#byler fic only thing on my mind

[greenfiend]

We need more fics where Mike accidentally reveals he’s in love with Will to Will.

Will is overjoyed by this news and desperately tries to tell Mike that he feels like same. Meanwhile, Mike starts freaking out and avoiding Will because he’s embarrassed and assumes Will is gonna reject him.

#I think I only read one fic like this ever and it’s unfinished and still on my mind #byler #stranger things

[evil-ontheinside]

Post-canon byler fic recs!

@bylerficrecweek this is such a nice idea, thank you so much for doing this!

All the Time in the World by @notebooknonbinary

Mike and Will navigate life after the Upside Down. The first year, trying to figure out their new normal. Hospital visits, Sophomore year, dating, and therapy. Through it all, they have each other.

heaven help a fool who falls by @ratherbeyouthful

They killed Vecna years ago, but Will still feels the fallout. When a trip to California for a five year reunion brings his staggering instability to light, Will is reminded that he has more than one person to lean on, and Mike Wheeler is at the head of the queue.

(Alternatively: Will and Mike realize what it means to heal while you’re in love)

let's be lucky people, you and me by @catboy-cabin

"I didn't want to ruin the mood for you."

Mike's voice cuts through the whirlwind in Will's head much more effectively than any breathing exercise ever could. He's sitting down now, arms folded on top of the table, peering up at Will – or, well, a spot just above Will's head – through his bangs with round eyes, even darker now than usual in the low lighting. Even with his back mostly turned to the lights, they still manage to hit the plains of his face just right, and Will's fingers twitch with the urge to trace the edge of the highlights gracing his freckled cheekbones.

Will blinks back at him. "What?"

"The heart decoration thingy." Mike cocks his head to the side, drumming the fingers of one hand against the tabletop. "I asked if I could move it because I wasn't sure if it would ruin the mood or not."

or: it's valentine's day, and will doesn't know that he and mike are on a date.

The Anniversary Effect by borealisaurora

Mike and Will haven't been friends for three years; not since Vecna was killed, the Byers-Hopper family moved away, and Mike decided Will would be better off without him. Now they're college roommates (at the insistence of their mothers), and they do a pretty good job of avoiding each other until Mike notices that there's something going on with Will...

OR

Will experiences the anniversary effect, and though Mike let Will bike away on November 6th, 1983, he decides he never wants to let Will go again.

"or at least until the afternoon" by TheWrongKindOfPC

Will asks, "What if you were talking to a friend who was a girl?" but he doesn't mean Max, Mike’s actual friend who is a girl. No, Will’s asking what would you tell me if I were a girl? and the answer to that is something entirely different.

Because if Will were a girl, they wouldn’t be having this conversation at all. If Will were a girl, he wouldn’t be asking questions about how to ask a guy out, because he and Mike would already be dating.

In which Mike has kind of a rough time in college, and talks on the phone about it a lot.

you can hear it in the silence by @astrobei

Will moves back to an upright position, wiping his hair out of his eyes, head and shoulders peeking above the water. “Mike,” he says, pulling Mike up with him, their fingers still intertwined.

“Yeah?” Mike says, tilting his head so the water trickles out of his ears, wincing slightly. “What is it?”

Will’s eyes dart back and forth between his, and then Mike feels his hand squeeze his own. “I don’t want you to, like, think I moved back for you,” he starts, which in and of itself would be enough to get Mike’s soul soaring straight out of his own body, if it weren’t for Will’s thumb pressed against his pulse point like some kind of mortal tether. “Because it’s not like that, I promise. But I think– I think I realized there’s a difference between things you want and things you need, you know?”

mike wheeler on losing people and having them again, the difference between wanting and needing, and finally letting go.

ft. robin buckley, will byers, and the mortifying ordeal of working in the food service industry

#this is a long post for only six fics #and this is kinda last minute (for my time) but I wanted to at least rec a few! #I hope the three people I don't really talk to don't mind the tag ^^' #but I really love all of these fics a lot #they make me feel things. as fics should #don't forget to check the tags before diving into anything! #as amazing as these fics are: safety comes first #bylerficrecweek2023 #byler #stranger things #fic rec

[transmascwillbyers]

welp i'm doing this

#byler #byler fic #i've only got the snippet from yesterday uploaded #but you can still check it out if you want! there's a little more info on the premise here too #hope you enjoy and hope i don't slowly lose my mind writing this thing lol

[mikeslawyer]

What are your favourite byler fics?

i’m just going to list you all sixteen of my bookmarks<3

all i wanted was you by cleradinism - jealous mike wheeler trope my beloved

i want a love like the movies by @wrong-energy - will actor au

stepping on the last train by @suzieburself - mike has a kid, who brings byler together after years

only you by @nightowlfury - mike is clingy. full on

a happy ending was imperative by @waroftheposes - will reads maurice and mike gains some emotional intelligence

suddenly i had a valentine by @itsromeowrites - didn’t know they were dating my beloved

and i’ll take you home with me by @drop-of-infinity - mike is smarter than everyone thinks (him included)

no matter where i go (this is no home) by @blingyu - college au ft mike gets gaydarred

the worst thing about being honest by quietforasecond - hanahaki au

so, for once in my life by @cluelessbees - mike finds out about the painting. he’s as happy as you’d think

got my eyes on you all night by anon - college au. one day mike decides to start kissing will, will is losing his mind.

i don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you by @morganee - fake dating

the words we held back by @morganee - they get holly’d

king of my heart by @bookinit02 - soulmates au<3

i had a dream (i got everything i wanted) by @andiwriteordie - mike gets vecnad ft mileven wedding from his nightmares

waiting for somebody like you by jerrylaine - mike calls will after five years, spoiler, he’s drunk

oof i think those are the ones i have bookmarked!!!!! u should read all of them these authors are geniuses

#byler #byler fic #byler fanfiction #byler fanfic

[sapphicisland]

There are a few things that irritate me about the way sapphic ships are treated in fandom spaces so I'm gonna rant about it:

First off I hate when fans pretend to ship a sapphic pairing because they want to get the girl from the hetero pairing out of the way of their mlm pairing. I'm looking at you merthur, jegulus, byler and steddie shippers. The thing is if they actually shipped the sapphic ship I wouldn't mind, make everyone gay it's better that way. The problem is when I click on the tab of the sapphic ship looking for some nice fics and see 600 works with 99 percent of them being background blink and you miss it mentions/appearances. I thought the reason the straight ship didn't work was because you just love this one sapphic pairing but I'm not seeing a lot of love right now.

My second gripe is with people who try to devalue sapphic ships saying they're just best friends, looking at you wenclair antis. First off people have been shipping best friends since the beginning of time whether they be two guys or a guy and a girl but when its two girls suddenly it's a problem. This also applies to the people always bugging catglass shippers like kitty isn't canonically bi with a crush on yuri. Which wasn't random stop saying that. However this is actually an example of the first point but switched around with people pretending to love yuri and her gf to get yuri out of the way so kitty and minho can happen but that's another conversation.

My third one may actually with the community why is it that two male characters who never once interact in canon can get over 20k fics but canon wlw ships fight to reach 5000? And when we do make similar ships to the ones I just mentioned they literally never leave tumblr. You guys will make 100s of memes and edits about ships but when I get to ao3 it's a wasteland.

The final one for now is how we can't seem to have more than one popular ship at a time like the stranger things fandom has three popular mlm ships coexisting but we can only have one and for some reason the queer bait ship always beats the canon one like wenclair vs yokovina why can't we have both. For the love of god someone write a solo yokovina fic I'll take a one-shot at this point.

Anyways....We need to do better people.

#wenclair #lgbtq #yokovina #lesbian #sapphic ships #steddie #jegulus #merthur #ronance #morgwen #catglass #byler #elmax

[sparks-olivarpente]

the Stranger Fics

(byler fics with unexpected powers or twists)

Turns out a lot of my favorite fics enter this category. Feel free to reblog and add fics you love :)

In the Eye of a Hurricane (It's You and Me) by Julia_Skysong "Jonathan, why…why am I with dad on the security tape????" Lonnie Byers is a royal piece of shit. Will finds out he has powers and understandably has a meltdown about it, and Mike helps him through it.

over a bridge of time by @sevensided Hawkins isn't the same without Will. So Mike goes to visit him in Chicago. Then strange things happen… Second part of the awesome serie THE DARK MIRROR and of course you should read the whole thing :)

I know the end by @cosmobrain00 The worst-case scenario has happened. … and that's all the summary you'll get from me! an ongoing serie that keeps getting better and better (or worse and worse, depending on the point of view). Tags: #Mind Manipulation #Will has powers

them’s the breaks by emelinelou Three years after moving to California, one Will Byers shows up - read: dimension-teleports or something - back in Hawkins. In the corner of Mike's bedroom. In the middle of the night. Turns out this is a bad thing, namely for Mike and Mike's sanity.

captured ghosts by etchedstars ghosts from will's past come back to haunt this. literally or metaphorically is up to audience interpretation. Some favorite tags: #plot relevant cuddles #will gets to be sarcastic #he also commits crime

Come Hell, High Water by naiesu “It’s been months, Mike,” Lucas says, staring at Mike, hard. Mike can’t remember a time he didn’t look at him that way. “Will is a cold case. You need to accept that.” The dream-like parts are amazingly written &lt;3

yesterFriday by nbfutureboy (@futureboy-ao3) Will Byers wakes up as usual one Friday morning - he worries about his family, his History test, and telling the people he loves that he doesn’t Like Girls in that way. Then he does it again. [Groundhog Day AU where Will gets stuck in a time loop.]

a strange education (reach out and touch me) by Total_Serene (@total-serene560) 16 year old Mike Wheeler wakes up in the middle of a highway in Indiana. He can't remember what happened, but he knows three things: He was going somewhere, it was supposed to be night, and he had taken Nancy's car. The mystery in this one…!!!

The Basement by olliecoddle (@souverian-are-we) Will and Mike spend their days in a little run-down house in the Upper Peninsula with dated furniture and peeling wallpaper, two sinking recliners next to each other. But there is a beast in the basement.

A Stranger Things Ghost Story by Junigatsu84 It is the Summer of 1983, before all the horrors that befall Hawkins. The boys are looking for their own mystery to solve and find a haunted house. It’s a shame Will is the only one to see it.

Back to the Future (with Mike Wheeler) by Nymphadoragreenleaf On a list of the top five most unexpected things to happen to Mike Wheeler, traveling 10 years into the future has got to take the top spot. The half-naked man claiming to be his best friend might be number two. Alternatively known as, Mike Wheeler tries to survive a week in the 90's and figures a couple of things out along the way.

You are the Heart by TouchTheSky A fever-dream, mucho-feels, super long, semi-fix-it, version of Season 5. i feel like i know you (but we never met) by @andiwriteordie “Who?” Mike’s voice breaks again, and Joyce chokes back a sob. “Joyce, who… who was he?” Or: The one in which Will Byers doesn't exist… At least not anymore.

with all my heart by mogiah (@morganee) what happens when Birthdaygate and Lettergate meet. or another one in which Will doesn't exist anymore

i've come home, i'm so cold by astrobi (@astrobei) Will's trying his hardest to make it through fall semester in one piece. Unfortunately for his degree, he's being haunted by maybe-feelings for his best friend (metaphorically), and also a maybe-ghost with rather abysmal fashion sense (literally). The fic that made me decide to spend the rest of my life that year reading fics

Blackout by Tea_For_One_Please as if their senior year of high school wasn't complicated enough, the Party find themselves investigating an accidental death, believing it to be connected to a similar event nearly two decades earlier. Just normal teenager stuff, right? This one hasn't been updated for a while but I remember enjoying the plot and mystery a lot

baby, we’re perfect by bookinit (@bookinit02) Senior year in Hawkins. Will and Mike figure some things out. I'm not allowed to say anything else about this fic. To quote the author: "brace yourselves. sorry in advance."

you were bigger than the whole sky by delusionaltogether (@parkitaco) Mike breathes out sharply, sinking to his knees in front of Will without conscious thought. Every bone in his body is turning to jelly, because Will is here, but he's also- not. on march 29th, 1986, will byers vanishes for a second time. 366 days later, he reappears.

This is where it starts by cottonscent While the rest of the party moved on and forgot once the gate closed Will kept exploring, and the connection he formed to the other dimension it actually a lot more complex than what they originally thought.

#edited to add an author's tumblr #i keep telling myself i'm going to move on to some new hobby #this was going to be the Last List of Fics #but i already started 3 new ones #i'm stuck there #happily #byler #byler fic #byler fic recs

[xxcreamixx]

Some Byler fic recs 💗 Part one

Fluff!

Wash my hair and tell me I'm pretty 3k, twoshot (made by the wonderful @kuumara >:D)

laminate the stasis 5k, oneshot

feel it in my kiss (i'm crazy for you) 3k, oneshot (by @andiwriteordie)

Was it ever really a secret? 2k, oneshot

Hopper's Dilemma 2k, oneshot

playing pretend never felt so real 23k, oneshot

i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you 3k, oneshot

Soulmate au

And things were looking like a movie 1k, oneshot

Just a glance, that's all it took 2k, twoshot

When blue meets yellow in the west 8k, multichapter

It's a love story (baby, just say yes) 11k, oneshot

Violet and Blue 2k, twoshot

Unbreakable connection 20k, multichapter

Just a curious speck that got caught up in orbit 10k, oneshot (this ones made by the amazing @willow-lark 💗)

Death cannot so easily be determined 1k, oneshot

it's all me, just don't go . meet me in the afterglow (tell me that we'll be just fine even if i lose my mind) 4k, one chapter

The ballad of the sun and moon 3k, oneshot

The part of me that can't let go 7k, one chapter (made by @embarrassedwithapicketsign :D)

Fool death (we're the lucky ones) 3k, twoshot

The best thing i've ever done 10k, multichapter

Mike comes out & Wheeler family stuff

Mike Wheeler comes out with the help of Nancy's music taste! 4k, twoshot

The only thing I've ever had faith in 5k, oneshot

No more secrets. 628, oneshot

The box 2k, oneshot

Everythings about you to me 1k, oneshot

Im thankful for my sister (even though sometimes we fight) 18k, oneshot

Our secret 588, 1 chapter

Believe in one thing, I won't go away 1k, oneshot

Babygirlgate

(found most of these from @aramapostsandwrites)

I guess we're more similar than I thought. 1k, oneshot

I Held Your Face In My Hands, Babygirl 1k, oneshot

"Why does Will call you babygirl?" 1k, oneshot

#byler #byler fic #byler fanfic #fic recs #fluff #byler fluff #soulmates #soulmate au #byler soulmates #coming out #mike wheeler is bi #mike wheeler is gay #<- because it includes both #babygirlgate #mike wheeler is a babygirl #babygirlgate fics #byeler #byeler fics

[wu-does-art]

hey bylers! my joyce POV byler fic has been posted! heres a preview:

(its already 3/5 chapters finished, though im posting them a little later while i work on the other two)

AO3 link:

Will scoffs as she puts his toastie in the microwave, punching in the settings.

"Yeah. Yeah sure he did. He always has something to do, as long as it's with El. Which everyone knows is really just code for swapping spit." he hisses the last part out with disgust, like the mere thought completely irks him.

Jealousy is the first word that comes into Joyce's head, as Will glares at the table with a malice quite unlike him.

She shakes her head, opting to first consider other possible explanations before she jumps to unfair conclusions. and even if he was jealous- her mind helpfully reminds her- she wouldn't even know what he would be jealous of exactly.

"Didn't you say Lucas and Max also run off to make out?" she asks carefully, watching him as his face curiously unscrunches a bit from the previous anger.

"I guess," Will grumbles, hazel eyes swimming with a bit of sadness, "but at least they only do it sometimes, and you know. Actually in their own time."

The microwave dings as Joyce recalls Hopper complaining about this kind of thing recently, though she can't say she thought much of his dramatics until now.

She hands the toastie to him with a sad smile, reclaiming her seat across from him as he looks down at his plate with confusion.

When his eyes finally meet hers again, his brows are furrowed, but now so more in thinly veiled amusement as his lips upturn at one end in the form of a smirk.

"You didn't need my help at all, did you? You just wanted to corner me into not locking myself in my room." it's not a question, but he doesn't seem to mind all that much, looking rather content with calling his mother out lightheartedly.

Joyce mirrors his smile, giving him a mischievous little wink. "well it worked, didn't it?" she teases, ruffling his hair.

#byler #byler fanfic #stranger things #mike wheeler #st mike wheeler #mike wheeler stranger things #st mike #will byers #st will

[perexcri]

What are your favorite fantasy aus/aus in general for byler? :)

hi anon!! i have several fantasy aus for you~

tip-toeing on lily-pads and chasing heartlines by @cherryisgone!! it's got beautiful prose and off-the-charts pining. plus who wouldn't love reading about Mike getting cursed by El to turn into a frog just so Will could kiss him and turn him back to a human hehe

fireball him! (cast protection) and tell me again (you said yes) by @willow-lark!! Lark has such a good grasp of these characters and has done a wonderful job of basically rewriting s1 as a fantasy au. i spent most of a plane ride reading the last chapter and losing my mind over how beautifully Lark writes established byler :]

ley lines and shadows by AabH!! this one's an atmospheric witch/familiar fic. it's just very cottagecore-y and soft with a beautiful ending

also hangman (slack your rope awhile) by AabH!! i liked this one just a bit more than ley lines and shadows, but that's because it's a more intense, d&d-inspired fantasy au that deals with necromancy. it only has a few chapters and is unfinished, but it remains one of my fav fantasy aus i've read for byler!

i am. direly behind on this one, but your paladin, your apostle by @scribbleworms is another wonderful fantasy au!! i have been Going Through It and haven't been reading fic as much, but when i get back into my groove, this is one of the first ones i'm gonna be going after~

i'm also a huge fan of the dark mirror series by sevensided, in which the third installment, the vale of shadows, is a fantasy au! sevensided's writing has been a big inspiration to me (a dream always the same remains the only book-length thing that i have read 4+ times in the span of a year), and they don't disappoint in a fantasy setting

and idk if you've read any of my fantasy aus, but if you don't mind some self-promo, may i offer up a couple of my own?

a flower that resembles you is my favorite fic that i currently have posted - its got a lot of my own self poured into it, and it deals a lot with magic, healing from the past, and growing close and learning to live with the faults of others <3

and beneath these boughs, my devotion blooms - another one of my favs that i've written! the basic premise is Will is a cleric that gets godhood thrust upon him, and Mike is the ever-loyal paladin that pledges loyalty to him

hope this helps!! there's a lot of good fantasy aus for this pairing out there that deserve so much love :] 💜💜💜

#ask #fic rec #a flower that resembles you #beneath these boughs

[bookinit02]

s5 script info/faq

hi guys! in exactly a week, i'm going to start posting my original stranger things s5 script. here's a general info/faq post for easy reference :)

about the script:

what: this script is designed to be a culmination of my ongoing rewrite series, which is a fanfic version of each season of stranger things, written through the lens of alternating byler pov. since season 5 hasn't released yet, and we've still got a ways to go, i decided to write an original script to base my last installment off of. the script will be 10 episodes, at about 60 pages each, and serve as a companion to my season 5 fic.

where: script episodes will be posted here on my tumblr, and be linked to a pinned post (which will go up in a few minutes). fic chapters will be posted on my ao3, as usual.

when: currently, i'm planning to have at least one post a week: the script episode will release on a sunday, and then the two accompanying chapters on the next two fridays. so, for example, the first few releases will look like this: script 1 on sunday 9/3, chapter 1 on friday 9/8, and chapter 2 on friday 9/15. this gives you about a week to read each new post! of course, you can read however you'd like: script first, or fic first, depending on your preference. i decided to post the scripts first to try and mimic the rest of the rewrite experience: "watching" the show, then reading the fic. if there's any schedule delays due to typical life stuff, i'll let you guys know!

frequently asked questions:

will the script cover every plotline?: yep! with 60 pages per episode, there's a bit of time dedicated to every character, as much as i can feasibly manage. of course, this means that the script will be less byler-focused than the fic series has been (but still more than the original show, lol). but not to worry—the fic companion will add extra scenes and plenty of byler content. this also means that some of the plots will only be accessible through the script, as the fic is entirely from byler pov. but it's still up to you whether you would like to read or not!

will there be any character deaths?: i'm going to answer this right now: there will be no character deaths. i want the script to be realistic, but it's also my version, and i always try to give my characters happy endings :) this doesn't mean that there won't be some close calls, though. we'll have to see. :)

will there be a playlist?: yes! i've spent some time testing out playlists for the first two episodes, and they're both fully completed. they'll be linked along with the script, along with a timing guide for anyone (like me) who likes being insane about the details. playlists are always tricky because everyone reads at different speeds, so i've written out which scenes go with each song, and you can skip along as needed. if you prefer not to listen with music, of course you don't have to—though i will say that most songs are just soundtrack instrumentals to set the mood :) it might be a little finicky, so i'm sorry in advance! i'll always try to perfect them as much as possible before posting.

will you do another rewrite after s5 releases?: currently, i'm planning on it. of course, we have no idea how much longer it's going to take, or what exactly will happen in canon (or in life), but if i'm in a place to write fic, then yes! i'll do a typical rewrite and add it to the end of my series, so you guys can have your choice of endings :)

how do we leave comments?: if you want to leave a comment on the script, i'm happy to receive them in asks, messages, or post comments! you can also leave them on the fic chapters if you'd like. edit 9/1: you should be able to leave comments in the google doc! be mindful of what account you are using, as these comments will be public. for a more comprehensive comment policy, click here.

do i have to read the rest of the rewrite series first?: reading the rest of the rewrite isn't necessary, but it is a good idea. i know it's a lot to read, so don't feel pressured, just know that some things might not make as much sense without the prior context! my rewrite series is pretty canon-compliant, but a lot of relationship dynamics are developed in a very specific way, and we pick up right where we left off at the end of a new place to be from. so, essentially: no, but you'll probably want to.

do i have to read the script?: definitely not. if you prefer to just read the fic, you absolutely can! it'll make sense on its own, you might just miss out on some of the extra plotlines and context.

that's about all i can think of for now—if you have any questions that weren't answered in this post, please send me an ask and i'll edit this post to include your question! i've been working on this project for a few months now, and i'm really excited to share it with you guys :) thank you all for giving it a shot! see you next sunday <3

#rewrite #s5 script #the end is here #< that is the new tag btw #pinned post coming in a sec :)

[londondziban]

London's Masterpost

About Me:

☆ Hi everyone! My name is London or Dziban. I’m an 18 year old fanfic writer who posts over on ao3 when I have time. I'm gay and trans (he/they) and I'm autistic and borderline (BPD)

☆ Stranger Things is my special interest!

☆ Fandoms I'm currently in and may post about: Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, Marauders Era (fuck JKR), Bridgerton, PJO, Six of Crows, The Hunger Games, Little Women, Scream, Shameless (US), and Arcane

☆ Slytherin ☆ Cabin 6 (Athena) ☆ I am Mike Wheeler, he is me ☆ I am also Phoebe Spengler, she is me

☆ PSA: I am finishing up my A.A.-T in English, so I spend all my time reading and writing for class. At the end of this semester, I'll be taking two final summer courses and preparing to move six hours away for my remaining years of undergrad. I have some stuff in the works, but my time to write for fandom is pretty limited. Please bear with me

Dziban's Writing -

WIPs:

Apple Juice and Peach Oneshot. Elmax/Elumax, background Byler. Coffeeshop Au Sequel to And At Every Table, I'll Save You A Seat Wake Up Call Oneshot. Byler. Ghostface AU. Caller Will, Killer Mike

Stranger Things Fics:

Not Just Another Birthday M. 1/1, 6,245 words. Byler–Mike Wheeler is turning 18 and he has some thoughts about it. Trick or Treat! G. 1/1, 2,371 words. Byler–Bylerween day 6 You Reminded Me of Brighter Days G. 1/1, 3,565 words. Byler–Bylerween day 3. May be continued Why's the Music So Loud? (Take It To the Lawn Now) M. 1/1, 3,185 words. Byler–Bylerween day 2 The Only Time I Ever See Him (Is When He's Behind Me in the Mirror)  M. 1/1, 9,417 words. Byler–Bylerween day 1. May be continued When the Days Were Long and the World Was Small T. 1/1, 2,478 words. Byler & Jancy–the horrifying ordeal of being caught having snuck out...by your sibling who also snuck out I'm Fine With My Spite and My Tears, and My Beers and My Candles M. 1/1, 2,185 words. Platonic Madwheeler–Post UD/Vecna And At Every Table, I'll Save You A Seat T. 1/1, 10,982 words. Byler–coffeeshop AU Snap Out of It T. 1/1, 5,687 words. Byler–Mileven gets Murrayed You Take My Hand and Drag Me Head First M. 1/1, 7,362 words. Byler–Mike has always been protective of Will A Crooked Love in a Straight Line Down T. 1/1, 1,610 words. Byler–MikeWillEl can't kill a single spider Holding Me Closer 'Till Our Eyes Meet G. 1/1, 1,768 words. Byler–Mike band AU Why They Lost Their Minds and Fought the Wars G. 1/1, 2,544 words. Byler–established relationship, domestic fluff I heard that you fell in love or near enough M. 1/1, 8,301 words. Byler–Post UD/Vecna

Marauders Era/Harry Potter:

Kiss me! (Tonight?) M. 1/1, 9,773 words. Rosekiller ft. Jegulus –Every year during the last week before hols break, mistletoe gets conjured to hang above the heads of people with unspoken affection. What do you do when you look up and realize mistletoe has been conjured to hang between you and your best friend? Well, you can ask Evan Rosier. Shears Microfic. 1,058 words. Trans Regulus–Sirius helps Regulus with his first proper haircut, background Jegulus Peppermint Microfic. 1,103 words. Established Wolfstar–Sirius cares for a sick Remus, mentions of established Jegulus and Rosekiller

#dziban's writing #i'm not sure how to tag this tbh #writing #ao3 writer #byler #byler fanfic #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #marauders era #marauders era fanfiction #jegulus #jegulus fanfiction #rosekiller #rosekiller fanfiction #wolfstar #wolfstar fanfiction #harry potter #my writing #fandom writing #current wips #my wips #my work #uhhh yeah that probably covers it

[love-kurdt]

How to Write a Good Fanfiction: A 5 Step Manual

Hello! My name is @love_kurdt, also known as Eva, and I’m a Wattpad Veteran of the early 2010s, where the genres of Slash Fics, Y/N, and Imagines ran rampant. I spent years of my life as a kid scrolling through my iPod touch, weeding through Wattpad’s plethora of profiles, on a quest to find quality fanfictions. I found a handful, which I added to a specific reading list to come back to when I needed a break from screaming into my pillow because of the sheer audacity of thought-criminals who called themselves writers.

When I’d reached the point of reading the same five works over and over in a never ending cycle, I decided to make the life-altering decision to start publishing my fanfictions online. Granted, I was only thirteen at this point, so my writing wasn’t spectacular by any means, but I came to discover that over time, the mere acts of reading and writing can light a spark of inspiration that can carry you to creative success.

I’ve been writing my own works for over ten years now, and can confidently say that I have cracked the code to writing a good fanfiction that will have your readers captivated instead of cringing. Please don’t get me wrong– if you want to just write fanfic on the internet for fun, and not to write a novel, that’s great, too! That’s what the internet is for; exercising your free will. But this manual is tailored towards those who want to hone in on their craft and gain a substantial following as strictly fanfiction authors. So without further ado, let’s jump into it. Godspeed!

Step 1: Choose Your Fandom

What show, movie, or book has drawn you in and left you feeling like there should be more to the story? When one of those media comes to mind, you’ve chosen your fandom!

Step 2: Do Your Research

When writing fanfiction, it’s kind of an unspoken rule that you need to know the canon of the fandom you’re writing about. The canon is also known as the source material. For example, if someone were to write a Draco Malfoy x OC fanfiction (*cough* a 200+ page Draco Malfoy self insert fic written at 11 years old in a series of notebooks bound together with multiple layers of Gorilla tape *cough*), the canon would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. It’s, in essence, what “really” happened. It’s totally fine if you want to write a non-canon compliant fic, too! In fact, they’re extremely popular, specifically within the “fix-it” genre, which usually involves characters that died in the canon but the author kept alive in their fanfiction. Either way, you should have a general idea of how the canon functions within the context of the fandom, so you can make creative choices that diverge from or stick to the canon.

With the canon comes the fanon, which is basically a compilation of fan theories and headcanons that are often common themes in both canon and non-canon compliant fanfics. A pretty niche example of this is the Byler fandom (the ship between Stranger Things characters Will Byers and Mike Wheeler), where there’s an official list of theories on Tumblr that are used in many, if not most Byler fanfictions. There’s FlickerGate, where the flickering of the garage light in Season 1 is actually Will and Mike in the Upside Down in Season 5. There’s BirthdayGate, where the antagonist, Vecna, manipulates the minds of everyone in Hawkins to forget Will’s birthday, which is a central plot point in a lot of Byler fics since no one seems to remember it, not even his best friend. There’s also LetterGate, where Will confronts Mike in the canon about not sending any letters after he’d moved away, but the theory reveals that Mike wrote plenty of letters– he just never sent them because they ended up turning into love letters, which in turn resulted in internalized homophobia. You get the picture. Most theories reach far into the land of delusion, but it doesn’t stop writers from creating incredible work that could easily be mistaken for a script.

But Eva, what if I just think the characters are hot and I don’t give a shit about the cannonball? I can’t tell you what to do, my friend, but I highly suggest you at least consider the canon so you can avoid all the petty, obnoxious gatekeepers in some fandoms who can be unhinged enough to send death threats if you leave out a significant canonical detail. But you do you!

Step 3: Choose Your Platform

There are three popular platforms to choose from: Archive of Our Own (ao3), Tumblr, and Wattpad. There are also a few other lesser known or dead pages such as fanfiction.net, but I honestly wouldn’t bother with those, since they’re more infiltrated with anons and bots nowadays.

This is where you want to think about 1) where most of the members in the fandom you chose reside, and 2) the demographic of readers you want to reach. For example, I observed a higher number of Nirvana fans on Wattpad than the other two platforms, which is why I chose to post my full length Kurt Cobain fanfiction, “You Know You’re Right,” on there. It also helped that my favorite author of another Kurt Cobain fanfiction on Wattpad, @/ugh-nirvana, had hits in the hundreds of thousands, so I was confident that my book would do well on that specific platform. On the other hand, the Stranger Things fandom is in full swing on Tumblr and ao3, so I chose to post those fanfictions on there rather than on Wattpad. It all just depends on who’s where.

You also have to consider how active you want to be on your platform(s). Tumblr is more of a blog situation, while ao3 and Wattpad are solely for publishing the work. If you want to have a life beyond the realms of the world wide web, choose Wattpad or ao3, as inconsistent updates are a bit more accepted than on Tumblr. But if you want to throw yourself headfirst into a fandom and put your whole author-ussy into your fanfic, then Tumblr is the platform for you.

You should be aware, however, that Tumblr involves a lot of upkeep, as well as constant, strategic, and active participation within your fandom. Visual aesthetic is vital to any functional Tumblr blog. Most profiles have directories, with color coded links to each work’s homepage, which is linked to each individual chapter, which are then distinguished by a unique GIF to capture a prospective reader’s attention while they’re scrolling through copious amounts of content. And there are always new ideas and theories in development in certain fandoms, so it’s crucial to keep up with recent updates in order to stay relevant.

After all is said and done, you don’t have to get married to one platform for the rest of your life. You can choose to be exclusive to one or two platforms, or publish everything on all of them! The decision is ultimately yours!

Step 4: Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Yes, I came up with this term, and yes, it should be a real thing. Because in every piece of writing, whether it be fanfiction, a short story, an actual book, a screenplay, what have you, it is critical to be consistent in your People, your POV, and your Plot. Let me explain.

People

Your people, or your ensemble of characters, consists of three hierarchical levels: your protagonist/antagonist, your side characters, and other background characters. I should emphasize the importance of building character profiles for everyone, including your pre-existing characters from the fandom, but specifically for your original character(s) if you have them. That way, you know who serves as a major plot device, who serves as someone who just helps time move faster, and those who are mentioned by name but have very little significance to the events of the story. I’m going to reference Harry Potter again, since most of the world is familiar with the characters. Harry and Voldemort are the protagonist and antagonist; Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and company are side characters; and Peeves, Seamus Finnigan, and Blaise Zabini are background characters. Keep this hierarchy in check; don’t let your main characters fade away, and don’t let your background characters shift to the forefront for no reason. If you do plan to move a character up or down the ladder, make sure to have clear motive as to why you’re bringing this character into or out of play.

2. POV

Your POV is the point of view in which you’re writing from. Assuming you’ve been in a typical middle school English class, you’ve heard of the first, second, and third person points of view. I cannot tell you how many times I have read fanfictions that jump from one POV to another, sometimes within the same sentence. I open the door and see Kurt Cobain standing in the corner of the room. She walked across the floor to meet him there. See what I did there? I jumped from first person present tense to third person past tense. Do not attempt this at home.

The least common of the three points of view is the second person, or what I like to call the Y/N point of view. In fanfiction, second person POV is often used in self-insert fics, where instead of a character’s name, it’s replaced with “you.” That’s why a lot of romantic character x reader fics are so popular. You should feel free to use this one, especially if that’s the kind of vibe you’re going for, but I’m going to elaborate a little bit more on first and third person, as they’re a bit more “literary.”

The first person POV confines the narration to the mind of one character. It can also be done with multiple characters, but be sure to do it so it’s painstakingly obvious to the reader whose POV you’re writing from. Also note that if you plan to write multiple first person POVs, try to keep that number on the lower side, as a large number of POVs can get really complicated really quickly. Third person narration can be done from two angles: limited or omniscient. Limited is more similar to first person, in which you’re confined to one person’s viewpoint, but they aren’t the narrator; you’re just seeing the story through their eyes. Omniscient is my favorite, because you can narrate from a bird’s eye view with the freedom to travel from mind to mind and read their thoughts.

Building character profiles can be really helpful when developing both first or third person POV; if you connect with a particular character more strongly than the rest, that should tell you whose POV you should write in. If you choose to switch POVs, be sure to do it either on an alternating/rotating basis, or if you repeat, it should be apparent as to why that particular character is the “voice” of that scene.

3. Plot

Dare I say that Plot is the most important step of them all, so do not skip this one, whatever you do! The biggest mistake most fanfiction writers make is having a concept but lacking a plot. It’s like biting into an apple just to discover it’s a lemon. Many writers are capable of starting off strong, but once their initial story begins to meander, traveling into uncharted territory, their brainchild can become a monstrosity.

In order to write a solid plot, it’s pretty common knowledge that you need to have a beginning, middle, and end in place. It doesn’t need to be overly specific or down to the last detail, you just need to figure out how your characters make it from point A to point Z (the larger scale), and how points B through Y factor into the plot (the smaller scale). There are a few routes that you can take in order to do this: you can write the entire thing ahead of time without any input, you can write the entire thing with the feedback of a beta reader or proofreader to help you work out any kinks or mistakes before you publish it for the entire platform to see, or you can publish it gradually and take feedback from your readers as you go. Should you go with the last option, though, you should be made aware that if you aren’t already an established author, it may feel like you’re talking to a wall, and you will likely feel discouraged from writing the story altogether.

I find it helpful to outline the whole thing. I have a closet door in my house dedicated to a Dave Grohl true crime fanfiction I’m working on. I’ve written the entire story from beginning to end on index cards, split into four different parts with each card representing a chapter. What’s good about outlining is that I can edit my story as I go along. If I decide to change something, I can add or remove an index card, then replace or rearrange the other index cards to work around the change I made, and that way, I don’t have to start over from scratch. It’s helpful to see everything laid out in front of me, so I’m not left at the end of a completely improvised plot with a slew of loose ends that I’ll need to go back and edit. It’s also better than publishing each part individually then having to redo everything after your readers have already seen it. And I don’t know about you, but I enjoy it when I’m able to save some time, energy, and lengthy explanations to random people online. That is, unless you enjoy constant feedback from readers, in which case you can change the plot on a chapter by chapter basis based on their feedback.

Consistency in all of these respects is key. I cannot emphasize this enough. Keeping all of these elements in check will help you create a sort of cohesiveness that will neatly wrap the story up with a little bow on top. 

Step 5: Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

Repeat after me: tags matter! Again: tags matter! When you’re about to publish your fanfiction, you’re going to be given the option to add tags to your work. For my first few years spent on Wattpad, I had no idea what tags were, so I didn’t use them. Thankfully, the platform was still pretty small, so people still found my work pretty easily. Nowadays, though, it’s nearly impossible to find what you’re looking for without searching excessively specific tags and using a million filters. It’s unfortunate, but look at it this way: there are so many people contributing to so many fandoms that the content is seemingly endless!

What you’re going to want to do is add as many tags as you can but keep it as simple as possible. I know that sounds kind of oxymoronic, but I mean it in a way that all of your tags relate directly to your story, and not just to the fandom itself. A lot of readers feel misled when they’re scrolling through their filtered search page for, let’s just say, a Byler fanfic, and end up neck deep in a Mileven fanfic in disguise. That’s not a fun experience.

Lastly, please remember that you are publishing your work on the internet, and you don’t know who may encounter your work! Listen, we live in a world where everything needs to be overexplained, everything needs trigger warnings, and everything needs to be neutral or else someone is going to hate you. I get it. I’ve been writing fanfiction for a long time. It might be annoying to add content warnings, especially if one of those warnings spoils a major plotline, but if I’m being honest, I’d rather be safe and add the damn warning than not add the warning and be responsible for someone’s worsened emotional or mental state. Bottom line, it’s just fanfiction! Let’s do our due diligence to create a community full of love and understanding for everyone!

After that, you should be all set to publish! Let’s review one more time for the road:

Choose Your Fandom

Do Your Research

Choose Your Platform

Obey the Writer’s Trifecta of Consistency

Use Relevant Tags and Content Warnings

If you’ve stuck around for this long, thank you so much!

I hope this manual helps you along your fanfiction writing journey, wherever it takes you <3

#fanfic #ao3 fanfic #writers on tumblr #writerscommunity #female writers #fanfiction #wattpad #ao3 #stranger things fic #byler fic #creative writing #ao3 writer

[problematicbyler]

my question with a lot of the takes that i’ve seen where they want to draw a line somewhere, whether that be at fantasizing or specificity or the takes being boring is like,, do they not read smut? ik some people don’t and that’s obviously fine like don’t read something if you don’t want to read it. but i feel like ive seen a lot of people say “stop having weird boring takes and actually write a fic instead of just fantasizing about it” and i think that’s such a strange take because something tells me not one of those people would be happier having more explicit fics saturate ao3. to me a lot of this feels like people are personally uncomfy with more nsfw content (which again is Obviously fine everyone has their own limits which should be respected and i don’t think anyone who just is saying nah it’s not for me and not making it a moral issue should be called puritans especially cuz sex can be a really sensitive topic for some people and i think those people generally understand the nuances a lot better than others who are throwing out allegations) and want their discomfort validated or maybe just want to understand it more themselves so they jump to one of these limitations. they don’t want to say they’re completely uncomfortable with sex because they’re probably not!! there’s just something that specifically seems to irk them about this situation and they want to publicize that in a way that makes them and anyone else who sees their take feel like they are objectively right and not being mean or against sex. i bet some of them have read smut (for other fandoms or even for byler) and maybe even enjoyed it but maybe felt icky or guilty and they want to justify that and not feel like they’re the weird ones or too sensitive or like kink shaming. i also bet some of them haven’t read any smut and don’t understand that it’s not all self insert (not that there’s anything wrong with that but tbh ive seen none of that on ao3 for byler and ive seen a lot of takes saying people want to have sec with teens and are making self insert fantasies about it when ive seen actually zero evidence of anyone doing that) and that it’s mostly using these characters who we love and project onto as vessels to explore different scenarios (emotional and physical) in a safe place that anyone who knows what they don’t like and knows how to read tags on ao3 won’t be negatively affected by.

(i also just want to say that the take that it’s boring and lazy content is so silly considering head cannons are literally the backbone of any fandom like we are all here to put them in situations we don’t already see them in in canon and “fantasize” about how they would react (except for people might use the word “think” or “speculate” when referring to non explicit head cannons) and also the fact that there’s a non explicit polls account that doesn’t get any flack for posting polls with the same level of frivolousness (not a bad thing, i like them too) and those are allowed to be just good old fun but once you add sex to the mix suddenly everyone only wants content that is serious and exclusively canon relevant)

yes!!!! being uncomfy with smut is fine!!!! but moralizing it and shaming people who do like smut is not fine!!!! all we are asking is for people to mind their own business and take control of curating their online experiences instead of taking it out on people for making content they don't like!!!

and yes!!! why are headcanons considered gross sexualized fantasies? like to me so much of sex is psychological so when i'm talking about kinks or who likes x thing more or what their sexual dynamic is like.... to me that's just another level of analysis and examining the character.

nothing further to add because i 100000000% agree to all of the above. thank you for the message!

#byler #anonymous #spicy byler #profiction

[buck-yyyy]

BYLER FIC RECS BAYBEE!!

okay, im gonna do my best to include some that don’t have huge numbers to mix it up and give the authors the attention they deserve, but i only have so much time because i promised myself i would go to sleep at a normal time, so this will have to be brief :(

hey, mike? - 2,324 words, complete

okay, yeah, i had to do some self promotion, and for that i apologize T-T but have will and mike having a conversation on top of a rock in the middle of nowhere nevada mid volume one- also, this was not only originally written before V2, it’s also the thing that got me into writing. so. anyways self promo over into the other stuff now

like you already know (that you’re the love of my life) - 3,227 words, complete

truth or truth type thing!! mike asking will if he’s ever been in love, essentially a sweet lil coming out concession thing. really loved this one <33

if only we could meet again - 21,251 words, complete

in which mike and will lose touch but meet again midway through college. i’m such a sucker for college aus, and this one is SO underrated- the plot twist at the end, the parallels, the references? it’s all SO good

i’m thankful for my sister (even if sometimes we fight) - 18,047 words, complete

to those of you longing for mike and nancy to have a better sibling relationship, i present to you this fic. mike confiding in nancy and asking her for advice <3

you spin me right round - 2,624 words, complete

spin the bottle. says it all. mwah <3

sounds pretty gay - 15,699 words, complete

“no, mike, not all boys think that other boys are pretty” -dustin and lucas in this fic. mike is only oblivious when it comes to homosexuality and will and it’s for that reason that i love him

dustin henderson, the scientific method, and homosexuality - 3,252 words, complete

this one is SO beyond underrated and i DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW?? it’s told from dustin’s point of view, as he starts to realize that hey. maybe they’re like. Not Straight.

a quick warning before we proceed! as i scroll further back through my bookmarks, we come to a point where these fics were written before volume two and therefore may be slightly canon divergent. this next fic is about when that begins. but! i loved them before volume two, and i still love them now, and will therefore be including them in the list. keep an open mind <3

cartwheel heart - 14,638 words, complete

will gets vecna’d truthers, rise up! she’s angsty but my god is she good

in my room - 7,947 words, complete

in which mike and will just- talk. because god knows all they need is a genuine, truthful conversation, and all their problems would be solved.

P.S. i love you - 13,083 words, incomplete

of course mike wrote will letters, he just didn’t send them!

karen did though lmao

rocky roads with uncertain ends - 2,893 words, complete

anyways, volume one will deserved to be a little angry. thank you to this beloved author for letting that happen.

a very murray mistletoe - 4,827 words, complete

alright, this is probably the fic with the most hits on this entire list. it’s also my absolute favorite, and the FIRST fic i ever bookmarked when i got my ao3 account. @/andiwriteordie, you are incredible and i love your writing. anyways. for those do you who want a murrayed byler- READ THIS ONE!!

#stranger things #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #byler fics #fic recs

[bylershipper24]

idk whats happening to me tonight but its like 3 am and i just cranked out a byler fic.... im on like a creativity high so if anyone reads this i hope you enjoy!! <3

Will startles awake, his breath coming in painful gasps. Another nightmare. He can’t do anything but lay, frozen, on his back, trying to catch his breath and see what's real. He can still only see the bloody red color of Vecna’s mindspace. Someone grabs his arm and he flinches.

“Shh… It’s okay, Will. It’s just me. It’s just us here. You’re safe.”

Mike is rubbing Will’s shoulder and whispering comforting things in his ear. Will’s muscles start to relax, his breathing coming easier and easier by the second until he is completely calmed down.

“Okay?” Mike asks, his face a worried knot of emotions.

Will turns on his side to look into Mike’s eyes. God, they’ve always been so pretty. A beautiful chocolatey shade of brown that will always make Will’s heart melt when he sees them. He nods, trying to keep the blush out of his cheeks.

“Can you tell me five things you can see right now?”

“Mike,” Will whispers. “I said I’m okay.”

“I know but I can feel how fast your heart is going.”

Will sighs. “Five?”

“Okay fine. Three.”

Will rolls back on to his back, sighs again, and pushes himself into a sitting position, groaning softly. Mike does the same, but without the sighing and groaning.

“I can see the table…”

“Nope, too easy. Try again.”

“Ugh, okay. Umm… I see that vase on the windowsill.”

“Good. Two more.” Mike holds up two fingers.

“Um, okay. I can see… The book Dustin fell asleep reading.”

Mike puts down his middle finger leaving only his index finger up to symbolize only one thing left to find. “Bonus points if you can tell me the name of the book.”

Will giggles softly. “Mike, it’s too dark!”

Mike smiles. “Okay fine. Just one more thing left, then!”

“Uhh… Oh! El’s bracelet.”

“Yay! You win!” Mike whispers in a silly voice, leaning over to grab Will into a hug.

“What do I win exactly?” Will asks, laughing quietly as Mike pulls him into his lap.

“My affection,” Mike says, still using a silly voice but Will can tell he’s being genuine. Mike takes Will’s hand and kisses his knuckles softly. Will nearly melts at the touch. How are Mike’s lips always so goddamn soft?

“That’s a pretty damn good prize, if I do say so myself,” Will mumbles, barely audible.

“Well I’m glad you think so,” Mike whispers in his normal voice, dropping Will’s hand. He moves his fingers to Will’s hair, stroking it and playing with it, brushing it off his forehead and smoothing it back.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Will sighs, eyes drooping closed. “Much better.”

“Good.”

They stay like that for a while, who knows how long, until Will is definitely asleep again. He is sitting sideways in Mike’s lap and his head is resting on his shoulder, forehead pressed against the crook of his neck. Mike is comfortable like this and doesn’t want to wake his sleepy boyfriend-- he needs more sleep than anyone-- so he leaves him there and tries to go back to sleep too.

Mike is reawoken before the sun is up by Will shivering in his arms. Will has hated being cold ever since the Mind Flayer was in him. He’s never explicitly said this but Mike can just tell. He reaches behind them to the pile of blankets on the sofa and pulls one off the top, carefully draping it over Will so as to not wake him up.

Jesus, Mike thinks. He’s so pretty. He looks so peaceful in his sleep. I wish he could look like this during the day… I wish he could be not-stressed enough to look like this during the day…

Will’s eyebrows furrow and he stirs. Mike suddenly panics and, not being able to think of anything better to do, he leans his head back and pretends to be asleep.

He hears Will sigh and then out of nowhere he kisses Mike’s chin softly. It’s all Mike can do not to shiver. Because that was so close to his mouth what is Will thinking it’s too early for Mike to have a gay heart attack. He feels a hot blush creeping up his neck and prays that Will doesn’t notice.

Will finds one of Mike’s hands under the blanket and holds it close to his heart. “I love you,” he whispers into it.

Mike feels like he’s about to have a heart attack, die, come back to life, get the shit slapped out of him, and then die again.

Will doesn’t let go of Mike’s hand as he snuggles up against the latter’s chest and closes his eyes again.

Oh shit, Mike thinks. I bet he can hear my heartbeat. But after waiting a few seconds, Will either doesn’t notice or isn’t bothered because he doesn’t say or do anything. Mike is relieved.

Once Will’s breath evens out with sleep again, Mike presses his lips to the side of his lover’s head and whispers, “I love you, too.” into his hair.

#mike wheeler is gay #byler is real #byler for life #late night byler <3 #will the wise #will byers #mike wheeler #i know what you are micheal #youre a homosexual #finn wolfhard #noah schnapp #finn and noah are superheroes #byler fanfic #byler kiss #byler endgame

[sparks-olivarpente]

Fun Fluffy Fics

Super long list of fun byler fics! We all need fun and fluff don't we? Reblog to add your favorites :)

if you kissed me now by astrobi (@astrobei) “Huddling. For warmth.” “Like penguins,” Mike offers, and then rests his head on Will’s shoulder like this is supposed to be helping, or something. Or: Will Byers and the harrowing experience of being snowed in with your mom, your almost-stepdad, all of your friends, and your (kind of) (secret) boyfriend.

sealed with a kiss by @astrobei too Listen. No one should ever let Mike make decisions right after he wakes up from a nap, okay? Especially not decisions where Will is concerned. This is so not his fault.

cheer up, baby by @perexcri Will is working at Melvald’s to help carry his own weight in the Byers-Hopper household. It’s his junior year, and everything is going fine. That is, until someone tries to ask Mike to prom in the office supplies aisle of Melvald’s during one of Will’s afternoon shifts…

sweetheart, you're so cruel by @perexcri too A music snob and the frontman of his most-hated local band walk into a bar for a date. It’s either the beginning of a really good joke or a really shitty love story.

pull of an ocean by @magentamee Will goes on a Hopper-Byers family East coast vacation for a week. He finds himself missing Mike a lot sooner than expected and ends up getting swept off his feet when he gives Mike a call.

what a crabby, little guy by dragons_like_smores (@howtobecomeadragon) Will gets sloppy drunk after a break up with his boyfriend and sits very sadly on the beach. Mike meets him there to find out what happened.

honey-mouthed by @smoosnoom According to everyone in his life, Mike has a voice reserved just for Will. He tries to figure out what that says about him.

eyecatcher by @smoosnoom too While volunteering at the Hawkins' help center, it seems like every girl around has a newfound interest in Will Byers, and Mike doesn't know why he feels the way he does.

lying on the floor (typing your name into the internet) by @andiwriteordie The one in which Will and Mike are just friends on Tumblr… until they aren't.

kiss me, kiss me with your eyes closed by bxni "Does anyone else think their partner is… edible?” Mike asks, aka; mike wants to eat Will affectionately, the party knows this but not their relationship, and he's so, so whipped.

the walls we crashed through by delusionaltogether (@parkitaco) Mike Wheeler is not good at keeping secrets.

Positive Forces (all I need) by @eightfifteen Having a secret relationship is easier than it seems. Except for the 'secret' part, apparently.

everything about him by endlesslytea Maybe all the monster fighting did a number of Mike, because he cannot for the life of him remember Will coming out to him. Either his memory is messed up, or he woke up in the alternative reality in which it isn’t a taboo subject, because Will just casually mentioned liking guys and Mike is not taking it personally at all.

Only Thing On My Mind by FoodieHoodie (@foodiewithdahoodie) Mike and Will have been dating for a while and it's their 6 month anniversary. They still want to keep it a secret, but they're also very handsy with each other after finally getting the boy of their dreams… Featuring the self-proclaimed Hickey King.

When Should I Have Noticed? by Matto (@mattuhoh) Michael Wheeler is equally jealous and desperately in love with Will, and the party just wants to live their lives Post-Vecna. Secret relationship.

#happy 2025 to all writers!!!! #byler fic #byler fic recs