#also thanks again leven!

[sitp-recs]

Hi liv! I hope you’re having a great Friday! Do you have any recs for a “rainy romance” like something that may feature a lot of rain but is just cozy in essence. Think Little Compton Street maybe? Something that maybe one could read while listening to piano and rain sounds? Thanks for allllll that you do!!!!!

Hi anon, happy weekend! Oh I love this ask, as you know LCS is one of my all-time favorite fics and I really love the idea of a rainy, cozy love story to lose myself in. This got long enough so I’m also linking HP Drizzle Fest for more recs. I hope you enjoy, some fics are a bit melancholy but I still think they’re a great fit:

The Reason to Start Again by @phdmama (T, 2k)

The rain that’s been pouring down all day has finally tapered off, leaving the streets wet and a heavy mist hanging in the air. It’s warm and cosy inside the pub, and it’s been 362 days since Draco packed his bags and walked away.

Sky Full of Song by @writcraft (T, 2k)

Draco turns up at Harry's birthday party unexpectedly and Harry takes a leap of faith.

Petrichor by @tsauergrass (G, 2k)

After the war, Draco found himself uncontrollably drawn to the rain.

waltzing lights by @piarelei (T, 4k)

The rain is cold, the boat shaky and all that Draco can find comfort in is the warmth of Potter's presence. Or, Draco is a miserable sod and decides to take action.

Rainfall by Saras_Girl (T, 4k)

So what if Draco has a rain kink? Everyone likes something weird.

Twenty Minutes Till Free Fall by BelladonnaLee (T, 5k)

A night of rain. A bare-boned safe house. A clandestine meeting between a spy and his case officer. Being with Harry is like falling through the air—and Draco isn't sure he wants to stop.

Rain by Omi_Ohmy (NR, 5k)

Luna is getting married, and old friends meet up. It's too hot, and everything's changing for everyone except for Harry, who is still mooning after Draco.

A Little Understanding by disapparater (G, 6k)

Everybody needs good neighbours. During a storm, Harry turns to his newest neighbour for help.

Harmony (Left-Handed Melody Remix) by mindabbles (M, 6k)

He is the last person Draco was expecting, but then again, this is not a place Draco ever expected to be.

Howl by @tackytigerfic (M, 9k)

After an encounter with a vicious werewolf, Draco Malfoy wakes in a field hospital with a mangled shoulder, a furry little problem, and an inconvenient crush on Harry Potter. Potter, meanwhile, is still trying to save the world, only this time he wants Draco right there with him while he does it.

Impervius by ravenclawsquill (E, 11k)

Harry and Draco are working together on a case in the beautiful English Lake District. Or, it would be beautiful if only it would stop raining. Fortunately, Harry has an umbrella. Unfortunately, it's pink and frilly, and Draco would rather die than share it with him.

Voices From The Fog by @noeeon (E, 13k)

After years of running away, Harry crosses paths with an all-too familiar face and follows him to Amsterdam.

Exiled by A_factorygirl_69 (E, 16k)

Draco is declared persona non grata by the Ministry after the War. Harry has been tasked with keeping an eye on him, ensuring he stays out of England.

Bound To You by agentmoppet (E, 21k)

Hag magic is capricious and unruly, and Harry and Draco are bound to stay by each other’s side until they can solve the riddle. In between long car trips, misty rain, and midnight star charts, they begin to understand each other.

Thunder by keyflight790 (E, 21k)

The storm will disappear; the rain will subside; but what's left in its wake will last forever. A story of love and loss, redemption and thunder.

The Isle of Discussion by @shealwaysreads (E, 22k)

Harry and Draco arrive at the shores of Loch Leven to record the magical history of the land. They’re friends now, but up there in the Highlands, amidst the trees and sky and that wild expanse of water their own past is more present than ever; a gap they still can’t bridge. Magic illuminates the truth, but it is Harry and Draco who have to speak it. Happily, it turns out that honesty is, in fact, the best policy.

Better To Burn Than To Fade Away by Ren (E, 23k)

Harry Potter is a legend in the world of broomstick racing. He's won almost every cup, trophy, and bowl – except for the historical London-Nome which has been on hiatus for the past several years. Now the London-Nome is starting again, and Harry will do anything to pull off one last big win.

War Wounds by SilentAuror (E, 30k)

Some wounds take longer to recover from than others.

To Vanish Into Something Better by @m0srael (E, 35k)

Harry Potter thought he could outrun the burden of infamy by isolating himself in the Muggle world. Draco Malfoy hasn’t been seen or heard from since his trial. Will a top-secret Ministry project, a beautiful garden, and a little heat carry them both home?

The July Tree by @oknowkiss (E, 51k)

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail… nor well-meaning friends, nor questionable communication skills, nor seven years of hating each other’s guts can keep Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy from falling in love.

Nightcall by Femme and noeon (E, 116k)

A hideously mauled corpse is found sprawled across the paving stones of Brick Lane in the East End of London. Inspector Harry Potter--widely believed to be the lead candidate for next Deputy Head Auror--is called in to investigate a possible magical crime. To make matters worse, his occasional lover and former school-nemesis, Viscount Draco Malfoy, now billing himself as a consulting criminologist, shows up at the crime scene to aid in the investigation of the suspicious death.

Taking Chances by @gracerene (E, 135k)

After the war, Draco disappeared and started over in America, vowing never to return to Great Britain and the fraught past he left behind. Unfortunately, when his mates convince him to sign up for an exchange programme for the last year of their Auror Training, Draco learns that he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Artwork:

in my solitude comes our rain by @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm

Rain by @istehlurvz

Rain of Fate by @lilbeanz

[lightninghikaru]

Hello again! First of all, I just read Ch. 4 and i am shaking with anticipation! Also thank you very much for answering my last question. I hope you don't mind me asking this, but reading your "Turning Tides" series has unintentionally inspired me to try to make a story(or possibly series i don't know yet) similar to this. You know the "Chaos Born" lore you know. However, I wanted to get your permission first before getting started.

If it helps, I'll be adding my own twists and differences especially to how certain aspects of The Chaos Born. There will be some similarities but I'll be adding something new.

Instead of the name "Chaos Born" I will be calling them "Chaos Sparks."

Chaos( or at least the mention of him), Chaos Sparks, Creatures of the night, and quite possibly pirates will be included.

Shadow will be a creature of the night, but his origins will be vastly different.

Huge difference-Sonic and Shadow have already known each other at the very start of the story... But it's complicated and very angsty.

Sonic has always been aware of what he is, but that does not take away his adventurous spirit.

Instead of Shadow already knowing Rouge and Omega, you'll get to see Shadow develop his friendship with them after meeting them. Same with Sonic developing his friendship with Tails and Knuckles.

A lot of Johnny Depp movies helped inspire this fic (Not just "Pirates of the Carribean".)

Sonic is NOT the last of his kind. (I have OC's planned).

My girl Amy is going to be an interesting character indeed. With strong ties to Sonic and Shadow.

Sticks the Badger will be involved. 'Nuff said.

While the story mostly focuses on Sonic's world-lol "His World"- There may or may not be some small crossovers with a few other video game characters. Not a lot though.

The whole thing about Chaos Sparks finding Chaos Emeralds will be in there, and they are in danger of being hunted because of the gems and their gifts. But the story is mostly about Sonic and some of his friends trying to find what they're looking for.

I am currently in the process of making a pirate OC. But I promise they will not be a cheap knock-off of Leven, Grey, Jorah, and Scaro. But especially Leven and Grey!

If you would like I could drop in a reference from your story.

"Oh strong and silent type. Yeah I once knew a bear who was like that to."

"Oh what a brawl! Kind of reminds me of that time I fought with this really huge wolf!"

Lol, I'm just chuckling as I think of Sonic saying these things so casually or excitedly.

Anyway I hope this gives you assurance. But if you don't like, I will shelve this and it won't see the light of day.

Hello!

I'm honored that my story inspired you! I love the name Chaos Sparks! I appreciate the ask and I think that even with the different race elements being in there it still sounds different enough that people won't get the two AU's confused.

I'd say to keep the two AU's separate, maybe no reference to Tides within the story. Only because that might confuse people. If you would like to comment that Tides inspired you that I don't mind.

Please keep me posted! This sounds like an exciting story full of drama and angst and pirates! (all my faves)

Thank you again for asking and good luck!

[thewritingofspencerrose]

The Future of Redbull Racing

"Shh, shh, mijn liefje (my love)," Max tries to soothe, but my sobs continue, breaths heaving in and out of my body as I continue to stare at the article that Daniel had sent over. "Het spijt me, het spijt me (I'm sorry, I'm sorry), I'm sorry he's my father and that he's done this to us. I don't know where he got the photo."

"He hasn't spoken to Persephone in her life," I continue to sob, "And then we have a boy and he's telling the press using a photo your sister gave him."

"I know, I'm so sorry," He apologizes once more.

"I just want Persephone to feel loved by him. To have a local grandparent, my parents live all the way in America and Jos is everywhere!"

"I'm so sorry."

"Max you didn't do this," I try to coo, my heart breaking all over again at the tears in his eyes. Wiping them away with the pads of my thumbs, I pull him into my chest, trying to soothe not only my twenty-eight year old husband, but also the broken boy that I met when he was twelve and I was ten, following Lando to a karting race. "He's just a violent, arrogant man that is only looking out for himself and the racing career he can build from you and August," I try to comfort, but I know there is no consoling what has happened.

"He's gone."

"He hasn't been around for a while, Ma-"

"No," He interrupts, tears still rolling down his face as he sits up, eyes hard. "He's no longer allowed at my races. In our lives. In Persephone's or Augustus'. Jos Verstappen is no longer a name in this house."

And I can't help but be shocked, my eyes wide and red from crying. Max has put up with a lot from his father the last twenty-eight years.

And Jos has apparently crossed the line.

"Okay. You know I'll support you in this," I assure, his eyes meeting mine. "I mean hell Max, I cussed him out after a race because he was giving you a hard time for getting P2. I just wish he would have let us introduce August in our own time."

"I know. And we may have wanted a few more months of keeping him to ourselves, but we can always turn this around. Make this how we want it. "Dit is ons leven, mijn hart." (This is our life, my heart)

liked by redbullracing, landonorris, and 783,209 more

em.verstappen while my husband and i were hoping to wait to announce the birth of our son, it seems as though a man in the persuit of lateral fame had other ideas. world, meet Augustus Maximus Verstappen, or as we've taken to calling him, August. August was born in, surprise surprise, not August, but June 16th of this year, and we have been loving our lives as a family of four more than you could even imagine.

maxverstappen1 thank you for Persephone and August, they are the best products of my life, and you are the best person in my life

em.verstappen it takes two to make perfection maxie <3

danielricciardo love my god-children more than i do my life

em.verstappen i think my husband loves you enough to make up for that

maxverstappen1 you know it baby ;) danielricciardo

landonorris who needs a god-mum when you can have two godfather's, right danielricciardo? 🤜

danielricciardo you know it 🤛

[blossom-tonic]

▪︎ You are getting reckless ▪︎

-> Loid Forger x GN!Reader

(Y/N) was Agent stationed in Westalia.

One of the few Agent who managed to not the get caught by the Secret Police. They mostly accept missions which are in the night time to not draw much suspicion. The only Mission they accepted which was placed in the day time was the Strix Mission.

(Y/N) also prefers to work alone but again they make the exception for the Strix Mission.

Their were asked to play the fake partner and fake parent for Agent Twilight and his adopted daughter Anya. Of course since it was an order they couldn't say anything against it. But that doesn't meant that they didn't do other missions along the way.

Of course they make sure that Twilight knew what their where up to but for Anya they used the excuse that work held them up a little longer.

Thanks to her telepathic powers the little child knew about the real occupation her parents did but didn't say anything since she doesn't want to be taken away from them.

Today was such a day where (Y/n) said that their gonna come home late.

"Work said that they going to need me for something, so don't expect me to be home for dinner" (Y/n) said while wrapping their coat around them. Loid was reading something and just answered with a nod while little Anya walked up to her parent and looked up to them.

"ok, please be careful. And come back soon". The pink haired girl smiled. She knew that their parents are experts in their works and don't have to worry but she also noticed the bandages (Y/n) wears from time to time.

The spy just smiled sweetly at the child and kneeled down to her leven to give Anya a soft forehead kiss. They took a liking to this kid, she was a bit to much sometimes but children are supposed to be active and happy.

It seemed that Loid didn't pay attention to the sweet interaction but he held a small smile which was hidden behind his book. It strangely warmed his heart to see his mission partner and daughter interacting.

With a smile and goodbye from (Y/n), they went outside and closed the door. The sweet presence of the adult changed into something serious as they made their way to the destination of the mission.

It was simple really, they are assigned to stop a robbing from happening. It was at dock's so there wouldn't be any people at this time around.

--------------------------------

Everything went normals at first but one of the robbers had a knife. The didn't injure (Y/n) bad but it was enough to left a cut on their left check. But the mission was dealt quickly and they vanished before the police arrived.

(Y/n)'s body arched and hurted in all places and not to mention the sting of the cut but they made it home. They opened the door and noticed that it was pitch black.

"They must be sleeping" they mumbled to themselves and went to kitchen to get a glad of water.

They refused to put the light back on since they didn't want to wake Anya and Loid so they just had to be careful while searching the glass and the sink. But their dismay the sudden light made them blink and made the dropping the glass which shattered into thousand prices.

"Fuck.." (Y/n) cursed and started picking up the glad carefully when Loid came into their view and started helping them

"i apologize, i didn't want to scare you. I heard the door and just wanted to see what that sound was." He explained and wrapped the glass shards around paper and put in the trash.

"it fine. I didn't mean to wake you." (Y/n) said and took another glass and drank from it once it was full with water.

"How was the Mission? Everything went alright?"

(Y/n) nodded and put the glass away "just got a small cut and some bruises"

Loid noticed the cut which stopped bleeding but it was still open and probably risked to be infected. He opens a cabinet and took a medical kit out.

"Remove your shirt. I need to treat the wounds."

"i can treat them myself, i don't want to trouble you..."

"You aren't troubling me, and also you probably don't want Anya to get suspicious when she sees your injury's right?"

(Y/n) hated that he pulled the Anya card. They really started to care for the child and they don't want to worry her. She had enough going on with school and everything. So they just listened and removed their Shirt and turned to Loid.

Loid pulled out some rubbing alcohol and a cotton wrap and turned the injured adult. He couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated as he saw the bruises on his partners body. He never really cared for their appearance but something about those injury's in their beautiful body didn't sit right with him.

As he put some alcohol on the cotton he slowly rapped on the injury's on their rips and moved upwards. (Y/n) couldn't help but hiss quietly as the alcohol was doing the job. They were kinda thankful that Loid was there to help them. They new that they would just do this in the darkness bc they are to stubborn to put on the light.

As Loid was done with their body, he moved to their face. He slowly cradled the adults face to turn (Y/n)'s head to see the cut better. He just sighed and started tapping the cotton on the skin again.

This time the spy gripped into the blonds arm as the alcohol came in contact with the open skin. In hurts like hell and burns too.

Loid looked at their parents face with a flash of concern and stopped his movement. He wanted to ask of they are alright but (Y/n) let go of his arm and nodded for him to continue.

With a sigh he continues to disinfect the wound.

" you are getting more reckless.."

"are you now worried for me now?" (Y/n) smirked a little and felt loud putting a band aid on the cut. His touch was soft and kinda comforting.

"well i still need you to complete the mission and Anya..." He started to explain while putting the first aid Kit back in the cabinet.

"I understand Loid. Don't worry, i won't get killed. I wouldn't leave Anya...or you for that matter" (Y/n) explained with a small smile and picked up their shirt.

Loid couldn't help but smile genuinely at the comment. It was nice... doing a Mission and not being alone with the pressure.

"Well it late, and someone need to wake Anya tomorrow before she misses school. Good night Loid." They smiled and walked to their room and closed the door.

Loid put out the light and went to his one bedroom. He needed to asked the agency to tone down the mission assignment for his partner. He didn't want to see anymore serious wound on them even tho it give him a chance to care for them without having to explain himself.

[paladibun]

personal gay/bi mike ramblings & other late night thoughts //

Been thinking about how I relate way more to gay Mike as a bi dude rather than to bi Mike. (This isn’t whos interpretation is right or anything) I’ve seen the post that was like both gay byler would portray different experiences under one label and show that no label outright owns a specific experience. A bi Mike’s arc would be more about choices in relation to others with less introspection and a gay Mike’s arc would explain internal turmoil and self depreciation in relation to a queer identity and the need to hide it, which would require more of it . And ofc gay people don’t own this flavor of experience but in Mike’s case would explain his actions if under that lense for me personally. Also noticed the later headcanon is more prevalent for those with a bigger Mike bias than Will which is interesting.

Also thinking about what a mess or I guess how much ambiguity there is in both Will & Mike’s characterization when it comes to their relation to their sexualities which ultimately causes people to develop strong opinions and get angry when people get their arcs or dynamics wrong. The thing is that the Duffers like ambiguity - it gives them freedom and they also don’t like to state things outright when it comes to identities and very important sociopolitical issues while trying to be “realistic” /half-neg ( ex: Karen & Nancy talking about feminism without mentioning women, the way Robin’s coming out was handled without mentioning any gay words while the show is comfortable using homophobic words )

Anyway almost got heated on a completely separate topic.

It is sometimes confusing as to what is meant to be presented as a “Will Arc” and a “Mike Arc” On the one hand Will struggles from overt homophobia from others and from Lonnie growing up, on the other hand he has Joyce, Jonathan, Mike, and the party who adore him and while I doubt Will understands that they would accept him no matter what, there’s definitely an earlier self acceptance in his identity as a hyper-visible gay man(you can see it with the Turing Project & the bravery with the painting). I define internalized homophobia as “a set of complex contradicting behaviors based on society’s homophobia and heteronormative pressures” and some people define it as “being sad that people are being homophobic to someone” I think both Will and Mike have degrees of both and sometimes it’s hard to see how much of either both characters have. And for Mike, it solely depends on how you read his sexuality thus explaining his actions and feelings. Again, it is vague which I think is humanizing and realistic.

I won’t touch the dynamics topic until the tag evolves beyond late stage fandom spoon/fork binarization of gay relationships but just noting that aspect of byler isn’t void of complexity.

One last thought for the night:

Just looking at the fandom and noticing unfortunate patterns. Mainly the desire to be right above all else and largely at the expense of collective fun and creativity which is like the main point of fandom. I think it comes mostly from having to fight the GA and m*levens to prove we aren’t crazy (insert Joyce Byers gif here) a year ago and that mentality sticking for way too long. Like the desire to to defend your thoughts and feel your feelings strongly about a topic is amazing and is another big fandom driver but at some point people getting angry for fanon, headcanons, people having fun making things in a way that isn’t popular loud accounts approved is honestly concerning. I see it a lot from the side I agree with too and it’s like. We can do better right? Not everything needs to be activism tinged?

Anyway anyway thanks for reading this far I’m passing the whole fandom edibles as we collectively rewatch the source material and resetting our very “seeing red at posts we disagree with” adled brains. 💕

[despapillon]

stupid how you managed to make a dick joke out of innocent shot. and hosegate oh no that is awful. Byler is not going to be in relationship. what show have you been watching certainly not Stranger Things more like Gayer Things. Duffer have had an emotional love declaration by Mike and you believe Byler? that is sad. it may not be romantic but to Duffers it is. same men that wrote in Steve talking about his breeding kink to Nancy and framed it as romantic. just because something is the better choice in your eyes does not mean that will happen. after events of show i can only see Mike and El get married. Duffers try to convince he is straight and they intend him to be but Mike reads as deep in closet. fans dw Will is going to get over Mike and find a bf that is give him happiness he deserves. but Mike? Mike will forever be in loveless marriage and he is never ever going to get over Will. in his thirties and beyond that he is going to suffer and not stop thinking about how everything would be different if he accepted his sexuality and chose Will not El. he is going to hate himself for making such a mistake

listennnnnnnnnn. ppl were talking about hosegate so i just made a reference to the rolled up painting shot. i wasnt the one that noticed it first. i only knew it was a thing because of Bylers discussing it. i had the pic saved, as i was preparing a post that i scrapped that was about Will and the allegations he had, including fake stuff spread around that S3 Will would have a p*rn magazine and the speculations that Will is going to sleep around with random men in S4 and my thoughts on this plus the sexualization dramas like Byler sex in the show, Byler kiss not being chaste, writing Byler smut, Mike supposedly checking Will out, hosegate and other phallic imagery. i decided against that and now i think that was a good choice because it would drive some wild.

i never truly meant the rolled up painting thing was intentional i was simply saying what was a regular shot became dirty to me thanks to Bylers influence. i’m sorry i didn’t mean to offend anyone. i still find it funny but i feel bad for making that post. i guess i should have kept it to myself. i had no idea it would come off this inappropiate. though the characters are only 15 (i think) so that is on me for not caring how uncomfortable it could make others.

now onto the rest of your ask. i don’t know if Byler is going to be together. i don’t. i ship it because i like it. when we get the next season we will see. i willingly choose to spend my time on discussing Byler knowing i’m not really that confident in it. nobody is forcing me to do this. i know we may get queerbaited. but i don’t care.

there is that section of Bylers that got utterly destroyed by vol 2 and either converted to M!leven and now mock us for still shipping Byler (there must be a name for that phenomenon because how) or are bitter and lashing out at Duffers because they lost their faith and now Byler bad. i assume you are the second. i hope you are proven wrong because you seem heated about the topic. to the point you sent me an ask about it.

Duffers did make a lot of writing mistakes and choices i disagree with. whether Byler happens or not i do plan on discussing what i had a problem with after watching s5 because i need to see how they will handle the characters’ arcs to make a post as there could be surprises awaiting us. and talk about how i’d handle certain plotlines as a person that can’t write anything coherent.

keep in mind that Montauk, the original ST, drew inspo from It, and if there was a potential season 2 to Montauk, they wanted to straight up go the It route by having the characters grown up and some leave the town then come back when it all gets fucked up again and join forces for the second time.. they do also mention It, and Stephen King as inspiration. you can see it in the current series too. Willelmike is literally a ripoff of the love triangle between Ben, Bev and Bill. Ben’s poem and Will’s painting.. it’s so blatant. and those that watched the movies know how said love triangle ends.

Gayer Things is a great series that i suggest you need to have more faith in.

[erikiara80]

favorite/least favorite Byler and M!leven scenes?

Ciao, anon. Thanks for the ask.

If you follow my blog I hope you know that I'm not a fan of Mike and El as a couple. I like a few scenes, but I don't think their relationship is good for them or that they're actually in love.

Ok, if you're still reading, let me explain.

I never found them cute, not even in S1. When I watched it I didn't understand why the writers were writing such a good story set in the 80s, but with El and Mike it felt like I was actually watching an 80s show with the typical story, boy and girl kiss/end up together because... boy and girl must date. It felt wrong to me. It wasn't what ST was about. Now I understand that I was supposed to feel that way.

That being said, El and Mike are beautiful, complex characters, so these are the scenes I like.

1. El would (understand). Ok, not saying this is a Mlv scene, but Mike can be vulnerable with Will and say how he really feels. And I love what he says about El. He's right. She would understand. The funny thing, is that I think she would (and will) understand Will much better than how she understands Mike.

2. I feel for them here. El's been isolated for so long, and Mike misses her and feels guilty for what happened to her. Interestingly, Castle Byers is playing here...

3. From one look you can see the joy, the relief and all the pain this kid must've felt. Amazing (one of Finn's best performances)

4. If I remember correctly, this was actually Millie being exhausted, not El, and Finn helped her. But it's in the show, and I love it.

This s pretty much it.

My least favorite mlvn scene: 3x01. How they left their friends on Weathertop, and them making out and laughing at Hopper's face. Lol, those little shits.

With Byler, it's the opposite. There's only one scene I don't like. The dnd campaign in S3. I know it's important and even foreshadowing of events in S5, but like the rain fight it reminded me of something that happened to me. That's all I'm going to say.

Now, my favorite Byler scenes...

1. Probably my favorite scene of the show, imo one of the best and also Finn's best perfomance. The shed scene is such a pivotal moment, when we learn, along with Will I'm sure, that asking him to be his friend was the best thing Mike has ever done. It all started with Will and Mike. Their bond is special, and it's forever. They were the ones who started the first party and they will start a new one together.

2. You can feel how much they need each other and want to be close again. A precious moment that almost made me cry.

3. He's quiet today. Four words that mean so much. The fact that Lucas says He's always quiet informs us that Will and Mike's relationship is different. That Mike knows Will better that the rest of the party and that Will opens up to him. And Mike does the same, as we see in the Crazy together scene.

4. Mike's head on Will's heart. Adorable

5. Another little moment that is so important. Just a Not possible, a flirty look and Mike's smile. They don't need anything else. Steve would've felt it, the electricity.

6. Speaking of Mike's smiles, the ones in the van are something beautiful

7. Crazy together. What else can I say?

8. I love Will's sweet voice here: "It was you guys who saved me. It was you guys." Mike tries to hide a smile (he's so happy that Will is saying that he helped save him) Then Will's flirty: It always is, isn't it?" And Mike melts. It was too much for him.

Honorable mention:

And this (Gif credits to Celebslive)

[jaylikesrainbowtigers]

Tag game, Stranger things edition

@hargrove-mayfields tagged me so you know I have to do this. Thank you so much!!

Ride or die ship: Hollogrove. Heather and Billy are my bread and butter. Like so much of my stranger things content is them. I just love them healing and growing together.

Most annoying ship: St*ncy. I just hate it. What Nancy did to Steve was kind of something you can’t return from. I have seen the effects of a similar relationship on one of my irl besties and I would never wish it on anyone. I would cry if that ship happened in S5.

3. Second favourite ship: Either Elumax (platonic Elucas) or Eddie x Chrissy x Steve x Jonathan (with Jonathan, Eddie and Steve dating Argyle and Chrissy dating Robin. If someone has a ship name please suggest in the comments). I adore these ships as the developed relationships there are just *chef’s kiss* but the people who haven’t met? Just so much cute potential for love!

4. Favourite platonic dynamic: Stobin is my platonic tea. I adore Steve and Robin and believe whole heartedly that they are disabled besties. Platonic soulmates.

5. Underrated ship: Hollogrove obviously but Cunningway, Cheerscoops, Photocheer, Stargyle, and Murrlexi. Those ships are also so top tier but underrated. There are so many more.

6. Overrated ship: M*leven. Again I hate it. It is so teenage abuse romanticized. And too many people think that it is healthy or OTP. To be honest, Mike is a bit of an ick for me anyway.

7. One thing to change in canon: Destroy any hints or hopes of St*ncy or M*leven or any abusive relationship. Stop the characters putting up with it, to the extent that it is romanticized. Abuse is not good or something to be idealized. And actually include canon disabilities please.

8. One thing canon did right: Making Robin a lesbian and allowing Max and Eleven to have a strong friendship which is not focused on the boys. That trope is so overused so I am glad it was not used.

9. A thing I am proud of creating for the fandom: I am really proud of my Hollogrove stuff because there is so little content for my babies. But some of my work for @disabledbillyandsteveweek is also something I am super proud of and I can’t wait to show people.

10. A character who is perfect to me: Heather Holloway is my queen. Like she is so sweet and caring but obviously has so much depth potential. The Duffers really made a mistake not giving her more screen time. They could have done so much.

11. Most relatable character and why: Robin is the most relatable character for me. Her social awkwardness and passion for certain topics is really relatable to me. We are both band kids, lesbians and we even look fairly alike!

12. Character I hate most and why: Karen. Moral trash who willing flirted and tried to seduce a child her daughters age. She also put down other teenagers simply because she was being petty??? Like she is the adult in this situation. Even though she backed out of meeting Billy, the fact that she ever flirted with him is creepy. If you reversed the genders, the fandom would be freaking out and be like it’s so creepy!! It’s still the same situation?? Of course, it is creepy. Neil Hargrove is a close second.

13. Something I have learned from the fandom: To be more confident in sharing my opinions and work. Before I met a lovely group of people in the fandom I was so scared of being attacked for my preferences in the fandom but they showed me that despite us all not shipping or producing the same thing, we can all still support and respect each other. It really helped my social anxiety around sharing stuff, particularly for this fandom, online.

14. Three tags I seek out on ao3: I don’t actually read much stranger things on ao3 but Hollogrove, Hellcheer, and fantasy au’s are probably my top three for the fandom. I really want to see more fantasy au’s that aren’t just werewolves or vampires. I might actually write one now.

15: A song I strongly associate with otp and/or my favourite character: Pretty Brown Eyes by Cody Simpson for Hollogrove for a YouTube edit I saw. Love that song for them. Love Story by Taylor Swift is a close second.

I’m tagging @stranger-themes-blog, @carito-dorito , @mrsblackruby , @iloveyoubillyhargrove. Please don’t feel obligated to do this but I thought that I would share this with other stranger things fans.

[morganee]

Hello!! How do you imagine the love confession between Mike and Will in season 5? 🌈🌈🌈

Hiii Dani 💛 omg I love your ask First of all, I apologise for answering so late ✨ as always ✨ Okay, let's start by saying that I've imagined many scenarios, but I think the painting will for sure start the discussion that will eventually lead to them confessing to each other. I'm a bit conflicted because while I want byler to get together ASAP, I also want Mike to have some time for himself, too. So I'll give you two scenarios, sorry lol

If Byler gets together right after the events of Vol. 2: Mike finds out that Will lied about the painting and corners him in the basement to ask him about it. They start to fight because Will obviously doesn't want to tell him the truth, so he decides to leave when it gets too much. They end up in front of the garage again (and it's obviously a rainy day) and Mike insists until he shouts "Why did you lie?" and Will breaks down, turns around and screams "Because I love you!". Then it's just Will confessing his feelings and Mike looking at him confused and surprised. He doesn't say anything and Will leaves and hides in the cabin.

They don't get to talk the next day (I would like to get a scene where we see Mike in his room looking at the painting, staring at the ceiling, you know, letting everything sink in and realising everything) because they have to go on separate missions. Before they go, Mike goes to Will and tells him something like "Don't do anything stupid" and Will answers "I already did" and it's obvious he's referencing to him telling Mike about his feelings, thinking he's just ruined their friendship.

When they come back from their missions, Will is hurt and Mike obviously goes crazy. It's not too bad but still, it takes Will a few hours to wake up. When he does, Mike is beside him holding his hand and Mike tells him that yes, he's done something stupid and that was not telling him the truth in the van because he loves him, too.

If Byler gets together after the time skip: I have a less detailed scenario for this but I imagine that we would get some moments at the beginning of the time skip where we realise that Mike clearly has feelings for Will (he's all clumsy around him, makes heart eyes at Will and is even more protective of him, you know: usual Mike). Then the Supernatural Plot™ happens and we get some moments with high tension between them. We could get Mike looking at the painting before going into battle (kind of like remembering how this all started) and it's just them again and Mike blurts out that he's in love with him (it would be so funny to get a moment like in Pirates of the Caribbean when Will and Elizabeth get married lmao that'd be funny). Or maybe! Mike could confess his love for Will while they're hiding somewhere and it's quiet, it would be a nice contrast to m*leven.

I'm just so curious to see how they're actually going to do it, as long as they give it to us (in a nice and respectful way, thank you very much) then I'll be happy :')

Also, little side note then I swear I'll shut up: I think we need to hear them say "I love you" to each other, even though I know that the other endgame couples haven't said those words to each other, but I feel like S5 could be the season where everyone gets to say it to their faces? It'd be nice 💛 Sorry for this long answer :')

[thesapphiresoul]

howdy! so i was tagged by @levencamthenone (thank you btw!) so let’s get going

name: saph

birthday: march 9 (which is the day before leven up there. so that’s crazy)

hobbies: if i’m being honest i have too many. but to start: reading, drawing, writing, d&d, and most recently, making friendship bracelets. oh and also consuming lots of anime and podcasts.

favorite color: blue probably? i always say i don’t care but everything i own is the same shade of blue. i mean, even my hair is blue so....

height: 5’2” i’m just a leetle bloo gremlin, you know?

favorite book: ok get ready for a long winded answer bc i love to talk about books. so if i had to pick a single favorite book, probably Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. but that’s technically part of a series so if i had to pick a stand alone, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. but!! if you want my favorite books ever of all time?? The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. i even have a blog for it —> @beesandbravery (honorable mentions include anything by Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, or Rick Riordan)

last song i listened to: i’m still standing from the rocketman soundtrack!!

last movie i watched: just rewatched both mamma mia movies with my best friend bc she moved away for college :’)

inspiration/muse: boy have i been creating a lot of beaujes content lately, let me tell you. love my bloo gorls <3

dream job: i want to tell stories!! i don’t really know how though!!! i love reading novels but i also love comics but i also love animation but i also love dungeons and dragons so i don’t know!! i can’t pick a storytelling medium ahhh

meaning of url: uhh love my boy caleb. and he’s from critical role so... ta-dah!

tag eight people: okie dokie! @tazmcgay @kimabutch @indigoscout @phantom-box-5 @screechingzippereggbat @geekycriticalrolo @trashy-cannot @shionz

[booksandpaperss]

We as a fandom are rlly underestimating how confused and *hurt* Mike is gonna feel when he finds out Will lied about the painting like-

Quick disclaimer before I explain: this is not any sort of Will slander. I love Will Byers so much only Mike Wheeler could top how much I love Will kdkdjsjj

Ok now with that said, let’s look at the whole PaintingSituationTM from Mike’s perspective:

As far as Mike is concerned, he’s pretty much told Will multiple times that he doesn’t feel like his relationship with El is working anymore. He’s thinks he’s being clear, and he probably just assumes Will understands that since Will has *always* been able to understand Mike instantly.

Unfortunately, he’s completely unaware that Will is convinced Mike is in love with El because Will fully and wholeheartedly believes that he’s wrong for how he feels abt Mike, and Mike being in love with his sister is some sort of karma. This is what causes Will to push Mike towards El in a misguided but well meaning attempt to make him feel better. To will, it doesn’t really matter if he’s lying, because *of course* El needs Mike, who wouldn’t need Mike? Will needs Mike, and if El and Mike are in love, of course El would feel the exact same way, right?

But Mike doesn’t know any of this. All he knows is that his best friend (that he’s also in love with) is actively pushing him back into his relationship with El. Even if Mike is confused by what Will said abt El’s feelings, since it doesn’t add up with what he *knows* is happening between them, he chooses to believe Will bc if there’s anyone that would always, *always* be honest with Mike, it was Will, and Mike knows that Will would never push Mike back into his crumbling relationship with El based on only a lie… or so he thinks.

Now, Mike is once again under the impression that El still needs him romantically, hence his speech in surfer boys, where he tells El what he *thinks* she wants to hear from him in a desperate attempt to save her life. He also most likely feels like he owes it to El to try and love her romantically, since he *does* love her, and he thinks she needs it to be romantic, so he makes himself try bc if there’s anything we know about Mike wheeler, it’s that he feels like he needs to be *needed* in order to be worthy of someone’s love (someone plz give this boy a hug omfg).

Alright, keeping in mind all that messy context, let’s go back to what we know about m*leven. It’s pretty likely that El is gonna break up with Mike in the first (or maybe second) episode of s5, and she’s gonna tell him he shouldn’t have lied, and that she doesn’t need him the way he thinks she does. El’s gonna dump Mike’s ass again and enter her girlboss era (Max will be so proud). This…. Is gonna leave Mike HELLA confused. Why did El ask Will to make that painting about how she needed Mike if she didn’t??

And it’ll click for him: Will lied. Mike’s not gonna understand why, all he’ll know is that Will lied to him about El’s feelings and basically set Mike up for failure. Mike’s gonna be confused and hurt just from that alone, not to mention that fact that he’s ALSO still trying to come to terms with how he feels about Will, even though Will unintentionally gave Mike a set back for that. And we know Mike wheeler, when he gets really confused and upset about his relationship to and with Will (guys, trust me, unaddressed mutual gay feelings can make a friendship a MIND FIELD) what does he do? He gets angry and lashes out.

In conclusion, this is gonna massively blow up in Will’s face, and byler is going to have their worst argument yet. If we think the rain fight in s3 was bad, this is gonna be so. Much. Worse.

On the plus side, the fights gonna obliterate most if not all of Mike and Will’s built up miscommunication, so we’re gonna get a high payoff, it’s just gonna hurt really badly first 🥲

If you made it this far thank you for reading all of this and I hope you enjoyed kdjsjsj

I love analyzing these two so much I think abt them 24/7 it’s a problem 💀

[lightninghikaru]

I'm curious as to how the crew of The Final Hazard felt around the time of Uncle Chuck's funeral and Sonic's return to Soleanna. We see the crew-mainly Leven and Grey saddened for Sonic, and both are carrying guilt for not protecting their little blue friend from Black Doom. ("Embers" has him tell Amy he feels guilty for what happened). But how do they feel about the whole adventure in general?

We know Shadow feels guilt for Uncle Chucks death. The reason this whole adventure started was because he had kidnapped Sonic. If he had left Sonic on the Fleetwood, he and his family would 've been safe at home.

How do the crew feel though? Sure they were acting on Shadow 's orders but they took joy in what they did. Does Leven feel guilt for using Tails? Does Grey still think about how he held his sword to Sonic 's neck, even drawing blood from him?

There's another thing about Grey that I'm curious about. In Ch. 19 i think, when Sonic tries to offer himself up to those pirates only for Shadow to warp them to the ship. What was going on in Grey's head? He said some things that stuck out to me.

One being how he knew about Shadow marking Sonic. Did Shadow tell him? I thought it was private. Or did they all just see the mark on Sonic 's neck and connect the dots?

And another thing-something that blew me away!- He actually said it after Sonic told him he just didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"Yer in the den of the scum of the earth and you were worried about others getting hurt?" And " i get your heart was in the right place but don't do that again. They could've done worse besides injure. "

Like Grey is a pirate! He loves being a pirate! He's proud of it! The adventure, the brawling, the swordfighting, sailing with his captain and crew! Shadow even says that Emerald Cove is everyone's favorite destination!

But now he's saying it as a bad thing - which it is, it very much is, but from Grey's pirate standards it's surprising that he says this. Is he including himself as the scum of the earth? Like "Sonic there are very bad people who'd want to hurt you! And I'm really really sorry that I was one of them!!!"

I'm probably overanalyzing and I'm sorry about that but I just wanted to hear your thoughts.

Thanks so much for the ask! I will admit it took me a moment to figure out what the ask was.

Grey started off as just an obstacle for Sonic to overcome at the beginning of the story. Just another pirate who saw him as an easy target.

But he became so much more than I anticipated. He loves his life as a pirate. To Grey, those on the Final Hazard are at a higher caliber than those who frequent Emerald Cove.

That being said he also knows that he and Sonic are from different worlds. And after what happened he thought the worst and was trying to use wording that others call pirates for Sonic to better understand.

So to the question, no, Grey doesn't see himself as scum but he understands that there are many pirates who are.

[paladin-n-cleric]

I saw the “tell me your thoughts” button and figured I would tell you my horrible horrible thoughts

-m!leven wedding getting ready scene in s5 instead of prom getting ready scene. mike looks at el and goes “pretty.” like that s1 scene

-mike gets his own “six little nuggets” speech. El is thrilled at the concept. except mike doesn’t even want the road trip aspects he just wants 6 kids in the suburbs. they compromise by having one kid (will wheeler)

-m!leven wedding except they throw the bouquet to see who’ll get married next. dustin catches it. Suzie has quelled her brief rebellious phase and redirected her interest in science to an interest in housewifery. dustin has been converted to mormonism.

-argyle joins a group called “Parents Against Pot” to speak out about the dangers of the devil’s lettuce

-hopper apologizes to Mike for ever talking bad about m!leven. he says that he shouldn’t have gotten in the way of true love.

-mike gives another wedding speech that parallels his pizzeria monologue. he talks about how his life started the day he met el and how she was wearing the big Benny’s burger t shirt. he ends it with “she’s my superhero.” the audience cheers. not once did he mention anything he likes about el as a person.

-will wheeler gets Will’s wizard hat

-scene of jane and Mike wheeler in their shared suburban house 011 kitchen. Jane made eggos for dinner again. Mike complains lightly about “eggos again??” Mike refuses to cook and yet does not refuse to complain.

-scene of mike and will wheeler sleeping on the lazy boy together like ted and holly in s3

-mike reading a letter at Will’s grave in a parallel to max in s4 except mike ends the letter with “love, mike.” because it’s a letter he wrote for Jane. he wants Will to hear that he’s in love, to hear his letter for Jane, and to thank Will for doing that painting that el commissioned and therefore rebuilding their relationship.

i’m at school rn. i’m going to throw up all over the floor. these cruel little thoughts of yours have kept me up all night and i also want to be your best friend.

THE LETTER TO WILLS GRAVE?????? MIKE BECOMING A SHIT HUSBAND????? I FEEL SICK AND NOT IN THE GOOD WAY

[beepboop358]

Hii!

I'm really disappointed with how s4 turned out thanks to vol 2 mostly. And maybe it's just me but i feel like now even if we get byler in s5, i just can't help but think that they would do a really bad job of executing it. I think they will also most likely have them end up together at the very end, who knows it might also be very subtle or something and that would suck. I know it's early to say but I just don't think i can trust anymore them seeing the writing in s4, I'm especially upset about Mike's character and even his relationship with El, even though i don't ship them, it was just so poorly done... i really hope s5 makes up for everything byler and we had to go through tho, but that's the thing there's too much things to fix from s4, specifically vol 2. I mean if byler ends up being endgame then what was the reason for s4, again vol 2 especially. i just idk i keep switching up from having no hope to having a tiny bit of hope, maybe im being too negative, but the disappointment was too real yesterday...i feel like i will go insane by the time s5 comes out

Anyway sorry for the rant lol, but what do you think?

have a good day/night!

hi!!

I ABSOLUTELY AGREE. Even if we get byler in s5, I've lost all faith that they will do it the right way and do their story justice after seeing how un-developed they left characters in season 4, and how many subplots were brought up once and then were ultimately completely dropped and never brought up again. I've just lost all faith in them being able to fix this, and do it the right way. I think we'll be disappointed with whatever we get in season 5, all because of the disaster that they created in vol. 2. I will never understand how season 4 was necessary, whoever ends up being endgame. I still have some hope that byler will happen, but I don't have hope they'll do it the right way. Heck, they can't even write m!leven well!

You're always welcome to rant to me!! I totally agree with you and all these thoughts are really valid and bring up some great points.

hope you're well! xx

[aemiron-main]

One thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how m!leven is actually essential for a proper endgame byler.

For both will and Mike to be the first and only person that either of them’s dated? I think it’s feasible for one person in the dynamic to be that way (Will), but not so much both. I’m not saying that it can’t happen irl/in shows, but I do think that in this case, it would feel unrealistic and make byler’s dynamic feel like a cheaper “love at first sight” dynamic (like what m!leven is), rather than the longterm friendship and eventual romance built upon mutual care and years of getting to know eachother before finally falling in love that comes with Mike and Will’s dynamic. Mike getting to have some relationship experience before getting together with Will just strengthens their dynamic imo, because now Mike knows what he wants/needs in a relationship.

If byler had become canon without either of them having a developed relationship with someone else prior to eachother, then not only would it come across as cheap, like I mentioned, but people would also be quick to dismiss it as “oh, well they don’t actually know what they want because they’ve only ever known eachother, they’re just confused.” Which is shitty, but homophobic ST fans already look for any excuse to delegitimize lgbt relationships in the show.

M!leven’s dynamic has given us so much insight into what does and doesn’t work for Mike in terms of relationship dynamics. It demonstrates things like him needing to be needed, and needing to protect people, and therefore, needing someone who needs him. M!leven doesn’t get in the way of byler, in fact, it was necessary development for Mike to be able to have a genuine and fulfilling relationship with Will. Imagine if all of the “mike being a poser and lying to his s/o etc” shitty stuff that happened with M!leven happened with byler instead because mike never got the opportunity to make mistakes in another relationship & sort himself out more emotionally.

Mike’s relationship with Will is only going to be made stronger by his experiences with El. And Will’s faith in his relationship with Mike (esp since Will hates himself so much & seems to struggle with feeling like people don’t actually like him/want him around/like he’s a burden) is going to be made stronger too, since Will now knows that Mike’s not just settling for Will because he doesn’t know better & has never been in another relationship: now, thanks to m!leven, Will is going to know that Mike is actively choosing Will because he wants to be with him.

And like, especially since Mike and Will are so young- they’re gonna be teenagers in s5, probably not even 18 yet. They still have their whole lives ahead of them, which is easy to forget considering how much they’ve been through at such young ages, but. For Mike and El to stay together & be eachother’s only s/o ever just feels unrealistic and unhealthy considering the other elements of their dynamic, esp since El’s only been out of the lab for a few years and again, has her whole life ahead of her. And it would be the same if Mike and Will had gotten together early on & never had any other relationship experience for either of them. M!leven is meant to be a young, experimental learning process of a relationship for both Mike and El. I think that even though Mike may be Will’s “one and only,” the dynamic becomes much more realistic when both Mike and Will aren’t each each other’s “one and only relationship ever.”

Obviously m!leven + the m!leven breakup that I’m sure is on the horizon for s5 is important for El & non-byler related reasons, but I’m just talking about this specifically through the lens of byler, so while those other aspects are important, it’s just not what I’m focused on for this post. El and her feelings, of course, exist outside of pushing byler forwards, but again, this is just meant to be a post specifically about how m!leven was necessary to pave the way for byler. El is absolutely her own wonderful character who exists outside of propelling byler, but again. Not the point of the post.

[strangertheories]

what is your take on the possibility of will and/or mike getting vecna’d in season 5? i personally think there’s a good chance will is going to be vecna’d but not sure about mike. i want mike to be vecna’d so we can see into his thoughts finally and see his internalized struggles. i think it would be a good way to set up byler without it seeming rushed.

I'm honestly not sure. First of all, will Vecna still do his thing with the psychic connections considering he doesn't need to make portals anymore? And if he does, would they be targeted?

First of all, Will. Vecna and Will have a ton of parallels and Will seems to be linked to the Upside Down. Plus the Duffers mentioned that Will is going to have more supernatural issues in S5 alongside his personal journey. I feel like Vecna would be more likely to want to flay Will or have Will join him. Remember in S2 when Will said he wanted everyone dead except for him? That could serve as foreshadowing. I've spoken before about how I feel as though Vecna could've seen himself in Will, a young bullied kid who's rejected for not conforming to societal norms who also likes drawing and is described as sensitive, like he saw himself in Eleven and maybe that's why Will was targeted in S1 in which case Vecna wouldn't Vecna-ify him.

On the other hand though, this could be even more motivation for him. Vecna is a big fan of psychological manipulation so maybe he uses visions and trances as a way to psychologically manipulate Will into joining him. Maybe it's nothing to do with joining him though. But Vecna knows all about Will's time in the Upside Down and maybe he knows something about it we don't which we could see. As well as that, because Will is linked to Vecna's mind and can feel how he feels, he could be used as a mouth piece like Nancy. Will is a bit of a super spy too so Vecna could use one of these trances to not only mess with him psychologically but to use him to scare the rest of them or feed them false information.

Most likely though, if Will was Vecna'd it would be about his sexuality and feelings for Mike. It's something Will's obviously very insecure about. He even described himself as a mistake (which breaks my heart but anyways) so it wouldn't take much for him to crack. If Vecna continues using fear tactics to scare people like Pennywise and Freddy Krueger (his inspirations), I feel like this was the route he'd want to go down.

In terms of Mike, I'm really not sure. I'm just not convinced Byler's going to happen in S5. They've ruined his character and are really pushing m*leven so I really have my doubts. If he was Vecna'd then it would most likely be about him feeling 'unneeded' or Vecna showing him visions of Eleven being dead or something. But let's consider the possibility that Byler is going to be canon for a minute.

If Mike had a Vecna trance about his sexuality, it would probably be focused at first about him being a bad boyfriend and then develop into his feelings about Will. This could serve as audience confirmation that they both have mutual feelings for each other and put a time bomb for when they're going to get together. But on the other hand, it would also serve as some internal exploration of Mike beyond being Eleven's boyfriend which I'd love. Again, I have my doubts and I don't know if Byler will actually work but if they do go down that route, that would be a brilliant way to introduce the ship. I hope this happens as I just love Byler so much but I don't want anyone to get their hopes up and be disappointed because of me.

Thanks for the ask (: