Not To Be A Downer On The Byler Tag But I Feel Conflicted Now That I'm Back On St Twitter

soft byler moments part 4 !! this time it's a modern au + i tried 2 format it like theyre snapchat stories in a groupchat but i've never actually been in a sc groupchat so i had 2 guess lol

also im So sorry for how long this took 2 get done, i literally started this august 13th. the tracked time is over 32hrs. ive semi-lost my mind bcuz of this.

reblogs >> likes

u know the gist , close-ups w clean versions and backstories/thoughts behind them under the cut >

little preface:

- these will probably be very short so im gonna do two at once

- theyre aged up a lil (15/16) and its set in 2022

- the groupchat is called 'byler hate club <3' and i think that the two of them get added periodically and either get kicked or leave themselves

- their snap names are 'dustin B)' , 'lucas' , 'madmax' , and 'el🌸' (and mike and will's would probably also just b their names like lucas?) but if u wanna go a little further, i think their users would b things like ‘dustinanddragons’ or ‘dungeonsanddustin’, ‘bboylucas’ or smth, either just ‘madmax’ or ‘sk8rgirl’, el’s would probably just b her name like ‘elhop’ or ‘janehop’, and of course mike’s and will’s would be ‘paladinmike’ and ‘willthewise’ bcuz duh.

- they have a seperate groupchat called ‘the party’ that does have all of them , this ones just 4 shits and giggles

- i made mikes hair curlier bcuz i wanted 2 and its 2 late 2 stop me so

- if u see anything that looks wrong or weird just ignore it i cannot b bothered 2 work on this anymore lmao

all refs i used can be found here (as well as spoilers for future stuff :O)

these two are a prime example of them just being in their own little bubble and completely forgetting that other people are even around. i wanted to give mike a more .. alternative? style. something similar to mine, and i usually dress in all black with bits of red, so for mike i did mostly black with bits of blue :) (also peep the pins on his backpack and the patches on the shirt and whatnot). once again i have will wearing different colour nail polish in all of them, but mikes is still only black . (first ones set in the wheeler basement , second one in the school)

this first one is kind of unintentionally sad? i didn’t realize how upset he seemed until after i finished it. actually these two could work as the second one being the day after the first. oH also in the first one i gave mike a belt that i actually own and its literally so cool its my favourite belt ever. (first one set on the hill where cerebro would b if this was still set in the 80s , second one in mikes room)

fun fact one of the reasons this took so fucking long is bcuz i was procrastinating doing the backgrounds for these two and the next one. u can probably guess why. anyways i really like how these turned out, they might be my favourite tbh. i dont really know what 2 say abt these .. i think they r pretty self explanatory. OH ACTUALLY i gave mike a black iphone w a clear case that has blue stars on it (which u can see in the second and seventh one) and will a white iphone with a .. idk what u call that pattern but its the phone in the first one. (first one is max, el + will waiting in mike’s front yard 4 him 2 get home from.. somewhere? maybe a weekend trip 2 visit relatives w his family or smth. second one is dustin, lucas, will + mike impulse-baking cookies at some ungodly hour at night during a party sleepover at mikes)

i really hate how mikes hair turned out in the first one but i spent so long on it and redid it So many times that i simply cannot b bothered 2 try and do it again. also pls notice how both of them r wearing ponytail holders in all of these (except this last one i lowkey forgot but we can pretend they r just on the other arms) tbh i dont really know if i think mike would listen 2 the nbhd or not but its what was on the shirt in the ref and i didn’t want 2 have it just b a plain black shirt so i kept it. (first one is a hangout session w the party.. i dont really have a specific idea as 2 where, so that can b up to u. second one is .. honestly im not entirely sure i just thought the ref was cute so i used it lol)

once again sorry about this taking a literal month, but my life kinda got a little fucking crazy in august so i didn’t have much time or energy to work on this. i have no idea as 2 when the next one of these will b coming, but i have a few ideas for it already. i think thats all? ill probably have some more byler art coming soon thats not gonna be like this, but no promises lol

About the Byler scene that changed it all

The van scene is by no means my favorite Byler scene because it hurts. A lot. But at the same time, the power that it holds cannot match anything else between Mike and Will for me.

We’ve seen years of Mike worrying about Will from the very first “that’s weird. I don’t see him.” To the “it was the best thing I’ve ever done.” From “it’s not my fault” to “I’m sorry” to “maybe you should have reached out more” to “friends. Best friends,” Mike is sincere. Over. And over. And over again. He loves out in the open for all to see, yes, even in his mistakes, but that’s what makes him human. That’s what makes him who he is. He’s sarcastic and quick and irritable, but oh, when he’s leading, inspiring, and guiding?

Will plays an important role in Stranger Things wherein we rarely get to see his heart. But no, of course we do. He’s the one everyone fought for since season 1, so of course he’s known to us. But that’s just it, everyone else fights for him. They say that proof of good character is if other people recognize it in you, and Will has been the center of that treatment from the very start. Sure, he’s also seen in very negative lights, being made fun of even when he’s assumed dead, but I don’t care about the people who don’t know him. I care about the people who do. And those who do search for him until he’s found. Never give up even when it seems theoretically impossible. Protect him, family and friends alike.

And those things may just be givens in most loving relationships, so let’s take it a step further. What do people say about him? In season 1, Mike asserts that Will risked his character’s life for The Party - an imaginary compromise - and Lucas immediately understands the signal to go out and save him, taking even a fictitious virtue and ascribing it so meaningfully to Will that it’s worth fighting for him in real danger. Then in season 2, Joyce recounts about Will giving a little girl his own toy truck simply because she was sad. In season 3, when Will is explaining what he thinks happened to the Mind Flayer and why it inexplicably seemed to return, Mike is at his defense, saying he’s right without a doubt. Will is trustworthy, and the rest follow. Then in season 4 in arguably one of the sweetest scenes in the whole show, Will and Jonathan are on the verge of tears, and when Will says that he’ll always be there for Jonathan, Jonathan says that he knows he will be. Will is selfless, venerable, caring and wise in a sweet mixture, and when he loves, people know it.

For everything. Everything except his love for Mike. His love for Mike is something that cannot be easily digested or explained. Looking back at that Will and Jonathan scene by the tub before the mind fight, this is something that takes a step into the part of his heart that no one readily sees or pays attention to. If it is, again, it’s pushed in ridicule, covered in insensitive names, not celebrated. It’s something that makes him cry, something that he can’t even say out loud. Jonathan was the one to recognize that things were complicated for his brother and he reached out, knowing that it was hurting Will.

But despite the pain. Despite all of the shame that comes with being who he is, he lets his love out in a big reveal, the most anticipated hint all season long in season 4. And who does he reveal his heart to? Mike. He both risks it all in front of the very person of his affection and gives everything up for him, including his own love.

But be not despaired, because love is not a finite resource.

I know that this scene hurts on so many levels, especially because of what Will says about himself, but look at how Mike sees Will. I don’t think that I even need to put evidence here, but it’s just so tender and important to realize that this is not a hopeless scene.

This is the one who’s on the other end of Will’s message. This kind of attention is not going to become, ‘oh, hey, Will, I’m sorry, but I can’t accept what you said because you lied to me about who it’s from.’ If Mike does say this, he’s a liar. Look at him. He’s seeing Will plenty without a guise on his end. This is Mike falling in love with what Will is offering him.

And given everything that we know about Mike who stops at nothing to protect the ones he loves and Will who would give himself up for the ones he loves, both loving to the point of sacrifice, hand in hand, how can you come away from this scene saying that Mike would easily reject Will? That Mike won’t listen to Will and consider both of their own affections? That they won’t find an understanding? That forgiveness is foreign to them?

Will has given Mike the power to decide to buy the lie or realize it. And in a show that revolves around “friends don’t lie” and uncovering hidden truths, I doubt that Mike is going to simply buy it.

And from there, how beautiful would it be for Mike to openly accept him? To give the boy who thought he lost it all the chance to be loved in a way that makes him feel not different in a world that hates him? And how much more sweet would it be for Will to forever make Mike feel special, unceasingly, without the need to lie? To let him know how adored he is and how he doesn’t have to fight his heart anymore over a romance of obligation rather than bliss?

Byler is endgame. We’re almost there. It just makes sense.

Happy Byler Day. 💙💛

hey y'all make sure to vote 🤩🤩🤩

Just curious, kinda new to the Tumblr tag so I wanna know what we're dealing with yknow?

12 minutes 🤞

Here's the thing. Will took himself out of the running. It was a love triangle by simple "two options to the audience" standards and he took himself out of the running for Mike. So either it was pointless for him to ever even be there OR Mike has to himself put him back in the running

Which do you think is more likely

Every non-Byler pitch for resolving Will's feelings in season 5 is highly dependent on him still having desire to pursue Mike in any way. There was a major scene about how he is definitely not going to do that. But we both know the plot still needs to be resolved. And we both know there's only one other person that can do that. And we both know there's only one reason for them to initiate that conversation.

Reblog if you genuinely support asexuals

It terrifies me that there’s so much raging passion in the lgbt+ community that insist on marginalizing asexuals and implying that asexuals don’t deserve to have safe spaces. There’s still so much acephobia so I just wanna know which blogs are genuinely supportive and a safe space for asexuals

m

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once again i am asking you if you would like to a read a fic based on its concept:

basically mike has already confessed to will which saved him from vecna, but will was too unconscious/injured to even respond. will wakes up next to mike the morning after.

mike's super worried that will listened and doesn't feel the same (despite it literally saving him but he's a little hopeless)

reply or reblog if you want me to tag you when i post it! (might be a while bc im prioritising my university work but its a shorter fic than my usual ones)

First edit: Byler Angst (I Love You, I’m Sorry Gracie Abrams

I’m not sure if anyone has used this song for them but as soon as I heard it I got the vision immediately, lol. I apologize if this isn’t original, I can take it down!