Sin título

really been struggling to draw lately, had to go back to my roots and draw my own characters lol.

Concept art for the fanfic on the ficbook « Вторая Волна»

Have Heart (no need to be afraid) — Part 1

This is a Byler graphic novel and fic. Yes. It’s both, because I’m greedy. It has been eating my life since January, and I’m super excited to share the first part. My aim is for the art and writing to work as a whole. The art should be able to convey the story on its own, but the writing gives you a closer look and a more in depth exploration of their emotional state.

Summary:

The story is over. His friends have moved on. Only Mike is incapable of it. He is trapped, with nowhere to go and nothing left that feels worth living for. But that’s just depression, right? Or maybe it’s something else, maybe something more sinister has survived in a place no one thought to look.

Mike’s hands are gripping the wheel so hard that his knuckles turn white when he passes the shield by the road announcing that he is leaving. He shouldn’t. He cannot. Everything in him is screaming at him to turn around. To go back. To stop this, whatever it is. Insanity, most likely. No. Not everything. There is this one part of him, buried deep down. The part that is yearning. The part that once was part of something better (who shared looks and shared smiles and shared hugs). It is that part who steps on the gas. It is that part who keeps his eyes on the road. On the horizon.

Turns out, Mike isn’t done fighting. And neither is Will.

Rated: Mature — set post epilogue — Byler endgame

lesbyler/michellow matching square face icons !! >_<

might use them in an edit or smau idk :P

within the space of literally under a week, will went from being silently in fear of his feelings and with no positive queer rep in his life whatsoever, to discovering lesbians and a lesbian discovering him, to finally feeling a little hopeful about accepting himself, to flirting a little, to being shown a horrific vision from his abuser of the worst possible scenario if he came out, to actually coming out??

he literally went from being shown his deepest darkest fears about his sexuality, to coming out to everyone he knew WITHIN ONE DAY?? it's fucking mental to say that that's well placed

Coming out is scary!! But Will wanted to share that part of himself with the people he loves IN SPITE OF his fear. This is called “bravery.” Bravery is a good thing.

Maybe the unseen Vecna vision was unnecessary, but it did function as his “truth serum.” He still chose to come out, which is more than you can say for Robin. But largely, the point of the Vecna vision was to show how brave Will was for coming out, despite the risks of doing so!

But note: It was his shame of his sexuality that would be used against him, not his sexuality itself. Even in season 4, the parts of Vecna’s victims that he used against them weren’t all evil in a vacuum (or even all their faults), but every victim had intense shame or guilt over it. It’s the same with Will and his sexuality. Will wanted, more than anything, to overcome that shame.

To your point about all of this happening in under a week—that is entirely irrelevant. That is the structure of this TV show, in every season. A year and a half passed between the events of season 4 and season 5–it’s not crazy to assume that Will had begun his healing journey during that time.

I think we should stop using Noah’s tears to support coming out scene criticism. Noah is a dedicated actor. Will cries a lot. In this season, again, Will’s tears show us his bravery, not his weakness. He is showing his pain openly, contrasting with the way he hid his tears in van scene.

I’m not saying the scene was perfect. But it did have a purpose, and a very obvious one at that. The way this scene was placed was structured in a way that makes sense. You listed literally all of the story beats that support that, and yet came to a completely different conclusion…because it was poorly timed. This is the same conclusion the review-bombing homophobes came to, in case you were unaware.

When would you have preferred he came out? In the epilogue, after hanging onto that secret and not completing his self-acceptance arc for four years? Never? It seems like you’re arguing that Will’s coming out scene wasn’t earned. That Will didn’t deserve to come out, like he wanted to do, because of how brief the setting was. I don’t fuck with that.

GUESS WHOSE BOOK ARRIVED TODAYYYYYY SO NOW I GET TO POST PICS!!!!

This is To Hell and Back Again, by dear dear @perexcri. Cover design by @byierficrecs (thank you SO much for letting me use your design!). Binding by me!

I'm not in ST fandom, but I had the pleasure of skimming this fic while I was typesetting, and can I just say? I'm rooting for these kids SO hard. I'd go to hell and back again for them--[GUNSHOT]

But in all seriousness, Leah's writing is whip-smart, sincere, and funny as hell. I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who is a fan of these crazy kids. Her ao3 is a veritable treasure trove of excellent byler stories, which you should absolutely check out right now go do it!!!

As usual, process chatter and more pics, under the cut! <3

*Wrote this in regards to some choices made in Voyeuristic Wheeler (Fic)

The mainstream media's depiction of Punk / Counter-Culture in the 80s is normally over-embellished: excess piercings, giant mohawks (Ugh, Nikki from Tales From 85), and giant studded belts. The 80s were the 'Birthing Era' of DIY culture, which exploded across the East Coast, the West Coast, and the Midwest. Most films/TV continuously ignore the fact that it was in its infancy, and a reactionary movement to politics in conservative geographical regions, where most young people were not privileged enough to get away with loud attire without extreme social ostracization.

Mike Wheeler, coming from a Reagan family in rural Indiana, is a good example of a kid who IMO would have been a "subdued punk", in contrast to the louder kind of metal kids like Eddie Munson.

They could have chosen ANY band for Mike to adore via proxy to Eddie: Black Sabbath, Kiss, or ACDC. A metal band realistically heard on the radio... but they chose a relatively inaccessible noise-rock band akin to DIY culture: Butthole Surfers. It absolutely tickles me and intrigues me as a music history nerd. I think this says something about what he'd listen to in the summer of 1990, two months post-Fugazi's "Repeater" release.

Realistically, Wheeler isn't classic punk; he's a hardcore punk who digs noise rock. And it's in the queer lyrical coding of bands adjacent to the surfers.

I spent 10+ years playing in punk/hardcore/emo music. When I first got into the music scene. I didn't realize that my own concept of punk, hardcore, or DIY fashion, inherited from film/media as a kid, was wrong until I actually stepped into a basement show and started playing music with others at 19 (I'm in my 30s). Luckily, I blended right in; Most "punks" did not sport over-the-top mohawks. You'd find one or two, but a majority's attire was understated.

When I saw the Stranger Things costume department dress Wheeler up in season 4 in a Hellfire Baseball-T, Converse, and black jeans (which mirrors a vanilla version of modern emo fashion, excellent decision for marketing), I nerded out. Even more so in season 5 during the WSQK scene with Robin, where they argue about music (Go, Mike, Go)

I think they got Baby Punk Noise Rock Wheeler DOWN. The lore of Nancy Wheeler convincing Mike to not do the mohawk? Extremely realistic. I myself loved all things DIY in HS, but dressed understatedly because that was the easiest way to signal counter culture while blending in, especially for someone who feared their sexuality being revealed in overtly queer-coded fashion. Icons like Fugazi's Guy Picciotto even sported chunky, layered sweaters similar to Wheeler. And it makes me think this boy would have been listening to experimental art punk like Fugazi, Sonic Youth, and SWANS.

The best reference for the evolution of punk culture will always be the book "Our Band Could Be Your Life", where I first learned in my early 20s about one of Mike Wheeler's favorite bands, "Butthole Surfers.". You can see what real punk fashion was from digging up any live video of the bands mentioned in this book.

So here are the subtle fashion indicators that were always consistent when sniffing out a fellow punk or DIY showgoer, regardless of era.

These included:

Chrome bags (in the 2000s)

High School kids with duct tape wallets

Working class boots for mid-20 somethings

Skate shoes like Vans or Volcoms for younger kids with no disposable income.

piercings (usually the ear or brow, one or two)

wallet chains

oversized flannel

buttons, patches, and pins, but not too many, usually obscured

Cargo shorts (in th the late 90s and 80s, BELIEVE IT OR NOT)

Cloth-based or studded cuffs/ bracelets

In the 80s, bootcut jeans were typically rolled at the cuff.

Plain oversized t-shirts or band Tees

Any pants in muted colors or black (Brown, gray, black, muted green)

mullets, or unkept hair generally. Anything a person could do themselves. Buzzcuts were common as well, but eventually less due to the sk1nhead association.

Accurate depiction of baby metalhead fashion in Detroit Rock City:

To this day, understated punk fashion remains relatively similar, but with tighter-fitting clothes due to the overlap of noise rock/emo.

Thematically, at the center of my fic is Fugazi's "Shut The Door":

It's about the self and waiting for someone else to make a hard decision for you. I think it's a good choice for Wheeler's sexual liberation via Will and the death of his past self.

"She's not moving, she's not breathing."

Although Ian wrote the song in regards to seeing friends die due to addiction, this can represent Mike's past self, Eleven's death, or even the death of Mike conforming to hetereonormativity. Not to mention, "I burn myself, I am the fuel" and "I tie my arm to be free" play into alcoholism / Mike's kink experimentation.

It's crazy that writing a gay fanfic and drawing gay fan art about a fictional character is how I choose to spend my time now (LOL late-diagnosed autism). However, I relate deeply to closeted Punk Wheeler and find his fashion/music choices fascinating. Life is strange, but I'll be damned if I don't write or draw my fic Voyeuristic Wheeler accurately, given the real-life experiences I've had navigating my own queerness through music.

barely 100