Behold! A Byler

Can we talk about how Mike was literally FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE trying to prove to Eleven that he didn't think of her as a monster

But then in this scene, Mike compares Will to Vecna, THE MONSTER, and they both just smile and laugh.

"You know what I think of you!" And she clearly doesn't. She still has the thought in her mind that Mike thinks she's a monster. He looked scared of her.

Though Will knows what Mike thinks of him. That's why he didn't take offense. He knew that Mike would never think of him as a monster, that Mike could never be scared of him. That's why Mike can so freely joke about that, because he already knows Will wouldn't take offense. He knows what Will thinks of him, and he knows Will knows what he thinks of him. They just have that sort of relationship...

One that's like

"I didn't say it."

"You didn't have to."

They don't have to say things just to make them known for each other, they just know it.

Mike calls Eleven a superhero to combat how she thinks of herself as a monster. She responds "not anymore". Mike has nothing left to say.

Mike says that Will is like a wizard. Will doesn't necessarily agree. Mike then explains it in dnd terms and says that in real life he's like a sorcerer. They both agree.

And in the end, he was right. He is a sorcerer. He realizes, and then looks at him like he's the most incredible person in the world. Will looks possessed, his eyes rolled back and he's doing to the demogorgons exactly what Vecna does to people, but Mike is awestruck. He could never be scared of him. There was never a doubt in either of their minds that they both think so fondly of each other.

This whole scene is just proof that Mike can talk way more freely with Will than with Eleven. Their whole conversation here is exactly the kind of thing that he can't talk about with El. Eleven would be so upset to hear Mike joke that she's a monster because she doesn't fully know what Mike thinks of her. Will jokes along with Mike after he jokingly calls him the monster because Will has always known what Mike thinks of him. Mike explains him being a sorcerer in dnd terms and they both smile and agree. Mike tries to talk to Eleven about dnd but she doesn't get it, because she doesn't understand dnd and she never actually commissioned the painting. Everything he's saying to Will here are things that would never come off the same way with Eleven. Will felt slightly hopeless after this, but this conversation just proves that Will is the obvious choice for Mike. They have such better understandings of each other.

mike knows will is gay now. that alone changes everything. and the most important thing people keep missing is this: mike never actually finds out that will is in love with him. the best friend scene is not a rejection. it is mike accepting will for who he is, without ever being told the full truth.

and that matters.

because now that mike knows will’s sexuality, the door is finally open. open for mike to recontextualize years of intimacy, devotion, jealousy, and emotional reliance. open for him to question himself in a way he never allowed before. open for the possibility that what he has always felt toward will was not just friendship after all.

there is simply too much subtext. too much narrative weight. too many loaded looks and deliberate choices. byler cannot be dismissed as nothing. even if the show leaves it ambiguous. even if it never says the words out loud. some stories do not need explicit canon to exist. they live in implication. in subtext.

and they have barely even begun their lives. they just graduated high school. their world has finally slowed down enough for them to exist outside of survival mode. of course nothing is resolved yet. of course everything feels unfinished. coming of age does not end at eighteen. for a lot of people, that is where it finally starts.

Steve needed the “it’s okay if your crush doesn’t like you back” arc, not Will.

Mike needed the “you’re braver than you think” arc, not Holly.

Mileven needed the “shared trauma doesn’t mean we’re compatible” breakup, not Jancy.

Byler needed the “I just needed you” resolution, not Lumax.

Either Willel or Elmax needed the “you understand me better than anyone” resolution, not Mileven.