#anti mileven

[jeonthoughts]

the way some milkvans actually feel threatened by byler literally proves that byler has a BIG chance to be endgame, like one day they were like "theres no way in hell byler will happen" but then, mostly after season 4, they got even more pressed cause they KNOW their ship is threatened by byler. if youre a milkvan and you still deny the huge possibility of byler endgame please open your eyes because you have everything you need to know right in front of you

[noodlesbatches]

Underrated duos and their hcs :

Max + Will :

- Max talks shit about Mike and Will agrees but then adds an “I mean..” and goes petty on Mike.

- Max and Will go to the mall together and Max tries on stuff for Will to rate.

- Will blabbers about Mike and Max always has the same answer : “He doesn’t deserve you.”

+ bonus

- Max and Will always protect El at all cost which is something that makes them so alike.

Lucas + El :

- Lucas is the one that begun to teach El dnd so she can fully be in the party and play with them.

- Lucas and El were the first two people to know about Mike and Will.

- Lucas teaches El about basketball and El never misses one of his games.

Mike + Dustin :

- Dustin and Mike always fight and call each other ‘nerds’. (even though they both are)

- Dustin was the one who introduced Mike into Star Wars and they both got addicted to it.

- Dustin and Mike’s music taste are pretty different, so when Mike started to drive Dustin around they would have to fight over tapes.

- For being the smartest one in the party- Dustin didn’t have a clue about Mike and Will, so when Mike told Dustin he was in disbelief.

[teambyler]

Taking El's side at Rink-O-Mania

I don’t think most Mileven fans are homophobic. I DO think most want the best for El. But to THAT I say let’s talk about what El needs in a partner. Yes Mike is learning and I’m glad he could say I Love You, but what kind of love are we talking here?

Dude I don’t care how many bullies are surrounding El: you go in there and disrupt the bullies' stupid roller skating circle, you've faced much worse for chrissakes (and I’m mad at Will for not doing this too btw). And I’m on Team Hit Angela. (My only caveat is to try to avoid permanent damage and minimize danger to yourself. Teach her a lesson so other people aren't bullied.) Mike and Will’s concern should’ve been for El's emotional well-being, not that “what did you do” BS.

“I love you on your good days and your bad days” is about more than saying words. Actions speak louder.

I take El's side here unequivocally, and I'm not even her boyfriend!

P.S. Follow and read my blog! I have so much to say!

[starbylers]

This Millie interview….her reaction to Mlvn I’m crying

They’re so finished

[thefirstlioveyou]

i physically cannot see them romantically no matter what. like they can be making out and it’s still literally just a gay guy and his girl best friend

[kittykat940]

And some people still think m*leven and st*ncy are endgame 😂 couldn't be me 🤷‍♂️

[pinkeoni]

It’s funny how audience members view Mike as their underdog-average-straight guy who is a total nerd but got an awesome girlfriend anyway when the character they are actually looking for is Dustin Henderson

[starmanbyler]

WE WON!!!!

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

[will80sbyers]

rancid m*Levens take: WILL IS SO BAD BECAUSE HE FELT JEALOUS!!!!

Max to El in the same game:

[byleriscanon713by]

Bro I just realized the more feminine El gets through the series the less Mike likes her

[byers-bowlcut]

I've seen people say El likes the IDEA of having a boyfriend more than she actually likes her own boyfriend, and jfc it's so true 😭 Like it's all over the show:

Season 1

She's initially attached to Mike because he's the first person to give her shelter, food, genuine human care and just,, not calling CPS immediately. Her feelings for him was born from trauma and dependency in season 1. And throughout the rest of the 3 seasons, we don't see it grow past that.

Also I think it's noticeable in S1 that:

She was uninterested when Mike tried to share his hobbies with her

She also did not seem to mind AT ALL when she questioned if Mike could be her brother. He voice is neutral and curious here, not the least bit repulsed by the thought of being siblings with Mike, like girl does not care 😭

Season 2

This season has zero onscreen moments of Mike and El actually getting to know each other further. They were separated nearly the whole season.

What we DO see:

El's attachment and dependency on Mike that was developed from S1

We also find out how El spent a year of her life watching melodramatic romance films. Many other middle schoolers might identify that relationships in real life don't work like those films. But El is fresh out of lab life, she's literally learning the world through this TV, and has now become obsessed with the IDEA of having a boyfriend/relationship just like that.

Season 3

Again, no onscreen moments of El showing interest in who Mike is as a person.

The very first scene we see of them, she's trying to get him to stop singing along to the song they're listening to. She seems to like kissing Mike. But isn't shown enjoying anything actually characteristic about him, like sharing interests with him such as music.

Hopper indicates that they don't do anything meaningful together either. We see here that before hanging out with Max, El had little sense of her own style, her hobbies, her interests- meaning spending time with Mike for months probably didn't involve many talking points did it?

Also in season 3, El dumps Mike with ZERO hesitation. Then she has the time of her life with Max. The most acknowledgment we get that she's oh so heartbroken is a small frown to Max that her and Mike aren't on best terms. And even that doesn't seem so paramount cause 1 episode later she totally dismisses Mike after he explains how Hopper threatened him. She just tells him maybe Hopper was right 😭😭

It's literally ONLY once she starts becoming in danger that she starts clinging onto him again. I feel like we've seen this film before hm.

Like where are any signs that she likes Mike as an individual, and is falling for who he really is, rather than simply being attached due to trauma, and liking the concept of doing romantic things (ie: kissing, dancing at the ball, etc.)

Season 4

This is the season it becomes the MOST OBVIOUS: El loves the concept of a happy relationship and being loved, but not really loving Mike for who he is. And bringing in Will's feelings just emphasizes this point.

To start, El continues doing all these relationship-y things that she did in the start of S3. She has Mike's name and pictures plastered all over her room. She makes a "Mike box" with his pictures decorated all over it. But the thing is: this is all sort of a façade at this point. We know she's BEEN unhappy with him for months ("From Mike! From Mike! From Mike!"). But with all these items, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's in this happy, fantasy, movie-like relationship, like she probably watched in hopper's cabin in season 2.

And then, there's the sheer difference between her and WILL in their feelings for Mike. We see it right off the bat when Mike comes to the airport: Will and El both have plans to give Mike something.

Will plans to give him a painting he worked extremely hard on. The painting is a connection of what they BOTH love: DnD, and it includes their friends who also play the game. It's very personal and immediately touches Mike. What's more is, the painting illustrates the exact qualities about Mike that Will loves: his leadership, his bravery, his guidance. This painting literally spells out to us that Will truly loves Mike for WHO HE IS.

Meanwhile, El plans on giving Mike a fun reunion date. She has the whole day planned out. And immediately: we see that what she wants to do doesn't actually takes Mike's interests and personality into consideration. You can see and hear the strain in his voice when he talks about "burritos for breakfast" 😬

You can see how he's not that relaxed at rinkomania, and nervous about skating, saying he's clumsy. He probably would've much preferred movies and playing a board game, over skating. But El has her own ideas. When she brings Mike to rinkomania, she tries to act really cool about it. She wants to impress him, wants to seem like she fits in and belongs.

Her present was never actually ABOUT Mike, and about loving Mike that she would plan this huge date for him. Her present was about her desperately wanting to have this cool date like every other normal teen girl might, with a normal boyfriend, and make it seem like they have a happy perfect relationship.

And then finally we reach their S4 fight. I find it extremely interesting how Hopper's cabin is framed in the background during their whole fight. It's almost like an indication that her desperate need to be loved by Mike stems from her trying to cope with losing Hopper and the hole left by him, that clearly did not exist when she happily dumped Mike in S3.

In their fight, when the topic of bullying comes up, Mike says he understands her, but El is quick to say he doesn't. She thinks Mike doesn't understand her, but this is just as much her not understanding HIM as well.

She doesn't get the extent of Mike's insecurities (definitely partially a result of bullying), something that Mike later divulges to WILL and not her. If the writers wanted to show us how much El understands Mike and loves him for who he is, her and Mike would work through his insecurities in their rs together, NOT through a middle man.

Overall it's pretty striking that we've never once heard El actually compliment Mike, or articulate, or even show what exactly she loves about him through four whole seasons. I mean...

Attachment to him due to trauma or grief =/= loving him for who he is.

Wanting to BE loved =/= loving him for who he is.

So really in terms of a relationship, what El ACTUALLY wants is the concept/idea of a regular boyfriend, and a happy easy relationship, all in an attempt to feel normal. And that's why we see them fall apart the way they do in season 4, and why Will is currently so involved. Because Will DOES see and love Mike for exactly who he is.

[bibylers]

I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING HELPPP 😭😭

[gtgmurdersomeone]

oop-

[starbylers]

It’s so telling that when Mike and El reunite in the airport, someone literally walks past the frame obscuring the view right when they kiss? And then the entire time they're talking, people are blocking them from view. In every single shot someone new walks in front of the camera—a whole seven extras in quick succession and wow I didn’t realise how distracting it actually is:

It's 100% deliberate to create a lack of intimacy in their interaction, it was like white noise to my eyes before but now I can't unsee it. They really said this is NOT supposed to feel romantic.

​It only stops when we are shown Will in the background behind El (in Mike’s eyeline) and as he runs up to Mike. Almost as if to imply Mike was hyper-aware of Will’s presence:

Then extras cross the frame again when they “hug”—

—cutting through the tense nervousness radiating off of Mike, and shifting the moment to a very awkward/detached tone.

[thefirstlioveyou]

queer experience is pushing the love of your life to be with someone of the opposite gender, slowly dying inside as you hide feelings you know they’d never reciprocate