my heart just expanded past my ribcage im experiencing organ failure and hypertension-
36 years later, 2022
Extra doodle and headcanon:
Been thinking about Mike and Will getting married on impulse in 2021 because when they wanted to get married during their 20s, they couldn’t, and by the time it got decriminalised, they just didn’t care enough. They were basically married anyway. But on Will’s 50th birthday, he just looks at Mike, who cooked him an elaborate birthday dinner and goes “I want to be married to you.” And Mike (being Mike) immediately says “Let’s do it. Next week.” And the rest is history.
hot take: you know that "lovingly tending to your love interest's wounds and bandaging them up while telling them to be more careful next time with lovey dovey eyes" trope? well. stop saying that will is the one doing the tending. he isn't.
this is will in the face of danger, blood, and stress:
meanwhile, mike ...
housed, clothed, fed, and tried to lift the spirits a girl he'd just met in the middle of the woods + immediately wanted to see lucas's head to check if he was okay after eleven threw him against the rock
spent all of season two holding will, tending to him, fetching and finding him whenever he wandered off, asking him if he was okay whenever he so much as breathed differently, watching him like a hawk, motioning him to move back when dart was moving, standing in front of will to protect him from dart, dropping to his side asap when he fell during the burn, (possibly) reaching for his ankle when will was in the hospital bed, and he immediately helped max up and asked her if she was okay when she fell
held onto el the entire time that she was injured, stayed strong even when that shit was way too McFucking NASTY as everyone else was cringing, applied pressure to her wound and did what he was told easily once someone that knew first aid told him
held will back from going after jonathan during the shootout, put his arm over will, and let will cling to him all the while despite the fact that he was defenseless and in just as much danger, too, and calmly (compared to jonathan and a certain scared hamster) continued to apply constant pressure to the agent's bullet wounds as he bled to death all over them, purposely went to stand by will's side in the hospital room after will looked back at him, and put his hand on will's shoulder to offer comfort when will told him about vecna being alive
one of mike's best, most popular and lovable traits is how attentive and caring he is. obviously they'd both tend to each other and no one is saying they would just let each other die lmao, but if anyone is more likely to throw googoo gaga major heart eyes at someone while tending to them and doing everything they can to protect, save, and help them and make sure that they're okay because they don't want to lose them... if anyone is more likely to say something like "please be more careful next time", which curiously sounds within the realm of "i feel like i lost you"...
do you ever think about the fact that throughout the entirety of stranger things we’ve always seen mike practically shout his love for will from the rooftops by throwing his everything into believing, protecting, and helping will no matter the stakes, and how a majority of byler moments are initiated by him, and how will has always loved him back quietly despite being the one canonically confirmed to be in love, and how will is almost always on the viewer’s right in iconic byler moments but in season four we find him on the left in what used to be mike’s spot because their “roles” have switched AND when we’re taken out of the viewer’s pov and put in jonathan’s pov we see jonathan Come To A Realization here because while mike has always made it clear how special will is to him and how different their relationship is, will has always managed to keep the true depth of his feelings a little closer to his chest and it’s only when he publicly takes up that support role that mike has played for him previously that the audience is purposely made to realize, too, how romantic it truly is, because coming from mike everyone might have thought it was his usual overzealous theatrics but when the same tenderness and earnest love comes from will they realize oh. this is… this is actually something more. this is how they are this is mike and will like nothing has changed and no time has passed but it’s now that we realize just what it is, and now that will is starting to slowly but surely come out from this curtain he’s hid behind his whole life and voice that yes he loves mike of course he does he’s always loved him and loves him in precisely the way that mike expresses he needs to be loved there is simply NO conceivable way that they can come out of this hellish slow burn miscommunication trope not in full acknowledgement and eager acceptance of this love they have for each other and have always had and always will !!!!!!!!
no because if mike's monologue was meant to be taken seriously then why didn't we see a scene of mike and el talking after? having a genuine heart-to-heart? mike comforting el? doubling down on his "love confession"? instead we get yet ANOTHER byler heart-to-heart and byler standing together in the field... very weird writing choices if midleven is endgame.
exactly. will believes he has NO chance with mike and meanwhile they include shots of mike like this:
One of the pieces of byler proof to me is the fact that Will thinks he has absolutely zero chances of Mike liking him back. Like why would you have a queer character who thinks so little of himself to the point where he thinks that he has no chance of his crush liking him back only for it to be revealed that yeah, he actually doesn’t have a chance because his crush is straight. Like, in what world would that make sense?
we're getting another benverly parallel like how beverly was talking about how ben's poem made her feel so loved and wanted, and mike is gonna be like:
"thanks, el, for the painting. just- thanks. it made me feel good about myself. like- like i'm important. and i, i don't know, i guess i've been feeling really lost ever since you and- and will moved to california. and for the first time in a long time, i felt needed again."
*cue audience realization*
no. there’s no “mike is going to ask el about the painting.” there’s only “mike is going to gush to el about how much he loves the painting and he’s going to say how it made him feel sm better and it really made him realize how much he’s in love with her” and boom— audience realizes. boom— it’s not too rushed. boom— it makes sense to the GA.