W*ll stans who are also Mike antis say that Mike is a bad character, but then take Mikes canon traits and give them to W*ll.
“Mike doesn’t canonically have depression, W*ll was canonically on anti depressants.”
Meanwhile, Mike’s depression was confirmed by the Duffer brothers and the only proof of W*ll being on antidepressants is him having what looks like pill bottles in his room.
“Mike and El hate each other, but W*ll and El are super close like twins.”
Meanwhile, Mike and El are canonically dating and love each other. W*ll and El barley have any interaction in the show.
Mileven antis: “Mike wanted to send El away, so he didn’t care about her.”
If you found a random girl in the woods would you:
A. Keep her in your basement.
B. Find out where she came from and help her get back.
Mike did care about El, he took her to his house, gave her clothes and food and wanted to help her get back, because he thought that she was lost. When he found out that El came from a dangerous place he hid her in his basement so she wouldn’t have to back there.
do you guys remember that trend where one person would be in a shopping cart and their friend would push them into an employees only area and run away? max would totally do that to mike
kinda nervous to ask BUT … favorite mike headcanons ? sfw if I have to specify JUST in case. (u seem cool and sensible, like u actually know him unlike COUGH some people.)
OH yes I have a lot thank you for asking!!>> there’s some I posted to tt before and some I just have in my head so lemee think
- In the modern day he would write fanfiction but would feel too embarrassed to say he’s writing fanfiction and would instead call it “creative inspired novels”
- Would sneakily bring up politics at the dinner table during Thanksgiving to try and start drama cause he’s a little shit (either this or just obliviously make a comment about it without realising it was gonna make everyone tense)
- Went through an edgy phase in middle school and that’s why he knows how to make a bomb
- Reallyyyy pretentious English nerd. Like he’d be going “*you’re” in online arguments
- Loves ‘girly’ pop songs but would never admit it. Just quietly sings prayer by Madonna and girls just want to have fun to himself in the shower. Max once caught him humming one and bullied him about it for a week
- Obsessed with David Bowie and his hair was what made Mike want an orange mohawk. Has random facts about him like his birthday and when his first album released and his family names memorised.
- Refuses to smile in photos because all the bullying made him pretty insecure about his appearance and he feels like he looks stupid and awkward and weird in every one
- Before S2 when he was trying to communicate with El all the time, he kept feeling her presence when she was watching him. He would often write stuff like "if you're here give me a sign" on his papers in class and it really freaked out his teachers and he had numerous consultations with his parents at school over it
- Fell victim to “we’re best friends right 🥺” from popular girls, didn’t clock that he was being bullied and just took it really literally, replied like "What no I don't even know you" (his autistic ass being unable to pick up on the fact Angela was quite blatantly being fake-nice at Rinkomania tells me he most likely fell victim to fake/sarcastic niceness from bullies a lot during school and made himself look dense 😭 me too……)
- Also fell victim to “hey my friend likes you”. He could tell that was him being made fun of and would just speed walk away
- He keeps a ‘journal’ (it’s a diary). Nancy once asked about it and he got super defensive and was like “well I’m keeping a journal so it can be an autobiography of my youth for when I’m a famous author!! Many renowned famous writers have one, like Stephen King, and Maya Angelou, and-“ (Nancy did not gaf that much)
- Genuinely finds his walkie talkie entertaining. Sits for ages switching channels and frequencies to listen in on random conversations and sometimes even intercept police communications. Also just likes to sit and listen to the static cause he finds it relaxing, sometimes falls asleep to it
- Speaks without thinking and comes across as way too blunt, also just words things horribly. At least once a week he has to backtrack on something he said and be like “nono wait i didn’t mean it like that”
- His blunt honesty was even worse when he was a young kid. He’d just blurt shit out. Once refused to hug his grandma and told her to her face it’s because she smelt like old spinach. When his uncle who he doesn’t see much was visiting he blurted out “wow you’ve gained so much weight since last time” not even trying to be rude just making an observation
- His friends drag him to parties in college but hes a killjoy the whole time and either awkwardly stands to the side refusing to dance or sits outside the whole time with a cup of water for fresh air. Makes himself designated driver since the others are drunk
- Stands in front of his mirror and practices comebacks he’s gonna say to school bullies
- His dad once took him to play golf and he did not manage to hit the ball once. Every time he swung that bat the ball just rolled away from the gust of wind and all he hit was air. Nearly fell over on one attempt. Ted was embarrassed since all his work friends had been there and never brought him again
- Mint choc chip is his favourite ice cream flavour and he fights anyone who says it tastes like toothpaste
- Has the worst hearing ever, but once he’s said “what” two times and still can’t understand the sentence he’ll just take the risk of giving a random reaction, usually laughing or giving a smile and nod
- HATED sports class and would try to hide in the changing rooms to skip it but usually got caught by a teacher and dragged to class
- Once took a puff of a cigarette that one of Eddie’s friends gave him to try and look cool. Had a 10 minute long coughing fit and a scratchy voice for the rest of the day. Never again.
- He’d be a Redditor in the modern day. He’d also own a discord server for the party which he would run like the Navy
- Suspiciously good at stealing things without anyone noticing. When he was at the lab staying with Will he managed to snatch a military walkie talkie off one of the guards while being guided down a hallway by them. He keeps it as a trophy and showed all his friends. Dustin and him spent hours going through all the differnet channels on it and trying to pick up on secret codes
- Holly also gifted him a fluffy neon pink unicorn pen for his birthday one year and he acted embarrassed but actually found it really sweet and started using it for his writing all the time
- Backpack somehow always heavy as a fucking rock. No one knows what he is possibly storing in there.
- Has a habit of chewing on pens when he’s trying to think, multiple have burst in his mouth and he’s nearly choked on the ink but he refuses to stop because it makes him feel like a detective
- Drinks pure black coffee like a freak and has unhealthy amounts of it.
- After Holly was born his parents barely paid attention to him so he would often pretend to be sick or try to create big fusses to try and make them notice him, including trying to break his arm
- His dad forced him to join the baseball team when he was 9. In the end won a medal for "least improved team member". Got grounded for a week
- Would HATE ai in the modern world (he’s an author so. duh)
- Was always injuring himself as a kid by doing dumb shit so was covered in bruises and plasters like 24/7
- When he would get found in hide and seek he would always be so petty and insist he “wasn’t even playing.” what the fuck are you up a tree for then
- Would respond to people asking questions in comment sections with “google is free” like a prick
I need a fanfic where Mike is there for Lucas after he loses Max between season 4 and 5, and later Lucas is there for Mike after he loses El after season 5.
Wheelclair but roommates that never talk but use stupid gestures to communicate to eachother. Mike always notices lucas studying and he finds it cute although he'd rather slack off then study..mike grabs a book an plops next to a seat across the room from him. Lucas doesnt notices him, mike eyes watch luacs from a distance and suddenly hes tapping his pencil on the desk in the same motions.
That grabs lucas attention, although mike never speaks, he just stares at him with some intensity as he keeps taping his pencil.
Lucas slowly begins to snap his finger to the rythm which made mikes face relaxe a bit, he keeps up and they make random sounds together. Until he finally tips his pencil over, it lands on the ground. Lucas raises his eyebrows and thought he should immediately help pick it up, he reaches for it..mike reaches for it and boom, they're both touching hands. They raises their heads to look at eachother, they're gaze lingering almost testing whos going to speak first.
Mike’s biggest trauma being losing El is season 1, does not mean that he didn’t care about Will going missing and Will being possessed, those things were traumatic for him as well.
I’m a Mileven. Please keep this post up! You were so right for it. https://www.tumblr.com/theduchesswrites/816360427911053312/ill-say-it-the-worst-of-the-byler-shipping-has?source=share
As someone messaged me, it's time someone said it.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have no issue with the simple act of shipping Byler. Zilch. Shipping is supposed to be fun. Fandom is supposed to be fun.
At the end of the day, it's all supposed to be fun.
My issue, and I don't know if this is a recent phenomenon unique to Byler or a greater issue with shipping in the last few years, is with the lengths shippers will go to morally and intellectually justify their ship.
A lot of the arguments for Byler being canon are shippers grasping at straws. People do that all the time. I'll complain, but I'm pretentious as fuck.
What scares me are the implications of some of the arguments Bylers make.
I'll leave the rest under a break since, well, this is gonna be long.
The first is that Will is "owed" Mike in some way, or he at least deserves the chance to express his feelings for him. As an adult who's been in more than one long-term relationship, I cannot express how shortsighted this sentiment is.
First of all, Mike isn't a "prize" for Will. Even if Will is in love with him, even if Will were a girl, Mike isn't a "reward" for Will. Frankly, this is incel logic.
Also, canon!Mike is in love with and in a committed relationship with El. As long as Mike expresses to Will that he wants to be with El — which he does ad nauseam, especially in Season 4 — then Will has the only answer he needs: Mike doesn't reciprocate. It's actually incredibly selfish to put someone who's already in a committed relationship on the spot and express your feelings for them.
Canon!Will knows this. He's empathetic and emotionally intelligent. Even in Season 5, where his catching Robin and Vickie making out leads him to temporarily short circuit and see if Mike reciprocates, he immediately takes the hint.
More to the point, Will is deserving of love, but he isn't owed any specific person. That goes for all of us.
There are other people who say Mike is a bad partner to El, but would magically be redeemed if he were to date Will.
Some of these are from young queer people who simply want more representation in mainstream media. I agree, there needs to be more, but I honestly doubt straight people's ability to write coming out arcs. We saw how much the Duffers fumbled Will's, and it's been a pattern in many, many shows over the years.
These shippers aren't thinking about the deeper implications of what they're advocating for. Here's the thing: I don't think Mike is a bad boyfriend to El, but if I did, then I'd say that Will would deserve a better boyfriend than Mike.
Why?
Abusive people do not change for the "right" person. Will, a canonical victim of CSA and homophobia who is also introverted and empathetic, deserves a partner who gets him from the outright.
It bears repeating: I don't think Mike is an abusive boyfriend by any means. If I did, I wouldn't ship him with anyone.
There are also the Will Byers stans. These people often identify with Will or simply infantilize him, as some young women and girls do with queer men. (Not all Will fans are women and girls, but it's a large portion, especially the most vocal section.) Even though they don't like canon!Mike, Finn Wolfhard is hot, so they really want to see Mike and Will get together anyway.
This leads to them going the extra mile. It also requires a lot of mental gymnastics, which inadvertently leads to the following:
Ableism: El is slow, she's BSY when she's a goddamn child, that she still doesn't even know what sex is by Season 5
Misogyny: Mike liked her in S1 because her short hair reminded him of a boy, labeling her as BSY from the time that she's 12, dismissing her trauma when talking about her relationship with Mike
General IDK: A lot of Will stans claim they love El, but say that anyone who thinks she's still alive at the end of the series is delusional. That's because a lot of them would rather an abused girl be dead than alive and *possibly* have a chance, no matter how remote, of reuniting with the person she loves one day. Can't have that when shipping is involved, amirite?
Byler Twitter is, as one would imagine, a cesspool. Tweets celebrating El "dying" get hundreds, if not thousands, of likes. One tweet begging for a link to a fanfic where Mike tries to kill El got over two thousand likes. This isn't funny. It's just misogyny.
Byler Tumblr isn't much better. In fact, I'd argue that the latter can be even worse since, as adults, they should know better. (At this point, Tumblr users are often older than Twitter users.)
I'll end this by saying that, of course, most Byler shippers don't partake in this behavior. Unfortunately, of the few that do, some are the most visible within the subfandom. This creates a feedback loop.
I've said before that I largely identify with Mike Wheeler, but I also identify viscerally with El as an abuse survivor. That's a big part of why their relationship resonates: Mike takes the time to learn about El and honor her trauma. He makes mistakes with her, but he learns from them. That's a kind partner we could all benefit from having, and I'm grateful to say I've found my own Mike.
The fact that certain shippers contort or dismiss El's trauma and grief as a way to justify their ship...
When you demand that people take Will's trauma seriously and don't apply that same logic to El, which is what you're doing, you're telling us that you view acknowledging and honoring one's humanity is conditional. It might not be what you're trying to say, or even what you believe. But it's a very realistic takeaway, and that's a problem.
Look, ship who you want. Stranger Things is fiction. Still, it bears repeating: The lengths you all go to morally and intellectually justify your ship is performative at best and problematic at worst.
Why are Mike haters in denial about Mike having depression is season 2??
He showed textbook signs of depression, he was irritable and in a low mood the whole season. He was acting out, he plagiarized an essay which implies lack of motivation.
The Duffer brothers confirmed it:
But that isn’t enough. According to them Mike has no reason to be depressed, because he doesn’t have trauma. You’re friend going missing, seeing his ‘death’ body, fighting against a monster, seeing people die, seeing the girl you love disappear isn’t traumatic apparently.
It really pisses me off when people say that El should’ve pulled Max and Dustin into the void because they’ve experienced depression so they would understand her and convince her to stay.
First of all, did you guys forget about season 2? Where Mike was depressed?
Also, it’s unrealistic to expect a 16 year to be able convince their friend not to commit suicide right before they are about do it. That’s why I hate when people judge Mike for the way he was acting in the void. What do you expect him to do? Think logically? His biggest fear was about to become true, he was begging her to stay.
Besides, imagine if El pulled Dustin into the void. “You understand me better then anyone.” After they barley interacted with each other, it would be so random.
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