#Will Byers appreciation post

[miwiromantics]

Reminder that Will and Nancy are going to be in-laws in the future

[stranger-chichka]

“And thank you so much to the Duffer Brothers for creating Will Byers. A character who is complicated, and complex, and figuring out who he is, which can be messy. But that’s how real life happens. So, to see the way Will’s been welcomed in people’s hearts just the way he’s in mine — it means the world to me.”

Noah Schnapp at People's Choice Awards, 2022

credit to @tswizzletoes (x)

[dstmicpnk]

Just so tiny ☹️☹️💛

[shippingfangirl013]

This one is a good one too:

That’s what we mean when we love the bowlcut - the cute stylish version where Will has lil curls at the back of his neck.

See also:

Just want to clarify: If I ever say I like the bowl cut this is what I’m talking about!!!!

And this is what I am not talking about. 

[spirit-meets-the-b0ne]

God I love Dustin Henderson so much man, I know Will is in love with Mike because only a deeply down bad homosexual would be able to say Mike “is the heart” when Dustin is alive and in the party. Dustin is the one constantly mediating in S1 between Mike and Lucas, he’s even insecure of his own newness to the group when he conciliates. Because even though the party are all HIS best friends he is able to rationalize why they might have a hierarchy based on seniority. Mike makes it clear that isn’t the case. It’s partly why Dustin is quicker to accept Eleven and partly why he’s so open to including Max “as the new kid” because that was him once. Dustin’s iconic “she’s our friend and she’s crazy!” Dustin and Lucas having parallel deviations from their code of honor in ST2 and Dustin being (so dramatic ik) literally ready to fall on the sword for his misdoings. Dustin basically involving Steve out of necessity but then cultivating that relationship to make Steve a good friend, Steve who had the shittiest friends in high school and attention for all the wrong reasons. Steve never had a true friend in his life and then some 12 year old basically gave him a crash course. In ST3 when Dustin earnestly challenges Steve’s socially conditioned need to be seen as cool only for Steve to become bffs with a band geek. A band geek who is also a lesbian that Steve would rather be seen as a rizzless hack of a womanizer than out her to anybody, even Dustin. All of Dustin and Steve. Dustin going from calling Steve a douchebag, to Eddie saying the kid worships him and thinks he’s a total badass. Dustin who in ST4 is once again demolishing social norms of high school vs middle school because FUCK, his friend is in middle school! His friend Erica, his comrade Lady Applejack, is a black girl in junior high and he dgaf what anyone thinks about it. ALL OF DUSTIN AND ERICA. Dustin teaching Erica to embrace her inner nerd, to Erica staunchly declaring “I’ve bled with him!” When asked if she knows Dustin. Dustin who is the FIRST person that Max goes to when shit hits the fan in ST4 because god damn dude Dustin is the heart. Dustin’s unwavering support of Eddie even when the evidence is stacked against him, Dustin always believed in Eddie Munson. Dustin is the only one who truly offers Wayne condolences. He is the friend of all friends. Dustin is constantly carrying the party through crisis and discomfort, he’s dedicated, he’s unabashedly caring, and he’s the character that is able to socially move across the board in every direction. I fuckin love this little curly haired drama king because these geeks would be LOST without him!!! If Dustin isn’t the heart; he’s the Central Nervous System, he’s the nucleus, he’s fucking vital to not only the party but every other tertiary character of importance. He’s constantly inspiring and providing direction. He’s a goofball, he’s wise beyond his years, he’s a lover and he’s a fighter, he always has a plan and he always has a bad idea, he’s the voice of reason and the resounding falsetto alarm of things gone wrong, he’s never done anything wrong ever in his life, one time something ate his cat but besides that. He’s my heart of the show damn it!

[blueandyellow7]

byler shippers who also love el wya????

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

I'm just bringing up the fact that Steve didn't just connect the fact that the music on the tape sounded just like the music from the little horsey machine in the mall. . .he made the connection that there were Russians there in Hawkins. Robin and Dustin were both dismissive of that. (I love both Dustin and Robin. Don't get me wrong.) While Dustin found the code, Robin helped translate it. It was Steve Harrington who connected them all together. They might not have ever realized that the Russians were there, or it might have taken them longer. Man, it might take him a while, but after his relationship with Nancy, I think Steve started to learn to pick up on the small stuff. He's always done that, but I think he tries harder. Fuck anyone who says he's just a pretty face who brings nothing to the table other than being a shield. I didn't really think about it, but there's a parallel of Joyce picking up on the magnets and not being taken seriously, either. I could see Joyce and Steve bonding over that.

[fluffyfangirl]

I haven’t seen any Mermay Elmax, so I thought I should contribute!

[unusualwhatsits]

All right Duffers, I'm gonna need at least one solid, "Why don't you make me" from Byler pls and ty

[milk-or-vodka]

I loved my friend.

-Langston Hughes

[emily-mooon]

Here’s a sketch I did of Will in my sketchbook. His outfit is based off of his Will the Wise outfit but also inspired by Georges Melies movie “A Trip to the Moon” (there are astronomers at the beginning of the film wearing outfits that look like wizard outfits).

[miwiromantics]

I’ll say it and say it again, listen up,

Fanon Steve is canon Jonathan

Fanon Eddie is canon Jonathan

Fanon Billy is canon Jonathan

Don’t try and change them to fit some narrative in your head when we already have a character in the story that is literally the fanon versions of them.

[asylum-of-dreams]

He is Me for real

little Mike Wheeler fanart by me I guess

[willow-lark]

lark's recently-read byler fic recs

thought people could use some uplifting 💕🫶 please remember to hype up your favorite fics and art and other creative work & remember there's always something new to enjoy!! browse the tag or ao3 page & give someone's work a some love!! xoxo

If Time Runs Out by @rainypebble07 (T, ongoing, 14k+) - BYLER PIRATE AU!!! 🏴‍☠️ i literally just discovered this one today and i'm actually obsessed. i have never seen any other pirate aus (🤨) n i just wanna say u guys are missing out on the concept and on this fic bc i'm so invested. i'm so excited to see where this fic goes. royal mike x pirate mike is SO GOOD.

how to get your crush to believe you love him: a guide by mike wheeler by @newlesbianprideflag (T, 3/4, 11k+) - mike goes across the country to visit will at college in an attempt to confess his feelings to him. will, who has a boyfriend already and would like to think himself very over mike, thank you, is not impressed. this one deconstructs a lot of popular/fanon tropes and is really great so far!!

california show your teeth by @fireflywitch (T, 8/19, 63k+) - ok this one mayyybe only has background byler but i'm reccing it anyway bc it's one of my FAVORITE regularly updating fics maybe EVER. in early 1985, chief hopper and his average, normal family move from lenora hills, california to hawkins, indiana--the latter of which has had multiple tragedies over the past few years, to which the new chief's family may or may not be linked. LIKE WHATTTT 👀 go read it RN. masterpiece

All Good Dogs by @hellfiremike (T, 1/1, 3.8k) - this one actually made me cry. featuring: an EXCELLENT character study of will byers, a heartfelt examination of canon and what comes after, and chester the dog getting the attention he deserves and never got in canon 😭

kiss me (try to fix it) by birthofv3nus (T, 1/1, 4k) - will has kissed every member of the party except for mike, who is, understandably, taking this news *SO* well and is not jealous about it at *ALL.* but maybe his situation is not quite as dire as he believes it to be....ugh this one was such a fun read, and you know i loveee party dynamics!!

drank my poison all alone by silverluminoqity (T, 1/1, 4k) - mike is going through it, and, though vecna seems to have been vanquished, maybe he's not so completely gone as everyone thinks.... this is an excellent exploration of both mike's guilt as well as his evolution as a character, and how he views himself. super in-character and super good!!

high tide came and brought you in (and i could go on and on) by silverluminoqity (T, 1/1, 8k) - MOTEL FIC MOTEL FIC MOTEL FIC 🥳 or, mike and will have yet another heart to heart, and some things are revealed. this fic is just so completely heartfelt and UGH i was MELTING the ENTIRE TIME, holy SHIT. probably in my top 3 motel fics EVER tbh.

Chasing Heartlines by @cherryisgone (T, 1/2, 6k+) - i was so excited to read the first chapter of the sequel to maybe one of the best byler fantasy aus ever!! knight mike pining after prince will is something that can actually be so personal to me. i love a good mike-won't-shut-up-about-will fic. the attention to detail in this fic is actually INSANE.

[meowmeowbilly]

Today, I read a handful of the Stranger Things comics, additional materials, etc. "The Other Side" Graphic Novel about Will's time in the Upside Down (set in S1) really had some things that resonated with my view of Billy. So, I did a thing. I made the edit. I thought it would fit, so I did it. I wanna tag @strangerthings4theories for getting me into the Billy Hargrove is coming back/Billy Hargrove theory community, I'd be interested to hear their take on the external materials if they've read them (regardless of if these materials are considered canon or not.) I'd also like to tag @ariesbilly for posting incredible Billy content on the regular, and @shieldofiron for posting incredible edits/Billy content on the regular! The original from the comic is on the left, my edit is on the right. I'll do a separate post with just the photos.

[stranger-chichka]

"Get ready for season 5, everyone. Because trust me, you guys are not ready for what's coming. So get ready," — Noah Schnapp.

"I think you find out slowly through the season, Will’s kind of love towards Mike and I think it’s a really beautiful thing; there is probably a mutual understanding and an acceptance,” — Finn Wolfhard about Mike’s arc in season 4.

"I think the Duffer brothers figured out, I would imagine, a perfect ending in five. We didn’t even know if we’d do two. So, we’re happy that people still are around and want to watch it. But yeah, I’m excited. Four was huge in scale, but I think I’d like to see the fifth season draw back on more of the dynamics of Season 1 and sort of be a little more contained, but also still be gigantic. I hope we kind of get an ending for each character that’s pretty satisfying for fans," — Finn Wolfhard about season 5.

"I mean, it’s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike. They’ve been intentionally pulling that out over the past few seasons. Even in Season 1, they hinted at that and slowly, slowly grew that storyline. I think for Season 4, it was just me playing this character who loves his best friend but struggles with knowing if he’ll be accepted or not, and feeling like a mistake and like he doesn’t belong," — Noah Schnapp about Will’s arc is season 4.

"There’s so many different things they have to address. Obviously, we hope for a coming out scene, and I also want to see them address this connection to the Mind Flayer and how that fits into the world. And I’ve always been wondering, why was Will the first victim and the first one captured? I just want to see it all tie in and all work out. So I’m excited to see what happens," — Noah Schnapp about season 5.