#mike initiates it ofc

[lighthouseas]

okay and if i said byler dancing to this in a quiet moment before the final battle

[florallylly]

i've seen model steve harrington aus. i've seen child steve harrington aus. i present: child model steve harrington

note: this came from my own desperate need to see this conceptualized and i SWEAR i've searched, i just can't find any content with child model steve so. :(

bc little steve harrington was remarkably cherub-like. his large brown eyes and soft pout ensured endless cooing and fussing from his mom's friends. and when he blushed and ducked his head in shyness, they only complimented him more. when he got home that day, his mom smiled at him.

so steve decided that he would put up with the cheek pinching and the squealing. he sat upright in his chair, sitting on his hands so he wouldn't fidget and ruin the image. because he'd do anything to keep his mom smiling at him. if he was being particularly good that day, she'd let him lay his head on her lap on the drive back home.

but everything changed at his father's birthday gala. a nearly eight year old steve harrington sat prim and proper in his seat, but a smile lit up his face--his cheeks round and his dimples showing up. he raised his hand up to cover his giggle, but he couldn't help but laugh at some silly old man with a loose toupee. then he sees his mom approaching, and his face quickly smooths over, going back to the more polite smile he usually adopted when it came to these events.

he'd ruined it. he hadn't continued being the sweet boy his mom wanted. but then, she smiles at him. and introduces him to the man behind her, who says he's a designer. the man holds out his hand, but when steve puts his hand into his palm, he doesn't shake it. the man simply holds his hand, his eyes scanning steve's face. steve tries not to squirm under the attention. but the man nods and smiles at his mom, and he gives two brief cheek kisses to steve, whispering in his ear "you're going to be a star, darling." steve looks at his mom, confused, but she waves him off to continue talking to the man.

a few months later, steve's mom whisks him off on a trip to france. and steve is so excited to go, nearly vibrating in his seat as the airplane prepares to take off. but instead of the eiffel tower and the seine, steve is taken to a studio. he's posed and changed. once again, he's being fussed over, but instead of wealthy socialites, gossiping make-up artists squeal over him. he's "perfect for the shoot" and "the most darling little boy." steve doesn't understand, but his mom is still smiling, so he lets the nice ladies brush powder over his face.

and he looks in the mirror. his hair is a little more tousled and his lips have a slight tint to them and his eyes seem to take up much of his face. he's put into new clothes, and he feels like a doll in their hands. and when he's put in front of the camera, he simply follows the photographer's directions. afterwards, he's bundled into the car and his mom can't stop gushing about how good he was.

apparently, he's a natural. and then she goes back to fussing over him, focusing more on appearance than his behavior now. but she takes him out shopping and they eat at an upscale restaurant along the champs-elysses. and steve is happy.

and then they go back home, and his mom is so much stricter than before. she has him try out all kinds of different hair products, determined to find the best combination to keep it looking shiny and soft. she controls his food intake and what he wears and makes him use weird creams and serums on his face. but this is what makes his mom happy, so he's happy to let her.

his mom is also on the phone a lot more lately, whispering harshly about the quality of brands and steve just assumes she's being picky about the clothes she buys. later, his mom picks him up and holds him, and asks if he'd like to move to italy. she looks at him intently and it's obvious what answer she wants, so steve nods. she smiles and holds him close, and it's the most loved steve has felt in a while.

so they move to italy, and suddenly steve is a lot more busy. he's put in front of more cameras for more people he doesn't know. but he's smiling and pouting and doing whatever they want him to do. his compliant attitude and polite nature have photographers and designers alike singing his praises, and steve always looks to his mom for approval. but she's been arguing with his dad a lot lately, so she's upset more often than not. but that's okay, the make-up artists are always kind to him.

but then one day, his mom takes a phone call in the middle of the shoot. and when it finishes, she's gone. steve goes back in, close to tears, but the make-up artists still hanging around look after him until a car is sent to pick him up. this becomes a trend. and eventually, steve goes alone to his shoots. he's always taken care of by the crew and someone is always there to pick him up, but it's not fun without his mom there.

but he knows that she's always enjoyed him taking pictures, so he continues to do so, hoping that she'll come watch him again sometime soon. and he busies himself with befriending the chatty make-up artists and the bossy photographers and the eccentric designers. and he's such a cute little thing that they can't help but dote on him.

steve is never catapulted into child stardom, as his mom is picky with his jobs, only choosing luxury brands and well known designers for him. but within the industry, they call him the "little prince."

and then steve is catapulted into puberty, but his intense skin regimen prevents him from getting acne, save for the occasional zit. and his diet and religious exercise schedule help maintain his look. and he's still doing remarkably well, especially now that he's fully aware that he is a Model.

and steve has truly grown into his looks. with time, he's grown more comfortable in front of the camera and made numerous friends. nearly all of them are older than him, but they're fun and loud and it fills up the space that normally surrounds him. and they're the ones who get him hooked on american movies. steve remembers living in america, but he's been in milan so long that everything he recalls is vague.

but he watches them and falls in love with the american high school experience. so when he finally catches his mom off the phone and actually in the house, steve asks if he can go to school in america. and his mom laughs. but steve keeps asking, which devolves into begging. and his mother snaps, slapping him across the face and calling him ungrateful. she cries and begs for forgiveness, cowed into shame by steve's desperate attempt to hold back tears.

and so she lets him go to school in hawkins, indiana. an odd choice, but his parents just so happened to own a property there. (in truth, both of his parents expected him to change his mind within the year). but steve finds his place at hawkins high, because even though nobody in hawkins has ever heard of versace, steve is pretty. he's pretty and charming and he knows the right thing to say. after all, he's spent his whole life perfecting his mask.

and even if his mom ended up moving back home with his dad, leaving steve all alone in that big empty house, steve is happy. he's finally hanging out with people his age and high school is so far removed from the glitz and glam of the fashion industry. and he's settled and content with tommy and carol by his side. while he misses his friends back in milan, steve finds himself longing for the clothes more often. hawkins was certainly the opposite of milan, what with the nearest mall being two hours away and only equipped with a macy's and jcpenny.

through it all, steve is determined to be normal. he laughs along with jokes he doesn't quite get and rolls his eyes at carol's cue, and he joins the swim team. and he joins the basketball team. and he goes to parties and kisses girls and wears dumb little polos with his letterman jacket and does everything that he saw in the movies.

but nancy wheeler is different. steve can't forget his time in italy and who he is and was, and he's reminded of his old life in everyone and everything in hawkins. but not nancy wheeler. she's all hawkins and all his. and then the upside down happens.

and then nancy wheeler breaks his heart.

even after three years, his parents continue to ask when he'll go back to modeling, but he's different now. the upside down and billy hargrove beat that starry eyed little kid who thrived in the spotlight. and nancy wheeler proved that adoration and love is fleeting, so what would even be the point of trying anymore? his dad was a little more approving of steve's retirement/hiatus, saying that steve must want to go to college so he can take over the family business.

but when steve doesn't get into college, he's once again badgered by his mom to go back. but he's grown and changed and he's not sure that he can pretend anymore, so he says no. and they cut him off. enter: scoops era.

the measly scoops salary is not nearly enough to cover all of the new bills and expenses steve has, but he's not willing to leave hawkins. so he reaches out to his friends back in italy, and they refer him to their american connections. steve doesn't model at the same level as before, but he poses for a couple of zines and one artist who got a little too handsy at his exhibition. but he's able to make it through until the mall blows up.

this routine continues and he starts working at family video with robin at his side, but he keeps his side job a secret from the kids, using the excuse of visiting his parents to leave town for his shoots. he's not ashamed, but he knows he wouldn't "be normal" anymore if they found out.

but how does he explain his near mental breakdown at the sight of his healing demobat scars. they're raised and ugly, ruining what should have been a perfect body. and even though he uses scar cream everyday, they refuse to fade away completely. and how could anyone stand to be near such an ugly thing when all his life, steve was meant to be pretty? after all, love and adoration is fleeting.

[love-byers]

i'm losing my goddamn mind. where do i even START

in the arcade scene, there is so much emphasis on mike putting his arm around will. it's extremely clear, in our faces. it's a soft, endearing moment of physical affection and comfort between them. we SEE the moment being initiated. its meant to stick out in your memory. i mean i dont know how else to to explain how different a scene like that is when we can SEE IT. we see it, all of it.

we don't see mike touch el, argyle is in the way. ARGYLE. we couldn't see a nice moment of physical affection between the main 'couple epic love story' of stranger things because they couldn't move argyle out of the shot for two fucking seconds?? and then in the second shot we still can't see his arm around her???? no, this was on purpose. the constant obscuring of mike and el's moments in s4 diminishes how the audience views their relationship. because their moments like that are not meant to be meaningful or stick out in your memory. because they are not in love, and their romantic relationship does not go past the surface level of physical touch. there is no deeper emotion here (as opposed to the byler scene where mike is COMFORTING will, steering him away from the scary moment), if anything it's about mike using that moment with el, putting his arm around her, to escape the awkward moment with argyle. and then when they're walking away not only can we still not see his arm around her, there are so many people around!! it is not a moment of connection between mike and el. meanwhile during the byler scene, we only see one person walk by in the far away shot, well after we've seen the arm grab moment.

we don't see mike put his arm around her because it doesn't matter. we don't need to see it because their relationship is on its last leg, it's going to end anyway. the writers/directors are breaking their relationship down by stripping these moments from us. diminishing the value of these moments by not giving them any attention or care in production. if the directors didn't care enough to show it, why should we even want to see it? or care? (edit: and ofc this is all 3d chess. it's all on purpose. they obscure mlvn on purpose, it's all part of subtextual storytelling.)

also duh the fact that we've only seen mike do this arm thing twice and it's with his girlfriend and the boy who's in love with him is extremely telling

[roseyisopodsart]

RE as LPS part 3! RE4R, RE5, and RE6 as LPS!

Explanations below 😋

I reached the tag limit 💀💀💀 so here’s two tags I had to get rid of! Final part coming out tomorrow and I was gonna add Mike, but didn’t to keep the number even! Just know he’s a bird!

Ashley - I really wanted to play with her “baby eagle” codename and maker her a bird (duck #150 ), but I personally don’t think it truly fits, but I do think a lip eater bunny fits! Especially cause of her hair! Bunny is #95!

Merchant - Donkey #1944! Hear me out, donkeys are great at carrying lots of stuff…Merchant carries lots of stuff…therefore, donkey, case closed, thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Luis - Goat #1952! He was lowkey hard to find an LPS for, but I saw this lil goat with the heart nose and I couldn’t resist.

Hunnigan - Lamb #2101! Except her bow would be a pen tee hee! And with glasses ofc!

Krauser - I’m not super happy with the LPS I chose for Krauser, but I do know he screams loyal dog that’s been wronged one too many times and has started biting. For now, I assigned him German Shepard #1800.

Salazar - He’s an ant. Tee hee.

Saddler - Saddler was so damn hard to decide what LPS he would be. I do NOT think my choice is a good choice tbh, but I was so done with this guy, I just settled 💀 he’s an anteater cause he manipulated Salazar and is basically the reason everything happened.

Méndez - HE’S A SPIDER!!!!! Probably wouldn’t have the bow, but maybe he’s feeling fashionable you never know!!!

Sheva - Sheva my beloved 💖 I initially thought of a lioness, but turns out all the lioness models are just jaguar models 💀

Josh - The moment my eyes landed on Corgi #1767…I just knew…That’s just Josh!!! Okay, maybe he wouldn’t be a corgi, so I did some more digging and a bear model may also fit him perhaps???

Reynard - Perhaps a cat??? Or a fish to play on his last name???

Spencer - Hear me out. A lion. But an old Lion who’s way past his prime and is dethroned by another Lion (referencing my LPs stars post)

Irving - Irving lowkey looks like the greyhound model…plz tell me you see it too

Excella - Chinchilla or poodle?? Both are well groomed and love keeping clean (as clean as they can be) and stubborn.

Helena - She’d either be Spaniel #156 or Dachshund #172!

Piers - This new dog!!! He’s either a husky or wolf (I’ve also seen wolf dog), but he gives Piers energy fr fr. (Sorry it’s blurry, with this guy being new, the pics aren’t high quality yet)

Finn - He’s a capybara!! Finn I love you forever fr fr💖💖💖 I have this one and I adore it so much (also sorry the pic isn’t clean, this guy is new and I don’t think anyone has uploaded a transparent background pic yet!)

Jake - Fox #807! It has his red hair!! Also the fox and hound dynamic between him and Piers was too good to miss.

Simmons - Cat #055! Nothing much to say here other than ew…Simmons… (I love the kitty tho, droopy eyed kitties are the best)

Carla - I know she’s supposed to be a perfect copy of Ada, but I think it’d be super interesting if their colors were inverted or maybe white fur would start to peek out over time!

[krispdreemurr]

ok so i finished up the chapters... have some definite thoughts so I'm just going to put down some initial rambles under the read more. spoilers for 3+4, obviously

-mike calling kris out as the fountain opener caught me off guard. it was cool seeing Susie talk herself around to getting it and even admitting that she probably would have too, but does anyone else think Ralsei dropped it suspiciously quickly?

-the channel switch mini game was so much fun but why is the golf channel in there. im so bad at video game golf. rouxls mocked me so much.

-ok ill admit the running "knock your socks off" joke got old and then swung around to incredibly funny again

-chairiel my beloved

-tenna is a cool antagonist... love the slow escalation of him getting more and more serious until he finally does that thing with Toriel. his breakdown at the end was kind of moving

-the secret boss fight took me so goddamn long until I figured out the radio feedback mechanism with the shield

-that scene after huh. kris i think managed to tell Susie something, but I'm still not sure what I think it was... i wonder if that'll show up later. will secret bosses start influencing plot?

-really liked Susie and Kris trying to explain to Toriel the next morning why they had to steal all her possessions. her facial expressions alone

-the Susie and Kris hangout sequence was great obv. the goobers. and wow Pluey real

-i dunno if I was expecting how they combined the church with the stored decorations, but it kind of ruled

-rouxls' scripture was. well. hm.

-really really love 'angel'. genuinely actually faked me out for a bit before the reveal

-seeing Kris react to that though. oof.

-its kind of cool that the main boss was so Kris focused like that and then ofc the secret boss... why was her guitar even being stored there? misplaced in a box of donations? or did Noelle get rid of it?

-ofc even with the mostly Noelle focus we got that callout about how Kris stopped caring about how she wasn't there for duets. ow.

-havent done the weird route take on this yet but I have no idea how it could go. like Susie's right there and I feel like Noelle would be really off. gonna have to check it later but I'm scared

-speaking of, did ch3 have a weird branch? i fiddled around a bit when it was just Toriel and Kris but couldn't trigger anything... those fire spells worried me tho

so yeah those are my loose initial thoughts! and if you read them all well. uh. a-april fools I'm not gonna try and hide it this late in the game

[overmystars]

My first time playing Until Dawn I was 100% certain that in episode 7 Emily would stumble across Jess and the girlies would have to survive the mines together, while working through some tough feelings... ...or they'd argue so loud that they'd be found within 5 minutes! ahh, player choice!

(long) rambles on this concept below!

UGHHH JUST IMAGINE, IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO COOL!!! Okay okay so you find Jess, and ofc we can all imagine how that initial surprise would go. I named this piece "oh girl you're joking" ...so. (/silly)

The choices here intrigue me so much!! Instead of a lot of silent roaming around, this section would be very choice-heavy. Their immediate reaction to each other is "why of all people is it you I found down here". You'd get the option to either complain or question to start off with. Complaining...

Emily: God, as if my night wasn't already shitty enough! I can't believe, out of everyone, I ran into the useless whore. Jess: Ohh, you're one to talk, bitch. Y-you think you've had a shitty night? ...You've- you've got a smudge of blood on your cheek. Look at me! You're seriously complaining right now!? You petty asshole...

From here your options will be to either continue pushing and elevating things, or, with the right choices made, begin to actually talk to each other.

If you keep making them fight, eventually they'll get into a full on screaming match. Jess looks like she's about to topple over from how much energy it's taking just to stay conscious with her wounds and be this outraged. Going this route will alert Handigo to all the commotion, who'll show up early and probably definitely kill at least Jess, if not Emily too (maybe qte section there...)

If you go the other route, and aren't so completely hostile.....

Emily: Holy shit... ...What the fuck happened to you? Jess: ...

Maybe you'd have to prompt a few times, and the "silent treatment" is kinda what can prompt Emily to start accusing. I think Jess would be in much more of a quiet daze in this direction, since she isn't immediately being verbally attacked.

Your options would be "annoyed" or "uneasy" Annoyed will have Em like, snapping her fingers, waving in Jess' face, being a jerk. Uneasy will have Em gently shake Jess' shoulder.

Jess: Some kind... ...monster... Emily: God, Jess, speak up I can't- Jess: There's something- there's this- cre-creature and... it... it had me...

Naturally even if you do start off questioning and gentler, there is still plenty of opportunities to start fighting. Should they only begin arguing later, Handigo can still show up but won't immediately be on top of them. Then, of course, there will be don't moves and qtes... and a handful of opportunities to abandon Jess 🤭 however, if you make all the right choices while escaping and are fast enough, it is possible to get both girls to safety. They'll still fucking hate each other though lol

Ideally, the conversation will be kept mostly (uncomfortably) civil... enough to where they don't stop in their tracks to argue. It won't be pleasant but it isn't a dispute. They can move on together and, granted things aren't openly hostile between the two, they can start to talk. Side note but I kind of love the idea of Jess being the one to initiate this, especially if she's more reserved and quiet going this route.

Jess: ...Em? Emily: What. Jess: I um, ...Thank you for taking me with you. Emily: *scoff* Well, you might think I'm heartless, but I'm not going to leave you to die down here. Jess: I don't think you're heartless. ...Do you think- Emily: -That you're heartless. I've thought that before, yeah. Jess: I... I really do like Mike. Emily: That's just great, Jess. Are we doing this now, really? Jess: Well, I just-... Emily: What about me? Mike was my man. ...And you were, supposedly, my friend. Jess: I was your friend... Emily: You fooled me.

They've stopped walking by now, and are facing each other. From this point there are still a few choices to be made that can make the conversation escalate again. Emily can choose to get angry here, but in a heartbroken, agonized way. Choices are "accuse" and "listen" Accusing has different dialogue to before where she's yelling about betrayal and what she thought they had now that Jess has begun picking the scab.

Handigo shows up again and starts the don't move and qte section from the previous path I went over, but it's much shorter as they've walked further at this point. Emily has only one chance to abandon Jess this time, compared to the multiple instances before.

If it continues, this time with "listen", then Jess airs all her reasons out. She's sorry this happened. She misses Emily. She wasn't thinking, or she convinced herself this was what she deserved but she sees now it wasn't- I don't have any headcanons on why this happened. I'll leave it to you to fill in those blanks how you'd like :)

But yes, this raises their relationship, just a little, and they get by without ever seeing Handigo. I guess Jack finds them at the end of their section and that can continue similarly... with these choices, Emily returns to the lodge with Jess. In the best possible outcome, where the spark to rebuild what they had is there.

Let's hope they both survive the rest of the night so they can do that. It would be so horribly sad for them to go through that and then never reach any further because one or both don't survive until dawn.

Imagine Jess there when Mike and Emily start the confrontation over the bite!! Aaaaa, and depending on what you chose in the previous episode, Jess can step in to defend or just remain silent. So much comes from this! I LOVE IT!! There are so many gaps to fill in. SO much to consider with Jess present in this way. So so so good

Thanks for reading, if you did!! I had SO many thoughts while I worked on this piece, and I would absolutely love hearing anything you have to add!! I would love to answer any questions or have discussions if you're interested! dms (should be) open, and my ask box too! Give me more ideas for alternate scenarios like this to draw! 👀

[ven0moir]

Let's talk about Bychance + Mike

alright, time to unpack this. i'll just go ahead and say it: the duffer's biggest challenge to land a Byler endgame, is to believably show--and prove to--the audience, that Mike's feelings for Will are sexual in nature.

throughout their text, the duffers have treated sexual intimacy as a natural part of growing up, and have made that known to the audience textually in s4 via Argyle and Jonathan's speech at the very start of the season.

Argyle doesn't even use the word 'normal', which the idea of normalcy is such a HUGE theme of the show--he uses the word 'natural'.

the truth of the matter is, that at this point in the game, and given how they have written Mike and Will so far, there is very little the duffers can do to convince a GA that mike's feelings for will are romantic without integrating sexuality in some form.

in fact, i can't think of anything. because whatever way you wish to spin this, ( Mike confessing at the nth hour, Mike confessing to his mom first, someone helping Mike see his own truth, some other option we don't see coming at all )

SOMETHING needs to trigger these.

Bychance is that trigger.

It literally cannot be anything else, ( in fact, I dare you to give me an alternative that feels as deserved as this ) because ST is NOT Sex Education. I,e, we're very unlikely going to see Mike just ... 'playing' with himself while he looks at the painting or whatever something like Sex Ed would do, and even if we did, it needs to feel natural AND deserved, not gratuitous or something added there just for shock value/bc the duffers couldn't think of a better way to show this to the audience.

ST is NOT high art, but the way they've set up Bychance/Byler feels elegant and REAL. It just fits the show seamlessly.

For the byler reveal to feel deserved, they can't take the GA into it cold turkey. Instead, imagine this--they make it feel natural. Initially, they get us to SUSPECT Mike likes Will by allowing us to SEE MIKE'S REACTION to Bychance. we would be like "wait woah ... woooaahh woah why is he acting like that? that's sus af"

I keep saying this over and over because Mike won't be devastatingly crushed and jealous at this reveal. He would be if he sees Will with a girl, sure. Bc that'd mean all hope is lost, Will is straight. But with a guy? Not only would that mean he has a real chance ( lol ) at being with Will, he also has legitimate EVIDENCE in his hands ( LITERALLY ) that Will loves him. HE HAS THE UPPER HAND in this situation. He has a) the letter El gave him and b) the actual painting. We also need to consider this is a BULLY that Will is with, so ofc he'll be angry af about it ... but ...

Let my boy react in a low-stakes situation that FEELS high-stakes to him. Let my boy bring out his strategic mode, let my boy BREAK THE FOURTH WALL by throwing HINTS at Will throughout the season and validating Bylers by telling us that "yes, in retrospect, this is the way you should be observing the text. Because Mike is the MC and the way he thinks and acts/behaves is integral to the show and it mirrors the way the subtext is designed."

Let my boy SHOW us, NOT TELL US that he loves Will.

And I'm still developing this idea but hear me out:

Imagine it, post Bychance reveal to Mike, he didn't confront them/Will and Chance have no idea Mike saw them. But due to how he reacted, we assume Mike's going to confront Will at some point, but instead, we see him get slightly closer to Will, tell him things like

"You know I ... did call you ... back when you were in California? But your mom was always on the phone ... Idk why i didn't tell you back then but i just thought you should know. That I care." and he shrugs it off and seems casual about it, which matches his behavior when he told Will 'hawkins is not the same without you' but he also seems more visibly nervous due to the context of this situation

and Will's like "omg is he--?" like he was back then,

but he's SO heartbroken after hearing Mike tell El he's loved her since the first moment he saw her that it literally hurts him to hope so he quickly shuts the feeling down and just goes.

"Yeah ... I know you care." And smiles, and looks down kind of like he's thinking 'yeah he cares as a friend, ofc he does, it's mike. he doesn't mean anything else by it'. Kind of like yknow, how non-byler believers rationalize Mike's behavior.

And Mike looks disappointed like how he did when he told Will that he and El had a 'real fight' and Will was like 'you'll see her again and you'll be able to tell her what it is you didn't'

like look at that face man, as if what will said wasnt what he needed/wanted to hear. Maybe he thinks he's too late now.

LIKE CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE???? Bc atp we, the audience, KNOW MIKE SAW BYCHANCE TOGETHER but Will doesn't KNOW. THAT.

so we're like "WHAAATTTT THEE HEECCKK!?!????!?! WOAH WAIT WAIT WHAAATTTT ... WHAAATTTT THEE HEECCKK!?!????!?!? WAIT HE LIKES WILL? OMFG WAS THAT A HINT???? HES ACTING SO WEIRD"

and then this all culminates in whatever fight they have later in the season at lover's lake, likely involving the painting etc. bc, and that's another thing,

when in the timeline does it make sense for the painting to be revealed if we assume mike is completely clueless??? it just doesn't make sense for it to be revealed at the START of the season bc of the build-up, it feels like something that's been set up to be huge.

but in-universe, it doesn't make sense for mike to wait sooo long to bring up the painting to el, unless HE NEVER DOES BC HE FIGURED OUT WILL LIED BEFORE HE HAD TO. Kind of like how it took him a bit to figure out the pen in EP5 had that hidden number. That's the way I picture it. He didn't realize Will lied in the moment, but he did/does later. On his own. Bc he's smart.

And man, the type of dialogue I imagine, I'm assuming by the time their fight happens, mike just gets so damn freaking angry at one point, he's just BLURTS OUT something like ...

"why don't we quit the bullshit and you just tell me what it is that you're REALLY saying, Will? That i'm an idiot for bringing this up now? that it's too late for us? That you're drawing for him now?? Painting hearts on him?!?! On that asshole?! That bully!?"

and THAT is how it is revealed that Mike: figured out he likes Will, figured out Will likes him, figured out the painting lie, and knows about Bychance. LIKE OH MY GODDDD CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT ?!?!?! MIKE WHEELER, TURNING OUT TO BE SMARTER THAN WE THOUGHT? OUTSMARTING THE AUDIENCE?

yeah can you just imagine my favorite character is done justice like that ... one can dream, huh?

and we KNOW via this picture, that Will HAS been drawing for Chance. Or at least, attempting to, bc i already said before that Will is just NOT going to be himself, and his art will reflect that. he's BARELY surviving emotionally, so whatever he does draw is, well ... a reflection of that.

look at that sketch of a car and lets imagine it was done by Will ( that signature in the corner notwithstanding bc idk what it is yet ) for Chance.

the lines are wonky and insecure and there's no color, and it doesn't feel like something will actually likes to draw, but he's still doing it/forcing himself to.

MY POOR SON

so yeah, bychance to me feels way too strategic, intentional and downright genius for it not to play a huge part in the byler arc.

[angyalikira]

sfw + nsfw relationship headcanons for mike schmidt

author's note: had a lot of thoughts regarding this pretty boy and i decided to finally write them down! do tell me if you have similar or totally different hcs for him, would love to hear everyone's opinions <3

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

sfw

⋆ super awkward at first and says some embarrassing stuff because he doesn't know how to act around you

⋆ gets more comfortable with time and the conversations flow more naturally

⋆ enjoys observing you and your reactions to anything really

⋆ doesn't initiate a lot of conversation at first because he sucks at it, but that doesn't mean he isn't interested

⋆ be prepared to be the one to initiate meet ups and conversations a lot (he really appreciates you for doing that though)

⋆ tries to be super respectful and always keeps an appropriate distance between you guys

⋆ you have to sit closer to him or stand right next to him so he gets the hint that you are comfortable with being closer to him

⋆ in the beginning he does ask if it is alright to sit so close to you

⋆ either you have to confess or he confesses randomly one day bc he slipped up

⋆ he doesn't think himself worthy of your attention or love, that's why he never planned to confess

⋆ if he's the one who confesses on accident, he will panic because he fears that this will make you distance yourself from him

⋆ please please PLEASE reassure this boy and give him a big hug so he knows you feel the same way and can calm a bit down

⋆ on the first day he still can't wrap his mind around how you reacted positively to his confession and that you feel the same way

⋆ it takes a bit of reassurance and confirmation that yes you DO actually like him and yes you really do want to be with him

⋆ once he gets comfortable with the idea, he will be so clingy and touchy

⋆ still fears to loose you and that you might change your mind so he wants to show you how much you mean to him in every possible way

⋆ he cooks for you, he lets you borrow his clothes, he gives you a lot of cuddles

⋆ what he still struggles with at first is kissing you whenever he wants (which he could do now)

⋆ so please kiss this pretty boy often so he can get comfortable with that too

⋆ at first his kisses are soft and slow, holding and treating you with utmost care

⋆ his heart always feels like it will explode when you guys kiss, he feels so much love for you

⋆ but once he gets used to kissing you he gets more needy and a bit sloppy, like his life depended on it

⋆ he never gets too rough with it though, he respects you too much to ever treat you roughly

⋆ he also loves your cheek kisses, it makes him feel so loved

⋆ now let's get to hand holding – his favourite activity

⋆ he finds your hands so soft and warm, if he could he would never let go of them

⋆ he will find any excuse to hold your hand as much as he can: while cooking (to show off how good he is with only using one of his hands), while cuddling and watching a show, while going out and about (he's also a bit possessive of you)

⋆ he also LOVES when you link your arms together, especially when you snuggle up to him that way

⋆ makes him feel very manly and protective of you (in a non toxic way ofc)

⋆ this man is so touch starved, he will thrive so much on the smallest of gestures in general

⋆ he loves when you play with his hair, makes his headaches immediately disappear

⋆ he loves to be the small spoon since he is so used to being the protector and provider, it's nice to just be held and being cared for sometimes

⋆ another cuddling position he loves is holding you in his arms while you have abby in yours, that way he can hold his whole world in his arms

⋆ sleeping with him also includes either him sleeping on top of you, you sleeping on top of him or you snuggled up to his side. point is he has to touch you in some way

⋆ going back to his slightly possessive side, he ADORES when you wear his clothes

⋆ those times he feels like he is on cloud nine and he wishes he could just freeze this moment and live in it forever

⋆ he loves the domestic vibes of it (he is very domestic in general)

⋆ tries to act like it's not that big of a deal to him but you see right through him

⋆ it also makes him feel good when you are meeting other people while wearing his clothes, it's like marking you to him

⋆ he in fact adores it so much that you could be standing in the kitchen with his shirt on on a random day and he would come in, see you and seriously debate if he should just ask you to marry him right then and there

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

nsfw

⋆ idc what anyone else says, this man is not a dom – he's so submissive (maybe he has little switch side too him but that's it)

⋆ he LOVES when you take absolute control and boss him around

⋆ make him beg and he will cum just by the thought of touching you

⋆ he loves being overstimulated and will cry but beg you to not stop

⋆ he also wants you to be satisfied and comfortable every time, you are his first priority

⋆ he is open to trying things out, he trusts you enough for it

⋆ his favourite position is you on top riding him

⋆ this boy loves to mark you in any way possible

⋆ expect hickeys all over your neck, collarbones and thighs

⋆ he likes to cum deep inside you, another way of him to mark you

⋆ in return he also likes it when you mark him, it's a nice reminder for him that he is yours as you are his

⋆ he gets off on getting his hair pulled and moans every time you do it

⋆ he's a whiner and LOUD, but will try his best to be as quiet as possible (since abby is in the same house)

⋆ regarding abby, he will try to fuck you whenever she is not home but if she is he will try to put on the radio, the tv, anything so she doesn't have to suspect anything

⋆ he also won't risk doing it outside his room, he doesn't want to disturb her in any way or form

⋆ that being said, he loves being teased and getting excited to fuck

⋆ especially when you guys are out with others and you tease him under the table

⋆ since he is a bit socially awkward he will have a hard time managing the conversations and keeping a straight face but he loves the thrill of it

⋆ but just as before, he loves and cares for you too much to just fuck you out in public (even in the public toilets), he will wait till you guys get home so he can have you in private

⋆ he likes to go multiple rounds and enjoys spending a lot of time with you

[onewaycloset7]

Byler questions bc why not.

1.Out of Mike and Will who do you relate to more and why?

2.What season did you start shipping Byler and why?

3.Are there any songs you associate with them?

4.What is your favourite Byler scene?

5.Whats your favourite Byler quote? (I.e “cool cool” “it was a 7”

6.What is your favourite gate?

7.What type of confession would you like them to have?

THANK YOU FOR THE ASKS!!! 🫶🫶🫶

1. I always thought I was a will my whole life I have always been artistic and very kept to myself about my love life. But recently I was like god damn… I’m a Mike. Im extremely closeted I can’t even say it aloud or come to terms with it. I have spent my life acting like I liked the opposite gender for others (and still do…). I’m told that I act like him a lot (I can’t control my face when I’m around people basically…) EVERY TIME I say something everybody is like “okay Mike!🤗” also I’m so clueless when somebody likes me 🙏

2. Oooo I started shipping them in s2! I never really thought about their friendship or anything till season 2 and ofc through all the scenes I saw in s2 I was like lawdddd they are gay! This was about 2018 I think and when s3 came out I was so obsessed with them I had an editing account (a horrible one) for them but nobody knew I shipped them because I was so scared what others would think… but now I write about them every day on tumblr so look at me now!!! 😌

3. I have a whole playlist associated with them!! Called STurn 2:

(Tell me if it doesn’t work!!!)

But some of my favourites are “Hero’s” - David Bowie because duh I think any Conan gray song match them so well especially “the cut that always bleeds”, Strangers - Ethel Cain, love of my life - Queen, seven - Taylor swift (TRUSTT) and of course the classics Me and Micheal by mgmt (ANGST IN MY PANTS IS A BANGER TOO)

4. My favourite scene would definitely have to be ethier the van scene or the “shed” scene. The van scene portrays their love for eachother in such a clear way and really keeps us all on edge how this painting will be brought up next season. Aswell as this scene showing that what they ultimately need is eachother🫶🫶🫶. The shed scene is just perfection. I think that scene is Mike being his truest self and really showing the audience the real him. For me it was like a coming out scene the whole “it was the best thing I’ve ever done” is mikes way of trying to tell will how special he is to him. But I will say the rain fight is an honourable mention BECAUSE LAWDDDD

5. “It was a seven” is my favourite I think it shows their bond and trust from the jump + that scene linking up to flickergate. “If we both go crazy then we’ll go crazy toghere right?” Is ALSO my favourite 😌🙏

6. Pastagate ofc 🫶😈 rigatoni is gonna come right in and swoop will off of his feet!! But LETTERGATE 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ will it happen? Probably not but the way my jaw would drop to the floor if bro just pulled out a box of letter he never sent I would go into cardiac arrest! Same with church gate my love ❤️❤️

7. I’m a basic bitch 💔 I want the confession to be in rain to parallel the rain fight… BUT MIKE needs to be the one to initiate the kiss!!! I also would love for church gate confession!!! LIKE HELLO?!?! That would be abousetly insane gays kissing in a church?!?!? Abousetly iconic I must say. I need them to be yelling at eachother and then will says something and Mike is like “what?” 🙏🙏 I wish I could broadcast the vision I’m horrible at writing 😋

[vampirevatican]

I need more slasher head canons NEOWWWW. please and thank you🙏

there's no specifics on this one... so ill just go with whatever i think

GHOST 🦊

joey ray lumen (yes that's his canon name) has intimacy issues ever since lysa monroe

i don't think he was rich while alive, mainly because he had a job and he constantly dogged on the rich art kids at miskatonic u

he was definitely a film movie nerd

he's only cool because he chose to be cool and introverted (we only know he interacts with lysa and his boss?)

when the slashers have nothing to do in the void and they've bonded more he starts doing powerpoint nights

yes the power points are about horror movies, specifically slashers and yes he runs it

JAY 🐑

speaking on the guys bonding he's seen as the baby... especially by ghost

i think the same way we get subtle whiplash whenever he's serious or mean, so do the slashers but it's lighter

like they know he's unpredictable and dangerous, especially leather (canon paywall comment in the ep after leather be)

he loves playing games (ofc) and he's childishly competitive

they have game night, in the name of jay and ghost giving jay a chance at normalcy and some kind of friendship... even if it's to stop his own bordem

LEATHER 🐖

he's the base of the cuddle piles initiated by jay

it's because of his massive ti- i mean chest

as far as them bonding again? he's like dad friend #1.

yes he knows the guys are capable, but as the resident most normal out of the four and the automatic protector he cares for them

probably makes sure jay is okay, helps bandage up the guys if they're hurt

if ghost showed him videogames then he'd be wondering why there isn't a tank healer type... like he'll play healer but he recognizes he's also a tank

MIKE 🐺

#2 dad friend and it's because picturing him in a sitcom setting he's the dad type that's silent and subtle

i think him and jay bond alot over their trauma that can easily be a venn diagram

it's hard to get jay to say "i hate my mom" but mike knows... actually part of him wishes his own mom was as falsely loving

ghost will usually break it up with bullshit which irritates him

there has been multiple instances of mike trying to kill ghost in the void out of pure rage... leather usually stops him and takes the brunt of lash out arm stabbings while holding him.

[qtubbo]

also like phils lore is kind of solo lore. he relatively stays to himself (+eggs) while turbo's rp is heavily invested into morning crew, fitpac is heavily invested into morning crew, bagi and Mike both hang out a lot with them. Phil does hang out with morning crew ofc but the group dynamic isn't really a part of his thing, you know? so I can see why people don't really put him into their morning crew fics other than there sometimes because he is only there sometimes + he usually gets on a little later than everyone else if he does hardcore so he misses the initial log-in check in. like if you believe he's part of the group that's fine but imo he doesn't seem very heavily invested in it, just friends with most people in it yk? and that's fine!! he's just not a core part of it for most people's interpretations

Morning Crew is a very particular dynamic that formed from 3 people who hung out just with each other almost everyday because of how early they logged in. While at the beginning it was kinda undefinable, oh is it just Morning people? Is it a friend group? Is it just the name of a trio or a general title? As Fit, Tubbo, and Pac’s lore started combining, it became a very particular them thing, they help each other because they’re close. Tubbo’s lore specifically involves directly how Morning Crew is a group of 3, and does not involve Phil in the slightest it’s just not a consideration to him. Pac and Fit, while in very different ways, do engage a lot with how the dynamic of Morning Crew affects them emotionally, Fit relies on them for company, while Pac becomes stressed out without them.

Phil’s lore on the other-hand is very isolated, it has nothing to do with his dynamics with Morning Crew, they exist outside of him. There is no issue with people making solo lore, but all of his lore being so solo is a statement in itself about how he’s not part of that group. As you said even if we go with the requirements of logging on earlier, Phil is either entirely within the afternoon group, or as most times at the end of Morning Crew time. He is also not as grouped up as them like the newest inclusion Bagi is, when Phil hangs out with them it’s individual, he’s close with Fit and Tubbo but not them together. Plus not being close at all to Pac and Bagi, but as noted involving Mike that’s not fully limiting since he is not close with Tubbo. Bagi hangs out with Morning Crew as a unit, unless we are heading towards afternoon time she’s normally with all three of them, or at least a majority of the group.

It’s just that Phil doesn’t really fit the requirements people generally use to determine Morning Crew and as anon said he doesn’t want to. Phil exists within his own story, and his friendships are singular he has no intention of being part of the Morning Crew family. The other ccs also just don’t consider him a member even though unlike Bagi and Mike he was hanging out with them fairly constantly when they formed, he just makes no attempt to be part of the group and the group makes no attempts to have him join.

It sadly comes off to many that the inclusion of Phil in Morning Crew by fans is due to his popularity and want for their cubitos to be part of a group. It’s fine to include him, but just don’t get mad when others don’t.

Phil’s just their friend, close to some but he doesn’t need the title and he’s perfectly happy with that.

(This was not meant to be so long sorry)

[nortism]

Nor's Ultimate BBC Ghosts Fic Recommendations

I decided to put my obsessive AO3 bookmarking to good use and recommend you all some of my favourite ghosts fics (not all, there will likely be a part two). I tried my best to include a variety of fics centring different characters and ships as well as lesser known fics. Please feel free to reblog this post and add your own recs (self promo very much allowed). I've tried to add tumblrs were applicable but if you wrote one of these fics or know who did, please let me know and I'll edit the post. Happy reading!

It by Scriblit

Rating: M

Ships: Mary/Robin, Julian/Robin

Summary:

You lose three mates, ten babies, both parents, all your siblings and then every friend for scores of millennia and still entertain the concept of being 'sweet' on a dead woman still consumed by her own pain. Doing It never had much meaning to Robin, even when he was alive. Now that he's dead, it's really just something to while away all the years. At some point, he's asked most of the ghosts if they want to do it. Some said no, some said yes. His only rule is, they have to genuinely want to do it, too. And, they mustn't be too sad. One of the ghosts was too sad, for so long, so he waited. And waited.

Notes: The first two chapters of this fic are an amusing exploration of caveman sex and the boredom that comes with eternal purgatory but the last chapter is where it gets really, really good. Genuinely one of the most poignant and devastating explorations of grief I've ever read, I cannot recommend it enough.

The Curse by Scriblit

Rating: T

Ships: Robin/OFC, Humphrey/Sophie

Summary:

Over the years, the centuries, the millennia, the residents of, and visitors to Button House and the land it's built on have experienced strange things, and heard strange tales. Multiple mysterious, macabre deaths. Unruly electrics. Blurry shapes in photos. St Elmo's Fire. Burning smells, a mysterious, singing voice in the cellar. Rumours of witchcraft, an ancient amulet and visions of Satan himself. Is the land truly cursed? Or is this just a place of 250,000 years worth of human sadness?

Notes: I only wanted to include one work from each author but I couldn't take this off my list. The only way I can describe this fic is clever. It's one of those things you just have to experience for yourself. Criminally underrated. Just read all of Scriblit's work, I'm their biggest fan.

Family, Family, Family by MadameReveuse

Rating: T

Ships: Primarily gen with side Julian/Robin

Summary:

Green Party Fundraiser Time! Rachel Fawcett comes to Button House, despite struggling with her feelings regarding a certain extremely unfortunate death there. Ghosts and the living alike are thrown into turmoil, especially when it begins to look like someone at the event may be attempting to harm the up-and-coming young politician. Can Julian stand idly by? Well, he's a ghost, so yeah, he has to.

Notes: This fic has it all; father/daughter bonding, a murder mystery and plenty of tory bashing. My entire perception of who Rachel Fawcett is comes from this fic, I was almost glad we never met her in canon as the author does such a fantastic job characterising her.

Ten friends total by notupforpolo (@notupforpolo)

Rating: G

Ships: Mary/Annie

Summary:

After the initial shock of dying wore off, Kitty was so excited to have Mary and Annie as friends. Kitty would notice how they spoke and gossiped just like Eleanor and her friends would do. They were potential friends until they just became friends. Then, when Annie was sucked off, Kitty was there to comfort Mary. Until Mary followed.

Notes: There is a severe lack of both Kitty-centric and Mary/Annie fic in this fandom and this fic covers both bases. Just a really excellent Kitty character study and a great exploration of grief

House Share by Sheepyblue (@ginevralinton)

Rating: G

Ships: Alison/Mike

Summary:

In which Mike makes a New Year's Resolution, with varying degrees of success (Or, a story of Mike spending time with the ghosts)

Notes: I've read a few variants of Mike spending time with the ghosts but I really like this one. My favourite chapter was definitely the Humphrey one, I won't spoil it but it's very funny. This author has far too many Ghosts fics for me to include in this post so I'd recommend you look through their other works

...And A Rainbow! by Spineless_Lobster (@spineless-lobster )

Rating: G

Ships: None

Summary:

Alison buys the Captain some pride merchandise, Kitty gets very excited that an entire room in the house is covered in rainbows. The two ghosts decide to have a sleepover to celebrate the (gay) occasion.

Notes: For all my Cap & Kitty lovers, this is pure fluff. Made me giggle.

Nothing Like a Round on 'The Krypton Factor' by neverfaraway

Rating: T

Ships: The Captain/Pat

Summary:

Wedding season approaches at Button House and, for once, everything is going off without a hitch. Of course, there’s the slight issue of Pat’s recent epiphany about his sexuality, Kitty’s determination to get her hands on as much badly-written erotica as possible, and the peasants becoming decidedly revolting. Still, if only the ghosts can refrain from murdering any of the builders, Alison is fairly sure they can pull this off. Or, Pat and the Captain negotiate coming out, even if it's only to each other.

Notes: Even if you, like myself, aren't a Patcap shipper, this fic is worth the read solely for the the subplot about the Plague Ghosts staging a leftist uprising. The perfect blend of comedy and heartfelt moments, this fic feels like it could have been an actual episode of Ghosts.

Don't Let The Good Life Pass You By by Impossibly_Izzy (@impossiblyizzy)

Rating: M

Ships: The Captain/Pat, Alison/Mike, minor Robin/Julian

Summary:

When the ghosts are mysteriously resurrected, life at Button House only gets more chaotic. Asking, how do you live in a world that wasn't built for you? How do you find meaning in a cold uncaring universe? And what does the Captain eat for breakfast?

Notes: Crack treated seriously is one of my fav AO3 genres and this fic is the cream of the crop. Despite being a Patcap fic, all the characters reactions to living in the modern world were explored in a detailed and hysterical way. I think about the scene where the whole gang goes to the pub constantly.

Queer Eye (The Captain Edition) by swimmingfox

Rating: Not Rated but I'd give it T

Ships: Past The Captain/Havers

Summary:

In a miraculous world where they have the ability to see ghosts, the Fab 5 descend upon Button House to transform the Captain (and, well, everyone).

Notes: Exactly what it says on the tin. Just pure hijinks, I can't fault it. Don't let the script format put you off, the author has done an excellent job of characterising everyone's voice

Fabrications by SwaggerStick

Rating: T

Ships: The Captain/Julian

Summary:

"It's true," said Julian. "You lot couldn't lie to save your lives." The Captain took personal offence at that statement. So, apparently, did Pat. "Oh give over," he said. "Like you can do better." ---------- The ghosts decide to figure out which one of them is the best liar. Competitively.

Notes: Another fic that really feels like it could be an actual episode. Very funny and also provides an explanation to the ghosts' pee turning to dust thing that has been bothering me since last Christmas so honestly you should just read it for that. Ship content is minor if Julicap isn't your thing (it's not really mine either)

Good Boy by Ailendolin (@ailendolin)

Rating: T

Ships: Mike/Alison

Summary:

"I’ve been thinking – Robin saved my life, didn’t he? Last week when I was out in the storm.” “Because of the stupid bear,” Alison couldn’t help but remind him. “Yeah, whatever,” Mike said with a roll of his eyes. “So when he redirected the lightning I saw him for a brief moment and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that.” Alison felt her eyes soften. “Oh Mike, why didn’t you say anything?” “No, it’s not like that,” Mike waved her worry away. “I know we’ve thanked him for what he did but with the gatehouse burning down and the whole insurance mess it feels like we haven’t really appreciated it enough, you know?” Mike and Alison plan a surprise for Robin.

Notes: Very sweet addition to the season 4 finale. Would have loved to see something like this in season 5 but this is almost as good.

fieri sentio et excrucior by oui_oui_mon_ami (@sunshine-soprano)

Rating: T

Ships: The Captain/OMC

Summary:

It all begins when the Captain meets the Roman centurion ghost next door.

Notes: An absolute fandom classic, I couldn't not include it. Not normally a huge fan of ocs but this one is vey well done. You can tell the author is very passionate about Latin and roman history which I always enjoy seeing (the passion not necessarily roman history).

The Moneypot by someplsloverobbierotten (@caps-clever-girl)

Rating: T

Ships: Julian/Robin

Summary:

Julian bet Robin a tenner over Heather getting sucked off. He of course tries squirrel his way out, but Robin’s not letting him off that easily. OR: Robin and Julian like their bets, but what's a ghost to spend imaginary money on?

Notes: Another fic that is basically canon to me. The author absolutely nailed Julian's voice. Overall just a fun read with some genuinely sweet moments.

Thanks, Skipper by NaughtyBees

Rating: G

Ships: None

Summary: Button House gets a visitor, someone specifically looking for Pat.

Notes: No 1 trans ally Pat Butcher, what more could you ask for? The definition of short and sweet

smoke gets in your eyes by sidelined

Rating: T

Ships: Alison/Mike, The Captain/Havers, minor Julian/Robin

Summary:

Alison and Mike move into Button House and, completely unintentionally, teach the ghosts valuable lessons about love. (In which Alison worries about a first date, Robin and Julian discuss marriage, Thomas accidentally humbles himself, Kitty discovers that romance can live everywhere, and the Captain ponders his loneliness

Notes: A really sweet set of vignettes about the ghosts and love. The Mike and Alison first date scene is canon to me, the author nailed Mike.

[reo-bylerwagon]

wait can you elaborate on the Patty/Mike thing? Is it just the we can fight the monster lines or are there others?

sure thing anon!

i do explain it way better here

but to sum it up, there's a line patty uses in the broadway version that apparently didn't exist in the west end and it's something along the lines of, "we can be superheroes". reminds me a lot of mike calling el a superhero throughout s4, so to me, the usage of the line is meant to remind the audience of mike/his monologue and thus subconsciously make comparisons between mike and patty as they continue watching to see if they find any more.

as someone who endorses byler endgame, i believe that these parallels are also made to exemplify what mike should've said to el, or how things should've gone for mike and el in certain scenarios (like the end scene with henry and patty + brenner at hawkins high parallels the scene in the hawkins middle classroom at the end of s1 with m*leven. or even simple things like henry asking patty to hold his hand while he's in the void in chapter 1/act 1, meanwhile this is never the case with mike and el, and is instead a slot that joyce and hop fill in for her, particularly when she's in the kiddie pool in s1 which the attic scene with henry and patty seems to be calling back to -- at least the start of it. also, creelby's second kiss, which i'm not sure happens in the same way in the west end version, happens at melvalds after patty asks henry if they can go on a date soon, and henry asks her to clarify if it's a "date or a date date" and patty says something like "how about a date date date?" it's so cute lol; it could be seen as reminiscent of mike asking el to go to the snowball, even though lumax and jopper have similar scenes too. they're just following the classic st theme of "planning a date before disaster occurs, dooming the couple involved") .

there's other things too, like mike with will, patty always seems to be the person to break henry from his episodes.

apart from the creelby/byler parallels, mike and patty have individual similarities, too.

what comes to mind right now is the hospital scene where patty and the others go to the hospital to try and talk to mr. newby. patty is really the person to take initiative here, and it's very "leader mike" of her. she's the one who comes up with executes the diversion to get to her dad, and is successful!

other general things that i got from patty is that she sees the best in people, particularly henry, and she is very eager to let him know that she understands him. she is practically the one person henry trusts, before and after brenner.

also, like mike, she does not respect orders from authority -- hence how she so easily confronted brenner in the final scene with them + henry at hawkins high i mentioned earlier.

she's in her church choir, and talks about feeling "different" from the other girls who are "prettier than her". one of the first scenes with mike is troy calling him "frog face", and also finn recently referred to mike as a "natural outsider".

this is smaller but, she also has this negative attitude against high school which ofc reminds me of, "i hate high school". but their desire to leave hawkins (mike's is more so implied ig) might be notable too.

there is definitely more, but this is all i've got right now!

[campbyler]

i have so many things i want to say about everything but i do remember the moment where mike (playfully) accused will of lying and it makes so much more sense now i thought he was just being smug as hell like “oh ofc you would’ve kissed me two months ago i am just that spectacular” but no. i’m sorry for doubting you michael you DEFINITELY had grounds for that claim. out of focus eye to eye kidnapped my firstborn and left a changeling in its place. lives were ruined in the best possible way.

exactlyyyyy you get it! the way you worded this ask actually made me want to make a little note about why we wrote the reference in, because it was very intentional and there were a couple different reasons for it which i think are both very important !! (but obviously could not mention here before out of focus dropped)

1. obviously it was a Reference, in that we thought this is a big enough piece of lore that it would be weird for it to never ever come up even once, but the whole idea of the companion fic was that it kind of has an ambiguous ending and even mike was not super duper 100000% sure of will’s intentions (due to the #inebriation). so it was unlikely at this point in their dynamic that they were going to have a real fleshed out conversation about it because it would definitely need both of them to be vulnerable in a way they were Not ready to be at the time (will admitting to wanting to kiss mike/mike admitting to having wanted to be kissed? noooo way). mike is kind of testing the waters here (and being annoying on purpose) but from his pov will either still does not remember or does remember but does not want to talk about it, so it doesn’t really go anywhere anyway. but alsoooooo

2. another remnant of the post ch05 era specifically was a lot of people commenting things along the lines of “omg mike is being so flirty” “where did that confidence come from” etc etc which is so true bc poor will got absolutely blindsided by it and it was so fun to write but!! the idea also is that half it was that confidence boost you get after realizing that someone is also into you/attracted to You and i think mike would’ve taken that and ran with it for sureee (esp bc will initiated the ch04 kiss And the ch05 morning kiss mostly) and the other half was mike having information that the readers and will both did not have! a majorrrrrrrr driving force of acswy is the fact that neither of them are ever working with All of the information, hence the unreliable narration, hence the drama and history and them both being so annoying and unserious, etc etc etc. i think that’s important to keep in mind, especially now that we’re in the ch09 era where their dynamic has shifted pretty drastically since their rivals era in the beginning, or even chapters 04/05. 😗😗😗

i’m actually very glad no one Really picked up on this being a Thing when ch07 dropped bc it was supposed to be super subtle (obviously a couple people said 🤨 am i missing something? and we said No 😌) but the reactions we’re getting now have been incredibly fulfilling and have been just what we were hoping to get, which tells us we are writing this story right! sorry for ruining your life and the changeling baby but thank you sooo much for the lovely ask <33

[castlebyersafterdark]

im honestly thinking will could initiate the first kiss cos if mike pulls one of those heartfelt speeches like in the shed s2 again, admitting everything, then will would absolutely do what he couldnt then: run towards mike and just kiss him within an inch of his life

it would also be a nice ok for mike cos i think, yeah, he does obviously hesitate with this stuff, just like will does. but its also a nice artistic contrast to him kissing el, which he always did quite forwardly. let mike have a first move made on him instead! he seemed to enjoy it in the van until he 'realised' will wasnt talking about himself lol!

imagine mike's little face if will breaks first, he would be so shocked and relieved, his little eyebrows would shoot up and he'd be sooo into it. then ofc after that he'd become dominant again and scoop will into his arms <3

This is one of the things I've dedicated as much mental speculation to as I have to plot lines and trying to deduce the answers to the mysterious lore... who is gonna kiss who first!!!?? Compelling arguments in many directions.

I think we categorize and characterize Will sometimes too rooted in current fashion. As in - his hesitance. Him thinking that he'll never have Mike, totally dedicated, maybe giving up hope there in the end. Will gives things away, he never takes for himself. Selflessness as a form of self-sabotage and harm. So... would Will ever make the first move?

He might need to. That might be his growth, part of his coming of age, his coming into his own as a man. Accepting himself. Accepting what he wants and has to give to Mike. Mike may never make this move himself, now that we analyze. Will finally, finally for the first time - taking what he wants. Expressing his true emotions, following his heart. Mike gives him the courage to fight on! And Mike being the one he needs to fight for? Maybe Will does make the first move. Maybe he has to.

Picturing Mike's shocked expression is perfect, you really can see it happening, can't you? And the juxtaposition of him kissing El first - maybe you are so right. Mike does deserve to get kissed first. The unexpected shock. Or the shock of the reality, but not the shock that something has been building. A finally, a reality. When words fail because words are Mike's thing, Will uses action. When Will is known for his freeze reaction due to his fear - now he moves. This is his growth. Will kisses Mike. Shock. Will doubts and starts to regret but Mike swoops in and secures their mutual understanding that everything is as it should be, this is what they both have been wanting forever and they rock each other's entire worldview.

[hawkins-batman]

Choose one:

Tea 🍵 / Coffee ☕

Cake 🍰 / Pie 🥧

Be annoying 😝 / Be annoyed 😒

Will kissing Mike / Mike kissing Will (first kiss)

Team up with Robin 🖖 / Team up with Jonathan 📷

Slay 👑 / Nay 👎

Coffee ☕️

Cake 🍰

Be annoying

Mike kissing Will - about time his ass initiated something 😤

Team up with Robin any day any time 📷

Slay ofc 👑