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Hey guys, Latino guy over here to say that the comment from the latnetflix didn't deny nor confirming much. It's a pretty neutral comment. It's not saying "Y'all wish" or saying "it's a dream". It's kinda just saying "Yeah, y'all find this (Will being alive and well and with Mike, which is what the comment they answered to said) to be a dream scenario." It's stating a fact, even if it implies that a lot of people in the fandom want this which isn't particularly the case because the lat fandom isn't like the English fandom, and tends to be a bit less serious about things (I wouldn't call Byler THE ship of the lat fandom either, it's kinda weird they said el sueño de todos ustedes because girl what do you mean all of you, we're like two people over here). Anyway, it's but a mere person managing the Netflix acc on Instagram, I wouldn't worry too much tbh.

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It's punk to be a good person 🦸🏻

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I saw the poster and my hype revived in SECONDS. And I went to Tumblr to check y'all and enjoy some theories but I found? Worry and panic? Guys, y'all need to calm down and take a breather. The poster doesn't confirm nor deny anything, it's just a reference to season 1 to reconnect with the concept of coming full cycle. I fear not everything is a fight to see what ship is more or less likely to become canon. For one, I'm just really excited to see the teaser and enjoy this few last months of content drop and theorizing since this will be the last we'll have.

So let's not drown in byler doubt guys, and let's not over analyze either because sometimes that's even worse. Whenever you doubt or have worries remember all we KNOW about this season and try to get out of the tunnel vision that can sometimes feel very final. And if the Milkvans and GA want to believe they won or whatever, girl, let them. Who cares? Let's focus on ourselves and our enjoyment for a bit instead of focusing on how we are going to have to defend ourselves, or worrying about how we come across. I think after so long we kind of deserve it.

In that sense, main character Will Byers who cheered !!

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Inspired by @greenfiend’s theory (here)

Closeups are under cut

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Season 2 Mike definitely saw Max as a love rival for Will

Another Byler from Mike Wheeler's POV analysis—(Unrequited love trope edition).

Walk with me.

Sometimes I think about how when the party went trick-or-treating Mike specifically told Will that he, "should have checked with him" first before letting Max join them.

It's just a very peculiar moment. Why Will?

Even Will was confused by this, lol.

We know that Mike doesn't like Max in season 2 (for reasons we'll look into more), but why did he make this Will's problem/ responsibility? Especially after only knowing of her existence for 2 days at this point.

He wasn't angry at Lucas or Dustin—or at least, he didn't expect them to come to him for permission—otherwise he would have said something to them, too.

It was Will who he felt betrayed by and upset with.

Heck, go ahead and take a second look at the first screenshot provided above.

Does Mike look angry to you?

No—he looks forlorn.

Let me break it down for you:

I'll start by saying when the party learned of MADMAX the screename, they were all equally interested in knowing who it was.

But when Max is introduced to us as a character (and revealed to be a girl), we get markedly different reactions between the boys.

In the first frame, they have no idea who she is or what her name is. All they see is a new girl. (Played by Sadie Sink mind you, who is very pretty).

Look at Mike's face: he already looks sulky.

The second frame is after they learn her name is Max. Once again, all four boys show some level of interest, but Mike remains sulky.

Then we have the recess scene in which the boys are watching Max, which is very interesting.

Consider the blocking and body language in this frame:

Look at Will here: he's just as interested in Max as Lucas and Dustin are (even if his interest is not based on attraction). In fact, he's the main focus of this frame for some reason.

Mike is the only one who hangs back, and his body language is completely different from the other three (hands in pockets, meaning he is distanced). He has no interest whatsoever and his facial expression appears agitated.

Mike feels like the odd one out here.

Will fits in.

When they "lose the target" Will is the one who spots her and reinitiates the "watching." Once again, Will is the main focus of this shot and even seems to be showing the most interest; his expression is bright and engaged.

He runs with Lucas and Dustin to the wastebin while Mike trails behind begrudgingly, not wanting to be left behind.

It begs the question: why is Will the focal point among the four boys in a scene about looking at a girl, if he was never intended to be a love interest?

I argue it's because we're seeing this interaction from a very specific perspective—the perspective of Mike Wheeler, who is standing back and observing.

It's also worth noting that Will's change in demeanor and energy here is extremely apparent.

He is noticeably withdrawn and low in spirits this season due to his PTSD (both literal and metaphorical if you count the MF as a metaphor for trauma).

And Mike notices. He’s the one who points out that Will had been "quiet today"—a detail the others miss because they don’t watch Will the way he does.

Notice that Will is disengaged during the science lesson (before Max arrives), while the other three are nerding out. Will previously participated in the science fair—it typically interests him—but his mood is very low.

Then compare that with his immediate engagement when Max walks into the classroom, and the level of interest he showed during recess. Mike would certainly observe this shift, paying as much attention to Will as he does.

In fact, once the distraction of Max has passed and the principal comes to collect him, Will's body language retreats again; shoulders hunched, eyes downcast.

What conclusion do you think Mike would come to based off these few short interactions?

(And these are the only interactions Mike sees between Will and Max before trick-or-treating together the next day. Mike hasn't even spoken to her yet).

From Will's perspective, this girl is just a novelty: a light-hearted distraction from everything else going on, offering a spot of normalcy.

But from Mike's perspective, this is a pretty new girl showing up out of nowhere and immediately raising Will's spirits: something he felt like he failed to do.

And so it brings us to the trick-or-treating scene, in which Will (apparently) joins Dustin and Lucas in their enthusiasm for Max joining the party, while Mike hangs back and then begrudgingly follows, not wanting to be left behind.

Are we noticing the pattern?

Then we have Mike's confrontation with Will (this happens after Will is seen filming Max, btw). He tells Will he should have checked with him about Max joining them and that Max is, "ruining the best night of the year."

Uh... what? What did she do?

He then storms off: inentionally leaving Will behind this time.

(He wants him to know how that feels).

Following this interaction, Will has a big scare with the MF—and of course, it’s Mike who finds him first. Despite his mood, Mike is still attentive and protective.

Mike behaves possessively when he finds Will, not wanting the others to get involved. He takes Will “home” (his home) so they can be alone.

What follows is a scene that, put simply, is about reciprocation.

Interestingly, Mike’s attitude toward Max shifts after this scene with Will—he doesn’t have anything to say about Max joining the party in the AV room to look at Dustin’s pollywog.

This is the girl who apparently ruined Halloween.

You’d think he’d still be unhappy to see her.

But after that conversation with Will in his basement, Mike feels more secure and reassured about the state of their relationship.

He's no longer jealous.

So now, it's apparently fine for Max to be in the party.

Well, that changes again.

The next notable interaction is after Mike realises the pollywog is from the UD. Mike immediately goes into protective mode. It’s not Will who storms into the classroom to grab the trap—it’s Mike.

It’s also (presumably) Mike who locks Max outside of the AV room when they discuss this, yelling at her that she can’t come inside.

When she opens the door anyway, the pollywog escapes—and (of course) Mike blames her. No one else points fingers.

Now, the boys were hesitant to reveal any information about the UD for obvious reasons, but here we see the recurring theme in the Mike/Will/Max triangle: Mike’s protectiveness (and slight possessiveness) of Will.

So, a recap of Mike’s perspective so far:

First gripe: You’re hogging Will’s attention (possessive) Second gripe: You’ve compromised Will’s safety (protective)

Then we finally have the confrontation between Mike and Max:

It literally starts with Mike telling Max to leave because she's in the boys' room. (Similar to his "boys only" comment in season 3).

Let's not get it twisted: When Max finally asks Mike why he's been treating her the way he has been, he deflects.

Mike, who always has a ready opinion and is not afraid of confrontation, is not comfortable sharing the real reason why.

It’s commonly believed that Mike simply didn’t like Max because her presence reminded him of El’s absence—and I see it—but after a closer look, I no longer agree.

Firstly, I don’t think it’s fair to assume that Max would remind Mike of El (or rub salt in the wound of her absence) just because they’re both girls. Max and El couldn’t be more different—physically or otherwise—and that distinction feels intentional.

Mike would never compare Max to El, because to him, El is incomparable—a superhero who saved his (and Will’s) life.

Also, in Mike’s mind, El is still in the party—he lists her name off with the other members.

Max wouldn’t be a replacement.

He literally just stated that she would be an addition.

Secondly, Mike never actually makes this connection himself. He simply offhandedly mentions El when he’s trying to convince Max she’s not needed.

So why does he want her to stay away?

And when El is finally introduced (both through conversation and literally) to this dynamic, what happens?

Mike and Max begin to get along.

They share a smile.

If Mike’s issue with Max had anything to do with El, the scene wouldn’t have played out this way.

It’s classic misdirection.

The misdirection is so obvious they lean into it—even having El herself misinterpret Mike and Max’s relationship, becoming jealous.

She mistakenly assumes Mike is interested in Max, just like Mike mistakenly assumed Will was interested in her, too.

They’re giving the audience a warped perspective, urging us to look behind the curtain.

Mike’s behaviour towards Max fits perfectly into Byler’s shared arc in Season 2: Mike is attentive, protective, and possessive over Will, while Will—consumed by the MF—can’t fully reciprocate that attention.

The “crazy together” scene is the only time Mike receives the same energy back from Will the entire season.

I feel like people forget that when they talk about how cute Season 2 was for Byler. Cute from Will’s perspective, maybe (supernatural plot aside)—but for Mike?

We get multiple shots of Mike staring at Will or noticing his absence (Mike staring at Will’s empty desk being the most obvious example).

That’s called pining.

Will does not invite Mike to his house or show up uninvited—Mike does that. Will does not hold Mike’s hand—Mike does that. Will does not watch Mike closely or check in on him constantly—Mike does that. Will does not become possessive of Mike’s attention—Mike does that.

In fact, they play into this unreciprocated affection trope pretty blatantly—when Mike bares his heart to Will, tearfully recounting their first meeting, Will quite literally cannot respond because he’s possessed—even if he wants to.

Not to mention—Mike’s recount of their first meeting is also (thematically) about reciprocation:

“I asked if you wanted to be my friend. And you said yes. You said yes.”

Mike puts emphasis on the fact that Will said yes: the fact that Will reciprocated his feelings.

That is what he wants.

He wants validation that Will feels the same.

That Will won't leave him behind.

And what happens at the end of Season 2?

From a Byler perspective, this season is about Mike’s (seemingly) unrequited love for Will—and it directly influences Mike’s (very different) behaviour in Season 3.

So yeah.

Mike didn’t like Max because he was jealous, and coping with feelings for Will he feared were one-sided—and in his mind that was confirmed as true.

Why wouldn’t he be relieved to see El at the snowball dance?

Why wouldn’t he kiss her?

Why wouldn’t he immediately start dating her and pushing Will away?

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The dialogue about the storm during the Truco scene, a translator's note for English Speakers

You've seen The Eternaut, you don't speak Spanish. Or worse, you do, but the specific dialect spoken in The Eternaut goes over your head.

The scene in the first episode where the four men play a card game (truco, it's a local thing, and a topic for another post. But to make it quick, think of poker) is filled with word games. There is this specific moment when they hear the storm, and two of them go off saying things that Netflix could never dream of effectively translating (and they didn't even try). So I'm going to try to unpack those, because I've seen the subtitles in English because the writing is pretty good, and unless you get the whole range of the word game, you may not get why they are cacking like madmen.

There is thunder, and then

The subtitles in Spanish are: "Se largolla? o esta relampajeando?". But what Lucas means is "Se largó ya? o está relampagueando?". This translates as "Has the rain already started? or is it just thunder?"

The difference in spelling is the word game:

"Argolla" (ring, if you will) is slang for vagina.

The change between the soft /g/ sound with the strong /x/ (that's produced at the back of the throat, like a hard /h/ in English) makes it sound like "pajeando", which is slang for masturbation.

Then Sposky (el Ruso, as in Russian*) says

The lines in Spanish are "va a lloverga". "Va a llover" would be "It's going to rain", but the "-ga" added makes "verga", just slang for dick.

And he adds "Y vos sabes que deje el paraguasca arriba de la repija"

(sorry I need to pause here because this is seriously so stupid I can't help but join in the stupidity and laugh with them. Juan's indignation is so relatable. This is serious stupidity, the sort among friends who are so familiar with one another they are beyong trying to make an impression)

So "paraguas" is umbrella (someone pointed out how they missed the chance to say "cumbrella". I agree), and "guasca" is spunk.

"Repisa is shelf". "Pija" (like verga) is another slang word for cock.

And then he makes this face:

And the broad frame goes

Favalli's (el Tano, as in Italian*) face is priceless

I wish I could make gifs, because I'm not sure the screencap can truly convey the way he's trying hard not to smile.

Juan, however...

...is seriously so fucking done. I can feel his exasperation. This man is me. Juan Salvo my beloved.

After this, he looks at Favalli and says "you know it makes me want to cry. It's been thirty years saying the same stupid shit"

*yeah is common here to have nicknames based on place of origin. Ana is called "Gringa", which needs no translation. These are all endearments and nobody would dream of being offended or using these to offend. Anyone blonde here will be called "polaco/a", as is Polish, regardless of the actual ethnicity, family name or place of origin. Same with "turco/a" (Turkish). And you might not be ready for this, but "negro/a" is also a nickname, and also a general endearment people use to address loved ones.

Go watch The Eternaut. I mean it. It's on Netflix.

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Un dibujo de "El eternauta" porque sí. Porque pintó

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A quick drawing cuz each frame of this episode was art

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people in here, if you like apocaliptic alien sci-fi shit you can watch The Eternaut on Netflix, an argentinian show based on a comic book from 1957 whose creator (Héctor Germán Oesterheld) and his family were abducted by one of the many military dictatorships in my country

the story happens in Buenos Aires and explores the ideas of community and strenght against the opressors, and also contains lots of argentina dope amazing references and insults

its motto is "no one survives alone", a really necessary message in our times

you may know its main actor, Ricardo Darin, from The Secret in Their Eyes (Best Foreign Film 2010, winner), Wild Tales (Best Foreign Film 2015, nominated) and Argentina, 1985 (Best Foreign Film 2023, nominated)

The Eternaut is considered as one of the most important latin-american sci-fi works ever, and it's culturally respected because it's the product of a really dark time in our history (the Netflix adaptation is set today tho)

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I was watching a bunch of Beauty and the Beast adaptations and so I made it Byler 😌 This is the first of many, I hope 😬

I have a bunch of notes for this AU and I want to draw it out more but knowing me it might not happen 😅

(I did get a little lazy towards the end ngl)

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Kids these days are all "wow I can't believe I still like this ship 3 months after the canon ended!" bestie I have ships that started when I was still using dial-up internet

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they both reached for the gun

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Mike looks up to Will. Literally, and most of the time?? I looked through seasons 2-4 and this happens during most of their scenes together. Mike, who's several inches taller than Will, somehow always arranges himself to look at Will from a lower angle, or at almost equal height.

The boy has bad posture in an effort to... what? To be able to see Will's face better? To make sure Will knows that Mike doesn't figuratively look down on him, doesn't baby him? To make sure Will knows they're equals? To close the distance between them? To not seem bigger or taller than Will? To make sure Will knows he's seen and understood? All of the above?

Mike leans down to look Will in the face:

And he sits down so he can be on Will's level or look at Will from below:

Notably for the above pictures from the hospital in s2, we see that Will and Mike look fairly level in the second picture, but in the first, it's shot so that Mike is looking from such a lower angle. So this seems to be intentional.

Here are some of Mike and El to compare. Mike has much straighter posture in scenes with El, leaving him taller, further away from El, resulting in him not looking El in the face as often. We see this exacerbated in s4, as Mike is even taller, the distance is further, and he also isn't looking at El much with good eye contact or without sunglasses or the sensory deprivation glasses. When seeing Will and Mike at the same height, it feels like an equal relationship, but seeing Mike towering over El makes their relationship feel less equal. He's not looking her in the face as often in an effort to understand her.

We see a lot of Mike and Lucas together in s3, and Mike also stands fairly tall compared to Lucas in their shots together, making any height difference obvious. In the picture set below, we see that, but also some side by sides of how Mike stands when talking with Lucas, and then how Mike talks with Will just seconds later. You can see how different it is: Mike adjusts for the height difference with Will in a way we don't see him do for anyone else.

So I don't think it's just that Finn Wolfhard is too tall and he's made to lean over to make it easier to film multiple people of varying heights. It's a Mike and Will thing.

Another couple comparisons:

The rain fight: Mike stands taller in their rain fight at the beginning when he's on the defensive, but he gets lower and closer to Will the further into the fight they get, when they're saying the more important things to each other.

The phone booth: We can also see Mike bending over to look at Will in the phone booth, but standing straight and further away when Jonathan is listening to the phone.

The movie theater: when they're first sitting down in the theater, maybe when people are still looking at them, Mike sits tall, but he sits lower once the movie has started and he wants to talk with Will.

On that note, Mike stands taller around Will when in public or around others he doesn't feel as comfortable around. This might be to hide aspects of his relationship with Will, or to be protective towards Will. I didn't include these shots, but Mike also stands tall when protecting Will from Dart in s2, when he's with Will in the field after Will is possesed in s2, and in the gunfight in s4.

But one on one with Will, talking with Will, listening to Will, having heart to hearts with Will, he scrunches his back so much so that he can be at equal height or lower than Will to look Will in the face or to look up to him.

They hired Noah and Finn knowing that Noah was younger and shorter, so I don't think they meant for Will to be a taller character.

This is just their dynamic. Mike is the tall one but he wants Will to be able to feel like the tall one.

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I wanted to try a different brush today because I’m getting a little bored with my usual set. I’m in a rare hyperfocused mode so I’m taking advantage of it by drawing Byler Old Man Yaoi

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"You were right, we work better as a team. So, let's do this together, as partners."

I watched Arcane over the week and this came to me in a dream, alright? Flayed!Will or Villain!Will (whichever you like the most, really) and Mike. Also, sidenote, why the hell does Will have THREE LAYERS OF CLOTHES. Girl I was STRUGGLING out here.

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Do you actually care about transmascs or do you just like slapping top scars on fictional twinks and talking about boy pussy