#is that mike never gives will the impression him and el were romantic

[chirpsythismorning]

"See, I was thinking, once all this is over and Will’s back and you’re not a secret anymore, my parents can get you an actual bed for the basement. Or you can take my room if you want, since I’m down there all the time anyways. My point is, they’ll take care of you. They’ll be like your new parents, and Nancy, she’ll be like your new sister."

"I mean what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? That we were just gonna sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives?"

"And then I was thinking maybe you could come up here for Christmas. And Will, too. You can come before or after Christmas, or whatever Mrs. Byers wants, but I was thinking Christmas Day could be super fun, because we'd all have cool new presents to play with and... Uh. Sorry, that made me sound like a seven-year-old."

Something something Mike thinking about being in his basement with Will for the rest of his life and thinking it's childish, even going as far as to call it stupid...

[glisten-inthedark]

Sorry if this is a mess I’m using voice to text lol

I think one thing that gets really easily forgotten about Mike and El’s relationship in season four is that everyone was under the impression/hope that the upside down stuff was done for and resolved. Which means that the buyers moved to California was expected to be permanent. They come back to Hawkins to visit, but California was their new home.

Which I feel like in turn made Mike feel like breaking up with El wasn’t an option, because he genuinely wants her to be in his life, and breaking up with her while they are long distance means that him visiting them had the potential to be extremely awkward, especially if Mike wholeheartedly believes that El is in love with him and that breaking up with her would break her heart and potentially make her not want to see him again. And if Mike was aware of his feelings for Will, more than just experiencing the feelings and being in denial or repressing them, then that’s even more of a reason that he wouldn’t want to go visit after breaking up with, because he would be experiencing a lot of shame and guilt with the boy that he’s in love with the boy he’s in is the brother of the sister he broke up with and broke her heart.

I seriously think that this is an added layer to everything that doesn’t get addressed a lot, that Mike is clinging onto his relationship with El because he feels like the alternative is losing her completely including her friendship which he genuinely values. Not losing her to the upside down or in a romantic sense, but to distance and to California.

We know as the audience that of course they’re gonna come back to Hawkins and be involved in the upside down shenanigans, but Mike starts the season completely unaware of this and completely under the impression that if you were to break up with El, he may never see her again. And like I said earlier, him breaking up with El potentially make him visiting to see Will potentially more awkward, because even if we audience members and we Byler shippers fully believe that El would take a break up better than Mike thinks and that they would be better off as friends, Mike doesn’t know that and it is completely understandable for Mike to have the fear that El would, hate him or not want to be friends with him and they’ll just become exes. And if visiting Will becomes too awkward, and Mike stops visiting or will stops visiting, then Mike would also be losing Will by breaking up with El.

I just think that there are a lot of things that Mike probably feels guilt and anxiety about that we the audience know would be OK in the long run, like his friendship with El won’t be destroyed, and in fact will be strengthened by them breaking up, but I am not surprised if Mike thinks the complete opposite.

Hello!! How are you?

This is such a good point though, because I didn't even think about it until now but you're absolutely right!

Is definitely an added layer to a situation that is already incredibly hard to navigate. Like you said, he is afraid of losing El - for x and y reasons -, but the distance would definitely be another thing to give him anxiety about.

I totally think Mike feels guilty about having feelings for Will, not only because of internalized homophobia but because let's be real, this is some soap opera level of shenanigans of him being in love with his girlfriend step brother -.

It'd definitely make him question what kind of person he is and make visiting extreme harrowing for him because he'd also have nothing to hide behind and would mean facing and acknowledging his feelings.

[sacredindigos]

i think mlvns bought the monologue just because they completely throw out and ignore all the context behind it. they think "oh well he said it so it MUST be the truth" and they disregard all the canon information and events that were given to us leading up to the monologue.

LIKE:

mike avoided saying he loved her or writing "love" in his letters to her even tho she had been saying she loved him for months. he didn't say it or write it and he made her feel unloved for MONTHS.

when confronted about never saying he loved her, he acted like he had something to hide. he got defensive and insulted her and tried to blame other people and change topics. he never insinuated to her or to the audience that he does love her.

he admitted to will TWICE that he felt like he should have just told her what she wanted to hear or should have "explained himself" JUST SO she wouldn't have left him behind. not because he would have meant it or because that is how he actually feels for her. no he was fully preparing himself to tell her what she wanted even if he didn't mean it just so she wouldn't leave his ass.

it was heavily implied that mike is scared to tell el the truth about his feelings towards her because he thinks she won't like the truth. el wanted him to love her ... he thinks she won't like the truth ... pretty self explanatory.

he is scared of losing her and scared of her not needing him. he wants to be important enough to her or at least be able to offer her something she needs or wants just so she won't leave him.

mike could only say he loved her when her life was on the line, when will was pressuring him into saying something to help her, and after being reminded of will's speech in the van (where mike was under the impression that el does need him romantically)

things he said in the monologue directly contradict what we saw leading up to the monologue AND from past seasons. there were noticeably detectable LIES.

like ... idk about yall but none of that to ME seems like mike is in love with el. to ME it seems like mike is aware he isn't in love with el and doesn't know how to tell her. and he cares about el so much and he doesn't want to lose her so instead of telling her the truth, he is willing to try and give her whatever she wants or needs (which he thinks is his love) even if it can't be given genuinely just so he can keep her in his life and make her happy. like he cares about her SO much and is so scared of losing her that he's willing to force himself into "loving her" and into giving her what she wants/expects from him if it means he won't lose her/she won't leave him. he's willing to live a lie to make her happy and to keep her. and that is born from (as other people before me have said) his trauma and guilt over her fake death in s1 and this borderline unhealthy attachment he has formed to her over the years. THAT is what it seems like to me.

so i can never view the monologue as a genuine declaration of love. i can only view the monologue as something depressing. because mike is having to lie just so he won't lose el. he is feeling pressured into loving her and into giving her what she wants. it's sad as fuck.

[kuumara]

Mike Wheeler h♥tes rodents

Max, Lucas, El, Dustin, Mike and Will are hanging out at the all-new, premium Castle Byers. Well- Minus Will. He just excused himself and went to the Byers' house. This is happening more and more, ever since summer break started and they've all been hanging out 'til dark.

Mike doesn't like that. He wants to softly say goodnight to Will when the party all part ways for the night and they walk behind the others, in their own little world... Wants to hug him goodbye and linger for just a beat too long... And just generally be with him longer (yes, he has made up romantic scenarios about them. They won't be fictional for long, though, he thinks).

But now he can't, since Will leaves an hour earlier than everyone else. And if he said goodbye every time he excused himself- what would Will think? That Mike doesn't want to see him for the rest of the night and that he's rude. And Mike wants the opposite of that.

So, it's natural that when this happens tonight, he excuses himself as well to follow Will. The others give him a smug look. What?! Mom said I need to come early tonight. Shut up, Max!

As he's following Will to the house, he is barely catching up with him. Will is damn near sprinting. And Mike's never been the athletic type (Will is though, his brain smugly remarks. He can't get a break from all the teasing even in his own head!)

When Mike gets to the house, he's already lost Will. But he knows he went here. He heard doors closing. He knocks on the door. Joyce opens. Mike puts on his best good-boy impression, saying Will forgot something and Joyce is left charmed (It's not really all an act, Mike just says it is so others don't make fun of him) and lets him in. She says Will went to his bedroom.

"He's been very tired, since you guys run around all day! Don't work him too hard from now on," she says. Mike knows this is suspicious, Will's been the one to always drag them around town all day.

When Mike enters Will's room, quietly in case he really is just sleeping, and slowly in case Will has a- a girl over. As much as Mike hates to think about it, it's still not too far-fetched. I mean, they're 17 now. Mike wishes they were still 7. When he could hold Will's hand and not think too hard about it, when they could still share a bed at sleepovers. Not that Mike would mind it, or Will. The others might, however. Mike finally opens the door.

...there's a bunny on Will's bed. It's just sitting there. No sight of Will, just an open window. Maybe he went outside? I knew it, Mike thinks. He's got a girlfriend. I'm such a creep. Why did I ever thing it was okay for me to think about-

The bunny was staring at Mike, scared. It had thick brown fur, and it's ears were giant. Like, twice the length of the rabbit. Probably.

Mike stared back for a while. Then, he closed the door behind him, since Joyce is probably wondering why're they so quit for so long.

Mike came closer to the bunny, it still being scared. He stared at it suspiciously, kneeling down, leaning his elbows on Will's bed. Mike didn't know what to do.

So he just stared at it until he could hear the others' voices from outside the window, and decided to bolt. He didn't want them to see him and be suspicious.

The next time he saw the bunny, was when he and Will were having a sleepover a few weeks later. He hasn't forgotten about it, no, the opposite actually- he was watching Will very closely and asking him about... girls which had made Will look at him weird every time.

It was just them. Mike liked to have one-on-one time with Will, he was like a drug addict to his attention. They were just making up a premise for a new D&D campaign, when Mike had to go downstairs because his mom was calling him. Will laughed at him as Mike rolled his eyes, and when Mike came back up to his room, all excited to tell Will a joke he'd just remembered, there was no Will to be found. Just an open window and below it, the damn rabbit.

Alright now this was getting really suspicious. Will wouldn't've just left Mike! He's not like that-

The bunny started jumping around, and it was quite loud. The thumping of it's big feet is causing a ruckus, and Mike doesn't want someone to come in and see a rabbit instead of Will. So, he picks it up and tries to restrain it. The bunny goes limp the second Mike brings it to his chest, squeezing lightly. Mike got scared he suffocated the poor thing- but it was looking at him with big, cute eyes and Mike decided he liked rabbits now.

He waited by the open window for a while, and called Will over phone and walkie. No one picked up. Guess it's just him and the rabbit now, he sighed and scratched the fluffball, lazily lounging on Mike's bed.

Mike soon decided that it's not worth it, and closed the window. He'll give Will a piece of his mind in the morning. He covered himself with blankets, still sharing a bed with the rabbit. It basically never took it's eyes off him, and Mike covered it with the covers as well. Eventually, he fell asleep after hours of feeling like a schizophrenic patient.

It's morning now- the sun has just started to rise. Mike would never in his right mind wake up this early. But he didn't wake up voluntarily- low humming was filling the room, waking him up. Mike thought it was just his ears, but then from behind his back soft light started to glow. Mike, of course, got scared as shit and jumped to turn around. And where there was a bunny just last evening, there was something glowing under the covers.

The light eventually stopped, Mike staring there eyes and mouth wide open the whole time, and-

And Will peeked from underneath them. Mike almost screamed, but was too breathless for that.

Will smiled up at him nervously and apologetically. Mike was still laying there, breathless, facing Will.

A shirtless Will, to be exact. When Mike noticed that, he finally regained consciousness and became way too aware of the little bit of space between them- the bunny was small, but Will was a lot bigger than a bunny. Mike backed away with light-speed, and fell off the bed. Hitting his head on the night stand in the process.

"Jesus! Are you alright?!" Will leaned over the side of the bed. Mike was feeling dizzy, and he couldn't open his eyes- or his vision was black.

Will covered himself with a blanket and came to sit next to Mike. He lifted Mike's head up, gently feeling for blood or injury at the back of his head. And Mike was making nonsensical noises, which Will laughed at nervously.

"Wait- wait here," Will said now, rushing to get his clothes from his backpack. He put them on, despite Mike still being in the room with him. Then he went somewhere, and returned a moment later with a wet towel which he then held over the bump at the back of Mike's head.

That helped, and Mike could experience being held by Will in full consciousness. He was staring at him with wide, shocked (lovestruck) eyes, Will staring back, concerned and increasingly more nervous.

Then, Mike's mom came in and took over, and he went to the hospital. Thankfully his skull is thick, so he didn't get any bad injuries- except his mind being screwed up because of that rabbit- Will? Will-rabbit?? Willbit?

"Yeah- believe it or not," Will chuckled, after explaining everything about his rabbit form to Mike in his basement. Mike was shocked- baffled- awestruck-

"So how- How did I not see that earlier?" Mike whined, feeling like he hasn't been paying enough attention to Will for all his life, despite wanting him to pay attention to him, which made him feel like the most selfish idiot in the galaxy-

"It comes with puberty, I guess," Will shrugged. He clearly didn't think it was a big deal. "It's stupid, I know-" he chuckled, and locked eyes with now less-shocked Mike.

"Does that mean werewolves exist, too?" Mike asked, a bit scared now. Will tensed, and nodded.

"Yeah. And a bunch of other abominations, too," he said, jokingly. But Mike didn't like Will talking about himself like that; his confidence has gotten better this past year, but before he used to always tell self-deprecating jokes, and Mike never got used to knowing Will actually thought about himself in that way. The sweet, nice, perfect, beautiful, funny, smart, snarky, talented Will.

"You're not an abomination," said Mike with a hurt expression, and held Will's wrist. The latter looked at him surprised, and then smiled fondly.

"I know," he said, and squeezed Mike's hand in return. They sat in silence for a bit, hand in hand.

"Can you turn on command, or something?" Mike asked, and Will snorted.

"No," he said, simply. "It's not really a pleasant process, to experience or to watch," he said. Mike felt bad. Will noticed, squeezed his hand some more.

"Well. It's not that bad. You get used to it. And I really can't turn on command, only when it's less than half a moon in the sky." He rushed to comfort Mike. But Mike felt embarrassed now, he should be the one comforting Will.

So he did what he's wanted to all summer- he hugged him, and he planned on letting go after a while. But then Will hugged him back, and melting into him wasn't a part of Mike's plan.

--

@light-lanterne came up w this idea

anyway i wanted to write more but im sick and my head hurts so my thoughts dont work... but feel free to come up wit ur own bunny will shenanigans mayb write a fic if u wanna😳 i want more willunny propaganda

[dukeofdelirium]

The thing is that Mike and El fundamentally misunderstand one another and don’t really have any desire to understand the other. They show no interest in learning anything about the other on a deeper level. In s4, El decides the things they’re going to do together as a way of spending quality time together, but that’s the problem… she decides without asking Mike and the things she lists off show how she has no idea who he is or what he enjoys. These are not things Mike would do if he had a say. She only decides to go to that roller rink because she hopes it will make her seem cool, and that’s all she cares about in regards to Mike. Seeming cool to him because he has idolized her as a “super hero”

Even when it comes to their dramatic reunions and moments of seeming happiness as a couple, we are always tipped off and shown that actually, that happy relationship we are being shown isn’t real. Mike and El look happy on the surface, but they’re not and they’ve never been.

At the snowball, Mike was sitting completely alone watching people dance including his friends with a very concerning expression on his face.

But we aren’t allowed to see what he’s really feeling and we aren’t allowed to know what he’s thinking about. But when El enters said dance, it gives you the impression that he is using her in this moment to sweep said thoughts and feelings under the rug. I mean, he goes from this ^ to plastering a smile on his face and playing this role of perfect romantic date at cliche school dance in a matter of seconds lol

In the same season, when they have that dramatic reunion when she walks into the Byers house, he flat out lies to her face by saying he always believed she was alive and that he never gave up hope. Yet we as the audience know he very much did believe she was dead and that he voiced this belief to both Will and Max on separate occasions.

In s3, El just decides they’re a couple again without actually asking Mike first or even talking about it prior from what we can gather. The moment is further soiled by the fact that Mike lies to her again. He pretends he doesn’t know what she’s talking about because he wants to act like it never happened; sweep it under the rug. And then she just straight up kisses him without warning and we visibly see him not kiss back and he has his eyes wide open the entire time

Seriously, this makes me feel so uncomfortable 😭

Then she says she loves him and he doesn’t even reply 😭😭😭😭😭 and he looks confused as hell. She says she loves him purely because he blurted it out when she wasn’t supposed to hear and it was something he clearly didn’t mean, at least not romantically. This is after they’ve had virtually zero positive interaction.

In s4, they reunite dramatically in the desert and act happy and loving but we literally know that Mike was JUST talking about how insecure he felt being with El and how unhappy he is and also how he views their entire relationship as being “simple dumb luck”.

It’s interesting that he defines his relationship with El that way but when speaking about his relationship with Will, he defines it as “the best thing I’ve ever done.” As in, El is dumb luck bestowed upon him and he feels the pressure to be with her because it’s expected vs Will was a conscious choice he made that he also doesn’t regret.

They also don’t even make up during this whole reunion. They don’t even speak about their issues or if so, we aren’t allowed to see it on screen. What a great couple <3333

Hell, even in s1 they were bad. Mike was pressured to have romantic feelings for her by not just Dustin but specifically Lucas and even Nancy. Mike slaps and screams at El multiple times. El threatens his and his loved ones lives. Mike says he views her as his ultimate weapon he can use to rescue Will. He pushes her to use her powers to the max and then feels guilty when he believes she dies. El tries to tell Mike she understands his bullying dilemma but she legitimately doesn’t 😂 Mike feels forced to act like a caregiver toward her but in reality doesn’t give much of a fuck about her until after she lets him know that she knows how to help Will, which is the entire reason he even allows her to stick around.

And this isn’t even getting into the fact that El asked “will you be like my brother?” 2 seconds before Mike kissed her (and she also had no idea what kissing even was beforehand)

Imagine believing the Duffers are writing a five-season slow burn rejection of a gay teen. A gay teen who has been bullied by his dad and peers and tortured by supernatural entities. A gay teen who canonically feels like a mistake except for when he's with the best friend he fell in love with.

Imagine thinking that would be good writing.

[paintingformike]

actual canon and factual things found in the show itself that reveals the red flags and problems of mileven and shows how they’ve been treating byler’s relationship way more seriously and as a healthier relationship that directly contrasts mileven:

mike’s place in his relationship with el is the source of his insecurities. he constantly tries to be another person in order to impress el and feel worthy of her, as he feels inferior in their relationship (he even admits it himself, calls himself a “random nerd” that can’t begin to hold up to her level). it would be all fine and dandy if it was actually el herself that reassured him that it doesn't matter and that she’d love him either way, but it was will comforting him instead, the selfless pining love interest that prioritizes his happiness over everything else.

will, the second love interest, was the only person who gave mike needed reassurance and comfort throughout the entire season and he’s seemingly the only person mike is able to open up to and be vulnerable with. he continuously fails to actually communicate and express himself to his own girlfriend, but spends the entire season doing the exact opposite with will.

mike and el don't seem to be able to connect and level with each other the way will and mike can. in the mileven season 4 argument, el goes out of her way to tell mike that he will never understand her struggles, even though he has also been bullied his entire life. she feels different from him. however, mike and will don't even need words in order to understand each other (“i didn’t say it” “you didn’t have to”). they see each other as equals in every sort of way (“i think it’ll be easier if we’re a team”).

lumax and mileven this season were both written to have major relationship problems, but the difference is that lucas and max solved their issues with proper communication and didn't need to have other people involved in the mending of their relationship. however, when they seemingly “fixed” mileven’s relationship, they made the conscious writing decision to make will be the one to push mike to talk to el in the hopes that his words would help her survive. it wasn’t something mike himself planned, he was just prompted to do something. will was also the one who talked mike through his insecurities in the van when he was on the verge of giving up on his relationship, convincing him that el still needed him. it wasn’t the words of his own girlfriend that made mike feel cherished, loved and needed, but will’s. they effectively tied the second love interest so deeply into the narrative direction of mike and el’s relationship so that he’s the sole reason they’re still holding up right now. mike would’ve never done anything if it hadn’t been for will reassuring him that his relationship with el still had a chance, since he wholeheartedly believed that el didn’t need him anymore. but will lied and masked his own feelings in order to achieve this. how does will know for sure that what he was saying about el was what she truly felt? how do we know for sure that mike wouldn’t start questioning his relationship with her once the truth is revealed, and that everything he believed to be el’s feelings were actually will’s?

the writing choices made for mileven seems to contradict how they’ve been writing the other good canon couples in the show. jancy, lumax, and jopper have never needed verbal expressions of “i love you” to affirm that the romantic love is very much still felt from them. it is shown, not told. so what does it mean when el seemingly needs a verbal affirmation of love from mike in order to feel secure in their relationship and feel romantically loved by him? why can't they just prove it through their actions and their moments together? and no, you can't just use the “every relationship is different” reasoning, because these are characters from a piece of media and a show/series, not real life people, meaning their has to be a specific pattern followed by the writers in portraying real, authentic relationships. mileven shares little to no similarities with the other relationships they’ve built up over the seasons, but is eerily similar to stancy, a relationship that was portrayed to be shallow and ultimately failed to last. they’re also the only relationship to be portrayed as a “love at first sight” trope, while all the other relationships are built on a developing friendship and are somewhat slowburn (including byler when they eventually become canon).

since season 3, they have been directly contrasting how mike deals with conflict between will and el, and everytime he has a fight with el, he also coincidentially has one with will. they also all happen back-to-back, meaning you’re meant to compare them as opposing parallels.

with el, mike would deflect blame and has to be pushed by other people to apologize and take action. in season 3, he was complaining and wondering what he did wrong and needed lucas to constantly coach him through confronting el, and in season 4 he blamed outside forces like “mouthbreathers” for ruining their relationship when the main problem was with himself. this time, he never apologized to her at all (although you could argue he was about to do it in the surfer boy pizza scene but was ultimately interrupted).

with will, mike immediately takes responsibility for his own actions and doesn’t need to be pushed by other people to apologize to him. in season 3, he bikes through the pouring rain and calls himself the asshole for going too far, and in season 4, he looks affronted at the mere idea of will thinking he deserved the treatment he got from him, and calls himself the self-pitying idiot for the way he acted towards will.

it is undeniable that all the intimate heart-to-hearts between mike and will this season were portrayed to have romantic undertones. oh, but aren’t they just two completely platonic besties that happened to be glued next to each other throughout the majority of the season while most of the other characters played a role in the supernatural plot? where’s the proof that their scenes were meant to be read romantically? well, an obvious romantic trope where they were constantly interrupted from staring intently at each other was used across all their crucial scenes together, which is something they’ve only done with canon couples in the show 🤔

meanwhile, will sabotaged the few moments that mileven had together in season 4, and they never got to be alone except for their fight. and if you really think about it, even in the past seasons, mileven moments are mostly very lighthearted or comedic and almost always in public spaces where they never get to have serious, deeper and meaningful conversations (especially in season 3 when their relationship was played as a joke), while the majority of important byler moments are private and its always them having a genuine heart-to-heart with each other. there’s underlying tension in their scenes that isn’t present in most mileven scenes.

think long and hard enough on why mike was purposefully separated from el for the majority of the season and they had him spend the most time talking about his feelings to will, while showing how somehow, the second love interest knows exactly how to reassure him through his problems the way his own girlfriend has never actually shown to be doing before. while they gave the person in the middle major problems with the person he’s currently in a relationship with, they simultaneously developed his relationship with the second love interest and built up romantic tension between them. it’s literally a writing technique and a way of showing which would actually be the more compatible partner for the one in the middle, no matter how you look at it.

“ok, but didn’t mike already say ily to el? theres no chance byler is gonna happen when theyve already fixed their relationship” maybe i’d buy it if they decided to do this in the last season, where there’d be no more room left to doubt. however, there’s still an entire season left which also happens to be will’s coming of age season, meaning anything could happen and the trajectory could completely change. trope subversions and plot twists exist, and coincidentially, little women was in the inspiration board for season 4 wherein one person in the middle of a love triangle declared a love confession towards the one person people thought he’d end up with, but the story still went a complete 180° and he ended up with her sibling instead (who happens to be a painter like will 🤔), when the story was nearing towards the end. sound familiar? maybe you shouldn’t get too cozy and comfortable when the writers have said they are going to complete will’s arc and tie all loose ends, meaning the relationships will continue to develop while the chararacters interact with each other over the course of an apocalyptic setting. they aren’t just gonna spend the entire season fighting monsters, their personal relationships are obviously gonna continue to move forward in the plot, especially when the major villain of the story also takes advantage of their personal traumas and histories to prey on them. their personal arcs are still tied to the supernatural plot, one way or another.

[thranduel]

the first time we see will smile in the show is with mike when they’re playing d&d. the first time we see el smile in the show is without mike (she smiles because of benny).

will’s first word to mike was “yes”. el’s first word to mike was “no”.

will was devastated every time he was without mike. el was the happiest she had ever been when she was without mike.

after mike and will’s fight, will looked at a photo with mike in it and started crying because he was so heartbroken. after mike and el broke up, el was with max and they were laughing and looking at photos of other boys in magazines.

will called mike’s name when he was stuck in the upside down. mike immediately found him after searching everywhere and helped him break out of the trance, before checking if he was okay and taking him back to his basement. el called mike’s name when she was stuck in the upside down. mike wasn’t around. she found her own way out and didn’t need him.

will can be his true self with mike without hiding. he even said that mike doesn’t make him feel like a mistake and he makes him feel better for being different. el can’t be her true self with mike and feels like she needs to lie in order to impress him. she also said “you think i’m a monster” and pointed out the way he looked at her at the roller rink when he was angry at her.

will never gave up on mike and stayed by his side even after their argument. he understood when mike was struggling, accepted his genuine apology and even gave him strength and motivation in the van by giving him the painting and confessing his own feelings for him. this made mike feel so much better. he felt confident about himself and so loved because of will (and will is the only person that has ever made him feel this way). el decided to leave mike and go with owens after their argument even though she was warned she might not ever see him again. she believed mike wasn’t being genuine with her, not giving her the love she deserved and left him a note saying “from, el”, giving him a taste of his own medicine (like what max taught her). this made mike feel insecure and unloved (and although this isn’t el’s fault and i completely understand her side, it’s important to remember that mike has been insecure about himself and has felt inferior to her ever since this relationship started. neither of them have felt like equals and they’re not genuinely happy while dating each other. they can’t even communicate properly or resolve their own issues. that’s why they’ve both been insecure and struggling mentally for years and why they constantly lie to each other. they’re trying so hard to convince themselves that they’re happy when they can’t even be themselves with each other and barely know anything about each other).

and people still have the audacity to say that mike and will don’t need each other and don’t work well together? they are literally the two characters in the show that understand each other better than anyone else!! they DO need each other and they can give each other the love they want, it’s literally in the show!!!!! i cannot believe some people want to continue forcing mike and el in a relationship where they can’t even be themselves with each other, while will, an abused and traumatised gay child, would end up suffering alone AGAIN with unrequited love for his best friend? like are you kidding me? that’s the worst outcome for these poor kids. el has been shown to be happy without mike and at this point in her story, it’s obvious she doesn’t need a romantic relationship because it’s clearly not working (and a forced monologue doesn’t change any of that or resolve their issues). will on the other hand is struggling with who he is and needs mike by his side, and mike also needs will because he is the only person that he can be his true self with that can make him feel good about himself.

so how can people say that will can just “move on” when he’s clearly more devastated and affected when he’s without mike, while el on the other hand has been shown to be completely fine without him (even happier in fact)? will has never been okay with leaving mike but el has. people think that will’s love for mike is just some “little crush” when he’s been in love with him since the beginning and it’s always been planned that way. mike has always been will’s safe place. he was his first friend and the first person he ever fell in love with. el may have needed mike at one point, but not as a boyfriend, just as a friend to help her. it’s clear she doesn’t need or care about that type of love anymore and a relationship is the least of her concerns, especially after how she wasn’t getting the love she deserved and mike was forced into saying “i love you” (and then proceeded to lie throughout his monologue… she deserves SO much better than that).

mike and will have always been more compatible and the way mike treats will is different to how he treats everyone else (like come on, he even has a will voice that he only uses with him). they’re childhood best friends with 10+ years of history, proper build up and they actually understand each other and can be themselves with each other. there’s trust, honesty, communication, feeling like equals, safety and comfort, having meaningful heart-to-heart conversations, being genuine and many more things in this relationship that mike and el just simply don’t have. there’s always been a major difference between both of these relationships and it’s been shown since day one.

[eclipsebyler]

It's insane that most of Byler's heartwarming moments and quotes are initiated and said by Mike Wheeler and some people still think it's never going to be requited on his side.

"If we're both going crazy, we'll go crazy together, right?"

"Do you remember the first day that we met? .... I asked if you wanted to be my friend. You said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done." (This whole monologue, seriously)

"I've no idea what's gonna happen next. But whatever it is, I think we should work together. It'll be easier if we're a team. Friends. Best friends."

"Maybe I feel like I've lost you or something."

"It's Hawkins. It's not the same without you."

Notice how working together like a team is a present subtext to most canon relationships? It's not a one-sided give and take dynamic, not "I" or "You", but "Us". And Mike, when he talks to Will, always pertains to the both of them as a team- they need to be together, never dealing with things alone.

And thinking back to every moment in the show, Mike is always the first one to act and notice everything relating to Will.

Season 1 Mike who without hesitation initiated a search party for him and didn't give up on finding him, even when it's dangerous. Will being missing (and that fake death) affected him so much he shut himself off at first. He hangs and keeps a lot of Will's drawings, his admiration for his works evident. He's the first to defend him and wouldn't let Troy and the bullies badmouth him.

The entirety of Season 2 is just Mike's loyalty, care and thoughtfulness towards Will. It gives the impression that while the og party are all close friends, Mike and Will's bond is different and special. He stayed with Will all throughout the whole ordeal, always the first to notice when he was unusually quiet, gone, and acting differently. He trusts Will and is more open to him than to anyone else (and Will also trusts him the most). He's the one who pulls him out of his nightmares and visions. He literally never left Will's side and believed in him no matter what.

Season 3 Mike, even though he was mostly shown with El, never lost his soft spot for Will. He's still quick to notice whenever he isn't okay (at the cinema, during the Billy sauna fight, etc.). After their argument in the rain, he immediately went to apologize to him. It's like he can't take it if they're both upset at each other for too long. When the Byers were preparing to move, he got worried Will would move on from D&D or that he might find another party. He was the one lingering behind looking back at the house when they left, knowing how much memory it holds.

Season 4 Mike, despite their awkward and weird reunion (and prolonged tension), still notices Will even if Will just tried to fade in the background. After their fight at the rink, he also went and quickly reconciled with him the next day. He always found it the easiest to confide in Will with his feelings— his safe place—just like he is to Will. Will's monologue about him being the heart of the party meant the world to him. And by the end, when Will was clearly shown still being connected to the Upside Down, he sticks by his side again.

Whether it's platonic or romantic, no one can deny that Mike and Will share a long history and deep connection that they wouldn't ever have with anyone else. They've known each other for almost a decade.

It's not too farfetched that Mike can share Will's feelings and affection. He wouldn't reject Will when he finds out Will loves him. As a byler shipper, I may be biased to believe he already reciprocates it even. With how much he cares and initiates these moments with Will, I would even think he'll be the first to reveal he's in love with him and not the other way around.

But even from a non-shipper perspective, the 'they're-just-platonic-bestfriends' people: Mike still won't completely reject the idea of loving Will the same way. He just won't, not after his reaction to the veiled 'you're the heart' confession. And certainly not just judging by the way he holds the softest spot for this boy all throughout the show. If he does reject him though, we all know that's going to ruin their friendship and I don't think the writers would just do that?

Byler has such a great and high potential to be canon, whether you look at it in Will's or Mike's POV, and if they aren't, then that's a huge waste of building up such a beautiful bond.

And if they really didn't have a romantic subtext, why would they have so much focus with just the two of them? If they were platonic, why not include the other friends in their moments? Why would they have Will be canonically in love with him? If they did that just for another plot device and towards a rejection of all things, that would be so... I would never forgive them for that (less because they're my ship, but more on with how they handle Will's sexuality). It'll be such a harmful and disgusting narrative for many reasons.

So yeah, making them canon won't only wrap up both their character arcs beautifully, but also that would make better sense for the building up they've done throughout the show.

[strawberrybyers]

we’re constantly paralleling the mike/will/el love triangle to the other love triangles in stranger things, but in case that isn’t enough to prove that the dynamic between mike/will/el was created to bring mike and will together, then let’s parallel them to a friends-to-lovers slow burn couple that was in a love triangle and ends up together in the show good trouble (btw if you haven’t seen this show they do love triangles a lot so they’re pros at writing this dynamic)

the couple i am paralleling byler to is davia and dennis. the el in davia and dennis’ love triangle is ryan. throughout good trouble we know davia and dennis love each other and it’s a bit different compared to byler because they’ve confessed they love each other, but one of them always comes up with a reason as to why they wouldn’t work, so they were never official until the most recent episode :))

1. let’s look at the first parallel. davia was helping dennis with his grief over his son and she tells dennis that she feels like he doesn’t need her anymore because he’s doing better and she wants to be wanted, but she’s always there for him. they then do a close-up on their hands // mike is comforting will as he is struggling with the mindflayer and they also do a close-up of their hands

2. davia sees when ryan and dennis first meet and sees ryan give dennis her number. we see that davia looks upset by this because she still loves dennis and wants to tell him, but she constantly feels doubtful that he feels the same way // mike encourages will to go dance with a girl and even though the close-up of dustin is supposed to show he looks disappointed that lucas gets to dance with max, we also see mike making a similar facial expression. not to mention, will and the girl are more in the forefront of the shot compared to lucas and max, so this could be telling that mike feels upset he doesn’t get to dance with will

3. davia decides to encourage dennis to ask ryan out even though dennis gives an impression he’s unsure. he ends up asking ryan out, but we know that davia obviously doesn’t want dennis to ask her out but she felt like she had to encourage him to see if maybe there was a chance between them. dennis’ initial reluctance also tells the audience it’s not something he really wants to do or if he even liked ryan in the way davia is insinuating, but feels like maybe it’s a good idea since davia— the person he’s in love with— is encouraging him to do it // in the parallel above, mike encourages will to dance with the girl and we know will didn’t really want to, but does so because of mike. then we have will getting mike to say “i love you” to el even though that was never mike’s initial plan. he only said it because of will’s coded love confession and will telling him “you’re the heart”. mike is acting based on will just like dennis is acting based on davia

4. davia being shown in between ryan and dennis twice… first time seeing them have a great time and thinks they like each other and as you see she looks sadden by it. the second image is when ryan and dennis are dating and once again the framing of the shot has her in between them even though this is supposed to be some romantic moment between ryan and dennis because they’re dancing at a wedding // will in between mike and el looking at them have fun on their date as he’s in the back looking sad. in the second image, will is once again framed in between them even though it’s supposed to be a romantic, emotional moment between mike and el when they reunite

5. ryan finds out that dennis and davia used to have feelings for each other, but he reassures her and himself there’s nothing there anymore and reiterates that they’re friends twice even though we know that’s false because all the subtext shows he’s in love with davia // mike telling will that they’re friends twice to reassure himself that that’s probably all they’ll ever be. like this scene is so funny because will just wanted to know what happened to their friendship LOL he wasn’t asking because he thought there was a chance of something romantic going on

6. ryan asks dennis if he’s in love with her and look at his reply lmfao. “i don’t know what that means” like dude you either are or you aren’t, but we know he can’t say it or give an actual answer because he’s in love with davia and feels conflicted on what to say to ryan because he wants things to work with her because he believes he won’t get to be with davia // el questioning mike if he loves her because he doesn’t say it or write it and instead he deflects by asking “who said that i didn’t?”. this shows mike isn’t in love with el and as we’ve been saying, he’s going to try to make the relationship work because he feels like it’s what he has to do because he doesn’t see himself having a chance with will especially since will continued to be such a supporter of their relationship and tried to help fix their problems

7. dennis trying to make ryan think he does love her by just listing things about her that he likes, but she realizes he clearly doesn’t love her by doing this and they break up // mike listing things he likes about el, but obviously that is not good enough for el because she wants to hear mike say that he loves her, but instead he continues to blame other people. i didn’t include the scene, but it could be interpreted that el’s note to mike that says “from, el” could be her way of somewhat breaking up with him because she realizes he doesn’t love her

i couldn’t help but notice all these parallels as i was catching up on season 4 of good trouble. davia and dennis have been built up since the beginning and all the subtext and jealously they felt towards any of the partners they would have made it very apparent they were going to end up together and that they were in love. every audience member caught onto this. the difference with byler is that it’s between two boys so people refuse to see it.

i just think acknowledging parallels from another show is helpful because it shows what techniques filmmakers use to tell the audience something. like in the season 4 finale, davia and dennis end up confessing they love each other and it’s a really beautiful moment. they include a montage of all the scenes that showed the audience they were in love. and all i can think about is byler getting a sentimental love confession like that too. i want them to confess that they love each other and kiss and have a montage showing the audience that they’ve been IN LOVE this entire time!! and if the way they filmed the davia/dennis/ryan love triangle was to tell that davia and dennis are meant to be and they have so many similar moments to the mike/will/el love triangle, then that could only mean one thing, right? byler endgame.

[prinzessinpluto]

I mean if youlook at this this way, Jonathan had to go through his parents divorce, had to help her mum raise Will and then had to help her mum with grief in season one while grieving himself and then his younger brother who he loved dearly was possessed and then when things were going back to normal, he had a girlfriend he loved, a job he liked, his girlfriend got him fired from his job (I might be wrong here) that he needed to support his mum and all those things started happening again

And now he just feels like he needs to be there to protect his brother and his mum who tbh doesn't give two shits about him and he just doesn't know what to do

Also yes, Will is so in love with Mike it's painful

But also I don't think Mike is such a good boyfriend, I mean he tries that's for sure, but he can't say he loves El and didn't realise she was lying

Idk maybe it's just my Byler brain, but I don't like their relationship

Like El learned how to make out before she learned how to write and I think that's sad and that she doesn't really love Mike romantically as well, he's just familiar, he's always been there for her and she wants things to go back to normal

ALSO GIVE WILL A BREAK (and a boyfriend... and someone to play d&d with)

Also I need more Will/El scenes like I want that sibling energy pls and thank you

Also I don't really like Nancy, never quite liked her tbh, but now she's just annoying 🙄

alright, maybe i should give jonny Boy another Chance. he just seems so useless most the time idk idk

mike is so cute!! and honestly I don't know what more anyone could expect from him at this point, other than just doing his best. he really cares about el and tries to understand her point of view and for every problem or fight he's had, he always tried to talk it out and work things out and I think that's super impressive.

I think for their relationship problems in s4, a lot of it comes from them being long-distance which obviously can put a strain on any relationship. especially back then when keeping in touch was a lot harder. its normal for him to not feel as close to her as before and if he didnt feel comfortable saying I Love You I really cant blame him. he still obviously wanted to see her and enjoyed spending time with her.

but then again, they are teenagers and this is their first relationship, so of course I cant really expect them to work it out super maturely because they're just not mature yet. and emotions arent rational.

all this to say I think Mike is a Great Boyfriend. he tries his best and that's all I ask for.

tbh I'm getting kinda tired of all the relationships in st anyways lol none of them feel quite right for some reason. but that might just be a me not valuing romantic relationships all that much-problem lmao

I really really hope that Nancy breaks up with whoever shes dating right now (I honestly forgot, is it still jonathan?) and just be single and maybe even flirt with robin a bit. because neither steve nor Jonathan are really working out for her.

BUT I would really like to see her and mike interact more!!!!!!!! let mike see how much his big sister cares for him and how fierce her love is, please!!!

I rly like nancy actually bc of how strong she is. she knows firsthand how unfair the world is and how much it likes to kick those that are down and shes decided to spit it in the face and fucking do it anyways. shes annoying because you know she wont stray from her beliefs easily and will absolutely fight you if she thinks you're in the wrong.

[chirpsythismorning]

Realistically do you still think Milvn will breakup in the first couple of episodes? I feel like the fabdom is focusing on fanon so much at this point that they are missing canon and actual narrative on the show. It seems very unlikely to me for Mvln's breakup taking place in first couple of episodes. But the fandom are still stuk in their previous thoughts and cannot seem to think differently at all and never even consider the possibility of mlvn breakup happening way later on in the next season. Most of the Byler's analyses about El's character has turned out to be wrong. El doesnt seem to be done with the relationship. She still loves Mike (or thinks she does) and she drew strength from his monologue. A mildvn breakup right into S5 does not make any sense canon narrative wise. We can argue that the show was different that the script, while i agree with it to an extent i reaaaly think people are trying way too hard to discredit the writers intention and the script here. El was not angry at Mike. She was sad about Max and Hawkins' situation. 🤷‍♀️

What i am saying is that i feel like most Bylers are misinterpetating what is happening with the narrative here and it leads to unrealistic and baseless expectations for the characters and S5 regarding how Mlvn vs Byler will take place. And i am greatly sorry but i dont think Mike lied in his monologue, like at all. And the situation reads like "Mike loved el romantically but they wont be together bc of incompitability". El is not even still over Mike. And people expect her to be like "i breakup with you bye" right into S5. Mike still has underlining feelings for El. Like... all i am saying is people shouldnt base their expectations on headcanons and fanon misinterpretations.

Lastly, while i really would like a more detailed gay coming of age and sexuality storyline for Mike, realistically going by canon i dont think its happening. Sorry. They will mostly focus on Will's sexuality and coming of age it seems like and Mike will mostly have a "realization" arc where he realizes El and him are not fit for each other and then he decides to be with Will.

Based on the show’s trend of doing break-ups (or at least implied break-ups) early in the season, yes I do think it’s likely that the audience will at least have the impression that Mike and El are broken up early in s5.

That’s based on a technique they have done repeatedly, whereas the assumption that they will break-up midseason is based on what exactly? The Duffers saying that s5 is jumping right back into the action?

I mean, if anything shouldn’t that be an indication that the arcs heavily built up in s4, that were left deliberately unresolved, are going to be dealt with in a timely manner, as opposed to being put on pause and then squished into mid s5, when we’re arguably going to have even more stuff the characters are dealing with? Like, them literally fighting for their lives?

When it comes to Mike’s monologue giving El strength according to the script, this is actually really easy to explain and so I will! 

For starters, they did not disclose El's feelings about the monologue in the Piggyback script, bc they released it knowing it would go public, at least two years before s5 is set to actually come out. They would not just throw in a huge spoiler like that, seeing as it was intentionally left unaddressed in s4, with the intention to be addressed in early s5. That’s the whole thing about s4 kind of leaving things so shaky and uncertain, with s5 jumping us right back into that, bc there was just so much set up for all of those dominos to inevitably fall.

To understand Mike’s monologue and its impact on El better, it might help to recall the memory of El’s birth and how her mother’s love is what gave her the strength to defeat Henry the first time in 79’.

I mean look at the lighting of that scene, it’s probably the brightest fucking lighting we’ve ever seen in the entire series (you know what light means... pure, genuine, true love…). And it’s because strength from love is much more powerful than strength from anger. That’s something she is literally throwing back in Henry’s face that day of the massacre, going against what he told her to do and instead using the memory of her mother’s love to beat him. 

During Mike’s monologue, we see El using anger to give her strength to finally break free and stop Vecna, all orchestrated by events that Henry has had a role in impacting, meaning he was actively going up against her this second time, all while knowing that in order to actually beat her, she needed to be vulnerable and unable to use love as strength, with her only option being anger. And so what we see is anger about Mike still woefully misunderstanding what she had tried to explain to him earlier in the season, along with watching her best friend be murdered in front of her. And look at the lighting of that scene, she's literally seeing red. The atmosphere is eerily uncertain at best.

This monologue was SOOO necessary for the narrative in order to keep the public away from considering Byler. Because they already don’t want to consider it as it is, and that monologue gives them an excuse not to. You saw how they reacted to the piggyback script? Like it was this huge sigh of relief for them? Meaning that they were having doubts…

The thing is, I have considered the possibility of a mid-season Milkvan break-up. I’ve talked about how waiting until mid-season, something that would be unprecedented bc they’ve never done it before, would be odd considering we will be dealing with vastly different concerns and conflicts by that point. 

For them to hold off settling a break-up, that was built up all of s4 (arguably since s3), until mid-s5, would fall flat. If anything jumping right into the action means all the major stuff built-up, but left unaddressed in s4, is what we’re jumping back into.

They need to address those things so that they can move on to the aftermath of all of that and then beyond that. 5 episodes of ignoring that, and then 4 episodes of it happening and processing all of it AND dealing with endgame right as the finale is coming to a close, would be hard to juggle and make satisfying.

The reason they like this approach so much, is because it allows the audience to root for the other option in the love triangle. And with Will getting home-wrecker allegations as it is, a milkvan break-up is extremely necessary this time around as well, especially with byler being endgame and them really wanting us to root for them finally. 

How can we do that if the Duffer’s break their own trend of early break-ups and in turn make it difficult for us to root for byler, all while leading on milkvan’s unnecessarily even longer (with no intention of going that route), making it even more unlikely for viewers to accept Byler endgame?

They’ve been building up to this inevitable break-up since s3, with s4 ending in a way that made it sort of obvious El is not happy with Mike and with Mike clearly struggling with something.

Are we just going ignore the implications of the inevitable painting reveal or the fact that Mike called El ‘his’ superhero (the most insulting thing he could do honestly, least of all during a love confession) at the end of s4, and have that confrontation be stretched out? For what? El hasn’t even responded to it or told us her side at all? She told Mike she missed him and that’s it… That’s all we’ve got. Like, let her speak and actually say how she feels about their fight in her room and the events at Surfer Boy and everything leading up to this inevitable moment for them.

While Mike and El didn’t outright break up in s4, there was heavy implications of it, and that was for a reason. They wanted us to watch those Will and Mike scenes throughout the season and see something more. Even though it didn’t end with a kiss between them, nor them officially getting together, they still did it because they wanted us to interpret those scenes as romantic comfortably. That's also why they kept Mike and El seperate at the end of s4, because they wanted us to look at Mike and Will in a way that made us go 🫣🫣🫣 at the very least.

Now, if s5 is leading to Byler endgame, just imagine how much more important it is to make it really clear that Mike and El aren’t happening?

Another even more important reason to have break-ups early in a season in general, is to allow the overall season to have a vibe that is cohesive as it’s own entity. Major stuff happens at the beginning and major stuff happens at the end, with the middle making up the overall vibe and feeling they want us to subscribe to the whole time, with certain pairings being constant that time more than the end/beginning. It makes more sense for us to root for byler most of the season, the whole middle, and for the first time at the end now as well, while letting go of El and Mike early on, even if it’s ambiguous like it was in the previous season. Personally I think the prospects of a dump your ass parallel are high… (can we do something interesting and fun like speculate how the break up would go down? Will it be angsty? Will it be lighthearted? Like I want to see all of those hot takes bc that's actually something that is more fun to think about than the 'when').

I know some people are here because they love romances or love queer romances and just enjoy shipping in general, but I’m genuinely here bc Byler makes sense based on all that stuff you would probably consider to be reaching. That stuff is the best part to me. So, if you don’t like others doing that, then consider muting those that you deem as people ‘misinterpreting the narrative’, again, according to you. 

At the end of the day you can believe whatever you want to believe. 

This idea that it’s okay to tell other people they are wrong and have baseless claims, all while ignoring the actual evidence they are presenting… Like I mean this just comes off like Milkvan’s telling Bylers they’re delusional for considering Mike and Will as being a possibility at all. If you have to constantly use, it’s not that deep as your core argument after being presented with evidence, while only yourself giving maybe one or two reasons at most for why your interpretation makes the most sense, then you’re probably not actually open to considering things based on evidence. You want to believe what you want to believe and you're projecting onto others for not following along with it.

Especially when it comes to the whole Mike having a coming of age story or whatever, where some fans have tried to make the argument that there is nothing to support that, when that actually couldn’t be further from the truth. Bylers have provided heaps of evidence. If all of that is not enough for you, that’s something that you have to contend with at this time. Just like us believing what we believe based on evidence we’ve gathered is our concern and something we have to deal with, not you. No need to apologize! Just try to worry about your own interpretation of things and feeling confident in that, but without having to tear down others' because they don’t subscribe to yours interpretation of things.

Because I feel like it would honestly be a lot more humiliating to insist other peoples theories are wrong and they’re only going to embarrass themselves in the end, only for that person saying that to end up being wrong… Everyone is making theories and everyone is bound to be wrong about some or even most. That's okay. That's natural. That's sort of an unwritten part in the agreement we all agree to by participating in this theorizing in fandom experience.

When it comes to Mike again and his arc, I always say this, but it really comes down to this more than anything.

Finn is 2nd top billed among the kids. He used to be THE top billed among the kids for s1-3, but then he got bumped down behind Millie in s4. There is a major possibility, that Noah is going to be ranked up, with him going from being paired up with Sadie, under Gaten and Caleb, to be bumped up under Finn with them sharing a title card. Though it’s unlikely they would rank Finn down under Noah, who was not even in the opening credits of s1, while he was the first name that season and the following two, meaning Finn's character Mike needs to live up to that top billed spot right behind Millie. He needs to have an arc on his own that is equally as substantial as Will and El's arcs, and separate from them just like theirs will have aspects that are separate from Mike as well.

Because Mike was the protagonist of the first season, he HAS to be important again in a similar vein in the end for the show to work as an overall five part story. When people go back to rewatch after s5, they are going to be met with Mike front and center. That will only be satisfying if we get genuine insight into his character in the final season, beyond the surface level.

Quite honestly, ALL of the kids deserve something deeper than what you are implying for Mike, and so applying that to him, the og protagonist, is just so absurd to me. If anyone is going to come out with a surprising arc we’re not expecting, it’s Mike. The audience is already not expecting Will to actually get the boy, that's the aspect that they aren't prepared for for Will, and so what about Mike's unexpected reveal?

Literally most of the audience doesn’t even think there is the slightest possibility Mike could be queer. You don’t think that warrants some addressing and unpacking…? You know… because he never really unpacked…?

I feel like people hear me say Mike is going to be important in s5 and go oh so you don’t think Will is the main character?? And it’s like?? Honestly my answer is yes and no. I think Will is literally the spine, the heart, or whatever you want to call it. In Finn's own words, he is the reason that everything happens and he is the most important character arguably, because of how important he is in terms of all of these events taking place throughout the series.

However, Mike is at the forefront from the very beginning and we arguably see everything from his eyes in s1 and 2 more than anyone else. But that goes away in s3-4. And that felt extremely intentional based on what is about to go down (byler endgame). You can tell that by doing this, they are trying to lead up to a reveal that brings him back to his original place in the story for the audience to see him as his most authentic self again, and with answers for why we lost that insight in between.

I could count up at least 20 Easter eggs hinting at Mike being in danger/targeted, which goes all the way back to the first episode of the series. 

This isn't even considering, that another trend they’re likely to bring back in s5, bc if they don’t they’d be breaking a series long trend, is Mike being late. He starts every season late. And so, what is Mike going to be late for this time? Could it have something to do with all of the unknowns about him that are yet to be addressed?

I think that sometimes we say that something isn’t going to happen because we don’t want it to. A lot of this stuff I’m saying happening isn’t based on feelings, it’s based on actual evidence.

If you don’t want certain things to happen because of x, y, z, you can just say that is the case instead of making arguments that there is nothing supporting it, when that’s not actually true?

Like nothing? Nothing at all? Baseless? Like, be serious rn.

ST5 is very likely going to give off s1-2 vibes. While Mike is going to be less in the background compared to s3-4, Will AND El are still going to have equal, if not more attention than him, bc I do believe that their bond is what is going to also be a part of saving Hawkins.

The ending is going to be surprising bc those primary color-coded bitches are the answer to it all. If me saying that upsets anyone because it goes against their interpretation of things, I'm sorry too I guess!

[kaypeace21]

Byler hints in the background of s1-3

Honestly, this should just be called- ‘my autistic brain casually (and without even trying) notices shit in the background, but never mentioned it- because I thought it sounded too crazy to talk about’ XD. But the symbolism and Easter eggs give my byler-shipping heart so much life. So I thought, since you guys prob. didn’t notice it- I’ll mention it anyways.  So here goes.

Drawings/rainbows

There has been a theme in s3 about how Mike equates ‘falling for girls’ as a part of growing up, and his feelings for Will as something childish that he has to has to grow out of. 

- confessing to El : “A feeling … yeah, like, something… like OLD PEOPLE say it sometimes”.

- “And Will too. I was thinking we could all have new presents to play with and *scoffs* Sorry, that made me sound like a 7 year old... (apologizing to El)

- Mike getting in a fight with Will (after d&d), and saying they can’t be close anymore: 

Mike says, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”, and then he tries to ½ apologize only to say, “I’m not trying to be a jerk. Ok? But We’re not kids anymore.” Explaining, this is just the way things are-boys fall in love with girls, get girlfriends, and this is just a part of growing up (heteronormativity).  He tells Will “I mean, what did you think, really? That we were never gonna get girlfriends? We were just gonna sit in my basement all day and play games for the rest of our lives?” And poor Will who is probably more aware of his feelings just responds. “Yeah, I guess I did. I really did.” And of course Mike immediately apologizes for being an “ asshole”, after this.

But here’s the thing! Mike actually does wish he didn’t have to grow up and that he could play games with Will (without girlfriends) for the rest of their lives. His room, in s3, SCREAMS that he’s trying to grow up/act straight... but he can’t let go of his feelings for Will. 

He literally takes down his old childhood poster from s1-2 for a more mature/adult poster. But on the same wall (where the old poster used to be) he hasn’t removed a single d&d drawing Will has given him. He’s pretending that he’s grown out of d&d when Lucas is around- because he’s emulating how (the straight) Lucas acted, all season. But Mike has it BAD (and is seriously pinning) for Will! Like, I love Will but his art at 11 years old isn’t so great to justify it still be on Mike’s wall at age 14.  He’s just that whipped (and literally can’t part with a single drawing Will has ever given him) XD

Like... it’s cannon that Mike caresses Will’s drawings 

He’s that ‘ dumbass blinded by love’ who thinks anything Will’s draws is a perfect- masterpiece. Mike could literally see Will draw scribbles and think it’s amazing! Like in s2 he just guides his hands through the scribbles he drew on the wall- no joke! XD

However, what’s interesting though is the one other things he took down from his wall. In S1 Mike (before he even met El)  has a heart sign, with a red heart being propelled by a rainbow. Yet in s3 , the season where he’s ‘obsessing’ about El- it mysteriously disappears. However, in the first ep of s3 when Mike is making-out with El we see a emergence of the heart being propelled by a rainbow (in El’s room) as a drawing. Probably signifying Mike participating in compulsory-heterosexuality and that no matter how hard he tries- he’s not straight!

So given the fact he can’t part with any of the pictures on the wall...you better believe Mike still has that giant binder filled with every drawing Will has given him . And he’s probably hidden it away , with the rainbow heart sign (because he knows it would look suspicious to have laying around). 

-Also, Mike literally has more rainbow symbolism than Will (and has had it through every season) XD

-the s2 ref being the most on the nose) Forbidden fruit + rainbow = queer forbidden romance. And during the 80s, that rainbow-apple poster in the AV Club was suspected to be in reference to Alan Turning (the gay ‘father of computers’).

Animal easter eggs that relate to byler and the upside down/supernatural-plot .

tigers- Mike keeps a tiger poster (which was right next to that rainbow-heart sign) in his basement through s1-3. In s1 we see Will also has a tiger drawing, which is later put on the wall (like a poster) in s2.  Sara Hopper (like Will ) had her death faked by the government (and had a tiger plushie in s1)- and Kali probably had something to do with it since in the prequel novel ‘suspicious minds’ had Kali talk non stop about her fav animal , tigers.  Theory  here. But again, Jancy is also connected to tigers as a romantic symbol (just like byler).

sharks- The Duffer brothers themselves said they based the s1 demorgorgan off of sharks, which Nancy even references in s1. Mike and Will have shark iconography in their room/basement. Will has a jaws poster shown in s1-2, and Mike has shark toys visible in s2. The shark (and bear) symbolism hint at the fact that Will created the upside down/demorgorgans/mind-flayer using his powers- theory here.

bears- Will since s1 has had bear symbolism around him. Bears symbolically represent  “wisdom” like ‘Will the wise’ and were associated with the demorgorgan/upside down in s1 and 2 as well . Max and Nancy compared demogorgans to bears- and Nancy and Jonathan used a bear-trap to capture a demorgorgan in s1 . 

But s3 made bears a romantic symbol- Mike was going to buy a golden teddy bear for El as a romantic gesture. The golden bear had a bowtie (it’s male). And the gray bear that Mike gives to her, was originally Will’s (as shown in s1 &2). This gray bear is coming right in between Mike and El (at the end of s3). They even kiss , while El presses the bear right in between them.  In conclusion these romantic bears represent Will. * I mean that whole awkward kiss (where Mike’s eyes are open and he doesn’t kiss back- happens in Will’s room, in front of Will’s open closet,  with Will’s bear smushed between them (pretty blatant foreshadowing).

dinosaurs- This one is probably a stretch but we see this boy has tons of dinosaurs (at least 6). He starts to info-dump on El about how much he loves them. But, she has no interest. And if the wtf look didn’t make this obvious.

She even gets up and walks away, ignoring his tangent about dinosaurs. 

She literally couldn’t care less about his interest in them. 

But in spite of this, we see Mike gave her Rory in s3 (since it’s in her bedroom). And in s2 we see him sadly look at Rory, with 2 other dinosaurs in frame. This, along with s1 implies he has a huge collection of various dinosaurs .But his collection is missing one of the most popular dinosaur species... the brachiosaurus (the long necked dinosaur).

And right after this scene in s2 scene, we go to Will’s room. And he has a huge brachiosaurus! This boy couldn’t even afford a halloween costume and had to have his hand-made by his mom... but he could afford this huge -fancy dinosaur replica? I bet Mike bragged about his dinosaur collection to Will (like he did with El). But Will being a nerd, was actually impressed. So Mike actually gave him his best/fav toy in his collection- kind of like what he did with Rory.

frogs- This is the most hilarious thing to me. I laughed for like 20 minutes on my rewatch. In s1 Will has a GIANT stuffed plushie of a frog next to his jaws poster and teddy bear. I’m dead! Will doesn’t even disagree with the “frog face“ insult. 

He’s just like ‘well, he’s my frog face’ . Time to snuggle with this frog that looks just like Mike . Will is so in love but also low key savage dragging Mike like that. I can only imagine Dustin and Lucas saying “nah, you don’t look like a frog”. And poor baby-Mike asking Will what he thinks, and Will not being able to lie, just saying “ Well... some people like frogs.”  XD

We also see that in s2 the frog is missing but the Jaws-poster, coin jar, and the bear (we later see El holding in s3) remain .Probably to indicate this is when Will started to subconsciously suppress his feelings for Mike. Although @theclericwill pointed out -that , instead, Mike may have used the frog-plushie as a pillow... for his frog-face XD

Throwing shade at Mileven/mileven shippers in s2 

In the Montauk pitch (later named Stranger things) they describe the Mike and El dynamic by saying “ If Mike is the Eliot of our show,Eleven is our Et.” (AKA they’re from different planets)

-In s2 , Erica  is forcing He-man and barbie to make out. Lucas angrily separates the two. And then this discussion happens.

Erica: “Hey , They’re in love!”

Lucas (livid- and standing right next to a rainbow): “No, actually,  they’re not. They don’t even exist on the same planet.”

Not to mention I doubt it was a coincident they had a (bratty) pre-pubescent girl be the proxy for most mileven shippers.Like not all mileven shippers are bad, but almost all the toxic ones (that the Duffers have to deal with) are tween girls. And to the Duffers, only a child could think 2 people are ‘in love’ after a week of knowing each other. Or that El could understand such things like romance- given the fact that her and Mike are from different planets (given how El has no experience with the outside world).Mike even says in s2,  he can’t hate Max because he ‘doesn’t know’ her (despite knowing her as long as he knew El). Meaning he doesn’t love El since he doesn’t know her. 

Plus, El told Mike, he treats her like ‘garbage’ and ‘a pet’ . And Finn after s1, said that the Duffers told him Mike thought of El as a puppy, and she is even compared to Dart (a demo-dog in s2). Mike asking Dustin, angrily “What, You have a bond? Just cause he likes nougat (eggos)?” Being a  blatant dig at people obsessing over this shallow aspect of their relationship.

Mileven was also compared to that  of family members. In s1, right before they kissed, she asks “will you be like my brother?” (while wearing Nancy’s dress). And Mike also referred to her as his ‘cousin’ . Not to mention, El loved ted’s laz-eboy chair (and Nancy said Karen and Ted “never loved each other” ). And right before Karen is about to cheat on Ted - she looks at him sleeping in the chair (and the lyrics are ‘I should have walked away’). 

It’s pretty hilarious, since so many people try to ‘no-homo’ byler by saying Mike thinks of Will as a brother/or family- yet, their relationship has never been directly compared to a sibling (unlike mileven).

People also seem to not realize Mike lied in s2 (just like he did in s3). He thought El was dead in s2. He told Max it “got her like it did bob” and then he made a spectacle in front of everyone saying “I never gave up on you”. Which was a blatant lie (since he just told Max a few minutes earlier, she was dead -_-). Mike simply blamed himself for her death (he said they needed her to save Will and even referred to her as a “weapon”). So when she died he felt the most responsible- and was hoping she was alive (and would answer his call) to alleviate his own guilt. Not because he loved her (that was an act). When he saw Will’s dead body, but heard his voice, he went on a rescue mission to save Will (from another dimension). But, Mike didn’t even bother going into the woods after seeing El outside his window (something he did for Will in ep 1, during a storm). And then in s3 Mike couldn’t even bother to call El and apologize- but ran to apologize to Will in the woods during a storm (bringing that whole parallel -full circle).

Plus, El told Mike, he treats her like ‘garbage’ and ‘a pet’ . And Finn after s1, said that the Duffers told him Mike thought of El as a puppy, and she is even compared to Dart (a demo-dog in s2). Mike asking Dustin, angrily “What, You have a bond? Just cause he likes nougat (eggos)?” A blatant dig at people obsessing over this shallow aspect of their relationship.

Bob and Mike parallels- the Rubik cube

Both are unathletic, smart, love comics, the only 2 to not treat Will ‘different’- and would do anything to protect their loved ones. And they also had crushes on Byers in childhood, and tried to give their Byers normalcy (despite them not being a ‘normal family’). They purposely display, and have Will -mirror Joyce- and Mike -mirror Bob- in multiple shots, throughout s2.

And both Mike and Bob are AV club leaders. Bob mentioned in one of the  earlier episodes  that he founded the Hawkins Middle AV club . And Mike later grabs Bob’s Rubik cube, and mentions this after his death (to solidify the connection- even if subconscious in our minds. He even proclaims after this “we can’t let him die in vain” . And this is when Mike makes the plan to help Will (before El shows up). 

gif credit: cath-avery, dailystrangerthings

[chirpsythismorning]

THIS is why Mike’s outburst with Hopper at the end of s2 feels like a queer-coded moment to me…

Hear me out!

It’s this mixture of Mike’s emotions after reuniting with El, as well as what’s going on with Will and the mindflayer, but it could also be argued that it’s related to his complicated, romantic feelings for El vs. Will, which Mike isn’t really allowing himself to fully acknowledge at this point (why else have this conversation, about El, take place in Will’s room?.).

And what supports this even more so, is that Mike really seems to be projecting onto Hopper during this argument. “I DON’T BLAME HER! I BLAME YOU! I BLAME YOU! NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS OKAY.—YOURE A DISGUSTING! LYING! PIECE OF SHIT—,” only for Mike to fall right into Hopper’s arms fairly quickly…

Like, idk. But it seems to me like Mike was a little too easily comforted by the very person he was apparently just voicing all sorts of harsh words to only seconds before… unless what Mike was saying had double meaning?? Unless his words were really directed at someone else and not only his frustrations with Hopper (aka himself).

After all, we’ve never gotten a scene in the show of Hopper lying to Mike about El surviving or not? It’s not like Mike asked specifically if she was alive and Hopper said no. So why is Mike repeating LIAR LIAR so distraughtly (and directly after the scene Mike where Mike gave El the impression he never gave up on her)… 🤔😳

If you think that’s a reach, also notice how in the following scene, Mike makes the choice to stay close to Hopper, again who he literally just screamed and cussed at furiously, as opposed to El, who he hasn’t seen in almost a year, who everyone widely presumed to be dead…? You mean Mike, the same boy who gravitates towards Will constantly at the most random times, doesn’t have the urge to stand next to El after their highly anticipated reunion…? Okay…

Let’s also remember the last time Mike actually tried to contact El on the walkie in early s2 (AKA day 353). Will had just agreed to ‘go crazy together’ with Mike, which means Mike had no reason to give up believing El was alive. And yet, he himself made the choice to stop hoping; to ‘give up the fight’.

The truth is, Mike didn’t try to contact El again, but she doesn’t know that bc that last time he called, she left the cabin shortly after and didn’t return. So there was no way for her to have known that he didn’t give up, because she wasn’t checking specifically anymore either.

El was literally bummed laying in her bed after Halloween night, bc she got the vibe Mike gave up. AND HE LITERALLY DID! If she had stayed the next three nights, checking to see if Mike was trying to reach her, just like she had been doing for the last 353 days, she would’ve been met with radio silence…

I think Mike’s reaction here in s2, similar to his scenes in Will’s room and in front of the Byers at the end of s3, are hinting at this battle Mike is having, between having this strong care for El, where he wants to protect her and make her know she’s worthy and deserving of love, while at the same time Mike’s wanting to choose Will because it’s who he has realized deep down now that he wants to have these romantic coded moments with, and not El who people are probably going to be expecting him to now. Even though it’s only getting harder for him to deny, bc society and all the expectations that come with it, Mike is stuck.

And I think if we’re right about this interpretation, then it’s likely we’re in store for something that more blatantly acknowledge the truth, by getting a parallel to these scenes, but with some final boss mike outburst (preferably featuring hopper again). This would literally cause everything to come full circle, in a way that would make it near impossible for the audience to say Mike’s feelings for Will came out of nowhere.

GUYS correct me if i’m wrong but in s2 when mike and el have their reunion they say she’s been gone for 353 days but they don’f factor in the three extra days that the mindflayer shit went down— 3 days in which mike doesn’t try to contact el & instead spends his time with will. i was thinking abt the numbers (bc as bylers we reach a lot when it comes to things like this) and noticed that 353 adds up to 11, but 356 (the actual number of days el was gone) adds up to 14. as in, two 7s. and we all know what that means. idk i am delirious and falling back into my hyperfixation at an alarming speed so if i sound insane it’s bc i am

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

I’d love to see a character analyses on Max Mayfield! Of course, only if you have the time & willingness to do one :)

What sort of monster would I be if I literally begged for requests and then didn’t want to respond? This will purely be based on the show, as I haven’t read any supplementary material around her. I’m not sure that matters though, as the show is the only explicitly canon material. I have to admit that I did not like Max at first. I felt the cast was large enough already, and that adding more central characters risked opportunities for character development (I would have the same thought about Robin in Season 3). I grew to appreciate Max, though. She’s been a great addition to the story, and any lack of character development does not seem to be as a consequence of adding her.

Max is a different look at the effects of trauma on a young person. She comes into the story already an outcast. She has already experienced her own difficulties. She lacks the protective factors that someone like Will has, which help someone cope with difficult life events. Max makes it clear that she would prefer to be living with her dad in California. She does not beatify him, but she seems to feel that he at least accepts her and allows her to be who she is. As a counselor, he comes across more as a friend than a parent, so it’s a hard sell to say she’d be better off with him, but she’d probably be happier, all things being equal. 

Her relationship with her custodial family is strained at best, and abusive at worst. She is angry at being forced to move away from California. She seems to have a workable relationship with her mother, but she holds some resentment for her marrying Neil and moving them all away from her home. Neil, for all of his abusive tendencies, does not seem to take them out on Max, at least based on what we see. He does not seem to respect or trust her though, as he expects Billy to be responsible for her and refuses to call her Max. Given what we see about his dominant and controlling personality, Neil is unlikely to be someone Max respects. Combine that with Neil taking her from her home, and you have the recipe for a very damaged relationship. Though with Neil’s lack of respect for women, I highly doubt Max’s dislike of him matters much. Billy seems to have been a big influence on Max, and not in a good way. She seems to have been interested in what would be considered boy things (video games, skateboarding, etc.) for a long time, but her tough exterior, another trait people attribute to tomboys, may be a response to Billy (and perhaps Neil). Billy is shown enjoying instilling fear into Max as a means of establishing dominance. Max holds a great deal of resentment for him, but she is forced to rely on him. She is genuinely afraid of what Billy may do, maybe not to her, but to her friends (especially Lucas). 

Max is also afraid of continuing the cycle of abuse. She is aware of her own anger issues, but is adamant that she never allow herself to turn into that sort of person. It must have been hard for her to threaten Billy the way she did, as it required her to mirror back a lot of his own threatening language and posturing. Her self-awareness, and the support of her friends, gives her a good outlook at avoiding a continuation of the cycle.

Speaking of friends, Max is often at odds with the boys. Her toppling the high score on Dig Dug is an early sign that she’s not going to be pushed around. She has no time for their crap, and makes it clear to them that she doesn’t appreciate their behavior. She refers to Lucas as “stalker” even after they become friends. She calls the others out on keeping the Upside Down stuff a secret, as she sees it as not being fully accepted. She sees Lucas’ breakdown of Season 1 as a phony attempt to keep her in the dark. She calls out Mike on his baseless resentment of her. Still, she tries to show that she wants to be a part of the Party, going as far as to try and impress Mike with her skating (which seemed to be working until El caused her to fall). She wants to be accepted, but she feels a need to show the boys she’s not some pushover to be relegated to the sidelines. She shows a desire to get to know El in Season 2 (though she is rebuffed). She sees in El another girl who isn’t passive or weak (like her mother). This suggests that her tomboy nature isn’t necessarily a rejection of traditionally female interests. She just legit likes skateboarding and arcade games, and she doesn’t care that they’re supposed to be for boys. This is supported in Season 3 where she is shown enjoying more traditionally teen girl activities and styles with El. It doesn’t seem to be because she’s maturing and trying to make herself more attractive to boys, as these activities are shown to be purely for her own and El’s enjoyment. She still maintains her assertive personality and doesn’t seem to reject any of her previous interests (she still skateboards). “There’s more to life than stupid boys...” Max has grown her sense of self to include things boys wouldn’t care about, and she did it on her own terms, not because she was supposed to. She tries to instill this same idea onto El, albeit somewhat heavy-handed. She doesn’t seem to realize that El emulates her just as she’s previously emulated others. Still, her heart is in the right place as she genuinely wants El to become her own person, and not the person others want her to be. Max’s relationship with Lucas is a good example of young crushes. They genuinely do like each other, but they’re on such different pages that things just don’t work out. Lucas mentions that they had broken up 5 times (6 if it’s assumed that Lucas is dumped along with Mike after being caught at the mall). They only were dating since the Snowball, meaning they were only together for about 6 months. Lucas seems to have taken her for granted by that point, which isn’t something Max would appreciate. It’s likely that Max was the initiator of the breakups, possibly to show Lucas that she won’t be treated that way. This sort of relationship can be common at this age as young people can lack the emotional awareness and maturity to make a romantic relationship work. 

After the events of Season 3, Max is considerably shaken. Despite her issues with Billy, it is suggested that she held some level of affection for him, perhaps lamenting that they weren’t able to have a good relationship. Maybe she harbors some survivor’s guilt. She may even be nervous about what Neil may become now that his primary target is gone. The ending of Season 3 is frustrating in how much it leaves unanswered despite taking place four months after the climactic battle in Starcourt Mall. Still, I look forward to seeing what happens with her in Season 4, and I hope she keeps her strength of will.

[willelbyers]

Just One Of Those Things

Summary: It’s always just been one of those things they don’t talk about.

Pairings: Will/Mike, past Mike/El, background Lucas/Max

Notes: It’s a future-fic, about 2,500 words. The Party basically figures out how to talk about what they already know.

Alternatively: Will and Mike hide and deflect, El doesn’t know how to differentiate herself and Jane, Max doesn’t want to pretend, that’s all Lucas wants to do, and Dustin is convinced he has Not-Superpowers.

This is posted on Ao3 here as well as written out below the cut. Enjoy!

There’s an unspoken rule in the Party, a specific dynamic they never address: we don’t talk about… that.

They don’t talk about the particular closeness between the two of them. They don’t mention how Will strives to live up to whatever expectations he thinks Mike has for him, how Mike does everything from writing more campaigns to reenacting Star Wars for the simple reason of needing to impress him. They don’t talk about how, in the year after the monster, Will always reaches for Mike first and Mike is always there to take his hand.

And even later, after everything, they don’t talk about the way Will has never said anything about or even looked at girls. Or the handful of phone calls to Will’s house Mike has answered or vice-versa. They don’t talk about Mike and El’s amicable (albeit awkward) breakup in tenth grade, or the unsettling three weeks about a month later when Will all but stays holed up in the library with Jennifer Hayes and Christopher Thomas as he flinches away from any of his friends (but especially Mike).

They don’t talk about the way Mike’s gaze lingers on him, always. They don’t talk about the movies the rest of the Party remain uninvited to, their classmates’ parties where the two of them will disappear for an hour or so and reappear later on only to look suspiciously ruffled, the way Mike hates sharing his clothes but Will always has a too-big sweater on anyway. They don’t talk about any of it.

Sometimes, it’s easy to pretend—forget, even—that it doesn’t happen at all.

Max throws a wrench in the plans. The Rule has been in place since, what, sixth grade? Seventh? Probably even earlier. Lucas can’t remember. But he knows that it was before she had gotten there. It’s not really her fault she doesn’t know.

Then again, it really should be obvious enough at this point—it’s been four years.

The only reason Lucas is thinking this, anyway, is because he’s stopped dead in the middle of the street, frozen, staring at his girlfriend.

“Well?” she prompts, and Lucas has to close his eyes for a moment to think about what has lead up to this moment.

They—the Party—had all gone to Jared Thompson’s house for some big Senior year blowout. Dustin, Max, and El had all staunchly voted yes to going. Lucas and Will said no, and then the eyes had turned to Mike. He had sighed, obviously thinking hard, before giving Will (specifically) a meaningful glance and muttering, “Fine.”

The three had cheered as Lucas complained and Will rolled his eyes, letting Mike sling an arm over his shoulders. No one noticed.

Then the party happened, and Max—avoiding alcohol like the plague even as Lucas stole Dustin’s drink and took a few sips (he wasn’t there by choice, he was going to enjoy himself, dammit!)—had eventually gotten tired, asking Lucas to walk her home. Seeing an out, he had agreed.

And then she’d asked: “So, what do you think the deal is between Mike and Will?”

And he had stopped, and now he’s here.

“What?” he manages to choke out.

Max rolls her eyes. “Lucas, come on. Seriously, is this some sort of weird game we all play? Michael and William. Wheeler and Byers. Paladin and Cleric. Nerd and nerd. Are we just going to pretend that we don’t see it happening in front of our eyes?”

He shakes his head, suddenly feeling dizzy. He’s never talked about it before, to anyone. He’d almost forgotten—but he remembers now, and it’s a little… much. “Max, this isn’t…”

She picks up the sentence where he’s trailed off. “What I think it is?” she asks. “Because I’m pretty sure it is. I didn’t see them for the last twenty minutes we were there, and apparently Jared’s back door was open. Three guesses as to who left, probably to go make out?”

“No,” he replies quickly, voice not cooperating. He coughs. “Also, gross. But… but, no, I. I was going to say that this isn’t California. It’s… it’s just… Hawkins.” The unspoken people won’t like it here doesn’t remain unheard.

She shoves her hands into her pockets. “Yeah. I know.” She swallows, hard, and Lucas can see the movement of her shoulders as they tense. Like there’s something else she wants to say. Instead of saying it, she shakes her head. “Lucas, I’ve been playing along with this whole thing since eighth grade. And, you know, that first real party we ever went to? Darby Templeton’s, in eleventh grade, last year? Like, a year after Mike and El broke up.”

“Yeah.”

“I played along then, too,” she admits. “I saw them, just for a second, sneaking off. Like always, now. But Will kissed Mike then, and just like I’m sure it had happened before, I’m sure that it’s still happening now.” She shakes her head. “I can’t just pretend it isn’t happening anymore. Because it is, and I…” She takes a breath, wind whipping her hair into her face. “Did you know?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I think so?” He sighs, offering a hand for her to take. She does, and they begin to walk, taking slow steps down the street. “I guess… we just never talked about it. We just… never did. And they’ve always been close.” He hesitates. “I think I knew. But I convinced myself I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” Lucas realized helplessly. “It’s just… one of those things, I think.” He glances at her, guilty eyes darting away quickly. “Is that bad?”

She offers a small, sad smile. “I don’t think so, no.”

El earns her reputation—or, rather, Jane Hopper does. Wearing the mask that is Jane, El becomes an enigma at Hawkins High—quiet to the point she’s nearly silent, a math whiz, intense stare, curly hair sheared short with an odd array of clothes. It helps that she’s the daughter of the hot-tempered Chief of Police and the foster sister of The Boy Who Came Back To Life. She’s mysterious, and apparently boys “dig that” while girls “want to be that” (says Dustin, anyway). She couldn’t care less about boys, and she doesn’t think a girl could become any more beautiful by mimicking her, but she’s read enough books to know that yes, people do like mysteries.

Not to mention, karma really does seem to kick back around her. At least, that’s what the student body believes. For instance, on her first day of school, Troy had flicked a slur-filled note at the back of Will Byers’ head. Seconds after it had been unfolded, read, and crumpled again, the boy pulling in on himself, Troy had tripped over nothing. He lost three teeth; Dustin had fired a small comment, looking vindicated; Jane had appeared very pleased.

In all honesty: Jane was pleased—still is, three years later. Scarily so; enough that her vision turns a satisfying red for just a moment. El feels a little remorseful, using her powers to hurt some kid, but then she remembers everything Troy has done and her resolve is set. She might not like the things she does as Jane a lot of the time, but she finds nothing wrong about this.

The other thing she is known for is for, well, knowing. People are always open books to her, with the exception of a few.

“Don’t even think about stealing that,” Jane says softly to the kid she spies hovering around Mr. B’s room. He whips around, eyes wide, and sprints away from the expensive-looking, half-repaired watch on the teacher’s desk.

“Sorry, Jane,” he mutters in return before he’s gone, and Jane just nods and smiles tightly, dark eyes following him. Jane files the interaction in her memory, but she already has his face and name blocked out—she can claim deniability if necessary.

She relaxes her stance as soon as he’s gone, El taking over from Jane, shouldering her bag and making her way down the hall. She’s searching for Will, so they can go home together—though her dad and Joyce aren’t “dating”, they live in the same house, so Will and Jonathan are basically her brothers now. It makes it hard, hearing all of Jonathan’s thoughts when he comes back from college, hearing Joyce’s and Dad’s all the time, and then only getting painful feedback from Will.

If only Will’s mind was like that boy’s, she thinks idly. Pliant, but not weak. Though not foolish like him. Because there are things she doesn’t understand about Will, about Mike, about society, about the world. Things she might be able to decode if only she could see him like she sees everyone else. Questions she could have answered.

Question one would probably be: Why are you still sad? Because Will is still so oppressively miserable that it follows him like a storm cloud, so prominent she couldn’t miss it if she tried. But things are better now, so why?

Question two would certainly be: It’s not your fault. You know that, right? And she would ask because Will tries to carry the weight of the world on his small shoulders, because Will blames himself for everything bad that has ever happened to him or someone he cares about. She doesn’t need powers to see that. Will just thinks that bad things happen to him for a reason, that he has brought these evils upon himself, and El wants to make him see that it just doesn’t work like that.

Question three would simply be: You love him, so why do you hide? It had hurt for a while when Mike had, what’s the term… “broken up” with her. Will helped her understand that all Mike meant was that they weren’t right for each other “romantically” (which is apparently different from “platonically”, which is apparently the one El herself likes). And El can’t read Will but she can read Mike as well as anyone else—perhaps better—and she knows everything: she knows that Mike loves Nancy though he says he doesn’t, he admires Steve though he says he doesn’t, he thinks Jonathan is a little too “cloud-in-front-of-the-sun-on-a-previously-nice-day”, whatever that means, though he says he doesn’t. She knows that even though she is Mike’s favorite person, Will is Mike’s Favorite Person, though Mike says he doesn’t have favorites. Basically, Mike says a lot of things that aren’t true. But El now knows the difference between lies, white lies, and not knowing the truth, so she’ll let it slide.

And she will never know the way she knows about other people, but Will’s heart is worn on his arm—no, sleeve, that’s right. His emotions are clear. El knows what it means, when Will’s face lights up as Mike wraps him into a hug.

And, moreover, the brightest, loudest thought from Mike is a mixture of love and fear. It’s something El has always known about but hadn’t been able to interpret when she first saw it. But she gets it now: Mike loves Will, in a way that’s romantic and not solely platonic like it is with the rest of the Party, and it scares him.

She doesn’t know why.

The problem is that no one addresses this, no one seems to relate to her thoughts, so she is left to wonder if this is just another one of those countless things she’ll never understand.

Dustin likes to think that he has a special sort of intuition—not a power, like El has and whatever Will has developed, but a… skill. The kind that has gotten him in trouble before, sure, but is a big achievement nonetheless. For instance: Dart. Yeah, Dart had turned out to be a dangerous inter-dimensional baby Demogorgon, but befriending it had helped the Party escape the tunnels when El closed the gate.

So. Intuition not terrible.

But his intuition screams DANGER DANGER DANGER around El, around Will. He doesn’t think they’ll hurt him, any of them—because of course they wouldn’t—but he swears he can feel an undercurrent of energy when they step into a room. It’s in the way things shake but don’t fall when El is angry, the way shadows seem to bend to Will when he’s afraid.

And he gets something from Mike, too. Less in a physical sense—there are no tremors, no flashes of light or darkness or color when something goes wrong. But there’s something in Mike’s gaze that warns people to not get too close. If Dustin’s not-superpower is his intuition, Mike’s is his disconcerting glares.

Dustin notices it a lot at school, when bullies—fewer than there had been in the past, fortunately—whisper behind Will’s back. Or when people snicker when he stutters through answering a question on a bad day. Even at home, when the rest of the Party send questioning looks at them when Will falls asleep on Mike’s shoulder during a movie night and all Mike does is run a hand through his hair.

The look tells them, no. Forceful enough that people just tend to look away before his glare intensifies. And Dustin wonders what it is about Will that has Mike doing that. What it is that could make Mike do anything for him. Wonders how long they’ve loved each other.

But Mike says no, and it becomes one of those things Dustin tries not to think about.

It’s one of those things Will talks about a lot. In whispers, usually, sometimes over a radio he has control over or muttered into the ceiling as they sprawl out in his bedroom or sometimes even spoken about between kisses. And Mike listens to him, replies to him, understands.

It’s why Will loves him.

They don’t talk about the others. It seems too wrong. But they talk about everything else—their feelings, their future (singular), their fears. How much they love each other.

They don’t talk about the fact that they haven’t let a single person know about them yet, despite the fact that it’s been two years. The fact that their friends might whisper things but never say anything substantial out loud. They don’t talk about the fact that Mike sometimes thinks about how he really did have feelings for El, even though it’s long gone. They don’t talk about the three weeks Will had spent hiding away with Jen and Christopher after he confessed, terrified and confused; the three weeks that they had spent apart before they snapped back together like a rubber band. Those are just… some of those things they don’t talk about.

“I love you,” Mike mutters sleepily as he clambers into the bed beside Will. It’s the same bed he’s had since he was a kid and it’s much too small for two people, but they make it work. It’s Saturday night and the door is locked, El is at the arcade with Max and Lucas, Dustin is away, Jonathan is at college, his mom and Hopper are sleeping, and Mike will make his escape in the morning through the window.

Will wraps his arms around Mike’s torso and pulls him closer, away from the edge. He presses a kiss to his mouth. “Mm. Love you, too.”

And it’s one of those things they can talk about.

I hope you enjoyed, everyone! Reviews are, as always, appreciated. Find me on Ao3 here.

[thranduel]

just because something is canon doesn’t mean it’s good.

just because a ship between a boy and girl became canon in the first season (when they were 12 years old and barely knew each other) and have been shoved in people’s faces every season does not mean they have to be stay together or that it’s “impossible to break them up” (that also sounds incredibly unhealthy).

just because they’re teenagers does not excuse the fact that they don’t work as a couple at all and they’ve been immature and selfish at times, both to each other and others around them.

just because one of the people in the relationship is the “main character” does not mean she needs a boyfriend that can’t even love her the way she wants to be loved.

just because mike was FORCED into giving a monologue and saying “i love you” because of guilt and pressure in a stressful situation (and he only had the strength to say it because of will) does not solve mike and el’s relationship issues (and there’s a LOT). he lied during his monologue and el didn’t even talk to him afterward anyways.

just because people have emotional attachment to each other because they met during a traumatic time and feel like they owe each other for saving each other’s lives does not mean they should’ve kissed and started a romantic relationship at 12 years old when one of them didn’t even know what romance was.

even if mike and el are forced to stay together (even though most viewers don’t even care about their relationship and are sick of their constant repetitive storylines), they’ll never have what mike and will have. i’m not even trying to say that in a mean or bitter way. it’s literally just facts. it’s what the show has proved to us. mike and will are childhood best friends with actual history, build up, shared experiences, similiar interests, common goals, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, trust, honesty, communication, understanding, feeling safe and comfortable and actually being THEMSELVES around each other.

mike and will bring out the best in each other. mike and el just become worse when they’re together. notice how everyone started hating mike the moment he started dating el? because he changed. he puts on a fake act around her and pretends to be someone he’s not because he’s THAT insecure around her and feels inferior in his own relationship. el lied to mike about her life in california and pretended to be someone she wasn’t to impress him because she’s also insecure. they don’t feel like equals and they don’t understand each other. they can’t comfort each other or help each other. they’ve only made each other feel worse. mike and will on the other hand can actually confide in each other and make each other feel better because there’s always a mutual understanding and they feel safe and comfortable together. there’s such a big difference between both relationships.

the show may not be just about ships, but they’re an important part (the writers said this themselves) and i will be absolutely disgusted AND disappointed if mike and el are stuck in an unhealthy relationship while will, a gay kid who has suffered since the beginning, is left alone with unrequited love for his best friend. screw that bullshit. it would also be awful writing