Byler

Byler is the slash ship between Mike Wheeler and Will Byers from the Stranger Things fandom.

Canon
Mike and Will have been best friends since kindergarten, where Mike had found Will on the swing set all alone and decided to approach him and ask if he wanted to be friends. Will said yes, and Mike told him it was ‘the best thing he's ever done’.

Season 1
Will goes missing after he’s captured by the Demogorgon. Since he's gone for most of the season, there aren’t much moments between the two- Mike stops at nothing to rescue his best friend from the upside-down. After Will is presumed dead, Mike rushes home and hides away in his basement, looking through drawings that Will had drawn before he went missing, blaming Eleven for misleading him.​ In​ the​ very​ last​ episode, Mike​ is​ shown to​ be​ the​ only​ person,​ who's ​apart​ of​ the​ A.V. club, who​ stayed​ awake​​ in​ the​ hospital​ to​ not​ miss​ a​ chance​ to​ talk​ to​ Will.

Season 2
When Will has an ‘episode’ (or so called flashbacks of the upside-down), and Mike comes out to check on him. The two walk back into the arcade with arms wrapped around each other. Throughout this season, Mike is overprotective of him. When Will goes home early for no explained reason, Mike is visibly concerned for his friend and his health, and even goes to call his house to make sure he’s okay. After not getting any answer, he tells his other friends that he’s going to visit him to make sure Will’s doing okay. After discovering Will’s possession by the mindflayer, he helps him through it by holding his hand, after reassuring he’ll be okay, and expressing deep concern after Will uses his ‘true sight’. Mike comes to the hospital with Will and stays by his side throughout.

Season​ 3
Mike​ is​ still​ shown to​ be​ concerned​ for​ Will​ in​ the​ first​ episode​ asking​ if​ he​ was​ ok.​ Soon​ after​ when​ Dustin gets​ back​ from​ camp, it​ is​ shown that​ Will​ think​s​ that​ Mike's relationship with​ Eleven was​ gross. ​The​ two, Mike​ and​ Will, ended​ up​ having​ a​ fight​ after​ Mike​ and​ Lucas don't​ show​ much​ interest in​ playing​ D&D with​ him​ and​ only​ showed​ interest in​ girls.​ The​ fight​ concluded with​ will​ biking away​ in​ the​ rain, not before Mike makes the comment “It‘s not my fault you don’t like girls!”. Not long​ after​ Mike​ is​ shown to​ be​ at​ Will's house, with​ Lucas, to​ apologize.​ Then in episode 6, we see Mike finally confessing his 'love' for Eleven and we see Will look down in sadness. Finally, in the last episode, we have a scene between Will and Mike acknowledging that Will will never leave their party.

Quotes
"Will! Will, I'm sorry, man, alright? I was being a total asshole. Please, can you just come outside and we'll talk?"

- Mike knocking on Will's door after their argument. 3x3, 'The Case of the Missing Lifeguard'

"I’m the only one who cares about Will!"

- Mike.

"Will! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

- Mike to Will.

Behind the Scenes
In an interview with Variety, Noah Schnapp, who portrays Will Byers, stated that he believes that it is "100% clear" and a "very real, obvious thing" that Will is gay and is in love with Mike.

Fanon
Typically this ship is looked down upon, as Mileven is the canon ship of the series. Despite this, Byler is a pretty popular theme throughout and most people had shipped it even before season 2 came out, and is a very popular theme in fanfiction. Most of fanfiction is based around Mike expressing feelings for Will after realizing Eleven wasn't for him. Throughout the series, Byler has been popular.

On AO3, Byler is the fifth most written ship within the Stranger Things (TV 2016) tag; Mike’s second most written, and Will’s most written.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Will/Mike tag on FanFiction.net
 * Will/Mike tag on FanFiction.net

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