#The only homophobia Mike has is internalized ok?

[coldninjaruins-blog]

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

[castleclerics]

mike going blind in s5 theory

i've had this this very weird gut feeling since s4 came out that mike is going to go blind to some extent in s5......

mike and blindness is mentioned a couple of times (but not too many for ga to notice) and idk why but i can really see mike becoming physically disabled in some way by the end of the show. maybe that's because i'm projecting but idk i can't let go of the idea for some reason it just feels right to me???

not only does lucas tell him that he's blind but he needs to "wake up" and if you take it in a literal sense it sounds so vecna’s curse-y

it's interesting that he's also literally blinding himself in s4 but in s3 lucas blinds him

(gif credit to emblazons)

literally why is it always lucas. even the “did mike see it? then it doesn’t count.”

and in s2 after will gets possessed lucas asks the party “do you think it’s true sight?” and later in the same episode mike brings up will having true sight in the av room.

also in s1 lucas has his wristrocket and says “the demogorgon’s not real. but if there’s something out there i’ll shoot it in the eye and blind it.”

maybe it’s lucas’ bridge to max and mike, them both having dealt with blindness to some extent ? and mike is super paralleled to max and max couldn't see anything after getting vecnaed. and he's obviously screwed next season with henry so i could see them healing max and making you relieved she's ok then throw you for a loop and pass the concept of her being blind onto mike.

eddie also says vecna is "missing" his left arm and eye but our vecna isn't missing an eye, it's just blindness. and it’s also the wrong eye.

and it just reminds me of “oh no lucas my arm lucas look my armmmm” and mike is grabbing the opposite arm that vecna is missing/is his claw hand... mike wheeler blind in left eye s5 real i'm calling it

(and i know these mentions of blindness are probably all a metaphor for mike's deal with his sexuality and being blinded by internalized homophobia but they usually never stop with just one meaning, these writers love their double and triple meanings/foreshadowings and making them literal lmao)

this part is just me rambling but thinking about how this could relate the queer aspect of mike wheeler; will being gay but also having his supernatural problems add so many layers to his character. so mike being queer and blind possibly because of the supernatural forces would be so interesting and add a similar level of depth to his character like will being tied to other planes of existence and henry do. and since the supernatural things in this show are literally a metaphor for forced conformity, mike and will's issues outside of their sexualities are both caused by this metaphor for forced conforming that they will accept and understand how to live with once they accept their queerness.

the forced conforming is seen in every character on this show and by the end of s5 i believe they'll be released from those societal expectations, and for mike that means sexuality-wise like will. his possible blindness could be the visual and physical representation of the damage of that conforming.

also just one last fun thing: there's a really small band called mike wheeler band that have these songs (the first one reminding me of "only love makes you that crazy") but look at the other one :O

[thestrangestthing89]

Season 1. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Season 2. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Season 3. Part 1 Part 2

Mike Character Analysis: Season 3 Part 3:

So now that we understand internalized homophobia a little better let's get into this inappropriate make-out sesh with Mike and El. Because if we understand that Mike internally realizes he's gay and is repressing his feelings (just like mom and dad told him to in season 2) because he's confused and afraid, his behavior here makes a lot of sense. His body language tells us that he is uncomfortable. El puts her hand on his face - he moves it off of him. El tries to lean in - he gently shoves her away. El wants to kiss - he wants to sing. And the thing that drives it all home for me is his behavior toward Hopper. A person who he's previously gotten along with fine. But now Hopper was there for Mike's melt down at the end of season 2 and knows some things. I wrote more about the Hopper/Mike dynamic here.

So Mike is hostile towards him, but the Hopper/Mike interactions are the only time we see a return of the quick-to-lash out Mike was saw in season 2. He doesn't repress his emotions around Hopper. Because Hopper showed him he doesn't have to -he can get mad and yell at him and Hopper is still going to be there. But Mike is also deliberately picking a fight here and we know this through Hoppers complaining about it Joyce. This is a nightly ritual with them. Mike breaks Hoppers rules and Hopper kicks Mike out of the house. Once again this is not simply Mike acting like a teen. Because if a teenager wanted to stay at his girlfriends house to make out with her, would he go out of his way to piss off her father so that he gets kicked out? Of course not. He would be following all the rules and possibly sucking up so he can stay even if he was annoyed by it.

But Mike pisses him off and gets kicked out and as he's biking to the movies El is on the walkie telling him she misses him already. And Mike briefly makes this disgusted and confused face. Earlier I mentioned that Mike and El exhibit signs of codependency and that all of their making-out is a symptom of that. Codependency is complex and has a number of characteristics present in this relationship but I'm just going to say that Mike and El constantly cancelling plans with their friends is not healthy. They don't set good boundaries with each other and spend every second of the day together. Making-out. All day. In the cabin without an adult. And if Mike's doing this then he can't be gay right? He's trying very hard to convince himself (and the audience) of this. So Mike gets to the movies late and Lucas, Max, and Will are annoyed. Lucas calls him out for spending too much time with El and Mike gets defensive. He's just spending time with his girlfriend. But Lucas is also spending time with his girlfriend and his friends at the same time. Lucas and Max are here as a point of comparison for what a healthy romantic relationship is supposed to look like for this age group. And it's basically the same thing they did as friends. Hang out. They don't even kiss this season. Because they just finished middle school. Mike is immediately self-conscious about this comparison. He's trying very hard to be normal by being in a relationship with El and if people think he's not normal then he's wrong again about how he's supposed to be behaving.

We have a very interesting scene here with Mike and Will in the movie theater. The two are sitting next to each other and Mike immediately clocks that Will isn't ok. Now Will barely moved - he went to touch the back of his neck because Mind Flayer - and Mike notices and asks if he's ok. They both are blushing and staring at each other intensely for a lot longer than necessary. It's a charged moment. Will says he's fine and Mike doesn't believe him (Will doesn't lie and the rare occasion when he does Mike notices - remember this for next season). But Mike doesn't push and lets it go. So what the hell is with all the blushing and staring? Because it almost seems like they are trying to indicate that something happened here with these two off screen. It's clear the audience isn't being given context for something.

Later, Hopper tells Mike to stop coming to the house and Mike chooses to lie to El about (which is not what Hopper asked him to do for the record) and El immediately registers that he's lying. So Mike spends the day passively doing what Lucas tells him to do in order to fix it. It's important to note here that Lucas's advice - get her a gift - is wrong. All Mike had to do was apologize to her. But he spends his day looking at things he can't afford at the mall. Mike could have easily found her a gift he could afford if that was what he wanted to do (and he does this in season 4 with the flowers. An obvious and free gift he could have easily given El here). But Mike is just doing what Lucas tells him to do and he's not thinking for himself. Because he doesn't know how to act in this situation with her. Which stands out, because Mike is about to get into the same situation with Will and handles it correctly. Mike's avoiding doing the thing he's supposed to do - talking to El. It's a thing they don't do. He knows that he should. He does it with Will. But he's trying to be normal and Lucas knows how to be normal so he is listening to him and second guessing himself, because his real self (with Will) is the problem that needed fixing. Mike is complex. El dumps his ass and this scene is funny. It's meant to be lighthearted. Cold as Ice is playing and the sun is shining and Will is laughing in the background. Back in the basement, Mike is complaining - about Hopper. Not the breakup. He doesn't understand how he got into this situation because he did what he was told (he didn't exactly but Mike doesn't take responsibility for anything when it comes to El). Mike is not complaining about El breaking up with him or indicating that he wants to get back together with her. He is complaining because to him, he did everything right and it still backfired. Will wants to play D&D and Lucas and Mike are ignoring him. They get mean here. They make fun of Will and Will gets upset and leaves. This is the only time we see Mike being unaware of Will's feelings and it's because he is trying to be Lucas. He is mimicking Lucas through this whole scene (and through most of season 2). But the second Mike realizes he actually hurt Wills feelings he is done pretending. He practically climbs over Lucas to get to Will. Now Mike and Will are fighting and it's in stark contrast to the fight with El. It's dark and pouring rain and they are both upset. Please explain to me when, in the history of movies, there has been a fight in the rain that was not intended to be romantic? "It's not my fault you don't like girls". Yes, Mike is projecting here but it's also important to take the context of the fight into consideration. Lucas and Mike think having a girlfriend makes them adults. They think playing games like Will makes them childish so, Mike at least, pretends not to like D&D. And we know he's pretending because he's playing in season 4 and he's happy. But this whole fight is about how Mike isn't acting like himself. He doesn't hang out with his friends anymore and he's focused on El too much. He's right and Mike knows this (he acknowledges as much next season). So when Mike says "it's not my fault you don't like girls" there is a "yet" implied. Mike never expresses himself well when he is defensive and emotional. He's calling Will a child. Which is especially ridiculous because Mike and Lucas are so immature this season it's actually annoying and it's Will who is showing emotional intelligence. Mike then says "Did you think we weren't going to get girlfriend and we'd just play games in the basement all day?" Again, he thinks playing games in the basement and not having a girlfriend is childish.

Part 4

[mothrite]

Something inside me

REFER TO FOR REQUEST

SUMMERY; Max and Lucas both come to realizations that change their relationship for the better <3

WARNINGS; Slight Internalized Homophobia and transphobia, Billy Hargrove is the worst but he slays in this fic, trans he/they bi max, poly bi Lucas, Lumax, Byclair, Lucas has a crush on this friend and freaks out over it, Max experiences gender euphoria for the first time

AN; I’m so sorry this took so long Anon!!! I really wanted this to turn out well because I fell in love with this idea! Proof read by me againl!! (Btw this takes place pre season 3, post season 2) Ok so like, i started this in late 2022.... it's now late 2023. didnt have the energy to finish this and I want it OUT of my drafts

Max hated it. Max hated every time someone would call them “pretty” “beautiful” or any other term of the sort. They just hated it. They hated being a girl and being told that they should wear more skirts and put their hair up more. They especially hated it when they were told to wear dresses to events. They just wanted to be free and be able to wear what they want. Max didn’t want to be seen as a girl and they weren’t really sure why. They didn’t know how they wanted to be seen

That was until mid June. Max had been forced to go out with their mom to some kind of meeting since Billy and Neil were both out. They had been wearing a hoodie and pants with their usual red vans, the hood covered the top half of their face and their hair was tucked into the back of the hood, in two braids. They weren’t exactly paying attention, mostly just reading random signs that scattered the hallway they were in with their mother when one of their mother’s recent friends approached them. They hadn’t really been listening to the conversation until they heard something that struck a flame in them.

“Oh and your son is so handsome! He just has the most amazing blue eyes!” Max’s head quickly turned to the woman in question who had long black hair and was clad in a flowing blue dress. A smile crept to the corners of Max’s mouth and they tried to cover their now red cheeks that had flushed in embarrassment and flattery. She thought I was a boy? But I look so…ugh.

The smile dropped and their fingers went cold when their mother had spoken up.

“Oh no no no, this is my daughter, Maxine.”

That day as Max was on their way home with their mother they kept thinking about it. Could people truly see them as a boy?

He wasn’t supposed to. He wasn’t supposed to like him and think of him the way he does. Lucas beat himself up for it but he couldn’t deny the fact that he found his best friend, Will Byers, attractive. He couldn’t deny the fact that he gets butterflies when he sees Will smiling and talking to him. His heart would skip a beat whenever Will invited Lucas to hang out. He hated himself for it cause it felt so wrong. He knew he still loved Max. And he knew that it was wrong for a boy to like another boy that way.

He sat in his room, some music playing lowly on a radio that stood on his desk. He forced himself to get up and walk to the phone in the kitchen of his home, though his body resented the action after laying down and doing a whole lot of nothing that day. Just as he was dialing in Max’s number the phone rang and he picked it up.

“Hello-?”

“Lucas! I didn’t think you’d pick up so fast!”

“Will? Is that you?”

“The one and only! I was wondering if we could hang out at your place for a bit? You know just us without Mike and Dustin”

Lucas’s heart beat had quickly sped up at the words and his cheeks became dusted with a shade of dark red.

“That sounds great Byers, see you in 15?”

“See ya! Bye!”

“Bye..”

Lucas Sinclair had a dilemma. One he couldn’t figure out on his own. He knew who he had to speak too, Eleven Hopper.

(MY ASS IS NOT FINISHING THIS GOODBAI.)

[andiwriteordie]

in the atla/st verse are the societal attitudes and shit similar to the actual 80's or is it more like the avatar universe. what i'm trying to ask here is if it's more or less homophobic. trying to figure out if mike would see things about korra and asami or whatever and have an easier time accepting himself. also speaking of korra and asami how relevant to this au are the og atla characters

(ok last one for the night but please feel free to send me more atla/stranger things asks i will answer them tomorrow as i can!)

ah yes, @messrsbyler and i were talking about this at one point, because i thought the same thing! we obviously have korra and asami, and i think kyoshi also has a girlfriend in her books, right? anyways off topic.

i think where nic and i landed is that it'd be less of an issue in this world, as we do see canon examples set in the past where queer couples are together, so i think it'd probably be more societally acceptable. that said, we both think mike would probably just never? really? realize? that he has feelings for will? and then suddenly he does, and the boy P A N I C S and gets distant and awkward and—

and if you're going to ask, but andi? but nic? why would mike do that if internalized homophobia doesn't play as large of a role? so here are a couple thoughts: all of this realization begins to occur when will is struggling with his ptsd and pulling away from people naturally. and mike, ofc being mike, has placed a large responsibility of what has happened to will on himself and is pushing himself to be a better firebender because like? what if he could've gotten to will faster? what if he could've made sure this didn't happen? what if something happens again? so a lot of internal projection related to that negative perception of self and mike's tendency to need to be the caretaker and protector and all around to be needed by somebody.

and as i've talked about a couple times, will struggles with his bending after his kidnapping/whatever the equivalent of the possession is/etc. and mike tries and tries so hard to be there for will, but he's a kid. and he's only human. and he's frustrated at himself already and it's the perfect recipe for disaster.

that then, with mike being hotheaded and a firebender through and through, eventually comes to a head with the equivalent of the rain fight. so mike is angry with himself and is projecting it onto will. and so instead of mike yelling that it's not his fault will doesn't like girls, would be something like, "it's not my fault you can't bend anymore!" (thanks for that one nic. ouch.)

their friendship is breaking apart at the seams, and mike already feels will pulling away (rightfully so, as he said some hurtful things to will), so he pulls away too... and it's in that absence from each other that it begins to click with mike that he... might like will as more than a friend.

[byers-bowlcut]

Ok but Joyce's job was supposed to be NEW, judging by El's letter?? like 5 out of those 6 months the phone lines probably weren't even blocked. So it's not really about Will keeping track of phones and calling first.

And let's keep in mind that Will said "you made it super clear you don't care about what I have to say" and I REALLY don't think he'd be saying that if Mike had been super responsive during those few calls.

Like Mike literally admits that he was mostly just focused on El. So if that's how their phone calls went, why would Will have the heart to try and call himself? Especially when again: season 3, him trying to reach out to an unenthusiastic uninterested Mike that again: was only focused on el, just resulted in him getting hurt further. It's not about "forgiveness". Will forgives easily and that's clear. Bur it's about the fact that Mike seemingly just keeps repeating the same patterns of behaviour. Like the point is Mike has been consistently distancing himself first, and that's probably on internalized homophobia and all that difficult stuff (that Will is slowly getting over but Mike is evidently not). So you can't really expect Will to continue to push especially when he doesn't even know what Mike's real problem is.

(Also on the topic of phone lines, I'm guessing as March break started approaching Mike started regretting things especially since he was going to be seeing Will in person soon, and started trying to call more. But now it's suddenly not even going through so he'd complain about it, and eventually found out through Dustin and Lucas about Joyce's job since they probably talk to Will/El as well)

You guys realize Will acknowledged he was being "mean" (van scene) and "pulling away" (van scene) correct?

[someforeignband]

I MADE THIS AT THREE IN THE MORNING WHEN I WOKE UP FROM A NIGHTMARE THIS IS MY MAGNUM OPUS

here is what i have to say about the st characters and how they identify sexuality/pronouns wise (like if they HAD THE LANGUAGE FOR IT and LACKED INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA OK let me live) (if u don’t like it feel free to argue with the wall)

steve: he/him bisexual (lemme fight for myself here,,, lots of people have said he/they bisexual and i see that, and i hear that, ok? i just think that however steve expresses his gender, whether it be fluid in any way or not, he would still use he/him pronouns. i hope this makes sense)

robin: she/they lesbian

nancy: she/her bisexual (im sorry to all the lesbian nancy truthers out there. i just think one would not be with Jonathan in ANY WAY if one was not at least a LITTLE bit into men. sorry again to my lesbian nancy truthers:// )

jonathan: he/him and somewhere on the ace spectrum (i won’t explain this you can argue with the wall)

Dustin: he/him straight (STRONG ally tho. ok , literally the strongest ally)

Mike: he/they bisexual (IF mike wasn’t such a piece of fucking work, and worked through his Whatever He Has Going On, i think he would understand the motivation to treat will like SHIT comes from a place of internalized homophobia and just Mike-ness. MOREOVER, the way the kid is obsessed w eddie and looks at eddie…. come on. also i think the way mike dresses and expresses himself on the gender spectrum would be interesting to examine like ‘oh maybe i don’t fully feel like he/him suits me’ and - yeah ,,, mike stinks)

Lucas: he/him straight (bi wife energy tho)

Will: he/him gay (duh)

Max: she/they bisexual

Eleven: she/her bisexual (im holding out for a sexuality crisis when el works through Everything She Has Going On, caused by the one and only max mayfield. Meleven over Mileven every time)

Billy: he/him gay (this man is GAY AND OBVIOUSLY struggling with some serious internalized Issues, which would make him probably resort to the hyper-masculine route and explains why he looks like he wants to devour steve whole)

Argyle: he/him straight (another strong ally sorta coming out of left field but a STRONG ALLY NONETHELESS)

Eddie: they/them queer (LET ME JUST SAY, i am a queer/gay eddie truther until i DIE. i think eddie is exclusively interested in people who identify on the masculine end of the gender spectrum, mostly men. if eddie had the language i FIRMLY believe eddie would identify as non-binary, and one can not be gay (in the mlm sense) if one does not identify as a man. MOREOVER, I think the way eddie expresses gender is rooted in a more fluid and punk/metal sense of fashion which is SIMILARLY rooted in fluidity of sexuality and gender (EVEN IF all the douches that like it nowadays are homophobic/transphobic and just the worst) (I don’t know if this makes sense but it makes sense TO ME)

Chrissy: she/her lesbian. (duh)

If you don’t agree or don’t like it pls argue with the wall, constructive discussion in the comments only pls:)

[strawberrybyers]

it’s not even because i ship byler that i can’t see how they’d go about will being rejected by mike or the duffers glossing over the fact will is in love with mike. it’d be odd and a waste of time to include details that will loves mike from season 1 only to never reference it again in season 5 to continue mikeven. or to have will confess his feelings to mike and him say “thanks will for telling me, but i’m with el. you’ll find someone else who will love you the same way you love me” like fuck that would be so painful to hear. and its’s not that mike owes will a relationship or anything, but this is a fictional tv show. they include subtext to let us know what’s going on with the characters, so if will is in love with mike and they’ve been building that up for 4 seasons, then it has to go somewhere, right?

and if we take a look at mike for the past 4 seasons, we also see that they’ve been showing mike’s love for will. his actions in seasons 3 and 4 show that he’s been dealing with internalized homophobia and struggling how to manage his feelings. i believe when will moved away, that’s when he started to have some sort of realization. it’s just strange that mike, a main character, would have their thoughts, motivations behind their actions, and feelings be somewhat unknown to the audience, but if mike himself is struggling then of course we would be in the dark about it all as there would need to be this build up to him finally having a realization that he is queer and in love with will.

this is why i don’t have byler doubt anymore. i can’t see the ending being anything else because narratively it wouldn’t make sense. season 4 would’ve been the perfect opportunity to really show that will was once in love with mike, but have him move on AND strengthen mikeven. but instead they show us that will is in love with mike by having him confess how mike makes him feel when he gives mike the painting (in this scene, will is lying saying el commissioned the painting and is talking as if he’s expressing el’s feelings, so if byler is unrequited they’re going to act like this wasn’t a scene in their show? a scene they spent all day working on?). then right in the beginning of season 4 we find out mike can’t say i love you to el, but then later in the season he can say it after will tells him “he’s the heart”? then mike and el don’t even talk after everything. like ok what does all of that mean? once again, continuing mikeven as endgame would be ignoring big moments between byler and mikeven in season 4 and if the duffers say season 5 is part 2 to season 4 then they’re obviously going to have to circle back to certain character arcs.

i just think the duffers would have to ignore so much of what they included in their show if they have mike reject will or have will move on from mike as if nothing happened. the show would end with us having no idea what was going on with mike. so many scenes would end up meaning nothing. it just wouldn’t make sense. byler becoming canon is going to connect the dots in so many ways, and if i, someone who does not work in film can acknowledge this, then i’m sure the duffers wrote and directed all of this to be intentional.

[vomitgreensocks]

WILL DOESN'T DESERVE BETTER THAN MIKE:

This is just an opinion, no need to get mad. It's an literal show.

I have seen way too many people saying stuff like "i don't ship byler (Will and Mike) because Will deserves so much better than Mike" and i have even seen alot of byler shippers saying that Will deserves better than Mike but as one of the biggest Will Byers stans on earth, i do not agree with this at all.

/\ (Some examples of people saying Will deserves better than Mike)

I completely understand that people think Mike treats Will like trash, and i agree with this but you guys act like Mike ONLY treats Will like trash. People mostly focus on the fact Mike sometimes treats Will like trash but let's not forget that there are way more scenes where Mike is super sweet and caring towards Will.

In season 2 Mike was there for Will all the time even though Will was literally POSSESSED by a thing that was part of the trauma Mike and the rest got from season 1, Mike literally got super excited and happy and his smile could bright up a whole room when Will gave him a painting while it's not like this was the first time Will made something for Mike, Mike has a whole binder of Will and Will's drawings only, Mike always asks if Will is ok and he always makes sure Will is alright and so much more. Mike is just dealing with his own problems (most likely internalized homophobia) and he's an good written teenager, of course he treats Will like trash sometimes. It seems like people forgot how much Mike cares about Will, loves him and understands him (if it's platonic or not, doesn't matter) and that is what Will wants. Will wants someone to care about him, to love him and to understand him.

Besides that, Mike apologized for being an jerk to Will. After the argument in season 3 episode 3 Mike went to Will's house while there was a storm, rain and thunder just to apologize to Will and even when Mike didn't got a response when he knocked on the front door of the byers house he still didn't gave up. He literally went to castle byers, RUNNING just to find Will and make sure he is alright and to apologize. That wasn't just knocking by the way, that was banging on the front door while panicking and in season 4 episode 4 Mike apologized to Will (they had a whole conversation) because of what he said in season 4 episode 2. He was literally smiling at Will and he got "mad" or "confused" when Will said he deserved Mike yelling at him because Mike thinks he doesn't deserve this at all. He thinks Will deserves people being nice to him.

Yeah...If somebody did that to me i wouldn't give a f×ck that they are a jerk sometimes, i would love them with my whole heart and soul. Oh yeah also, Will doesn't want someone "better" than Mike. It seems like people think Will has a crush on Mike but Will is DEEPLY IN LOVE with Mike. He has been deeply in love with Mike for maybe 3+ years and he doesn't want someone "better" than Mike at all. He wants Mike and Mike only. Did people also forget that Will said Mike makes him feel like he's not an mistake at all, that he is better for being different and that gives him the courage to fight on? MIKE GIVES WILL THE COURAGE TO FIGHT ON. No, Will isn't going to be with another boy next season because they won't add new characters AND WILL DOESN'T WANT SOMEONE ELSE. People really forgot how much Will actually loves Mike.

[ed89]

I see people argue against byler bcuz "people need to see unrequited love is ok too! Will needs to learn to love himself independent of mike" but I don't understand. I know what it's like to be gay and be in love w my straight best friend and honestly I don't want that to be wills story bcuz it simply does not have to be. Do people forget that Dustins unrequited crush on max in season 2 had basically the same message this storyline would supposedly have??? It would be one thing if will wasn't basically the only main character to never have a love interest but that's simply not the case; EVERYONE is or has been in a relationship in this show aside from robin and will. Will and mike learning that what they have is romantic love and mike and El realizing what they have is platonic is far more interesting and them grappling with their own internalized homophobia would be more of a breath of fresh air than the straight couple being endgame and "the gay one" having to suck it up and "learn" ever will be, sorry. it's not even a matter of will "deserving" mikes love, it's just that personally I think it would be nice to see something like that! For once! I can name so many shows that deal with unrequited love but idk any show thats nearly as mainstream as ST where one of the MC's who was thought to be straight figures out he actually. Is not! This was kinda all over the place but yeah this take just really annoys me

anon ur absolutely right thank u for ranting into my inbox. ALSO thats why i cannot fathom byler Not being endgame bc if it wasn't then that would just be.......really super fucked up. and im optimistic that the duffers arent homophobic assholes. so far they haven't been so thats promising. byler rights

[demadogs]

assign an older teen therapist to each younger teen

younger teens (el mike max will dutsin lucas)

older teens (nancy robin jonathan steve eddie argyle)

base it purely off comparability not cannonness

ooo this is fun!!

ok i did almost all of these and then went back up to your message and saw that you said base it off compatibility not cannonnes and i didnt do that at all i based it entirely on the trauma theyve been through and why this person could help them. my b. but for most of these i cant really imagine the kids accepting help from anyone else.

jonathan is a therapist to mike

i really love the idea of jonathan having a big brother moment to mike regarding his internalized homophobia. jonathan just knows exactly the right things to say to someone struggling with his sexuality and i think he could tell mike things that he really really needs to hear. will has jonathan but i think mike truly believes he has no one that he can talk to about it. hes not nearly as close to nancy as jonathan and will are and i think hes sure that will is straight and doesnt wanna talk to him about it because its too close to telling him his feelings. jonathan could pick up on his feelings the way he did with will and tell him that theres nothing wrong with him and that its ok. i just read a great fic about this. highly recommend.

steve is a therapist to max

this is inspired by the fact that max wrote a letter to steve. he was the only one of the older kids that she wrote to. i think she sees him as the big brother she wished billy could have been. hes protected her from her abuser. he lied when billy showed up to pick up max in s2 knowing that he was dangerous and tried to get him to leave and keep her and all the kids safe, and then he (tried) to beat him up when he got in. i think hes done things for her and the other kids that he doesnt think twice about but it makes her feel so safe and close to having a sibling relationship like letting them into free movies through the back door at the mall and giving her free ice cream and having dumbass moments that she bickers with him over (“is he- is he a vampire :0” “it was a metaphor -_-“). he wouldnt even need to have big serious talks with her, just his presence is therapeutic for her.

robin is a therapist for will

i think this reason is pretty self explanatory. im giving her to will instead of mike because i think will is a lot closer to the stage of self acceptance that robin is in than mike is so she’d be better for will. itd be so great for will to be around a happy confident queer person. they would make fun of straight people together (mostly steve) and have so much fun doing it.

nancy is a therapist to dustin

ok dustin is hard because i wanna say eddie but i think the biggest reason he needs therapy is because of eddies death so that cant really happen. hes always been relatively chill given everything hes been through but now hes in a completely different head space. a lot of them have experienced some kinda loss but this is the first time its happened to him. i think nancy, the only other person who lost their best friend, would be good for dustin and honestly good for nancy too. she still has a lot of trauma and guilt because of it and i think they both need someone who knows what its like. but nancy is years after her loss and dustin needs someone to tell him it gets better.

eddie is a therapist to el

this is a weird as hell pairing, i know. i was gonna give eddie to dustin but no can do and i really dont think argyle can do any good for her but i think it would be cool for her to be around someone like eddie. someone who completely embraces being a “freak” and would never let anybody tell him what to do, unlike el who as owens said has spent way too much of her life being told what to do. he could also be a great one for mike. i think he kinda was a bit because he inspired him to grow his hair out, wear cooler clothes that feel more him, and get back into dnd and stop pretending he grew out of it.

ok im gonna bend the rules a bit because i think lucas deserves way better than argyle (no offense argyle)

steve is also a therapist to lucas

this is inspired by the fact that no one showed up to his basketball game except for steve. he already graduated and he didnt really look pleased with his date and he couldnt sit with robin bc shes in band but he still went. i think its hard for anyone to be a therapist for lucas’ situation with max not knowing if she’ll wake up but steve might be a nice familiar presence and he was there when she first was tranced and i think he’d be comfortable talking to him about it.

and argyle is a therapist to erica

i think erica thinks shes above the concept of therapy. i say this because of the way she so confidentially said she doesnt have phobias and is alarmingly calm about the whole russian fiasco. all she cared about was getting back to tinas. she needs someone that wouldnt really treat like therapy at all which would be perfect for argyle because he’d be like “bro this mind fight is trippy and you were in that super bad dudes house are you good?” he wouldnt be good for anyone but her.

i spent an absurd amount of time on this.

[peasmustardblossomseed]

Ok so you know how S3/4 is like the worst? So I have some stuff that might make him seem less like the worst. Most of this is from someone who does byler analyses (causeineedu on tiktok) but I’ve interpreted a bit of it myself.

So basically instead of bi Mike, it’s gay Mike with so much internalized homophobia and comphet.

He loves El, but platonically. And what everyone (including himself for a while) thought was romantic attraction, was actually idolization. Mike constantly referred to El as a “superhero” in s4. Most of the time referring to her powers. He’s just a nerd who thinks El is a real life Superman. Obviously he still sees her as a person, but he doesn’t love her. He uses her to convince himself and others that he’s straight.

Obviously it’s not cool to ignore your friends and only focus on your girlfriend, but he was probably only doing it because it’s his first relationship and he’s like “this is how relationships work right?” He also wants to seem as straight as possible because during s3&4 Mike knows he isn’t straight. He hates it, and he’s trying to stop it, but he knows it.

Another thing people hate about season 4 Mike Wheeler is the painting scene in the van. Mostly the fact that he seemed oblivious to Will crying. But I don’t think he was. Mike read El’s letter in the beginning of the season. El didn’t know what Will was painting, so how could she have commissioned it? Mike knew Will was using El’s name as a mask. He knew Will had feelings he couldn’t share at that moment. Mike knew Will wasn’t ready and respected that. (Also they were in the car with two other people so it wasn’t exactly the place for a full on heart to heart.) And when Will started crying, Mike knew he was crying. He also knew Will was trying to hide the fact that he was crying and probably just wanted to be left alone. Mike probably still doesn’t completely realize Will is in love him but he’s getting there.

Also not to mention Will basically peer pressured him in to telling El he loved her. (They peer pressure each other into being straight it’s so funny.) Mikes entire monologue was just a mix of Will’s words and contradicting what he said earlier in the van. Will basically prompted him to say his love monologue. Mike also mostly did it to trying and save El. It didn’t help. The vines got tighter. The only thing that helped her was her memories with Max. Max is her best friend and was the one who helped her realize her life does revolve around Mike and she is her own person. (Her feelings about Max being romantic could be possible but that’s a talk for another day.) Mike’s monologue didn’t help El except for maybe made her realize that Mike was lying through his teeth to save her and doesn’t actually love her romantically.

I’m conclusion: Mike Wheeler is not an asshole, he just has a lot of internalized homophobia and makes some really stupid decisions because of it.

Thank you for coming to my Gay Ted Talk

[vampwitchcoven]

Ok. Some of y'all are probably gonna unfollow me for this, but I gotta say it. Mike's depression isn't all about Will. Mike tried to kill himself at the young age of 12 and you're twisting it to say "oh yeah he was depressed because Will was gone" like that was the only reason. Mike is described as a kid with "near-crippling insecurity" in the show bible. He has severe self esteem issues. Sure, the internalized homophobia plays a part on that, but so does the bullying he's faced, the situation with his parents, his difficulty to make friends (everyone in kindergarten had friends except him and Will, as he described), etc. Will means a lot to him and thinking his best friend died/he lost him (plus having internalized homophobia) definitely plays a part on why he's depressed, but it's not the defining reason. Mike isn't depressed BECAUSE Will left. He was already at the brink of a breakdown, Will leaving was just the catalyst.

[mayahawkins]

hi! what are your sexuality headcanons? for byler and any other characters! :) feel free to go into depth if you'd like 💛

hello! ok so i don’t think will’s sexuality is up for discussion, like he’s gay.

i personally am a gay mike truther bc i don’t feel like he’s ever shown interest in girls. he only liked el after everyone told him he did and he really only seemed interested in her bc, as lucas even says, she’s the first girl to show interest in him. which honestly, to me, doesn’t mean much considering she asked if he’d be like a brother at first and didn’t even know what friend meant. i think he is dealing with some serious comp het. idk abt internalized homophobia, probs to an extent as it is the 80s. i think he understands that what he feels for will isn’t Normal™️ and is unsure how to deal with that. that’s why he’s so hostile to max at first. bc she illustrates the abnormality in him bc he can clearly see dustin and lucas having crushes on her and he doesn’t know why he doesn’t and so he lashes out at her for it. i think it very much has to do with the fact that he feels like he should like her and doesn’t and is confused and maybe a lil worried abt why that is and what it means about him.

ofc i don’t think that’s the only reason he lashed out at her. he’s defs still sad abt el and feels like she’s trying to butt in when she doesn’t have the shared trauma of what happened in s1, even though she ofc isn’t but he’s like 12 and sad and scared for will and el. anyways, mike is gay (but i totally respect other headcanons!!!)

i also headcanon el as a lesbian. i feel like she’s also dealing with comp het and also i’m a lesbian and i say so.

max and lucas are bi bc idk i feel it in my bones, neither of them are straight

steve is also bi bc cmon, he just exudes chaotic bi energy

bi nancy and jonathan bc i’m a sucker for nancy having a tiny crush on robin and jonathan having a tiny crush on argyle (maybe also steve after steve’s growth)

[morbid-bugz]

My personal ST sexuality headcanons :) IK it’s long stfu I needed to get this out

Nancy: I’d say she’s a lesbian just strong wlw vibes all around, she was into dudes but platonically and mistakes the desire for affection and friendship as romantic feelings and just thought her attraction to women was bestie vibes only :)

Robin: Fuhkin gay. so gay. Figured out she was gay from a kitschy erotica novel that she stole from a yard sale when she was 12 (the ones with huge half-breed musclemen and fainting women in ripped bodices on the cover)

Steve: Oh homie, get some dick. Watched Grease when he was 11 and had a boner he had to hide throughout the whole thing because he was sweating from John Travolta and Olivia Newman.

Eddie: way too gender to not be nonbinary (he/they king) also BISEXUALLL so bisexual like he radiates bisexual slut (affectionate) Maybe pansexual? He also gives pansexual vibes in a total “*shrug* ass is ass, man” kinda way.  Was that one kid who was kissing boys in secret when he was 6 and putting on lipstick before having a crisis at 14 and sadly became a total shithead before going back to being a nerd at 16. Blows men at truck stops without shame.

Billy: Fakes being straight but is the biggest fag in history like stone butch has had affairs with 13 different men. Makes women want to leave their husbands but even more so makes men leave their wives. He does drag and is intense enough that if anyone tries to make fun of them he’ll beat their asses until they’d have to be scraped off the floor with a spatula.

Eleven: Ok so like, really heteromantic but experimental with girls. Asexual but doesn’t really understand her asexuality so developed a pretty shitty mindset of thinking something was wrong with her. Max being educated on this helped her understand herself better probably.

Max: B I S E X U A L all the way omg. Fucking definition of hot bi girl. I’d say also poly?? She’s the girl that Joan Jett is singing about in AC/DC. 

Lucas: Just told people he was a spicy straight after he was caught making out with a guy. Actually bisexual but has a shit ton of internalized biphobia. Which leads to shit getting rocky with max sometimes.

Mike: Oh god he needs to get dicked down even harder than Steve he has so much internalized homophobia. I’m not even going to call him bi he just feels so gay it ain’t even funny.

Dustin: panromantic asexual. I dunno how to elaborate but his mom bought him a barbie when he asked for one. He’s just chill about his sexuality doesn’t get the big whoop about why it’s so important. He doesn’t really like pride but went to a parade wearing a pan flag with Suzie who’s pan as well and he’s super supportive of her .

Will: Toned down gay, similar to Dustin where he really doesn’t give a shit about sexuality like has a very “gay isn’t different to straight so let’s all just be treated as equal it should just be considered normal” mentality. Tho I reckon he’s the sort that would throw a brick through a window if he had to. More punk scene activist less Yas Queen 

Jonathan: Aroace, depressed and felt desperate to feel something so convinced himself he was in love with Nancy. Still unaware of what he is :(

Joyce: Bisexual. No elaboration. 

Chrissy: Pansexual. She looks like a walking pansexual flag.

I probably missed some people out lol i’m just tired <3

[nancythebisexualslutwheeler]

top 5 game of thrones and It characters? ❤️

First: thank you and I love and miss you

GAME OF THRONES

#1 SANSA (@veganmikehanlon can we PLEASE name one of our children Sansa?) Actually everyone go spam their inbox telling them that I deserve this in my life lol

#2 Jon - now not cause of Jonsa (ok a little bit) but cause ooh that face and I have a literal Jon Snow throw blanket, and I bought 2 different key chain pops because one got old and he’s a precious little UGH I LOVE HIM

#3 Daenerys- “fire cannot kill a dragon” will those words probably end up on my body someday? Yes. Bad ass bitch, yes.

***just to let you know I’m hesitating here because literally everyone else has had me fucked up repeatedly***

#4 Margaery - From what I remember she was lowkey that bitch, did what she needed to survive and then fought to the death for her brother, also in my fics she’s pretty dope so 🤷🏽‍♀️

#5 Robb- Wanna sit on his face. He tries to do the right thing but then he just did not hit the fucking mark bro . His death still fucked me up tho

IT

#1 Richie- as much as I want to say Mike for #representation, Richie could literally be unthreaded into ten million strands of problems, self hatred, body image issues, internalized homophobia, not knowing the difference between love and a friend- I could go on forever. Aww

#2 Mike- he puts up with so much and that boy is so traumatized and the isolation of being the only colored in the group and his friends are trying to fight a demon and they got people up in here calling him the n word and they’re like let’s ride our fucking bikes to the club house.. naw son

#3 Stan- I think Stan is underrated but I also want stan and Mike to be bffs so maybe that’s where I’m coming from. I think Stan is smart as hell tbh

#4 Eddie- Eddie is feminized too much in fic and outside the book (willing to discuss but would have to loop in @veganmikehanlon ) BUT again with his trauma and he has a lot of growth and a lot of things I wish I could have seen and he’s a little gem and I want to HUG HIM

#5 Bev- Bev and I have a lot in common and I have a lot of hcs about Bev that makes me like her more than actual character Bev tbh