#byler truther

[michaelinprogress]

Ok listen I certainly don’t HATE the short look on Mike. I think it’ll look nice on him, show his age more. But gosh I wish they let him grow out his hair like this for s5.

Thinking about him exploring the upside down with a bandana over his nose and mouth and a ponytail holding his long hair up is so good

[counting-stars-gayly]

Mike thinks he has to be needed in order to be loved because he doesn’t think anyone could ever want him. He thinks he has to earn love via offering some form of protection. Meanwhile, Will wants Mike so much that he feels like he needs him. And it has nothing to do with Mike earning his affection — Will just loves him for who he is.

[willthewise-blog]

I’M SO HAPPY AND PROUD FOR HIM??!!??💗💗💗 OMG!!!! :,)

[snacksizedgates]

Proof Mike Picked Up on What Will Was Saying in the Van Scene from the Very Beginning.

This is a pretty long post but there are some really interesting things I noticed while finally properly analyzing this scene. I breakdown all of Mike's facial reactions and even other visual clues in this scene that points toward Byler. Hope you enjoy!

Here's screencaps of when Will asks Mike if he can show him "something." He keeps glancing up and down between Will's face and the poster, indicating nervousness/curiosity. He does this because he recognizes the poster from the airport. He also knows Will was painting something and El heavily implied it's for someone he likes.

They didn't just throw these two scenes/lines in the season for no reason. They put them in there to set a precedent that Mike knows about the existence of this painting, not just through El but also by physically seeing it. This establishes that he knows what this painting is and what type of person it's for (a crush).

His reaction to the painting. He's happy as indicated by the open mouth smile instead of the more flirtatious close mouth smile. He's genuinely happy that Will made him this, because at this point that is what he's assuming. He believes what El said (the truth), so at this point he's thinking "he painted this whole painting for ME."

Then this scene. He definitely knows Will's lying. As soon as he starts saying it was El's idea, Mike get's confused and looks back down at the painting. Kind of like "there's no way he's telling the truth cus the math just dont add up." When he looks back up, his lips are pursed, in a disapproving way. He knows Will is lying to him. And then he looks back down to reexamine the painting again. He's perplexed.

Not only that but this part is seen through the perspective of Jonathan, who definitely knows Will is lying. So when they flip to Jonathan's POV we can assume whatever Will's saying, is understood by both Jonathan and Mike, because they're the only one's on screen beside Will and they're both intently listening to him. (by on screen I mean Jonathan was just previously on screen intently listening to Will, creating a comparison between Jonathan and Mike, that essentially they are the same in this scene. Quiet but intently listening and having at least an inkling of the truth) Plus we already established other reasons why Mike knows. So this shot just emphasizes that point even more.

So now, since Mike understands the El commission thing is a lie, and that this painting was made for him by Will, he can reasonably presume that other things Will is about to say are lies or taken out of context. He can assume when Will refers to El, he's referring to himself, because Will has already set that precedent and Mike picked up on it.

Now, since he knows Will is lying, he gets nervous. Will starts talking about heart and pointing to it drawn on Mike's armor and that's when Mike get's excited. At first he's gazing down at it with a happy and inviting facial expression . Then it cuts to Mike looking at Will explaining how "we'd" all fall apart without (mikes) heart and Mike literally takes a huge deep breath. You can kind of see it in the screencaps, but I would suggest just rewatching the scene after finishing the thread with everything I point out in your mind.

Anyway, his chest rises and his throat gulps. Nervous. His demeanor slowly changes from lighthearted and happy (when Will gives him the painting and he can easily assume its for him from Will and nothing else) to a more hardened, serious expression (when he realizes Will doesn't feel comfortable enough to say it's from him, he's lying to him and he realizes the implications that creates.)

He's overwhelmed with feeling in this whole entire scene, just like Will is. Except Will has better access to his emotions than Mike who represses his. So that's why he's so quiet/stunned and doesn't say anything. Not because he's clueless but because he has TOO MANY clues. Lol.

This is right after Will finishes talking about heart and for the first time since Mike understood he was lying under the guise of El, he references El. He says "Even El (needs your heart) Especially El." Mikes reaction is pictured above. His face changes from overwhelmed/nervous to a serious expression. Almost confusion but more like an epiphany, like he's thinking. When Will mentions El again, he immediately looks back down at the painting. Like he can't understand how what is being explained to him is true. Look at the eyes. In the previous pictures, his eyes are just ever so slightly squinted which gives off an inviting, warm expression. In the pictures above, his mouth closes and his eyes "harden." He's looking back down at the painting realizing that Will has feelings for him. He put a damn heart on Mike and only Mike. That's why he's looking at it seriously and intently.

Because either he realizes that wow, my internal feelings were being reciprocated this whole time and I didn't notice or he's just beginning to understand that Will is gay and likes him.

However, Will is basically telling Mike I Need You, something Mike always wants to hear, and it's throwing him over board with feelings, so I honestly think this scene is more about reciprocation. Mike's too mixed emotions for me to believe he's not having gay panic inside.

Now either he didn't think Will had feelings for him or he didn't think they were that strong. But this scene is essentially a wake up call for Mike.

Now in the top two screenshots, it's from Jonathan's perspective again. And once again, he's referencing El by using the pronoun "she" to describe his experience not hers. That's why it goes to Jonathans POV because Jonathan knows his secret (so he knows his lie) and it only goes there when he starts referencing El. Happening more than once indicates meaning to the shot, and that meaning is Mike knowing Will is calling himself different not El. And then he switches to "you" pronouns to make it more vague, but at least it's not lying. And it switches right back to regular audience POV - so he's being truthful now and Mike can discern between the two. Not to mention, Will has his faced turned away, indicating whatever he's saying now is emotional for him, and then he turns back around with slight tears in his eyes. Most people would pick this up in a best friend so it's safe to assume Mike does too. Also Mike's completely focused on what Will is saying, so it's very important to him. He's not even slightly smiling, he has a completely serious look on his face meaning he's really taking in what Will is saying and he knows the implications of everything Will is saying is serious.

This shot pretty much sums it up like lets be real. Will basically apologizes for being a douche/being distant (even though he never was, Mike was) and Mike looks guilty because he feels bad for doing this exact thing to Will in the beginning of the season. He realizes how similar they actually feel. And he starts smiling/heart eyes in the last frame because 1) Will's apologizing to him when he doesn't even need to making him so selfless 2) his feelings are being reciprocated. Notice "seemed like she was pushing you away" Mike now knows Will wasn't intentionally pushing him away and that also makes him smile. He breaks his serious expression once Will admits he wasn't intentionally creating distance between them, meaning this is something Mike cared or thought about. This is the first time he breaks his serious expression since Will started explaining the heart metaphor, which initially caused Mike to be nervous.

Not to mention if he didn't know before this, then he definitely knows at this point. Many people have pointed it out but let me reiterate it: El never acted distant towards Mike, until the end of season 4. In fact she was heavily concerned with Mike most of the time, wanting HIM to be less distant, so it's quite the opposite. This means he 100% knows Will is talking about himself.

They don't pull away to Jonathan's POV even though he's talking as if he were El here because 1) they want the close up reaction from Mike, meaning its IMPORTANT and 2) Mike isn't thinking about why Will is using El as a cover anymore. Jonathan may be but we've already seen his POV for the last time, so at this point that fact that he was lying about certain things has been understood and moved past by Mike, as conveyed by the different shots. He doesn't care at this point because he's too engrossed in what Will is saying. He isn't thinking in Jonathan's POV anymore that "Will is lying" because he realizes Will's being more honest than he ever has in the entire series. Jonathan stills cares about Will lying, and we know that from the last shot in this scene being Jonathan panning out of the frame looking slightly upset. But they didn't go back to the mirror POV to indicate Jonathan was worried about Will - meaning there was a specific reason they were using the POV shot (to indicate Mike knows Will was lying just like Jonathan).

This is right after Will saying the bandaid line. Mike gulps and breathes heavy. Since Will is in this scene and we've established Mike knows Will is talking about himself and that he reciprocates the same feeling, he gulps because he thinks about losing Will too. He remembers losing Will. He doesn't want to lose will.

Then we have the "El needs you Mike. She'll always need you" with Will's tears about to pour down his face. And I know I sound like a broke record, but Mike knows he means "I need you mike. I'll always need you."

Then the "Yeah" "Yeah" which mirrors saying I love you to someone because you typically repeat it back to each other. You can't compare it to hello, or goodbye, or good day because it doesn't fit in the context. So what other comparison is there? Not only that but they also say it in different tones. Mike says it in a slightly questioning way, like he's needs reassurance that its true. He still doesn't believe it fully. But also with a smile indicating he's happy with this. That Will (the protected) is never going anywhere because he'll always need Mike (the protector). He's smiling because of this. Once Will reassures him, Mike's face soften with adoration for him. There's no other way to describe his face than adoration. He also glances back and forth at Will which I think indicates nervousness, uncertainty, awkwardness. Regardless it indicates Mike is feeling a lot in that moment.

Will, on the other hand, says it with finality, like end of discussion it will never change. It mirrors their relationship dynamic because Will knows he's never going to not need Mike in his life but Mike doesn't know that... Until now. We assume he does know things like this because to us, the audience, it's obvious but Mike doesn't see Will the way we see Will. It also goes back to the connection between Will and El (read my theory about that here if you're interested). They mirror each other. And just a few minutes ago he was talking about how scared he is of El not needing him. Their scenes are so byler coded this season if you really look into them. Lowkey has me thinking this is the most byler-y season lol.

And really quickly back to Heart Eyes Mike Wheeler - he's smiling yet he doesn't say anything else. He returns his focus to the painting and stays quiet. This is very atypical of Mike who also usually has something to say.

This is because he just realized his feelings are reciprocated and he's overwhelmed with Will liking him back. He's literally holding his feelings in this whole scene between the deep breathes and serious faces and slightly opened mouths.

And lastly we have the crying scene. People say Mike just ignores Will and goes back to looking for El but that's not at all what happened here. Look deeper.

Before I analyze the actual actions in the scene I first want to point out how this shot references Will's Boys Don't Cry poster, because it's very important and is more queer coding for Mike. Basically, boys crying = accepting of their feelings, boys dont cry = repressing their feelings, toxic masculinity etc. So while Will is accepting his feelings and having less shame about them, Mike is repressing his. Or at least has been. That's why he's rigid. He's not moving and only just glances at Will. He's feeling a lot too. Furthermore, the poster is yellow and blue, with blue in the bg and yellow in the fg, along with a pyramid in the sunny desert with three trees. Mike in the bg with a blue shirt, Will in the fg with a yellow shirt. The pyramid represents the Love Triangle between Byler and Mileven and the three trees represent each one of them. They're also in a sunny desert and majority of that time they're by themselves until they find El. After that, they're in a nightime desert along with El and we don't get to see them in the sunny desert again I believe (don't quote me on this). Mike went from being in the light with Mike to being in the dark with the both of them. The visual references are actually insane once you start looking into them. A lot of thought was put behind this.

But let's get to analyzing the actual scene.

Firstly, he's staring down at the painting.. They never moved it off his lap so he's literally in silence, kind of stunned just looking at Will's painting. All he said was "You painted this? It's amazing" and "Yeah?" the entire conversation. He barely had a response. To me that indicates nervousness/being overwhelmed. To Will this probably indicates his feelings aren't reciprocated :(

Secondly, he glanced at Will for a second. This doesn't show he's "ignoring" him; if anything the opposite. He most likely heard him sobbing quietly and was checking on him because he cares about him. He can't resist taking a glance at Will. But he knows how Will is, and the fact that they're not alone, so he just lets Will cry quietly.

Thirdly, he's most likely dealing with his own feelings in this scene internally. Mike and Will are queercoded very differently (as I have mentioned in my other posts). Mike represses, ignores his feelings, hence why he is shown just staring at the painting in silence not moving. Will accepts his feelings but letting them out both relieves and upsets him. It's overwhelming but he had to finally say it.

So, imo, Mike's glance at Will wasn't judging or ignoring, he looked over and saw exactly how he wanted to react but couldn't because he's still scared of the repercussions of being gay/dating Will. As seen by the his heavy breathes and mixed facial expressions.

Lastly, why would any of Mike's behavior be appropriate if he thought Will was talking about El by the end? It wouldn't. How would any of Will's behavior be appropriate if he were really talking about El? It wouldn't. There's no need to cry over someone else's relationship and Mike knows this. He saw Will with tears in his eyes and then breakdown. Those have PERSONAL implications. If he thought Will were really talking about El, it would've been a discussion not a Will speech. He would've chimed in like "yeah but I don't know if I actually believe she needs me" "im nothing in comparison to her" or SOMETHING because this is typically what people do when they're being praised, especially someone with low self esteem.

So the fact that Mike lets Will ramble about "El's" feelings completely uninterrupted, with comments that are praising him, is sus on it's own.

The fact of the matter is he recognizes that Will is way too emotionally attached to what he's saying.

And that's the end. This is soooooo much longer than I thought it was going to be. Mike Wheeler is definitely gay. And no one can tell me otherwise.

[hilache]

"You have a great appreciation for beautiful things (people)" —Will Byers (to Mike)

"Don't give up. The best is yet to come" —Mike Wheeler (to Will)

[booksandpaperss]

What moment from the show convinced you to start, not necessarily that it was endgame (though this can also be the case), but to start considering the possibility that it wasn’t one sided, and to start really shipping and rooting for byler?

[nicxxx5]

are you a “mike clings to will like a leech while sleeping” truther or a “mike constantly slaps will in the face and kicks him in the ribs while sleeping” truther? 

[gayofthefae]

What really convinced me of Byler canon enough to join the fandom was that roller rink fight, actually. And not even the “we’re friends” line or anything, just that they had another fight. Because it easily could have been left to be just a simple time-filling conflict in season 3 that is now resolved - just like the ily story with El - but they circled back to it, almost as if to say “there is a larger source behind this issue that is unchecked and is therefore repeating itself”. I didn’t expect them to address sources at all so I figured it would just be a one-off but now that they’ve repeated multiple of these things - it isn’t that there’s no other explanation. It’s simply that they’ve set themselves up to need one at all.

[bigmommycommie]

ok but imagine. imagine in s5 will having a "mike is totally into dudes" truther whether it is a new character or someone from the old cast, similar to steve being robin's "vickie likes boobies" truther

[cosmicbrowniefan]

LMAO DOING A SEASON ONE REWATCH AND THEYRE ASKING THE WHEELERS IF MIKE IS HIDING EL AND TED GOES “our son? with a girl?” FHADSJKLFDSH

[sandinmybed]

congrats to this tiktok user for somehow writing THE single most agonising byler sentence ever in literally under 20 words

[michaelinprogress]

Happy birthday POOKIE BEAR!!!

[counting-stars-gayly]

The way Mike speaks without thinking, and Will thinks without speaking. The way Mike’s love language is verbal affirmation, and Will’s love language is also verbal affirmation. The way they’re both insecure about where they stand in their respective relationships with others. The way Will makes himself as small and unnoticeable as possible only for Mike to see and understand him regardless. The way Mike is usually loud but softens his voice when talking to Will because Will is a naturally quiet person. The way Will uses art to communicate what he can’t describe, and Mike hangs up Will’s drawings all over the walls of his room and basement. (“Here, have a piece of my soul. And another. And another.” “Thank you; let me just surround myself with these every single day for the rest of my life so that I’m drowning in you.”) The way Mike is afraid of losing El and Will because he already has in the past. The way Will is afraid of losing Mike because he spent over a year losing him slowly. The way Will has trauma from being physically unsafe, but Mike makes him feel protected. The way Mike has trauma from watching his loved ones get hurt and not being able to save them, but Will lets him know that his presence alone is helpful. The way Mike and Will have so much in common and yet have differences that perfectly compliment one another. The way they love each other in the manners which they desire to be loved in.

[willthewise-blog]

GUYS!!!! :3 look at when I drew byler with crayons for a school project ⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️

I had to make a magazine cover 😎🔥🔥 it’s in spanish ‘cause 🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽 but I think is obvious it was for crayola 🖍️💛💙💛💙 I think it looks kinda like Will’s art style when he was little :D

[mocha-mochii-blog]

Guys when was the moment in the show you first sensed Byler

For me it was way back in 2017 when they said Crazy Together I went okayy this could actually happen in a couple seasons and then the season 3 rain fight kind of confirmed it but it still just felt like a theory. And then in S4 when El said “Will is painting a lot I think there is someone he likes” I went BAM I WAS RIGHT

Anyway tell me the moments that made you start suspecting byler. What scene made it Cross your Mind?

I also really wanna know at what point the Duffers told the actors about byler like when exactly did they tell Noah Schnapp to start acting in love with Mike? 

Like at what point in filming did Noah Schnapp and Finn Wolfhard find out about it?

[chartreuse-goose]

will AND mike getting vecna’d

this post has been in my drafts, gathering dust for a while now. over time, i’ve kept finding information solidifying my opinion on this. and, once i solidify any opinion, it will be shared!

today i am going to delve into why i believe both will AND mike will be vecna’d together next season. and i do mean “delve.” this theory is going to be quite in-depth.

i’d say it all started here.

literally how is this a line that was just thrown in. how.

i’ve seen variations of “i have no idea what’s gonna happen next, but…” spoken in film & television before. it’s one of those lines that is never just casually written in. ever. so, no matter how the line may be delivered by its actor, know it is ALWAYS foreshadowing something intense.

of course characters aren’t meant to know their fate! that’s a given in life, nobody is. so when a character full on STATES their uncertainty? terrifying. that character’s fate is about to be greatly jeopardized.

one could easily say “what’s gonna happen next” was the government raiding the byers home. this makes sense. the extremity of the situation matches the extremity of the line.

but will and mike didn’t necessarily “work together as a team” there. that half of mike’s line was the emphasized half. we know this because that’s the part everyone naturally focuses on.

throughout season 4, throughout both volumes, i do not feel as if mike and will “[worked] together as a team” to an extent that would’ve required that extreme of a foreshadowing. i guess you could say that will’s confession led to mike’s confession and they therefore “worked together” to save el. still, i really don’t think that’s the “teamwork” the writers were hinting at.)

this is why i believe that “i have no idea what’s gonna happen next” hasn’t happened yet.

as i’ve been going on & on about so far, “what’s gonna happen next” needs to be intense, potentially even life-threatening intense.

hmmm….

and we already know a character who is destined to find his way here next season (at least to some capacity). i’m not going to say who because i don’t have to! these two pictures will:

now let’s move onto the cabin scene, our last heart-to-heart with mike and will.

i already have a post discussing the scene’s lighting and how, while GORGEOUS, it isn’t necessarily foreshadowing something positive. the beams of light very closely resemble the vecna/creel house beams of light.

in the post, i wasn’t really considering what mike was saying though. mostly just his stage directions.

again with the teamwork!!!!!!

“we!!!”

mike is saying this line AS he moves his hand into the vecna light.

i truly, truly believe that what mike doesn’t know is “gonna happen next” is him being vecna’d with will.

oh and causeineedu’s tiktok mentioning the two sitting on an upside down couch even further supports my theory of mike & will “working together as a team” in the upside down. causeineedu, i don’t know if you’re a tumblr byler, but if you are and you’re reading this, thank you so much for pointing that out. i wasn’t even THINKING about that!

well, that’s about all i have on this theory for now, but the more i think about it, the more connections i create. i wasn’t sure at first, but this has come to be a belief i fully stand by.

thank you all so much for reading <333