#but mike can't..... and mike is the one that pushes will away and lashes out and gets mean and acts weird....

[bylertruther]

man makes a post specifically about /mike's/ level of comfort to do overtly gay shit, and how often it's /will/ who gets written as the uncomfortable one, people read it on mike and will's ability to do public gay shit /together/ in hawkins. okay

stopppfbshsjsbsbd it's ok 💔 the mike angst jus doesn't hit like the will angst does on bylertruther.edu.gov i guess.. they were going based off of someone else's tags so thts why it steered tht way i think.

one day we will be able to acknowledge that mike's inability to withstand even the most innocent and brief of touches with will specifically and his constant pushing will away and hyperfocusing on el may be something more in the realm of mike struggling with his sexuality and his feelings and choosing to focus on the less scary and more "normal" thing as a means of trying to get control over his situation instead of just.... (looks at the gen tag) assuming that mike is a gay disaster with no depth who is in a relationship with a girl he knows he doesn't romantically love but obviously that's as deep as that goes and there's nothing more to it or troubling about that at all? okay ❤️

mike can't hug will, can't even brush arms with him, but that's just because.... (checks tag again) will is so unbelievably sexy that it melts his brain? ok. mike is in a relationship with a girl he doesn't like Like That or in the Correct way and he STAYS in it even though he feels like shit and tries his best to make it work and worries the entire time over it way more than even she does.... but nah. he's fine! he's got that shit on lock bc he's clearly the king of compartmentalizing and self-acceptance. he'll jump right into that gay shit easy peasy and kiss will on the mouth asap!!

like. jdvdjsnshahajsn. rambling in this ask bc my tummy hurty which is making me feel like my brain is a box of bees tht someone just shook but i just. mike as a character is so endlessly fascinating there's an entire WORLD to explore in him as a queer dude in his precarious position like. it's a wealth of angst it pulls at your heartstrings he feels so much but he can't express it he Refuses to express it until he has no other choice and they're at the literal end of the fucking line he ruins things and then he tries desperately to fix them he knows his loved ones so well that he knows just where to strike and what to say to make it better like he's just . he thought he had to let go of what he loved to be a man he quit holding and touching his gay best friend that he has feelings for and tossed him to the side in favor of his gf who is supposed to resemble him.

i just. HE LITERALLY DOES THAT WITH NO ONE ELSE?! AND YOU GUYS (/gen) THINK ITS WEIRD AND CRAZY AND OOC FOR HIM TO BE HESITANT TO DO GAY SHIT..... TO BE SCARED TO ENGAGE WITH THAT PART OF HIMSELF EYES WIDE OPEN KNOWINGLY WALKING INTO THE LIGHT AND EMBRACING THAT LARGER THAN LIFE CHANGE WHICH IS SO OFTEN A DEATH SENTENCE........ YOU THINK IT'D BE WEIRD OF MIKE WHEN WE ALREADY KNOW HE DOESN'T ALLOW HIMSELF THE SAME GRACE, UNDERSTANDING, OR ACCEPTANCE AS HE DOES OTHERS?

takes a deep breath and plops down on ur dash . i jus have a lot of Mike Feelings okay ...... i see an opportunity to speak on him n i Take it!!!!!!! there is so much to him and his experience and people just don't want to come anywhere near it or any of the possibilities and it Kills me it really does .

[atomic52]

okay my turtles have gone through a bit of an overhaul, Splinter too

lets also go into so detail for each on this time around lol.

Leonardo

soft spoken leader of his team but only the second oldest. he enjoys comic books, cowboys, sci fi, and spending time with his father sharpening his ninja skills.

He is the most focused on being the best he can be at everything he sets his mind to. he's a bit of a sour loser but he gets over it fairly quickly.

Leo is the medic of the grope, he knows how to do three different types of stiches, how to properly set a broken bone, how to put joints back into place, and much more.

he fluent in Japanese in specking and in writing.

he has some OCD so when it comes to his things they have to be just right, or it'll bug him. he's also a perfectionist.

Leo tries to be the voice of reason but can easily be talked into doing something stupid.

Raphael

hot headed, introverted, and protective oldest brother. he enjoys cage fighting, most sports, knitting, and secretly monster mythology.

Raph wants nothing but the best for his brothers, so he tends to go over bored on pushing them to their fullest potential but in turn is hard on himself when he falls behind.

he protects his family by taking out any threat before his brothers even know it's there. which makes more trouble than he can get himself out of and leads him to putting every little problem on his own shoulders instead of trusting in the strength of his younger brothers.

he fully understands Japanese and can read it, but he can't get the accent right to save his life.

Raph's anger tends to build up very quickly and lash out at the people closest to him but he never means what he says. he takes a moment to cool down and tell his family he's sorry in his own way, mostly giving meaningful gifts.

he is very quick to join in on something stupid cuz doing is alot more fun then thinking about it.

Donatello

mega middle child with a brilliant mind and hand for engineering. Donnie most enjoys playing video games, making fun of sci fi, taking everything apart and putting it back together just to see how it works, and dancing.

Don is average in his ninja skills, he's light on his feet and can slip away into the shadows like it's nothing, but he feels like he's not as good as his brothers.

he's bit of a packrat and a kleptomaniac. he keeps everything he thinks he can make something out of (which normal he does) and anything he finds techy and fascinating he'll put it in his pocket to take it home.

he and Raph are partners in crime. what Raph does he does too and the other way around. so, when Raph jumps into danger Donnie is right behind him.

Don is technically fluent in Japanese but says he's rusty cuz he tends to throw phrases together in hopes of stringing a descent sentence that sounds okay.

he is the most stubborn and jealous out of everyone. when someone is taking up time meant for him or taking the attention away from him he will find away to get revenge.

Michelangelo

lighthearted and extroverted baby brother. everything is a joke and if it isn't, it will be. he enjoys making trouble, spending time with his family, making new friends, and partying.

he has the rawest skill and ability in his ninjitsu, but he has no drive. he just likes live free and in the wind.

Mikey can get away with most everything just by tearing up a little, but that trick doesn't work on Donnie. playing dumb is his biggest strength but the ones closest to him knows he is a master at emotional manipulation.

also fluent in Japanese just like Leo but has no drive to prove himself.

Mike wants to see the good in everyone so that makes him quick to trust but very naive. he'll stick up for what he believes in and will stand up to any challenge but once his trust is broken, that is something no one will ever get back.

YOLO

Splinter

a single father to four strong willed and rambunctious boys. once movie star and ninja master Hamato Yoshi, but now mutated and known lovingly as master Splinter or dad.

most of his personal history is unknown by his sons, it has ties to some dark things he does not what them to know of yet. he wants them to enjoy their lives before his past becomes their future.

now his life is devoted to his children and readying them for what life may hold for them.

teaching them the Hamato clan tradition, ninjitsu, and bushido

he enjoys spending time with his children, and watching his soap operas.

[that-darn-clown]

so. thought about a sort of killer swap au in the Rewrite.

so...have some vague thoughts about it:

i feel like the things that would make Henry snap would be rather different than William. William was already practically one horrible circumstance away from Committing A Crime (as you can tell. considering that's what happened. Many Crimes, In Fact). Henry...wasn't. a lot would've had to happen for Henry to have been pushed to that point. or....specifically, a lot bad things happening to his family in a short period of time.

Elizabeth didn't die...at least, not at the time she did canonically in the Rewrite (we'll get there :))...but Charlie still did. her death, however, was not caused by William. it was an accident. a horrible, horrible accident. Charlie had tried wandering through the alleyway to find a way back inside...when she got hit by a drunk driver (this is based off of some headcanons i've seen where people say that William might've killed Charlie by hitting her/running her over with his car while drunk). William had nothing to do with her death...but that doesn't mean that her death didn't devastate Henry.

...and maybe he heard about the girl and her little crew that locked his daughter outside that rainy night, the night she died...but he manages to keep that anger down. for now.

now...look. i haven't mentioned how the Best Timeline happened. had Elizabeth not died that day, i like to think that maybe William kinda...sorted himself out, if that makes sense. tried to fix himself, tried to make up for what he put them through (emotional abuse + manipulation), even if it'd take him years to fix the damage he caused to them...he'd do it. No Matter How Long, Or What, It'd Take.

and that's what happened. Mike and Evan were...cautiously optimistic. they were old enough to recognize their dad as he used to be, and...they're willing to hope. Liz and Cass have never met this version of their father before; Liz had just been a toddler, hardly having memories of her own mother, and Cassidy was born into this. it's...odd for them...but hey, now William's actually considering letting Cassidy going to school! it seems like everything is looking up for the Aftons...

but not for Alex.

he thinks it's all a trick, some other manipulative bullshit from his father. he refuses to believe it, because it just can't be true. and so he lashes out, but one thing he did in particular was, unknowingly, the final nail in the coffin.

one day at Fredbear's, Alex and a friend of his, Jamie (Bonnie Bully), pressured Sammy to stick his arm inside the O'Hare suit, just to prove he "wasn't a chicken." Sammy did it, because he always feels the need to prove a point (and mayhaps he became reckless after Charlie died, a way of "punishing" himself for not being there for her...maybe this was yet another bit of that reckless behavior). the jaws of the suit snap shut and some springlocks set off...and then Sammy's forearm gets mangled badly enough that it needs to get amputated.

it doesn't matter that it was a genuine accident, that Sammy more so blames himself for being a dumbass, and that Alex seems genuinely guilty.

Henry sees red.

he decides that he'll be Judge, Jury, and Executioner.

so...his list of victims in order (at least his Original murders):

Brittany Marks, 13: Charlie's main bully and the main kid responsible for locking her out on the day she died. Henry took her to the back under the guise of wanting to talk to her (he dressed as Fredbear purely to make sure no one on the cameras recognized him), and despite Brittany's genuine apology (she didn't know Charlie was gonna get killed), he killed her anyway. she got stuffed into Freddy (reference to the Cake Minigame, the one that shows the other perspective of Charlie's murder).

Alexander Afton, 14: William's eldest son. Henry also lured him back by claiming that he just wanted to talk. Alex got stuffed into Foxy.

James "Jamie" Spencer, 14: one of Alex's friends. also kinda (one of) Alex's boyfriend(s), but that's unimportant atm. just kinda got lured back and then murdered him. Jamie got stuffed into Bonnie.

Kimberly "Nyx" Harris, 12: Brittany's cousin, and was technically an accomplice in locking Charlie out...mostly by being pressured into putting the box on top of Marionn's box. she technically wanted nothing to do with it. also got lured and then killed. Nyx got stuffed into Chica.

Andrew Schmidt, 12: our good old buddy Andy. one of Mike's closest friends. Henry had nothing against him, but...Andy kinda witnessed Nyx's murder. Henry made it seem like he was just gonna threaten them with staying silent the next day (June 26th)...and then springlocked him in O'Hare. guess who he possesses.

Elizabeth Afton, 9: got bitten by O'Hare in the frontal lobe on Cassidy's seventh birthday, but survived the injury. but like her brother in the canon timeline, she learns about The Murders. due to Reasons i'll discuss later, Liz and Cass were living with Henry at the time, and upon Henry figuring out that Liz somehow knew, he may have uh...pushed her down the stairs. he claimed later that she had lost her balance and simply fell.

...Cassidy saw, though.

anyway, that's all for now. bed time. i may elaborate in the morning.

before you ask, yes, Charlie DOES have very complicated feelings on her father in this au. more so than her canonical self does for William in the actual canon Rewrite.

I'm insane about this. Feral even. The way henry only kills people that are involved as opposed to William's murders of opportunity.... it's so them. Ough.

[and-stir-the-stars]

@raccoon-in-a-dumpster gladly!

Sooo, I still haven't decided how much of this is canon, but my current thoughts is this:

After Will gets arrested in saffron au, Henry gets full control over Fazbear Entertainment. When he does, he starts to notice something-- strange-- about the animatronics at various locations.

And when Henry picks up on the possibility of possession, his thoughts of course go to his daughter, who's dead body was found with the Puppet laying on top of her.

Henry becomes desperate to learn more about Will's experiments and possession so he can figure out what happened to Charlie and how to help* her.

(*except as pizzasim has shown us, Henry's idea on how to help lost souls is... very messed up. I'm currently thinking maybe saffron Henry actually DID find Marionette/Charlie, but just like in pizzasim, he doesn't view Charlie as human anymore and wants to use Will's experiments to make her human again or to free her spirit entirely)

Obviously the best way to learn about William’s experiments would be to go through William himself, but because he's in prison, that option is... unavailable. So Henry figures the next best option would be the person who helped Will commit his crimes: Evan.

Except, the thing is, Henry is revolted by William and Evan. He can't look either of them in the face any more than Henry had the guts to be the one facing off against the animatronics in pizzasim. Just like in pizzasim, Henry gets someone else to do his dirty work for him.

so, Henry starts talking to the parents of Will and Evan’s victims. Posing as another grieving parent who just wants retribution for what the Aftons did to his daughter, Henry offers these parents a deal, and he offers it again and again until he finally gets a taker.

"I can tell you where Evan Afton is. You can get retribution for what he did to your child, since unlike his father, he got away without paying for the crime. But in return, there's information that I need you to get from him."

Soo... remember the plotline about Evan getting kidnapped by grieving parents? If I end up going through w this thing w Henry, it will be Henry who caused the kidnapping to occur in the first place.

Though I think the grieving parents in question would betray Henry when he starts asking them to interrogate Evan about possession and ghosts. To Henry's outrage, they think that Henry is crazy and refuse to work with him once they get their hands on Evan.

At this point, Henry either used a fake name around these parents (meaning he doesn't get arrested or charged for kidnapping Evan), or he got caught when the parents did.

Assuming Henry didn't get caught, though. Then sometime later, months or years after Ev initially got kidnapped, Henry finally gets the courage to see Evan face-to-face.

In another attempt to get the information he needs to "help" his daughter, Henry tries to hide his animosity toward Ev (and Mike, to an extent) as he reintroduces himself into the brothers' lives.

Evan is happy to have his uncle back, even if Henry is acting... strangely (is unresponsive to Evan's attempts to make him feel welcome, is more emotionally distant that Ev remembers him being, has a tendency to ask Evan questions-- esp about Ev's time with Will-- that stress Ev out, and Ev is ofc not good at setting boundaries). And Evan, who doesn't know about all the times Mike reached out to Henry for help with William's abuse only to be turned away, doesn't understand why Mike is so angry with Henry and keeps trying to push the only family they have left away, causing Ev to lash out at Mike.

Blah blah blah, some Big Event happens and it gets revealed that Henry set up Evan's kidnapping, and Ev learns that he knew about all the red flags in Will's abuse (the same abuse that led to Evan being manipulated into being a murderer) and did nothing to help the Aftons, blah blah blah.

I would say Henry kidnaps Evan again, but this would mean the Witness Protection Program would have Mike and Ev move away from the town they met Jeremy and Valerie in, which I am unwilling to make happen. So the Big Event would have to be something else, and Mike and Evan (possibly working with the Marshal in charge of making sure they're doing okay in the Wit Protec Porgram: Vanessa) would frame Henry for smth so he goes to prison (not for kidnapping Ev, but for one of the various crimes surrounding Fazbear Entertainment).

Obviously that's really convoluted, and it might work best if Henry DID get arrested when the Grieving Parents kidnapped Evan. It would still have a Big Emotional reveal for the bros if Henry's part in the kidnapping was revealed soon after the fact rather than later, and Henry would have a more straight forward reason for being in jail instead of the brothers having to frame him. The only thing is, I really like the idea of Henry trying to insert himself back into their lives, struggling to hide his resentment of Evan and for there to be tension between Mike and Ev since Ev doesn't know just how badly Henry treated them in their childhood.

[liminalpebble]

Eddie's Education: Chapter 25

Masterlist link

Minors DNI

In the main room of the community center six set of eyes fixed on each red circle in turn until the discussion itself began to run in circles. Dustin sighed dramatically. “There're too many options! We can't drive around to every backyard pool or fish pond in Hawkins and be like 'excuse me, mind if we look for a portal to hell real quick?'.”

Robin spoke up. “But...but you said there aren't portals anymore. How would we even get into his lair in the upside-down? Or how would he get out?”

El said gently, “I can open a portal. I think he's counting on it, if he's not strong enough to do it himself. But I don't need to. I can fight him psychically like I did last time...and like I did when I pulled Max from her coma. He said he'll make Leia come to him. So, he's either counting on me to make a portal to the upside-down or he's gathering what's left of his strength to do it himself.”

Mike nodded. “Yeah, and since he's just had a pretty hearty murder meal, he might be strong enough to do it.”

They all grimaced at that. Knowing he was right but not particularly wanting to think about it that way.

Nancy's eyes went wide, remembering a very specific swimming pool from years ago, where her ditched best friend was sucked into the upside-down, flayed, dismembered, and devoured by its monsters. The small woman rose her surprisingly-commanding voice. “What about places where the first murders took place. Those deaths created portals before, and even if they're healed over now, maybe those places are still....well...thin...maybe it's easier to break through there.”

Dustin rose his eyebrows. “You have a hypothesis?”

“Yeah.” She tapped a pink-polished nail on a specific coordinate. “Here. The Harringtons' backyard. The pool would be large enough for his...tank...or whatever, but also it's where....where Barb died. It'd be perfect for him. He can work on creating a portal in a 'thin' place while he's recharging. There aren't any other locations that have both a container that size and a murder, right? This would be his best strategic position.”

Everyone nodded and agreed, allowing small reluctant smiles of relief to surface. Held breaths were finally exhaled.

Dustin was in the middle of congratulating Nancy's sharp thinking when the lights flickered. Just then, Steve's panicked howling pierced the air like an arrow shot from the other room.

“JESUS CHRIST!” he hollered.

---

“Believe it. I can be super confident but also, you know, kind of an idiot,” Steve said with a wry smile. He looked away from Leia for a moment, recalling the past and his mistakes with some humility. When he looked up again he flinched hard and shouted “JESUS CHRIST!”, scuttling away from her and tumbling off the loveseat. Her deep coffee-colored eyes were now clouded over and rolled back, thick black lashes bobbing unevenly over ghostly corneas, like a broken doll. For a moment, all Harrington could do was stare up from the floor in petrified dread.

He was barely aware of the others tumbling into the room until Eddie shoved him out of the way to grab Leia's shoulders, screaming and babbling for her to wake up. His mind flashed to his old trailer, to Chrissy's eyes doing the same eerie blinks in the strobing lights, to him pleading with her to wake up...before...before...

“Leia!!” he wailed.

El pushed him away as gently as she could but he still wriggled and resisted. She held him by the arms and stared into his face, “Eddie! Listen to me! You need to move. I'm the only one who can help her now.”

He nodded in a haze of confusion and let Steve pull him back, keeping a hand on his shoulder.

El sat beside her on the sofa facing her. She put her hand to Leia's clammy forehead and closed her eyes, willing herself to descend to the psychic plane where Vecna had her.

Everything turned dark and quiet, then El paced forward into the horrible scene in Sam's childhood bedroom. She witnessed Leia's impossible choice, heard her agonized sobs and Vecna's cruel goading. She squinted and felt her heart ache. El knew for herself the pain of being used as a devastating weapon, but for now all she could do was watch. From this position she had no power to interrupt or stop any of it. For that she would need to get closer, much closer, and she would need help.

Still entranced, Leia was hyperventilating and tears were streaming from her eyes. Rusty hints of blood mixed with the saline of her tears. Besides El, none of them knew what hell she was enduring, but watching her suffer was breaking Eddie badly.

“Wake her up...please please...god please wake her up. Why won't she wake up?” Eddie muttered and implored to Steve over and over again, and Steve just let him, keeping his arm around his friend.

After moments that seemed like an eternity to everyone in the room, Leia and El's eyes simultaneous blinked back to normal as their bodies slouched heavily onto each other from the lurch of being thrown back into the physical world.

Leia sat up. El was still holding her gently as she struggled for air. Leia's pleading eyes met El's and she croaked and stuttered between sobs and short hiccups of breath, “I..I...k.k..killed him...oh god.”

El shook her head and held Leia's face. “I saw it. It wasn't you, Leia. You don't have the powers to do that. Even if you wanted to. That was Vecna. It's not your fault.”

Leia slurred on, shaking her head, “But he made me help he..he he..s...said I had to kill Sam or watch Eddie d..d..die. He won't take Eddie. I won't let him take Eddie!”

Hearing his name from her lips pulled him to her like a magnet. He flung himself towards her again, sliding to his knees and clamping his arms around her waist. He chanted, “I'm here. I'm here...I'm right here.”

El slowly stood up and joined the others saying quietly. “There's nothing else I can do for her right now, but there will be.”

As Dustin scanned the details of the scene before him, he noticed Leia still had one ear tucked under her headphone, the music still buzzing out in a tinny stream. “Oh fuck...” he sighed out, shoulders dropping.

“What?” Steve asked.

Robin, as usual, was a step ahead. She pointed to the headphones and said, “The music was still playing. It didn't stop him.”

“Fuck,” they all said in a depressing chorus.

Dustin took the lead. Reaching forward for Eddie's arm, he said in a soothing tone, “Eddie...we need to go and...”

Eddie flinched at the contact, inky eyes frantic and feral, teeth gritted. He barked out, “Don't fucking touch her!” and squeezed her closer. Her small body was now slumped against him on the floor, cradled in his arms. He nuzzled his face against hers. Shivering and squinting hard against his tears, he whispered, “I gotcha...I gotcha. Hang in there, baby. Stay with me.”

-----

The catalyst; that's what it was. That's how Dustin thought of it as the group sprung into action, in a fiery explosion of purpose.

Mike, El, and Dustin were working in Eddie's trailer, filling a kiddy pool with bag after bag of salt and gallons of water. They tacked up thick blankets over every window to build a make-shift sensory deprivation tank. From there, El could plunge deeper into the psychic realm and fight Vecna with her full power. At the very least, she planned to protect Leia and keep 001 occupied while the others launched their offensive. She took a calming breath and envisioned their endgame; dragging 001 out of the upside-down, destroying him by divorcing him from the source of power so he can never come back.

Eddie was in his bedroom sitting beside his love, stroking her soft sleeping face and quietly playing guitar for her (for whatever good music could still do). She had lost consciousness in El's arms in the back seat of Eddie's van as they drove, and she was still unconscious as he carried her in. El assured the panicked boyfriend that she was keeping a psychic link on Leia, monitoring for Vecna's presence within her mind. She explained that the experience had just overloaded her system and she needed rest now. It was blessedly silent inside Leia's head, and El suspected 001 had other plans at the moment than harassing his “pet” again. He was preparing for the battle just was much as they were.

Robin, Nancy and Steve were preparing for war in a different way. Steve awkwardly greeted his parents as they pulled up at their house under the guise of a holiday chat and visit (even though they had just seen each other at the community hall). While Steve did what he did best (talking about nothing and being friendly for long periods of time) Robin and Nancy investigated the Harrington's swimming pool.

It was surreal for Nancy to be back at the same house. This was where she was busy losing her virginity while her ditched best friend was being slaughtered in this very pool (or rather, in this pool on the other side). Robin's bright perceptive eyes watched Nancy's blanched troubled face. She knew the story, but didn't realize how the guilt still stretched taut like a string inside of her across all these years. Fuck. No wonder she's so high strung. She mused.

“You okay?” Robin asked, as the two women stared down at the dusty tiles of the bone-dry crater (it was well after swimming season, after all).

As expected, Nancy only answered a curt “yeah”. Stiff upper lip firmly in place, she quickly bypassed the subject. “Look,” she said pointing to a corner of the pool which gave off an eerie red luminescence in the gathering fall dusk. Steve saw it too, looking out the back window over his pumpkin pie and coffee, and past his parents faces, to where the glow rose up.

Before long the three were back in the car after their reconnaissance; an awkward heavy silence hanging between them. Everyone's old hurt and memories were surfacing, unwelcome and unbidden, like garbage bubbling up to ruin a placid lake. The mood was dour, polluted.

Then Robin held up the foil-covered pastry keeping her company in the backseat and began to snack on it, mumbling, “Holy shit, Steve. Your mom makes really good pie!”. The bubble burst and suddenly all three of them were laughing and crying simultaneously as they continued their quest around town.

They got guns and bullets from the sporting goods store; ingredients for Molotov cocktails from the grocery and hardware stores as puzzled cashiers rang them up warily. They stopped by Nancy's to retrieve a shotgun from her back shed (one she hadn't needed since she used it against Vecna 15 years ago). Car now weighted down with supplied, Robin buckled in and announced, “One more stop, friends.”

“Where?” Steve asked, looking over his headrest.

“Leia's place. I have a spare key.”

The other two just stared at her blankly as she rolled her eyes and huffed, “just trust me. There are some loose ends to tie up. Then we'll extract and flambe this asshole again...for good this time.”

-----

El knocked gently, peaking around into Eddie's bedroom, where he still sat with his eyes glued to Leia's sleeping form.

“Hey. I have to disconnect from her now to clear my mind for the tank. Mike and Dustin and I are going to prepare weapons by the fire pit down the road. The others will join us there when they're finished with their part. Can you stay with her for the rest of the time and watch her?”

“Uh yeah...uh...but what what if something happens.”

Mike and Dustin came over, and Mike chimed in, “We think it's pretty likely that he's biding his time now, and El has to disconnect. There's not really much else we can do.” He pointed to the guitar and smiled wryly, “music might still help though...a least a little.”

Eddie nodded, as Dustin and El left.

Mike continued fidgeting while he spoke. “We also...um...we wanted to give you some private time alone together as well. You know. In case....in case things....in case you have some things to talk about.”

Eddie smiled wryly back to Mike, but his eyes were still sad. “You mean in case one or both of us kick the bucket, Wheeler? Just spit it out, man. But yeah...I think that's wise.” He paused swallowing heavily and enveloping her small hand with his larger one, ringed fingers skimming over her knuckles. Then he said, voice shaking with a new tone of determination, “I died once, and I have no intention of dying again...and neither will she. We've both fought our way to a second life, and we're gonna live it together.”

@sweetsigyn @veemoon @elegantkoalapaper @sunflowerdaydreamer @little-wormwood @hellfirenacht

[strangeswift]

hello abby my dear fellow byler swiftie i have an important question for you.

if you had to pick one taylor swift song that, in your humble opinion, is THE byler taylor swift song, what song would you pick, and why?

Andi, dearest, this ask is evil because how on earth do I pick just one?

If I have to pick THE byler song, I'm gonna go with peace. Now, you made the mistake of asking "and why" so I'm gonna go into way too much detail now <3

Our coming-of-age has come and gone

Suddenly the summer, it's clear

Will POV, season 3. Suddenly, this summer it's clear that their coming of age has come and gone. At least, Mike is telling him it has. Telling him it's time to grow up.

I never had the courage of my convictions

As long as danger is near

And it's just around the corner, darling

'Cause it lives in me

The "danger" and the "it" are the Mindflayer/Vecna

No, I could never give you peace

But I'm a fire, and I'll keep your brittle heart warm

If your cascade ocean wave blues come

Will is the light (fire). If your ocean BLUE waves come? Mike is blue okay yes you get it moving on...

All these people think love's for show

But I would die for you in secret

Will loving Mike secretly, selflessly. As opposed to Mike and El's relationship which is most definitely for show at least on Mike's part.

The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Friends. Best friends. Will can't shake this supernatural connection. He can never have peace, so he can never give Mike peace. Double meaning here, it's also about his sexuality and the people like his father who would hate him for it, and hate anyone who accepted him. Including Mike.

Your integrity makes me seem small

You paint dreamscapes on the wall

I talk shit with my friends

It's like I'm wasting your honor

This is Mike. Will is honest, earnestly so. Mike is lying to himself. Will paints, and his art covers Mike's walls. But less literally, Will is still creative, still made a campaign, while Mike was distracted with winning El back and hurting Will in the process. And he feels like he's not good enough for Will.

And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences

Sit with you in the trenches

Give you my wild, give you a child

Mike "sitting with Will in the trenches," standing by him through his possession. "Give you a child" doesn't apply literally here, obviously, but it represents wanting to be with someone forever and give them everything, that applies to both of them.

Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

Is it enough?

Self explanatory, either POV.

But there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west

I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best

But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me

Back to Will. He's the light, the sunshine, and he's trying. But he can't shake this connection, just like he can't change the fact that he is gay and there are people who will hate him for it.

But I'm a fire, and I'll keep your brittle heart warm

If your cascade ocean wave blues come

All these people think love's for show

But I would die for you in secret

The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Already talked about how these lyrics apply to Will and his supernatural connection, as well as his sexuality. The idea of never being able to give peace, because he is not at peace. He doesn't want to drag Mike down with him, he doesn't think he's good enough for Mike. Well, Mike feels the same way. Because of his self worth issues (his need to be needed to feel worthy) and his issues with his own sexuality, and the way he's treated Will. He keeps lashing out, keeps pushing Will away, because he's scared, he's so scared of his feelings and what it would mean to accept them. But he loves Will so much, he would do anything for him. Would it be enough, if I could never give you peace?

Jesus Christ, that was entirely Too Much. Sorry. Also, honorable mentions are seven, hoax, The Great War, Forever & Always, It's Nice To Have A Friend.

[who-knows73]

I have this like vision in my head of mike accidentally walking up on Steve and Eddie like fooling around in an alley or something and it's dark and as he's watching them in shock his eyes unfocus just slightly and black blurs with brown and suddenly he isn't looking at Steve and Eddie but Him and Will and he has to BOLT cause that thought hasn't crossed to the front of his brain just yet so he's like will????

Oh my god I love this idea, I saw it when I woke up but didn't have time to write and I've been mildly spiralling all day. Anyways, I hope this does your prompt justice :)

It was Mike's turn to rent a movie for the party and they were all coming over tomorrow. He was supposed to get it earlier but Will came over and he got distracted by his passionate rants, the way he looked so careless and content while drawing. Fuck, even the moles peppered on his skin looked so kissable, he really was too far gone for that beautiful boy. He trips over his shoelaces and it's enough to pull him out of his trance, looking around to catch his bearings he realises that he'd almost missed Family Video.

There's noise coming from the alley between stores it's getting dark and Mike can't decipher what it is from sound alone, call it morbid curiosity but he has to go see what it is. He peeks around the corner of Family Video, careful to keep his steps unheard but standing in the darkness is.. Oh god, he's not supposed to see that. Eddie is pushing Steve against the cold brick wall tearing a mostly silenced moan from Steve. He's rutting his hips into Eddie's thigh pushed roughly between his legs while Eddie kisses along his neck. He should really stop watching, it's probably far past creepy at this point but he can't. He's no longer seeing polo's and leather jackets, he's seeing plaid shirts and blue button ups. He sees bowl cuts and those hands that looked so delicate wrapped around pencil crayons ten minutes ago look far more inciting now, wrapped around body parts and pulling at Mike for more.

More, more, more. Fuck. This is perverted, he shouldn't be thinking about Will that way, he definitely shouldn't be doing it in the entrance to a dirty alley way, and he absolutely needs to leave right now because Eddie just his hands down Steve's pants. Forgetting about the tape he runs home, well, he runs about a block before he gets tired and starts walking again. He can't stop thinking about Will in scenarios, positions, and doing things he'd only even seen done in a dirty magazine Lucas showed him that he kept stashed under his bed.

By the time he gets home he's put the idea of Will kissing him in dirty places out of his mind so he can get to his room without a boner because having his mom notice that would be mortifying. He's done the pleasantries as quickly as he could and ran to his room.

The door was barely shut before the image of Will touching himself and having to cover his mouth to keep quiet came to mind. His knees quiver and his boner is back again. Locking his door he shucks his pants off and sits on his bed. He'd done this before but never to the thought of will, he'd always seemed too pure and childlike to think of in such a dirty way but he was too far gone now to care. He knew he wouldn't last long considering the frenzy he'd worked himself into on the way home, taking his dick out of his underwear he started slowly stroking himself. God, now he was the one who had to cover his mouth to keep quiet.

He'd barely been touching himself for a full minute when in his mind, Will was on his knees looking up at him through his lashes and giving mike that soft, pouty look he gets when he wants something. The reaction was instantaneous, he came harder than he probably ever had before and had to bite down on his hand to keep from moaning loudly. He laid there in his filth long enough to catch his breath and waited for the spots in his vision to go away. While he lied there, hand and shirt covered in cum, Will now back to the soft and pure boy he was before, Mike realised that he hadn't even gotten the tape.

"Fuck."

[unusualwhatsits]

Byler Valentine's Day

Little Byler blurb I wrote in the middle of work cause I had to get this out of my head. Happy Valentine's Day!

Mike's hand sweats where it rests, curled in a fist on his lap. They sit side by side on the edge of Mike's bed, pressed right up against each other. Will's fingers ghost over the back of Mike's fist, tickling and light. He runs them from his knuckles, to the bone at his wrist, and back to his knuckles. Will makes small circles and flicks as he goes, and Mike wonders through his haze if this is what it would feel like to be Will's canvas.

That thought makes him lightheaded, imagining having all of Will's intense focus directed on him, marking and detailing Mike as if he were something worth the effort, the time. He wonders if it would be possible to get a tattoo of one of Will's works. He swallows the lump in his throat that forms from that wild, selfish thought. As if he'd ever be worthy to have Will's art on his body. But, maybe. A flush rises to his cheeks, deep in the thought of carrying around a brand of his lover's talent all day and night. Will's emotions, his feelings, his thoughts, his love, the purest form of his self expression drawn across Mike's body. Mike thinks he may throw up. He quickly sucks in a deep breath to ground himself, lest he throw up all over his beautiful, amazing, talented boyfriend.

Mike flexes his fingers out and turns his hand over, palm up. Will immediately digs in, lacing his fingers between his and gripping tightly, almost painfully so. Mike looks up at Will, and a small smile pulls at the corners of his lips. "Hi," Mike says, just above a whisper. Will bumps his shoulder lightly with his. "Hey," he waggles his eyebrows at Mike playfully and before Mike can even register what's happening, Will is leaning in. His lips tickle Mike's neck, just behind his ear, lightly, barely there. "Happy Valentine's day, Mike." Will's breath ghosts over his neck, his ear, before he pulls back slightly to look Mike in the eye. A relaxed, confident smile on his lips. Mike's grin is goofy and wide, and he can't help himself as he leans forward, planting a deep, drawn out kiss to Will's lips. He pulls back just enough to whisper against Will's lips, "Happy Valentine's day, Will," before diving back in. They kiss for a moment before Will pull's away reluctantly and shakes his head lightly, grin bright and cheeks flushed. Mike's grin shines back just as bright. Will let's out a laugh, easy and light, as he leans forward to press a kiss to Mike's shoulder. He tilts his head down and rests his forehead there, leaning against him and taking a deep breath. He turns to the side slightly, only barely peaking up at Mike from under his lashes.

"I love you, you know that?" He sounds almost in awe. Mike ducks his head at that and presses his cheek to the top of Will's head. He wraps his arm around Will's waist and pulls him closer. Will's head slips from Mike's shoulder into the crook of his neck.

"I love you too." Mike whispers, almost breathless, almost feeling like his heart is going to burst out of his chest. "So much." He wraps his other arm around Will and squeezes him tightly. "Best Valentine's Day ever, I'd say." Will laughs, but it's not a joke and Mike knows it, and he can't nod his head quick enough. "Definitely." He agrees vehemently, emphasizing his agreement by scattering quick kisses all over Will's face and head. Will laughs loudly and pushes at Mike in an attempt to quell Mike's affection, effectively knocking them backwards. They land in a pile of limbs on the bed, which only motivates Mike to pepper even more kisses all over his valentine.

[thegroundsofbrooklyn]

so after posting my jomike fic, i mentioned earlier that i have a fully fleshed-out mike backstory, and because i love my favourite anon, i am sharing it here for everyone's enjoyment.

just a bit of a preface: this is based entirely on west endsies mike. anything that may be canon in livesies is irrelevant here (such as mike and ike being twins) unless it's canon in west endsies. all of this is either based off of things that have either been directly confirmed / can be inferred from mark's performance, or is just totally made up. but i promise most of it comes from somewhere. the only thing that properly goes against canon is the concept of mike scabbing in the first place - but it's kind of a thing, because mikey boy exists, so just go with that.

and yes, the whole concept of mike being good at selling newspapers comes from this specific interaction with mark:

"two cents for a pape!!"

"i have a dollar?"

(contemplates very hard for a solid few seconds) "no." (walks off)

so, enjoy! everything is below the cut.

mike is an anxious mess. behind everything, he's an anxious mess. he's young, he's scared, he's hungry, and most of all, he's so, so alone. he's the one who's always ignored in group conversations. it starts off as a joke, and then over time it stops being a joke, and then suddenly he finds himself as more of a shadow than a real person. and the worst part? everyone else treats him like a shadow too. the thing he's most afraid of is being forgotten. being left behind. behind abandoned.

at a young age, he has a younger sibling who can't sell, so he works to earn enough to keep the both of them alive. that's why he's so confident selling; he's quick, but he knows when he's wasting time with someone who doesn't have the money he needs. but all the newsies know that it's never going to work - they hardly earn enough to keep one person on their feet, let alone two - and mike is forced to watch as his sibling starves, unable to feed them because if he isn't strong enough to sell, neither of them will survive.

after his sibling's death, mike is far more quiet, anxious, and constantly on alert. he starts to withdraw, lashing out at the other newsies. they don't know how to help him, so they start to give him space. from their point of view, he's in pain, and he needs time. from his perspective, the people who are supposed to be his family are leaving him behind, pulling away from him.

the only person who pushes and pushes to stay inside the walls that mike puts up is jojo. so he doesn't mind that nobody else cares, because he has jojo, and it's the two of them against the world, and with him, mike is as close to happy as he can be.

the catch? mike is hopelessly in love with his best friend. every word, every passing touch, every comforting hug, is just a reminder of what he doesn't have. every time jojo grabs his hand to drag him through the city, all mike can think is that that gesture will never mean the same thing to jojo as it does to him. but he's happy. he's happy because he gets to spend time with jojo, and for now, that's enough for him.

and then jojo starts to get closer to tommy boy. and it's not like he spends less time with mike, but it feels like every second mike would normally be sharing with his best friend, tommy boy is there too. and he is so scared that he's losing the one person who makes him happy.

but he does nothing to stop it. he does nothing to stop it because jojo's happiness is worth more to him than his own, and he knows he doesn't deserve a friend like jojo anyway, and jojo will never love him like he loves jojo, and some part of him hopes that maybe if he steps aside and lets jojo go and be happy with his new best friend tommy boy, jojo will realise that mike is all he's ever needed, and come back for him.

it never happens. the more time jojo spends with tommy boy, the more mike withdraws into himself; and the more he withdraws into himself, the more time jojo spends with tommy boy. it's a self-sustaining loop, and jojo never comes back.

mike is left alone in the world again, but this time he's angry.

he hates tommy boy for stealing his best friend, and he hates jojo for leaving, and he hates himself for letting him go, for never standing up for himself or fighting to keep jojo by his side, even though it never felt like a decision he got the chance to make, because what else could he have done?

so he snaps and lashes out and hides inside himself, and he starts following the most important newsies around because at least if they give him validation it's better than nothing. and they just let him follow them around like a lost puppy, because they're young and stupid too so of course they just use his loyalty to their advantage.

and then one day, the delancey brothers find him. they ask him to scab. and somehow, somehow they know exactly what to say to get him to agree. they tell him that it's his own decision. that the other newsies will get to see him doing something for himself and not anyone else. that he finally has the chance to make a choice for himself. and that alone wouldn't be enough to convince him, because all he can picture is jojo's face when he sees mike betraying him, and in the end it's about jojo to him. it's always been about jojo.

but then he hears the one thing that makes him snap.

"remember how you felt when jojo betrayed you?"

suddenly he remembers his anger, and only his anger, and he agrees to scab not despite the hurt it will cause jojo, but because of it. the anger he's been suppressing for ever and ever because all he wants is for jojo to be happy is not going to be held down any longer.

so he scabs.

and that, my friends, brings us up to nothing lasts forever.

[light-lanterne]

Heyaaaaaaaaaa Light! For the wip game can I be greedy and get some info on ex-machina and the darkest eyes 7 - ms. kelley's office pretty please with a cherry on top 💜😆

hi lex !! hope you're doing well ~

okei, so, ex machina is a little futuristic au where will died in a fire and mike is not doing well, so karen gets him a grief-processing android that looks, talks and behaves exactly like will. he even has will's memories. obviously knowing that it's fake, mike tries to push android-will away and lashes out and all that, but he can't avoid slowly letting him in (and falling in love once again)

as for the darkest eyes, i've been stuck on a certain part for a bit so i decided to jump to another scene altogether. in this part, after a certain set of events, hopper has found himself in the wheeler residence with no one but mike and an overly enthusiastic holly to keep him company ~ so he gets to see the dynamic between the siblings :]

(he also gets to process some of his trauma of losing sara because she and holly look somewhat similar imo and i don't think hop would be okei with being around a little blue-eyed blonde girl who's just a little older than his baby was when she died x.x)

anyway, thanks for the ask !! hope you have a lovely day / night ~ !!

[forensicated]

Ah. The culmination of one of the worst PM plots, finally. Usual rules apply, no Gina but it's the conclusion of a huge plot both are involved in so it's being covered despite not officially having both parties of Smiffina in. Also, I will forever hate that she's not involved in the end of the TFG (The Fake Gabriel) plot because she was so instrumental in it. Bloody Prosser.

As you all know - TFG - The Fake Gabriel, TRG - The Real Gabriel.

Sometimes I think back over the TB plotlines and history and wonder if certain parts were actual fever dreams rather than real. Can you imagine Roy, Mike and Ted dealing with the shitshow of TFG?

TRIGGER WARNINGS: ABH, Huge history of controlling and abusive behaviour and discussion of rape, a murder attempt and a depiction of suicide.

Strap in, it's a long one because it weaves across the entire episode.

Smiffina Episodes - Episode 353

TFG is angry Sheelagh went through his things. Sheelagh demands that he tell her who he is, she thinks everything he tells her is fake and lies even when it's the truth, especially as he insists he's an only child. He recounts what happened when TRG was adopted, they never asked him if he wanted a brother or told him he was coming - it was just a surprise one day. His father told him that his brother had a rough start to his life where as he (TFG) had everything so he should be grateful and get on with it. I have to admit, if it's the truth, and you never can tell with TFG, it is a horrendous thing to have happened suddenly one day - wallop, here you go. This baby is moving in and he's your brother and you have to put up with it without any preperation or discussion. He insists it was easier just to push people away and be a loaner as he felt they never loved him. He hated it and hated them, and often hated himself. So then the choice came up to be someone else... and he took it. And he doesn't regret it because it meant he met Sheelagh. He tells her he loves her... she tells him she can never believe a word he says.

June rings the hospital to find out how TRG is getting on. There's been no change after he opened his eyes. She wants to tell Adam everything as it's eating her alive but Smithy manages to reassure her and get her to agree not to. He insists that it's not enough for him to just lose his job for lying about who he is. June sighs and tells Smithy that she thinks she made 'the mess' so she should be the one to clear it up... Smithy tells her she doesn't know the half of it - and takes her into the Sgt's office to tell her about what Kerry alleged Gabriel did. June confides that before Kerry died she came to see her and wanted to tell her something but couldn't get the words out. June puts a time limit on it. If they don't find anything out by tomorrow, she's going to tell all to Adam.

June has to return to the hospital to collect TRG's clothes for a media appeal. She goes to tell her son how sorry she is for everything, standing with him for as long as she can before she has to return to work.

Sheelagh can't trust TFG or believe anything he says. TFG insists they can leave but Sheelagh insists too many people know the truth to be able to just run away. He insists only they know the truth and they're the only people who matter. He'll 'take care of his brother'. "What do you mean?" Sheelagh asks, wide eyed. TFG says it doesn't matter but she won't be calmed and asks again. He tells her he'd do anything for her - whatever it took. "So how far would you go?" "My brothers already in a coma. You're too important to let go." Sheelagh tries to escape and he lashes out, slapping her round the face.

Laura is worried about Sheelaghas she hasn't been seen. Dean says she was at the hospital and might have gotten chatting. Laura 'casually' asks about TFG who was apparently dealing with a domestic. She asks him to try and call him and he doesn't answer.

TFG tries to apologise to Sheelagh, telling her that sometimes his anger gets the better of him and he needs her to help him. He tries to do the right thing but it always backfires. People don't understand him... but she does. Sheelagh swallows and tries to reassure him so she can keep safe, forcing herself to touch him and comfort him to calm him down so she can get out of the room. She eyes the door, promising him they're a team. He calms at her touch and she finally makes a break for it, managing to open the door but he forces it close and drags her upstairs.

Laura goes to Smithy and tells him neither Sheelagh or TFG have been seen, nor at they responding to their radio calls. He tells her not to jump to conclusions... she has to tell him she's told Sheelagh the truth about TFG and TRG. He tells her to go to Sheelagh's house with Tony but to be discreet - only for TFG to bundle through the doors beside them. He claims he had a dodgy battery and he was at a domestic in Mercy Lane.

Laura heads off to go to Sheelagh's and Smithy has to tell June that Sheelagh knows. She asks if he thinks TFG might have done something to Sheelagh and Smithy replies it depends how far she thinks he might go to protect himself. Ah.. if only you knew, Sgt! June posts TFG with her for the day so she can keep an eye on him and keep him out the way. Smithy's not happy but June is incharge of postings and he can't override her decision.

Smithy lets Sam know that they have the clothes and he notices the label, googling it as it's an American brand that isn't available in the UK. He tells Sam to get onto the FBI as they use different security for people entering/exiting the US so they could have his prints on file and stop her wasting time on the local press where he potentially won't be known.

TFG wangles a visit to the hospital by influencing the victim of an RTA that she needs to go in, despite her insisting she's fine. June gets asked to go help a female patient by a nurse and TFG takes the chance to look for his brother, but there's a nurse with him so he can't get near. He forces his way into the nearest toilets, staring at his reflection before breaking a fire alarm and triggering the fire alarm.

At Sheelagh's house, Laura and Tony have broken in with Laura being told off by Tony as she 'needs to brush up on her section 17 as they're only supposed to break in if they believe they'll be saving life or limb.' "What do you think we're doing here?" She hisses at Tony, rushing upstairs. Sure enough they find Sheelagh trussed up and gagged in the main bedroom. She tells them it's TFG and he's threatening his brother. Tony is shocked and surprised but Laura calls it in immediatley.

As the hospital evacuates, TFG marches into ITU, standing over the prone body of his brother, TRG. He puts on a pair of gloves and removes his breathing tube, and finally smothers him with a pillow before replacing the breathing tube and turning off the whining monitors. TFG dumps the gloves in the medical waste and looks back at TRG.

Smithy finds out the TFG is at the hospital with June dealing with a minor RTC and dispatches Steve to attend at the hospital. TFG returns to June and tells her he went to the toilet and then got evacuated to the carpark because of the fire alarm. A nurse and Steve rush into ITU and find TRG and shout for help as he's had a cardiac arrest. June questions him further and he tells her that he got talking to a paramedic. Steve watches as TRG is resucitated. Sam has been brought up to date about TFG and TRG - but not all details. She doesn't know about June's involvement so suggests that they put out a bogus message that TRG died of natural causes. Smithy tells her they can't - because TFG is out with June - but tells her he can't get into it now. He hurries to comfort Sheelagh as she's brought in and warns Tony to stick to her side and not to let her out of his sight until TFG is brought in - in cuffs.

Sam updates Smithy that TRG's monitor and breathing tube had been tampered with and they involved the crime scene examiners. Sam wants to involved the Superintendent and arranges for CID to arrest TFG - but Smithy refuses, he wants to be the one who arrests him. Sam sighs - but agrees.

TFG tells June she won't have to put up with him for much longer. She asks him what he means by that but they get a call through the radio before he can answer. They get called to a girl who is burning the clothes of her fathers girlfriend who is abusing her mentally. She tries to close the door on them but TFG over reaches and boots it straight in. "If the mountain won't come to Mohammed..." he shrugs when June asks what he's doing. The girl is terrified and picks up a knife that she'd been using to make a sandwich, holding it up as protection. Jess is unstable and wants to kill herself, holding the knife to her wrists. She wants to join her mother who died from stomach cancer and June tries to comfort her but TFG keeps over stepping and almost getting stabbed.

TFG is on the edge, spotting the officers gathering outside the flat block after hearing a radio call from Smithy. He knows the game is up so starts to wind the girl up more, insulting her and insisting she's just pitying herself. He grasps a bottle of vodka on the table and drinks from it. He compares himself to Jess and tells her that her dad doesn't care - just like his didn't and that they are the only people who can look after each other as people only let you down. She runs to June who tells her to lock herself in her bedroom.

June tells TFG he is a disgrace to the uniform and she will personally see to it that he has the book thrown at him. TFG just scoffs, "It's already over." He tells her. "You're my nightmare you are, trying to destroy my life one way or the other." June yells that it's never his fault and he always has to blame someone else. "Aren't you man enough to take responsibility for yourself?" TFG shouts at her to shut up and he throws the bottle at her, causing it to smash on the wall which Smithy overhears.

Smithy orders officers to cover each exit and tells Laura to get him more back up as they rush in. TFG forcibly cuffs June, telling her he wants her to suffer like he has and forces her up to the roof. Smithy isn't far behind, reaching the floor that they were on. He locates Jess who is sobbing and terrified. He asks her if she's okay and promises that he'll leave her for a few minutes but someone is coming to her and will look after her. Smithy stalks up to the roof in time to hear TFG preaching at June, claiming she takes his happiness away everytime he finds some. He insists June robbed him of his entire life. She tries to calm him down, telling him it can be gotten over and to let her go. She'll pretend it hasn't happened and get him help. "It's too late for that. I'm a lost cause." "No, nobody's a lost cause. Not even you." "You don't know what I'm capable of. Andrea does, so does Kerry. My brother, he found out too." June begs him to tell her what has happened to her son and he remains ominously silent whilst she cries.

"I couldn't take the chance he'd tell people who he was. I'd lose Sheelagh." June swallows, telling him it wasn't TRG's fault, he wasn't driving the car that killed them but TFG still is adamant that he did because they were arguing over his decision to look for June. That, in TFG's head, makes it June's fault "for inflicting him on his family." June glares at him. "You always find someone to blame." "Not someone, June." he replies calmly. "You." TFG continues to berate her as June spots Smithy behind them. Smithy gestures for her to play for time and looks around him for ideas of how to restrain and arrest TFG.

Sickeningly, Gabriel blames June for being raped and mocks her that it's happened twice, claiming she has 'victim' tattooed on her forehead. "You are a monster" "You made me what I am."

June takes the opportunity to ask him what he's he has done, reminding him he mentioned Kerry and Andrea. TFG smiles, telling her The Sniper's death wasn't an accident and that he forced him over the edge and then let go because 'he would have pointed the finger at me'. He admits he left Andrea to die in the fire because she'd worked out who he was and that Kerry knew he was too - claiming all roads lead back to June. June spits that he raped Kerry and TFG insists that it takes two to tango. Having worked his way closer, Smithy loses his temper on hearing Kerry spoken about like that and launches at TFG and the two fight. With TFG on the floor, Smithy helps June out of her cuffs only for TFG to go back for more, striking him on the back with the ASP. Smithy turns, yelling in pain and they fight, with TFG kicking Smithy in the face, knocking him out cold for enough seconds to try force Smithy over the edge. Smithy fights back with both men strangling each other. TFG punches him out cold again and approaches June. "It's over." she tells him, which Gabriel agrees with. But he tells her it ends now... and he climbs into the top of the rails. "See what you've done to me." he spits at June before jumping off. June can hardly watch and Smithy comes round just in time to look over and see Gabriel's body. "Let's get out of here." he says gently, uncuffing June and leading her away.

Smithy is told that he needs to get his statement in and he tells Laura he knows the score. She smiles and asks if she can buy him a drink later. "I hope you've been to the bank!" he replies, before literal Super Sarge is wrapped in a red cape blanket.

Laura reassures June that her son isn't dead and that he is still in the hospital in a coma but TFG did not succeed in killing him. She rushes to his bedside as Sam reassures her the doctors don't know how long he was starved of oxygen but to stay positive.

Side note: well done to the drug addict arrested for telling Dan that whilst Rochelle might not be an addict anymore she is still clearly chasing that high for kicks hence taking stupid risks with him but not making time to see him when it's safer/Ian isn't around or in the building etc. She's using him and he can't see it. Woe :(

Shoe horning a Dan reference in? Me? Never.

[terrifyingstories3]

aria puts a lot of pressure on herself when it comes to her family, specifically as it pertains to maintaining harmony within her family and/or living up to the person they raised her to be. she has a lot of intense feelings that sit very close to her chest related to family that she often doesn't know how to express, particularly concerning byron following his request that she lie about his affair, and at times this manifests in extreme and/or aggressive behavior. aria holds and holds things in, and usually no one sees how much she's been holding or how heavy it is until it explodes.

conflict within her family is agonizing to aria, and causes her very intense pain that she often doesn't know how to manage. her parents' separation is devastating to her and she feels responsible for trying to ease tensions between her parents and mike, she's deeply affected by mike's struggles in s2, she blames herself for her parents' divorce, and when mike apologizes to aria for not stepping in when she's slut-shamed in season 5, you can see the distance between them cuts terribly deep. being disconnected from her family is one of the worst things in the world for aria.

likewise, the idea of falling short or disappointing her family is immensely painful. though she has spells of anger and rebelliousness, her parents' disapproval of ezra - and more importantly, of her choices concerning ezra - is something that deeply hurts her (and that hurt is also what fuels these moments where she does push back or lash out). the thought of disappointing them is incredibly painful, and this also dampens her ability to truthfully communicate with them at times.

she and byron have never truly healed the fracture that came of his affair with meredith and him asking her to keep it a secret, but this isn't something aria knows how to talk to him about. often times, she avoids mike rather than speak with him directly, because she doesn't know how to explain so many of the things that have happened, and she's terrified to push him farther away. she can't tell ella she really really needs her to stay, in large part because of A but also because ella has done so much for her and she can't ask her to postpone her happiness anymore.

it is because aria thinks the world of her parents and mike that she struggles at times. she thinks frequently about how lucky she is to have the parents and family that she has - a family that loves and accepts her for who she is, and who have always protected her. something aria is very aware of is that being trans, this could have been so very different. she sees how emily's mom responds to her being a lesbian, and she has the empathy to understand how her being trans might have been hard to come to terms with or accept. in another family, aria might not have been allowed to explore and come to terms with who she is. but aria grew up loved and accepted, and she never had to worry that it might go away.

she puts a lot of really intense pressure on herself because of that. a lot of intense pressure to appreciate her parents and not take for granted what it is to be loved and accepted by your family. it takes time for her to learn that her having a good mom and dad and brother who loved and accepted her doesn't mean that they're immune to making mistakes, even mistakes that hurt her, and that she's allowed to react to those mistakes. to see that this can even extend to her being trans - that just because they've made those attempts to educate themselves and understand out of love and support for her doesn't mean they'll always get it right, and that it's okay for her to have feelings about that, too.

[w1llb7ers]

MIKE WHEELER IK WHAT YOU ARE /HJ

People hate on Mike too much in my opinion, I'll always be a Mike defender. It's not just because I see him as a realistic teenager, but I see myself in him. He's the first character I've related to in a long time. The way he acts is how I used to act when I was struggling with personal issues (internalized hom*phobia).

Here's some examples of how I acted:

I lashed out a lot and closed myself off emotionally. I had bad anger issues at the time and they were so bad that people told me “Who are you? I don't recognize you anymore.” that sort of smacked me in the face and made me think about how I was behaving.

I pushed the person of interest (my ex best friend) away and tried to ghost them completely. I ended up being successful and now we hardly ever talk. We knew each other for over a decade and all it took for me to ignore them was the possibility of feelings budding in my chest.

I would literally go insane in my bedroom at night after a day at school because I hated the thoughts that ran through my head when they were around me.

I would stare at their lips randomly and tell myself: “You're just kiss deprived. Your boyfriend broke up with you a week ago.” I loved lying to myself.

Then, I left them on read for the last time and we stopped talking for 3 years. Never called. Never texted. And never met up. We used to hang out almost every weekend. The feelings got SO BAD that I actually dreaded them sleeping over. In fact, I lied to them saying “Sorry, I won't be home this weekend.” just because of this.

Therefore, when someone says “He'S sTrAiGhT NoT gAy!!!1!!” I can't help but laugh because 1) I know what it looks like to hate yourself for what you like. 2) If he isn't struggling with IH then he's just an ass and I can't be satisfied with that idea. His character is so much more complex than people give him credit for. If my assumptions are correct, the dufflebags didn't “ruin” his character. They made him go through things internally that would impact how he behaves. He's not just some guy that doesn't give a shit about Will anymore. He DOES give a shit. He is smart, not stupid. He may be clueless but he's got an idea of what is going on. He knew Will was crying (in my opinion), but he didn't ignore him. He didn't want to treat him like a “baby” like Will states in S2. He doesn't like it when people treat him like he's fragile. Even if he is at that very moment. Plus, there were other people around (ie Jonathan and Argyle). They weren't alone.

I know this isn't credible because I'm just some teen girl on the internet, but I know what my experience was like (having feelings for someone you don't want to have feelings for because they're not the opposite gender). And I see it in Mike. His actions, his everything. It's so CLEAR. Yet no one looks far enough into it to see it.

Sorry for the rant I just had to get it off my chest. Ik this isn't the cleanest/ most organized post. However, I am just speaking my mind here lmao no one has to agree with me. This was like a vent a bit tbh idk where it all came from. Thank you for listening!! :)

[bylerchatroom]

What Should Have Happened That Day..

"these past few months El's been so lost without you. it's just..she's so different from other people, and...when you're...when you're different, sometimes you feel like a mistake. but you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all. like she's better for being different. and that gives her the courage to fight on. if she was mean to you or it seemed like she was pushing you away, it's because she's scared of losing you. and if she was going to lose you, she'd rather just get it over with quick. like ripping off a band-aid. so, yeah, she needs you, mike. She always will"

In Mike's head he wondered..if Will was so sure about him and Eleven..then why did he muffle his sobs, as tears streamed down his face next to him in the car...

Mike was staring at Will and his trembling body beside him in the back of the car. Will was focused on keeping quiet, surely not wanting Mike to hear any of the sobs which desperately wanted to be let out. He would be mortified if the boy saw his eyes which started to feel swollen with all the tears which have fallen down his cheeks

Mike had his eyebrows knitted together, lips parted as he stared in confusion

the truth is,

Mike hasn't known how to talk to him for some time now.

He can't seem to put the right words together, the ones he thinks of seeming too vulnerable and making Mike feel embarrassed just to be thinking them in the first place. The only times Mike ever seems to be able to share a small, minuscule portion of what he really wants to say, is when he messes up with Will..bad.

Whenever Mike lashes out at Will, or hurts him bad enough to the point where even Will, the boy who wants nothing more than to see his friends and loved ones happy, speaks up about how he feels...that seems to be the only time where he can be vulnerable with his best friend anymore.

So now, staring at Will only a foot away as his body shakes and, he hides his red eyes and breaking heart, Mike feels now isnt the time to hide away and wait for another time to be gentle with the boy

"Will..?" Mike asks carefully, his voice uneven

the boy didnt turn to face Mike, but cleared his throat as quietly as he could

"yeah?" he said, his voice breaking

Mike looked down at his lap, where his hands rested as his fingers knitted through each other

"I-, I uh-" Mike cleared his throat, "A-Are you okay?"

-

From the front of the van, Jonathan stared at the two through the mirror, feeling like now would be the time where they pull over and give the boys space before they continue on their journey to save Eleven.

Argyle was oblivious, sleeping in the passenger seat with his hat tilted over his eyes

-

Will didn't move, and continued staring out the window, "yeah, just fine". he spoke monotone

"Will look at me" Mike leaned forward a little

There wasn't an answer from the boy, only another glance from Jonathan in the mirror

"Will?" Mike grabbed onto the sleeve of Will's shirt, tugging at his elbow slightly

Will swatted Mike away, still not turning around, feeling more tears well up in his eyes

"look at me" Mike said a little louder, catching Will off guard, frightening him a little. What would Mike do if he knew he was crying? call him weak? laugh? he doesnt even know right now, he's just focused on keeping his flow of tears under control

Will wiped his eyes and turned towards Mike, his puffy eyes meeting Mike's concerned ones, "I-"

"hey guys, I think it's time we take a break from driving..you know, get out somewhere and stretch our legs a bit" Jonathan spoke up, pointing to the gas station up ahead

They stayed silent until they pulled into the gas station. Jonathan pushed on Argyle to wake him up, "hey man, lets go get some snacks"

Argyle's eyes shot open, "oh definitely man, count me in"

Jonathan turned back to look at the boys, "we'll be back, don't go anywhere" he looked at Will, giving a slight nod

They hopped out of the car, leaving Will and Mike staring ahead, silent

"Will.." Mike turned to face him, as Will stared down at his hands

"Will, tell me what's wrong" Mike unbuckled his seatbelt and scooted closer to Will

"I-" Will shook his head a little, looking up

"I don't know how you can be so- so- blind"

Mike recoiled, his face scrunching up, "what are you talking about?"

Will shook his head, lifting his head as he rolled his eyes

"you're so busy talking about El, that you can't even realize I'm dying for you to treat me like your.. your.. best friend again.."

Mike's lips parted, eyes wide

"I listen to you, Mike. I love to listen to you"

Mike raised a brow, "what do you mean?"

Will put his face in his hands, "I like talking to you, I like being with you, and lately it feels like nothing I do, or say, is enough to make you feel the same way. It hurts. It hurts going from being best friends to what feels like strangers in such short time"

Will was crying again, only this time he wasnt holding in his sobs. His face was still in his hands as he choked out sobs

"why don't you care anymore"

Mike's bottom lip quivered, hearing Will talk

he didn't expect to cry, but before he knew it, tears were welling up in his eyes as he watched Will crying next to him for the second time

Say something, Mike thought

you idiot! tell him you care just as much!

"you-" Will choked out, "you didn't even write me a letter, in the-" he sobbed, "the whole time I've been gone"

Mike couldn't help himself. Seeing the boy who he cared so much for in such a drastic state made him want to do everything he could to make it stop

Mike moved forward, practically lunging at Will as he threw his long arms around the boy. Will flinched, not expected a reaction like this

Will sobbed, his breathing loud

Mike put a hand on the side of Will's head, pulling him to his neck

"I'm sorry" Mike whispered, a tear running down his freckled cheek

"I-"

"I wrote letters....I just, I never sent them" Mike said, voice uneven and wavering

Will's eyes shot open, a hand reaching to clutch at Mike's arm

"y-you wrote me le-letters?"

Mike nodded rapidly, "I- I did, I always felt like they were too w-weird to send them out"

he held onto the boy in his arms, "I'm only now realizing that was a mistake...I'm sorry" he mumbled

Will closed his eyes, feeling tired from crying, "Weird how..?"

Mike loosened his grip from Will, pulling away a little, making Will sad, thinking this is the last tender moment they'll have together

"I- I felt"

Mike cleared his throat, looking anywhere but will's eyes

"It felt, wrong...that it was easy to sign my letters with..." he paused, "l-love, for y-you, but not for El"

Will's eyes opened wide, his mouth opening as he pulled away from Mike

"oh god-" Mike said, covering his face with his hands

"what does that mean..." Will asked, nervous

Mike wasnt too sure how to go about this, he didnt want to say the wrong thing

"I care about you, a lot, and I might love you...a lot"

he averted his eyes from Will's

Will put his hands on Mike's shoulders, "are you being serious right now, because so help me god this isn't funny to say this after everything that's happened"

Mike held his hands up in defense, "I promise I promise"

Will kept his hands planted on Mike's shoulders, and stared at him. Mike gently placed his hands on Will's arms as he stared back

"I- I swear" Mike whispered, eyes wide, staring at Will

"I- I feel the same, but different, I think" Will said, dropping his hands, Mike's hands falling off of Will's elbows

Mike raised a brow, "what do you mean?"

Will shook his head, trying to shake the question

Mike moved forward, "What do you mean, Will?"

"I feel a lot for you, Mike" Will said, not looking at him

Mike placed a hand on Will's shoulder, "Will-"

Will turned his head, meeting his gaze finally, which made Mike feel nervous suddenly

"yeah?" Will mumbled

Mike was about to saying something but decided words didnt fit right now. Instead, he move forward, his lips meeting the ones of the boy in front of him

Will, for the first time in his life, didnt feel any guilt behind how he felt for Mike. For the first time, he was able to fully be caught in the moment. All of the nights he laid awake, wondering how it would feel for Mike to hug him like he was his boyfriend, rather than a friend, or kiss him like how he kissed Eleven, or talk to him gently, all led up to this. Everything seemed to be worth it in a way, because even if they stopped being friends after this, Will thought, at least he would know Mike may have once had the same thoughts.

-

Mike had his hands on Will's face now, Will's hand rested on Mike's thigh gently.

As they kisses slowly, trying to pay extra close attention to the way their lips felt against each other, not knowing if it would ever happen again, Will felt a tear go down his cheek. The tear was blocked by Mike's thumb on his skin, making him pull away only slightly

their lips were inches apart, and Will could feel Mike's breath on his lips as he spoke, "don't cry, please, please, please"

Will chuckled, "sorry"

Mike shook his head, "no, no, no, don't be sorry, you should never have to feel sorry, everything has always been my fault"

"thats not true" Will said, enjoying the warmth of Mike's hands placed on his cheeks

after a moment of silence, Mike spoke, "can I kiss your cheek.." he spoke with nervousness

Will nodded, his cheeks warm

Mike's lips gently kissed over where the tear had just rolled down Will's face

Mike placed kisses gently on Will's closed, still swollen eyes, and up to his forehead

"I like this" Will spoke softly

"yeah.." Mike pulled back, "me too"

Will pulled Mike in, tightly, to a hug

Mike was caught off guard, but wrapped his arms around the boy who was holding onto him for dear life

"things are going to be different now, for the better, I promise" Mike said

Will smiled, a huge weight feeling as if it was taken off his shoulders

[and-stir-the-stars]

Something I've been wondering about in MBMW; it seemed like Mike and Liz bullying Ev was something they did to cope with their home life. Since these problems at home haven't vanished (and in fact seem to be escalating), do they turn to other coping mechanisms (healthy or unhealthy, destructive or even self destructive) now that they're no longer (intentionally) hurting Evan?

That's a really great question, anon!

try as they might, their instinctual coping mechanism (hurting Evan) doesn't vanish completely even with all the effort they've been putting in. For example, in BCOH, Mike couldn't hold back his temper after he angered William to help Evan escape, and Liz still humiliated Evan as a response to him bringing up Charlie.

But in Liz's case, she recognized that what she did was wrong; she apologized to Evan and explained why she did it, and let him get his feelings out while also got her own feelings out, too, and they both felt better for it in the end.

In an ideal world, that's what Liz and Mike's new coping mechanisms will become: not tearing each other down so they feel strong enough to survive, but leaning on each other so they all feel strong enough to survive. This is shown by Liz and Mike's conversation about being "broken together" in ch1 of BCOH.

Things aren't always ideal, though. In the pre-Halloween chapter of Collection, Liz distances herself from her toxic friends (a positive step) but is so hurt that she lashes out at Evan when she learned that he wasn't going to be trick or treating with them as a family. Even after she lashes out, she asks Evan to let her do his face paint (before the one-shot takes place, i mean) as though nothing is wrong between them, like she can just shove it under the rug and forget about it. Despite her positive steps, Liz does still have the tendency to ignore obvious signs that her brothers are upset so she can pretend things are happy between them.

I imagine Liz will be pretty lonely at school now that she ditched her friends (well, she was lonely even when she was with them, but she was able to Pretend before). Liz maybe picks up a new hobby to distract herself with; she might start reading more, or doodling, or writing; maybe she even sneaks in crochet needles and yarn and crochets during the school day (I've had friends who do that before, lmao). And hopefully these hobbies encourage her to meet new people and make new friends. Hopefully her reputation as a mean girl gossip won't impede on that...

Unfortunately for Mike, though, he and Evan aren't at the point where Mike can explain why he hurt Evan and have Evan forgive him like Evan does with Liz. The ways Mike has hurt Evan are just too severe.

The non-canon chapter where Evan comforts his brother through ]being reminded that his friends are "missing" shows that Evan doesn't actually want Mike to suffer (like how the fnaf books are in a separate timeline but gives suggestions and inspiration for how things are in the fnaf games, the non-canon chapters in this au do the same for the au as a whole), but Evan really can't support Mike through things the way that Evan can with Liz. Evan just isn't at that place by the end of BCOH.

Liz is the only person Mike has available to fill that role, but even then, Liz is just a kid with her own problems, too. Mike hasn't actually opened up to her about anything that he's going through. He opens up to Evan a little in his attempts to say sorry, but Evan isn't at a place where he can forgive Mike and won't be at that place for a long time yet. Evan's completely valid for that ofc, but it's also not very healthy for Mike that the only times he's been opening up, he gets pushed away and rejected.

Besides the little bit of camaraderie he has with Liz now, Mike doesn't have any other coping mechanisms developed just yet (which is equal parts me still working through what coping mechanisms to give him AND Mike himself not knowing what to do to cope or who to reach out to). I do have some semblance of an idea, but talking about it would spoil a future chapter of Collection, unfortunately.

I will tell you though that there was a cut scene of BCOH where Liz and Mike are walking home from school and Mike asks Liz if she thinks she can walk the rest of the way alone. Mike refuses to answer when she asks why and where he's going to be going, and it quickly gets revealed that Mike was planning on impulsively running away from home right then and there, because surely things would be better for Evan if he wasn't around?

Liz's response, outside of the general fear of losing her brother, would also be fear of losing him as a coping mechanism. In her desperation to get him to stay, she tells Mike that he can't leave because they promised they would get through this together in ch1 of BCOH.

It's not the best response Liz could have given, of course. Trying to stop someone from doing something drastic (or begging them to "go back to normal) because you "need" them (/the "normal them") around to cope yourself is never a good response, imo. All it does is put pressure and stress on the person's shoulders and act as a message that you only want them around because they're "useful" to you; as soon as that usefulness is over, however...

But, Liz is just a scared kid who wouldn't understand that.

[gutz-radio]

Stranger things spoilers below:

This season sucked BALLS. I shouldn't be but yet I am still amazed at how the Duffer Balls manage to have literal gold in their hands and chose to shit on it. Eddie's death was lazy writing. It was poor and just a quick and cheap way to wash away the whole 'Satanic Cult' bullshit. Also what is it with leaving his fucking CORPSE in the Upside Down for christ's sake. You couldn't even bring his fucking corpse back?? Nah fuck that. Disrespect to Eddie and a waste of a fucking brilliant actor like Joseph Quinn. And if that didn't make me angry enough, let me proceed with the rest of the mountains of bullshit. 1. This constant flip flop between Stancy and Jancy. Honest to fucking god I hate love triangles enough as a trope itself but for god's fucking sake this is basically taking a SEMI TRUCK INTO STEVE AND NANCY'S GODDAMN DEVELOPMENT. Steve's whole shit was learning to move from Nancy and Nancy finding a better connection with Jonathan. Oh, and Jonathan was treated like SHIT by the Duffers this season. Him being a stoner makes no fucking sense it was pulled out of goddamn fucking nowhere. 2. Whatever they were trying to pull with Will's sexuality flopped harder than Chrissy's corpse on the floor of the Munson's trailer. Like I don't even like Byler but A. it was vague as shit and B. They really used him just to push the Mileven agenda. Good job on completely fucking up Duffers. Brilliant

3. THE WHOLE FUCKING BULLSHIT WITH DEMONISING BILLY FOR THE 483TH TIME GOD'S SAKE. My man is dead. He has been fucking skewered like a fucking kebab and never got to live his fucking life and better himself and get away from his shit garbage father. I accepted that at the end that he's not coming back, but by god the Duffers can't just let my man die in fucking peace. No, instead they have to drag him through the goddamn mud again with Max's bullshit speech that I hate with all my might. That he 'didn't deserve to be saved'. Nice message there, telling people who have been in Billy's shoes that because they have been abused and mistreated and lash out because VICTIM'S AREN'T FUCKING PERFECT THEY ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH SHIT NO PERSON SHOULD EVER GO THROUGH, may or may not deserve a change for a better life. Billy SACRIFICED HIMSELF and became a fucking MARTYR over a memory of when he was happy and the smallest show of tenderness and caring from a child he DOESN'T EVEN KNOW that made him overpower a GODDAMN MIND CONTROLLING ELDRITCH ABOMINATION MONSTER AND SAVE EVERYONE. And the thanks he gets is the Duffers pissing on his grave. I will forever be fucking pissed at this writing and the Duffers should NEVER try write a character in an abusive situation again because by GOD they did it POORLY.

4. The sympathy bullshit for Brenner and Henry/Vecna/One. So you are telling me they made Brenner sympathetic with this "I oNlY wAnTeD tO hElP yOu" bullshit, and did this whole melancholy music scene. No fuck that. This man stole CHILDREN from their mothers and fried Terry Ives' brains to the point she can't have a normal fucking life and is stuck in a vegetable state for the rest of her life. He also abused these fucking kids and tortured them. FUCK HIM. And sympathy because of Henry/Vecna/One because of what Brenner did? saying he's not a monster? After he fucking killed INNOCENT KIDS and his own goddamn family? Getting his dad thrown into a mental asylum for a crime he didn't commit? Basically having an ideology that would involve fucking murdering all of humanity? And we had glimpses of sympathy through Eleven telling him he didn't need to do this? FUCK THAT TOO.

The ONLY redeeming things in this hellfire garbage shit show was

Lucas beating Jason

Jopper and the Russia stuff

Mike's speech to Eleven because I'm a sucker for Mileven

The smallest fizzle of hope that Robin might get a romantic interest

This season was executed poorly. It was so bad it made me miss the dumpster fire of Season 3. That's how bad it was. And I have no hope for Season 5, the only reason I'll watch it because I hate not knowing how a story ends, even if in the end it sucks ass and I'm left forever disappointed at how what once was a good story with a good plot and characters I adored and cared for became a complete fucking mess of fanservice, 80s pop culture references, lazy writing, and shitty horror for the sake of 'edge' and 'shock'.

I said it once and I'll say it again: Stanger Things should have ended in Season fucking TWO.