#fuck you mike for like everything

[dimonds456]

Mike is back at it again Being The Fucking Worst so here's a reminder that any and all interpretations of the BATIM cast, but especially ones that lean more into minority representation, ARE valid and should be loved and appreciated. With BATIM now officially being an all-white, straight, cis cast, there are no rules. Go absolutely wild.

Fuck you Mike.

[bigfeelingsdyke]

everyone on suits knows they’re in a (mostly) lighthearted dramedy except for gabriel macht, who is giving an academy-award-nominee-for-a-wartime-romantic-tragedy level performance whenever harvey and mike break up for half an episode

[stardust-moth]

In order to fully understand why it was so hard for Mike to express how deeply he loves El, and why his speech at the end of season 4 was one of the biggest, most important moments for his entire character, we need to look at not just who Mike is as a person, but also everything that has happened since he met her.

Every single time he opens up his heart to her, something horrible happens to her or she's taken away from him almost immediately afterwards.

1x08; he's an awkward little ball of feelings that are way too big for a boy so young. He makes a nervous attempt at confessing and asking her out on a date; when he can't find words that she'll understand, swoops in for a kiss instead. She lights up immediately and smiles. It's a brief moment of hope and pure happiness. Maybe they can have some semblance of a normal life and be normal kids after this is all over.

Minutes later, all hell breaks loose-- they're almost shot, El pushes herself too far until she can barely move, she's almost taken away by the Bad Men, the Demogorgon appears, and she uses the very last of her strength to sacrifice herself to save him and their friends.

He has to watch helplessly as she disappears.

He spends a year caught between believing she's dead and hoping she's still out there somewhere (but if she is alive then why won't she talk to him anymore...?). Kept silent under threat by the lab, he can't confide in anyone or even acknowledge her existence, not with anyone except those involved... but everyone else is keen on moving on and pretending it never happened. He can find some solidarity in Will, at least, who is in a similar kind of emotional turmoil... but it's not the same and it's not enough.

2x9; he is finally reunited with El, and she runs into his arms like she missed him too. She tells him that all those nights he called out to her, she heard him; she was there reciprocating his feelings the whole time.

In a burst of emotions that he's been forced to suppress for an entire year, he lashes out at the reason they've been kept apart (Hopper), screaming and sobbing. It's a massive catharsis for him, and for once an adult is understanding enough to hold him and not punish him for it.

Minutes later, she is going to go headfirst into a pit of monsters, the place where Mike had just firsthand witnessed dozens of people (if not more) get ripped to shreds only hours earlier, and she is going to attempt to close the Gate-- a feat that he knows may take every ounce of her power, just like last time. He cries. He can't lose her again. She promises he won't, and before she can seal that promise with a kiss, they're pulled apart again.

He has to watch helplessly as she drives away.

3x1; all seems to be okay now. He and El are happily together, and he feels comfortable enough to be playful, romantic, and intimate with her. It's the most emotionally open we've ever seen Mike thus far.

For reasons he can't understand (bc there's no way Hopper explained himself beyond "I'm in charge so do as I say or else"), Hopper is angry about it and threatens to never allow him to see her again: the one thing he fears most.

He panics big time and fucks it up in the process by lying to her. During a frantic attempt to apologize while also abiding by Hopper's rules, he runs into her at the mall. He panics again-- if anyone finds her here, and knows that he was here too, it's all over, and Hopper surely won't hear reason. El dumps him cold on the spot, spurred on by Max and her rebellious attitude (and without any context of course). He isn't given much opportunity to respond. He knows he's in the wrong for lying to her, so what could he even say...?

He has to watch helplessly as she drives away.

It's a hard blow, and he retreats back into himself, unable to get any joy out of playing D&D (which he clearly hasn't lost interest in), back to the deadpan sarcasm and accidentally snapping a little too harshly at anyone whom he feels would take El's place.

3x6; no one seems to understand the danger El is putting herself in. Everyone is berating him for worrying about her safety. He's seen firsthand what these monsters do to people, he's seen firsthand how El pushes her abilities too far. No one is listening.

The words "I love her and I can't lose her again" burst out in his desperation, perhaps before he's even had a chance to realize how deep those feelings run, despite whatever protective walls he's tried to build around his heart to keep it from getting broken again.

Soon after, all hell breaks loose. El is nearly killed several times over, her leg is ripped open, she pushes herself so hard that she breaks herself and loses her powers completely. Her father is taken from her. She's shattered by all of this, and there's absolutely nothing he could do or say to make it better.

She tells him that when he admitted he loves her, she heard him, and indeed she loves him, too... But now she's leaving.

He has to watch helplessly as she drives away.

4x1; they've been apart for a few months, and write letters back and forth to each other. El's letters paint a picture of an ideal new life: she and the Byers family are doing well; she's starting school and it's going well; she's made new friends, she likes her new home, everything is going well. She seems to be thriving. She sounds happy, maybe even happier than she had been living in Hawkins. Maybe Max was right, maybe she's better off being her own person without him, and maybe the respectful thing to do is step back... It's a small insecurity that creeps up subconsciously. In his replies he holds back, afraid of clinging too hard.

Though there's little logic in it, he's afraid that if he tells her he loves her again, another disaster might strike and this lovely happy life she's finally found might get taken from her. After all, that's what always seems to happen when he does.

4x2; after months of waiting, they can finally see each other again. He wears her favorite colors, picks a handful of flowers for her, and falls happily back into step with how they used to be. Soon that same day, however, reality becomes clear and the facade crumbles. People he was told were her friends show up to torment and publicly humiliate her. She had been lying. She isn't happy here, she hasn't healed, she is right at the edge of a breaking point that he doesn't see coming at all. He can't believe she would lie to him, she's not the kind of person to lie... especially not about something like bullying, something that she was always so understanding about with him.

On that logicless subconscious level, he wonders if it's all his fault-- he should have known somehow, he should have been there for her. She protected him from his bullies, he should have protected her from hers. He tries to come to her rescue. She runs away from him.

He's helpless to save her, again.

4x3; after a night to process everything that happened-- and deciding that the betrayal he feels from her lying to him is nothing compared to the turmoil she must be going through right now-- Mike approaches her in the gentlest way possible, wanting to listen and trying to understand. El, however, isn't receptive at all to his attempts at reassurance. She is at an all-time low, she's given up. She believes she is unlovable, irredeemable, a monster, just a thing that doesn't even have those superhuman abilities to compensate anymore. Mike can't believe what he's hearing-- doesn't she know that she's always been so much more than her powers? She's always been so much more than what she lacks in quote-unquote "normalcy"... None of those things matter, they have absolutely no bearing on whether she's worthy of being loved, because he loves her, completely regardless of any of these things. He always has...

El starts flinging his restrained words back at him, the products of his insecurity and trauma-induced fear. That fear takes hold yet again, and he stumbles, afraid of saying too much or not enough, because surely both could result in pushing her away-- she's retreating, hearing none of it; nothing he tries to say consoles her.

Moments later, local police come knocking. She's taken away in cuffs, and she's so broken inside that she won't even look at him when he chases the police car down the street and promises he'll get her out somehow...

Once again, he has to watch helplessly as she drives away.

4x8/4x9; after days of driving through the heat and dryness of southwest desert, having narrowly escaped being shot at with military-grade assault rifles, witnessing the death of and burying a man whose last words were that El is in danger... After watching dozens of people get mowed down by a sniper in a helicopter, and watching that same helicopter be smashed into the ground in a ball of flames...

There she is. Just as powerful and beautiful and alive as she's ever been. When he runs to her and embraces her, she looks at him like she can't believe he's real. She's beaming a smile right from her soul and it's like all the insecurity and self-doubt that have plagued them both just vanish from existence now that they're in each other's arms again.

Like always, however, the universe comes crashing down soon after. Max is marked for a gruesome death and all of Hawkins is in danger. They're miles away and helpless, and the only possible way for El to save everyone is if she goes in alone. She's stronger than ever, but so is her foe. Once again, she descends to face all the demons of hell on her own, and Mike can't do anything.

She's losing. She's choking. She's dying. He's helpless.

He must be cursed. He must be. Being with her, loving her, allowing himself to admit he loves her, it always brings only pain and suffering and loss. His heart is so full that it's aching, it's bursting out of his chest, and he can't contain it any longer.

She's going to die and it's going to be all his fault, because he fell in love, and it's cursed her.

Just before it all crumbles into utter despair, the earnest support from his oldest and dearest friend-- one who's always shared and understood his feelings of helplessness-- sparks a light of hope in him: "You're the Heart." You're not helpless. You can save her.

The words that come spilling out of Mike's mouth are truer than any he's ever dared to speak before, and it's the most terrified he's ever been, but he has enough courage for this moment. Despite all of the fears that have been building, stifling, choking him to death for years-- fears that the light of his life will inevitably disappear again, and there's nothing he can do to stop it-- despite it all, he pours out his heart to her.

He loves her. He's always loved her. He loves everything she ever was, is, and could be. He can't imagine a world without her in it. She saved him, in every way a person can be saved. And he needs her to live. He believes in her.

And it works. It's music to her ears.

[lionblaze03-2]

got the winter turning gn. And uh.

qinter real forever tbh. He literally has a little qibli in his brain cracking jokes im losing it

[stuckinapril]

Yess challengers! Go on ramble about it if you want I'll be listening!!

But also not you being down bad for Mike Faist as Art😔 ig we are all down bad for the three of them but yeah

anon are you SURE. I have so many thoughts on it it’s not even funny

[sweetertork]

The Monkees: Our Life in 15 Songs, Rolling Stone, August 2016

[spurgie-cousin]

Ok I've been reading a lot about the Kellers lately and it's all this ladies fault

Mike Keller might be the most stupid person who has ever existed in the entire history of the earth

[bylertruther]

could u elaborate about your anger against buff will byers? genuine question, i dont mean to be rude! have a great day denise <3

mobile + sleep deprived so this is going to be All Over The Place but i'll list some thoughts in bullet points:

my anger isn't towards will being buff, my anger is over the fact that fandom has used noah schnapp's body type as a reason to mischaracterize will into someone that he isn't

finn has long hair and he's very skinny so he gets feminized by fandom a lot which bleeds into how fandom interacts with the character that he plays despite mike not having majority/majorly feminine traits

meanwhile noah grows up, goes through puberty, and gains a bit of muscle and suddenly will (in fandom's eyes) goes from being a sensitive, shy, sassy, and sweet kid to this macho guy that is super confident, super physically strong and athletic, and doesn't need to be saved or helped by anyone, and that literally sweeps people off their feet etc. like i'm sorry to tell you this but will is a damsel in distress lol. a HUUUUUUGE part of his character is that he was clocked way way way early as a young kid for being gay and that's why he got bullied. kids make fun of his clothes, they laugh at him, his father calls him slurs, teenagers and adults alike talk about him and his sexuality in a derogatory fashion, he gets called artistic and sensitive which in that era is the nice way of saying gay, etc etc. like. will turns into a scared hamster, he has the freeze response, he fights for his life but ultimately needs to accept help from others to save him, its about loving and being loved and allowing them to save you because there's nothing wrong with needing help, etc etc. like. will is canonically more effeminate than mike and yet bc finn is skinny with long hair and noah is bigger now people flip it around and that's just not who those characters are lol. they're CHARACTERS they're not finn and noah... and even then, noahs the one always wearing pink and wearing purses and who gets his (everything, really, but specifically) his sexuality picked the fuck apart bc of the way that he acts and so on and so forth. but, what...? he gets a couple of muscles and suddenly will is some macho hypermasc dude? why, because only skinny men can be seen as effeminate and sweet and sensitive and so on? since when is a body type a personality. its just so transparent that it's playing into the tiny subby girlboy x big buff hypermasc dom boy mlm stereotype and i Hate it.

another thing is that mike is always the one putting in the physical work, he jumps in without complaining, he helps carry people, he Knows How To Do Things etc etc while will is always the one off to the side letting everyone else work and when he Does do work it's the absolute bare minimum doing the easy part while sobbing and sighing and so on but... wait, noah has muscles so NAHHHH lets reverse it actually and make will the strong one and mike the weakling? why lol. what reason is there for this shift that came ONLY after noah's body changed.

mike is the knight in shining armor, he's the one that saves the damsel, he's the one that comes up with the plan and sees it through, he's the one trying his best even if he isn't always strong enough, he's the one protecting will with his body, he's the one hauling him up and moving him around, he's the one throwing hands IMMEDIATELY and throwing himself into the mix without hesitation, etc etc etc, meanwhile will is literally physically clinging to him, cowering behind him, looking to him to save him, and hyperventilating screaming crying whenever there's danger, and yet.... again..... after noah became no longer scrawny.... suddenly the roles in fanon got switched around? will literally draws mike as the guy standing in front of him, his knight in shining armor that he says has saved him in so many ways... and yet fandom wants to disregard that? just bc finn is skinny doesn't mean that mike isn't who he is. it doesn't mean that mike isn't capable and that he isn't the hero here. They Are Literally Characters they are not real they are not finn and noah they are CHARACTERS

they cast someone that was two years younger than everyone else with the babiest of babie faces for will because they wanted him to look a certain way and then when noah grew up they said they could either hide it or lean into it and guess what they did. they tried to hide it lmao. they put him in long sleeve shirts and baggy clothes (which laughably just made him look bigger lmao) and even asked noah to speak in a higher pitch. because guess what!!! noah is already not a Hypermasc Bodybuilder Worlds Strongest Man kind of guy, but will especially is NOT that. so why act like he is? will is Supposed to be the cute runt he represents so many things and included in that is innocence. everyone wants and has to protect him bc even though he's strong he still needs help. he cannot do this alone. the imagery of him being a speck compared to the mind flayer, a speck in the big big quarry, smaller than the rest of the party so much that he could literally disappear behind them, etc etc are all intentional.

like it just upsets me that noah gaining some muscle and growing taller made everyone turn will into someone that he isn't... there is nothing wrong with him being the way that he is and your body type does not change your entire fucking personality or life history....

(and you weren't being rude, you were just asking a question so don't even worry abt it!)

[inky-evergreen]

I JUST READ THE LATEST EPISODE OF EVERYTHING IS FINE AND OMG I FUCKING WON CHARLIE X JUDY IS CANNON LETS FUCKING GOOO‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[bearenjoyers]

sorry im just thinking about bcs but like. why not add a few smaller scenes of gus interacting with his own men? why does it seem like, in comparison, mike is almost immediately elevated to a higher status than those two in bcs purely because we actually get to see him having normal conversations with gus? like i understand they might not keep the plot moving as well because of the fact obviously if victor is currently doing something it’s because gus told him to etc. but for the most part all of the smaller interactions gus does have with those two ends up being in a somewhat high stress situation where it feels very tense between everyone. and it’s just like damn! is it always like that?? why do those two even care that much about their jobs if their boss is a bit of a dick? etc. i think even an additional scene or two with those guys (either alone or the both of them) talking with gus in a more normal situation could’ve both added a bit more depth into how gus treats his employees (we got a lot with how he treats lyle and co., but not a whole lot with the illegal side of things), how comfortable vic and tyrus feel around him in a calmer setting, and exactly why they both feel the need to be as loyal as they are to the guy.

and also on the other side of this i don't think it'd hurt to maybe elaborate on their pay just a bit..? i'm not saying to randomly put a number out into the atmosphere but i just mean some smaller things like. do they buy nicer things for themselves? what's their housing situation? what's their car situation? are the escalade / yukon their own vehicles or does gus just use those two for business situations? do they use them when they're doing their own stuff off the clock or do they have their own cars? etc. that can also help with understanding their motivations a bit. don't get me wrong i don't think they should be visibly rich or something because that's not what gus would want but just smaller things! cause it's easy to write their loyalty off as Well they probably get paid super well, which i'm sure is true, but if they don't show a single hint of that then what's the point. even something as simple as giving tyrus a nice watch, or maybe victor having a nicer looking gun, etc. something small like that. because as it stands right now the average 41 year old viewer who watched the show once only knows and will only ever know victor and tyrus as those two guys in the background who do random stuff for gus with no clear motivation. just the personification of "On it boss (salute emoji)". and to be honest this is true for a whole lot of fans who do watch the show multiple times and enjoy thinking about it more in depth, because on screen we barely have anything about the two.

and to be clear i'm not trying to say we should have an episode just for them or something like no i understand they're side characters. i understand we don't need all that. and i understand this is also primarily Jimmy's show. but it's not like these two are on the same level as like, arlo or paige and kevin etc. these guys have been around since brba. victor was literally introduced in the same episode gus was. and they are a huge part of gus's story, especially in brba. s4 wouldn't have been what it was without victor and tyrus. and in bcs, ignacio's situation wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for victor and tyrus as well. and i just personally believe that if their goal with gus in bcs was to go back and elaborate on how everything came to be and show what he was like a few years younger, they could've dragged victor and tyrus into that. and i think his character would've benefited from taking that extra step with those two.

[brionysea]

if mike was straight, stranger things would've ended after season 2

[the-unofficial-village-idiot]

I know you're just supposed to give and give and give and give without ever asking for or expecting anything in return, but I don't know how you guys do it. Don't you ever want someone to pretend to care about a word you say, or to reciprocate even a little of what you put it? Maybe that's selfish, but whatever. I'm just so fucking tired of one-sided friendships

[autumn-applepie]

University ever pushes you so low you have to go buy a couple of beers? /srs/neg

I'm gonna vent in the tags for a moment humor me for once /gen

[lighthouseas]

absolutely infuriating to me when people do not understand basic storytelling

[scover-va]

I need to know more about Michael's mom... Is she a cool mom?

SHE IS A VERY COOL MOM janet afton you will always be famous. to me

Im taking this as a chance to finally ramble abt her anyways so Janet's core inspo when designing her was to avoid 2 key things. Don't make her like Immortal & Th Restless's Clara (due to clara representing michael, not mrs afton, so i wanted to avoid that), and don't base her too heavily off of Ballora. I still have ties to Ballora's character (a music-based theme, blue-centric colour palette, im sure there were more basic ideas but everything else is more hc than themes to keep up) due to my hc thingy of each Funtime having ties to William's wife + kids, but yknow.

But yeah. Funky lady who played bass guitar + did backup vocals in a band during her high school and college years. Literally her and William dating can be summed up by "Seriously, what do you see in that guy?!" "He makes me laugh." bc she was and is WAY out of his goddamn league. Not just bc of the whole serial killer thing he was just an even bigger loser in college. Normal people dont develop a crush on a woman after she nearly breaks your nose and makes you bleed, William /j

But yeah uhh. I also dont like the idea of her being absent or neglectful purely because I got way too attached to her (i was originally gonna do that just to make things easy for myself but. Pretty lady,,, I am a very simple lesbian what can i say) so like. She obviously wasnt the greatest, most fantastic mom to ever exist given she was kinda maybe sorta well aware William was making some weird fucking clowns, but like. Hey. She tried. Also side note my reasoning for her being absent during the whole. Yknow. '83 event (and just evan's bday in general) is bc Evan + Elizabeth are twins and Elizabeth demanded a girls-only trip for her bday, and Janet promised Evan she'd do something just as special for him when she got back. That never happened bc he died lmao loser /j

But yeah uhh. Shes got a lot of regrets. Wishes she coulda done a lot of things better. Kinda dies with those regrets. Ive seen people say that one of fnaf's charms is that no character is 100% good and i LOVE that, and wanted to keep it up with Janet. Good mom and overall a good person, however made some bad decisions along the way and whatnot.

Im still working out specifics (ive been slowly working on a lil private fic abt her and william meeting + their early relationship) but uhhh. Minor notes that dont get their own paragraphs is that William sampled her voice for Ballora so yay easy voice claim, she had an on and off relationship with her band's lead singer (her name's Bev), her birth name is actually Janice Schmidt but if you call her Janice she'll knock at least 2 of ur teeth out, she's a runaway teen and got adopted by this older couple bc her home life kinda sucked (idk specifics yet), and also girlie has an extensive criminal record of minor angsty teen type charges. Also teen Mike dying his hair and then 2020's Michael's hairstyle are both kinda references to Janet's hair because he wnated to look less like his father. Thats all ty. No read more bc you WILL look at my mrs afton post, boy /j

Actually no theres more that im remembering as i write the tags and edit a few details. Back to her and William because god im insane about them. So for starters it. Well i was gonna say Janet was def the first to flirt but i think William definitely developed a crush first and they only kept talking bc of said crush so its kinda up for debate. Anyways yeah at first it was a HUGE sorta like "Well he's funny especially when I fluster him so this can be just a fun lil thing" but because they chatted more they def kinda like. Clicked more. William was a huge fan of listening to her music (from. a distance. he looked kinda like a creep but at least janet only misinterpreted it once) but like *specifically* janet he didnt give a fucking shit abt the rest of the band. Uhh. They had their first run-in and janet kinda. Well. Punched him in the nose before he cleared up that he is NOT a pervert or anything weird like that (bc a guy that looks older than he is staring from a distance when there is a clear crowd he could join kinda gave janet the Wrong idea), then they later bumped into each other in the hall and chatted for a bit, then they kinda just kept "accidentally" running into one another. Uhhh. Some cigaerette-themed flirting and a house party later, yay dating :] can you tell where the current cut-off of the fic is /j Also idk how to put this down properly but they are both runaways and can kinda. Get that vibe from one another. Literally Michael is like some fucked up abomination of the both of them between the troubled past + weird situationship thing + runaway stuff + a lot of minor details that arent important rn. I just. Yeah Janet means the world to me go thru her tag on my blog for some art. Not all of my janet art is posted but the non-posted stuff is all concept work/doodles or just. Shit im too embarrassed to post lmao. Anyways NOW im done ty for reading

[astrobei]

a while ago @elekinetic asked me to expand on my complicated feelings regarding ted wheeler and it wasn’t until i saw this post by @booksandpaperss that i was finally able to articulate what it was about ted wheeler that put me off so much:

he’s just really fucking clueless.

here’s the thing right, is that contrasted with the violent, abusive, asshole male characters we see in the show— lonnie, billy, brenner— ted wheeler’s character is almost comical. he’s a caricature of the typical 80s husband and father. and on the surface level, this is supposed to be funny or whatever, like, ooh, he’s just some guy, and maybe mike and nancy don’t talk to their parents but the byers’ dad was straight up abusive so it’s better than that. but consider: nancy is literally terrified of growing up to marry someone like her dad and living out a life like her parents (aka why the six little nuggets monologue effectively extinguished any of steve’s chances of getting her back). mike goes to his mom for comfort a few times, and they’re not close either, but we never see him have an interaction with his dad that isn’t hostile or painfully neutral. and ted and holly seem to have an okay relationship, but i’m attributing this to the fact that holly hasn’t yet grown into a person with her own opinions like nancy or mike, so ted finds it easier to be around her because she doesn’t talk back and she doesn’t really have a lot of feelings on things and she’s like a sort of blank slate before she comes into her own.

so this is the problem: he’s just totally checked out. karen can’t ever count on him to support her because he has no idea what’s going on. when he does step in, he does nothing but escalate the situation, usually for mike (“you see michael? this is what happens.”/“it’s strike twenty. if it’d been my coach, you’d be lucky to still be on the team.”) he’s had like, zero interactions with nancy which is maybe the whole point on its own.

and maybe this isn’t articulating my feelings in the most eloquent way but like the tags on the aforementioned post said: yeah maybe this isn’t the worst thing ted wheeler could do, but it doesn’t mean it’s good. there’s a permanent sort of silence that seems to linger over the wheeler house, why even though they have a clean kitchen and a basement and fancy plates at the dining table, the byers’ house is infinitely more homey than theirs. why even though karen obviously tries, sometimes trying isn’t good enough, because she defers to ted every time. having a parent be totally clueless and totally checked out really fucking sucks and it shows.

(and to sum it up: my dad thinks ted wheeler is the funniest and most relatable guy ever so that’s all i really have to say on the subject)