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“it’s not queerbaiting if byler doesn’t happen” uh actually, it is at this point.

before season 4:

there was so much teasing and giggling from the cast about byler during season 4 promotions - they knew exactly what they were doing and the reaction they would get from fans, because people have always had theories about will being queer (and potentially being in love with mike).

these theories actually started when the show started, but got way more popular after season 2 (where byler had a lot of scenes together all season) and season 3 ("it's not my fault you don't like girls").

after season 4 volume 1 aired:

we actually got direct confirmation from the cast (like in actual proper words) that will does in fact 100% love mike. he’s been in love with him since the start. no more arguing or theorising, it's FULLY confirmed now.

the cast CONTINUED teasing (giving people hope that something would happen in volume 2, especially with how much focus there was on will's painting) and obviously the byler fandom became so much bigger.

after season 4 volume 2 aired:

as most of us remember, volume 2 was a mess and we were all so angry and disappointed hearing mike’s monologue to el and watching will once again be heartbroken and alone.

they literally USED HIM as a plot device to push mike into telling his girlfriend he loved her, because he didn’t have strength to do it without will confessing his own feelings for him and giving him the painting he worked so hard on.

they took 2 extremely important things to WILL that were about his love for mike, and they made it about a straight ship who don't even feel like equals in their own relationship. absolutely horrible. it’s so disrespectful, hurtful and insulting in ways i can’t even explain - doing all this to a traumatised, abused, gay character who has barely had any happiness the entire show is just disgusting, and the cast and writers would’ve 100% seen the backlash and how upset people were because it was everywhere all over the internet.

the ONLY way they can fix what they did in season 4 with how they used will as a plot device, is by making byler endgame. that is literally the only way to solve the messy writing and make up for all the lies and misunderstandings, otherwise it's just one big joke.

mike's monologue to el only happened thanks to will's monologue to mike.

mike wants to be loved the way that will loves him. mike wants to be needed the way that will needs him. this is canon and in the script. will's monologue can only be applied to himself, but mike doesn't know that because he lied and pretended he was talking about el. that's the only reason he ended up being able to say he loved el. it's all one big misunderstanding and it absolutely CANNOT stay this way.

now, years later after season 4 aired:

people are STILL talking about byler, and the cast and writers KNOW IT.

the writers themselves (not just the actors sharing their own opinions at conventions, but i mean THE ACTUAL WRITERS) could EASILY directly say “byler is definitely not happening and we’re serious. we made this clear in the season 4 finale when mike confessed his love to el, so please don't say we didn't warn you”, but they did not.

even if they did, this still wouldn’t change the fact that the monologue only happened BECAUSE OF WILL, but whatever. they’ve mentioned the monologue while talking about the scene, but they have not directly denied byler in words.

why? why is it so hard to just deny byler?

at this current moment, EVERYONE, including the characters in the show (even will himself) are meant to think it’s confirmed mike loves el because of the big "i love you" moment, so telling viewers that byler definitely isn’t happening WOULD NOT be a spoiler. they could easily say it, make it 100% clear so that no one has hope for it anymore and moves on, but they’re not.

the only reason they're not denying byler is if:

1. something IS actually gonna happen with byler and they're going to resolve all these lies and misunderstandings (mike will find out about will's painting and monologue and realise it was never about el), so they have to keep quiet about everything to do with ships/love triangles.

OR

2. they’re leading people on. they're making them have hope so they keep talking about the show and hyping it up, attracting more potential fans and then keeping them all as viewers for the final season, just to disappoint everyone by keeping the straight ship together and not letting the gay kid be with his first true love + best friend that he's known longer than anyone. this would also mean that so much of the writing choices would be absolutely horrendous and make no sense from a story perspective.

THAT is queerbaiting and bad writing.

there was absolutely no point in making will in love with mike if he wasn't going to end up with him.

and no, the issue is NOT mike simply being with el. if they wanted to always keep them together, they could've written their story beautifully in a proper way, WITHOUT involving will. they could've made their relationship healthy, made them feel like equals and made them actually be able to have proper heart-to-heart conversations (aka what mike has with will...), but they didn't. they also could've given will a different love interest a long time ago, BUT THEY DIDN'T. they deliberately made all of these choices, so you CANNOT sit there and blame byler shippers for feeling the way they do when the writers and cast have literally pushed and encouraged it and given us hope even more. it's not delusion, IT IS IN THE LITERAL SHOW. mike wheeler would not have gained strength and happiness if it weren't for will byers in that van scene - absolutely NOTHING you say can change this. you cannot argue. it's canon and it's there.

and even if will did develop another crush in season 5, it would not even be CLOSE to the way he’s in love with mike. that love has been developing for years, and they’ve known each other for so long and experienced so much together. they were literally each other's FIRST FRIEND! you can't get anymore powerful and romantic than that. all the upside down stuff is also a huge part of will and mike knows everything, and even helped him and saved him at certain points. a different love interest in the final season wouldn’t have those shared experiences with him AND it would feel so rushed and like such a massive slap in the face to make him fall for someone new that we don't even care about.

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i hope he gets better but i also hope he gets worse but mainly i hope he gets better

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i'm sorry but this is so obvious to me 😭

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saw this on twitter and cant stop giggling

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FIRST step to enjoying any media is getting attached to the character whose suicidal tendencies are the most obvious

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"What It Is"

Prints are available here in 8 colors and 3 sizes, supporting the Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center.

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I just want to point out that if Finn, even as a young director, didn’t understand Mike’s reaction in the van scene , especially considering what follows with the monologue and felt the need to speak to the Duffer brothers about it, that says a lot. It suggests he sensed the scene would come across as simply cruel if Byler wasn’t going to lead anywhere. I wouldn't even be surprised if Finn tried to change the van script a bit and got told to stick to what was written.

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Normal and 001

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I just want to point out that if Finn, even as a young director, didn’t understand Mike’s reaction in the van scene , especially considering what follows with the monologue and felt the need to speak to the Duffer brothers about it, that says a lot. It suggests he sensed the scene would come across as simply cruel if Byler wasn’t going to lead anywhere. I wouldn't even be surprised if Finn tried to change the van script a bit and got told to stick to what was written.

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i love when they

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i will never understand how this:

is widely accepted as a gay yearning stare,

but this:

is not.

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Sometimes I forget this photo exists and then I'm reminded that it in fact exists?!

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Any time I see a post that says "nobody else has pointed this out" and it's about Byler, I can promise you that @kaypeace21 absolutely has pointed it out, and she pointed it out many years ago.

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How the Stranger Things cast ages between seasons

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Awwww, this just warmed my heart, bruh! YAY!!! I feel you. I love rewatching my favorite things with my favorite people.

watching stranger things with a close friend who has never seen it before is like top ten best experiences

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Kind characters are not boring; in fact, due to the vast amount of people who hold that opinion, kind characters are as edgy as it gets. In this essay I will

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what the GA thinks would happen if Will came out to Mike