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  1. Rec *

    answers you seek will never be found at home by

    Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

    19 Jan 2026

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    Will’s not supposed to be hiding in corners, forcing a fake smile when Mike asks him if he’s okay. He’s not supposed to brush off insults like they're jokes. He’s not supposed to vanish for six hours during a school day, leaving Mike feeling like he’s slipping away all over again.

    Whoever said that beating Vecna’s going to fix Hawkins’ problems, Will’s problems, Mike’s problems—they deserve an earful. They deserve to feel this weird, hollow dissatisfaction chewing away at their chests.

    aka mike begs will to escape their small town after too many run-ins with homophobic small-town bs. he knows will's meant to find himself elsewhere, but he never expects to find an answer to the age-old question of his own fate. prom, gay bars, sleazy hotels, train stations, two lesbians and their not-so-legal marriage - they aren't the traditional sources of wisdom, but he can't complain.

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    11 Jan 2026

    Bookmarker's Notes

    (And Will had technically realised it right back when she’d duly said, “Mike’s grown quite a lot the past year,” only hours after he’d come out to her. Because of course, if Will’s heart belonged to a man, it’d be Mike.)

    killing myself

  2. Rec *

    don't delete the kisses by

    Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

    08 Jan 2026

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    “Wait,” Lucas takes another glance at Will, specifically at the sweater he’s wearing. “Is that Mike’s?”

    Here’s the other thing about the last eight or so months of Will Byers’ life: he’s been spending his nights, on and off, secretly, semi-occasionally, very frequently, kissing Mike Wheeler.

    He’s confused about it too, don’t even worry.

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    10 Jan 2026

    Bookmarker's Notes

    love them badly

    (“Everybody out. I gotta get up and see my girl in the morning.") the power of lumax is flowing so strong

    (His dark hair grew longer, curlier. Will would imagine combing his hands through it just to know what it would feel like against his fingertips.) they call him the yearner

    (“And how was your first kiss?” Mike asks, pushing back in and planting his lips on Will’s cheekbone, peppering a few kisses down his jaw. “Since everyone’s just dying to know.”) girl

    (Will nudges Mike’s shoulder again, letting his fingertips graze the fabric of his overstuffed coat. “Were you actually jealous?”

    Mike’s quiet for a moment, thinking. He laces his fingers into Will’s, clasping their hands together on Will’s lap.

    “Do I sound insane if I say kind of?") control it

    (Smugly, he lets himself have one thing, further burying his good graces with Jonathan Byers, but those were already six feet under. “Tell my sister I said hi,” he mumbles under a breath, because he sincerely cannot help it.) dream interactions

    (that he’d like to put Will in the passenger seat and take him far, far away from fucking Hawkins.) ohh my dream

    (In Mike’s perfect world, for anyone out there asking, he’d do anything and everything for Will so he wouldn’t have to) #real tbh

    (Will’s clothes, Mike thinks, with a small pang of disappointment, having gotten used to seeing Will in his own sweaters that hang a bit too long on the hems.

    God, he’s lost it. Entirely and completely. Maybe he should pick up a hobby.) THEY CALL HIM THE YEARNER

    ("Think about the hickey!”

    I do. Literally every single day, Mike thinks, and grits his teeth.) SO DO I

    (“Uh, yeah, here.” Will passes the greasy paper bag behind him. “Mike, how much was mine?”

    “Don’t worry about it,” Mike says automatically. “On me.”

    Dustin hums something from the backseat that sounds a lot like that’s bullshit, and Lucas chuckles.) MY DREAMM

    (They’ll say something, and it’ll hurt Will’s feelings,) this killed me

    (Now, Mike just furrows his eyebrows, more agitated than emotional. “It’s Will, Nancy. Literally who else would it be?") LMFAOO

    (Nancy stops scratching his back, and nudges his shoulder, adding, “I should’ve known you’d never date outside your friend group.”) LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    (, and by the way, please stop trying to play footsie with Jonathan at the kitchen table. You’re genuinely scaring him.”

    “I- what?”

    Nancy flicks a page. “You heard me.”

    “I didn’t-” Mike racks his brain, then lands at the most haunting conclusion possible - breakfast, just this morning. “Oh, my god. Oh, my god.”

    “I would say to get your own Byers, but you did,” Nancy shrugs, nonplussed. At Mike’s mortified expression, she laughs. “What? Oh, come on, it’s funny.”) PLAYING FOOTSIES WITH JONATHAN

    (There’s also a Max-shaped hole in the friend group, and deeply carved into his heart,) LUMAX

    (Max shudders. “I’m gone eighteen months, and Mike Wheeler picks another victim.”

    “I swear to god, it’s getting more obvious by the day,” Lucas says urgently. It feels good. He’s been sitting on this forever. “So, like, they’d be hanging out-”

    “They always hang out, though.”

    “Yeah, but they’d be, like, sneaking off. Switching clothes. Making each other mixtapes. I’ve seen it. They’re all flighty, too. Mike’s so weird about it.”

    Max raises an eyebrow. She’s bought into this theory, but she’s nothing if not an educated skeptic. “But Mike’s always been weird about Will.”

    “He got weirder,” Lucas says.) IM OBSESSED

    (Hey, Will, he rehearses in his head, and cringes at the very sound of his imagined voice. You look nice.

    Here, let me get that for you. I like your suit. You look handsome. You look nice. I love you. Let’s tell our friends. You look good. Really good. Let’s tell everybody.

    Jesus fucking Christ, he sucks at this.

    Thanks for being patient. Thanks for putting up with my bullshit for this long.) killing myself

    (Dustin looks around the cabin. “Where are Mike and Will?”

    “Bathroom, I think,” El answers.

    Lucas snorts. “Oh, I’m sure.” ) OH IM SURE

    (Come on, Max thinks. Give me something to work with here. I saw you in the car, Michael Wheeler, you greedy, greedy bastard.) LMFAO

    (Mike draws in a breath, inhaling the smell of Will’s jacket.) THEY CALL HIM THE YEARNER

    (“Shit, I can’t believe we made it through all that just for Mike to murder us in the middle of nowhere,” Max reports sadly, her face pressed to the window. “He finally snapped, you guys.”) THIS IS KILLING ME

    (Hawkins is unlivable without Will. Funny, how the absence of one person turns an entire city into a ghost town.) WELL EXACTLY

  3. Rec *

    like i am home again by

    Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

    07 Nov 2023

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    This is the first girl who’s ever asked Mike out — something he had, in the not too distant past, been terrified would never happen. And Mike just stands there, feeling like his dining hall dinner is about to crawl back up his esophagus.

    Jeremy, Saint Jeremy, nudges him with an elbow. “He’s kind of private about it, but Mike actually has someone back home.”

    Mike turns his head to look at Jeremy, expecting a knowing smile or the hint of a wink. But Jeremy actually looks sincere, which makes Mike’s eyebrows sink down, almost to the top of his nose.

    “Will, right?” Jeremy supplies, forever trying to be helpful. “He’s at CalArts?”

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    17 Dec 2025

    Bookmarker's Notes

    KILLING MYSELF FR

    (and thought about his life a lot. And so far the verdict is, there’s a distinct possibility that he’s actually not not like that.) WELL YES

    (He works hardest of all to try and forget that when Jeremy had first told Cate that he was dating Will, his very first, totally compulsive thought had been I wish.) LMFAO

    (Lucas and Max have another wordless exchange, and Lucas sits down on the guest bed, patting the space next to himself. Mike sits down, and Lucas throws an arm around him. “You’re talking about Will a lot tonight, bud,” he says.

    Mike is more than a little worried that Max and Lucas are about to give him some sort of birds-and-the-bees talk. “Am I?”

    “You are,” Max confirms flatly. Her arms are crossed. Mike looks between the two of them, realizing that this is maybe more like good cop/bad cop.) LUMAX JANCYING

    (“Will,” Max begins, and Mike’s anxious brain fills in a million horrifying possibilities. Has cancer. Wants nothing to do with you anymore. Is bringing his new boyfriend to Party Halloween.) LMFAOOOOOOO

    (Three jack-o-lanterns guard the porch steps, and Mike can immediately tell who carved which. The sloppiest, smiliest one must be El’s; a clunky but traditional design has all the hallmarks of Joyce. The detailed Nosferatu silhouette lording over the top step is no doubt a Will Byers original. Mike gets this weird feeling in his chest when he sees it, sort of like he has to cough.) SHUT UPPPPPP THIS IS SO CUTE

    THE CONCEPT OF ELEVEN HAVING A RANDOM EPILOGUE BOYFRIEND...

    (“I don’t want to be mean, but isn’t Einstein kind of obvious?” Will asks. “You think he’d dress up as some totally obscure scientist and then lecture all of us about who it is.”

    Mike grins. “I love that that’s your idea of being mean to Dustin,” he replies. And, yeah, okay, he can hear the fondness dripping from his own voice, can picture it sounding the exact same way when he picks up the phone on Saturdays with a, “Hi, Will.” He maybe gets where Jeremy was coming from.) THE WILL VOICE..

    (“Oh, shit,” Will says, beaming. “I love this song.”

    Mike wants to shake him and scream, “I know! This is your favorite band! It’s from their eighth album!” As if that will prove he deserves to be sitting with Will, alone, in this car.) LEWSER

    (And then the chorus of the song kicks in, and Mike’s heart abruptly feels like it’s going to fall out of his ass.

    However far away, I will always love you. However long I stay, I will always love you. Whatever words I say, I will always love you…

    All at once, everything falls into place. Mike gets it — everything he’s been ignoring or puzzling over or picking at all week like loose thread. Every errant thought or foreign feeling. He sees it all clearly for the very first time.) THIS IS HIW BYLERS FELL ALL THE TIME

    (He can’t remember a world in which the most stressful thing in his life wasn’t this, The Cure forcing him to realize that he’s stupidly in love with his best friend and probably has been for years. That he’d spent said years a) not seeing this and b) dating the guy’s sister.) LMFAOO

    (“We’ve only been in college a few months, and I’d better take you here before all those art school boys figure out how awesome you are.”) bro.

    (Will makes a throaty little sound, clenching his hands in the fabric of Mike’s jacket, and Mike makes one back. It might be mildly embarrassing, the profound effect that Will has on him, if it didn’t also make Mike feel like he has been officially and unanimously elected King of the World.) well yes.

    (Mike sees the hem of Will’s navy boxers peeking out from under the fabric on his right thigh, and that makes him feel so overwhelmed he has to rest his head on Will’s shoulder to catch his breath.

    He lightly tugs at the tunic with one hand, his knuckles just barely grazing Will’s leg. “This costume,” he says into Will’s neck. He’s aiming for joking, but it comes out all breathy. “It’s kind of, like…slutty.”

    Will cracks up, throwing his head back.) ok

    (Mike takes his hand back to press down on both of his eyes. “Do you have any idea how weird it is to miss your best friend, like, 200 times more than you miss your own girlfriend?” he groans.") ADDRESS ME

    (As Will hoists his duffel and backpack from the back of the truck, Hopper puts his hand on Mike’s shoulder, looking him right in the eye. Mike does his level best not to flinch.

    “I ever pick that kid up from a night out with you again and see him wearing different clothes than the ones I sent him out in, we’re gonna have a talk,” Hopper says. “Understand?”) killing myself

    (It doesn’t take long. Will tells him, “I miss you, too,” without a hint of teasing or irony. The sheer sincerity kind of blows Mike’s mind. He has trouble believing anybody misses him when he’s gone, and this is his favorite person.) ...

  4. Rec *

    Landslide by

    Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

    24 Dec 2025

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    Will wakes up to find Mike Wheeler sleeping on his floor, only four years younger. Now it’s up to the Party to get him back to his own timeline.

    Title from the song Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

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    31 Dec 2025

    Bookmarker's Notes

    KILLING MYSELF

    ("Oh." Will stared up at him for a moment, his eyes dropping to his feet as he got in the car. His face did not flush, he'd argue until he's blue in the face.) SO WILL

    ("It's been like this all day." El had the nerve to look amused, shooting her family a little grin. "He thinks I am Will's girlfriend."

    Nancy snorted, her hand flying up to her face as everyone turned to look at her. "Sorry, sorry! I just, I forgot how overly jealous Mike used to get about Will. He hides it better now, at least.")

    ("I panicked!!" The twelve year old whined. "And that wasn't that long ago for me!! My Will has a cold right now!!"

    Will had to bite back a smile, because that was actually kind of endearing.

    "Dumbass." Mike snorted, crossing his arms. Will groaned internally. It was too late for this.

    "Oh, it's you. I was wondering why it stank so bad." The younger boy cocked an unimpressed eyebrow at the teen.

    "Isn't past your bedtime?" Mike deadpanned, staring back at his younger self with a look Will was sure would explode his head if he had mind powers.

    Mike blanched, dropping the lamp to the floor. "You know I don't have a bedtime!!” His face screwed up before he spat, “Well, I better call the nursing home, tell them that your old ass escaped!"

    "I'm sixteen, you dumb shit!"

    "Huh? Couldn't hear you over the squealing of your hearing aid!"

    "Guys, let's not wake my whole family? Please?" Will sighed, glancing at Mike who was still glaring at the child in the window.)

    ("It's okay to be scared, Will." She cut him off, a gentle hand coming to his shoulder as her eyes searched his own. "I didn't choose this memory, Will, you did." Her voice was sincere as she continued, "Whatever is in your head, whatever you're afraid of me knowing, it does not matter. I'm here because I love you, nothing about you could change that, because it is you that I love. That's means everything that makes up you too. Even the parts you do not love. Everything.") OMG

    ("Mike and Will were playing Romeo and Juliet last night." Nancy said, smirking a little to herself as Jonathan snorted.

    "What?" Will gaped at the exact moment Mike choked on his bite of egg, a clump flying straight out of his nose and across the table.)

    ("You asshole! How could you?! You're just like everyone else! You — you piece of shit!" His voice raised, his eyes burning as he grabbed at Mike's shirt. "What's wrong with you?! Huh?! What's wrong with you?!"

    Mike didn't react, letting himself be yanked upward by his younger self and taking every push and shove that came his way. His eyes locked on Will with insurmountable sadness etched into his face. It hurt to look at him like that, to see how his face had fallen.) RIGHTTTTT

    ("It is! It is his fault! He hurt you! Just like Troy and James and your dad and all those other mouth breathers! You should hate him! You should hate me! Why don't you hate me?!" Mike's voice broke through his thoughts, shaking with unbridled emotion and rage.)

    (He understood because he felt it, he felt it all over him like a stain that would never come out.) I COULDVE BEEN WILD COULDVE BEEN FREE BUT NATURE PLAYED THIS TRICK ON ME

    ("It's not any easier to tell you than it is to tell him," Will confessed, his eyes locking on the stray thread of his sweater. "I thought it might be, but it's not.") kms

    (Upon opening the door, he could hear his friends and sister all whispering to each other, Mike sounding defensive and aggravated.) oh my dream

    ("I'm so different from other people and — it's really scary to be different." Will continued past the sick feeling in his stomach, the way his heart feels two beats away from giving out. If he were to die now, he wouldn't do so quietly, a secret meant to be taken to the grave is exhumed early, before his casket could even hit the ground. Before the dirt could be pushed into the cratered ground.) WORLD STOP

    ("Me?" Will's voice fell to a whisper, as if speaking too loud would expose it to all be some sick, twisted dream. A happy ending just out of reach, never truly meant for him.) SHUT UPPPPPP LOVE IS THE MOST ISOLATING THING IN THE WORLD FOR BOYS LIKE WILL

    (Soft yet slightly chapped lips brushing together in a sweet, gentle kiss. Will swore up and down that no daydream compared, no, not even in his wildest dream did anything compare to the way Mike’s hand drifted up to his hair) KMS

    (Little Will's head tilted a little, peering through the closing rift at older Mike. His eyebrows raised a little before he was looking at his older self.

    "Oh my god." He mouthed, looking back at his own Mike. "Wow."

    "Yeah," Will bit back a smile, looking over at his Mike. "Wow.") YEP WOW

  5. Rec *

    slaughterhouse (an outlet mall) by for astrobi

    Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

    16 Apr 2023

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    Something flutters at the back of Will’s neck. His scar twinges at his side.

    It’s nothing, he tells himself, like he always does. It’s nothing, it’s just—you’re tense, you’re nervous, you’re being stupid, it’s not anything important—

    His entire body thrums with a fearful energy. The feeling of otherness in his veins.

    It certainly feels important.

    ***

    Stranger Things re-telling, but make it byler.
    (Season 3 of 5)

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    03 Jan 2026

    Bookmarker's Notes

    (He recognizes it from the mixtape he almost gave to Will. Not like he can give it to him now, because it’s been way too long, and it would just be… weird. For a lot of reasons.

    Anyway, Never Surrender keeps playing, and he starts humming along in his head, timing his kisses to the beat of the music. Just a little uncertainty— kiss— can bring you down— kiss—

    Okay, that’s enough of that.) LMFAOO

    (It doesn’t feel gross. It feels fuzzy and warm, heating him up from the inside out, sparking like electricity low in his gut.

    Then again, other people would have something to say about that. Anyone else in the world, really, would be quick to tell Will exactly how gross his feelings are.

    So maybe it’s not…

    Maybe it’s something else entirely. Something darker. Crueler. More twisted. Something that belongs to the Upside Down, to the shadows and creatures of the night.

    Something that certainly does not belong at the Byers’ sunny breakfast table, while Mom is smiling for the first time in weeks and Chester’s snoozing peacefully across the room, letting out occasional huffs, tail wagging gently.) LOVE IS THE MOST ISOLATING IN THE WORLD FOR BOYS LIKE WILL

    (Sometimes, he thinks the whole world knows. That they can see it on him, like some sort of brand. Like the fire-poker scar on his side.

    Other times, he thinks he’s entirely and utterly alone in this. That he lives with a terrible knowledge, a hidden burden, and everyone else thinks he’s perfectly fine.

    He’s not sure which is worse.)

    (El looks up, blinking, and directs a tentative smile at Will. They haven’t really talked much, what with her being stuck in the cabin and all, but Mike wants to fix that. They’re the two most important people in his life, and he needs them to get along. He’s sure they will, once they get to know each other. They’ve got loads in common.) LMAAOO

    (Does Will feel any sort of way about their arms brushing, or is Mike going crazy?

    El’s hand squeezes in his own, and reality slams back into him like a brick.)

    (Dustin has a girlfriend, Mike’s not looking back at him, and Will is, as always, the odd one out.) MY BABY

    (Because the truth—the real truth, the one that’s been simmering under Will’s skin for months—is that he doesn’t recognize the person Mike is becoming. The one who lies and ditches his friends and blames all his problems on other people.) EXACTLYYYY

    (By the time Hopper knocks on the door, it’s almost a relief.) i wanna feel guilty..

    (Will wakes before dawn.

    He slept pretty good, and if he had fuzzy, already-fading dreams of him and another dark-haired Party member, that’s no one’s business. Will doesn’t even care. It’s whatever.

    (It was 15th-century France. Mike took him on an evening stroll around the streets of Paris. They ordered croissants, then played D&D in Mike’s basement, which was also in Paris. There was a troll with Dustin’s face, but it was okay, because he was friendly. Mike was a really good kisser.)

    Yeah, he, like… hardly remembers. He’s so cool right now. Very normal.) omg shut up

    (The pages are too blurred to read. Magneto bleeds into Professor X, lines melting together until they look like they’re embracing instead of fighting. Like always, it feels like the universe is mocking Will. Making fun of him. Everyone is, these days.) THIS IS DEVASTATING

    (He sets his shoulders, looking determinedly in the mirror. “It’s…” He swallows, then tries again, imagining Will’s hopeful face right in front of him.

    “It’s okay if you don’t like girls,” he whispers, to imaginary Will.) hilarious

    (And that’s—even that makes him mad, because why are they so surprised? Is it that out of character for Will to stand up for himself? To say no to Mike?) gag them again

    (He presses his cheek to the wood, right to the plus sign in M + W, and cries.) killing myself

    (His mind, though, is a swirling mess. El or Will. El or Will.

    Who held his hand?

    What did they—they’re both mad at him, and if it was El—but if it was Will—) well yes

    (No. Will would be exactly the same.) THIS GAG

    (And maybe those aren’t bad changes, but they’re still changes, and they’re making her different from the El he originally met, and—maybe that’s why. Maybe that’s why he’s having a harder time, lately. Why he can’t feel romantic feelings towards her.

    (God. What a bunch of bullshit.) GAGGGGG

    (The pain doesn’t subside—it never really does—but its constancy helps it fade into the background, easy to ignore. Will’s had plenty of practice. He’s sure he’ll get loads more. He’ll practice, and practice, and practice, until one day, he doesn’t even feel it anymore. He won’t even remember what this hurt feels like.) this killed me