The phenomenal author of [Reboot] and Art School Confidential has a new Byler story out and I’m already on my second read-through. They’re my all-time favorite author on AO3 for a lot of reasons, which I think you’ll understand if you just dive into one of their stories right now. Seriously, go! Do it! You can start with this new one if you’d like: https://archiveofourown.org/works/86133976
https://archiveofourown.org/works/84805826
This chapter marks the end of Will’s narration in the True Blue series, which feels incredibly bittersweet. It has been such a joy to explore his character arc across these stories and spend so much time inside his head. He is kinder than he has any right to be, and braver than he has any idea of. I love Will Byers so much, and writing his POV has made me love him even more.
Thank you for following him this far. Next up, we move into Mike’s POV for Volume 2. :)
I’ve been leaving comments on AO3 for many months with no problem, but for the past week or so, every single comment I try to post gets flagged as spam. It doesn’t matter how short or long it is, how detailed it is, how specific I try to make it to get around the spam filter. I don’t know what’s going on or how to fix it, but I have a backlog of stories I’d love to glaze and cannot 😞
Note: I didn’t add the <p> tags in the first place, that’s just how the formatting pops up once the comment fails to post. It continues to fail to post, whether I remove them or include them.
Update: I appreciate everyone trying to dissect this comment’s language, and maybe changing certain words could help, but I promise it’s been every single comment for weeks that I try to leave, no matter how long or short or what words I use. I think it’s just my account marked as spam? Ahhhhhhhh
In case there are any Byler x Boygenius fans in this sub, I thought I'd share my latest project: the True Blue series. (https://archiveofourown.org/series/5684931) A slow-burn, canon-compliant (in seasons 1-4) Stranger Things novelization with a Byler endgame. Above all else, this is a love story told entirely through the POVs of Mike Wheeler and Will Byers. We remain rooted in their inner worlds, limited to their knowledge, thoughts, and feelings.
Major rewrites are coming in Season 5. Each episode will be its own chapter; each season its own work named after a different lyric pulled from the Boygenius song "True Blue."
* Season 1: You can’t help but become the sun (Mike POV) https://archiveofourown.org/works/78515566
* Season 2: I remember who I am when I’m with you (Will POV) https://archiveofourown.org/works/78979881
* Season 3: You were happy, and I wasn’t surprised (Will POV) https://archiveofourown.org/works/80013331
* Season 4: I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself (Mike POV) https://archiveofourown.org/works/81327481
* Season 5: Your love is tried and true blue (Will POV Vol. 1/Mike POV Vol. 2) https://archiveofourown.org/works/84805826
If you’ve seen Seasons 1–4 of the show, you can technically read Part 5 without reading Parts 1–4 first. That said, the full series gives Mike's and Will’s arc a lot more emotional weight. If you only read one earlier installment, I recommend Part 4, "I can't hide from you like I hide from myself." If you only read one chapter, read Chapter 8 of Part 4. 💙💛