The Downside-Up

...Until years later, Chance gets bitten by a werewolf and becomes one himself.

His first instinct is to go to Will, because Will is his safe person, but as Chance unwillingly turns into a wolf on the full moon, he realizes he might not be safe for Will anymore.

He can feel it, deep inside him. The need to hunt. The hunger. The confusion turning into rage.

I’m sorry, but even if post-canon Mike were secretly queer, the argument that “If Will is allowed to explore his sexuality outside of Mike, then Mike should be free to have crushes on other boys too” is kind of ridiculous.

While this may seem fair on the surface, some people, in their tunnel vision regarding what they perceive as unfair treatment of Mike by 20 willstans, seem to overlook that it’s Will who is a visibly queer teen living in a world that does not accept him. In contrast, most of Mike’s struggles in the story revolve around his feelings of inadequacy and insecurity in his relationship with Jane/El. Unlike Will, Mike does not question his identity; he is not forced to confront any internal contradictions or engage in any self-reflection. After two seasons of struggling, he conveniently gains confidence from Will’s painting, but the writers never address this development again.

Will has endured years of heartbreak and rejection. Moving on is crucial for his self-preservation and growth, as it aligns with his journey of self-acceptance. In Seasons 3 to 5, he clings to the idea of the Mike from earlier seasons and the childhood intimacy they once shared, even though Mike prioritizes Jane/El over him. Will experiences profound pain related to his identity--internalized shame, forbidden love, and the feeling of being a mistake for being different--while Mike primarily struggles with typical teenage insecurities.

You have a canon queer character who has been treated poorly, but your focus is still on Mike, who has never confronted how he has hurt Will, both intentionally and unintentionally. Everyone should rewatch the rain fight in Season 3 without concentrating on Mike’s imagined struggles. Will has carried shame and fear since childhood. In the first episode of Season 3, he expresses that he is not going to fall in love because he already feels different and “not normal.” He experiences isolation while his friends enjoy their first heterosexual milestones, such as having girlfriends and kissing. When Will tries to stand up for himself and calls out Mike’s bullshit behavior, it backfires. Mike responds with the same derogatory language that bullies have used against Will. Instead of admitting that he hasn’t been himself, Mike shifts the focus to Will’s “difference,” leading to a soul-crashing breakdown for Will in what was once his childhood safe space. He realizes that nothing can ever be the same; he does not like girls, and he is in love with a boy who cannot reciprocate and is actively leaving him behind. In Season 4, Will’s crisis continues while Mike, self-absorbed, fails to notice the signs.

some quick prince will sketches bc those balcony pics I saw sent my royalty au heart off 🫠🥰

Since the party is falling apart and Will feels like everyone is changing except him, finding a new friend who doesn't make him feel like a second choice and genuinely enjoys the same thing as him is a breath of fresh air (and it doesn't hurt that Chance happens to be quite handsome as well).

As they grow closer, Will starts to feel a conflicting mixture of hope and fear. It's been ingrained in him that liking boys is wrong, that romantic love is never going to be for him, and yet he isn't entirely blind to Chance's subtle (read: very obvious and clumsy) flirting either. He can see the way Chance purposely sits close so their thighs are pressed together, the way his eyes linger for too long on his face even when Will's not talking, the way he keeps bumping their knees and makes dumb excuses just to grab his hand. The way he always makes time for him and remembers every detail like Will matters.

One day, Chance invites him at his house to watch a horror movie in his room. Will tells himself it's purely platonic and tries not to overthink (he absolutely does). It starts pretty normal, but as the first victim gets murdered on screen, Chance fakes a yawn and puts an arm around Will's shoulders, and Will's heart is going crazy.

Like sure, if you're going to write it in a way where the character's self-acceptance entirely relies on someone else's love, that's not good nor satisfying, but it's totally possible to write it in a nuanced, compelling way where self-acceptance and romance happen alongside each other. If you can't do that, that's a skill issue.

To think finding yourself is a path you have to walk on completely alone is false, but also, it somehow only ever applies to the gays, because the same writers will give their straight characters both growth and romance (and suddenly no one is saying it's incompatible hmm).

Noah was unhappy Will’s and his own LBGT identity weren’t respected and they saw it as ‘trouble.’

He wanted a happy ending for Will, as we all did, and they mocked him for it.

Out of everything, this is truly the most vile thing the Duffers have done. Fiction is one thing but they’re straight up disrespecting a young, queer man who has been nothing but sweet according to everyone else.