#lumax is endgame

[urjustjealizz]

i wish i was in their party

[queen-of-hawkins-why-ler]

It becomes so obvious that Milkvan isn't supposed to be endgame when you compare the development (or lack thereof) of their relationship to Lumax's. Mike and El are supposedly the main characters and "the main couple" of the show, but if this were actually the case, then why wouldn't the writers spend more time developing their relationship like they have developed Lumax's?

Truth be told, Mike and El's storyline does not have much "development" beyond what happens in the show on a surface level. In s1, they meet each other, become friends, and Mike hides and protects El from the people who are trying to harm her. When he loses her at the end of s1, he subsequently misses her a lot in s2 and they spend the season looking for each other. It's very sweet when they reunite, but even so, not a lot is happening with their relationship besides the obvious, which is that they are happy to see each other again.

Contrast this to Lumax in s2, which portrays an actual relationship DYNAMIC that goes beyond a surface level. Lucas likes Max, and Max likes Lucas, but there are so many layers to how they feel about each other and what is actually going on between them. Lucas likes and cares about Max and wants to get to know her better, but he is genuinely afraid for her safety and doesn't want to involve her in the supernatural. On the other side of it, Max is clearly drawn to Lucas the more she gets to know him, but she has a difficult time trusting or opening up to people, especially when she realizes that the boys are deliberately shunning her and leaving her out of the know and AV Club meetings. Not to mention the entire problem of race, wherein Max is afraid of how her racist, emotionally abusive brother is going to react to her becoming intimately involved with a black boy. Needless to say, Lumax from the very beginning is a complex relationship that has lots of layers, while Mike and El's relationship is pretty straightforward: boy loses girl, boy and girl miss each other, boy and girl are happy to be reunited.

While s3 doesn't do a whole lot for Lucas and Max other than showing them being cute together, it does set the stage for s4 Lumax, which beautifully continues the aforementioned themes. In s2, we are introduced to the idea of Lucas wanting to open up Max and allow her to be in the know, but he does so with the fear that she could get herself killed: that he could lose her. Max, too, is unsure about the amount of risk that comes with opening herself up to somebody, and the answer to both of these problems is both characters' worst nightmare: Max getting hurt and them losing each other. We see Lucas trying so hard and doing everything he can to reach out to Max. He loves her so selflessly and wants her to know that he is there for her no matter what, but she is of course still so traumatized from what happened to Billy and scared of what Vecna is doing to her that she struggles to open herself up freely. And when she finally does, she STILL reaps the consequences and is targeted by Vecna. And of course Lucas feels like his worst fears have become a reality, and Max's ultimate fate is a direct follow up to the initial conflict that was set up for Lumax in s2.

Think about how much thought had to be put into creating that relationship for it to not only work but to be well-executed within the show itself. Not to mention that all of these story elements get developed by way of Lumax developing both as individuals and as a couple. We see them succumbing to their fears. We see them growing apart and together. Most importantly, we see them COMMUNICATING. Max pulls away from Lucas because she is afraid, but Lucas pulls her right back in and assures her that he is there for her, he is protecting her, he loves her. Do we see any of this depth for Milkvan? No. Because there isn't any depth.

In what season (or scene for that matter) have we ever watched Mike and El struggle against what they are faced with both individually and as a couple?? Mind you, there have been plenty of opportunities in this story for Mike and El to develop and to take things on together. And in a very literal sense, they DO take on things together, these things are just utterly surface-level and transparent. Mike is scared that people are under or overestimating El and what her powers are capable of, so he bats for her and tries his best to advocate for her and be by her side. Okay, that's great. El, on the other hand, worries that Mike could be holding her back so she tries relying on herself and her newfound best friend for strength (interesting writing choice lmao). Again, great. But what's happening here beyond a surface level? Nothing. There are no subsequent layers to Mike and El's relationship that the show would have us dive into. And if we ARE in fact supposed to dig into Mike and El's relationship, we are only doing so...

To directly contrast the lack of depth in Milkvan's relationship to the depth we see in Mike and Will's relationship. Milkvan hasn't been layered and built up the same way Byler has because they are not a main focus of the story. Byler IS, on the other hand, which is why their relationship is just as fleshed out and developed as Lumax's. Milkvan gets virtually no development beyond a surface level for four whole seasons, meanwhile Byler's relationship shifts and changes again and again. Even from the beginning, when we barely see Mike and Will interact, we are shown that they share a special bond that is contrasted to the platonic friendship that the other boys have, and we see Mike ceaselessly, endlessly searching for Will with no intention on ever giving up (side note: when Mike is missing El in s2, does he ever throw the tantrums he threw for Will or try to get everyone else involved in finding El the way he did for Will?? Does he ever claim to be the "only one who cares about El?" No). When he finds Will, he stays stuck to him like glue and does everything in his power to watch over and protect Will, the same way Lucas does for Max. In s3, we see Mike and Will's relationship get rocky and we see them struggle, but we also see Mike develop and go the distance as far as mending his relationship with Will, which is something we barely see for Mike and El in the same season. And then in s4, we see the ultimate demonstration of Mike and Will literally working as a team, taking on each other's problems, and most importantly, COMMUNICATING about said problems. They check in on each other, they make sure that the other is okay. They are real about their feelings and don't deliberately hide things from one another (besides the fact that they love each other, ofc, which they only feel the need to hide because it is unsafe and because they are afraid of how the other would react). Needless to say, Lumax and Byler are both well-written, fleshed out, and get development. There are many layers to these relationships as well as shifting dynamics and real, relevant plot threads. Milkvan gets none of these things. Probably because their relationship does not go much deeper than "they care about each other." The only thing worth exploring in terms of the depth of their relationship is all the things Mike isn't able to do and the ways he isn't able to be there for El because his priorities lie with Will.

[silverflameataraxia]

Lucas still clutching Max because she means everything to him 😭😭😭

[milevenstancyendgame]

Mileven and Lumax fanart by imagine_polli on IG.

[wenclair-more-like-whenclair]

Lucas and Max really deserve to have their moment of intimacy in s5 and I really hope they get it. They have had one of the strongest and longest-lasting romantic connections in the show, and it’s so clear how much Lucas loves Max. Literally thinking about her safety and wanting to protect her from the very beginning. And now he’s seemingly lost her and is devastated, just holding onto the idea that she might not be gone and could wake up. If/when Max wakes up, they deserve to make out passionately or even go even further. Jopper and Jancy both got to have their moments of passion, and we know Byler will probably get theirs (or at least should). But I feel like it would be nice for a POC character to get their passionate scene as well bc this seems so underrepresented, and it’s a bad look imo if all the white couples get to do it but the interracial couple doesn’t! Hell if even teenage Mike and El got to make out then Lumax should get to also! I said what I said, Lumax deserves to sloppy kiss!!

[latteenightss]

Okayy so I don’t edit.. I used to when I was young maybe like 13 😆 I used videostar and like around a year ago I downloaded it again and tried to make an edit

And now I downloaded video star again and I’m looking at an edit I made thinking like that’s cute (it’s a Lumax edit) so I decided to share it with you 🤗

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

"God, they're so adorable. I just wanna squeeze them, you know. If I'm permitted to see a silver lining in all of this end of the world doom and gloom, it would be the rekindling of some old flames that frankly never should have been snuffed out." - Robin Buckley: lesbian, dreamer, and believer of second chances. Also, Stancy and Lumax's biggest shipper. You know, aside from Dustin and Eddie, who also ship Stancy.

[1994mfn]

They’re lowkey growing on me

[shitmaxxer]

Lucas Sinclair appreciation post because Pookie is CRIMINALLY. Underrated. I hate the way black characters are ignored and disregarded is some fandoms and he is genuinely such a cool character.

It actually makes me so angry how much Lucas/Caleb is ignored in the fandom. He is so much more than just Max’s goofy boyfriend he is his own character and we need to talk about him more often. I love him sm.

[urjustjealizz]

if she doesn't wake up in s5, I'm gonna put someone in a coma.

[thesapphicsoldier]

I love how almost every byler that I see is also obsessed with lumax. Like we all just agree that these are the best ships

[silverflameataraxia]

[vivzi409]

Happy Valentine's Day! 🕊💞💌💘

my fav ships :)

[love-byers]

sometimes you just gotta put it in perspective

[latteenightss]

Netflix still gatekeeping Lumax and Max from me 😭

They could have given us a photo at least of Sadie, maybe in a hospital gown or something if they’re trying not to give away anything even though it doesn’t matter because everyone alr knows she’s in season 5

Suffer brothers this is me officially asking for a Cadie photo for Christmas 🙏 or New Year’s Day at least plsss 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[retrovhsguy]

How to say "I love you" without rly saying it :)