mike wheeler you deserved to be happy, im so sorry

please call me an or drew | 23 | she/he (genderfluid) | eng is not my first language

[theastrobyler]

so I've just saw Jamie's sketch for The tonight show with Jimmy Fallon and...

" i believe you all have dormant powers. and I know if we all work together, we can awaken those powers."

"and you are the light. you are the light."

"tomorrow (january 7th) it begins"

*Jamie does the clock and his voice deepens when he starts counting on seven*

(plus the video is 1 minute 7 seconds)

idc anymore if i end up being clowned again, but I have no doubts, vol 3 is real, comformitygate is fucking real

[theastrobyler]

I do, genuinely and with no kidding, believe in comformitygate

[theastrobyler]

it's been a day now and I thought I was coping with the ending but it just hit me how awful it was. I genuinely feel so heartbroken because Mike didn't deserved that ending.

they made Mike's character to be all about a relationship that never really worked, he was left to feel useless and empty, they made him codependent, unable to express his feelings, unable to be happy, condemned to always live in fantasy and never move on. he ended up depressed and living in delusion.

I'm just devastated cause he did deserved better. Mike's so special and important to me, he means so much to me cause I see parts of myself in him and seeing how his story ended just made me feel nauseous. now that i'm starting to process everything I'm crying a lot cause he deserved to be happy.

[ezkel]

ok so mike IS just badly written. ok. yeah I'm not upset that my favourite character doesn't make sense

[theastrobyler]

THIS. I refuse to believe they really fumbled Michael so bad but apparently he was just a shitty character all along

[theastrobyler]

I had so much to rant about but it was new years day and I ended up ranting on twitter, then I discovered conformitygate and (even though I know it's just our coping mechanism) it makes so much sense

[theastrobyler]

I'm about to see the final episode, whatever happens I want you to know that making theories with all of you has been one of the best things ever

[theastrobyler]

tonight it's the final episode release, and I really need to say I know we've all been having Byler doubts, but as impossible as it may seem, Byler is the only right answer to save Mike's arc and Will's too, because their character arcs are undeniably intertwined, with D&D being key to this. allow me to explain. (this might be too long, and half the time I would be pointing out the obvious; I think this is mostly me just pouring all my thoughts here.)

the whole story, since season 1, started because of Will. yeah, we already know that he went missing, and that's why Joyce went to Hopper and stuff. but the story and the action also started because of Mike, who disobeyed his parents and the police and went to the woods to look for Will by himself. Mike's love for Will (atp, it doesn't matter if it's romantic or platonic) is what makes him act towards the action.

in season 2, it's obvious that Mike and Will are together all the time. Mike is the one who notices Will's strange behavior and is deeply worried; he's a constant support for Will the whole season, always letting him know he's there for him. the "crazy together" line is beautiful because it really summarizes Byler's dynamic, as Will feels he's weird and different, and Mike tells him he is too. no matter what, Mike will always understand Will like nobody else could.

until now, we've been seeing how Mike and Will's stories are always united, together. they're a team, best friends after all. and this is when the switch comes.

season 3: this season drastically changed not only the whole series' vibes but also the characters. Mike has El now, and it's so focused on his relationship that he forgets about his friendship with Will. Will, the boy he's been best friends with since kindergarten, the boy for whom he went out into the dark woods to find, the boy whose breathing he recognized when he was apparently dead, the boy whom he helped break free from the Mind Flayers' control. and not only that, here comes the breaking point: the rain fight. Mike had never fought with Will, never, and neither had Will. but it all crumbles down the moment Mike treats Will like everybody else does: making fun of him. the worst comes with "it's not my fault you don't like girls," because that's the moment the "crazy together" breaks for Will, because the only person who understood him and thought was always going to be there for him, the one whom he wasn't afraid to be different with, wasn't there anymore. cut to Will destroying Castle Byers and the Party photo (the one where they're wearing their Ghostbusters costumes, the night the 'crazy together' line was said). this is really Will's heart breaking for the first time, and it's also meaningful for Mike. i mean, it's the reason why he ignores the rain and bikes to the other side of the town only to apologize to Will. this has been pointed out too many times, but again, why Mike cares more about apologizing to Will than apologizing to his girlfriend? yeah, we know it's because Lucas said, "Max and I break up all the time," so Mike sees this as something normal. Mike is acting "normal"; he doesn't apologize even when he should because he "loves" his girlfriend. but when it comes to Will, Mike can't be 'normal'; he needs to fix everything as soon as possible, except he never really does because the supernatural problems emerge and they never address it again. Mike spends the season trying to be "normal" with El. cut to the season 3 finale: Will's leaving and also planning to donate his D&D things. Mike's panicking because D&D is something meaningful for them. D&D is the game that started it all; it's their shared language. it's also the representation of their relationship: Mike refusing to play D&D with Will and making fun of him for still wanting to play was what broke them. so obviously, Mike's scared of what this could mean for them, but Will quickly says they'll use Mike's, in case he still wants to play. despite everything, the door is still open for Mike.

season 4: Will and Mike are worlds apart. they've been separated for too long, and while this has helped Will, who seems slightly more understanding with his feelings (the painting), it hasn't helped Mike that much. yes, Mike is living his life as usual; he even joined a D&D club when last season he didn't want to play. the only problem was playing D&D with Will, apparently. we go to Lenora and while Mike greets El as he normally would, he doesn’t do the same with Will. He gives him a “no homo” clap on the back, when he has hugged Will plenty of times before. and again, this is not a problem for Mike (we saw him hugging Dustin earlier this season), this is only a problem when it comes to Will. this weirded out us, because when Will left Hawkins they were on good terms, still friends. so what changed? whatever changed, Mike clearly sided. next, we see Rink O Mania. Mike's acting "as normal as possible" (and my poor El pays the consequences of him being nonchalant), and even after the Angela incident, instead of hurrying to find El, he snaps at Will. Will is, of course, hurt because his best friend blatantly ignored him, not only in that moment but the whole time they were separated. the "that's because she's my girlfriend" and "and us?" "we're friends, we're friends" really gets me, because Will wasn't claiming otherwise. again, Mike sided. after El leaves, we know Mike apologizes to Will. he tells him Hawkins is not the same without him because, yes, he has his other friends, but no one is Will. from this point, we see how Mike and Will begin to resume their friendship as well as they can. obviously, it is difficult, especially for Will, who has already understood his feelings for Mike. from Mike's POV, it's hard to tell what he's really thinking, but what we see is that his main problem is struggling to say 'I love you' to El, and Will confesses his feelings for Mike by disguising them as El's feelings. Will gives up on Mike, on his love if that's what it takes for Mike to be happy. that's the only way Mike is able to say 'I love you' to El, because Will reminds him of 'being the heart.' Mike confesses his love for El's feelings, but it's a lie; that's why El is not able to defeat Vecna, and Hawkins is almost destroyed. a love confession based on lies cannot give the power to defeat Vecna. at the end of season 4, we see El locking herself in her room, while Mike and Will are together in the living room. we all would have expected El and Mike to be together, with Mike comforting El, but instead, we see him comforting Will.

now season 5. everyone is trying to live as normally as they can. of course the main concern is trying to find Vecna and kill him. now, about Will and Mike, we have an 18-month time skip during which they lived together in the same house. what happened during that time? we don't know, but it sure as hell was enough for Will to gain hope on Mike (and God, thank Robin for being someone Will could talk to freely and without being scared), 'cause he's asking for what the signals are and how obvious they are. Will wouldn't ask that if he didn't think there was even the slightest possibility of someone liking him back. on Mike's side, we see he's planning what's happening next with El, but nothing else; we see him talk, not act. and that's pretty much what happens with Mike this season, a lot of things are happening that directly involve him: Ted almost dies, so does Karen, Holly is missing, El is in the Upside Down, and he barely reacts. this is important, because Mike tends to shut down his emotions. moving on to Robin clocking Will's feelings: she sees it, she realizes Will is in love with Mike, but she knows Mike's in a relationship with El, so she doesn't want Will to suffer like she did with Tammy. she gives Will that beautiful speech, so Will could accept himself and know that no matter what happens, the love he needs is the one he has for himself. then Vecna attacks, targeting him to remind him he's weak, different, and doesn't belong there. but Will knows now it's not like that. yes, he's different, but he's better for being different. he finally accepts and saves himself with the memories of him and the people he loves the most: Joyce, Jonathan, and Mike. he gains power from their love to fight, and he does. he unlocks his powers out of love. after he kills the Demogorgons, Joyce hugs him, and so does Mike. Mike's so excited, correcting everyone by telling them Will's not a wizard; he's a sorcerer. we even see Will diminish himself, but Mike doesn't let him. Will is still holding hope; that's why he asks Robin, after she accepted herself and got over Tammy, how long it took for her and Vickie to get together. Will has hope because he knows Mike's not his Tammy; he knows he has reasons to believe something could happen. Will goes into Vecna's mind, he hurts Vecna, but he kicks Will out of his mind. and here's when Will starts to act differently. Vecna has him again, the trauma comes back, and just for an instant, we can see Mike acting like he used to before (in season 2), he tells El to "recharge her battery" so they can find Will and bring him back. after Will wakes up, it all crumbles down. they barely talk, and they're barely together. Vecna gets into Will's mind, and we don't really know what he shows him, but it's enough for Will to feel useless, weak, hopeless and scared when he wakes up again. Will also understands that he's the bridge, the connection between the upside down and Hawkins, and Vecna's key to destroy the world. so, he decides to sacrifice himself, but in order to do it, he needs to tell the truth; otherwise, he will fail. he comes out to everybody not because of self-acceptance, but because he was pressured by Vecna to do it. he's scared (he's literally shaking and having a panic attack), but he has to. he also confesses that he had a crush on someone, but that someone was never gonna like him back, and he confesses almost like an apology, something he's ashamed of. he calls Mike his Tammy, because he's hopeless; he has been under Vecna's control, and Will thinks there's nothing left for him: no love, no hope, no fears, nothing. he gets rid of everything so he can sacrifice himself, because he's the only one who contemplated Dustin's draw and understood he was the one that made the connection between the Upside Down and Hawkins possible. he was the one who built the bridges between worlds. even if El and Kali defeat Vecna, the bridges will still be there, and Will is the one who needs to sacrifice for all to be over.

for Will, we can tell everything's over, but that's because of Vecna; he makes everyone who's under his control lose all hope. but we don't know what Mike thinks or feels; we haven't seen absolutely anything about him. this is what makes me truly believe it all is going to unravel in the final episode. we'll get to see what Mike says and does because every time something breaks with Will, he always fixes it. the "crazy together" in season 2, the "we'll use yours (D&D), if you still want to play" in season 3, the "it would be better if we're a team. friends. best friends" in season 4, we still have something left for season 5, the missing piece of the puzzle.

do we really think Mike's just not gonna do anything the moment he sees Will's gonna sacrifice himself? he's just gonna give up on him? they didn't talk about Will's confession, of course not, because the danger is imminent, they're really in a battle against time, and Mike's getting a lot of feelings right now. what happened with his parents, Holly, El, Will, it's all too much and he's gonna break eventually. Mike's probably gonna try to get Will out of Vecna's control by using a song ('For Will's mixtape), but it's not gonna work, and this will be the breaking point for him. cause it's all over, Will's gone... unless. Mike knows Max came back to life not because of the music, but because of Lucas. she only needed him. Mike knows what he has to do to save Will. Mike is going to break because he has to finally accept himself, what he feels, and what he is, but it's what he needs in order to save Will, to stop being scared, and finally become Mike the Brave. we know the Duffers said Finn's acting was too emotional, and we know there's a Mike monologue coming, and it's because of this. Mike will confess his feelings to become the heart.

and here comes the painting as a key to understand why. in it, we see Lucas with a sword and a shield because he's fighting, and it's shielded now that he has Max back. irl, Dustin is wearing something incredibly similar to what he's wearing in the painting. Will portrayed himself as a wizard because irl he's a sorcerer. Mike has a sword and a shield with a heart on it, but in real life he doesn't have any of it, or anything that resembles it. in the painting, Mike's the heart of the Party, the one who leads. but so far, Mike's not the heart, at least not yet. there's a Mike monologue coming, and it's going to be for Will—a confession, a true love confession that's going to get Will out of Vecna's control. a true love confession that will make Mike finally become Will's heart. Mike's love will give Will the power to defeat Vecna. it's the only way for Will to get rid of Vecna once and for all. love defeats all.

the story started when Will went missing and Mike decided to go out to look for him. the story started because of Mike and Will's love, so it makes sense that Mike and Will's love is what finally defeats all evil, what finally ends the story.

you can't tell Will's story without telling Mike's, just like you can't tell Mike's story without telling Will's. it's as easy as that. byler happening is what's needed to finally close Will and Mike's characters. it's a beautiful, perfect ending in a show made for outcasts. it's a beautiful ending for a boy who has suffered all forms of abuse, violence and torture, and who has always believed there's something wrong with him, who believes he doesn't belong. it's the perfect ending for Will. it's a beautiful ending for the boy who has tried so hard all his life to be 'normal', to be what the world expects him to be, to please everyone but him, the boy who has shut down his emotions his whole life. it's the perfect ending for Mike.

so yeah, we don't know what's going to happen in the final episode, but I refuse to believe they're just going to destroy their characters and fumble the ending of one of the greatest shows ever. i choose to believe they'll give Byler their happy ending, because it's what they deserve, what they need, and it's a beautiful message not only to us, the fans, but to the people out there who are struggling to find happiness and hope. Byler is hope.

[theastrobyler]

bylers, tonight we steal the moon

[theastrobyler]

okay so tomorrow we will know how things unravel, I'm nervous and scared as fuck but, ships aside, the thing that's scares me the most is that they really ruin Mike's character

[theastrobyler]

I'm in this constant state between fully believing byler is the ultimate endgame and fully believing they're shitty writers who fucked up Mike's character and are gonna punish Will's character by making him sacrifice himself

[werebyers]

when I watched st5 volume 2 yesterday, I didn't see will byers, I saw myself. I've always seen myself in him, truthfully. but now this show has affirmed all of the awful things I believed about myself from when I was in will's shoes. from when I was also in love with my best friend, when I thought I was an utter disgusting mistake for feeling that way, for just existing as a queer person. will byers and byler gave me so much hope and joy, especially during s4 when I was the same age as them, because if they had the chance to be canonically happy together, maybe I would too. but no, that's not what the duffers wrote.

after writing that beautiful scene at the end of vol 1, where will finds strength in his sexuality and love for mike rather than weakness, to follow it with this joke of a volume is ridiculous. to reduce will's love for mike to a simple crush he could get over in the span of a day, when it quite literally activated his superpowers? will byers is in LOVE with mike wheeler. there is no debate about this, this is the show and storyline they wrote. to drag it on for 5 seasons and 9 years like this only to use him to set up a het ship and suffer, is flat-out homophobic.

this is bigger than byler. this means that the duffers truly wrote a show about a gay kid who gets abused by his father, bullied, called slurs, left by his father, kidnapped, hunted, starved, clinically killed, raped, impregnated, possessed, burned alive, ignored by all of his friends, has to live with a physical sensation of his rapist/kidnapper everytime he's nearby, forced to move away from his childhood home and only friends, once again basically ignored by his friends while he is living across the country, fell in love with his best friend of over a decade who doesn't love him back, sacrificed his own feelings to rebuild his best friend's relationship, forced to move back to the place of his trauma, burned alive again, felt all the bones in his body snap, mentally kidnapped, tortured/had his eyes bleed out, had his mind violated alongside his body, and then forced to come out as a result of being afraid of being outed by his rapist/kidnapper. and even then, forced to come out to a room of 13 people that included people he'd barely interacted with, and didn't even get proper closure from the person he loved most. really awesome writing, duffers. I'm beyond disappointed. I'm disgusted, not just for will, but for queer people all over like me.

we are more than our pain. do you hear me? queer people are more than their pain and trauma. we deserve happiness too. we deserve to have love, because it is not interchangeable with self-love. will byers deserves to have the boy he has wanted for his entire life. and not to mention, jane deserves to finally be free of all the men that dictated her life. she deserves to be more than that. she is more than that. mike deserves more too. this means his entire character has been reduced down to being a mean homophobic asshole. mike wheeler deserved to explore himself, he deserves to find himself outside his usefulness to others. i don't know who that is anymore, but the mike wheeler I know would be the first person to comfort will.

I feel fucking mocked. I am autistic, and byler & stranger things is my special interest. after hyperanalyzing this show for literal years, finding so much symbolism, so many parallels, subtext, and build-up...all this, for that "pay-off." there's no way they can address everything in 2 hours, i fully doubt it. there's so many plot holes i'm getting trypophobia. i'm so sorry will byers, jane hopper, and mike wheeler, they ruined your storylines for no good reason.

[theastrobyler]

ships aside I really need the duffers to write the most epic enlightening wonderful finale for Mike, to give us an explanation of why he has been acting so weird for the last seasons cause I refuse to believe my boy is just an insensitive careless shitty boyfriend and friend. that's just not who he is.

[vault-of-amber]

oh god i hate the coming out scene more with every second. i hate that he came out to his mom at the same time as his science teacher i hate that joyce didnt show any surprise or emotion during her son's full on fucking panic attack i hate that murray was there i hate that none of his friends reacted i hate hes my tammy three episodes after it was established hes been in love with mike since kindergarten i hate that that line outs robin to a bunch of adults she doesnt know right after she said she wanted to come out on her own terms i hate that nobody comments on it or has anything to say i hate that theyre all accepting and theres no complex emotions at all despite it being the 80s i hate the fuckass me toos and that mike is like fifth to go i hate how nothing of substance gets said by anyone other than the kid pouring his heart out to like twenty people i hate that everyone claps at the end and they all move on i hate mike wheeler's complete blank slate of an expression and el's complete lack of emotion for her BROTHER that she remembers sticking by her side in cali when everyone thought SHE was the weird freak i hate 'everyone should know this too' i hate that it was done out of fear and to get it out of the way instead of as any actual emotional resolution to the character arcs theyve been building up for years i hate that everyone sat there in silence and watched this kid almost throw up with tears as he talked i hate that he says 'i dont like girls' instead of 'i like boys' and how it focuses on the negative and something he lacks instead of a source of joy in his life i hate that that line calls back to his and mike's argument in season 3 but in a way that makes it seem like mike was in the right i hate that nobody had anything to say i hate that hopper was there as though he wasnt asking joyce whether her son was a fag in season one i hate the utter lack of complexity or emotions or character i hate it being framed as a confession of secrets that he was going to have to get out the way sooner or later i hate the message it sends to younger viewers about bending over backwards to get accepted for your queerness. about getting over decade old 'crushes' because you dont want to make it weird and telling every single person in your life at once because you 'owe it to them' even though you have no reason to trust half the people in the room with your bleeding heart and about making a point beforehand to remind them that youre exactly the same as they are so youre not a freak and they should really just forget about it as soon as possible because itll be easier to accept if youre just like them even though youre not, youre not the same, it's not just i like girls vs boys, it's the way your entire childhood has been shaped by fear and bullying and being ostracized for things you couldnt control and the constant terror of growing apart from your only friends who you feel safe around and watching everyone around you get girlfriends while you sit at home waiting for them to call but dont worry about that im just like you im not a freak im not a faggot im just like you. will byers take my hand ill lead you out of this stupid fucking show

[theastrobyler]

also to add more, I hate it because will came out not because he was ready, but because he was scared as hell, because he was pressured by vecna to do it, he did it as an apology instead of as an act of self-acceptance

[theastrobyler]

will byers, i'm so sorry. mike wheeler, I'm so sorry. jane hopper, i'm so sorry. jonathan byers, i'm so sorry. in another life you would've had better writers.

[theastrobyler]

I think the best thing to come out of volume 2 was madwise being besties, like wtf sure they've barely interacted before but idfc because they're my children and I love them being besties

[theastrobyler]

ngl I've been feeling numb since I finished vol. 2, ships aside, they massacred all the characters

[theastrobyler]

season 1 episode 3. Mike, Lucas, Dustin and El are in Mike's basement.

Dustin (to Lucas): "you're going to take down the demogorgon with a slingshot?"

Lucas: "first of all, it's a wrist rocket. and second of all the demogorgon is not real, it's made up. but if there's something out there, I'm shooting it in the eye and blind it."

oh Eye of Vecna theory, you're so real