It's Definitely An Atari

A Byler themed gift exchange event. Now posting! Host: @jabberwockymoreau

[bylergiftexchange]

All gifts have been posted!

Just wanted to briefly announce that all gifts have finally been posted! Thank you to everyone who participated and did their best to make sure their gifts got posted in time, and a special and huge thank you to all the pinch hitters that made sure everyone who posted a gift also got one in return! I'm incredibly sorry for the delays, but I hope you all had fun regardless.

I also just briefly wanted to announce that there will not be a Fall Gift Exchange. I'm a little too busy at the moment to organize one, but we will be back in the spring for another birthday bash!

[jediwill]

a sign to build a dream on

by jediknight | Rated T | 13k | cleradin

Will had never really talked about his time in the Upside Down before. Dustin had tried asking, once, but fortunately, Mike had shut it down before Will had even gotten the chance to refuse. It was a relief, at the time, to deny those awful memories the opportunity to come to light. There was a finality to it—like admitting what had happened to him would make it real.

“I also hid,” Will said. “For a long time.”

“In a memory?” Lucas asks cautiously.

Will starts to shake his head no, then tilts his head. “Sort of. Not really. In Castle Byers.”

Or:

The Party wakes up in a real-life version of Castle Byers. Inside of Will’s mind.

Written for the @bylergiftexchange for @khiquii for the prompt cleradin.

Hope you enjoy 💜🤍✨🗡️♥️🩶

[morganee]

of lights and hopes (3k)

Will shuffles through some vouchers, birthday wishes from the art shop he registered with a couple of years before, a reminder that they need to check the deadline for their car’s number plate registration, just the usual mail that can wait a couple of days more. He’s about to let the pile go when suddenly, a new letter makes his breath catch altogether. STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Division of Child and Family Services Time seems to freeze for a moment, and Will has to force himself to breathe again as his heart begins to beat loudly in his ears.

Hello again! I'm here again with another gift for the @bylergiftexchange, and this one is for @escapefromcamazotz 💛 I've decided to put together the birthday in general and the established relationship prompt! I had a lot of fun writing this, I hope you enjoy it!! 💙

[bylerbigbang]

Welcome to the Byler Big Bang 2026!

The Byler Big Bang is a fanwork event based on the Stranger Things ship of Mike Wheeler & Will Byers meant to create an explosion of content while providing structure, deadlines, and, of course, community support to writers and artists. This year, to celebrate our fifth year of hosting this event, we’ll be running it in the style of a reverse big bang!

See the full schedule here.

How does a reverse big bang work?

As during a normal big bang, writers and artists are paired up to create a fanfic and at least one piece of accompanying artwork. While during a big bang the writers decide what fanfic they write and artists get to choose from the ideas offered by our writers, a reverse big bang turns things around and lets the artists come up with an idea for what to draw—and then the writers get to pick! 

Once the sign up period is done, artists are asked to provide art ideas which writers then can claim. Over the following three months teams will work on completing a fic of at least 8k length and at least one full piece of visual art. Then, on their designated posting day in November, teams post their new works for the fandom to see!

See the rest of the rules & requirements here. 

See our FAQ here.

How do I get involved?

Artist sign ups will run from now until July 17th. Artists are expected to create at least one full piece of visual media over the course of the event. 

Writer sign ups will run from now until the early morning of July 24th. Writers are expected to write a fanfic of 8k words or more based on their partnered artist’s art idea.

Writers can additionally sign up as pinch-hitters to create a somewhat shorter fic to accompany an artist’s piece in case a writer drops out. You do not need to participate as a regular writer to sign up as a pinch-hitter.

>> You can sign up now! <<

[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. 

[fluffyfangirl]

I don't tell anyone (about the way you hold my hand) ___ Happy to do a late pinch-hit for @lucii-bug for the @bylergiftexchange and the prompt "secret dating"!

[sleep02sunshiine]

@rotting-words I am so sorry for the delay! Hope you can still enjoy this gift 🫶 This piece is my interpretation of what would have happened if Flickergate was true. It is a mixed media piece, using a lot of traditional art supplies (a canvas, acrylic paint and markers, crayons, coloured pencils etc.) but I also used digital art for the sketch and the first colouring.

Thank you for hosting @bylergiftexchange and I also apologize to you for the delay

[bylergiftexchange]

Just a quick update: We're still missing a handful of gifts, for which I am sorry! I am aware of what's missing though and both me and the gifters are working on getting those last few gifts out there. Thank you for your patience!

[jediwill]

this gun’s for hire

by jediwill | teen | 6k | written for @starmanbyler for the @bylergiftexchange

Will has always wanted to go to Prom with a date. And Mike—well, Mike doesn’t have a date, but he does have an idea.

Excerpt:

“So you’ve been excited for Prom. Is that it?”

Will hesitates. “Yeah, I mean— I guess I just sort of…pictured myself with a date.”

“Oh,” Mike says, a little surprised. He doesn’t really know how to talk to Will about this part of him yet. He usually avoids the topic—unlike their friends—and waits for Will to bring it up first.

“It’s…stupid, I know.”

“No!” Mike says quickly. Suddenly, an idea comes to him. “What if you and I go together?”

[khiquii]

Better late than never. Here’s my gift for @sillylittlerock as a part of the @bylergiftexchange ! Ask for college Byler and thou shall receive!!! I hope you like it!!! 💛💙

[fluffyfangirl]

In todays episode of things that should have happened in season 5 - Mike being jealous that Robin and Will are bonding as a part of pinch-hitting for the @bylergiftexchange for @sleep02sunshiine!

I changed my idea halfway through, but I still like 1/3 of the sketch I initially did for another prompt, so - have some cute Miwi as an excuse because I wanted to get this done last weekend already

[upsidedowncastle]

you kinda get a little irrational when you're sleepy

--

gift for @asterixia for the @bylergiftexchange!

hope you enjoy it! (sorry for being so late)

[luminarywaves]

you know nothing is fair in death and romance

teen | 17k | cleradin | will fake-out death

"I think I'm going to leave Hawkinshire. As soon as I'm of age. I think I'll go to Lenora, maybe Vallaki. They're supposed to be… more accepting of magic users like me," Will announces in the quiet room.

Mike goes still. Somehow, he hadn't considered this. They had never talked about what would happen after. Mike is supposed to pledge his oath to the kingdom in late spring, just like every paladin before him, and forever remain to protect the townspeople. He'd always thought that Will would remain here too.

OR

There's a monster lurking in Hawkinshire, and more and more townspeople have been disappearing. Holly is terrified, Will is acting strangely, and Mike has a choice: duty or love?

Hi! So sorry I am late, but here is my fic for the @bylergiftexchange !! This gift is for @the-third-waterfall , I chose two of your prompts: cleradin and will fake-out death and this fic was so much fun to write. I hope you enjoy!!! (And once again so sorry I'm late, this fic got way longer than I thought it would)

[nfna118]

As part of the @bylergiftexchange, I was happy to pinch-hit and write "Core Memories" for @fluffyfangirl! They asked for "something cutesy with Miwi", which is my bread and butter.

G | 5,902 words

Saturday, October 24, 1987.

Saturday, March 26, 1977.

A look from Nancy's perspective into the early days of Mike and Will's friendship.

"Nancy wouldn’t describe herself as suspicious by nature, not really. She just liked to know what was going on, and to see things for herself. But sometimes things just didn’t add up. Usually those things involved Mike."

https://archiveofourown.org/works/82868006

[dreamingfinch]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler Characters: Will Byers, Mike Wheeler Additional Tags: POV Will Byers, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, miwi, But also, mwtfdydgate, Post-Episode: s05e04 Sorcerer (Stranger Things), 1990s, canon divergent after s5 vol 1, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed, Eleven | Jane Hopper Lives, she’s not there but she’s mentioned at the end, Abusive Lonnie Byers, nothing described in detail but he is one of the nightmares Summary:

Five times Mike comforts Will after a nightmare, and one time he doesn’t have to.

@bylergiftexchange for @lavendertrash39 / @augmentedlavender!

[morganee]

is it too late? (to love you properly) (9k)

For a moment, it’s just him and his kids and a crackly radio on the road to a party, with the spring wind sneaking in through the slightly open windows. It’s a blissful moment that doesn’t last quite as long because Sophie starts to ramble all about her new dress, how she and Luna made sure to match for this special occasion, and Mike’s grumpiness comes back when he remembers he’s going to an engagement party. Will’s engagement party, to be precise. or Thirty-five years after their graduation, Mike finds himself dealing with his feelings for Will on a balmy spring night.

Hello fellow bylers 💛 I'm a little late, but I'm very happy that I got to participate in this year's byler gift exchange! As always, a big thank you to the @bylergiftexchange mods for organising such a cool event!

This is a gift for @nevyobjects11! I chose the 'good luck babe' prompt (with a bit of jealous Mike in it too, I guess 😌), I hope you enjoy this!

[bylergiftexchange]

End of the Posting Period!

It’s April 8th and so officially the end of the posting period! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and made this another successfull gift exchange! It’s been great to see all of the wonderful fanworks you guys have created over the past few months!

We’re not quite done yet as some people needed extensions and we have a couple of pinch hitters, so if you haven’t received a gift yet: I’m very sorry for the delay, but please know I’m on top of things and I’ll be making sure that everyone will receive a gift as soon as possible.

Also, to those of you who wrote and posted fanfic on Ao3 another reminder that there is a collection that you can add your work to if you want to. You can find the collection here, and a guide how to add your fic to it here.

And with that: over and out… for now ;)