Thora

Will doesn't fit into bury your gays, yet he is treated horribly, he gets violated (that scene in season 5 did not need to exist) he is possessed by the mind flayer.

He gets pushed down, he has to be hopeless for so much of the story to the point, he sacrifices his own happiness (that's how I see the, he's just my Tammy moment and obviously the van scene)

Will doesn't get a queer joy experience, he is in love with Mike and yet he never is allowed to confess and get closure on it. He isn't given a coming out moment on his own terms and he loses his sister. In the epilogue they don't even give Will a Mike story that focuses on his art, yet they say he finds a boyfriend (that looks like Mike... Probably says more about Mike)

Mike Wheeler, from the start it's never made clear what exactly makes him an outcast, yet a lot of the homophobia spoken about Will is directed at Mike.

Obviously Mike is a nerd and his friend group alone probably is part of the reason he is bullied. Mike gets called frog face so he is also made fun of for his looks. Perhaps Mike doesn't fit a traditional role of a boy his age and that's what makes him an outcast. (would give him and Will a similar struggle from two different angles)

At some point we stop understanding Mike because the story never allows him to explore his own feelings and actions and so the audience is as confused about Mike as any other character. They don't focus on his actions, like jumping into the quarry, protecting Max and having no regards for his own safety.

Mike reads as a queer characters that wasn't allowed to exist a character that was forced into a dynamic he wasn't comfortable in. Aka his relationship with El. A lot of Mike's actions makes no sense for boy who's supposed to be in love.

The rain fight and his break up with El.

He immediately runs to apologize to Will, but has no idea what to do about El so he doesn't do anything unless told too.

The fights in season 4.

With Will he's the one making assumptions (what about us, we're friends) he was paying attention to every little detail about Will being sad or annoyed, yet couldn't tell that El was lying and also putting on a mask?

He can't say "I love you" to El until after he given the painting and hears Will's feelings. Will also has to tell Mike to confess.

There are so many strange moments that does not add up if you read Mike as straight. Even his ending a sad storyteller? I can relate to Mike a lot. I used to hide my true self, to second guess every action I took. And be to scared to speak up.

In the end it seems like stranger things tells a story about outcasts who should throw away their childhood and grow up. Remember don't be different and queer joy doesn't exist.