MILEVEN WEEK 2022 💛 — We’re back! From the 6th until the 12th of November 2022, join us in celebrating all things Mike & Eleven with a special week dedicated solely to them.
Things are operating a little bit differently this year. Instead of you guys submitting themes for us to choose from, we asked you to vote among those we selected. We know - very upside down of us! But the good news is, they’re one-word prompts, which means there’s enough wiggle room for you to get creative and interpret them however you please! In the spirit of mixing things up, your choice themes for this year’s appreciation week, in no particular order, are:
Day 1: Color - usage and significance, their favorite colors...
Day 2: Stories - favorite plotlines, reading to each other, future fics...
Day 3: AU - any alternative take on their relationship (canon compliant or totally unique, ie. teen comedy au)
Day 4: Holidays - spending the holidays together, dressing up, dates...
Day 5: Power - strength, magic, love, fate…
Day 6: Tropes - “one head taller,” “you must be cold,” “long-distance relationship,” popular fanfiction tropes…
Day 7: Words - canon quotes, meaningful words in their relationship, the exchange of letters…
Above are just some examples of how you can fill the prompts, but don’t hesitate to ask us if you need help and/or have any further questions as to what is/isn’t allowed. We encourage you to submit any and all types of fanwork: fanfiction, gifsets, fanart, video edits, picspams, essays, headcanons, etc. Some themes will naturally be more heavily concentrated on specific types of media (e.g., stories = fanfiction). Don’t worry if you’re not the creative type - sharing others’ work is an equally great way of contributing. We’re not expecting everybody to submit works for every day of the week either - if one of the themes doesn’t pique your interest, no worries. Just create whatever inspires you!
You can publish your posts on the day that corresponds to their theme, but don’t worry if you don’t make it in time - you can still submit them even after that day has passed! We will be tracking the #mileven #milevenweek and #milevenweek2022 hashtags once the event starts on November 6th, so make sure to tag your posts accordingly so one of the admins can share it here. It also helps us immensely if you can include somewhere in the post or tags which day/theme your post is meant for (so we don’t to have to guess). Alternatively, you can also send us a link to your creation if it’s outside of Tumblr (twitter, insta, etc).
Now we’re leaving it up to you to get started! Feel free to like, reblog, and share this post to let others know what’s happening. If you have any questions about how this is all going to work, or be sure to contact the admins.
“i, uh–i handpicked those for you in hawkins. i know you like yellow, but now i’m realizing it’s too much yellow. i know you also like purple, so i got purple as well.”
“I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity, and her flaming self respect. And it’s these things I’d believe in, even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn’t all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“El? I don’t know if you can hear this, but if you can, I want you to know that I’m here. Okay? I’m right here. And I love you. El, do you hear me? I love you. I’m sorry I don’t say it more. It’s not because I’m scared of you, I’m not. I’ve never felt that way. Never. But I am scared that one day you’ll realize you don’t need me anymore. And I thought that if I said how I felt, it would somehow make that day hurt more. But the truth is, El, I don’t know how to live without you. I feel like my life started that day we found you in the woods. You were wearing that yellow Benny’s Burgers t-shirt. And it was so big it almost swallowed you whole. And I knew right then and there, in that moment, that I loved you. And I’ve loved you every day since.”
It's still Mileven week, but I haven't yet processed the flood of mockery and derision that has been unleashed since the day before yesterday.
Am I exaggerating? Maybe... 🤷🏻♀️
Was it a stupid joke? It certainly was... 💁🏻♀️
She definitely lied.
Am I mad at Millie? No, but the whole interview was just... well...
And yet it hurts to read the disrespect and mockery that is shown to Finn. 💔 He doesn't deserve this shit, really...
Finn Wolfhard, Mike Wheeler, we love you and we're behind you. For us you are one of the most important characters of the whole show, you are the heart, without you the show wouldn't be the same...
a little late here for day 5 and i might be for day 6 and 7, oops, but i have a busy life, so please excuse me, lol. i actually kinda liked this one so i hope u guys do too. also posted on ao3 under WubADubDub.
Summary: El wrapped her arms around Mike and squeezed softly, sniffling. Even though this all was hard to grasp, she could still feel safe and loved within his arms. If anything about the future was certain, it was Mike.
The sound of hands smacking down on a granite sink echoed in the bathroom that was otherwise empty besides one girl who's head was down with eyes squeezed shut as she tried to hold back tears with no success. They dripped down into the sink while her shoulders shook. Did she have to be so unlucky? It seemed that her past was always going to be one step behind her and be the source of the unending, devastating problems. She didn't know if this would truly be it, but part of her hoped that losing her powers meant that now she could have a chance at not having to glance over her shoulder. Though, she did still have one issue...
"El? You okay in there?" Mike's voice came from the other side of the door after he knocked. His voice sounded concerned, though clearly masked with a chuckle so as to not scare her away or alarm the Byers.
El swallowed thickly and looked up at herself, cheeks a bit blotchy and certainly unable to force a smile on her face, especially not to him right now; Mike was her greatest comfort during this whole period of double loss that she had never experienced before and he was there for her without hesitation.
She licked her dry lips and took a couple steps over to the door, reaching out to the door handle and stalling for a moment as she considered if she really wanted to let him in. But that wasn't a question, of course she did. He hadn't given her reason to not, despite any past troubles they'd had. None of that mattered right now.
El turned the knob and cracked it open a bit so Mike could peer in, immediately stepping in and dropping his shoulders, leaning back on the door to shut it while placing his hands on her shoulders and giving her one of his typical concerned faces of which she could see even in the dim yellowed light that she did, honestly, feel comforted by.
His hands were a bit cold but that was okay, her face had heated up from how she worked herself up and spent probably fifteen minutes or so struggling to not cry. Even now, tears still rolled down her cheeks while she sniffled and Mike pulled her in for a gentle hug, placing a hand on the back of her head to rest it on his shoulder. El breathed shaky breaths, but she felt herself becoming grounded the more she let herself come to terms with what her present was.
Losing her powers made her feel worthless. She felt like she was nothing like what all her friends chalked her up to be and she had nothing to offer to them now. It had quickly become a touchy subject, resulting in more shutdowns than she would like, and coupled with the reminder that maybe if she still had them she could've protected Hop...
Mike kissed the top of her head and El shut her eyes. What's done was done and there was nothing she could do about it. Joyce and Mike both told her nothing was her fault and if anything, they expressed that they would've wanted to do more to protect her. It was such a foreign concept that she had slowly become used to since her escape, though this set her five feet back, she thought. Still, everyone was there for her, and this was going to be her new norm after all. Perhaps the normal life she wanted where she could go outside without having to hide her powers, being that now they didn't exist, was finally going to be given to her.
El wrapped her arms around Mike and squeezed softly, sniffling. Even though this all was hard to grasp, she could still feel safe and loved within his arms. If anything about the future was certain, it was Mike.
how the cookie crumbles • It’s clear to Mike when he comes home to find a crumbling gingerbread fort that his fiancée might not be cut out for the whole baking thing. Eleven, to her credit, still plans on wooing his parents.
— Mike/Eleven • Romance • Canon Compliant/Future Fic • Rated T • 1.3k word count
happy mileven week day 4! i skipped day 3 bc it was au and ummmm just promoting my own au here for the enemies to lovers one i have (Piece(s) of Me) hehe. enjoy! also on ao3 under WubADubDub.
Summary:
"Thank you, Mike," she murmured, pressing their foreheads together as she typically did.
Mike let out an airy chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah of course. Merry Christmas El."
"Merry Christmas, Mike."
He gave her forehead a soft kiss before resuming the prior position, staring into her eyes. Though he was still afraid to say it aloud, he loved her, and he would forever promise to be by her side.
Mike nervously tapped his foot on the ground at the gate exit while he awaited for El and the other's (but mostly hers, truly) arrival. They were flying back to Hawkins for Christmas and he knew El was a little anxious since it was only her third flight ever (not as though he had many to recount himself), though thrilled, to be coming here to see him and their friends again.
It was rather cold currently and he made sure to warn her of such, especially since California was so warm all year round. His only comfort that she was going to be dressed properly was that he had given her one of his sweaters through the mail not long ago in preparation for this chilly holiday season, of course, with snow present.
Truthfully, he didn't know how planes could fly so well in the snow and it did freak him out at first to even consider such a thing once he saw the weather report on the TV, so it made sense that he had to do his research extensively (perhaps too extensively, according to his friends) in the library. He was unable to help himself, he had to ensure she and the others would be okay during the long flight, even requesting Nancy to drive to the airport a little earlier than originally planned to monitor the flight in live time.
So when the people came piling out and he was easily able to pick out his girlfriend's pretty brown hair, nervous smile and wide eyes and all, being followed by the Byers, he was elated.
Sure, Hawkins was home. Sure, he had a house he lived at and slept at and ate at day in and day out that he called home. But when he held El in his arms at the airport, at that moment, he really felt that he understood when people referred to their loved ones as their home.
The days went by swiftly leading up to Christmas, and Mike could feel his anxiety rising each night he went to sleep, knowing when he woke up it would be one day closer to when he would hand El the most important gift he had saved up to purchase for her.
On the morning of there were no flurries to be seen, but the days prior had left them a bit snowed in and there still laid undisturbed snow right outside of their house. They delayed getting up, though the excitement was always about seeing what your family had purchased for you, simply to enjoy each others warmth and for Mike to prolong the embarrassing speech he had prepared. Once El wanted to get up, though, he couldn't stop them, and she bounded down the stairs to grab a hot chocolate for them both and requested they stand outside momentarily to cherish the snow. She had told him before that when Hopper had found her she had already lived days amongst the white flakes and grown to be used to them, though she didn't feel like she was able to appreciate them then and certainly not the year after when she had to close the gate and spent time recovering and relishing in their newfound relationship. As they stood overly near each other with her head leaning on his shoulder holding her halfway done mug, she said that she wanted to appreciate these small things for as long as she could, and he made a silent promise to her that he would make sure that was not only possible, but will be nowhere close to short-lived.
When the time for gift-giving came, they were called in by his mom and he felt like he could puke and turn that pure white into a gross olive green from his nerves. He could barely even tell her he loved her, how the hell was he going to do this?
But he didn't exactly have a choice since he wasn't giving himself one. Once all the presents were handed to each other and they enjoyed a Christmas TV special, his mom went to finish preparing dinner and he asked El to come to his room with him to grab something. She looked confused, no surprise there, but followed along as he tugged her hand and closed his door behind them and sat her on his bed.
Mike could tell she was eyeing him with suspicion while he fetched the small box stored away deep within his closet, so he turned around and decided to rip the band-aid off as quickly as possible.
He squeezed his eyes closed and sighed, opening them and looking at her. She looked concerned. Shit. Well, no time for cold feet now (even if it was a little chilly in his room.)
"El," he started, "I wanted to give you this," he slowly held out the red box with a small bow on it, "it's not anything crazy, y-you know, it's just, um," he scratched the back of his neck after she grabbed it to inspect it, "you mean a lot to me. You're like, the best person to ever come into my life, and I want you to always remember that even though we're really far away from each other now."
El didn't say anything for a moment as she opened the box and took out the ring, squinting and turning it around and taking it in. She glanced up at him and smiled softly. "So, this is...?"
"Uh, a promise ring! Like, meaning that we're, ugh," he groaned, this was gonna sound dumb probably, "you know, devoted to each other and stuff. I know that sounds like something adults would say so I understand—"
"No, Mike," she stood up and reached out and grabbed one of his hands, "I love it. Thank you," she said, then looked down at the ring and back up at him. "Put it on me?"
Wow, she was seriously too amazing, too sweet and too pretty to be real sometimes. But she was.
Mike nodded with surely one of his dorky smiles and grabbed the ring, leaning down and in as he was putting it on her right pointer finger after she splayed out the digits. When he backed up, they silently admired the ring together and before he knew it El had her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Thank you, Mike," she murmured, pressing their foreheads together as she typically did.
Mike let out an airy chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah of course. Merry Christmas El."
"Merry Christmas, Mike."
He gave her forehead a soft kiss before resuming the prior position, staring into her eyes. Though he was still afraid to say it aloud, he loved her, and he would forever promise to be by her side.
