Proof by narrative structure rules and established but scattered canon facts:
Mike's queerness was canonized in season 4 episode 2 by four simple, canon facts, + and deductive reasoning proves only one remaining motive behind his defensiveness
Will self-sabotaging and Mike being lied-to ensured Byler endgame (link to longer version included) + @willelworld's post on the themes of lying being bad not aligning with Will's lie creating a happy ending
If season 5 ends the same as season 4, then there's no point to a season 5 (Byler proof)
El and Mike's separation in season 2's only purpose was to change Mike's feelings for El
The only purpose Will having feelings for Mike in the first place serves is a love story. His queerness could have been told without it. + As could Mleven's love story and every other plot. His feelings would have 0 impact on any character including himself.
Season 1 is a prologue. It's why vital to future lore characters like Will and Max can be completely absent without much effect...and why Mike and El's love story is completely contained within it.
For Mike and El to love themselves, Mike has to not love El - an analysis of themes
Mike's 4x02 behavior can't be just "filler", the season was so OVERfull that including it forced a high priority plotline to be stalled by *two episodes*
Mike and El's breakup was sealed the moment he promised her in season 1
Mike and El are 583% happier as friends than dating. Mathematically calculated based on how their screen time is spent. I'm not kidding.
Breakdowns:
Elmike's transition from needing each other (to wanting each other)
El, Mike, and Will's individual arcs by season
Mike is scared he won't be able to tell El he loves her in the van and the proof is in the fact that Will's words comfort him at all
Eleven has never needed anyone but Brenner, she just spent the series projecting that desperation onto other men - primarily Mike - until she could process it and let it go: a beat for beat (LONG) analysis on her character as a whole and how it's impacted every action she's taken in her relationships with both men and women (and herself)
Season 2 Byler parallels season 3 Jopper, and El is Bob.
Mike dating El is not pointless, it is a huge and useful to him part of his queer experience and equally revolutionary corrective-representation
Validation:
You're not crazy. I shipped Byler BECAUSE it's endgame, not the other way around
The Duffers aren't queerbaiting. They purposefully chose to lose money for years over Byler
This is how stupid their argument sounds if it ever starts getting to you, don't worry (me "successfully" arguing that Lumax and Jopper are just friends in season 4)
If they wanted to keep homophobic viewers by avoiding queerness, they would have by now (this would be their fourth queer character, not their first, and they aren't stupid).
Buddie
Buddie as described by lines in the show about "true love"
Buddie timeline s2-6 (what the writers attempted to do, then their evident workarounds when they were denied)
just a "little" masterpost where you can find all the analysis/ byler rambling posts without having to scrolls through my account :D
19, psych student, he/him
I may look like an aggressively straight man but no one knows i'm actually hyperfixated on shipping two queer guys from a sci-fi netflix show
bi and trans ftm
my interests right now include byler, the elder scrolls, the morning show (apple tv+) and dan & phil <3
from uk
my byler playlists!!
If you were wondering, my favourite characters from stranger things are (in this order): mike, will, joyce and el <3
banner gifs by @corpsebugs
โฆ โง ห my analyses
read this one first: Byler isn't complicated - 2000 follower post
el and mlvn-specific
El's arc of her desire for a normal childhood - "Pretty"
The flowers Mike gives El are a symbol for their relationship
At face value, the love monologue is not in line with El's arc
Mike has to be wrong about needing to love El
Mike's conversation with El in the grocery store is queer-coded
Debunking some mlvn arguments
The M&M scene is more interesting that you think
Mike and El do not understand each other
WillElMike are tied to a queer narrative - they cannot be genderbent
comparing byler and mlvn
Applying a theoretical model of relationships to ST couples
Mike's treatment of El's powers vs. Will's powers
There's a big difference between Byler's interruption trope and Mlvn's
Mlvn breakup vs. Byler rain argument
How Mike treats El's letters vs. Will's art
analysing specific scenes (cinematography, language, etc.)
The reason Mike acts weird in the airport is because he loves Will - confirmed
Mike acting "normal" means he's queer
Mike's mind was on Will the whole time
DnD scenes in ST foreshadow events and Byler
Mike's scene with Will in S3's Epilogue
The closet kiss + Mike's realisation
Hopper's monologue gives insight into Mike's POV
All the lies in Mike's love monologue
Cinematography used in the monologue scene - Lightning
The DnD substitute search scene was Mike questioning his sexuality
Mike's bedroom.....oh boy
Mike was jealous in the airport scene with Will + more
Confirmation that Mike jumping into the quarry was about Will
Mike is clearly looking at Will in the Snow Ball scene
Will's softness with Mike in the breakfast scene makes the audience root for Byler
The Will Voice is not just something Bylers made up
byler foreshadowing, symbolism + theories
Blue and Yellow theory is canon and has been canon
Some extra loverslakegate proof
The painting lie is Chekhov's Gun
The existence of a Love Triangle proves Byler endgame by itself
Purposeful blocking of actors
Purposeful music choices and titles
Phonegate canon or not canon? Doesn't matter!
Some smaller queer-coded jokes used
"I'm not gonna fall in love"
The insane amount of closet imagery
Light is symbolic for the Truth
mike-specific analyses (gay mike)
Mike displaces his anger at himself onto others
Mike's Promise and core misbelief
Mike's ideal character is only achieved in a relationship with Will
Mike's lack of attraction to women other than El
Mike's self-sabotaging avoidance to incriminate himself
Actually, Season 1 Mike is the most queer-coded /hj
season 5 predictions (take lightly)
My thoughts on the S5 Teaser - Mileven Scene, Will's powers etc.
We have been heterobaited far more than queerbaited in ST
Logical reasons why Will is not getting a new love interest in S5
Will's arc in S5 will not culminate in him "getting over" Mike
parallels
Jancy and Byler mirror each other
Other Jancy and Byler parallels
Byler + Jopper and Lumax parallels
Byler + Robin and Vickie parallels
Byler and their reciprocal looks of love compared with the other ships
Common romantic tropes used with Byler
โฆ โง ห my fics below:
My AO3 Account: miwiheroes
vibrant days (caution to the breeze) - 15,204 words
Mike and Will's relationship has been secret for 2 months. Neither of them want to bring it up, but things build and build until it becomes more of a burden than just a little mutual understanding. Will's growing up (and getting drunk) and it's impossible for Mike to stay in the same place forever, with words always on the tip of his tongue.
aka mike and will are hiding their relationship and avoid talking about hard subjects
is my timing that flawed? - 14,621 words
In the aftermath of a harrowing escape from the Upside Down, Mike and Will grapple with physical and emotional wounds. Faced with Will's new plan and doubt of what's real and what's not, Mike must confront reality and something that he had never been able to truly control.
aka wound cleaning fic + a devastating cliffhanger + Will not knowing what's real and what's not
it's rotten work (not to me. not if it's you) - 15,919 words
Ten years after everything, and Will hasn't been able to shake a debilitating fear of anything medical-related. So when the only option and smart thing to do is get a blood test from the hospital, Mike is sure to take the time to be there for him.
aka will needs a blood test but has a phobia of needles and mike takes time off work to support him
what you really want - 46,456 words
aka a s5 speculatory mike wheeler-centric fic about his internalised homophobia and a lot of moments where he's not so clever about his feelings with will
our hearts were singing - 13,724 words (dnf)
aka karen invites mike and will over for christmas, but mike still hasn't told his whole family about his relationship, even after a year of them definitely not-so-platonically living together. maybe it's time.
you can't help but become the sun - 16,267 words
aka mike offers to be will's reference, they talk about mike's self-esteem issues, and more shenanigans with paint ensue
stay with me a while - 9,515 words
aka mike confessed to will to save the world, but will wasn't conscious enough to say it back. when he wakes the next morning, they have a lot to talk about.
life used to be so hard - 5,697 words (dnf)
A collection of drabbles and short one-shots that tell a non-chronological story about Mike and Will's life after the UD. Stay tuned to put the pieces together and figure out a full story <3 Further explanation is in the notes of the first instalment.
the boy with the thorn in his side - 53,566 words
aka mike figures out his sexuality in the worst way possible, but as always, will is there to help. in more ways than one.
how could i be blind to it? - 16,082 words
aka holly's missing, and her friends are determined to find her and bring her home. one person in her friend group in particular is more passionate than the others about finding her, and soon mike finds out why that is. and why he felt so different about will to his other friends when he was a kid.
answers you seek will never be found at home - 140k words (incomplete)
aka mike begs will to escape their small town after too many run-ins with homophobic small-town bs. he knows will's meant to find himself elsewhere, but he never expects to find an answer to the age-old question of his own fate. prom, gay bars, sleazy hotels, train stations, two lesbians and their not-so-legal marriage - they aren't the traditional sources of wisdom, but he can't complain.
friendly reminder mike's the one making it weird! will has absolutely zero intention to pursue mike romantically. he wants to be honest but he does not believe it's reciprocated. MIKE is the one seeing their interactions differently.
he makes it weird in season three by hyperfixating on his relationship to the point he's a shitty friend. he makes it weird by actively pushing will away. he makes it super weird with "it's not my fault you don't like girls." he is the first one to speak out loud about a version of their relationship where they have forever to do what they want, implying at the same time that the reason they can't is because he's obligated to grow up. he makes it weird by being so devastated when will admits he did want that, because mike wanted that, too.
he makes it weird by not writing letters. he makes it weird by not hugging will at the airport and getting jealous of the painting. he makes it weird by acting up at the rink, paying all his attention to will while pretending to ignore him. he makes it weird with "that's because she's my girlfriend, will!" and then doubles down on that weirdness with "we're friends! we're friends."
and it isn't just their friendship he makes weird, it's the entire dynamic of the party, it's his relationship with el, with hopper, with his parents to an extent, because he isn't acting like himself.
will, despite his canon romantic interest in mike, was not the one to choose to interpret their friendship through a romantic lens and that is so fucking fascinating. mike did that even though he's totally unaware of will's feelings.
mike is the one who cannot appropriately contextualize their relationship and struggles to behave appropriately. mike's the one who missed will so much he called and called and whined to dustin when will didn't pick up. mike's the one who refused to let dustin use the phone when will DID pick up.
mike did that shit bro idk what to tell u. he's the one who can't be normal despite that being his hidden goal the entire season.
Reading the comments on Netflixโs social media pages is hell. Itโs absurd how many people miss that the real issue isnโt whether Mike could realistically reciprocate Willโs feelings, but rather the quality of the writing itself. The story clearly exploits and romanticizes Willโs pain. For at least a couple of seasons, it emphasizes his romantic longing and encourages the audience to invest in it. Yet, all that suffering and tension are ultimately dismissed and never properly acknowledged or respected. While Willโs pain remains unresolved, the heterosexual couple is given a serious, tragic moment framed as meaningful, despite being rooted in avoidance and misunderstanding.
So this isnโt a question of realism; rather, it is about writing that appropriates queer pain to enrich the narrative but ultimately discards it without any payoff. I wish it received better acknowledgment in mainstream media.
worst part about loving mike wheeler post-finale is that all the slander against him is 100% justified and I really donโt have any excuse other than โwhat he couldโve beenโ
To all the people who have been acting triumphant because byler didnโt happen: you do realize that symbolism, parallels to other characters and media, and the basic logic of story structure & character arc resolutions are SUPPOSED to mean something, right? The fact that the writers just went with the absolute flattest, most surface-level read of their own show (despite already having written the perfect setup for a beautifully complex story and characters) actually ISNโT something you should be celebrating
I literally feel like Iโm in a nightmare like this is literally my nightmare version of how the show could have ended Iโm so horrified
Mike becoming his dad, el sacrificing herself,Willโs imaginary epilogue boyfriend,Rovickie off screen breakup, Jancy breakup, so so so many plot holes, bringing Kali back just to kill her, blatant homophobia, racism, and misogyny
YOUR EDITING STYLE... I LOVE IT. I used to make edits too and I know how much work you put into it and how many clips you had to cut to create a dynamic and engaging pace. I just APPRECIATE your work so much!!! And the song choices and 4:3 ratio. I LIVEEEEEEEE ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
OMG THIS IS SERIOUSLY SO KIND AAAAAH THANK YOU!!!! <3333 When I tell you I stayed up until like 5am one day gathering every byler clip in existence lmfao..
This absolutely made my day thank you SO much ๐๐ and I will definitely be making a LOT more byler edits to cope with that abysmal finale ๐ญ
born sexy yesterday + no chemistry + shitty writing + incest implications coming from mike himself + cast don't like it + other characters don't like it + he builds the bomb she kills herself with + he can't say i love you without someone telling him to + he can't make up with her without someone giving him guidance + retconned stuff that happened previously just to make the ship work because otherwise it doesn't + he still can't say i love you to her at the very end.... the duffers are a level of stubborn that i can't even begin to comprehend.
also the way we kept joking about epilogue boyfriend being the worst ending for Will, but we didn't even get that. we got imaginary epilogue boyfriend ๐ญ
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