#byler pt.2

[thingsarenotgoinhwell]

okayyy let me get this straight

this was letting someone know its okay if your gay and wanna come out

but this wasn't!!!!

[fairyrona]

@andiwriteordie singlehandedly ending my artblock with her new fic !!!!!!! go read the hearbreak prince!!! now!!!

pt. 2 with Mike, Crown Prince of Corazzia!!

[booksandpaperss]

Some smokin’ hot Stranger Things takes that some of y’all are not ready for:

- As of season 4, Will loves and understands El in a way Mike has simply never been able to

- as far as platonic ships go willel solos elmike easily

- Whether or not Mileven breaks up (they’re gonna lmao) isn’t even about the ship itself anymore; it’s about the duffers redeeming themselves after using Will’s sexuality to push forward a het ship, bc if Mike and El didn’t break up then that’s exactly what the duffers did and it would honestly be disgusting

- Stop with this “Will deserves/could do better than Mike” bs; Mike and Will *deserve each other* bc they’ve loved each other practically their whole lives and they deserve to be happy together, nothing more to it

-Vobin would be more popular than steddie if it was mlm and ESPECIALLY if it was a ship with *Steve* and a random side dude inserted just to be his love interest

-Nancy doesn’t deserve any of the hate that she gets and if she was a male character a lot of the traits she gets hated on for would be reasons she was a fan favorite 🙄

-The wheeler siblings have gone through just as much horrible shit as the rest of the cast and their trauma is majorly overlooked

-A lot of character traits that ppl hate on Mike for are actually just signs that he has adhd or autism 🤨🤨

-El may not be as coded as Mike or or Will but she *is* queer coded and the lesbian El headcanon makes a lot of sense

- Mike and El have a unique bond and they care abt each other a lot, but Mike and Will’s bond is still a lot stronger, plus Will sees and loves Mike for who he actually is and Mike never feels insecure about being himself around Will (unlike with El) which is why byler in any form > elmike

-I love Steve but he is wayyy overrated and he wouldn’t be nearly as popular if he wasn’t a conventionally attractive white man

-Ronance, jancy, and steddie solo stancy but Steve + Robin + Nancy as the ultimate platonic trio solos all four

-Eddie is a good character but he’s overrated as hell and any member of the party solos him easily

-Max is definitely sapphic but headcanoning her as lesbian is biphobic at this point bc her love for Lucas is clearly very genuine and can’t be called comphet

-Byler, Vobin, Ronance, and elmax are all better queer ships than steddie

-The only reason elmax isn’t getting hated on by cishet lumax shippers is bc it’s not a threat to lumax being canon like byler is to mileven

-Lumax, Byler, and Elmax easily solo every other ship on the show 😌

[astrobei]

happy birthday @andiwriteordie !! love you to the ends of the earth and back <3 here’s a ficlet for a fun little idea we were talking about: au where bob never dies and mike gets a part time job at the radio shack

Mike takes a deep breath, clutching tighter at the piece of paper in his hand. It’s a windy fall afternoon, and it would really suck if after all this– scrounging up a barebones résumé, sitting through one hundred and one interview questions with Nancy over the phone, gritting his teeth and listening to his dad give him the go-getter talk– said résumé blew away in the breeze and ruined all his chances at a halfway decent job before he even walked through the door.

It’s only a part-time position anyway, and Mike’s never really been one for nerves in situations like this– public speaking, parent-teacher conferences, so on. But this feels different, somehow. He glances up at the bright red letters above his head, large and cartoonish against the beige of the storefront, and exhales. Radio Shack. 

It’s just computers. He can do this. He knows computers. Kind of. He also knows–

The bell above the door jingles slightly as he walks in, and at first glance, the store looks empty. It makes sense– it’s three o’clock on a Wednesday, and anyone who isn’t at work is definitely too young to be perusing a Radio Shack in their downtime.

“Can I help you?”

Mike spins around. There’s a guy maybe his dad’s age in the corner, wearing a uniform vest and a wholly unimpressed look on his face. Mike straightens up and tries his hardest to not look like an overly suspicious teenager who’s up to no good, but the man’s expression does not change. 

“Um,” he says, “I’m looking for Bob Newby? If he’s here?”

The man– Daryl, Mike thinks, squinting at the name tag– frowns. “Bob’s in the back. Any reason you’re asking for him?”

“I’m here about the Help Wanted sign? Um. My friend’s mom is friends with him and said you guys were looking for a– well, I’m only sixteen so I can’t work here, like, nine to five, but– yeah,” he finishes, a bit lamely, and Daryl raises his eyebrows.

“Hm.”

“So,” Mike tries again. “If he’s around…”

If his dad could see him now, he’d probably have a heart attack at how Mike is being exactly the opposite of assertive and confident and all of that bull. “Yeah, I’ll go grab him,” Daryl sighs, then gives Mike a contemplative look. “You know anything about radios?”

“I know some,” Mike huffs, because he wasn’t the president of AV Club for nothing, okay, and he wouldn’t even be applying here if he didn’t. Who does this guy think he is?

“Sure,” Daryl says, then disappears into the back room.

There’s a minute of silence, where Mike studies the display up at the front of the store, listening to the faint sound of U2 playing from the store’s speakers, and then there’s the soft creaking of a door opening. 

“Hey!” someone calls, and Mike turns around.

He hasn’t seen Bob in a few years– not since he and Mrs. Byers broke it off– but they’re very obviously on good terms. According to Will, anyway. He looks mostly the same as he did back then, maybe a little more gray in his hair, but the same cheery smile. He’s got on the same uniform vest as Daryl, a nametag. Maybe a couple more lines by his eyes.

“Hi,” Mike starts, a bit uncertainly. “It’s me. Um. Mike Wheeler. Will’s friend. Will is– well, you know Will,” he finishes, all very fast and with none of the professional decorum that his dad and Nancy both pleaded with him to have. 

Bob just laughs. “I do. And of course I remember you, Mike,” he says, then gestures Mike over to the desk at the front of the store, near the register. “I heard you're here about the job?”

“Um, yes.” Mike looks down at the sheet of paper in his hand, a bit wrinkled from how tight he’d been gripping it outside, and frowns. Mike Wheeler, it reads up at the top, and not much else, because he’s sixteen, and AV Club probably counts as some sort of leadership thing, but– “Will told me that his, um. His mom said that I should– you know.”

“Okay,” Bob says simply. Then, not even glancing at Mike’s pathetic excuse for a résumé, “How soon can you start?”

Mike blinks. “Um. Technically tomorrow, I think,” he starts, “but don’t you need to, like, interview me? Or something?”

At this, Bob looks up and smiles gently. “Mike. You knew BASIC at thirteen. You’re a great kid, so the job’s yours if you want it.”

“Oh. Oh! Well, yeah, I’d love to– yeah!”

“Great! You have school until– two-thirty? Three?”

“Two.”

“I’ll see you here at three tomorrow,” Bob smiles. “We can get you oriented with things, start your training. Bread and butter, so it won’t be too exciting, I’m afraid, but–”

“No!” Mike interrupts, feeling a sudden rush of relief. “No, that’s okay, I’ll be here. Um. Thanks, Bob.”

For some reason, Bob’s smile softens. “Excited to have you here, Mike. I’m glad you came by.”

—

So Mike has a job now. Which is– you know,  nice, but it’s still a job, so it’s not like Mike would come in on a Saturday when he didn’t have to, or choose to be here instead of, like, hanging out with his friends or something. But as far as high school employment goes, Mike figures he probably got a pretty good deal out of it, compared to the poor souls from his history class working at the McDonald’s down the street. Here, there’s no grease and there are no fryer burns, and there’s no embarrassing uniform or visor hat. It’s just one blessedly simple vest and a name tag that says Mike, because the idea of people coming in and calling him Michael made him want to throw something.

Plus, it’s fun. Maybe Mike is a little biased, because he’s him, but it’s fun. It really is. Four hours a day, three days a week, Mike is surrounded by gadgets and gizmos and exactly the sort of stuff that would have made twelve-year-old him burst into happy tears. He can picture it now, if he’d gotten his hands on one of these radios back in middle school– he would have been really annoying about it, maybe, but it would’ve been awesome.

So it’s fun. He’s having a good time, and he’s also getting paid, which is a nice little bonus, and it’s a few extra hours each week that he doesn’t have to be in the house, which is an extra little bonus, so that’s cool.

“Check out these headphones,” Bob whispers to him on an especially slow Thursday afternoon. It’s late November, and Mike’s been working here maybe a month, maybe a little more. The store is quiet and he’s just clocked in when Bob rushes over with a plastic-sealed box and an ecstatic grin on his face.

Mike shrugs his backpack off and drops it onto the floor behind the register before leaning in. “Whoa. Those are headphones? They look so–”

Well, the first word that popped into his head was fancy, but that’s maybe not the most professional word to be using here. Whatever.

“New releases in stock tomorrow,” Bob announces, “just in time for Christmas sales. Now look,” he continues, peeling the box open, “this one’s for the display, but I thought you might want to check it out before I locked it up.”

“Please,” Mike grins, already bouncing back on his heels in excitement. The headphones are more sleek than the ones he has right now, a birthday gift from a few years ago, already battered from overuse. They’re all shiny black metal, the cushions around the ears softer and larger than his own. He looks over at Bob, who’s wrestling with the display stand. “Can I touch?”

“You break it, you buy it,” Bob calls back, and Mike laughs.

“Deal.” He lifts it up with one hand. They’re heavy, solid, cool. Mike has never wanted something more in his entire life. “Whoa.”

“Cool, right?”

“So do I, like, get a pair for free, or…”

“Nice try,” Bob laughs, adjusting the hinges on the display stand. “You get your regular paychecks and your employee discount, but that’s all I can swing you, I’m afraid.”

Mike blinks. “I get an employee discount?”

“Hm, maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Could’ve roped you into paying full price.”

“Stop,” Mike says, a smile breaking out over his face. “I get an employee discount? Seriously?”

Bob lifts the headphones up and out of his hands, setting them down carefully on the stand. “You seriously didn’t know? Of course you do, Mike, every employee gets a discount.”

“I didn’t think that counted for fancy stuff,” Mike admits. “I thought that only counted on, like, remote batteries and stuff like that.”

“You get fifteen off the whole store,” Bob tells him. “So, you know, if you wanted to get yourself a Christmas present–”

Mike does. Mike really, really wants to get himself a Christmas present. “Hey, so what are your overtime policies for minors again?”

“Nice try. I’m going to finish setting this up, but I think someone’s coming in,” Bob announces, flashing Mike a you got this smile before slinking away into the back room.

“Anything for the headphones,” Mike says under his breath, then looks over to the door. “Hi, welcome to Radio Shack, how can I– oh. It’s just you.”

“Just me?” Will gasps in mock affront, winding his way through shelves of spare parts and batteries until he’s standing in front of Mike, across the register. “Rude.”

“You know what I mean.” Mike rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling anyway. “You’re taking up all the time I could be using to woo customers and break big on my next paycheck.”

“Why the sudden interest in the paycheck?” Will inquires, swinging his backpack onto the floor so it’s bumping against Mike’s. “You never cared about that before.”

“Excuse you! I am a working man,” Mike says, even as he bumps bodily into one shelf with his hip, sending the radios on display rattling. “Shit– oh no, wait–”

“Very professional,” Will laughs, then he perches atop the chair behind the register and pulls out his physics textbook.

“Shut up,” Mike mutters, looking over the dials to make sure that everything is still plugged in and good to go. “You– get out of my chair, you don’t even work here!”

“Mike?” comes a voice from the back room, and then Bob’s poking his head back out with a small frown. “What was– oh, hi Will!”

“Hi Bob,” Will says with a cursory smile and wave. It’s polite, but a little bit awkward just like every time Will comes to visit Mike at work. Mike figures there’s no way around that awkwardness, because it’s probably a law of the universe that it’s going to be kind of awkward to see your ex-girlfriend’s son, who you saw in a mind-controlled fugue state before he released a bunch of monsters through an interdimensional portal and almost killed you.

But because Bob is Bob, and doesn’t have a resentful bone in his body, he seems to like Will just fine.

Everybody likes Will. Mike thinks it would be hard not to. In a completely unbiased way, of course.

“How are your classes going?” Bob asks, just like he does every time Will comes by.

“They’re okay,” Will replies, just like he always does whenever Bob asks. Mike bites his lip to hold back laughter, because every time they have this exchange, all he can think about is the time Will told him about Bob’s Dracula costume with the fake teeth and couldn’t finish describing it without bursting into laughter. Mike hadn’t thought the Dracula costume was too funny– more predictable and boring than anything, if you asked him– but he did like watching Will laugh like that, all red-faced and giggling until he teared up.

“Physics is really kicking my ass this year,” Will is saying, holding up the textbook he’s already started to splay open on the counter.

Mike raises an eyebrow. Their exchange usually doesn’t get this far. “Oh, I loved physics,” Bob says, a bit absentmindedly, as he brings out the display stand again, now complete with a fully decked-out set of headphones. “It was one of my favorite subjects in high school.”

“Lucky,” Will mutters, squinting down at the pages. “I hate it.”

“It’s not so bad,” Mike says without thinking, tinkering with one of the dials that had gotten messed up when he knocked the radio over. “It’s just math.”

“Yeah, and I don’t like math either,” Will laughs, “in case you forgot.”

“I think if I told you two I also liked math, then you’d shove me into a locker or something,” Bob remarks with a laugh. “Is that– do kids still do that? Shove each other into lockers?”

“Sometimes,” Mike and Will say simultaneously, then they glance at each other and immediately look away before they start laughing again.

“Sometimes,” Mike says, as Will stares resolutely down at his textbook again and bites back a grin. “We both got shoved into lockers so– I’d say yeah, kind of.”

He waits for– okay, he isn’t sure what he’s waiting for, but it feels like it should be pity, maybe, or a frown, or some generic adult response like Hey! That’s not cool! Bob doesn’t do any of those things, though. He pulls a face and says, “I know the feeling.”

“What– you?” Bob is an adult, which seems so far removed from petty teenage social hierarchies and hallway fistfights that it’s kind of funny, but also–

“Mike, I was the founder of AV Club. The founder. Meaning that I was such a big loser that I came up with a club that no one had even thought of before.”

“Hey!” Mike protests. “I was president of AV Club!”

Bob just smiles. “Don’t you have a job to be doing, Mike?”

—

So yeah. He’s got a job, and it’s nice, and it’s fun, and only part of the reason it’s nice and fun is because Will Byers comes to hang out with him after school while waiting for Joyce to finish up her shift at Melvald’s across the plaza.

Really, that’s only part of it! 

“I can’t believe thirteen-year-old me thought I’d be cool in high school,” Mike laughs one day. Cool is maybe a stretch, because he’s sure he knew, even then, that cool was something that would always be a little out of his reach. “I thought I’d grow out of my ham radio phase at least.”

“I did too,” Bob says thoughtfully, digging around for a new set of batteries. “And now I’m the general manager of a Radio Shack. I’d say I’m doing alright.”

“Maybe GM of a Radio Shack is in my future too,” Mike ponders aloud. It’s a thought he’s had before, of course, but not like this, exactly. In his mind, his future is daunting, claustrophobic in its proximity. His father’s wheedling about business school, law school– something, anything that could put food on the table. 

The thought terrifies him to his core in a way he can’t really place. Ted Wheeler hadn’t been like Mike in school– pushed over on the playground, tripped, threatened to jump off a cliff or see his best friend hurt in front of his eyes. He hadn’t been Steve Harrington either. Mostly, his father had been nobody. A nobody who married the most popular girl in her grade, a nobody who comes home to a family he barely knows, a nobody who works a job he doesn’t like and pretends like that’s something Mike should want too.

He doesn’t want that. Of course he doesn’t want that. But he’s not sure what the options are, for people like him. The nerdy guys, the losers, the ones sporting scabbed chins and broken arms all throughout middle school, the Bob Newbys of Hawkins, Indiana. The–

He chances a glance over to the corner. Will is sitting at a table there instead of up at the register for a change, because he’s got actual homework to do and Mike’s got a job to be slaving away at. He studies Will’s frown as he stares down his umpteenth physics problem of the day, the way he chews lightly on the eraser of his pencil.

People like him, Mike thinks, the nerds and the losers and the–

“Whoa,” Bob chuckles, and Mike glances back down to see that he’s been trying to screw in the back of the battery pack in way past the allotted tightness. “Someone’s a little distracted.”

“Sorry!” Mike puts the screwdriver down. “Sorry, sorry, I was just– thinking.”

“Must have been something interesting to get you all spaced out like that,” Bob points out, raising an eyebrow. “What’s on your mind?”

Mike glances up again. Will is looking at him already, this time, a bit inquisitively, and Mike feels his face turn ever-so-slightly warm at being caught. Will smiles, raises a teasing hand like hey.

“Oh, nothing,” Mike says, but it comes out distracted, a bit faint. Bob follows his gaze, and Will looks away immediately, out the window. “Just– eyes got tired. You know.”

Bob does not look convinced. “Right.” He pauses, then turns the radio onto its side. “You think you can handle it from here?”

Mike stares. “What, me? Fix this? On my own?”

“It’s ham radio, Mike,” Bob says, giving him a light pat on the shoulder. “You know ham radio like the back of your hand.”

“I– yeah, I guess,” he says, picking the screwdriver back up. It’s an old model that someone brought in for repair that morning. Bob had waited until Mike got there so they could take it apart together.

Bob watches him for a couple of minutes. It’s another slow day, no general-managerial duties to be attended to. Mike focuses all his attention on the plastic and wiring in front of him– sets the disassembled pieces down in a careful row, studies them. He can hear the store’s fan running overhead, the soft rustling of Will’s pages turning from the corner of the room. The wire– he can’t figure out where this wire connects to. Mike lets out a frustrated huff. 

“Nothing,” Bob scoffs. “Amateur radio and you’re still distracted. What’s up?”

“I just,” Mike starts, sighing. “Nothing. It’s dumb.”

General Manager of a Radio Shack. Mike likes it here. He does, seriously, it’s fun and it’s nerdy and it’s the sort of thing that he’d never be able to tell people he really enjoyed without getting so much shit for it. It’s a job made for guys like him and Bob–

But that’s the thing, right– is that guys like him and Bob make do. They end up happy out of coincidence, they don’t end up in love, they need people to need them and yet they never do. No one ever needs them. Not like they might need someone else, instead.

They get love and then they lose love and then they become the General Manager of a Radio Shack and maybe things will turn out alright, and maybe not. 

“Do you ever wish things worked out differently?” Mike blurts out, and then his eyes go wide. “I mean– shit, that’s totally unprofessional– shit, I probably shouldn’t swear while I’m on the clock– I mean–”

But Bob is laughing. “It’s okay,” he says, grinning. “I hear worse stuff from our customers on the daily.”

“Right,” Mike says, probably beet-red. It would suck if this was what he got fired for. “I just meant–”

“I know what you meant,” Bob reassures him, then leans over his shoulder. “And this part should go over here, by the way. They look really similar, so I don’t blame you.”

“Right,” Mike says.

He waits.

“And–” Bob takes in a soft breath. “Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you expect. Doesn’t mean that it’s bad.”

“Right,” Mike says again, vaguely embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean– right.”

One second goes by. Two. Mike twirls the screwdriver around between his fingers and looks back at Will, who’s got his face scrunched up in some complicated, twisted expression that makes Mike want to laugh, and simultaneously want to reach over and smooth out the creases from between his eyebrows. Bob watches him with one raised eyebrow.

“You know,” he starts, and Mike’s gaze snaps back to him. “You remind me of myself, Mike.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Mike snorts. The nerdy guys, the AV guys, the almost-had-it-but-didn’t guys.

Bob shakes his head, chuckling. “I mean, you’re a smart kid. You really are. Not many kids your age would be this excited about taking apart a radio, or– or new headphones, or programming languages.”

The nerdy guys, Mike thinks again, and suppresses a laugh. “It must be an AV thing,” he says instead.

“Sure,” Bob nods. “But if you told me– younger me, AV Club me– about you, he would’ve thought you were the coolest guy in the world.

“I– what? Really?”

“Yes, really! Look, Mike, you’re a smart kid, but you’re also– you’re stubborn and you’re creative, and you don’t take crap from anyone. You fought monsters. And you won. I didn’t have that when I was younger, and I think if I did– maybe if I did, then things would’ve turned out differently for me. God knows I could have used some of that determination. God knows I should’ve stuck to my guns more.”

Mike knows he’s stubborn, but he’s never considered that to be a good thing. It’s always been a point of frustration for people he knows– refusing to cut his hair shorter, refusing to apply to business school, refusing to do shit he doesn’t want to do. He’s never heard it referred to as something to be admired. “I guess I’m a little stubborn,” he relents, in a moment of frankly hilarious irony. “Maybe just a little.”

Bob grins at him. “There you go! I admire you for that. It’s not easy to know what you want.”

“I don’t,” Mike laughs in disbelief. “I don’t know what I want.”

“But when you do, you don’t give up,” Bob presses. “You dig your heels in and you get it, one way or another. And that’s why we’re not so similar after all.”

Mike doesn’t say anything. Guys like him and Bob– they are similar, despite all this bull about him being brave and cool and– whatever else. Guys like him– they’re the AV guys, the losers, the somebodies but in a bad way, the somebodies that nobody wants.

I admire you for that.

“Let me tell you something else,” Bob says, dropping his voice into a whisper and leaning in closer. “Joyce? Mrs. Byers? She said Jim– Chief Hopper– offered to pick Will up from school so he wouldn’t have to wait or bike home.”

“Um,” Mike says, a little lost. “Okay?”

“But Will waits for her anyway,” Bob says. “Only he doesn’t wait there, at Melvald’s. He walks across the plaza to hang out with you. And the days you’re not here, Joyce says he goes straight home after school.”

“Oh.” Mike blinks. He feels like he’s on the verge of something, here, something close. Something important. “I– okay.”

The bell over the front door jingles sharply, and Mike jumps, startled. “I– uh, the radio–”

“This piece goes right there,” Bob points out, then claps him on the shoulder again. “You work on that, and I’ll get this guy. And– Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re a smart kid. Brave. Stubborn. Don’t forget that. Sometimes things don’t go the way you expect,” Bob says, a twinkle in his eye. “But sometimes that’s a good thing.”

[purpleshadow-star]

They really came for him, especially Will. Poor Mike can't catch a break.

Honestly, this is all the proof I need that Vecna is going to target Mike at some point.

[estelle-speaks]

Thinking about how jealous Mike would be if Will and Gareth started dating.

Like he’d be so confused as to why his stomach twists when he sees Gareth run up behind Will and grab him by the waist and kiss his cheek softly. He’d wonder why his heart aches as he watches Will casually fiddle with Gareth’s rings as the party discusses the next campaign. He’d hate the anger he felt in his gut when Will turned up to school in one of Gareth’s flannels with a hickey on his neck. He’d be so pissed when he’d call Will to ask him to hang out only for Will to say ‘sorry, I said I’d hang out with Gareth today.’ Or worse, Gareth himself would answer the phone. Mike liked Gareth, he thought he was cool before he started dating Will, so he didn’t get why now when he saw him he felt himself fill with anger and be unable to have a conversation with the guy.

The party are all hanging out at Mike’s one day, and Mike can’t stop glaring at Will and Gareth as they lay over each other laughing at something secret. Steve sees Mike's scowl and knows exactly what’s going on. He’s done that scowl, he’s felt that scowl on himself. He pats Mike’s shoulder and asks him to help him with some drinks. Mike sighs as he follows Steve up the steps into the kitchen. “So, Will then, eh?” Steve teases as he grabs a coke from the fridge. “Wh-what the hell are you on about” stuttered Mike. “I’m not an idiot, kid. I know what that glare you’ve been giving Will and Gareth means. You like him.” He smiled, hoping to reassure Mike and be his cool queer mentor. Mike slammed the fridge and turned back to Steve, “No, you don’t know shit.” Spluttered Mike as he headed out of the kitchen toward the basement, before turning to the bathroom, leaving Steve stood lost in the kitchen. Mike stood in front of the mirror with his heart pounding in his chest and eyes welling up because Steve does know. Hell, Steve knows more about Mike's feelings than Mike does.

[axquiva]

Rating the gayness of Mike Wheeler's Outfits:

---

The Hellfire Top

Solid 6.2/10. Nothing too openly homosexual about it but it is from a Dnd club ran by a metal head and also Mike wears skinny jeans with this shirt.

-

The Denim Jacket

10/10. Literally blue with a yellow top and a green backpack strap (what do blue and yellow, THE BYLER COLORS make when mixed?? Green) But also this outfit just gives off gay vibes in general.

-

The S4 Fit:

???/10 Sorry I can't concentrate on the outfit because of how homosexualy Mike is looking at Will. The love is Blinding me.

-

The Airport...Thing

34/10. Back at it with the blue and yellow. Not to mention the sunglasses to hide the fact he's checking out Will (we all know bud) But also this is almost the exact same outfit my gay uncle wore on vacation a while back.

That's all that you for your time

[eclipsebyler]

BYLER FIC RECS PT 2

Okay, so I'm here with another part! Compiling all my recent favorite reads (with commentary this time because I'm very normal about byler fics...) Anyway, sharing is caring because my bookmarks are becoming longer. So here you go.

• We Will All Go Together When We Go by perexcri

The Apocalypse, romcom Byler fic! Ongoing, chaptered, 30k words so far. I know I've rec this in a recent post but I'm including it here again because I LOVE and enjoyed everything in this fic, down to Byler's characterisation, esp Mike's, and their playful yet tensioned dynamics. It's so chefs kiss. There's enough amount of they-get-stuck-in-the-upside-down suspense, comedy, and slow burn fluff. Highlight of this fic is that Will has a gun and Mike has a flashlight. That's all you have to know to give it a read.

baby, we're perfect by bookinit

A fresh take on established byler relationship! Oneshot, 16k words. I don't know how to describe this glorious fic without it being a spoiler so you just have to read it. The Fluff and Angst are both in extremes, you've been warned. It made me cry, for real. Had to stare at a wall for a few moments because of some scenes. Like the title says, it was PERFECT. A devastatingly beautifully written work I owe this author my life for what they did in this fic.

i'd make a deal with god by smoosnoom

A fix-it fic for vol2 featuring Castle Byers and Rain kiss. Will attempting to rip the bandaid off and Mike not letting him. Oneshot, 15k words. Anything by this author has me in a chokehold and a puddle of feelings, seriously. Their fix it series is a MASTERPIECE. The way they write Will's POV here absolutely destroyed me. It encompasses his story so painfully and beautifully and just everything about him is so— I badly want it to be canon he deserves the BEST. And might I add that the way they showcased the Byers-Hopper family bond here is everything I adore. Please if you haven't read this, you should.

make me your future history by andiwriteordie

Byler through the years, childhood friends to lovers fic! Oneshot, 10.9k words. I am absolutely a sucker for childhood promises being fulfilled (and broken) till they grow up so I ADORE this fic so much. Not to mention this author is one of my favorites and they carry the byler ao3 tag on their back and always deliver the BEST fics. There's a lot of angst and also a lot of fluff and it's something I can just reread again and again and again and won't get tired of it. It deserves more reads and love!

Gotta Be A Strange Twist of Fate by PoeticPatron

The fantasy D&D Byler fic! Oneshot, 26k words. Another fic I'm rec-ing again because it deserves more recognition. I really, really enjoyed and adored reading the adventures of the party in a fantasy action setting and the way the author incorporated the D&D lore here was so good. This fic was so wonderfully written and sweet in all the right amounts for friendships and romance. The Paladin and the Cleric being soulmates against all odds and prophecies? Say no more!

A Darker Timeline by egg98

The au where everyone stopped believing Will was alive and he was stuck in the Upside Down for three years and only came back to the real world in Season 4 timeline. Ongoing, chaptered, 24k words so far. Like the title says, it's A Darker Timeline, can't emphasize that enough, so much trauma and horror is delved in this work especially for Will, but also the party. The author's writing style is so hauntingly captivating- every chapter leaves me at the edge of my seat. I am so hooked with this 'what if' scenario and this unique, creative concept because it opens a lot of possibilities and changes to the characters and the plot! Will especially with his UD abilities and his personality.. beware of a grim and more badass Will plus emotionally scarred party. It's written so WELL so you should give it a try! (It's more on the psychological horror side though, the romance aspect is very slow burn.)

the boyfriend problem by RomeoWrites

The fic where the Wheelers (especially Ted) thinks Mike and Will have been boyfriends since forever. Oneshot, 15k words. Who would've thought I'd read a fic where Ted of all people don't have a heteronormative view of romance? I very much enjoyed reading him embarrassing Mike every chance he gets, this fic gave me so much JOY it was such a funny and sweet and fluffy read! If you're looking for some lighthearted, family dynamics and eventual getting together of two oblivious gay teenagers— this is the fic!

The Dad Who Stepped Up by MagikMask

Hopper and Will bonding fic (and of course, Hopper being protective of Will especially when it comes to one Michael Wheeler). Oneshot, 7.8k words. I've been enjoying every Byers-Hopper or Wheeler family dynamics fic there is and it's even more enjoyable if Byler gets tangled up in it. This fic focuses more on Hopper trying his best to be a good dad to Will, but the Byler and Hopper parts of this fic gave me healing, so I have to rec it!

r/byler by danteapot

Mike Wheeler if he's on reddit, social media fic. Oneshot, 5k words. This fic was so fun and amusing to read and the social media aspect fitted so well, I could totally imagine Mike oversharing his problems online and asking for advices lmfao. Trust him to always talk about Will on every spaces and still not realize he's in love with him. He's just so oblivious and I love him for it.

i hate accidents (except when we went from friends to this). by blackdeathmamba

Post S4 college roommates Byler and miscommunication trope fic! The miscommunication in question is just them accidentally kissing all the time and having different thoughts on it. Three chapters, completed, 16.8k words. I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's one of the best and funniest work I've ever read. Byler are so disgustingly in love but they are also painfully oblivious about it. It's a competition on who's more of an idiot between them while you read through their POVs and it gave me immense joy and pain reading through it. I swear to God, these bitches are so gay, and this fic just showcased that. Please read it to brighten your day.

i need you more than anyone darling (you know that i have from the start) by friendstolovers

Instead of Byler getting murrayed, this is Byler getting Jonathaned fic (In a gentler and more subtle way as the tags says). Oneshot, 5.7k words. Mike finally comes to his overdue realisations (thanks to Jonathan) and attempts to climb bedroom windows to be romantic. They finally talk and confess and it's just the cutest and sweetest thing ever I swear.

without heart by aceoflanterns

Will Byers and the Upside Down (the mysteries between his connection to Vecna and his powers) fic. Completed, chaptered, 31k words. I am once again rec-ing this because I can't help go back to this fic when I need to read complex takes on Will surrounding vol2 and possible S5 plot! The author's writing style is one of the best and my personal favorites. It's art, a masterpiece, everything about it — down to the plot, the conversations, the characterisations, the family and friendship and romance dynamics. Even the Upside Down horrors with Vecna and the Mind Flayer and Will. How much Will's love for Mike and his love for everyone helped him (and their love for him, too.) Personally think this had lots of fresh creative takes, an interesting theory written in a fic. It's long and a worth it read! Totally in awe of this work.

i’d love to see me from your point of view by unidentifiedblackthorn

The fic where Byler gets high together and they let loose their disaster gay feelings. Oneshot, 8k words. Got me giggling, blushing, kicking my feet in the air, for real. The amount of cuddling, flirting and kissing this fic had made me sick (in the best way). I think Byler in Season 5 deserves a moment like this because of their decade long pent up feelings and pining, these gays deserve a break and just... be gay together. Anyways this fic was such a wonderful read! If you want to drown in fluff read this. (Also brb this author just posted a sequel to this fic, gotta read 🏃Probably gonna be a part of my next fic rec thread lol).

So that's it for now. Enjoy reading, everyone. And please if you guys have some recs feel free to drop me some, too! I need more fics to read.

[willow-lark]

BREAKING: mike wheeler is down bad. more at 10

the sequel to fireball him (cast protection!) is coming soon~ 🧙🏻‍♂️⚔️✨

[wusyanam3]

Giving my favorite characters artists/bands

mike wheeler- The Front Bottoms, McCafferty, Weezer, Sublime, Car Seat Headrest

Will Byers- The Smiths, The Clash, Modern Baseball, Steve Lacy

Lucas Sinclair- Frank Ocean, Rihanna, Alex G

Max Mayfield- TTC, Frank Ocean, Radiohead, Kali Uchis

Eddie Kasprak- Tv Girl, Salvia Palth, Daisy and the Scouts

Richie Tozier- Weezer, Miley Cyrus, Sublime, Mac DeMarco, Drake

Stan Uris- Vacations, Faye Webster, Steve Lacy

Theo Decker- Alex G, Lana Del Rey, FIDLAR, Radiohead, The Frights, McCafferty

Boris Pavlikovsky- The Frights, Arctic Monkeys, Yëat, Deftones, FIDLAR

[sadboyhrs]

Party walking or smth

Will: Silent like a cat. Jonathan belled him eons ago with a rly loud keychain and he still hasn't realised

El: Stomps around like Hopper did. She used to do it ironically to mock him but now it's just her walk

Lucas: Gallops. He can't walk or run anywhere he's always hopping about

Max: Almost completely silent. You hear her little ankle bracelet Lucas bought her as an apology gift after they broke up for the 30th time but that's it

Dustin: The only normal one. He walks like an average guy if you elect to ignore the squeaky shoes he wears religiously

Mike: STOMPING, KICKING FURNITURE, STAMPING DOWN WHEN HE'S ANGRY. He isn't angry most of the time he just developed these skills to get attention (middle child syndrome)

pt 2 with the teenagers maybe?

[thingsarenotgoinhwell]

one person comes to mind...

[all444miles]

ok. Lucas getting vecna'd. After the results of Lucas' fight with Jason, he suffers from major ear ringing, and Erica has to help Lucas cope with the pain. So, at one point, while he's outside in a field, Lucas is going through another one his pains, but it gets worse and worse (Erica is around). Lucas is in major pain, and Erica is trying her best to stop the pain - but it doesn't work. And slowly, the original ringing starts to sound like a bell. Lucas realizes this and starts panicking, a lot. He's grabbing onto Erica telling her "Vecna, he's here, no no no." At least, he thinks he's talking to Erica. In reality, Lucas has tears running down his eyes and is standing dead still. Erica, is shaking him, crying, trying to get him to snap out of it. "Lucas? Wake up, wake up! C'mon Lucas wake the fuck up!"

And now, from his pov, Lucas is in 001's home. Max is there. He runs to her, hugs her saying "Max! Max thank God you're here, I missed you so-" and Max interrupts him. "Lucas, why did you kill me?" Lucas is confused and worried. "Kill? No, no, it was Vecna." "No, Lucas it was you. You let Jason step on my tape. I thought you cared about me. Do you not care?" "Of course I care, I love you!" "I don't. I wish you were the one who was put in a coma." Max's voice starts to sound like Vecna, and everything is disorting. Max's eyes are crying pools of blood and her arms are twitching aggresively. Lucas is horrified and starts stepping back, and he bumps into someone. He looks behind him, and it's Billy. "You fucking piece of shit. I'm gonna finish what I started with you." (reference to Billy saying, "you're dead Sinclair!" to lucas in s3.)

Billy starts choking Lucas, and that's when his eyes start to roll back. In reality, Erica sees this and starts panicking even more. She then starts singing Lucas' favorite song, September by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Lucas' ears ring even louder so he cant hear the song and Billy chokes him even harder, so he gets dizzier and everything starts to distort even more. And then, Lucas faints - because he passed out from Billy - but he's having visions — no, memories. His dance with max, the party as ghostbusters, the party going trick or treating, Lucas winning his game, and Erica and him making spears. And then he sees Vecna. Vecna tells him "You've gone through so much, have you not, Lucas?" Lucas spits in his face and says "Fuck you, you little shit! You've ruined everything. You're the one who put me through all this" Vecna begins to walk closer to Lucas preparing to kill him. "Have I ruined everything? Or is it your friends? They ignore you, and they don't care for you. Let yourself rest for a while." Lucas doesn't care about what he's saying, and tries run from him, just like Max did. The bell starts to fade and he starts to hear Erica's singing.

That's all I got 4 now.

@ronanticized read this n tell me wht u think!!

[booksandpaperss]

And today a present you all a compilation of screenshots that convinced me 100% that byler is endgame:

AND THESE ARENT EVEN ALL OF THEM TUMBLR JUST CAPPED ME AT 10 PHOTOS

[honeysunzz]

so are we gonna rinse and repeat going batshit crazy with the piggyback script or what

[conanssummerchild]

when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. send this ask to 10 of your favourite followers. (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) ~

aw thank u for chosing me :DD i actually mostly only listen to taylor swift (unoriginal ik 😔) but i can dig a little deeper

ok ik i said id dig but timt is my fav ts song of all time so i had to start w/ it lol its very good and relatable also if u search long pond studios on yt taylor explains what its abt soso well i love her

this song is so mf good its ab like growing up and stuff idk how to explain it but listen to it trust me i love indie-ish music and literally anything by the aubreys scratches the itch (honourable mention to 'in the ground' also by the aubreys)

conan gray 😍 it took some hard thinking to pick a conan song but this is my fav on kid krow and it means so much to me idk i just love it. conan is the kinda music i listen to when im feeling melancholy (the aubreys too) cause i love taylor but i want smth more depressing sometimes lol (also yes this song is very byler sue me + the first verse i always think of madwheeler)

yes smalltown boy made the list 😔 i dont think this one needs much explanation i got introduced to it from mikes playlist (mikes bassment beats) and i relate bc he is so me

i really like the trees triology but trees II is my fav one (maybe j bc i grow attatched to songs ik how to play on guitar idk) this dudes style is kinda more like heavy idk how to explain it it just gets me feeling a certain kinda way (!! the first and second trees songs contain the f slur so if u dont wanna hear that dont listen !!)

anyway now yk i have questionable music taste but oh well. i love music i wouldve put a million other songs tbh anyway thx for the ask <33 :D