#mileven bones

[hellinhawkins]

s4 accurate summary

[samcats]

Anyways

[miwiheroes]

bro if i was el when she realises mike didn't say 'i love you' because he's gay rather than because she's the problem/ a monster, i would be relieved personally

[miwiromantics]

I’m so hilarious…

[fiendforbyler]

oh no you are definitely right. this is a super straight, heterosexual way to look at your homie. m*leven endgame

[mystuffynose]

NOT ONE SINGLE SCENE IN THERE WITH MIKE AND EL

FINN: IM SO EXCITED TO SHOOT WITH THE ORIGINAL 4

EVERY SHOT OF HIM IS WITH WILL

WE ARE WINNING SO HARD I CANT EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN

MILEVEN DOESNT STAND A FUCKING CHANCE

OMFG

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CANT I CANT I CANT

[madlovesbyler]

Most average thing to post about an "endgame ship"

[carmenilla]

imagine if in the last shot of season 4, on the hilltop, mike walked down to join el in the front, and will was stood alone in the dead center. it would have perfectly conveyed that el is still the front character, that mike will be a support system for el again and that they’ll be a team/couple again, and that will is going to be a big focus next season since he’s center stage. wouldn’t have been hard. it would have been the sensical option for the general audience.

but they didn’t do that. which is crazy. and i don’t think i even have to say what the actual scene implies

[udkmehahaha]

sometimes i get byler doubt until i remember that they used ARTIFICIAL LIGHT to make a heart in will's eye during the van scene and did the same thing with mike and put a heart in his eye that filled in the heart in will's eye.

[wiseheartted]

I just noticed that there are always missing pieces in the plotlines because the Duffers did not believe there would be more than one season. So they tried to put together the most important things, but there are still some things left or even details.

What I’m trying to say, there are missing pieces in the plotlines but there are never missing pieces in Byler’s plotline. Remember when in the very first season they called Will “fairy” and Joyce said that Lonnie used to call him a “queer” and that also Joyce thought that Will's disappearance was a hate crime, even Jonathan checked Lonnie's trunk to see if Will's body was there. Anyway, it was planned from the beginning that Will would be gay. And in that season they show us how important is Will to Mike. Mike looking at his binder full of Will’s drawing with heart eyes. Mike hugging his mom while crying after seeing Will’s body. Mike using El to find Will. Mileven was never meant to be.

They always treated Mileven like family. Will was in love with Mike since season one and they never treated them like brothers. Their relationship was built throughout the seasons and there’s no missing pieces. They have everything. Slowburn? They have it. Friends to lovers? They have it. Miscommunication? THEY HAVE IT. They have every single trope.

Mike and Will are meant to be together since the beginning. I’m telling you, there’s no way they won’t end up together. Trust.

P.S: Mike’s narrative would only make sense if Byler is endgame.

[theoriginalbylergod]

I love you ×9

Ok so I am probably not the first person to notice this or point it out since I've only been a byler for like six months... BUT I did maybe go a little crazy about this. So I'm gonna talk about it.

So a few days ago I was thinking about the mlvn endgame argument "well Mike said 'I love you' nine times". And like, first of all, saying "I love you" doesn't undo a year's worth of deliberate lying and miscommunication. That's not how relationships work. Their issues are still very much real and very much not going anywhere because they're not even TRYING to do anything about them. But also... I was thinking: why nine times? Why that number specifically? Was it just random? Is there maybe anything to indicate that nine is significant? Is there maybe a scene in the first episode of s4 that tells us how we should react to the monologue?

So, the DND basketball montage. Great stuff. Amazing foreshadowing. Everyone loved it.

I got to thinking about it. Decided I needed to know what Mike's roll was. I kinda spiraled about it on twitter because I could not see it clearly and I couldn't tell if it was an eight or nine. Desperate times called for desperate measures so I recorded my tablet with my phone and found the perfect frame.

IT'S A NINE

CLEAR AS DAY! IT'S A NINE! GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!

Anyway, I don't know how DND works. I don't know why this roll evoked the reaction it did from the party - most significantly, Mike's very disgruntled reaction (I don't mean The Party™ I just mean literally the party that is playing this campaign) I genuinely don't know what the fuck is going on in this game. But what I do know is they wanted us to associate this roll with failure. That's why it corresponds with a missed basket in the basketball game. That's why Eddie gets this ooo that sucks for you guys look on his face. That's why we hear a chorus of "nooo" from the party. That's why Mike says "no no no" and looks extremely upset. I don't know anything about DND, but I can read context clues.

So I'm not going to try to understand what's going on in the game, I'm just gonna go off what I think they wanted us to subconsciously pick up on.

So they show us all of this. They associate Mike with the number nine in the first episode and then that number shows up AGAIN in the last episode.

The monologue cannot be associated with anything but failure. Whether that be mlvns failing relationship, or their very real failure to save Max (at least before El revived her), and their failure to save Hawkins. The monologue does not stand apart from that. It is completely interwoven with these failures. If you have average media literacy, you know that. Even before I was aware of just how important byler is to this entire story, before I was aware that they've been setting up byler endgame since day one, you would never catch me thinking that the monologue was supposed to be received positively by the audience. You would never catch me saying mlvns love saved the world. (Although that's because I genuinely forgot about mlvn a few weeks after I watched s4). I think I received the monologue in the way it was intended to be received. I didn't fully understand it, or why they would execute it the way they did, but I still received it in the way I believe it was intended to be.

So I know the general agreement among bylers is that the monologue kinda sealed the deal for mlvn bones. Like I'm not saying anything new really. But I genuinely do think that Mike's roll in episode one, the reactions to it, and the missed shot it corresponds with were meant to foreshadow the monologue and how they wanted the audience to receive it.

This is fiction, everything means something. Everything is thought of. The timer (and maybe scores, I genuinely can't remember) in the basketball game had significance. Other rolls in the DND game had significance. Why would that be any different for Mike? Especially when his roll was a nine and that number shows up for him again when he says "I love you" nine times. And both of these things are associated with failure.

Not that we need any other reason to interpret the monologue as a less than good thing. It's just the way that it is, it's pretty easy to figure out how they wanted us to take it. But they still did give us a hint. I think it's really cool.

[gay-episode]

HOLY SHIT WHAT??? "oh yeah I know they're in a toxic relationship where one doesn't understand the full extent of how she feels and has the mentality of a younger child and the other feels shitty and insecure about himself being with her but who gives a shit about how healthy they are, they're CUTE"

The post was a whisper saying byler shippers are weird btw. Yeah, the one's who ship two boys who make each other feel loved and needed is SO weird compared to people who ship a girl who was deprived of normal life and immediately thrown into a relationship without being able to consent and a boy who got together with said girl during a distressing and insane time in his life

[samcats]

Mike and Wills friendship vs everybody elses

I’m sick of people acting like Mike and Wills friendship is platonic when 1. One literally had a crush on the other and 2. None of the other friendships are treated the same way Mike and Will are throughout the seasons so let’s go over them!

(This is gonna be a long one!)

Season 2 & 1

First off, in season 1, the show focuses on how Will going missing effects Mike the most out of all his friends. Mike is the only one to notice Will isn’t at school the day he goes missing. Mike is the one to come up with the idea to go out looking for him. Mike only keeps El around when he realizes she can help find Will. Mike is the only one that’s focused on after they find Will’s “dead” body. Mike is the only one out of the party members that holds proper hope that Will may still be alive.

In season 2 he was the only one that went outside of the arcade to check where Will had gone. He was the only one that noticed Will was being extra quiet that day at school. He panicked when he couldn’t find Will, “Will what’s wrong? I couldn’t find you, are you hurt? I’m gonna get you home, okay? I’m gonna get you home”, He purposely volunteered himself to go check on Will and then proceed to stay with Will in the hospital for days afterwards. He was the only one out of his friends that stayed with Will in the shed when he was possessed.

Edit: also wanted to point out how in the crazy together scene when Will told Mike about the mindflayer he said “just please don’t tell the others okay? They wouldn’t understand.” Implying that Will trusts Mike the most and that he thinks only Mike would understand what he’s going through.

& Will only yelled Mike’s name when he was having an episode before the crazy together scene happened. He didn’t yell Lucas’s name or Dustin’s or even Jonathan or his mums, his first instinct was to call Mike for help. Both of these things furthermore prove my point that their friendship is different from the others and they’re much closer

Again, the show focuses on Will and Mikes friendship the most this season. Not their friendships with Lucas or Dustin or anybody else, just with eachother. None of the other friendships in the show have done anything like this. Hell none of the friendships in the show ever GET as much attention and focus as Mike and Will do throughout the seasons. They are treated so differently. Still don’t believe me?

Season 3

One of the most iconic Byler scenes is the rain fight scene. Now I'm not really gonna talk about how obviously romantic this scene is by itself. But how it contrasts Will and Lucas's apology scene. The contrast between these two scenes is such a huge piece of evidence to me and I'm surpsired I don't see it around more

(Thank you to this video for saving me while I was trying to find the scenes https://youtu.be/u-rLx10eROw?si=vdGoQNtnXU103iZt )

Here’s the two scenes mixed together for reference:

Byler’s fight

In the Byler scene, it has buildup. Will getting mad and then bursting out of the room, Mike follows him while Lucas stays behind. Once they get outside, the lighting is dark and blue. The music playing in the background is somber. The way both characters talk and act makes you know that this is a serious scene. The aftermaths of Will going to his house and crying as he destroys castle Byers. And Mike and Lucas biking out to find him in the rain. You could make the argument that Lucas being there makes this scene bad proof, but it focusing more on Mike then Lucas tells you otherwise.

Lucas’s apology

It’s super rushed, you barely even notice it. It’s super random and isn’t focused on at all, it just starts with Lucas saying he’s sorry and Will saying it doesn’t matter and it’s pretty much over. The lighting is bright, our minds are more focused on trying to get ready to trap Billy then the actual conversation they’re having. Neither Lucas or Will react to it afterwards. You could literally skip this scene and you wouldn’t miss anything.

So why have such a useless scene in the middle of nowhere?

The Byler rain fight is such an important scene to show how Mike and Wills friendship has gone downhill, to show the change between children and teenagers, and also to hint at Will's sexuality. The Lucas and Will scene is just so useless and random and could've been left out, but the way it contrasts the Byler fight scene makes me think that its only purpose was to show the difference between Mike and Wills friendship together vs anybody else's, and nothing else. Because why else have it there? If Mike and Wills scene wasn't meant to have a deeper meaning, then why make it as dramatic as it was? Why build it up the way they did?? If it was platonic the scene would've been more similar to the Lucas scene and/or toned down a LOT.

It's undeniable that the Duffers where trying to show us something with these two scenes

Season 4

You can tell there’s clearly tension between Mike and Will when they reunite in the airport, which is very odd. Mike and Will are best friends, and again, Mike wouldn’t act this way with any of his other friends. He didn’t even act this way with El

Mike then later admits that he was being an asshole to Will, and we get that beautiful “friends. Best friends.” Scene.

Now, I want you to rewatch that scene and pretend that Will is Max or Lucas or Dustin or Erica or Steve or Jonathan or anybody Mike is friends with. But you can’t. It just feels too wrong and too romantic, doesn’t it? It seems weird as well, because we know full well Mike wouldn’t say something like that to any of his other friends. He’s never had a conversation like that with any of his other friends, either. This is because they’re just that. Friends. So why should it be any different for Will and Mike?

This is the same for any scene with Mike and Will. Season 4 or not

And if you seriously cannot notice the difference between Mike and Wills friendship vs anybody else’s, you need to do a rewatch

Anyways, there’s probably more stuff I could add but I’m gonna leave it at that for now. If you have anything to add leave it in the comments! Thank you for reading

[miwiheroes]

thinking about how the feeling of love has never saved el from a dangerous situation before. thinking about how in season 4 specifically, the showrunners made this clear through One telling el that she needs to use anger then she demonstrates it. thinking about how angry el looked when mike said the superhero line during the monologue. thinking about how the vines tightened when mike said i love you.

also kind of thinking about how they cut to jonathan bc he was the only third party who knew that mike was using his brother’s words to admit his ‘love’.

[byerscity]

omg what!!!!!?????11!1!1 😱😱 this script leak is so bonkers

[fiendforbyler]

just thinking about the fact that byler is so canon because, not even getting into the nitty gritty, it’s canon that eleven is mikes first girl friend. as in female friend. of course he will confuse friendship for romantic feelings because he doesn’t know how to seperate it. the only girl he has in his life is his mum and his sister! how would he know if his feelings are platonic or romantic? and he knows how he is supposed to feel about girls, so he assumes how he feels about his budding friendship with eleven is romance, and he peruses it. with will gone, it’s easy right? only as he gets older, it becomes more and more obvious that the love he feels for will vs eleven is not the same… and it’s not eleven he wants to kiss anymore. (or ever did want to, in fact)