#and that is even if mlvn is ‘destined’ for each other 

[will80sbyers]

honestly i am not a mlvn shipper but i really cannot understand how people can watch S1 and S2 (and even S3 tbh) and claim that Mike has never loved El romantically.... like idk. if you do not take stuff out of context, then the romantic framing and all those moments are legit. we cannot really ignore those things, you know? i also do not think it is like Steve and Nancy tbh because Steve and Nancy didn't actually have a bond like El and Mike, so I don't think the comparison makes sense.

I think everyone is free to theorize what they want of course but I agree, to me they were clearly framing them as romantic... I don't know what the Duffers will do for sure, but I don't really see the point in framing them like that for all these years and making them have romantic parallels with other couples too if it was not supposed to be a romantic relationship Idk

I think the comparison and parallels between Steve and Nancy and Mike and El (that do exist in the show and we can't ignore them either) are about how the relationship between Mike and El is not destined to last because they are not truly in love

like Steve and Nancy, they did like each other but Mike idealizes El like Steve idealized Nancy (this is not true love because it's not based on a deep understanding of the other person, it's romantic infatuation + platonic love for Mike and El)

El is not in love with Mike like Nancy was not in love with Steve but just felt safe with him, he was the first person that made her feel safe (well, after Benny but they didn't interact for long)

I think the other parallels are also about how the Wheelers tend to avoid conversations about feelings even when the relationship is not satisfying to them and the relationships are not working / they think they are not compatible with their partner for some reason

but also Mike and El have a much more deep and honest bond than Nancy and Steve had and that's why their relationship is not toxic, Steve and Nancy were toxic together

and also Mike is really falling in love with Will like Nancy was really crushing and falling in love with Jonathan in s1 and s2 because they are more compatible

[stanger-things]

Why don’t melvin shippers realize that wanting El to find herself outside of a relationship, given what she’s been through and the fact that she’s only 15 years old, is not some kind of insult. It’s not some kind of claim that she doesn’t deserve a relationship at all or is some kind of social leper or that she doesn’t know how to love someone. Many people want the same thing for Nancy! Many people want that for Steve too! To have a journey that does not involve some kind of romantic desire or relationship. This does not mean we don’t love the characters. Nor does it mean we are undermining or insulting them. We are simply expressing what we think the best individual arc would be for that character at this time. Some people make EVERYTHING about a ship, but that isn’t always the case.