#some of u guys just see mike as Will’s boyfriend

[teambyler]

One simple trick to make it obvious that Mike and El don't have a healthy relationship:

Switch their genders. Imagine that El is a GUY with superpowers. And Mike is a GIRL who feels like a nobody next to him.

Why would this amazing guy ever like her? She doesn't deserve him. She's just some random person who happened to catch his eye.

(Pics by u/alwaysbi and from Reddit)

He heightens her feeling of inadequacy. Yet she can't imagine losing her superhero boyfriend, because her sense of self-worth depends on having this guy.

She must make sure he DOESN'T LEAVE HER. Loving him as a person is less on her mind than her fear that he will leave her. (Mike literally spends more time thinking and talking about El leaving him than about her being hunted by part of the government.)

When the time comes, it's chaotic and our superhero is in danger of dying. She genuinely doesn't want him to die. But in her love confession, she says that he is HER superhero. She still views him as better than her. She looks UP to him and admires him from below.

Their relationship has never been about them being in love with the other person, but with the IDEA of the other person, the IDEA of a conventional "happy" relationship. And in this case, one where she sees herself as the lesser half of the two.

And still, after her confession of love, he is barely talking to her! For his own reasons (in El's case, probably healthy ones), the superhero seems to have moved on. The girl's fear of losing him was actually well-grounded.

The unhealthiness of Mike and El's relationship is disguised by the fact that the show switches the usual dynamic in real-life opposite-sex couples, where often it's the girl who feels inadequate and undeserving of the guy.

We know the show DID pull back the veil at one point: Mike refers to himself as Lois Lane and El as Superman in describing how he feels:

The writers deliberately chose these words to make clearer the unhealthy unequal dynamic in the Mileven relationship. (As well as hint that Mike might like boys. =D )

Hey Mike! There IS someone who loves you exactly for being you, and unconditionally...

-teambyler

[bylrlve]

Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things 5 mentioned,

Rewatching episode 2, and I’m genuinely staggered by how many times Mike peeks at Will. It’s very clear his mind is on Will, in fact. I am also staggered by just how many small byler details are in here.

His whole face drops after no. 4 too, as @starbylers observed here.

I also want to include these @chirpsythismorning gifs from the roller rink scene, as they’re brilliant:

Mike watching Will get out of the van, and seemingly offering a hand to him.

Mike openly watching Will as they take their skates.

(X) (X)

These are very deliberate acting choices from Finn Wolfhard, and he was certainly doing it on instruction.

Some other notes on 402:

The transition from Mike and El being fake -> Murray looking up looking like he’s experiencing his Seeing Clearly -> Robin talking about Vickie laughing ‘and not like a cheap, fake laugh, but a real, genuine laugh’, right after we saw Mike hiding his genuine disgust at burritos for breakfast behind a tone of fake laughter.

Mike’s whole face just drops into an unhappy, spaced-out espression when it zooms in on El - this is after Will ignored his sock joke (video here by @buckybxarnes)

As many have observed, Mike and El look genuinely miserable when viewed from Angela’s perspective, as opposed to the shot of them skating with Will miserable behind them

It’s occurred to me that in s2, 3, and 4, the byler plot really takes off in episode 2. I’m wondering if that’s also the case with s5 - I’ve reconsidered my theory that the Mike + El rooftop scene takes place after the hospital plot in ep 2, as I’ve heard that the paparazzi at the filming site were told it was in episode 1.

The door slam/open transition between Joyce going to the bank to get the 40k random for Hopper, utterly singleminded, and Mike barging into the womens’ bathroom, being kicked out, and subsequently starting an argy-bargy with Will as opposed to continuing to prioritise El… well!

The disparity in time is so interesting. El counts off 185 days since she last saw Mike - which is roughly six months, as is canon within the show (Sept-Oct 1985-March 1986). And here Mike is, saying ‘you knew she was having trouble for, like, a year’ and Will saying ‘it’s been a year, Mike’ and, in 404, Mike saying ‘the last year has been weird.’ It’s pretty obvious the last one is Mike referring to their fight nine months earlier, plus the time prior that Mike had spent pulling away from the rest of the Party to focus on El. The second one is Will potentially referencing the time that elapsed since their fight - even if it’s moreso subtext from the writers. What, then, to make of Mike saying Will knew El was having trouble for, like, a year? What subtext could be meant by this? I’d love to hear your guys’ thoughts because u can’t quite deduce this.

Mike listing off everything Will did is so hilarious given the surveillance he carried out all day on the boy, and given the fact that poor El being humiliated publicly and assaulted with liquid before she skated off bawling did not, apparently, ruin the day. On second thoughts, I understand what Will meant… she’s in trouble having Mike’s gay ass for a boyfriend.

What’s striking me now is that this fight + El’s iconic roller skate moment, are the real emotional climaxes of this episode’s M/E/W plot. It could have been Mike finding El and comforting her before she lashed out at Angela. It could have been him talking to her afterwards. It could have been at the house - him following her up to her room and silently comforting her until she fell asleep. No, no. Mike and Will airing out their grievances (and Mike betraying which of the two truly emotionally affects him more) + El handling her own shit, while Mike thoroughly disapproves.

The way that Will just wants to be Mike’s friend, but it’s Mike making it so deeply weird.

The way, also, that they stick together at the rink even after the fight, and Mike openly is more preoccupied by Will in the van. I’ve seen it observed before: the parallel between El and Will staring out the same window in the van crying: Mike looks at Will in the shot. He does not look at El in the shot.

I think it’s hilarious that Mike ends the fight by feigning concern for El - he offered her no comfort whatsoever, actively stood away from her when she was waiting for Jonathan and Argyle to arrive, ignored her crying in the van, and of course:

She didn’t look fine.

Mike and Will are blocked together, not Mike and El

The sincerity of Mike’s concern over El juxtaposed with the rank falseness of ‘no, that’s…that’s not true, maybe I was a little upset in the moment’ etc really sticks out - the defensiveness is reminiscent of the tone he took with Will during the fight, but even then he was more sincere-sounding because he was more emotionally affected.

Bylers don’t talk enough about the insanity of ‘who… who said that I didn’t?’ In context, thinking logically, Mike is very likely referring to Will here (the bullies were shouting at her, he could hear what they were saying)- and why would his mind immediately go to ‘Will thinks I don’t love El, and has told her his suspicions?’ Why would he take a defensive tone?

Seriously, 402-403 M/W/E may well be the plot that (potentially) spells out byler endgame the most.

[tomkaulitzssgirl]

hey pooks I have a request🙏🏻 can you pretty please write 2008 tom kaulitz smut 🛐

so basically the reader is part of the band and they're currently at a party, Tom was talking to a girl but couldn't keep his eyes off of the reader

(Tom and her are really close friends like they grew up together but they secretly had a thing for eachother for a while now and they've already had history in the past (iykyk) but now that she's had a bf they stopped but the tension was still there)

tom secretly gets jealous and brings reader to one of the bathroom stalls and they both kinda have like an argument and the reader yells at him n stuff but he's too horny to even care so he just pushes her on the wall and they secretly fuck

tom starts kissing her neck and touching her all over and plays w her dress, at first the reader tries to stop him because she has a bf but she eventually gives in and he whispers dirty things to her while kissing her neck n shi like how her bf can't fuck her as good as he can and how he's just better

hopefully that made sense😭 it's up to u if wanna write this but either way I love ur writing sm it got me giggling n kicking my feet n shi fr🤭🤭 thankyouu🫶🏻

a/n: thank u so much 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 hope you like this!

I’m better than him | Tom Kaulitz

tom sipped on his beer as he sat down on the club couch, staring ahead of him, where the figure he so longed for stood.

the girl next to him, he didn’t even remember her name, was talking not even noticing how he wasn’t paying attention, too focused on observing your every movement.

you were at the counter with your boyfriend, michael, giggling as he hugged you from behind, kissing your neck. “stop it mike, not here.” you yelled over the music.

this was the after party after you guys had won an award, everyone of course was lit, ready to stay up all night.

“why not princess?” michael said in your ear, his hand slowly reaching under your skirt. you took it away, turning towards him with a smirk.

“let’s save the fun for later.”

tom found himself clenching the bottle in his hand, his knuckles turning white at the sight of someone else touching you.

in his mind, no one could treat you better than him. no one could be at his level and of course no one could touch you.

he breathed out heavily and turned to the girl next to him, smirking to her. he proceeded to go closer to her face and kissed her lips slowly, his hand going under her shirt.

you noticed him and rolled your eyes, not that you cared, but you were disgusted by how many girls he fucked and kept like trophies. he did the same with you.

you guys always had a thing for each other, always flirting and being touchy. one night, it even happened that you slept together, but you never told that to anyone. after that, tom changed, he started becoming distant, like he had obtained his goal and dipped.

then you got a boyfriend meanwhile he continued to bring girls over every night, but even if he tried to hide it, he seemed to dislike michael. he never talked to him or tried to be nice, always answering in a rude way and many times with a sense of superiority.

you never understood why but you decided to ignore him from that moment on, same thing that he did. the others in the band noticed and bill many times tried to get you and tom to talk but without gaining anything.

but let’s say, that tom wasn’t the only one who didn’t like your boyfriend. honestly, everyone in the band were kinda against him because of the way he treated you sometimes, like you the times where he decided to go out with his friends instead of seeing you after the tour.

“i’m gonna go to the bathroom.” you told michael and didn’t even wait for him to answer, you just felt his hand collide with your butt and his dumb friends laughing.

you rolled your eyes in disgust, walking away quickly.

arriving to the bathroom, the music finally wasn’t as loud and you sighed, closing your eyes before washing your hands and putting some cold water on your wrists and neck, feeling dizzy.

suddenly, the door opened and you eyes immediately connected to it, revealing the figure of tom entering the bathroom.

he closed the door behind him and as soon as you began to talk, he just pushed you against the wall, colliding your lips together in a hungry and aggressive kiss, his hands against the wall at the sides of your head.

you didn’t think about it twice, immediately kissing him back wrapping your arms around his neck, his body pressing against yours. it didn’t even occur to you that you were cheating.

when you broke away, he analysed your face needing to know what you were thinking about, but you were lost, your mind completely numb.

“i hate seeing you with him.” tom was the one who broke the silence.

you raised your eyebrow, “and why’s that?”

he scoffed playing with his piercing as he looked into your eyes deeply, lust and jealousy mixed in his brown ones. “because i can make you feel so much better.”

before you knew, you found yourself placed on the sink, with your skirt riled up and your panties aside as tom pounded in you like a beast.

he kept his long oversized shirt between his teeth before your hands grabbed it to keep it out of the way as you both watched his dick sliding in and out of you.

“i missed you so much. did you miss me, baby? missed how i fuck you?” he whispered in your ears, before sucking on your neck, wanting to leave marks for him to see.

you nodded with your eyes shut, mouth slightly agape as pleasure was the only thing you could feel, “y-yes! oh my god tom, right there!”

tom smirked as his hands traveled down your ass, gripping it tightly before spanking your thigh.

“say it. say how much i fuck you better than him.” he wanted to hear it all, how he was the only one who could make you feel like this, how he was the only who could make you cum more than once. he wanted to be the only one for you.

“y-you fuck me better! i’m a-all yours tom.” it was true. no matter what, your heart had always belonged to him.

after a few more pushes and thrusts inside you, you guys guys came together, your screams echoing in the small bathroom.

“shit.” tom groaned, his head in the crook of your neck, sweat on his forehead.

he backed away a bit, adjusting his belt as he tried to keep a steady breath.

suddenly, all the feelings you had came to the surface, your eyes filled with tears that soon streamed down your cheeks silently.

“what the fuck? what’s wrong?” tom asked you as soon as he noticed your crying. you shook your head, squeezing your eyes as he wiped your tears away.

“sh baby, tell me what’s wrong?”

finally you snapped.

“what’s wrong?! really tom? you ask me what’s wrong after you basically ignored me all this time and now you come back like this? using me again as you do with every other fucking girl?!” you pushed him but he didn’t move, not even an inch, “fuck you tom.”

you were about to push him again but he grabbed your wrists, keeping you still as he looked down at you. “i’m not using you.”

“yeah right you’re-“

“shut the fuck up!” tom raised his voice, his hand clenched in a fist connecting to the sink below you. it didn’t seem to hurt him though.

“i’ve spent months not talking to you and that asshole boyfriend of yours! i hate him so fucking much. wanna know why? because i fucking live you, y/n! i only love you and i fucking tried, believe me, i tried to make these feelings go away but i couldn’t. shit, i began to hate you because of how much i want you but you were too busy fucking him to care!” his rambling went on as you listened to his rough voice screaming at you everything he was keeping inside.

you shook your head, looking away from him as he breathed out heavily. it took some seconds before you spoke again. “how could i know tom? you were out with different girls every night, that’s not how you show love to someone!”

tom threw his hands in the air in exasperation, “because i’m not fucking used to this shit! i didn’t want to admit it to myself how could i admit it to you?! i thought i could forget you but i didn’t!”

you stayed quiet as your lower lip quivered, ready to cry again, not knowing what to say or think anymore.

“fuck, just give me a chance to make it better. please.” his hands went up to your hips and he pecked your lips sweetly repeatedly, holding onto you like you could run away.

you giggled a bit when he started kissing all over your face, making his heart beat faster when he saw your small smile. “is this a yes?”

you looked at him fluttering your eyelashes before nodding slowly, “yeah…don’t make me regret this.”

tom grinned before kissing you passionately, his hand grabbing your jaw and keeping you still as his tongue rolled with yours.

“y/n…what the fuck?” was all you heard before the kiss stopped, seeing your now ex-boyfriend infront of the door, looking at you with nothing but shock.

[milklovesbyler]

HOW AND WHY AND WHEN DID THE BYLER REALISATION HIT ME - RANT

okay this is long so skip to S4 section for the more interesting stuff/when i found out about byler!

hii okay my first post on this blog! im still pretty new to tumblr but learned that u can have multiple blogs and my mind is blown. i also have an art blog i post on once a millenia @milkymetari !

Ive been a stranger things fan since 2019 when i was 13!

So i started watching stranger things in 2019 after season 3 had came out and the series peaked my interest, ive always been a fan of scifi stuff and oh boy stranger things is so cool and (mostly) well written!

When i say i LOVED mileven im not kidding, I WAS OBSESSED. On the outside theyre a picture perfect cute teenage couple, and my idealisation of that (and cmon guys eleven is like the coolest character ever) and els badassness and powers, i loved mileven.

I mean as a concept their relationship is really cute if we read it as that but yeah i do NOT ship them anymore like that 😭

Yeah i remember myself sometimes wondering about the weird things in their relationship (the way they dont share almost any interests, only kiss and mikes weird actions) but i think due to heteronormativity (toxic ships are wayy too normalized also in lgbt media) and how poorly usually female characters (but in this case mike lmao) and their relationships are written in media so i guess i had just grown to try not to care, and yeah i was just 13.

So honestly i didnt see/know byler back then AT ALL! I grew up as a semi homophobic kid because thats what i was taught, but around the time i started watching ST i grew as a person a lot and i realised maybe my ass isnt as straight as i thought ☠️ Honestly wish i did know about byler since i think seeing mikes struggles (and wills) wouldve helped me a lot! 💔

I didnt think too deeply about any media i consumed at that age, and i was already used to just not care about bad writing so i thought flaws in mileven were normal writing mistakes etc. Or how the byler fight was clearly more intense than the mileven break up 😭😭

But again i did not catch onto it.

ST 4 in 2022!!

So the year is 2022 and i excitesly watch season 4 part 1. I usually try to avoid spoilers etc on the internet so i kept myself away from st tiktok and other platforms. After i finished it i saw like a shit ton of edits of all the characters and speculation about the last 2 eps.. THEN somewhere around that time it happened, i stumbled upon byler.

okay first, i need to talk about mileven a bit, the first few episodes it was sweet, but it was obvious el was lying and unhappy, i was hoping that mike would grow and learn to be a better boyfriend and theyd end up back together.

so about byler, first i thought it was like any other ship as usual and i wasnt as blind to homoerotic chemistry anymore so it wasnt anything new or surpricing.

well, what was surpricing was HOW FUCKING BLIND I HAD BEEN TO HOW MIKE AND WILL ACTED

i mean i was confused while watching part 1 for the first time but closeness between the two was nothing unusual, and mike lashing out on will had already happened in s3 too, but yeah i was so flabbergasted and embarrased how i hadnt noticed 😭 like girl, the lip staring, yearning gazes and awkward conversations

down the rabbit hole i went and hehe😈 i got my bestie into it too and she was like omg ur so right we both agree they are endgame bbecause like theres so much evidence its not a coincidence.

ill probably make a separate post on some of the genious thoughts we had about mileven and byler in 2022 lol

i hope someone read this all, thank you <3

[filevenswhore]

pre-canon timeline after dark | pt. 2

uhm. . . i did a thing.

after seeing the sweet way u reacted to yesterday’s pre-canon tl after dark chap, i thought it’d be right to give u the continuation of that since i had it in my drafts also 💌

this is the second part of yesterday’s chap

it’s entirely written in mike’s pov

the chap is over 3k words long. a lil chunky.

there’s some explicit stuff at the end but v tame for my usual standards !

have fun reading. hope u’ll enjoy. lmk what u think ! 💋

“oh, shit,” lucas muttered, slowing for a second before resuming his stride.

“what? what’s wrong?” mike asked, glancing at him. lucas locked his phone and shoved it into his back pocket.

the boys were on their way to a frat party a few blocks away, for once entirely ditching a car to walk there.

“el broke up with ethan,” lucas said with raised eyebrows.

mike almost faltered mid-step, a grin threatening to spread on his face.

el broke up with ethan.

he hadn’t attended a single pizza friday since the evening she brought ethan, the evening she managed to really get under his skin. it had been unbearable—a catalyst for everything that came after. he’d told himself staying away was for the best. less time around her meant fewer chances for her to irritate him, to make him angry just by existing in the same space.

but it wasn’t just anger. it was something worse.

since then, his nights had taken on a heavier routine; find someone, anyone, and sink in a haze of sex and sweat. the faces all blurred together, the names even more so. he’d never had this many hook-ups in a single month, never so repeatedly. each day was a new attempt to smother the gnawing ache in his chest, to bury it under layers of meaningless sex until he could finally forget completely—until he could forget himself.

but the more nights he spent with girls he can barely even remember, the emptier he felt.

every fleeting moment of pleasure left him more detached, more desensitized. he wasn’t sure he even felt anything anymore.

but that was the point, wasn’t it?

he wanted to stain his soul with these futile nights until there was nothing left of who he used to be. nothing left of the boy who once—

he almost shook his to shove the thoughts away, but he didn’t, he simply snapped back into the present moment.

the present in which she isn’t dating that fucker anymore.

he felt the grin on his lips now and instantly masked it with a sharp scowl.

what the hell?

there was nothing to grin about, he didn’t care whether she’s dating him or not. fuck that, he didn’t care about her.

what he cared about was not letting any more intruders and unwelcome people, like her and even worse, her boyfriend, be a part of his environment.

“shit, did she tell you?” dustin asked, his voice pulling mike back.

“no, max told me,” lucas replied. “we were supposed to go on a double date tomorrow, but guess that’s cancelled.”

mike’s stomach churned at that. a sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he fought to keep his expression neutral. the idea of her weaving him into their group like he belonged made him angry. if she hadn’t broken up with him, would they have just… let him stay? would they have accepted him, even liked him?

“well, i’m gonna sound like a horrible friend,” dustin said, his tone unapologetic, “but i’m glad el broke up with him. she’s way too good for that boring guy.”

the others murmured their agreement, except for mike, who stayed silent.

“you think el’s okay?” will asked, concern written all over his face.

lucas shrugged. “i don’t know. it seemed like she liked him well enough, but she’ll be fine. it’s el we’re talking about.”

will chuckled softly. “you’re right.”

the frat house loomed ahead, its windows glowing with lights. music spilled onto the street, a bass-heavy rhythm that seemed to vibrate through the ground. dustin started to ramble about which drinking games he planned to win, lucas laughed as they passed through the doors and will shook his head affectionately.

mike trailed slightly behind—planning his night. he’ll find some girl whose name he probably won’t even know and add another meaningless fuck to his list.

over the past month, even tangled deeply with strangers, she had a way of creeping into his mind uninvited.

her image would momentarily flash behind his eyes, their latest argument ringing in his head, his chest still burning with the nail that poked it, and he’d spent the rest of the night trying to tear her out of his thoughts entirely.

she messed him up and he fucking hated her for it.

they stepped inside, the heat and noise quickly greeting them. the place was already packed, bodies swaying and grinding out-of-sync with the music. the air was thick with perfume, sweat, and the faint scent of spilled alcohol.

they walked further inside and just as mike was about to part ways with them to go on with his usual routine, he heard dustin.

“holy shit,” dustin said, stopping short. “guess we have our answer about whether she’s okay or not.”

mike turned instinctively, his eyes scanning the crowd—until they landed on her.

there she was, softly swaying in time with the music, her hips moving in a way that seemed effortless. max was at her side, both of them holding plastic cups that sloshed slightly with their movements. el threw her head back, laughing at something max said.

and then there was her outfit.

the shortest fucking skirt he’d ever seen.

his jaw tensed, his teeth grinding slightly as his gaze fell, completely unsolicited, tracing the length of her legs. the skirt hugged her hips, leaving almost fucking nothing to the imagination, paired with a low-cut top that revealed her cleavage.

he internally barked at himself to look away.

but it was like he was stuck, his eyes dragging back to her like a damn gravitational pull.

“yep, she’s fine,” lucas said, chuckling, but mike barely registered the words.

his chest felt tight as if his body was working against him. and then, it really did—a hot rush of blood surged downward, his body reacting before his brain could intervene.

he hissed under his breath, shifting uncomfortably, anger flaring like a shot of adrenaline through his veins. he clenched his fists at his sides, furious with himself, with her, with all of it.

for the first time in his life, he was turned on by her.

by her.

the thought alone made his stomach churn.

without saying a word, he turned and left, shoving past people without a second glance, his entire body taut. he didn’t care where he went—he just needed to be anywhere else, anywhere she wasn’t.

he grabbed the first beer he could find, holding it with far more force than necessary, and dropped into an empty chair in the corner of the room. his head fell back against the wall as he exhaled sharply, trying to will the heat out of his body.

the beer was cold in his hand, condensation dripping onto his fingers. he barely even noticed. he took a swing of the drink; trying to unentangle his thoughts from circling back to her to get rid of the annoying reaction of his body.

“hey, mind if i join you?”

a sweet and unfamiliar hit his ears. he looked up, only half-surprised to see a girl standing in front of him already, one hand on her hip and the other clutching a cup.

she was blonde, her long hair cascading in loose waves over her shoulders with a playful smile on her lips.

��sure.” he said after a beat, gesturing vaguely to the seat beside him.

instead of taking the chair, she perched on the armrest, leaning just slightly toward him. “i’m not even going to pretend like i don’t know you. you’re mike, right?”

his eyebrows raised in surprise, “depends on who’s asking.”

she laughed, “cass,” she said, offering her hand. “that was a little creepy of me, sorry. but i’ve heard from you through marie.”

he had no idea who marie was. someone he went to class with? someone he hooked up with before?

he didn’t let it show on his face through, he took her hand in his and shook it briefly. “nice to meet you, cass.”

she didn’t pull away immediately, her fingers lingering against his. “i’ve seen you at a few parties before,” she said, tilting her head. “you always seem… busy.”

he raised an eyebrow. “busy, huh?”

she shrugged, her smile widening. “busy enough that i couldn’t approach you before.”

there it was. just what he came here for in the first place, exactly the distraction he needed.

“i don’t know what you mean.” he joked.

her laughter came easily, her confidence filling the space between them. it wasn’t long before she slid into his lap, her hand resting on his shoulder as if she’d done it a hundred times before.

“hmm, i might show you as the night progresses," she said, her tone triumphant.

“you’re trying to keep me busy for the whole night then?” he smirked, his hand settling instinctively on her waist.

they fell into easy conversation, her asking questions about him—where he was from, what he was studying—and throwing in flirty comments every chance she got. he played along, deflecting with dry humor, some flirty comments and half-truths, giving just enough to keep her interested.

when their drinks ran out, she pouted, shaking her empty cup. “now what? the conversation was just getting good.”

mike stood, easing her off his lap with care. “i’ll grab us some more.”

“such a gentleman,” she teased, watching him with a pleased smile. “don’t keep me waiting for too long.”

he winked at her before making his way through the crowd and headed toward the kitchen. the noise dimmed slightly as he entered the space, the counters were cluttered with bottles, cups, and spilled liquor. he ignored the mess, grabbing two cups from the stack and scanning the scattered bottles of half-empty liquor.

he’d just reached for a bottle of rum when someone collided into him from behind, nearly sending him into the counter.

“watch where the hell—” he started, turning sharply.

his words died down when he saw her.

her hair was slightly tousled, cheeks flushed, and her eyes gleamed drunkenly. she was holding a cup that sloshed dangerously close to spilling over, but her grip was steady enough.

“oh, it’s you,” she drawled, her lips curling into a smirk. “and here i was about to thank the heavens, thinking you’d finally vanished.”

mike clenched his jaw, every nerve in his body flaring like she’d flipped a switch. “get the fuck out of my eyesight.”

she raised an eyebrow, taking a deliberate sip from her drink. “damn, directly biting today, huh? what’d i do to piss you off this time, do tell.”

“i’m not in the mood to even look at you today.” he snapped, his voice low but sharp. “i mean it, hopper, why aren’t you leaving already?”

she stepped closer, just enough for him to catch the faint scent of her perfume and sweat. “because the drinks are here, asshat. and i can stay wherever i want, whenever i want. what makes you think i care about your wishes?”

his hands flexed, he quickly turned back to the bottles, pouring a generous amount of rum into one of the cups. “jesus christ, you really are fucking annoying. bother someone else.”

her laugh was mocking. “bother you? please, you give yourself too much importance. personally, i had the time of my life without you around these past pizza fridays. but the guys miss you.” she took a sip, twisting her lips into comical disbelief. “for whatever reason.”

“what the hell are you talking about?”

“you know exactly what i’m talking about.” she leaned against the counter beside him, her smirk widening. “you don’t have to avoid pizza fridays anymore. ethan won’t be there anymore. you won’t bump into him again.”

his hand tightened on the cup as he glanced at her, a mocking laughter spilling out of him. “shit, that’s what you think? i wasn’t concerned about bumping into your little boyfriend, i couldn’t give a fuck less.”

“oh?” she tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. “then it was about bumping into me?” she tsked. “oh, wheeler. it’s so cute that you still think you’ll be able to get rid of me that easily. i’ll always be around, i don’t care how much you wish i weren’t.”

he glared at her, taking a step forward like a string pulling him towards her. his blood was running hot in his body, this girl—everything about her was so fucking infuriating. “you think everything’s about you, don’t you?”

she shrugged, feigning innocence. “only when it is.”

he slammed the cup down on the counter with more force than necessary, the sound cutting through the tension like a knife. “and you had the nerve telling me i’m egotistical? someone has to hold a fucking mirror in front of you.”

“we’re talking about having a nerve now?” her tone dripped with venom and mockery. “rich coming from someone who told me i’d never get another chance at love if i didn’t lock ethan down but sure, yes, i had the nerve and i’d say it again.”

she took another step closer, her fingers rising again to land on his chest to get the words through his skull. “you are fucking egotistical.”

as her finger jabbed against his chest, he could feel the blood rushing to his head and, shit, towards his cock like a damn masochist. heat was building beneath his skin that had nothing to do with the alcohol he’d consumed. she was relentless, her words hitting with the precision of a dagger.

she smiled sweetly then, tapping his chest with her palm twice before retreating. his body felt on fire, his reaction to her utterly nonsensical.

“but since i don’t seem to have another shot at a relationship,” she sarcastically said, her eyes gleaming with something pointy. “maybe i’ll just take a page out of your book and find someone to fuck. rebound sex kind of sounds good, doesn’t it?”

the bluntness of her words caught him off guard, hitting him like a punch to the chest. his jaw tightened, and he opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

“you’re taking too long!” the girl’s—fuck, what was her name again?—voice vibrated between his shoulder blades. her tone was dripping with flirtation as she leaned into him, craning her head to brush her chin over his shoulder.

el’s expression shifted, her lips parting slightly in surprise before curving into a loose grin.

“how unsurprising.” she said, her voice airy. “guess i need to hurry before you beat me to it then.”

his heart was pounding loudly in his chest, a snarl stuck in his throat.

she pushed off the counter, slowly walking away but not before sparing him a last glance, her lips curved into an ironic pout. “what a shame, if you weren’t such an ass, i might’ve actually wanted to see what all the fuss is all about.”

mike stared at her, his chest tight with frustration and anger. before he could say anything back, she disappeared back into the crowd, leaving him with the girl’s arms around him and a knot of anger coiled in his chest.

he was about to fucking explode.

his chest was tight, his breathing shallow, and every nerve in his body was on edge. the blonde—carrie? cassie?—pressed against him, her lips grazing his neck, but it felt distant, like he was outside of his body.

none of it worked.

and it wouldn’t.

not when she was still in his head, pounding at his temples like a goddamn headache that wouldn’t go away.

he clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply as he pulled away. “sorry.”

the girl blinked up at him, confusion flickering in her eyes. he scratched the back of his neck, guilt prickling at him, but he didn’t have the patience to deal with it right now. “i’m not feeling well. i think i need to head out.”

her brows furrowed as she tilted her head. “you look flushed,” she said, her tone laced with concern.

“yeah, maybe the flu.” he muttered.

or maybe it was the goddamn virus in the shape of her.

she hesitated, clearly waiting for him to say something more. instead, he gave her a tight smile. “i’ll find you at another party, okay?”

the words felt hollow, and the moment he said them, he knew she saw right through him. she nodded stiffly, stepping back, but he didn’t bother asking for her number or for another way for them to reconnect. he just turned and pushed through the crowd, barely registering the music or sweaty bodies as he stormed out.

the cool night air quickly wrapped around him as soon as he was outside, but it wasn’t enough to clear the heat inside his body.

his steps quickened, each one pounding against the pavement as though he could leave this entire night behind him if he just moved fast enough.

by the time he reached his dorm, his breathing was ragged, his pulse thrumming in his ears. he slammed the door shut behind him, leaning against it as he let his head fall back with a frustrated groan.

it felt like his body itched beneath the surface he couldn’t scratch, no amount of air he inhaled was enough, every breath felt useless.

he was suffocating and he’d had fucking enough.

with a sharp exhale, he ripped off his shirt, tossing it aside as he made his way into the bathroom. his hands fumbled with his belt, yanking his jeans down and kicking them down in one swift motion.

he stepped into the shower, turning the knob until icy water fell down his overheated skin.

the cold refreshed him, sending a shiver down his spine and he groaned. he braced one hand against the tiled wall, willing to let the water do what nothing else could—cool him down, body and mind.

but it wasn’t enough.

because every time he shut his eyes, he saw her behind his closed eyelids.

that damn skirt. that damn body.

in utter frustration his palm collided with the tiled walls, the sound echoing in the shower box.

he fucking hated her. he hated everything about her.

but he hated the fact that he couldn’t deny the obvious the most.

she was attractive.

it grated against him, that particular truth, scratching at the edges of his pride. she was fucking annoying, an absolute headache and fucking gorgeous at the same time.

admitting it—even in the secrecy of his own mind—felt like a betrayal to himself.

grunting something between defeat and anger, he simply closed his eyes and wrapped a hand around his erection.

the visions of her came back flooding, as if his body had been waiting for him to revel into the thought of her this whole time.

he didn’t waste a moment, his movements were frantic and angry, almost as if he was hate-fucking her instead of his fist.

fuck her for being inside his head.

fuck her for being so annoying.

fuck her for getting under his skin so easily.

he tugged and pulled, his brain conjuring the most twisted images of her that it could—of her in that skirt, of her without that skirt, of her on her knees, of finally shutting her up with his fingers or with his dick.

his breathing turned ragged, one hand splayed on the tiled walls as his muscles went taut, moaning with the image of her legs spread wide open for him.

that was it.

his entire body shuddered, his breaths coming out as short pants when pleasure rippled through his body.

he finally managed to throw her out of his system.

well, for a moment.

because he still felt her crawling somewhere underneath, her annoying voice ringing inside his head.

he sneered, his eyes turning hard as he shook his head to himself.

no, she was out of his system and he wouldn’t allow for her to occupy his thoughts anymore, not even for a fucking moment.

tomorrow, he’ll be back to his old ways.

maybe he’ll even find the blonde again.

[marvel-y-obsessed]

Shopping with Mike Schmidt on Christmas

Req: No

Prompt : shopping and teasing your boyfriend into thinking you're done when your not.

Genre: fluff

A/n: ik its a lil short but short things can still be satisfying (she never said that LMFAO)

~~~~~~•~~~~~~

You were out with Mike on a busy Sunday afternoon. The hustling crowds of moms shoving people so they can buy the richest ham or whatever. But you and Mike aren't here necessarily just for Christmas shopping. You guys are here to just buy much needed groceries.

“M/n when are we gonna be done” Mike pouted. “We’re not done yet, we only grabbed one thing.” You return. “Ugh, fine” he whines, pulling out his phone and going on tiktok. “Baby, be patient, it'll be fast as long as these moms get out of our way.” You complained “how can I possibly be patient when we’re in supermarket traffic” he said pointing to all the people in the aisles. “You know what babe, maybe watching tiktok for a while isn’t so bad right now.” You slightly agree and pull out your phone too.

After grabbing a lot of the items you needed and some wants you decide to pull a little prank on Mike. “Ok Babe, we’re finally done!” You sigh in fake relief. “WAIT REALLY?!” Mike excitedly jumps hearing that you two were “done” shopping. “No doofus if u actually looked at the list I literally sent you and you went to grab some of the stuff we would be done. But no, you wanna just follow and be on tiktok.” You somewhat explain.

“Wait, so are we done or not?” Mike asks, a little annoyed. “No silly we’re only halfway there” you laugh in his face when you see his shocked and hurt face. “Why do you do this to me?” he pouts and puts his head down. “I'm sorry babes, how about we go get ice cream after this?” You pull him into a sweet kiss. “YES PLEASE!” He shouts. “Ok it sounds like a plan!” You kiss him before heading out to grab more with him, now happier than he was.

[lesbianrobin]

i understand ur post but i have a byler mutual saying almost the exact same thing about if they make mlvn endgame because to give will one sole love interest and put him through that much trauma and struggle to accept his sexuality only to have the guy reject him and end up with his sister is homophobic writing and u probably dont agree but i find it hysterical that st have managed to get themselves into such a conundrum that their only option is to introduce mikes secret twin of the opposite sexuality thats been there the whole time so they both get a happy ending. surely this is a perfect plan and there are no flaws whatsoever and everyone will be satisfied

SMCKSKXJSNKE i was literally just talking to sarah about how they've written themselves into a corner by reintroducing the stoncy love triangle in s4 because BEFORE they could have been like yeah steve is over her and now he's finding fulfillment outside of romance etc etc but now they've reignited stancy for some fuckin reason (my fingers are crossed for that theory that says since the upside down is stuck in 1983 it was making steve and nancy's 1983 feelings come back) and suddenly they'll be pissing off Some segment of the fanbase no matter what they do.

re: byler i think. well first of all i think that byler isn't even remotely on the radar of casual viewers as an actual possibility and i don't think it could happen in s5 bc the vast majority of viewers would be like where the fuck did that come from. second of all my el argument is partially a joke but also it's just fundamentally a very different situation where like. for will if byler doesn't happen nothing gets Worse for him shit just stays the same. for el if byler happens something Must get worse for her like she loses her boyfriend of 2-3 years. they're in different situations.

third of all i think it's very silly for people to act like will Needs for mike to like him back in order to be happy when like. it's not The Crush that's making will miserable it's being closeted in a small town in the 1980s and feeling like he can never have what he wants and be truly happy in life. mike liking him back would not fix the misery he feels at having to hide this part of himself from the world.

yknow in s3 robin is a sorta closed-off character who's snarky and prickly at times and she only really opens up in the russian torture scene + the bathroom scene. and in the bathroom scene she is Terrified to tell steve she likes girls but she confesses to having a crush on tammy thompson and... steve makes her feel okay about it. he makes fun of her crush and robin feels Normal and Safe and they laugh together and by the time s4 rolls around robin is a much more open and happy person than she was back before she'd come out to steve. she's more herself. and you know what never happened? tammy thompson never liked her back. robin didn't need a girlfriend. she needed love and support and validation from a good friend. she needed to find comfort with herself and her sexuality and all the other parts of her that she hid behind a tough exterior for protection.

as much as i hate watching will scenes bc noah schnapp can't act for shit, i am kinda looking forward to seeing him finally openly addressing his sexuality in s5 and maybe realizing that his childhood crush on his best friend not being reciprocated isn't the end of the world. i think if will could move on and let mike go (in the romantic sense not as a friend) it might also feel a bit like letting go of all his pain over the past few years and starting over with a clean slate. obviously idk what exactly's gonna happen in s5 we're all just making shit up right now but i guess that's kinda what i hope will happen with him.

it makes me sad kinda that will's most dedicated fans are more preoccupied with getting him a boyfriend than like... self-confidence and shit. but i'm not actually that sad bc i kinda don't give a fuck about will anyway

[magicalwastelands]

byler

byler is almost always paralleled to romantic couples and not paralleled to friendships. i was thinking about this the other day and turns out you guys voted for byler on the poll so HERE IT IS :)))

minor spoiler alert for: heartstopper, harry potter, stranger things

i'll be talking about how byler parallels to:

romantic pairings in stranger things

romantic pairings in other shows/movies (ive posted a more in-depth post about taoelle [romantic pairing in heartstopper] and byler being similar - if u want you can go check that out!!)

NOT friendships in stranger things (how it rarely parallels to other friendship pairings in the show compared to romantic ones)

romantic pairings in stranger things

jopper (joyce / hopper)

a. jopper has some scenes that parallel byler (this is just one example):

"I think we make a pretty good team." "I think it'll be easier if we're... we're a team."

b. also this music (you might know this already lol but this is just SO CRAZY LIKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN "oh, it's joyce and hopper" AND THE SAME SUBTITLES ARE SHOWN DURING SCENES WITH MIKE AND WILL???!? WHAT?????????????????????) [ website ]

[tender, emotional music swells] [tender, emotional music playing]

rockie (robin / vickie)

a. robin is the only confirmed gay character other than will and her crush on vickie is being shown as possibly reciprocated in the last ep of s4

[tender, emotional music playing] --- also another example of these subtitles

b. vickies relationship with her boyfriend is similar to mikes relationship with el (btw i loooove el im not saying shes similar to that guy, just talking about her relationship with mike and the love triangle imagery)

then theres these scenes of them being DIRECTLY positioned between established couples like.... these scenes are too crazy

2. romantic pairings in other shows/movies - this is strange because why would their dynamic be so similar to couples dynamics? if theyre just supposed to be friends???

harry potter - ron and hermione (I DO NOT SUPPORT JK R*WL*NG)

a. best friends to lovers trope / slowburn trope

in the final harry potter movie, ron and hermione have their first kiss. in the final season of stranger things, mike and w-

b. these scenes...

c. love triangles - ron thinks hermione likes harry over him (similar situation with will but mike and el are actually dating)

Heartstopper - nick and charlie

a. blue and yellow

b. this in the actual books - nick is the heart of the rugby team and mike is the heart of the party:

"You're the heart and centre of this team, Nick." "You're the heart."

c. bonus: i recently bought the heartstopper colouring book (its suuuper cute btw love it) and theres this???? is it giving paladin and cleric vibes???????

3. friendship pairings

lucas and dustin (im only gonna talk abt them for examples of friendship pairings)

a. season 1 - last ep, mike is super worried about will and immediately jumps up to see and hug him (he says that will is awake 3 times), while dustin and lucas are asleep

[snoring] "Guys. Guys, he's up. Will is up. Guys, Will's up."

also omg in this scene dustin calls her a "wizard" and then mike CORRECTS HIM SAYING SHES MORE LIKE YODA I CAN'T... CAUSE WILL IS THE WIZARD NOT EL..... ALSO BRO YODA??? THAT GIRL YOU KISSED AND ARE GOING TO DATE FOR LIKE A YEAR AND SAY YOU LOVE HER IS LIKE YODA???????

"She's basically a wizard." "More like a Yoda."

like bro... THIS UR GF???? LOVE OF YOUR LIFE???????????? YOUR LIFE STARTED BC OF HER?????? (feat. will being the wizard el can't replace in mikes head...)

b. different reactions to will's "body" being pulled out of the lake

lucas says that it must be will. mike doesn't accept the body being will's. (NOT LUCAS SLANDER DON'T WORRY I LOVE HIM)

shocked, has to lean on the truck to calm himself down, gets mad at el because she couldn't help him save will, is in tears, doesn't care about eleven in this moment because he's so sad that will is "dead"

(also sorry for the bad vid quality)

mike is obviously the most affected one by the "body" being found.

c. whenever something happens with will and mike, the others know they shouldn't interrupt, like this (lucas knows not to follow mike out):

and this (they're walking behind the others, having their own private conversation):

and also this (max doesn't get it but the others know mike and will want to be alone):

d. if mike, will, dustin and lucas are all just friends, and mike also said this to dustin (talking about lucas at first) ...

(Mike: He's not my best friend. [sighs] I mean, he is, but so are you. And so is Will.)

... then why is the relationship between mike and will so different and singled out to the relationship between ANY OTHER PAIRING BETWEEN THE FOUR if lucas, dustin and will are all supposed to be mike's best friends??

[mikestoklassa]

My time at the Zak Bagans Haunted Museum

This ghost hunting episode has compelled me to share my own experience with Zakary Bagary's Spooky Emporium, mostly because I've only shared this story orally and also because I want to flex that I've been somewhere Mike Stoklasa has been. Mayhaps it will inspire one of you to write a Fanfic (gentle persuasion). But truly this is mostly a diaristic blog post for me so that my memory of the Zak Bagan's Haunted Museum never truly slips from my grasp. Facts may not be totally accurate because this is months later and I have a shit memory. Anyways read more if u even care

THE BEGINNING

So my boyfriend and I went to Vegas this past year so that I could see my beloved Vegas Golden Knights <3 Of course that couldn't occupy the whole weekend, and my boyfriend and I aren't gamblers, so we had to find other things to pass the time. When we realized that Zak Bagans' Haunted Museum (which I will refer to as ZBHM) was in Vegas, we had to go. To be honest, by boyfriend and I have only seen a few episodes of Ghost Adventures, but we love spooky stuff and people whose reputations proceed them, so we knew we had to go.

We were staying on the strip, and ZBHM is located more in their downtown, so we had to Uber there. NGL I was expecting some spooky old Victorian house painted in all black, but truly it is just a pretty historic home in a residential neighborhood.

To my shock as a North-easterner, the check in for the museum is outside. So we're greeted by a lovely person who asks if we have tickets. We said we didn't and they told me the wait can be anywhere between 15 minutes and 3 hours, as we'd essentially be hoping that someone who bought tickets didn't show up to their tour. We didn't feel like waiting in the Vegas heat, so said we'd come back. Out of nowhere a man who looked like Guy Fieri if he shaved his head came up to the desk and said we were making the right choice, and to come back tomorrow with tickets. The workers were really nice and let us peruse the gift shop before we left.

My BF and I ended up going to the Mob Museum which was in the neighborhood. It sucked. Don't go.

THE RETURN

That night we purchased tickets for after lunch the next day. They were a whopping $54 dollars each, meaning two tickets was already over $100. There was something called an "RIP Access" ticket, but all I saw was we got to go to a basement and got a shirt and I thought that was dumb as shit so we didn't get it.

So we return the next day and have to wait outside for the next group to enter the house. Most importantly, we're asked to sign wavers stating we WILL not sue Zak if a ghost follows us home. I'd never hold Zak to that, so I gladly signed. Once we're informed we can head inside, I assume the tour is starting but no, we're being led to a lobby with a ticket booth. I thought that was weird, because we already had tickets, but I figured they had to give us badges so they knew we were on the tour. There were pictures of people who had come to ZBHM before, including One Direction's very own Liam Payne. No photography was allowed on the tour, so this is the only photographic proof I went.

So in this lobby, we're basically lined up to a ticket booth where I think we're getting badges. But no, when you get up to the booth, a lovely worker asks if you would like to give Zak Bagans additional money to do the "RIP Access", which includes extra experiences and rooms, as well as free T-shirt at the end. I still think that's dumb as shit, so I say no. But then my BF and I realize we are the ONLY people on the tour who don't have RIP Access, and we don't want to have to stand like dumb dicks outside of certain rooms while everyone else got to go inside, so we let peer pressure get to us. We upgraded for an additional $32 each, meaning now instead of giving Zak Bagan's $108 dollar, we gave him $172. Truly a low point.

THE SPOOKY TOUR BEGINS

So once Zak swindles you out of your money, you're guided out of the lobby, through a yard, and into the museum proper. The first room is truly, deeply, honest, the most censory overload I have ever experienced in my life. Every breath you take will contain 0% oxygen and 100% smoke machine gas. The first room was just an oddities room, filled with haunted items and general cool things that Zak has found along the way. There were human skulls on an old church pew, and as a museum worker myself, I so desperately needed to see the provenance of those. I'm still waiting, Zak. Anyways, our tour guide then proceeds to uncover a machine which is an old Zoltar machine, but instead of a Zoltar animitronic, it's a Zak Bagan animitronic. Then, after each person on this ten person tour gave Zak Bagans $86 dollars each ($860 total), the tour guide asks if anyone would like to "spare a dollar" for the Zak Zoltar machine so Zak may give our tour a fortune. I thought everyone on the tour would feel just as indignant about this as me, but no, people were desperately reaching for their wallets so that they may be the person who blessed our tour with a fortune. I can't remember exacts, but it has something to do with bewaring stairs. Spoiler alert: the fortune did not come back up.

THE GROSS

So from the main room, we enter a haunted doll closet, our first RIP access experience! It was a hall filled with old dolls. I think old dolls are cute not creepy, so this was a pretty lame experience for me. Next we entered a room that looked like a chapel, and we are for the first time greeted to Zak's lovely presence. Zak in a voice over begins to tell us the story of Anneliese Michel, the German woman who underwent a bunch of exorcisms. Now I am very much like Jay, in the sense that ghosts are most interesting to me when they're presented as amorphous fields of energy. I do not care for demon stories, especially when it's obvious that the "demonic person" is just severely mentally ill. So needless to say, I was not about this room. After the voice over, Zak invites RIP ticket holders to the spooky crawlspace tunnel below a mantle holding a chalice the Michel family owned? Idfk. I was NOT crawling through some damn tunnel with someone I don't know's ass in my face, so I declined and walked in the hallway with our tour guide to the next room. My BF went through and said the scariest thing was the idea of the person in front of you farting.

I won't lie, it's about here where my memory gets murky, so I apologize if this is out of order. ("But isn't this just the second room you went in??" Girl idk!!) What I remember next was entering a room with a large bed in it. In the room we are greeted to another voice over from Zak explaining that this bed came from Love Ranch. Zak spends a long time explaining that this is the bed that NBA player Lamar Odom OD'ed and almost died on, and that the Love Ranch owner Dennis Hof died on. I was like "Okay I guess that's a little creepy and sad but is it haunted?" And then Zak on the voice over was like "Oh by the way here's a picture of Hof on the bed with a creepy face in the back that may be a ghost" and then we were PROMPTLY ushered out of the room.

Next we're taken into a room that looks like a medical office. We're told the drawings on the wall and the items in the room belong to Jack Kevorkian, who was a doctor and proponent of euthanasia. The Zak Voice Over spent a lot of time explaining how people would faint in this room after feeling very emotionally overwhelmed. I was like okay....it's the Vegas heat, we've been standing for awhile now, every square inch of this place is nothing buy fog machine smoke, and now we're talking about euthanasia...yeah that'd probably make me pass out. Anyways we go into a room which has Kevorkian's van where the euthanasias were performed. To me, this stuff isn't spooky like at all? IDK I don't know a lot about Kevorkian but from what Zak said he just sounded like a doctor who wanted to give people a chance to go with grace.

So with all of that leaving a bad taste in my mouth, we were taken to a room full of serial killer memorabilia. Personally, I don't like the idea of serial killer's being tortured souls who must stay on this mortal coil as ghosts, but I guess it was better than Zak exploiting the deaths of their victims so whatever. It was a little cool to see the artifacts in the room but honestly now as an adult who understand serial killers aren't complex and fascinating psychos and mostly just guys who hate women, I didn't really feel compelled by this room. There also weren't really any ghost stories in this room. I think Zak just wanted to flex he had a John Wayne Gacy painting.

We were then taken to a room that looked with a barn with a big cauldron in the center. I IMMEDIATELY clocked it as an Ed Gein room. The Zak Voice Over once again comes on to explain a little bit about Ed Gein and how the cauldron in the room is the one Gein used to drain the blood of victims. Again, I'm not into this stuff, but was snapped back into it when Zak explained that on a paranormal investigation of the museum, two English witches were performing a seance in this room and one became possessed by Gein and tried to attack the other. I was so onbroard. Zak please if you're reading this pay those English witches whatever they want to explore your museum more.

THE UPTICK...

So the English witches had me so unbelievably hype and the next point in the tour was so fun. We're taken to this carnival themed room where a man introduces himself and then promptly sticks a drill bit up his nose. He then swallowed a sword and explained he'd been working there for awhile. I asked him how you learn you're good at something like that, and he actually explained the process by which he trains. It was genuinely interesting. Next to him was a caravan which apparently was haunted by a little girl, so the group was split in two to investigate. My group was second, so we had a moment to talk to this guy and ask questions. I am of course annoying so I asked how often Zak is bringing objects to the museum, how he decides where to place them, where does he get them from,etc. I think the guys wanted us to ask if Zak was like cool and nice lol but he played along and answered as best he could. Anyways we went in the caravan next and nothing happened.

...TO THE STEEP DROP

After we departed from nice carnival man, we were made to walk in a hallways with scary clown animatronics, only some of them were real people. I don't hate clowns, but I do not like haunted attractions with real people, so I spent the whole time just staring at the ground. I couldn't tell you what anything looked like.

Then we were in a normal hallway with two doors. Our tour guide informed us that we'd be going to the left, which was the "torture room". I had my fill of human suffering, so I asked if I could wait in the next room. My tour guide was kind enough to let me do so. My BF went in and informed me it was a serial killer who prayed on male sex workers and they had the bed he would torture them on. I did not mind missing it.

The room I waited in was next, and you guessed it, we were greeted to the Zak Voice Over. Zak explained we were in the antechamber for the Dybbuk Box. I was hype, because this is something I definitely know Zak for. All was well until the Zak voice over started explaining to terrifying night Zak had with the Dybbuk Box while investigating with his "friend, Post Malone." Something in me just snapped, I started crying laughing. I thought it was so fucking funny. But you need to understand, everyone else on my tour was SO into this stuff. I didn't want to be the asshole yucking everyone's yum, so I turned to the corner. I then noticed our tour guide looking at me and realized he was assessing if I was crying or not. Not wanting to be used as a story of "a woman who started having an emotional breakdown right outside of the Dybbuk Box room", I pulled it together. We finally entered to see.....the Dybbuk Box behind four giant wooden walls. Apparently Zak had a vision of someone stealing the Box, so he added the walls for good measure. I was whelmed.

After this, my memory gets REALLY murky. I know we went to the basement where the previous owner claims her dad would perform satanic rituals on her. Very sad, but Zak made a point to note that she stopped texting him eventually. Take a hint Zak.

I remember a spooky doll named Peggy, who we were told NOT to disrespect as she was SUPER MEGA HAUNTED. Even Zak apparently wouldn’t go in alone. We entered, and Peggy was just a doll from the 70s with a page boy haircut and a prairie dress. There was a spirit box in the room and we were told we could commune with Peggy. NO ONE spoke for the longest time so eventually I said “…I like your haircut Peggy!” No one laughed and Peggy did not respond.

The most exploitative room undoubtedly, was the celebrity haunted memorabilia room. Inside were such respectful object such as Brandon Lee’s coat from The Crow, which he died in, Paul Walker’s sunglasses, which he died in, Truman Capote’s summer clothes, which he died in, and for some reason, Patrick Swayze’s tooth. Nestled in the corner was an object which I was immediately drawn to, and which I paid the most attention to throughout our time in this room. It was Sharon Tate’s wedding dress. I don’t exactly know how this object was supposed to be haunted, as she didn’t die in it, but my God did I want to deck Zak Bagan’s in his fucking face because something like this genuinely belongs in a real museum and not Zak Bagans’ Misery Porn Tour of Horror.

I also remember being taken to a nautical themed room which had some Titanic objects, but was mostly a Natalie Wood room, as it had items from the boat she was on when she died. Voice Over Zak explained that he was doing a separate paranormal investigation and placed some objects in the room. At the same time, the captain of the ship Natalie died on texted Zak saying, practically verbatim, “OMG!!! All my books just flew off the shelves. It’s Natalie, I know it.” All I could think was, “For the love of God, let this poor woman rest.”

THE END

At this point, the tour was just throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. We went into a room with a rocking chair that supposedly possessed a child. I asked our tour guide what happened to the kid and he was like “Oh the demon left him and he’s fine now.” Oh, good! We went into another room with artifacts from an occultist with a specialization in EVPs. I LOVED this. Again, I love the idea of ghosts being energy who can speak through radio waves. What I didn’t like is Zak being like “Oh by the way, listening to EVPs infected her with demons and she went crazy and wasted away.” I’m sorry, what is it with Zak and demons???

Lastly, of course, was the house from Zak’s wonderful documentary. You’re led a dark room where Zak explains the portal to Hell resided in the basement of a home in…Gary, Indiana. The the walls lifted and from behind a fence you could see some dirt from the basement with a pentagram in it. I’m sorry, how did they transport that? Everyone has to understand they redrew/drew that pentagram in there, right? Anyways, super anticlimactic way to end our tour.

Then of course, exit through the gift shop. I was offered a shirt for buying the RIP access ticket. I declined. My boyfriend did get one, though. Still trying to convince him to do a Mike and Jay Halloween costume with me.

TLDR, the ZBHM had none of the fun campiness of Zak’s personality and was full of human suffering and very little ghosts. I cannot stress enough, though, how awesome all of the employees there are. I truly, TRULY hope that a good portion of the ~$860 Zak is getting form each tour is going to them, because they sell you on it.

Anyways Mike what if we kissed in the Creepy Demonic Crawlspace of the Zak Bagans’ Haunted Museum 😳

[campbyler]

HI GIRLDUMMY !! i know u guys answered smth similar to this but i just wanted to ask which counselors are fans of taylor alison swift :D

btw i am absolutely captivated by this fic <3 just the pure summer vibes are eeeeee

(YELLOW CABIN FOR THE WIN 💛💛💛)

first can i say that i love the girldummy nickname so goddamn much

second! thank you sm!!! we're so glad you've enjoyed it so far!!!

third hehe, oooh okay. a controversial topic, so that's fun

so. in our universe, i'd say all 6 members of the party are at least casual taylor swift listeners. if you see us mention a concert in some chapters, we're referring to The Eras Tour™️ which the party does attend together hehe.

dustin probably listens to her the least but does enjoys her music + enjoys having a good time with his friends! lucas, in suni's words, is the boyfriend who got converted by osmosis (and you know lumax is yelling the lyrics of their favorite taylor songs in the car together.) el is absolutely a swiftie, and she was Very Inspired by the line so make the friendship bracelets; take the moment and taste it from YOYOK. as for mike and will, yes, they are both "swifties" in that they enjoy her music and are more than willing to sing along to it, but it's not like they're yk diehard swifties, nor do they despise her

[foxy--stoat]

Could u do a poly fic with all the roomates (young ones) pls

They were just going to see a film. Just a few guys, going out on the town. Nothing poofy whatsoever going on. (They were all, as a matter of fact, extremely poofy.)

Rick was wearing his most yellow overalls, and his boots that Neil said made him look like a woman. He stood by the door, posture proud and open, waiting for the rest of the roommates to come downstairs.

"You all had better hurry up, you know! The movie starts in fifteen minutes!"

"You can't rush magnificence." Called Mike from the bathroom. Neil sighed so loudly that it hurt even Vyvyan's head, who was pacing back and forth looking for his bracelet sharpener.

He stomped down the stairs, clearly in distress.

"Have you seen my bracelet sharpener?"

"I don't understand what you need it for, Vyvyan, are they not sharp enough?" Rick threw his hands in the air, a motion that went entirely unnoticed by Vyvyan, who was now ripping open and throwing the couch cushions across the room.

"I need them to be sharp, Rick. What if you're being a twat and I need to hit you? That wouldn't be much fun with a dull bracelet, now, would it?"

"Well, try asking SPG. He seemed a bit shifty earlier."

"Thanks Rick!" Vyv ran past Rick back up the stairs, punching him on the arm. This was Vyvyan's equivalent of a kiss on the cheek.

It had taken some getting used to, the whole dating thing. Rick had never dated anybody before, so he had expected flowers and chocolates and pampering. Instead, he got Vyvyan.

A few days after they announced their relationship to the house, Mike made a proposition and Neil agreed, and now look at them. A conglomerate of confused university students who also dated.

He was happy, as were the other boys. Their behavior hadn't changed much, save for leaning heads on shoulders, or holding hands. But he was happy this way, with his friends and his boyfriends.

He'd be happier, though, if they would hurry up!!! He was starting to get impatient.

Just as he was rolling his eyes, Neil moped down the stairs, barefoot.

"Where are your shoes, hippie?" Neil frowned.

"Can't find them. Just typical, of all the shoes in this house, of course mine go missing."

"I'll help you find them."

"Really? That's really sweet of you, Rick!"

"Not for you!" Rick blushed at the implication that he'd do something kind for Neil. "I just want to get out of here quicker."

"Oh."

Rick felt bad. "Well, don't look so sad! I don't hate you, you know."

"You don't?"

"Neil, we're dating. Would I date someone I don't like?" Rick shook his head in exasperation, as if this were supposed to be obvious to Neil.

"Oh. Thanks, Rick."

"You're welcome."

---

The streets smelled like roses and gasoline. Vyvyan picked a flower from a bush and handed it to Rick, who blushed, before looking inside it to see a gargantuan bee.

"Did you see it?"

"Yes, Vyvyan, I saw the bee. God forbid you do something kind for me for once, honestly."

"What do you think I was doing?" Vyvyan shook his head in disbelief that Rick could be so thick-skulled.

Behind the quarreling pair, Neil and Mike walked slowly. Mike noticed Neil admiring the rosebushes, and carefully snapped one off of its stem. Neil saw this, and moped. Mike was probably going to catch up to Vyv or Rick and give it to one of them. It wasn't his fault they all hated him, after all- His train of thought was interrupted by Mike tucking the flower behind his ear. He stopped walking in surprise.

"What's wrong, Neil?"

"I thought that was for Vyvyan. Or Rick."

"No, of course not! They hate flowers."

"Well, thanks, Mike. It's really pretty."

"Of course, babes. Anytime."

When they got home, Neil would press the flower under an untouched stack of dusty textbooks, and keep it on his bedside table, smiling every time he saw it.

---

They were 15 minutes late to the movie, but only Rick complained (without much heart). After all, it was hard to beat the time they'd been weeks late to University Challenge. They barged into the theater with their usual lack of regard for others. Vyvyan led the way down the aisle and clambered over a family of disgruntled filmgoers. They sat down, arms over the backs of the chairs, feet up on the chairs in front of them. Vyvyan pulled out a bag of popcorn, and they shared it, loudly chewing.

"What's going on?" Neil asked.

"Shh, pay attention." Mike said. Neil frowned.

The rest of the film was relatively calm, interrupted only occasionally by a bout of raucous laughter from Vyvyan, or a cry of "Fascist!" from Rick.

As they left the theater, they got many a glare, but they ignored it.

Neil and Vyvyan were used to being criticized, to the point where they'd stopped listening and done what they wanted. Obviously, they had gone to two very different extremes, but the sentiment behind it was the same.

Rick and Mike, however, were very conscious of how they were perceived, and Rick plastered a sneer on his face to disguise the discomfort.

---

The warm air hit them as they emerged from the theater, and Rick took his blazer off and tied it around his waist.

"I'm cold." Vyvyan complained.

"How are you cold? It's nearly 20 degrees!"

"I'm not as warm as you, Rick. Give me your jacket."

Rick spluttered. "I'm not letting you near my blazer, Vyvyan, it's for anarchists only." He turned his nose up, and Vyvyan hit Rick over the head. While he was distracted with the potential concussion, Vyvyan snatched the blazer, and shrugged it over his shoulders.

"Much better." He smiled triumphantly, and immediately his attention was taken by a squirrel across the street.

Rick stood in place, blushing, trying not to blush, and smiling. Mike and Neil kept walking, and Neil collided with Rick. He wasn't the best at watching where he was going. "I know that look, Rick. What's happened?" Mike grinned. Rick looked down, and saw that Mike and Neil were holding hands. A bold move, especially on such a public street. He supposed that Mike was used to bold moves.

"What makes you think anything's happened, fascist? Can a man not be happy? Well, certainly not under Thatcher, that's for sure." He crossed his arms.

"Mike, look, Vyvyan's wearing, like, Rick's jacket." Neil pointed out with his free hand.

Mike's eyes widened and he grinned. "Ah, I see. You should try on his vest sometime, I bet it'd suit you."

Rick gasped. "I would never. That man stinks like a fish. I, on the other hand, keep myself at my hygienic and physical peak at all times.

"Rick, you haven't showered since last month." Neil commented, to which Rick responded by shushing him frantically.

"Whatever. Hippie. When was the last time you showered, anyway?"

"That's beside the point, Rick. Anyway, I think he, like, looks cute with your jacket."

"Yes. Well. Me too, I suppose. I still want it back, though!" He shouted that last part in a very pointed manner, directed toward Vyvyan, who was now trying to climb a fence and reach the squirrel. It laughed down at him, and Vyvyan was getting more and more agitated by the second.

"Alright, that's it." He snarled, and picked up a chainsaw that was conveniently sitting on the curb a few feet away.

"Vyvyan, what are you doing? That's an innocent creature, and I'm not talking about Neil."

"Hey, I'm not innocent!"

"Whatever you say, babes."

"I'm hungry." Complained Rick.

"Oh, shut up." The other 3 chorused.

"Let's go home. Rick may be annoying, but he is correct. It's getting late. Neil, do we have lentils?"

"Yes, Mike. You guys have to help clean the dishes, though, because, like, it's getting pretty heavy, having to do all of them myself every day."

"But Neil, I have to feed the goldfish and water the plants!" Vyv nodded sagely, and Rick backed him up with a wide eyed smile.

"Vyv, you know I cooked those months ago."

"Oh. Well, fine. I'm watching the Bastard Squad after dinner though, none of that nature bollocks you like."

"Fine."

"Ugh, Vyvyan, you know I don't like Bastard Squad, it's just so reactionary!"

"Shut up, poof." Rick scowled.

They resumed the short walk home, continuing to chatter all the way.

***

my ao3 is @paper_chefs_hat :))) this is published in the series "the young ones ficlets"

[justalilpearlie]

Sammy IRL rants abt sammike and the fandom. (not directed at any creators, keep it up sammike tumblr nation! /gen)

I wish the fandom knew more abt sammike and it wasnt always. with me forced into another existing character. like no im not the freddy bully, or the bonny bully, or the phone guy, im me.

Im henry's son. Samuel "Sammy" Emily

I sadly was an outsider to all the bullshit that went on in Hurricane agaisnt my own will. I wanted to know. I wasnt able to do anything about it. I didnt knew how Mike was doing for years. I WISH we had worked together! but that only can happen in a No One Dies timeline.

I just wish to be my own person in the fandom and not made a baby, because in some memories I was even OLDER than Charlie, and Mike was always around my same age! When I say we've known eachother our WHOLE lifes I mean it. When I first saw Michael's face I was probably under a year old. I cant remember because 1. IRL mems can be fuzzy and 2. most ppl dont remember things before age like 3 or 4, but I do know our parents were friends before we were even born, and we played together and attended each one of eachothers birthdays, we were best friends before lovers, childhood bestfriends.

When we grew up we had a fall out, because of his new friendgroup, which I'd join later on anyways (on a particular timeline. because yes i remember different contradicting timelines.), but before that I was always trying to impress him and them so I could spend time with them. When we did spend time together, at first theyd tease me for being the youngest, shortest and weakest, and he'd always go out of his way to defend me, help me when I got hurt trying to pull out some dumb trick to get their attention and a couple times even canceled hang outs with his friends when I was having some issues (wont go into detail, but wanna clarify it has nothing to do with my family, they were GREAT and whoever says Henry Emily OR his wife play favorites f u. that couldnt be more far from the truth.)

OH here's sum memories I love: Taking care of our little siblings (where theyre all fairly younger than us and we were way older than them in comparison. also no one dies au), taking them to the park, staying home with them when our parents went out on date nights, it was great honestly. we all loved staying in having ice cream in front of the TV with a fan (or more), while Fazbear and Friends was on!

Sorry yall, im going a bit loco. I uh. yeah anyways this is a sammike household, i 100% respect other ships but i dont wanna see them here, on this account, so like ik no one has yet but just in case if anyone wanted to know my opinion on other popular ships like jeremike or mike x the other bullies: sammike is better, i am 100% bias and i wont apologize. ive never been more comforted than I am by my boyfriend and seeing anything of us together. even when people get it wrong. SPECIALLY when people getting right [looking at one of my mutuals w the realest sammike takes ever] I JUST. i wont give my opinion on other michael ships, only will say "sammike for the win" and thats all.

Thanks for comming to my TED talk, sorry for the rant, it WILL happen again. most likely.

Sammike content:

[cricketchaology]

resident alien 2.08 rewatch

- alien dinner party!!! i remember this being a really good episode!!! i’m so excited !!!

- ben’s. “i would but i said no.” and then in one second giving way to very mild peer pressure. oh ben. ohhh.

- i love it when all the characters i like in a show r in one place. i love all my friends ben and d’arcy and asta and liv and kate and harry and mike all in one beautiful room together

- “i’m gonna get some sweet gerkins” ben i’m in love with u

- d’arcy getting sober & going back to the gym… god i love u girl i’m so sorry they write u the worlds worst relapse arc soon

- kate ur just like me (nauseated by the smell of eggs)

- ben cutely not being able to figure out where to set down his beer in the back <3333

- god i feel like s3 forgets that kate and ben really, really aren’t right for each other. they realllyy. really need to get a divorce

- kate taking a pregnancy test at harry’s house is such crazy behavior. i love my girls sooo much

- “i have [been peed on too]. i kinda liked it” KATE I LOVE YOUUU

- “she’s our best customer we’ve given her like 6 tickets” i love you. hilarious

- asta crying after jay asked her if she wanted tobZkrnnWKRJWJDJWJDJWJ BABY IN THE TOILET

- mike & dan’s dynamic is so sweet

- i wish jesse was sherif mike’s dead boyfriend. i do think i’ve said before that i wish he was a gay sexist

- i kinda forgor that bridgette is a hybrid

- BEN MENTIONED JUGHEAD !!!! YIPPEEE !!!!

- YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY BEN & D’ARCY KISS REVEAL

- GOODDDDDDDDDDD TVVVVVVVV THW DRAMMAAAAAAAAAA GOD I LOVE THIS FUCKING TV SHOW HELP MEEE THIS IS WHAT IM FUCKING TALKING ABOUT BABYYYYYY

- god. ben and kate u r suchhh freaks

- rip to ben hawthorne you would have LOVED the nausea before the game from in trousers

- i fucking love liv and john. i wish we got to see them together more. like god i love that she just has a supportive beautiful husband. and also on just like a personal note. i fucking love that the fat girl gets to be the one that’s happily married. it’s so fucking sweet

- asta being so excited when dr elliott texts back hey and doing a cutesy voice to encourage d’arcy. god i fucking love you guys

- asta killing a man for harry. help me. help me. help me. help me. help me.

- god this show used to be so fucking good what happened. the drama !!!!! the camp !!!

[thestrangerthingsgirl]

Hi, again i'm back for another rant about shipwars, so we all know they started filming season 5 a month ago? okay so i know most of us are caught up seeing a leaked photo of will on set that wasn't supposed to be out (thats why they cropped it after they realize) and i'm just going to say this, I know Mike is in the farm with Will and Robin in this, but you guys have to know that we don't have much context about what the scene will be, You guys have noticed El isn't in this because Millie is busy with her boyfriend in nyc that time. i know you guys are all excited for some byler confession scene or Will and Robin bonding about sexualities, but we don't really know the context yet. i don't really care if byler happens I don't even care if mileven happens either too, i'm that type of person that doesn't ship anything or care about the ships much, I'd be happy if it did happen but i wouldn't be upset if it didn't or if mileven doesn't happen anymore, the point is, I don't know why we're still attacking each other for what we ship, like I get that there's a side of tumblr thats all for the milevens and a side for the byler fans too but I just don't understand why people don't respect others opinions on what they ship, like your still valid if u ship either one of those ships or both, I'm not going to say what i ship because i'm not like a crazy shipper or anything, I'm happy Will is getting more scenes with people that he normally wouldn't have scenes with, but i'm wondering whats the context with a part of the squad at a barn or at the new radio station since i feel like they added new locations, other than that lets just respect opinions and if you have nothing nice to say to me about my opinion then don't say anything.

About the Ship Wars

I honestly really hate that we all still have to deal with ship wars, it really doesn't matter if you like byler or mileven, it's just dumb to see people judge each other for having their own opinion if they like byler or mileven or even both if that's even possible. I don't think it matters what ship even ends up endgame, i'm fine with either one of them that happens, i'm just not fine about the ship wars we all have to deal with, the show isn't always about love and romance even if its in the show and script, theres monsters, theres alternate dimensions, also some of the characters we all love will end up dying too which that's not really something to be happy about but we honestly don't have to fight over fictional characters and the ships we know about. I'm fine with whatever happens but I just hate how people fight over what ship they like. I don't tolerate any hate on this account so please don't comment anything bad about this I'm just stating my opinion on ship wars because I feel like they're very unnecessary. I do honestly agree that Mike might just be a confused bisexual boy who doesn't know if he likes will or el, so if that even happens by the end of season 4 then at least that happens. I'm aware about what netflixgeeked posted on their instagram but i still think we should all just relax because fighting is not going to make it feel better, i have no problem with both mileven and byler, but i don't really understand and like the ship war we all have to deal with, I also apologize for dissapearing on this account, I was really busy with school still but I am most likely back. I just think, we should all wait till Volume 2 comes out to see whatever even happens, I mean it's 4 hours of content so anything is basically possible when it comes to stranger things, it's possible that byler could happen, it's possible that mileven might still happen, but what gives if all of us has to complain every single day about what ship deserves to be endgame and what ship deserves to stay as a friendship, platonic or not, I also think either one of those ships being platonic soulmates or just soulmates in general is possible. I just hope that if will confesses mike better treat him fairly and not mess up on this, like I said, I still think mike is probably just a confused bisexual boy who has no idea what to do when his best friend has a crush on him while he has still feelings for most likely El. I've been most likely aware about the many hints being thrown at about Wills crush, i also hope we do end up seeing Will's painting which that might be another post I'll probably talk base about that since I feel like his painting can probably mean most likely anything since like Mr Clarke said "Once you open that curiosity door, anything is possible." but other than that, can we all just patiently wait till volume 2 comes out so we know what will happen anyways? I'm just sick and tired of people hating on each other for shipping byler or mileven, like both ships are good on their own ways depending on if you ship mileven or if you ship byler, your still valid about that even if you ship one of them or even both. Besides I have no problem with both ships, i mean, whatever happens happens, and just because I like both ships doesn't mean I'll judge you for liking either one of them or both.

[aemiron-main]

“why can’t you just be happy that mike’s going to kiss will? Why do you want to analyze mike’s sexuality? I’m so sick of seeing arguments about mike’s sexuality”

uh maybe because I actually care about him as a character outside of his relationship with will??? have you considered trying that? the idea that we should just erase his sexuality and not analyze it because some people don’t like any sort of ‘negativity’/disagreement in the tag is insane to me. you guys would never say the same about analyzing Will’s sexuality but once again it seems like some people just want mike to stay as a blank slate for them to project onto/refuse to see him as anything other than Will’s boyfriend.

“Just be happy that he’s gonna kiss will you should be happy that he’s some sort of queer and stop analyzing it”

[hellfireclubmember]

ok so i have a request if that’s cool.

so steve harrington x reader where the reader has scars/stretch marks and is insecure about them and doesn’t want steve to see them? maybe like hurt/comfort.

thank u🤍🤍

*okay, so sorry this took so long. just a quick warning this is the first time i've written anything that wasn’t just supposed to be fluff so pls have mercy on me <3 oh and this turned out to b a lot longer than i thought it would be*

It was summer in Hawkins, Indiana. The season of trying to keep cool by any means. Which usually meant spending most days at the town pool. Steve wasn’t keen on cramming into a pool full of preteens and their parents, which is lucky for him considering the pool in his backyard. However, he had concocted a plan to spend his weekend with you and his friends at his family’s lake house. He now just had to convince you to come which was proving to be quite difficult. Everyone else was fully on board, eager to cool off and relax for a change. He didn’t plan on his girlfriend being the one fully against the idea, honestly his money was on Max being the most difficult to convince.

“Baby, come on. For once my plan is perfect.” He was sitting on your bed begging you to reconsider. “We barely spend anytime relaxing together. Its either we’re fighting disgusting monsters or we’re both busy working.” He tugged on your hand so you would turn to look at him.

Your willpower was crumbling. Saying no to Steve made you feel horrible but thinking of saying yes made your chest tighten. Spending the weekend at the lake with everyone sounded like a dream but that also meant having to wear less clothes than you’re really comfortable wearing.

You had known everyone for a really long time but you had officially been dating Steve for about 2 months. You had loved him for way more than that and now that you were together you didn’t want anything to ruin your relationship with him. Which meant keeping him at arm’s length about some things, things you had convinced yourself would make you undesirable to him.

“I’ll get on my knees right now.” He had your face in between both his hands now. “Please don’t make me but I swear I’ll do it if you ask.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re the worst.” The grin on your face too wide for anyone to think you were being serious.

“You love me though, which is why you’re gonna say yes?” He said, waiting for you to cave and caving you were. There was really no point in continuing to say no to him. You both knew he was going to get what he wanted, he usually did.

You let out a sigh. “Fine, Steve. I’ll go” He immediately planted a hard kiss on your lips.

“You’re the best, baby. I swear you’ll have fun.” He kissed your forehead, then your nose and then your lips again. “If you don’t, we can hide all of Henderson’s clothes so he spends all weekend scavenger hunting.”  

You had said yes but that didn’t mean having to actually get into the lake. There was no way he could convince you of jumping into the lake. You would put your foot down this time for sure. You were steeling yourself; no amount of begging could sway you on this.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

“Steve, no. I’ll watch you from here, okay? I don’t want to get in the water.” You were sat on the dock behind the house. The sky was almost unnaturally clear, the sun beaming down at all of you as if angry with the Earth. There was a slight summer breeze making its way around everyone but nothing strong enough to keep anyone from sweating. Ultimately an ideal day to be exactly where you were. Dustin, Mike and Robin were splashing each other in the water whilst Max and Lucas were inside getting food. Your very annoying boyfriend standing in front of you, beautiful hairy chest on display, hands on his hips.

“But it’s so hot, you have to be melting by now.” He had been bugging you about this since you guys got out of the car.

“(Y/N), c’mon! When do we ever have free time where we’re not knocking on death’s door?” Robin yelled from inside the water.

“Yeah! Who knows how long we have before the next slimy freak emerges from the Earth to try and kill everyone?” Lucas said as he walked past you getting ready to dive in. Max walked behind him with a bag of chips in her hands, agreeing to Lucas’ statement.  

They’re right and you know they’re right. Maybe you could push past your insecurities just this once, let go and have fun. You looked up at Steve’s hopeful face again, reaching for his hand and playing with his fingers.

“You really want me to go in with you?”

Steve squatted down to be at eye level with you. Sometimes when he looked at you this closely he was overwhelmed with how beautiful one person could be. He thought himself the luckiest person in the world. “More than anything.”

You nodded, again giving in to your boyfriend’s every whim and got up to go change. Everyone cheered as you walked inside the house, you lifted your hand in the air, middle finger extended.

“I’ll wait for you right here!” Steve yelled out after you.

In the bathroom, you stared at yourself in the mirror. Your body clad in your bathing suit. This was what you were dreading about this trip. Truth is you wanted to avoid Steve seeing the stretch marks that littered your skin on the sides of your lower half. The indented stripes of skin being the only thing your eyes could see when you looked in the mirror and you were terrified of that being the same for Steve, terrified he wouldn’t want you anymore.

You could feel tears starting to form in your eyes. You couldn’t do this; you couldn’t go out there like this. You wrapped your arms around yourself as you slid down to sit on the bathroom floor. You felt pathetic, silently crying in the bathroom whilst everyone was outside having a blast.

You didn’t notice how long you had been in there but Steve definitely did. He was starting to get worried so he got up from his seat and walked over to the bathroom, knocking softly. “Babe, are you okay?”

Hearing his voice made you snap your gaze to the locked door. You wiped the tears on your face and tried to sound as normal as possible. If Steve knew you were crying then he would definitely find a way into the bathroom

“Yeah, I’m okay.” As you said that a small involuntary sob escaped you, making your eyes widen.

“Are you crying?” Oh no, oh no, oh no. You heard the doorknob jiggle as Steve attempted to get in. “Sweetheart can you let me in please?”

You looked around the bathroom, eyes landing on someone’s towel near the shower. Quickly unhooking it and wrapping it around your hips. The skin on your lips felt dry as you took a deep breath in, an effort to prepare yourself to face your boyfriend. When you opened the door you couldn’t make eye contact with Steve. He was leaning on the door frame, concern written all over his face as he examined yours.

“You were crying.” His eyebrows furrowed. He walked into the bathroom with you and closed the door behind him. Steve’s arms immediately wrapping around your body in a tight hug. “Why were you crying?” He spoke into your hair.

The second the words left his lips fresh tears began streaming down your face. Steve rubbed small circles on your back, giving you time to just cry in his arms. Every few minutes he would whisper “I love you” in your ear. You both stayed in that position until he heard your breathing start to even out. Steve pulled away wanting to look you in the eyes. You tried looking at everything else but him. Making Steve lean everywhere your eyes went. When you finally quit trying to evade him and made eye contact, he gave you a comforting smile.

“Can you tell me what made you this upset?” He was holding your hand as he spoke, rubbing your knuckles gently with his thumb. You almost started crying again just looking at him, his perfect hair, perfect smile, perfect skin.

“Stevie, I just” You breathed in slowly to keep any tears at bay. “I just love you so much.”

“That’s no reason to cry.” His voice was soft, his words coated with care.

“You’re so perfect and I want to be perfect for you too.” Sniffle. “And I’m not, I’m just not.” You couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore, opting to look at the floor instead.

Steve was so confused. He couldn’t think of any reason why you would say that. When he looked at you sometimes he had to physically pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming you up. To him you were as perfect as any person could be. He adored you. “Why would do you think that?”

“Because it’s true, Steve. I’m not pretty enough to be with you, I’m covered in stretch marks, and you’re perfect.” A few more tears slipped from your eyes but you quickly wiped them off. If you started crying again you don’t know when you would stop.

Steve finally understood why you were so against this trip and why you were so adamant about not getting in the water. “Baby, look at me.” He lifted your head up so you could look him in the eye again. “I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful. Seriously, you’re a knockout, a ten, a fox.” He saw a whisper of a smile on your face as he kept talking. “I’m serious. If I could worship your body all day I would.” His eyes roamed every inch of your face. He leaned in and gave you quick kiss. “You don’t have to get into the water, I’ll sit with you inside or outside or wherever you want. I just want to spend time with you because you’re my favorite person.” You fully smiled now, hearing him speak sticky sweet words with his whole chest. You loved Steve Harrington, he loved you and that was enough.

You shook your head. “I’ll get in.” You hesitated before taking the towel off. Steve took a few steps back to look at you. You held your breath as you watched his eyes scan your body.

The tall boy was momentarily at a loss for words, which for Steve was a first. He couldn’t believe you could be so insecure when you looked like this. “(y/n)” he put his hand on your hip. “You’re so hot.”

“Yeah?” You beamed up at him.

“Hell yeah.” He caught your lips in a needy kiss. “Maybe we should spend some time inside first?” Steve spoke with a lazy smirk on his face.

You laughed. “Tempting but we’re on duty, Stevie. Always the babysitters.”