Ash 𓂃✍︎

https://x.com/faerie_ground/status/2072198440499695795?s=46&t=GQWPoj6_LIH2kq4lK5aNVQ

OP is so sweet, this made my day!! she left a really kind comment on my fic too.

The show is about monsters and alternate dimensions everything else is secondary.

No we weren't going to get five different scenes of El trying out new things and experiencing life. THERES A MONSTER TO FIGHT.

No we weren't going to see Will get a boyfriend in seasons 4 or 5. BECAUSE THERES A MONSTER TO FIGHT.

No they weren't going to break up Mileven to push Byler in the final 4 episodes of the series. THERE IS A DEMON TO FIGHT.

It doesnt matter that Steve was a baseball coach instead of a basketball coach or that Nancy dropped out of college. THEY JUST SAVED THE WORLD.

No we didnt need confirmation on what happened to Argyle, or Suzie, or Enzo. THE WORLD HAS TORN APART.

The show is 8 sometimes 9 episodes a Season. No they werent going to use that precious time to show the kids being kids for 4 of those. The show would be pretty boring if everyone was happy for the entire show.

I'm not saying Will needed a full Heartstopper-style romance arc, multiple dating scenes, or that he should've magically been comfortable with being gay in the 80s.

My criticism is that the writers repeatedly found time to signal hope and romantic possibility for almost every other major character, even when romance wasn't the focus of the show. Lucas/Max, Mike/El, Nancy/Jonathan, Nancy/Steve, Dustin/Suzie, Robin/Vickie (although badly executed), Joyce/Hopper, even minor characters got moments.

Will's entire romantic storyline, by contrast, is essentially: he likes a straight boy, accepts that the straight boy doesn't like him back, and then the story ends with crumbs of a epilogue bf. That's a complete arc, sure, but it's was deliberately lazy and a very familiar narrative that many queer people are tired of seeing in popular media.

If fighting monsters and dealing with trauma meant there was 'no room for romance,' then by that logic Eleven and Max wouldn't have had romantic subplots too. I would argue El is as traumatized as Will, so i don't get why the 'trauma' excuse only ever seems to apply to Will.

And bringing up lack of exploration of Lucas’s racism or Dustin’s ableism doesn't excuse it; it just highlights the show's overall blind spots. But the difference is, the writers did choose to dedicate screen time to Will's sexuality, unlike Lucas and Dustin's minority traits. They choose to put his sexuality acceptance arc in centre stage, but just chose to limit that exploration strictly to suffering and unrequited crushes, while giving everyone else fulfillment with dedicated on screen time.

I don't think it was malicious homophobia or that the Duffers secretly hate Will. I don't even think it ruined the show: I just think it's a legitimate criticism.

And I don't really buy the "there was no room for Will to get Love Interest" argument because The show spent years revisiting the Steve/Nancy/Jonathan triangle despite it having almost no connection to Vecna, the Mind Flayer, or the Upside Down. If they wanted to give Will a small indication that romance was possible for him too they couldve included it in the supernatural plot easily like they did with every other couples.

henry using this opportunity to introduce himself as “mr. henry” to will and befriending him in secret

their friendship / will’s trust in henry grows and grows and it all comes to a head after mike and will’s rain fight in s3

will runs away, destroying castle byers, at his lowest

henry decides it’s the perfect time to finally steal will away into his mindscape

love comes in colors, i can't deny

chapter 5: tony the third is out now!

chapter summary: the class presents their final projects. will and tony expand their horizons.

he's probably visiting Jon & Jopper on weekends whenever he wants, talking about his dates with boys shyly and eventually bringing home his bf and queer friends for Christmas dinners because Joyce insists on meeting them.

It's implied that he's fine & happy

I think what you said is very true, most are prolly just mad because Mike stayed back in Hawkins and Will didn't stay by his side like a lost puppy. If Mike hadn't stayed back at Hawkins, I'm sure they'd have no problems with Will leaving as well.