#will el and max power trio

[brionysea]

can i just say... i think hawkins’ biggest win was definitely the one mike was directly involved with

in season 1, he wanted to move out of the middle school. specifically he wanted to go and help nancy fight the demogorgon and got talked out of that by lucas, but like... if they’d listened they wouldn’t have been there to be cornered by the goons hopper made a deal with, el wouldn’t have had to kill like 12 people in self defence, the demogorgon wouldn’t have been drawn to the blood, and it could have actually been dealt with by the monster hunting trio. in essence, el might not have had to sacrifice herself if they’d even partially listened to mike, at least by getting to a different location where hopper selling them out wouldn’t have made a difference

in season 3, mike wanted a plan other than “throw our breakable friend at the problem”. the only person who listened to him was lucas (who apparently learned from the last time el threw herself at the problem while physically weakened, good for him), and those fireworks did end up saving el’s life, but they wasted a whole lot of time first by giving away their location in the name of finding out about the steelworks to... absolutely no effect..... getting attacked, getting el’s leg fucked up, and leaving her injured on top of the strain of using her powers (the ones that make her brain bleed out of her face) for hours on end. it’s harder to draw a parallel sequence of events here because mike himself is usually the plan guy, and he didn’t actually suggest any alternate plans here for some reason, but i’d bet that it would probably have ended up with hop surviving and the flayed... possibly surviving? b*lly, at the very least, since he hadn’t been absorbed into the Flesh Monster like the others, which would have saved max a whole lot of torture. and it’s possible that the byers might not have moved had hop lived, since he seems to provide a sense of security for joyce just by being present and reliable

in season 4... i mean, do i even need to explain? mike wasn’t in hawkins. the remaining people in hawkins had like 0.5 good plans that whole time and rarely made any connections with the information they found, to the point that the bad guy had to monologue the mystery’s answer to them at the end when mike probably would’ve figured it out independently on like day 2. i firmly believe that if they’d had mike, even with the physical absence of the byers taken into account, max wouldn’t have died and vecna wouldn’t have escaped

in season 2, bob died. everyone was very sad about it. then mike used that sorrow to urge them to keep fighting so that bob didn’t die for nothing. he realised will was spying and stopped him from being used against them. he realised will was telling the truth about the hub being important, he remembered that fire hurts the hive mind, and he suggested they set the hub on fire to provide a distraction from el so she didn’t get ambushed again like with the demogorgon. he came up with the plan for them to talk to will without giving away their location. he realised they needed to free will from possession before making their move against the upside down and prompted the idea of a second, improved location for that process. he is directly responsible for the enemy forces being scattered enough that everyone else made it out fine. it’s the only season where the ending isn’t particularly bittersweet (final ominous shot not withstanding because the threat was locked in a different dimension) - they accomplished what they set out to do: they closed the gate with minimal losses, and it was all because mike was the one assessing the field and collecting the information and forming the plans and (initially) leading the charge into the tunnels

[euryleli]

I love reading fanfics that don't rely solely on byler interactions.

There's nothing wrong with focusing on mike and will and their dynamic, but I wish we got more byler fics that HEAVYLY feature the party.

Mike and will have lives outside of their relationship. Their bond with dustin, lucas, max and el is not less important just because it's platonic. So let me see them interacting with their best friends, the ones who would do the impossible to keep their party safe and sound, who would be so supportive and so so happy for mike and will.

They're. Best. Friends.

So let me see it. Show will and lucas confide in each other, lessening their burdens and talking through their problems. Show me how much lucas, the boy who risked venturing alone in the woods, in a lab full of the "bad guys", cares about will byers. Show me will being there for lucas, taking care of him when he can't bring himself to get up from max's bedside and rest. And show me mike and lucas actually talking and solving their issues from s4, let mike apologize for missing lucas game, the one that mattered. And let mike have his breakdown for lucas to pick him up.

Show me mike and dustin navigating through their grief, let them cry for eddie and carry his legacy onwards. And for god's sake show me will and dustin, standing side by side ready to carry on to another fight. Show me how much will loves dustin and how much they missed being around each other, because the party needed will in Hawkins and will really needed a trademark dustin hug!

Show me mike and max and their silly little bickering! They love each other and everyone knows that insults and half hearted jabs are just their love language!! Show me how much seeing max in that hospital bed fucked mike wheeler over, let him read to her when lucas can't bring himself to do it, when his voice fails him, let mike help her when she wakes up and has to do copious amounts of physiotherapy, when she wakes up and hates the way everyone treats her like shes made of glass and mike is always there to be a bitch to her - which is their normal. They understand each other, being so similar and all so they call each other out on their bullshit. And please I BEG YOU show me madwise bonding over their shared ud trauma, their complicated family dynamics and let them see how similar (despite their obvious differences) they are. Show me will, max and el being a menace of a trio, let them have sleepovers. Show me will drawing max just like he remembers her - so full of life and movement and color with her fiery red hair and attitude. And show me him finding her again and being a key to get her back from wtv hellscape dimension she went. Let them make jokes at their own expense, use dark humor to cope with the horrors while simultaneously terrorizing everyone with their awful no good actually horrifying jokes - they still think they're hilarious, even though mike and lucas say otherwise.

And finally, show me willel - the wonder twins! - being family, because they're bonded by something much more powerful than blood. Show me the silly little things they did to pass time during their 6 months in California and how will and el went from being strangers with a connection to the ud to no one even questioning their sibling status because after the initial strain, it comes naturally to them. Show me will being the older brother that jonathan was to him, show me willel dancing and singing to 80s pop music, show me one of them having trouble sleeping and the other being there to keep them company - because there's no one else in the world that can understand them better then the other, even with the different circumstances. Let me see el and will help each other through their lonely days in California, let them be each other's anchor.

And let mike and el be friends!!!!! Mike was el's first real friend and that's fucking important too! It's everything! They care so much and it pains me to see fics where after the breakup, mike and el basically don't interact as if mike wheeler didn't love her - just because it's not romantic doesn't mean it's less real.

The kids and their friendship are such an integral part of the show and even then - for plot reasons - the party spends most of it's on screen time fragmented. In s1 we're missing will, s2 it's eleven alone, byler as a duo and henclair + max, s3 is missing dustin and s4 is the same as s2. Still, they're best friends, all of them.

I'm just sad we don't really see them all, I guess. I just want a +100k fic that delves deeply into byler but also everyone in the party because I love them so much and they deserve the world!!

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about Mike Will and El and their arcs and climaxes each season

Season 1

El: overcoming her guilt, culminating in her evening it by sacrificing herself

Mike: Overcoming his stubbornness with Lucas, culminating in them working as a team again to defeat the Demogorgon

Will: n/a but his legacy of honesty and self-sacrifice is very prominent

Season 2

El: cultivating a good independent but loving familial relationship with Hopper, culminating in their reunion and him standing with her as she closed the gate.

Mike: being able to be there for Will, cultivating in his love for Will being the final push in getting his mind back long enough to save them.

Will: learning he isn't alone or isolated by his unique traumatic experiences, culminating in his loved ones telling him why they love him.

Season 3 (I'm not gonna lie this is my least favorite so I don't remember it as well as the others)

El: finding herself and prioritizing herself, culminating in her connecting with Billy to save everyone's but more immediately and directly her own life, contrasting season 1's sacrifice.

Mike: learning to trust El and her judgment/that he doesn't have to isolate her to keep her from leaving him, culminating not in him saying I love you but in him apologizing for his controlling behavior and telling El he supports her relationship with Max.

Will: resolidifying his relationships with the party, culminating in him battling the mind flayer using fireworks in partnership with Lucas.

Season 4

El: Finding more security in her self and her decisions and learning to love herself without external validation, culminating in her outright saying she is not the monster then leaving Brenner.

Mike: Trying to feel useful and needed despite feeling like he can't contribute, culminating in Will telling him his natural being has immense value and power.

Will: being more comfortable in his sexuality and coping with any fear of rejection, culminating in Jonathan's acceptance.

And how they are all simultaneously very individual and complement each other, but also how you can watch these transitions in them and their focuses through how they connect/apply to each other.

Season 1: El -> Will, Mike -> both Season 2: Mike <--> Will, El <- Season 3: Will -> Mike -> El <- Season 4: Mike <--> Will, El <-

It really transitions quite nicely and subtly forming the full trio of important relationships that is Willelmike, especially visible with Mike as the "center". His arc centers on both, then Will, then El, then Will. But most notably is the way El's progresses to independence, never truly being about Mike, though he is can be a big supporter of hers, he isn't the focus. The only pair that is consistently mutual in arc focus is Mike and Will.

[rogueddie]

Ok… the sequence that leads to the demobats dying. I've broken them down into gifs because it simply doesn't make sense. Now, hear me out;

All of these things happen in the same moment, yes? El throws Vecna, which releases his hold on Max. Joyce, at the same time, saves Hopper from a demodog. Then;

We have a long sequence where Joyce and Hopper try to run from a demogorgon. It's a considerable amount of time. This is after Joyce killed the demodog. When important things happen at the same time, we cut back and forth a lot. But, instead, we are lingering here.

Murray saves the day, hooray. We know that the hive mind means they feel each others pain but, as established thoroughly in season 2, this does not equal death. It's a phantom pain, it's not physical.

We cut back to Vecna, who can't break free of Els hold on him. Maybe he feels the demodogs dying through the hive, it's hard to tell. Then the demobats suddenly drop, dead.

There's an emphasis in having the scene of the vines releasing the trio spliced between shots of Murray burning the demodogs. It makes it clear that the vines are retreating because of Murray.

The demodogs are dead, the vines aren't. They're retreating.

It's not until Vecnas body begins to burn that Max wakes up, taking a gasping breathe like she wasn't breathing before that. Lucas' panic adds to my theory here- Vecna was being held still, but had access to enough of his powers that he was still actively killing Max.

And, in the final fight, the demogorgon is still standing. This is just to emphasize my point that killing the demodogs wouldn't kill other things connected to the hive, like it didn't kill the vines.

So… what killed the demobats? Apart from the mindflayer, these creatures predate Vecna. They don't need him to survive, he's simply controlling them. His control slipping wouldn't kill them. The vines survives the burning. So, again, I ask…

What killed the demobats?

[henrysglock]

AU where Henry meets Joyce, like really meets her, on picture day. He ends up at auditions because she dragged him there, not because he just wandered in, and that’s how he meets Patty. Henry already having this budding “following her around like a lost duckling” friendship with Joyce (and Alan, a little, in a weird, “he’s cringe, but also I wish I had the guts to be openly not-normal like that” way), so he doesn’t have to put all his figurative eggs in Patty’s figurative basket.

Patty not being the sole recipient of the pressure to save Henry, both of them having a group of kids a couple years older than them to rely on for advice (like “hey, maybe there’s a reason Henry’s dodgy about using his supposed superpowers” and "hey, if you're scared of your powers, maybe don't let someone convince you to use them unsupervised"). Henry and Patty plus the Joyce, Jim, Bob trio. A group of 5, like Max and Dustin linking up with Robin, Nancy, and Steve.

Max's binocular scene with Steve but it's Henry re: Jim. Patty "when did Hopper get so buff?" Newby and Henry "L-Let me see" Creel who just stares, like Max.

Henry "superspy" Creel who's still killing the animals, but who's "searching" for the killer alongside the other 4 kids. Him being found out in a "hunt the freak" way originally, but that evolving into a Season 2 Will Byers type deal when the other 4 corner him and get him to spill his guts about the whole deal. Henry "it wants more than animals, but I'm being so good and only giving it animals" Creel who still ends having the attic attack. None of them ever suspecting Victor because they all know it was Henry and his +1, but also that it wasn't Henry who did it. Henry having the Shadow burned out of him because clearly he can't control it as well as he thought he could/he's a danger to himself and others.

Patty "he said he likes the cold" Newby brainstorming ways to get it out vs Jim holding Henry down while Joyce cranks the heat and Bob supports Patty through seeing her friend in such a state...And it really is such a state. Henry having had the Shadow for 10 months before that point as opposed to Will's few days, the duration of exposure making the exorcism that much more painful. Henry "possible gunshot wound" Creel who ends up with a few more Will-style burn scars on him.

He still ends up in the lab the first time, too, but not in a "he's a psycho who's going to kill us, and he needs to be locked up" way, but more of a "you need someone who's going to figure out what that thing was and how it did that to you, and we aren't experts" way after the attic attack.

Henry still lashing out at Virginia, but not to the degree we see in canon. Something more along the lines of what he did to that scientist who pleaded for his life: He stares Virginia down, maybe he threatens her/gives her an ultimatum about hurting the people he loves, jumpscares her a little, and then leaves to go save Patty.

Joyce still running into Henry in the basement, but this time she's got Jim with her and they know what "Henry in distress" looks like. Joyce "Where did you go? Who were you with all that time? What's going on? Why are you doing so much worse than you were before?" Maldonado hearing Henry rant about nothing ever getting better, about how he has to protect Patty from "him", how he has to find her before "he" does. Joyce sending Jim up to the stage with Henry because she gets the gut feeling whatever's going to happen requires backup.

Patty having a pillar of support in Jim, someone up there with her on the catwalk to ground her against Brenner's manipulation re: "Henry's a bloodthirsty psychopathic weapon". Jim "Patty's safer in the wings than she is out of them" Hopper keeping Henry from futzing with the harness. Jim "Hey, man, back the fuck off" Hopper getting in the way when Brenner tries to go after Patty and Henry physically. Henry still flipping out and causing the accident because he's overwhelmed, it's all too much (see: El in Hop's cabin, ST2), but this time it's Brenner who falls and gets injured, not Patty, because she's still got her wings on.

Henry never ending up captive in the lab, but the lab still having his blood samples, so the Rainbow Room progresses anyway. Jim "joined the military to try and win his father's approval" Hopper and Henry "sometimes your parents just don't like you, Jim, and it's not worth hurting yourself over" Creel who's been there, done that with Virginia. Jim not joining the military because Henry may be a weirdo but he's a friend and he's right. So, no Agent Orange, but also no Sarah at all. Win some, lose some.

Joyce doesn't get her scholarship, but Jim stays in Hawkins on the police force. He doesn't become the traumatized asshole he is in canon, but stays a little closer to the "rough around the edges but deeply lovable" guy he is in TFS. Joyce still has the boys with Lonnie, but with Jim backing her, the divorce comes sooner and goes smoother. Henry and Patty go to university together (they specifically chose the same schools to apply to). Henry "didn't realize he could get a secondary degree in spiders" Creel goes to school for art with a minor in entomology. Patty goes for child psychology with a minor in creative writing. They create a comic series in their down time, though they never actually publish it: Miss Mystery and The Stardust Spider. The boxes of hand-drawn, hand-written comics live in the attic of the Creel house, shrink-wrapped.

Patty does end up taking Miss Kelley's role as the counselor at Hawkins High, the one Max, Fred, and Chrissy talk to. Henry teaches art class at the middle school. When things go to shit, all 5 of them, Joyce, Hopper, Bob, Henry, and Patty, know exactly what's going on.

Will goes missing, El appears, and Henry, Patty, and Jim immediately connect it to the lab. Will is rescued far sooner. Joyce and Jim already have Will and Jonathan, so El stays with Henry. She thrives with a well-adjusted parent who understands both her powers and the trauma of the lab.

Will gets flayed and Joyce knows. She's ready. The gang get the Shadow out of him so fast it would make the Mindflayer's head spin. All it took was a particularly hot bath and some psionic coaxing from Henry. Harm reduction for Will, life-saving for Bob.

Billy gets flayed and Henry can practically smell it on him when El drags him to the pool over the summer, like how animals can smell cancer. It wigs him out, and when El mentions that something's wrong with Billy, his suspicions are confirmed. At least El isn't fighting alone, this time. She's got someone older, stronger, and more experienced with her to take the lead against the Fleshflayer. Henry and El fighitng back-to-back in Jim's cabin for 500, please. Billy still dies, and it hits a little too close to home for Henry. He knows damn well that could have been him back in '59 if things had gone even slightly wrong. (Also...Bob deserved to see Cerebro. He would totally have geeked out about it with Dustin.)

And imagine the horror, come ST4, when Vecna appears. Henry sends El off to California with Mike so they can visit the Byers, everyone's fine, and then WHAM children are dying the same way he killed those animals back in '59. Henry "It's not me. I'd know if it was me" Creel, who's always felt a little too good at predicting what's coming next re: the supernatural attacks, coming face-to-face with Vecna and realizing it is him, just not him.

The horror of seeing a timeline where your entire life devolved into cruel, deluded, senseless murder...all based on one little change: which girl you befriended first on your first day of high school.

[antisociallilbrat]

NO. I DO NOT REGRET ENCOURAGING YOU AT ALL. THAT WAS AMAZING.

i will feed your brainworms myself, theyre my little children now.

anyways, you made amazing points with that take. the party DID have the adults and the older teens to help them fight the st monsters and i doubt that without them, they would've gotten far. st will probably end as a one season show if joyce hadn't been as determined to believe that her son was still alive or no one else other than her helped the kids. sure el with her powers are there but all she was able to do was find will, joyce and hopper were the ones to actually rescue will from the upside down. without them, will would've died there.

so yeah, you made great points. the party wouldnt be able to fight it a second time and would probably take a lot to defeat him the second time.

though, for humour's sake, pennywise was weakened in the second battle by the losers belittling him. IMAGINE the insults the party would be throwing at him lmao, especially since mike, max, and will (yes, will) are what i consider the sassiest in the group.

-kori-

Kori! Thank you for encouraging my foolishness 🫶

Stranger Things would've ended so fast, and horribly, if the adults were as detached as the ones in It. Joyce is the real MVP.

There's also something to be said about the events of St are at the fault of adults. Looking at you Brenner. While the events of It happened was just because of,,,an alien dancing clown.

And for humors sake it would be absolutely hilarious. Mike, Max, and Will are the sassy trio, and they would destroy pennywise in that context. But also Dustin, he is a little shit too. And I agree, Will can be sassy. He has some real Eddie from It vibes.

I could see Mike yelling at It, "You're not even a funny clown!" Makes me giggle.

I am happy you enjoyed my brain worms, I feel as if I'll never run out of them ;-;

[lovelyteng]

Brawl Stars: Star Like You and Me

[Cut to Poco’s Band Stand. Poco plays his guitar as walks to the camera along El Primo and then they dance in rhythm.]

[Poco] You're my teammate and my big strong friend

[El Primo] We're buddies forever from beginning to the end

[El Primo and Poco] Everybody's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[El Primo] Don't have to look beside me to know that you are there

[El Primo and Poco] If two things act as one are they still a duo? Everybody's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[Fire appears as soon as Amber appears between her teammates.]

[Amber] I'm the sugar, you're the lemons We're a brawl lemonade But you're [Kisses Poco on the cheek] the teammates [Kisses El Primo on the cheek.] that I'd never trade

[Mexican Entertainers Trio] Everyone's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[Cut to Wild West Town. Shelly and Colt walk each other while Spike walks to them.]

[Shelly] You're my right hand guy and the shoulder that I cry on

[Colt] My unlucky when I'm vain, a friend to lean a while on

[Wild West Trio] Everybody's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[Cuts to everywhere as background characters going like an action verb while singing.]

[Wild West Trio, Mexican Entertainers Trio and Background Characters] You can walk, run, swim, roll, hop, skip, or fly

[Cuts back to Poco’s Band Stand as Wild West Trio joins Mexican Entertainers Trio.]

[Wild West Trio and Mexican Entertainers Trio] If we're going different ways You're my kind of guy Difference doesn't matter If nobody's the same

[Cut to night as Wild West Trio and Mexican Entertainers Trio in constellation form while Starr Force Trio singing as slowly pop out for line of song.]

[Wild West Trio, Mexican Entertainers Trio and Starr Force Trio] There is no three constellations alike in the great big space

[Cuts to Brawlers in their Environments as they sing in one line for everywhere.]

[8-Bit] You can be an arcade bot [Spins himself.]

[Rosa] [Wears a lab coat as she holds the plant.] A boxing botanist

[Penny] [Shoots the apple from Tick’s head.] A pirate

[Max] [Running on the road.] A superhero

[Lou] [Holds ice cream.] A ice-cream robot

[Carl] [Holds the geology book.] Robotic geologist

[Jessie] [Pop out while Pam builds the machine.] Or your mom can be an engineer [Pam just hit the machine which caused the explosion.]

[Bibi] [Little dancing while sitting on the seat.] Everybody's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[Stu] [Rolls on the track.] If you're fragile as an accidental stuntman [Crashes onto the walls.]

[Edgar] [Paints on his nails.] Or feel of nothing at all

[Leon] [Appears with smoke bomb.] You still won't be as a star as a chameleon kid

[Tara] [Toward at the front of the camera.] Or a fortune teller [She powers to her third eye.]

[Mortis] Everybody's a brawl [Start the dance at the line.] And everybody is a star like you and me [Stop the dances as he covers his face with his cape.]

[Cut to Old Town as Piper and Rico sit on the bench as they hold each other's hands.]

[Piper] Your style doesn't matter it's only newer as pretty

[Rico] And when I'm around you, Piper My balls skip a beat

[Cuts back to Poco’s Band Stand for Wild West Trio and Mexican Entertainers Trio.]

[Wild West Trio and Mexican Entertainers Trio] Everyone's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[Pans to Mortis’ Mortuary. Emz and Poco hold each other's hands.]

[Emz] So don't be scared to come out your true self too

[Poco] There's always someone out there to love the real you

[Ghosts pop out from graves dancing around Emz and Poco.]

[Ghosts] Everyone's a brawl And everybody is a star like you and me

[Cuts to everywhere as background characters going like an action verb while singing but with Completed Trio Brawlers join them.]

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Background Characters] You can walk, run, swim, roll, hop, skip, or fly

[Cuts to Starr Park Entrance as Completed Trio Brawlers in front of the camera as they sing and dance.]

[Completed Trio Brawlers] If we're going different ways You're my kind of guy Difference doesn't matter If nobody's the same

[Cut to Ghost Station. As Gus walks and then sits on the floor.]

[Gus] A train for every soul in the great haunted station

[Cuts to Uncompleted Trio Brawlers in their Environments as they sing in one line for everywhere as they sing with Completed Trio Brawlers.]

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Belle] Do-do-do-do-do Do-do

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Sam] Do-do-do-do

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Ash] Do-do-do-do-do

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Grom] Do-do

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Otis] Do, do-do-do

[Completed Trio Brawlers, Lola and Gray] Everybody's

[Completed Trio Brawlers, Mandy and Chester] A brawl

[Completed Trio Brawlers and Buzz] And everybody is

[Completed Trio Brawlers, Buster and Fang] A star like you and me

[Cut back to Starr Park Entrance for Completed Trio Brawlers.]

[Completed Trio Brawlers] Star Like You and Me!

[thestobingirlie]

El and Steve interactions would be so interesting. And it could be the trio of Steve, Max and El! There is already a connection between Steve and Max, and establishing a connection between Steve and Al is not a problem (normal conversations and drama, connection through hair, Steve can support (as we saw earlier) and other things). It would be interesting, fun and enjoyable for all three. And I saw the idea that Jonathan set up Eleven, but.. to be honest, there is no connection between them in season 4?? (and Steve and El are children from Hopper's side :P /j) Jonathan and Al are good too, and there is zero negativity towards him. Steve and El just seem more logical and would be more interesting to me.

And speaking of 5s, getting Jonathan and Steve is again about "wow, Steve's not as much of an ass as I thought." Getting that arc with Steve and El is less likely

i have loved el and steve for years, and i want them to interact so badly. he could give her hair tips! and help with school and being bullied! and yes, with max, that would be such a cute trio. oh, and i think it would be cute to have el be protected for once. she’s always the protector, but steve can still stand in front of her with a nail bat. i read this fic once that had el doing her powers thing, while steve stood in front of her, to make sure nothing got close enough to hurt her, and i just thought that was so cute!

i do like jonathan and el, but because i’ve been so attached to steve being part of the hopper family for so long, i just prefer them. (and i feel bad that jonathan’s just getting another younger sibling that he has to worry about and take care of)

but yeah, unfortunately, i don’t think we’ll ever get it. el’s gonna have a lot going on in s5, so i doubt we’re gonna build a good dynamic up with steve. which sucks, but we always have fan fiction!

[weirdo09]

platonic madcleric headcanons

they’re those best friends that no one would assume are best friends

they’re polar opposites but when they’re together, they literally act like the same person

they both shit on mike lovingly

they bond over their crushes on lucas

them together with erica is a power trio

they definitely have sleepovers and talk about the latest gossip

max would start a group chat called the girls and add will, when one of the other guys asks why she just says “he’s nice.”

them and el is also a power trio(i mean c’mon the wonder twins and max, who would say that they’re not?)

joyce absolutely adores max and she particularly adopted her into the family at this point

they both rant to each other about their love lives(scenario: the day after the rain fight, will and max meet up to talk about it let’s just say it took max some convincing to not kill mike later)

when max wakes up, she asked will about how life was in california, he just shrugged saying “it’s not like hawkins.”

after vecna, the two hang out a lot more

well that’s all, folks :)

@atbyler @xhavibee @yelenapines @adorewillbyers @adoremikewheeler

[shippingfangirl013]

Okay I saw a Steddie TikTok that made me think of Queen songs as ships and well…

The one in the edit was Steve as Lover Boy and Eddie as Killer Queen…

And I would like to add these combinations to the mix:

I Want To Break Free x Under Pressure (feat. David Bowie)

I apologize but this really is Mileven y’all

Alternatively, Henderhop screaming this in the car on the way to school? I’m sorry I just love Henderhop okay? Platonic or romantic, take it as you wish, but I love that dynamic.

Who Wants to Live Forever x Radio Ga Ga

Hellcheer, Byler, Steddie, Elumax, Lumax - I can just picture Lucas singing Radio Ga Ga to Max when she’s sad and she just smiles through the tears and tells him to shut up…

(Let’s be for real, that’s the Sad Person A and the “I will do everything in my power to make you happy including singing this off key”! Person B)

Crazy Little Thing Called Love x Somebody to Love

Jancy, Boyce for sure, probs Ronance

Bicycle Race x Princes of the Universe 

Byler, Stonathan, Steddie, (NOT SHIPPING!! - but Dustin and Eddie singing both of these to annoy Steve in Steve’s car when Steve wants to listen to Madonna instead? Hell yes.)

I Want It All x Too Much Love Will Kill You

Byler

More specifically Will Byers living the “I had relationship problems without even being IN a relationship, while my sister dates my crush and childhood best friend” life

Lover Boy x Killer Queen

Steddie, Jopper, Byler

Bicycle Race x Radio Ga Ga

I just FEEL like this is jargyle. They’d like the upbeat tunes, and Argyle is a Bicycle Race kind of man.

Buckingham. Chrissy is for sure a Radio Ga Ga kinda girl, and I mean, Robin just is a Bicycle Race person okay?

Elmax Elmax Elmax - need I say more?

Bonus- because Sibling Chaos: (obviously this isn’t a ship- plainly specifying that here now!)

Will and El are totally an Another One Bites the Dust x Don’t Stop Me Now sibling duo.

The Byers-Hopper Sibling trio is definitely a Bohemian Rhapsody x The Great Pretender x Radio Ga Ga mix.

Guess which song matches each sibling 💀

Alternatively, Will and El are a Misfire x Hammer to Fall sibling duo.

[brionysea]

The refusal to acknowledge Mike's weirdness in regards to the supernatural plot will never not be crazy to me i'm honestly so glad there's at least some people talking (point at you 🫶). Because most of the existing talks are always so selective. I've seen Will responding to El in the void when she speaks to him get used for proof he has to have some form of powers so many times but Mike looking at El in the void has no greater significance and doesn't mean anything of course. Also forget that they even make a callback to that a whole season later.

And all three of them, Mike, El and Will, all getting removed from the supernatural Hawkins plot in S4 is also again such a standout moment. None of them get to be there in person as the only kid characters. Just those three in general have so many things that tie them together as a trio.

Mike meeting El while looking for Will - El meeting Will through Mike and then later moving in with him as a sort of step sister - the two lab massacres both caused by Henry in S2 and S4 respectively happening to Mike+Will and El - El Will and Mike being the only kids who ever see another person in the void - hell even the eventual love triangle situation happening with Mike dating El while having feelings for Will just ties the three even more together.

But all of the trio imagery is always just attributed to the love triangle despite most of it having nothing to to with their relationships at all. It's always weird narrative choices connecting them. And I'd get if some people just weren't interested in the theory branches here but acting like the whole rule of three and power of three thing aren't ancient literary tools is odd. Even popular properties regularly use it because it's so common just look at StarWars. (crazy how you and a few other people are the only one's even entertaining it)

YES! all of this!

i've frequently seen the argument that mike "can't" have powers because the "point" of his character is that he's special and unique and capable of doing good without any, but if that was the case they wouldn't be saying it. if mike not knowing what it's like to be different or what it's like to be bullied were simple facts about him, if he's just not special in the superpower way, those things would be shown. they wouldn't draw attention to mike's ordinariness - in the same scene as will disputes every other claim that mike makes about himself; in the same scene as el says something that's just plain wrong in that mike "doesn't know what it's like"; in the same scenes as mike is deliberately blurred into the background because the people he's talking to aren't seeing him, aren't seeing that he's like them - if mike is just ordinary

for characters that actually are what people are claiming mike is supposed to be, just look at people like dustin, joyce, nancy, lucas, steve, erica, jonathan. most of the cast doesn't have powers and that doesn't stop them from doing good or feeling worthy. it's never brought up with them because it doesn't have to be. that's just who they are. it's a fact, it's shown and not told so you register and accept it without thinking about it, because it's just the truth. hell, they even had bob do the "ordinary person does something heroic and dies over it" thing in season 2. with how brave and self sacrifical mike is, if he was also completely ordinary he would've realistically died a long time ago, no matter how intelligent he is. max made the self sacrifice play ONCE and she immediately died

mike's most recent arc of feeling like he can't measure up to el doesn't read like unfounded insecurity, it reads like someone who feels like something's missing. like he should be able to do more but it's being blocked off somehow and he doesn't understand why

and if you look at the overall trajectory of his character, you can see what he's talking about. he was so intuitive and essential to season 1. he understood el, he understood the upside down. in season 2, he was coming up with most of the effective ideas to help will. in season 3, he started acting differently and then no one listened to him, which resulted in a season 4 where he's looking for external validation more instead of trusting (and asking/telling others to trust) his instincts, and he was a lot more hesitant to make himself heard at all because last time he tried everyone ganged up on him. that point in the middle, where everyone stopped taking what mike has to say about the upside down seriously, is exactly where things started to go wrong

if we're talking about the "point" of mike's character, it's lies. it's masks and deceit and things not being what they appear to be. he lies to others, he gets lied to, his family is a lie, his whole presentation as a character is a lie because we know he's not in love with el. why on earth would that apply to every aspect of his character except his insecurities, which "will the wise" called a lie? why would the character whose biggest theme is lying, who has an extremely weird understanding of the evil shadow dimension that no one else can match, revolve around that concept in all aspects but one? why would a running theme that's so integral to making plot twists work not be involved in an ultimate plot twist that recontextualises everything, showing that things were never what they appeared to be? that mike has mattered and been different and special all along?

that would just be shoddy writing, and we know stranger things is too good for that

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

The Lightning Thief except instead the og trio is hopclair and instead of states it's mindscape locations and memories and instead of mythical monsters is a creeping rot, a powerful telepath, and memorial turned sentient and instead of thinking Hades or Ares stole the lightning only to find out it was Luke and then he recounts his take of going from a shiny eyed child to the corrupted man he had become it's El and Lucas thinking they were running from traps set by Vecna until they find Max at the center of it all recounting the tale of how she went from believing Lucas and El would rescue her soon to going back to thinking she didn't deserve to be rescued at all, this making the inside of what is actually her own mind an incredibly dangerous place for her to be alone and equally dangerous for anyone to wander with absolutely no intervention on Vecna's behalf.

Bonus points if inside the mindscape there are two visual manifestations of Max one of whom is controlling the mindscape and is to put it simply, evil, and the other who we don't see at first but is literally crying and represents how Max is making herself feel before eventually after recieving some support from Lucas and El, the first Max, who represents Max's inner voice, starts saying different, more nuetral things as parts of her wardrobe which visually represent wickedness slowly get replaced by "good" ones until there is a near equal balance at the same time as Max's "heart" gets stronger but I'm like, all of which together represent how Max , ninety percent sure that won't happen😅😅😅

Is this on any way related to TLT? Fuck no. Will it play out like this in canon? Probably not. But it was fun as shit to tap dance on your heart strings wearing soccer cleats :)

[sparkie96]

New Chapter of “007 (Another Experiment Steve Fic)” Chapter Five: “Little Wanderer”

“Will?” El asked, interest piqued as she made herself known, accidentally scaring the trio and making them yell out in surprise, “Hopper is looking for a Will. My brother knows his brother, Jonathan Byers.”

The trio were in shock and confused for a moment, giving her odd looks, “Uh…and you are…?” Mike asked, raising a brow.

“What are you doing out in the middle of the woods?” Max asked in concern.

“I live here.” El said as though it was obvious, pointing back to the cabin, and then to herself, “I’m Eleven.”

“You’re eleven years-old?” Dustin asked, but then his eyes widened in realization, “Wait? Did you knock the knife out of Troy’s hand? Did you move the leaves and sticks and shit? How did you do that? Are you from that weird lab that is in the middle of the woods? Is that where you live?”

El furrowed her brows, now the confused one, “No. My name is El. And I used my powers to do that. And I used to…but I live with my brother and Dad in the cabin in the woods.” She pointed back to the direction of the cabin.

(Read more below!)

[sterlingarcher23]

When you are still arguing with people about this assumption that "Max is with Vecna" and whatnot...

This is the face of a man that mind absorbs someone?? I don't know but he looks "distracted".

Vecna: *error*

It's an active deed, nothing passive no matter if he's in the UD or the real world.

The ritual was interrupted, Max was released from the vines (as a show don't tell that she's free, no longer at his grasp), the trio attacks Mr V, he loses concentration, the connection is severed, he is shot and falls from the window, we see Max back in her body (another show, don't tell) struggling and dying, her then death marks the spot, the portals open (Lucas just manages to drag her away) then revival.

At which point did he restart the mind absorption with Max? Which is something he needs to do but this isn't the case with Max after she is back in her body. She just has a cardiac arrest due to the attack (which signals the marking of the spot). She didn't levitate again and the final stage, the sucking in of the eyeballs happened.

This is when he actually consumes someones mind I guess - three stages: 1 trance, levitating, 2 breaking bones and physical harm, 3 mind absorption indicated by the eyeballs "gouged out". Looks more like sucked into the skull. Why? Because eyes show consciousness ; the consciousness lies so to speak directly behind the eyes. It's a matter of visualization what happens at this moment, telling through showing that someone gets his mind sucked out.

We see how he disconnects once he's done earlier - so when he is disconnected, he can't mind absorb someone.

And if he'd plan on using her, why did he try to do the opposite? Absorbing her, destroying her completely "It will br over soon" (in this line is the indication that your consciousness is actually destroyed and what is left are nothing more than bits and pieces now he took from his victims not complete "souls" - he may use what he got from them, their memories, to then manipulate others ; the whole thing has a few problems imo) etc. And if it wasn't for Lucas:

Lucas dragging her away just in time shows us that V also didn't "plan" on using Max (foresight is not one of his powers) . If that would be the case and Lucas wouldn't have done it in time, Max's body would have suffered the same fate as Jason - that's why they show his demise this way. Show, don't tell.

(And if he'd hide inside of Max or something, wouldn't have El found him there?)

As an example one and the same author in one argument:

(I don't want to badmouth anyone, if you read this, that's why I don't mention names, this just as an example how those arguments fall apart) So, here's actually the point been made: he does his ritual. He goes into people's minds, connecting to the network, to do his ritual from the UD. So, it's an important part of his mind absorption when his victims are in the real world and he's in the UD.

And they show (!) us this, how this works, with the other victims. Show, don't tell is an important part of TV/Film-language. The Duffers use very little exposition by having people explaining things and instead use primarily camera movement, editing and music/sound effect etc.

Association is important when you do "show don't tell" but in case of the mind absorption it's also about establishing certain rules. We see the actual technique behind it littered over the Season, not all on one session/kill-attempt probably to confuse the audience by fragmenting the necessary information. Brenner and One tell us one thing but we see something different. It seems that people revert to what they have been told, the easiest explanation because they need one and cannot live with: Where is Max's mind? Just a question mark. Even though the Duffers once said that.

An important show don't tell moment is this one: Max's mind avatar is released from the vines and falls to the ground, it's only there for a moment but it's important to communicate via "show" that Max has been released from Vecna's grasp, he doesn't hold power over her anymore (similar to El breaking free earlier) and her mind is unscathed.

So, the absorption doesn't make sense in regards to the narrative/what we actually see on screen. That explanation is...dumb.

Nor is anything else possible, like control for which he'd had to put his mind into her/use the particles based on actual elements we've seen or have learned so far. Plus: Max's possession phase was Season 4 because there are exact parallels to Will and his was in Season 2. Those parallels are there and it wouldn't make any sense to go into another possession story bc A) it becomes repetitive and B) the visuals used tell us enough to understand this: Will = possessed S2 - Max = possessed S4.

So, this is done and wouldn't make sense at all to repeat this BS.

Where's Max? That's the mystery. That's what should keep you busy.

Well, you know my answer and I'll talk about it again in an upcoming post that focuses on the Planck constant and quantum mechanics, how actual physics influenced Stranger Things like it did with A wrinkle in time.

[last-night-is-a-blur]

Dynamics I want is ST5

El-Mike-Will: Can’t for Will do get over Mike and the two of them and El becoming a power trio. Just El, her brother and her boyfriend being best friends, supporting each other, having fun, bickering and taking turns being the sane and responsible one. El and Mike being in love. Will and El being siblings. Mike and Will being childhood buddies. Whenever something is happening with one of them, the other two team up to help. Sure I want private one-on-one scenes between all of them, but I also like to see them working in pairs to help the third on out. plus all the "dating your best friend's sister" humour.

Lucas and Mike:I need a scene where Mike and Lucas bond over the girl they love possibly being gone forever, but not being sure, so they can’t completely move on (El between s1 and s2 vs Max coma). Plus they always had a fun dynamic, whether they are at each others throats, like S1, or Lucas is giving Mike relationship advice in S3.

El-Jonathan-Will: Both all three of them, and any two of them having one-on-one scenes. Will-Jonathan is a classic, and now that Will is getting older I’d like to see shipft in their dynamic start to form, where they become equals. This fits with the writers saying s5 will be a coming of age story for him, as well as Jonathan’s arc seems to be about finding a live outside his family. The Montauk Bible mentioned he felt burdened by his family, and while he might partially be using them as an excuse, I do believe he genuinely feels his family needs him around. So him stepping out of the role as Will's caretaker would align perfectly with both of their journeys. I also love the idea of El with brothers. Jonathan learning to be a good big brother to someone other than Will is great. On one hand, it’s natural to him, on the other hand, he doesn’t have 14 years of knowledge about her to fall back on. Will and El are friends, but they also live together and share a mother figure, so seeing how their dynamic

Dustin and El: they were so sweet in s1.

Dustin and Will: because we barely have any moments between them

Dustin and lucas: cause they were awesome together in s2, and because lucas is probably the sanest party memeber, while Dustin is the most extra

Nancy and Mike

Erica and Lucas

Also, if max wakes up:

Lumax: of course

Max and El: so sweet. 

Dustin and Max: because they’d be a fun and sweet duo

mike and max: love the idea of them being snarky at each other, but learning to get along and apprieciate each other.

Max and Will: more because they have been through some similiar stuff, rather than me being interested in how their personalities fit. 

[imthecleric]

ooc: sometimes i think that mike, dustin, and lucas all probably found out about will’s shitty dad by accident or by means of necessity but max and el are the first two Will willingly tells about his dad, and if both of them want to talk about their shitty dads (aka papa for el) then more power... i need the girls and will as a trio more in my life...