#mike wheeler please get vecna'd

[eatmehuckass]

i NEED more content on wet cigarette not like having dirty nails reading glasses tiring hair up load of problems sweater internal homophobia wearing freak mike.

I NEED this man to HURT. I NEED him to sob. I NEED him to BREAK.

[runningupthatvecna]

get the peach(es)

bestfriend!eddie munson x reader

it's the day after chrissy got vecna'd and you and the gang decide to check up on eddie at rick's. he's still in so much distress that you can't help but selflessly stay with your best friend (who you've been harboring a crush on for quite some time) and keep him company. 6k words, not proofread.

cw: the good old friends to lovers trope, eddie is an anxious bean who just needs to be held (by you, ideally), mutual (and not so secret at all) pining, i wrote this with fem!reader in mind (she/her pronouns) but can also be read as gn i guess, fluff, hurt/comfort (for eddie), pet names, mentions of chrissy's death, there shall be kisses and a lot of softness. nothing too explicit but minors are still advised to LEAVE

a/n: totally not self indulgent, that scene of him being so terrified in 4x02 ripped me to shreds so this is my fix-it attempt, trying to still my need to hold him and scratch his head. disclaimer: this piece of writing is based on the ending of that episode, meaning all credits for the setting go to the respective writers. sources to the header images here, here and here. lovely divider by saradika. ok thank you so much for reading byeeee love y'all <3

–––––

The overwhelming need to befriend the satanic metalhead found you at that party at the Wheeler house. You had almost said no to Nancy when she invited you, knowing damn well how the night would end. Steve passed out with a girl on his lap, Robin silently pining after Vickie from some corner of the room while clinging onto the red plastic cup in her hand, Jonathan getting higher than a kite with his old school mates, the younger kids asking you every five minutes if you could give them a ride since you usually were the one staying sober.

Additionally this time, there would be Eddie Munson. This familiar stranger Dustin, Mike and Lucas had met and somehow befriended over the last months, due to them joining his DnD club. "He might come off as a bit intimidating ... but I promise he's super chill and easy going!", Mike had tried to convince his sister, poking the tip of her shoulder repeatedly with a bunch of pleases during lunch break in the editing room of the school's newspaper. Until she rolled her eyes theatrically and agreed to let the ambiguous stranger, which the whole town collectively perceived as not really fitting in (and who you both certainly knew under the not so chill reputation he carried around), attend the celebratory events at Casa Wheeler. Occasion: Karen, Ted and their youngest leaving the house for more than one day, off on vacation.

You'd always kinda stayed out of his ways, used to observe his antics back at school with a silent laugh and this .. intrigue poking at your guts. To you he always stood out, and if anyone asked you'd be hesitant to admit it, but his willingness to go against the flow and not conform to the acceptable standards set by society was honestly impressive. And besides, surely this whole mysterious drug dealer rockstar image must just be a fassade and deep down he's just a dork, right?

His eyes follow you through the living room, an echo of your name crossing his mind repeatedly after having pulled Dustin into a corner for a brief interrogation. He finds it endearing how quickly and almost bashfully you look away every time your curious gaze meets his. As you redirect your focus to the conversation you're becoming engaged in, there's a soft smile creeping onto your lips. Little did he know it would soon start to haunt him in his dreams at night.

"Anything specific you're looking for?"

God, his voice. The close proximity invites your nose to inhale a mix of fresh cigarette smoke, bergamot and sandalwood, allowing you to sense what can only be him standing behind you as you skim through the cabinets of the Wheeler kitchen. You turn your head for your eyes to confirm your assumption and what they find is the deepest brown of round baby cow eyes they've ever met, up so much closer now. The paring of his gaze and plush smile somehow manages to dissolve every little prejudice you've been involuntarily harboring about him. Eddie Munson, the town's freak. Prime reason for the existence of the satanic panic. Drugs. And then you realise that you should probably do the polite thing and give him an answer. "Yeah uh, I was just trying to find the peach syrup", holding his gaze with a small lopsided smile, lost in its warmth which you wouldn't have dared to expect from it, before facing away from him again. He snorts a little, "peach syrup?", pauses to bring a thumb to his upper lip, lightly scratching the skin above as if to wipe something away, before he removes it again and the dimples appear around the corners of his mouth, "that is oddly specific." His response spreads a smile over your face, and the next thing he says widens it, "looks like you have taste though."

You move one step to the side, about to investigate the insides of the next cabinet, the kitchen itself almost empty of people with only three others chatting away in the corner across the island. He follows, undoubtedly trying to stay close, and the heat from the fire he just ignited somewhere inside of you rises to your cheeks. "Thanks, I really like peaches. Especially in my drinks. It adds a little ... kick to my sobriety", you explain, Eddie now quirks an amused eyebrow paired with a lopsided smile at you, and as you get to the last cabinet it dawns on you (and also Eddie) that this household severely lacks peach syrup. An atrocity. Thanks Ted.

After he helped you rummage through the entirety of the kitchen without success but under a lot of small talk, the metalhead vanishes from the function for an hour or so. At least that's what your brain concludes when your vision fails to spot him among the people who are in attendance. Maybe he's selling out of Nancy's bedroom. Maybe he's puking up his insides in the bathroom because he had too much of that weird beer he's been downing all night. Maybe he's banging some random girl in the bathroom upstairs. Or summoning a demon. Or both. At the same time. You once again try focusing your attention back to the conversation you are involved in. Munson already feels so dear to you that the lack of his presence is starting to form an ache in your heart. It's tugging on those strings with how much you already want him near you. Yeah. You're gonna be in trouble with this one.

And then he stumbles into the room from the direction of the front door, an event you're totally unable (and unwilling) to miss. He doesn't look like he just puked, nor sold a whole lot of the stash since you notice it still bulging out the left ass pocket of his black jeans. Instead, as he pushes past the small groups of people socialising – and towards you – while you notice a red net of round fruits dangling from his right hand, and you start to think that his disheveled hair and that rosy tint on his cheeks might actually not be from shagging either. He meets your gaze again as he approaches you with a grin and your heart dares to swell at his attentive gesture (you think you might as well pass away on the spot).

"Have some, peach."

It's not syrup, but you'll take them anyway. And with your next drink, you swallow down not only that peachy sweetness on your tongue, but also whatever this tingly feeling in your chest is.

"Chchhrhch.."

Pause.

"Hey, uh– chrhchhr.."

Silence in your bedroom, the only thing illuminating the space is the moonlight softly falling through the window.

"Chrch– a-are you there?"

You stirr awake from dozing off in your bed, trying to piece together the information your senses are giving you.

Eyes gone dry, you have to blink a few times. Figure out which year it is and so on.

Confusion lies between the static crackle for a moment. That nap after your shift at the diner was necessary. God, you need to fucking quit.

"No I'm sure she'll pick right up, just– hey pleeease b-be awake, goddamn it!–"

Is it already past midnight?

You don't know and you can't tell, the clock on your nightstand still broken. What you do know though is that the familiar voice belongs to your friend Dustin and it's desperately trying to get ahold of you.

They must have found him.

"Dustin? I copy, where are you? What's going on?", you finally grab the device from the nightstand, fully awake and aware of your surroundings now.

You need to know. If he's okay.

There's that all too familiar instant tingle in your chest again, an ache that made itself familiar to you for the first time when he was introduced to you at the one and only Wheeler party several months ago. The dungeon master of Hawkins High's Hellfire club, the lead guitarist of Corroded Coffin and a super chill and easy going guy, to put it in Mike Wheeler's words.

What you didn't expect back then was your heart starting to develop that feeling, that tingle you'd always get to feel when you were in his presence, or like now, when his name is threatening to spill from your friend's lips on the other side of the connection at any moment.

"Aha! See? I told you she'd respond in no time."

You can practically feel Dustin's shit eating grin through the frequency, basking in being correct over Steve Harrington once again. It never gets old between these two.

"Oh my god", Steve's muffled voice is what you can make out vaguely from the off, he's probably palming his face.

"Dustin!", your voice disappears into the device, and your impatience grows with every passing second, hoping he gets the hint.

There's the sound of a door falling shut, leaves rustling under shoes, he must be outside now.

"Alright, okay yeah, so we found him at Rick's and he's really upset and he's been asking for you. I know it's late but can you meet us out here? And maybe, uh, stay with him?"

It's not even worth questioning. You're already wearing shoes. Your biggest hoodie in tow, you stumble into your kitchen with the intention to raid your own snack drawer. Pulling out Eddie's favourite, which you of course had stocked up on ever since hanging out with him at your place had become more of a weekly routine for the both of you.

Ten minutes, you told him. You'd be there in ten.

The drive feels like forever. The longest ten minutes of your life, you think.

You know the route like the back of your hand, having driven along the gravelly road leading from the last intersection before Hawkins' border to the outer world, to the serene woods surrounding Lover's Lake countless times. Eddie would take you here ever so often, for picnics, an occasional smoke after picking up a new delivery from Rick's, cloud or star gazing, listening to Metallica and Tears for Fears on Wayne's old walkman.

The gravel crunches underneath your white reeboks as they land on the ground. You close the door to your car as quietly as possible after you've taken out the bag and your hoodie.

Dustin and Steve are stood outside the boathouse, waving like madmen in the darkness once you come into their periphery.

The younger boy hugs you tightly.

"So glad you could make it", he gets out, the relief palpable through his voice as well as the grip he holds you in for a brief moment.

You look at them both after Steve presses you against him cordially, and breathe out through your nose, making your nostrils flare.

Dustin cracks open the case to you as he starts to ramble about the state in which they found your best friend, "well first he attacked Steve with a broken bottle, we had to put in great effort to convince him that we'd be on his side, and we came to the conclusion that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, basically."

What you want right now goes without saying. Everyone here knows how close you and Eddie are. As friends, of course. No one would think anything different.

Without wasting another second, the boys lead you inside where Max and Robin are knelt on the wooden floor. Heads turning towards the entrance of the room where you're now standing.

The sight of what's offered to your eyes, sitting opposite of them, breaks your heart.

You can see that he's slightly shivering, eyes glassy in the dim lit room. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips though once his brain grasps your presence, and he can't help anymore but let the water fall once his eyes lock with yours.

The pain that is swimming in those two deep warm brown oceans hits you like a dagger to the chest. Over the months of being friends with him you'd seen him various different states, none of them comparable to this.

"Peach", his shaky voice announces your arrival and the sound of your nickname spilling from his lips cracks through your bones. The bag that's slung around your shoulder drops onto the wood with a dull thud.

Wobbly legs carry him towards you with a gentle shove past Robin and Max. You're once again reminded of your best friend's sheer physical strength as he wraps his arms around you, instantly burying his face into the crook of your neck.

One arm of your own sneaks around his torso, pressing him against you as tightly as your own strength allows you, while your other hand comes up to bury itself underneath the mane and to end up scratching soothingly over the scalp above the nape of his neck.

Eddie lets out a muffled sob, sniffling into the collar of the sweatshirt you threw on in a haste. He doesn't really want anyone to see him like this, certainly not Steve Harrington, so he clutches onto you so tightly that he thinks you might just feel his heavy heart beating anxiously against your chest.

And you do. How could you not with the amount of world he means to you? Like an automatism your other hand rubs slow circles over his back. Comforting him in the best way you could. Not a conscious decision you make.

"Okay so, m'not meaning to ruin the party, in fact I'd love to stay for another round of doom talk, but I really should get home soon, guys", Robin scratches the back of her head after she gets up from her huddled position next to the wooden crate Eddie had been sitting on. Max joins in and agrees, mumbling something about having to move her mom from being passed out on the couch again into her bed.

"Yeah me too, actually. My dad's gonna be fucking pissed. We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?", Steve's voice echoes through the room and you can tell he's already shoved Dustin back outside, itching to drive the kid home.

As Eddie processes having to stay in hiding, added the possibility of everyone leaving without him, his grip on you tightens even more.

"It's okay, Eds", you speak softly, head slightly tilted so your cheek rests on the dark frizzy mop you could call his hair. The skin on his neck and scalp so warm underneath your fingertips as you keep scratching it, emphasizing your presence, "I'll stay."

A soft muffled whimper is what you get as a response, and the way he lets you see him in this state melts your insides to a puddle.

You just need him to be okay.

They wave their goodbyes behind your back, accompanied by mumbles of "see you in the morning", and you can't even bring yourself to turn your head around, fully focused on making the young man in your arms less terrified of the world. A world he was sure was now going to come for him with all its force – in deep conviction of him being responsible for Chrissy's misfortunate end.

The door falls shut and Eddie muffles a quiet thank you into the fabric of your sweatshirt. The skin on your neck is damp with his tears, wet eyelashes tickling every time he blinks.

"It's okay, Eds", you softly keep repeating your words to him while continuously rubbing over the denim of his signature Dio vest in a slow motion, when he feels the urgency to claim the truth into the collar of your sweater about what has happened, "I– I didn't do it, I swear."

As if you would need any convincing.

"Oh no of course you didn't, I know that", you're looking for a way to ease the distress this entire situation is causing him, his quivering voice adding to your desire to soothe him to inner peace, "can I make a suggestion?"

Eddie nods with another sniffle against your collarbone, the round wet tip of his nose brushing against the column of your throat lightly. To his ears, your voice sounds like silk right about now.

"How about we head over to the main house and get ourselves a little more comfortable? Since we're gonna be here for a little longer? My god you probably haven't slept or eaten at all, have you?"

You can feel him nod his head again with a hum this time, and you start to think that the tears might not just be pouring because he just witnessed someone suffer a gruesome death right in front of him, but also due to physical exhaustion.

It makes your heart ache even more, that tingle still present, even more so now. It hurts to see your best friend hurt.

He just needs to be okay. And in that heart of yours there's that little spark of hope that leads you to believe you could be the one helping him with that.

You'd really want that. Be all his to find comfort in, to hold close, to kiss stupid

Stop.

A sigh escapes your lungs at the thought. That tingle, that longing, it's selfish. It familiarly pools in your belly and slowly drips downwards. You push your brain aside. This is about soothing your best friend now.

"C'mon then", you utter softly, encouraging him with your hand to lift his head from where it leans against your shoulder.

For your heart it's almost too much to look at, the hurt still swimming in the glassy big brown irises, his waterline red and puffy. The soft smile returning to his lips causes the wet apples of his cheeks to push up slightly, reflecting the dim light coming from the one torch Robin left you, placed on one of the crates.

He really hadn't been able to close an eye for a single second since he he'd gotten up for school the day prior.

You smile back at him almost bashfully as you slowly create space between your bodies.

Eddie is grateful that it's you who grabs his ringed hand next.

He squeezes yours, hoping to get the message of this meaning something to him across.

And he closely trails behind you as you lead the way.

The house feels empty, like no one's really been here in months. You'd never been inside. The few times you'd accompanied Eddie grabbing stash you'd stayed in his van, waiting. But as far as you now can make out in the darkness, there's a couch with knitted blankets, a little TV with a whole stack of VHS almost rising as high as the screen itself, spilled and spluttered empty cans and papers and wrappings littered all around. Maybe this is why he never let you come inside with him. Keeping you out of this definitely not sterile mess. Along with keeping you out of the business.

In the middle of the living room, you let go of his hand and shuffle one step away from him. He's inside now. Safe. Job done. Doesn't need physical contact. You shouldn't, he's your friend. You feel like something between you would break if you'd go there.

Eddie thinks otherwise, regarding close proximity at least. He promptly follows you into what you believe to be the kitchen where you hope you might find a tea bag or two. He comes up behind you and encases you in his arms as you rummage through the cabinets (feels familiar, hm?), not at all ready to say goodbye to the warmth of your body pressed against his own just yet.

You giggle at the silliness of him putting weight on you just to make it harder for you to reach into the cabinets. It's endearing. And very Eddie.

Twenty minutes later and there's two mugs – cleaned to your best ability – with steaming hot liquid on the sixties wooden coffee table. Next to them a plate filled with the almost equally hot insides of a ravioli in tomato sauce can. Thank Rick for a still functioning microwave.

You drape the knitted blankets over both you and Eddie as you settle into the cushions. The only light existent coming from two lit candles on said coffee table. It wouldn't be too wise setting up the torch you think.

The side of Eddie's face glows in the orange yellow, his wide brown bambi eyes dried after the first grand storm, and there's this tug on the corner of his pink plush lips again. He exchanged his leather jacket for the freshly washed hoodie for comfort and a small part of you hopes he doesn't spill his dinner onto any of it.

You lean back into the backrest of the worn out couch and watch as he eats, a domestic thing you've done a thousand times already, yet you still find comfort in knowing that he's nourishing himself.

Or well, in this case, inhaling the raviolis.

"Thank you Peach", he moves to put the empty plate back on the coffee table and it makes the spoon chink and glide along the edge, "I really needed this."

His voice is a little hoarse, probably from the emotions of the hours behind him. Maybe he has indeed calmed down a little. His hand moves down to your thigh, squeezing.

You give him the most empathetic smile you can bring yourself to display, painfully aware of the blaze that is transpiring through your leggings and seeping into your bones, "it's no big deal, really. I mean it is– uh, being there for you, is."

And he can't bring himself to look up at you. Instead, he stares at the empty plate on that coffee table in front of him.

"And to me as well. It really helps that you're here."

He doesn't bother moving the calloused warmth of his hand from the soft warmth of your thigh. It lights your entire nervous system on fire. In a good way.

And that's when you begin to wonder if everything that has just happened and is still happening right now changes anything.

"I'm so glad it does", is all you're able to get out.

Eddie decides that it's time to lean into your side and wrap his arms around your torso once again, drop his head back to its favourite place with a soft content little hum.

He just needs physical comfort. Of course. Just that. Nothing more, nothing else.

The words are redundant but your mouth articulates them anyway, "try to get some sleep, yeah?"

His back already lifts and falls evenly. You place your hand on the back of his head that rests in the crook of your neck again, scratching through the curls lightly, searching to help him shut off even deeper.

–––––

The candles have gone out by the time your eyelids slowly open. It takes you a moment to recall the location you fell asleep in, and you hope that the nightly darkness the whole room is now filled with hasn't invited any stranger to take advantage of your unconsciousness.

There's a warm hand holding your face, the pad of a thumb tracing over the apple of your cheek softly. It makes its way from the bridge of your nose to the outer corner of your eye, and back. And forth. And back. And forth.

You must have moved to lie down on your back in your sleep, with Eddie's weight still on your body, legs entangled. It's not the first time you've slept like this, there had been movie nights that had ended similarly.

His hand caressing your cheek though, yeah that is new. There's something unspoken in the air this time around. Your stomach is doing flip flops when you realise that he is propped up on his elbow, just .. looking at you. With eyes that don't require light to hint at whatever it is he is trying to say, or maybe not trying at all.

"Eds, what are you doing?", you ask almost in a whisper followed by a lopsided smile, expecting an unserious answer, because he always tends to make a joke whenever he tries to avoid conversing about emotions regarding his heart.

His thumb stops its acrobatics on your cheek, comes to a halt.

"I'm–", he takes a deep breath before he continues, "I'm just so grateful it's you that's here right now."

Your hand comes up to cup his. Brush over his rough knuckles with a thumb of your own. Enjoying the warmth that is seeping from his palm into your skin.

"Yeah, I figured you were gonna be a little opposed to spending the night with Harrington", you laugh, an attempt to turn your nerves into humour.

Eddie snorts a little, "yeah right, it's almost like you know me", he grins and pushes himself even closer to your face than he already is. It doesn't necessarily help in extinguishing the fire that's consuming you whole at this point.

"It's almost like we're best friends and I know what you think of him because every time Dustin or literally anyone else mentions his name around you, you're not necessarily secretive about it."

"Hey, my own worldview is not my fault, it's just– ... he just kinda seems like a douche of the highest order."

"He's quite alright, Eds. Try giving him a chance, I think he'd look great as Coffin's tambourinist."

He snorts again and you feel his breath on the column of your neck next when he dips his head down, nose pressing against the soft skin, his small giggle being swallowed by the collar of your sweatshirt.

Your favourite sound. Ever. Followed by the relieved moan Eddie lets out at the way your other hand is softly rubbing over his shoulder blade. The vibration against your neck makes you twitch as much as being pinned into the couch cushions by his body allows you.

It's soothing as much for you as it is for him.

When he lifts his head, the soft gaze he eyes you with is enough to let the goosebumps erupt. Even in the darkness of the room you can still make out those round buttons that could melt the entire north pole.

"Thank you, Peach, really. I'd be goin' mental right now and probably tryin' to counter that by smoking an equally mental amount of the stash I've been hiding here."

Your heart aches.

"I'm just glad I can be that kind of comfort to you, Eds. You don't have to go through whatever the fuck this is alone."

"I know I'm never gonna be alone as long as you are there."

You almost cry yourself now, his words making your hand travel from his own to his cheek, almost passing out from the way his eyes bore into your own once again.

Eddie isn't sure what it is that is making him feel lightheaded right now. The whole rollercoaster of events of the past hours. Or your words of affirmation. Or mayhaps it is your cute soft hand with that little ring on your thumb which is gently swiping over his damp skin.

That cute soft hand he'd been imagining countless times at night, silently yearning for your eyes to look at him differently, to finally see him in a different light the next time you'd hang out.

Probably a combination of just everything.

You reciprocate his soft half-lidded gaze, hand moving from his cheek to tuck some of his hair behind his left ear, revealing that delicate silver hoop earring you'd gifted to him for his birthday, after having talked your ear off about getting his ear pierced for literal months.

He'd insisted you join him for the appointment, "another metal moment for the books", as Eddie had called it, the need to have his hand held during the stab comically urgent in the way his voice sounded when he called you that day. And in the pace in which he picked you up.

"I'm here no matter what", you respond to his sentiment, that hand that brushed his hair away resting on the side of his neck while leaning the weight of your head into his palm that is still attached to your cheek.

Eddie's confidence reaches a new all time high with the admission of your unconditional support being stirred into the cocktail of hormones and emotions that's been circulating in his bloodstream for a generous amount of time now.

Because then he goes on by saying impossible things.

Impossible things with a slightly less platonic undertone.

"You're so fucking sweet, has anyone ever told you?"

You smile as you shake your head, heat rising to your cheeks once again and you're sure he won't be able to see just how flustered he's getting you (joke's on you he does).

You're also sure he's out of his mind for saying that. Now.

"A shame, honestly. You should scold your best friend for not telling you sooner. Tell him what a fucking idiot he is."

Eddie earns another giggle from you. Music to his ears. Better than Metallica. Okay maybe not but .. pretty fucking close.

"I'll let him know next time I see him", you say with a grin, playing along with pleasure, and you ask yourself why it is only now that you realise just how fucking close his face is to yours.

There is a moment of silence in which Eddie hesitates articulating whatever is seemingly bugging his mind.

"Do you, uh, still like him?"

If you lifted your head just a little your noses would be touching. A silly and utmost redundant question, and yet, Eddie dreads your answer. If the circumstances were different, less dystopian and tragic, you'd seriously wonder what would spark the doubt in your friendship in him, but considering that everyone else would be going to pour their judgement over him, you understand.

Every word exchanged between the two of you at this hour is soaked in mutual infatuation, something the idiots in both of you are slowly starting to fathom as well.

"Of course I do, he's everything to me."

As you say it, you can't help the grin which reappears reliably each time you finish verbalizing your thoughts. It's contagious, you notice.

"And do you think – just hypothetically of course", it's only then he breaks eye contact to clear his throat, "of course", you interrupt him still smiling and cocking an eyebrow at him, "d'ya think it would be okay for this best friend to, uh, maybe...", Eddie pauses, internally watching the ship containing his confidence set sail slowly and ultimately letting the irrational thoughts win for tonight, "would you let him..."

Eddie generally wasn't someone who lacked confidence. It showed in the way he boisterously wandered the halls of Hawkins High, the way his demeanor never changed, his mask never faltered no matter who was around. Except for you. You who he had always granted a look underneath the impulsive, extroverted surface.

"Eds", you try everything in your power to stay calm even though everything inside of you is screaming right now and you're certain you can feel your pulse in your earlobes.

"Would it be just insane of that best friend to kiss you right now?"

You want to squeal and kick your feet, pull him into your face, pinch your own forearm, pass away, leave the house and never return, and stay right where you are forever, buried underneath your favourite metalhead, the parts where your bodies are touching practically on fire, cosy and content.

Instead, the most fond smile spreads over your lips as you try to contain your internal overwhelm.

It's still dark, the only light source being the full moon outside. Eddie's so hopeful of your reciprocation and even more terrified of ruining his entire life at the same time, those deep doe eyes at this point pretty much resemble the shape of the space rock orbiting earth. Rejection from you, his pretty Peach and the Bonnie to his Clyde, would be unbearable.

"I think so," you almost whisper, the hand that's been rubbing over Eddie's back coming up to lightly trace one of his eyebrows with your index finger because you just can't seem to not touch him in some way, "but you should know that I love his insanity."

Your small giggle is being silenced by a soft and cautious kiss from Eddie Munson. Like he doesn't want to break you. Or he's afraid you'll snap out of a haze, slap him and leave if he starts kissing you like he really wants to.

And then it's you who goes for it, you feel at home, right where you belong, you don't think you've ever felt this good. The hand on his jaw tugs him closer softly, pressing your lips to his with a bit more urgency.

It gives him all the confirmation he could possibly need.

That tingle, it grows and fills up your chest and shoots through your entire being, goosebumps and all. Eddie moans and breathes against your lips, tongue dancing over the thin skin, asking for permission.

His ringed hand digs deeper and slowly moves to the nape of your neck, intending to hold you in place, afraid you could slip away from him if he didn't. This blossoming thing between you could slip away from him. If he didn't.

It's so soft, the way his lips touch yours, and before you know it they move to your cheek, to your jaw, down your neck before Eddie comes up again, smiling from ear to ear, to gently bump his nose against the tip of yours and his lips return home with a soft and deep hum escaping from his lungs into your mouth.

Relief floods his veins along with whatever it is you're doing to him. The ability to shut out the insanity of the past hours is what he so desperately wants to cling to for as long as you allow him, even if the dawn will remind him of the horrid reality he's involuntarily become subject to live through now.

"You're making things so much better, Peach, you're so sweet, so fucking cute, so fucking good for me, do you even know for how long I've been dreaming of this?"

Eddie greedily pulls your face into his again, not even giving you a chance to reply and not nearly getting enough of your affection it seems with how fervently his tongue searches for yours.

A gentle collision of skin.

The soft whimpers you let out only spur him on. You not backing away from him, staying with him, letting him be this close to you?

You, the only constant source of consolation Eddie's ever really had.

Life changing.

Soft touches follow soft touches, your thumb traces his jaw repeatedly.

"You don't–", kiss, "for how long–", kiss, "I've been dreaming–", kiss, "of you as well", you breathe against him and Eddie thinks he might be about to resort to sniffling into your collar again with the amount of relief he is experiencing.

You'd let him.

"Yeah?", he presses his nose into your cheek with his eyes closed, smiling from ear to ear, relaxing his entire body into yours as you let him slide inbetween your legs.

"Yeah, you know how much of a sucker I am for peaches", you grin, another peck to his cheek, his jaw, his neck, your hips slowly finding a rhythm against his own.

Eddie groans at your allusion with a wide grin on his face (and the feeling of your warmth against his dick), before pressing his lips against yours again lovingly, "me too baby, me too."

–––

taglist (thought you might be interested): @josephfakingquinn, @ghost-proofbaby, @analogkraken, @wroteclassicaly, @songforeddiemunson, @joejoequinnquinn, @somnambulic-thing, @trashmouth-richie, @eddddiemunson, @ceriseheaven, @userchai

comments, reblogs and other forms of affection towards the author are greatly appreciated thank youuuuu <3

[downbytheriversside]

@madwheelerz yes!! Max's yellow raincoat was an homage to Georgie who was killed in that raincoat and later, pennywise disguised as him says to Bill "you lied, and I died". Can you imagine. Can you imagine!!! Mike getting vecna'd and one of the people he sees is max and she has a whole 'you lied (to El) and I died' moment?!?!! And maybe they could even use the flashbacks of them bonding over the last 6 months against Mike. Like he'll try to "hide in the light" when he sees max, so he finds a happy memory of the two of them. But just like with Max and all her memories, it only works for a little bit. So he keeps going to other memories and the audience can see how much closer they've gotten BUT the memories are all being tainted as we're getting the information do yknow what I mean?

this was so weird. why'd he look at him like that. is it a "how'd you know that" look or a "since when do you care about max" look or a "what the hell have you been up to all week" look or a "what took you so long we needed you two days ago" look or-

will el and jonathan moved, lucas doesn't know el was there, and mike is the one immediately handed responsibility by the camera and the script (and lucas' reaction??? maybe?????) for explaining why they weren't answering the phone. i am Nervous

everyone was saying in the tags of my post about mike getting the blame for not being there that it makes more sense coming from dustin than lucas and like. i see the vision. the set up is there. but ALSO, the reason lucas was Like That with mike in season 1 is because he wanted will back and felt like mike didn't care. now lucas wants max back and everyone thinks mike never liked her anyway. do you see where i'm going with this

[justghostly-things]

Why Mike Wheeler should get Vecna'd

I might need to rant about Mike Wheeler (to like the surprise of no one.) because if it's gonna be anyone its gotta be him, right? I don't think he is gonna die, or it's gonna be the exact same as it was for Max. (Simply because we have seen it before.) but I don't think it would be beneficial to Vecna any of the other characters.

and assuming that the Duffer brothers aren't just bad writers we know Mike has been acting weird for two whole seasons now. (I personally think it was worse in season 3 but it was still strange in season 4.) The show established him a certain way in season 1 then nailed it into the coffin that this is who he is in season 2 but then season 3 rolls around and he is just... Different. (An ass) Of course, we have our theories and analysis (thank you, to anyone who have compiled all the hints into one place what would we do without you 😭This or This or This)

but still.

Since we are talking about Stranger Things S4 and S5 there are a lot of uncomfortable topics that are going to be mentioned, I do not go into details. I barely mention it. I do not describe anything, but I do talk about the themes. Please stay safe while reading

We should look at this in three ways.

What it brings to the story

What advantage would it give Vecna (aka why would he want to Vecna them)

And how does it help the character

Let's talk about Max first. Because we can work out the logic with her and then try and translate it to other characters.

I think its import for this section to know that what Max has delt with is a very scary real thing. Many children have a very similar life as Max, and all I am going to do is talk about them from within the show. I will say is you are not a bad person because you wish death on someone who is hurting you. But from here on I am talking about Max from both her Pov and Vecna's. None of these things are my thought or feeling on the greater topic of abuse and dysfunctional families.

From a story perspective why was Max the one who got Vecna'd and not like, Dustin or Lucas? If you answered because she watched Billy die. Yes. Anyone who understands a progression of a story can figure out why it makes sense for Max to be Vecna'd. We create this guy who shows you your trauma reflected back at you and then kills you as seen in both Fred (Nancy's friend) and Chrissy.

Which of the main cast of characters just went through a trauma event just the season before? Max.

I think if this is all you take from season 4 you have fundamentally forgotten one important thing about Max getting Vecna'd. It isn't just about the trauma of her watching her brother die. No, Vecna specifically targets the fact that Max deep-down wished-for Billy to die, she used to fantasize about it. It isn't just survival guilt. And we are shown this visually through Fred who also has survival guilt. Their trauma is different because Max's guilt isn't just about surviving. That is why it had to be Max. Because all of the characters could feel some sort of Survival guilt. They have watched so many people die and get hurt. it reveals two things. One is how Max truly feels about Billy's death, and two it tells us more about what Vacna is actually doing in the vision. Because he isn't just trying to torture a traumatized Max to the point that she willing to just give up. it is showing Max some "ugly truth" about her to herself. Because that is what Vecna is. Or thinks he is. He sees the world as horrible and should be corrected and the only way to do that is by "starting over". This is him showing max what is "wrong" with her and killing her (so he can start her over/create a new her)

I feel like I need to rewatch season 3 again because I can't remember exactly but I think Max most likely played a big part in season 3 where she kept meddling with Possessed Billy. (Mike did too but we will get to that(this thing is gonna be long btw)) She showed that she is willing and able to mess up Vecna's plans.

(It is kinda a debated if it was just the Mind Flayer or if it was Vecna himself that possessed Billy (and Will in season 2) but for the purpose of this we will say that he at least knows the role that Max (and Mike) played in the mall fight.)

All of this to say from Vecna's Perspective, he sees a group of kids who keep getting in the way, And they are all close to El? And one of these kids has extreme guilt about Billy? Yeah of course he targets her. It is so useful. It'll get to El and the rest of the party. Making them weaker and affect them emotionally so they are more likely to react irrationally. It's so perfect for him. Literally Max says so in the show.

and Max, (I can tell some people aren't gonna be happy with me for this so just know I love max so much please, but) she up until season 4 was a bit of a weird character. She is a confusing character. Especially in season 2, she has a lot of character inconsistencies. This video explains all of what I am talking about in this section this really well. but she isn't really a main character until season 4. She plays more of a supporting role. Especially in season 3 where she is helping El find part of independence. And yes, we know Max has a hard home life and how Billy is an ass to her. We know this but we don't really understand it until season 4. She just feels like an inconsistent character up until this point. (you know who else is an inconsistent character-) Her getting Vecna'd shows us a direct shot into her head and we can start to piece together the truth of her character. We really get to understand why she is inconsistent. And how it isn't a flaw of the writing, it's Max being 13 and dealing with a terrible home life.

the best part about it is that there are clues all over that are screaming at us and I can tell you right now that there were probably so many children who saw themself in Max. And people who were screaming about how this is why! It's because of her home life! while the rest of us were just calling it inconsistent writing. And yes, I am gonna bring it up because this is exactly what we see with Mike Wheelers character. Because the truth is that we haven't seen the whole story, we have barely seen anything of Mike for the last two seasons. (mentally i know he is on screen I mean mentally) we just have a theory on what is going on in his head. and I think it would be a waste not to use Vecna to do the same thing they did for Max for Mike and this is ignoring all of the parallels the two characters have. this is just from a story point of view and omg can you tell how passionate I am about this??

Now do i think it is impossible for any of the other character to get Vecna'd? No? it would probably be more similar to how Nancy got Vecna'd. Mostly because if my other theory is correct (is this shameless self-promotion?) I don't think there is time for like all the character to get Vecna'd.

But yeah, lets talk about a few of the character and why I do or don't think they could get Vecna'd. I will try to make this quick.

Steve: Steve is very interesting and I kind of wanna make like a character analysis about him at some point (probably after I rewatch the show) but I think it could go either way. Steves whole arc for the whole show is to show us how someone can change. Steve started as an ass and has slowly been evolving to become a better person. And I think there is a place for Vecna to come into that but idk if he needs it. I think Steve's can jump over the last hoop by himself (unlike some people who haven't even started jumping... (Mike)) Overall I don't think it will tell us anything we don't already know about Steve, but I can see Vecna wanting to incapacity Steve because of his physical strength. Dustin: Again, I am not sure what more Dustin getting Vecna'd will tell us about Dustin. If anyone has any thoughts, please don't be scared to let me know. I can see Vecna also wanting to take out Dustin because of his smarts. So strategically I can see this being something Vecna would want to "Take out" (but i am not sure how strategic Vecna is? I certainly don't think it would be the main reason that he targets someone.) Lucas: Idk, I think it would be great to have Lucus be more import to the plot but if he is gonna get Vecna'd it's gonna be about Max and him "teaming" up with the Basketball? guys. (I say hesitantly because I don't remember what sport it was...) Which we don't need to be told he feels bad about because he told us. So, idk. I guess we can talk about Will as well: but it's really all the same thing, I don't know what new information we can learn if we see him getting Vecna'd. Sure, its angsty and that might be reason enough for some people, but I know if I was writing Season 5, I wouldn't even consider it. We know almost everything that is plaguing Will. We see almost everything first hand. And sure, we knew about Billy for Max but like I said it was more than just "she watched Billy die" and sure maybe there is something I just don't see or don't know. I just don't see reason for this poor boy to go through more. The other thing is I don't see why Vecna would want to not just kill but make Will suffer. Make him have a pain full death? If Vecna wanted Will dead, Will would be dead. its plain and simple. the amount of times Vecna had Will in his grasps? I don't believe it was just luck. I would actually love to see if there aren't times where Will could be in danger, or it would make more sense for the danger to target will but for some reason it didn't, and he came out unscathed? (if I notice anything in my rewatch I will add it here) but yeah. also, there is all the parallels between Will and Vecna, so I think Vecna sees himself in will, maybe like how he saw himself in El and maybe will try and recite him. Idk but it seems (to me at least) that Vecna has more planed than, make him suffer and then die, in store for will. This is a really good analysis and this I agreed with on why Will was probably not gonna get Vecna'd. But it is a really good (and funny) video so go check it out if you haven't.

all of this is making me want to do an analysis on Vecna/henry. I don't think he is a partially new kind of villain, but I think it would be fun to try and dive into his head.

Hopeful this is my last point where I finally get to talk about my boy Mike wheeler. This is a Mike wheeler safe place. (I say as I am about to make my point on why he should go through pain and torture next season.)

I kind of have talked about some of this but let's dive into more detail (like we did with Max) and talk about my three main points

What it brings to the story

What advantage would it give Vecna (aka why would he want to Vecna them)

And how does it help the character

I feel like the story has been building up to this for a long time actually. Not only with the stalker shots that Mike is shot in but everything we see about his character. From how much we have seen his character change between season 2 and 3, to how little we actually know about Mikes inner workings. Mike is a puzzle right now. He is surrounded by character who are at least decently written and at most complex and compelling. And he is a main character? Like if Mike was a Minor or supporting character (like Erica and arguably robin) it would be weird sure but at least expectable. But Mike was THE main character in the opening season. We learn the most about him. And we see a lot of the story threw his eyes. And what? Were just going to throw all of that away? Like it was nothing?

But! I bring up the point I made about Max again. About what she was like in season two, what our impression of Max as a character and how that changed in season 4. The reason her character acted like that was because of things we didn't have connections for until season 4. All the parts were laid out in front of us they just needed to be connected. Mike getting Vecna'd will literally connect the dots for us. it'll show us an obvious and clear answer for what is wrong with Mike. Because how, honestly, are they going to show us all of these complex things that has been haunting Mike without a Vecna vision? It's the last season. We do not have endless time to unpack everything that is happening inside his head. Especially if the season is going to be as busy as I expect. We have like 20 other character who needs screen time, and we are getting introduced to more characters? And we have to fight the big bad? and there is gonna be a time skip (I swear to whatever higher being there is if they try to pull a "all Mikes' problems got fixed over the time skip" bs I am gonna be on the news for homicide. no-one will ever hear the end of it, omg. i don't even care if Byler becomes cannon, there will be war.) point is this matter is delicate and Mike lips on the matter are sealed so tight. If he hasn't said a word about this in 3 years he isn't gonna talk about it now. He needs a push, and Vecna is going to push him down a flight of stairs.

I do feel like I am repeating myself but it's crazy how similar Mike and Max character are. Almost like they are shining bright neon lights saying like look at this! notice this! and I know I am not the only one to point this out. But like what was stated in this video, Mike is almost the perfect person to Vecna'd , he not only has a connection with both El and Will. He, as Will would put it, is "the heart" of the party. He is connected to all the other character in some way. And if taking Max out would of killed motivation/ made the party unstable imagine what killing Mike would do to them? Which is why I do believe in the Mike was the original four victim theory (I think I saw someone go into more detail, but I can't find it. If I do, I will update with both links)

Also, remember when I mentioned that both Mike and Max have meddled with Vecna's plot in season 3, I just think I should point out how in the gym scene where they trap Billy in the sauna it is Mike taunting Him. And in season 2 he was the one who figured out that Will was possessed. All I can think of for season 1 is that he took El in and formed a kindling with her, which isn't strong evidence but idk maybe Vecna gets jealous easily idk.

And I think to understand this last point I would recommend watching or reading threw the links I linked all the way at the top of this discussion. but I would urge you to watch this at the very least: This video

if you haven't caught on yet, I do believe the Vecna visions are going to reveal to the audience that Mike is gay and has been the whole time. aemiron-main has a very good theory on how I think this is gonna go, because that falls into the same thought bubble as Max's. Where I think the theme isn't just that he is dealing with internalised Homophobia but his guilt surrounding his queerness. which we can easily explore through a vision. and it explains why he has been acting this way, especially in season 3. Like, can you even think about what this poor kid is going though mentally because, your best friend, literally your person got possessed, you watched as they lead to your friends new dad's death? like you can do nothing? and you blame yourself because if you had stop being gay for two seconds just to notice that there is something off about him you could have saved everyone? YEah I would be an asshole as well. Honestly, I think all the clues are there we just Vecna to piece them together.

And even in the very unlikely situation where I and like every other Byler are wrong about Mike being gay. Mike getting Vecna'd can only mean positive things for his character.

I feel like I had another point to make but I genuinely can't remember what it was T_T so, if I remember I will update this. But that is my point. Mike wheeler is gay and will be tormented by demonic infused visions of him being gay in the next season. so, you know. like an average Tuesday for any queer.

[glisten-inthedark]

what are your thoughts on the overall plot of season 5? its a heavy question i know but you wanted something to do 😭

and im not talking just byler im talking

-whos getting killed

-whos getting vecna'd but lives

-is max gonna come back and in what condition

-if holly gets taken whats gonna happen and will she die

-how invested will karen wheeler be

-how destroyed is hawkins gonna be and how are they gonna get around

-jancy vs stancy: whats gonna happen there

-if byler is gonna end up endgame, how is it happening and how will el react?

im talking full season 5 analysis 😌 cmon weve got the season names now lets put it together 🙏

(obviously you dont need to answer this bc it is a kinda broad question but even just one of the questions there yk)

Hello! Ok I love these questions, let's see what we can do with them!

So considering we already know when the next season will take place, I feel like we will start with El and Mike already broken up and we will see how it happened by flashback.

I also believe that Mike will be attached by Will's side like a baby koala and won't leave him alone because now that Will feels Vecna, he will be afraid of what might happen to him.

We will see Mike and Lucas's bffsness rising again and we will see Dustin coping with Eddie's death.

This part of more of a want than what I necessarily think might happen but this is my kingdom and I make the rules lmao. I want a lot of Jonathan and Steve interactions (by themselves). God, they can learn so much from each other so I need to see them actually talking and to be honest I do think they will and that they might end the season as friends. (I hope, Duffers please don't fuck this up more than you already have).

I also think Mike is Vecna's target. We know that he doesn't want to kill Will, but he absolutely sees Mike as a threat to his evil lord plan, so I think he'd want to target him specifically. I'm not sure if it will be the traditional Vecna target we saw already, because we don't know for sure that this was the only thing he could do, but I do think Vecna will use Mike to hurt Will and make Mike face his feers and traumas.

I do think Max will come back but she will probably be blind. I don't know for sure if she'll have any other disabilities but I do think her blindness should be permanent.

Ok this will be a controversial opinion but I don't think the Duffers should kill anyone. Someone dying has become almost predictable at this point. In season 2, Bob died. In season 3 Billy died, in season 4 Eddie, Jason, Chrissy and Fred died. I understand the stakes are higher and all that jazz, but it'd be funny af if everyone is bracing themselves for someone to die and in the end no one does.

But if I'm being realistic about it, it'd guess it'd probably be Murray, Dustin or Nancy.

As I said before, due to Hopper's speech about being cursed I feel like El, Jonathan, Will and Joyce are safe and got plot armor, but I may be wrong.

I don't know, I don't want anyone to die sob 😔 😢 😭

About Holly I don't think she will die, but I do think maybe she gets taken to lure Will and Mike in. Maybe Vecna's plan is to get them there, in enemy territory, where he can control the outcome better and again, hurt Mike to get to Will.

About Karen I hope she finds everything out and I say the same about Ted. I'm still not ready to completely brush him off as the homophobic side character until season 5 drops.

J*ncy vs St*ncy: I say St*ncy agenda for the win lmao. OK this is just my pipe dream, but realistically speaking: if neither Jonathan or Nancy die they are definitely endgame. Their relationship is beautiful and there's an amazing connection between them both.

I do think they need to talk and be honest with each other and they will work things out.

But is too much to ask that the writers take advantage of the fact that Jonathan and Steve will be paired and get them to fall in love and then he, Jonathan and Nancy grg together and live happily ever after?

As for Byler:

I feel like they will probably make it look like Will is fine, and instead they're going to focus a lot on Mike this season.

And this might be just a feeling of mine, but I do think they went for a bigger time jump so that they could explore things more with Mike.

He'll have more time to come to terms with himself and with how he feels towards Will, but I do think he assumes that Will doesn't feel the same for him (so season 4 but thr opposite).

And Mike will be attached to Will's side, he'll definitely feel guilty over how things were so he'll overcompensate, but I do think they will get together during episode 7? I dunno, but I feel like is episode 7.

And this is where the feeling I get comes in and it might be unpopular, but I do feel they might heavily imply that they won't just kiss. I can't explain it but I feel like they might show us them having sex.

I feel it matches with their age and potentially with the story I assume they are trying to tell.

In the end, I don't think there's nothing that will be left implied about their relationship, there will be just a message of:

This is love. This is what love is.

Thanks for the ask and for giving me something to do and I hope you have a great weekend 😊

[zannolin]

9, 11, 42

9. Do you comment on stories you read?

as many as i can, yes. i pride myself in doing my best to be the kind of commenter i'd love to have on my own fics. a lot of the time i don't leave as extensive comments as i would like because i'm really tired and low-energy by the time i have a moment to read fic but dammit i'm going to leave a nice comment! the author deserves to know their work was good and i enjoyed it!!

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

this is evil because i hate choosing. um. okay.

there's daggers in men's smiles by pinkgrapefloyd continues to haunt me. it's a lawrusso fencing au spanning the movies to cobra kai timeline and it's SOOOO. like it's everything to me. please read this fic. how is this not the most talked about fic in the world.

autostereogram by marycontraire. talked about this one before on my blog. will continue to do so. forever. set like nebulously post ck canon, it's about robby finding out lawrusso were briefly involved in '85 and it's so....like okay it's part of a series about them getting their lives together and getting themselves together and the whole messy history of it all and the entire series is good i cannot stress that enough. but this one. it's so devastating and perfect and the choice to tell it via robby's pov is fucking genius and i keep thinking about it. please read this fic. please hold my hand and talk to me about it. it haunts me.

love me on purpose by smoosnoom. oh. my fucking god. this fic. look me in the eyes. IGNORE the fact that it isn't finished. it doesn't fucking matter this fic is ART. i saw the summary and was bewitched body and soul. it's stranger things, post-canon, post-college. mike and will haven't talked for four years and everyone's back in hawkins for christmas and it's the most poignant, devastating, heartfelt story about depression and self-worth and losing touch and reconnecting and growing up and leaving home and coming back and GOD the byler writers have me by the throat and the heart and the soul also because they understand the assignment (estranged childhood best friends) (knowing someone better than you know yourself and then losing them and trying to find yourself again and maybe them too) (the inherent tragedy of growing up and growing apart) (the love was there and it mattered and what if it isn't anymore? what if it is?) this fic rly just made me lose my mind more over mike wheeler than i do normally which is saying something. if you know me at all.

honorable mentions go to compunction also by smoosnoom (ohhhh mike wheeler) & what kind of man doesn't by menocchio (lawrusso roadtrip fic of all time)

42. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

i believe it was sleepless nights, losing ground, i'm reaching for you by andiwriteordie just this morning. i've been waiting all day to have time to comment lol. it's basically what if mike and will were both being vecna'd in season 4 and i really enjoyed it! the end is so cruel to me personally (in a fun way i would love another 10k words stat pls) but yeah i'd recommend it. it's definitely one of the best mike gets vecna'd fics i've found so far.

get to know your fic writer!

[andiwriteordie]

mike wheeler and firebending, thoughts? 🎤

maddy i am so late to this mostly because the atlagate asks piled up and i panicked and was like AH I NEED TO WRITE A LOT OF STUFF DOWN BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME.

but i'm here now! catching up on more mike wheeler and firebending thoughts.

mike's firebending is a representation of how mike needs to be needed/how he thinks he has to offer something to someone else in order for them to reciprocate his love and his care for them... so obviously, his relationship with his bending is something that's complicated. he spends so much of his time trying to be something he's not, trying to live up to nancy's standards, trying to improve his bending to better protect his friends (namely will), trying to just be good enough and useful enough for the people he loves (and really, for himself).

which then makes me want there to be a point in this story where mike loses/nearly loses his ability to firebend.

look, we all know that i'm a huge fan of the mike wheeler gets vecna'd storyline in s5 (please i am still on my knees begging for this i want it almost as much as i want byler.) so, again, still throwing rocks around in my brain, still bothering nic and getting their thoughts as well, still putting the pieces together of this little (*cough* massive *cough*) au, but nic and i had talked about wanting at some point to have a moment where will nearly loses mike. expanding on our ideas on that will come later (because that's a whole huge separate ask on its own LOL), but long and short of it, it's essentially the idea that mike, like max, gets targeted by henry and nearly dies from it.

anyways, where my brain is wandering to on its own is the thought that, i've discussed how max loses her sight in the aftermath of what henry does to her (because of the lack of oxygen to the brain leading to blindness in her case) how eventually she learns to earthbend again using toph's seismic sense technique. i've discussed a little bit how will struggles to airbend again because of his own encounters with henry affect his ability to breathe—both from a physical sense of like... fucked lungs and such, but also because of the trauma/panic of being reminded of that ordeal every time he tries to bend.

but now imagining mike after being targeted by henry? mike wakes up, only because will was able to help him keep breathing until help came (oop a max and lucas parallel right there!). mike's lungs not functioning as well because of the damage of henry's airbending techniques. mike being hardly able to breathe without assistance, having to go through the same kind of airbender guided physical therapy as his lungs recover.

and what do we know about firebending?

that it comes from the breath.

so, the stakes are higher than they ever were before, because henry is stronger than every and beginning his assaults on hawkins, and mike... mike is effectively benched for the time being. he's just beginning to come to his own as a firebender, and then this happens, and he's angry. he feels useless and terrified, and he hates the idea of his family, of his friends, of will going back out there into this fight against henry, while he's back here, struggling to breathe and do even basic firebending again.

but we get the reversal of what we saw when will had similar issues with his airbending, where now will is the one helping mike relearn how to breathe. and mike confides in will and confesses to him that he feels so useless—that he doesn't know who he is without his firebending and sure, it's always been mediocre, he's no nancy, but at least, he's been able to do the basics. he can throw himself into danger even if he's not so good at bending, and he can be there, fighting alongside his friends. but now? now, mike doesn't know if he can do that, and he's scared because he knows will is going to end up going up against henry again too. he feels entirely useless.

and we just... we get a moment—i suppose the semi-equivalent of the van/heart moment—where will gets to affirm mike and remind him of his value that exists outside of his bending and even more than that, outside of everything he feels like he has to give to the world in order to be loved. it's a moment of pure love, because will has never needed mike to be great at bending or be able to protect him in order for will to love him. will just loves mike for who he is—kind, loyal, brave, intelligent, and so, so full of love.

interruption trope occurs because mike absolutely almost kisses will after this, since it's becoming more obvious that their feelings for each other are Not Platonic. gotta love a good byler interruption trope

[whynotimtired]

You're not listening to me hard enough rn. Will is getting vecna'd at the beginning of st5 and when fake El shows up at the roller rink she's going to berate him for never helping while she's bullied. WHY ELSE WOULD THEY SO BLATANTLY SHOW HIM FREEZING??? AND TRYING HIS HARDEST TO HELP AFTER EVERY TIME?? HE FEELS SO GUILTY YOU GUYS AND VECNA IS GOING TO THROW IT IN HIS FACE THROUGH HIS FUCKING SISTER

[rainbownixie]

if the duffers don't give me a heart to heart between nancy and mike because she knows his brother is probably going to die i'm going to sue them both and netflix for horrible writing and lack of emotion

[annabylers]

One of my first tries at digital art... And of course I had to draw Will getting Vecna'd

[shandy-and-champagne]

Disproving an unreliable narrator (HP/ST parallels)

(psa : this post is in reference to the use of an unreliable narrator/memory reveal plot device ONLY I do not think Mike Wheeler is like Snape. AT ALL. Believe me guys. Absolutely not. No.

I just think the narrative similarities are interesting considering the strong Harry/(Voldemort/Tom Riddle) and Will/(Vecna/Henry Creel) parallels and how Papa is almost like Dumbledore, in a narrative sense, raising a child like a pig for slaughter because he failed terribly with the last one -- but that's another post)

I've said this before, but in the final Harry Potter movie, THE 'big twist' for the general audiences was Snape's memories scene -- a memory montage revealing that all his questionable behaviour was, in essence, because he was in love with someone you never would have expected - his childhood best friend -- this is partly why I'm convinced we're going to get a flashback montage to explain Mike Wheeler's thoughts and feelings since before season 1.

The situations are startlingly mirrored. All though the HP series, we are shown through snippets of conversation an inexplicable looks, that Snape is the villain, but we are seeing this through Harry's eyes as an unreliable narrator.

The 'point of no return' for Snape's character was him murdering Dumbledore, it was the ultimate betrayal designed to make the audience believe that Harry's unreliable narration was correct. It was that final moment of indisputable evidence that he is everything he was painted as being.

-- But even that had facets that turned the whole thing on its head in hindsight (he was a double agent, and did it because he felt forced, and pushed by his friend, and had in fact begged not to be put in that position).

Mike's monologue is similar, (!!! NOT that I am likening a love confession to committing murder, (please.) this is purely in a narrative sense) for byler it seems to be the point of no return, the metaphorical final nail in the coffin for Will's feelings ever being requited. But as with HP, some things just don't add up -- Mike's facial expressions and the actual words of the monologue just don't support the sentiment. This monologue was intentionally used to divert as much suspicion as the writers could, in order for that twist to pack a that much harder punch.

We know this! We know that Will is an unreliable narrator here, I just find it interesting that the plot device to resolve that unreliable narration for the big twist in Harry Potter was a memory montage with dramatic music and posthumous* redemption centred around being in love with a childhood best friend.**

And yes I do think this revelation is going to come hand in hand with the reveal about what really happened the night Will disappeared and whether Will has powers or has to die or is the key to defeating Vecna. The use of flashbacks in this way is such a cathartic plot device and I love it, and I think the drama of byler can do it justice :)

* Yes I'll admit this makes me a little scared that Mike is going to die in s5 and we'll find out through his hidden letters, (read by him, voicing over a montage) that he loved Will all along, and he just never got to say it, but if this is true I will never recover so let's not go there I prefer the Vecna'd approach anyway

**(Albeit the HP childhood best friends to lovers plot was an unrequited one, but the point still stands)

[eatmehuckass]

Okay so we know mike pulls more guys and will pulls more girls, so does anyone know a fic where will’s jealous that mike keeps on being flirted with and where mikes jealous wills being flirted with? ( not of each other but of the people that are flirting)

[viewmasterfeeling]

Hi, welcome! Here's a list of the fics I've written :]

My ask box is open for fic prompts! i mostly write byler ficlets, but i'd be open to writing general ST stuff (more focused on the group dynamic and the UD/powers) too :>

I love collabs! Please message me if you're interested in collabing! :]

here's my ao3 - i'll hopefully be adding my ficlets here soon!

My fics

Old fic masterlist - older fics from 2020; i feel that my writing has improved a lot :]

Ficlets

love keeps you safe - 893 words, fluff and angst, established byler post-show

going, gone - 135 words, angst

ask game prompts O byler +13 - things you said at the kitchen table (268 words) O elmax + 6 - things you said under the stars and in the grass (610 words) O byler + 15 - things you said with too many miles between us (422 words)

library - 447 words, fluff, mike works at the library and will loves his boyfriend no matter how annoying he may be

warm my heart - 480 words, established byler fluff, will pov

Pre-Volume 1 Speculation

california sunset - 485 words, byler scene in the pizza van :]

mike wheeler speaking - 289 words, mike monologue

hand-hold ficlet - 232 words, byler speculation

heroes - 187 words, takes place during cali road trip, a little byler angst, internal monologue

love, mike - 685 words, letter from mike, so much angst but also byler, EDIT: I changed it from ‘from’ to ‘love’ :]

paper truths - 310 words, angst, season 4-ish

byler argument - 167 words, season 4 speculation, mike finds out about el getting bullied and will and mike argue about it, UPDATE i lowkey predicted the roller rink argument scene 😭

Pre-Volume 2 Speculation

"Will the Wise" - 235 words, season 4 fic, eddie hears about mike's old friend will the wise

mike in hiding - 581 words, season 4 byler scene + mike gets vecna'd

not yet - 545 words, vol2 byler scene speculation, mike asks will about his "crush", and neither of them are ready to say what they really mean

byler vecna concept - NOT A FIC, but a volume 2 concept that i'm now obsessed with; i might end up writing it

clock chimes - 300 words, another vecna mike fic <3

you're the heart - 459 words, byler scene based on the leaked calendar and track thingy, painting reveal

Longer Fics (1k-3k words)

airport reunion, take 2 - 2.3k words, spring break of '87, the wheelers pick up the byers from the airport and mike has a huge crush on will, fluff and humor :>

Pre-Volume 1 Speculation

reawakening - 2k words, smalltown boy, also artist will and generally cute byler vibes :)

pouring (my heart out) - 1.7k words, angsty rain kiss, will has powers, mike pov :)

rocky roads with uncertain ends - 2.9k words, will and mike ignoring each other angst, angry confessions, roadtrip

Pre-Volume 2 Speculation

so i stayed in the darkness with you - 1.8k words, post-painting reveal and will-getting-vecna'd, byler first kiss in the moonlight <3

[willel]

I feel like that's why some people might dislike or find it hard to sympathize with mike because most of his arcs or conflicts revolve around/half to do with another person who's usually shown having a hard time for whatever reason. I really wanted him to get vecna'd in v2 so we could see more of his own internal feelings, conflicts, hardships, fears and how he would react to being in a situation like that in general since compared to other characters we don't get to see that a lot with him

There were quite a lot of "Mike gets vecna'd" theories in the Will Byers tag (please allow me to spill a little bit of my saltiness about the Will Byers tag being halfway filled with posts about Michael Wheeler even though Michael Wheeler has his own Michael Wheeler tag. Now see here Michael Wheeler, you are too tall to be William Byers so please stay in your own tag thank you)

I don't really see a point in Mike getting vecna'd. At least, not in the way that Max and the other victims were. What guilt is Mike carrying? What self-hatred does he have? How has he been personally harmed/traumatized?

I'm not downplaying his fears of losing the people he loves or being inadequate and useless, but those don't really seem to fit Vecna's MO. I wouldn't really say Mike is suffering from guilt or self loathing, not in the way the other victims are. Even Nancy's guilt over Barb wasn't enough to make her a prime target, just a messenger. See what I mean?

We've been following Mike's story all these years, there's nothing particularly new Vecna could show us about Mike that we don't already know.

We know Max's step brother died. We know she was feeling a certain way about it. We saw her distancing herself from her friends and Lucas. We saw how much her living situation has deteriorated and her struggling in school.

Mike, in comparison, still has a stable home life and is living as an average teenager even with a bit of bullying and being a nerd. He's like... SO squeaky clean compared to his friends at this point that I can't help but feel like it's being done on purpose.

El, Will, Dustin, and Lucas (and Max of course) have all lost someone very close to them now. Like, really lost them. Craddled their dead bodies in their arms and/or sits with their comatose body every day. (not to mention Lucas having to face various forms of racism over the years) It's almost like a reverse of season 2.

Right now, I imagine Mike as an anchor. An anchor to normalcy and relatively carefree life. The "normal" one. The only one with eyes unclouded with grief and pain. The one who can't be lead astray because his heart is untainted.

What if that is Mike's role? To be the tether the party needs to escape the darkness? Not in a "MIKE IS OUR SAVIOUR" kind of way. But the one who will slap them all awake when they need it most kind of way. The lifeline kind of way, holding the rope and dragging them all back one by one cause he's the one that's "harder to trick".

Know what I mean?

While I would've liked to get down deep into Mike's head and find all his trauma, I don't think there IS much trauma there, not the kind of trauma the main baddie likes to capitalize on.

If this is Mike's role, I can see why the audience sympathizes more with characters like El. Will, and Max. Part of the point of their characters is to suffer. A lot.

But maybe the point of Mike's character is that he doesn't suffer, and that's why he can save them all?

[eatmehuckass]

I don’t know how people don’t think byler won’t be cannon , will definitely likes mike back , there’s no question about it

[eatmehuckass]

I need more characters like Mike wheeler