swiftiesdestiel

[swiftiesdestiel]

byler fanfic recommendations • part 2 !!

—————————

= a body in motion by astrobi | 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.

= just another downpour by sylvianightshade | Will & Mike have an awkward night post-rain fight

= let me steal this moment from you by smoosnoom (moonsooms) | In the wreckage, Mike and Will spend a series of nights together. (favourite of mine)

= when we're finished saying nothing (can we please get back to us) by mikeslawyer | Mike feels Will slipping away from him and he can't, he won't let that happen.

= kiss me with your mouth full of smoke (and don't let my heart burn) by mikeslawyer | Mike and Will getting high, when the world is ending.

= if you kissed me now by astrobi | 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.

= i hate accidents (except when we went from friends to this) by burgundyshirts | five times Mike kissed Will, and one time Will kissed back.

= resplendent by smoosnoom (moonsooms) | Will's powers seem to go haywire every time they kiss.

= this must be the place by be_brave13 & vipertooths | A year after Vecna's defeat, things have finally returned to normal. Well, aside from the lingering nightmares. And the fact that Mike is in love with his best friend and it's getting increasingly harder to keep that to himself.

But it's all going to be fine. They're going to go to Steve's parent's heretofore undiscussed lakehouse, spend two weeks slow-roasting in the Indiana sun, and be normal teenagers for once. Really, the least they deserve at this point is a little summertime relaxation.

(there wasn’t a shorter summary, sorry!! this is a new fav of mine tho, really loved this one)

= the walls we crashed through by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) | byler fake dating trope

= All I wanted was you by regretcassette | 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)

= time after time by bookinit | will & mike listen to music and talk. really talk.

—————————

AU:

= Win or Lose by gardenfairie | Mike's semester takes a serious turn when—

A) He realizes he's in love with his best friend

B) A popular handsome senior takes interest in said best friend, and he can't stand it

= Say It With Your Hands by Pseudologia | Will and Mike meet working at their local movie theater, and Mike is so into Will — particularly his hands — that he almost gets fired.

= how will i know (if history repeats itself) by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy) | the one where they're exes who still kiss sometimes, but not, like, in a weird way.

= need-to-snow basis by smoosnoom (moonsooms) | Mike has been acting strange, and, if Will didn't know any better, he'd almost think Mike was flirting with him.

Thankfully, he knows better.

Kind of.

—————————

HAVE FUN xx

[swiftiesdestiel]

another confirmation for the fake will byers death theory in s5 iktr🙏

link: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGda2nkbL/

[swiftiesdestiel]

this is your reminder that el was publicly humiliated and harassed at rink o'mania by her bullies but according to mike wheeler what sabotaged the whole day was will minding his own business. i can't believe this is canon. what the hell.

[swiftiesdestiel]

I need a scene in season five that parallels when Mike almost jumped into the quarry for Dustin back in season one. Mike jumping into the Upside Down after Will gets dragged into the cracks in the Earth, and El catching him with her powers. El drags Mike away while he screams Will's name.

PLEASE.

[swiftiesdestiel]

as a fandom I fear we dont talk about this frame of mike enough

[swiftiesdestiel]

You ask, you receive

BYLER LETTER GATE SCENE

The storm outside thrashes against the walls. The Wheeler house groans.

Mike flips on a lamp — weak, orange light.

Mike:

“Still smells like dust and… whatever that old candle was Mom used to light in here.”

Will lingers in the doorway. Doesn’t sit. Just watches Mike fidget with a drawer.

Will:

“Lilac and linen.”

(beat)

“Holly hated it. Said it smelled like ‘dead Barbie clothes.’”

Mike snorts a soft laugh. It catches in his throat.

Mike:

“She drew this thing earlier. Dustin said it looked like the Mind Flayer, but… I think it was supposed to be me.”

He turns toward Will. “It had my hair.”

Will finally steps inside. Eyes flicking around the room like it’s a crime scene.

Will:

“She drew me with my mouth sewn shut once.”

Mike pauses. Grimaces.

Mike:

“She’s not wrong.”

That makes Will smile. Barely.

Thunder cracks. A deep, guttural sound. The whole room shivers with it.

Mike pulls open another drawer, crouching near the floor. Muttering to himself, rifling through old junk — tangled cords, torn notebook paper, a cracked cassette case.

Mike:

“God, what was I even looking for again?”

Will:

“Comfort?”

Mike chuckles. And then stops. Blinks at something under the bed.

Mike doesn’t move fast enough.

Will steps forward — drawn in by something just visible beneath the bed.

A folded piece of paper. Edges worn. As if touched too many times.

He reaches down. Pulls it out.

Turns it over.

His name.

Scrawled in Mike’s handwriting. Sharp. Hesitant.

Will.

Mike straightens sharply. Blood draining from his face.

Mike:

(voice breaking)

“Don’t—”

But Will’s already opening it.

His eyes scan the words. Once. Then again. Slower.

Each line like a blow to the chest.

He exhales — a sharp, pained sound.

And drops it.

The paper flutters to the ground between them.

Quiet. Final.

Will doesn’t look at Mike. Doesn’t say a word.

He turns. Walks out of the room like he’s trying not to run.

But he is.

He’s running.

————————————

To Will,

I don’t know what I’m doing.

I shouldn’t be writing this.

You’re not supposed to know.

But I miss you. And it’s worse when I see you. It’s like everything I’ve tried to forget just gets louder.

I thought it would go away. It hasn’t.

I don’t even know what this is. I just needed to say something, even if it’s only here.

Sorry.

—M

_____________________

Mike doesn’t follow.

Not right away.

He just stands there, frozen. The air feels too thick. His lungs don’t work right. The letter lies where it fell—open, exposed, like a wound.

He hadn’t meant for this. Not like this.

He moves on instinct. Out the door. Down the hall.

And stops.

Will is there. In the doorway.

Backlit by the storm outside. Rain streaking the windows. His chest rises and falls in shallow bursts—like breathing hurts.

Their eyes meet.

And everything shifts.

Mike’s voice is low. Rough. Like it scrapes its way out of him.

Mike:

“You… You weren’t supposed to—”

He doesn’t finish.

Silence crashes in around them.

Tighter than before.

Louder, somehow.

They’re staring at each other like strangers. Or like they’ve only just now started seeing clearly.

Will:

(quietly)

“When?”

His voice is barely a thread. But Mike hears it.

Mike:

(voice catching)

“When you left. For… for California.”

Will looks down. Not at Mike. At the letter. Still lying there like a secret finally pulled into the light.

Will:

(soft, stunned)

“Lenora.”

It lands between them. Not a question. Just a name. A memory.

Mike takes one step forward. Hesitant.

His voice breaks again.

Mike:

“You weren’t supposed to see it.”

Will doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t speak. His eyes stay locked on the letter.

Mike:

“I was gonna get rid of it. I swear. I—I couldn’t…”

Will:

(finishing, barely above a whisper)

“But you couldn’t.”

That’s when he looks up.

And their eyes meet again—this time searching, scanning. Not for answers. For each other. For truth.

Mike’s gaze is desperate. Like he’s waiting for a verdict. Like he’s already preparing to lose.

Will’s is unreadable.

But wide. Open.

Mike steps forward hesitantly.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters—barely louder than the storm still pounding against the windows. “I tried to kill it. I did. But when I saw you in California… it killed me first.”

His voice splinters there, like it costs something just to admit it.

Will doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t move. His breathing is sharp, shallow. But he’s still standing there. Still listening.

And Mike—Mike is wrecked.

His hair is damp and curling, pressed against his forehead in messy, soaked strands. There’s a smudge of dirt on his cheek, and his clothes hang heavy from the rain. He looks like he’s been dragged through the end of the world and didn’t stop running. But still—he’s beautiful. Not in some perfect, polished way. But in the realness of him. Raw and aching and alive.

“I hated what it made me,” Mike says, quieter now. “Wanting you. Needing you. I thought if I ignored it long enough, it would just stop.”

Will’s lip twitches—but it’s not quite a smile. It’s something bitterer. Sharper. His gaze drops to the floor. The letter still lies there between them like a crack in the foundation.

“And it didn’t,” Will says flatly.

Mike swallows. “No. It didn’t.”

The silence stretches again. But this one is different. Not cold. Just… full. Charged.

Like a wire pulled taut.

Mike shifts, just barely closer. And now he’s within arm’s reach, and Will’s shoulders are tense like a bowstring.

The air is hot with something unspoken—frustration, fear, desire all tangled together like a thread they can’t stop pulling.

Mike looks at him, really looks. At the tight set of his jaw. The way his hands keep clenching and unclenching at his sides. The way his throat works when he swallows.

He takes another breath, chest trembling.

“I didn’t want to ruin what we had,” he whispers. “But I think I ruined it anyway.”

Will looks up at that.

And Mike sees it—everything in his face. The hurt. The longing. The rage. The hope. All at once.

“You didn’t,” Will breathes, and something catches in Mike’s chest.

Their eyes lock. And suddenly the room is too small for whatever is burning between them.

Mike shifts forward again. Slower now. A tremor in his hand as he reaches up, tentative.

He’s staring at Will like he’s afraid to blink.

His fingertips graze Will’s jaw, feather-light.

And then, softer than breath:

“Can I?”

Will doesn’t answer with words.

He just leans in.

And then Mike surges forward—and it’s everything.

It’s teeth and heat and years of silence finally breaking. It’s Mike grabbing Will’s face like he can’t bear to lose it again, like he’s afraid this isn’t real. Will’s hands bunch in the front of Mike’s soaked shirt, dragging him impossibly closer.

The kiss is desperate. Messy. Earned.

Mike backs him up—step by step—until Will’s back hits the wall with a soft thud, and still, still, they can’t stop.

Will’s breath hitches as Mike kisses down once, barely a break, their foreheads knocking together between gasps.

They hold each other like they’re trying to make up for lost time. Like the world is ending outside this room and they don’t care.

For now—this is it. This is everything.

And neither of them lets go.

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[swiftiesdestiel]

am i the only one who refuses to read fanfics when i’m not in bed…. it sounds weird but like i have to be ready for bed, in pyjamas & comfy underneath my blankets to actually enjoy a fanfic (or any book really) or else i literally won’t be able to enjoy it as much

[swiftiesdestiel]

when do we think we’ll be getting the trailer?? I need new content

[swiftiesdestiel]

Burke Swanson (who plays Hopper in TFS) on how Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Stranger Things 5 are connected.

[swiftiesdestiel]

"i handpicked those for you in hawkins. i know you like yellow, but now i'm kinda realizing it's too much yellow, i know you also like purple so i got some purple as well so i kinda did like a 70/30 split kinda thing" this is still interesting to me like why not pick more of the purple flowers and say "it's too much purple"....nope. they had him say "it's too much yellow" which is will's color....why why WHY

[swiftiesdestiel]

I'm so curious to finally know when Finn found out about Mike being queer. Because that man unfortunately has a track record of his own queer plots FLYING over his head (i.e. he KISSED a BOY in tg and then called the characters "brothers"), but he's been giddy about Byler since, like, season 3. And skeptical of Mileven since s2. And he had to be at least a LITTLE suspicious because of how often they told him to stare at Will's lips. So how long has he known?

[swiftiesdestiel]

idk this shot is really funny to me 💀💀

mike: jail? you’re gonna put her in jail?! 😃😃😆

jonathan: 😦 *breaking the fourth wall*

[swiftiesdestiel]

Hey! Friendly reminder!

Hosegate is NOT weird!

“They’re thinking about WHAT? 😦”

Are we forgetting about Nancy and Steve in s1? Are we forgetting about the 69 sigh right above Lucas when he was sleeping, referencing his attraction towards women. Fast times? Are you kidding me?

Y’all act like teenagers are the most innocent creatures ever. Absolutely not. Are we forgetting Mike has canonically checked Will on multiple occasions? It’s weird that hoesgate and other sex jokes between these two is the apparent “line”. Because last time I checked, no one said anything about Jonathan’s poster of a half naked woman on his wall. No one said anything about Nancy and Jonathan’s implied sex scene.

Queer intimacy is not dirtier than straight intimacy!

It’s not a stretch to say that scene was a sexual innuendo. Let queer couples have their intimate moments! I just thought this was relevant to mention especially with s5 coming out, the main cast being older in high school.

“They would never think about sex!”

Say it with me: QUEER SEX ISN’T DIRTIER THAN STRAIGHT SEX! Pls stop treating byler like they’re innocent babies. Pls stop infantilizing them. They’re going into junior year in s5. Same age as Nancy and Steve in s1 btw! Genuinely, how is gay sex ‘dirtier’ than straight sex? Seriously… same concept, different execution. Also is it such a stretch to say that two teenagers experience getting turned on? Like you know, most teenagers do (shoutout to my ace peeps) it’s a coming of age story, for goodness sake! It’s understandable to be uncomfortable with smut/spicy content relating to byler, completely understandable; but you can’t act like they’re too pure for sex when they aren’t, and there’s evidence in the show to prove that.

That’s all! My point is that it’s frustrating when people are acting like byler is too innocent for sex. It’s perfectly fine, who cares. They’re teenagers, teenagers have sex. All I’m saying is the double standards are crazy… I feel like Tumblr this isn’t a problem but bylers on other platforms have this issue way worse.

[swiftiesdestiel]

If the painting wasn't important to the story (not even considering Byler here), it wouldn't be mentioned in El's letter in the FIRST MINUTES of the season.

[swiftiesdestiel]

[swiftiesdestiel]

during s4 promo, finn said that during the season mike is “trying to be as normal as possible”. i think this gives a lot of insight into what mike is feeling is s4 in regards to his sexuality.

(TL;DR at end)

in s4, mike is an active and proud member of his schools dnd club. mind you, this was during the 80s when satanic panic was at peak. dnd players during this time were largely regarded to be promoting satanism, and definitely not seen as normal. however, mike doesn’t seem to care about this. in the scene pictured above, mike says to lucas “have you ever considered that maybe we don’t want to be popular?” followed by (or following i don’t remember) dustin saying “we are nerds and freaks!” it’s very clear that mike isn’t worried about being perceived as ‘normal’ towards his classmates in terms of his interests/nerdiness.

mike sits at the table in school that would be considered the “freak table”. yall i live in a small southern town and i’ve sat at one of these tables before. it’s not fun. but again, mike doesn’t seem to be worried too much about this either.

none of mikes behavior in hawkins during s4 really indicates he’s “trying to be normal as possible”. so what is finn referencing?

during the airport scene, will is obviously going for a hug. however, mike is the one to make it weird by giving him a side hug. like, he had to deliberately decide to not return wills hug. mind you, will is the one who has already come to terms with the fact that he’s in love with mike, but still feels comfortable being affectionate with him. it’s mike who makes it awkward, because he’s clearly questions if his feelings for will are actually platonic, or romantic. hes literally having gay panic. this confusion is likely leading him to question his interactions with will. he decides to opt out of the hug, because he thinks the awkward side pat would be more normal (aka straight)

during him and wills fight at the roller rink, mike feels the need to emphasize “we’re friends. we’re friends.” mind you, will hadn’t said anything to imply that they were anything but. so, why mike? why feel the need to remind your best friend are only friends? he’s projecting! while will knows that he loves mike, he doesn’t think mike reciprocates. mike, however, is in denial about the fact that he kurt have romantic feelings about his male best friend. while he was physically taking to will, he was trying to convince himself that him and will are only friends. he clearly feels that anything more than that would be abnormal.

it should also be noted that the reason mike is acting so weird around will in these scenes is likely due to the fact that mike hadn’t seen will in a longgg time, and this was his first time seeing him after will moved. not only does distance make the heart grow fonder, but it also makes it easier to push away feelings of love for your best friend.

i could keep going, and i could even include s3 moments that are similar, but i just don’t have the energy to do so lmao.

TL;DR: the only times in season 4 where mike is desperately trying to “act normal” are during his scenes with will.

mike wheeler i know what you are

[swiftiesdestiel]

will byers feeling comfortable enough to rant to mike wheeler again in s5 about whatever is going on on in his wonderful little brain and then turning around to see mike staring at him with the most loving awe struck heart eyes and just grinning before going on with his point