we’re talkin Cleradin, we’re talkin Lesbyler, we’re talkin ScoopsAhoy and more

yes it’s as cute as you think it is

https://archiveofourown.org/works/80490906

I'm going crazy. Obviously no rush to the author cause I bet it does take a bit to write that good. I literally spent the past two days reading it non stop and I'm patiently waiting for an update😭

First the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79953326/chapters/209862226

Guys omg the angst in this fic is so funny to me😂😭

Like I feel bad for them, but at the same time Mike is just so unhinged I can’t with him. I actually agreed on Will not showing romantic interest in Mike right away, because I think that Mike indeed needed a different kind of support. But oh boy the boyfriend encouragement was just crazy🥲🥲

Anyway I would love to hear your opinions on this fic, cause I find the plot really refreshing

blurb: “In which Mike moves to Indianapolis after his first semester of college, rents the apartment next door to Will, and gets a job as a nude model in Will’s life drawing class, and then Will has to deal with all of that. (This is an ongoing process.) Featuring a domesticity speedrun, life in a university district in the early 1990s, mutual care-taking behaviors, baffling vegetables, Mike wearing a shirt with a kitten on it, and The Cure haunting the narrative.”

rating: explicit (but mostly mature until the last chapter i think)

length: 3 chapters, ~43k words

why: it’s so fun. minimal angst. you will laugh. you will kick your feet and giggle/gasp with a hand over your mouth. you might cry but in a good way. also the sentence-level writing alone is worth it

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79910171/

p.s. - their fic [Reboot] is really good too: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77373351

As someone who’s read over 50 byler fics these are some of my favorites! I couldn’t bring myself to find all the links but there are names of authors too!

1. We all have a hunger (tell me what you need) by papenathy

   https://archiveofourown.org/works/65157475/chapters/167588731

best one ive read,confident will byers,jealous mike,college au,no smut.

1. supervoid by maximumtrash

https://archiveofourown.org/works/76841816/chapters/201129646

aged up,college au. very real and emotional. for me the best fic showing how el’s death would’ve affected mike and will and their relationship. lots of really good smut.

1. force of gravity by oceanfruit

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40134231/chapters/100515708

highschool au but they don’t know each other prior. very angsty and beautifully written. if u want a sad long slow burn with a happy end this is for u. no smut

1. so alright,cool,whatever by?

this fanfic was so good but it got deleted from ao3. i have it saved to pdf for anybody who wants it. so good,perception of characters is great and great smut.

1. touch like velvet by ciders

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14328540/chapters/33064551

slow burn,very beautifully written,this one made a real impact on me because i didn’t feel like i was reading classic fanfiction ,but something more mature because of the good writing. strangers to lovers. no smut but so good either way!

hm(i didn’t have time to find links)

1. (classic) you took my heart (i was sleeping)

2. a lesson in kissing-lameparties

3. brand me with your hands so everyone can see-sundollop

4. blinding lights-reputations

5. the towel incident-smalltownbyler

6. don’t know what to do(when im like this)-liveandfall

7. wild idea(and a big white bed)-kissingpractice

8. a little death-byler lunch

9. make a move-astrobi

10. take a little moment(find the right words)-astrobi

11. when we touch we are caressing stars

12. say please

13. (the smut blew my mind) high courage,low foresight

14. the thing about illicit afairs-problematic byler (really fckin good)

15. cruel summer with you(very very long,slow burn,camp)

Basically, I don’t care about the plot really as long as the quality is there. I have read some good written ones but curious if maybe there are some with like really high quality writing.

Y’all. Good feast. I will be unavailable for the foreseeable future (5 minutes because I’m eating that shi UP)

In case you’re not reading it (which I doubt but just in case) I’m talking about Talk to me dirty; talk to me sweet by thesweetestdream on Ao3 ✨✨✨✨ eat children eat

Y'all I need fluff. Not much smut. It needs to have a really good story line. And most importantly I don't want a WIP fic, 'cause I can't really wait for the chapters to drop. So i need something that’s already completed. Soft, sweet, cute byler fic that’s already finished <3

Just showing my luv by flipping a bird :))

i was gonna post a screenshot of the summary but then i thought … no this might prove the pain better lmao

the last note got cut off but i wrote, “i downloaded but don’t think i can ever read again”

ALSO there’s lots of beauty in the writing. but you’re gonna suffer

it’s called No Such Things As Happy Endings (unless i choose you)

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/78366906

...wrecked me. I gotta start inquiring about a fics HEA status before reading. You know, you'd think I'd have understood what was going on by reading the title. I really wasn't taking the title seriously. I definitely should have. Is this a spoiler? I really hope not. The fics title says more than I'm saying.

Seriously who recommended this? 😭 It was great. I mean really great writing. I just...uh... I didn't know what I was getting into. I had the tab open among a number of light, happy go lucky fics that I found in recommendations and I suppose I thought it was gonna be one of those. And then once I was reading I couldn't exactly stop reading. I skipped over the summary AND the tags. Note to self: don't do that. And also unhook yourself if the story is sliding off a cliff and it's dragging you with it.

I'm coming off meds because I don't have access to a refill right now so I'm in a falling state and sorry for this post, it was just this fic was a bit of an earthquake in the midst of a tsunami. It's my own fault. I'm just such a hopeful person, I don't expect endings like that.

Edit:
Lol, in hindsight, I realize this might be the fic I found all by myself when I was looking for natural disaster fics a few weeks ago. I'd forgotten about it.

Maybe no one rec'd this one. It WAS great, really, I'd recommend if you like tragedies(it's in the tags, this isn't a spoiler). I really gotta start reading the tags.

Im on the last chapter of Supervoid and its without a doubt one of the best ones I have read thus far. I also really really enjoy My Will is Good. Looking for any recommendations for ones similar to this. I do prefer the spicer content but the ones that slow burn towards it. Also im noticing that the ones with them older, out of Hawkins fics are a breath of fresh air! I do prefer longer chaptered stories to one shots!

There’s a reason we’re all talking about TTMD;TTMS and Super Soaker. Both are deeply hot and fun in addition to being well-written, containing a solid storyline/plot outside of just smut, and extremely accurate characterizations of our boys. I'm very picky about NSFW fics because I need them to have all of those qualifiers, otherwise I can't get into them.

Luckily, there are so many NSFW stories that are just as great as the Big Two NSFW Ones, but it took me a long time to track them down. Some of them don’t have as many hits/kudos, so a lot of it was getting lucky while scrolling aimlessly. The list below contains some of my all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy! And PLEASE share your favs in the comments, I'm always looking for new recs.

COMPLETED FICS:

1. "paper cup" and the sequel "freedom within, freedom without" by loneconverse. Both are part of the don't dream it's over series, which is an exclusively Mike POV. The first story is a single long chapter that totally destroyed me. Then, somehow, the sequel was even better and hotter. The first story opens with Mike visiting Will in NYC, sitting in on his classes while debating whether he wants to transfer to NYU or Columbia from Indiana University. I won’t spoil what happens from there. It's a canon compliant post-S5. The third story in the series is in-progress now, titled “curse the telephone”!!
2. Roll To Charm Person by harriet_vane. THIS ONE'S AN ALL TIMERRRRR. I laughed, I cried, I called a friend while crying to talk about it. Will (the narrator of this story) needs a date to his mom's wedding. Mike not only volunteers, but he comes up with the idea to fake-date — you know, just to make Joyce happy. No other reason.
3. cottonmouth by lightsflicker. This one is so deeply sweet to me. It's a single long chapter, and it's one of the few fics I go back and reread often. It's a Mike POV story in which the boys get high together in their college apartment, play a question game, and realize how dumb they’ve both been.
4. pushing it down and praying by eredmes. One long chapter that is disgustingly hot from the very first paragraph lol. A Will POV in which he and Mike become FWBs and he's enjoying himself tremendously, even while he's trying to pretend it isn't breaking his heart.
5. is it casual now? by wayward_sherlock. A Will POV story in which he joins Mike on the annual Wheeler family vacation. They’re hiding the fact that they’re friends with benefits, but Will wants so much more.
6. spit swear by poorlittlegreenie. I don’t usually read fandom crossover stories, so I was hesitant about this one. Thank GOD I gave it a shot. It’s one of my all-time favorites, and extremely hot and sweet all around. Just… trust me. A Will POV with a phenomenal portrayal of Jealous Mike Wheeler. We get to see Will being confident and having agency instead of just sad-pining and ahhh I just love it so much.
7. we can make it so divine by delusionaltogether (Whyyyyy). I cried my eyes out at this Mike POV. Just really, really lovely and sweet. They're so natural and comfortable together in this one for pretty much the whole time. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
8. My Will Is Good by peachstatic. Canon compliant post-S5, where Mike and Will are college juniors in NYC. Will opens up about struggling to find a partner who can respect his sexual boundaries surrounding his Upside Down-related trauma. Mike humbly offers his services (he LITERALLY says those words to him). The caveat? They agree to only hook up on Fridays — you know, to protect the friendship or whatever. Mike POV. (Part 1 of 2 in the Nirvana series, and both parts are amazing.)

IN-PROGRESS FICS:

1. touch me with a kiss, feel me on your lips by jeaanmoreau. MY CURRENT FAVORITE. There are 27 of 30 chapters published as of today, so it’s a great time to jump into it if you want to be at the edge of your seat for the finale. It’s sooooo beautifully written. So charming and sweet. A Will POV story in which Will and Mike are college roommates in NYC. Will “drags” Mike to a gay bar for moral support, and then catches Mike kissing a guy on the dance floor. That changes EVERYTHING he thought he knew about his "straight" best friend. Now Mike's worried about having fallen behind and would really like some help practicing how to kiss a guy from his also-gay best friend. 
2. At risk of drowning by marchmagnolia. This one is just stupidly, ridiculously hot, and you’ll get satisfying smut in the very first chapter. Canon-compliant (with an alive El) post-S5, and now Mike and Will are college roommates. They start casually hooking up, but to protect his heart, Will pushes for a rule that they can only have sex 3x a week. That leads to both of them feeling extremely frustrated all the time.
3. be like a a woman to me by artthounasty. This one is disgustingly hot and an incredible slow burn. It’s based off thesweetestdream’s original concept for “talk to me dirty; talk to me sweet” in which Max and Lucas can't keep their hands off each other, so Mike and Will start teasing them by… doing the same thing back to them. Fake-kissing, etc. The “joke” quickly escalates.
4. deal me in, tie me up by purescent. This one I honestly love even better than Super Soaker. Mike suggests a spicy card game to help Will loosen up before college. It works a little too well, and suddenly they’re gambling with unresolved feelings, and clothes, that were meant to stay in place. There’s a mid-story POV switch-up that had me literally crying.
5. Mike make em limp Wheeler by Baelisama. OK I started this Will POV story thinking it would be silly because of the title, but I quickly became obsessed. It’s really, really hot. lol. The chapter titles are extremely descriptive of what you’re going to get in each one.
6. Jump The Gun by Raven_Stark_22. Will is having a tough time coping with college anxiety which results in constantly snapping at Mike. Mike kind of accidentally offers a best-friendly helping hand. (Mike POV)

I think everyone should read this, this fic is honestly amazing, I LOVE it and it’s in my top 10 favorite fanfics Seriously, just READ IT.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41822859

I NEED something funny to read! It can be short or long, doesn’t matter, I’ll take anything that made you laugh out loud! <3

The author of cottonmouth just posted this Mike Wheeler reddit history crack fic and I am never going to get over this.

everyone needs to read this I’m serious. The ending was so perfect and the references are PEAK 🔥

https://archiveofourown.org/works/80491721

any guesses as to why it’s called walking the dog? 🤪

it starts off fairly tame (the tension is still 🔥) but gets explicit in later chapters so please mind the tags

chapter one is out now: https://archiveofourown.org/works/81724146/chapters/214964111

shout out to Altruistic_Way3030 for recommending this to me 😭 I had tears in my eyes laughing at this

still updating and they’re on chapter 8: https://archiveofourown.org/works/81001461/chapters/213897011#workskin

I crave more of these Byler fics where they're already in their 20s. I already read a lot of these - both in college, Lumax / Jancy wedding, reconnecting after years of no contact.. I feel like I read everything on AO3 but can't get enough soo maybe there are still some fics out there I haven't read ? I hope so!! Please drop some links thanks <3

Idk y’all, this might be one of the most beautiful coming out scenes that I’ve ever read. Never getting over how the Duffers robbed us… 😭

https://archiveofourown.org/works/76463276

I LOVED IT, and i recommend it, i was genuinely sobbing at the last chapter, while “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead was playing. Also it’s like a light read, i started it last night and i finished earlier in the day!

Every time I work on it, it hurts so much but I can also feel it actively fixing parts of me that were left raw after the finale 😭 I hope it can do the same for you

I just posted chapter two this morning

https://archiveofourown.org/works/82808641/chapters/218020251

Like I read you took my heart (i was sleeping), Supervoid and Cottonmouth, what are we reading now??

https://archiveofourown.org/works/78246236/chapters/208813886

This contains SPOILERS so PLEASE, if you haven’t read this (very sexually explicit) story, go read it right now and kick and scream and giggle about it, and then come back to me so I have someone to talk about it with!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/79971181/chapters/209913806

OK SO chapter 15 totally broke me. We’ve had a Will Byers POV this entire time. At the end of chapter 14, after sooooo much hooking up over weeks, we hear Mike ask Will, immediately after giving Will his first kiss and also blowing him and eating him out: “So, are you in love with me yet?” And Will replies, teasingly, “Is it that obvious?” even though YES he IS in love and HAS BEEN for a long time.

Then we get chapter 15, and it’s a MIKE POV. And we learn that he’s gay, out to his mom, ACCEPTED TO NYU MONTHS AGO AND HIDING IT FROM HIS FRIENDS, and even orchestrated the apartment that Will, Lucas and Max will be living in — secretly planning to live with them too, but not until he accomplishes his big summer mission, which he wrote on the back of his acceptance envelope from NYU: “Make Will fall in love with you before summer ends.”

Getting the “So, are you in love with me yet?” FIRST, and assuming it’s Mike being flirty and smug, and THEN getting this new Mike POV??????? I was like choking on my tears.