ᯓ★ MARLEY !!

People also never let Mike enjoy gay or overall queer experiences. He doesn't get to wear crop tops or makeup or want to feel pretty or sit on Will's lap or be a little girly and fuck around with his gender. Mike doesn't get to be feminine, he doesn't get to be gay because he's straight in textual canon and so he has to be the man who never shows any genuine emotions and never has any desires other than to fuck this other guy who is actually gay. Mike isn't allowed to be involved in gay culture, he doesn't do gay culture. Mike doesn't get wanting to be taken care of or wanting to submit or wanting to bottom because that's Gay and Mike Isn't Gay. Will is gay though so he Has to do all those things!!!! That's what people sound like when they get pressed about bylers who like or prefer bottom Mike btw. They think making him bottom is emsaculating for Mike and therefor that's bad because he isn't gay enough to be emasculated or whatever.

I've seen many explanations as to why this specific dynamic for byler has become so much the norm and is being so agressively pushed on everyone, when, if you actually watch the show, you'll see that Mike is much more of a caretaker (stereotypically feminine trait) and behaves more "submissive" around Will, literally physically putting himself below Will multiple times, and both of them show signs of experimenting with gender and being more gender non conforming. But I do think that, out of all the reasons this could have, it all boils down to the fact that in textual canon Will is gay and Mike isn't. And gay men are always more feminine than straight men, according to homophobes. And I'm not saying bylers are homophobes, but I do think that that is the underlying issue we need to work on here, the reason for why this intense need for Will to be sub bottom and Mike to be dom top exists in this fandom.

I’ll forever stand by the fact he’s socially unintelligent, not emotionally unintelligent

He doesn’t pick on social cues that seem obvious to others, but when someone is openly needing comfort from him, he’s immediately vulnerable and really good at comforting people. He knows how to use a soft tone, he’s not afraid to express that he sometimes feels scared or insecure too if it helps that person feel less alone, he knows how to reassure them. Like his emotional intelligence is above that of your average teen boy.

Even his communication skills are not as bad as he’s bashed for. After he and Els fight in s4 he makes a genuine attempt to talk to her and is actually doing pretty good in this conversation before his insecurities are brought up and he gets defensive and the whole thing crumbles, and he clearly apologised to Will in s4 too and took accountability, and generally if he feels there’s an issue he won’t leave it unspoken

Emotional intelligence isn’t being able to pick up on people being upset when they don’t directly tell you, it isn’t being able to notice if someone has a crush on you, it isn’t being able to read any tone- it’s mostly about having empathy and care for others and knowing how to vulnerable and sensitive !!