i find it rlly funny they arent comforting eachother about life or anything. mike hesitated to hold her hands here and if anything el was comforting mike through his bagillionth failed confession

buuttt… guess who does have a hand holding scene where one is actually comforting the other about life

byler would have been a much better much more fitting pair to put in that post like completely unbiased they just fit the prompt so much better

may i also point out that mike holding wills hand here calms will down (he stops shaking immediately) but el holding mikes hand doesnt calm mike down (even tho i dont really interpret the milkvan handhold as comfort? i cant decide but it doesnt blatantly scream im comforting you to me)

incredible submission by @http-byler :) sobbing btw

The van scene, this beautiful, extremely vulnerable moment for Will about feeling like he's different, being followed by Brenner in the lab reacting to the massacre and El's powers... with the score being different extending onto that scene... idk man twelvegate ears are ringing

people expect nancy to be mike's mom more than they expect joyce to be jonathan's

Revisit chapter 2 here and chapter 1 here.

Temporary title: "Mike IS Going to Live With His Boyfriend, Dammit"

Chapter 3(?): Karen

When Karen's son returned home in the late afternoon, she initially thought nothing of it. In all honesty, she was grateful Mike was sticking to his temporary curfew, a rule she enforced after... well, everything that had gone down in their little town. Mike even went to the kitchen to tell her he was back. How uncharacteristically thoughtful.

She knew he had gone to the Byers' cabin to spend the day with his best friend-and-now-boyfriend. He'd been going there quite often recently. And after his visits he would usually arrive home donning a small smile -- if a bit out of breath -- and a little while later, Karen soon learned that he'd go directly to his room to use the walkie-talkie and immediately call for Will just to tell him he made it home. Karen thought it sweet.

Today though, he detoured to the kitchen and it didn't seem to be for a drink or a snack. Karen couldn't help her curiosity, so she made conversation, "Welcome home, sweetie. Are you ok?"

"Geez, mom. Can't a guy just say hello to his mom without being fussed over?," her son answered. Always a smart reply.

If it had been even a year ago, she'd hear a slight bitter bite in his voice. But today, and like all the other days since Mike started visiting the Byers, his tone with her was more open, maybe even laidback and playful. Like he was my baby boy again. Though this time around, Karen felt like she could actually sense some... shyness? What was going on?

"Actually, mom... um," her son surprisingly stammered. "Tomorrow actually... Joyce asked if she could visit you. Tomorrow. To talk about...stuff."

Oh. Well, Karen supposed it was time for her and Joyce to have a little chat. They hadn't had the chance for one ever since their two boys got together. They were always pretty busy with one thing or another. And with the way things were going, if Mike wasn't outside with his friends, he hung out at the Byers' cabin. It seemed like he spent more time there than he did his own house recently. Maybe Karen could offer her home again as a playdate venue for a change of pace. Get a semblance of the way things used to be.

"Mom?," Mike said, breaking Karen's train of thought. She had begun to plan what snacks she would serve.

"Oh, yes! That's great, honey. I'd be happy to see her."

"Ok, great. I'll be going to their house again tomorrow, and then meandJoyce will come by around 2:30. Oh, and, I'll still be sleeping over there tomorrow too, like I told you the other day? So after you guys talk, I'll be going back there," Mike said in one quick breath.

Karen simply hmmed in acknowledgement and didn't think to wonder why Mike would be coming with Joyce for their mom talk. She had an afternoon to plan. Maybe some old photo albums to bring out too.

--

The next day was a little cloudy but thankfully no rain; just the usual overcast Hawkins sky.

It was nearing 2:30 in the afternoon and Karen had just finished setting up the plates of snacks next to the two photo albums on the coffee table when she heard the knocking on her front door.

"Hello, Joyce! Come in, come in," Karen said with a smile as she ushered into the living room her house guest and...her son, looking almost sheepish. What was Mike doing back? "Mike, did you forget your sleepover gear?"

Curiously, Karen noticed Joyce lock eyes with her son in apparent surprise. So she didn't know what Mike was doing here either? Or she did and...

"Michael, is there something you're not telling me?"

"Mike, you didn't tell her?," Joyce said almost right after.

"Tell me what?," Karen stoically asked, preparing herself for something terrible. But her face immediately gave way to concern as she saw her son's face visibly tense up and his chest breathe in deep.

"Let's...sit down first," Mike said as he made his way to one of the armchairs and sat down. Karen and Joyce followed his lead on the larger couch. "I...Mom. the Byers. They're moving in a few months. And I want to go with them."

Karen had begun to worry something from the Upside Down -- or whatever her son and his friends called it -- had unexpectedly stirred again. But what Mike was telling her, Karen couldn't help but feel that it was worse.

"You want to leave with them? Leave home?," Karen tried her best at a level voice. She was relieved she succeeded. She turned to Joyce and asked, "And you, Joyce? You think this is a good idea?"

Why else would she come here?

"I.. uh, well it's not that I think it's an especially good idea," Joyce was quick to say. Taking in a breath, she paced her next words carefully, "but the boys seem to think so. And... it might just be what they need to do."

"What they need to do?" How could leaving home so soon be any good for Michael? He couldn't even launder his own clothes. He was just a child.

"Mom..," Michael started to say.

"How is moving away anything you need to do this soon? I know you love him Michael but you've only been with Will for a month," Karen couldn't help but cut him off. It was just too soon.

"It isn't a matter of how long we've been together, mom," Michael firmly responded in a tone taking her by surprise. Then in a much softer voice he continued, "you should know that."

The three of them sat in the silence that followed.

Because Karen did. Karen did know. She was around for the kindergarten playdates, the birthdays and holidays, the countless basement sleepovers. Then she was around for the tears and the acting out, the sullen moods and shutting off, the seemingly endless months Mike closed himself off to the world. And now... Karen had just gotten her son back and now he was thinking of leaving home?

"But what about school, Michael? I know you think you'll be leaving for college soon, but this is high school. You can't just leave in the middle of a school year," Karen understood she was dodging the heart of their conversation, but seeing her son's slight wince, she at least knew she hit upon one of his planned arguments.

"I'll deal with it. Will is going to do the same thing and I'm sure he's going to do fine," Michael retorted. She could see the fire return in his eyes.

"You're not Will though, Michael," Karen swiftly responded before turning her attention back to Joyce. "I know it's been hard for you and your family, Joyce. And I know Will is going to do fine... but Michael, he's just not ready. He doesn't even do chores around the house."

A low blow, but it diffused a little of the tension. Joyce couldn't help but lightly snort at the accusation.

"I can learn!," Mike was indignant now. Both Karen and Joyce turned to look at him. "We don't have to leave for a few more months. I can learn how to do chores. I'm not going to burden Joyce and her family."

"I'm sure you won't, Mike," Joyce assuaged him. In comforting tones, Joyce turned to her, "Karen, I know you're worried how Mike is going to fare so far from home, but I swear my family and I will do our best to take care of him if he lives with us. He's our family too.

We won't be moving until three months from now, so you can take as much time as you need to think about it. And we'll respect whatever your decision will be. Won't we, Mike?"

Mike quickly nodded, "Yeah! ....yeah. I'm sorry I surprised you with this, mom... But, please think it over. Please?"

Karen looked at her teenage son and saw a lifetime of pleading and hope reflected in his face that felt so much older than she could fathom. Karen understood that while she was scared of losing him, her son was scared of losing someone else too. But still... it didn't mean the decision was coming to her easily.

"I'll think about it, Mike. I know how much this means to you," Karen simply promised.

Mike was looking at her with wet eyes. Getting up from his seat, he gave her an awkward -- but not any less welcome -- hug that lasted the duration of three "thank you"s before sitting back down again.

Mentally shaking the tension out of herself, Karen realized with a start that they had all forgotten about the afternoon snacks she had prepared, "All this food in front of us and we forgot to eat, haha.

Mike, I still have some concerns -- and a couple photo albums -- I'd like to go over with with Joyce. And of course I'd have to talk to your father about this too," Mike audibly groaned, "but unless you want to stay around for some sandwiches and cookies, you're free to go back to your sweetheart."

"My-- ok..," with a frown, Mike let the comment slide. Karen could see the hesitancy in his features.

"I promise I'm thinking it over, Mike. I just want the best for you," Karen affirmed. She smiled at her son and she was sure it comforted them both when Mike smiled right back at her.

"Now go on and get, Mike. We have some motherly talks to attend to," Joyce gently joked. She was already reaching for one of the photo albums.

Mike slowly stood up and took one of the cookies (some of which Karen already gave him to bring to the Byers that morning) before departing from the living room. As he opened the front door, he shouted, "You're the best mom in the world!" before taking off.

"My cookies are really that good, huh," Karen joked. Now, onto the photo albums. Maybe looking at them will remind her just how much her son really had grown. And how much he'd grown -- and could continue to -- with the one he loved.

(It took Karen three full days to make her decision. Although she was sure there was really just one she could make in the end. She did say she only wanted the best for her son.

Karen only brought up the issue with Ted once she made up her mind. And as she'd come to expect, he only had one thing to say, "better he live with them than rack us thousands of dollars in phone bills calling his sweetie pie every day.")

Karen broke the news at the end of the dinner she had invited Will to. The boy had been filled to the brim with a nervous anticipation she didn't think Mike could reach the half of even after their afternoon negotiation. Immediately after she gave her solid and warm permission, both of the boys hugged her so tightly and so gratefully she almost felt like she'd been hugged enough for a lifetime.

Their smiles were so dazzling all throughout the evening that Karen now fully understood what Joyce meant when she said that leaving was what they needed to do. Her son was going to do just fine.

(chapter 4 can be found here!)

milkvans thinking they did something by saying only bylers hated the season finale

i’m sorry but if byler would’ve happened i would still think it was a shitty finale because it is

Just started rewatching st again and holy shit i always forget how good s1 is

Reasons I think Byler is getting together early... 1) Everyone thought byler would get together at the end of S4 because there was so much build up and tension between the two. It made sense with the story to fit that at the end of the season, so much so, that people were anticipating it. 2) The constant interruptions, mainly by Jonathan. They don't need to be interrupted if nothing is happening. Both scenes in Lenora that get interrupted were flirty scenes with a lot of tension. If Jonathan hadn't interrupted this, what would have happened? There is a strong implication that something would have. Otherwise, why bother doing it. There are several other conversations that get interrupted, like the one on top of the car, where things were getting personal and they were on the edge of saying something. They are close to saying what they want to say and being honest. 3) The original plan of Jonathan's that Will and Mike agree to, is to go back to Hawkins and help their friends. It wasn't to find El. When Mike realizes this he goes to have his second talk with Will (the one where Will is kneeling on the floor). He stresses they are a team. If their original plan was to go on a less stressful road trip back to Hawkins, what would have been happening with them? Because that letter El left Mike was a break up letter that Mike is moving on from. (I don't know anyone who would have thought they were still together with someone after being told they weren't going to see that person again for months, possibly years, and weren't going to be able to communicate with them during that time. Who would be waiting around indefinitely? Mike was moving on the second he threw that note out.) 4) The audience needs to start rooting for Mike again and he needs a redemption. Will brings out the best in Mike and he knows him best. So I'm not surprised we have hints that they are filming a lot together. Getting to see the side of Mike who is in a healthy romantic relationship is an important part of his character arc. Especially given how much this show likes to compare Will and El. We need to actually see him with Will to know that this is better for him. Without seeing this side to Mike, there isn't as much of a chance for the audience to reconnect with him because we would still not get to see him when he's at his best. 5) Will's character arc has been about embracing his sexuality and using that as a source of empowerment. A thing that doesn't have the same impact if he doesn't actually get to act on his identity/sexuality until the very end. Seeing both Mike and Will be confident and comfortable with themselves would provide closure to both of their arcs. 6) Other character arcs relate to byler getting together - mainly Jonathan. Jonathan is struggling to find himself and feels very strongly about protecting his family. He feels responsible for them and doesn't want to leave them. Part of this is because they moved away from Hawkins (where their friends and support are) and part of it is the loss of Hopper, who has been helping protect them all. Hopper returning helps a lot. But there is also the added component of Will being gay that I think would still make it harder for Jonathan to want to get his own life if he isn't sure how Hopper would respond to this. Plus, I don't see him leaving Will if Will feels sad and alone and is still having problems with Mike/El. El's character arc also plays into this because her independence has to do with her and Mike breaking up. A thing I suspect already happened by the end of S4. But El really hasn't seen what a healthy romantic relationship even looks like at this point. Byler could be a good example of that for her. Not to mention would be a good reason for Mike and El to clearly end things with each other. El has had trouble separating herself from Mike and uses him as a safety net/backup caretaker when Hopper isn't there. It's not good for her. Knowing that Mike wants to be with someone else could push her to stop being so fixated on him and learn to rely on herself instead.

7) I suspect that one of the main themes of the show is going to be how love saves the world - in opposition to how El's anger has saved them (and not been affective at saving them). Byler being the key to this, and Mike being the heart. There needs to be more interaction with their relationship. Will is the main character and the hero of this story. If his romance is saving the world, we need to see it. And Will deserves to have this whole story play out and not just have it be quick at the end. 8) Just because a lot of other shows have the main couple get together at the end, doesn't mean this one has to do the same. They have inverted plenty of tropes already, this could be another one. Plus, all of the other endgame couples are already together (or mostly together). Byler not getting to have a relationship that we see sticks out as them not wanting to show the gay couple specifically. Which I don't get the impression is an attitude they have. 9) The outfits we have seen Mike and Will wear so far in S5 have been a lot of blue, yellow, and green. They match. Couples on tv shows usually match and they have for several seasons now. But the green is an interesting addition. We have seen blue be associated with Mike and yellow with Will and now we are seeing them wear their own colors along with the other persons. The green (a mix of those 2 colors) suggests that they are already together. 10) I don't think they are going to push this as a love triangle. The time to do that would have been S4 when there actually was one. We got Will pining for Mike, Will standing between Mike and El, tension with Mike and Will, El being confused by some of Mike and Will's interactions. There was something going on with the three of them this season. But the promo/posters didn't suggest this. We know mileven is either over or almost over so there is no point pretending like this is ambiguous. Especially when most of the audience is rooting for Will/byler.

I want to talk about lovers lake and more specifically about one moment.

We all know very well that the lake of lovers is closely related to the Bylers, more about this is There are plenty of other blogs on Tumblr like this.

Let's just refresh our memory that in this lake of lovers, they found the fake body of Will Byers, in this lake, under the pressure of Troy, Mike Wheeler almost died because of jumping off the cliff, if it wasn't for El, he would have died.

Let's think back to season 4 now. When Max “died”, the gate to Lovers Lake opened very, very wide, as if the silhouette of Lovers Lake's heart had split apart, heart broken. What happened before Max's “death”. A declaration of love from Mike to Al.

Let us try to put everything in detail. Before the love confession scene, there was a conversation between Mike and Will about the painting and I'm a proponent that Mike realized what Will was saying about himself, even though he was afraid that it was his stupid fantasy. He had hope that it was mutual. I also stick to the fact that if Argyle had not interrupted them, Mike would have talked to El about the breakup and the reasons for it, it would have been easier for him to support the girl and be honest with her, but Argyle interrupted the moment for two people like El and Mike, the intimacy of the moment and further already, it was necessary to act and save Mike.

The moment when he confesses his love is very tense. Mike cares for El, we see him worrying as much as anyone, but when he doesn't know what to say to make her feel better, Will comes to the rescue. He says “Mike, you're the heart, you're the heart.”, this is where Wheeler probably hesitated in his sentences, he thought that everything Will said was true about El, you can see the disappointment on his face, the worried look on his face. Mike realizes that he'll have to hide his real feelings and other things again.

In the declaration of love, we are also shown just one moment as a flashback, we are shown just the moment of finding El, at that moment and in that interval, he treated her like a friend, like a sister. Just to compare the exact same scenes with Max, she has flashbacks with Lucas in a romantic context, with friends, where she was happy and basically her most important moments in life and where she was herself, the real her. In that moment, their meeting, they were both being themselves and not using each other for protection and “normalcy”(El is just as possibly using Mike, but I'll write about that later), they were being themselves.

During the declaration of love, Mike's face is not that of a man who says it from the bottom of his heart, and it doesn't make El feel any better, it's like she hears the lies in his words and the sadness.

Look at his heartbreak right before Will pushed him to tell El that he loves her.

It's not just fear in his eyes. He looks devastated, like all his hopes have been dashed. I'd say this is especially noticeable when you consider that he had hope after Will gave him the painting.

Mike's declaration of love and the simultaneous breaking of his own heart. This is another way in which they are symbolically connected to the lake, and where their relationship is just as, connected to Max's safety.The heart-shaped lake has literally split in two, as the “gate” is right there. Now it's a broken heart.

Also, I want to remind you that in the show Mike is constantly associated with a heart, that drawing with his name and hearts next to it, that Will's drawing of Mike's shield has a heart on it, he's everywhere as a heart.

I was thinking that maybe at this point Will's heart and hopes were broken, but I think Will's hopes and heart, were broken back in the van, back in the van he became broken, afterwards he was literally depressed and looked at Mike with such devastation, he realized that his feelings were not reciprocated (in his opinion).

Finally found the video evidence that it is in fact Matt Duffer who is the “Byler” Brother, and I’m shaking with laughter now that it’s also clear he is definitely not the one who wrote toward romantic mlvn

LIKE.

The silence, especially compared to how talkative he is in the rest of the video. The fidgeting and plain discomfort of not wanting to show how he really feels about it. The way he looks at Ross to answer the whole question to ONLY say “Mike has to take Eleven to the snow ball” and refuse to comment on a single bit of the romantic connotations of that event I’m CRYING

Esp. when compared to how Matt reacted when the Variety interviewer mentioned “Will’s love of Mike” in their interview post vol I? That’s your byler for sure LMFAO

There’s a genre of anti-Byler argument that I like to call But It Was The 80s.

I’m sure you’re familiar with it: Will getting his heart broken would be good rep actually, because that’s just what it was like in the 80s; Mike being queer too would be unrealistic, because there weren’t that many gay people back then; and did queers ever really experience joy prior to 2015 anyway?

...But I think it’s worth taking a look at what the show is trying to tell us about being queer in the 80s. Stories, especially ones with fantastical elements such as monsters and superpowers, aren’t obligated to be perfectly realistic so long as they resonate with our experiences.

So how does Stranger Things resonate with queerness?

Every season so far has given us an iconic moment in which a character tries to stand up to a monster and is horribly punished for it:

In S1, Will loads a gun and faces the Demogorgon in self-defense... but he can’t fight it and gets dragged into the Upside Down.

In S2, Will takes Bob’s advice to tell the Mind Flayer to go away... but it gives zero fucks and consumes him anyway.

In S3, a small act of compassion from El inspires Billy to betray the Mind Flayer... but he’s immediately killed for trying.

In S4, Eddie decides that he’s done with running, so he distracts the bats to buy his friends more time... and succeeds! But at the cost of his own life. A waste, given that his friends’ plan to kill Vecna didn’t even work.

The show even brings this (lack of) progression full circle by paralleling Will and Eddie’s disappearances:

If we read the monsters as metaphors for the overwhelming force of bigotry and conformity in the 80s, it seems as though the show is telling us that there’s no point in trying to fight back, because it will crush you back down every time.

Indeed, we see a more literal but subtle version of this message play out in S3′s rain fight -- Will tries to call Mike out on losing himself to comphet, but Mike defensively lashes out at him, (unintentionally) reminding Will that he doesn’t have the right to question heteronormativity. Devastated that not even his plan to be Best Friends Forever with Mike was an acceptable compromise, Will takes that reminder to heart.

This definitely resonates with what it felt like to be a queer adolescent in the 80s... (and 90s... and 00s...) but it’s an awfully bleak message. Is that really the story Stranger Things is trying to tell?

The rain fight is the lowest moment in Will’s arc -- it’s only uphill for him from here.

In S4, he repairs his friendship with Mike and accepts that this is the best he can hope for, which is exactly the sort of bittersweet note a bleak story about the reality of being gay in the 80s might end on... if Will didn’t have a whole season’s worth of uphill journey left to do.

Let’s take another look at those iconic monster-facing moments. Was there really a lack of progression there, or were they, too, building up to something?

In S1, Jonathan and Joyce aren’t home and the phone isn’t working, forcing Will to face the Demogorgon by himself.

In S2, Will is emboldened by advice from an ally... but that ally, though well-meaning, has no idea what he’s talking about, and isn’t there by Will’s side when the time comes to actually face the monster.

In S3, El’s act of compassion is too little too late, and Billy doesn’t have time to fix his mistakes and team up with the party.

In S4, Eddie ignores Dustin’s demands to regroup with him, and faces the bats alone. The rest of the party are working as a team to fight Vecna... but interestingly, Will isn’t there to help them form a plan.

The problem isn’t that the monster is undefeatable -- it just can’t be defeated by any one person, nor can it be defeated without the guidance of its victims who understand it better than anyone else.

Yes, in S4 they have Max, who provides some helpful insight, but this is her first time dealing with Vecna -- she doesn’t have the level of experience that Will does. Compare to S1, when Joyce reaches out to Will through the lights for advice on how to rescue him -- he provides a little insight, but ultimately, Joyce doesn’t get the information she needs until she teams up with someone with lived experience.

This principle isn’t unique to queerness, of course, but it certainly resonates strongly with queerness.

The 80s may have been a godawful time to be gay, but it’s hardly as though gay pride didn’t exist. The progress that we’ve made since then was only possible because the LGBTQ+ community banded together and fought for their rights -- in the 80s.

And that’s the deeply homophobic core of But It Was The 80s as an argument: that queers shouldn’t remember the work done by our elders or be inspired to do the same, but instead swallow the lie that cishet society benevolently decided on its own to stop being homophobic. That we should be thankful for what scraps they’ve granted us, and wait patiently in the closet for them to grant us more.

Where Will finds himself at the end of S4 -- grateful that at least he’s loved platonically and too beaten down to ask for more -- is precisely where the heteronormative audience expects him to be. His queer arc has satisfactorily resolved itself, as far as they’re concerned, so in S5 he might as well die or become a villain or whatever.

Or, more charitably, he can unlock his powers and be the hero, but only on the condition that it’s strictly a metaphor for coping with trauma and he doesn’t get all gay about it.

But he is absolutely going to get all gay about it.

Will’s story, much like Stranger Things as a whole, isn’t about accepting the bleakness of being an outcast in the 80s -- it’s about staring that bleakness in the face and saying: “Unacceptable. I deserve to be happy on my own terms.”

Can we talk about Mileven for a minute. Another reason I don't buy their romantic relationship is the fact that most of their one on ones as a romantic couple (S3) are comedic and not very serious. Where are the deep conversations and when are we ever shown how much they understand each other... post (S2). It's almost like once they started dating they became a joke? Yes they have a few sweet moments but it's also scripted to be laughable. (S4) never showed them having a honest deep convo resolving issues and growing romantically. It could happen in (S5) but at this point I don't see the emotional romantic draw.

And then there is Byler to compare it to, where most of their one on ones are much much more serious, deep, heartfelt, with actual evidence of understanding and talks involving their feelings (which Mike seems to not have an issue with unlike his plot in S4 with El). This, mind you, happens to some degree in every season with Will. If Mike just sees Will as his best friend, why is he so serious about Will especially alone together. Even best friends are more casual then this.

Also a side note. The (S3) Mileven straight stereotype of the 'lazy, lying, clueless boy' dating the 'girl who is playing hard to get to teach her boyfriend a lesson' troupe is icky and makes me want El to find her power solo and Mike to remember that the old Mike (who has a special will voice) is a much better person and boyfriend. Thoughts?

Damn! Well said, dear anon!! I couldn’t agree more.

To anyone who says anything along the lines of ‘oh, Mleven can’t be broken up, they’ve been building up this whole time!’ Or ‘here’s the slow burn everyone wanted,’ or ‘Mike and El have grown so much even after fighting,’ I really don’t understand how any of that is founded. I totally agree and I feel like their relationship has been rather unserious. Even in the most serious love-centered topics of support (s1), connection (s2), breakups (s3), and expression (s4), it’s really interesting to me how their relationship has consistently lacked depth.

Despite dealing with some of the most important aspects of strong relationships, they aren’t close enough to showing, providing, or proving to have one. Mike supports El in season 1 as she does him, protecting and aiding each other with their strengths. But… so does everyone in that season to each other? The only difference is that Mike sheltered El which is very sweet, but not inherently romantic.

Then there’s season 2, which I must confess - I think that their reunion scene at the end of the season remains one of the sweetest moments on the show. Ever. It’s raw and emotional, and this was the closest thing we got to something romantic. But what shoots it down is the fact that their emotion was due to forced separation and Mike’s very real complex grief which gets completely glossed over in the show. So, I don’t know. It’s tricky. So are they romantic yet? They get virtually no time together. It’s a no for me.

And oh yeah, season 3 was the peak of unserious-ness. I also don’t enjoy that trope of ‘the boy chasing the girl who just doesn’t get it yet and she snubs him until the very end’ kind of energy. I swear that that stuff is littered in family-friendly movies usually as comedic relief, and Mike and El just barely made that trope more serious at the very least. Their breakup is dramatized and humorous, and the way that it’s mended still makes me chuckle. Mike offers her M&Ms, compliments her looks, they smile at each other, and suddenly they’re all good again? Yeah, that’s not very clear romance to me. All season long, they keep resisting each other. Mike lashes out to everyone and declares that he loves El but can’t say it to her face, and El has Max’s words tattooed on her heart that she keeps asserting that she deserves trust. The two just don’t quite reach each other that season. The second that I heard Hopper say that they’ve only been kissing all Summer long without complaining about them talking, I knew that I was not going to be invested in their relationship this season.

And so season 4 was truly the nail in the coffin, the final turning point. They’re not only shallow in making up, they’re shallow in being together. El isn’t honest with Mike about her time in Lenora, how she’s spent it, the people she’s met, the fun she’s truly having. Mike snaps about Will being disinterested, so it’s pretty clear that he was dishonest about his true feelings that day, too. And the most telling part is that he’s not mad at El. He’s mad at Will.

I think that what the writers have done is craft something so deeply intricate and hidden with Mike and Will to the point of confusion in much of the audience today. Will has always been a buffer of affection for Mike. In season 1 he’s the one they’re searching for. In season 2, he’s the one that Mike protects. In season 3, he’s the true breakup that Mike fights for. In season 4, he’s the listening ear and bleeding heart that Mike relies on. Their love only gets stronger and stronger whereas Mike and El are simply loving under the guise of physical closeness. I seriously think that that’s all that they have for each other.

That hug sequence at the end of season 4 really shocked me, because when I saw Mike and El hugging (not to mention that shot with Will right between them) I thought that it was sweet, but then suddenly Will and El are hugging, the siblings who are absolutely platonic, and it felt more emotional than Mike and El’s embrace. So not only are Mike and El visually equated to a platonic relationship, but their bond doesn’t even hold the same weight as the sibling-hood of Will and El.

It’s just wild to me that people don’t see it. I think that Byler is made abundantly clear for us to root for. The crazy together scene did it for me the first time I saw it. It was and still is one of my favorite scenes ever because it’s the total package. Closeness? Check. Honesty? Check. Hurt/comfort? Check. Matching, nerdy Halloween outfits? Check. The lack of anyone or anything else to distract them? Check. The crazy together scene is a marker of their relationship, and it never, ever dies.

Even though they fight, where are they years later? They’ve gone through supernatural and personal troubles together, and they’re still by each other’s side. “Friends. Best friends.” The same at heart. They promise to support each other, they reconnect, they come back from every breakup, and they readily express things on their minds and hearts. They’re there for each other and tell each other things that no other boys in the party have told each other.

Mike and El try to understand each other, they do, and sometimes it’s just trying that’s enough, but on a truly intimate level, that’s bullshit. Mike and Will have everything that they need and want for each other, and there’s no going through hoops to get it besides internalized homophobia. Which I very well think can be reasonably addressed next season.

So yep. Byler is endgame.

The Duffers literally light the left side of Mike’s face during intimate moments with Will (the same side his heart is on), while in contrast, leaving it in the shadows during his monologue to El + major moments involving El (feat. Will)…

And y’all expect me to believe byler isn’t endgame????

Based on this big brain analysis

Y'all I have a big list of Byler things and I need help to make sure that everything I've stated is actually true and not my mind making things up💀🤣🤭 so prepare for a long list and I'll cut it down so it doesn't take years if you wanna scroll by it lmao

Mike tried calling Will all the time while he was in Cali (& could be the reason for weird airport interaction) Mike can't use a telephone to talk to El bc of of government listening in, so Dustin's words are about Mike calling Will but not being able to reach him.

It wasn't love at first sight, the offical season 1 trailer with the scene where they first find El, Mike's first thought is "That's not Will." And also this is Mike's plan to get rid of her from the night they found her, even though he is supposedly already in love with her since he said he loved her the moment he saw her?🤨

His monologue didn't help/wasn't fully true, El didn't have a single flashback of her and Mike throughout their whole relationship except for when they found her in the woods. They've been dating for roughly 9 months before breaking up for 3, then getting together again and currently at 6 months (so 1 year and 3 months of officially dating, having known each other fully for 3 years, although not fully because she was gone for a whole year) and yet she didn't have a single other memory besides the night they saved her?

Mike and El didn't speak that much for 2 full days while they were stuck in the van?? Even after Mike's love confession, all El was apparently talking about was how she feels like she lost the battle with Vecna and how Brenner had put it into her head and stuff.

Mike has a sort of superhero idealization for El. He's mentioned multiple times that she's a superhero, she's a machine that can help find Will, and it's shown throughout the seasons how much Mike loves superheroes. In my opinion, that's not a super great thing to compare your girlfriend to, especially after she has shown to want to be more than that, but feels like that's all she's good for now.

They never see eye to eye/always disregard the others feelings/attempt to be understanding. All of their arguments I've seen, they both try to be understanding at first, but then they shut each other down and speak for the other person when they're doubting each others thoughts (one scene perfectly showing this is their fight in El's room in season 4).

Mike and El knew each other for roughly a week (at 12 years old) before getting together and then immediately getting separated for a whole year, only to become reunited and jumping immediately into a relationship at 13 and ignoring their friends to only kiss each other for 6 months and not deepen their bond emotionally?? Then they break up like it's nothing and Mike doesn't know what she likes when he tries to buy her a gift to apologize (only after Lucas says something) (then getting into a fight with Will for the first time and apologizing as soon as possible on his own choice).

Mike has issues saying I love you (tried saying it once in s3 and couldn't even say the word "love", instead going for "blank makes you crazy" which El didn't understand. Only time he says it was in a high stress situation and he blurted it out to everyone except her, with a look of shock and confusion. S4 he doesn't say it at all, writing "from, Mike" all the time, to which he is confronted by her and only is able to say "I care for you... so much." And "I say it." ("It" being I love you) (which is a lie) That fight in El's room would've been the perfect time for him to tell her he loves her after he sees her crying to him about it, he could have perfectly said something like, "El, of course I love you. I'm sorry I don't say it, I'm just not used to feeling this way, but thank you for talking to me about it, I'll try to work on it." Or something to comfort her. In the end he is only able to say it in a high stress situation (AGAIN) and only after having a whole speech from Will, and needing Will to tell him not to stop and to say whatever it was he couldn't before. (Which, Will didn't know that Mike couldn't say I love you to her) Mike was given false hope that El needed him and felt better for being different because of him, which was a lie and those feelings were from Will himself, his speech was a veiled love confession.

Mike subtly (or unintentionally) compared both of his relationships with Will and El by saying that meeting Will "was the best thing he's ever done" but meeting El was "Not fate. Not destiny. Just simple, dumb luck." (He chose to befriend Will, by actively going up to him and asking, whereas he didn't choose to meet El, it was an accident).

Mike struggles to switch his focus between El and Will, we've seen throughout all of the seasons how Mike acts with Will and how he acts with El, and I'll be honest, they're pretty similar. He's soft, sweet, and casual with Will, and he's nice, gentle, and kind with El (just in general, relationship stuff aside). But then you put them in the same room and Mike doesn't know how to act properly with either of them, and we honestly don't see the real interactions with these three until season 3. I've noticed a lot that when Mike and El are in a relationship, they ignored everyone and just made out, but after they broke up, the whole group was together and had no issues with doing so (I guess the flayed helped with that, though lol).

Will is the only person that Mike will immediately try to apologize to if he did something wrong, whereas anyone else he blames others and doesn't apologize until someone tells him to (examples: Dustin told Mike to apologize to Lucas in season 1 after they fought, Mike was blaming Lucas and didn't want to apologize even though Mike was the one that started the fight. He didn't apologize to El in season 3 for the way he was acting, instead choosing to lie and needing help from Lucas on what to get for El as an apology (again, Mike knows nothing about El by this point still), and yet later on after he has a fight with Will, he bikes to Will's house to apologize, he blames himself, calls himself an asshole (with Lucas following, not leading). Seasone 4, the second fight that Mike and Will have is in the skating rink, Mike calls Will a douche and says he sabotaged the whole day by moping, rolling his eyes, and not talking but later on he goes to Will and immediately starts apologizing and says he was being a self pitying idiot, and telling Will that he wasn't being a douche and Will didn't deserve to be called that).

Mike and Will are very different compared to their friendships with Dustin, Lucas, or Max. (With proof being from Mike himself, saying "Max and Dustin and Lucas.. they're-they're great.. they're great, it's just-it's Hawkins, it's not the same without you. And maybe I was worrying too much about El, and I feel like I lost you or something." (Something along those lines lol)

The Duffers have compared Mike and El's relationship to Elliot and E.T, a friendship between a kid and an alien.

El was upset with Mike during the cabin cleaning scene (giving him a side eye and sighing heavily before going to her room) after Mike's supposed love confession.

Mike agreed (by nodding) when Will was talking in the desert about how it's scary to open up to people you care about the most bc of them possibly not liking the truth (Will was comforting Mike about El during this, sort of) (Why would El not like the truth if the truth was that Mike loves her?? Sus).

Mike showed a big difference in priority when it came to searching for Will vs El. In season 1 after Will went missing, Mike (+ the party) was told by the police to stay home and not interfere in the investigation. Mike disobeys and goes out (+ the party) to search for Will in the dark and rain. After meeting El, they use her as a weapon to continue searching for Will. After finding Will's "body" in the quarry, Mike switches on El and is mean and blames her for not telling the truth about Will. El then shows Mike through the walkie-talkie that Will is alive and Mike believes her (even after seeing Will's body, he has hope again that Will could be alive), he's nice to El again after this. Vs, when El goes missing at the end of S1 and going into S2, Mike believes she's dead (although not seeing a body), and doesn't go searching for her. He sees her through the window on the same night she disappeared, but he never goes out to look for her. The only thing he does for the whole year is try to talk to her through a walkie-talkie, but he never leaves his house to try and find her (even though he's seen proof of her being alive) while she's gone, Mike's priority is fully focused on Will and his possession. In season 3, Hopper threatens Mike to stay away from El (similarly to what he said about staying home and not looking for Will in season 1) and he immediately agrees and doesn't try to see her.

Mike has a lot of familial/platonic parallels with El's father figures than he does romantic, he's always paralleled with Brenner (with proof in season 4, the "what did you do?" / "what have you done?" scene at the rink) which is so bad and sad, and some scenes similarly with her and Hopper.

Gotta say it, Mike has looked at Will's lips multiple times (at least 4, off the top of my head) (which is 4 times more than he has with any of his other friends probably) and he barely does it with El. If it was a mistake during filming, they would've shot it again, bc they were obvious but they stayed in.

And just with the way Mike looks at Will compared to his other friends or even El, that boy looks more in love than the one canonically in love.💀

In both season 1 and season 2 (besides their first kiss and the snowball (which weren't planned originally, I believe)) Mike has never been the one leaning in or attempting to kiss El, he just stands and stares confused as she does all the work.

Mike has Will's art all over his basement from when they were children (and some in his room, I think?) But he throws away and crumples all of the letters he receives from his long distance girlfriend? Sus.

The difference in Mike's reactions to being broken up with romantically vs platonically in season 3. His face shows a sort of disgust and almost guilty when El breaks up with him, and his face is full of guilt and sadness when Will tells him he wanted to stay with him forever.

Mike was fruity af during his apology to Will in S4 Ep4 just saying.

Canonically Mike only smiles in pictures when Will is in them as well. (Photos in tags bc I'm at the limit😔)

It's been confirmed that Mike is clueless about Will's feelings for him, so I'm wondering why he was so affected by the 6 months away with only a couple phone calls that lead to him not even wanting to hug Will at the airport (even though he saw how happy and excited Will was to see him again) when he hugged Will perfectly fine at the end of S3 (even though they never actually resolved their first fight in the rain?) Hm. Sus.

Mike has Smalltown Boy on his (OFFICIAL) spotify playlist?? A song about "the need for gay men to flee small-town intolerance and pursue reinvention in the big city. " ???

Just a cute thing about Mike and Will beings friends since the first day of kindergarten (when they were 5 years old) and having the longest friendship out of everyone in the party.

Kind of iffy about this one but the song Tarzan Boy was playing at the roller rink (a song about being free and doing what you want) when Will, Mike, and El were at the table. (Probably not a lot of significance but still a thing).

From an outsiders perspective, Mike and El were not happy when they were skating at the rink together, from Will's perspective, they were super happy and laughing together while Will was left behind. This is shown when Angela walks into the rink with her friends, we see Mike and El from her pov and their faces are very stoic while they hold hands.

That's all I have for now, I've had these written in my notes for like 2 years lmao but please, if you've even gotten this far, let me know if anything looks inaccurate and I'll fix it:) and also feel free to add anything you've noticed as well! I'd love to see it.

It is unreal knowing that Byler has seemingly surpassed Mileven in popularity. I know that Mileven might be more popular with some of the general audience, but I saw that Mileven was trending before and I swear one of the top tweets about them only had 58 likes. It's just unreal to me because I remember when the Byler tag was a ghost town a few years back. There are so many new shippers too since season 4 came out, and I think that really means something about the direction it's going. Many people see it now, even some people in the GA.

It's seriously been so cool to see the tag and fandom grow and see perspectives shift as more and more people realize that Byler is a real and distinct possibility that the show wants you to consider. I do think we're at the point where most Critical fans who watch the show as more than just passive entertainment see the real possibilities here, even if they don't 100% trust in it being endgame like I do. Even the broader GA and casual fans are at least picking up on the vibe that Mileven is not quite right and that something's going on with Mike and Will.

My parents tend to be my personal benchmark for GA perspectives, and while their heteronormative goggles prevent them from seeing Byler as a real option, I can clearly see in them the way that the writers have laid out delicate groundwork. My mom adores Will, and while she didn't recognize the blatant flirting, she cheered when Will and Mike made up in 4x04. She sees that they're better together. While she didn't see the painting lie as the blatant Chekov's gun for season 5 that I see it as, she was emotional about Will's monologue and hopes for his happiness next season. While she didn't see that Mileven is broken beyond repair, she was neutral at best when it came to Mike's monologue to El. She just didn't care or feel emotionally invested, especially compared to her emotional reaction whenever Mike and Will fought or made up.

Even if GA viewers don't quite see how it all fits together, they feel those emotional beats. They're getting underlying vibes of Mike and Will are great together, and Mike and El are not as strong as they used to be that will make everything come together in season 5. Even if they don't expect it now, they will see how things were laid out in hindsight.

And of course it helps when there's external things like the "Byler won't write itself' sign or ST day's snubbing of Mileven and nods to Byler.