#DUH mike initiated it

[azuries]

first kiss aftermath!

[messrsbyler]

byler headcanon where…

mike, who loves writing as we all know, also loves to read (duh) and one of his favorite books is the hobbit and, well, he kind of loses it when will confesses to him he hasn’t read it yet. so next day at school mike shoves his copy into will’s hands and tells him to read it so they can talk about it soon. and will reads it… but he’s not as fast as mike and he kind of dozes off the pages a lot when a scene gets really stuck in his head. next thing he knows he’s doodling in the margins of the book whatever just happened in the previous chapter with a pen nonetheless.

ofc will panics bc he knows mike loves to have his books in pristine condition and will didn’t mean to basically deface mike favorite book? so as soon as he’s back home he rushes to his room to check his savings and see if he has enough money to get mike a new copy. he doesn’t. maybe jonathan could help him out, or his mom, but it feels wrong to make them responsible for will’s mistake. besides, that would be lying to mike, and that’s something will won’t do.

next day mike is waiting for him at the school’s entrance with a bounce in his step and vibrant eyes. he wastes no time to ask “so? did you read it? did you like it? what was your favorite part?”.

will bites his lip and mike’s eyes drop to the book he’s holding in his hands. “uhm, mike. i-"

“yeah?”

“i sort of got distracted… while i was reading and i… uh-"

“hey” mike smiles at him and bumps their shoulders together. “it’s not big deal if you didn’t finish it yet. it’s a long book, after all. sorry, i didn’t want to pressure you.”

“you didn’t!” will rushes to say and mike’s brows spring up in surprise with a curious glance. “i mean, i haven’t finished it. but that’s not what i wanted… to say.”

“oh.” mike frowns. “so… you haven’t liked it so far? you don’t have to keep reading if-"

“i am liking it! a lot. but i also… i just… uhm, here. it’s better if you look by yourself.” will hands mike the copy did the book and glues his eyes to his shoes. his neck and cheeks prickle with heat at the same time something cold pools in his stomach. “sorry.”

“why are you-"

“just open it, mike.”

mike keeps quiet for a second and will can feel his eyes roaming through will’s body. and will knows mike is probably biting his tongue not to ask if he’s okay, if something happened, if it has to do with the upside down. he doesn’t ask, though, and will breathes a little better like that.

“okay, then?” and mike opens the book. and there, on the very first page at the title there’s nothing. mike keeps thumbing through the pages, probably confused. and then, “oh.”

yup, there it is. between the ending of a chapter and the beginning of another, will’s first doodle in the margins of the page. an illustration of what is happening in the pages with some of the blue ink smeared where will’s hand hovered too close to the paper and the smell of his ballpoint impressed on the page.

will looks up with his bottom lip still stuck between his teeth. mike’s eyes are pinned to the page, mouth barely parted and a frown barely hiding under his bangs.

“i’m so sorry, mike. i know you like to have your books as they come from the bookstore.” that is true. mike is the type of guy that rejects things like dog ears for marking a page or a broken spine. let alone a drawing in fucking blue ink in the middle of the book. “i- i kinda dozed off while reading? and i started doodling without noticing and then i saw what i did and it’s ink so i can’t erase it and- i thought on getting you a new copy. maybe next month? i probably can save enough by then-“

mike’s steady hand on his shoulder shuts will right up. he freezes under mike’s touch until his body recognises mike’s shape, the curve of his palm and the length of his fingers right where will’s neck connects with his shoulder. mike’s hand has been a constant weight there throughout their friendship. an anchor and a comfort, and so after the initial shock he gets whenever someone touches him (a little thing the upside down left him), will melted under the touch. his muscles go slack and he breathes out.

“will, i’m not mad.”

will blinks. he didn’t think mike would get mad. it’s hard to make mike mad, after all. well, no. that’s not true. it’s extremely easy to get mike worked up, but not for will. it’s as if mike has a few extra doses of patience reserved only for him. so, yeah. will didn’t expect mike to be mad, but he also didn’t expect to see mike smiling at him in that soft way of his, with a faint blush creeping up his neck and cheeks.

“you… are not?”

“of course not! are you kidding? will, this is so cool!” mike looks down at the drawing and his hand leaves will’s shoulder and a cold spot behind. mike’s fingers trace will’s defined lines in blue ink and it looks so… intimate. hell, is the sun suddenly hitting will with all its might? because he’s feeling a bit too squirmy and tickly on the back. and also a bit hot on the face. maybe he’s coming down with a fever. or maybe mike wheeler is being a menace to his health as always. “this drawing… it’s exactly what i see when i read the book.”

“really?” oh, great. just fantastic. more blushing.

“yeah. did you draw more?” mike thumbs through the pages and finds other two doodles, and he looks equally fascinated with both. “i… i love them, will.”

will could basically be classified as a new type of tomato right about now with how hot his cheeks burn. “you do?”

mike snorts and nods, looking up at will. “of course! why wouldn’t i? you know i love all of your art.”

deep breaths, byers. it’s not a good idea to hyperventilate right in front of your best friend you are in love with just because he loves your art. will clenches his hands and hides them in his pockets.

“uh, well. i just- i know you like to keep your books like brand new so- and that’s your favorite book too.”

“it for sure is my favorite one now.”

“huh?”

mike tilts his head and his eyes narrow to block the sunlight coming from will’s back. “well, because now you are in it, of course.”

“oh.”

“yeah.”

“that’s- cool.”

“yeah. cool.” mike smiles and will smiles back, feeling like he’s standing on air, as light as the clouds and about to float away at any second. but, well, even if he did, will knows would be there to keep him grounded and next to him. the thought is a bit dizzying and will pushes it away. “so… i’m guessing this is why you didn’t finish it? spent all the time doodling the scenes?” mike lifts the book and wiggles it in front of will.

will sighs. “yeah. maybe it was that.”

mike considers this for a moment and… okay, will isn’t sure what mike is even considering. next thing mike is snapping his fingers and giving the book back to will.

“tell you what. why don’t we head to mine after school?”

will tilts his head. “to read?”

“just trust me.”

the day comes and goes and before will knows it the last bell is ringing and he’s pushing his bike out of school and down the street to mike’s house with mike right beside him. will notices not lucas nor dustin follow them beyond their own houses. will also notices mike stops at lucas house for a few minutes before coming back next to will so they bike to his home. oh, okay. so this is a mike and will thing, and not a party thing. cool. that’s cool.

will isn’t sure what mike has in mind as they climb down to his basement. they slump down in the couch and mike opens his backpack right away.

“get the book,” he tells will and will does.

when he sits back up and look at mike, will is surprised to find another copy of the hobbit on mike’s lap. that one looks more worn down, with a broken spine and yellow-ish pages. definitely not mike’s.

will tenses and then melts when he feels mike’s thumb running up between his brows.

“stop with the growing,” mike laughs. “you are going to start to look to much like me.”

will rolls his eyes but can’t help the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “and what a tragedy would that be.” mike snorts and mike points at the book on mike’s lap. “where did that one come from?”

“i borrowed it from lucas.”

“oh. uhm, why?”

“so we can read! well,” mike gestures with his hands on the air like he does a lot when trying to get his point across. it’s a cute gesture will always notices. “so i can read while you draw.”

“huh?”

mike looks down at the book and there, again, there’s a faint shade of pink crawling up his neck and cheeks. mike shrugs and takes a breath in, looking back at will.

“i just thought i could, you know, read the book to you. out loud. i love the hobbit after all and a reread was long overdue. besides, like that you can keep drawing on my copy while i read to you.”

will’s eyes go a bit wide and he blinks in surprise. will knows mike as well as the palm of his hand, but there are moments when his best friend still manages to throw him out of balance in surprise.

“you want me to… keep drawing on your book?”

mike shrugs. it’s shy and contained, as if he was trying to make the gesture as small as possible. “if that’s okay with you.”

“is that okay with you?”

mike nods. “hell, yeah. like that, next time i read my copy i can see your drawings. i just… i don’t know… i think that would be pretty… cool.”

“cool?”

“yeah.”

will stares into mike’s eyes and goddamnit his heart better not throw him under the bus by jumping out of his mouth directly into mike’s lap. “okay. yeah, let’s do it.”

they find a comfortable position on the couch that ends up both of them laying on it in opposite directions, each of them resting their head on a couch arm and getting a pretty good view of the other. it’s a bit of a tight fit, especially since they aren’t little kids anymore and the couch didn’t care to grow along with them during all these years. but will is comfortable right where he is, with his hip pressed against mike’s hip, his legs being mike’s arm support, and just having mike this close at all.

it’s also not the most comfortable position to draw and will’s hand is about to cramp like hell, but he’ll choose to be haunted by another demogorgon before suggesting to move even an inch from where they are.

so, with his blue ballpoint in hand and both books opened at page 64, mike starts reading and will sinks into the melody of his voice, butterflies flapping against the edges of his stomach when mike makes voices for each character and when he sings under his breath the songs in a made up melody. mike’s voice wraps around will and guides his strokes on each page. will absorbed every word, every sentence, each one being carved in his brain with mike’s voice. his heart is pounding behind his ribs, fast but gentle at the same time, and soon he is dragged into a world of fantasy where the only ones from hawkins who remain to exist are him and mike.

they keep going like that for about a hundred and something pages and before they notice it a couple of hours have gone by.

“stay for dinner? we can keep reading after,” mike says as he stretches his arms up. his feet push against will’s shoulder.

“doesn’t your throat hurt reading for that long?” will asks, noticing mike’s voice as turned a bit raspier in the last hour. not something he hates, by any means. but, yeah. will notices.

“nah, i’m good. so, do you wanna?”

will smiles and nods. “yeah, sure.”

they don’t finish the book that night, but will doodles on many pages and by the time he gets home, he can still hear mike’s voice bouncing inside his ears, comforting and soft and just so… mike’s.

will slumps on bed face first and smiles into his pillow like the idiot in love he is. his fingers ache for keep drawing, but he doesn’t want to keep reading what’s left of the book without mike. this is their thing now, something they share and will wouldn’t have it any other way.

[nadia-zahra]

Byler tarot reading lmfaoooooo

ok before i tell yall what the cards said, i gotta say

1) i technically did 3 readings because my gut was telling me the first two readings were a lil off (and I ALWAYS aim for the most precise answer), but istg with each reading i got the exact same cards (for the most part). Like i reshuffled them before I began and i get my cards by shuffling them until they turn over, so the fact that 90% of these cards were revealed THREE times is insane.

2) this is just for fun don't take this seriously at all!

3) i will not be explaining what each card means. I'm way to lazy to do that

I pulled 20 cards (cause byler duh) and heres what they said after repeatedly asking the question, "what's byler gonna be like in st5?"

btw this is in fact in order of when they revealed themselves

six of pentacles reversed

seven of wands reversed

queen of swords

So El's choosing to be on her self love journey by becoming single and independent because she's sooo fucking done with Mike's bullshit.

ace of swords

king of wands

four of wands

After El breaks up with Mike, he kinda has an "oh shit maybe I was never in love with El" moment and like things about his sexuality start clicking a lil bit more. This isn't saying what his sexuality is, it's just saying he's finding out he's not straight. He's really happy that he no longer has to deal with his toxic ass relationship with El anymore and that him and Will are a team again. He can breathe a lil.

two of wands

six of wands reversed

five of wands

wheel of fortune reversed

ten of swords

two of cups reversed

three of pentacles

That is until he discovers Will lied ab the painting. He's gonna be really really angry and upset that Will said it was from El-- he feels like this was a huge betrayal because Will's never lied to him before. He and Will will get into a fight over the painting, and it's not gonna be pretty. Like this fight will be the messiest and ugliest fight within the series, and will borderline breakup their friendship-- that's how fucking bad its gonna be.

the hermit reversed

knight of swords

Mike feels like he just lost his bestest friend in the whole wide world and now feels completely and utterly alone.

My first initial reaction when seeing the hermit reversed was "oh Vecna's gonna be all over his ass", but I'm not certain about that at all. Like this is a reading only about byler and how its gonna play out-- not about how Mike's gonna be dealing with Vecna.

(side note-- idk why this is pretty much only from Mike's pov. I was honestly thinking about them both equally, so maybe this plays out from his pov in st5)

queen of swords

ten of cups reversed

El and Mike are gonna have a heart-to-heart! El's gonna help him come to his senses and get him out of this funky ass headspace he's in. He's gonna open up about the fight and why it hurt him so much finding out Will lied. She's gonna remind him that even though he had this big ass fight with Will, Will is still his bestest friend and still needs Mike.

king of swords

three of wands

The hierophant reversed

Idk if its gonna happen because of Mike and El's heart-to-heart or if it's gonna be Will that tells him himself, but one way or another Mike is going to find out that Will's in love with him. Suddenly the clouds part and everything clicks for Mike: he's realizes he's in love with Will too. They're gonna reconcile and finally get together, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

The End.

I can not fucking believe that my cards told me THREE times this is what's happening. And like the fact the reading starts with El gaining independence and the fucking HIEROPHANT REVERSED is the final card. plssssssss byler's so canon it's ridiculous asdhsdfl

[icarus-star]

Dumb puppy slut squad!!! Mike is so the type to make you wear a collar while you’re out and about amen

AHH anon ily 🫶.

prolly a nice black leather collar (matching his cowboy hat, duh), maybe (definitely) with a name tag n stuff, his initials r on one side. :3

[seasurfacefullofclouds1]

There was nothing remotely Arctic Monkeyesque on Walls though unless you count Louis' Yorkshire accent which was similar to Alex's on the initial records. The greatest being inspired by Oasis oh is it because it sounds like something you would listen to if wanted to get pumped for a football match, you know football - oasis?

Its like you got the cliff notes for a book review from somewhere and muddled the whole thing up when trying to reword it.

Also, Copy's studio version is not even released what is she talking about it being a "hit" in terms of commercial success?

Even if we ignore the rest of her review which was basically I wanted to go to a Harry show but ended up on a Louis show because I am not successful enough to write a Harry puff piece, her review was I don't really know much about music and concerts to be able critique anything based on what I was hearing and seeing so I am going to rely on what I have heard about Louis' music from other sources.

Here’s that review, and a translation:

Seven years since One Direction split, only one ex-member can still claim superstar status. Yet it wasn’t Harry Styles who fans camped out for overnight in sub-zero temperatures this week. It was Louis Tomlinson, until recently the least successful of the former famous five.

“I really wish I was reviewing a Harry Styles concert, but I’m neither qualified nor connected enough. Fucking hate Louis.”

Slow to settle on a solo sound, the Yorkshire-born 30-year-old aped his idols Oasis and Arctic Monkeys on his widely derided debut album Walls in 2020. He did much the same on last month’s follow-up, Faith in the Future, yet something had changed. That one went to No 1.

“I’m pretty sure I would hate Walls, though I’ve never heard it. Never heard Faith In The Future either, but every northern band wants to be Oasis, that’s what my dad says. Never heard Oasis either.”

Live, Tomlinson could still be finding his feet. His Walls world tour was cancelled due to Covid and even this show arrived a month late after the singer broke his arm. Initially, he did little other than hang Liam Gallagher-like on the mike stand, a slight figure in what could have passed for workout gear, and sprinkle swear words among his basic banter.

“God, I wish he broke his other arm. Why isn’t he wearing pink bellbottom pants? Heteronormative little bastard. Fucking this fucking that. Fuck you.”

His almost exclusively female fans, on the other hand, were up for a party and perhaps the loudest singalongs Shepherds Bush has heard all year. The surprise was how strong the songs sounded.

“I hate that his songs were good.”

Backed by a five-piece rock band, Tomlinson more than held his own despite his not notably distinctive vocals. His opener The Greatest was clearly indebted to Oasis, but its bolshiness and catchy chorus meant it didn’t matter. Even the poppier Kill My Mind had swagger, while Written All Over Your Face had a sleazy funk undercurrent that brought to mind Black Grape.

“Louis is such a basic white man. He’s like any other basic white man, except damn, this song is dirty and catchy? Even though I know Harry is supposed to be dirtier and sexier because… duh, orgies. Nudes. Titties. Why are my feet dancing?”

By mid-show Tomlinson had taken to prowling the stage, handing huge chunks of songs over to chanting fans and, occasionally, looking as if he might crowd surf. He didn’t, but the more confident he grew, the more electric the atmosphere.

“He can’t sing. He can’t sing. If I repeat this fifty times, I know it’ll be true. I don’t care that I’m getting a little heated, it’s not because of Louis because he can’t sing and he’s not sexy. I know this. I know this!”

Copy of a Copy of a Copy, officially an unreleased song, was a rocky monster that could give Tomlinson his first solo hit single. Walls, performed as an acoustic ditty, was greeted like Wonderwall. The only One Direction song on the set list, Night Changes, sounded tame by comparison.

“Ugh he sounds better than 1D. Fuck.”

Tomlinson may lack the inventiveness and sex appeal of Styles, but for simple singalongs, he’s now 1D’s go-to guy.

“I feel bad that I had a good time. The world feels wrong. Wanna go home and read my Y/N Harry fics.”

[tal-vez-o-quizas]

Some takeaways from Stranger Things 4 with a member of the cast:

The actor that played Argyle 2.0 in ST4EP8 was in a podcast from 99porciento on YouTube 3 months ago and he described his experience on set. His name is Andres Figueroa. I will be paraphrasing some things he talked about. He's from Venezuela so the entire thing is in Spanish but I translated some things I considered were cool to share.

On set, Charlie Heaton invited him to eat with the cast so he joined everyone. Charlie smokes a lot (which, duh, there are so many pictures of him smoking) so they spoke a bit during smoke breaks. They played Mario Tennis and the trailer was huge. He said he spoke some Spanish with Millie, who was born in Spain (and was singing a lot of Selena, lol). He has kept contact with Eduardo Franco, who’s parents are Mexican so he has a very neutral accent when he speaks Spanish. He added that Eduardo has a very “stoner” attitude but he doesn’t drink or smoke at all; apparently Eduardo quit all that like 5 years ago.

In one of the takes they did when he was leaving Surfer's Boy Pizza, he actually put the joint (which is not a real joint, it’s a prop) on his lips, which the directors really liked but they couldn’t keep it because they said Netflix will had their asses, lol. The Duffers told him that they loved his audition and were really nice.

So, even if the rating bumped up from TV-14 to TV-MA for Stranger Things 4 (correct me if I'm wrong please), being more bloody, gory, with some sexual and drug references, they still had to hold back on some things. Now, I wonder if they'll go the extra mile on ST5 and increase these references.

Argyle originally had a whole speech trying to convince him to leave so they can use the Surfer’s Boy Pizza kitchen in the script, but they cut it because it may have not aligned with the final product.

This tell us that there must have been many scenes like this, were they cut stuff so it could fit their idea of what they wanted the show to be like (which reminds me of EP9 being initially like 2hr30 something minutes but then they cut like 10 minutes at the end?). It's not farfetched to think this must have happened a few times (like when we saw the bloopers and the first heart-to-heart with Will and Mike on EP4 seemed like it had more dialogue).

Everyone was really nice. He was nervous because he's a fan of the show but it turned out all right. The person he interacted the least with was Noah Schnapp, who was 16 when filming ST4. He said he was laying down on the sofa, scrolling through TikTok the entire time and the rest of the cast were asking him if he was going to play with them (everyone was playing Simon Says or something) but Noah kept using his phone, haha. He added that there have been some issues with Noah from production because sometimes they kept him longer than he had to on set (Noah, being 16 at the time, had to legally film for like 12 hours everyday or something, no more than that, as opposed to people older than 18) and some other things he’s not allowed to elaborate on, lol. I guess those issues are over once Stranger Things begins filming!

The podcast is actually fun and entertaining, so if you speak Spanish, go ahead and watch it. I wanted to share this for a while but I'm really lazy but got inspired today. Hope you enjoy!

[admirablespoling]

My final ✨uplifting Byler✨ post until volume 2

Here’s some Byler takes/a little recap of evidence for anyone who’s doubting that Byler is going to be end game. Keep your eyes on the prize.

-There is a zero percent chance that the one way sign is a coincidence. This is literally setting up Mike’s arc for the season. Mike is in the closet. Period. (If the intention was for Mike to be straight, don’t you think someone on the crew would have pointed out how this set piece may be misleading?) also see season 3’s infamous final kiss and the framing of the absolute flirt fest of ep 4

-We get a glimpse of “normal” Mike until he gets around his girlfriend and his best friend. Then he turns into a mega-douche. He rarely looks his girlfriend in the eyes and intentionally ignores his best friend. He dodged a hug even though he was cool with full front hugging Dustin. He is hiding something, and he sucks at it.

-Mike’s idea of ignoring Will is to not show that he cares when he really really does. He pays close attention to Will but to the audience and the other characters, he’s happily ignoring him. He then allows Will’s (justifiable) behavior and questioning to get under his skin even though HE is the one acting weird. He practically blames Will for El lying to him. He reiterates their friendship status. To me, this argument symbolizes that Mike’s issue in his relationship with El is literally the fact that Will exists. I think Mike is aware of the effect Will has on him, but maybe hasn’t quite accepted what that really means for their friendship/his life in general.

-Mike and El get into an argument that Mike wasn’t prepared for. He blows his facade to shreds, and makes it look like he’s fallen out of love with El since she’s regular now. He once again deflects blame instead of being honest. He also switches to calling her “Eleven” during this discussion (doesn’t help his case at all). I think this was the final blow to the romantic relationship.

-After El leaves, you would expect Mike to still act weird around Will based on the last few days, but now we see a very different Mike. Still preoccupied with El, but markedly gentler with Will. Mike is suddenly very comfortable having close physical contact and emotionally charged conversation with Will from this point forward. We are supposed to see how Mike goes from total asshole to puppy dog with Will when El leaves. Will barely had to say anything to soften him up.

-Mike initiates (because duh) a chat with Will about the weirdness between them. He starts by thanking Will, in a playful way, for snapping him out of being a “self pitying idiot.” Then the two have an extremely flirty exchange that also tells the audience that these two just get each other (I didn’t say it, you didn’t have to).

Mike then tells him the truth- he has really missed Will. This fact alone really doesn’t explain his behavior, though. Actually, there’s no heterosexual explanation for “I feel like I lost you” translating into dodging hugs and appearing to actively ignore Will. I think that this is the moment where the math starts mathing a bit in Will’s head. Mike was flat out flirting with him, and I think he picked up on that a little. (He took the painting)

Something I want to mention about this scene that I haven’t really seen talked about is Will’s position shift. In the first half of the exchange, the closet is between Mike and Will. He stays here until Mike begins to say “Listen, the truth is…”

Then he shifts to being quite a bit more in front of the closet. I’m not 100% sure if this shift is intentional, but if it isn’t, the timing is impeccably coincidental. Just as Mike starts telling the truth about what he’s been feeling, Will physically gets between him and the closet. ✨symbolism✨

-Once we reach the desert, Mike seems to be deep in thought. He’s not shutting Will out, but he’s also acting a bit off still. I think he’s probably coming to terms with how he really feels about El and Will and just in general. He’s aware that what he said to Will yesterday was gay as hell and that El sees through him now. He gets flustered and does the Triple Take™️ which appears to imply that he is self conscious of Will catching on. He’s too wrapped up in his own head to notice Will’s EXTREMELY OBVIOUS pining.

-Will gives Mike advice that applies specifically to himself and then looks intently for Mike’s reaction. I think Will may have always had an idea that Mike felt the same as he did (esp before season 3) but now he’s feeling just a bit more confident. So he is putting the feelers out there hoping that his heavily queer coded advice will resonate with Mike. Seems like it does.

So at this point, I believe this is where each of the two stand:

-Will has accepted his sexuality and his feelings for Mike. He is cautiously optimistic that he might actually have a chance but is towing the line of confessing and watching how Mike reacts intently.

-Mike is aware of his sexuality and his feelings for Will, but is scared to accept/admit it. He has no idea Will feels the same (somehow, even though Will is being really obvious). I think that when Mike realizes Will loves him he’s going to have a Proper Full-on Gay Crisis unless Will ends up on the brink of death, and he just skips the crisis and goes full s2 Mike mode.

Their arcs are definitely not finished, and I still believe Mike will need to initiate anything between them since that’s how it goes with them. But I do believe Will will continue to push Mike to confront his feelings and I am hopeful that by the end of v2, Mike will at minimal accept that he loves Will and that Will loves him back and the (entire) audience will know that this is a thing that’s happening. I also hope to see El and Mike break up, and Mike being honest with her about his feelings.

Even if we have to wait for it to be canon season 5, I am confident in this ship sailing. Stay strong everyone, only one week to go.

[greenlikethesea]

4 5 21 26!

salty fandom asks!

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

ahahahhaa yes i do. it's no secret around these parts that i'm decidedly not a byler shipper, and byler is definitely popular in a younger demographic of the fandom. i fully respect if they're your jam, but @sparklyslug and i have written fair ithilien the way we have for a reason. the way i personally see it, i don't see mike as confused about his sexuality -- i think he's pretty firmly heterosexual, or at least has a one target sexuality -- so much as he's confused about his identity as someone who is not growing up to be particularly exceptional at anything, which is a far more compelling storyline to me. and honestly, on will's side of things, having representation of your first crush on a straight person is something we need in television! that was true to my life and i think young people need to see that.

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?*

i was initially on board with ronance, but seeing people insist that i ship it and that if i didn't devote equal attention to this ship i was a bad queer person and trash talking jonathan in the process (who is the original blorbo for me from when i first watched the show) made me shift them firmly into platonic BFFs, which i also think is good. i think that both robin and nancy could use friends -- robin could use a good girl friend, and nancy hasn't had a friend since barb and could use a friend who doesn't have the ulterior motive of sleeping with her. these days i'm much more into jancy+jargyle (my boyfriend and my boyfriend's boyfriend, with nancy and argyle being absolute bffs, as it were) and buckingham. i also think nancy is straight.

21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

if you can convince me, fuck yeah. @sparklyslug is working on the most rarepair to end all rarepairs and it is GLORIOUS.

26. Most shippable character?

steve, duh. like without a doubt, no question. also argyle, because free love and i think he'd make out with anyone at least once.

[starsarefire824]

i want to make it clear first this isn’t abt your work i just came across your asks and started thinking and rambling lol! promiseee <3

i think it’s important to note (in gen not just for will) and it’s fr my dream that people understand that will can be receiving and still be in control (and undo his partner pleasurably), i’d honestly argue that’s a more, better type of control and more healing for him in ways? or feels like natural progression when watching the show especially if it’s with mike at the start of their relationship (im speaking about works following canon here not au’s or other concepts haha).

and is not a jab at preferences ever i just get a feeling only s4 warped people’s perceptions (which i dont get because will is still gentler in s4. he just grew up yknow!) even in sfw content. i guess i just don’t see where people (not @ you <3) get the idea he needs to be aggresive to be in control when that isn’t who he is. aggressiveness is a trait they show us he conforms against and isnt the only way to approach control! but it’s like you said people have different things they like depending on daily moods, and growing up, that’s a real to life way to look at it! so duh he’d have friskier days, i understand that view of it

anyway sorry for word puking fandom thoughts! i really enjoy your moodboards, i’d be interested to check out ones of mike giving in there, i’m happy you enjoy writing multiple dynamics. have a good night!

Thinking and Rambling! Lol. Well, I'm glad the asks did that tbh!! <3

i think it’s important to note (in gen not just for will) and it’s fr my dream that people understand that will can be receiving and still be in control (and undo his partner pleasurably), i’d honestly argue that’s a more, better type of control and more healing for him in ways?

In my "real" headcanons for Will this is exactly what I'd like to see for him. Does that make sense? And I don't know if you misunderstood what I was trying to say, but I agree with you. I think that, and this is from talking to real survivors of SA, that this IS a perfect way to heal and build up his confidence in the fact that someone could give him pleasure and it not be something that's going to hurt him or take advantage of him. Receiving that kind of attention and have it be something completely positive---like think of the healing that could offer and that sort of joyous revelation? That's something that's so beautiful to me personally, and generally how I write Will in most of my stories.

However, I don't see anything less healing or beautiful about someone who's been beaten down taking initiative and feeling powerful in a real physical way. It truly is just how that particular person has responded to their regular life? Imo anyways.

Or....also....this can happen in a completely non-sexual way. Which I have written here. There are mulitple ways this could happen for a person like Will and I think they are all beautiful and worthy of exploration in fic.

or feels like natural progression when watching the show especially if it’s with mike at the start of their relationship (im speaking about works following canon here not au’s or other concepts haha).

Mike, in my opinion, in a canon sense.....is a giver. He seems to have an innate sense of caring for and wanting the people around him to be happy. if you delve past his sometimes prickly and sarcastic exterior, I think he's a person who deep down wants to be needed, wants to do a good job, and in turn would be a partner that would want to give whatever his partner desired. So whether it's them wanting him to take care of them sexually or for them to need other things that involve a different dynamic where he'd be on the receiving end--I think he'd be down for whatever honestly. Imo it makes him happy to please and he shows that with both El and Will in canon. So to me that's an easy one to say! 🙃 I think this generally resonates with readers going for the more dominant version of Mike in regards to Will, but I think there's a lot more to explore there if you sort of wanted to switch things up. I don't think either would really go against his character. And also, I guess----I think that top and bottom really gets misconstrued with dominant and submissive, and they frankly, are two separate things. You can be a top and have submissive tendencies, you can be a bottom and and choke your partner while you're doing it. I mean it's all complicated and so yeah I don't know---I just think that sometimes things get pigeonholed, especially with lgbtq characters. When really, there's just so much to unpack and it can all be good!

and is not a jab at preferences ever i just get a feeling only s4 warped people’s perceptions (which i dont get because will is still gentler in s4. he just grew up yknow!) even in sfw content. i guess i just don’t see where people (not @ you <3) get the idea he needs to be aggresive to be in control when that isn’t who he is. aggressiveness is a trait they show us he conforms against and isnt the only way to approach control! but it’s like you said people have different things they like depending on daily moods, and growing up, that’s a real to life way to look at it! so duh he’d have friskier days, i understand that view of it

No not at all! I mean, people are valid in all of their headcanons of their favorite characters. I personally think for people to have their final opinions of Will will have to wait until season 5 is concluded. BUT yes, I mean---in my personal opinion--Will is a gentler, quieter, and according to an 80s pov is effete in his tendencies. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and I do tend to disagree with people who have it in their minds that cause he grew muscle mass and shoulders in season 4 that that has somehow changed his personality????

He is very strong in his own quiet way, but yes, he seeks out comfort, he needs that extra love and attention. And that's what Mike offers him. And in turn, his need for that and the way he responds to it is what Mike needs to feel wanted and loved. It's very symbiotic, which is what I noticed starting in season 2 between them, solidified in season 3, and was something that couldn't be ignored in season 4. It's why I started shipping them in the first place! But yeah, of course, as they would grow up and be involved in a relationship with each other the dynamics can ebb and flow and as they get more comfortable with each other and mature they might want to explore new things that would go against their "self-assigned" roles.

Anyways thanks so much! And yeah exploring Mike in a different light and Will in a different light is really just a fun exercise in diving deeper into their psyche, and for me is rewarding as a writer! Of course I have my own personal ideas of canon!Will and canon!Mike but I think the fanfiction versions of these two can be whatever dynamic said writer finds interesting! And it doesn't mean one is less correct than the other.

So here I am word-vomiting right back to you. I hope this makes sense!

[espanora]

popstar tendencies chapter 1

(for the sake of this story Lisa is in a relationship w/ Nic in 1996)

(Ben and Riley are a few years aged up, more mature)

SORRY IF I SCREW UP ANY EVENTS/TIMELINES

june, 1996

"Mike I swear, you're going to end up like your songs." Janet chuckled. Eating a glazed donut in the cushiony bean bag reserved for more younger guests, such as her nieces and nephews.

"I don't sing it if I don't mean it." Michael said jokingly in a falsetto tone reminiscent of his Jackson 5 days.

Michael cleared his throat. "Which song might you be referring to?"

"I dunno, you already ended up like a lot of them," Janet carefully glanced at Michael who was now scratching his head and turning away.

"No duh, dunk. I write them because they mean something." Michael's voice softened at 'something'.

"Hmph, what about.. Billie Jean?"

"You sayin' I'm going to have a story akin to Billie Jean? That has a lot of open endings, Dunk. "

Janet smirked. "You're not far from it Mike. You are a pretty messy guy. Who knows?"

Across from Janet is Michael on a low seated couch with a neglected bowl of popcorn on his lap, widening his eyes ever so slightly.

"I am not Jermaine, nor Randy, or Tito or even Jackie and Marlon. Never having a child out of wedlock." Michael persistently stated, with a slight pout on his face.

"Right, Mother wouldn't approve of that." The same energy was reciprocated back to Michael. Janet had another variation of a smirk, matching Michael's expression.

"Where is this leading to?" He finally spat out in curiosity.

"Look man, I just don't want some random, woman, actress or model becoming pregnant with the initials 'M.J' being written in her child's DNA. Just looking out for you." She tilted her head ever so slightly as she talked.

Michael now was visibly perplexed. "Which- Look, all the models, actors I've ever known, we run into each other by accident and in public. Nothing else." He was now scratching his head.

"I heard something else happens after those events, and some of those meetings aren't "accidentally' planned." Janet mischievously avoided eye contact with her brother.

"Where do you hear this from?" He now sat up straight and leaned forward in Janet's direction, hoping to pry some answers out of her.

"Word travels fast, especially among the staff that are in some of the hotels that you stay at." She took a breath and continued, "Like the one in Monaco last month."

Janet knew damn well that her brother who was portrayed as a harmless sweet angel had no trouble finding late night companionship. Not to mention his promiscuous exploits even before settling down and getting married for the first time.

"Dunk, I'm not going to pull a tabloid version of me and become an asexual. I at least deserve that much." Michael's eyes were now downcast as he said that last sentence.

Janet also knew that Michael doesn't really mean to only have short term relationships and one night entanglements. He wasn't the type to do so, but being Michael Jackson meant that having a committed long term relationship didn't come so easy anymore. Not like it ever did, especially after another break in the form of a divorce or breakup from Lisa.

"Looking out for you, Mike."

She tried an attempt at lightening the mood of the now downbeat Michael chewing on a single popcorn kernel.

"Y'know I was worried for you through the tv screen, the uh, Princess of Monaco was there, and I know what happened between you two before." She raised her eyebrows.

"Naomi Campbell." Janet added and shot a look at Michael, who promptly glanced at the ceiling.

"Plus your old friend Diana Ross was alive and well. I can imagine the panic you felt through the television screen, Mike." Janet looked at the ceiling and laughed.

"Must've been an awkward night for poor you."

Michael turned his head to face Janet, no longer chewing popcorn and wearing a slight upturn on his mouth.

"Dunk, you wouldn't believe how much work I put into avoiding any uncomfortable conversations that night." He was now laughing with Janet.

"That's what you get, loverboy."

a few months prior.

Both of them didn't know what they were at this point. They experienced all the phases of being with another person in less than a decade. If you don't count 1974 and John Branca's wedding of course.

It was best to not overcomplicate things, the fucking is overwhemingly better than the fighting, so why not just leave it like that. Screw the whole, "let's stay friends" bullshit. They tried that before and somebody named Danny Keough just got divorced.

As Lisa sighed on top of a luxurious duvet she turned her head to look over her shoulder. Michael Jackson. He looked good. Really good. Lisa practically was falling on air for this man.

Lisa swore internally as she continued to admire the man across the bed. No ex wife should be throwing such lustful gazes at a man who's their ex husband. Majority of times, ex wives and husbands hope to cleanse themselves from their previous marriages and forget it all happened. For Michael and Lisa? Evidently the opposite.

Michael's eyes were highlighted by the warm tone of the dim lamp that was set in the corner of their dark hotel suite. His facial expression sated and content. He was akin to an angel, however his actions were anything but angelic a few minutes ago.

"Lise, you want a biscuit?" Michael gestured Lisa to a small plate in his gigantic hand, filled with an assortment of cracker, fruit and snacks.

Lisa giggled like a schoolgirl and Michael followed suit. She was so whipped.

"I'll take you up on that offer, consider it me forgiving you for leaving marks on my neck, or rearranging my guts." Lisa took a small bunch of grapes in her hand and ate.

"Don't be silly darling, you asked for those things."

Michael laughed and he flashed his eyes towards Lisa. God, she would remember those eyes for the rest of her life. The way his eyes were solely drawn to her. Eyes that had as much depth as an ancient forest. Lisa dealt with flashes that concerned Michael before. The oh-so sexy bastard wields the power to walk into her thoughts at any given time. Transporting her to a time and place where she only craved him.

What were they? Fuck-buddies? Ex Spouses with Benefits?

Describing the title of their.. newfound interest in each other was very hard indeed. They both figured that being lovers were just easier than being married. Michael wants kids, he doesn’t get kids. Lisa wants to feel stable, she doesn’t feel stable. Although that may be too much of an oversimplification.

Michael end up cutting ties with Ms. Rowe. Finally he had some foresight and thought that she would have some ulterior motives based on the way she was acting recently. Creeped Mike out, but Lisa was amused. Despite the fact that Lisa can’t really stand the image of another woman being in Michael’s drawers late at night, but Lisa is aware that Michael wouldn’t make a single move towards the so very seductive Debbie Rowe.

And surprisingly, Michael was indifferent about Nic. I guess he was too tired to fight anymore. Lisa thought.

For the betterment of moving on after their last argument, Lisa found a companion in movie star, Nicolas Cage. Checked all the standard Lisa check boxes and won himself some Priscilla brownie points. It was all the same to Lisa, she didn’t have the heart to tell to anybody, hell, even admit to herself, that Michael Jackson himself has an everlasting chokehold on Lisa Marie Fucking Presley. And Michael knew that.

Hence the smug smirk he donned on his face.

Even with the distraction of Nic, Lisa and some charming ass man with glittery socks and leather loafers couldn’t keep their hands off of each other.

Here they were, both in Mexico pushing all of their responsibilities and problems aside for just one week. Lisa glanced out the suite window where distant torches lit up the nearby ocean. It was a lonely beach since it was a private resort and at a time when everybody should be fast sleep. Talk about a romantic fucked up situation.

“Hey next time you see Darling Nic, tell him I enjoyed Moonlight.”

That was Michael’s nickname for Nicolas Cage, after the provocative Prince song. Lisa didn’t know whether it was a jab at Nic or her. Perhaps even both.

Michael continued chuckling quietly, “Does he even know that you’re here?” “Well, I kind of just, brushed it past him. Although he might not take it well after he finds out you’re in the same country.”

Michael saw a tiny upturn on Lisa’s lips. He loved those lips, especially when he was her own personal lipstick remover.

“Nic might not take it well finding out we’re in the same bed.”

As Michael said that he put down the plate and laid his head back down on the silk pillows, while Lisa was still upright and neck turned toward Michael.

Strictly going by definition, Michael can qualify as a home wrecker right now.

Knowing him, he’s as much of a manwhore as it gets. And you love it.

Lisa averted her gaze towards Michael as her innermost thoughts spoke the loudest,

Michael sat up a bit and touched her chin directing it towards him again and began whispering in a deep tone.

“So, does he know?”

Lisa’s stomach promptly did a flip.

“Just between you and me, Michael.”

The man who touched her chin now suddenly lit up and flashed his smile and ran his fingers through her hair.

“Good girl! That’s what I wanted to hear!”

Lisa grinned slightly again as she spoke up. “Although mother has her eyes on you, you don’t exactly have a clean record with her.”

There came the slight sound of the waves hitting the shore.

[lesbianrobin]

What do you think are the good and bad aspects of each season of ST?

ok 1. thank u for this question omg and 2. this answer may or may not be a mess, but either way it’s long (almost 7k words lmao) bc i’m insane, which is why it’s under a cut. it’s still by no means an exhaustive list but these are the things that just kinda came to mind.

also i realize you asked “good and bad” and i wrote this whole post as “strengths and weaknesses” which um. is not Exactly what you asked. but close enough <3 i also ended up including a lot of au ideas ksjdckmn bc like i personally hate when people say a certain plot or whatever was bad without suggesting anything that could have improved it yknow so whenever possible i tried to provide Some idea for fixing the issues i had with the show!!

season 1

strengths (this is probably gonna be the longest section but that’s because a lot of these strengths also apply to s2/s3 by default)

nostalgia and authenticity

this one’s pretty simple, but i think that season one did a good job of blending classic eighties media homages (such as the many many e.t./el parallels) with explicit pop culture references (such as mike’s yoda impression, mentions of the x-men, etc) to create a show that’s essentially dripping in early eighties nostalgia without it feeling too forced. before st, i think the most popular depiction of the eighties in mainstream media was that overly exaggerated neon scrunchie aesthetic from the mid to late eighties, and it was usually done in a comedic sense first and foremost. st took a different approach, instead focusing on the early eighties, a time that’s often ignored in favor of going either Full Seventies or Full Eighties, and i think that this choice likely resonated with adults who lived through the eighties and hadn’t yet seen something that felt quite so accurate to their own adolescence. a lot of young people who watched st were totally unfamiliar with this period of time, unfamiliar with books/movies like “stand by me” that st borrows from heavily, and i think st lent more seriousness to the eighties than most young people had experienced so far, and this was refreshing and interesting!

the use of dnd in the show is also quite genius in a way i’m not sure i can articulate?? it isn’t something Everyone would have played at the time, but it’s something that existed within a different context back in the eighties than it does today, and it really lent a sort of authenticity to the naming of the show’s sci-fi elements. like, of course these kids would name parallel dimensions and monsters and superpowers after these similar things in their favorite game! it just feels so real and it grounds st in our reality moreso than you might expect from the typical sci-fi or horror universe.

utilization of existing tropes

almost every single character in st clearly originates from some popular trope. the plot itself is riddled with classic eighties movie tropes. almost every single element of stranger things can be clearly traced back to some iconic eighties film or just to, like, overused horror/sci-fi/mystery/coming-of-age movie tropes in general. this might sound like a bad thing, but it really works in st’s favor! starting off with familiar tropes gives st the ability to easily create a lot of complexity and make a big impact by selectively deviating from those familiar, comfortable tropes!! while el’s whole plot, hopper’s character, etc, are all examples of this in action, i think the steve/nancy/jonathan plot is the greatest example. even from the start, the fact that good girl barb dies while nancy is off having sex with her asshole boyfriend is an incredibly thorough inversion of the most well-known horror movie trope in the book. how often do girls in horror movies have sex for the first time, walk home alone in the dark of night, and live to tell the tale? nancy and jonathan’s dynamic at first glance is a sort of classic “good girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, discovers he’s actually got a heart of gold” thing, but instead of following this well-trodden path, st diverged. nancy is brash, impulsive, and at times downright insensitive. jonathan is angry, bitter, and actually a bit of a creep at first. while they have the capacity to emotionally connect and support one another, they can also bring out each other’s darker side, which is not what we’ve come to expect from that initial tropey dynamic.

in addition, steve, the popular rich asshole boyfriend, is actually... a human being! unlike the cartoonishly evil jocks that we’ve come to expect (especially from eighties movies), steve has complexity. despite his initial immaturity and selfishness, he’s also kind to barb, he backs off when nancy says no, he’s gentle and sweet when they sleep together, his first big Dick Move of the season is in defense of nancy, he realizes the error of his ways after the fight and does what he can to fix it, he’s worried about nancy when he sees that she’s hurt at jonathan’s house, and to top it all off, he ends up saving both nancy and jonathan’s lives when he could have just walked away, and the three of them all work together to fight the demogorgon. like... steve began as the most stereotypical character of all time, and by the end of the season, he had one of the most compelling and unique arcs among the whole cast!

finally, at the very end of the season, instead of dumping steve for jonathan as expected, nancy ends up getting back together with steve, and they’re both on friendly terms with jonathan. i realize that i just kinda. summarized s1. but my POINT is that i don’t think the dynamics between the monster hunting trio would be nearly as fun and interesting had the characters of nancy, steve, and jonathan not been set up to follow certain paths that we already had charted in our own heads. like, within the first couple episodes of s1, it’s pretty obvious that nancy and steve are gonna break up, nancy will get with jonathan, and steve will either die or go full evil or just never be seen again. like, duh! you’ve seen this story a million times! you know that’s how it’s gonna go! so, when the story DOESN’T go that way, the impact of each character’s arc and the relationship dynamics become stronger due to their unexpected complexity and authenticity. 

distinct plotlines separated by age group

this one’s rather obvious, but the way that the adults in s1 were essentially in a conspiracy thriller while the teens were in a horror flick and the kids were in a sci fi power-of-friendship story and all three converged at the end... wow. brilliant showstopping etc. not only was it just really well done and unique, it also gave stranger things near-universal appeal. like, there’s genuinely something for pretty much everyone in season one!

casting

obviously this applies to every season sorta by default, but when i think about what made season one So successful, i always think about the cast, and not just winona ryder. yes, she’s absolutely amazing in the show and it’s very doubtful that st would be as big as it is today without her name being attached to it from the start!! however, i think the greatest determining factor in st’s success is the casting of the kids, particularly millie bobby brown. like... el is just absolutely incredible. she’s amazing. this has all been said many times before so i won’t harp on it, but millie and the other kids are all So talented and charismatic and i think their casting has been instrumental to the show’s success.

strong visuals

the way that multicolored christmas lights which have been around for decades are now kinda like. a Stranger Things thing. jesus christ. those lights are probably the biggest stroke of stylistic genius on the show.

atmosphere and setting

this is probably like. the least important one here for me sdjncdsc because i think s2 and s3 both had like Even Better atmospheres and shit but s1 was good too and it laid the groundwork!! i know a lot of people would have preferred st be set somewhere more Spooky with lots of fog or giant forests or whatnot, and while i do enjoy thinking about alternate st settings and how they might alter the vibe, i think hawkins indiana was a good choice. as the duffers have said, placing stranger things in a fictional town allows them more flexibility than if they’d gone with their original plan of using montauk, new york. besides that, i think the plainness and like... flatness... of small-town indiana just Works. like, the fact that hawkins is never really scary on the surface is a big part of the horror in the lab’s actions and their impact. hawkins isn’t somewhere that people just disappear all the time. it isn’t somewhere known for strange occurrences (prior to s1, that is). it isn’t somewhere shrouded in mist and secrecy. hawkins on its surface seems like the sort of place with no secrets and nothing to fear, and that’s the point! the lab is out in the open! it’s right there! everything is so close to the surface, yet so far out of the public eye, and i think that really works.

the byers family’s whole deal (specifically the joyce/jonathan dynamic)

this is going here bc i miss it so bad in s2 and s3. i’m not one of those people who believe The Byers Are The Whole Point of the show, because st is and always has been an ensemble, and el, hopper, and the wheelers are just as instrumental to the plot as the byers, but ANYWAY, i do think the byers were one of the most interesting aspects of s1. joyce’s difficulties with supporting her sons as a poor and (implied mentally ill) single mother, jonathan’s stress as a result of having to earn money, care for his brother, and keep the house in order when his mother is unable to do so, and the resulting tension between them when will’s disappearance and supposed “death” brings the situation to a tipping point? holy shit! it’s so good! that argument after they see will’s “body” is just incredible and gut-wrenching. their relationship feels so real and messy and i think it’s just... good. also winona ryder REALLY acted her heart out and she carried a lot of s1 which i think people often forget to mention so i’m saying it here.

weaknesses

pacing/timing

ok so pacing is probably going to go in each season’s weaknesses, to be honest, because i think they all had a blend of some good and some bad pacing. good pacing is invisible pacing, though, so i probably won’t be putting it in any of the strengths sections and will only be focusing on it in the weaknesses. i’m also probably not going to talk about weird day/night cycle things, just because i don’t want to get nitpicky on timelines because that would require going back and rewatching things to double check timing which i don’t wanna do at the moment lmao. anyway, when i think of bad pacing in season one, i primarily think of two things: nancy’s little trip into the upside down and subsequent sleepover with jonathan, and the sort of staggered nature of the climax in the final episode. the latter is simple so i’ll explain it first: while i understand that each group’s respective climax is like part of a chain reaction and that’s why each big moment happens separately and at different times, i think that st is strongest when the whole group is together, and i think that makes the stakes feel higher too, so i’m not In Love with the way s1 separated everyone and gave each group their own climax. 

okay, now on to the nancy/upside down thing! idk if i’ve ever talked about it before, but i think the worst decision made in s1 by far is the inclusion of nancy’s brief trip into the upside down, wherein she dives headfirst into another dimension with absolutely no backup, watches the demogorgon chow down, freaks out and runs around for a minute, and then leaves. like... what the fuck? even putting aside what an idiotic decision this was (because i do think nancy’s tendency to rush into things headfirst is an intentional and consistent character trait), it just kind of destroys any remaining suspense surrounding the demogorgon and the upside down, and it accomplishes basically nothing besides scaring nancy enough to have jonathan sleep over, which is lame. i will break it down.

like, first of all, nancy just getting to waltz in and out of the upside down and get a good, long look at the demogorgon makes the entire thing far less mysterious, and by extension far less scary. like... before this scene, we the audience haven’t got a good look at the demogorgon. we’ve seen its silhouette briefly and we’ve seen a blurry picture of it, but nothing more, and i think that is far more effective at building fear than this jaunt nancy goes on which gives us a full view of the thing and makes it into less of a horrifying nightmare and into more of a humanoid animal. like, maybe this is just me, but i found the demogorgon far less intimidating after that scene than before. it also lets nancy and jonathan know For Sure that they’re right without providing any crucial information that they need to fight the demogorgon (aka it’s unnecessary to the plot), which removes a very compelling story element (the faith nancy and jonathan need to have in order to keep going against a vague and poorly understood enemy, the doubt they might have about each other and their own sanity, the possibility that they might be wrong, the trust they need to have in each other) a bit earlier in the plot than i believe is ideal. at the end of episode 5, nancy goes into the upside down and jonathan doesn’t know where she is and it’s intense!!! you’re thinking like, oh fuck, not only is nancy missing and fighting for her life now too, jonathan might be implicated in her disappearance!! some people already think he’s the one who killed will and people know that he took creepy pictures of barb and nancy before they both disappeared, maybe this is gonna cause some serious problems for him!! maybe nancy will find will in the upside down and she’ll help him survive!! fuck, maybe she’ll actually die!! this is huge!! and then episode 6 starts and they’re immediately like oh nevermind jonathan found the tree and got nancy out and she’s fine. my point with all of this is that nancy entering the upside down could have done A Lot in the grand scheme of the plot, but all it did was just... get jonathan to sleep over so he and nancy could have some awkward romance moments and steve could see them together and pick a fight. which could have honestly happened at Any point while nancy and jonathan were working together to hunt down the demogorgon, without ruining the demogorgon’s and the upside down’s mystique. so yeah <3

weird behavior and dumbass decisions that make no sense (aka the whole camera thing)

gonna go off about the teen plot again sorry but: why was nancy so unbothered and quick to forgive jonathan for taking those pictures? girl what the fuck are you doing? why wasn’t that a bigger deal? why was jonathan’s motivation for doing it so weak and why did they just kind of forget about the whole thing? why did nancy TRACK HIM DOWN AT THE FUNERAL HOME while he was PICKING OUT HIS BABY BROTHER’S CASKET to be like hey can you tell me what’s in this creepshot you took? it’s insane. it’s so insane. i mean i think the funeral home thing is hilarious and i don’t mind it being in the show necessarily but like my point here is that i think a lot of character decisions in s1 just kind of.. happened because they Needed to happen for the plot. like, they wrote this plot that required jonathan to be secretly taking pictures of the party and required him and nancy to work together after seeing something odd in the pictures, but they didn’t like... really consider what that event would mean for their characterization and relationship. the whole thing was sort of just dropped with minimal discussion and i think it did both nancy and jonathan’s characters a disservice and was really mishandled.

lighting and saturation/color grading

i am literally begging horror/sci-fi shows to let me see shit. i GET IT okay i understand that when you’re doing cgi effects it helps to keep the lights down and i’m not mad at any of the lighting in the demogorgon/upside down scenes!! i’m really not i think the demogorgon scenes in s1 all look sick!! but like... dude. the colors. where are they. why does everyone look like a vampire. i know blah blah this was probably an intentional stylistic choice intended to mimic film at the time blah blah but dude a lot of old movies are very colorful!! please just let people have color in their faces so everyone doesn’t look like a sheet of paper!!! also i’m white and not a professional lighting designer so yknow grain of salt but i think lucas was kinda poorly served by the lighting sometimes in s1. not Hugely so, not to the degree that i’ve seen poc be poorly served by lighting in other shows, but there were some times where it felt kinda like the lighting setup was just not designed with darker skin in mind. 

horror

i just personally don’t find s1 very scary like... ever. i don’t think they were really Trying to be extremely scary yknow so i’m not counting this as a big deal, but i do think that each season has improved on the horror aspects. i think s1′s horror lies more in the mystery and the unknown than in what’s seen onscreen, and as i’ve said already, i think s1 kind of fumbled that suspense ball.

season 2

strengths

the possession plot

i’ll warn u rn this whole s2 strengths section is probably gonna be really short bc idk like. how much there is to really say i feel like it’s all so self-explanatory skjncmn. anyway yeah the possession plot!! eerie as fuck, and noah OWNED. so did winona tbh and finn and sean etc but like. noah. wow! i think the possession plot helped the show maintain a good amount of tension and suspense throughout the season, and a lot of scenes with possessed!will are flatout disturbing to watch. in a good way. i think the mindflayer and will’s possession were far more genuinely frightening than s1′s demogorgon, and it provided a new layer of depth and intrigue to the antagonist besides just “bad monster want eat people.”

tone and aesthetics

halloween season... literally halloween season. halloween season. that is all.

actually i will elaborate a bit and just say that i think s2 did a good job of having the sort of foreboding vibe that s1 was often going for, but without the annoying darkness and desaturation. so points for that.

also st2 is like one of the best Autumn pieces of media ever like it just. like steve and dustin on those train tracks with the fallen leaves all around them.... god. god the vibes are unparalleled. all of the halloween stuff also really contributes to the nostalgia st runs on yknow it makes you think about childhood and trick-or-treating and you kind of get transported like damn... i remember going to the rich neighborhoods to score the good candy..... idk i just think the whole thing is incredibly effective. 

“babysitter” steve

by sending nancy and jonathan off together, the show created a problem: what to do with steve? this problem pushed them to create the unconventional and unexpected duo of steve and dustin, and the world is so much brighter for it. seriously though we all know steve and dustin are great i don’t need to argue that point. all i’ll add is that i think allowing steve to grow in this way, serving as a mentor figure and becoming genuine friends with someone so unexpected, really took the originality of his character to the next level. no longer content just to defy his archetype, in s2 steve begins branching out in ways that never would have been considered in s1, creating an incredibly complex and interesting person from the sort of character that most shows would have simply written out or killed off for convenience’s sake. and it works and steve and dustin are such a joy to watch and i love them. <3

the lucas/max plot

so first of all max mayfield is the most perfect baby girl on god’s green earth and idk what i would do without her but anyway. i think lumax is the best romantic relationship in the show and not just because they’re the only ones with like an age-appropriate approach to the whole thing. it’s also because their relationship accomplishes more than just putting the two of them in a relationship!! lucas and max spending time together motivates billy to do his evil shit, providing more conflict in the narrative, and it also helps establish max as part of the group in a relatively natural way while giving both her and lucas a great subplot. lucas (and dustin) has a crush on the new girl, they start spending some time together, and lucas ends up needing to decide whether he’ll keep the secret of the upside down and lose her, or risk both of their lives by telling her the truth. that’s a pretty big, character-defining decision that he gets to make!! max has to choose whether to trust this boy she barely knows and endanger herself, or to walk away and stay safe, yet another great character-defining choice that also contributes to the sense we get as an audience of max as somebody who’s incredibly lonely and desperate for love and connection. this post is way too long already and i have a ton more to say so i’ll stop now but yeah i think lumax really Works in the show without ever distracting or detracting from the overall plot and narrative in the way that some other ships (coughjancycough) often do.

balance between the normal and abnormal

s2 i think did a pretty solid job of melding daily life with more fantastical sci-fi horror elements. i enjoyed seeing so much of the kids at school in the first few episodes!! you really get a strong sense of where they’re at in life, what their daily lives are like, and you get a sort of gradual shift into madness that makes everything feel more grounded than i think it would if they had just leapt straight into the horror shit, yknow? 

the el and hopper dynamic

go back and rewatch s2 and tell me that’s not one of the most moving portrayals of parenthood and trauma and growing up that you’ve ever seen. you can’t. or well you can but i won’t listen. i really can’t imagine stranger things without el and hopper’s relationship, and it’s my absolute favorite part of s2. their whole dynamic is so beautiful and complex, and gives them each amazing personal arcs in addition! the black hole scene is literally one of the show’s greatest moments of all time. any given scene between the two of them in s2 is just guaranteed to be heartwarming as well as heartbreaking, and i think that makes for an incredible show.

weaknesses

flashbacks

okay this applies to Every season they All have too many flashbacks but in s2 specifically... please stop showing me shit from season one. i watched it. i know what happened. you don’t need to spoon feed everything to me!! flashbacks can be a really helpful way of delivering information to an audience, but st has a bad habit of not only being kinda demeaning in how often they flash back to shit that the audience already knows, but they also have a bad habit of using flashbacks almost as a crutch to avoid having to deliver information subtly and naturally. 

you know i gotta say it... the lost sister

this is so sad. the lost sister really is like a great concept for an st episode, and i’m not mad about the idea of st taking a break from the normal action to focus on one story for a full episode, but the execution of it was just dreadful. kali and her crew feel very over-the-top and stereotypical, and its placement in the season totally kills the tension and excitement that was built in “the spy.” 

i think the lost sister honestly could have gone over far better, even with the stereotypical fake-feeling gang kali has, if they had just swapped it with “the spy” like... ok, the end of episode five has el setting off to find kali and will collapsing on the ground seizing. right? imagine if, instead of immediately following will to the lab, we’d followed el. we don’t know what’s happening with will, but it’s a very simple cliffhanger that leaves us on edge without making us feel cheated by the show cutting away. we follow el on her little journey, everything happens much the same as canon, and then at the end, el sees hopper in scrubs. she sees mike, screaming, sees that they’re both in danger. holy shit!!! what the fuck!!! what’s happened since we left will seizing on the ground??? we feel el’s fear and confusion. she decides to go home. and then... boom. “the lost sister” is over. now, we rewind, right back to will seizing on the ground, and “the spy” commences. we learn how they got into the danger that el saw in the end of “the lost sister,” and we sit on the edge of our seats all through “the spy” and “the mind flayer,” KNOWING that el is on her way back to save them but not knowing when she’ll arrive!! idk i don’t think that would have necessarily saved lost sister but i think it may have alleviated some of the issues that i and many others have with it, timing-wise.

the nancy/jonathan sidequest

once again, the idea of nancy going off on her own little mission to find justice for barb after s1 is like. amazing. genuinely i love that plot for her and i can’t imagine anything better for her to have focused on in s2. unfortunately though i think her and jonathan’s little trip to see murray was just kind of... lame. the whole thing just felt like an excuse to get the two of them alone together, yknow? which is fine i guess people contrive all sorts of situations to get characters alone together for romance reasons but in this case i think it just really doesn’t work for me because of what it’s juxtaposed with. like, will is POSSESSED, and jonathan is just off on a mini road trip and sleeping with his bestie, and jonathan never seems to communicate to joyce/will that he left town, and joyce never like... thinks to tell him that will is like sick and fucked up and they’re looking at him in the lab??? like it’s so weird i know joyce always forgets about jonathan when shit’s happening with will but jfc you’d think at some point in that like... 72-ish-hour period where jonathan was out of town she would have thought about him. like at least once. maybe i’m forgetting something and she mentioned him sometime and i missed it but even still, i hate the juxtaposition of nancy and jonathan just like cheers-ing at murray’s place and sleeping together and whatnot while everyone else is dealing with possession or trying to hunt down dart yknow? it feels really boring in comparison and i think it could have been done far better. like it was SO insanely easy for them to get into the lab and get an admission of guilt and escape with it!! i think it might have been a lot more engaging if maybe someone from the lab tailed them to murray’s place and they had to like lose the tail and race to get the recording out to as many news outlets as possible before they got caught, or something like that. the tension in their plotline is completely resolved in episode four!! episodes five and six are just them screwing around and addressing envelopes. while there were a lot of strong ideas in this plotline (i really enjoy nancy going out of her way to get justice, and the fact that they have to water down the story to make it believable), i just think the focus on nancy and jonathan getting together hindered it a lot without adding a ton to the plot or their individual characters.

season 3

strengths

starcourt mall as a setting

while i don’t think the mall was utilized quite to its full potential (something i could make a separate post about if anyone’s interested), i do think that starcourt was a genius addition to the series. i’ve said this before, but building a new mall is a literal Perfect in-universe justification for a significant leap forward in fashion and aesthetics, and it provides a great location for characters to just... be characters. idk how else to articulate this i just think that the mall is a great setting to let people interact with each other and to bring people together who may not have been otherwise (i.e. scoops troop). not to mention how sick it was to see the mall get wrecked toward the end kdjncdkm like they were able to do so much more with the mall in terms of like The Finale than they could with just the byers house or the cabin or the school or even the lab. i love all the back tunnels they run through it’s such a fun like acknowledgement of how this glitzy eighties mall is just a real place where employees get shipments and take out the trash and shit idk it’s all about the perfect facade and what’s hidden what’s underneath what’s hiding in plain sight etc etc i’m just saying words now. anyway. 

willingness to experiment and go against expectations

gay robin. neon aesthetics. giant fucking meat monster. i know some people hate both the neon and the meat monster but i personally think they were kind of amazing and like. yknow regardless of personal tastes i think it’s impossible to deny that s3 had a lot of incredible visuals, and they’re all visuals that just wouldn’t have been possible if the show were too afraid to stray from its s1 aesthetic. robin being canonically gay (and her resulting friendship with steve) and the season’s striking visuals are two things that most everyone (besides like homophobes skjncdknm) can agree were great, right? and they were both departures from where the show began and what we all expected!! so yeah i think while some of the experimentation in s3 wasn’t ideal it was also that experimentation that allowed for some of the season’s strongest elements to come about.

the hospital sequence (and the season’s action/horror scenes in general)

this one is fairly self-explanatory. while they may have underutilized the “body snatching” element of the season, the hospital sequence with nancy and jonathan fighting off their possessed bosses did an amazing job of building tension and creating a genuine sense of really intense and personal danger.

in general i think that s3 melded action and horror rather well, particularly in the sauna test, the hospital, and when the mindflayer busts through the roof of hop’s cabin. horror can come from many things, and in this case, st elicited horror largely from the feeling of helplessness, and it was really effective for me personally. i think it worked better for me than s1′s brand of horror because it doesn’t rely so much on a lack of knowledge or a sense of suspense that inevitable disappears upon a second viewing.

the body horror we got in s3 was also really fun! that’s it i just think all the blood and guts and slime were fun and i would like more of them. once again, the impacts of body horror are less dependent upon the viewer being in the dark or unsure as to what’s happening, and as such i think it tends to be a little more effective at eliciting reaction in the long term.

timing and mechanics of the battle of starcourt/finale

i think the battle of starcourt is just fucking awesome, and beyond that personal opinion, i think it’s the most high-stakes and intense finale of all three seasons, and this is for two main reasons! 1. el is out of commission, and 2. (almost) everyone is in the same cental location. this means that (almost) everyone is in danger all at once, and they are all working together at the same time to fight the same threat. s1/s2 have their groups more fragmented for the finales, and while i understand why in each case and i wouldn’t call either season’s finale necessarily weak, i do think the centralized nature of the s3 finale just Works on another level. in s1 and s2, large segments of the cast are already perfectly safe by the time el dispatches the primary threat. in s3, however, everybody save for dustin and erica is still in danger up until the last moment, and el is seemingly (you can def debate how much power she still had in her when she peeked into billy’s mind and whether the memory broke the mindflayer’s hold on him or if she was actually controlling him to some degree) completely vulnerable. this increases the tension and raises the stakes, making the finale a real crescendo to fortissimo as opposed to a series of little mezzo forte moments. i hope everyone reading this knows music idk how else to phrase that my brain is stupid.

emphasis on friendship and adolescence (but in a different way than s1/2)

this is definitely a controversial one but i think that s3 really did like... show a side of friendship that had been more or less unexplored thus far in the show. el and max were amazing, and i think it’s really nice that we got an opportunity to see the kids have some growing pains as well as see them support each other through Normal Adolescent Stuff like boyfriends and breakups instead of just like. death and trauma. this is maybe just a personal preference, but i think it can be really enlightening and provide a lot of depth when you get to see how characters respond to normal everyday conflict and not just how they respond to giant world-ending conflict!! letting el use her powers for goofy teenage shit like spying on boys and messing with mean girls at the mall is not only fun for her and the audience, but it also really emphasizes just how much those powers are a part of el, making it that much more devastating when she loses them at the end of the season. 

weaknesses

tonal dissonance

so this is like. obvious. but it must still be said! i won’t go on and on about it since we all know this so i’ll try to like talk about it from an angle people don’t usually? anyway. it seems to me like they were maybe a little worried about s3 being too dark. while the choice to really lean into humor was definitely driven by the sorts of eighties teen films from which s3 drew inspiration (like fast times at ridgemont high), i think it was also done in an attempt to alleviate the more troubling implications of some events in the season, particularly the russian bunker plot. like, yeah, st can be incredibly dark, but if they’d played the whole “children being stuck inside of a foreign military base, tied up, tortured, and drugged” thing completely straight without the humorous elements that exist in canon, it had the potential to be like... disturbing on a new level. steve and robin don’t have powers like el yknow their kidnapping/torture doesn’t have any sci-fi elements to sorta soften the blow. they’re just innocent teenagers being brutalized and traumatized by grown men. so anyway yeah i think maybe the writers were concerned about this storyline coming off as too dark and they wanted it to be a little more whimsical but they ended up pushing way too hard in that direction and creating extreme dissonance at times. this goes for joyce/hopper/murray/alexei too, but to a lesser extent. i think the ridiculousness in that group felt a lot more like... realistic. but still. 

newspaper plot

once again i feel like i don’t even need to say this skjdncmn we all know it was insane how the show basically ended up delivering the message “while misogyny is a serious problem poverty and classism are not” and i’ve said it on this blog a million times so i don’t need to repeat myself. i’ll focus on another weak point of this plot: the fact that it completely separates nancy and jonathan from everyone else. once again, the show’s preoccupation with j/ancy held them back! like... can you imagine a version of s3 where nancy and jonathan both worked in the mall? i have a lot of ideas about this possible au and like how the plot could play out differently if they worked in the mall but first of all it’s just more realistic, second of all it further utilizes the mall as a central setting, and third of all, it would bring everyone together. as it is in canon, nancy and jonathan were unnecessarily isolated from the rest of the group, and this isolation was detrimental to both of their characters. like, they only ever get to interact with each other! if they’d gotten summer jobs in the mall, they could have had more interactions with the kids/steve/robin, and they absolutely still could have had a similar argument! maybe in this case, nancy notices the rat thing (or something else odd) herself when taking out the trash behind the mall, and she wants jonathan to ditch work with her to check it out bc she thinks it may be related to the lab. jonathan doesn’t want to ditch work because he needs his job, nancy argues that they’re working shitty mall jobs anyway and who cares if they get fired, and we get more or less the same thing as s3 without the cartoonishly over-the-top misogyny. i mean honestly i think the rat shit could have been cut entirely it didn’t rly... accomplish much of anything. in my opinion. like imagine s3 without the rat plot you literally would not be missing anything except it would be more surprising when the dudes melted into goo at the hospital. so yeah i think it would have been better if nancy and jonathan had jobs at the mall, weren’t isolated from everybody else, and were maybe absorbed into the party’s plot or the scoops troop’s plot from very early on, allowing them to interact with more characters and have a less... dumb.... plot. like god splitting up nancy and jonathan between the party/scoops troop would have been So Much better i just. sdkjcnksdmn anyway yeah.

briefness of group reunion/separation of groups

remember in s2 at the beginning of “the gate,” where mike and hopper had a confrontation and max and el met for the first time and el hugged everyone and steve and nancy had their sad little moment together outside... where’s that energy? obviously the s2 reunion wasn’t that long either, but it made space for some significant emotional moments to take place. s3′s reunion had some hopper/el/mike resolution, but besides that... there was nothing, really. i just think that the whole group getting together in s3 was SO exciting and powerful the way they did it (with both the scoops troop and the adults having their own Big Moment reconnecting with team griswold family), but the emotional potential was more or less squandered. 

i also think in s3 at times they were really stretching to keep everybody separated even though it made no sense. and like... in s1 the separation worked bc nobody else knew that (x group) was experiencing weird shit too, and beyond that, each group (as i mentioned in the s1 section) was sort of operating within their own genre and bringing something unique to the season. they’ve stopped doing that though! now, the groups aren’t separate bc each plot is tonally/structurally different, the groups are just separate bc... they need to be, because it’s a big ensemble cast and you can’t just have them all be together for a whole season or it would be way too difficult to coordinate things and keep the show dynamic. all this is to say that i’m excited for s4 because the location differences make it so there’s a Reason for each plot to be separate at the beginning, and i think that’ll work better.

general ridiculousness

i dont mean like i think it’s bad that they made jokes this is just me lumping in all the dumb shit like hopper not worrying about el and not wanting to check on the kids, him and joyce bickering long after they both know they and their children are in danger, max seemingly forgetting that billy is a racist abuser, etc etc. i think many of these are just a symptom of the show 1. trying desperately to keep the groups split up a certain way even though it may not make any sense, and 2. trying to fit into a certain genre/trope mold when their actual characters are more complex than the tropes they’re imitating. this is so fucking long already i am not gonna elaborate further rn but i trust u all know what i mean.

soooo... yeah, that’s about all! i mean it’s not all there are definitely many more things i could talk about and i know i focused sorta disproportionately on the teens which is my bad :/ but i’m done for now. thank you for asking, and apologies for the delay in responding!! i’m sure some people reading (if anyone read this far) will disagree with some of what i’ve said and that’s alright like i’m not The Authority on st or anything i’m just trying to talk about like my own thoughts yknow? so yeah luv u all i hope someone enjoyed reading this!!

[phoomwhoosh]

So, I’ve been thinking about that post I made about The Karate Kid 3 and how people said that Mr. Miyagi was OOC in the scene where he told Daniel he wasn’t gonna train him and now I’m gonna share my thoughts on why I think he was probably like that. 

I want to start this by stating that I can’t help but agree that it did seem pretty OOC for Mr. Miyagi to refuse to train Daniel for the tournament in the way that he did BUT I realized something really obvious about why he might’ve been like that. Something that I didn’t even notice until I thought way too much about it and then I went, “Well, duh, that could certainly explain it.”

His father had just died. He was not given enough time to fully mourn his father before shit started going very south with Daniel and Chozen. I think the day after the funeral, Daniel revealed Chozen’s whole scam scheme he had going on with the village and then things escalated from there. 

Also, because the movie is more focused on Daniel, we don’t really see Mr. Miyagi talking to his father before he died or even his grieving process. Like, he had to probably clean-up the house and take care of it. He had to do the usual things you do when a loved one dies. Then he didn’t even have time to fully process that his father was well and truly gone before Sato butt-in or before Daniel once more got himself into trouble. His father dies and then he has to deal with what happens in the rest of the movie. You know, like Sato continuously trying to initiate their death match and Daniel accidentally getting on Chozen’s worse side. (He was on Chozen’s bad side the second the dude met him since apparently just about every man wants to obliterate Daniel but that’s beside the point.)

Then, after all of the events of the second movie, he comes home and finds-out that he’s lost his job and Daniel’s lost his home. That had to be a lot of stress on top of having lost his father. Things kind of calm down for a moment until Daniel gets the letter from the All Valley. He successfully convinced Daniel not to compete and figured it was over with. (You have to wonder if part of the reason why he didn’t want Daniel defending his title had to do with the fact that Daniel had just been in a death match that he came very close to losing and Mr. Miyagi didn’t want to see Daniel get hurt anymore.)

THEN the shop gets messed-up and he doesn’t care because, like, at least their stock is still at home and safe and they can clean the shop back up again, that’s easy. He doubts Mike will come back and bother Daniel, not after that ass-beating. But then they get home and the stock is gone and Mr. Miyagi is clearly unhappy about it but he compartmentalizes his feelings and leaves to go fishing because that’s the only way he can think to deal with it all. Worse yet, the very next day, Daniel shows up at the shop looking like an absolute fucking wreck with the bonsai that Miyagi himself planted in a spot so it wouldn’t get disturbed. A bonsai that, friendly reminder, he brought with him from home. To be honest, Daniel rambles the whole story of what happened and isn’t very coherent and then Daniel drops the news on him that he’s competing in the tournament and I think, at that point, it was all Too Much for him. Like, Mr. Miyagi isn’t perfect. He’s still a man with flaws and, honestly, it’s already been a super rough year. The bonsai was the only thing he knew he could fix in that moment, you know?

With everything else happening in the movies, it’s so easy to forget that he just lost his father and nearly lost Daniel. Like, Daniel almost fucking died! Here he is, fresh from losing his father, and then he’s forced to watch Daniel almost die in a death match. How fucking shattered would he have been if he had had to watch his surrogate son, this boy who he took under his wing and who used his college fund to come with him on this trip, die? Like, how would he have explained that to Lucille? On top of that, he has to blame himself in some way for Daniel even being in that situation. After all, Chozen’s problems with Daniel originally stemmed from Miyagi and Sato’s rivalry. But it wasn’t like he could just tell Daniel he couldn’t come along after he spent all of that money on a plane ticket and he definitely couldn’t ignore the fact that his father was dying.

I think he distanced himself from Daniel in the third movie in the way that he did partially because he was overwhelmed by everything going on. The other part being that he had to be afraid of what was gonna happen next. No one could blame him for wondering what the Hell was coming next. But he didn’t want to show any kind of a fear around Daniel because, like, this kid’s relying on him to be strong and he was having a hard time with that. So, he stayed out of what was going on this time and hoped it’d work-out like it did at the last All Valley. 

Once he fully noticed what was happening to Daniel, though, he realized that he absolutely could NOT stay out of it anymore, especially when the poor kid came to him covered in another guy’s blood and was clearly way worse-off than he had been previously. (It is shown that he was worried about Daniel throughout the movie but, like, I don’t think he knew what to do.) So, he followed Daniel to Cobra Kai because he realized that he needed to insure Daniel’s safety and he didn’t want to let his fear control him anymore. That is more than likely what fueled his speech to Daniel about NOT letting fear win. Because he almost let his (understandable given the circumstances) fear of what the future held win and nearly lost Daniel a second time albeit in a different (and objectively worse) way than death. 

[grownups-are-the-real-monsters]

Mike/Bill (IT) + 6

Send me a Stephen King ship + a number & I will shuffle my music that many times and write you a little one-shot!!! (I will start working on them tomorrow!)

Mike/Bill + Song #6 which was 'Gonna Find Me a Bluebird' by Marvin Rainwater!

'A Commercial for Antidepressants, That's what it was from.’

Bill Denbrough curled his hands under the wood and pulled himself as close to the desk as possible as he attempted to clear his mind. ‘Pop, Pop Fizz Fizz…’ Blood dripped from his nose as he shook his head, 'That wasn't it.’. He thought, sitting under the light shining through the window. It was pale and cold.

He swiped a soft tissue from the box and began to crumple it up. ‘Alka-Seltzer. Duh!’ Bill rolled his eyes and shoved the end of the tissue into the dry cave of his nose.

Pencils, he needed pencils and maybe one pen. So he began to dig through his drawers, opening his laptop with the free hand. 'Hadn't ‘Cop, Cop, Whiz, Whiz’ been one of Richie Tozier's classic games?’ The answer was yes and Bill distinctly remembered this now because he’d stolen the term for a book of his. The rules of the game were simple; Richie would piss on the front wheel of any deserted cop car he came across.

Of course, not all would successfully be abandoned at the time because his friend was not just blind without glasses but also generally impulsive. In such cases, Rich would have to run away with his pants slipping down his legs, praying his dick didn’t get caught in his zipper. None of this was important considering the task at hand but Bill found it hard to pull his head out of the Derry Days. He suspected this was all to do with Audra but he’d just come to the end of that whole mess and would not indulge any farther past ‘blame’, which was all his.

He had promised his therapist that he would take bigger strides towards helping himself. Bill pulled out his earbuds, ‘Leader of The Band’ & it’s calm-pleasure being taken away with it, and continued his relentless typing. Initially, he had spent agonizing hours trying to figure out just what his therapist wanted him to do because the damn guy couldn’t give him simple instructions. How the hell was he supposed to accomplish the task when he had no fucking clue what even made him happy these days? ‘Writing? Audra?’ He had questioned himself.

The answer had been neither, as of that moment, & that was made perfectly clear when Audra left him and while Bill did feel heart-sick…he also felt relief. Audra was off to find her own happiness too….when he eventually figured that out, he wished her well.

The move back to Derry came as a huge shock to his old pals and even more to himself. But when Bill pictured a project, it was hard to ignore. What made him happy as a kid? Silver. And she’d ended up in that old antique/thrift shop. The one with nice desk space and lots of paperbacks.

When Audra called to tell him she was settled in Chicago, Bill Denbrough went and bought ‘Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Clothes.’ It was a long process but well-worth it. His therapist would be proud…although he’d never hear of it because of the whole relocation shit but ‘Oh well’.

He had actually been on quite the writing streak since getting there, thoroughly enjoying each new project that he attacked. Sure, they weren’t as scary as they’d used to be but sitting there in the backroom of ‘Secondhand’ at age forty-four…Bill Denbrough found that he wasn’t too bothered by that fact. Instead, he just enjoyed his time running the shop and ‘writing his little stories’ as one Derry resident he’d gotten to know; Mrs. Caroline—who never seemed to recognize him as a ‘popular’ author—called it.

“I’m figuring the price should be a dollar. What do you say, Denbrough?”

Bill looked up, scrunching his aging eyes only to find one of his own novels being held up in the air. It was in fairly good condition too. “Really? I hear that guy’s really popular.” He smirked, letting his glasses fall from his head to rest on his nose.

His partner laughed, holding the paperback in both of his soft hands, something like adoration in his eyes. “I love ya Bill. So I’ll say a fair…a dollar and fifty cents?” He strolled over, tossing the book onto the desk. His smile was as beautiful as ever, it was the sight which had truly christened Bill’s new chapter in life just a few months ago.

Mike Hanlon leaned over to press a kiss in Bill’s hair before roughing his hand through it and walking around to sit down next to him.

“I love you too.” Bill playfully stuck out his tongue and tried to start typing again, only…he desperately needed to have at least one of his hands in Mike’s. “Being this close…” He turned, feeling earnest joy. “Well Mike, I’ve never been closer to a person in my life. Not even Audra and these last few months…”

Mike chuckled, mouth-closed yet still rich and full of heart. “We work.” He nodded and Bill felt like a silly kid again. “That’s a sure thing, Denbrough. And before you ask, I’m thinking moving back out here with you…” He paused. “Would be wonderfully weird.”

“S-s-seriously?” Bill stuttered from sheer nerves and pushed his chair back. “I know I came on strong–”

Mike couldn’t help but laugh again. “Well, calling me up to say you think you’re in love with me & might’ve subconsciously bought the store for us to run together…” He smiled, so full of love that it took up half his face.

Bill blushed with embarrassment. That had not been one of his best moments, surely. He must have sounded crazy to Mike back then. And although he felt a bit of shy-shame for it, he never regretted it because he was right. Knew it back then just the same as he knows it now. “Again, very sorry for that.”

“Nah, I loved it.” Mike slapped his partner’s knee and took his hand, admiring Bill for just a few seconds. “Who knew, huh?”

Bill shrugged. “Definitely not me….but I’m so fucking happy it happened.”

[nostalgic-pancakes]

F is for friends who do stuff together - the awake at 2 AM remix

Joan needs a swear jar, Talyn's a lightbulb, Valerie is tired and valid, and Thomas+Sides are very confused)

Summary- Thomas has had his sides around for... a long time. That's for sure. And he knows that nobody else can see them (except maybe Lilly, but she has sides too, so).

Pairings- Pintroverts, Thomas and friends, Thomas and Sides

Read on AO3

Word count- 2666

Warnings- It has character!everyone, and NOT their real life counterparts. Please remember this.

Other notes- AU where instead of Vine, c!Thomas left chemical engineering for signing with a really dope theatre company with his friends. He still meets Nico at the mall, but Nico's a new writer for the company! All the sides are friends too! Enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Look, the first time was an accident, okay? Joan was tired and a bit incoherent and what was Thomas supposed to do?!! Leave them be? No! So Joan ended up staying the night.

Except, the next morning was when everyone had entered the courtroom together and they'd gotten WAY too dramatic over whether to lie to them about a text they'd made like… two days ago and that Thomas had only seen after combing through a barrage of memes and that Joan probably wouldn't remember, come to think about it. But that was hindsight and after the utter nightmare that was a whole day (A whole day!!) with Aunt Patty the day before, Virgil and Patton were absolutely freaking out, probably giving Deceit (Who, in hindsight, Thomas knows as Janus) a little extra leeway into the conversation that day.

Either way, Joan had stayed the night in order to recover from the utter sleep-deprivation that they'd been going through, and Thomas had forgotten about the fact that Joan was even there for most of the morning, only seeing them after the entire courtroom spectacle (and a suspiciously dire warning from Virgil) at breakfast, and them leaving to see Talyn a little after (with plenty of hugs involved, duh).

Then Thomas told Joan the truth over the call, and Joan had said The Line (as Roman, Virgil and Janus call it with an oddly cryptid-like voice) and Thomas felt himself go frigid.

Since when did Joan know that Thomas talked to his sides?! Had they learned their names? Figured out that Thomas might just have a few extra screws loose than they might have initially thought?

"Maybe they even hate us now because we got so crazed over one little text and--”

“Virgil. Not helping!” Thomas yelps, and Virgil catches himself in his spiel of worst case scenarios, looking a bit sheepish. Patton and Thomas smile at him reassuringly (he hopes) and Logan clears his throat, causing everyone to turn to him.

“Well, Joan seems to be aware enough of the fact that you speak to us, but mostly considers it as you, as they had said, ‘talking to yourself’, and besides, you didn’t name-drop us too many times, anyways. And while it’s not really...ideal, that Joan thinks you talk to yourself for this long-”

“You can say that again, Stephen Hawk-Nerd”, murmured Roman. Logan winces, and Thomas kind of wants to hug him, so he does.

“Yes, Roman, and as bad as that nickname is, note that this is not, in fact a worst-case scenario. This can be put down to the fact that Thomas has some strange personality quirks-”

“Did you just do some wordplay there, kiddo?” Patton beams at the implication, while Logan, currently being shared by Thomas and Virgil, just groans and descends further into the contact.

“No, I did not, Patton, but what I am saying, is that this is not too bad. We can talk about it as a general personality quirk. This is fine.” Logan finishes, and becomes a heap in the total hug-pile of Thomas and Virgil, flopping over. Huh, he (as usual) has a point. Maybe this can work.

The second time was a pretty near miss, but once again, it was unexpected! He and the sides were just watching Mulan together as usual! They were piled up together, blankets in hand, and yeah, it might look weird to anyone who can’t see the sides, he guesses, with the blankets stretched out in places that have nothing to stretch onto, but once again, he wasn't expecting someone to come over! But anyways- whatever happens, happens. He's trying to be better about it.

It really doesn't stop Janus from pulling out all the stops (teaming up with Virgil, even!) when it comes to having to come up with an alibi to Terrence over why the blankets are arranged so strangely, even though there is literally nothing keeping it afloat. In the end, it's not the most believable lie, but Terrence is busy with Valerie just after, so he probably doesn't really think about it too hard. Besides, Thomas has always been a pretty quirky guy! ("Which could be an insul--" "Jack and Sullen, we love you very very much, but please, for the love of all things Disney, please breathe and take out your fidget cube..") So hey, what was a new quirk when added to everything else?

Meanwhile, Terrence is trying to figure out what the fuck he just saw, because he's pretty sure that there were more than one Thomas there, and Thomas only has two other brothers. Also none of them dress like twenties mobsters or are semi-transparent.

Nico was having a good day. In fact, he still is!

He and his (amazing) boyfriend were sitting on the couch- though more draped on top of each other than anything while binge watching ELITE and Tiny Pretty Things, while also being pleasantly high (as opposed to stoned).

Things only entered strange territory when during one of the flashback murder-y scenes in Tiny pretty Things, a strange man who looked like an even more chaotic Thomas with some grey hair on him entered the room from seemingly nowhere, and proceeded to occupy the sparse space on Thomas’s lap with his head, essntially just napping on his boyfriend’s lap while also being kind of see-through (???!!!???AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH). Thomas noticed, waved a small wave and started playing with this weird guy’s hair.

Nico is now a little high from the bong that he and Thomas had shared, but not enough to hallucinate, especially since, when the high was pretty much gone, the guy was STILL THERE. MIERDA. At this point, he’s just going to call it ghosts. Thomas doesn’t seem to mind too much anyways, so they must not be harmful. Nico decides to table this for another day and go back to binge watching crazy maniacs with his very soft and warm boyfriend, and let the remainder of the high coast along.

"We have to talk about the Thomas thing." Is the first thing Joan says without any bullshit, as soon as everyone except Thomas himself, Gavin (because it's two AM) and Quil are packed together in Thomas's living room, where he just binged Parks and Rec with everyone. They've all finally managed to shove Thomas and Quil back to their respective areas of sleep after 42 hours without said sleep, and nobody was allowed to talk loud enough for them to wake up.

"The… Thomas thing?" Asks Valerie. Oh that sweet summer child. Joan once again quietly calls everyone's attention by asking Talyn to shake their hair around like a neon-coloured alarm bell. This was especially effective in the otherwise dark kitchen where they were trying out glow in the dark hair dye.

"Well, as of lately, we've been seeing a lot, and I mean a lot of really weird shit coming from Thomas. Everyone, recount your experiences." Joan says in the most serious voice they've got. "I'll go first."

They wave their hands like Matt Mercer, as if they were setting up a dope DND campaign. Quietly, of course.

"Well, about a month ago now, I was cleaning here, at Thomas's, because I was sleep-deprived and would have crashed and died if I'd tried to go back to mine and Talyn's. So most of the night goes normally, as one would expect, but when I wake up in the morning…" Joan readjusts their beanie. "I hear Thomas in the living room, talking to people called Logan, Roman, someone called Pat, Virgil and 'deceit'. And this debate becomes an ordeal, alright? He re-enacts a whole entire ace-attorney style courtroom scene with these imaginary people? I called him out on it over the phone when he apologized for some random thing- I don't remember, and he kind of just… admitted that he talks to himself? And moved on.

Everyone absorbs this new information. Camden keeps braiding Talyn's hair.

"But that's not too big of a deal, right Joan?" Whispers Camden, tying up the elaborate mini fishtail plait in Talyn's hair. "I mean, thanks Thomas we're talking about. He could have been rehearsing or something- isn't he JD in the next production of Heathers?"

Terrence speaks up next. "Yes, this would have been all well and good, had the Blanket Incident ™ not occured."

Valerie shakes her head. Why are her friends like this? Oh wait. They’re all theatre nerds, queer and D&D players.

"In the blanket incident ™, I was walking past Thomas's room, as one does. HOWEVER, while he was watching Mulan, I noticed something wrong with his blanket pile!"

"What, that they don't have any Vetal Miking references on them? Because that's the true tragedy here."

"Nope, sorry Tal, the weirdness here was not about Vetal Miking references, but the fact that parts of the blanket were freaking floating, in thin air! I have discreet pictures!"

"What the fuck, Terrence." whispered everyone in a strange, haunting unison that could only be possible at two AM as they saw the very strange pictures.

"And that's not it!" Pipes up Talyn, who is now realising that they are very close to becoming too loud for 2 AM kitchen chats, and makes an effort to quiet down.

"At breakfast today, Thomas's waffles were making themselves- Thomas can't cook, y'all. And he can't even use is fucking waffle iron. And he was on the other side of the room! Talking to Quil!" After Quil left, he told the waffle creator to chill out because the stack was getting too tall!"

"Is this about Thomas's ghosts, guys?" Asks Nico, the new cute boyfriend and new theatre company writer as he plops down in Quil's usual spot. Nico's nice- everyone likes Nico except maybe Nico, to which, well, mood. ALSO- ghosts?!!

"Nico what the fuck do you mean by ghosts, you serial killer in training?"

"One, just because I have to write a serial killer in this new script and I'm enjoying it, it doesn't mean I'm gonna be a serial killer, you tonte. Two: yeah, the ghosts that follow him around and look just like him? They seem nice enough." At everyone's super unspoken request to elaborate, for fuck's sake, he takes the hint and does.

“Oh! So the first time I saw them, I was at the mall. You know, where Thomas and I met?” everyone nods, and Talyn readjusts their braces.

“So there was this guy in a hoodie- Virgil, as you said, and the Disney prince. Roman, I think. And they were just kind of… there? Roman was holding Virgil’s shoulder affectionately, and that’s about it. They were only really visible after about three or four hours of us talking, though.” Some of the people hum.

“Then, we were watching a movie and these two guys who also look a lot like Thomas just kind of lounged? On the couch? They were pretty faint, like if their brightness was decreased to about thirty percent in Photoshop.”

“Hey, same!” says Terrence.

“Yeah, so those guys- the one in the green t-shirt that has the legs on the bus meme- so weird- kind of just stretches onto Thomas’s lap and stays there, while the twenties mobster just… curls up to his side? And thomas is probably like, used to this because he kind of just lets it be and curls the meme shirt-”

“I think it’s Remus.”

“-Remus’s hair absentmindedly and moves on.”

“Fuck.” Whispered Joan very softly, but with great feeling.

“So what do we do about it?” asks Camden. There, finally, someone asks the real questions.

“Well,” puts forward Talyn. “They’re not harming him, right? And he’s had them around for a long enough time, right? So what’s the harm? Thomas is just haunted and will probably be on Buzzfeed Unsolved: Supernatural at some point when he dies but hey, if he’s cool with it, we are too.”

Everyone seems to agree with that, and they’re in comfortable silence, until Valerie asks everyone to go the fuck to sleep, we’re still doing the Heather’s costume rehersals and Death Week starts in two days. With groans and cracked joints from Talyn, everyone hobbles off to their respective rooms in the duplex.

Meanwhile, a certain white-streaked side and his hoodied companion are listening through the wall, far away from what anyone can see, and they both visibly sigh in relief. That didn’t go too badly. The question remains: what do we do now?

“They KNOW????” exclaims Thomas, the next day in the (thankfully empty) breakroom, in between rehearsals- Candy Store is being run through and that means that everyone else is outside.

“Yes, Thomas, they know. Or they somewhat know, I suppose.”

“Yeah, because they think we’re-Thomas is being HAUNTED!!’

“Are you not haunted, then?” comes a voice, and Thomas turns around, forgetting to let the sides dissipate in his surprise. It’s Nico, with Talyn and Valerie close behind, who are clearly taking in the six other guys in the breakroom. Well, fuck. The cat’s out of the bag for good, he guesses.

“Could you get everyone else during lunch break? I’ll explain then.” Talyn nods and leaves with a smile, telling him that they’re not mad at him, while Nico asks, voice farther away “So are you haunted or not?”.

“So they’re… aspects of your personality that you’ve been able to manifest since you were a kid?” Camden asks, a bit disbelieving, even as Logan, Roman, Patton and Janus drape themselves over Thomas on one of the beanbags in the breakroom, filled with other nerdy gay young adults. Logan pushes up his glasses, ready to go on another tangent. Go wild, you funky little dude.

“Well yes, that’s exactly what we're saying. I myself am the embodiment of Logic- every fact that Thomas has ever learned, and his, and these are his words, not mine, ‘the only braincell’. He makes the air quotes to go with the expression, but is also smiling fondly.

“Classic Thomas.”

“Yes, Valerie, I am inclined to agree. However, this is not specific to Thomas. Other people can, in fact, do what Thomas is. Lilly Singh is one of them- the reason that she and Thomas are even friends is because in high school Thomas caught her talking to one of her sides in the art room.”

“So wait-- we can summon sides too?!” asks Nico, and he and Camden look genuinely excited, but Thomas knows the answer to that question.

“Unfortunately no, not really. You have to have an extremely active imagination, and also be ‘innocent’, as society would put it. I’d say näive.”

“For example, I couldn’t make any more sides after i was fourteen, because I watched the news by then.” pipes in Thomas. Joan seems to process this first, nodding and grinning sardonically. “Ah yes, the news. Wrecking childhoods since forever.” everyone nods in gay syncing, because gay minds think at the same time.

Valerie suddenly speaks up; “So how many sides do you have, Thomas?”

Thomas perks up, because his sides are possibly his favourite metaphysical beings (as narcissistic as that might sound) “I have six! My logic, morality, both creativities- Kids and Family and PG13-and-up, anxiety and deceit! I have two creativities because of catholic guilt and my mind’s inherent need to cause chaos, I guess.”

“Valid” replied Valerie.

The rest of break passed by pretty smoothly, with questions being passed back-and-forth about what the sides truly were, considering they clearly were not just Thomas, and Virgil even felt okay enough to come in later! So that was good. Though he kind of wishes Remus had made fewer Heathers jokes- Camden was starting to look squeamish, even as Nico frantically took notes of gorey facts to use in his script.

Honestly, Thomas thought to himself. What was I scared of?

Irrational things. And rejection, replies Virgil in his head. He laughs and pulls him in for a hug, and tries as he might to deny it, Virgil is looking pretty chuffed.

[frostysfrenzy]

NCIS SURVEY courtesy of @navalcriminalimagines

Wasn’t asked to, but it was open to whoever, so hey! I’m just spewing the first thing that pops in my head

fav recurring character? Queen Ziva David

least fav recurring character? Jenny

fav secondary character? Borin. Fornell is a close second

least fav secondary character? Allison Hart

fav villain? Honestly maybe Ari. I don’t know. I don’t typically consider villains likeable

villain you hate? In particular, the Rivera/Reynosa clan

fav ep? Dead Man Walking

fav season? 9

ep you hate? Judge, Jury and executioner. I guess. I wouldn’t say i fully hate it but I just hate court eps and ones like that

fav storyline? Probably McGee and Delilah after the attack/after she comes back. Them flourishing. And Tony coming around with his dad

least fav storyline? Vance splitting the team up post judgement day. Just don’t like seeing the fam apart

fav ship? Tiva

fav moment? McGee’s proposal

moment you hate? Literally any moment a lawyer thinks they’re better than the team. Or the deaths/losses of any mains or anyone else they care about

funniest scene? Jimmy’s bachelor party

scene that makes you cry every time? Pretty much all of family first

scene that makes you anxious? any of those scenes in SWAK where Tony is deathly ill (before Gibbs tells him he’ll be fine)

thoughts on season 18? Emotional season from hell, don’t take me back ever

wishes for season 19? Less extreme emotion on the regular, some, I don’t know, closure (Gibbs and Bishop alike)

do you watch other NCIS? Nola? LA? yes! Love LA, Nola is pretty good too, haven’t watched it in awhile, I prefer the other two the most

a quote from the show that sticks with you? Jimmy’s speech to the kid on the ledge “the going through hell keep going thing” and of course many of Ziva’s idiom failures (I mean, my blog title is looking for a needle in a needle stack)

if you could change ONE thing about the show, what would it be? Let Bishop live her life in peace for 12 minutes without something hurtful happening to her

torres or dinozzo? Tough one, but Tony

ziva or ellie? Ziva. Hands down

jimmy or ducky? Jimmy

abby or kasie? Kasie (likely an unpopular opinion and absolutely no offense to Abby I love her too)

thoughts on luca sciuto? and kyle? How could you not like them? Sweethearts (now I’m thinking about Luca and Eva what an odd pair that was considering her now history with Gregorio)

do you want to adopt goldfish and call them ziva and kate? I mean, why not?

do you miss kate? Yeah, they don’t seem to televise reruns of her seasons anymore which bugs me

did gibbs change after kate’s death? 110%

thoughts on dr. samantha ryan? Meh. 

fav gibbs’s ex? Diane I suppose

slibbs; yes or no? I’m impartial

or was hollis mann a better fit for him? She wasn’t the worst, but not his perfect match

are gibbs and fornell actually married? Uh, Duh

thoughts on allison hart? good lord please don’t make me think about her

should tony have gone back with wendy? No

do you like mike franks? Totally

moment(s) that traumatized you? Twilight, Neverland, even SWAK, you name it

should gibbs retire? I want to say no, but I love leader McGee. But he’ll always be boss, so no

fav rule? 4. Best way to keep a secret, keep it to yourself, second best, tell one person, there is no third

rule you don’t get? 10 because it literally got broken all the time

if you can bring ONE character back, who would it be? Reeves. He was just a casuality in Abby’s departure storyline and I hate that for him

random headcanon? about the show, a character… Torres is the cool uncle that all the kids love despite his apparent initial dislike towards children

will tony and ziva have another child? I honestly don’t think so, but I would love to see it

thoughts on ellie by the end of season 18? That was a complete flip of the script, but as much as I liked her, she was not close to Ziva for me

is kasie straight? gay? bi? Bi. I’m going bi

thoughts on jessica knight? I loved her in those first eps, I’m curious to see what’s to come

when did you become a fan of the show? (season, year?) I’d say like 2013?? I watched reruns with my mom all the time but I didn’t start watching new weekly eps til right after Ziva left. I remember seeing magazine articles on her departure right as i was getting into it

which character would you date and why? Probably McGee or Jimmy, they’re just goofy sweethearts and I love them

[viewmasterfeeling]

will talking about a crush and gushing about them, and mike is like 'oh :('. then will asks for advice on how to ask them out so mike gives him advice (sadly) and the next day will uses that advice to ask mike out.

yes thank you so much ily Jamie

Crush

“Will has a crush?!” Mike asked Dustin, flipping out internally. He was in the basement with the Party, talking to Dustin and eyeing Will from across the room. Will burst into laughter at whatever he and Lucas were talking about, and Mike wanted to die.

“Uh, yeah?” Dustin had brought it up casually, and now, he still seemed unmoved. “Why’s it matter?”

Why does it matter? Maybe because Mike had been in love with Will since like, forever!

“No reason,” Mike mumbled, following Lucas and Will up the stairs. The Party was leaving after playing one of Dustin’s campaigns. He was sad to see his friends (and his crush) leave, but also savored all the time he got in his basement, alone to simmer in his feelings. And boy, he had a lot of feelings.

The boys said their goodbyes, and Lucas and Dustin hopped onto their bikes and rode away. Will sat on the porch- he hadn’t biked. Hesitantly, Mike joined him.

“So… I hear you have a crush ?” Mike prompted. Maybe a weird thing to ask, but hey, he had to know.

Will blushed and smiled a bit. “Um, yeah… who told you?”

“Dustin.”

“Obviously.” They sat in quiet for a few moments before Mike decided he needed more info.

“Do you… want to talk about it?”

A pause. Then, Will sighed. “Ugh. Yes. He’s so obnoxious, but in a way that’s kind of cute. He’s sorta funny I guess? And he’s really cute. Oh, and I love talking to him.” Will kept gushing and Mike had only one thought in his mind.

He? He’s? Him? Will liked a guy that wasn’t Mike?

Will finally stopped talking, and Mike pressed his jealousy down. “Um, that’s awesome, Will.” Will seemed a bit nervous.

“You don’t mind… that it’s a guy?”

“What? No! Of course not!”

Relief flooded the boy’s face. It was a good look on Will.

“So, um… What’s his name?” Mike prompted. He needed to know which guy to send glares in the hallway.

Will bit his lip. “Um… not yet.” Mike got it. He definitely understood. As much as he ranted to El about his crush on Will, he never explicitly said who it was. But based on her little smirks every time Mike and Will were together, she probably had a hunch.

Will cleared his throat. “So. You’ve been in a relationship before… any advice?”

Mike laughed dryly. “Advice? From me? About how to deal with your crush?”

“You’re the expert. I want your input,” he said teasingly.

Mike raised his eyebrows. “Okay. Umm… I guess just, talk to him? Maybe try flirting? I don’t know, things were different with El.” Mike thought long and hard about how he would tell Will how he felt. Because that would be the best advice he could give, right? “I guess I would just hang out with him some time, bring him to a special place, and tell him how you feel.” A scenario from many of Mike’s daydreams. Many of them ended with a kiss.

Will nodded with an unreadable look in his eye. “Thanks, Mike. For everything.”

Mike shrugged, trying to hide the small pain at the fact Will liked someone else. “It’s no biggie.”

Will’s mom appeared in the driveway, and with a wave and a smile, Will left Mike to wallow.

-----

The next day, the phone rang in Mike’s house.

“It’s for you!” his mom called.

“Okay!” he shouted back up. He went to the phone and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” came Will’s voice. Will. Mike felt butterflies, and a smile came over his face.

Wow, he’d fallen so far, and he didn’t even know.

“Hi. What’s up?”

Short pause. “Sorry. Um… I was wondering… want to hang out today? My house?”

Of course, always. “Yeah, of course! When should I come over?”

“Any time. Right now, if you want.” Mike wanted to. He always wanted to see Will.

“Okay, I’ll be over in twenty minutes.”

“Cool. See you then.” Will hung up the phone. Mike started grinning uncontrollably. He loved the thrill of excitement every time he saw Will. Once he got over hating himself for liking boys and girls, it was replaced by an overwhelming joy. Mike loved being in love with Will. (Not that he was in love… it was just a crush, obviously.)

He put a few things in a backpack and left on his bike for Will’s house. The October air was cool and crisp on his face. Soon, he arrived at the Byers house.

Will stood on the porch. He waved, smiling, but something was off. It was almost as if he was… nervous?

Mike approached, smiling. Will bit his lip, his eyes daring all around. Definitely nervous. There was an awkward silence before Will broke it with, “Wanna go to Castle Byers?”

Mike was confused. “Um, sure.”

“Awesome!” he grabbed his bike, which was already in the front, and started biking quickly away. Curious, Mike hopped on his own bike and followed.

They got to the edge of the woods, parked their bikes, and started their trek through. Mike’s curiosity got the best of him. “What are we doing?”

“You’ll see.”

“What do you mean? Is it a secret?”

“Just… wait until we get there.”

“Fine.” A few moments later, “I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?” Mike had this passing thought every once in a while. It would hurt so much to put Will through pain, so he would never do it purposely, but… well, Mike could be a bit of an idiot at times.

Will sighed. “ No , Mike. Be patient.”

“Fine.” A few more minutes of walking before they arrived. Will climbed into Castle Byers, which seemed to grow smaller each time Mike visited. He gestured for Mike to come in, so, Mike climbed in. He sat with his legs crossed, across from Will. They were so close their legs were touching. (Mike tried not to freak out about that.) “So?”

Will took a shaky breath. “I… Mike, I’ve had a crush on you for the past five years.” He sighed.

Mike’s jaw dropped in shock. “Me? But what about that other guy?” Will gave an exasperated sigh and suddenly it hit him. Oh.

“Ohh…” Mike breathed. After the initial shock was gone, his face split into a smile, all the traces of jealousy from before gone.

A moment passed. “So?” Will asked, nervous.

Oops. Mike forgot to answer.

“Will, are you kidding? I’ve been in love with you my whole life--” Mike panicked. Oops.

Will just smiled brightly. Then, his face transformed into a teasing grin. “Your whole life?”

Mike turned bright red. “Shut up.”

They laughed and talked for a few minutes before something came to Mike. “Why Castle Byers?”

Will shrugged. “I asked this guy for advice, and he said to take you somewhere important. This is the only place I could think of, I guess.”

“You took my advice?” Mike squeaked, amazed. Will started laughing.

“Well, duh, why do you think I asked?”

They both burst into laughter. Now that the secrets were out, everything felt so much lighter and easier. Like things used to be.

Castle Byers. It made sense. It was really the only thing about this situation that made sense.

Wow. Will liked Mike back. For five years.

Mike really was a bit of an idiot.