#and mike needs to be his own person and discover himself

[thefandombringer]

breaking my silence: i absolutely hate it when people make mike’s new personality/style (especially style) an eddie munson rip off LET MY BOY BE HIS OWN PERSON PLS

[kimarii-00]

Honey would please write something like when Armando left his gf she is a hacker and a weapon specialist without saying anything turned out that's not the only person he left behind. ( Tiny a baby girl who like to hold a wooden spoon ) They meet again when they going to the ammo squad in bad boys for . Her Kelly are besties . Very very angst.

(I accidentally deleted the ask, but I wrote it down before I did so above is the prompt for this, asked by anonymous)

Regrets and Punishments

❥Summary: Armando knows he made a mistake. He knew when he decided that his mother was more important than his girlfriend. But he planned to return to her, he did. He never could’ve anticipated being gone for as long as he was. Seeing her face again was like getting shot: You get that adrenaline rush, yet the pain ends up biting you in the ass later on. Especially when he discovers what, or dare I say, who he also left behind all that time ago.

❥Warnings: Slow burn, kidnapping, language

❥Word Count: 2.7k

❥Part 1/2

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AN: I’m ngl I’m not sure if you meant that you wanted them to have a kid or not, but I wrote it just in case, let me know if that's not what you wanted and I’ll rewrite it! (I also gave the kid a name)

I think I’m going to make this a two parter because I kinda took this prompt and ran with it lol

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He never thought he’d see you again. As much as he didn’t want to, he accepted the fact that he’d fucked up your relationship when he decided to leave you in favor of helping his mothers’ dirty work. He didn’t even give you so much as a call after he’d left to let you know that he was even alive. He only hoped that you were doing fine on your own.

Nonchalantly, Armando walked through the door to the house of the people Mike and Marcus knew, not giving a damn about the warning to stay outside like Mike had told him to. No wonder a gun was drawn and pointed at him as soon as he stepped foot in the home.

“Woah, woah! Kelly-” Mike began his attempt to mediate the situation, “I asked you to wait outside for a second… Alright, Kelly, he’s with us.” Standing in between the gun and his son.

“He can’t be here.” Kelly retorted, keeping her gaze on the wanted criminal standing before her.

“This is my son, Armando.”

“I know who he is and that’s why he can’t be here,” The gun never faltered as she spoke with a solid, demanding voice, “I trust you with my life, but I sure as shit don’t trust him.”

“I trust him,” Mike confirmed.

“Then take him to your house.”

Dorn cleared his throat, trying to release some of the tension that had built in the room. Armando said nothing as Dorn came over to try to calm his girlfriend, and Mike took his son to the opposite side of the room.

Marcus sat down on the couch in the middle of the room and snatched up a bag of chips, “This is some dysfunctional shit.” He said, looking back and forth between the two duos.

They came back together after a minute or two. “She’s fine,” Dorn said.

“She don’t look fine…” Marcus expressed, taking in the obvious irritation and discomfort on her face.

“I’m fine.”

“Yes, you are.” Everyone turned in the direction of Armando, where he only opened the fridge to grab a drink.

“It’s the language barrier,” Marcus explained to Dorn.

“It was English!”

“It was definitely English.”

“I have to call someone. I’ll be back,” Kelly said, picking up her phone and already beginning to dial, “If I’m going to do this I’m gonna need another girl here. She’ll be able to help with the tech stuff too.”

“Is it–” Dorn began, but cut himself off when Kelly nodded, “Tell her to leave Demi at home, we don’t know what kind of shit we’re getting into.”

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When you got the call from Kelly, you weren’t entirely sure what to make of it. She told you she needed you to come over, but when you asked her why, she only said something about “emotional support”. You’d tried to press her for more details but she only mentioned having some people over and needing your tech skills. After a while, you just decided you’d go, but not before you handled your own business.

“Demi, come here please!” You called out while folding another shirt, making a nice crease and adding it to your pile of similar neatly folded shirts.

The aggressive pitter-patter of small feet hitting your hardwood floors alerted you that the person you’d called for was on their way.

“Mama!” You felt the bed on which you were folding clothes dip a bit as a weight threw itself into the soft mattress. You smile when you set your eyes on the girl who is smiling to herself contently—your daughter.

“Mimi, mama has to leave soon,” You said as you picked her up and set her on your hip so you could continue to fold while holding your toddler, “Tiara should be here soon to look after you, okay?” You say, referring to your babysitter that you should probably be paying more considering how many times you’ve called her in the past week or so.

“Mama leaving… again?” Your heart dropped when you watched the smile fade from your daughter's face when she realized you were going to be gone and she was going to be left with the babysitter for what felt like the hundredth time. You always felt bad when things like this came up but… you couldn’t just blow Kelly off. Not after all she’s done for you.

“Yes… Mama’s leaving, I’m sorry baby but I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can okay?” You tried to cheer her up by giving her stomach a few tickles but your daughter was as stubborn as they come, her pout seemingly permanently stuck to her face.

The doorbell stole your attention and you gently set your daughter down. She followed you to the front door, and when you opened it her permanent pout was replaced with nothing but… confusion. You joined her in sporting this facial expression when you both looked at the stranger at your doorstep.

“Can I.. help you?” You ask the woman. She had a soft smile on her face, but for some reason, it didn’t seem welcoming.

“I’m your babysitter.” The woman replied.

“Um… I’m sorry there must be some mistake. My usual babysitter’s name is Tiara, I called her a while ago-”

“Tiara asked me to come here in her stead, she isn’t feeling too well, unfortunately. I’m a coworker of hers.” The woman explained, but you weren’t convinced. Tiara hadn’t mentioned any of this to you when you called her-

Just then, as you were about to make up your mind about whether or not you wanted to slam the door on the lady, you received a message from… Tiara.

3:34 Tiara (Babysitter): Hey, so sorry for the inconvenience but I’m not feeling good today, I sent over my coworker because I know you needed a sitter ASAP! Her name is Sara.

“What was your name again?” You asked, slowly taking your eyes off of your phone and to the lady, still wearing that smile on her face.

“Sara.”

You look her up and down once more before stepping to the side to let the woman inside. Your daughter hid behind and clung to your leg, only peeking out when she was sure the strange woman was not looking at her.

“Um… This is Demi,” You gesture to the girl who has glued herself to your right leg. You try to get her to say hello but she refuses. Sara stoops down to your daughter's level and tries to wave at her but Demi only scooches further out of sight. “The fridge is fully stocked, there are only a few weres, really: Don’t invite anyone else over, no drinking, oh and her bedtime is 8:30.”

“Please do not worry, I’m sure me and Demi will have a great time together.” Sara expresses, that damn smile still plastered on her face. There’s something about this lady that you just don’t like, but if Tiara sent her then it’s probably just you overreacting, right?

“Right… Could I get your phone number, just in case?” You say. She recites her number to you and you quickly enter it into your phone and save the contact, just in case of an emergency. You then turn around and kneel to look your daughter in the face.

“Be good, okay Mimi? I promise I’ll be back soon,” You say, giving her a quick peck on the forehead and a hug. She looks extremely hesitant and to be honest, so are you, but you’re already running late… “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Demi says meekly.

You smile and turn to leave.

If Tiara sent her, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?

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You parked in front of the house that your best friend and her boyfriend lived in. You had no guesses as to why she called you here, but if your technology skills could be useful to her, you’d want to help in any way you can.

You knock on the door and after a while, Kelly answers but stops you before you can go inside. “We kind of got ourselves in some shit, we’ll fill you in.”

She grabs your wrist, pulls you inside, and closes the door shut. The first thing that you lay your eyes on is the monitors that Dorn was sifting through. Pulling up various pictures of people and files that look confidential.

Should I even be here right now…?

“What's the situation?” You ask as you move towards Dorn.

“Remember when we told you all that stuff about Captain Conrad–”

“(Name)?”

You pause when you hear your name. The voice sounds so familiar you're almost scared to turn around and see who it was that called you. You think you know who it was that called, which is probably another reason as to why it takes you so very long to fully turn and face the man that has broken your heart time and time again.

It’s like the world stopped. All of a sudden, everyone in that room except for the man in front of you was irrelevant. There were so many things you wanted to say, yet no words left your mouth.

What is he doing here?

Why is he here?

All of the emotions flowing through you quickly became too much. Without a word, your feet guided you to the nearest room in which you could be alone.

“Do yall know each other?” Mike asked, but received no answer when his son went after the girl, “Do they know each other?” He asked in a more general way, but was met with nothing. The tension silenced everyone.

You ripped your arm out of the hand that had caught it when you reached the empty room. “Get the fuck off of me! What the hell are you doing here?” You exclaimed angrily. All of a sudden, all of those feelings you felt were entirely replaced by rage. Anger, directed at the man who’d left you without a second thought.

“I–” Armando began, but was cut off.

“Y’know what, I don’t care! Get the hell out of my face!”

“(Name), wait– stop,” He said, grabbing hold of your bicep when you tried to turn away from him again.

“You have some fucking nerve!” You growled, entirely in shock of the fact that he thinks he’ll just have a nice chat with you, “I haven’t seen your ass in years! Not a fucking call, or even a damn text! Nothing!”

“I know, I know, I didn’t plan on it being like that,” he pointed out. In actuality, he had no clue or reason as to why he followed you here. He knew he fucked up their relationship and a few words wasn’t going to change that fact. So why was he so desperate to get you to hear him out? He was never like this. It’s been years, why do you still have this weird affect on him?

“Yeah? Well I never planned on being abandoned by you, but look where we fuckin’ are now. Get the hell away from me,” You seethed. He had no clue how hard you were trying not to cry, “I said get the hell off of me!”

You snatch your arm from his grip. Deep down, underneath all of the anger that had boiled up to the surface, you’d missed Armando. You really did. Dealing with the pain of losing him, and never hearing from him until, well now. Taking care of Demi–

Does he even know about Demi? Does he know he’s a…

“Guys, so sorry to interrupt but we have a problem,” Kelly announced from around a corner. You hold eye contact with Armando for a few more seconds, trying to read his face but ultimately giving up. You didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. You stomp out of the room, and he lags behind you.

Upon entering the room where everyone was gathering around Dorn and his monitors, you see he is tapped into someone's security feed, which you quickly find out is Marcus’ and Mikes’ homes where their families were. Dorn was notifying the police to send backup and you realize that there are people attempting to break into the homes. Does this have something to do with their investigation with Captain Conrad?

Mike and Marcus grab their phones and quickly make calls, telling their people to hide, and leave their houses. You watch the cameras and watch as the masked men make their way into the two guys’ respective houses.

“Fuck, fuck!” Marcus says when he watches someone from his house grab a gun from a safe and hide the rest of the family in a closet. You can only home that whoever Marcus decided to trust with his family’s safety was skilled.

Everyone watches and commentates on the man's performance in the security feed, taking down the trespassers one by one until he is able to safely transport the rest of the family out of the house, but not before saluting to the security camera for us onlookers to see.

Mike is not so lucky, as he is not able to reach his wife in time to warn her and the girl who was with her at the time. We all have to watch when she’s easily overpowered and tied up. Mike is still on the phone with her, able to hear everything that’s going on.

A sudden devious voice sounds through the phone, one that was definitely not his wife, “Mr. Lowrey.”

“Who am I speaking to?” Mike lowers his voice and says in a serious tone.

“I think you know who you’re speaking to,” the voice says ominously, “I need your boy, and whatever evidence your beloved Captain has foiled away.” You eye Armando whose eyes were flicking back and forth from the phone to Mike, “And for that, you can have your wife. I’ll call you back with instructions.”

“Ah, shit…” Mike grumbles, but the man on the other side of the phone has not yet hung up.

“Ms. (Name), I know you’re there as well.” Your heart drops to your toes. What could this man want with you? “I’d go ahead and check the security systems for your house as well.” A beep was heard as the man hung up and your eyes widened. No…

He wouldn't, right? You had nothing to do with this operation.

Nevertheless, you pushed Dorn out of the way and pulled up your homes’ cameras, and scanned for anything out of the ordinary. You spotted Demi playing with dolls in her room. The only thing was that you couldn’t spot the babysitter, but you figured she must’ve been in the bathroom.

You let out the breath you didn’t realize you were holding in.

“Who’s kid is that?” Armando spoke up. You looked over but didn’t fully turn around, fearing he’d already figured it out, and just wanted clarification. You were afraid. You were afraid that if he found out, he’d come back into your life. Demi’s life. You didn’t want to get hurt again. You don’t think you could handle him leaving you again, so you stayed silent. You left the question to hang in the air.

The breath you let out was sucked back in when you saw your front door open slightly, then all the way and three masked intruders walked in. “Fuck!” You exclaimed, snatching up your phone and dialing the phone number you’d received from the new babysitter before. She answered after one ring, which you were entirely grateful for, “Sara, grab Demi and get the hell out of there, now. Please!” You frantically spew out. You’d be surprised if she caught any of that.

There was no response on the other end until Sara spoke, “There’s people in the house?” She asked, too calm for your liking.

“Yes, so grab Demi and get the fuck out of there. Take the window if you have to, they’re searching the living room right now,” You say, watching the men search the living room and kitchen, slowly making their way down the hallway which they would find your daughter.

Again, no response. That is, until the chilling words made their way into your ears. “Finally, I was wondering when they’d arrive.” And she hung up.

Your eyes were blown wide enough to where you were sure you were going to start hearing colors and seeing sounds. You were speechless and your heart was racing a mile a minute as you watched the ‘babysitter’ pick your daughter up and… deliver her to the intruders.

You could only watch, helpless as your daughter was kidnapped.

What the hell just happened?

[divine-donna]

guys i love mike faist as much as the next person but please. i need someone to kill these young haymitch rumors. and here is why mike faist as young haymitch wouldn't work:

01. mike faist is currently 32 years old. he looks 32 years old. guess what? that baby fat is gone. even in panic he knew he was stretching suspension of disbelief. that man has renovated his own house. he's lived life.

02. he literally said himself that he can't pass as a teen anymore. challengers makeup and hair really worked some magic to give him the semblance of a fuller face like when he was younger.

03. mike faist playing a young haymitch ruins the whole idea of the hunger games. the idea is that you have children being forced to fight to the death. when you cast an adult man as a child, it inherently messes with that perception. you view the child as a man, not a child. and that's part of the adultification of many marginalized children, especially if those children are black and brown. (mike faist is obviously white but that's the general premise) they become viewed as less innocent. it ruins the political message of the series.

again, i love mike faist. and i love that he's reached the point in his career where he's doing stuff he wants to do. he picks and chooses his projects and i will sit down for each one. but i need people to think for a second why the mike faist young haymitch casting is a bad idea.

hollywood needs to find more people. new people, talented people. there are so many actors who can deliver young haymitch that have yet to be discovered and it's saddening to see that they might just cast the chosen white boy of the month. that's how you prevent opportunity and that's how you prevent the emergence of new talent while mike faist's stardom is on hold.

[bullet-prooflove]

Birthday Celebration Bingo: Surprise Party - Joe Velasco x Reader

Tagging: @plaidbooks @witches-unruly-heart @storiesofsvu @rosaliedepp @thatesqcrush

Part of The Wolf Universe:

Criminal!Joe:

The Wolf - Joe meets his queen in an unexpected place.

Reward - Joe rewards you for your loyalty.

One More (NSFW) - Joe ruins you when you display your devotion. 

Pictures of You (feat: Mike Duarte) - Mike discovers you’re alive.

Bleed - Joe learns the story behind your scars.

Flowers (feat: Mike Duarte) - It’s been a long time since Mike has bought you flowers.

Use Me (NSFW) - Joe surrenders to you.

Love Letter - Terry gives you the letter Joe left for you.

Red Flag - Terry thinks your a red flag in Joe’s operation.

Mi Amor - You decide to tell Joe how you feel.

Joe doesn’t expect to see balloons when he walks through the door of the Soreno’s. He doesn’t expect the confetti cannon that goes off in his face either, showering his expensive suit in a haze of glitter nor the exclamation of surprise that erupts from the guests. He was expecting a quiet, intimate dinner with his wife, not a full on event.

Nobody has ever thrown The Wolf a surprise party. He’s completely stunned as people approach him, shaking his hand, giving them their best wishes. His gaze meets yours across the room and you give him that smile, the one that absolutely ruins him.

You’d been tangled up in one another when he’d told you he’d never had a birthday party. You were talking about your childhood back in Boston, the house where you grew up, the bouncy castle that had deflated when your drunk uncle tripped over the plug.

“We never had parties.” He tells you, his thumb chasing over the apple of your cheek. “My mother was dead and my father was too busy building his empire.”

“It sounds lonely.” You say softly. He can see the sadness in your eyes, the compassion, the empathy. You are the only person he trusts with these parts of himself, the only person he shows his vulnerability.

“Let’s not talk about that.” He murmurs against your lips, his naked body draping across yours. “Not when we could be doing other things.”

You hadn’t forgotten that conversation. You had known that his father was abusive, you’d seen the scars on his back, ran your fingers over them but you hadn’t realised the extent of it. Joe was nothing to that man but clay to mould into his own image. His emotional wellbeing, his happiness wasn’t a factor, especially as a child.

It’s the expression on his face that captures you when he walks into that room, that rare moment of joy on his features. It makes the weeks of planning worth every single second.

“You have been a naughty girl.” He whispers into your ear when he catches up with you. His arm wraps around your waist drawing you to him, his firm body pressing against yours. “Keeping things from me.”

There’s a growl in his voice, it’s dark and teasing as his nose trails up along the curve of his throat, his fingers toying with the knot of the midnight blue wrap dress you’re wearing. One pull is all it would take, but he can’t stand the thought of another man’s eyes on you, even if he’s the one fucking you.

“If you can spare me ten minutes perhaps I can give you your other birthday present.” You say, your eyes bright with mischief as you guide his hand underneath your dress. His fingertips skate over the lace tops of the thigh high stockings you’re wearing and his breathing hitches. “I bought something a little special, something for your eyes only.”

His lips brush over yours, his kiss full with a thousand unspoken promises. You’re wet already, a damp patch growing across the sheer fabric of your panties.

“I’m gonna need more than ten minutes, mi amor.” He murmurs, his thumb chasing along the line of your jaw. “Especially if I want to thank my wife properly.”

Love Joe Velasco? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[starbylers]

This is a response to the person who sent me an ask about their doubt last week, just hiding it below incase people don’t want to see that :)

For context this is an in-depth explanation of:

Why Mike’s monologue had to happen

Hi! And yeah of course I can try. I fully understand why the monologue is throwing you off and as someone who doesn’t believe Mike was consciously lying you’ve come to the right place lol. I explained a little more about why I think that in the tags here if you wanted to read more about that perspective. I’ll probably link to a few other posts in this aswell because it ties into a lot of stuff I’ve made Byler analyses about before.

So the thing you said about his arc being ‘does he love her or not?’ is what I think is causing the issue, because that isn’t Mike’s arc. You’re right in that that’s the question that is being posed to the audience at face value, but that’s not his character journey. I have a long post about this here but essentially, the core driving force of a character cannot be another person—Mike needs to, and does, have his own personal inner conflicts which the Byler perspective provides (pressure to perform being grown up which is made incredibly obvious to us in s3, and dealing with the tumultuous process of figuring out that he is not straight in s4—I personally don’t think he’s there yet though, I think the full realisation of why he’s been having all these problems with Will & El is still to come).

The perspective of ‘yes he does’ love her just because he said the words is the crux of the entire plot twist, because it’s the conclusion people inevitably come to when they don’t pay attention to the details. (I don’t mean this insultingly at all btw! The whole thing is very subtle and easy to misinterpret). And ST is all about details, something which has been told to us by the creators and is also obvious in their use of foreshadowing/hinting/referencing in all aspects of the show, not just Byler.

Mike’s arc didn’t finish a season early. This has even been told to us i.e. by David talking about how s5 will pay off big characters including Mike, and Finn himself saying Mike still has a ‘journey’ to complete, and also just the fact that we don’t have the final season means no-one’s arcs are complete because the story isn’t complete. The fact that a “love confession” occurred at the midpoint (s4/5 are basically intended as two halves of one story—post explaining this here) is what makes it extremely obvious that Mlvn is not the conclusion of this tale.

The monologue can probably be said to have many purposes, but here are the main ones to me:

It presents a solution that ultimately ends in disaster, and associates that disaster with Mike and El’s romance. The monologue is so, so important in showing that Mike and El’s love did not, could not save the day. That it wasn’t strong enough—further proof from the script here. It shows that El got what she thought she wanted, only to discover it wasn’t what she really needed. It may have helped save her but it didn’t help her achieve her goals (save Max, kill Vecna). Kind of a metaphor for their entire relationship lol. It’s also supposed to show that not even an ‘I love you’ can fix their issues—they literally don’t speak afterwards. I’m not sure El’s fully processed all this yet, but figuring it out is what’s going to drive her arc towards self-actualisation and allow her to win next season.

It furthers the miscommunication plot between Mike and Will. It’s an indisputable fact that Will’s lie influenced that monologue. (We can tell just by watching but it’s also in the script if we needed even more proof lol. Not to mention: the track that plays behind it is You’re The Heart. The episode is called The Piggyback. Will’s face is right over Mike’s shoulder when he says ‘I love you’—Will is integral to and inseparable from that confession). That is so important, and something we’re supposed to notice. The whole point of the monologue is who’s really behind it (aka who’s really behind the painting & words that drove Mike’s speech), because this sets the stage for the Byler confrontation next season. It’s literally the Benverly poem plot from IT, something we know the Duffers have taken inspiration from.

If Mike hadn’t gone through with it, there would be no movement forward in the story, we’d enter s5 with exactly the same plot we just watched in s4—Mike trying to say he loves his girlfriend for the literal third season in a row. It’s boring, it’s not good entertainment. Mike finally saying it (and yet there still being problems between them & it occurring under questionable circumstances) pushes development in the narrative, sets up new conflict for the next season. Or, if Mlvn had decided to break up because of Mike not saying it in s4, that would’ve led to Byler becoming painfully obvious and ruining the twist they’ve been setting up for literal seasons. Everyone knows Will loves Mike, and if Mlvn broke up in that same season the entire audience would see the ending of the show coming from a mile away. Remember, Byler is being written as a plot twist. It’s very likely tied up with the supernatural plot too.

The content of the monologue itself is supposed to demonstrate precisely why Mlvn are finished, why they don’t work, and should raise people’s eyebrows about the legitimacy of Mike’s “confession”. Like you said…he remembered her t-shirt lol. It’s impersonal, nothing about why he loves her or what he loves about her; he literally, proveably, lies in it and anyone can verify that by watching s1; and he makes comparisons to superheroes which is the exact opposite of what El needs (her whole issue is thinking she’s either the monster or the superhero, when what she really needs is to stop thinking in such a binary, and learn to be El the teenage girl, the sister, the daughter, the friend, the human being, and find her power in that).

And something else they purposefully do this season is give us examples of other love confessions to contrast and show how ingenuine Mike’s really is: Jancy & Will (not my original post! I just expanded on op’s point).

Now as I said before I don’t think Mike intentionally lied. My opinion is that he knows deep down something is not right with their relationship and that he doesn’t feel how he should, but after Will’s speech and encouragement he choses to believe that he can love her, that he can be what she needs (except it’s not what she needs, it’s what Will needs lol). So not lying, but the monologue is basically a desperate attempt to a) grasp at straightness and b) save her life. He’s in denial, and also terrified of her dying. Very bad combo.

So yeah there’s my reasoning :) what you were saying about the potential of a familial ‘I love you’ is true, yeah it could’ve ended the plot line. But that’s the kind of thing that should be a conclusion to the entire story, something that occurs right before victory not disaster. Because then what would the implication be? That El’s family’s love isn’t enough for her to save the world?

And the way they will explain the monologue is so simple. It’s Will. It’s Will’s feelings that inspired Mike. All that needs to happen is for Mike to realise that, and the audience will realise it along with him. Mike: I only said that because of how much Will loves me? Audience: Oh! So he doesn’t actually love her! It’s Will, Will is who he’s meant to be with! It’s a classic ‘the person who was right in front of them all along’ trope. Once people understand that, it basically makes truly romantic interpretations of the monologue invalid.

I can’t say exactly how the ending will play out—I expect we’ll see the cracks in Mlvn shatter rapidly as s5 progresses, maybe more arguing/demonstration of their incompatibility or El asking Mike to say it to her face and he still can’t, Mike and Will simultaneously getting closer and it becoming increasingly obvious that Mike is in love—but I’m choosing to trust they’ll do it justice. Mike’s monologue is just a key turning point in the larger story.

Also just one last thing, you said he seems sincere and I do agree but I think it’s because his fear in that moment is extremely real, and there are truths within his monologue i.e. that he doesn’t want to lose her etc. so that’s where it’s coming from in my opinion :)

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Honestly the biggest byler proof shouldn’t be the eyewitness parallel, or the little women parallel, or whatever, but just like, the fact than Will canonically is in love with mike

There’s no reason for him to have a crush on Mike if they’re not endgame. Lots of queer people (myself, for example) figured out they were queer before feeling romantic attraction for anyone for the first time. My first crush came after I discovered my queerness. Will has always felt different, always been different, always has been called homophobic slurs by both bullies and his own father.

The duffers could have easily said “Will realized he was gay when all of his friends began dating girls while he found no appeal for it, when the idea of mike kissing el and the fact than it was expected for him to eventually kiss a girl felt gross to him, when all his friends were growing up and becoming teenagers with hormones who liked girls while he just didn’t, when he realized he always liked looking at men more than women, when he thought a man was a hundred times more attractive than a woman, when he found himself not looking away from the men in bathing suits at the pool or the hot actors in tv,” but they didn’t.

There’s no need for him to have a crush in his straight best friend, specially because Will is one of the main characters, if not the main character. Specially because they said than he would have a happy ending in s5.

“Oh he doesn’t need a boyfriend for a happy ending, crushes aren’t forever, he can get over mike during the s5 time jump.” True, absolutely true, genuinely, so true. But what’s the point in having him have a crush on mike just to get over him in s5?

“Oh but they made the same thing with Dustin and Max.” It’s nowhere near comparable. Dustin didn’t know Max, max was new, the only thing he knew is than she was from California and really good at videogames, she even beat his record. He found her attractive and most importantly, interesting (a new girl from California, who played videogames and was even better than him??). Mike and Will had known each other for most part of their lives, they were best friends, they probably knew each other better than Dustin and Lucas knew them. It has been shown since the start than their relationship is different, Will doesn’t lie to Mike, Mike is able to tell when Will is quieter than usual, he’s always the one closest to him when he’s having an episode, he slept at the hospital while Will stayed there (we didn’t see Dustin or Lucas do that). And, did Dustin have a whole confession? Was Dustin’s crush built up for 4 seasons?

Plus, I think it really served a purpose. Both Dustin and Lucas being attracted to Max meant than half of the party wanted her to join. Will didn’t care, and Mike was against her joining. Majority won, Max hung out with them. If it was just Lucas who was interested, while Dustin and Will genuinely didn’t care, Mike probably would have won and she wouldn’t have spent big part of the season with them. Sure, Lucas still would have hung out with her because he is his own person, but she wouldn’t have joined the group, at least, initially.

There is no reason to have Will have a crush on mike, a crush building up for four seasons, just for it to get nowhere and for him to get over him during the time jump.

“Oh well, the painting helped mike and el’s relationship.” Debatable (the way they ended s4 was, well, something), but my own opinions aside, sure, yeah. Will used the painting to confess his own feelings which he disguised as El’s to help Mike become more confident in his relationship, and it kinda worked.

However let me ask you this, in what world is using a gay character’s (a gay character than has suffered probably more than everyone else in the story [except El], a gay character who is in love with his best friend, who has suffered homophobic bullying, who feels like a mistake for being different, like he will never be happy or find anyone like him because it is the 80s) feelings as a plot device to further a straight relationship than has supposedly been building up since season 1 (so they shouldn’t need anything else to further it) just to have this gay character’s feeling disappear once they have served their purpose, which is to further and help a straight relationship, something normal or okay to do?? What kind of representation is that?? That’s actually homophobic, and I mean it. Will ending up single isn’t homophobic of course not, but the way than the duffers have used his feelings as a plot device for a straight couple, specially if they are going to disappear after, is. And we know they’ll either disappear or Will will get a boyfriend (whether it’s Mike or some new guy, and we know there are no new male characters Will’s age) since I don’t know what kind of happy ending unrequited love is (and they have promised us a happy ending for Will).

[ectonurites]

Mike & Superman

So, I want to take a second to discuss the Superman comparison from the van scene in relation to Superman in the comics (specifically his origin, or at least the version of it that Mike as a character would likely be familiar with).

(Stranger Things S4E8)

The general situation I think we're all aware of is that Mike compares El to Superman and since El's his girlfriend (even though they weren't in the best standing the last time they'd talked before this, that's still more or less the situation) he makes an attempt to parallel himself to Lois Lane. Which makes enough sense at first glance—Lois is Clark's primary love interest, this is pretty common knowledge even among people who aren’t terribly invested in Superman lore. But from the way Mike trails off here, it's clear that he feels he doesn't measure up to Lois, he's just some 'random nerd' as he says.

Is that his self-doubt and insecurity talking? Absolutely. But I don’t think he’s wrong about one aspect of it—that he doesn’t fit the role of Lois Lane when we compare El to Superman. He does fit into the story in a different way though!

What I primarily want to talk about is rooted in his specific phrasing when he starts this comparison, "Superman landed on his doorstep." As evident from the bit of the conversation right before this, when he says that he's talking about when The Party found El in the woods, when she'd recently escaped and just 'needed someone'

(Stranger Things S1E1)

And much like El, Superman did once crash land in front of some kind strangers when he entered into a world/society unlike the one he came from and definitely just 'needed someone'...

But Superman landed in front of Ma & Pa Kent, not Lois Lane. 

Clark's origin has had many many retellings over the years, but from literally the late 30's this has been a consistent element of the story in basically every iteration—be it comics, movies, cartoons. Considering the time period Stranger Things takes place in, when talking about the comics (and like, we know our characters are comic nerds) I'd consider the Silver Age/Earth-One retelling to be the most relevant (because while Crisis on Infinite Earths did just happen in 1985, the Post-Crisis Superman lore updates weren't getting established until later in 1986 after S4 takes place):

(Superman Vol. 1 #146)

And I mean... 'It would be suspicious to just suddenly have this child we found, so we'll try to have them be discovered somewhere else as if we hadn't been the ones to find them' sure sounds familiar

(Stranger Things S1E2)

But anyways, my point here is that the people who are there for Superman when he’s new to Earth—the people that take care of him and give him a new name—they welcome him into their family:

(Superman Vol. 1 #146)

(Stranger Things S1E2)

(Stranger Things S1E8)

...they're not his love interests. Like, Clark and Lois meet at the Daily Planet when they’re both adults:

(Superman Vol. 1 #146)

They don't meet until after Clark has already spent years growing up on Earth, not when it's all entirely new to him! Lois isn’t his first girlfriend/teenage love interest, Lois is a person he falls for once he is his own fully realized adult person.

Mike doesn’t fit the role of El's Lois not because he's not good enough or any of the reasons his self-doubt might try to make him believe—he isn't El's Lois because that's just the wrong comparison for their situation altogether. When considering El to be Superman, with the way Mike starts this comparison he's (whether on purpose or not) paralleling himself far more closely to Superman's parents—his family—than Superman's love interest.

[achillean-knight]

WOOO!! Rough Henry design LMAO bonus mini comic thing, BC why not

Y'all try on your mates glasses too, right?

-- Notes under the cut --

- He never shaves his moustache LMAO he does his beard, tho.

- Along with William, he needs glasses to see, but his eyesight is dramatically worse then Wills LOL

- The design is like-- sorta a combo of Henry's Novel and Character files design BSBSVSVSV

- This is his work attire, he wears suitable clothes for engineering ofc

- His wife left 🫡 as to why is unknown. They never fought to the extent of her leaving, but she left Henry behind one day, and Charlie. Charlie constantly thinks about it, but all she and Henry know, is Henry's wife left on good terms.

- Henry was the one to sing "my grandfather's clock" to Charlie as she grew up. Charlie was so fixated over the song, she would hum or sing it whenever they passed a Grandfather clock at the shops. Eventually, Henry created a smaller then average grandfather clock as a gift. This is why it calms the puppet.

- Henry has a habit of getting stressed and frustrated if work isn't going the way he wants. He doesn't lash violently out but he does request quiet and loneliness if he gets too heated. He has a personal punching bag in his shed.

- He originally created Carnie which later was repurposed into Lefty.

- After Charlie's death, he fell into severe depression. He drank heavily and it wasn't until he was confronted by Michael again, that he started seeing a therapist. He is still on edge alot and suffers from his mental health.

-- Relationships --

William:

- His relationship with William is very close lol romantically involved? No clue. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, I seriously haven't decided, just like I haven't decided with Mike and Jeremy lmao

- Henry is William's crutch. He feels jealousy toward him, but ultimately relies on him most of the time after his own wife left (on bad terms). Henry doesn't mind, though.

- William is considered family to Henry.

- He is also the one to discover Williams corpse inside springbonnie and decided to board up every single safe room. Yikesssssss

- Strangely, Springtrap doesn't act violent toward Henry. He stares just- silently. Watching.

Charlie:

- Loves his daughter more than anything in the world.

- He passionately encourages Charlie's path in wood work after discovering her love for wooden crafts like the aforementioned Grandfather clock and various types of Puppets. Sometimes, if supervised, Henry hands her a block of wood and tools and lets her craft away. She finds peace in wood calving and Henry's utterly joyful.

- He struggles to recognise the Puppet as his own daughter, and unknowingly put her through so much pain when being caught by Lefty. It was only after the capture did he find out that of course the puppet is possessed by his daughter 😭 he just thought it was possessed by a very vengeful ghost. He didn't know that ghost possesed Golden Freddy, and that's why he's not in FNAF Pizzaria Simulator :')

Michael:

- He's on edge around Mike. He reminds him too much of Will.

- After Crying Child and Elizabeth died, aswell as Charlie's murder and William disappearing (he got spring locked rip), Michael lived with Henry shortly before disappearing himself. (He went to the SL bunker.)

- Henry looks after post-scooped Michael.

- Henry doesn't anticipate Mike to be the one to work at the Pizzaria Sim location-- but he knows this is where he wants to be.

[bylertruth3r]

a mutual elmike break up will be good for both of their characters arc, Mike is finally accepting himself and his gayness and not lying to himself and to El anymore and he's not trying to change himself (Finn said that in s4 Mike was trying to be normal) because that's what he thought he was supposed to do to meet society's expectactions and he's no longer gonna do what he was pressured to do and he's gonna make his own decisions and he's gonna listen to himself and do what makes him happy not caring about what other people would think about him and he's gonna unlearn the internalized homophobia that he got by living in a homophobic and conservative town and by being bullied by homophobic bullies and El is gonna learn who she is without anyone else (like when Max told her that to see what she likes she's gotta prove things on and that she has to listen to herself, not to Hopper and not to Mike, plus Millie said that at the end of s4 El understood that she's her own superhero and that in s5 she will understand who she is without Mike) she's gonna discover her true identity and what she likes without feeling pressured by a relationship and what's expected from it and she's gonna make her own decisions (which is why i think it's gonna be important if the break up is mutual) and they're both gonna learn that they can care about each other without feeling like they have to be more just because society expects them to and El being the first person Mike comes out to would be really important for both of them (because of the "friends tell the truth" thing) because it means they can finally be honest with each other and not feel the need to be someone they're not anymore and they can finally be actual friends and get to know each other

[humanaaa]

I AM GONNA TALK ABOUT MY BRAZILIANS ISEKAI AU

All the brazilians are murdered, and they are isekai'd!

Cellbit: follows the "you get isekai'd and go to a fantasy world as yourself trope"! He wakes up in the fae kingdom, some chaotic faes put him in jail as a prank, and he is saved by the "chef" of the royal castle, Roier. Roier definitely isnt the fae price pretending to be the chef. Roier really wants to run away from the kingdom, especially as the whole kingdom is under lock down! No faes can get in and no faes can get out! It sucks.Roier also wishes he could see his son again, as he thinks Jaiden found him after Bobby was kidnapped.

When they do run away they make a living of travelling the whole world, selling food and searching for Bobby and Jaiden, it's nice.

Bagi: following the "reborn as a random npc that was supposed to die" trope, she wakes up drowning in a river and discovers she is a noblewoman from the demon kingdom. She pretends her almost death made her lose her memories, and for that she is forced to work in the demon king castle, who says they will help her to get her memories back (lying). She ends up meeting Iron Mouse, who tell her she is the actual Queen of the Demons, but her crown was stolen! Bagi and Mouse start ploting so Mouse can become queen again.

Later, they get help from Tina, a woman who also works in the castle, making tea, but she really wants to be a fashion designer! But the clothes the workers use wear so fucking ugly and she will kill the Demon King with her own hands for forcing her to wear that.

Pac: vaguely following the "Villain Are Destined to Die" plot idea. He is reborn as the villain of the story, wakes up in the pirate kingdom and is saved by a janitor called Fit. When he wakes up, he can't talk: a bunch of options appear on his vision, each saying a different thing for him to do/talk and he must select one of them so he can do something. Later, he discovers he can disable it, and that he and Mike are linked now, and they both banter while Mike tries to find him.

He also sees a heart above everyone's head, showing a percentage, he believes it's how much they like him, this surely wont bring any problems!

Mike: following the "reborn as an animal trope"! He wakes up as a magma cube (and also meets Slime here, they are brothers: were made by the same lab), and can hear Pac's thoughts, they discover they can talk to each other with their minds, and Mike goes through a journey so he can find him. He accidentally meets the Godness of Creation and becames a half human - half magma cube!

Forever: follows the "reborn the Hero of the story" trope! He wakes up and is forced to go to the Island Where Dragons Live, because, apparently, "a dragon is the one bringing all the problems of this world, and the hero must slay it". But. Forever doesnt want to kill a dragon what the fuck.

While trying to find a way out of the island, he finds an dragon egg, who hatches while he was holding it, he names the dragon baby Richarlyson, and he is a father now! But the dragons know he is the hero who is supposed to kill them, now he needs to figure out how dragons work so he can raise his child, find a way out and try to not get killed, fun!

Felps: Following the "Preferential Treatment for The Possessed Person" plot line, he wakes up, he can talk to the god who created this world and the voices who are watching it (you guys :D), he has whole skill thing he can upgrade with money! He can read the story! He can get very op items! But he is mostly making a square, and having fun, the world is supposed to end soon he knows that but, where is the fun in being overpowered :( He also acidentally creates a religion out of himself, oops!

Bonus:

Jaiden:

Following the "reborn as a bird plotline"! If i had a nickel for everytime i read a reincarnation story where the mc is reborn as a bird i would've 4 nickels, what isnt a lot but its curious it happened 4 times. Anyways, she first woke up in the fae kingdom, she and Roier adopt a dragon kid! They name him Bobby, until he was kidnapped one day, she went after him, and the lockdown happened so Roier couldnt leave. She is working with the federation, who says they will help to her to find Bobby!

The last time Roier heard of Jaiden was when he got a letter from her saying he didnt need to search for them because she found Bobby. But she never wrote this letter. Weird! right?

[castlebyersafterdark]

I don’t know if you already answered this but how do you think will’s first time bottoming will go? I read it hurts the first few times and you need to be a consistent bottom so it wouldn’t be as painful

I've dabbled here and there with the topic. And my vision for Will is that it's a slow process to get there, because of the joy of having Mike. Their relationship, the progression and exploration of the physical side of them being together, the joy of taking the journey of exploring everything together. Not everyone has that!! 🥲

I have scenarios and wips with different ideas and then I have what I call my personal "canon timeline" for my general HCs and in this, Will and Mike do wait to go all the way. There's so much else to fill their sex life with until the time is right. I view them waiting until they're off on their own, living together in college. So they don't have to rush into it. Explore everything except full penetration. Nothing wrong with that. And it doesn't have to hurt to a crazy extent, if you work up to it, know what to expect, what you're doing. Will would have tried stuff on his own, experimented himself. A finger or two while getting off alone, or in the shower. He's curious. But then he and Mike experiment. Fingers, mouth. By the time they actually decide to go all the way with anal, it's not like it's a spontaneous unprepared idea. And yeah, it's still probably gonna hurt a bit - a dick is a lot more than a few fingers. And Will wouldn't have ever done it yet, you don't really know your body until it's actually happened to you and you've tried it. But they're not strangers or a hook-up who don't know each other or their experience/history.

They'll communicate, they'll work up to it, they'll prepare. It's not so bad with all that. Full on making looooove the first time, even if it's still, you know, not perfect at all. But perfect for them. Because it's Will's first time, but it's also Mike's first time. The start and stop, the trying to figure out angles and what to do with your limbs, your body, the new physical feelings. Mike trying not to come in under a minute from how amazing Will feels around him, while making it as pleasurable as possible for Will. Discovering how to find a rhythm and Mike's really into it but then Will's not feeling the speed or angle so they need to stop, slow down, breathe. Then Will wants it a specific way and Mike's gotta figure out what he's asking for. Oh, but how good is all that. The tip over the edge when your body finally understands and adjusts and this totally new type of pleasure overrides any of the lingering hurt. Wonderful.

And then over time, doing it more... then it's really really good 🤭😉 Will and Mike are going to have so much fun with each other and discovering everything.

[tyfinn]

Some (more than) Seven Sentences Sunday/Fuck it Friday/WIP Wednesday

Thanks for tagging me @stereopticons @a-noble-dragon @chelle-68 @ramonaflow

A couple of weeks ago I started thinking about the conclusion to my Unbroken series, Legacy. It had been awhile, so I am really excited to get back into my little universe, even if not that many people will read it. I've got the rough outline in my head, just need some time to actually write!

***

Although she did not tell David that day, there was another reason why Ari wanted to stay in Schitt’s Creek for the summer. 

And his name was Steven Schitt. 

Steven was the son of RJ Schitt, grandson of Roland Schitt.

Ari and Steven essentially grew up together. Steven was one year older than Ari. Every time Maddy, Mike, and the kids would come to visit David and Patrick, Steven would be nearby. 

Steven started working at the motel around the same time Ari started helping out at the store. When Stevie decided to cut her workload in half, RJ took her place at the flagship Rosebud, and so Steven essentially grew up at the motel. He was thrilled when Ari told him she would be staying the summer in Schitt's Creek. 

It was four years ago when they discovered they were both named after Stevie. After Roland Senior retired, Stevie kind of took RJ under her wing. There was something about RJ that brought out a different side in Stevie. David used to tease her that she did have a maternal instinct hidden beneath her flannel, to which she would punch him in his arm and tell him to fuck off. 

Whatever it was, RJ loved spending time with her, and learned all he could from her. After he graduated with a business certificate from Elmdale College, it was decided he would manage the Flagship motel. Like his parents, he married his high school sweetheart, and two years later, she gave birth to their son. 

Steven Roland Schitt was named after Stevie and his grandfather. Ari shared how she, too, was named after Stevie and her grandmother. And although Stevie never had children of her own, she became a surrogate grandmother to both Arielle and Steven.  

That summer Ari and Steven had lunch together almost every day. Patrick was the first one to figure out what was happening. He saw them sitting in a booth when he stopped in to get himself and David their afternoon drinks and snacks. 

David was reorganizing the window display when he heard the bell ring. He looked up and saw Patrick smiling his upside down smile.

"Okay - spill it. Why does your face look like that?"

"That's just my face, David. The same face you've seen almost every day for the last-"

"If you really love me, you will not say how long it's been, Patrick!"

"Okay, David. Want your coffee? And would you like to know who I saw at the cafe having lunch with our granddaughter?" 

"Well, if I had to guess I would say the same person who has had many lunches with our granddaughter. Steven, right? So what?"

"They were holding hands, David. I think they are more than just friends." 

Open tag for anyone who would like to share today!

[starsarefire824]

Everyone are having doubts do you still believe in byler endgame and if you do how you think will be? Not what do you wants but what really will happens knowing the duffer and how they write the show.

Hey anon, thank you for the ask!

As far as Byler goes, I'm still at the same point I've been this entire time...I honestly and truly believe that the writing has hinted at, suggested, alluded to it being real. I h lol ave personally been on the "wrong" side of a different major fandom (which I won't mention here)---ridiculed, called crazy, obsessive etc--to then have everything we had claimed from the beginning be proven true in the final act. If you want to know what I'm talking about you can probably figure it out from my profile or you can message me and I'll go on that rant in private lol.

Either way, my point is.....everything that is happening in this fandom...mimics that one entirely. It is a fandom that is dominated by a generally male, white, hetero-normative point of view. And so I think it's easy to lose hope, it's easy to give in to those people telling you that you're crazy for seeing what you're seeing.

But what it comes down to in the end is, most of us have been here since season 2. Most of us have been noticing the hints for years. And after season three, I'm not really sure what people are looking at if they are not seeing the complicated relationship that Mike has with El and Will. It is a canon fact that he cannot balance them emotionally. When one is in his life, the other is out. Season 3 proved that when they are both in his life at the same time, he cannot make it work. When he is paying attention to El, he is hurting Will. When he is paying attention to Will, he is hurting El. And this all comes to a head in season 4.

And season 4 is interesting to me because once again, El is (after a few episodes) quickly removed from Will and Mike's immediate story line. Mike, once again, ends up with Will in situations that make them work together. Situations that make them be emotionally vulnerable with each other. Situations that allow them to become closer.

I firmly believe that there is a reason, besides Mike being emotionally stunted by his family, that he can't say "i love you" to El. I think that the writers' had specific intentions when they wrote Mike's "love confession" to El as a direct response to Will's emotions. I firmly believe that if I was supposed to be rooting for El and Mike to be together, I as an audience member, would have been given a private, softly lit, romantically coded emotional scene between Mike and El post "2 days later". But we didn't. The softly lit, emotional, intimate moment we got? Was with Will.

Furthermore, El and Will have been directly paralleled since season one and since season 2 both of their storylines have directly revolved around Mike. And one character, Will, has been the one that has been show to need and want Mike in the way that he needs to be needed and wanted. Will has been the character that specifically benefits from Mike's attention and love. El's journey has always been for herself. It has always been figuring out where she belongs in the world and claiming her autonomy from Brenner (and Henry and many others).

As for how I believe the Duffer's will accomplish this? I have as good a guess as the rest of you. I am just a humble fan. But from the context clues that we've been given throughout the show....I have a hunch that El and Will will discover some sort of connection between the two of them. This connection will probably directly relate to the pull they feel towards Mike. I think that El will continue her journey from season 4 of self-discovery and standing on her own two feet, rejecting the men (people) around her who tell her they know what she wants/needs/desires. I think that Will will have his "coming of age". He will finally accept himself for who he is. I think it will be revealed that Will has some sort of direct connection to either the Upside Down or Henry himself. I think that he is the "cure" or the "key" to healing what has been broken. I really love the "wonder twin" idea that Will and El will work together to defeat Vecna.

And finally, I think that Mike, the knight, the paladin, the heart of the party....he'll finally realize where his heart truly lies. And Will, understanding that his love is reciprocated, that their love is true. I really think it will, in some way, (even if it's one small working part in the huge machine that is Stranger Things), help defeat the evil that has reigned over Hawkins for too long.

Maybe I'm too much of a romantic. But I'm gonna continue to believe it until I'm proven wrong. I will be the first to admit defeat as it comes, but for me....

There are just too many parallels, hints, subtext etc. for me to believe anything else at this point. I don't think the Duffer Brothers are pulling our leg, I don't believe they are trying to queerbait us, I don't believe they made this show for the people of Reddit and Facebook. I truly think, when they said it was for the "outsiders" and the "misunderstood" they meant it. And imo, Byler is a real part of that that will be made clear in the final act.

Let's hope we're right! <3

[fastcardotmp3]

what if, at the end of it all, they don't have to close themselves off from the Upside Down entirely?

what if it's just a place, the same as any other place (if also deeply different), that got corrupted by a force too strong to fight?

the Mindflayer and Vecna and a sprawling, menacing hive mind built out of a desire to control above all else, what if the place itself is really just a place.

the consciousness wrapped around it made it look like Hawkins as a ploy to trap a boy, infect the boy, and send him home as a scout for bigger plans, but there's something else underneath the glamour of it all once those plans are vanquished and their masters defeated.

there's wildlife previously unknown to them and a massive weeping willow with roots instead of vines that reach farther than they've even been able to trek and it's been hurt, this place, just like them.

it's faced pollution, a whole damn wildfire of a trauma, and it has to grow back from scratch, but it's morally neutral and it's-- it was this frightening thing that gets to start over now and god, if that doesn't resonate with more than one kid turned soldier turned uncertain person trying to find the way out of it all

it's El, a girl instead of a monster, with the strength to do bad but the knowledge that she will never choose to.

it's Will, forced to hurt the people he cared for without a say in the matter, having the choice offered up to him again as a beautifully frightening thing.

it's Steve, who once upon a time let himself be molded into something toxic without putting up a hint of a fight until violence and hurt helped him shake that part of himself, rebuild from the forest floor of his own free will.

it's Nancy, weighed down by misplaced guilt and unprocessed grief, and the responsibility of carrying forward a story that the world at large does not want to hear, finally falling out of fight mode long enough to examine what it all means for her own story.

It's Jonathan learning to take care of himself and it's Max discovering beauty beyond the breaking and it's Erica being reminded she's allowed to be more than what's on the surface and it's Lucas and Dustin and Mike and Robin and on and on and on they are starting over.

what if it's just a place? a place in need of protecting while it does the work of healing?

and what if some of them sticking around, taking gap years and finding jobs and houses rented at very cheap post-earthquake rates, can use that as a reason for hanging around?

a reason to be nearby, a reason to check through the gates and watch a new world bloom?

what if, in return, it gets to watch them do the same?

[bylertruther]

the more that i think about it the more that i feel comfortable in my assessment that the point of including eleven's memory loss being her body's trauma response is to further suggest that will's memory loss is mostly henry's doing.

i mean, we already saw henry do it in season two and how difficult it was for will to fight back against that.

in season three, we saw that will doesn't go anywhere near that box of horrors in his mind even when it's right there in front of him. he explains it away to himself as nothing and doesn't want to believe it. he actively avoids it.

then, in season four, we learn that henry can toy with minds and memories, and that's how he personalizes his attacks. he knew that eleven was coming and didn't care, because he knew he would win regardless, and he did. "the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west" suggests that henry knew he had to strike now while mike and will specifically were away. the older teens then learned that the upside down is frozen in time on the day that will went missing and they found a new kind of particle. however, the way that they used the particles to communicate compared to how will did, along with us knowing now that will manipulated them the same way that the lab kids did, suggests that there is something else to be discovered there. and of course, the fact that will is still and has always been cursed means that henry is coming for him.

eleven isn't strong enough to defeat henry, even with coordinated strikes enacted by the entire team on him and the hivemind. henry needed mike out of hawkins so that he could open the gates, and he needed to open the gates so that he could have an undeniable and undefeatable upper hand, both by unleashing his army of monsters but also because the more they spread the stronger his connection gets with will. will is the last piece of this puzzle and he's the only one outside of henry that holds the answers for literally Everything and is able to see what the whole picture even is.

eleven goes on her journey to project nina, because she needs to find out who she is. she needed to learn that she was not the monster that started this all--that it was brenner and she was just his pawn forced to do his bidding. she needs that in order to be stronger and finally move on and heal from her crushing guilt. she also needs that closure so that she can stop falling into the same dynamic with other people.

like... the thing about project nina is that it isn't what it actually is. the characters think it's their shot at defeating henry, but it isn't. project nina is all about eleven leaving the train station and finding herself. project nina ~ project niña ~ project girl. eleven even tells brenner that: that she came to figure out who she was and now she's leaving.

but she also needs to go on that journey for other plot reasons so that when the teens bring up what they found in the upside down and inevitably ask will if he remembers anything, eleven can draw on her own experiences to help will remember. she's learned the power and truth that memories can hold, how your body can block those out to protect you, how henry started out by toying with people's minds and memories, how powers are like muscles that you need to learn how to use like any muscle, and that you yourself have to find you way out.

like... it just... feels pretty clear to me when i think about everything as a whole. eleven can't do this on her own, because it isn't just her fight. it's will's, too. but she can't ask for his help if she doesn't know what she doesn't know, and so she goes on her journey to figure it out. and he can't know or remember what he doesn't know he doesn't remember, so that's where eleven and everyone else comes in. there's something missing there that could help them defeat henry and they need to figure it out if they want to stand any chance of winning. aaaand they need to do it before henry comes to collect will.

dustin rolling an eleven and losing, a pair of siblings saving the day, and will telling eleven "we'll fix it together", erica rolling a 20 and mike and will’s (aka the blue and yellow that the silver cat needed out of the equation) skates adding to 20 aren't just silly little coincidences. we saw this first being hinted at in season two and now we're picking up where we left off and seeing it through.

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

f/o + insert list

Poke.mon (Gameverse):

✻ Jaide

♡: red - (partner) {♥️ appleshipping}

♢: blue (best friends)

☆: ethan (younger brother)

• extra tags:

# color pallet trio: childhood era tag for jaide, red and blue

✻↪ jaide, blue and red - childhood friends of pallet town. they grew up together as a trio of best friends, but after red and blue developed their rivalry, they pursued the indigo league and jaide supported them in the sidelines. eventually, they start to go on their own paths. red leaves for mt. silver, blue becomes viridian's newest gym leader, and jaide moves to johto and discovers her talent in catching pokemon. after becoming the fully fledged, matured trainers they wanted to be, it wouldn't be long before they meet each other again in alola.

Poke.Spe/Poke.mon Adv.entures (Mangaverse):

✻ Jaide Stone

♡: st.even stone - (spouse) {♥️ memoryshipping}

☆: ruby stone - (son)

☆: gold - (younger brother)

♢: maroon berry - (close friends; @/beeholyshit's OC)

♢: clear - (acquaintances; @/4rachnophilia's OC)

♢: sapphire - (good friends)

♢: most of the dexholders - (acquaintances)

✻↪ a young jaide, an aspiring aprijuice maker - dreams of winning big with her business and independency. one day, she would rescue a wandering boy of her age from danger in a cave - the boy was thankful, as he had been collecting precious gems in the cave and it would've been a shame to lose his efforts. she shared this sentiment by wanting to be a hardworking merchant. to show his thanks, he would gift her one and depart from there. half a decade later, jaide travels to hoenn with full hope of expanding her already stable solo business. steven, on the other hand - has been honing his battling skills to become the next champion. but through his contest friend, wallace - he'd hear rumors about a familiar aprijuice business being introduced here. it felt all too familiar, he had to see for himself.

✻ Ilynne

☆: blake - (adoptive "son" and co-worker)

♢: looker - (co-worker)

♡: emmet - (crush)

• extra tags:

# pok.espe parents: tag for the parent OCs (because we like cooking lore)

✻↪ professional journalist ilynne travels to unova to hear about the sudden propaganda to set free every trained pokemon, to give them "freedom" as the group says. while she was mostly neutral on the concept, she would find herself interviewing the trainers who released their partners and creating articles about it. the articles with the personal profiles of some of the trainers has intrigued icpo's detective - looker. her interpersonal skills are exceptional and would be of good use in their goal to retrieve the pokemon. a year later after team plasma's disposal, ilynne would be invited to join icpo with promises of rewards for her good effort. she would be tasked to work with icpo's superintendent - blake. his new mission is to infiltrate aspertia's trainer school with intel about a team plasma girl enrolled there. but blake is a simple child in appearance, he would need a parental figure to represent him in the school.

Poke.pasta: Lullaby & Perdi.tion:

✻ Emme

♡: glit.chy red - (mutual understanding) {♥️ badappleshipping}

♢: grey - (mentor/student)

♢: mike sto.ughton - (best friend)

♢: kalei - (one-sided friendship... lmao; @/4rachnophilia's OC)

♢: jasper - (good friends; @/ttimecode's OC)

♢: megabyte - (friend...?; @/beeholyshit's OC)

✻↪ more or less just a clusterfuck of all our ocs and pokep.astas mixed together and fucking around with each other - some go hand in hand in one story (i.e strangle.d red) and some not really (emme) (she's just there)

✻ Aine

♡: ??? - (mutual understanding) {♥️ .... something something-velvetshipping 😋}

♡: jayden - (mutual understanding?; @/ttimecode's OC) {♥️ jayaine)

♢: teo - (friends; @/4rachnophilia's OC)

✻↪ two alternative stories work separately here, but the main point in story features a girl named aine who lived her whole life under medical care due to her unforgiving condition that renders her weak - she aspired to be a trainer, but her physical fitness doesn't promise her that. this doesn't stop her when she finally makes the big leap to run away from her family and practice becoming a trainer in secret, but where would be the best place to start? some people say legends are born on mt. silver

✻ Rhys (story oc) + Layla Briar (partial oc and insert)

☆: carm.ine - (younger brother)

♡: rhys - (courtship?)

note: rhys is my oc who i also ship with (paired with layla ✨)

✻↪ in the near future of kanto, where redwood has retired becoming a champion and humbled himself to a simple professor - he has been tasked to investigate on a matter regarding the many deaths of both trainer and pokemon caused by a mysterious ghost in his region. rhys, the latest kanto champion is loved and respected by many, except for his little brother carmine whom he loves dearly. bullied and belittled by his peers, carmine wants to redeem himself by doing something remarkable... the rumors of this scary pokemon residing in an abandoned building has baited his curiosity, hoping that maybe he'd become the cool kid if he could tame this "scary" pokemon. little did he know, he was just the next victim for ghost's cruelty.

• extra tags:

# kan.to's lullaby - general tag for the po.kepasta + oc interactions

Edds.world

✻ Jesse Payton

♡: tom - (dating) {♥️ tomjesse - previously known as checkers and stripes)

♢: edd, matt, tor.d - (good friends)

- c.yno

uhhhh other sillies lol

- trainer morty

- fuckin... aether employee guy... AHSJSJDJSHH