#and some side lumax

[suspiciouslackofclowns]

It’s awkward at first. Like watching your parents kiss and having to look away to shield yourself from the secondhand embarrassment.

But now Max is… used to it. Appreciative of it, even.

For a while, she was seriously starting to doubt the existence of love. She figured that, if anything, the best she could hope for is to be able to tolerate someone enough to spend the rest of her life with them. To hope that she finds someone who doesn’t take pleasure in screaming at her or raising their fists.

Because all this talk of love and romance and whatever else is fantasy, clearly.

At least, that’s what she thought.

“You gonna pick something or just stare at the tapes forever?” Billy huffs.

He strolls past the couch, playfully nudging her arm and earning an eye roll. It’s Thursday night, which means that Steve has brought home an abundant selection of movies before they all get snatched up for the weekend at the video store. It also means that Lucas is curled up on the sofa next to her.

Movie nights used to be tense. Billy and Steve wouldn’t sit too close, and their presence, again, felt like that of parents. Like Max and Lucas shouldn’t sit too close either for fear of being scolded.

But, several weeks and a bestowed pack of condoms from Billy later, things are easier.

The blond, rather than finding a seat on the entire open half of the couch, heads straight for the recliner that Steve is already sitting in. Without even looking, Steve spreads his legs and opens his arms.

The beat up old La-Z-Boy gives an eerie creak under their shared weight when Billy eases into his lap.

At one point, Max would have felt awkward for bearing witness to it. Would have avoided looking at that side of the room for the whole evening or even turned in early for the night. But she watches, instead, how Steve’s arms lace around Billy’s waist and pull him closer. How Billy relaxes instantly and smiles when a kiss is pressed to his shoulder, to his neck, and then to his cheek.

It’s nice, she thinks.

Someone is finally being gentle with her brother, and she couldn’t have picked anyone better suited for the job.

[kennahjune]

Fuck the Trauma Bond

A Lucas and the Party version of this

…

Lucas was bouncing the ball on the pavement of the basketball court at the playground. It was surrounded by high chain-link fences and the hoops on either end were worn and rusted and the pavement itself was cracked worse than the Upside Down ground.

He had never looked happier.

Dustin and Will looked on from where they sat at the top of the slide on the playground. Lucas was tossing the ball around with a couple of other kids from school that neither of them knew.

But Lucas knew them, and that was all that mattered, apparently.

Max, El and Mike were a little farther back from Lucas, past the lame excuse of a basketball court and in the street, where Max was showing Mike how to skateboard while El loitered and watched.

It was absolutely sweltering. Ranging from 92 degrees to the Devils fucking asscrack, in Dustin totally correct opinion.

He was bored out of his mind but didn’t mind watching Lucas bounce the ball. He looked happier bouncing an orange sphere than he did playing DnD, which unsettled Dustin in a way that made him lightheaded.

“Hey, Will.”

Will hummed in acknowledgment but didn’t look up from his sketchpad.

“Does Lucas look happier?”

Will looked at Dustin with a raised eyebrow before focusing in on Lucas.

“Huh. I mean sure.” He shrugged. “But it’s cause it’s basketball. Lucas really likes basketball. And if he really likes it then why not be happy while doing it?”

Dustin flipped the thought a few times in his head.

It wasn’t that he was mad about Lucas playing basketball. He got over that a while ago after Lucas and Mike had a full-blown argument/mental breakdown that included Mike’s abandonment issues and Lucas’ FOMO (fear of missing out).

But Dustin also wasn’t outright vocally supportive. He didn’t go to the games, he didn’t hang around for Lucas’ practices. He would (probably), but even after Eddie’s name was cleared and he was painted a hero but the government goons, Mike and himself were still targeted heavily in school alongside the rest of Hellfire.

“I don’t really see the appeal, I guess.” He told Will, instead of voicing his inner thoughts.

Will shrugged. “You don’t have to. It’s Lucas’ interest. But simply showing you’re willing to listen to him about said interest can go a lot farther than you’d think.”

“Are you saying I don’t listen to him?”

“I’m saying you guys dismiss him.”

“Dismiss him?” Dustin watched Lucas more intently.

Will hummed. “Literally yesterday. He was talking about his encounter with Steve and how they’d made a really cool new play and you guys all so obviously tuned him out that when he stopped you guys just kept nodding because you hadn’t noticed.”

Huh.

That was really shitty.

“Did we really?”

“Yep.”

“Damn.”

“Damn indeed, Dusty-buns.”

Mike, Max and El joined them a couple minutes later.

“What’re you nerds talking about?” Max asked, sitting at the bottom of the slide with El while Mike climbed up to sit behind the boys and lean on Will’s back.

“How we’re apparently really shitty friends,” answered Dustin with his chin in his hand. He was still watching Lucas. One of the guys playing— a curly blond kid a head shorter than Lucas— pulled him into a weird hug thing where they slapped each other’s backs and immediately went back to playing.

“What?” asked Mike, muffled from where his head was shoved into Will’s shoulder.

“Lucas likes basketball.” Dustin confirmed.

Mike and Max looked at him.

“Yeah? We know that, Henderson.” Max snarked.

“And we know nothing about anything including him and basketball.”

They both seemed to pause.

“What do you mean?”

“Will says we’ve been dismissing him every time he brings it up.”

They both looked at Will, Mike peeling himself off of his back to do so.

Will shrugged and harshly erased something on his paper. “You do.”

“Which is why it’s stopping now.” Declared Dustin.

Mike blinked at him owlishly. “Um, dude? We can’t really go to him games or practices. You know we’ll both get mauled,” he muttered quietly.

The other three looked between Mike and Dustin.

“You’re both having problems still?” Will asked, looking stricken.

“I thought Jason dying would mean they’d fuck off.” Muttered Max.

Mike scoffed. “Just cause Carver’s dead doesn’t mean shit. They still think Eddie’s the Devil and that we’re his fucking worshipers or whatever. They chased me all the way to the back of the school on Wednesday.”

Will winced and Max glowered. Dustin felt the slide shake a little.

“El, relax. It’s not that bad.” Dustin watched El’s gaze soften slightly and the slide stopped rumbling. She looked at him sadly. They’d all heard about the bullying in Cali at some point. Dustin smiled back but it didn’t reach his eyes.

He turned back to address the whole group.

“Sure we can’t go to every game, but maybe we can get Steve to go with us to some. You guys know he wouldn’t let anything happen. And besides— Steve likes sports to.”

That struck a thought in his mind: how many times had he dismissed Steve?

He pushed it back for now.

“And even without going to games—“ he pressed on, “—we can still try and listen to him more.”

Mike and Max nodded slowly. Dustin takes it they hadn’t realized they hadn’t been listening before.

“And speaking of,” Will said, placing his sketch pad and pencils into his bag. “Here comes the man of the hour.”

Sure enough, Lucas was walking backward to them while waving to the guys who were leaving the park altogether. They were all waving back and laughing.

“Hey, guys!” Lucas jogged up to the slide.

“Hey, stalker,” Max greeted cheekily when Lucas bent to give her a kiss.

“Hi, Lucas!” El cheerily added. “Did you have fun?”

Lucas smiled. “Yeah! Daniel— the dude who was wearing the red hoodie like a damn maniac— was stupid fast and really cool! He showed me how he pushes off his feet for speed and when I—… never mind.” He tried for a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Dustin frowned.

“Why’d you stop? Keep going, dimwit. When you what?” Mike prompted.

Dustin snickered when Will slapped his arm lightly.

Lucas looked stricken for a split second before his face broke out in a grin.

“Well—“

And the rest is history.

.

Bonus:

When the first game came up, only 3 months later, Steve took the whole Party— older teens included.

They took Eddie’s van, the kids piled in the back while the teens took the actual seats.

When they got to school it was hectic chaos of Steve taking a headcount and leading everyone in. They struggled to find seats where their whole group would fit and in the end they sat on the bottom line of the bleachers with half of the them on the floor.

It was actually fun, much to Dustin’s and Mike’s surprise. Even if the looks shot at them and Eddie from some of the players were downright hostile.

Steve went with them every time they got up to do anything. No one left without someone else there— so Mike wasn’t alone when Adrian Gonzales tried to corner him by the concessions. And Dustin wasn’t in as much trouble when Treyton Klink pulled him by the shirt into the bathrooms.

So yeah— it wasn’t the best. But that was ok, because the hug Lucas gave them afterwards was worth it. Dustin would go through hell (again) to get another hug like that.

Mike looked about ready to agree with the flush that now littered his face and shoulders.

Will laughed at him and poked fun at him about the blush the entire ride home. Max and Lucas himself eventually played in with it as well, only worsening the blush and making the teasing better.

Lucas was over the moon for the rest of the night.

They slept over at Casa Harrington (as the Party so lovingly called it), piling blankets and pillows and dragged mattresses and discarded cushions on the living room floor while Lucas went on and on and on with Steve for what felt like forever.

Dustin wouldn’t have it any other way.

Especially with the matching smiles on their faces.

Dustin’s never seen them so happy, and he caught Eddie staring at Steve the same way Max was staring at Lucas, so Dustin figured he agreed.

He’d endured literal hell for his friends; what’s so wrong about one interest?

Dustin’s dreams were filled with buzzers and cheering and scoreboards. But that was a problem to complain about tomorrow.

[groovinrightalong]

Poor Will😔

[0daylighthours0]

A Deep Dive into Milkvan and Byler's Development: If Milkvan Was Endgame All Along, Why Was it Written Like This???

SO. I've been rewatching st with my mother, who's never seen it before. And she was a fan of milkvan throughout seasons 1 and 2. Viewing those seasons again I could see why, they're cute. However, come season 3 and INSTANT distaste. And, listen, my mother is not the consciously shipping gal. She simply routes for main character pairings as writers intend, doesn't read between the lines, doesn't nothing. And she does NOT know my own opinions on the pairing. In other words, completely unbiased, uninternet drama influenced eyes. We've now reached season 3 and, after getting through a chunk of it, I asked her,

"so what do you think of Mike and El?"

and she expressed to me that they seem to be, quote:

"not very good together."

She said El's character doesn't suit the way she's acting now (in the first few episodes, concerning Mike), that Mike is more likeable and interesting when he's away from her. She doesn't like the way they ditched the party, and when it comes to their 'making out' the scenes are seen by her from Hopper's perspective (in other words, distasteful). She claimed that they'd be much better characters as friends.

And ya know what, she's right. And I mean like - duh, that's what we've been saying all this time, I'm not stating anything new here. But guys, wouldn't it be strange if the central couple of the show, pivotal that it is liked by audiences and is rooted for by them as they are THE pair, would be so dislikable like this? So uninteresting, so cliche.

I mean, okay, let's do a little mental experiment I like to do to test if I'm not just acting delulu. Let's play a game. In this game, milkvan ARE meant to be endgame. They are in love, they were all along, and they're here to draw in viewers and appease all El stans. Now, seasons 1 and 2 their relationship is honestly fine. Surface level, yeah, people will watch and appreciate them. They perfectly blend in with all the other neat pairings of the seasons, and have their own unique character traits to stand out as a main couple.

Just pretending our mate Will doesn't exist, we now get into season 3. Now, writers have nothing to lose here. If you've finished season 2, you probably like milkvan already. The issue is that they're already together now, so what's the conflict going to be? The arc? And every central couple needs that conflict to stay juicy.

Just take a look:

Jancy: quarrels, struggle to understand one another

Jopper: not yet together, one sided? will they won't they

Lumax: ...

Lumax? Lumax. Huh, guess they were simply together. Some loveable bickering, maintained a friendly dynamic while clearly in closer proximity. Well then, writers can do the same for milkvan right? Well, yes easily. But one might argue that since they are supposed to be THE pairing they need more going on between them than that. So what'll it be? Well, it seems that writers thought,

"hey, why not break them up?"

ok so.. that's a bit risky. I mean you want people to like this ship, if you break them up then that threats: 1. there being a disliking to one or both characters, 2. coming off generic if done incorrectly, 3. the break up might make no sense considering how in love they came off as just a season ago. But hey.. it could work, if done right. Some kind of misunderstanding, similar to Jancy. Maybe an argument leading to a sudden parting. I mean, yeah, Yeah! I can see that. Perhaps Mike is being too overprotective whilst El's trying to sacrifice herself for something, so she NEEDS to separate herself from him attempting to hurt him less. Or, I dunno, something akin. What's crucial is that us, AS THE AUDIENCE, still know them to be deeply in love. I mean, we have to still want them to be together. And we've seen couple trouble before. Just take a look at Lumax season 4 - did you or did you not want the best for both of them as a pair? You most likely did. See, it's doable. So did people like milkvan season 3 the same way, even after a separation plot? No.

Okay well, there are obviously those who'll always love milkvan no matter but, see, season 3 tainted it. "We need to write them like this cause it's more realistic to teenager behavior" my ars. You can make it messy without making it icky. Not only did it sour their unique dynamic, it flabbergastingly stomped on Mike as a character.

Honestly, I feel Mike has always been a mild struggle to write. Season 1 his motivations were 'find Will' (who still doesn't exist in our mind game yet shh) and 'protect El'. This worked well for him. Afterwards though, El and Will became more separate plots to him. But as a main character it remained integral that he be closely linked to them somehow. This sets him apart from Lucas and Dustin, who can easily be given any arc any season as their plots have the flexibility of a side quest nature. Since what Mike does is meant to matter more - with there probably being a better way of phrasing that but you know what I mean - it's harder knowing what he'll do when El and Will (who we'll GET to sh.) are their own separate people. And Mike is just a boy, he doesn't have super powers and he isn't a cop, which leaves there even less for him to do which is of significance. Season 2 writers decided upon having him support Will's arc, making himself of enough relevance by being able to take credit for some Will development in the story, and the plots that surrounded that, and then Mike was thrown a little bone by being the one to come up with the idea of burning those vines in the finale.

Truthfully, you don't really remember Mike's deeds much when reminiscing the series. It isn't like Dustin who's bond with Dart sticks to everyone, or Nancy and Jonathan responsible for kicking out Hawkins Lab. This is due to them, again, being able to traverse all sorts of adventures without limits. But my guy Mike can't do dat. Sadly, this kind of leads to him coming of as a little.. well... insignificant. And I know I know, the Mike truthers are gonna come at my throat. And hey! I love him too. I only want the best for my boy.

This makes season 3 a unique case cause it seems that, for the plot they decided they wanted, writers actually had to almost entirely change his character. I mean mate s2 Mike and s3 Mike are two different peoples, don't even. And I don't believe that the Duffers had their story and character turnouts completely drawn out from the very start at all. If I was to guess, I'd assume they have vague ideas of little plots they plan to include in future, but there is definitely a lot that has come unpredicted or changed throughout st's runtime. And one of those phenomenons are Michael Wheeler. So they decided to make this guy a di-

So they decided to make him more douchy, more movie typical teenage guy. It's not as if he wholly sucked, he didn't, but he didn't really do much. Whined about his girlfriend, separated the party. I mean what even was his arc? (UnLESS–)

You see, if milkvan is written to be loved, then season 3 was strike one. All of its charm was stripped away. It seems they had some cute scenes after their reconciliation, but it's not enough. It's just sort of

"oh, ok, so they're happy with eachother now. yayy."

and Stranger Things should want to be anything but boring. Sure they often enjoy indulging in tropes, but they always do something different with them. Something standoutish. And from this point on milkvan just got dull. Either writers ran out of ideas or lost interest, honestly (still with our mind game of telling ourselves they're meant to be).

But it's okay. Look, so season 3 was a bit rocky, maybe lost a couple of fans for the guys, but it is salvageable. Easily, easily. Looks like we want a plot of Mike struggling to tell El he loves her. Great! Much to work with.

So let's get into it. Season 4! Choices were... made. And, okay, now we can't go any further without bringing in our boy Will.

Mike is intrinsically tied to Will and El and has been from the start. Maybe Will was more of an accident. Maybe s1 Will was just a plot device for Mike, then s2 Will was a plot device again and Mike needed to be there as the main boy character. Come season 3 and it seems their relationship still matters. Will was sidelined - hard - so most of Mike's moments revolved around El. But as his bond with Mike is the only that's been properly built up, that's the only friend we'll get him interacting with in a way that matters. So the Mike and Will tie continues!

But that does not have to be the case for season 4. Now the writers have a chance.

They made Will gay.

Ok so.. ok so yeah that's fine. Yeah! I mean they didn't have to do that, might put them in hot water with the bylers since milkvan is their golden beauty but.. you know what no no that's okay. He's been hinted at being queer since episode 1, why not make it canon! Cool that works. Explore that, especially since we now have Vecna who can easily target Will for this. Give him a boyfriend! Or a guy crush. He's at a new school now? That's cool. Maybe we can explore some new male character Will's taken interest in. Hey maybe he meets someone who interests him which rises to surface his whole sexuality plot and-

he's in love with Mike.

Ok. No. No. What are you doing? What do you mean?? You didn't have to do that. Strike- strike EFING TWO mates! Strike. 👏 efing. 👏 2!

This was part 1. I am tired and gots to get my ars in bed. But ohohoh, do not worry. I am just getting started.

[jaegerisim]

Vent post y'all are gonna hate me for.

I viscerally hate how the Duffers treat most of their non white or queer characters and I hate even more viscerally, how y'all big byler blogs in your circle jerk of other 5 big byler blogs casually like to ignore many red flags the show has.

Y'all like to say: "tHe DufFeRs ArE gReAt WrIteRs" and it's like girl, who are you lying to??? They aren't top shit writers at all. The Duffers are pretty mid imo. Yeah, they run a good show that's fun to watch and theorize abt , but that doesn't mean they're good writers cuz they're not.

1. they completely side lined Will during s3 for the sake of their straight romances: lumax, jancy, mlvn, duzie and partly stobin (even if stobin wasn't endgame, thankfully, Steve's intentions were clearly wanting to date Robin and they gave it a lot of screen time). Will was sidelined bc he didn't fit the straight romance plotline bc they planned to make him gay or whatever. Now in s4 Will and his feelings have been used as mlvn toilet paper. Yes, we like to say this is build up for byler but canonically, Will's feelings have been used to clean the shit mlvn leaves behind.

2. Billy was sympathized a lot during the last 2 seasons. They gave him the sad backstoryTM in order for ppl to feel sorry for him. Billy's backstory is literally Jonathan's but whatever.

3. El's anger issues are constantly girlboss-ified. They down play her bullying situation and literally just use it for El to be a ''girlboss" without realizing how triggering that is. As someone who has lived bullying, seeing it be ignored by canon and fanon is super sad. The whole Rink-O' Mania experience must have been so traumatizing for her yet, everyone absolutely forgets abt it 🤷🏻‍♀️

4. Robin, Erica and Argyle are stereotypical characters. Robin is the quirky lesbian with social anxiety, Erica is the badass black woman and Argyle is the Latino stoner that sells weed to white kids and works as a pizza delivery guy.

5. Altho Argyle and Eddie both do drugs, (Eddie actually sells K-12 to a minor and nobody batted an eye. He has a huge fan base). Eddie is held in a pedestal bc "poor thing 🥺 he lives in a trailer with his uncle 🥺". Tell me a single fact you know abt Argyle that isn't "he smokes weed", "he is Jonathan's only friend", "drives a van" and "he works at a pizzeria". Exactly, Eddie is given a useless backstory and Argyle isn't.

6. Dustin stopped being important to the plot sometime around s2 and s3. He is only there to curse and be mildly funny. My guy needs to hangout with ppl his age cuz he only hangs out with seniors.

7. El needs to stop having so much "I'M THAT BITCH" screentime like I need in s5 for El's arc to not just be her becoming more powerful and falling in love with Mike. I need the Duffers to explore her trauma and problems.

8. Angela should have been run over by the van.

9. Patrick should have been given a backstory that isn't the basic "strict black parents that hit their kids cuz they are a disgrace". Patrick's backstory is actually racist af, fight w the wall.

10. As Lex already said, they didn't trigger tag the ep where Jason and his friends assault Lucas and Erica. Like wtf? Why was that necessary? Why did I have to see a black boy being held at gunpoint by some white guy?? Was it relevant to the plot?? I don't think so. And then I've got to see ppl online be like "Jason wasn't that bad. He was just mourning" like bitch you can stfu. This is what happens when you make the racist assholes conventionally attractive.

Also the fact that Lucas's arc is fulfilled by him fist-fighting Jason and "embracing his weirdness" aka accepting he is black. His arc was not fulfilled at all cuz that ending spoke so loud to me. It showed how little empathy ppl have towards the struggles poc ppl living in the Midwest have. Y'all circle jerks can only see racism when it's super obvious.

Furthermore, parents complained when ST showed "an excessive amount of smoking" yet nobody batted an eye when Billy tried to run over Lucas, when Erica (an 11 y.o ffs) was chased by white kids or when Lucas was held at gunpoint by Jason.

All of this happened while they focused on Max's guilt and mourning that, yeah, are important but certainly not less important than racism!!!

11. In s3, they gave us that whole Nancy vs The Bigots arc that was honestly just triggering and useless. It didn't help Nancy's character at all, quite the opposite it put unnecessary angst.

12. Lonnie being presented as an abuser just for him to never be spoken of again. Can we please get to explore the trauma he left the Byers's with?

13. The fact that both queer relationships are considered "sloppy seconds" is extremely sad. Both Vickie and Mike are rebounding from their failed relationship with Robin and Will. These 2 ships have caused more commotion than Jancy and Jopper together! (These last ships are technically sloppy seconds too but everybody forgets that. Shocker!!)

14. Last but not least, ppl blame Argyle for being the one to get Jonathan into smoking weed as if Jonathan probably wasn't the one looking for it. Let me tell you, that you only find weed if you look for it.

[twoelectrichearts]

I watched the entire walkthrough of the Stranger Things VR game. I obviously saw so many posts about the Byler content we got from it. I wanted to see the M*leven content as well though because I’m trying to understand what their shippers see in it. I was expecting to see some M*leven moments, like them interacting together and stuff, especially in Eleven’s chapter, but. there. isn’t. any. Did I miss a scene of them together? The only scene is where Henry is trying to taunt Mike and get in his head by insinuating that losing El and wondering what could’ve been is what he fears most but it doesn’t work. Henry doesn’t know what Mike’s afraid of and asks Will. Hmm… wonder what his fear is. Anywaaaaays… El and Will each have chapters. Mike doesn’t. There’s Byler moments in Will’s chapter. There’s no M*leven moments in El’s. It’s shown that Mike saves Will from Henry. It shows how incredibly important Mike is to Will and how much Mike means to him. It does that in El’s chapter as well. Not with Mike though, with Max. Who does Will need? Mike. Who does El need? Max.

I feel crazy because like where is the M*leven moments?? If season 5 is anything like this and I’m meant to root for M*leven over Byler then I’m just?? I don’t even know. I’m really trying to understand. I’m so confused. I feel like an idiot because I’m not getting it. I don’t see it in the show. I don’t see it in this game. My other favorite ship is Shawn and Angela from Boy Meets World. Yes, a straight ship. No M*leven shipper can accuse me of not liking M*leven because it’s a straight ship and just liking Byler because it’s a mlm ship. That’s not it. It’s because they just make sense to me. The way they are with each other and how deeply they care for one another is beautiful. It’s beyond friendship from Will’s side, and it seems to be beyond friendship from Mike’s side based on what I’ve seen. Could I be wrong? Of course. All I know is that if the writers want me to root for M*leven, they’re doing such a bad job. I can’t get there with them. There are so many incredible straight ships in shows and movies. Heck, you have Jopper, Jancy, and Lumax in Stranger Things being some great examples. M*leven is just not one of them. Byler is so well written and would be such an important, groundbreaking endgame ship. But sure, let’s have M*leven, a badly written straight ship, be endgame instead. Especially about a show for the outcasts, misfits, marginalized, etc. That would be the cherry on top for a show like this.

[spicybylerpolls]

All of the teenage relationships are sexualised from the get-go. Stancy's introduction was all about the trope where bad boy Steve just wants to try getting good girl Nancy into bed. Jancy is also immediately sexualised when Jonathan takes the spicy photos of Nancy. And Steve and Robin make booby jokes before Vickie is even introduced. Meanwhile for Stobin, we only really got Steve thinking that he and Robin would be a cute couple but no sexual innuendos whatsoever, hinting that the relationship will not happen because there is no sexual attraction there.

It is initially a bit different for Mileven/Lumax/Byler because they are actually kids at the start of the show. But Season 3 makes such a big fuss about them not being kids anymore and it is coincidentally also the time some of the characters start to make innuendos themselves. Which also means that who they liked as kids is not necessarily who they are eventually attracted to as teenagers.

In comparison to the other teenage relationships, Mileven seems to be a relationship free of any sexual implications. In Season 3 Hopper wants the door certainly not open because he is afraid of them kissing - however, Mike and El never overtly express a desire for sex, neither with each other nor for other people. Milevens like to say "Oh, this means that Mike and El only have eyes for each other" although the sexual implications are completely absent from their relationship.

Of course you could argue that the characters may be demi/ace, but I think especially in Mike's case it is made clear that he is not acespec but a repressed queer (with the Season 4 Episode 1 montage as biggest proof). Some people also insisted (and still insist) that Will is ace too because they are subconsciously so afraid to see any sort of queer attraction on screen. (As a person on the acespec myself, I really long for the day where asexuality is finally done justice on screen. But Stranger Things is clearly a show where they actively contrast lack of sexual attraction and actual sexual attraction with each other. Unfortunately, 99% of media does not include intentionally-accurate representation of asexuality, so right now Stranger Things is not under the obligation to be the show that is suddenly an exception)

This is all so true! People try to argue that Mike and El "making out all the time" is evidence that they have interest in sexual exploration, but A) the show very clearly draws our attention to the fact that he takes his hands off her when they're making out, B) Mike doesn't express sexual interest in the Phoebe Cates, the hot girl of the day, like his friends, C) the show draws our attention to how unnatural it is by having Hopper comment on it, and D) this doesn't progress or increase in any way. In fact, it decreases. In S4, they have one fairly awkward kiss and never show any signs of desire for each other. Instead, the emphasis is on Mike not being able to say ILY to her.

For a ship that's allegedly the main ship, this is all pretty unusual. When was the last time you saw a ship with teenage characters who "only have eyes for each other" yet never show even the slightest sign that they want to explore the physical side of things, even if only 2nd base? It's like Mike got to 1st base and immediately wanted to abort mission and backtrack and never do anything straight again.

Some Milkvans will say it's because Mike is a gentleman, but... come on. Lucas is a gentleman with Max, and the show goes out of its way to emphasize his sexual desire multiple times. Dustin and his girlfriend aren't even in the same state, and she's a devout Mormon, and still there's no doubt that Dustin would round all the bases multiple times in a heartbeat if he got the chance.

Meanwhile, everything between Mike and El looks like a weird, unnatural performance. And they don't even kiss in the desert!

Especially considering the fact that Mike and Will, who are allegedly just platonic friends, do show signs of physical desire. This is what they're like JUST touching arms ever so slightly. Get a room.

[will80sbyers]

Byler is so over the writers keep teasing Mileven and with Lumax too tbh, I think they would try to include some teasing for Byler if it were to be canon. They just do not do anything regarding the ship honestly it makes me think they do not want to give false hope to byler shippers.

where are they promoting mixeven? did I miss something???

I don't think they would promote byler because it's supposed to be a surprise, if they would promote byler openly from the official account everybody would know it's happening, it's not the same situation as stxncy and jxncy because it's a bisexual love triangle obviously the gay side would win or they wouldn't have started it

but in any case even if they talked about romantic mixeven I have told everybody I personally think they are in a real relationship and that's also why the marketing does talk about them like they are in a real relationship... it wouldn't surprise me if the accounts interacted with the fans because they were a couple like Steve and Nancy were a couple

[thefirstlioveyou]

i think the one of the many reasons why mike’s monologue to will in s2 is more believable/genuine than the one to el in s4 is because he doesn’t paint out meeting will as something meant to be, or love at first sight, or destiny.

we would never really know who wrote the tweet where the st writers say they do not believe in love at first sight, it could’ve been anyone since apparently sometimes it’s not even the writers tweeting, if im correct? but, it’s still important to include anyway because the writing shows it still.

mike explicitly admits to will that meeting el was not destiny or fate, but pure dumb luck. in other words, there was no higher power driving them to be together no matter where they were in the world. it was just by chance. he then goes on to say that he only brought her in the house because she just needed someone, not that he magically fell in love - which is what he later contradicts by saying that he had immediately loved her in that moment. he lied. in s1, his first words when he sees el for the first time are quite literally, “it’s not will.” he initially planned to send her to an asylum after finding will.

that, plus the writer account saying they do not believe in love at first sight, shows that mike’s monologue to el in s4 is a load of bs.

mike’s monologue to will in s2 does the exact opposite, which is why it’s more believable.

not only does he not have to say ‘i love you’ to say ‘i love you,’ but in this scene, he does not give the universe credit for meeting will. there was no ‘destiny’ involved; he just happened to see will just as alone as he was and they bonded over it. mike emphasizes that it was his concious choice to approach and ask will to be his friend. he quite literally ends the monologue by saying, “it was the best thing i’ve ever done.” he gives himself the credit.

it was the best thing he ever done because of the life he’s lived with will. he did not know in that moment he met will that it was going to be best thing he’d ever done, he didn’t know how much he’d love him, he didn’t know the chaos that’d eventually come. all he knew was that he finally had a friend, and that’s what makes it so genuine and pure. the love grew naturally.

there was no love at first sight, because the writers do not believe in that, nor does the writing itself. jopper was not love at first sight, their love took time. lumax was something that both didn’t expect. jancy was something both didn’t expect either, one already being in a relationship and simply sharing her condolences and the other a rejected loner with set opinions on others.

the only one that didn’t follow this formula was mike and eleven. mike didn’t consider el in a romantic way at all until lucas told him that he should “just marry her already.” (ep2 or 3, i forgot). it was reallyyy early on. there was nothing natural compared to the others. mike felt he had to just because she is a girl and his friends said so.

i mean look at the face he makes right before he even kisses her the first time (after comparing her to family):

el sees mike as her caretaker in s1. mike is the first to provide any real care and shelter. but, she’s traumatized. she clings and follows on to the first person to show her real care. i don’t even think she saw him in a romantic way either until he kissed her. because she sees him as a caretaker, she follows through with it like she has to. now i do think there was some sort of eventual romantic feelings for mike on el’s side later in the series, but it’s not a healthy type. it’s a very skewed perspective due to trauma.

the only other relationship that does follow the same formula is mike and will.

they are endgame.

gootbye 🫶

[queerxqueen]

what are your gut feelings about canon byler in season 5?

oooooof okay these are my gut feelings, not getting into analysis so much as just speculating for funsies:

i'm very much expecting a return to mike's pov and us getting more understanding of his headspace and character, and i kind of think the development of byler hinges on that

like every other byler, i expect the painting to be crucial to byler getting together. (i have a messy draft of an analysis of the painting and how it parallels to benverly and the poem in it chapter 2 and how that informs my expectations of the painting's role in s5. i will... get around to finishing that at some point.)

as much as i'd love to see established byler, i doubt we will see them get together before the third act of the season, probably in the last 2-3 episodes. we might see a flash-forward epilogue at the end where we see them as an established couple, but that's as optimistic as i can get on that front.

that said, i do think their first kiss will be show-stoppingly awesome, and i do think they will have some delightful moments of romantic relationship development throughout the season. i'm not expecting heartstopper vibes or anything, but a few good moments like jancy and lumax have had (or any of the byler heart to hearts in s4, for that matter.)

as far as popular theories, i most subscribe to lettergate (mike has one or more unsent letters to will, signed, love mike) and birthdaygate (everyone forgot will's birthday on the day of rinkomania, it's not just a production error, and will be plot relevant)

i don't think we'll see full-blown evil will but i do think we'll see him tempted to the dark side in a classic luke skywalker kind of way, where ultimately his love of his friends will keep him grounded and make him not just paralleled to henry but a proper foil.

last: i need mike wheeler to cry and have a breakdown :))))) this is very important to me.

thanks for the ask, anon!!!!

[steddieficrec]

Some Of My Favorite Smut

more than you bargained for by anonymous

(1/1 I 2,432)

"Mike leans in closer, forehead almost touching the door, just in time to hear Steve shushing the girl gently. He gathers her curls with one hand, the other settling around her throat, and pulls–

Their eyes meet.

It’s definitely not a girl.

Eddie Munson stares at him through the tears in his eyes, lips parted in ecstasy as Steve Harrington fucks him within an inch of his life."

OR

Mike kind of regrets staying over at Steve and Eddie's.

#1 crush by pizzabones

(1/1 I 5,713)

"'That was a big sigh. Whatcha thinking about?'

Eddie opens his mouth to say ‘ah nothing’, but he stops himself. Maybe it’s time to let the proverbial embarrassing cat out of the bag and let Steve know just how long he’d wanted this domestic scene with him. He hums, 'You, actually.'"

or

Eddie tells Steve about his long-term crush, Steve tells him a secret of his own.

Somewhere it Hides a Well by teddywesworl

(1/1 I 7,610)

Eddie ducks his head briefly, a gesture that doesn’t quite fit with the guy’s overall image: buzz cut, obvious ink, scars on his jaw. A bunch of his shirt buttons are undone, and Steve can see a white tank and a gold chain underneath.

“Yeah,” Eddie says. “I’m at a shop in Uptown.” It’s rote, sounds sort of disinterested. Steve might think he’s being dismissed if Eddie Munson’s eyes weren’t raking over him, lingering at his jawline, his throat, his hands when he adjusts his cuffs.

Or: At Lumax’s wedding in 2003, slutty bisexual physical therapist Steve sets his eye on inked up tough guy mechanic Eddie and peels away his mask.

sugar hiccup by 02tilt

(1/1 I 9.101)

His fingers brush over a tiny valley on his forearm. A rough, pink divot where a demobat didn’t bite, but— slipped? Or something. It’s interesting, actually, because if he lowers that arm to his side, he can see where that scar leads. Where the thing managed to latch on and rip a chunk out.

If it weren’t invading his dreams and turning him into an insomniac, he’d congratulate it. Good effort, man, but you didn’t get me. Just made me look a little cooler.

He could call someone. That’s an idea. And by someone, well. Who else is missing a few pieces?

The Honey Inside Your Hive (Director's Cut) by biggest_mistake

(1/1 I 10,764)

Steve Harrington is on his own in a big new city and running out of money. The clock is ticking and if he doesn’t find a source of income soon he’ll be forced to admit his father was right when he said Steve couldn’t make it on his own. Desperate, he scours the classifieds and comes across a vague ad promising a big payout for only a few hours of work.

If Steve had been a little more cautious—or a little less proud—maybe he wouldn’t be losing his virginity on camera.

Or: Steve unknowingly auditions for a porno. Eddie’s more than happy to help him get the role—and lose his virginity. Jim’s there to document the occasion.

(It’s a Casting Couch fic.)

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails by pinkiequinn

(1/1 I 15,121)

The Harrington-Wheeler’s have it all. They’re newlyweds. They’ve just moved into a beautiful new apartment. Nancy’s career has taken off. And they are finally, finally starting a family.

But there’s something not quite right with the neighbours. And the building is so cold. And Nancy’s never home.

And Steve’s has been having the strangest dreams.

the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you by greatunironic

(5/5 I 34,987)

Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth.

Are You Flagging? by soidade

(17/17 I 40,991)

“Look, I’m just asking, okay? Not– I don't mean anything by it. But, uh.” His eyes darted back and forth, then he leaned in close to Steve. Steve had gotten used to that, kind of. The guy had no concept of personal space. “Are you flagging?” Eddie finally finished.

Steve shook his head slowly, eyes narrowed. He had no idea what that meant. He had no answer. “What?”

Eddie leaned away from Steve, facing forward again and nodding. “Okay, got it. That answers my question. Carry on.”

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

A (mostly) innocent question leads Steve Harrington on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, sex, and romance.

flight risk by Ayes, itskleo

(16/16 I 81,324)

Eddie Munson is famous for giving his bodyguards the slip. Enter Steve Harrington. Has this bratty rock star finally met a babysitter that can keep up with him?

[lumaxsworld]

I saw some people talking about lumax on twitter and this was "lumax one sided" shit. Yes Max isn't perfect but that doesn't mean she doesn't love Lucas. Max acts colder and does not reveal her emotions that much. She has some walls but like i said that doesn't mean she doesn't love him. I believe the reason she acts this way is because of her home life.

Lucas has a very healthy family. A family that loves and cares about each other. Max doesn't have this.

Max probably thought no one would care about her. She thought her thoughts and feelings were unimportant. (Neil and Billy definitely didn't care. I don't know how much her mother cared, but I think it wasn't as much as Lucas' family. She probably doesn't even care about herself and doesn't like herself very much.) That's probably why she built those walls.

Sadie said in an interview "Lucas sees Max in a way no one else could, and it scares Max." And yeah that's true. It scared Max to see someone care and love her so much. Because being loved and cared for this much was probably something she had encountered for the first time.

I don't know why I wrote this long.

Her happiest memory was with Lucas, she was the one who kissed him first. And the way she looks at Lucas. These scenes are enough to prove that Max loves Lucas.

[itsjustbyler]

Okay, this will be the first one because I still think it's insane and still no one talks about it.

At the beginning of the season we begin to discover that Lumax and Mleven's relationship is experiencing problems. Lumax clearly ended and Mleven started out apparently well, but we discovered that it was all a facade and they enter a gray area until the end of the season.

Unlike Mleven, who spends most of the season apart, we see that Lucas and Max have started to get closer and still care about each other, I would even say they love each other.

Now, we know that duffers prefer to "show" and not "tell". I saw people saying that Mike's difficulty in not being able to say "I love you" to Eleven was due to the plot.

But why? Why the need for an I love you affirmation if the only couple that needed it has already broken up (stancy)? Why, if we are seeing in the same season a couple with a similar situation showing us how to be in a relationship where you love the person without having to say it out loud?

This all continues until the end and that's what my original post was about. Mike and Lucas, both in a similar situation. Both thinking their girlfriend is going to die.

On one side we have Lucas, calming Max and saying that everything will be fine, screaming for help, crying at the risk of losing her. He doesn't say "I love you" but it's clear to us. He just knocked out Jason and his strength was when he saw Max starting to levitate and realized he was going to lose her. Lucas doesn't need a big monologue about how much he loves Max for her to simply know that he loves her and will stay with her until the end.

And then we come to Mike. Mike who saw his girlfriend crying in front of her because he doesn't tell her he loves her. Mike, who didn't have the original idea of going after El, even though he knew he could go months without seeing her, his initial idea was to go to Hawkins. Mike who repeats several times throughout the season that he feels inferior in the relationship and that he expects to be left at any moment rather than repeating how much he likes her and needs to tell her that.

Mike, who is also seeing his girlfriend almost dying and... needs Will to tell her he loves her? If it weren't for Will telling Mike to talk to her and remembering the statement he made to Mike moments before, would he not have said anything? El without saying anything, even though she had the vines in the same position they were in a few minutes ago when she was talking to Vecna. She doesn't say anything, she doesn't smile. And Mike lies. We know that in some parts he lied.

Why? Why choose to play the two scenes so differently if we were supposed to believe that the two couples were completely in love.

And then we go back to the fact that Eleven witnessed all of this. The contrast, what it's like to make someone feel loved at the worst moment in their life without having to say I love you. She understands, she's not stupid.

[longtallglasses]

who's gonna write the stranger things/byler/lumax amazing race competition reality show au???

like byler is marketed as the nerdy childhood best friends team, “we've already gone on much crazier quests together when we were ten so this race is gonna be a piece cake!”

the whole audience at home picking up on their insane chemistry like... 👀

they're the clear front runners from the start because they hardly need to talk at all to get things done, work so quickly on their feet, mike is a crazy good strategist, and they’re always on the same page. and ToTally side eye other teams that are a mess, judgy shared smirks and eye rolls.

I know mike would be taking the whole thing soooo seriously while will is like :) ☺️ as mike figures out all the clues in seconds. even better if in this universe they already know lumax so mike is extra competitive bc he wants to beat them.

lumax is the loud and funny bickering couple, (also *cough* the couple everyone is attracted to) either freshly newlyweds, or just engaged. they have a million moments in the show where something goes wrong and they look at each other like 'wtf?!' 'this isn't my fault!' 'well you said we didn't have to worry about water!' they still would somehow manage to pull through and do okay

they are more 'secret planners' being sneaky that the audience is also blindsided by some of their actions. they excel best at the physical challenges that’s where they don’t need to check in w the other, but sometimes also really surprise everyone with their smarts.

also 100% love being sabateurs!!! very excited to fuck over another team if they can. if it airs at a time of social media people would be making comps of all their little zingers, one liners, and banter.

and simply bc i think this would be SO funny is dustin and mr. clarke as a team. teacher and ex-student team. the science guys! however despite being super smart a lot of their skills and knowledge aren't translating to most of these practical challenges and obstacles (mr. clarke more than dustin).

they don't do the best communicating with locals and stuff of the like, but people LOVE to watch them, i just have this vision of mr. clarke having to sky dive or crawl through some dark cave and freaking out, while dustin yells at him to keep going. instant comedy gold to the folks back home. dusitn for some reason still refers to mr. clarks AS mr. clarke.

they would also be the team hit with every detour task, slowing them down so much, dustin is so irate every time while mr. clarke is like weirdly overtly optimistic bc he's really there to just have fun. (like yes a steve/dustin team would be great too but i think i'd rather a steve/robin or a robin/nancy team alongside these)

[kennahjune]

Reread The Outsiders

Greaser!Eddie, Will, El, Dustin, and Jonathan and Soc!Steve, Mike, Max, Lucas and Nancy.

Steve and Jonathan having their fight at the beginning just like in the show and it knocks some sense into Steve as per usual.

Steve actually going out of his way to apologize to Jonathan on his own later that same night and having the door be answered by little Will. Will getting Jonathan and Jonathan and Steve stepping out on the porch to talk in private where Steve apologizes and actually admits that he fucked up.

But then Jonathan doesn’t fully forgive him (cause Steve said some pretty nasty things) and says something along the lines of “let everyone know just how sorry you are and maybe we’ll talk.” idk— but Steve then goes out of his way to apologize to both Nancy and Jonathan in the middle of the high school hallway and admits in front of everyone how much of a douche he was and how he wants to be better.

Eddie seeing this all happen and not knowing what the fuck is going on.

Rich Boy Harrington actually saying sorry? Admitting defeat? He calls bullshit. So he goes out of his way to watch Steve everyday after that— convinced it’s all an elaborate prank on poor Byers. But no. Steve is genuinely changing for the better.

And Eddie doesn’t believe that until Will and Dustin— some of Eddie’s favorite middle school sheep— are caught in the middle of a brawl with asshole socs Troy and James and the first people to help them are Steve, Mike and Lucas.

Mike and Lucas are just walking around. It’s like 10pm and really neither of them should be out right now but Ted was getting pushy and Mike needed some space. Space that included Lucas.

Will and Dustin are stumbling down the street, Will holding Dustin up after he got the worst of the hits. Will himself is sporting a nice black eye but he’s standing on his own— unlike Dustin.

Mike and Lucas are on them in a minute, both very worried and concerned for their wellbeing and health. Just as Mike is saying “fuck whatever Ted says you’re both coming home with me” Steve pulls up in the Beemer and they all get in.

When Steve asks if they have anyone they can call for Dustin (Steve already called Joyce and Jonathan) he insists on Eddie because his mom is asleep and doesn’t need to be woken up. She works an early shift in the morning.

Steve calls Eddie, seeing no problem with it as long as the kid is safe and happy and taken care of.

Eddie cannot believe that Dustin and Will got into a fight and honestly thinks it was Steve for a moment until Steve calms him down. Eddie and Steve chat, exchange numbers, and in no time Dustin is loaded in the van with Eddie and they’re off to the trailer park.

Joyce and Jonathan stop by as well, pick up Will and chat with Steve about what had happened. This is when Mike, Dustin, Will and Lucas form The Party.

They all exchange numbers yada yada.

The next day at school Jonathan and Nancy are both shocked to hear that Steve got into a fight with Mason Walsh and Rory Dante. Go figure; Steve had confronted them on how Troy and James had treated Dustin and Will the night before and they both were going on about how they deserved it. Throwing slurs left and right.

And well. Steve didn’t take that too kindly.

Needless to say, Steve’s parents are called and this is the moment that Jonathan and Nancy find out just who Richard Harrington is and why Steve used to be the way he was.

It’s also the moment that Hopper finally steps in and arrests Richard for child abuse and assault and all the good shit. But then his mom disowned him and Steve is suddenly on the streets. So Hopper also takes him in.

Which is where Steve meets El.

And idk where I was going with this but 60s Stranger Things AU with Greaser!Eddie x Soc!Steve :)

(With a side of Byler, Lumax (or Henclair and Elmax idk)

[amazingmsme]

Such A Squealer

AN: Somehow managed to whip this up lickety split before I start on my homework. This was a really cute prompt, & lumax holds a special place in my heart. Hope y'all enjoy day 11!

Max considerer herself to be a good girlfriend, no, a great girlfriend. She shared the same interests with Lucas, she was funny, supportive, and even though she was hesitant to think so, she knew that some people would say she's pretty. (Her mom insisted on it, at least.) And to top it off, she was currently giving him a massage without even being asked.

"Okay, but it better not be some kinda trick," he teased, laying down on the bed. He rested his chin on his hands and shifted until he was comfortable. She straddled his waist and began working her palms over tense shoulders. He'd been complaining about being sore after practice, so this was the least she could do.

Her hands traveled the expanse of his back, over the rolling hills of his shoulders and the valley of his lower spine. She carried on for a few minutes before slipping her hands under his shirt to glide over bare skin. He let out pleased grunts and hums as she released the tight knots in his back, allowing his troubles to melt away.

And then her hands traveled too far down, veering off to the side and she happened to squeeze his hips. Lucas jolted as if he'd been electrocuted, and squealed. He clapped a hand to his mouth just as a grin tried to overtake his features. He'd been too late to muffle the sound, and Max's interest was piqued.

"Oh? What was that?" she asked, doing it again. Lucas jolted, arms pressing down against his sides.

"N-nothing," he said, voice at least two octaves higher. Max looked at the back of his head with skepticism and grinned.

"Mm, that didn't sound like nothing," she mused, idly drawing circles with her thumbs over his hipbones. He snorted, burying his face in a nearby pillow to muffle his laughter.

Max couldn't have that. She loved the way his laugh sounded. He didn't hold back, and it just sounded so bright it could light up a room. It was the sound of pure, unbridled joy- his joy. And she was the only making him happy. She decided she deserved to hear it and yanked the pillow away, tossing it aside.

He yelped when his shield was stolen before falling into endless giggles as Max kneaded his hips.

"Nohoho, plehehease!" he begged, curling up on his side. Max persisted and used his new position to roll him on his back. He was breathless, hair tussled and he had the biggest smile of his face she's ever seen.

"Is there a reason you've been hiding this tickle spot from me?" she asked, hands formed into claws and poised to strike. He giggled nervously and looked away.

"Ihi wasn't hiding it! You just didn't find it!" he defended himself. She arched a brow.

"You could've told me," she cooed. Lucas snorted.

"Yeah right. You just would've tortured me sooner!" he justified, unable to tear his eyes away from her hands.

"Guess I'll have to make up for lost time then," she said smugly and shrugged. His eyes widened and he tried to grab her hands and push them away, but she was too quick. Rapid squeezes to the hips assaulted his nerves and sent tiny shocks of electricity through his body. He shrieked, head thrown back against the mattress, mouth hanging open as cackles escaped. Max was glad her mom wasn't home, surely she'd think they were being killed. Now that she thought about it, maybe some of the neighbors did. Oh well, she'll be happy to explain the misunderstanding if any cops were to arrive. Hopper would certainly find it funny.

Lucas was thrashing around on the bed, laughing freely and most notably, not trying to stop her. Max grinned to herself, taking a deep breath before diving down. She blew a raspberry as hard as she could on his hipbone, and another loud squeal cut through the air. She kept going until she was smiling so wide, she couldn't get a good seal on his skin. She rose back up, so breathless and happy you'd think she was the one being tickled.

"Dude, you are such a squealer!" she teased, squeezing his hips so he couldn't protest, though he still tried.

"Ihihi aham nohohot!" he insisted through persistent giggles.

"Wanna bet?" she asked playfully, wiggling her brows at him before taking a large breath. Lucas shook his head, eyes wide and an overwhelming smile in place.

"Nonono wahahait!" She didn't wait, instead blowing another raspberry on his other hip. Needless to say, Max proved her point.