Plushie Collector Will? Canon. Fashionista Will? Canon. Bratty Don't-make-me-do-physical-labor-omggg

The bedroom scene was undeniably flirtatious and romantically coded and whoever says it isn’t is specifically filtering out the signs so they don’t see it

(because we all know if they were straight everyone would clearly view it as what it is: an intimate moment)

here’s why:

Mike’s (and will’s) body language

The shots and cinematography (I was planning on linking @byleranalysis’s video on this scene cuz it’s great but I can’t find it, still though the shots are very telling. edit: t'was found! x)

Labeled ‘intimate moment’ in the script

Interruption trope

It inspired will to take his painting which is a symbol of his love for mike

Mike enters the room, completely shutting the door behind him (no matter the reason), leaving the two of them alone. He sits down on the bed, letting his bottom lip audibly slip out from under his teeth and nervously drums his legs while looking will up and down from behind. he let’s out, “thanks by the way,” which he knows Will will have to question (re: “I didn’t say it”). mike is aware will doesn’t know what he’s referring to, adding clear design to his approach.

Now this could just be me but starting a conversation with something like “thanks by the way,” regarding what you know the other person is unaware of, is intentionally setting them up for a surprise appraisal, which I think is very flirty.

This allows mike to make a joke out of his shitty behavior as a means to lighten the mood because admitting you were wrong and being able to make fun of yourself is hot, sorry not sorry! this is mike giving will permission to laugh at his behavior with him, which seriously throws him off and he looks mike up and down before turning away in excitement, denial, self preservation, vulnerability or most likely all of the above lol, poor flustered will. once he turns away mike draws in a deep breath to wipe the smile off his face so he can focus on apologizing to him. he shakes himself out of whatever trance he was just in so he could get to his point, squinting one eye and stuttering as he changes the subject. “hey, also, but, uh, about the last few days,” he starts, exiting flirting territory.

He tells will his home isn’t the same without him despite having all their other friends, and doesn’t mention his girlfriend until suggesting he was worrying too much about her, followed by “I don’t know, maybe I feel like I lost you or something,” bringing the two right back into a flirtatious standpoint.

This again could just be me, but asking “does that make sense?” is such a… I don’t even know the word, it’s just, such a thing to say lol. there are some situations where it’s annoying to hear, like a parent trying to confirm their child knows what they did was wrong. but the way mike asked will if what he’s saying makes sense low key gives me butterflies. he paused to make sure he’s on the same page in such a soft way and will immediately nods his head, holding back tears. Idk maybe Im making it a bigger deal than it is but I love that simple line from mike so much.

Mike and will both nervously gulp down air, unable to take their eyes off each other. the tension rises as the camera gets closer to both their faces, removing any physical distance you might’ve thought was there at one point. mike tells him that whatever it is that happens next, he thinks it will be easier to go through if they have each other, if they work as a team. quiet moments linger on their teary eyed expressions with every heartfelt addition from mike. he quickly looks will up and down again, emphasizing his desire to be “best friends,”—reciprocating wills own previously stated desire brought to light at rink o mania—his lips slowly parting with anticipation.

Will responds finally with a quiet “cool,” trying to keep his cool lol. you can see his excitement despite the stillness of his body, and there’s a calm steadiness to his eyes, glistening with tear beads. mikes eyes are also shining, the sunlight from the window illuminating his own teardrops sitting comfortably, refusing to fall. he raises one eyebrow as a smirk forms from his lips, looking him up and down once again but slower this time, before completing wills ‘cool’ with his own. he chuffs as his smirk grows into a smile, and they gaze at each other in silence for a couple moments.

This is a huge contrast to how mike was acting before their scene in Jonathan’s room, which tells us something changed for him because of it. mike was reminded how much he loves being with will, how much he missed his company. and without will having to tell him, mike realized he was being an idiot. of course this was seemingly because will reassured him about el, but quite honestly I think it was mostly by will flirting with him. he literally waltzed into wills room—without even knocking first—to get some more of whatever that was between them two scenes prior. and neither of them are fully aware the other is flirting or what that could mean (otherwise we’d be in very different territory by now), which tells us it’s intentional from both parties.

I also think it’s important to mention that what made them start flirting in Jonathan’s room was will reminding mike (and the audience) of their history and how they used to be, saying “that was you guys who saved me, that was you guys.” this is what made mike all giddy and what inspired him to address everything so they could be close like that again.

Based on this logic, will flirting with mike was what “knocked some sense into him”that he was being a “self-pitying idiot,” because mike apologizes to will by following the same energy that inspired him to, flirting. making fun of a situation. joking around.

All they had done since mike got to lenora was fight and ignore each other. then suddenly every moment they get alone they find themselves giving each other heart eyes and hiding stupid grins. they don’t even seem to question it, this is just how they are now. it comes naturally. so when mike realized how good it felt to be in wills presence again without arguing and being petty, just themselves, it probably gave him a huge confidence boost and made him feel better about the entire situation. yes will told him he would have another chance to tell el what he didn’t get to (which is what the GA thinks he wanted to hear), but what really lifted his spirits was having will back in his life, which inspired him to confront and apologize to him. he got a taste of what they could be like, and decided he needed that. he couldn’t go back to fighting and being awkward after their moment in Jonathan’s room. when he confidently swung the door to will’s open, and skipped straight into flirting, that was mike implementing his decision to turn back the clock, make things go back to how they were. but this time with slightly different intentions in mind.

Mike suggesting they be friends (best friends) again is also a callback to, canonically, “the best thing [he’s] ever done,” I might add. that holds a lot of weight, they didn’t need to remind the audience of mikes (also teary eyed and intimate) monologue in s2 but they did. mike basically relived the best thing he’s ever done in this scene.

After mike and will have their “intimate moment,” as the script itself calls it, a tire screech dramatically breaks their eye contact. we are brought back down to earth, where the two of them are actually several feet apart and not face to face. if you felt like they were supposed to kiss, you were quickly reminded that they physically couldn’t lol.

The tire screech wasn’t even that loud and yet their demeanors both changed drastically in less than a second, as if they’ve been caught doing something they shouldn’t. Jonathan hadn’t even barged in yet, but they were so focused on each other that a loud noise basically jumpscared them out of it lmao.

This is, as we all know, the interruption trope, which is used most commonly for ‘will they won’t they,’ tension reliant, slow-burn romances to keep you on the edge of your seat, only to make you throw your arms in the air and yell “oh, come on!”

The last part of the scene mike gets up and goes to the window with Jonathan, but we keep our eyes on will who gives mike one last pineful look before quickly grabbing his painting—a symbol of his love for mike—and stuffs it into his bag.

This is intentionally showing the audience that their conversation gave will either the confidence to give it to him—which he seemingly has been going back and forth between based on mikes behavior toward him, proving that’s what made him decide to take it in the end—or hope that it could go well, possibly implying he thought mike might feel the same, or at the very least was flirting with him (which he was).

The fact this moment was deliberately focused on says “hey! will got an idea from this interaction—one that specifically made him decide to take the painting—so you should too!”

In conclusion, gæ.

mike can’t stop staring.

will bruised like a peach; he always had. every spill off his bike, every knock against fences and trees, every wrestling match over the remote, every sleepless night – would bloom out over his skin in stages of black and blue and yellow and green.

but this-

they’re here, sitting in the back of the pizza van as it carries them to their destination, the calm before the storm, and mike can’t stop staring. at some point the sleeve of will’s shirt had torn at the seam where arm met shoulder, the excess material hanging off and down to his elbow, baring skin seldom seen these days, where will seemed to be gravitating towards long-sleeved button-ups and away from regular tees.

it was this skin that captured mike’s attention, and for once it’s not for the pale, smooth skin itself. there are bruises marring that skin, bruises forming a pattern that is both familiar and infuriating. “does it hurt?” he asks, hushed and quiet in the relative silence of the van. when will looks away from the window, brows creased in confusion, he gestures to will’s arm. “you have… bruises,” he explains, hating the recognition in will’s eyes that wars with resignation, “where that dickhead grabbed you.”

will’s other hand comes up to tug the material aside, and suddenly mike can see all of it, the fingertip-shaped spots that are already black and blue and hints of a deep purple, stark against skin that hasn’t seen sunlight in months. will’s hand shifts and the pad of his index finger unconsciously settles directly overtop one of the bruises. mike feels like throwing up. “oh. it doesn’t hurt, just kind of… aches,” will admits. he smooths the cotton back into place and somehow it’s worse now, worse now that it’s hidden from view but mike knows they’re there, just beneath the surface.

without thinking it through, he reaches out to touch, and they both still when his hand grazes will’s sleeve. swallowing thickly, he drags it along the length of will’s arm, going at a near glacial pace as they both watch its progress silently. once it reaches the spot just below the beginning of the bruising, it stops there, hovering a bit before slowly, softly flattening against the fabric of his sleeve, curving around the bend of his elbow.

into the blanketed silence, mike’s quiet words sound like a shout. “you sure? i could… kiss it better.”

the shadow monster

mind flayer will is an absolute most for season 5

here’s my take!

clear ver:

gay mike this, bi mike that

let’s look at the real issue in the byler fandom and that’s ppl who think mike would be scared of spiders

I just think a return of season 2 Mike would be neat

reblog if you, if you when you reblog when if you

Jonathan if Mike makes Will cry again in s5

mike wheeler realising that he's cared for and missed when he's gone and that his existence is a net positive by the way. if you even care

Lucas Sinclair in Stranger Things 2 | Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak

“Of course she likes Ghostbusters, but that’s not the point.”

I’m sorry I can’t stop myself from posting

Byler