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I am not attending byler week and i was very sad, so i wanted to make up for it with this one which celebrates stranger things day a bit and confirms the importance of will's painting! What could be better than admiring the painting embraced in a cuddly way on the bed in your own room with the artist?

<3 <3

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Mike Wheeler is such a complex character. There are so many layers to him and his way of thinking and his feelings and how he views himself and his relationships with people so it shocks me to my core every time someone just makes a broad generalized statement like "he was a dick for no reason in s3 and s4" and I'm just like?? No?? You don't understand him at all?? Shut up?? Be quiet??

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Will "might be queer but still Hawkins' heartthrob" Byers

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Bonus: Mike's reaction to this information

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“byler is cute but it will be unrequited”

“one-sided”

“unreciprocated”

“mike will let will down gently”

“he’s just a close friend”

“it wouldn’t be realistic”

“he’ll definitely get friend-zoned”

“it’s obviously platonic”

“mike doesn’t want will’s affections”

to quote that one person: “who the fuck writes a slowburn rejection?”

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Top 5 moments that convinced this casual viewer (me) that Byler is absolutely happening

(or, alternatively: “Top 5 Gay Mike Wheeler Moments in Season 4″)

So as a new addition to the Stranger Things fandom and former casual viewer until very recently, I thought it might be helpful to share my top 5 moments in season four that convinced me that Mike and Will are absolutely going to become a thing.

Because the idea of Byler had honestly never crossed my mind before this season. This wasn’t something I expected or even wanted to see. But then season four happened, and, well…

I know most of these moments have been picked apart already, but sometimes I think it’s worth getting back to basics and reminding ourselves that no, we’re not crazy for picking up on what the creators are putting down. All of these things are absolutely intentional.

And yeah, I’ve put these in order starting with the most damning evidence at the top (though they’re all pretty damning, let’s be real lol). 

1. Will being perfectly framed in the shot when Mike says “I love you” to El for the first time. This one honestly kills me. I have a film studies degree, so let me tell you that there is absolutely no reason for Will to be in this shot (and this whole sequence!) unless it’s to create ambiguity around Mike’s true feelings. Noah Schnapp did not just wander onto set and park himself behind Finn Wolfhard. This was deliberately set up. And if we’re meant to take Mike’s confession completely literally, Will would not have been in this shot. It would’ve been an intimate close-up of Mike, full stop. Think about literally any other love confession scene you’ve watched and then tell me this doesn’t look weird by comparison. 

2. The flirting in “Dear Billy”. Okay, okay, there was a time I would’ve hesitated to call these moments “flirting”, but now I honestly can’t watch these scenes without laughing a little because it’s just so f***ing obvious. Look at the way they’re framed (an intimate two-shot with maybe two inches between them). Look at the way they’re smiling at each other. Look at where they chose to shoot these scenes (in the most intimate of rooms, the bedroom). In the scene where Mike apologizes, look at the way the camera slowly inches closer to both Mike and Will as they become more open and vulnerable with each other (and subsequently with the audience, too). There is clearly something building between them in these scenes. I felt like I needed to walk away from my TV to give them some privacy.

None of this is accidental. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but there was definitely a way to shoot these scenes platonically and they absolutely did not do that (put more space between the actors, choose a different location, use different music for God’s sake). And my girl @naturallybrielle is absolutely correct when she says this is the flirtiest we have ever seen Mike Wheeler. As a casual fan, I was shocked.

3.  “We’re friends! We’re friends.” Dear God. When I say my soul left my body when I heard this line… okay, where to start? Shall I start with the fact that “We’re friends!” is a common phrase in fiction used by characters that are in denial of their true romantic feelings for the friend in question? There is quite literally a page dedicated to this on the TV Tropes website (see here). If Mike had calmly said, “We’re friends” once, that would’ve been an entirely different vibe, but as it stands, this scene was giving me jealous ex-boyfriends the instant I saw it and I haven’t been the same since. If Will were a girl, people would’ve seen through Mike instantly. At this point it’s romantic cliché.

4. The triple-take in the desert. Much like “We’re friends”, this moment in the desert really stuck out to me when I first saw it. I’ve practically written a whole other essay about this (read here) so let me paraphrase: if this were an unrequited love story, we’d expect a lot of shots of Will looking longingly at Mike, who doesn’t reciprocate or even notice his gaze (and we do get shots like these at the roller rink and at the breakfast table, for example). 

So literally, what is this moment? Why have Mike look back at Will here not once, but three times? Why not have Mike not notice him if he’s supposedly wrapped up in thoughts of his girlfriend? Why does he look so startled? Why does he desperately avoid Will’s gaze after? Would someone with purely platonic feelings ever do this? Also, see this hilarious post that deservedly dubs this moment the “gayest shit in the show”. I tend to agree.

5. The four times Mike and Will got conveniently interrupted during intimate conversations. Yet again, I invoke the name of our holy text of plot conventions, TV Tropes, and draw your attention to the romance trope dubbed the “Moment Killer”: “It’s really going to happen this time. They are about to share their feelings with each other after years of keeping them hidden. They come closer together and look into each other’s eyes; there has never been a moment so perfect… Then her brother walks into the room, asking if she wants pepperoni or ham on her pizza.” 

I mean… do I even need to say anything else? And the fact that this happens at least four times with Mike and Will this season? I just… 

Honourable mentions: 

The airport “hug” (my villain origin story)

The fact that El and Mike have barely spoken after his love confession, and this is addressed in the actual script. I really need more people to wake up and realize that this is super not normal for a TV show’s main couple! Okay!

The ending shot of the couples on the hill, and El on her own (again, this is deliberately staged, so don’t listen to anyone dismissing its significance)

This shot below lol because AGAIN, Noah Schnapp did not just wander onto set and park himself between the show’s main couple–I’d argue your focus and your emotional investment is meant to be with Will here (which is ironic since he’s “out of focus” but you can’t deny he draws your eye)

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I hate foah and fillie shippers. Because of your stupidness they can't even hug publicly without shippers starting to shrilling about it and building their stupid fantasies. By the way fillies are mostly stupid children, but some adult foahs are disgusting.

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Do you realize that byler fights are the most important proof of Mike's reciprocating Will's feelings? If Mike saw Will just as a friend, that fight at rink-o-mania would never happen. That airport greeting would never be so hermi-rony. Unhealthyness of muffinshaker is just a reason for them to break up eventually. Mike's affection for Will is just an evidence of his love, not necessarily romantic. But S3 and S4 Mike's treatment of Will - this is the pure "i love you, Will, in homo sense"

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I haven't washed dishes for two weeks because was too busy rewatching ST and reading byler tumblr. Is there anyone else here the same?

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the 61k of us to mike wheeler:

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just noticed something… the only time mike has ever been his true self and shown his “nerdy” side to eleven is in season 1 episode 2. he’s showing her his toys and trying to tell her about star wars and dinosaurs and he seems so excited about it. but she doesn’t look interested at all and actually gets up and walks away while he’s still talking

he never really talked about his interests to her again after that. the only time he spoke about presents and got excited was at the end of season 3 when he was telling her about christmas but then he stopped himself and said he probably sounds like a child. he’s embarrassed and tries to act cool around her and he just can’t be himself. it’s really sad if you think about it. even now after years of dating, they don’t even communicate properly and barely know anything about each other. i’ve never seen them give each other gifts of something they enjoy and they don’t share the same interests or hobbies

meanwhile will on the other hand has made so many drawings that mike has kept over the years. he even worked on a beautiful painting of their d&d party which is so meaningful to both of them, and you can see how happy it made mike when he gave it to him. it’s like little mike came out again and you could see how his entire face lit up. mike can only be his true self when he’s with will and he feels so comfortable with him. in fact, they both feel most comfortable with each other and they understand each other better than anyone else. they also make each other feel better for who they are and they don’t have to hide. that’s what makes their relationship so beautiful and genuine

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i think when Mike was gonna jump off the cliff, part of his mind thought the upside down was kind of afterlife, where people go when they die. And he thought he would get there and meet with Will. Besides, the track during that scene is called Leap of Faith.

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If you slow down the motion to 0.1, things get even more gay. Just look at Mike's hand movements

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Did you get that feeling of Hope when Surfer Boy Pizza van brought the Heart to Hawkins and Argyle's rainbow socks came out?

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Will Byers daydreams about dnd..

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An interesting moment when Mike was convincing Lucas and Dustin "Will is alive! He's out there somewhere! All we have to do is find him" they looked at him with compassion just like everyone looked at Joyce, like she/he's crazy. And after that Mike did his lip thing and looked away like he got slightly embarrassed 

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Oh my frogging frog, this dialogue between Mike and Lucas in S1 was actually about Mike's love for Will.

L - She's not a superhero. She's a weirdo.

M - Why does that matter? The X-Men are weirdos.

L - If you love her so much why don't you marry her?

M - What are you talking about?

L - Mike, seriously? You look at her all like... "Hi, El! El! El! El! I love you so much! Would you marry me?"

M - Shut up, Lucas.

We didn't know then, but in S2 we see Mike is acting exactly like this with Will. And Will is also a weirdo. Lucas is just used to heteronormativity like everyone else and didn't pay attention to Mike's attitude towards Will.

It's season 1 and they thickly hinted that MIKE LOVES WILL THAT WAY. I feel it with all my cells they've been telling this story all this time, since the very beginning.

If you don't believe just turn on season 1, i mean not exactly this scene, but watch all the episodes from the first. It all adds up.