#byler uncles

[groovinrightalong]

Alright, as promised, here are some ✨married Byler/Byler dads headcanons✨

A little preface that this is specifically for my transmasc Mike headcanons, so it’s not necessarily canon compliant, it’s pretty much just MY older byler AU so if it’s not your cup of tea you can just scroll along. Brief mentions of being a seahorse dad and a heads up right now that transphobia will get you an IMMEDIATE block:)

Now that that’s over with!

-Mike and Will get married at some point in the early 90s. Mike doesn’t get his birth certificate changed until some point in the 2000s, so legally he’s considered female, and you better believe they take advantage of it. He’s like at least three or four years on hormones by the time they get married but they’re just like :D yes we’re a straight couple I love my wife :D

-Bonus points if Will wears a dress for the wedding

-They get a dog pretty much as soon as they move in together. Will loves dogs (Mike’s more of a cat person but he adores the way Will’s face lights up when he sees them) and she’s probably a birthday present from Mike to Will. They like to joke that she’s their child, they bring her along to family picnics and events. Joyce and Jonathan are obsessed with her, she reminds them of Chester.

-Mike grows up to be an author! He makes a decent living between selling his books and a gig working at the local library, and Will does some graphic design. He doesn’t particularly like how regimented it is, he prefers doing art for the love of it, and he gets his chance when they’re early to mid 40s because Mike’s books start to get really popular and they can live off that income. Will then pretty much just does the art for the covers and works as a freelance artist. Gloats about being a trophy husband.

-They spend the first decade of their marriage just being the cool uncles for Jancy’s kid, always stopping in for surprise visits because they all moved to a bigger city within a decent distance from each other. Mike likes to buy the kid gifts he knows will piss off his sister, like water guns and play dough that’ll get stuck everywhere. He’ll sneak them candy, pick them up from daycare to take them out for the day. He’s a nuisance.

-Will aids in the schemes, but obviously he’s Jonathan’s baby brother so he’s the good one and Mike is the bad influence😇 And then the kid learns their first curse word from him when he accidentally slips up in front of them and he never hears the end of it.

-He’s really soft and happy with them though, and Mike obviously notices. Mike’s sort of iffy on if he wants any kids but he can tell Will does even if he won’t say anything.

-They adopt their son in like early 2002/2003. His bio mom was really young. They keep in contact with her, send her pictures and updates. His name’s Sam! (Short for Samwise. Because they’re fucking nerds.)

-They end up with two kids. Their daughter’s only six or seven months younger than Sam because hey y’all testosterone is NOT birth control. She pretty much looks like a mini Joyce, her name’s Gwen. (Gwenevere. Like I said, NERDS.)

-Their kids kind of have a similar dynamic to Will and El because they’re so close in age, they’re always in the same grades, etc. People jokingly call them the twins.

-Nancy takes her revenge by doing pretty much the same thing Mike did with her kid with the twins. She’ll sneak them treats, get them sugared up when they’re at her house then send them home. Sam thinks she’s the coolest person EVER (much to Mike’s horror)

-Gwen’s nonverbal. As a toddler, Sam talked for her pretty much all the time. She never said her first word, was really quiet and reserved, and it worried them obviously. But then they were like, oh wait, let’s try sign language (Mike has times where he’s pretty much totally nonverbal too so they already know a decent amount) and as soon as she figures it out she’s talking to them all the time. She’s super high energy and between her and her brother, they get into a LOT of trouble (Mike’s first gray hair comes in when he’s like 34😭)

-She also has a bit of a sixth sense! It’s mostly to do with the supernatural (which isn’t really an issue since the gates are all closed now… right?) but sometimes she’d react to something right before it happened and it would freak her parents out. Will has it too, but he’s so used to it now that he doesn’t really notice it? And Mike’s just like oh well that’s just how he is it’s not weird. It’s a… lot freakier when it’s a toddler.

-(Bonus!! Jonathan, Nancy, Mike, Will, and the kids all have the last name Hopper. Hop adopted Jonathan and Will and they changed their names to match him and their mom and El because FUCK Lonnie.)

I have lots more thoughts but this is going on really long and just🫠 Yeah. Byler dads.

[resident-gay-bitch]

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Tuesdays 🏳️‍⚧️

3 times Eddie was shocked to find out things about his friends dating life, and 1 time he was shocked about his own. (Transfem Stevie)

“Wait, what?!” Eddie shouted, staring at Robin incredulous.

“I’m. A. Lesbian.” She repeated, clapping her hands between each word, “Do you need a dictionary definition on what that means, dingus? Because it’s not-“

“No-“ Eddie interrupted, shaking his head, hands sternly on his hips, “I know what a lesbian is, don’t worry. I just didn’t know you were one!”

“Oh… well, yeah, I am.” She shrugged, “Obviously! Whose idea did you think it was to have a Michelle Pfeiffer movie marathon?”

“Huh.” Eddie nodded, giving her a once over, “Well that clears some things up.”

“God, you’re such a dingus sometimes.” Robin snorted, scruffing up his hair, “Come on, we’re gonna be late to meet Stevie if we don’t leave now.”

☆ ★ ☆

“Wait, what?!” Eddie said, doing a double take and charging backwards, almost stacking it down the stairs to the Wheelers basement.

“No! Nothing!” Will shouted, slapping his hand over his mouth, Mike beside him groaned.

“Nuh uh, not nothing. Don’t try to lie to me you little shits. I saw you two smooching it up.” He said, his voice a harsh whisper as he stared down at them. Or, well, attempted to since they’re almost taller than him these days. “Spill.”

“We don’t have to tell you anything.” Mike sassed.

“Oh, yeah?” Eddie sassed right back, “Tell that to the three headed fire breathing dragon who has it out for you, Mighty Palladian.”

Mike groaned, “We’re not gay!”

“Well, last I checked you’re both dudes.” Eddie tutted, “So, what’s this, hmm? I’m not letting you be a little bitch and use your best friend as your experiment.”

“I’d never do that!” Mike clipped.

“Experiment?” Will asked, his face scrunched up.

“Oh, yeah, been there.” Eddie scoffed self-deprecatingly, chucking a thumb at himself, “Don’t tell anyone, but I went through half the football team.”

“Wait, you’re gay?” Mike glared at him.

“Nuh duh.” Eddie blabbered, tongue rolling out of his mouth, “I thought you little shits knew.”

“I knew.” Will shrugged.

“Why did you know?” Mike argued.

“I just knew.” Will said back.

“Hey now, little dudes, enough of that.” Eddie shook his head, “Now come on, what’s going on here? Is this some creepy weirdo exploration thing or have you gone all sweet ‘n shit on each other.”

“Don’t tell anyone, okay.” Will hissed, grabbing Mike's hand, “We’re dating.”

“He didn’t need to know that.” Mike groaned.

“Wouldn’t you rather someone know?” Will raised an eyebrow, “Someone you actually look up to and like?”

“Aww, Little Wheeler, you look up to me?” Eddie asked, a hand splayed over his heart, “I’m honoured.”

“I’m outta here.” Mike rolled his eyes, pushing past Eddie and up the stairs, “I swear if you tell anyone, I’m gonna go steal all your Dungeon Master notes-“

Eddie gasped dramatically, “You wouldn’t!”

“Watch me.” Mike rolled his eyes, accidentally letting a smile slip before he was fully turned around.

☆ ★ ☆

“Wait, what?” Eddie asked, choking on his sandwich, staring up at his uncle.

“I said-“

“I know what you said.” He shook his head, “I just… you are in a relationship?”

“Yes.” Wayne nodded, “I’m very happy.”

“Oh, wow.” Eddie breathed, “I did not expect this happening when I woke up this morning.”

Wayne chuckled at him, “It ain’t that crazy, son.”

“Yeah it is!” Eddie protested, “I didn’t think you even cared about relationships or nothing. You’ve always been just Wayne to me.”

“Yeah, cause you were a sad little kid that needed my full attention.” Wayne huffed, “Now, you’re an adult and I’d like a relationship.”

“Huh…” Eddie nodded, and began to eat his sandwich again, “So can I meet him?”

“You already have.”

“When?” Eddie asked, furrowing his brow.

“His name’s Scott, and I love him very much, and we met at your middle school parent teacher interviews and have been putting off our feelings since then.”

“That long? Wayne!” Eddie groaned, “Is he like a single dad or something?”

“No, he’s your old science teacher.”

“Wait, what!”

☆ ★ ☆

“Wait, what?” Eddie asked, scrunching his face, looking at Steve on the verge of short circuiting.

“Yeah, I just can’t do this anymore, Eddie.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I like you, so much, and I just…”

“Stevie, I’m gay.” Eddie said, now looking at him with desperation, “Steve I’m so gay, I’m the gayest any dude could ever be. Holy shit, I like you too!”

“You are?” Steve said, his eyes beginning to well up a little.

“Yes!” Eddie said, jumping on the spot, “I’m so fucking gay, Stevie. Gayer than the day is long! Please go out with me.”

Steve huffed, giving Eddie a saddened smile, “I’m not a guy, though.”

“Wait… what?” Eddie asked, scrunching his nose, “What do you mean?”

“I’m transgender…” Steve said, looking at the ground, “I’m actually a woman.”

“Wait, you’re transgender?” He asked, whispering the next part to himself, “God, everythings happening this week…”

Steve nodded her head, “Yeah, I can’t… I’m sorry, Eddie, but if you’re gay-“

“I’m bisexual, actually. I’m so bisexual, please go out with me.”

“Eddie, you can’t just change your sexuality.”

“Uh, well, apparently you can, because I just did.” Eddie sassed, “I was gay, now I’m bisexual, cause I have a big ol’ crush on you, and if you’re a woman, that makes me bisexual.”

Steve glared at him.

“So, can I take you out on a date now?” He said, staring up at Steve with stars in his eyes.

“Are you being serious? This isn’t just a joke, Eddie, it’s my identity.”

“I know.” He said, deadpan, “It’s mine too. Hell, I’m finding so many things out this week, it’s crazy. So like, do I still call you Steve or…?”

“I prefer Stevie.”

Eddie grinned, “Sick. So Stevie, about that date?”

Stevie huffed, “You realise if this goes anywhere I’d be your girlfriend, not your boyfriend.”

“Holy shit, you wanna be my girlfriend?” He beamed at her, “This is so metal, can I kiss you, I wanna kiss you so bad, Stevie, please be my girlfriend right now.”

“Oh…” Stevie muttered, finally smiling, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Eddie just about fainted.

Stevie has my heart oh my fucking god I love her *Screams hysterically from the rooftops*

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

After S5 drops, you just know Stranger Things/Byler is gonna be all over conservative media and Fox News about how “the gay agenda” and “woke culture” is corrupting the kids. Trump will Tweet something about it. There will be fifty TikTok podcasts about it and twenty YouTube video essays titled stuff like “Stranger Things? More like Woker Things” and “Woke Noah Schnapp FURIOUS After Normal Americans Reject Season 5” and “The Sick End Times Antichrist Agenda of Netflix: They Tricked You” and “This Child Star Gushes After Sudden Gay Romance: Was Finn Brainwashed?” with thousands, if not millions of views. We’re gonna have our very own entry in the culture wars 😍

[taylorswiftshipsbyler]

sometimes I like to think about gay people.

[romainlettusdinnerparty]

oh my god. thinking about the byers being jewish again. thinking about a little will acting out and drawing the passover story with joyce narrating and jonathan giggling along. thinking about the potential future of byers-wheeler passovers. thinking about mike writing their haggadah and inserting little jokes and meaningful reflections about their experience with the apocalypse. thinking about when everyone has kids, mike and nancy and el searching for the afikoman along side them because they never got to when they were younger. omg thinking about will and mike turning the passover story into a dnd campaign!! introducing their kids to both dnd and the history of will’s people!! sorry im absolutely insane about this!!!!

[byler-alarmist]

The way I know Wayne Munson would not be homophobic, as he is wearing blue and yellow 💛💙💛💙

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

I think season five should involve:

1. Killing Vecna in the first episode

2. The rest of the gay couples (Elmax, Elumax, Byler, Steddie, Jargyle, Ronance) getting together

3. Lots of slice of life angsty stranger things

4. Byers-Hopper family bonding

5. Uncle Wayne and Erica

[gayofthefae]

Okay, season 3 was Mike defending El and it came out wrong then being a usual nervous kid and season 4 Mike froze up in the moment and was able to say "I love you" as soon as El left, the letters were either a coincidence or based in anxiety/commitment issues, and him telling Will he didn't know why he couldn't say it was him berating himself not continuing to question his ability. Sure. Whatever. Fine...

What was the roller rink fight, then?

No, see, he's confirmed to have no knowledge of Will's feelings and even if he did, it would contribute nothing to his arc or character to have him be defensive about that when the rest of the season is unaffected by it and has him seeming totally comfortable, so why did he say that? I'm listening...Nope, I will not accept the argument "his actions are only for Will's arc and so they can be out of character and mean nothing". They are professional writers and this isn't a courtroom; you don't need to undermine my credibility. No, I didn't ask why he said he ignored him, I asked why did he clarify that he didn't call because calling would have been romantic - keeping in mind that it must be in character and relate to some arc of his.

You can explain everything. I disagree on certain details of phrasings and larger arcs, but you can *technically* explain everything...but

him

[strangerthingscharityzine]

Volume 2

Okay, okay. I hear you all, lovely people. I'm going to do this thing I rarely do and I'm going to calm down and chillax.

Volume 2 is still happening!!! But I'm thinking like a September launch date, not Pride. Please use this time to tell your friends how great this zine is and to recruit more people to like/ follow us!

You all are wonderful. Thank you for helping make fandom magic happen!

[hazmatazz]

vote to make mike wheeler cringefail loser <3 [x] @cringefaillosersummit

[schrijverr]

Page 212-213

[One photograph covers the entire page. It is the two tables of Eddie, Robin, Rose and Steve that they have put together to host everyone. At the head is Erica, looking over the feast with a pleased expression.

On her right are Dustin, then Suzie. Suzie is smiling into the camera, but Dustin is arguing with Lucas, who is across from him.

Lucas is sitting next to Max, who is next to El. He is arguing back, while Max is feeding El a bite of food, the two of looking lovingly at each other.

Next to El are Mike and Will. Mike is leaning forwards to mix himself into the conversation that Dustin and Lucas are having. Will is talking over his back with Nancy.

Nancy is next to Argyle, who is sitting next to the empty chair where Jonathan was sitting. He is talking with Joyce, who is sitting at the head. Argyle is nodding at whatever Joyce is saying as she points to the turkey, a big smile on his face.

Opposite to Argyle and next to Joyce is Hopper, who is talking with Wayne, who he is sitting next to him. The two give off the same vibes as they try to talk, while Eddie is next to Wayne, hanging off him trying to get his uncle’s attention on him.

Next to Eddie is Steve, who is doubled over laughing at whatever Robin is telling him. She is making a dramatic gesture, pulling a weird face as she is half turned to Steve. Her other hand, though, is in Rose’s on the table and held still.

Rose is sitting next to Suzie and also smiling into the camera. The two of them the only two who have noticed Jonathan getting up to take the photograph.]

Thanksgiving of 1994

Jonathan Byers, 1994

~~

<<Prev Next>> AO3

[bylertruther]

me when finn confirms byler endgame

[jaegerisim]

Vent post y'all are gonna hate me for.

I viscerally hate how the Duffers treat most of their non white or queer characters and I hate even more viscerally, how y'all big byler blogs in your circle jerk of other 5 big byler blogs casually like to ignore many red flags the show has.

Y'all like to say: "tHe DufFeRs ArE gReAt WrIteRs" and it's like girl, who are you lying to??? They aren't top shit writers at all. The Duffers are pretty mid imo. Yeah, they run a good show that's fun to watch and theorize abt , but that doesn't mean they're good writers cuz they're not.

1. they completely side lined Will during s3 for the sake of their straight romances: lumax, jancy, mlvn, duzie and partly stobin (even if stobin wasn't endgame, thankfully, Steve's intentions were clearly wanting to date Robin and they gave it a lot of screen time). Will was sidelined bc he didn't fit the straight romance plotline bc they planned to make him gay or whatever. Now in s4 Will and his feelings have been used as mlvn toilet paper. Yes, we like to say this is build up for byler but canonically, Will's feelings have been used to clean the shit mlvn leaves behind.

2. Billy was sympathized a lot during the last 2 seasons. They gave him the sad backstoryTM in order for ppl to feel sorry for him. Billy's backstory is literally Jonathan's but whatever.

3. El's anger issues are constantly girlboss-ified. They down play her bullying situation and literally just use it for El to be a ''girlboss" without realizing how triggering that is. As someone who has lived bullying, seeing it be ignored by canon and fanon is super sad. The whole Rink-O' Mania experience must have been so traumatizing for her yet, everyone absolutely forgets abt it 🤷🏻‍♀️

4. Robin, Erica and Argyle are stereotypical characters. Robin is the quirky lesbian with social anxiety, Erica is the badass black woman and Argyle is the Latino stoner that sells weed to white kids and works as a pizza delivery guy.

5. Altho Argyle and Eddie both do drugs, (Eddie actually sells K-12 to a minor and nobody batted an eye. He has a huge fan base). Eddie is held in a pedestal bc "poor thing 🥺 he lives in a trailer with his uncle 🥺". Tell me a single fact you know abt Argyle that isn't "he smokes weed", "he is Jonathan's only friend", "drives a van" and "he works at a pizzeria". Exactly, Eddie is given a useless backstory and Argyle isn't.

6. Dustin stopped being important to the plot sometime around s2 and s3. He is only there to curse and be mildly funny. My guy needs to hangout with ppl his age cuz he only hangs out with seniors.

7. El needs to stop having so much "I'M THAT BITCH" screentime like I need in s5 for El's arc to not just be her becoming more powerful and falling in love with Mike. I need the Duffers to explore her trauma and problems.

8. Angela should have been run over by the van.

9. Patrick should have been given a backstory that isn't the basic "strict black parents that hit their kids cuz they are a disgrace". Patrick's backstory is actually racist af, fight w the wall.

10. As Lex already said, they didn't trigger tag the ep where Jason and his friends assault Lucas and Erica. Like wtf? Why was that necessary? Why did I have to see a black boy being held at gunpoint by some white guy?? Was it relevant to the plot?? I don't think so. And then I've got to see ppl online be like "Jason wasn't that bad. He was just mourning" like bitch you can stfu. This is what happens when you make the racist assholes conventionally attractive.

Also the fact that Lucas's arc is fulfilled by him fist-fighting Jason and "embracing his weirdness" aka accepting he is black. His arc was not fulfilled at all cuz that ending spoke so loud to me. It showed how little empathy ppl have towards the struggles poc ppl living in the Midwest have. Y'all circle jerks can only see racism when it's super obvious.

Furthermore, parents complained when ST showed "an excessive amount of smoking" yet nobody batted an eye when Billy tried to run over Lucas, when Erica (an 11 y.o ffs) was chased by white kids or when Lucas was held at gunpoint by Jason.

All of this happened while they focused on Max's guilt and mourning that, yeah, are important but certainly not less important than racism!!!

11. In s3, they gave us that whole Nancy vs The Bigots arc that was honestly just triggering and useless. It didn't help Nancy's character at all, quite the opposite it put unnecessary angst.

12. Lonnie being presented as an abuser just for him to never be spoken of again. Can we please get to explore the trauma he left the Byers's with?

13. The fact that both queer relationships are considered "sloppy seconds" is extremely sad. Both Vickie and Mike are rebounding from their failed relationship with Robin and Will. These 2 ships have caused more commotion than Jancy and Jopper together! (These last ships are technically sloppy seconds too but everybody forgets that. Shocker!!)

14. Last but not least, ppl blame Argyle for being the one to get Jonathan into smoking weed as if Jonathan probably wasn't the one looking for it. Let me tell you, that you only find weed if you look for it.

[aubriereddie]

did your uncle say it was byler related or are you just assuming it is?

He said "Some romance is gonna be happening with Mike" so I said "With who!?" and I cannot make this up he looks at me and says "You WILL have to wait and see" and he said Will with like the most enthusiasm ever

also he ships byler

[stonathandreamer]

Uncles

🔸 Stonathan Masterlist

Synopsys: Steve and Jonathan are going out on a date, and they enlisted Will and Mike to babysit their baby daughter.

A/N: A little Byler fic for my Byler mutuals 🥰. Also, I'm finally on vacation from work 🥳 which means a 1000% increase of Stonathan content! You guys have no idea how much research I do about babies whenever I write a "Married!Stonathan with a daughter" fic. I'm an expert at this point.

"Okay, so, she needs to be in bed at 7:15 pm, sharp, clear? Not 7:16 pm. Not 7:14 pm. 7:15 pm. I don't want my baby's sleep schedule to get all messed up because of you two dipshits. There are some diapers in her bag and her bottle, too. Oh, and her plush bunny, she likes her bunny."

"Steve..."

"And don't exaggerate on her dinner, alright? It's 2 ounces of cooked ground meat, 1/2 a cup of vegetables - she likes broccoli, by the way - 1/2 a cup of mashed potatoes, and some milk."

"Steve..."

"If anything happens, you call us, alright? Or Joyce."

"Steve..."

"And I swear, if anything happens to my baby, your asses are grass, you dipshits—"

"Steve!" Will repeats Steve's name for the thousandth time this evening, trying to get his brother-in-law just to shut up and calm down before Steve has a stroke right in front of him. "Don't worry, okay? We'll take good care of her. You and Jonathan go have some fun."

Steve narrows his eyes, not buying Will's reassurance. He feels like he needs to threaten them just a little more so they can fully understand the responsibility they are about to bear. But before he can utter another word, his husband wraps an arm around his waist and brings him closer.

"Let it go, Steve. They can handle it. And quit being a worrywart. I don't want you to get an aneurysm before we leave the house." Jonathan smirks teasingly at Steve, gently pinching Steve's side.

Steve scoffs under his breath but knows better than to argue against Jonathan. Rule number one of marriage with a Byers: you don't argue with your Byers husband. He's always right.

"Fine, I'll shut up... But if any—"

"Steve," Honestly, if Will had a nickel for every time he said Steve's name in the past hour. "Don't worry. We can handle her, right, Mike—"

"OW!" Mike yelps as the baby in his arms pulls hard at his hair. He tries, in vain, to get the baby to let go of his hair, but it's in vain. Elizabeth seems to have a profound liking for his locks. "O-ow! Quit it, kid. Let go!"

Will chuckles at seeing his boyfriend getting bullied by his 1-year-old niece. Jonathan fights to contain a small smile, but the corner of his lips twitches upwards while Steve smirks and steps forward. He leans down to Elizabeth's eye level and gently pats her head.

"Yeah, we know, princess, the Wheelers kinda suck—"

"Hey—!"

"—But be good to your Uncle Will and Uncle Mike while we're away, okay?"

Steve kisses his daughter's forehead, and Jonathan follows suit, adding a gentle pinch on her chubby cheek.

"Have fun with your Uncles, baby. Don't give them a hard time."

Elizabeth giggles at receiving attention and affection from her dads, momentarily forgetting how fun it was to pull at Mike's hair. She watches as Steve and Jonathan leave through the front door before turning back to look at Mike.

"Nu-uh. Don't you dare, Lilibet..."

"Hey!" Will sends his boyfriend a fake glare of irritation while resting his hands on his hips. "That's my nickname for her, Mike."

Mike rolls his eyes while jerking his head back a little to keep his hair away from Elizabeth's grabby hands. He offers her his finger instead, which the baby happily accepts and begins playing with. "Right, sorry, I forgot no one's allowed to call her that but you." He glances down at the baby in his arms, who's thoroughly distracted by his finger, before turning back to Will. "So... What do we do know? I have, like, zero experience with babies."

"Seriously?" Will asks with a raised eyebrow while tilting his head slightly to the right. "You have zero experience with babies? You, the guy who has a baby sister?"

"Hey, my experience with Holly resumes with playing peek-a-boo and tea parties."

Will rolls his eyes and chuckles, imagining little Mike with a pink bow in his hair playing with Holly, raising his pinky while pretending to drink tea. He walks to the couch, Mike in tow, and sits down. He grabs the remote and turns on the TV, flipping through the channels until finding something family-friendly to watch while babysitting Elizabeth.

"Well, we just need to keep an eye on Lilibet, feed her, and put her to sleep."

Mike hums in response as he sets Elizabeth down in his lap and bounces his leg to entertain the baby, whose attention lies on the colorful cartoon on the TV. Mike glances at Will, who's also paying attention to the TV, and speaks softly, not wanting to bother either Will or Elizabeth.

"Hey, Will? Do you remember our first date?"

Will averts his gaze from the TV and sets his eyes on Mike, briefly affectionately rolling them while smiling at the memory.

"If you call lying down on Hopper's air mattress and watching movies together all night in my living room, yes, I do. Why?"

"Nothing, I just... Remembered it."

Will hums in response, not buying Mike's excuse. He happens to know his boyfriend all too well and knows exactly what Mike's thinking.

"You know... Steve still has that air mattress he bought when he took Dustin camping."

Mike and Will share a knowing look, mentally communicating their plan and nodding in sync.

"I can't believe you made me split the bill with you, Steven," Jonathan comments as he steps out of the car, closing the door behind him and shoving his hands inside his jacket pockets.

"That's how married life is, Jon. There's no 'I pay the bill' no more."

Jonathan huffs indignantly and shakes his head while waiting for Steve to lock the car so they can walk together to the front door.

"Yeah, but I paid the bill last time. You should have paid it this time—" Jonathan cuts himself off as realization dawns on him, and he narrows his eyes at Steve. Damn bastard, "You did it on purpose, didn't you? So we can go out again."

"Guilty as charged, babe," Steve winks at his husband and gives Jonathan's butt a gentle slap, "I owe you dinner. Next week, Friday, at Enzo's. Don't be late, handsome."

Jonathan shakes his head. He should have known better than to doubt Steve's geniuses.

"Fine. Next Friday, at Enzo's. Don't forget your wallet, handomse." He kisses Steve before fishing the house keys from his pocket and unlocking the front door. "I hope Lizzie didn't give them a hard time."

He turns the keys on the lock and slowly opens the door, not wanting to risk startling anyone inside. The lights are off, save for the TV, with a kid's cartoon playing in a low volume. Steve and Jonathan's eyes immediately go towards the floor, where Mike, Will, and Elizabeth are sleeping on a blue air mattress. Will is sleeping on the right side, Mike on the left, facing each other, and Elizabeth in the middle, with Will's arm around her as the baby hugs one of Mike's hands. The trio is tucked under a yellow blanket, keeping them warm from the cold night of Hawkins.

Jonathan's heart instantly melts at the sight before him. His mind instantly revisited his memories of when Will and Mike were just little kids having countless sleepovers - some of which Jonathan participated in when he was 11 years old or so.

"Aw, they look so cute. I need to go grab my camera!"

Steve, meanwhile, keeps his eyes locked on the sleeping trio, his hands on his hips and a frown on his face.

"Damn... I've been looking for this mattress for ages."

"Really? You're thinking about the mattress, Steve?" Jonathan raises an eyebrow at Steve's words before aiming his camera at the trio and snapping a couple of photos (a hundred or so, just a few).

"Hey, it's an expensive mattress, Jon. And how many photos are you planning on taking?"

"Just a few," Jonathan comments as he presses the button repeatedly.

Steve rolls his eyes fondly, knowing there's no natural or supernatural force in this realm or the next that will stop his husband from taking countless photos of their daughter. No doubt they'll need to buy a third photo album for Elizabeth before she turns two.

[lucystark12]

we might be witnessing something

obviously we all know how much i love byler, and what im about to say is going to sound like “gen z walking away from the white house on fire with hayloft by mother mother playing” but i have to speak my truth here- i think byler being canon will go FAR beyond the fandom and casual watchers of stranger things. we might literally be the early adopters of a pop cultural phenomenon that could go down in history as one of the most important moments in media history.

stranger things is a really bizarre phenomenon in the grand scheme of things, because it is SO famous. it’s popularity has been compared to shows like game of thrones, but it goes even beyond that, because EVERYONE watches it. i’ve been watching it since i was eleven. my mom watches it. my uncles watch it. my best friend watches it. my grandma watches it. it’s viewership is so wide because there are so many aspects of it that appeal to so many different people. the impact this show has sent a song released forty years ago to number one on the charts practically overnight and it STILL plays on the top 40 radio to this day.

think about american politics as they are right now- we’re bearing witness to one of (if not THE) most important election in american history. the difference between trump and kamala is the difference between potential dystopia and nuclear fallout and peace and progressiveness. if trump wins, he will pull all of our aid from ukraine, letting russia push forward into western europe, and we all know what happens when a country tries to push into western europe. trump’s agenda in project 2025 imposes potential laws that will take us back hundreds of years in lgbtq+ rights, rights for people of color, and women’s rights. this election has caused a huge amount of dread and fear in the american people especially as the days push on. and what do people historically cling to in moments of fear like this? art.

think about music during the vietnam war, movies like “red dawn” during the cold war, or mccarthyism during world war two. when people are afraid of the real world, they tend to turn to popular media for escapism. we’re already seeing it, as ridiculous as it sounds, in things like brat summer or the debate edits to chappell roan songs. it might not seem like it’s happening because everything about it is different today in the digital age versus sixty years ago when tvs were boxes, but it is. this is only the beginning. and with the release of the next stranger things season, it’s possible that it could only grow more.

picture this: it’s next july. trump has been sworn in as 47th president of the united states and is six months into his second term. there’s already talks of him overturning obergefell v. hodges (the supreme court ruling that gave us gay marriage), there’s now a nationwide abortion ban, and political opponents of his are slowly seeming to disappear and go inactive. but hey! the 2020’s most beloved tv show is airing its last season this week.. it’s an easy way for us all to feel nostalgia about a time (wether that be the 80s or summer 2019) when our country was progressing forward instead of so drastically backwards as it is now, or to just watch a cool sci-fi show with one of the highest viewerships of any show ever, second only to game of thrones. everyone is turning on their tvs at midnight to watch these new episodes and suddenly- the main couple consisting of the two main characters of the show breaks up, the boy leaving the girl for his childhood best friend, whom he has been in love with for years but been forced to ignore because of the way society views gay people?

and everyone is seeing this, even 40+ y/o homophobes who watch the show for the nostalgia factor and never suspected a thing. the public is outraged. fox news is going on about the gay agenda. but the shock of the news is turning heads. people are changing their minds because… people being gay actually hasn’t only been a thing for the last ten years??! gay people might not actually be lesser humans? ANYBODY CAN BE GAY? what is happening! we know everyone watches this, so people of all backgrounds all across the world and more specifically the country are reacting to this in different ways. but no matter how you look at it, everyone is talking about it. it’s all over everyone’s for you page, SNL is parodying it, anderson cooper is talking about it on CNN, trump is denouncing it on twitter, there’s a push for it to be banned in florida.

suddenly, the democrats are picking up on this, because isn’t this everything we’ve been fighting for this whole time put at the forefront of a mainstream show? this is forcing everyone to confront the implications of having a gay ship be the focal point of a show with the viewership of stranger things, and the democratic party and it’s supporters pick up on this, turning it into a symbol and essentially a martyr of the party as a whole. whatever song (and you know there will be a song) that’s used in the scene where byler becomes official is immediately topping the charts. people are walking around wearing t shirts with byler quotes on them like we’re seeing now with the kamala brat t shirts. hundreds of people are influenced by it and we may even see an increase in support for politicians who advocate specifically for gay rights or are gay themselves.

this all happens because when people who are being spotlighted by pop culture speak out, everybody hears it. it’s the same reasoning behind why an endorsement from taylor swift could outright win kamala this election. a huge part of our population has quiet beliefs that they’re just waiting to dive into until somebody in mainstream media tells them that it’s a good idea. in making byler cannon, stranger things could be changing the trajectory of popular culture and american politics as a whole for years to come. it’s all about the domino effect. if people see this, all it does is open a gateway for other stories and conversations to happen, because something so outrageous as making byler canon during the early stages of project 2025 will turn the heads of every politically inclined person in america, from every maga cap wearing trucker to every blue haired barista, and when heads are turned things are changed.