hi. welcome to my stranger things blog where i'll be yapping about stranger things and ignoring everything the duffels have to say about it. henderhop / byler ✨️🤍
hello. i still live and so does byler. and they will never die because enough time has passed to make the canon whatever we like to. (and yes, tales of '85 is heavily ignored in this household!)
Mike gets vecna’d and the only way to pull Mike out of the trance is for El to find him in her bath and she goes stumbling through years of memories where she sees and experiences the full scale of his feelings for Will and she hasn’t even considered it before but now she can’t unsee it and when Mike wakes up and realizes what happened he’s terrified and about to spiral in on himself but El is so giddy just ecstatic for some reason he can’t understand and then she explains that seeing how he feels about Will helped her understand what romantic love is supposed to feel like and excuse her she needs to go find Dustin but then in her excitement she remembers this is a verybigdeal ™️ for Mike so she stumbles back in the room and hugs him so tight he can barely breathe and she says I love you in the way she really means it and he says it back as easy as breathing because he does love her and he is finally free to express it in the way it truly is and they both somehow just know once they find Will and Dustin things will be okay, everything will just….be okay. send tweet.
stranger things AU where there's no upside down, no powers, hawkins is just a regular small town.
will, dustin, mike and lucas are a party and the bestest of friends, but will never goes missing on november 6th, 1983.
instead, terry ives moves to hawkins in summer '83, with her sister becky ives and her daughter, jane eleanor ives. and jane joins the party's class in fall of '83. she's quiet, doesn't talk a lot and when she does, it's simple. jane listens. jane is in her own head a lot. jane loves to learn, even though it takes her longer than others. some bully her for being slow, but that's not what jane is. she's very empathic, she can connect with anyone if she tries. who cares if she struggles with society's perception of smartness then? her intelligence is deeply emotional.
and the boys immediately like jane. she's an outsider, like them (jane and mike are both autistic, but they don't have the words for that). she joins the party. mike and dustin both have a crush on her, but jane doesn't choose either. she wants their friendship more than dating them. will starts calling her 'el' from her second name (soon the entire party adopts the nickname) and the two connect on a soulmate level - joyce feels like she's gotten a daughter and terry suddenly has a son. becky is the cool aunt to the whole party. the ives's house is a safe place for the entire party, especially when they want to get away from the bullies. becky will definitely go into protective mama bear mode when she witnesses anything.
when max moves to hawkins, mike is hesitant to let her join the party still. but el and lucas insist, and so he drops his resistance. they let max in. she and el get along great after a rough start, max has to get used to el's straight, yet dreamy way first. when max starts crushing on lucas and they have their first date, el realises she wants it too. she feels a connection to mike, so she asks him out. he says yes. dustin is devasted over this, but doesn't show it. instead he runs into steve who wants to apologise to nancy (similarly to S2) and steve, seeing this usually so bright and joyful kid, stops and tries to cheer dustin up. (it doesn't work at first because dustin is confused about steve's niceness, but they become buddies still.)
summer of '85 rolls in, mike and el are dating, so are max and lucas. will has already started to realise he likes mike more than just as a friend. he's desperate and he feels alone. because how could he even dare to like mike who is dating el. el, who is will's twin in every way that matters. he doesn't know where to go for advice. mike and el are so happy whenever he sees them (actually, they aren't), dustin is always hanging around with steve and this girl from steve's work, max and lucas include will, but it's still weird since they're a couple. jonathan realises something is up with will and they have a talk. will comes out, jonathan reassures him there's nothing wrong with will. he likes who he likes, and that is okay.
meanwhile, jane doesn't really feel happy. it's not like she doesn't like mike, but it feels so different from what max says about lucas. when she goes to her mom and aunt for advice, they don't tell her much, cause terry has hooked up a few times in college, but never anything serious. meanwhile becky is fully happy on her own and never wanted a relationship. (that's why she's living with her sister and niece.) however becky gives jane one strong advice. "do that what makes you feel happy and good and like you're being yourself." after a day out with max and will (who, despite his feelings for mike, loves hanging out with the girls, when mike and lucas become asshole-ish - max and lucas are on an off-phase again, jane and mike just had a fight, mike had been an asshole to will when he called him out for abandoning their friendship in favor of their girlfriends, "it's not my fault you don't like girls!", "it kinda is"), jane realises her friendships make her happy and she feels happy about herself when she's not constantly kissing mike.
summer break of '85 ends with jane breaking up with mike, telling him that she loves him but not really in the way she needs to for a relationship. mike is completely floored, but also secretly relieved (he doesn't even know why yet). from that moment on, mike and el are way more comfortable around each other, they're affectionate and cuddly, but it feels much more natural to both of them. lucas and max get back together again. will feels a spark of hope when mike holds his gaze a moment too long one night, the party playing dnd under the night sky.
a few weeks into the new school year, billy dies in a car crash. although no one exactly mourns the grade A asshole, max doesn't know how to cope with his death. she retreats into her shell, distances herself from the party. jane and lucas desperately try to reach her. but max stays away from the party.
the boys and jane have been adopted into hellfire, while lucas also is in basketball. the basketball guys are very judgemental of eddie, claim he's a freak, but as long as lucas comes to their games, they don't mind him as much. meanwhile, eddie absolutely loves will. he loves all the kids, but will with his creativity and his dedication just has a special place. when lucas's game falls together with the great finale of eddie's campaign, el begs him to move it. although she doesn't like jason, she still wants to be there for lucas. when eddie refuses, the twins skip and instead go to the game alone.
from his newfound relationship with eddie and his existing friendship with steve, dustin gains more confidence. not that he has cared much what others think before, but there's still this thing he has for jane. (eddie, of course, saw that immediately during hellfire, because dustin isn't subtle when he's admiring her. steve also knows, because yes, dustin told him, but also it's obvious with the way he lights up when jane is near.) both the older guys try to help dustin out with advice, although dustin never really listens. also, he's usually so excited around jane that he just talks so much. el always listens. it feels like there's a connection blooming between them.
one day, in spring of '86, max goes missing. she doesn't come to school and doesn't hang around with the party. they look for her, and lucas finally finds her, curled up against billy's gravestone. he holds her, as she finally breaks down, when she finally lets all her emotions out and just cries for hours. she confesses the amount of guilt she's had over billy's death, how she feels responsible because she and billy had a huge fight before he drove away, raging, how she wanted to follow him into death because it would've stopped this giant gnawing pit of despair in herself. lucas never lets her go. after this, max slowly comes back to the party, especially to el. when jane tells her mom and aunt what happened to max, she gains two additional moms. terry and becky love the entire party, but just like will has been terry's newfound son, max is the new daughter, especially considering how badly her real mother is coping with billy's death and his father's leaving. becky absolutely dotes on max. max realises she always has people around her who love her, here in hawkins.
when he's over at jane's house one day, she bluntly asks him what's between him and mike. will is embarrassed and tries to deny everything, but el just goes "you look at each other like you're the best things to ever happen". she assures him that she doesn't care if he's gay, since becky and terry always taught her that everyone loves the way they do, and that is who they are. will tears up. this is his twin, of course he trusts her. when he comes out, jane hugs him and reaffirms that she'll always be there. she wants to help them both get their shit together, because she also knows mike definitely likes will back with the amount of time he talks about him. he just hasn't realised yet.
will and mike get closer again, best friends and crazy together, right? however, it doesn't truly feel like friendship between them. will, who is out to his mom and jonathan now, loves mike so much, but it's not gonna work out, is it? because there are so many of mike's glances will catches, only for mike to get flustered and look away. he's always so close to him, possessive of will. and the long hair looks so good on him. how does mike always brush against will when they move, but also jerks away when somebody stares at them? will's so frustrated and also heartbroken, over and over again. the mixed signals mike's giving him are driving him nuts.
over the course of the next year, will comes out to the party, one by one, except for mike. he just can't. it would mean the entire world shifting. the party accepts and loves will the way he is, of course. robin, who is hanging around the party due to steve's and dustin's brotherism, clocks will's glances at mike. she's dating nancy wheeler at this point and she just wants to let will know that he has someone queer to talk to. even though they haven't had much in common before, when will accidently walks in on robin and nancy kissing, he realises he isn't alone. robin takes him under her wing, giving him advice for mike because god, these wheelers can be exhausting and closeted at times.
dustin and jane spend a lot of time together outside of the party. they go exploring in the woods because jane loves the world and she wants to see everything. dustin happily joins her and always has a picnic prepared. one day in summer of '87, when they're sitting on a blanket by lover's lake, sharing some cake becky made, dustin gathers all his courage and confesses to el. she smiles because she's liked him back for a while now and they share a kiss, starting to date. henderhop become known as this obnoxiously cute couple in school that's always holding hands, tooth-achingly sweet to each other and their smiles whenever they're together could rival the sun. especially max and lucas tease them. dustin has to live through three seperate 'if you ever hurt her' talks by max, mike and will. he doesn't get one from becky though, because she's always adored him.
now that dustin and jane, as well as max and lucas are an item, it's kind of weird between mike and will. they're the only single people in the party left and while they still hangout as a whole, the couples also spend time alone, so that it's often will and mike alone. one of these evenings, will and mike are alone in the basement, will gathers his courage and finally comes out to mike as well. he doesn't admit he has a crush on mike. mike is so silent that will fears he is going to kick him out at any moment. but mike's thinking about all the moments between them that felt like more, but of course they weren't, they're two boys. mike realises that he feels fluttery and excited around will, not because that's his best friend, because he is more than that. and now... he might have a chance? mike just looks up and will feels like he could drown in his gaze. the tension between them leads to their first kiss.
it's hard for byler. not because they don't love each other, but because they're gay in a small conservative town, so they can't show their affection openly. which is especially true when they're out with henderhop and lumax. while they get to kiss and cuddle during a movie, will and mike have to keep a proper distance, to not get called slurs. it still isn't enough. just because they're always together and they like each other, they get bullied in school. get called slurs and especially will is the target. when joyce and karen hear about this, they go feral, demanding the school takes action. it doesn't. it's hawkins in the 80s. when the party is at jane's house, there's a deeply misinformed and hateful segment about AIDS and homosexuality on TV. becky loses her shit and yells so much, terry rushes in, getting her sister out. when she has calmed down later, she goes to the party and says "if any of you every realise they're homosexual, that's absolutely okay. don't believe the shit they're saying on tv, it's disgusting." although they don't openly show affection around jane's house, byler is a lot more comfortable there now.
when they graduate, everyone is crying. for the first time, their lives will seperate them from each other permanently. dustin is going to study to be an astrophysicist, he wants to work for NASA. jane is going with him, but she wants to be a kindergarten teacher, helping kids learn about themselves and preparing them for school. max and lucas move to california, she's going to be an athlete, while he enrolls for psychology. mike and will go to new york, the writer and the artist, creating together. before they split, the party does one last big road trip together, creating memories that stay with them, even when they're apart.
they reunite in hawkins every summer and winter. sometimes steve and eddie are in hawkins at the same time, with their daughter and then the party comes to visit them. (dustin cried so hard when he first met lilly and he loves her so much.) steve and eddie never stay long in hawkins though, they don't feel comfortable in that town. terry and becky always prepare one big dinner party when everyone's back. when robin and nancy are in hawkins, they sometimes join the party. jonathan's first movie at NYU doesn't click, but the second breaks through. they all come to new york and support him.
a few years after graduation in '89, when they have their degrees, they come together once again, this time for jane's and dustin's wedding.
bon jovi's "bed of roses", but it's mike wheeler thinking about will byers and how he feels more empty with every passing day. because will is out there, accepting himself and maybe it was all too late for them anyways, even when mike realised he loved will. who could ever understand mike, if will isn't there?
the beatles' "in my life", but it's will byers who is living a good life with queer friends, who's been dating and who's a successful artist. but something within him is missing because he knows mike still is in hawkins, alone and still repressed. with some distance he knew it was love between them. will's life is seemingly complete, but without mike it never truly is.
Au where everything in st stays the same except Terry Ives never existed. Joyce was pregnant with twins, but the doctors told her that the girl died upon delivery.
El’s powers were clear to Brenner the second he held her. Will was born extremely malnourished, and had to immediately be sent to the NICU. Brenner assumed that El siphoned all of his energy in the womb to fuel her powers, and that he was born powerless. He wasn’t, but that wouldn’t be discovered for many years.
Vecna noticed first. He could feel his power even through dimensions. He spent all of his time in the upside down trying to figure out how to take Will for himself. Brenner only noticed his mistake when Will disappeared. It couldn’t be a coincidence that this boy was taken by the very same dimension that his first son was banished to.
there's no heterosexual explanation for byler, you literally cannot change my mind. and we've seen how they had to butcher mike's character to fit the ending, that did neither mike and el nor mike and will as couples nor mike, will and el as people justice. what a fucking fumble.
i will not touch tales of '85 with a ten-foot-pole. not only because it's completely illogical to fill the gap between S2 and S3 (THERE WAS NOTHING GOING ON, THAT'S THE ENTIRE POINT OF BILLY GETTING FLAYED - other tumblrs have explained this better than i can) but also because it's probably trying to redo so much of the will/el/mike dynamic, max/el dynamic and probably even more. i mean, i have only seen stills from the trailer and it already looks so off, i don't know. those are not the party, it doesn't feel like that to me :( plus, why introduce a new character that will have zero relevance in the actual storyline.
also why would i want to support the duffels? they have proven themselves to be absolutely abhorrent. this is just a cash grab for them and they do not deserve that after just grandiosely failing stranger things 5. (and also after what they have said about the characters and in the documentary, genuinely fuck you and your disrespect for the characters, actors and staff of your show.) so can we all agree on not watching it and hoping it flops? thank you 🙏🏻
and when i say he has always been one of the best on the show and he really truly got to shine in S5. put fucking respect on his name because his acting blew me away. one of the few good things i have to say about that season. gaten matarazzo, just know that you're an insane talent and i admire your acting.
hello. i just wanna throw my steddie wip fanfic into the void that is tumblr! it's slowburn (i'd say) and it follows eddie from the beginning of S4. he has a twin in this AU, who's around for the story too.
I love how the duffers expected the finale to finally silence bylers meanwhile we're just over here having a party with 5+ new byler variations like nothing happened
When Jonathan begins getting fame for his movies he makes it his life mission to put as many queer stories as he can. It actually becomes a trope in his movies that the gay couple is the only one that ever gets a happy ending.
Jonathan who just wants to create a world for his brother where queer people can be happy.
jonathan would be the first one to absolutely destroy everyone who criticises his depiction of queer people. he'd also be the loudest voice in directing calling out queerbaiting and chickening out on queer representation. when someone tells him he can't put another gay couple in his movie, he flips them off and puts a lesbian, a gay and a poly main couple in his next movie, the background characters are also all queer. jonathan byers who directs the beauty of queer love, tells homophobes to fuck off and calls nancy to hunt them for sport.
titsay
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
stormborns
baratheonpilled
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
