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I've you've heard a dull roar coming from the direction of the Stranger Things fandom over the past few days, here's a rundown of the #BylerScript saga this far:
I've looked into it enough and at this point I am confident that yes, Byler Truthers from Stranger Things fandom did crowdfund $7k to buy a fake Stranger Things script (S4 E8: Papa) from 8Flix in hopes that it would prove the Byler Truthers right. (check the updates for confirmation that almost all the money is from one fandom, but the deets on that being for the script was all on tumblr)
If I had looked into this sooner or had screencapped some tumblr posts from a few days ago I'd have far more receipts. 8flix's twitter is now protected and stuff is busily being deleted. This is what I get for writing rather than looking down rabbit holes. I haven't actually poked at a situation like this or consulted The Internet Archive for proof in at least 7 years.
Lemme unpack that a bit. Byler = Will Byers / Mike Wheeler. It's a big ship and it is not now, or ever, my intent to paint any ship by it's crazy fringe. Byler Truthers are people who think Byler is the clear endgame, the clues are all there and the show's PR is a literal psyop to condition the mainstream masses to accept them as a pairing.
Per this 8flix Tumblr post here he is claiming the scripts are 'sourced'. As in, these aren't his transcripts. He claims his posts are the actual scripts, but his scripts do not follow the editing guidelines for the respective shows. He is lying, or his 'source' is. Also, The Internet Archive says The season finale transcripts of Stranger Things 4 are now online and ready for consumption. Looking for the REAL SCRIPTS? We have those too! He posted transcripts, but promised the real scripts as well. The recently bought and delivered scripts were supposed to be the actual production scripts.
Amusingly, the 'additional info' from the screen directions didn't actually support the Byler ship, however, they did strongly support the idea that Nancy was going to leave Jonathan for Steve. If you were wondering why Jancy was a top twitter trend on TODAY of all days, that was from the scripts being debunked.
Signs point to this all being an intentional scam. There may be a second revenue stream I cannot currently fully confirm.
One claim floating around is that the website has been a reliable resource for film students for 20 years. But if you check the Wayback Machine captures, the site did start in 2003, but it's mostly been an abandoned URL with pornspam links. It looks like it became a real site again around 2020. The site is new. It is not some long standing reliable resource.
The official twitter account for the Stranger Things writer's room has debunked the fake scripts but have also promised to start releasing real pages. Basically, they've been handed an easy mode for keeping fandom engagement and social media traction up between the last two seasons.
Woof. I haven't played fandom internet detective since... certain fandom events from ye olde el jay era. I need a shower. But hey, Leverage fans, John Rogers ain't wrong. Where there is value, there is crime... and there is value in ship wars. It looks like someone actually managed to monetize one. If anyone uses this for a heist/con plot please send me a link!
I've hedged my wording slightly in case somehow Nick from 8flix was conned by some evil script selling mastermind, but signs point to this being a scammy site from the start.
I've looked into it enough and at this point I am confident that yes, Byler Truthers from Stranger Things fandom did crowdfund $7k to buy a fake Stranger Things script (S4 E8: Papa) from 8Flix in hopes that it would prove the Byler Truthers right. (check the updates for confirmation that almost all the money is from one fandom, but the deets on that being for the script was all on tumblr)
If I had looked into this sooner or had screencapped some tumblr posts from a few days ago I'd have far more receipts. 8flix's twitter is now protected and stuff is busily being deleted. This is what I get for writing rather than looking down rabbit holes. I haven't actually poked at a situation like this or consulted The Internet Archive for proof in at least 7 years.
Lemme unpack that a bit. Byler = Will Byers / Mike Wheeler. It's a big ship and it is not now, or ever, my intent to paint any ship by it's crazy fringe. Byler Truthers are people who think Byler is the clear endgame, the clues are all there and the show's PR is a literal psyop to condition the mainstream masses to accept them as a pairing.
Per this 8flix Tumblr post here he is claiming the scripts are 'sourced'. As in, these aren't his transcripts. He claims his posts are the actual scripts, but his scripts do not follow the editing guidelines for the respective shows. He is lying, or his 'source' is. Also, The Internet Archive says The season finale transcripts of Stranger Things 4 are now online and ready for consumption. Looking for the REAL SCRIPTS? We have those too! He posted transcripts, but promised the real scripts as well. The recently bought and delivered scripts were supposed to be the actual production scripts.
Amusingly, the 'additional info' from the screen directions didn't actually support the Byler ship, however, they did strongly support the idea that Nancy was going to leave Jonathan for Steve. If you were wondering why Jancy was a top twitter trend on TODAY of all days, that was from the scripts being debunked.
Signs point to this all being an intentional scam. There may be a second revenue stream I cannot currently fully confirm.
One claim floating around is that the website has been a reliable resource for film students for 20 years. But if you check the Wayback Machine captures, the site did start in 2003, but it's mostly been an abandoned URL with pornspam links. It looks like it became a real site again around 2020. The site is new. It is not some long standing reliable resource.
The official twitter account for the Stranger Things writer's room has debunked the fake scripts but have also promised to start releasing real pages. Basically, they've been handed an easy mode for keeping fandom engagement and social media traction up between the last two seasons.
Woof. I haven't played fandom internet detective since... certain fandom events from ye olde el jay era. I need a shower. But hey, Leverage fans, John Rogers ain't wrong. Where there is value, there is crime... and there is value in ship wars. It looks like someone actually managed to monetize one. If anyone uses this for a heist/con plot please send me a link!
I've hedged my wording slightly in case somehow Nick from 8flix was conned by some evil script selling mastermind, but signs point to this being a scammy site from the start.
