"What if my friends secretly hate me?"
What if they pray for you before bed? What if they hear a song come on and it makes them immediately think of you? What if when times are hard for them, they close their eyes and think of the memories they've shared with you? What if they study your face closely to see how you're feeling? What if they listen to your stories? What if they smile when you text them first? What if
The concept of conformitygate is genuinely more unsettling and WAY scarier than anything this show has done all season. I can't even explain it. Just the phrase "wake up, Mike" creeps me out for some reason. The idea of being stuck in this fake world where you're miserable, but it feels completely real, and people are trying to get you to wake up, but you can't, and the whole time there's this Truman Show paranoia of thinking there's a grand conspiracy and maybe someone's out to get you, but you don't know who's in on it or who to trust or if you can trust ANYONE, and the whole time it's so hard to escape because our instinct is to accept the reality around us even if it's boring and we're not happy with it.
worst part about loving mike wheeler post-finale is that all the slander against him is 100% justified and I really don’t have any excuse other than “what he could’ve been”
I was explaining bi and trans erasure/phobia in the gay community to my mum and she was outraged and burst out “WHAT DO THEY THINK IT STANDS FOR? LESBIANS, GAYS, BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES?!” and I don’t think I’ll forget that until my dying day.
What was the purpose of the scene about queer signals, if Will was never going to receive queer signals? Why was the question concerned with the obviousness of signals, and not the mere presence of them? Why use the term "shared looks" when that was a known call and response on set for Noah and Finn?
What was the meaning of the snowball and avalanche metaphor? Why include that scene at all? Where was the payoff?
You're going to write an entire meta scene on queer signals of attraction, include examples that we have already observed, indicate an eventual pay off... and not let it pay off? Why? To be malicious?
You tell the audience through Will that Mike was just his Tammy this entire time and expect us to believe it? Was Tammy in Robin's video tape? Did Robin know Tammy since she was five? Did Tammy run after her in the rain or recognize her breathing over the radio?
And Will Byers never got kissed. Will Byers witnessed queer love, queer joy, and queer intimacy through a kiss at the beginning of the season, wanting that for himself because he's a romantic... and never even got kissed. Not even by his epilogue boyfriend.
here is a masterpost on everything that doesnt make sense because byler isnt canon, plot holes that exist because byler isnt canon, all the ways mikes character was ruined by making him straight, AND how it was homophobic. i include explanations and categorize things by color coding! this includes scenes in the show, interviews, and posts from the stranger things team. (note: im not going to include things noah said-explained in tags)
warning, it’s very long because im including EVERYTHING. I found and listed 108 examples here. enjoy—or don’t.
1. mike and el’s fight in season 4. specifically, “it was like a fight you can’t come back from.” and then their argument is never resolved. they have barely any scenes or chemistry in season 5, and they remain a couple. plot hole because: where is the explanation as to how they got back on good terms? keeping them together is a direct contradiction of the narrative that’s been set up.
2. mike being unable to say “i love you” to el. even when he says goodbye to el in the void before she disappears in the season 5 finale, she is the only one to say “i love you.” mike does not say it back. ruined mikes character because: it makes him out to be an asshole. plot hole because: they never explain why he goes from being able to say “i love you” in season 3 to being unable to in season 4 and 5.
3. mike not reacting to el’s kiss in season 3 at the end of the season finale. plot hole because: he was interested in el earlier this season. what changed? no explanation given. only makes sense if he is no longer romantically interested in her and/or he is gay. neither is true according to the series finale.
4. robin and will’s “signals” scene. plot hole because: why would will ask for signals if he didn’t have anyone in mind? why would he ask clarification with “how obvious?”
5. mike and will flirting in the field in season 5. doesn’t make sense because: why would will flirt back with mike knowing el and mike are together? why would he do so if he “knew” mike is straight?
6. mike being in will’s reel in sorcerer. doesn’t make sense because: robin said her reel only had her in it. robin said she didn’t need tammy to realize and accept herself. why would will need mike, then, if that isn’t how robin did it AND they’re setting up will to parallel robin?
7. will saying “i know he’s not like me” and “he’s just my tammy” and “i HAD a crush on someone” in his coming out scene. doesn’t make sense because: why would will flirt with mike knowing that? how is it possible for will to get over his years long crush in the span of a day? homophobic because: you’re downplaying a GAY character’s love for someone as a crush and being something that could be easily tossed aside. this is not done with any other character.
8. will being the only person in the cast without a love interest. plot hole because: if robin and will are meant to parallel each other, why doesn’t he get a love interest? we get a glimpse of him talking to someone at a bar—that’s not a confirmed partner. that’s not even crumbs. narratively him getting a partner was necessary. homophobic because: you are singling out a gay character.
9. mike not being able to hug will at the airport. plot hole because: we never get an explanation for this. they weren’t in an actual argument, and they ended season 3 on good terms. if mike isn’t gay and didn’t suspect anything, this has zero purpose in the story. ruins mikes character because: he has no reason to dislike or distance himself from will because he is confirmed to not have known about the crush, and he is not gay canonically. he was just being an asshole.
10. mike not reaching out to will when he moved to lenora. plot hole because: again, if mike and will’s ended on good terms and he doesn’t canonically have feelings for mike, then WHY didn’t he call? there was zero narrative or emotional payoff for this, either. it serves no point. ruins mikes character because: it goes against mikes own words. he said they would stay best friends, and then didn’t. and he admits regretting this and missing will. so again, if there was no motive or reason for this underneath that, he’s an asshole.
11. paralleling stancy to mileven through the “you can’t say you love me” plotline. plot hole because: why parallel your characters and relationships only for that parallel to not have any payoff?
12. paralleling rovickie and vickie’s boyfriend to byler and mileven in season 4 through cinematography. plot hole because: again, why parallel to have no payoff? this serves no purpose now.
13. the rain fight between mike and will in season 3. ruins mikes character because: if mike wasn’t projecting, then he was just being homophobic and an asshole. plot hole because: making a callback to that fight in wills coming out scene without an apology from mike is just bringing up wills trauma needlessly and without resolution. homophobic because: that comment is so fucking homophobic i don’t even NEED to explain why. it’s obvious.
14. mike apologizing to will after the rain fight, but not el after their breakup. ruins mikes character because: mike is shown to simply not care about his girlfriend. plot hole because: it is never explained to us why mike cares more about will than his own girlfriend.
15. using the painting to help fix mileven. ruins mikes character because: mike can’t say i love you unless the world is ending and needs his best friends support for it. homophobic because: using a gay characters pain to keep a straight couple canon is fucked up
16. not addressing the painting after season 4. plot hole because: mike had all the pieces to understand the painting came from will. el told him in the letter he was painting for someone he likes. mike now knows will loves him. will used similar language in both the painting and coming out scene. the lack of confrontation doesn’t work narratively and comes off as forgetfulness and an unfinished plot.
17. mike refusing to play dnd in season 3 but playing it again after will moves away. plot hole because: if mike didn’t want to play because “they’re growing up,” then that doesn’t make sense. if he changed his mind, it should have been explained. but mikes back and forth feelings on dnd are never discussed. ruins mikes character because: he’s a hypocrite and bullied will for no reason.
18. mike flirting with will in season 4, specifically “i didn’t say it. you didn’t have to.” doesn’t make sense because: why play it with that tone if it meant literally nothing????
19. the writers referencing korrasami and catradora. doesn’t make sense because: it’s two gay ships that get together in the end. that didn’t happen to any couple at all. and nothing ever came close to either of these ships in this show. homophobic because: you’re promoting your straight, queerbaiting show with genuine queer representation in other media.
20. jancy paralleling byler in season 2, specifically with mike and jonathan helping will and nancy get back safe on halloween. plot hole: again, why parallel if it’s for nothing?
21. “the painting will payoff” in interviews. doesn’t make sense because: that was literally a lie. homophobic because: you lied KNOWING it would give queer fans hope.
22. “byler fans are the loudest” said by the duffers in an interview. homophobic because: why are you mocking a giant part of your fanbase?
23. “will and mikes story isn’t over yet” said in an article in reference to the finale. homophobic because: that was a lie and it was to bait hopeful fans. doesn’t make sense because: it’s factually not true. their 20 second conversation was a throwaway and did not give us any new info about their relationship.
24. mike promising will they would be a team at the end of season 4. doesn’t make sense because: they were not paired up in season 5. they were not a team. ruins mikes character because: he’s an inconsistent friend.
25. creelby and byler parallels. doesn’t make sense because: they said the first shadow content would make its way into season 5 and it barely did.
26. shawn posting only the posters of will and mike on his story. homophobic because: you’re baiting people.
27. hans and leia parallels to byler/mileven. doesn’t make sense because: it was all for nothing
28. paralleling the rink o mania byler fight with high school musical (a canon romantic pairing). doesn’t make sense because: if it wasn’t romantic then literally why?
29. paralleling the byler rain fight to a canon gay couple from another show. homophobic because: it’s literally baiting and uses an actual queer show to hurt queer viewers
30. any and all byler posts on stranger things accounts. homophobic because: obvious baiting and playing into hopes of queer people getting decent representation
31. paralleling “crazy together” to “only love makes you that crazy”. homophobic because: you want us to think they’re romantic in some capacity and then you lied. it’s misleading.
32. forgetting wills birthday. homophobic because: even if it WAS an accident, it’s so fucked up it happened to the one character who’s been traumatized the most, doesn’t get a satisfying ending, and is gay. ruins mikes character because: not only did he forget wills birthday, he complained at him all day. thats supposed to be his best friend. plot hole because: you make your plot about wormholes, have a clock and time theme in season 4, make henry’s birthday the same as wills, make will be chosen for a reason by vecna, and then you never explain any of it with this.
33. “we asked finn and noah to carry a lot of emotional weight” homophobic because: most actors carried more emotional weight than finn did. he had ONE SCENE in the entire season where he showed emotion. meanwhile gaten, natalia, and maya had way more emotion and you CHOSE to single out finn and pair his name with noah’s because you knew what bylers would think. doesn’t make sense because: not true. finn did not.
34. “it’s a shitty knockoff” in reference to mikes california outfit, obviously talking about how he’s not being himself. plot hole: you set us up for that, and then never show us what he’s hiding and/or what makes him not himself.
35. “mike is the heart this season”. homophobic because: you purposefully used language that refers to the painting scene, which is about wills love for mike. doesn’t make sense because: it’s factually not true. lucas did more for the party than mike did.
36. paralleling wills self acceptance arc to robin’s. plot hole because: if you’re going to make wills entire coming out scene, entire self acceptance arc with the film reel, etc using the tammy storyline and robin’s advice—and go step by step in the same order of events that robin went through—then narratively you have to conclude that parallel. robin gets the girl. will does not get the boy. homophobic because: instead of giving will an original storyline, you’re just recycling another queer character’s experience
37. will repeating some of robins exact dialogue such as “it was always about me,” “tammy,” etc. homophobic because: again, recycling another queer character because you’re too lazy to be original. not all gay people are the same for fucks sake
38. “will learning that sometimes your crush doesn’t like you back was the important message we needed to tell” said by the duffers in an interview. homophobic because: first of all, why are straight people telling queer people what we need? you don’t know us. secondly, this is not an original concept. stories have been using this trope and narrative for ages. thirdly, telling other characters they need love to get past their struggles only for that pattern to not follow the gay kid is crazy work.
39. showing a clip of mike looking at will while he’s possessed in the trailer of season 5 as a parallel to season 2. doesn’t make sense because: this clip literally has nothing more to it in the show. it has zero purpose.
40. saying in one interview that the intent was for people to see mike understood will was talking about him in the coming out scene, only to then backtrack in a video interview, AND THEN throw that away with a vague conversation with mike and will in the finale. homophobic because: you were lying to keep queer people hopeful after the backlash so you wouldn’t lose finale viewers.
41. saying you were originally going to write wills coming out scene to be during the painting reveal/in the van. doesn’t make sense because: why did you change your mind? it would have worked better than the shit show we got. plot hole: so mike is oblivious to what the painting means. was he meant to not be oblivious then? that would’ve changed the course of byler.
42. the finale scene where will asks for them to stay friends and then mike says “no. best friends”. homophobic because: i shouldn’t even have to explain that. are you fucking serious? bait bait bait bro. fakeout scene. ruins mikes character because: it’s shitty to give will hope for no fucking reason
43. mike apologizing to will for not realizing will was struggling with being gay. doesn’t make sense because: literally if mike is not gay, what would him realizing this have changed? what would he be able to do? after “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” it’s clear mike would’ve been useless. plot hole because: he could’ve apologized for literally anything else. laundry list of apologies he needs to make for will. choosing this instead was weird.
44. keeping mileven ambiguous until literally the last 45 minutes of the series finale. homophobic because: you knew what you were doing giving people hope and trying to keep views up. plot hole: it made mileven so weak. they had no chemistry. mike and els goodbye scene fell so flat because of that.
45. “see what happens, michael?” comment ted makes at mike for wills disappearance (implying it’s because he’s gay) in season 1. plot hole: why imply mike is gay if he’s not gay??
46. “you can tell me things” karen says to mike about wills disappearance—which is exactly what she says to nancy about steve (canon couple at the time). bonus points because el was in a literal closet during that scene. plot hole: why imply their friendship is different if it never was meant to be?
47. ted wheeler breaking mikes closet during the demo fight. doesn’t make sense: why that symbolism if for nothing?
48. mike having a one way sign into his closet. doesn’t make sense: again, why if not gay?
49. costume designer making robins season 4 outfit have triangle imagery to showcase her queerness and giving mikes custom shirt a triangle, too. doesn’t make sense: why is he gay IF HES NOT GAY?
50. finn saying “mike is just trying to stay on a normal path” in reference to season 4 mike. doesn’t make sense: mike literally says in season 4 that he doesn’t want to be popular. he says he’s been bullied his whole life. this is just not true.
51. the party’s bullies throwing homophobic insults about will at mike SPECIFICALLY. doesn’t make sense: why at mike and no one else? it only makes sense if it’s because those gay comments are also about him
52. mike is bullied by being called frog face, while everyone else is bullied for being a minority. doesn’t make sense: why is mike the only one without such an insult?
53. the cali plotline as a whole, which only existed to establish and build upon mike and wills relationship. plot hole: if mike and el were built up for a breakup, and an entire season was spent discussing how in love will is with mike, then why did it lead to nothing? the narrative flow abruptly ended.
54. “a brush of the knee, a bump of the elbow, a shared look” all being signs someone likes you, and season 5 gives us all of that with mike and will. homophobic because: BAIT. plot hole: why build this narrative only to abruptly end it?
55. “in the closet” playing when mike starts to regret fighting with will at rink o mania. doesn’t make sense because: it could’ve started playing when we saw el but they chose to make it on mike.
56. “we’re friends. WE’RE FRIENDS” plot hole because: no one implied you weren’t. that was all you making it have romantic connotations, mike. confirmed by the fact that mike was oblivious to wills feelings here. ruins mikes character because: he has learned nothing from “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls.” same shit different font.
57. “the first i love you” playing only during breakup scenes. but it plays with mileven…only for no breakup to happen. doesn’t make sense because: you can’t keep making parallels and patterns and breaking them.
58. mikes reaction to will gaining powers in sorcerer. doesn’t make sense: it was shot romantically and choosing to focus on mikes reaction more than wills mother was…a choice.
59. mike constantly correcting everyone on will being a sorcerer. plot hole: why is mike the only one being so pushy and adamant? how is this supposed to be read if it’s not romantic? the other characters reacting weirdly to his insistence speaks volumes.
60. small town boy being on mikes official playlist. homophobic because: bait.
61. mike liking butthole surfers and robin disliking it. homophobic because: bait.
62. will asking robin if she got with vickie after coming out. plot hole: sets us up narratively for will to end up with someone. doesn’t happen.
63. “jonathan helps will get something he wants” said in an interview. doesn’t make sense: didn’t happen. was a lie.
64. the blue and yellow lighting. plot hole: building a pattern and storytelling with cinematography for nothing.
65. the lighting choices in the field scene: soft romantic and hopeful. doesn’t make sense because: all this for what? im tired.
66. the van scene taking 12 hours and specific comments being made on how they tried to get the lighting just right. doesn’t make sense: why then? just why.
67. mike having imagery with women and frowning, and then having imagery of men and smiling. homophobic because: obvious queer coding for nothing.
68. mike being paralleled to brenner in season 4 with “what did you do?”. plot hole: why make him look so bad and incompatible with el only for them to never resolve the arguments and be a couple in the next season? ruins mikes character: bad bf for not comforting el after she was bullied at rink o mania.
69. mike doing a triple take in season 4. homophobic: gay for nothing bro. playing into romantic tropes to have no payoff.
70. will talking about being scared because “what if they don’t like the truth” only for mike to nod and agree in season 4–in reference to will being gay. plot hole: mike is scared to open up. and then he never opens up. to anyone. for season 4 AND 5.
71. mike not reacting to will being in danger. or his parents being in danger. or holly being in danger. or nancy. for all of season 5. ruins mikes character: if it’s not because he was bottling up his emotions and hiding something—which we now know wasn’t the case and he was just genuinely acting this way—then he’s an asshole. we know he can react and emote, he’s done it in seasons prior.
72. having will be in love with mike for 3 entire seasons at minimum. plot hole: narrative build up tells us it was a slow burn. but then the candle went out and nothing happened. it doesn’t follow narrative storytelling. homophobic: giving will the character and us the viewers hope for YEARS and knowing it wasn’t going to happen is cruel
73. having will be in love with mike. homophobic: for will to have an acceptance arc and a gay arc, he didn’t need a crush. he didn’t need a love interest. making it canon and then treating it this way is queerbait plain and simple.
74. mike telling el “i feel like my life started that day i found you in the woods”. homophobic because: will byers has to listen to his best friend say his life started the day he went missing. like what the fuck? ruins mikes character because: it contradicts what he said in season 2—he said the best thing he ever did was ask will to be friends. it also just makes him an asshole because he knows how will has been traumatized since that day.
75. this
homophobic because: self explanatory. bait.
76. this scene
homophobic because: someone in production literally told them to hold hands. the bathroom is named dick. come on. queerbait.
77. ALL of the dick jokes. robin saying “i like dick” then panning over to mike and will looking at each other. the bathroom being named dick. homophobic because: come ON. QUEERBAIT.
78. will being in almost every shot of mileven in season 4. doesn’t make sense: genuinely if not for the love triangle imagery, why was will haunting mileven constantly?
79. mike and el reuniting in season 4 after they find project nina. mike looking at el and then will smiling. and then the smile drops when he looks back at el. doesn’t make sense: if not romantic confusion, what purpose does this serve?
80. mike and el reuniting at project nina EXACTLY like will and el do with a hug and pressing foreheads. doesn’t make sense: why compare SIBLINGS to a ROMANTIC PAIRING?? weird weird weird if not meant to be read as platonic mileven.
81. robin looking at mike and will in the field being framed exactly like how steve looks at vickie and robin in season 4. doesn’t make sense: for the billionth time i am asking WHY the parallel if it was for nothing?
82. “i don’t believe in coincidences” -lucas in season 5. plot hole: you say that but then the whole season is FULL of coincidences—either plot holes, or mistakes, or things that straight up don’t work. homophobic: arguably bait.
83. mike being oblivious to the painting, will flirting in the field, and literally the past 5 seasons, but understanding that will was talking about him in the coming out scene. plot hole: you can’t paint mike as oblivious and then make him not understand concepts that are handed to him on a silver platter, but then write him to understand will is talking about him when ZERO indication is given in the dialogue. ruins mike character because: you pick and choose when he’s emotionally intelligent and when he’s not. you’re calling him dumb when he is NOT DUMB. homophobic because: willful ignorance of canon and purposeful twisting of mikes character to avoid addressing the romantic subtext.
84. “i miss clouds. i miss you” doesn’t make sense: this is not giving the “he’s just a crush” energy you claim.
85. mike finding a new party after will saying he’s loyal to their group. ruins mikes character: he had no reason to hate on will. he’s a hypocrite.
UPDATE/EDIT: i remembered more. he’s a screenshot of my reblog.
EDIT NUMBER 3: there’s more!
and guess what? even more
UPDATE/EDIT 4:
101. having mike linger on will’s dnd book and crying. doesn’t make sense: why is he crying over will????
102. wsqk hinting at byler via songs and talking segments. homophobic: queerbait
103. having the show pop up when byler was written in the netflix search bar, but not doing the same with mileven. homophobic: queerbait
104. mike telling hopper he was going to run away with el in the epilogue. plot hole: he said he wanted to leave with the whole party initially. also el didn’t gaf about his dnd storytimes. ruins mikes character because: it’s uncharacteristic of him to want to abandon everyone.
105. mike having the painting in his future room. plot hole: does he even know it was from will? no, he does not. he still thinks it’s from el and his final perspective of her is based on a lie
UPDATE 5:
106. the end of season 4 pairings in the field, putting byler with canon couples and having el stand on her own. doesn’t make sense: why do this if jancy is bones and mileven is still together?
107. 70/30 split of yellow and purple flowers from mike to el in the airport scene. “there was too much yellow” which is will’s color. doesn’t make sense: if it doesn’t have any greater meaning, why spend so much time explaining?
108. those flowers dying in the field at the end of season 4 and in the hospital during the season 5 rovickie scene. doesn’t make sense: why use the exact same flowers if there is no symbolism?
“it [the coming out] was just so much pressure (...) and having the whole cast standing there watching like a press-conference was nerve-wracking.” —Noah in the most recent interview on Will’s coming-out.
NOAH the actor said it felt like a fucking press-conference. Noah the gay actor for a gay boy said there was a lot of pressure to deliver. what the actual fuck was that writing
He even talks about essentially disassociating while doing the performance and not really processing anyone else being in the room or what they were doing like they really should've gone with an intimate coming out scene between Will and Joyce alone (and Mike could've accidentally overheard it too)
hi guys i know the byler fandom is in SHAMBLES right now so i think it’s time for a gentle reminder!!
some people who were bylers yesterday are not bylers today. volume two gave some people such extreme byler doubt that they have already accepted that we have all been queerbaited.
some people who were bylers yesterday still have hope for the finale. some people believe that volume two was just setting up a byler heart to heart and kiss in the finale, which will prove that mike is not will’s tammy.
both of these experiences are equally valid, and i have seen way too many people being attacked for either belief within the fandom. IT IS OKAY IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN BYLER AS MUCH AS YOU DID BEFORE. THE QUEER COMMUNITY HAS BEEN BURNED SO MUCH IN THE PAST BY QUEERBAITING. IT’S OKAY TO BE CAUTIOUS. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT’S OKAY TO HAVE NO DOUBT. IT’S OKAY TO STILL BELIEVE. YOU ARE NOT DELUSIONAL. BYLER WAS ALWAYS A REAL POSSIBILITY NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.
we are all in this together!! let’s be kind to each other during these weird times in the byler community <3
