keykey613

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I only see Byler, I saw the heart and the colour blue and thought "omg Mike Wheeler!" But it's just the Watergate at Lovers lake.

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Mike Wheeler is bringing that queerness to light very soon🕯️

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Noah made letters for the entire cast😭🥹❤️🥰

He is so adorable💕

He really is the sweetest boy in this world🥹💖

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I think Byler hits so different as a ship because of how damn unlikely the circumstances are and also because the stakes are so high. Like, in what universe do you fall in love with your best friend over the course of ten years? And in what universe can you expect that love to be reciprocated? To feel those feelings and that love about someone you know so deeply must be terrifying, as is the idea of them rejecting you, which would be devastating but also fully expected.

Add onto that the fact that they are both gay in a time where being gay was taboo and just not seen as a genuine option. Mike and Will are hopelessly, desperately in love with each other—with their own best friends—and they both believe that this friendship that is so important to them comes under threat because of the love. Like, both boys probably partially resent themselves for even putting their relationship at risk by daring to have feelings for each other.

It’s so damn unlikely to have a slowburn romance with your best friend over the course of a lifetime. It’s even more unlikely for your best friend to reciprocate your feelings. It is the most unlikely thing of all for your seemingly straight best friend to surprise you by revealing that they are gay too and that they’re in love with you. Like… can you even imagine how intense it will be for Mike and Will to realize all of this in the span of a few seconds? They’re both banking on rejection and that their love is an impossibility. But in one swift kiss or confession, the truth will come out and the weight on both of their shoulders will be lifted.

Also, I simply can’t imagine how intense it would be to know that your best friend who you’ve been in love with as long as you can remember is in love with you back. It’s almost too good, too fantastic to be true even for straight couples and even for people in real life. Like, the reality is that most of us can’t even fathom how intense a love like that would be. It’s truly a once in a lifetime, romance of the century kind of thing. Add onto that the fact that neither Mike nor Will knows that the other is gay let alone reciprocates. The moment they realize will be so intense that I’m all out of words to use to be able to describe it. It will be indescribable.

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Hear me out but Mike getting vecna’d and El using her powers to get into his mind place and save him. She gets into his mind but isn’t able to find him anywhere until she hears soft crying. It’s Mike holding Will in his arms, blood dripping from the other boy’s eyes.

El can hear Mike whispering something to Will, something along the lines of ‘don’t leave me’ or ‘please come back’. He’s clutching onto Will’s hand and placing it towards his lips, fully sobbing now.

El places a hand on Mike’s shoulder and he quickly turns around. ‘Mike, it’s not real’ she whispers but Mike is inconsolable. He breaks down holding El’s arm, repeatedly choking out ‘it’s my fault, it’s all my fault’. She pulls his arm hurriedly and tells him ‘let’s go, it’s not safe hear’

But before she could insist further, a voice booms ‘why do you love someone who doesn’t love you back, Eleven?’ And El is transfixed while Mike holds Will’s body closer to his chest. ‘Why do you waste your time trying to save him?’

In the background the beginning of ‘small town boy’ plays as El can hear the real Will’s voice talk to her, saying ‘quick El please, find him’ and she can hear the desperation in his voice. She stops to look back at Mike, who was still on the floor, cradling fake Will’s body. And she understands.

She understands everything.

Just think about it.

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The Cyrano Trope & Byler

The byler painting lie is such a clear example of a literary trope where a character receives thing(s) from their love interest that helps them feel "in love", however the character does not know the true identity of WHO they got it from. 

This trope has a full fledged name called "Playing Cyrano". It comes from a famous french play from 1897 about a character named Cyrano, who felt that the love of his life, Roxane, would never love him back because he was not good looking enough. Still, he tries to find the courage to convey his love to Roxane through a love letter (think~ painting) and this is what happens: 

(link to full article)

Will is the one "playing Cyrano" here for El, as a means to make Mike happy, help Mike and El's relationship, and also to secretly convey his own feelings for Mike in the process. 

This trope very obviously ends with Roxane (Mike) falling for Cyrano (Will) upon learning the true identity behind the letters (painting/van speech). 

And it's also precisely why Mike makes the expressions he makes at Will in the van; why his eyes shine with awe, why he takes breathless gulps as Will speaks, the whole nine yards. 

I've spent a long time wondering why Finn Wolfhard acted the way he did in the van scene (the expressions he makes are VERY distinct and emotive, he was given clear acting directions for it), and this is the most concrete reason why: The writers/directors here were trying to show us how Mike is perceiving Will's gift and words, and what it's making Mike feel. The van scene is not ONLY about Will, but about Mike's feelings too!!!

Mike's expressions in the van scene clearly tell the audience that he feels like he's falling in love all over again. It's giving him hope for his relationship with El. It's making him forget about his insecurities with her, and making him feel needed and loved. 

And the obvious catch here is that it's all Will doing that. Not El. And that's the missing piece to how they're going to segue into byler in season 5. 

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Beyond Stranger Things, obviously the idea of 'Playing Cyrano' has been adapted for literally over a hundred of years, into hundreds of stories, cementing it as a trope in romance plotlines. Here are just a few other examples:

Ben and Beverly from It

Ben gives Beverly a poem, but she thinks it's from Bill and ends up with Bill in the first movie. In the second movie she learns who the poem is really from and rightfully ends up with Ben.

Olivia and Sebastian from She's the Man

Olivia quickly falls for Sebastian while reading a sheet of song lyrics he wrote. But she thinks the lyrics are written by his twin who is disguised as Sebastian at the time. She spends most of the movie chasing after his twin, but eventually finds out the truth and ends up with Sebastian. 

Ellie and Aster from The Half Of It

Ellie agrees to help a jock named Paul write letters to his crush Aster. Ellie is in love with Aster and communicates it through the letters under Paul's name. This helps Paul and Aster's relationship a lot and they begin to date. Eventually Aster finds out the real person behind the letters, which leads to Ellie and Aster ending up together.

I especially love how the Cyrano trope is used in this story, because it shows how easily the trope can be molded to fit the queer perspective: in the original, Cyrano believes his love will never be reciprocated because he's not attractive enough. While in the Half of It, Ellie believes her love will never be reciprocated because of her gender.

Otis and Maeve from Sex Education 

Otis plays Cyrano for Jackson who is hooking up with Maeve at the time. Otis is in love with Maeve and knows everything about her, and essentially meshes with her perfectly. But he's too insecure to confess to her. Meanwhile, Jackson doesn't mesh with Maeve at all and needs Otis to play Cyrano to try and get Maeve to like him back (eg. Otis telling Jackson Maeve's favourite books) . Maeve and Jackson end things when she finds out the truth about Otis's involvement, and her/Otis are the main couple of this series. 

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Overall the moral behind Cyrano's story is about how love at first sight is foolish and that appearances are not the basis of true love. 

Reading about this trope struck me with the thought that maybe this is why the writers forcibly shoved El and Mike into the love at first sight trope— even when it doesn't totally fit Mike's behaviour or words in S1E2 (after he sees El the first time, he does not behave like someone "in love" at all and plans to send her away). 

In most cases of the Cyrano trope, the love that exists between the "wrong" pairing is mainly based off of physical appearance and cyrano's masked courtship. There is nothing else holding them together. So by writing Mike declare that it was "love at first sight", it makes the audience question the whole basis of his love for El and how superficial it really is. Like sorry Mike, how did you know you loved her the moment you saw her? You didn't even know anything about her lol. Meanwhile there's the depth to byler's bond— their friendship evolving and deepening over the years, and it's anything but superficial.

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Just now thanks to @myloverdior, i noticed that all the times Mike holds something to defend himself or the group, he holds it like a sword.

That metal bar when Billy attacked Eleven:

And this fucking stupid trophy:

MY GLORIOUS GOAT MIKE WHEELER REALLY IS A PALADIN 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

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the importance of will being mikes shoulder to lean on in s4 is not talked about enough.

mike has literally never received that kind of reassurance, especially at that level, in the show before season 4. will is the one to consistently reassure mike in the whole show. mike is a character who’s often overlooked by the audience for sure, but especially the other characters. all except for will.

the van scene wasn’t some selfish opportunity for will to dump his feelings onto mike like someone else we know *cough* steve harrington *cough*

will was literally reminding mike of the kind of person he is. a leader, an inspiration, etc. he is literally telling mike his capability of making someone feel better for being different. as someone who feels like they’re not meant to exist at all, will doesn’t hesitate to tell mike that he’s the reason [will] doesn’t feel that way when he’s with him.

like that’s some heavy shit guys. and some people are still saying it meant nothing to him?? LOOK AT HIS FACE.

and what’s mike able to do by the end of the season?

reach into the light.

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byler fights be like

will: explains how he and other people are hurt

mike: well im not dating u

like mike no one said anything why are you bringing this up

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i love how the byler community treats byler doubts like a mental illness. like people say theyre having byler doubts and people respond like NO UR TOI SEXY TO DIE DONT KYS!!!

DONT GO OVER TO THE DARK SIDE!!!

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still absolutely wild to me that they had el ask if mike would be like her brother right before they had their first kiss. couple goals amirite

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‘it was so sweet of you to commission that painting el!’

‘what painting…’

mike:

bylers:

milkvans:

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Lucas the Loyal our Byler protector 🫡💙💛

Gay defender and his two gay friends

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i like how its mike holding up wills painting and not will. like fuck yeah! my cool artistic boyfriend made this for me only, look at how amazing it is!! look!

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Sometimes I reaseach about gay rights and news covering in the the year where the show takes place, for me to have a notion of how Mike, Will and Robin must feel (especially Mike cause yk his family voted for Reagen). And it's heartbreaking and infuriating.

I have watched the 60minutes 'Life and Death in San Francisco - CBS(3/16/1986)' before, It's so sad... And also shows how ignorant people were about how AIDS is spread.

Now S5 will take place in the Fall of 1987 and in October 11, 1987 there was the second national march on Washington for lesbian and gay rights.

Here is the link to 'ABC News - Nightlife: Gay rights'. The first part is a news coverage about the March and the the second part is an debate? between two lawyers about 'gays and the law'.

The one opposing gay rights is a disgusting piece of shit!

AIDS mentions in the show/ in the bts (mentioned in scenes with Mike and Will who are gay)

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After seeing the AI work milkshakes have been posting I am so grateful for all the talent byler fanartist we have you are all very talented I can't wait to see you're fanart when s5 drops ❤️

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“or will you get in trouble if you post about them?” 😭😭