#pre-relationship byler

[flowercrowngods]

based on this concept of steve and mike coming out to each other

🤍 also on ao3

The sun is setting in beautiful hues of pink and purple, tinging the town of Hawkins, Indiana, in a light of serenity and beauty it doesn’t really deserve. Steve’s hands are gripped tight around the steering wheel as he carefully scans the road and the houses he passes.

He almost misses the bike where it’s lying on the curb, carelessly discarded by the looks of it, and a tinge of worry shadows his frown. Worry that doesn’t quite dissipate when he spots the figure sitting on the roof, almost black against the lilac colour of the sky, but he breathes a sigh of relief. He considers grabbing the radio to let the others know he found Mike, but decides against it. Something tells him that maybe they’ll take a while. Something tells him there’s more to Will’s stunned silence and Mike’s sudden departure from where they were all hanging out at Steve’s after another successful Hellfire session. 

With a sigh, Steve cuts the engine and gets out of the car, keeping his eyes on Mike the whole time — ready for him to take off again, ready to go sit a while and wait for him to come back. But Mike doesn’t move, even after he shuts the door and approaches the Wheelers’ house. He doesn’t acknowledge Steve when he pulls himself up to the roof, easier this time than the first time he did this. 

There’s a snide comment in the air between them, a version of Mike that would have lashed out at him, made fun of and insulted him. But this one just sits there, hands in his lap, frown on his face, and stares ahead. 

“What do you want,” he asks eventually, though it doesn’t have the kind of heat that Steve expects. He barely even sounds like a teenager. Just sort of… dejected. Steve aches for him; just a little bit. 

“Just making sure you’re alright,” Steve says, shrugging, looking ahead as well so Mike doesn’t feel watched. Or seen, maybe. 

Because the thing is, Steve does see him. He sees the way he looks at Will sometimes, and the way his eyes fill with something that can only be described as yearning, or aching, followed by regret and fear. Which always, always turn into anger. Into frustration. Into snide comments and rolled eyes and walls that keep getting an inch added to them each day. It’s never directed at Will, that anger, and rarely at the rest of the Party, but Steve still sees it. Gets the worst of it and takes it, because he knows something about how that feels. 

He knows something about looking at someone like that, about feeling that fear, that regret, that worry that come with it. He knows something about never really daring to meet someone’s eyes for fear of what they would see. 

“I’m alright,” Mike says, sounding anything but. There’s a bitterness in his voice. Frustration in the way his thumb is picking at the skin of his fingers. Confusion in the tension of his shoulders, and Steve feels like he only needs to make one wrong move, say one wrong word, make a single sound that’s off key to the melody of this moment, and Mike will jump off the roof and take off again with his bike. 

So all he says, after a moment’s consideration, is, “Cool.” Like he believes him. Giving Mike room to breathe, room to pretend. He knows something about that, too. 

He knows and he sees and he feels. 

And suddenly he wants to say something he’s never said before, something he didn’t even get to tell Robin because she knew and saw and felt, too, taking something from him that he hasn’t yet been ready to reclaim for himself. 

And maybe it’s because he sees something of himself in the way Mike holds himself, in the way he snaps at anyone willing to listen, in the way he frowns in regret and barely meets anyone’s eyes except when it’s in challenge — and, most of all, in the way he never, never meets Will’s eyes. In the way he looks away when the other boy turns to him, and in the way his eyes will snap back and take in everything about his best friend when he’s not aware of it. 

Maybe it’s because the sky is pink and lilac and purple above them, allowing for a certain magic to happen, allowing for a bravery that doesn’t come easy to him; but as he sits on the roof next to Mike Wheeler, the only one of the Party he never really connected with, he closes his eyes against the breeze that catches in his hair and opens his jacket a little further, slithering beneath the fabric as if in a brief embrace, a nudge, a sign to take this leap, and takes a deep breath. 

His heart is picking up its pace inside his chest, taking this leap along wit him, and pulls up one of his legs to wrap his hands around it — just to have something to hold onto. 

He opens his mouth once, twice, three times, but the words never really come out. They don’t know how, and he’s beginning to tremble a little with it, tension building in his chest where the words are still locked away, hidden among layers of truth. 

Mike looks over with a frown and eyes him warily. It makes Steve want to laugh, this sudden change of pace, but he just keeps staring ahead; even when Mike asks, “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” Steve says. And then then dam is broken and breaking further, and with another deep breath, still not meeting Mike’s eyes, instead focusing on the tree tops in the distance that shine in hues of purple, he finally says, “I’m kind of dating Eddie Munson.” 

And just like that, it’s out. He’s out. 

He doesn’t know if the world still spins, if time still passes, if he still breathes, because for a moment there is only silence. Mike stops picking at the skin of his fingers, Steve stops trembling, and neither of them moves. 

It’s both anticlimactic and momentous, this silence between them when their eyes meet. When the words unfold and grow wings, when Mike understands, his eyes growing big with something that Steve can’t quite read with how tense he is despite his best efforts. 

The silence stretches between them, surpassing comfort and overstaying its welcome, and suddenly it’s Steve who feels like he’s about to take off if Mike so much as twitches his brows. 

“You… What?” 

Forget it, Steve wants to say. Nothing. 

But also, I’m in love with Eddie Munson. And I used to be in love with Nancy. And that’s okay. Both of that, it’s okay. 

He ends up repeating his words, though, because they know what it’s like to be spoken now. “Eddie. I’m kind of dating Eddie.” 

“But…” It’s Mike now whose mouth is opening and closing without saying anything. Mike who’s blinking, trembling a little, twitching, picking at his skin again, moving further along his hand this time to pinch the skin between his thumb and pointer finger. Steve almost reaches out to stop him, but he doesn’t really dare to. 

“But?” he prompts after a while, not quite comfortable with this loaded kind of silence. 

“Eddie’s a boy.” 

But Tammy Thompson is a girl. 

“I know,” Steve says, his tone carefully neutral, wanting to see, to wait where Mike takes this, to hear what’s on his mind, to watch the wheels turn and the gears shift. He feels awfully raw and open, vulnerable with someone who hasn’t been treating that with care yet. But there’s something about this moment that feels bigger than his own fears, bigger than the light nausea settling in his gut; far more important than the way he wants to run and hide, away from the scrutiny. 

“And…” Mike continues, still battling the words inside his head. Steve wonders if there are too many or none at all. “But you… You loved Nancy.” 

Ah. Smart boy. “I did,” Steve says with a small smile. “And it was never a lie. But I found that… Yeah, I can kinda like boys, too, y’know? And that’s, like, okay.”

A beat. A frown. A confused, hopeful, small, “It is?” 

Steve just nods, smiling in reassurance and relief at equal measures. Silence settles once more, now that the sky has darkened into a deeper, darker blue; but it’s not as loaded this time, not as tense. It’s an invitation. An offering. A promise of I’m here, I’m with you, you can take as long as you need. To get down from the roof, to come back, to come out of wherever you think you need to hide from the world. 

Mike takes it. He stays, pulling up his leg, too, mirroring Steve’s pose and staring ahead, but not as far away. He seems alert, seems to be thinking rather than dwelling, seems to be gearing up for something. Steve watches and sees and knows, remaining patient beside him, his chin resting on his knee as Mike learns to deal with this new world that has been presented to him. This new world that comes with opportunities and chances and possibilities that are scary and big and difficult to make. 

“Y’know,” Mike starts at last, interrupting the silence, playing with it, his voice hushed and quiet to keep it from disappearing completely. “Lucas, when he had that championship game? He told us, Dustin and me, that we didn’t have to be the losers this time. The nerds. The outcasts. Different. And all I wanted was to scream at him, because…” 

Mike swallows his words, keeping them from tumbling out of his mouth, and Steve aches for him again. He wants to reach out, wants to say it’s okay, tell him it’s alright, to take his time. But he waits in silence, lets Mike find the bravery he needs on his own, and waits. 

“Because how could he say that, you know? How could he, when… Will wasn’t there. And all I did, all I ever did anymore, was miss him. And I loved El, I knew I did. And she was gone, too, but…” 

He trails off again, and this time Steve picks it up. To let him know he’s not alone. To let Mike know he understands what he’s saying. He understands. “But she’s not Will. You needed Will.” 

“But I shouldn’t!” Mike explodes suddenly, riled up because Steve adds fuel to the fire, because Steve has that same fire, too; and because they are so, so similar when they want to be. “And now he’s back and it should be fine, I shouldn’t be feeling like this, it doesn’t even make sense! How can I…” 

Steve looks at him, at his expression that is nothing but lost — completely and utterly. He’s seen it on the bathroom floor at the mall; high out of his mind as he was, he’ll never forget the way Robin looked at him, the sheer crestfallen expression. All that confusion, all that fear and frustration and, in the end, resignation. He’s seen it in the mirror, and he’s seen it in those pretty brown eyes that he just can’t get out of his head anymore. 

He offers, gently, “How can you need him when he’s right there? How can you love him when a year ago you loved El?”

And Mike just looks at him before he deflates completely, his shoulders falling along with his face. He nods. Shrugs. Looks away and hides his face behind his leg. 

Steve sighs softly, watching the boy and speaking the words he wants to say the sixteen year-old version of himself. “I don’t know,” he says truthfully. “I really don’t, and it sucks sometimes, having this need to, like, decide. Or understand. Or stop and be like the rest of them.” Like Robin and Eddie, or like the rest of the world. “But I like to think, sometimes, that maybe it’s a good thing. That there’s just… I don’t know, it sounds corny as hell, but like, there’s just so much love to give, we can’t even stick to only boys or girls, y’know.” 

“That does sound real corny as fuck, man,” Mike says, and back is that long suffering tone of his, back is that eye roll and the twitching elbow, ready to nudge Steve in the side. It’s still tinged with that vulnerability, not quite Mike yet, but it’s an offering.

One of many tonight, it seems.

Steve grins, a bit lopsided and raw, shoving Mike gently as he remembers something he overheard once. “Sorry, mister Heart of our group, but I don’t think you have any leg to stand on here.”

That makes Mike freeze, though, and he stares at Steve wide-eyed; caught. Exposed. Reminded.

“What did you say?”

“Uh,” Steve falters, not sure where he went wrong — or if he went wrong at all. “I overheard Will calling you that, talking about you to, uhm. Someone. I don’t know. Why, what’s— What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Mike says, way too quickly, pulling away again with everything he has, hiding behind those walls once more, and Steve feels whiplash from it.

“Mike,” he says, his voice quiet and gentle as he turns to face him completely.

“No.”

“It’s okay,” Steve says. Promises, as much as he can.

“Shut up!”

“You’re not wrong or bad or broken. It’s okay, you’re okay.”

“I said, shut up, Steve.”

“You should see the way he looks at you, too. You should go talk to him. You—“

Mike lashes out, finally coming out from behind those walls again, only to shove at Steve, to push him away — hard enough for him to lose his balance and almost fall off the roof, clenching one hand on the edge, the other in the rainwater gutter with a bitten-off curse.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” Mike reaches for him immediately, snapping out of whatever anger Steve caused, and pulling him back until he’s safe again, apologising over and over, dead to Steve’s promises that it’s alright. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, Steve, I’m so—“

He pulls Mike against his chest, finally reaching out to hold the boy who always pushes people away when they get too close — quite literally, too.

But he doesn’t shove this time, doesn’t move out of Steve’s grasp as the mumbled apologies become heaving sobs.

“It’s okay, you’re okay, you’re so okay, Mike,” Steve tells him over and over as he holds him. The sky above is almost black now and Steve lets Mike cry into his chest.

It takes a while for Mike to calm down, but Steve just holds him through it, ready to let go whenever Mike wants to pull back and snap out of it again — but he never does, and Steve feels a certain kind of affection for the boy that is usually reserved for Lucas or Dustin.

At last, when he’s calmed down, Mike pulls back a little. “Do you really… Does it… Is it really okay?”

Can it be okay? Can I really like both? Is that not just me, being broken and wrong and bad? Will I get the chance to not be alone?

Steve swallows hard, and his voice is hoarse when he says, “Yeah. It’s really okay. ‘N’ I’m with you, yeah? If someone gives you shit for it. Or if you need a reminder.”

And Mike — puffy eyed, snotty nosed, so, so young — looks at him with those trusting eyes and nods, like he believes Steve. Like he trusts him. Like he hopes.

“Just don’t fucking shove me off your roof again.”

Ans just like that, the spell is broken, the tension is lifted, and silence has left them, as Mike almost chokes on a laugh and shoves at him again, lightly this time, before jumping off the roof so Steve can’t retaliate.

“Asshole,” he mutters, shaking his head as he, too, jumps off the roof, dusting off his pants as he watches Mike grabbing his bike. “Hey, Micycle,” he calls, cackling when Mike flips him the bird. “You want a ride back?”

Mike stops, considering as Steve casually flicks his keys into the air and catches them expertly. “What kinda music do you got?”

“The Clash, ‘cause Eddie hates them.”

“Yeah, that’s because they suck!”

Steve snorts, opening the driver’s side door. “Y’know, they’re one of Will’s favourites, actually.”

He watches Mike freeze with a grin on his face, knowing there’s no way the boy would take the bike.

“You’re so annoying,” Mike sighs as he brings his bike close to the garage and carefully lays it on the grass this time before hurrying over to Steve, getting in on the front, rolling his eyes when Steve cackles. “I don’t know why Eddie would date you—“

His words are drowned out when Steve turns up Train in Vain, drumming along on the steering wheel with a shit eating grin. Though the atmosphere is wildly different now, the spell broken and the bubble burst, it’s undeniable that something happened between them. Something big, something important.

Something that makes Mike’s annoyed, long-suffering expression be broken by the smile he’s trying to hide. It makes Steve laugh, elated and feeling something that’s much, much bigger than he himself ever could be.

It’s going to be okay. So, so okay.

Before they know it, they’re pulling up to Steve’s and he turns off the car, is about to get out when Mike makes him still again.

“Hey, Steve?”

“Hm?”

“I think it’s cool. You and Eddie.”

He smiles, relief and fondness washing over him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.” He reaches over and ruffles Mike’s hair — a wild mane these days, but they could make it work with some care and some products. “Now go get your man, lover boy.”

“God, you suck so much, you’re so annoying!”

Steve’s cackling again when the passenger door slams shut and Mike lets himself into his house.

He spots a figure in the dark, their face lighting up when they take a drag of a cigarette — and Steve’s heart stumbles in his chest. He scrambles to get out, attempting to look calm and collected, even though Eddie always manages to see right through him.

“Hello, stranger,” he says, leaning against the wall beside Eddie, hiding away in the dark, where the world won’t see their shoulders touch, or their fingers tentatively playing with each other before they can’t take it no longer and lace their hands, holding on tight.

“Hi,” Eddie breathes. “How’d it go?”

“Fine, I think. But, uhm… I told him. About me. About us. That, uh. That okay?”

Even in the dark, Steve can feel eyes on him, but he just stares ahead, opting instead to give his warm hand a squeeze. He smiles when Eddie’s thumb begins to draw patterns on his palm.

“Hmm. Very. You think they’ll be okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve breathes, stealing Eddie’s cigarette from his mouth and pulling it between his own lips. “Yeah, I think they will be.”

#steve & mike #steve harrington #mike wheeler #steddie #byler #pre-relationship byler #real hesitant to use the pairing tags tho 🥺😭 #this kinda ran away from me i feel like i’m gonna have to try again with better words but here’s what i got for a first try #i write this whole 3.2k words thing tonight it is 2am i should proofread this but i have a lecture early in the morning i get 5h of sleep #(but only if i fall asleep right this instant which. ain’t happening chief. anyway uh depression era words? #dio words #and yes the bisexual light of this whole scene is important thanks for asking

[booksandpaperss]

I personally am of the believe that Dustin kinda subconsciously knows Will is gay (courtesy of @aemiron-main ) but also Dustin’s canonically horrendous gaydar has so much crack potential like just consider:

*the og four are doing like a group hug in the UD after almost dying*

Lucas: god I love you guys. Mike and Will don’t ever do something that fucking dumb again cuz I am NOT fucking charging a dragon again. jesus.

Mike: hey! Will charged it first-

Will: yeah and you went after me carrying a stick??? At least I just figured out I have powers, Mike!

Mike: yeah and? I’d do it again-

Lucas: you are absolutely not doing that again mike-

Dustin: guys! Seriously?? We never responded to Lucas saying he loved us it was sweet *is being genuine but also clearly lightly making fun of Lucas*

Lucas: yeah yeah well we almost died so… I mean it’s true. I love you guys. Even Mike shockingly-

Mike: haha verrrryyy funny Lucas

*they’re still in a group hug/huddle by each other’s shoulders though, grinning at each other*

Will, after a soft moment of stillness: we love you too Lucas *then he instinctively turns to look at Mike, and blinks when Mike is already smiling softly at him*

*Lucas watches Mike and Will staring at each other in an ahem very not platonic way, and his eyebrows slowly climb up his forehead before they’re both snapped out of it by Dustin sniffling*

Dustin, still sniffling: I really love you guys too *and then he dives closer into the huddle and they all follow him, fully a group hug again, and maybe Mike and Will and Lucas are sniffling too, just a little*

Dustin: you guys are all like brothers to me yknow?

*sudden dead silence*

Dustin, suddenly feeling awkward: …Like, all four of us were supposed to be brothers together or something?

*mike suddenly starts coughing, Will is staring very hard at his shoes, Lucas is trying not to burst out laughing or maybe start crying, he hasn’t decided*

Lucas, a little more genuine: yeah Dustin, you’re like my brother too

Will, voice oddly squeaky: uh, yeah, you guys are my brothers too. A-all of… um.

Mike, voice weirdly hoarse: uhh yeah, yeah for sure *he is looking anywhere but at Will, a very odd expression on his face, there is an awkward silence between the four*

Lucas, abruptly: Whelp! That’s enough of that. *and he pulls away and starts marching ahead, Dustin staring after him in confusion and Mike and Will staring very hard at the slimy upside-down ground*

And the four of them never uttered the word brother around each other again 🫡

#can u tell I believe in Lucas supremacy #anyways this is so unserious plz do not take it too seriously 😭 #i just love the OG party sm #anyway Dustin accidentally referring to Will and Mike as brothers 😭😭 #u can decide how far along in their communication and figuring things out with each other Mike and Will are lmao #it works for secret relationship or pre relationship or almost relationship lol #anyways #byler #the party stranger things #mike and will #dustin henderson #stranger things 5 #byler tumblr #elli talks byler

[byierficrecs]

❝ let the stars fall ❞ author: @etchedstars

link: archiveofourown.org/works/44824663

personal blog || submit a story || support me on ko-fi 💐

#📚 #byler #byler fanfiction #byler fic rec #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things #r // teen #r // one-shot #r // finished #r // 1-5k #t // pre-apocalypse #t // future #t // au #t // end of the world #t // established relationship #w // mcd

[polyamorous-eleven]

Will: Lucas and I are going on a date tonight!

Mike: oh great! What time are we leaving?!

Max:

Dustin:

Lucas: Dude-

#byclair #byler #bc i mean kinda??? #maybe i should tag #bywheelclair #maybe its pre-relationship #or just jelaous mike #or just dumb mike #read it however u want lmao #lucas sinclair #will byers #mike wheeler #incorrect stranger things quotes #byclair incorrect quotes

[uselessnbee]

ok but consider: Holly knew Will pretty much her whole life, he visits the Wheelers so often that he sometimes ends up helping Mike babysit her. and well little Holly loves him of course! he's always so kind and gentle and she loves and admires his art and so he always helps her to get better and he always compliments no matter what she draws and she just loves him so much!

so much that little Holly starts talking about how she's gonna marry him when she grows up.

and Mike ..well he's Mike ...so of course he's jealous. he knows it's stupid but also hey if Will is going to marry any Wheeler it's going to be him you little shit-

#this can be both pre-relationship and established byler #anyways it is a funny thought #will is so embarassed when she starts with it and when he finds out about Mike's jealousy he laughs at him and calls him an idiot #but then he gives him so many kisses until mike turns all red because he keeps pouting and whining #and god will just loves this dumbass so much #Mike: holly is my favorite sister i love her #Holly: i'm gonna marry Will when i grow up! #Mike: i want her gone- #alernative: when Holly gets older and understands more about this whole situation she realises how jealous it makes Mike #so she says it even more and becomes even more unbearable because she's Mike's and Nancy's sister so of course she can be a little shit too #mike wheeler #will byers #holly wheeler #byler #the wheeler siblings #i've been having a holly and her cool big bro mike brainrot these past few days #i need more of them

[existingonanotherplane]

They won’t leave me alone 😭😭😭😭

Modern byler modern byler >:D (legit no way to tell is modern tho Lmboo. Other than maybe?? Mikes haircut)

Close ups

Ngl had a whole lot of fun drawing this c:

The conversation happening on the Polaroid:

El: (describing the picture) Mike and Will

Lucas: Caught them lacking

Max: (to Lucas) Why are you signing it weirdo?

Lucas: You did too???

———

Dustin: Will is looking /right/ at the camera, he definitely knew (about the picture)

———

Will + El doodling in their corners and drawing faces to each others patterns c:

Mike, immediately: Cool! (to Will)

Will: Thanks! c:

Dustin: Get it together

———

Referring to the hearts drawn next to Mike and Will

Mike: Why didn’t I get any hearts?

Lucas: Will gave you two 🙄

El: Don’t be a baby Mike

Max: Get him >:) (to El)

Will: yeah! Get him!

Mike: :C

Dustin: lol

#byler #LET THEM BE HAPPY 😭😭😭 #the whole group 😔 #are they together?? is this pre relationship?? you decide >:D #my art #will byers #william byers #mike wheeler #michael wheeler #el hopper #jane hopper #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #stranger things fanart #stranger things 4 #byler fanart #cleradin #René’s art

[nastyaex]

Will and Mike going to the museum/art gallery together : Mike doesn't care much about art (that isn't Will's) but it makes Will happy, so he joins him. The art suddenly becomes interesting when it's Will who's talking about it

in other words mike is a whipped fruit thank you for listening

#and will would grab mike's hand to lead him to another painting/sculpture #mike is BEAMING like holy shit will is so happy i'm happy too #can work with both pre-relationship and established relationship #and will talks talks talks talks and talks #and mike listens listens listens and listens #and he even tries to ask questions and it makes will happy #if will says something is ugly then it's 100% true to mike #he has 0 critical thinking left #if something is ugly but will finds it pretty THEN IT'S FACTUALLY PRETTY #they're both just really happy #byler #no guys you don't understand i'm currently kicking my feet the thought makes me so happy #it's embarrassing actually #byler headcanon

[autistic-katara]

FUCK sun and moon top and bottom and however else we arrange fictional ships. which one of them steals the other’s favourite music as a strange, discreet form of pining and which just thinks they happen to have the same music taste

#inspired by me and my bsf/crush hanging out and us playing his playlist while smoking #and me realising how everytime he plays his music i add some songs to my playlist and i rlly don’t think it’s just cause they’re good #and i haven’t talked to him abt it for obvious reasons but i’m pretty sure he just thinks we like the same things #anyways imma give some of my own examples feel free to rb this with ur own (pls i wanna see what use think) #byler #mike steals will is clueless #lumity #(pre-relationship) #amity steals luz is clueless #aaannnd i can’t think of any other ships that i have an answer for but yk pls tell me ur opinions #rb bait #shipping #fandom

[sccoobydoobers]

Mike not noticing the every obvious holes in El’s lies is not only a mark of how much more he pays attention to Will (even while ‘ignoring’ him) but also how much they really don’t know each other.

#mike has known El the longest and some how will is closer to her 🤨 #pre-relationship they are ‘friends’ for a week while Will is gone #not even friends either mike was legit just trying to find Will and el was the only way how #stranger things #m*leven #mike wheeler i know what you are #mike wheeler #will byers #eleven hopper #byler #jane el hopper #my post #byler tumblr

[booksandpaperss]

the way happy byler is literally an AU

#writing byler pre relationship fluff and crack feels impossible cuz they’re both so sad all the time #byler #byler tumblr

[aurorabyler]

CRITICAL MUSICAL SYMBOLISM IN STRANGER THINGS ACROSS 3 SEASONS SETTING UP FOR ST5

Will’s First Lie & First I Love You

STRANGER THINGS NATION, BYLER NATION, WATCH, LISTEN, AND READ THIS WHOLE POST VERY CAREFULLY. NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS SO PLEASE SPREAD

this is one of my favourite details in stranger things and i love how it connects the different relationships in the show. i’ve thought this melody had a lot of narrative significance ever since season 3, but now that all of season 4 is out, i’m even more amazed by how this soundtrack ties everything together—especially with byler.

my nerd brain picked up on the similarities between these three songs—The First Lie, The First I love You, and Being Different, from seasons 2, 3, and 4 respectively.

The First Lie is played during the scene where Jonathan and Nancy hook up in season 2 following Murray’s encouragement. It’s a reference to Nancy not being truthful about her feelings towards Steve and could have a few double meanings, including the LIE literally being Nancy and Jonathan sleeping together (hence, LYING together), as well as Jonathan’s trust issues that Murray talks about.

The First I love You plays during Robin’s coming out and also El saying I love you to Mike (that Mike appears confused by in season 3). My favourite detail here is that the word “love” in the song is not capitalized. This may seem insignificant, but when you look at the ENTIRE stranger things soundtrack pre season 4, no other words have been in lowercase. This was intentional, both for Mike/El’s awkward kiss, and Steve/Robin’s love for each other, which is not romantic, since Robin is a lesbian. It starts out as one-sided for Steve and then we obviously see their amazing friendship.

Here’s where the symbolism gets super interesting. There’s no way this is not intentional. In season 4 vol 2 when Will gives Mike the painting, he confesses to Mike but covers it up with El’s name. He then turns away from Mike and cries, muffling the sound with his hand. It’s been emphasized throughout the show that Will is unable to lie to Mike. Literally season 1, episode 1: “it was a seven. The demogorgon, it got me.” Lucas encourages Will to not say anything to Mike since he didn’t see the roll, but Will physically cannot lie to him. This theme is seen with byler again and again throughout the show. Will never lies to Mike. EXCEPT, in this scene in season 4.

Will covers up his feelings. It’s a weird halfway point. He lies to Mike for the first time, and he can’t bear it, combined with all his other feelings for him. THE SONG THAT PLAYS DURING THIS SCENE, BEING DIFFERENT, has the exact same melody as BOTH THE FIRST LIE AND THE FIRST I LOVE YOU.

Are you guys hearing this??

It’s both the first time Will lies to Mike in the show AND the first time he somewhat confesses the truth, that he loves Mike. The melody of First Lie/First I love You ONLY STARTS once Will finishes up his monologue and turns away to cry, realizing what’s just happened.

This is literally insane musical symbolism.

I compiled a video with Will’s scene at the end for you guys to see how similar the songs are.

Let me know what you think of this!

#byler #stranger things 4 #the first lie #the first i love you #being different #musical symbolism #subtext #stranger things #stranger things theory #st4 #byler is endgame

[loverslakes]

all the words i wrote in 2023 💫

a not so secret admirer - february - 1,751 words - valentines day secret relationship fluff

tried and true blue - march - 8,091 words - post canon byler from lucas’s pov in college

holding the stars in place, ch2 - april - 2,750 words - post s4 willelmike love triangling + will guilt

when it ends - july - 2,135 words - apocalypse quarantine in 1996, end of the world domesticity, light angst

honey, i’m still free - august through november - 27,144 words - romcom au based on made of honor

‘cause if we don’t leave this town - october - 10,001 words - byler lumax post college road trip

the wonders of my world - december - 3,871 words - willel teachers au + married byler

holding the stars in place, ch3 - december - 4,989 words - post s4 byler pre getting together

+++ 22,537 unpublished words!

that’s a total of 83,269 words this year (which is relatively a lot for me compared to less than 5k in 2022). if you read even just a fraction of them thank you :’) or if not i will keep writing for myself hehe

#the grip these characters have on me……. #byler #byler fanfiction #will byers #mike wheeler #byler fic rec #byler fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #me.txt

[holyvirgilscriptures]

thought about a scene is season 5 where pre-relationship byler are sitting or standing beside each other, and there are people around them but they're too busy and stressed to notice the boys. will's lost deep in thought until he feels warm skin against his palm — mike slowly threading their fingers and holding his hand. but mike's not looking at him while he's doing it. so will doesn't look at mike either. they just stay there, holding hands, as everyone else moves past them and doesn't notice

#byler

[chirpsythismorning]

It would appear I am indeed one of the very few optimistic (delusional?) Bylers left.

Not saying that if you feel hopeless and need to move on, that you can't. A lot of you have been through this before with other shows. Again and again. You’re tired and fed-up and you have every right to be.

Technically, Season 5 won't be out for another 2+ years anyways, which means the best thing for everyone regardless is to get whatever we need off our chests now and then to just go on a hiatus for the foreseeable future. 

When it comes to how I feel about Vol. 2, there were definitely at least a few good moments. If this season has anything going for it, it’s the emotional value. This is without a doubt the most I’ve cried ever while watching the show. One scene in particular that had me on the floor was the scene with Will and El reuniting and hugging. And of course the scene with Will and Mike in the van (DAMN YOU NOAH SCHNAPP FOR MAKING ME SOB SO HARD ALL DAY THAT I GOT A MIGRAINE!)

But yes, I am a Byler. So you could say I was a bit disappointed in that department.

And yet still, I think my take on the later part of season 4 is much different from the majority.

Because personally, I don’t think that what played out in Vol. 2 means that Byler is dead. If anything, I believe it to be more endgame than I did before (well, at least in comparison to pre-s4. There’s no denying pre-Vol. 2 confidence levels remain unmatched. Truly the best era for the Byler fandom to date).

I think my main issue is, like so many of us on here, I thought it was guaranteed we would get to see Mike become aware of Will’s feelings. 

Alas, we did not.

And to be totally clear, without this revelation, Byler can’t go anywhere. 

Neither forwards, nor technically backwards.

This means the baiting game is not over. Which as bad as it sounds, is why I’m still so optimistic…

Now, if they had made Will’s feelings obvious to Mike, or even the fact that Will is gay as being obvious to Mike, but STILL had Mike behave the way he did in Vol. 2, now THAT would have sucked. It would have been canon rejection on Mike’s end.

But we didn’t even get rejection from Mike. 

Instead, we got Will coming off as a hardcore M*leven shipper in Mike's eyes, all while the audience was getting the exact opposite interpretation of this situation; that Will is helplessly in love with Mike. 

Will is able to voice the extent of his love, albeit through advice to Mike about his own situation with El, in a way that no one else on the show has been able to. Most of the other characters need a bunch of bystanders to make them realize their feelings and push them in that direction. But Will, he doesn’t need someone holding his hand along the way, telling him what the right thing to do or say is. His love isn’t something he needs to really think about in order to understand it. It just is.

(Which is SO fucking ironic when you think about how Mike always needs help with figuring out his feelings for El and even sounds like he’s reading off a script when he’s trying to explain himself to her. Whereas with Will, s2 monologue teas, it’s the most natural thing Mike’s ever done. Unscripted, straight from the heart… And both Vol. 1-2 continued to drive home this concept, so maybe jot that down..)

It’s just that, unfortunately, in Will’s eyes, Mike will never return this love, which means his only option is to let Mike go. If supporting Mike and El’s relationship means putting himself dead last in every respect, so that his best friend and his sister can be happy, Will is going to do just that. 

But as far as Mike knows, Will holds no romantic feelings for him. I mean after all, Will is guiding Mike literally every step of the way to confessing his love to El, and that doesn't sound like the behavior of someone who’s in love with you, now does it? 

So why would Mike, throw everything on the line, including the survival of their family and friends in Hawkins by not simply just telling his gf he loves her? All while El is right there loving him and needing his love to fight (presumably), with Will beside him literally rooting for him to do just that? This is very obviously the only option in Mike’s eyes.

Which is ironic, because in a way, I think that Mike has truly never seen him and Will as an option, just like Will, but for an entirely different reason. 

Mike views his feelings for Will as childish, something he will grow out of, or at least should have by now.

“We’re not kids anymore. What did you think, really? That we were never going to get girlfriends? That we were just going to sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives?”

If Mike can’t love El, then how can he possibly love any women? She’s special. She’s a superhero. He HAS to love her, right? It’s the best option he could ever possibly have. Well, at least considering…

But what happens when suddenly, he comes to the realization that him and Will ARE an option? And that the only thing ever stopping them was himself and his inability to just be honest with everyone and himself?

I think the truth is, there’s a reason that they’re holding off on this revelation for Mike. 

It will be a catalyst. It will change everything.

Now, how exactly do you think Mike is going to react to this? The fact that Will was in love with him this whole time and he had no idea?

Honestly, I think he’s going to react horribly, but not for the reason everyone assumes.

Because I would argue that, if Mike was going to react badly with disgust or even just let Will down nicely to confirm it’s indeed unrequited, then the Duffer’s would have just given this revelation up by now. But they haven’t.

Once Mike finds out that Will is (probably always will be) in love with him, and that instead of telling him, Will used his love to help Mike get closer to El, even when Mike himself was having doubts over and over? That Will went as far as to lie about the painting he worked so hard on for Mike in order to rekindle their dying friendship, to instead insinuate it was commission from El, to give Mike that final push he needed to even have the courage to tell El he loved her? That all the moments like this that they shared as of late, was really just Will talking about himself? That the only reason he was able to tell El he loved her in the first place, was because he was so moved by Will’s love for him??

This is going to break Mike.

And let’s be real here, two episodes would not have done this revelation justice. 

So now, just knowing the direction they went for Vol. 2, as well as coming to terms with it, I have reached the conclusion that, despite how bleak things seem now, ‘maybe all of this is happening for a reason’ (s2 Mike Wheeler, we miss u).

Which brings me to the other most important piece of the puzzle, which is that, arguably, El needs to be the one who ends things once and for all.

The general audience has been given the impression El is head over heels in love with Mike, and so of course they were rooting for Mike to get on with it and just tell her he loved her. 

But that’s the interesting part. He finally did tell her, but her reaction in the aftermath was not something a lot of fans expected. 

It seems that she’s distancing herself from Mike, a fact that Will acknowledges to Mike later at Hopper’s cabin, with Mike genuinely confused because he thought he did the one thing he had to do. 

He told her he loved her. Which makes everything alright now, right?

But maybe it doesn’t.

Maybe the reminder we got, of that speech from Max to El, about how she didn’t need Mike or Hopper or ANY man to know her worth, was foreshadowing for what honestly needs to happen in order for El to really process and realize her own true feelings about Mike.

Because, although I do believe El genuinely thought she loved Mike, is it possible that Mike was not only having doubts about saying it because of the reasons he argued, or even because of some repressed feelings for Will, but also because El hadn’t given him what he needed to truly believe she loved him.

Mike, like a lot of people, doesn’t need to hear “I love you” to believe that someone loves him.

“I didn’t say it.”

“You didn’t have to.”

He wants something more meaningful, or more specifically, something along the lines of the speech Will gave to him in the van.

Will’s confession disguised as El’s, was what Mike needed to finally say I love you to El... 

Something I think we also got caught up in, is this idea that the Duffer’s were just going to drop M*leven and throw in Byler, with everything else going on, while they still have a whole ass season to promote for another 3+ years, and to their mostly 80’s loving homophobic audience. If Byler is going to happen, it’s going to be the definition of slow-burn and endgame. That’s literally the only way. 

This puzzle is complex, which sucks if you want all the answers now, because we’re just not going to get them. If they give up all their moves, then what is the point of telling the story at all? 

Other pieces of the puzzle include things that arguably still need to happen before Byler can, even regardless of the constraints they have as show-runners who run the biggest show on Netflix’s dying platform. 

Things like Will and El’s love for each other as brother and sister. Considering all the fans that said Will hates El because he didn’t stand up to her bullies or that he’s a home-wrecker who just wants to get with her boyfriend, is why I do think they needed to debunk these insinuations within the narrative. And boy oh boy did they deliver on that front. Will is the most selfless son of a bitch on the planet, who loves his best friend and his sister so much. They made that very clear. And you can see that despite a few homophobes here and there, the general audience's reaction to Will in Vol 2 is sympathy and to Mike it's confusion and betrayal...

Hmm, making El realize she doesn't even love Mike, after making Will's unrequited feelings for Mike more clear, after making Mike behave like an IDIOT this entire time juggling these two relationships, only for him to become aware of whats going on, and to clearly be in love with Will?

Sounds like a good way to set up Byler to an audience that might not have humored it before...

And like I said, with how important I do think it was for this to happen in order for them to go the Byler route, is why I don’t necessarily see this approach as a bad thing. We even got the Will and El hug in 4x08, which maybe it’s just because Noah and Millie are so close, but I would easily rank that on my top most well-earned moments in the whole show.

We NEEDED that. Especially in terms of what is likely to come in season 5 with Byler endgame...

Also, yes the Will angst sucked and it's just trauma porn at this point. I’m not going to deny that fully. I agree with pretty much all of the criticism in regards to how they chose to do certain things when they didn't necessarily have to, but I also simultaneously am able to understand that it again, maybe this is all happening for a reason. If they are indeed going to have Will play a big role in the final season, than them forgetting his birthday, Mike being oblivious and all this other shit he's been through combined, sets up a really arc for him next season, not even necessarily a villain one, but all of this pain has the potential to lead to a happy ending. And I'm being full serious.

Like we have Finn Wolfhard saying the ending of Stranger Things will be like the ending of Schitt’s Creek??? That it will end at it's highest point. The last episode of Schitt’s Creek is literally a happily ever after gay wedding, there's no other way to interpret that…

We also know that a lot of ideas for the last seasons were planned from the beginning, with David Harbour saying that he knew the ending way back in s2 and that it's beautiful and has been the intended plan all along. That there's easter eggs that will have us going 'WOW this is what we've been watching the whole time'? That it's wonderful?

If you’re the level of Byler truther that believes they were somewhat planned all along from the beginning, then you would also know that if they plan a happy ending for Mike and Will, then they would have no problem killing us this painfully in the beginning of the end, because they know we’ll be the ones cheering on by the actual end, and it'll be the homophobes who are pissed and stuck with this result forever as endgame. 

I’m just saying, don’t be surprised when s5 gets closer and we actually see them promoting Byler… like a lot. And we actually start getting in canon hints at scenes with El herself even trying to get them together.

Groveling Mike Wheeler era?

Will finding a potential new love interest and Mike pining/jealous?

Come ONNN! You guys are way more delusional than you’re giving yourselves credit for and I urge you to join me!!!

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things 5? #stranger things spoilers #stranger things theory #stranger things meta #byler evidence #byler season 4 #byler proof #byler nation #byler better be canon #be gay make byler canon #mike x will #byler tumblr #byler st4 #mike wheeler #will byers #noah schnapp #finn wolfhard #duffer brothers

[bylerficrecweek]

The themes are out! As a reminder, the event will be running from the 3rd of March to the 9th of March, so you have plenty of time to get lists together or go searching for that one fic you forgot to bookmark. Since the titles are a little vague, there's an in-depth explanation of each below the cut.

Detailed explanations of each theme

Day 1: Post-canon

Fics set after the hypothetical events of S5, where the canon plot has already been resolved. Examples include stories about their late highschool years post-Vecna, their college experience, and their lives in the current day.

Day 2: Season 5 speculation

Fics that follow on from the end of s4, where the canon plot has not yet been resolved. They can pick up directly after the final scene of s4 or be set after a timeskip. Examples include apocalypse Byler fics, some gate fics, and Vecnafication fics set after s4. The focus doesn't need to be on wrapping up the Vecna plot, as long as it's part of the setting.

Day 3: Written pre-season 4

Fairly self-explanatory. Since the popularity boom Byler experienced when S4 released, most of the fandom's older fics have been buried beneath all the new content and can be quite difficult to find. The plotlines and backstories they show won't necessarily match up well with the current canon, but that doesn't devalue them as stories. Examples include any fics that began before Volume 1 released. Longfics that started before S4 but are still ongoing count for this category.

Day 4: Friends & family

Fics with a strong focus on the party, the Byers' family, the Wheeler family, or any other platonic relationships. Other ships still can't be a central focus, but it's okay if Byler takes a backseat in fics that fall under this category so long as it's there in some capacity. Examples include coming out fics, outsider POV fics, and sibling bonding fics.

Day 5: Full AU

Fics that place the characters in a completely different setting to canon, rather than adding AU elements to the canonverse. Their setting s and storylines are either completely original or follow the format of another piece of media. Examples include fantasy AUs, SpiderWill AUs, and historical AUs.

Day 6: Canon divergence

Fics that follow canon up to a point, before splitting. Examples of this could include S4 rewrites, fics based on popular theories and gates, Will/Mike gets Vecnaed fics... Fics that include an element of AU while still following the structure of canon, such as soulmate AUs or time travel fics, also fall under this genre.

Day 7: Free day, post anything you haven't already or self promote

Anything goes. Any fics that you want to rec but didn't think matched any of the other categories can go here. Alternatively, if there's anything you meant to rec on a previous day but forgot, then now is your chance. If you're a writer yourself, this is also the day to post your own works and have them shared by the blog.

Exceptions

There are plenty of stories out there that could fit the criteria for multiple categories. If there's a story you want to rec that fits the criteria for more than one day, just use your best judgement about what category it's the most like. For example: a full AU fic written pre-s4 is going to be much more focused on the AU elements than the time that it was written, so it's best to rec it on day 5. If you just can't make up you mind about what day you should rec a fic, either rec it on day 7 or shoot us an ask for advice.

#📌 #🗞 #byler #BylerFicRecWeek2023 #BylerFicRecWeek #byler fanfic #byler fanfiction #byler fic #byler fic rec #byler fanfiction rec #byler rec #byler fandom #byler tumblr