Well, Mike is only 14. He's a teenager, and he needs to be loved too.

I know, and he is, but speaking as a teen. If I kept telling my partner I needed to be told I was loved, and they just didn't, I'd be flattered by there other ways of showing it. Sure. But that still wouldn't fix the problem.

As far downhill Mileven went starting out this season, I still ship it.

Yeah, they both need time to grow. But I feel like they're better doing it together.

El needs words to know she is loved. That could be why Hopper's yelling in S2 made her so upset. After her life in the lab, she needs to hear that she's loved and cared about.

Mike's parents don't have a good relationship. His parents don't really show any love to eachother, which is probably why he has such a hard time expressing it. Eleven needs constant affirmation, which is not Mike's specialty.

Overall, yeah. Great ship and not always sunshine and rainbows. It's realistic and that's good.

Also Mike is not good enough for Will.

Not bad but not the best

@Visiblegoat It's really hard to truly just say I love you. And he does eventually say it. You can't really say it's easy if you've never been in his shoes. And if you have, and it's been easy for you, congratulations, but Mike might not be as brave as you and that's fine. And for the people stating that El shouldn't expect Mike to have to say ILY, she's been in a lab her whole life and probably, the word "love" itself, she learned it when she 12 years old. Think about how much time it would take her to process love, especially after the way she'd been treated her whole life, let alone understand all of it and how it affects people in different ways, Mike included.

My thoughts on Mileven

•imo,Eleven is really clingy

•I think that she doesnt need a relationship rn as she has only been out the lab 3/4 years at this point

•Mike wanted a bit of time with his friends away from El and then he gets "i dUmP yOuR aSs"?!

•byler>mileven

Before yall attack me these are my opinions and i havent put anything abt saying ILY as it is causing problems and i am a single ahh mf

NO HATE TOWARDS MIKE,ELEVEN,MILEVEN OR ANY MILEVEN SHIPPERS

Now,I do prefer Byler to Mileven,but honestly,Mike isnt good enough fpr Will

@Willbyers15 What you're saying makes sense, but I respectfully disagree. You're right about her not knowing a lot about relationships and feelings-nobody ever cared for her in the first 11-12 years of her life, so Mike was literally the first person other than Benny to actually care for her. Your second point, which I'll directly quote-"Second because to show that you love someone or know that someone loves you doesn't mean you have to say ily, you can show other ways like being there for someone or loving them no matter what yet El needed Mike to say ily for her to know he loved her." Like you said, El didn't know what relationships were like-and tbh she still doesn't really know. My perception of their relationship is slightly different than yours-I feel like they're both too afraid to lose each other in so many ways, they're too scared to profess their love for each other, worrying that the other might not love them as much as they do. think that's also why El needs to hear Mike say "I love you" to her-she's afraid that all their trauma and the long distance relationship will tear the first and only relationship she's ever cared for so much. Personally, I think S5 will clear whatever doubts we have about Mileven, and I'm almost positive that they'll finally work things out and realize that "I love you" isn't the only way to express love-and that they love each other deeply, and they always have.

@Vanessa.A.J.001 i see what your trying to say and those were just my own personal reasons so i respect yours

I absolutely love Mileven, its my otp and this is why

1. Though Mike isnt able to verbally say "I love you", he still shows it through his actions

2. Eleven spent the first 12 years of her life as a test subject but when Mike saved her, he treated her like she was so much more than that, and she is

3. Mike doesn't care if she has powers or not, he still loves Eleven so much

4. Eleven didn't know how to show true emotion until Mike took her in

5. Eleven was so mad at Hopper because she really wanted to see Mike again, if people say "that isnt love!!" i dont know what is

6. People say Mileven is toxic when they're literally 14, they may be young but they still adore each other

7. Max gave Eleven advice on her own relationship, not Eleven and Mikes, As Eleven said, Mike is her first boyfriend and broke up with him from influence of Max

8. Mike was obviously heartbroken when she broke up with him, he knew he was in the wrong but didn't know how it would play through, he was simply following what Hopper was demanding

9. Fighting and making up is what makes relationships stronger, after Mike and Eleven stopped fighting their relationship got stronger

10. They didn't want to break up again so they kept in touch with letters when they were over 1,500 miles away from each other, that's true commitment

11. Mike never treated her as if she was a monster, sure he was mad at her when she injured Angela but that was because he didn't know the entire story and he knew he would eventually forgive her and she would forgive him