Reach For The Fucking Stratosphere

Now, here’s the thing: I am not addressing the people who just do their own thing and don’t bother anyone. I am addressing the people who see Will in a certain way and harass anyone who dares to see him in another light.

Because why oh why do some of you insist that Will Byers is canonically feminine? Is it because he’s quiet? Sensitive? Likes art? Was at one point in time the shortest in the party? Was the one being saved for the first two seasons? Is that what equates to being canonically feminine. If so, then some of you really need to reevaluate yourself because chief… that’s lowkey misogynistic.

Why do some of you get so damn pissed when someone doesn’t see Will as this uwu wilting flower who’s hyperfeminine and a sub bottom who can’t tie his own damn shoelaces? Why do some of you get so mad when someone says that Will has muscles (he does, I really don’t care what the costume department said about padding or whatever) and that actually, he’s just as masculine as the rest of the boys in the party? Why do NEED the only gay boy in the show to be a feminine wuss? Why do you NEED him to forever stay a damsel in distress for the rest of his life? Why do you think quiet, sensitive, and artistic are all automatically feminine traits? Why do you insist that Will is a sub bottom and that he would never top? Why do you insist on calling Will a “final girl” and a “gothic heroine”? (Which are tropes reserved for women, not your favorite white boy) Why do you get mad when someone headcanons Mike as a bottom or gnc or androgynous? Why do you get mad when people envision Mike also exploring his sexuality and gender identity?

Is it because you automatically assume that being gay means being feminine and that there’s only one way a character can be gay? Is it because you refuse to see the only canon gay character as anything other than a walking stereotype? Is it because you refuse to engage with a gay ship without adding stereotypical straight roles where one boy is “the man” and the other is “the woman”? Is it because adding homophobic, misogynistic, and heteronormative tropes onto a gay ship makes it easier to absorb for you?

Idk man, sounds like homophobia, heteronormativity, and misogyny rolled all into one

And for anyone who’s gonna start shit: yes, I am aware that bottom!Mike truthers also sometimes rely on gay stereotypes. No, we are not exempt from this. But you know what Bottom!Mike truthers (and Mike fans in general) don’t do?

Like…they make Will out to be this perfect angel who can do no wrong, is this uwu wilting bunny flower who’s constantly babied, cries at the smallest of things, is always Mike’s victim, everyone worships the ground he walks on, he has an ultra harem of boys, everything is about him, he’s the main character, and no one else matters. Basically, a Mary Sue lol. Meanwhile, Will canonically hated being coddled, hates being seen as fragile, has hurt Mike (despite the narrative never addressing it, which i hate) and has the capacity to be an asshole, can defend himself just fine, and doesn’t want to be seen as different for this sexuality. He lowkey just wants to be an average joe who’s one of the guys.

And then with Mike, it is so much worse. Toxic fans see Mike as this bitchless loser who can’t pull, is always in the wrong, is the devil incarnate, can’t do anything right, no one loves him, he ends up alone, is ugly, and is treated as useless outside of his two most popular ships. His only purpose to these dumbasses is to kiss, support, and fuck Will. Not like Mike didn’t have an entire fucking speech about how he hates being the love interest waiting in the wings while the superhero does all the cool stuff. Not like he canonically has self-esteem issues and was bullied for being unconventionally attractive (doesn’t make him ugly btw, he’s also canonically cute). Not like he showed signs of mental health issues even before the whole Upside Down shit happened. Not like the Party and the other characters don’t love and respect the shit out of him.

Don’t even get me started on the whole spicy byler shit where they’re made out to be the most basic yaoi couple out there (particularly on Twitter). Will always is the shrinking violet hyperfemme sub bottom, while Mike is always the ultra daddy dom hypermasc top.

God forbid you insinuate that Will could be a top and Mike could be a bottom. God forbid you think they switch. God forbid you don’t see Will as femme and see Mike as femme or androgynous or have him explore his identity in any way.

Cause haven’t you heard? Only one of them can do that. Only Will can have depression, have powers and a supernatural connection, be loved by everyone, have internalized homophobia, explore his sexuality and gender, etc. All of that belongs to Will, cause apparently multiple characters can’t go through the same thing. And if you apply any of this stuff to Mike and want to analyze him outside of being a love interest, then you’re just stealing from Will.

Apparently the worst thing you can do in this fandom is go against the popular headcanons. Cause god forbid we have our own opinions and views on certain characters and ships

Fuck me🫩🚬

Bsfr, they’re both pathetic down bad loser nerds who have their occasional cool moments and they are both their own characters outside of the ship

Like you cannot tell me this wouldn’t be Will’s reaction upon finding out that he fumbled Mike hard and basically self sabotaged himself for the millionth time

In what world would Vecna/The Mind Flayer consider Will more of a threat/priority than El, aka the girl who literally made Vecna??

In what world would Henry have more parallels with Will than with El and Kali, aka, the girls who literally share his blood and whom he grew up with and helped raise in the lab

I’m sorry but you will never convince me that any w*seone interaction or parallels would have been more engaging than Henry interacting with El and Kali

EVERYONE GO GET MORE MIKE-PILLED RIGHT NOW AND CELEBRATE THE ABSOLUTE SHIT OUT OF MY BABY

Like I dont condone cheating, but if Karen was gonna have an affair with anyone, I would have rather had it be with Scott than B*lly (weird ass choice by the Duffers btw). They literally could have been the perfect popular girl x nerdy boy ship.

That and you cannot tell me that Scott wouldn’t have been a great stepdad to Nancy, Mike, and Holly just like how Bob would’ve been a great stepfather to Jonathan and Will.

Also I can totally imagine Mike forever bragging about the fact that his awesome middle school science teacher is his stepdad, meanwhile Will brags about his stepdad being the founder of the AV club.