#olive's asks

It turns out we were worried about the wrong interview

"I mean, look, it's kind of a real, authentic representation of, like, a queer kid in the eighties. I've dealt with that myself, like, being in love with my best friend and maybe they don't love you back or maybe, you know, they feel differently, and I'm not gonna kinda spoil anything, but I think the Duffers close it really well, and, um--"

hmmmmmmm

okay. let's consider how much of Will's story surrounding Mike so far has been him questioning if Mike truly likes him back. for most of the show, Mike's feelings have always been a maybe to him

To me this isn't Noah confirming or denying much of anything, really. He's repeating what any byler fan already knows to be true: stranger things includes a genuine story about a queer kid growing up and dealing with the struggles of being queer and uncertain about if their crush likes them back.

He's speaking from personal experience and applying it to byler, so it seems. when listening to it, it almost sounds like what he's trying to say is "I've dealt with that myself, like, being in love with my best friend and not knowing if they love you back or not knowing if they feel differently"

I feel like what he says is a nothingburger at it's core, but it's phrased in a way that's sort of meant to arouse confusion and debate. which we kNOW would happen -- this is essentially the largest franchise in the world, and they're not going to pass up any opportunity to get people talking about it, especially now that so many fans have woken up a bit more to byler. they WANT it to be a plot twist. they WANT it to be controversial

but at the end of the day, the press interviews are NOT the actual show. the duffers aren't planning this story around interviews or Noah or Finn's personal anecdotes -- this is why I'm saying we do not need to trust Finn (or apparently Noah). the duffers and the other writers ARE telling the story

THIS is the story:

THIS is what they have WRITTEN OUT for us to see:

THE STORY ITSELF does not suggest Mike "not loving will back" or "feeling something else." noah doesn't even say that -- he's only suggesting that the duffers have created that question in Will's mind, and that the question is generally relatable to queer people

could i ask how you went about getting it noticed or like getting traction tho? i’ve been trying to do stuff with my music too and i really have no idea how to go about it so it’s not working very well- if you don’t want to answer that’s alright but if you can i’m all ears!!

omg thank you soooo much, that's so sweet of you to say!! and I don't mind answering at all, musicians gotta help each other 🥰 I'll give you my perspective as a indie-folk musician, though of course it is different for each genre so please take what resonates and leave what doesn't! ❤️

I've been writing, recording, and playing live music for the past four years and have been developing connections in my local community - connection and "networking" is soooo important and also really fun, despite my social anxiety! I've been playing/organizing live shows in my local music community and getting involved with music organizations that are in my city that help artists. I live in Canada, so the Canadian music scene is obviously different than the States and other places, but I would honesty assume that applying these ideas would work in different places. Again, I'm an indie-folk musician who loooooves performing, so that might be different from another genre, but the energy remains the same! If you're putting your passion into your art and reaching out to different people who you think may help you (or even just researching who those people may be) you'll absolutely get the traction that you deserve ❤️

The labels that I talked to were from a wonderful music networking conference (I don't wanna say which one for privacy reason but I'll totally dm you c:) and doing conferences for musicians and the music industry is an AMAZING way to learn new things about the business and meet new music friends/fans!!

Ooooh yes real! I'm very glad that I've seen people in the fandom defend their relationship from only ever being perceived like that, and especially defending Max from being seen as basically just a mean girl when it comes to Mike😭 like please free my blorbos from that archetype at least a little bit of the time dude 🙏

Something else I'd really love to see more of is Mike being more of a resource for Max to lean on! The whole Max supporting Mike thing was popularized from the stobin/madwheeler coming out scene (which I LOVE don't get me wrong) but I also love whenever I get crumbs of Mike being caring for Max in that way, especially when it comes to her mental health. I love all the details and parallels that people have noticed between Max and Mike in s4 and the headcanons I've seen of them supporting each other during that time over going through somewhat similar experiences! Max obviously got lots of support for Lucas, which was one of my fav parts of s4, but I'm also a big fan of the unique type of support she'd get from Mike the I-kind-of-hate-you-but-you-strangely-understand-me friend.

Something else I think about a lot when it comes to them is how they kind of have the thing the other person wants/needs. Max and her relationship with Lucas provides romantic stability and support, while her relationship with her brother and family is very complicated. Mike has a good amount of support from his sisters and his mother (to an extent), while his issues with romantic love and support are very complicated. So it just makes me think of how those differences would manifest in their relationship and the advice/role model they would be able to provide for each other -- like maybe Max being able to tell Mike about how things worked out for her even though she struggled to commit to a relationship with Lucas (cough, in support of byler obv) and Mike being able to relate Max's struggle with having a love/hate relationship to family from how turbulent his family situation has been due to all the upside down stuff or something like that (plus also his relationship with his father. like it's more fanon than anything else, but it's still one of my fav mike headcanons and i think it would really resonate with max)

My final thought is that yes I'm not a huge fan of making them over-hate each other, BUT that's not to say that I don't enjoy their friendly rivalry. When I've seen fic writers and members of the fandom do madwheeler stuff, my favorites are always when they're able to strike a good balance between them being supportive but also keeping up that rivalry they have in a kinda sorta tough-love situation ?? I have had several good friendships that function a lot like that and I've dabbled in writing their dynamic a little bit so I know it's a hard balance to strike, but idk it speaks to me a lot when it's done well and shows how that sort of relationship can result in some of the best support :)

DEAR GOD I KNOWWww the memes make themselves at this point

thinking about how it's giving "I didn't say it -- you didn't have to" and NOT in the lovey dovey sense but the sense that she freaking knows, and mike KNOWS she knows. they know know KNOW, bro

hi!~ this is just me saying I’m so happy you’re back! so many ppl missed you 🤍 I’ve been rescrolling thru your blog, reading all the lovely and supportive posts and want to thank you for all the amazing f/o content you leave us 💗🍰 I hope you’re feeling better than alright. pls continue taking care of yourself and know that you have so much support on here <33

aw anon this makes me want to cry!! :'(( this means so much to me, thank you for taking the time to send this!! I was so worried my absence was too darn long - y'all are so supportive and lovely! ♡