#WHY DO WE CARE WHAT MIKE WHEELER’S SEXUALITY IS

[riri-loves-cats]

Guys listen you don’t need to hate a popular ship just because you like a less popular ship…

for example (and this is just an example, I’m not targeting these specific people)

I see a lot of posts under Mileven, that is JUST talking about Mike and Eleven, and they have anti-byler in the tags even though there’s NO mention of will. Also all this discourse about who’s gonna end up with Mike in canon. IT DOESNT MATTER. If he ends up with will, cool! If he ends up with Eleven, cool! If he ends up with someone else/doesn’t end up with anyone, cool! Why are we hating on random people on the internet for shipping two people that you don’t ship? don’t get me wrong, not everyone has to like the same ship, but let’s not hate on other people for liking a different one okay?

I really don’t want to see ‘anti-*ship name*’ in the tags unless you’re ranting about why you dislike the ship. And also even if you are ranting, you don’t need to throw hate on people that do ship those two people. Just talk about why you don’t like it and go.

Another thing, sometimes I see on a post talking about how ‘You definitely shouldn’t ship this because it’s not the most popular ship!!!!’ I kid you not, that was the exact reasoning on this one post I saw.

Of course, there are some ships that aren’t good at all, such as P3d0philia, and stuff like that. Those are a different story.

| If I missed anything or accidentally offended anyone, please let me know! I assure you, I did not mean to do that. I usually make these posts when I’m bored and/or half-asleep, so I forget to make some points and/or don’t think when I’m writing. My English also isn’t very good, so please let me know if I accidentally offended you or anyone else. Have a nice day and remember to drink some water<33 |

[thefirstlioveyou]

How Smalltown Boy Connects with Mike's Relationship with his Parents

I can't get over how they chose Smalltown Boy for the FIRST track on Mike's playlist. I just can't. That's the gayest thing ever. Gayer than his staring I fear. The lyrics perfectly fit him, but not only because he's a closeted homosexual. It's also highlighting his dynamic with his family.

Of course, if we are getting into specifics, Smalltown Boy is a song about a young gay man running away from his homophobic home and town to live in the city to somewhere he can be himself. But generally, it's a song about not belonging and not feeling understood within a place, and the crippling loneliness that comes with it. So you seek a place where you can feel accepted and heard.

Struggling to figure out your place in the world, struggling with your sexuality and relationships, facing severe bullying, wanting to be understood and seen by your family for who you actually are while still struggling to accept who you are to begin with, desiring the escape from the place that brings you all those unmanageable problems -- That's Mike Wheeler.

"Mother will never understand why you had to leave, but the answers you seek will never be found at home. The love that you need will never be found at home"

Obviously, the actual plot of the music video features homophobic parents. I don't believe Karen is, and I see Ted as more brainwashed yet careless. But "the love that you need will never be found at home" reminds me of the Wheeler family's emotional distance and lack of actual attention, and how it's damaging Mike especially. Nancy's already seen right through the bullshit. Mike hasn't.

I don't see them as the worst parents on the planet, but they're haven't been great. They have questionable parenting choices and the show wants us to pick up on that. If you haven't yet asked yourself "where the hell are his parents?" at least ONCE while watching ST, then idk lmao.

Come on. Not knowing your son has been hiding a whole child in your basement for a week?

Never talking to your son about his best friend's death and instead letting him take the responsibility to go to you first?

Not taking concern as to why your son is suddenly misbehaving at school? And instead, you force your child to get rid of 2 boxes worth of toys that hold emotional value to him (while mocking him for having said emotional connection)?

Not even being aware that your child is constantly bullied physically and verbally, and not even questioning visible marks that could indicate that sort of abuse?

Although it's unintentional and we see Karen aware that it's wrong, you're still essentially teaching your child that 1) their feelings or voice do not matter 2) they cannot trust or rely on you 3) their 'childish' interests that make them who they are do not matter and are something they need move on from because they "have to."

And we see this play out.

If his parents can't even accept his innocent interests or show more consideration for them, if it just makes him a future high school dropout or a failure, what makes Mike believe they'd ever accept he's Gay?

Mike NEEDS a support system. He NEEDS parents who care MORE instead of waiting until government is at their doorstep. That type of love has not been consistent whatsoever at the Wheelers. To Mike, that kind of love cannot be found in his home. The answers to his problems cannot be found in his home. In fact, his upbringing is a big reason why he's in this complicated relationship with El to begin with. and he's accepted all that to be fine, despite us seeing how it's turning him into someone unable to manage their emotions who struggles with their relationships communication-wise.

"And as hard as they would try they'd hurt to make you cry. But you never cried to them, just to your soul. No, you never cried to them, just to your soul"

This refers to the severe bullying he faces that Mike confirms he's put up with all his life (just for it to be shut down immediately). His parents aren't aware. If Karen, his own mother, doesn't question a giant scab on his chin but some girl who is barely learning what friends are does, don't you think that says something?

"I'm here for you" doesn't mean anything if you aren't actively trying to actually be there. you have to look harder. look at what's right in front of you.

Sure, his mom hugs him! But I really hope we can all agree physical affection isn't the only thing that a child needs to trust. There is reason behind why we've never actually seen them talk about anything that's actually bothering him. Mike is not yet convinced he can go to his parents about the things we know he's facing, and the things that are implied that he's facing. Instead he handles it alone as a result of just "letting him come when he's ready."

The only adult who wasn't afraid to actually talk to him and not let his emotions bottle up was...

"Pushed around and kicked around, always a lonely boy. You were the one that they'd talk about around town as they put you down."

Part of this could be about his bullying experience in general, but I also believe this was foreshadowing for events in S5. Mike and the rest of hellfire are now targets and deemed part of a satanic cult. The whole town are against them and want them gone. Going from to feeling insecure for your 'childish' interests because of your parents, to becoming accepting of that part again, to now wanting to be killed for it by your town. Ain't that nice? Won't that gonna do wonders for this boy? :)

I actually predict they will take some inspiration next season from the hate crime scene in the music video. Perhaps The Hellfire Club/The Core Four/Mike will be attacked and Mike will be brought home/come home beaten.

In the actual music video, the boy's parents find out he's gay from that and they do not accept it.

However, in the show, I think it'll be focused on him being in Hellfire (since DND is a metaphor for gay love between Mike and Will). I imagine it'll be like, "Michael, why are you still associating with them? You know what would happen!" They'd get mad at him for essentially "walking right into it himself." This sets off conflict in the Wheeler Family this season. Mike finally snaps at them, telling them it was bound to happen anyway. He mentions the bullying he's already delt with his whole life. He sees his parents' sudden care in his life as BS and how it had to take the entire town to hate him for them to finally see him.

Another scene they could parallel within this one scene (or in another) could be Jack McPhee's coming out scene from Dawson's Creek, a show the Duffers loved growing up. We often see parallels to that show when it comes to the show's drama, primarily with the El-Mike-Will Love triangle to the Joey-Dawson-Jen Triangle. Mike is also heavily paralleled to Jack McPhee.

In the coming out scene, Jack tells his emotionally neglectful father (who is definitely worse than Ted) - "I was different. And as hard as you've tried to stamp it out and ignore it, I have tried harder than you to be quiet and to forget it and to not bother my family with my problem."

If this doesn't sum up what's going on then idk what does.

It's not that his parents hate him for what they know about him, but they also aren't supportive either. They ignore him. They ignore everything outside of their own little bubble. They close themselves from the truth of what's going on in the town. They close themselves from their kids. They push them to hide and stay quiet, but that's just not who Mike and Nancy are.

We also know we're into some Wheeler drama this season considering all the leaks with Karen/Holly(?)/Henry and the interview with Joe Chrest (Ted's Actor). So scenes like this aren't far off the table.

Mike is a character that is struggling overall with his place in the world and identity. He is struggling with his self worth, his sexual orientation, his relationships, accepting the interests that make him who he is. He is conforming to societal pressures (much similar to his parents) because he doesn't know where else to go. He is confused. He struggles with self-worth and severe insecurity. He does not feel needed unless he is actively doing someone of service to the point of sacrificing his life, much like a superhero, hence his fixation of them. Superheroes are people who are wanted, who are heard and seen - Something Mike feels he isn't.

He's growing up in a small and conservative town, internalizing the homophobia he witnesses, internalizing what he HAS to be and has to feel - He has to want girls (and yeah, believe it or not, homophobia still impacts queer people regardless who it's directed to. there's reason why we see mike's reaction over anyone else's). But he just can't, yet he still tries because otherwise that'd be falling off a "normal path." He has to get rid of his toys and grow up to keep on a "normal path." He has to conform because he fears what would happen if you don't. That's something he's unfamiliar with.

Mike needs to be finally seen by his family. His overall major struggle with conformity stems from there. It's what he needs emotionally, but it also makes sense narratively. It has to be from them. His whole arc along with them is to break free from their conformity, and it starts with the facing their truths as a family.

Mike won't end up making the choice the boy has to in the music video. In the end, he will have his family's support and acceptance. He will be able to be true to who he is. He will accept himself. He won't need to runway in fear. I do still believe he will leave Hawkins (with Will). It just won't be on a bad note!!

[lillie98]

How to Save the World—Stranger Things 5

I’ve had some time to sleep on the episode titles and think about them, read theories, etc. and I now believe they might be real.

Hear me out: Stranger Things is all about cycles, parallels, tropes happening over and over again. The Duffers love taking a moment and repeating it in slightly different ways to prove a point. The story started with “The Vanishing of Will Byers” because we needed to place a small, innocent child in the center of our story, something to bring our character together and drive them to action. Well, that child is no longer in danger and our team is ripping apart at the seams. It’s almost like we need something similar to reunite everyone and drive them to action again.

Remember: The Duffers love parallels. Will’s disappearance brought his deeply fractured family together, uniting them for a common cause. It also brought Nancy and Jon together when their families needed them most. Now, the Byers are a united front, ready to tackle any monster that comes their way. They are the glorification of the avant-gard family. Now which family is struggling? The Wheelers. The perfect, All-American Nuclear Family: Mom, Dad, 3 kids, and a picket fence. They look perfect to the outside world, but behind closed doors, they are deeply struggling. They don’t communicate, the parents have no idea what’s happening in their children’s lives, and if they’re not careful, if they don’t come together and form a united front—they’re going to lose everything, potentially causing the end of the world. (Why? I haven’t gotten that far yet!)

Now, how do we inspire them to action? Maybe by taking the child who was born to save their crumbling marriage—the one has seen everything but, up until this point, been too young to contribute. Now, she’ll be the same age Will was when he disappeared and Mike and Will are the same age as Jon and Nancy. The Duffers are trying to illustrate the idea of “The Next Generation.” This evil, this Upside Down dimension is NEVER going to stop until someone from the Wheeler and Byers families breaks the cycle. Children will continue to vanish, the world will continue to crumble, until someone steps up and says ENOUGH. The Wheelers and Byers (parents and children) must step up and face their pasts in order to move forward.

The “Stranger Things” are not only LGBTQ+ matters, they are the skeletons we hide in the closet that literally eat us alive. They are the dark, festering parts of ourselves we don’t let anyone else see. The invisible cancers that slowly and silently kill us. Until we face them head on, until we bring them to the light, they will NEVER die. Stranger Things is about owning your past, facing your fears, and finding the light again.

So yes, Stranger Things will end with Will Byers making it home from Mike Wheeler’s house on November 6, 1983, but not in a time traveling way, in a finally letting go of that scared, pained little boy who thought the world was better off without him. It’s Mike accepting his sexuality and place in his family. His role as a leader. It’s Joyce accepting love from Hopper, who must accept that he is not actually cursed, but that sometimes, bad things happen to good people, even when they think they’re doing the right thing (Vietnam). it’s Karen and Ted falling in love again and fighting to save their family. It’s Eleven discovering that love, not anger, should fuel her powers. It’s mourning your stolen childhood while stepping into the version of yourself that child never got to be. It’s stopping the cycle and creating a better world for the Will Byers and Mike Wheelers and Jane Hoppers of tomorrow. THAT’S how you become a Hero.

[emblazons]

Still thinking about how understanding what happened in the S3-S4 relational narratives requires you suspend the belief that the last two (soon to be 3) seasons of Stranger Things are designed to stand alone.

With S1 and S2, the seasons existed as standalone entities—S2 was a sequel yes, but it wasn't a direct narrative extension of the action that occurred in the season before. You could watch Season 2 with only a bit of context from the first season (one boy got kidnapped and taken by the monster into another dimension, the girl from the lab with the superpowers showed up and they worked together to save said boy, but then she disappeared and was presumed dead) and watch the second season with little issue.

Its not the same with Seasons 3-5. If anything...it helps when analyzing to imagine Seasons 3-5 as one "season" in the same way S1 and S2 exist as single entities; the Duffers have already confirmed its true for Seasons 4-5, but it gets a lot easier to follow arcs and action, particularly for the youngest characters, if you stop trying to find coherence in single-season stories and look at each season as three parts of a whole.

This is true across the board, but it's particularly true in the case of understanding Byler, both as individuals and a pairing (though the full buildup of their romantic arc will take us across all 5 seasons). Understanding why S3 feels like you just got dropped into nonsense with them specifically (after two seasons of Michael "I'm the only one who cares about Will" Wheeler and Will "I am central to the story even when I'm off screen" Byers) is because The Duffers took the risk of introducing a brand new set of conflicts to the youngest characters: namely, ongoing romantic relationships, personal identity crises and sexuality...only without resolving the conflict and action in the 8-9 episodes they usually do, which is why you feel frustrated by it.

Basically: Season Three was the season where we set up the relational problems that need to be fixed—we just have three entire seasons to work through them, which means its gonna look bad at the start and good as we work through the problem (over the course of a few seasons) to get to the solution.

forewarning: ferociously long post ahead (with headers for clarity)

Will’s Arc: A (Queer) Coming of Age

With Will, the problem re-introduced in S3 is that he feels different from his peers, and not just because he's gay; its because 1) he is in love with Mike in a way that is more genuine than we are being presented in the third season (that "sandbox" "puppy love" "break up and makeup" summer fling energy that S3 has) and 2) he is unwilling to step into the lie of "maturity" as its being presented in the story, aka giving up things like hanging out with his friends over focusing on relationships or giving up games (DnD in particular).

(sidebar: I wrote another analysis touching on the above here).

A lot of people I've met who watch the show casually say things like "it just seems like he's not able to grow up like his friends" and even "he's falling behind," but I think that's on the right track while missing the point: the reason Will is written as "refusing to grow up" is because he is the character that represents the rebellion of The Duffer's heart and interests, and both of the things that seem like they would be a bad because they make his character different in the narrative are actually surprisingly positive for his "three season" arc...if you understand what the ongoing themes of Stranger Things are.

With Will, the “problem” in the story exists because he is the one who represents being weird/the outcast/queer and not giving into the social pressure to “let go” of that—he loves another boy, is more emotional than his peers and loves nerdy things like his tabletop board game and refuses to deny that to himself, no matter how brutalizing that is for him and his feelings. In that way, he is the character who “represents” the sentiment of The Duffers themselves—he is a nerd, a child at heart, and he has no problem taking DnD and anything else into “adulthood,” (looking at you “yeah, yeah I really did” during the rain fight) the same way The Duffers have.

That said: as we move into season 4, Will is presented with an evolution of this conflict—he wants to continue to be honest with and about himself, his feelings, and his interests…but it comes in direct conflict with his understanding of his peers & Mike, whom he loves.

We see this conflict show up repeatedly in Will’s actions in S4, especially in regards to the painting, which is the physical representation of both his love of Mike and his embracing of his nerdiness. Will shows up to the airport with his painting in spite of not speaking to Mike because his heart is to be honest and true-to-self regardless of anyone else—you even see this as he takes the painting on the road when they plan on going back to Hawkins, after he makes up with Mike. The problem is though (and this plays into the whole “we want you to feel like you lost” sentiment The Duffers spoke about, as S4 is the “down” before the “up”resolution of the whole narrative) that Will he realizes that his desire to be honest is getting in the way of (his perception of) the happiness of the people he loves, so he decides to betray his character and break the first cardinal rule of The Party…to tell his first lie.

There are plenty of phenomenal analyses on other aspects of Will’s connection to Vecna/the UD and the love triangle dynamic at play across this app so I’ll leave that alone here (I do have many thoughts on why the above makes Henry Creel the perfect villain foil to Will specifically), but: for the sake of understanding Will’s relational narrative arc, it’s critical to understand that our “low” for him is the betrayal of his ongoing S3 character—and that him undermining his self-honesty, nerdiness and love for Mike are the things that The Duffers have set themselves up to resolve in S5.

The resolution for Will is to re-embrace his differences —to realize that lying to yourself and other people about who you are and what you love (both in terms of “nerdy” interests and his queerness) is not who he wants to be, no matter how hard it is to stand up for in the wake of adversity—along with embracing the power of real love, which is also an ongoing theme the Duffers have set up in their relationships beginning in Season 3.

Now…on to Michael.

Mike’s Arc: Finding Yourself & Embracing What Makes You Different

—anyone with a single toe in this fandom knows that Mike Wheeler is one of the most divisive characters in this story when it comes to deciding 1) what his motivations are and 2) what his desires will be, but (and bare with me on this)…I think that’s kind of the point of his story. Mike’s “three season” arc is about him moving through a confusion of identity into someone who can embrace himself while addressing the things he is most insecure about—namely; being seen, being useful, and (very, very likely) the fact that the person who makes him feel most secure, seen, useful and loved is another boy.

There are several context clues that give credence to the fact that the reason Mike feels so wishy-washy / lacking in depth is because his struggle is not knowing how to find his place in the world, though you have to go further back than S3 to find them. Let me explain.

From the literal pitch of the show, there has always been an undercurrent of self-doubt and insecurity in Mike; his desire to escape the weight of feeling insecure has been a driving factor in his actions since before he was even on the screen, and it is impossible to understand what motivates him without first understanding that.

With Mike, his actions across all seasons have been weighed down by his desire to escape his insecurities through action—and as he’s gotten older, what he’s used to escape those insecurities (to be someone like the paladin he plays in DnD) has evolved and shifted, ranging through everything from turning the world (no pun intended) upside down to find Will; being willing to sacrifice his life to save Dustin from bullies; using any weapon he could find to fight a baby demogorgon; and wanting to be a heroic knight who protects the perceived vulnerable girl once he starts dating Eleven.

The point is: Mike’s deepest core need is to assuage his insecurities by doing whatever he can to be a good person—and when he feels like can’t do anything or protect the people he loves…he spirals. That’s been true since the start of his character…and everyone from The Duffers to Finn Wolfhard himself has mentioned it.

Now. With that baseline established, let’s talk Season 3.

Ironically enough, a lot of people feel like Mike’s character has “fallen off” because he, by the sake of all appearances, has achieved all the things he is supposed to want—namely a girlfriend, which (at least in his mind) is the physical embodiment of successfully “addressing” his core fears.

Because Mike has all the external markings of a well-adjusted kid—he comes from a wealthy family, has a solid group of friends (who are also mostly now striving for social normalcy) and even a girlfriend—he seems to have addressed what many people even in real life believe is the end of most arcs & the fulfillment of the fantasy. For Mike, the appearance of his S3 life seems to have assuaged the fears at the root of several of his insecurities, including the desire to be needed, the desire to protect, the desire to be useful, and the desire for acceptance…all because now he’s saved El and has her at his side, and having a girlfriend means he has everything a good, well-adjusted guy is supposed to want.

Or…does it?

With how The Duffers set up the story (with S3 as the introduction of a new conflict for every major character), the answer they’re giving you based on how Mike interacts with other characters is no—having a girlfriend and acting “mature” doesn’t solve anything, especially if the core problem of you having an insecure identity while being dishonest with yourself isn’t addressed…and it’s the arc of Mike learning that “lesson” that we find ourselves dropped into moving into Season 3.

Beginning in S3, the war on Mike’s insecure self-concept comes at him on two fronts: on the one side, El, who started her journey needing Mike because of her background but now has no real need for any of the things he so desperately wants to provide as a means to validate himself, and on the other Will, whose deep familiarity and history with Mike combined with his confidence in his own identity presents Mike with a challenge of self-reflection that he doesn’t exactly feel ready for yet.

(sidebar: my post on how Mike's arc is intrinsically tied to a subversion of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope is a helpful expansion on things I talk about here).

We see this in how Mike gets frustrated with Max for giving El the space and language to not need him (undermining his role in her life as someone who she needs to protect/guide her); we see it in how he says cruel things when Will behaves in a way that challenges the actions Mike has taken to be “mature” (how he insults Will for not also wanting a girlfriend / still wanting to play the games that set them apart as nerds/different); and we see it in how Mike still goes out of his way to fix those relationships in the best way he can—because he knows on some level that what he’s doing in several moments isn’t in alignment with who he wants to be, even though they are both presenting him with radical internal challenges.

Ironically enough, Dustin does a great job of summarizing the two sides of Mike's internal conundrum in what he says to Steve about Robin—Mike, somewhat like Steve, is struggling between what is socially acceptable in a partner (or "cool") and what he actually wants and enjoys in one—and as El and Will evolve, so does Mike's internal conflict about how he perceives their places in his world.

Between El’s supernatural abilities and rapidly growing autonomy making him obsolete to her in all the areas that matter to Mike (see: the ability to protect, be useful, and be seen) and Will’s reminding him that at his core he is just as much of a nerd as Will is, Mike finds himself feeling more confused and insecure than ever…and that is the internal conflict we see him end S3 battling.

The evolution of Mike’s narrative arc past the introduction of this internal conflict doesn’t happen until is the Byers/Hopper move to Lenora though…when he is literally left alone to process what that intense summer brought to light for him—which is the note we're left on as we move into the next phase of Mike's evolution in S4.

In S4, the development of Mike figuring out what he wants and needs from his relationships + the kind of person he wants to be becomes a lot more external—we see him going through a series of code switches as he tries to manage the ever changing landscape of his self-perception, where has started journey toward self-acceptance but is still insecure about following through with it.

We see this in the way he has now joined The Hellfire Club and shows sincere signs of accepting his interests and "outcast" status, but still looks forlorn when Lucas says “I’m tired of being bullied / I thought you wanted things to be different too” (Lucas’ struggles with some aspects of performing normalcy the way Mike does S4).

We see it in the way he shows up to Lenora dressed in what he thinks he’s should be wearing rather than as himself / the way he continues performing his relationship with El throughout that first day (and how he says it was Will who "sabotaged" things by being that same kind of radical honest about his feelings we talked about before)...only for the events of the day to spur him into meaningful honesty with both El and Will (to varying degrees of success) mere hours later.

We even see it in the way Mike seemed to have been “turning over a new leaf” once he and El fought, to the point he was okay with them ending the “normalcy” performance of their romance…right up until Argyle’s paranoia while burying Unknown Hero Agent Man struck the fear of god back into him (aka making him worry he was letting El down by not protecting her—aka tapping into one of his core fears).

Basically: Mike is leaning into accepting the things that make him different in little ways, but is still struggling to step into that identity fully—aka he is still using perceived social acceptability as a shield, even though he no longer holds as tightly to being perceived as normal. (Even Finn himself often jokes about Mike “just trying to be normal,” which I think is a good, simple explanation of what’s happening—that said, if we take that reading and combine it with those “narrative goals” I mentioned The Duffers have earlier…Mike trying to be normal is an issue to be resolved, not an identity to be embraced. But…let’s move on).

By the time we get to the infamous van scene, we’ve watched Mike struggle through the two sides of his inner conflict for the entire season now, and felt him very gently succeed at switching into a more honest version of himself (who doesn’t need a girlfriend as a shield / can embrace his “otherness” in the same way Will does) right up until his inherent desires to be needed and useful come rearing up the second El is in danger.

It’s why we see him look pleased (but also marred with conflict) when Will looks confident, happy and radiant talking about “playing dnd and Nintendo for the rest of their lives…” and why him being honest in that scene is actually a huge moment for him, because rather than being vague about what has been plaguing him for two seasons now (trying to be “normal” just because he feels insecure) Mike is finally verbalizing the internal conundrum of his now two seasons of looking critically at his insecurities.

Now—I could spend all day digging into just that bit of narrative alone—the way Mike finally externalizing his insecurities to be processed with Will rather than acting on them and hurting people unintentionally is a giant leap for him, and how when Will says “you’re sacred of losing her” Mike’s nod is an acknowledgement that Will is right…but his face is saying there’s more to that fear than he’s acknowledging—

—but for the sake of this analysis of the narrative arcs, the van scene is most important because it’s when the S4 “it feels like you lost” moment begins for Mike…and that’s because it matches up directly with the “you feel like you lost” moment for Will: him lying about the painting.

When Will lies about the painting—saying that his feelings and the art that (as I said before) represents 1) his love of Mike, 2) his embracing of his nerdiness and 3) that radial self-honestly Mike so admires Will for—it throws a wrench into Mike’s internal revelations because Will is essentially saying that the relationship that Mike was slowly realizing he used to assuage his insecurities (his relationship with Eleven) is actually what lines up best with "who he wants to be," which throws Mike’s slow growth toward Will + honesty about what (and who) he wants to be into a tail spin.

From Will’s lie onward, Mike is thrown into moment after moment of conflicting emotions and dire circumstances as well—and given that Mike's deep terror of losing people comes up strongest when the people he loves are in danger, it’s only downhill for Mike’s growth toward self actualization from here. In that sense, (much Jonathan's S4 omissions of his truths/fears to Nancy leading to Nancy's regression into complacency / social conformity with Steve), its Will's lie that leads us directly into the “you feel like you lost” moment for Mike: him moving back into "conforming" territory and confessing his love to El in the SBP.

The monologue (at least in terms of the narrative arc The Duffers are writing) is Mike’s “losing” moment because it’s when he has enough self-revelation to realize that being with a girl as a shield for his insecurities is no longer what he wants...but the drive he has to be useful, protect and love any way he can (on top of Will’s urging + lie) leave him feeling like his only option is stepping into the person he was at the start of S3.

In this moment, we see Mike say exactly what someone who is "acting normal” about loving his girlfriend and wanting to save her would….even though romantic love with El (and the socially-acceptable romantic relationship he has with her) are not what he really wants, and what we will watch crumble moving into S5.

Essentially: Mike having a moment of dissonance of that magnitude after an entire season of looking toward Will was what set us up to see all those "external markings of normalcy" Mike has held onto and had started grating against for two seasons now fall apart, given what we know about those core messages/themes/child-at-heart values the Duffers hold and keep at the heart of their show.

As of the end of S4, we can already see how this "regression" into his old self is not going to hold—the fact that everything Mike did to save El is rooted 1) in a lie and 2) not in alignment with Mike evolving understanding of his core desires makes sure of that.

We even see the beginnings of this "low" being resolved in Mike's arc in how Mike & El are not speaking (even with the 'resolution' of their surface-level S4 conflict with Mike's love confession) and how Mike is glued to Will's side even before Vecna is mentioned–which is how we've been set up to see the resolution of Mike's arc in S5.

With all this in mind, it becomes a bit clearer that the resolution of Mike's arc is him moving through the confusion of identity we've watched him go through from S3 forward and into someone who can embrace who he is what he truly loves without fear of going against what is expected—aka finding the courage not to conform.

Mike as a character is a lesson in how doing what you think you're supposed to (aka what is "normal") is often at odds with who you are and what makes you the happiest—and the only way to self-actualize is to move past your insecurities and into someone who can be confident embracing what (and who) they really want...even when it means stepping out of line from what you’ve grown up believing would do the self-actualizing for you.

Final Thoughts

Both Mike and Will's relational arcs revolve around an embracing of what makes them different—in terms of their (highly likely) mutual queerness, yes, but also in terms of them making self-actualized peace with being nerdy "children at heart" in much the same way The Duffer Brothers themselves are.

If Will represents a person who struggles because they refuse to deny themselves their identity, Mike represents a person who struggles because they don’t understand their identity, and are walking around just trying to do whatever they can to get along (because they haven’t been presented with the inciting conflict that will move them into self-revelation & growth).

Both of these internal conflicts are narrative arcs that have been built into the coming of age stories of both halves of Byler—and though we are currently sitting at the "low" of both of their arcs as of the end of Season 4, the setup and though-line for them finding themselves (and real, honest love with each other) has been clearly set up for exploration in Season 5.

—if you managed to get through all of this, I commend you. And yes, there are a million other things to be explored between these two, but...I enjoy sorting through the thematic / "moral of the story" through-lines in all my media, so of course I was gonna do it for for Byler!

[ronnieratsdoodles]

also credit to some sources!

byler proof:

1. Will’s sexuality has been an aspect since episode 1

if it wasn’t a major point, the duffer’s wouldn’t have any reason to subtly and continuously remind the GA throughout the entire show. they never were bold about it until season 4, because of foreshadowing, which they do a lot throughout the show; with many relationships.

season 5 is when build up finally reaches its peak.

2. “i’m not gonna fall in love scene.” coming from Will Byers, breakfast scene, joyce and Will Byers conversation. season: three. episode: chapter 1: susie, do you copy?

one tiny thing they added into the scene was Will pouring syrup on his eggs, which Mike also done, meaning they likely introduced each other to it. just tiny fact.

ultimately, this scene had to have significance, it couldn’t have been written without a point, why else would they make a traumatized boy have built up longing for his best friend? to end in heartbreak? that would just be a waste of writing, planning, foreshadowing, and most importantly their frequency of slow burning. they knew what they were doing.

3.smalltown boy being the first song on Mike’s official playlist:

spotify used to have a official character playlist up for each character, before being took down (if i’m right) either that they liked or that represented their character! (what creators felt was correlated)

(taken down 2023)

small town boy is by a artist named bronski beat, that is about a young gay man bullied, deciding to run away from home. we don’t even know exactly the reason why Mike is bullied, other than his supposed ‘frog face’

5. couples being paired up on the last episode of season four, while El stood alone. many reasons why this could have happened, but it was no mistake, lay outs always have a reason film wise. 

6. multiple parallels to stancy:

again, not much to say about it, BUT stancy was a unsuccessful relationship, and Nancy ended up going with a byers, wheeler + byers. the hospital scene with the two second shoulder lean. (stancy parallel!)

7.byler funko, not mileven funko. hmm super suspicious 🤨

8.”i need you mike, and i always will” - Will Byers, van scene, stranger things four. Will is not going to fall for anyone else. he always needed Mike. while El was shown more to needing Mike, she never did as much as Will. there’s nothing satisfying about Will being with another boy, not to the audience or Will. 

9.stranger things writer quote from twitter “let’s start a new party, you and me.”

10.mikes encounters with Will being focused/zoomed in on is for a REASON.

11. at the season four reunion, why did Mike not kiss El? their foreheads touched, they were inches apart, yet he looked back at Will. that would have been a perfect scene for a kiss, so why would the creators not include it?

12. Mike and Will had the first meaningful one-on-one conversation in stranger things.

13.in both arguments, the rink-o-mania they were wearing blue and yellow. their colors. when blue meets yellow in the west. they met in california. the west. 

14. “Karen, where’s our son?!” Ted yells, in season 2. 

“Will’s!” karen yelled back, holding a blue and yellow pen. totally on accident.

15. Crazy together being one of the most romantic scenes in the entire show.

16. the multiple scenes of Mike saying “boys only” and getting kicked out by girls. and his grossed out expression in season four, episode 1, the hellfire club, by a sign in the background saying women. 

17. i love you is either platonic or lies in strangers things so far, we haven’t gotten a single i love you that wasn’t either. Will’s i am not gonna fall in love implying an actual process, it’s happening in season 5.

18.when mileven tag duffers to complain about byler, they never respond, only to byler shippers, even if it’s just a small wave emoji.

19. lighting, the creators confirmed that the lighting in each scene has a meaning. the lighting either means that it could be a way of symbolizing mikes deep care and empathy for Will in the next season, (them being on a upside down couch also empathizes/foreshadows something)

20. the creators once again were planning since the first season. season four was written in a way to begin the root Will and for byler. so, when their endgame, we will know why.

21.mileven is star crossed, (not endgame)in march, millie talked about being unhappy with El’s ending, it doesn’t show that byler is endgame, but it does show mike and El are not. in one of the season 3 scripts they referred to mileven as ‘star crossed’ in the field scene. 

if any of this doesn’t make sense i apologize, it was written for my best friend<3333

[castlebyersafterdark]

It’s amazing how the depth of ST really relies on Byler happening. Not that there aren’t other things/themes within the show (Max’s depression, being black in Hawkins, a cop learning to be suspicious of authority, the power of friendship, etc), in terms of its three central kids/now teens (Will, Mike, and El), a Byler-less season 5 would mean that the show doesn’t have much to say. And it would mean the show is ultimately fairly generic, fight the Big Bad and the evil government with superpowers fare. Sometimes I wonder if I’m too hooked on Byler endgame to the point of overemphasizing Byler’s thematic role and not being able to enjoy alternate outcomes, but I don’t think I am. Cause if Byler isn’t endgame, we’re not just wrong about a ship, we’re wrong about the show. Not to mention being wrong about the characters, specifically Mike. Like I don’t even recognize the Mike they believe in?

No, I really don't think you are I or anyone in agreement with us are being dramatic or unfounded or biased about this - Byler not happening as predicted really changes the whole story and I also am not sure what the show's messaging would be. It changes the characters completely.

How do you have Will at the end alone, without getting his love? Or, with him dead? His story has so much resting not just on acceptance because here's the thing - we know Joyce and Jonathan and Mike would accept him for being gay if that was his only secret. Will doesn't know that, but the audience (who cares about the show) know this. Or at least, has the context clues to know. THEY GAVE WILLIAM BYERS THE LINE "I'M NOT GONNA FALL IN LOVE" when one, he already is and two, not let that pay off!! And he's in love with Mike!! And Mike - his story of needed to be the hero, be needed, be himself, be allowed the grace to be different and true to himself - and that is really only allowed to shine with Will. I don't know what we're supposed to take away from the character of Mike without Byler with the show as it stands. It could have been a different arc with him and still have his arc entwined with endgame El - but what was written is so so so odd if real. Should have been written differently seasons ago. From the beginning.

Hell, even El needs Mike and Will to get together to really shine and come into her own. Her story is not about romance. If you really care about El - she cannot end the show in a relationship with Mike Wheeler. She needs inner strength without others propping her up or using her (whether for power or for a misguided stand-in for feeling needed). She doesn't need you, Mike. And you don't need her. Standing apart actually allows you to stand as equals. Right now both hide insecurities with themselves by burying them in each other in that relationship. They need each other's friendship - which neither have right now. Will needs love. El needs family/friendship. Mike needs both. The door to El and Mike also needs to be firmly shut and the door ripped off the closet.

The sexuality storyline is tied into the supernatural storyline. It kinda feels... incomplete without a way for Will (and Mike) to express that beyond just Will being gay. There needs to be weight and stakes to that storyline and he needs a love interest the audience can care about due to invested familiarity - which is why a shoehorned random townie isn't gonna do anything for Will.

There's a lot of additional value to the other arcs you've mentioned and I want to briefly highlight them as well as to emphasize how they all tie in and enhance each other. The message of being different and the power of love and friendship. Being different in a small town. How humanity's monsters are just as bad or worse as monsters from other worlds - or how those human monsters make the fantastical monsters. Something something like that, there's a lot of different takes that all lead to a similar place. It's a wonderfully assembled ensemble show, and the Byler storyline as the heart ties everything together really. What else could have been built up? It's the most dramatic and hard hitting reveal - everything swirling to a focus with Will. He started the show, he ends the show. With his happy ending - it'll be so beautiful.

[id-rather-be-home]

do you think a lot of bylers try to force will into “the girl role” and mike into “the boy role”?

now obviously will is sensitive and gnc and more feminine in that regard, and mike is a leader and protective so he’s more “masculine” in that regard, but some bylers take that to mean will would always be submissive/passive in the bedroom too. what are your thoughts on this?

ooooof i feel like i may step on some toes with this one because top/bottom discourse gets on my nerves

(no hate at all to you anon though!!! just wanna make that clear first; this is a very good question!)

i think that a lot of bylers do tend to put will into "the girl role" and mike into "the boy role" subconsciously because it is fairly easy to do so! like you pointed out, will has some "feminine" characteristics while mike has quite a few "masculine" ones which makes it very easy to sort them into pre-existing gendered roles. it also probably doesn't help that mike is usually always the one to take care of and protect will and it hasn't really been seen the other way around (which i think is going to change in s5 but that's besides the point)

i think that we tend to sort homosexual couples into heterosexual roles even though i believe most of us who ship byler are queer ourselves; it's just such an easy thing to fall into because of how gender is treated in our society. if a boy is seen as "girly" then it's assumed he'd be on the bottom in the bedroom even though that isn't necessarily the case! it also doesn't help that will has, uhhh, certain Assets that make him more appealing to be on the bottom in a sexual relationship

however, i don't like when people treat sexual relationships as if they're so black and white; even when it comes to heterosexual ones where the sexual roles are pretty well defined.

do i think that will bottoms? yes.

do i think that mike bottoms? also yes.

their relationship is so... balanced and they treat one another as equals in such a way that i can't imagine they have sex only one type of way (whether that's bottom will or bottom mike). i think they would be very versatile and switch things up depending on how they're feeling that day or maybe who needs a little more reassurance and attention, things like that

that doesn't mean that neither of them have a preference for topping or bottoming. but we do not know enough about the characters in a sexual light to be able to determinedly say what their preference is - it's entirely up to an individual's perception based on what we know about them as is! i ended up in the camp that believes mike doesn't have a preference for either bottoming or topping (though he does play a bit more of a submissive role either way) because all he wants to do is make will feel good

will, on the other hand... honestly, it's something i'm still trying to decide. in my fic right now (which is where i'm exploring a lot of these concepts) he has a preference for topping BUT i can see that changing as the fic goes on and they get to experiment more with switching their roles up a little bit

however, whether or not will prefers to bottom i can't really imagine him taking a passive role in the bedroom?? even if he gets a little more submissive from time to time, he would never be passive about it

at the end of the day, nobody actually knows what these characters would prefer because we don't know their sexual preferences aside from what gender they like (confirmed in will's case, highly suspected in mike's obviously). so i think that people should be able to put them in whatever roles they want as long as they don't get mad at other people for not thinking the same as them which is... bizarre behavior if i'm to be honest

like, why would somebody get mad at me if i believe mike wheeler has a preference for bottoming instead of the other way around?

this has gotten pretty long so i'm gonna cut it off here but if you or anyone else has more questions about it, feel free to shoot them my way!

[pholiabanna]

what's on your s5 wishlist? the silly, goofy things!!!

I'M SO SORRY FOR ANSWERING THIS SO LATE finals were killing me and I wanted to wait and write a good answer to this.

First of all I'm really excited for the 4 og boys to be together again, because we haven't had one full season of them being in the same storyline yet, which I think is criminal. I really think putting them back together will bring back the season 1 feel that made everyone love this show, and I can't wait!

I'm also so excited about learning more about the upside down. The ships and characters are awesome to analyze, but I love the supernatural part and knowing that we're gonna learn what the Upside Down actually is, and why it's stuck on the day Will went missing, among other things, makes me impatient because I need to know rn.

Now I know those weren't really goofy things but I needed to put them because they are a must for me. Moving on to the silly things:

If the season takes place in 1987, the Duffers have the chance to do the funniest thing ever and include a rickroll in a creative way. C'mon, it has to happen

A lot of people are advocating for byler to get murray'd, Erica's or Jonathan'd, but I actually want them to get Argyle'd. I imagine a scene going like: Mike and Will talk about El and Mike's breakup and the camera switches to Argyle smoking a joint in the background, while he says "Whoa Wheeler you were dating supergirl? And I was here thinking you were with mini Byers this whole time, dude, that's not cool man, that's so not cool!"

I need more Erica and Lucas sibling bickering moments, they're the best

I know this won't happen, but imagine Mike's sexuality is revealed through a conversation about movies where he reveals he finds Fast Times boring af and he "doesn't understand the appeal every man sees in that movie". I mean, at this point Fast Times has become the Duffer's favorite sexuality metaphor

I know Max probably won't wake up early on, but I'd kill to get more Elmax scenes where they just bond like normal teenage girls again. Max already taught El how to stand up for herself and how to know what she actually likes, but I think it'd be so cool to see her find out what her hobbies are. I'd love to see a scene where Max just teaches El how to skate, and El keeps trying to cheat with her powers but Max tells her that's not fair.

I need Lucas and Max to go on that movie date as well, I don't care if it's impractical

Also even though I don't really care about Dustin/Suzie because they aren't a very focused on relationship, I think it'd be cute if there was a scene where they reunite in person

More Joyce, Jonathan and Will scenes together please!!!

They need to go around town riding bikes again, bring back the whole s1 vibe

Please let us see Mr. Clarke's pov, mans probably so confused every time he helped his students the town was destroyed. Also, they can't win without him and that's a fact

Troy has to show up again, only so that they beat him up and this time El breaks his leg

Alternatively, Lonnie comes back and Jonathan beats him up (with the help of Will maybe)

Nancy notices Jonathan's tendency to interrupt byler moments and puts a leash on him

I need a new iconic song tied to another iconic scene I can obsess over. Something that can top even the Running up that hill scene

Someone needs to acknowledge the fact that they are straight up calling 001 Vecna as in one of the Dnd characters, when actually he's just some guy named Henry who would probably be so confused as to why they're calling him Vecna

These are all I could come up with but I'm sure deep in my mind there's many more things I wish for and if the Duffers deliver even one of them I'll be satisfied!

[love-kurdt]

Thick Skull (byler): IV

word count: 2,068

warnings for this chapter: flashbacks to spicy experiences, coming out multiple times, internalized homophobia

Come on out with your hands up

“It just felt so real, Jonathan. Up until he said it wasn’t real… I genuinely thought it was.” Will took a hit of the joint between his fingers before passing it to his brother who was seated next to him, criss crossed on the roof. Jonathan had initially been hesitant to let Will smoke weed, but when Will approached him in a state of panic, he cast his façade of morals aside in turn for some Purple Palm Tree Delight. Will sat there with his knees bunched up to his chest, and Jonathan sat there for a moment in thought, taking a last hit for himself before placing the roach in a glass stolen from the Wheelers’ kitchen.

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, buddy…” he started, and Will cut him off, resting his head on his knees in embarrassment. After all, he did just tell his brother about a sexual encounter that may or may not have happened.

“No, say it, please say it. I don’t care.”

Jonathan had known about Will since the day they left Hawkins. He watched as Will hugged Mike for a few seconds longer than everyone else (and Mike reciprocating the affection without a second thought), watched Will crying in the back seat as they drove out of the only town they’d ever known as their home, watched Will sit in the living room armchair staring at El, who was on the phone with Mike for hours at a time, and watched Will frowning at the envelopes he brought in from the mailbox every week.

He patiently waited for Will to come to him, though, and that moment occurred during the night at the pizza shop. From that moment on, Jonathan made it his mission to be Will’s person. He’d no longer just be on the sidelines, smoking weed as life passed him by. He would be there for his brother… and bring the weed, too. That seemed a good enough compromise.

Will heard his brother take a deep breath before shifting to face him. He lifted his head and locked eyes with Jonathan. “Do you think it could be Vecna trying to torture you? With, like, your deepest heartache? Since Vecna targets those who are… hurting, emotionally vulnerable, or hiding something, this is probably the primary source of your pain.”

Will shrugged. “I mean, it makes sense. I just… I don’t know how this all has to do with how Mike’s been acting lately. Because everyone’s noticed, it’s not just me. And the way he kissed me during spin the bottle? The way I felt during that kiss is far from what I usually feel when Vecna’s around.”

Jonathan nodded, glancing straight ahead into the Wheelers’ front yard: infested with black, slimy vines, which had frightened them in the beginning, but the fear factor became less and less powerful as time ensued. “You sound really sure of that.”

“Yes, Jonathan, I’m sure!” Will snapped, waving his hands around in their air. “If you really want me to go into vivid detail about it, I will–”

“No, that’s okay,” Jonathan said slowly, and Will anxiously cracked his knuckles. “I don’t want you to feel pressured to tell me about something so personal. And I wasn’t doubting you.”

“Well, thank you.”

“I’m just thinking…” Jonathan continued, pulling a second joint out of his pocket and lighting it– did he have that the whole time? “If you were to come out, that would make that source of pain null.”

Will’s eyes widened. “But what about Mike?”

“What about him?” Jonathan passed the joint to Will, who took it with a grateful hand. “You would be coming out by yourself. You don’t have to include your undying love for your childhood best friend that may or may not reciprocate your feelings–”

“Oh God, this is a bad idea,” Will groaned, running his free hand through his hair.

“Why?” Jonathan asked, putting an arm around his little brother’s shoulders. “You know how loving and supportive Mom is, and Hopper would stand by her regarding literally anything. I can promise you this: we will all continue to love you, the way we always have. And your friends, Will, they’re an amazing group of people who would never judge you.”

Will opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. He felt his eyes involuntarily welling up with tears, which Jonathan noticed before he pulled him into a tight hug.

“We’ve got you, alright? I’ve got you, Will.”

Will extended his arm out to prevent lighting Jonathan’s long hair on fire before whispering a small, “Thank you.”

Come on out with your hands up

“Hey, guys? I kind of have something to tell you.”

“What is it, honey?”

Will gulped, his eyes shooting across the table to Jonathan. He nodded slowly, encouraging Will to go on. He found all of the courage within him, and then he spoke.

“I’m–”

“Oh no, is Vecna back? Can you feel him nearby?” Joyce interrupted, worry etched onto her face. She turned to Jonathan next to her, then back at Will. Well, he got one word out… “I’m sorry, honey, please continue.”

“No, it’s okay,” Will shook his head. “I mean, not really. It kind of depends on how this goes.”

“How what goes? What do we need to do? Should I call Owens?” Hopper gripped his sandwich tightly, so much so that the condiments began slipping out and onto the plate beneath it. Will blanched, unsure of if he should proceed with what he wanted to tell his family, which now included his soon-to-be stepfather, the former chief of police.

Joyce sent daggers in her fiancee’s direction. “Stand down, Hop, let him talk.”

“Yeah, Hop, let him talk,” Eleven repeated, a slight retort in her tone. She’d taken on a more sassy persona as of late, thanks to her recent reunion with a certain redhead. Will stifled a laugh, attempting to keep the tone of the conversation serious. He cleared his throat, checking on everyone to see if the coast was clear.

“Okay. I, um… I– I like boys? I’m gay?”

Silence.

Oh God… abort! Abort! ABORT!

“Is that a question or a statement, kid?” Hopper asked in his usual gruff tone.

“Hopper!” Joyce scolded. “Shush!”

Will decided against getting up and leaving; he was in this now. “Statement,” he said, tentatively testing the waters. “I’m gay. I like boys.”

A smile spread across Joyce’s face, just as Jonathan predicted, and she extended her hand to hold Will’s. “Well, sweetheart, I’m so glad you found the courage to tell us. You are very brave, and we all love you, no matter what.”

“Really?” Will asked, shifting his eyes to Hopper. “Even you?”

“What did you take me for, kid, a bigot?” Hopper laughed, reaching over to pat Will’s shoulder. “Believe me, nothing fazes me after your mom and I went into the Upside Down to save you. You’re the same Will I’ve always known, and you being gay doesn’t change that.” Will looked over to Jonathan, who sat there with a knowing smirk. Hopper would stand by her regarding literally anything. Will made a note to himself to trust Jonathan’s intuition.

“But I’m confused, honey… What does this have to do with Vecna?”

“It’s kind of complicated,” Jonathan said. “So when Vecna targets his victims…”

I'm coming out with my hands up, ooh

“So what’s this ‘thing’ you’ve been wanting to tell us, Willy? The suspense is killing me!” Dustin called across the basement, shoveling a handful of popcorn in his mouth as he spoke. The Party’s normally scheduled movie night was afoot, and Will had told them ahead of time that he had some news.

Everyone found their spots in front of the TV: Lucas and Max on the right side, Dustin on the left, El on the floor in the middle, with Mike and Will on either end of the couch. Will tried to gather his thoughts. Lips. Deep breaths. Hand on hip. Shoulders. Tongue. Fingers in hair. Arms. He could still feel Mike’s breath against his face, the feeling of Mike’s lips on his own, then on his neck, moving down, down, down… but it wasn’t real. Mike said so in the dream. But why did he remember it so vividly? Will looked up and noticed Mike’s eyes already on him, and his face suddenly grew hot.

“It’s kind of… strange. Telling you guys this now.”

“What do you mean?” El asked, tilting her head, as if she had absolutely no clue as to what Will could be going on about. He was glad she kept it secret up until now. 

“Like, it’s definitely not as important as everything that’s been going on, but–”

“Out with it, Byers!” Lucas exclaimed, and the rest of the Party laughed, settling some of Will’s nerves. It was now or never.

“I’m gay.”

The response was immediate. Dustin rose from his spot and crushed Will in a hug, practically sitting on him in the process. Everyone else joined in on the group hug within a few seconds. Will had vowed he wouldn’t cry, but the tears were threatening to escape, for sure.

“That’s great, Will! Thank you for trusting us with that!” Lucas grinned when they all eventually pulled away. “We had no idea!”

“Dustin and Max told me Will’s closet is made of glass,” El remarked. “What is ‘the closet’? And why was Will in it?” Wait, what?

Will raised an eyebrow in confusion. Max was quick to explain.

“I mean, we had our suspicions. But we always thought that you and M–”

“We’re just glad you told us, Will,” Dustin cut Max off quickly, leaving Will puzzled yet satisfied. “We still love you and will always be your friends.”

“Thanks, guys,” Will smiled. Then he looked up at Mike.

Come on out with your hands up

Mike was happy for Will. Mike tried to be happy for Will. Fuck it, Mike was jealous of Will. He was jealous that Will had the balls to say something that personal; and Mike had seen Will’s balls, up close and personal. Will was incredibly lucky to have the confidence that everyone would still love him. Joyce, Jonathan, and Hopper had probably thrown him a fucking party with streamers, confetti, and cupcakes. He wouldn’t put it past his parents to throw him to the demogorgons the first chance they got if he ever came out to them.

Mike was the only one who didn’t join in on the group hug. Dustin had looked up in the middle of it and mouthed a quick “Get over here,” but Mike just shook his head and gave a half-assed thumbs up. Dustin gave up with a roll of his eyes, flipping the bird. Mike definitely felt guilty, that went without saying. He just couldn’t help but hate the fact that this would never be a reality for him.

Especially after what he’d done a few nights prior. He’d been kicking himself ever since. And if he were to ever come out, what would Will think? What would Will say? He’d probably assume that Mike was just into guys in general. He wouldn’t be wrong, but also… Will was Mike’s one. He was the one Mike thought about when he woke up, when he went to sleep, during every meal, every time he showered, every time he jerked off by himself in his room… and he’d ruined it all. When he had the chance to tell Will that yes, this was, in fact, real, and that this was something Mike had imagined nearly every day since they were fourteen, he told him the complete opposite. A single word. No.

Mike’s soul returned to his body when he felt Will’s foot nudge his own, and he looked up, noticing Will’s nervous expression. He’d been waiting for his approval. Shit. Mike was digging his own fucking grave. Will probably thought he was a homophobe, that he hated him, while in reality, all Mike wanted to do was–

“Yeah, Will, we’re happy for you. I support you.”

“Um, thanks, Mike,” Will replied monotonously, picking up the remote and starting up Dr. Zhivago, per Steve’s suggestion. The group’s attention settled on the television screen, leaving Mike to his thoughts, with Will right there to remind him of his cowardice.

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[buck-yyyy]

hi yes hello, im back on my bullshit and ready to talk more about mike’s one track mind, as a continuation of this post from last night :)

@magentamee made a really great point in the tags that i kinda want to explore further because i wasn’t thinking about it at all when i first made that post, so here we are :0

[image id: tumblr tags from user magentamee that read, “#this checks out for me…. HM!!!! #mike definitely had a one-track mind #which? also makes st4 super wild bc he has his Objective yet.. hes really thinking about something Else the whole time #mike wheeler analysis” /end id]

this is so interesting to me because his objective in season four SHOULD be to find el- but it’s not?

like, let’s recap the beginning of season 4:

he isn’t focused on finding el at the roller rink- rather, he seems like he’s hyper-aware of what’s going on with will.

he crumples up el’s letter.

he shows no clear interest in going to find el until jonathan suggests that they get a ride from argyle to escape the house and go find her.

the only time that he’s completely focused on el is when they’re fighting about the ILY and when she gets arrested- why isn’t that a continuous theme throughout season four?

later, in the van, his objective should still be to find el. and on the surface, it is! but the fact that he and will have so many heart-to-hearts that are INCREDIBLY coded conversations makes that objective rather iffy.

while those conversations appear to be about el, we know that they’re not, especially from will’s POV. in the junkyard? will isn’t talking about how it’s hard to say ILY, he’s talking about how it’s scary to come out. in the van with the painting? will isn’t talking about el’s feelings, he’s talking about his own.

the fact that mike is so captured by will’s own feelings disguised as understanding of mike and el’s feelings/relationship tells me that his objective ISN’T solely el- it’s will. if they wanted to show mike fully focused on el, on getting her back and on fixing their relationship, they wouldn’t have made these conversations the way they are- because they’re not about el, they’re about will.

so if we’re deeming mike’s season four objective to be will, then why does he respond to will like that in the beginning? why does the monologue happen?

number one: mike is disguising his own objective. it’s a shield, it’s repression, it’s mike pretending that el is his only focus when it’s now become clear that it’s really will. we see that shield start to crack when mike has his outburst at rink-o-mania, about will rolling his eyes and ruining their time together. and yet, mike still tries to keep it up- but it doesn’t work! we see these coded conversations and we’re able to recognize that really, el has nothing to do with it all. it’s all will.

number two: perhaps will isn’t the true objective, maybe he’s just the surface of the underground objective (yes, i know that wording sucks, but i can’t think of a better way to put it). will starts out there season getting ignored by mike, because he’s still stuck in the mindset of conformity. but underneath, he’s clearly struggling with something- something that’s making him want to push away both will and el.

whatever could that be? /sar

in my mind, mike is trying to figure himself out. he’s struggling with his sexuality, he’s struggling with his feelings for will, he’s struggling with his lack of feelings for el. the reason he’s having so much difficulty focusing on both el and will is because that is his objective- the age old question of “why do i feel like this, is there something wrong with me?”

also, a disclaimer, because i feel like my words can easily be misinterpreted: mike still cares deeply about el! he still wants to find her very very badly, because el is in danger and he loves her! but el isn’t his focus (and neither is will!) and he doesn’t love her the way he thinks he should- so he pretends that she’s the focus and that they’re in love.

this post also doesn’t mean that i think he ONLY cares about one person or thing at a time- he cares so deeply about everyone in his life, and i think that’s part of why i love him. it just means that he tends to get tunnel vision on a specific goal.

tldr; mike’s objective this season isn’t the surface interpretation of el, or the slightly deeper interpretation of will. his objective is himself, and figuring out how that relates to will. and that’s why he’s pushing them both away, that’s what makes season four mike so different from season one through three mike- because for once, his objective isn’t a person. it’s not will like seasons one and two, and it’s not el like season three. season four presents mike’s objective as simply, ‘who is mike, and what does that mean?’

*drops mic*

anyways. thoughts?

[thefirstlioveyou]

"i didn't want to tell you because the last time i was sick, you made me go to school anyway."

this is a subtle indicator that mike's emotional and physical needs can go ignored. although yes he's lying about being sick in this scene, the fact he saw that as an excuse his mom would buy shows you this may be insight on how he actually feels. he doesn't say things because he knows what will be said, and it's never helpful. it explains why he bottles up his emotions and hides them throughout the rest of the show. and the times he does open up, he's reminded of why he didn't want to in the first place. (and actually, the only person he can tell things without being rejected has been will)

let's explore more instances like this.

-

"i've been bullied my entire life, i understand."

"no you don't."

i get it. i don't hold this against el by any means. but it DOES still carry the theme of mike's issues being ignored. although it's not the POINT of the scene, it's still there. you can put down your pitchforks now.

this boy has been threatened to jump off a cliff and ultimately kill himself, physically bullied, verbally bullied, socially rejected. that had to have stung to hear her say that.

mike hasn't had a proper scene of how he feels about the bullying he's experienced all his life. the moment he does bring it up, it's denied.

-

"these [toys] have emotional value to me."

"don't care. throw it away. also why are you suddenly so rebellious recently? why are your grades lacking? actually, i don't care why. i won't actually bother to ask. just stop doing that."

-

"i know your dnd club is tonight -"

"hellfire."

"why don't you just call it the club for high school dropouts?"

karen not remembering the name to the club is an indication that mike probably doesn't bring the club up or his interests with his parents much. makes sense. they've made it explicitly clear they don't care about the emotional value his interests have to him. and ted's comment directly after yet again reminds him why he never brings it up in the first place.

-

"i want you feel like you can talk to me. i'm here for you."

"no more secrets. from now on we tell each other everything."

such sweet support right? now.. where are they? karen has made no effort to understand mike the way she has for nancy. and although what nancy said is technically something that goes two ways, she's the one that initiated that promise.

i still understand why she and karen are this way to him, and i don't hold it against them! mike is just as emotionally distant to nancy. the wheelers are a very complex family and i can't wait for them to be dissected like bugs in s5.

-

and as i'm typing this, i realize all this makes the subtext in the junkyard make even more sense.

"sometimes it's hard to say what you really feel, especially to the people you care about the most, because what if they don't like the truth?"

anytime mike tells someone what he really feels or thinks, it's been denied, rejected or undermined. it scares him even more that this truth has to do with his sexuality. it puts him at more risk. he's seen how people treat gay people, how brutal they can be. he's internalized all of it despite it not being targeted towards him. it pushes him further into the closet and denial.

if his parents can't even see him more than a rebellious kid with failing grades that is in a "club for high school dropouts," what makes him believe they would accept him for being gay?

if his sister and mom truly are there for him, they truly care, then why didn't they mean what they said? where are they?

obviously, they do. but in mike's perspective, what else is he meant to think from this? what conclusion should he draw? my mom and sister just told me they'll be here for me and we'll be closer, just for them to act otherwise, just for us to be even farther apart. what the hell?

[strangertheory]

One reason that I hope that Mike is queer is that this revelation would be much more realistic to real-world emotions surrounding closeted lgbtqa people coming out to their loved ones.

Allow me to explain.

Nearly all stories in tv shows and movies these days announce to viewers what to expect, and allow audiences to know "yes, there is lgbtqa representation in this story!" and it's often a key part of the marketing. Yes, representation is wonderful. Yes, I do get a little excited when I know a story will feature something meaningful to the lgbtqa community. But step back for a moment and consider the way in which these stories are primarily for the queer community and allies. These stories aren't truly inspiring new insight and reflection or pushing non-allies and non-lgbtqa folk into challenging their current thoughts and ideas about queer people, in fact these stories that are advertised as featuring queer characters are effectively openly announcing "hey, if this isn't your thing and stories about queer characters make you uncomfortable, you can skip this!"

Now, some of you might say "but wait! What about Will!? Why are you making this post about Mike?"

Because Mike is the character that is arguably closeted and whose queerness still remains invisible to many audiences. He's the character who is probably lgbtqa but that audiences don't expect to be, because it hasn't been advertised, because he was in a dating relationship with a girl, because he "seems straight" (cue people making a list of stereotypes that people have decided apply to people and characters as if they can simply "know" if someone has feelings for someone of the same sex based on how they dress, what they do for hobbies, etc.)

And to me, there is a power and value in revealing to audiences that they should not assume a person's sexuality based on stereotypes, based on past relationships, etc. but instead allow them the space and safety to feel comfortable living their life openly as who they are and being honest about their feelings even as their understanding of themselves changes.

And if people can only accept someone's true self when that fits with their preconceived expectations of who they are and who they wanted them to be dating and who they believed them to be that was convenient and that fit with their assumptions: now that mirrors the true experience that people face and the challenge of coming out much more accurately.

Because we don't get marketing campaigns warning our friends and family that we're gay. Unlike many queer characters in tv shows, we don't get born into existence with a clear label that tells allies who we are and that tells homophobes that becoming close to us and caring about us will eventually end in a day that they feel "tricked" and "disappointed" that the person they cared about and could relate to ended up being something they didn't expect and didn't want.

Will Byers represents that all-too familiar story of the kid who got bullied for being different and for being seen as queer since he was young. If he is queer, he's not truly closeted because the world won't let him be.

Mike Wheeler represents a different queer experience that is also all-too familiar but often not represented in media in a way that genuinely brings audiences into being that character's friend or family member who assumed that they already knew whether or not he was gay or straight. Yet this mirrors what many of us experienced when we came out. People assume your sexuality, and then sometimes react badly when they feel "tricked." So yes, many of us are very emotionally invested in the way that Mike's story is being told because the indignance that we're witnessing within the fan community over his struggle to tell El that he loves her, the debate over whether Mike could be gay or not, and the way that audiences are perhaps too used to being coddled and very clearly warned by storytellers in advance that a character might be gay...

I've got a lot of feelings about all of this.

[p0und-cake]

The Dead Kid’s Brother and the Freak (Part Two)

Part One - Part Three

eddie munson x male!hargrove!reader

STRANGER THINGS SEASON FOUR SPOILERS

plot summary - this is a three parter! first part is about how reader and eddie met, second is how they got together, third is the reader being infected with vecna’s curse !

warnings - mention of death, mention of attempted unaliving, mention of homophobia, censored f slur, cursing, mentions of abuse, mentions of drinking/alcohol, implied sexual themes

———————————————————————————

Ever since meeting Eddie Munson at the quarry, things progressively got better. You’d discovered Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair were apart of the Hellfire Club. They were a little hesitant in playing Dungeons and Dragons with their friend’s older sibling, but Eddie practically made them let you play. You worked with Eddie in coming up with a cool character, learning the rules of the game along the way. And it turns out, you were pretty fucking good. You ended up helping the party out of some pretty sticky situations.

Pretty soon, Eddie got you a Hellfire Club shirt, and you couldn’t be more happy. You finally felt apart of something. You had somewhere to call home. Somewhere where you actually belonged. You felt happy there. You hadn’t expected to actually make friends with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, but you did. You and Dustin were pretty close. Of course, no friendship you made with the other members of Hellfire compared to you and Eddie. Eddie practically became your lifeboat. He would occasionally check in to make sure you were feeling okay, but he never was suffocating about it. This boy just seemed so…perfect. Yeah, he may still be in school after being held back and not graduating, but he really did care about you and you cared about him.

This was part of why your heart just ached for him while you sat at Skull Rock late at night. You tried not to think about it, sitting at the top of the rock and staring at the stars. You were of course thankful for the group helping you two out, but why did it have to be one of the sweetest people in Hawkins that was getting framed? Eddie may look absolutely fucking insane (he kind of is sometimes) but Eddie Munson would never hurt a fly. It was a little cliche to say, but nobody else knew Eddie like you did. You knew how sweet he was, and how caring he was for others.

You couldn’t imagine the guilt he felt too. You, his boyfriend, were getting roped into this heinous situation and there was nothing he could do about it. You had heard whispers after Billy had died. You’d heard a couple people at his funeral say you did it instead of the ‘mall fire’ killing him. You wanted to tell Eddie everything, now that he knew about the Upside Down, but it was just so hard to think about.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by Eddie, who had climbed up the rock and was now hovering over you.

“I was getting lonely down there, Hargrove.” He hummed, trying to keep the shakiness out of his voice. He was scared out of his mind, but he didn’t want you to know that. “What’s up?”

“I dunno…just thinking, I guess.” You sat up and breathed out, letting him just take a seat in your lap. Your hands found their way to Eddie’s, lightly playing with the rings on his fingers.

“Heh…it’s weird, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“This is where you asked me out, ‘member?”

He was right. This was where the both of you got together. At this very spot.

“Wow…you’re right, Ed. Although it was more of a demand than a request.” You chuckled a bit, the memory playing through your head. “That felt like so long ago. The last time I cried that hard was when we first met at the quarry.”

“Mmm…yeah. You look pretty when you cry.” He said absentmindedly, making you smile.

“Maybe I should cry more.”

“Wait- that’s not what I meant-!” He panicked, and he would have definitely tried to apologize if you hadn’t kissed him to shut him up. His muscles untensed and he calmly kissed back. It occurred to you that you hadn’t kissed him in a while. Sure, you kissed his knuckles or his forehead to try to reassure him or calm him down, but you hadn’t fully kissed him since before Chrissy’s death.

You pulled away when you couldn’t breathe anymore, but Eddie just pulled you right back in. Almost like he needed more. You understood pretty quickly once you felt soft tear droplets fall onto your shirt. He was crying. Eddie never usually…cried. Once you caught him crying after a nightmare he had once, but that felt like a while ago.

You kissed Eddie for as long as he needed, which you didn’t exactly keep track of how long that was. When he pulled away, he clung to you and nuzzled his tear-stained face into your neck like a child clinging to their mother.

“I’m…so, so sorry.” He whispered, his voice like a heartbroken little boy’s. “I never meant to get you wrapped up in this…fucking mess. Not after what you went through. You don’t deserve any of this shit.”

“Oh…I know, I know.” Your voice was a hushed whisper, moving him into a cradling position. He always liked it when you held him like this. “None of this is your fault, okay? We were both just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe that would have happened to Chrissy either way. You had no way of knowing.” You knew your words wouldn’t make anything completely better, but he needed to know nothing was his fault. You gently ran your fingers through his wild hair, kissing the top of his head.

Eddie cried softly for a little longer, pulling away when he was done. His angelic face was red and his eyes were puffy, so you kissed all over it. He chuckled a little and pulled his face away more.

“Don’t be too loud, idiot.” He hummed, going back to sitting on your lap.

“Oh yeah, yeah.” You laughed softly, ruffling his hair.

“…you remember how our first kiss was on top of this rock?” He hummed. “The first time you actually opened up to me was here, too.”

“Yeah, I ‘member.” You chuckled. This rock was so important to the both of you.

Susan had been drinking that night, and Max had shut herself in her room. It had been about nine months since Billy had died, and Eddie knew that. You were about to just clock out, but there was a little rapping on your window.

“Hargroooove…open up…” The unmistakable voice of Eddie Munson was muffled from outside your window. It was almost embarrassing how quick you jumped from your bed and went to the window, opening it.

“Eddie, you goof, why are you here?” You chuckled, trying to be quiet. “Just because you live across the street from me doesn’t mean you can come Romeo and Juliet me or whatever.”

“What? Why not?” Eddie pouted. “I just wanna see you.”

“Well, not in here. Susan and Max aren’t in the greatest of moods.”

“Then come on..!” Eddie grabbed you by the wrist and carefully tugged you of the window. “I wanna take you somewhere.” He shut your window quietly, ignoring your questions as he dragged you to his van.

You tried to hide a smile as you hopped into the passenger seat. You turned on the radio as Eddie drove off, cranking the volume up like the two of you liked, not noticing Eddie’s fond smile.

He parked near Lovers’ Lake, and led you into the woods nearby, holding your hand.

“I hope you aren’t about to murder me.” You joked, hoping it was too dark for him to see your red face.

“Ah shit, you caught me.” He said, before swooping you up into his arms. He was surprisingly strong. “Gotcha!!”

You yelped out, your yell soon morphing into laughter as Eddie ran with you through the woods.

“You weirdo, what are you doing?!” You exclaimed, cackling with no shame as Eddie carried you.

“We’re here!” He announced.

“I can’t see, jackass.” You huffed out, considering he had thrown you over his shoulder. Eddie turned around, not bothering to put you down. You saw a huge rock in the shape of a skull. “Isn’t this that place where people come to make out?”

“That’s not what we’re doing, dumbass.” He sassed, putting you down finally and climbing on top of the rock. You brushed yourself off and climbed up with him.

“The view is really pretty.” You commented as you looked at the stars.

“Yeah…it really is.” Eddie softly said, and you turned to face him only to discover he wasn’t looking at the stars. He was looking at you. You blinked and looked away with a clear of your throat.

“So, Munson. Why’d you take me here at however late at night?”

“I dunno, you just seemed kinda down lately.” Eddie shrugged, pulling his legs into a criss-cross position. “I figured you would appreciate this.”

Your face turned even redder. “That’s…really nice of you.” You stammered out. “Thank you.” How could he read you so perfectly? Or maybe he was the only one that gave a shit. You both were silent for a while, before Eddie pulled out a walkman from his inner jacket pocket and started playing some music. He knew you hated things being quiet.

“Hey…Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did you stop me from jumping off the quarry?”

Eddie blinked, obviously not expecting that. “What?”

“Why did you stop me? You had no clue who the hell I was, but you stopped me.”

“Who wouldn’t stop someone from jumping off the edge of a quarry?” Eddie said, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You just…looked like you were in so much pain. I couldn’t ignore that. Yeah, I didn’t know who the hell you were, but what kind of a person would I be if I just let you jump?”

You were silent, letting your mind think back to that day. You didn’t get to think about it very long, as Eddie laid his hand on top of yours to pull you back to reality.

“I mean hey, I’m glad I did. You’re one of the greatest people I’ve ever fucking met. You make me really happy, y’know that? Yeah I’m friends with the other members of Hellfire, but you aren’t like them.” He hummed out.

You turned to look at him, and you could tell he was being genuine. How did you get so lucky? You didn’t feel like you deserved that. Not after Billy. Not after what a horrible brother you were to him. You almost didn’t even realize the tears that were bubbling until he said something.

“Hey woah, what’s wrong?” He jumped up and sat in front of you. “Are you alright? Did I say something wrong?” He placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. You tried to not cry, but just like at the quarry, you couldn’t stop the onslaught of tears that came rushing out. “Shit, c’mere…” He scooted closer and wrapped you in a hug, letting you openly weep into his chest. Your chest and throat constricted, body shaking like a leaf as you clutched onto Eddie.

“I don’t deserve this, Eddie…” You managed, trying not to cry on his clothes. “You don’t understand why I was there that day…”

Eddie gently moved away from you and gingerly laid his hand on your face, the cool metal of his rings helping ground you.

“Then tell me.” He cooed softly.

With hardly an ounce of hesitation, you spilled everything. How you and Billy endured the abuse of your father after he drove your mother away. How the two of you gradually grew apart. How you realized how horrible of a brother you were.

“He must have hated me, Eddie…” You sobbed. “I left him alone in a house but not a home. I just couldn’t stand getting beat and getting called a f*g on a daily basis. I fucking failed him! Now my little brother is dead and I can’t fix anything! Why wasn’t it me..? Billy could have gone on to do so much good…he was my baby brother…and now I can’t apologize or anything…and now I’m failing Max just like I failed Billy.”

“…shit, Hargrove��” Eddie whispered. “I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that alone…” His voice was gentle, like he’d break you if he spoke too loud. His thumb rubbed your cheek, allowing you to focus on that movement. “But…I don’t think Billy ever thought you failed him, you know that? All of this shit is the fault of your shitty dad, you understand? That’s not fair of him to put that blame on you.” He allowed his voice to become a little sharper so you’d pay attention. “No horrible brother would be here sobbing and regretting the way he treated his sibling, y’know? But there’s nothing you can do now, I’m sure you understand that much. Sitting here and crying won’t fix anything, but you know what will? Learning from that shit experience and being a better man, like your brother would want. Living your life to the fullest and being happy, but also keep him alive in your memory and all that shit, y’know?”

“Eddie, I-”

“And I’m gonna help you in any way I possibly can. No person should have to handle all that alone. You’re not alone, y’know? It’s okay to rely on other people sometimes.”

You stared at him, tears still in your eyes. The genuine care and compassion in his eyes made your heart beat faster and faster. That’s when you realized how close your faces truly were.

“I…Eddie..?” You whispered out. “Can I…tell you a secret?”

“Anything.”

“I think I might be in love with you.”

…

His silence scared you. He stared with wide eyes, and you were unable to read the boy’s expression. Did you go too far?

“Just kick me off this rock please.” You mumbled, going to turn away. “I should go, I’m so sorry, forget i said anything.

“I love you too.” He blurted, leaving you to be the one with wide eyes.

“H-huh?” You stammered. Real smooth. “You- are you serious?”

“One hundred percent.” He breathed out. He was just as nervous as you were.

“You’re…not playing a sick joke or anything, right, Ed?” You mumbled, even though Eddie had kept his large hand on your cheek.

“No.” He said, a little firmer. “I’ll prove it if you don’t believe me.”

You almost thought you were dreaming.

His lips were on yours.

He was kissing you.

His lips weren’t the softest thing on the planet, but you didn’t mind. They were a little chapped, but you really couldn’t care less. They were perfect. He was perfect.

He realized you weren’t kissing back, so he went to pull away, but you’d only pulled him right back to you as to savor this moment you never thought you’d experience anywhere outside of your dreams. He decided to savor it too. Both his hands were holding your face, and your hands were holding his. You felt like two lovesick teenagers only without the lust. All of it was love and passion. You’d never imagined this moment would actually come. You told yourself to keep the idea of this locked away in your wildest dreams. You wanted this to happen again.

“Go out with me.” You breathed out once his lips left yours.

A wide, goofy, love-struck grin spread across Eddie’s face. “What’s the magic word?”

“I don’t need a fucking magic word, just say yes, dumbass.” You pouted out.

“Say it, Hargrove~”

“Ughhh, please?”

His lips were on yours once again.

“As you wish.”

~

You didn’t remember much after that. You had woken up in a soft bed in a room that wasn’t yours. You quickly deduced that it was Eddie’s room, his guitar catching your eye as soon as they got adjusted to the light. You could see your shirt, jeans, and shoes strewn about the floor, along with Eddie’s outfit from yesterday too.

You gently lifted the blankets to see that you had been dressed in some of Eddie’s comfier clothes. Did he do that? What a sweetheart.

Speaking of, two arms pulled you close, and you realized Eddie was next to you. He was in nothing but his underwear, which made your face turn bright red. His arms were around your torso, and his legs were all tangled in yours. He looked so innocent.

And that’s how you decided you gained the title of The Luckiest Boy in Hawkins, Indiana.

[notamilfluver]

The Lost Earring - Karen Wheeler smut

summary: you’ve had a crush on your bestfriends mother, Karen for a while now. She notices she has a small crush on you as well.

Warnings: Age gap, fingering, oral, hidden sexuality, and cheating (on Karen’s part)

(This is a little bit after season four volume one) You and Nancy are college roommates. Nancy invited you to spend some time with her and her family for a week.

Nancy had just pulled into the Wheeler’s driveway. You was in the passenger seat.

“I don’t know Nance I just don’t think your family likes me!” You panicked.

“y/n it will be completely fine! You worry to much and I mean, my mom seemed to like you! And dad… I don’t really know about dad.” Nancy cackled.

You had finally calmed yourself down. “Okay.. we can go in now.” You and Nancy made it to the door step and Nancy knocked. Karen opened the door with a smile.

“Oh hi y/n!! I’m glad you’ve decided to come see us again! I couldn’t hardly wait!” Karen looked at you with glowing eyes while biting her bottom lip.

“Well, come on in guys! I’m making your favorite Nance!” Karen said as she walked to the kitchen.

You was so speechless you didn’t know what to say, you were so into that revealing dress she was wearing. It was a dark red dress with sheared laces, with shining diamond earrings. It was like a dream. You couldn’t keep your eyes off her as she was walking away.

Nancy whispered “See, she seems happy to see you, I told you don’t worry.” she laughed.

Nancy led you to her room and you both sat there and talked for a hour or so, but she mostly just ranted to you about Steve and Jonathan.

You really didn’t care about Steve or Jonathan you hated talking about boys for some reason. But you never really thought about why you hated that topic. But clearly Nancy was into it.

You’ve dated some guys in the past but it never really turned out well. You would always end up arguing with them or get bored of them.

But there was thoughts about women before, you thought it was normal to think about women. But you knew right then that those thoughts of Karen was more than thoughts.

You knew you had feelings for her. You had finally figured yourself out. But imagine if people found out? They would hate you! You thought what if Karen ever found out? Would she hate you? Would Nance hate you?!

Your mind was filled with so many thoughts you started to panic again. There was one thought you couldn’t get out of your head though. “Is Karen into you?”

I mean you’ve only met her maybe two or three times, but you noticed how every time you’ve seen her she always is so excited to see you. And the fact that she always is looking at you in a certain way and biting her lip.

She’s so perfect. You love her sweet voice and her beautifully styled hair, and of course her full lips with lipstick perfectly applied.

“Y/n?” Nancy said with a peculiar voice.

“Are you okay? You zoned out.”

“Y- yes..” you said mesmerizingly. “Sorry I was just thinking.”

“It’s okay silly.” Nancy said laughing.

You both heard the stove go off, “I guess dinner is done.” Nancy said.

As you and Nancy was walking down the stairs to the kitchen you see Karen standing in front of the stove. She bent down to pick up baked chicken out of the oven.

You tried so hard not to stare at how perfectly her tight dress was showing her nice legs with black high hills on.

You was so into her, you had to stop yourself. “She’s a mother with a husband, You shouldn’t be having these wild thoughts!” you was thinking.

You sat at the table by Nancy. You was a tiny bit nervous. Then Karen noticed somehow and sat right in front of you. You was trying so hard to not panic but she kept locking her eyes with you.

“You alright y/n?” Karen asked concerned. “Yes.. I’m just not used to a lot of people.” You said so anxiously.

Nancy and Mike was arguing about something stupid so you just sat there and looked the whole time. You then looked at Karen and asked “Do they always do this? You chuckled. Karen looked at you with such embarrassment. “Yeah, sorry that you have to hear all of this.”

She then yelled at Mike and Nancy. They stopped and gave each other a bad look. It was so silent until Karen’s sweetened voice asked as she took a sip of wine. “how has your day been y/n?” “My day has been great Mrs. Wheeler, how is yours?” you smiled.

She smiled back. “My day has been wonderful! Thanks for asking.” she said as she moved her leg and rubbed it against your leg slowly. All you could do is smile back.

You was panicking inside you didn’t know how to act. So you tried to look down at your plate the whole time. But some how she would always catch your attention to make you look up the whole time.

Nancy heard the phone ring upstairs, she then jumped up out of her chair. “sorry guys I have to answer that.” as she ran up stairs.

Karen looked at you and asked, “is this about Steve and Jonathan?” Ted looked at Karen and said, “when is it not about them two damn boys?” She carelessly ignored him.

You answered her. “most likely.”

She cackled. “Oh, Nance, she will never choose.”

You smiled at her while picking up your plate. Karen looked at you irritated. “Oh honey you don’t have to pick up your plate! I can get that!”

You stopped and looked at her and said “Oh no it’s fine, I insist.”

She looked at you with a slight smile.

You put the plate in the sink and sat back at the table. Ted had already left the table with holly. It was just you and Karen in the kitchen.

Karen was at the sink washing the dishes. You was admiring the way her fingers worked washing each dish. You couldn’t stop watching her.

You then got up out of the chair and blurted. “is there anything you need done Mrs. Wheeler?” You couldn’t help it you had to ask.

Karen scoffed. “Really? Well, you know there is one thing.” she came up to you closer than usual with intense eye contact.

Her hand brushed against yours as she handed you a damp washcloth. “You can clean the countertop.” she winked at you with a seductive look.

A little smirk came across your face as you walked past her to the counter. Karen added, “You know I..”

Nancy ran down the stairs and interrupted. “y/n I need to tell you something right now!” Ted was pissed. “can you quiet down I’m trying to read the damn newspaper!” Ted shouted.

You don’t want to leave. you love being around Karen, but Nancy would literally drag you up the stairs if you didn’t go with her. You turned around from the countertop and looked at Karen. She then nodded her head for you to go on.

You got to Nancy’s room and she was so excited for some weird reason. “Okay so, Steve just called me and we talked for about an hour and he’s going to call me back in 20 minutes! He told he had something important to tell me!” she squealed loudly.

You didn’t really care about Steve but you wanted your best friend to be happy so you said “that’s good nance!”

After 20 minutes passed by Steve didn’t call back.

You heard Karen call your name down stairs. You sprung up off Nancy’s bed. “I’ll be back nance.”

You was walking downstairs then heard the phone ring upstairs, you heard Nancy squeal it made you giggle.

Karen was in a red velvet robe. You noticed one of her earrings was missing. Your eyes was all over her, you couldn’t keep them off her breast.

“You needed me?” you quietly spoke.

“Oh sorry, yes.” Karen smiled. “lost my earring in the couch and I can’t reach it. I would of called for Ted but he’s asleep.” Karen muttered.

You got on the floor and looked under the couch and there was the earring. You had to reach pretty far to grab it.

You picked up the earring and turned around to give Karen the Earring. When you looked up, there Karen was with her robe untied with only black laced underwear on. You was not expecting that at all. You looked at her with an elated smile.

Karen then got closer to your face. You then grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. At first everything was nice and slow but Karen began to speed up a bit, you both started to get more sloppy. You got even more excited and slipped of the robe completely.

At that point you pushed her on the couch and begin to kiss her neck slowly down from her breast to her thighs. You then slipped off her underwear that was absolutely drenched. She was so ready and wet for you.

Karen started to moan quietly as you got closer to her inner thighs. You kissed her slit Karen shivered and moaned your name. “Yes, right there darling.” You never thought this would ever happen.

You flattened your tongue and licked her clit. Her clit was so swollen. “Oh honey please don’t tease.” Karen begged.

You then started to flicker your tongue across her clit. She couldn’t control herself anymore and moaned louder. You stuck a finger inside her moving slowly in and out. She let out a big moan “y/n faster..”

You continued to go faster and slipped another finger in as she was bucking her hips in to you as you was torturing her orgasm. “Oh god.. I’m gonna cu- cum!” Karen said so noisily.

She came all over your fingers. You then licked the sweet white cum off of your fingers as you go up to kiss her.

You both heard footsteps down the stairs “Oh shit!”you said quietly. you both moved quickly away from each other and Karen tied her robe back up.

It was holly crawling down the stairs. Karen then looked at you and whispered “I’m not done with you.” And winked at you as she picked up holly. “Oh honey you crawled out of your crib again.” Karen said so sweetly. You adored her.

You went upstairs to Nancy’s room and shut the door quietly. Nancy was still on the phone with Steve. She then pulled the phone away from her face and asked “Where were you?! You took forever!” She looked a little irritated. “Oh sorry, your mom needed help to find something.” You looked at Nancy very funny. “Oh okay well I have so much to tell you.” Nancy added so excitedly.

It’s a little short! And there may be some mistakes But it took forever there will be more fics though. Thank you so much for reading hope you enjoyed!!!

[thevoidspeakz]

List of things Mike Wheeler has gone through canonically. Focused on Mike, though he went through some of these with others.

Might be updated with things I missed, and feel free to add anything!

Also please keep in mind that this is all just canon information we're 100% sure we have, so I'm not gonna get into his sexuality or anything, mainly because there's many different approaches to it and everyone has a different idea of it in their heads, so I'm sticking to canon for this

PS. I'm actually really fucking shit at articulating my thoughts into words. Like I am dog water at it so please bare with me.

Season 1 (12 years old);

Will went missing. His best friend who he's known since kindergarten suddenly goes missing while biking home from his house. Suddenly, one morning, Will's just.. gone.

Searching for Will himself. Going out into the dark woods at night in the pouring rain, against cop's and parent's orders to go look for Will himself because he just couldn't take losing him.

Will's body being pulled out of the quarry. At that point, Mike really lost all hope. There was no question now, his best friend was dead. Gone. Forever. No more Will the Wise, no more sleepovers, no more of his amazing drawings to put up on the walls. He was gone.

Meeting El. Hiding another kid from his parents in his own house while also providing food and shelter is a lot of responsibility, and I feel like people don't talk about it that much. Not to mention Mike, Dustin and Lucas had to teach El just about everything. What a friend is, what a promise is, she was totally clueless, and they had to take care of her. They were all the same age at the time. (I'm not saying that them having helped El was a bad thing, god no, but you have to admit it was a lot to take on for a group of kids.)

Losing El. They had just barely met El, and she was already being taken away by the same thing that took Will. They had to watch her be disintegrated right after they ran from Brenner and the Lab People, also watching them be killed by El (she wasn't wrong for killing them but it is a pretty brutal thing to deal with as a kid), and then from a fucking monster from another dimension. I don't think I have to explain this.

Jumping off the quarry. I can't handle this shit. Mike didn't almost jump, he jumped. That 12 year old kid actually jumped off of a fucking cliff. I really, really wonder what exactly he was thinking. There was obviously the part about saving Dustin, but I imagine Will being "dead" also had something to do with it. It was the same quarry his body was found in, after all. But just think about this for one second; Mike jumped off a cliff when he was 12. He was going to die there if El hadn't saved him. Why do people not talk about this. HE JUMPED OFF A CLIFF. WHAT THE FUCK.

Being bullied. Mike's been bullied his entire life. Pushed around and kicked around by Troy and the others, we see him mainly being called "frog face" and being a victim of homophobia, but who knows what else he's gone through.

Season 2 (13 years old);

Being forced to throw away his toys. He was forced to grow up by throwing out toys that not only had emotional connections and brought back memories, but also that Mike just didn't want to give up. He still liked playing with toys, and he was fully in the right to, there was nothing wrong with that. While we're talking about this scene, there's also the fact he had been acting up a lot after season 1. Plagiarizing essays, graffitiing the bathroom stalls, stealing money from Nancy, you name it.

Almost getting ran over by Billy. (thank you @lucybell52 for pointing this out!) No cuz what the fuck. What do I even say about this? Pretty minor in comparison to everything else he's gone through but jesus fucking christ that's still a thing.

Getting Will back only for him to be possessed. Mike was with Will the entire time he was possessed. He never left his side. Mike saw Will hurting, and had to hear him screaming, and crying and had to watch him suffer over and over and over. Just think about tiny Mike covering his ears, terrified, watching as Will screams for his life. Back in the shed, trying desperately to find his best friend, to get him back, talking to him and reminding him of when they met. The best thing he's ever done. That's what asking Will to be his friend was. And there was a risk of losing him again.

Watching Bob die. (thank you @/synthgay) Mike had to watch as a man got brutally mauled to death by demodogs, all while holding a passed out, limp Will in his arms. I can't even begin to imagine how much that would fuck up a kid's brain.

Billy when he came looking for Max.(thank you @runninguplenorahills for mentioning this <3) He nearly beat up Lucas, he did beat the fuck out of Steve (which the kids tried to help by putting little colorful band-aids on his wounds can you hear me sobbing?)

Season 3 (14 years old);

The Mind Flayer. Do I need to explain this? Having to see that fucking thing, let alone almost be killed by it????? It's a horror movie type creature made of melted people. MELTED PEOPLE. I have trouble looking at it even knowing it's fake. IMAGINE KNOWING IT'S REAL.

The Sauna Test. Flayed Billy screaming his guts out, breaking the window, almost choking El to death, almost getting beat up too when trying to save her.

Getting beat up by flayed Billy. Grown, very menacing and intimidating man who is way stronger than him, and who he's seen beat the fuck out of someone way stronger than he is also beat the fuck out of him.

The Byers moving away. At first this might not seem all that big of a deal, but he's losing El, and Will again, and that does take a toll on him (paired up with everything that happened in Starcourt), which we see in Lucas on the Line (following up with that).

Clear signs of depression in Lucas on the Line. Self isolating, spending all of his time in his room or basement playing nintendo, like, he literally does not leave his room, he's irritable and annoyed all the time... yeah.

Season 4 (14/15 years old);

The shootout at the Byers house. They were being shot at. He could've died. Will and Jonathan could've died. Unknown Hero Agent Man did die.

Trying to save UHAM/burying him. Yeah i don't need to explain this. Everyone trying desperately to save this bleeding, dying man, ultimately failing and having to bury his body. They were so damn casual about it too, Mike, Will and Jonathan. This is just the bullshit they've been forced to live with for the past 4 years at this point, and that is fucking terrifying.

El getting taken. Back with the losing someone you love and not knowing if they're dead or not. (even with Mike not loving El romantically, he still loves her and cares about her, remember that) Especially since they didn't leave off in very friendly terms.

Getting El back. (thanks again @/runninguplenorahills <33)Full of dead people everywhere, El crashing down a helicopter, everything destroyed. Good Lord.

Conclusion;

So, Mike has seen several people die and be murdered, has seen countless of monsters that come from different dimensions, has lost people time and time again, has gone through several near death experiences and more.

I'm pretty sure I missed stuff so please feel free to add on to this if you want, and i can add it to the post itself!

I mainly went through situations he's been in and not his feelings in this. I could make a post going into his internalized homophobia and all, but I feel like many people have already gotten a good look at that.

(@hey-its-bucky helo :])

[runninguplenorahills]

That’s not how in laws work.

Your brother or sister in law just means the sibling/s of your spouse and this dynamic does not work like a real sibling dynamic! That title stays between you and the siblings of your spouse, it does NOT get transferred to your siblings as well. Your siblings and the siblings of your spouse are NOT siblings in law!

Applying this to Jancy and Byler means Nancy and Will would be in laws and Jonathan and Mike would be in laws but neither Nancy and Jonathan nor Mike and Will would be in laws.

And as you said, neither of them except the existing siblings would be related to each other. As far as I know double in law weddings are also not something that’s frowned upon. There’s nothing controversial about it which means there’s absolutely Nothing to back up your claim that “they simply would not do it”.

It’s also not like we’d see Jancy or Byler get married anyway so it doesn’t actually matter at all that they would be double in laws (because you’re only in laws if you’re married. Yk, that’s why it’s called “in law”).

I also get the feeling that you’re not considering Nancy’s and Steve’s individual conflicts/scenes in s4 at all.

Very early on in the season it is established that Steve doesn’t know what he wants. He’s desperate to enter an actually meaningful relationship with a girl but there’s no girl he actually likes so he just asks out girl after girl and the dates all end in meaningless sex which frustrates Steve immensely. He wants to find “the one”, wants to get a sense of direction in his love life, and just like that the world turns to shit again and Nancy Wheeler walks back into his life. Steve longs for a time when he knew exactly what he wanted. Who he wanted. More than anything, Steve is being nostalgic in s4 because Nancy was the last girl he actually wanted and he wants to relive that feeling. He isn’t in love with Nancy, he just longs for the idea of being in love and being in a loving relationship.

Nancy on the other hand starts this season rambling about how much she loves Jonathan. She loves him very dearly but all this miscommunication between them frustrates her and makes her feel very insecure. Just like she tells Robin, Nancy is afraid that maybe Jonathan doesn’t love her anymore, that maybe he met someone else which is why she didn’t go to California. She was afraid that her visit would confirm her worst fears so not visiting was Nancy’s way of holding onto the hope that Jonathan still loves her as much as she loves him. Even so the insecurity that comes with the miscommunication and the long distance relationship in general bring sexual frustration and desperation for in person affection. I think Nancy isn’t really cut out for a long distance relationship, she needs her lover close.

And despite the fact that Nancy and Steve are not actually in love with each other, both of them are obviously attracted to each other. And desperate times call for desperate measures and that’s why Steve projects his wants onto Nancy, and why Nancy projects her needs onto Steve. That’s why we get all that sexual tension between them this season.

But there are also a couple of very important scenes in s4 that tell us that Steve and Nancy are not compatible/won’t end up together.

S2 makes it a point that Steve isn’t all that concerned with Barb’s death. Nancy is riddled with guilt and all Steve tells her is to relax and pretend like they’re normal teenagers. I’m not saying that he doesn’t care at all but he clearly doesn’t think it’s his fault that Barb died and he wasn’t actually friends with her so he lacks the need to avenge her. A need that Nancy has. Steve and Nancy aren’t on the same page about this subject which caused a lot of problems in their relationship and Nancy even tells Steve that “We killed Barb”. Now, s4 makes it a point to highlight Nancy’s trauma surrounding Barb’s death again. In her Vecna vision we see Barb dead in Steve’s pool, reminding us once again of what happened in s1 and how relevant it still is. Furthermore it shows us that Nancy has not even in the slightest moved on from it. Nancy is not coping well and considering the fact that her relationship with Steve is inseparably connected to Barb’s death in her mind this gives away that Nancy just could not handle a relationship with Steve again.

And I say this every time but the writers did not give Nancy all this trauma because her choosing Steve over Barb indirectly lead to Barb’s death only for Nancy to choose Steve again at the end of the story! What kind of conclusion would that be? An unsatisfactory one. An illogical one. A bad one.

Moving along, we have the 6 little nuggets speech from Steve which was not well received by Nancy. I guess the sentiment touches her in some way but she makes it clear that this is not the future She wants. 6 kids sounds like a nightmare to her and when it comes to having kids and what you want your future to look like you really should be on the same page which isn’t the case with Nancy and Steve at all. Steve’s speech is there to show us that these two aren’t compatible.

At the end of the season Nancy reunites with Jonathan who kinda tries to clear up what’s been going on (we couldn’t risk contact) and it ends in an embrace which is followed by Steve disappointingly looking down and Robin comfortingly looking at him as they walk away. It clearly shows us that Nancy was just passing time with Steve until Jonathan came back. It’s like spending all that time with Steve, becoming more and more aware of how incompatible they are made her long and miss Jonathan even more. Even so obviously not everything is sunshine and daisies between Nancy and Jonathan. They have problems in their relationship that s4 did not resolve which they still need to work through but I think they’re gonna work through them together as the last shot of the season foreshadows. You simply cannot claim that that shot foreshadows byler endgame only to then turn around and say that jancy will break up. That doesn’t make any sense.

Now, the only question that remains is why Eddie said that Nancy jumping into the water to save Steve was an act of true love. That’s what you’re confused about right? And I get that. It is kinda confusing but I actually think that s4 including Eddie’s line pretty clearly sets up Steve’s arc for s5 which is realizing that there’s more to life than romance.

Steve forces himself to go on dates with girls he doesn’t like because he’s so caught up in wanting romance even though he doesn’t have anyone he wants romance with. Steve isn’t in love. He just wants to be. He just can’t be happy if he’s single and that’s not healthy! Steve needs to learn that he doesn’t need to force romance if he doesn’t have it at the moment. He needs to learn to be content with not being in a relationship and above all he needs to learn that platonic love is just as meaningful as romantic love. Even more important in his case because the romantic love doesn’t actually exist at the moment. Nancy jumping into the water to save Steve is just as much an act of true love and just as meaningful if it’s platonic (which it is) and Steve needs to realize that. His 6 little nuggets are right there and Steve has to realize that (yes he even says that he had good practice for having future kids but he doesn’t realize that his dream is already true and that without him having to be in a romantic relationship. Not that he doesn’t deserve to be and I do hope some day he will meet the right girl, but his vision is so blurred with this obsession with romance that he doesn’t see what’s right in front of him).

I also think that the way Steve and Nancy’s connection is set up hints at them becoming friends instead of lovers. Steve and Nancy dated for about a year, broke up, didn’t have much contact for another year and then got back into contact. And that to me looks l a lot like exes becoming friends after having kept their distance for a wile due to their breakup. Nancy seeing Steve in a different light now (as she expresses to Jonathan at the end of the season) is her being ready to be friends with him, not falling in love. Though I don’t think Jonathan can tell (he’s obviously jealous when Nancy talks well about Steve) which will most likely be one reason for conflict between Nancy and Jonathan next season.

Stancy is going to be endgame. (probably)

Listen, okay. I don’t want it either but if you look at the straight facts it’s the only one that makes sense, unless Steve and Jonathan, el and will, Mike, or Nancy die. Which I don’t think any of you want

Let’s lay out the facts from season 4:

Jonathan will not be going to collage with Nancy

Jonathan also plans to slowly break up with her

Nancy and Steve rekindle their ‘friendship’

Steve confesses he can’t see himself with anyone else but her

“He’s actually not that bad”

Obviously they’re trying to hint at the breakup. I’m thinking this is a right person wrong time type of situation, but I think it goes deeper as well and may have accidentally been an accident.

Because hopper and Joyce are together now and because el was living with the Byers’s they became “family”. Jonathan and will call el their sister.

With Nancy and Mike also being siblings, this causes some problems.

If Nancy and Jonathan stay together and end up getting married, will and el, and Mike, now all become in laws. (Brother in law, sister in law) which would mean no matter what happens in the end (mileven or byler) they will still be in laws which happens sometimes in real life and yes they’re not actually related, BUT to put it in one of the highest ranking tv shows of our generation just isn’t possible. They simply would not do it.

And why would they rekindle romance between Nancy and Steve if it didn’t lead somewhere???

We know for a fact (probably) that Steve and Nancy or Jonathan and Nancy, and will and Mike or el and mike will happen (1 out of the two on each) and the only one that makes sense in my opinion is Steve and Nancy and mike and will because I think el is going to die (I can explain in a different post).

If both el and will die however, Jonathan and Nancy live happily ever after. So if you want them together that bad pray for that.

(There are all just my predictions but I’m pretty sure I’m right)