#Like even if Mike were straight he wouldn't be homophobic.

[coldninjaruins-blog]

I just read on Twitter someone saying that Mike was homophobic... Wow...

[atimeofyourlife]

@steddie-week Day 5- Established relationship

Steve hadn't meant for it to go on for so long. At first, he hadn't wanted to come out and tell everyone about his and Eddie's relationship because he was worried about what the others would say. Worried about it making it back to his parents. But then it became a game to them. Seeing how long before anyone else noticed, how far they could go before someone added it up.

They had told Robin, of course, Steve couldn't keep secrets from her if he tried. She was the first person he had told about his bisexuality, and had figured out his crush on Eddie before he'd had a chance to process it.

But keeping it from the kids? It was too easy, too fun.

Everyone, especially Dustin, still kept assuming that Steve was dating Robin. No amount of denial would convince them that there wasn't a secret relationship there. Even after Robin started inviting Vickie along to hang out, holding her hand and cuddling up together, they wouldn't accept that Steve and Robin weren't dating.

Once, Lucas pointed out that if Steve and Robin weren't dating, maybe Eddie and Robin were. That was met by fighting to keep a straight face, followed by Steve, Robin, and Eddie laughing about it as soon as they were alone.

Steve and Eddie allowed themselves to be more open and free with the touches, the hugs, the flirty comments. And still nothing. Eddie spent an entire evening with his head in Steve's lap. Every time they were stood next to each other, Steve would wrap his arm around Eddie's waist, pulling his boyfriend close into his side. An excessive amount of pet names, far more than they would use while alone, comments about dates, mentions of waking up in bed together. No one picked up on it. Dustin kept insisting that Steve must be dating Robin.

The only person to actually figure it out was Will. He looked a little scared as he approached Steve and Eddie as they are about to leave the party that had been at the Hopper-Byers place.

"Um. Don't hate me for asking this, but are you guys together? Like dating?" He asked shyly.

"Yeah, we are. We've been together for a few months." Steve replied gently.

"And that's ok? To date another guy?"

"There's nothing wrong with like or dating guys. And if anyone says that there is, they're the ones that are wrong." Eddie explained.

"Were you trying to hide it?" Will asked after a moment. "Are you mad that I guessed it?"

"We're not mad. And at first, we were trying to hide it. Because we didn't know how everyone would react, if anyone would disagree with it. Like, I know that Mike and Nancy's parents don't have a good opinion of people like us, and it's hard to know how much they have picked up because, in the year that we were together, I never heard Nance disagree with her parents on what they said about it." Steve said, "And I'm not saying they do have bad opinions, it's just I know that they could."

"After that, it was just really funny to see how far we could get without anyone noticing. One time Dustin walked in, and Steve was laid out on top of me barely ten seconds after we'd stopped making out, and he still thinks Steve is dating Robin." Eddie added.

Will snorted with laughter at that. "Thanks for telling me. I won't tell anyone else."

-

It took them kissing in front of everyone before anyone else noticed. It was at a pool party Steve was throwing. Eddie joined Steve on the pool chair he was lounging on and handed him a beer.

"Thanks, baby." Steve pulled Eddie down, and kissed him. A stunned silence fell over the yard.

"You just kissed Eddie?" Dustin shouted.

"Congratulations, your eyes still work," Eddie replied.

"But what about Robin?" Dustin questioned.

"Don't bring me into this." Robin called, she was sat on the pool chair next to Steve's with Vickie in her lap.

"Yeah, Robin has her girlfriend sitting on her lap, and you still believe she's dating a man. That's homophobic." Vickie added.

"Look, we told you repeatedly that me and Rob were not dating. Those two have been all over each other for ages, and me and Eddie haven't exactly been subtle about it. It's on you for assuming, at this point." Steve explained.

"But you didn't tell me," Dustin replied, sounding put out by it.

"Dude, we didn't have to. No one is entitled to know about our relationship. If we never told anyone, that's our choice. Especially with a relationship like ours, we can't be too careful. We don't want the wrong person finding out." Eddie shot back.

"And anyway, you did pretty much walk in on us making out one time," Steve added, before kissing Eddie again.

I wrote this with a fever so sorry if its not that good Also on AO3

[androgynouswizardbanana]

"it's not my fault you don't like girls" doesn't have to be mike lashing out bc of internalized homophobia or whatever it can just be what it looks like, which is a boy accidentally saying something homophobic to his friend then instantly regretting it and trying to apologize. even if mike were straight this wouldn't be some unforgivable sin, he didn't mean it that way and when he realized the implication he immediately tried to make it right.

[dnalt-d2]

QSMP has Ended, but What Do I Think, and What Will I Do?

(Probably my last long post for a while, so heyyyyyy)

So…QSMP is over

OR IS IT?????

(I don't know for sure and I don't think anyone else does right now either tbh I'll circle back to this)

So the day started 10 mins earlier than I fucking expected because no one said anything about a QSMP Info Stream, so I slept through that stuff about D.R.A.G.O.N. But I have since seen it and oh boy

I hurt about it

Maybe

To start with, they listed Chayanne and Lullah as deceased, even though as far as we know, they're eternally asleep in Rose's Garden. Did the Feds just list them as deceased because they couldn't find them? Probably maybe idk what am I a cop??? I do know that Richas probably actually died and that fuckin sucks. RIP little dude. Your chaotic energy WILL be missed, sincerely

Now the rest of the surviving Eggs (possibly sans Dapper and Pomme for BBH/their own Lore reasons) to be left in cryogenic stasis. I will return to this point later

BECAUSE THEN THE HORRORS, FINALLY

Everyone got loaded up into a plane to go somewhere, but crashed before arriving, leaving everyone to gather plane parts and survive numerous Code Monsters. RIP Etoiles, you and your badass sword/shield would've loved QSMP Horror

Also, since I didn't mention it, we got some strange occurences with some of the people. Fit got deported, RIP to him as well, and replaced with local Heterochromatic/Possibly Homophobic Catboy Madagio. Pac became PacOvo, or whatever they were calling him, I think I missed that part. And Mike is a straight-up zombie. Dude lost his eyes at one point, I saw it myself, it was fuckin wild. Also Max showed up. And I'm not sure he did much to explain that. I do know he seemed to trauma-bond with Bad about their mutual Nuke-related deaths. Wouldn't be the first thing they trauma-bonded about, I'm sure

And then BACK TO THE HORRORS

So they managed to fix the plane, only to be told that the Codes are a product of a virus in long-forgotten plot-point SOFIA, and they needed to destroy her in order to destroy them and the Feds, much to Max's (and for some reason Quackity's) dismay. But they still basically ripped her apart and did the thing anyway, and they managed to essentially destroy the island. I think. Or they just escaped? I'm gonna be real, I'm not 100% sure on whatever happened there, it's been a hot minute and I'm tired

Either way, we were then met with a montage of numerous moments on the QSMP, and then an ominous Number 2, which has some…Interesting implications…

Now I've never been part of the DSMP fandom, but I still kinda feel like this has the same vibes of DSMP Season 2. And by that I mean that right now, I'm sure there are intentions to continue eventually, once things behind the scenes are sufficiently sorted out, much like how DSMP was initially intended to continue. That's likely why they left the surviving Eggs in a state that possibly leaves them open to continuation. However, I think we also all need to keep in mind that things could potentially not be sorted out

This doesn't mean don't be excited, I know I am. But I do think we need to keep our expectations in check, just in case we get a different announcement. There is always the possibility that things went too far in the wrong direction, and course-correction just isn't feasible

Once again, I wanna say just how happy I am to have been here for all this. I was there on the first day of QSMP, just by pure coincidence, and I have been here ever since, all the way to the end. I don't regret that in the slightest, and I am super glad to have seen the community it fostered here. I'm not quite social enough to have been able to make friends the way a lot of you have, but nevertheless, I am really happy to have been along for the ride. For me, I think it was that I kept seeing some of the same names in the feed, and in my notifications. That made me really happy, seeing all of you

So Thanks Quackity, Thanks Admins, Egg-Related or Not, Thanks QSMP Creators from all over the world, and of course, Thanks QSMPblr, for making this an incredible experience

Now as for this blog…

I'll admit I made this side-blog as primarily QSMP-related, while also hoping to talk about my other fandom interests sporadically, maybe do some fanart. But then suddenly people started following me???

Like actually wanting to hear what I have to say apparently???? And that blew my mind, but also made me too anxious to start posting other fandom stuff because "That's not what these guys are here for, what if they get annoyed, etc." Just that typical social anxiety fun stuff that lives in the void where my brain once was

But at this point, I'm probably gonna belay that entirely, and start finally ranting about other things here like I've been holding off on for a while. Might even just do an art dump of random stuff that I just made and never did anything with. So uh, if anyone who followed me doesn't wanna see that…Sorry. I just don't want this blog to die entirely, if I'm being honest

I do have a project I'm hoping to work on, and I might do some progress reports over here, but if not, and you're still curious, I also have my main blog [@dna-d2] that I would be on otherwise. Idk if I'm gonna go to posting there primarily, hard to say. But that's the thing about the future. You can think all you want about how it's gonna go, but in the end, it only takes a moment to decide what will actually happen. Did that actually mean anything?? Was it actually profound????? Or am I just tired and hungry at 3 in the morning?? YOU DECIDE, THAT'S THE MAGIC OF NONSENSE

AND SO, QSMPBLR AND ALL OTHERS WHO MAY SEE THIS

IT IS NOT A FAREWELL

BUT A SEE YOU LATER

So yeah

See you later

[shreya11111]

It’d be unrealistic if some stranger things characters weren’t homophobic since it was the 80s. Like people were openly homophobic through the 2010s even, and gay marriage wasn’t legalized nationwide until 2015. Mainstream movies and popular shows literally were homophobic. If you were a teen boy in 2008, being seen as gay was like the worst thing you could be seen as. Even liking Justin Bieber or having an earring on the wrong ear was gay. In the 80s? Forget it. Gay pride and all that stuff is super new. Be real: Mike would definitely be weirded out by Will liking him, Dustin would be like, “Ew that’s gay,” and Lucas would probably say a slur if Will came out. Someone has to be homophobic or it wouldn’t be realistic, and my bets are on mike since he kinda already was

oh anon, seems like you need to do your homework

"unrealistic"? you're talking about a show where the main focus is on monsters, alternate dimensions and people with superpowers. you're seriously going to draw the line at what's "realistic" or not when it comes to the portrayal of homophobia?

maybe rewatch the show because there have already been depictions of homophobia through characters like lonnie and troy even steve said homophobic shit at the start of the show. however, none of the characters considered to be good show signs of bigotry. Characters shown to be racist/sexist/homophobic are all considered villains or bad guys (mouthbreathers if you will). therefore, it makes absolutely no sense for any of the party members to show signs of bigotry like that (especially as there won't be enough time for character development in that regard in the same way steve did).

"mike would definitely be weirded out by will liking him" ok highly HIGHLY doubt that. even if mike is straight (which he isn't), he would 1000% not react negatively. the duffers simply could not write it like that because they would come under a lot of fire due to the way they wrote will's love for mike. and if this happened and they got cancelled for it – it wouldn't be because people are 'sensitive nowadays' or anything like that, it would be because people have empathy. will has been through so much and on top of that is gay, and IF mike is straight, he can't even have the one person he has been in love with since season 1. it's honestly just bs from a writing standpoint for it to end like that. mike would also 110% NOT be homophobic (and i don't get whenever people argue that he is/would be) because he has already been shown to be against homophobia in season 1 (when he pushed troy for calling will slurs).

rewatch the show maybe?

[byersbootyshorts]

Their Reaction To Reader Coming Out

A/N: In honour of pride month I wrote these headcanons of how the characters would react to you coming out to them. As a bisexual this was incredibly comforting to write. Happy Pride Month xx

Steve:

I think if you told him you're anything other than gay or a lesbian he'd have no idea what it actually was and you'd have to explain it to him

Because he's from a rich white family in the 80's so got like zero exposure to gay culture growing up

But when you told him what it meant he wouldn't judge you

'Wait, so you like boobies and dick? Cool!'

He'd just be happy you felt comfortable enough to tell him

Robin:

I mean, something tells me she's not gonna be homophobic about it

I feel like she'd ask you who your crush is and get really excited when she sees you talking to them

She'd say you could always come to her for advice about stuff like that

She'd make you a pin with your flag on it

But it would be subtle so only you two know what it really means

Dustin:

He'd probably congratulate you

'Wow, dude, that's so brave of you to say.'

And he'd want to reassure you that he supports you so every so often he would just look over at you and smile

(And flash those pearly whites, ggggrrrr)

Lucas:

He'd be so chill

Like to the point where he wouldn't even react because it's that little of a deal to him

Until he sees you waiting for a response with a concerned expression

Then he'd just break into song:

'Be who you are for your priiiidddeee'

Mike:

He'd just lose all his brain cells

He'd just stand there, mouth agape

Not in a homophobic way

Just in an 'I have no idea how to react to this because I'm socially awkward' way

But after he gets over the initial shock he'd be completely fine and support you in his own awkward way

Will:

He'd just stare you dead in the eyes

And say so bluntly:

'Same'

Because you're the only other gay person he's ever met and he's in major need of someone to relate to

So you get really close after that

Eleven:

Honestly I don't think she'd know enough about LGBTQ+ to care

She was brought up in a place where no kind of love was shown

So she wouldn't really see why it's such a big deal to love whoever you want

She'd just be happy you have love in your life in the first place

But if she saw anyone mess with you because of it she'd definitely use her powers on them

Max:

Why does she give me the vibe that she has incredibly good gaydar

Like she just wouldn't be surprised at all

And obviously she'd reassure you and tell you she's proud of you and stand up to anyone who was mean to you about it

But she'd also tell you that she's been suspicious of it all along

Nancy:

I think she would just give you the biggest hug ever

And ask you to talk her through how you realised because she'd want to be able to understand you better

She'd definitely speak up if people were being homophobic

And she'd try to write some stuff for the Hawkins Post to make people more aware of the LGBTQ+ community

Jonathan:

I'm not gonna lie I think he'd be too high to care

He wouldn't actually know if what you told him was real or not

And then he'd ask you later

But be completely fine with it

'Oh, yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sure my brother's gay.'

'Do whatever you want, man.'

And then he'd proceed to get high again

Eddie:

He'd tell you if anyone ever bullied you because of it he'd fuck them up

And say if you ever needed anything you could come over to his trailer

(As long as you didn't mind the mess)

When you're walking anywhere with him he'd randomly just shout:

'GAY RIGHTS!'

And wouldn't care when people gave him dirty looks

Hopper:

He'd be all stuttery like he usually is when anyone talks about their feelings to him

I think he'd care less about the gay part

And go straight to asking you if you had a partner

Because he couldn't care less who you date

As long as they're a good person and treat you right

Joyce:

Omg she'd be the biggest ally

She'd ask you to stay for dinner all the time

And research a bunch of different sexualities on her chunky 80's computer

When she learned about pride parades she'd ask you if you wanted her to take you to one

She'd basically become a second mom

Murray:

He literally would not give a single shit

He couldn't care less if you told him you totalled his car, or he won the lottery, or you came out

He'd just want to know WHY THE HELL THIS CHILD IS TALKING TO HIM

And then he's just walk away

[byler-forever-7]

So... I've been thinking for a while if I should be doing this because I know some people will not agree with me and I don't want to start a fight or to upset someone so... If ur reading this, I'm going to talk about why I think Mike being gay is better for the bisexual community than being bisexual. If your not comfortable with this, U can skip it. ITS FINE!

I know it sounds weird, but, if we think about it, the problems against bisexual people nowadays (without mentioning the homophobia bcs ofc it is) are practically led to being """"in the middle of it all""""":

— Ur not Straight but ur not gay, so, when for example a bisexual girl starts dating with a guy, people usually tend to erase bisexuality and think she is straight and vice versa, but, does it sounds familiar to you?

Mike has dated a girl, and therefore a lot of people think he can't be gay. They are ignoring the fact that dating someone doesn't define ur sexuality, neither for your hole life, and if Mike was cannonly gay, he would not only be representing gay people with interiorized homophobia who dates a person to avoid the truth, but the fact that dating someone doesn't (again) define ur sexuality, which is something bisexual people do struggle with.

— Another important argument is heteronormativity.

This is a bit of a story but, I have two bisexual friends (we're three LMAO), one is a girl, and the other one is a guy. One day my girl friend heard someone thought my friend and her were dating because they skipped together a random class. Still she and I have done it before and no one really thought that, that's how heteronormativity affects bisexual people too.

Showing how Mike struggled with the expectations of being straight is really healthy for bisexual and, presenting a character that explored his sexuality ON a heteronormative society is actually healing me, because, in my case, even if I'm bisexual and I know it, heteronormativity shows up doing things to me like not getting used to say I could have a bf or gf or x and stuff like that. Due to homophobia and bifobia I get surprised when someone ask me if I like someone, mentioning the all genders (I love how my mom unexpectedly get used to it).

Those are a few problems I've struggled with for being bisexual in a heteronormative society.

And I actually could do a hole post about why I think seeing Mike as bi or straight is actually due to the heteronorm but, I think it would be better if you read analysis on Tumblr, because I wouldn't say anything that hasn't been pointed out yet.

Still I wanted to tell you the most important ones for me.

The only explanation for Mike hating so much Max in S2 and 3 are just that he's gay, I'm not going to elaborate, again, people has pointed this out. In S1 every party member doesn't like Eleven and aren't interested in her at all, meanwhile, in S2 everyone seems (to Mike)to be interested in Max but him. (Still so funny). In S3 he even says Max is conspiring against him, like?? For what?? For letting her know she can dress however she wants to and not only be with u??

The more Eleven finds herself and defines as a person and explore her feminine gender, the more Mike looses interest in her.

He hasn't been attracted to any other girl than El.

He hasn't reacted to any kind of girl or girl related stuff (like the sauna vs the lingerie scenes or the Daphne game)

Any of those were mine.

I wanted to tell you this because If we want to end this real bisexual's problem (heteronormativity) we shouldn't US be doing the exact same thing people do to homosexuals. So, in my opinion, it is kind of homophobic to see Mike as a bisexual boy, because, it is due to heteronorm statements (still I'm NOT BLAMING anyone because we need to understand that we are ALL homophobic, mysoginist, racist, capacists... It's all been learned and I don't want you to feel like you are doing sth wrong or it is your fault🥺).

With that being said that's my two arguments. Heteronormativity and how it affects LGBT+ community, and defining someone's sexuality based in who are they dating are common problems that Mike's gay ass fights :).

Again this is MY opinion, don't take it seriously because Mike is not canonly anything yet. The hints nowadays points to him being gay, but that does not mean that's what the he is because it is all a headcanon. I still insist I don't want people to get uncomfortable or feeling bad for wishing a character to be bi to have that representation because the important thing is that we all are a community that wants to have fun and watch our little Will be angsty but happy at the same time (yass)

11/06/2022

(the date is bcs u'll never know when will you change ur opinion, specially in this topics where everyday I keep learning).

[thebrokengate]

People who still think Will is straight and in love with El are in deep delusion. Duffers weren't even being subtle about Will being gay. Like, they made it pretty clear back in S1. We learn that his father has been abusive and calling him f-slur and q-slur. Joyce brings it up to Hopper because she thinks Will got hate-crimed. Jonathan literally searched Lonnie's car when he was looking for Will. Bullies calling Will gay and a fairy. How much obvious they could get? Forget about every other queercoding and foreshadowing and color theory whatever, those things in S1 were pretty explicit. Bullies were targeting the party OPENLY by calling Will a fair and gay, Lucas as Midnight (because of racism, yikes), calling Dustin toothless and making fun of his disability etc. It's not really subtle.

Is it also a coincidence that the majority of the homophobic slurs about Will are directed at Mike's face? Is it a coincidence that Mike's character description says that he feels insecure about not having a girlfriend and falls for the first girl that gives him attention and falls for heteronormativity? Is it a coincidence that the writers made Will and Mike's dynamic obviously different from the rest of the party. Idk man doesnt seem so subtle to me tbh.

Yeah, none of that is coincidence, it's intentional narrative choice. By season 4 especially, they're really not beating around the bush anymore. The way things look narratively, this is where they're going. Why else would they make Mike so extremely insecure about himself and his relationship right at the same time as Will is expressing all these pent up feelings for Mike, loving him the way he needs to be loved? That's just how a narrative flows. In real life, no Mike wouldn't have to reciprocate. But in a narrative sense, the way it's been set up, that's what makes sense.

[bylertruther]

(Same anon) I wasn't in the fandom before S4 so I think it's so wild that people tried to use my interpretation of Mike's intentions to say that Will isn't gay at all because that scene could not have been more clearly a 'hint' for the audience toward Will's sexuality (I say hint bc the GA is dumb). When it comes to Will's character and how he's perceived, it shouldn't even matter what Mike was intending bc the line about him not liking girls (and Will's heartbroken reaction to it) is the most obvious sign that he's gay and I can't believe that you guys had to sit through three years of people denying it. Props to everyone who was in the fandom between seasons 3 and 4 and put up with that shit because I wouldn't have been able to do it.

right? they would totally ignore all nuance (as per usual) and be like "nope this is ONLY about will's childhood, this has NOTHING to do with his sexuality (which is straight btw) and you're delusional if you think so". like... okay. sure. whatever. and it didn't help that the producers n creators n such never talked about the sexuality aspect of it either. they would skirt around it and talk about will's feelings of loss n loneliness etc. the ga being homophobic shits + their reluctance to be as outright as they are now is actually what made me give up on stranger things if you can believe it lmao. i felt like i was being gaslighted like first mike goes from being obsessed with will to literally forgetting he's in the room, then there's the rain fight, then people are saying he's not gay, then the duffers and shawn were like 😴😴, and i was just. i was Done. will is literally introduced to us in the first seventeen minutes as the f-slur and his family is always telling him how proud they are of him and how he should love what he loves without shame and mike fights a homophobe for him and so on and so forth... but sure.... will's not gay at all and WE'RE the weird ones for thinking that.... uh-huh.... it's not like scenes can have multiple layers and suggest many things at once. sigh. so tiring. idk how some of those ppl haven't died yet considering how clueless they are abt anything and everything full offense. anyway, yeah. twas rough. i can't rewatch s3 bc that entire era was #traumatic for me LMAOOOO

[strangertheories]

I really wished some Byler colleges stopped calling everyone who doesn't like Byler homophobic. Many queer casual viewers don't like it, simply because they unfortunately hate Mike and think Will deserves better. Others are afraid of queerbaiting, and prefer to not get their hopes up. Seeing those people being called atrocious names and being compared to actual homophobes (because dumbies don't even check the person's account before attacking them) is simply disgusting. Also, there are people who simply don't vibe with the ship, and dislike it. There's nothing wrong with that.

Pls, let those people alone. Beefing with them/Constantly insisting on convincing them that Byler is a good ship only is gonna make them dislike it more.

Be self aware.

I agree mostly. In my opinion, it stems from the idea that Will would be treated as more of a valid option if he was a girl and that people would see Byler as way more if they were straight and that is rooted in heteronormativity. Which I agree with. However, I then see people saying Mlvn shippers are heteronormative and therefore founded off bigotry which is where I disagree.

Some Mlvns are homophobic. Some of them just genuinely prefer another option in the love triangle and still would if Will was female. They can acknowledge how others see Byler as romantic but just choose not to. And I disagree with those people and will criticise Mlvn, but I wouldn't call the shippers homophobic for that and it's a huge generalisation that anyone who prefers it a homophobe.

I understand why people think that. When you don't have any Mlvn mutuals or ever look at Mlvn spaces (which is completely fair), you only end up seeing Mlvn shippers in either critiques by Bylers, usually when someone on some social media is being a homophobe, or through homophobic anti-Byler asks. It's very easy to get drowned out by negativity, especially if you're the victim of homophobia, but a lot of Mlvn shippers are actually nice or queer or just enjoy making fan art or fic or incorrect quotes or chatting with their mutuals. I'm never trying to excuse the actions of homophobic Byler antis when I defend Mlvn shippers, I'm talking about the people I just referenced.

What I do slightly disagree with is the statement about arguing with those people because I argue with people who disagree with me sometimes too. Not even because I want them to agree with me, but sometimes people say harmful or rude stuff in my ask box and I will call them out on that. I think calling out homophobia or making fun of Byler antis is also normal as long as you aren't attacking other Mlvn/Byler shippers who aren't involved. But sometimes you aren't trying to change someone's mind, instead you're trying to voice your grievances and rebuttal. I kinda see what you mean though (?)

Thanks for the ask!

[memes-saved-me]

Billy Hargrove and implied Queerness

First off this is focusing on his scenes without Steve because we've all seen those and....they're pretty homoerotic to say the least so I will be bringing your attention to the other factors which lead people to believe Billy is gay or interested in men and not so much women. This isn't very indepth but more surface level observations I've made and seen others make.

(TW: Homophobia and slurs discussed)

Season 2

The first scene we get of Billy he is instantly sexualised by those around him. Tina and Vicki taking interest in him based on his looks while Carol watches on rather unamused. This sets a trend for his character and his relationship with his looks and body, but more importantly how he uses it to his own advantage. Of course this was done to play into the 80s bad boy who all the high school girls fall for but what I'll explain later makes it much more interesting.

The next we see of Billy is with Max on their way home. During this scene he insults the looks of the high school girls, referring to them as cows. We then get a very interesting line "Yeah, we're stuck here and who's fault is that?" Which Max replies to with "Yours."

A response that instantly angers Billy to the point he demands she take responsibility for moving to Hawkins. A topic that has clearly been discussed before because Max's reaction implies this has happened before if not multiple times.

In Runaway Max, which isn't confirmed canon and contradicts a lot of stuff but, we are told that the reason they moved was because Billy was completely off the rails to the point he broke her friends arm. Now. Does that make sense in blaming who's fault the move was? If this is the case it is obviously Billy's fault so why does he keep saying it was her who caused this? She clearly liked being in California so why would she do something to make them move. Unless it was unintentional...

This heavily implies that there is an unspoken incident which involves them both. An incident which triggers such anger and recklessness in Billy to the point he almost runs over Mike, Lucas and Dustin because Max wouldn't say it was her fault. Many have then filled in this gap with Max accidentally telling either Neil or Susan about Billy and another boy, which would make sense with the information or lack of information we are given in canon about the reason they moved.

While at Tina's Halloween party we do not see Billy interact with a single girl. He is seen with Tommy and another boy who then approach Steve with him. It would make sense for girls to be drooling over him in this moment, trying to dance with him or following him inside but no. He makes a beeline for Steve and we do not see him for the rest of the party.

Now, I don't know about you but have you ever seen a teenage boy look less interested in his date? Not only is he not interacting with verbally but also physically. He then gets angry when she calls Max his sister and they drive off without a word. It's implied he is taking her home as he they were waiting for Max, meaning he was probably going to hook up with her but if he was wouldn't he act just a little nicer towards her?

I mentioned before that he is the archetype for 80s bad boy and the girls sure are falling, he just isn't catching them. This is the only time we see him interact with a women his age in a romantic way. If you could call this romantic at all.

When in trouble for letting Max run off while watching her, his response is that he doesn't have the time to go looking for her because he has a date, a date we never see or get the name of, this prompts his father to say the line "So that's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot..."

A line that then prompts Billy to snap and argue back after clearly wanting to get out of this situation as fast and smoothly as possible. Where else have we seen anger brought on by a topic? That's right in the car with Max. There is a trend of Billy reacting with anger to conversations or comments he finds personal or as some sort of attack. This is also when Neil becomes fully angry with Billy as seen in his rather shocked reaction at his response to that line.

This also continues the trend of Billy caring about his looks and using them as a shield of sorts, a shield that doesn't work against his father but everyone else he encounters.

Something to keep in mind, Billy is the only character to be called a homophobic slur by a parental figure other than Will. The character he mirrors in multiple ways including having the same full name William, as well as Will being heavily implied as gay or queer. Both of their father's use homophobic language against them, unlike any of the other characters in the show.

The next we see of him after the incident with Neil is also when we see him interacting with another women in a romantic sense. Karen. This is where his use of his looks and body fully come into play. He uses these assets to get information and affection out of Karen to make his father happy and avoid further punishment.

Now this is my own interpretation but Billy is used to using his body for positive attention and doesn't get that any other way. At no point in the series is he treated like a person other than in S3 by Max and Max only. Everyone else views him in an objectified manner or as a bad guy to avoid.

There is a clear resemblance between Karen and Billy's mother which I'll further discuss in the season 3 section but this leads me to believe he is subconsciously or even consciously wanting positive attention from a motherly figure, he just doesn't know any other way to achieve that.

However, it is very clear that flirting with Karen was an act as seen by the quite jarring juxtaposition of these two frames. The mask fully gone once by himself again. Meaning the only time we see him flirt with a women it isn't genuine at all.

Season 3

Now, continuing off the last point, there is countless girls practically drooling over Billy at the pool but he only accepts this attention from Karen. This exemplifies my theory that he doesn't know how to gain positive affection other than through flirting and well sex, but he only wants this attention from an older women who resembles his mother. Except, again he doesn't know any other way of gaining it. He hasn't had a strong positive female influence in his life since he was 10 years old and by the looks of it every motherly figure has treated him as eye candy and not a teenager crying for help.

He has Heather who is very much his age and flirts with him. Yet, he acts as if she isn't even there and goes straight over to Karen to flirt. The way he acts with Karen should be the way he would act with girls his age, flirting and making advances but we do not see a single example of this.

This part I find extremely interesting because it perfectly mirrors his interaction with Karen in season 2, except instead of dropping the mask he puts it on. The way he looks to his right as if she is sitting there as he practices what he is going to say to her is a clear example of his act coming into play as he prepares to meet up with her. His expression very similar to when he leaves the Wheeler home but it shifts to practice the way he is planning on talking to Karen. A complete reversal from their scene in season 2.

A rather reaching piece of symbolism could be that this also mirrors the way Neil cuts off Billy's date in season 2 as the Mindflayer is a literal representation of him being controlled by his father.

I also find it very interesting that he chooses to flirt with Karen very publicly and this might be reading a little too into it but it comes off as trying to uphold some sort of image. Another example of this is Max saying she hears Billy with girls in his room, something that sure is something he would do but when you put this with everything in this post it also comes off as him trying to prove something.

Another thing I find interesting is the way he acts around Karen, all smiles and friendly is very similar to that of the way he acts at dinner with Heather's parents. An act put on by the Mindflayer, just as he does when flirting with Karen. A mask used for underlying means and not what it shows on the surface.

Conclusion

This is all just my observation and he is not canonically gay or queer but the way he acts around women compared to Steve is a very interesting aspect to his character. If they truly intended for him to be this bad boy ladies man then they failed at presenting that.

One final thing, which I have posted about before is the fact Billy does not use homophobic language towards anyone. Even Steve does in season 1 so it would make sense for a teenage boy trying to upstage another teenage boy to use slurs and such to belittle and bully him. Except he doesn't.

I could write a full dissertation on Billy's implied queerness but a unorganised Tumblr post will have to do. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[holdnarrytight]

my stance (that nobody asked for) on byler:

• Will loves Mike. He loves him so deeply, like a soulmate, and has felt that way since they were kids. Mike is likely the only person he is out to, because they share that genuine trust. He knows Mike doesn't feel the same and wants to move on, but feels stuck.

• Seeing him with El, Will feels like he's losing the love of his life and can't do anything about it. It feels wrong to him. But he's afraid if Mike knew, he would push him away and they wouldn't be friends anymore. He wished he was able to blame El and hate her for taking Mike from him. He wished he could resent her. But he can't. He can't, because she saved them all. He can't, because she cares so much about him and their friends and family. She has such a good heart. Now, Will finds himself in a difficult and complex situation, having to call a sister the person who took the guy he loves away from him. He needs to navigate through a lot of complicated feelings.

• Mike is straight and hasn't picked up on the fact that Will has been in love with him for years. His love for him is like a brother's, and he supports him through everything. Since Will came out to him, Mike became protective of his friend and always has his back and stands up for him when the asshole Hawkins kids make homophobic comments. He feels really bad when it happens, and he believes the bullies and the fear of coming out to his family are the only reasons Will hasn't started dating like the rest of the party yet. Little does he know it's because Will can't move on from him.

• Mike genuinely loves El and is enthusiastic about his relationship with her, although he makes silly, immature mistakes sometimes. He's learning how to be in a healthy relationship and be a good boyfriend. He loves his friends but he's so obsessed with his relationship he often lets them down and doesn't even realise it. He needs to learn how to balance the relationships in his life, in order to be a better friend.

[byler-blush]

This is @your-local-bi-disaster aka Sam, and I've come across a Homophobic hardcore Mileven shipper who literally wrote 10 paragraphs on every canon Byler scene that's ever happened, those paragraphs are contradicting every Byler scene and most of this bullshit is , and I've compiled some of them, which were quite obnoxious and Ridiculous so let's start off by the first one

1) Yeah Byler isn't gay, it obviously just us getting the satisfaction of two straight boys holding each other's hand for absolutely no reason. How tf can you even say They're not gay? The homophobia is showing up miss ma'am. If you're saying they're not gay, Explain.......

2)

Okay what the fuck is this? Mike said asking Will was the best thing he's ever done. So why wouldn't he be Pell-mell about Finding and worrying for Will 24/7 ? Also, Finding Dustin, Lucas, Hopper was his top priority? What... Weren't they always together, them being together was literally the point of season 1.

Mike was looking for El because she was filled with clues, she had tea regarding Will Byers and Mike's only best friend Will Byers, wouldn't Mike fish of information about Will from El. Bestie it's not that Mike developed a crush on El. But Caring for Will.

3)

I don't even know what to say. Didn't Mike Lie to will about making excuses for not playing DND in season 3. Honey, if that's not lying I don't know what's wrong with you.

The rule of the party is to tell each other truth? What about Mike lying to a member of the party El? That's not lying? Pfft........This makes no sense whatsoever.

4)

Okay what the fuck? Suppose you are Mike wheeler and you're seeing your friend choke? Would you fucking let her die by choking? What the fuck is this, Mike wheeler is a human and Human's do anything to Save other humans. Don't even bring up about girlfriend boyfriend. This is clearly saving a person's life.

Oh and yes Mike was being protective of Will because he loves him.

5)

Yeah Mike is encouraging El because he cares about her. She's a human isn't she? Isn't that waht humans do? Help other people?

Also, Mike could've gone to the Snow ball with Will if he had come out as gay. Even this doesn't make any sense

6)

What the fucking hell is this I- . When they talked about being crazy together they were literally personal about themselves. And there was no bullshit about El in this. Goodbye-

And these are the MELVINS we hate and don't like. This post is filled with Homophobia