#because mike is gay so get your man already

[runninguplenorahills]

[pxningfo0l]

It's a reoccurring pattern with Steve, getting come out to and then instantly shitting on the person's taste in people.

Robin comes out to him and tells him she liked Tammy 'The Muppet' Thompson and Steve immediately jumps onto making fun of her because obviously, he will. She sounds like a goddamn muppet! Robin may deny it, but he knows she knows he's right. And he never lets her forget it.

After the Byers family moves back to Hawkins, Steve gets closer to the Byer-Hopper twins (Not blood related twins, but with how similar they are they might as well be). He takes note of the way Will carries himself, the way he stares at Micheal Asshole Wheeler of all people when he thinks no one is looking.

The kid doesn't come out that quickly, so with Robin's advice, Steve takes his time, making it known how okay he was with Will's sexuality, even if he did have standards low enough to beat Robin's terrible Tammy Thompson taste (He says this to her and she reacts as predictably as ever- by throwing something at him).

When Will does come out to him, Steve makes sure he only freezes for a literal second, not wanting the kid to panic like he'd seen Robin do back then. Of course, as soon as he's done comforting and reassuring the kid that he's completely fine with him being gay, he immediately jumps onto making fun of his terrible crush on Mike, finding great joy in the bright blush burning the teen's face.

The next time someone comes out to him, he's more caught off guard than he was with Robin.

Not because he was shocked that Eddie liked guys, no. He might be stereotyping a little, but no straight guy goes that close to another man and calls him Big Boy all low and seductively, a teasing grin curling his lips, a glint in his eyes-

You get the point.

The reason why he's shocked is because Eddie comes out to him, and when Steve asks about crushes, Eddie says,

"Oh, I had the worst crush on you in high school."

Steve sits there, his jaw practically on the ground. The way Eddie says it, all casual, not caring about the consequences or the effect it has on Steve.

"Wh- I- Me?" He stammered out, incredulous. "Dude, I was the biggest asshole back then!"

Eddie chuckles at that, a low sound that sends further heat into Steve's already flushed body. "The me back then did not give a shit, let me tell you that man." He turns to Steve then, giving him a slow look, a gaze more like, and smirks. "I certainly understood why the ladies were so desperate for you and your gorgeous locks."

His heart is pounding like crazy, an audible thump in his ears. Thoughts race in his head, one after the other, all jumbled up until what comes out of Steve's mouth next is,

"So what, you've got a thing for douchebags? Seriously?"

Eddie shoots him another look, more confused than ever. "What?"

"You heard me," Steve says, feeling the next words come out of his mouth like a waterfall. "I was a huge asshole in high school dude. How the hell did you have a crush on me back then? Did you seriously have no standards? You'd really stoop that low just because I had nice hair? I have good hair, and I'm nice now! What's stopping you from-"

Steve cuts himself off with an audible clack of his teeth, a sound that most often comes from Robin when she shuts herself up.

Goddamnit Robin.

Eddie is staring at him with wide eyes, the cigarette between his fingers burning away. Steve wants to watch the smoke curl away, but he's too transfixed on Eddie's doe-like gaze.

Then Eddie's features smooth over, a terrible, terrible grin curling its way onto his lips, deepening that dimple on his cheeks. He leans forward eyes lidded just slightly, and says,

"What's stopping me from what, sweetheart?"

[miwiheroes]

Byler + Closet Imagery

Just wanted to show just how much closet imagery and references there are in stranger things and how it's super obvious, that it's kind of insane that it goes over the GA's heads so much. It's mostly with Mike as well, funnily enough.

Closet imagery has been used in media over the years to show that a character might be gay but the audience/the other characters just don't know it yet.

For example, it was used here in Paper Girls (2022) for KJ who was not out as gay yet.

It was also used for Eyewitness (2016) with Lukas who also has internalised homophobia and we already know that Byler has had a parallel to Eyewitness before.

So, it's interesting that this closet imagery has been used for Mike and Byler ever since the show began in Season 1. Let's look at all the ways it has been used and how insane these are that some people deny them because UHHHH....

1. Mike hides El in his closet

Karen: "With all this that's been going on, with Will, I can't imagine what it's been like for you... i just-- want you to feel like you can talk to me. i never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. i'm here for you. okay?"

Mike: *is hiding El in the closet* *a noise comes from the closet after Karen says these things* *he lies about it* *Karen then hugs Mike later on when Will 'dies' HADGSJHDG*

2. Argues with El in a closet

I find it so funny how the framing here is El literally between Mike and some male dummy and then she grabs it from him LMAOO i love cinematography.

Mike: 'You are the most important thing to me in the worl-'

El: *interrupts him* 'What if [Hopper's] right?'

Mike: *feels attacked as she questions the legitimacy of their relationship while she holds a male dummy in the closet* "No, no no no. He's just some angry old man who hates joy."

Why are you questioning the sanity of someone instead of using actual arguments for your relationship?? Oh that's right, you're in the closet <3

3. Kisses El in front of a closet

Particularly, this is Will's closet as well.

El: "I love you too" *kisses Mike*

Mike: *makes disgusted/ confused face* *doesn't kiss back and has his eyes open* *has the light coming from the closet framed on his head as if he's realised something.*

El: *walks away smiling*

Mike: *looks to the side confused with an open closet next to him* *thinks What is wrong with me?/ What just happened here? (original script)*

Also the music is "The First I love You" which is the same music they use in a scene where Robin comes out of the closet.

4. Mike reads a letter from El in front of a lit up closet

Bro is reading a note with RAINBOWS ON IT and then the camera pans to him reading with a literal open closet which is lit up right next to him. How is this not blatant queer-coding??

Also Mike: *panics in front of a closet which has a ray of light shining on him* *has a one-way sign pointing into the closet which is revealed when he bends down*

I am going insane at this it's so funny

5. Argues with his bestie bro when a song called "In The Closet" plays

aka arguing with Will about how he sabotaged your day by ignoring you instead of your gf getting bullied x

Will: "Well we used to be best friends!"

Mike: *looks devastated as a song called "In The Closet (at Rink O' Mania)" plays when the camera goes back to him* "Well maybe you should've reached out more, I don't know. Why is this on me? Why am I the bad guy?"

El: *is hiding from Mike in a closet*

Why are you suddenly switching the blame Mike??? Oh girl you're a little too defensive

6. Mike and Will have a heart-to-heart in front of an open closet

Mike: "No, no you didn't deserve anything... Hawkins isn't the same without you... Maybe I was worrying too much about El... felt like I lost you or something... Friends, 🥺❤️ best friends."

All while Will is tearing up in front of a closet (also the picture here on the left literally has them framed on either side of an open closet WDYMMM)

Anyways,

Byler Endgame

[sp0o0kylights]

There were a lot of things Mike hated in life.

The demogorgon, and how it had essentially destroyed his life.

 Brenner, and the madhouse laboratory El had survived. 

How each and every one of his friends now did something weird--were weird, because flashing lights or fireworks or some stupid tune a toy horse played dragged up memories that made their eyes flat and faces hollow. 

Most of all though, Mike hated how much they relied on Steve.

There was no reason he should be the person to call when it started pouring and no one wanted to bike home from AV. 

Steve wasn’t Nancy, or Jonathan, or a parent--he wasn’t even dating anyone related to any of the Party anymore so what excuse did he have to keep hanging around? 

(Even if Jonathan was always working, and Nancy was always busy with some club or homework, and everyone’s parents all seemed to be in a race of who could get back to normal the fastest…) 

They should at least try to get a hold of other people, instead of constantly going to Steve first.

“Why?” Dusitn had scoffed at him the last time this had happened, feeding quarters into a phone and staring at Mike like he was the one being unreasonable. “I’m not gonna waste money just to hear your sister tell us no again when we all know Steve will do it.” 

Which was perhaps the most infuriating part of it all.

That Steve would do it. 

Show up and help them, even if he bitched the whole time. 

Hell, Steve Harrington knew more about Mike’s life offhand than Nancy did, and that made him want to punch a wall more days than it didn’t. Why the hell was Steve so involved? 

It was stupid. 

Weird, even! They weren’t friends, (even if Dustin and Max and El of all people said the opposite) he wasn’t being paid to babysit, (Mike had double checked; going round to ask Ma Henderson and Mrs. Sinclair, only to get an earful of how wonderful Steve was from both.) he had no reason to hang around! 

It didn’t make sense that Steve could be harassed into picking them up from school. 

Would take them to get ice cream, or hand over extra quarters for the arcade. He even gave out advice like some kind of--brother that Mike had never wanted. 

Above all?

Mike hated that when he needed someone, the number he punched in on automatic was Steve’s.

“I need you to come get me.” He said into the receiver, mad at himself and the world, but mostly mad that beyond the normal amount of squawking Steve did, he shut up and came. 

Drove up in his rich boy car, stepping out and herding Mike into it like the rain hadn’t already seeped into his bones. 

“You wanna tell me why you snuck into a bar two towns over?” Steve asked, long after Mike had slung himself into the passenger seat, arms crossed defensively over his chest.

“No.” 

One of Steve’s hands went right to his hair, running through it before adjusting the mess he’d just made. 

It was a nervous habit, and Mike hated that he knew that too. 

“Okay, well.” Steve’s hand fell back to the steering wheel, clenching tight around it. “Next time you want to do something dumb could you at least come talk to me about it beforehand?”

“What the hell would that do?” Mike bitched, staring firmly out of the window. 

“Not waste my gas for starters.” Steve bitched right back. “But I dunno man, we could have taken some bats and gone and wailed on cars in the junkyard and talked or some shit, not--whatever this all was.”

‘This all’ was accompanied by a wave of his hand, indicating not just the bar Mike had been standing in front of, but his general sopping wet state. 

“You’d actually go to the junkyard with me?” Mike challenged, doubtful. 

Steve made a face. “Did you lose your hearing in there? I just said--.” 

“Why?” Mike interrupted. “Why the fuck would you come out with me?”

Matching his entire aggressive tone, Steve said; “Because it’s better than trying to sneak into the one local gay bar when you’re barely fourteen, Michael.” 

And that? 

Steve being oddly aware of shit he really shouldn’t have?

Mike hated that too. 

“You knew what the bar was?” He asked, his voice coming out much smaller than he intended. 

“Everyone knows what that bar is, except it’s more of a biker bar than a gay bar.” Steve shot back--which did actually explain about ten different questions Mike had about the place. “Also, language you little shit.” 

Under his breath, Steve continued in a muttered; “I swear I’m going to start carrying around soap.”

“You cuss more than we do.” Mike responded, and if his own voice was a little strangled as he fought back the sudden swell of tears, then that was between him and God. 

He was not crying in front of Steve Harrington, he outright refused. 

“The point I’m making is that there are way better bars to sneak into. That one’s not nearly as welcoming as people make it out to be, probably because they’re sick of all the rumors.” 

Steve seemed to realize what he was implying because he quickly added; “Not that you should be sneaking into any bars at all!” 

“You’re not my mom.” Mike’s voice turned wet as he lost his battle with his throat, voice cracking as he failed to choke the tears back.  

“No shit Wheeler.”  Steve said, and at least he was good enough not to call attention to Mike’s crying. 

If he had, Mike was pretty sure he’d just up and die of embarrassment, right there. 

“I don’t get why you care.” He muttered, angrily swiping at his eyes. 

“I didn’t keep you alive this long just so you could die of something stupid.” Steve countered easily.

Which was kinda fair, if you thought about it.

Mike very much did not want to think about it. 

Any of it.

Ever. 

“Are you gonna tell my parents?” He asked after a painfully long moment. 

Long enough that Steve had begun fiddling with the radio, trying to find a station as they drove back that wasn’t wailing country or gospel music. 

“I’m not a narc, so no.”  

“Not about the bar.”  

Now Steve just looked confused. 

Probably because he was, because he was without a doubt the stupidest almost adult Mike knew. 

(Not that he could say that out loud--last time he had, Max had made one of her pissy faces and then El got mad because Max was, which led to a break up, which led to Mike having to beg his way back into his girlfriend’s good graces while explaining that he hadn’t meant it like that.

“How did you mean it then?” Max demanded, and Mike wasn’t sure how he managed to dodge that entire conversation but he had, on grounds that untangling his own emotions regarding stupid Steve made him want to pull his hair out and scream.) 

“What about then?” 

 “You know. Don’t make me say it.” Mike absolutely didn’t plead, even if it did sort of, kind of, sound like pleading. 

Steve flicked his eyes away from the road to give one long, weird look at Mike. The same one he gave Dustin when he went off on a rant about Cerebro or Lucas when he started discussing the stats of different D&D weapons. 

Unlike those times, Steve’s face cleared. 

“Oh.” He said, blinking, and Mike could practically see the light bulb flash above his head.

Then; 

“Nah.” 

Mike waited.

And waited.

And kept waiting as Steve went back to searching through radio channels, as if that was the end of the conversation.

It couldn't be the end of this conversation.

Not when this was the part that was eating Mike alive.

He didn’t know if this was Steve repressing it on purpose or if this was what he had to look forward to for the rest of his life if he kept trying to figure his own head out, but either way, he knew he had a choice to make. 

To let the unspoken part of today die quietly. Go unsaid, and remain unsaid, for all eternity--or he could let it out. 

Shove the “gay” part of “gay bar” in Steve’s stupid, jock face. 

Make him acknowledge it, even if it got Mike kicked out of the car, and who cared if it did? 

Steve wasn’t the person who should have picked him up anyway. 

The anger climbed higher and higher in his chest, tears and rage combining until Mike spat it all out, furious. 

“You’re not going to ask if I’m gay?”  

Steve didn’t turn to face him, but Mike saw his eyebrow cocking anyway, given how he was currently glaring a hole in the side of the older teen’s head. 

“Do you want me to?” 

“No.” Mike bit out automatically. “Yes. I don’t know!” 

Steve’s hand found its way back into his hair. 

“Okay then.” Steve paused, clearly fishing for something to say. 

Gleefully, Mike watched him struggle. 

“Do you like guys?” He managed finally, looking like he was navigating a minefield more than just talking.

“I don’t know.” Mike stressed, sinking lower in his seat. “Why do you think I was at the bar? I was trying to figure it out!” 

“Honestly I assumed this was some sort of stupid dare--but!” Steve held up a finger, before Mike could interrupt, “But let’s--shit, hold on, I had a speech for this but I kinda wasn’t expecting to use it this soon. Um.”

“You have a speech for me being gay?”

“Not for you.” Steve rolled his eyes. “For--in general! It was an in general, just in case speech!” 

He rounded on Mike, for longer than the younger was comfortable with given Steve took his eyes off the road to do it. “Okay--you can like boobies, you can like, uh--not boobies, and that’s fine! It’s all totally fine!” 

“You are not making it sound like it’s fine.” Mike said, feeling like he’d been taken out by hearing Steve say the word “boobies.” 

Gross, gross, gross. 

“Well it is.” Steve said, in a tone that felt like he was two seconds from adding in a smarmy ‘so there!’ at the end. 

“But I’m dating El.” Mike whined, which really, was both the heart of the matter and the eye of the storm that had been growing in his head for months now. “I can’t be gay if I like her.” 

“Don’t you guys break up and get together like four times a week?”

“No, that's Max and Lucas, El and I are stable.” Mike scoffed. “Or we--we were stable.” 

Before he started to have thoughts about people that weren't his girlfriend. 

Or women.

“Stable for being in middle school, sure.” Steve snorted. “You don’t just have to like one or the other you know. You can like dudes and chicks at the same time.”

Which Mike did not know, on account of being fourteen. 

He did his absolute damndest not to show that realization, instead adding that to the list of reasons why he hated Steve Harrington too.

Steve shouldn't be the one teaching him about who you could like!

“The point is that who you end up loving isn’t a problem.” Steve finally looked back to the road. “Other people might be an issue, and those people we can punch in the face so long as the cops aren’t looking, which isn’t part of the speech so let’s not tell people I said that part, but whatever you do choose, there’s nothing wrong with you.” 

Steve’s voice went firm, as he apparently recalled his speech or something close enough to it because his next words sounded a little rehearsed. “You have people who are here for you, no matter what. Okay?” 

Oh God, Mike was crying again. 

He wanted to punch Steve in his stupid face.

Wanted to hold onto the fury he'd built inside himself. Thrash around, throw himself out of the car, get away from the emotions that felt too big for his chest to contain. 

Instead he felt it all break on Steve's acceptance. On word's he didn't know he needed to hear until they'd been spoken, and sniffed out a quiet; “Okay.” 

Steve of course had to take it too far by reaching over and patting his knee, which they both regretted judging by how quickly Steve took his hand back and the face Mike made at his hand--but it…

It was appreciated, even amongst all Mike's rage.

Steve was appreciated. 

Not that Mike would ever, on pain of death, tell him that. 

Neither said a word for a while, Steve finally landing on a radio that was playing some Top 40 hit, Tears for Fears singing about ruling the world while Mike found himself trying to rebuild his own once again, tired of it having shattered so many times over. 

At least he finally felt better, even if he refused to admit Steve was the reason for it. 

He wasn’t quite done though.

 There was a piece Steve had skipped over, that Mike felt was critically important, if only because it was partly the reason he was having thoughts about being gay in the first place. 

He had to know if Steve saw it too. 

That it wasn’t just him and his stupid head, making up things that weren’t there. 

“Hey Steve?” 

“Yeah?”

“Who was the speech for?” 

Steve sighed. 

“Rule one of the whole queer thing Wheeler, you don’t out other people.” 

Like there were written rules or something.

(Maybe there were, it wasn't like Mike knew.)

“Was it Will?” Mike asked, and pretended like he didn’t desperately want the answer to be yes. 

 Steve didn’t say a thing, but the fact he nearly took the car off the road was a pretty solid answer in itself. 

“We’re not playing guessing games about other people’s sexualites!” He yelped, hands gripping the steering wheel as Mike felt a wave of relief crash through him. 

Will was--maybe, possibly, also--queer too. 

Which didn’t make this any better but it--wasn’t the not preferred outcome, either. 

(It wasn’t just Mike struggling alone, trying to figure out if his best friend wanted to be more than that, if El was breaking up with him and more and more because she wanted to be less than a girlfriend, if things were changing and he would have no one--) 

“I’m not out here picking Will up from a gay bar dipshit, I’m picking you up, and this is your reminder that next time, you should just come talk to me!” Steve ranted. 

Mike snorted.

He absolutely hated Steve Harrington, but--

“Fine.” He said, talking so low he could barely be heard. “I will.”

--maybe Mike did have someone in his corner after all. 

Even if it was just Steve. 

xXx

Bonus: 

“Between you and me, that kid is gayer than a two dollar bill.” 

“Wow Robin,” Steve teased, “Isn’t that like, a slur or whatever?” 

He snickered when she rolled her eyes and threw a roll of stickers his way. 

“I’m just saying. Did you see the way he was looking at you when you were showing off your stupid biceps?” Robin said, nudging her shoulder into Steve’s. “Will’s gonna have a rude awakening later if he hasn’t already.” 

Steve nudged her back, but kept his gaze on the Party as they trooped their way from Family Video to the arcade next door, the realization that they now had connections for free rentals making them downright gleeful. 

Will was the last one in, and Steve watched him hurry so as to not be left behind. 

He didn’t like to worry about the dipshits, but Robin was just putting voice to a thought Steve knew he wasn’t the first person to have.

And if he noticed it, then it didn't exactly bode well as being kept a secret. 

“Should we like…talk to him about that?” He asked after a long moment, turning to face Robin.

“Us?” She pointed at herself, before turning her finger on Steve. “Why us?” 

“Well you’re into girls.” He gave her a pointed look, glad that the store was empty of everyone but them so he could actually voice all this. “And I’m fine with it.”

“Yeah I’m sure he wants to know you’re fine with it.” Robin taunted, but she had her thinking face on, eyes out to the middle distance. “I barely know him. You barely know him--he’s the quietest out of all your kids.”

“They’re not my kids.” Steve argued automatically. “They're like a weird cross between shitty siblings and that kid in your class who never leaves you alone.” 

A fact Steve no longer took for granted, even if he made it sound like the worst thing ever.

“I just think it’d be nice if he knew that he had people in his corner, you know? Who supported him and shit.” 

“Steve, you compared my crush to a muppet, that wasn’t supportive.” Robin countered, but it too was on automatic. 

Softer she admitted; “You’re right though. If I had known other queer people, if I had known people would accept me...it would have made things a lot easier.”

A very long pause, in which both of them stewed for a moment, before Robin abruptly slapped her hand down on the table.

“Okay, you got me. We're doing it, and I'm making us a speech.”

“A speech?” 

“Yes dingus, a speech. I know you, you’re terrible when you’re put on the spot with this kinda thing, and trust me with things like this the moment will be spontaneous.”

“It’s Will, how spontaneous can it be?” Steve challenged back. “Getting a dinner order out of him is a chore.” 

“Stop whining and hand me that notepad. Im telling you its gonna happen when you least expect it and then you're gonna thank me later.”

“It better not happen without you.”  Steve sighed, but passed the notepad over.

God the things he did for those stupid kids. 

Bonus x2

Steve would later go on to use the speech on himself, in a gas station bathroom mirror, eyes wide and freaked out after Eddie Munson called him Big Boy in a van they stole, while Robin snickered behind him. 

He would turn on her, snapping that she; “Help me with this dammit!” 

In return she’d remind him that Tammy might sing like a muppet but Eddie  was the guy who stepped on lunches while giving speeches at lunch and sticking his tongue out, and “Really Steve, I think I won best gay awakening, here.” 

Which would promptly start an argument regarding how it wasn’t a competition, which would continue for another fifteen or so odd years before finding its way as a reference into both of their speeches as each other’s best man. 

Nancy and Eddie wouldn’t get it at either wedding, but Mike would.

[cringevalue]

stuff...

written for @steddiemicrofic's prompt: 'stuff' | wc: 483 | rated: T | tags: pool party, steve harrington's ass, jokes about hypnosis

––

He knows this is not what he should be thinking about. What kind of man- What kind of straight twenty year old man goes to their new dude-bro-male-friend’s pool party, intending to throw one of the dwerps into the water before they can change into their swimwear, just to spend the whole time staring at said dude-bro-male-friend’s ass.

Listen, it’s not his fault, okay? Maybe this dude-bro-male-friend shouldn’t have such a perfectly round ass! Has anyone ever thought about that? Surely someone has, because having an ass like that should be a crime. And it’s not gay! No, it’s not gay because an ass like that should belong to a girl, not some jock dude that didn’t technically bully Eddie in high school, but was definitely a not-so-innocent bystander. A guy like that should have a smaller ass, flatter. A guy like that doesn’t deserve such a pretty little feminine-

“What’cha thinkin’ about?” Steve asks, plopping down on the lounger beside Eddie.

Weakly, Eddie answers, “Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Oh, you know… Stuff.”

Steve snorts and leans closer to Eddie, lowering his voice as he asks, “Could this stuff have anything to do with what your eyes have been locked on since you got here?”

“Huh? No, I’m not thinking about the kids.”

“No, you’re not.” Eddie can hear the smirk in Steve’s voice. “Did you see Mike and Lucas trying to drown each other ten minutes ago? I don’t think you did, because you haven’t been looking at the kids.”

“What are you…”

“Seriously, man. What is it about my ass that has you so… so hypnotized?”

“What? I’m not-”

“Right, right. You haven’t been staring at my ass and you’re just thinking about stuff. That stuff must be pretty important or- Oh, honey… You’re red as a tomato.”

Eddie can feel the burning sensation in his cheeks and that only makes this worse.

“Hey, why don’t we head inside? I’ll let you take a peak at that stuff without these swimming shorts in the way, yeah?”

It doesn’t take any effort to get Eddie inside and up to Steve’s bedroom, and Eddie is practically drooling when Steve pulls his shorts off.

“Hey, do you think I could actually hypnotize you if I just moved my stuff side to side?” Steve asks, swinging his hips. “You look all tranced out already. What do you want? To touch it?”

Eddie takes that as permission and steps forward, splaying both hands over Steve’s asscheeks. He feels hypnotized right now - he’d probably do anything Steve told him. Fuck, what if Steve tells him to like, bark or something? He’s not going to bark for Steve Harrington.

“You know you can move your hands, right?”

“I want to bite it,” Eddie blurts. He hadn’t even been thinking about biting it. Where did that come from?

Steve just grins. “Go ahead and bite it, then.”

[gayelderstourney]

OLD MAN YAOI/OLD WOMAN YURI TOURNAMENT

Do you love old man yaoi? Old woman yuri? Do you want to see your favorite old man yaoi and old woman yuri couples fight each other? to the death? Well here we are now.

(Btw we only do real gay elders here we are NOT calling dudes in their 30s old man yaoi. more info is in the form and under the read more)

This is my third time running a tournament; I also did @worstcharacterpoll and @youngersiblingstournament & both times i have gained more insight on how to run these properly LOL

well anyway ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS NOW vvv

submissions will close Jul 19 at 8:00 pm CST/Jul 20 at 1:00 UTC

Guidelines and stuff is below, but it's copy pasted in the submission form. Also please submit yuri

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (Please read):

No real people even if it's really funny

No characters based on real people

Couples must be gay; if one of them is canonically nonbinary though, they will be allowed

No incest or abusive ships

I'll be vetting source material on a case-by-case basis, but just so we're clear I'm not putting Harry Potter or OFMD in the poll

There will be a maximum of one ship per source material in the poll. You can submit multiple ships from the same material, but only one will be allowed if it gets in

AGE GUIDELINES SECTION (because I keep seeing people use the term "old man yaoi" for couples in their 30s or even 20s):

THESE GO FOR BOTH PARTIES IN THE RELATIONSHIP

Human characters with a canon age must be at least 50. This also goes for characters that aren't human but age at the same rate as humans. Please double-check your characters' ages before you submit to save me some headache

If they don't have a canon age, they must look elderly.

No characters that have been de-aged (ex. Purah from Zelda).

For nonhuman characters that age at a different rate than humans: they must be old for their species (ex. Ravenpaw and Barley from Warrior Cats; Ravenpaw is the younger one, and is around the same age as Graystripe, who becomes old enough to retire as an elder).

For immortals/characters with very very long lifespans, they must look old (ex. Gandalf from Lord of the Rings would count; Hythlodaeus from Final Fantasy XIV would not).

Couples that will already be in the poll, so you don't need to submit them:

Fiddleford McGucket/Stanford Pines (Gravity Falls)

Hanayo Nishida/Yoshiko Dojima (Hanamonogatari)

Ravenpaw/Barley (Warriors)

Eda Clawthorne/Raine Whispers (The Owl House)

Couples already under consideration, but will depend on the other submissions if they get in the poll or not; you may submit your support for them if you want to see them:

Walter White/Mike Ehrmantraut (Breaking Bad) (keep in mind this one is mostly a joke)

Ms. Bitters/Countess von Verminstrassen (Invader Zim) (minor characters but I invented this one and I'm partial to it)

The Once-ler/The Lorax (Lorax 2012)

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Miami Vice S1E22: Evan

An estranged friend forces Sonny to confront a long buried secret.

Perhaps out of a fear of repeating myself-- I've said a lot about Evan, both in analysis and in fic-- I got a little stuck on this one, this time around. I guess I don't want to seem like a broken record, or like I'm overstating the importance of a single episode, but Evan is as much a distillation of everything that Miami Vice "is" as anything-- it's bleak, it's heartfelt, it's beautiful, it cuts to the heart of Sonny's inability to love himself, and it 's deeply, heartbreakingly queer.

It absolutely should have been the Season One finale. Lombard is a good episode, but it's not Evan good. On top of that, the last few episodes have all had a running undercurrent asking-- "hey-- what is *normal*, here, especially for Sonny? What does it mean to be vulnerable, to share your life and your secrets with someone? What do we mean when we say 'partner?'" that feels like it reaches its climax with Evan. And even further, Evan's whispered portent at the end of the episode-- that he made his choice, that Mike Orgel made his choice, and that now it's Sonny's turn to make his choice-- sets up much of the rest of the series thematically. The series finale is Sonny's answer: in the end, he chooses to step away instead of letting himself be destroyed like his friends.

BUT. I don't really think Network Television in the 80's really wanted the season for their very expensive and incredibly popular show to end on Sonny's Repressed Gay Trauma, because then audiences would've had to sit with that all summer, and frankly I suspect more people might have had an Aha Moment about Sonny's sexuality if that had been the case. So instead they ended S1 on Charming Mobster Dennis Farina, which is fine, but not quite as thematically powerful.

So what to say about Evan that I haven't said already? The episode opens with Evan selling guns; to demonstrate the power of the weapons, he shoots the hell out of a bunch of mannequins. I hadn't recalled that before he did this, he kissed the mannequins around their middles. It's super performative masculinity-- Evan is terrified of not being seen as a "real man," so his only options are, essentially, violence and (straight) sexuality, both of which he enacts on the mannequins. It's unsettling to the the point that one of Guzman's goons keeps making a face like "do we. Do we have to buy guns from him," and it signals to the audience that something is Not Right with this man.

Because this is an episode about gay men and what it means to be a man and how man treat one another, we get an interesting little moment where Larry is leaning over Stan's shoulder and reviewing case files with him. Stan seems irritated at the lack of personal space, and tells him to go look over files on his own desk. It's a bit of a throwaway gag, but it's also the kind of gentle, thoughtless repudiation of closeness that makes intimacy of any kind difficult between men of any sexual orientation. When Sonny talks about the way he and Evan and Mike Orgel used to talk to and tease one another before Mike revealed he was gay, this is the kind of behavior he's referencing.

The scene where Sonny has to go undercover as a far right gun nut to get information from a neonazi is both disturbingly still relevant and disturbing from an in-universe perspective. Sonny, still too pretty even in fatigue pants and a government-issue cap, looks like an underwear model doing military cosplay; he almost seems younger, like putting on the trappings of his Vietnam days transported him back there. In order to convince the gun seller he's serious, he says he's done with the military because the military is full of "women, half-breeds, and homosexuals" (which he says like it's four words-- HO-MO-SECK-SHUALS), but he turns away while he's saying it, and his face radiates pain and fear. He is wildly uncomfortable in this persona; we know he doesn't believe these things, but more than that, you get the sense that he's genuinely concerned his disguise as a Grade-A American Heterosexual Tough Guy is not going to hold up under any serious scrutiny.

I have a lot of questions about this painting, presumably belonging to Mr. Unfriendly Drug Lord Guzman, of an emaciated man with a railing between his ass-cheeks. Like. Is that so on the nose that it circles back to mysterious again, or is it literally a painting of an ass railing in the Let's Talk About Gay Stuff episode?

Castillo is extra recalcitrant in this one-- he argues with the ATF agent and insists he'll bust whoever needs busting, and then shortly after is just like NO when Sonny says he cannot be involved in this case

The ATF agent refers to Evan as Sonny's "old playmate," which feels uh, pointed

Rico asks Gina a favor and she sighs and says he "always needs a favor;" she still seems a bit irritated from No One Lives Forever

Guzman's manservant lifts him out of the pool and dries him off and dresses him, so perhaps the painting isn't all that odd for him

When Evan tries to convince Guzman to back off of the deal with Sonny, Guzman is eating a plate of fruit in a bathrobe, the sea over his shoulder, bathed in pinks and blues. Evan, on the other hand, eats the true breakfast of champions-- a cigarette and whiskey-- and everything around him is grey and white.

Evan smiles completely genuinely when he sees Elvis, and Elvis makes no move to attack him, which makes me cry

Like. He and Sonny were such good friends that Sonny's alligator missed him

Just throw me in the bay and forget about me as the fish chew me to death, I guess

When Sonny refuses Evan, Evan says he'll happily take Rico instead, and that's when Sonny really starts getting angry-- it's one thing for Evan, who Sonny blames for the death of an old partner and friend, to put Sonny's life in danger, it's another thing altogether for him to casually suggest Rico could be another bit of collateral in their shared history

Thank you script writers for lines like "I wouldn't have had to pull Freed's jacket if you'd been straight with me" (that really is the issue here, isn't it, Rico? Sonny can't quite do that, can he!) and "we are involved... *pause* in an operation." The gay subtext in the gay text episode is logged and noted

Evan encourages Guzman to shoot them all, himself included, and casually tells Sonny and Rico that Guzman used to "shoot people just for being left-handed," which feels like a metaphor for.... something, some kind of... human difference that has been, historically, punished and marginalized... couldn't tell you what, though

Tubbs speaks French to Michelle-- do we ever hear him doing this again? Does Tubbs speak French for real, or is he just like, repeating something he heard on a perfume ad or something?

When Sonny comes in, looking all hangdog, and tells Tubbs they need to talk, Tubbs tells Michelle he wants a rain check-- Michelle's response is "I bet you would," which is very ambiguous-- it seems equally likely that she's telling him he's got no chance or that she straight up doesn't believe he wants the rain check because she's pretty sure Crockett's his ex

I've talked at length about the gas station scene, but the fact that Rico's response to Sonny's confession about Mike is "how did you handle it" rather than anything else-- the man knoooows half of Sonny's issues here are coming from his internalized homophobia and self-loathing

I don't think Evan has changed his clothes for three days?

Logistically, it makes no fucking sense for Sonny, Evan, and Mike Orgel to all be queer men, but the episode really doesn't do any work to make Sonny or Evan obviously heterosexual, either. It's very easy to read either Sonny or Evan's guilt and trauma as coming partially from their own identities, and the way they both talk about their bad reactions to Mike's coming out reinforces this. Evan's line, "I've found more ways to hang that rap on myself than you or the devil will ever know about" mirrors Sonny's earlier insistence that Rico is not his "priest" and that he doesn't have to "bare his soul" to him; Vice is not a show that frequently has its main characters suffering from religious guilt or trauma, so it seems very meaningful that both of them are bringing their despair back to the idea not just of guilt, but sin. And perhaps even more specifically than that, sin that they refuse to let anyone-- friend, priest, or devil-- see.

Gina and Trudy show up in regular police uniforms at Guzman's arrest, which I think is the only time we see them dressed like that in the entire series

Peter Gabriel's Biko initially seemed to me like a really weird choice for the end of the episode, given the specific milieu it was written in and for (South African apartheid and the police murder of an anti-apartheid activist), but upon this rewatch it dawned on me that what they were trying to do was, a bit clumsily, tie the two ideas together. Mike Orgel died because he was part of an oppressed minority group, and if you read Evan as a closeted queer man, he has followed after him (and warns Sonny-- potentially a third closeted queer man-- that he will also need to make a choice about how to lead his own life soon enough.) I don't necessarily love slotting in one marginalized group for another there, but it's a very 80's sentiment, I think, so I'll let it stand. I think it's meaningful that the lyric "you can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire" precedes Evan's warning to Sonny. Was Mike, then, the candle?

The episode ends with Sonny tenderly cradling Evan's head while Rico stands with his hand on his shoulder; he's allowed touch and intimacy with Rico (as he was at the gas station) that he could not have ever really had with Evan except under extremely extenuating circumstances and now death. Mike, Evan, and Sonny couldn't find a way to "deal with it," as Rico put it, but the implication is that maybe Sonny and Rico can.

[bkatlips]

Ranking and explaining my rankings of Mike Flanagan’s shows and how they make me feel in honor of spooky season and just finishing Usher!! Why not!! Everyone else is doing it!! I’m also going to give it a gay score based on how gay they are (which also includes how big of a role gay characters played).

Disclaimer: Every one of these shows is well-made in one way or another and deserves to be watched based on whether someone else finds the premise interesting and not whether I liked the show. Too often I see “that show was bad to me therefore you shouldn’t watch it” and I disagree with that line of thinking.

1. The Haunting of Bly Manor-I can already hear people screaming “Hill House is better!” In some ways, yes! In some very important ways, however, I disagree. The biggest being Bly Manor emotionally resonated with me a lot more. The themes, the found family (as someone who is an only child), and of course, the lesbianism. Dani’s story of compulsory heterosexuality may be one of if not the best in media and her love story with Jamie ended up being one of the best media has to offer, too. And really using a horror story and turning it into a love story is kind of brilliant (and annoying for the people who were just there for the jumpscares I guess). Don’t get me wrong the show has flaws (why the FUCK do Peter and Rebecca have so much screentime? was that eight episode really the best placement?) but the stuff that lands, really really lands. I’m still thinking about Dani and Jamie 3 years later. Hannah’s episode was very well done. The kid actors little Amelie and Ben were phenomenal. Upon rewatch you notice most decisions and dialogue in the show were made with some purpose and it usually relates to something thematic. Some people may say it doesn’t really have one defining central thesis therefore making it messy, but to me the fact it has many themes actually makes it more fun to think about. Gay score: 100000/10

2. The Haunting of Hill House-A horror classic that got me into Flanagan! This is Flanagan’s best series as far as making you pee your pants. That hat man is just scary! The character work is nice. Those first 6 episodes are incredible. Perfect. The thing that brings it under Bly Manor for me is honestly the ending. It left something to be desired for me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but it just did not conclude in such an emotionally resonant way as Bly Manor to me. Shout out to the Newton Bros because the music on this damn show (and Bly too but that’s basically Hill House music continued) is so so good. Also the character work is masterful because Shirley Crain is kind of a bitch but you do come to love her. In fact, there wasn’t a Crain I didn’t feel for. They’re deeply fucked up, sympathetic people. It’s a great show with some great thematic work but it just doesn’t speak to me quite as much as Bly, that’s it. I know that’s unpopular but it is what it is. A great good show nonetheless. Gay score: 8/10

3. The Fall of the House of Usher-This show is wild and honestly I couldn’t decide between ranking this one or Midnight Club third. I went with this one because the acting and technical stuff was so phenomenal. I’m not really into gore horror so this wasn’t like my thing on the surface but I do appreciate what a homage to Poe it is in the very limited knowledge of Poe’s work that I have. It was fun to see all the cast from previous shows back again especially T’nia. One of the downsides to this show is it doesn’t really make you feel a lot and so compared to the Haunting shows for me that makes it inferior for sure. But it’s a fun watch and honestly I need to rewatch the final episode because I had a hard time paying attention for that one. Gay score: really fucking queer/10

4. The Midnight Club-Ah Flanagan’s little dud. This one is really not very loved compared to the others, seems to be just about nobody’s favorite, however personally I liked it. I think people are a little unfair to it and while it may not be Flanagan’s best, I don’t think it’s awful. It doesn’t really tackle anything new when it comes to themes. There’s some death, grief, stages of acceptance, and cult stuff. I think the way it has these kids telling stories to deal with their reality was really brilliant in a way. There was one episode (six I think) that dealt with depression and suicide that made me sob and I thought was super well done. That one stuck with me.I think it would have benefited from a more likeable main character and also from the second season that was planned! Gay score: 6/10

5. Midnight Mass-To be honest, I probably could have gone without watching this show. It just didn’t really resonate with me and didn’t really entertain me save like the very last two episodes. It’s technically well-made and I appreciate what Flanagan was trying to do and convey with the danger of cults and religion. It was obviously a very personal project and was him working through his own experiences but it wasn’t for me. It had a few too many monologues and I don’t think monologues make an interesting character piece. However, it’s a critically acclaimed work so I recommend anyone who wants to check out Flanagan’s work still check it out! Especially if you like weird vampire stuff I guess. Also the acting especially from the priest was phenomenal. So there’s definitely pros to this show, but it didn’t add anything to my life for me! Gay score: 3/10 :/

Also, shout out to Mike because every single one of these shows is queer to one degree or another. He loves the gays! Ally! Bisexual wife probably helps too!

[therainscene]

Something that struck me about Will’s bedroom in S4 is how asexually it’s decorated:

This boy is about to turn 15 and yet there’s not a single hunk to be found anywhere on his walls! Being closeted isn’t an excuse -- there’s plenty of plausible deniability in having posters of your favourite musicians, athletes, characters, etc, as our extremely heterosexual friend Michael can demonstrate:

Perhaps Will just is asexual. After all, outside of his chaste love for Mike, we only ever see him express his sexuality in the form of revulsion towards girls/heterosexuality; he honestly seems kind of neutral on men in general.

However... I don’t think that’s what’s going on here.

Will happens to conform to certain 80s stereotypes about gay men -- he’s sensitive, well-groomed, prefers art over sport -- and these traits have made him a target for homophobic abuse, probably since before he even realized he was gay.

Imagine how it must have felt, then, when he finally did realize he was gay. The bullies were right about that, all along. So what else were they right about?

What other stereotypes plagued gay men in the 80s? They were seen as threats that wanted to recruit children into their “lifestyle”...

...as disgusting perverts...

...and as carriers of disease.

Even as a 12 year-old with an innocent crush on his best friend, this poor kid already feels ashamed of a sexuality he hasn’t even matured into yet. So when he does start maturing into it, he represses it.

It’s no wonder that he identifies with Alan Turing, a man who was chemically castrated for being gay.

Who else do we know who might identify with what happened to Alan Turing?

Henry is queer-coded by way of parallels to Will: he’s sensitive, well-groomed, and likes art. Like Will, he had a parent who tried to make him more “normal”. Like Will, he’s suffered abuse for being different.

But Henry is also queer-coded in a way that parallels those homophobic fears about “the gay agenda”: he preys on children, recruiting some and killing the rest. He’s angry at the world for not having space in it for people like him, but it doesn’t occur to him that he could peacefully co-exist with the rest of society -- he wants to burn it all down and remake the world in his own image.

The thing is, homophobes are telling on themselves when they express such fears about gay men -- because what they fear queer people will do to them is what heteronormative society is already doing to queer people. Like Henry, they think this is a zero-sum game in which only one side can “win”.

So I don’t think Henry’s queer-coding is meant to be read literally as him being a predatory gay man.

Rather, he’s a personification of homophobia: the homophobe’s gay boogeyman made flesh.

(When it comes to other characters, he personifies a more broadly-applicable version of this concept. But the Duffers have stated that S5 will focus heavily on Will and his coming of age, so I think this queer reading of Vecna is a deliberate and central one.)

If Vecna represents external homophobia, then the Mind Flayer represents internalized homophobia.

Vecna sends it after Will and it literally gets inside him, burying his true nature under a layer of torment. It’s partially defeated when his family and friends see what’s happening and shower him with unconditional love, but it lingers at the back of his head as he starts to go through puberty, flaring up when he’s near or otherwise thinking about Mike.

The only time he doesn’t have to deal with these flare-ups is when he’s in California, far away from both Vecna and the homophobic town he grew up in. And he gains a lot of confidence in his identity while he’s there!

But, as the asexually-decorated bedroom suggests, he still feels a lot of shame too.

Will can’t fully self-actualize as a gay man until he breaks his connection with Vecna once and for all...

...with the boy who makes him feel like he’s not a mistake by his side.

[alexthefunniest]

Funniest mileven arguments to why byler won’t be endgame

I’m sorry if there’s any grammar errors or mistakes, I wrote this angrily at 2 am when I couldn’t sleep.

1. “Its the 80’s”- as if there isn’t any movies that have happy queer endings that were made/set in the 80’s, yall are just lazy and don’t want to actually do any research.

2. “It’s a Netflix original”- ok? And? Like we literally get a new mlm/queer show on Netflix every year, byler is a mlm relationship which Netflix has a lot of, young royals, heartstopper??? Are you guys ok?

3. “Cuz it’s too popular” - we already have over two queer confirmed characters in stranger things, the show that’s about fighting forced conformity ?? The show that focuses on nerds, losers and people that don’t ‘fit in’ ? And y’all find it so hard to see ur two main characters being gay? Read the room respectfully.

4. “It’s one sided” - if it was one sided they would make Mike tell Will he doesn’t like him in s3 and give Will a new love interest in s4 (it has been confirmed that there will be no new characters in s5 and that the producers want every character to have their ‘perfect ending’) Will believed he was a mistake and thought he wouldn’t fall in love, because he is queer so he most definitely will have a queer love interest and it will be Mike.

5. “Mike is in love with el”- is he tho? He never actually said he loved her to her face without the world and her life depending on it, he’s been pressured to say it twice and when she told him she loves him back the man didn’t look happy but conflicted.

6. “Mileven endgame” - it’s really not, the amount of symbolism that points to their downfall (such as everyone calling them the ‘star crossed lovers’ which are basically lovers deemed to fail, and more) is HUGE, they have too many familial parallels it’s insane, why parallel the it couple with family themes and relationships? Another problem I have with this it’s the fact that it’s very rare for the first ‘original’ pairings to stay together till the end of the show (like with Bob and Joyce or Steve and Nancy)

7. “Byler wouldn’t make sense to the plot”- watch the show again, just because somethings more subtle, doesn’t mean it’s not there, y’all will always say that about queer relationships but whenever u guys see a straight relationship in these subtle moments you jump into conclusions that they might end up together, it’s called being a hypocrite.

8. “Mike isn’t gay” - it’s what he’s been telling himself too, the guy was obviously made fun of and called slurs like Will, everyone already thought and knew their relationship was ‘special’ and everyone suspected something, that’s why Mikes own dad was surprised and said “our son, with a girl?” Also your so called straight Mike has a room filled with pictures and posters of buff men, he’s never shown any interest in girls or women (except el who’s been said, looked like a boy in s1) not to mention the first song on his official Spotify playlist being “small town boy” (yk the song about a young gay man running away from his homophobic small town??).

9. Mikes love confession- if u call that a love confession I wouldn’t wanna date u brother, he was pushed to say ily by Will, the same Will that was in the frame of Mike lying when he said that his life “started” when he found El in the woods, which was obviously a lie because Mike called El a weapon and said he’ll “send her back to pennhurst or wherever she comes from” after they found her, also if the love confession was honest why would El be still upset with Mike and not talk to him after??

10. “El wasn’t upset at Mike but was sad about Max” - me when I’m in denial, she wasn’t sad about Max until she found the coke bottle underneath her bed, then we get the flashbacks of her and Max having fun in s3, she wasn’t thinking abt Max before that, its called common sense and logical thinking skills.

11. “There would be no time for byler to develop in s5” - it might seem crazy what I’m about to say, they were literally childhood best friends and it’s been confirmed that Will had a crush on Mike since s1, they literally started to build their romantic relationship MORE in s4, with all the ‘[emotional, tender music playing]’ and parallels between byler and jancy, also even if they haven’t started to build their relationship up in a romantic way in s4, y’all remember how in less than a season Jonathan and Nancy slept together or how Max and Lucas got together in a spawn of a season (mind u they met in the same season). Byler knows each other since little kids and always had potential y’all are just in denial.

12. “Why make Mike queer” - why not? Do y’all actually believe that one of the main characters plot line is just about getting with the girl at the end? Even if it was (which lets be so fr now) why would Mike get with El from the first season (they kissed in s1 and basically u can count that as they’re together wtv) if that was his main goal as a character? Well written shows have something called a “character development” which the producers of st love apparently, so why make Mike just a bland character that just gets with the main girl character, and why have El date the first guy she ever met, I just think it would be very shallow.

That’s all, this was written in a silly way cuz it’s basically me talking to myself, it’s okay if u ship mileven I just really don’t like disrespectful fans that yell at bylers and call the ship disgusting, I don’t care about what who ships as long as we all just have fun and not yell at each other 🫶🏻

[cowboysandpilots]

Meetings and Morals (Marvey)

Warnings: Adult Language

Pairings: Harvey/Mike

Word Count: 2000

Hi, @fleuroqium here is your Marvey blurb. :) I’m so sorry this took me absolutely AGES. I really apologize, I hadn’t watched Suits in a hot minute, and I wanted to get back into it so I could write this the best I possibly could, but hey, this made it up to 2k words, so I hope it was worth the wait. ❤️

Nothing between Harvey and Mike had ever been ordinary. Even their first meeting was the strangest way they could have met. So, it stands to reason that the way romance started seeping into their partnership would be anything but ordinary and just like their first meeting, it was fast. It took Harvey only about 5 minutes to know he wanted to hire Mike, and it took him even less than that to know he was in love with him. 

The first time that Harvey noticed his feelings start to change for Mike was the moment that Mike finally decided to grow some balls and stand up to him. If it were anyone else, Harvey would've taken it as a sign of disrespect, but because it was Mike, he took it as a sign that the kid was actually listening to him and coming into his own as a lawyer that wouldn't back down. It made Harvey feel something he doesn't think he's ever felt before, butterflies. 

“You told me to fix my case; why don't you fix yours?” That's what Mike had said to him, and it had been playing over and over in Harvey’s brain for weeks. There was a bass to Mike’s voice that Harvey had never heard before, and it sent a chill up his spine.

The next time that Harvey felt those butterflies again was after a long and challenging case they had been working on. Neither of them had slept more than a couple of hours in days, and Harvey could tell that Mike was crashing. They were in Harvey’s town car, and to his credit, Mike was trying exceptionally hard to keep his eyes open. He was also leaning heavily against Harvey’s shoulder, not that Harvey minded. However, he did have to keep up appearances, so he kept shifting against Mike every few minutes, making him lift his body again, giving space between them. He couldn't let Mike think that things like this were okay, even if maybe he didn't mind it. 

“Now is not the time to sleep, rookie. You're a grown man; you should be able to wait until you get to that hole you call an apartment.” Harvey chuckles softly. 

“Leave me alone, Harvey,” Mike mumbles lowly. “I haven't slept in so long; I need this.”

Harvey couldn't get over how good Mike’s voice sounded when he was half asleep like this. As much as they had spent time together, Harvey doesn't think he’s ever heard it like this before. It was like Mike had all his walls down, he was wholly unguarded, and Harvey loved it. Mike always had walls up, considering everything that he was hiding. 

There was one more thing that Mike was hiding, something he hadn’t even told Harvey. Mike was gay. He was worried that it would change things between him and Harvey. Things had already changed between him and Trevor. He thought that Trevor was someone he could trust. They were best friends. However, when he told Trevor about his sexual orientation, Trevor had started to close himself off from Mike. It started off with little things like not inviting him to the parties that he threw. Then, he started spending more and more time over at his girlfriend, Jenny’s, house. It didn’t seem that weird at the time; Trevor was in love with Jenny; of course, he would want to spend as much time as he could with her. It made sense; however, Jenny let him know; a few weeks later, she had told him that Trevor had only started staying with her so much because he was uncomfortable around him. Mike didn't understand it at first; they were best friends. Nothing had changed between them except… Mike had come out to him. Fuck.

Mike knows that Harvey is no Trevor. In fact, he’s exponentially better than Trevor, but that doesn’t mean coming out won’t have the same outcome. Harvey had never given Mike any reason to think that he wouldn't be okay with it, but he had never given him a reason to believe that he would be either. Mike could've gone to Donna for that kind of information, but he had no guarantee that the act of him asking the questions wouldn't get back to Harvey, and that was the last thing he needed. He couldn't tell anyone. Other than his Grandma, of course. 

It doesn't take long for them to get back to Mike’s apartment, but he wishes he didn't have to leave Harvey, wants to invite him up, wishes he could, but he won’t. It would be inappropriate, and Mike just has to keep reminding himself of that. He opens up his door and gives Harvey a nonchalant goodbye before heading up to his apartment, his empty apartment. “Doesn't matter,” he tells himself; he’ll see Harvey tomorrow anyway.

Harvey had Ray drive him back to his apartment; as soon as he knows, Mike made it safely into the door. It’s a bad neighbourhood; you can never be too careful, right? When he finally makes it back to his apartment, he does nothing except get his suit off and climb into bed. He barely has time to think about anything before he’s drifting off.

It felt like only two seconds before Mike's alarm was going off again. In reality, it was at least four hours, only half of what the body actually needs, but not bad for two high-profile lawyers. He drags himself into the shower and leaves his slept-in suit strewn all over the bathroom floor. Once out of the shower, Mike picks out a new suit and decides that the one good thing he did while in the middle of the fallout with Trevor was take all of his fancy suits. He gets it on as quickly as he can and peddles through the city, narrowly missing a few cars on the busy streets before he gets to Pearson Hardman. When he makes his way to Donna’s desk because he still needs permission to enter Harvey’s office even after all they’ve been through, he notices that Harvey is nowhere to be seen. “What? I made it here before Harvey?” He grins, but Donna doesn’t even look up. 

“Wrong.” She answers immediately, making Mike’s grin disappear. “Harvey is in a meeting with Jessica this morning.”

That makes Mike’s eyebrows crease together, and it takes him a moment to talk again. “He didn’t tell me about that.”

“I forgot; you’re in charge of Harvey’s schedule. Oh no, wait, that’s me.” Donna finally looks up to smirk cheekily at Mike. 

Mike can’t think of what to say to that because she is right, and her smirk scares him, so he figures he’ll just come back when he catches a glimpse of Harvey.

***

When Harvey got to work this morning, he didn’t expect to be called into Jessica’s office, and he had half a mind to tear Donna a new one for forgetting to tell him about this. His faith in her was restored when Jessica made it known that this was a more impromptu thing. She offers him a seat which makes him uneasy, her smile, even more. 

“So, you’re in love with Mike.” She starts, just dropping that bomb right away. 

Harvey is taken aback, but he keeps his face neutral; being a lawyer has helped with that. “What makes you say that?”

Jessica only gives a humourless chuckle and shakes her head. “I’m not an idiot, Harvey, don’t treat me like one.” She offers no other explanation, but Harvey has known her long enough to know that he can’t charm his way out of this one, and if she’s asking, it’s because she already knows and has the evidence to back it up. “I was here late last night. I saw you give him a ride home, and I saw the way you looked at him when he was getting into your town car and not looking back. 

There’s the evidence. 

Harvey opens his mouth, about to plead his case, when Jessica holds up her hand and cuts him off. “But!” She starts. “I also saw how he looked at you while you were talking to Ray.” For the first time, she cracks a smile. 

This time, Harvey doesn’t hold back his surprise. “He did? How?” He knows he’s giving Jessica far too much leverage right now, but he was caught off guard. 

Jessica’s smile doesn’t leave, but it doesn’t get any bigger. This is a business meeting, after all, and the walls are made of glass, and she doesn’t answer him. “I’m not one to encourage workplace relationships. In fact, I think I actively discourage it, and I feel you have already put us in the fire with everything else you’ve done when it comes to the kid.” She levels him with a look, and once again, Harvey opens his mouth to defend himself. “I also know…” Jessica cuts in. “That telling you not to do something will only make you want to do it more, so I say, tell the kid how you feel.”

Harvey, whose mouth has been open through that entire speech, only now closes it and stands up. He wants to get out of here before Jessica changes her mind, so he gives her a nod and a “Thank you” before he rebuttons his suit jacket and makes his way back to his office, but not before stopping off at Mike’s cubicle. “My office. Now.”

Mike knows that tone; either he’s done something wrong, or the firm is in trouble, and it’s up to him and Harvey to save it. Neither of which he really wants to be on the hook for when his head isn’t into it 100%. He straightens up and quickly follows Harvey into his office. “What’s going on? What did Jessica want? Was it bad? It was bad, right?” He rambles, nervous. 

At this moment, listening to Mike ramble and freak out, he wonders why he even likes the younger man. He really causes nothing but trouble, though it is very endearing. He lets Mike pace back and forth for a few more minutes while Harvey just sits at his desk and smiles at him. That’s what gives him away. 

Mike stops, turning to Harvey for answers when he’s finally stopped talking, but all he’s met with is the dopey smile that confuses him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

God, Harvey hopes he isn’t wrong about this, that Jessica didn’t read too much into a look and steer him in the wrong direction. “This isn’t about Jessica; this is about you.” Arguably not a good way to start this conversation because the horrified look is back on Mike’s face, and Harvey has regrets. 

“Oh god, someone found out I didn’t go to Harvard, didn’t they?” He breathes, rubbing a hand over his face. “Who was it? Am I gonna go to jail?” Mike is spiralling again. 

“No, no. Relax, Rookie. Nothing like that. This isn’t even about work or Jessica.” It was kind of about Jessica, but Mike didn’t need to know that. 

Mike’s face melded from horrified to shocked and confused. “You called me in here like that to talk to me about something not work-related?” He frowns. 

“Yeah, I have a reservation at Per Se tomorrow night. I’ve had this reservation for months, so don’t be late. Harvey is sure he’ll have to buy Donna a new, ridiculously expensive handbag for the inconvenience of an uninvitation, but he’s sure she’ll understand in the name of love. “And Mike?” He says, just before he kicks the man out. “It’s a five-star restaurant, so find a better tie, okay?” If Harvey is going to confess any sort of feelings, especially romantic ones, he’s going to do it in style, even if everything will make Mike roll his eyes. 

[lowkeyrobin]

Mike wheeler with a trans bf? It would be weird at first for him, not because the reader is trans or something, maybe because the reader is a man (Mike would consider him a man, btw) and then Mike with his internalized homophobia and that would stop a little bit until he finally accepts himself having a nice relationship with the reader

oooo yesss!! ; thank you for requesting, hope you enjoy!!! ; also sorry that this is so like not great, I tried it's just like idk LMAO I didn't have many ideas where to take it ig?

MIKE WHEELER ; transgender

summary ; Mike's internalized homophobia almost ruins your relationship

warnings ; language, internalized homophobia

disclaimers ; reader uses he/him

word count ; 700

masterlist

Mike loved you, more than anything in the world even. He'd go to Hell and back to protect you, to honor you, he'd let the world burn for you.

But he'd been having some issues after you'd come out to him.

It didn't involve you or your new identity in any way, he still loved you whether you were a boy or a girl, he didn't care.

It was more of issues involving him instead.

He wasn't homophobic, so to say, he didn't have a problem with Will being gay, or you, for that matter. It was more so he had a problem with himself being gay.

He didn't know why he felt so disgusted when he thought of it now, that he was dating a boy. He was making out with a boy. He loved a boy and he was a boy.

After a while, he'd grown distant. He'd make up excuses not to hang out with you, just to avoid the fact that his internalized homophobia for himself was eating him inside out.

"Oh, me and Dustin have D&D tonight"

"I can tag along?"

"It's fine, bye"

"Lucas and I have plans"

"What plans?"

"Plans that were scheduled"

"Max and I have to study for a geometry test"

"Can I come?"

"No"

You'd had enough after he tried canceling on your movie night. You already rented the VHS, you had the snacks ready, you had your whole bedroom set up and then he had to call with some excuse that he was sick. You couldn't even remember the last time you'd seen his face, weeks, maybe a month by now.

"Micheal Wheeler, you get to this fucking house before I find you playing Atari at home with a bunch of chip bags around you."

"Yes, sir"

Safe to say he was biking over to your house ASAP. When Karen saw him walking down the stairs, she asked why he wasn't already at your movie night, which he replied with, "Just running late." Mhm.

You instantly sat him down, his head tilted down, a look of shame on his face. You sit on the bed next to him, reassuring him that there was no anger behind your words, just worry and concern.

"Dude, what's wrong? You've been making excuses for weeks to not hang out with me. Do you wanna break up because I transitioned? You don't have to stay with me if you don't want to, or if you're not gay," you speak, trying to find any thought behind his eyes.

He quickly looks up, an almost hurt look in his eyes. "No, no, I still wanna be with you. It's just, like, it's hard"

"Hard?" You question. "I haven't seen your face in a month, like, literally, you were fine for one then didn't wanna see me for another, Mike"

He looks down at his fidgeting fingers resting in his lap. He looks nearly scared of you, yet more scared of confronting his feelings.

"I don't care that you're a boy, in a sense, I care that I'm a boy. I care that we are boys doing this, and..." He pauses. "I don't know how to accept myself, I think"

Your eyes soften as you pull him into a hug. "I'm sorry"

"Sorry for what?" He asks, a little confused as he shakily rests his hands on your back, having not expected the hug.

"Making you feel like you couldn't come to me to talk-"

"No, no, I promise I would've talked to you! It's just a little hard when you aren't actually the third party, and I didn't really know how to... yknow?"

You nod. "Can we still be together?"

He nods. "I just... need to get used to being gay, I guess" He shrugs, "It's not like, I ever really realized it before now. Like, I promise I see you as a dude, cause you are, it's just-"

"Yeah." You cut off his rambling with an understanding smile and nod. "It's okay, I'm sorry"

"Cool"

"Cool..."

"Wanna watch that movie now?"

"Yeah, why not, you're already here"

"I'm gay," He mutters in a tone of realization and acceptance.

"Welcome to the club, Queerler"

[conflictofthemind]

Your recent post about electromagnetism was great, but I want to know your theories on how time travel will play into the plot of season 5. I hope they won't use time travel to "fix the past" and rewrite the timeline (although I doubt that will happen).

Oh man I have so many thoughts. This is a whole can of worms to open up (which I will be doing eventually). But yes I agree with you 100%, I don’t think it will end in them rewriting the timeline. Or if they do, it will be through a creation of a new one and all of the characters will still be able to retain their previous memories. There still needs to be lasting consequences for every action, and the impacts of each characters’ decisions plus the entire story should stay with them.

Right now the main pet project that I’ve been working on gradually is something I’ve been calling the “play theory” (kind of a shit title); basically that Melvin is what’s dooming the narrative and causing the main characters to be trapped inside of a time loop. I’ll explain it condensed here but the post I have cooking is already 6 pages at least.

It first came from that whole Melvin “star-crossed lovers” “Romeo and Juliet” thing, and lines within the TFS play that is… also inspired itself by another “star-crossed doomed” lovers play. There are so many weird meta layers to it all.

There’s multiple 4th wall breaks in TFS where Henry tries to escape the theatre and seems to be aware he is performing on a stage. There’s also a very pointed dialogue which is where I finally started making this into a fully fledged theory:

“It’s a sad song, I like the gay ones best”.

“It doesn’t have to be sad, you never know the ending until it’s sung all the way through”.

“Then let’s make it a gay one”.

“Sing your own ending”.

And what a weird theme to choose, because the answer “in the play” is actually no, it can’t. TFS is a sad song, a continuation of the time loop. A play. But that surely won’t be the case for Stranger Things, because we’ve been told that Will’s superpower is his heart and he gets a happy ending.

As Mike performs his “love” for the audience, the name Montague (for Romeo Montague) appears behind him.

Basically, the characters are conforming to the pre-written roles they have already been assigned to (by society) and are forced to enact, and re-enact, a tragedy of two doomed lovers. The curtain on a play closes but the next night the story begins all over again, to a new audience, always with the same ending. Like a time loop. Like a never ending story.

Mike’s decision to keep playing the role of Romeo to El’s Juliet will result in Will beginning the time loop. So Will starts the time loop, and I expect Mike will be the one to finally break them out of it.

[pythoness94]

Obscure Fic recs, the opinion piece, part one.

Okay, you see, I would put this all-in-one big master post, because the first one I did was really small, but as i started doing the second fic, i realized that I would probably hit a word count. So, here is what I'm doing. One or Two fics per post because some are REALLY fucking long analysis, and others are quick ravings. Thanks @the-aphelion-archives for the recs.

Here is how this is gonna work. I’m going to be writing my thoughts one the ones I find interesting and I will be skipping SOME (key word SOME.) of the fics I already read because I can recall them perfectly and honestly don’t have enough to say about them other then “ REALLY FUCKING GOOD! PLEASE READ!” But there will be a list of honorable mentions at the end, including these fics that I “skipped” over. Now, enjoy the show.

Movie Magic :

Chapter one:  this shit was golden. “Mike was so disgusted by a half naked guy he had to stop the movie immediately.” No, Will, honey, it’s exactly the opposite of that. I loved how Will fawned over Mike and I loved Will’s and Robin’s banter. Mhm, good soup.

Chapter two: Mike is trying his damndest to let Will know he’s into him and Will just isn’t having it. He’s so deep in denial that Mike literally turning pink right in front of his face isn’t clueing him on. Honestly I love it, and Will & Robin’s talk at the end was just…so sweet. Good food, once more.

Chapter three: THEY’RE SO FUCKING CUTE, I’m can’t-. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, Will checking Mike out was so real of him. I love jealous Will so much, it’s my favorite trope. Lucas and Mike talking was so refreshing honestly. I’m so used to everyone in the party being a dick to Mike in fic’s like these that actual friendship has never felt so good. I’m not even gonna lie…I also blushed at that scene in the outsiders. (In the middle of class too! I can NEVER live that shit down.) Mike is BOLD, BOLD, to be pulling this stuff. (THE WILL VOICE! I’M TALKING ABOUT THE WILL VOICE!! AHHH!!! )  “Mike beamed and said, “I thought so, I saw you eating those a while ago. I gotta go, but I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Mike you’re not fucking subtle, you’re pulling a ME with my girlfriend. ““Wow, so you're a real knight in shining armor, huh?” Will, you aren’t being slick either, GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME! “Mike, i’m gay. “Will… baby… that’s not how you do that. GET TOGETHER ALREADY!! RAHHH! (Don’t worry Will, I love men too, and women, I love people in general honestly.) 

Chapter four: I got up and Jumped. THE PRINCESS BRIDE! IT CAME BACK! MIKE YOU ARE SO FUCKING SMOOTH!!! YESSSS!!! RAHHHH!! GET YOUR MAN MIKE!!! Mike is such a dork, but he’s Will’s dork and i love to read about Will being inexplicably fond of one Mike Wheeler and this fic is perfect for that. Also DATE NIGHT DATE NIGHT!!! Robin is so big sister coded, that little “Romance blooming?” part had me in a chokehold.  Mike, you’re such a dork “As you wish means I love you.” (not me acting Like I don’t do the same to my girlfriend. I will casually drop lyrics to her favorite songs in conversation like the cringy person I am and she won’t notice until way later then she proceeds to yell at me for it lmao.) KISS KISS SCENE! YES WILL KISS HIM SILLY!!

Final thoughts: Really good fic that had me grinning ear to ear from start to finish. Will’s thoughts about Mike, the shameless flirting, it was all spectacular. Good food.

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, round 1 of the minor bracket

Propaganda:

For Mike Walters and Edgar:

1. They have both either killed someone for their husband /or/ killed someone with their husband (or killed their husband but let's not focus on that-)

2. They met bc Mike was stealing access codes from Edgar in order to break into a top secret government facility. Then they start a time travel assassination organisation together. At one point they get separated and the first thing they do when they're reunited is steal more information and prepare to murder a guy (to quote Mike from memory: "I've been back for six hours and we're already planning to kill somebody")

3.Mike and Edgar are a very cute bear/ twink couple. They both work at the same government facility which has time travel. Edgar tends to be more of the brains while mike does field work but both have and will kill again for each other. There have also been several other various crimes such as breaking and entering into secure locations at their place of work. 

4. i have a million things to say about mikedgar. they met at the government base that mike was being blackmailed into infiltrating and then became the biggest goddamn power couple ever to appear in audiodrama. mike spent two seasons trying to keep edgar out of the fray and protect him and then edgar forcibly inserted himself into the fray. here are some things they have done

Together:

-Blew up a building inside of the top ring of security at their government workplace (they were blackmailed into this but it still counts)

-Assassinated a man inside of his own home in the self-proclaimed center of North America

-Bugged the home of an older iteration of Mike because they thought maybe he might possibly know something about an investigation they were doing (he did not)

-Stole endless amounts of top-secret data from their government workplace

-Kidnapped two guys in order to save a friend of theirs who didn't need saving because she's a badass

Here are some things Mike has done alone but for Edgar's sake:

-Shot his closest friend dead in his own home

-Broke into the highest-security ring of the government facility I keep mentioning in order to save him from drowning in the Pacific Ocean

-Got into a game of Murder Chicken with his Scruff date so he would be free to run away with Edgar

And here are some things Edgar has done alone but for Mike's sake:

-Killed him, and got another guy to kill a second version of him (it was helping in context!)

-Put together an elaborate plot to break apart their time travel base so they'd be free to run away together

-Split himself into two different people using dangerous and unstable time travel technology in order to complete an assassination that Mike had botched

TL;DR the couple that commits time travel murder espionage together stays together

-Blew up a building inside of the top ring of security at their government workplace (they were blackmailed into this but it still counts)

-Assassinated a man inside of his own home in the self-proclaimed center of North America

-Bugged the home of an older iteration of Mike because they thought maybe he might possibly know something about an investigation they were doing (he did not)

-Stole endless amounts of top-secret data from their government workplace

-Kidnapped two guys in order to save a friend of theirs who didn't need saving because she's a badass

Here are some things Mike has done alone but for Edgar's sake:

-Shot his closest friend dead in his own home

-Broke into the highest-security ring of the government facility I keep mentioning in order to save him from drowning in the Pacific Ocean

-Got into a game of Murder Chicken with his Scruff date so he would be free to run away with Edgar

And here are some things Edgar has done alone but for Mike's sake:

-Killed him, and got another guy to kill a second version of him (it was helping in context!)

-Put together an elaborate plot to break apart their time travel base so they'd be free to run away together

-Split himself into two different people using dangerous and unstable time travel technology in order to complete an assassination that Mike had botched

TL;DR the couple that commits time travel murder espionage together stays together

For Wu Zetian x Gao Yizhi x Li Shimin: (propaganda from previous poll here)

They are in a poly and are so morally gray and I love em. The triangle really is the strongest shape

They're gay because they're all bi (literally in Shimin and Yizhi's cases, kinda more implied for Zetian). Zetian and Shimin tortured a man for information (and also because he tortured them first) while Yizhi cooked back in their apartment. They made a plan to destroy their government and take over instead. Yizhi killed his dad because he was talking shit about Zetian and trying to sway his trust in her (it didn't work lmao). Instead of a love triangle (it REALLY seemed like that was what it was heading towards) they all love each other and would (and have) committed atrocities for each other. There's a whole thing about how they're stronger together (like, metaphorically and on the battlefield (Shimin and Zetian pilot a giant mecha together and Yizhi balances them))

They're a canon polyship who are all a bit deranged and down to kill for their goals and/or to protect bae. Two have tortured a man to death together and came home to the third making celebratory cookies for them. 

What's more gay wrongs than trying to take over your country and torturing a man together

[spicybylerpolls]

Well, unknown hero agent man / pen symbolism anon, i hope you're reading this, cos you hit the nail on the head! this kind of symbolic storytelling is not only a fine art of cinema (being lost these days a little sadly, what with the whole netflix speedy turnover etc), but exactly what (good) films of the horror genre aim to do.

horror has long been a way to creatively tell 'normal' dramatic stories through subtext and symbolism. not sure if this is still a way around traditional censorship but im sure it began that way. films like the exorcist, the shining, rosemary's baby... all classics that are filled with subtext. its also an exciting way to talk about things that might seem trite or too bleak when portrayed as a 'straight' drama (this is the term meaning 'non-genre based' or 'non-musical' lmao). So you could say that ST is NOT straight, in more ways than one 😉

but much of this will go over casual viewers heads, so its finding the balance between making a story believable on the surface (another dimension exists! scary government men trying to kill us!) and subtextually (the UD as a metaphor for trauma/AIDS/closeted homosexuality/abuse etc) if viewers are clever enough to see/feel it. i say feel because much of storyviewing is instinctive instead of analytical.

so ST incorporates both - not just metaphorical, vague storytelling, but also real issues too. but it goes one step further, and actually has characters talk explicitly about reading deeper into stuff (murray's behind the curtain speech). it's a very meta show, even for a genre piece, which is why it astounds me that some people think it's not that deep lol. and some people think that only literature can be deep, but never tv or movies - which is an insult to anyone who has ever been passionate about cinema tbh. It's a statement that would probably rip the heart out of the duffers' chests and stomp on it. these guys are super nerds who have dedicated their adult lives to this passion project. as finn said, 'most people make it then just cash in - im so glad they still care'.

I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable talking about the beauty of this storytelling on your main. it really does surprise me that the fandom is so censorship obsessed because sexual metaphors have long existed in visual media, and especially in horror films. there used to be a long post about byler and a potential sex scene at lover's lake on here, but the user disappeared and the post went missing. it was about all the sexual imagery in ST, with a focus on byler in s4. i especially loved how they mentioned mike's introduction, where he was just in underwear: it is both appropriate for the setting, but also gets the audience used to him as a growing lad with a body and draws attention to those uncomfortable, potentially sexual aspects of being a teen. i mean, he was in tiny pants for god's sake. did we need to see that? why did we see it? etc etc

hilariously, they also referenced the always sunny in philadelphia scene where a character is in a therapist office talking about a pen being a dick. he then puts it in his mouth and chews the pen lmoao

i think you'd enjoy @therainscene's rod symbolism post too. I'm personally hoping for some explicit sex scenes with byler, because the show so far has arguably been telling that story metaphorically already for 4 seasons, and bringing it out of the subtext could be a storytelling device in itself. bringing byler's secrets into the light. after all, this is a period piece that aims to shed light on a bygone era. its not a propaganda piece that needs to remain coded; the reasons for staying secretive still exist for mike and will in the 80s, but times have changed since then for us as a global audience, and more importantly, the aspirational message has changed. what message would the duffs want to send to viewers that are still bigoted? clearly one of the beauty of homosexuality, seeing as will, our fav gay boy, has been the darling sympathetic victim of the show since s1e1. the show needs to remain true to both the 80s while also having a strong message for this decade in order for modern audiences to be able to gain something from watching this story; in order for there to be a reason the show exists at all.

so to answer your question, i had never picked up on the pen symbolism until now, but i immediately agree, not least because 1) it must have a meaning that connects to byler's conversation otherwise why does it just interrupt them with no reason? (from a storytelling pov), and 2) because of the always sunny scene lolllll

thanks for the discourse! if you stick around into s5, im sure we will be able to start discussing this on our mains. it'll be a new era and there might even be gifs/pics of byler to accompany our 'spicy' discourse haha!

Amazing/fascinating points! Thanks for adding to the discussion!