Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
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| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Will Byers/Mike Wheeler |
| Alternative name(s): | Byler, MiWi, Cleradin |
| Gender category: | M/M |
| Fandom: | Stranger Things |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | Popular |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | Will Byers & Mike Wheeler (platonic) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, also known as Byler, is the slash pairing of Will Byers and Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things fandom.
Canon
Will and Mike as a friendship are given a significant focus throughout the show, compared to other like friendships.
In the first scene of the show, as the Party (Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler and Will Byers) play a game of D&D. Will's dice gets lost underneath the table near the end and the group have to leave. Dustin and Lucas state clearly to not tell Mike he rolled a seven. Immediately after the two leave, Will tell's Mike what he rolled. This sets the precedent of their relationship throughout the show: Will evidently, doesn't hide things from Mike. Throughout season one Mike is given focus particularly in Will's disappearance.
In season two, while Will gets possessed by the Mind Flyer, their relationship continues to be emphasized. Near the end, the people closest with Will try to tether him by sharing stories of their memories of him. Mike recounts the tale of how their friendship began to Will and gets quite emotional. He tells him, "I asked you to be my friend, and you said yes. You said yes. It was the best thing I've ever done."
Things take a turn in season three. Will tries to grasp on the remains of his childhood while the others (specifically, Lucas Sinclair and Mike Wheeler) would rather talk about girls. This continues throughout the season and eventually leads to a culmination of Will storming out of Mike's basement, and they confront each other as it rains, regarded infamously as the rain fight. Mike says, "it's not my fault you don't like girls," after Will outlines how he wishes they could hang out like the old days. This line alludes to Will's queerness as well as his feelings towards Mike. That is elevated after Will tears down Castle Byers in tears. Although it appears the two makeup at the end of the season there is an undertone of uncertainty which follows their friendship into season four.
At the beginning of season four, Eleven states in a letter to Mike, "Will has been painting a lot, but he won't show me what he's working on. Maybe it is for a girl. I think there is someone he likes, because he has been acting weird." When Mike arrives in Lenora to visit the Byers, Will is shown to be excited to see him, with the painting in hand. However Mike dodges his hug rendering the whole group and scene to an awkward tension. Will and Mike continue to conflict over their relationship and Mike's incapability of maintaining it normally. Will eventually gives the painting to Mike when Mike expresses his insecurities within his relationship with Eleven, but under the false pretense that Eleven commissioned it. He inadvertently confesses his feelings for Mike during this scene although Mike does not notice.
Fandom
Increasingly over each season – and particularly following confirmation that Will Byers is gay [1] – the fan-base around Will/Mike has grown, being especially popular on Tumblr. Parts of the fandom are certain that Will/Mike will become a canon relationship by the end of Stranger Things and a large amount of meta and interpretation of canon material has been produced in support of this. For example, the 'Byler Slides' refers to a 325 slide long powerpoint created by beepboop358 detailing aspects of canon that the creator believes indicate that Will/Mike has canon support and will be an endgame couple.
Other fans, both fans of the pairing and show in general, have been unconvinced and suspect that the ending will likely revolve around something closer to something demonstrating that Will is accepted by Mike and the rest of his friends, with him not having a romantic partner by the end of the season.
Fandom Theories
Blue/Yellow Colour Symbolism
Many fans noticed the usage of the colours: blue and yellow in correlation with Mike and Will.
BirthdayGate
A speculative theory that it was Will's birthday within the show (as opposed to what the Duffers claim -- that they forgot) and that Vecna is making people forget things, therefore everyone (perhaps even Will), forgetting his birthday.[2]
Statistics
As of February 2024, Will/Mike has 11,113 works tagged with the pairings on Archive of Our Own, and was 10th in Centreoftheselights AO3 Ship Stats 2023.
In 2019 Byler was in 13th Position in Tumblr Fandometrics [3]
Controversies
Byler vs Mileven Ship War
In some fan spaces there has been a considerable amount of animosity between fans who ship Will/Mike and fans who ship El/Mike. While much of this has taken place on Tumblr, the arguments can also be found across most social media platforms where media is discussed including Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit.
Byler Fans and Noah Schnapp's Social Media Posts in Support of Israel
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Childhood Best friends to Lovers
- Either/or gets "Vecna'd"
Fanworks
Fanfiction
Top Ten Byler fanfics on AO3 (based on 'kudos')
- undertow by beansie
- I Never Find Out 'Til I'm Head Over Heels by orphan_account
- Geography Notes and Doodles by midnighteverlark
- Force of Gravity by oceanfruit
- i'm tearing you asunder by smoosnoom (moonsooms)
- The makeup dilemma by Kikinu
- The Red Envelope by midnighteverlark
- Jealousy (turning saints into the sea) by wasabi8000
- there's a Starman waiting in the sky by the_angry_pixie
- kiss it better by beansie
Byler Fanfiction Recommendations
byler must reads - Archive of Our Own by thesecretsoftheuniverse
“The Definitive Byler fic rec list” by valenhell
Byler fic master doc by luciddixon_ and owlqueen9
Byler Fic Finder by cleradins
Fanart
See the following artist pages:
2019
2018
Gifset
2019
Date Published Unknown
Zines
Meta
- Byler Proof by beepboop358
- Byler Manifesto on Byler Nation
References
- ^ "Grant Rindner, 'Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp confirms his character Will Byers is gay', GQ Magazine". Archived from the original on 2022-07-18.
- ^ https://www.tumblr.com/chirpsythismorning/694606130580701184
- ^ "Week Ending July 8th, 2019". Archived from the original on 2020-04-11.
| Stranger Things | |
| Master Lists | Stranger Things Category • Characters • Ships • Zines |
| Crossover Ships | Will Byers/Richie Tozier • Bill Denbrough/Mike Wheeler • Eddie Kaspbrak/Mike Wheeler • Will Byers & Eddie Kaspbrak • Richie Tozier & Mike Wheeler |
| Part of the Fanlore Project on Stranger Things! Join us, say hello on the talk page, or join our Discord! | |