#byler big bang 2022

[you-were-alone-too]

the universe we dreamt

a byler big bang project

Author/Artists: @you-were-alone-too @oceanic-sunsets​ @hei-jessi-draws

Rating: Teen

Tags: Road Trip, Internalized Homophobia, Period Typical Homophobia, Set in 1988, Post-Season 5, Gay Mike Wheeler, Gay Will Byers, Mutual Pining, Will/El Siblings, Mike/Eleven Friendship, Heart to Hearts, Denver, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, California, Mixtapes, Letters, The Painting, Best Friends to Lovers, Miscommunication, Not Actually Unrequited Feelings, Angst, Fluff, Mike Wheeler I Know What You Are, And Soon Will Byers Will Too, The Closet is Made of Glass

Summary: It's six months after they defeat Vecna and close the Upside Down for the final time, and along with it comes the spring of 1988. When Mike suggests that he and Will try and recreate their perfect spring break in California, it leads to a road trip towards the west coast that stirs up old memories and, perhaps, something more.

Excerpt:

Will glances up to where the painting is hanging above the couch, eyes raking over every careful detail. He still remembers the day he’d come down to the basement and saw it hanging up for the first time; Mike had rearranged his other posters just to put it there, and something about the proud look on Mike’s face reminded him of the way Will’s mom always liked to hang his artwork on the fridge, no matter how bad Will insisted they were. It’s stayed there ever since, and even now, seeing it still makes Will feel like his heart is a gaping, wide chasm, one that exposes his entire being if anyone decides to look hard enough. 

He’s just glad that Mike hasn’t attempted to, at least. 

“God, that feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” Mike agrees. His eyes seem to follow Will’s line of sight to where the painting rests above the couch. “You know, if there’s one bright side to all of this, it’s that we never have to sit in a Surfer Boy Pizza van ever again.”

“Don’t remind me,” Will says, shuddering at the memories. Not even counting the emotional turbulence they suffered throughout that week, it had been awful—between the constant stench of weed, the lack of showers or clean clothes, and the mind-numbing boredom of sitting in a van for hours at a time, it was no wonder that just the reminder of it made their faces twist in disgust. “That was…”

“Easily the worst road trip of all time?” Mike asks. 

“Yes,” Will laughs, although he doubts it even deserves to be in the same category as ‘road trip.’ At the time, it felt more like a getaway car than anything else. “I still can’t hear ‘Pass the Dutchie’ without my ears bleeding.” 

Mike laughs as he collapses against the couch, and Will follows suit, the both of them working in tandem the way they’ve always seemed to. 

“We should do that again. But an actual road trip, you know? Not when we’re one wrong turn away from getting shot by rogue government agents.” Mike’s eyes flicker up at him before his gaze falls back to the fidgeting hands in his lap. “And it would just be us this time. No Argyle and Jonathan getting high and playing their shitty mixtape on repeat.”

Will can’t help but smile at the way he can see Mike’s mind already formulating an idea at a hundred miles an hour, the way it always does when he comes up with a plan and his imagination begins to run away from him. And then the words it would just be us hit the forefront of his thoughts, echoing on a never ending loop the way Jonathan’s cassettes tended to do when the film was old and worn. He tries his best to brush them off, but instead, the words seem to worm their way down to his chest and nestle in the holes. He turns back to Mike, shoving the thoughts down, down, down. “Oh, so this time it’ll be us playing our own shitty mixtape?” he asks. 

“Yeah!” Mike says, and the smile on his face reminds him of a younger Mike, one that led the party through countless battles with goblins and the thessalhydra and everything in between. “Well, maybe if I make it, it’ll actually be good.”

Will sits up, angling his body toward Mike with a kick to the shin. “Excuse me? Are you implying that I have bad music taste?” he scoffs. 

Mike wrinkles his nose. “It’s just that you like all that weird stuff, like The Clash.” 

“Wow. At least I don’t just listen to the top hits and think that means I like good music.” 

“They’re the top hits for a reason! Besides, that’s not all I listen to,” he argues, arms folded against his chest. 

Even now, Will can’t help but smile at Mike and the defensive attitude he seems to wield like a plate of armor, rolling his eyes. “Whatever you say.” 

“I’m serious, though,” he says, and when he glances up, Mike’s already staring back at him, brown eyes ploring into hazel. Insistent. “We should do it. For real.”

Will’s breath catches at the way it feels like he can see right through him, and he swallows hard at how sincere he sounds, even if he doubts the idea will ever get off the ground, if he figures that Mike will forget about it in a day or two. “Where would we even go?” Will says, humoring him. 

“California,” Mike answers, like it’s obvious. “We can have the spring break that we never got to have back then. Well, except it would be summer, and we’d probably have to take my mom’s station wagon.”

Oh, something inside him seems to say as his lips part, just the slightest bit. He has so many questions, like why not invite the rest of the party? Or, maybe more pressing, why me? Why now? But with the hopeful smile Mike’s casting his way, radiant like a beacon in the dark, it’s hard to voice any of it, especially when his tongue has transformed into a bed of sandpaper. “It beats a pizza van,” he shrugs with a smile. “Yeah, let’s do it. But only if I get to help make the mixtape.” 

Mike gives him a grin that somehow manages to challenge the one before it, face glowing as bright as Will had ever seen it, and really, that in itself is enough for him to push past the swirling confusion in his chest. “Yeah,” Mike smiles. “It’s a deal.”

#stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #byler #byler fic #byler big bang #byler art #byler moodboard #byler big bang promo #byler big bang 2022

[chaserofstarsandtheabyss]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42810735/chapters/107543748

A lot of hard work and it’s finally done (at least the first five chapters)!!! The @bylerbigbang was an incredible experience and it was so fun, I’m happy to share the first five chapters of Only A Dream!! 

#not quite sure how to link ao3 fics lmao #byler #byler big bang 2022 #byler big bang

[yourplasticpal]

TFW you realize you're accidentally coding a character on the ace spectrum, because you're on the ace spectrum, and you really don't want to be shouted at by ignorant and/or phobic dingbats, but your outline makes so much more sense now.

If I can really nail down what I want to do with this thing within this week, and think I have an honest, fair shot of actually getting it written, I'm signing up for the Byler Big Bang. Manifesting. Or deluding myself. It could go either way.

#stranger things #mileven but besties #an ace person is still a whole person #byler big bang 2022 #maybe #I'm scared

[bylerbigbang]

Now that we're through art claims, I thought I'd share some stats about our fic submissions for our first ever round of the Byler Big Bang!

It's time to start getting seriously excited for all the amazing fics and art that are coming out of this!

#byler big bang #fanfiction #byler fanfiction #byler fanfic #2022 stats

[byelair]

my piece for the 2022 byler big bang 🎸💥 based on this fic!

#i am late to posting this bc Life got in the way but i am here now !! #going insane over these boys once again!! #as a musician myself this was a very fun one to paint #mike wheeler #byler #byler big bang #stranger things #byler art #my art

[lenzami]

art number one for the 2022 byler big bang!

check out the fanfic this is from ;)

#byler #stranger things #byler big bang #st s4 #stranger things season 4 #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things fanart #st fanart #ahhh im so excited! i got 5 more on the way

[queerxqueen]

1989. Senior year. It took nearly three years of growing apart, but Will Byers has finally gotten used to life without Mike Wheeler. He has El, he has Max, he has his art, and, as of two days ago, he has a full ride to art school in Chicago, so things are good. Right? So when Mike climbs through his window one night and stumbles back into his life, Will’s not prepared for the resurgence of old feelings—and even less prepared for the possibility that they might not be as hopeless as he always thought. With the expiration date of graduation looming, Will has to figure out not only his future, but what exactly he and Mike are to each other.

So excited to finally announce the 30k-word, 80s-teen-romance-movie-inspired Byler fic I finished a month ago that will be coming out in November with art from @eggshellokay and @movaie

COMING NOVEMBER 2022 / The Byler Big Bang

#byler big bang #byler fanfiction #fanfic #my fic #fool me once #byler

[lighthouseas]

HAPPY BYLER DAY <3

also if i missed important events, it's because i have the WORST memory ever, but of course you can still mention them in the tags :DD

#stranger things #byler #bylerday #bylerday2023 #st.txt

[iryfic]

i was going to tell a joke about time travel but nobody laughed

At 16, Will Byers thought nothing could surprise him anymore, but he didn’t take time travel into account. Now he’s stuck on the other side of his infamous disappearance, trying to herd his twelve-year-old friends into planning a rescue mission for… himself?

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Mike Wheeler is having a crisis. After watching Will Byers’ dead body being dragged out of the quarry, the last thing Mike expected was to run into an older Will Byers.

                                                           ˙uᴉɐldɯoɔ oʇ ƃuᴉoƃ ʇou ʎluᴉɐʇɹǝɔ s’ǝɥ ʇnq 'pǝɹɐǝddɐ sɐɥ ɹǝlǝǝɥM ǝʞᴉW ɹǝplo uɐ ʎɥʍ puɐʇsɹǝpun ʎllɐǝɹ oʇ ǝʌᴉʌɹns oʇ ƃuᴉʇɥƃᴉɟ ʎsnq ooʇ sᴉ sɹǝʎq llᴉM 'ǝlᴉɥʍuɐǝW

˙pɐǝp ɯᴉɥ ʇuɐʍ ʇɐɥʇ lᴉʌǝ ɟo sǝɔɹoɟ ʎuɐɯ ǝɥʇ ʎq pǝllᴉʞ ƃuᴉǝq ɯoɹɟ 'ǝʌlǝʍʇ ǝƃɐ 'sɹǝʎq llᴉM ǝʌɐs oʇ ƃuᴉʎɹʇ ɟlǝsɯᴉɥ spuᴉɟ ǝɥ 'uʍop ǝpᴉsd∩ ǝɥʇ uᴉ ʞɔnʇs ɯᴉɥ sǝʌɐǝl ƃuoɹʍ ǝuoƃ uoᴉssᴉɯ ǝnɔsǝɹ ɐ ɹǝʇɟɐ ʇnq 'ʎʇᴉlᴉqᴉssod ɐ sɐ lǝʌɐɹʇ ǝɯᴉʇ ʇno pǝlnɹ ʇ’upɐɥ ɹǝlǝǝɥM ǝʞᴉW '9Ɩ ʇ∀

we’re allowed to talk about our byler big bang fics now, so i’m proud(?) to announce mine! post-season 4 byler meets season 1, but time travel doesn’t always make things better...

coming november 2022 | graphic by: @koumitsu​ | art by: @idontknowhowtodoanything  @fruitsyrups

#byler #byler big bang #will byers #mike wheeler #byler fanfiction #edit: love how the formatting only works on desktop fml whatever you get it #✕

[teawan]

Mike,

Hello. I know this might be a little weird, but I just have to get this off my chest. I don’t know how to get into this at all, and I’ve never been a writer like you I’m not particularly good with words so, what I mean is, this might be a mess. I’m saying sorry in advance, I guess. And I hope you aren’t weirded out by this. Okay. I’ll just get into it, I guess.

I want to start by just telling you how beautiful you are. I know—”beautiful” is supposed to be a girl word, whatever that means, but you are beautiful. You’re beautiful in the way that the ocean is beautiful, breathtaking in the sense that it seems to so perfectly fit into the space made for it; beautiful like crashing waves and crystal blue shallows and dark, elegant depths. You’re beautifully made, like God, or whoever creates the human race, took extra time and care to get the slant of your nose just right and the curve of your smile to be sweet enough to give toothaches. 

This is so corny, and I’m sure I’ll want to throw up if I read back any of this but just because it’s embarrassing doesn’t mean it isn’t true. 

At least you don’t know who this is

I mean it, though. I do think you’re beautiful. Or handsome, if you like that better. I just, I don’t know, feel like that doesn’t really say all the things that beautiful does. I’m saying beautiful too much. Or writing. I’m writing the word beautiful too much.

I think I’m in love with you. I think about you a lot. Not in the weird way, just, your eyes and how deep and brown they are, and your hair. It falls so perfectly all the time, and it’s so pretty; not exactly curly-curly, a little too curly to be wavy, but perfectly shaped all the same. It looks so soft and I wish I could run my hands through it when you sit next to me Your voice is really nice, too. I’ve heard it in class, sometimes.

Sorry, I don’t really know where I’m going with this. God. Okay. Sorry. These things, these thoughts, or whatever they are, they’ve been floating in my head for far too long, and it almost feels like if I don’t get them out somehow, I’m going to drive myself crazy. You’re driving me crazy, and I can’t even be mad about it, because you promised—

You’re driving me crazy, and I can’t even be mad about it, because it would be a privilege to go insane if your beauty is the thing that caused it, I think.

That’s just the thing. I can’t even be mad at you, even though you’ve hurt me with your smile and your eyes and your laughter and your…just you, really. I can’t because even though it hurts, I think I’d miss it if it ever faded, and I guess I’m grateful, just a little, that I get to hurt like this. It’s a blessing because it reminds me every day how lucky I am to have you to be in this world with you.

That’s it, I think. Thanks for reading this.

—Anonymous

Sixteen years is plenty of time for feelings to grow. It is also, however, plenty of time for those feelings to swell to an uncontainable mass, for them to sink long, hooked claws into your heart, twist thorny vines around your lungs, and fill them up with so much emotion that it’s hard to breathe sometimes. 

Will Byers knows this all too well, so when he realizes that there may be a way to lighten this force that’s slowly but surely choking him, he jumps at it. What he doesn’t account for, though, is that Mike can be very observant when he wants to be.

Alternatively, anonymous love letters, peanut butter and potato chip sandwiches, and loopy “y”s ruin two boys’ lives and then change them for the better.

devil’s in the details (but you got a friend in me), a 40k+ fic, along with art made by @eggshellokay and @mitokitsune, coming out November 2022 as a part of the Byler Big Bang ( @bylerbigbang ) ! 

* moodboard made by @koumitsu *

#fic #fic promo #byler big bang

[claryfrayed]

It’s August 1985, only a month after the events that occurred on the Fourth of July. Everyone has seemed to move past the tragedies that have befallen the small town. Except Will Byers, that is. It’s the second week of high school and the Party is beginning to split apart at seams. But he’s got bigger things to worry about. Like the strange tingling in the back of his neck and the horrific nightmares that have been plaguing his sleep. As well as a little girl with a missing friend, bound and determined to see her return home safely, no matter the cost. Will’s not sure how everything ties together. But he’s got a bad feeling that it has something to do with the ghosts that have been appearing, popping up with painfully familiar faces and stories.

The Upside Down is gone. Or so everyone keeps telling him. But Will knows the truth. You can burn all the vines and close all the gates. But you can’t flush out a virus once it’s already been spread. After all, how do you kill something that’s intertwined with the very root of Hawkins without affecting the real world?

i’m happy to announce my new and upcoming fic for the Byler Big Bang! i’ve been working on this since august and i’m super stoked to be sharing it with all of you now! it includes artwork from an amazing artist @sugarohtea, who is working on some awesome things right now! i will be posting a few snippets here in the next couple of weeks! so lookout for those!

A Ghost Never Leaves A Haunted House coming in November 2022 along with a bunch of other fics that everyone should check out!

#byler big bang #byler fanfic #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things #post season three #a ghost never leaves a haunted house #byler artwork

[oldfashionedmorphine]

6 7 12 :)

hello ☺️

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

If we’re talking ships I’ve written for this year…it’s been exclusively byler. At least I wrote two silly one shots for them, and wrote multi-chapter work for them for the byler big bang, and i’m still working on my 100k+ fic of them reuniting because of a funeral after having spent 14 years trying to avoid each other…like geez dude, when will you write for another ship?? 😅

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Mike Wheeler lives in my head rent free…and Will takes up a lot of space too. Like no surprise there…but also Holly from my most recently published fic and El from my current ongoing work cause she’s fun to write for.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

I’m a Wreck (Without You Here)…….I started working on it in October-ish of 2022 and the first chapter was published just over a year ago on ao3, but I’ve spent the most hours writing for it in 2023! And it’s incredibly difficult to write at times because of how sad it can be…also it’s still not done (but I’m getting close to finishing it…like maybe 5 more chapters to go!)

#thanks for the ask!

[tsugarubecker]

Byler Fics

(template for commenting on fics if you don’t know how to! Authors love comments we live or die by them 🥺)

Bridging the Gap - where did Mike sleep after the roller rink? 🤔 For @pika-cthuluuuuu

First connection after arrival - in which Mike & Will have a conversation after Mike arrives in Cali. (And some beautiful fanart for it - by @green-garbage 🥺💓)

Shed Scene Reprise part 1 and part 2

Re: Lighting up a Room. The Van Scene from Mike’s POV. His head is full of static noises (homosexually). For my 1000 followers celebration! 🥺 (The fanart @gmaybe666 did for this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me omg sobbingggg 😭💗 details here!)

Popcorn: a Byler first date ficlet for @duskandwandlight 🥰 Feat. hints of Elumax, also feat. platonic!Elmike being powerful af. ALERT ADORABLE FANART by @gmaybe666 🤩🍿 And here too!!

Will’s Crush: a post-painting sleepy convo. The cute hc and fanart I used as prompts are tagged within. Enjoy!

ST S5 E01 - The Painter (Pt 1) - El and Mike finally have a long talk, during the course of which Mike discovers he might not have his story… straight, if you will… regarding Will’s painting. My longest fic to date!

Analyses Why El needs Hopper’s parental love, not Mike’s romantic love (link)

El needed to hear everything she wanted to hear from Mike to realize that Mike is not what she wants (link)

El and Choice - also El / Mike / Will triangle and El / Mike / Max triangle analysis (link)

Other cool cats’ posts Probably my favorite post about why Byler makes sense as the narrative direction of Stranger Things, by @queerxqueen

An excellent summary of why it matters that Mike Wheeler is both gay and just a normal dude TM - and why that will shake the straights tf up, as it should. By @wakeupthemembersofbylernation

Is S4 finale too soon for requited byler? No. True as heck words by @admirablespoling

Well V2 initially seemed to slap us in the face and call us a slur but this post makes it make sense (or gives the suffer bros too much credit - who knows!) Def recommend a read if you’ve lost byler hope. by ceIiasaint on Twitter

How the gen aud may be feeling re: Mike, El, and Will after S4. A really good read by @merthurfan-blog

Videos analyzing Mike’s scenes in S4 and concluding that “gay” and “byler.” By @naturallybrielle on tiktok

Visual/cinematic analysis of the subtext re: Mike Wheeler in ST S4 which concludes that byler. By Joanna on Twitter

Decor

Patch on my jacket

Art on my wall

My scout badge

Poster on my wall (not a joke this time lol)

Events The Byler Big Bang 2022! Get involved folks!

Not an event but a byler website?? cuuute

#pinned post

[pearyaoki]

what if our dnd characters got married (and we did too)

Mike's ready for marriage but he can't just do it the normal way, over dinner at a fancy restaurant. No, that's too boring. Too normal. Instead he has to craft the perfect D&D campaign, but will he manage to guide the Party through it before Will beats him to the punch?

Excited to announce my fic for the Byler Big Bang!! A short, sweet proposal fic with plenty of romantic and comedic moments interspersed from start to finish ♡

Coming November 2022 | art by @gay-idi0t

#byler #byler big bang #byler fanfiction #my fic

[bylerbigbang]

A badge for Byler Big Bang 2022 Artist participants! [Schedule] [Rules & Requirements] [Sign Up!]

#byler big bang #byler fanart

[bylerbigbang]

A badge for Byler Big Bang 2022 Writer participants! [Schedule] [Rules & Requirements] [Sign Up!]

#byler big bang #byler fanfiction #byler fanfic