[fancyfranzisstuff]

Just for funsies, I thought I'd share my current favourite byler fics :) (I trust you all to read the tags before you read the fics)

Edit: Update 08.04.2026

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"Will is an art student, has a boyfriend, an ambiguous relationship with his roommate and childhood best friend, and a difficult past he has to come to terms with before finding his own truth."

I think this is my all-time favourite fic. There is still one chapter to come, but this whole story has had me in a chokehold from day one. I came for the cheating byler and stayed for a beautiful story about grief and being honest with yourself. I seriously don't understand how so few people have read it, it is just THAT good! (go read it!!) Update: It is finished!!! It's still my favourite fic of all time <3

Going on to my current favourite category 'Toxic Byler,' 'deranged x even more deranged', whatever you wanna call it:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"Mike Wheeler is obsessed with Will Byers—the beloved, magnetic barista who seems to draw everyone in without trying. From a careful distance, Mike memorizes Will’s routines, his class schedule, his coworkers’ names, the way he takes his coffee. Watching is safer than touching. Will is perfect—warm, artistic, adored by everyone who meets him, including him.

But perfection is a mask. Mike accidentally discovers that the sweetness is curated and the charm deliberate. Something sharp and dangerous lives beneath Will’s gentle smile. And as Mike’s fixation deepens, he begins to realize that just maybe he wandered too close."

This one is still pretty early on but already soooo well written and really engaging. I'm so excited to see where this goes. Update: Also finished!!! It is sooooo good!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/78986926

"Now, I have the power to carry out my plans. To make everyone who's hurt you suffer. Because in my eyes, no one who has laid a hand on you deserves to live."

~OR~

Mike Wheeler is Ghostface, and he goes absolutely off the rails for Will Byers, which entails in getting the two of them into some unlikely situations.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

"Will should’ve found it unpleasant, disturbing maybe. He didn’t. He felt intrigued and more excited than he's felt in a long time. Whatever lived in the woods had seen him. And it had let him go."

 

-

 

Will Byers, plagued by his morbid curiosity for the disappearances and deaths in Montauk, encounters a strange forest and an even stranger creature.

This one has two more chapters to go and I am sooo excited, they are so obsessed with each other, it's perfect!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/78323006

For the past 6 months, Mike Wheeler has been following Will Byers all around New York City—without Will knowing. But it's not in a weird way, like the stories Mike's heard about on television. The entire situation is just one big misunderstanding.

It started when Mike decided to drive all the way up to New York to reconcile his friendship with Will—they'd fallen out after Will moved away, and he desperately wanted to fix that. He’d made it to the city and managed to find Will, and was ready to get started on rebuilding their relationship right away.

That’s when he ran into a small issue: for some reason, he was physically incapable of approaching Will. For days, he attempted to work up the courage to walk up to him, but it proved impossible. Days turned into weeks, and then months, and Mike was still stuck watching him from afar. Only now, he knew exactly where to find Will when he needed to. He was growing fearful that he might be stuck in the shadows of Will's life forever.

That was, until Will walked into a bookstore and found Mike working there.

OR: Yandere Mike Wheeler stalks Will Byers in New York Joe Goldberg style.

has 7 chapters so far and is really fun to read :)

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

The first time Mike Wheeler killed someone, he was 18, during the summer after graduation. Sure, he has indirectly killed a lot of people in his time, fighting with the government and all, but this kill was from only him. He couldn't help it. This guy had hurt someone he cared about. He deserved it.

Or: Mike becomes very unstable after Els ' death, which leads to a toxic codependency on Will; Will is Mike's only form of stability, and Mike sees anyone who pursues Will as a threat to that stability, so they must go.

4 chapters in. Hasn't been updated for some time, but I remain hopeful <3

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

OR

Learning about El's hidden betrayal in 1983, Will stops being a victim and becomes a master of psychological ruin. With a chained monster as his mentor, he takes back every person El has stolen from him.

Starting from Mike...

Will Byers acting in the same way Mil*vens describe him.

This one is soooo fun read!!! I don't have anything to say for myself....

https://archiveofourown.org/works/80080581

Or

Two large, greenish-brown eyes stare at him in surprise, long eyelashes fluttering in confusion. Mike's first thought is to pluck each one out, one by one, and stick them on paper so he can measure their size with a ruler. He bets they're bigger than his. Maybe he should pluck some of his own too, for comparison.

"Oh," the boy's voice standing on the other side of the door is soft but slurred. He must have been drinking, Mike realizes. People become foolish when they drink. The smile threatening to tear his lips is cold and makes him think about how easy drunks are to deal with. And to contain. And to look at more closely. “I-I didn’t… uh, the upstairs bathroom was occupied and I…” Mike tilts his head slightly to the side to stare at the red stain on his clothes; judging by the smell, it’s wine. Mike doesn’t like wine, but he could pretend he does. He could pretend to be nice. He’s done it before, with outsiders. With people who aren’t his parents and useless sisters. “I thought I could clean myself up here.”

Mike is a psychotic sociopath and William is his little obsession.

Mind the tags!! Also I think it should be tagged with Abusive Ted Wheeler or Child Abuse or something along that line. But it is a very compelling story.

Very heavy, but also very cute is this one:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

It is almost finished. For me it is the heaviest on this list. I had to take a lot of breaks while reading, but it was soooo worth it!!! I am (im)patiently awaiting the last two chapters.

(This is set after the show ended, so all the lore from the show is still implied and mentioned in this story.)

It's 1991, and Mike and Will are in their second year of college; they are roommates. Will has been dating a boy named Andrew for two years and keeps their relationship very private from everyone, even Mike, which is strange considering Will tells Mike everything. Mike gets concerned as time passes, and he begins to notice more and more peculiar interactions between Will and Andrew. Will has always needed Mike, but now he needs him more than ever.

A bit of cute and fluffy stuff:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75415446/chapters/197159221

Then, in the most obvious way possible, his eyes rake over Will’s figure, lingering on the way his shirt hugs his stomach, and over the muscles in Will’s arms.

And then, to Mike’s absolute mortification, his younger-self flushes, cheeks growing impossibly red and eyes darting to the floor. Not in an obvious manner either, because Will immediately levels Mike with a questioning stare and a teasing smile which makes him want to crawl into a hole and die.

Part of a writing challenge tackling specific issues in the 1980s, check chapter 1 notes for more details.

~~~

Post s2 Mike and Will travel to the future. It ends dramatically.

This one is soooooo cute!! Angsty as well, but mostly cute :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/82465826

“Shut up.” He lets his head fall to Mike’s shoulder, closing his eyes. Mike’s hand travels up to his hair, playing with his ends and scratching at his scalp. Will lets out an embarrassing whimper at that. Jeez, get it together, Will. “Let’s get you to bed.” He complies just as easily as Mike drags him down the hallway towards their shared room.

OR

Mike can't go two seconds without being close to Will - so obviously, they have to sleep in the same bed.

Soooo fucking cute <3

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

He didn’t know, all he knew was that he had to endure a lot as a kid, and even still, nothing could have prepared him for this. Nothing could have prepared him for the absolute, all-consuming panic that washed over him when 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺.

or

Mike and Will wake up in each other's bodies and chaos ensues.

Only 2 chapters in, but I really hope it will get more in the future :)

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Sir Michael tilted his head, squinting at Will. Without warning, his hand came to cup Will's cheek, turning his skin at least ten degrees warmer. "He looks like you," Sir Michael continued, "and he has your name. Your moles, too." His thumb came down to brush the mole over Will's top lip. The touch felt soft, strangely reverent. "My— moles?" Mike had the same sentiment, albeit with more displeasure. "His moles?"

Will makes a wish. Sir Michael the Brave comes to fulfill it, but Mike Wheeler makes his wish come true.

I think that's it for right now <3

[apolladay]

If you know the meaning of the word "defenestrate", do you remember how you learned it?

Yes (put it in the tags please I'm curious)

No

I don't know the meaning of the word defenestrate

Voting ended onApr 18

[sporeblossom]

“the millenium falcon would wipe out the enterprise in seconds” lmao the enterprise is just an innocent science class floating thru space…. all they wanna do is look at some rocks… kiss an alien…. find some space plants….. why would you fight that its not a battleship theyre just nerds…… leave them olone 

[berniesanderssaggyleftnut-deact]

[lystheni]

A friend of mine saw this and brought up some interesting arguments

so, in other words,

[professor-maple-mod]

Pretty much.

[jaegerdelta]

here have some size comparison

[two-punch-man]

Who wins in a fight, a fully staffed Navy research vessel or your local weed man and his best friend in their souped up VW Bus?

[regionalpancake]

tags via @procrastinatorproject

So while it’s true that the Enterprise is not as big as people think, that goes double for the Falcon!

A good way of thinking about the relative size is by using a bridge comparison:

The Enterprise bridge has space for 11 people to work, as well as a significant amount of space between stations to move around comfortably:

[Bridge illustration by Tobias Weinmann via here]

And the whole thing fits in the nipple thing up on top of the saucer:

Meanwhile the Falcon (beloved weed bus) has a cockpit that seats 4, with only 2 main operational stations, and zero floor space:

And since Serenity was mentioned too…

Serenity has a bridge more comparable to La Sirena - with 2 stations at the front and quite a bit of floor space.

And for those interested in a visual comparison:

(Boeing 747 for scale as well as the Delta Flyer because Why Not)

TLDR: The Millennium Falcon is pretty dinky, so I propose *true weed bus status* goes to the excellent smuggling ships of Serenity and La Sirena. The Falcon is herby demoted to man on his weed bicycle with his pet monkey and a gun (to be clear the monkey is Solo)

[bweirdart]

happy neil day (20th anniversary edition?!?!!)

past years neils:

[novelconcepts]

Man, we have got to stop treating art like it has an expiration date. That show stopped airing? Doesn’t mean it can’t haunt your every waking thought. Everybody’s into this album, but you don’t have the energy for new music right now? It’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready. That movie’s fifty years old and indie as shit? Incredible, you have the chance to share it with folks who might never otherwise feel that particular punch of delight. Books don’t go bad. Shows inspire fandoms decades after they’ve wrapped up. We’re still looking at cave paintings and statue work from ancient times and letting the joy of creation bring tears to our eyes. That’s the point of art. It’s as close to immortality as we ever get. Why try to give that magic a shelf life?

[emolgana]

incredible stuff happening out there

[pukicho]

There's gotta be someone more qualified. I'm fucking begging you.

[thefoxboy]

@evilwizard

[evilwizard]

don’t involve me in this…

[kilgarraghforever]

@theshitpostcalligrapher ?

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

[sinnamonvoid]

Clearly what you all meant to say was @the-muppet-joker

[the-muppet-joker]

[milfsisyphus]

hey i saw you across the echo chamber and i really liked what you were saying

[bytedykes]

fingering his plot hole

[bytedykes]

this site is so easy

[eightfifteen]

Crazy how many people want characters in fiction to speak and act like they’ve had 20 hours of intensive therapy. Could NOT be me I want these bitches fucked up insane

[plutojester]

[doingthewritethings]

my friend briar and i lovingly call this one ‘therapy speak joker’ and it almost caused her to drop biological samples one time

[dizzyghoast]

i think the joker should start talking like this for real. no other character should do this only the joker. i want batman to have to deal with this

[samglyph]

Funny when someone introduces you to something, you get really into it, and then they lose all interest in it. Oh so you’re just going to abandon me at the party you invited me to. Dude you were my ride.

[minotauri]

nothing makes me go "ooooh we are NOT the same" quite like reading some post about how people talk with their parents about their interests. what do you mean you told your father about stevebucky. what do you mean he asked further questions

[minotauri]

"i sent this article to my relative" "mom & i were discussing dialectical materialism" you navigate the world with such a different set of parameters than i

[flickergatedaughter]

paladin mike taking off his armour in front of will and will seeing all his battle scars

"are you alright? do those hurt? how did you get them?"

"they're from battle, will. i'm alright. i'm okay."

mike taking off his sweater in front of cleric will and cleric will seeing all his-

"your arms are scarred from fighting, just like my michael."

"um... yeah. yeah i guess they are."

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Recently read an evil and fucked up story about evil and fucked up people doing evil and fucked up stuff and I glanced at the reviews and so many of them were negative reviews saying "this is evil and fucked up >:(" and I'm like. Why are you here.

[rage-against-the-dying-of-light]

Fandom is weird now. It’s becoming less trusting and friendly, and the Orwellian surveillance issues that are currently running rampant in the USA and UK have bled over into fandom spaces.

I’d read the articles that young people have no privacy and have become so accustomed to it that they enact on themselves. Abstractly I knew this and had accepted it, but it’s only now that I’m seeing it become a major issues.

Obviously part of the problem is I need to become a trusted member of my new fandom. But fandom in general is becoming far more hostile to privacy than even just 5 years ago.

I’ve had to leave 3 servers that want to do age verification. And this is new. Not even 5 years ago when I started zines ppl just turning 18-20 were far more receptive to the ideas espoused by us older folks about not being surveilled. But now it almost feels like they *want* to be surveilled.

They’ve become so used to it from tiktok and their government that they crave it. I’d write a dystopia about it but unfortunately what even is there to say that hasn’t already been said?

If you’re 18-22 now and you’re reading this and willing to listen without immediately calling me suspicious: this is not normal. Age verification will not keep you safe and will not keep minors safe either. It will only lead to the normalization of further surveillance and erosion of your privacy.

I know it can be an unwieldy text especially if you’re not used to reading academic sources, but go read The Panopticon. Watch V for Vendetta or read the comic, read 1984. Watch The Lives of Others and understand the ways this modern era is not so different from the Stasi in the film.

Please.

I don’t want to see a rerun of the surveillance state anymore.

[byler-brainworms]

byler collabing on a comic book series will always be dear to my heart but what about byler collabing on a video game where Will does the art and animation and Mike codes the game logic (because people always forget that the boy loves science and technology)

[playwolves]

[largishcat]

you may have noticed that my blog is disorganized and thematically incoherent and my tag game is weaker by the day. this is commentary on the chaos of modern existence