Lovissus

"Shit"

All the clues, the mountain of evidence. Stranger Things is a show that really taught me to pay attention to detail and yet for some unfathomable reason, here we are, staring at all these contradictions.

Since you can appreciate a good clue Duffers, I’ll give you a really obvious one right now: Queerbaiting is evil. How bout you suck a fat one?

We couldn’t trust them in the end, but I still have all of you. I’m immensely proud of Bylers. Your wit, your creativity, your bravery, your artistry, your poetry, your community, and your participation most of all. I feel honoured to be amongst such talented people. I’m so sorry for the incredible disappointment I know you must be feeling. I’m right here grieving with you.

But to Bylers I say: Canonicity will never be the end all be all, and thats why I love fandom. Byler is ours. We gave it life and we will continue to give it life. We see ourselves in characters like Mike Wheeler and Will Byers and thats why our stories mean a lot more than canon ever could.

I’ve seen way too many depressing posts on this app the last 24 hours and some of you have really disappointed me. I think its imperative we dont all lose our heads yet for the exact reason @astrangerthingsblog points out: Mike hasn’t said shit yet.

I’m not immune to the doubt alright, I left Vol 2 feeling uneasy and then all these tumblr and reddit posts kept ramping up in negativity. Hell, I’m second guessing every piece of evidence I’ve come to believe as Gospel Byler Truth over the past year. But this "it’s over. i dont even care anymore. dont bother watching the rest" mentality is really fucking stupid guys..

We all watched the same show. We have to believe we haven’t been completely led astray yet. There was intentionality behind these scenes (and yes I agree there’s some odd writing in effect here, but lets be real, the Duffers didn’t get replaced by homophobic aliens mid-script write, everything is still there for a reason).

Look, if for some bizarre reason Byler remains non-canon by the end, I will be the first to brush off the pitchforks and raise hell with all of you. Try me Duffers I dare you.

But please, lets not jump the metaphorical gun yet. Don’t abandon your media literacy this close to the finish line. There’s still a chance of it happening. I know it feels slim because its at the very goddamn end (Duffers you really take some sick pleasure in torturing queer ppl i swear) but lets have a little faith in what we already know to be true.

1. The Painting has STILL not been addressed. It has to be or the Duffers really have lost the plot.

2. Mike has not outwardly expressed a single definite emotion that sways him one way. Again, poor as shite writing if they don’t do something about this (we also know Finn has been pulling a brilliant performance according to literally everyone, and if that is whats being referred to then its effective trolling lmao aint no way this is what theyre talking about).

3. Duffers care immensely about the writing. Rockie is proof that ST can write queer characters well and also give them the happy ending they deserve. Why should this reasoning then not extend to Byler?

Steve is proof that ST are fine with straightbaiting to stay loyal to good writing (ik M11s are also in the trenches rn so i wont poke the bear too much but yeah: Mileven would be the next victim of this)

And Will goddamn Byers is proof that ST can portray queerness as something beautiful and special. Killing Byler off now would be committing not one but two character assassinations (Mike Wheeler being the second) in the span of one single episode, which I think would spell disaster not just for the Duffers (when we come for them obvs) but for the actual characters who should need this full circle moment to win the fight ( @astrangerthingsblog ), and so again, say it with me: that would be bad writing.

4. Every M11 scene has been ambiguous. It’s to keep us all on our toes to the very last second I’m sure (those sadists), but the fact of the matter is that they would’ve made it clear at the absolute latest by Vol 2 that they were still together if they were because it would be... you guessed it! POOR WRITING.

I live for jealous Mike😈