Something ironic (and kinda sad) i find about the most toxic tenants of this fandom is that they have a tendency to treat Mike and Will in a way they both canonically despise
Like…they make Will out to be this perfect angel who can do no wrong, is this uwu wilting bunny flower who’s constantly babied, cries at the smallest of things, is always Mike’s victim, everyone worships the ground he walks on, he has an ultra harem of boys, everything is about him, he’s the main character, and no one else matters. Basically, a Mary Sue lol. Meanwhile, Will canonically hated being coddled, hates being seen as fragile, has hurt Mike (despite the narrative never addressing it, which i hate) and has the capacity to be an asshole, can defend himself just fine, and doesn’t want to be seen as different for this sexuality. He lowkey just wants to be an average joe who’s one of the guys.
And then with Mike, it is so much worse. Toxic fans see Mike as this bitchless loser who can’t pull, is always in the wrong, is the devil incarnate, can’t do anything right, no one loves him, he ends up alone, is ugly, and is treated as useless outside of his two most popular ships. His only purpose to these dumbasses is to kiss, support, and fuck Will. Not like Mike didn’t have an entire fucking speech about how he hates being the love interest waiting in the wings while the superhero does all the cool stuff. Not like he canonically has self-esteem issues and was bullied for being unconventionally attractive (doesn’t make him ugly btw, he’s also canonically cute). Not like he showed signs of mental health issues even before the whole Upside Down shit happened. Not like the Party and the other characters don’t love and respect the shit out of him.
Don’t even get me started on the whole spicy byler shit where they’re made out to be the most basic yaoi couple out there (particularly on Twitter). Will always is the shrinking violet hyperfemme sub bottom, while Mike is always the ultra daddy dom hypermasc top.
God forbid you insinuate that Will could be a top and Mike could be a bottom. God forbid you think they switch. God forbid you don’t see Will as femme and see Mike as femme or androgynous or have him explore his identity in any way.
Cause haven’t you heard? Only one of them can do that. Only Will can have depression, have powers and a supernatural connection, be loved by everyone, have internalized homophobia, explore his sexuality and gender, etc. All of that belongs to Will, cause apparently multiple characters can’t go through the same thing. And if you apply any of this stuff to Mike and want to analyze him outside of being a love interest, then you’re just stealing from Will.
Apparently the worst thing you can do in this fandom is go against the popular headcanons. Cause god forbid we have our own opinions and views on certain characters and ships
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