vic

* the first person will came out to was jonathan. he was very confused and had no idea what he was feeling. jonathan walked into his room when he was little and witnessed him sobbing. through tears, will tried to explain to jonathan why he just felt so unhappy all the time. jonathan comforted him and reassured him he would always love him.

* long before will even came out, jonathan was letting him play with his old toys and wear his old clothes. will loved having an older brother he could share these things with.

* when will came out to joyce, he was very worried about what her reaction would be. ultimately though, she had a feeling in her head for years that there was something different about her “daughter” anyway. she was of course very supportive.

* lonnie, of course, has nothing positive to say about his son’s transition.

* some days, will would try to talk to el about his dysphoria. he would ask her for her opinion on certain clothes or outfits. he’d ask if he looked like a girl in them or if his chest appeared flat. el was always very confused, because she couldn’t perceive will as a girl in any form.

* part of the reason will LOVES halloween and d&d so much as a kid is because he can make his character / self be any version he wants. he has an excuse to be male based characters

* will deals with chronic pain from not only his already present traumas, but also from over binding and horrible posture. since binders as we know them we’re not popular back then, he has to rely on layering sports bras or wearing them backwards. when he’s in too much pain or physically can’t bind, he overlayers with clothes

* when will mike dustin and lucas were children, the other 3 were always very confused why this “girl” was so into “boy things” or why she always wanted to be a boy character in games

* mikes family were also very confused why his best friend was a little girl

* will uses art and painting as a form of self expression since it is so hard to articulate your feelings about being transgender when you are young

* joyce faces a lot of backlash for letting her “daughter” dress the way she does but joyce just wants her kid to be happy

byler specific:

* mike is always EXTREMELY defensive over will. he doesn’t let anyone call him by his deadname or make fun of him. he begs his family to let him help will by giving him money for his hrt or binding methods

* mike lets will wear his old clothes too

* mike quickly had to get over the realization that liking a transgender man still makes you gay lol

* will doesn’t tell mike but mike having long hair makes him feel a lot better about doing feminine things too

* when they were little kids, mike never really saw will as a girl or a boy, he was just the kid he wanted to be best friends with

* mike can’t help but ask those dumb questions all cis people for some reason ask. he means no harm by it though

* for years will hates that he’s trans and wished he could’ve stayed a girl, because maybe then he’d have a chance with mike