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My unpopular Mike opinion

I don't think Mike has internalized homophobia, and I don't think he's aware of his feelings for Will. I enjoy this idea in fanon but it doesn't seem to be what the show is going for, in my opinion. Like Finn and the Duffers have said, I see Mike as being completely oblivious, to all of it. He most likely suffers from compulsory heterosexuality and that's why he's always tried so hard to make it work with El, because he thinks that's just how it's supposed to be, this must be what he's feeling, right? (I'm also not ruling out the possibility that he did/does have romantic feelings for El, which would make it even more powerful when he chooses Will in the end). But he's never thought of Will in a romantic light before, he doesn't even know that's an option!

The other thing is that when it finally clicks for him, I don't want it to be this heavy, angsty thing. I want to see relief, joy. I want him to feel so relieved because he finally understands why things were always so difficult with El and why he was never able to balance El and Will in his life. Finally, everything makes sense. And I want him to feel so happy because he realizes he's in in love with his best friend and his best friend loves him back, and it's the best feeling in the world. No more queer pain (we've had enough of that with Will), give me queer joy! This would, in my opinion, be the most impactful story.

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HOLLY WHEELER IS A BYLERRRRR

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holy fuck when I was rewatching the van scene I realised that Jonathan appears when Will tells a LIE…

And you know when Jonathan also appears randomly?…

When Mike tells El that he loves her.

TLDR: Mike and Will were both lying in their big speech’s.

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also might as well share some of my older art for will byers day

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Mike Wheeler x female reader headcanons‼️‼️

1. he leaves you for a man

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OH IM SICKKKKKK

WAIT did the military shoot him with a tranquilizer or something??!???

It parallels to season 2 when they had to sedate him but still :((((((

<3

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thought of this after i saw @lesbyyler's version of this meme for will lmao

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touchy byler for the soul <3

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willel best twins <33

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mike is will's brightest blue ⁠♡

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They keep calling us delusional and crazy for saying byler is happening. You know who else was being called crazy? Joyce. And guess what? She was right all along when no one believed her.

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aged-up byler x skam france ? (thats what this is from right? i havent actually seen it)

time: 6h 8m

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will discovering he has electricity powers that he sometimes loses control of and his fingertips start sending sparks

mike who is the only person, who can hold will’s hand even when it happens, because will is so deeply in love with him that even his powers subconsciously don’t harm mike

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Mike is clingy in the way that he wants to be plastered to Will’s side 24/7. Touching constantly. 

Will is clingy in the way that he wants to be in the same room as Mike 24/7. Be able to see him at all times. 

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Mike Wheeler donates $3.50 to the LGBTQIA+ community.

"This is all I have, but please let me in," he pleads.

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and if they do, i will bury the duffel bags too 🫡

Stranger Things Won’t Bury their Gays

Bury Your Gays: A trope where LGBTQIA+ characters meet an early death or an otherwise tragic fate, especially when their death only serves as a plot device for straight characters.

Will Byers throughout season 4 had had his feelings put aside in order to further the plot and ‘help’ a straight couple. The Duffers are known to subvert heteronormative tropes. For example in season 3 the audience was ‘straight baited’ by a relationship between Steve and Robin.

Stranger Things is focused on the outcasts and weirdos, which queer people often identify with, especially in the 80’s. The writers would not kill the closeted gay artist, especially when it serves to end the Will-Mike-El love triangle without the real relationship and self discovery conflict it would need to actually develop.

Pt. 2/5 Will Byers Won’t Die

Stay tuned for the next 3 parts! I’m also going to switch to once daily posts, with extras here and there!

💌MiKayKayRae

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Mike & Will are more aware of their (own & each other's) feelings than people think.

Regarding this reblog by @ven0moir:

In my opinion most of the Byler fandom is underestimating Will’s & Mike’s level of awareness of the situation. Which is leading to some equivocated beliefs about these characters, their relationships & their possible s5 arcs.

1 — WILL’S IDEA OF MILEVEN

First things first...

Will cares about Eleven. But deep down, he knows her & Mike’s relationship is not actually real or genuine... & considers it kind of a joke, even. This is highlighted by his frequent sassy mocking remarks & facial expressions towards Mileven. He thinks it’s unserious. Will definitely suspects (but obviously can’t be sure) Mike might feel the same for him. And as far as I understand it, despite Will obviously not saying it out loud, he does deep-down know that El is a farce/façade/beard Mike is hiding behind to avoid confronting the truth.

It’s kinda like how everyone close to the Wheelers looks at Ted & Karen’s “relationship”. They, including Karen herself, know this “marriage” is a joke. But obviously, no one says anything out loud, as it’s a sensitive/taboo topic. They know that if they were to actually say or do something about it, it would disrupt the comfortable familiarity & start an irreversible chain of events.

The only reasons Will tries to keep Mileven together is because (1) he cares about Eleven, (2) he cares about what Mike seems to want/need at the moment & (3) Will has self-sabotaging traits: he’s too afraid himself of what a romantic relationship with Mike would actually mean.

If you pay attention, when Will is trying to “fix” Mileven, he never once states or implies that Mike loves her. The only thing he states is the reverse: that Eleven needs Mike, & therefore she deserves him. “But she’s sad, mommy!”.

This was never about Will thinking “Mike truly loves Eleven”. It just means that right now, he knows being with Eleven is what Mike seems to need (for other reasons other than love) & being with Mike is what Eleven seems to need too.

2 — WILL’S ROMANTIC MOVES

I believe Will was sending hints intentionally too, you know, “just in case”. In the remote possibility Mike would ever want this with him. Even though Will isn’t sure this could be possible, he still tries in a low-key way, which is a testament to his (thin but resilient) remaining thread of hope.

I think that he also sent an intentional hint through the red heart in the painting. Words don’t come easy.

Will’s trying to subtly tell Mike that underneath his (apparent) friendly gestures, there is a romantic undertone & an invitation to maybe start something deeper & “serious” between them.

And he’s hoping that Mike takes the hint, understands it & gives some type of *sign* back—makes a move—without Will having to spell it out for him in an obvious way.

3 — MIKE’S PERSPECTIVE

Like @ven0moir, I’ve always wondered if Mike’s behavior in these conversations (Rink-o-Mania for example) is actually him “testing the waters” & trying to get SOMETHING out of Will. Like, pushing the emotionality up in hopes that something ends up “spilling” out. So that he can be “sure”.

The problem is, he's adopting the cowardly, toxic & therefore wrong, approach. From a character standpoint, Mike needs to be the one who makes the unambiguous (sincere) first move. Why? Because he naturally & inherently craves being the masculine, protective, proactive, BRAVE energy in his relationships.

But in this particular case with Will, he’s still too terrified of doing that, because of multiple factors. He’s not prepared, yet.

He hasn’t grown enough to (1) learn that this is what he must do, & (2) decide that this is what he WILL do—despite the fear & everything else. Hence his hero journey, set to happen throughout s5.

4 — THE MUCH-FEARED TURNING POINT

I think they’re both aware that *something* is going on between them. But they’re both afraid of making the “first move”.

Because they know—they just KNOW—that the very moment it happens in an unambiguous way…

…there is no going back. It changes everything. Forever.

And they know that, from that very moment, they will have to deal with the real consequences that come after.

Pay attention to their nervous gulping while making eye contact during their tension-filled heart-to-heart (s4 scene in Will's bedroom).

This is completely uncharted territory for Mike & Will. They are so scared.

“Our relationship is going to change permanently”. “I might lose him forever as a friend.” “What comes next?” “How will we act with each other from now on?” “Even though I want this, it still feels weird & unbearably shameful.” “What does the future hold for us?” “What if others find out?” “How will people react? Our friends? Our family?” “Is this even a morally good option?” (Religious/cultural guilt) “We will put ourselves in danger” (stigma, ostracization, loss of opportunities, hate crimes, health risks, AIDS) “What will happen to Eleven? How will she feel? How will she react?” “What if I’m just imagining things?” “What if he freaks out?”

The questions are endless. All of these thoughts, beliefs & doubts, even if unconscious, would be tormenting two queer teen boys from 1980s rural Indiana. Like an impenetrable wall or obstacle made of uncertainty, fear, hurt, shame, guilt, hopelessness.

5 — HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE 1980s

I think many people in the Stranger Things & Byler fandoms—probably because they’re still so young or just sheltered—heavily underestimate or straight-up dismiss the overwhelming impact of the above factors.

For teen boys, it’s incredibly difficult (from a social & emotional standpoint) to act upon queer feelings even today. In 1980s Midwest America… being homosexual & engaging in homosexual behaviors was one of the worst possible TABOOS you could be involved in.

I mean, let's be clear: on a literal wide scale (unlike today), gay men were associated with the worst of the worst: weakness, shame, ostracization, mental illness, moral corruption, filthiness, disgust, disease, pedophilia, death... the list goes on.

The only contexts where "the lifestyle" was more-or-less tolerated were in very specific environments in very specific big cities—still accompanied by many risks & stigma nevertheless.

By s4, Will & Mike are 15 years old. They know homosexual men exist, somewhere. TV, movies, books, music, people—all of them talk about it, even if rarely, subtextually or in a neutral or negative light. They've gone through puberty: they know what they themselves feel. They know what they crave & desire, emotionally & sexually. Mike knows Will is an effeminate boy & about the rumors of Will being gay. And they are also aware of how they act with each other & of how their relationship is not like their other friendships: which means they very likely have at least suspicions about each other's feelings.

What they don't know, though, is IF it will ever be possible to actually fulfill those needs, & fulfill them with any semblance of safety, peace or happiness. And by consequence, they don't yet know HOW to proceed exactly—which decisions & choices to make.

This is why they are behaving in such subtle, careful, guarded, defensive, angsty, roundabout ways despite correctly suspecting what is going on.

Mike knows what he's feeling... he's just too stubborn, insecure & fearful (at least for now) to be able to accept & come to terms with its real-world implications—let alone act on it properly.

6 — BYCHANCE & MIKE

The only thing Mike cares about right now is mending his friendship with Will, keeping him close & selfishly/possessively making sure Will isn't pursuing anyone else.

Which is, of course, unfair to Will (& to Eleven as well obviously).

This, I believe, is what is going to lead to s5 Will "taking a chance" on someone else who acts sooner than Mike.

Because, even if he suspects Mike reciprocates his feelings, that's still (understandably) not enough! The way Will functions romantically requires that Mike be the one to "bravely" pursue him & make the first move. This push-pull dynamic is even demonstrated in the lyrics of Should I Stay or Should I Go. Romantically, Will is not in the pursuer role. Mike is.

And as we know, Mike is avoiding. Stalling. Procrastinating. Getting late. Postponing the issues he needs to face. Which is another recurrent motif/pattern consistently foreshadowed & associated to Mike throughout the show.

7 — CONCLUSION

So, for those in this fandom who are still very young, let me end this post with a very important lesson on romance:

Will isn't wrong for getting involved with someone else. He can't wait forever. He has already made his moves, sent his hints to Mike.

This is on Mike now. He needs to grow. And if he truly wants Will for himself only, he needs to act!

🗝⸮₎₎⁾⁾⸝⁺⋆｡ﾟ⋆⸜﹒⋯﹒

To see more of my Bychance posts, click here -> BYCHANCE MASTERPOST.