#everything i read has people describing will like he could lift mike with his pinky

[bylertruther]

could u elaborate about your anger against buff will byers? genuine question, i dont mean to be rude! have a great day denise <3

mobile + sleep deprived so this is going to be All Over The Place but i'll list some thoughts in bullet points:

my anger isn't towards will being buff, my anger is over the fact that fandom has used noah schnapp's body type as a reason to mischaracterize will into someone that he isn't

finn has long hair and he's very skinny so he gets feminized by fandom a lot which bleeds into how fandom interacts with the character that he plays despite mike not having majority/majorly feminine traits

meanwhile noah grows up, goes through puberty, and gains a bit of muscle and suddenly will (in fandom's eyes) goes from being a sensitive, shy, sassy, and sweet kid to this macho guy that is super confident, super physically strong and athletic, and doesn't need to be saved or helped by anyone, and that literally sweeps people off their feet etc. like i'm sorry to tell you this but will is a damsel in distress lol. a HUUUUUUGE part of his character is that he was clocked way way way early as a young kid for being gay and that's why he got bullied. kids make fun of his clothes, they laugh at him, his father calls him slurs, teenagers and adults alike talk about him and his sexuality in a derogatory fashion, he gets called artistic and sensitive which in that era is the nice way of saying gay, etc etc. like. will turns into a scared hamster, he has the freeze response, he fights for his life but ultimately needs to accept help from others to save him, its about loving and being loved and allowing them to save you because there's nothing wrong with needing help, etc etc. like. will is canonically more effeminate than mike and yet bc finn is skinny with long hair and noah is bigger now people flip it around and that's just not who those characters are lol. they're CHARACTERS they're not finn and noah... and even then, noahs the one always wearing pink and wearing purses and who gets his (everything, really, but specifically) his sexuality picked the fuck apart bc of the way that he acts and so on and so forth. but, what...? he gets a couple of muscles and suddenly will is some macho hypermasc dude? why, because only skinny men can be seen as effeminate and sweet and sensitive and so on? since when is a body type a personality. its just so transparent that it's playing into the tiny subby girlboy x big buff hypermasc dom boy mlm stereotype and i Hate it.

another thing is that mike is always the one putting in the physical work, he jumps in without complaining, he helps carry people, he Knows How To Do Things etc etc while will is always the one off to the side letting everyone else work and when he Does do work it's the absolute bare minimum doing the easy part while sobbing and sighing and so on but... wait, noah has muscles so NAHHHH lets reverse it actually and make will the strong one and mike the weakling? why lol. what reason is there for this shift that came ONLY after noah's body changed.

mike is the knight in shining armor, he's the one that saves the damsel, he's the one that comes up with the plan and sees it through, he's the one trying his best even if he isn't always strong enough, he's the one protecting will with his body, he's the one hauling him up and moving him around, he's the one throwing hands IMMEDIATELY and throwing himself into the mix without hesitation, etc etc etc, meanwhile will is literally physically clinging to him, cowering behind him, looking to him to save him, and hyperventilating screaming crying whenever there's danger, and yet.... again..... after noah became no longer scrawny.... suddenly the roles in fanon got switched around? will literally draws mike as the guy standing in front of him, his knight in shining armor that he says has saved him in so many ways... and yet fandom wants to disregard that? just bc finn is skinny doesn't mean that mike isn't who he is. it doesn't mean that mike isn't capable and that he isn't the hero here. They Are Literally Characters they are not real they are not finn and noah they are CHARACTERS

they cast someone that was two years younger than everyone else with the babiest of babie faces for will because they wanted him to look a certain way and then when noah grew up they said they could either hide it or lean into it and guess what they did. they tried to hide it lmao. they put him in long sleeve shirts and baggy clothes (which laughably just made him look bigger lmao) and even asked noah to speak in a higher pitch. because guess what!!! noah is already not a Hypermasc Bodybuilder Worlds Strongest Man kind of guy, but will especially is NOT that. so why act like he is? will is Supposed to be the cute runt he represents so many things and included in that is innocence. everyone wants and has to protect him bc even though he's strong he still needs help. he cannot do this alone. the imagery of him being a speck compared to the mind flayer, a speck in the big big quarry, smaller than the rest of the party so much that he could literally disappear behind them, etc etc are all intentional.

like it just upsets me that noah gaining some muscle and growing taller made everyone turn will into someone that he isn't... there is nothing wrong with him being the way that he is and your body type does not change your entire fucking personality or life history....

(and you weren't being rude, you were just asking a question so don't even worry abt it!)