#so that would mean el assuming it was for a girl he liked bc he was shy about

[chirpsythismorning]

re Lettergate: Lettergate, but it's El's pre-spring break letter laying crumpled somewhere in Mike's room. Reminding him what El said about the painting. Making Mike wonder in a letter of mostly lies was the part about Will also one? Mike's gears spinning-> Why did Will have it at the airport not El? Why did Will bring it with him? Why wait to give it to him if it had been from her all along? What would make Will lie to him like that? Questions for both Mike and to some casual viewers to think about if they hadn't already. We know it doesn't add up and why, but does Mike?

Right?!?!? Like it's such a mind fuck.

I'm still not certain about that scene, and that's probably what I love about it so much.

I could see it being bunch of different scenarios.

Initially when s4 came out, I was very confident Mike didn't see Will crying. I even made this post about it that blew up, bc I could genuinely relate to Will's situation, where you're facing the window in the car, crying as quietly as you can in hopes that no will notice.

But then as time passed, I rewatched the scene more and I started to notice all of Mike's micro-expressions (the first time I watched it, I didn't notice any of them...), with him going from bright and happy upon thinking the painting for Will's crush (according to El), was actually for him, only for Will to say it was commissioned by El and with Mike now looking extremely confused.

I kind of take that first reaction as something the entire fandom overlooks, both ga and bylers. Because it's clear from the start of that moment Mike WANTS the painting to be for him from Will, and he's visibly relieved to find out it is, only to be visibly dejected when he finds out that it's not.

And like you said, then comes the uncertainty for Mike that this could have been just another thing El lied about in her letter, so him assuming Will was painting something for his crush might have not even based in reality in the first place?

Also, why would Will lie to him? Will never lies to him! At least not something as big as this. Which is why fans have acknowledged some of the notes from the score Being Different matching both parts of The First I love You and The First Lie. There is something sort of special about Mike just believing Will, and the importance of that being conveyed through that score basically. I do get that. Then again, Being Different is mostly Will's perspective on the situation at hand (and he's known to be an unreliable narrator). This is him saying I love you to Mike for the first time (veiled) and this is him also lying to him about something big for the first time.

But again, after rewatching that scene god knows how many times now, it's clear based on Mike's emotions throughout that he is having some sort of realization and conundrum.

In fact, he looks most emotional and effected when Will starts describing the situation of their relationship, not him and El's.

When Will starts talking about feeling different and like a mistake and how Mike makes him feel like he's none those things, we know that can't possibly apply to Mike and El's dynamic at all. In fact, we just saw that that was the whole reason for their big fight, with El being convinced Mike just saw her as a monster like everyone else, with him deflecting by saying she was a superhero, not acknowledging the core of the issue at all. This is something him and El never touch on again, face to face. All we have is their fight, them reuniting and saying they missed each other, followed by Mike jumping into saying much of what he said in their fight during his monologue, things that literally upset her last time (denying he never said I love you), mixed with some inspiration from Will, and with a dash of trauma bonding phrasing that would come off as romantic to the majority, but also arguably as platonic and yet just as meaningful. But the pressure of it being romantic is what made it so hard to watch, because we know Mike's heart is conflicted right now.

The issue I have with the interpretation that Mike didn't pick up on Will's feelings at all though, is that there is something so much more impactful than all of that stuff I have just said combined, and it's the whole I didn't say it/You didn't have to line. That was really beautiful exchange that sort of encapsulated their whole relationship, and so having that ring true in the moment when it mattered most? Epic.

It meant everything for Mike to read between the lines in the van scene, as it would have cemented this truth between them that the love they feel for each other doesn't need to be outright said, they just know based on how they make each other feel. Like that's the whole point.

And by the end of that scene, Mike looks like someone who understands.

When Will is emotional looking out the window talking about being a mistake, we get Mike out of focus in the background looking Will up and down very sympathetic. I don't know why he would have such strong indicators of feeling sympathy for an emotional Will, describing things that sound an awful lot like their circumstances, unless he somehow picked up on what Will was saying despite Will not outright saying it?

The way Mike literally looks stunned and amazed when Will starts rambling and saying things that word for word describe him and Will? Why would he react like that if he had absolutely no thoughts in his head?

Gonna be honest and say the most obvious reason he would figure out Will is lying, is that El does not know an iota about DND... Like she doesn't know anything. She would have to have asked Will to dig deep and do something personal for her to give to Mike... And that just feels like it would be a quick obvious indicator for Mike that this has to be how Will feel's if it's coming from his knowledge about all of it? That in and of itself makes me feel like Mike would easily come to that conclusion that this is Will's feelings for him and he goes from being happy to sad to happy again bc he is relieved that the truth is it is for him, even if neither of them can face it rn.

More than anything on the Mike and El front, I think Mike knows that El deserves so much more than being settled for, which is why he's having a hard time playing along for much longer.

I think he would have preferred they stay friends at the end of s3 with them having been that way for the last 3 months before the epilogue, but it's not like Mike could say no thanks? That wasn't an option in any shape/form. After everything El just went through, and everything she's done for him and his friends, how could Mike hear her say I love you, and reject that? The fact that he does care for her very much is what makes it so tragic that he is suffering and not allowing himself to open up about it, bc he feels like if he did, he would be selfish. It would be selfish to break it off when she wants to be together now and is approaching their relationship romantically, only for him to go against that. And so he plays the part, and he does it really unconvincingly...

As he is having these moments in s4, I think it is him sort of accepting something that he has just started to see as inevitable because it's not like he can hide from the truth forever. Unless he wants to be miserable like his parents, and clearly he is feeling the pressure to just go along with it, while also deep down wanting to reject it, and we see how that blows over in the end, with it being way worse than he ever imagined (apocalypse proportions? Like, Jesus Mike).

I will say, that as a boy that is still technically in a relationship with someone, Mike probably felt like he couldn't be like Yes Will, I like you back. The best he could do was give him a look that said that reassuringly and then try to process it. Him facing the truth in that moment was never an option while him and El still hadn't talked things over. Also him facing a crying Will, would have only made him cry himself arguably, meaning his only option was to sit there looking as emotionless as possible (rink-o-mania teas). I think what we have here is honestly a s3 ending parallel right in front of us but without us being able to see Mike's side of it. We've got Will and Mike and even Jonathan. Will cried hoping Jonathan wouldn't notice, but he did. Mike biked home and hugged his mom looking just heartbroken. But imagine those s3 shots with Mike out of focus? You probably wouldn't know for certain if he was sad or not? I honestly feel like if we had seen Mike in the van, he would have looked like he was holding back everything he could, making those parallels overlap perfectly.

Then after the van scene, Mike's reuniting with El again and he's saying I'm here I'm here and you can see it on his face, he's worrying too much about El again. He's worried that he's going to break her if things end romantically between them and as a result she won't be in his life anymore. That's not what he wants at all. But then his eyes search for Will and he's so conflicted, bc he literally just days ago confided in Will that he didn't want to do this anymore. And yet still, he doesn't want to hurt El, nor does he want to hurt Will. *enter explosion in the background behind Mike, followed by Argyle going AW SHIT AW SHIT AW SHIT as Will and El hug and Mike watches....*

Then Surfer Boy happens, and El is reaching to hold his hands and now she's saying she missed him. I imagine he was terrified that because of their fight, she wouldn't want him in her life anymore, and so he was relieved on that front. But then the pressure is back again. He's back to square one, at the end of s3 where he feels like the only way El will ever want him is romantically, and he has to fit that role in order to be in her life. Not only is it something he feels obligated to do to stay connected to El, but also it seems like the most safest option in the world he lives in. It's what is expected from everyone around him. It makes sense. So it doesn't really matter if Mike is having doubts or that now he's hopeful Will feels the same, he starts to second guess himself.

And this then leads to part ?/? of Mike stalling (2 scenes before this, Yuri gets called out for being a coward because of his stalling, all while he hides the truth about the stalling in his coat chest pocket...). Mike is yet again stalling because he can't find it in himself to be honest and tell El he doesn't love her and play along and lie for any longer, and yet he also can't tell the truth because that also terrifies him (which is that he knows he doesn't love El because he has those feelings for Will...)

He stalls until it's not an option anymore, regardless of how he feels about the whole situation. And Will is pushing him and telling him to do it and Mike looks heartbroken. I think in this moment he is feeling doubts about Will's feelings, but also I think he is mostly convinced both El and Will want to be with him, so he is having to choose in this moment to be selfless like Will in order to save El's life, putting what he perceives to be her happiness, above his own (a vicious cycle we have going on here).

Now, a large part of why I subscribe to this, is because of a lot of details that fit, but I have also touched on this next detail here. Basically, I think Mike went from thinking the painting was from Will initially, to thinking it was from El by the end of the season.

I think the scene at the hospital is when this major shift happens. When Lucas says that El saving Max was a miracle, I think this is when Mike starts to now believe that El does love him, and that apparently his words did work, and so therefore the painting had to commissioned by her, right? The scene starts with the painting in the background behind Will, but directly after the miracle drop, Mike quickly shares a look with him, only to slowly, nervously look over at El, confused and then almost sad, with the painting now in the background behind her.

And so now the question becomes, does Mike want to keep up this act (unconvincingly) with El? Or does he want to follow his heart?

You could say that the ending of s4 answers that question...

I think that this means that starting in s5, Mike will definitely still have mixed feelings and emotions about the painting, along with his perception of El and Will's feelings for him.

I think that it makes sense that he would be upset if he's being sort of whipped back and forth about the truth. Lying was like a big deal in s4 with him and El (along with the whole series in general), but I think it's going to be a lot more impactful and intense seeing that confrontation happening with Will and Mike. Not because Mike is going to hate him or be mean over it, but just sort of be more upset than anything else.

Is Mike maybe thinking that this could be a testament to the state of their relationship? That apparently Will's gotten to the point where he lies about something like this? It's going to be a lot to process seeing as he ended s4, for the first time, making an active choice to choose for himself instead of basing that choice on other peoples emotions.

Because apparently that is what happened isn't it? He literally ended s4 thinking the painting was commissioned by El and yet he still chose Will, also while now probably assuming he was wrong about Will's feelings and he doesn't actually feel the same.

Let that sink in.

Mike made that choice for the first time based on his own emotions and not others, even all while assuming it was going to be doomed...

I'm sort of proud honestly, because that's not an easy thing to do.

Being true to yourself and risking hurting and losing others is a scary thing. And it's also why they've got themselves in this situation in the first place, because all of them are sacrificing their own truth, under the assumption that this is what everyone wants.

It's tragically epic.

[stevieharringtonwifeguy]

re: your steve kisses everybody post, hear me out: Eddie is like, "I know this is new for you..." and Steve goes, "Well, I mean, me and the basketball team used to mess around but it wasn't, like, REAL." and Eddie goes, "...what?" Steve says, "Well like, we would make out and sometimes touch but not in a REAL way." And Eddie gets a little panicked and is like "what? What?? you-- the team-- that's not-- what?" And Steve goes, "I mean, just normal messing around." "That's not normal!" Eddie says and Steve is like "No it totally is." and Eddie goes to Lucas to try and convince Steve and I know one joke is Lucas going um no?? but imho it's funnier if Lucas goes, "I mean yeah, when we were hyped up or having fun, it's not a big deal. I've gone further roleplaying with the Party." Steve gets all smug and Eddie has a breakdown picturing the locker room being one of those girls-at-a-slumber-party-gone-sexual-fantasies

i hadn't considered where the party stood on the 'is making out with your friends a fun bonding activity' debate bc they register as infant children to me, but given that they're entering high school and will likely be beginning to experiment with that it is hilarious to think about where they fall on that

el is 100% team fun bonding activity i think. given the opportunity i think she would give everyone in her friend group a lil smooch bc she loves affection in all its forms and loves to give it to and receive it from the people she cares about

lucas and max are kind of on the fence bc they're together, but i think they are inherently both team fun bonding activity but refrain for each other's sake. until they realise it's fine and then they're congratulating each other on good kisses

dustin is team what the fuck are you talking about. his lips are for suzie and suzie only and the fact that lumax and el are chill about it baffles him

mike is also team what the fuck are you talking about but this is bc a) he has no game and b) the one time he tried to kiss a friend and have it be chill he chose will as his kissee and felt weird about it, so he assumes it's just impossible to kiss someone without feeling weird about it

will is originally team what the fuck are you talking about but that's the repression talking. after he's more comfortable in himself he's like actually yknow what!! yeah!! i can just have a lil fun!! just a sweet lil kiss!!!! and he kisses lucas 100% purely for fun while max and el cheer and mike continues to feel weird

steve and eddie hear about the general consensus towards friend-kissing in the party and after being like ew no it's actually illegal for high school freshmen/ now sophomores to be kissing each other (blatant hypocrisy on steve's part) steve takes this as a monumental win for the friend-kissers

[2nv-diary]

si paraluman | chapter one on ao3

cove james holden x original female character

tinuruan mo ang puso ko(na umibig ng tunay)

word count : 1848

note: i was playing baxter's route and suddenly 'huling el bimbo', a filo song, popped into my head bc haha they're dancing in that route amirite anyways heres cove with his dancer crush

If you told Cliff Holden that it’d only take twenty dollars to make his son the happiest man alive, he would’ve doubted you through the ocean and back. Moving to Sunset Bird thanks to a lottery he’d recently won would only make things difficult as it’d mean they’d be moving away from Kyra, and the thought of broken family would only worsen Cove’s already foul mood ever since he’d learnt of his parents splitting. So to say that it’d take a measly twenty dollar bill to relieve him of all his son’s fears of growing apart and growing up, Cliff would say it’s too good to be true.

At least, that’s what the situation looked like until a perfect opportunity lands itself on him in the form of a child said to be Cove’s age walking closer. A child wearing shells for bracelets and necklaces rattling and clashing against each other with every skip she’d make, her arms swinging in pure joy as he assumes she’s making her way back home after a long day. The sun has started to set, after all. She must’ve burnt daylight doing all sorts of things, and judging by the large bag slung on her shoulder, Cliff knows this really must be the little girl the Oceanis family have talked about. When she was almost within the condominium’s vicinity, he could spot the bottles of sequins, beads, and shells inside her macrame bag, along with what must be a work in progress with the way it’s stuck in pins and clips. An artist, Cliff muses.

The little Oceanis slows down her skipping when she spots him standing up on the porch. He takes note of her confusion at the missing “For Sale” sign and while she puts two and two together, he takes the initiative to beckon her over, waving politely when their eyes meet. Just like her two mothers, Godina Oceanis is as vibrant and approachable. This was Cliff’s first impression of her, so with a good introduction out of the way, that puts him in a green light to ask her a favor regarding his son, Cove James Holden–who is nowhere to be found at the moment.

Living in Sunset Bird means you either are living comfortably, or, like Cliff, have won the lottery to have a house and just need to maintain it–relatively much easier than buying the house in the first place. So, really, he shouldn’t be surprised when Godina’s ocean blue eyes widen in bewilderment at the twenty dollar bill in his hand. Even Cliff himself would admit later on that this was indeed a weird way to make friends for his son, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and Godina was his only hope.

Godina shakes her head at his request, shoving his hand back to him. He is about to beg the kid to reconsider when she actually offers to be Cove’s friend regardless of the money, which delights him to no end. He tells her he’d definitely bring his son over–and it’s this time it dawns on him again that his son is still missing in action. Sighing for the nth time that day, Cliff makes another request of Godina, who thankfully agrees to help him find her new playmate, and dashes off with the promise that she’ll find him for sure; since she knows the area more than he does, Cliff supposes she definitely has a bigger chance than he will in doing the finding.

She does indeed find Cove, sitting idly at the Oceanis’ backyard-slash-hilltop. She spots him crying that time, and for the first time, he feels a familial warmth of another person that wasn’t either of his parents. And when he faces her, aquamarine eyes meet oceanic ones. Both shades of the ocean and sea blink at one another and in Cove’s mind, the world stills. There is something therapeutic about gazing into the orbs that remind him of his love of the sea, and it definitely was one of the reasons he immediately found a liking towards his new neighbor who was now encouraging him to answer to his father’s calls–wait…

He snaps out of his daydream when he feels himself being lifted off the ground, and he can only reach back for his newfound friend who stands up to greet Cliff and reassure her mothers that she and her new playmate were fine and well–while pacifying Cove whom she noticed was tensing the moment he was reunited with his dad. While she didn’t know anything about him, she still comforted him like it was a second nature, and for that, Cliff thinks he really found a good deal by moving to Sunset Bird that day.

And the feeling only solidified when Cove visited the next day while his first friend in the neighborhood was in the middle of dance practice. The door to their apartment opens and he stares at shimmering beads and textured frills and fringes, the movement flowing from none other than Godina Oceanis. While they were expecting a visitor by that time, Noelani let Godina finish the track she was practicing to before announcing their guests for today.

Cliff nudges his son to say ‘hi’ to Godina who had just started packing up her things from the carpet to make her way towards them. Cove watches the blue haired lass hop over the foyer to greet them in return, before grabbing his hand and pulling him upstairs before their parents could even tell them what to do. Pamela laughs while Noelani apologizes to Cliff for her behavior, all while the latter insists it’s fine as long as Cove enjoys his time up there.

‘Up there’, in Godina’s room, Cove is stunned yet again when he finds reflections of light bouncing off on him when he enters. He’s quick to notice the sparkles coming from the sequins pasted on the walls as well as the sea glass chandelier hanging on the ceiling, catching sunlight by its slope. While some people would probably have a lot to say about her room, Cove could only call it ‘pretty’–and he means well, he promises. He’s at a loss for words not because of something bad, but because there really aren’t many words he knows of that would capture what this room made him feel.

He’s only able to move on from it when Godina herself snaps him out of his daze, shaking something before him. Glancing down, he is faced with a wooden grid box full of shells. Iridescent ones, pearlescent ones, and marbled ones all displayed in a neat fashion covered with a thick acrylic sheet. Cove thinks it’s neat for when earthquakes happen as he’s learnt from Godina that day that acrylic will break into larger pieces than glass therefore easier to clean up.

Seeing his interest piqued still–she now knows that his eyes can speak volumes and uses it all the time from then on–she slides the acrylic off and lets him pick up whichever one he likes. That whole day, they discuss scientific terms Cove’s never heard other kids speak of before. At first, he’d thought Godina was an artsy one, a kid with an impeccable eye for design. After that day, he learnt that she was also knowledgeable in marine biology–that in itself is already two achievements Cove is in awe of her for.

But there was another thing about Godina Oceanis that little Cove James Holden didn’t know he would soon fall in love with her for and that was her dancing. During one of his visits to her room again, they talked about things new budding friends would talk about: hobbies and interests. And while Godina could tell by now what Cove likes and dislikes, it still is better to hear it coming from him himself. Cove was shy about it, only ever agreeing to her observations that he likes the beach–and food, she teased–and turned the conversation to be about her instead. So she talked. Like a student to their teacher, Cove sat and listened as she told him about her love for the antique, the old ways of life. ‘Modernity is so boring’, he’d hear her say. She’d get up sometimes, and enact famous Philippine stars from movies of old. To impress her that time, he’d stayed up late to binge watch all the classics, even if some movies were in a language he didn’t understand. It was all worth it, he thinks, because now that he’s seen physical proof, he’s certain Godina looks like someone in those movies.

Paraluman , a stage name turned adjective for goddess-like features. Elegance and propriety combined into being, and Cove thinks Godina doesn’t even need to try to embody Paraluman. Even the way she is now, there’s no need for improvement anymore. (Of course, he never tells her that to her face. It’ll be his secret just as Cliff’s secret is giving her twenty bucks as bribe money.) That moment was the turning point in his life where he’d just like Godina better than anyone; eating what she likes(“Godina said we were having burgers.” to which Elizabeth would reply an exasperated “If Godina jumped off a cliff, would you?” and a whole lecture was made after Elizabeth was met with a silent Cove actually pondering the idea), joining anything only if she was there(The whole game where Cove would only play whatever role Godina chose first only to piss off Elizabeth resulting in their massive fight)... Anything was never just Godina’s now that the Oceanis and Holden family know better than to separate the two. It will always be Godina’s and Cove’s.

And what was Godina’s most loved hobby was now also Cove’s recent fixation. He’d insisted on coming over more often now because of those dancing lessons; even if he trips, falls, steps on her feet, Godina never complained about him and he thinks her a saint for being this patient. (He soon learns it’s because she was just as excited at having a partner to dance with, eagerly making him costumes that matched with hers–just like the one he first saw her in–in light enough material that wouldn’t cause irritation for him and his cast.)

Speaking of his cast, it was terribly difficult to watch him fumble with only one arm to practice with, but Pamela and Noelani stayed by their side with encouraging smiles, clapping along with the rhythm of the music. It made Godina smile, which in turn, slowly made him grin as well. Sometimes Elizabeth would ruin the fun and tease him for awkwardly swaying while his dance partner does it so flawlessly, but he never needs to defend himself because his blue haired friend is always to the rescue even when he has to admit ‘Lizzie’ was right–Godina was so breathtaking in every dance she performs, be it the boogie or the cha-cha. (He knows better than to refute her defenses, though. She’s just as, if not more, stubborn as him.)

[castleclerics]

new perspective on midleven pizza scene and vol 2 mike’s pov

i think mike is in more denial/repressing his feelings for will even harder in s4 than i’ve thought this whole time

alright first of all this mf says “hopefully these will block out any peripheral light” while will is literally in his peripheral vision in the kitchen and ofc will is light

“and it’s completely dark which means it works!” only for so long michael

“do i look cool?” literally he went back to how he was acting in s3 about his sexuality. denying it and being with a girl "bc that’s what boys do boys like girls i have to do that so other people can see how straight i am" mentality.

now this part i’m viewing a lot differently

everyone says that mike here was gonna break up with el, apologize for their fight etc. but now i’m thinkin he was gonna say he loves her and make up with her. and look how depressed he looks, he doesn’t want to because he knows it’s not his truth. but he’s more selfless than people give him credit for and he wants to make el happy.

i still think he understood that will was talking about himself in the van, but maybe he thought if he repaired his relationship with el he wouldn’t have to focus on her anymore (LMAO) and she wouldn’t be upset or unsure of mike’s feelings towards her (even though he would just be digging himself deeper into the lie but that’s probably the point narratively) and could focus on will since he knows he needs him.

he would still be pushing his feelings for will away, but making up with el and being in a relationship with her is the best way he knows how to distract and bury his love for will. so it would make sense that he would be trying to dig them even deeper down so he can focus on being there for will without his feelings for him getting in the way. (remember, he automatically assumes will doesn't like him back just like will does).

he would kill two birds with one stone in his mind. making el happy and being there for will, while completely abandoning himself and succumbing to his internalized homophobia again.

also the triangle behind mike in this scene is so funny because while he is digging himself deeper into something he isn't, he's got that huge lit up triangle behind him and on his shirt, showing you his queerness.

also the way the pizza only has 6 pepperoni slices instead of 7. will needs his other 7 (mike) to make 14, but mike isn't able to when he's literally in the act of running back to his internalized homophobia.

[livums]

Find the Word {😱❌🙂😰}

Hello! I was tagged by @vollzz! See her post here!

I sometimes forget how much of The Marking Blood I've written... so I'm always like 😱 whenever I can find all the words lol. Anyways! The other good news is... I think these snippets are actually kinda good!! Maybe a little sexy!!!! Just a little maybe.

Well enjoy!

there are a bunch of these tags I'm sitting on.... the way i'm slowly and erratically chipping away at my ask box.... el em ay oh

scarce

[Sonea] felt his hand cup her cheek, cold and strong and gentle. “You are scared,” he observed. “I’m not.” She did not pull away. “You are, and you are right to be.” His thumb brushed over her speckled cheek before his hand retreated entirely. “You know I wish that I could keep you safe.” He spoke hesitantly, as if against his better judgment. With stuttering step, Sonea closed the scarce distance between them. One hand reached for his arm—beneath the sleeve, he felt like stone. “Then help me talk to her, Nic. I can’t do it by myself.” She heard the shameless pleading in her voice, and it disgusted her. He shook his head. “I came with her to your mountain in the hope that I might find you first. To warn you of her presence. That is all I can do.”

This one was funny bc at first I misread the word as 'scare' and then was disappointed bc i thought I would have to get rid of this snippet. but holy shit the word scarce is actually in the very same one! easy.

fail

[Sylah] is barely fourteen years old. It is their fourth—or maybe their fifth—hunt as a trio, without Father’s help, and they have failed again. They are in some city (she could no longer recall which), and their vampire (she could no longer recall what it looked like) flees right out from under their noses and into the night. The following morning, Father takes them all in a wagon down some cramped stretch of cobblestone. And they hear the wailing. A lady bent and howling with sorrow over a bloodless body. The sound stabs into her heart and turned her blood to ice. Father keeps them moving. They must pass by at least five more scenes just like it before he finally gives them reprieve. “It’s as if you’ve gone out and slaughtered them yourself,” he says. This is the meaning of failure. She will not shake the soul-chilling sound of the woman’s weeping for many nights thereafter. Their next hunt is an unmitigated success.

gentle

When [Sylah] opened her eyes and lifted her head, Nieve was watching her. Dappled eyes wandered the contours of her face. She could feel it as if it were fingertips, not eyes, that touched her. The trail Nieve’s gaze left behind felt as cool on Sylah’s skin as water droplets. In the quiet, there was nowhere for the wickedness of her intentions to hide. She pressed a kiss into the palm of Nieve’s gentle hand. When she spoke, the tatters of her conscience came out. “Tell me to leave, and I will leave.” Her voice was low. “If you do not, I will take you into the chapter room, and you will break your vows.”

anxious

Sonea leaned her elbows on the chilly metal railing and bade her shoulders relax. Sylah wouldn’t be happy with her. Water was wet. Attending the funeral itself had never been an option for her. Commiserating with her sisters after the fact had always been her plan. Assuming they would have her—she wasn’t entirely sure. So, she had been stalling. The fine establishment known as The Mount served the town and its gutters in the same manner that lungs served a living body. Though patronage was always slower while the sun was up, this day had been particularly sluggish. But come nightfall, it would be plenty abuzz. The far travelers would be wanting company after paying their sacred respects to their dead protector. If the girls’ gossip was true—and if water remained wet—the people were anxious. And anxiety needed soothing.

Very gently tagging @flowerprose @writinglittlebeasts @ink-flavored @lorenfinch @jasperygrace! Your words are hum, don't, star, and strong!

[angel-wings-and-tattoos]

i can't stop thinking about the potential of s5 stonathan. it's a disease. this is directly inspired by the .5 second frame that steve and jonathan share in s4 bc i am actively psychotic and audibly gasped when it happened even though they literally didn't even look at each other.

when jonathan sees them for the first time, he assumes that steve and robin are a couple.

those two are practically the same person. they work on the same level and it's obvious to everyone around them that they're just meant to be together. steve and robin both know its in a platonic way, but it's hard for everyone else to look past the fact that they're a boy and a girl; how could the two of them be that close and not be dating?

robin has no idea about steve and jonathan's complicated history (surprising, i know. but steve's memory isn't what it used to be and truthfully he just assumed that he's already told her everything about his entire life, which is approximately 87% true. but jonathan happened to fall into that pesky 13%) but clocks the weird energy between the two of them immediately.

i'm just imagining jonathan lowkey cornering steve in order to talk to him. not that steve was avoiding him or anything. he just was not not avoiding him. so it takes a little while but jonathan finally gets steve to himself for more than 5 seconds and just overall asks how he's doing.

after a little small talk he asks about him and robin, very, very extremely (can't emphasize how bad it is) awkwardly. this is a man who is shitty with small talk at the very best of times talking to someone who he beat up and then kind of stole his girlfriend (jonathan stands by the fact he deserved the beating up part and would also like to point out that nancy is her own person who can't be stolen from anyone) so there's really no script to be going by here.

neither of them really know what the goal of the conversation is. jonathan just had a vague urge to talk to steve and steve didn't want to talk in the first place so, again, cannot emphasize the awkwardness of the situation. steve eventually realizes that jonathan thinks him and robin are a thing and, in a very mean girl way that only steve can pull off without sounding like an absolute asshole, bodily rolls his eyes and huffs at him that no, byers, we're just friends. capital P-Platonic.

jonathan is suddenly hit with an overwhelming reminder of steve back in high school. surprisingly, it's not in an entirely bad way, it's weirdly nice. he hasn't genuinely talked to steve in so long and it's at that exact moment that he realizes that he missed him. which is bizarre, in jonathan's opinion, because he's pretty sure you have to have more than two positive interactions with a person in order to miss them. (jonathan is also resolutely ignoring the bizarre relief he felt when steve said he wasn't dating robin).

another thing is that jonathan has the weird urge to hug steve. when the california crew got back to hawkins, jonathan had mainly been focused on nancy, which he thinks is perfectly understandable. by the time that talk was over (they had somehow managed to end the conversation while still ignoring one or two majorly important issues that their relationship might not survive talking about) steve was a dozen or so feet away, one arm still around el in a hug that never quite ended and talking to her, dustin, mike and will. jonathan had sort of vaguely waved at him and steve's returning smile and wave were genuine, but less than enthusiastic.

by the time he managed to get steve alone, it was past the time jonathan deemed as hug-appropriate. he settled for somewhat stiffly laying a hand on steve's forearm when he noticed the distinct bite marks peaking past his shirt sleeve. jonathan took it as a win when steve minorly tensed, but, more importantly, didn't brush his hand off. he assured jonathan that he was fine and that they look worse than they actually are, i'm fine, i promise.

they continue to talk for a little while, steve quickly asking about will and el (give him some credit at least, he hadn't seen jonathan in months but he still knew the man pretty well) and letting him ramble about them for a while. (neither of them acknowledge or do anything about the fact that jonathan is still holding his arm, all he would have to do for them to be holding hands would be shift his own hand 3 inches down)

the scene that robin eventually walks in on is steve and jonathan standing less than a foot apart, jonathan's hand still loosely resting on steve's arm, and them talking quietly enough that, even in the small living room, she can't make out what they're saying.

the thing is, robin has seen steve in just about every scenario there could possibly be with other people. she's seen him fake smile at customers, bitch at the kids, sweet talk the kid's parents, charm his way through dates, try to be less charming with her parents, play nice with his ex-girlfriend, play even nicer with his ex-girlfriend's parents, try and fail to not be flustered with eddie flirting with him, hell, even try to get along with her bandmates that one time. so, needless to say, there was hardly anything that steve could do to surprise her anymore.

that all flies out the window with jonathan byers, evidently. it would be more understandable if she had heard anything about jonathan from steve. she only knows what she heard and witnessed when she was in high school with the two of them, but in all of her thousands of conversations with steve, jonathan only made an appearance once or twice, and never for very long. at the time, she didn't think it was intentional, but now she's starting to reconsider.

robin clears her throat pointedly, startling the two men. they look up at her, but don't move away from each other. steve turns to look at her which coincidentally (or not, robin thinks its the exact opposite, actually) shifting him slightly closer to jonathan. robin tilts her head in the direction of the door, trusting that steve can easily follow her train of thought. they had to leave soon in order to make it back to the school to help with the make-shift relief center.

steve nods at her, his gaze sliding back to jonathan. he says something that robin still can't hear before going to clap jonathan on the shoulder. jonathan apparently decides that this isn't enough and goes straight in for a hug instead, looping his arms around steve's neck. steve is visibly surprised by the show of affection, but he immediately tucks both of his arms around jonathan's waist. robin's eyebrows go up slightly as steve practically tucks his face into jonathan's neck. (turns out, steve missed jonathan more than he anticipated. also, it's been a long time since someone hugged steve without almost dying immediately before or after so, sue him for enjoying it a little)

the hug doesn't last for very long but robin has seen enough to qualify steve for a very long talk the second that the pair leave the house.

the two men somewhat reluctantly let go of each other, jonathan letting his hands quickly trace over steve's shoulders to loosely grasp his elbows as they separate. steve gently drums his fingers against jonathan's side once, saying goodbye before turning to follow robin.

jonathan watches as the two leave the house, feeling better about the whole situation but still somewhat off-center. obviously steve didn't hate him, seemed to actively like him despite their convoluted history, but jonathan wasn't sure why that mattered to him so much. he barely even likes steve in the first place (that's a bald-faced lie, your honor) so why did he feel relieved when steve hugged him back? jonathan's subconsciousness files that right along the relief from earlier to be examined at a far later date (read: hopefully never).

-

basically i just want jonathan and steve to have a moment together, robin to clock the weird tension, and then for them to all get along forever. without dying tragically. that is probably far too much to ask but i'm nothing if not a clown who will watch and likely thoroughly enjoy s5 regardless of the chance that nancy and jonathan will probably end up staying together.

[kuumara]

ok lets go

usually the original post is alright and its the comments that are weird, but not this time. bc i could say the exact same thing ab mcdonalds, that they would be disappointed crying pissing screaming etc when they see s5. i personally think more ronaldmcdonaldasses should be ok with a byler endgame, but if i said this they would all cry piss scream shit

--

yeah, he did say he's scared of losing her. but as the saying goes that you've prob seen from alot of other stuff, "if you love something you're not afraid to let it go". so idk ab u but mike saying that just confirms that the relationship is toxic and if it continues it might even turn into an emotionally abusive one, IMO (its a pattern- ur anxious the partner will leave, u start being more cautious around them; even turn into a whole another version of urself u think the partner will like more (mikes lenora drip), etc etc. very stressful for u (mike) and also ur partner (el)).

"he's clearly inlove with eleven" idk it wasnt really clear to me when she offensively side-eyed him at the cabin and then he rolled his eyes or wtvr that was, which was literally the last time they interacted. not really madly in love healthy relationship of them tbh. and its EL not goddamn eleven that alone speaks volumes ab how much they care ab her well-being or character arc or wtvr their other excuses are (they say mike leaving her would crush her, but so would if u called her eleven in her face)

"it would go against everything we've seen in the show" i agree with this one. except, byler not being canon would go against everything blablabla �� like, we've seen this happen before with steve and robin, this would just be even more bombastic.

then, the show dunks on homophobes all the time so Macabre canon would go against that too; and yes, it would be homophobic to use a gay character's CONFESSION and FEELINGS THAT ARE ALREADY CAUSING HIM PAIN to uplift the straight couple, making them happy married with 17 kids while the gay character is in even more pain and like dies or smth

--

holy shit i thought yall were exaggerating when u said they actually think mleven is love at first sight.

1) the duffers wouldnt "suddenly scrap it", ppl have been finding subtext and set design clues since the beginning, since ep1. no its not delusions, its stuff for which there isnt any other actual explanation. it all makes sense, every subtext reference, every set design prop, every decoration on clothes- theres even an official st video on yt where the set design says she put triangles on robins clothes bc shes gay asf. Guess who else has triangles on his shirt (which he wears for majority of the show, might i add)? MIKE -but that just means he likes girls!! just like robin, to shut down any theories the fans made ab him liking guys!!! hes a lesbian😭😭😭

2) im assuming these are hard core fans, since theyre still in the subreddit and all that, and i dont doubt theyve seen the stranger things twitter account say they don't believe in love at first sight. so the writers=write the show. don't believe in love at first sight, it's just cheesy (infatuated) 12yr old shit. so, why would they include smth they think isn't real, unrealistic even? except if they're saying mike and els love isn't real-

--

alright final one. the classic "yall delusional" argument. Nothing else to say besides we are seeing patterns and we are recognizing them. not my fault ur not as observant and intelligent🙄

[glitchinginhyperfixis]

Sending u genderfluid mike hcs (a lot are platonic madwheeler bc I care them):

The first person she comes out to is surprisingly Max. Her reasoning for this is “You already hate me so this will probably hurt less” and Max is just like “I never hated you, you big dummy” and they have a Moment

(I also hc them giving the other gender envy and that’s why they clashed sm at first)

Gender presentation is always weird for him bc yk,, the 80s™️ BUT. Loves finding little ways to make himself feel more like Mike and not like boy mike yk? Like he lets erica paint his nails one day with clear polish and wears less polos etc etc

One of these ways is going to Max’s bc home girl knows how to do hair okay. She learned to braid for El when her hair was getting longer and kept practicing on Lucas before the breakup so she is experienced. Anyways Mikes favorite is when he had two braids on the side that tie into a little ponytail. It makes him feel like he has a crown lol

Has scream cried during clothes shopping w her mom and pretends like nothing happened. When she eventually comes out to Karen they have a long talk that ends in Karen cradling Mike and promising for things to change

Lucas and Dustin were so supportive when they came out!!! Like when initially told they were so chill and like “that’s wassup” but in the leading weeks they were going above and beyond to make mike feel more comfortable. At the end of the week Lucas threw a coming out party and made a little sign, Dustin and Erica made a cake!!

Speaking of Erica her and Mike will literally be in the isle of a fight but still doing sleepover activities. Like one time Lucas came downstairs to see them going back and forth while making friendship bracelets (not necessarily genderfluid mike but they mean sm 2 me)

While doing Mikes hair he and Max will exchange music taste and Max will give him California Knowledge (wink wink gay ppl)

Bc she’s trying to express herself more or whatever, Mike ends up dressing like if Eddie was in love with collared shirts and Max will call her a poser all the fucking time

Joins drama in sophomore year because it makes them feel so much more comfortable, playing a character on stage is more fun than playing one every day yk

1. yes. i love the idea that max would be the first one mike would come out to. it honestly makes a lot of sense. and i would love a sweet moment like that. (and that gender envy hc!! YES)

2. YESSS. i’ve never thought much about it, but i kind of want mike and erica to bond. erica would roast him but in a... nice way? and i’ve seen a lot of hc’s about nail polish, but this one makes the most sense realistically, since i don’t think mike would reach the stage of being able to wear other colors for a while.

3. the braiding hc!!!! ily. mike in braids is just a great concept on its own, but you also added max into it, and i love that.

4. yes. just yes. i imagine karen saying something about mike being her son, and mike just breaking down and telling her that she’s not. at least, not always.

5. they would. i can imagine dustin and lucas asking questions so they could make mike more comfortable, but never prying too much. they just want to know how to mike feel safe in their own skin.

6. you. you have converted me. i’m now a mike and erica are best friends truther. and they have zero content. i’m screwed. (but seriously, i love this. this friendship is so cute).

7. yes.

8. these hc’s are incredible.

9. ok. stop right there. you’re making me sad now.

10. adding onto this, i’d love mike coming out to nancy and being surprised when she’s supportive. she’s a little confused and does mess up sometimes, but she tries her best to be there for mike. and that surprises them because they haven’t felt close to nancy in a really long time. what mike doesn’t know is that her assuming nancy was going to be angry at her was the wake-up call nancy needed to start being a big sister again.

[smoosnoom]

moon! a writing genius, a modern phenomenon, a light of my life!

it was so cold yesterday and im the monster who needs fresh air and who keeps her window open. ur fic single-handedly kept me warm (and was my cure for hungover during today’s rereading. but it’s kinda. unrelated.).

i looove oblivious will! i’ve always wondered what excuse for mike’s behavior he would found be this time. is he holding my hand? probably because im freezing. is he hugging me too long and too tight we’re best friends, and he misses me for the two hours we haven’t seen each other. is he kissing me on the mouth? he’s just a european.

““Do you come here often?”” such a bad flirting line 😭😭😭 mike should be happy that will likes him.

“There are two bags of cat food sitting underneath their shelf of garden tools. They have never owned a cat.” this is so my grandma coded. i love her but does she really need these 3 rugs that no one’s roll out in years?

“all Will can think about is the brush of Mike’s leather jacket against his bare arm.” good thing will can resist shivers.

“Her eyes remain on Will for a second longer, before she looks away.” max is giving him ikwya look but will is too busy to find excuses for mike’s behavior to notices 😔

““Is that mine?” “Goodnight,” El evasively replies instead, and promptly makes her exit.” she is so 🫶🏻 i love el so much she’s so squishble ♥️♥️♥️

4 “hello” and 3 “okay” guys 😭😭😭

“And, for a brief moment, Will imagines that Mike had been thinking of him, too.” this reminded me of “I hope you'll forgive me for the nights that I'll be fantasizing, hoping that you're thinking 'bout me too” from demi lovato song. it doesn’t fit the vibe of the work. just this particular line.

“he doesn’t hate dances, he only prefers staying at home and doing practically anything else” he’s so real for this 🙏🏻

okay mike. if el wants slushie it’s december, but if will wants ice-cream u’ll pay for it. seems a little two-faced.

““my mom raised a gentleman.”” he’s so cute when he’s trying to woo someone

“he feels the ridges of Mike’s fingertip brush against his lips” it’ll never stops giving me butterflies ♥️

sorry dustin, but lucas is right. “shrek 2” Is better.

“He’s momentarily forgotten everything ever in his life.” LMFAOOO

““It’s a good side to be on.”” i can’t vouch for the rest, but in this dispute, definitely yes

“And that – that makes sense. It makes much more sense than Mike asking him out.” will Wake up 😭😭😭

“That is to say, with Will being friendly enough and expressing no interest in any women whatsoever, it seems to have the opposite effect on attracting them” will who attracts girls is so real and canon.

“He looks – almost mean, scowling like that with his arms crossed, standing a little taller and looking like a shadow beside Will.” poor maria was anxious before but now she’s probably scared af

““She just asked you out to the dance, and you guess she likes you?” “I didn’t want to assume!”” he doesn’t even know that he’s popular among girls 😭😭

“he refuses to think about my date on the drive home.

It’s haunting him.” bc u need to stop find excuses!!!

“Mike is hard not to think of, a notion only emphasized when he seems to haunt every corner of Will’s mind.” this is sososo beautiful. im not gonna say im the biggest fan of ur writing but i think i might be close!!

“Maybe he’s finally going delusional” ohhhh c’mon!! u mentioned electricity urself. a couple of times!!

““Wait, hold on. Why are you looking?”” yeah dustin. explain urself.

“using his left hand to poke at the school’s lasagna, and his right hand curled around Will’s” that might be so uncomfortable. the boy down bad 😭😭😭

“Will wants to lean over and smother him in kisses, wants to press a kiss onto Mike’s hand in his, wants to grab Mike by the shoulders and shake him and beg, What does this mean?, wants to pick the orange up and shove the entire thing in his mouth in one go, wants to bite Mike all over, wants to hug him and never let go, wants to do everything, anything.” me 2 u when u post new fic. or in general. who knows? 😚

“something else lingering underneath his skin, and it makes him feel nervous, antsy, makes his stomach feel twisted over and under” [whisper] ✨electricity✨

““It was his idea,” Max plainly states, but Lucas wraps an arm around her waist, and she doesn’t move away” i love them 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

“Dustin chatting with some guy that looks an awful lot like Jake Fischer, and Will files it away to make fun of him later.” seems like dustin has a type

“Will knows he isn’t imagining it” FINALLY 🥳🥳🥳

““You – you didn’t know?”” maybe u both should learn to use ur mouth to talk

““you said – as friends.”” fun fact will actually gaslighted himself to think so. mike never mentioned going as friends

“had given him half his orange and half his heart” i love that line 🥺♥️

“wrapping a hand around Mike’s sapphire-striped tie, and pulls him in for a kiss.” HE PULLED HIM IN A KISS BY A TIE 😭😭😭

“Will feels so warm, so summery in the dead of December, and he supposes that’s how it always is when he’s with Mike.” my boys in love 😭😭😭

““Joining our friends,” Mike lists, but his eyes betray him when they glance at Will’s mouth” i hope they made out the whole dances

“This time, when they kiss, Will’s mind is entirely blank” that what he deserves!!!

u r sorry again even though u have nothing to apologize for. u r great, this fic is great, everything u do is great!! please don’t Ever second-guess yourself!!!

love u. have a nice day 🤍🤍🤍

alya my sweet danish treat . the amount of time i spent staring at this ask This is the size of my philosophy essays probably !!! oh my god

i hope u had fun with ur friends (altho im answering this a long while after) and that ur hangover wasn't too bad ! also oh my god ur windows open in the midst of winter ?? i can't even blame u sometimes my fan is just not enough !!!!

will is just like me fr i am doing mental gymnastics to find a reason for everything, altho im probably the touchiest and overly friendly person alive 🥴 im a big fan of oblivious will personally, he is so smart but Willfully stupid when it comes to mike <3

HELELEP 😭😭 mike sucks at flirting it's a truth what can i say !!!

iam also a little bit of a hoarder i love keeping everything 😭 ur grandma is so real

ENOGUGUH WITH THE SHIVERS 😭 WHEN WILL U LET ME LIVEEEE

ikwya look 😭 HEEELPE

el my squishmallow 🫶

byler are loser4loser ok its not my fault they're loserish 😕

omg u and ur demi lovato liking .. maybe i will have to check out her songs .....

SHREK 2 IS BETTER UR RIGHT !!!!!! U GET MEEEE

"will Wake up" 😭 LMAMAOOOOAO

will byers hawkins heartthrob REAL

im letting u and haven bookinit figure out who's the biggest fan of my writing . i am Not getting involved in that dispute

mike wheeler would start using his nondominant hand to hold will's hand its so true and real i see it so clear

gna post Every day until u give in ! 😚

will my little gaslighter 🌟🌟 he is a little crazy and delusional but u know what they say . Crazy Together 🙂

YAYEY I LOVEEE KISSES where they pull them in by the tie !!!! one of my favorite kiss tropes omg

☹️ ur always so nice to me !!!!!! ihope none of my fics ever disappoint u, love u alya !!! 🤍🤍🤍

[strangeswift]

hi! i'm the person who sent the first 'active choice' anon but i actually didn't send the second one (though i do agree with that person completely - i think it would show huge character growth for mike to actively decide to be with will). i also sent you this ask abt the monologue a few days ago btw!!

i just wanted to say that the ask reminded me of a lot of gay!mike talking points about el which say something about how mike actively choosing will over el would insinuate that there's something inherently unlovable about el and i....really do not vibe with that take.

(i don't have a problem with gay!mike, i just feel like this one specific idea is kind of a shitty thing to say and is a tad misogynistic)

imo mike and el breaking up and mike choosing to be with will does not mean that el isn't lovable or that there's something 'wrong' with her as a person, it just means that she and mike are not compatible as a couple, and this is true on both ends - mike is not a good bf to her and el isn't a good gf to him. neither one of them is a bad person, they just don't work romantically (similar to jncy/stncy where steve is a fantastic guy but not the right fit for nancy at all).

also, for someone like el who is still figuring out her identity as a person, breaking up with someone at 14 is not the end of the world, especially since the narrative seems to imply that independence is what she needs and where she's headed in the future. in fact, i think she will be the one to point out that mike isn't loving her the way that she wants to be loved and they will mutually break up once mike finds out the truth about the painting. i don't think there's going to be any real bad blood there bc imo el already accepted that mike doesn't make her feel loved in 4x03. she'll be sad about the breakup ofc, but it's not going to be crushing for her and she'll get to focus on building her platonic relationships with hopper, the byers family, lucas & dustin, max when she wakes up, and (hopefully) mike too.

sorry haha that turned into a ramble but my point is just that bi mike and byler endgame isn't inherently harmful to el, especially if the mlvn breakup takes place before the timeskip and mike and will get together after the timeskip. of course if they go with gay mike, that would be cool too, especially bc of what you said here:

This is because I think the idea of Mike choosing Will doesn't necessarily have to manifest in Mike choosing Will over El, which is what you're talking about here.

this is a good point and i enjoy this interpretation. ig i just prefer what that anon said - i think it makes more narrative sense and would feel more satisfying for both mike and will if mike goes out of his way to want to be with will romantically despite also liking girls. i think it would be a nice full-circle moment for will bc we know that will felt like a mistake for liking boys, so seeing the boy will loves choose to be with him even if he has other options would be a perfect ending.

Omg I even thought to myself.. can I assume this is the same anon? And then I was like mmm yep I think so. And I was WRONG! For shame. So sorry anon. But at least you agree with them that makes me feel better.

Anway.

I realize that a breakup wouldn't be the end of the world for El and that Byler endgame isn't inherently harmful to her. But I do think the breakup is probably gonna suck initially. It might even suck a lot. For a while. That's a real possibility. And I just don't want that. That's all I can really say to that point, this all really just depends on what's going on in El's head, which we don't know either.

I definitely don't think that Mike choosing Will over El insinuates that El is unlovable. I hope I haven't said anything that has come off that way because I don't think that at all. I just think that rejection will always make a person doubt themselves, that's just human nature.

But anyway, let's expand on that thought: Mike choosing Will over El doesn't insinuate that El is unlovable.

By the same token, I don't think that Will should need Mike to choose him to prove to him that he is loveable!

*mic drop*

(Just kidding, I'm gonna ramble more. But that's a good point, no?)

They're all loveable. They're all worthy of love. Full stop. Mike Wheeler's affections don't determine Will or El's worth.

I realize we're talking in the sense of Will simply feeling unworthy and the idea of Mike choosing him alleviating that self doubt. But Will shouldn’t rely on Mike loving him in order to feel worthy of love. Not to say that he shouldn't accept Mike's love, I'm just saying he needs to work on himself as well. (As does Mike! For the same reasons!)

So I'm not in love with the idea that Mike choosing Will gives Will the self worth he needs and therefore that's what makes the most sense narratively. Will shouldn't need Mike. He loves Mike, and that's beautiful. He shouldn't need him, not in a literal sense. It's a flaw just as Mike's need to be needed is a flaw. Both are flaws which are hurting them, and they need to be addressed in ways other than just dating each other. Like. In therapy.

Lastly, as I said, whether Mike is bi or gay, choosing to be with Will is still choosing to be with Will. Which is meaningful. It's very meaningful. I just don't think Will's arc should be relying on that specific sentiment.

[chirpsythismorning]

Skam show-runner Julie Andem clocking the fuck out of Mike being queer-coded in s1 of Stranger Things, and then using it as inspiration to queer-code Isak in s3 of Skam can be something so epic.

THIS! THIS is what I'm talking about!

In ST, there are two scenes in s1 (pretty/still pretty) that milkvans use as irrefutable proof that Mike has always had romantic feelings for El, with the primary object in the scene being a mirror.

THIS. MEANS. SOMETHING.

Mirrors in film mean something more often than not, but especially when they are the focus of a scene is when they definitely mean something. And the way they go about it differently in between those two scenes in ST, drastically differently, and considering the subject matter is very very queer coded, is how you really know there is a significance in this case.

And that scene above from Skam proves it.

Because apparently, another filmmaker watched ST, picked up on those odd details surrounding Mike and said shit I'm gonna use that...

Notice how Isak here, a gay teenager who is fully in denial with others and himself, to the point where he makes really homophobic remarks often, gets caught denying a bunch of girls as being attractive in a conversation with his friends. And so now they're questioning him and making him feel on edge bc the focus is on him and his attraction (lack thereof) to girls.

While his friends aren't even implying he is gay in this moment, it's just them genuinely being confused why he doesn't think any of the girls they think are attractive are attractive, you can still see that Isak starts to feel the pressure and so he latches onto the first girl he thinks of, Emma.

Emma just so happens to look like Natalie Portman with her extremely short hair.

Low and behold this very girl enters the room shortly after he says this and so now Isak has to face this and give his friends the impression he is fully interested in this girl, otherwise they would DEFINITELY suspect something is off. And so he goes all out.

He outs himself.

He literally says Don't you look like that boy from Stranger Things, and then follows it up with saying he would only be attracted to her if we're assuming he is attracted to boys, only to quickly backtrack and start to approach her really flirtatiously, then going all out by making out with her.

As this happens, he is kissing her in the bathroom, in front of a mirror...

Now I want to make clear, I am not saying ST was inspired by Skam. I'm pretty sure I did make that clear, it's actually the other way around, which is even more incriminating arguably.

S1 of Stranger Things came out in 2016, whereas s3 of Skam came out the following year in 2017. The hype for ST was so immense, to the point where you had Norwegian teens referencing it in everyday conversation.

The creator of Skam took scenes from ST that framed Mike very peculiarly in s1, and used it as queer-coding for a character that ended up being revealed as gay.

For those that haven't seen Skam Norway... Run. Leap. Drive. Teleport. Do what you have to do and go watch it. It's not available on any streaming, in fact it's only available online through fan-sites outside of where it's based. Conveniently, all 4 seasons with English subs can be found HERE.

Basically this show is amazing and you need to watch it. Some seasons I like more than others. But the gist of it is that every season focuses on a different character from the main group, where they experience some sort of misunderstanding/miscommunication that leads to them being misinformed about certain things, followed by them making mistakes and having doubts, though it tends to end in a way that feels so refreshing compared to what we're used to.

Skam also translates in english to shame, so the idea is that there is an arc surrounding some form of shame every season.

With Isak in particular, he's the focus for s3, though his arc starts to become more clear as early as the end of s1.

Eva, the character in focus for s1, borrows Isak’s phone to call someone, and ends up seeing that there's gay porn in a bunch of his tabs on his browser. Their friend Noora also witnesses this and she ends up being the focus of s2.

Throughout s2, we get even more blatant hints that Isak is gay and in love with his best friend...

So it's established pretty early on throughout the series that Isak is queer and in denial about it, but it isn't until s3 that he himself is able to confront it.

The way they go about this arc, with Isak having unrequited feelings, is exactly how ST would have done it IF Mike hadn't returned Will's feelings.

So if you're looking for more byler proof, go watch this show and see how they don't let Isak pine over his best friend Jonas for more than 2 seasons.

When the story finally puts Isak at the forefront, they give him his own love interest instead of keeping him pining for his friend. It's really pure and amazing and TBH I would have been fine if ST was framed this way, with it being clear from the beginning Isak's feelings were unrequited, and with the other half of the series focusing on him moving on and finding love himself, and also with his best friend and him still being very close.

Although Isak has that queer-coding from the very beginning, with him looking at his friend all fondly, he is still not able to confront any of it. The following season he dates a girl and is a little over the top about it, though we can also see that he is struggling despite not wanting to face it. It isn't until s3 when the story shows us his inner struggle at the forefront, that we see him finally confront it and accept it.

For those that don't know, Skam also loosely inspired the Nick Nelson gay test scene... So we have character that despite showing many signs of being queer, to the point where we know he literally watched gay porn, is still finding himself in a situation where he's taking gay tests 2 years later....

While he might have the knowledge deep down, he was not willing to face it. In fact he was doing everything he could to avoid confronting it.

But then he falls in love and suddenly it's not something he can ignore anymore...

[eddiemsbitch]

Hello, Not sure if anyone has sent this request yet for the sweet Eddie boy but what if he finds out his s/o has powers? (Helps El and the gang?) Please and thank you

I tried, I’m severely dyslexic and this was like 3.6K words because I got a lil carried away 0.0 but if you like it lmk, if you find any errors in grammar or spelling lmk and I’ll be happy to fix it ❤️

THIS CONTAINS SEASON 4 ST SPOILERS

Ooo I’m excited to see how this turns out I also know the other half of season 4 still has like a month until it’s released so I’m gonna go off the reader goes to the upside down with them when they do go, buuut if July comes and I have an idea of the battle (and I wanna include Eddie’s hot ass guitar solo) I can write a longer end battle one if you’d like :)

There is no shame in fleeing battle and running - Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: whenever you manage to interrogate where your boyfriend disappeared to out of your neighbor Max you follow your younger classmates, and their friends Steve and Robin to find him to find out why the fuck there was a dead girl in his trailer that you didn’t kill bc why the fuck would Chrissy be in your home with your boyfriend alone? You never would’ve thought you would be in a different world fighting demon bats, or that you’d end up outing your one secret you never told Eddie.

Warnings: loads of cussing, I mean come on it’s Eddie and the group, Eddie fluff 🥹 mentions of Chrissy’s death, a lot of the lines are pulled from season 4 episode 2 when they first find Eddie and then after that it’s freely based on you and Eddie and defeating the demon bats in the upside down.

Word count: 3,689

——-

Your mind was going a hundred miles an hour, whenever Eddie’s uncle called you telling you not to come home there’s been an incident you knew something bad happened, and with Eddie’s ‘Job’ you knew it had to involve him in some way. You didn’t expect to see 10 different cop cars surrounding the trailer park along with crime scene tapped around your house. Once you managed to get into the trailer park and parked you rushed to find Wayne to see what the fuck happened and where the hell your boyfriend was. “Wayne! Wayne! Wheres Eddie?” You asked grabbing his shoulders looking around “w-whats going on t-this is way t-too many cops” you asked starting to assume the worst, what if somebody laced his shit? What if that’s why the Coroner was parked outside. “Calm down Y/n…listen…I got off work…Chrissy…the girl Eddie used to..like was..she was..oh my god y/n…somebody evil killed that girl…and I don’t think it was Eddie..” he said looking at you, Wayne hated having to tell you this, he wasn’t that close with his nephew but he still loved the hell out of the weirdo, and he loved you just as much because you loved Eddie way more than anybody in their family ever did, you were like Eddie’s drug that he couldn’t live without, and watching your face change from worry to anger to sadness, because the man you loved more than anybody had left and ran without telling you a word or worse made his heart break even more for his nephew and you. “S-so Eddie’s okay?..” you asked nervously looking at him “i-I don’t know…I haven’t been able to find him since I got home..his vans gone…” he whispered before looking at you with a stern glare “promise me you will not go to find him. I love you y/n just like my own but if you try and find him and do find him…then the cops probably won’t be far behind…they won’t listen when I tell ‘em he couldn’t of done this…” he whispered sadly looking at you “I can’t do that Wayne…if the cops catch Eddie they’re gonna hurt him…show him no mercy..I can’t have that” you mumbled leaving quickly storming back to your car, Now, there is such thing as loving somebody too much, and you admit maybe you love Eddie too much, but you knew under the cocky playfully attitude he was sensitive and would cower at any demand, and he needed you to protect him, even if he didn’t think so.

As you drove through town you thought of where to start your search, you didn’t know where most of Ed’s friends lived, just the ones you had to occasionally drop off or pick up after his Hellfire campaigns. You stopped in front of Dustin Henderson’s house and parked quickly glaring at the two bikes in front of the house, Max was already here, you could tell by the chipped paint and the sticker she had taken from Billy’s room on the license plate decal of her bike. You weren’t exactly unknown to their household, having a short fling with Billy Hargrove, ending it after watching how he treated his younger sister, to which you tried to become a beacon of safety for Max.

Shutting your car door you rushed to The Henderson’s door, right before you could knock it swung open revealing the exact people you were looking for, they hurried you forward a bit so Dustin could shut the door before looking at you like you were about to tell them where their friend was. “Well. Where the fuck is he?” You asked first looking up and down at Dustin “I assume he let you one of you know or you’d have some idea” you asked looking at them worriedly “we’re gonna go to the family video and try and call all of his other friends to see if he’s hiding out there” Dustin said grabbing his bike “Good idea- what the hell are you doing? Get the hell in the car it’s much quicker” you asked motioning to your car that was horribly parked in the driveway “as long as you don’t park like that” Max mumbled walking towards your far smiling a bit “hey. You know Eddie parks for me when I drive places” you snapped playfully getting into the drivers seat practically speeding to Family Video.

It took less than 2 hours to find out where Eddie might be hiding, and somehow you had no idea to think of Rick until they had mentioned his name, thank god you knew where he lived though from the many trips over there you took with Eddie. It took yet another hour and a half to get there though, mainly because you and Dustin had to argue over the younger kids staying behind, which was an argument you gave into in the end. You parked outside slamming the car door rushing inside of the house “Eddie!?” You whisper yelled walking around, you knew Rick was out of town, and you also knew if you shoved the right spot in his door you could get in because of all of the times he was raided by police. Whenever you were met with eerily silence your heart sank, maybe he was hurt somewhere, you could hear the others searching the other areas, yelling for his name. It was like everytime you heard the shout of his name your eyes got even more cloudy than before, and before you knew it tears were running down your face. Jumping and turning around hopefully whenever you heard footsteps behind you, you were met with Steve’s compassionate look “Don’t cry, y/n” he mumbled hugging you tightly, any other time you would’ve laughed in Steve’s face, you knew after his and Nancy’s breakup he was basically a fuckboy, and yet you now accepted his hug crying into his chest “he’s probably just hiding somewhere else..this is only the first place we looked” he said rubbing your back, you just shook your head stepping back to wipe your face “Steve…he’s been missing since sometime last night..h-he told me it was just a deal and he’d be home by the time I got home this morning..Chrissy..the way she was when I saw her…if it was someone…how could Eddie still be out somewhere alive..” you whispered sniffling “well…I mean…they would’ve found his body or van by no-“ Steve was cut off by Max’s yell “hey guys!” Steve gives you an ‘I told you so’ look before you both rushed outside looking at what exactly Max was pointing her flashlight at, Rick’s shed door was slightly ajar “does Rick possibly always leave his shed unlocked?..” Dustin whispered looking towards you “I dunno! The times I was here it was chained locked shut but last time I rode with Eddie was like two or three months ago” you explained slowly walking towards the shed.

As you all managed to squeeze through the pry in the door you were met with even more eery silence, everything was untouched, obvious that someone had pried the door open but then not touch a single thing, while you peaked behind things and under things you scoffed at the other’s comments about the shed, but you had to admit it was fucking disgusting. Hearing a bag rustle harshly you turned around glaring at Steve who was jabbing inside of old boats with an oar “what are you doing?” Dustin asked harshly before stepping closer “what are you doing!?” He whisper yelled about to grab the oar that was still being jabbed into different storage bags. “Hey yea what the fuck are you doing?” You whispered stepping closer to them nodding at Dustin before Steve shifted starting to jab other tarps “what if he’s in here?” Steve whispered to you both sending a glare towards Dustin “so take the tarp off!” You both whisper yelled towards him “if you’re so brave you guys take the tarp off!” He whispered back to you, glaring at him you continued to look around trying to find any sign of Eddie staying here “hey look over here” max whispered looking at you and Robin, you walked over stepping over the clutter and mess, the smell of the shed kinda smelt like an abandoned building, furniture and other things just sitting in dust and other dirt and grime.

When you stopped your eyes lit up a bit and you almost started crying again, there were multiple beer bottles and food wrappers laid everywhere on the workbench “somebody was here” Robin whispered examining the wrappers “Eddie was here, that’s the only thing he’ll drink he says all the other beer tastes like shit” you whispered smiling as you looked around more “maybe he heard us pull up, got spooked and ran” Robin suggested looking towards Max “oh don’t worry! Steve will get him with his oar” Dustin joked, you sighed knowing that now if Eddie was in here he knew that Steve had an oar and could most likely hit him with it- “Steve. If you injury Eddie y/n’s most likely gonna kill you” Dustin said almost like reading your mind

“I know you think you’re being funny, Henderson but considering the fact that everybody in this room has nearly died about a hundred times personally I don’t find it funny-“ Steve screamed loudly as something jumped from under a tarp charging at him and shoving him against the wall pining him there “wait! Wait! Wait!” Steve screamed as Eddie held a broken beer bottle to Steve’s throat “hey! Hey!” Dustin yelled rushing towards Eddie stopping as he saw Eddie dig the sharp edge deeper almost cutting Steve “Eddie Munson if you hurt him watch if I don’t take my anger out on you for leaving without telling me Jack shit!” You screamed glaring at him shoving Dustin back walking closer to him “It’s y/n, Eddie. This is Steve, he’s not gonna hurt you, you know I won’t let that happen..” you said calmly trying to calm him down knowing that screaming is just gonna freak him out more. “Right..right..” he said gasping for air not wanting to press the glass into his skin any further than it was “Steve. I need you to drop the oar” Dustin said stepping forward a bit next to you just incase Eddie charged at you. Steve let out a shaky breath letting go of the oar letting it fall onto the ground with a couple loud knocks, you watched Eddie reposition glaring and push the bottle edge deeper, you weren’t gonna lie, seeing Eddie so angry was hot, but knowing the anger was just a mask to show his fear broke your heart. “He’s cool Ed! He’s cool I promise sweetheart I’m not gonna let him hurt you” you said loudly not wanting anybody to get hurt “what’re you doing here?” Eddie growled, his shaky voice tugging on your heart strings, he didn’t deserve this, you knew Eddie and you knew damn well he couldn’t hurt Chrissy, yes he loved you to the god damn moon and back but he still cared for Chrissy, she was the only one he knew really growing up who didn’t call him a freak and would’ve never killed her.

“We’re here to find you” Dustin said motioning to him “Eddie. These are Dustin’s friends, you know Robin…from..band” you said nervously motioning to the taller girl standing behind you “h-hello sir” Robin whispered slightly waving towards him “this is Max. Eddie you know Max she’s our neighbor..I used to live with her when I met you remember?-“ Dustin cut you off “the one who never wants to play dnd” he said looking at Eddie showing him his hands to let him know he’s not armed. “We’re on your side” he added growling to himself whenever Eddie still wouldn’t back off. “We’re on your side I swear on..my life!” You argued looking at him “right guys?” You asked watching Eddie just growl and dig the bottle deeper barely cutting Steve’s neck “shit! Shit!” You yelped looking at Dustin “I swear on my moms life!” He yelled “y-yeah, swear on Dustin’s mom” Steve whimpered, you watched Eddie jabbed the blade a bit before turning around, Steve rubbing his neck taking deep breaths to calm his heartbeat. Everybody sighed slowly trying to calm their own heart as Eddie slowly slid down the wall staring blankly at the floor, his hands shaking horribly, Dustin crouched in front of his holding his hand to keep you a couple feet back, you wanted to just shove the kid aside but you knew he just didn’t want you hurt and right know you couldn’t tell what was going on in your boyfriend’s head. Only now did you realize you had been crying again, wiping your face quickly as you knelt down looking at him as Dustin spoke “we just wanna help” he whispered reaching for the broken bottle retreating his hand back mumbling a small okay whenever Eddie pulled the bottle closer ready to jab it at anybody. “We just wanna know what happened Eddie..” You whispered slowly reaching towards him rubbing his shoulder lightly “you’re not gonna believe me” he whimpered looking at you tearing up “try us” Max said looking towards him, he looked up at her then back to you “guys…let me…have a minute with Ed..please” you asked scooting closer to him grabbing the bottle from his hand slowly slightly tugging it whenever he tried to tighten his grip on it, The others left, Dustin only giving slight protest to leaving you alone with Eddie in an unstable state but nonetheless he left standing guard outside the shed door incase you needed help.

“Eddie…sweetheart…Are you okay?..are you hurt?..” you whispered hugging him tightly feeling him relax his body in your hold, he smelt horrible, probably from staying in this nasty ass place “I-I didn’t do it..I-I swear I-I’d never hurt Chrissy” he whimpered holding onto you tightly like you’d somehow make all of this never happen “I know..I know bubs…I never thought you did..you’re too sweet of a person” you whispered moving his bangs to kiss his forehead, he slowly sat up looking at you cupping your cheeks, you rested your hands on his sighing “Ed…we need to know what happened…The cops…are most definitely looking for you right now…” you whispered softly, he just nodded letting you call the others back into the shed. He kissed you quickly and softly resting his forehead against yours “I’m sorry I left without leaving you anything to really..know..but..I was scared..” he whispered looking at you “I-I’m sorry” and just like that, every little spec of anger you felt towards Eddie for not telling you what was going on was gone, you just felt sadness for him.

After everybody got into the shed and seated Eddie sighed, starting to explain excatly what happened that night, from what he was doing with Chrissy in the first place to the second he left. “Her bones…” Eddie whimpered shaking his head stuttering trying to force himself to speak “her bones. Started to snap” he forced out looking away from you. “Her eyes…it was like something was inside, pulling..I-I didn’t know what to do…so…s-so I ran away…I left her there..” he whimpered his voice fading a telltale sign he was starting to cry, he quickly brought his hand to his face turning away “you all think I’m crazy don’t you?” He asked holding back a sob, his voice barely above a whisper. “No baby..we don’t think you’re crazy” you said looking at him, the others humming in agreement, you all jumped back when he started to yell not expecting his voice to go from so quiet to that loud “listen don’t bullshit me man! I know how it sounds!” He yelled his voice cracking and shaking any chance it got “we’re not bullshitting you” Max said sternly “we believe you” Robin chimed in looking at him as he scoffed and shook his head “okay..What I’m about to tell you…might a little difficult to take..” Dustin said sighing “when people say Hawkins is cursed..they’re not..that far off..there’s another world..hidden beneath Hawkins..sometimes it bleeds…into ours..” he explained, Eddie looking at Dustin almost intently “like…ghosts and shit…?” He asked “way worse..than ghosts..” max whispered.

You stayed with Eddie overnight, except you made him go inside Rick’s house to sleep, it wouldn’t be until the next day you saw the others again, you seemed to have been zoned out because you didn’t really take attention to anything until you were watching Steve be dragged underwater by something, you watched as Nancy jumped then Robin which left you and Eddie, you could heard police sirens and dog barking getting closer and your heart starting to race. “E-Eddie” you said watching the woods as he panicked on either staying in the boat or jumping into the water with whatever the hell pulled Steve down under. “Eddie” you said again turning towards him as he looked at you “what!?” He whispered yelled before you jumped into the water knowing he’d follow behind you, and he did, trying his best to swim next to you as you tried to find whatever the hell Steve was talking about and soon enough you did.

Dropping into the upside down was weird, it wasn’t dark but was hard to see, dust particles flying around everywhere and it wasn’t hard to find Steve and the others hiding under a rock. Once you both landed, Eddie almost making you into a pancake from how hard the fall was. You didn’t have time to groan in pain though because Nancy and the others started yelling as a swarm of some type of bats with tails started to attack both you and Eddie, the others screamed trying to run out and help you both but the bats wouldn’t stop, they just continued to swarm sinking their fangs into your’s and Eddie’s bodies, you couldn’t tell who’s screams were louder, yours, Eddie’s or your friends’s. For a split second you had thought to just use them, use the one thing you swore never to use again, you weren’t normal, not by a long shot, now you weren’t like El, you didn’t grow up in a lab, or be a lab rat all your life, but you did have something no doctor could explain, after an abusive upbringing one day whenever your dad went to beat you you used something not even you knew how it worked, until you started bouncing from foster home to foster home, using it almost anytime you were alone, testing it seeing how it worked.

You and Eddie put up a fight and for a moment you guys thought you had it, using the tails of the bats to slam them into the ground and kill them or at least injure them enough to stop attacking you, but it was like after one swarm died another was back, now swarming you, Eddie, and Robin, Nancy and Steve hiding under the rock protecting each other. You could see the moment Eddie gave up, he just turned to you and held your hand tightly, and the exact moment he gave up, you did too, feeling at least four bats bite into you at once you screamed in pain, letting your body fall and land on your knees you took a deep breath, closing your eyes, the familiar tingling sensation spread throughout your chest, fingers, and arms then a jolt almost like you were shocked with a shit ton of electricity at once. Everything went silent, just the panting of the others around you, your body shook, you could feel the warm blood going down over your lips, the dirt on the ground digging into your knees, and the weak tired feeling almost like your limbs were 50 pound sandbags. “Holy fucking shit! That was awesome!” Robin cheered jumping around as Eddie lifted you up off the ground onto your feet again “baby?…” he whispered cupping your cheeks gently lifting your head so you looked at him “was…was that..you?..” he asked “what?..” you asked slightly slurring your words, you had never used that much force, never in your life, your powers weren’t much different from El’s, you couldn’t move anything with your mind but you could send out short energy bursts, similar to telekinesis almost, you had never used that much energy before, the most you had ever used was whenever you had blown your step father through your living room wall. “That…that…giant blue..force it..fucking…obliterated everything around us…” he explained holding onto you tightly as he glanced around your surroundings, multiple buildings destroyed, some of the rock Nancy and Steve were hiding under was broken and chipped off, and there were multiple dead demon bats surrounding you, thousands of them. “I-I never wanted you to find out, Eddie…I-I don’t know…how…o-or…what-…I didn’t know how to explain it to you because I don’t know how to explain it myself” you whispered looking at him tearing up “I’m not mad…no no no…honey you just..you just saved us” he smiled looking at you “that was fucking awesome, don’t ever apologize for being like a..fucking sorcerer” he smiled looking at you trying to get a small smile out of you, since he had left and saw you again he barely saw you smile, and that was one of the things he loved and wanted to see 24/7. “You promise…you don’t..think I’m some…freak of nature?..” you asked holding onto his t-shirt tightly “oh baby” he sighed smiling at you placing a finger right between your eyes “don’t be so silly, silly, silly” he said tapping your forehead with each ‘silly’ he said “if you’re a freak baby then I guess I am one hell of a freak lover” he smiled, his smile growing even wider as you laughing shaking your head shoving him away by his face “how are you going to get out of here guys?” You asked looking at the others ready to get the hell out of wherever you guys were and get somewhere safe with Eddie.

[elekinetic]

what’s your specific headcanon on mike’s sexuality? if you have one :)

well hello there anon im glad u asked

so this is basically me projecting bc im gay but ive kissed boys and kinda enjoyed it but didnt realize thats not how its supposed to feel until i kissed a girl LOL

so i see myself in mike's struggle to define his feelings for el. he loves her, he does, but is it actually romantic? he feels strongly toward her and guys feeling strongly for girls means they have a CRUSH on them so i think he assumes its romantic? and because el is pretty, he loves her a lot, he enjoys the attention/being wanted/being needed, and kissing is fun, it feels like something that can work.

and then his relationship with el falls apart. eventually he gets w will and has his OH SHIT moment, where he realizes what everyone was talking about when they said fireworks.

that being said i think mike's internalized homophobia would keep him away from the word gay. he's unlabeled for a long time.

[zenon-karr]

Byler v Melvilles remind me so much of when Degrassi was still on and a couple of us predicted Miles and Tristan ahead of time but the problem in the fandom was Miles and Maya were a HUGE ship that we were all called delusional blah blah blah and guess what?? Triles ended up being a big ship. In fact Miles and Maya ended up not being it in the show. And people would be like MILES IS STRAIGHT BC HE ONLY DATED GIRLS and then it established he is BI!! This eerily makes me think the same thing! How people ostracized us for so long for daring to meta against Milevensies. People did the same thing to Miles and Tristan shippers. Tristan was def gay from the start but Miles just like Mike isn’t established as anything so we don’t know! I had less hints with triles than with Byler and I was right so I’m so confident in byler so much 😭 Miles even reject Tristan at first and then Miles made the first move. So the fact they didn’t even have Mike reject Will and that in fact he saw the painting he assumed is for someone he likes and looks at it positively before Will says El commissioned makes me so happy! It gives me so much hope. I mean I’m 100% confidences since I saw Mike and Will since s2 before we even got the scripts based off Mike touching Will’s hand close up shot.

[couldyouspeakmyname]

Not me basically stalking this whole page bc like No OnE writes of Beastars and I'm starved

I love your writing honestly, thanks for doing God's works for us lmao 💕

When you have time could I request a sheep/wolf female reader (looks more like a sheep and only had wold teeth/ears) with Pina and/or Bill? Just like their initial reaction to them maybe and after they find out that she's technically a carnivore (even if she looks like a sheep)

Thank you!

Are you asking me to write for a wolf in sheep's clothing? Because it feels like you're asking me to write for a wolf in sheep's clothing and I am all about that life

Thank you so much! That makes my day ;-; I also got a bit carried away, so I hope it’s okay. Feel free to send again if I missed something!

Pina

“A new student?” Pina closed his locker, interest now fully on Els. Pina really hadn’t been listening that closely, but it wasn’t everyday the school got a new student. 

“Yeah! A new girl. She’s a sheep,” Els continued, going over the very few details she knew. It wasn’t much, but she was still excited about it. As she continued to speak, she quickly checked her phone. Pina could tell by her sudden expression that it was later than she anticipated. She needed to get to class.

“Why are you telling me?” Els gave him a look while slinging her bag over her slim shoulder. 

“Because you’re a total flirt! I don’t want you to make the school or the drama club look bad. I heard she may stop by the club after classes. Behave yourself, okay?” Pina just gave her a look as she retreated. He shook it off, he didn’t need some upperclassman lecturing him. It was well meaning, but when had anyone ever stopped Pina from doing what he wanted?

-

Your hand grips the handle of the door. You take a deep breath through your nose, letting it out through your mouth. You tried to anchor yourself, and prepare for the onslaught. Everyone at the school seemed really nice so far, but it wouldn’t take much for that to change. 

“You’re the new girl, right?” You jump, pointed ear flicking as you turn on your heel in alarm. You hadn’t even heard the male walk up behind you. Were you that much in your head? Usually your instincts were better than that. 

“Yeah,” Being a sheep meant you were pretty small, and it helped you talk to the ground so no one would see your fangs. You were really good at hiding them, you had to be. 

“My name’s Pina, you are?” You looked up at him, taking note of his shining horns and wool that fell just right around his form. He looked like he walked out of a magazine. 

“O-Oh! Y/N,” You offered a small closed mouth smile. Pina didn’t stop looking you over. Your alarm bells went off. There was definitely something up with him. Did he know? Usually people just assumed your ears were deformed or you were just bad at managing your wool which is why there were so fluffy. Was it your eyes? Your hands? You trimmed your claws between classes, so by all accounts you looked like an herbivore. 

“Nice to meet you. Don’t look so worried, pretty much everyone is tolerable,” He reached past you and walked in, letting you follow after. 

- 

You’d been going to drama club for a while. Thankfully for you, everyone was super nice, if not al little eccentric or weird. It at least gave you a solid friend base, if nothing else. You often would eat with some of the members. Sheila even introduced you to another sheep named Peach. Though, more often than not, you’d find yourself with Pina at some point during the day. You had no idea how it happened, it always just...did. You had suspicions he had somehow orchestrated running into you. 

“What class are you studying for?” He tried to peek over at your book, having managed to peel his eyes away from his phone that pinged every few moments with messages, no doubt from the possibly many girls he had been dating. 

“Science,” He looked immediately disinterested, going back to his phone. He started texting again, at a speed most cheetahs would find impressive, but he continued to try and carry a conversation with you. 

“Okay, I have to ask. What’s your deal? Why did you transfer, and why did you end up in drama club?” Pina’s words would have been accusatory, or pointed, but his tone was so casual it was like he was asking about the weather. 

“My deal?” You froze, and tried to casually turn the page, but you had stayed still a few moments to long. You didn’t have to look over to know Pina was now leaned over, waiting. 

“Your deal. Like, Legoshi is a pervert, Sheila used to be a dominatrix or something...No one normal as you usually joins. So, what’s your deal? You’re so...normal,” You hands closed your book with a thunk! You adjust on the bench to turn over and look back at him, scooting away just a smidge. 

“Promise you wont say anything?” You looked serious, but Pina was unaffected. Instead he tapped his chin, seeming to think hard about it. 

“Sure, why not?” He smiled, that same charismatic smile that he had perfected. You didn’t know if it was genuine, but his words were. Pina was a flirt, but he wasn’t known for spreading or telling rumors. Plus, he was your friend, even if you didn’t know how you ended up being friends in the first place. 

“Well, I’m not a sheep, at least...not all sheep,” As you spoke, he leaned in, curiosity getting the better of him. His phone was now long forgotten, and not even the chirping from text alerts took his gaze away from you. You glanced around while mulling how to say what you need to say in your head. The coast was clear. 

“I look like a sheep but, I’m also half wolf,” As your spoke, you didn’t hide your fangs, and actually went out of you way to adjust your more pointed ears. 

“Woah,” You waited for the fallout. Waited for his expression to turn to disgust, or for him to ask if your wolf parent ate your sheep one. You wanted for all of the normal questions that came with the confusion and ager from finding out you were a hybrid, but it never came.

“So that’s why you’re weird looking,” You shot a glare his direction. At least he was honest.

“Yeah, I guess...So, you wont tell anyone?” Pina leaned back.

“Nah I wont tell anyone about you, as long as you don’t chew on me at practice,” he shoots you a smile. This one seemed actually honest. 

“Thanks...I really appreciate it” 

“No problem. Can I ask another question?”

“Sure, I guess,” You suddenly felt much more relaxed. It was like a weight had been lifted. 

“Do you classify as a carnivore or an herbivore? I’ve never met a hybrid before,”  You blinked, and fiddled with the corner of your book.

“Carnivore, technically. I have to take supplements since I’ve been eating the herbivore lunch. It’s not balanced for me”

“Oh! Well, that sucks,” He laughed and grabbed his phone again. “Just order the food you want. I’ll can always get you one, or ask Bill to get an extra. Or Legoshi, they’d get one for you,” He was so casual about it, you almost had to pinch yourself. 

“Hey Pina?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks...for being so nice about it.” 

“No problem. You can’t help who your parents are, plus you’re more interesting than over half the school. It’d be a waste to stop hanging out with you over something so stupid.” 

----

Bill

“New student?” Bill held the door open for Els who snuck by, holding her bag. They’d just got done at drama club, and Els was eager to talk about the new student their director told them about. Supposedly she was a transfer from another school. The details weren’t specific but they were all pretty excited. Having someone from a new school could offer new perspectives, which could be great for the drama club.

“Yeah. She sounds like she could fit right it,” It’d be nice to have another girl in drama and another herbivore. After the incident with Tem, some herbivores were still cautious about carnivore students, so it was exciting this new girl was joining an interspecies club out of the gate. 

“I hope so. Just gotta make sure Pina doesn’t do anything overwhelming, we don’t need that kind of drama,” Bill did not need Pina to flirt with the new girl, and go and forget her name. Bill was honestly one to talk, but that was beside the point. 

“Well, we’ll get to meet her tomorrow!” Els smiled, and they waved goodbye to one another. She was in high spirits, and with a shove of her shoulder let herself into her dorm room. 

“See you tomorrow Els!” Bill waved and went to his dorm. A new girl huh? He wasn’t thrilled at the idea of more Herbivores to look after, but if they were even a fraction as cool as Els, they couldn’t be to bad. 

-

You took a deep breath, and your hand gripped your school bag tightly. You grabbed the door of the drama room and pushed it. It was a bit stuck, but nothing major. You did pretend to struggle with it in order to fit the persona you were following of being a basic herbivore. No one had to know about the fact you had a carnivore parent. 

“Hello! Sorry I’m late! I got a bit lost,” You walked in, smiling carefully, avoiding showing any teeth. Your slightly longer and fluffier ear twitched. Most students just thought it was some sort of deformity, and were polite enough not to talk about it. 

“Welcome!” A goat ran up to you, and quickly introduced herself. It took very little time for you to be introduced to everyone else. They all seemed nice, friendly. Juno and Els were quick to sweep you away from a flirty and curious Pina, and show you the ropes and the possible areas you could end up.

“This big guy is Bill, don’t worry, he’s not as big of a jerk as he likes to pretend to be,” Els fondly pat the large tiger on the arm, and he just gave you a smile.

“Nice to meet you,” Bill smiled your direction, but there was a moment where the look in his eye turned briefly to confusion, but it went back to normal almost as quickly as it came. 

“Nice to meet you too!” Maybe it was your imagination. Yeah, your imagination. 

-

Drama was really fun. Everyone was supportive, if not a bit quirky. Even out of drama club, they tended to stick together. Els, Sheila, as well as Juno, tended to stick close with you. Thanks to them, it wasn’t difficult for you to find a close group of small and honest friends. That also included Bill, on rare occasions. He stuck mainly with carnivores, but the rare times you were alone, he’d slide next to you. 

“Hey, you doing okay?” He had two meals in his hand. You wondered if he was meeting someone. 

“Yeah, I’m doing alright!” You set your supplements down. He eyed them for a moment and motioned with his head.

“It’s nice outside, we should go enjoy the rest of the evening,” You sat confused, but decided to follow him. Bill carried those two trays out and somehow still held the door for you. 

“Thanks, but why do you wanna eat outside?” You sat on a bunch, setting your try on your lap, and you opened your drink to take your supplements. When people asked, you told them they were just additional vitamins. 

“So you could eat this instead,” He offered the second tray he had been holding. You looked at him confused. 

“Why?” It was the carnivore lunch tray. You were a sheep, as far as anyone knew. 

“Because taking supplements suck,” He sat down, and offered the second tray again, “Take it, I want to eat my food too, kinda hard to do that with my hands full,” You set your other food aside, and took the offered tray, 

“So, you know?” Bill shrugged. He didn’t seem that worried about it. 

“Yeah. To be fair, Aoba figured it out first. He happened to see you yawn one day, spotted your fangs. Aoba has really good eyes, being a eagle and all. We figured you didn’t want anyone to know so we haven’t asked you about it,” You freeze. If Aoba knew, who else did?

“Aoba knows?” You looked shocked. You thought you had been so careful! 

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. Only Aoba, Els, and I know. We didn’t want to bug you about it, but it’s been bugging me, watching you take those pills all the time. It’s better to just eat what you need instead of eating salads and hoping your “Vitamins” even it out. If you’re part carnivore, have some pride in it,” He spoke between eating. You were surprised, he seemed so okay with it. 

“Oh,” You didn’t know what to say. No one had treated you different, everyone was still super nice. 

“Promise you guys wont tell anyone?” You finally picked up your utensils, and began eating the lunch you should have been getting from the beginning. It was really good, but maybe that was just because it came from someone who accepted you. 

“Promise. We stick together, you’re one of us now,” He jokingly shoved your thin shoulder with his own, grinning. 

“So, what are you mixed with?” Bill asked, his food all but gone. How did he eat so much so fast? 

“Sheep and a wolf,” He laughed.

“Oh boy, I bet that must be a story,” He laughed, and you would bet he was trying to picture how that happened.

“Yeah,” You kept eating, finally relaxing. You didn’t even know you were tense. 

“If you ever need anything you can ask me, okay? Like I said, we all kind of stick together. I don’t mind buying extra food for you so you can avoid taking those pills,” He looked away, scratching his cheek. You got the feeling he wasn’t used to being sincere or so outwardly nice. It wasn’t a surprise, he frequently played the tough guy. 

“Thanks Bill.”

“You’re welcome” 

[stranger-nightmare]

Is it wrong to be like

“Hey at least out of the pain and sorrow we saw Jason get his ass melted in half by the upiside down gate.”

Like I get that was like supposed to be a like ‘oh Jesus that’s awful’ scene because like damn the upside down gate will fuck you up.

I mean look what it did to Henry but still

Seeing Jason get melted in half was just

“Hahaha nice” like consolation prize? We don’t have to worry about Jason trying to do whatever he was planning on. Ya know murdering innocent kids.

Also are we sure max is even still in her body? Like she was gone from the black space when el went to like find her memories.

So basically she’s just like a body. And vecna ya know melty fire man, has her memories.

Like nice one brought back a beating heart without max in it.

So season 5 is def gonna deal with that I assume. Or Henry is gonna use max as a vessel since ya know her body is still techinecly alive so season 5 they are gonna have to fight max. I can feel it.

-🎸😈

LMAO WAIT WAIT WAIT I DIDNT EVEN SEE THAT

I must’ve still been sobbing too hard or something bc I did not see that happen ahhh! but honestly it’s what he deserved, fuck him and his douchebag friend who thought it was okay to pin a small girl down to the floor like that!! I mean I know Erica isn’t exactly defenceless but come on

ughhh my poor darling Max as well, I really hope she’s gonna be okay in the end bc I can’t stand losing her too, it’s too much

but ngl then having to fight ‘Max’ would be super cool, emotionally traumatising for sure, but super cool

- hope