#mike trying and failing to tell el he loves her or break up with her at surfer boy and stalling because he just can't fucking do either?

[chirpsythismorning]

Can we talk about how Jonathan might've been able to clock Mike simply because of what happened with him and Nancy in season two?

This will be a long post, so you might want to strap in or save it for later.

In Will and Mike's case, it would obviously be much different from Jonathan and Nancy's situation, given that you know, they're gay. But we still have Jonathan arguably going through a similar experience as Will, while Mike is going through a similar experience as Nancy.

In s2, we see Nancy confront Jonathan about how she waited for him before getting back with Steve, which is a revelation to him. Then they're at Murray's and she's struggling to say she loves Steve, after a handful of moments between them that felt like she might return Jonathan’s feelings. And you can clearly see it in his eyes, listening to Murray imply that they have feelings for each other, with him looking back and forth sort of in awe of what's happening, like he's starting to question if she might actually like him back.

Will doesn't have that same affordance as Jonathan to really hope, at least not anymore. Which is why these relationships in s2 and s4 end differently for these two brothers.

Based on all the signs he was seeing that Nancy felt the same, Jonathan decided to take the plunge to admit to Nancy how he felt, and at that same moment Nancy had the courage to show how she felt. In Will and Mike's case, Will wasn't ready to take the plunge to admit to Mike how he felt, at the same moment Mike didn't have the courage to show how he felt.

What's so painfully hilarious to me about all of this though, is that Jonathan arguably starts the season in the same shoes as most of the audience, where from his perspective, it's becoming obvious to him now that Will like's Mike, but that Mike does not feel the same way.

First at Rink-O-Mania, Mike appears a little uncomfortable upon hugging Will. Then as the happy couple continues on their adventure into Rink-O-Mania, he watches Will lagging behind moping. And then unfortunately he's out of commission for the rest of the evening...

But once he's sober and back to being an attentive brother the following morning, we see him watching them at breakfast, with Mike barely sparing Will a glance, all while Will is blatantly staring, almost like he's waiting for Mike to look back, only for Mike to get up and walk away.

All of these instances gotta be SCREAMING unrequited gay love to Jonathan. He's already gotten signs for years that Will is gay, these are now just the signs that are instilling his suspicions that Will has feelings for Mike. He could have easily interpreted their relationship in the early seasons as young best friends, with Will seeming to have a crush on Mike, and with them growing up and that potentially including Will's straight friend distancing himself from him because he doesn't feel the same. It's not the most unexpected thing in the world considering.

But then there's a shift.

Suddenly he's creeping up on them talking in his room. And we know he was listening in on the conversation because he brings up Owens when he sits down. As he's eavesdropping, he's probably thinking something innocent like Aww they're making up! And like, hey! Even if Mike doesn't feel the same, which is okay and entirely expected honestly, at least he still cares about Will enough to make things right after acting so out of character. Still, I'm not gonna lie, that sounded a lot like flirting to me--

Then he's knocking on Will's door like 30 minutes or less later only to find Mike and Will back on their bullshit. Mike suddenly isn't going out of his way to ignore or put Will on the back burner. In fact, he's on his bed and they're talking, again! The door is even closed this time, which is interesting. This has gotta be a good sign in Jon's eyes. Nothing to worry about! Right? Right...?

But then suddenly this shift continues, going in a direction he probably didn't expect.

I mean, this is literally an identical jancy parallel we have here with byler on the hood of the car, with Jonathan right there to witness it. Despite him maybe only now subconsciously picking up on the similarities between Will and Mike to him and Nancy here, he's at least taking note (I mean he's even got his gay map out and everything).

It isn't until the van scene happens, that I think Jonathan starts to genuinely consider his suspicions, which is that Mike might actually like Will back.

EVERY time we get a shot of Jonathan looking back at Will and Mike in the van, followed by a shot of his POV from the rearview mirror, we're faced with Mike looking at Will while Will is looking away.

As Jonathan is hearing Will confirm his suspicions about his feelings for Mike, he's simultaneously witnessing Mike not looking at Will with disgust, but something more akin to reverence. All of those moments in the van that we witnessed, including all the ways Mike looked at Will and everything that was said, Jonathan was right there.

And what's even more insane about this scene, is that it circles back to Jonathan as a character himself.

I remember when people were talking about how odd it was that we never saw Jonathan with a camera in s4. After 3 seasons in a row of making his passion for photography a big part of his identity, that part of him was apparently absent entirely this time around... But was it really?

This is the same guy that said, "Sometimes, people don't really say what they're really thinking. But you capture the right moment, it says more."

Jonathan might not have had his camera in s4, but this was without a doubt one of those moments where he captured something more.

Something that I also think get's highly overlooked about this scene, especially when it comes to Jonathan looking back at them, being followed by a shot of Mike staring at Will, is that he could see both of their reactions the whole time, from beginning to end. Will nor the audience had the affordance of knowing because Will was facing the other way at the end, while we on the other-hand were blurred from even having the chance, despite Mike literally being in the frame. But not Jonathan. He even lets us see what he sees, a few times, but not at the very end, which would have been nice after they didn't let us see Mike's reaction seconds before this.

Let's just stop right there for a second though and circle back to what I consider to be the first time Jonathan really picked up on Will's feelings for Mike, which was at the end of s3, in a sequence that is a little too relevant to the van scene if you ask me, given that they are almost direct parallels.

While these parallels are pretty spot on visually, they are also near spot on narratively when it comes to the evolution each of these characters are experiencing.

For Will in the first scene, it's sadness that he's moving away from his friends in Hawkins and also feeling like he's losing Mike, after what looks like him and El making up, which makes him scared he'll distance himself again. For Jonathan, it's sympathy for his brother who appears to have some very deep feelings for his friend, feelings he can't quite grasp yet but soon enough will.

For Will in the second scene, it's heartbreak that he has to accept that Mike will never feel the same, knowing that supporting his relationship with El (encouraging it honestly) will likely turn out just as it did last time, with him losing Mike all over again, for the last time. For Jonathan it's sympathy for his brother who has now confirmed his suspicions that the feelings he has for Mike are more than just that of a friend.

Given that this parallel reinforces the same feelings Will and Jonathan had in s3 to now, why would this not also reinforce those same feelings that Mike had in s3 to now?

In the first scene, Mike was visibly distraught, with dialogue from Hopper in the background applying a little too perfectly with what he was feeling in that moment, which was scared. He’s apparently back together with El now, despite them doing just fine as friends for the last 3 months, as well as him and Will just having finally gone back to them being on good terms again. But now, it’s like he’s right back where he started at the beginning of s3, feeling obligated to be the perfect boyfriend to El, and as a result, having no choice in his eyes but to distance himself from Will. Mike then walks into his house looking like a zombie, almost emotionless stepping into his mother's embrace.

Now, I say almost emotionless because it looks like Mike was trying to hold back showing how he truly felt in this moment. He's not crying like he did in s1 when he lost Will that first time. Time has passed and things have changed (he doesn't want things to change). And he's trying his best to keep it together. But the in-focus close-ups make it clear that he is definitely not okay.

What's so impactful about these parallels is that it presents the inner struggle both of these characters are having, both queer and experiencing doubts, but in different ways and for different reasons.

Will is the one who covers it all up with lies, hiding the tears in his eyes, because boys don't cry.

Mike is the one who has never cried to them, just to his soul (RUN AWAY! TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY! TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY!!!).

If you actually try to get a gage on Mike's in-focus emotions in that first scene vs. his out-of-focus emotions in that second scene, well they're not that far off from each other.

We go from Mike smiling vibrantly at Will, to him now slowly turning away to look back down at the painting, with whatever the hell emotion this is...

It's near impossible to catch because of how out-of-focus it is, but looking a lot closer, it honestly appears like Mike is feeling something akin to sadness that he's trying to mask. For a moment it even looks like he turns his head to wince emotionally, only to correct himself.

And call me crazy, but these shots also low-key parallel each other. Mike looking down trying to keep his emotions in check and failing miserably, only to look up and meet eyes with someone whose witnessing it.

With each shot before this of Jonathan observing Mike looking at Will, with him showing all the emotions Will never got to see and everything else in between, I wonder what Jon saw this time? Probably another thing he didn't expect.

Can you just try to imagine the silence in this van, accompanied by Will's muffled sobs, and then try to imagine Mike turning to look down at the painting, only to sneak a glance, and then go right back to looking at the painting, IN SILENCE, and then try to tell me how the assumption that Mike didn’t notice Will crying makes any sense, like realistically?

Yeah me and Jonathan are confused too.

Right now, Jonathan's probably wondering why Mike was acting a little fruity and repressed during the painting reveal. And that although he may have a penchant for being able to 'capture the right moment', Mike is sticking with his story (despite all the stalling and doubt). He is 100% straight!

And so maybe this is where Jonathan tries to accept what is being presented to him as the truth, despite the contradictions in front of him. It's likely that despite the way Mike looks at Will and acts around him, in ways he would have assumed coming from Nancy in s2 would've been evidence that she felt the same, it probably doesn't apply to Mike.

Maybe Jonathan's ready to accept that it's a lot more likely Will is experiencing unrequited love as a gay kid growing up in a small town, the most predictable experience a gay kid could go through, and in contrast Mike just feels too bad to let Will down easy.

Or who knows, maybe Mike could still be a little bit gay too...

But it doesn't matter anyways. Mike seems to be adamant about this and so there's really nothing else Jonathan can he do besides tell his brother he'll be there for him no matter what. And so he does just that.

But then Mike just has to surprise him one last time.

For those that don't know, the line Mike gives here in his monologue was in part pulled from Will's monologue in the van. Most don't know this because this line didn't make the final cut for the van scene, but in the official script the writers posted, what we find is an almost a direct parallel.

Which makes the reaction shots of Will and Jonathan directly after Mike says this all the more epic.

From Will's end he was probably hearing Mike say this and just thinking 'Damn. Well, that's what you get for using your feelings to inspire Mike to profess his love to El.'

But from Jonathan's end, I don't think his outside POV of these events overlapping was nearly as naive as his brothers understanding of the events. Because why the fuck would Mike need to use Will's feelings to inspire him to profess his love to El in the first place? Is this what Mike has been struggling with? Really? Why before every moment Mike takes action in this scene, is Will's hand literally pushing him into it? Why is Mike being so dramatic about saying I love you, stuttering and rambling about her being a superhero, not saying nearly as meaningful of things as what Will said in the van?

And then it hits him.

Mike is reminding him a little too much of another Wheeler right now...

Nancy Wheeler, who was afraid of what would happen if she accepted herself for who she really was, leading her to retreat back to the safety of Steve. Because Nancy liked Steve, but she didn't love Steve.

And now here is Mike Wheeler, who has went from being incredibly distant with Will after reuniting with El, something that is very unlike the Mike he knew in previous seasons, to something more himself again after they make up, with him looking at Will with adoration after hearing his words in the van, only to turn away and look heartbroken. Mike who is now struggling to simply tell El he loves her with Will right behind him literally yelling at him to do it.

And now it's like all those little moments are starting to add up to Jonathan.

Suddenly all those signs he picked up on from Will when he was younger are now blending in with moments Will shared with Mike. It was Mike who jumped in after him and his mom's speech to Will in the shed in s2, with tears in his eyes recalling the day that they met (without being asked, let alone pushed to). And it's Mike who is now looking like he's at war with himself as he attempts to give encouragement to El, just like he did with Will in s2, but this time he needs someone to push him to do it, and that person just so happens to be Will. After just finding out about Will's feelings and also while assuming El wants him to love her that way still, Mike is stuck.

I don't think it's takes a genius to consider Jonathan is capable of realizing how fucked they all are in this situation.

As much as Mike isn't ready for a sleuth of reasons, Will isn't ready either.

This provides a huge contrast between the bylers ², because while Jonathan and Nancy went through a similar experience to Will and Mike, them being ready to accept it and act on it didn't involve nearly as many factors and risks. Will and Mike also have the added barrier that is homophobia.

Will's internalized homophobia lies in part with assuming Mike could never feel the same based on some of the words he said in their last two fights, with parts being painfully reminiscent of the things his dad and bullies used to say about him. These are also words that contradict Mike's own words and actions from the previous seasons, things that did once give Will hope. The shame and guilt that comes with falling for your best friend, who you now know will never feel the same after being foolish enough to believe it not too long ago, and who might not even want to be your friend anymore upon finding out the truth, is understandable. He can't have hope like Jonathan can. It's just not the same.

Mike's internalized homophobia lies with assuming El wants him to love her, along with their relationship being expected and socially acceptable from everyone around him. Though unfortunately for her he feels abundantly more in love in the moments he shares with Will. Despite trying to make it work with El as hard as he could, because she's amazing and all any guy could hope for in a girlfriend, he can't ignore the fact that the feelings he has for these two people are different. The shame and guilt that comes with you, a boy, falling for your best friend, who is also a boy, and who is starting to show that he feels the same, all while you can't muster up the courage to break up with your girlfriend, nor can you muster up the courage to tell her that you love her, not when she's begging you, dying or even just simply at the end of a letter, is pretty understandable too. He can't have hope like Nancy can. It's just not the same.

Spoiler: They were not ready.

PS: I'm still not over the fact that they low-key confirmed these events elsewhere in the story...

[henrysglock]

I love how hentty/creelby in TFS is just like “AU where the flaying happened to mileven in season 2 instead of byler”.

Henry physically avoids kissing her for as long as he can. And I mean that literally. He ducks away and scrambles backwards until the theater troupe literally corners him into it. When he realizes he doesn’t have a choice, he just kind of stands there doing his little nervous hand movements while Patty kisses him.

It’s exactly like this, but if Mike was more openly nervous/uncomfortable:

And it’s insane to me that TFS is the blueprint for a rescue failure re: the Shadow. Patty trying to save Henry from the Shadow in Act 1 is like splicing the 4.09 monologue into the shed scene from Season 2. Patty tells Henry she loves him and he doesn’t say it back. Straight up. If she hadn’t gone “you have to say it back”, he wouldn’t have!

And I’m in no way blaming Patty, but part of me wonders if, like for El, that romance stuff and the I-love-yous were a distraction that, while well intended, caused the situation to spiral further than it needed to. Henry was already fighting the Shadow on his own/of his own accord. He didn’t need to worry about saying it at that point. Will’s worked so well because everyone was flooding him with love without any expectation of a response, and I definitely think that’s the more effective strategy.

Later on, when the accident happens in DOTM, there’s a bit where Brenner is talking about how Henry’s a monster/US Govt. property, and Patty turns to Henry and goes “what are you?”, and that’s the moment when Henry loses whatever grip he had left on the Shadow.

It was very much pulling on the scene from El’s bedroom in 4.09. The “the way you looked at me…you’re scared of me” one that makes it hard for El to fight Vecna later because she feels alone/unsupported.

Truth is? Patty was scared of Henry. For the entirety of Act 2, she’s scared of him (and she’s within her rights to be, despite Henry constantly reassuring her he’d never hurt her). She cares for him, no doubt, but it’s that fear and lack of faith that makes Henry realize he’s truly alone.

And that takes me right back to Joyce’s 4th wall break in Act 1, where she looks directly at the audience and says “that’s the central question of this play: can love defeat fear?”

Not here, it didn’t. It could have, had the faith been stronger, but it wasn’t. It was entirely on Patty’s shoulders to save Henry, a boy she just met, with no powers but love, “love” that didn’t even have time to really develop from infatuation into real dedication. It was destined to fail because there’s no way she was going to be able to tackle that problem on her own, nor should she be expected to given the circumstances (hence why Henry keeps telling her to run away instead). So it didn’t work, and Henry was lost to the Shadow and then again to Brenner.

It’s like I’ve said a million times: the only reason Will survived ST2 was because of the unwavering love of his family and friends. There was never any question for him. Henry needed the full, unwavering support of his family and friends, and he just didn’t have that.

[heheidks]

pre-painting-van-scene : mike analysis

i know this may be wrong but i have to say it. mike wanted el not to need him. pls read on.

now don't get me wrong just hear me out pls. throughout watching s4 i was getting the feeling that mike was trying to tell will that he doesn't want a romantic relationship with el, but is not able to find words for it. he is constantly and deliberately pessimistic about his relationship with el especially in front of will.

he's constantly using phrases such as "a fight that you can't come back from" and "she won't need me anymore" and "i saw it in her eyes" to emphasise and make it clear to will he's not happy in his relationship with el and with the excuse of telling his problems to will, mike is very subtly trying to tell will "please. please help me out here. be with me. that's what i really want."

that makes us look at his talk about el in the van with an entirely different perspective.

after mike lets it all out, he sighs exasperatedly, and says it's stupid, in a way to explain himself. but it's not stupid. none of the concerns he stated about his relationship were stupid. they were very valid, really, but he wanted to find a way to bring the topic to will and himself, and he was finding words.

if will hadn't interjected him, we would've gotten something, if not everything from mike. and why do i say that? because of this shot right here :

this tender emotional music shot of mike is an entirely different than the other shots that we had seen of him earlier. now one can say he was agreeing to will. maybe. but when i saw this, something felt off. something wasn't adding up. this isn't a normal reaction to having heard that you're sacred of losing your girlfriend. mike in this shot was initially confused and he could've thought, "oh no. he didn't get it." so he made the decision to agree along and nodded.

now in my opinion mike had figured out his feelings in the end of s3 and throughout the time between s3 and spring break he was not in denial, exactly, but was really sad knowing the fact that his love won't be reciprocated. the moment will said the losing thing, he kind of realised that it's no good. "i was absolutely crazy to think that he would like me back in that way. what was i thinking?" will's line breaks him in a way.

when he arrived in lenora i don't think his goal was to break up with el. his goal was to hide his feelings for will as much as he could, and boy did he fail spectacularly. but after his fight with el he realised he couldn't do it anymore.

he cared for el too much to lie to her and play with her feelings like that, and he loved will too much to not at least give him the subtlest of the subtle hints of his feelings, and his way of hinting was repeatedly emphasising that him and el won't work, won't work, won't work. but will misunderstood and thats a whole different story.

[sunnylands-world]

More stories with hopper, love your writing🫶

Down the hall

Pairing: Jim Hopper x fem reader

Summary: tonight is the night of graduation sleepover, and the start of many new things…

Word count: 1'747

Warning: shower sex, oral [male receiving], degrading kink, pet names, dirty talk, feelings because I couldn't help myself, age gap, EVERYONE IS OF AGE, I was going for a loving and fake hating type thing with hopper, I think that's it let me know if I missed anything.

I don't have an age restriction since I know people underage are reading "certain" content with that being said what you consume is your choice! I will not be held responsible for any of it .

Universe: best friend's dad

A/n: this was meant to be done a lot sooner but I wasn't finished with it then when I was I edited some things.

Nice thought, reblogs, and inboxing is appreciated and motivational ❤️

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School was out. you had just graduated and honestly you were surprised you did since you ditched so much [and failed a few times] but nevertheless you made it out of the hell you called school. you flipped your teachers off as you grabbed your diploma making your way to a giggling eleven and her dad. Hopper the chief of police. it was obvious he hadn't been home yet, a box of sugar donuts in his arm and a smile on his face as you got closer. you bite your lip looking over the older man.

It was moments like this you were glad El couldn't understand certain things because if she could you two would not still be friends, having become close after she arrived. You were one of the only friends she had that wasn't part of Mike's group. you had been to her house before but tonight was a different type of hang out; it was a celebration for you two because you graduated and during this celebration you'd eat junk, watch TV maybe Dance or whatever and you'd be spending the night.

"You know it's not good to flip off your teachers." Hopper smirked, opening the passenger door for you, el hopping in the back as he walked around and got in.

"You gonna arrest me chief," you teased, taking a donut from the box. Hopper chuckled, shaking his head. He couldn't deny that he liked the fire that you had.

The ride back consists of plan making for tonight and you trying to get under Hopper's skin. you sat back sucking the sugar coat from your fingers, moaning in satisfaction. El was fast asleep in the back leaving you awake with him. He would glance your way occasionally before straightening up in his seat.

"So um– I'll be in my room while you two have fun. I'll be just down the hall" he states, breaking the tension. you pout looking over at him and he looks your way confused.

"You're not gonna play with me while I'm here tonight? I was hoping we'd have some fun too."

your hand sneaks across the console brushing over him in his uniform pants. He slaps your hand away shooting you a glare.

Fire burns a little to bright if given the fuel

"I'm your best friend's dad, this isn't appropriate" he scowled and you only grinned in response. He scoffs parking in the drive thru. He's headed for the door, going in quickly without turning to look your way.

You pull the handle for your door, sending it open as you jump to your feet.

You pull El's door open, waking her.

She sits up with a dopey smile rubbing her eyes and you smile back, grabbing her wrist to take her into the house for the night. Tonight would be one to remember.

It's about nine.

Eleven and you are in your PJs, a bowl of half eaten lays and wrappers littered around the floor as you both giggle at the screen.

You have the sudden urge to go pay Hopper a visit so you sit up from the bed telling her you need to go do something, she waves you off engrossed in the show.

You crept down the hall looking for his door, finding it ajar. you enter, feet taking slow and small steps, halting in place when you hear the shower running.

Would he have left the door open as an invitation if he didn't want you to come find your way in?

You take this as your opportunity to look him over in all his glory. In one hand he had the cloth, soapy and wet and the other was running through his soaked hair as the shower ran over him. You let your tongue run over your lips nervously before pulling your shorts and top away.

The Door sliding open alerts him from his thoughts. His eyes wide as he takes in your appearance before they quickly meet yours with what you'd describe as hatred and lust but you swear it's a facade.

"What the fuck are you doing kid!" He whispered. He didn't need to ask though, he knew what you were here for and he can't lie to himself and say he wasn't hoping you'd show up.

"I'm just here to shower with you" you bat your lashes not missing the glance he shoots towards your bare breast. He groans in frustration before he's got you by the arm pulling you in.

He immediately turns you around so your backs against the wall causing you to gasp at the force you hit it with.

"You're a little whore you know that," he began moving his hands to the slope at your waist. You nod with a grin. He scoffed, pushing you to your knees. Your face to face with his hardened length, lips parting slightly in awe.

"Well, go on then. Suck it" he snapped, taking you out of your gaze. Hopper wasn't going to be gentle and nice with you, he was going to be mean and you loved that feeling when your heart tugged in hurt and Desire, you hoped his was something similar just with different words.

You don't need to be told twice, taking him in your small hand working in a back and forth motion as your lips wrap around him. You hollow your cheeks, sucking till he's engulfed as deep as you can take him, Loving the sickening burn and taste of him. He grunts, taking your hair and forcing you further till you gag.

I can take him, I can take every inch.

"Yeah that's it," he blurted, thrusting forward as your hands brace themselves on his thighs, fingernails leaving crescent moons for later. He tries to stop the quack in his thighs and the roll of his eyes but he's far from in control with the warm heat of your mouth and the slippery feeling of your saliva as you pull back giving his cock that pretty shine. Your eyes flutter dazed, a low moan muffled by his cock as you let yourself relax.

"I knew it. you dirty girl, You're a terrible influence on my daughter. Should I tell your parents you're taking my cock like a slut while your best friend lays in her room?" He pulled you from him, a slap coming to your cheek as you caught your breath, thighs pressed together for friction.

"Answer me. I haven't even stuck it in you yet and you've already gone dumb," he tsked, getting no response as you sat there pathetically peering up at him. He swears he could cum just looking at you like that.

The water only drips lightly on you as Hopper blocks it with his larger frame hair wet on the top of his head.

"Or is that what you need to get you talking?" He asked, receiving a nod from you.

Pathetic and beautiful

"please," you begged, only for him to grab you from the floor like you weighed nothing. Hopper was strong compared to anyone you'd ever been with, and you wondered about all the other ways he could toss you around.

"Put your legs around my waist" he commanded, one arm around you while his other slapped his cock against you, playing with your wetness to make sure you could take all of him.

You did as you were told, wrapping your legs around him so they'd hold you close to him. Your breast against the hairs on his chest has your nipples hardening as he angles his hips so he can thrust up into you. Your back hits the cold tile, sending a chill over you with a faint gasp.

His hands are on either side of your head letting you catch every pleasurable sound falling from his lips with his head in the crook of your neck. The wall and your legs support you while he slams his hips to your ass causing your soft moans to blend with the warm pressure of the shower.

You try to brace yourself for his length as it slides into places that have you greeting the stars as you levitate with pleasure. Nothing could have prepared you for this. The shallow breaths on your skin, the easy glide of his cock like you had just given yourself to him mind, body, and soul and you guess you did because you changed his name like prayers.

He wasn't sure if he could hold on much longer. Not like this, not when you were whimpering and shuddering as if you were possessed with your walls clenching around him like he'd leave you but he knew he'd never be able to do that.

He moved his hands from the wall gripping your thighs and he hoped he'd bruised your skin so anyone who saw would know you belonged to someone. He knew el was down the hall probably wondering where you were so he picked up the pace; going harder, faster and deeper if that was possible because he already felt like he'd pushed himself deep enough to have your poor cunt burning tomorrow but he didn't really care.

he'd lost all control when he let you in the shower with him so he wasn't going to hold back because you knew what you got into when Came to him.

Your voice was practically gone leaving behind nothing but pathetic yelps as he repeatedly hit that spot inside you to have you holding on to him weakly. Your toes curled and your eyes rolled. you'd never felt anything like it, like him and you were sure you never would do this again and that brought sobs from you.

Hopper pulled out of your neck his eyes meeting yours in confusion thinking he might have hurt you.

"Baby what's–"

"I don't want you to stop, I don't ever want you to, please," you begged with glossy eyes.

He sighed, kissing your cheek before an almost endearing smile came across his face.

"I won't baby, I won't. I'll just keep ruining this pussy for you," he groaned, feeling you clamp down on him.

Now being realistic here he knew that he'd have to stop but he'd keep going as long as he could and when he did stop, you came around him with your lips on his, tongue tasting his canned beer and cigarettes and he knew in the back of his mind even as he washed you and himself clean with affection kisses like it was the last time,

That you'd always be over, just down the hall…

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[gayofthefae]

My surprise at the I love you speech was mostly sourced at my first watch casual interpretation of Byler.

Why is Mike behaving this way towards Will? Oh, he reciprocates and is being defensive about it. That would make since. The one thing is how are they gonna break down is relationship with El?...................

oh. like that.

So I really thought it was a done deal I was like "I can't see where this is going but of the two, who has a shittier arc if Mike doesn't have feelings for them. That's who he ends up with" and then was like ok that's the what I just don't know the "how" and then the next episode they GAVE ME THE HOW. So my huge confusion was that the ily speech essentially TOOK AWAY THE HOW???

The thing about that is taking away the "how" doesn't contradict the "what". I knew Byler was endgame when I believed Mike could tell El he loved her in 4x02 just as much as I did at the end of 4x09.

But it's funny because since 4x02, my thought has never been "wow, guess they aren't doing Byler!" It was "wow, guess they're taking a different route to Byler than I expected!"

It makes sense though in retrospect. In simple terms, the pieces were falling into place too early and they need to get together in season 5. (I also didn't know there was a season 5 + past seasons have never had cliff hangers so that adds to it I guess lol). I was taken aback because I understood the destination with my only apprehension being - honestly just curiosity about the path. Then they laid down a path. Then they were like "haha lol that path was unrelated! Psych!" and I was left curious "what's the path then?" with the additional question "what was that for?"

And then I remembered Cyrano and the rest is history but the POINT IS. Since believing in it, aside from occasional queerbait fear, I have never had Byler doubt based on ANYTHING in the story. Nothing in Netflix's "Stranger Things" has given me Byler doubt. I was only surprised to be wrong at how they were getting together.

I thought they were doing the "Mike notices Will overenthusiastically correcting his self-deprecation" romance trope when they were doing Cyrano so I was confused. But as I always say, they were only failing at a goal they didn't have. Was that a failure to execute that romance trope? Yes! Because they were never trying to! I may consider it doubt, actually, during the confession, but then because nothing else resolved in the season either I was like "Oh...that wasn't supposed to be it oh ok that makes more sense"

Anyway, now I know that and this is a long winded way of saying the only incorrect predictions I ever had in regards to Byler were how they would get together. From the second Byler was introduced to me as a viable option of an ending, Milkvan felt entirely illogical as an option and only proved to be moreso as the season progressed. Byler is endgame. Sometimes I'm wrong about how, but that isn't Byler doubt. It's an adjustment and then we are back, baby. The biggest proof against Byler is what I interpreted on my watch (once I realized there would be a season 5) as "a different direction to Byler than I originally thought".

[runninguplenorahills]

I think one thing that gets overlooked a lot (of course especially by melvins) is that in s3, Hopper NEVER instructed Mike to lie to El!!

All Hopper tells Mike is that they’re gonna have a talk and that he needs to follow Hop’s instructions if he wants to keep dating El but we as an audience never get to know what these instructions were. One thing that is clear though, is that while Hopper starts the lie about Nana being sick, he NEVER instructed Mike to continue that lie! Lying to El was Mike’s own decision!

And how do we know that? The very first scene we get of that conflict after the Mike/Hopper car scene is the one where Mike and El are on the telephone. Mike tells her that Nana is so sick and that he just can’t come over, and the first thing El tells Mike is: “But Hop said your Nana was fine?”. Hopper already debunked the lie about Nana! He already told El that Mike’s grandma is fine and that it was a false alarm!! He already cleared that all up and why would he do that if he had previously instructed Mike to keep up that lie?? Hopper wanted Mike to stop coming over every single day so if he had told him to lie to El, why would he debunk the lie and therefore undermine Mike’s credibility?? Making it harder for Mike to convince El that he can’t come over? This doesn’t make any sense

BECAUSE HOPPER DIDN’T TELL MIKE TO LIE!!!

My personal guess…

…is that Hopper told Mike to find a way to communicate to El that they can’t see each other every minute of every day without telling her that Hopper talked to him! To make it seem like Mike had this thought himself. But here’s where it gets complicated:

Imo Mike already knew that he’s gay but tried to change that about himself in s3. Mike tried to make himself fall in love with El and at the same time wanted everyone else to know that he’s “so in love” with her because what better way to convince yourself if not to convince everyone around you? Like, Mike genuinely hoped being gay is something he can grow out of so while Mike was of course actually genuinely trying, he was still putting on a performance and that performance would’ve evidently crashed if he expressed that he didn’t want to see his girlfriend everyday. And that’s the thing, I think that Mike actually didn’t want to see his girlfriend every day.

I say “girlfriend” and not “El” because Mike of course actually genuinely enjoys spending time with El, but since they never did anything but make out, Mike didn’t truly enjoy coming over. Mike obviously didn’t like making out which is why he’s pushing El away from him and breaks the kiss when the opportunity presents itself. I think this was partially done subconsciously though because while Mike was aware that he doesn’t like it, he still tried to change that! He actually put effort into this but as much as he tried to change himself to like it, he just doesn’t/can’t! He tried to force it but his body still subconsciously did what felt right to him.

So Mike already knew that he doesn’t like it, though he didn’t wanna give up on it because that would mean he failed at making himself fall in love with El/that he can’t change that he’s gay, and Mike simply wasn’t yet ready to fully come to that conclusion. He was afraid of fully acknowledging that this isn’t something he can grow out of, scared of people finding out, and including both of those things, his overall fear was to let the others down and disappoint them!! Mike felt like he’d be letting people down by not coming over, by not being in love with El, by being gay, simply by just being himself, so he’s not admitting to the fact that he actually does have his own motivations to not want to see El every day.

Mike was kinda in denial that he had his own personal motivations so he chose to blame it on difficult circumstances instead even though these circumstances do not exist [“Nana is sick”] He chose to lie. But El isn’t stupid so she immediately figured out that he lied to her and all of a sudden Mike disappointed her nonetheless! So what does he do? Apologize? No. He explains to El that this was actually all Hopper’s fault. Because Hopper did talk to him. Hopper did tell him to find a way to communicate to El that they can’t spend as much time together anymore. He didn’t tell him to lie but he did talk to him. So Hopper essentially became Mike’s scapegoat in this scenario. Instead of apologizing to El he blamed Hopper because he wasn’t ready to admit to El that this was his own fault! That he disappointed her and everyone else for that matter because he also was not ready to fully admit to himself that he can’t change what he is! But blaming it all on Hopper didn’t work either because El tells Mike that Hopper is right and you know what kind of impression that leaves on Mike? Even when others think that it’s not his fault they’re still disappointed in him because his actions aren’t the problem. He is.

So Mike’s next approach to an apology is going further with trying to change himself! Completely flipping everything upside down and telling El that he lied to her because “he loves her so much” which is utter bullshit and manipulative as hell! Like, Brenner literally says the same exact thing to El in s4!! But again, Mike knows that he isn’t actually in love with El, in his eyes: “yet”, but a part of Mike also already knows that he’ll never be because he’s gay and that’s not something he can grow out of. And that’s why Mike can’t bring himself to lie to her! He can’t bring himself to say the word “love” (“blank makes you crazy”) because he simply doesn’t love her romantically! And we know from the scene “I love her and I can’t lose her again” that Mike 1: refuses to lie specifically about being in love to El’s face, and 2: that Mike knows no matter the fact that he means the “i love you” to El platonically, everyone will still pick it up as him meaning it romantically which is why Mike cannot bring himself to even say it to El platonically anymore!!! (something that continues into s4).

Of course we also see this at the very end of s3 when Mike pretends like he doesn’t remember his “i love her and i can’t lose her again” outburst. Because no matter how much Mike tries to change himself to fall in love with El, the part of him that is well and fully aware that he can’t change the fact that he’s gay always wins over. And the most ironic thing is that Mike had hoped that a little more time would solve his problem! That a little more time is all he needs to fall in love with El! All of s3 Mike tried to get back on good terms with El so he can focus on falling in love with her again but once he finally is on good terms with El again, once El tells him that she loves him too, once she kisses him….. that’s when Mike realizes that this was in fact not the last missing piece for successfully growing out of being gay! No, it was quite the opposite. It was the last missing piece for fully realizing that this will never work! Being gay is what he is and not something he can grow out of! Time was never the problem. Mike is….

So my point is basically that the entirety of the melvin conflict in s3 literally would not have happened if not for the fact that Mike was already aware that he’s gay and in love with Will but partially dismissed it as a phase! Because Hopper never told him to lie to El, so what other reason does Mike “friends don’t lie” Wheeler have to choose to lie to El and then refuse to tell her why, if not that he has something to hide??

[strangeswift]

Chopping up my many WIPs into ficlets and posting them here because I'm probably never ever gonna finish these WIPs anyway!

Mike Monologue. (Mike visits Max in the hospital while she's in her coma and talks about his feelings for Will.)

Mike enters the hospital room to see Lucas slumped over on the chair next to Max’s bed. At first Mike thinks he’s sleeping, but he blinks and raises his head to look up at Mike.

“Hey,” Mike says quietly.

“Hey,” Lucas says with a small, strained smile.

“Um… no change?” Mike asks.

Lucas looks pained and Mike’s sorry he asked. “Nah, no change,” Lucas says.

Mike glances at Max.

“You came alone?” Lucas asks.

Mike’s been to see Max twice, both times with El.

“I uh- El said you’ve been sleeping here, and you wouldn’t leave. And I wanted to come see if you wanted me to sit with her for a while. So you could go home and get some sleep, or at least take a shower or something," Mike says awkwardly.

“That’s… really nice, Mike. But I don’t wanna-” Lucas starts.

“Look man, I get it. If it was Wi- El in here, I wouldn’t want to leave either. But I think you need a break. I swear I’ll call you if anything changes, but she’s stable, right?” Mike asks.

Lucas hesitates, then nods. “She’s stable,” he admits.

“So go home,” Mike says.

“Yeah… okay. For a few hours.” Lucas says, still sounding unconvinced, but standing from his chair.

He takes a long look at Max before approaching Mike.

“Just- call me if…” he starts but trails off.

“I will,” Mike says firmly.

Lucas nods and pats Mike’s shoulder before exiting the room.

Mike settles himself in the chair Lucas was in, staring at Max.

He sits in silence for a while, before he finally glances toward the doorway, checking to see if there’s anyone in the hallway, and then he speaks.

“Um… hey, Max. It’s Mike. I don’t… the doctors said they don’t know if you can hear us or not. El says she can’t find you when she tries to… so maybe that means you’re not even in there anymore. But… I was just thinking that maybe, if you are still there, that you might be lonely… or- or bored.” he says.

She, obviously, lies motionless. Mike listens to the steady beeping of the moniters before taking a deep breath and continuing.

“And honestly, I wanted to talk to you because I have some things I need to get off my chest. Things I’ve never told anyone. I wouldn’t tell you either, if you were awake. But you’re not awake, so I guess you’re sort of my captive audience.

And anyway, I think the reason we’ve always fought is because we’re just really similar in a lot of ways. So I guess I feel like… maybe you’d understand more than anyone else.”

He shifts in the chair, trying and failing to get comfortable.

“Um… so I guess I’ll start off with what just happened today. El broke up with me. For real this time. Funny enough, it was your fault, just like last time. Um… that was a joke, sorry.

But uh- she said she’d been thinking a lot, about her and I. And she said she’d been thinking about something you’d taught her. She said you taught her the difference between ‘friend-love’ and ‘boyfriend-love’. And she said that she thinks we ‘friend-love’ each other.”

He laughs.

“So even from a coma, you’re still messing with my love life! Except… El’s right. I do love her, but I’m not in love with her. And when she told me she feels the same way, I was relieved. But, I was also scared.

Because um… because being with El kinda let me hide from some feelings I’ve started having. Feelings about uh- Like… Feelings that I’m not really supposed to have, I guess. Like about me, and um… and other boys. But um mainly… one other boy."

Despite everything, Mike scans her face for any change in facial expression. He half expects her to wake up and start laughing at him, or look disgusted. But she lies still.

“I um… I’ve never said it out loud before. But I’ve felt this way for a while. I think maybe forever, but I didn’t always know what it was.

Because like- with Will, when we were younger, I felt differently about him than I did Lucas or Dustin. More protective, maybe? Like, sometimes I’d hold his hand, and it was just innocent, like we were little kids, but I’d never do that with Dustin or Lucas. And I’d never do it in front of them either, so some part of me must have known it was significant.

But then Will was gone, and I met El. And I really cared about her, but I really cared about Will, too. And then I lost her, and when I got her back, I realized it was just easier with her. Because… there was no shame. If I wanted to hold her hand or kiss her, that was okay. So I thought- this is what love is.

But uh- I didn’t stop thinking about Will. And sometimes when I was kissing her I would close my eyes and pretend that… Well, you get the picture."

Max remains quiet and motionless.

Mike wonders how she'd react to all of this if she was awake. The loudest, ugliest part of him is telling him that she'd be disgusted. She'd call him names, or laugh at him.

But the quieter, more rational part of him tells him she wouldn't. She'd understand. She'd… she'd understand.

"I uh-" He starts, "I'm sorry I've been talking about me this whole time. I know you have bigger problems than my… whole thing. Um. Lucas hasn't left your side, I'm sure you know that. El comes to visit. A lot. And everyone else… well they really miss you. Dustin and- and Will.

Oh! You want to hear something funny? This might cheer you up. Remember when you first wanted to join our party, and I was being a total asshole?

Well it was mostly because I thought Will had a crush on you. Dustin and Lucas did, so I just assumed. Plus he was so ready to accept you into the party, I thought he must like you. But... he was just a sweet kid. He's just… yeah. Shit, I'm talking about Will again.

See, that's the problem, Max. I try to think about something else and my mind just circles right back to him. Because he's just... him. He's just so good. So good, and so sweet, and so selfless, and when I look at him it gets hard to breathe because I just lo- I just like him so much.

...No, you know what? Screw it. I've already told you all this. I love him, Max. I love Will Byers. I'm in love with him. I want him to hold me and kiss me and tell me he loves me too. And I want it to be forever. I don’t know if that's even something people like me get, 'forever' or 'love'. But I think if Will would just let me have him, even if it's just friends, if he'll just have me however he wants me, whatever that means to him... I think maybe I could be happy.

But I don't know for sure because I don't really remember the last time I was happy, like really happy. Except when I'm with him. When it's just me and him. When I get to pretend we're more than we are. Because he makes it so easy to pretend, Max. He lets me get so close, lets me touch him. Lets me stare at him, and acts like he doesn't notice. Because that's how good he is.

Sometimes I think maybe I should stop, but I can't really help it. And he doesn't seem to mind, which makes me think that maybe… maybe he could feel the same way.

See, there's this painting.

It's a beautiful painting, and he painted it for me. And when he showed me this painting I think I just fell more in love with him, if that was even possible.

But then he told me that El commissioned it, that it was from her. And he gave me this whole speech about how I'm the heart of the party, and El needs me and she always will, and sometimes she feels like a mistake but I make her feel like she's not a mistake.

But when El broke up with me today, I asked her, 'Well what about the painting? What about needing me?'

And she had no idea what I was talking about, Max.

And I realized, El said I made her feel like a monster. If anything I made her feel worse about herself when we were together. So it just made me wonder… if the painting wasn't from her, if it was really from Will, just Will… maybe the speech was too.

Maybe Will needs me. And I'm sure he doesn't mean it in the way I want him to, but it's still something.

But if the speech was from him, then that means Will feels like a mistake. And I can't… I can't handle that. Because he's not. He's not. Maybe I am, for feeling like this. I thought that, for a long time.

But lately I've been thinking, how could that be true? How could loving Will be a mistake or- or be wrong or disgusting? It's not, it can't be.

Because loving Will is everything that I am, Max. Without that, without him, I'm nothing, I just fade away. He thinks I'm the heart of the party? He's wrong. He's the heart. He's my heart. I'd die without him.

Which is why… I can't tell him any of this.

Because what if I lose him? What if this makes me lose him? I can't do that.

I won't risk that."

He falls silent. Watching Max. Watching her heartbeat on the monitor.

It keeps going. Up and down.

She's alive. She's still here. She could wake up.

She could wake up someday and they could talk, really talk. He wants her to talk.

He wants her to say something, anything.

She doesn't. And she won't.

-

This monolgue was taken from one of my many Byler WIPs that will probably never see the light of day. If I can find any more semi-coherent bits of this particular WIP I'll probably post them. Though I haven't edited any of it and I don't WANT TO, so we'll see.

P.S. if there was errors in this no there wasn't what are you talking about are you feeling okay you probably just imagined it babe

[artiststarme]

My Happy Fics

Here is my ever-growing list of humorous/fluff/happy fics. These should make you laugh and cry happy tears, ideally. Please leave your thoughts in the comments!

-"Get in the van, Steve."

A short, one shot fic about Steve getting accidentally kidnapped. No harm, no foul, am I right?

-"A Little Fruity"

A short, one shot fic about Eddie coming out to Uncle Wayne by accident. (Everything turns out fine).

-Ex-fucking-cuse You

Steve has a hard time vocalizing his thoughts and feelings. But all of that changes when Eddie enters his life. He makes him try and do better.

-It's Fucking Cold

Eddie loves traveling with Steve but the one thing that he can't get behind are the cold-ass hotel rooms.

-Wayne's Unspoken Shovel Talk

Wayne didn't think he needed to give Steve the shovel talk on behalf of his nephew. It was implied and he meant what he meant.

-Van Vandalism

When the people of Hawkins keep vandalizing Eddie's van after Spring Break, Steve takes matters into his own hands.

-A cute little addition/ending to the story (Part 2)

-Oblivious Eddie

Steve realizes that he's bi and immediately starts flirting with Eddie. Now if only Eddie could be more observant and start flirting back!

-Sunflowers

A soft fic about Eddie not thinking he's a good boyfriend and Steve not thinking he deserves Eddie but then they both realize that they're perfect for each other.

-Eddie Hates Drinking Water

Eddie doesn't hate a lot of things but he's never been able to get behind drinking water. Until Steve tricks him into liking it when they start dating.

-When Life Gives You Lemons...

Eddie has a unique way of dealing with anxiety but you know what they say, when life gives you lemons....

-... You Make Lemonade

Part 2 of the series where Eddie makes up his own idioms and accidentally comes out to Steve in a play on words.

-April Fool's

Just a short story on how I think Steve and Eddie would handle April Fool's Day. Chaos, Romance, and Misunderstandings, oh my!

-Intrusive Thoughts

Eddie is prone to voicing his intrusive thoughts and he accidentally gaslights Steve into thinking they're his when he doesn't remember. Cue panic, protective best friends, and name-calling!

-No Steves Allowed!

Eddie has one firm rule in Hellfire; Steve Harrington is not to be mentioned under any circumstances. It works until it doesn't.

-Steve Has a Minor Fear of Spiders

Everyone is afraid of something. It just so happens that Steve has a debilitating fear of spiders and Eddie has to find out the hard way.

-College is for me but only if it’s us

Eddie and Steve make plans to go to college together. The Party learns some surprising news.

-Strike!

Hopper goes to pick up Steve for a family bowling outing and gets more than he bargained for.

-Goddamn Wheelers!

Hopper is the biggest supporter of LGBT+ as long as it keeps the Wheeler family out of his life. Steve dating Eddie Munson? Fine. El breaking up with Mike Wheeler? Absolutely fantastic! Will dating Mike instead? WHY???

-A Date Gone Wrong

Eddie was never going to let Steve plan an outing for their date again. First hiking, now squirrels? Absolutely not.

-Utter Chaos

Steve would do anything to protect his Platonic with a capital P soulmate... Like outing himself to cover for her.

-Highway to Hell

Steve is a really bad driver in actuality and when Eddie tries to tell people, no one will believe him!

-A Sleepwalking Surprise

A sleepy Steve outs him and Eddie to the kids. Luckily for them, they escape the ensuing chaos.

-Interested or Not?

It takes Steve way longer to realize Eddie is into him than it should. Luckily for him, it all works out.

-Wayne Deserves Way More Credit

Wayne loves Steve for his nephew and he'll do his best to keep them together despite Eddie's stupid decisions.

-A Zoom Call Gone Wrong...

A modern Steddie AU where Eddie interrupts Steve's college course zoom call in the worst way possible.

-Shakespeare? Gay as Hell

The reason Eddie keeps failing English is because he keeps making his essays gay. Wayne approves and Mrs. O'Donnell definitely does not. Based on this post!

-Hellfire Adopts Steve

Hellfire adopts Steve in high school after the fall of King Steve.

-From Alibi to Reality

Steve acts as Eddie's alibi for the cops to clear his name. It only escalates from there.

-Happy Halloween!

Halloween of 1986 is the best day of Eddie Munson's life and he attributes most of that to Steve.

-Baby, it's cold outside

Eddie only likes Winter when he has Steve there to warm him up.

-Unnamed thus far

Will comes out to Steve and Steve just can't figure out why. Things become clearer with time.

[shreya11111]

Mileven was paralleled to Jopper in season 4. Joyce went to rescue hopper while hopper had heart to hearts with Enzo. Enzo reassures Hopper that she loves him (“she saves your life because of friendship, huh?” while Hopper battled insecurities and insisted, “She’s not my woman.” eleven was taken and Mike went to rescue her while having heart to hearts with will. Will reassures Mike that she loves him (“she always need you mike” while mike battled insecurities about his relationship. In the end, both couples are reunited. In conclusion, Mileven and Jopper endgame 🤷‍♀️

first of all, need i remind you that it wasn't even mike's idea to go after el but rather jonathan's?

second of all, the "she saves your life because of friendship, huh" quote is literally more applicable to byler than midelven because guess who was the most hell-bent on saving will's life in season 1? that's right – mike. (this is also a big reason why the monologue was such utter bs – mike was acting like he fell in love with el the moment he saw her when in reality his whole focus was on finding and saving will).

third of all, the "she will always need you mike" quote is like not even about el? it's literally will indirectly telling mike how he feels? so, if you were trying to draw a comparison between hopper/enzo and mike/will then you automatically failed because, as far as we know, enzo is not canonically in love with hopper the way will is in love with mike.

"in the end both couples reunited" yet, i...can't seem to find midleven anywhere next to j*pper here🧐

and like - why are you saying “in the end, both couples are reunited” as if you expected them NOT to find el and reunite with her?? ofc they’re going to reunite, but even then, their reunion was basically mike saying “i love you” and then el proceeding to ignore him for the most part and barely talking to him.

also, i love how you can even begin to compare the midleven and j*pper (censoring to keep out of their tag) reunions when the marketing strategy reunion was 10x more anticlimactic than the j*pper one lmao.

like seriously – the j*pper reunion actually felt earned. both joyce and hop clearly love each other very much, and the audience could see that (even when they were so far apart).

however, with mozzarella, mike couldn't even say ily to el even when she was sobbing & literally begging him to say it-

plus, messy ponytail had literally parted ways with el giving mike a break-up letter. and besides all of this, the ACTUAL reunion was SO anticlimactic that i found myself fixating more on the blurry shot of will in the background rather than their reunion.

not to mention that the will/el reunion was 1000x more emotional and impactful than midleven's-

anyway, this is all to say that byler and j0pper are endgame.

[nerdy-girlramblings]

My thoughts on Stranger Things S2 (E2-9)

I'm combining several posts from my drafts into one. After I would watch an episode or two, I would record my thoughts, which is why there's some predictions.

E2

My heart! My girl Nancy is suffering and the things she said to Steve at the party! I was so mad when that idiot left her alone, drunk at the party, thank goodness Jonathan was there (I ship them so much)

and poor El, being shut up and wanting connection with other people but Hopper is too scared to let her out. I totally understand both of them, its so sad

E3

My reaction to Dart, Dustin's new "pet": "No no no!! It's from the Upside Down! Kill it!"

When Dustin turned off the heat lamp because it was too hot. "No, no, no, burn the fricker! Kill it! Go get Will, he'll recognize it!!"

The scene when Dustin took the library books was hilarious."I need my paddles!" I died

Poor Will! The shadow thing attacked him, what's it doing to him?

Why is Dustin being so defensive about Dart, something that is clearly evil??

And poor El, seeing Mike with Max and getting jealous. I understand why she hurt her but I didn't like that she did it.

I have a suspicion about Bob. I don't trust him. I have a feeling that he told Will to stand his ground against the shadow monster in the Upside Down so it could possess him. Also he works with radios and tech so maybe he's connected to the lab?

E4

Dart is terrifying. It killed the cat and now its clearly a demogorgon.

Max's brother, Billy, scared me. They clearly have something going on in their family and I hated how he grabbed Max's wrist. Based on her reaction, maybe this isn't the first time someone has hurt her like that?

Why does Billy want Max to stay away from Lucas?

The fight Hopper and El had was awful and heartbreaking

E5

I'm glad Hopper is okay after going in the tunnel

When El reunited with her mom, and seeing her memories, that was so heartbreaking.

And when Will fell on the ground and started screaming because people from the lab were burning the tunnel, my heart broke.

I'm curious about what's going to happen with Steve and Dustin, that's a very chaotic duo.

E6

Where did the other demogragons come from??

Steve telling Dustin how to get girls was frickin hilarious, top tier comedy right there

So was the guy in the black beard, the conspiracy theorist reading Nancy and Jonathan like a book (I'm so glad they're a couple now)

I love Steve with the kids, its so funny and awesome to see him be so protective

E7

Kali (008) and her crew where interesting

I'm glad El / Jane is going back to the Hawkins

Overall, this wasn't my favorite episode

E8

I absolutely hate how that shadow monster is using Will. He's stripping him of his being and using him to trick the other characters and its horrifying.

I'm glad Will was still able to communicate with them

Bob's death I had been spoiled for but I wasn't expecting it to be so brutal and bloody and poor Joyce!

El's rescue at the end so cool!!

E9

The scene when they burn the monster out of Will was awful to watch. Seeing Joyce's determination to kill the thing that took Bob no matter what in contrast with Jonathan seeing only his brother being tortured was heart-breaking.

Seeing Billy's father explains a lot about his abusive behavior

The fight between Billy and Steve was epic and I loved it

I absolutely love Steve being with the kids and failing to try to stop them with their crazy plans. I hope this happens again in later seasons.

I loved when El closed the gate with Hopper, that was great

And the Snow Ball, I loved it, so wholesome and sweet!!

[paintingformike]

i really will never get the idea of mileven ever being romantically in love...i mean even while i was watching s1-s2 i thought it was just puppy love/genuine care for each other? this isnt even me trying to discount their relationship im just saying that they liked each other and obviously care deeply for each other but imo they were never in LOVE love like that 🤔

i truly do believe that mike genuinely liked her/was attracted to her but imo it wasnt as deep as romantic love it was more on the hinges of infatuation and i feel like season 3 and 4 just further emphasizes that point. in season 1 they knew each other for like a week before they were separated and didnt see each other for a year in season 2 so i really dont think they had enough time to develop this kind of really deep romantic feelings for each other. mike tried to reach her constantly everyday in season 2 but it doesnt necessarily have to be out of being in love with her, he just genuinely cared about her wellbeing and also the grief of having to watch her “die” right in front of his eyes...then in season 3 we see how their relationship was portrayed in a very shallow way, all they do is make out everyday and ignore their friends and dont have meaningful bonding times like sharing interests, when they break up its played as a joke and mike had to be prompted into apologizing to her/owning up to his mistakes. they’re never shown to have deep conversations or heart-to-hearts alone past season 2 and the closest they got to it was the “blank makes you crazy” or their season 4 argument. they actually barely know anything about each other when you think about it, because mike tries to suppress his “nerd” self when he’s with her (which is ultimately his true self) and mike barely takes the time to know her (only thing i remember is him knowing she loves eggos and her favorite colors but other than that...he never even let her explore some interests outside of making out with him in season 3 LMFAO)

i dont even have to say it but yeah the very clear problem in season 4 of mike struggling to say the L word to el just makes this ring true, the way he said that they usually only got into silly fights but this one felt more adult (a fight they couldnt come back from), i actually feel like this dialogue was the writers’ way of showing how they really were still just kids that liked each other/were infatuated with each other because they jumped into a relationship a little too fast (knowing each other for a week and suddenly kissing, getting separated for a year and immediately after that they start dating) and how this kind of relationship with a weak foundation was doomed to fail. it also shows during their argument in s4 when mike got a callback to “mouthbreathers” and how he thinks these outside forces were the ones ruining their relationship, i actually thought it was very telling of how childish/immature he still was while in that moment i feel like el was slowly starting to realize their relationship couldnt last like that, that she was going to outgrow it and may have to break up with mike soon because his mindset was way behind compared to hers and she was beginning to realize she didnt need him (ahem the van scene). then we get the monologue at the end and mike being referenced to romeo lmfao...like romeo and juliet was a “love at first sight” story just like how mike claimed to have loved el at first sight...but ultimately it ended in failure for romeo and juliet cause it really was just a case of silly infatuation. i put two and two together and realized this is probably why mike’s monologue felt very childish and all over the place and it was intentionally written that way. and now i actually believe that the vines tightening around el wasnt because mike INTENTIONALLY lied to her, it was probably because while she was listening to him she realized it didnt make her as happy/satisfied as it was supposed to be, she felt bad because prior to the monologue she was already starting to outgrow the problem and come to terms with the absence of romantic love in their relationship and didnt need the confession from him anymore (lets be real she was about to break up with him in surfer boy pizza).

this got a little too long but anyways this is where byler comes into place. their relationship is contrasted to mileven’s in that they have years of friendship, trust and communication as their foundation, in s3 and s4 their arguments are so blatantly paralleled, we get mike being unable to take responsibility for his actions that quickly when it comes to el, but with will he immediately feels bad and can’t stand being in bad terms with him for longer than a day. s4 is even more blatant in showing the healthier/more compatible relationship between the two because its will who constantly reassures/comforts mike of all his insecurities and problems, they have constant heart-to-hearts and meaningful conversations all throughout the season and the fact that will is the second love interest in this equation shouldve immediately made people realize where the narrative was going. you can even just compare the s4 mlvn scenes to byler scenes and how in most mlvn scenes they never get to have a quiet/intimate time alone (plus will’s presence is always there) while byler have had MULTIPLE intimate conversations together. they’re trying to show who actually has been the right person for mike this whole time, who has been selflessly loving him in silence and even sacrificed his feelings for the sake of mike’s happiness, and the ultimate narrative pay off for him would be that mike will come to find out that el had nothing to do with the painting that made him feel so valued and loved after such a long time and the feelings that touched his emotions so deeply and got him to say “ily” to his gf were will’s all along. and this is why im 100% convinced of them ending up together, its the inevitable conclusion to their arcs 🤷‍♀️

[strangertheories]

You're just completely going to ignore the fact that Mike was trying to save El's life by telling her he loves her? And pretend he was imposing himself on this situation of a chocking unconscious Eleven, apparently failing to save Max, because he wanted to "feel needed"? Like?

No, but he wouldn't have said I love you if it wasn't for the scene in the van where Will and Mike speak in my opinion, in which Will told Mike that Eleven needs him. In an earlier draft of the script, Mike was even going to say that he could tell Eleven had moved on from their relationship, effectively treating the note she left him as a break up. Mike was not just saying it to save her because if he hadn't, I guarantee that someone in that room would've stepped in.

I think we can't just ignore the fact that Mike was completely unable to say it until after a pep talk from Will about how even though Mike feels inferior, she actually needs him. Reinforcing that by having Eleven actually need him is missing the point. Rather than addressing Mike's need to be needed and issues with commitment, they just had him say I love you, however after the confession Eleven's been distant so I think she's going to take issue with relying on Mike. And I'm not saying I don't understand that scene, because I do, I just think it could've been done differently. I wasn't trying to say Mike was selfish however I think if they're going down the route of Byler, Mike saying I love you being aware he didn't just feels like an odd writing decision to me.

Thanks for the ask, anon (:

[welovetotry]

Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2 Theory Dump

Ok, I’ve been commenting theories here and there on Youtube videos and such because I can't stop thinking about Stranger Things 4, so I’m just gonna put them all here to get them out of my brain. Also it goes without saying, but ST 4 Vol. 1 spoilers below.

Theory 1:

Dustin had it wrong, and that VECNA is the top dog and the Mind Flayer is either HIS five star general or that the Mind Flayer is actually just the physical manifestation of Vecna's powers, a false Vecna that he sent out to test the waters. If Vecna is the top dog that would explain the hive mind, what connects everything in the Upside Down is in fact his psionic powers.

I think that El didn't just toss him into the Upside Down, but that she actually created it, because when he is flying through there, it sure as hell didn't look like Hawkins. If that's the case, then he would be the first being in there, and he could have spent the time between his arrival there and the opening of season one creating the other monsters, moulding it to look like Hawkins, trying to make psychic connections with the real world and succeeding in the sense that "Upside Down Hawkins" was able to keep pace with the real Hawkins, in terms of the physical items in the Upside Down mirroring the real world. But he had no way yet to connect psychically with the PEOPLE in the real world, or he didn't see a reason to. He wanted a human-less world and now he had one.

When the gate opens at the start of season 1, it happens when Eleven "contacts" the Demogorgon. With the hive mind in play, Vecna would see her through the Demogorgon's eyes and could have even contributed to the gate opening up in that moment himself. Time in the Upside Down stops then, or at least the items stop updating themselves, so to speak, as Vecna is no longer focusing on turning the Upside Down into his ideal world. Now he is focusing on revenge on Eleven, and humanity in general, but he has to be careful because Eleven is just as, if not more, powerful than he is, so he practices by possessing Will, sending in the Mind Flayer, flaying Billy and the others. And THEN, Eleven loses her powers and leaves Hawkins, so now he can strike. And even though the gate is now closed, contact has been made. The "mother gate" opened because of a psychic connection between two beings in both worlds, and Vecna knows now that gates can be opened that way, so he learns how to do it from the other side.

Theories 2 and 3:

There’s a lot of talk this season about what memories evoke what responses. One tells Eleven that thinking of a memory that evokes both sadness and anger will make her stronger, but then Brenner says later that if they allow anger to take over, they will fail. As we see with Max in Vecna’s mind world, what breaks her out isn’t just the music, it’s remembering memories of happiness and love (A la the Patronus charm). We see the same with Eleven in episode 7 when it is the memory of her mother’s love that gives her the strength to beat him. (Side note: how sad is it that the literal only happy memory that Eleven has at that point in her life is her mother saying I love you in the 30 seconds immediately following her birth). I have two theories relating to this:

First, you know who else used anger to fuel their powers: Eight. And One even mentions Eight, so maybe he's the one who taught her that. Maybe her escape was his first attempt to get free, but something went wrong. Either she couldn't remove his tracker/inhibitor chip thing or she just ended up escaping without him some other way.

Second, they also made a big deal about Mike saying I love you to Eleven, so perhaps him saying it to her in her big face off with Vecna helps make her more powerful than ever before. I feel like that has to come into play here somehow.

Theory 4:

So we know both that season 5 will be the last season and that there will be less of a time jump between seasons as there has been in the past, so it seems likely to me that the end of season 4 will set the stage for season 5, maybe even leading directly into it, and that it will be bigger than ever before. What could be bigger than the crazy things that have already happened to these kids in the past three years? One thing that has always stayed (mostly) the same is the ignorance of the town to the supernatural events that have gone down. As we have already seen this season, the town now knows something is and has been wrong in the town, though at the moment their assumptions are incorrect. The kids also seem to be backed into a corner right now, what with half the town thinking they are all part of some cult that is responsible for the murdered teenagers. At this stage something drastic would have to happen to rule out Eddie and the rest of the kids as suspects. In the volume 2 trailer, there is a quick scene where we see Mrs. Wheeler protecting little Holly from what seems to be some kind of force that is shaking the house. All this leads me to think that Season 4 will end with Vecna and the rest of the Upside Down bursting into and taking over all of Hawkins. The whole town will find out and have to evacuate the town, or something similar. 

Theory 5:

More than anything, I do not want this theory to be true, but I think Steve will die. I love Steve, he’s basically my favourite character, and I can’t imagine the show without him, but I think all the clues are pointing to his death. First of all, Steve has been much more heroic than usual this season, gotten a lot more screen time. He dove down to find the gate, was a total badass taking out the bats, which could possibly be a set up for another heroic, yet fatal, moment for him later. Eddie emphasized further how awesome he was, “Steve Harrington is a badass, Steve Harrington is a good guy, everybody loves Steve”. 

They are also underlining his close relationships with so many of the characters. Eddie talks about how Dustin worships him, Steve got to interact a lot more with the other kids (Max even had a letter for him, the only one of the older teens she gave a letter to), he has a close relationship with Robin, even he and Eddie start to bond a bit. 

Most glaring of all, is all of the heavy handed hints at the rekindling of his relationship with Nancy. Eddie, Robin and Dustin all make extremely pointed comments about it, plus Steve and Nancy have all their little moments together (like her ogling him shirtless, the awkward moment in the Creel house with the spider web, when she bandages his wounds, the flirty “you almost deserved it” when their talking about guns in the Upside Down). The hints are NOT subtle, seems a little silly for the Duffers to have Nancy swing from Steve to Jonathan and back to Steve again. It makes sense for her and Jonathan to break up, if it happens, because they’re 18 and their lives are going in different directions, it would be perfectly fine and normal for them to drift apart. But, I’m not sure if it would do anything for the characters if Steve and Nancy were to get back together. Why else would their romance be so hinted at? 

Steve has evolved from the typical douche jock that everyone hates into one of the most likeable characters with personal connections to MANY of the main characters. Season 4 is proving darker, more serious, and more mature than any of the previous seasons and the death of a main character has been heavily hinted at by the Duffers and others. Given the focus this season on how great Steve is and a cool, hero guy, and how important he is to so many characters, it seems to me like they are setting him up to have a gut-wrenchingly tragic death. Steve’s death would rock our Hawkins crew to their core, Nancy, Robin, Dustin, and the rest of the kids would be devastated, providing the fuel to destroy Vecna and the Upside Down even more. 

He could go out one of two ways, either he sacrifices himself to save someone (Probably Dustin or Nancy), or he could suffer some complications from his injuries from the demobs. I think the latter is more likely (Robin’s hints about rabies, the ominous music/creepy and suspicious Upside Down squelching sounds when they saw his wounds, his coughing when they reached Eddie’s trailer). 

I really hope I’m wrong about this, I’ll lose it if Steve dies. Or I hope that if I’m right, it’s either a Hopper situation and they just think he’s dead or that everyone’s theories about time travel is correct and they can somehow go back and redo events including saving Steve.

Theory 6:

This is a much wilder theory, especially since we’ve already had a triple reveal about the identity of Mr. Orderly, but what if Henry Creel/One/Vecna is also Eleven’s father? First of all, the timeline lines up: if Eleven was born in 1971, and Henry Creel was 12 at the time he attacked his family in 1959, that would make him 24 at the time of her birth and 32 when she sent him to the Upside Down in 1979. 

Also, when he is recounting his past to Eleven, One said that when Brenner realised that he couldn’t control him, he tried to remake him, which caused him to start his program. How would he remake him?. Brenner could do research and seek out other people or children with psychic powers or he could use One’s DNA to create more children himself. Either he did one or the other, OR a combination of the two. 

We know that Terry Ives has a bit of psychic power, enough to make lights flicker and communicate with Eleven in her mind. Her powers were clearly nowhere near as powerful as Eleven’s though, as she wasn’t able to fight back in her altercations with the people at Hawkins Lab, but she did have some sort of powers. What if the experiments Terry Ives joined prior to Eleven’s birth were a front so that Brenner could find others with powers and create more powerful children with the DNA of his test subjects. Terry could have been tricked, or she could have agreed to be a surrogate so the they could claim her child and she just never told her sister the truth, and she changed her mind when the time came. This would explain why she knew so absolutely that Brenner had taken Jane. Brenner’s experiments could have used only the DNA of the test subjects, or he could have used One’s DNA for some or all of them. I think it’s most likely that he used One’s DNA for only some of the pregnancies, and used DNA from male volunteers to create some of the kids, as if would be a better experiment scientifically that way. Also, if he only used One’s DNA, this would make ALL of the kids in the lab his children and that would make him killing them all even more horrific. 

Although, the timeline lines up for Two, the first kid created, to be One’s child as well. If the kids created with his DNA were done so by artificial insemination, One will have had to have reached puberty at the time of the first one’s birth. Two looks to me to be no older than 16, and that would make One 16 at the time of his birth at the youngest, which is possible. If Two and Eleven are both One’s children that would explain why they are so strong psychically, given how powerful One is.

If Eleven is One’s daughter, that would also explain why he gravitated towards her to single out as well. If psychic power is inherited genetically, as we can assume as Terry Ives has powers, Eleven would HAVE to have a father with stronger powers than her mother, as her mother’s are so weak. 

Theory 7:

Yes, I’m agreeing with all the theories out there that Will is gay and has a crush on Mike, it’s completely obvious, has been hinted at since season 2 really. I also agree with many similar theories out there that Will’s painting is related to Mike in some way. 

First of all, the painting was obviously supposed to be a gift for Mike, as he brought it to the airport. He clearly decided not to give it to him after Mike greeted him in a lacklustre manner, you can even see Will dejectedly scrunching the painting a little as they leave the airport. Then, Will puts the painting in his backpack after he and Mike have a heart to heart, so that is clearly him changing his mind about giving the painting to Mike. 

As to what the painting is, it’s anyone’s guess, but since he was originally intending to give it to Mike in a public place in front of his friends and family, it is probably not meant to be a way to confess his feelings for Mike or come out to him. I doubt he would do that in front of other people, if at all. I think the painting is about friendship, maybe it’s of just him and Mike, maybe it’s all of their friends, maybe it’s the swings where they first met as kids, maybe its their D&D characters, etc. 

As for when Will’s sexuality is revealed, if it ever is, I think it may have something to do with Vecna. As soon as Will steps foot in Hawkins, he will become the PERFECT candidate for a Vecna victim, given his extensive past trauma, and the secrets/problems that are currently haunting him (his sexuality/feelings for Mike). Whether his secrets are revealed to Mike or any of the other characters or if just we the viewers find out remains to be seen. 

Theory 8:

Another quick theory I have is that Lucas gets Vecna-ed. This theory is solely based off of the two clips of him alone and looking at something terrified in the trailers and this one behind the scenes clip. In the clip, Gaten is in a trailer getting his make up or hair done, and Caleb walks in having just finished some filming. Caleb shows Gaten a photo on his phone of whatever he was just filming and the editors blur out the image so the viewers can’t see what it is. Gaten then asks if they had given Caleb contacts and if they were uncomfortable. Caleb answers yes and yes. The most probably reason I can think of to give Caleb painful contact lenses is if he gets Vecna-ed. Although, it could have just been a distorted version of Lucas showing up in somebody ELSE’S Vecna hallucination. 

Parallels between Eleven and One:

This isn’t a theory really, just me noticing evidence in past seasons of Eleven’s repressed memories coming out.

1: The little head flick One does when snapping the guard’s neck. Eleven does that in season one to snap a guard’s back as well and also to break Mike’s bully’s arm. She learned that from One

 2: In season one, where she kills the Lab people who were trying to capture her in the middle school, all their eyes bleed, just like One does to his victims. 

3: In season 3, Eleven lifts Billy into the air like One did to her and to his victims.

4: She removed the piece of Mind Flayer gunk from her leg in season 3 the same way she removed the inhibitor chip from One’s neck. Honestly, the fact that she loses her powers immediately after that and Brenner says that the reason she can’t access her powers is because of her repressed memories, makes me think that her doing that subconsciously triggered her PTSD and that is why she lost her powers after removing the thing from her leg.

5: The most obvious one, Eleven destroying the Demogorgon in season one, EXACTLY the same way she destroyed One.

[bylertruther]

what do you think about "my life started that day we found you in the woods"

lets start with my knee-jerk reaction, which is

but then when i finally let the all-consuming mama bear spartan rage flow through and out of me, i remember that they had no idea what was wrong with el or how to help her as she seemingly choked to death right in front of them.

they'd dealt with something similar once when will was possessed, though, and will remembers that it was mike and his family professing their love for him that gave him the strength to fight back. so, naturally, he urges mike to do the same now, because he thinks it would mean more if it came from him. he's the heart after all.

we know based off of mike's own dialogue in scenes from other seasons that he doesn't believe in love at first sight. he even repeats as much in the van scene before they pick her up. he says that lie, along with everything else, because he thinks it's what she wants and needs to hear. he's not thinking about anyone or anything else in that moment, he's just locked in on saving her life right now by any means necessary. if will, the person he trusts most in the world and who told him it was him that saved him, tells him this is a time for monologues just like last time, then that's what he's going to do. mike doesn't actually think their love is like that of fairy tales or comic books, but he knows that she wishes it could be and that she'd been previously begging him to say i love you and according to will apparently needs him, so he just does what he can to help her now. because he doesn't want her to die! and he doesn't know what else he could possibly do! (the true love confession worked in s2 but did not work in s4 bc it wasn't true and it wasn't true love <3)

mike's confession is a knock-off of the one he gave will in the shed and will's van confession. "my life started that day we met you in the woods" / "do you remember the first day that we met? [..] it was the best thing i've ever done." like... c'mon, mike, lmao. he highlights her differences and puts her on a pedestal for them, because will's confession ("you make her feel like she's better for being different") led him to believe that that's what she wants and what gives her strength, but it isn't. it's literally the complete opposite and this season spent 39480938094830 years showing us in 9834309840930 ways just how much she hates that shit. instead, the person that gave her strength was the one person that looked at her, saw a girl, and treated her like one. aka, max. it's only when mike she looks over at her and mike stops lying that she wills the vines away.

so yeah. i could go on but the tl;dr is that will's heart-shattering, kicked puppy dog face makes me want to kill myself fifty times over and bite michael like a squeaky toy, BUT. then i remember the context and i'm like oh yeah no. that tracks. makes sense that he'd say that. he's breaking his code to save her life, which is like.. really fucking serious lol. he repeatedly and firmly did not want to lie to her about this and refused to even when pressed, but he'll do it if it means saving her life and the alternative is her dying and the world dying too. he's also working off of a big lie told to him by the one person that he trusts more than anyone in the entire world, including himself, that's the complete opposite of how eleven actually feels. so, like. literally what else is he supposed to do. he got in trouble for plagiarizing an essay in s2 and here he is doing it again smh old habits die hard i guess regurgitating and trying to imitate intimate moments of his and will's for eleven just like he did in s3 when he tried and failed to tell her he was acting like that bc he was going crazy in "love" lmao 🙄

[luxshine]

Some notes that come to my mind as I watch Season 2, episode 3 of Stranger Things (YEs, this would be the equivalent of tweeting live watch, but in just one post)

Jim Hooper is VERY out of his depth. I get him trying to reassure El, but on one hand, BAD idea to lie, even white lie, to a girl whose only socialization after thirteen years or so is the phrase "Friends don't lie" and can make Carrie White look like a parlor trick magician. On the other, not explaining to El that he was late because of probable Upside down shenanigans? Good to protect her of a REAL danger, Bad to give his case. And also, uhm, he knows that Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas CAN keep El a secret. He saw them ride literal circles around the goverment Shop guys (I know they're not the Shop... but they act like the Shop, they quack like the Shop, they are as stupid as the Shop) so why not trust them a bit?

El of course got her teenage rebellion runaway mood going on. Because come on, El was going to run away. She absolutely tasted freedom in season 1, she was not going to stay locked up in a cabin in the woods forever. Plus, now that she has hair? She looks completely different from before. People wouldn't think much about "Jim Hopper's niece", not even if he is still working with the idiot Shop. OTOH, Why absolutely NO ONE ever tries to teach her how to act normally ? She calls attention to herself precisely because she doesn't know how to talk to people.

Dustin being equally smart (because he started researching wtf was hiding in his trashcan) and stupid (Because he feed it the ONE THING we know is really toxic to a lot of animals and then invited Max to see something that OBVIOUSLY came from the Upside down when Max has no idea of it) is... very sweet in a "teenagers will be teenagers" way. OTOH, not realizing that Dart is OBVIOUSLY from the Upside Down, is a mayor fail on Dustin. I get why Will didn't tell him "Oh, I puked him up", but still, it is an obvious alien thing.

Of course he'd tell Mike. But well, then Will has no taste.

Max has the patience of a saint. But then she has to have it if she's related to Bill.

Bob is equally sweet and while his advice is not that good for Will since... uhm... well, Big Nightmare Clown is not the same as what Will experienced -unless his Big Nightmare Clown was named Pennywise and now I weep that Sean Astin didn't have a chance to be a character in It- at least he is TRYING to treat Will normally which is far, far more than everyone else is doing... and of course his advice ended up backfiring because, well, Will wasn't having NIGHTMARES.

Jonathan has fell SO down on my list of liked characters, he's sitting in the fort with Mike. I would get him angry that his mom is dating a perfectly absolute great guy if his father was a) dead, or b) had been a perfectly absolute great guy. But we have established he hates his dad. So why the hell is he mad his mom has a chance to happiness? It's not as if he read the script and he knows Bob will die and break Joyce's heart!

On other hand... wow, Steve really matured in the year between Season 1 and 2. And he called out Nancy on her secret threesome because wow, she was so entitled "where were you?" so Steve is apparently her driver? So good for Steve to actually step out of something that is bad for him. I understand Nancy complaining that she was drunk and thus he shouldn't take what she said seriously... but then she didn't contradict anything of what she said while drunk so... yeah. No Nancy, you want everything? You need to communicate. While on the other hand, Jonathan absolutely thinks they're a trio and just didn't thought of mentioning it to Nancy or Steve either. This really doesn't work.

Nancy is an IDIOT. Like, she KNOWS her phoneline is intervened. She SAW them do it in a montage. I mean, I love her gumption when it comes to hit things with more teeth than the Osmond's family, but she is an idiot when it comes to common sense. Then again, her brother is also an idiot. Him treating Max like trash just because he misses El is not fair. And why the hell El reacts like a jealous girlfriend? That was the worst narrative choice ever for everyone.

Joyce should take a second job as a private detective. She's REALLY good at it. Of course, she's also a total Mama Bear. And the first one who sees that there's something going on with Will more than what everyone is telling her, because of course. How long before everyone calls her crazy? 10 minutes? (I have to say, Winnona Ryder? KILLS the role). Oh, wow, i was right. It took us 10 minutes to see someone rolling her eyes at her. At least it was not one of the main characters.

Oh, that line of Mike saying "That's like saying if someone is from the Death Star they're not necessarily evil" hits really funny since... in OUR timeline, in 2015, two years before? We got Finn. And a bunch of other non-evil Storm troopers in the comics. And well, by THEIR timeline, they ALREADY had Return of the Jedi, where we see that Darth Vader was, in fact, not evil. So yeah, Mike... You don't get to say that someone is evil just because they were born in a very ugly dimension. And while Dart might be dangerous, Mike's reaction to it is not a good one. Especially when the show shows us that yes, Dart DOES trust Dustin, as he's the one kid that it doesn't hiss at.

I also finally realized WHY it bugs me so much that Stranger Things is Stephen King's lite. It FEELS like a Stephen King story, it moves like an Stephen King story, the characters CAN be paralleled to a lot of Stephen King's characters (Jim Hooper is Alan Pangborn without the knowledge of magic tricks to ease kids into talking with him, Dustin is right out of the Richie Tozier school of kids who don't know when to shut up for their own sake. Hell, I can play "scenes that come right out of a King book" and write a ten pages or so post with season one alone), but it has NO credit or acknowledge to King from the creators at all. On the other hand, two years later we got a series that was supposedly based on King's works and... felt nothing like a King story. So part of my anger is that Stranger Things is what Castle Rock should've been.

I need to work on that because well, not fair to the series. Even if they did took a TON of "inspiration" from King.

[rainbownixie]

question 💃💃

---- how do you want the meat loaf break up to go?

MEAT LOAF- i call it ✨ microwave ✨

i think i want mike trying to fix their relationship first because he's scared of losing el and he also isn't aware of his true feelings. he just doesn't want to lose her.

but she tells him they aren't meant to be, and that's okay. el is very peaceful and kind of sad about it but she's already accepted it. she makes sure mike knows she isn't going anywhere.

i want mike trying to win her back first but failing, and ending up accepting it. and he realizes he feels... free, after that. relieved. because he now knows he won't lose el, and that's what scared him the most. not the romantic relationship, but losing someone he loves.

then i want el to tell him that she still loves him, but as friends. and mike to say that too. like- i need mike telling el that he loves her without any romantic implications and actually meaning it this time because it's what he truly feels.

i want them both to end in good terms and i want it to be a soft heart to heart. no fighting or screaming or arguing. maybe mike insisting for a little bit, but that's all. i want them to love each other platonically and talking things out for once.