#bylerween 2023

[willelworld]

there’s something wrong with michael

a byler horror fic, set at a boarding school.

word count: 14k (~70k at completion)

chapters: 3/15

summary: Mike gets a little too into the occult. After a ritual-gone-wrong, Will has piece together a decades-old mystery to save his best friend's life.

[suzieburself]

Bylerween Day 7: Does Love Ever End?

Will and Mike have been adventuring for nearly half their short lives and they're one quest away from achieving their dream of living out the rest of their lives in a secluded cabin together.

But when Will sustains a terrible injury and finds himself in said cabin with Mike, things aren't exactly what he'd thought they'd be. Between dirty windows, weird nightmares that don't feel like his own, and Mike disappearing one night of every week, Will has a feeling something is seriously wrong.

He just can't pinpoint what it is.

—

"Mike," Will says instead of agreeing because somehow Mike is a million steps ahead and Will has no idea where he is or what time it is or what day or even how he got here! "What happened?"

Mike swallows, taking Will's hand. "You got hurt. Really hurt.”

Sorry this is a couple days late; I got really sick unexpectedly and couldn’t edit. Anyway, this one is my only actually dark Bylerween fic so I went a little all out.

Warnings: blood, injury, violence, murder

@bylerween2023

[kiirotoao]

So y’know what I said about not joining Bylerween?

I lied.

“take me home tonight” - G, 2.7 k

A precursor to “crazy together” and a deep dive into Mike’s mind on Halloween night, 1984. AKA, my version of the unseen Mike takes Will home story.

@bylerween2023 and thanks @therainscene <3

[stormypasta88]

i wanna get more out there in the byler community and bylerween looks like it could be a lot of fun

[bylerween]

Older Halloween-Byler Fic Promo!!!

Just as a reminder to everyone, you are welcome to send us an ask throughout the month of October (up through the start of Bylerween) with a rec for any older, beloved Halloween Byler fics. Self promo is encouraged!!

In your ask, please include the AO3 link, fanfic title, AO3 author name, and tag the author on tumblr (if applicable). Feel free to include some details about why you love the fic, which themes fit for Bylerween (if applicable, but not necessary), and please note any triggers to be aware of. The last day that we will be accepting and posting these older fic recs is October 25th, as we will only be featuring NEW fanworks throughout Bylerween Week.

Let us know if you have any questions! We look forward to seeing some amazing Halloween Byler fics from the past!

[boxxecl]

Bylerween 2023 • Day 5 • Came Back Wrong

"oh, hey babe." 🧍 (it's a romcom)

[wheelercurse]

BYLERWEEN 2023

day three: will's season two possession.

songs: we're in love by boygenius & right now by one direction

[faithfulcat111]

Bylerween 2023 - Day 6 - 2X02 Trick or Treat, Freak

My only contribution this year for actual Bylerween. But I've loved seeing everyone's content! This has been delightful! @bylerween2023

&lt;template>

[alicetallula]

Bylerween Week 2023 - Day 2 : Slashers, Gore & Body Horror - 27.10.2023

For the @bylerween2023

Bylerween Week 2023 - Day 2 : Slashers, Gore & Body Horror - Scream AU - 27.10.2023

I was immediately hit with a Scream AU for this one. And the image of Stu and Billy. (I know it has been done before for Harringrove and Steddie and probably Mungrove, but why not some unhinged Byler~?! ^^)

Done using watercolors, ink pens, alcohol markers, colored pencils, graphite pencils, a metallic ink pen, gel pens and acrylic paint pens

AO3 post / DeviantArt post / Instagram post / Patreon post / Pillowfort post / Twitter post

[freetobeeyouandme]

I'm Starvin', Darlin'

Tags: Rated T, No Archive Warnings Apply, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, Bylerween 2023, Slight Angst, Starvation, Brief Mentions of Cannibalism and Dying, Prompt: Trapped in the Upside Down

Words: 2.8k

Summary:

In the end all he can say is: “I have a bad idea.” “Worse than standing too close to a gate and getting dragged into the Upside Down as it closes?” “Depends.” He scoots closer. Lets go of Will’s hand to properly cup his face. He’s so close that he can smell Will’s breath: Acidic and dry. Kinda bad. “On what?” Will says, breathless. - Or, Bylerween Day 1: Trapped in the Upside Down

read on Ao3 or below; see whole collection

A/N: Happy Bylerween one and all! I normally have a hard time coming up with shorter stories, so it's been fun trying to figure out what to write for each day, especially since I wanted to do every day and not just the ones I immediately had inspiration for. The solution was picking a common theme across the board, which ended up being kissing - something else I could use the practice with and something that was very fun to combine with the sometimes more horror themed prompts I picked. For today we got "Trapped in the Upside Down", so enjoy! CW (not sure if necessary): Starvation,brief mentions of cannibalism and dying

-------

It’s strange, Mike thinks, how quickly the temperature has stopped bothering him. It feels like perpetual winter here, except that it’s no winter wonderland. Wish that it were – the magic of that would have quickly faded, too, but at least for a while they could have pretended. Instead they had gotten dim light with spores flitting through the air like tiny evil dust motes and vines crawling along the floor like snakes, ready to constrict and suffocate whatever enemies their master had.

And they had gotten the cold.

It’s the sharp, freezing chill of a calm winters day, with no harsh winds biting at your clothes or heavy snowfall obscuring what little remains of the sun when the days are short. It’s a cold that doesn’t even register at first until you’re already freezing, frog in a boiling pot except Mike would do anything right now to be that frog. Because down here the sun has never once risen to warm a single inch of this lifeless, barren land.

They had done their best to combat the cold, but by now it has seeped under the blankets and their shirts as well, settling wetly into every inch of them, toes to fingertips. But Mike has gotten used to that, since. Exist in one state for too long and you got used to a lot of things.

He’s used to the hunger, too. His stomach had given up a few days ago now, and the dizziness that came with the hollow in his stomach had turned into simple, perpetual exhaustion. It’s a softer feeling, less painful. His body simply does not have enough energy to keep warm and also stay awake.

They’d counted days, at first, but once they’d begun drifting off, they had begun blurring into one another. He remembers the first day, the trek through the dead landscape until they found the dark mirror of Hop’s cabin. They had contacted the other side, carefully spelling out messages in morse code and then using El as a radio to let their families know where they were. That they were as safe as they could be in this place. That they would be waiting right here.

He’s not sure how long it’s been since then. He’d been freezing already by the time they tried to fix Hop’s old bed and collected whatever half decent blankets they could find to create some semblance of comfort. And since then they haven’t really moved. There’s no food to forage, no water to find. Spending their energy on a trek into town to find more fabric isn’t worth the energy they’d lose.

So they’ve just been laying here. Trying to conserve heat and energy (which really are the same things, Mike’s inner Mr. Clarke points out unhelpfully). Trying not to think about how they might die here. Just like this.

A few years back one of his grandmother’s neighbors had died at home while Mike and Nancy were visiting her. Nanna had said he’d gotten lucky, that to die in your sleep was really the best way to go. You just fell asleep and that was it. No pain. You didn’t even notice. She’d said that was how she wanted to go, and back then that had seemed like a sensible thing to Mike.

Now it’s the scariest thing he can think of. To simply drift off and never wake in this cold hell? To leave Will to fend for himself? To die not knowing if Will, at least, will make it out?

Worse, to wake up and find Will even colder next to him, no heartbeat, no breath?

Mike reaches out, tapping his finger lightly against Will’s elbow. He’s laying curled around himself, his back ever so slightly to Mike, but Mike’s insistent tapping brings him back around. He uses the opening to slip his hand into Will’s. This time Will doesn’t pull back.

Mike had tried earlier, thinking that the closer a space they could create under the blankets, the easier it would be for their bodies to recycle the heat. But Will had scooted away at the lightest touch, and Mike hadn’t given chase because the bed was only so big.

Now Will lets him slide his fingers between his. Lets him scoot closer.

Not that it’s going to help with the warmth at all.

“If you wake up and I’m dead you have my permission to eat me,” Mike says with no preamble. There is no way to lead into this conversation.

Will stares at their intertwined hands, frowning. Then he says: “If anything you should be eating me. It’s my fault we’re in this situation in the first place.”

And there it is. Mike had been waiting for Will to say that – knew Will was bound to take the blame. It doesn’t mean Mike is ready to agree with him. They both could be stubborn like that.

“Will-”

“No. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be here. I was trying to hold onto something and then you fell in with me, and I’m sorry.”

Mike shakes his head. “You weren’t the only one trying to stop you from falling in. I could have let go before I fell and I didn’t. Because this way at least you’re not alone.”

Will turns away, staring up at the dirty, overgrown ceiling above them. He says nothing. And Mike can’t read his face. Can’t figure out why his eyes shine with tears.

“Or did you want to be over here alone again?”

Will’s lack of a response should be answer enough. It’s not like Mike can’t guess what he’s thinking in that regard. But as Will continues to be quiet, looking pointedly away from Mike with tears in his eyes, he can’t bear letting him be quiet.

He pokes Will in the side with his free hand. “Did you? All alone while monsters prowl and-”

Will meets his eyes again, expression dead serious. His voice is shaking when he replies: “No.”

“Sorry,” Mike says.

Will shakes his head.

Mike squeezes his hand. He has the weird urge to reach out and brush the tears away from Will’s face, except no tears have even fallen yet. And he doesn’t think putting his thumb to Will’s quivering lips is going to help either.

“They’ll find us,” he tries to reassure Will and himself. “They’re working on a way to get another gate open and then we can leave. No one’s going to eat anyone.”

“What’s the first thing you’ll do when we’re right side up again?” Will asks, indulging Mike’s overly optimistic speculation about their future.

Mike has to think about that for a second. He had been busier conjuring visions of death than of survival. “Drink something? I think we still had like half a bottle of iced tea in the fridge when I left, so I’ll drink all of that. I’ll take a warm one too, I don’t care.”

“Yeah. Or some coke. Even a nice shaken up soda.”

Mike hums in agreement. “And then I’d pop some pop tarts into the toaster while I drink. I could eat a whole carton.”

“And some chocolate.”

“Yeah, some chocolate. Some eggos. Fuck, I’d eat broccoli right now if that just meant I had something to eat.”

Will giggles.

“What?”

“I like broccoli.”

Mike puts his hand against Will’s cheek but doesn’t actually push him away, not even playfully. “You’re weird. Like so weird. You know that, right?”

Will smiles tightly but says nothing. Mike shakes his head, shuddering as his dead mouth remembers the taste of broccoli. Maybe he’ll take that back. It’d be the ultimate test of how hungry he really is if the choice was between broccoli and starvation.

Finally, Will says: “You’d just throw it all up again.”

“Did you?”

Will shakes his head. “They wouldn’t let me eat enough to throw it back up. But- I didn’t even want to eat that much. You stop being hungry after a while, even when there’s food again.”

Mike doesn’t know what to say. He wants to wrap his arms – wrap his whole body – around Will. Both to comfort him and to reassure himself that Will’s still there and breathing.

“Well, we’ll throw ourselves a feast and we’ll eat until we’re sick. They can’t stop both of us.”

Will laughs. He twists to the side, curling up towards Mike, and Mike feels thrilled by that simple movement. He can feel Will’s body shake across the mattress. Mike grins at him.

When he’s calmed down again, Will places his hand over where theirs rest intertwined on the mattress. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Mike gives him a smile. “Always.”

Will shakes his head. “That’s not- that’s bad self preservation.”

Mike shrugs.

“Mike-”

“I don’t care if we’re still fighting the Upside Down by the time we’re fifty, okay? We know about the dangers now so I’m not ever letting you deal with it on your own again. It’s really simple.”

Will smiles sadly, the tears back in his eyes. “You’ll have a wife and a family by the time you’re fifty. I don’t think they’ll like you running off to fight the Upside Down every time the Mindflayer rears its head.”

Mike is about to retort that he’d not leave Hawkins if he didn’t know the town would be safe, and so his future wife better know all about the Upside Down and fight it beside him, when Will’s phrasing gives him pause. He turns it over in his head for a quiet second, then says: “And you won’t?”

Will looks away but doesn’t turn. Yet.

When he doesn’t say anything, Mike says: “I know it looks like we’ve all figured it out already because we’ve had girlfriends, but it’s okay to be late to that.”

“Mike.”

“And I mean I think out of all of us girls like you the most. I mean Amanda Miller asked you to dance at the snowball. And Jennifer Hayes cried at your funeral. I’ve only ever been with El and we all know how that ended, don’t we?”

“Mike!”

“I’m just saying! Just because you haven’t figured out all your shit in High School doesn’t mean you’ll be single forever. Dating in college is gonna be much better anyway. Like, seriously, screw High School.”

Will squeezes his eyes shut, as if unhappy with the reassurance Mike was trying to give him. And Mike’s not sure why. Because that is the issue, right?

Will sighs as if he doesn’t want to say what he’s about to say next. “I have my shit figured out, it’s just that-” He breaks off, looking away as he can’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

“It’s just what?” Mike asks.

Will looks at him and then looks away again just as quickly. As if ashamed. And suddenly Mike understands. Will isn’t going to have a wife – or even just a girlfriend – because he doesn’t want one. Because what he wants-

“Oh.”

Will grimaces. “Yeah. Oh.”

“Hey,” Mike starts and then doesn’t know how to continue. What is he supposed to say to that? How is he supposed to make Will feel better? When he’s never even given much thought to it? Of course he knows that this is what the bullies said about Will, but to find out it’s true – it’s not a problem for him. He knows it can’t be, because it’s Will. And he could never have a problem with Will.

But there’s a queasy feeling in his stomach and Will looks close to tears again and they’re trapped here in the Upside Down together so he can’t even pretend to go to the bathroom to figure this out in private and instead has to readjust his worldview while Will watches on with those really, really sad Will Byers puppy-dog eyes and if Mike does anything wrong Will is going to be hurt even though he doesn’t want to hurt him because it’s Will and of course it’s alright with Mike that he’s-

“Mike?”

He closes his eyes. Exhales.

It’s alright with him. Does anything else matter right now?

He tries to give Will a smile. “It’s okay. You’re alright.”

“Yeah,” Will replies, not sounding like he believes it. “I’m alright.”

Mike scoots closer, squeezing Will’s hand. With his free one he brushes through Will’s hair. He’s not entirely sure why. It’s not a comfort they are used to giving each other, but it feels right.

“You are alright. It doesn’t matter to me. And it’s not going to matter to Lucas or Dustin or Max and El. Or your mom or Jonathan. Or anyone who’s important. And everyone else can go stick their opinion elsewhere.”

This time Will’s smile – his little laugh – is more genuine.

Mike lets his hand slip off Will a little. Pulls back until his palm is resting against Will’s cheek, cold and clammy. It’s there he freezes when the thought comes: How does Will know he wants to be kissing boys instead? Would it feel good? To kiss a boy?

To kiss Will?

“Mike?” Will sounds a little breathless, and for a second Mike worries he gave voice to those thoughts. But Will doesn’t look like he knows what Mike was thinking. Rather-

His pupils are blown wide. His mouth is open, his breath grazes Mike hotly.

Does Will want to kiss him?

For a second he can’t think or act as the possibility plays out in his mind. If the tension in his stomach is any indication he definitely wants to be kissing Will.

In the end all he can say is: “I have a bad idea.”

“Worse than standing too close to a gate and getting dragged into the Upside Down as it closes?”

Oh, he really wants to be kissing Will.

“Depends.” He scoots closer. Lets go of Will’s hand to properly cup his face. He’s so close that he can smell Will’s breath: Acidic and dry. Kinda bad.

He still wants to taste him, though.

“On what?” Will says, breathless.

Mike doesn’t say anything. Just meets his eyes.

Will swallows. Mike can feel him swallow, can feel the movement in his jaw. His eyes drop down to Will’s lips involuntarily.

Mike says nothing. Neither does Will. Somehow they take the last step together, though.

Will’s lips are dry against his. Not hard and unyielding, still soft, but there’s something of sandpaper in it. Cold sandpaper. And it doesn’t get much better when their mouths open. The bad breath translates to bad taste. There’s something sharp and metallic in there, and for a second Mike worries he’s split the tender, dry skin on Will’s lips by pressing in too hard. He pulls back to make sure there’s no blood, but Will’s lips are a pale, blueish purple, not red.

The kiss leaves a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, but he can’t bring himself to care. Can’t bring himself to stop. Will sighs into the next kiss and it doesn’t matter that they both taste of death – it’s warm and it’s good and if the little bit of exertion didn’t have them both panting like they ran a marathon Mike wouldn’t want to stop at all. Will’s fingers tracing his face feel so nice and he’d much rather lose himself in this than in the dim exhaustion of starvation.

Even as they pull apart they don’t move far, and Mike’s grateful for that. He’s not sure he has enough life left in him to go chasing after Will.

“Verdict?” Will asks, quietly and still somewhat out of breath. He’s not meeting Mike’s eyes, afraid of the answer.

Mike tilts his head, pressing a third, short kiss against Will’s lips.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh,” Mike says with a smile.

Will smiles back, first hesitantly, then unable to keep his joy inside of him. Mike knows the feeling. He presses another kiss to Will’s lips.

It’s bad, though. The bitter, acidic breath. The tang of cold metal.

He rolls onto his back a little, stretching out his arm behind Will’s head. Will accepts the invite without hesitation, scooting closer and putting his arms around Mike’s middle. They readjust the blankets. Cuddle up properly.

It’s the closest they could possibly be and still Mike doubts they’ll be warmed by it.

It only half matters, though. Because at least Will’s with him. At least they have this. Will starts tracing patterns onto Mike’s ribs. Mike starts playing with Will’s hair. They’re cold and hungry and somehow, briefly, content.

“Actually, I think the first thing I’ll do is brush my teeth,” Mike says after a while. “Second is going to be kissing you better.”

Will chuckles, the sound reverberating in Mike’s rib cage where his head is pressed against it.

They only have to wait for help to arrive.

View Collection on Ao3 > Next Prompt

[sillylittlerock]

i need to get a move on with my wips because the last thing i posted on ao3 was for bylerween 2023 and the bylerween 2024 themes have been announced 😭

[henrysglock]

no way did bylerween 2023 just tell me my 2022 Will cosplay fucks...as if i'm not rolling up to my work halloween mixer this year dressed as orderly Henry...

[imactuallyreallycool]

Thing that I just drew in my sketchbook is horrifying omg (bylerween 2023 stufff (day 4 attacked by venca)), God people are going to hate me.

[beef-fajitas]

Starting on Bylerween 2023! This is the beginning of the first prompt "Ghosts and haunting." Where Ghost!Will haunts Mike who just moved into Hawkins.

(326 words so far)

Boxes. So many damn boxes. 

Mike looked at the stacks of boxes he needed to move from the living room (where Dustin and Lucas had helped him move there,) to their respective rooms.

“Ugh. Fuck this.” He cleared the couch off and pulled a dusty sheet off of it. He sneezed and flopped onto the antique couch, not wanting to start the arduous task. He started to doze off but he felt a cold draft affront his face, effectively waking him up. “Geez, that's some divine intervention if I've ever seen it,” he rolled his eyes as he got up and started going through everything, sorting specific items into each room. 

By the time the sun set and it was already dinner time, he had gotten everything sorted and half of his own room livable. “At least now I can walk around without tripping,” he snorted and grabbed an old phone book off the counter, flipping through to find a restaurant. He decided on getting food from some place called 'County Line Cafe' and called them, ordering two burgers for dinner and then for lunch the following day. 

After grabbing his keys on the counter, he got into his car and drove into town and with a little trial and error, eventually found the cafe. He walked in and up to the counter. “Hey uh, I’m Mike Wheeler and I phoned in a couple minutes ago for some burgers?” The cashier nodded and got his order bagged up. “That’ll be four dollars and fourteen cents,” Mike handed over a five dollar bill, “Say, you look familiar. You live around here?” “Uh no I.. I actually just moved here yesterday.” The cashier handed him his change. “Guess you must have one of those faces.”

Mike looked uncertain as he grabbed his food off the counter, “Yeah, I guess so. See you around,” he walked away. “See ya around!” The door shut and he got into his car.

[bylerween]

We are very excited to announce Byler Halloween Week (aka Bylerween) this year!!! We'll be celebrating all things Byler + Halloween from OCTOBER 26TH - NOVEMBER 1ST.

We are inviting all fans to create artwork, fanfics, video edits, gifs, moodboards, memes, analysis, and more (the sky is the limit!) for the event to help us celebrate a very spooky Bylerween!

Our daily Bylerween themes are here!

As we approach October, we'll be releasing some spooky campfire story prompts to provide some additional ficlet inspiration, and we'll be announcing more of our plans to make Bylerween a fun and spooky week for all of us!

Meet the Mods: Ayla @howtobecomeadragon, Jo @wheelersboy, Lex @foodiewithdahoodie, Sara @willelfanpage, and Rae @ice-sculptures.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

In order to participate, just tag your Bylerween posts #bylerween2023 or tag us so we can reblog your work. No need to sign up!

Tag your posts with which day your post is for (#Day 1, #Day 2, etc) AND which daily theme(s) your post is based on (for example, #Ghosts & Hauntings, #Trapped in the Upside Down, #Haunted House, etc).

All fanworks featured during Bylerween Week must be NEW. We will be highlighting older Byler Halloween fanfics (via fic recs and self-promo) and other fanworks from October 1 - October 25! For more information about highlighting older fics before Bylerween Week, please see here.

Late entries are allowed until November 22nd, 3 weeks after Bylerween ends.

Other background ships are allowed to be featured, and are encouraged to be included on specified Double Date Nights. Byler must be the main ship in all works, though.

All AO3 works must be added to the Bylerween 2023 Collection.

Explicit works are allowed, but only for explicit violent content. We are not accepting any works with explicit sexual content. Our AO3 Collection will be moderated and we'll be verifying each fic's content before adding it to the Collection.

No AI is allowed in the creation of fanart, fanfiction, or any other fanworks for this event.

TRIGGER & TAG RULES FOR HORROR CONTENT:

Posts with triggering content need to be tagged with the standardized tw tags: tw jump scare, tw gore, tw blood, tw flashing, tw violence, tw cannibalism, etc. The full and comprehensive tw list can be found here.

For artwork with explicit violence, gore, or body horror: add applicable trigger tags, a trigger warning, AND put art under a Read-More cut.

For fanfic/ficlets: Utilize the AO3 tagging system when posting on AO3, using appropriate tags, warnings, and ratings. If you just post your fic on tumblr, please add any applicable trigger tags, and if your writing includes detailed gore or violence, please put it under a Read-More cut and include a trigger warning.

Feel free to ask us any questions! And please REBLOG to spread the word! We'd love to spread the word and reach a lot of people so that Bylerween can be as fun and interactive for everyone as possible!

We're so excited to get spooky with you all this Halloween!

amazing art by @light-lanterne!!

[boxxecl]

Bylerween 2023 • Day 6 • Supernatural Creatures

once a month, after a full moon, mike risks the morning sun to comfort a guilt-wracked will with cheerful tales of his own atrocities (trying to flirt)