#byler is just great

[strangertheories]

I really despise the Marvelification of Stranger Things, because all the interviews nowadays are constantly referencing how fast paced and epic and big the finale will be but the reason people fell in love with the show wasn't special effects or long episodes; it was the plot, it was the characters, it was the mystery. Stranger Things 1 may have been a story about a government conspiracy and a monster, but that's not why we stuck around. The show can throw amazing CGI, Russians, a battle within the American army and an apocalypse at the audience with the biggest budget known to man but if they forget to ground it and keep it central, it'll just get lost amongst a plethora of other "epic" blockbusters. We want Steven King, not Avengers.

[mikeslawyer]

can’t wait for the byler confession scene so that finn wolfhard can finally beat the bad actor allegations milevens threw at him after s4 🙏🏻

[tender-emotional-music]

Redditors being like “The Duffers did Mleven so dirty in s3/4… how would you fix it?” …. “I would have El compliment Mike on literally anything,” “I would have them listen to each other,” “I would have them communicate so they end up on the same page after they fight,” “I would have them actually look interested in each other,” “I would have them team up for the season.”

Besties, you’re literally just describing byler.

[queerxqueen]

this fandom is so mean sometimes when it comes to even the most basic of fandom shit like. i get it, ST is relatively mainstream, a lot of yall have never been in fandoms before, but the stuff folks call out as "cringe" behavior (or worse) in fandom is quite literally stuff that has always been a part of fandom and always will. people cosplaying, kinning characters, shipping characters who have barely spoken in canon, going to nerdy conventions, overanalyzing every scene w/ ur fave character in it, crying over characters, writing fanfiction and making art of whatever the fuck you want since you're doing it for free and for fun... this is fandom culture. if you dont like it you don't have to engage with it and its so easy to block/not interact with content you don't like.

tldr; stop bullying fans for doing fan things.

[bakumai]

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again. the great war is THE ship song

[buki-1]

It’s still December so this is still on time HAPPY HOLYDAYS

I show my love for Mike by drawing him in terrible situation after terrible situation.

[byler-alarmist]

That AI technology that you're using to make your faves kiss is the same technology that will be used to make AI gifs of you being banged by strangers

[bylertruther]

not to be too real but since we're talking about it... we always talk about will feeling lonely which is fair, but... it is such an Ugly, isolating, and genuinely heart-wrenching feeling to be the odd one out in your family, and to watch them treat others who aren't related to you the way you wish they would treat you, to watch them perform their familial roles with them and not you.

nancy's the only person in his family that mike could talk to, the only person that has the same trauma and would understand, and yet... he can't. they don't ever talk unless it's to be snippy and bite. nancy spends more time caring about max and will than she does mike, her own little brother.

holly is too young for him to bond with like that. she's just barely a kid, one that still needs to be cared for.

his mom tries her best, but he doesn't feel comfortable being vulnerable with her. considering the fact that she did everything "right" according to society's standards and married their dad of all people, i doubt he feels comfortable showing her who he really is. he lets her hug him when he's at his lowest, but we don't see them actually connecting.

his dad is just some ghost that haunts his house. he doesn't care about mike or think highly of him at all. the only times we've seen him pay mike any attention are when he belittles his interests, mocks him, punishes him, or shuts him down by telling him to listen to his mother. the only support he gets from him is financial in nature.

meanwhile, everyone else has a family they can turn to. dustin, despite lying to his mother to keep her out of his shenanigans, seems to have a decent relationship with her. even if he doesn't, he still has steve and robin. lucas is shown to have a healthy relationship with his parents and erica. will and el have their family.

max's situation is different, but she has the backing of the party; people that love her and actively try to help her and pull her back into the world of the living. she isn't thrust into a leadership role that doesn't allow for vulnerability. she has nancy who is willing to fight monsters for her, el who literally performed a miracle for her, and lucas who has stood by her since the beginning.

and mike... well. he has will back now, sure, but... things have been different between them for a long time now, even if they're both trying their best to be how they were before. and before then, will obviously was in california, not returning his calls or reaching out, making mike feel like he'd lost him for good.

so... all that being said, it's not that surprising that mike is the way he is: riddled with abandonment issues, wanting to be needed, immediately apologizing whenever he dares to open up, inclined to give others the protection and comfort no one's ever given him, prone to jealousy and possessiveness, unable to be completely and wholly honest about what troubles him, not exactly the most open to new people, and someone with appallingly low self-esteem.

you know how they say people that are drowning don't always look like they're drowning? that's mike.

[cleradinel]

noah still out there favorite-ing and liking dozens of byler edits on tiktok in november 2022. that man is as gone as we are. my king. captain of the goddamn ship.

[gayofthefae]

You know how they're always drawing and putting shit on the walls? And the whole "Will drew Castle Byers before making it x the upside down was manifested as Hawkins because of Will" and the drawing of a dragon we see from him in season 1 and the dragon he paints again and all those theories?

What if there's a plot pertinent reason for them to be like "everybody run to your houses and grab all your art from Will and we'll collect and go through it to understand the upside down better etc." and we Lucas and Dustin run home and take drawings off of their bulletin boards (canon if you look) and out of frames and off of desks and things and El only has a few but she kept them and she brings them out and then of course Jonathan has a bunch of course and then Joyce opens like a giant drawer of course stuffed to the brim and Mike just drops a giant ass 10 year old binder as full as the Byers' on the table with a thud like "where do we start?"

[zonytron9000]

I think it's important to highlight how some bylers can be just as toxic as milevens. In fact some of yall are downright degenerate.

Today I saw someone hating El, calling her names and saying some downright disgusting things about her. Then I saw them repost someone saying how 'milevens who hate Will piss me off' like come on that's so rich 😭

At the end of the day I know that whichever relationship is endgame the result will be messy. Sometimes I think it would just be better for a mileven breakup AND a byler rejection so that nobody 'wins'.

And also going to the mileven tag for the soul purpose of making fun of them isn't cute.

Neither side knows how to behave and that's such a piss off. It's not that hard to have respect.

And also the show doesn't even revolve on just these relationships. Just watch the show and chill the hell out. Holy balls and Godbless America.

[wayward-sherlock]

do you have any fic recs? thank you!

HELLO ANON I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO ANSWERING THIS ASK SINCE I GOT IT (im going to assume you mean byler fics since that is my most recent specialty🫶):

a cruel summer with you by the amazing @campbyler is by FAR one of my all time favorite fics. never in my entire four year fic reading career have i read something that obviously has so much love (and lore) put into it. if you haven’t read it already (or interacted with their blog, which i highly suggest!) this would be one of my first picks! (anything by suni or thea or andi is guaranteed to strike you speechless, though, so definitely check them out as authors, too!)

take a little moment (find the right words) by my lovely friend @astrobei is definitely also in my top all time bc i am SUCH a sucker for college aus it’s not even FUNNY. anything by suni is a banger, honestly, but this one specifically nails the miscommunication/idiots in love trope AND has rotund ducks. what is not to love.

a body in motion (also by @astrobei) is one of the best and most visceral mike character studies i have ever read. i’ve read it twice and the playlist has a permanent place in my spotify library. i don’t think i need to say any more.

sleeping with the lights on by singingseok is another mike character study that tore my heart from my chest and made me watch as it picked it apart and sewed it back together. okay. it’s SO good i highly recommend it for sure!

literally anything by @parkitaco is going to be fantastic, but three of my personal faves are the gaps and the silence, the windows of this love, and you were bigger than the whole sky because apparently i love sobbing into my pillow in the middle of the night. it’s healthy sometimes.

the strawberries are dying by my favorite doopel @lighthouseas is PERFECT if you’re looking for a unique take on byler with a historical spin <3 im a SUCKER for historical aus as well so this great depression fic was so incredibly perfect hehe

landslide by chamb3rs is. it’s so good i don’t even have words. it captures the spirit of senior year of high school so well, especially now that i’m in it lol. anyway, i’ve read this one twice and will continue to read it again for the rest of forever <3

and lastly, if you’re looking for spiderman aus (which i LOVE), look before you leap by lumism, the higher i climb, the farther i fall by @andiwriteordie, and mike wheeler’s guide to falling in love with a superhero by @smoosnoom are all wonderful perfect places to start 💗

i hope this gives you a good place to start anon :3 and also that im not overwhelming you. lol. but feel free to check out my bookmark page here for a more complete list of fics i’ve read!

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

Sometimes I forget that so many people’s primary reason for being feral for more Stranger Things content is to see STEVE again (who I love very much, don’t get me wrong- he’s a great, likable character). But what do you mean you’re not constantly thinking of Will Byers? What do you mean you’re not psychoanalyzing every microexpression of Mike Wheeler? You’re telling me your hyperfixation on ST only consists of hoping Stancy gets back together, praying that Steve gets more screentime with his funny friend and his lesbian friend, and/or crossing your fingers that Eddie rises from the dead?

🎵 Eddie, baby, I just saw Steve

He's crying his eyes out with Dustin

They're playing D&D…🎵

[menaceadored]

my favorite stranger things ships are ronance and elumax

[uselessnbee]

au where after what happened in s3, Mike and Max are having their depressed bitches solidarity and becoming friends and Karen also tries to help Max and her mom to deal with everything and while madwheeler are becoming besties their moms are ✨falling in love with each other✨ and that's how Karen finally divorces Ted and finds love and madwheeler become siblings just like willel thank you for listening

[braingobrrr]

need someone to zoom in on the script but the way they do it on cop shows where they’re like “zoom in. enhance it” and they somehow end up with an hd zoomed in picture