#william jacob byers

[0aurelion-sol0]

What do you want or expect Will's arc to be?

Well, again I'm sorry but this is something I cannot go over too extensively as I will talk about it in future posts at some point but regardless I will try to give an answer to your ask.

I am going to elaborate on what I think The Duffers will do first and what I want/think should happen after that.

We know from that Variety article that released back in August 2023 that Will is going to take center stage again in season 5 and that I quote “This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality — it’s Will coming into his own as a young man.” says Ross Duffer.

Now what I think is important to take from that quote and that part of the article is the part where they say that they hope his emotional arc is what is going to tie the whole story together which means they value, in some way, that Will's story as a whole, not just his sexuality, is going to be what gives the conclusion to the story of Stranger Things. They did not say [one of the things], they said [the thing] *wink wink*. Now between what The Duffers say and what they actually do, there is a gap but I do think that is a bold statement when you're about to enter your final season.

Because sure, I do think Will is more important than the series has led us to think but at it's core, it remains an ensemble type of show and is what was really happening during Season 1 & Season 2. Yes, there are stronger characters driving the story (and become way too present over others as the story progresses) & was first sold as the Winona Ryder show and after that the El show but it remained at it's core an ensemble show.

So for the Duffers to use Will, the character with the most inconsistent spotlight of the entire show apart from his brother, as the thing that ties the whole series together, that is bold cause as I said theories and biases aside, this is going to be a challenge and it is still a show that relies heavily on it's cast & characters to tell it's story. Now the way they do it and how well they do it is definitely up for debate but still.

There are for me, 4 main important parts of Will's character that are essential to his arc and for it to conclude well.

His homosexuality, what happened to him on November 6th, 1983, his connection to the Upside Down and his past.

Out of the 4 that I see The Duffers be very focused on for this final season, it's the two that are connected, his disappearance & his spider-sense because they have become very plot-focused as the series went on; they are going to have to explore his homosexuality, I don't see them doing something surprising or extremely developped with it anymore but they have kept that around and they are probably going to give a conclusion to it that's going to benefit the first two.

His past isn't going to be that explored much apart things linked to the first two and homosexuality but even then probably more in terms of vague mentions than anything really concrete. And it's because The Duffers, unless they pull something magnificent, have as of now and after everything they showed for the past two seasons have other priorities for want they want to explore which I don't think is the best choice for again, an ensemble show but it is what it is, and we need to be prepared for it.

I AM EAGER to be proven absolutely wrong but so far nothing has changed my mind about it, nothing has really alarmed me either which there's that at least.

So now what I want or think should happen...

About his homosexuality, his gayness, his rainbow-colored-emotional-state, his reddit is always scared of this debate, it's been there forever, it's obvious, I think if you're still in doubt about it, you need to go take a media literacy class, that boy is gay, that boy loves Mike Wheeler, let's end the debate. I'm sick of this fandom always turning endlessly on this subject, let's move on.

Now what do with it now, well the coming out, it's on everybody's lips these days, obviously, it's going to go to Joyce, Jonathan and the Party (mostly Mike, Dustin and Lucas). We are not going to talk about Byler, that's not the subject of today's post. I think overall, I don't see, for me, anything about Will's relationship with his sexuality that stops him from being out, at least to his close ones if not the world. The events that he went through outside and because of it, already ostracizes him from everyone else, including the ones he loves, that is just a fact and I think Will knows this & I don't think it's him being gay that is problematic for him, it's his very strong feelings for Mike that will probably be understood now by everyone and that will change the "nature" of them now but also acknowledging the lost innocence and naivity he experienced very very young even before the Upside Down stuff.

Because when Will comes out, it is not just him being gay that will come out, it's everything he went through because of it & he's going to start, in a way, healing from all it & that is sometimes just as tough as going through the trauma. And in a way, he kinda already started that process back in Season 4 so I think it would make sense for him to continue that path. It's going to be emotional, it would make sense and needs to be that way but to me the coming out definitely needs to be Joyce, Jonathan and as I said, Mike, Dustin & Lucas.

And I would like to be very clear, though I don't think it will be that much because ST & The Duffers have lost that touch for me, but I would like it to be very clear for him & the others and us, that he is gay, he likes boys and doesn't like girls, don't have to say it that direct but in a similar way because that's what a lot of queer people have to go through I think & it's actually verbalizing the fact that they are queer. Because we are going to have too much dumbasses still telling us he is not & it's important again for the representation be properly done in a satisfying way.

Next, his past, I think it would be essential to explore Will's trauma again because of his sexuality but also other elements of his character like the love he has for the arts, D&D, relationship he has with Lonnie & also violence because that is also important but I'll discuss that in another post. Because it would help us understand more about he & The Byers function as a whole but give us more depth & element to feel a satisfying conclusion to characters that have been left on the bench for quite some time now because if you talk about Will's past and issues, you will need to talk about Joyce's and Jonathan's past & issues and all the abuse they went through, which has become quite an important element to the plot now that hasn't been that well developed for all the characters and it would be nice if it starts being well developed.

Plus it leads to one of the reasons why he was taken AND not killed in 1983 which leads us to what is his connection to the UD now... and before. 👀

Because if the emotional arc of Will is important to tie the whole series together, it's important for the supernatural arc too & that opens interesting threads that I can't get into this post now.

After that, I think the climate of Season 5 needs to show us a more hardened Will, one that'll force Will to get his hands dirty to survive and to protect the group as well, while also fighting against things from his past that may be quite important for him with how he perceives and react to violence or danger. I would like to see a Will that's not always and has wants & needs that don't align for everyone & goes against the bigger geopolitical groups that are fighting including the supernatural ones. OH YES! I am going there!

Him being a villain would not make sense and would be a no no for me, but sometimes falling on the grey sides of things would make sense and would be so enjoyable for me. Especially against the threat that's looming on everyone in Season 5.

Also possibly drawing a parallel to what he experienced in 1983, because he survived in some way and we're going to need to explore that in the present. Will might likely be the most useful person to have in a UD infested environment. And him realising that he is useful is going to force him to go back to what happened and why that happened to help the best way he can, because if there's anything that boy knows how to do better than anyone else on this, it's self-sabotaging for the greater good.

Again, it's a snowball effect, if you do one thing you're going to have to do and explore another, to me, they are linked. Are the Duffers going to do that ? I'm unsure. But that's what makes sense to me.

So here's your answer, sorry if it's a bit vague but I will be exploring this in many different posts in the future.

[strangertheories]

March 22nd is Schroedinger's birthday; it is Will's birthday if you're watching S2, isn't if you're watching S4 and both is and isn't Will's birthday if you're not watching either

[fruityfella]

Realism practice kind of, Will Byers eyes with some makeurp 👽 ref pic had white makeup, but idk if I like it so I did black makeup too. Kinda regretting colorpicking for the sclera, it looks too dark to me😭😭

[miwiromantics]

prince and knight au wip….I’m in lovvvveeeee

@i-promise-i-am-not-on-drugs IM SOO EXCITEDDDDD

[apocalyptic-byler]

me when all of the byers-hopper family members got to beat someone up or hurt someone but when it was will’s turn he destroyed something that he loved and that brought him comfort instead of physically hurting a person

[dstmicpnk]

HOW AM I THE FIRST PERSON TO DO THIS??

Like he’s right there

[bluebirdssingtheresawhiskyspring]

oh my god Dustin Henderson my son my infant Dustin plz ong plz my guy aahhwhhshahhza I miss you dusty henderson

[steventhusiast]

hopefully i’ll write this at some point but IF NOT i need to get it out of my brain somehow

one of my favourite tropes is relationship reveal and outsider POV, so imagine this but not as shittily written:

17 year old will byers has gotten himself to a gay bar in indy, with joyce under the impression he’s off to visit eddie or steve for the weekend. he’s alone and nervous but wants to see people like him that are happy as themselves. the bouncer lets him in with a knowing raised eyebrow after will insists he’s 21, chuckling with a quiet ‘sure you are, kid. don’t cause any trouble’.

will’s overwhelmed when he first enters the bar, not used to seeing such openly feminine men, masculine women, and people shamelessly making out with each other. he hesitantly sits at a barstool and immediately the bartender is on him, arms crossed over her chest as she says ‘don’t even try to order alcohol. 7up or coca cola, kid?’

will gets a cola, and spends some time looking around the bar until he hears a familiar laugh and spots none other than eddie munson sat across from someone. he’s not the most surprised to see him there, but is definitely caught off guard. will didn’t expect to see anyone he knew there, but there eddie is, soft smile on his face as he talks to a man that will can’t see the face of.

will keeps watching for a few minutes, a smile making its way to his own face as he sees eddie flirt openly with the man. it’s nice to see someone he looks up to turn out like him, and seem happy as he is as well. he wants to figure out if it’s a boyfriend or just a guy eddie’s flirting with for fun, so he switches seats to be a little closer to eddie, just about able to hear what he’s saying.

they’re definitely boyfriends. will still can’t see the other guy’s face, but eddie has a firm hand on the guy’s waist and has glared at three separate men when they came over to talk to his boy.

and then, the mystery boy turns his head to kiss eddie gently on the lips, and will can finally see his face. involuntarily, his jaw drops a little because steve harrington is the one eddie’s with.

then he thinks about it for a second, about how steve and eddie coincidentally moved to indy at the same time, how close they had gotten after everything with vecna, how much time they hung out alone… maybe it shouldn’t have shocked him that much?

and then eddie takes his eyes off steve for maybe the first time since will got there, and his eyes land on will. will flushes bright red, doesn’t hear what eddie says to steve, but suddenly steve has spun around and is frowning at will the way he frowns as dustin when he’s about to lecture him.

‘william jacob byers. you have twenty seconds to explain to me why you’re at a gay bar in indianapolis, ALONE, before i go to the payphone outside and make a call to hopper. go.’

[byerscity]

me when i remember people genuinely hate william jacob byers (my son4life)

[byler4vida]

William Jacob Byers Wheeler

[0aurelion-sol0]

Knowing Neil Druckmann (the co-creator of the The Last Of Us franchise and one of the showrunner of the HBO series) is a fan of Stranger Things, plus went to the Stranger Things Experience, is making me think things. 👀 (Especially when we've all pointed out by now how much that story inspired the show...)

🎶 It's making me think thiiiiiiings! 🎵

Are we coming full circle ? ARE WE ?!

[strangertheories]

Noah Schnapp has came out as gay but I think TikTok has made straight people get a bit too comfortable with gay jokes, so here's a quick little guide. Don't say that Noah Schnapp is 'fruity' or 'zesty' or 'has a bit of sweetness in him'. In fact, don't say this about anyone, including the fictional character William Jacob Byers. Do not joke about him being potentially bisexual or lying about his sexuality. Do not say that you already knew. This is just rebranded homophobia. I don't care if you're joking, just say that he is gay.

And if one of you so much as whispers the world girlypop into the void, I will go INSANE.

[estrellami-1]

I was about to nap earlier and I legitimately spent the entire time thinking about middle names for everyone, so, without further ado:

Stephen Joseph Harrington

I imagine his father’s name is Richard Joseph, so they have the same middle name, and Steve hates it whenever he remembers.

Robin Bernadette Buckley

Much like Steve, she hates her middle name, so she makes one up on the spot whenever someone asks her. The most insane one was ‘Crowbar’.

Nancy Elouise Wheeler

I can’t remember who asked, but someone was asking for her middle name a while ago and this just popped into my brain and op agreed that this sounded like her.

Michael Alexander Wheeler

He doesn’t have many feelings about his middle name; he went by ‘Alex’ in third grade but that only lasted about a week. However, he hates it on principle because Nancy has said before how fun it is to full-name him.

William Jacob Byers

He’s pretty okay with his name, too, up until Jonathan started calling him William Jacob in a British accent.

Jonathan David Byers

Named after the Bible characters. Jonathan finds it ironic because how did his mom pick the two gayest people in the Bible. How. Joyce, who didn’t know David’s best friend was named Jonathan, has no answer for him.

Dustin Clarence Henderson

Yes, this is what Gaten said his middle name is. Ergo, it is canon.

Lucas Xavier Sinclair

I don’t really have a reason. He just seems like an Xavier.

Maxine Crystal Mayfield

She hates it, absolutely loathes it, tells people it’s Chris. That is up until Chrissy. She hears Eddie’s story and decides she’s okay with sharing a name with her, so she starts using Chrissy.

Eleven Jane Hopper

I feel like this was an obvious one. An alternate—especially when she goes to school—is Jane Elizabeth Hopper, but since all of her friends know her as El/Eleven anyways, she just takes Jane as her middle name.

Eddie Nicholas Munson

He’s always been slightly tickled by the fact that he’s got such a proper middle name and such a hillbilly first name. Not even Edward. He’s got Eddie Nicholas on his birth certificate. Fuckin’ wild.

[paladinsbrainrot]

i was originally going to make a stupid joke and say 'you know what maybe byler isn't endgame because there is no way william jacobs byers is letting mike wheeler walk around with that haircut' but then I Realized. will has been walking around with an atrocity atop his head for the past four seasons

[8marg8]

William Jacob Byers is a ....

STARMAN WAITING IN THE SKY

HE'D LIKE TO COME AND MEET US

BUT HE THINKS HE'D BLOW OUR MINDS

He would wear this as a costume or an outfit to protest for gay rights. (And Mike would definitely be there).

[retrokittytakeover]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR BYLER NATION

it's WILLIAM JACOB BYERS and MICHAEL JAMES WHEELER.

For he fanfic writers