#I wanted to post more for Mileven week but then this happened

[milevenstancyendgame]

In Defense Of Mike

Sometimes antis inspire you to write meta - I don't know why, but today I feel like going through these Mike accusations that someone left on my Eleven post, lol:

No one talks shit about my boy Mike on my post.😎

-"And not to make this about shipping because El is her own person and should be discussed outside of ships, BUT" - goes on long ass shipping discourse.

You nailed it right there, buddy.😂

-"Mike babies her throughout their relationship":

I think it's so funny that those who are on the fence shouting about El needing to break up with Mike, to be independent, are doing exactly what they accuse Mike of doing (gaslight much?). You're willfully ignoring her love for Mike, which is canonical, projecting your own dislike of him onto her, like you know what's best for her. You're babying her.

So when does he baby her? I can't think of any time, but since you also said that he's protective and "El wants to be trusted and supported", I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're talking about SOME scenes between El and Mike in s3.

I think it's funny that antis wave Mike's protectiveness over El in s3 as though it was some big red flag.

Like, ya'll act as though he wanted to lock her up in the cabin. Oh wait, that was Hopper in s2, actually. I don't see you hating on Hopper though, even though he's an adult.

Mike is worried and traumatised from losing El several times before. Yes, he doesn't know how to deal with this, but like you keep saying, El is her own person and should be respected as such.

So what does El do? She shows that she doesn't like it, and in an intimate moment away from the over-the-top comedy of s3, she tells him "I need you to trust me".

And how does Mike react? Did you actually watch that? Because it doesn't sound like it. He ACCEPTS what she says IMMEDIATELY, even gives Max an acknowledging glance, and backs off, letting her do her thing.

Like this right there. That's growth.

And that's him doing exactly what you say El needs - that's trusting, supportive, and letting her decide for herself. Which, by the way, he has been doing the whole time and continues to do.

He apologies to her and shows that he has been self-reflecting, and is overly hard on himself. He's aware that he was jealous and that he doesn't know how to deal with his strong love for El.

That's healthy and wholesome, and also huge for a 14-year old emotionally neglected boy, who has no blueprint for a healthy romantic relationship.

But no, you don't want to see this. Nor anything else, apparently. Just literally this ONE DAY on which he was overwhelmed and worrying about El. And you interpret that as "babies her throughout their relationship". That is…wild.

-"Mike puts El on a pedestal" & "Mike never compliments El's personality" :

Wow, this feels like the most unjust accusation of all. You interpret him thinking and telling her she's a superhero as putting her on a pedestal?

First of all, how can you do that, when you just said that he babies her throughout.😆 It almost seems like your various views about him are incompatible...maybe because they're not founded on reality...👀

He's the one who constantly reminds everyone else that El is not a machine, that she has limits, that she has human needs...seriously, have you watched the show? S1? When everyone saw her as a problem or a weirdo or a traitor or a monster or a criminal or a science experiment....and he was the one who treated her for what she was - a scared, friendless child in danger. An equal. A friend.

How come you're not hating on Dustin and Lucas? Maybe you're able to see how they changed? Or Max, because she's in awe of El in s2 and in s3 is 100%ly confident that she will be able to defeat the monster on her own? Maybe you're able to see that she had a normal reaction to finding out about someone's super powers and that she simply was mistaken? Or Steve, because he refers to her as "this girl with superpowers that we usually rely on"? Maybe you're able to see that this didn't reflect any dehumanising on his part?

Oh, but Mike is different of course.🙄

Mike never treats El as anything else but his equal. If he actually put her on a pedestal, he'd constantly be like: "Oh, but I'm sure El can fix it!" for every problem they have, and he'd be disappointed and shocked to witness her humanity - her flaws, her needs, her imperfections.

Well, he doesn't. On the contrary, he tries to provide for her every need, reminding others of them, is worried about her overexerting herself (which you hated on a moment ago, but now strangely seem to have forgotten), and never pushes her to fight for them. He's also always the one who wants to provide a back-up for her, to not let her fight alone or do everything for them (like in the caves in s2, or in s3 when they try to overturn the car in the mall).

Okay, and my personal favourite: "He also does this with Dustin and Will" So I'm guessing you're referring to Mike telling Dustin in s1 that his cleidocranial dysplasia is like a superpower, after being bullied; and in s2, when he tells Will he's like a super-spy now. And of course telling El that she's a superhero.

And you think this is bad????????

😳

Sorry, I just....HOW? He's literally reassuring Dustin that he not only accepts him as he is, but that his difference is cool, he compares him to the coolest people they know and admire, the super heroes from comics. He's trying to cheer him up after he got humiliated for being different. I mean...I guess if he had given him a hug, you would have found a way to interpret that as bad.😬

And the same with Will - he sees that his friend is barely keeping it together, he's rightly panicking, because he's possessed by an interdimensional monster, but Mike finds a way to distract him, invite his mind to see things in a different way that actually EMPOWERS him, reassuring him that they won't let the monster spy back, and again, this is bad, because?

Or do you mean it's only bad when he does it with El?😂 Because it's the same thing. He's trying to reassure her that she's not a monster, that he loves her.

And once again - when she shows in s4 that she doesn't like something he's doing (not saying "I love you"), he accepts that, he feels bad, and tries to give her exactly what she asked for at the next opportunity!

Apparently you didn't see that either.

And "he never compliments her personality". How many hoops do you want him to jump through?���

Mike shows that he loves and respects El all the time, he doesn't need to say "You have an awesome personality." for El to feel that. And she never expressed any need for that. Does Hopper compliment Joyce's personality to her face? Did Joyce do that for Hopper? Did Nancy do that for Steve or Jonathan or vice versa? Did Max say that to Lucas? I guess Lucas is the only one who really loves his partner, because he did that once.🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Oh, and of course, the whole monologue at the end of s4 doesn't count, because. "I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days, I love you without your powers, I love you with your powers...I love you exactly for who you are."

That's somehow not valid, hm?

Mike can't win in your eyes, because you don't want him to. This is called scapegoating, btw.

Lastly, it's strange that you have a reference to him in your username, when you clearly think he's so horrible and accuse him of all this...together with a reference to Will...hmm...how mysterious....🙄🙄🙄 Almost like you had double standards for a certain agenda.🤔

*Drops mic*

[brionysea]

Question for you: How do you think a one-on-one convo between madwheeler pre-s4 would go from Mike's pov?--like how do you think he would treat/talk with Max, who's isolating herself/depressed? Because I've seen a lot of fics with that premise, but it always seems to be them only talking about their relationships (whether it be Byler or Mileven in Mike's case, or Lumax with Max. Which I don't have an issue with, it's just not always the main focus I want on Madwheeler), but rather how Mike perceives Max post s-4. Sorry if this is rambly and doesn't make sense, I'm struggling with getting in Mike's head, and you're obviously very good at interpreting his character.

answer for you: according to the one (1) season 4 episode where max and mike were both in hawkins, the dynamics with max and the party pre-s4 seem to be as follows:

lucas chases after her at school and tries to get her to talk about her feelings and/or go to his basketball games. she's not into it, but she listens to the games on the radio at home anyway

dustin chases after her at school and tries to get her to hang out with the group (hellfire) (max doesn't seem to like eddie) (it's a d&d group - a game she had no interest in before she lost all capability to care about the things she previously enjoyed). she's not into it, makes fun of him for missing her sarcasm, and skates away

and mike, instead of doing any of that and making her feel cornered (or worse, pitied) when high school is already bad enough, leaves her the hell alone.

some people (non-madwheeler understanders) would think that means that mike just doesn't care or their friendship isn't Like That. those people would be incorrect. bothering each other and cheering each other up while they're in the Mental Health Trenches is what max and mike do. just look at the skateboard scene

madwheeler always have their Friendship Moments when no one else is around. the gym scene, the conversation in the byers kitchen, when mike called max's house and nobody else could hear both sides, when max radioed mike at the sauna, watching el get a coke can out of the bin together, after they both got knocked out by billy. it's a very private friendship, so playing into the "there's more here than meets the eye" concept and having them possibly share things with each other that they otherwise wouldn't share with anyone makes a lot of cohesive sense - even if it's just in a "distracts you from The Horrors until you blurt it out in a fit of annoyance" way, like what happened when max first heard about el from mike

people just think it's all fighting because that's all they see, but even that is always in an attempt to make each other better. and it always works eventually (although if we're being technical, the dynamic is max trying to make mike better, while mike tries to keep max safe). mike wouldn't fight with max when she's depressed though, i believe that's only a yearly occasion for the single week we jump back into these people's lives when tensions are high as a kite. if he was around during season 4 he would have fought with max over her willingness to self sacrifice (you know, like a hypocrite)

simply put, mike doesn't push because he gets it, which is exactly why max tolerates him more than the other two - she pushed through the crowd to stand next to mike at the pep rally while she ran away from the others when they seeked her out later - and might even open up a little. s2 mike and s4 max, both dealing with the trauma of witnessing a death (where the person's last words were directed at them) and feeling responsible for it while the world moves on and nobody else seems to care, are the same. mike knows that max doesn't want to hang out like everything's normal or talk about her feelings and admit that it's not. especially not with lucas, who has plenty of reasons to hate billy, and max is selfless enough to not want to add her own messiness into it. max's mother's distance would resonate with mike too

the thing about mike interacting with any of his friends is that he's the most persistent person who's ever lived. he called el every day for a year; he probably did the same for will after the byers moved; he wouldn't stop radioing lucas in season 1 until he answered; he would not shut up about trying to get in contact with dustin in season 3. mike doesn't give up. what this means for max, is that once he's sure she won't mind him being there (and even if she does, a little bit, but that might just be the Performatively Hating Each Other part before they get back to enjoying each other's company, so he's gonna stick it out regardless), he'd kinda just... be there. and continue to be there. they might talk, they might not, but he knows that it sucks to be alone like this and he's not gonna let that happen to max if he can help it

this last bit is kind of just a headcanon of mine, but i like to imagine that if mike ever searched for an Activity that max actually enjoyed (dustin's got the right idea, but at the same time the wrong idea), he would try to bug her into teaching him how to skateboard. their conversation in the gym was heading in that direction before el interrupted, so there's the connection to the Mental Health Trenches and implicitly returning the favour of that kindness and moment of connection (even though mike really wasn't doing great pre-s4 either, but whatever), and something about the "bambi on ice" line in lenora makes me think it could be something max said to him when he fell over once

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

Full house au roommate notes pt 2

Alright, here's the second part to this post. It'll also involve a few random side notes and headcanons and whatnot

As usual, this will contain spoilers for my full house au

Ok so as I said this part is mostly about the kids. There are 7 of them split up into 3 rooms, so they had to be split 2/2/3, with one room having a bunk bed instead of a second single-person bed. They were originally planning to put all the girls together since, y'know, numbers, as well as what I said in the last part about the parents not wanting boys and girls to share rooms*

*I wanted to sort of expand on this for a moment. Personally I think it's silly- and kinda gross tbh- to suggest boys and girls can't share rooms or to assume that something would happen if they did, but it felt like a realistic thing for parents of teens to take issue with in a situation like this, considering their generally heteronormative culture. I know mine would have, lol.

Of course everyone's different about it, but those who didn't think it should matter (Joyce, Karen, Susan) didn't think it was worth arguing with those who did (Hopper, Ted, the Sinclairs). Hopper was particularly against coed rooming, since Mike was part of the equation (he's a little behind lol, mileven is not together in this au; they broke up pretty much right after the events of s4), and the Sinclairs mainly didn't want Lucas rooming with Max. Claudia didn't care either way.

As for the guardians of the "adults" (aside from Nancy & Jon, whose parents I've already talked about), they either don't care, since their kids are grown, or weren't even involved (the Harringtons are left out of the loop and don't know about any of this and I don't know if Argyle even has parents). The Buckleys are pretty chill in general and Wayne has never been one to tell his nephew what to do

However, they decided against this arrangement for Erica's sake, since she doesn't really know the other girls all that well yet, and we ended up with the actual roommate pairings, as follows

Erica, Lucas, and Dustin are roommates, since E & L are siblings, L & D are longtime friends, and E & D have more history than she has with the others (s3). I also intentionally placed these 3 on the same floor as Eddie and Steve, since those two are familiar with and important to the boys and since Steve is the "adult" Erica knows the best. (Dustin may not have an older sibling to share a floor with like Mike Will El and Erica but he does have his dads). Basically it's the Scoops Troop floor, but with Eddie & Lucas instead of Robin

That left Max and El to be roommates, which they were both thrilled about- M told E it would be like having a sleepover every night, and that they should put up a "no boys allowed" sign on their door just to piss the boys off. Protective dad Hopper enthusiastically agreed with this idea and didn't catch his daughter rolling her eyes

I also put Robin & Nancy on the same side as Max & El so they share a bathroom; seemed like that would be preferable to sharing one with the guys (not to be sexist or anything but this way the ladies don't have to deal with piss on the toilet seat or awkward questions about the "feminine hygiene products" in the cabinet. Which reminds me- did anyone ever explain to El wtf a period is??? Bc I highly doubt the Hawkins lab kids had any sort of health education and usually that's something your mom would teach you about. Idk I might address that at some point. But also- if any of the girls are having shark week problems and Robin or Nancy isn't available, they go to Eddie. I haven't decided if he's out to them but either way they know they can count on him for that sort of thing)

And then there's Mike and Will. I'm pretty sure they were always going to room together, regardless of what I had to do with organizing everyone else, because they've been practically inseparable ever since the Byers reunited with the Hawkins crew. Sharing a room is comfortable, familiar, after their years of childhood friendship. And, again, I made sure to place them on the same floor as their siblings; Nancy is diagonal to Mike, and Will is two doors down from Jon and just across the hall from El

I think that's about it for the roommate notes, the next segment might be closer looks/design details of individual rooms. Nobody asked for it but I'm having fun, so. Yeah >:3

[castlebyersafterdark]

i just had a week off fandom because i was away on spooky holiday, and spent some time watching halloweeny things and other shows. then i watched some stranger things, out of order, the early seasons. and i totally got lost in the show and forgot about fandom, it felt just like when i first saw it. and i realised coming back here, that mike and will's relationship is so much bigger and more thematic than byler v mileven. it's meaningful in terms of queer writing, in terms of how trauma is portrayed, its meaningful for them separately and together as characters outside of their sexualities.

i think this sometimes gets lost in the byler fandom, mainly because there is such pushback that it sort of becomes about proving they are real instead of enjoying the story for what it is, and how much more important mike + will as a romantic pair will be in grand scheme of things than just proving milevens wrong. its actually quite jarring to come back and see that so much byler content is people just sassing milevens, or trying to prove something, or being defensive. it gives enjoying byler a strange flavour because it makes it about being on edge rather than just enjoying the story. this fandom is a fascinating case study in propaganda and social influence, how if youre told something enough times ("byler will never happen") you start to believe it despite hard evidence (the show itself) to the contrary.

i still love this small community and check my fav blogs though. but it was a nice reality check, esp at this time of year! spooky season is the perfect time to step back and rewatch the show as a total newbie who just wants a good mystery thriller. i feel happier than ever to wait for s5, our boys are coming together and all we need is patience 😊 and if you can recommend any more blogs who focus on the good stuff like you, please do! i'm sick of being jumpscared by 'milevens say that...' posts lmao

Yes!!! Agree. I also took a tiny break and I'm back, well, I wouldn't say refreshed (still a little bit exhausted from the past few days 😅 Halloween wore me down yall haha) but it's always beneficial I feel to step away for whatever reason and then dive back into fandom when you feel up to it. Brain needs a break from the fandom focus sometimes. Good points in this ask. I haven't actually sat down and watched the show in a while, but revisiting those favorite episodes is a cool idea. Hit the mark on what's important and why the show, and these two characters in particular since that's what I and many focus on around here, resonates so deeply. It's more than just "oh, these two are cute, they should be a couple, this is a ship in the fandom yay" but it's... it's a lot more. It's an important story. Not trying to sound cheesy but I always end up that way 😉

There is definitely a thing in this fandom that I don't really vibe with, the insecurity and constant defense and ship wars. Maybe it's the fact that there technically is a love triangle existing, the slow burn, the impatience, the track record with queer relationships and getting crumbs when there's a gay character. But, there's also been a lot more progress and real canon gay relationships lately. I don't fear as heavily with this show, because the show has given the biggest proof. And I also... don't care what people who hate the idea of Byler or still love Mlvn are doing. I don't care! About Mlvn fans on the internet!! The show is the show and whatever happens happens. I think people would be sooooo much happier if they curated more. Don't seek out spaces of contention! Don't engage with people who are just gonna make you mad ☹️

Little communities are cool, happy here, hope other people are finding their spot, focusing on what's cool and interesting and just - cut out the noise. There's too much going on in the world and online to devote time to getting defensive over fandom, especially one where the source material is so good and there's so much creativity to be found from it. I wouldn't know where to start with recommending other blogs - have to admit I always feel bad if I'm calling people out and leaving others out and there's thousands of blogs in the stranger things fandom! I have friends in the fandom who I really enjoy talking to and who have cool blogs, but we don't 100% agree on theory and character dynamics and other stuff and that's totally ok. Even I have expressed opinions and people have been quick to jump at me and disagree and hey, no one has to be down with every single opinion I have either!! I just hope for kindness in those instances.

So, you really just gotta see where the hard lines are, what you do and don't care to deal with on your blog and see on your dash. Fandom is very imperfect, but all we can do is focus more on what we consider a positive so it drowns out the little negative things we do encounter.

[willel]

This post is a great example of "show not tell".

I admit that it can be frustrating when relationships are built off screen and you're expected to believe certain things happen based on context clues.

But context clues exist for a reason. If one pays attention to the show, then you know Will's clothes are hand-me-downs from Jonathan. That Joyce makes Will's (and probably Jonathan's) outfits whether it's for Halloween or a random D&D campaign. Instead of buying new clothes for herself, she just patches up her existing clothes to save money.

There are so many little things that exist like this in the series. Do I think the writers could make some of it a little more obvious? I mean sure. At the same time, is it really beneficial to cater to viewers who refuse to take an extra second to... think? Consider? Analyze even a little tiny bit?

Lately in this fandom, I have seen this.... almost anti-intellectual behavior of "If I don't see it, it must not exist." ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Byers family which baffles me to no end. Do you say that about gravity? Are you someone who thinks the earth is flat?

Of COURSE you're not going to see EVERYTHING on screen. There are some relationships that WILL develop off screen because we only visit these characters for 1 of out 52 weeks of their year.

Today, I saw a significant amount of people say, "Will and El aren't close because we didn't see it on screen."

I just want to grab these people by their shoulders and say, "HOW DID YOU WATCH SEASON 4 AND COME AWAY WITH THAT???"

You know who (sadly) aren't that close probably? El and Jonathan. I guess I understand, he's a teenager going through a rough time and probably spends more time with his first friend in forever than anyone in his family (even Will). EVEN STILL, there is an implied closeness there where Jonathan shares secrets with her and they make promises with each other (in this case, about Jonathan's smoking habits)

Off screen, Will and El have lived together in the same house. Eaten at the same dinner table. Watched the same tv. Went to the same school. Shared at least one class together.

Despite Will and El being quiet folk, we see them exchange glances. We see Will encourage her. We see them quietly argue. We see Will worry about her. And when they finally unite, they literally hug each other tightly and cry. They hug each other so tightly that they almost fall over.

If you cannot see that, or rather, if you refuse to see that, then that is YOUR problem.

And another thing I want to call out in general, stop using WillEl for stupid pointless idiotic unless ship wars. Will and El as siblings has NOTHING to do with Mileven. It has NOTHING to do with Byler. Everything Will and El have done for each other is out of love and support.

Stop using WillEl to shit on their characters. Stop using WillEl as proof for ever. Stop using WillEl as a "gotcha" against another ship or pretend like people only care about it because of so-and-so ship.

WillEl existed BEFORE the ships. WillEl will exist AFTER the ships.

I want to reiterate. WILLEL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR ROMANTIC SHIPS

Here are your romantic ships:

This is where WillEl is:

If the chart above does not match your perception, understanding, and feelings about WillEl then something is wrong with YOU.

Either you think Will is a threat to your ship or maybe El is a threat to your ship? I don't know but I just want to remind you guys that they are platonic. You know, brother and sister? Not only that, William Byers is gay. Unless you have some weird kinks about love triangles like that, then I need you to sort yourself out and stop pretending like WillEl has anything to do with your ships because it DOESN'T.

The end.

This is your reminder that since the Byers don't have money to buy costumes, Joyce hand-makes Will's to see her son happy.

[imhidingonceagain]

For the love of God. Stranger things fans and more specifically Steddie shippers:

Write a fix it fanfic where our poor guy Eddie (SPOILERS) doesn't die and instead he gets stuck in the Upside down.

He somehow survives there for a few weeks but he's quickly running out of resources and his health is getting worse.

Eventually he finds a way to communicate through the lights and Steve is the one to notice it.

At first the others are reluctant to believe that Eddie is there because Dustin saw him "die" but Steve is convinced that Eddie is alive and needs him.

Once Steve finds Eddie they develop a friendship and then fall in love with each other.

Eddie allows Steve to understand that he deserves to be loved and Steve does the same for Eddie (who's also kinda traumatized because he spent weeks alone). They are very different people but they understand and support each other first as friends and then as a couple (I headcanon Eddie being the first one to fall in love, but he doesn't say anything until Steve notices his own feelings)

Something slow burn with a lot of angst but also a lot of comfort, preferably long and rated Mature (because honestly I eventually want to read about them having sex, I'm sorry -it doesn't have to be explicit though-)

I know this is very specific. I would write it myself but English is not my first language.

Or... If there's already a fic like that please PLEASE let me know.

I just feel like Steve and Eddie have so much potential as a ship. And I hope that many people write about them despite what happened to our favorite new guy Eddie.

PS: I'm gonna try to write something myself but... I don't know if I have the capacity to write as I actually imagine it (I hope I can)

PS 2: To the person who told me to not tag other couples...

Listen, I just tagged Stranger Things ships. I'm not doing anything weird or wrong, it's not like I'm tagging stuff from other fandoms.

Also. Most of the time, when you read a Steddie fic there's secondary couples tagged as well. What does that mean? People multiship (might not be the case for everyone). Specially Steddie shippers tend to be interested in other couples as well (Byler, Mileven, Jancy... Even people who wrote Harringrove are now interested in Steddie, I've seen it I'm not making that up).

My post is about fanfiction, and intersectionality happens a lot of the time while writing, so yeah. I don't think tagging other couples is a problem in this particular case.

If you have a problem with this post (because I've seen a lot of hostility for Steddie in particular lately) please just scroll down.

[bylerforall]

Bit of a long one today.

There are two possibilities of what could happen in season 5. The two famous ships Mileven and Byler. In my opinion the most understandable option that would make sense with the story is Byler.

Eleven only knew Mike for a week and they loved eachother. I guess it does kind of make sense but come on, she literally just escaped from a lab where she was abused and traumatised. She was definitely not ready for a relationship, she didn’t even know what a relationship was!

I feel like this love triangle (can I call it that? idk) is a tricky one to figure out, so let’s dive into the depths of the characters more.

1. Will

Will is a sweet and caring character who has been bullied a lot in his life, people even saying he’s queer or calling him the f-slur. After the upside down incident and the possession, Will changed. He was still kind and quiet, but something inside of him is different. Even Jonathan points it out when he’s talking to Nancy; “yeah, but he’s not the same.”

In season 3, we all know he had quite a big fight with Mike and Lucas (mostly Mike) and they were yelling at eachother in Mike’s garage before Will left with his bike in the pouring rain.

As soon as he got home he immediately went to Castle Byers, looking at all of his memories with his friends before ripping it all up and smashing down his childhood creation. The fight was obviously a massive impact on him, as Castle Byers took him forever to make with his brother but he never gave up on building it, even though he was very bad dealing with a hammer.

In season 4, his feelings for Mike are way more obvious. They do share quite a few moments in vol. 1 and they all had a lot of sentimental value. Hearing Mike say; “friends. best friends.” probably made his whole world.

In my opinion, they wouldn’t kill Will off Stranger Things. Not while he’s barely ever been happy once in the entire show. I feel like they would at least let him be happy before killing him. That would just be cruel. Will is stronger than most people think, and he’s smart too.

He needs his main character status back.

2. Mike

Now, Mike is a tricky one. There are lots of theories about his feelings towards Will and Eleven but the one that made the most sense to me was internalised homophobia.

It is quite clear how he avoided Will’s hug at the airport, and he acts totally different with Will when El’s around. When they’re alone together, it’s all heart eyes and smiles. I feel like Mike is struggling a lot but he’s just not showing it or telling anybody. He can’t even tell El that he loves her. He does struggle with expressing his feelings, but when it comes to Will he’s very open.

Even back in season 3 in the last episode where the Byers and El were packing for California. (I have made a post about this but I don’t care I’m saying it again). Mike and El shared a kiss but his eyes were open and he was unusually framed outside an open closet.

On the other hand with Will, they talk about him joining another party when he moves. Will replies with “not possible” with Mike smiling before walking off down the corridor. Once the car drives off, he looks back at the Byers house. Now, most Mileven shippers are probably like “oh it’s because he misses El and wants her back.” Honey, no. You got it all wrong. Why would he think that when looking back at Will’s house? The one that Will has literally lived in all of his life? That’s not coincidence. He’s obviously thinking about Will.

Mike in season 4 continuously reminds Will that they’re friends. “We’re friends. We’re friends.” Like boy, we know. Why are you reminding us? Will obviously knows that you’re friends too so why do you keep continuously saying it? It’s almost like he’s trying to convince himself more than Will, trying to keep up the perfect, straight boyfriend act for El. Don’t lie, Mike. We know what you are. You’ve made it pretty clear now.

3. Eleven

Now, Eleven. Eleven has struggled her entire life in a lab where she’s been experimented on, and only learnt like 5 words. She’s been traumatised, we know. She doesn’t really know anything about the outside world, she didn’t know what relationships were either. Yet, she got into one a week after she escaped. A literal week. Like bae, you’re moving too fast. Please slow down.

Eleven has made a lot of connections since she left, but Mike and Hopper were always her closest ones.

I feel like in season 4, she really accomplished a lot on her own. She manages to accomplish a lot on her own as well. Finding her mother, the lost sister episode in season 2, escaping the lab, closing the gate, and finally regaining her powers that she had lost, fighting Vecna without the help of Mike. She’s better when she’s doing things on her own. She’s more free, and she doesn’t have anybody relying on her or slowing her down.

With Mike, I feel like they’re just not meant to be together. I feel like they’re both better off with somebody else.

I hope we see more of Byler in s5. I’m really looking forward to it. If we don’t, well I guess it’s just bad luck. We can’t really change it and that’s okay. All we can do is hope.

[beepboop358]

Anti-Byler Argument Refuttals

Although I discussed all of this in my Byler Proof master slides post, I wanted to do a separate post specifically just refutting the most common anti-byler arguments.

1. "Mike and El's relationship is too developed" and "They have been through too much together to break up now!"

This is probably the thing I hear the most when people argue that Byler will never happen. The weirdest part of this argument is that people assume that they will never drift apart, and that they will never ever break up, as if we didn't just see them drift apart, break up, and not officially get back together in S3? Yes, they have both been through a significant amount of trauma, but their relationship is not as developed as people think it is, they barely even know each other really. They spent a week together in S1, then El was gone for a year. Mike and El don't reunite until the very end of S2, probably a few days after halloween. If we work out the timeline between Halloween of 1984 and July 4th of 1985 in S3, that's 246 days, so it's actually less than a full year they have spent together, getting to know each other.

The “development” people argue that Mike and El have just doesn't stand up. Mike and El do not have intimate conversations, their conversations are incredibly awkward, and they just kiss frequently in the beginning of S3 before they break up. That's not development. Hopper even refers to their constant kissing as "not normal and not healthy." Mike couldn't tell El he loves her to her face, which is a parallel to the failed relationship of Stancy where Nancy couldn't tell Steve she loved him, and we later find out it's because she doesn't, which all happens during the blank makes you crazy scene that is extremely similar to Robin's coming out scene. And yes, Mike and El have endured a lot of trauma together, but so has the rest of the group and people don't seem to use this argument the same way with the other couples, or between the friendships. History doesn't determine the future if there's no feelings involved, things can always change. This is idea of staying in a relationship where there is no real love but there is history/benefits is hinted at in S3 when Mike dresses almost identically to both of his parents.

2. "Look at how much Mike cares for El! They're in love!"

No, they're not, and how they treat each other proves that they're not. I firmly believe neither Mike nor El is seriously, romantically in love with each other.

If Mike was really deeply, romantically in love with El, why did he treat her like he did in S3? If he really cares about her that much, why did he wait for Lucas to guide him at all times in matters regarding his relationship with El, instead of just taking initiative, but he does take initiative with Will? Why can't her apologize to her? Why wasn't Mike more upset about El dumping him? Why couldn't he tell El he loves her to her face? Why did he consistently lie to her throughout the whole show? Why did he stop calling her in S2? Why did he give up and say she was dead, but never gave up on Will? Why did he scream in her face in S1? And no - it isn't because he's just shy or awkward. Mike doesn't act like he is truly in love with El because he isn't. He is projecting his feelings for Will onto El, and he is deeply in denial about his sexuality due to his internalized homophobia and hasn't fully processed how he feels about Will throughout the series (up until the ending of S3). And why does Mike have such an odd reaction to El saying she loves him if he does love her? If he loves her that should be exactly what he wants to hear, so why does he look so confused and scared? And why doesn't he just say it back right then?

El isn't seriously, romantically in love with Mike. They meet in S1, and he immediately takes her in, saving her life. He looks out for her, and actually cares if she is okay, and no one has ever done that for her before. El was abused her whole childhood until Mike lets her live in his basement. He was the first person to treat her like a human being, and show her compassion, which she has never experienced before. It makes total sense that she would cling to their relationship like a security blanket. Mike is an emotional attachment for El. He makes her feel safe, because of how he saved her life previously. El has very limited knowledge of love, life, friendship, relationships, and social behaviors since she was locked in a lab for over a decade of her life, she was never truly exposed to these concepts like the other kids in the party were. Everything El thinks she knows about love she learns from watching soap opera's alone in Hopper's cabin. Of course her perception of what romantic love is, is warped. If El was seriously romantically in love with Mike, why was their break-up no big deal to her? Why was she smiling, laughing and looking at pictures of boys with Max right after she supposedly dumped the love of her life? Why did she not seem even the slightest bit upset about it the entire season?

If they're both seriously in love, then why are their interactions so awkward to watch and why does it feel so unnatural and forced? Why don’t Mileven’s interactions feel romantic? The official released scripts on 8flix describe several Mileven scenes as "awkward". It's no coincidence that detail was included in the script.

3. "But they already have Robin"

I mean this comment basically means that sense the show already has one confirmed lgbtq+ character, there can't possibly be any others. What?! There isn't a "one gay character limit per TV show". This comment really bothers me because it reeks of homophobia. If you don't ship Byler that's fine, but refusing to even explore the possibility there could be more than one lgtbq+ character in a TV show just because one already exists? Yeah no. Queer people existed in the 80's, definitely more than just one, so capping out the amount of queer characters in the show is just icky.

Also, Robin was not originally written to be a gay character. It was decided during the filming process that Robin should be a lesbian, because Maya Hawke and Joe Keery were not getting romantic vibes between their characters. Just because the show introduced a new gay character in S3, it does not mean the queercoding of Will and Mike is erased to make room for Robin, and keep Mileven together. Making Robin a lesbian, does not cancel out Mike and Will being gay/liking each other, and the show's future plans for byler.

4. "Mike's not gay."

Does this seem straight to you?

Giving your girlfriend a drawing of your male best friend, that was drawn by him, but telling her it's your drawing so she'll hang it up on the wall you coincidentally face while you make out with her, to remind you of him.

Taking your girlfriends hands off of you while you're making out with her, and keeping your hands folded in your lap away from her.

Only being able to apologize to said male best friend and being more emotionally invested in that relationship than your relationship with your girlfriend.

Mike is the only other person besides Will pictured in close up shots with rainbow and fruit imagery.

Even the die-hard Mileven fans have to admit that's more than a little coincidental, and if we know anything about the Duffer brothers, it's that they love incorporating intricate details in their show to reveal things about the characters/plot.

If you want more examples, some images, or just a more in-depth analysis of byler throughout the series, I suggest you check out my Byler Proof master slides :)

[kaypeace21]

Stranger things & Door symbolism (narrative analysis)

We see doors have a lot of symbolism and different meanings but to a certain extent it’s about respecting/not respecting boundaries &privacy, and being open or closed to others emotionally.

In s2 Max picks the door of the av club (trying to easedrop on the boys)-and it goes wrong (and causes dart to escape). Similarly, in s1 Karen picks Nancy’s bedroom door lock (and Nancy does not open up to her emotionally despite Karen saying “you can talk to me”). BUT in s3, we see Karen contemplating picking Nancy’s door again-and right after she decides not to try and pick the lock and respect Nancy’s boundaries (Nancy finally opens up the door and herself emotionally to Karen).We even  see Jonathan in s1 pick Lonnie’s car door (which we know is not a healthy dynamic).

Nancy also tries telling Jonathan not to break into Lonnie’s car-similar to Jonathan trying to convince Nancy (in s3e3) not to break into mrs. Drsicol’s via opening the front door.

We also see because jonathan doesn’t respect Lonnie (can’t blame him). So,Jonathan walks in uninvited through Lonnie’s front door -to investigate-similar to what Nancy did to mrs. Driscoll in s3 . These prior examples are also similar to El  breaking into Heather’s house  by using her telekenesis to unlock the front door (for her and Max’s investigation) . Or doing the same thing to Becky in s2 (for her solo investigation ). Why we have a shot of just El, Nancy, and Jonathan peaking through the doorway.

El unlocking latches also mirrors how the demogorgan ALSO used telekenesis to unlock the front door latch of Will’s house .

In fact flayed Bruce attacking j*ncy in s3, mirrors Will first being attacked by the demogorgan in s1. Jonathan & Will both lock the doors- than Nancy & Will try calling for help- but the supernatural creature unlocks their latches and both Nancy & Will drop the phones because of this.

we also see through every season-given El’s upbringing- El doesn’t respect  boundaries with doors -since she never received it with Brenner (who would come into room whenever he pleased/closed the door and threw her in solitary) .in s2-3 she uses her powers to pick/UNLOCK doors -to open them . And in s1 she used her powers to LOCK a door- and forcibly CLOSE the door to trap the boys in the room  (akin to the closed door in solitary).

This scene directly contrasts an earlier scene of Mike respecting El wanting the door open -by having El later NOT respect the boys’ desire for the door to be open . Mike asks if she wants the door closed and she says “no” so he lets it be open. When Lucas tries to open the closed door- she closes it and says “no”. (she had other in universe reasons for doing this- but this scene is later also paralleled to Hopper in s3 locking Mike in the car against his will, when he tried leaving. Similar to el closing the door on Lucas in s1 when he tried leaving.

In s1 (with El’s ptsd and) with El not understand privacy- she wants her door open . But in s2 when wanting privacy she closes her bedroom door (as Hopper demands she open it, and she cries). in s3 she also closes her door (now wanting privacy) when kissing Mike/ being on the phone with Mike/ hanging with Max ( and Hopper again yells at her to open the closed door).  Max even criticizes Hopper by saying   “do you knock? JEEZE”And in s3 flayed Billy yells at El and co to “OPEN the g*ddamn door”. In s2/3 we also see Hopper yell for el/Murray to ‘OPEN the damn door’  (despite murray having a “keep door CLOSED”sign).

*flayed-Billy also smashes the glass on the door to try and unlock the door-similar to flayed Bruce at the hospital.

And In s2 we see Neil tell Billy to  “open the door” . In fact the first word uttered after the door is opened, is by Billy -who says “what’s wrong?”. The same thing occurs when Hopper in s3 says to “open the door” -the door opens and Mike says  “what’s wrong?” (as another parallel) .

The Byers also in opposition to this, respect doors/boundaries of Will’s: 

Will (similar to Muray’s sign) has a “no trespassing” sign on his front door in s1 (also akin to the one at Hawkins’s lab). And when Will rides by the Hawkins sign- what happens, he’s chased by the demogorgan. But Jonathan and joyce respect Will’s sign/boundaries- Jonathan knocking on Will’s DOOR in s2 before entering & Joyce ringing castle byer’s DOORbell (and getting verbal permission) before entering in s1.

However, Jonathan doesn’t respect Lonnie :

so walks in uninvited through the door ,break into Lonnie’s car, and opens Lonnie’s trunk (door) without permission. later jonathan gets angry the cops/ Hopper searched his trunk (without permission) . Sort of matching his later hypocrisy of being ok to break into Lonnie’s car but not mrs. driscoll’s house.

of course - this is because Lonnie doesn’t respect jonathan’s boundaries. again- the demogorgan is called “the deep father” in d&d. And a light-bulb is shown in Lonnie’s shed when it attacks Will. So we see Lonnie behind an open door (of Jonathan’s room) and a single lightbulb. A single red light bulb is shown -when Jonathan doesn’t respect others boundaries and develops photos. Later when the demogorgan is in Jonathan’s house- Jonathan hides in Will’s room and the ‘keep trespassing’ sign FALLS OFF the door - when the demogorgan comes near. And again we had a shot of Lonnie next to the ‘no trespassing sign’ too.

So how does this relate to romance?  Or the supernatural?

For romance

Well what does Nancy do in s3 (unlike Karen in s3)? Well she not once, not twice but 3 times- opens jonathan’s door (despite the sign saying “please,do not  enter” (when red light is on). which is similar to Will’s “no trespassing “ /murray’s “keep door closed” sign).This is despite jonathan telling her not to-over and over. We see the first time she enters and he tells her this- she says “sorry”, but after she rolls her eyes  (and than later she does it 2 more times-showing she’s not actually sorry). It shows a lack of respect for her partner and his photography (light destroys his photos). This is similar to Jonathan busting into Lonnie’s. Or El -not respecting doors in every season (and spying on her bf who in s3 was not happy about this).

Which is one of the reasons j*ncy & m*leven were (verbally) paralleled specifically in s3 .Both pairings have no trust in boundaries/privacy- Jonathan taking those pics in s1 vi*lated Nancy’s boundaries/privacy, Nancy in s3 ruins jonathan’s photos while disrespecting his boundaries,El spies on Mike in s2-3 and says she makes her own rules-and doesn’t care if it made Mike uncomfortable.

We even have in s3e3-nancy & El break into people’s houses via the front door (to show how similar they are). 

This also correlates to my other post- where I talked about the theme of spying on love interests being done by many characters too (Jonathan to Nancy in s1,s2 lucas spying on Max, max on lucas in s3, steve and rando-girl who rejected him in s3. El in s2-3 to Mike.And  on the nonromantic end -the mf /the us gov spying on our heroes, El in s1 being trained to be a spy, karen spying on Mike in s3 via phones, similar to how the government agents in s1 monitored phone calls,etc. The snowball even had  l*max/ m*leven (who that season spied on eachother ) dance to a song about a st*lking ex- while the spying mf watched them as well).

Also as another romantic contrast to doors in s3:

Mike throws El in his closet (gay ref) and closes the door (to his real emotions ). As Karen says to Mike “talk to me’ about Will  (similar to Karen saying to Nancy  “talk to me” in s1 ) .And she says to Mike “I never want you to HIDE anything from me.” (which he literally is doing). 

 Similar to Nancy ins1 who’s door was closed (to symbolize being emotionally closed off from her mom -it signifies he wouldn’t open up to Karen in s1 about Will (cause he’s too occupied CLOSING his CLOSET door for EL- and pretending to be straight). 

Than in s3e1 during m*leven kiss it pans to a the rainbow drawing (which says Mike) & a drawing of Will the wise as the lyrics “just a little more time will open closing doors”plays. After this, at Will’s house in s3e1 ( while Will claims he won’t fall in love) you hear the lyrics in the back ironically  play  “Love that was new to you-you open up the door.” Like - go back to episode 1 -it’s true. After Joyce says ‘ok;- the song gets much louder just for the lyric “you open up the door”.XD I’m not making this sh*t up (they purposely didn’t subtitle the segment panned to Will but it’s clear as day) ! The other song Mike kisses El to in ep 1 is ‘can’t fight this feeling’ (which is about a guy afraid to tell his friend of many years that he loves them-but who is afraid to do so and ruin their platonic relationship- which doesn’t fit m*leven who kissed in less than a week . the song lyric also has the phrase “if i have to ...come crashing through your door, baby I can’t fight this feeling anymore.” XD Than after “time” (3 months/last ep of s3) El kisses Mike- infront of WILL’S OPEN CLOSET door, in Will’s room, while El holds Will’s bear that comes between them. El (similar to Karen’s closet scene) even tries to get Mike to talk about his “feelings” which he avoids doing with El (/ Karen). As mike doesn’t open up to El emotionally he also doesn’t reciprocate the kiss- or say i love you back-and the same song (’the first i love you’) which played when, in s3 ,Robin rejected steve cause she’s gay- plays. And both stobin/mileven s3 confessions also heavily parallel . I mean coming out as gay used to be called “coming out of the closet”...

The supernatural: Doors & upsidedown- “ A doorway between worlds”

Murray ,in s3, (translating for Alexi) calls the gate a “doorway between worlds”. While Mr clarke also calls it a “doorway” and discusses Hugh everete’s “many worlds” theory. So later when NOT respecting Mr.clarke’s boundaries and interrupting his date - Dustin says about the supernatural/deprivation tank “why are you keeping this curiosity door LOCKED?” We also see on the st soundtrack -the song playing while alexi is explaining the upsidedown - is called “the door is opening”. And @ghostgirlinsatin​ mentioned this detail after I orginally posted this-when alexi runs away ‘neutron dance ‘ plays and the lyric is “I’ll just stay behind this LOCKED door.”

We see mr clarke stab a pencil into a plate and Alexi stab a straw into a box to illustrate this doorway. Along with Lonnie hammering a nail into a wall in an attempt to close a open door (and saying someone should be held accountable for what happened to Will). it transitions from Lonnie repeatedly hitting the nail with a hammer to Mike stabbing a plate with a pencil -like mr clarke -and explaining how Will got to the upsidedown. Because ironically- Lonnie is the cause of what happened to Will (and should be held accountable). gif visuals-here.

If you’ve read my  ‘crashcourse of evidence for Will creating the upsidedown/mf” or the longer version called the “did theory” you generally know where this is going.

Like Dustin said- the upsidedown is a “alternate dimension” a “dark echo of our world.”

Which I believe Will created based on suppressed memories. A few things appear to be triggers-bathtubs, clowns, and slamming doors. When Will first sees the upsidedown in s2- the arcade door slams open (making Will jump). And later when first seeing the mf (his front door opens by itself-similar to the demogorgan opening the door in s1). In s3 when Billy yells to open the door- Will senses the mf (and touches the back of the neck-which a season prior was associated with memories).

I think the door imagery (to some extent) represents Lonnie coming home and slamming/unlocking the front door. in s1 when Hopper knocks at Joyce’s door aggressively (she says ‘go away lonnie’). Demogorgan in d&d also means ‘deep father’ & Nancy says the demogorgan is like a “lion” (lonnie’s name means lion). And just all the other connections to the demogorgan and Lonnie I talked about in my ‘crashcourse post’ (baseball, hunting,lights,etc). And the fact Billy and el (who are heavily paralleled to Will) also have Dads yelling to “open the door” is  suspicious too.  I mean Neil calls his son William a “f*g”, and makes him play baseball -just like Lonnie did to Will. And Neil also yells for William (Billy) to open his door, before hurting him. So I could see  Lonnie doing that to Will in the past ...

We even have El see a red door- while in the void

Heck- in s2 , Dr owens said Will’s anniversary affect would make him remember tra*matic memories and OPEN his neurological flood GATES(  and these openings to the upsidedown are also called GATES and DOORS)!

[buckybxarnes]

I hate I hate soo much how they use Will's character

I really can't explain how much I hate that they use Will only as a prop for the other characters

I officially have lost all hope that they will give more protagonism to Will in season 5 the protagonism that he deserves

Will is the most useless character of this whole season and also of the 3rd and this makes me very angry, I know that not just because someone is your favorite character the show has to give them protagonism, I really understand it,  because sometimes it just can't happen either because of the character's history or just simply because it’s not a main character, but Will IS a main character his story carries too much weight for the duffers to ignore him the way they are doing it, that child was taken by a monster from another dimension he died in that dimension after being trapped for like a week, they rescue him ¡they revive him! and after they save him he spits out a slug that some monster put inside of him and also has this strange connection that makes him have a flashback from this giant black dust monster from another dimension aaaaand turns out that they are not flashback but are real and this monster can also see him, then this monster possesses him and leads many people to their deaths by falsely sending them to a place that is supposed to help defeat the giant monster thennn they take the monster out of him, and after all that trauma (which btw they never address it) it results that now he stays with this kind of sensor that he feels on his neck every time a monster is near which is completely useless.... .. I don't know what the duffer brothers wanted to achieve with this because until now that "sensor" or whatever it is has no use, I mean every time Will "feels" a monster close it has no use, every time that he "feels" makes no difference, it does not make the plot move, it is just confirming the obvious (like in Starcourt mall they show us that Will senses the giant monster on the roof of the mall but this is really useless because everyone else notices on their own). In season 3 Will literally could not have been in it and everything would have turned out exactly the same and now in this 4 season Will was only present to develop El’s and Mike's story, I mean almost all (and I really mean almost all) the scenes of Will this and in the 3rd season were shots of his face reacting to something and NOW they used Will's pure love to save Mike and El's relationship, I don't hate mileven I swear and this is not about byler but.... I can't understand the purpose of Will's painting if everything was going to redirect to another character, It makes me sick how they turned the whole painting thing that is supposed to be about Will's feelings into something about El and Mike, they massacred Will's whole story.

I hope Will turns evil in season 5 and kills everyone …… with the exception of Jonathan and Joyce (i'm joking but also I’m not joking)

P.S: this post probably has a lot of misspellings because I am writing this very fast and also because English is not my first language, but I hope you understood my point

[wolfiebucky]

Finn Wolfhard x Reader Fluff

warnings:cursing

Part 1.

EDIT: OMG THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO LIKED PART TWO WILL BE POSTED NEXT WEEK SO FOLLOW ME FOR UPTADES :D

A/N So this is my first published imagine hope you guys like it :)

Plot: You were are introduced in the 2nd season as a love interest for Gaten's Character, but who really was crazy about you is Finn, and when during a promoting interview Finn accidentally confesses he has a crush on you the fandom goes crazy.

_____________

" Schnapp you better come here right now if you don't want me to kick your ass!" Noah and you were running around his dressing room while the others were out fixing their microphones.

Since season 3 was about to come out every single cast member was currently part of the promotion Tour, which was honestly your least favorite part. Yes you enjoyed spending time with the cast, they are like your second family, but infinite interviews and having jet lag is no fun at all for anyone. You're in Australia right now waiting for everyone to get ready and Noah had took your phone and was checking your DMs to the girls and the group chat that you guys have.

"Oh come on (Y/N) what can be so bad that you don't want to show me?" He laughed while trying to run from you, you went around the couch and snatched from his hand.

"HA!" You immediately turned it off and put it in your purse.

"What? you don't want me to see how much you talk about Finn with Mills?" He layed on the couch while eating some chips and taking out his own phone.

"I knew you were dumb but apparently you are crazy as well." you tried to ignore him while fixing your hair in front of the mirror and re-doing your lipstick.

Finn and you have been Best friends for almost 2 years know, your characters didn't talk much or even liked eachother, but out of the screen you guys were inseparable and had so much fun. He went to your house often he teached you how to play guitar, took you to many of his concerts and even let you appear in one of his music videos along side Caleb. You soon realized what you biggest fear was... you had a crush on him. Your first instinct was telling Sadie since she was the one you were closer with out of the girls. But slowly everyone started to realize and soon the fans did too starting the (YourShipName) Movement.

"Oh stop pretending, all of us know you're crazy for him, even Gaten! you know, he might be the one you kiss on TV but the way you look at Finney is no performance"

"So what if I have I crush on him?" You turned around and faced Noah "it's not like anything will happen, he doesn't see me that way and I accepted that".

Noah raised an eyebrow and sigh "You're delusional" he said smiling "Have you even asked Finn?!" he said frustrated.

"No but-"

"Ask me what?" There he was, standing right next you, you looked at Noah waiting for him to anwser but he just smirked and kept quiet. "Quick think of something (Y/N)" You thought for yourself.

"Uhmm...I...I-...I was just going to ask when do we have to be on stage?" You knew Noah rolled his eyes behind you and even heard him sigh, you gave him the middle finger behind your back and he laughed.

"Oh, right about now actually. They gave us a sitting order by the way , (Y/N) you're next to Gaten, I’m next to (Y/N), Millie is next to me and Noah next to Millie , I think they want to appeal to the fans and stuff ". he smiled.

You gave him a smile back "Cool see ya there toad" you said sarcasticly to Finn while he was exiting the room.

"Be there on time midget!" Finn said referring to your height and laughing while leaving.

You gave Noah a sign for him to get up the couch and looked at him with a cold expression.

"You're a chicken (Y/N)" You smiled and hit his shoulder "UH OUCH?" You smiled "That's what you get idiot, come one we can't be late"

________

"Today we are welcoming a couple of young talented actors who had made their way through success for the last couple years with their successful show avilable on Netflix. Please welcome the cast of 'Stranger Things', Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp and (Y/N) (Y/L/N)!"

The moment you heard your name you entered the stage, you saw this big crowd screaming and applauding while you were walking next to Gaten and waved to the people while you were walking to your sit.

"Hey guys , first of all welcome! thanks for coming" Said the host, she was a 20 maybe 25 year old blonde woman greeting you with a big smile " I am so exited to meet you and we have some questions for you that are from your fans all over the globe so if you guys are down we can get right into it!"

"Of course go ahead" Said Finn with a big smile.

"So the first question is for Caleb from Jean all the way from the UK, and it's about your character 'Will Lucas stop being underrated and have some badass moments?". The audience cheered and applauded.

"I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks my character needs some justice" We all laughed "Definitely Lucas will get to prove how badasd he is so don't worry" The audience applauded.

"Awsome!" Said the woman.The next questions were more Mileven related than anything or about Funny stories that happend during filming, you weren't really paying attention anymore your feelings were all over the place Finn wise. Maybe Noah was right maybe you should tell him what you feel, but what if by saying it you ruin everything? what if he rejects you or say that he looks at you just like a friend?!, or sister?! or-

"How do you feel about that (Y/N)?" You heard you name all of the sudden, they asked you a question and you didn't heard it.

"Im sorry?" You tried to played it off, Finn and Gaten laughed at you, and you gave them a cold stare.

The interviewer smiled "How does it feel being a newbie to the cast? considering that your character "April" was introduced along side Max. Have you had any issues or do you think you fit right in?"

"Oh no no, I definitely feel at home. When I started this i was definitely scared, and the biggest helpers were Finn and Winona they just took me under their wing and will forever be thankful for that." the crowd went awwww and Finn out of nowhere grabbed your hand for a second and whisperd "Thank you" while smiling.

Your heart was beating so fast and your face was as red as a tomato, you couldn't help it you were crazy about him and to not be able to tell him drove you insane.

"So Finn and (Y/N), you guys are very close everyone knows that, you always post pictures on instagram while you hang out, and do lives together tell us about that!" She had a smirk on, like she was trying to find something out, something that you won't allow the world to know.

"Well..." Finn started "i don't really know what to tell you, we are just, really close and i feel comfortable around her and how she is" he makes a pause and looked at you "How her Jokes are so bad they make me laugh" You can hear the audience laugh but you don't laugh, you just pay attention to Finn's eyes and lips "How she's always supporting me, my band, my projects...How she lights up the set when she arrives and How she laughs when she says the wrong line...She's just amazing"

Everything was quiet, it felt like it was only you and him at that moment, he looks at you with the sweetest smile you've ever seen coming from him "is this really happening?" You thought "He thinks I'm amazing!" you really couldn't believe it. He basically admitted he likes you in front of thousands of people.

What broke the silence was the applause coming from the crowd, you had to stop looking at Finn, the cast were looking at eachother laughing and smiling but you could notice how Finn turned red and tried to hide it.

After a few more questions the interview was over and you were happier than ever, after you guys walked out you could've swear you heard someone screaming "YourShipName!", and you couldn't be more happy about it.

__________

Part 2 comes next if this gets to 5 notes :)

[helloitisiamazing]

Why Mileven sucks

Was originally gonna put it all in one post, but thought it would be better to split it. Rest assured, the Byler stuff is coming.

They don't know a goddamn thing about each other.

They literally just kiss when Mike is with El. We know they jumped right into a relationship after season two since season two was around halloween/Christmas ( starting 31 October and ending at the snowball which takes place at the end of December according to the stranger things wiki ) and season 3 was around the 4th of July the next year (the last episode is supposed to be the 4th of July celebration so the season starts a few days before that ) which would be about 6 months. In the first episode Hopper complains that all they have been doing for the last six months is making out in El's room. They don't go out on dates. When Mike and El ditch their friends when Dustin wants to set up cerebro to go make out, Lucas says that it has been like that all Summer, so the times they do go out are short lived. The time Mike had to get to know El was a week in 1983, and according to the wiki for season two there is a month between the final battle and the snowball in 1984, but during that month Eleven probably still had to keep a low profile, not leaving much room for hanging out with friends.

Mike is a shitty boyfriend towards El.

When they leave their friends on the hill, Mike is the one who says they should go, and again as evidenced by Lucas saying that it's been like that all summer, we know this isn't the first time it's happened. Mike lies to El after Hopper threatens him and instead of just talking and explaining things to her, he goes to the mall to buy something to win her over after he suspects she knows he's lying and just lies more to cover up his first lie when he get's caught. He is very possessive over her, only spending time alone with her, never with their friends for long periods. He won't let Max let El use her powers to stop the mind flayer because he wants to protect her, but also because he doesn't trust El to protect herself. This shit may sound fine if you've only ever read bad wattpad romance novels, but I assure you these are not the building blocks for a healthy relationship. Even after they broke up and Mike apologised, he never actually apologised for the actual lying.

He was really not that heart broken when El dumped him.

Sure he was upset, but all he did was complain about how he did nothing wrong and wait for her to call him to apologise. El also did not look even slightly upset after she dumped him. She and Max were laughing on the bus. She was however very upset with him lying, which lead to her braking up with him.

Their "romantic" kissing scenes felt very uncomfortable to watch.

Even if the actors are slightly older, their characters are thirteen to fourteen year olds. Most people in their late teens and older would find it uncomfortable to watch, and given that that is who the show is generally marketed to, you can't help but think that the awkwardness was intended. I mean, it felt off. Mike is probably imitating what he has seen other adults in films and on tv do, but it comes across so inorganically when they do it.

Mike is definitely not in love with El.

Taking into account everything I have mentioned above ( them not really knowing each other, neither of them being actually broken hearted when they broke up ) as well as all the times Mike struggles to say he loves El to her face. He can't get the words out and goes about the absolute stupidest way of describing love at the store, when he could easily come up with something that would better describe it to El. He can tell everyone else he loves her, but he can't tell her because subconsciously he knows that he would be lying to her. He can't even remember saying anything about love three months later ( which given that he could still remember what he said the day he met Will when they were five in season two points to the fact that the problem is not with his memory. You'd think that he would be able to remember something as important as wanting to profess his love only three months later. ) He could be lying when he says he doesn't remember, but when El says she loves him, he has all the opportunity to say it back and doesn't, there is literally nothing standing in his way. In fact, he looks very confused. He doesn't kiss her back or even close his eyes when she kisses him and is still left with a confused look when she walks away.

Mike equates the idea of falling in love and having a relationship to growing up while his feelings for Will are something he thinks he'll grow out of. He asks Will if he thought that they were never gonna grow up and get girlfriends. He imitates grown-ups he's probably seen on tv, in movies and even in his own life when it comes to his realtionship with El, instead of letting it develop naturally. The way he tries to explain love to El is by saying that it's something grown-ups say to each other. Mike settling for El would also follow the trend of Wheelers settling for people the aren't in love with ( Karen with Ted and Nancy with Steve ).

Mileven is a cute ship but the people saying that they are in love and the end all be all relationship of the show are wrong. Even the Duffers themselves described Mikes feelings for El after season three as sort of a first crush.

Could it develop into an actual fuctioning relationship as they grow older? Maybe, but it is highly unlikely. Mileven won't stay canon.

[dcbicki]

mileven moodboards: road trip au

it’s spring break, and jane hopper needs to get back to indiana from the university of southern california. too broke to fly home, she posts an ad around campus, asking if anyone is willing to carpool. she’ll contribute toward gas, and she’ll even buy their road snacks. down on her luck, she thinks all hope is lost. but then she finally gets a response: mike wheeler, aspiring screenwriter and her best friend’s boyfriend’s roommate offers to take her there free of charge. turns out he’s from indiana too, and he’s going home for a family wedding. is it fate or just coincidence? // to the ends of the earth

[headcanons under the cut]

she needs to get back to hawkins urgently because her dad says he has something important to tell her and he wants to do it in person;

and since she’s always prided herself on being independent ever since she could, jane – who goes by el – doesn’t want to ask him for the money to fly home so instead max (her best friend) suggests she put up an around campus to see if anyone can help;

all hope looks lost when three days pass and nobody has answered her ad except for some pervy freshman. but then a miracle happens;

she gets a call from mike, who says he’s max’s boyfriend’s roommate. apparently, he found her ad on the ground outside a coffee shop and lucas told him who she was;

mike’s from indiana too (though he doesn’t say from where exactly), and he’s driving back over break anyway because his sister’s due date is next week and he’s the baby’s godfather;

he’s willing to take her home, and his only request is that she doesn’t mess with the radio in his car;

they set off a day later, and max and lucas both see them off;

since it’s spring break, el has packed nothing but short dresses and her one pair of converse;

when mike’s car breaks down on day two amidst a thunderstorm;

stranded by the side of the road, they hitch a ride down to the nearest motel where they plan on spending the night while mike’s car gets repaired;

problems arise at the motel: first, the motel clerk books them a double room because it’s all that’s left beside a single. but it turns out that there’s only one bed. then a small fire breaks out when el overpowers an electrical socket. and, to top it off, the couple in the room next door are *loud* in their exploits;

*queue heavy romcom vibes*;

in the morning, they grab some waffles to go and check on mike’s car. it’s not going to be fixed for another day, so they spend that time getting to know one another;

mike’s sister is pregnant with her first child, and he’s actually pretty nervous because she’s chosen him to be the godfather and mike’s not sure he’s responsible enough;

el assures him that he is because, even when his car broke down and their night was *chaotic*, he somehow managed to keep his cool;

back at the motel, outside their room: just as they’re about to kiss, max calls el and interrupts the moment. she wants to knows how things are and if they’ve /done/ it yet because she and lucas have a bet going;

el hangs up on her, and when she gets inside the room, she finds mike sat on her side of the bed. he was clearly waiting for her;

he tells her that he likes her, /really/ likes her, and that he can’t help but think it’s fate that they’ve found each other. what are the odds that they’re both from the same place, right?;

el disagrees, saying she doesn’t believe in fate, but she admits to still falling for him;

*shit gets tense for maybe two seconds before mike kisses her*;

the next morning, they pick up his car and find that they’re only several hours away;

the car ride is silent for the most part, aside from the sounds on the radio;

tensions arise when a song comes on and el switches it to a different station; it played *last night* and she doesn’t wanna think about that right now because she feels awkward;

mike doesn’t understand why she would feel weird about it, so she explains that she has no experience with guys and being in such close proximity to him at all times is doing weird things to her;

he gets it (he thinks), and tries to reason with her that maybe they are *fated* and that’s why she feels strange around him, not because they had sex;

she denies this, yet again;

mike drops el off on her front doorstep, and he thanks her for her company, clearly wanting to say more;

he kisses her cheek because *cute* but then el pulls him into a kiss just as her front door opens and her dad steps out;

mike quickly excuses himself, realising he’s got seven missed calls: nancy’s water broke a few hours ago, and he’s gotta rush down to the hospital;

el explains everything to her dad, hopper, including who /that boy/ is and why she was kissing him;

hopper only really cares that she made it back safe, and he says the family has some important news to share with her because they haven’t seen her in a while and wanted to make it a moment; the timing’s a little late though;

nancy goes into labour shortly after mike arrives at the hospital, and it turns out her fiancé is actually el’s step-brother;

just then el arrives with her dad at the hospital, clearly at a loss; hopper explains that she’s going to be an aunt and el starts crying;

you can probably guess who the baby’s godmother is;

*queue awkward blushes and mileven walking toward each other from opposite sides of the hall*

“still think we’re not supposed to be together?”

that’s it, that’s the end.

tagging people who might enjoy this: @dustinhendrsn @calpurnias @janeswheeler @hopperels @proud-princess-el-wheeler @dustinsteves @mikewheeler @fatechica @caseyk112

[sunshinechay]

So a while ago, @blodreina-noumou tagged me in a positivity meme and because I’ve been super busy I haven’t had time to do it, but I am going to do it now because it’s a super good idea and I want to spread positivity. 

So the challenge to tag five of your mutuals as some of my favourite mutuals and explain why you love them. This is not an inclusive list, I could probably come up with a lot more :)

Firstly though, I’m going to say that I love Steph and I follow both her The 100 blog and her personal and both are just so great. She is great source for meta and Octavia content and while she can be salty about Clarke/Bellarke, she always tags it, which I appreciate. Her content always helps me take a step back and love the show for exactly what it is and she is also one of the blogs that makes me just love Octavia more. She is always sharing and posting interesting stuff about the show and the wonderful world we get to watch every week. So thank you for tagging me :)

1. @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold. A secret Kathryn doesn’t know is that I also followed her on my old blog that accidentally got deleted and due to a glitch in my tumblr app, I was still able to see my dash as it had been before the deletion happened, which she was on lol. I followed her a long time ago because I got super into Stranger Things and her blog was one of the first places I found amazing content for it so when I remade, I made sure to follow her again. I was also super happy when I started watching The 100 because she also makes amazing content for that too :) She is always so happy and positive about The 100 and Stranger Things and her gifs and edits are amazing. 

2. @johnmurphysass. Tricia holds the honour of being the first The 100 mutual that I spoke with as I descended down the rabbit hole that is The 100 and Bellarke. She is endlessly positive about our show and our ship and I love her to pieces for it. She  always seems interested in hearing what everyone is thinking about a particular event or plot point and I love hearing what she has to say about the show. She is also such a sweet person and I love her blog so much.

3. @fen-ha-fuck-you. Abby such a talented gif maker and is so well known in the fandom and I can certainly see why when I look at her amazing gifs and edits. Her love for Bellarke shows when she makes gifs of them and I love seeing her make something new, especially her “bellarke crumbs” series which is both amazing and often reminds me of moments that I had forgotten about from earlier in the series. She isn’t afraid to be honest with how she’s feeling about the show, which is amazing and refreshing.

4. @wanheda-waves / @radulovseguin. Ashlea was the first person to freak out with me over Roswell New Mexico, even though we followed each other for The 100 haha. She is just an absolute beacon of positivity among my mutuals and I love seeing her posts and what she has to say about the show and the characters we love. 

5. @proud-princess-el-wheeler. One of my fav Stranger Things mutuals, she isn’t afraid to talk about the show and the stuff that she loves. She is someone who ships a lot of the things I ship and she also has a pretty kick ass taste in music which is always fun and interesting to see as I’m not afraid to admit that musically I live under a rock (and not even a cool rock and roll rock, just a regular rock) Her love of Mileven feeds my love for Mileven and I love seeing her posts (also she ships gendrya, which is the only valid got ship (i kid of course))

Special shout out goes to my fam, @daenerya @joanna-lannister @viviansternwood @lameblake @blvke-bellamy @father-lion @maisieswilliams ya’ll are just so amazing to talk to everyday and I love being able to talk to ya’ll about this show that we love, as well as rant about the stuff that bugs us and just life’s general messes lol

Honourable mentions go to: @talistheintrovert @the-chiseled-dorito-of-justice @blodkru @alexmanes @starboyholden @marvelscaptainss @clarkgriffon @loveisalwayswise and so many other mutuals that I love, I could probably list you all (sorry guys!!! I love you!!!)

[ao3feed-mileven]

butterflies in your (aching) ribcage

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/37036f5

by everybreatheverymove

“I came to see you.” El explains, “To maybe sleepover, like last week? But…”

It’s almost an ache; tightening around her organs and replacing her lungs with butterflies, shaky and nervous and fluttering against her insides.

All she wants is to drown out the sound of the television static with Mike’s deep, warm breath against her neck, sending waves of goosebumps along her skin; to think of nothing but the two arms that’ll surely wrap around her tight and send her off into a slumber.

Mike smiles, “We can do that.”

Prompts: Softness & Stomach ache.

Words: 3184, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of two hundred words (or a thousand more)

Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Eleven | Jane Hopper, Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair

Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler

Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Teen Romance, Napping, One Shot, Prompt Fic, Romance, Post-Season/Series 03, Wheelclair banter, because it’s Mike second best ship and there isn't enough content so I’m here to serve, Technically this works as a contribution to, Mileven Week 2019, for “sharing clothes” so..., Suggestive Themes, in that El is a teenage girl and she’s curious but absolutely nothing happens

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/37036f5

[hannahberrie]

Everybody Talks | Chapter 16: Epilogue

Fandom: Stranger Things Pairings: Mileven, Lumax Rating: K WC: 7,870 Summary: You can hear it in the silence. You can feel it on the way home. You can see it with the lights out. You are in love.

[AO3] Chapter Selection: [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]-Epilogue-

It’s the 14th of December. Mike and El are seated on her bed, legs crossed as they face each other. Fat, flaky snowflakes fall against her bedroom window, dissolving into water droplets that trail down the glass. Though it’s only 4:30, the world outside is already fading into a charcoal-grey, and El has to keep her beside lamp on in order for them to see each other properly.

El fidgets with the index card she’s holding in her hand. As she talks, she flutters it back and forth, willing herself not to look at it.

“Genes are...” She begins slowly, mind working frantically. She pauses as she tries to remember the definition she’d copied onto the notecard. Their Biology oral presentation is only a few days away, and she has to have this memorized by then.

Mike smiles at her as he gives her an encouraging nod. “You got this!” He assures her.

El throws him a grateful look before continuing. “They’re…segments, segments of…” She shuts her eyes. Maybe she can see the word if she tries hard enough.

“Deo—?“ Mike offers.

“Deoxyribonucleic acid!” El exclaims, “DNA!”

“There you go!” Mike beams proudly. As El smiles proudly, he adds a hesitant offer, “Are you sure you don’t want me to start our speech? I don’t want you to feel so much pressure to say all these hard words.”

“No,” El refutes with a small shake of her head, “I want to do it. I want to get it right.”

Mike gives a nod of assent. “Okay.”

“Besides,” El adds casually, “Pressure isn’t always bad.” Her voice is light, nonchalant, unrevealing. Nevertheless, Mike seems to pick up on the coy connotations she’s purposely giving.

She really shouldn’t do this to him, but she can’t help herself. He just always gets so flustered looking and it’s completely adorable.

“Uh, yeah,” he admits, voice a little higher, “I guess pressure isn’t always so bad.”

El gives him a knowing look before continuing with her speech. “DNA synthesizes the proteins in our bodies,” she states, “Each molecule is a…a double helix shape. The helix is made of two strands, one of sugar, or…deo…deo…”

Her voice trails off as she tries to think of the proper name. Why did every word have to start with deo? After a few silent moments pass, she gives up and takes one glance at her notecard. “Deoxyribose! One strand is sugar, or deoxyribose, and the other is phosphate molecules.”

Mike is still looking pretty riled up. His cheeks are still pink and he keeps staring at her all wide-eyed. He’s so distracted by something that he doesn’t even congratulate her on her successful pronunciation.

At least, not in the way that she expects.

When he only blinks at her, El pouts a little. “I know I had to glance at the notecard,” She confesses, “But I can keep trying. I don’t want Mrs. Hawthorne to take off presentation points for reading off my notes.”

“No!” Mike finally exclaims, “You…you sounded great!”

El gives him a skeptical look. “Then why do you look so…weird?”

“I do?”

“Yes,” El smirks, raising her finger to bop his nose lightly. She turns her attention back to the index card in her hand. Maybe if she keeps looking at it, she’ll be able to memorize all the big words easier.

“I’m sorry,” Mike sighs, “It’s just…you sounded really good.”

“You said that already.”

“No, I mean like…really good.”

El frowns — not only because the words she’s reading are making her head hurt, but also because there’s no way her boyfriend is actually getting worked up over her reading off scientific terminology.

She glances up at him, just to make sure she’s not making assumptions, but nope — he’s giving her that look. The look that’s a hopelessly smitten mix of flushed cheeks, dark eyes, and a hopeful smile.

He’s seriously the biggest nerd ever.

“Thank you,” El replies dryly, forcing herself not to smile as she looks down again.

There’s a moment of silence and El can practically feel the tension brewing between them. Maybe tension isn’t the right word though. It sounds so negative, and this feeling is anything but. It’s like growing embers — warm and comforting with the potential for more.

After a minute or so of El looking over her notes, Mike interrupts the quiet. “Your dad’s not home, is he?” He asks, glancing at the doorway.

“No,” El replies, not looking up from her index card, “He has work, and then he’s going to help Will’s mom go get a Christmas tree. He said that we’ll go to Will’s house tomorrow to help decorate it.” El pauses as she processes this before adding, “You know, I think Max is right. I think he might like Joyce. He’s been acting so weird around her lately. I guess I’ll see tomorrow.”

She realizes that she’s been rambling (a trait she’s starting to pick up from hanging around Mike all the time), and probably taken the longest way possible to answer Mike’s simple question. “Anyway,” she concludes, glancing up at Mike, “He’s not home. Why?”

“Because,” Mike smiles shyly, “If he was, I’d kinda be too scared to do this.”

“To do what?” El frowns, but then without warning, Mike cups her face in his hands and pulls her in for an affectionate kiss.

Oh.

Oh.

El smiles against his lips as she uses her index card to playfully swat his shoulder. She wants to tease him for being such a big dork, or maybe say ‘deoxyribose,’ again, just to mess with him, but as their kiss increases in intensity, she starts to lose all coherent thought.

Mike is still the smartest person El knows. Not only that, but he’s also the fastest learner she knows. He’s a sponge for information. He can finish a book in a matter of hours or watch a documentary once and he’ll remember practically everything he learned.

This apt for quick learning naturally extended to everything, including kissing. The kisses they’d shared during the first couple weeks of their relationship had been soft and reserved. Neither really had any clue what they were doing, but that’s kind of what made it so fun — they got to figure it out together.

Mike was a very dedicated learner. He paid attention to every hitch of her breath, every contented sigh, every moan she blushingly tried to hide. Needless to say, his dedication paid off.

Like right now, for example. He pulls back just enough to capture her lower lip in an impassioned kiss. He uses his teeth to ever-so-gently tug and bite, and that’s when El just melts like the snowflakes against the windowsill.

Or, at least she would melt if she could get comfortable enough. Because as wonderful as Mike’s kisses are, they’re both still sitting with their legs crossed, which means they have to strain their necks to reach other, and it’s starting to get a little uncomfortable. Plus, they’re surrounded by their Biology textbooks, notes, and binders, so it’s a little crowded too.

She needs to fix this.

With a flick of her hand, El uses her powers to push all their schoolwork off her bed. It falls to the floor in a flurry of thudding books, fluttering notebook paper, and clattering pencils, but El could care less. She can always pick it up later, but she needs more of Mike now.

When their school things hit the floor, Mike pulls away in startled confusion. “What just happened?” He asks, looking at the mess.

El only grins as she uncrosses her legs and slides closer to him. “We need more room,” she says simply, obviously.

“Oh,” Mike grins back, looking unfairly adorable.

El leans in to pepper him with kisses because she really can’t get enough of him, she never will, and she doesn’t quite know what else to do with the warm, bubbly feeling growing near her gut. Her heart rate spikes as she continues to shower Mike with kisses. He’s all squirms and laughs and bashful exclamations of her name and El just wants more.

She pulls back and, with a playful smile, pushes Mike back onto the pillows. Mike falls backward, looking breathlessly excited—

—And winds up gasping in pain.

“Shit!” Mike groans, rubbing the back of his head.

“Mike?” El pales, looking alarmed. She hadn’t pushed him that hard, had she? He’d just landed on her pillow—

Shit.

“I hit my head on something,” Mike frowns, turning to look under the pillow. He retrieves the Hawkins High 1984 yearbook with a puzzled look on his face. “What the—?”

Shit, shit, shit, shit. WHY hadn’t she gotten rid of that yet!?

“Give me that!” El pleads.

She throws herself at him, but Mike shifts to the side and she falls face-first on the pillows instead.

“Jesus, El!” Mike exclaims, sounding torn between laughter and alarm, “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t look in it!” El snaps, squirming towards him.

“Why not!?” Mike asks, moving out of the way again. He looks at the yearbook more closely and spots the yellow Post-It notes. “Why do you have pages marked?”

El uses her powers to pull the yearbook out of Mike’s hands and into her own. The impact causes her to fall back against the pillows, but she doesn’t let go of the yearbook. She already had to go through this with Max, there’s no way she’s going to do it again.

However, just like Max, Mike is incredibly persistent.

“I wanna see!” He pleads, moving to hover over her.

“No!” El insists, holding the yearbook close to her heart as she looks up at him.

“Please?” Mike begs, giving her his signature puppy dog pout.

“No!” El repeats. She has to shut her eyes to avoid his pout. It’s too adorable, too powerful, and she knows she won’t be able to maintain her resolve if she keeps looking at him.

Of course, shutting her eyes turns out to be a fatal mistake, as that’s when Mike strikes. Without warning, he leans forward and attacks her sides, tickling her relentlessly.

“Mike!” El squeals, trying to squirm away. “S-stop!”

Mike only grins as he continues to wriggle his fingers over her stomach, sides, and hips. He knows how ticklish she is, because he’s done this before, and El both loves it and hates it.

As she writhes from his tickles, she raises her arms to defend herself. This causes the yearbook to fall from her grasp, and that’s all Mike needs. He catches it as it falls, straightens up, and sits on top of El’s legs so that she can’t get up to grab the book from him.

“Does this hurt?” Mike asks, looking down at her.

“No!” El huffs, trying to squirm away.

“Good — just checking,” Mike nods, turning his attention back to the yearbook.

She could use her powers to take the book back, but at this point, it seems pretty futile. Now that Mike knows about the yearbook, El can’t really think of anything she could do to deter his curiosity. So, she instead settles for crossing her arms and glaring up at him as he begins to flip through the pages.

“Alright,” Mike says, turning to the first sticky-noted page, “What do we got here?”

El remains silent as Mike looks over the page. When his gaze lands on the picture, his picture, the picture that she’d decorated with heart stickers after Homecoming night, his jaw drops.

“You were looking at my picture?” Mike gasps, glancing down at her.

El quirks an eyebrow at him. “Maybe.”

Mike’s eyes light up as his mouth curves into a smile. “Like…since when?”

Here we go.

“….Last year,” El admits.

Mike keeps smiling as he turns to the second marked page, the one with his AV Club photo. “You were looking at this one too?!” He exclaims in shock.

“Yes,” El sighs.

“Why!?”

El eyes him. Wasn’t it obvious? “I liked you.”

“You had a crush on me!?” Mike gawks.

El, still eying him warily, nods.

“Since last year?!”

Another nod.

At this admission, Mike bursts into laughter. It’s not a deriding or mocking laugh though, but rather one that radiates with happiness, like he’s stupidly, giddily excited about something.

“What’s so funny?” El asks defensively.

“I can’t believe you had a crush on me!” Mike replies gleefully, “That’s like, so embarrassing.”

“How?! We’re dating!” El exclaims, hitting his thighs (the only part of him she can currently reach with him sitting on her legs and everything).

“I know!” Mike continues to laugh, “But still!”

“I hate you,” El grumbles, poking his thighs a couple more times.

“Really?” Mike asks, turning to grin at her.

“Yes,” El insists, hating how her gaze lands on his smile or, to be more concise, his lips. She knows she supposed to be (pretending to be) mad at him, but it’s so hard when Mike sets the yearbook down, places his hands on either side of her, and hovers over her again.

El’s style is still evolving. Instead of strictly sticking to slick-backed hair and leather jackets, she sometimes opts for freed curls and soft sweaters. Other times, it’s a unique combination of both. She’s also decided to let her hair grow out — in the past, she had to trim it regularly so that it wouldn’t look too weird when it was slicked back. Now, she’s allowing herself to just leave it be and see what happens.

Consequently, her hair is a little longer, a little curlier. When Mike lowers his face so that it’s inches from hers, their curls brush in a way that almost makes El giggle, because they kind of match.

Mike has that look in his eyes as he scans her over. Still supporting himself with one hand, he carefully runs his opposite hand through her hair, over her shoulder, and down her arm. Despite the chill that seeps into her room from the outside, his touch leaves trails of embers down her skin.

She loves when he’s forward like this, when he’s not afraid to get closer. It’s admittedly rare, but lately he’s been getting better, bolder.

Except for when he’s not.

He’s leaning in to kiss her when he suddenly pulls away, leaving her high and dry.

“Mike,” El whines. She curls her fingers in the front of his shirt and tugs him back to her, “Come back.”

Mike, for once, doesn’t give into her pleads for kisses. Instead, he looks down at her torso skeptically, as if something has just dawned on him.

“What?” El asks nervously. Is something wrong?

“Isn’t this my sweater?” Mike questions, tugging on the hem of the sweater she’s wearing.

“Um,” El hesitates, looking down at the article in question.

Was it his sweater? Her favorite sweater of his? The one he’d worn when he was fixing the projector, or during their first Biology lab? The sweater she’d found crumpled up on the floor of his bedroom when she hung out at his house last weekend? The sweater that she’d hastily stuffed into her backpack, just because she really wanted it? The sweater that was impossibly soft, and smelt like his soap, his laundry detergent, and the musk that was unmistakably him?

Obviously not.

“No!” El answers innocently.

“I’m pretty sure it is,” Mike smirks, “So, like, first you’re staring at pictures of me, and now you’re stealing my clothes?”  

El feels her cheeks flush red with embarrassment. “You left me 20 voicemails!” She reminds him.

“You snuck into my house,” Mike counters.

“You got into a fight for me!”

“You got in one for me!”

“You bought me every kind of Eggos!”

“You’re still obsessed with me.”

And you’re still in love me, El wants to say, but the words die in her throat. She doesn’t know if she dares to say something so…so resonant. She knows that she’s in love with Mike, but she’s never told him. He’s certainly never told her that he’s in love with her. Even though ‘in’ is such a tiny word, to be in love with someone somehow seems so much more weighted than to just love someone.

“You’re still dumb,” she mumbles instead, averting her gaze.

“And you’re still wearing my sweater,” Mike mutters back, idly running a hand over her sleeve.

This time, the words El wants to say come out before she can stop them. “Then come take it back,” she offers, and this time, her connotations aren’t coyly masked, but flirtatiously candid.

Mike’s eyes widen in surprise, because she’s never said anything like that, they’ve never done anything like that, but when El only smiles invitingly up at him, she’s pretty sure she can pinpoint the exact moment his heart explodes.

“Okay,” he mumbles back thickly, and then his lips are back on hers, and El is pulling at the back of his hoodie, dragging him closer to her.

She can feel her heart racing faster in her chest, filling her veins with adrenaline. She’s not sure that she’s ready to go super far, but she’s definitely willing to test the waters a little…maybe a lot…

Mike lowers the arms he’s been using to support himself. He instead allows himself to lie on top of her, all the while being careful not to move too quickly or crush her under his weight. El doesn’t mind the feeling of him pressed against her though. The pressure is quite nice, actually, but it’s still not enough.

More, her thoughts plead, more, more, more.

She tentatively spreads her lips and Mike eagerly accepts the invitation. It’s admittedly a little awkwardly clumsy at first — he doesn’t know what he’s doing, he hasn’t learned, not yet — but then his tongue brushes against hers in just the right way, and El’s pretty sure that she sees stars. The adrenaline pumping through her pulsates with an electric charge, like she’s been struck by lightning or gotten her finger too close to an electrical socket.

As they continue to kiss openly, it idly occurs to El that neither of those are great analogies, as both would most likely get her killed. Then again, in that sense, maybe those are the perfect analogies, since Mike’s kisses are certainly going to be the death of her.

His fingers are just brushing underneath the hem of her sweater when the doorbell rings.

El and Mike don’t part at the sound, not at first. Instead, Mike keeps kissing her with an increased sense of urgency.

She doesn’t want to stop, but then the doorbell rings a second time, and El can’t bring herself to ignore it, especially since she knows who it is.

“Mike,” El says as she grudgingly pulls away, “We have to go.”

Mike doesn’t seem to care. He stays connected to her like static cling, moving his lips to her neck the moment she breaks their kiss. He nibbles and sucks on her skin fervently, seemingly determined to convince her to stay through his kisses.

“Mike,” El repeats. She tries to make her voice sound firm and reprimanding, but it’s so, so hard when his mouth is doing that.

“Five more minutes,” Mike pleads, breath hot against her skin.

“Our friends are here,” El reminds him.

“They can wait,” Mike shrugs, not moving away.

“It’s snowing. They can’t wait in the cold.”

“Says who?”

“Says...nice people.”

“I’m a nice man,” Mike quotes.

“No you’re not,” El quotes back, “You’re a scoundrel.”

Mike replies by smiling into the crook of her neck. He continues to kiss and bite her there with a renewed fervor, much to El’s reluctant enjoyment (also: why did he always have to get so worked up over Star Wars? He’s responding way too eagerly to her quoting it to him).

“Mike,” she pleads.

“El,” Mike whines back.

El jokingly muses to herself that her true powers aren’t telekinesis, but rather the strength it takes to pull away from Mike. She forces herself to squirm out from under him and get off the bed, making sure to step over the mess of their school things on the floor.

Mike makes a disappointed whining sort of sound, like a kid who’d just gotten a time-out. He rolls onto his back and stays on top of her bed, pouting at her.

“I have to get the door,” El says as the doorbell rings for the third time.

“Why don’t you get the door, bring them to the living room, then come back up here?” Mike suggests.

When El was in middle school, Hopper had given her The Talk. It was horribly uncomfortable for both of them, but Hopper pointed out that it was necessary because she was getting older and needed to be careful, since boys only ever had ‘One Thing On Their Minds.’

This much is evident in Mike’s case. Whenever they get intimate like this, it’s obvious that he has One Thing On His Mind: not pressuring her or going all the way, but anxiously waiting until they can kiss again and planning exactly how he can make that happen. El only knows this because she often feels the same way.

Except for right now, when all of their friends are downstairs.

“I’m not doing that,” El snorts.

“Please?” Mike pleads, “I miss you.”

“I’m right here!”

“But you’re not over here.”

“Correct!” El teases.

Mike groans dejectedly and slumps back on the pillows.

“Maybe we can continue later,” El offers.

“Really?” Mike asks, perking up excitedly.

“Maybe,” El reiterates.

“When’s later?”

“I’ll tell you.”

“Fine,” Mike sighs, rising from the bed. He moves to stand in front of her, leans in, and presses one final kiss to the tender sore spot on her neck.

—Wait a minute.

El gasps in alarm as she runs to her dresser and grabs the handheld mirror lying atop it. When she looks at her reflection, her worries are confirmed: Mike’s left a huge, mauve-colored mark on her neck, right above her collarbone.

If their friends see it, they’ll never let it go. It’d be the next Fruit Loops debacle.

“I can’t believe you!” El huffs. She turns around to glare at Mike, but he only replies with a smirk. It’s the same kind of smirk he’d given her when he’d said ‘bullshit’ just to get detention with her: accomplished, self-satisfied, and irritatingly endearing.

“Sorry,” Mike says, not sounding apologetic in the slightest.

El turns back to the mirror with another huff. She plays with the collar of her (Mike’s) sweater, trying to get it to lay over the hickey, but it doesn’t work. The sweater just slumps back down every time, leaving her neck exposed.

Damn it.

“Here,” Mike offers, walking over to her side. He peels off his navy hoodie and hands it to her, leaving him in a collared shirt. “This should help.”

El turns to accept the hoodie and slips it on. Thankfully, the hoodie is bulky enough to cover her collarbone.

It also smells like him. So, that’s like, an additional bonus.

“Thank you,” El softens, already secretly plotting how she can keep this hoodie.

“You’re welcome,” Mike smiles back, leaning down to give her lips a small peck.

El beams up at him. It takes everything within her to not lean back in for another kiss, but she knows that if she does, she won’t be able to stop.

Plus, then the doorbell rings for the fourth time, and then the fifth, and sixth, and she realizes that their friends are probably getting impatient.

“Let’s go,” El instructs, grasping Mike’s hand and leading them out of her room.

Mike follows her dutifully, interlacing their fingers as they head to the stairs. “Why do our friends have the worst timing ever?”

“They’re here at the time we told them to be,” El reminds him.

“I know,” Mike whines, “But still.”

“I still don’t see why we would couldn’t do this at your house,” El replies as she and Mike, still hand-in-hand, descend the stairs together.

“Because, Nancy just came home for Christmas break!” Mike explains, “And the last time you guys hung out together at Thanksgiving, you went through my baby pictures with my mom and it was totally embarrassing!”

“Exactly,” El replies, giggling at the memory.

“‘Exactly’ is right,” Mike huffs.

“Well, your mom invited me over for Christmas Eve,” El reminds him, “So, I’ll see her then.”

“Fine with me — that gives me plenty of time to hide every photo album we own.”

El throws him a light-hearted eye roll before she stops in front of the entryway door and opens it.

They’re greeted by the sight of all four of their friends bundled in puffy coats, long scarves, and knit hats. Their noses and cheeks are a frosted pink, and as the door swings open, a rush of icy December wind rushes into the foyer.

“Finally!” Max exclaims.

“We were freezing our asses off out here!” Dustin adds, teeth chattering.

“Thanks for inviting us over!” Will pipes up.

“Now let us in!” Lucas begs.

El and Mike move out of the way and allow their friends to hurry inside.

“I’m sorry you had to wait,” El apologizes as they stomp the snow off their boots. She releases Mike’s hand and moves forward to close the front door, shutting out the bitter chill.

“We were studying for Bio upstairs,” Mike adds, hands in his pockets.

“I’m sure you were,” Dustin smirks.

“You guys are gonna ace the human anatomy section,” Max adds wryly.

El and Mike’s cheeks flush even redder than their friends’, which is really saying something, since their friends still look like they’re freezing.

“We’re studying genetics!” El defends hotly, “Not...not that.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Lucas sighs, taking off his jacket and boots, “Let’s just get started.”

“Okay,” El nods. After her friends remove their winter attire, she leads the way into the living room. There’s a hearty fire flickering in the fireplace and a modest sized Christmas tree in the corner. The couches that normally rest in the center of the living room have been pushed to the sides of the room to make space for the folding table and chairs she and Mike set up earlier in the day. On top of the table rests the Dungeons and Dragons game board, along with all the pieces they’ll need to play.

“You have a nice house,” Will smiles, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

“Thank you!” El beams back. She motions to the coffee table off to the side, “I have some snacks if you guys get hungry. There’s pretzels and cookies and candy canes and—“

“Oh my god,” Dustin exclaims, already rushing to grab some of everything, “Your girlfriend is amazing, Mike.”

Mike turns to throw El a small smile. “She is,” he mumbles, so low that only El can hear it.

El almost starts to consider Mike’s proposition to leave their friends in here while they return to her room. Almost. But she knows that wouldn’t be very polite, and besides, she did say that she and Mike could continue things later. ‘Later’ would only come after they finished this game, so she had to get a move on.

El goes to take her seat at the table, followed by Mike and Lucas. Max and Dustin join them a few moments later, both carrying several snacks.

“So,” Mike begins, retrieving a binder from where he’d left it under the table, “Did you guys finish creating your characters?”

El nods proudly. She’d spent more time than she probably should have designing her Mage, but whatever — it was fun. Mike had helped her create a backstory for her character and everything. He also assured her that yes, her Mage could secretly be dating his Paladin, if that’s what she really wanted (it was).

“Yeah, me too,” Max concurs, “I had time to work on designing my character after I finished studying for my English final.” As the words leave her mouth, She pauses and grimaces. “Oh my god, I think that’s like, the geekiest thing I’ve ever said.”

“One of us, one of us!” Dustin chants teasingly, pounding his fists on the table.

Max flicks a pretzel at him, the first of what will probably be many.

“What character class did you decide on?” Will asks Max.

“Zoomer,” she answers confidently.

Though Mike’s face is partially obscured by the DM’s screen he’s sitting behind, El’s still able to catch the bewildered frown he makes. “A what?”

“A Zoomer,” Max repeats.

The boys exchange hesitant glances. They all look like they’re deciding whether or not to tell her something.

“That’s not a real character class!” Dustin finally blurts out.

“So?” Max shrugs, “You said I could create my own.”

“Your own character,” Mike clarifies, “Not your own classes.”

“Is there a difference?” Max asks flippantly.

“Kind of,” Lucas admits.

“It’s okay,” Will assures Max, “I think it’s cool that you created a new class.” He turns to give the other boys warning looks, to which they reluctantly relent.

“Yeah,” Mike sighs, “I guess it’s cool.”

“Super cool!” Lucas adds, sounding far more believable than Mike.

Dustin manages to not say any further challenging comments, but that doesn’t stop him from shaking his head forlornly. “Anyway,” he says, turning to Mike, “What’s the name of this campaign?”

Mike clears his throat and replies in a dramatic, theatrical sort of voice. “Expedition to the Castle of the Forgotten King!”

“That’s the title?” Max questions, raising an eyebrow.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to come up with a better one, okay?!” Mike justifies, “I’ve been busy!”

“With El?”

“With studying for exams!”

“I think the title is great!” El cuts in, throwing Mike a reassuring look.

“Can we just start already?” Lucas pleads eagerly, “We haven’t had a campaign in forever.”

Mike clears his throat again before he proceeds to read the introduction to the campaign. He gets so dramatic about the entire thing, it’s actually like, the cutest thing El’s ever seen. He keeps reading in that theatrical voice, pauses to create tension, and uses his own sound effects to make it all feel so much more real.

El turns to glance at her friends excitedly, because this is already the best thing ever, but the rest of them are watching Mike seriously, listening closely, taking it all in. Even Max seems determinedly focused, so El decides that she better pay attention too.

As this is her and Max’s first campaign, it takes a bit for them to fully get into it. The boys have to walk them through all the gameplay, like how to take actions, how to make die rolls, and how to gain experience points. It’s all pretty complicated and confusing to El at first, but the boys are chivalrously patient with both her and Max.

As their adventure continues, the stakes grow higher. The action increases in tenfold, and soon they’re all on the edges of their seats, hanging onto every last word of Mike’s direction.

In the final moments of the campaign, through their collective skills and abilities, their party successfully slays the dragon that dwells in the dungeon beneath the castle. They then stumble across a trove of treasure, which Mike describes in vivid detail.

“You’ve found it!” Mike reads quickly, excitedly, “The lost treasure of the Forgotten King! While the dragon’s lair was dank and decrepit, this room glows with the shine of thousands of jewels. Their light reflects off the towering abundance of golden coins, goblets, and crowns. Through your face is speckled with the blood of the slain dragon and the dirt of a journey long traveled, when you slip the crown onto your head, you feel the power of success flow through your veins. Your valiant efforts have paid off. You’ve won.”

El and the rest of her friends burst into cheers. They exchange fist-bumps, high-fives, and sighs of relief.

“Holy shit! We’re freaking loaded!” Dustin exclaims, “We’re gonna have enough gold to do whatever we want!”

“What happens next?” El asks Mike enthusiastically.

“That’s it,” Mike shrugs, shutting his Dungeon Master’s manual.

There’s a beat of silence as everyone realizes that the story has come to an end.

“Wait, that’s it?” Max frowns, “That’s the ending?”

“Uh, yeah?” Mike replies, as if this was obvious.

“But we just got started!” Dustin whines.

“We’ve been playing for five hours!” Mike points out, holding up his watch. Sure enough, it’s now well past 10 PM. The once-gray sky has now darkened into an inky black, leaving the fireplace as the main source of light in the room. The reflection of the flames dances off their faces, making everyone’s faces glow with a warm amber light.

“It felt shorter,” Lucas laments, “I think it should have been longer.”

“Forget longer!” Max huffs, “It should have been better written!”

“What do you mean?” Mike asks indignantly.

“There’s so many things that you either didn’t finish, left out, or glossed over!” Max critiques.

“Like what?!”

“Like the prince!” Lucas offers, “You just left him stuck in the tower!”

“He’ll get out!” Mike frowns.

“But what about the princess and her two knights?” Dustin adds, “You mentioned them like, once, and we never even got to meet them.”

“Or the Captain of the Guard and the Halfling storekeeper?” Max says, “You kind of made it seem like they had some kind of relationship going on, and then it just went nowhere.”

“None of those things mattered to the campaign!” Mike snaps, “All of those characters were NPC’s! Why do you even care?”

“We were invested!” Dustin exclaims.

“Fine!” Mike huffs, “I’m sorry, I guess. But just because this adventure is over doesn’t mean that the story of the campaign is over!”

“Are you going to continue it?” Will asks hopefully.

“Maybe!” Mike shrugs, “I dunno!”

“Well, if you do, it better be good,” Lucas replies, “Like, better than this one.”

“That won’t be hard,” Max snorts.

“Even if it wasn’t perfect, it was good,” El says definitively, “We had fun.”

None of their friends can disagree with that.

“Yeah, I guess it was pretty fun,” Max admits. Her eyes widen as she glances at everyone anxiously, “That doesn’t leave this room.”

“Too late,” Dustin grins, “Your secret is out Max! You’re a nerd!”

“I’m not!” Max insists.

“You like arcade games, Star Wars, and Dungeons and Dragons,” El points out, counting off the items on her fingers.

“And Lucas,” Mike teases.

Lucas and Max both try to look offended, but both of them know that everything El and Mike just said is completely true.

“We’re all kind of nerds,” Will summarizes, turning to give everyone a smile, “But that’s good.”

“Only because being normal is overrated,” Max sighs, slumping back in her chair.

“It totally is,” Mike nods.

The conversation concludes when one of their parents rings the doorbell. Every member of their party jolts at the sound. It feels as if some sort of spell has broken. Their adventure really is over, and it’s time for them to return home.

Mr. Sinclair has arrived and offered to give Max a ride home, so the party gathers in the foyer to wish Lucas and Max goodbye.  

“I’ll see you Monday,” Max murmurs to El as she hugs her goodbye.

“See you Monday,” El mumbles back, hugging her friend tightly.

“And,” Max adds, voice a dry whisper, “Next time you and President Nerd decide to get busy, you might wanna bring a scarf.”

El frowns in confusion, but then she glances down and realizes that her hoodie has slipped lower, revealing that damned hickey.

El makes an embarrassed squeak as she quickly readjusts the hoodie, but Max only smiles, pulls away, and heads out the door hand-in-hand with Lucas.

Though the snowfall has stopped, the night is still bitingly cold. The streetlamp near El’s house illuminates her front lawn, causing the untouched snow to shimmer. As Max and Lucas follow Mr. Sinclair to the car parked in the driveway, their steps leave wandering trails of footprints in their wake. El, Mike, Dustin, and Will watch them from the front doorway as they leave, waving goodbye forlornly.

“See ya’ later dweebs!” Max calls out as Lucas boards his dad’s car.

“Later, MadMax!” Dustin calls back.

For once, Max doesn’t flip him off for the nickname. Instead, she only throws Dustin an exasperated smile before following Lucas into the car. Mr. Sinclair’s car backs out of the driveway, and much too soon, Mrs. Henderson’s car has taken its place.

Since Hopper and Joyce were going to get the Christmas tree today, Dustin’s mom is going to drive him home.

“We’re still gonna compare our To Kill a Mockingbird notes before our exam on Monday, right?” Dustin asks as he hugs El goodbye.

“Of course!” El nods.

“Awesome!” Dustin replies gratefully. He moves to wish Mike goodbye and Will steps up to hug El like Dustin had.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Will,” El murmurs as she gives Will a comforting hug goodbye.

“I can’t wait!” Will replies excitedly, “I made a new mixtape for you, this one has Bowie on it!”

The mixtape exchange is a thing the two of them started recently — Will makes one for her with some of his favorite songs, and El does the same in return. Thanks to each other, El’s grown an even bigger soft spot for pop, and Will has developed an appreciation for music that he likes to call ‘loud, but good.’

“Mine has Metallica!” El smiles, “I think you’ll like it. I’ll give it to you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good!” Will nods.

More goodbye hugs and lighthearted banter are exchanged before Dustin and Will leave through the front door. The house is noticeably quiet once their friends are gone, and even though El knows she’s going to see them within the next couple days, she already misses having them here.

Mike returns to the living room and proceeds to pack up his Dungeons and Dragons supplies. El watches as he carefully sorts the pieces into bags and little boxes before placing everything into the messenger bag he likes to keep it all in. Once he finishes, he sets the bag on top of the table and goes to lie on top of the couch. As he lowers himself onto it, he lets off a heavy, tired sigh.

El knows that he puts so much effort into his campaigns and that he must be pretty exhausted, but she doesn’t want him to get too sleepy, not yet.

She carefully tiptoes over to him, trying to stay as stealthy as possible. Mike doesn’t hear or see her coming, and when he closes his eyes to sigh again, that’s when she makes her move.

“Surprise!” El squeals, throwing herself on top of him.

Mike yelps in startled surprise as El lands on him. “El!” He exclaims as she wraps her arms around his neck, pulling herself up so that they’re face-to-face.

“Mike!” El giggles, rubbing their noses together.

Any indignation Mike may have harbored over her surprise attack quickly melts away. His face softens as he looks up at her. Their chests are pressed together and El can feel that her heart is still racing from leaping on top him, and from just being near him.

She hopes that he feels it too.

“What time is your Mom coming to get you?” El asks after a moment, running her fingers through the back of his hair.

“11:00,” Mike replies, lips curving into a gentle smile, “So, we still have like, plenty of time.”

“Good,” El smiles back.

Despite the fact that they’re alone, blissfully alone, neither moves in to kiss the other. Instead, they take time to study each other’s faces. Their features are still shadowed in the amber light of the fireplace, but now that they’re on the couch, closer to the tree, their faces are also dotted with the colorful reflection of Christmas lights. Mike, with his warm shadows and vibrant highlights and cheekbones and effortlessly wavy hair, looks like a mosaic, like a work of art.

With the way Mike’s looking at her, she gets the feeling that he’s thinking something similar. He raises his thumb to brush against her lips, and El gives it a gentle, chaste kiss as it passes by.

The clock that’s mounted on the wall ticks as the seconds pass. It’s the only sound to be heard in this secluded living room, alongside Mike and El’s steady, even breathing.

And then it happens.

“I think I’m in love with you,” Mike whispers.

It’s simple, down-to-earth, and not incredibly romantic. Well, at least not by the standards of the soap operas and romance movies she watches. On TV, the dashing love interests always proclaim their feelings with chauvinistic grandeur. There’s sweeping music, profound and poetic declarations of love, and sometimes even a ring, depending on the situation.

All of the romance movies she watches are kind of boring like that, El suddenly realizes. The movies don’t even begin to capture what love really feels like. It’s not always dramatic proclamations of adoration from a hunky, dreamboat actor. Sometimes love was a scrawny kid covered in heart-adorned band-aids showing up at her door with an armful of Eggos. Sometimes love was that scrawny kid comparing her to a star system. It didn’t have to be poetic; sometimes it was only seven-words — tentatively whispered, yet resoundingly true.

The more El thinks about this, the more she realizes how silly she was for ever doubting that Mike loved her. That he was in love with her. The signs were right in front of her all along, she just wasn’t daring enough to admit that they were true.

And so, when Mike tells her that he’s in love with her, what else is there really to say?

“I know,” El whispers back.

Mike’s eyes widen. “Did you just—?”

—Quote Star Wars in response to his declaration of love?

Obviously.

El bites down on her lip as she tries not to giggle. “Yes.”

There’s no way to properly describe how Mike looks at her then. The only way El can really process it is in relation to other things.

He breathes out, like the way one might as a rollercoaster finally comes to an end. Like his nerves are still jumbled, his heart is still racing, but he can finally breathe again.

His body relaxes with contentment, like the way one’s might after returning from a long trip away.

He reaches out to touch her cheek and his eyes are full with reverent wonder, like the way he looks at the photographs of galaxies in his science textbooks.

He looks at her like she’s his sense of repose, his home, his world.

El knows that they’re still young, probably too young to be feeling this strongly about each other, but as El into his eyes, her mind flutters with perennial, fragmented words like binary stars, the one, and forever.

She can’t even think in complete sentences, that’s what he’s done to her.

Mike leans in so that their lips are only inches apart. His voice soft, loving — he whispers, “Hey, El?”

“Yes, Mike?”

“Is it later yet?”

In 15 minutes, Hopper will return from The Byers. Mike and El with jolt up from the couch with a start, blushing furiously and hoping that Hopper won’t notice (he will).

Tomorrow, El will spend the day at the Byers, and as she helps Will decorate his Christmas tree, she’ll notice the strange look her Dad gets on his face when he looks at Joyce, like he’s found something.

In 11 days, it’ll be Christmas morning. Mike will come over sometime during the afternoon to give her the necklace he’d gotten for her — a simple, silver chain adorned with two tiny stars. Hopper will give Mike his present — a new bike, and El won’t be able to stop herself from taking a picture of the stupidly surprised look Mike gets on his face. Mike will get all huffy, because he hates pictures, but then when El gives him her present, a limited edition Star Wars comic book, all will quickly be forgiven.

In one year, one of El’s best friends (and future step-brother), will finally confess the feelings he’s been trying to sequester. El will assure Will that he’s not a freak, that there’s nothing wrong with him, just like he’d done to her.

In less than two years, during the summer between their Junior and Senior year, El will finally grow tired of wanting more of Mike, instead needing all of him. It’ll be another learning curve peppered with ‘are you sure?’ and ‘is this okay?’ (she’ll be completely sure; it’ll totally be more than ok), but as always, they’ll figure it out together.

As time goes on, there’ll only be more things to figure out about love. Mike and El’s future, while currently unknown to the both of them, is still unfurling and expanding with every moment they spend together. There’ll be time to discover what’s in store, all the time in the world, actually, but right now—

“Yes,” El murmurs, brushing her lips against his cheek, then his jaw, “It’s later.”

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