Do Not Descend Into The Nightmare Zone @boxxecl - Tumblr Blog

damn the fic I clocked as ai w/o ever reading it got confirmed ai?

#if you make Stephen king look like a slow writer then smth is up #basically fans are intitled and impatient and wholly disrespectful about fanworks #and their expectations are not reflective of what human beings are usually capable #and so are willing to overlook the improbably of these works bc fundamentally they do not acknowlege that authors are people

ive been taking classes in this art/workshop space and every time im there im like will would THRIVE here. imagine him surrounded by other creatives working and teaching and feeding off each other like !!!

#will byers

im gonna keep headcanonning Mike as queer forever and ever bc 1. its way more fun and 2. it makes sense of some of fws frankly bizarre acting choices. im gonna do this while acknowledging that this wasnt the intended read bc i also believe its important to remain tethered to reality

#If a critique is starting from a place of refusing to acknowledge the actual text then its worthless critique tbh #mike Wheeler

bylerbigbang

Announcing the Byler Big Bang 2026!

As we’ve already mentioned there will be a Byler Big Bang 2026, but since this is our fifth year hosting this event, we’ve decided to turn things a little…upside down: Instead of a normal big bang, we’ll be hosting the event in the style of a reverse big bang!

What does that mean?

A reverse big bang runs mostly like a normal big bang. Writers and artists are paired up to create corresponding fics and artworks, which they then post on a designated date during the posting period. The main difference: During a reverse big bang the artists get to choose what to draw, while the writers have their pick from the art ideas presented to them by the artists.

This also means a slight change in schedule. While we normally wait until halfway through the event to pair up our teams, this time around claims will happen as soon as the sign up period closes to give writers as much time to work on their fics as possible.

When is the sign up period?

General sign ups open on June 18th and close on July 17th. Writers get to sign up for a few more days while artists send in their ideas and we prepare everything for claims. Our posting period will be in November this time around—but you can expect a more detailed schedule with the post announcing that sign ups are now open.

#guess whose already done a sketch ✌️😐✌️

bylermicrofic

June 2026: MYTH | 502

Welcome to BYLERMICROFIC

This is a monthly writing challenge centered around Byler, the romantic ship between Will Byers and Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things.

Each month, we will deliver a prompt and a word limit between 300 and 600. To participate, you must write a microfic that hits the exact word count and fits the one word prompt.

For example, if the months prompt is 'Beginnings - 411 words', you must write a fic that is 411 words exactly that fits the theme of 'beginnings'. Word prompts are open to interpretation, as long as its an understandable connection.

All fics must be about Byler. Other ships can be featured in the background but cannot be the main focus of the microfic. Fics that are specific Byler variants are okay.

To successfully submit your microfic to be shared on this blog each month, you must tag us AND use the hashtag #bylermicrofic.

To submit your fic to our AO3 collection, please visit this months link: June 2026 Collection.

If you have any questions, feel free to send it in through our askbox. We're happy to help.

Happy writing, Bylerinas!

#HUH #might be fun as a break

i may have to kill tomodachi mike bc tomodachi will has been smitten for like 2 weeks w no success despite mike having literally no other friends and now mike has gone all heart eyes over a fucking alien

#mike you have 3 days to get your shit together or you’re going to the recycle bin #byler

twwarina

hi!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah season 5 was bad but why are some of you still talking about it like it killed your dog?

#the duffers are incompetent not evil play a video game #read a book #anything

being more enlightened than both mike-defenders and mike-detractors by thinking that him being kind of a dick is what makes byler fun

#my truth is that I didn’t care about byler before s3 #like hate to be a story enjoyer but the conflict is what makes them compelling #byler

I dont write smut bc I find the process especially tedious and I don’t see the point of forcing my way through something unless it’s really important. but im working on this fic and I do think they need to fuck on page. just like. once.

#I’m 10k into a fic I thought was gonna be like 15 to 20 tops but there’s… so much missing idk.#maybe I can make it work #but at least I’m writing regularly again!#but also I need someone to come up wscenes for me lmao #Anyway. less complaining more typing chop chop

hiatus OVER still thinking about him

#as if im a poster TM anyway #will byers

*spending silly money to see the cure* for will byers 💖😊✨️✨️✨️✨️

#it's actually for me but i thought of him while logging into paypal

hi drunk posting so bravewill or whatever you're calling it where paladin Mike comes and real mikes wife is like teehee more 4 me and paladin Mike is like lol?? Ok. ANYWAY who's this cutie papootie. Regarding will. Obviously. And mikewife is like HUH. Husband Mike why is your alter ego so desperate to go downtown on ur boy bestie. and mike is like why, that is SO strange. nothing 2 do w me. as i. am of heterosexual persuasion.

#im on my travels or i would write this fr bc i only write stupid stuff 90% of the time #will byers #mike wheeler #byler #i kinda love mikewife btw. as she exists in me noggin

will-jonathan joint art/photography exhibition.........

#its a one off #but many thoughts

i like the idea of Mike somewhere down the line realising his feelings but also realising that it is too late; will is happy and settled and Mike is gonna be a good friend this time and not try to ruin it

#maybe this is the direction those half finished one shots will go #im on the soju ignore me but hmmm i want him to grow. for wills sake mostly #i actually love them but i want to write something quietly sad if that makes sense #sad but accepting #its a kind of tragedy #you know?#i also want them endgame. eventually. but like wayyyyy down the line.#maybe their even kinda old like 50 #idk where im goign w this i need to go to bwd #bed

heavencasteel420

There are so many gender and race and class and sexuality hang-ups woven into who gets to be an endgame couple and who doesn’t. Fascinating really.

heavencasteel420

Going down the line:

Hopper and Joyce: The show (at least in the later seasons) puts Hopper on a pedestal of paternal masculinity. The presumed viewer—male, white, straight, upper-middle-class, Gen X or younger, focused on early (NOT late) adolescence—is not supposed to find him relatable as a Vietnam vet or a cop or a father. Instead, he’s supposed to be held in awe. His sexuality is consequently not a site of anxiety, and it only meaningfully exists in the context of his feelings for Joyce. Being partnered with Joyce also isn’t threatening to his masculinity because she’s first and foremost A Mother (with her job and her problem-solving skills and her mental health issues and her sexual appeal to any other man and even the less cookie-cutter aspects of her life as a mother gradually being stripped away). It’s okay for them to be together.

Jonathan and Nancy: The show is evolved enough to characterize Nancy’s ambition as admirable, but not evolved enough to refrain from putting forward the idea that it’s humiliating for a man to be with such a woman. There must be something wrong with him to be okay with this state of affairs. And Jonathan’s already on thin ice because he’s relatable to the presumed viewer in some ways (white, male, apparently straight) but he deviates in others (poor, not apparently straight enough). If he were a more normative male character, his support of Nancy could be passed off as noblesse oblige, but as it is he has to be the one to give up Nancy, because it’s wrong for him to want a relationship with her.

Steve and various women: Steve is an unrealistically aspirational figure, and his mystique would be ruined if he was in a serious relationship with an actual female character.

Robin and Vickie: Relationships between women are just not important. You don’t even have to say they broke up. Who cares.

Mike and El: Mike is the self-insert character, which requires him to be simultaneously a credible heterosexual romantic hero and a perpetually just-barely-not-pre-sexual being. Mike is supposed to have the most serious love story in the show, but he can’t know about second base. El has to die/vanish so he doesn’t have to make any sexual decisions that might reveal anything about his character. El, similarly, can be objectified as a superhero in a tight outfit, but she can’t explore her sexuality in a normal teen girl way beyond kissing Mike (who, again, is not allowed to seriously contemplate touching a boob). She has to die/disappear so she doesn’t have to make any sexual decisions.

Lucas and Max: The presumed viewer does not identify with Lucas because he is black; therefore, it’s okay for him to be The Boyfriend. However, Max is additionally not given any threatening ambitions. She’s just able-bodied and pretty.

Dustin and Suzie: Dustin’s relationships are not worthy of serious attention or closure because he’s visibly disabled, but he’s likable/relatable enough that the presumed viewer wants him to have some kind of female attention (which is why the girls at graduation flirt with him).

Will and Epilogue Boyfriend: Sexual/romantic relationships between men are so intimidating that the show can barely contemplate them.

#that the only two main cast members to never have any physical onscreen intimacy are dustin and will is #well its telling tbh #the point about mike reminded me of some thoughts ive have about how this show depicts sex/ual attraction #most about how it became increasingly #not conservative #but advertiser friendly maybe?#idk im tired ill ruminate later #el could never actualise sexually bc shes the face™️ yk?

howtobecomeadragon

el traveling internationally to find a place with three waterfalls bc it reminds her of mike: blah. boring. 🥱

el traveling internationally to see all the wonders of the world just to experience and learn and explore and to figure out what she likes and to just live freely: amazing. heart wrenching. beautiful.

#el finally feeling safe enough to go back and choosing not to because shes found a life she prefers

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Do Not Descend Into The Nightmare Zone