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There's one more thing I'd like to add about the s1 (and s2, to a degree) era shipping patterns: the heteronormative bias regarding very young characters. Sure, it's easy and often correct to assume most people will react positively to the mere idea of a m/f pairing, regardless of context or actual chemistry, but the aforementioned bias is even more glaring (and tbh, kinda hard to talk about) when it comes to realizing how confortable people could get in order to get invested in the possibility of or the actual relationship between 12 year olds on-screen as long as they're a girl and a boy.

a.k.a people getting invested in a pre-teen romance isn't considered “creepy” as long as it is straight.

Some young adults still in the fandom today were the same age as the characters in 2016, and maybe some of them shipped m11 at the time, just like how some new pre-teen viewers do more recently. Whether superficially or full-stan, regular "oh, they cute" or by seeing them as some sort or vicarious projection for what teen romance could look like (not judging anyone here; everyone has the right to have preferences like anyone else, but hopefully they'll eventually look at m11's relationship the way it probably was intended to be viewed as; I'll elaborate in a bit), it's understandable they saw potential in that ship in s1.

Others teens, in addition or instead, might have also been like "wait, was mike kissing El really necessary? Was she really okay with it?" Whatever it was the case for these young fans, it's completely valid, considering preteens themselves (of any orientation) also start developing crushes and getting into relationships with each other at that age. It's a shared experience of sorts, to compare and/or contrast what you see on your screen, for better of for worse.

However, in 2016-2019, there might as well have been adults (i.e "the intended audience for the 80s nostalgia bait") who didn't look twice at m11's earliest relationship development in the slightest and happened to get invested in their relationship (i.e. "rooting for them", because god forbid grown adults engage into shipping, especially men -"men" being regarded as the 'positive/high' status in this context by them themselves hm who said that). Of course, demographics and generational mindsets could play a part, but if you contrast the reactions of adult fans had to the representation of (or the speculation about, before s2 was released) a young boy and a young girl having feelings for each other, kissing and being in a relationship ("innocent, cute, expected, normal" + "teens do that! I did that! You see how they get at the mall or the movies the time or whatever! Nothing out of the ordinary here, just cuteness.") and the same people's reactions to just other fans' speculating about (even before s3 and s4 was released) two young boys, developing feelings for each other, kissing and being in a relationship? "gross, fetishistic, creepy, weird that you even think about that," (we know the spiel and its variations back and forth + check the comments on the post by @all-da-ladies-luv-leoo linked below for some authentic examples of thisfrom 2018)... it raises some eyebrows about where and how these people draw the line regarding being invested in the relationships between young characters, don't you think?

these are just rhetorical questions but bear with me: why, then, was/is one type of speculation about pre-teen characters 'acceptable' and not the other, for some people? Because discussing m11 'had basis' in canon (therefore it was 'not creepy' for older people to talk/think about it)??? or is it because those people percieve a teen couple made of a boy a girl, especially one that shares physical affection, as inherently natural, innocent and age-appropiate -dare I say, "apparently asexual"? which is wild to me bc m11's kisses, especially in s3, make me so uncomfy, and I'd be saying the same if, say, Lumax or Byler had had such scenes instead, because THOSE SCENES WERE MEANT TO MAKE ADULTS UNCOMFORTABLE BY REALIZING THEY WERE PEEPING AT YOUNG TEENS MAKING OUT -the show's not even subtle about it!

(hopper is Y/N)

...while at the same time considering (DISCUSSIONS about it at the time, not even portrayals!!) about two boys being in a relationship (oh boy, let's not talk about the way baby sapphics are treated in fiction and irl on top of this; this "addition" is already too long) as unnatural, inherently pervy, and precocious -dare I say, """too sexual"""??? just because of they're not straight? yeah, there's a name for that and, in that scenario, it's not "shipping preferences."

Last night I saw a lighthearted post (sorry, I was doomscrolling and half-asleep so I missed it before I could think about it again. if you see this and you're the OP, please let me know!) that wondered how wild the reaction to the hypothetical scenario of willelmike becoming endgame as a poly relationship (unicorn polycule or angle??) would be like from both m11s and bylers, and that sent me back to think about people's reactions towards these ships (and fanon throuple) throughout the years. While I cannot 100% attest to this, (mostly bc I don't have the figures at hand, only anecdotal information from back when I ignored how twisted a-oh-3 is as an organization), it's quite telling how, from the very beginning, most fans kind of realized a polycule-to-solve-the-love-triangle for once wasn't really in the cards for these three characters in canon.

let's take a look at some of the st fandom's shipping preferences across the years ->

s1: "look at these sweet kids, surving the horrors and just being innocent. I hope mike and el reunite and one day they can date for realsies" <- that was the GA and most of the first wave of fans back in 2016. Not denying that some of the earliest fans did feel a bit concerned about the aforementioned traumatized kids (especially the little girl raised 'alone' in a lab) jumping into crushes and kisses in less than a week, but hey, it was the first season, why not wait and see where this is going? So yeah, that was the 'm11 majority era', as far as fan content and viewer investment is concerned.

@ that person from twitter who posted about miwi/byler fifteen days after s1 was released + earliest wheelclairs and miwis: all the love in the world <33

the post-s2 fandom landscape, however, largely transformed with the direction the text took with yk, pretty much everything related to how the writers handled m11 and placed much more focus on miwi going through hell together and how deeply their bond ran, recontextualizing the weight of the events and reactions during s1 even more. Externally, I'd argue a few adjacent 2017 pop culture moments, particularly the release of Muschietti's IT Chapter One, with finn playing a queer-coded boy from the 80s in a supernatural/horror setting, also played a part into the fandom looking at (or pondering about) one mike wheeler in a new light. A ST x IT crossover from back then that didn't feature the reddie + miwi combo was, for the most part, a rarity, especially when it came to that one staple moment (/aff) where the 'tozier-wheeler cousins' roasted each other about who was more whipped for their respective brunette besties. So yeah, while miwi couldn't have ever been considered a crackship (not even in the s1 era, also considering will's own 'ambiguous' -at the time- queercoding being an elephant in the room), its new popularity made it so it was less and less common to see an exclusive m11 majority in the fandom.

thus, from 2017 on, many multishippers (big fans and casuals alike) entertained the possibility that at least there could be something there hanging between mike and will, still unbeknownst to both of them. However, that lightheartedness probably came more from trying not to expect anything more than that in the show down the road, given that m11 seemed to have smooth sailing after the s2 finale and, possibly, the average viewer probably giving them the benefit of the doubt one more time (i.e "well, we haven't really seen el and mike interact in peacetime in a while, but we know they love care about each other surely -hopefully they'll be a cute power couple!")

a 2018 intermission is very interesting, considering it's the year that saw the most poly!willelmike works in a*0*3 (around a hundred in total in the tag by the time of posting) -majority with a "mike loves them both and they work it out ft. stoncy mentors" (and even some ocassional polyam-bi!will in a unicorn polycule -i.e. where all three of them date each other), but most of these take place in non-canon compliant aus. This period is also worth mentioning because, after the release of s3 in 2019 canonized -okay, "heavily implied"- gay!will and how m11's canon relationship is indeed meant to be written like that for a bigger narrative purpose (el's independence and autonomy and mike's journey towards honesty and embracing his own rules about growing up), a similar level of engagagement (and hype for that particular dynamic) hasn't been reached again in six years.

flashforward to 2022 and pretty much where we still are today: m11 as a failed (romantic) relationship being detrimental to both parties involved -one arm of the angle down-, will's feelings for mike and his gay identity (almost) confirmed (so his sexuality would be incompatible with el as a femme character anyway even if she weren't pretty much his adoptive sis now), and, besides him clearly not being in love with El in s4 -or ever? shall we also mark this arm of the angle as down now??-, mike's true feelings still up in the air (as far as official confirmation goes, that is -schodinger!mike being a well-written character or not depending on whether or not he's grappling with being true to himself and the one he loves.) The big waves of former-m11s-turned-bylers post s4, the level of vitriol and defensiveness hardcore m11 stans have adopted to protect their ship against 'slander' and 'delusion' in the last few years (and some particularly homophobic folks popping in from time to time), and the attitude of some casual fans towards byler, claiming it would be 'forced' if it turns out to be the endgame ship, all across this period are also noteworthy. So, taking all of this into consideration, imagining a last-minute ménage à trois being presented the final, rewarding, comforting resolution to this story so nobody ends the show "alone and sad, though"? That's gotta be, yep, impossible to sell narratively, in-universe AND for the audiences in a way that even makes sense.

So yeah, highly unlikely outcome: pretty much everyone would be getting clowned on that way, and not only because of their shipping preferences.

On a much more lighthearted note, I actually love how this little attempt at historical recollection reinforces how mike really has long and largely been percieved as the one who cannot stop seeking will and feelings a certain way about him, and yet he's "the straightest character in any media ever" lmao

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Since Stranger Things is slowly becoming less of an occasional fanart thing and more of a side hustle for me, I'm gonna start keeping notes on my art/fanfic ideas for organization sake.

I'm just having so much fun with my AU, I guess because I'm treating it more like an original story and less of a fandom thing. Who knows, maybe someday it'll lead to an original project! lol

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Nancy being caught off guard anytime Jonathan flirts back at her bc he’s usually so shy about it send post

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my pookie

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he’s such a silly guy before he goes batshit off the rocker crazy

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saw a comment and it just felt fitting...

just putting it out there...

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Guys I made a Jonathan Byers charm design should I go and get it made or wait and design Nancy to get them both 😗

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why do they walk the same

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Last night I saw a lighthearted post (sorry, I was doomscrolling and half-asleep so I missed it before I could think about it again. if you see this and you're the OP, please let me know!) that wondered how wild the reaction to the hypothetical scenario of willelmike becoming endgame as a poly relationship (unicorn polycule or angle??) would be like from both m11s and bylers, and that sent me back to think about people's reactions towards these ships (and fanon throuple) throughout the years. While I cannot 100% attest to this, (mostly bc I don't have the figures at hand, only anecdotal information from back when I ignored how twisted a-oh-3 is as an organization), it's quite telling how, from the very beginning, most fans kind of realized a polycule-to-solve-the-love-triangle for once wasn't really in the cards for these three characters in canon.

let's take a look at some of the st fandom's shipping preferences across the years ->

s1: "look at these sweet kids, surving the horrors and just being innocent. I hope mike and el reunite and one day they can date for realsies" <- that was the GA and most of the first wave of fans back in 2016. Not denying that some of the earliest fans did feel a bit concerned about the aforementioned traumatized kids (especially the little girl raised 'alone' in a lab) jumping into crushes and kisses in less than a week, but hey, it was the first season, why not wait and see where this is going? So yeah, that was the 'm11 majority era', as far as fan content and viewer investment is concerned.

@ that person from twitter who posted about miwi/byler fifteen days after s1 was released + earliest wheelclairs and miwis: all the love in the world <33

the post-s2 fandom landscape, however, largely transformed with the direction the text took with yk, pretty much everything related to how the writers handled m11 and placed much more focus on miwi going through hell together and how deeply their bond ran, recontextualizing the weight of the events and reactions during s1 even more. Externally, I'd argue a few adjacent 2017 pop culture moments, particularly the release of Muschietti's IT Chapter One, with finn playing a queer-coded boy from the 80s in a supernatural/horror setting, also played a part into the fandom looking at (or pondering about) one mike wheeler in a new light. A ST x IT crossover from back then that didn't feature the reddie + miwi combo was, for the most part, a rarity, especially when it came to that one staple moment (/aff) where the 'tozier-wheeler cousins' roasted each other about who was more whipped for their respective brunette besties. So yeah, while miwi couldn't have ever been considered a crackship (not even in the s1 era, also considering will's own 'ambiguous' -at the time- queercoding being an elephant in the room), its new popularity made it so it was less and less common to see an exclusive m11 majority in the fandom.

thus, from 2017 on, many multishippers (big fans and casuals alike) entertained the possibility that at least there could be something there hanging between mike and will, still unbeknownst to both of them. However, that lightheartedness probably came more from trying not to expect anything more than that in the show down the road, given that m11 seemed to have smooth sailing after the s2 finale and, possibly, the average viewer probably giving them the benefit of the doubt one more time (i.e "well, we haven't really seen el and mike interact in peacetime in a while, but we know they love care about each other surely -hopefully they'll be a cute power couple!")

a 2018 intermission is very interesting, considering it's the year that saw the most poly!willelmike works in a*0*3 (around a hundred in total in the tag by the time of posting) -majority with a "mike loves them both and they work it out ft. stoncy mentors" (and even some ocassional polyam-bi!will in a unicorn polycule -i.e. where all three of them date each other), but most of these take place in non-canon compliant aus. This period is also worth mentioning because, after the release of s3 in 2019 canonized -okay, "heavily implied"- gay!will and how m11's canon relationship is indeed meant to be written like that for a bigger narrative purpose (el's independence and autonomy and mike's journey towards honesty and embracing his own rules about growing up), a similar level of engagagement (and hype for that particular dynamic) hasn't been reached again in six years.

flashforward to 2022 and pretty much where we still are today: m11 as a failed (romantic) relationship being detrimental to both parties involved -one arm of the angle down-, will's feelings for mike and his gay identity (almost) confirmed (so his sexuality would be incompatible with el as a femme character anyway even if she weren't pretty much his adoptive sis now), and, besides him clearly not being in love with El in s4 -or ever? shall we also mark this arm of the angle as down now??-, mike's true feelings still up in the air (as far as official confirmation goes, that is -schodinger!mike being a well-written character or not depending on whether or not he's grappling with being true to himself and the one he loves.) The big waves of former-m11s-turned-bylers post s4, the level of vitriol and defensiveness hardcore m11 stans have adopted to protect their ship against 'slander' and 'delusion' in the last few years (and some particularly homophobic folks popping in from time to time), and the attitude of some casual fans towards byler, claiming it would be 'forced' if it turns out to be the endgame ship, all across this period are also noteworthy. So, taking all of this into consideration, imagining a last-minute ménage à trois being presented the final, rewarding, comforting resolution to this story so nobody ends the show "alone and sad, though"? That's gotta be, yep, impossible to sell narratively, in-universe AND for the audiences in a way that even makes sense.

So yeah, highly unlikely outcome: pretty much everyone would be getting clowned on that way, and not only because of their shipping preferences.

On a much more lighthearted note, I actually love how this little attempt at historical recollection reinforces how mike really has long and largely been percieved as the one who cannot stop seeking will and feelings a certain way about him, and yet he's "the straightest character in any media ever" lmao

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There’s no heterosexual explanation for selling a Funko Pop of Mike with Will’s painting. Like why is he just carrying around Will’s coded love declaration so proudly and on display for all to see???

If it had been a Funko Pop of Will with the painting it would’ve been just a representation of Will’s love for Mike, but the Funko Pop being Mike instead shows how much he values Will’s painting and what a pivotal role it’ll play in S5.

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also yeah mike might not have been there with her to walk hand-in-hand in lenora, but she did have a bf like many other girls. a step closer to """"normal"""".

I've seen people say El likes the IDEA of having a boyfriend more than she actually likes her own boyfriend, and jfc it's so true 😭 Like it's all over the show:

Season 1

She's initially attached to Mike because he's the first person to give her shelter, food, genuine human care and just,, not calling CPS immediately. Her feelings for him was born from trauma and dependency in season 1. And throughout the rest of the 3 seasons, we don't see it grow past that.

Also I think it's noticeable in S1 that:

She was uninterested when Mike tried to share his hobbies with her

She also did not seem to mind AT ALL when she questioned if Mike could be her brother. He voice is neutral and curious here, not the least bit repulsed by the thought of being siblings with Mike, like girl does not care 😭

Season 2

This season has zero onscreen moments of Mike and El actually getting to know each other further. They were separated nearly the whole season.

What we DO see:

El's attachment and dependency on Mike that was developed from S1

We also find out how El spent a year of her life watching melodramatic romance films. Many other middle schoolers might identify that relationships in real life don't work like those films. But El is fresh out of lab life, she's literally learning the world through this TV, and has now become obsessed with the IDEA of having a boyfriend/relationship just like that.

Season 3

Again, no onscreen moments of El showing interest in who Mike is as a person.

The very first scene we see of them, she's trying to get him to stop singing along to the song they're listening to. She seems to like kissing Mike. But isn't shown enjoying anything actually characteristic about him, like sharing interests with him such as music.

Hopper indicates that they don't do anything meaningful together either. We see here that before hanging out with Max, El had little sense of her own style, her hobbies, her interests- meaning spending time with Mike for months probably didn't involve many talking points did it?

Also in season 3, El dumps Mike with ZERO hesitation. Then she has the time of her life with Max. The most acknowledgment we get that she's oh so heartbroken is a small frown to Max that her and Mike aren't on best terms. And even that doesn't seem so paramount cause 1 episode later she totally dismisses Mike after he explains how Hopper threatened him. She just tells him maybe Hopper was right 😭😭

It's literally ONLY once she starts becoming in danger that she starts clinging onto him again. I feel like we've seen this film before hm.

Like where are any signs that she likes Mike as an individual, and is falling for who he really is, rather than simply being attached due to trauma, and liking the concept of doing romantic things (ie: kissing, dancing at the ball, etc.)

Season 4

This is the season it becomes the MOST OBVIOUS: El loves the concept of a happy relationship and being loved, but not really loving Mike for who he is. And bringing in Will's feelings just emphasizes this point.

To start, El continues doing all these relationship-y things that she did in the start of S3. She has Mike's name and pictures plastered all over her room. She makes a "Mike box" with his pictures decorated all over it. But the thing is: this is all sort of a façade at this point. We know she's BEEN unhappy with him for months ("From Mike! From Mike! From Mike!"). But with all these items, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's in this happy, fantasy, movie-like relationship, like she probably watched in hopper's cabin in season 2.

And then, there's the sheer difference between her and WILL in their feelings for Mike. We see it right off the bat when Mike comes to the airport: Will and El both have plans to give Mike something.

Will plans to give him a painting he worked extremely hard on. The painting is a connection of what they BOTH love: DnD, and it includes their friends who also play the game. It's very personal and immediately touches Mike. What's more is, the painting illustrates the exact qualities about Mike that Will loves: his leadership, his bravery, his guidance. This painting literally spells out to us that Will truly loves Mike for WHO HE IS.

Meanwhile, El plans on giving Mike a fun reunion date. She has the whole day planned out. And immediately: we see that what she wants to do doesn't actually takes Mike's interests and personality into consideration. You can see and hear the strain in his voice when he talks about "burritos for breakfast" 😬

You can see how he's not that relaxed at rinkomania, and nervous about skating, saying he's clumsy. He probably would've much preferred movies and playing a board game, over skating. But El has her own ideas. When she brings Mike to rinkomania, she tries to act really cool about it. She wants to impress him, wants to seem like she fits in and belongs.

Her present was never actually ABOUT Mike, and about loving Mike that she would plan this huge date for him. Her present was about her desperately wanting to have this cool date like every other normal teen girl might, with a normal boyfriend, and make it seem like they have a happy perfect relationship.

And then finally we reach their S4 fight. I find it extremely interesting how Hopper's cabin is framed in the background during their whole fight. It's almost like an indication that her desperate need to be loved by Mike stems from her trying to cope with losing Hopper and the hole left by him, that clearly did not exist when she happily dumped Mike in S3.

In their fight, when the topic of bullying comes up, Mike says he understands her, but El is quick to say he doesn't. She thinks Mike doesn't understand her, but this is just as much her not understanding HIM as well.

She doesn't get the extent of Mike's insecurities (definitely partially a result of bullying), something that Mike later divulges to WILL and not her. If the writers wanted to show us how much El understands Mike and loves him for who he is, her and Mike would work through his insecurities in their rs together, NOT through a middle man.

Overall it's pretty striking that we've never once heard El actually compliment Mike, or articulate, or even show what exactly she loves about him through four whole seasons. I mean...

Attachment to him due to trauma or grief =/= loving him for who he is.

Wanting to BE loved =/= loving him for who he is.

So really in terms of a relationship, what El ACTUALLY wants is the concept/idea of a regular boyfriend, and a happy easy relationship, all in an attempt to feel normal. And that's why we see them fall apart the way they do in season 4, and why Will is currently so involved. Because Will DOES see and love Mike for exactly who he is.

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vecna pulling up to absolutely destroy william byers

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my favourite straight character in any piece of media ever <33

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Thank god I got this done

Made some concept art for my ST AU Hawkins Outcasts, mainly featuring the og Party.

Season 1 is my favorite season of the whole show, so in my AU it really wouldn't be too different. There would be more emphasis on the boys' friendship and their mutual bond over being ostracized. The biggest change for this AU is that El does not disappear after she destroys the Demogorgon, but instead she's taken to the hospital and meets Will and bonds with him, and then later she becomes a part of The Party. (I'll go into this more when I do some refs for El and Hopper)

Some notes for these doodles and other details:

-Mike is autistic, however he is not officially diagnosed until much later in life. He has a lot of trouble dealing with his emotions and tends to not pick up on social cues. He's also very angry and insecure, and he often gets labeled as being a "Troubled Child" by most people.

-The other boys are also on the spectrum, though their issues vary from Mike's issues. (Like Dustin and Will struggle with ADHD and Lucas also has emotional control problems and sensory issues)

-The Party is kinda like the Eltingville Club in which each boy specializes in a specific geeky interest. Mike is really into sci-fi shit, Will is a fan of high fantasy, Lucas loves horror stuff, and Dustin is into superheroes and super-adjacent subjects.

-Each boy has some sort of Daddy Issue. Mike and Ted have trouble connecting due to their shared emotional awkwardness and lack of understanding each other. Will is afraid of Lonnie and has no use for him. Dustin has a strained relationship with his absent father, having a love/hate relationship with him. Lucas has the best relationship with his dad Charles, however he worries about disappointing him.

-The boys' friendship is at its strongest in this AU's season 1. They're pretty much inseparable and loyal to each other, and have the attitude of "I'd die for you." Their love for each other is unbreakable, though it's definitely tested in the later years.

I'm planning on drawing more for this season 1 AU soon so hopefully we'll see more of these adorable goomers. I really love how they came out in this, especially since I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to put my own spin on them.

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Some things don't change

A late birthday drawing for my boy Will ;w; I love my silly son and he deserves nothing but happiness.

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his gut did a 180, he felt a boulder weighing him down.

his palms, if they weren't already, suddenly became pins and needles to the touch and super sweaty. oh please don't let him ruin the canvas.

probably got some barbwire around his throat and fought the burn on the corner of an eye.

“is this how it feels to get what you want? so cool and so scary?”

sobbing because MIKES SMILE IM THE VAN SCENE

"WILL LIKES ME" WAS SCREAMING IN HIS HEAD AND WE ALL KNOW IT GUYS