#Spicy Byler

[bylrlve]

Finn made a new Stranger Things playlist today, STurn - it has some very interesting lyrics

- Angst in my Pants (🥴😳)

… Ahem… alrighty then!

- Don’t Ask Me to Explain, by Montreal

This reads as if it’s from El’s POV… reminder that on her ST2 Netflix playlist, one of the last songs was Jolene…

@greenfiend you may be interested in the blatant sexual references in this play, given your excellent theory that byler will have sex at lover’s lake (x, x)

This, from Promises I’ve Made, makes me nervous for El - recall Millie’s supposed shock at El’s ending. Promises are a m*leven motif, so it’s fair to assign this to that relationship, but otoh the lyrics are very gay so…

Most excitingly, the last song on STurn is Just What I Needed, the last song on Will’s Castle Byers Classics!

As for preceding songs, Breakdown’s lyrics are incredibly gay - and while Block Rockin’ Beats’ lyrics are sparse, The Rebel Kind is all about being yourself and has lyrics tying in to Mike in Hellfire.

[greenfiend]

If you can't take Hosegate don't read this post...

I'm serious...

Okay. I've warned you. This is a post that will end any uhh top/bottom debates...

Trigger warning for somewhat graphic mentions of sex and unfortunately CSA...

So last chance to leave this post.

Still here?

Ok.

So lets break this down.

Mike = the key.

The straw = the key = Mike.

Mike is penetrating a hole...

But the location of where the uhh penetration happens matters just as much.

Russia = El...

Hawkins = Will... the implication of CSA here are just... so sad. Argh. I hate it.

Basically... "Hawkins" is the right "location" for "The Key", but "Hawkins" is still healing from that previous "penetration".

(this is literally the reaction shot and was mine too)

Now. If "The Key" successfully "penetrates" "Hawkins" it'll create...

Likely one we haven't seen before. More on that later...

[problematicbyler]

an incomplete history of byler sexuality discourse

and how widespread fandom purity culture and homophobia created a flourishing nsfw sub-fandom

some may call me chronically online, but i call myself a fandom historian. i've been a member of some fandom or another since i was about thirteen, and i've always been interested in the rise and fall of fandom discourse. though it's annoying in the moment it's happening, i think it's very interesting and telling to look back at the overall arcs and trends.

so, let's talk about the many times the fandom has cancelled people over byler sexuality, and how each level of "hornygate" has contributed to the growth of the proship/byler smut community.

(i use the term proship in its intended definition, which is to say, not "problematic shipping," but rather being pro-fiction, anti-censorship, and anti-harassment; it is a position of believing the fiction one creates or consumes doesn't reflect a person's real life beliefs or morals.)

i have been a stranger things lover since season 1, a byler shipper since season 2, and an active part of the byler community on tumblr since season 4. i'll mostly be focusing on post-season 4 discourse because that's what i've really been most present for and that was the period that really marked a turning point in the fandom.

seasons 1-3

i wasn't as plugged into fandom discourse back in the day, but the broad strokes of early discourse was mostly thinly veiled homophobia. claiming that it was sexualization to assume will or mike could be queer despite blatant queer coding, implying that analysts were no better than will's bullies to assume his sexuality, etc etc. people were criticized for shipping byler at all because they were so young (but these people naturally had no issue with mileven, so, again, homophobia).

season 4 (may-july 2022)

now, season 4. this is where byler was brought to the attention of a lot more fans, and stranger things' viewership reached wider than ever. the byler fandom on tumblr booms from 4k to 100k over the course of season 4's release.

this brought a lot of new people who have never been in fandoms before, people who never learned don't like don't read or your kink is not my kink and that's okay or ship and let ship.

or, a lot of times, people who had only been in fandoms for celebrities and bands, which tend to have different rules when it comes to shipping and sex, because they're real people. hence a lot of young antis' conflation of character with their actors, but that's a different rant.

so with a rapidly growing fandom, a show ripe for analysis, and the art of media literacy bleeding out on the ground in front of us, the hellscape of the fandom post-season 4 in 2022 followed as such:

august 2022

jo/kendra gate where two extremely popular analysts were called out for "sexualizing" byler while being adults (early to mid 20s). they were dogpiled and harassed because one of them said that will was giving mike "bedroom eyes" (he was) and one of them said mike was checking will out (he was):

pyshiie and moogate. the proship side of byler twitter rose up and started to divide itself. i'll credit my own joining-the-dark-side to pyshiie and moo, formerly barbjeanisms, who were two popular artists called out respectively for sexualizing byler and generally being proship. similarly, people were called out and criticized for even following or interacting with those accounts after this discourse.

september 2022

hosegate is the most famous across the byler fandom, and it's when some users proposed that the scene in the pizzeria uses phallic imagery to imply mike turns will on (or vice versa) and a lot of people thought that was too sexualized, it caused a divide, and more fanpolicing, etc.

october 2022

the artist noodlesandtea was harassed for having liked arguably nsfw bakudeku art (they were shirtless, it wasn't explicit) on the same account where they draw characters who are minors. they also drew byler kissing, which was a problem for some? anyone who defended them was also called a pedo, naturally. noodles also got called out for having drawn fanart of the popular e-rated fanfiction....

the unmarked mixtape. a massively popular sequel to a massively popular fic, the red envelope. for a long time, those were the most widely recommended byler fics, but it very soon became taboo to even admit to reading them because the sequel has explicit sex and the first has them making out.

sonnet116 gate is another fic that was beloved and then rapidly turned on by byler twitter because it had implied, fade to black sex scenes. it was about them hooking up but had no smut. and even the non explicit idea of that was offensive and pedophilic of anyone who dared read it. around this time, another fic was called out for having will moaning into a kiss, because writing a teenager moaning was also offensive and pedophilic.

i'm told i (jana / troublebyler gate?) may have influenced a lot of people joining twitter for byler smut after writing illicit affairs and some other smutty oneshots in rapid succession, seeing a lot of byler shippers moving to the proship side of the fandom just to discuss and write byler smut. i also hosted a little fandom gossip column on my curiouscat where a lot of folks confessed to reading or writing smut while pretending to be "normal" in the "main" fandom. it basically revealed/implied that a large amount of popular authors, artists, and accounts were secretly pro byler smut, and that many proshippers were "undercover" in the "main" fandom.

the blocklist era. around this time the "main" fandom also created a "st twt safety" account on twitter which was basically targeted harassment and mass reporting of proshippers. the account does warn of some genuine bad actors sending gore images via dms, being racist, etc. but by far, the majority of it was simply calling out proshippers for sexualizing byler, sharing screenshots they thought were "gross," which only resulted in spreading nsfw content to unintended audiences of minors that likely never would have seen the nsfw accounts otherwise.

november 2022

practice kissing gate is where a handful of popular fic writers were criticized for writing practice kissing fics (such as undertow), and in fact, any amount of byler making out, because adults "fantasizing" about teenagers kissing was "gross."

the proship corner of st twitter continued to grow a lot thanks to so many lovely fan creators, all of whom i couldn't possibly list but who have done a lot for the community! but we continued to get bombarded with endless callout posts and block lists and witch hunting. people were unabashedly policing people's following lists and likes on twitter to call people out for engaging with any questionable users or content. (if you search byler twitter now you can still see the wreckage of so many witch hunts.)

onward through 2023

over time things have mostly calmed down, or at least enough of the folks on "opposing sides" of the fandom have mutually blocked each other to survive. this is likely also influenced by the hiatus leaving the fandom to quiet down, the collapse of twitter-turned-x having many users migrate their fandom content elsewhere, and the mass exodus of many people from the fandom for political reasons. if i had to guess, the ramp-up to season 5 will see all new conflict as more "casual" fans return to the fandom. but who's to say.

which brings us to now:

spicybylerpolls gate, wherein the byler tag on tumblr collectively had to reckon with the fact that people want byler to have sex and it doesn't make them creeps to vote in silly polls about it. people criticized the blog for being overly sexualized and pure fantasy versus more "acceptable" analysis, with many making sweeping moralizing statements about anyone who dared interact with the blog.

this has kicked off tumblr's own sort of horny revolution in encouraging folks to be more open on here, whereas previously we were confined to our corner of twitter.

so in summary:

people over and over again put fan creators on a pedestal just to turn on them when they're "betrayed" when a person's views did not one-to-one line up to theirs.

teens in the fandom especially were "betrayed" by adults in the fandom they thought were "safe" (and i would argue that self proclaimed "safe" adults in fandom are far more dangerous to real life minors than the proship fans who sexualize fictional characters but dont interact with real teens)

most everything has been fueled by widespread ageism at any fan over the age of 18, widespread homophobia and puritanism in regards to exploring queer sexuality or discussing sex at all

so much hate has been over what are essentially "thought crimes", with people watering down serious accusations like pedophilia into a petty insult over disagreements on fiction

and the cycle repeats itself endlessly until things devolve back into witch hunting and policing peoples following and likes etc

the best part to me is that every single cancellation just resulted in more people flooding to the horny side of the fandom to post more freely and without shame. every time a person on twitter posted screenshots of my account to say how "gross" it was (while simultaneously exposing my 18+ nsfw content to their audience of minors) i had a surge in followers. the more the fandom squeezes, the more people slip from its hold.

but that doesn't make the harassment campaigns okay, and it doesn't mean the fandom didn't do massive amounts of harm to real people in an attempt to protect fictional characters.

my hope going forward is that the fandom can coexist as a community where people don't have to like or agree with certain content to treat the people who create it with respect and dignity. and i hope that, while this side of the fandom might grow more on tumblr, we don't have to relive the same old discourses and go through the same cycles we went through on twitter.

and remember kids, the block button is both free and fun.

[pinksmonkey]

The Truth About Hosegate and Lover's Lake

(An analysis by scrunchietown)

I found this like a year or two ago on here, but when I was making my Ultimate Byler Evidence/Analysis List, I was unable to find it again and realized it had been deleted. Luckily I took screenshots and had reposted them on Reddit so I could link to it in my list because I think it's really good. Anyway, now that I've reposted my evidence list on Tumblr, I figured I should post this too. I'm not sure why the original post was removed, so I apologize to scrunchietown if they removed it intentionally for some reason, but I think it's a really important thing to talk about so I want to share it here.

So anyway, here it is. :P

Because of the 10 image max, I will have to post this in multiple parts.

Here's Part 2.

[moleaboveyourlip]

[bylerlipglances]

Wouldn't be surprised if half of byler fandom wants Will to have superpowers in S5 just to see Mike getting super impressed & fall for him harder.

(maybe a little horny too) we know superman turns him on

sure saving hawkins from vecna is all great.

But its just one look of awe from mike and the power reveal shot will be worth everything.

[spicybylerpolls]

FOAH SIGHTING OMG FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! WE WON!!!!!

The boys are back!!!

[romainlettusdinnerparty]

ik it might look like mike is looking at the ground here but in reality they are filming triple take part 2: will’s ass edition

[byler-invested]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things official comic

Be prepared, because… there’s…..….

A LOT.

> “11 o’clock” in focus for no reason (Eleven symbolizes Will’s closet, internalised homophobia, innocence, virginity).

> open yellow curtain (probably signifies Will coming out in s5).

> “theme for the day” (meaning this sequence is thematic of something: Will’s trauma and coming of age).

> “Do whatever you want. Go see Mike and the boys… it’s up to you” (this refers to the perceived freedom of Will coming out or starting his sexual life).

> “not a trick?” (It is a trick unfortunately…)

> “Nope. I’ll even be your chauffeur if you need me. That means I’ll drive.” (gay top subtext)

> “For once, freedom is on the other side of that door. And it’s all yours.” (!!! — someone coercing Will into the gay sexual lifestyle before he’s ready or in an unsafe manner).

> Eggos and maple syrup are Mike coded. But orange juice is NOT! Mike would drink and is associated to white milk. This is a subtle hint that something’s WRONG.

“Technical” meaning in s5 they will start to delve into the mythology of the series.

But also… sexual subtext.

> “Time to get a move on, kid. Go before I realize this is a huge mistake” (something or someone coercing Will into letting go of heteronormativity and virginity).

> “It won’t… open”, “Just give it a push. You get everything you’ve ever wanted and you’re going to let a door stop you? There you go. Put some muscle into it.” (clearly subtext about coming out and first sexual experience from a bottom’s perspective).

Dustin is Jonathan in s5 when he realizes Will is being manipulated/ coerced by some guy.

The alarmed/ surprised turtle on the right is Lucas.

Raph (on the left) is Mike— he’s PISSED. Jealous Mike absolutely CONFIRMED.

> “Most importantly… why does Stockman want to open a gate, and why do they need him hooked up to that machine, too?” Lucas is absolutely shocked that the top (it’s his former basketball teammate Chance) is into guys and that Will, of all people, would be into Chance.

> “There are no good reasons to open a gate. They’re always bad.” Jonathan is protective of his little brother to whom he also represents a father figure. To him, it can never be good that Will’s having a sexual experience.

> “Maybe that machine is using her powers against her?” Meaning Chance is a dark mirror/ foil of Mike and one of the made-up characters we’ve been talking about.

> “Where are you going, Raph?” Lucas is surprised that Mike is so pissed and already springing into action (he won’t have come out at this point).

> “I’m gonna do the rescuing!” White Knight paladin Mike moment.

> “You can’t pull Eleven out. The mind is fragile.” (Will is in a vulnerable situation).

> “Donny, relax. I wasn’t talking about rescuing the girl”. This is the writers telling us this is all a metaphor and they’re not talking about Eleven, but Byler. They even make a point of showing us a bunch of Byler and Mike-coded stuff in the next image: two crossed swords, a walkie-talkie, Mike’s backpack and a huge phallic object…

> Mike makes use of his coding/ programming skills (Alan Turing reference).

> “Well, the two of them are definitely linked”. Mike and Chance are linked in some way.

> “Wait, so this whole thing is designed to create a big illusion? To feed Eleven a lie?” The writers referring to their gigantic five season long straightbait but also, manifestation theory IKTR.

> “Only those inside can shut down the projection”. Like I suspected, the scientists fucked up and Brenner as the lab leader was probably the one who made this decision of ‘trapping’ everyone in the simulation. Also subtext for “only those in Will’s trust and heart can shut down his illusion” aka Mike.

> Nice reference to The Cabin in the Woods movie there in the first pic (heavily recommend).

> Mike doesn’t even ask anyone and just brutally storms in to interrupt whatever Will and Chance are doing.

> We could even infer that his extreme jealousy straight up brutally OUTS Mike, not only to the audience, but maybe also to other characters. He unintentionally crashes down his own closet…

> “That’s not your friend.” Mike telling Will this about Chance.

> The background changes to orange as the villain (Chance) loses his disguise/ farce.

> “Fine, I’ll gladly stop pretending to be this buffoon.” Chance stops pretending to be nice and/or is revealed to be a Vecna/ Mindflayer trap.

> “Like it or not… this place is mine”. Mike and Chance will fight and compete for Will.

Note: Chance is heavily associated with orange even in the show, because of being a Tiger in the basketball team.

TAKEAWAY:

Unfortunately, I think at some point in s5— besides the supernatural plotline— we are about to witness Will delve into real unhealthy coping mechanisms (prematurity, hypersexuality, low self-worth and/or drugs) and reliving the trauma with his father (attraction to unhealthy people, as Chance will remind Will of a mix of both Mike and Lonnie).

These are extremely common results of CSA in many people.

Jonathan, Lucas and especially Mike will save him.

There’s a lot more. I just picked some of the most incriminating pages lmfao. And I’ll leave you with this Paladin Mike bonus:

If you wanna read more ⬇️

masterpost:

part 1:

part 2:

[willbyersbookshelf]

hi spicy byler tumblr!! I have painstakingly compiled a list of some of my favorite spicy byler fics and authors. this is all so incredibly subjective to me and my taste but I do like to think I have absolutely stellar taste so take that as you will hehe. all the love in the world to anyone who wrote any of these fics!! here is the link to my absolute pride and joy, my notion page of good smut:

tagging some lovely spicy byler creators and authors for some love as well!!

@problematicbyler @wisehearts @id-rather-be-home @jaseywolfhard @mirroringme @willbyershandmoles @souverian-are-we @kissingpractise @bylerfields @weebowill @castlebyersafterdark @spicybylerpolls @starsarefire824 @pluralbyler @moleaboveyourlip

[castlebyersafterdark]

will dropping things purposely so that he has an excuse to bend down and pick them up to make mike feral with desire

Oh, you mean Will Byers' number one flirt move, his tried and true method of seduction? He's very well aware of his strengths and plays to them constantly. Coincidentally and conveniently, his strengths are Mike's weaknesses 🤭 How does he render that mouthy boy speechless? Bend over. Distract Mike.

The party's all hanging out together and Mike is really on a roll that day, peak form, in one of his more abrasive moods. Will can't deal with it anymore. As some new argument strikes up, Will bends over to look through the pile of tapes by the TV, feigning interest in digging through to find a movie to suggest instead of continuing to put up with the bickering. He's bent over, signature tight shorts stretched across his ass, kind of absently shifting and swaying in place as he looks through the bin.

Mike's suddenly quiet now. Mouth slightly parted, spots of red flushed high on his cheeks. Eyes tracking Will's slight movements like the pendulum on a clock, like a compass searching for north. He sits down on the couch, tries not to linger on the pleasant feeling that jolts from his stomach to his groin. He bites his lip and looks desperately up at the ceiling, foot tapping in place. Everyone's there in the basement, this can't be happening to him right now. Will hands his movie choices over to the others to decide, renewing the argumentative spirit of the afternoon. But Mike's still quiet. Will sits beside him, face neutral for a moment though he so much wants to burst into giggles. It's too easy. Their thighs are touching and Mike mutters under his breath how unfair that move was. Will pats Mike's leg and reclines back, sinking into the old couch. Too damn easy.

[greenfiend]

Let's FINALLY discuss the sauna test

A great example of why I do believe that A LOT of the show is representing Will's internal world/his trauma. I go WAY more into that in this post.

The whole sequence is about Will fighting his trauma and his sexual attraction for Mike...

To begin, let's remember that the episode prior to this had Mike say the infamous "It's not my fault you don't like girls" line and led to Will destroying Castle Byers. Mike saying that not only triggered Will because it was Mike (the love of his life) saying that, but also because it brought on traumatic memories of his father...

Let's begin.

Scene starts out at night time... the pool is closed... no one else is around.

Billy is seen in the shower, back facing the camera. I just have to make this clear for everyone: Billy is Will's id (I also believe he is one of Will's alters.) He represents Will's desires and negative impulses that he tries to bury and suppress. He also holds onto trauma Will has suppressed. The fact that his name is also "William" is a huge clue.

In order to trap Billy into the sauna (a small closed space... like a closet). Mike successful lures him by calling his name and giggling. Watch the clip above. Mike is, essentially, seducing William here.

El (the gatekeeper) appears and shoves Billy into the sauna/the closet.

They lock the door.

I'll be honest... this part is pretty heartbreaking. I believe that because Billy is essentially an alter of Will's, he is recounting Will's trauma here. When he says "he" he likely means Will's own father. *sigh* more CSA subtext...

Max here is telling him that he just needs to open up about the abuse. This is a hint to the fact that Will needs to open up...

We immediately cut to Will who appears awfully triggered here.

The focus on Will here with this line just further proves that this is his own trauma being discussed here.

This line and this shot again tells us something important. Mike is going to help Will, and they will "figure it out together".

"Activated" also means... turned on... Will is turned on by Mike.

Mike says this line because... "Billy", being super into Mike here, is about to burst out of that closet door.

Then we have El, being the gatekeeper and protector for everyone again.

She banishes Billy as he could not be contained within the sauna/closet...

[beaubyler]

Finn pics have me freakin so I'm indulging in a hc I wrote a while ago

Mike realizing that Will kind of sort of (definitely) has a thing for being manhandled and carried around so he secretly starts going to the gym and building some muscle

Imagine Will's surprise when he's making out with Mike one night and suddenly he's pressed against the wall and lifted into Mike's arms, an undignified squeak escaping him.

Mike would be smug about it too, smirking into the kiss while his large hands cup Will's ass and thighs, providing support for Will with such ease that it has him tightening his legs around Mike's waist and whimpering

But like also Mike would be too cocky with it and try to carry Will to the bedroom, only to drop him bc he's still built like Gumby 💔 its okay though he more than makes up for it later! and Will can't wait to watch how Mike's body grows stronger, to see his muscles grow more defined and put them to the test in the bedroom ;)

[lath3o]

mike, will, and holly?,?,!,,,!!, will is definitely living with the wheelers

[moleaboveyourlip]

[id-rather-be-home]

similar to the post you reblogged about Mike can’t help but to stare at Will’s lips but now with the bike photos and him purposely going slower than Will so he can stare at his ass 🤭

if we don’t get some blatant ass staring from mike this season i’m going to actually be actually so disappointed in the missed opportunity that was RIGHT THERE

but considering the duffers were already bold enough to give a cheeky scene where mike briefly checks will out in his bedroom in lenora AND insinuate that will turns mike on with hose gate, i think the chances of a scene like what you’ve mentioned is highly likely

i mean mike literally cannot help himself from staring at will’s lips at any chance he gets! he’d have the most self control of any teenage guy in the world if he doesn’t stare at will’s ass at least a couple of times