#but byler god they know each other the best they don't have to pretend

[uselessnbee]

we need to talk more about the fact that Mike and El both idolise each other and love the versions of each other they have created in their minds not the true selves while byler love each other for exactly who they are

Mike and Will are in love with the true versions of the other. it may seem like they're idolising each other because they're so whipped but they're really not

it may seem like Will is idolising Mike with the whole "you're the heart" speech but he's not. no, he sees Mike for exactly who he is. he doesn't see Mike as this perfect hero he sees him as who he is. a kind and loyal boy who would do anything for his friends and the people he loves. he didn't have to create a perfect version of Mike in his mind because he loves him for exactly who he is. flaws and all.

it May seem like Mike is idolising Will with the way he worships all his art and sees him as the light. Will is the best thing in his life but he isn't ignoring his flaws and he doesn't have to create this perfect version in his mind. he isn't idolising him the way he is idolising El. he sees Will for exactly who he is and loves him for it

both El and Mike have created those versions of the other in their minds. they love the idea of each other not the real versions

but Will and Mike don't have to do that. they've known each other for so long and they see the other the way they really are. imperfect and human. and that's what they love about each other. they don't ignore the other's flaws they just love each other with them and and

[occasionaloneshots]

Stranger Things Ships As Taylor Swift Songs

Warning: I obviously don't ship all of these and this is just for fun <3 please don't yell at me for missing your favorite, there's so many ships in this show so I went with some of the biggest ones as of season 4

Party Ships

Lumax: Out of the Woods

"Remember when we couldn't take the heat /I walked out, I said, 'I'm setting you free'/But the monsters turned out to be just trees/When the sun came up, you were looking at me/You were looking at me"

"Are we out of the woods yet?/Are we out of the woods?/Are we in the clear yet?/Are we in the clear yet?"

Mileven: It's Nice to Have a Friend

"Lost my gloves, you give me one/'Wanna hang out?' Yeah sounds like fun/ Video games, you pass me a note/Sleeping in tents/It's nice to have a friend"

"Call my bluff, call you 'Babe'/Have my back, yeah, everyday"

Byler: Holy Ground (Taylor's Version)

"We had this big, wide city all to ourselves/Wе block the noise with the sound of 'I need you'/And for thе first time, I had something to lose"

"Tonight I'm gonna dance/For all that we've been through/But I don't wanna dance/If I'm not dancing with you"

Elmax: Message in a Bottle (From the Vault)

"And I became hypnotized by freckles and bright eyes, tongue-tied/But now you're so far away and I'm down/Feeling like a face in your crowd/I'm reachin' for you, terrified"

"'Cause you could be the one that I love/I could be the one that you dream of/A message in a bottle is all I can do/Standin' here, hopin' it gets to you (It gets to you)"

Duzie: Our Song

"I've heard every album, listened to the radio/Waited for somethin' to come along/That was as good as our song"

"When we're on the phone and you talk real slow/'Cause it's late and your mama don't know/Our song is the way you laugh/The first date: 'Man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have'/And when I got home 'gore I said amen/Askin' God if he could play it again"

Older Sibling/Teen Characters

Stancy: The Story of Us

"I used to think one day, we'd tell the story of us/How we met and the sparks flew instantly/And people would say, 'They're the lucky ones'"

"Oh, a simple complication/miscommunications lead to fall outs/So many things that I wish you knew/So many walls up I can't break through"

Jancy: Mine

"Flash forward, and we're taking on the world together/And there's a drawer of my things at your place/You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded/You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes"

"You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter/You are the best thing that's ever been mine"

Ronanace: Enchanted

"The playful conversation starts/Counter all your quick remarks/Like passing notes in secrecy/And it was enchanting to meet you"

"This is me praying that/Tis was the very first page/Not where the storyline ends/My thoughts will echo your name/Until I see you again/These are the words I held back/As I was leaving too soon/I was enchanted to meet you"

Steddie: Delicate

"This ain't for the best/My reputation's never been worse, so/You must like me for me.../We can't make/Any promises, now can we, babe?/But you can make me a drink."

"Sometimes I wonder when you sleep/Are you ever dreaming of me?/Sometimes when I look into your eyes/I pretend you're mine, all the damn time"

The Parents/Adults (Joyce, just Joyce ships)

Boyce: Right Where You Left Me

"Matches burn after the other/Pages turn and stick to each other/Wages earned and lessons learned/But I, I'm right where you left me"

"I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop/Right when I felt the moment stop/Glass shattered on the white cloth/ Everybody moved on, I, I stayed there/Dust collected on my pinned-up hair/They expected me to find somewhere/Some perspective, but I sat and stared"

Jopper: Invisible String

"Time, mystical time/Cutting me open, then healing me fine/Were there clues I didn't see?/And isn't it just so pretty to think/ All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?"

"Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire/Chains around me demons/Wool to brave the seasons/One single thread of gold/Tied me to you"

[beepboop358]

How I think the characters will react to Byler when it is officially officially confirmed in the show:

El: once El realizes she doesn't romantically love Mike, she will become an avid byler protector.

El is a badass independent woman with a pure heart of gold. She cares deeply for Mike because he was the first person to show her any sort of compassion, so she will want him to be happy, and after she grows closer to Will, she will want Will to be happy too. El won't understand the societal stigmas around Mike and Will liking each other, since she was raised in a lab away from society and then lived isolated in Hopper's cabin, she has no knowledge of what society deems right from wrong surrounding sexuality and love. She will think other people thinking Mike and Will's relationship is 'wrong' or 'unnatural' is utter bullshit and completely stupid, as she should!

Jonathan: he will be 100% supportive. He knows how Lonnie tormented Will and made homophobic remarks about Will being gay when he was younger. He has always encouraged Will to be himself and ignore what others say, especially what Lonnie says. Jonathan will also be a byler protector.

Jonathan knows Will isn't "normal", he even said Will was "good at hiding" in s1 which has several meanings, and he probably already knows Will likes Mike because of how he immediately turns to look at Will after Mike blurts out he loves El in s3 in Hopper's cabin.

s1 ep. 2: "He's trying to force you to like normal things, and you shouldn't like things because people tell you you're supposed too."

s2 ep. 1: "No I'm serious. You're a freak. But what? Do you want to be normal? Do you wanna be just like everybody else? Being a freak is the best. I'm a freak. Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers? Exactly. It's no contest. The thing is, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. You got it?"

------(Some subtle queer coding there with the Bowie reference; David Bowie was a bisexual musician, and he also sings the original version of the song "Heroes" that plays after Will's fake body is found in s1, and the lines that play while Mike cries and hugs his Mom are extremely queer coded: "And we kiss as though nothing could fall. And the shame.")

Nancy: It's implied Nancy and Mike are pretty close, and honestly I think she has always suspected that Mike has a little thing for Will. From the look on Nancy’s face when he blurts out he loves El, it kind of reads as like she doesn’t believe him, because she knows something.

s1 ep.7: "I knew you were acting weird, I just, I thought it was beause of Will"

Joyce: will be 100% supportive, and a protective mama bear of Will as always, but also for Mike. Joyce will join the club of avid byler protectors along with Jonathan and El.

Dustin: avid byler supporter. I think he's picked up on how much Mike cares for Will, how Will cares for Mike, and has probably suspected at least something this whole time. Dustin doesn't care about being considered cool he cares about doing what he likes and being true to himself, and that belief for sure translates into how he views his friends as well. He will absolutely support Mike and Will and treat them normally.

s3 ep.3: "Instead of dating somebody because you think it's gonna make you cooler, why not date somebody you actually enjoy being around?" s1 ep.6: "Sometimes your total obliviousness just blows my mind"

Max: She seems pretty perceptive, so she's probably picked up on Mike and Will's 'special dynamics' by now, and we know she's definitely sick of how Mike treated El. She will be supportive of Will and Mike, but mostly she will just be glad Mike isn't with El anymore LOL.

Lucas: I think he definitely notices Mike seems to reallllyyyy care for Will, and that Mike doesn't act the same about El, although he claims too. I think Lucas sees through Mike's bullshit. Look at his smirking face and crossed arms when Mike frantically asks where Will is in s2:

and how he reacts the same way to Mike blurting out he loves El and "can't lose her again" in s3:

Hopper: he will probably want to kill Mike again.

"wait what?! so.. let me get this straight...all that time you were making out with my daughter, you were just...pretending to love her? You lied to her the whole time you two 'dated' yeah? And now you're dating your best friend. Oh god wait, I watched you tell him that asking him to be your friend was the best thing you ever did that night in the shed... Oh you little asshole!"

I can't imagine Hopper being homophobic towards Will and Mike, but I don't see him jumping up and down for them either. He will mainly be upset that Mike dated El when he was actually in love with Will, and not care so much that Mike is in love with another boy, just another person. But once he processes that El is actually okay, he will be fine with it.

Lonnie: is the literal scum of the earth! Obviously Lonnie will hate that Will is gay and dating another man. He will probably make some comments about how he "always knew it" and call Will and Mike homophobic slurs, probably at Will's birthday.

s1 ep.1: "He used to say he was queer, called him a f*g"

Steve: "Oh you two little shits are dating now? But I thought he was into the psionic chick? No? Okay, alright cool. Uh hey have you guys met Robin yet? I think you would get along, you know what I'll introduce you." Steve was so accepting of Robin coming out to him, there's no way he won't have the same kind of reaction for Mike and Will.

Robin: once she gets to actually know them and spend time with them, she will adopt Mike and Will as her gay sons and inspire them to be themselves and help them out whenever they need it. She will also pick up on the fact that they like each other immediately. If we don't get this pairing in s4 because of location logistics, I really hope we get it in s5!!!

Erica: she won't be homophobic, but she just won't care too much.

Karen: will encourage Mike to follow his heart, and like whoever he likes, because a relationship needs real love to survive, and she knows all too well what it is like to be stuck in a relationship with no love, and she doesn't want that for her kids, she wants better for them. She wants Mike to be truly happy no matter what, and she doesn't want to see him repeat her mistakes. Karen will be very supportive of Mike, and probably defend him to Ted.

s1 ep.2: "All this that’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I just…I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. I’m here for you okay?”

Ted: he won't be as much of an asshole as Lonnie will be about it, but he will probably make some snarky comments.

s1 ep.7: “our son with a girl? *scoffing*”

[serendipitous-magic]

god, don't remind me of the lack of fantasy aus in the fandom. i am suck a sucker for those (especially prince/stable boy AUs) and they have so much potential for byler but like... why is no one talking about them or writing them? ajshajsjahs since you're loaded with other works already, i only want to ask if you have specific ideas you'd generally want to see?

Weeellll.

I do have one idea that’s been sitting in the back of my mind for a while, actually. (And I’m halfway through typing this and it’s getting longer than I expected, so buckle up.)

It’s a fantasy AU (set in a Renaissance-esque world) wherein most people can use magic, and where “light magic vs dark magic” is the LGBT analogy. So, the majority of magic-users are “light magic” users, and by comparison only a small percentage are “dark magic” users, but there’s so much fear-mongering and misinformation and prejudice against dark magic that a) if you are a dark magic user, you’re likely to hide it away completely (be “in the closet”), and b) as a consequence, everyone else thinks that “dark magic users” are these incredibly rare, scary, malicious ~monsters~ that must be vigilantly protected against. There are all these (completely false, ridiculous) rumors about how if a dark magic user touches you, your light magic will get “infected” somehow and turn dark too, or how dark magic users use human blood in rituals (they don’t), or how dark magic is a perversion of light magic (it’s not, it’s just a different type of magic), etc. (And little do they know that some people can use both types of magic (the analogy for bi/pan people), and there’s like a whole spectrum of magic-wielding and it’s not binary like their society thinks, and etc. etc. you get it.)

Oh and one more worldbuilding detail: little kids might occasionally use magic by accident or instinct, but (somewhat like the Harry Potter world), you don’t really start to manifest your actual magical power until you’re like 13-16 - at which point it’ll start to manifest itself as “light” or “dark” or both or something in between, etc. (But they only think it’s gonna be light or dark, binary.) And obviously, everyone is expected to manifest light magic. Like, manifesting dark magic isn’t even considered as an option of something that might happen. (Like straight people being considered “the default” in our world.) Which makes it doubly likely for kids who manifest dark magic to panic and hide it away and do their very best to pretend they manifested light magic, because they know if they’re discovered they’ll be shunned or even thrown out of the kingdom.

AND NOW THAT I’VE DONE THAT INCREDIBLY LONG-WINDED BACKGROUND EXPLANATION, on to the byeler.

SO. The Party is the Party, in the kingdom of Hawkins or Hawk’s Landing or whatever it is. Will’s family is a little bit poorer, probably working-class, Mike’s family may be upper-class merchants or something, you get the idea. They’ve been best friends since they were little, they hang out a lot - maybe Joyce works as a maid or servant or something in the castle, and Mike’s parents are low-ranking nobles in court, so Mike and Will end up spending most of their time together through proximity even though they’re from slightly different social classes. IDK okay, I haven’t sussed out the details. Point being, they’re bffs, they’re in love but may not realize it yet and definitely haven’t admitted it, they’re like eeehhh 14 or 15 or something, right at the age where their magic should be manifesting any day now.

Bonus points if: Will, like his mother, works around the castle for a living, and he’s like a stable boy or something, and Mike is the noble’s son who’s kind of fed up with his parents’ snobbish lives.

And then, you guessed it - Will’s powers manifest. And it’s dark magic. And Will absolutely panics, because not only (see everything above), but his best friend is a light magic user - or so Will thinks. Little known to everyone, probably including Mike, Mike can use both light and dark magic (or if you wanna HC Mike as gay instead of bi, maybe Mike is a dark magic user in the closet, who knows). 

Cue some complication wherein Will is desperately trying to hide his magic for a while, and then somehow Mike ends up discovering it, and Will is convinced that Mike is gonna hate him for it - I don’t need to explain this all to you, you know how it goes. It’s the classic in-love-with-your-best-friend-but-in-the-closet-and-then-they-find-out story. We’ve seen it a thousand times, we love it, it’s prime byeler material, but THIS time not only is it gay but it’s Fantasy and there’s magic and swords and castles and all that, because YAY FANTASY AU.

-_-_-_-

ANYwho, apart from that, I would also love love love:

-prince/servant AU (somewhat like the elmax au aesthetic I made a while back but byeler)

-OR alternatively the “you’re a prince and I’m your bodyguard and we���re not supposed to get into a relationship with each other but we kind of did oops” AU

-The one where the Party is an actual party of adventurers

-darkcleric!Will (possibly at least partly under the control of the Mind Flayer) / paladin!Mike (who may start out as enemies because they’re on opposite sides of the Mind Flayer battle thing until Mike realizes Will is being controlled by the MF)

-Literally any kind of soulmate AU but in a fantasy world (actually, just any kind of soulmate AU - I love me some soulmate AUs)

-Ooohhh OOOHHH how about combining royal and soulmate AUs, actually, for: “I’m just a commoner but it turns out I’m your soulmate and you’re a noble/royal and it’s kind of a big scandal but now I guess I’m getting swept off to live in the castle with you???”

-Arranged marriage royal/noble AU perhaps? Esp good if there’s the good old-fashioned misunderstanding plot device wherein byeler is dating but maybe they both think that the other is just a commoner because they met when they snuck out of their respective castles/mansions to escape their lives for a while, and they’re actually arranged to be married to each other but don’t know it, and they’re both equally vehement that they’re not going to love their arranged partner and they’re not going to go through with the marriage until finally they actually officially meet and... uh... well hi there Will, my bf, or should I say, Will-who-I-never-knew-was-actually-William-the-First, Heir-to-my-rival-kingdom-and-my-betrothed. 

... 

Look can you tell that I just really like fantasy AUs and this fandom never ever does them?  😂