willelworld

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[willelworld]

there’s something wrong with michael

a modern, will-centric, byler horror fic— set at an old boarding school in indiana.

word count: 84.4k

chapters: 18/18

summary: Mike gets a little too into the occult. After a ritual-gone-wrong, Will has piece together a decades-old mystery to save his best friend's life.

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60926737/chapters/155634922

[willelworld]

conformitygate is real 😵

nooo it’s not 🫂

[willelworld]

and you

love u too 🫂

[willelworld]

I really love your blog

hi jobby

[willelworld]

i really love your blog but i wanted to say something if you don’t mind/have the time. i promise i am not like trying to start any drama or anything like that at all. i don’t think it’s productive whatsoever to call people who follow confortmitygate deluded/delusional. i think it makes bylers look even worse to the GA, and speaking of GA, they ALSO thought there was something wrong with that ending. i remember seeing random people on youtube make whole long videos about it. that ending was rightfully suspicious, and conformitygate makes sense. it isn’t just the small group of bylers, it’s just that the theory isn’t popular anymore. i personally don’t believe we’ll be getting anything extra from netflix in regards to the finale, and if we do, im still pissed off at the duffers because they could’ve just done the ending right the first time. i’m still pissed because they’d be stringing along REAL people (especially queer fans) for FICTIONAL ones. so i don’t believe we’re getting anything, but i also don’t think it’s productive and actively think it’s harmful to use real mental health struggles and improperly diagnosis people who are maybe a) just grieving what they were basically promised and b) usually minors just having fun. as i said, there’s lots about conformitygate that unfortunately does make sense. i think people who don’t follow it/believe in it have every right, and they don’t have to! i get why it’s annoying to see everywhere! at the end of the day, the people who do follow it/believe in it aren’t hurting anybody. if they are hurting anyone, it’s themselves in the end because we probably aren’t getting anything but radio silence and some other show, and everything swept under the rug. i once saw someone convinced by their friends and the internet that they had “byler psychosis” because immediately after the finale, they’d spent like $100 on materials to make a will the wise cape, and talked about byler all the time, and had some fall outs with friends about it/conformitygate. it’s like dude that’s just a hyperfixation, you’re just passionate about something, and you were let down. we all were. granted, hyperfixation can be harmful at times, but it’s incredibly common for neurodivergent folks to hyperfixate on things, and the byler fandom has a lot of neurodivergent fans. so that’s also why i say i don’t think it’s productive to call conformitygate follows deluded/delusional. i hope you can try to see where i am coming from with it all, and i hope today has been kind and lovely to you <3

thanks for being polite!

i’ve only ever mentioned cg on my socials a handful of times, admittedly did call it deluded once back in march. i’ll refrain from that word if i do talk about cg again.

i’m not out to convince anyone otherwise, but i do find it incredibly embarrassing and sad to see people continue to put their faith in the failure of s5 and believe in some wildly implausible ARG six months after the show ended instead of facing the reality. sometimes, things are just poorly written and include plot holes and there’s no amount of gymnastics and pretzel twisting the narrative and extrapolating minute background details to fix it.

also, this isn’t to diagnose anyone, but some of the obsession and connecting things that aren’t there veers into unhealthy territory. i know it’s a way to grieve the end of the show being mediocre, but there’s healthier ways to cope than believing in conspiracy theories (a la mike wheeler).

i also think it’s absolving the duffers of their hand in writing and filming said mediocre ending. conformitygate is essentially painting them to be some masterminds who are tricking the entire world through little hints and subliminal messages. s5 is not full of hidden mickeys.

not the first example of a large group of people being convinced of something irrational in fandom spaces, and certainly won’t be the last. it just sucks to see it happen in a fandom i care about deeply and to long-time mutuals!

again, these are just my views on the matter. not gonna change anyone’s minds, and no one can change mine.

much love to u anon hope u have a nice day!

[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. 

[galundead]

almost all of the wills ive drawn this year

[galundead]

you must be an angel

[galundead]

express yourself don’t repress yourself

[nini-sketchez]

a paladin and her cleric ♡

[saintprey]

upside-down

[will-mcfly]

will byers trying out drag <3 happy pride

[hellshee]

distressed princess and mike mascmaxxing. gotta love these crumbs

[sayu-nari]

Take on Me

Wanted to share a quick WIP of Paladin Mike stepping out of Will's painting because I'm still on the Bravebyers bus...

It's messy and all but I love this concept

[hiscleric]

“far from any road”

⤿ rated mature

⤿ ongoing, 1/5, 10.5k

⤿ western gothic byler au

⤿ cowboy!will byers & werewolf!mike wheeler

⤿ gothic horror, mild gore, plot heavy

⤿ beauty and the beast retelling

https://archiveofourown.org/works/83000921/chapters/218559686

surprise! it’s a western gothic fic! if you’ve been craving some cowboy byler featuring gothic heroine will byers and werewolf mike wheeler, boy do i have just the thing for you… magic, mystery, murder—this fic is gonna have it all! i’ve had so much fun writing and planning this baby out, and i’m excited to see where this journey takes me! thank you so much for your love and support over the past few months, it truly means the world. hope you enjoy chapter one. <3

[banishedcleric]

Cowboy byler/party but theyre all outlaws

Will— Lonnie was in the outlaw gang and he inherently was raised along with it and stayed

Mike— ran from home, in desperation he joined

Jane— escaped from corrupt gang, found sanctuary with the others

Lucas— grew up on a farm, farm got raided by the outlaws, decided to join them instead of fighting them

Dustin- joined on a whim, they found him useful with his smarts, since he went through school unlike most of them

Max— gunslinger from a rodeo, hated the way it was run, killed the owner, and had to run, the outlaw gang took her in

[bylermicrofic]

This months prompt is...

MYTH at 502 WORDS.

You have until June 30th, 2026 to submit your microfics to be shared to the blog (and the AO3 collection if you wish!)

Reminder to tag our blog in all of your submissions, and use the hashtag #bylermicrofic. Submit all AO3 versions of your fic to this collection!