Though this one is basically just a Byler makeout... couldn't help myself
Part 1 , Part 2
Tag list (anyone else just lmk if you want to be tagged for any of my ongoing Byler comics (Will's first kiss, Pocky Game, Will's mixtape) or fics (Charisma Check, Awkatncf ):
Byler Hanleia roleplay that I've been waiting all year for the right time to share! may the 4th is year round for them anyway let's be real 🤭🔥
basically I hc that Will makes his own cosplays (Joyce taught him to sew) and after doing some Luke Skywalker pieces over the years, he's confident enough to try some Leia cosplay (Hoth and Endor Leia are his first ones!!), so of course... a certain Leia costume HAD to be done eventually..
will becoming more confident with expressing himself and getting into these cosplays with clothes he crafted with his own hands.
this is him in his will the wise robe in S3 except it's better this time because mike, his boyfriend, is there to not only support him but join him (a little too enthusiastically!)
what started as me noticing some parallels between byler and fraphne (bc I adore them both) has turned into this whole thing - throwing lucas and dustin into the mix and smiling when I see them in velma and shaggy's antics. and now it has officially turned into me making art, into headcanons, into finding it so so fun to make the party work as the gang!!
..which is what this post is all about! I've been dying to put this together with some similarities I love. (to every friend I've dumped any of this on for the past couple years, you know who you all are, please know I love you infinitely and your excitement fuelled me sm)
keeping in mind that SD has many, many iterations, I will be sticking with the parts of the characters that I know stay consistent across them, or happen to apply to byler/the party
and if you read anything and think “hm that’s a reach” - it’s not, there are no theories being made here it’s just me having fun with similarities between two of my favourite quartets!!
OKAY let's begin:
Mike Wheeler & Fred Jones
Our designated leaders of the gang
They are the Plans Guy: they are quick to come up with a relevant way of approaching a situation they're faced with, or working off of others
Impulsive, but calculated. Which leads me to my next point..
They love finding a melee weapon:
Other characters may make use of things around them as they do, but Fred and Mike are the ones that charge forward and just go for it, especially to get an antagonist to back off their friends and go for them instead. They do the split second math and pick up the spontaneous weapon every time danger is about to make a move. They are good at making use of the limited things around them
But they also don't always win the fight..
It doesn't mean they back down the next time though.
The knightly imagery with Fred is crazy considering it's Mike who pairs up with him in this AU, it really is so natural.
Huge nerds with fixations on and rambles about their hobbies, no further elaborating needed LMAO
This one is self explanatory, and I DID start it before season 5 and I'm not throwing it away just because of canon idc.. in my world it still works!!
And I thought this similarity was cute too
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Will Byers & Daphne Blake
Something I find so fucking cool and fresh about Will's entire character is how within his narrative he falls under tropes famously associated with female (mostly horror) characters/icons, and Daphne is another - more light hearted - example!
With all that in mind I may as well start with the obvious for the decision. "Danger-prone Daphne" is what she's been commonly known as for decades. Not so much clumsiness, but being in peril is just what can come for her character, much like Will is tied to the supernatural narrative.
However neither of them want the danger that follows them to define them, and they don't! It may continue happening to them, as is their fate, but it's not all they are and not what their loved ones think of them. I LOVE that Will is a damsel as a male character, it's not a bad thing to correct at all. And thanks to Daphne and other fictional characters, we know being considered a damsel doesn't make Will helpless 🙂↕️☝🏽
In multiple iterations, Daphne is written to fight back or stand up to threats more often, and I think that fits nicely with Will having his cathartic moments throughout ST5 of standing up for himself and succeeding!
(I had to add that one ^ it made me giggle)
There are times where the gang/party realise they can't prevent Will or Daphne from danger, but work to get them back, every time.
Next, another favourite... Will's painting and Daphne's song. I scream every time I think about it. Both of them poured their hearts into a piece of art for their love they don't feel they can express it to.
Daphne of course does, and the lyrics really do speak Will's mind. I was really hoping this comparison would come to fruition when I first started making this post, but the duffers are fucking cowards, so.
Both Daphne and Will are the most gentle and empathetic in the group, giving people a chance and taking other's feelings into account more often
Using full names on their partners 😭
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Now the next two.. I knowww this is probably an unpopular opinion to some, but you've gotta hear me out on this bc I've seen a whole lot of Scooby Doo in my life. It's not just about Dustin being smart, I think that's a weak association I'm sorry 🥹 I WILL SAY THOUGH this genuinely was hard for a bit because Lucas and Dustin DO fit both Velma and Shaggy in different ways, it can be either way honestly! - but ultimately Dustin and Dart are too perfect to not go with, and Lucas really does fit Velma HAHA
Walk with me..
Lucas Sinclair x Velma Dinkley
Huge dorks!! More than people realise until they really pay attention to them
Always out here insulting their threats lmfao
Both Lucas and Velma have had arcs where they stick to their opinion of a situation, or their beliefs, may even come across as a little close minded, but along the way they experience more that gets them to expand their view point.
For Velma, this was purely believing in science and not entertaining the idea of magic until she was forced to interact with it/actual supernatural antagonists. For Lucas, it was his initial lack of belief that Will could still be alive/trusting El in ST1. While understandable for his situation, they ultimately lacked some facts. Both are able to put pride aside and admit their minds were opened.
Velma often - to me - is mischaracterised as stone cold. I don’t see her that way at all, I think she values her friendships and doesn’t have much tolerance for silly people. Why would she? She has her way of moving about in the world where her logic ties with her staying true to what she believes. When they're with their friends, they have fun and banter heaps!
Staying true to what she believes is a part I see in Lucas too, he made the decision to join the basketball team and didn’t let his friends deter him; even when they asked him to reconsider, he did what felt best for himself at the time. The same as when he went off on his own to find Will, and, even in a childish situation - how he knew what he felt for Max and got her back those 5 times.
Both of them have an arc where trying to force being someone they may not be, to try and reach a particular goal/desire, and ultimately come back to who they are.
Lucas' arc is obviously very different, complex and important, but I have it here because the crux of it, with both he and Velma initially going against the core of themselves, is there!
Velma's arc wasn't very typical of her character either, "insecure nerd" wasn't what Velma was always about, and still isn't, but it works for a connection between the two of them here.
Even with their more serious, often realist approach to everything, they love their friends and always look out for them. They show up for their friends every time
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Dustin Henderson x Shaggy Rogers
I'm starting with my favourite one lmao: calling out the bad feelings and whether what they're doing is the right thing
Their association with food was another thing that jumped out, though as ST steps away from being so on the nose with 80s character archetypes like in season 1, Dustin gets much better character development than only that! Also Lucas snacks often on the show too lmao, which was one of the points I was like hmmm they're kinda a mix of these characters 😂
Another big writing similarity is having Dustin and Shaggy (and Scooby) going off on separate missions to the rest of the gang for an arc! For Shaggy it happens in almost every adaptation, and for Dustin it’s happened enough that we all want him back and interacting with the party every season
When they do come back to the others, they've been sorely missed
They also feel it pretty hard when their friendship groups have problems, valuing what they have as unconditional
They often have out of the box (and in Shaggy's case, sometimes accidental) ideas and solutions to problems that arise, bad guys or otherwise!
The scene where Dustin meets D’art is so similar to one of the iterations of how Shaggy and Scooby met in Scoob! (2020). Food was both a peace offering and a method of bonding. Both Dustin and Shaggy were incredibly gentle and only wanted to show D’art and Scooby that they meant no harm and even thought they were cool! Wow new friend! And all that :’)
Another similarity between Dustin and Shaggy is that they always exist as exactly who they are, and the most true to themselves even as everything happens around them, and to them
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+ A bonus!
D'art is the Scooby-Doo of my AU, as has been mentioned a few times in here! His name is "Demo-Doo" and I love him and how he fits in with the party hehe
Annnd I think I'll leave it here for now! I plan to explore some of these in posts/edits, and even more in art over time so feel free to follow @solisevart if you're interested, here's art of their introductions!!
I hope you guys see the vision pls yell with me any time if you dooo!! or tag me in anything! this AU is my heart fr 💙💜🧡💚🤎
He feels the most grounded when his alpha is nestled within his cunt, all big and throbbing.
Nothing gives him greater calm than the space his brain enters after Mike has made him cum over and over again. Nothing quite like the ache of his pelvis bruising from the relentless fucking every day.
His doctor has told him off; reminded him that omega bodies are made to heal quickly.
"Made to hold and give life," as per his gynecologist. "This is why nature designed omegas to have faster and better healing abilities. However, it is not for this extent and frequency of... usage."
But to be bred and fucked raw by Mike isn't concerning for Will. He has seen and experienced far more concerning things. He would know. He's been through hell and lived to tell the tale.
When he finds Mike Wheeler cumming inside him first thing in the morning, Will thinks of paradise.
Every grunt of the alpha is a sincere prayer. Every hit in that spot that has Will seeing stars feels like exaltation, the very same lightness you get when choirs begin singing like angels. And when Mike reaches his crest and shakily fucks his spend into Will, it feels like the closing of a mass. The final parting words of a priest. The supplication finally being offered to god.
So, no. Will doesn't think being fucked five times a day is concerning. At all.
Mike fucks him first thing in the morning, before he can even register that a new day has begun.
When they can't do it because they have to rush for Will's 7AM classes, Mike fucks him in the shower instead (once; his alpha doing his best to rein in his hunger). Sometimes it's a quickie in the parking lot of the College of Arts.
Mike finds him lunch time.
Before they eat, his alpha tucks him to the unused bathroom of the Literature Department and rails him against the walls. They only go one round. After Mike has fed Will with his cock, he feeds him with food that he made or bought with his own money. His alpha was sweet like that.
When they come home, Mike takes him apart on the couch too. But it's usually slower and gentler, with both of them releasing steam from a long day. Letting the roll of their bodies be healing. Will watches his favorite show while one of his legs is over the head of the couch and the other on the floor.
In between him, Mike rests like a king with his sword inside Will. And he spears over and over again. All while Will watches TV.
This is his favorite. When Mike uses him as he pleases and when he gets used as he is made for.
The fourth fuck is usually at night. Slow and languid. Sometimes it's Mike eating him out or him bobbing his mouth up and down Mike's length while his boyfriend did his bedtime reading. It is his routine. One hand on a book and the other on Will's hair.
They do it at night too.
Mike pees at exactly 1AM, drinks cold water, and comes back to bed. It is then that he puts his fingers inside of Will.
When Will asked once why his alpha likes it, Mike only responds with: I like feeling you.
This habit sprung from Mike's nightmares and the need to touch Will. His alpha used to be so terrified he would just disappear on him.
When he woke from those nightmares, he would pound Will on the mattress. Just to feel him. Just to know he's there. To have the beating of Will's heart under his palms and the heat of his cunt around Mike's dick.
This was even before they dated.
Mike would knock on Will's door, shivering. He'd stand there for a few minutes staring at hazel green eyes in the dark before pulling Will back to his own bed and scenting him. Rutting into him. Knotting him. Then thanking him for being such a good friend.
It was a confusing time in their relationship.
But even after they've figured it out and the nightmares lessened, Mike is still very much drawn into the routine.
He's always been a creature or habit, reluctant to change.
So every time Mike wakes up after midnight, even after they've been together for a year now, he still fucks his fingers (three, to be exact) inside Will down to the knuckles. And slides his cock into his warm and wet omega.
Will would either wake up with a distended stomach from the amount of cum Mike has fucked into him or a knot that still hasn't gone down or Mike gently and lovingly rocking into him.
Either way, Will thrives in it.
He loves that his alpha uses him well and good. Mike deserves it, to take what he wants to take from Will. And Will has always been willing to give.
