#not a byler post but hi bylers if you’re seeing this. you’re always my target audience truly <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[gay-mike-wheeler]

anyway can we talk about the fact that will who canonically doesn’t like baseball keeps a baseball bat in castle byers and the implications of that + the fact they built it right after lonnie left + joyce being worried will was hate crimed in s1 + jonathan checking the trunk of lonnie’s car when looking for will + the fact that the bat can’t be for protection from the supernatural stuff bc if he couldn’t stop the demogorgon with a gun what’s a bat gonna do. like. just think about all that for a moment.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

I believe in Byler / the DID theory, but I somewhat agree with fans who think it's currently too obscure. I just rewatched s2 and while, yes, it's undercut in s3, viewers are ABSOLUTELY encouraged to believe Mike loves El romantically. You can't blame viewers for buying what they've been sold, and being confused by an apparent 180 later on. Mike pushes Will to dance with random girl, and there are multiple instances of him pining for El in a way that seems more than survivor's guilt. 🐺

"“To be clear, I see a lot of Byler in s2 too. And I understand the show gets renewed season by season, and the Duffers have to create a piece of media that can stand alone, if they never get to tell their full story. As with season one. But if we're right about their planned endgame, they need to kick it up a notch and address some of the things that will confuse the audience (like Mike's sexuality) head on in dialogue. They need to start spelling this stuff out 🐺

The last thing anyone wants is for the reaction to such at bond re-established. 🐺 beautiful, important love story to be one of fan backlash. There will always be a certain amount of that but I truly believe it was fueled by a lot of the choices in s2. After Will's recovery Mike barely seems to look at him, for instance, while we get long, longing shots of him looking at El. It truly seems as if Will's special place in his heart evaporates the minute she walks back through that door. We need that bond re-established. 🐺

I don't mean to sound like a Debbie Downer, but I am a little afraid the Duffer's will sacrifice the story for the sake of the big shocking twist. S4 will tell a lot. If that season doesn't do major work in building up Byler, I just don't see how it won't all feel so eleventh hour in s5. I love picking over the show in detail on here, but the story DOES need to be cohesive to a general audience, and I understand why people worry it won't be, or the theory won't happen at all. 🐺" Well, this is quite the thing to wake up to on my long weekend. I suppose I might as well tackle it right away since you were nice enough to include little wolf emojis.

I've shared many of the doubts you have expressed here in the past. It's only been over time that my belief in Mike and Will's relationship has been strengthened. There's nothing wrong with being doubtful. Popular media has long marginalized gay characters and issues and caricatured them even when they were included. It's only normal to be a bit skeptical even when it seems like there's a story being built.

I was initially disappointed by season 3, but, with time and discussions with others, I came to see what the Duffers were going for. There was actually quite a lot in there that supported Mike and Will having feelings for each other, while also showing that Mike and El were both worse off while dating. Are we to believe that a bunch of 14 year olds really understand their feelings? No, especially when feelings involve being gay in the 80s or when your concept of a love and relationships comes from watching soap operas at 12/13 after growing up in isolation.

I suggest that you check out this post of mine if you haven't already, “Why do you lie?”: A look at a gay Mike Wheeler. It covers how Mike's existing portrayal can lead to a gay reveal without it being contradictory. There are reasons that Mike shows such intense concern for Will only to latch onto El once things calm down, at least in my conceptualization of it. In my opinion, Mike is confused and scared, so his mind is shifting his feelings onto a more socially appropriate target. If I had to pick, I'd probably say this was my best post. Feel free to holler back if you're still skeptical.

As for the Duffers sacrificing story for twists, I wouldn't worry. The Duffers have shown that they are highly skilled writers, so far. To me, it would be a bigger twist that they'd pull such a move. In this case, I think the "twist" is that fans are so used to conventional expectations (tropes) that they miss what is right in front of them. The Duffers have been subverting tropes since season 1. In fact, they seem to thrive on it.

I'll also mention that She-Ra didn't set sail with the ships until its final season, but the signs were always there. While I'd prefer we don't get a dramatic reveal in the grand finale like we did there, it's worth mentioning that once one saw that Adorra and Catra had feelings for each other, those earlier moments become more clear. I think many Stranger Things fans are going to be able to see those earlier signs after the fact, and, hopefully, it leads some to question heteronormativity.

[sunnybyler]

debunking arguments for will byers being heterosexual

the fact that there are real, actual people who believe will byers is heterosexual blows my mind. comments of literally every st post about will are filled with people screaming that he’s straight, even if the post had nothing to do with his sexuality. and the fact that people are so pissed at the idea he might be just screams homophobia. not everyone who believes he’s straight is homophobic obviously, but i’ve seen people get so aggressive about it. so, today i’ve come to debunk a bunch of the arguments i’ve seen! most of these were formed off of my personal belief he’s gay, but if you believe he’s ace / aro i’m sure you’ve seen some of these about your beliefs too.

DEBUNKING A BUNCH ;

1. “noah said he’s not gay!” wrong. read the whole interview, not just the headline. so many of the headlines i’ve seen are like ‘noah schnapp shuts down gay theory!’ which just isn’t what happened at all. he said it was up to interpretation. big difference. personally i believe if it was a certain thing he would’ve just said he’s straight, but you can take his comment however you want. but saying that he said he wasn’t gay is flat out wrong. i’ve seen people be convinced by this and it makes me so mad.

2. “he’s just not ready to grow up!” true. and i believe that’s how mike meant the “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” line. but why can’t it be both? did you see will’s face after that line? it hit me hard. as a bi girl, i know how it can feel when someone says something that may hint at your true sexuality when you’re not out yet. and that’s how the line hit for me. the line was very specific and stranger things has always been very careful with how they write and direct things. mike could have said “it’s not my fault you don’t like anyone” or “it’s not my fault you don’t have a girlfriend” but no. “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls”. even the word ‘yet’ being added to the line could have completely changed how it came off. i think mike realized how his words sounded as soon as he said it. he instantly softened because he knew those words suggested that will would never like girls, like people had bullied him for his whole life.

3. “there’s no proof in the show!” first of all, wrong. his sexuality has been suggested since episode one. but counterpoint: there’s no proof that he’s straight.  why is he just assumed to be straight? just because he hasn’t come out doesn’t mean he’s not gay. i didn’t just suddenly turn bisexual when i came out, that’s not how it works. i always have been. i won’t go too far into the proof he is because so many have done it better than me (i can send you a link to my favorite posts about it if you’d like to see), but here’s a few: - he’s been very specifically targeted for being gay his whole life. his father and the bullies at school purposefully picked out that one thing. it was mentioned frequently and like i said, stranger things never does something “just because” - when joyce was asked by hopper if will was gay, she simply said “does it matter?” instead of shutting it down - he’s been frequently placed around rainbows - there’s been lots of subtext in people’s lines that suggest will’s sexuality. ex. his mother being “proud” of his “rainbow ship”, “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” - the original pitch for the show said that will was a kid with sexual identity issues

4. “he danced with a girl in the snowball episode!” dancing with someone of the opposite gender doesn’t instantly mean you’re straight. also, the script literally said that he wasn’t looking at the girl, but he was looking at mike. so.

5. “he’s just a kid!” so are mike, el, lucas, max, and dustin. they’re the same age as will and their crushes and romantic feelings are accepted but will’s aren’t just because his feelings might not be straight? okay, makes sense.

6. “you’re just saying that because you ship byler!” this is one that’s been said to me more than once. yes, i personally ship byler. but that’s not the reasoning at all. there’s so much evidence and subtext about will being gay. my beliefs about his sexuality actually have nothing to do with my ship. and there’s tons of people who don’t ship byler but still believe he’s not heterosexual. i know people who are hardcore mileven shippers and still admit that there’s been tons of hints about him not being heterosexual.

you’re right that it isn’t certain until it’s confirmed by someone, but the same can be said about will being straight. and if you still think he’s straight, that’s okay, you’re entitled to your own opinion (as long as you’re not homophobic and wouldn’t be disgusted or angry if he did turn out to be gay). but i’ve seen people say that we have no proof for our thoughts or that our theory is crazy and it makes me so mad. we do have proof for the theory he’s gay, and people who believe he’s ace / aro have evidence there too. i can admit that even though i believe him to be gay. in fact, i haven’t seen any evidence for why he’s heterosexual that wasn’t either misinformed or that i can’t debunk easily. feel free to throw me other arguments & maybe i’ll add some i forgot, but i hope this may have helped someone to realize we’re not so insane.