19 Bookmarks by squash_look_odd
List of Bookmarks
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Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
20 Dec 2023
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when you're all alone (i'll reach for you) by sharedlooks
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
10 Oct 2023
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Summary
“Promise me,” Mike starts.
Will turns his head toward him, a questioning look in his eyes.
“That you’ll be okay.”
Will takes a deep breath before scooting close and laying his head on Mike’s shoulder. He grabs Mike’s hand, intertwining their fingers, rubbing small, soft circles with his thumb over his knuckles. “I promise, Mike," he whispers.
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
13 Nov 2023
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right where it begins by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
15 Jan 2023
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Summary
Mike shrugs, looking mildly uncomfortable. "Didn't seem important," he says, and Will's annoyance comes back in full force.
"Didn't seem- okay, well did you tell her that we weren't together?" he demands, fingers tightening around Mike's sleeve again.
"Yes!" Mike squawks, wrenching his arm out of Will's grip. He looks- not angry, per se, but definitely a little annoyed now. Confused at Will's reaction, maybe, and- yeah, Will knows he's being overdramatic, but Mike is being entirely too underdramatic about all this, and he thinks they should at least try to meet in the middle. "But I don't know what my parents think. And by the way, I'm not loving how offended you are by people thinking you're dating me."
Will pauses. "Hang on, that's not what I'm saying." He's thrilled by the concept, actually, but he knows he shouldn't be and Mike can't know that, can't know how bad he wants this, which is why Will's had to take a different route.
5 times people thought mike and will were together + 1 time they actually were
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 15,991
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 92
- Kudos:
- 1,739
- Bookmarks:
- 346
- Hits:
- 14,235
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
30 Oct 2023
Bookmarker's Notes
giggling and kicking my feet the whole time
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Summary
“You’re not boning, though, right?” he says, suddenly. He doesn’t know why he feels such an urge to bring it up again, as if the thought of Mike boning is not something that is CODE RED #1 at the top of Will's list of things to absolutely never think about. But also. Look–
“What? No, of course I’m not boning,” Mike splutters, turning a violent shade of scarlet, “how would I even hide that from you, I’m with you all the time–”
And then he falls silent, so fast that Will gets tonal whiplash from how fast Mike just went from saying boning over and over again to just clamping his mouth shut and staring at the wall across from them.
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).
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 53,522
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 286
- Kudos:
- 3,912
- Bookmarks:
- 953
- Hits:
- 57,479
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
14 Oct 2023
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tried and true blue by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) for etchedstars
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
29 Apr 2023
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Summary
"So," Will says, swallowing and forcing back the pettiness coating the inside of his throat, "There is a girl, then?"
Mike glances away sheepishly, blushing and raising a hand to rub nervously at the back of his neck. "Um. Not exactly."
Will frowns. What else could it possibly be, he wonders, what with the hickeys and the evasive behavior and the coming home late, all of which Will is totally normal and not annoyed about. Maybe it was - he winces at the thought - a hookup that ended poorly, or a series of unrelated incidents, or-
"What is it, then?" he asks, if only to distract himself from this obviously destructive train of thought, and Mike meets his eyes nervously.
"There's not a girl," Mike repeats, sounding a little pained, "But there is- a boy."
The world stops.
In which Mike has a boyfriend who is not Will, and Will is totally, super, very much okay with this turn of events.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 19,942
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 172
- Kudos:
- 3,052
- Bookmarks:
- 725
- Hits:
- 30,861
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
12 Oct 2023
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Summary
Will Byers was raised to have the only correct opinions on music ever, actually, and he’s proud to show this off in the music review section of his university's queer student artists’ collective’s relatively popular zine, zine of the times. He actually really enjoys this position–that is, until the president of the zine informs him that he has to review his least favorite band on this earth: The Fellowship of the Ring.
At least his incredibly attractive neighbor in his U.S. history class is gonna go with him on the assignment, right?
Or: 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.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 54,518
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 185
- Kudos:
- 1,084
- Bookmarks:
- 388
- Hits:
- 20,175
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
02 Oct 2023
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Summary
“That’s my step brother Will,” El said from somewhere next to Mike, her voice pulling him out of the trance he had found himself in. “He got me the job here, among other things.”
“They look great together,” he replied softly, trying to keep the disappointment from seeping into his voice. Mike knew that not everyone was like him, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt when he saw someone he couldn’t have.
“Yeah,” El said, sounding just as breathless as Mike felt. “You’d think they were a couple, right?”
At that, Mike turned to her in near disbelief. “Aren’t they?”
El looked back at him with a knowing glint in her eyes. “They’ve always been just friends.”
***
Mike's in for another bummer summer at some stupid resort his family dragged him to when he becomes wrapped up in the responsibilities - and the arms - of a group of staff who are in desperate need of his help. Who knows...maybe he'll end up having the time of his life.
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
28 Sep 2023
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Summary
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.
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
22 Sep 2023
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Summary
College roommates Mike and Will started kissing a few weeks ago, but they haven't talked about their feelings yet. Mike descends into a spiral about whether it's better to go slow and keep it casual or to open up about how he maybe sorta might be falling in love.
Title inspired by a lyric in "I'm in Love With You" by the 1975, no muppets were fucked in the making of this fic :)
Series
- Part 2 of The Start of Something New
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,700
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 42
- Kudos:
- 1,616
- Bookmarks:
- 225
- Hits:
- 12,581
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
22 Sep 2023
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Summary
“It’s a good thing,” Will reassures, and his thumb swipes over Mike’s cheek. Mike thinks he might explode. “It means you’re nice to look at. Artists would love you.”
Mike’s heart feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest. Will is still looking at him, and he swallows, throat dry. “Yeah?”
Will’s own face reddens, like he’d just thought about what he said. “Yeah,” he answers, and Mike grins.Living in a shared apartment with Will is all Mike could ask for, except for the part where he keeps thinking about kissing Will in the middle of their kitchen.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 15,645
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 144
- Kudos:
- 5,657
- Bookmarks:
- 1,246
- Hits:
- 60,158
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
10 Sep 2023
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Summary
"Daniel came in this afternoon," Will starts, looking up at the painting of the party so he doesn't have to look in Mike's dark eyes.
"I remember," Mike interrupts in agitation. "I wish he'd try to burn the place down just so I could ban him."
"Right.." Will continues, with a great amount of hesitancy now. "Well, he asked me on a date. A movie date, tomorrow night, and we're going to get dinner. But I didn't think that was safe, so he suggested we bring someone so we look like a friend group, but it would have to be someone we trusted and I trust you, so I guess I'm asking if you'll go on a date with me?"
Will pauses his rambling, breathing unevenly and waiting on Mike's answer. The other boy sits up slowly, keeping his back to Will and looking contemplative, if a bit unreadable.
This was his chance for a real relationship, a chance for all those teen firsts he'd never had, and he knows he can like Danny. He's not going to blow his chance.
/OR/ Will gets asked out on a date, and asks Mike to come along to make it less obviously a date to outside people. Ft. Dramatic 17 year olds, rain fight parallels, jealous Mike Wheeler, and unrequited affection (but its not between byler)
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
09 Sep 2023
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Summary
"So you- you haven't, like. Kissed anyone, then?" Mike asks, fully aware that he should probably just quit while he's ahead but needing to know, suddenly, if Will has any sort of romantic entanglements that he's neglected to tell Mike about. He's not sure why, but there's something in his gut that demands to know, has some sort of sudden need to know if Will has kissed anyone that's not him.
If Will has kissed anyone that's not-
Wait, what?
or: Mike is jealous of himself.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,253
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 240
- Kudos:
- 8,552
- Bookmarks:
- 1,516
- Hits:
- 63,071
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
08 Sep 2023
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Summary
"Is Will your boyfriend?" Holly asks, and Mike immediately chokes on the lettuce in his mouth.
"Wh- what?" he gasps, dropping his fork and swallowing back the salad that suddenly feels like cement in his throat. Holly's looking at him with a strange expression, like she's trying to figure something out.
"Will. Is he your boyfriend?" she repeats, even though Mike very obviously heard her, and the question doesn't feel any less shocking the second time.
"No!" He yelps. "No, why would you think that?"
Holly shrugs, taking another bite of spaghetti like this is a normal conversation and she is not slowly killing him. "Nancy calls him your little boyfriend sometimes, and Mom says he's your person, which basically means the same thing, and you live together and act like a couple and unpack groceries together, and- I don't know. Seems like it could be a thing."
holly visits college roommates mike and will, and has a few important questions for them
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 21,445
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 3
- Comments:
- 248
- Kudos:
- 5,784
- Bookmarks:
- 1,490
- Hits:
- 56,688
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
07 Sep 2023
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Summary
After Mike unwittingly stumbles into a series of interpersonal bombshells, he immediately sets out to find Will so he can find out what, exactly, that painting meant, and why Will lied about it. Unfortunately, Mike is obsessively obstinate and relentless to a fault, and he'll go to the literal ends of the earth to get the answers he needs.
Or: Mike and Will's Apocalypse Romcom Spectacular
(Formerly known as We Will All Go Together When We Go - see beginning author's note for more info)
Series
- Part 1 of To Hell and Back Again
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 144,837
- Chapters:
- 32/32
- Comments:
- 2,413
- Kudos:
- 9,931
- Bookmarks:
- 2,361
- Hits:
- 296,217
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
05 Sep 2023
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Summary
Will lets out a small squawk as Mike’s hand— his very cold, very freezing hand— finds its way around the blankets and under his sweater. “I’m sick, you weirdo,” he says, half-laughing into the side of Mike’s head, “I have a fever.”
“I don’t care,” Mike mumbles, “you’re warm and I’m cold. This is nice.”
“You’re going to get sick,” Will tries, for the umpteenth time, but it’s pointless. Mike Wheeler is stubborn and hardheaded and he never does anything halfway— not even this.
Will gets sick. He's dealing with it. Seriously, Mike- he's fine.
(or: a study in intimacy.)Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
03 Sep 2023
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Summary
Will raises his eyebrows. “Is that why you came in here?” he repeats, looking back down at the blue flannel. “To ask me about the weather in Lenora?”
“Kind of,” Mike says, and then, “well no, not about the weather specifically. I just– I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh.” And Will looks a lot more surprised at this, actually, than the idea that Mike might have just wanted to come to his room to make small talk about unseasonably frigid California winters. “Okay. What about?”
“Anything.” The response is embarrassingly immediate. “Everything. I don’t know. I missed you.”
Hawkins, 1986. The world is ending, there are too many people in Mike's house, and to top it all off, he and Will have some things to talk through.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 77,728
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 584
- Kudos:
- 9,136
- Bookmarks:
- 2,609
- Hits:
- 193,769
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
28 Aug 2023
Bookmarker's Notes
AAHBDUIWKDNJSALDKCVMWPDKNMEPOLDVKNOELFV
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Summary
It takes one, two, three seconds before Will’s heart starts beating again. And another three before he remembers to be mad at him about it. “Don’t call me that,” he protests weakly, but it’s no use. Mike’s grin only grows.
“Anything for you, Your Highness.”
“Michael,” Will hisses, yanking his hand away, but Mike is already laughing. It’s always been easy to get a rise out of him where Mike is involved, which is a fact Mike not only knows, but exploits on the regular. “I’m going to put the venom back in your arm and let your flesh rot off your body.”
Will really wishes Mike would learn that armor does not equate to invincibility. For Mike's own sake, it's probably a good thing Will knows magic.
Bookmarked by squash_look_odd
28 Aug 2023
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a cruel summer with you by andiwriteordie, astrobi, wiseatom
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
26 Dec 2024
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Summary
“Oh, come on,” Will says, struggling to keep his voice neutral in a different way. His mouth is dry, and he hates Mike for it even more. “Is this what it’s going to be like this summer?”
Mike looks back at him, considering, lips pursed in an effort to shut down the smirk that Will knows is fighting to break free. Will doesn’t dare to let his gaze catch there, focusing instead on holding Mike’s stare, because this, too, is a game.
Five years into a rivalry with bittersweet origins, the only thing Mike and Will want is to beat each other at this summer’s camp counselor competition. But being back at camp is dredging up old memories, and as Mike and Will lose momentum and gain something else entirely, it becomes increasingly clear that one summer can change everything.
Series
- Part 5 of in the quiet of the night
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Summary
"Um. Right," he answers, sort of forgetting what the question had been. He's too busy watching Will's face under the bright kitchen lights, gaze catching on his cheekbones, on the pretty pink flush against his tanned skin, on his lips- "Right, yeah."
"Right," Will echoes, staring at him like he's grown a second head or something, which at this point would probably be the least weird thing to happen to Mike in his sorry excuse for a life, "To- um. To which part?"
Mike tears his eyes away from Will's lips, feeling a bit dizzy. "What?"
Will looks like he doesn't know whether to hit him again or check him for a head injury. "I asked," he says slowly, still frowning at him, "If you wanted to do this to make your guy jealous, and if you were using the Daniel thing as an excuse, because I don't even like him, really, and- uh."
"Oh," Mike says, clearing his throat quickly and bobbing his head, "Um- yeah, something like that."
In terms of plans, this might not be the worst one Mike's ever had. In terms of execution, well- there might be room for improvement.