#AND FUTURE BYLER CONTENT

[howstrangethingshappen]

it is so noah to go on tik tok live & fanboy over the s5 scripts he’s sm like us

[frozenfrogz]

Do I have a book to read for class? Yes. Should I already have this read? Yes. Is the discussion tmr? Yes. Am I seriously contemplating just not reading it and instead reading sad gay fanfics on ao3? Yes.

[despapillon]

after Noah and Cara fighting for their lives at the con to be subtle about Byler i just know soon someone from the crew is gonna swoop in with M*leven content to do damage control. either gonna sacrifice Finn and have him say something during a future interview or they’ll post an official pic. if they won’t that means they truly dgaf

[pinkerthings]

the importance of mike and will simply getting each other, cont. (pt 3):

i covered the significance of Mileven not understanding each other here, and the first part of byler getting each other here. time to finish what we started ! Continuing on with--

season 2:

Crazy together, because byler isn’t byler without it:

This scene is important. It’s a direct parallel of a couple Mileven scenes, like the grocery store scene of Mike trying to tell El he loves her & the season one scene of Mike talking to El about the snow ball.

There is no confusion in this entire scene. Will tells Mike what he’s been experiencing, Mike understands, and tells him if one of them goes crazy, they’ll both go crazy. They are in it together. Literally crazy together. I don’t know what else anyone could want from this scene. It’s the epitome of Mike and Will understanding each other.

In episode 3 during Will’s “episode” seeing the Mind Flayer again, lo and behold, who is the one to find him in the field?

Of course you’re the one to find him Michael ! You’re always the one to find him !

Later on in episode 5 Will is in his bedroom explaining the shadow monster visions and feelings to Mike, and he just gets it, even if he doesn’t get it.

Finishing Will’s sentences, not asking a lot of questions, understanding what he’s trying to say, etc. Mike is just getting what he’s saying.

He’s also trying to be positive and uplifting, reassuring Will that everything will be fine.

And then we get the byler handhold:

bad pic but we all know what it looks like so idc !

Moving on, one of my favorite parts about season 2 is just how much Mike and Will content we get. They are literally glued to each other's hips for nine episodes. The rest of the party us off doing whatever it is they were doing and Mike has literally not left Will's side once.

The hospital scene where Will (being partially possessed by the Mind Flayer) doesn't remember Hopper nor Bob, and barely remembers Joyce, but recognizes Mike almost instantly ? Just how much space does Mike take up in Will's brain? Get a grip Byers!

season 3:

Season 3 is interesting because this is where things start getting ...... weird between them. Starting in episode 1, the first scene they have together is the movie theatre scene, where Will senses something is wrong and Mike immediately notices. I mean, literally right away.

(peep the blush on both their cheeks when they first sit down lmao.)

Will senses something and has this far away look on his face, to which Mike interrupts his thoughts with, "Hey, you okay?" Will nods and says yes. Mike presses again, "You're sure?" And Will says, "Of course." Mike then nods and leans back in his seat.

The first minutes of season three, we are met with a protective Mike, similar to season two. The Duffers are still showing the audience, "Hey! These two are best friends! Mike watches over Will and Will watches over Mike, and they are very protective of each other."

For the first few episodes of season 3, they seem to be in this awkward rut, but still somehow are almost always at each other's sides ? (interesting considering there's always one person who disrupts their compatibility)

Their next interaction includes Will thinking Mike and Eleven's little "curfew at 4" stunt is "gross," right before feeling the shadow monster and touching his neck (but that’s a theory for another day).

Episode 2: Mike lying to Eleven about his Nana because he doesn’t want to hang out with her (per Hopper’s wrath) and the boys shopping at the mall. (Just another example of Mileven not understanding each other. Their relationship is almost always centered around lies !)

Next is infamous “I dump your ass scene,” yet another example of Mileven misunderstanding each other that I should have included in post one.

Episode 3: The byler fight !

Begins with Will waking up Lucas and Mike with medieval music and his speech about d&d, which I find….interesting.

“I have seen into the future, and I see that today is a new day. A day…free of girls.”

Now, this is Will Byers we’re talking about, he’s not the biggest fan of girls. But that line is interesting. We know the Duffer’s love putting little hints and clues in earlier episodes to allude to future things. (Or maybe I’m just delusional)

Lucas isn’t that opposed to the d&d game with Will, but Mike is a little weary because it’s so early in the morning But he eventually gives in and plays the game.

Mike and Lucas are clearly uninterested in the game, unlike Will, who is clearly invested and trying to have fun.

Mike answers a phone call in the middle of the game thinking it could be El, and ends the game with an easy way out. Will gets upset and tears is costume off, shutting off the music and heading outside.

Mike’s ENTIRE demeanor changes in an instant. It goes from annoyed and bored to apologetic and empathetic in a literal second.

“Will, I was just messing around.”

Michael, you certainly weren’t, but just realized that your attitude actually hurt your best friend and you feel bad about it.

“Will, let’s finish for real. How much longer is the campaign?”

Will says, “Just forget it, Mike.”

And Mike says, “No, you want to keep playing, right? We’ll just call the girls after.”

It doesn't matter what Mike wants, because Will wants to keep playing, Mike is willing to push his immature attitude aside and play the game for his best friend.

“I said, forget it, Mike!” Will yells.

Mike has a hurt look on his face, sort of similar to the s2 e2 look on Will’s face when Mike is slightly annoyed at him for letting Max trick-or-treat with them. It’s the look of, “Oh no, I made my best friend mad and I didn’t mean to. How could I do such a thing?!”

Will says he’s going home and pushes past Lucas and Mike, and only one of them follows.

You guessed it !

“Will come on, you can’t leave, it’s raining.”

This scene makes me giggle because since when has RAIN stopped anyone in this show from accomplishing anything? Will has literally been through hell and back and Mike is worried because he doesn’t want him biking home in the rain?

Anyways byler rain fight:

Mike literally says it himself:

El’s not stupid.

(crazy + stupid = love)

Mike literally says himself he and El aren’t compatible.

(screw tumblr for only allowing 30 images per post)

next part coming i promise !!!!

[conflictofthemind]

Don't you find it ironic how some ST fans and Bylers were so into boycotting and defaming Noah yet they eat up the content he posts

They don't even know the difference btw Noah and Will content cos they even posted the ones with Jacob and the photo of Noah posing with his trailer

The only post which they did ignore was his selfie with Chloe prob cos it does not fit their "Noah is so ugly and balding" agenda

Note: I was not here in the fandom before March 2024 so I don't know what happened at the peak of the cancellation saga. This will not be an inflammatory post but I'm getting out a lot of opinions here and if you don't like any forms of nuance, don't read / don't complain

I think as time goes on, peoples' opinions change (for better or for worse sometimes) and usually tend to cool down. I'll try to comment the least on the political situation as I can because I am not an expert on geopolitical conflicts. I do think some of the hypocrisy you are talking about is people changing their opinion but they do not want to admit it openly. A lot of people initially underestimated the impact of their actions and didn't know what would happen in the future (re: the severity of the harassment), just like in my opinion Noah underestimated the impact his actions would have and what would happen in the future (re: the escalation of the war on Gaza and ongoing death toll). So they changed their opinion afterward.

I don't like how people online haplessly defend him against any criticism though that's probably due to their own position because this is an actual political thing. Let's put aside who's 'right' or 'wrong', I have my own opinions which are pretty obvious, but people are allowed to criticize xyz in a civil manner. Where it toes into targeted harassment and bigotry is another thing that I don't support unless you are a genuine danger-to-society heinous individual.

The pop culture accounts who are obsessed with him in a very homophobic way are insane and the fans on here who felt like they needed to erase Noah from the show / from Will and make WASP Will (someone told me about this I'll assume it happened) are insane and antisemitic in that last part. And they've also been preformative as hell because these are the same people who were praising his acting and performance before any of this came out, so it's not surprising to see a reversion once they feel the need to be less performative.

My 'relationship' with Noah Schnapp is also completely parasocial. "I don't know who this man is". I prefer to just stay # neutral because I don't think you can form a full opinion on someone from a few videos, photos, interviews, and IG stories. And most of what I'm seeing is giving # neutral.

I also don't like the vast majority of celebrities. Not in an active hate way I just don't LIKE them as individuals because I literally do not know them. But even celebrities I actively don't like, I don't need to erase or constantly talk shit about if they've done good work and I enjoy their art. Ariana Grande - I almost actively dislike both her work and personal character - but what she's done for Wicked and Glinda was really solid and I've been gassing that up at the same time. Coming from a perspective of someone who is so critical - there's hardly ever media projects coming out that are fully clean and pure. If I had to support everyone in the cast and production I would almost never watch or play anything. There is very little stink about Squid Games right now even though at least two cast members have literal criminal charges for sexual harassment or assault

Trying to get back to topic.... yes the people who are actively waxing on about how much they hate Noah and need to remind you of that often yet also interact with him as just himself has been ironic. Also the people who cannot differentiate appearance and performance from a personal support of someone's views and actions. If I put my manhating tendencies aside I think he's looked really good recently.

[castlebyersafterdark]

hiii i just wanted to come on here as a lesbian who is very pro spicy byler to maybe give a little personal experience and perspective to this convo. it’s also 5am for me rn so this might get too personal and also not make any sense sorry 😭😭

so at least for me, and not speaking for any other lesbian’s here cuz idk what their experience is, a big reason that i like spicy byler is Because i’m a lesbian and not attracted to men. in my own life i don’t think about men’s sexuality or have to consider men in a sexual way, so i can view sex between two men from a completely outside perspective - i don’t need feel inadequate about my own sexual experience because i don’t want to have any sexual experiences with men, there are no notes i need to take on technique, there’s nothing to feel insecure about never doing before and going “oh it would have been better if i had done that” or “that’s how it should have been? i’ve been doing it wrong this whole time? fuck.”. its almost like - because it has nothing to do with me and experiences i actually want to have in the future (at least technically, with anatomy and stuff, i definitely crave the emotional intimacy aspects) it’s just pure high fantasy. it can be hot and i can just enjoy it as hot because the characters find it hot. i think i also have a very deep attachment to these characters and their relationship that seeing them show their love in any way is very cathartic, whether that be sexually, where the release of catharsis is very much 1:1 mimicked by actually coming, or romantically, where tension is really built up and a simple, well written confession can be just as much of a release.

i do think that when i first started reading mlm smut i was definitely confused about what it meant for Me sexually. cuz it was like, ik i’m not sexually attracted to either of these men, i definitely don’t want to be in any sort of sexual situation with them, why do i find this so hot?? do i like men in general?? do i like male anatomy?? am i lying to myself??? but i’ve since realized it’s that its the emotional intimacy that i can relate to and enjoy from the character’s whereas the physical intimacy is something completely divorced from my reality, allowing me to enjoy it just as what it is without having to think too hard about my personal experience. there is no overthinking i have to do that gets in the way of my enjoyment. i can imagine for people who do have sexual experiences with men or are men that physical or sexual inaccuracy or just a general sense that this is an unrealistic physical feat or reaction can take you out of the moment and/or make you cringe - since i don’t have any experience with that, the only thing that takes me out of the moment is emotional and characterization inaccuracy. its the fact that i didn’t have to actually involve Myself (whether that be my own pleasure or how to go about pleasing a partner in a technical, physical sense) that allows me to enjoy it so much. there are zero personal implications that i have to take to heart thus allowing me to fully enjoy it without getting in my head about technicalities. its just - these people are finding pleasure in this, them experiencing pleasure is hot, what they’re experiencing must be hot. it feels very much like escapism for me. (i feel like i just said the same exact thing 10 times and still didn’t get the wording right lmao)

from what have gathered, its a very common formative experience for queer women to read and be turned on by male ships and the sexual experiences that are written about them - and ik friends irl that definitely relate to that as well. now, idk if this is the reason for all or a majority of enjoyment of this type of content, but i imagine this is not a completely unique experience in fandom for lesbians.

Thank you for sharing this!!!! Super super super interesting!!!! I kind of thought as much for some of your points but I've never seen it all spelled out quite like this. ❤️

[parkitaco]

ok people. i really don't want to have to be saying this but i am once again being struck by the lack of etiquette in the byler fandom and just in current fandom in general so i just. have to say something ok

first off i'm gonna say that fandoms come from a place of love and i know everyone most people have good intentions and love their fic authors but the etiquette around fics and art and all that lovely stuff is,, how shall we put it,, literally nonexistent.

listen. i love writing fic. i love that people like reading my fics that's insane hello?? i love getting comments and kudos and getting messages from ppl who are excited about my future projects it's great!!!

that being said, when i receive messages asking when things will be out/comments on wip wednesday snippets asking if the fic is out yet/messages asking me to tag them when the fic is published, regardless of how good the intentions are it comes off as very demanding and doesn't make me feel good as a writer who is doing this Voluntarily and For Free.

fanfic writers do this for fun!! we are not machines, we are people with our own lives outside of fandom and those lives have to take priority most if not all of the time. this means that yes!! sometimes fics take a while to write!! sometimes chaptered fics take a while to update!! and guess what?? that is totally ok. fanfic writers taking their time is not a bad thing. it means they care and are taking their time to create quality content. it means that they are spending time tending to their real personal lives, which is a normal and healthy thing to do.

there are plenty of posts about why demanding faster updates is bad, and i think that's pretty common knowledge, but i want to talk specifically about these very enthusiastic comments/messages/etc because i don't think anyone means harm but the thing is that fic authors simply do not owe you anything. we don't owe it to you to let you know when a fic will be out, we don't owe it to you to tag you when it is, and we definitely don't owe it to you to provide information that you can easily find out for yourself. as a writer i'm already putting insane amounts of pressure on myself and receiving it from other people, even if that's not the intention, is just not a good feeling.

especially because much of this information is readily available to you!! while you may not be able to find out when a fic will be out (which is probably because the fic author doesn't know either), you are entirely capable of checking the timestamp on a post to see how old it was, then using a little thing called Critical Thinking Skills to determine whether it's likely the fic has been posted or not. if so then great!! most authors have their ao3 accounts linked somewhere on their blog page so YOU (yes, you!!) can go look for the fic on ao3!! if you don't find it, ao3 has a super cool feature where you can subscribe to an author, so you'll get an email notification whenever they post!! and while you're there, if you're truly desperate for something to read, you can always go through the fics they've already posted, and if you've read everything there already and/or they haven't posted anything yet, check their bookmarks and see if there's anything there you like!! and as a last resort, there's always the trusty old search bar on ao3, which you are capable of filtering to every last preference!! the byler fandom is huge and there are tons of fics out there so undoubtedly something will fit your taste.

i know that can feel daunting, and i know it's disappointing when a fic hasn't been posted or updated yet, but the good news is that if you're seeing a snippet it means the author is working on it!! a little patience never hurt anyone, and taking those steps to determine for yourself what's going on with the fic rather than bugging an author who is just trying to go about their life and work on content during whatever free time they have just proves that you care. the simple fact of the matter is that fic authors don't do this for attention, they do it for fun, and therefore we can't cater everything to you or answer questions that you should find the answers to yourself. it's not our responsibility to keep track of people who want to be tagged when a fic is published or want to know when it will be out, because all our energy is going into creating the content you so desperately want!! i'm just begging everyone to be a little bit independent. asking an author for this information just shows you don't care enough to find it for yourself and this sort of laziness is part of why fandoms die.

tldr: fic authors are not machines designed to please you, use some critical thinking once in a while, and please for the love of GOD just go touch grass. breathe some clean air. you'll feel better i promise

[noahschnappinfs]

I want to believe that all the hate will subside before season 5 release but tbh, I think after byler becomes endgame, there will be a new hate wave directed at noah. I expect a lot of homophobia and people bringing up these fucking stickers again and again and again-- 😮‍💨 I mean mleven shippers/mllie stans were at the forefront of cancelling noah in this fandom, so it's basically guaranteed that they'll bring all of this up again.

I just want noah to be done with st at this point. I think that's the only way for all of this hate to stop.

if byler doesn’t happen, the bylers will hunt him down and if byler happens, he will get some homophobic backlash for sure so no matter what, noah can’t win here lol

i also sometimes would love to leave the ST fandom behind already so we can just enjoy our corner of the internet in peace with noah’s future projects and content. i can bet you that the fandom will die out pretty fast after the show ends because the actors will move on pretty fast considering all of them barely interact with the fandom due to their behaviour. the only one that was giving them crumbs was noah and they keep slandering him every day so even he has cut back on giving them content.

anyway, i think the majority of people would’ve moved on by the time season 5 gets released and with noah’s performance, i’m sure he’ll be able to win people over.

[theladyrebecca2]

It's human nature to gain or lose hope when you see Netflix socials promoting Byler or Midleven, but we've gotta pull back the curtain to see the full picture.

First, always remind yourself that the Stranger Things team and Netflix are completely separate entities. Netflix is the vehicle the ST team are driving their story on, but they're not the same people who actually create it. They get little to no say in what the ST writers write.

I say 'little' because the bones of each season will have been greenlit by select Netflix higher-ups (with NDA's signed). But if the Stranger Things team want Storyline A, and Netflix were to say no, what about Storyline B? Then the ST team are absolutely capable of standing their ground and not moving. Perhaps some compromises can be made, but the final say will be down to how stubborn the ST writers can be. This was made apparent by the Duffer Brothers’ open stance on the writing and acting strikes, which directly opposed Netflix. It mattered to them that in the future, writers will continue to have control over their work. That Netflix can't just weasel out of their contracts with shows and write their own endings with AI. Right now, Netflix provide funding, connections, and a platform to host stories on. The ST team provide their content, the original idea, the heart and soul. It's a mutually beneficial relationship.

When it comes to promoting stuff on social media, we have several teams working separately. This leads to exchanges like this from the Netflix Tudum event:

This is two completely different social media teams interacting with each other. Most important to remember though - right now, the Netflix social media team won't know anything about Season 5. The earliest they may be told anything important will be at the start of the Season 5 promotional campaigns, but even then, it's not a given. NDA's will be in effect at Netflix right up until the bitter end. The social media people will be working in tandem with the marketing team, all of them given set content or working under guidelines when told what they can promote/ talk about.

Secondly, they're just ordinary people doing their job. When it comes to liking comments or replying to them, it will all differ depending on which person happens to be logged into the Netflix account at that time.

For ST5, it looks like Dana and Chris are two Senior Social Media Managers at Netflix US:

But look at all the related connections, and you begin to realise just how many people make up these social media teams (and marketing, which is related). And remember, this is just Netflix US - not the ST team.

So just think about how each person has their own opinions, has their own views on the show. How many of these people might ship Byler? How many ship Midleven? I bet they have their own interpersonal work politics behind the scenes, hoping their idealised ending is the right one.

My point is, there's no point freaking out about this occuring underneath Netflix US's recent post about ST S5:

All this shows is that we have a Midleven shipper in the social media team. After Season 4, a lot of people got excited at this:

But again, all this indicates is that we also have a potential Byler shipper in the Netflix UK team. It's just as pointless getting happy and excited about pro-Byler stuff on there, as it is to get worried or upset about pro-Midleven stuff.

[alcalystrasz]

I'm trying to think about possible byler proofs, but I feel like everything has been said. We already analyzed the whole show, frame per frame to look for some juicy details... So to change up a little bit, I wondered if spreading my theories about Stranger Things 5's future events could be interesting. I have various theories: future deaths, Vecna's role, few characters' reappearance, few characters' powers developpement, ships who make up, ships who break up, etc. First because my theories are not like every others, I never saw them being like a top theory. And also because they are very well written and developed. So here is my question....

[ekza-art]

do you still like byler and will you draw them in the future? 🥺🥺

i get if you don't want to draw them right now cause we don't have any new content of them, but i really hope you draw them again eventually. i love your byler art so much 🫶🫶🫶

Hi!

I came out of the hyperfixation of drawing for Stranger Things, but I think with the release of the final season I'll do a few more drawings to close this era for myself

[crush-like-that]

Byler fic in the future where Will moves away after highschool (ABANDONING Mike) and he ends up living in some city and he's happy (enough) and even has a boyfriend. And yeah maybe it does hurt when he goes into a bookstore and he sees Mike's books up in the front on their own shelf but it doesn't hurt THAT bad (lie). Anyway Will is happy in his life and he has a boyfriend and he does freelance art and things are GREAT but then Mike shows up at his door, kinda drunk, mumbling something about "was in town for a book signing" and "got your address from your mom" and Will practically has a melt down but he can't say no to Mike so he lets Mike sleep on his couch while his boyfriend stands in the kitchen confused as HELL

and and and

I know that I will love again I'll meet someone and I'll make amends I'm sure she'll be a gentleman And I will be content

I know that I would be fulfilled See the world and pay my bills Have a drink and eat my fill Of dinners and free will

But if you come to me In my home with my three kids If you'd asked me to leave To be with you and split Well I'd at least have to think about it

You never loved the same amount You spent a week at my mother's house And honest, I can tell you now I'll love you more than my future spousе

And if you come to me When I'vе promised to commit If you told me that you loved me And asked me for a kiss Well I'd at least have to think about it

You are my Achille's heel The weakness only I can feel I've been a liar and you've been a pill But I'd still have to think about it

Things just won't be the same I'm scared to death that I'll scream your name And still, there's not a thing that I'd change And that's okay, when I think about it - I'd Have to Think About It, Leith Ross

[cosmorom]

Hello :)

Im kinda bored rn , so I decided to ask some of my fav mutuals about their season 5 Byler theories ( or season 5 theories in general. ( you don’t have to answer this ofc ) )

Have a great day 🩵

omg my first ask i'm so excited

soo these are mostly random toughts than theories.

firstly i think that mike, lucas and dustin's parents will become very apprehensive to them because of the hellfire club, now the entire hawkins is convinced that the hellfire is a satanic cult.

i would like to see el fighting the final boss (vecna/the mf) with the whole group and not just by herself or just with will. plus, in the finale i want she losing her powers for good. just let el trying to live a normal life and being loved for her own person.

vickie will be part of the (extended) party. it's not a want, it's a need

max will wake up before the time jump.

i would love to see mike silently feeling guilty for max's death because he believes that's his fault but he can't tell this to anyone bc this would mean admitting that he lied to el.

i honestly don't know how they will find the time for romance bc s5 will be so crazy. in fact i don't know how or when the byler first kiss will happen, but i'd prefer a quiet moment than one full of tension (like before a battle).

i hope robin's character won't fully rotate on vickie. i mean yeah i want to see rovickie content but i want that robin (and maybe also vickie in the future) stays her whole character.

after the final battle everyone will leave hawkins (maybe we will see the party in a short timeskip (2-3 years. like seeing them in 2020s would be so weird...).

the return of s2 byler, thanks.

another lumax kiss bc we need it.

for the jon/nancy/steve thing i didn't get the duffers intent so we'll see...

eddie is fucking dead.

thank you for the ask!

[thefourchimes]

Talking more about The Four Chimes AU because yes

so there’s been an interesting surge of apocalypse four (though most people call them vecna four) content recently, which i am very much thrilled to see

in line with that, i’m gonna share a bit more on the au that has been built from the ground up ever since last year, having definite arcs and various aus and sub aus of it already

the four chimes au

this universe has been mine and @lumaxramblings 's blood, sweat, and tears for the past year, ever since July 14

i've made a few posts about it, and shared some snippets on it in some wip weds and weekends, but i never fully explained the universe beyond the little bubble of the discord thread in the discord server im in

so let me explain now. we know this already but the apocalypse four are vecna's four sacrifices to make the four gates, but in this au, they're not just the four sacrifices. they're the four chimes too.

you see, vecna had a vision. he had remembered the story of the four horsemen of the apocalypse from a time victor creel had brought him and alice to the Church to listen

the four horsemen of the apocalypse, he had mused...and inspiration struck him.

he had a vision, and he saw it through.

and he got them all. he won.

and now he has his four horsemen of the apocalypse, or in this universe rather...his four chimes of catastrophe.

you all know who they are, but the question is, who is who? well, as @lumaxramblings has said in that fateful ask that started this whole universe in the first place, it would be:

chrissy = famine

fred = death

patrick = war

max = pestilence

as for the reason, canon itself gives some details and evidence to point out who would be who. (tw ed mention on chrissy's part)

chrissy is famine because of her eating disorder and her "hunger" to be free in a sense. fred is death because of his survivor's guilt and all the constant grave and death visuals. patrick is war because of his home life and how he's always in constant conflict. and finally, max is pestilence because of her thought process on being something that plagues others...and vecna!lucas' "you are sick."

there's quite a few more points that can be brought up, along with how some of the canon scenes actually fuel this universe, but i'll talk about that another time

so now, vecna's sacrifices are no longer who they were before everything.

now, they are his soldiers, his little experiments, his four chimes of catastrophe.

and just as they had been broken, they will now be the ones to break the world.

...

(but then...you remember, the apocalypse 4 weren't the only ones who got caught in vecna's curse and vision.

you know who else did?

nancy wheeler.

and in the four horsemen of the apocalypse lore, wasn't there something going on with the white rider of the horsemen? the fact that...there's a bit of confusion on whether the white rider is pestilence...or conquest?

...in another universe, nancy is conquest, the fifth chime of catastrophe.

an incomplete chime.

...but maybe that's a story for another day...)

—————————————————————————————————

i actually had started the fic of this already, but it's been a few months since i've updated it, oof :")

anyway, that's a bit of an explanation on the four chimes au.

it kind of becomes a s5 alternate universe in a sense? finnthony and i already have an idea on what happens all throughout the main story, complete with arcs already lmao (and that's not even talking about the sub-aus, like the conquest au...)

its lots of angst though, lemme tell you

i dont want to reveal too much but there is a lot of platonic and romantic dynamics here

platonic being the party's friendship (heh), the teens' friendship, best friend soulmates stobin ofc, and all other platonic relationships that can be connected with each member of this ragtag, traumatized group

for romance, we got lumax (with future elumax), byler, duzie, ronance, stongyle (aka steve x jonathan x argyle), jopper, and...well. a few others too, but i'll be keeping those quiet for now.

i’ll likely post more stuff at some point, to get it out here lmao and because this au is just <3

tagging the people who’ve been here all through out:

@laurienotteddy @mitski-slope @itsanotheridiot @hellsfireclub @history-of-stories @she-wont-miss

[thestrangestthing89]

Season 1. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Season 2. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Season 3. Part 1

Mike Character Analysis: Season 3 Part 2

I'm going to go off about Dawson's Creek in general for a bit before I get to the relevant plot point.

A bit of background for those of you unfamiliar with Dawson's Creek. It was a teen-angst filled soap opera drama from the late 90s-early 2000s that scandalized many people because it covered some pretty dark topics that most teen shows shied away from (teen suicide and drug and alcohol use being some examples). It's funny in retrospect because most teen shows now cover all the complexities of growing up in a pretty realistic way. But at the time they got a lot of backlash. Now this show was incredibly popular with teens during this time because it was the first time people saw anyone discussing and addressing a lot of the uglier, darker aspects of growing up. It's worth a watch if you haven't seen it. But one of the things it did that was radical was have one of their characters be openly gay - a thing that did not happen on teen shows at the time. And yes they got a lot of backlash and homophobia for this. But what they also got was people being incredibly grateful that they finally saw someone struggling with their identity in a way that was relatable. And not only that but it showed how straight friends can help support their friends who are questioning their sexuality. So this show that most teens were watching decided to suddenly in season 2 make one of their characters gay. People were already invested in the show and the characters when this happened and this wasn't labeled as an LGBTQ friendly show because that label didn't exist. So it wasn't just people who were apart of the queer community who were watching. And the thing is - even after this gets revealed, people kept watching. Because they were invested in the show and the characters already and the coming-out storyline was written in a way that people could understand and empathize with even if they weren't gay. Which brings me back to Stranger Things and Mike and the impact this story could have on mainstream media. Because while LGBTQ friendly shows have come a long way since then (they are often better written and less stereotyped now) they are still labeled as LGBTQ friendly shows which makes straight people not watch them because they think that content isn't for them. So people who don't have first hand experience dealing with homophobia or internalizing that hate have a difficult time understanding it and it's why we are seeing such a disconnect with audience and Mike. But here's the thing - Everyone watches this show. And everyone is invested in the plot and the characters. It is not labeled as an LGBTQ friendly show, even now that we have 2 characters openly gay. It is not just for a queer audience and it shouldn't be. Because this implies that straight couples are the norm and mainstream and that if Stranger Things went and did the crazy, radical thing and made byler happen it would alienate the audience. But we have seen this isn't true. Because Dawson's Creek wrote a well-written and relatable coming-out 20 years ago when this was just not ever done, and it didn't alienate the audience. It was well-written so people could understand it. That's really all that matters here. It needs to be done right. Stranger Things has the potential to change the game again and make this kind of storyline more mainstream. And I think that they will because they have already been writing it this whole time. It's been there in the show already, people just don't know how to recognize it. But once they do I think it will help them to reconnect with Mike and understand him better and maybe be more comfortable seeing this in the future. Of course there will be backlash, homophobes aren't going anywhere. But I don't get the impression that they care or that Netflix does. Because again, they are already doing it. It's already the story.

So now back to the relevant plot point for Mike.

On Dawson's Creek, Jack moves to town and he starts dating Joey (Josephine). They date for a couple episodes and do all the normal teen dating things- they kiss and hold hands and at one point almost have sex. But then Jack's asshole English teacher makes him read a poem he wrote in front of the whole class. And this poem is about his attraction to men. Jack starts getting bullied for being gay and Joey is confused and asks him about it. Jack denies it and Joey is relieved but it's clear to the audience he is lying. But we don't understand why or have context for it until he has a break-down at his father. He talks about how his father recognized he was gay when he was little and he tried to fix it and all it did was confuse him and make him hate himself and it's his fault he's insecure. He is correct and it's a pretty emotional moment that allows for the audience to not only understand him better but understand why he is dating Joey. Because he was ashamed and afraid. Because Joey is a girl. How could he date her and kiss her and almost have sex with her if he knew that he was gay. And the answer is this - he was trying to be normal. He was trying to fix himself the way his father told him to. And the audience understands this because of the way it is written. Jack, like anyone else, is fully capable of dating, kissing, and/or having sex with someone he isn't attracted to because being attracted to someone is not required for any of those things. Does this sound like Mike yet? It should, but here's some more. After his revelation, Jack goes to talk to Joey. At this point she realizes that he's gay and is basically just waiting for him to tell her. He talks about how he cares for her so much (Michael in season 4 not being able to tell El he loves her - I care for you so much. It's the same damn thing) and how she's been such a good friend which is why he didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to hurt her. But she is grateful for the truth. She remains a good friend to him through the series (albeit not his BFF like Jen becomes). Jack also struggles the rest of the series with internalized homophobia even though he's openly gay. I will fully admit that this part of the story isn't always well-written and is at times cringey. But the gist is this - even though he accepts his sexuality he is still struggling with his identity as a gay man and this is shown through his discomfort with being around other gay men. Especially gay men who are feminine and stereotypically gay. Because Jack isn't like that nor does he want to be associated with that. He even goes as far as joining a fraternity to prove how manly he is even though he's gay. So here we see what happens when people are presented with one type of person. That person - in this case feminine/stereotypically gay men - are treated as embarrassing when there is nothing actually wrong with this. But the other important thing is that it makes it difficult for people who aren't this to understand their own identity. They have no frame of reference. Because Jack is gay and masculine so it's hard for him to come to terms with what his identity as a gay man means because he isn't seeing anyone else like him do it. And this also provides a nice excuse for Mike, because he also isn't a stereotype (neither is Will). He likes video games and nerdy things so internally he can tell himself easily that he isn't gay. Because he doesn't act like he is in the way that he knows gay men to act. He isn't feminine. He only has the one frame of reference. So it makes it very easy for him to tell himself that he isn't gay. And it's the same reason the audience can't recognize him as gay either. Because he kisses a girl and he doesn't act like a stereotype and they don't have many other references in media (at least not ones that they aren't avoiding watching).

So when people say they'll never do Byler, it's too crazy and out of no where and it'll alienate too many people. I'm assuming these people are either very young or they have been living under a rock (or deliberately avoid content not about them personally). Because of course they will. They have no reason not to. They are already doing it. And there is also precedent for it. So back to season 3 and Mike. Part 3

[castlebyersafterdark]

when the moment arrives, how would you like the byler kiss, sex scenes to unfold? would you prefer ost being played in the background when they make out and take each other to bed? or just the sound of them breathing heavily when they go in for the most explicit torrid kiss, lip smacking, salivary glands going haywire while mike pulling in will's body tightly towards him, friction rising from their clothed penises rubbing against each other, opening semen floodgates. years of repressed feral desires exploding all at once.

A preface to this, something on the lines of- leader mike, taking command over burgeoning sexually charged atmosphere. A confidently concupiscent Mike, looks at Will with those sly bedroom eyes. Will on the other hand is playing coy, hard to get, all this is making Mike wildly impatient.

But you are the master of describing ferocious intimacy in action. so please do the honours vinny. incase you've talked about it already, i apologise in advance.

something that worries me, scenes, on the higher end of sensuality from duffers could be a far fetched expectation because all we have gotten so far is, some suggestive sex scenes, not even a kiss with any tongue action. will the duffers make any exception for byler? i have my reservations but its the last season i say why not go crazy.

Your descriptives in the first paragraph are killllllling me, maybe intentionally or unintentionally, hysterical. Salivary glands going haywire is quite a creative sequence of words 🤣 Obsessed with you anon, this is gold.

I know you probably want me to wax poetic about my vision for the get together, the kiss, the potential sex scene - I will admit I have specifically avoided writing this moment in the potential canon of the show! I have several wip ideas that detail a get together - all canon divergent or AU. I personally have not been able to settle on how I want it to happen, what leads to it. So many people have written great things, less so with explicit content for a canon get together, but there's a lot out there already. I know I'd have a different take.

I will drive myself crazy trying to decide on a situation. I do have draftings of a in-canon moment, a slice of insight into this situation, just the first time scene - where Mike and Will hook-up in that barn we know is a set in the show. Post initial confession, they're hiding out from danger and lying low and they can't hold out - they get down and busy in the hay of the barn loft 🤭 Entirely to differentiate an idea from all the perfect Lover's Lake ideas that I see. So, it's just an idea. May or may not write it. Gives me trouble, though.

I do not know what I want to happen in the actual canon of the show!! Long story short.

Calling me the master of ferocious intimacy is the most flattering thing ever, so I love you for that. I'll try for you in the future!! I am just very very stumped about what I want to happen...