what's your favorite Byler evidence?

this :)

when people say the biggest byler proof is mike looking at will's lips or the heart eyes shining in their iris or closets standing btwn them both. guys it's the painting plotline. that's the only actual n real byler proof and build up .

i wouldn't say it's the only actual and real byler proof and build up because there's three seasons worth of proof and build up before that and other things worth mentioning in season 4 but it's definitely the most substantial one, the painting and how the monologue wouldn't have happened without it and all that like that's what you wanna bring up if you're talking to someone who's receptive, not idk, blue meets yellow in the west or something else that even half the fandom thinks is a reach

“m*leven is the main couple of the show” ok but that’s not true. byler has always been the main couple.

i know they’re not together yet but we know they’re going to be, and they’ve been setting it up since the beginning. two characters can be the main couple without being together yet as long as the media they’re from demonstrates that to us through romantic tropes, parallels, set/costume design, camerawork, music, etc. plus, will is already canonically in love with mike.

i know this is an.. unusual show to use as an example, but it’s popular so—take the office. ask anyone who the main couple is and they’ll 100% say jim and pam. ask someone who’s only on, say, season 1, and they’ll probably still say jim and pam. but they didn’t officially get together until season 4. pam actually had a fiancé who wasn’t him for the first two seasons, yet still, they were the main couple. everyone knew it was going to happen eventually.

mike and will’s relationship has always been coded as romantic (not really getting into any specific romantic moments bc that’s not the point of this post, but most of u prob know what i mean. there’s so many and you can find them easily) and more people would see that if they took off the heteronormativity goggles. and again, will is in love with mike, which they have to resolve somehow.

and i DO SEE why people think m*leven is the main couple. on a surface level, it seems obvious. they’re two of the main characters, their dynamic is given a lot of screen time and they’re canon. but when you look harder, m*leven comes secondary to byler. m*leven’s relationship can’t separate itself from will/byler, and a lot of major events between mike and el are intertwined with will/byler, sometimes to such an extent that these things wouldn’t happen/function otherwise. for example:

in s1, they only find el because they were looking for will. mike only keeps her at his house for as long as he does bc he thought she could help find will. he doesn’t value her nearly as much once he thinks she can’t help. for most of s1 he saw her more as a tool to find will than a person.

in s2, mike is very upset about el’s disappearance and tries to walkie talkie her everyday, but (correct me if i’m misremembering) once the mind flayer starts possessing will, mike seems to push that all aside to prioritize taking care of him.

in s3, m*leven’s comedic breakup is overshadowed by byler’s rain fight. there’s no question which one we’re meant to take seriously. mike doesn’t care that he upset el and is in no hurry to make it up to her, but when he upsets will he regrets it right away, and immediately bikes to his house in the rain to apologize.

in s4, el getting bullied turns into a byler fight about them growing apart. mike opens up to will several times (which he can’t do with el) about his and el’s issues, and will offers advice. will gives mike the painting and gives his coded confession, which mike, thinking those were el’s feelings, uses as fuel for his ily monologue. mike’s whole monologue was literally about will.

will is more intwined with m*leven than ever in s4 because it’s the second to last, which means a breakup is coming soon. byler will get together sometime after that—i think it probably won’t be until after the time skip, though.

like i said, this post isn’t about any specific romantic moments between mike and will (but if you wanna see some just search “byler proof”, “byler endgame”, “byler analysis”, “byler evidence” or smth similar on here. there’s tons), but whether or not you take account of their romantic-coding, the show has purposefully shown us many times that byler’s relationship is stronger, healthier, and more loving than m*leven’s. obviously a relationship doesn’t have to be romantic to be those things, but the thing is, they’ve already shown us byler is romantic.

and, as the whole reason for this post suggests, byler is (or—if you’d rather look at it this way—will become) the main couple in stranger things. they’re two of the main characters, and i’d argue that their relationship is given more emphasis and importance placed on it than any other duo in the show, even established couples. the show is constantly saying to us: hey! look at them! look at the way they interact with each! look at them in comparison with other duos/couples! look at the specific type of bond they have with each other! like, the first two seasons’ storylines wouldn’t even work without their bond, which is also true to a slightly lesser extent in s3 and s4.

also, i’m just spitballing here, but isn’t it kinda unusual for a show with multiple established couples to place the most emphasis on a platonic pair? usually if a show has a two characters whose bond they place more importance on than any other pairs in the show, they’re a couple—or will end up becoming one.

so. when you combine the numerous flaws and weaknesses in m*leven’s relationship (which you can also find examples of easily—try searching “anti m*leven” or “anti milkvan”) + the strength and love in byler’s relationship + byler being coded as romantic since the start + s4 making it clear that m*leven’s breakup is imminent + will canonically being in love with mike + the painting that prompted mike’s monologue, which he’s yet to find out was entirely from will...

it’s safe to say byler will be endgame, which is fitting, because they’re already the main couple. i will shout this from the rooftops—they’re already the main couple!!

just in case, let me say it again, but bigger and more colorful:

byler is already the main couple!

thank u if you read this whole long thing!! i should honestly stop expecting that i’m gonna write short posts when i have something to say about byler. it never ends up short. <3 <3 hope you enjoyed

What's the most convincing proof that byler could be endgame (at least on mike's end)? My friend keeps talking about mileven and saying byler's unrealistic and that it's stupid and weird and I'm ripping my hair out because now Im starting to think I'm delusional, and I'm losing hope. help.

First and foremost I think you should maybe ask your friend why exactly they think it’d be unrealistic because while that is generally a worthless argument, in this case it’s also not even true. Just because mainstream media back then didn’t portray queer people and queer people getting their happy ending does not mean that they didn’t exist! Queer people have always existed and have always found love at any point in time!

Again, the only reason people think queer people didn’t exist or find love in the 80s (talking specifically about st now) is because the media didn’t portray it and because they had to hide it more than they do now. So that might be an argument to catch your friend off guard because Mike having internalized homophobia and hiding his sexuality is actually more realistic for the time period than him simply not being gay. It’s exactly this shame and hiding of one’s own sexuality that leads your friend to believe that being gay and finding love in the 80s was unrealistic! Your friend’s argumentation is rooted in a very close minded and simply uneducated view on reality so I wouldn’t believe them when they tell you you’re delusional!! If anything, they’re being delusional.

I think the smartest approach to convincing a milky of byler is generally to focus only on Mike and his sexuality first before including Will and byler. Getting your friend away from melvin and more familiar with the thought of Mike being gay beforehand will definitely make them more open to the idea of byler, simply because most milkys see Will as competition to El. They see us shipping byler as a threat to El as a character because they think we try to convey that Will is somehow overall better than El even though that’s of course not at all what we’re doing. Byler is just as much about Mike as it is about Will so explicitly showing the milkys the evidence of Mike being gay regardless of his feelings for Will is always better than jumping in head first with the connection to Will.

The familial parallels that Mike and El have are very convincing evidence that melvin never loved each other romantically because all the other couples have referred to each other as friends before. The Duffers are clearly aware of the fact that the friend zone does not exist! Being friends does not exclude having romantic feelings for each other and vice versa! You do not stop being friends once you fall in love! And that’s exactly why making Mike and El refer to each other as friends and family is such a big deal because being family obviously does exclude romantic feelings! And these familial parallels follow melvin around throughout the whole show! Both Mike and El literally make mental connections to each other and family within their kissing scene in s1!!! And of course there’s all the gay coding in dialogue, costume and set design for Mike but I can’t imagine that your friend believes that to mean anything so I’d probably educate them on how everything I’m film has a purpose first.

And an argument more in the direction of byler and not just Mike’s sexuality is of course the obvious fact that Mike treats Will differently than Lucas and Dustin. And why would that be if they’re all supposed to be just best friends??? Maybe try and point out specific scenes to back this up. You should also definitely try to show your friend Mike’s monologue and the boys meeting El in the woods plus the aftermath at Mike’s house side by side! Explicitly showing them that the scenes contradict each other will definitely do more than just saying they do.

And like, the most convincing byler evidence is really just the whole fucking show. I know that’s not super helpful but it’s the truth hahah

My best friend just finished watching stranger things for the first time and I’m working on a byler presentation to convince her which I might share here when it’s finished. It’ll definitely take a lot more time to get it done but I can definitely tag you when it is!

Not sure how I went from casual Stranger Things fan to Byler truther literally overnight but here I am to give my take as a once-casual viewer.

I never really looked into any of the subtext in the show until early s4 when I had a come to Jesus moment. I rewatched seasons 1-3 recently so I think having the whole story fresh in my mind helped me see the truth a little more clearly than many other casual viewers. ANYWAY.

In seasons 1 and 2 I could tell that Will and Mike were extremely close, but I never really looked at it as anything more because they were still little to me and Mike seemed to be innocently interested in El.

Season 3 was when I started feeling a shift in my perspective, but only somewhat. I was torn between “Mike is just a stupid teen boy and Will misses his friend” and “wait, do these two like each other?” But again, I didn’t look too much into it because it wasn’t BLATANTLY OBVIOUS to me at the time that these boys are more than friends.

In comes season 4. I literally immediately knew that there was something going on. As soon as Mike gave Will the bro tap I thought “wait, MIKE? Crying while confessing that becoming your friend was the best thing I have ever done MIKE is brushing off his bestie that he went to the ends of the earth to save?” As the season went on, I just knew I was not delusional and that I was literally witnessing these boys pining for each other, so I decided to do some digging around to see what was out there on this topic. That’s how I ended up here. I’ve read the Google docs, the analyses, etc. and all of it just makes so much sense. I truly, 100% believe that Byler was always meant to be endgame. This show spends a LOT of time developing their relationship and it’s not for nothing. It’s honestly beautiful and pure and makes me want to cry. I don’t know how I was so blind all these years, but holy shit, the DB are good…they are really good. They had me in the first half, not gonna lie.

The proof that stands out to me the most:

-Mike’s shadow is basically an open closet. That last s3 kiss in Will’s room + Mike’s one way sign in s4… cmon, they are basically shouting Mike’s next big arc to us in the last few(s3)/first few(s4) minutes. This is absolutely, positively on purpose and it’s honestly brilliant foreshadowing.

-Mike and Will are basically attached at the hip. Even after their dramatic argument in the rain in s3 which is never fully resolved, they are quite often within a foot of each other. Even while Mike is dating El. They are both very comfortable being up on each other until Mike’s airport stunt in s4, but it all comes back after Mike lets his guard down and becomes mush for Will again. The shootout starts, and they basically cling to each other. They are also both totes cool with Will holding Mike’s hand over the payphone. I could go on but if you get it, you get it. These two are COMFY together

-“We’re friends, we’re friends” We know, babes. Do you? This line feels suspiciously similar to “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” in that they both come up in arguments where Will calls Mike out for pulling away from him. Mike is supposed to be oblivious to Will’s crush so…who is Mike really trying to convince?

-Will’s drawings El has lots of Mike reminders in her rooms in s3 + s4. Mike has no visible El items, but Will drawings are permanent fixtures in his basement. I don’t think Mike even thinks twice about it, he just cherishes those effing drawings. (So sweet) Then Will painted something for him that Mike likely thought was for a girl…I’m…I’m going to cry. Bet that gets added to the wall before Mike’s bags are even unpacked.

-Where is Mike’s attention really? Mike acted like he wasn’t giving Will any mind when he arrived in Cali but then called out his eye rolling, moping etc. Did Will have your attention, or nah, Mike? Will seemed to feel genuinely hurt by Mike’s words and Mike picked up on that. He soon gave a genuine apology, something that he only ever consistently offers Will.

-speaking of the apology, that shit was FLIRTY. Mike didn’t have to force it, he just said what he was thinking and Will looked like he felt so validated. They both smiled and looked so happy to be back on good terms and ugh it was just the sweetest thing. Their connection is effortless and only wavers when Mike panics + Will feels ignored. This did not feel the slightest bit platonic. Zero percent.

-the triple take. Like, come on. A TRIPLE take?? Mike, baby, it’s gonna be ok. Will loves you, too. This shot was one of the most blatant indicators of Mike’s internal struggle in s4 IMO

-season 4 arcs Mike’s arc with El and his arc with Will are happening at the same time. That is because they are the same arc. This should be setting alarm bells off in general audience heads but I know that many people cannot seem to connect the damn dots still. They. Love. Each. Other.

Anyway…you’ve converted me. I wanted to put my two cents in as someone who has only fairly recently caught on to validate that you guys who have seen it for years are NOT delusional, you are doing the Lord’s work by compiling all of the data that us normies are too dense to see. Long live Byler!

hi!

if byler is confirmed, how do you think the duffers will go about it without making a good portion of the audience think it came out of nowhere?

the majority of people i’ve talked to (irl) say they don’t see byler’s relationship as romantic nor do they think it would ever be canon, and many people will probably claim the show did it out of the blue for “the sake of representation“

i personally hope we get flashbacks to back it up so the audience sees that byler has been there the whole time. i reallyyy hope they add the deleted scene of mike crying after will “died” and use it as a flashback. what do u think?

i love ur blog btw!! <3

thank you so much for the compliment, it means the world to me! and omg you’re like a celebrity in my eyes— i feel the need to make this extra formal? anyways xD…

as of right now, the vast majority of people in this fandom see byler as platonic. the end of s3, though byler had been implied many a time beforehand, was the real breakthrough in my opinion. we got not only the byler fight, but also the m*leven breakup and unreciprocated kiss at the end of the season. these types of occurrences were obvious in s3, but still sort of rare. that’s why in s4, we will be getting a lot more content similar to that, where mike is showing vast disinterest in a romantic relationship with el, and more bubbly, flirty scenes with will. 

because of the kiss at the end of s3 (even though it was clearly one-sided), people think automatically that it means el and mike are back together and happier than ever. but as soon as they see in s4 that mike still is not set on their relationship, they will sense what us theorists have known for years: that mike and el are not getting back together, after all.

m*levens will be unhappy with this, but i’ll remind you that the duffers don’t just write things to please the mainstream viewers or critics. that’s what makes this series so incredibly lovely; no matter how famous they become they don’t lose sight of what they want for the show. if they want m*leven to be endgame, they’ll write it as endgame. if they want byler to be endgame, they’ll write it as endgame. no matter what the duffers write they’ll still get haters, because that’s the way the good ol’ internet works: one person says the show or something in it is bullshit, and the criticism spreads like a wildfire. so what’s a little more, right?

references and parallels are super important to the duffers, so i have no doubt in mind that they’ll include a couple of flashbacks! i don’t think that the byler proof should rely solely on flashbacks however— i’d say the most important convincing factor that m*leven isn’t endgame and that byler is is the more obvious scenes like mike’s heart eyes in not possible, the unreciprocated kiss, and mike not wanting to be with el romantically. these will show the public that it really is over. 

there will always be haters, especially for a show as popular as stranger things. but just keep in mind that the duffers write very well, and they would never keep a toxic or uninteresting pair together just for the sake of reviews!