#sorry I just love analyzing Byler

[shippingfangirl013]

I know we’ve analyzed this scene over and over again, and someone else has probably pointed this out, but I thought this was interesting.

Will has blue behind him.

Mike has blue and yellow (and green) behind him. And yellow in front of him.

I know we’ve figured out the blue & yellow = Mike & Will and Byler = green.

(I’m also looking right at Mike’s “I asked for vomit green and I got vomit green.” And green = blue + yellow together [byler])

But, I thought it was interesting that the blue light is next to Will, because the boy he loves is right in front of him. Will is wearing blue. He’s talking to Mike, and the blue is there because he’s thinking of Mike and he’s upset over being a third wheel. (Who wouldn’t be?)

Then, we have Mike.

He’s wearing a bluish purple shirt and yellow over it. Just like the flowers, yellow is overwhelming the purple… I wonder why?

The lights behind Mike’s head and in front of his head kind of clue us in on what the characters are thinking about. Mike is thinking about Will as indicated by the single yellow light between them, (because that’s the thing… somehow, Will has always been between Mike and his failing normal relationship with El), and Mike is also thinking about his relationship with Will differently. The lighting is telling us directly what Mike is thinking of… and that’s why he’s so thrown by the “And us?”. Because Will just wants to know where he stands, he thinks that he can live with it if he just rips the bandaid off and moves on from Mike. But Mike took the “And us?” As something more, as if he’s thought of his friendship with Will as something more…

And I think it’s funny & interesting that after this fight, Mike’s wardrobe shifts. And Will’s does too.

This is the aftermath of the roller rink incident. The colors are definitely muted here, they were loud at the roller rink, but here? The colors aren’t as full force, there’s some yellow in Mike’s flannel and there’s some blue and green on Will’s polo. I think the colors are muted here because of the fight, but it’s still showing that they’re thinking of that fight through the clothing itself.

But once Mike and Will have that heart to heart… the loud colors are back again. The clothing isn’t muted anymore, and these are the outfits that they wear for the rest of the season.

I know that the teal shirt was custom made and designed to look different in certain lighting, but what I started thinking about, was the blend of colors and lighting from before.

Blue and green make dark teal, but yellow lightens it up… meaning that Mike is thinking of being with Will in a relationship (blue and green make dark teal) but you need equal parts of blue and green, and equal parts of yellow and green, to make the teal on Mike’s shirt. (Meaning that I think Mike has come to terms with his love for Will and his feelings shifting from friendship to something more by the end of S4. They still have a lot to talk about and discuss… but there’s also a span of 2 days that we didn’t get to see as an audience.)

But Will hasn’t let himself think of being with Mike as an honest option, after the painting. He ripped off the bandaid, he’s trying to allow himself to move on and give up hope that Mike will ever love him in the same way. . . Which is why I think, his shirt is mostly yellow with blue patterned in lightly. And maybe, if they plan to continue with the color theory, we’ll see some changes again in season 5.

But… I keep thinking that Mike’s monologue was a veiled response to Will’s veiled confession in the van… and it would make sense, because they’ve been using El as a cover for every argument (and almost every conversation) in S4. Mike even uses his fight with El to talk to Will about their fight from S3.

I’m just saying, I think early S5 established or almost established Byler is something we could be looking at.

[strawberrybyers]

Friendly reminder

Will and Mike do not have a romantic relationship in Stranger Things S5

Confirmed by credible leaker ThwipT on Twitter

Sorry…

thanks for sharing your friendly reminder, but i don’t believe leakers unless they can give solid evidence of what they’re saying. no one has seen season season 5 yet, so nothing is concrete for any of us fans. if you’d like to believe this leak, then go ahead, but i’m going to enjoy my time analyzing and theorizing about byler even if the show ends up with no romantic relationship between them. so yeah, these leakers can say what they want, but tbh it has no affect on me because the truth is none of us know what’s happening since we haven’t seen season 5.

so if you’re a byler and are experiencing doubt, then i understand! you don’t have to continue shipping them or you can be disappointed or whatever you want. if you’re an anti-byler, then just know no matter who says what, i’m still going to ship byler even if the duffers themselves come out and say mike and will NEVER be together because that’s the fun about fiction. being able to love the story the way you want to.

[silverliing]

Mike’s wall art

I love seeing analysis about ST set design because it really spells out so much of the story without verbally telling you, and ive seen much discussion abt the details of mike’s room in s4 (that one way sign haunts me btw). buuut there are two pieces of visible wall art that I don’t really see get talked about on here (that i’ve read) and I just have a few things to say about them and what i think they might be telling us about Mike’s character and upcoming journey (hint: going into the UD)(hint: making plans and leading the party)(hint: byler)

so idk if this has been pointed out or if it’s common knowledge atp but the two pieces circled above are lithographs by artist MC Escher; Hand with Reflective Sphere (left)

and Relativity (right)

(a lil hard to see in this screenshot i’m sorry😢)

The artwork is beautiful as you can see (canon Mike Wheeler has great taste in art). Escher was most known for his intricate “impossible constructions” which are optical illusions of paradoxical space, he was also the inventor of the impossible cube:

this is some pretty cool nerdy, mathy stuff that I’d expect mike would be into, but looking at it from the context of his character and the direction of where the story is headed, there were 3 immediate possible readings that popped into my head which point toward 3 different (yet coexisting) directions:

He likes the art — It’s true, this art taps into Mike’s interests. Valid but boring. zzzz. snooze. You could argue that these posters should be taken at face value, but I just feel like in a show like ST —where the main cast knows of and is in various ways affected by an evil alternate dimension— having a character with wall art that references perspective/dimensional anomalies doesn’t really tell us much about his specific character or story. We’ve known that the ST set designers use a character’s space to show us who they are as people, these two artworks need to tell us something about Mike and his journey. And maybe Mike’s sensibilities about the world at large are shifting into nihilism with everything that’s happened in hawkins and the art reflects an absurdist outlook of future (teenage stuff, growing up, etc. etc.)

It foreshadows Mike’s s5 arc — I love this one. Mike is one of the few in the main cast who haven’t been in the upside down proper, so this art could reference not only that he’ll go into the UD in s5 but also that there could be dimensional anomalies involved in his travel or journey there. Perhaps this is how they’ll be able to find Max— by bending the laws of physics and using the mechanics of dimensional travel against itself, perhaps to open new doors or travel in different directions (hint: time travel 😏). And i think the reason this art is in Mike’s wall is bc it will be Mike who formulates the plan to find Max and retrieve her with the help of El and Will’s new powers 😏 (g*d knows i want to see leader Mike make a come back)(and Will with powers).

Will Byers — we know Mike and Will are tied together by the narrative and so I think these artworks could be directly pointing to Will with big red arrows. This point is corroborated by simply analyzing the formal qualities of the artwork, both individually and as a set. Hand with Reflective Sphere is about optics and perspective, about seeing, but also about the flattening of space. Relativity is about space, dimension, and paradox, but also about impossible perspective/vantage point. When read together the objective reading of them is about sight and space and paradox, about how the flattening of space helps us see something new and impossible. While Mike hasn’t experienced the dimensional travel into the UD proper, many of those closest to him atp had; El, Will, Nancy… but the reason i think these two posters remind him of Will specifically is because out of everyone else who has been in the UD, only Will experiences the feeling of being stuck there and of seeing into both dimensions at once; the stuck view-master, true sight. Mike associates these things combined (dimensional travel and dimensional sight/perception) with Will.

Also, Mike is a nerdy guy, he seems interested in this kind of stuff for the fun of it so he could’ve had sciency charts that reference the subject of visible light and paradoxes the way Suzie does, but instead he has not one but two fine-art pieces by a pretty big graphic artist that reference the subject of sight and space. Also, Idk what it is about the fact that it’s fine-art and not movie/game/dnd art that makes me also associate it with Will— the self-proclaimed visual artist of the show. The words are all jumbled up in my head rn but; artist. sight. all-encompassing. dimension. paradox. new perspective. -> -> -> -> Will Byers (is this a hint to wills powers??) etc. etc. etc. you get it

Secret 4th option (ties into #2)

Mike gets Vecnaed and this forces him into extensive self-reflection and the labyrinthian trials of finding himself and mastering his fears(maybe he’s already begun his self-searching and that’s why we see this art at the beginning of s4). cue cool musical montage of Mike navigating his own memories and mind-scape to find the answer that will make everything make sense while also hiding from vecna and buying the party time to find a way to end him.

[kiirotoao]

Re: Byler and being best friends

Alright, look, I understand that in real life, best friends can appreciate each other’s art. Best friends look for each other when they’re lost. Best friends stick together in rough patches. Best friends fight and disagree. Best friends apologize when they’ve messed up. Best friends give each other gifts. Best friends confide in each other with almost everything. Best friends can do romantic things and be completely and utterly platonic in real life.

But guess what Stranger Things is not? Real life!!

If any story in media is well-captured and well-written, if the camera sees it, if we see it, then it’s supposed to be important. While friends in real life can do the most questionably romantic things and still claim to be just friends or even just best friends, there’s far more nuance to real people to explore if it’s truly romantic or not, and that’s not for others to openly discern. But we who analyze Byler are not doing this because Mike and Will are real people. They’re characters, crafted into this audio-visual story with pre-written and exclusive history and dreams.

While I know that they say they’re just best friends, I speculate on them potentially being more. Why? Because their stories are interwoven and I see chemistry within the threads. It’s as simple as that.

I preach at the end of almost every video I make, “Byler’s endgame,” and really, that’s a sendoff of encouragement more than anything else. Because I hope and believe that Byler can happen at the end of this season and this overarching story. I’m not pushing two people together. I’m hopeful to see two characters come together and realize that their relationship and feelings can blend into a wonderfully written romance amidst this dangerous and unpredictable world that they’ve been put in.

So please stop comparing Mike and Will to real relationships and saying, can’t best friends just be best friends? Look, yes! You’re right! In real life, best friends can be nothing more and choose to stay that way. But on the other hand, hey, best friends in real life can also become more! No one can deny that! But whatever the weather, whatever can be real isn’t relevant. Real lives are not a TV show. Real lives are not being created and publicized (besides some people in reality TV, which is another unrelated issue). By contrast, as characters, Mike and Will’s lives are. And I love the thought of them finding love in each other at the end of the pages. It gets no finer than that.

And so when I look back at their narratives and see the way they treat each other, interact on screen and see how they think, tell me, am I wrong for shipping them? I’m taking the details and looking beyond explicit labels. And I don’t just go around doing this to all people I see in my life who have chemistry. This is specific, this is the love I witness in this thriller-drama-romance. I’m sorry if I end up fighting against you, but I’m not here to crowd you out. Ship what you want. If you love certain characters together, talk about them! There’s a plethora to talk about for Byler! So honestly, I’m curious, why are you compelled to come to me and try to convert me away from what I love when I often don’t even mention your name? Is there not enough for you to obsess over and love? Is there perhaps not enough textual evidence or good moments to enjoy for your ship? I’m just saying.

At the end of the day, real life experiences and examples are practically void when we’re talking about art, and please, please let me have fun with my ships. This is the internet. If you don’t like it, use your capabilities and settings and scroll or block what you don’t like, and pursue what you do. Unless you want to join a forum to discuss the arguments, I think that it’s unfair to think that those who don’t ship your ship are going to talk about your ship. I’m not responsible for what you consume and see. Really, no one is but yourself.

I like to think that I’m rather patient, but I don’t know, I think I’m tearing at the seams a little after a few years in this fandom. This is directed to no one in particular, though, so please don’t take this as a direct callout. I just wanted to get this off my chest. Sorry if I got a little harsh in the end, there, too.

Thank you to those who’ve engaged very respectfully with me even if you disagree with my opinions. I hope that I’m respectful, in turn. I love lighthearted debates, but I don’t love repeating myself to some who don’t want to listen. And of course, thank you Bylers. I’ve met so many wonderful people through our silly journeys going crazy together. That’s all. 💙💛

[crucifiedkiss]

◌ೆ୧　 ͢YOUR MAIL HAS BEEN DELIEVERED ♡

𓈒⠀⠀⁺⠀𝜗 crucifiedkiss ╱ finnverse x gn! reader 𝜚

ꨄ︎ hcs ++ drbls woa finnverse ⏤ ﹙glue song﹚ 🪽 ˖ ׁ

⁩  ಲ ͏ㅤ ׅㅤㅤcw: fluff ++ light angst, accidentally dialouge heavy, headcanons (hcs) && drabbles (drbls), ways of affection (woa <- love languages), mentioned byler :P, seasons not specified (?), LONG !!! (i had 22 lock IN), mentions of mileven (not hating !! some ppl just rlly hate that ship 😓), liking someone whilst already dating someone else ++ hints at breaking up, alcohol ++ drugs, implications of abuse, bad parenting, ooc ???, etc. .. overall cute tho !!ㅤ✿𝅼

( ｡>﹏<) "not all the characters finn has acted as (ofc) !!! only did the ones that r especially popular or more known ^^ !!! only ft. mike wheeler and boris pavlikovsky cause im eepy (ITS 2AM ???) !! enjoy ml 🫂 this took FOREVSS RAHHH !!!" ⏤ c.k.　と

𝜗୧ ּ݂⠀💌 mike wheelers way of affection ﹗

　　　⏤　 BEFORE DATING HIM: ok so. u know how in st when mike rlly starts to realize his feelings for will (byler❗), how he can barely even show physical affection ?? definitely not physical affection cause of that😓 its just cause he is kinda jittery/nervous, he will get better i swear !!! looking at the show, mike loves giving gifts to eleven, so im alright to say his way of affection is gifts :3 probably gives u random things, but mainly just the ordinary things u would give someone that r romantic such as flowers, chocolates (IF UR ALLERGIC IM SO SORRY !!! HE WOULD PROBABLY GIVE U A SUBSTITUTE FOR IT LIKE UR FAVORITE CANDY/CANDIES OR WHTVR U PREFER ML !! ^_^ CAN PPL BE ALLERGIC TO FLOWERS ?? IF ALLERGIC TO FLOWERS THINK OF IT AS SMTH ELSE IM SO SORRY AGAIN RAHHHH😓), etc. !! would be rlly shy abt it, especially because ur not even dating him yet .. swears on his LIFE that the gifts r platonic. yeah right ... just friends get u ur favorite food and flowers that smell like hes sprayed perfume of sorts onto them for them to smell even better then normally .. ur painfully obvious micheal wheeler !!! most sweaty palms ??? lowkey gross but pls forgive him!

mike stood stiff infront of you, lopsided smile on his lips with his arms extended out, in his hands holding out your favorite flowers that were all bundled together and neatly tied with a little ribbon, a small tag on it saying where its from that he mustve forgotten to rip off. hes heard you mention your favorite type before, so why not get you some? he stared intently at your reaction, looking for any type of disgust or discomfort in your eyes, analyzing to the point it couldve came off as creepy, but he didnt want his gift to be hated or something! after much awkward silence that felt like hours—realistically being less then a minute, but he was impatient—, he noticed you return a more heartfelt smile that made his stomach churn with a feeling he just couldnt describe. you grabbed the flowers from his sweaty palms that left the plants green slightly moist. he chuckled, quickly returning his arms back to his side—not before wiping his hands on his jeans to try to wipe away the gross sweat that had gathered just at the thought of you.

your smile was fond. it made him feel so sickly.

"thank you," he heard you say, leaving him to nod before mumbling out hastily that he needed to be somewhere, using the excuse of needing to see eleven ... right. eleven. his beloved girlfriend. yep. he offered a small wave goodbye before speeding off, mentally scolding himself. why did he get you flowers?? do people give friends flowers that smelt ever-so nicely?? his head spun with thoughts but he pushed them away. he needed to go see eleven ...

　　　⏤　 DURING DATING HIM: physical touch, words of affirmation, and still gift giving because yippee :3 in st, he is often near eleven and close to her (although i think eleven often ensues the physical touch first, i would say this still counts !), and words of affirmation just because he is a silly boy. showing love ?? through words ?? SIGN HIM UP !!! praise of any sorts is amazing. loves complimenting u ^_^ gift giving is obvious of course :) i think he eventually kinda fell out of giving gifts, but still does it more to remind u of when he used to be a big baby (pre-dating) or just does it for u to be happy if u rlly wish to want gifts (finds out how to get that money somehow ..) :) ur his everything tbh😞 pls i love him😭

mike grinned softly, looking at the first pair of flowers he had ever gotten you before you two started dating, the tag he had left on it originally now taken off thankfully. it was in a gorgeous vase that was a mix of blue, his favorite color, and your favorite color. they had grown beautifully with the proper care. he let his eyes gaze away from the pot of flowers, sunshine rays shining brightly onto them, making eye contact with you. his eyes sparkled with joy and crinkled due to his smile, black hair a little frizzed but overall handsome on him, and his skin was as beautifully pale as ever– if that was a compliment.

"you kept them?" he questioned quietly, not wanting to break the adoring peace between you and him.

"why wouldnt i have?" you responded back, earning a playful eye roll from him before getting abruptly pulled to his side, or atleast, more than you already were. his hand rested comfortably over the fabric of your clothing, just on the mid-torso to be respectful. he giggled, giving your body a loving squeeze.

"love you, pretty," he said as charmingly as possible– of course it was as charming as he wouldve wanted, why wouldnt it have been?

𝜗୧ ּ݂⠀💌 boris pavlikovskys way of affection ﹗

　　　⏤　 physical touch and emotional (the idea that people express and receive love in different ways, and that supporting a partner through difficult times is an important part of love/connecting with your loved one during tough times when they need your emotional support and resilience. aligning with this love language means that you are ready to be supportive of your partner's emotions during difficult times, and expect them to do the same for you) obviously. why wouldnt it be ??? do u see how touchy he is with theo😭 ??? and emotional because, like, have u SEEN how his father is ??? almost sobbed watching that one scene goodbye. my sweet lil thing :(( although emotional is a least known type of way to show affection, i think its rlly interesting !! i was gonna say words of affirmation aswell but like. this is BORIS we r talking about😓 maybe calls u nicknames in different languages and stuff but wont ever rlly praise u or anything like that (srry guys❗)

boris was a troublemaker, of course. that bit was obvious– he was probably on drunk and high everyday to be honest. but falling in love? with theo, he was already kinda in love with him. it made him sick to his stomach. loving was never really his.. thing. liking one person was enough, but two?? he was being driven into insanity at this point trying to choose who he... 'truly loved' or whatever fairytales say. he never really read books, how would he know? each night after he either left yours or theos house or after the two of you left, he was left grumbling to himself in the dead silence of his house. was loving someone really this hard? this is so tedious! and dumb!

today was just another day, drinking vodka straight from the bottle at your house, sat up at the front of your mattress, theo at his side whilst you were tidying up your room– not something you did often. having guests over though, your parental guardian had insisted to clean your room. boris stared blankly at you as he took the vodka away from his mouth, glancing over at theo for a second and handing the alcohol to him before looking back at you. he caught the small smile of theos mouth just before turning away ... that dumb smile.

"just sit down. thought you dislike cleaning?" boris questioned in that broken english. he was still learning.

"i do but im forced to clean it each time you guys come over," you huffed.

boris hummed, not even giving you a second to respond before you were yanked to sit next to him, bed leaning down at the new weight on it. you side eyed him for a moment, feeling his hand linger on your wrist he had originally pulled you by before letting you go, instead throwing his arm around your shoulder and pulling you close, keeping it touchy as always. you narrowed your eyes at him for a moment before just shrugging. you supposed you could just clean it later.

"alright, alright. i will join you and 'potter'." you sassily remarked. boris rolled his eyes, looking over at theo who had placed the vodka down by now. he stared for a moment before just pulling him close aswell, two of his favorite people by his side.

　　　⏤　 can u guys guess whether or not i rlly like boris by how long i wrote his. and my favorite trope. RAHHH I LOVE WRITING THIS SM ??? ALSO i couldnt rlly fit the emotional love language in there so like☹ anyways um | DURING DATING HIM: i think it would be the same. physical touch and emotional. i feel he rlly isnt to like, open about exploring, so he just sticks with what he likes and doesnt experient at all😭 the only thing he experiments with is different alcohols to find his next favorite lowkey !!! i feel as time passes and now actually dating u, how touchy he is just gets worse ... be careful guys he is the type to absolutely GRIP on you when cuddling or smth similar ^_^"

bruises. literally everywhere. boris was a cuddly man, that was a given, but he really did love just digging his fingers into your skin to the point it gave literal MARKS. you didnt mind to much, thinking it was sweet. he had good intentions of course!! arms wrapped around your waist, you were tightly pressed against boris' body, somehow managing to be comfortable. sure, you were gonna just get even more marks, but it was a casual thing by now. plus, atleast boris was happy– alot happier than before, thats for sure. previously, he and his father had a little ... squabble, lets say.

"bad parenting." boris had mumbled, breaking the silence.

you were going to say huh before your mouth became a 'O' in realization that he was talking about his father. you were quick to agree, nodding your head. he truly was a horrible father.

"dont worry about it, boris. its in the past," you tried reassuring.

past as in the last 20 minutes, but you still tried helping.

you only heard him sigh, mumbling something in russian under his breath—likely about him hating his dad or something—before pulling you closer, if even possible. seemed you would be here for a while as perusal as he practically would hold you captive– you werent really complaining though. he was rather warm for a guy so sickly looking.

[ven0moir]

As someone who's been obsessively analyzing ST for about a year now, it makes me so sad that the only thing keeping me at 99% certainty of Byler being endgame is the fear that we might get queerbaited.

It pains me that if Will was a girl, I would have 0 doubt left. Especially because with all of the evidence there is to back up the writers INTENTIONS (yes, they 100% intended to queercode both Mike AND Will at this point), if Byler isn't endgame then that means the Duffers INTENTIONALLY queerbaited us. In the year 2025.

And then I circle back on this thought and think ... why would they queerbait? Why would they specifically use Byler to do so? If they wanted to draw in an LGBT audience it would've been as easy as given Will a different love interest in Lenora and confirm him queer in that way. Why would they so meticulously and elaborately write a queer slowburn friends to lovers only to queerbait in the end?

I know some Milkvans are COUNTING on this, they are HOPING this is all queerbait because THEY SEE THE SIGNS as well, they're just refusing to accept it. Of course I fear they're right deep down, but do I actually think, if I go about this logically, that the Duffers would do something so ... anticlimactic? When they've described S5 as 'S1 and S4 on steroids'?

When it comes to the romances, Byler IS the big shock. The biggest surprise. Because whether Nancy chooses Steve or Jonathan or remains single, we know Nancy's options, we're just waiting to see who or what she chooses.

But most of the GA does not even see Byler as a real possibility. Hell, some of them haven't even picked up on Will liking Mike (yes, even after the painting, I've seen some people still debate this and some straight up thinking Will likes El).

And yet when you rewatch the show after considering Byler as a possibility, it becomes SO OBVIOUS. It is the perfect plot twist when it comes to Mike and Will. And I wouldn't be on board with Byler if Milkvan was written in a way that truly showed they loved each other, were compatible and thought of each other as an equal. As someone going into S4 as part of the GA, I was expecting that S4 would finally, FINALLY make me ship Milkvan because I am sorry but I picked up on that Born Sexy Yesterday bs since S1 and I did NOT like them romantically, not at that point. I wished they had been a slowburn friends to lovers that got together in like S3 or something, but even if they felt forced and rushed as fuck I was still willing to allow myself to be swayed into liking them later on. And that never happened, instead S4 presented Will as a potential love interest for Mike and I was SEATED. I was SO DONE with milkvan's drama.

When it comes to romance, it would be the dumbest writing decision I've ever seen in my life not to get Mike and Will together. And I know the Duffers might not be perfect but they cannot be THIS dumb when they grew up loving Dawson's Creek. There is no way that show did more for its gay character in 1998 than the Duffers potentially could in 2025 let's be for real.

[justablogger234]

Hey!! Byler shippper here and I just want to know why you believe mileven will be endgame?

I don't believe they will be endgame. THEY ARE ENDGAME. Mileven has been set in stone since day 1. Mileven is a rare ship and they are genuine and sincere. Traumatized girl meets nerdy insecure boy. I mean why do you guys want to take els happiness away? Hasn't the girl suffered enough? Mike told el he loves her. Him lying would be a really poor decision on his part but of course that's ok for you guys because as long as he loves will right? I've said if before, byler is only about will liking mike. Ok. Byler wasn't even as crazy an idea until it was revealed that will liked mike. Mileven is about mike and eleven loving each other we have a whole show, not to mention interviews as confirmation. We don't need 2000 word essays like you guys just to prove a point. Answer me this. If you guys are so sure that byler is endgame, then why do you feel the need to analyze every single detail and try to bring mileven down? Why so nervous about the next season? Cause you guys know that mileven is endgame and don't want to admit it. Look. The bottom line is. I hate byler, it doesn't make sense, and for me byler is a HUGE disrespect to El, and mileven is Canon so it can't get any better than that, pathetic attempts at proving a one sided ship is quite delusional. Plus I generally only really enjoy straight ships so there's that. Byler is never happening, I'm not sorry at all, and i much prefer staying in my very sane line of the aisle which is mileven. But, respectfully have a nice day/night.

[pholiabanna]

what's on your s5 wishlist? the silly, goofy things!!!

I'M SO SORRY FOR ANSWERING THIS SO LATE finals were killing me and I wanted to wait and write a good answer to this.

First of all I'm really excited for the 4 og boys to be together again, because we haven't had one full season of them being in the same storyline yet, which I think is criminal. I really think putting them back together will bring back the season 1 feel that made everyone love this show, and I can't wait!

I'm also so excited about learning more about the upside down. The ships and characters are awesome to analyze, but I love the supernatural part and knowing that we're gonna learn what the Upside Down actually is, and why it's stuck on the day Will went missing, among other things, makes me impatient because I need to know rn.

Now I know those weren't really goofy things but I needed to put them because they are a must for me. Moving on to the silly things:

If the season takes place in 1987, the Duffers have the chance to do the funniest thing ever and include a rickroll in a creative way. C'mon, it has to happen

A lot of people are advocating for byler to get murray'd, Erica's or Jonathan'd, but I actually want them to get Argyle'd. I imagine a scene going like: Mike and Will talk about El and Mike's breakup and the camera switches to Argyle smoking a joint in the background, while he says "Whoa Wheeler you were dating supergirl? And I was here thinking you were with mini Byers this whole time, dude, that's not cool man, that's so not cool!"

I need more Erica and Lucas sibling bickering moments, they're the best

I know this won't happen, but imagine Mike's sexuality is revealed through a conversation about movies where he reveals he finds Fast Times boring af and he "doesn't understand the appeal every man sees in that movie". I mean, at this point Fast Times has become the Duffer's favorite sexuality metaphor

I know Max probably won't wake up early on, but I'd kill to get more Elmax scenes where they just bond like normal teenage girls again. Max already taught El how to stand up for herself and how to know what she actually likes, but I think it'd be so cool to see her find out what her hobbies are. I'd love to see a scene where Max just teaches El how to skate, and El keeps trying to cheat with her powers but Max tells her that's not fair.

I need Lucas and Max to go on that movie date as well, I don't care if it's impractical

Also even though I don't really care about Dustin/Suzie because they aren't a very focused on relationship, I think it'd be cute if there was a scene where they reunite in person

More Joyce, Jonathan and Will scenes together please!!!

They need to go around town riding bikes again, bring back the whole s1 vibe

Please let us see Mr. Clarke's pov, mans probably so confused every time he helped his students the town was destroyed. Also, they can't win without him and that's a fact

Troy has to show up again, only so that they beat him up and this time El breaks his leg

Alternatively, Lonnie comes back and Jonathan beats him up (with the help of Will maybe)

Nancy notices Jonathan's tendency to interrupt byler moments and puts a leash on him

I need a new iconic song tied to another iconic scene I can obsess over. Something that can top even the Running up that hill scene

Someone needs to acknowledge the fact that they are straight up calling 001 Vecna as in one of the Dnd characters, when actually he's just some guy named Henry who would probably be so confused as to why they're calling him Vecna

These are all I could come up with but I'm sure deep in my mind there's many more things I wish for and if the Duffers deliver even one of them I'll be satisfied!

[maddy-ferguson]

can u expand on the byler vol2 problems

i said ask me to expand and i will and you delivered thank you for that!!! i didn't say byler vol2 problems though i said byler fandom problems post-volume 2!

i think the main thing is overcorrection. i said every major problem but i only meant the things i think of as byler tumblr trends that annoy me personally. tbh🙏 it's subjective. kind of.

i've been rereading posts from after volume 2 recently and yeah it's the "will only ever gets to be sad" to "will deserves a villain arc" kind of pipelines that you saw after volume 2 that i think are still very much happening i'm gonna talk about even though the will villain arc one died down pretty quickly. on this side of the internet anyway. some of these actually aren't volume 2 related sorry i lied i was mostly thinking about the mike stuff when i said that.

mike says i love you to el: everything always ends up being about mike somehow. i think this is the biggest one. people like the mystery and the way mike's sexuality isn't confirmed like will's is and so they analyze him more which leads to people literally rewriting history with takes like mike is more queercoded than will?😭 i get that everyone knows will is gay now but the mike focus has people thinking that will has no subtext when literally his entire storyline is full of the saddest subtext ever!!! but it's not subtext that you can choose to only read as "this boy is gay" so it's not as fun i guess😔 and it really isn't as fun. because it's mostly heartbreaking and awful lmao but yeah. just wanted to give a thumbs down to the mike is more queercoded than will take again.

mlvns say will is a whiny crybaby, bylers say going through what he's had to go through would make anyone cry just as often so will isn't even that sensitive even though he is it's literally one of the first things we learn about him lol. people imply that being sensitive is bad so often and act like will has sensitive gay kid allegations to beat when he literally doesn't like he is a sensitive gay kid😭 why do you think that's bad exactly...🎤

mike says i love you to el: 90% of people think they read everything wrong for 72-96 hours and then everyone's like oh no i get it now. byler's still endgame. overuse of the term media literacy and everyone who doesn't think or simply doesn't believe that the duffers would make byler endgame is stupid and has no media literacy. which actually comes off as very INSECURE!!!! and is frankly annoying. and obnoxious. the term media literacy needs to be taken away from byler tumblr i'm so serious.

will is not a baby just because he's gay look at these two scenes he's actually so mean and most importantly not sensitive (and then he's not even mean in the scene) and he can load a gun could a sensitive baby do that (and then he's literally 12 in the scene so like. i'm sorry but that's a baby to me😕). how dare you imply that he's sensitive, gay, and a kid. i'm kidding about the gay one because no one in this day and age is defending will by saying he's not gay but some of them might as well be because it's the qualities that made people assume he's gay that people try to say he doesn't have. the how dare you infantilize him he can load a gun one is just nonsensical because regardless of how you feel about will with a gun you're definitely meant to be like oh no this poor little kid has to defend himself all alone :( in the moment like him being a kid isn't a bad thing (??/!??,/) it makes you feel for him and is part of what makes what happens to him so awful.

mlvns accuse bylers of hating el and of being raging misogynists: elmike is born. bylers start saying that el will actually be thrilled by the match and might actually set up the guy she spent the first two and a half years of her life out of the lab fixated on who's been her boyfriend for over a year and her newfound brother. because she's so mature and over the petty drama that's a teenage love triangle. which is crazy because i DON'T believe that most bylers are as misogynistic as mlvns make us out to be like i've seen way worse which might be because...the show is actually pointing to mike being gay so it's not made up and no one needs to give el a thousand flaws to justify anything? even though people do blame her for things that i don't know if she should be blamed for but whatever that's a different discussion. i was saying: it's crazy because while i don't think bylers are all awful misogynistic el haters...the girl being so happy and out of the way and not being given the space to feel anything about her (gay) boyfriend not being in love with her is sooo new age 2010s mlm fandom sexism. let el have emotions about her breakup with her gay boyfriend who was the first person she bonded with (who didn't die immediately) after escaping the lab who lied to her about falling in love with her at first sight 2k25‼️

everything about babygirl mike and buff byers? let's not get into the whole buff byers debate i hate it with a passion. but it's like. people want mike to be taken down a peg. mike says i love you to el with will's sad little face in the background and people want mike to have to beg for forgiveness. which i get because as i was saying the other day, "i feel like my life started 24 hours after you were taken to the upside down and were traumatized forever because i met this girl who's replaced you in every way that matters, will" is hard to get over. but idk. people are so weird about mike being lame and loving will and about will barely caring about him in return and about the loserification of mike wheeler because yes mike is a loser but only in the sense that the whole party is!!! and that's something that gets lost when he's made to be below them and below will specifically because people feel like he has all the power in the relationship right now and will's at his mercy. which is something they don't like. like it's okay they're both miserable actually. rejoice! post-volume 2 mike needs to have fallen first and he needs to have fallen harder because if the only thing will gets at the end of everything is a boyfriend who loves him only as much as will loves him it's not good enough even though that's all he's not letting himself hope he'll ever have.

[tal-vez-o-quizas]

How I became a Byler

It wasn't fate, it wasn't destiny, it was just simple dumb luck! 😜 

Get some water guys, this is long.

When Stranger Things first came out in 2016, my older brother was the only one who had a Netflix subscription at the time (I have one since 2 years ago) and I remember he said to my whole family (except my Dad who usually gets home late for work) that we had to watch this show that was super popular with Wynona Ryder, and that everyone loves it.

Now, of course we all knew who Wynona was! Even my Mom, who never remembers the name of actors or singers recognized her, lol. So we were like "Yeah, let's watch it!"

And we were all so impressed and flabbergasted by the show. My mom loved the cast and her favorite kid is Dustin cause she said he looked like such a naughty kid, haha. I absolutely loved it as well and I wanted to know more about Will, who seemed like such a lovely boy.

After that, I watched each season everytime it was released but I was not a hardcore fan at all. I didn't ship anybody, didn't analyze things, I just purely enjoyed it, found it very entertaining and thought that it was very well done.

When S3 came out and EP3 happened with the rain fight, I was like "Oh, are they gonna-? Nah, I don't think so... Will they? OMG" with displaying Will's sexuality. At the time it didn't occur to me that Will was struggling with his friend's exclusion and his sexuality at the same time (I know, dumb me). So I was like "I mean, he could be a late bloomer, I didn't get interested in boys until I was like 14" but now that I'm recalling middle school, I had crushes on different guys, lol. My mind was in denial because I just thought that Will being gay wouldn't be shown properly or in a sensible and serious way.

Then, when that first ST4 teaser ("With love, from Russia") dropped with Hopper in the snow, everyone and their mothers freaked out and the worldwide Stranger Things frenzy began all over again. I also remember that I saw some news online that said that ALL productions were suspended for Covid and that included ST or course. Me and my brothers were kinda mad because everyone knew ST was gonna be released like in 2 years or something, waaay later than it was supposed to.

Then, like a month and so before Volume 1 premiered, I don't recall how, but I watched the rest of the ST4 teasers (002, 003 and 004 with the Hawkings gang, the Hawkins Lab and the Cali one) and I got so excited! I started to watch a lot of the cast press interviews, videos and content, then I rewatched ST again, and was so surprised to realize, all over again, that it's such a great show and the cast is amazing. But my Byler senses were still dormant. The idea of Mike and Will romantically never crossed my mind (again, sorry for my ignorance).

Which is weird because I'm good at clocking queer characters.

Like, back in college, we had to watch a movie about this family who pretended to be someone else everytime they moved; they were imposters in a way. Thanks to the camera angles, the fact that he seemed uninterested in any girls and micro-expressions from the actor, I said to this girl next to me in class "He's gay" regarding the son in the family, and she was like "What? How do you know?" and I just told her to keep watching. Indeed, towards the middle of the movie, the guy (the son in the family, who was a teenager) went to this party; he started talking with this guy and they got in a car I think? Or was it outside the house the party was at? Can't recall. Anyways, the guy got closer to his school colleague and tried to kiss him, but the other guy flinched and said "I'm sorry, I don't feel that way" or something like that, he left, and the girl next to me was like "You were right!"

I've always been very open-minded, but I think I was used to watch media where queer characters where displayed as queer or in love with their friends in their late teens, so Byler was not something I ever considered.

After rewatching all the seasons, ST4 Vol 1 premiered on May 27th and boy, was I excited! Before that, I watched the first trailer, Sadie on Fallon, Millie on Fallon, the cast interviews on the ST4 premiere days ago and I knew that they were going to move forward with Will being in love with Mike thanks to that cut on the trailer when Mike and El are skating and Will stares at their hands. So I was like "Oh, what are they gonna do with Will?"

I was free from work on that Friday (it was not planned at all and I did absolutely nothing on that day, woohoo!). I started watching ST4 around 10AM in the morning in my living's room TV.

Now, I was incredibly hooked since the intro (I knew right away that El didn't murder those kids because the way their bones and limbs were broken didn't align with how El has attacked people before), got very interested after El said that Will was painting a lot and that maybe it was for a girl, clocked what was gonna happen later in the season with the basketball game and Eddie's campaign (Mike saying that they thought Vecna was killed by Kas, Eddie declaring that Vecna lives, the 11 that Dustin threw and it wasn't enough to win) as well as who actually massacred those kids in the Lab back in 1979 after Chrissy was taken by Vecna.

I found Mike so weird and odd in EP2 but I didn't know what it was; his outfit was horrendous and after EP3, I said to myself "Hold on, Will is in love with Mike in the same season when Mike can't say I love you to El's face? That's no coincidence" and kept on watching.

I knew Peter was Vecna immediately since he appeared on EP5 because there was not another new character that fit the vibe but I didn't know he was Henry Creel or 001, lol. Him being 001 was there for us to notice but I didn't, for some reason, haha.

I stopped watching on EP5 I think, in the afternoon. Did some stuff and then picked it up at 9PM.

After the master reveal and plot in EP7, I went to Twitter and started to check people's opinions or takes for this season, then I saw a tweet that linked Kaypeace21's "Why I no longer think Mike is bi, but gay" post, saying that Will loved Mike and Mike reciprocated, and I was like "WHATT?! OMG! This looks promising" and read the whole thing.

When I tell you that I felt like I had an epiphany it's downplaying things (not an exaggeration). It felt exactly the same as when I watched Maze Runner's "The Death Cure" on theaters and Newt threw Thomas against the wall in the middle of the film after screaming at him and I felt such an insurmountable amount of tension between those two characters that I started to read Newtmas fanfiction when I got home.

Everything on Kaypeace21's post seemed very well thought, it made sense and after that I read more Byler theories as well as overall theories for the supernatural, Vecna and more. I got obsessed, became a proper fan of the show and the characters, and waited for Vol 2 to drop. Stranger Things actually replaced my Heartstopper fixation.

The show was more popular than ever, the hype was so real. Even my brothers, who haven't still watched Season 4, said that they read that The Duffers "forgot" Will's birthday and I was like "yeah, I don't really believe them" because I actually do not believe anything that comes out of The Duffers or Shawn Levy's mouths until I see it with my own eyes, lol.

Anyways, when Vol 2 premiered, I woke up at 4AM on July 1st, I think, to watch it and when we got to Will saying "Can I show you something?" to Mike, I actually paused my laptop, took a deep breath and started pacing in my room, haha. I was like "Sh*t, so early on the episode?" because I felt I was gonna have a heart attack. I was flabbergasted, shocked and a bit sad after the van scene, but found it so beautifully heartbreaking.

Now, I'm very objective and being the Libra that I am (not that I believe that much in Astrology, but there is a degree of certainty to it), I always see all sides of things and I do not consume media in a subjective way only. When Mike "confessed" to El on Surfer's Boy Pizza, I stood very quiet and watched the whole thing, but felt nothing, because it came across as very clichéd, lies were spouted by Mike and the whole situation happened in the middle of Max getting killed by Vecna and everyone was at the brink of death. It felt like an empty moment.

Then, towards the end of Vol 2, I was like "Well, Mike and Will seemed closer than ever at least".

I checked Tumblr and everyone was losing their minds. Me as well, but in a more subdued way. Then, the Byler hope was restored pretty much like Aang restored peace in Book 3 of The Last Airbender, I saved so many Byler blogs on my browser, visited them everyday, liked all their posts, learned more and more about the show, read even more theories about many things and a few weeks ago created a Tumblr specifically to indulge on my Byler hyper-fixation and here I am.

Byler Tumblr has made me more aware of symbolisms, plot devices and how to digest media more acutely. Thank you guys so so much.

Love that for me!

[emblazons]

just me ranting about anon hate. skip if you want lol

pls not me getting my first round of anon hate about it being sad I'm a "90s kid" into boys kissing because I pay attention like what they're doing re:byler (probably because of my last several posts)? I blocked them, but...I'm annoyed over being called the same as "teenage boys into watching lesbian p*rn" for being analytical lmao.

Like? I am probably one of the few bylers on this app who cares the almost nothing about the logistics of "the byler kiss" or the nitty gritty specifics of how they get together (sorry lmao). I spend almost all my time here analyzing narrative and themes, generally across Mike and Will, yes—but also with El, Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and occasionally Henry/001/Vecna and the Wheelers/Byers in general.

—if you're mad I'm pointing out anti-mlvn subtext (and really just text) while saying "see, the romantic reading of what's happening between Mike and Will makes sense on both sides, not just one..." that's a you problem ☠️ I'm so far past "ship wars" at this point, like. Enjoy mlvn if you want to in fanon, or even in canon if that floats your boat??? I am just a random tumblr user who has loved the show outside of any ship since '16 minding my own business on my blog lol

I didn't even vote in your little reddit poll when they got rid of your mid ass ship first round?? I did laugh though. I'll admit to that

[buck-yyyy]

(sorta?) hot take we should stop being shitty to m!levens and calling them dumb behind their backs because in the end its literally just fictional characters and even if they did it first just hit the block button (its not that hard). 'but they started it-' block them. 'but theyre being ignorant-' its not your job to educate them. block them. literally just stop being an asshole. who cares what they ship. as long as its not some weird adult/minor thing or whatever just let them be. there are real people behind those screens.

my apologies for taking so long to get to this T-T

YES YES YES FUCKING SAY IT

i'm so sick of the blatant bullying from bylers towards milkvans. they are minding their own business on their tag, posting their thoughts and enjoying the characters, and yet there's still so many of us who feel entitled to shit all over them and the things that they like and think, the exact thing that we complain about constantly.

i fucking hate how this tag seems to believe that shipping byler makes you exempt from being a bully. it feels like SHIT to have someone make fun of you behind your back- believe me, i goddamn know! so many of us know! and yet it's still such an issue? LEAVE THEM ALONE! let them make fanart, and write fic, and have headcanons and a deep love for these characters and their ship, because it does not goddamn affect us. it doesn't.

this tag has a serious problem with perpetuating the idea that anyone not picking up on or disagreeing with or even just simply disliking byler makes them stupid or media illiterate, which is NOT TRUE!!! milkvans aren't stupid, the general audience isn't stupid, and we aren't better than ANYONE for looking so deep into this show and finding subtext to analyze that brought us to the conclusion that byler will/should be canon.

maybe they disagree with the way the evidence is presented. maybe they think it means something else. maybe they simply don't want to look deeper into the show- WHO CARES! we all need to stop pretending that the term 'media literacy' hasn't been turned into a weapon that we use against anyone who disagrees with us or doesn't care enough about the show to think about it deeper than a surface level. that's not what media literacy means, but it's been twisted into something it's not, just like with fucking tiktok and 'gaslight' or 'normalize'.

agh. i'm sorry for turning this into a rant, but it makes me SO mad that people can't leave milkvans alone to enjoy their ship and their characters. shipping wars are dumb. have your own thoughts and opinions and talk about them, but don't point and laugh at the people who drastically disagree- because you don't come off looking good, you come off looking like a total twat who can't accept different interpretations of a television show.

anyways. milkvans i love you dearly i hope you're having fun with mike and el and i'm sorry for anyone who makes you feel bad for enjoying them, mwah mwah

[wheeler-fan]

Hello! I'm a byler fan, but I decided to write to you because I have the same feelings about endgame. To be honest, I feel like I'm gaslighting myself and it's terrible because I've been really obsessed with the byler for 8 years and I'm really scared. I really like your analysis, I especially liked the one about El and Mike's different love languages, it makes sense to me now! But what I really care about is if the byler isn't going to be endgame, then why is Will all this suffering? For what? He literally hasn't been happy in any season and he ends up growing as a character in season 5 and letting Mike go? To me this feels terribly unfair. To go through so many trials that you wouldn’t end up with the one you love. This is more of a question, of course, to the Duffers, why make a child suffer so much, he definitely didn’t deserve it, but (I don’t remember who exactly said this, sorry) but one user wrote that before each season byler fans write about will happen and byler become canon, aaaand.. this is not happening! I feel that in the fifth it will be the same and it hurts a lot. In any case, thank you for your respect and interesting analyzes! By the way, regarding the brothers statement about the fact that «they will no longer follow the lead of the fans», many Mileven fans think that this is just about the byler, but it seems to me that this is more like a triangle between Steven Nancy and Jonathan, because byler fans received nothing for all seasons (except for the second, but at that time the fandom was not as influential as it is now). Sorry in advance for any mistakes, English is not my native language

hey, thanks for a question and for reading my analysis‼️i love to talk to byler fans about theories and different views for the same scenes so it's a pleasure to answer your question!!

First of all, and i think you're going to agree with me on this one, Will is a really important character for the whole plot, and not only as a member of the party but as a boy connected to the other dimension. We can see that in the first two seasons he's the main focus, in s3 we can see him as a sad teenager who wants to go back to his childhood but for this he needs his friends and the problem is that they're not interested because they're trying to move on and start a normal life. We had this in the s3 plot- that Will gave up his childhood and tried to move on like the others too, he even gave his d&d to Erica and then moved on to Lenora. But in s4 we can see that this did not exactly work, bc he's emotionally attached to mike and can't move on- he needs to talk to him about his feelings (and here we have two options-byler fans thinks that mike feels the same and he's gonna be with will, mileven fans thinks that mike is gonna reject will and it will helps in his character development) In s4 Will is not even connected to the upside down bc he's not in hawkins anymore so literally the whole point about him this season was being in love with his best friend and for what?? i bet that duffer brothers did that on purpose to help this character, but i think it's way more than just make him happy while being in relationship with mike, i feel that Will needs to be cut off- from the upside down and from the party for good- and ofc not in a bad way!! I'm not saying that he has to give up all his friends, no. But he needs to be more independent, not always in someone's shadow, doing what someone tells him too, like what someone wants him to (Jonathan talked to Will about it in s1) What i really need for this character is to find happiness in himself (he thinks that he's a mistake, and i don't think that being in a relationship will help him with that because literally this love for mike make him feel this way about himself)

personally i don't think that relationship is something this character needs right now- first he needs to love himself and feel good about who he is. I feel like the duffer brothers are planning something bigger for him and just because he's not going to end up in a relationship doesn't mean that he's not going to have a happy ending!

also a lot of people are saying "if you think that Will doesn't need a relationship then why do you think that mike needs it? why don't u want him to be independent too?" Well it's a good question, but from my point of view- Will is in love with someone he can't be with, and he's hating himself for that. That's why I want him to move on and finally be independent. On the other hand we have Mike and El- they both love each other since s1, the point is that mike thought El is way happier without him and doesn't need him anymore bc she was telling him how amazing life she has in Lenora, so he thought she's going to leave him soon, and if he would show her that he REALLY LOVES HER and wants something real then it would make her leave faster and it would hurt him even more, he kinda separated himself and that was the reason why eleven though that he doesn't love her- That was the whole misunderstanding that they had this season, and yea they can be independent, but i can see how they love each other and how they want to have a happy relationship without fear, and i really hope duffer brothers are going to give it to them.

I hope this answer makes any sense to u 😭

[blueeandyellowmakesgreen]

Quick! Tag your top favorite byler blogs (as many as you want) and tell my why you love them in one line to spread positivity on the dashboard and make someone's day!

OH HELL YEAH

just wanna say im sorry if i forget people, and this *will* be a long list and be used as a way to gush about my mutuals B)

ANYWAY

@aemiron-main

thank you so much for your contributions to the fandom with your banger theories and analyses!! you made me consider things i never thought and not to mention someone who is amazing at art and overall a swell guy! love seeing your energy on my dash and keep doing what youre doing 💙

@will80sbyers

love your presence on my dash, and youre actually one of the blogs i first followed! youre overall just seem to be a a really cool blog along with theories, byler reminders and posts that make me kick my feet. and also thank you for spreading the bi mike agenda because youre SO real for that

@andiwriteordie @astrobei @blackdeathmamba

how do i explain in words how your fics make me FEEL. you guys are amazing and so creative and you just GET the characters so well and thats number one in my book!! its always so enjoyable along with a perfect balance of heart wrenching moments. i really appreciate the hardwork you guys do in your fics and im here to tell you its shown!! keep doing what youre doing 😁

@nnilkyway

yvie and i met in a discord server i made because i was Raging after vol2 and we just clicked! their theories and analyses on certain aspects of chars like mike with his playlist is so fascinating! their takes and scenarios make me scream always, hes also overall just extremely talented and hilarious, and i really am proud to be friends with him! please go check their art out, it is simply a staple for the byler fandom and you will love everything you see ❤️

@mlchaelwheeler

initially a scawy Big blog i followed, but ended up being one of my favorites simply because of their presence and scenarios. extremely funny, good asf takes, and their tags always make me feel so validated 💙💙💙 thank you also for paying attention to my succ liveblog JSJSJS

@strangeswift

ABBY MY BESTIE ABBYYYY whats not to love??!?!!!? their scenarios and fic drabbles they post are AMAZING and overall such a sweet and welcoming person!! she was essentially my first interaction here in bylertblr and i couldnt be happier that it was!! i love exchanging compliments and thinking and talking about byler in the dms with you, and i hope we get to interact more in the future 🥹 ily girlie

@nancysglock

your scripts. your takes. your posts and scenarios overall make me lose my MIIIND. and overall you just give this really cool vibe, like youre so cool to me and it makes me so happy we’re mutuals!! i love what you do and keep up the great work on your stuff!!

(also fun fact remember that anon that asked you about your process in scriptwriting? that was me <33 seriously love what you do)

@wibble-wobbegong

i think st writers should just hire you because not only do you get mike’s char, you get ALL of his relationships with others. you analyze them to such an intricate degree and break them down in a way that never made me consider certain things before. im currently giving you a badge of The mike truther, along with others. also i just generally love your tags and your presence is energetic and positive!

EDIT: MORE ADDITIONS BC HOLY SHIT I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT TJEM

@new-ronantics

eevie your art your posts your takes oh my god it makes me shake in my boots in the best possible way thank you so much for your contributions everything you do and say is QUALITY and youre gen one of my faves here how the hell did i forget im so sorryturhdjejfjs

@strangersynth

if you saw my tags in your mike theory videos you know damn well what i think of your blog

if you dont? im losing my mind. it made my jaw drop. your edits are so creative and groundbreaking!! showstopping, cinematic, smooth, and thought provoking!! its literally one of the most creative and cohesive ways to present a theory while keeping your audience engaged!! im sorry i just. I LOVE YOUR EDITS SO MUCH I THINK ABOUT IT EVERDAY IM SHAKING IT IN A PRINGLES CAN

[strangertheories]

I have to be honest here and say that I think Bylers are being extremely disingenuous while criticizing Mlvn. It's really not that badly written in comparison to other ships. And Mlvn is the only ship that's been there since S1, sorry but this is a fact whether or not they are separated or deal with issues in their relationship. And i think it's disingenous to claim that they fight all the time when they have one of the best and cutest moments given to them in S1-S2. And in S3 every couple have fought. Oh my god, Joyce and Hopper fought in that season all the time, they were bickering. Lucas and Max were said to be broken up like 6 times. I think judging Mlvn based on S3 and saying they were falling apart in that season is disigenous when they were not portrayed that differently to other romances. Like... Jncy, anyone? They were certainly not fine at all in that season either.

And the 'being separated' thing that ppl talk so much about? Well, look at Nancy and Jonathan now in S4, they spent the entire season being separated and having problems, in S3 they were having problems as well and fought. Jpper also had a 'separation' arc going for them. Lucas and Max technically broke up, again, and were not talking up until the point Lucas decided to go to Max.

I love Byler and I support the ship but I also have to be real here when talking abt something or analyzing the narrative and relationships. Just bc a couple is given problems does not mean that that couple is 'falling apart for 2 seasons', when the writers did make a point of getting that couple together in S4 after initially breaking them up in S3, and then giving them a monologue moment in S4... Let's be real guys.

I semi agree? I do think a lot of people are super hypocritical when slagging off Mlvn or when they act like people are stupid or have no media literacy for shipping it. But the issue for me is not that they're given problems; it's what those problems are. Because I preferred Mlvn to Byler in S1 and S2 and to be honest I still feel so happy when they get together at the Snow Ball. Also this post is gonna be a long one, sorry guys!

But in S3, the relationship problem is that Eleven does not know how to exist outside of her relationships to other people. Her whole perception of the world is based on Hopper and Mike and in breaking up with him and becoming friends with Max, she's able to realize that she has a certain fashion sense and likes Max's comic books. When I saw that for the first time, it made me root against Mike and Eleven. Eleven has spent her whole life inside of a lab and has not been able to discover herself; her character had the most development when they were split up. In S4, she needed Mike in order to defeat Vecna. She's reliant on him and bases her identity off of him. I don't think the relationship is toxic, that's too extreme, but I don't think it's good for Eleven. At the very least, I think her and Mike need a break pre time skip.

Then in S4, Mike is unable to say I love you to Eleven not because of commitment issues or a fear of losing her but instead because he needs to feel needed. Which is not a good thing! And I mean this absolutely for Byler as well. It makes it seem as though Mike's relationship is based on a need for validation but not love which makes the I love you come off as disingenuous. And this isn't me, I know tons of people who went off of them in this season because people thought Mike didn't love her or only loved her for her superpowers and they weren't Byler shippers; they were casual viewers.

I just feel like each season they picked an end point with Mike and Eleven and worked backwards. And that worked amazingly in S1 and S2 where they were kept apart firstly because they didn't love each other yet and then because Eleven literally couldn't see Mike. But once they had no external force keeping them apart, they settled on the idea that Mike and Eleven would say I love you in S3. But in S4? They just wanted that big climax scene at the end so they worked backwards to come up with a reason why Mike wouldn't say I love you to El and in my opinion it made it feel more like he didn't love her.

So yes Jopper argued but it was because Hopper was a bit emotionally stunted and needed to acknowledge his true feelings and be more emotionally open. Lucas and Max broke up over petty things but clearly knew they were still together and later were forced apart due to Max's depression (the relationship helps her recover, not getting away from it, but Max still pushes her loved ones away anyways). Johnathan and Nancy had a really interesting conflict where both of them were in the wrong. But the writers, accident or not, created a plot about Mike stunting El's personal exploration and then a plot where they decided Mike had a compulsive desire to feel needed to the extent where he wouldn't have confessed his feelings if not for a lie from his best friend. Because Eleven didn't even need him, Will did (but again, he shouldn't need that validation regardless).

So when I say they're falling apart, I don't mean that having problems is bad. The issue is that the writers in my opinion did not put in enough leg work to meaningfully fix those problems so now their relationship just feels like it is making Mike and Eleven miserable and that they are both needing development. And I don't think it's inherent to the dynamic, I just think the writers struggled to resolve issues so made them up, accidentally undermining the ship. It just feels like the only way to fix these problems is a break up or even a break or anything. That or these problems were intentional for Byler.

And this is all subjective of course, but yeah that's my thoughts. I am being real because these are my genuine thoughts and I'm very not disingenuous. I say exactly what I think on my blog and I will critique every ship, not just the ones I like. These are just my honest thoughts on why Mike and Eleven have been falling apart for me in S3 and 4. And it does make me sad because I think there is definitely an alternate version of that season that would've made me like Mike and Eleven because I really loved them before S3 and was excited to see where they'd go only for the writers to highlight the biggest issue in their relationship and not really fix it. Sorry if this comes across as harsh, I have no disrespect for people who ship them, these are just my personal thoughts. Thanks for the ask, it's nice to hear your perspective (:

[vomitgreensocks]

BYLER SHIPPERS AREN'T DELUSIONAL:

This is just an opinion, no need to get mad. It's an literal show.

Hey!! If you didn't know already, alot of mileven shippers have been calling us byler shippers delusional and they also said we are overreacting with every hint of byler (Mike Wheeler and Will Byers) being endgame, mileven (Mike Wheeler and El Hopper) being bones, Mike being gay and Mike liking Will in an romantic way. Not only mileven shippers have been calling us delusional, but byler shippers also call themselves delusional but i am here to show how we byler shippers aren't delusional and that we are not overreacting with hints!

/\ (Examples of byler shippers calling themselves delusional+mileven shippers calling us byler shippers delusional)

In many arguments between byler shippers and mileven shippers, mileven shippers start calling us byler shippers delusional when we drag the proof into the arguments. They don't just call us delusional, mileven shippers say things like "the show doesn't need to be analyzed", "you guys focus more on the hints than the creators do", "there aren't that many hints, you guys just make that up by overreacting" and so much more. I have actually saw many mileven shippers saying things very similar to this in arguments with byler shippers and i am sorry, but i just think it is bullsh×t when mileven shippers say this because do they even realize how important very small hints are in the show? if not, that's why i made this post.

The Duffer Brothers actually love very small details and they love hinting at stuff with very small hints or details but when we byler shippers use this as a comeback in a argument with mileven shippers, mileven shippers sometimes say stuff like "then why did they forget Will's birthday?" but that's not even what we byler shippers mean when we say The Duffer Brothers love very small details and that they love hinting at stuff with very small details. What we mean is that The Duffer Brothers foreshadow at plot twists or big thing that will happen in other seasons and they hint at huge plot twists or big things that will happen in other seasons with very small hints that almost nobody notices or talks about but luckily some people did notice those things and this post will also be about that.

First, let me say what Shawn Levy, Noah, David and The Duffer Brothers said about very small details and very small hints. The Duffer Brothers themselves actually said that they love very small details and they like to focus on them meaning us Stranger Things fans have to focus on small details and small hints in the show too since it is important so yes, the show does need to be analyzed. Unfortunately i do not have proof of the Duffer Brothers saying this, but i do have proof of The Duffer Brothers saying something else and that something else is The Duffer Brothers saying that even LIGHTING is very important in the show so just think about how important small hints and details are in the show.

The Duffer Brothers also showed a byler scene (The Cabin) while saying this.

Now let's talk about what Shawn Levy said about coincidences in the show. Many mileven shippers also see all the proof of byler being endgame as a massive coincidence but you guys do realize Shawn Levy himself said that there are almost no coincidences in the show, right? Of course it is possible there are a few which is why Shawn Levy said "almost" but no way all the byler proof is just a massive coincidence. There are like 50+ hints of byler happening and being endgame and alot of it makes sense, no way all of that is a coincidence while Shawn Levy himself said that there are almost no coincidences in the show.

Shawn Levy was actually also talking about Will's sexuality in this interview thingy meaning he also basically said The Duffer Brothers hinting at things with small hints cannot be a coincidence.

David also said that alot of things that happened in season 4 were hinted in season 3 meaning The Duffer Brothers LOVE hinting at stuff that will happen in other seasons but i sadly once again do not have proof of David saying this because it was a long time ago that i saw proof of this. I do have proof of something Noah said though! Noah said that The Duffer Brothers plan things out from the beginning because they already know how season 5 is going to end and he also said The Duffer Brothers are very smart. Noah was actually talking about Byler when he said this.

Alright, now for the last part of this post...

Let me explain this picture.

This picture explains how important very small hints are in the show. In the first two pictures it shows a spider above Max's head, drawn on the wall of the bathroom. In the second picture it shows Dustin holding dart and on the wall of the bathroom stall next to him there are little drawings saying stuff like "evil". In the third and fourth pictures it shows Jason getting split in two and Jason saying something that hinted at his death and in the last two pictures it shows the broken clock we saw in the Creel House teaser and a picture of the gates opening in Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 9. If you still do not understand what i mean, let me explain.

NUMBER 1: THE SPIDER ABOVE MAX'S HEAD.

In Season 2 Episode 3, The Pollywog, Dustin, Max, Lucas, Will and Mike were trying to find Dart and Dustin found him in one of the bathroom stalls of the bathroom in Hawkins Middle School. A little bit later after this scene, when Mike, Lucas and Max also came inside of the bathroom to Dustin because Will told them to, You can see there is an spider in a spider nest drawn above Max's head. This can actually hint at two things. One, it either hinted at Will seeing The MindFlayer again which happened right after this scene or a bit later after this scene or Two, it hinted at Max getting Vecna'd in Season 4.

How does it hint at these things? Well, The MindFlayer is basically like an massive spider. It's not a spider of course but it looks like an spider and it was basically confirmed in Season 4 that it really is supposed to look alot like a spider. Hengry/001/Vecna made The Mindflayer look like a black widow (a spider) on purpose since he loves spiders and black widows.

And how can it hint at Max getting Vecna'd? Because the spider is right above Max's head and we all know Vecna (001/Hengry) LOVES spiders but i think it mostly hints at Will getting possessed which happened after this scene.

NUMBER 2: THE DRAWINGS IN THE BATHROOM STALL.

In the exact same episode that i just talked about (Season 2 Episode 3, The Pollywog) and actually also in the exact same scene, Dustin finds Dart in one of the bathroom stalls with Will's help. It focuses on Dustin holding Dart in the bathroom stall and it looks cute and all since Dustin is smiling at him and he is very happy he found Dart but on the wall of the bathroom stall next to him it shows little drawings and those little drawings say "EVIL" and it shows a skull.

If you watched Season 2 you would know that Dart turned out to be very evil since he is an Demogorgon and he also died in the exact same season which the skull can hint at but the skull can also hint at Dart being evil just like the text on the wall saying "EVIL".

NUMBER 3: JASON'S DEATH WAS HINTED.

In Season 4 Episode 2, Vecna's curse, Lucas is throwing up in the toilet at Benny's Burgers that was abandoned since Benny died. A little bit later, Jason puts his hand on the door of the toilet and says "first hangover feels like you're gonna split in two" which hinted at Jason's death.

In Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 9, Jason's body splits in two because of the gates opening.

NUMBER 4: THE SEASON 4 ENDING WAS HINTED

About a year ago already we got the Creel House Teaser which was basically just an small cool Teaser about Stranger Things Season 4 showing The Creel House and The Creel Family and at the end of this teaser we saw an grandfather clock standing on the attic of the Creel House. While it showed this grandfather clock we heard 4 chimes and after every chime it zoomed in more on the grandfather clock and after the last chime it focused on the glass of the grandfather clock breaking in the shape of an "×" and the middle part of the "×" broke the most which is very similar to the ending of Stranger Things Season 4.

At the end of Stranger Things Season 4 Episode 9, Vecna just killed Max for a minute and then we heard 4 chimes which meant Hawkins was going to fall. After we heard the 4 chimes, the 4 gates opened and Hawkins fell in the shape of an "×" and the middle part of this "×" broke the most. We also know that Vecna always goes to the attic after killing another victim which is also probably why we saw that grandfather clock on the attic in The Creel House Teaser.

This post does not prove that byler will happen and be endgame but it does prove that we byler shippers are not delusional at all since almost nothing is a coincidence and The Duffer Brothers love hinting at big stuff or plot twists with very small hints. Big things and plot twists that happened in Stranger Things were hinted with way smaller hints than all the byler proof so why would we byler shippers be delusional?

If you are a byler shipper who thinks you are delusional, i hope this makes you think you're not delusional because you really aren't! :)