Some anti-Byler Mileven shippers seem to have a weird double standard where:
Mike and Will have no romantic tension because it's never been explicitly stated, while Eleven and Mike's romance is taken for granted even though they've had very little screen time together in recent seasons.
Will isn't confirmed gay (???) because he's never explicitly said it, but Mike is confirmed straight by default. (And no one remembers bisexuals, which I take personal offence to.)
Mike doesn't have romantic feelings for Will because he's never said so, but we trust that he loves Eleven even when he's got a hard time saying it to her.
Making Will and Mike a couple would be forced and unearned, while Mike and Eleven don't even have to address their problems because they're meant to be.
Letting Will have Mike would cheapen their friendship and undermine Will's character arc of accepting himself, while Eleven's arc of accepting herself can and must involve a romance.
Will should be happy just to be accepted by his loved ones, while I guess for Eleven that's just a given.
Shipping Byler is misogynistic, but being anti-Byler is not homophobic. (And it obviously isn't always, attitudes and reasons vary.)
This post is not about what I personally think should or will happen with these relationships, and you can ship whoever you want. But it's very curious that the standards are very different for a queer ship than for a straight one. Queer relationships in media (and let's be real, irl too) are scrutinised very closely and require a mountain of proof to be taken seriously, while any two characters of opposite sexes will be seen as potential love interests as long as they share the screen.
Will doesn't even enter the minds of many people as a potential love interest despite having so much going for him. Meanwhile, the Jonathan/Nancy/Steve triangle is still going strong just to keep us on our toes. If Will was a girl, we would absolutely be considering him as a viable endgame romance. "First girl wins" is a trope, and while Eleven was the first girl, Will was the first girl.
I'll reveal my hot take now: I don't think Mike needs to end up with either of them. Mileven are definitely better off as friends and I honestly feel like the most romantic tension they ever had was when they were children. Eleven's early arcs were about being loved unconditionally and not for her utility, but she has since moved on to finding her value from within. (Vague season 5 spoiler:) Robin's speech to Will applies to Eleven too, and I actually find that they are thematically in a similar place now. I don't think either of them needs a romance to complete their character arcs. Keeping Mileven together in the end would honestly just feel like comphet stubbornness (unless they find a way to make me believe in it), and I'm somewhat afraid that getting Byler together at this point would feel rushed to a large portion of the audience. But whatever they do, I hope they stick the landing.
