#(background Lumax kinda)

[imactuallyreallycool]

Between season 3-4 byler angst

[sarahivess]

60 questions to ask the Duffers if Byler isn’t endgame

Thank you @merth-or-nothin for the help!

1. Why emphasize so much on the strong “Friends don’t lie” in the very first episode of the show, showing Will couldn’t even lie to Mike, only for him to lie to Mike for the first time in the second to last episode of the second to last season?

2. Why did Mike and El such a short build up before getting together? If they were meant to be endgame, why not build them slowly, so the audience could be invested in the development of the relationship?

3. Why were Mike and El separated every single season?

4. Why do Mike and El fight so much when they’re together? They barely have any cute scenes at all when they’re dating.

5. Why did El refer to Mike as "her first boyfriend?"

6. If she was meant to only date (then marry) Mike, why draw attention to the fact that he's the only boy she's dated?

7. What was the purpose of El asking Mike if he'd be like her brother in s1? Why give them a familial association?

8. In season 4, why is it revealed that Will is in love with Mike as Mike's relationship with El is eroding?

9. Why make a point to show the audience Will loves Mike the way he wants to be loved, while El makes him feel like a random nerd?

10. Why have Will in the background of every single Mileven scene (except for their bedroom fight) in the entire S4, making the audience to root for Will?

11. Why have Will love Mike at all?

12. Why bring Will into Mike and El's relationship? If Mike doesn't feel the same way, it's a waste narratively and it's anticlimactic.

13. Why did Mike change so much between seasons 2-3 without any perticular reason? And no, it wasn’t just puberty. That change made Mike go from being one of the most loved characters to one of the most hated ones.

14. Why frame Mike and Eleven’s relationship in S3 as unserious and unhealthy?

15. Why make everyone go against their relationship and why break them up as early as in the beginning of the second episode of S3?

16. Why empathize so much on El in EP3 and her independence, making us (the audience) feel genuinely happy when she breaks up with Mike and frame the breakup scene with light-hearted humor and comedy?

17. Why make Will and Mike’s first fight scene in the show dark and angsty? And making it a huge contrast to Mike and El’s comedic breakup scene.

18. Why make Max say “he’ll come crawling in no time begging for forgiveness” to El, which was true, but he didn’t come crawling back to El. He went to Will’s house, begging for forgiveness.

19. Why spend SO MUCH time on the Byler scenes and putting so much effort in them so they’ll look intimate? It’s such a contrast to Steve and Dustin’s scenes for example which is almost always comedic.

20. Why have so MANY Byler scenes at all?

21. Why have “tender emotional music” in almost all of the Byler scenes in S4?

22. Why make Will even confess behind El’s name instead of just confess himself and having Mike rejecting him right away? Why drag it out all the way to the very final season?

23. Why spend an entire day filming the van scene if it wasn’t that important anyway? If Will is just ending up getting rejected anyway?

24. Why the whole painting plot?

25. Why so many parallels with Jopper, Jancy and Lumax?

26. Why the very same soundtrack when they became friends again as when Lucas and Max became friends “On the bus”?

27. Why is Finn describing Mike’s story arc for both season 3 and season 4 as “Mike is trying to be a normal teenager”, “Mike is trying to be as normal as possible” and “He’s trying to keep on a normal path” why so much focus on Mike trying to be normal?

28. Why spending two seasons on Mike trying to say the word “love” to his girlfriend? Isn’t that a kinda boring arc for someone who’s just having bad self esteem because of his parents loveless marriage?

29. Why does the whole cast and even the Duffers always so secretive and giddy and smiley every time Byler gets brought up if it’s just another sad tragic unrequited love story?

30. Why having Will say “I’m not gonna fall in love” with such a heartbreaking tone and then end up making him not get the boy he’s in love with and has been since the very beginning?

31. Why put so much effort in the set design to queer code Mike (as in rainbows, shirtless men, monsters with muscles, the word BOY in the bg, multiple closet imagery, even a big sign towards the closet saying “One way” if it meant nothing or was just weird coincidence’s?

32. Why the triple take? What was the point of that?

33. Why filming and editing the last scene of S3 emphasizing that Mike is going to miss Will more than El? (Him looking back at Will’s house, then it cuts to Will, then it cuts back to Mike who walks up to his mom and hugs her with a heartbroken look on his face)

34. Why make El say in the letter “I think there’s someone Will likes, cause he has been acting weird” but all we see in s4 is Mike acting weird?

35. Why make Mike being able to hug everyone except for Will, when he could hug him just perfectly in s3?

36. Why make Mike treat Will differently than his other friends?

37. Why make Mike and Dustin have the same look on their faces as they watch Will and Max dance with other people and then after that Mike looks upset until El shows up?

38. Why is The Duffers so “hushy hushy” about Byler at all? If it was obvious it’s unrequited why not just clear that shit up because they KNOW they’ll get a lot of backlash if it turns out it was a big queer bait all along.

39. Why start to build up and hint at Will’s love for Mike from the very first episode and make it canon in the second to last season?

40. Why so many coded talks which easily could be interpreted differently? Like Karen’s “I want you to know you can talk to me, I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me”, Ted’s “See what happens?” About Will’s disappearance (as in see what happens if you’re queer? You get abducted, killed etc) and Ted’s “our son with a girl?”

41. Why make Mike NOD in the scene when Will talks about how difficult it can be to open up about something the other person may not like to hear?

42. Why make Will having to remind Mike of the painting and his coded speech before Mike can say it? Why could he only say it the moment El was about to die?

43. Why make it look like Mike doesn’t want to kiss El by removing her hands away from him (3.01) and not reciprocating, not kissing back with eyes wide open looking confused in 3.08? Why frame him like he isn’t interested in girls at all? (Princess Daphne, Phoebe Cates, Max etc.)

44. Why never show us Mike’s pov?

45. Why SO MUCH effort in flashbacks during the entire S4 except for the monologue when El only remembered one single moment with Mike? Why did she had so many with Max but only one with Mike?

46. The ending scene in S4. WHY put them in couples when they could just have made them stand together all of them instead?

47. Why does it look like El isn’t talking to Mike at the end of S4? Why does she look annoyed at first and THEN sad when she finds the bottle under her bed which reminds her of Max?

48. Why SO MUCH yellow and blue coding when it comes to Will and Mike? Even their colors of their clothes are almost always blue and yellow as well.

49. Why make Mike nervous every time Will is close to him in S4 or accidentally touches him?

50. Why make Mike say “we’re friends” to Will twice when both him, Will and the audience clearly knows that already?

51. Why associate the word “crazy” with “love” and then make the “crazy together” scene?

52. Why having Mike saying “it was the best thing I’ve ever done” about meeting Will but then having him say his life didn’t start until he met El?

53. Why did Mike’s words work for Will in S2 (making him being able to communicate) but didn’t for El (not until she looked over at Max)?

54. Why write the lines for Will “We could just play DnD for the rest of our lives” and “Not possible” about him joining another party?

55. Why make Mike look at Will’s lips so much? Why the flirtiness in the bedroom scenes in S4? They could easily have remade those scenes if that wasn’t intentional.

56. Why all the classic romantic interruptions in season 4 which we’ve seen plenty of times in the show between “more than friends”-couples earlier?

57. Why make such a HUGE contrast between El’s reaction to being without Mike and Will being without Mike in S3? (El did a high five with Max while Will cried and destroyed Castle Byers)

58. Why make Mike say “Hawkins isn’t the same without you” to only WILL and not to El? Why does Mike not have any problems opening up to Will but only to El?

59. Why couldn’t Mike say the full reason why he and El had their fight in 4.03?

60. Why have so much hints and clues in the show that Byler is endgame so it’s possible to make 300+ pages slideshows, hours of long videos with proof of Mike being gay, if everything is just unintentional or “made up”?

[will80sbyers]

since lucas was kinda hinted as bi, do you think byclair has a real chance in canon? what'd be your reaction if they went with byclair instead of byler after not developing lucas and will's bond that much for 4 seasons?

I would be kinda confused, tbh I do like byclair a lot but I want the tv show I'm watching to be coherent and make sense in how it is written... For now it would be pretty out of nowhere to make byclair canon because they didn't code them as romantic, the interactions between Lucas and Will were always how you present characters that are supposed to be only friends

I don't think there's enough time to build it now in the last season in a credible way, not like they have been building byler all these years! and also I don't want Max to die and Max dying would be the only way byclair could even start so I really hope it doesn't happen

I think Lumax is endgame and they are preparing that, maybe Lucas could be revealed as bi too tho I don't know I don't think that will happen, I think they will leave it as background coding

[byers-bowlcut]

Rewatched the snowball dance scene, and I realized they gave the better lines of ‘Every Breath You Take’ to Lumax as opposed to M*leven LOL 😭 though honestly, the whole song kinda reads as unromantic and stalkerish 

Anyway here’s a breakdown of what I mean exactly: 

The first M*leven scene is when El walks in and they see each other — ♫ “Every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you. Every single day, every word you say...” ♫ — (music quiets, and they start talking) 

The “every bond you break” part is interesting to me. They’re taking steps closer to each other yes, but what bonds are they ‘breaking’? Well maybe it’s the fact that Mike JUST pushed Will to dance with some random girl. And in season 3 we see Mike’s bond with Will/the party, and El’s bond with Hopper both take a hit due to M*leven’s unhealthy relationship. That might be a reach idk, but I think it’s interesting to think about regardless. 

So now they walk to the dance floor after talking. And Mike proceeds to show El ‘how to dance’ by putting her hand on his shoulders. The music starts increasing in volume again — ♫ “Every move you make” ♫

This fits well with Mike showing her how to move along to the music. 

And now they’re just dancing. — ♫ “My poor heart aches, with every step you take” ♫

This is not a very happy line. Interesting how they inserted M*leven here as it would’ve worked with Dustin/Nancy, or Will/the girl since Will wasn’t happy about that, and Nancy wasn’t who Dustin ACTUALLY wanted to dance with, so it’s a somewhat bittersweet thing.

What’s ALSO interesting is how it cuts to Dustin/Nancy dancing right after Mike teaches El how to dance. It reminded me of what happened like 1 minute ago on screen between Dustin/Nancy during the song ‘Time after time’. The wheelers do be giving dancing lessons. Is it meant to romantic? I don’t think so.  

Another shot of Mike and El dancing — ♫ “I dream at night, I can only (see your face)” ♫ 

‘See your face’ is in brackets cause it cuts to Lumax here, so the phrase isn’t actually finished with M*leven. But yeah, this is the only line that can really be interpreted as “romantic” with these two. But honestly I think it’s about how Mike kept thinking he was imagining El’s face or feeling her presence for a whole year, and it made him feel like he was going insane cause he couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead.

Now like I said earlier, it cuts to Lumax, and shows their kiss scene — ♫ I look around and it’s you I can’t replace. ♫

Literally the most normal romantic line in this whole song.  

Right after they kiss, lumax also hug — ♫ I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace ♫

The embrace part coincides with their hug. Also a fairly normal and romantic line.

Cuts back to M*leven. Now it’s their kiss scene — ♫ I keep crying, baby baby please ♫

Now this is what inspired me to make this whole post in the first place. LIKE WHAT? LMAO

For their only kiss in season 2... the huge Snowball moment that was said to happen since season 1... AND THAT’S THE BACKTRACK THEY USED?!? All after Lumax got a line about not being able to replace each other, and embracing. Help 😭😭😭

And I’m gonna say this is likely intentional. Why? Cause it’s an important moment! You can see in this post, how even the less important scenes have lyrics that sorta match it playing in the background. So why would that not apply for the most highlighted scene of the snowball?? SO YEAH, the lyrics are telling us that a part of Mike may be unhappy here, even when dancing with and kissing El. Aka the start of Mike’s repressed homosexual arc. how exciting. 

Bonus: My poor baby, pls save him

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

I’ve met so many people who passionately hate season 2 (and they always inevitably adore season 3 because of how prominent Steve is), and I just don’t understand at all. Like to me, Season 2 IS Stranger Things. Like the Halloween vibes are PERFECT, it expands on the lore and characters of season 1 in iconic ways, we get Max for the first time, there’s the arcade, we get goth El, Will takes center stage, Mike is at his best, CRAZY TOGETHER, we get Byler and Lumax and Jancy rising, there’s the Snowball scene, there’s still an inherent mystery to everything about the Upside Down/the Lab/El’s background, we don’t know if we can trust Bob or Murray or Dr. Owens, I can go on and on, it’s just so COOL. I do enjoy season 3 a lot because the summer vibes are also fun and different, but there’s no denying that it’s different. And it’s missing some of the things that make stranger things “feel” like stranger things to me. (Maybe it’s the fact that the Russian plotline and Billy’s possession aren’t really “mysterious”). I do think season 4 brought some of those mystery/horror elements back but it’s still not quite the same. So it seems like the people who hate season 2 and love season 3 are into the show for completely different reasons- which is totally fine- but it’s just really wild/interesting. And I guess if people watch season 2 with their eyes closed or tune it out, it kinda makes sense why they don’t see the Byler vision

People outside tumblr don’t have taste

[emiraee]

“i thought we lost you”

[elekinetic]

What are your hcs about the Stranger Things characters’ futures? Like concerning their careers, where they wind up living, pets, colleges, or anything else that you want to talk about!

ohhhh i’m torn. i want them to all end up in the same place. i don’t think this is the canon answer but this is what makes me happy:

the party ends up in california for college. they all go to uc santa cruz, cause they didn’t get a chance to do the whole college application thing while saving the world and owens pulled some strings. el and max are roommates. dustin mike and lucas get put in a triple, but if mike starts staying at a certain party member’s single most of the time…..that’s none of their business. max starts as a neuroscience major until she fucking hates it. she’s at the arcade one night and watches someone repair a broken machine and is like, oh shit. that’s kinda cool. she switches to computer science, then to computer engineering bc CS is for nerds. (dustin does CS.) lucas came in as a political science major, but he realized he was way more interested in helping max with her neuroscience homework. he ends up doing a double major in political science and human health sciences. mike majors in communication cause it’s a compromise between getting a business degree like his parents insist and studying something he’s actually interested in (this is the problem. mike has no clue what he wants to study). will is a visual arts major obv. el switches her major about seventeen different times (zoology, religion, international relations, mechanical engineering). she ends up graduating w mike in communication bc its the easiest to apply her various credits to. el and dustin get really into improv. el also does theatre, and mike ends up getting dragged into the tech scene. lucas plays club basketball and gets involved in student govt. he sets up a lot of food and blood drives. the party goes to a board game club, but will goes EVERY week and makes a bunch of great friends. max learns guitar and starts playing at open mics (el is the only one who knows. and lucas, a little later). they all join the college radio station. first its dustin helping a mutual friend fix radio tech, then its will filling in for a mutual friend’s missing cohost, then it’s will and lucas starting an advice show, and el and max starting a show where max makes the tapes and el just talks about whatever she wants, and mike fucking around in the background of all his friends’ shows and shouting out unsolicited comments. when they all move off campus, mike and will, dustin and lucas, and el and max get their own apartments respectively. lumax starts talking abt moving in together and el is like “i love you both but i am not trying to third wheel in my own home.” thus, henderhop house is born. these two were BORN to be roommates. they become such good friends and are so respectful of each others space and are so so communicative! and they both love to cook. henderhop lives together for like, six years post college. listen, they have two cats together. they don’t want to traumatize them with a divorce. mike and will get a dog when they’re older (late 20s, early 30s). they used to catsit for their neighbor, but mike is crazy allergic. it always sounds like he’s going through puberty again. the party ends up in southern california. el becomes an archaeologist and travels a lot. dustin lives in pasadena and works for JPL. max does some work with him, does some contacts for a few different companies. she eventually becomes a professor and spends her off time doing research. lucas becomes a pediatrician. later in life he serves on city council, then turns to non-profit work. will get a job as an illustration intern at a comic house straight out of college and works his way up from there. mike bounces around office jobs, does some time at a publishing house, and goes back to school for a creative writing MFA. he sells some original stuff but he ends up mostly writing comics for IPs with will. they make a name for themselves in the Star Wars EA and actually get invited to a couple comic-con panels. dustin flips his shit.

[andiwriteordie]

WHY DOES THE STORY BELONG TO JONATHAN BYERS (god you're so right but tell me why)

ABBY MY BELOVED THANK GOD I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED.

okay, okay, for starters, this song is just so good, like it's the perfect amount of realistic but also tentatively hopeful as well? and how the narrator of this song is just someone who watches and observes other people's lives, but then also relates this back to their own life? yeah. jonathan.

okay, let's do this:

Let me tell you a story About a boy and a girl It's kinda short, kinda boring But the end is a whirl They were just sixteen When the people were mean So they didn't love themselves And now they're gone Headstones on a lawn

this section, of course, reminds most people in the fandom of lucas and max, and honestly i agree! "they didn't love themselves" really just screams max to me, and then of course, the line "headstones on a lawn" is reminiscent of how lumax's arc has ended (thus far) in s4. now, we don't see jonathan interact very much with lucas or max; however, we do know that jonathan canonically is very involved with will's life and has always been. so, with lucas growing up as one of will's best friends, we can assume then jonathan knows lucas (as well as mike and dustin), and then with the upside down entering everyone's life, jonathan knows max too. jonathan doesn't have that much of a relationship with these two, but as we've seen from his personality and other subtext, jonathan is an incredibly observant person who is in the background watching others and how they interact. so, the less intimate, more detached introduction to this story, fits jonathan's dynamic with this couple.

And when I was younger I knew a boy and a boy Best friends with each other But always wished they were more 'Cause they loved one another But never discovered 'Cause they were too afraid of what they'd say Moved to different states

i mean... come on. we all saw this one coming. it's jonathan with byler, clearly. like we've already established, jonathan is someone who watches and who sees thing. jonathan, in my opinion, is the person who actually best understands byler's relationship. he was there for mike's shed monologue. he was there for will's van monologue. he was there for mike's pizza monologue. he's known mike since he was five, and he's witnessed how will and mike interact with each other for a decade now! so, if anyone is clued into what is going on, it's jonathan, and i think the show is telling this to us too (evidenced by the mirror shot in the van scene). also this is me advocating for a mike and jonathan conversation in s5 because pls my boy needs someone who can gently call him out on the lies and get him to be more genuine (in the same way jonathan challenged nancy's facade in s1).

Oh, and I'm afraid that's just the way the world works It ain't funny, it ain't pretty, it ain't sweet Oh, and I'm afraid that's just the way the world works But I think that it could work for you and me Just wait and see It's not the end of the story

okay, okay, god i love the chorus of this song. remember i said this song is the perfect amount of realism mixed with a tentative hope? yeah, that's jonathan in my opinion. jonathan is a character who has struggled so much in his life. the byers family has suffered a lot, even before the upside down entered their lives, and so, by the time we meet jonathan, he's a character who is more hardened. he's 16, but he's had to grow up really quickly. he knows how the world works. he knows how awful people can be because he's experienced it. he's lived through his father's abuse and abandonment of their family, through significant bullying from his peers, through having to raise his little brother, through stepping up in ways a kid shouldn't have to. and yet, we also see that jonathan (much like his mom and his brother) is inherently good. he has a good heart. he does his best to be there for will and for his mom, and he protects them with everything he possibly can. that extends to other characters too. most obviously with nancy in their relationship, because duh. and then we also see that in how jonathan is quick to take care of el (s3) and how he protects mike too (s3 and s4). so, for me, when i see that, i see that hope buried underneath all the things he's been through. (although s4 is probably one of the lowest points of jonathan, where he himself doesn't hold much hope in his own life, but still is able to extend that love and instill some hope in his little brother.)

Now it's on to the sequel About me and my friend Both our parents were evil So we both made a bet If we worked and we saved We could both run away And we'd have a better life And I was right I wonder if she's alright

alright, here we go. now, we shift in this moment towards the narrator talking about themselves, which fits incredibly well for jonathan's own story with nancy. the two of them come from different worlds, but they still connect and find ways to relate to each other. "both our parents were evil," most obviously points to lonnie, but also to nancy's own strained relationship with her family. and then the next lines, i see so much of jonathan and nancy's story here—how they're both dreaming and striving for something more than what hawkins has to offer. how neither one of them really want to get stuck in this small town kind of mentality (though for different reasons i'd say, but that's a separate though lol), and how they're navigating through those dreams separate but also together. and those last couple lines of this verse just reminds me then of how s4, we see jancy separated from each other... not really speaking, but still thinking of each other. they're in a rough patch of their relationship right now, and maybe they'll stay together (which i would hope tbh), or maybe they don't. but i still think however it ends up for jonathan and nancy, he holds that mentality of loving/caring deeply for nancy and hoping the best for her, even if it doesn't necessarily involve him. (again, jonathan's in such a rough place in s4 right now, so hopefully, we'll see more of that hope of "i think it could work for you and me" come as they work through their issues. or... ya know. jonathan and steve could just date. that'd be cool too.)

Okay And the movie's always running in my head All the people, all the lovers, all my friends And I hope that they all get their happy end In the end

skipping to the bridge now, since this is the last section of unique lyrics in the song! the line "the movie's always running in my head" sums up jonathan byers so well. i think about that scene in s1, where jonathan and nancy talk about how he takes pictures when he believes someone is "saying" something. jonathan has always been an outsider and is established as someone who chooses to stay back and to observe, rather than particularly join in with the conversations and the relationships with others (the exceptions being his family, nancy, and argyle of course). so, as i think about the bridge, i just think about jonathan just watching. seeing all these people in his life—some that he knows well, others that he doesn't know as well—and just observing what they're trying to say. what their body language and their interactions with each other show him. what, if he were taking a picture and considering what to capture as a photographer, is being communicated by the actions of the people around them.

and for the people that are in jonathan's life—people like lucas and max, and will and mike, and even nancy and himself—i imagine jonathan does want a happy ending for all of them. because authenticity is important to jonathan byers. he's seen how the world can be and how easy it is for people to hide pieces of themselves. he's done it himself, too many times. and you know, maybe it's hard for him right now to fathom that he'll get a happy ending (as we see he's in a low place in his own mental health right now), but i do think jonathan is over there hoping and just wanting what is best for the people around him—what will make them their most authentic selves.

(someone should probably turn the camera back on him and tell him that it's okay to be himself too and to care for his own needs, because god knows jonathan byers needs to be told this)

[netflixnormalthings]

in my cliche fandom blog era anyway ship rating (filters for poorly rated ships so as not to bother you guys who do ship those im not fond of. oh except for billy ships i am keeping those uncensored given billy is a racist abuser) also lol no hate i am filtering for a reason (apart from the above mentioned)

milkvan: 2/10 romantic 7/10 platonic. all of their best moments are the ones that arent inherently romantic, like messing with hopper, or like. being the first people to not hate eachother. good duo, kinda toxic as a couple what with communication breakdowns and el not really being given a chance to understand her feelings... yeah i dont like it

lumax: 9/10 i love them so much they communicate have a fun dynamic support eachother i love them i love them. really care deeply about eachother and i love that

elmax: 9/10 so much understanding and girls having fun

elumax: 10/10 oh my god it is everything it is perfect showstopping amazing incredible- but seriously! look at them! understanding! support! theyre just adorable!

byler: 9/10. im chill about them though. endgame truther but i dont really go insane over them

st*ncy: why why excuse me why so bad for both of their characters oh my god uh uh 1/10 i guess very bad i could write an essay on why it is bad im just incoherent right now

j*ncy: uh alright ig??? peak was s1 and s2 but it sorta broke down after s3. they care they just cant and wont communicate and tend to lash out which leads to less care. pretty cute but ah well 6/10

ronance: 10/10 literally so insane about them like the dynamic, the way their characters work well in terms of narrative...

st*ddie: somewhere between 5 and 7 out of 10. idk i dont really interact with st*ddie content given that i ussualy filter it out for the sake of getting to the content i want to, but theyre all right. overhyped, but all right. cute maybe??? idk

jargyle: 10/10 they are weed smoking boyfriends they are funny they care about eachother so much they are supportive they-

stonathan: solid 6 or 7 out of 10, but im more willing to engage with this content than st*ddie lol. better dynamic imo, just ignoring that steve called him a slur one time but he got better about that. i would be willing to see them in the background so yeah ig i ship

jopper: 10/10 that being said i dont go out of my way to find stuff about them. they just kinda exist and i like them

r0ckie: 5/10 sorry. too similar. not really developed. i am biased

harringrove: so far in the negatives. so very far. please seek help if you stan billy

byclair: 7/10 cute ig wont scroll past on my dash just dont really care that much. fun dynamic. lucas would treat him right, i just dont know if they would work as a couple so i sorta ship

[steveharrington]

Fanfic ask meme #1, #4, #5, #6, #7, #11; with the [insert fic] as Every Mistake?

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

ooo probably my friends are all waving from the shore because i feel like. when i wrote it i was like okay finally i’m writing The Fic where i make steve think about his feelings and interact with Everyone and like really pry his brain open. it’s like a very shortened version of things to come!

4. What detail in [every mistake was made purposely] are you really proud of?

oh my favorite thing about writing carol is making her a big hypocrite and i feel like that was best exemplified in chapter two when she’s speculating at length on chrissy’s experiences and then turns around and acts all appalled at the thought of eddie knowing something so personal and private about her. i just think carol is 100% the type to be like “oh but it’s okay when i do it” and i was kinda proud of that bit hehe

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [every mistake was made purposely]? Answer it now!

ooo i really don’t know ?? i guess like a bit of trivia is that originally i was gonna have nancy be possessed instead of jonathan, but i wanted her to be able to interact with tommy and carol at length because she has history with them <3

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

i am kinda obsessed with creating little background characters who never make an appearance but get mentioned as like somewhat formative figures in steve/robin/nancy/whomever’s life and people seem to like that when they leave comments so <3 im proud of it!

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

well…..it should come as a surprise to no one that i am partial to steve. i don’t think i’d ever write a fic where he doesn’t at least make One appearance, but other than that i do like to make other characters my narrators sometimes and have the focus on them <3 as for pairings, quite honestly i’ve found recently that i don’t really enjoy focusing the Entire story on romance. i realized when i tagged things to come as steve/eddie and started getting a lot of bookmarks that were tagged with like “this isn’t really steddie but it’s cute!” that people were expecting the ship to take way more prominence than it did. which is fine!! it’s just not rlly my ultimate goal when i’m writing personally. anyways all of that’s to say, i don’t focus on ships very much but i’m open to writing a few of them. i like lumax and jopper and robin/vickie and obviously steddie. there are some ships i’ll just simply never write for but ultimately i like focusing on platonic dynamics better anyway!

[smoothpapertowels]

my stranger things vol. 2 reactions

just thought it would be fun. i’m watching alone so i have to talk to SOMEONE about these emotions.

Episode 8: Papa

- disappointed robin didn’t come thru with the tidbit where she sees nancy’s tapes in her room and saves her from vecna with them (but my fic has that ;))

- eddies music line was hilarious

- enzo was hot asf

- poor joyce having funerals for both her boy and her love. at least they’re both not dead.

- “she missed her dad” waaaah

- the demogorgon absolutely clearing the floors of the prison was hilarious and sick

- how did the open heart surgery demogorgon die from one bullet

- the russian demogorgon lab reveal was GOOD

- eleven lifting up the tank was satisfying

- will just wants to play dnd with mike for the rest of his life.

- will is such a good friend. he’s a good LISTENER

- mike :((

- TENDER EMOTIONAL MUSIC

- OMG THE DRAWING

- are you kidding me. are you fucking kidding me. i’m crying

- WILL IS SO IN LOVE WIYH MIKE. THE GODDAMN HEART. HOLY FUCK

- omg mike is realizing

- NO DONT CRY WILL BABY. gay is different and OK

- noah u are so good at what u do

- OH MY GOD DONT CRY WILL BABY NOOO my little gay heart

- he’s such a good friend. he is helping mike with his relationship even tho he wants to be with him. like wow.

- “i’m not gonna lie to you eleven” bs.

- pls do true owens. not ominous at all

- nancy leaving out her dad…does she not…love him?

- THE SUSPENSE

- what bad skin robin??

- max. ur gonna die

- max bby ur so brave omg

- she’s preparing herself to die and it hurts so bad

- hop is free :)

- EDDIES TIME TO SHINE

- RED. max is now red.

- HELP THE MASK

- eddie motorcycle perchance?

- oh. eddie rv. slightly less cool but funnier

- eddie is abt to CRACK i swear

- BIG BOY?? BIG BOY?? HOLY SHIT

- steve’s bare foot💀

- Team Owens yass!

- steve wants a family😭it’s his babysitting gene

- omg if maxs memory is lucas-

- boy is BRAVE

- PRESUMPTUOUS😭😭

- stop lumax is supreme

- kate bush is also supreme

- is yuri Okay

- VICKIEEE!!

- vickie :((

- amybeth is the loml

- nancy pls beat up jason rn.

- jason is off his rocker!!!

- small woman.

- luv u argyle

- oh sam u are dust. wait who are these dickheads??

- BRENNER U ASSHOLE

- YAS ELEVEN SHE IS THE MOMENT

- she is such a slay rn. open that door girl.

- HOLY SHIT

- YOU MOTHERFUCKER

- KILL HIM GIRL

- GET HIM

- oh this is not good

- eddie! little shield boy!!

- omg eddie’s such a nerd.

- AW DUSTIN. so cute

- aw omg eddie munson heart of gold.

- erica is such a bad bitch

- AW SUPPORTIVE ERICA

- everything is so wholesome for a bit.

- steve trying to comfort robin :(

- not everything has a happy ending. i will cry

- SHE LOOKED OVER AT NANCY??

- robin. robin shut up. no. it will work out.

- they’re just kids man :(

- if robin or steve die i will kms

- tbh i totally forgot that military storyline was happening

- i hate the military btw :)

- california crew to the rescue!!

- YES GIRL CRASH THAT COPTER

- she is such a badass

- that was so cool

- millie has fallen to her knees so many times. get this girl some knee pads.

- she doesn’t even pass out after that? my girl gettin STRONG!

- will in the background of mileven i- (kinda have to laugh)

- will and el :’)

- a speck of redemption for brenner??

- kinda sad that she’s his family but like…why would you treat ur family like that🤨

- stop the music- the mike music :(

- oh shit. el is her OWN! PERSON!!

- GOODBYE PAPA INDEED!!!!

- i heart u and ur music kyle dixon

- who IS gonna die el??

- SEPARATE WAYS YEAHHHHH THIS IS SO GOOD

- also have y’all seen the spotify playlist it looks so cool

- THATS THE END OF THAT ONE??

- i’m so scared for the next one. here we go folks.

[serendipitousrambles]

Lumax is like the typical middle school couple to me. They'll annoy the hell off each other. Some break up, some figure shit up and stay strong. My problem is how platonic they look even in time of crisis. I'm not saying they should make out furiously, but they almost died. He saved her life. They got separated. Her brother she loved dearly apparently, died horribly in front of her eyes! And yet not a single tender moment between the two. Not even a hug! (1/2)

They had some depth in S2 but Max is only allowed to have a connection with only one boy per season, I guess. Seriously, where the Duffers traumatized by the Beyond Stranger Things backlash? Did Sadie's people threaten to sue if they got too close? Making Lumax that distant makes no sense! (2/2)

Yeah lumax's dynamic really shook me. I thought they would have a little bit of this teasing behaviour since that kind of was their dynamic before they started dating but I thought they would on the whole be a little more affectionate.

I know that just because a couple aren't constantly holding hands in public and kissing (*cough* mileven *cough*) doesn't mean they don't like each other. I always thought they would be a more private reserved couple. But they really didn't have much affection towards each other. I know they were also broken up (for what the 6th time now?) But even at the start when they were supposedly dating the most we saw was them holding hands for a split second in the corner of the screen as they ran away. Other than that, Max didn't really treat Lucas any differently than she did with the other boys and it just felt a bit odd because it's good if your boyfriend is also your friend but you'd think there would be a tiny bit more of a dynamic shift as they are still dating.

Max grieving over Billy as well was weird (and I'm not going to go too into that or I'd be here all day) but considering she was literally about to smash him in with a nail bat in s2 it was kinda weird to be that devastated (I know he's still her step brother and all but they never had a close relationship to that point - not that we saw anyway so it just felt a bit much really). But the fact Lucas didn't comfort her was again a little weird when even Mike was comforting El about Billy's death.

I liked the friendship between El and Max and it was cute that El comforted Max but they could've thrown in Lucas in the background coming to put a hand on her shoulder or something like boy your girlfriend is distraught and you do literally nothing?!

It seemed detached from the dynamic they were setting up in s2 and what I was expecting but I guess that's that

[themikewheelers]

In the first half of the trailer Mike and El are glued to each other’s side but then in the second half and in later stills after she goes to the mall and gets a new wardrobe Mike is usually far away from her. Millie is constantly promising tons of Mileven but ugh how boring and annoying would it be if that extra who was all “mileven’s gonna break up in episode two!” was right

I don’t think they will. I mean, it wouldn’t be “summer of love” if we only got two episodes of happy couples. I think the reason there’s so much Mileven and Lumax in the beginning of the trailer but not so much at the end is because it’s not really about them, it’s kinda setting up how Dustin is feeling in s3 feeling kinda left out now that most of his friend group is dating each other. 

And also just in general it’s gonna make SENSE that majority of the fluffy stuff is gonna happen towards the beginning when the plot itself is still fluffy. We’re gonna get more happy carefree moments when they’re not preoccupied with fighting monsters. Doesn’t mean there won’t be moments during the thick of the plot either, but once we get to a point in the season, major plot events are gonna be the spotlight and there’s not rlly gonna be many happy fluffy moments for any ships. 

And honestly, there rlly ISN’T that much Mileven? Like I’m already seeing ppl complain about it like “Mike and El are their own characters I don’t want to just see them together!!” You ?? won’t ??? They have, like, 4 or 5 shots together in the trailer, most of which are background moments, and we can see right from the trailer alone that both of them (especially El) are going to have a lot going on this season individually as well. 

[allucka]

uH stanlon or lumax for the otp asks ? either one is great just do whichever one ur feelin right now 💕

ill do both just for you! they’ll be under the cut

send me a ship!

stanlon

Who said “I love you” first

it was mike! they were just watching a movie and cuddling. they were laughing and telling jokes and it slipped out through giggles and stan was so??? shook!

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background

they both do! richie made the wallpapers for them. theyre very cheesy bc theyre littered with heart and flower emojis

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

they both do! it becomes a sort of game where they communicate back and forth where when mike is in the shower and the mirror gets all foggy stan will leave a little message, and mike replies when stans in the shower

Who buys the other cheesy gifts

mike! in the most random times he’ll buy stan a box of chocolates or a teddy bear or flowers and so on or that coat that stan mentioned five months ago

Who initiated the first kiss

stan! it was after mike said “i love you” and stan first responded with a lot of small kisses on mikes face, then in the spur of the moment stan pressed his lips against mikes

Who kisses the other awake in the morning

stan is not a morning person. luckily mike is and he always places gentle kiss to stans cheek every morning and suddenly stan slowly becomes a morning person

Who starts tickle fights

mike! he loves stans giggles sm and its so funny to see stan trying to protests against the tickles, but failing, giving in, and bursting into laughter

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

stan ;) he a thot and thats my only reasoning

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

mike loves to surprise stan at work, sometimes it would be more than just a nice homemade lunch. like, itll be a small gift too and it makes stans day. stan returns the kindness too. he’ll show up at the library and give mike a really nice lunch and talk with him for a bit

Who was nervous and shy on the first date

stan,, poor bby. he was so convinced that hed mess up somehow. he got ready with bill and bev helping him, calming him down, and giving him tips. when mike came to pick stan up, both mr and mrs uris are taking pictures of them and gushing about how proud they are

Who kills/takes out the spiders

stan used to kill the spiders, but mike softened him up and now whenever mike goes “stan theres a spider in the bathroom” stan grabs a sheet of paper and a cup then throws the spider outside

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk

neither of them are loud drunks, they both barely drink. but stan is the emotional one when their drunk. he’ll cling onto mike and whisper “you know what? im so lucky to have you. im so lucky!”

lumax

Who said “I love you” first

lucas! it was more of a “oh my god i love you so much!” after max did smth cool. her whole face turned red, and the others didnt let lucas live it down for a few weeks. (in private, max returned the feelings)

Who would have the other’s picture as their phone background

lucas,,, hes so sappy! he got the idea from mike and decided that he’d take his favorite pic of max and set it as his lockscreen. max teased him, but thought it was very sweet

Who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror

lucas tried to he wrote smth like “you look beautiful” max wrote back “thanks i love you but youll smudge the mirror”

Who buys the other cheesy gifts

surprisingly its max! theyre small gifts, but theyre full of sentimental value!

Who initiated the first kiss

considering canon, its lucas! 

Who kisses the other awake in the morning

lucas,,, he just loves max sm and shell giggle which only makes him kiss her more

Who starts tickle fights

max! whenever lucas is being stubborn she’ll jump on him and start tickling him! his weakness! 

Who asks who if they can join the other in the shower

max! the lil devil ;) lucas doesnt really mind, he doesnt mind at all bc he loves to wash max’s hair and likes the shampoo she uses bc it smells so nice and so,,, her

Who surprises the other in the middle of the day at work with lunch

hmmm i think they both would, but mostly lucas. hes not good at cooking so its usually a pb and j but max loves it nonetheless 

Who was nervous and shy on the first date

lucas! he was v awkward at first but papa steve helped him out, gave him some pointers, and helped him get all ready

Who kills/takes out the spiders

MAX OMG. lucas acts like he can handle spiders but when theres one on the ceiling hell fucking scream and max is like ffs and kills it

Who loudly proclaims their love when they’re drunk

max :’) she gets so loud when shes drunk ! she proclaims her love to all the others though “mike, you were kinda an asshole and still are, but i fucking love you!” “jane, ur so sweet and i know you didnt rlly like me but i was always intrested in you! ur so cool!” “dustin ur so funny i love you sm sosososos much!” and when she gets to lucas she tears up and shes just yelling “i love you so much! so sos so much!” over and over again

[ao3feed-strangerthings]

Upper West Side

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2BEA75L

by DaisyPatricia

“You're so rich, bet you bought yourself a diamond chain To look real cool, while you're telling all your friends it's fake

But you know it's lies Another bitch from the upper west side Credit card cutting all of your lines Yeah”

The town of Hawkins, Indiana was separated in two - Upper-Hawkins and Lower-Hawkins. What separated these areas were mountains of wealth and privilege and the people of Lower-Hawkins could only dream of and the people of Upper-Hawkins saw as the norm.

Children from these areas hardly interact, due to the fact that they go to different schools and move in different social groups. Until, a chance meeting between two young boys brings the two sides smashing together, for better or for worse.

Words: 3546, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Underage

Categories: M/M

Characters: Will Byers, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Dustin Henderson, Eleven | Jane Hopper

Relationships: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Original Female Character (kinda)

Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Gay Will Byers, Bisexual Disaster Mike Wheeler, Pansexual Eleven | Jane Hopper, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, background lumax, Background El Hopper/Original Female Character, Kinda?, Class war, eat the rich

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2BEA75L