#I still get a lot of S4 notes and I just felt like I needed to update this post lol

[feralnumberfive]

Ignore my apology, I fully meant to sound like an asshole and I double down on my observation and criticism here

Okay, not to sound like an asshole and point out something right away, but in 4x01 there's no way Five wouldn't have noticed the marigold jar missing from the box after Ben took it. The dude was a trained assassin that had to keep track of his briefcase at all times, and the marigold jar was right on top of the box which was right next to his leg. Not to mention Five picked up that box and carried it too

[mintaikk]

Shadowpeach Things I think about A Lot

Note: My knowledge of season 5 is very limited (only seen first 2 eps, and some spoilers). Do not say any spoilers in comments or reblogs. If you want to avoid spoilers completely, I suggest you don't read this

-Peng said it themselves. "Could Wukong do anything that could break his hold over you?" or something like that. But Macaque's entire world was Wukong

-Macaque's dream was spending a peaceful forever with Wukong

-"You were a villain like 5 minutes ago!" Nothing there, but this was when they were having that screaming match and I burst out laughing when I realized that's what Wukong said. He was tho. From s4 to s5, bro went from trying to kill him to living on his mountain again

-Oh, that. "This room(?) has been my home just as long as yours." That's true, but my guy, don't you have like a dojo or smthn? Can't you just live there? Or do you just secretly miss Wukong and want to live on FFM to be closer with him?

-AND WUKONG DOESNT FIGHT BACK EITHER OR ANYTHING. He just sighs and accepts it

-OH YEAH THAT. Macaque sleeps on the same GOD DAMN tree that he and Wukong used to sit at. There are so, so, so many trees on FFM, yet he chose that specific one

-Wukong wanted to spend the remainder of his life holding hands with Macaque

-Correct me if I'm wrong, but in old China, a man giving another man a peach was a sign that they felt romantic love for them. Wukong and Macaque's hole thing is peaches

-"Yeah, because you always eush to my rescue." Wukong believed that Macaque never saved him, but from what we seen in s5, he does. Maybe he always has and Wukong's just never noticed, or maybe Macaque took that to heart and is trying to make up for it

-THE GOD DAMN SLOMO SHOT WHEN WUKONG WAS GOING TO SAVE MK

-Macaque calling Wukong "cute" in the s4 special

-When we first see the ink demons of Wukong's past, one of them was Macaque chained up while struggling and crying. Whatever happened there, it still haunts Wukong

-"I don't trust anyone that isn't standing here right now." WUKONG STILL TRUSTS MACAQUE AFTER EVERYTHING, MACAQUE EVEN PERKS UP AT THAT. And right after this scene, Macaque sacrifices himself to save Wukong. I think Wukong saying that really stuck with him. Maybe that's why he was a lot more helpful this season; Wukong still trusted him, and he didn't want to lose that

-When Wukong was getting the circlet put on him for a second time, Macaque didn't even hesitate when he saw that Wukong was in pain and immediately sprung to help

-Ik it's been talked about before, but the fact that Macaque thinks Wukong killed (and that he was about to again in season 3 when he was literally choking him) him but he still helps him when he can and smiles softly at him and goes out of his way to see him and stares in awe when he sees him coming to help MK and still accepts his peach offer (symbolism for rekindling friendship) and smiles when Wukong says "we" instead of "I" and gets sad when he sees the memory and realizes he wants to rekindle their relationship and crashes a beach party just so he could be with him (Copy and pasted from old post

-This specific art piece that Alejandro Saab commissioned and used for autograph signings

-Macaque literally looking away and smiling in this shot bro looks like a schoolgirl with a crush 💀

-Wukong was shown to help Macaque tie his scarf when they were still friends and in the shots of their past, Macaque's scarf is always tied. But now that they're not friends, his scarf is never tied. I just find this detail neat

-As much as Macaque tried to kill Wukong between s1 and s3, the moment Wukong was genuinely mad at him, Macaque's first instinct was to run. Even when Wukong was holding him, he was still shaking Yes, he probably couldn't breathe bcuz choking, but these guys are immortal and with the whole thing underwater, I don't think they actually need to breathe. So this means that he was probably terrified the entire time, and thinking that Wukong would kill him again (I fucking hate doomed yaoi)

-Now that I think about it, the only time we see Macaque scared was with LBD, Sun Wukong attacking him, Sun Wukong getting attacked or being endanger, MK being endangered, Bai He being endangered, or actually having to deal with the idea of staying with Wukong to help him (s4, MK going on that whole "I gotta help my friends" speech while Mei is being consumed by the Samahdi fire). Most of those things are Wukong and Monkey fam related

-Alejandro Saab doing a cover of peaches. Istg, he KNEW what he was doing when he pulled that one

-Correct me if I'm wrong again, but apparently, some gay men in ancient China would become sworn brothers so they could be together legally. Other than Shadowpeach, I was never much a brotherhood shipper, but do what you will with this info

-ALEJANDRO SAAB BELIEVES THAT MACAQUE IS SHORTER THAN WUKONG! THE DEBATE IS OVER YALL

-"Forever is a long time, bud." "Me and you just living here get on fat on fruit forever!" Bro was definetly thinking of Macaque

[thethingsweneversaid]

Am I crazy or did I just crack the mystery of the monologue scene????

Why did they lose against Vecna in season 4? What were they missing?

They lost the race against time. Time was obviously significant this season (The grandfather clock, Vecna's obsession with time, the UD being frozen in time). The time was simply up, they were too late. Who’s to blame? Mike Wheeler. 

Okay, let me explain, haha.

Throughout the whole series we all know Mike being late, or almost late to things is recurring. Every season in fact. S1: Mike’s campaign was too long, and he tried to get the party to stay past their curfew. S2: Mike was trying to get in contact with El on his walkie, almost making him late to the arcade. S3: Mike was almost late to the cinema because he was with El, making them almost miss the beginning of the movie. S4: Mike was reading El’s letter, almost making him and Nancy late for school... He begins every season with a race against time. Also worth noting that El was the reason for him being late in s2, s3 and s4. Also ALSO worth noting that in season 1, Mike begs his parents to let the party stay longer. The campaign took two weeks to plan! They need to finish it. He has no rush. While in all the other seasons (when he was late because of El), we get a "Shit! Shit! I'm going to be late"-version of Mike. He's stressed out and rushed. Not sure where I'm going with this last point, but I'm sure it means something and that it'll make sense in s5. The point is, Mike gets distracted by El.

Now for the monologue. This time, it's not Mike getting distracted by El. It's him distracting El.

Jason was obviously a key reason for them being too late as well. The scenes switch between Lucas fighting him and Mike’s monologue, comparing the two. Jason destroys Max’s walkman, destroying her connection to Lucas and the world outside her mind. Mike tries to get El to wake up by lifting her out of the freezer, taking off her glasses, Will shoves the radio away. They’re trying to get her out of Max’s mind and into the real world again. But El doesn't want to wake up. She is ready to fight for Max. The boys obviously tried to help because who knows what would’ve happened if they didn’t? They thought El was dying. When Mike begins his monologue, El looked away from Max and up “towards Mike’s voice”. She was listening to him now. Getting distracted. El continuously tells people throughout the series to be quiet when going into her “trance”. People talking distracts her, and she needs to concentrate. Mike also reminds the audience of the importance of the sensory deprivation tank. "It helps her calm down and focus on her powers". With Mike removing all the aids that help her concentrate (the glasses, the tank, the radio), while also talking to her, we can only assume that now, El isn’t only fighting to save Max, but also to stay in Max’s mind, further slowing her down.

At the end of the monologue, Mike reminds her she has to fight, and El’s eyes snap back to Max. That’s when she breaks loose from the vines. Whether you think El believes what Mike is saying and utilizes his loving words for strength or not, it’s still a distraction. I’ve seen a lot of people say that they felt impatient while watching this scene. Like «get on with it! Vecna is literally killing Max RIGHT NOW». And we're probably right to feel impatient! That's probably what the writers were going for! The audience was supposed to feel like that. El lost valuable time because of it. Mike is making them late this time too.

Will is also kinda to blame in this (I don't blame any of them, it's just an unfortunate set of events and they all did what they thought was best, but you get what I mean) Because in a way, Mike is distracted too. Distracted from the truth. That happened when Will lied to him in the van, disguising his own feelings for Mike, using El as a distraction for Mike to focus on instead. Will's guiding Mike towards a lie. He convinced Mike that El was feeling a certain way, which she WAS NOT. (For example: "You make her feel like she’s not a mistake at all, like she’s better for being different." cue Mike and El’s fight where she accuses him of thinking she’s a monster too, like everyone else.) (This also contrasts Will singling Mike out as the only person that doesn't treat him differently in season 2 in that scene with Will and Jonathan.) Mike doesn’t make El feel the way Will portrayed it in the van, though Mike is led to believe that she does.

Therefore, making the feelings that was the foundation for the monologue a lie. Both to Mike and El. It isn’t authentic. This doesn't apply to them. which brings me to my next point. 

 "A paladin swears to uphold justice and righteousness, to stand with the good things of the world against the encroaching darkness, and to hunt the forces of evil wherever they lurk. Different paladins focus on various aspects of the cause of righteousness (honesty=righteousness and honor for Mike), but all are bound by the oaths (promises, “friends don’t lie”) that grant them power to do their sacred work. Oaths, honor, and rigid rules define a paladin's everyday actions. Breaking these oaths (by lying) means their deity will revoke their powers."

This is why his monologue didn’t work. It was a lie (And Mike knowingly or unknowingly portrayed that lie to El). Without his honesty, Mike the paladin loses his powers. He couldn’t save them. 

Will’s selfless attempt to save their relationship sadly turned out to be counter-productive in every way, hindering all of them from seeing the truth. Will was also the one that told Mike not to stop, when in reality, maybe stopping and letting El be was exactly what he should've done. He's the heart. But he's Will's heart. That's what Will would've wanted Mike to do, seeing as Mike has saved him/snapped him out of his episodes multiple times by speaking to him: Of course Will thinks that's the right thing to do! Mike's doing what Will would've needed, not El.

It adds a new layer to El being upset with Mike in the cabin by the end of s4, because it isn't as simple as "she knows Mike is lying" or "She's just upset because they lost". She's upset because once again Mike doesn't trust that she knows her own limits (This being a huge reason for conflict in s3 between El/Mike/Max.) Mike worries because he cares of course, but it isn't what El needs ("Mike, I need you to trust me.") When Mike tries to help her, she fails. But she "redeems herself" when she's making her own decision, without outside influences other than love for her friends. She pushes her limits further than ever before, bringing Max back to life, trusting herself and her powers, without Mike knowing.

Mike is the heart, yes. The problem was - the heart was in the wrong place. They all got it wrong this time. They got confused and misunderstood each other. That’s why they lost. In the next season, I believe Mike and El are going to realize that they’ve both been focusing on the wrong things, and that is how they’re going to win. Still using love as their weapon - just a different kind of love that’s not distracting them from what they really need, not slowing them down. El coming fully into her own, reaching her full potential and using her powers the way she knows best, with the support of her loved ones making her stronger - not under the influence of Mike trying to stop her out of worry. And Mike’s heart being in the right place. With Will. 

I've seen other people talk about this next part, but I'm adding it in because it further proves the point.

Another indication that proves to me that at least SOME of the monologue is a blatant lie is the Romeo and Juliet parallel, with the word "Montague" spelled out behind Mike, and the "love at first sight"-refrence. "I knew right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you." That. is. a. lie. and there's just no going around it. Romeo and Juliet's romance wasn't actually real love, just infatuation. The Duffers also said they don't believe in love at first sight. For them to use that trope wouldn't just be wierd and cliché, but also contradicts everything we were shown in season 1. Are we just supposed to believe that Mike loved her, decpite them showing us otherwise?

More on the Romeo and Juliet thing in this post.

Conclusion: The Duffers are geniuses I’m never getting over this show.

[freakinator]

I'm so interested, but I don't know where to start watching UU. I'm so confused. Could you please advise me how to watch it properly?

honestly the best advice i can give you is to just search unstable universe and click on any of the playlists (i recommend diya's since it tends to be the most up-to-date one), if you wanna watch just one pov then feel free to do so but be warned youd be missing a part of the experience by doing so mainly through missing context/part of the story for certain scenes (although tbf that pretty much goes for any lets play but if you dont mind that aspect then go right ahead)

a few warnings before you get started tho:

its a huge time investestment, all but the first 4 episodes are more than 3 hours long with most of them either halfway through or nearing 4 hours

some vids are uploaded later than they actually take place on the timeline, i have a guide here if you wanna know at least from what i can tell the actual order is

theres a few supplementary materials (can be found in the extras part of the sheet i linked, not complete yet cause theres some vids i havent linked yet and im still on the lookout for more since some vids get added retroactively in addition to the ones uploaded explicitly for uu), you dont need to watch them to enjoy the story but theyre a cool bonus

if you wanna watch only one pov heres a guide on each of the povs specialties before doing so

general:

they all shift in style as the eps go on, nothing jarring but if you dont like more scripted storylines you may find the later eps a bit lacking

plot themes get used and reused a lot, for example spoke often goes on quests to destroy important landmarks, parrot often goes on scavenger hunts/get imprisoned/some combination of the two, and wemmbu often does things related to civilizations/kingdoms/factions

certain editing styles also get copied from each other, parrot and wemmbu in particular like to do this with each other

themes and styles can also switch around sometimes which can affect future eps on some level

certain exploits and mechanics dont work as intended so dont bother replicating how certain mechanics work according to actual mc cause chances are youll be disappointed by the results (unless youre into that sorta thing i suppose lol)

the main povs tend to stick to the same set of ppl, most likely due to scheduling reasons, so dont expect a whole lot of crossover casting (tho obv there would still be some esp if theyve got a pre-established role already)

spoke:

redacts some important events from his eps but may recount them later on depending on how the story plays out tho not in detail

not a lot of pvp in his pov and when there is chances are hes trying to run away or someone else is handling it (mainly mapicc)

doesnt upload nearly as consistently as the other two, consequently his shift in style is more obvious comparatively but so is his character development

thematically his eps tend to be about personal growth of some kind

lorewise his eps tend to focus more on server meta, for example his pov is the only one where there is clear confirmation of the server being unstable codewise, his pov is the only one where just how large of a problem duping on the server is can actually be seen and felt, and so far his pov is the only one that shows who ash is and what his goals are. basically if spoke introduces some kind of threat in his ep, chances are it'll be a threat to the server meta and youd have to think of the bigger picture in order to grasp how dangerous they actually are

his pov is also the only one you get the full picture of what a soggy little rat he actually is since in both parrot and wemmbus povs spoke is seen as a serverwide threat, directly for parrot and theoretically for wemmbu

if you like ls s4 zam and/or ls s2 spoke then youll most likely like him as well lol

has a small reoccuring cast and tends to stick to one person when going on quests while also taking note of another one

you will feel the ghost of jamatoP haunting this kid wherever he goes even if he never directly references him

parrot:

tends to get dragged along plot points, not in the sense that he doesnt have agency cause he very much does but more like he takes it upon himself to clean up other ppls messes if that makes sense

tries not to get into pvp but he still does get into them quite often, usually tries to run away but when he doesnt/cant he doesnt really have the best fighting techniques

his character development tends toward introspection which leads to a lot of "quiet" and assumptive character development, you gotta use a lot of psychological analysis when watching a parrot episode basically

thematically his eps tend to be about the willingness to get in danger in pursuit of something (whether it be for something greater, knowledge, or the safety of the other players on the server whether it be their life or memories) vs the predictable and stagnant comfort of safety

lorewise the threats he faces are ones that focuses on the actual players themselves, if one is introduced on his episode then chances are that they specifically target and affect players. an interesting example of this is zam, seen as a threat but never actually treated like an actual problem to be solved unlike the other threats he faces and it just so happens that zam is in a really interesting place antagonism-wise when it comes to wemmbu but is otherwise not a huge threat to unaffiliated players not even parrot who he apparently has beef with

has a large reoccuring cast who come in and out of his life, each of whom are important the same way cogs are important to a machine (applies to parrot himself as well). wifies sticks by him no matter what tho

wemmbu:

literally only one episode of his so far does not heavily feature or center around zam and its the one that takes place before they meet, if you do not like seeing/hearing about zam every 10 minutes or so do not watch wemmbus eps or you Will get pissed off

gets into fights quite often and is the best at pvp among the three main povs but isnt the best in terms of the server at large (hes somewhere more along the lines of average)

his character development is. rocky. and cyclical. be prepared to see him spiral and get better and spiral again over and over again basically lol

thematically his eps tend to be about princezam. i wish i was joking. but besides that, theyre also about retaliatory safety, morality, and sacrificing everything just to try and accomplish a singular goal

lorewise he causes a lot of ripple effects that affect the other two povs to a level that neither of them have ever affected him like for example him terrorizing spoke and parrot is what drove them to their current paths (anti-exploit exploiter for spoke and player protector for parrot)

has. A reoccuring cast. most of them are enemies and/or dont matter to him a whole lot personally tho... that doesnt mean he doesnt have friendly relations or allies of any kind, just that the only two you Really need to take note of are eggchan and princezam

i think thats p much all i can say about uu in terms of how to get into it but if youve got any questions of some kind feel free to ask :D

[yeagerfate]

what their hugs feel like.

pairings: eren, jean, armin, reiner

genre: angsty hurt/comfort

warnings: panic attack (in eren's), jean has to relocate reader’s shoulder, reader walks in on reiner when he’s about to shoot himself (sorry), i love them, you can tell jean and eren and reiner are my fav aot boys (i love them soooooo much mwah mwah), s4 spoilers in reiner's, s1 spoilers in jean’s, can you tell i wrote jean's, reiner’s and armin’s way after i wrote eren's. anyways reiner makes me so sad i want to hug him :( he is so

note: hi, this is my first post on tumblr! i am so excited to post some of my ideas on here. currently, my requests are open. if you have any ideas, let me know! reiner’s is by far my fav out off all of these and i really don’t like armin’s lol, i don’t have a beta reader so i tried to proof read this but idk if it worked, also my top 3: eren, ymir, and reiner/jean i can't choose. is this bad please tell me this isn't bad

-

EREN:

Eren's hugs are determined yet soft.

All he wanted to do in that moment was make you feel safe; an expedition had just ended. You were shaken from the titans you'd seen, eating innocent soldiers who were just doing their jobs

"It’s fine," Eren murmured to you as he held your hands tightly to ground you. It wasn’t fine, and he knew that, but he still told you it anyway. He just wanted you to stop being so terror-stricken

Your hands were shaking, your eyes were darting around like you were looking for a titan to come get you, and you were breathing heavily

"N-no it isn't," You replied, your voice small. "You don't understand, Eren. Those people-"

He had cut you off when he pulled you into a warm hug. "Shh. It’s okay,” He whispered. "We’re okay now, I won't let anything happen to you."

His embrace was welcoming and comforting, and for a moment you'd almost forgotten about what you'd just seen

Your face was hidden in the crook of his neck as you began to calm down. Eren slightly turned his head to the side to kiss your cheek sweetly, his eyes closing as he comforted you silently. His hand went up to cup the back of your head, and he began to rub his hand back and forth as you sobbed quietly

His free hand was drawing circles on your back. Your arms, however, were wrapped around his neck desperately

"You’re my girl," Eren whispers. "I promise I’ll keep you safe."

JEAN

Jean’s hugs are warm and tight. I imagine he has a firm handshake too but that’s off topic lol

During the Battle of Trost, You ran out of fuel for your ODM gear and had to make a run for it while a titan was coming at you. (Though you were saved by a strange, mysterious titan with long brown hair and green eyes. You thought he had a striking similarity to Eren but would never say such a thing out loud especially since you knew how much he hated the titans. Later on you found out you were right though. He does have titan powers!)

While you were trying to get away you’d dislocated your shoulder. Because you’d taken health classes during training, you’d immediately realized what had happened, and a terrible sense of dread ran down your spine. You really didn’t wanna deal with the pain of someone relocating your shoulder

Once you’d found Jean, your best friend who you had a huge crush on, You told him what had happened

His face dropped

“Please, I need you to fix it for me. I don’t want to let some random nurse do it in an uncomfortable, smelly tent after this is over. It hurts so bad, please, jean,” You begged. Nurses and doctors already gave you a lot of anxiety when you were a kid, and now that you were in a life-threatening situation it was even worse

“Okay,” He replied. “Okay, okay, okay…” He muttered to himself, and took a deep breath. He was extremely scared he somehow wouldn’t do it right despite his first-aid training and would hurt you even more

It seemed as soon as he started he finished, but it was the worst pain you’d ever felt in your entire life

You screamed in agony and discomfort, and even though you only dislocated your shoulder, it felt like your entire body was aching

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He cried out. He immediately pulled you into a hug, wrapping his arms around your back and pulling you in

Tears streamed down your smoke and bloodstained face, and everything felt so overwhelming. You were just glad Jean had done it for you and not some stranger

“Holy shit, fuck, fuck, fuck, that hurt like a son of a bitch,” You gasped out. Your voice was hoarse from all the screaming

And a couple days later, when you finished truly recovering and you finally had time to think about what happened, a small blush had risen to your cheeks, thinking about the way your bestfriend had helped you.

Maybe, you did have a chance…

ARMIN

Armin's hugs are soft and sweet. They’re laced with love

Armin had been completely humiliated in combat training today. Shadis had partnered him up with Marco, one of the worst fighters in the 104th, and yet he still couldn't hold his ground.

He was so embarrassed he didn't even show up to dinner, which made you, Mikasa, and Eren even more concerned. Marco felt horrible

So, you decided to sneak into the boy's dorms. No one else was even there anyway, and you'd never really gotten in trouble before, so you weren't afraid of Shadis

"Armin," You called out, but your voice was cautious. You didn’t want him to be caught off guard

As you walked to his bed, your heart broke. Armin looked like he was both famished and in complete despair. His knees were tucked to his chest and tears spilled out of his baby blue eyes. His blonde hair was messy and knotty, and you could tell he was stressed. You sat next to him and the bed creaked obnoxiously

"How am I supposed to make it if I can't even do good in combat training? It’s so basic, I’m not gonna make it if I can't get better. what am I gonna do? I don't wanna be shipped off to the fields. I-“

"Armin, honey," You cooed, and placed your warm hand on his shoulder. You guided his head to lay on you. "You underestimate yourself. Who cares if you're not as good at combat training? We’re fighting titans, not people. You excel in the education part of training, and you're respected by your peers. I am so proud of you, Armin. I know you will succeed. and if you get shipped off, I’m going too."

Armin sniffled, and as he looked up at the confident look on your face, he knew that you were right. He pulled you in for a hug, and hid his face in your neck.

"Eren’s worried about you. He says he'll beat Marco up if you want him too!"

"NO!"

REINER

Reiner’s hugs are desperate and hesitant. It’s strange for him to receive affection after everything he’s been through

One day, you decided you wanted to surprise Reiner at work. You could tell something was off with your husband but you couldn’t quite tell what it was; you wanted to cheer him up

You didn’t even think of knocking. You visited him so much nowadays that it was an afterthought. And thank the Lord it was

The sight before you was horrifying. You opened your mouth, but not a sound came out. As soon as Reiner saw you enter his office, he freaked the fuck out

He dropped the gun, watching as it made a loud clatter on the wooden floor. His eyes were wide and his sweaty hands were shaking. He looked almost fearful; like the little boy he once used to be… the one who would get screamed at during training because he was so weak

“What… is this?” You dropped the cookies you had made specially for him, but you didn’t care. Suddenly, you were breathing heavily, and if you blinked one more time tears would fall. Your vision was blurry, and the entire room looked shaky.

“What are you doing? Honey… Reiner, please, please don’t leave me. I need you here, please, Rei, stay, stay,” You pleaded, and suddenly your arms were wrapped tightly around him, his face hidden by your stomach. He was still sitting in his chair, completely in shock

You were hyperventilating, shaking, and were about to throw up. What happened? Your sweet Reiner was going to do this to himself? You thought everything had been going good… had you not been paying enough attention to him?

A thousand thoughts were running through your head but they all were interrupted when you felt his strong, muscular arms wrap around your torso. His shoulders shook rapidly, his face hidden away in your shirt, and for the first time in your entire life, you saw him cry

“Sorry, ‘m sorry, please don’t-“ His voice was laced with anguish and despair and all you had ever wanted in that moment was to take his pain away. The sounds of his weeping broke your heart, and his deep voice almost sounded unnatural while crying. You were not used to it at all; he’d always tried to “act like a man” around you, and not worry you. All he did was bottle up his emotions, unbeknownst to you

“It’s okay, we’ll do this together, honey, it’s fine, you’re fine, it’s good,” You breathed out, your voice heavy. You both knew it was definitely not fine, but you’d work through it together. Reiner was your husband, after all.

[loveackermannn]

☰ FOREVER AND EVER. –.ೃ࿐ 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧. – (! mentions of post-war from s4 ! also i recommend listening to this song when reading ! or any of the songs by that artist, it really does fit this drabble a lot and i wrote it to that song ! very soft and mundane. okay that is all, i hope you enjoy < 3)

i want to take care of post-war levi so bad..

he deserves it after all he's been through, showered with lots of love and kisses, pampered on his bad days, cooked for when he comes back home from a long day at the tea shop.

but deep inside, he feels as though he shouldn't be treated this way. he's afraid of the burden he's caused you to deal with such a broken and unfixable man like him – but you're not going anywhere and you've made that very clear.

"it'll only be trouble for you. please don't," he says softly as you continue to change the bandages around his healing leg. it had been months since the war ended, yet the recovery process has taken much longer than he expected. now, here you were, on your hands and knees, discarding of bloodied gauze when you should be out there living freely like you've always wanted.

but the truth of the matter, is that this is where you wanted to be, for the rest of your days.

"it's not at all, my love. stop talking like that," you gently scold with no malice and levi could only clutch tightly onto his hand – the one that reminded him of what he once lost. this was quite the habit he's picked up and everytime your eyes glanced down to his lap, you wasted no time in placing your own palm over his. soon enough, you could feel the tension escape from his grip, relaxing the moment your skin touched his.

he was so physically deprived that he had begun to forget what it felt like to actually feel wanted and needed. and not the kind of want and need where he had to kill for an end goal – to be wanted and needed by you was all he cared about. he loved it, indulged in it even.

though, a part of him refused to be granted such love and care from one person, let alone by you.

"i can't help it. you don't have to be with me, you know that right?" just as you always have done, your hand met the tops of his hands, soothing his worries with just a simple touch. your thumb drew messy patterns across his scars and callouses – never hurried.

"but i want to. this is no obligation for me, you're stuck with me for a really long time. i hope you're okay with that."

guess there's no stopping you there.

you hear him inhale slowly, as if readying himself to speak again, "but we won't do many things that other couples get to do. we'll be confined to this shitty cottage for a while.."

"that's okay with me. i'd rather be here with you than anywhere else."

"but you wanted to travel. you always talked abou-"

"that can wait. trust me, we have all the time in world to do all of that. the world will still be here, even when we're grown and wrinkly," you chuckle as you flick your finger against the point of his nose.

he didn't hold back his snort at you gesture to lighten the gloom on his face – you always knew what to say.

"yeah, i'll be all old and stuck in my chair. you'll have to wipe my ass when i can't do it anymore," he says flatly, but amusement was evident in the hues of his eyes and on his face. he really did love seeing you smile at his dumb, silly jokes.

"of course, i'll do that for you," you rest your cheek on the plush of his thigh and you feel his hand come up to meet the back of your head.

"i was joking."

"well, i wasn't"

"that's digusting, come here," without effort, he lifts you in his arms and planting you onto his lap – and you were quick to want to squirm off, but he didn't let you go anywhere.

"levi! i wasn't done changing your bandages," you frown as your efforts deemed useless in his secure hold. you couldn't resist anymore and you mentally noted that he didn't hiss out of pain like he used to.

"that can wait. it doesn't hurt as much, you're fine," he says while burying his scarred face in the crook of your neck. small breaths exhaled onto your soft skin and you didn't stop yourself from threading your fingers through the raven locks of his hair.

"i just want this to last a little longer."

[colin-firth]

i had a big brain moment on the way to work

by which i mean i'm once again going to dx one of my comfort characters as having bpd traits

Spike aka William the Bloody (BtVS)

He's messy, he's passionate, he's malleable! He was a shy, rejection-sensitive poet until he became an overly charismatic, rejection-sensitive killer! He thinks love is everything and gives his many lives meaning! But sometimes that love is not love, it's passionate infatuation and involves repeated unwanted pursuit behaviors (aka stalking). His alliances, stances, loyalties, feelings can often change quickly on a dime! He literally took a coat from someone else and made it his whole look and personal signature style (bpd mirroring behavior to an extreme). He was enmeshed with Dru, hot and cold (mostly cold - abusively so) with Harmony, wanted to be enmeshed with Buffy, did get enmeshed with Buffy through an unstable, destructive relationship. He can be myopically focused only on his own needs (granted he IS a vampire) and fail to see others' unless the situation doesn't involve him, then he can see it more clearly than they can (lovers walk). He has weird chemistry with almost EVERYONE (Xander, Angel) because of his superficial charisma!

He splits (quickly vacillating between adoration/idealization and hatred/devaluation) on Buffy in a big way. She's the ideal women, she's the 'bitch' who won't let him take a stationary 'walk' outside her house every night (ie watching/stalking her), she has 'stupid hair', etc. He does this to Dru as well in "Crush" and Harmony on a regular basis (she's his 'baby', she's an 'idiot', she's adorable, she's his punching bag, etc.)

But most notably: he slides into a LOT of different roles in the show. He's villain, lover, hated ally to buffy in s2, annoyance and philosopher in s3, partly neutralized enemy and thanksgiving dinner 'guest' in s4, stalker and sometimes ally in s5, abuser AND abused in s6, serial killer AND redemptive sacrifice in s7 - then ghost turned ally/comedic sidekick turned final battle warrior in Angel S5. Yes, most of this is due to the writers trying to find ways to use James' appeal as an actor throughout the seasons without having to kill off the character, and reportedly it was difficult to integrate him into the plot in a way that felt organic starting in S4. But the end result of this, factoring in James' chameleon-like and committed performances, is that Spike is a LOT of things and slides into these roles with ease even if they don't fully 'fit' him in a way that feels essential to who he is. That's malleability - that's something people with BPD traits can exhibit and even struggle with. Lack of cohesive sense of self -> trying out different roles based on whomever you are drawn to or idealizing -> altering behavior patterns, style, mode of personal expression, etc.

But most convincingly, his entire identity is based on the strength of his emotions and attachments. They take him down so many paths and change him fundamentally as a person. First Dru then Buffy, from being seduced into becoming a great evil to ultimate sacrifice for love and the forces of good. His entire philosophy of life is that it's driven by romantic passion:

“You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love 'til it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood - blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.”

Listen when I was 14 I was like "huh the excess grandiosity and passionate yet unstable affect and behavior are a vibe here"

And 20 years later I am aggressively tackling my own bpd traits through all the therapy. But was Spike an early awakening of the fact that my emotions run deeper than I'd like? Maybe, maybe not. Still an interesting question.

NOTE: This is just a headcanon/fan analysis using a framework familiar to me. I am NOT seeking to babygirlify or absolve any of his terrible behaviors. I think much of the show is resonant with viewers because many of the characters have a dark arc at some point. Willow is for the perfectionists who hurt themselves and others in their pursuit of avoiding painfully imperfect situations and their own errors. Xander has hero moments but also deep insecurity from his family trauma and a toxic possessiveness of women. Buffy shoulders the weight of the world but finds it hard to express things that torment her internally with those whom she loves. Angelus is the PERFECT metaphor for the cruelty of a first boyfriend who grows cold and abusive after physical intimacy. The show takes us to VERY dark places - and ultimately that is what I take from it, not one relationship, season, or storyline.

[youmakethelight]

Carol's trauma arc - Part 1

Okay, anyway, nvm about tboc. I've reached Consumed in my twd rewatch, and Carol's MH is dreadful. I knew this when I first watched it, but I wasn't obsessed with her yet, and now I am, so hello welcome to my unhinged analysis of her and her trauma arc.

I was watching Consumed and I was thinking - wow she is really feeling some type of way, when did this start? She's already thinking about leaving the group and getting away from them at any given moment. And it's clear that she's already fighting an internal struggle between keeping those she loves safe by any means necessary and retaining what's left of herself. Later on, this will lead to her abandoning Alexandria and ending up at The Kingdom.

I'm pretty sure that her 'ruthlessness' is related to the trauma and guilt she experienced as a result of losing Sophia. She won't take any risks now. During s3, Carol showed she wouldn't hesitate to protect the people she loves (e.g. telling Andrea to kill the governor in his sleep, and threatening Merle), but she never needed to do these things. Carol still had a lightheartedness about her throughout all of s3. At the beginning of s4, she still has some of this about her, and I think it's interesting to note that this is the first time we see Carol call Daryl pookie. More on this in the last paragraph.

Shortly afterwards, the infection that spread throughout the prison was the first real threat where Carol had to react and make a difficult decision. And we know what happened there, and then Rick banished her. All the light has left her now. Even before she was banished, she doesn't make jokes anymore and she doesn't smile. Her empathy still shows in her actions (e.g. helping the man that she and Rick found with his dislocated shoulder), but she never lets it bubble to the surface anymore. It feels like she needs to keep herself at a distance emotionally. It was already this bad, and then Rick banished her. It's so hard hearing her say "Rick, it's me", because I can feel the old Carol fighting to be seen, but Rick can't see her.

By the time she's trying to rescue Beth with Daryl, her mind has gone through so much. And when she goes to shoot Noah in the leg as he runs away with their weapons, Daryl stops her. She felt the need to ask him if he thought she was going to kill Noah. And I can only imagine how that might have felt to fear that Daryl might not be able to see her anymore, either. The very next thing she's doing is justifying and explaining why she needs to not be around everyone.

I haven't even finished Consumed yet, let alone my whole rewatch, so I've got a lot still to think about, but when I was working backwards to figure out where this all started, I remembered the pookie scene. I remembered that this was the last time, before this part of her arc, that I remember feeling like she had lightheartedness to her. And then I think the only time we hear her say it since then is when she's talking to Daryl about marrying Ezekiel. It just clicked for me how calling Daryl pookie seems to represent a portion of her trauma arc. We know that The Kingdom is what brought back her ability to feel some peace within herself. So I love that realisation that those two uses of 'pookie' quite neatly frame that portion of her arc.

[p0m0u]

Campus Visit vs In Love, an analysis

This post was inspired by @kitabearuwu’s posts, here and here. This also a companion post for this post, and heck, why not, this other post. The video is super rudimentary, but I hope it helps to understand the musical thingy better.

Before we get to the main issue, a few notes on the usage of music to convey meanings: some composers (classical, ost) use the concepts of leitmotifs and themes to add a deeper layers of information to their compositions, or to films and series.

The difference between leitmotif vs theme is that a leitmotif is usually a sequence of just notes (one-two minimum), while the theme is the developed version of the leitmotif (with more notes and accompaniment). The Hedwig leitmotif would be, for instance, “dan-dan, da-dan-dan, dan-dan, dan, dan, da-da-dan, da-dan”, while the theme is the whole Hedwig’s theme track, with full orchestration.

A leitmotif can be used in a lot of ways: to imitate a sound (of a bird, for instance), to convey a feeling (love) to represent a character (Darth Vader), a place (Hogwarts)… and so on. When played in a negative tone, it can mean the contrary (love = hate or break up). When developed, can evolve into anything else (loneliness = friendship).

(For more info on this: this video and this video)

Leo Birenberg borrows some leitmotifs/themes from Jurassic movies and creates new ones, even though he said he doesn’t (I don’t believe you, my musical dude). Darius, Ben and Yaz have their own themes (that represent concepts), although Sammy makes Yaz’ theme her own since s4 in a few sequences.

Camp Cretaceous (the camp itself) has a theme, too: it’s the theme of friendship mainly. It plays in ep 1, when the kids hop off the car and contemplate the camp for the first time, or in ep 4, in a negative way, when Yaz says they are on their own, or at the end of ep 2x8, when the group hugs.

You might think that this is not relevant but it is, because Camp Cretaceous theme is played in a negative way in Campus Visit track, along with the In Love leitmotif (just 4 notes, it’s not still developed like the In Love theme). CC theme sounds different here because it’s a variation (with added notes), but it’s the same idea as in JWCC.

And my dudes and dudettes, the In Love is the very same that plays in both tracks, no doubt. Played with different notes and different scale, but the idea is the very same.

Ben’s In Love sounds more positive, despite having the sad Camp Cretaceous theme, and also ends in a positive way, contrary to Darius’ In Love, while this last one is more developed: Ben’s In Love is played just with and harp (struck string instrument), while Darius’ is played with violins (bowed string instrument) + light voice chorus. Darius’ theme is more developed simply because we still don’t know what would happen with Brooklynn and Ben but we do know that Darius is in love with Brooklynn. Also, Darius theme is kinda unresolved / resolved in a negative way because, allegedly, Brooklynn didn’t reciprocate him.

My theory again (a bit romantic one) is that Brooklynn is the girlfriend and she really likes Ben romantically. Remember the “at first, I was like, ugh, but this view?” line? I believe that’s a hint. As I said on my short essay, Brooklynn has been alone and isolated for months. Talking online with Ben probably helped her not only to keep tabs on Nublar 5, it also helped her emotionally. At the beginning, they were just online friends, but with time both felt something more (even though Ben does not know that his friend is Brooklynn). And instead of abstain herself, she let herself go.

That’s why (maybe) the In Love plays, but also the sad Camp Cretaceous theme, because this catfishing is going to hurt Ben and damage their friendship for a while, but if I interpreted the piece correctly, they will make up somehow, although the piece ending positively does not imply them being canonically together. I believe that another season will be needed to develop this.

The other option of Catfishing is that Brooklynn did it because “Whatever It Takes” is her motto and she went on a spiral. I don’t like this option because it would damage their friendship even more, and maybe beyond repair, but it’s an option we have to consider.

“But do you consider the possibility of Ben having an actual girlfriend?” I did considered it until I re-watched the sequence thanks to @kitabearuwu and also noticed the themes.

And that’s it. Feel free to comment/discuss!

[only-lonely-stars]

Dragons Rising Season 2, Part 2 - Many Thoughts

So... because I don't have Netflix and can't actually support the creators, I watched the leaked Season 2 Part 2 episodes. I have a ton of thoughts. SO MANY SPOILERS under the cut!

Okay, first of all. Loved the concept, some of the execution was a little iffy... feels like a lot of Dragons Rising, so I'm not surprised. The ending was satisfying enough to make me want more.

Comments on Season 2 Part 2:

As I've come to expect, the animation was spectacular. It makes up for a LOT of faults, and the big fight at the end genuinely had me invested. I am LOVING the way they're handling it.

The Motion Source Dragon asking Lloyd to be her champion was... an interesting choice. Felt forced, but it ended up okay. I wouldn't have made that writing choice.

LOVE the murder mystery, it felt more original than most of the season. No notes.

Another tournament? Given that S4 is one of my favorites of the original show, I had to love it. And it turned out great!

Bleckt always felt sus. Glad to be proven right there.

It's about time we had some conflict between Arin and Sora. Was she really never going to tell him the truth? Of course it would backfire...

PALEMAN!!!! WE LOVE PALEMAN!!!

Frak is a good side character, I want to see more of him in S3.

Okay writers, go ahead and stab me and twist the knife. I knew the Jaya reunion would hurt, but I DIDN'T WANT IT TO HURT LIKE THIS! I am this close to writing a fix-it fic - it was done so well.

Was anyone else ready to break something after seeing how obvious the "rigged games" twist was? The characters not acting on it feels like weak writing...

The rotary phone joke was done well. I appreciated it.

Lloyd's not-so-prophetic dreams are beginning to get on my nerve circuits. (By the way, BRING BACK PIXAL, PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU.)

Wyldfyre and Roby are an interesting pairing... just weird enough to work. Not sure I love either character, but the ship is good!

Cole finding his mother's mech actually made me cry. Add it to the list of fic ideas! ;v;

Last but not least, Arin's corruption arc... wow! I honestly didn't think the writers had the guts to do it. Whether it actually pays off, I'm on the fence, but the fact they were willing to try it earns a lot of respect from me. I love that choice.

Hopes and dreams for Season 3:

Seeing more of Jay. Can we please get him back where he belongs? My Jaya-loving heart aches. Also, handling the whole wolf mask thing.

While I'm on the subject, I also hope we see: Pixal, Master Wu (in the flesh), the various Ninja's parents, Princess Vania, Harumi, Lord Garmadon, Dareth, Benthomaar, and/or the Metalonians!

Diving into Arin's arc a little more. I'd love to see him genuinely grapple with his morals and goals. My ultimate dream would be for him to be unaffiliated with anyone. Let him be a lone wolf if he wants!

More character growth for Sora and Wyldfyre. This half of S2 really made me care about them. At least for Wyldfyre, that's new! For Sora especially, I'd love to see more confidence... and maybe that friendship with Jordana playing out.

KAI! Kai doing ANYTHING. Watching him run around an M.C. Escher drawing every once in a while was not that satisfying.

More about the dragon ivory. It was such an interesting bit of lore, I want to know more.

How will Lloyd use the Motion icon/sword thing? In a moment of dire need? Probably, but what moment?

PLEASE let's go back to SHINTARO please I am on my knees--

Final rating for the season: 8.5/10. Has room to improve, but I still really liked it!

[the-daydream-archives]

Behind the Scenes stuff that I made for Simblreen:

So I'm pretty sure I started the Simblreen stuff at the start of September (or was it even earlier than that???) and let's just say that a lot of random stuff went unused. This post is basically a collection of pics and cc that didn't make the cut for the final Simblreen sets. It might be uninteresting to most, so feel free to ignore this post. I just felt like documenting the process and the thought process behind it.

So let's get into the first set that I made, The Crafter's Workshop.

So for its CC, I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to convert for a long time now from The Base Mesh (If you're starting out and learning to convert, I highly recommend using their meshes), however, I had difficulty choosing which ones to convert into a mouth accessory and that's when I decided I needed an overarching theme for each set. A lot of the stuff that I decided to convert for this set was more for story-telling Simblrs than anything since I wanted it to be useful for Handy Sims and Artsy Sims.

On another note, for this set, there were 2 rejected pieces of CC that didn't make the cut. The first was a lightbulb mouth accessory.

This was one of the oldest WIPs that I have in my WIPs folder. It's dated back to my CrimsonPerfectionist days and to this day, I couldn't get it to work the way I want it to. The first issue was the glass shader... It looked terrible in-game and I have no idea why it looked so odd. Another issue was its emission map. I wanted it to glow like a regular lightbulb but not in a flashy way. I wanted it to have a more of a soft glow similar to Ir7770's halo and wings but I could never seem to figure it out especially since the S4S's tutorial on it was very dated and I had a difficult time understanding it. (Someone please write an updated emission map tutorial please!!!! I really need it! 😭😭😭)

As for the second CC, it was supposed to be A Nails-in-Mouth Accessory. Below is some concept art that I drew so you guys get what I was aiming for. I ended up not making it because one: it was too similar to the Pins one, and second, I wanted to focus this set mainly on conversions instead of making stuff from scratch since I wanted to make sure I had enough time for the other sets to be made.

The photos above were unused and one of them was supposedly going to be the main preview images but I decided against it since both didn't match the vibe that I was looking for. The one that I ended up using was a photo that I took much later which was during The Sweet Cavity Set's creation. While I like the 2 above, I felt that the main preview that I ended up using, matched more with the vibe of the set. (Though I still like these 2 images a lot especially since they were already edited and ready to use.)

Next would be The Fruit Salad, my personal favorite out of all the sets.

The creation for this one mostly went without a hitch. A big shoutout to @merofthefae who asked for a cherry mouth accessory and suggested a couple of more fruit stuff which made the idea for this set come to full fruition Get it??? Heheheheh. There were just a bunch of ideas that I didn't make because I was unsure of the placement of it or the idea only looked good in 2D but not in 3D. The photo below show some of the concepts that went unused.

As for the photos of the previews, it was easy since I knew right from the start which photos I'll end up using. The only thing was that I wish I could have made Cherry (the Fruit Salad Sim model) into a Food Sim since she's just so dang pretty. But to preserve the surprise, I had to refrain from posting her photos before Simblreen.

But Idk, I think I might go ahead and make her into an official food sim since I 'm wayyyy too in love with her despite you guys seeing her already.

Next would be almost everyone's favorite, The Misery Meat.

This set was my own personal headache. The Fruit Salad and The Crafter's Workshop each took about a week to make. The Misery meat however, took 3 PAINFUL WEEKS to make. The first problem was the UV mapping of one particular item.

It was the Isaw.

I mainly made it for my country's representation purposes *cough* I'm Pinoy *cough* and I just learned how to make meshes from curves so I thought it would be a piece of cake. And I was WRONG. SO WRONG. This thing took 3-4 days to make just because of the UV Mapping that I didn't even end up using 😭😭😭 I manually fixed each vertice, hoping it'll look good but the other uv map I made that I did under 10 minutes looked much better than the one I spent 3-4 days on. It was super painful but I wasn't at all done with this set and I realized that I was quickly running out of time.

The main problem for this entire set however, was mainly concepts. It was originally more weirdcore than meatcore at first with Sodikken's style. I wanted to base stuff from their artwork but that didn't end up happening since I couldn't think of concepts that suited the overall theme.

Overall, there were at least 12 concepts for this set that didn't make the cut. I'll only talk about a few of them. The first one would be the Popseecle.

Believe me when I say that this one is the one that makes me the most sad. It looked so nice but because of the glass shaders, it looks terrible in-game and it doesn't look as nice as the concept. I might get back to this one since I love the idea so much but for now into the WIPs folder it stays.

The second one would be the Hands as seen below. I loved this one too but aside from not fitting the theme, somewhere along the way I messed up the UV map which caused the fingers to glitch at their tips. It won't be noticeable in the photo below but in-game it looks really bad since the hands are made of glass.

I'll speedrun these next two. The first one was supposed to be ham, which was similar to the steak but I decided it was too plain. The second was supposed to be ripped skin but when I showed it to a family member, they just told me straight up that it looked like a torn blanket... so I decided to scrap it :D

And below are other concepts that didn't happen.

Also the main preview photo was supposed to be much more "scary" but because you can't really see the mouth accessory because of the lighting, I decided against it.

Also, I decided to tone it down a notch since it feels a bit much.

And lastly, is The Sweet Cavity Set.

I feel bad for this set. It was the most rushed out of all of them and I feel like I could have done the main previews wayy better but since I disliked the color scheme, I ended up rushing it anyway. The name was even changed last minute, it was originally supposed to be called "The Sugar Crash Stash" but it felt too long so I went with Sweet Cavity instead. The only CC concept that I didn't include for this set was the Tube Candy and Rice Crispies.

Not gonna lie, this one was almost done but because I had to edit the texture and mesh to make the texture look better in-game, I basically gave up since I was too exhausted that I quit lol. For the rice crispy, since I'm too tired to draw a visual, just imagine it similar to the chocolate bar except that it's thick. That's pretty much it.

And yeah, basically we're done! Thank you to those who stuck around reading. I hope this was entertaining, reading my thought process for these sets and maybe one day I'll come back to these ideas. But for now, I'm gonna rest from CC making and just lie down on a corner somewhere.

Thank you once more if you made it this far! 💖💖💖

[spicybylerpolls]

I agree the preferences are definitely relative to will, but also just who byler is? as a switch byler enjoyer I understand anon's points, and ultimately people can hc what they like, but I think it's worth noting that byler specifically have particular personalities that lend themselves to a dynamic which shouldn't make it surprising that it's what people prefer or notice in canon and work with. the writers have written them a certain way, and I personally don't feel a need to "subvert expectations" - personally. same with how public personas don't always =  you are different in the bedroom, that's not the experience for everybody AND there's different ways to view it. for example will being softer in his daily life means to me that he may be a slut in the bedroom, not a raging dom. also, dom/sub is not all that sex is or can be. byler can be neither to a degree.

I don't even think that it's just his Assets that make people see will as a bottom. if this was a ship between two more balanced masc men I'd get how switchvers debates are pointless, but they tell us explicitly that will is not masc and doesn't want to be and his acceptance is learning that he doesn't have to be, and accepting his visibility because he can't change that. wanting to see mike fucked like a bratty bottom uses will as a tool in ways I wouldn't want to because he doesn't like being aggressive (but this is now making fandom deeper and smut fic is usually fantasy, which is why I don't complain I just simply don't read those fics because will is unrecognizable, it's not my cup of tea but it's fine! I'll read eddiemike instead or something) and puts will/byler on the back burner

does the bratty bottom vision go beyond mike in s3, and somewhat s4 though? I see where people get it from 100% but I would gather mike mellows out as he matures, so I don't see that for his long term relationship with will. if it was another more masc guy, or eddie or whatever yeah I could see it better! less bratty, more cheeky and challenging. it's okay that will isn't the partner people might want for mike physically.

they're basically both bottoms in ways, but I agree with you spicybylerpolls, that if will weren't in the picture mike might be more of a switch or bottom with other guys. will is allowed to be a stereotype, which is the other thing people find hard to grasp, but it's fine for him and we can embrace that. even in sfw things.

the point brought up about will topping as a reclamation of control/power has always felt more like an excuse to me? maybe not excuse, but an easy explanation that's never explored. because topping is not only about power, or the only way to have control during sex, that's... really uneducated if people think so. will can find so much power and control in bottoming, he gets to set the pace AND it's with the most trusted person on earth who already loves to provide and protect him. that's a perfectly fine stereotype and not boring, and wanting to see mike get fucked doesn't erase how that initial dynamic is good in its own way 😭 and people have no issue with a top having no power when it's sub top mike, but will bottoming = bad because he has no power as a sub? it's just not how that works 😅

I enjoy switch byler so much but the way in which people insist mike is the subbiest bottom and get quite rude about how people could possibly see otherwise, when - like you said op - it's clear when will is right there why people enjoy the canon dynamic, and how these are not balanced macho male personalities (no matter how much puberty noah went through that changed will's physique. I rewatch s4 and will is still the softest guy, he's just taller. they purposely tried to hide his growth because that's not their vision for will. finn is also growing bigger too, so) is so unnecessary and shocking to me. byler are not st3ddie, it shouldn't be shocking that a lot of people are fine with a soft will and assertive mike because... well that's in the show? those are the boys we all love? I'm able to enjoy all dynamics while understanding what the creators like for them.

I don't intend to make things deep here, because we all know it's just preference and what we like for our faves, but speaking definitively like "at best"  doesn't make something true so I wanted to offer my two cents!

These are all interesting points! Thanks for adding to the conversation! I fully agree that certain things just are Byler, and as you said, "byler specifically have particular personalities that lend themselves to a dynamic which shouldn't make it surprising that it's what people prefer or notice in canon and work with." 100% true!

And yeah, subverting expectations is not always necessary. Because like you said, "byler are not st3ddie, it shouldn't be shocking that a lot of people are fine with a soft will and assertive mike because... well that's in the show? those are the boys we all love?"

Sometimes people role switch/subvert expectations - not just with the spicy side of byler but with all sides - and it ends up not even looking like them. Especially when the argument is rooted in Will's muscle gain and "buff Byers" which, like, you said is not the original vision for the character. Arguing that Will would top because he's physically stronger than Mike completely loses the plot.

But to play devil's advocate, I say that Will being the soft/gentle/less assertive/sensitive/INFP that he is doesn't necessarily mean he can't also fantasize about to fucking boys/Mike, just like Mike being the assertive/leader/knight in shining armor/more masculine one in canon doesn't mean he can't fantasize about the opposite.

(Like in the same way that a straight guy wanting to fuck his girlfriend also doesn't mean that he can't be soft/gentle/less masculine/less assertive/INFP/sensitive/etc. Even if this isn't in a hyper-masculine/aggressive way like other alpha types, it's still considered "normal" and even expected in straight contexts since, well, that's how straight sex typically works). So why is it different in a gay context? Horniness isn't always 2+2= 4, although it can be.

It honestly seems like a lot of these nuances of this discussion/debate are more about who is more dominant and who is more of the sub rather than their specific positions. One could argue that dom Mike/sub Will would closely link to their canon dynamics.

But even so, I remember one of the earliest polls on here had a high number of people who viewed Will as "domming from the bottom" and Mike as "subbing from the top" which is really interesting and somewhat throws a curve ball in this analysis. Maybe that connects to lots of people using the word "bratty" to describe Mike?

All in all though, when discussing gay sex, especially in fandom, there's always this huge emphasis on binary roles and positions that isn't really present when discussing straight sex, but really is that really fair? Will being more feminine ≠ automatically bottoming and Mike being more masculine ≠ automatically topping because these things aren't necessarily gendered or aligned with personality traits, where one is "the boy" and the other is "the girl" during sex, or at least they don't have to be. They sometimes are, but not always.

Through this lens, even if you view top Mike as more canon compliant, it's hypothetically possible that top Will/bottom Will wouldn't even really be role-switching. It could just be what they naturally gravitate to in the bedroom while still keeping all other aspects of their personality. BUT, like you said, if Will is indeed a bottom, it's 100% true that, "Will can find so much power and control in bottoming, he gets to set the pace AND it's with the most trusted person on earth who already loves to provide and protect him."

What does everyone else think?

[bylerfields]

i just read your bottom mike points and its the most sense ive ever read on that topic, considering im a top mike truther. not so much dom mike, cos i think theyre equals, but your thing about mike chiling and come down to wills level was interesting. it makes me wonder how these dynamics would have played out if there was never this supernatural threat... i got the sense that mike still always led, because of how he approached will on the swings, and their little bickers in the whole group even, outside of monster stuff (like the ghostbusters venkman thing). mike being the de facto leader, soft version when with will, seemed like something that had simply always been. he's soft with will, but usually when he thinks will needs caring for. when will isnt in danger, i dont think mike is soft or chill necessarily. so its interesting that you see a matured, grown-into-himself and secure mike as 'chilling'.

and lastly, if they both come down and meet on this equal level of softness, how is that still evidence of mike being a sub? surely that would make them both soft vers?

but your points did make sense and i like that there are some bottomsub mike people out there who dont just see him as a babygirl

all really fair points anon!!

i think it’s just the way i see it or prefer, i guess? i don’t think i ever claimed that theres evidence of mike being a sub, since i’m of the strong belief that there’s no evidence for their sexual dynamic at all.

it’s really just how i prefer to think about it if i had to pick my favorite dynamic or what i’d lean towards when i’m writing.. lmao i think we’re pretty much on the same page tho, since i’m also a top mike truther who thinks they’re equals. so, sure, soft vers is a great description - but my personal preference is that mike is perfectly fine submitting to whatever will says and (for the reasons i said) will is perfectly fine not only asking for what he wants but also taking care of mike bc he wants mike to feel so good (which there is huge evidence for in s4). i’m not forcing others to see it this way, it’s just what i like 🥲 (also i should note that this isn’t the only dynamic i like when thinking of byler concepts, i like it all 😮‍💨 but when talking about which part of their canon dynamic is most satisfying/realistic to me i guess?)

(but i’d rather not have more people come to my inbox saying ‘well what you’re describing is actually still dom mike,’ because to me it’s not. i don’t see him that way as a default/usual assumed dynamic for them.)

to address what you said about mike’s behaviors being more dominant-leaning even outside of supernatural stuff, i guess my stance is that you can’t really separate it? like the way he was in s2 from the start was bc he felt crazy about el being alive or not. and him being the softer version with will is yes bc he has a sense of feeling like he’s taking care of someone, ((((((which i could argue isn’t a traditionally masc role but i won’t)))))) but also because it’s a safe place for him. i agree with you that he is 1000% the de facto leader of their group. he also paralleled joyce a lot in s1 with his persistence in getting will back and getting the others on board, while also being the gentlest and most nurturing of the boys with eleven.

what i love about mike is that he isn’t a violent person, like, at all - and it’s shown in the times that he does try and defend himself/others - it’s unnatural. i love that he can be the leader who people look to for guidance but not because he demands it, he just is. he’s the quietest in the party when theyre at the arcade in s2. there’s a common theme of will trusting and confiding in him where he wouldn’t with others. themes of nurturing, safe haven, emotional intelligence, follow mike before the clear shift in s2-3 when things start to become unmanageable for him. there are a lot of things that set him apart from dustin and lucas in s1 as far as typical masc traits and how they treat el (especially noticeable with lucas, since he and mike have pretty similar motive to get will back).

as far as him not being soft or chill w will when he’s not in danger, i guess we’ll have to agree to disagree? i’m thinking about “another 90 miles, why” and the softness in his tone when theyre on the couch, before will discloses that 001 isn’t dead. demanding and aggressive isn’t his default in a comfort setting. it’s just something that’s easy to pick up on for me, something i enjoy exploring more of, and a cool thing about fanfiction is that ability to have different interpretations or see qualities in characters that you focus on more while others choose different ones to expound on.

i’ve always said i think it’s presumptuous to assume the mike we see, with his clear multitude of external pressures, is the one he’ll be years from now. (will too, but mike is the focus here). and it’s really not far fetched when you look at how he is in his earlier days that he’s softer than the typical boy and would likely level back to that when settled and regulated.

thanks for the ask & i’m glad my take made a little sense 🩵 i mostly end up word vomiting when it comes to the mike topic

[matan4il]

Good morning Alice! I was gonna wait to send this till after the finale, but then said duck it I'm not predicting anything. I'm just curious about your feelings.

So I always felt like if the network was to cowardly to make Buddie Canon it would only end 2 ways, them maybe dating women or just ambiguity single as a family. Basically I never expected to see an actual fleshed out love story written for either.

And well, S1 Buck is single, S2 Shannon is dead, Ali leaves, and we get good montage hug, S3 single and great party montage. OK S4, if that was the series finale we got Buddie walking into a party, Buck not fullying entering, Eddie uncomfortable and the will reveal. As shippers, we would have never bought it. The general audience would have just shrugged. Again, they weren't left in love with women but did leave with a crazy strong bond. S5 single, and now we approach S6. I have no clue what will happen with Marisol and Natalia, but I think we can all guess it would resemble the S4 ending if anything. So again, if they were unsure about renewing and left it open-ended, the GA would shrug, and we would be like "well then here is what really happened".

So I watched that Love in the Air montage like it was approaching a series finale and felt exactly like I thought I would. I was laughing at how vapid these relationships look on Buddie vs the others. 911 love stories are built on adversity. Couples that don't get a lot of representation because maybe some don't think they are sexy enough. That's what makes me love them is how strong their foundations are. They are not built on meet cutes, you know. You can't write a love story for these 2 that approaches touching the bonds and experiences they have already experienced together. I will use the word again. it seems almost vapid!

So no clue what will happen in the finale with these girls. My gut instinct is not a lot of focus. But I'm already excited to move to ABC, where I think they will actually be invested in.

As always, I loved your meta!! Stay safe, and I hope you are feeling OK and made headway with your new treatment!!!

Hi sweetheart, thank you so much for this lovely ask! And for the kind words about my 617 meta! *HUGS*

I agree with you, if Buddie doesn't go canon, the show would never be able to develop a fully fleshed out and satisfying love story with any other Love Interest, so the show would either use really lame LIs (where it's easy to see that they'd go in the way of Ana and Taylor a short while after the cut off point of the show's finale) or Buddie would be chronically single (and each other's life partners). I admit, I prefer the latter. The former just means a break up to get to the latter, and then in both cases I'd just headcanon that Buddie finally had a feelings realization and confession, getting together at some point in the future that we don't get to see. It's inevitable with their love story.

But without a doubt, when we know that the whole (or at least majority of the) finale is the one call during which the 118 will be going down, that means there won't be much room to develop anything with either Natalia or Marisol. And I feel like that's exactly how 4a left off with Ana, and 4b did the same with Taylor. They exist, something has started there, but it's built on such shaky ground (they really did give us less than nothing for why Marisol or Natalia would work out with Eddie and Buck), we KNOW that this ground would collapse under these new LIs after a short while.

I do think the move to ABC has a lot of potential. I'm thinking ABC bought the show from Fox knowing that things are a bit rocky, so they KNOW they need to bring in more viewers, and I'm sure they understand that letting Buddie go canon has the potential to do just that, make TV history, create buzz and bring in more viewers.

On a personal note, I'm just still blown away that my HMO actually approved this treatment, but it's gonna take another week (exactly) until I get my first treatment. Which sucks, I have to cancel guiding students from Harvard in order to make this appointment, but yeah. Health before anything else, right? If I kept the Harvard tour, the next appointment is mid June.

Thank you, darling! I hope you're having a great day, too! Love you tons. As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

[eddiemunsonw]

It takes one kiss

CHAPTER 2 - I need it to be you

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5

Steddie Fanfic

Summary: Steve hosts a party and ends up suffering through the consequences of humoring Tommy.

OR

Steve Harrington kisses Eddie Munson by accident and that sucked. Right?

CW / Disclaimer: Some mild overlap with S4 scenes (barely) - But (!!) Eddie lives - Mention of F-slur once.

Author’s note: My first Steddie fic! Another first woop. Let's hope you like. It has five parts that I'll be posting both on here and on my ao3: eddiemunsons. Enjoy!

Words: (of current chapter) 2696 / (complete fic) 15381

Eddie’s POV

Months passed after what Eddie now liked to call the “Natural 1 Occurrence”, or NO² for short in his head. Not very catchy, but it made sense to him. The first week after the party had been especially hard at school. The name calling had gotten much, much worse than before. At least until Harrington snapped and told everyone to move the fuck on because he didn’t want to be reminded of that horrible event that he had been forced into. Yeah. That’s how he had turned it around. 

Steve Harrington, the jock, the King, the popular guy, had been too drunk to think and just did what was expected of him and kissed one person after the next, not knowing the last had been Eddie. It was gross and he obviously never would have done it otherwise, and he had lied about the rating but never got to the point of the joke. That was his story. Lo and behold, people seemed to believe him. Popularity did that to you. Eddie did catch some whispers here and there that the guy had been totally into it and that they didn’t believe a word he said, but it fell on deaf ears. The guys didn’t want someone like that amongst them and the girls didn’t want their dreams to be crushed. Oh, the horror of losing their favorite jock to the gays.

To be fair, Eddie really, really wanted to believe Harrington. It would be a lot easier if he could believe that he would rather die than kiss him. However… he had been there. He had felt Harrington kissing him, felt the gasp against his lips and felt the reluctance of pulling back. Sure, maybe it had all been alcohol induced, but still. Thanks to his crush on the guy, he had in fact been paying attention to him. Steve Harrington was a horrible liar. And when he gave Eddie’s kiss a 9.5, he had definitely not been lying.

Which did not help at all for Eddie who was trying to get rid of his delusions that there was something there. There wasn’t. Even if there was, there still wasn’t. Whatever was going on in that beautiful head of his, it wasn’t in Eddie’s favor. Even if that kiss had been the best kiss Harrington had ever experienced, it wouldn’t matter. People like him wouldn’t own up to their sexuality until they were unhappily married with four kids and several acts of infidelity later. It was fruitless. 

Eddie knew not to engage with Harrington or anyone from his circle for that matter and was actually relieved when he finally became more invisible again. There were a few people who still seized every opportunity to call him names, but it beat the time when it had been half the school. He was surprised he hadn’t received another beating. All in all, it had been super draining to deal with negativity every day while there was already so much of it swarming around in his own mind. As tough as his shell was, he was glad it seemed to be over for the most part.

Summer break had offered a much needed, temporary escape from it all. Unfortunately school knocked on his door again and he had to drag himself back to that hellhole. He wasn’t supposed to be there, not really. Failing English just did that to you. He was convinced that Mrs. O’Donnell had something against him and whether that had to do with the fact that she had caught him doodling during her classes, he didn’t know. He had been pretty harmless otherwise, apart from the one time he had glued her favorite pencil to her desk. But, no one knew that had been him. He doubted the jocks would have laughed about it, had they known it was his doing. Mrs. O’Donnell wasn’t the only one with a personal agenda against him. Principal Higgins severely disliked him as well, which is why they really should have given him a passing grade to get rid of him. Of course, they hadn’t. Why not torture him with another year of being surrounded by the people that hated his goddamn guts, right? That’ll show him.

Eddie had managed to survive about half of the first semester when Callum had finally wrapped up his D&D campaign at the Hellfire Club. It had been the plan to end it before summer, but he had miscalculated the time that was needed for their final quest, endboss and everything. Now that it was finally done, it was time for Eddie to host his first campaign. He had been working on it all summer (and even before that) and he was excited yet nervous to start.

While it was a big change from being a player to being a DM, he liked it a lot. His first session went surprisingly well and the practice that he had done with some generic dialogue for a few NPCs had definitely paid off. Even Callum was positively impressed (although he admitted it with some reluctance) and he was definitely someone that was hard to please. Eddie knew the rules of the game in and out by now, but he had still spent extra time to make sure he wouldn’t cause any major fuckups. The rest of the party was excited to go on the new adventure and Eddie could not wait until next Friday to continue.

At the end of their session, once everyone had gone, Eddie lingered behind to make some notes for next week and checked everything that he had written down during the session. He was busy scribbling away with his Walkman on when suddenly the fluorescent lighting from the hallway came into view. He looked up at the silhouette partially blocking it, but couldn’t make out who it was. Probably a janitor about to get up in his business because he wanted to lock the school, Eddie thought.

“Who’s there? I can’t really see you,” Eddie told the stranger as he squinted at the dark blob in the distance. The figure cleared their throat and dread immediately filled his chest. He wasn’t proud of it, but he’d recognize Harrington’s “throat clearing” everywhere. Now that they shared several classes together, he had become hyper aware of everything the guy did. Embarrassing, but true nonetheless.

“Uh, Steve. Harrington,” he heard the guy say awkwardly as he approached with caution. The door loudly fell shut behind him, revealing Harrington in the dim lighting of the room as he slightly jumped, startled by the sound.

“And what brings ‘King Steve’, to the drama room?” Eddie drawled lazily, eyes lifting up to meet Harrington’s as he peered at him curiously yet cautiously. Harrington ran a hand through his hair, making the front of his hair stick up from all the product that was in there. He still looked stupidly gorgeous. Eddie tilted his head and watched how he pocketed his hands, his thumbs fiddling the loops at the front of his jeans as he bit his lip. Harrington was nervous. It would have been endearing if the guy didn’t hate Eddie’s guts. When Harrington struggled to speak, Eddie decided to do it for him.

“Listen, Harrington. I have avoided you like the plague for obvious reasons, so I would really like to know why you’re breathing down my generous, but still very personal bubble right now.”

“I need you to kiss me again.”

Eddie blinked a few times, registering what had just come out of the other boy’s mouth as he felt his own lips part. Say what now?

“Excuse me?”

“I need— I need you to kiss me again. Please.” 

Eddie looked at Harrington as if he had spontaneously grown a second, or even third head. Where the hell did Harrington gather the courage to actually say shit like that out loud? He’d heard rumors that he was hung, but surely he needed an extra carrier for his balls only if he ran this sentence around in his mind and then still decided to go through with it.

“Absolutely not. What kind of sick joke is this?”

Harrington shook his head. Desperately, almost. His hands were shaking.

“It’s not. Not a joke. I just— I need to know.”

“Know what, exactly?”

“It really doesn’t concern you, man. Please, just once.” Harrington’s voice echoed in the room as Eddie took his time taking in what he said. It vaguely occurred to him that he was actually begging. Eddie wondered if he could possibly get him on his knees and have him repeat it, but realized there were a lot of reasons why even thinking of that was a bad idea.

“That’s really fucking rich of you, Harrington. Get lost already. Whatever you’re dealing with, I’m sure you can figure it out without my assistance. Lots of lost boys ‘round.”

An exasperated sigh left Harrington's mouth and Eddie cocked an eyebrow at him. He better not try to be annoyed with him, because he did not have the patience for that.

“No, you don’t understand— I need it to be you.”

“Ah,” Eddie said with a smirk. “Trying to figure out if I made you gay? You’re gonna what, try to see if you can reverse it by kissing me again somehow? Rest assured Harrington, being gay is not contagious. It’s all you.” There was no need to take it that far, but after enduring all the harassment while Harrington got to prance around the school like nothing had happened had apparently annoyed him more than he thought it did.

“I’m not gay,” Harrington protested and Eddie noticed there was no longer any venom behind it. Not like before. He watched him curiously as his face scrunched up and he ran a hand through his hair yet again. It should have made him look ridiculous, except it didn’t.

“Okay, well. Whatever you are or aren’t, it’s none of my business, so don’t try to make it my business. Or should I remind you that you told me, the freak, to “just stay the fuck away from you”? Surely you haven’t forgotten about that, have you? ‘Cause I sure as hell haven’t.”

Eddie watched him, arms crossed in front of his chest, one sole resting on the edge of the table. Watched as he inhaled shakily, his hands moving at his sides aimlessly as he tried to work out how to respond. Eddie almost pitied him. Almost.

Steve’s POV

Steve felt like he was about to vomit. For weeks he had prepared to talk to Munson about it. To gather the courage to grovel at his feet, basically. After treating him so horribly both at the party and afterwards he didn’t think the odds were in his favor but he had to try.

As soon as summer break had started, he slowly felt better about the whole ordeal. It was easier to forget about it when you weren’t constantly faced with the sole cause of your stress every morning at the lockers. Why the hell did Munson have to have a locker so close to his anyway? So yeah, summer was great. So great in fact, that he grew confident that whatever lingering thoughts he had had about the kiss in general and… Munson, meant nothing. It was the alcohol, and the fact that he thought that he had been a girl. It made total sense. Tommy had finally stopped pestering him about it too after shoving him against the lockers in the locker room after practice one time. Dickhead.

All of that bliss of being over it got immediately destroyed however when Munson entered his class on the first Wednesday of the year. Walked in there like he owned the place, or something. Barely spared anyone a glance before he sat down diagonally from him at a window seat. Steve had caught a whiff of a mix of cigarettes and cologne as he passed and it had kept him busy all through first period. That, and the way Eddie was scribbling away in some notebook that had nothing to do with class. And when the bell rang he was so quick to get up that Steve only had about three seconds to look at his ass before he disappeared.

Those three seconds weren’t the problem. It was the fact that he had purposefully lowered his eyes from the bouncing hair on his back all the way down to his ass. 

Maybe he could have played it off if such glances only happened once, but no. He had also watched him from the bench during P.E., as he had to sit out due to a sprained ankle. Munson, who was known to never show up at anything called exercise, was suddenly running over the field during a game of dodgeball and was actually fairly decent at it. Hit Jason Carver square in the face. Steve hadn’t even noticed. His eyes had been glued to Munson’s victorious expression and the way he clenched his fist at his side.

Then there was the cafeteria. Their tables were far enough apart to not have to listen to him or be distracted by him in any way. And yet, as if the rest of the world went on pause, his ears always picked up Eddie’s laughter. And his laughter reminded him of Eddie’s lips. And his lips reminded him of their kiss. That, and the way Eddie had glanced down to his lips that one time. An action that sent a spark straight to his groin and still sent a spark straight to his groin whenever he thought about it as he jerked off. Which he really did not try to do. Somehow, some way, Eddie just popped up in his brain. At random. All the time.

And that was another thing that bothered him. Munson became Eddie in his brain. Not always, sometimes his brain cut him some slack, but more often than not his first name was prompted instead of his last.

Steve’s grades had not been doing great so far and he blamed Munson for all of it. All of this nonsense had to stop. He wasn’t gay. He liked girls. It was clear as day. He wouldn’t have done the things he had done with girls if he didn’t like them. Besides, he never had had any thoughts about other guys like this. Sure, he thought some guys dressed nice or looked handsome or whatever, but every guy could probably tell when another guy was handsome. They just didn’t dare to say it out loud in fear of being labeled incorrectly. Like him.

Right now, in front of Munson, Steve felt like his world was crumbling. The ground was slipping out from under him and it was stupid, right? To be so upset over something like this while he had the literal knowledge of another dimension in the back of his mind. Things like this should feel trivial after something like that, but they weren’t. It would be nice if he could talk about this stuff with someone without being judged, but he had no idea who to turn to. Not his friends, not his ex and certainly not any of those kids. So who else was there? He didn’t exactly have any parental figures in his life that were around.

He felt those big, brown eyes staring up at him, waiting for an answer. Of course he hadn’t forgotten how he had acted towards him. When everyone had started ganging up on him he had hated it. It was shitty behavior. He believed that their kiss had started out as more of an accident now and that they were both just drunk and too slow to react, or something. But of course it was too late to say that now. The damage was already done. As for his request, it was obvious that it wasn’t going to happen. He had to find another way.

“No,” he eventually said quietly. “I haven’t.” He heaved a sigh, breath still shaky before he added: “I’m sorry.” Steve left the drama room without another word.

[strangertheories]

I support byler and occasionally make posts about it, so I'd never say this on main but I think the writers could not manage to utilize byler well if going for byler was their intention. I think they should have given byler more personal scenes together that did not involve el in the discussion in some way. Because the truth is whenever they had a discussion, it was related to el some way or other instead of it being personally about them.

like even the apologizing scene has mike saying that he was worrying too much about el and that he thought he lost will's friendship because of his worrying about el... another scene has mike worrying about el leaving and reading el's note, and will reassuring him that mike will get the chance to tell el how he feels. the car scene is about mike worrying about el (i know some people think that mike was thinking about something else there but it is clear to me that he was worrying about el). the van scene-- mike says that he is worried that el will leave him bc he is some random nerd, etc.

I get that they do not only talk about el in those convos but it still revolves around her or at the very least, it includes her and that those convos are not actually about mike and will's bond tbh.

I think the writers should and could have given mike and will more personal convos, like talking about their hobbies, just having some fun or mentioning their lives OR in general anything that is not related to el in some way.

I'm criticizing this bc that's one of the most common stuff other people also notice whether it be mlvns or GA. That's why they think Mike spent the season thinking about El and he talks about El all the time and GA thinks mike is also just there to be for El, etc.

Before I begin, so no one gets annoyed, this is not a Byler doubt post but rather a "how should they handle Mike" post. But yeah anon, I agree, I think if they're intending Byler to be canon they could've handled it a lot differently. HOWEVER, I do think that S2 was very good for this as it really developed Mike and Will's relationship and if they pulled something similar to that for S5, I'd be very happy. I don't really mind if Byler is canon or not because I have no expectations that it will be (not saying no one else should, nobody come after me please), but at the very least, they need to put more focus on Mike and Will's relationship.

If Byler isn't canon then Mike as a character is heavily defined in relation to other people and particularly Eleven so I think fleshing him out and giving him dramas not revolving around her would be good anyways. I think S4 handled it well for the most part even if there were individual decisions I didn't like in particular the comment about meeting El being the best day (did the writers forget why he met her?) and him not noticing Will crying. Both decisions felt a bit out of character for me because whilst Mike is wrapped up in his own stuff, he cares a lot about Will. He noticed Will was particularly quiet in S2 when none of his friends did and he was the one to talk to him when he was mind flayed.

Basically, I just think that Mike needs a heavier focus on his internal struggles and to remind the audience that he's incredibly caring and empathetic. I think that's why the "heart" thing fell a bit flat, if they said that about S1 or S2 Mike, everyone would agree however because Mike has been so focused on Eleven rather than the party, it came off as disingenuous. You don't even need Byler canon to fix that even if it would help because they've established his character but he's become more of a prop in a love triangle than a person to a lot of fans.

TL;DR they need to establish Mike more independently in S5 but I also think they should've shown more of that in S3 and S4 as well regardless of shipping. Thanks for the ask and I'm glad you were comfortable sharing this, I know saying anything against Byler can be scary but it's surprising how welcoming fans can be except a couple of toxic fans. (Nobody tell me as a gotcha Mlvn fans can be toxic too, that's happened before and I'm aware, look at my ask box 💀)