#and mike basically wanting that connection that he used to have with the girls in his life

[madwheelerz]

Manifestation Theory

Overview

So, essentially, I think a lot of the events in Stranger Things are DnD manifestations, specifically Mike’s manifestations. There are a lot of small things throughout the series that indicate Mike is in some way connected to the upside-down and my conclusion is that Mike is basically creating a story. I think we��re essentially watching Mike’s campaign come to life with the main characters being Will and the party.

Why Mike?

Why Mike? Throughout the series a lot of the supernatural elements tent to steer clear of Mike. If Will and El are the main targets, then why leave Mike behind? Mike is constantly figuring out what the upside-down plans thus showing a firm understanding of the way that the upside-down works. How does he understand the upside-down so well? He’s almost always reaching the right conclusions both about the upside-down and El’s powers.

Mike is also the Dungeon Master, and his basement is where a lot of foreshadowing happens. Throughout Stranger Things the roles that the characters have in DnD carry a lot of importance throughout the show. Lucas is a ranger and as such we see him using long range weapons a lot. Dustin is a barb and saves everyone with a song in season three. Even El and Max who don’t technically have roles fit into what they are assigned.

Max deems herself a zoomer and then proceeds to hijack a car to get herself and the party where they need to go. El is deemed a mage because of her telepathic abilities, but it also serves as a nice hint towards El’s struggle with being defined as a monster. From what I know a mage is a npc character, however, which also interesting.

Mike and Will are tricky. Will is either a cleric or wizard and it seems like he might fill both roles in the show considering that he is heavily implied to have powers and as of season four we do see him offering a lot of emotional support to Mike. Mike, on the other hand, has been described as both a paladin and the DM, but has also been stated to be a cleric in outside source materials. This indicates that Mike has three roles in the show.

Currently we’ve only really seen Mike offering support to El and Will throughout the show and thus fulfilling the role of the cleric. There do seem to be hints that we will see Mike being a paladin in season five. Mike’s role of DM is a constant in the show. Mike is the leader and he’s the one that normally makes campaigns. Mike is apart of every DnD game and there are only four in the show. Mike has been the DM for two of those four campaigns and three of the campaigns took place in his basement.

Will is the only one who doesn’t take on the persona of the villain while doing his campaign, but instead just acts as a narrator. I do also want to point out that both Mike and Eddie do attempt to embody the persona of the villains in their campaigns. This might be one huge ‘sadistic’ campaign that Mike is running without realizing it. Mike has also been contacted to frogs via insults and Dustin mistaking Dart for a Pollywog is important enough to be the episode title.

There is also this interesting parallel.

Joyce is told multiple times that it could all be in her head.

El

El in this scenario is a character within the game. She isn’t real. There are a few suspicious lines throughout the series that allude to people potentially not being real. El is associated with Mike’s toys despite her lack of interest in them and it’s interesting because it’s not like Mike isn’t aware of El’s disinterest, but it does recontextualize Max saying that Mike didn’t “own” El. It does also beg the question of Mike being the one to refer to El as “Eleven” the most often and others only doing so in his presence. When El appears it’s also with the exact powers needed to accomplish Mike’s goal of ‘finding Will’. She’s able to locate people and open gates.

Eleven is treated almost as El’s full name, but very rarely do people call her by her number. Mike is the one who does so the most. Mike also gives El his watch in episode three and she doesn’t return it until episode seven. If the watches are representing time, then Mike essentially gave El ‘time’.  During the argument where Max says that Mike doesn’t own El there is an emphasis placed on El being her own person and capable of making her own decisions.

This also brings into question the whole “she was born special and maybe I was the first to realize” thing because this statement doesn’t make sense unless something else is going on there. There is also El’s independence bringing her farther away from Mike as she tries to settle into having a real family of her own. Mike leads the boys to look for Will, but instead they find El. El begins to substitute in Will’s role until Will is recovered. This is why she disappears.

El completes her duty, she defeats the Demogorgon and has successfully helped the boys find Will. Will is in good hands and alive so El disappears, but Mike is still clinging to the idea of her because El is now one of the most important people to him. We also have Mike fully believing that the El he sees in s2 up until Punk! El era is all in his head, but what if she was. What if Mike was so sure that El wasn’t there because she is a product of his mind.

Max’s claim that Mike doesn’t own El. Dustin looks at Mike and El while saying Mental. Lucas implies that El escaped from pennhurst.

Also, while the image is here, I will point out that big black shape in the background that looks like a bunch of tentacles wrapped together. I’ve seen it behind Mike’s head a few times so do with that what you will.

Holly’s Role

So, what role does Holly play in this? Holly from what I gathered is her family’s observer. She watches as her family interacts and takes note of any tension that happens. If Mike is doing this even subconsciously it’s possible that Holly will be one of the first people to notice. Holly is also going to be old enough to be able to participate in the plot next season so she’ll be in a position to create that link between what is happening and what it might mean for her family.

Karen

What could Karen have to do with this? Well, if Mike is capable of creating monsters, creatures, and potentially people Karen most likely knows unless it’s an entirely new ordeal. Imagine if sending El to see his mom would’ve solved everything way back then. In the same season that Karen is trying to get closer to Mike she is finally taking notice of the things happening due to the upside-down.

Another thing is the more prominent the supernatural elements become the less we are allowed to access what Mike is really thinking and how he feels. Obviously, every season the threat is becoming more dangerous, but we are also watching Mike become more closed off every season.

Mike & Chrissy

Mike and Chrissy share a lot of parallels, but what I wanted to talk about is Chrissy’s death and how it’s tied to Mike. Before episode one of season 4 really kicks off Mike is giving a curfew of nine. When Chrissy dies, she is with Eddie and its night implying that the Hellfire campaign had already ended. What does Mike going home mean? It means California.

When Mike gets off the plane to go in Lenora we know that he is acting weird. He’s acting this way because he’s conforming. In the video store when the news anchor announces Chrissy’s death there is a sign next the TV that says, ‘due date’ and ‘9pm’. The news channel is also channel 9.

So, what does all this mean? Forced conformity is killing the kids, but specifically Mike’s forced conformity. The episode two summary of season four also links these events. “A plane brings Mike to California – and a dead body brings Hawkins to a halt.”

Focus Shifting

Every season, except for season four, Mike is always focused on the main victim. In seasons one and two Will is the main victim and for the most part who Mike is focused on. In season three he is focused on El and pushing Will to the background. El becomes the main target whereas the supernatural elements seem to almost skate by Will, or maybe there are some moments here and there, but nothing prominent.

In season four everything is a lot more condensed. Mike conforms = someone dies. His monologue is linked to Max’s death. His trip to California is linked to Chrissy’s death. His fight with the wonder twins happens in the same episode as Fred’s death. Him making up with Will happens in the same episode that Max escapes Vecna. Then we have Patrick. Who is targeted suddenly and seemingly at random. About as sudden as a random, but necessary trip to some Mormons?

Mike & Max s2x09 vs s4x04

Now for more regarding Max’s escape in “Dear Billy” and Mike in “The Gate”. We all know this

infamous parallel. Something to consider here is that Mike and Max were grouped with the same people, Dustin, Lucas, and Steve except in the case of “Dear Billy” Mike is in California and as such not there, unless of course he is in a sense either by having manifested Vecna or through the angelic imagery. Here are some things from Mike that might be suspicious. There’s also a better look at the spiral that I was talking about earlier. 

Vale of Shadows

Then we have the vale of shadows which is the original name for the upside-down.

As Dustin continues to describe the place it slowly pans away from Lucas in the shot leaving Dustin, who is narrating, and Mike. Mike also has a song called “The Vale of Shadows” in his playlist which is interesting considering as far as we know he’s never been to the upside-down or to the vale of shadows.

Conclusion

So, what exactly do I think is happening? I thinking we’re watching Mike essentially have emotional breakdowns via supernatural forces. His fears are being reflected back via monsters. This might be why Mike’s POV is so hidden from the viewer because the supernatural forces are now acting as that perspective. As I’ve mentioned before as these forces become stronger Mike’s perspective becomes more hidden.

This also leans into the lack of Mike being targeted and interacting with the upside-down creatures until the final season because unless there was some sort of tie there it’s weird. This also does beg the question of the Demogorgon lifecycle sheet, if true, though because it would imply that every Demogorgon originated from Mike in a sense. This would also explain Mike being so heavily associated with blue despite that being a bad color.

tagging: @booksandpaperss, @boysdontcryboycry, @heroesbyler​, @brionysea​

[love-byers]

(warning: long)

we should talk more about mikes choice of words in the rink o mania fight, or rather the writers choice of words

"You basically sabotaged the whole day!!"

sabotage

in case you need a reminder of what sabotage means

deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct

mike is not just saying will was being a douche for moping, rolling his eyes, and barely talking. he's saying wills a douche because he's doing it on purpose. not even just on purpose either, he's saying will planned this. will wanted to ruin the day. mike thinks will was out to get him by withholding his friendship. obviously will wasn't doing any of this, he just moped because he felt brushed off by mike and was ignored (or so he thought).

that kind of behavior, thinking the consequences of his own actions are a planned attack against him, is very consistent with the way he acted in s3 when el dumped him and he blamed it on max.

we can connect this directly to mike's apology where he calls himself a self-pitying idiot. the self-pity is mike allowing himself to believe it's not his fault that his day sucked, that it's not his fault will is acting this way. deep down he knows it's his own fault by purposefully brushing will off at the airport, but he was being so self-absorbed and self-pitying that he convinced himself it wasn't.

"why is this on me?? why am i the bad guy??"

so lets go through this again, inferring from mike's own words.

when will left hawkins, he felt weird. he'd just spent the whole summer trying to be grown up and acting like he didn't care about dnd anymore, shutting will down and really hurting him in the process, so he probably feels embarrassed that he now feels the exact opposite. he enjoyed spending time with max, lucas, and dustin but it just wasn't the same without will. he missed will so badly that the fact that will was barely reaching out got to his head, and he felt too insecure to find out for himself. he didn't know if will felt the same way or if he was doing fine without mike, making lots of new friends and enjoying life. he was afraid he'd lost will. then here comes el with her letters saying how life is awesome and they have lots of friends. mike probably thought, oh now i'm DEFINITELY not telling him how i feel. the letter about will potentially liking a girl was the final straw. wow. so he's occupied with some girl and thats why he won't talk to me. so now mikes determined to not give will an inkling of an idea that he's bothered or that he cares. psh, mike could care less. maybe when will sees that mike totally doesn't care he'll feel like he screwed up and he'll be super nice to compensate and win mike back.

so mike gets to lenora and hey, will, i totally don't care about seeing you, see how i dodged your hug? i don't care. then he sees the painting. maybe it's not for someone he likes, maybe it's for me. here you go will, opportunity one to win back my affection.

"Uh, what's that?"

"Um, it's nothing, it's just this painting I've been working on."

"Cool."

operation-act like i don't care: EEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR FAILED.

LOOK at his face bro. he looks heartbroken.

from here on mike just got more and more annoyed. will isn't trying to win him back, he isn't compensating for the months of silence. he's acting sad. he's acting sad? he has the audacity to act sad after he made all these friends and left me behind?? no, this is not my fault, this is not on me. it gets under his skin in a way he can't ignore. those feelings of guilt and annoyance that will is causing mixed with his months worth of self pity and convincing himself he's not the problem leads him to another thought. he's doing this on purpose. he's punishing me. this was his plan all along. he's trying to ruin my day for no reason, because i clearly didn't do anything to deserve this.

then angela shows up and humiliates el and mike, for some insane reason, uses this as an excuse to express his anger to will, even though it had literally nothing to do with will.

"You should've told me she was having trouble."

"Well, I didn't know they were gonna be here, Mike."

"Yeah, but you knew she was having trouble for like a year and didn't tell me."

in WHAT world is this will's fault?? he had absolutely no idea el was lying until that day. and mike is blaming him? no, he's really not, he just wants a reason to express his anger without having to admit why he's angry.

"Well, I didn't know she was lying to you."

"Is that why you decided to be a douche to her all day?"

her. he's hiding behind el's name. psh, what? i don't care that you weren't talking to me, it's because of el.

el just got publicly humiliated and mike thinks now is the time to get on will and act like el's biggest problem was will not talking to her?? no way. he just doesn't want will to know that these are his feelings.

"I wasn't being a douche!"

this completely sets mike off. how dare will act all innocent after what he did to me all day? any part of him that was trying to hide that will's behavior is bothering him has been completely overridden. will purposefully withholding his attention from mike has pissed him off soooooo badly that he can't keep it to himself anymore or hide behind el.

"You were! You were! You were rolling your eyes, you were moping, you were barely talking you basically sabotaged the whole day!"

yup, thats right will. i know exactly what you're doing and i'm calling you out on it.

"Well she was lying to you, Mike! Straight to your face ever since you got here! And...and I've been a total third wheel all day it's been miserable. So sorry if I wasn't...if i wasn't smiling."

third wheel? really?

"Yeah, whatever man."

"Well what about us?"

"What?"

i imagine this is where mike shits himself. i mean he literally stops in his tracks. will is directly addressing what he'd been trying to hide his care for the whole time, them. all of a sudden after all these months, he cares about us? and it's poking at that weird feeling he had, like he missed will too much. like he was feeling too much.

"What, you're mad that I didn't talk to you? Seems like you've made it super clear you're not interested in anything I have to say."

"That's just not true."

mike says that so fast it's like a knee-jerk reaction. of course he cares what will has to say. all he's wanted all day, and all this time for that matter, was for will to talk to him. and will is blaming him?

"You called maybe a couple times. It's been a year, Mike. Meanwhile El has like a book of letters from you."

now mike's defense is kicking in. he feels like will is directly picking at that feeling. the weirdness. the fact that he feels differently for will than the rest of his friends, even his girlfriend.

"That's because she's my girlfriend, Will!"

"And us?"

now the alarms are going off. he knows something. "us" for will in this moment is just their friendship. "us" for mike is something more, because that's what's been brewing in him the whole time they've been apart. internalized homophobia in 3..2..

"We're friends! We're. Friends."

"Well, we used to be best friends!"

oh. he was just talking about our friendship. i was tweaking a little bit. and...ouch. will just officially said they aren't best friends anymore. and he's blaming it on mike. but mikes defenses are still up high.

"Well...well maybe you should've reached out more, I don't know! But why is this on me? Why am I the bad guy?!"

then will is lost for words, and he just look sad. and as mad as mike is, he hates seeing will that way.

i imagine the day or two between this and his apology, mike went over this fight in his mind multiple times. and the more he thought about it, the more he realizes, ah shit. i was way too in my head and this was completely one sided. will wasn't plotting against me, i just felt so bad for myself i convinced myself i did nothing wrong. all this because i thought he found new friends and i felt bad for myself. and now i've lost my best friend and made him feel like all of it is his fault. i have to let him know it's all on me.

tldr: mike is weird and gay.

[starbylers]

After spending some time listening and re-listening and thinking a lot, I think I finally have my head wrapped around all these songs. This post is an exploration of what they could tell us about Mike’s story, and also a sort of theory I noticed once I saw the full picture. This playlist is—in my opinion—the story we’ve been theorising for the past two years reflected in 12 songs. That might sound hyperbolic but it’s simply what I heard and interpreted, and wanted to share because I enjoyed writing it. I hope this is an interesting read!

If you didn’t see my last post about why I do believe this is Finn’s Mike/ST playlist despite the somewhat ambiguous title you can read that here. It’s totally okay if you disagree but I’m not interested in debating it, and this analysis is coming from a perspective of assuming we've guessed correctly that the playlist relates to ST (obviously we can't 1000% verify that, but for the purposes of this post that’s my stance).

I’m going to focus on themes and overall meanings in the songs because in my opinion that’s where any connections are going to lie, rather than specific lines holding anything important (aside from a few which I’ll highlight) because I feel like that’s closest to how Finn would’ve thought while making it. Basically a macro level representation of Mike and what he goes through next season, something that would help a person get into the headspace of a character. Oh and my larger point is about the playlist as a whole, which will come together at the end :)

➠ Track 1 | Ballad of the Texas King

The first song is an anomaly in that I think it’s meant to set the tone more than anything else. These explain better than I could hope to:

"Itʼs a murder ballad, and as is common in murder ballads, deals with promise and innocence being snuffed out.” [link]

"Clarke sings of a chance encounter with an ominous figure that feels akin to selling your soul at the crossroads" [link]

Hey kid come along, something is wrong, I believe you now / All this to say only one way that this can go / Come with us for a ride / Don’t it feel like hell? Boy let me tell you, that’s where you are

• • •

A nice little coincidence, Finn himself is quoted as saying season 5 is a “crossroads”. I can see this song being an allusion to inevitable big choices with life-altering consequences next season, and also more mature themes being tackled within Mike’s story. I mean he’s stepping back into his role as leader, and now they’re older that will come with a lot more weight and responsibility in situations where the fate of the world is likely hanging in the balance. Not to mention how his personal struggles will be tied up in that, it’s probable that a slightly darker, more self-reflective—and transformative—tone is waiting for us in regards to season 5 Mike.

➠ Track 2 | What You're Doing

A simple song about a turbulent relationship where one person is unhappy because their partner is messing them around, and they're pleading with them to stop.

Look what you’re doing, I'm feeling blue and lonely / You got me running and there's no fun in it / Please stop your lying, you've got me crying, girl

The partner is the one holding control in the situation, while they feel at the mercy of their partner’s careless choices. The mood here is one of helplessness and desperation while still remaining open-hearted, hoping they’ll change.

I've been waiting here for you wondering what you're gonna do / If you should need a love that's true it’s me / Why should it be so much to ask of you what you're doing to me?

• • •

This is heavily M!Ieven coded. What do we know about their dynamic? Mike is always the one chasing El (trying to “win her back” in s3, terrified of her not needing him in s4, stressing about her being in danger all the time). El is consistently seeking autonomy (choosing to learn about her identity over pursuing romance with him in s2, choosing to break up with him in s3, choosing to leave him behind in s4, and I’m willing to bet she’s the one who removes herself from his storyline in s5). We know their separation will happen early season, and naturally things between them must be unstable leading up to this. El being the one to pull away while Mike stresses over it checks out considering these past patterns, and also the end of s4 with her already closing herself off while Mike appears at a loss.

➠ Track 3 | After The Earthquake

A song reminiscing on a relationship and the failure and death of it, with a sense of lingering nostalgia and unwillingness to let it go. It’s set to the backdrop of a metaphorical car crash.

It wasn't built to last / If you wake up you’ll remember the awful things I said / Looking back to the vibrant days / Those days I'd never let you fall apart but things fade / Why would I ever fall in love again when every detail’s over the guard rail? / Velvet curtains drawn, flowers at your feet / Say you’ll climb your way out of your wake now / Are you awake now?

• • •

In simpler terms…this is a break up song. The longing tone makes sense to me for M!Ieven because I’ve long suspected the initial split between them is not going to be super clean cut (this should make more sense later). Mike and El were together for a long time for their age, and have a lot of intense shared memories. El was also his first and only experience of relationships; it’s going to be difficult to detach. It being the right decision to end something doesn’t mean it’s easy or simple. Even if Mike is gay and didn’t truly like her romantically, he still loved her and in my opinion that distinction isn’t something he’s going to have figured out and made peace with the second it ends.

➠ Track 4 | Promises I've Made

Very straightforward and repetitive, and follows on seamlessly from the last song: this is about having trouble moving on from someone who’s left your life.

Ever since you have gone the days don't seem so bright and I wish I could forget you but I can’t / I have promised myself I wouldn't dream of you but I find that awful hard sometimes to do

• • •

Based on what I’ve seen people might fight me on this, but to me it’s M!Ieven coded mainly because of its positioning in the playlist (directly after a struggling relationship song + break up song) but also because it is technically about an ex love. Could we say it doesn’t need to be interpreted that specifically? Yes. I suppose it could be Byler coded too but personally...the way I would interpret it is as Mike moping over whatever happened with El. There’s not any intense emotional pining going on; if you listen it has a very laid back, chill sort of mood and is honestly very upbeat. There’s no deep heartbreak. It’s just about missing someone. Plus it sort of perfectly closes out the process we see over the last two songs of being unhappy with someone, to breaking up and grieving, to the typical post-break up struggle of navigating this hole in your life and naturally missing what once filled it. This is a whole sub-arc for Mike.

➠ Track 5 | Angst In My Pants

We’ve reached the gay section! This song is about trying to fit yourself into an acceptable—aspirational, even—life but never feeling content, and continuously trying to squash this troubling Feeling, the titular phrase: angst in (your) pants. Some people think it’s a reference to literal physical arousal but others including me think that in context it’s intended more as a metaphor for sexual frustration/dissatisfaction.

I hope it doesn't show, it'll go away / It's just a passing phase / When you’re all alone, you and your head / When you think you’ve made it disappear it comes again, hello, I’m here and I’ve got angst in my pants

The queer subtext here is very clear, I don’t think I even have to explain (check out the cover art too lol). The song closes with a realisation/acceptance that no, this “phase” won't ever go away i.e. it’s just who you are.

Give it a hundred years, it won't go away

I also thought one of the opening verse lines was an interesting segue from the last few songs:

But when you’re all alone and nothing bites you’d wish you stayed at home with someone nice

• • •

Angst In My Pants may aswell be titled Forced Conformity the thematic parallels to ST are that blatant. Another point for team Mike Wheeler actually is connected to the main themes of the show like all his other friends, and no it’s not because he’s somehow oppressed for being a nerd. Also rather than being about feelings for another person the song is about personal struggle with sexuality which excites me to think about in relation to Mike because we’ve been saying he needs to explore his own identity outside of being a love interest.

➠ Track 6 | The Better Side

A very sweet, slow, slightly melancholy song. I’ll be honest I cannot decipher more than 2/3 of the lyrics but here are the most meaningful ones of those I could:

I know you cry and I’m trying to keep you by my warmth

You’re never gonna see my eyes, you’re coloring all the skies you want to / I tried staying alive, keep my head on the better side when you’re far away

You’re on the better side you’re always the better one for me

You’re all that I need, I’m not gonna miss you anymore

My understanding is it’s about pining over someone who is a “better” choice, whatever that means in this context. Deciding you want someone, someone who you don’t currently have, someone who is maybe distracted, distant or physically absent? But vowing to change that because you recognise that you need them.

• • •

This directly follows the Gay Thoughts song, and precedes the Gay Thoughts song 2.0 so I feel safe interpreting it as Byler coded and about how it’s Mike’s turn to pine. (Also because “better” implies that there’s a “worse” i.e. this is a situation where you’re differentiating between two things i.e. in Mike’s case, Will vs El). I can envision Mike and Will getting moments together away from whatever chaos is surely going on, having the space to connect more where Mike starts becoming conscious of his feelings, realising slowly that Will is the “better” one for him. And as the song also suggests, perhaps Will has pulled away from him in the beginning. I think this is possible because the torment Will's likely going to endure from Vecna could understandably cause him to push Mike away, fearing his safety or him finding out how Will feels, and also I just don’t think he’ll be able to stand the pain of being M!Ieven’s couple’s counsellor for much longer without cracking. But I think Mike “it’ll be easier if we’re a team” Wheeler would make it his mission to fix any rift between them, the final line literally being I’m not gonna miss you anymore.

➠ Track 7 | Don't Ask Me To Explain

As far as I can tell, this song is about being afraid to face queer feelings for another person who is also hiding this about themselves, and being conflicted about whether to confess because you're not sure how they feel.

How will I ever know you enough to love you if you're hiding who you are? / How am I supposed to let it show when I don't even know? / Don’t move on without me, who will be watching my body when I sleep? / I don't want to be the one who's coming out first, I'd really like to but I'm just too shy

The end is an admission of…something. I’m not sure whether to interpret it as wishful thinking over this queer relationship you believe you can’t have, or as an offhand comment about forcing yourself to love someone you can’t because of your sexuality. Interesting either way:

It’s so easy to lie to myself and pretend that I could love you but I can't

I did do some research and the alleged true explanation of this song is it’s from one queer friend to another (man to woman, I assume both closeted, maybe a failed romance?) but I could only find one uncited source for that and everywhere else seems to agree with my interpretation so it seems when listening to the song that’s the story people hear. (Plus either way the song is about being queer. Undeniably so).

• • •

It’s not Byler coded we’re way past that, it literally just…is them. It does seem to suggest a level of internal conflict in Mike regarding coming out that I can’t say I expected (yes I have no doubts about canon Byler but I’m also a pessimist by nature—that should tell you how obvious their endgame is though lmao—so I assumed the Duffers would go wrong somewhere). I always thought he would be almost consciously clueless about himself until he finds out Will loves him, and the focus be more on him liking Will back rather than him liking boys (and obviously wasn’t a fan of that), but the prospect of Mike actually being aware and grappling with his sexuality is what we’ve been praying for and builds on the more low-level thrum of sexual confusion in Angst In My Pants. Oh and the song also could suggest Mike suspecting that Will likes him/is queer too before anyone confesses.

➠ Track 8 | What Do You Want Me To Do?

Another straightforward one. It’s quite angsty, a big contrast to the more sad feelings about a relationship from the earlier songs. This is about someone who left you for someone else/someone who walked out on you, who decides they want you back.

You walked out took your chance, turned your back on our romance / You said the change would do you good / But then the bubble burst your dream, turned into a nightmare scream / You came crawling to me your knees, and you were asking me to love you please

The main message of the repetitive chorus is basically: you want me to need you, but that’s not real love. You’re just using me to feel better about yourself.

What do you want me to do? Say that I need you more? Is that what real lovers do? Or only what you use me for?

• • •

I mean isn’t that last part how we’ve always described M!Ieven’s dynamic—all about aligning with the other’s needs whether for safety, validation or feeling ‘normal’, rather than genuine romance? I don’t think there’s any chance at all of El leaving Mike for someone else lol, as I said I don’t think we need to interpret these songs super specifically. But it does make me wonder: could we possibly see a moment of regression for El at some point in the season, after they separate? The focus here in my opinion is frustration at someone trying to re-enter your life when you know they don’t truly love you. Reflecting on their dynamic I talked about with earlier songs and their history in the show (El walking away, Mike scared to lose her), is it possible the break up could leave Mike struggling initially then he progressively understands why it was the right choice (especially after spending time with Will), meanwhile for El it’s the opposite—she’s more sure about breaking up but something happens later on that shakes her belief in herself. Her having one last hurdle to overcome in her dependency on Mike to finally break that pattern of hindering her growth by retreating to him could make sense. And based on this song…Mike would not be receptive to being El’s safety net. Growth for both of them.

➠ Track 9 | Substitute

Again, very angsty compared to earlier. It’s about a relationship characterised by false perceptions (focused on class), and those being what is holding it together. One partner is pretending to be something they’re not, cosplaying as someone else, and the other is also being dishonest/fake.

You think we look really good together / My fine looking suit is really made out of sack / The simple things you see are all complicated / Substitute your lies for fact / I see right through your plastic mac

The relationship breaks down because of this and their partner doesn’t truly want to fix things, and ultimately trades up.

Those crocodile tears are what you cry / It’s a genuine problem, you won’t try to work it out at all, you just pass it by / Substitute me for him / Substitute my coke for gin

Essentially: your partner not knowing the real you because you’re putting on a facade—the facade being the version of you they really like, the thing that was making you compatible—leads the relationship to fail. The literal title suggests neither of them as they are are what the other truly wants or needs.

• • •

Obviously this does not directly parallel M!leven in terms of the topic of the lying but in terms of the themes and core relationship issues…yeah. To me this could be about point Mike has reached after gradually coming to realisations about the nature of their relationship after it’s over, like I mentioned before. I can envision a mid-late season confrontation (or something less aggressive sounding lol) between them, pairing perfectly with the topic of the previous song. El scared trying to fall back on Mike and he’s like…no, we don’t work, I can’t be that for you anymore and this is why: betraying who he is (nerd) to impress her, trying so hard to play the “boyfriend” role (yet they never successfully emotionally connect), if he’s gay then there’s also the facade of straightness, etc. I think it would show a lot of emotional maturity from him honestly, and I really need him to have a strong grasp on what went wrong with El for them to have a shot at forming a healthy friendship, and also to psychologically process all that stuff before getting involved with Will.

➠ Track 10 | The Rebel Kind

A short song about life being tough when you don’t have much (this one is class-focused too), but still craving the freedom that comes from not following societal rules and pressures for how to do life “right”, and instead living on your own terms. Basically the struggle is worth not having to conform. The first verse sums it up pretty well:

They call us the rebel kind but they don’t understand the things a man must do to prove that he’s a man / It’s not easy but I don’t mind, I just wanna run with the rebel kind

• • •

Again, obviously the specific topic is not relevant to ST but the thematic parallels blew my mind, I mean the entire show is about people being outcasts and learning to find strength in that, and the final season is going to majorly drive that point. We know this from the fact that Will “being different” Byers is the one who’s arc is said to tie up the whole show. Now in regards to Mike…if this doesn’t scream forced conformity and deciding to reject it for your own happiness I don’t know what does. It perfectly captures the thematic end point of his arc next season (and not just his but probably the entire party’s in one way or another). Also the toxic masculinity reference in that one line applies heavily to Mike with his history of trying so hard to do what he thinks he supposed to do in going from boy to man i.e. We’re not kids anymore. Did you think we were never gonna get girlfriends?

➠ Track 11 | Block Rockin’ Beats

Another one I think is mainly to set a tone; no real lyrics just beats. In my opinion it comes after The Rebel Kind for a reason. Somehow it just makes sense, it’s got this really loud, frenzied, unrestrained energy to it.

➠ Track 12 | Just What I Needed

We end off with a love (or desire?) song. It’s interesting because it’s quite aggressive sonically but at the same time it talks about being with someone in a simple uncomplicated way:

I don’t mind you coming here and wasting all my time / I don’t mind you hanging out and talking in your sleep

…but it’s also very intense how you feel with them.

Cause when you’re standing oh so near I kinda lose my mind

There’s a repeated line that stuck in my head. It’s obviously written about a female subject, but there is such a rejection of the feminine going on:

It’s not the perfume that you wear, it’s not the ribbons in your hair

It’s saying those feminine attributes are not why this person is attractive—and yeah logically that means the subject must have those things, but as I’ve said I don’t think these songs need to be interpreted on such a specific level. The point being made is about a deeper connection. The line is just intriguing to me from the perspective of Mike being into boys, I mean he could’ve picked literally any other romance song.

I needed someone to feed / I needed someone to bleed / I guess you’re just what I needed

The message here is basically: I was craving the rawest form of connection/intimacy with another human being (that doesn’t have to necessarily mean sexual it’s just those visceral words feed, bleed in comparison to perfume and ribbons which sound very fluffy lol)…and now I’ve found you and it’s exactly what I was looking for.

• • •

With all the themes through the songs of rejecting fake relationships and conformity, and accepting and exploring queerness…Will Byers is obviously going to be the thing Mike needed. I’ve been saying (and so have many) but Byler isn’t happening till the end. Also the playlist finishing with this song is telling in my opinion. Aside from the Castle Byers Classics link, the title itself implies searching for something which is now found, a journey being over. I say this for the purposes of pushing my agenda about this playlist painting a narrative. Hear me out:

Personally……that’s not accidental. It just isn’t. Even if my more specific interpretations aren’t correct, I just cannot believe that this wasn’t curated to draw a particular picture. I believe in coincidences and if the playlist had been titled as it was with a bunch of random unconnected irrelevant songs I’d be the first person to file it under that. But the title and the inclusion of a song from Will’s official playlist and these specific songs in this specific order? Yeah it’s about s5 Mike and I cannot wait to see him! If you made it this far thanks for reading <3

[thecapricunt1616]

Papaya (c.b one-shot)

Part one here

Blurb (More BTC!) : He knew you were that out of your mind, when he pushed his way through the house, shouting “Squish? SQUISH!” Over the music as well as he could and he found you being basically fucking molested by some meathead that had a good 6 inches and 75 pounds on him. The sight made him so enraged, it made him see red so quickly, it made him black out in anger. He came to again a few moments later after he uppercut the guy so hard he fell back on his ass, and then punched him in the face so hard that his nose started bleeding.  “Bear?” You said confused 

“See the fucking cup, asshole?” He seethed, everyone was watching now as he dumped the remainder of your icy drink on him and crushed it before throwing it at his shocked face “ the blue cup means she’s taken”

♡ One-shot inspo: Papaya is associated with femininity & strengthening love connections. Hang twigs of papaya wood over a door to keep out evil. Eat papaya with a loved one to intensify your love. Mix papaya leaves with mandrake and burn or use in the bath to reverse hexes and jinxes. ♡ Summary: You & Carmys first time, F/U to 'Very First Time'♡ W/C: 4.7k ♡ A/N: EEEE It's here! The first was recieved so well, & my sweet @carmenberzattosgf requested a part 2 as well as this sweet anon, so I had to indulge! I hope it is everything you wanted <3 Who's ready for some sexy sexy Carmy tomorrow!? I know I am!!! I can't believe this is my last piece before the drought is over...It has gone so freaking fast!!! I can't wait to meet all the new fans that this season brings <3 :) (P.S. If you were tagged, it's BC you asked for a part 2 or are my moot!! <3) P.S - Tumblr was really trying to get me to commit murder while formatting this JFC ♡ Warnings for BTC: SMUT SMUT SMUT, College relationship, childhood best friend trope, virgin!carmy, Fem!/AFAB!Reader, R has long hair, No use of Y/N (r goes by childhood nickname 'squish' ), Drunk men being pervy, Physical violence, Angry Carmy

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You stumbled into the nearest vacant bathroom (with your drink in hand of course) as Miley Cyrus’ We Can’t Stop bumps through the speakers of the frat house so loudly that the floors shook. 

The amount of stinky sweaty bodies and drunk people making out in various corners of the hallway would usually get to you if you weren’t so out of your mind. You weren’t exactly sure which drink you were on yet, but you did know that when your best friend Paisley had challenged you to a keg standoff and you weren’t a quitter, so you couldn’t count just how many beers you had chugged. 

You tried to count on your fingers as you hovered above the nasty toilet seat to pee just exactly how many red solo cups of mostly liquor with a bit of mixer you had consumed. You were distracted by that nasty toilet seat, wondering how the boys that live here don’t gag whenever they come to pee. You were happy that Carmy wasn’t in a frat. You were really happy that Carmy wasn’t in a frat, the guys here were assholes. Most of them, anyway. 

You grabbed your blue cup, that insinuated you were taken or dating someone steady, out with you back into the hot sticky living room, to hear someone (probably paisley, it had to have been paisley or one of your other sorority sisters) had requested they play Girls by The 1975, you tried finding her but got distracted by hands on your waist and “I love your shirt” in your ear. It was a voice you didn’t recognize, you could tell the man towered over you by the way he had to hunch over to talk to you. 

Carmy was bigger then you, but not that much bigger, this guy would probably have a head on Carmy. He had grown just like Mike said he would, and it looked amazing on him. Funnily enough though, even though you had been dating since the week you graduated high school - and you were now juniors in college, he still hadn’t slept with you yet. You often after you left his house to head back to your sorority house since they had a curfew, would cry to your sorority about how he still only wants to do oral. 

He didn’t often want blowjobs unless it was a special occasion, he would tell you your hand is fine and you don’t have to do ‘all that’ even though you wanted to- you figured since he was saying that he didn’t want you to. You weren’t aware - but Carmy was kicking himself in the ass every single day that he hasn’t fucked you the way you deserve yet. He was honestly getting worried he was going to lose you to some guy who would. You had asked him, he had told you that he wasn’t ready to go that far with you yet, that he wanted to wait and make it special. 

But in all reality he was terrified out of his mind. He knew he could make you cum with his mouth, but his dick?! He had to dig his nails into his palms until they near drew blood whenever you put your fucking mouth on him, so if you let him fuck your cunt?! He was worried he was going to cum in 3 strokes and you would laugh and break up with him and tell him you were better off best friends and there goes his only friend and the love of his life and the person he wants to marry. But he found himself asking as he fantasized about marrying you how he was supposed to do that if he can’t even find the balls to fuck you right. 

His anxiety was what led him to calling you 3 times tonight, because you were late - and you were never late - because the two of you wanted to spend as much time as possible together since his schedule was so packed between working at the beef and going to classes part time. He was nowhere near graduating, that was because he was stacking his money away in a savings account that gained interest like Uncle Jimmy taught him, so that his graduation present to you could be the Chicago brownstone you both had talked about having together since high school. 

He found it so incredibly sexy and endearing that you put school first in your life, he wanted to reward you for it. He felt you deserved the world and more, since you were his world. Which is why, after the third nervous stuttering voicemail which is how you could tell he was really nervous, had gone unanswered? He opened the find my friends app and grabbed his brothers keys. 

“Mike I’m going…out!” He called and shut the front door before he could get questions about why the hell he of all people would be leaving the house past 10:00 on a Friday night. He anxiously mapped the location on his phone and hopped in the car. When he got there, though- he couldn’t even park near the house. He had to park a block over and walk because it was so packed with cars. He made sure to lock the car in case any drunkards were to try and sleep in it or think it was there’s, and put on the walking directions. 

Carmen had to deal with drunk behavior well - every night, so being with a bunch of drunk people wasn’t his favorite place to be - but for you he persevered, because what the hell were you doing here. 

You, currently, were inside, grinding on the same guy that had come up to you to Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. You had finished another drink, and forgotten completely it wasn’t your boyfriend behind you - and didn’t even have the mind to ask yourself what he would be doing there. Said boyfriend was currently pushing his way through the kitchen, and rolling his eyes and the ‘single, taken, DTF’ different colored cups on the counter as he tried to find you. 

He knew you were that out of your mind, when he pushed his way through the house, shouting “Squish? SQUISH!” Over the music as well as he could and he found you being basically fucking molested by some meathead that had a good 6 inches and 75 pounds on him. The sight made him so enraged, it made him see red so quickly, it made him black out in anger. He came to again a few moments later after he uppercut the guy so hard he fell back on his ass, and then punched him in the face so hard that his nose started bleeding. 

“Bear?” You said confused 

“See the fucking cup, asshole?” He seethed, everyone was watching now as he dumped the remainder of your icy drink on him and crushed it before throwing it at his shocked face “the blue cup means she’s taken” 

He grabbed your arm gently “squish y’wasted. We're going home” he said firmly but not mean, and you stumbled next to him as people move out of the way since the entire room was privy to what just happened. You weren’t sure what happened all you knew was the man was behind you and then he wasn’t and then carmy was punching him and now you were in the car and Carmy was lecturing you about how worried he was. 

“He could have hurt you, angel. Please- I know it’s college and you can do what you want but I love you and those guys are all assholes, they’ll take advantage of nice girls the second they get a chance. And you’re so sweet squish, you’re too sweet. They don’t deserve to have you over” he squeezed your hand and brought it to his lips for what he knew was probably the hundredth time in the 35 minute car ride back to his house. 

You didn’t say much of anything that could make sense, but he agreed with you anyway. “And theee um. The the- what was I saying?” You look over at him at a red light with a drunk smile, your eyes glazed over from all the alcohol and cheeks hot with the rush of it in your system. 

“I dunno baby but you look cute” he tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and kissed your forehead gently 

“Your knuckles are bleeding, did you hurt them?” You asked, the events from less than an hour prior already having been wiped from your mind. He chuckled a bit, shaking his head 

“M’fine squish, you need some water” he helped you out of the car, supporting most of your weight as you stumbled up the stairs of the Berzatto house, and he unlocked the door. 

“Ooooo you know what I want?” You asked and he smiled as he locked the door behind him and lead you to the kitchen 

“What’s that honey?” He helps you sit down at the table and grabs a glass, filling it with ice water 

“I want a bear special beef sandwich. Pretty please?” He came over and handed you the glass 

“Drink that and we’ll talk about it” he said and you obediently chugged down the glass as he went back to the fridge and got out the beef they didn’t use today at the restaurant and a pan to heat it in 

“This is good” you said, finishing it off and crunching on a piece of ice to which he cringed 

“Ugh y’teeth babe don’t do that!” He scolded as he always did when you munched on ice, taking it from you and filling it again, adding a straw before giving it back so you were less tempted to repeat your actions

He was cutting up a bell pepper for your sandwich when you asked “why won’t you have sex with me?” Which almost made him slice his finger but thankfully he missed it by a centimeter. 

“Who said I won’t” he looked back at you, his cheeks a pretty shade of pink as he flushed with embarrassment. 

“I dunno. You say you’re waiting but I want to and paisley says maybe you’re shy and if m’drunk maybe you’ll wanna do it more but the problem-“ you’re interrupted with a drunk hiccup “with that is, paisley said you have to be drunk too, and you aren’t.” You slurred, struggling to find your straw again to chug down the other half of your second glass of water. 

He stared at you, unsure of what to say and Mikey comes pounding down the stairs per usual and into the kitchen. A bull in a fucking China shop, just like Richie. “Yooo it’s squishy! Sup girl” he came over, giving you a brotherly push to the back of the head and doing the same to Carmy as he walks by to the fridge 

“Hey! You could have killed me I’m drinking!” You slurred, “but I’m asking Carmy why he won’t h-“

“Heyyyy!!! Hey hey squish no we’re not sharing those things” Carmy cuts you off quickly and looks over, shaking his head 

“She’s fuckin gone” Mike said to himself as he grabbed a can of soda 

“Yeah why do you think I’m fuckin having her eat and drink water?” Carmy quips, putting the beef into the bun he’d toasted and adding extra cheese for you on top how he liked it. 

“Mm. Make sure you have a few vomit bags ready I think the last time she was this wasted was her birthday” he headed back up to his room and Carmy sighed to himself, knowing he was right. 

“Who’s vomiting?” You asked, sipping the last few dribbles of water and he set your sandwich in front of you, taking the cup to fill again and you gasp, having forgotten you even wanted the sandwich “I was just gonna ask you to make me one too!” You said excitedly and took a big bite. 

He came back to the table, setting the filled glass down and sitting in the chair next to you, gently rubbing your back “chew it baby Jesus it’s not goin anywhere” he teased and pushed your hair back over your shoulders. 

“I know- it’s just so good” you mumble with your mouth full and he chuckled, shaking his head and wiping some grease that had dribbled down your chin off with the pad of his thumb, wiping it on a napkin. He didn’t know what came over him, maybe it was the fact that you wouldn’t remember - maybe selfishly it was because he knew you’d be brutally honest, but he asked 

“If we did have sex, and I didn’t last very long- would you be upset that you had to finish with my mouth or fingers instead?” His voice was laced with nervous curiosity, but he had to know this to be able to properly navigate having sex since you had been bringing it up more and more often as of late. 

“What?! Upset? I think I’ll cry with joy that I actually can have your dick in me it doesn’t matter how long” you said casually. He wasn’t sure what it was about it, maybe it was the tone of your voice - like it’s an every day thought for you, like you were aching to have him inside of you. Yeah, that was it. The coolness mixed with desperation, it made his cock stiffen a little more than he figured it should have. 

“Mm.” Was all he said, covering himself with his hand, it wasn’t like you would notice, anyway, but he was still ever so shy about you making him aroused - like he was doing something wrong. Even though you were his girlfriend of 3 years and you said I love you multiple times a day to each other. 

While he was helping you shower, and then helping you dress for bed, that was when it hit him. This weekend, his mom would be out of town for some work thing he didn’t care to know the details of, and Mike goes to the casino every Friday and stays out practically until 5 am. He would have the house to himself, and it would be the perfect time to finally have sex. 

He was mapping out in his mind the most romantic way to do it, flowers, candles, music? He told himself he had to do it right and make it a night to remember for the both of you. He had to cook for you - he figured he would make your favorite penne à la vodka, and he wouldn’t tell you about doing it just in case he bitches out. But the amount of thought he was putting into this, if he bitched out he was gonna be extraordinarily angry with himself. 

Your voice pulled him out of his head as if always did “bear” you said sleepily 

“Sup bug” he kissed your head tenderly and rubbed your arm as you nuzzled into his side. 

“Can you turn the tv down m’tired” you mumble into his shirt and he took the remote, turning it off. 

“Love you baby, g’night” he resumed rubbing over your hip as he got lost in his thoughts once again. 

 When the day came, he wasn’t sure how he didn’t bitch out. He thought about it 5 times that day and convinced himself not to, but now, now that you were sat at the table with him, a candle between you, giggling about how ‘romantic’ he had been acting tonight - he felt like a total fucking idiot. 

“I’m sorry, fuck- do you not like it? I read one of sugars magazines she left behind before she moved - they said girls like candles and music” he pushed it to the side and you shook your head, moving it back 

“I love it, bear. I’m just wondering why you’re treating me so special tonight is all, I’d have been a lot more dressed up and pretty if you’d have-“ he cuts you off

“You’re fuckin- y’perfect, squish. I love you, that’s why I’m doin it. I just wanna show you how much” he held your hand and squeezed it gently “you mean everything t’me. Really” he said and kissed your knuckles gently. 

When you made it to his bedroom, you realized he’d hung romantic little white string lights along his headboard to provide more ambient lighting, and that’s when it clicked what was happening. Your heart raced in your chest like a hummingbird trapped in a cage as his hands roam your body. 

You were sprawled out beneath him, both of you down to your underwear, the feeling of his lips nipping, and licking, and biting yours was enough to make you wet, but when his broad hands started palming your tits, his thumbs and forefingers massaging your nipples, you had to squeeze your thighs together to provide your throbbing clit some pressure. You were mewling and whining beneath him, he was panting and grunting into your mouth, your noses bumping with each unexpected kiss. 

“Carmy” you whine into his mouth, reaching to pull one of your hands off of your breast and he pulled away just enough to speak, lapis eyes boring into yours that were no doubt lust blown. 

“Y’good?” He asked gently, kissing the corner of your mouth chastely and eased his grip on your breasts. You moved the hand you were holding down, down, down, tucking his fingers into the waistband of your panties 

“I want you to touch me here…please” you said softly and hook your arm around the back of his neck, tangling your fingers in his sandy blond curls as you pull him back for a kiss his breath hitched slightly at the action, his cock twitching at your words which you felt against your thigh, causing you to smile a bit. He cupped your heat with his hand for a moment, causing you to grind onto it needily and he sucked on your bottom lip as he spread your lips to slip his middle finger over your sticky soaked hole, teasing it gently before trailing it up to find the throbbing erect bud. 

You gasped lightly at the contact, back arching a bit and moaning shamelessly, your voice coming out high pitched and whiny “oh yes” you said as he rubbed the pad of his finger back and forth and in circles, alternating between the two in such a way that was making your stomach tighten and thighs shiver. 

“Yeah?” He kissed your jaw “feels good mm? Sound so pretty, princess” he said hotly in your ear, gently nipping at your neck in the way that drove you wild. 

“So good you make me feel so good” you mewl as he moved his finger down again, thrusting it in and out as he does that beckoning motion with the finger and he gently rubbed your clit with his other hand. You sob in pleasure, fisting the sheets with one hand and tugging Carmys hair with the other. 

“Good girl tha’s a good girl” his husky voice and hot breath made you shiver even though with how close your orgasm was- you felt oh so hot. You felt him lick your sternum where he had watched a bead of sweat trailing down and that caused your eyes to open once more, to see his staring back like a round eyed cat. 

“M’gonna cum” you choke out, pulling the sheets harder to avoid hurting him by pulling his hair too hard. This brought a grin to his face, finding your nipple with his lips and sucking on the sensitive bud, just as he adds another finger, speeding up his beckoning motion. Your eyes nearly roll back when you felt his lips on your ear, encouraging you

“Yeah? Yeah pretty girl? Are you gonna cum f’me? Feels sooo good huh. Go ahead princess let me feel you cum on my hand I love it when y’pussy sucks in my fingers it’s so fuckin hot. Y’re so fuckin hot” your jaw fell slack in a silent scream, brows knitted together as he praised you while your orgasm came over you full force. You swore you saw stars behind your lids. 

“Please please please pleaaase bear” you found yourself begging, pulling him up for a kiss and he chuckled into your lips, pulling away enough to ask, 

“Please what, what baby what d’you want?” He cooed sweetly before ravishing your face with kisses which made your thumping, racing heart turn to goo 

“Please fuck me. Please- oh god please I fucking need you inside your fingers aren’t enough I need to feel you.” You begged, your voice was raspy, needy, he never heard anything hotter in his life. 

“Yeah?” He asked sweetly, resting his forehead on yours, nuzzling your nose in a eskimo kiss gently. “Open your eyes” he said softly and dried his hand on the sheets, pushing your sticky, sweat slick hair from your face and cupping your cheeks. Your eyes flickered open to meet his honest blue ones, blown with lust, glazed over with love. “Tell me again, I want to see you when you say it baby, so I know you want this.” He rubbed your jaw tenderly with his thumbs. 

“I want you to show me how much you love me, Bear, please” you said softly and he smiled in the way that showed off his little dimples, to which you kissed it gently before he told you 

“I don’t think there’s a way to show you just how much I love you, because it can’t even be described in words - but I’ll try anything f’you, squish” he kissed your forehead lovingly, lingering for a moment. Your eyes fluttered shut as you soaked in the moment, gently rubbing his back. 

“I love you too, more than words” you said honestly when he pulled away, grabbing a condom from his nightstand drawer and ripping it open with his teeth, an action that had you clenching around nothing, but hopefully that would be resolved in just a moment. 

“Now, if you want to stop just say the word, if you can’t find your words just like…bite me I guess” he teased and you giggled, shaking your head 

“Will do” you watch as he slipped off his boxers, rolling the rubber all the way to the base, he tugged off your panties that had been soaked through, tossing them in his laundry basket since you’d need new ones after which lived in his top drawer, and got between your legs. You watch as he strokes himself a few times with his hand and you felt your throat go a bit dry. What if you were the one to ruin it all because it wouldn’t fit or something? 

“You ok?” He asked gently as he caught you staring and you met his eyes again, putting on a smile and nodding, spreading your legs wider in hopes that might make more room. 

“Amazing. Excited” you said, it wasn’t exactly a lie, but you left off your biggest and most present emotion nervous. 

“Okay…that look says I’m worried so what’s up?” He held your hand, gently rubbing the back of it with his thumb and looking into your eyes. It was impossible to lie when he looked at you like that, even more impossible when you were both butt naked and his dick was in his hand. 

“What if it doesn’t fit?” You asked nervously. He chuckled as if he didn’t believe you, shaking his head

“I’m not that hung, babe. It’ll be fine. Do you care if I touch you?” He asked and you shook your head, swallowing thickly. He knelt on the bed with his left knee, leaning over you and nestling the tip of his cock between your folds and rubbing your wetness up and over your clit, causing a small gasp to leave your lips. He watched you carefully, for any signs of discomfort or that you were having second thoughts. 

Your lips were parted and little puffs of air fan his chin, eyes hooded in pleasure and little squeaks coming out of your throat each time his tip bumped your clit firmly and the ridge of it rubbed back down to swipe over your hole and back up to repeat the assault. You could cum just like this if he did it long enough. “Feels good?” He checked, intertwining your fingers and squeezing your hand lovingly. 

“Uh-huh” was all you could manage to get out and he smiled a bit, kissing your chin gently 

“Want me to try being inside Angel?” 

In response, a needier, whinier “uh-huh” 

He looks down for a moment, grabbing his cock and lining the tip up with your entrance. “Remember what to do?” He triple checked, this time- just a quick nod. He ever so gently eased his way in, his jaw tightening at the way it made his balls feel 10 pounds heavy, his cock twitching at the foreign sensation. He grunted to cover a whine instead, and you squeezed his hand tight, looking down and watching as he slowly pushed his shaft in about a fourth of the way and stopped, looking up at you. Once more. 

“How do you feel baby?” He gently rubbed your clit with his other hand, causing you to clench around him and in turn a unconscious moan tears from his throat “jeeesus fuck” he grunts, hips sinking in further in instinct and you squeak, shifting uncomfortably which made him look down and quickly pull back out to just the tip “sorry- fuck I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened are you ok?” He kissed your wrist. 

“Burning. Kinda. Not a bad, it feels…kinda good? It like…it feels like a good stretch when it almost hurts. And like…full. So full, but like a good full. A fulfilled kinda full, is that weird?” You rambled on all the thoughts swimming in your brain other than ‘cock feels good’  which was the main one. 

“Yeah? Feels good f’me too baby” he leaned in, kissing your lips and sinking in further, half way now. He kept kissing you, gently sucking on your tongue as you got used to the uncomfort of the stretch. “Can I try moving Angel?” He asked , almost into your mouth, you just respond with a huffy hum of agreement before pulling your lips back up to his. He very slowly at first started to thrust and had to let go of your hand to fist the pillow so he didn’t bust right then. 

“Holy fuck” he pants, nuzzling his face in your neck and continuing to rub your clit as he thrusted in and out. The feeling left you breathless, wordless, thoughtless. You were on cloud nine, you could die like this. You felt that sensation of an orgasm coming in your belly again, this was the quickest he’d ever brought you to another. 

“Bear-bear- I’m-“ you whine out, back arching and jaw dropping as his tip brushes your g spot and you nearly cry, tears gathering in the corners of your eyes at the intense pleasure it brought. “Cumming, cumming im cumming” you babbled, as your orgasm took over, clenching and unclenching around his cock in such a way that he literally couldn’t stop himself from spilling into the condom if he tried. 

The whiny grunt he made when he came was the hottest noise you had heard to date and was nothing short of beautiful. He bit down on your neck, sucking a pretty purple bruise into the skin before burying himself to the hilt as he shoots rope after rope of seed into the condom. Your thighs tightened around his waist, nails digging into his shoulders so hard they’d leave moon shaped bruises come morning that he’d proudly walk around the house with at breakfast so Mike could finally believe that he’s not just lying about doing sexual shit with you. 

You wrap your legs around his hips, keeping him there and relishing in the feeling. You felt like he was made for you, you fit together like 2 puzzle pieces. You knew he was your forever, but this solidified it even more. After he fucked you through both of your highs, he pulled out and laid next to you in a heap, panting for a few moments before he finally spoke

“Biggest mistake of my life was waiting so long to do that”

@carmenberzattosgf @daysofyellowroses @aestheticaltcow @l4long-winded @thehouseofevangelista @w31rdash @caramelberzatto @wtfsteveharrington

[will80sbyers]

I feel like what Mike feels toward El is some sort of an admiration. He mixed up his feelings for being romantic because El was the first girl he actually talked to, her being a hero also made Mike be attracted to her. I also feel like this pretty much applies to El. Mike was the first person to show her genuine care for the first time. I think she confuses her feelings with romantic love too.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I think too, he had a crush on her when they were little but it's mostly based on idealizing her as a hero and this means he doesn't understand her truly, he likes that she's a hero and thinks she's great, but she doesn't really want to be seen as a hero because she can't be constantly good to the extent that a hero is required to be, because she's human and has so much trauma to deal with!!!

Basically Mike likes heroes and she was a cute girl that liked him back and they liked each other as kids but then growing up things changed, to have a serious relationship with someone you need more than what they have... and El is exactly in the same situation, she is not in love with Mike... She relied on him for a sense of safety and familiarity

they both are confused because they are just so little, it's normal!! They are still kids!

I think Mike was really convinced he could love her romantically too and he has this strong need to protect her how he can, and especially after Will's speech he convinced himself that he could make it work between them again, I don't think he lied about anything, he thinks all that but he doesn't know what true romantic love is and that what he's feeling isn't it

It's literally the Laurie - Jo situation from little women... Laurie did have love for Jo but the love he has for Amy is "different" because the love for her is mature love not puppy/childhood love

Mike has childhood love for El and he's scared of letting go of the relationship because they didn't exactly start from friendship before dating, so he's not sure if they can get there without them dating... Obviously he's wrong but he's still scared of losing her completely and that blocks him from understanding what would be better for both of them

And he's scared of El not needing him anymore also because he's scared that she will leave his life completely if she doesn't need him anymore... he does love her even if it's not romantic and they don't work in a relationship outside of the physical side of it, there is love there but they are just not compatible as people in a romantic way

For how I see things, the writers wouldn't have made them like that if it was only that he can't love her because he's not attracted to her, in my opinion that seems unnecessary, they showed us that they don't have that type of understanding that comes with being in a relationship that works emotionally for a reason

They lack the deep understanding of the other person and they don't feel safe to be open and communicate their fears without thinking that if they do the other person is gonna find them "not cool enough" to date etc and they are locked in the roles of "boyfriend & girlfriend" instead of being just Mike and El

Mike and El just have too many problems as a couple and I really think things have changed between season 3 and 4 and they don't even have the physical romantic chemistry anymore... because that was tied to the emotional connection, and they don't have the emotional connection needed as we understood from season 4 in particular!

And guess what... Mike has all of the things that will make their relationship work... with Will!

But you know, it must be just a coincidence... 😂

[bymarara]

I want to talk about lovers lake and more specifically about one moment.

We all know very well that the lake of lovers is closely related to the Bylers, more about this is There are plenty of other blogs on Tumblr like this.

Let's just refresh our memory that in this lake of lovers, they found the fake body of Will Byers, in this lake, under the pressure of Troy, Mike Wheeler almost died because of jumping off the cliff, if it wasn't for El, he would have died.

Let's think back to season 4 now. When Max “died”, the gate to Lovers Lake opened very, very wide, as if the silhouette of Lovers Lake's heart had split apart, heart broken. What happened before Max's “death”. A declaration of love from Mike to Al.

Let us try to put everything in detail. Before the love confession scene, there was a conversation between Mike and Will about the painting and I'm a proponent that Mike realized what Will was saying about himself, even though he was afraid that it was his stupid fantasy. He had hope that it was mutual. I also stick to the fact that if Argyle had not interrupted them, Mike would have talked to El about the breakup and the reasons for it, it would have been easier for him to support the girl and be honest with her, but Argyle interrupted the moment for two people like El and Mike, the intimacy of the moment and further already, it was necessary to act and save Mike.

The moment when he confesses his love is very tense. Mike cares for El, we see him worrying as much as anyone, but when he doesn't know what to say to make her feel better, Will comes to the rescue. He says “Mike, you're the heart, you're the heart.”, this is where Wheeler probably hesitated in his sentences, he thought that everything Will said was true about El, you can see the disappointment on his face, the worried look on his face. Mike realizes that he'll have to hide his real feelings and other things again.

In the declaration of love, we are also shown just one moment as a flashback, we are shown just the moment of finding El, at that moment and in that interval, he treated her like a friend, like a sister. Just to compare the exact same scenes with Max, she has flashbacks with Lucas in a romantic context, with friends, where she was happy and basically her most important moments in life and where she was herself, the real her. In that moment, their meeting, they were both being themselves and not using each other for protection and “normalcy”(El is just as possibly using Mike, but I'll write about that later), they were being themselves.

During the declaration of love, Mike's face is not that of a man who says it from the bottom of his heart, and it doesn't make El feel any better, it's like she hears the lies in his words and the sadness.

Look at his heartbreak right before Will pushed him to tell El that he loves her.

It's not just fear in his eyes. He looks devastated, like all his hopes have been dashed. I'd say this is especially noticeable when you consider that he had hope after Will gave him the painting.

Mike's declaration of love and the simultaneous breaking of his own heart. This is another way in which they are symbolically connected to the lake, and where their relationship is just as, connected to Max's safety.The heart-shaped lake has literally split in two, as the “gate” is right there. Now it's a broken heart.

Also, I want to remind you that in the show Mike is constantly associated with a heart, that drawing with his name and hearts next to it, that Will's drawing of Mike's shield has a heart on it, he's everywhere as a heart.

I was thinking that maybe at this point Will's heart and hopes were broken, but I think Will's hopes and heart, were broken back in the van, back in the van he became broken, afterwards he was literally depressed and looked at Mike with such devastation, he realized that his feelings were not reciprocated (in his opinion).

[faelorelia]

Will loves Mike. Will wants Mike. Will needs Mike. And he always will. ❤️

This is what "Stranger Things" has repeatedly shown us for all four seasons. The show has emphasized how hopelessly devoted Will is to Mike. Yet, many believe Will will get over Mike and meet someone else. So why would giving Will a random boyfriend in S5 make no sense? Let’s review the facts:

Will has known Mike and been best friends with him since they were 5. We know how they met and how important that moment was for both of them. (This memory even played an important role in S2.)

Since S1, "Stranger Things" has focused on the special connection between Will and Mike. Their bond has always been different from other friendships in the show, and it’s been an important plotline throughout the entire series.

Will has loved Mike for some time prior to S4, even though it became obvious only then. We saw him glancing at Mike when a girl asked him to a dance, hoping his friend would stop him. Will wanted to dance with Mike. When puberty hit, Will became even more sure of his feelings.

Would "Stranger Things" make Will say he isn’t going to fall in love, sad and hopeless, if he weren’t already aware of his love for Mike? Would they show us the rain fight and his breakdown afterward if it were just a passing crush? Would Will promise Mike not to “join another party” if he just wanted to move on? Would Will spend his time in Lenora expressing his love for Mike in a painting? Would he spend all of S4 pining for Mike? Would they focus on how deeply Will loves him, cares about his happiness, and needs him if he were just meant to get a random boy in the next season?

Will has felt lost without Mike. Sometimes, Will feels like a mistake, but then he remembers that it’s Mike who he loves, and Mike makes him feel like he’s not a mistake at all – like he’s better for being different. Will is scared of losing Mike and will always need him.

Will’s entire arc in S4 would make no sense if they planned for him to get over Mike and get a new love interest. His arc in S4 wasn’t just about being gay – it was about him loving Mike specifically. And we saw just how much Will loves Mike. He basically sacrificed his own feelings just to make the boy he loves happy because he believes Mike will never love him back. Was it all just for Mike to reject him and for Will to get an out-of-the-blue love interest in S5? This is "Stranger Things" we’re talking about – a show that gives people hope and shows how love can save the day.

They have said the van scene will pay off, they have teased a happy ending for Will, and they have been giddy talking about Byler on multiple occasions – would they have done all of that if Byler weren’t going to happen? And what could be Will’s happy ending if not getting the boy he’s loved for years?

Let’s also remember that Will’s love life isn’t the only focus of the show. There’s a literal apocalypse in Hawkins, with everyone in danger, monsters in the streets, and stakes higher than ever. There are multiple main characters who all deserve development and conclusion. They have many plotlines to complete, particularly the main supernatural one – will they really have time to introduce a new series-regular character in the middle of everything just to give Will a random love interest? Especially when Will is confirmed to be central to the supernatural plot and likely won’t have much time to look for another gay guy in a conservative town merging with another dimension. Even Robin, introduced in S3, got a love interest before S5. How can giving Will, one of the most important characters in "Stranger Things," a rushed love story with a random boy be a good tribute to his character after he literally said he’ll always need Mike?

Mike is it for Will. He is the ONE! Even if Will gets a new, temporary love interest, he won’t stop loving the boy he’s loved his entire life. Because that’s who Will is – loyal, devoted, and wholeheartedly in love with his best friend, as shown in almost all of his S4 scenes.

So is it possible for him to move on from Mike and get a real happy ending with a random, last-minute love interest? Well, I’ll let Will answer that question for me. 😉

[herejusttosufferalong]

Y'all, I've been glued to this saga because L and R are so similar to what I went thru with my ex, like down to the sleeping on the couch thing, only reversed, that I don't know whether to laugh or cry. A and S don't know what they're in for.

Storytime: My ex's Rory is called Mike and they met playing a sport in college when X was a freshman and M was a super senior, so he's ~4 years older. M took X under his wing and they became bros for life I guess. M is super nice and goofy but a hot mess as a person, can't be trusted with the simplest of tasks but gets by by being beloved by everyone. X has consistently thrown him bones, brought him on to projects and recommended him for gigs at the expense of his own career and reputation. You can't make this shit up.

X and I were long distance for the first ~year of the relationship, I moved out to him to a small ass town an hour away from anywhere because of his job and because it was cheap. We were in a 1bd apartment and the first little while was bliss, hot and heavy, amazing. It was my first time living with a partner. Maybe a few months in, M calls X - he got a job in the city an hour away and he's moving down. X gets the brilliant idea to invite him to stay on our couch until he finds a place. I was fine with it at first because he was a super nice guy but I had no idea what I was getting into. Ladies, when I tell you I became the 3rd wheel in my own relationship and a ghost in my own home, I'm not being dramatic.

I was working from home so I was alone all day in a town where I knew no one who wasn't connected to X in some way and when the two of them would get home, they'd bro out with each other and I basically had to compete for my bf's attention. We stopped doing anything that didn't include him and constantly had to be mindful about how loud we were in the bedroom because he was on the fucking couch. I couldn't relax in my own home that I was paying rent and bills for. Mind you, M at this point was further along in his career than X and making way more money. Two months pass, he still hasn't found a place and instead commutes an hour each way to work. Then the fucking pandemic hits. I was the only one working initially and I was at home with the two of them playing video games, working out, watching TV, yelling, laughing, on TT, on Zoom with their other buddies 24/7 while I was trying to work. We'd constantly end up doing whatever they wanted to do. Dude stayed on our couch for like 10 1/2 months, only paying for groceries, takeout and activities here and there. I kinda snapped during the holidays, I drove across the country alone to be with my family and didn't go back, my dad then made a round trip to go get my stuff because I just couldn't even look at X. Only then did it occur to X and M that maybe M should move out. But you know what the narrative in his friend group is about me? That I'm a cold bitch who broke his heart.

I look back on it now and I'm angry at myself for being such a dummy, I was a total pushover. My X wasn't a bad dude, he was just too much of a bro to know how to be a bf. He always felt a need to include everyone but that cut into the little time we had together. In my defense, he was really hot lol.

It's crazy to think how different my life is now with my fiance, we just bought a house earlier this spring, which wouldn't have been possible with my X because he spends all his money on his hobbies. X literally did the same HBS thing L did after I dumped him, hit the gym like crazy, he follows like a thousand half naked girls on IG, likes all their posts and thirsts in the comments, it's beyond cringe. This is also on his fully public IG account that he also uses for work. He hasn't been in a serious relationship since, I'm told he's become quite the fboy, but he's collected a seemingly infinite amount of new bros judging by his posts. M is still in the picture, of course, although he has his own place and a serious gf now, while my ex has a new roommate who he plays an expensive, niche equipment sport with that he spends every penny he earns on. My ex was a Leo, so I'm not surprised L has it prominently in his chart.

This stuff is not uncommon among younger Millennial men. My now fiance is 5 years older and he is a Man. He shows up for me the way I show up for him, he doesn't make plans without considering me and he's on top of his finances. He's a serious person. I never knew I could be at peace like this. I know what I'm building towards with him. A and S are just sidepieces to the main love story that is L and R and if/when one of them gets dumped, the other one will as well. They're there because they go along with what L and R want. It'll come back to bite them in the ass but they'll learn an invaluable lesson the way that I did - don't date a manchild who won't prioritize you over his friends.

some good advice for the youngins

thank you for sharing 💜🥃

[aemiron-main]

Not A Child, But Instead, A Small Woman: Patty Vs Suzie, Orphan (2009), Daughters Becoming Wives, Growing Up Too Fast vs Not Growing Up At All, and NINA Being A Small Woman

So, Orphan (2009) is on the S4 board:

And Suzie not only physically resembles the girl from Orphan, Esther, but Suzie's outfits are also definitely inspired by Esther's outfits- even their hairstyles are eerily similar, right down to Suzie's pigtails versus Esther's pigtails:- hell, Suzie and Esther both even have the same lace collar on their shirts:

But where this all gets really interesting is with the fact that the "girl" from Orphan is actually, literally, a small woman- she's a 33 year old woman who has Hypopituitarism, which has resulted in her stunted growth, allowing her to pretend to be a child.

Which, that brings us to Suzie's connections to NINA- she's the person that gets the coordinates for NINA, NINA is the entire reason the Cali gang goes to her, point is, she's extremely associated with NINA. And then, with that in mind, we have Argyle saying that "Nina could be a small woman" and Suzie being paralleled to a character who is literally a small woman:

Daughters Becoming Wives

But let's set the Orphan stuff aside for just a brief moment, because before we go any further, I want to talk about the S3 line about Suzie "not existing/not being real" (and it's also interesting to me that when Steve talks about Suzie, he says "'it's' his girlfriend" versus Mike saying "'it's' not a small woman" to Argyle):

I want to talk about it because the idea of Suzie "not existing"/not being real reminds me of the Mother Virginia and Daughter Alice timeline swap, with how in one timeline, Virginia Creel is Victor Creel's wife and Alice Creel is his daughter, whereas in the Edward timeline, Virginia Creel is Victor Creel's daughter, and Alice Creel is his wife, versus Mr Bingham's wife seemingly "not existing/never even being alluded to once" and his daughter constantly being paralelled to Esther a child who was actually an adult woman/that having similar vibes to Victor's daughter actually being his wife in the other timeline etc, especially since Mr Bingham is basically a cross between Victor Creel and Mr Newby.

Which, that makes me wonder if something similar is happening with Suzie- if she's technically kind of "her own mother" (but not quite in the Back to the Future Marty-almost-becomes-his-own-dad way), in the sense that in the other timeline, Suzie Bingham is Mr Bingham's wife, just like how Alice is Victor's wife in the other timeline.

Anyway, keeping all that in mind, let's jump over to Mr Newby (and the Newbys in general) for a second, because like I said, Mr. Bingham is bascially a cross between Victor Creel and Mr Newby, and has a TON of Mr Newby parallels, and Patty has a TON of Suzie parallels.

The Newbys

So, when we look at the Newbys, we have Mr Bingham's entirely absent wife/Suzie's entirely absent mother, versus Patty's father (her biological father, not Mr Newby), never being mentioned or aluded to, he's entirely absent just like Suzie's mother. I'm not saying that I expect him to be in the play, but I AM saying that it's weird that Patty spends so much time wondering about her birth mother, but even just the IDEA of her birth father is never even brought up as a one-line sidenote or something, just like how Mrs Bingham doesn't appear anywhere- there's no one-liner about how Eden gets treated like a replacement mother, there's no picture of Mrs Bingham on Suzie's desk or something, NOTHING.

And when we specifically focus on Patty, like I've talked about before, Mr Newby seems to treat Patty more like a wife than a daughter, which is interesting re: all of the weird timeline "daughter becomes wife and vice versa" stuff with the Creels versus how Mrs Bingham is entirely absent versus Esther from Orphan attempting to replace her adoptive mother/trying to seduce her adoptive father/the way that the roles of daughter vs wife are conflated in Orphan. Like do you see what I mean? There's this throughline of wives and daughters being conflated in Orphan, and with the Binghams and with the Newbys. (and to be very clear, even though in Orphan, Esther seduces her adoptive father/she initiates it, this is not the case for Patty or Suzie, with Suzie it seems to be more connected to a weird timeline thing, and with Patty, it's Mr Newby forcing that more wifelike role onto her, when Patty wants to be a child/a daughter)'

And also, In Orphan, Esther uses makeup to appear more childlike, which makes me think about Patty's lipstick/makeup, and how Patty's lipstick is the same as TFS Virginia' lipstick and S3 Karen's lipstick, and how both Virginia and Karen are grown women/wives (AND the connection to the Alice vs Virginia daughter-wife swap I mentioned earlier and how Karen might be Daughter Virginia from the Edward timeline, so that lipstick then further connects Patty to the whole weird wife daughter timeline swap thing), versus Patty being forced to grow up too quickly & being forced into more of a wife role than a daughter role.

And so, while Esther uses makeup to appear younger/more like a child, Patty uses makeup for the opposite reason, Patty's makeup makes her seem older- and isn't it interesting (/derogatory) that Mr Newby confiscates Patty's comic, something representative of childhood and innocence, but has no problem with her wearing lipstick? The same lipstick that other grown wives in ST (and specifically in TFS) wear? We literally watch Mr Newby snatch a symbol of childhood out of her hands while she's made-up like an adult woman- Mr Newby is pigeonholing her into that wifelike role, especially with how Patty's "adoption" (aka Mr Newby stealing her) was done by Mr Newby in an attempt to mend his relationship with his wife- but then his wife left him anyways, and he punished Patty for it every day of her life.

Esther's makeup makes a small woman appear as a child, whereas Patty's makeup makes a child appear like a small woman (versus Nina being a small woman). Patty had to grow up too fast whereas Esther doesn't grow up- both in the sense of Esther's growth being physically stunted as a result of her condition, but also in the sense of Esther pretending to be a child. Esther is a fake orphan & literal small woman that's made-up to look like a child/real orphan- Patty is a real orphan & a figurative small woman/made-up to look like a small woman.

Anyway, we also have Suzie and Patty's constant parallels to eachother, versus Suzie's parallels to Esther from Orphan, versus Patty being a literal orphan, and her and Henry even having whole dialogue exchanges re: orphans:

And speaking of Patty and Henry dialogue exchanges, in TFS, Patty says "aren't you a bit old for that" to Henry re: Captain Midnight- and then Henry retorts by saying "aren't you?" to Patty/implying that Patty is also too old, which is interesting considering the fact that Esther from Orphan is literally too old/literally older than she appears (which is also interesting considering TFS Brenner not aging/being older than he appears, but that's a whole thing on its own):

And the whole "small woman who isn't actually a child" thing from Orphan also makes me think about what I talked about in this post re: the "you're not a child" line that Dustin says to Steve when Steve is standing in Young Henward's spot in the Creel house, versus Henward's monologue saying "something was wrong with me" during that scene vs TFS Patty saying she doesn't know what's wrong with her versus the "Henry Creel isn't a chick" line from TFS (so he's not a child and he's also not a woman/chick but he also kind of is wonder woman, which I'll talk about later- versus Esther not being a child but IS a woman), verus NINA Henward being subtitled as "boy" despite seemingly being a grown man- why is there a line connected to Young Henward about not being a child (and TFS Brenner also tells Henry not to be a child), but then also a line connected to Adult Henward where he's referred to as a child/as a boy???? What's going on????

And then there's ALSO the fact that in Orphan, Esther breaks her own arm and falsely blames her adoptive mother- versus Walter Henderson saying that Henry broke a kid's arm back in Nevada versus all of the Patty-Esther parallels versus Virginia saying that Henry put a boy in a wheelchair in Nevada (unclear as to whether or not this is the same as the broken arm kid), versus the whole Patty vs Patrick thing and Patty being paralleled to Max via things like their shared love of Wonder Woman versus Max being mistaken for a boy by Owens versus Young Max's broken arm in her memories:

And also, the idea of Patty having somehow been the kid in Nevada whose arm got broken/at the very least subtextually connected to that kid, it's interesting to me that when we go back to that Steve and Robin S3 scene where they talk about Suzie versus Argyle and Mike tallking about NINA being a small woman, and how both scenes use the word "it," we get told that "it" isn't a small woman, but "it" IS some girl from camp- which makes me think about what I've talked about before re: TFS Henry being a scout and scout camp versus Camp Hero (from Montauk) versus all Patty's superhero/hero stuff versus the black girl on the Camp Know Where postcard versus Patty being The Girl from Nowhere and Suzie signing the back of the postcard as "Suzie Q" vs Bob in TFS singing "Suzie Q" and Patty talking about how him and Patty used to do the "Suzie Q" dance as kids and Suzie also leaving lipstick on the postcard vs everything I talked about earlier re: Orphan and Patty's lipstick:

And that scout connection may sound far-fetched, but keep in mind that Suzie has scout badges in her room- right beside the Muppet movie/rainbow connection poster, no less, versus Project Rainbow and Brenner Sr vs the idea of Henry being a boy scout when he ended up in Dimension X/in the cave in Nevada (just like the members of Project Rainbow ending up in Dimension X) and rainbow "connection" versus Patty and Henry talking about how they're connected:

So, was Patty ever at camp with Henry? And why does Suzie get referred to as "it" versus "it" not being a small woman versus Stephen King's IT being a shapeshifter and what I've talked about re: Patty's shapeshifter references & her "uncanny valley" references re: her resemblance to Ella Fitzgeral???? What's going on??

And anyway, going back to when I mentioned Wonder Woman, we also have this whole "Esther from Orphan being a small woman" thing and the whole "Nina is a small woman" thing, and all of those connections to Patty and Henry etc, versus Patty praying to Wonder Woman and hearing Henry's voice on the radio instead/saying "Wonder Woman?" in reference to Henry- there's all of these weird little connections re: who is/isnt a woman vs who is/isnt a child etc etc and I would just!! Love to know what the hell is going on!!

And also, there's the whole "celestial marriage" thing on Mr Bingham's computer versus Joyce telling Patty that her dress makes her look like a wedding cake versus Brenner's weird "I do" wedding-esque moment with El in the NINA bunker, versus the way that Henry reaches for Patty's hand vs the TFS promo art of that TFS reach scene resembling the Brenner-El wedding coded handgrab scene, versus the fact that a "celestial marriage" is meant to be a bond/connection that lasts forever, versus Patty talking about how her and Henry are connected whether he likes it or not and what I talked about in this post about how that line connects to Brenner versus what I just said about the weird Brenner-El marriage parallel moment.

And then there's also whatever the hell is up with the wedding dress in the Creel attic versus the scenes of Henry and Patty in the Creel attic in TFS, and how Henry asks Patty to hold his hand versus what I just said re: handholds being connected to marriage/the weird Brenner "I do" hand hold with El versus the Patty-Henry catwalk hand grab and the promo art hand reach etc etc:

And there's also something rattling in my brain re: all of the references to Elvis and Vegas in TFS versus the stereotype of Elvis officiating shotgun weddings in Vegas. I'm gonna have to go dig into that at some point later.

So, long story short: I'm not 100% sure WHAT'S going on, but there's definitely something very, very weird going on- for some reason, Patty and Suzie are both very connected to Orphan, and to the idea of a woman who seems to be a child but isn't actually a child, and to the idea of stunted growth vs growing up too quickly, and to the idea of daughters and wives getting conflated with eachother/swapping places with eachother.

[madlovesbyler]

Mike's Bassment Beats

Hi guys :) 

This is an analysis of the Spotify Official Playlist of Mike to prove to you that Byler definitely has a chance of happening and being endgame in Season 5. (Just a notice: I will skip the songs without lyrics / the songs that are about the Upside Down or smth like that)

You can also read the analysis here:

Mike's Bassment Beats 

Smalltown boy

So... Do I have to say anything more? This is the first song on his playlist. Suspicous, isn't it?

I mean if they wanted to put this song on a playlist, why not on Will's for example? I mean Will was 1. bullied for being gay, 2. moved out of his town to California and 3. is a canonly gay character. Why did they put it on Mike's playlist, when we only know for sure that he was bullied?

Always Something There to Remind Me

This could be foreshadowing a Mileven breakup in season 5 - it could also be interpreted as Mike thinking about Will after the rain fight in season 3.

She Blinded Me With Science

We can say that this song is about Mike's and El's relationship, mostly being about Mike feeling not as worthy as Eleven because of her superpowers and her being a "superhero".

I think it is supposed to show us Mike's true feelings about being with Eleven: He feels unworthy of being with her, which to me is not a healthy mindset to have when being in a relationship. On the other hand with Will he never feels unworthy. Instead he can be himself without having to be scared of judgement or feeling not good enough.

I Ran (So Far Away)

I know, I know. The Mileven shippers will probably say this is about Mike not saying "I love you" to Eleven and blah blah blah. Honestly I don't believe in that. Did we have Mike run away from his "feelings" towards Eleven like ever? In season 1 he was the person to initiate their first kiss. That doesn't seem like "running away from your feelings for someone" to me. To be honest I think it's clear that the "attractive woman" is Will to Mike.

A Real Hero

So since this song is called "A real hero" I think it is kind of obvious who it is refering to in Mike's life. Mike has called Eleven multiple times a "superhero", which I think is kind of cute but also a bit unsensitive of him since El doesn't like to only be reduced to her powers, which he does by only praising her powers and no other good qualities of her.

Still Haunting Me

Another breakup song

When Love Breaks Down

Oh what a surprise... A breakup song 

Love Is a Stranger

This song is basically about a really deep love and obsession with a person.

I want to comment on these lyrics here ^ though, because to me this song is about Mike and Will and not about Mike and El. The lyrics say "love is a danger of a different kind.... and love is a dangerous drug". When was El and Mike's love a danger to themselves? The only love in the series that is actually dangerous for the person is Will's love for Mike / Robin's love for Vickie. (homosexual love). In the 80s people were killed for being openly gay - they almost didn't have any rights. 

Don't you want me

I've read an article where a person talks about the way this story isn't about love - it's about a guy who finds a woman and helps her (because of his savior complex) becoming a star (El becoming a superhero etc.) and later their love goes bad and he's still obsessed with her and her success. This is so Mileven coded I can't.

Teenage Kicks

This song is basically about a boy pining over this one girl and desiring her etc. I think this "girl" once again is Will in Mike's situation, since Mike never really got to "pine after" Eleven (since they got together after one week of knowing each other).

Running in the Night 

This is literally about Mileven in season 4, I can't

I found another interpretation, where the protagnist battles desperate and desolate times filled with heartbreak and desire, which shows us that Mike does have inner battles he fights (mostly in season 2 and 4). 

Destination Unknown

Okay, so this song and Smalltown Boy really make me fantasize about Will and Mike running off together at the end of season 5 lol.

But I think this song also describes very well how Mike lives (or atleast tries to live) in season 1-3. He doesn't really know what he's doing and he just tries to get through life as well as possible, which is the reason for him being together with Eleven as well. He chooses to take the easier path - the path where he doesn't have to think about his feelings for his best friend and he doesn't have to admit to himself that he might like boys.

Something About You

"...A love... Fashioned by fate could suffer so hard"

Okay so we know (from the series) that Mike doesn't see his and Eleven's relationship as "fate". He thinks it's simple dumb luck, which makes me personally think that this song is again about Byler (since Mike said in s2 to Will that asking him to be his best friend was the best thing he ever did -> it was fate that they met)

"But making mistakes is a part of life's imperfection"

Mike and Will made some mistakes. They fought in season 3 and season 4 -simply because they have so much unsaid between them, which obviously lead to some tension. They also both made the mistake to try to hide their feelings away, which they shouldn't do, even though it's difficult to express them (and dangerous at the time they're living in)

"Is it wrong to be human after all?"

This is such a deep line to be honest. The narrator asks themselves if it's wrong to be human and have feelings for this one person, which oviously you can't control. I think it can be interpreted as asking yourself if it's wrong to have feelings for someone who has the same gender as you, since you're human and the feelings you have are human too.

"And it's not so wrong we're only human after all" 

This line is again about realising (which I hope Mike and Will do in season 5!!!) that having feelings isn't wrong / a crime because they are just humans!!! (I can't do this anymore I need to hold Mike and Will's faces and tell them it's okay to feel what they feel.)

"These changing years, they add to your confusion" 

My interpretation is that this line is about the way that the older Mike grows, the more he is confused about his feelings for El and Will (just remember the end of season 3).

"Oh and you need to hear the time that told the truth"

They both (Mike and Will) just need to realize the truth at this point, I'm so sick of them bro.

Are 'Friends' Electric

My honest reaction when I read this title:

But now that I have googled the lyrics and meaning of the song it's not that promising (even though I found some lines that might be byler related). So this song is basically about a really lonely man living in a world of robots. I think it's about Mike feeling really left alone with his struggles and worries. (especially in season 2, where he has (confirmed) a depressive episode)

"It's the friend that I'd left in the hallway" meaning Will, which Mike kind of neglected in s3 & s4

"You know I hate to ask, but are 'friends' electric?" This might just be so byler related like???

So Mike hates to ask himself the question if the way he feels with Will is just the way you feel around your friend or if Will's more than a friend to Mike. I think Mike is still in denial, where he tries to fight these feelings and thoughts, but there's still this question buzzing in his head: "Why do I feel so 'electric' with Will?"

I also find it interesting that Dustin literally describes love in season 2 as this feeling of "electricity" between two people. Coincidence? I'm not so sure anymore.

"And now I've no one to love" This might be about Mike thinking he's lost Will after season 3 and in the beginning of season 4.

If You Leave

Do I have to say anything more? It's too obvious I'm sorry 

I also wanted to add that this song is from the movie "Pretty In Pink", which is about a girl called Andie falling in love with a popular guy at her school, while her best friend Duckie falls for her. At the end of the movie, when this song starts playing, there's a scene where they are at a ball and it was originally planned for Andie to end up with Duckie, but the audience didn't like this ending, so they changed it to Andie ending up with the popular guy. Does this whole thing seem familiar? Well, then think about the Snowball in Stranger Things season 2 :)

You Spin Me Round

Lol I think most of you know this song. Mike is such a silly, lovesick idiot, I love him 😭

So obviously this song is about a guy being madly in love - and I found someone saying that people theorize that this song is about two guys. So I googled the band members and found out that the lead singer Pete Burns identified as gay so I think this theory isn't so far stretched.

Cars

This song lyrics are mostly interpreted as someone isolating themselves. Mike my babyboy :((

You Really Got Me

A love song about lust. Not going to dive deeper into that because I find it gross since Mike's still a child.

It's my life

We win every single day (Byler endgame guys). 

So this song is basically about a guy realising he's in love with a person, who he actually just saw as a friend, as the lyrics say "Funny how I find myself in love with you".

Space Age Love Song

This  song is about having an intime moment with another person where you lock eyes with them and fall in love. Bro's really down bad, I see.

A Victory of Love

So Mike's waiting for Will to 'return' to him because he thought he has lost him. He's also hoping for a change (for Will to become his boyfriend ofc :D)

Mad World

I'm sorry but I can't exist right now. This is so sad that I'm not sure if I can include this I don't want to depress y'all.

What Is Love?

Let's move on to something a bit lighter:

Okay, so this song is about Mike being in love with someone who doesn't return the feelings... Did we ever see El not returning Mike's feelings??? I don't think so. 

So who does Mike think doesn't return his feelings? Will Byers (especially in season 4). El writes in a letter to Mike that she thinks Will has a crush on someone (implying in California) because he paints a lot. Mike thinks that the painting Will made was for some girl he likes (which later turned out to be for Mike ofc). There and the whole time before that Mike believes that Will doesn't feel the same way for him, which obviously he actually does. 

Spirit of the Night

This song is about a woman with a beautiful dress on dancing in the Night and the narrator completely admiring her. I think the line "I wear a plastic crown" is a metaphor for the way that he feels next to her. He doesn't think he's good enough for her.

Telephone Operator

A song about the narrator calling his love interest and wondering why he can't see them. 

This could be about Mike calling El in season 3 OR it could be about Mike calling Will in season 4. The second option makes more sense to me, since Mike tried to call Will (we know that, because Dustin said Mike is whining about not being able to call the Byers, because Joyce is always on the phone because of her new job; we also know that he didn't try to call El, because he simply wasn't allowed to, since it would have been to dangerous)

Hand On The Gun

This song is about battling your own moral beliefs, that you have based on your religion (on the bible). This seems really funny to me, for the reason that Mike never really had to do that, right? The only two kids in this show who have killed/ hurt people are El and Will. He never had to do such things. So what is he battling inside? 

Could he be battling his homosexuality, which is a sin in the bible? We know that his household is pretty conversative. (-> Ted making some implied homophobic comments and Karen talking about Margaret Thatcher (who was a conversative prime minister) on the phone with someone)

I know this sounds far reached, but when you think about it... What else could he be battling, that goes against his own moral standards?

Blue Monday

The lyrics of this song are pretty obviously about an unhealthy relationship where she tells him how he should feel, because he doesn't know what to feel anymore.

These lines are also pretty telling. I think Mike finds it really hard to admit to himself and to other people that he is gay and in love with his best friend. He kind of uses El to show him how he should feel , because he doesn't want to go down the path inside of him where these feelings for Will are hidden.

Too Shy

The lyrics are a about a really cute, shy, tender relationship between two people. I don't think you can describe Mileven as these adjectives, because Mike wasn't really shy when he kissed El after knowing her for one week only, while with Will he's always been kind of tender (the Will voice) and they had a lot of cute heart to hearts (which Mileven didn't really have or atleast not as many as Byler)

No Other Way

I couldn't find any interpretations from other people so I got to stick to my own.

"Where is your sense of adventure, where are your aims?" Maybe that's about Mike not wanting to have changes in his life (which there would be if he just admitted to himself that he's gay lmao)

"I know you stick to your guns as it's hard to change" Mike sticks to Eleven, because he doesn't want things to change.

"Just for a moment imagine another way" Mike please just imagine how your life could be if you'd just be honest to yourself and other people.

Everyday Is Halloween

This song is about Mike's bullying and him feeling like an outsider most of the time. He's also asking himself why he can't live for himself instead of doing everything to live up to other people's expectations (being "straight"). He asks himself why the people can't see that he's just like them just because he's gay. He isn't the one who's absurd - he's just a normal person. But he tries to act 'normal' by wearing a mask that hides his true feelings everyday. 

"Hurt feelings best to stop feeling hurt" I'm not too sure about this line, but it could mean that the best way to stop feeling hurt is to hurt other people (which might be a parallel to Mike saying "It's not my fault you don't like girls" to Will)

This song is so obviously queercoded.

Run Away

These are the only lyrics, which are repeated troughout the whole song. I guess it could be about Mike trying to figure out the truth about his feelings?

Be Afraid

This song is about Mike hearing voices (me, and all the other byler shippers, who he can hear talking from another universe) that are telling him he's gay and in love with his best friend. 

*******************************

Okay so this is it basically. I really hope you enjoyed my analysis of the obviously really straight Mike Wheeler. No but seriously, I do know that the people who made this playlist might not have put these weirdly queercoded songs on purpose on, but Smalltown Boy? Really? I mean this song is known for being gay. 

Not to forget that there are a lot of breakup songs on this playlist? It's too suspicous for it to not be intentional. 

So the end of story is:

[wheeler-fan]

i think everyone focused so much about eleven character development that no one is talking about el season 1 anymore 🙁 I'm rewatching this season now, and there's so many things that needs to be spoken up and no one does it and i don't understand why. it's very important bc when we take a look at eleven now, her behavior, her feelings and worries, it's all connected to the little eleven from season 1. I have a couple things that i have noticed from basically two first episodes.

NUMBER 1: eleven is afraid of loud noises, i bet that it was really quiet in the lab, she was locked up alone (I'm talking about lab from season 1 not 4 to be clear) practically the only person she talked too is brenner, she was a scared kid and probably was scared of every noise bc she thought that papa is coming to her. Then we can see in season one how she reacts to every noise, she was afraid of the storm, she was nervous when Lucas and Mike were yelling at each other, we can see that she's scared and quiet all the time bc it's her first time at this world- we can't say that living in the lab was actually living 💀 she wasn't even treated as a human being but as an experiment. Everything is new for her, she's fascinating about everything, there are so many things she wants to see, try, learn but she's also scared of everything and then- we can see how she reacts to loud noises even when she's grown up, for example season 4- el is getting bullied in rinko mania, we can see how she's covering her ears bc the music is too loud-(also funny thing i have noticed, the first thing that Mike does when he finds out what's going on is yelling at Angela's friend to turn down the music, why? bc he knows eleven, and he knows that loud noises are hard for her so that's the first thing he does)

NUMBER 2: how useless eleven felt in s4 without her powers, remember s1? when she failed the experiment Brenner got mad and locked her up for a punishment, we can see that when eleven didn't have enough power to do something she was treated like an useless thing, so now, when she lost her powers she felt that she lost the only thing that makes her special, she was really insecure about herself, she thought that no one will love her without her powers bc for what? that's why I can't understand people who are defending brenner 💀like bffr.

NUMBER 3: her love language, she puts attention to words, why? bc all her life everyone lied to her, tricked her, "pretend" that they care using words but never actions, that's why she was focused on Mike's words and not actions, and here we have a problem bc mike is focused on actions and not words bc his parents probably use words but how their children can know that they are honest if there's no proof of actions? exactly. Mike cares about actions and expresses himself with actions, that's why the conflict between mileven was ever made. They have a different love language and they both didn't know what to do with that, so now, eleven though that mike doesn't love her bc he doesn't use words, and mike thinks eleven doesn't need him bc she doesn't use actions but words.

Also i would like to mention the fact that this poor girl didn't even know what privacy is. She wanted to get dressed in front of the boys and saw nothing wrong with that. The fact how bad she was treated in the lab needs to be spoken more

(btw i tried to put pictures in order to make it more clear but idk if it works 😭😭 it's kinda about mike tbh but let's focus about eleven here that's supposed to be about my beautiful girl this time)

[monkee-mobile]

I was rewatching the christmas episode and I love the part where Davy says he uses a security blanket, I know it was just thrown in to be funny but it’s actually really cute to think about. do you have any thoughts on it or similar headcanons about him?

It IS really cute!

I do have some thoughts on it. Probably many. These are going to be very disorganized and probably a bit overwritten, I warn in advance.

There was an interview that irl Davy did right before he died when he talks about needing someone there while he sleeps and I know when he was little (still real life davy) he had a “security pillow”. So I kind of stick those into my headcanon of tv show Davy sometimes. I think he likes having human contact and obviously we know the boys have zero personal space so he gets lots of it from his monkee brothers.

of course I’m a sucker for little tiny baby davy because he’s totally a spoiled brat toddler sometimes and he’s a fricken cutie whether i like it or not but i have some little thoughts that go more along the lines with that as well as contributing to him needing human contact I guess.

throughout the show when davy gets scared he tends to cling onto people (see clinging onto mike’s arm in the adorable monkee bed, or clinging onto micky’s arm when they think peter falls off that balcony in some video for a song that I can’t think of right now. maybe for pete’s sake?) or he jumps into someone’s arms and they carry him away, or he calls for out for Mike (see the circus episode when the guy starts throwing knives at him. like honey, what is mike gonna do? he’s a skinny little scarecrow man. michael tries his best.) OR he gets all jumpy and overstimulated and then devolves into nervous little giggles (see the wild monkees episode when he thinks the biker is gonna kill him but it turns out she’s a girl and starts kissing him and he’s nervously laughing and she can barely hold onto him. he’s definitely panicky and overstimulated there.)

but basically i think that when davy’s scared, he kind of just turns into a kid in certain ways. He wants the security of someone there to take care of him. he’s all bark no bite. he acts all tough because he probably grew up needing to act tough or else he’d get picked on for being small, but now he’s got his friends to help him and i think it allows him to feel safer and to be able to rely on others more.

This connects a bit to another portion of davy’s real life that I connect into the show headcanon even though it’s clearly not meant to be within the written show. real life Davy lost his mom when he was young, and I sometimes think about the implications of if that had happened to davy in the show even though show davy has probably honestly never felt any real pain in his life. in certain ways I think that could be a reason he wants that security in the show, if he lost his mom.

I think this is a reason he clings onto mike, who’s very obviously the “protector” of the group (he’s their mama hen!! and they’re his little baby chicks following him around!! but i digress…) and mike has become a bit of a surrogate mom for Davy, and gives him what he lost as a kid losing his mom so young.

THIS IS SO SO LONG SO FAR IM SORRY

but mike being a mama to the boys, especially to peter and davy because i think micky’s more older brother type and they’re more of the “little ones” (don’t get me started on peter’s connections to mike. they run deep and peter is very much a very complicated kid in certain ways. he needs a lot of love and has deep down a fear of abandonment that i don’t think he even realizes he has, and mike is trying to help him through it. davy also helps with peter. they all help with peter, peter is so loved. anyway this is not about peter). Mike being the mama is so important to me and I love it so much and im gonna ramble about it so im sorry in advance (the monkees cuddling and making each other feel safe is so very important to me. they’re just my warm squishy comfort characters and i project everything onto them)

I made a post i think on my main blog about all of the monkees using mike’s big hands to stim with (people put davy as the “neurotypical one” but i don’t think he is. idk what he kind of neurodivergent he is but he’s something, he just conceals stuff well. i don’t even think he realizes or may ever realize. this is the 1960s we’re talking about) but I touched briefly upon my thoughts that davy just lets out his toddler energy when him and mike are on the couch and he just plops down in mike’s lap and grabs mike’s hands and occasionally bites them, but also grabbing his fingers and straightening them and stuff and making mike clap and things. Mike is just used to this at this point (davy is spoiled. don’t tell davy. he’ll deny it.) but sometimes it can be too much and I think mike has to set some boundaries about how much he can handle as a “mom” at points and Davy listens. In some of my thoughts I think Davy and Mike have known each other the longest (they just have that easy groove, i don’t know) and I think they’re able to talk well so mike can communicate if it’s just too much for him and davy’ll listen.

also Davy totally just parks himself in mike’s lap a lot and clings onto his shirt and just sits. Sometimes he just needs a nap or something and mike is warm and comfortable and davy knows he’s loved. The monkees full-group cuddle position on the couch watching the television is often peter and micky on either side of mike (pete sometimes sits on mikes lap but he’s a bit heavy and davy has a tendency to kick him off of it. davy be nice!). and davy on mikes lap and they’re all very sweet and nice and i love them.

i keep getting more and more thoughts im sorry…

one more thing i guess. davy wishes mike could pick him up. hes like a little purse dog and sort of internally wishes to be able to just be carried around on someone’s hip all the time. Mike has tried but it hurts his back. micky can do this a bit but davys just too heavy for him and he can hold him better carrying him “bridal” style like he does when davy gets scared in the show. peter is the only one who can really pick Davy up on his hip because he just doesn’t realize davys heavy because monkee logic, and davy is very startled by this at first because peter can just scoop him up and carry him around.

okay. that’s all. i’m gonna leave it at that. this post is so long, i apologize dearly. but i have many many thoughts so thank you for the ask anon!

[theoriginalsapphic]

disproving the mlvn bingo

“I want El to grow on her own”

This is a bad thing because…? El is a child that grew up the first twelve years of her life locked up in a lab and used for her powers. Then she got out and spent a week helping a group of kids to find their missing friend, almost died, survived in the wilderness by herself for approximately a month, and was forced in isolation in a cabin in the woods for another year.

The first time she got to actually go to the outside world to have fun like a girl her age should was at the snowball dance, in December of 1984 / January of 1985, and even she would still spend most of her time hiding from the world in the cabin. The only other time she got to live like a normal girl was when she went out shopping with Max. After that, she got involved again with the Upside Down, lost her father-figure, and moved to the other side of the country with people she barely knew.

As of canon, she has only been living in the real world for, and I’m being extremely generous with this estimate, fifteen months. Most people her age need time to grow on their own and focus on themselves, and they lived in relatively normal circumstances and in a society their whole lives. Saying that El may need some time to get to know herself first isn’t misogynistic, or ableist, it’s just common sense.

Ableist to El, Mocks El’s speech

Connected to the previous point. El is a fourteen year girl that spent twelve of those years locked away and being dehumanized and never getting the chance to properly socialize. It’s a reasonable thing to say that it will take her time to catch up to people her age who have lived in society their whole lives. It’s not ableist to point out this. In fact, completely ignoring this aspect of her character means ignoring the influence that it has on her character, which brings a whole layer of complexity to her.

Also, anyone who is ableist to El (or to anyone for that matter) sucks! I’m glad we can agree on that! But I’m not okay with mlvns crying out ableism any time someone criticizes the ship only to turn around and be ableist to Max or Dustin (and Gaten by default).

“El doesn’t understand being in a relationship”

Maybe she has an understanding of what being in a relationship means at the end of season four, but she should have never been put in a relationship so early on. Fresh-out-of-the-lab twelve-year-old El shouldn’t have been kissed and later put on a relationship with the first age-appropriate boy who showed her kindness and who had to explain her basic concepts like friendship and privacy. Those are concepts that are supposed to be taught by your parents— not your boyfriend.

May I need to remind people that this is a canon scene from season 3?

Mind you; she has been dating Mike for around six months already at this point.

Part of El learning to understand what being in a relationship means is also learning what kind of things she wants and can accept in a relationship, which, she spends most of season 3 doing.

Mike lied in the monologue

Well, sorry to tell you this, but… he did!

and El knows it.

MiIeven cheating trope!!

As someone who hates cheating and has been personally harmed by the actions of a cheater… let people write whatever they want in their fics. If someone wants to explore that in fiction then they should be able to do it. (Also, I doubt the Duffers would ever write Mike cheating on El, so you can relax about that).

Blames Millie for miIeven

I don’t associate myself often with her fandom because although she seems like a lovely person her fandom is absolutely rancid, but she seems someone who likes to play the audience and have fun. She had said she ships miIeven and wants a wedding for them. She had said she ships byler and wants a love triangle with them. Whether Millie actually means it, is pandering to the fandom, or it’s just straight up trolling and having fun… it doesn’t matter, and I doubt she actually cares as much as people want her to care.

Neither Millie nor any of the actors have any power over whatever decisions the Duffers end up choosing in their writing. If anyone blames any of the actors for whatever happens to their characters, they are fucking idiots; simple as that.

Sexist to El

And yet, mlvn shippers are the ones I often see saying how much El needs Mike, of how she would kill Will if Mike left her, of how she was capable of fighting Vecna only because Mike told her he loves her, of how the only person that actually cares about her is Mike, completely disregarding her family and friends that love her deeply.

I don’t know about you, but I think that reducing El to be this needy girl who is dependent on her boyfriend and makes her to seem that her boyfriend is the only thing she cares about and should care about is… really sexist.

El is a character who consists of two main parts: of trying to create her own identity and of wanting a family, which are both interconnected with how she was stripped of her autonomy since birth and how she wants to belong somewhere.

El grew for the first twelve years of her life with the understanding that love is transactional and conditional on what she can do for others. This is seen mostly in season 1, with El being used for Brenner’s experiments, and when she exerts herself to the point she almost dies for a group of kids that wanted to find their missing friend.

With every season, there is something new that she leans about herself that helps her become a person. Because that is an aspect that people rarely talk about El; she wasn’t even treated like a human being for 85% of her life, but rather just a lab rat.

In season 2, she embarks on a journey all by herself to find out about her mother, and later, her sister Kali. This remarks what El has been wanting her whole life— a family.

In season 3, she explores her identity and her likes and dislikes through fashion and hobbies for the first in her life with Max (I have a whole post about how El’s development of regaining her autonomy is shown through her clothes).

In season 4, she outright says that she doesn’t belong anywhere, and is struggling with the dichotomy that her powers bring: is she a monster or a superhero? At the end of the season, she has come to terms with the complexity of who she is, determining that she is both and neither, and she has finally found a family. She doesn’t belong to a specific place, but to people. Hawkins isn’t her home; her friends and family are. She belongs with them.

So, tell me: who is being sexist to El? You, who reduces her to her romantic relationship… or me? And yes, female characters can be in romantic relationships and still be their own characters, but El isn’t like most of female characters in the sense that she never got the chance to figure out her identity and what she wants before getting in a relationship.

Ships El with a random party member so Mike will be free

miIeven wishes they had what elmax has

“MiIeven is unhealthily and codepent”, “Mike pays too much attention to El, he doesn’t make time for his friends!”

I mean… I’m not the one saying it, blame the Duffers for that one.

Mike looks he is about to sneeze but he’s looking in Will’s directions so it’s heart eyes

If Mike looked at El the way he looks Will you wouldn’t shut the fuck up about it.

cr: @/mvltibyers

Taking the monologue and replacing El with Will and suddenly it’s peak romance

Why would I want byler to have that poorly lighted and directed, and badly written monologue when I already have this one?

Calls El bald and think they did something

I agree! It’s wrong to make fun of El being bald when that fact is tightly connected with how she was stripped off of her femininity as a form of dehumanization and it’s one of the most visible signs of the abuse that was inflicted on her.

However, may I need to remind you that those ‘jokes’ are usually in response with you calling Will literally homophobic slurs or are you going to play coy and innocent?

Compares Mike to Brenner

Blame the Duffers for this one, not us for noticing it.

Hates on Mike but wants him with their fave

You're so right! I don't see the point of shipping a couple if you hate half of it, especially because it would mean to reduce his character to be only a love interest and nothing else. Anyway, what character arc do you think Mike is going to go through in season 5?

Bring ups miIeven break up

They really couldn’t have made it more obvious that’s where they headed so, yes; I want them to break up and I think it will benefit both of their characters. Sorry for following the story, ig.

Says miIeven wasn’t together for s4

Don’t forget to mention how they also weren’t together for season 2 and most of season 3! In fact, it almost seems like after they shared the first kiss, they were never allowed to share a significant amount of screen time together again.

Also, Mike and El aren’t real people; if the Duffers don’t write them to share screen time together it’s because they don’t want to.

The Duffers wrote it so El spent most of season 2 searching for her mom and her sister and longing for freedom. The Duffers wrote it so El spent most of season 3 with Max learning about what she likes and trying to create her own identity away from male influence. The Duffers wrote it so El spent most of season 4 in NINA, which was probably the most important part of her character arc in the show so far.

The Duffers also wrote it so Mike spent most of season 2 with Will. The Duffers wrote it so the fight between Mike and Will was more emotionally charged than his breakup with El, and they wrote it so Mike and Will have a one-on-one goodbye scene just like miIeven and jvncy.

The Duffers wrote it in season 4 so Will is revealed as gay and in love with Mike in the same season that Mike can’t say ‘I love you’ to El, has a fight that, in his words, “can’t come back from”, for Mike to nod when Wills says: “what if they don’t like the truth?”, and needs to get backrubs and compliments from his bff so he can finally say that ‘I love you’ to his girlfriend while she in on the brink of dying. Oh, and also they spend the whole season together.

Go figure.

Calls El “Jane” or “Eleven”

Like everyone in the show does?

I think the only person that has never called her ‘Eleven’ is Hopper.

“You don’t understand Mike/El like I do!”

And I’m so glad I don’t.

[starbylers]

Mike’s lack of personal journey in a Mlvn reading of the show: why so many people complain about Mike’s character

Something just occurred to me…I actually would challenge any Mlvn to tell me about a character motivation/internal conflict of Mike’s that does not revolve around El. What struggles does Mike as a person deal with throughout the series? When trying to build an effective, realistic, well-rounded character you can’t have their biggest fear be ‘loosing this particular person’ as Mlvns love to claim is Mike’s. As a writer you have to understand your character’s deepest desires and what drives them at their core, they cannot be purely motivated by an external force. A character such as that will feel hollow, boring and difficult to connect with. This is basic character development stuff.

Examples (simplified to get the point across):

For the whole show, El struggles with finding her place in a world where she feels fundamentally different

For most of the show, Will struggles with his sexuality and feeling like a ‘mistake’

Dustin in s2 deals with his self-esteem and understanding that he is good enough even if he doesn’t have a girl’s approval

Lucas in s4 wrestles with a desire to be popular and to ‘fit in’ which we see him overcome

Max in s4 deals with depression and the process of wishing to no longer be here to realising she actually wants to live

But…what about Mike? A brief Mlvn interpretation of everything he does through the show and why he does it:

S1: he saves and looks after El because he fell in love with her. He also looks for his friend Will.

S2: he is heartbroken because El is not with him anymore, and then madly in love again once she’s back.

S3: he has ups and downs with El because teen relationships are just like that, and then they get back together because they’re truly in love. He’s also too in love with his girlfriend to care about his old interests.

S4: he fights with El because all couples fight, and then rescues her from Nina while taking friendly advice from Will. Finally he confesses his love, which he didn’t do before because he’s terrified to lose her oh and he’s not good at feelings (but they won’t digger any deeper into that last one 🤐).

Like…yeah they acknowledge Mike also helps with the supernatural stuff, he’s smart and observant. He generally takes charge of the group and looks out for his friends, and (at least in earlier seasons) he’s the leader. But those are character traits. Everyone has them. (Max is sarcastic and kinda scary when she needs to be, Dustin can be cocky but is highly intelligent, Lucas is very headstrong and follows his own judgement, Will is sensitive and empathetic). I’m talking about character conflicts/journeys. Can they tell us what journey Mike has gone on as his own person???

And this, this is why lots and lots of people complain that Mike’s character revolves around El (especially since they started dating). This is why people say Mike is the Duffer’s self-insert and is just meant to be a blank slate relatable character. This is why Mlvns characterise him as El’s obsessed loser boyfriend. Because if you view the show through a Mlvn lens then yeah, Mike looks utterly two-dimensional with no drive other than screeching El El El when she’s in danger (sorry it had to be said).

The problem is when you try to dig into what Mike’s deeper motivations could possibly be, it gets very bad for Mlvn very fast:

‘Mike is scared to lose El because he’s worried she won’t need him’

Let’s detach El from that and figure out the root of this problem, what is really going on with Mike here (we already know but just for the sake of my point), because he is a character in his own right and this was a large focus of his story last season.

What do we know? Mike expressed feelings of worthlessness (‘I’m just some random nerd...’) and feelings of inferiority (…‘who got lucky superman landed on his doorstep’) in his relationship. He acknowledges that his and El’s relationship was fundamentally built on her just needing someone. Also, throughout the series we see Mike has a strong desire to help and serve and save those close to him, it’s who he is.

Mike is so clearly driven by a need to feel needed and fears being an unimportant nobody. He doesn’t think he’s special or useful next to El and it hurts him, his self-esteem is very, very low. But Mlvns never acknowledge that, because that would require admitting that a) Will’s words in the van showed he recognises & loves the Mike as the brave and inspiring leader he wants to be, and in doing so soothed Mike’s personal insecurities (because those do exist, and the talk wasn’t just ‘relationship advice’) and b) Mlvn’s relationship makes Mike feel shitty.

Another example:

Common Mlvn interpretation: ‘Mike was spending all his time with El in s3 because he’s in love with her and he is growing out of childish games’

What do we know? (1) Mike didn’t truly loose interest in DnD, he just neglected his interests when he got into a relationship, super healthy (2) He tries to act cool around El (‘Sorry that made me sound like a 7 year old’ / feigning disinterest in Dustin’s inventions) (3) When arguing with Will, Mike frames him getting a girlfriend as being the inevitable progression of life, the opposing choice from ‘sitting in his basement playing games’…but then he joins Hellfire in s4…as soon as El leaves. He didn’t truly believe anything he was saying to Will, he just can’t juggle being himself and having a gf simultaneously 😬.

Mike’s internal conflict here is clearly feeling like he has to grow up, and has to suppress his true identity in the name of achieving that. (And this continues somewhat into s4 with the fake, not-at-all-his-style Cali outfit in El’s fav colours). But again, understanding that requires understanding that Mlvn as a couple is not a safe space for Mike to be himself, and what Mlvns characterise as a normal teenage ups and downs is actually indicative of an unhealthy relationship.

Basically what I’m saying is it makes so, so much sense why Mike is one of the most disliked characters among the GA (aside from like the actual villains) and why he always ends up on those stupid lists. People are sick of him existing just to be El’s love interest. And that is not true in the slightest, but when you aren’t looking deeper than Mlvn…yeah it does look pretty bad, and I understand where they’re coming from. And as much as we say El is the one who Mlvns are obsessed with making everything about her boyfriend, the real victim of this treatment from them is Mike. Even his heart-to-hearts with Will are actually Mike thinking about El, apparently.

This is another reason why I’m so sure about Byler because Mike is essentially the original main character (aside from El I guess). I’m sorry but there’s no way he is the only one the writers managed to mess up this badly when they are capable of adding deeper personal development to characters who are much less central to the story. Even Finn himself said we’ve not been as personal with Mike recently but s5 will remedy that and people will be happy with his journey. The day Mlvns and GA are forced to look deeper at Mike’s personal internal conflict outside of how it relates to El is the day I will know peace 🙏🏽

[dukeofdelirium]

I find it funny how people are focusing on Michael being a virgin until LMP, like wow a man who was a Jehovah’s Witness then converted to Christianity was a virgin until he got married WHAT A SHOCKER they want to use absolutely everything they find no matter the context to portray him like some type of freak

It’s literally the dumbest thing ever. Yeah Mike was a Jehovah’s Witness until he left the church but he was also the most famous person on earth 😂 why are people freaking out and finding it so difficult to believe that the most famous human ever might find it hard to date people?? Lol

And idk why some fans are out here saying it’s a lie or that Michael only told her that to get in her pants or something. That would be weird on his part lol. Those type of fans have deluded themselves into thinking that Michael was fucking any woman he met like it was going out of style when that obviously just wasn’t the type of person he was. He clearly valued intimacy and connection and Lisa wrote about him a very romantic sense, basically portraying him as a hopeless romantic type

It also doesn’t shock me that a man who was raised how MJ was would be so shut in for so long. Ppl forget that Michael was performing in strip clubs as a very young child, that he was being shown porn on live tv in interviews as a young boy, that he was literally in the same room as his older brothers when they’d be having sex with girls and that Michael was being sexualized as a child.

Ppl forget about that stuff. But that kind of thing has an impact on you. That isn’t even getting into the way specific women took advantage of him too. And yes, I am speaking about madonnas weird ass but another one too lol

It isn’t that Michael couldn’t have slept around if he had wanted to. He just didn’t want to and that’s fine and there’s nothing wrong with that at all?? Mike was way too invested in his artistry anyway to be hooking up w random women. Just another reason all the “I was MJ’s secret girlfriend” rumors are dumb af

[golbrocklovely]

i saw marianas trench the other day (sept. 30) and here is how all of that went down lol

so i stayed in the city at a hotel for the night bc it was just easier to do that than to drive all the way back home after the concert.

i had to get to the venue early bc i got the vip package so that i could meet the band. honestly, i didn't even really want to meet them, i just wanted to get as close to the stage as possible and that was honestly the only way.

and fun fact, i basically got barricade so it worked out well for me lol

i had to be there at 3, but that was also when i was supposed to check into the hotel. luckily i was able to check in early, and then the venue was only a five minute drive down the road. i get to the venue at 3ish. i went alone to this concert, bc in the past i would go with my ex best friend… but since clearly we aren't on good terms anymore, i was by myself. i was thinking "oh my god, am i gonna be alone the whole time and speak to no one??" bc i am an awkward person and don't know how to make friends. but luckily, standing in line for so long, i ended up making friends with the girls behind me. one of them was even giving out friendship bracelets which was cool and i got two of them :)

we all hung out pretty much the entire time, even well into the concert. it ended up being like ten of us in the end, all women minus two guys lol i had a lot of fun with the group i became friends with and now i follow a couple of them on insta which is nice.

so we did the q&a first, which was cool. i'll be honest i kinda forget everything that was asked. here's what i do remember:

what are josh's inspirations for their music?

he said he's not really into pop music anymore (or it doesn't inspire him like it once did) and he listed hans zimmer as an inspiration. he also stated that he's always trying to outdo himself and the band from the previous record.

2. was it intentional to make MPT, EA, and Astoria almost like a trilogy?

no, but he did purposefully choose to make things connect later down the line bc he never heard that in pop records and he wanted that to be the case with their music. also an ex of his gave him the idea to use the line from say anything in MPT 3.

3. if they were a type of egg what would they be?

one of them answered for all of them. josh - scrambled, matt - over easy, ian - rotten??, mike - also rotten, or hard boiled lol

4. if they could all switch jobs in the band, what would they be?

no one wanted to do josh's job lol matt said mike bc playing bass is easy. mike said matt bc he could be a shitty guitarist and still get paid (obviously a joke). ian said mike, and josh said ian.

5. what do you guys do when you have a day off?

nothing really. explore the city if they can. josh stays away from everyone and doesn't talk and just watches netflix or plays video games.

there were other questions but i'm blanking on them now tbh.

then afterwards it was time for the meet and greet. and boy… was that awkward lol

see, i kinda knew it was gonna be a bit weird only bc we weren't allowed to hug or touch the guys at all. which hey, i get it. the first five shows got cancelled and rescheduled bc josh got sick and couldn't sing. and even if that wasn't the case, we gotta respect boundaries and if that's what they wanted, so be it. my only problem is that…. why have a meet and greet in the first place if you are so scared to get sick?? just do the q&a and maybe give us more merch or something. or charge less. idk. not only that, but josh literally runs into the crowd every night and DANCES WITH THE AUDIENCE so i don't get the whole needing to keep their distance from fans. it just felt really weird walking up and saying hi and having to keep a distance.

i love mtrench and have been a fan of them literally since the beginning. like i was supporting them on myspace, that's how long ago i've been a fan (since roughly 2006/7 when i was 10/11). but i've always felt like they are a band that never wanted to be famous, they just wanted to make music and perform. like, they don't feel like the type to want a fanbase, if that makes sense. or at least what we would say fanbases act like nowadays. absolutely no parasocial relationships whatsoever. i'm not bashing them for that, don't get it twisted. it's just… you can tell they keep their distance in more ways than one, which is why i think meet and greets are just something they shouldn't do.

so when i went up to finally meet them, i told them that i had been a fan of them since 2006, when i was 10/11 years old, so i've been here for forever. they all kinda nodded their heads, matt said "wow you've been here a long time" or something like that. i think mike said "thank you", and then i said i really love fix me, which is their first album, and then i said "please play something from it soon" and josh gave me this look of 😬 so………… let's just say i felt the vibe shift sksks then we took the pic and i waved goodbye.

remember kids, don't meet your idols.

(i'll be honest, it wasn't a bad meet and greet. but it was just very awkward. and i think weirdly i would have rather it been bad than awkward. or maybe i'm just judging both myself and mtrench too harshly bc i was so in my head about it. especially since i asked about fix me and that album is very heavy and when josh was going thru the worst shit so again…. i think i'm just too in my head about it)

afterwards, my group and i bought some merch (which btw i had to pay $5 extra for bc it was plus size… thanks so much) and then we were all lined up outside with everyone else in vip. then we waited out there for like an hour or two. ordered some food from a place near by, all sat around and just talked about mtrench. we made friends with the ppl in front of us which was a couple and a friend of the fiancé. and then a girl behind us as well.

everybody in our group was super fun, truly. but i will say something i noticed that i thought was kinda funny was the engaged couple, imma give them the names jack and sally (not even remotely their names): it became very apparent that girly pop was not too keen on us girls talking to her soon to be husband. very much giving territorial. at one point we were all exchanging instas to keep in touch and she said "why don't you guys follow me and i'll get him to follow you" which…. babe, he's right there. i'm just gonna ask for his insta. please don't make this weird.

(i'll be honest, it felt like she didn't like me in particular, but not bc i said anything but bc i was the only name he remembered just bc it was unique compared to the other girls. and at one point when i left, he said "oh everyone, angelica's back!" which was sweet of him to do but please know he was not being flirty at all whatsoever)

like this man could not have made it more abundantly clear he loved her. i'm talking he introduced her as his fiancé. he talked about how he proposed. he was holding her and kissing her the whole night. like, it was adorable. but she was very much giving the cold shoulder at times and was making eyes at all of us (which was extremely funny given half the group was either lesbians or taken or both). but in the end we all had fun and even "sally" loosened up a bit.

the concert itself was a lot of funny. the openers were fantastic. some of the best singing/songs i've heard from an opener in a while. and somehow, right before mtrench came on, i somehow got right behind the barricade. or rather, right behind the person that was standing at the barricade lol

mtrench was so fucking good, but that's expected. they are always somehow better live than on the album which is an insane thing to do, especially with vocals like that. i will say, at times you could kinda see josh struggle a bit (since he's still getting over being sick) and instead would do these runs instead of the usual vocals. nothing's wrong with that, and it still sounded great, just something i noticed.

also, i've seen mtrench 3 times before this concert, and it had been a reoccurring joke between me and my ex best friend that they won't play my favorite song from whatever album they are touring. like on almost all occasions they played the entire album except my favorite song, so we would joke they were taking it out on me personally. but this time around, they played BOTH of my favorite songs from the album. so i'll be honest with you, i don't think it was a me curse. it was a her curse. thank god that's broken now lmao

i made the dumb decision to try and break in new shoes and literally by the end of the concert i was limping and couldn't feel my toes. but other than that i had a good night. got back to the hotel, chilled out, ate some food, and passed out until the morning.

overall i had a really good time. i enjoyed myself a lot and i'm so happy that i made friends while there bc i genuinely thought i wasn't gonna.