#we need more el and jonathan siblings content

[maybebitterxox]

*El sneaking in through the window at midnight*

Jonathan, spinning around in a swivel chair: Care to explain where you were- why won’t this chair stop spinning. El I know you’re doing this. STOP THIS INSTANT. STOP I’M GETTING SICK. YOU’RE GOING TO THROW ME OFF THE CHAIR STOP

[friendsdontlieokay]

What would have happened if Nancy went with Mike on California in season 4?

Personally, I would definitely love more Jancy and Wheeler siblings content plus Will and Nancy interacting would be a default and that'd be a bonus but I think that would be a loss.

I mean no harm, I love my Cali group, but this season the Cali group was the least useful one in a sense, I mean no of course not, of course they needed to rescue El but their storyline was more of a comic relief.

Jonathan, Will, Mike all of them are great characters with great potential and wits which mostly just got wasted this season.

Nancy plays a huge role in investigations, strategy and combat so taking her out of that to a much "light-hearted" storyline would be a loss in the main plot of the story so even though a part of me would jump around in circles if we got to see Nance in Cali, a part of me is rather glad that she didn't.

[lucassinclaer-archive]

i only need super minimal encouragement to talk about this soooooo ty @freetobeeyouandme lmao. been thinking about stranger things heist au again. and it got long into brainstorming territory so just... (waves hand vaguely) thoughts continue under the cut.

legacy families like the byers who never pulled high-end jobs, content in their little pond being small-time crooks incapable of understanding why jonathan, with all his flawless lifts and situational awareness, would try to reach above and start in on the big jobs.

joyce who met lonnie on a job and joyce and jonathan who protect will from lonnie's frustration when will turns out to be an awful thief who doesn't enjoy crime the littlest bit. (he does turn out to be quite the forger when the time comes, though.)

contrast with that the wheelers who are an all-american halfway happy law-abiding family whose eldest, nancy, walks eyes front into a life of crime to protect her friend and finds that it becomes inevitable, a sort of ceaseless need to keep going. who never wanted her little brother involved.

but apparently the wheeler siblings have some sort of crime beacon on them because of course nancy quite literally crashes into her brother trying to take down the same scumbag two towns over she is, although he looks at her like she's crazy when she lays out her plan and man, what her little brother has planned is actually pretty clever and much more subtle than the approach she was gonna take. they have ground rules, but she doesn't try to keep him from pulling jobs. she knows it'd be useless.

dustin is an incredibly bright kid with what may be a slight tendency to go overboard in the name of Science. he loves blowing stuff up every now and again, okay?! and also it's just criminal (heh) what some pharma companies do so he might be breaking into their headquarters and screwing with their formulas and contaminating their experiments until he figures out how to take them down permanently. sue him! (but please don't actually sue him, he hasn't found a great lawyer yet.)

lucas on the other hand was dragged into crime kicking and screaming. not something he ever wanted to do. (will will understand but then lucas kind of loses him when he did it anyway.) mike and dustin sort of kidnapped him into it, basically, when they were all still strangers, dustin and mike barely partners on this one con, and they'd needed a patsy who worked for the corporation they're stealing from. unfortunately they were still young and dumb enough to pick someone actually smart who trapped them in an office until they copped to their scheme at which point lucas demanded proof of their accusations which coincidentally was exactly what mike anf dustin were after. after that they can’t really seem to separate. he's turned into a jack of all trades, lucas sinclair - grifter, thief, hitter... even the occasional hacker. not the greatest at any, but good at all.

(we don't talk about erica who will one day give him a heart attack blowing up his whole carefully crafted alibi.)

steve, the getaway driver who hates his fucking job and is in it only bc there was p much nothing else to do until he finds people who show him there's a way to do it that brings him joy, when he knows what he's fighting for.

robin's a strange sort of grifter, not someone who immediately charms everyone in a room, but who knows how to make herself either invaluable or severely underestimated. she speaks like every language under the sun. like steve she has a certain aimlessness at first but unlike steve it's not due to having no ideas but more of a thing of having no options. until they're offered to her. then she's unstoppable.

max is out there somewhere being a thief different from jonathan, self-made and scared and on the west coast. but if they were to meet jonathan would recognize those gritted teeth and the hard work. it's not natural talent that made her so good at what she does but pure stubbornness.

el, on the other hand, is all raw talent and exploited for it for a long time when she's a kid. it's will who meets her first, who gives her an out, but when it lands him in trouble it's the other criminals who help her get him out. joyce, mike and jonathan develop an instantaneous protective streak for her. lucas isn't sold and dustin is mostly in love with her demolitions capabilities and nancy is hungry for the dirt she has on various government agencies.

[awesome-opossum-after-hours]

so I saw someone else do this and I wanna put mine out to the internet SO- here's my stranger things s5 wishlist

-Hopper-Byers family [trauma-] bonding

-specifically involving Jonathan, like with either parent tbh

-"Byers Twins" teaming up... possibly super powers involved? like either Will has hidden powers or El helps him get some

-Wayne involvement PLEASE

-going off the former, bc the Duffers said the parents were getting involved, Dustin somehow setting up his mom and Wayne

-as sad as it is, explore Dustin's trauma

-Lucas's too, and honestly maybe they'd bond over it and help each other? they were such a great duo in seasons 1 and 2 and I want that back

-Steve and Robin have a new job at some sort of stupid children's pizza place lmao (Freddy Fasbear core hahaha)

-but in all seriousness they need to still keep a running gag of them having a job together at a new place every season

-badass Karen Wheeler teaming up with Nancy

-overall more parent/child bonding now that the parents will be involved ig?

-Eddie somehow PLEASE, ideally back from the dead but it seems more likely that they'd bring him back as a Vecna vision (that'd rip me to shreds but hey at least more content)

-feel like this is self explanatory but Max being okay

-BUT FIRST, Vecna using her as a puppet

-more of a theory I have that I want to be correct, but I want them to show where she is, if she's alive but El couldn't find her. since Max wasn't totally gone when Vecna got disintegrated, what if she's trapped in Vecna's mindscape?

-badass Erica moment. spoiler alert she actually single-handedly defeata Vecna by roasting him so goddamn hard he cannot recover

-please not let this end badly but I want a Steve and Dustin callback to the "no. if you die, I die" line. AGAIN tho nothing bad should come of it please

-let Sam Owens be alive. #justice for Sam

-let Dart somehow come back and help save Dustin #justice for Dart

-Mike and Nancy acting like actual siblings but like not just fighting. like, looking after each other

-holly being sentient, yk she'll be about 10/11 it's about damn time

-IF he does come back, I want a fucking Twilight-style scene to For Whom the Bell Tolls where the camera spans the Upside Down around the trailer, dramatically and all that. on the last bell chime in the intro when the bass starts, it zooms into Eddie, laying dead on the ground. a gnarly hand reaches into frame in front of his face, and Eddie's eyes fly open. boom roll credits as the song goes on

-lastly, I do not care WHO he gets this with. even if it's some rando. but I NEED a scene at the end where we see Steve driving a Winnebago, hair blowing in the wind, with his six little nuggets that he deserves. when they arrive at their destination, we see everyone [who survives lmao] possibly with their future families, setting up a little campfire and connecting like the goddamn wonderful little Found Family they are!!!

[padfoot-lupin77]

I just imagined El knocking the door on Jonathan’s room at 11:00 pm on a Tuesday and sitting on his bed and asking “What does gay mean?” And Jonathan is there sweating like El what are you talking about where did that come from who did you hear saying it? And Will bursts in the room shouting “WHO ATE THE LAST LEFTOVER TACO???” And Jonathan is like “this is why I smoke crack, how else am I supposed to stand you both?”

In conclusion: We need more content of the Byers-Hopper siblings.

[ao3feed-timkon]

Stepping Stones

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/eilMdxu

by xSeeingStarsx

Jason Todd has finally come home. Red Hood is intent on staying in Gotham permanently, even if it means playing by Batman’s rules. But Gotham has changed since he left, no more so than the dynamics at play at Wayne Manor. Who are the Williams siblings? And how are they connected with one of Black Mask’s clients?

Petra Williams' life didn’t feel like her own, hell, even her name wasn’t her own, it was a carefully-crafted facade to keep her and her brother safely hidden. But maybe there was a way to get her life back, and Red Hood was going to help her, whether he liked it or not.

 Fic updated every 3rd Saturday of the month

I would also like my lovely friend m_e_winters here on AO3 who has put as much work into this fic as I have with my consistent pestering them, bouncing ideas off of them, and their reliable help with editing.

Words: 2185, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics), Bat - Fandom, Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Young Justice (Cartoon)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Original Characters, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Batfamily Members, Roy Harper, Talia al Ghul, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Clark Kent, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Lois Lane, James "Jimmy" Olsen, Roman Sionis

Relationships: Jason Todd/Original Female Character(s), Red Hood/Original Female Character, Batfamily Members & Original Character(s), Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Tim Drake/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Stephanie Brown/Cassandra Cain, Jonathan Samuel Kent & Damian Wayne

Additional Tags: Batbrothers (DCU), Batbrothers Bonding (DCU), Batfamily (DCU), Slow Burn, Falling In Love, no graphic smut, Implied/Referenced Sexual Content, Fade to Black, Implied/Referenced Child Torture, Implied/Referenced Child Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Get In We Are Finding Love And Emotional Healing, Everyone Needs Therapy, Only once character actually is in therapy, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Bruce is a tired dad™ trying, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating, Bruce Wayne is an Unreliable Narrator, Projecting my mixed feelings about Bruce Wayne, Vigilantism, Murder, Psychological Trauma, Tim Drake and Jason Todd are Best Bros, Talia Al Ghul as a Maternal Figure, meta-humans - Freeform, Metahumans, unethical medical experimentation, Child Soldiers, Puts Favorite DC Media in a Blender: Cannon? What Cannon?

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/eilMdxu

[theoriginalsapphic]

Queer people don't need to have fulfilling romantic relationships and should be content if they are just accepted by their friends and family, but god forbids a straight person doesn't have a romantic relationship as their endgame or hells breaks loose.

We watched Nancy date Steve in season 1, then break up with Steve and get with Jonathan in season 2, watched Nancy date Jonathan in season 3, and in season 4 the show has revived the jancy/stancy love triangle. It's undetermined who will be Nancy's endgame yet, something that it will requiere focus in season 5 to be resolved.

We watched miIeven kiss at the end of season 1, get together at the end of season 2, break up at the beginning of season 3 and get back together at the end of it, and had to watch them at their most tumultuous in season 4. El still hasn't responded to Mike's monologue; in season 5 they are either going to break up for good or they are going to spend the season trying to convince the audience they have earned their endgame despite being destroyed by the writing for the last two seasons.

And Robin and Vickie getting maybe geting twenty minutes of screentime is too much?

Robin's character has always surrounded around being Steve's bestie and proof that he has changed and isn't a homophobic asshole anymore. Steve and Robin have interacted more in one episode than Mike and Nancy, canonically siblings and main characters since season 1, have interacted in the entirety of the show.

Do you know one of the reasons why Ronance exploted in popularity? Because it was the first time Robin interacted with a woman that could be shipped with. Because she rarely shares the screen with anyone but Steve.

Straight love is the default and the expected.

Queer love is a privilege you will never be seen of deserving.

Of course Reddit agrees with Maya's bad take that Robin doesn't need a girlfriend and it's better to focus on her friendship with Steve.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

am I the only one who would’ve preferred if Mike stayed with the Hawkins group for s4? I liked him best in ep 1 where he was with Dustin and Eddie. I feel that dynamic was the funniest but him in California instead was kind of boring and didn’t do much for his character. And I feel like him not going would’ve allowed more sibling bond time for Will, El, and Jonathan which I feel like they desperately needed and it would’ve been cute to see.

He's not as funny in California because his emotions are all over the place. I would have liked more Byers sibling content, too, so hopefully we see more in volume 2.

This is important for Mike as a character. He's gotta get his shit together. He can't do that from Hawkins.

[willel]

I hope they explore more will dynamics in s5 since in seasons 2-4 we mostly see him interacting with the same people (exluding s1 since he was stuck in the upside-down for most of it). It makes sense for his character since compared to the rest of the party he's quieter and more introverted but still. In s2 he's mostly seen interacting with joyce, Jonathan, Mike, Dustin and Lucas with a few others but mainly these 5 and maybe hopper and even though max was introduced this season we don't get to see that much with them. In s3 will mostly interacts with the same people and compared to the rest of the party he doesn't really interact with characters like Steve, Nancy, Robin or El and he interacts with max a bit more but still not that much. In s4 the byers moved to California and we get to see him interact with el but other then her and I guess argyle (Suzie and Murray too but those are very breif) he mostly sticks to the same people again. He was also the only og party member to not really bring anyone in since Dustin, Lucas and Mike (but mostly mike) brought el into the party in s1 while it was mostly Dustin and Lucas bringing max into the party in s2. Sorry if I ranted in your inbox but this just popped into my head

I think the main problem is that he's quiet and introverted. He's not just gonna immediately start vibing with people like Steve or Robin for example, he'll need some time. I can see him getting along fine with Nancy though, he's known her for many years so he wouldn't feel that awkward about it. Plus she's dating his brother.

If the whole team is going to be less segmented this year, maybe Will will be getting a lot of time with his siblings (Jonathan and El) and in doing so, he'll get to spend a lot of time with Nancy?

Nancy is the only one on that hill that can tell all of them exactly what happened while they were all away. Nancy, being the smart lady she is, can also probably put the pieces together and realize Will is in danger just like Max was.

We only got a little bit of Nancy and Max content, but I really love that exchange they sorta had.

Max: Try not to miss. Nancy, later: I won't miss.

She's even directly confronted Vecna multiple times now. Would be cool if she took an older sister stance like "Nah. I'm joining the Will Byers protection squad and I won't let Vecna touch him. -loads gun-"

That would also be a shame though cause we'd end up with Nancy acting like more of an older sister towards Will than her own little brother so I dunno about that 😂

If my theory about Will being able to go into Vecna's mind and interacting with the souls trapped there is true, I think that could introduce a lot of opportunities for Will and Max scenes. At least a couple of them, if he's able to act as the liaison between her and the real world. They made a point to show that El couldn't find her, but maybe Will can? Max and Will have a lot of the same grief regarding their family life (though luckily Will's big bro isn't an asshole towards him), would be nice if that gets acknowledged.

If Will and Robin gets some scenes together, firstly, I hope it doesn't overpower and scenes with Jonathan. Like, I want Will to come out to Jonathan or Joyce first period end of story. But it would be interesting if we got indications that Robin is picking up on signals Will isn't even aware he's putting out and goes out of her way to try to be friendly with him? Like the extroverted kid adopting the shy kid dynamic. But Robin herself is in the closet and is terrified of being exposed so I don't think she'd go out of her way to be super obvious that she knows or cause him more anxiety than he already has.

LUCAS. I DEMAND LUCAS AND WILL SCENES END OF STORY. LUCAS, EL, AND WILL ALL TRYING TO SAVE MAX FROM VECNA. I NEED IT NOW. LUCAS AND WILL HUG NOW

It would also be really cool if Dustin and Will were the dnd consultants and had discussions on theories with each other. Other than Dustin, Will is the most invested in dnd. Like I know he gave away his manuals and whatnot, but he obviously still loves it dearly. I would like to see Dustin turning to Will for his opinion to see if Will's knowledge on Vecna lines up with some kind of dnd lore or rules. Or Will suggesting something and Dustin backing him up. Stuff like that.

There are many opportunities to be had here, but who knows if they'll actually follow through.

[robinsgayshoes]

groups i want to see in stranger things but probably won’t

lots of these will never happen but i would love to see their interactions :) also there’s a lot of robin here mainly because im so excited to see her properly interact with the rest of the gang. 

robin and nancy - ok so this one actually is happening and im extremely extremely excited about it. firstly, because nancy needs a friend after barb. secondly, they’re so different and i love them so much but for such different reasons so im intrigued to see what their interactions are like.

murray, nancy and mike - i’ve talked about this before but this trio would actually be so iconic. the angst would be through the roof, they would all hate eachother so much but like slightly less than they hate everyone else and they would be so done with everyone else. 

          and by extension of this

nancy and mike - as i’ve said before i am extremely annoyed that we get like zero nancy and mike content. like they would be amazing together, the dynamic would just be incredible. plus they’re my two favourite characters and this is honestly my biggest gripe with the duffer brothers, like GIVE US WHEELER SIBLING MOMENTS.

joyce and robin - ok i got the idea for this from this fanfic (which i highly recommend) and i just think they would be so soft. idk how to explain this one i just think they would be super cute.

will and dustin - i wish we saw these two interact more, like i feel like dustin would really make will laugh and they would just have cute friendship moments. i also just want the original four boys back again, even just for a bit, because i liked the group dynamic even though we’re completely robbed of it.

jonathan and robin - ok so they would get along so well. nobody can convince me otherwise they’ve both got little “im quirky, im a loner” complexes and i love them for it and i need to see them be little outsiders together.

steve and eleven - i can’t be the only person who thinks this would be adorable, like i can just see steve showing el movies and being like a big brother (tbh i think steve and eleven would get on better than jonathan and eleven as siblings) idk they would just be so soft.

lucas and hopper - they both see right through mike’s bullshit and i love that for them. again i dont know how to explain it i just think they would be so funny.

nancy, robin and max - three badasses who take nobody’s shit. we might actually see this in s4 but i like want just a scene with the three of them cause i feel like there isn’t enough female friendships/solidarity in the series.

erica and mike - again two people who literally get annoyed with everyone and i want to see mike get highly annoyed with erica and erica just not caring. this will literally never happen but idc.

robin and mike - 1. mike would tolerate robin and robin would tolerate mike at first but they would actually grow to be super close and i want this with my entire heart. 2. gay and lesbian solidarity

will and eleven - ok so i know this is actually happening cause they’re siblings but they would be so soft omg. like i want to see scenes of them at school looking out for eachother and im soooo ready for it. (also the people who say that will would hate el.... like are talking about the same will? like its just not in character for him in my opinion) and ik that noah and millie get along very well so im excited to see their on screen chemistry.

anyways these are the ones im mainly hoping for (though most will never happen.... sigh) but im interested to see what others want to see.

[brionysea]

Grief’s an Expensive Emotion by Randomness_is_my_order [multichapter, complete, 30k. max-focused madwheeler]

“What do you want Wheeler?” Mike’s jittery foot-taps started just as he replied, “Did you eat breakfast?” “What?” Max blinked, then glared. “How is that any of your business?” For a moment, she was sure Mike would glare in return, say something fiery or insulting or mocking then they’d both go back to how things were – ignoring each other until interaction was absolutely necessary. But that didn’t happen.

Grief can cause distance between close friends and bring closer the distant ones.

Max should’ve known that Mike Wheeler can’t help but meddle with her business. But as their reluctant friendship blossoms into profound understanding, Max is amazed at how much they have in common and how much this friendship feels like something she can enjoy, instead of something she has to endure. -----

this world is gonna pull through by scoutshonour [one shot, 3k]

“And are you insane?”

“No, but clearly you are because you’re driving seventy when you should be going at least a hundred. What’s taking so long, Jonathan? We don’t have any time to waste, and after what we just did to that agent, I’m sure you’re not above the crime of speeding, right? C’mon, I know you wanna — hey, why aren’t you interrupting me!?”

“You were having a moment.” Jonathan sinks his foot lower on the gas pedal. “Let it out. It’s fine.”

The leather seat crinkles as Mike leans back. “No,” Mike sighs. “It’s not.”

(or: Jonathan and Mike have a talk on the drive to Nevada.)

Left Unsaid by Vialana [one shot, 1.7k]

It was only when Mike offhandedly – and with a bit of exasperation – mentioned burying a body in the desert during his explanation of the trip to find El that Hopper realised Mike was really not okay and probably hadn’t been for some time.

Why'd You Jump? by stardustandswimmingpools [one shot, 1k]

It's only been a week since El vanished, and it's a question that's been haunting Dustin for a week.

Pull me from the edge by GhoulSanderson [one shot, 1.3k]

What if Lucas showed up at the cliff and saved Mike?

Because I need more Lucas and Mike content.

patchwork by sunflowerabbit [one shot, 6k. kind of mileven but only in the sense that losing el hurt mike a lot. very easy to read as elmike]

He doesn’t exactly feel sick, but cold inside. Hollow. It’s like simultaneously feeling everything (relief, sickness, wistfulness) and nothing all at once. Absentmindedly, Mike thought, I should remember that so I can write it down sometime. Could use it in a story. - There's about six weeks in between the night he got El back and the night of the Snow Ball. Mike spends them mostly drifting in between confusion and a sense of detachment. He doesn't really understand why it doesn't feel like everything's back to normal, or at least that he's got everything figured out now that El's back. It should.

i'm so good at telling lies (that came from my mother's side) by andiwriteordie [one shot, 7.8k. has some eldest wheeler siblings too]

“Do you ever… just… feel like you’re pretending to be someone you’re not?” Mike whispers, daring to open his eyes and look at his mom. “Like… you’re just… trying to be what… everyone else wants you to be instead of… instead of who you really are?”

His mom’s face falls, and the knot in Mike’s stomach twists painfully. But then, a look of understanding forms on her face, and she offers Mike a smile—sad and knowing.

“All the time, Michael,” she admits softly, tears welling in her own eyes. “All the time.”

Or:

The one in Karen learns the truth about the Upside Down, and Mike finally admits some truths about himself too.

A Hundred Thrown Out Speeches by DaintyDuck_99 [one shot, 1.2k]

Max is oddly quiet. The only sound that shatters the silence is the obnoxiously loud rip of duct tape every once and a while, a long freeeeeeeet that makes Mike clench his jaw.

When she does speak, her voice comes out soft, without a defensive or sarcastic edge.

“I get why El was your mage, now. Lucas, he—told me all about it.”

Mike swallows the acrid retort that immediately rises like bile. Yeah, well he shouldn’t have.

He sighs and says, “What did he tell you about her?”

You're my best friend (I love you forever) by bottomless_abyss [one shot, 4.7k]

“What are you so sad for ?” She asked, the question sounding meaner now that she said it. She gripped the strap of her backpack a little harder, pursing her lips as she barely met his eyes. Not once in her life was she hesitant to do that. She was always fighting head-on, staring into people’s soul. “Who said I was sad ? I’m just tired.” He retorted. She threw her bag next to him, to which he didn’t react, and sat next to him. “It’s a nice place.” She said, picking at her nails. “It’s quiet.” He said, ending their conversation. Max hummed, bringing her knees against her chest. Minutes passed by, clock ticking above their heads as they watched the leaves forming waves, following the rhythm of the wind. Max didn’t dislike it, she didn’t. But Mike’s silence, as good as it was, was also worrying. “What are you thinking about ?” She asked, not sparing him a look, and she knew he wasn’t looking at her either. She felt him move, adjusting himself against the wall, and let out a sigh. “It sucks.”

hearing without listening by eightfifteen (funkylittlebidiot) [one shot, 1.8k]

But he also knows that she wouldn’t have asked for his company if it isn’t a bad day. Despite their begrudging friendship, he’s still firmly the last on her speed-dial list. Well, maybe right above Dustin, but that’s because he knows Dustin can be downright unhelpful in emergencies. Steve is right when he complains about him having an attitude.

Even Will, who she’s never really been close with before, has the benefit of a, living close by, b, being El’s brother - oh and c, not being Mike.

I'll Walk With You by urdearestmom [one shot, 5.8k]

Damn Lucas for putting the idea in her head. She’s sure she never would’ve considered it on her own. Damn Lucas and his stupid advice, damn Dustin for ever speaking to her that day and getting her involved in all their mess, and damn Mike for hating her from day one.

give up on me if you want to, we both know you won't by chamb3rs [one shot, 9.3k]

August 26th, 1985

Mike-

For the love of God, stop leaving your tuna sandwiches in our locker, it smells like someone died, seriously. I will throw away your lunch box if I see it in here before noon and I'm not kidding. Your mom can send me an invoice.

-Max

or; Mike and Max are assigned the same locker during their freshman year of high school. It goes about as well as you'd expect. Better, maybe.

okay guys this is a cry for help

i am in desperate need of fanfics about Mike and his platonic relationship so please please give me recommendations

there is so little about Mike's friendship with Lucas and Dustin i need more of that also yall know how obsessed i am with madwheeler and i want more platonic elmike too

or his familial relationships like with Nancy or Holly

and oh i would love to read fanfics that explore his relationship with Joyce, Hopper and Jonathan too!

oh and can't forget Robin i love to think about their potential friendship

it does not matter if it's serious talks or just him having fun with his friends i just need some fanfics that focus on his other relationships so please if you know some or wrote a fic with some these relationships please please please tell me i am begging!

it can have a side byler too (like if it's Mike coming out or it focuses on more than one of his relationships)

just please give me recommendations i really am desperate

[shreya11111]

I cannot express how much I want some Hopper being Will and Jonathan's father content in season 5, honestly just the Byers/Hopper family in general, give me more Will and El sibling moments, Joyce mom moments, and Jonathan being the best older brother moments, give me all the family moments <3

YES! i'd like to see that too! i honestly just need more of the byers-hopper, i already feel robbed of the willel interactions in s4😭 just by their hug (after they reunited) we can see how much they love each other and ugh i just want to see more of them :,)

i need more of their family moments overall too!!! the byers-hopper family is literally my favorite family and i am desperate to see more of them omg🥲

willel are my favorite sibling pair - i honestly wish we could see some of their moments as they were settling into lenora :))

tysm for the ask!!

[kaypeace21]

Analyzing the 5 plays in this drama club poster .From the bts pics of stranger things 4.

So... some of ya’ll know I'm going through the st s4 films given to us by the official st twitter + the films reffed in the show itself or mentioned by the Duffers in interviews .

So I decided to look at the plays mentioned here. Because even if we don't see the monologues in the show directly - the Duffers wouldn't name drop anything unless it inspired them in some way. Similar to films name dropped in the show. Tw : for some dark themes .

This is just a quick little analysis I decided to do since we probably won't get any new st content today (3/22). Nothing too deep. Just mentioning things that caught my interest especially cause these plays have a lot of narrative connections to the st s4 movies I've been watching.

Invitation to a march (Authur laurents)

Reminds me of the stancy/jancy love triangle. "A young woman is having second thoughts about doing the right thing and marrying a respectable , rich, kind, young man with good prospects.By way of a prewedding diversion, this woman becomes interested in the passionate but poor and entirely unsuitable son of a local landlord.Basically, the plot concerns the efforts of Norma Brown to choose between a conventional fiance who "puts her to sleep" but is wealthy (like what her own mother did) or go for this new-poor guy. The play is principally interested in how this youthful love triangle affects the three mothers involved (whether the kids like it or not)

12th night (Shakespeare)

 - viola (el) wrongly assumes a family member (hopper) is dead. She dresses up as a man named 'cesario'. A girl named Olivia falls for 'cesario' (violet dressed as a man). "Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian (violet's twin brother: assumed to have drowned - Will) appear in the presence of Olivia there is more wonder and confusion at their physical similarity. Taking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Cough if Olivia is 'straight' cause she fell for Viola (as a doppleganger dressed like her twin brother).Mike being into el who multiple characters in s1 said looked like a boy and specifically like Will is...suspish and a hint he's not straight lol. just like Olivia they're both into guys . plus, this play just has a butt load of love triangles (ugh i hated that aspect). There was also romantically coded letters (which was in the s4 films) . One character is also thrown into an insane asylum and framed as 'insane'.'Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity'. We all know the psych hospital will be narratively important- talked about it more here.

The seagull (Anton Chekhov-russian)

similar to how I believed s4 will show m*#even already broken up since the months between s3-4 : act 3 (s3) ends with Nina begging for one last chance to be with Trigorin before he leaves/moves away. They kiss and make plans to meet again in Moscow.And in act 4 there's a timeskip where it shows they've been broken up for a long time between acts- and its established they never actually loved eachother. Do i even have to spell out why this parallels the m*#even ending in s3? There is also a play within the play (this is common in a lot of the st films- they have plays- or a story within a story- which illustrate certain themes or emotions of the characters within said film : blackswan, children of paradise, highschool musical, Rushmore, book of Henry, welcome to marwen, never ending story, romancing the stone, wet hot American summer, etc).The play is Konstantin's latest attempt at creating a dense symbolist work. There is also alot of love triangles in the seagull. TW!: for se#ual ab*se/su*cidal thoughts/ inc*st (here and in other play segments). The seagull motif reminds me a lot of Jonathan's rabbit story.Konstantin romantically into Nina shows up to give her a gull that he has shot. Nina is confused and horrified . Trigorin sees the gull that Konstantin has shot and muses to Nina on how he could use it as a subject for a short story: "The plot for the short story: a young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a gull, and she's happy and free, like a gull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this gull."  This immediately reminded me of jon's rabbit story and some of the movies on the s4 list . Like in forrest gump- Jenny (who is poor) was se*ually ab*sed as a very young girl by her father. As a child she runs away into a field-away from her alcoholic father yelling at her -there she prays that she can "be a bird so I can fly far far away" .

Jenny as an adult struggles with this unresolved trauma- being with ab*sive partners, doing dr*gs, and having su*cidal thoughts . She as an adult when contemplating su*icide, jokes 'you think i can fly like a bird ?' while looking down at a bridge.God-i'm worried about jonathan (Jenny was also a musician sort of like jon). In another s4 movie example ' mystic river ' :(in the 80s) a preteen baseball playing boy is r*ped by men in the woods. He later says he wishes he could become an undead monster to not feel the pain of that experience - cause quote " if I'm not human anymore maybe the pain will stop" (Will) . slightly off topic but he also has another personality, imagines a alternate word that dissappears when he turns his head. And as a less direct animal parallel to the play - the boy from the film also imagined his perpetrators as monsters and wolves to cope.In 'getout' the photographer character sees a dead deer in the woods and it represents a parent/his own childhood tra*ma relating to his past. similarly in 'prince of tides' the 2 siblings as kids were ra*ed by men. The older brother remembered it and the younger sibling developed DID (so didn't remember but she would draw wolves- as the perpetrators/villains in her picture stories she created . In the film they also had an ab*sive dad and were very poor. She also tried k*ling herself multiple times-but started to get better after remembering the source of her pain and trauma.  There is also the theme of multiple attempted su*cides in the play- and the play ends with yet another attempt- and the audience is left unaware of the artist's fate at the end of the play.

The tempest (Shakespeare)

Prospereo - (the perceived antagonist) is a wizard with monstrous looks, storm powers , and ability to create monster-dogs

He wants revenge on a man who tried ra*ing his family member & revenge on his other family member who wronged him years ago. I mean... pretty much my did theory.But in the end.Prospero decides to show his enemies the mercy that they did not show him twelve years earlier. He tells Ariel to bring the men to him, he will restore their sanity and then renounce magic forever.Prospero breaks the spell that the men are under .

Diary of a scoundrel (Alexander Ostrovsky-Russian)

-  I suppose this could loosely relate to Jonathan? Glumov, is a young man from an impoverished family lacking status seeking entrance into society's pampered class. A 19th-century Russian scoundrel must scheme his way out of his meager life in a small apartment -whatever it takes.He has a quick mind and some talent for seeing through the hypocrisies of people around him ( Jonathan does make a lot of social critiques about society). That gives him some advantages. A tale of one man's mission to finagle his way into upper-class society and find a cushy job. Set in 1874, this social comedy follows Glumov, a Russian youth who begins his ambitious ascent to social esteem. He progresses by wit, guile and rhetoric. Pitting one stupid person against another, he soon gains his ends. To reach these goals, Glumov will lie, flatter, and cater to the vanities of the wealthy. Unable to contain his disgust with his victims, Glumov decides to relieve his unvoiced satirical comments by recording his schemes in a diary. But he is tripped up by his uncle's wife, to whom he has made passionate love on his way to success. At the end of the play, his diary is stolen and his duplicity exposed, but he can nevertheless suceeds. The author is much more critical about the high society itself than about the main character, so the play keeps attracting generations of directors by opening possibilities for political criticism while also avoiding naming names of the current rulers.The play's aim was to overthrow bourgeois tradition and establish a class-conscious art called eccentricism giving a deliberately comic portrayal of reality.

I suppose I notice some possible commonalities-  besides s3 critiquing the wealthy/capitalism in comedic ways . jonathan since s1 has worried about his family's finances / had some resentment toward the rich . In some of the s4 movies ‘orphan’ & ‘ girl interrupted’ someone reads their diary out loud to get at them (in girl interrupted the winona character’s diary even had critiques of her new friends).  Alot of movies also have someone (usually a teen/young adult) making a documentary about their life -which could narratively replace said diary? A few movies have a poor guy adjusting to snobby rich social circles (or being poor and then getting money)- titanic, kingsmen, karate kid, the craft , godfather,  wardogs,into the spiderverse,flashdance, and many others . And movies like wardogs has a poor-young-character do shady things to finacially support his family . There’s also that whole uncle’s wife thing- which makes me uncomfortable for obvious reasons (but I’m just thinking of Lonnie’s creepy gf who was into him). A few movies had the guy’s step mom innappropriately hit on him- orange county & you got mail. And him trying to avoid her advances. Or...not to mention ... it may be a problematic coincidence /trope. But in enter the void -the guy who needs to finacially support his sibling/ does dr*gs -hooks up with his dr*g dealing friend’s married mom (who would give him money).  Or in gilbert grape- the poor teen-who has to finacially support his siblings/single mom-has his endgame relationship be a girl his own age. But before that he h*oked up with a married woman -who would give him money. Don’s plum -young film guy-propositioned by older female film director (for dream job). Not even mentioning the other films that have the guy hooking up with toxic older women (like ‘the graduate’). Or analyze this-where the therapist accuses him of having an Oedipus complex (not touching that one... but the guy in ‘enter the void’ a 100% had one). It’s possible those movies were just- inspo for s3?  A coincidence? Or s3 was foreshadowing for this in s4- but unlike s3 it will accurately be played as wrong  and a sign of Jonathan recreating past tra*ma caused by Lonnie (cough like the photos) /being desperate for money. And not played ‘comedically’ like how it mostly was in s3. But shown as self destructive  (for Jon) and immoral on the Woman’s end. Like... Billy and Jon are character foils. Both are older siblings into rock music, with ab*sive dads who shoved them into walls. Both lose it (and beat steve to a pulp when Steve accidentally triggers their daddy issues). In s3 it’s established womanizer Billy has mommy issues, than he tries ho*king up with someone his mom’s age, and the characters ref ‘back to the future ‘ and Steve incorrectly says it’s about “alex p keaton trying to bang his mom.” This could illustrate his subconscious issues with parental figures/adults cause of Lonnie’s  possible past se*ual ab*se . One film the friend even says to the guy “you don’t have friends!” guy b: i have friends! him:  no you have acquaintances! ADMIT IT! YOU’RE AFRAID OF MEN!I mean-Jonathan liked Nancy- but he initially hooked up with her cause he wanted to prove he didn’t have ‘trust issues’ from his dad. Also it’s prob a bit of a reach (and maybe a coincidence)- but the fact Murray in the same breath compares Steve (Nancy’s then bf) and Lonnie  ... uh... if you think too long about it ... it’s very sinister .  Especially because in s3: muray tells Joyce  that despite her wanting to be with a nice guy, she’s curious about “the brute” Hopper despite him reminding her of a past “bad relationship”(aka Lonnie). Like- yeah connect some dots.  Quite a few films (other than forrest gump) also have the character who (as a kid) was  r*ped by their dad/parent-  begin to do dr*gs/be pr*miscuous as adults since they never learned to properly cope with their trauma (’girl with the dragon tattoo’,  ‘black swan’, and ‘magnolia’). Unfortunately the whole relative doing such things to kid-relatives is in at least 30+ movies. 

Personally, i would be MUCH happier if Jon had a age appropriate romance- and had not a single creepy adult near him. A few movies actually imply Lonnie gets yet another ‘new model’  replacing his gf in her 20s with a new gf- who is ‘barely l*gal” and just turned 18. so there’s that possibility as well- that she’s jonathan’s age.I just want Jonathan-happy &safe. GOD. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Superman & Lois - Ep. 102 “Heritage”

In which the Sad Dad vibes and teen angst continues!

Spoilers!

Lois gets the opening and closing narration this week! And generally has more to do, which is nice.

The fam has officially moved to Smallville, so the boys are gearing up to start school...or are they???

Well, Jon is. Jordan is told he has to stay home until he can get his nascent powers under control because they don’t want him to accidentally flash frying a classmate. Which he almost did. Last week. 

Clark calls Jordan’s accidental heat vision an ‘ocular release of energy.’

This decision, of course, leads to some FAMILY DRAMA. Jordan feels like a freak! Jonathan is upset that they’ve had to move! Clark feels like he’s failing as a parent!

Oh and also the guy in the Master Chief suit is on the hunt for Kryptonite. Which is, you know. Troubling.

SO it’s off to school for Jonathan and off to the Fortress for Jordan!

Lois, upon Jonathan asking why Jordan gets to go flying with dad: “At least we have the radio!”

One plus side about the show being ‘grounded’ and ‘prestige-y’: the high school drama is of a more believable variety. Still tedious, but at least it’s not dated 90s tropes.

...Well, okay. Not entirely true. Sarah Cushing’s personality thus far is ‘nice girl who’s dating a jerk’ and yes, the line “What do you see in that guy?” is said aloud. So.

Win some, lose some.

MEANWHILE, AT THE FORTRESS:

Love the actor they got for Jor-El. He’s perfect, in that he feels like an homage to Brando, Crowe, but is also his own distinct version. I dig it. 

But there’s no giant key made of dwarf star matter because this is GROUNDED and REALISTIC and none of that SILLY CW NONSENSE, WE GOT HBO MAX MONEY. 

Back to the Lois vs. Edge plot:

For all the folks wondering how Lois working at the Planet was going to continue, what with the show being set in Smallville...

WELL.

Edge now owns the Planet, so he re-writes a negative article she’s written about him, which leads to her quitting, and going to write for the Smallville Gazette.

Which is operated by Chrissy Beppo.

Who is...named after the super monkey? 

Does this mean we’ll eventually meet other Smallville residents named after super pets? Like Marsha Whizzy, or maybe Kenneth Comet.

Seems a weird choice when ‘Bibbo’ is right there.

ANYWAYS.

Best line of the episode: “You know what babe? You do your Superman stuff, and I will do my Lois Lane stuff.”

MEANWHILE, THE SAD DAD VIBES INTENSIFY as Grandpa Jor-El reveals: Jordan...will never be like you, Kal-El. His human DNA is too limiting.

Which is a very interesting plot point (that was sorta mentioned/explored in Future State!)

So, about the boys: I still find them...mostly annoying. But I appreciate the dynamic they’re establishing: Jordan has always required more time and attention due to his anxiety disorder, and Jonathan has always had to look after him and compensate--this carries over into the new status quo where Jordan has the super powers and Jonathan further feels that his brother is getting time and attention and he needs to make sacrifices and changes for him/the family. 

This leads to a really lovely moment between the brothers at the end of the episode that I genuinely enjoyed, so. I’m hoping that there will be more of that and less of ‘drama with Sarah’.

(Also if you think that sounds a little like another pair of Super siblings...it does! And also hold that thought.)

The OTHER big twist is that Master Chief AKA Captain Luthor comes from a world with an EVIL SUPERMAN.

To be clear, the set-up is very obviously, ‘Our Clark will prove Captain Luthor wrong re: thinking he’ll turn evil,’ so I’m not seriously suggesting we’re in for a full-on Injustice situation. I just find it funny, how quickly they pulled out the ol’ evil Supes.

(The one we saw in Elseworlds doesn’t count since that wasn’t Clark.)

And maybe this one isn’t either! I admit complete ignorance as to the comics stuff they’re pulling from; I guess it’s somehow connected to Project 7734 (Which is ‘hell’ upside down, as any fifth grader with a calculator will tell you) a counter-Kryptonian force put together by Sam Lane, I think? 

IDK. Like I said, comics blind spot.

The episode ends with Grandpa Lane looking a bit spooked at the ominous 7734 keychain Captain Luthor gave him, and Captain Luthor still on the hunt for Kryptonite! DUN DUN DUUNNNNNN.  

And now, time for a segment I’ll call: Gettin’ Super Salty w/Stranger wherein I will stash all of my frustration regarding the fact that this spin-off doesn’t really want to be a spin-off.

Okay, so first up! As mentioned, the Fortress design has been changed because the silly Supergirl version does not vibe with the new serious aesthetic.

Their loss! More Legion Rings, baby Sun Eaters, and impractical front door keys for Supergirl!

The sunstone AI details the last days of Krypton, and only one (1) pod is shown escaping the destruction.

Thanks, I hate it.

I do appreciate that Jor-El at least kinda appears to be wearing clothes that match the look of Supergirl’s Krypton. I wasn’t paying close attention to the buildings in the hologram, no clue if they match the architecture we’ve seen thus far.

Like, I get it. There’s no time to pause the plot and be like, ‘hey, just FYI, I’m not the sole survivor of Krypton, my cousin escaped as well’ but also AAAARRRRRGHHHHHH. 

You’re using the versions of the characters introduced in Supergirl, the least you can do is namedrop her once. ONCE. That’s all I’m asking. XD

They missed their opportunity, actually; when the boys were like, ‘We have so many questions!’ All you had to do was slip in, ‘Are we related to Supergirl?’ Bam. Done. Never need to go back to it, you’ve acknowledged it, continue on with your solo Sad Dad adventures!

(Except I guess that wouldn’t work, since so much of this is built on Clark being the Lone Protector of the earth. If you allude to other heroes being around, your whole character motivation/struggle makes less sense.)

I get it but I don’t have to like it. XD

They shoulda just set this on another Earth!

Circling back to the sibling dynamic: I hate how now I really want Kara to someday appear on this show and hang out with the boys and be like, ‘ah, yes, I know the feeling, my sister and I were the same.’

That’s it, that’s all the crossover content I need. I realize Melissa is moving on to bigger and better things but MAYBE SOMEDAY. XD (Or maybe I’ll just write a fic, who knows.)

I can’t remember if I brought this up already but it is hilarious to me that anyone still thinks of Superman as a reporter--most modern takes treat it as an afterthought and here, it’s dispensed in the first episode.

It has not been brought up since.

Like, much is made about Lois leaving Metropolis, and what that’ll mean for her career, but no one in Smallville is like, ‘Clark, wow! Farming? That’s quite a career change!’

(I assume he’ll be farming, since they mentioned starting the farm up again.)  

...You think anyone will drag the writers for tossing aside Clark’s ‘true calling?’ 

Who am I kidding? Supergirl fandom is not watching this show, they’re just harassing the people running the social media accounts. 

SO OVERALL: The good remains good! The meh remains meh! I appreciate that this version of Clark and Lois exist as we inch ever closer to the release of the Snyder Cut! But also the behind-the-scenes stuff continues to hang over everything like a terrible cloud! Here’s hoping those problems are addressed!

[when-to-sit-in-silence]

Reading your last fic and thought that I would love to see Joyce going full Joyce Byers mode for Jonathan, and not only for Will, El or Hopper, but we know it won’t happen 😔

Yeah, I get what you mean. I think a lot of that has to do with the role that Jonathan has to play in his household as a provider alongside his mother. He really doesn’t have as many opportunities to be vulnerable as Will does, being the younger sibling. 

I definitely adore that scene between them in Season 1 when Joyce tells him, 

This is just so good. 

(Unrelated, but my brother and I love to quote the scene in “The Body” when they’re arguing on the street. We fully just fight each other in character. That scene is also. So. Good.)

I think we need more Joyce and Jonathan content out there. I really have to wonder how Jonathan responded to the divorce, not only with how it felt personally, but how he might have been concerned for his mother, who probably didn’t have a lot of support at the time. 

I might have to write some Joyce going Joyce-Mode for Jonathan in the future, like her telling Lonnie off for some asshole behavior he directed at his son. Remind me to do that at some point. 

[hawkinslibrary]

i love hearing what you have to say about season 4!! i promise it’s not too long lol, anyway i have a question for you: what do you think the next season holds for mike & el? i’m a little worried tbh

ahhh thank you !! same rules apply: spoilers ahead, so please read no further and blacklist/filter out the ‘s4′, ‘st4′, ‘spoilers’ tags if you don’t want to see anything !! 

i’m going to talk about them both as individuals and as a pair but first, i have to say that i don’t personally feel like you have to worry about them breaking up or anything again this season. i think s4 is really going to establish romantic jopper and once that happens, i don’t see them, mileven, or jancy not being endgame unless someone actually dies. which -- i’m not going to think about the possibility of anyone dying until i’m forced to confront it, so. this is fiction and it’s already unrealistic and i’m gonna take my ‘everyone survives, happiness all around, time to relax’ endings and go. anyway, i would love to add lumax to this list but i honestly think it could go either way depending on what happens in s4. that’s a different essay, though.

i tend to think that the most important dynamic on the show is the one between the whole group and i just don’t really see them spending much more time trying to develop romantic relationships outside of the ones set up since s1/2. maybe steve, robin, and will get love interests, maybe they decide to develop dustin and suzie more, maybe suzie is never even mentioned again, idk. but these will probably all be secondary -- as in less screen time, not less important than the main romances, but probably still less developed. unless it happens to be a new person added to the main cast. which, as of now, the only new mains are brett and priah who has gone from recurring to regular. so.  

i think s3 showed how messy and complicated romantic relationships (or, really just relationships in general) can be. everyone was arguing, there was miscommunication all around, everyone thought they knew what was best, no one was seeing eye to eye. but when it comes down to it, they would do anything for each other. they understand each other better than anyone else ever could. i can’t see them spending another season on breakups and romance drama after the ending of s3.  

mike and el have already been separated once before. this time, mike knows for sure that she’s alive and that’s she’s with the byers. this time, el won’t be kept completely isolated away from everyone else. they’ve made plans to meet for the holidays. they can still call and talk to each other as much as they want. i’m hoping they handle being separated this time better than they did in s2. i don’t want mike to be moping and i don’t want el to spend a lot of the season thinking about how much she misses him. in fact, i think in their case that some distance could be good for them. the same for jancy and jopper, too, honestly. it’ll be nice to see them existing outside of these relationships while still acknowledging how important they are.   

as far as i know, the byers and el stuff has not started filming yet so all there is to speculate on are rumors, the audition tapes, and logical guesses about where the story goes after s3. el obviously moves away with the byers. we still don’t know where. she’ll still be mourning hopper and trying to figure out life without her powers. and, of course, she’ll be in a long distance relationship with mike. i think she’ll be having a hard time and she’ll wish that mike was around, but she’ll realize she’s got a pretty good support system around her now with the byers, too. i’m very, very excited for more joyce and el content particularly, but there’s gotta be some great scenes with her and will and jonathan as well. 

there’s only one audition tape that i can confidently tie into the byers + el plot(s?) and it’s the queen bee/mean girl character ‘angela’. if we’re running with the whole ‘there may be some truth to the audition vids’ thing, then this one teases that el will be going to school and that angela will be bullying her. this is something she would probably want to talk about with mike (b i g troy s1 vibes) but i don’t know if she actually would ? so this is probably more a thing that el and will could bond over or that she could talk about with joyce or maybe jonathan. i do think there will be at least a few calls between the two of them before the action really hits and the whole group is (hopefully...) reunited.

so, el -- at least in the beginning of s4 -- will be going to school where ‘angela’ bullies her, forming a bond with joyce + will + jonathan and becoming part of the family, mourning hopper (+ hopefully having conversations about him + his past with joyce), missing her friends back in hawkins, continuing to learn how to navigate life without her powers, and trying to maintain a long distance relationship with mike. 

mike... i’ve been seeing some wild theories about him today but they aren’t really that far-fetched i think. first, going back to the audition tapes, the ‘eddie’ audition i saw makes it seem like mike is going to be part of the hellfire club with dustin. i’ve recently learned that there’s another version of the scene where ‘eddie’ is only talking to dustin and mike might not be a part of the club after all. if he isn’t part of the club, then the basketball v. hellfire, jocks v. nerds thing turns into lucas v. dustin and mike’s probably there just caught in the middle while max is off distancing herself from everyone.

at this point, i really want mike and max to become good friends. i think the end of s3 gave them the perfect opportunity. s4 max has s2 mike vibes. it’s not the same situation at all, but he knows kinda what she’s feeling and they could connect through that + the fact that they’ll both be missing el. i also just really want... some wheeler siblings content. i’m hopeful that s4 gives us good nancy and mike scenes bc there’s no reason not to give us good nancy and mike scenes (+holly!). however...

while there’s proof that gaten and sadie and natalia and priah have all been filming since production restarted, and while i have reason to believe that caleb has been filming a lot inside/at the studio recently... there’s no evidence that finn has been on set. there’s none for maya and joe, either, but people have said that finn isn’t even in atlanta right now. maybe he is and maybe he just hasn’t been seen and maybe he’ll pop back up tomorrow. or, maybe he already filmed whatever he needed to film for hawkins before production stopped.  

the wild theory that’s popped up today is that everything gets to be too much for him in hawkins and he just... hops on a train to go visit el + the byers. i don’t know if i buy it, but it is interesting to note that he was sitting with them at the table read. and since we can guess that steve and robin will still be working at the video store, robin and nancy will be investigating pennhurst together, lucas and max may have some angst, joyce and murray are probably teaming up for the finding/saving hopper plot, and el is going to bond with will and jonathan, it seems like the order might mean a little something. i’d even bet that dustin and erica have scenes with them bonding over d&d.    

now this theory pretty much only exists because no one’s seen finn on set and one of the paps posted some pics of some trains. there’s also always theories about how there will be issues at home with the wheeler fam and if that’s going to happen, what better time than in s4 when all of his friends are pulling away and el’s gone again. so if he is missing el (and will) that much, and if he has any reason to worry about her and how she’s doing, or if the party becoming distant and issues at home are weighing on him and he feels like he needs to get away, he’s absolutely the type to venture off on a train by himself. i don’t know how it would work since he’s definitely supposed to still be in school and his friends/nancy at least would notice he’s gone, but.. it’s fun to think about and we’ve got zero actual content to go off of right now.  

another way i could see mike’s plot going is that he’s the one trying to keep the party together this season. playing mediator with lucas and dustin, becoming better friends with max, being the connection between the hawkins plot and the byers plot (along with nancy). 

there was also talk of him joining the track team bc the track has been set up with hawkins high colors for filming. but mike ‘this isn’t a stupid sports game’ wheeler? i don’t think so... basically, no one knows at the moment what’s happening with mike wheeler in s4 lol.

s4 mike is just like s4 byers fam -- a complete mystery to me currently. i don’t personally think that he’ll be leaving school and hopping on a train to visit el. i think he’ll be a part of the hellfire club with dustin, or that he won’t and instead will be attempting to keep the party from completely disbanding. i hope that we get wheeler siblings scenes and that max and mike have a breakthrough and become better friends. i also feel like he’ll be having some complicated feelings about hopper, the last interaction they had, etc. and, again, the whole long distance thing with el. 

so... mike and el broke up in s3. it was messy. but then they reconciled. and then hopper “died”. s3 ended with them at this weird place where she’s heard him say that he loves her and she’s told him that she loves him back. things are a little awkward in the scene bc everything has changed at this point, but a kiss, an ‘i love you’, planning to meet up on the holidays, and promising to call frequently all sounds like they’re back together and going to try making the long distance thing work to me. 

i think they’ll be together when s4 starts. i think that we’ll probably only see them talking on the phone or their radios for the first few eps. maybe we’ll see flashbacks or something to them being together on the holidays. the distance might be hard and they’re definitely going to be missing each other. like... el doesn’t have mike or hopper with her now and i’m thinking the party is going to be drifting apart, plus they’re both probably going to have other personal issues that have nothing to do with each other or the party. maybe they’ll be experiencing some emotional distancing of their own while dealing with the aftermath of hopper’s “death”, the move, and whatever’s going on with them at home and at school. i think that once they reunite (probably not until the last half of the season), they’re likely to be stronger than ever. 

now, onto personal theories that have zero basis. for some reason, i can’t get it out of my head that this season might dive into psychological horror a little bit ? like a greatest fears type of thing ?? and i keep thinking about brenner popping back up and using the people el loves to get to her or something and 👀👀