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Hint: Vecna used Holly as "bait", and... let's just say it's not looking good for Karen Wheeler...
[A timeline from November 3rd to November 6th, 1986.]
Theory Overview
What happened, exactly? (a summary from Nov 3rd to Nov 6th)
November 3rd, 1986 – The Wheeler attack
Karen's tragic fate
Mike, injured but alive... just what Vecna wanted.
Holly, the "bait"
Mike's hospital stay, survivor's guilt, and becoming Mike the Brave
November 6th, 1986 – Mike's sacrifice and kidnapping
^ I'll provide evidence for all of this!
First, as usual, here's a brief overview of my main theory:
MIKE IN THE RIGHTSIDE UP
Mike is stuck in his own version of Camazotz: the Rightside Up.
In the 8 months after Season 4, the gang prepared for a big battle with Vecna. Mike was taken during that battle, on the anniversary of Will's disappearance: November 6th, 1986.
Every important plot point from Ep 1-8 was an edited version of what really happened in those 8 months. Vecna just changed the order, characters or context to suit his own narrative, keeping Mike trapped in the Rightside Up – a story with a happy ending that he wishes was true. That's why Mike's real memories will be crucial to his escape in the upcoming episodes: a reversal of the current episode descriptions.
Evidence!
ORDER OF EVENTS: Part 1 (Reality = reversed), Part 3 (12 Episodes), Part 4 (MWTFDYD), Part 9 (Wheeler attack -> Mike's kidnapping)
SCENE ANALYSIS: Part 2 (Will/Robin), Part 5 (Rainbows), Part 6 (The roof talk), Part 7 ("Where's Dustin right now?"), Part 8 (El is missing), Part 10 (Byler's missed date)
So what happened, exactly?
This is a summary of events spanning from November 3rd to November 6th – I'll provide evidence later.
Nancy's vision came true. On November 3rd, (Lucas tells us this date) 1986, there was an attack on the Wheeler house, and Karen, Holly and Mike were put in grave danger.
Karen was fatally injured (died)
Mike was injured (survived)
Holly was kidnapped (taken into the Upside Down)
Mike was rushed to hospital for his injuries (like Karen), and forcibly sidelined from the upcoming search for his sister, Holly.
The guilt and grief from this traumatic event, along with feelings of uselessness, ate away at Mike – until he was inspired by one of his friends, who assured him that he wasn't useless; he is Mike the Brave, and he has been this whole time.
All of this led Mike to do something very brave on November 6th, 1986. When Vecna sent Demos into the hospital, Mike pulled out his IV, got out of his hospital bed, and set off an explosion to protect his friends (what Karen does in Episode 6). They were grateful Mike saved them – but they said he needed to stay in hospital to recover.
With most of the gang looking for Holly in the Upside Down, the others completing their plan to connect Will to the hivemind, and Mike left alone and severely injured... Vecna had the perfect opportunity to kidnap Mike.
And now, he's stuck in the Rightside Up – kept there by his feelings of guilt, and his desire to believe in a fantasy story with a happy ending, instead of a much more unfortunate truth.
Where does this fit into my theory?
To reiterate: everything we've seen so far from Episodes 1-8 has already happened. Vecna kept as much the same as possible, to make it more believable for Mike – And, as I outlined in my 12 Episodes theory, the remaining plot for Season 5 will be a reversal of the current episode descriptions.
Now, Mike being a part of the Wheeler attack just so happens to match up with the reversed episode descriptions. What a crazy coincidence.
Episode 12 (from my post)
Mike confronts the cost of secrecy after a vicious attack at the Wheeler home [Mike's real memory of the attack]
After navigating through the Rightside Up with Max's help, Mike will have to confront his most traumatic memories... and he'll have to revisit the day that the Wheelers were viciously attacked in their own home: November 3rd, 1986.
Now, let's get into the evidence.
The day of the Wheeler attack: November 3rd, 1986
As mentioned prior, my theory so far has been that Mike was taken on November 6th, 1986.
Well, this might seem obvious, but I literally just realised that it makes total sense for the Wheeler attack to have taken place three days prior; on November 3rd, the date Lucas directly tells us it happened.
Lucas: You know what date it is, right? November 3rd. Will was taken on the 6th.
Remember, Vecna would have changed as little as possible about what happened, to ensure that Mike believed his new story.
Just as the evidence suggests that Jane really did go into hiding on June 13th, 1986, the evidence suggests that the Wheeler house really was attacked on November 3rd, 1986 – except Mike was there for it.
This explains:
Why Holly, Mike's stand-in, feels so guilty about not saving her mother
Why Will goes through the exact same thing as Holly, except he is able to save his mother
Why Mike parallels Karen so heavily in ST5 (limping in a hospital gown, setting off explosives, talking to Holly about Mr Whatsit etc.)
Why Karen suddenly becomes an action hero, while Mike is sidelined (they swapped roles)
Why Holly remembers her mother falling in two different positions during the Wheeler attack
And more!
^ We'll explore all of this soon!
Karen the Hero (written by Mike Wheeler)
Throughout Season 5, in a surprising turn, Karen Wheeler becomes kind of a badass.
Protecting Holly with nothing but a broken wine bottle
Miraculously surviving two Demogorgon attacks against all odds
Providing the information that leads to Henry's defeat
Pulling the IV out of her arm and limping through the hospital
Setting off an explosion in a laundry machine, single-handedly saving four of Mike's friends
And by the end of the show, she gets a happy ending. One in which she tearfully tells her son she loves him, hugs him, watches him graduate, and calls him up for her homemade lasagna. Yes – Karen's happy ending is VERY centred around Mike, and there's a reason for that.
Out of everyone, why would Mike turn Karen into a brave hero who can survive anything? Well, heads up, it’s about to get real sad in here!
Karen: I'm fine, Michael. I'm fine.
Vickie: With all due respect, Mrs. Wheeler, you're not. You could get an infection, haemorrhage – God forbid, stop breathing.
...What if she did stop breathing?
Have you ever wondered why Holly remembers Karen lying on the kitchen floor in two totally different positions? [Episode 2 vs Episode 6]
This is why.
When Nancy found Mike and Karen, they were together in the kitchen. Mike was lying on his back near the phone with an injured throat. Meanwhile, Karen was lying on her stomach – dead from a chest wound, and not breathing. Sorry, Nancy.
(Alternatively – based on the red phone's location, Mike may have even been thrown into his own bedroom, through his own closet. Nancy even tells Robin to "call my house, tell everyone to get out of there". Maybe she did, but was too late.)
When the Wheeler house was attacked, Mike ran to Karen. Then, in the kitchen, he stood there while Karen defended him, and when she was slashed in the chest – right in front of him, like a scary movie he couldn't turn off. Karen probably never even found out the truth about the Upside Down, not until it was too late.
Mike: You saved us. [...] There's so much that I need to tell you about the Upside Down, but...
But he can't.
Mike loved his mother. He didn't want her to die. He wants to live in a world where she could've survived; where he could've told her the truth, and she could've seen him graduate, hugged him, told him she loved him, and called him upstairs from the basement one more time.
Just as Kiara said here!
And so, when Vecna kidnaps Mike later on and scrambles his memories, Mike subconsciously separates the true story of the Wheeler attack into three different characters.
Karen, Holly and Will.
He gave his injuries to Karen, and her injuries to Ted, giving his mother another chance at survival. And after that, Mike gave his own bravest moments to her too (more on this later).
Mike also gave his fears and insecurities to Holly.
Holly: When my mom was attacked, I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t even save myself. I just stood there. [...] There's nothing heroic about that.
He couldn't save his mother, only watch – and he blames himself. But as I've explored previously, Mike views his fears and struggles as childish, so he gave them to his little sister.
And then, Mike gave his deepest desires to Will. Everything he wished he could've done instead. Through him, Mike wills it all to be true.
Will: I was afraid. I was afraid for my mom.
Mike: You wanted to protect her.
Will: Yeah, but I just... couldn't. It was like this scary movie you just can't turn off.
In the edited version of Mike's story, now it's Will who couldn't save his own mother – except Mike makes it so he actually did.
All the way back in Season 1, It was Will who "put himself in danger to help the Party" in their D&D game, inspiring Mike – so, from Mike's perspective, Will the Wise is the obvious choice for a hero.
Mike: Are you positive you didn't? Turn off the scary movie, protect your mom, not the other way around?
See what Mike is doing here? He is controlling the narrative subconsciously, telling a story that he wishes was true through Will and Karen, and telling a story closer to his own reality through Holly.
Mike gave all of his "childish" fears to Holly, he gave all of his bravest moments to Karen, and he gave Will everything he ever wanted.
This way, Holly gets to be scared and comforted like any child would be. Karen survives "by some miracle"; she saves him, his friends, and herself. Will gets to accept himself for who he truly is, beat his tormentor, and be the powerful, confident hero of his own story.
And Mike, stuck in the Rightside Up, gets nothing... thereby keeping himself even more trapped, which is exactly what Vecna wants.
And, speaking of what Vecna wants...
Holly the "bait" (A.K.A. Mike Lite)
Lucas: It makes no sense that Vecna took Holly; Holly, who has nothing to do with any of this.
Or does it?
When I was first putting things together in late Jan/early Feb, I was under the impression that Holly was never actually kidnapped, and her story fully replaced Mike.
However, after re-examining the evidence? Holly was kidnapped. But she was just the bait.
^ These are my old notes btw – no need to read unless you're curious
By taking her on November 3rd, Vecna baited the gang into the Upside Down for a long and dangerous Crawl. This way, their best resources and strength would be expended during the fight for Holly, all of them would be injured, and some might even die.
Come *CRAWLING* faster, obey your master,
Your life burns faster,
Obey your master, master...
Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings
Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams
All that effort to get Holly back... only for Vecna to swap her for the one he really wanted the whole time: Mike.
I'd make a deal with God, and get him to swap our places.
Not only that, but Will probably saw the whole thing. More on that later.
Let's explore how exactly Vecna was able to kidnap Mike on November 6th – starting with Mike's hospital stay, and ending with the brave sacrifice he made for his friends.
Survivor's Guilt! at the Hospital (feat. Lucas)
Now, before the November 3rd attack, Mike had already been feeling a truckload of guilt. We saw only the tip of the iceberg in Season 4, with how Mike considered himself both useless, and totally inferior to El...
Mike: One day she's going to realise that I'm just some random nerd that got lucky that Superman landed on his doorstep.
Mike: I'm scared that one day you'll realise you don't need me anymore.
Mike feels like he's always there, standing by his loved ones, but that no-one actually needs him around. Sure, he figures things out, but he feels like it will never be enough to repay his loved ones for everything they've done for him.
El, who sacrifices herself over and over again for her friends, because if she doesn't, who will?
Will, who goes through trauma after trauma and still remains gentle, brave and kind.
Eddie, who Mike idolised as exactly the kind of rebellious, authentic person he wants to be; he fights with Dustin about whether Eddie's sacrifice was brave or stupid, before ultimately settling on brave.
And finally, the nail in the coffin for Mike's self-image – his mother, Karen, who has always assured him that he can tell her the truth, and who he can always go to for a hug, even when he doesn't say a word. Karen, who died to protect him, never knowing the truth.
That's why Mike imagines Mike the Brave is "by his side". Not that he himself is Mike the Brave, but that he's just standing there.
He's always just standing there.
And after the November 3rd attack? All of Mike's worst fears about himself have been totally confirmed, in his mind. He is useless, he isn't brave, he isn't honest, and he survived while his mother sacrificed her life for his protection.
[Mike]: I just stood there. Why didn't I fight? Why didn't I help her?
Max: That was old [Mike]. You would now.
Mike wants nothing more than to get out there and fight... but he can't. See, Mike was badly injured during the attack. In the end, these were his injuries:
An injured leg – resulting in a limp [Karen in Ep6] [Vecna in Ep5/6] [Mike in Ep2]
An injured arm – [Karen slips on water and slams against the counter in Ep2] [Mike slips on water and slams against the wall in Ep4]
An injured throat – hurts to talk (but he talks anyway) [Karen in Ep2] [El in ST3]
Mike's throat getting injured has actually been foreshadowed for a while.
SEASON 3
Max: Does it still hurt?
El: Only when I talk.
Max: Well, it’s a good thing you’re not Mike, then. "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," and you'd be in constant pain!
Stuck in his hospital bed, Mike feels useless, cowardly, and most of all, he feels very, very guilty.
Lucky for Mike, the battle is about to take place, so his friends are coming over for one last visit.
That's when Lucas gives his speech to Mike.
Firstly, if you're curious... out of everyone at the hospital (Robin, Lucas, Joyce and Will – I'll explain later), why Lucas?
This is based off of Max's speech to Holly in Episode 6. In that scene, they each mention one character: Holly mentions Mike, and Max repeatedly mentions Lucas. In fact, "Lucas" is the first word Max says in the scene! Holly is clearly a stand-in for Mike, so... Max is probably a stand-in for Lucas.
A speech like this would fit Lucas' character arc more than the others
Lucas is in several hospital scenes with Mike already
"Lucas and Mike are an underrated duo"... Um, where exactly?
So what happens?
As stated in my 12 Episodes post, the gang cooked up two plans for the final battle:
A larger group will go into the Upside Down to find Holly
A smaller group (Robin, Lucas, Joyce, Will) will stay in Hawkins to connect Will to the hivemind.
During their preparations, the Party did everything they could to prevent themselves from being put under Vecna's curse. They realised:
Max: Music isn't the only way back. Something that connects you to the real world, to home. Something powerful. Meaningful.
Since they'll be remaining in Hawkins for the Hivemind plan, Lucas and the others visit Mike to A) say goodbye before the battle, and B) tell him this information.
This is how Lucas and Mike's conversation goes:
Lucas: [We realised that if any of us get stuck in a vision...]
Lucas: Music isn’t the only way back. [...] You just need something that’s special to you. Something that makes you feel safe, something that brings you strength, that brings you hope.
Mike: ...Mike the Brave.
Lucas: Just try and remember what he means to you.
Mike: He doesn’t mean anything important. He’s just a toy. [...] I guess I thought if I ever got scared, I could just become him. But I keep trying and it never works. No matter what I do, I’m still me. [...] When my mom was attacked, I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t even save myself. I just stood there. [...] There’s nothing brave about that.
This continues Mike's long-lasting negative self-image; as someone useless and unimportant – and his devaluing of what he views as "childish", which started all the way back in Season 2 with Mike donating all his favourite toys.
But Lucas pushes back against Mike's self-loathing.
Lucas: There was nothing that you could do in those moments, Mike. I mean, you’re a Wheeler. You’re smart. You honestly think you could’ve stopped that monster with a shovel? And, I think you're leaving a few important things out. [...]
Lucas: So you see, Mike the Brave isn’t just a toy. He’s you, Mike. He’s you.
By challenging Mike's assumptions, Lucas is able to break through his friend's self-loathing and allow him to see the truth – that this whole time, he has already been brave. Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is stand there, even though you're scared.
Thanks to Lucas, Mike is no longer limited by the belief that he is a useless coward – and as an unexpected bonus, he has all the fuel he needs to do something very, very brave.
And just in time, too.
The day of Mike's kidnapping: November 6th, 1986
I've listed everything that happens in dot points, and next to them [in brackets like this], the scenes they're based on.
The gang split in two. [based on: Lucas and Erica's two plans in Shock Jock]
Most of the gang went out to find Holly in the Upside Down. [based on: the beanstalk plan from the finale, El and Hopper searching for Holly]
The other group, comprised of Joyce, Robin, Will and Lucas, planned to connect Will to the hive mind. But first, they went to the hospital to give Mike and Max one last visit. [based on: Will's hivemind plan from Shock Jock featuring Robin + Joyce + Lucas + Will, the hospital scenes with Robin + Lucas].
While the rest of the gang was putting their resources and effort into saving Holly, Vecna sent Demos into the hospital – and they came straight for Max, Robin, Lucas, Will and Joyce. [based on: Vecna sending Demos to these four characters in the MAC-Z, the tunnels, the barn, the truck, AND the hospital... and somehow they survived every time lol]
Mike heard this over the intercom. Instead of sitting there and staying safe, Mike decided to be brave. [based on: Karen hearing the hospital intercom warning + getting out of bed]
Fueled by his newfound sense of bravery and self-worth, Mike got out of bed and pulled out his IV, limping and grunting in pain. [based on: Karen limping in her hospital gown to save Robin, Lucas etc.]
Mike set off an explosion in the hospital, saving his loved ones from the Demos. He finally got to be Mike the Brave. [based on: Karen's hospital explosion, Mike exploding his "Mike the Brave" figurine in the Upside Down]
Mike had to stay behind and rest while the others completed their plan. [based on: Karen staying behind to rest while the others completed their plan]
Will: Mike, this group saved me when no-one else could. You did that. And we're about to do the same thing with Holly. We're gonna bring her back to you, Mike, I promise. Okay? Yeah?
[based on: Mike reassuring Karen]
Now that his friends are gone, and Mike is even worse for wear than before – Vecna himself appears in the hospital. [based on: Vecna appearing to Mike at the MAC-Z, Vecna appearing to Max and Holly in her memory, Will being Vecna's "spy"]
The thing is, though... Will was connected to the hivemind by this point.
Ep 5 - Shock Jock
[Joyce]: What about Holly? Do you see Holly?
Will: No. [...] [Mike.]
Lucas: Wait, what about [Mike]?
Will: [...] Vecna... Vecna's hunting him.
He could see everything Vecna was seeing, and he tried to save Mike. [based on: Will trying to save Max and Holly from Vecna in her memory]
Will: MIKE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU NEED TO RUN! RUN!
But MIKE CAN'T RUN! ...His leg.
He tried anyway, limping down the hallway as fast as he could. [based on: Mike limping down the hallway and looking behind him, Karen limping down the hallway, Max and Holly running from a limping Vecna]
Vecna (to Will): Get out. GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!
Will was knocked into a trance. [based on: Will being knocked into a trance in Shock Jock]
Mike was totally and utterly screwed.
Vecna reached Mike easily. He fell to the floor, possibly even falling down a flight of hospital stairs, and slammed his head. [based on: Mike falling to the ground and slamming his head, Holly falling down the stairs and slamming her head, Robin's fake granny in hospital who fell down a flight of stairs]
Mike was knocked out. [based on: Mike getting knocked out by Vecna's explosion at the MAC-Z, Holly knocked out from falling down the stairs, Max almost knocked out by Vecna as he choked her while the scene cuts to her hospital bed]
VECNA KIDNAPPED MIKE. [based on: Vecna kidnapping Holly after she fell down the stairs, Vecna kidnapping the kids in front of Mike]
In a cruel twist of fate, it was Mike's final act of bravery that led directly to his kidnapping.
Vecna now has Will: his builder and Mike: his storyteller – exactly what he needs to complete his plan and create "something beautiful".
Well, shit, right?
What happens next?
Episode 12
Mike confronts the cost of secrecy after the vicious attack at the Wheeler home [his real memory of the attack]
Mike will have to accept the unfortunate reality that he's been trying to run from – that his mother will never learn the truth; not about the Upside Down, nor Mike's love for Will, nor any other secrets he may have kept from her.
But he'll be freed from the Rightside Up – and with this freedom, he'll let go of the idea that he needs to hide, to live in fantasy, or to be someone other than Mike, in order to be loved.
Because in the end, truth and love will triumph over fear.
Vecna can try to convince Mike that there are only two doors, but as long as Max is still running around in his mind, there's a third one.
Escape :)
...
Whew.
This was a BIG ONE, omg. It literally took me around four days to put this thing together – excluding the work I had already been doing to try and piece together Mike's explosion moment. It was worth it though. I love theorising and puzzles, so this is actually, miraculously, fun for me. Hope it was a good read for you!
Thanks for making it to the end!
Also: I found some crazy shit when I was analysing Karen's hospital scene, way too much to fit in here lol. Let's just say "I was him, I was Vecna" makes a lot more sense now – just not in *that* way.
The Duffer Brothers being fucking weird! A comprehensive report!
all of the weird things the duffers have done over the years, since its now coming to light and im seeing nobody’s made a post about it detailing all of it, so i volunteer myself, if i miss anything feel free to tell me, ill do my best to garner information on such topic and add it to this post!
Exhibit A: the generalized weird treatment of Noah Schnapp
before i start this, i do not claim myself as a noah schnapp fan/stan, or supporter due to his views/actions relating to pro-isreali controversy, i am just here relaying evidence/proofs of duffers being questionable.
- Matt Duffer’s “big smile” at the exorcism scene in s2 (12y/o noah s being tied up on all 4 bed-posts)
- Matt Duffer punching Will’s dummy (a fake dead body made of 11y/o noah schnapp, with a questionable serving-no-purpose-in-the-show mouth hole)
others noted this aswell, but it seems like the duffers had it out for noah, as they didn’t have ANYBODY else doing these things. tying him up to a bed having him scream out in pain, having him display the aftermath of getting sexually assaulted, making him scream for hours, relive trauma as the center of attention in a room in-front of people who’ve known him since he was 11, in an embarrassing and degrading way. having him display a little gay boy being punished for being gay, pain, for both the actor and character, physical, and emotional. as-well as setting him up for the worst review-bombing in the series. also, this is usually mentioned in a joking manner but, the bowlcut. to me this seems like an addition to all of it, just another ‘hey laugh at me laugh at me’
to me this looks like an abuse of power, and in a way, (non-sexual?) grooming. two older parental figures milking this guy for all his worth for years? setting up a relationship of trust with him at a very young age, and slowly as time goes on getting more comfortable publicly humiliating him?
Exhibit B: Nancy/Steve
what now is just a typical love triangle with pretty girl either ending up with the nerd/jock, was ORIGINALLY PLANNED, to be something much much worse.
read at your own dismay, warning for SA
Exhibit C: the weird reoccurring incest shit
- i thought i was the only one to notice this but im slowly seeng people catch on, in thirst traps for finn/mike, the clip of him saying “you’re the genius investigative reporter after all” is becoming a more commonly used opener. all i could think seeing it was ‘yeah yeah cute but isn’t he talking to nancy here?’
and also, a weird thing to have him say like that
- the whole mileven thing
’would you be like my brother?’ ➡️ kisses her
’my…. Swedish cousin.. Eleanor’ (mike talking ab jane)
dresses her up in nancy’s clothing (although this could be argued is a stretch)
- jancy 💔💔
for context, this takes place in Murray’s house. ifykyk. disgusting.
- byler unfortunately being incest coded as-well, both bylers. making will have a crush on his supposed future ‘brother in law’ and jancy with the whole ‘brother’ and ‘sis’ thing
Exhibit D: Sadie Sink
having them kiss BECAUSE it made sadie uncomfortable, explicitly stating above he blames her for being scared
Exhibit E: mileven
having mike&jane kiss at 12, makeout at 14, (not just the characters but think about the actors too) and having hopper enforce the ‘3 inches rule’ implying he had ideas of ‘doing more’ ??? children acting this out as-well?
treating mileven like the most mature relationship, far more complex and ready than all others, yk, literal children. compared to relationships with adults.
yet dumbing down the developmentally disabled girl to *baby noises* “mikey!”, having them kiss before she even knows her name, before she knows basic shit about anything, before she knows free will? using this disabled girl to support mike as a romantic interest before she even got to support herself as a character
Exhibit F: the pregnant ladies. that’s all i wanted to put here.
Exhibit G: i am now finding apparently Jonathan’s stoner arc may have been incorporated into the story to mock his actor Charlie Heaton’s previous issues
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75. Percabeth -64
Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase, the Percy Jackson universe
76. Hucklerobby
Dennis 'Huckleberry' Whitaker & Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch, The Pitt
77. Bunnydoll
Jax & Ragatha, The Amazing Digital Circus
78. Wangxian -25
Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian, Mo Dao Zu Shi
79. Shadowpeach -19
Sun Wukong & the Six-Eared Macaque, Lego Monkie Kid
80. Eternalberry
Hollyberry Cookie & Eternal Sugar Cookie, the Cookie Run franchise
81. Odypen
Odysseus & Penelope, EPIC: The Musical
82. Mizisua
Mizi & Sua, Alien Stage
83. Sterek
Stiles Stilinski & Derek Hale, Teen Wolf
84. Shadowvanilla
Pure Vanilla & Shadow Milk, the Cookie Run franchise
85. Moshang
Mobei-Jun & Shang Qinghua, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System
86. Spideypool
Spider-Man & Deadpool, the Marvel universe
87. Davekat 0
Dave Strider & Karkat Vantas, Homestuck
88. Heavymedic
Heavy Weapons Guy & Medic, Team Fortress 2
89. Lumax
Lucas Sinclair & Max Mayfield, Stranger Things
90. Sonamy
Sonic the Hedgehog & Amy Rose, Sonic the Hedgehog
91. Rookanis
Rook & Lucanis Dellamorte, Dragon Age: The Veilguard
92. Zoeystery
Zoey & Mystery, KPop Demon Hunters
93. Poolverine -90
Wade Wilson & Logan Howlett, the Marvel universe
94. Everlark -12
Katniss Everdeen & Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games
95. Clois
Clark Kent & Lois Lane, Superman
96. Johnlock
John Watson & Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock
97. Agathario -21
Agatha Harkness & Rio Vidal, the Marvel universe
98. Stolitz -64
Stolas & Blitzo, Helluva Boss
99. Devil's Minion
Armand & Daniel Molloy, Interview with the Vampire & The Vampire Chronicles
100. Skystar
Skyfire & Starscream, Transformers
The number in italics indicates how many spots a ship moved up or down from 2024. Bolded ships weren’t on the list last year.
*And, it turnes out we love pure vanilla x shadow milk so much, our data actually pulled it twice. Woops! We hope you enjoy nonetheless, and thank you for understanding❣️
How did your ships fare this week? Did your faves make the cut? Any surprises? Tag your posts and commentary with #ships week 2026 to keep this party going. Thanks for joining us. Now, go forth and keep doin what you're doin tumblr <3
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Will and El’s character stories would’ve made dramatically more sense if they were swapped. Walk with me.
Let’s start with El. And to start with why hers was bad, let’s compare it to someone with a story JUST like hers, that was good. Max!
Theres a HUGE difference in why lumax did good & mileven did bad despite meeting on the first episode of the season and kissing by the last episode.
Max was a person before she was a girlfriend. Before she was in a romantic relationship she had platonic relationships. She had family. She knew how to be a friend before she could go and learn to be a girlfriend. Because before she was lucas’s love-interest: she was max. And her character arc doesn’t revolve around lucas. It revolved around herself and her inner struggles and learning to grow into yourself despite these struggles. It’s not about being a daughter. It’s not about being a girlfriend. It’s about her. El was mikes love interest before she knew her name. Before she met her mother. That romantic plot was established before hopper was even IMPLIED to be her new father figure.
Els story should’ve focused on learning to be herself and love herself, find support in her family and friends, and eventually grow to be herself. Learn to have friends, and with that, learn to have lovers— thats Will’s story.
Wills story should’ve been a slow build up to romance that ends in established, even after death, love. A love that you don’t even have to be present for— thats El’s story.
They had the perfect setup to do this as-well. El, who already had a messed up view of family in the beginning? Will, who already knew his name, who already has an interesting plot revolving love? (Queer love) whose established to already have friends? Know what a friend is? And already have a crush on someone?
Stranger Things reused the same trope of having their gay characters whole story just be family. Let gay people love too!! The whole point of gay/queer is literally love! Stop this erasure
This is why i HATEE mileven so bad, the literal concept of it, and how it began just deteriorates El’s character— and LOVE byler, Will’s character needed a love interest to start+end with, and Mike was there the whole time for him. Narrativley, byler burger with a side of independent el fries wouldve been a much better meal deal 🥹🩷 (and jancy ketchup + jopper bbq sauce with lumax soda)
I will FOREVER be convinced most byler haters/mileven defenders either don’t care about el’s story, use her as a self insert, are misogynistic, are ga, or all 4 together. #1 El supporter i luv my girl!!!😞💜 #mike should’ve died in her place #I DON’T believe. #i would rather her be dead than alone in a mountain bc at least shes with her mother/sister
its been a while since the finale and i think ive hit the depression stage of grief. i’m genuinely tearing up thinking about how cruel they’ve been to will byers and how the epilogue felt like a consolation prize.
they could have written his queer arc without bringing mike into the picture, but they did it anyway without any pay off and ruined their friendship in the process. mike can’t even touch him anymore. they forced will out of the closet after being manipulated by his abuser to do so. they took away his autonomy over and over again and never addressed any of the blatant allegories of CSA. they made will sacrifice his feelings and play couples counsellor for mlvn and mike couldn’t say i love you back to her even in her final moments. they gave him hope in the beginning of s5 only for it to amount to nothing. they made him get over his love for mike because they thought it was realistic. they didn’t even give him a boyfriend at the end, they just had mike wheeler headcanon him having one far away from hawkins.
oh will byers i’ve never seen a character as tragic as you that i’ve related to and i wish you got a better ending. i hope you leave and find your people and be happy.
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