#elmike fight

[gayofthefae]

You know how I know Mike is queer?

These are the same person. Mike is an inherently caring, loving, and protective person. It's what Will called out in 4x08 and reminded us of with Mike's desire and practice in attempt to be a "hero" and be able to help the ones he loves.

But when El tells him she feels unloved by him, he doesn't comfort her. At all. He defends himself. He doesn't even say "yes I do". He says "I say it". Even when he's arguing that he loves her, he is defending himself, not comforting her. If he was comforting her he would have reacted to her crying at all. He doesn't. He just becomes increasingly desperate and escalates the tactics that are making her cry more.

Because the accusation is that important to him. Not many things could be so important to him that he would deprioritize her or taking care and protecting and comforting those he loves. He even does quite well at it at the start of the scene. We have PROOF that he is pretty stable these days with any sort of accusation or invalidation with how well he takes "you don't understand" and simply asks questions without any sort of offense. So he CAN take it. He takes it IN THIS CONVERSATION.

But when she says he doesn't love him, he stops the "they just don't know you". He stops the "don't say that about yourself, you're lovable," which is what this is really about for her. If he had said that even if he couldn't say it himself, it might have still helped a little bit: frame it as his own fault if he can't. But he couldn't do that. Instead, he went with how it reflected on HIM that he couldn't say it and defended himself AGAINST her. FOUGHT her on it.

There are few things that can make him fight a person. And they've all actually been pretty similar. They're all El:

"You're prioritizing El over Will"

"There is something off about your relationship with El"

"You're prioritizing El over [Will]"

"He's right that your and [El's] relationship wasn't a good one"

"Your and El's relationship wasn't a good one"

"You're prioritizing El over [Will]"

"You don't love [El]"

He is comforting. He is kind. He prioritizes others' comfort and safety consistently. He takes other accusations fairly lightly and focuses back onto the person making them and their emotions. And yet, what does he say in those instances and only those instances?

"SHUT. UP."

"You lying piece of shit. You're crazy!"

"It's not my fault you don't like girls!"

"He's just some crazy old man"

"You're conspiring against me!"

"We're friends! We're friends!"

"You're being ridiculous. What is this?"

People who say his character has gotten worse are stating it under the idea that he is always like this. The entire discovery so many people, including myself, had that he's queer was because we noticed that his outbursts were consistent. People think he's random and angry because they think the situations are random: Lucas, Hopper, Will, Max, El. But they're forgetting to note what each of those people questioned about him right before.

The biggest proof is that he doesn't ever talk like this outside of these situations. It's lighthearted debates and empathetic conversations.

Mike Wheeler is a kind person. If he said "You're being ridiculous. What is this?" it is not just because he's scared of vulnerability or commitment.

[gayofthefae]

The way the subtext varies from "I didn't say that/how do I convince you" 'NO! neverrrr' to "okay now that's bullshit and you know it"

mike lying vs mike telling the truth

"You think I'm a monster too."

*high pitched, animated facial expression* "What?!"

vs

"What about us?"

*firm, but quiet. solid eye contact* "What?"

"Yesterday. The way you looked at me. . .you were scared of me."

*head shaking, rapid blinking* "No, no- *scoffs* that's not- that's- that's not true."

vs

"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."

*firm, solid eye contact, no stuttering* "That's just not true."

i still can't believe people called finn a bad actor because of this

FINN WOLFHARD??? BAD ACTOR???? PUH LEEZ

MIKE is a bad actor, not finn

[will80sbyers]

STRANGER THINGS 4x03 El & Mike's fight | back

[demadogs]

its so fucking sad that el wanted angela to tell mike that it was just a joke and that theyre really friends. both mike and el are trying so hard to be someone else to keep their relationship alive.

[upsidedownlurker]

Crazed Byler ramblings from 1:54 am

If Mike Wazowski actually end up together I will laugh so hard

YOU’RE TELLING ME THIS WAS THE MAIN COUPLE’S FIRST KISS???

YOU’RE TELLINJG ME THIS WAS THE MAIN COUPLE’S ACTUAL LOVD CONFESSION??? (eyes stay open to view that luscious forehead ig)

YOU’RE TELLING ME THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL AND FACTUALLY ACCURATE ROMANTIC SPEECH THAT ENDED A QUARREL BETWEEN TWO FATED LOVERS???

YOU’RE TELLING ME MIKE IS JUST LIKE THAT?????

Imagine accidentally writing one of the most enticing queer stories in your genre, amassing an audience who are incredibly enthusiastic about it, and ignoring that because… uh… because… ummm…

Hey man, I won’t deny that Mickey Mouse and Earache have an important bond. But they truly have some of the most awkward, wack, fall-flat face-planting “romantic” chemistry of any couple on the show, and if their relationship succeeds it will just be so funny

The people working on this show are capable of creating genuinely beautiful scenes that have brought me to tears multiple times. I have been utterly enraptured in their worlds, their characters and their stories

So if they wrote Medicine Cabinet and thought, “Another enticing romance story well done”?

If they wrote Byler and thought, “CLASSIC BFF MOMENT LADS LADS LADS”?

I would laugh so hard that I travel back in time to save myself from this nightmare

Us silly queer people don’t know shit about shit dude

Ok bye time to escape this hell

And by hell I mean a fun and wholesome time

and by a fun and wholesome time I mean HELL🔥🔥🔥🔥🥩😏

[gayofthefae]

For real. It was honestly a case of horrible timing. "You are lovable, I'm the problem" is tbh all she needed to hear. She thought she was inherently unlovable by anyone, proved by the fact that "even" her boyfriend didn't love her. But he DID love her, he was just going through his own thing.

Perfect example though of two unrelated arcs coming together for a scene that serves both of them and their separate courses for the season.

bro if i was el when she realises mike didn't say 'i love you' because he's gay rather than because she's the problem/ a monster, i would be relieved personally

[strangersynth]

reducing mike and el's love for each other to something that'll make their relationship stumble and fall if not evaporate when they break up will never not be like emptying a room and then walking in and wondering why its empty.

[evil-ontheinside]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if we had a scene in s5e1 where Mike clearly tells El that he loves her and then it cuts away to another scene only to reveal one or two ep later (or maybe in the same ep, I don't want a repeat of august) that it was followed by a but and actually the moment they broke up?

[gayofthefae]

You know of course depression plays a part in it but people say with Mike his inability to say it was what was causing her to think that besides that but I'd like to remind us all of the saying "If he loved you, you'd know"

We need to come back to the fact that yes, Mike couldn't say that he was in love with El. But there are other ways to convey to someone that you're in love with them.

Actions speak louder than words and, really, it was never about lacking the words. It was about how lacking the words pointed out clearer than ever that the actions weren't there in the first place.

Having the words can shield the fact that he doesn't seem like he's in love with either. You assume that both are there. But if one goes away and there's nothing left...you can't really unlearn that. She knows that he loves her now. I wonder what she knows of him being in love with her.

Because she didn't confront him on the word itself until prompted. Their original fight was about his actions. "The way you looked at me," for example. It wasn't he was in love with her but just couldn't say the word.

It was that not being able to say the word meant that there were no bells and whistles to distract

from things like this

Because that argument looks different with no supporting evidence of him not loving her outside of the words. But the words are her supporting evidence. To her initial point: his actions. The words weren't even part of her original argument. She hadn't even felt the need to reach for them as proof.

That argument was not just based on his words. So how can the solution be? He was acting like he wasn't in love with her. She caught it. And at that point, probably started noticing he never said it. Because I doubt she started counting days from when he first said or even when she left if she assumed as she seemed to for a while that she did. It didn't seem like she's was counting every day for eight months. It seemed like she started to notice and checked her facts to find they were right. Something prompted that. Maybe a couple letters in a row were a little dry. Maybe she needed it more one day, then noticed that week after week it didn't come and checked back.

But her observation of him not saying it was prompted by his actions. It's why she didn't even bring up his words herself. Only when he argued her. They were her trump card, not her argument.

The fight was about Mike's actions. His words were just an example. He still hasn't solved his actions. Remember, by her account:

This was him not convincing her too.

He has not fixed this. He has stalled it. At best, he put it back to where it was before she noticed, not before it was true.

[gayofthefae]

He knew that confrontation of the problem was something they couldn’t come back from. That’s why he was avoiding it. He knew it’s presence at all was the end because he couldn’t fix it.

The first time I watched s4, when Mike said "like a fight you can't come back from" that was when I knew for certain that he is not in love with El. And that is why I knew he wasn't being genuine in the monologue. Because the fight was about him not loving her. If he loved her, why would that be a fight you can't come back from? Sure, it'd make sense to feel anxious about it. But to feel hopeless about it? If all you needed to do was say "I love you, and I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't. I want to do better. I will do better." and then do better - because really that's all he had to do - then why is that a fight you can't come back from?

It's because he knows that he doesn't love her. And he knows she knows. And he knows that saying "I love you" won't fix that.

And that was the conclusion I came to as a casual watcher.

[pinksmonkey]

The Ultimate Byler Evidence/Analysis List (Part 3)

If you missed parts 1 or 2, here they are: Part 1 and Part 2

198. Bi Mike Masterpost

199. Byler Parallels Masterpost

200. The Choices The Writers Made

201. The Significance Of Mileven Not Getting Each Other

202. The Importance Of Byler Getting Each Other

203. The Importance Of Byler Getting Each Other - Part 2

204. Moments I've Been Thinking About

205. The Painting Ensures Byler Endgame

206. Byler Canon-Comforts

207. Will's Season 5 Arc

208. Elmike's Transition

209. Mike, Will, And El's Individual Arcs Each Season

210. Mike Wheeler's Playlist

211. I Ship It Because It's Endgame

212. I Love You On Your Bad Days

213. Mike Wasn't Lying When He Said "I Love You" And It Doesn't Rule Out Byler Endgame

214. Mike Was Thinking About Will When He Jumped Off The Cliff

215. Will Needs Mike

216. So Many Things Wrong With This Post

217. Why Byler Is Endgame

218. Amount Of Byler Scenes Compared To Mileven

219. Mike's Choice Of Words

220. Fundamentally A Story About Queer Themes

221. We Should Talk About This Way More

222. The Gay Beautician/Hairdresser Trope

223. If Byler Doesn't Happen

224. You Only Need To Understand Five Things

225. Who's Getting Books And Who Isn't?

226. Crafting A Confession

227. You're The Heart

228. Pocketgate Details You Might Have Missed

229. The Piggyback Drawing

230. Green Socks

231. Byler Fights VS Mileven Fights

232. I Didn't Say It, You Didn't Have To

233. Heroes

234. The Difference Between The Monologues Is Obvious

235. "Something I Never Stop Thinking About"

236. The Importance of Tiger Pride

237. Why Heroes Will Be Back

If you have anything else you think should be added to the list, let me know, leave a link in the comments or a repost. I will continue updating this list with any new awesome analyses. Happy Byler-ing! ☺️

238. Season 1 Mike Queercoding

239. Fandom's Reaction To The Will Is Gay Theory Repeating With Mike

240. Tropes and Byler

241. The Superman Reference

242. Milevens Are Insane

243. Mileven's Season

[qulizalfos]

!! just in case we have any byler doubt over elmike bts pics:

we haven't had Any will bts (to my knowledge??) so who knows!!! but let's not assume anything!! maybe ross duffers gonna post a grainy photo of mike and will on insta tomorrow

el's s4 arc was realizing who she was and developing outside of her relationships

narratively it makes the most sense for byler to happen because of All the reasons we've established but especially regarding character arcs

mileven breakup being fun and bright and pop music and high fives and that day becoming one of maxs lifesaving memories vs byler fight being shot like an actual breakup scene

gayass road trip (im talking abt the lip glances PLURAL btw)

we have no context for the photo (maybe it's post breakup)

We Haven't Even Seen Will Yet

are u gonna look me in the eye and tell me that shawn levy will let them disregard byler endgame that man has been on our team since day one

will's queer storyline (and mike's Heavy queercoding) have to be resolved SOMEHOW and the only realistic option is byler endgame atp

we have yet to see william byers

stay

strong

yall

<3

[will80sbyers]

STRANGER THINGS 4x03 El & Mike's fight | next

[gayofthefae]

And curtains associated with Elmike

Closed....then open

Windows associated with byler

Hrrrmmm(mincraft villager)

[lightstarz]

VOLUME TWO CAME OUT TWO YEARS AGO

(part 2 to my volume one rant)

Two years ago today, we witnessed the FUCKING VAN SCENE for the first time and lives were changed, Russia gang escaped the prison, El’s whole fight with Brenner who ultimately died and she also blew up a bunch of stuff, Elmike and Willel reunion,Hawkins gang preparing for battle, Jopper FINALLY KISSED after all these years, Hawkins gang + Cali gang working to defeat Vecna, MASTER OF PUPPETS, Max gets Vecna’d, Mike’s goofy ah monologue, Vecna revealed to have been behind everything,Eddie and Max die(max did technically die), everybody thinking they lost but they Kinda won(for now), everybody reunites and that’s the last time we’ve seen our favourite characters. Well, other than BTS.

[onstoryladders]

SECRET ADMIRER AU, JEALOUS MIKE, BI MAX, AROSPEC MIKE, AROACE EL 🌈

CHAPTER 4 (out of 5) IS UP. REBLOGS APPRECIATED 💖

This chapter offers lots of platonic Elmike, Elmax, some Lumax, Mike having another gay crisis, Max going through it for the 2nd chapter in a row, and also Madwheeler fighting.

Thanks to anyone who'll give this a chance 💖