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Name: Elliot [but you can call me eelio]
Age: 21
Pronouns: they/them/he/him/worm/wormself/star/starself [non-binary, genderfluid-but-never-female, i normally just say genderqueer]
Main: @dullahan-solo
Magnus Archives / Protocol side-blog: @magnesium-prototype
Well first post, here we go!!
I've seen people say El likes the IDEA of having a boyfriend more than she actually likes her own boyfriend, and jfc it's so true 😭 Like it's all over the show:
Season 1
She's initially attached to Mike because he's the first person to give her shelter, food, genuine human care and just,, not calling CPS immediately. Her feelings for him was born from trauma and dependency in season 1. And throughout the rest of the 3 seasons, we don't see it grow past that.
Also I think it's noticeable in S1 that:
Season 2
This season has zero onscreen moments of Mike and El actually getting to know each other further. They were separated nearly the whole season.
What we DO see:
Season 3
Again, no onscreen moments of El showing interest in who Mike is as a person.
The very first scene we see of them, she's trying to get him to stop singing along to the song they're listening to. She seems to like kissing Mike. But isn't shown enjoying anything actually characteristic about him, like sharing interests with him such as music.
Hopper indicates that they don't do anything meaningful together either. We see here that before hanging out with Max, El had little sense of her own style, her hobbies, her interests- meaning spending time with Mike for months probably didn't involve many talking points did it?
Also in season 3, El dumps Mike with ZERO hesitation. Then she has the time of her life with Max. The most acknowledgment we get that she's oh so heartbroken is a small frown to Max that her and Mike aren't on best terms. And even that doesn't seem so paramount cause 1 episode later she totally dismisses Mike after he explains how Hopper threatened him. She just tells him maybe Hopper was right 😭😭
It's literally ONLY once she starts becoming in danger that she starts clinging onto him again. I feel like we've seen this film before hm.
Like where are any signs that she likes Mike as an individual, and is falling for who he really is, rather than simply being attached due to trauma, and liking the concept of doing romantic things (ie: kissing, dancing at the ball, etc.)
Season 4
This is the season it becomes the MOST OBVIOUS: El loves the concept of a happy relationship and being loved, but not really loving Mike for who he is. And bringing in Will's feelings just emphasizes this point.
To start, El continues doing all these relationship-y things that she did in the start of S3. She has Mike's name and pictures plastered all over her room. She makes a "Mike box" with his pictures decorated all over it. But the thing is: this is all sort of a façade at this point. We know she's BEEN unhappy with him for months ("From Mike! From Mike! From Mike!"). But with all these items, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's in this happy, fantasy, movie-like relationship, like she probably watched in hopper's cabin in season 2.
And then, there's the sheer difference between her and WILL in their feelings for Mike. We see it right off the bat when Mike comes to the airport: Will and El both have plans to give Mike something.
Will plans to give him a painting he worked extremely hard on. The painting is a connection of what they BOTH love: DnD, and it includes their friends who also play the game. It's very personal and immediately touches Mike. What's more is, the painting illustrates the exact qualities about Mike that Will loves: his leadership, his bravery, his guidance. This painting literally spells out to us that Will truly loves Mike for WHO HE IS.
Meanwhile, El plans on giving Mike a fun reunion date. She has the whole day planned out. And immediately: we see that what she wants to do doesn't actually takes Mike's interests and personality into consideration. You can see and hear the strain in his voice when he talks about "burritos for breakfast" 😬
You can see how he's not that relaxed at rinkomania, and nervous about skating, saying he's clumsy. He probably would've much preferred movies and playing a board game, over skating. But El has her own ideas. When she brings Mike to rinkomania, she tries to act really cool about it. She wants to impress him, wants to seem like she fits in and belongs.
Her present was never actually ABOUT Mike, and about loving Mike that she would plan this huge date for him. Her present was about her desperately wanting to have this cool date like every other normal teen girl might, with a normal boyfriend, and make it seem like they have a happy perfect relationship.
And then finally we reach their S4 fight. I find it extremely interesting how Hopper's cabin is framed in the background during their whole fight. It's almost like an indication that her desperate need to be loved by Mike stems from her trying to cope with losing Hopper and the hole left by him, that clearly did not exist when she happily dumped Mike in S3.
In their fight, when the topic of bullying comes up, Mike says he understands her, but El is quick to say he doesn't. She thinks Mike doesn't understand her, but this is just as much her not understanding HIM as well.
She doesn't get the extent of Mike's insecurities (definitely partially a result of bullying), something that Mike later divulges to WILL and not her. If the writers wanted to show us how much El understands Mike and loves him for who he is, her and Mike would work through his insecurities in their rs together, NOT through a middle man.
Overall it's pretty striking that we've never once heard El actually compliment Mike, or articulate, or even show what exactly she loves about him through four whole seasons. I mean...
So really in terms of a relationship, what El ACTUALLY wants is the concept/idea of a regular boyfriend, and a happy easy relationship, all in an attempt to feel normal. And that's why we see them fall apart the way they do in season 4, and why Will is currently so involved. Because Will DOES see and love Mike for exactly who he is.
10/10 !!!
Why have I not seen this before!?
@byers-bowlcut this is amazing!
I'd only add:
This is not how an "endgame couple" is written!
-teambyler
Starcourt happens and Steve’s parents do a complete-180 on him. All of a sudden, all they can talk about is their hero son.
They’re suddenly always home. Always next to him. Talking to him. Talking about him. Taking an interest in his life.
His dad even offered him a position at his firm again, and just-
No. No, god no. This sucks and he hates it. They’re having expectations again. His mom is talking about him marrying ‘that girl you worked with. The newspapers will live that.’
Steve needs to do something. Something drastic. Something-
“You want to date me?”
“No, Munson. Are you listening?”
“I’m listening,” Eddie says, perched on his drug table in the woods like a bird. “Sounds like you’re asking me out.”
“I’m asking you over,” Steve replies. “To piss off my parents.”
“You said make out on your couch.”
“Yeah, that’s the piss off part. You in or are you in?”
“Oh, I am.”
the shot lingered far too long for you to be heterosexual…just saying
Not my biggest byler proof but something I think about a lot is how many milevens became bylers vs how many bylers became milevens
So so so so soooo many bylers used to like mileven, whether that be just in the first two seasons, or b4 they watched byler analyses, they used to like mileven but realized they were unhealthy and discovered byler
But as far as I can remember I haven’t seen ONE byler who became a mileven. If mileven is such a good ship that should be endgame then why aren’t mileven analyses convincing bylers of mileven while byler analyses are convincing milevens of byler???
If mileven is so good then it should be much easier for us to be convinced of it, but it isn’t!! Because they really just aren’t good for each other and it’s hard to convince someone to ship two characters that are bad for each other when they could be shipping two characters who love each other the way the other wants/needs to be loved
There are one bajillion analyses and such proving that byler has been built up over the seasons and that it should/will become canon. The main arguments I see for mileven is simply that they’re currently canon and saying that mike loves el. Idk man I just feel like one side seems a tad better and maybe has better proof than the other
AU where Steve hears that his girlfriend is cheating on him with the town freak but never suspects it’s with his good friend Jonathan.
So now, Eddie had a sad jock at his door threatening to beat him up but like, through tears. A lot of tears. He’s crying pretty hard and it’s getting really awkward.
there’s not a day i don’t think about how mike wheeler showed less interest in girls than will. not ONCE did we see him casually attracted to girls in general. he altered the ending of the campaign to remove the princess, which lucas and dustin complained about. when lucas and dustin showed interest in the princess from the game at the arcade, he and will were the ones to remain silent, i believe they didn’t even smile. when they accidentally entered the lingerie store, he and will were the ones standing behind. they were the only ones who seemed not to be attracted to phoebe cates (i once read somewhere on here that phoebe cates is supposed to represent attraction towards women, as lucas, dustin, steve and robin all state she’s attractive at one point + vicky being implied to as well). BUT will was the one who spontaneously danced with a random girl at the snowball, and the one they teased for a girl crying at his funeral. even when will was excited about befriending max, mike was loudly against it, and for…literally no reason??? mike is never associated with girls, unlike will. matter of fact, exactly the opposite happens, and twice: with ted’s infamous comment and with lucas pointing out how he likes that a girl isn’t grossed out by him. it’s “you’re not gonna think it’s gross when you fall in love” vs “our son with a girl?” until s3, will’s queer-coding was way subtler than mike’s. and i find it odd that finn continuously talks about how mike basically thought he’d be single all his life. that’s mainly the only thing he keeps saying over and over when asked about the wondrous mil*ven. “what did you think, really? that we were never gonna get girlfriends?” mike wheeler we know what you are.
buff byers this, buff byers that, blah blah blah... ENOUGH! what is YOUR slightly ooc will byers headcanon you refuse to let go of?
i'll start: i really enjoy goth and horror fan will (there is some evidence to that in the canon, but it's not as important to him as it is in my head 😭 i'm talking "tries to get everyone to watch a slasher on a movie night" and, subsequently, "is banned from picking movies for a movie night for several months" kinda horror fan)
I NEED to see this duo in s5 so bad YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND—
iv'e seen fics where jonathan scolds mike for hurting will, but are there any where nancy scolds will for hurting mike?
I FOUND ONE
it's more of a shovel talk than a scolding but it's close enough
Give Me A Shovel - it's about everyone slowly finding out about byler and giving them shovel talks. it's funny, i highly recommend it
i like to think i could do a good eddie munson cosplay
and then i remember i’m 4’9
