El Hopper - Tumblr Posts
sorta how the different gangs (cali, russia, hawkins, nevada) don’t know certain details about what’s going on with each other, the “love triangle” gang are the same way.
mike, will, and el all have limited viewpoints of each other and i think that’s why it’s making everything regarding them so complicated (outside of the fact that they’re teens figuring out feelings).
el sends a letter to mike indicating that will has been painting a picture maybe for a girl he likes, or for someone he likes because he’s been acting weird. based on how el addresses this, will hasn’t talked to el about his feelings at all. everything we know about will’s painting is from the perspective of el who thinks it’s for someone will likes. will doesn’t know that el thinks he likes someone because he’s clearly never brought it up to her.
mike reads el’s letter and finds out will is painting a picture for someone he likes. mike now thinks that will is painting something for a girl he likes based on el’s observations. mike thinks this painting is romantic as does el. will doesn’t know that mike knows about this painting. i would assume he doesn’t read the letters el sends mike before she sends them, so he has no idea that mike knows he’s been painting and that said painting is for someone he likes.
el doesn’t know that this letter she sent to mike caused tension between mike and will because she doesn’t suspect that the person will likes is mike. she’s unaware of why mike may has been acting weird since he got to cali.
this is what makes things complicated.
there’s a high chance that will didn’t create the painting as a confession to mike, he simply painted it because he missed him best friend and wanted to gift him something after so long. maybe this painting leads to him confessing his feelings but i don’t think the painting is the confession itself.
however; el and mike think the painting is a confession or a romantic gesture towards someone while the audience thinks that this painting is indeed a confession from will to mike because of el’s observations and how she saw the situation. everything we think about the painting is essentially el’s pov. this could be why mike has been acting weird with will because he thinks he’s been painting for a secret crush. i’m not sure if mike realized that the painting will brought to the airport was the one el was talking about in her letter, but if he did realize it would explain why mike grew even more distant from will.
it also explains why will is so confused that mike is being distant. he has no clue el unintentionally outed his feelings. in will’s head, all he wanted to do was give his best friend a “i’ve missed you” present, but it’s now seen as a “im giving you my love” present. and honestly i feel for will because imagine thinking your best friend has no clue about you liking somebody, let alone him, but the truth is he actually does know because your sister accidentally told him in a love letter she wrote.
ofc will and mike are on good terms now, but i think it’ll create a lot of confusion down the road because they both don’t understand what the other is thinking due to heavy miscommunication.
we all know how the series is titled stranger things, and we assume that it’s called that because of the strange things happening in hawkins aka the monsters, the upside down, the student deaths, etc.
BUT it’s called stranger things not STRANGE things, which means that in order for the things happening in hawkins to be considered stranger there must be something less strange (but strange nonetheless) also happening.
we all know forced conformity is proving to be a major theme in the entirety of the show since s1. stranger things is clearly a series that isn’t just sci-fi, but it’s a show meant to show pushing boundaries in society. it’s meant to explore bullying, sexuality, trauma, ptsd, mental health, and anything considered taboo in society (especially the 80s).
the strange things happening in hawkins is being shown through the “normal” life of the characters such as will and mike figuring out their sexualities, robin being a lesbian, max dealing with the ptsd from billy’s death and being suicidal, lucas wanting to hide the fact that he plays dnd to be popular, the fact that the party have been bullied since s1 for being outcasts, and so much more.
hence why the show is called stranger things, because it’s a series that while it explores the obviously weird supernatural stuff happening to kids, it also explores the not as strange real life societal issues happening to kids.
(when i say the real life problems they deal with are strange, i don’t literally mean strange as in what they’re doing is strange and weird, it’s just strange to the “normal” society they’re forced to conform in)
(x)
sooooo…what i’m hearing is that they’re all screwed 😀
Tried out stippling and drew Eleven
[Ink pen and marker on paper]
best ships honestly
Stranger Things season 4 ships + “I’m right here.”
okay this is... fair. like really fair. ppl like to say she's stupid, and she's obviously not, which is shown time and time again. and we know this.
BUT, THAT BEING SAID, even though el really does like mike (from what i can tell), mike doesn't like her back (romantically ofc).
mike is like lowkey the opposite of el feelings-wise. he doesn't like el ROMANTICALLY, BUT he wants to stay in a relationship with her, kind of. for some reason he doesn't want to break up, but when they did, he didn't seem to care all too much. HOWEVER, he also really wants el to like him?? he needs her to rely on him, hell, he needs ANYONE to rely on him, bc im guessing personal probs, but i digress.
we see in the car scene that he puts el on a pedestal, which creates a power imbalance in the relationship. all the while, in ca, we learn el isn't being honest with him. so not only does mike put her on a pedistal, everyone around her in ca is showing her she's less than the average person. so there's 1 person who believes she's great, obviously she's gonna lie about how OTHERS treat her because if other people dont like me what if the person i like doesnt like me anymore? which means she's putting up a front the whole time she's around mike.
so now mike is expected to like el's persona/act as well. BUT BUT BUT mike is ALSO putting on an act in ca. i mean, did you see the way he's dressed?? now, that could just be for fun, but i don't know, mike doesn't seem like the type, maybe that's just me.
and on top of that, a major amount of the time they're together they're upset with each other or just dismissive in general. wether it be trivial or not.
so when you put this ALL together, you have el, who likes mike, but also hates him for how he treats her, and then there's mike, who doesn't really wanna get involved romantically with her, but can't stand to see her being independent because he wants her to rely on him.
so this is why most people say that el and mike shouldn't be together. NOT SOLELY BECAUSE el "doesn't understand love."
TLDR: el likes mike but mike doesn't like her back & that's why most shippers in the st fandom are anti mileven
ALSO A POSTNOTE (PS) ABOUT THE TAGS ON THE OG POST:
okay i have a few probs w them mostly because they're.. presumptuous and accusative
um, they're not forced to be together, yes, but you can't deny that at that age they may feel as if they should be, especially when all their friends (except will) are in/ getting in relationships.
next, no one said they had to be experts when it comes to relationships or love, but it's obvious their relationship isn't making either of them happy. el may want a RELATIONSHIP with mike but she doesn't want a relationship with MIKE, if you get what my emphasis emplies. she obviously knows mike doesn't treat her the way a bf should treat his gf, which is shown time and time again, even after she tells mike what she expects, he just doesn't bother, because he doesn't feel that romantic inclination ykw im sayin'?
and no mike isn't BAD for her, per se, but maybe bad for HER. again, pick up what my tones are implying. mike isn't bad in general and it happens to affect her, mike is bad for what eleven is looking for in a relationship. they obviously have different priorities. SO, in that sense, mike IS bad for her.
I’m sorry but-
How tf is El not already an independent individual who can make her own decisions. Yeah she might not know much when she met Mike but that doesn’t negate the way she feels for him even when she couldn’t put her feelings into words yet. She’s not stupid evidently.
So can other shippers stop claiming she can’t be in a relationship because of her limited knowledge of love?? She can be in a healthy relationship with Mike because she feels happy with him. Why take that away just to promote other ships and claim that she will be better alone. Like she wasn’t separated from him enough times in the fucking show.
She is happy and in love with him.
Let. It. Go.
-Sel💜
IM ACTUALLY LMFAO WHY ARE THEY REPLYING AT EACH OTHER LIKE BIBLE VERSES 😭😭
was looking at tumblr and listening to spotify and “best friend” came on just as this post came up it’s a supernatural occurrence
The absolute twin energy in this photo is just *chef’s kiss🤌*
This is amazing idea!!! I was literally thinking about this a few days ago with the Eddie as Hades and Steve and Persephone cause I was listening to Epic III. Everyone fits the characters they are matched with this is seriously amazing!!!
Fruity Four Hadestown au
Orpheus - Robin
Eurydice - Nancy
Hades - Eddie
Persephone - Steve
Hermes - Dustin
Fates - Lucas, El, Max
byler aside, i truly believe that the only way el will have a satisfying/happy ending is if she is single. she has spent her entire life being controls by others. first it was brenner and everyone else at the lab, then it was mike, then it was hopper. the only time we see her truly happy is in season 3 when she goes on the mall trip with max. i think season 4 really made her realize that being with mike is not the best thing for her happiness. i mean, she has mind powers and has killed like 2 dozen people, she doesn't need some suburban 14 year old boy to protect her. so whether byler is endgame or not, i really really hope the duffers let el truly find herself away from the control of others. she has been through so much, she deserves to be happy and fulfilled, surrounded by friends and family. she deserves the chance to discover who she is and who she wants to be.
girl violence & girl misdemeanor, a moodboard
every lucas dynamic ➼ lucas & el
oh, nonononono, you know what it was? it was eleven. the girl—stop. talking.
i could talk about the fact that el seeing max with vecna gave her the strength to pull out of the vines. and not mikes monologue. but y’all aren’t ready to hear that yet
y’all i was recreationally scrolling through the m*leven # (no bad vibes sent i swear i just feel like getting both sides of the argument is best to cement my belief) and something i saw was someone saying how el is always at her best when she is with mike. which imo is very untrue. let’s go on a deep dive together, shall we?
season 2
at the end of season 1 we know el disappears off into the upside down. separated from mike. by the start of season 2, she is trying to understand more about herself and her powers and her origins, and all of this is done seperate from mike, on her own. this solitude allows for her to find her individuality without being ‘the weapon’ or ‘mikes crush’. i think that while the 08 stuff is kind of silly, it is important to note that during that, she did begin to understand the root and significance of her powers, as well as feeling accepted properly by like-minded people for the first time possibly ever. she also finds her mother and learns about her origins, just beginning her journey of curiosity about herself. we know that finding mama was very important to eleven, and she did all of this away from mike. while she was at hoppers, she mourned losing him, yearned for him, pined, etc, and that caused tension, upset and drained her. NOT mikes fault, btw, he is my actual child and i do not believe this is anyone’s fault, just the facts. when she is back reunited with mike, yes it is a beautiful beautiful scene i cannot deny that but she is a different version of herself than when mike saw her last and therefore this separation was very beneficial to her character.
season 3
we all know how this season goes. mike and el making out left and right, no communication just sucking face. during the m*leven breakup, mike is pretty nonchalant and uncaring about it all, and max helps el on her journey of self discovery. during this time when we’ll bd mike are broken up is the first time el is introduced to trash mags, silly games, something other than being the girl with powers or mikes girlfriend. she begins to understand her likes, her dislikes, herself. no one ever tried to help her find her individuality before, not like this. this is when el also starts ‘making her own rules’ and really coming into her own, maturing into her own wonderful person without mikes presence. in fact, the breakup is very necessary for this to occur. not to mention the fact that she also solves majority of the billy mystery without mike there, in fact she solves it while ignoring and icing out mike, with max’s help. this breakup is essential for elevens character development, and that’s not an accident, certainly not since it is a frequently reoccurring then throughout the entire series!! the ending scene with the ‘i love you too’ is an awkward way to summarise a season spelt apart and i think it may also because she is still learning what she likes and dislikes, this is all extremely new to her.
season 4
oh boy. i mean, obviously el hasn’t been fitting in at school, that’s very obvious. i mean what could mike have to do with that? directly, not much but indirectly??? everything. i believe that just the fact she is in a relationship with mike is throwing her off balance and we are supposed to notice that!! then when mike arrives i mean first of all the flowers and the ‘from’ is a whole other post but immediately her situation worsens, she gets abused by angela, ridiculed by her and her friends, then literally attacks angela with a skate, and it’s all so… out of character? and the ‘you never say it’ argument… it’s all meant to make us look at the couple and go ‘these guys aren’t working anymore’ (!!!!!) i mean, el is, emotionally but also to a point physically, hindered in this relationship with mike and it’s neither of their faults!!!! they just aren’t working!!! and that’s okay!!! they need to be seperate to develop as characters and this is proven by the separation when el gets taken to get her powers back. a great way the duffers could have utilised this plot point was by making mike go with her. think about it! he learns about her while she learns about herself, all while regaining her powers and mike gaining new understanding and appreciation of her as a person! what a great way to deepen an ‘endgame’ couple’s relationship! will also could have had great development, having self-discovery with jonothan and argyle! who doesn’t want some brotherly bonding time? but that’s is not what happened. el needed the time away from mike, broken up, no contact, to focus on her self and improve and discover. this was more than essential. el thrives on solitude to become more powerful as an individual person. she needs to separate herself from mike to be the best version of herself. and that is why m*leven is not endgame. they are a a couple who do not work, they do not make each other better, and while i think a mike-el friendship dynamic could be really effective, as a couple they clash. even during the monologue, mike didn’t really achieve anything. he was kind of just saying words. i mean he canonically lied, what kind of confessional speech by a love-struck teen would be full of lies?? it doesn’t make sense. it is not supposed to make sense. we are supposed to notice these things.
i’m not even using this as byler proof, more just as the fact that i don’t find mike and el compatible, like at all. maybe as platonic buds, but not as a couple, and certainly not as a thriving endgame one. in conclusion, m*leven bones.
thank you for coming to my ted talk.
TLDR; el needs to be seperate from mike to improve upon herself in every way.
✨nOt sTuPiD✨
My baby Eleven: 🫳🏼💨
Season Two El>>>>>>>>>>>> (in my opinion lol)
I loved her haaaaiiirrrr 🤍🤍🤍
why should i have to choose?