#mike thinks his feelings for will are childish and that he'll grow out of them eventually if he just tries

[chirpsythismorning]

☎️🎲 🤼‍♂️ ✈️🚪 ➡️ 🫀🎮⌛️

I'm Not In Love by 10cc

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#byler #stranger things #bizarre love triangle playlist #mike wheeler #mike’s pov #this song is so denial ridden it's quite remarkable #the insistent denial of anything deeper than platonic #'it's just a silly phase i'm going through' #mike thinks his feelings for will are childish and that he'll grow out of them eventually if he just tries #'and just bc i call you up-- don't get me wrong-- dont think you've got it made' #this is kind of sad bc it fits perfectly with mike not telling will about how much he actually did call #bc here will compares mike's book of letters with el to mike's lack of calling him #mike has no choice but to keep the truth of the matter to himself #he's also so defensive like the lyrics here bc he's scared will can read him and his feelings plain as day #which is why he has to throw in the “WE'RE FRIENDS WE'RE FRIENDS” line #'i keep your picture on the wall. it hids a nasty stain that's lying there' #'--so dont you ask me to give it back-- i know you know it doesn't mean that much to me' #mike hanging up will’s art crumbs 😣 #this is just SAD #this dude thinks he's caught and he's trying to pretend that the other person has it all wrong #even though we all know they're just making a fool of themself at this point #and then finally it ends with #'ohh you'll wait a long time for me' #aka it will have taken five seasons for mike to finally come to terms with his feelings for will and accept them by the end #4x02 #gif

[byler-4-life]

1. How do you think Will would react when he finds out that Mike is in love with him? 2. How do you think Mike would react when he finds out that Will is in love with him? (if Mike isn’t in love with him) 3. How do you think will felt after "it's not my fault you don't like girls"? 4. How and when do you think Will found out that he loves Mike and how did he react to his own feelings? 5. What future do you think Will likes to envision for himself and Mike? 6. What future do you think Will sees for himself in his adult life? 7. How do you think Will was feeling at the snowball? 8. What do you think Will imagines in the situation if someone finds out that he is gay? 9. How do you think Lonnie’s abuse affected Will? 10. What do you think Will was thinking of season 3 Mike and season 3 El? 11. How do you think Will was acting ‘weird’ in Lenora according to El’s letter X)

Sorry for the delay! There were so many wonderful questions I had to work my way through them. But I love the ask!

1. How do you think Will would react when he finds out that Mike is in love with him?

I think Will is going to be incredulous. He's not going to believe it at first. He's wanted this for so long, spent so much time dreaming about it. But, he's also convinced himself it's not happening. So it's not going to be easy for him to accept what Mike is saying. Mike might just have to convince him with a kiss ;)

2. How do you think Mike would react when he finds out that Will is in love with him? (if Mike isn’t in love with him)

This one was hard for me to answer, because I'm so convinced Mike IS in love with Will. But if he isn't, and he finds out Will loves him...sigh. Idk. It won't be anything outwardly mean or hurtful, and I think Mike would be very careful with Will's feelings and apologetic but...any rejection is gonna ruin the show for me.

3. How do you think will felt after "it's not my fault you don't like girls"?

I mean, you could see it in his eyes. He could not BELIEVE that Mike said that to him. He was stunned. Out of everything that Mike could have said. Out of anyone that could've said it. The combination of those two things devastated him. Mike was his greatest safe space, and it got ripped away pretty brutally. This also led to him destroying his other safe space, Castle Byers.

4. How and when do you think Will found out that he loves Mike and how did he react to his own feelings?

I love this question, because I think it was all very gradual. He always kind of knew he felt differently about Mike than his other friends. But early on, he just thought it was because Mike was his best best friend. I think that he began to suspect the truth some time around Season 1, but hadn't really accepted it yet. In S2, he knew he was in love with Mike for sure.

5. What future do you think Will likes to envision for himself and Mike?

I don't think Will minds a lot what they're doing as long as they're together. Not saying he'll completely abandon his own interests for Mike. But he knows that their interests are so similar/complementary, whatever they end up doing, they'll be compatible. The comic book writer/artist team is a popular headcanon for them, and I do love that idea.

6. What future do you think Will sees for himself in his adult life?

I think that a part of Will, especially around S3, had been resisting thinking a lot about his adult life. He was clinging to childish things, and a part of that might have been because he didn't want to grow up. The GA was pushing that agenda hard. But the piece they left out was why he didn't wanna grow up. Think of being a closeted gay teen in smalltown Indiana. It's probably hard envisioning a future for yourself where you get to be happy, especially romantically. That's probably even more true as he feels Mike slipping away from him more and more.

Career-wise, I think he does want to do something with art, even if it's nothing huge. Maybe even just becoming a high school art teacher or something. I think Will would be great working with kids/teens.

7. How do you think Will was feeling at the snowball?

This always breaks my heart thinking about it. After all the hell he went through in S2, the Snow Ball was the topper. Mike basically forced him to dance with some girl he didn't want to dance with. Then Will had to watch Mike dance with and kiss El. That's probably the moment he really realized Mike was drifting away from him. Which was probably an abrupt turn, given how present Mike had been with Will during S2 before the Snow Ball. He probably cried himself to sleep that night.

8. What do you think Will imagines in the situation if someone finds out that he is gay?

Dire? I mean, he's been bullied and abused a large chunk of his life just because of allegations. If it was actually confirmed and he was outed? Yeah, Will is probably terrified.

9. How do you think Lonnie’s abuse affected Will?

I touched on this above a bit, but it likely just solidified that it wasn't safe at all to be gay. We hear in his van speech to Mike, he feels like a mistake. Like he sometimes doesn't want to fight on. That's part of the reason I'm hoping they give Will come closure with Lonnie in S5. (even if that's just kicking Vecna's ass while he's in Lonnie's form lol)

10. What do you think Will was thinking of season 3 Mike and season 3 El?

Again I touched on this above. He was likely jealous and scared. Jealous because El had the type of relationship he wanted with Mike. And scared that he was losing Mike altogether. I don't think it helped that Hopper (and Mike) had El on such a tight watch in S3. It didn't look like she got to interact with any of the party except Mike on a regular basis. That's why it was good development for both Will and El to be able to get to live together as siblings in S4, and form a relationship with each other outside of Mike.

11. How do you think Will was acting ‘weird’ in Lenora according to El’s letter X)

Hard to say. Seemed like it centered around the painting. Maybe he usually would let El see his work, but with this one, he was being secretive, leading El to think he had a crush.

Thank you for allowing me to ramble on about byler! This was fun :)

#byler #byler ask