Car_pebbles

In light of everything that's happened in the last few days—namely Netflix releasing its first teaser for Stranger Things Season 5—many are returning to Stranger Things spaces online here and elsewhere for the first time in months. Maybe years. So, it's time to have this conversation again, because many people weren't here when some of us were having this conversation in the lull between content; and we're due for an update.

Buckle up—this is going to be long. I intend for this to be a mega post on the whole situation in so far as I can cover it, with receipts and screenshots.

The Conversation Around Noah

Put bluntly—the vitriol around Noah Schnapp has become dangerously insane. It's been that way for 2 years, but the renewed spotlight on Stranger Things, especially as Noah is set to take center stage in a Will Byers-centric season, has revived some of the worst elements of the conversation.

"What do you mean?", you may be asking. Well, I think it might just be better to show you:

This is just a sampling. If I showed you every tweet — every post — every video I've seen with this rhetoric, I'd need another medium to do it. A tumblr blog alone couldn't contain it all. But I take it you see my point now.

How Did Things Get This Way?

There are people on this app and on #that app who will say this behavior/treatment is warranted. They'll tell you that Noah is a "genocide supporter." That he "cheered for the deaths of Palestinian babies." That he "celebrated as people were being murdered." But none of this is true.

As a reminder, this was what Noah actually said—his very first comments on the matter—right after the Hamas attack that happened on October 7, 2023:

Important to note:

"...we will hope and pray for safety, justice, liberation, and self determination in Palestine."

and

"...we will say a Jewish prayer for peace for all Israelis and Palestinians."

That is the literal antithesis of support for a genocide or the wholesale slaughter of anyone.

The very next thing to happen was the infamous "sticker video" about which the most lies have been told, so let's debunk them one by one:

He did not make the stickers.

He did not wear the stickers.

He did not hand out the stickers.

He did not hold up the stickers.

He did not even touch the stickers.

He did not post the video on any social anywhere.

I've posted a pair of screenshots here that give you the gist in lieu of the video itself, but you can Google the video and watch the entire thing to see that I'm telling the truth.

What actually happened was that Noah was taken to a restaurant by a pair of influencers who were his guides while on a school-sponsored trip to Israel. Both were significantly older than him, were responsible for the video in question, were the only ones in it (aside from the waitress) to actually touch the stickers in question... and yet? Noah bore the brunt of the hate that ensued. When the backlash came, they abandoned him and left him to the wolves. (And perhaps because of that, he no longer associates with either one of them, nor follows any related social media accounts—all of which he was required to follow in the first place as terms of going on the trip through his school.)

Noah had just come out of the closet earlier that year and was 18 years-old. He would only turn 19 years-old in the ensuing weeks.

He has addressed these events several times. Most famous was the TikTok that he made explaining his actual position (that he doesn't want anyone, Palestinian or Israeli, to die). Less famous were remarks he made to fans on Snapchat:

I'll post his remarks here for those who can't read the text:

Hey guys! I appreciate you reaching out. To give you context, I did not post this language or sticker. I was at breakfast with friends, it happened to be an Israeli cafe, and a girl was handing out stickers. Someone photographed me and posted and tagged me. As you guys know better than most people, social media can be used however people want to use it. I understand the weight of the situation and take it very seriously. I have friends of friends who are currently being held hostage in Gaza right now. My friends kids were killed in the massacre at the Israeli music festival. Standing up against this terrorism is important to me and why I made my statement after the attack. As one of the only few Jewish people with a platform, I absolutely think it's important to share my message about hatred for Jews around the world right now. However, everyone online is obviously twisting everything and saying I support genocide and am Islamophobic which is obviously entirely false and never have I stated either of those things. Seeing what is happening to the innocent people in Palestine pains me so much and I wish it would stop. I fully support everyone in Palestine as I said in my post on Instagram. One of my best friends in college is Palestinian and we talk about this issue allllll the time and agree on most things. I think people on social media are just animalistic right now so it's hard to even chime in because they just rip me apart so now I'm staying out of it.

I'll let that stand on it's own. I think it provides the context behind his remarks, the situation with the video/stickers, and his actual views versus how social media portrays his views. It also explains why he hasn't said anything else in almost 2 years.

The key takeaway: He was speaking out against antisemitism and the attack on Jewish people on October 7 and he supports an end to what is happening in Gaza and fully supports Palestinians. He literally says it.

And this support, by the way, has been corroborated by his own actions and the word of mouth from Palestinian organizations he has contributed to:

What Has Happened Since?

It would be easier to list the things that haven't happened; but I'll try anyways:

Noah has been called antisemitic slurs; gay slurs and targeted with gay stereotypes; been compared to antisemitic caricatures; he's been threatened with death and had posts go viral fantasizing about his brutal murder; his family has been threatened; he's been threatened with rape and sexual abuse; there are massive accounts on Twitter that doxxed his location while he was filming Season 5—particularly targeting him when he was alone; he's been hacked, had personal pictures leaked; he's had lies spread about his treatment of his cast mates (all of whom have spoken out and said that they've loved him at some point since, making these claims unequivocally false.

Here are a few examples:

Again, I can only post a sample. I hope that sample is enough to get the message across.

It's hard to overstate how cataclysmic this has been. Obviously, he's recovered and healed a lot since the initial incident; but the damage done needs to be acknowledged. These attacks drove him into a dark place by his own admission. He talked about needing therapy on his (now deleted) private spam TikTok account. And they are starting up yet again.

And Then There's the Fandom

The Stranger Things fandom in the wake of all this has been an irritating place to be. Not just because of the above behavior but because of the blanket hypocrisy.

The shipping sub-fandoms in particular have been rank with antisemitism and homophobia—even the Byler fandom, which is predominantly queer. People have:

A) Taken pre-Stranger Things photos—like his baby pictures or pictures with his family—to use as part of their content, their profile pictures, their banners, their fan art, their fan edits, etc.—violating his and his family's privacy for "Will" all while calling him "ugly," a "fag," and lobbing the above-listed threats at him. B) Tried to recast him with a fan cast. These fan casts are almost never Jewish actors, you'll notice. In fact, there's someone on this very app that recast Will Byers as himself. This is gross and absurd. Will Byers is intrinsically tied to Noah Schnapp. Tied to his identities as a Jewish person and a gay man. Tied to his experiences being a character he helped bring to life during his formative years. C) Persist in stanning or support his cast mates despite the fact that they continue to associate with him. This, in particular, is gross hypocrisy. If you're going to be mad at Noah Schnapp for being in a restaurant around stickers you object to—guilt by proximity/association, in other words—those SAME standards should apply to his cast mates, who continue to hang out with him outside of work, state that they love him, and post him on their social medias. I have a whole post about that here.

Instead, the cast is continually afforded blanket immunity while he is singularly targeted for continued abuse and harassment.

It should give the fandom some pause that openly pro-Palestine actors like Maya Hawke not only continue to hang out with him; but in her Instagram story, even stated that she misses it (check the link above for a screenshot of said story). She wouldn't do that if she thought he somehow supported mass-murder; and she knows him way better than any one reading this blog. That goes for the rest of them, too.

They know him better than you. They know his moral compass and what he believes. And they haven't abandoned him and obviously aren't going to. So, are you going to stick to your guns and apply your anger evenly; or maybe consider that you don't have the full picture?

So, Why Care?

I get this in my Asks so often. "Why do you care?" "He's a celebrity." "He don't know you." "He's not your pookie."

I know. It's not about that.

Yes, full disclosure, I am obviously a fan of Noah's. Have been since the show started. And no it's not because I'm gay and he's gay or because he plays my favorite character in Stranger Things.

Like many of his fans, I've spent the last decade seeing his lives on Instagram and TikTok, seeing his fan interactions, watching his vlogs and videos, and I've come to respect him as a human being quite apart from Will Byers or his role as an actor. Fundamentally, I really believe he is a kind and caring human being. The word of mouth from everyone who knows or has met him bares this out—and, yes, he's even been kind to me in the few conversations we've had.

This is only one example from Instagram during The First Shadow premiere this year; but I think it encapsulates what I like about Noah most. He's kind. He goes out of his way to be kind. He does things he doesn't have to do, contractually or just in general, for the sake of being kind. He always has been.

He's also stood up for a plethora of causes. Black Lives Matters, trans rights, the rights of women. He's known to be his cast mates' biggest supporter—and they'll tell you as much, too.

But quite apart from my personal feelings about him and more importantly: this is wrong.

Antisemitism is wrong. Homophobia is wrong. Both kill. Still, to this day. As I am sitting in my kitchen writing this, the news just broke that an Indigenous gay man and a celebrity was shot dead in front of his husband—after having his home burned down and dogs burned alive—in the United States. Yesterday, news broke that a gathering of peaceful Jewish protesters (which included children and the elderly) demanding the release of hostages still held by Hamas was firebombed in Colorado. Luckily, they all survived, but six people were injured in that attack.

Violence and bigotry are ascendent everywhere right now. Minority communities are being targeted. Normalizing the behavior I've described and shown above kills marginalized people. Regardless of your feeling about Noah as a person or celebrity, normalizing the violent and bigoted remarks, tweets, and behavior towards him harms Jewish and LGBTQIA+ people—all of us.

And just as an example of that, I give you the treatment Finn Wolfhard is now receiving just for the "crime" of shaving his head and being deemed no longer conventionally attractive by the fandom:

Yes, the general audience found out about Finn's Jewish heritage and now he's a target, too.

And this fandom is at fault for it.

You cannot normalize bigotry towards one person and expect it to stay contained to that one person. It will always harm everyone in that community. Finn Wolfhard—or any other actor/actress—being your favorite is not going to spare him from the consequences of a discourse you started.

ALL antisemitism and ALL homophobia needs to be called out. The people who insist it's okay that they do that for ANY reason—regardless of if they themselves are LGBTQIA+ or not—need to be ejected from the fandom and never let back in.

Noah Schnapp is a human being. He does not deserve this treatment. No one does. No one is saying you have to like him or even care about him. But you SHOULD care that this is how he's being treated and the impact it is having on others. The impact on Jewish people. The impact on queer people. Standing up and saying that does not mean you support genocide or murder or bigotry of any kind. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I am a person with left-leaning values. I'm tired of those values being spat on and dragged through the mud by people who think THIS is activism or is in any way helping a cause. It's not. All it is doing is perpetuating harm on a real person and real communities—queer and Jewish alike. And it needs to stop.

Related Blogs:

I've compiled some related blogs that expand on other elements of the situation that I've mentioned above in greater detail. This post was already long enough. I'll be updating this as more content comes out.

Examples of Noah’s Support for Gaza and Palestine (by @nymphus-fan-account)

The Evolution of a Lie

No, the Stranger Things Cast Does Not Hate Noah Schnapp

Lyric Vault’s Obsession with Noah Schnapp

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?

the choice on whom the camera zooms in on during each line reflects what that person is scared of facing themselves. but will was the first to admit his biggest, most personal secret to everyone, which was essential for the other characters' self reflection too. *especially* a certain repressed white boy with internalised homophobia and a fuckass beanie.

so, mike the so-called-brave, you better lock in like you have never locked in before

Yes, he should embrace that part of himself that he used to be ashamed of, but holy shit. Nothing to do with his art? His paintings?