yeoshi .𖥔 ݁ ˖

when the fujoshi gets pilled

[yeoshii]

How confusing of a character Mike Wheeler would be if he isn't queer.

Ok so I've been thinking about for a while because I've been having BADD Byler doubt, and I've been arguing with myself mainly about this topic.

Mike Wheeler would genuinely be the funniest and most confusing character if he isn't queer cause its like? WHY would they write him this way...

The first thing I'll cover is Mikes reaction to authority figures in S1 + S2 VS S3

So we all know in S1 the police tell the kids including Mike to not go looking for Will, to let them handle it. Obviously Mike doesn't listen and convinces the rest of the party to look for Will. Then in S2 we see him do this again with Joyce. He goes to Will's house when Will has not shown up to school. Joyce tells him to go, Mike does not listen again and ends up with Will.

Then later in S2 when El shows back up he gets mad at Hopper for hiding her (I believe he’s so emotionally wound up because of his guilt of El disappearing, rather than any romantic feelings he might have had for her. Like I'm sorry if you're already that "in love" with someone you only knew for like a week, that you react like that THATS not healthy)

Anyways we see he gets very mad at Hopper, and gets physical. So this establishes when Mike cares I don't think what any authority figure says to him matters. He's gonna follow what he thinks is right and also what his heart believes is right.

Which brings me to S3

We see many changes with Mike including him now suddenly listening to authority figures, and the authority figure in question is Hopper who he had no trouble fighting with in the season before? So he listens to Hopper now when this relationship (that we are kind of made to believe are very passionate about each other, very obsessed with each other in ways) is being threatened?

Now we have seen Mike disobey authority figures before, so it's very strange that now, in this perfect moment to show him disobeying Hoppers and going to El the next day anyways to show that he feels that strongly about her. They decide to not do that?

Instead we see him actually compromise one of his values that I don't think he has before this season, which is " Friends don't lie" and we obviously know how much of a value this is both to Mike and especially El. Mike lies to El anyways, and obviously it doesn't turn out well. I just think it's interesting how in a time where Mike should've stood up to an authority figure like he has before he decides not to?

People have said this before and I agree, I think Mike was just taking Hoppers threat as an excuse to kind of have a break from this relationship, I think he was very confused, he did not know how to behave in this relationship without help from Lucas. Which is strange considering that I am pretty sure Dustin and Lucas both have their first girlfriends in season 3 but you don't see them this confused with their relationships? Which kinda goes into my next point.

Mike does not navigate this relationship with emotion rather with logic.

Now this is pretty apparent considering he had a conversation with Lucas basically stating this. Now before you think Lucas does the same, HE DOES NOT. In season 2 he tells Max everything about what happened to the party in the last season, even though the logical thing would be NOT to tell her because he knows the party members might be mad about it. So even though he says this, it is obvious how he still acts on emotion with Max, whereas Mike.... I don't really see it.

We see him ask Lucas kind of a lot even though yes this is his first relationship, but same goes for Dustin and Lucas and its obvious that whenever Lumax fight Lucas still apologizes first because his EMOTIONS guide him to do that. Mike does not do that at all he only goes to try get a gift for an apology after Lucas tells him too. Like I'm sorry but in my experience in crushes and relationships there are some things you just do because of your emotions, but Mike does not seem to do any of that with El he has to be told. That does not seem very normal, especially when we are supposed to be seeing them as very obsessed teenagers in a sort of puppy love?

Those types of relationships are SO known for being more emotion based rather than logic??

You know what relationship he leads with emotions in.... (cough cough rain fight) Ok anyways my next point

Why make it so apparent from the beginning that El and Mikes relationship is not healthy if they are endgame?

So this one is kind of my main points in this whole thing, I want to start with talking about Mileven in S2. So the first thing I wanna talk about in S2 is the Snowball dance, now I think it was the Duffer brothers who said this but they do not consider the song that plays while El and Mike dance, a love song. In fact the lyrics parallel exactly what El was doing to Mike that season as-well.

So that's a very strange choice to me to add that song to a supposed romantic scene, which in turn makes it more creepy than romantic? Was that their intent? Then after S2 we obviously have whatever was going on with them in S3, we see this relationship actually bring out the worst in Mike. Then we are made to root for El to break up with him? HUH.

Now obviously they show us that they're "making up" in the store and hospital scene, which its very debatable since I feel like they barely actually say anything. Maybe in the store scene but they are interrupted right before a big step in their relationship was gonna happen.

Then in the supposed big step in their relationship scene, I feel like you're kinda left confused. Mike doesn't pull back El for a hug or anything which is strange considering your girlfriend that's moving states away just told you she loves you back. Like really that's how they wanted Mike to act, didn't even crack a smile or anything. Very strange...

Then obviously S4, at this point they are both equally bringing out the worst in each other. Mike isn't being true to himself and neither is El. So it's very apparent that the more this relationship goes on the more problems it has? None of them get resolved in the end of S4 either !!!

Which is very strange considering all the other couples seem to have previous problems resolved (exception might be Nancy and Jonathan but its very obvious they are going to talk about these things + its obvious there's still a ton of love between them) Every other couple had their heart to heart and it made them grow stronger except El and Mike, that's weird?

Plus we are almost made to root for El being on her own AGAIN, at least that's what I was thinking while watching S4 cause god they just do not see eye to eye while in a relationship.

In conclusion a lot of the writing is gonna be so strange is Mike ends up not being queer, heck if Mike ends up not being confirmed queer and he ends up being alone the writing is still gonna be weird !!! I'm sorry if this long I kind of just started ranting um anyways yeah... Let me know if you guys agree or if I make like absolutely no sense in this. I haven't really slept much and I just started writing this. Also I'm sorry if any of these points are ones that have been stated a million times I can't help myself :P

[yeoshii]

ok so that was some bullshit

[yeoshii]

Will is so much better than me because if I went through actual hell for a week and came back, spent another year being possessed and reliving all my trauma just to have all my friends abandon me right after, my crush AND bsf gets a gf and is reminding me every two seconds that im gay and hes not. AND he’s acting like a bitch every time we talk abt anything not abt his gf. I would genuinely turn evil and kill everyone on the spot and if thats how his storyline is for S5 I fully support him

[yeoshii]

GET UR HANDS OFF HIM

[yeoshii]

HOLY SHITTTT

[kittykat940]

The byler tag rn....😂

[queen-of-hawkins-why-ler]

God, I hate this specific brand of Milkvans. Such a dipshit attitude, like, they think they’re soooo snarky with their “Did you even watch the show? 🤓 Mike has a GIRLfriend a GIRLfriend” like no shit Sherlock, congratulations on having elementary school-level deduction skills. They think they’re so fucking smart for pointing out what is happening on camera in an extremely basic, stripped down way devoid of any nuance or understanding of the layers that have gone into creating this scene including writing, acting, camera work, lighting, set design etc etc. as an English major in undergrad, this is SO deluded. Peak “Maybe the blue curtains are just blue” behavior.

Who the fuck watches a show like that and stays willfully ignorant of ANYTHING interesting happening in the writing or the show as a whole? Their whole reasoning is like, they think Mike and El are in love just because they’re in a relationship. Mike loves El because El is his girlfriend. Mike loves El because he told her that. Bc a character could never possibly fake their intentions or put on a pretense to hide what they’re really thinking. These people don’t care how much effort has been conveyed to show what’s REALLY going on in Milkvan’s relationship. Despite all the signs pointing to Mike being in love with Will and Milkvan being a forced, conformist relationship, these people will fight tooth and nail and grasp at straws to suggest that only the most surface level, literal interpretations of what is happening onscreen are valid. “MiKe’s not GAy hE HAs a giRLfRieND” you have no idea how juvenile not to mention ignorant you sound rn, bro.

[bylertruth3r]

THE HEROES TAPE WAS IN S4

[fatfatgaybitch]

The fact that Will literally painted Mike as his knight in shining armor😭😭

DAWG HES SO GONE FOR HIM💔

[starsfellonsidney-deactivated20]

I have ZERO Byler doubt there’s no way they’re not endgame.

[stellariumcircus]

Mike is NOT clueless

As fun as it is as a meme, Michael Wheeler is not literally out here no thoughts, head empty in the slightest! At the very least, by the end of season three he is fully aware of his feelings for Will and his sexuality.

Mike and Will are BOTH speaking in code AND misunderstanding one another

The nature of mutual, homosexual attraction in their cultural context is not safe, even in the incredibly innocent way they feel as kids in S1-S3.

So, as Robin says, the nature of their message is sensitive. They speak about their feelings for one another in code.

Their dynamic is a feedback loop of mutual longing, metaphorical language, and tragic miscommunication. Neither of them can speak clearly through fear and cultural context of gayness in 1980s rural Indiana. It’s scary, to open up like that, to tell someone how you really feel.

So we get them….saying something metaphorical, both seeming to understand and get closer, and then reinterpreting with doubt and creating distance between each other.

No, Mike is not “Cheating” On El, per se.

Yes, through what we’ll discuss he is technically in a relationship with El. I want to avoid framing his moments with Will as emotional cheating. Out of empathy, and because…

Mike is:

-a teenager -from a conservative, small, rural town -coming to terms with gayness and masculinity in the 80s -though not mentioned in-show, during the height of the aids crisis -under constant, somewhat self-imposed pressure to be a protector to El and his friends -deeply intelligent, loving, and emotionally aware

He is NOT intentionally living a double-life where he is ‘betraying’ El. He is compartmentalizing his feelings and what they might mean about his place in the world and his safety. There is no intentional betrayal here, even if there is a lot of hurt on all sides.

Yes, Mike cares for El, but Will came first.

Mike and El entered a relationship when they were twelve years old. El was fresh out of a lab. Mike had not fully figured out his own feelings. Mike clearly loves El, at least in a platonic sense. He also feels responsible for her safety in the life-and-death stakes they constantly face. As children, no less!

Before El, Will was already his life-long best friend. When he instinctually shares affectionate moments with Will while still dating El, it’s just a continuation of how they have always acted toward each other. It feels totally natural and not: ‘uh oh! Cheating!’

He’s only really making sense of these feelings for Will as romantic as we leave ST3. Without positive gay media and role models, that’s just too large a leap for him to have made before this point.

By the time he’s likely naming in his head ‘I have romantic feelings for Will’, it’s “too late”. Mike is already feeling locked into a girlfriend versus best friend dynamic. There is no easy way to navigate, especially not in literal apocalyptic stakes.

End of Season 3: Will/Mike Confess in Code

Now that my ‘Mike is not a cheater’ disclaimer is over, let’s revisit Will and Mike’s last conversation before the Byers move.

Literal Dialogue: Mike: “What if you want to join another party?” Will: “Not possible.”

Emotional Subtext: Mike: “What if you find someone new in California? Someone else who makes you feel the way I do?” Will: “That’s not possible. You’re the only one I want. Our feelings are mutual and unique.”

Okay, yeah, they’re literally talking about Will leaving behind his D&D manual but like. This is soooo not about Dungeons and Dragons bsffr. Why is it not though??? Because Mike joins the Hellfire Club pre-ST4. There’s no sense of betrayal surrounding continuing their mutual hobby separately. In this conversation, D&D is the stand-in for their relationship. They both leave this conversation with an understanding of mutual romantic feelings.

NOTE THAT El had broken up with Mike earlier in the season. Mike clearly had had some kind of realization about his feelings for Will and felt free expressing them to him. It’s after this that El comes, kisses him, and there’s an assumption made that their relationship is ‘back on’.

And bless her heart, El is also just a teenage girl reaching for love here. This is not to vilify her or say she is harming anyone. But…there’s not a sense of consent in their relationship being rekindled on Mike’s part.

Mike was clearly okay with it being over. It only restarted because El kissed him, and she assumes that they’re back together now. She doesn’t yet have the social skills to ask Mike if he wants to re-enter their relationship. She’s assuming she can break up with him, pick him back up, and go back to the way things were on a whim. This is totally understandable considering she was recently stuck in a lab, but it’s not fair to Mike.

This puts Mike in a weird place where he’s ‘performing’ in two different, only one openly romantic partnership going into s4.

Season 4: The Painting, the Airport, and the Nightmare Spiral

El tells Mike that Will has been working on a painting for ‘a girl he likes’. Mike doesn’t just hear it’s for someone else; it’s for a girl. Suddenly, all those feelings Mike thought they shared feel like a misread.

From Mike’s POV: -Will hasn’t been talking to him (not picking up the phone, not calling, not writing letters) -Will has a crush on a girl -Will kept it a secret -Will is replacing him -Will is straight / not gay / they are not alike

So the emotional logic is like…But i thought we understood each other. I thought we felt the same. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way. Was i wrong, to feel that way?

This leads to the super awkward airport scene. Mike has put up his ‘normal guy’ walls to both prepare to see his girlfriend again, and pretend nothing is wrong to his best friend. He doesn’t give Will a real hug because he doesn’t want to be hurt again by ‘misreading’ Will’s feelings for him.

And yes, this is ‘unfair’ to El and Will both. But feelings aren’t fair, Mike is just trying to get through the interaction and protect his dignity.

The Fight at Rink-o-Mania

We’ve all seen the scene but just to re-iterate…

LITERAL DIALOGUE: WILL: Well… what about us? MIKE: What? WILL: You’re mad that I didn’t talk to you? Seems like you made it super clear you’re not interested in anything I have to say. MIKE: That’s just not true. WILL: You’ve called maybe a couple of times. It’s been a year, Mike. Meanwhile El has a book of letters from you. MIKE: That’s because she’s my girlfriend, Will. WILL: And us? MIKE: We’re friends… We’re friends. WILL: We used to be best friends. MIKE: Then maybe you should’ve reached out more, I, I don’t know. But why is this on me? Why am I the bad guy? Let’s just find her, okay?

…This conversation is interesting, because there’s a few things happening here. Both are feeling hurt, strained by distance, and chained by expectations.

First, Will is likely feeling regular, good ol’ jealousy. For the first time, he’s living with El, who he loves, but has to see receiving letters from Mike. El is a sweetheart who is trying sooo hard to perform ‘normal girl’ expectations, so we can assume she’s vocally excited and smitten about these letters. Will does not receive letters, so he starts to feel left out, and overwhelmed with the reality that…Mike and El’s relationship is not an abstract concept he can ignore. Mike’s calls are infrequent. HE starts to feel like he misunderstood their D&D conversation at the end of S3 as well.

And Mike, he’s feeling attacked and overwhelmed. He HAS been calling Will, but Joyce’s telemarketer job jams up the line. There is literal miscommunication / missed communications happening here. It’s telling that he chooses not to defend himself by mentioning the busy phone line to Will. After all, he’s feeling rejected, and doesn’t want to feel even more vulnerable by saying how hard he really did try to reach Will. He is not immune to feeling hurt by the fact that Will did not reach out on his own time. His assumption is, again, probably back to the ‘California girl’ that Will is seeing.

BOTH of them feel replaced by ‘some girl’ and that they’re the ‘only gay one’/the one making it weird.

It is also interesting that without speaking in code/metaphor, they’re losing a lot of mutual understanding. Without the D&D metaphor of their ST3 convo, they struggle to name their actual issue. They’re speaking entirely literally here, only using the words ‘friends’ and ‘best friends’. This is why they both leave the conversation feeling unheard and defensive: the topic IS their unresolved romantic feelings for one another. Without naming that in metaphor, the argument is only ended under duress (El hitting Angela)

To a much lesser extend, Mike is also subtly projecting here, like we’ve seen him do when he hurled ‘it’s not my fault you don’t like girls.’ At Will in S3. This time, when he feels Will is mentioning Mike’s romantic feelings, he projects by saying “She’s my girlfriend, Will,” thus turning around the accusation on Will.

Emotionally, this reads as: what are you talking about. She’s my girlfriend and you’re not. Why would you think i would feel that way about you?

Anyways this is quite long but let me know if you’d like a reflection on the Pizza Van and Mike’s Monologue scenes too! They continue this communication style throughout and I can break it down if anyone’s interested!

[yeoshii]

GA friend being a byler anti but still acknowledging there’s a chance they get tg. A WIN IS A WIN

[mikewheelerapologist4lyfe]

This but byler

it could be lettergate or it could be phonegate or BOTH RAHHHH

[swirlyvie]

it's 8pm christmas day. you open netflix on your phone after a nice dinner with your family to finally watch stranger things 5 volume 2. your finger slips and you accidentally open tumblr. every single blog you follow now has their profile picture changed to the byler kiss. you cannot tell who is who.

[happyduckfr0g]

everyone’s saying they hope ____ character clocks byler in s5 but honestly i hope it’s a quiet angsty realization between the two of them. After they’ve had some time to themselves in their gay little bubble thennn we can get some side eyes like jonathan in season 4 lol

[willbyersismychild]

Everyone’s all about S5 Mike now…

But there was once a time 💔

[dustinsfav]

The ship of doom and despair 🥀