#elmike povs

[gayofthefae]

Two options:

Mike's speech made her angry and helped

Mike's speech didn't make her angry, Max's choking made her angry and helped. Mike's speech affected nothing and wasted time.

Not looking great, guys.

[gayofthefae]

I think I thought this too and thought he just couldn't get to her or at worst she didn't see him but on my second watch I remember reading the subtext "I don't need your comfort. You don't even love me." Everything is crashing down on her at the same time in this moment I think. And it does so more when she gets more "proof" later with his reaction to Angela but it is right now, too. She can pretend they're relationship is good and secure but she is not feeling good about being vulnerable with him right now because she doesn't trust that his compassion is real, and even so, being close to him may just serve as a reminder of the stress she's associating with him right now.

And that goes along with the lie thing. She doesn't trust him to love her the way she needs right now so she doesn't want to be reminded/confirmed that he can't and she is still, as she has been out of insecurity all day, trying to make the day about "me and you" and ignoring Will in a desperate attempt to CONVINCE him to love her. She isn't actively ignoring Will like Mike is, she just can't afford to focus on anything but giving Mike the perfect day. The perfect day a perfect girlfriend would give him. The kind of girlfriend a person loves.

And yeah, the simplest easiest way to resolve tension in a relationship like this? *Gasp* don't write in the first place! Need a plot conflict for the couple? Make it situational! (S4 Lumax) Systemic! (S3 Jancy) Projecting you past problems! (S3 Jopper). Don't make the couple have problems that come FROM the couple. The whole point is to romanticize it and say that they SOLVE everything together and BY being together. The tension is when they're apart and being together resolves it. If it is ever demonstrated that they are relaxed apart and, because of their conflict, BECOME stressed when together, we will not want them together. At worst, they should be the same apart and together and not be improved by each other. But, out of love and wanting to work things out, THEY ADD STRESS TO EACH OTHER'S LIVES. ESPECIALLY in season 4! Like I said, it's why she doesn't want to see Mike! It would be overwhelming and piling onto her current stress!

Mike and El consistently become more stressed when they're together. They love each other and have good moments in their dating but all of their conflicts are 2 steps back, 2 steps forward aka their relationship itself stresses them out and they fight all season to get to a place where they can be happy together. Sweet, telling of love, love is work, but love shouldn't be THAT much work. And being happy together is the bare minimum. They have not surpassed the bare minimum because they can't even maintain it consistently.

They have said repeatedly now "being together equals stress but when they overcome it, they're okay. Not being together inherently equals being okay."

If they wanted us to think something different they would have shown us El not doing okay as a result of her separation from Mike during season 4 even ONCE. They even managed to bring up Max even though that plotline was almost entirely flashbacks. They mentioned Max to give the reunion more satisfaction. They even showed El thinking of Will as she referenced the mind flayer to Papa. But nothing for Mike. (And Jonathan, she loves you too).

There is so much they COULD have done and didn't. But more importantly, there is SO much they could have NOT done and DID.

the first time i saw this, when i was NOT a byler shipper, i thought el was running TO mike. i thought we were getting a sweet moment where el runs to mike and he puts an arm around her or hugs her.

then i realized she was running away from him. 

and i was like, why?? they're supposed to be the couple why does she not want his comfort??

and even after will calls her out on doing mike wrong by lying to him, even after she sees that mike is attempting to talk to her and comfort her, that he's not angry at her, she still tells angela to lie to mike. more lies. that's how much she cares about keeping up the persona. had angela lied to mike, el would've continued lying to him the entire week. something she knows in her heart is wrong and not fair to mike.

this is a theme in s4. putting who you want to be seen as before being honest with your bf/gf. going above and beyond to preserve your lie, to be seen as who you want to be.

chrissy does that with jason. who she portrays herself as is completely different than who she really is and what she's really going through. jason has absolutely no idea chrissy is struggling and refused to believe chrissy would buy drugs, because chrissy didn't want to tell him. who knows how jason would've reacted if chrissy was honest, we don't know because chrissy didn't trust him enough to tell him. that's not love at all, that's sad.

this is a point in s2 as well. murray calls nancy out for being afraid to be her true self, and she stays with steve because she doesn't have to be her true self around him. she is her true self when she's with jonathan, and that's why they worked together. that's love.

the exact same thing happens with chrissy. the first time we see her genuinely smile is when she's with eddie. she's sweet and charismatic, and had she lived she totally would've gone to eddie's show, something you never would've expected from her, something her boyfriend, the person she pretends to love, would NEVER do.

robin and steve reinforce this too

you fall in love with the person who makes you feel accepted, the person who makes you feel like you can be who you are. the person you trust with your true self.

mike and el don't trust each other enough, they don't understand each other well enough.

they would have to change their behavior towards each other by leaps and bounds, and we're already at the last season. there is no time for that. stranger things isn't a multi season show about the complexity of romantic relationships and the healthy way to resolve problems. there is no time for that in just about any movie or show, especially a sci-fi show. you know what's way easier and way more likable? pairing your character with someone they naturally click with, who bring out the best in each other and for some reason can't help but be their authentic selves when they're with each other.

did it with jancy, like i said earlier

did it with lumax. when lucas and max talked on the bus max found herself spewing about things she'd never even said out loud before, and she had to stop herself. something about lucas just made her feel comfortable, like she could be herself and tell the truth. she trusted him.

"You're nothing like your brother, okay? You're cool and different, you're super smart, and you're like, totally tubular."

jopper too! joyce constantly had to hide things from bob, she was insecure about their family not being normal.

"This is not a normal family."

"It could be."

though bob had good intentions, the message of the show is not trying to be normal when you aren't. whatever it is about you that makes you weird or different, whatever you've been through that changed you, stay true to it. dont bottle it up and try to be someone else. all of vecnas victims in s4 were doing this, and it didn't end well for them.

they even did it with dustin and suzie. dustin constantly tries to impress max with his teeth, then in season 3 he says suzie thinks kissing is better without teeth. he doesn't have to be insecure about that or try to impress her. she likes him for him.

mike isn't comfortable being his true self around el either. he's insecure about his interests, he feels like he has to act older and cooler to impress her.

you shouldn't be with the person you feel you have to impress. you should be with the person who relieves that pressure, who makes you feel like being the authentic you is enough.

jonathan and nancy, lucas and max, joyce and hopper, dustin and suzie,

cough WILL AND MIKE cough...

[chirpsythismorning]

The Bizarre Love Triangle playlist is finally here!

📝 ☎️ 🎨 🛼 🌈⏮️ 🫀 💡

I've been working on this playlist for almost a year now, sharing piece by piece slowly with gifs accompanied by lyrics, which are meant to encapsulate what I think each of these characters were feeling at the time. This playlist goes in order narratively, so if you want the full experience, be sure to click start below to see where it all begins!

START ▶️

Tracklist

You're the Inspiration

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

This Is the Day

The Great Pretender

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

Who Can It Be Now?

I Need You

Bizarre Love Triangle

You've Really Got a Hold of Me

I'm Not In Love

Words

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

Dust in the Wind

I've Been Losing You

I Want to Break Free

Enjoy the Silence

Secret

Always on My Mind

The Chain

It's Too Late

How Can I Be Sure?

Alone Again (Naturally)

Alone

Just the Two of Us

The Promise

Never My Love

At Your Best (You Are Love)

Landslide

Wouldn't It Be Nice

The Flame

Is This Love

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've?) - BONUS TRACK

I Know There's Something Going On

Slippin' Through My Fingers

More Than Words

If I Can't Have You

What You Won't Do for Love

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Time For Me To Fly

I Will Survive

Blue Moon

If You Leave

Somebody to Love

Don't Dream It's Over

[wibble-wobbegong]

mmmm not to be a blubbery little bitch or anything but “my life started that day i found you in the woods” being the thing mike jumps to to try and convince el that he genuinely loves her is because that’s what he did with will in s2 and it worked even though mike was holding back his deepest feelings. he’s lying in both scenes by pretending he loves will and el in different ways than he actually does

[bylertruth3r]

so there are these 2 friends a boy and a girl and they’ve always had a special bond and the boy is really protective of the girl, they tell each other things they would never tell to other people cuz they feel like no one would undestand them like they undestand each other. When something bad happened to the girl the boy was devasted, lost and got affected by it more than their other friends. After he got his “friend” back he started being even more protective of her and literally got worried because the girl wasn’t at school and called her to check on her cuz he was really worried and when she didn’t answer him he got even more worried and ran to her house and he was the only one of his friend group who went to her house cuz again they had a special bond something more than what they have with their other friends. When things started getting bad for the girl again the boy was always at her side always there for her and she told him what was actually going on with her she opened up to him and told him things she would never tell the others cuz they wouldn’t understand her like the boy does. When things got even worse for the girl the boy stayed with her at the hospital he stayed at her side and even stayed overnight at the hospital cuz he couldn’t leave her there he couldn’t let anything bad happen to her again. Things started getting even worse and he was so close to losing her again for good this time but he couldn’t let that happen so he told her something he told her that before he met her he felt scared and alone he told her meeting her was the best thing that ever happened to him she made his life better she’s the best thing that ever happened to him. Things got better and the girl was safe with her friends and they were at a ball they were having fun and suddenly a boy asked the girl to dance and the girl didn’t know what to say she look at her “friend” who told her to dance with the other boy and so she did it she followed the boy and went to dance with him but the truth is she didn’t wanna dance with that boy she wanted to dance with her friend but she was too afraid to ask him that so here she is dancing with a boy she didn’t actually wanna dance with while her friend is looking at her with a look that suggest he regretted that decision he regretted telling her to dance with that boy but he doesn’t know why i mean he didn’t feel that way about his other friends dancing with other people so what’s so different about that girl.. During summer things started changing between them the boy was more distant things were awkward and they even had a fight which never happened between them which was really weird.. After talking to each other they made up and things got better but the girl had to leave him she had to move away and things between them started going bad cuz she never called him she never wrote to him and he tried to call her he called her so many times but unfortunally the line was always busy because of the job his friend’s mom was doing and he was worried he missed her things weren’t the same without her the town wasn’t the same he missed talking to her he missed hearing her voice he just really missed her but was also worried he was worried of the girl moving on from him he was worried about her finding other friends he was worried about her finding someone else and during those months he also found out why things were so different between them he found out that maybe things weren’t as platonic as he thought they were cuz seriously he would never talk to his friends the way he talks to her, he would never do the things he does for her he would never tell them the things he told her cuz they wouldn’t get it not like she does anyway..  so he was afraid, afraid of getting rejected, afraid of those feelings ruining their friendship, afraid of making things awkward, afraid of losing her again , afraid of hurting her again so he tried to hide it he tried to act like those feelings weren’t there he tried to act like he doesn’t think of her as nothing else but his best friend and then he received a letter from his gf and in that letter she tells him about his friend about how she’s making a painting for a boy she liked and he shouldn’t be jealous about it cuz she’s allowed to date who she wants and he shouldn’t act like she’s more than his best friend but it still hurt him. When they met again things started getting awkward cuz she got taller she looked more grown up and she was holding a painting the painting his gf told him about in the letter and he thought that maybe the painting was for him maybe there’s a chance but from her reaction he could tell that wasn’t the case and then his gf told him they were going to a place to have fun so he thought maybe his friend was gonna meet the guy there and give him the painting and he’s not jealous about it i mean why would he be jealous of his bff dating someone that wasn’t him he shouldn’t be jealous anyway so no he doesn’t care about it at all or at least that’s what he’s tellling himself. Things weren’t going as good as he thought they were gonna go and his friend was barely looking at him and she seemed annoyed and she was barely talking to him and then things got even worse and then got  into a fight about the missed communication between them about how he should’ve called more and he should’ve told her about all the days he spent trying to talk to her but he doesn’t and when she asks him what happened between them he hoped that maybe she wasn’t talking about their friendship maybe she was hoping for something more too but then he remembered about that stupid and about how he shouldn’t get his hopes up for nothing so he tells her that they’re friends even though he knows that he’s doing that to convince himself that they’re always gonna be friends nothing else is gonna happen between them even if it hurt thinking about it. Then he got into a fight with his gf and she asked him if he even loved her anymore and ofc he does i mean she’s his gf why wouldn’t he? except that he knew that wasn’t the truth he knew he’s been lying to her for months probably even years but he couldn’t risk hurting her again by telling her those things he couldn’t do that to her. After that he talked to his friend he apologized to her about what happened and told him that things weren’t the same without her and he knows that he left some details out but that was enough and then he said it again he said that they’re friends, best friends even as if pretending those feelings weren’t there was gonna make them disappear. Then the girl gave him a painting the same painting he saw at the airport and it was for him it actually was for him he has a chance and he has a painting to put in his house like all the drawings his friends ever made but then she girl spoke again and told him that this painting was actually from his gf which made his smile disappear cuz oh so the painting wasn’t for a boy she liked it wasn’t even from her.. then she spoke again and told him things that made him think back to what they talked about earlier and it made him think what if what if the painting was actually from her what if she feels the same way but she’s too scared of saying it? And then here he is trying to break up with his gf trying to find the right words trying not to hurt her but then he gets interrupted and the topic changes so he thought that it was best if he talked to her about it later and he would’ve had more time to think about the right words to use. Things started going bad and his friend reminded him about what they talked about earlier and he realized that those words weren’t from her the painting wasn’t from her and now he had to act quickly cuz things kept getting worse so he tells his gf things that he thought she wanted to hear things he thought would help her things that his “friend” told him earlier cuz he had to he felt that he owned it to her after hurting her like that and he does love her but not in the way she wants him to he really tried to but it wouldn’t work he tried to be a good bf he tried to he really did but it woldn’t work cuz he knew he was lying to her and to himself but what else was he supposed to do? break up with her and hurt her again and losing her again? tell his friend to the truth and losing her again? losing 2 people he really cares about just by one action? no he couldn’t let that happen. After what he told her his gf still won’t talk to him he didn’t lnow why tho he thought he fixed that he thought things were ok between them again but what he doesn’t know is that she knows she knows he lied she knows what’s actually happening she knows and she’s mad about it but not because of whats’s the actual truth but because he’s still lying to her because he doesn’t trust her enough to tell her about it 

[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?

[theyaregayyourhonor]

The love triangle only exist in Mike's pov

El doesn't know Will is gay or in love with Mike, we know that thanks to the s4 letter and her assumption of Will painting for a girl

Will doesn't view himself as a potential love interest for Mike (even do he is treated such. Like can we talk about s1 treating El as Mike's love interest and s2 treating Will as Mike's love interest? Can we?) to him his best friend and sister are more important than his own feelings or happiness.

Also:

Willel: No van, No Mike, just the two of them

Elmike: Van, Argyle, Will

They don't see the love triangle, from El and Will's pov there is no love triangle. They are both pretty sure where they stand with Mike. (Until Mike muddies the water)

So why is so many shot have love triangle imagery in both s3 and 4?

Mike! Mike is the one who sees them both as a choice. Mike feels like he has to decide and that is on Mike. Not on El or Will, they are pretty clear on what role they intend on taking up.

El is his girlfriend, Will is his friend, it should be easy as El isn't jealous of Will and we don't see her having any problem with them spending time together and Will is content with being Mike's friend (the heart you have)

Will and El didn't blur the line between them until the 4th season and they did it without noticing! Mike has been doing it since he kissed El in s1 and spent the next season on Will's floor in a sleeping bag

[gayofthefae]

I LOVE THIS OP YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND LIKE I SEE SUCH LITTLE CONSIDERATION OF EL’S INNER MONOLOGUE IN THESE POSTS BESIDES HOW IT RELATES AND REACTS TO MIKE’S.

Also, to add to the Stobin parallels. This makes so much sense, I see SO many parallels between El and Robin’s facial journeys in reaction to the speeches down to how MISCONSTRUED they are on a first watch. As a boy they love tell them he is in love with them when that is not how they feel it, they sink and feel nervous and pained at the idea of now having to crush this person they love.

(But a reminder that Steve actually took it very well)

I have another take on the monologue. Walk with me.

And I’m not saying that my interpretation is the correct one, but rather, I’d like to look at it from ankther angle and consider another possibility.

With the script coming out and the monologue recieving all of this renewed attention, I’m starting to think that maybe El did believe Mike’s monologue.

And this isn’t just me looking at the script as proof. And while yes, the script did say that she believed it, you can’t take what’s on the page as cold hard proof versus what is on the screen, BUT I do think that what we do see on screen supports this idea.

Oh, I still think that Mike was lying out of his ass, and many have already elaborated on that idea so I don’t really want to rehash it here. We as the audience know that Mike is lying because we get a much clearer view of everything, but El does not get that view. We heard Mike say in the van that meeting her was just dumb luck, El did not.

While we also know that Mike’s reasoning for not saying “I love you” comes from his internal struggles, El’s belief as to why Mike couldn’t say comes from her own inner turmoil. She believed that Mike couldn’t say it because she saw herself as a monster. She has no idea about Mike’s personal struggles and doesn’t really consider it a possibility just because she is too in her head. I elaborate more in this post about El’s dichotomous thinking and how it drives her in this season.

It might be different if, say, El questioned Mike if there was someone else, that would definitely send a different message. But this isn’t El believing that Mike is love with someone else. This is El believing that she is unlovable.

But if she did believe him, shouldn’t she have looked happy? Wouldn’t she be closer with him and not giving him the cold shoulder? Wouldn’t they have a conversation after to reconcile their feelings?

And I agree. This is not the face of someone who is happy to finally hear “I love you” from her boyfriend.

But it’s not because she didn’t believe him. It’s because she realized it’s not what she wants to hear because she is not in love with him.

I talked about it more in this post where I discuss some Elmike and Stobin parallels. Here’s the main point I want to draw attention to:

I don’t think El is intentionally lieing about her feelings. I think she felt this hole ever since Hopper left, and believed that Mike’s love was supposed to fix everything. That Mike’s love is what she wants to hear. And then she finally hears it, and realizes it’s not what she wants. So maybe the face she is making during the monologue isn’t out of dissapointment, maybe it’s out of realization and guilt.

This would be a perfect parallel to the end of season 3, which I talk about here—

—and I pretty much agree with everything I said before.

And think about it, if El did believe what Mike was saying, that would make this line—

—so much worse than it already was.

Maybe El believed Mike in that moment, and maybe it did give her enough strength to break free of Vecna’s grasp, but the important thing is that she fails.

And what does El’s dichotomous thinking tell us about how she’s thinking afterward? If she’s not a superhero, then she must be a monster. She got her powers back, her boyfriend loves her, and yet she’s still a monster. Everything that she believed would solve her problems, didn’t. So what can she now?

I think when El side eyes Mike in the cabin it can be read through this lens of guilt as well. How can she bring herself to tell the guy that fell madly in love with her at first sight, that she doesn’t feel the same way? Especially when this guy sees her as a superhero, the thing that El wants her to be? Would breaking up mean losing the superhero title along with the girlfriend title?

I guess I like this interpretation because it shifts the focus to both Mike and El’s internal conflicts, rather than placing their relationship faults on the other person. Mike isn’t a nerd who is hopelessly in love with someone who is disinterested because she is way cooler than him, and El isn’t hopelessly in love with a gay guy who can’t love her back (even though he is a gay guy imo). They are both not in love with each other, and it has nothing to do with the other person.

And what great irony would that be if they were in the exact same position. They both believed that what they wanted from the other person was their love, and it wasn’t until they got it when that cold hard truth would hit them across the face. Now they are in this awkward position where they believe the other person is in love with them, and they both care too much to actually break the truth to the other person. It’s perfect.

[elekinetic]

i'm el/ella (name, not pronouns en español). here's some stuff i've made. enjoy!

fics.

please say i'm young enough — will is gay. robin knows. or, robin and will go on a supply run. set in post-season 4 apocalyptic hawkins. afraid of what might be — max is going to die. she says her piece. or, max's season 4 letters. letter to el. letter to mike. <- tumblr links (bonus: el's letter to max) ficlet: three words — mike struggles to write a simple sentence. ficlet: happy birthday will — a letter from mike's pocket

scripts.

episode 3 opening scene — season 5 mike & will - medbay — season 5 mike, will & joyce - lovers' lake — season 5 teens + the party argue — season 5 el and mike: painting — season 5 steve & eddie at a bar — AU mike & will in the upside down — season 5 mike and lucas fight — season 5 byers' lenora morning — pre-season 4 master of puppets — season 5 christmas 1988: the party — post-canon will's birthday, 1987 — post-canon mike & will, early morning nightmares — season 5 will & max bond — season 5 mike and will - motel — season 4 el's new friend — season 5/AU mike & el argue — season 5 mike & will, high in the desert — season 4 jancy storms out — season 5 jonathan and robin bonding + extra — season 5

lucas’ vecna vision - season 5

edits.

god, it's brutal out here (party + teens) nothing more than that (byler)

misc.

writing advice (how i outline for scripts & prose)

what your assigned stranger things fave means about you quiz (brutally honest) moodboards stranger things dnd classes

spotify: ella, maybe.

elcore (el) (bonus: el's driving mixtape) dnd books in the donation box (will) four letter words (mike) madmax (max)

i heard the tore down the old swing-set. please help me build a new one. (byler) l&m (lumax) i like presents too (elmike)

pov: you're the music supervisor for stranger things 5 spring break 86 (non-evil version)

[gayofthefae]

Thinking again about "you're my superhero" and how powers use anger and sadness, not love, and how there were two words used with spite in that note, not one

"Dear Mike,

I have gone to become a superhero again.

From,

El"

She put "superhero" on the same plane as *"From"*. OH, She did not like that shit at all.

[lilacline001]

Happy New Year! & Nocturne has been Updated Day!

YAY!! Few things about this chapter, please know that I love platonic ElMike, and I have decided that THIS is THE ElMike anthem.

This is still a building chapter, but they are always necessary! So we have tons of Family and Party interactions, very little Will. But as always please know that he is indeed on his way. Currently, obsessed with Bad Suns, so from Will's POV . He thinks of Mike as Violet.

That might be it actually...

Also, thank you, thank you, thank everybody for your patience as I took a break in writing for the holidays! Hoping to return, to a bi-weekly/weekly updating schedule in the new year. And I'll update here if that changes!

[elhopper1sm]

Mileven/Elmike Analysis

Why I think El lied to Mike about being bullied.

Mike has been bullied his entire life but Mike's perception of El is different. Mike has a very idealized perception of El. He is constantly referring to her as his superhero. Mike was the first person to reassure El she wasn't the monster. Mike's perception of her is extremely important to her self image. Mike feels like hes not good enough for El. " I'm just some nerd lucky that superman landed on his doorstep" . This establishes a hierarchy in their relationship. Also whenever El acts in a way he doesn't like his first thought is someone is corrupting her. " She(Max) is corrupting her she's conspiring against me" . In season 3 Mike and Hopper are often paralleled.Hopper also says " Mike is corrupting her" Both are overprotective of El in similar ways. To the point of limiting associations and ways of she cam use her own powers. Hopper wants to hold on to El's innocence which is getting harder as she is obviously growing up right before him. Mike also views El as extremely innocent. Mike is more hostile towards El when his perception of her changes. We can see that Mike idealizes El and infantilizes her. From El's POV we can see that being vulnerable in front of make would break the image he has of her being a superhero. He saw her reduced to tears over being bullied. He even replied " You cant let these mouth breathers ruin you". Mike is angry El is vulnerable. El's greatest fear in this scene and the reason she didn't tell Mike she was being bullied is because it would break the idealized version of her he had im his head.

Compare this to how Mike views Will. He sees Will as a whole person. He notices very subtle changes in his behavior like we saw in Season 2 and when Will acts out of character he assumes its Will's own doing not an outside force influencing him. Byler is a whole person relationship while Mileven and even to an extent Elmike(Platonic Mileven) is rooted partially in am idealized version of El.

[chirpsythismorning]

☎️🎲 🤼‍♂️ ✈️🚪 ➡️ 🫀🎮⌛️

Slipping Through My Fingers by ABBA

previous ⏮️ now playing ⏭️ next back to playlist

[bylerisc4non]

nah cuz mike isn't actually that oblivious. he knew damn well he loved will, at least in the back of his head. will was always different than everyone else, in his own category. he was someone mike relied on more than anyone else. someone he cherished and loved more than anyone else, because will made mike himself feel cherished and loved. like he wasn't a mistake. he just convinced himself it was platonic love because of compulsory heterosexuality.

just like how he convinced himself his connection to el was romantic, when, in reality, it was a friendship connection. a trauma bond. elmike will always be better platonic. they connected like friends. they helped one another like siblings who support each other through tough times. ('would i be like your sister?') but they were never more than that. el showed up in a time that mike was panicking, a time that he'd lost the one person he could rely on entirely. his best friend. and then she was there and (after he tried to get rid of her) he latched onto her. it felt comfortable because she was like will. or at least, he made her to be. he projected his best friend onto her and found comfort there while will was missing.

it wasn't real though. el and mike connected merely because she made him feel needed and loved when the one person who had made him feel that prior was out of the picture, possibly for good. el latched onto mike because all she'd ever had was brenner, who was abusive. so, when mike showed her all this kindest and love, being the first person to do that, it felt good. it was all new to her. and she immediately wanted that feeling more than anything, so she stuck around. thus, mike and el trying to fulfill themselves through their shallow, toxic, unhealthy relationship started.

and as for will and mike? mike said it best: 'it was the best thing i've ever done.' will was the best choice he ever made. they are the epitome of true love. soulmates. will was never platonic for mike, he just got confused along the way. understandably. but as i said earlier, he's not all that oblivious, especially in st4. he's finally deciphering the difference between his feelings for el (strictly platonic) and his feelings for will (romantic love and interest).

[rotisseries]

this is so elmike coded