the Bill/Bev/Ben love triangle where Ben and Bev are endgame. Therefore, it is also very plausible that Mike and Will are going to be the endgame couple once all plot points in their love triangle are resolved.

Moving on, we now come to the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle. Just like the last paragraph, if you’re not interested in this one, skip to the next paragraph. I think the outliers will interest you regardless. So, the return of this love triangle, huh? Jancy shippers, how are we feeling? Here we thought this triangle was over in season 2, but the Duffers came back with their clubs swinging, didn’t they? Well, not to worry. I’m here to help you solve love triangle number two. From what I’ve seen in film, this kind of love triangle is a little more uncommon, but not completely unused. This is the style of love triangle where the character in the middle has given a romantic chance to both sides of the triangle in the past - Steve in season 1 and the beginning of season 2, Jonathan in season 2 to present. This gives the character in the middle a mixed bag of feelings between the two sides of the love triangle. The answer isn’t as clear from a narrative standpoint who the character in the middle will choose because both have been given a romantic chance so the character in the middle is left to weigh out the two options and what is best for them. So let’s talk about why Steve and Nancy don’t work together. Steve’s desires for his future conflicts with Nancy’s. As it stands right now, Steve has expressed that he wants to settle down with a wife and a family of six kids. But on the other hand, Nancy doesn’t want that life. How do I know? In season 1, she and Jonathan talk about her nuclear family, how her parents married not for love but because Ted had a good job, money, and came from a good family, so they bought a nice house and started their own family. Jonathan replies, “screw that”, to which she agrees, “screw that”. When Steve talks about his desires for his future and how Nancy is the one who was always a part of that picture, she doesn’t appear happy about that. Going off of Natalia’s microexpressions, she instead portrays Nancy to seem sad.. because she doesn’t want the same life that Steve does. She admires how Steve has changed and grown and without Jonathan she was lonely, but that’s about it as it stands right now. In these types of love triangles, this is often the case, where the character in the middle is lonely and misunderstandings ensue. An example of this would be the love triangle between Will/Elizabeth/Jack in Pirates of the Caribbean. In the second film, Dead Man’s Chest, Will and Elizabeth are arrested on their wedding day for setting Jack free when he was previously to be hanged for piracy at the end of the first movie. Lord Beckett, the leader of the East India Trading Company, however, offers to pardon Will if he brings Jack to him, to which he agrees and tells Elizabeth his plans, promising to free her as well. But in the meantime while he’s gone, she frees herself and goes off in search of him. While Will does Jack’s bidding of finding the key to the chest that holds the heart of Davy Jones (who lords over the sea), Elizabeth finds herself on the island of Tortuga where she finds Jack. Like Nancy, Elizabeth started to feel lonely and vulnerable without Will. And like Steve, Jack took more of a romantic interest in Elizabeth. Also in the same way that Nancy admires Steve’s growth, Elizabeth admired Jack and she thought of him as a good man. By the end of the movie, Elizabeth kisses Jack into a trap in betrayal, knowing the Kraken (a creature which does the bidding of Davy Jones) wants him and not the ship, but Will unfortunately sees this. Elizabeth doesn’t explain her motives here, however, until later, and they marry as they were meant to at the beginning of Dead Man’s Chest. Now, this is only one example, but it is commonplace in this type of love triangle for the character in the middle to have their heart set and be invested more in one side of the love triangle than the other regardless of the fact that both have had a romantic chance. The side they are more interested in is typically the character they were originally with at the beginning of the triangle (in this case season 4 which started with Nancy being with Jonathan, because their previous love triangle from seasons 1-2 was already ended and canceled out when Nancy chose Jonathan then, before we’ve now moved into this second type of love triangle), whose life plans don’t conflict with the character in the middle’s own life plans. Therefore, it’s most likely that Nancy will stay with Jonathan, and they will resolve their current struggles as a couple before they’re set for endgame.

Moving into our final segment, I want to cover the “outlier” love triangles. These are the alternate setups of love triangles that don’t work narratively in the scenarios we’ve been given for the El/Mike/Will and Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangles. This is going to be a quickfire runthrough of debunking the other options I’ve found in five bullet points and why they don’t work now or yet.

One side of the triangle is eliminated by death, proven unworthy, or steps aside so the character in the middle can be happy - No one in either love triangle is dead as of yet, and given the Duffers’ unwillingness to kill a main character, I have my doubts that any of them will die. Even still, I can almost completely rule out death for anyone in the El/Mike/Will love triangle because the Duffers have stated that killing someone (per their example of Mike) would be too sad and that they’re “not Game of Thrones”. David Harbour also once said that Stranger Things would have a beautiful end, and the death of a party member, interlinked with the idea that it would be “too sad”, would not fit with a beautiful end. No one has yet been explicitly stated as being an unworthy partner by either Nancy or Mike who are the centerpieces of their respective love triangles. Neither Steve nor Jonathan has stepped aside. Will has, but only for the time-being because of the painting which serves as Chekhov’s gun (explained in the paragraph about the El/Mike/Will love triangle). Mike still doesn’t know of Will’s feelings or that the painting was from him and not commissioned by El, and as the Duffers said, Mike “doesn’t fully understand” what Will is trying to say. This plotline will be carried over into the final season, as will the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle because both triangles have only just “taken steps” toward their endgames.

No one gets what they want - Quite a bit to unpack with this one, but I’ll try to keep it short. With this one, you have to think about each character individually, what they want, and what they need to know. As priorly stated, Steve and Nancy’s ideas for their futures clash. Nancy also needs to know that Jonathan was lying about college, so they can decide whether or not they can work this out as a couple. Jonathan wants to be there for his family, and is afraid of ending up just like his dad. Also, does Nancy still want to be in a relationship or move on alone? At the end of season 4, Nancy still is happy to see Jonathan and still appears to be in love with him, so I can be almost certain they will work out their problems together. In the El/Mike/Will love triangle, we have to ask this: Are each characters’ needs being met? Are the characters happy where they are? Have they made peace with it? Does Mike feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with El and does he feel loved? Does El feel confident in her relationship with Mike and loved for who she is as a person? Has Will moved forward alone and happy? Nope. Given the way things were left off for this particular love triangle at the end of the season, the dynamics between the three characters is still rocky, so things have not been solved where every character is content. That is to be seen in season 5, according to the Duffers who have said that we’ll know by the end who ends up with who and there will be no loose ends, and once again, in David Harbour’s beautiful ending.

A fourth character is brought in as a third option - Plain and simple, the Duffers said they’re not adding any new characters so they can focus on the ones they already have.

The three characters become a “One True Threesome” - This is extremely rare in media. In fact, I can’t even think of one movie or show or even a book for that matter where I’ve seen this happen. A possibility? Sure. But a very low possibility. And for at least one of these triangles, namely the El/Mike/Will love triangle, that won’t fix the current major problems of Mike and El’s relationship as it stands right now where Mike idolizes El’s powers instead of loving her as a complete person, lying that goes on between the two that’s become very common in their relationship, their lack of proper communication, their lack of a mutual understanding of each other, not seeing each other as equals, and the facades they put on around each other instead of being their true selves in one another’s presence while dating.

The unrequited “love angle” triangle - This is more in line with what happened in the Dustin/Max/Lucas “triangle” in season 2, and I use “triangle” lightly because we were shown that Max never had romantic feelings for Dustin. Body language, presentation, and time spent are all important when determining whether the middle character has/had unrequited feelings for one member of the triangle, or even just unfinished business. Where Max and Lucas were given heart-to-hearts and time spent together outside of the triangle or group setting for long periods of time, Dustin and Max were not, and her body language towards him always read as platonic. In the end, of course, she and Lucas became a couple, ending the triangle. While hurt at first, Dustin was able to quickly move on, and this triangle has never resurfaced since. This is the opposite for the El/Mike/Will love triangle. Mike and Will were given several heart-to-hearts in season 4, neither’s body language reading as purely platonic but as romantic in many instances, romantic tropes such as the interrupted conversations trope and moments where they were startled out of staring at each other were used, and Will’s feelings were always what calmed and reassured Mike every step of the way because he always knew just what to say to curve his insecurities. As it stands right now, Mike displays feelings of inferiority to El and feels unneeded by her. In part of the cut-out script, Mike even says to Will that he saw in her eyes that she didn’t need him (to back up his claims, I even felt that vibe from her as she was being driven off in the police cruiser the first time I watched it way before that script even came out, so he’s not wrong - and in the end of the season she’s pulling away from him still). Meanwhile, masking his feelings, Will admits to Mike that he is the one who would always need him (needing him because he loves and wants him for who he is). So Will is very much an option and becoming a very very likely choice next season for these multiple reasons, especially considering the principle of Chekhov’s gun with the painting that hasn’t fulfilled its purpose because Mike still doesn’t know about Will’s lie. As far as the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan love triangle goes here, given the way things ended in season 4, unrequited love currently appears to be in the cards for Steve - and also given my previous paragraph on them and why Steve and Nancy wouldn’t work as a couple.

So there you have it, friends! Three days of work completed on the most common types of love triangles in film and how Stranger Things is using them. I don’t longpost very often at all, and probably won’t again for a good few months, so in YouTuber fashion, I humbly ask your support: if you liked this breakdown and want to read more from me in the future, please like and reblog this post and I’ll make more! Thank you so much for reading, and I really hope this post helped. :)

#byler #byler analysis #jancy

[hopelessromanfic]

GLADIOLUS

A Willel ficlet

It’s late one night when El comes into Will’s room after a nightmare, it’s routine by now after a few years of living together as siblings. She’s laying in his bed, the warm light from his bedside lamp illuminating the room in a soft glow.

He doesn’t shut it off, he knows it helps her just as it does him.

The room is silent as he waits for her to speak first, if she wants to. He is no stranger to silent nights following nightmares, taking comfort only in the others presence. A sign that they are still here, that they won the war waged against them from the midst of their childhood, despite how it bled into their adolescence.

She runs a trembling finger across her wrist, her breath shakes with each inhale.

“I wish it would wash away.” Her voice shakes too, her words bitter to hear, he’s sure they’re even bitter to the taste.

His eyes land on the two black marks on her wrist, just an inch south of her palm. A cruel reminder of all she’s been through, a sick mark of trauma that has just barely faded with time.

“I hate it.” Her voice is softer now, her eyes drifting from her wrist to meet his. “I hate it, Will.”

He understands. He understands in the same way Jonathan understands, how Max understands, Nancy and Dustin.

Physical marks left on them. His scar on his hip from his possession, Nancy and Jonathan’s scars on their palms from cutting them to lure the Demogorgon, Max’s loss of vision and the slow of her mobility, Dustin’s limp from his leg never healing quite right.

The scars fade over time, sure, but hurt like an open wound at the slightest glance. They serve as a reminder of what was taken from them, stolen from their tiny grips like they ever stood a chance. Cruelty branded, a permanent mark everlasting on their bodies. On their minds.

His eyes drop to her wrist, his hand cupping hers gently as he runs a finger along the dark marks on her pale skin.

“Maybe, when you’re eighteen, you can get it covered up.” He says, looking up to see her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her head is cocked to the side.

“Covered up? I can do that?” She looks down at her wrist, her eyes a little brighter now. “With more tattoos?”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.” He traces along the numbers again. “Would you?”

She smiles, a gentle yet genuine smile pulling at her cheeks. She nods. “But what would it be?”

“Anything you want.” Will adjusts in the bed, his blanket falling completely into his lap and pooling around his legs. “Something you find meaningful or, if you want, just something you think looks nice. Something you like.”

She thinks for a moment, silence stretching on as she stares at the mark on her skin. Her smile only widens as the seconds tick by. He knows that look, the sparkle in her eye shining iridescent in the low lighting of his bedroom.

“A flower?” El glanced up at him. “I like flowers.”

“Hold on.” He smiles, getting up from the bed and making his way over to his bookshelf. He searches for a moment, producing an old cloth-bound hardcover book, the golden accents shimmering in the dim lighting of his lamp, the title ‘The Language and Poetry Of Flowers’ glittering. “Did you know flowers can have meaning? Like, symbolization of different things.”

“Really?” His sister perks up then, craning her neck to see the book as he flips over the cover and carefully leafed through the pages. His eyes skim through the words as he glances up, nodding with a small smile.

“Really.” He stops at the page he was looking for, grinning a bit to himself. “Mom loved picking flowers from the meadow when she was little. Hawkins gets some pretty diverse kinds of wildflowers, so my grandma got her this book so she could learn what they meant. These ones were always her favorite, but they’re native to South Africa, so she only ever saw them through her book.”

He turns the book towards her, the page showing a mix of pink and red and yellow flowers. She stares in awe.

“Gladiolus?” She breathes, a gentle hand caressing the page.

“It’s Latin for sword,” He leans closer, his finger pointing out the text below the picture. “Some people believe Gladiators from Ancient Rome wore them as protection. But it’s also means strength and courage, to overcome. Just like you always do.”

“I love it.” El sniffs a little, her eyes wetter than they had been before. “It’s perfect, Will.”

He smiles, reaching over to his nightstand and ripping out a page from his sketchbook before marking the page and handing the book to her. “Here, so you have a reference when you decide to get it.”

“Could…” El chews on her lip, her fingers fidgeting with the corners of the book. “Could you draw it for me one day? I want it to be from you, if that’s okay.”

Her words twisted into his chest, squeezing around his heart like a warm hug. His face broke into a smile.

“Of course,” He says, taking the book back from her outstretched hands. “I’d love to.”

She smiles at him, laying back in the bed with an expression of serenity. Her hand fell from her wrist for the first time that night and suddenly, it felt like everything would be okay again.

#willel #willel fic #willel ficlet #will byers #el hopper #el hopper byers #the byers family #byer hopper siblings #byler #<- target audience as well #it’s 6am when im finishing this #i haven’t slept yet but i couldn’t get the idea out of my head #El’s tattoo #idk if Will would ever be a tattoo artist but I do know that he would gladly design tattoos for his friends/fam #fluff #willel fluff #slight angst #if you squint #didn’t proofread bc im too tired :)

[scwheeler]

🏹 ˖ ࣪⊹ — out of the blue

pairing: mike wheeler x fem!reader

summary: your relationship falters when mike falls out of love with you instead falling for another girl, el.

warnings: heartbreak, mike being an asshole 😕😕

age of pairing: 15-16 years old

you could say that your relationship with mike was pretty underground. but if someone asked if you were dating someone, you would say mike without hesitation. it wasn’t a surprise if they saw you on a date with him but other than that you never gloated or talked about him every single moment of the day like some girls did about their boyfriends.

honestly you knew he liked you and he knew you liked him, so there was nothing to hide and nothing to talk about much. of course there were times when you simply wanted to brag about how cute your relationship was but otherwise his name would barely come up in a conversation.

frankly, it’s only been a couple of months since you started to date him. he confessed as soon as you did and you both agreed to go out with each other. during those months it has been nothing but pure bliss, that is until you started to hang around him more. it seemed that the more you were around him, the more he wanted nothing to do with you.

since you both were in the party, the group would meet up in mike’s basement every weekend to play d&d or watch a movie since mike’s mom thought you guys shouldn’t play “a stupid game” for more than eleven hours.

ever since you started dating though, you decided to come over more and more which mike rather enjoyed since he liked your company. you would come alone and the two of you would have date nights or even to take a nap while beside each other.

today you sat beside mike’s empty chair. you chattered away with dustin, el, max, and lucas as mike and will ran down the stairs with a bunch of snacks. as soon as mike sat down, he didn’t even say hi. maybe he didn’t realize you thought so you tapped his shoulder though and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. you smiled and max and lucas also cracked a grin, looking at their best friend blushing.

“come on y/n, dustin bet how long it would take me to give it, but that was just plain cheating,” he frowned but quickly softened returning another kiss on my cheek. you smiled, you loved when he would play little games because you knew that in the end he loved you.

the two of you would always be snickering in the back of the class, exchanging notes and holding hands. skipping down the halls with smiles plastered on your faces, discussing your plans for the weekend. soon your relationship was full on public but you didn’t mind. it just meant that more people knew how happy you were and there was no negative to that. right? wrong.

something you clearly didn’t realize was that everything seemed to falter a few weeks later. you clearly were still in love but it seemed like he wasn’t. he was rough when you were there and he was with his friends. sometimes ignoring you or even telling you that he wanted to be alone.

you gave him his space but it was like you weren’t even dating. you would mostly be alone or with the rest of the party but never alone with mike. he was too busy with whatever excuse he made up for that time. lucas, dustin, max, and will also recognized this. you would wave to mike at the cafeteria and they would be the ones to acknowledge it and tell mike. too bad he was so busy talking flirting with el.

and it was the first time in a while that you had seen that familiar glint in his eyes. the same one mike had for the first six months of your relationship. you hadn’t seen it for a long time, it had been about four weeks he stopped trying to make ‘this’ work at all. he had given up and was practically waiting for you to do the same.

she didn’t even know him as much as you did.

was she there when jonathan taught you, will, and mike how to ride a bike? no.

did she help him with multiplication all throughout elementary school and up till sixth grade? didn’t think so.

gone to yosemite as a family trip? no ma’am.

kissed him for the first time at the arcade in seventh grade? no, she didn’t and she wouldn’t ever.

because you were there first and as much as it hurt, but you were second now. so you took the initiative and broke up with him after fifth period ended. you pulled him aside and as hard it was for you to mutter those four words, “we should break up” was for you, he was pretending to care.

he was probably thinking about how to ask out eleven already. your watering eyes didn’t help but you ended things then and there and walked away. when you turned the corner, your true friends pulled you into a hug. lucas, max, dustin, and will comforted you even though mike was their close friend, even they knew what he did was wrong. you couldn’t label it as cheating but it hurt as much and the actions done were almost identical.

after that day, you tried to stay friends with mike. even seeing him with el strapped onto his arm like they were cuffed together, you tried to resist the urge to throw yourself off of a building and put on a brave face.

you talked to other guys, trying bc to replace the once there feelings with another person but deep down you knew that you would never find someone who had the same classes, same street, same interests, same party,

but no longer the same feelings.

#*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧SCWHEELER #mike wheeler #mike x reader #mike wheeler x reader #mike wheeler x y/n #mike wheeler x you #stranger things #stranger things 4 #st 4 vol 2 #mileven #finn wolfhard

[aloeverified]

elumax headcanons pLease <3

elumax my beloved

el has a hard time understanding a lot of movies because of all the references to thing she doesn't understand, so when the three have movie night, they turn it into a lesson where they basically explain different parts of life she hasn't been able to experience yet.

this has caused them to make a bucket list with things to do with el; such as go to theme parks or take her to a museum.

after getting a bit of a better understanding of movies, the group usually settles for horror. max likes them the most, whereas lucas hates them but pretends he likes them to seem cool, and el enjoys them because they're easy to understand.

max often talks about how she misses california, and lucas once made her a promise that he'd take them on a roadtrip there once he gets his license. he loves traveling and seeing new places, and el is excited to see more than just hawkins.

after el comes back to hawkins, she tells max that california wasn't nearly as fun without her there. max tells her that they'll just have to replace her bad memories with better ones and lucas subtlety chimes in that he has his license.

max spends a couple of months in a wheelchair as her arms and legs heal. el and lucas worry that she feels left out and do their absolute best to make sure she's still having fun. lucas thought fun meant going on walks with her in parks where she can smell all the flowers and hear what's going on around her — el though fun meant riding down the largest hill in the park. max liked the second idea, lucas did not.

joyce taught el how to sew while they lived in california, and she actually became very good at it. so when max mentioned that she hated how boring her wheelchair must look, el offered to sew some designs into it. it eventually lead to a group family project, with erica and will coming up with designs that fit max, lucas getting all the sewing supplies, and jonathan helping el with the actual sewing. by the end of it, max has a couple rainbows on the sides below her armrests, mad max spelled out on the back in her favorite colors, and jonathan even made some little skulls in construction class that they were able to attach to the middle of her wheels.

with max being blind, lucas and el decide to come up with alternative date night ideas so that she doesn't feel leftout when they watch movies. they eventually agree on reading to max before bed during their sleepovers. el reads while lucas helps to correct her on words she doesn't understand, all while max enjoys listening to the two before falling asleep.

with joyce's expertise from finding jobs, she's able to find a braille reading class. she signs el and max up for it, and lucas' parents cover his classes. already having experience with learning things like morse code, lucas catches on pretty easily, along with max who has always been a fast learner. el struggles a bit, but tries her best in order to support her girlfriend.

joyce and max's mom actually become good friends, as joyce knows what it's like to struggle with money and lost. the two family's eventually start having dinner together once a week, and joyce always allows max over.

hopper off-handly mentions how much he prefers max and lucas to mike, making both el and will blush for separate reasons.

still, hopper is sure to give lucas a stern talking to about how to treat girls, and erica doesn't hold back when threatening max and el to never hurt her brother.

when max is able to start walking again, el and lucas are always there to help her. she finds it a bit overwhelming at first, and the three are able to establish boundaries about what she does or doesn't want help with.

lucas helps her find the best walking cane, and is even able to add a device that beeps when in contact with certain materials so she can navigate easier when alone.

when max decides she's finally ready to start relearning how to skate, the three of them go down to an abandoned parking lot so she doesn't have to worry about being judged. el even brings her rollerskates and borrows a pair from will so lucas can try too. max struggles through a lot of it, but el is there to catch her and lucas helps in reminding her that they have all the time in the world to practice.

when max was still recovering, she listened to lucas' games on the radio and talked back and forth with dustin on the walkie talkies to see how it was going.

once when el was away and especially homesick, she used her powers to watch lucas during his game. she worried she was breaking their boundaries, however, and didn't do it again despite how badly she wanted to watch his games.

knowing that max is more lenient about her using her powers, el would check on her in the hospital and at night sometimes just to make sure she was okay.

el is always cold at night, whereas max and lucas get too hot with a blanket on, so el just sleeps between them for body heat. occasionally she'll use a weighted blanket and have the others sleep onto of it next to her.

#st headcanons #stranger things #el hopper #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #elumax #hopclair #mayhopclair #elmax #lumax #blind max mayfield #wheel chair user max mayfield #paralyzed max mayfield

[sophie0197]

For the collective sanity of everyone, here are my ideas for season 5 :

- max is alive, recovers from her broken bones, learns to walk again and is still left blind but that makes her cared for and loved and nurtured and she matters to everyone, meanwhile she can still kick ass. She is the Toph of the gang.

- lumax date at the theater and Lucas describes scenes where they don't talk in the movie to help her follow it, bonus they are loud and annoying everyone at the theater and laugh about it together

- Dustin is now leader of the hellfire club, will and Lucas joined, they spend a lot of time together and become very close friends again. Dustin talks about Eddie "the freak" all the time to will and how awesome he was a'd the love they shared, Lucas also talks about his struggles with max being in a coma and disabled and his love for her, and will ends up feeling safe enough to come out to them and they are the first to know outside his family. Possibly they could know also he likes mike but that's a stretch. And they'd keep it a secret for him the way Steve does with Robin.

- Mike and eleven have a fallout, fight often bc they can't communicate to each other, they struggle but eventually manage to discuss it openly to each other and decide to end their relationship on good terms because they love each other platonically. They recognize the codependency they were having, mike having self worth insecurities and El thinking she has worth only as a superhero. They hug a lot and it's important to notice that they do love each other deeply, but it's about platonic love and it's very important to value it.

- Mike mentions the painting to El. El reveals to him she never commissioned or saw any of will's art. He's shocked and realizes will made that painting for him and meant all the things he said as his own feelings and it hits mike so hard he falls in love.

- Joyce and hopper wedding. Shenanigans with Murray. The byers/hopper family moved in the cabin in the woods and they expanded it together so everyone fits under that roof.

- hopper becomes a dad to will. Teaches him how to work hard for himself no matter what life throws at him, to gain confidence, and to not be lazy and escaping in games and conforts like hopper used to be. Will gets ripped by chopping wood with hopper and expanding the house litterally it's their dynamic. Hopper learns to draw with will too why not.

- hopper also being a dad to El and Jonathan, he is just this kind more patient being and Jonathan is happy and feels at home in this place. Hopper helps him get rid of the addiction to drugs. With El, they go hunt for food together in the woods. Hopper doesn't fully understand El's powers but tries to train her anyway for the battles to come. He is patient and nurturing which improves her abilities somehow. El's powers shifting from a place of anguish and trauma to developing in a supportive and loving home would be good. Think of zuko's firebending type of growth.

- Nancy chooses neither Steve nor Jonathan, she leaves Jonathan and goes on to follow her career dreams and is a girlboss. Jonathan is relieved they finally talk openly to each other too and break up on good terms and this would directly parallel Mike and eleven breaking up by finally opening up and communicating.

- Will gets to hang out regularly with Mike, learns he broke up with El, he stays very polite but we all know this teenager would jump around like a maniac the moment Mike's gone. Let him be happy lmao

- Will and Mike slowly talk more openly to each other about all kinds of stuff. About growing older and wiser mostly. The hints at mike being more and more into will as they grow closer again multiply. The climax hits when he learns about the painting. Suddenly it all make sense to him, will was always the one to give him the love he wanted.

- before he gets to confront will about this, will is in danger again. Becomes a puppet again and the group unites to save will back. It goes full circle. Evil will moments, angst. He is shown nightmares about his homosexuality and has to overcome it.

- Mike's love for will saves him. Litterally they have a full on catradora moment near the end where their love is giving them strength to free will from vecna's grip. Will also has a moment of self love from that btw. Will's love for himself also saves him.

- El's love for every person in this show defeats the upside down. She does not die sacrificing herself because stop it with the unnecessary self sacrifice deaths it's annoying. Her survival despite everything thrown at her is powerful and important. She is a hero because she chooses to, not because it's her duty to the world and she's meant to die for it. She chooses, and everyone is helping her this time instead of watching in the back. Major scene where others are the ones saving her life in a critical moment instead.

- everyone rebuilds the town together. As much trauma as it left them, it was their true home and their community bond is bringing life back into it.

- Mike and Will rebuild castle byers and kiss there it's the only cliché I wanna see lmao.

- Steve has a wife and kids. He invites the party over to his home, each time they visit there is a new kid and they joke about it.

- the show ends in the new year's eve of 1989, they all celebrate together as it turns to 1990.

#Stranger things #Stranger things 4 #St4 #Byler #Mike wheeler #Will byers #Eleven hopper #There's so many more things probably but I can't think clearly enough it's late here #Dustin henderson #Lucas sinclair #Max mayfield #steve harrington #Nancy wheeler #Jonathan byers #Lumax #jopper #Jim hopper #Joyce byers

[bylrndgm]

today's menu selection is: a theory about mike's letter.

My brain had just eureka'd and decided to choose ultraviolence today... so here I am.

THE THEORY IS LONGER THAN I THOUGHT, FOR THIS REASON I HAVE TO CUT THE POST, I'M SORRY !

I am a Mike wrote an unsent letter to Will truther and one of the major evidence of this theory is that letters are recurring, throughout S3 and S4.

We can think of Hop's letter to El*ven; El*ven's letter to Mike; Mike's letters to El*ven; Joyce receiving the ransom note, and so on and so forth, you name it.

This is kinda stale, if you ask me. So, I was brainstorming and trying to figure out if we had seen letters prior to S3's finale. Guess what?

Do you recognize this shot?

If you don't, it's from S03E01, min 19:20, and it is meant to be a shot whose purpose is to show us how the opening of the mall has destroyed downtown's small businesses.

Besides the fact that I can't make any sense of some details in this shot, please take a look at the next one:

Yes, again, it's to show the decay of small businesses downtown.

But can I tell something? It's boring.

Now I want you to tighten your seatbelts because, oh Lord knows, we're about to free fall.

Some details

Let's start with the first one, shall we? What do we see?

Some letters, left on the floor; letters that who knows when they were sent and delivered. You can also feel it, they're soaked in rain, wet and covered in dirt

One of these letters stands out: it's the only yellow letter among other plain white ones

Leave the "for lease" sign for later - it's gonna make sense, trust me

The doormat: the pattern is incredibly similar to plants, right?

Now, moving on to the second shot (the laundry one).

We have in total 9 washing machines and two of them have their door open: in particular, they're no. 4 and 7

The two doors are in different lightings: one in the light, and the other in the shadow

Connecting the dots (theory time)

Up until now you might be a little confused, and I was as well when I originally saw these shots, but as the Duffers and David Lynch taught me, there is always something behind the facade.

WHY PUTTING THESE TWO SHOTS ONE AFTER THE OTHER?

My theory here is that maybe, Mike sent a letter to Will: a letter that wasn't delivered or MAYBE it was delivered, but Will never got the chance to read it.

NOW let me try to convince you that I'm not 100% insane.

First shot, alright? The unread letters on the floor: one of them is yellow. You guys get it? Unread/yellow... Will not reading a letter Mike sent him??

Then, the for lease sign: leasing means: a financial arrangement in which a person, company, etc. pays to use land, a vehicle, etc. for a particular period of time.

In this case, we are referring to a real estate, are you with me? So we have the landlord that leases the real estate and someone pays a certain amount of money to use it, so the real estate is not used by the landlord (who still owns it), but by the tenant (who doesn't own it).

The law is lawing (and I assure you it is, as a Law school student) and if we put THAT together with the visuals, what we get is:

Will was the original recipient of the letter (= parallel: landlord) and someone else got it (= tenant).

Ok, so, who was the sender? And who is the tenant? Here is where shot #2 comes handy.

The sender is Mike

This is proved by the followings:

the shot has more of a blue lighting;

one of the washing machine's door is in the shadows;

the washing machine whose door is in the shadows is the no.7 and we all know that Michael has 7 letters, Mike was born APRIL, 7th (4/7) and guess what? He was born in 1971, and 1+9+7+1 = 9 aka the total amount of washing machines.

The "tenant" is El*ven

Proof:

If washing machine #4 is Will, and washing machine #7 is Mike, then since we're talking about a love triangle, 4+7=11 (lol)

The doormat: the plant pattern. Wasn't it El*ven that said Jonathan and Argyle smoked "smelly plants"?

Conclusion

Just imagine: Mike sent a letter to Will, probably signed "Love, Mike" and for some weird reason El*ven got her hands on that letter and she thought it was for her. So she read it and saw the "Love, Mike" and here she began with the whole:"yOu sIgNeD wItH FrOm MiKe".

And this would also explain partly WHY Mike was so upset with Will (because he thought Will received the letter and ignored it) and why Will felt left behind as he thought Mike never reached out, while Mike instead did.

Duffers, you better run faster, I'm after you lol.

#byler #byler proof #byler evidence #byler endgame #byler truther #mine #guys this is more of a crack theory i dunno if it makes sense lol #but i mean is plausible #law degree is useful #call me lawyer #besides all of this #there has to be a letter that either was unsent or unread or imma throw hands #im sorry about all the maths i've included; i know we're all queer and bad at maths lol #mom

[flohamilton]

Hi! can i request a blind reader x stranger things people headcanon? But like blind in a Toph way and not a normal way.

Hi anon! I hope this is what you meant! Let me know if i missed anything! And i hope you enjoy!

First of all i think we should acknowledge how willing everyone is to help you out with certain things

Need someone to read what’s on the menu at a new restaurant? Dustin is happy help, not without making sure you knew what his favorites were, of course

Not sure which shirt to buy because you can’t quite grasp the difference between beige and tan? Nancy is always there to explain it to you and give her opinion on which shade goes better with your skin tone

Talking about celebrities and what they wore to last night’s award show? Steve and Robin will tell you exactly who the hottest people were Every! Single! Time!

Is the group reacting to some outrageous fight they saw break out in the parking lot? Lucas and Max are giving you a play by play run down of the entire thing live as it’s happening

You don’t always need their help though, what with echolocation and feeling the vibrations of the things around you, you could always get around pretty well and that never ceased to amaze your friends

“I just don’t get it!” Dustin would exclaim when he saw you use echolocation to navigate a busy area of the mall. “How are you more graceful than Mike and he has 20/20 vision!”

“Knock it off asshole,” mike would grumble

Argyle is also particularly amazed by you. Something in his brain can’t comprehend how you can’t see yet you can feel the vibrations

“Hey dude do you think you can teach me how to do that?” He would say as you were using echolocation “I want to feel the vibrations too!”

Sometimes they would forget you are blind though, they don’t mean to, truly. But it happens

Dustin would be so excited “Y/n, check out this sick new comic book i just got! Look at the cover!”

“Dude y/n can’t see,” Steve would grumble, and although you couldn’t see it, you knew Steve just smacked Dustin upside the head

On another note you loved to hang out with Eddie whenever corroded coffin was having a rehearsal. Feeling the vibrations of the music and being able to have the full experience, no sight necessary made you so happy

Mike you always try to get you to laugh

“I know you can’t see this right now, y/n, but Lucas just did the most impressive backflip I’ve ever seen and I’m really sorry that you couldn’t see it”

I can also see El being so sweet and helpful and guiding you around, even though she knew you didn’t need her help. She’s always coming up to you and grabbing your hand to lead you through a large crowd or help you down the stairs and you are always so appreciative

Jonathan is always describing things to you

he would give you weather updates or inform you about simple things he thought would be worth a description “the leaves are starting to turn, y/n, they’re not quite all orange or brown yet but they’re getting there. I’ll let you know when they start to fall!”

Will is always giving you indicators of what the group is laughing at

“Right now Mike is doing the chicken dance and he looks ridiculous”

And mike would fire back with “Right now Will is not doing the chicken dance and he also looks ridiculous!”

Erica is always gossiping to you, telling you about whose hairstyles were the worst in her opinion

“I tried to tell him it’s sitting like a mop!”

“It is not!” Steve would cry

“Don’t worry Steve,” you would say, patting his shoulder, “I believe you.”

#stranger things #stranger things headcannons #stranger things x reader #stranger things x blind reader

[tirednerd2012]

Jonathan growing to trust and love being around Nancy in the AU where he and the twins escaped Brenner and have powers. Being around her makes him smile more than he used to, his family makes that apparent with their teasing.

He grows to trust her enough that one day, he shows her his powers. What he can do, makes a beautiful thing for Nancy to see. Explains what he can do. Maybe shows the tattoo. The entire time, he avoids her eyes because he’s afraid of her just turning against him.

But Nancy is in awe at what he can do, she’s just falling more in love with this boy. Takes his hands in here, tracing over the tattoo. Explains how wonderful it is he was so strong, and his powers are amazing.

Jonathan doesn't trust anyone outside of his family. The first person he does trust is Nancy Wheeler. As Will and El grew closer to the boys and started to form "the party" Jonathan watched to make sure they were safe. And with being around Mike Wheeler, Jonathan found himself in the company of Nancy. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He tried not to stare but it was hard.

One day the kids were playing at the park and the boys were teaching Will about tag. Jonathan watched from a bench. El and Max were over at the tree making fun of the boys and she was laughing and smiling, which made him smile, too. He loved seeing his brother and sister so happy. But then Will fell against the concrete and hurt his knee. Jonathan was there within seconds, but so was Nancy. She brought out her backpack and brought the bandaging with her and starts to clean up Will's knee.

Jonathan stands there stunned but does kneel beside his brother and when Will looks up at him and tells him he's okay without the older one having to say anything. Jonathan nods and suddenly becomes very aware of the fact Nancy is staring at him like she wants to say something. He wants to thank her, but doesn't find the words as Will takes back off with the boys. He looks over at El to make sure she's okay and when she gives him a nod, he goes back over to the bench. Nancy sits beside him in silence.

A few weeks later, he goes to pick El and Will up from the Wheeler household to find El getting a makeover. She's wearing one of Nancy's old dresses and makeup and she looks up and sees him. She has the biggest smile on her face as she explains she asked Nancy to do her make up and she agreed. Jonathan listens completely, giving her his undivided attention and she asks how she looks. "Pretty, like you always do. But I like the look," Jonathan answers and her smile gets wider as she goes to show the boys. Jonathan is making a mental note that Mike Wheeler needs to stop staring at his sister like that when Nancy walks over to him.

"That's the first time I've heard you speak," she says. Jonathan kind of shrugs and responds that he doesn't always have a whole lot to say, but Nancy asks if they're leaving right away and Jonathan says when the boys are done with the campaign. Then she offers to help Jonathan with the chemistry homework she knew he was struggling with in class. He accepts it.

She starts helping with homework almost every day the boys are hanging out. Then one day she asks if he wants to hang out with her just them. As time goes on, they get closer and closer. Joyce teases Jonathan for his apparent crush, but he responds he likes that she's nice to Will and El.

One day, when they're meeting for their study session, Nancy showed up in tears. Jonathan was immediately to his feet and put both of his hands on her shoulders while she explained that some assholes from their school had been giving her a hard time and a couple of the guys were calling her a slut. Jonathan didn't know what that meant, but by her tears he knew it couldn't have been anything good. Then the guys from the school show up and start saying how Nancy Wheeler is sleeping with the freak. Jonathan is still confused but he doesn't like how Nancy seems to be trying to hide herself. He feels a rare burst of anger and he uses his powers without letting anyone know and essentially convinces the kids they're back at school, then at the field, back at the park, field, school, until they get dizzy and confused and just fall.

Everyone is staring at the boys by this point and they take off. Nancy looks at Jonathan like she's trying to figure out if he did something, but his powers aren't like Will's, they don't come into reality, he just can make people see what's not there. He grabs his backpack and asks if she wants to go somewhere more private and she agrees. They go into the woods and Jonathan takes off his sweater, revealing his tattoo.

"You've... you've asked us before where we grew up. I can show you," Jonathan offers. He takes her hands and reminds her that nothing she sees is real, and if it gets too much, he can stop it at any point in time. He doesn't plan on showing her anything bad either. Just the Rainbow Room. And he does. Nancy is in the woods one moment and the next she is in Hawkins lab. After, Jonathan shows her a world of stars, clear and beautiful, but clearly not in a way she's seen. He hasn't seen much of the world, only pictures, so he shows her his new home as a way to show her what he can do. When he's done, his nose is bleeding and he grabs his sweater to wipe the blood away, but Nancy is running her fingers along his tattoo.

She calls it wonderful, and it's the first time Jonathan's powers have ever been called that in such a genuine tone. He hadn't even shown his parents what he can do, only has used it around them to protect his family. But he's never used it on them. He's too scared to. And she tells him he's wonderful and amazing and she's in complete awe as she stares at him. Jonathan just blushes and realizes just how in love with this girl he is.

#stranger things #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler

[strawberryflavoredsoap]

what was the process of creating teresa and dana as individual characters and their interpersonal dynamics with each other and will? did you take any inspiration from anyone you know in your real life or other fictional characters? were they always supposed to be so integral to the narrative of nbyt?

i love these girls with all my heart, they feel so real and authentic and fully realized as people outside of will’s singular perception of them. 

hi hagssoup! I just want to say I'm so grateful for all your interaction with the story. always get so excited when I see your comments in the inbox. it means a lot <3

love this questions tysm for asking. I love dana and teresa sm I'll take any opportunity to go on and on about them.

teresa and dana were created with specific intentions. teresa was meant to be the best friend and the best friend needed to have a certain personality that was able to draw will out from where he had hidden away in his own head. dana was meant to be the girlfriend. she was created (more like named) at the same time as teresa was for the future purpose of being her girlfriend. 

actually everyone in their little dnd/drama group was created at the same time. in my journal I jotted down all their names, their role in the dnd, and a one word adjective to describe them. Here’s what I had written down for these three:

1. Teresa: DM #1. Will’s bestie. Big fat lesbian crush on her bff Dana. Brave.

2. Will: DM #2. Will have gay solidarity with Teresa. Hesitant. 

3. Dana: Bard Elf. Teresa’s crush. Clear-headed. 

I think these characters have changed since then especially since they started off very one dimensional. but to be fair, at first they were only ideas at the time.

Expanding on Teresa and her personhood and who she was came while writing. As I write characters I like giving them small tiny traits that I find amusing (examples: El being a crafter and liking romance books. Will being a music snob. Jonathan loving the outsiders) but then they add to the larger character.

I think Teresa comes off as cool and quick witted but that’s bc we see her with people she’s comfortable around but I like to put little things that emphasize that she’s truly and deeply a nerd. She likes costumes which lends to her love of theatre. She talks a lot in situations she finds awkward which makes them more awkward. She has a penchant for silly little nicknames. She’s got a brother and parents who want what they imagine as the best for her.

when i brought in Dana i knew i needed a different dynamic to be brought in as well. Teresa and Will were already so close, how could I even try and make anything that compares? So Dana personality naturally falls under awkward. At least around Will (Once again reiterating how much fun I have writing them “beef”). But because of this Will has a very limited view of her.  Yet we know she tossed pebbles at Teresa’s window and then climbed through it. The romance!  She’s snarky! We see it whenever she and Teresa go into their own little world. She’s got a queer aunt who lives with a long-time girlfriend and a cousin in DC that she’s out to. (honestly now i’m curious at the story that’s there. how’d she come out to him? what’s their history?)

I'm not sure how to describe where their dynamic comes from. peaking behind the curtain is just me sitting at my desk and writing things that make me giggle. like this, I think this is so funny:

“We want to be fashionably late, not actually late!” Teresa leans out of the window, elbow resting on the sill.

Behind her, Dana leans back in her seat. She lightly hits Teresa’s shoulder, saying something inaudible to Will.

Teresa turns her head briefly towards her girlfriend before looking back towards Will, “Just kidding! Take all the time you need!”

They weren’t originally supposed to be so intrinsic to the narrative. Maybe that’s because I wasn’t sure what this story was going to turn into. Though now I can’t imagine the story without them. They’re so sweet and I have the best time with them. my babygirls fr!! 

I’m overwhelmed by the love being sent their way but I am forever grateful. thank you thank you thank you all so much for loving them and caring for them and coming back for each chapter update. 

#nbyt #stranger things fanfiction #will byers fanfiction #fanfic authors #fanfiction author #fanfic #stranger things #Will Byers #my ocs

[ladyvialana]

Fic: Secrets

Stranger Things fic. Mike-POV. Mike/El & Mike/Will

Summary: The thing is, Mike feels like he’s still lying to El. He feels like his heart is breaking every time he looks at her.

But maybe that’s the new normal for him. Because he feels like his heart is breaking every time he looks at Will as well.

Series: Seventeen Seconds

Notes: post season 4, spoilers for season 4 Vol. 2, missing scenes, introspection, angst

Also on Ao3

When Eleven woke up and told them about Max, all Mike could do was hold her as she sobbed. That moment when he finally felt like he was doing something important – that his words were helping rather than hurting El – vanished so quickly it was as though it had never existed. The helplessness he’d been feeling ever since his first day in California took hold of his body again as the water from the bath and El’s tears soaked his clothes.

He shared a frantic glance with Will, who was just as devastated by the situation.

Mike wanted to reach out to him too – hold his hand and reassure him that everything would be alright (even if it was a lie). But he couldn’t. El needed him. So he just stared at Will over El’s bowed head, watched tears fill his eyes then watched him visibly push them back when he saw Mike watching.

Mike didn’t know what he looked like to have Will reaching out towards him instead of the other way around – didn’t want to know (just like he didn’t want to examine what he was feeling right now). He almost gave into the temptation of the reassuring touch Will was going to offer, but he refused with a sharp jerk of his head. He couldn’t let himself fall apart when he was supposed to be the one supporting El right now.

Will flinched and Mike almost gave in again, but Will seemed to understand what Mike was trying to suppress and nodded. He moved away, leaving Mike and El by the bath, to hug Jonathan and gain some comfort from his brother’s embrace.

Mike curled further around El’s shuddering body, trying to shield her as much as comfort her.

He didn’t think it helped.

***

Back in the van on the way back to Hawkins – all of them exhausted but dry and stable enough to attempt the drive – Mike caught sight of the painting Will gave him not even a day ago.

“You’re the heart.”

Mike closed his eyes.

What bullshit.

He was sitting the middle of the backseat of the van between Eleven and Will with what felt like acres of space between them despite how cramped the van actually was in reality. Both Will and Eleven were staring out at the passing landscape, quiet and caught up in their thoughts. Mike wanted to break the silence, but he didn’t know what to say – how anything could possibly raise their spirits or comfort them.

He almost reached out, fingers twitching towards El’s hand. But, as though sensing his intention, she pulled her loose hand up into her lap and curled her arm around her middle.

It wasn’t enough. What he said to her back in the trance. He could barely remember what he said – too terrified to think about anything beyond telling El how much she meant to him. He knows he told her ‘I love you’. But it still wasn’t enough, not to help her then, and not to comfort her now.

(Maybe she could tell, that he was panicked and desperate – that, if asked, he would struggle to say those three words again without it feeling like they were choking him. And it was so stupid – because he does love her. He does! So why didn’t it feel like enough? That he was losing her anyway?)

Mike turned away from El’s blank facade to examine Will instead. He didn’t try to reach out, even though Will’s hand was still resting on the seat, palm up as though waiting for comfort himself. Mike knew how easy it would be to make Will look at him and smile, that even a brush of their fingers would give both of them the comfort they craved. But Mike hasn’t been fair to Will – didn’t deserve to let himself sink into Will’s warmth right now. Will was always the one reaching out – always the one to give Mike the right words and guide him in the right direction. And what had Mike given him in return?

He wasn’t an idiot. He knew that pep talk in the van back before they found El again wasn’t just about El’s feelings. He knew that Will was still upset by their fight back in California – that, as much as Mike feared he was losing Will, Will felt exactly the same way. He knew there was more Will wanted to say – needed to say – but Mike was terrified that he really would lose Will for good. He didn’t ask about Will’s tears – didn’t try to comfort him – because he was afraid of what he might hear. Of what he might to or say in return.

 “Because what if they don’t like the truth?”

The truth was that Mike felt inadequate. Irrelevant. He couldn’t do anything to help the people he loved – half the time his interference seemed to make things worse. Even just showing up to visit caused his (ex?) girlfriend to cry and nearly caused an irreparable rift between him and his best friend.

So Mike doesn’t speak and doesn’t reach out. He leaves the two people he loves most to agonising silence and hates himself for it.

#fanfic #stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #eleven hopper #byler #mileven #stranger things spoilers #season 4 spoilers #post-s4 #introspection #angst #vialana's fic #seventeen seconds series

[artemisrae]

have you watched season 4 of stranger things yet! i’d love your thoughts

Hi friend! I just finished it late last night because I was waiting for the whole thing to be released and my parents came to visit for the holiday.

Also I got COVID so here are my cold medication influenced thoughts in bullet point form:

- The Duffers really said "Hey you know El's awful tragic backstory? Okay what if it was worse?"

- Eddie Munson has the most precious soulful baby eyes I've ever seen on a dude.

- The fact that the Byers clearly see El as their sibling is just. My heart can't take it.

- The further we get in the more I like characters from when they were introduced. I had little interest in Jonathan even after season 2 - loved him in this season. Same with Erica, who grated on me last season and Murray who just bugs me when he starts in on people's love lives and telling them to sleep together. But I really liked what they all got to do this season.

- Some of the retconning is ehhhhhhh but they have another season to refine it.

- The Hawkins crew was the most dynamic and had the best material to work with.

- I'm not touching the shipping of Mike and Will, but I will say it's weird he couldn't even hug Will? When has he ever been afraid to hug Will??

-Mike and El's fight was heartbreaking because it boils down to two people with very low self esteem speaking different love languages. Mike has grown up with Karen and Ted as his example of a functioning relationship- even for a marriage of convenience, as Nancy has pointed out way back in Season 1- but no matter what their actual feelings are, you know what they both do? They provide. Ted has a good enough job that Karen doesn't have to work and Mike still gets all kinds of games, books, figurines, and electronics. Karen loves having the kids friends over and feeds everyone. There's obviously stuff happening beneath the surface but my point is: Mike was shown that you take care of people you love. He's a gangly bullied kid who is obviously terrified of what happens if El decides she doesn't need him - or worse, finds someone better. Except that El is an abused kid raised devoid of loving human contact that isn't meant to manipulate her in some way. Then out of the lab her initial education in human socialization is... television. Soap operas. Old movies. So yeah. She needs and wants verbal reinforcement. Which is frightening to Mike. It's something that real couples struggle with, and it also makes sense that these two teenagers wouldn't have the emotional maturity to be like "let's talk about love language."

- Max and Lucas were the MVPs this season. I always liked them but not really beyond a "high school sweethearts" sort of way but watching them in that last episode was a gut punch. Dustin talking to Eddie's uncle was also a moment of Acting. Definitely got wibbly along with Dustin.

-There was too much torture. But thats a personal ick of mine, I have a pretty low tolerance of it in media.

-I do not give the tiniest whiff of a fuck about Billy and find it notable that the two "happy" moments they could flash back to for Max was 1. When he died and 2. Him acknowledging her after she threatened him with bodily harm to get him to leave her alone. I'm glad they put some context for it in Max's monologue because I was NOT buying anyone being sad for that racist abusive jerk who only got flayed because he was on his way to fuck Max's friend's mom.

-I loved Suzee and the entire scene in Utah. Loved that she wasn't a one off for a musical gag in season 3. Loved feral child Cornelius even though I want him nowhere near my own house. Loved Argyle instantly and immediately falling in love with Eden. Loved Eden being like "Please attempt to murder her for me thanks." All of it was great 10/10.

- Hey uh.... anyone gonna check on Owens?

-Overall I liked it more than Season 3. But Season 2 will always be the gold standard for me.

Thanks for asking! I think this is mostly coherent. Hope you are well friend!

#replies

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Oh, man. LOL. I was the anon with the Byler hug. I didn't mean they didn't hug at all! I should have clarified. I meant they didn't get a scene of their own. The hug was just kind of buried in with everyone hugging goodbye. I know we freeze-frame it and love it as Bylers, but for most of the audience it wasn't "a moment", you know? Less intimate. Not like "crazy together". That's what I meant by a distance still being there between them. They're using other people as a buffer zone.

Hug anon again. When you think about it, Mike and Will kept that distance between them all through s3. Which is weird coming off how close they were in s2. They're literally never alone together in s3 without Lucas or El or someone there as a buffer. The D&D conversation is the only time, and then they enforce the distance by standing so far apart. Like they're afraid to get close. That intimacy and naturalness they had alone together is just gone overnight in s3. (Gay panic or . . . what even?)

Thank you for clarifying. I see what you mean. I don't think I fully agree, though you make some good points.

For comparison, Mike and El's private goodbye was awkward in its own way. That weird one-sided kiss. Jonathan and Nancy were the only ones to get a real private moment involving a hug. This doesn't mean that Mike and Will didn't have some emotional distance, but I guess what I'm saying is that their situation isn't wholly unique.

You're right that they have no moments alone throughout the entire season from their fight right up to their goodbye. I've always found that odd, to a deliberate extent really. I hadn't thought about the fact that they're just afraid to be alone together, but you might be on to something there. Their relationship had been shown to be one where they are open emotionally with each other, and their fight seemed to have changed that. They were both being very careful and calculating with their interactions after they fought since that was the last time they were emotionally open (well, at least on Will's part) with each other.

They did find time to be close to each other, physically, but, as you said, it was only in group situations. It's like they still sought comfort from each other, but were afraid. Will was probably afraid to put himself out there again, and Mike may have been afraid of screwing up again or discovering that Will didn't see him the same anymore. It's an interesting change in their dynamic, and it'd be interesting to see if they keep it up in season 4. I suspect they will, at least at first.

They both clearly still want to be important to the other, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they both were afraid that things could never be the same. They're both liable to fall victim to assuming the worst. What's the trope? The love is requited, they're both just idiots?

#stranger things 3 #stranger things 4 #byler