#all i do is read crush and find byler in it

[pyschologicalrocketgirl]

Richard Siken Driving, not Washing

[andiwriteordie]

Mike and Will get locked in the school library and have to wait until morning for the doors to open up, perhaps?

ok so not gonna lie, i am getting sleepy (lol me projecting by writing mike's sleepy self in the library), but listen, this one was SO fun. a little modern byler au here, set during their senior year of high school. featuring every byler's favorite poem by richard siken (starts at 19:54 on the link).

—

with a beautiful boy

“What if nobody finds us in here, Will?”

Will blinks, and he rolls over to look at his best friend in amusement. “There’s school tomorrow, Mike,” he reminds dryly. “First thing in the morning, Ms. Jean’s gonna come in and realize we’re in here, and we’ll get lectured or get detention or something for being stuck in here. But they’re gonna find us.”

Mike hums, and he lazily reaches for one of the books—one with a black and white picture of a man’s mouth and hand, titled CRUSH. He opens it up, absently thumbing through the pages; then, without saying another word, he sets the book on top of his face.

“Do you think if I just… let these books sit on my head I’ll absorb all their information through osmosis or something?” Mike asks, his voice muffled by the book on top of his face, and Will just snorts.

“I think you need to sleep,” Will corrects, nudging his best friend’s shoulder. “It’s 2 AM, Mike. If you’re tired, you should sleep. I told you I didn’t mind staying up alone.”

“And I told you,” Mike says stubbornly, “that if you’re staying up, then I’m staying up too. Besides, it’s kind of fun. You know I get stupid when I haven’t slept in a while.”

Once again, Will snorts, and he reaches over, lifting the book off Mike’s face. “You said it,” Will deadpans. “Not me.”

A soft laugh escapes Mike’s lips, and he closes his eyes, letting out a quiet sigh. “I know,” he murmurs, his voice a little sleepy. “I know I did.”

“Mike,” Will laughs softly, nudging his best friend again. “If you’re tired, go to sleep.”

Mike lifts his middle finger up. “Don’t tell me what t’do, Byers,” he grumbles. “I’m fine.”

Will rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say.”

Mike just hums softly, and he taps his fingers absently against the carpeted floor of the library. “Hey, Will?”

“Hm?”

“Will you read to me?” Mike says, his voice soft, and Will blinks, looking at his best friend curiously.

“You want me to read to you?” Will repeats, just trying to make sure he heard Mike correctly. 

“Mhm.” Mike nods. 

“What, like a bedtime story or something?” Will asks dryly. “Is that what this is?”

“No,” Mike huffs, opening one eye and sticking his tongue out at Will. “I just… like your voice a lot. It’s pretty. So… you should read to me.”

Warmth rises to Will’s cheeks, and he looks away quickly, lest Mike see the stupid blush on his face. Yeah, Mike is definitely loopy right now, since he’s saying stuff like this. There’s no way in hell Mike would say any of this if he was in the right mind. He has no idea what he’s talking about.

Maybe a bedtime story would be good for him.

“Fine,” Will sighs reluctantly. “What do you want me to read?”

Once again, Mike hums. “Just read the book I grabbed,” he mumbles. “The one you’re holding right now.”

“Okay, okay,” Will sighs, and he sits up, absently flipping through the book and trying to find a poem that stands out to him. 

Finally, one of the poems jumps out to him, and Will swallows the lump in his throat. He… he can’t help but think back to the summer road trip he and the other Party members had gone on, just a couple months ago. The memory of sneaking away in the morning before the others had woken up and riding in the passenger seat of Mike’s car along the coastline feels burned into Will’s memory, and this poem feels like that memory—as if the poet tore open Will’s heart and mind and used his thoughts as inspiration.

“You’re in a car with a beautiful boy,” Will begins to read softly, “and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you. And you feel like you've done something terrible, like robbed a liquor store, or swallowed pills, or shoveled yourself a grave in the dirt, and you're tired.”

Mike hums softly, and Will glances at his best friend, a tiny smile on his face. “You’re in a car with a beautiful boy,” Will continues, “and you're trying not to tell him that you love him, and you're trying to choke down the feeling, and you're trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, like a prayer for which no words exist…”

Will’s heart pounds inside his chest, and he takes a shaky breath, staring down at the words. “And you feel your heart taking root in your body,” he murmurs, “like you've discovered something you don't even have a name for.”

Once Will finishes reading the poem, the library goes silent. Neither one of them says a word, and all Will can do is stare at the words, reading them over and over again.

You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you.

…

You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him.

...

And you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you don’t even have a name for.

“Hey, Will?” Mike murmurs, his voice thick with sleep.

Will swallows the lump in his throat, and he lowers the book, so he can look at his best friend. “Yeah?” he whispers back.

Mike’s eyes are still close, and he absently traces his finger across the carpet. “Have you ever felt like that before?” he asks softly, and Will’s brow furrows.

“Like… what?” Will asks hesitantly.

“Like how the poet did when he wrote that,” Mike answers without hesitation. His voice is still soft, and it grows even softer when he adds, “‘Cause… ‘cause I have.”

Will’s breath catches. He glances back down at the book. The words jump off the page at him.

You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves you, but he loves you.

“Yeah,” Will whispers back, hesitantly looking back up. “I… I have too.”

You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him.

A tiny smile forms on Mike’s face, and he opens his eyes, looking sleepily at Will. “You should tell me about it sometime,” he whispers. “And I’ll tell you too… when I’m less sleepy. ‘Cause I… I don’t wanna wake up and realize this was a dream.”

There’s something so tender in Mike’s eyes, and Will can’t help but smile. “Okay,” he says softly, nodding at his best friend. “We can tell each other about… about what we’re thinking about, when you’re less sleepy. Deal?”

“Deal,” Mike promises, yawning softly. “I… I’m gonna sleep now. ‘m sorry.”

Will can’t help but laugh. “It’s okay,” he reassures. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you up before school starts.”

The smile on Mike’s face grows. “G’night, Will,” he mumbles, and he closes his eyes once more.

“Goodnight, Mike,” Will whispers back.

Within moments, Mike is fast asleep, and Will exhales, looking back down at the poetry book in his hands. His eyes land on the last lines of the poem, and Will can’t help but smile.

And you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you don’t even have a name for.

[mikeslawyer]

I read your entire answer and everything you said I knew you were gonna say, this is what you guys always say and it’s getting tiring. Look like I said I’m not a byler lover I’m indifferent to it, but I absolutely stand with Will doing better and he definitely can I say that with my full chest. They are both young and both do have choices it’s not be all and end all. Will does hate himself for being gay he’s accepted it but he’s trying to “rip the bandaid” off with mike. He knows he couldn’t say anything to him cause it’s the 80s he knows about people like Alan Turing and stuff but he’s still living in a scary timeline where’s he’s scared to be out and show any inclination he likes men. That is exactly why I said his coming of age could be him finding community and/or a person he could fall in love with in time. Your looking at his character with a big byler lense while I’m seeing him outside of the ship, which you clearly have a problem doing.

it’s okay to take off those byler lenses and see that not everything has to be mike for will and vice versa. Just like the same argument we make for el her happiness at this young age, and everything she’s gone thru doesn’t have to be fixed with mike loving her. Same goes for Will his happiness doesn’t have to be mike loving him back, when he could explore his sexuality with other people. There’s no problem with that and I’m frankly insulted that some bylers think like this, but that’s what shippers do I guess.

i do see will outside of the ship. frankly, i’m tired of overexplaining myself but also to add - will has been in love with mike for years. it’s not a crush, it won’t go away. i see will as an individual and i, objectively, think that mike is the best person for him because he understands him without words. they fit. you have a different opinion, i get it, but don’t come into byler asks saying shit like this.

i think, for will as an individual, mike is the perfect match for will and i will not stand by “he can do better”. stop trying to pick a fight, have a nice day x

[ily-tothecore]

more byler fic recs - all completed

honey-mouthed by smoosnoom (moonsooms) - this one is so bloody sweet, it's just a short little fic about mike realising he has feelings for will after the gang tells him about his 'will voice'. absolutely no drama, it's really soft and easy which is always a good thing in my opinion.

resplendent by smoosnoom (moonsooms) - a cute one shot where will has powers that go haywire every time he kisses mike. it's really sweet and a little cheeky. another cute one by this author is eyecatcher; mike gets jealous when he notices that nearly every girl in hawkins is all over will and makes it his mission to scare them all off.

going too far just to have you near by borealisaurora - robin points out to will that mike always gravitates towards him whenever they're in the same room, when he doesn't believe her, she gets him to put it to the test. this one was really cute, would definitely read it again.

all this time (how could you not know?) by astrobi - this one was so good! it does have some mike/el in the beginning but it's extremely byler centric so don't worry. it's set in senior year so they're all aged up a bit which actually makes it even cuter. will just keeps getting stuck with the job of giving out relationship advice and he doesn't know what to do about it. it's all just really soft and sweet, the prom night scene is adorable. please read it.

provide me sweet understanding by agustplz (shout_out_lou) - this one was so cute, the whole gang notices mike being weird and distant and will automatically assumes he's avoiding him. the reveal is absolutely adorable and very mike. another sweet one by this author is my heart set (anywhere but here), mike gets jealous of lucas and blows up at a party, there' a bit of angst but it gets resolved really quickly in a really sweet way.

be the boy by katbatsupreme - oh i really quite liked this one, it was so fluffy and funny, will is super cheeky in it as well. mike overhears a conversation between will and johnathon over the walkie and finds out that will has a crush on a boy, he quickly realises that he wants to be that boy. it's all just really sweet, please give it a go.

click here for part one of my byler recs :)

[quinnick]

Byler Fanfic Recs

This post has been a long time coming and got jumpstarted by seeing @buck-yyyy

This list will have a break down of any tw content, set up for what to expect, side ships, and anything you may find in the tags. I also am basis towards my friends so I have limited myself to one fic from any given writer but in the future I may make rec lists with specific types of fics but for now this is just random. Also want to say, this will be from a readers stand point for readers but I also write so full disclosure. You can find all my fics in my pinned post if you are interested

Last but not least (before we begin), please please leave a kudo on the fic if you enjoyed it. And if it is your favorite thing ever, leave a comment or bookmark

Okay, without further-a-do, the list

Things I Can't Say by Chiquitablanquita

Warning for underage drinking Your classic sketchbook notebook swap with love confessions in every page. This fic is unique in the way it presents itself with majority of it’s chapters being poems. This fic is Byler focused with only mentions or references to past El/Mike. this is a first kiss and pre-relationship fic. Gay pining is everywhere in this fic and miscommunication is a big thing to. But if you are a byler who hates miscommunication... idk what to tell you (/lh) this fic is completed and is 15 chapters. Only  6470 so it’s easy to get through

Hold My Breath As I Wish For Death by LadyLillyGray

Warning for discussion of and references to suicidal ideation and self harm. Also references to canon homophobia

Will finds out about the stunt Mike pulled at the quarry in s1. It’s mostly just Will and Mike talking and sharing their feelings and I do like a good old fashion discussion fic. This is pre-relationship and first kiss. Also a Byler focused fic and other characters show up for like 5 seconds. hurt/comfort leaning on past hurt and a lot of comfort. Still has angst though. it’s just a one-shot with only 1,540 making it a light read. A good bed time story honestly

But Boys Don’t Cry, Right? by heyits_L

Warning for reference to suicidal ideation (in reference to the quarry scene again), No happy ending, major character death

A poetic listing of all the terrible things that happen in Mikes life. This fic utilizes a poetic rhythm and stanza based writing to tell a snappy story. This is a heavy angst fic with no happy ending. Short description for a short fic. it’s a one-shot with only  787 words so it is a very quick read. Not a bed time story. Unless you like heavy angst before bed I guess.

lying on the floor (typing your name into the internet) by andiwriteordie

Will thinks the barista at the coffee shop is cute but also he may have a major crush on his online bestfriend. This a AU with no UD stuff and technically a coffee shop AU. not super big part of the fic. Focused mainly on Byler but with background Elumax. This is a kind of meta fic but it is so fluffy and just super cute. There isn’t a ton to say other then that I love it. It’s a one-shot with  6252 but it’s a super light breezy read. 

What do you do now, Will the Wise? by RainbowNixie

The party plays DnD and Mike (who is DM) is doing all in his power to get the paladin and cleric to flirt. This is a cute little DnD fic that’s pre-relationship and first kiss. They are just cringefail losers the whole time and it’s stellar. It’s a lot of flirting and a lot of tension building. It is a one-shot with 11534. It’s a nice bed time story if you can read fast or want a long story. 

This is just a few for right now but tell me if anyone is interested in more of these lists ! And please make your own fic rec lists !! Always support writers and share fics you like. Feel free to send me your fav fics via ask as I am always looking for suggestions. I wouldn't add onto this post with more recs but would encourage you take make your own so those fics can circle around the tag and not just your dash. Have a lovely day

[oldfashionedmorphine]

Okidoki the arrow thingy and byler ofc

shuffled an old playlist… and i give you…

an au where will and el visit hawkins for spring break instead of mike going to california and they all end up at a house party—no vecna stuff but seasons 1-3 still happened the same :D

cw: underage drinking

—————

nothing to keep me from the storm

It had been over a week and Mike still couldn’t shake the bitter feeling he got when he read El’s last letter—telling him Will was making a painting for a girl—why didn’t he tell him he liked a girl? You know what—he doesn’t care—he didn’t want to know…

But something about it still irked him. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Will was painting for that stupid girl. Especially since he was the one who complained about how much time he was spending with El. Because he had called her ‘some stupid girl’.

Since when does he give a shit about girls anyway…

Except… isn’t this is how it’s supposed to be anyway? Mike was supposed to enjoy spending all his extra time with El—like right now—they’re at a party at Jennifer Haye’s house—their very first ever high school party with alcohol and everything—he usually wouldn’t go to things like this, but both El and Lucas insisted they have a little fun.

Whatever.

And so now he currently has his left arm wrapped around El’s waist and a red solo cup full of mystery punch in his right hand—he’s had two cups already yet for some stupid reason the buzz hasn’t helped one bit to erase the thought of Will painting shit for a damn girl.

Why do I care?!

He glances over to where Will was standing—he was holding onto a pool cue and waiting for his turn while Dustin took a shot, knocking another solid into a corner hole.

Then he catches Will staring and his first immediate reaction was to turn his head to El and lean close to press a kiss to her forehead. Because she’s still there, even though she’s babbling to Max and he hasn’t a single clue what they’re talking about—she’s right there. He should only be thinking of her—not Will and that stupid girl he has a crush on.

And when he looks back over—perhaps hoping he somehow made Will jealous—or whatever—he finds Will wasn’t there anymore. He was gone.

—————

Will really didn’t want to go to the party. He just wasn’t in the mood to be reminded that he was the only one out of all his friends that would never be normal. He was the odd one out—the mistake. Lucas has Max, Dustin has Suzie (even if she wasn’t physically in the same room as them right now, which is probably the main reason why Dustin is keeping him company by playing a few rounds of pool—though that didn’t change the fact that he still had someone while Will had no one and he never will), but worst of all was seeing Mike across the room with his arm around El.

Sure he’d been stuck in the Upside Down and was possessed by the Mind Flayer, but he’d gladly take that shit any day than constantly feel tortured over his feelings for Mike. Because ever since he met El it’s been nothing but a nightmare situation for him. On one hand, he’s come to love El—she’s like a sister to him—but on the other hand, he’s insanely jealous that she gets to have exactly what he wishes he could have—she gets to hold Mike’s hand—she gets to kiss him.

And what does Will get? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Mike will never think of him in the same way—it’s all pointless. And to think he planned to give him that stupid painting he made him—what a waste of time.

He sighs, leaning forward to take his turn, missing the striped ball entirely—he just can’t focus. Dustin makes a joke of it while he chalks up his cue, not that Will cares. And when Dustin moves to line up another shot, Will looks back over at Mike. Yeah, he’s staring again, he knows it and he doesn’t care about that either. He just can’t help it. Maybe Will likes torturing himself.

But then Mike catches his stare—it only lasts a moment because then he turns his head to give El a kiss on her forehead.

It’s not the first time he’s witnessed him doing things like that, but every damn time it happens it feels like a dagger piercing his chest. He can’t stand it.

Will calls the game, setting down his cue on the pool table and then he forces his way through the crowd to find the punch bowl. He fills a red cup to the brim and downs it fast—going for another and another.

If only he could drink his feelings away… permanently.

—————

;(

@daydreams-in-the-moonlight @magentamee @greenfiend tagging you guys cause you asked to be tagged in things like this lol

[will80sbyers]

look...I'm sorry, they were even cute in the first seasons but Mewtwo is not salvable even if Mike was straight (he's not)

they knew each other for one week and became friends quickly even if El couldn't speak at all so they didn't really know each other, they did like each other superficially and formed a bond because of what happened...

then they stayed 11 months apart (while Mike and Will grew closer and spent all the time together) then she came back "from the dead" and they started dating from Christmas until Summer so like 8 months??? when they were mainly kissing and ignoring their friends... they are not shown talking much when they are together except when Mike has to apologize because he lied to her

and like, they date but then in the second episode ON SCREEN they start having problems... Mike lies to her, El spies on him... Mike doesn't communicate honestly with her even after she finds out he lied!

they make them break up and Mike doesn't run to her to apologize immediately but avoids taking responsibility while El is having fun with Max and finally being a kid with a friend

Mike says he loves her in a room full of people but they didn't even had a good conversation ON SCREEN and he still doesn't trust her to decide herself to use her powers and acts overprotective over her instead of trusting her... he even has to be convinced by Max looking at him angrily before listening to his own girlfriend that is saying to him "I need you to trust me."....

then he tries to tell her how he feels but he can't say the word love for whatever reason and she doesn't understand what he means, does she even really feels that? she didn't get it.

then... Mike has a clearly flirty moment with Will!

Milk Van Der Woodsen stays single until the finale when El from out of the blue tells him she loves him...

HE DOESN'T RESPOND.

HE DOESN'T SMILE.

HE LOOKS CONFUSED.

HE GOES BACK TO HIS HOME TO HUG HIS MOTHER WITH THE CAMERA FOCUSING ON HIS CONFLICTED EMOTIONS.

THE MONOLOGUE BEFORE THE HUG SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT HE WILL MISS WILLIAM MORE THAN HIS GIRLFRIEND.

HE BASICALLY SAID THAT HE MISSED WILL MORE THAN HIS OWN GIRLFRIEND IN SEASON 4. Hawkins is not the same without you. I feel like I lost you....

We go to season 4 and El is lying to Mike for 6 MONTHS!!!

AND Mike has yet to actually say the I love you to her face

AND Mike calls her ridiculous to her face and she sends him a - From, El that reads like a break up note tbh

AND they show Mike acting like he has a crush on Will at the same time...

AND he has like 5 heart to hearts that are being interrupted with Will through the whole season

AND he is paired with Will that is CANONICALLY in love with him through the whole freaking season

AND El is on her own journey and growing up away from him

AND the only way he actually can find the courage to say the ily to her is when Will lies and tells him his own feelings for him using El as a proxy to do it and making him believe that El feels like that for him

AND he still seems conflicted before saying it

AND they parallel all of the byler scenes in s4 to the other canon queer couple Vickie (bisexual) & Robin (lesbian) that are going to get together in s5

AND a lot of other stuff 💀

how can you still believe Mitskivan is the endgame for Mike and El??????????

[wixiany]

I've been reading through the byler tag a lot in the last two days. One thing that really makes me stop is Mike and what his sexuality could be. On one hand, there is his whole relationship with El, then there is always the possibility of bisexuality. But what I've read in the tag and the byler master slides and now fully believe is that Mike is actually gay but heavily repressing it all. If it proves to be true, then Mike will be the best portrayal of comphet I have ever seen in media. And even if it is not confirmed, in my eyes, it is clearly there.

You could argue that it is just my interpretation, and that is fine. But for some context why I relate so much and think the comphet is so obvious: I grew up in a tiny town, in a country where nobody talked much about lgbt stuff as I was growing up. My parents never told me about it. I had no idea liking women was an option. I figured out I was a lesbian when I was 19. And the thing is, I have always had a crush on some guy. I picked the first one in kindergarten and then had one all the time. But in retrospect, I can now recognize signs that I always liked women more. But I simply didn't understand it. Every girl around me was getting boyfriends, talking about boys and crushes, so I always had one too. But to be fair, I did kind of like those boys. They were smart and funny and nice to talk to. Some I never talked to more than once. I was a kid. I didn't even think about stuff like kissing and such. Until the intimacy became a real option and I panicked, but more to that later.

Here, I think of Mike and El. I'm sure others have explained it better than me. She's there, he helps her. He cares about her, he thinks it could be love. She is the one who usually initiates and he goes with it. It's what's expected of him. And he might have been excited at first, which is perfect comphet to me. That's comphet. You are so brainwashed by everything you've been seeing your entire life that you think that's it. But then Mike gets a bit older, the relationship gets more demanding, more intimate (I'm not sexualizing them, you know what I mean) and suddenly we see him getting all stiff with the kisses. I've been through this too, when I was still figuring myself out. I went on a couple of dates with this guy and when we hugged it didn't feel right. When he asked to hold hands, I did, because I thought that after a month of chatting and three dates that was something you should do. And when he wanted to kiss me on the second and the third date, I couldn't. I literally said a quick goodbye and fled to my car. That day I texted him I just didn't feel the same and to stop going out, but inside I finally knew that I was never going to be comfortable doing anything like that with a guy. But it took me 19 long years to figure that out because of comphet.

So no, I wouldn't say that it's far-fetched to think that Mike and El were just a childhood romance that was never going to last. You grow up and you change, find yourself. Maybe I'm projecting and totally wrong, but if you struggled with comphet, I would guarantee that you can see yourself reflected in Mike. Not to mention the way he treated Will after he arrived in Cali. It was very odd to his character. Unless you look at it with a similar lense. He isn't ready to accept who he is. For plethora of reasons. It is definitely a narrative choice to have him acting like that.

I would say that a casual viewer would not really pick up on this stuff, but a queer viewer? Oh, we do. It actually makes me tear up reading some other theories and such because to me, it is there. That comphet, that inner struggle with accepting who you are versus who you are supposed to be, what your parents and friends expect you to be.

Or it's queerbait and I'm reading too much into this. It's late, idk.

[greenlikethesea]

oh yeah like obviously if i'm in fandom it's because i'm all for doing queer readings of non canonically queer characters, and i do enjoy sapphic nancy fan content but i'll never really buy it as a like, very realistic plausible interpretation of her in canon

same goes for mike just a million times more because it's so very clearly just not the direction the show is trying to go with him, like there's only so much blatant ignoring of reality my fannish goggles let me do. nothing but love and respect to the shippers who don't let such foolish considerations stand in the way of their fun though lol

you get exactly what i mean, especially regarding these two characters. i've read some queer nancy content that i have enjoyed (@dallae wrote an incredible gift for me that had nancy in a somewhat fraught and difficult relationship with a woman much later in life, and it was, to me, the most realistic portrayal of how that trajectory would go for her). in general, though, i just do not see her as even a little bi. she enjoys the company of men, and enjoys sex with men canonically, and seeks these interactions of her own accord. while that does not necessarily a straight woman make, it's just a feeling i have for her! sometimes people are straight and that's okay. i think she really just needs a friend who is a girl.

and omg, thank you for saying that about mike. like, all love and light to byler shippers, but it's so abundantly clear that they're going in an unrequited crush direction with will and mike -- and a good thing too! stranger things is not heartstopper. it's semi-rural indiana in the mid 1980s. and i don't think mike is a closeted bisexual by any means. i think he's just a sensitive boy who went through trauma. there's a lot of interesting potential with mike as a character who has grown up and not really found his lane, unlike his peers -- he's not athletic and affable like lucas, or tough and resilient like max, or a whiz kid like dustin, or artistic like will, or superpowered like el. he's the only boy in his family, and has been given preferential treatment by his parents and been the leader of the party and now he's just...not that special. wouldn't having the romantic attention of more than one person be appealing, even if you don't feel that way about one of them? i find that sort of young desperation for any kind of validation so relatable and so interesting.

[my-hyperfixations]

Someone on here has probably already said this but I’m gonna repeat it:

I think one of the biggest pieces of evidence for Byler is how they addressed it in season 4 and the set up for season 5.

If Byler was unrequited, then Will would have confessed this season and Mike would’ve rejected him. But that didn’t happen. Will is still hiding his feelings from him and Mike doesn’t know the truth about the painting (More about the painting later).

Another big part is how they made Will’s feelings for Mike canon. The Duffers had no reason to do this if Byler is not meant to be endgame. You’re telling me they added this in just for queerbait? Yeah I don’t think so. Stranger Things is one of the most popular shows in the world, I don’t believe the Duffers would just make Will have feelings for Mike in hopes of bringing in a few more views.

It’s also HOW they chose to make Will’s feelings canon. They made Will IN LOVE with Mike. It’s not “oh he just has a crush” or “Mike was Will’s awakening” or “oh Will just finds him cute”, no. The Duffers have made Will Byers IN LOVE with Mike Wheeler. This is IMPORTANT. This isn’t some minor thing that’s gonna get played off, it is going to be a HUGE plot point next season.

Speaking of huge plot points next season: the painting. This is going to be the Chekhov’s gun. It was established back in the FIRST TEN MINUTES of EPISODE ONE of the VERY FIRST SEASON that Will doesn’t like lying to Mike. Even if it’s just small thing like a dice roll in a D&D game. Will lying about El “commissioning the painting” and him using her as a hidden confession is going to be play big role next season. Mike is practically GUARANTEED to bring the painting up to El at some point, meaning he WILL be finding out the truth. And this is going to shock him that Will has lied to him. This is most likely going to lead to either a fight or confession or maybe both. The Duffers would not spend an entire season (and maybe more than that) building up this plot point and the romantic tension just to throw it all away and say “pffttt of course Mike doesn’t like Will, he likes El!”

And I fully believe that Byler is requited. The writers would not throw in “Will has been acting weird, maybe there is someone he likes?” and then have MIKE being the one acting weird all season. They would not throw in the direct parallels of “You never say it.” / “I say it!” vs “Oh I didn’t say it.” / “You didn’t have to.” They would not put in the script that the moment was “shattered”. There is a reason Mikes thoughts are hidden from us this season: they are going to come out next season and reveal the truth that he’s in love with Will. His entire character in season 3/4 only really makes sense if you read his actions as a closeted queer kid trying to fit into societal expectations and repressing his true feelings for his best friend. This is the only lens through which his character can be fully understood and analyzed. Or at least the one I believe.

The Duffers have also shown us that Will and Mike need each other. Mike says that things will be easier if “[they’re] a team.” Mike outright tells Will that Hawkins “isn’t the same without [him].” And Will tells Mike in his speech that he will always need him, albeit indirectly and using El as a proxy. Mike also feels inferior in his relationship with El, using his metaphor of Superman and Louis Lane to show how he feels like she doesn’t truly need him in her life romantically. However, Will DOES need Mike. Will is someone that makes Mike feel important and equal: Mike is able to open up to Will more than ANY other character we see through the show and the two share MANY talks where Will is able to sympathize with him and is able to finish his sentences. They complete each other.

My other point I want to bring up is if Byler isn’t required. Someone else said this in a post but there simply wouldn’t be time for Will and Mike to mend their friendship if Will’s feelings aren’t requited. Imagine if Will came out to Mike and then confessed that he had feelings for him, and Mike was all “oh sorry but I don’t like you like that.” Their relationship would be very awkward and take a while to get back on good ground. Not to mention that if Byler is unrequited, and the Duffers made Will in love with Mike for queerbait, then they would have ruined a perfectly good friendship for NOTHING. Absolutely NOTHING. It would have been better to leave them as friends and never make Will’s feelings explicitly canon rather than Mike reject him in season 5. Their friendship was a perfectly good one and the Duffers would not ruin that by having Will develop feelings for Mike for it not to go anywhere.

Overall it would be absolutely shitty writing if the Duffers didn’t make Byler canon, thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Someone has probably said this before in a much clearer way that makes more sense, but I just wanted to throw in my two cents.

[flaringgoosebumps]

I may just be reiterating what was said in this post (please read that one first) but anyway,

"Why do people want two teenage boys together so bad?"

This question only seems to come up about queer pairings, people don't seem to go out of their way to shame shippers of mlw pairings, especially in times where they should. For example, since literally forever and even in stranger things, there are sex scenes or implied sex scenes with teenager characters. The concern only arises with the mere idea that there would be a queer couple merely kissing or hell, even holding hands.

While I relate to everything @hey-its-bucky said, I have more reasons why I want Byler to be canon. Not just because queer people past, present and future, deserve to be represented and humanized and for their experiences to be validated but also!!

Queer representation in movies and tv are genuinely so boring! While I appreciate that we are getting representation, it is crumbs in comparison to what we could have. I'm tired of the whole shtick of a story centering about a young queer person trying to figure out who they are, in normal settings lol I don't find that appealing, it's not my ideal form of entertainment. I want Byler to be canon for selfish reasons.

I want a canon queer couple with proper build up in my niche interests! I want them to exist in horror and sci-fi and be treated just as important as cishet couples.

I deeply enjoyed fear street because while it did center around a few queer characters, it didn't center about them finding out they were queer. It centered around some fucked up supernatural shit trying to kill them and a girl desperately trying to save someone she loved. And we got a good ending! I want more of that!

I've seen very few queer pairings or characters in shows I've watched and a majority of them didn't get good endings

In Buffy the vampire slayer, Willow found out she was gay in the middle of the series and fell in love with a girl named Tara who also became a main character and they killed her off. Then they gave Willow a girlfriend that kind of felt rushed but that could be me being biased because they killed my girl!

Aubrey Jensen in MTV scream, was in love with her gf who was murdered in 2nd episode, then it's revealed she did some questionable things because she had a crush on her childhood friend (who didn't return her feelings) and they gave her a gf by the end of her story arc but it wasn't someone we saw build up with like??

There are shows I haven't even seen and I know their queer pairings are severed the same way.

Stranger things has the appeal of a lifetime! It's not a show that marketed itself as queer, but they planned for Will to be gay from the jump. They are building something and if they're building what we think they're building. It will be a game changer.

This is one of the most popular shows that is out, it is virtually inescapable even if you've never shown any interest in it or anything like it. If they make Byler canon, it would be a coming of age queer love story epic sci-fi saga. As far as I know, that hasn't been done before on film.

If they follow Leigh Janiak's lead with queer story telling, it would hopefully be the first of many stories that humanize queer people, and more than that, make us the hero, give us a happy ending, final girl(person lol) endings, romantic storylines on par with cishet people in the sense that it was planned out and executed in a specific way instead of just throwing someone in there and hoping that's enough crumbs for clout.

Representation matters for a multitude of reasons but Byler specifically, isn't just about representation to me. It's about good story telling and if they intended on making Will gay since they began writing and let that be the center of his character arc for an entire season and don't plan on letting him have the happiest ending possible with the guy he's in love with, what the hell was the point of bringing attention to it at all? Narratively. What the hell would be the point of that? Also what would be the point of building milkbones just to break it down so easily? Why would they go out of their way to do this to the characters they spent years on crafting just for no pay off?

The strangest thing would be if Byler wasn't their plan in the first place lol

[demadogs]

what is your genuine opinion on byler rn do you think they're actually gonna be endgame? I doubt all the time this show has never been great when it comes to their queer characters

i completely believe its gonna happen for so many reasons but ill just tell you a few big ones.

will canonically loves mike. i cannot think of a single other fictional media where someone was revealed to be in love with someone else THIS far into the story and it ended up being unrequited. when stories are written about an unrequited crush and how they move on, they reveal that crush early on so we can see their character development over the course of the story. but with only one season left they missed the opportunity to tell the story that way. if they wanted will to just have a crush on mike and then find someone else, we wouldve known about his feelings probably by season 2.

they showed the worst of mike and el’s relationship in the same season that they revealed wills feelings. those two dont just happen simultaneously if its for nothing.

THEY ARE SO VERY CAPABLE OF WRITING AN ADORABLE AMAZING REAL COUPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER!!!!!!! SO WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY CHOOSE NOT TO WRITE THAT FOR THE CENTRAL COUPLE OF THE SHOW IF THEYRE ENDGAME????!!! i would eat mlvn up if they wrote it in the dynamic of lumax but instead they had him struggle for literally HALF THE SHOW to tell her he loves her. and we see how painful it is for both of them to maintain the relationship.

mike suddenly becoming an asshole and the audience having no insight as to why hes treating el or will the way he is. mike was a lot of peoples favorite characters in s1 and 2 and then in s3 he was kinda a bitch. he lied to el instead of just telling her about hopper and then the rain fight with will. and this continues in s4 and gets even worse, especially with el. if the reason for this isnt internalized homophobia then its just a genuine plothole in the story and character development.

the lack of finn/noah interviews. this is mad suspicious. they are in almost every scene together this season and theres definitely stuff to talk about relating to their characters but they chose to separate both of them and not let them answer any of those questions together. but for the other “will they/wont they” couple, stancy, those cast members were often paired together (with maya and joseph but still). i also think its interesting that theres barely any finn and millie interviews from this season as well. i dont think theyre as strictly separated as finn and noah but most of millies press is either alone or with noah.

some honorable mentions:

perfectly framed mike in a closet during the mlvn kiss at the end of s3

the one way sign to the closet while hes reading her letter

track called “in the closet” playing over MIKE talking, not will

track “on the bus”, which played for lumax’s first romantically coded scene, playing during a byler scene

how mike and els breakup in s3 was shot compared to the rain fight (colorful, sunny, whole party watching, and comedic vs dark blue, pouring, alone, and emotional)

zero closure or insight on els thoughts of the monologue

first season that doesnt end with a mlvn kiss

and like ya know theres all these too

[mike-wheeler-ik-what-you-are]

RANDOM!!! STRANGER THINGS!!! HEADCANONS!!!!

*puts them in a blender*

el has autism and is too shy and kind to say when someone is making a noise that's bothering her. max is not. she scolds the party every time (especially mike) they do stuff like chewing loudly.

el also starts keeping a diary, sometimes she steals sketches will doesn't even remember having made and puts them in her diary.

she tries to cook brownies for joyce once and almost burns down the kitchen.

the brownies come out surprisingly good tho.

when max is in the hospital, she makes some for her hoping she wakes up.

coincidentally, max wakes up the same week. they are now called "el's miracle brownies".

when they're alone, el drives max's wheelchair with her superpowers.

now that max is blind, every time she's walking with lucas, he tells her to be careful whenever there's some minor obstacle. she always answers to "ok I'm not dumb" but secretly loves it.

while max was in a coma, mike used to rant about how he hates himself. one day she just tells him he's actually a good person. he cries. she regrets it immediately.

and now... time for the byler hcs!!!!

once mike tells the party he's gay, lucas and dustin figure out immediately he has a crush on will (they're not dumb, duh). they tease him about it all the time.

on the other hand will is going INSANE because what does it mean that mike is gay???!!! and does it have something to do with that one time he told will he was his favorite person???!!!??!!

max says it's obvious it does have something to do with that. will still doesn't believe her.

both el and max are supportive of will but make fun of him every time because he has a crush on mike and come on, that guy has like, one braincell.

as I said, they're still supportive though, so they make a plan to make them go on a date.

will asks mike out but immediately starts overthinking it because what if he thinks it's just a 'friends' thing and he's reading the whole situation wrong.

on the other hand mike-rocks-for-brain-wheeler is completely panicking because ok this is not a date, (it is, lucas says), why does it feel like a date then??

he goes to nancy to ask for advice and worst idea ever, she already knew from jonathan will was going out so she does the math. she totally has to find out from jonathan what happens later. he mentally makes a note to act like she doesn't exist for the next two weeks.

anyways the date goes well and mike tries to kiss him but will just goes in for a hug.

two seconds later he's processing what just happened and he's like hold up did you just try to kiss me?

and mike is like I mean yes but like no I mean if you want to. did you want to kiss me?

and will just kisses him.

will tells jonathan everything, who tells nancy everything, who starts teasing mike. mike literally wants to go live in hopper's old cabin (which is now empty bc hopper moved in with joyce).

once mike tries to throw a pebble at will's window at night. the window breaks. he doesn't try a second time.

will proposes in 2003, they can't get married though so they promise each other that they will as soon as it's legal (they still get married illegally in 2003 though, courtesy of jim hopper)

joyce cries like a fountain on that day.

they make a comic together and they travel the world. one day they decide to just move to italy.

[fallingstarsandeagles]

I’m honestly completely freaking out because byler has been the main catalyst for sending me into a total sexuality crisis and I have no one in my real life I can vent to about this. I’m feeling kind of embarrassed to admit to all these details here, but the byler community has been so supportive and loving that I feel like I can trust you guys. Please do not feel compelled to read this as it would be self absorbed to believe everyone would be interested in my life. However if you are the least bit curious I would love to hear your feedback.

To give a bit of background I am a 22 year old girl who has always thought she was straight. I never really thought I felt attraction for woman but I honestly didn’t feel a super strong attraction to men either. I definitely got crushes on guys and kissed a few guys through my early teens. In junior year I had a boyfriend for like 4 months that I met through an organization, but we didn’t go to school together and neither of us had our licenses so we didn’t see each other that often. I lost interest very quickly and I slowly stopped talking to him until he broke up with me (actions I am horrified by now) the common denominator in all of these scenarios is I did not feel the a strong connection with any of these guys or even enjoyed spending time with them that much.

Often times it’s just much harder for me to be myself around guys compared to girls. There were also a couple scenarios where I was asked out by guys I had no interest in and I rejected them. This is a cliche to admit but I also made out with a few girls at my overnight camp under the guise of practicing kissing. It was an exciting experience but not what I viewed as life changing or that it gave me any realization moment. I honestly didn’t take anything from it. In tv and movies I mainly gravitated toward straight couple although they would often be less conventional ships that usually didn’t end up together.

I also feel I should add that I experienced some pretty serious bullying at my overnight camp in an experience that slowly escalated over the years from my best friends transforming into my bullies. Their behavior shifted so gradually and I so desperately wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening so I remained in denial and convinced myself that I was over exaggerating their behavior. When I confronted people about how they treated me much shittier than every one else they would say I was being dramatic or just refuse to respond to me. So I couldn’t be sure if what I was experiencing was real or if it was happening in my head. I greatly internalized the idea that I was just being dramatic and attention seeking.

These experiences have given me anxiety and depressing and left me with a very low self esteem and a deep distrust of my own social sensibilities and etiquette. I was left feeling deeply misunderstood by everyone around me and I clung to to these toxic friendships out of fear that I could never find anyone else. To give some examples of how I was treated in one instance one girl invited everyone in the group chat to a Halloween party she was hosting. About a week later she texted me individually saying she actually couldn’t host the party. I found out during Christmas that she actually made a separate group chat without me after that and only uninvited me. No one told me about this until I asked people about it around Christmas. In another instance a girl I have been best friends with since I was 4 who I convinced to start coming to this camp started dating that guy who was especially cruel in his behavior toward me. This is literally a girl I got poison ivy with, got my ears pierced with, and snuck out with. And she didn’t give a fuck about getting with a guy who treated her supposed best friend like shit. It was super hard to let go of these friendships. I remember feeling like a mistake and feeling like no one would understand me. It felt like I was always on the outside and their was a window between me and the rest of the world.

I eventually made about 2 really good friends that I can be myself around. That means I can be super passionate about things like books and tv shows without having to hold back. But I still have a lot of trauma from that time. Before byler their was Hizzie a w/w ship from an honestly terrible spinoff show legacies. But hizzie was the highlight for me even though it was never canon (despite 2 love confessions) The interesting thing was from this show I mostly clung to and related to the main character Lizzie Saltzman who was a complex character with bipolar disorder who often feels broken and has a codependent relationship with her sister. The narrative often frames her as narcissistic when in reality she can be very selfless. I strongly saw and felt comp het within her based on how she interacted with her male love interests and how it contrasted how she interacted with Hope. I felt indignant when I saw people call their bond sisterly. And I felt heartbroken when Lizzie ended up with a man that she was never that interested in. I honestly can’t tell if I want to be Lizzie or if I was in love with her.

And then there was Byler. I started watching stranger things after season 2 and I hadn’t really paid attention to byler. I thought they were cute but I also thought Mileven was cute although I didn’t actively ship them. Tbh the couple I shipped most upon first watch was jancy. And then when I watched season 3 I fell in love with Will’s character. His arc of feeling like he was falling behind the rest of his friends felt painfully familiar for me. I immediately saw his as queer though I honestly didn’t even really consider him being in love with Mike. Then I saw season 4 vol 1. About a week after vol 1 came out I found byler tumblr and it all spiraled from there. I’ve been obsessed. I check the tag everyday, I read basically ever byler fic, I watch tik tok analysis, im in a byler insta group chat. It makes me so giddy to think about them.

And I also start thinking more about internalized homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality. And it just got me thinking. I can’t think of a single instance in my entire life where I had a deep crush on a guy I actually knew beyond the surface especially after the age of 14. All I really had were random hookup or two that always felt awkward. I was heartbroken by vol 2 but now have hope for season 5. Then I just watched Do Revenge and wanted camilas and maya’s characters to make out the entire time even though their relationship was toxic af. And I’m just… confused. I’ve never really thought through the process of dating a girl. I’ve never processed that as an option. But now that I am it seems potentially more appealing than the other option. But I still don’t even know if I’m attracted to girls. I think girls are beautiful but how do I know if I’m attracted to them. And a part of me just thinks I’m being dramatic or doing this for attention. Or that I just feel lonely and I feel a kinship with the lgbtq+ community so I’m clinging to it. I don’t know what to do. I’m crying writing this post and feeling really alone. I doubt anyone made it this far but if you did please let me know what you think. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my long ramble.

Also I thought I should add that I was absolutely heartbroken and upset when my best girl friend from middle and high school said we would go to prom together and then she end up ditching me after a guy she didn’t even like asked her. I had absolutely no thoughts that I could possibly like her or be attracted to her at the time and I’m still not sure I see her that way because our relationship felt pretty platonic. That was another unbalanced friendship where I was giving way more than I was getting back yet I was so reluctant to let go of it.

[akanewcrld]

byler hcs!!

notes: im already tired of my new theme but anyways- i love byler so here’s some fluff hcs about them

will has one of those subtle pride bracelets twinsies

this is the one im specifically thinking about because i have it lmao

before either of them were dating or out to each other mike saw his bracelet 

he saw the rainbow and was like ?? could he be.. omg 

had a full on gay panic 

he decided he was reading into it too much and didnt bring it up 

as soon as will came out to him he remembered it tho 

will lowkey freaked out and was like has anyone else picked up on it??

none of the others did 

that was until max got the same bracelet

she thought the bracelet she had looked familiar so she looked at all of the jewelry her friends were wearing 

she didnt say anything to will when she saw he was wearing it but she told eleven 

somehow everyone in the group found out 

so when mike and will slipped up to the group about being together they were like “wow what a surprise” 

it was mainly the obvious mutual pining tho 

like when eddie figured out they werent dating yet he was genuinely confused 

“they’re.. not together? what??” 

when they were younger will sometimes would wear mike’s sweatshirts and it made mike so happy 

because of will being in a smaller size than him mike cant wear wills clothes 

it doesnt upset mike but he wishes he could wear them

he makes a joke about it one time while theyre together 

after that will bought a few clothes that were a little oversized on him in hopes mike would wear them 

mike was really happy and ofc he wore them

as they got older they didnt do it as much anymore until they started dating 

at this point theyre around the same size but will likes the looks of oversized shirts sometimes 

so its almost the same as when they were kids 

will likes to lie on mikes shoulder 

the first time he did it mike freezed

he started internally freaking out and couldnt think straight obviously 

it showed on his face too 

will saw this and backed off 

“i didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, im sorry-“ 

mike interrupted him “wait, no. i..” 

he just pulled will back onto his shoulder 

neither of them said anything at all 

they both fell asleep like that

it became a habit of theirs and continued when they were older 

because its totally not gay to snuggle with your friend while blushing 

they usually only did it when they were alone tho 

mike big spoon, will little spoon 

no i will not elaborate 

will realized his feeling a while before mike did but mike confessed first 

he kissed will on impulse and then ran away 

after that he properly confessed to him and they started dating 

okay so you’ve seen the hc will likes to play with mikes hair 

he’ll also put it up in a ponytail sometimes 

mike hates putting his hair up but he’ll let will do it because he loves him 

will swears it looks good but mike says he will never go in public with it up 

both of them have a tiny crush on eddie 

its not that they would actually want to date him, they just find him very attractive 

theyve both admitted it to each other and tease each other about it 

[will80sbyers]

I want to try to explain this better even if I probably can't elaborate as well as I would like to because my English is not perfect, forgive me for any mistakes and I hope this is understandable!

My tone is meant to be colloquial and not angry at all:

when I read some posts (not all) about why people think Mike is gay most of the ones I've read are worded as ''it is the absolute truth and you are wrong if you don't think that'' not as ''it is my opinion'' and that already is a bit off-putting to me because nothing is confirmed when we are talking about headcanons (we are not talking about the text of the show but the subtext for now, so you can't have facts on this, only interpretations)

but for that I don't care that much I just ignore the post and go on with my day, you are free to have your opinions at the end of the day and that is not a big problem

what becomes a bit of a problem to me, and starts feeling invalidating for my own identity (even if I'm sure you don't mean to do that!!! I'm not trying to attack anybody here, I'm explaining my reasoning) is when the reason for that thought process is that '' he didn't like any other girl except El, so this means he is gay 100% no doubts because his relationship with El is not working out''

why does this feel invalidating? Because saying that is inherently implying that bi or queer people in the bi spectrum have to show attraction a lot to a lot of different people to be valid in their identity, which I find dismissive because in reality you can have different levels of attraction for different genders without it meaning that you can't identify as bi

As I said, if Mike actually did like only El but likes more men than women, that shouldn't mean FOR SURE that his bi identity is not valid and that his crush on El is just comphet

Mike could definitely be gay, he could be experiencing comphet and extreme internalized homophobia and I will never dismiss this because it would just be wrong to in my opinion, but on the other side of the fandom I see that people do not leave ANY space for doubt

and not leaving space for a little doubt when nothing is confirmed and basing this ''not having doubts'' on putting down real feelings and things bi or queer (because he could definitely not be exactly into labels etc) people go through in real life is not a good thing to do if you want to be accepting of ALL queer identities (ace ones too)

like, what I think personally about the show does not matter for this discourse, it is about keeping in mind different possibilities

also this is not about one single post or one single person, I've seen the same take over and over in different parts of the byler fandom - here, on twitter and tiktok too

and if you think Mike is more likely to be gay that is a completely valid take, what I want to ask of people in the byler fandom is to try to not invalidate different opinions or perspectives especially about identities because it is as much invalidating as someone saying that you can't possibly experience something that feels like a crush on the opposite gender if you are gay and I know for a fact that people in this fandom get angry (rightly so!) if you say it's impossible so I think the same feeling of regard should be extended to everybody until the show confirms or denies one of the two options