#always happy to discuss about gay mike wheeler
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Mike around El and his very obvious Not-Crush
I want to start this off with a disclaimer: I interpret Mike as gay, so this analysis and the points I’ll bring up were written with this in mind. Now, let’s begin!
Since my first watch, I always thought it was kind of weird-funny how Mike never showed any kind of shyness towards El, unlike the other boys, who the audience and characters in-universe never think of as having a crush on El.
So they know El is a girl pretty early on, so when she first goes home with Mike and he lends her dry clothes, everyone freaks out when she tries to change right there in front of them. Pretty normal reaction for anyone, especially 12 year old boys! So, even in the middle of their freak out, Mike remains as the most well composed of the boys.
He doesn’t turn around, instead, is quick to stop her, even reaching out towards her arms, and explain she should change in the bathroom, because, well, privacy.
He even guides El towards the bathroom door, and we know that he tries to close it but El stops him. So, he understands, she’s still scared, and again, explains she can keep it mostly closed, leaving a small gap open so she feels safer.
And then Mike goes to talk with Lucas and Dustin, who are still freaking out and talking about how she’s crazy, Lucas remarks “She tried to get naked” and Dustin makes the same hand gesture three times to really drive his point across.
And Mike? remains calm, really, his head is elsewhere, not stuck on the fact that a random, weird girl tried to change her clothes in front of them. Instead, his gears are turning, he’s already coming up with a plan so they can stay out of trouble, so she can be safe, and they can keep looking for Will: El has to stay the night, which Dustin finds insane.
So, I first interpreted these kind of scenes as Mike being the more mature one of the boys. He NEVER goes “but she’s a girl!” the other characters are the ones who keep pointing that out to him. But really, Mike just treats her like a human being (and then he discovers she has superpowers).
And really, it’s funny how fascinating they keep finding this, but not surprising. Again, this is a normal reaction! that’s why I thought Mike was just the logical, more mature one. But that’s not really why: he just never made a distinction or a big fuss to separate THEM, boys, and El, a GIRL, until later on when people kept bringing that up. For Mike, El was just another kid just like them, he shows her his house, his TV, his toys, and has no issue getting close and just treating her like another friend.
There’s another reason that points to the Duffers being aware of what they’re trying to do. It’s subtle if you’re not looking for it, and really, it just flies under most people’s radars, including our own!
So we all know this scene, right?
The first instance of Mike being directly told he has to have a crush on her, because… he is nice to her, and she’s a girl. So, clearly. And then the bullies arrive, call Will homophobic slurs and Mike gets hurt, we know how that one goes. But you know the scene that plays directly before this one?
It’s Nancy. They’re making fun of her/shaming her because she hooked up with Steve, and we know how this plot goes too: the girl is slut-shamed and the boy is praised/admired for “getting” her. Nancy is worried because she left Barb alone and the next thing she knows, her friend is missing too. And she doesn’t feel guilty just because she dismissed Barb, she feels shame, and the kind of comment she’s receiving just adds to the guilt.
And all this? it’s part of heteronormativity too, and all its social standards of what’s expected of people based on their gender and sexuality. Nancy? A slut for hooking up with Steve. Will? probably killed for being gay! The boys? get bullied just as Lucas is hugging Mike, even if it’s part of a joke. Mike? must like El, because he is a boy who is nice to her, and she’s a girl! See where I’m going?
Next scene I’m going to talk about is this one:
And… It’s a great scene, really. But nothing about it is romantic. The boys help El dress up, and Mike even does her makeup and doesn’t mind! and, I’m sorry, but what 12 year old with a crush is NOT nervous to be that close? he’s just 100% concentrated in what he’s doing.
And then El comes out, full makeover, and Mike’s reaction is just very sweet and genuine. Dustin hesitates: “She looks…” and Mike immediately goes “pretty”. Now, some people interpret this scene as Mike finally Realizing El is Actually a Girl. I both agree and disagree.
I agree because that’s how it probably goes for Mike, just now in the sense most people expect. We should keep in mind the previous scenes: Mike is now aware of what other people think/what is expected of him. So he goes “pretty”, and oh, no, she’s a Girl, I can’t say that! they’re going to think I have a crush on her! “...pretty good” saved it:) but wait. That just makes it look even more like a crush! So maybe it is a crush, right? So, I think of this scene as the moment of Mike deciding that yeah, it must be a crush, making now a distinction between “friend” and “girl”.
Other people have mentioned how particular this choice is: why would they have Mike next to El in the mirror? in the same scene where she’s presenting herself as Actually a Girl for the first time, wearing a pink dress, next to Mike, a Boy, who is even wearing blue! I don’t even think this analysis classifies as far-fetched for the same reason I mentioned earlier: the themes of the show are clear since the beginning, and plots like Nancy’s, Will’s, and later on El’s (and Max's) support that. Mike’s, however? it comes across as subtle (because really, it’s not), but it’s always been there, and the way the Wheelers are portrayed as a family confirms that too.
I don’t think he consciously makes the choice to pretend, more like it makes sense for him too, and the future events of the show just keep reinforcing this idea: she’s a girl with superpowers, who saves him and his friends many times, and people keep telling him he likes her! why wouldn’t he like her? And then there’s also survivor’s guilt but uhh… Let’s not go there, that’s another whole analysis.
It’s now time to talk about my least favorite topic: mlvn’s kisses. They have never been portrayed as genuinely romantic to me, even if I did think the snowball one was sweet when I first watched it. But that’s the thing: it’s cute, I guess, but it’s just there like a point you have to mark as done in a checklist. Entirely different to Lucas’ and Max’s scenes: Lucas hesitates when he asks Max to dance, and he’s clearly nervous, exhaling before asking, and their kiss is awkwardly endearing, genuine, and realistic for their age unlike anything in Mike and El’s relationship and… The beginning of s3 is proof of that. It’s almost like they’re kissing to prove a point: El is older now, and Mike is her boyfriend, they kiss like in the soap operas! (for Hopper’s and the audience’s dismay) and for Mike, well, El is his girlfriend, that’s what he’s supposed to do, right? (as he takes her hands off him).
Going back to the snowball, Mike plays the “date” role too perfectly. He does exactly what he should: he tells El she looks beautiful and asks her to dance, again, no hesitance. They dance and he kisses her… You guessed it, no hesitance. You could argue that it’s because it’s not their first thing, but the thing is… That one was a mess. It was out of nowhere, after talking about being family, as if Mike suddenly thought “yeah I think I should do this” and went for it. And… Did El even know what a kiss was?
Anyway, back to s3. They break up and all that, supernatural shit happens and oh! Mike tells a whole room of people that he loves El! how can that not be proof that he at least has a crush? well. Because Mike is not lying, just as he wasn’t lying when he called her pretty. He does love her, wants her to be safe because she’s his friend, and feels responsible for her safety (for many reasons). The thing is… Mike is aware of the Implications of the word.
He is being honest. He’s also confusing his feelings for romantic ones, just like he has since mid-s1. What’s the difference between the “ily” plot in s3 and in s4, then? wouldn’t that just be a repeat of the same?
No. This is a point of debate and I know we have different opinions on “When Did Mike Realize”, but for me, the contrast between this plot in s3 vs s4 is that s3 Mike is unaware, while in S4 he’s IS aware Throughout s3 (and before) he genuinely thinks his feelings are romantic. Until THIS happens
…and suddenly he’s confused, thinking it makes no sense. I choose to interpret it this way because it’s supported by the S3 script, which portrays Mike as confused and wondering what is wrong with him. This would’ve been a great moment to portray Mike as endearingly nervous/shy: they’ve been broken up and it seems like no one had said anything that hinted at a romantic relationship during that time. If Mike had romantic feelings for El, he should’ve been thrilled, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t close his eyes, doesn’t even smile. But it’s not disgust, it’s confusion. He’s starting to question things. To what degree? we do not know.
We can, however, infer from the events of S4 that he knows something.
The airport scene is as sad as it is funny, because this is probably the first instance in the whole show that we see Mike Wheeler acting nervous-shy in the way you would in front of a crush:
(Exhibit A)
(Exhibit B)
ok, Mike, Will didn’t imply otherwise? are you trying to convince him or yourself?
(Exhibit C)
(Exhibit D)
This whole conversation is so insane because everyone is so focused noticing Will’s crush that they miss Mike’s behavior? Mike, who during this conversation hesitates a lot, chooses his words carefully, exhales, you can see him swallow and just. He looks more nervous here than in the entirety of ALL his scenes with El on the show.
I could keep going on about s4, really, because there’s a lot to unpack there. But this is getting too long!
#byler#mike wheeler#will byers#anti mileven#gay mike wheeler#st analysis#stranger things#mike wheeler i know what you are#i spent way too long on this analysis please give it a like/rb if you read it or talk to me about your opinion#always happy to discuss about gay mike wheeler
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Gay!mike truthers are kinda right and yeah i get their point in not wanting to see El get hurt. But i also have to think from Will's side and his personal arc too as well as Mike's.
It would make more sense for Will's character arc that he gets actively chosen rather than simply bc Mike happens to be gay and that is why he chooses Will.
Will thinks he is undeserving of love too, that he will be left alone and Mike or no one will love him romantically. For Mike to end up with Will just because he is gay doesnt exactly serve the narrative purpose that Mike chooses Will bc he wants to choose him, if he wasnt gay he would have chosen El anyway. Do you know what I mean?
It is great and all that the gay!Mike truthers focus on El's arc but Will also thinks he is undeserving of love/romance because of who he is. For Will to be chosen actively instead of something convenient would make more sense for his character arc and struggle. It also fits better for Mike too IMHO. Mike would actively and willingly make the choice that he wants to be with Will not just bc he is gay but because he actively wants to choose him, and chooses to be with someone who makes him happy. Not bc he is gay and just gets paired up Will for that main reason, but because he wants to choose Will romantically and because he comes to the conclusion and makes that decision by thinking Will is more suitable for him not mainly bc Will is a boy but because Will is actually more fitting for him as a person.
Not to sound arrogant here but I think that is what the writers are going for too.
Hi anon! You don't sound arrogant, don't worry. It's not arrogant to have an opinion on what the writers are intending.
I totally understand everything you said here. I think it's entirely possible that this is what the writers are going for.
I always try to emphasize that I don't know for sure what is going on in Mike Wheeler's head (nor does anyone else on this site) I only have my interpretation. That being said, I will give my thoughts just because I enjoy discussing this with you anon.
In my opinion, Mike being with Will would be him actively choosing Will, regardless of his sexuality. I don't think it would come off as "Well I'm gay. Will's gay and he likes me, and he's my friend. I might as well date him."
This is because I think the idea of Mike choosing Will doesn't necessarily have to manifest in Mike choosing Will over El, which is what you're talking about here.
For example, Mike is choosing Will over giving in to his own internalized homophobia. Or he's choosing Will over staying in a relationship that he's been in for years and —though unhealthy— is comfortable. Etc.
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14, 17, 19?
14: swingset flashback, or montage using unused film from past seasons?
you already know i would die for a montage of past moments of mike being whipped for will from s1-4,, because now that i've thought of that idea it's all i can think about. i've made so many posts about it, at this point i've planted the seed and will absolutely see it to harvest. it would be the best thing ever and would be the best way for the duffers to show the audience that they have planned mike's gay arc since s1 also, even if it was more subtle than will's. everyone comes to terms with their sexuality differently, and while mike and will have very different journeys, they have the same outcome: each other <3
17: did mike realize his feelings for will in s3 or 4?
i've thought about it more since s4 came out, and i actually think he realized at the snowball in s2 that he liked will as more than a friend. why else did he seem so dispondent while watching will dance with that girl? why was he paralleled to dustin who also had his heart broken that night? why did mike do a complete 180 at the start of s3? (if you're still curious about my thoughts on this-- because i have LOTS, i'll talk about it on a different post/ask, since this got too long lol)
19: mike coming out to karen or nancy?
definitely nancy! we could use some more wheeler sibling scenes, because i always forget mike and nancy are related in the newer seasons. also, nancy has been there for all of it, so i'm sure she and jonathan have already discussed at length how oblivious mike and will are both being. we already know jonathan is the biggest byler shipper (because he wants whatever makes will happy), and i'm sure nancy would be too <3
send me byler "this or that" asks!
#i loved these thanks!!!#also i know it was the end of s2 i just know it#ask sarah#christina tag#byler
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El is NOT ‘in love’ with Mike
Mileven-shippers be bugging - apparently I’m ‘misogynisitc’ to think Mike Wheeler is gay, cause I’m not taking into consideration how ‘in love’ El is and am therefore enjoying her suffering (despite the fact I’ve said multiple times I don’t think El is in love with him either). So I’m just doing a rebuttal. Not going to even mention the milevens who lap-up the ‘Will is gay and pinning over straight-Mike for the rest of his life’-narrative. But,besides all the s4 movies having the long distance couple break up and admit in at least 4-6 movies that they both knew all along “it would never work out” and that they never loved each other. And El’s character even being happy for byler .The show hints at the fact (pretty heavily) El isn’t ‘in love’ with Mike. But is simply confused (given her lack of proper socialization). I’ve mentioned it before but just some obvious points people like to ignore...
For some inexplicable reason...We’re supposed to believe in s1 a traumatized girl (with no proper socialization with adults or peers) who doesn’t even know what a friend is - is supposed to know the nuances of romantic, platonic, and familial love (or just the distinctions between physical attraction, crushes ,or romantic love)? Really?!
- in s1 El knew Mike for 4 days, but we’re supposed to believe they ‘fell in love at first sight’? Even when the official ST-twitter ‘st writers’ said they don’t believe in ‘love at first sight’.
- El is mixing up familial love with romantic love. Before he asks her out , El asks in regards to the status of their relationship “will you be like my brother?” And she is confused and upset when Mike says “no”- and proceeds to ask , “Why?” their relationship would be different than siblings. And Mike says “I don’t know, I guess it’s not.”
Then Mike accidentally implies the only difference between friends/siblings/ gfs is that you kiss them. Mike pretty much says it’s different simply for the fact that it would be weird to go to a dance with someone who is like a sister - then kisses her.
And then In s2, Mike tries to emulate his ‘non jealous’ friend, Dustin, who is happy for lumax (despite his own romantic feelings). So Mike tries to act like Dustin, and forces Will to dance with a girl (who’s wearing a rainbow hair clip). And right after this we see Dustin look sad about Max/Lucas dancing and Mike (next to Dustin) look sadly at Will/girl dancing in the same exact frame as Max/Lucas. As they switch between these 2 shots to emphasize their sadness/jealousy.
Then they both sit down (mirroring each other) on the verge of tears before Nancy and El show up to comfort them and distract them. As El once again (presumably) wears Nancy dress.
The parallels continue as Nancy (who has no romantic feelings for Dustin but more of a sibling-esque bond) teaches him how to dance, similar to how Mike teaches El to do the same. Indicating it’s not romantic for either pairings (despite the kiss). Mike :” you don’t go to dances with your sister?/ no?/ i mean you can but it’d be really weird.”
*In s2 they even make a direct parallel to Luke &Leia (who were siblings who had a weird romantic relationship/kiss before realizing they were related). Mike (as Leia) saying “it’s a trap” to El (Luke).
And Leia (Mike) eventually gets with Han (Will) the one she had the real romantic tension with all along, and who she tried to make jealous by using Luke (El). Specifically, by kissing Luke (El) in front of Han (Will). Doing this by kissing El at the dance where Will could see.
They’re also compared to cousins.
And most damming is how Mike/El is compared to mileven. Cause El is confusing familial love for Mike with romantic.
* In s1 Lucas even compares El to Mike’s sister Holly, while the decoration of a heart being propelled by a rainbow hangs above him. Which echos what happened in s2 as well.In s2 , Erica forces He-man and barbie to make out. And Lucas angrily separates the two. And then this discussion happens.
Erica: “Hey , They’re in love!”Lucas (livid- and standing right next to a rainbow): “No, actually, they’re not. They don’t even exist on the same planet.”
Cue El and mike being compared to ET and Eliot (by the Duffers in multiple interviews and in the pilot script, shown above ) . And El watching he-man in s1- while Dustin in s2 has he-man and et next to eachother to show they were in fact Lucas was talking about mileven. Mike even calls El “yoda” in s1. We also see El compared to ET on multiple occasions in s1 (the bike scene, reese’s pieces vs eggos, et/el both having a the barbie like makeover and dressing as a ghost etc). And then there’s the old euphemism of “girls come from Venus, and boys come from Mars”. So El telling mike he should ‘stick with his own species’ (aka boys). And the Duffers saying mileven isn’t in love cause they’re not from the same planet -is just them telling us , Mike is gay and El doesn’t love him either. Will even says to Mike “welcome to my world”. In s3 we see Mike’s gotten rid of the sign that has a heart being propelled by a rainbow (symbolizing how he’s trying to hide/get rid of his feelings for Will) . But in El’s room while mileven makes-out we see a drawing of a heart being propelled by a rainbow (similar to the sign in s1 )- emphasizing the fact that no matter how much he makes out with El, and tries to hide the truth... he’s still gay. Like Max said in her rebuttal to El’s comment of “friends don’t lie”. “Yeah, but boyfriends lie ALL THE TIME”. Cause the relationship on Mike’s end was always a farce.
- And before their first kiss , after asking if she’d be like his sis, she asks if he’s asking her to the snow ball as “a friend?” And he says “it’s different”. But El again asks “how?”. And Mike (similar to El’s sibling question) once again can’t explain the difference of how friends and romantic partners are different to her, before they kiss. And just a few days earlier she asked the gang “what is friend?”. Yet we’re supposed to believe she knows she has a crush on Mike?
El constantly says in reference to Mike “friends don’t lie” (even in s3). Her instincts are telling her she doesn’t have romantic feelings for him ... which is why in a span of 3 minutes she says she thinks of him as both a “brother” and a “friend” when he tries to make it romantic in s1.
This whole ‘romantic confession’ of Mike’s in s1, echos his ‘love confession’ in s3. With Mike making it romantic and El once again not understanding his words or reciprocating her understanding of ‘feeling like she’s in love with him’.
Mike, before his love confession, apologizes for everything BUT LYING (the thing that broke them up in the first place). Aka because the love confession itself, was yet another lie Mike was telling. Which is why he never says “I love you” (to her face) but instead says *blank/it* instead of “love” .Saying “It makes you crazy…blank makes you crazy.
In s1 Flo says “ only love makes you crazy and that damn stupid”. Re-contextualizing the “crazy together” scene between Mike and Will as romantic (since Mike & Flo both equate love to making you ‘crazy’ ) .
When Mike tries to confess his “love” to El , he says “Well , they do say it makes you crazy”… much to El’s confusion as she says “what makes you crazy”? But when Mike asks Will, “We’ll go crazy together, right? Will immediately responds back “yeah, crazy together.”As they smile at each other.
Then there’s the fact that in s2 El’s new catchphrase was “not stupid”.She even says this line right before going to visit Mike. Right before Mike says he loves El, Nancy even comments that “El’s not stupid”. And in s3 El says “there’s more to life than STUPID boys.”And in s3 during the byler fight, Mike says “El���s not stupid.” As opposed to Will who right after this, runs to castle byers, looks at the Halloween pic where they both said they’d go ‘crazy together’, and cries and calls himself “stupid” (4x).
(x)(x)
The show says El is neither stupid nor crazy for Mike, meaning she DOES NOT (romantically) LOVE MIKE! The only one who is “crazy” and “stupid” for Mike is Will. Therefore, Will is the only one in love with Mike! . She even ignored his confession for 3 months and lied about hearing it- that doesn’t scream ‘in love’ .
- El mimicks Erica Kane and pretends to be with a fictional Mike Roy, while watching ‘all my children’ (Mike and Erica aren’t endgame btw) . Which parallels mileven to Karen/ Billy. Before she meets him she’s reading a romance book that has a guy that resembles Billy on the cover. The Duffers even mentioned they changed the cover to show the resemblance between Billy and the fictional book character. And we see Karen reading the sequel in s3 before Billy appears. Both El and Karen don’t/didn’t love Mike or Billy- they just projected onto them fictional characters they were infatuated with. She knew Mike for 4 days- saw a rushed romance on tv with a character named Mike- and simply wanted to emulate it with the only Mike she knew.
-She latched on to Mike more than the others since he was the first boy her age who took care of her. If Dustin did everything Mike did, she would of assumed she was in love with him too! El through her limited knowledge (given to her by Mike) essentially assumes boyfriends (who you are in love with) are boys who you think of as “friends, cousins, or brothers” who you kiss. Since Mike accidentally implied that feelings for brothers/ friends are the same as romantic crushes (in s1 saying about the difference “I don’t know I guess there isn’t”, and she is later taught while in isolation that kissing=romantic love (by soap operas). And then projects Mike roy (who she’s actually crushing on) onto our Mike wheeler. And then she proceeds to mimic what she sees on screen. Similar to how she copies Max’s words in s3. El says “I love you too”, cause (similar to mimicking Max and soap operas) she assumes mimicking him is what she’s supposed to do! Not cause she's actually in love with him!
(X)
Not to mention the episode of the soap opera episode she’s mimicking is about a women and a man (named Michael) who rush into a relationship despite barely knowing each other, because of traumatic circumstances . And who are not endgame! She’s mimicking the female character who (has romantic feelings for a guy named Mike). Just like Mike projects Will on to El. El does the same projecting qualities of soap-opera Mike Roy onto our Mike Wheeler.
- For El’s entire life she has known only 4 boys and 1 girl her age (her dating options are pathetically puny). She knew 4 boys for less then then a week, then immediately jumped into dating the first one who kissed her (and the only one who visited her for her 6 months in isolation at the cabin...interacting with her only romantic option, Mike).She’s never had a normal social-life like most kids who interact with a large number of boys and girls. So she could never see if what she had for Mike was romantic (or more than a simple crush) cause she has nothing to compare it to.
In s3
- Dustin compares stancy to Mileven stating it’s “bullshit”. And in s1 mileven is compared to Karen/Ted, as El sits and enjoys Ted’s laz-eboy chair. Similar to how Steve and Ted both eat chicken as their female partners storm away upset, and both men do nothing to help. Nancy states the only reason Karen and Ted got married was because they were young and that getting together was the more ‘socially acceptable/logical choice’ and saying “I don’t think my parents ever loved each other.” John says Nancy was repeating her mom’s mistakes by getting with the jock (Steve) , similar to how her mom got with a wealthy man (Ted). And now Mike is repeating Nancy and Karen’s mistakes getting with a girl cause it’s the logical choice (instead of being with the boy he loves).It’s mutual though (just like the Wheeler parents, mileven never loved each other).
- In s3 El even says “How do I know what I like?” In reference to clothes and Max says she has to figure that out on her own without letting Mike or Hopper influence her. Associating mileven with El’s lack of understanding of knowing what she likes. This poor girl doesn’t even know how to interpret what objects she likes but we’re supposed to believe , before this she knew with certainty she liked Mike romantically?!
Later Max even asks her “Is Mike a good kisser?” And she similarly answers “I don’t know, he’s my first boyfriend”. While staring at a pic of the karate-kid ( right after she dumped Mike). Implying subconsciously she’s thinking of other boys , who are not Mike in the future. Which is actually very similar to the soap opera character who went on to have many marriages after being “in love with” Michael. Plus, despite making out with him everyday for 6 months straight- she doesn’t feel strongly , and is neutral/confused about how kissing him makes her feel (similar to clothes).
This is also in direct opposition to Will, who said he expected him and Mike to never get girlfriends and spend the rest of their lives together, and who later cries while looking at a picture of Mike. Unlike El who is happy and swooning over a pic of a random male celeb. They even have El (after breaking up with Mike) happily read comics books with Max, while Will (right before his breaks down) throws his comic on the floor, frustrated he can’t get his mind off of his fight with Mike.
- Also if she’s ‘so in love with him’ as people claim, her laughing right after breaking up with him and having a party with Max makes little to no sense. And if you say she simply ‘doesn’t understand how breakups work’... you’re just proving my point that she’s too naive and not emotionally-mature enough to be in a romantic-relationship in the first place. The breakup between Mileven was comedic, while Byler’s fight was serious, cause byler’s fight is more important to the writers .Mike’s drastically different expressions after the fight. The dramatic framing in the rain vs the casual comedic after-math at the mall. One fight being in front of a crowd, while byler’s fight was something private and just between them. El smiling vs Will’s heartbreak. It just highlights once again Will loves Mike, and El doesn’t!
- After Mike says to El (in the pool shed) she’s “the most important thing in the world “, to him. She ignores his proclamation, and agrees with Hopper that they’re spending too much time together, and tells him they both need to spend time with their own species. Which is contrasted with Mike’s confession in the Byers-shed (in s2) where Mike says, asking Will to be his friend was the ‘best thing he’s ever done’ . And those words were what helped break Will from his possession.
The framing of this mileven scene was not cinematic or heartfelt, and neither was the delivery from Mike.We as the audience are supposed to take his words as seriously as El- aka , not at all. Because the scene and his words were meant to feel empty. He’s not crying, trying to reach her with proclamations of his genuine feelings. There’s no narrative importance to this scene (unlike byler’s). And there’s no dramatic music, framing, lighting or shot composition (and the pool-scene was also incredibly short).
Then, juxtapose this to the MUCH longer byler scene. A literal single tear falls down Mike’s cheek, as he recounts the first day they met. This whole monologue is only of tight shots of just their faces (their bodies aren’t shown like in the pool shed scene). This is a personal moment between them and them alone- and the fact we zoom in on their faces (expresses this to be important emotionally) . And when we see Will’s reaction to Mike saying “it was the best thing I��ve ever done”. We just see Will’s face only- no music is playing and all we hear is Will’s whimpers and Mike crying in the background. They even have an added layer to this because earlier in the season Will assumes John only hangs out with him because he has no friends. But then Mike (despite all the hardships with the demogorgan and Mindflayer) still tells Will that asking him to be his friend was still the best thing he’s ever done. And those words are what helps Will begin to break from his possession .
-When Max makes fun of how Mike talks to much, El agrees and laughs. And similarly when Max says Mike is wrong and it isn’t just “a break” El once again chuckles. This is not the behavior of someone who’s deeply in love with a person.
Canonically El isn’t even into Mike’s real personality traits or his interests. Not only making fun of how he talks too much, but walking away and ignoring him when he excitedly talked about dinosaurs or makes jokes with the cpr dummy. She’s not into ‘nerds’. She only swooned for him in s3 when he was acting like a ‘bad-boy’ who was disrespectful to Hopper and his friends. Probably, because that’s what the tv has conditioned her to like.
-Robin who had feelings for a girl also points out that Steve “didn’t even like her” despite all the attention Tammy gave him (similar to Mike with El). Tammy is a someone who sucks at singing but does it all the time (COUGH insert mike’s singing in s3 as El cuts him off as a parallel XD) . And Robin annoyed also call’s Steve’s hair “stupid” like how Will called El “stupid”. Implying similar to Steve who didn’t like Tammy (who his gay friend was crushing on) ... EL doesn’t like Mike (Who Will is in love with).
- She also never apologizes for spying on Mike-despite it clearly upsetting him. But to be fair Mike NEVER apologized for lying either (the cause of their breakup). It’s just so obvious they’re not compatible on any level. They can’t even agree to respect each others’ core principles; C’mon guys!
-Her whole arc in s2 was about leaving the cabin and learning more about herself and gaining independence from men controlling her autonomy (aka hopper and brenner). She went from wanting to see her friends and leave the cabin that she was forced to remain in because of Hopper. To in s3 , ignoring her friends and choosing to seclude herself in the cabin even when (unlike s2 ) she was allowed out of the house! All because she was dating mike.She directly went against her own mantra of “friends don’t lie” from s2 , lying to her friends to return to the cabin and kiss mike- limiting her much needed social interaction which she obtained by escaping the cabin in s2. Dating Mike caused her character to regress as a character NOT PROGRESS.
But also... El had no issues lying to her friends to ditch them and kiss mike (compromising her mantra of “friends don’t lie”. Just like Mike who lied to El despite him teaching her the saying in the first place- and how when together he stops being the group leader. They literally bring out the worst in each other! Lucas even says “ they’re lying”. Before Dustin says their relationship is “bullshit”. But then when Mike lied to her, that’s when she dumps him? And of course El pretends she didn’t hear the “I love her” (a form of lying). This is a stereotypical-childish-middle school-romance that falls apart easily based on petty reasons, cause it lacks a strong foundation. XD
-Then we’re supposed to believe she loves Mike-despite ignoring his love confession for 3 months?! Only saying she “loves” him (and‘making-up’ with him) right before she is about to move, and despite knowing about it for so long? To be fair she had other things to deal with (moving in with the Byers and losing Hopper). But it’s also suspicious it happens right after Mike helps her grab the teddy bear she can’t reach. This is because she used 2 different stuffed bears (Hopper and Terry’s in s2) as a comfort objects (and in s3 Will’s). In s2, she’d snuggle with them when she felt abandoned or at her lowest emotionally. And even the (romantic) ‘golden-teddy bear gift’ Mike was going to give her , was an empty gesture- that would of meant less than simply apologizing. She even wears Hopper’s shirt at the end of s3 which in s2 she snuggled with when homesick. Her using teddy bears like s2, wearing Hopper’s shirt from s2 (and undoing the s3 makeover where Max said to dress what felt like her and NOT Mike & Hopper), and kissing Mike again, symbolizes all her character development was undone from s3- it’s symbolic of her CHARACTER REGRESSION. Just like how in s3 she stayed in the cabin and lied to her friends (when she started to date Mike)- undoing her character arc from s2 which was in direct opposition to her s2 character arc. Mileven’s kissing at the end of s3 shows it’s a bad for El’s growth and inhibits it- that’s what season 3 was saying!
El feels vulnerable because she’s moving away and still hasn’t gotten her powers back. But then Mike comes in and gives her, her comfort object (which she couldn’t retrieve by herself, when she tried to use her telekenesis. That’s when El (conveniently) decides to proclaim she’s in love with him too. While in Will’s room, holding Will’s old teddy bear, as the teddybear comes between Mike and El (as they kiss). It’s obvious (unlike Will) she doesn’t love him , but has just formed a co-dependency to him- and is looking for stability given all the new changes in her life. Like Hopper’s letter said “I don’t want things to change.” She preferred life when Hopper was still around and she had this fake fantasy that Mike was a good boyfriend- before s3.
-And again the very last shot we see of El and Will shows once again El doesn’t love Mike, the way Will does. (Image by @tsugarubecker)
She’s not as distraught or crying like Will is. She’s smiling with light over 1/2 her face because even if El struggles in a new environment she’ll be fine without her friends/Mike who she knew for 9 months. Honestly, other than Mike, she only knew the others for 3 months (since El never went out and only hung out with Mike). She’s hopeful . Will won’t be - because he actually loves Mike and won’t be able to have a new party , and will be a mess without his support system of friends, that he’s had for years! (Why jonathan looks at him concerned- when he’s just crying. With absolutely no hope in his face- covered in shadow , the opposite of El).
So again I say- EL IS NOT IN LOVE WITH MIKE! And, she will not be ‘heartbroken’ or devastated when they breakup. Frankly, her being away from Mike and gaining independence from Hawkins, and meeting new people is the best thing the writers could do for her character growth.
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the young and the clueless
|| prompt: Mike and Will are pining and Steve's like "oh I get it" and then he tries to inadvertently get them together || ao3
“Steve! Did you see Will’s new project? He’s so talented oh my god, Steve– how is he this good? I don’t understand. I’m genuinely curious– Hey! I’m talking to you!”
“Steve, hey, Steve… do you think Mike could… I don’t know… Like me? Maybe? I don’t know like, we were talking last week and–”
Steve hears something about either Mike or Will from Will or Mike every time he picks one of them up from school. He isn’t sure when he becomes the equivalent of a crush confession-riddled diary, but he honestly doesn’t mind listening. Eventually though, he realizes that both boys are so embarrassingly infatuated with the other– but doing nothing about it.
They both tell Steve they’re so excited for AV Club after school– it’s extra time to see him without having to be at my house, near my parents– and they both say, after the meeting, that they couldn’t muster up the courage to do anything other than Shop Talk. Which Steve wants to know what exactly AV “shop talk” is that isn’t just like… discussing the finer points of binary code. Which he thinks is kind of gay but like– he isn’t going to say anything. They’re young, not stupid.
Steve wants to scream nearly every time Mike shuffles into the video store with his hair ruffled and every breath coming out in a long groan, or when Will shuffles in wringing his hands and head hanging low.
“I couldn’t do it.” They always say. “I couldn’t tell him.”
Eventually, Steve has to do something. He can’t just keep standing there, week after week, seeing these boys think the other one will turn them down. Not when he knows, explicitly, in fact, that the other boy would JUMP at the chance to say anything on their mind. He starts talking to Robin, trying to get her to “accidentally” have Will helping her rewind VHS tapes in the back when Steve catches Mike on his weekly Horror Movie run. She doesn’t need convincing; she’s in the moment Steve mentions Byers. “I just really like the kid. He’s the sweetest of the bunch”, she says.
So then the plan begins. Will comes in first– having been dropped off after school by his mom as she went into work. Steve promised he’d drive Will home after his own shift– and after they hang out at the arcade for a bit. At least that’s what Will thinks. Steve pretends he’s busy organizing a shelf of new arrivals and lets Robin corral him into her work. She makes up a wonderfully elaborate story about this guy who just dropped off a stack of videos without rewinding a single one. Of course, Will won’t say no and puts his backpack under the counter before rushing to help her.
Mike arrives second, having biked over after school. He took longer than Steve was used to, moping in the front door with his hands in his pockets. He looks more dejected than usual– maybe he’d actually gotten some courage and…
No. No that definitely didn’t happen. Because 1. Steve would’ve heard about it.and 2. if he’d told Will how he felt, he would not be so damn sad. Mike was just… running out of patience with his own fear. Steve understands before Mike even looks at him.
“It’s alright, Wheeler.” Steve steps around the counter and holds an arm out for him, waving him into a sideways, half-committed (so half-embarrassing) hug. “What happened today?”
Mike sighs and lets his head rest on Steve’s shoulder. “I almost told him. I almost did… I came so close. He was talking about going to the arcade after school and I was almost like ‘Hey! Do you mind if I go with you? I’d love to hang out’ and then I thought that’s not clear enough. That’s how I talk to Lucas– how I talk to Max for fuck’s sake!”
“Watch it, Wheeler.”
“So then I was trying to figure out how to like, ask him out but to his own afternoon plans. Which is just fucking stupid!”
“Wheeler, watch the language, come on. I work here.” Steve says sternly. He keeps his arm around Mike’s shoulders though, squeezing his arm.
“I just couldn’t do it. So now I’m here with you like, two stores down from him but I can’t just go over there without it being weird and like I followed him.” Mike throws his hands up in exasperation, nearly knocking Steve over. “What the hell am I supposed to do, Steve. I think I’m going to die if I don’t tell him. I think I’m going to literally die if I can’t tell Will that I like him.”
“Okay, well, you aren’t going to do that.” Steve says, pushing his arms down. “You aren’t going to die. Promise.”
Mike sighs and seems suspicious, but he stays silent, giving Steve his attention.
“Why can’t you just join Will at the arcade? Bring some extra quarters and go cheer him on while he plays uh, Burger Time or whatever.” Steve says. Mike groans and covers his eyes with the palms of his hands. “What did I get the freaking name wrong again?”
“No. I can’t do that because…” Mike lets his hands drop. “I already bring him extra quarters. That won’t say anything different. That’s just us being friends.”
“Oh dear God.” Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. Oh, they were worse off than he thought. The gesture of extra coins for Will’s current attempt at high score is supposed to be a moment. A brief double-take where Will is both happy and flattered and swept up in the excitement of playing that his vision just shifts into rose-colored joy. That was the Whole Plan.
But it’s useless if ALL of that is just… how Mike and Will are all the time.
“Okay so you might die.” Steve mutters, running his hands down his face. “Because I think I might kill you.”
“Hey! I’m in mourning right now!” Mike snaps, poking Steve’s chest. “I’m in love and I’m–”
“You’re what?” Steve grabs Mike’s hand, pushing his finger away. “Did you just say in love?”
“Yeah, I did.” Mike catches up to the weight of his own sentence then, too. “I did.”
“Well that changes things.” It didn’t change any bit of Mike, but it changes Steve’s plan. This kid was in over his head, just a little bit. To figure out you’re in love when you’re lost to it already was a tough situation– Steve knows that much. At least Will likes him back.
“Hey dingus, what’s all the yelling for out– Oh, hey Mike.” Robin stands in the archway of the backroom, leaning to the side. Will emerges beside her, stopping short as he sees Mike– and hears Robin draw attention to him.
Steve has never seen the two boys look at each other before. At least not from this angle. He can feel himself fade away in their world, any of his words becoming muffled horn noises to their foggy young brains. Mike shuts his jaw tightly, as if he can remove his previous words from ever being heard. Will’s lips are parted– as if he’s winded, or in shock rather. Steve doesn’t need to hear Will and Robin’s conversation to hear an echo of Mike’s words.
“What are you two idiots doing out here?” Robin steps toward the counter, her slow dragging posture bringing Will with her. Steve feels like there is a stand off forming.
“Talking about–”
“The arcade. We were talking about the arcade.” Steve says quickly. He brings his arm around Mike’s shoulders, slapping his chest with less subtlety than he hoped.
“You were?” Will says. “You’re coming with me, right Steve?”
“See, that’s just it. I don’t think I can– just got off the phone with the boss. Said I have to clean up the back room for a bit and–”
“I’ll go with you.” Mike says quickly. “I can go with you if you want some company–”
“I’d love some.” Will sounds way too eager, but neither of them seem to notice, and Robin and Steve aren’t about to mention it.
“I can… make Robin do the work if you don’t want to go Mike.” Steve is testing the waters, ignoring Robin’s glare.
“No, no I’ll go. The arcade sounds… really fun.” Mike’s caught in his own breath, his smile small but reaching all the way up to his hairline. “I’ve been meaning to go, but I really hate going by myself.”
“You should’ve said something today when I mentioned it.” Will laughs, walking around the counter. Steve tries not to look between the two of them like he’s waiting for an explosion, for something volatile to react. “You’re always invited. Anywhere I go.”
“Will, I–” Mike speaks quickly, shaking his head in his own quiet disbelief. Steve nearly jumps into the conversation, begging Mike not to pick now to be his moment– but he waits, eyeing Mike’s slow blinking. His decision (or lack thereof) crosses his face, easing the tension coiling in his brow. Mike was compelled to be honest, but Mike isn’t going to be irrational. Steve could respect the impulse-- and the control. “I’d really love to go– Do you think you could show me how to be so good at Dig Dug? I-I can’t have Max show us all up.”
Will starts walking, rolling his eyes. “You’re so distracted whenever I try to help.”
“Y-Yeah.” Mike mutters, turning away from Steve pointedly. “It’s always so... loud in there.”
Robin looks over from the counter at Steve, her eyebrows trying to reach her hairline. Steve is thinking the same thing, he’s sure. How far gone are these too?
“Have fun!” Steve says to them, rolling his eyes at Robin. She throws her head into her hands and tries to smother his laughter. “When you need a ride just let me--” The store door closes on the last end of Steve’s sentence. Both boys are walking past the windows, smiling and looking to be saying very little. “know... Did you see that?”
“Oh, I saw it. You didn’t see Will though. Wow, just wow. That kid is--”
“In love?” Steve says, propping one elbow up on a shelf. It was a pointless question. Of course he is. Literally anyone could see that-- except maybe them.
“Don’t tell me Mike said it too.” Robin sighs. “God, when do you think they’re going to get it together?”
"If they’re anything like us,” Steve pauses for every year of personal silence held between the two of them. He keeps himself from mourning, from feel like those kids were doomed to any one future. They’re young, not lost. “when they’re ready.”
#byeler#byler#will byers x mike wheeler#st writing#babysitter steve#also great babysitter robin#prompts
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Season 3 Review
TLDR; I’ve only watched it once so far. My opinions are relatively positive, but I did have this... weird feeling like something more was meant to happen but didn’t.
The Review:
Here’s the order I will go in. Plot review, and then character by character review. For the characters, I’ll try to put the shorter reviews on top. Don’t expect a perfect review, these are my free flowing thoughts.
Plot:
Plot was ok? I’m going over it in my head right now and there’s nothing in particular I didn’t like. Like last season, maybe they could’ve spent more time on other characters and relationships? Relationships that REALLY needed it? The flow of the story moved at a decent pace. I didn’t really feel like it was dragging at any parts.
I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but they just have way too many characters. When you have this many characters, you spread your story thin. It happens every single time. Why do writers never learn from this? The more you add, the more time you have to give them, time you don’t have?
But now it’s too late. Maybe some of these characters can fall back into the background? (Such as Robin, who I didn’t mind really)
As for how everything resolved, it was ok I suppose. The Mind Flayer? He was cunning, sure. But not nearly as cunning as the fandom dreamed him up to be, and I preferred the fandom interpretation. For a while we’ve all been predicting the Mind Flayer wouldn’t immediately go for El. He’d go for her friends and family, or Will’s friends and family, or Will again and then make it’s way to her. It’d make his beef with her very personal. Like take Mike. Or Hopper. Someone she’d least likely expect.
But no, it was taking random victims from town, or people El already didn’t like or know. (which by the way, I feel sorry for those poor people. Some were just children. Tsk)
Things could’ve gotten so much more cunning and creepy. Like they’d all be questioning if they’d been infiltrated by the MInd Flayer and someone in the Party wasn’t on their team or something. I dunno. Something.
As for how everything wrapped up, I don’t think Hopper is dead for one. Joyce was breaking down and assumed he was dead, but was she actually looking at his crispy body, or just an empty spot? If it’s empty, why do I feel like he escaped into the portal or hid somehow? Huh
And the very end?? As predicted, the Byers are moving away. I know before the season released the big theory was Will and El would be kidnapped, but after we got a still of Jonathan caressing Nancy’s face (they both looked to be crying), the shot of The Party biking away from the Byers empty house... I dunno. Something was off. Would Joyce still move if they were gone? I mean surely she would’ve stuck around Hopper to get help in finding their kids, and I highly doubt Hopper was gonna move anywhere.
I remember a very long time ago, Noah mentioned something about characters coming together, but not in the way he expected. And more recently, he said something happens at the end of season 3 that will give him and El more screen time next season.
This leads me to 2 conclusions. All that Byers fluff I wanted is next season... AND SO IS ALL THE EL AND WILL I WANTED.
But... I feel like there was so much opportunity to put some stuff in THIS season, you know? So, I’m kinda conflicted right now. I look forward to it next season, but I also feel it could’ve fit in this season 2.
CG looked good. Better than I was expecting. So good job folks. My biggest takeaway is simply too many characters. There just is.
So, onto the characters!
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Characters
Erica: Very happy with how this turned out. We’ve already got black nerd rep with Lucas, but now his little sister too? So rare to see in media to be honest. It would be so cute if she joins The Party for DnD games. Not as a main maybe, but the person to go to for math.
Robin: You know, I’m glad it took the turn it did, with her being gay and all. I’m glad they aren’t trying to pair every single person under the sun. I think it’s good that Steve found someone that gets him, but that is truly just his friend that happens to be a girl. That said, I don’t know what there would be for her to do in future seasons, you know? Like, maybe she serves a role similar to Mr. Clarke where she can crack some code or something. But as a character? There’s no where for her to go, you know? And that’s not a bad thing! I think she can totally work as a supporting character. (though I feel conflict with that too. Cause she’s LGBT representation and we’re kinda imbalanced with the cast if you know what I mean)
Steve: I was fully expecting them to turn Steve into a complete goof and lean in too hard on the meme. They still kinda did, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. His doucher side still popped out now and then. Some scenes with Robin I liked (the bathroom discussion). Other times they spent WAY too much focus on his story (the “do you remember ms. Clicker” and “ooo the ceiling is wavy”). That said.... I feel like Steve’s character has also been mostly resolved? Where does his character go from here? Maybe he’ll get a girlfriend, but like Dustin’s girlfriend, I don’t find it necessary to focus on or anything. He’s got a friend his age now, still friends with Dustin. If there weren’t so many Steve fans, I feel like it’d be a natural progression to have Steve fall back a little too. (but I doubt that’s going to happen.)
Dustin: Dustin. Mmm. Dustin. I always feel like I have so little to say about Dustin. Not because I dislike him, but hey. We all have our favorites, right? I’m glad he took Erica under her wing and showed her it’s ok to be a nerd.... SD THAT HE BROTHER COULD’VE HAVE DONE THAT, but I digress I digress. Sometimes, your sibling isn’t the one to show you the way. It’s cool that he got a girlfriend I guess, so he actually wasn’t upset about Max and Lucas at all. He basically had similar feelings to Will, but less angry and intense. Was not interesting in the whole singing situation, but it was nice to have a comedic comeback with Lucas and Max teasing him.
Lucas: Lucas, my other son. He served the role I thought he would this season. The love doctor, trying his best to set his bestie on the right path. I mean, I guess his advice was sound, but El isn’t Max. His and Max more toned down relationship is how I feel like 14 year old romances should be. Teasing each other. Teasing mutual friends. Playing around. Hugs. They’re sweet. Wish we’d gotten more time of them talking about stuff going on though. I thought Max and Lucas would kinda work together to give their friends some space and give them time to think or something. Not Lucas actively working to get them back together and Max almost doing the opposite. I’m so happy that he was trying to apologize to Will about the dnd campaign. Will insisted he didn’t care anymore, but I bet he still appreciated Lucas bringing it up and saying it was a good campaign. What a good friend. So cute that they worked on the fireworks together. AND THE SEASON STAPLE HAPPENED, THEY HUGGED! YES. AND LUCAS WAS ACTION MAN, CUTTING EL FREE OF THE BEAST
Max: Max was definitely out of have fun this season. I’m glad she made a new bestie and they got along great. Though I do think Max could’ve approached the “you should be more independent” situation more gently (because El will take it all literally and do stuff word for word), it is what it is. The end result was positive. I’m glad Max called Mike out on being a little too controlling/protective, but you would’ve thought the others would’ve said something sooner? I guess Will tried but we all know how that went. Lucas poked fun at him, but didn’t really push for change. So, it’d make sense for Max to be the one to do it I guess. El had to make things change, not Mike. What I did not like this season was Max on multiple occasions trying to get through to Billy? We saw what their relationship was last season. Toxic as all hell. I’m sure Max wouldn’t want Billy to die or get morally wounded or involved in the supernatural shenanigans but... something was just off about everything. Mm.... like... she’s seen what Billy can do. Would she really doubt he did something bad that hard? It would have been nice if El had a “I need you to trust me.” line with Max like she did Mike. They’re both in their own way trying to dictate what El should be feeling (Max much less so, but still). Even if Max believed her, would’ve have changed much either way. Moving forward, where can her character go? Maybe some family stuff? Billy’s dead now. Where will Neil’s abuse go? Because, it’s clear he’s always just been a piece of shit.
Mike: Mike wasn’t as cruel as he could’ve potentially been, but he certainly was a little shit sometimes. His love and affection for El was clearly becoming an obsession. I’m glad he was basically forced to take a step back and had to try and work things out. El gave him virtually no pity or reward until she felt like he earned it. And the whole thing with Will? Ooof. What were you thinking Mike? Will obviously put a shit ton of work into his campaign and then you treated it like a joke the entire time and didn’t realize you were being a butt until Will finally had enough. Mike has always been very emotional and hot headed. He easily gets tunneled visioned too. But you know, despite liking girls and being with a girl, Mike Wheeler is still Mike Wheeler, a nerd who doesn’t know how to deal with girls really. I’m sure by the next time we see him, he’ll be much better.
Hopper: Hopper??? He was.... basically a dick the whole season. While I didn’t mind he was being the “leave enough room for jesus” trope he had going on, threatening Mike and making him lie to El was just.... what the heck are you doing Hopper? You’re really going to risk your relationship with El and Mike because you don’t like that they’re kissing so much? I get that you miss spending time with your brand new daughter, but I’m sure eventually all those butterflies would calm down and you could have your father and daughter times again. He should’ve swallowed his pride and did what Joyce said. And then Joyce? Omg Hopper please. She lots the man she was potentially going to marry and move away with less than a year ago. I know you’re horny, but please have a little class? I don’t hate Hopper, but man. He was WAY out of line sometimes. And I probably only feel this way because Joyce essentially told him “Screw you” multiple times. I can see why Joyce was hesitant to jump into a relationship with Hopper. He does share a few qualities of Lonnie. Don’t get me wrong, not NEARLY as toxic. But Joyce spend the whole season arguing with him like she did her ex husband. That can’t feel good, you know? Hopper needed to be better. He needed more time. Buttttt, unfortuntelyyyyy, time that could’ve been used for that.... wasn’t used for that. As for his death? To be honest, I won’t be convinced until I see a proper body. But just.... he was so considerate and patient last season with Joyce. What happened? Ooof
Joyce: Joyce. Best mom Joyce. I love her. Always have, always will. She did not take any shit this season from anyone. I can tell she was beyond pissed that Hopper was blowing off her concerns yet again. It was hilarious that she left him alone to yell into the void and was like, “No it’s ok. I’m just gonna borrow these and break into the facility without you.” I wanted soooo much moRE TIME WITH HER SONS. OR WITH EL. What are you doing Duffers? Then again.... when I really think about it, Joyce hasn’t had anything to do except worry about one of her sons in season 1 and season 2. It was a nice change of pace for her. She had her own adventure of sorts and that’s great. That said, I did love the .00002 second clip of her and Jonathan wiping his face. And I love that she was hugging Will so tightly that he actually said, “I’m suffocating.” I also liked that Will and Joyce cried in each other’s arms..... BUT WHAT THE HECK, SOMEONE GIVE EL A HUG PLEASE
Jonathan: I will say Jonathan’s nonchalance toward Nancy’s treatment did not feel quite like him, but I guess I understood his point of view after they were fired. Like, OBVIOUSLY he didn’t like Nancy’s treatment, but I guess the Byers financial situation has gotten so bad he just.... let that stuff slide (Joyce mentioned how Hopper was her first customer and she’s doing nothing but putting clearance labels on all their store products, so her job is definitely not safe) I’m glad we were granted not only the arguments, but also their apologies and whatnot. I feel like it’s in Jonathan’s nature to be skeptical until he’s proven utterly wrong. Not a bad trait to have, just makes him a wee bit hard headed. I was sorely missing Byers bro time. Omg there were so many opportunities to have them not just next to each other, but speaking and stuff? Or worrying about their mom? Or something? What is up with that? Ooof. They said this season was reminiscent of season 1, but I don’t see that at all. Even when Will wasn’t there for most of the season, the Byers still just... had so much???? going for them??? But now? There are no gifsets I can make this seasons of the bros basically. Or of Joyce and Jonathan. Like, nothing. And that’s a shame. (Just that scene of them driving in the car basically) Though, LET ME JUST SAY IT WAS SO BIG BROTHERLY THAT JONATHAN WAS TRYING TO HELP EL BUT WAS UNABLE TO CATCH THE WIGGLY CREATURE. AND TRYING TO PROTECT EL FROM THE WRIGGLY MOUTH TENTACLE. He’s so soft.
Nancy: Nancy had a lot to do this season and that’s great. I wonder now that the two hot dogs holding her back the most in the post are gone if she can finally shine and make a name for herself? Or maybe she’ll follow her mom’s advice and work for a different paper? I’m glad she stood up for herself and followed through with her investigation. Also, it was kinda cute that Mike called for her when the big beast was breaking through the ceiling
Karen: KAREN. I thought I was going to be really mad at you this season, but I’m glad you turned things around. Ted sucks, but he’s not a creep or abusive. If you want a new life Karen, then I hope you do it the proper way. Just divorce him or whatever. But you know what? Karen dragged his ass out to a crowded fair and he actually seemed to be enjoying himself so maybe he just needs a push in the right direction. As for the kids, omg. I’m glad Mike and Nancy finally came to her to cry and talk. Maybe they didn’t tell her everything, but at least they told her something? You know? And she had beautiful sound advice for Nancy. Karen is back in the graces of good moms again.
Will: WIll my boy. I know they said Will would be getting a break this season, but other than his friendships falling apart and feeling like the worst... to me, it was kinda odd how the Mind Flayer didn’t care about Will at all? Will is basically giving away all of the Mind Flayer’s secrets and he doesn’t care at all? Does he not know? Surely the all powerful Mind Flayer can tell... unless it’s not the Mind Flayer piece that’s giving Will this ability to sense him. Like, Will really has a sense evil ability I suppose. Which leads me to WIll’s power. I think this can be considered Will’s power, but I have a problem with the way they implemented it. Will sensed things sure, and could tell the Party if the monster was nearby or something. But... why have Will feel that so late? Wouldn’t this plot point be better implemented by Will feeling the Mind Flayer much much sooner? Or within people when they aren’t acting psycho with black veins? Why have Will say “Oh yeah, something bad is here.” When it’s obvious something bad is here. You know what I mean? I mean, technically he was feeling it before anyone else noticed anything, but not enough time to properly warn them. You know? Maybe this is a matter of practice makes perfect. He needs to work his new muscle to get a faster heads up. But yeah, my prediction in that way was right. His powers would be related to sensing or feeling. In some episodes, there were these various moments where I was sure Will was going to step forward and say something. Or offer El advice or comfort (like when she was diving deep and Flayed Billy was being mean, because he’s seen and felt some shit too), but it never happened. It always fell onto Mike to resolve. And I mean, that’s ok I guess. And typical of him to do so. I was also expecting more people to notice when Will was touching his neck and stuff, but Mike only noticed that one time in the movie and no one else paid attention. Also, it was weird that it took Will so long to notice Nancy and Jonathan’s struggle in the hospital. Side note, Will the Wise had me ROLLING. Will should join the drama club after all. He’s amazing. He should become an actor. On the topic of his sexuality, I have changed my mind on it. While before I was certain he was gay, now I think he’s either gay or aroace. Or both. To be honest, I’m not well versed on the subject, but whether he’s ace or not, I think he’s still gay. As for where his character is going? I hope his BRAND NEW SISTER EL can get him to chill on the “All girls are icky” routine. Pffff. My boy, you don’t gotta romantic like a girl to be friends ya know. Honestly, I can’t believe Will and El only really had 1 conversation on screen. That is BOOTY. P.S, I’m glad there wasn’t a love triangle. It would have been a mess. Lol
El: And nowwwww, to El! El dealt with a lot this season. I remembering mentioning to a friend that everyone demands Will get a break, but never mention El getting a break. She was basically tortured this season. I’ve discussed her a lot in Mike’s section, but to summarize, I’m glad she found her own form of independence this season. She was taking on a little too much Max (like she was with Kali. And before that, Mike), but by the end, you could clearly see she really coming into her own. A little mix of everything with her own self coming through. Now, onto her powers. So, they’ve changed how they work a little. Apparently, El decides who can and can’t see her in the void. That means, the ONLY people who have broken this rule is her mother and Flayed Billy. That whole thing with Will? That’s because she wanted him to hear her at the very least. And also, apparently anyone can talk to El while she’s in that place because she heard Mike like she heard Joyce in season 1. Also, that power to dive into memories wasn’t Terry’s power. Or rather, that’s yet another power El has that her mother has too. At this point, it kinda feels like they’re just piling any ability onto El that fits what they’re trying to do with the plot. It is an interesting choice that she’s lost them for now, but I wonder why exactly. You can still hear when she’s using her power, but nothing happens. Now El can really be a “normal” girl until they reappear (which they’re bound to do). Also, IT IS SO SO AMAZING THAT JOYCE TOOK HER IN AND NOW iT’S A FAMILY OF 4 AND JOYCE IS LEGIT HER MOM OMG. EL HAS A MOM!!! (Ok, she’s always had a mom. But you know what I mean) She’s now living in a house with more people. And although Joyce is a very clingy paranoid parent, she is not clingy and paranoid like Hopper. If there’s a problem, she properly address it with her kids. I think El will really like this new take on family with Joyce.
Other:
Was SO happy to see Bob. I’m glad his memory is alive. Would’ve liked to see Will think about him, but I guess Will had another things going on. Still. Would’ve been nice. Very nice. Also glad to see Dr. Owens for a split second. You know, I really liked that Alexei guy. He turned out to be kinda adorable and was really trying to help. It’s so sad what happened to him honestly. Didn’t care for trying to make Billy sympathetic, but I guess if you’re going to kill him off, you should better understand why he’s suck a dick. I guess. And, it’s quite sad all those people disintegrated into poo. I feel like I already said this.
--------------------------------
Conclusion
Although my feelings have not completely settled, there is one thing that’s clear. I still prefer season 1 and 2. I basically feel like everything I expected to happen this season is actually going to be next season. It’s a weird feeling to have. Makes me feel uncertain. Should I really be looking forward to the promised next season when I felt like this one surely could’ve had more? Know what I mean?
I want to say I should definitely be getting what I want next season. But... I wish it were this season.
As for what’s coming next, well, obviously the Russians are dumb and they opened a gate. And they have an American prisoner. But anyway, I wonder what the Mind Flayer/Demogorgon is going to do next. Track down El? Mmm.... and I guess the US government right now must not be a threat whatsoever. Not with Owens in charge. Mm. El faced no backlash being seen by all those government goons.
Ok that’s it for now. If ya got questions my askbox is open.
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Hey there! I know this is super late, but literally every ask I ever answer is super late so I’d think y’all were used to it at this point. At least this time I’m not a whole month late (progress is important I hear). I proofread this around 3am so God knows how messy it might be, but I hope that you enjoy it!
“Sorry. I don’t speak skank.”
“I can’t believe this,” Mike’s voice was closer to a screech than anything as he rushed into the AV room, and Steve groaned as his boyfriend nearly bit through his lip in shock, “I literally cannot believe this.”
Honestly, leave it to be Nancy’s little brother that walks in on him. It really is just his luck.
Steve sighed and shook his head. He put his hands on the desk to push himself off the desk he was sitting on, but a firm grip on his hips kept him in place.
“Well, better believe it, pal,” Billy said, his voice sounding confident in a way that Steve never would have expected after getting the two of them caught. He elbowed him when Mike started to look disgusted, “‘sides, it’s not like we were doing anything, and I could do without the screaming-like-a-girl thing next time, alright?”
“Next time?” Mike squeaked out, and Steve tried to shush him, but he started complaining so fast that he couldn’t even catch what words he was saying.
Before Steve could even open his mouth to tell Mike to shut up, good and proper, Dustin and Max were bursting through the door. The two of them stared straight at Mike, talking over each other to ask what was wrong as Mike continued rambling incomprehensibly and waving his hands to gesture between Billy and Steve wildly. As Dustin and Max finally seemed to notice them, Steve pondered the idea that maybe, just maybe, he could think his own spontaneous combustion into existence.
That’d be a cool way to go, huh? Just bursting into flames for no apparent reason. Billy’s standing close enough that maybe he’d catch on fire and die too. They could be the lame, gay version of Romeo and Juliet or something.
Billy was laughing, winking at him before turning back to Steve and muttering, “Damn, kids these days really don’t know how to knock, huh?”
God, he hoped that Billy would catch on fire too. It would serve the dickhead right.
“Mike, dude, chill out,” Max said with a roll of her eyes, and Steve let out a sigh of relief that he didn’t know he was holding out for just as Dustin said, “Yeah man, we said that we were cool with Steve being kinda, sorta gay so we gotta be cool with this too.”
Mike spluttered and blushed a bit, and Steve honestly felt a pang of pity somewhere in his chest for the kid. His household is one of those ones that’s chill most of the time but has a clear stand on what’s right and wrong, and Steve knows which side of that spectrum he falls on there. He knows the kid isn’t a homophobe or anything, knows that Mike is one hundred percent supportive when it comes to Will’s situation, but this could possibly be the first time he’s seen two men being passionate, or whatever.
Poor Mike’s probably feeling scandalized.
By the time Mike seemed to have gathered his thoughts into something worth saying, Lucas, Will, and El had found the way into the room as well. Lucas took one look at the position Steve was in and rolled his eyes, seeming to have put the pieces together himself. El was whispering something to Will, and Will was smiling real small their way and nodding after a moment.
Part of Steve wondered what El had said to him. The majority of him just hoped that none of the pre-teens could see that he was still half hard in his jeans.
Billy was being suspiciously quiet; looking off towards the kids with a weird look in his eye, and seemingly not paying any attention to Steve, but he also wouldn’t let him stand up so—
Steve decided just to deal with it for now.
“Besides, like we’ve discussed, if Steve and Billy make out and shit, maybe then Billy will be cool like he is,” Dustin said, making a quick hand gesture towards Steve and Billy as though they were subjects in an experiment.
Mike looked to Max and Lucas in what was probably a desire for some sort of back up, but all they did was nod along to what Dustin said, like it was something that made sense.
“Wait a minute,” Steve spoke up, and all heads, including Billy’s, turned towards him, “you’ve discussed me making out with Billy? As a group?”
Billy let out a snort, and Steve resisted the urge to drive his knee straight into his cock by slapping him on the arm. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, barely enough to sting really, but Billy laughed and made a noise to pretend like it did under his breath just for him.
Steve really likes him sometimes.
“It was a party matter, Steve!” Mike exclaimed, but Dustin elbowed him and cut him off, “We had to discuss all possible pros and cons to a potential grouping up of the two of you.”
“And why wasn’t I invited to speak during this discussion?” Steve said, and he did not sound whiny. Like, at all.
And even if he did, he had every right to be if these idiot kids that he calls friends were talking about him and his pros and cons behind his back.
“Because you’re not part of the party, Steve!” Mike swung his arms around some more, narrowly missing clipping Max’s shoulder at one point, which made Max glare and all the other kids’ heads turn to face him.
“What? Yeah, he is,” Dustin said, sounding confused and almost offended which was sweet, he thinks.
“Mike, literally last week you told me that I had to go to D&D night or else I would be kicked out of the party,” Steve knew his voice sounded like an exasperated father at this point, and the numbers of times that he’s rolled his eyes in the last few minutes was going to bringing on an ugly migraine, but it seemed like he’d just have to live with it.
It was unfortunate, really.
In fact, he was really feeling ready to just leave the middle school and drive straight home for a well-deserved nap.
Hopefully, Billy would follow in that scenario.
"Well, I lied, dumbass. We would never want you in the party,” Mike glared Steve’s way, and Steve would have probably tensed at that one if he wasn’t already so tired of this situation, though, that didn’t stop Billy from tensing at the insult in his honor.
Which was unnecessary because Steve doesn’t need Billy doing anything in his honor at all, and Mike is, like, twelve anyway so it doesn’t really matter. Nonetheless, Steve appreciated the sentiment behind the action and squeezed Billy’s wrist gently in hopes to settle him a bit.
“I mean–” Will butt in, which caused Mike to look at him all bug-eyed, and truly warmed Steve’s heart, “I would.”
“Yeah,” El jumped in too, which was just rich, really; both of the people whose opinions Mike respected the most were on Steve’s side here, and not his, “I like Steve.”
Steve winked at Will and blew a kiss at El that made her giggle. She pretended to catch it in the air and place it on her cheek like she always did, and Steve felt a bit better after that. Something about her always made Steve feel a little better, a little less ‘weird’, or ‘dumb’. It was nice.
He looked up to find Billy looking between the two of them and smiling. It was a small, sweet little thing, and Steve really wished that he could kiss it off him.
But that would probably give poor Michael a heart attack, and he doesn’t want to pay for the kid’s funeral costs or anything.
“You guys are not helping,” Mike said, slapping his hand to his head and sighing, “Not helping at all.”
“Maybe you should stop while you’re ahead, Wheeler,” Billy said out of nowhere, sounding amused and almost cocky, like a little kid getting their way, “Looks like the rest of your little ‘party’, or whatever, isn’t really backing you up.”
“Huh, what was that?” Mike said, holding a hand to his ear exaggeratedly, “I can’t understand you.”
Steve glanced at Dustin, confused, but Dustin looked just as dumbfounded as he was. He could feel Billy looking down at him for a moment, but he looked back at Mike soon after.
“What are you–” Billy started to ask, but Mike cut him off.
“Sorry pal, I don’t speak skank. Maybe you should 'quit while you’re ahead’ and stop talking to me.”
Steve let out a chuckle that sounded like it was punched out of him because Billy’s face was honestly just too much at this point. The kids’ almost-worried looks in his direction were just the icing on the cake as Billy’s wide-eyed, practically stunned to silence look was turned to him completely.
Poor baby barely liked it when Steve called him a slut in bed. This-
This had to be traumatizing.
“What is a 'skank’?” El asked out loud, smirk on her face the screamed trouble as Mike turned to face her, horrified.
If El really wanted to know, she would have turned to ask Will quietly. That’s what makes this golden. She knew it had to be a bad word, and she knew that Mike would be devastated that he was the one who taught it to her. He scandalized the sheriff’s daughter.
Steve was laughing in earnest now, shaking his head her way half-heartedly, “No, honey, don’t say that!”
“Nah babe, let her say it,” Billy said, watching him laugh, and nodding his head over towards Mike, “But all of you shitheads better let her pops know who she heard it from, got it?”
Will started laughing too, which made Mike flush a deep red color. The rest of the kids seemed to have caught on to the fact that no one was in any real trouble here, and that Billy Hargrove was picking on Mike with them. They all said their own variation of “Got it!” and Billy smirked down at Steve.
“Oh, you are diabolical,” Steve said quietly, mainly to Billy but not caring if the kids heard too.
“Big words coming from you,” Billy’s voice sounded like it was mixed with a laugh and it made Steve’s heart happy, “You’d do the same exact thing if you were in my shoes.”
Steve knew he was staring a little too deeply into Billy’s eyes though there was company around, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
Too much, anyway.
“I still don’t get what the big deal was, Mike,” Lucas said with a sigh after a while, wrapping his arms around Dustin and Max’s shoulder, effectively making them a force to be reckoned with.
“Yeah, so they kissed,” Dustin shrugged, putting a hand on his hip in a way that almost reminded Steve of himself, “Whatever, man. It’s their business.”
“You didn’t have to see it, Dustin,” Mike’s face was still red, but now his voice was coated in that scandalized tone again, “It was horrifying! There were noises, guys. Noises!“
"There were not any noises,” Steve spluttered out, sounding way more defensive than he wanted to.
He was, like, ninety-five percent sure there were not any noises.
“But there’s about to be if you kids aren’t out of this room and doing something else by the time I count to five,” Billy raised his voice, like he was challenging the kids to defy him.
It reminded Steve of those kids who would push people to dare them to do stupid things.
"Wait, what?” Dustin turned towards Steve, eyes silently asking is Billy was being serious or not.
Steve was about to shake his head and reassure him when Billy gripped his jaw tightly to stop him from doing so. “One!” he nearly shouted, which was overkill really.
This is a tiny ass room anyway.
“They’re gonna kiss again!” Mike’s screechy voice was back, and then he was bending down and scooping up some bags, hightailing it out of the room, "I’m out of here!”
“Two!”
“Mike, wait!” Lucas called after him, turning to chase him down, “Dude, you grabbed my backpack too!”
“Three!”
Dustin looked a little flustered and sped out as calmly as he could manage, and Steve really wanted to shake his head now.
“Don’t take too long, please guys?” Max said with a roll of her eyes, grabbing Will hand and heading towards the door.
“We’ll be at the cars in, like, five minutes. Now scram,” Billy said, stopping his counting to roll his eyes back at her, but somehow managing to roll his eyes harder.
Because of course he would.
El started to follow after them but paused by the door to look back at Steve and Billy one last time.
“We’ll be outside soon, El, okay?” Steve reassured her, keeping his voice sounding soft, “Just stick with Will and Max until me and Billy are done talking.”
She snorted in a way that sounded way too much like Billy for Steve’s liking. “Okay, Steve. Have fun,” she put her fingers up into air quotation marks, a new thing she’s learned that Steve now regrets teaching her, “Talking.”
Billy laughed at the slight shock on Steve’s face as El closed the door behind her.
“Alone again, finally,” Billy muttered, putting his hands back down on the desk on either side of Steve’s hips, “Now, where were we?”
“Apparently, I was making out with a skank,” Steve said, smiling sweetly up at him and wrapping his arms around his shoulders.
"Wanna make out with one again?” Billy asked, waggling his eyebrows and licking his bottom lip extravagantly.
Steve wanted to tell him that he looked ridiculous when he did that, wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to act ‘extra’ like that all the time; Steve was already his. He wanted to tell Billy that his ass had fallen asleep a few minutes ago and that his head hurt, and that, all of a sudden, he was really craving some caffeine.
But instead, all he did was lean up and Billy leaned down and mumble against his lips, “Yeah, I think I could get behind that.”
#this is probably a modern au#but i have no idea really#hope this makes sense#harringrove#steve x billy#harringrove fic#ashton writes#ashton answers things
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Richie finding Will’s drawings of Mike (Byler)
Imagine Will and Richie sharing a small, cheap dorm and being dormmates and one day Richie comes across all of Will’s drawings of Mike
[Mentioned/Implied Reddie, stenbrough and benverly]
Richie was in search for his wallet in their messy dorm and was looking on Will’s desk. That’s when he saw them under piles of paper.
Richie has a small heart attack because Will has at least ten drawings of him and they clearly made with a lot of care
And then it really sinks in and all Richie can think is ‘shit’
Yeah he was flirty with Will but he was flirty with everyone and he didn’t think Will took him seriously!
The panic sets in and he’s got no clue what to do because this is Will Byers the softest, sweetest person Richie’s ever met and upsetting him would be like murdering a bunch of fluffy kittens
Richie calls Stan because he’s ‘Stan the man, the jew with a plan’ and he’s Richie’s best friend, he’s helped clean up Richie’s messes more times than anyone
Stan comes over begrudingly but only because through Richie’s incoherent babbling he hears Will’s name and now he’s curious and slightly worried
And because Stanley Uris has a soft spot for Will Byers
Stan comes over and Richie explains everything. Stan sees the pictures and he’s stumped because what the fuck? What the fuck
Richie’s still a mess and all that Stan really manages to get from Richie is the he’s flattered, thinks Will is great but not like that and loves his boyfriend Eddie a “Shitfuck ton” in Richie’s words not his own
Basically he’s not ready to turn down the nicest person he’s ever met.
Stan is still trying to process all of this
He’s confused as shit because Richie?? Richie Tozier??? Really????
Stan’s decided he’s finally learnt Will’s only flaw. He has shit taste in men
“What the fuck am I gonna do Staniel?!”
“How am I supposed to know?”
Stan does noT fEeL pRePaReD tO DeAl WiTh ThIs ToDaY or ever
“What do you mean you don’t know what to do??!” “Well what do you think I can do?!” “Tell me how to fix this!” “Sew your stupid lips shut Trashmouth!” “Yes, thank you Stan that’s perfect.”
They’re both at a loss and at this point they’re just arguing so Stan calls Bill
Clearly Bill will know what to do, he’s their fearless leader and he’s always been good at guiding them in the right direction in Stan’s eyes
Bill’s quiet, just staring at the art for a long time. Stan and Richie both assuming he’s coming up with some sort of master plan
Bill looks up at them suddenly, his expression unreadable and then speaks “He- He’s a g-good dr- drawer”
Stan’s lost his faith in Bill and ten years are taken off of Richie’s life.
They decide to call Mike and Ben for this
They feel stupid not having gone to them first. Afterall, Mike is the go to for emotional support and Ben’s got a way with words unlike any other
Ben of course, brings Bev who is a laughing mess at the whole situation
“This is- This is just to good! How did this even happen Richie?” “He was born. It all went down hill from there.” “Now is not the time for your fucking attitude Stanley”
Bill’s still being incredibly unhelpful, flipping through all the drawings instead of assisting in anything “Why isn’t Richie wearing glasses in any of these?”
Ben, always optomistic and nonjudmental gives a theory, “Maybe he can’t draw glasses very well?”
Stan, the fucker, has his own opinion “Richie’s less ugly without glasses”
Richie flips him off “Shut the fuck up Stan, you had a thing for me when we were thirteen and we all know”
Stan fake gags but doesnt deny it and Richie’s smiles smugly
Luckily Mike’s there and gets them back on track
They’re in the middle of discussing what to do when a pissed off Eddie Kaspbrak enters
Richie was supposed to meet him almost an hour ago for coffee
All the loser go quiet, even Bev which is a testament to Eddie’s power when angry.
Everyone knows that shits about to go down. Eddie gets jealous easily and really, who could blame him with Richie’s flirty nature.
Eddie’s annoyed but also confused at the group gathering “What the fuck is going on here?”
Mike, the saint that he is, steps up and takes one for Richie the team. His voice calm and soothing as he explains the situation
Eddie stomps over to Will’s desk and is practically glaring holes through Will’s art. Which honestly, Eddie thinks are beautiful.
If the situation was any different he’d probably be asking Will to keep one. However the situation isn’t different
And of course Richie was going to get himself in shit eventually and of course it had to be with Will
Eddie’s feeling a mixture of anger towards his boyfriend and sympathy towards his new friend Will, he’s been in the same boat as Will with Richie in the past and it was not fun
“Richard,” And holy shit! Eddie had only ever used Richie’s full name twice in all his years of knowing him. Richie is screwed, so very, royally screwed
“My sweet spaghetti let me-”
“Shut up.” Richie has never closed his mouth so fast in his whole life “I like Will Byers, we have english together. He’s my friend and he’s a wonderful person. I swear to god if you are an insesitive prick about this or crack some goddamn joke with him I will cut your dick off and feed it to the birds.”
Stan looks thoroughly disgusted and offended by that threat and Beverly is gone, her cackles filling the room
Mike looks tired.
Very, very tired and he finds himself thinking he should have stayed on the stupid farm
Richie is a mixture of terrified and turned on, Eddie always got this look in his eyes when he was mad that made Richie a little weak in the knees
Now the seven of them are all crammed into the room, writing out ideas on what they can do. Stan complaining about the lack of space and Bill, who is practically sitting in his lap, agreeing
They suck it up though. Because a loser and and a newer but still good friend are in need
When Richie hears keys jingling and a muffled but undeniably Will voice laughing and saying “That makes no sense at all Mike” he panics and crumples up the page of ideas, shoving it into his mouth
Eddie smacks him hard and forces him to open his mouth so that he can grab it by the very tips of his fingers, attempting not to gag
Ben’s a sweetheart and takes it from a disgusted Eddie
When Will opens the door his eyes widen, confused beyond belief at what is going on
Will’s eyes are darting everywhere trying to grasp the situation at hand.
Bill is sitting in Stan’s lap giving him a sheepish grin, Beverly silently laughing to the point of tears and Ben trying to calm her down. Eddie was glaring at his hands and agressively scrubbing them together
Richie was looking anywhere but at Will, the oposite of Mike who was starring directly at him as if he was in The Office
“Uhm... Richie? I thought you were... going out today?”
Richie didn’t say anything, avoiding eye contact and Will’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion
“I was gonna hang out with Mike here. But if you’re busy.”
At his name Mike Wheeler peered into the room and everyone had to do a doubletake at the lanky guy standing next to Will
They were all caught in the middle of an awkward starring contest beore Richie blurted out “Oh thank fuck for Mike!”
The losers decided to make their exit now, all saying an awkward hello to Will and his friend as they left, Stan stopping to apologize to Will before leaving with the others (he may have tidied up Will’s desk a little. But just a little.)
Now the only people left were Richie, Eddie, Will and Mike. It was quiet for a moment
“You have no idea how glad I am to have a doppleganger right now. See, I saw all your drawings and I thought it was me and that you were madly in love with me”
Will’s face was unbelievably red and Mike’s face was twisted in confusion. Eddie starred at the two, eyes widening as he realized Mike didn’t know
Mike didn’t know
“Turns out you’re just hella gay for Mi-” Eddie elbowed Richie a little harder than necessary
“We should go Richie!’ The two practically flew out of the room leaving Will and Mike on their own
“So... you draw me?”
Will is a flustered mess but he manages to nod
“Can I- Can I see them?”
Will goes over to his desk, legs feeling like lead
When he sees that Stan has organized his desk he thinks he should be uncomfortable or annoyed but a warmth settles in his chest, calming him enough to scoop up the pages and bring them to Mike
When Mike sees them he’s speechless, they’re stunning
“You... You really think I look like this?”
Will looks up at Mike a little confused and sees the insecurity in his face. “Well kinda... I think you look better.”
Mike’s head whips up to stare at Will who gives him a small shy smile
“I hope one day I’ll be able to get at least half of your charm and allure into my pieces.”
It’s quiet after that before Mike blurts out “Can I kiss you!”
Will’s eager and so is Mike and so there heads bump at first but on their second try their lips are brushing together and Will lets out a happy sigh as Mike pulls him closer a mantra of finally running through both boys heads
They’re interrupted by the door opening, Richie’s head popping in
“Forgot my wallet!” Richie at least looks a little bashful but that’s soon gone as he calls out “Get some Byers!” Before slamming the door behind him
Mike and Will can hear Eddie scolding him as they walk away
The two look at each other and burst into laughter, Mike wresting his forehead against Will’s and looking at him with affectionate eyes
Will thinks that next time he’ll highfive Richie when he makes a terrible joke. But just the once. Just so that they’re even
Before Will can think into that much more Mike’s lips are meeting his again
Okay maybe two highfives
Wow this ended up getting really long and out of hand!! I was only thinking of writing a small paragraph worth but now there’s this... hope you liked it though!
#byler#byler fic#byler headcanon#ryers#will byers#gay will byers#mike wheeler#pansexual mike#richie tozier#eddie kaspbrak#reddie#stenbrough#stanley uris#bill denbrough#stozier#benverly#ben hanscom#beverly marsh#mike hanlon#IT#it 2017#it x stranger things#it x stranger things crossover#stranger things#stranger things x it#crossover fic#no pennywise#no upside down#alternate universe#au
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live angry
mike wheeler is angry. he’s furious all the time. he doesn’t know it necessarily, but it’s always burning inside of him. nothing makes sense anymore, not the way it used to pretend to be before he told his parents. before he thought he had gathered the courage and came out-- turns out he had only built a powerful enough disillusion.
he was wrong. about everything.
They weren’t going to come around. being gay was the worst thing mike could have told them. mike was intermingled with revenge killings and the supernatural and being gay was the worst thing they could think of. homosexuality sat firmly on the end of the scale, no matter what. mike was researching colleges out of state-- out of the country-- and they were more likely to accept that than him being happy.
his mother always complained how mike had closed up in the past years. she said he was hiding something and that they weren’t as close anymore. and when mike told her the secret he had been keeping at his very core, he was “wrong”. the woman who had stopped raising him-- the true Mike and not simply the body at the dinner table-- at fourteen claimed to know him better and therefore dictate who he could be: not her son. no way. she didn’t see it. he wasn’t like the other gay people she saw. mike wasn’t like them.
because he never let her see it. now he’s angry. he’d hidden himself away afraid of being seen and outed, but it was the very same visibility that could have made it easier for his mother to accept now. mike felt like he had made a horrible, irreversible mistake. a knot in his throat that could go numb, but never go away.
he had gotten his answer: no. you aren’t that way. the discussion was over. and every day that passed afterward felt like a countdown. there was no destination. mike would just have to spend the rest of his life dreaming and pretending.
he is angry. but he’d rather live angry than die quiet.
ao3
#mike wheeler#gay mike wheeler#this is sad folks#projection 101 everyone in case you were curious#to link#or something
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