#but it would be more interesting if he was actually gay but bi mike is so special to me

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

"gay Mike this" and "bi Mike that"

I feel like some of us are so busy labeling Mike as what we want him to be instead of seeing the true Mike all the way back from season one. We don't need these new labels. What we really need is #boywhofellforhisbestfriendmikewheeler

[will80sbyers]

I’m sorry but... why do you think mike is bi? I mean, look at him! he’s so gay

Is this a serious question? "He's so gay!" was funny though lmao 🤣 if it is... this is very summarized and you can go look in my pinned post if you want more, I made a whole power point about it when I was fixated in a unhinged way during the summer 🌞

actually I'll link it here ( keep in mind it's old so for some details I might have changed my mind but in general it should explain many things of how I'm reading Mike's character when I watch )

but anyway, there are multiple things in the show and outside of the show that make me think he's bi:

the storyline makes more sense to me with him being bi because of how he talks in the show about his relationship

I don't think he's lying about much on the show and I place his actions in context with his low self esteem and fear of things changing + confusion about his feelings for Will

the way the show is filmed takes his relationship with El seriously and frames them as romantic multiple times

in the script of season 2 the writers made it clear Mike had romantic feelings for El at that point

I think there's bi color coding and jokes in the script specifically for him

there are lots of parallels in the show with romantic couples and Byler and lots of the parallels are also with Milven which means Milven is a real romantic couple to me and I can't ignore that because if I ignore those parallels for Mlv then I can't take the parallels Byler has with romantic couples as romantic coding either, it would be a double standard to say one has a romantic meaning and the other doesn't

There are parallels between S1/2 Mike liking El on screen and Mike S4 starting to like Will which indicates to me that he had feelings for El too as he does for Will

The marketing takes Mlv seriously as a couple and did this for years selling stuff about them and I think the writers just deleting the relationship is not probable also because of that

The whole st*ncy - Mlv parallel doesn't make much sense to include if the reason Mike can't love El is because he's gay and not because they aren't compatible as a couple

And I think that's all (again, very summarized) ...

but in general all the posts about Mike being gay, while they are very interesting, didn't convince me because more often than not they don't fit with the general context around it- logically there's something in the show that doesn't make it make sense- although I keep this option always open because even if I think that in the end the writers could still do it!

In general as long as Will and Mike are together in the end I don't really care about what they decide to go with but for now to me it makes more sense that Mike had puppy love feelings for El when he was little and then he's now realizing Will is who he should be with ❤️

and also, I mean, look at him! He's so bi!

[pinkeoni]

Mike Wheeler and Audience Perception

(Or, Why Does Everybody Hate Mike?)

I want to stress right off the bat that this is not meant to be read as Mike hate AT ALL— this is a pro-Mike post I promise!! It just might take a lot of explaining on my end so bare with me.

I know that the general audience perception of Mike can be incredibly frustrating. Post vol. 2, and hell even during season 3, there's been a large amount of animosity towards Mike, because he isn't acting in accordance with the Mike that everyone fell in love with in seasons 1 and 2.

But here's the thing, the audience is supposed to dislike Mike.

Maybe I should clarify first, I'm not saying that the audience is supposed to dislike Mike FOREVER, but rather the audience is supposed to dislike Mike RIGHT NOW until season 5 airs and clears up a lot of his choices. And even if people do like Mike, which a lot of the smart ones do, then they are at least supposed to dislike his actions. Even the most hardcore Mike fans will admit that he has moments where he messes up, but understand the complex reasonings behind why he makes these mistakes.

I should clarify too that what I mean by "the smart ones" are the ones who see Byler as the likely outcome. Even regardless if you see Mike as gay or bi (I personally see him as gay, but that besides the current point) the only way to explain why Mike has been acting the way that he has is through his sexuality and feelings for Will, otherwise he really is being an asshole for no reason. Mike's true character is purposefully being withheld from the audience, so that they can make the reveal and it can completely recontextualize his character arc. Those that have it figured out (Bylers) are just ahead of where a typical audience member would be.

Let me put it this way:

GA that dislike Mike and MiIeven are watching the show correctly, even if they don't necessarily see Byler as an option yet.

Bylers that love Mike are one step ahead.

MiIevens that hate Mike see all the narrative information correctly, but are denying the truth.

MiIevens that love Mike are willfully changing what the narrative is presenting.

If Mike was truly acting exactly the way he was supposed to, then his actions would be more likable.

I've noticed that a ton of miIevens tend to dislike Mike. Not all, but a good number. They hate him because they believe exactly what they see on the surface level and that he's acting exactly the way he's supposed to. When Mike is ditching his friends and disregarding his interests in season 3, that's just Mike growing into his heterosexual self! Yes it's totally rude and out of character, but Mike is meant to be with El which means that he is doing exactly what he is supposed to do, right?

Is it possible to have this arc without Mike being unlikable? I mean, it’s not impossible, but it would be extremely difficult. The whole point is that Mike has not been acting like himself for the past two seasons, so it’s important to show that when he acts like this it is not a good thing, and this is not only proven through the audience’s perception but also through the characters perception in show. Mike gets called on his bullshit in universe by Will and Dustin! You are supposed to see that what he’s doing is strange!

Let me put it this way, if all of Mike's current actions were liked and supported by not only the audience AND the characters within the story— this would make the reveal that he hasn't been acting truthfully not work.

I’ll use a pretty robust example, let’s consider a character dynamic that, while not romantic, is widely loved by most audience members: Steve and Dustin.

Let’s say that in season 5, it’s revealed that Steve actually hates Dustin and doesn’t like being his friend. Not only would the audience strongly dislike that, but it wouldn’t match any of what was being shown in show. There’s no reason to believe that Steve doesn’t like Dustin, so that reveal would just feel cruel and cheap.

Let’s also say that Mike was actually a perfect boyfriend and friend for the past two seasons. He’s always able to say “I love you” to El. He isn’t possessive of her. He doesn’t ice out his friends (especially Will) just to be with her. He doesn’t try ti be someone he’s not. His actions are loved by the audience and the characters. And THEN it’s revealed that he’s gay and loves Will. Wouldn’t that feel off?

While Bylers may be used to being faced with intense homophobia from certain MiIevens and toxic fandom members, the typical GA member actually isn’t homophobic. Most GA don’t like MiIeven, but they’re indifferent to Byler because they don’t see it as a possibility quite yet because they don’t read into it as closely as we do. It’s not because they are media illiterate, it’s just because they watch the show casually. The general consensus that I actually saw from GA on twitter is that they actually wanted more of Will and Mike and were dissapointed with their lack of attention from the season.

The unfortunate thing about Mike and audience perception is that we have to wait for the payoff. There’s not really anything that can be done about that, it’s just how the television production cookie crumbles. I also don’t think that it’s a bad thing for Mike to have pronounced flaws, if anything it makes his character more interesting and dynamic. Some of my favorite characters in media are ones that are deeply flawed but have a redemption arc. Although, I guess this would be less of a redeption arc and more of a recontextualization arc? Either way, I’m excited for the audience to finally see Mike the way that they’re supposed to.

[castlebyersafterdark]

Your post about will wanting mike physically made me wonder if many of the puritan bylers used to be milevens (statistics would suggest yes) who are still struggling to come to terms with what it means for a man to be gay. 

There seems to be a lack of understanding about how boys actually relate to each other in both platonic and romantic contexts. After all, lots of gay media that caters to young teen girls, like heartstopper, is cutesy if not totally sanitised, and if they are basing what byler could be off of what they thought mileven WAS, then it tracks - because mileven was never physical or sexual either. The reasons for this are all to do with mike’s sexuality, but perhaps many people think that mileven WAS real and no longer is, and therefore when mike and will get together it’ll just be another version of that heterosexual romance. 

Ofc this is wrong, not least because mike and el were so young when they were exploring each other even if it was entirely performed rather than genuinely exploratory. but even if mike was exploring a relationship with el for the first time as a 16/17 yr old, it would still manifest differently to one with will because they are both boys. Not to say that love itself or the butterflies you feel are different, but the way that two men will express their love + the fact that mike and will are friends, would obviously change their dynamic. 

Do you think that if mike and el had been shown to check each other out, that people would have a different opinion (not about mike being gay or bi, but about how his and will’s attraction will express itself?) Because you’re right - people do forget that will being gay means he wants to be intimate with men. Is that because they think his attraction is never physically expressed in the show? But then what exactly would that physical attraction look like? Has he not been ogling mike enough for you? Or painting his body in a very intricate ritual of dedication and love? Or is it because Will is just so gosh darn adorable, and they think that someone who has a baby face cannot experience sexual attraction? 

Intriguing premise on multiple fronts!

Re: the former Milevnn scenario - never considered that but at least for some folks in fandom? Maybe! That's an interesting idea, but I do kind of lean towards a lot of the 'puritan' ideas just being a product of today's internet/fandom culture, via this agenda from how gen z seems to have grown up entirely online. And you can't fully blame it on this generation! Those under that mindset didn't inflict it on themselves! (Same vein as "no one is born racist - you are taught to hate"). It's a reaction to a deeper conversation of social media and surveillance culture and this pervasive mindset of thought-crime, etc. I'm toeing the line between genZ/millennial but my fandom experience in the early years was a bit different, where there wasn't as strong of a backlash and negative reaction to sexuality and sex in regards to fandom (people were writing fic about high school age characters doing alllll sorts of stuff and, thinking back, getting a call-out about that content kinda seems unfathomable in retrospect). I genuinely feel it's mostly a culture clash in fandom spaces. But with kindness and re-education and conversation, I think we can either come to agreements and find common ground rather than fighting and call-outs and witch-hunts and all that negativity. I find it more helpful to ask the puritan-mind set folks "why do you feel this way? what about this is so upsetting to you? Have you never really examined your judgement and why it makes you upset?" Learning moments! Kindness and compassion goes a long way in fighting repression and bigotry, and I know that's a hard pill to swallow sometimes in the face of contentiousness.

Re: not understanding the teenage boy experience - another verrrrrrry big factor that I also think simultaneously plays into what's going on, even with those well-intentioned and supportive, just hesitant. It's just the honest truth. Without getting too far into gender politics et. al - yeah, unless you yourself are or were a teenage boy, especially a gay teenage boy - there's a lot of presumption and inference and while mileage does very much vary in personal experience, there are tenets that will factor into an accurate portrayal. Yes - not every teenager is going to have sex. Not every teenager is even interested in sex and many will grow into adults who aren't interested either and that's totally valid and fine. But I do not think that is the case for these specific characters, personally. It's a disservice to sanitize queer sexuality. To put it bluntly, if two teenage boys are dating/have feelings for each other - they're going to want to have sex. Are you kidding me? Teenagerdom? The horniest time of our lives??? Yall. It's going to be awkward and fumbling and exploratory and they won't fully know what they're doing, but these boys will want to experiment and get it on. That's nature, that's biology. It honestly cracks me up when I read some sfw byler fics with heavy make-out scenes and the next moment it's like 'oh we better stop before we get carried away' and I'm like, oh honey. That's not how dicks work. They're already hard and they both know it. They're sixteen. You get hard at a strong breeze sometimes. The love of your young little life has his hands up your shirt and his tongue in your mouth? Boner central. Sorry!!!

Re: a different portrayal of Mike and El - interesting as well. There are so many factors here to consider. Showing Mike and El in more 'intimate' scenarios I don't think really would have that big of a factor in regards to the anti-sex brigade in general. A big portion of the same people who spout off about 'they're minors! we don't need to see sex in media!' would say it whether it's mike and el or mike and will... but there's def a layer of homophobia inherent with mike and will in conjunction with that mindset, even by people who claim to like and support gay ships. The Will dilemma tho. I've been puzzling over the Will dilemma since I stepped into the Byler fandom. And why he, despite being literally "the gay character" - his sexuality is less explored in regard to the most baseline aspects of being gay. Is it infantilizing because he's our cute sweet little victim? Is it because he has yet to actually pursue his love interest in the narrative? I'm still working on pondering this myself!! Because it isn't at all how I viewed his situation or character. But, very interesting points...

[were-wolverine]

Please tell me your punk!Steve thoughts.

OH BOY I HAVE A LOT - besides what i’ll probably infodump abt here i have lowkey fleshed out an entire backstory for punk steve under the #punk steve au

(to summarize, steve decides to become a punk and rebel against his parents instead of doing what they want and being a jock)

he introduces punk culture to el and max and they adore it (el loves the pastel punk aesthetic)

he doesn’t use any of his parents money (but continues to live in their house bc he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go and doesn’t want to burden any of the multiple families that would take him in), is a lifeguard in the summer and takes odd jobs around fall and winter.

he goes to Indianapolis as often as possible and learns most of what he knows from Elder Punks he meets there. there’s a couple small punk/alt stores he always stops by and a few bars/clubs. everyone he meets loves him (and baby punks in general but they find it really cool that he comes from privilege yet decides to rebel against ideals that were made so he could succeed at the failure of others).

he’s also introduced to the queer community a lot earlier on, and realizes he’s mlm (i hc him as gay but i can also see him as bi) and there’s a bunch of Elder Gays who adopt him.

he’s pretty much the only punk in Hawkins, so he kinda gets a reputation. in his freshman year he mostly keeps to himself, doesn’t really dress the way he wants and just wants to make it through the year. sophomore year though, he befriends jonathan nancy and barb and starts dressing and acting the way he wants to. him and jonathan listen to music together and he helps out with will when joyce and jonathan need to work- which eventually leads to him meeting mike dustin and lucas and taking care of them too.

steve realizes he wants to be strong enough to protect the people he cares about, so him and jonathan train and work out together a bit. steve and nancy don’t date, but they’re best friends along with barb. i just need to see barb and steve as besties it would make me so happy. also nancy and barb are in love bc obviously.

halfway through sophomore year steve gets a job at the local mechanics (mechanic eddie this, mechanic eddie that, no! give me mechanic steve who has a special interest in cars! just look at his beemer! and like the sole decoration he has in his room is a photo of a car!)

SO. junior year. this is when he starts going to indianapolis a lot more frequently. he buys records and camera stuff for jonathan, and drawing supplies for will (he basically lives with the byers atp). he is a lot more sure of himself, wears combat boots and battle jackets, and is damn good at fighting (he worked really hard at it the summer before). if anyone harms the kids he will not hesitate to hit someone, and this becomes town-wide knowledge very quick.

when will disappears in november, steve is the first person joyce calls before karen. he joins the search parties, he goes to lonnie instead of jonathan (steve would rather die than make jonathan face his abuser again). basically he’s involved with the upside down shit from the start.

also, steve accidentally finds out about el when dustin and lucas do. he offers to have her stay at his house, mike is reluctant but agrees, and el immediately becomes steve’s new baby sister. steve still saves the day at the end of s1 with the demogorgon, but the fight with jonathan and all of that doesn’t happen.

i accidentally plotted the whole show with this au…

steve finds el s2 and actually fucking tells the Party instead of hiding it like hopper did. el just permanently lives at steve’s now.

oh yeah and barb doesn’t die so that’s a thing that changes s2 a lot. i lost track of where this was going so i’m gonna just drop hcs i have about punk steve

he paints his nails black, he has a few piercings, he doesn’t really like the feeling of makeup on his face but he puts on eyeliner occasionally, he lets his hair grow out more and has perfected the ‘messy bedhead that somehow looks good’ look, he has big combat books and uses lace code, he’s gay but says he would go straight for joan jett (me too tbh), he has a reputation of “don’t fuck with me or my kids” in Hawkins, he also lowkey converts robin into a punk but she’s more indie-alt like jonathan, he doesn’t play any instruments but has a great voice and perfect pitch, will and el help him make one of his favorite battle vests, will is very crafty and artistic so he helps steve with a lot of his stuff, he has a few tattoos, he can do cool lighter tricks lol, etc.

[mikesbasementbeets]

gonna be so for real here, if Mike turns out to be bi it would be the most haphazard retcon ever. I would believe that he was bi and only 0.5% interested in girls if the writers showed that but. they. didn't. and it's far too late in the story imo. i would be questioning the entire series' writing at that point to be honest

agreed, anon. i’m someone who believes the creators had the idea of byler in mind from the very conception of the show (or at least very early on when they began actualizing it) and decided to fully commit to it as soon as it was official that they would continue the storyline after season one. i also believe mike’s queerness was canonized in season one (by which i mean, just like will, his queerness was written into the subtext of the narrative with full intentionality) and that every decision made for his character was made fully with that in mind. and in my opinion, everything makes 10000x more sense from the perspective that he’s gay, he’s always been gay, and that a big part of his narrative is coming to terms with that and what it means for all of his relationships, including both el and will.

also, bc this is the discussion at hand rn, whether you want to call it a slow burn or a plot twist, the idea that they’d drag the reveal of this whole series long narrative out this long and then just leave it at ‘oh btw he actually likes will not el. that’s all folks!’ is just wild to me. don’t you want depth to your stories?

[nowordsformylove]

Do you have any jonesmith headcanons (or just lil thoughts)?

I accidentally ended up doing a Mike character analysis instead of cute headcanons oops

My general headcanon is Mike gay Davy bi (I’m not strict about these types of headcanons tho). I think Mike realized he was gay before even moving to L.A. and joining the Monkees, and maybe that’s partly why he wanted to get out of his small hick town. I think growing up in a small conservative hick town would have a major effect on his acceptance of his sexuality. Plus the time period and being raised religious he would have insane guilt and self disgust and shove all of it into a tiny box and lock it away in the back of his brain. Once he moved to L.A. he would get way better about it, especially during the era of hippies bc even tho it’s still not legal people are way more chill and open about it and seeing that would allow him to reflect on it and accept it, BUT I think he would still have a lot of personal internalized homophobia to work through. I actually think he’d probably still be dealing with it even after he and Davy get together, but I don’t have any actual deep thoughts on the topic (bc I tend to only think about them in a fluffy/happy way,,, BUT if you happen to have thoughts on this I would love to hear them).

Davy hmm, I’ve read fics where he knew he was into guys when he lived in England and it’s just never come up bc getting with girls is easier, but I kinda like the idea of him not knowing until he falls for Mike. Actually I was just thinking earlier about him having a starry eyes + butterflies moment upon meeting Mike and not realizing he has feelings for him bc he’s never had feelings for a guy before so he just assumes it’s admiration bc Mike is so cool and mature and handsome and wonderful.

When they first get together Davy wants so badly to impress/woo Mike, which is silly bc they’ve been living together for years so Mike has seen him at his best and worst moments (grumpy, pissed off, upset, sick, he’s seen it all) and is still in love with him. Mike sees this happening and just goes along with it bc Davy is so cute trying to be all charming and gentlemanly, and while it doesn’t make him swoon in the same way it does all the girls Davy used to date it does give Mike a bubbly I’m in love with a huge dork feeling.

I know I’ve said that Mike def uses cute nicknames for Davy but I actually think verbal intimacy could be difficult for him, at least in terms of actually saying the words I love you (maybe he uses cute nicknames bc its an easier way to express his feelings than saying i love you 🤔)  I think this is an interesting dynamic for them since Davy’s thing is “hi my name is Davy Jones and I love you”. Davy might try to hold off saying it in fear that it will frighten Mike away or he could also drop it pretty early but not expect Mike to say it back right away. I kinda wrote that dynamic into my last fic (the trans mike fic) with Davy saying “I love you, I love you” to Mike and Mike responding not verbally but by pulling him into a passionate kiss that Davy understood was a mirroring of his feelings.

Mike would also have some insecurities, self-worth, and jealousy problems. I think even though Davy is obviously happy and loves him a lot Mike would get really in his head and be like Davy’s going to find someone better, he misses being with girls, stuff like that. And it might manifest as jealousy because he doesn’t want to lose Davy but thinks that it’s very possible it could happen. I can definitely see Mike lashing out/starting a fight over this in a moment of fear and self-loathing, and Davy would hate being told how he feels (he knows he’s happy with Mike and wants to be with him forever and hates being accused of feeling otherwise) but as long as they’re able to talk it out in the end everything would be fine. And besides they have a great support system in Micky and Peter so if they need to talk to them about problems or get advice I think they would be really helpful. (Though, again, Mike seems like the type to bottle up his problems so Micky would probably have to chip away at him, without trying to seem nosy, to get Mike to talk about what’s wrong).

[tender-emotional-music]

Hi, I love your blog!!! It's so tubular to talk to fellow Stranger Things and Byler enthusiasts and you really get the characters. I wanted to ask, when do you think Mike and Will started liking each other, when do you think they realised it, and how oblivious are they to each other's feelings? Also any opinions you have on Mike's sexuality and his feelings for El? I'm aro-spec ace and way too fixated on analysing the platonic/romantic nuances of relationships, and it would be so cool if you could break those down in Mlvn and Byler. Make the answer as long as you like, I could talk about Byler for hours! This blog is totally sweet!!! Oh, any Byler headcanons you have too, sorry for such a long ask, lmao.

Sorry, i haven’t been checking my inbox and completely missed this ask 😭

I think Will has had a crush on Mike pretty much since he can remember, but it’s around s3 that he starts to realise it, with everyone growing up and having to see Mike in a relationship. He represses it throughout the summer, and it’s in s4 that he’s consciously aware and accepts it. Will is still dealing with his own internalised homophobia though, and fully believes that Mike will never reciprocate, hence him giving away his feelings in the painting scene and essentially resigning himself to helping fix Mike and El’s relationship, since he wants them to be happy and thinks this is how that can be accomplished.

Mike is more complicated, but I do believe that he realised he was in love with Will/gay/bi/however you interpret it in the s3 finale. Just the flashing between his and Will’s faces as the van drives off, focusing on him looking back at the Byers house and hugging Karen, and also him looking like he’s having a *realisation* when El says she loves him (while kissing him in front of an open closet with “The First I love you” playing - the song which also plays when Robin comes out to Steve in the episode prior). He’s aware of it then, but I think he seriously represses it and also doesn’t think Will is gay. It’s cool to see him leaning back into his more nerdy interests and being influenced by Eddie to be more carefree in s4 though, since we see him start to shed the idea of being “normal” and conforming (which is a big theme for Karen and Nancy too. That damn Wheeler family 😭)

I’m still torn as to whether I see Mike as bi or gay. Pre-s4 i was firmly in the gay Mike Truther camp, but I can see them going either way and I think there is evidence to support either reading. S1-3 he comes off as possibly being bi, but s4 it seems like he’s been written as gay. Either way, i hope they do it justice, as it will recontextualise his actions and his relationship with El differently depending on what his sexuality actually is.

Regarding El, I do think that he and El have work to do if they want to have a proper friendship after they break up. I don’t think they’re immediately going to fall into being besties, since they don’t share a lot of interests, and we don’t actually see much of their dynamic as friends, since the romance overshadows it. Regardless, they care deeply for each other and I’d like to see them start to make up for lost time and form a friendship.

And finally for headcanons, we know Will gives art to Mike, so I imagine Mike also gives Will little stories and stuff he writes. After the stuff with Vecna is over, i love to think of them starting a comic series together, maybe taking inspiration from their own experiences with the UD and their friends. They’d probably go to the same college too, and would move to a city, but still live a relatively quiet life and maybe adopt a dog. I think Mike would also start to listen to some of Will’s music. We know he calls Should I Stay or Should I Go “that weird song” in s1 and if we take his playlist as canon he seems to personally prefer synth music to rock, but I think he’d probably listen to some of Will’s faves to feel closer to him. They’d both also love 90’s music, and we see that there’s a guitar in Mike’s room in s4 (probs Eddie’s influence) so maybe he’d try to play something for Will.

That’s all I can think of for now, but I hope this is fun to read and I answered everything well enough! Sorry for leaving it so late lol

[artiststarme]

My Happy Fics

Here is my ever-growing list of humorous/fluff/happy fics. These should make you laugh and cry happy tears, ideally. Please leave your thoughts in the comments!

-"Get in the van, Steve."

A short, one shot fic about Steve getting accidentally kidnapped. No harm, no foul, am I right?

-"A Little Fruity"

A short, one shot fic about Eddie coming out to Uncle Wayne by accident. (Everything turns out fine).

-Ex-fucking-cuse You

Steve has a hard time vocalizing his thoughts and feelings. But all of that changes when Eddie enters his life. He makes him try and do better.

-It's Fucking Cold

Eddie loves traveling with Steve but the one thing that he can't get behind are the cold-ass hotel rooms.

-Wayne's Unspoken Shovel Talk

Wayne didn't think he needed to give Steve the shovel talk on behalf of his nephew. It was implied and he meant what he meant.

-Van Vandalism

When the people of Hawkins keep vandalizing Eddie's van after Spring Break, Steve takes matters into his own hands.

-A cute little addition/ending to the story (Part 2)

-Oblivious Eddie

Steve realizes that he's bi and immediately starts flirting with Eddie. Now if only Eddie could be more observant and start flirting back!

-Sunflowers

A soft fic about Eddie not thinking he's a good boyfriend and Steve not thinking he deserves Eddie but then they both realize that they're perfect for each other.

-Eddie Hates Drinking Water

Eddie doesn't hate a lot of things but he's never been able to get behind drinking water. Until Steve tricks him into liking it when they start dating.

-When Life Gives You Lemons...

Eddie has a unique way of dealing with anxiety but you know what they say, when life gives you lemons....

-... You Make Lemonade

Part 2 of the series where Eddie makes up his own idioms and accidentally comes out to Steve in a play on words.

-April Fool's

Just a short story on how I think Steve and Eddie would handle April Fool's Day. Chaos, Romance, and Misunderstandings, oh my!

-Intrusive Thoughts

Eddie is prone to voicing his intrusive thoughts and he accidentally gaslights Steve into thinking they're his when he doesn't remember. Cue panic, protective best friends, and name-calling!

-No Steves Allowed!

Eddie has one firm rule in Hellfire; Steve Harrington is not to be mentioned under any circumstances. It works until it doesn't.

-Steve Has a Minor Fear of Spiders

Everyone is afraid of something. It just so happens that Steve has a debilitating fear of spiders and Eddie has to find out the hard way.

-College is for me but only if it’s us

Eddie and Steve make plans to go to college together. The Party learns some surprising news.

-Strike!

Hopper goes to pick up Steve for a family bowling outing and gets more than he bargained for.

-Goddamn Wheelers!

Hopper is the biggest supporter of LGBT+ as long as it keeps the Wheeler family out of his life. Steve dating Eddie Munson? Fine. El breaking up with Mike Wheeler? Absolutely fantastic! Will dating Mike instead? WHY???

-A Date Gone Wrong

Eddie was never going to let Steve plan an outing for their date again. First hiking, now squirrels? Absolutely not.

-Utter Chaos

Steve would do anything to protect his Platonic with a capital P soulmate... Like outing himself to cover for her.

-Highway to Hell

Steve is a really bad driver in actuality and when Eddie tries to tell people, no one will believe him!

-A Sleepwalking Surprise

A sleepy Steve outs him and Eddie to the kids. Luckily for them, they escape the ensuing chaos.

-Interested or Not?

It takes Steve way longer to realize Eddie is into him than it should. Luckily for him, it all works out.

-Wayne Deserves Way More Credit

Wayne loves Steve for his nephew and he'll do his best to keep them together despite Eddie's stupid decisions.

-A Zoom Call Gone Wrong...

A modern Steddie AU where Eddie interrupts Steve's college course zoom call in the worst way possible.

-Shakespeare? Gay as Hell

The reason Eddie keeps failing English is because he keeps making his essays gay. Wayne approves and Mrs. O'Donnell definitely does not. Based on this post!

-Hellfire Adopts Steve

Hellfire adopts Steve in high school after the fall of King Steve.

-From Alibi to Reality

Steve acts as Eddie's alibi for the cops to clear his name. It only escalates from there.

-Happy Halloween!

Halloween of 1986 is the best day of Eddie Munson's life and he attributes most of that to Steve.

-Baby, it's cold outside

Eddie only likes Winter when he has Steve there to warm him up.

-Unnamed thus far

Will comes out to Steve and Steve just can't figure out why. Things become clearer with time.

[paladibun]

Internalized Homophobia Chat:

Disclaimer: this is a gay!Mike POV, so if you view him as bi, you might disagree with a lot of these.

So I was pondering whether Will is struggling with Internalized Homophobia or just dealing with self worth issue due to growing up in a homophobic environment and I realized those two are both different definitions people use to describe IH interchangeably which caused me to look up the actual definition and I found some interesting things that are really making me think. Aka Ways in which Internalized Homophobia Manifests! Taken from this Link

Skipping ones that don’t apply to either because It’s probably going to be miles long.

1. Denial of your sexual orientation to yourself and others.

             We don’t see it too much from both of them explicitly, but it’s definitely a solid for Will, as he can’t even say the exact words to his brother. He denies admitting his sexuality to others.(as most in his place in the 80′s) But as @ pinkeoni argued, we see Will accept himself just not feel accepted, as we see Will grow more comfortable with himself personally.(Turing project, boldness with the painting, acknowledgement of his difference/calling himself different, not having hang-ups about rejecting a pretty girl’s advances, etc) When it comes to Mike, we don’t see actual on screen denial, however, if we have perceived his arc and explanations of his actions, que billion other analyses we’ve already seen about his internal turmoil related to admitting his own sexuality to himself, there is pretty obv. denial. And I think it would be very strange for Mike to be like I’m gay? Okay! 👍 next season if we’re getting inside his head at all. Will’s denial is external. Mike’s denial is internal and likely external(though if he’s coming out at all in s5 the external wouldn’t last long)

2.  Attempts to alter or change your sexual your orientation.

              None of that from Will who probably knew for ages what he is. Mike’s whole season 3 experience was about emulating his heterosexual father, forcing himself to date a girl. I personally think Mike understood what he was at the end of s3, but definitely had hunches and subconscious reactions to the idea with being with a girl causing him to act the way he did.

3. Feeling you are never good enough.

              Oh that’s a definite both of them. Will feels like he’d never get to have a normal life and date like his hetero friends, and Mike feels social inadequacy(that one comic page where he feels like everyone is judging him?) and the his monologue about feeling inferior and insignificant when it comes to El being the big hero which to me reads as feeling pressured to perform the hero roll. (hyper-masculine heterosexual warrior that saves the day) which he simply isn’t. (Also if it reads as nerdphobia instead, its because the Duffers like to present a sanitized GA reading for most minority struggles aka Nancy’s coded feminism talk with Karen being more about personal worth and not actually feminism but the people who know, know. Billy’s racism coded in nonracist terms just implied othering. Robin and Steve’s original incompatibility being about their social groups, not sexuality, Will’s s3 issues reading as him not growing up as fast as others and I’m sure there’s more)

4.  Engaging in obsessive thinking and/or compulsive behaviours.

             This one we could probably attribute to Mike. It’s not explicitly stated, but if you take his projection’ed “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.” and the way he acted toward Will in s4, there’s definitely at least incredible overthinking going on. 

5.  Under-achievement or even over-achievement as a bid for acceptance.

               We don’t really get to see inside Will’s performance outside him being called a good student and his original report card, but we do see Mike act out and isolate throughout the show. (But personally I attribute it to being just a smidge traumatized by almost losing Will, and in after s3, after pretty much losing Will to a different state. (Mike having a breakdown about it as described in Lucas’ novel))

6.  Low self esteem, negative body image.

              We see the former, not the latter, but definitely more prominently a Will thing. While Will seems to have accepted himself for who he is, he still feels inadequate and like a mistake. He always puts others first and his self worth issues are probably one of his more defining characteristics. Mike, however also has some of these. You only get a glimpse of it in s4 when he talks about himself but I like to assume its not just El related. (Seriously how shitty would it be if it wasn’t a “Mike overthinking and having original self worth issue” from being bullied his whole life.” Like he is an invisible queer man, but it doesn’t mean he feels invisible.(that comic page again))

7.  Contempt for the more open or obvious members of the LGBT community.

10.  Contempt for those that are not like ourselves or contempt for those who seem like ourselves. Sometimes distancing by engaging in homophobic behaviours – ridicule, harassment, verbal or physical attacks on other LGB people.

             Not contempt or anything violent or extreme but...”It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” is externalizing that internalized homophobia.

13.  Attempts to pass as heterosexual, sometimes marrying someone of the other sex to gain social approval or in hope of ‘being cured’.

               Definitely a Mike thing, but again, not as extreme.

14.  Increased fear and withdrawal from friend and relatives,

             Will naturally withdraws as a “my feelings matter less” thing, and Mike is shown to not be as connected to his family in the first place. Season 3, he withdraws from others to pursue El, and withdraws from Will in the beginning of S4.

15. Shame or depression; defensiveness; anger or bitterness.

              Will has trauma-based depression and self worth issues and Mike seems to have just the “regular old teen depression” from the way he withdraws, acts out, and feels about himself. + from almost losing will

17.  Continual self-monitoring of one’s behaviours, mannerisms, beliefs, and ideas.

               It is not easy to say just how much either of them self monitor when it comes to performing masculinity from anything explicit in canon. (Although I would argue Will isn’t performing as much as we see him liking what he likes, not liking what he doesn’t like, not changing his way of dress much from his boyish flannels when s4 was definitely marked as a “coming into oneself” season when it comes to expression. Mike was definitely acting the “actual straight man” when it came to most things in s3, and we see him unclench a little in s4 and shown his extreme with his airport outfit.)

21. Conflicts with the law.

              I know in the show it’s presented as sort of a goof, but both Will & Mike are very comfortable breaking the law. (Mike being rebellious from the start + disobeying Hopper as a hobby and Will passionately fantasizing about cheating in Vegas.)

23.  Separating sex and love, or fear of intimacy. Sometimes low or lack of sexual drive or celibacy.

               That fear of intimacy part. If you read Mike as bi, his whole behavior toward El in S3. If not, the way he acted toward Will early s4. (But I’m sure there are other examples)

25. Thinking about suicide, attempting suicide, death by suicide.

               This might not be accurate, and up to interpretation referencing the Quarry Scene but if you read Mike also having trauma caused by Will’s disappearance, that could be a thing as well. I personally don’t know what to think about that theory, but I do think either or both will show their self sacrificial tendencies in S5 and we will know more about all that.

The conclusion is that they both struggle from Internalized Homophobia. For Will it’s more of a “I can process being gay but the world’s homophobia crushing me and my hopes & dreams” flavor and for Mike it’s a “the world’s homophobia is confusing me and causing me to lash out at others because I can’t process being gay and am making it everyone else’s problem” flavor of IH.

Anyway anyway, thank you for reading I actually found that whole article fascinating and thinking how many people just don’t really think on what the term means(or all of what it means)(including myself) so yeah.

(feel free to correct me or provide counter arguments et cetera)

(another disclaimer that applies to this and any subsequent long posts I might make: everyone is allowed to have differing POV’s and I don’t think less of anyone who doesn’t agree with me & I encourage everyone to have their own unique repertoire’s of specific takes and reading on this and other topics)

[starsarefire824]

(Not directed at you, just venting)

The backflips people will do to be biphobic are astonishing. Like my siblings in christ, it doesn't matter if Mike is gay, bi, pan or some other version of queer - why are we tearing each other down? I'm bi myself and if Mike is bi, great, if he's not, also great. I literally couldn't care less but to be *-phobic* about it is just wild to me. Like y'all will do so much to deny the existence of bi people.

People need to go touch grass. 🙄

I totally agree with you. I sort of flop between my feelings on Mike’s sexuality depending on my vibe on a specific day. Sure, I like to write him as bi—but that usually is a choice I make because I see a lot of my teenage self in him so it’s easy to tap into—-and it allows for (in my personal opinion) some interesting dynamics to be built between multiple characters.

But that’s just it—-isn’t it??? It’s a headcanon. Any take on Mike’s sexuality other than being straight up until this point, as it is written by the Duffer Brothers, is that he is a straight boy dating El.

Any other variance of that is pure speculation/analysis/hopes for season 5. Season 4 gave us some hints, there has been subtle things in past seasons. There have been a lot of choices made by his character that didn’t make sense until post season 4. And it becomes way more complicated when really taking into account his actions towards Will. But either way, Mike has not come out. Mike has not stated with words how he feels/ given any indication of his sexuality. So therefore, any headcanon by a fan of Stranger Things is valid.

I actually like Mike as gay. I, as a bi person, would fucking love if he was gay. It would be perfectly legitimate by what we’ve been shown, and his relationship with El could be explained away perfectly if season five wraps it up in a well written ending.

But so can bi Mike. Bisexuality is also a valid conclusion for Mike. He won’t be lesser than or not queer enough if he ends up being bi.. He won’t love Will Byers any less if he is bi. He won’t be less sexually attracted to Will if he is bi. He won’t be less of a person if he happened to be in love El and Will at the same time in his life. Or god forbid, be sexually attracted to a female. He is still valid as a character if he is bisexual.

And no……he won’t be “better rep” if he is gay.

While I’m at it, even if Mike chose El in the end (which we won’t know until season 5 because we, in fact, are not in the writers’ room) while still harboring attraction and romantic feelings for men, doesn’t make him ANY LESS FUCKING BI. Or any less fucking QUEER. And im so tired of talking about it.

[shopcat]

do u have any particular sexuality thoughts abt eddie the way you do abt steve?

not really at least in the same way? i don't think!! :0 w steve we have a lot of basis to go off of bc we get 4 seasons of specific characterisation expressly to do with how he interacts with romance + girls + his own reputation thereupon so it's really fun to extract stuff from that but with eddie he's sort of more of a blank slate but also funnily, in comparison, we do get a LOT of character building back story and development even through implication that makes it a different kind of interesting thing to gather stuff from 🤔 it's also funny that we know way more about eddie's home life than robin OR steve's LOL literally just funny...

i think it's fun that the gay hc is so popular with eddie and i get it he is a little gayboy tbh and i also think it ties in significantly with how... you can tell from extrapolation and just basic like, relation that eddie is this guy who was outcast by society BEFORE he developed his own counterculture against it and the way he wears his specific type of anti authoritarian anti mainstream bubble wrap is in line i think with some sort of intrinsic part of him, and others, that he may feel he needs to protect and defend against. a not insignificant part of a lot of actual counterculture is being against the bigotry and oppression that goes hand in hand with society at large and, fundamentally, the loudest voices against oppression and the leading forefront will always be and SHOULD always be the victim and survivors of it, and a gay metalhead with a punk rock attitude in the 80s is the easiest thing in the world to imagine. i think we as like lgbt people and anyone else who has a certain hand in... allyship can pick up on this really easily with eddie and see ourselves in that part of him that feels different than the same vein social ostracisation like, dustin and mike go through, even if on the surface it appears similar.

so yeah basically i think he's literally gay. i don't know if the quote unquote gay CODING was intentional and i'm going to go with a definitive Not but i will enjoy the spoils nonetheless. i also think it's significant that a lot of the real life inspiration for eddie specifically WERE gay kids and probably that is where this unintentional coding springs from... the hunt the freak line is a very important one to me as well for this specifically with that it's him and robin, a canonical gay woman, meeting him on his level without skipping a beat. this is also where i disagree that obviously his death was not "bury your gays" because anything picked up on was not something that was figuratively put down 😭😭 the duffers did not have EDDIE circled on a whiteboard with 💯 GAY -> pointed to it we literally just think he's gay.

also just bc i kind of side stepped the sexuality hc itself unintentionally HEH i think he could also be bi sure and all this remain true!!! though i don't think he had any feelings for chrissy (and to me reading that scene as him having a crush on her comes off... different. soz.) potential age gap notwithstanding. i think bi eddie could be fun and also hilarious bc it means he had even more of a quote unquote chance and still erm. committed virgin sacrifice </3 i do agree with the like general consensus of him being bi feels different if only because erm... there is a lack of actual evidence that he is inclined one way or the other and being assumptive of his supposed attraction to women in order to undercut the gayness is like a very classic homophobic. thing. and also weirdos ruin it

if eddie is bisexual i think it is purely in theory for him as well as us (lol) and he would probably be SO annoying stoner-esque "why limit your love to just one half of the population mannn" type about it despite never getting any bc he's scared of girls in a gayboy way. also i do not see truly any part of him being some sort of behind the scenes suave seductor of women DESPITE what the horny minded may or may not think... he is not looming over any girl being some sort of manic pixie edward cullen reject he goes home and neurodiversely plays the same chord over and over again on his guitar then passes out wearing jeans he is literally a wet eyed loser not a wattpad BAD BOY. My poor little princess RIP

[castlebyersafterdark]

I think Mike is gay, but do you think there’s a chance of the duffs making him bi or unlabeled in S5?

There's always a chance for many angles. And there's always a chance the writing and story are bad and he still ends up with El. Or single. Or Will with a random love interest last minute. My definitive reading and interpretation of the show paints Mike as a gay man - one on a different sexuality journey than Will - and a different journey than that of being bisexual. That's personally my read.

I kind of think he might be unlabeled maybe, but only in the way it's presented on a technicality. Maybe on screen the word gay isn't used to describe Mike, but I lean towards Will does admit the big word to someone or multiple someones. He's gay. Something about Will really feels incomplete if we don't get the word. DB please don't shy away from it! I know we never got Robin saying the word lesbian and I really hope she gets to say it for herself as well. I think a theme of being true to yourself and self-acceptance is important here.

I honestly think Mike will have a moment where his journey in the show is shown more of a "the truth is... I don't actually like girls like that" kind of framing. It would be an excellent full circle moment to several hints in the show, as well as his "It's not my fault you don't like girls" line. I really want that line to have meant multiple layers. I've read some good posts where - and it's hard to fully explain but makes perfect sense when I read them - analyzing Mike's sexuality is really centered on his inability to conform and his lack of attraction to women. If that makes sense? It makes perfect sense to me.

I also hate to say this but it is what it is - I think that making El as an option at all ever needs to be closed off in some way with Mike, otherwise the general audience might not be completely sold? There are definite issues with this line of thinking but we gotta be a little honest about the wild mainstream in regards to this show.

[uselessnbee]

ok this is probably a really controversial opinion but i still want to share it

i personally am a gay Mike truther but i really do respect people who see him sa bi, i mean i once saw him as bi too, and i'm not in no way saying that their opinion is wrong because this is a fucking fictional character and there is no canon sexuality stated for him and i think everyone deserves to have their own opinions and all of them are valid and deserve respect (expect for straight Mike cause bro what are you doing?)

so i'm sorry if i come off as disrespectful this really is just my own personal opinion please don't kill me for it

but

the more i think about it the more i don't really want Mike to be canonically bi and i know how this sounds but bear with me please

it's not that i don't want him be bi because i think he's gay and i don't want bi people to have representation but i actually think that they deserve better bi representation because Mike's attraction to women just isn't taken seriously in the show, it's treated pretty much as a joke and if they do intend to have him be bisexual then that's just??? kinda fucked up???

like you can see him show attraction to men especially in s4 you can see him check out guys it's not just about Will but you never see him show any interest in girls at all? the only girl he ever liked was really El but he never showed interest in Max or any other girl there was in the show and if he really is bi than they should show it more

this way it would just seem the creators are like 'yeah he's bi but his queerness is valid only because of his attraction to the same gender don't take his attraction to the opposite gender seriously it's not about that let's just move on' and well that's just wrong. it's the same way biphobic people act like bi people in m/f relationships are suddenly not valid or queer and it's fucked up

Mike would still be very much queer even if he was attracted to women as well and it does not have to be treated as a joke to make it more "valid" or some shit?

i don't know if you can understand what i'm trying to say but for example - Nick from heartstopper - the plot is very much focusing on his relationship with Charlie and he's coming to terms with his sexuality but his attraction to women is still present, it's still taken seriously, it's not being put aside and completely forgotten only because he's in a relationship with a boy because he's still bi. bi people are still bi they do not become straight when they're in a m/f relationship and they do not become gay when they're in a gay relationship and they're still bi even when they're single - but i'm not bisexual myself (i mean i am bi aroace but it's still not the same i am aware) so i'm sorry if i'm crossing a line but i just genuinely think that if Mike is intended to be canonically bi him and bi people deserve better and not have their attraction to the opposite gender be dismissed and be treated as a joke because bi people are always valid and that's all i'm trying to say

so if he really is going to be bi i hope that s5 will treat his bisexuality better because i wouldn't like to see a bi character and his sexuality be treated this way

(so this really isn't about me having a problem with bi Mike truthers or anything and i wouldn't mind Mike being bi at all like i don't care what label he's going to have in canon if he even is going to have one it's more me having a problem with the way the show would treat his bisexuality)

[aemiron-main]

if i talked about other topics the way some of you guys talk about bi vs gay mike vs any other mike sexuality discussion, i would sound ridiculous

“cmon guys, no more arguing about will’s vanishing and what happened, let’s all just agree that he vanished and leave it at that.”

“I can’t Believe people are still talking about will’s vanishing. It’s all just HC, yknow??”

“all interpretations of will’s vanishing are equally textually valid. if you think he was kidnapped by tony the tiger from the frosted flakes commercial then your take is equally as textually valid.”

“actually it’s really rude and unnecessary to discuss will’s vanishing.”

“can we keep discussion of will’s vanishing OUT of the will’s vanishing tag???”

like. sorry not sorry but mike’s sexuality matters to Me simply because it’s another interesting part of the show to analyze.

[mikesbasementbeets]

I disagree that bi mike wouldn’t make sense within the show’s canon. I strongly believe it would make MORE sense within the show’s canon for many different reasons, and that 99% of the evidence gay mike truthers try to twist to say explicitly confirms gay mike can coexist and be used to support bi mike without much adjusting. I think when you carefully analyze seasons 1 through 4 it’s pretty clear that mike had genuine romantic feelings for El at the beginning of the story. And there’s a lot of subtle things that support a bi mike reading. I think a significant portion of aggressive anti-bi mike theories are rooted in either biphobia, a misunderstanding of the nuances of what it means to be bi, or a desire to avoid having to accept mike’s early canon romantic feelings for El (enshrined into the scripts) cause that would mean accepting that it’s a love triangle. I think gay mike makes sense but it is in no way the only sound theory. And I’m not talking about headcanons, I’m talking about the text of the show

ok i know i said earlier i would respond to this in full but honestly there is WAY too much i could get into and this topic has been discussed to death at this point and i’m not interested in starting discourse again, so i’m really gonna try to be brief (spoiler alert, i failed). first of all, here’s my own gay mike analysis from months ago, back when i personally hadn’t seen any actual analysis about it yet and decided to just go through and analyze the show myself. many others have written much more thorough and articulate analyses, so i encourage anyone to seek those out if you’re really interested in developing an informed opinion about it. but if you’re already convinced one way or another, i’m probably not going to change any minds here, because this has all been said before.

the one thing i’m actually going to try to address here is the claim that mike was at some point genuinely romantically attracted to el, because as far as i can tell, that is the ONLY actual argument FOR bi mike. i haven’t seen anyone ever give evidence or try to argue that mike has shown attraction to any other specific woman or to women generally. if i’m wrong about that, please point me to that analysis (don’t tell me about bi flag colors around him though bc those three colors show up together everywhere in the show and are not specific to mike in any way, i don’t think that’s relevant “evidence”). also, i’m not looking at the scripts here, because i’m really only interested in ACTUAL CANON and the literal content of the show itself overrides any partial, text drafts of it, which is what scripts are. they are written for the specific purpose of filming the show and do not provide full and complete context (and what we are TOLD in this show does not always line up with what we are SHOWN).

just to be absolutely clear, i think that (disregarding the mountains of both textual and subtextual evidence of his LACK of attraction to women) mike having shown genuine romantic attraction to even one woman would be enough for him to be legitimately canonized as bisexual, but in all my understanding and analysis of the show, he has not.

from what i understand, bi mike truthers believe that mike had genuine romantic feelings for el in the earlier seasons that either faded over time or just never evolved past the initial childhood crush stage. i’ve addressed the latter idea before (in a post i can't find rn), but to sum up, crushes on people of a different gender, especially in youth, and during times when one is unsure of or figuring out one’s sexuality are COMMON among gay people. having a childhood crush is not the same thing as having genuine romantic feelings, and therefore is not valid evidence toward any particular sexuality. the insistence that it is concrete evidence of bisexuality is rooted in homophobia and a fundamental misunderstanding of the nuance of gay identity.

the first claim though, that he did have genuine romantic feelings in the beginning, but they faded over time, is what i’m going to focus on. i touched on this in my analysis linked above, but i’m going to try to explain again here. mike’s feelings for el have always been demonstrated with extreme consistency throughout the seasons. after their initial meeting and once mike learns to trust her, each time mike has been in a position to tell el how he feels about her, from season one all the way through to season four, he has behaved in the exact same way: he has struggled to put his feelings into words, refusing to outright claim romantic feeling or intent, and ultimately failed to communicate with el in a way she understands.

similarly, when faced with expressing romantic affection toward or about her, he has behaved with confusion, discomfort, and outright rejection of others’ assumptions of his romantic feelings. (read the analysis for more specifics on this)

each of these times is also rife with familial coding and parallels that subtextually explain WHY he is struggling to either voice or demonstrate romantic attraction. for just one specific example, in the first season, right before their first kiss, mike begins to excitedly describe the relationship that the two of them are about the have with each other (in not so many words) as one of a brother and sister. when el correctly infers this implication from his words, he grows confused, because he had been told previously by lucas, dustin, and even nancy, that his feelings for el were romantic. but he relents, and agrees that that is what his description meant. immediately after their first kiss, during which el is dressed in his sister's clothes, and which mike initiates when he can't find the words to express romantic attraction to her, his first word is.... "nancy." and later, when el is weak from killing the lab people who've been chasing them, mike repeats his earlier promise: that when all this is over, his family will become hers.

this is one thing that i genuinely can’t understand when it comes to the idea that mike ever truly liked el romantically. almost (if not) ALL of their interactions, especially in season one, have some sort of parallel to a familial relationship for one or both of them, on top of many of their interactions blatantly referencing the concept of the two of them being like family to one another. the absolute volume of these instances and the unyielding consistency of this pattern, again, beginning from the very first episode of season one and continuing all the way through season four, means that it is undoubtedly intentional. with that in mind, i cannot see any reading of their relationship that leaves room for genuine romantic feelings, when ALL of the subtext, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, overwhelmingly presents them as family.

i’m not going to get way into the subject of compulsory heterosexuality because i could go on forever and i don’t want to, but the timeline of events in el and mike’s relationship arc makes it very clear that that's what’s happening. for el, her arc of independence is (not solely, but still) intrinsically tied to her relationship with mike. for mike, his struggle with his sexuality, specifically his lack of attraction to girls concurrent with his present attraction to boys (MOST presently Will), coincides directly with his relationship arc with el. i’m just going to link a couple of my screenshot posts where i've attempted to demonstrate this, bc i can't find it in me to explain all the nuances of comphet and the complex way these three characters' narratives have been intertwined (i'm bad at tagging so i can't find many, but here, here, here)

you might want to argue against my above points with scenes like the snowball dance, where he calls her beautiful and kisses her, or the make out scene in season three. but both the familial coding/parallels and the overarching themes of forced conformity (aka compulsory heterosexuality) associated with the snowball in my view completely changes the context behind the surface narrative of a “sweet romantic moment,” especially when you consider the coinciding narrative of mike’s relationship with will and the subtext of what that dance means for both of them. similarly, that make out scene, which can also be read as further evidence of mike’s discomfort with physical affection with el, as well as the overall arc of their entire season 3 relationship, is presented to be directly relevant to (specifically, in direct contrast with) mike’s evolving relationship with will, which IS genuinely romantic.

when i say that bi mike would be bad representation, this is what i mean. his “attraction” to el is consistently directly related to and contrasted with his relationship with will, coding his feelings for girls (most specifically the one girl for whom he has ever shown potential for romantic attraction) as lesser than his feelings for boys (specifically will, but ALSO OTHER MEN). bi rep that prioritizes and values attraction for one gender AT THE EXPENSE of attraction for another feels like an extremely problematic representation of bisexuality, if that's really what they are trying to portray. and this is not even getting into the countless subtextual clues that mike specifically DOES NOT LIKE GIRLS. (our son with a girl?, it’s not my fault you don’t like girls, el? sorry not interested, disgusted face next to “women in science,” blatant lack positive of response to “phoebe cates only hotter,” women’s room GET OUT, boys only, blatant and continued confusion over lucas and dustin’s attraction to max, "trying to solve the mystery of the female species" *LOUD BELCH* etc etc these are just off the dome and these are things that DO NOT WORK as queer coding if mike IS attracted to girls but VERY MUCH DO if he is gay. and there are SO MANY of them. more than that, if he is attracted to girls, then they are examples of the show consistently belittling that attraction, which again feels like a pretty shitty way to do bi representation)

god there’s so much more to this, but i can’t get into every little thing because it would take forever. literally there is SO MUCH evidence against it that i genuinely feel that the narrative would not make sense anymore if mike were revealed to be bi in season 5.

just to address a couple other things you said: i think the reason anti bi mike theory might sometimes come off as aggressive is because when one actually analyzes the entire content of the show, the evidence for specifically gay mike is OVERWHELMING and the claim that there is just as much evidence for bi mike remains unsupported, unsubstantiated, and at a certain point comes off as just willfully ignoring canon and even, at times, homophobic. i always see claims that some gay mike analysis is biphobic, and yet i have never seen any evidence of this. the claim that mike is not attracted to women, despite having been in a relationship with one, IS NOT biphobic. the claim that he is not bisexual, despite many people believing he is and wanting that representation, is NOT biphobic. the claim that his feelings for el have always been platonic and not romantic is NOT biphobic. it is an analytical conclusion based on the content of the show itself. i don’t doubt that some gay mike truthers have been biphobic, but i have not seen any actual gay mike ANALYSIS that is specifically biphobic (if you can provide concrete evidence, i will recant this, but i know that i and others have been careful not to resort to any sort of stereotyping or attempts at “analysis” that are rooted in biphobia). conversely, the claim that mike being in a romantic relationship with a woman and behaving romantically with her is PROOF that he is bisexual IS inherently rooted in homophobia and again, a misunderstanding of the nuance of what it means to be gay. i know (or assume, i guess) that most bi mike truthers aren’t outright thinking this way, and really believe mike’s romantic feelings to have been genuine, but as i and many others have tried to explain, when you do what the show is constantly telling you to do and look deeper than the surface level narrative, all of the canonical evidence from mike’s relationship with el actually explicitly and unambiguously points to the fact that his romantic interactions with her were NOT a result of genuine attraction, but rather a result of compulsory heterosexuality and a part of the natural process of figuring out his sexuality.

you also claim gay mike theorizing could come from "a desire to avoid having to accept mike’s early canon romantic feelings for El" but the fact is that it's not a desire for mike not to have had feelings for el (that assumption playing into the idea that gay mike truthers simply don't want him to be bi, hence the claims of biphobia) but what's actually happening is analysis that leads to the conclusion that he canonically did not have romantic feelings for el. the misconception is that gay mike truthers are simply projecting their own desires onto the text instead of what they're actually doing: critically analyzing it. i'd argue that bi mike truthers are the ones who want to avoid having to accept mike's lack of attraction to women, despite all of the evidence for it.

i've read a lot of analysis on here, from a lot of different perspectives, and i can truly say that every single comprehensive, good faith analysis of mike’s character i've ever seen has come to the same conclusion. he’s gay.