#thissss

This take boggles my brain, because it only applies in a queer context. Yes, queerbait is queer term so of course it does, but if it’s straight, if it’s a boy and a girl, literally NO ONE would say, “The fact that two actors have chemistry and some fans wanted them to get together is just a thing that happens” especially if one of the characters is canonically in love with the other. That immediately makes it a romantic storyline and puts the option on the table, and then when you add in the fact that the other party treats the person who is canonically in love with them differently, even in a more heightened way than they treat their actual partner, that’s romantic coding!!! Period. Byler isn’t Steddie or Stonathan or a ship like that based on vibes. It was an actual storyline in the show.

But the second it’s a gay situation, you have to write 30 essays and cite them in MLA and APA and Chicago format just to prove that it’s queerbaiting and not something you made up in your head. Why is a gay character’s arc supposedly building up to coming out when a straight character’s arc that’s the exact same is obviously building up to getting with their love interest? Anon, literally no one is saying they queerbaited with Will. They queerbaited with Byler by writing it into the show and making people believe things were leading in that direction up until the very last second through the narrative and through the marketing

Desiree Akhavan in