#you're not going to magically turn gay if mike ends up being gay

[reluctantbylerblog]

they really have the gall to say they aren’t biased against byler when these are their reactions to both of these posts:

like c’mon bffr

[pythoness94]

Obscure Fic recs, the opinion piece, part one.

Okay, you see, I would put this all-in-one big master post, because the first one I did was really small, but as i started doing the second fic, i realized that I would probably hit a word count. So, here is what I'm doing. One or Two fics per post because some are REALLY fucking long analysis, and others are quick ravings. Thanks @the-aphelion-archives for the recs.

Here is how this is gonna work. I’m going to be writing my thoughts one the ones I find interesting and I will be skipping SOME (key word SOME.) of the fics I already read because I can recall them perfectly and honestly don’t have enough to say about them other then “ REALLY FUCKING GOOD! PLEASE READ!” But there will be a list of honorable mentions at the end, including these fics that I “skipped” over. Now, enjoy the show.

Movie Magic :

Chapter one:  this shit was golden. “Mike was so disgusted by a half naked guy he had to stop the movie immediately.” No, Will, honey, it’s exactly the opposite of that. I loved how Will fawned over Mike and I loved Will’s and Robin’s banter. Mhm, good soup.

Chapter two: Mike is trying his damndest to let Will know he’s into him and Will just isn’t having it. He’s so deep in denial that Mike literally turning pink right in front of his face isn’t clueing him on. Honestly I love it, and Will & Robin’s talk at the end was just…so sweet. Good food, once more.

Chapter three: THEY’RE SO FUCKING CUTE, I’m can’t-. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, Will checking Mike out was so real of him. I love jealous Will so much, it’s my favorite trope. Lucas and Mike talking was so refreshing honestly. I’m so used to everyone in the party being a dick to Mike in fic’s like these that actual friendship has never felt so good. I’m not even gonna lie…I also blushed at that scene in the outsiders. (In the middle of class too! I can NEVER live that shit down.) Mike is BOLD, BOLD, to be pulling this stuff. (THE WILL VOICE! I’M TALKING ABOUT THE WILL VOICE!! AHHH!!! )  “Mike beamed and said, “I thought so, I saw you eating those a while ago. I gotta go, but I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Mike you’re not fucking subtle, you’re pulling a ME with my girlfriend. ““Wow, so you're a real knight in shining armor, huh?” Will, you aren’t being slick either, GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME! “Mike, i’m gay. “Will… baby… that’s not how you do that. GET TOGETHER ALREADY!! RAHHH! (Don’t worry Will, I love men too, and women, I love people in general honestly.) 

Chapter four: I got up and Jumped. THE PRINCESS BRIDE! IT CAME BACK! MIKE YOU ARE SO FUCKING SMOOTH!!! YESSSS!!! RAHHHH!! GET YOUR MAN MIKE!!! Mike is such a dork, but he’s Will’s dork and i love to read about Will being inexplicably fond of one Mike Wheeler and this fic is perfect for that. Also DATE NIGHT DATE NIGHT!!! Robin is so big sister coded, that little “Romance blooming?” part had me in a chokehold.  Mike, you’re such a dork “As you wish means I love you.” (not me acting Like I don’t do the same to my girlfriend. I will casually drop lyrics to her favorite songs in conversation like the cringy person I am and she won’t notice until way later then she proceeds to yell at me for it lmao.) KISS KISS SCENE! YES WILL KISS HIM SILLY!!

Final thoughts: Really good fic that had me grinning ear to ear from start to finish. Will’s thoughts about Mike, the shameless flirting, it was all spectacular. Good food.

[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?  😂