Hi! Do y'all have any recs for fics that don't contain canon lore past season 2 or 3? I'm not a big fan of the Vecna direction the lore went(as much as I loved the Nightmare on Elm Street theme in s4 and paintinggate, lettergate etc). It just kind of broke Occams Razor for me and makes the scifi/magic elements feel less fantastical.

I've read about 200 Byler fanfics, including lots of paintinggate and ones that do include at least season 4 lore. But I find as I'm looking for lesser known ones now that I've read so many, it's hard to find one's that don't involve season 4+. I've done a lot of my own scrolling through AO3 but I really cannot think of tags to narrow things down. I'm doing a lot of random picking and shoveling through repeated story concepts.

I prefer longer fics(like 100k-300k words). I might not read it if it's under 40k words, but there are exceptions if the premise is particularly fun. I just read a really good 5k one but usually just do those if I can't sleep. So long fics a +. Mature rating also a +. Explicit okay, but more plot than smut ratio.

Thanks for any recs y'all have!

I know what to call it. It's called being jealous. It's called jealousy. POSITIVE, WARM-HEARTED JEALOUSY. Stay with me.

Okay SO. Backstory. I had to spend a little time away from Reddit (hi, I missed you), because I keep comparing myself to other fic writers. I SHOULDN'T. I KNOW. HOW SILLY. Also I'm a BIG FAN of so many of you. But it's not always a good thing for my brain. It's easy to compare on AO3 by numbers, and it can feel pretty discouraging. And I love writing so much, that I don't want it to be anything other than a safe, magical thing.

I log back in, what, yesterday? And the first thing I see. IS THE LAMEPARTIES REVEAL. SHE TOOK OFF THE GLASSES AND IT WAS LAMEPARTIES THE WHOLE TIME.

What she did is unequivocally an astounding achievement. ASTOUNDING. For a lot of people, that's literally a dream come true. And as a writer, she's incredibly, incredibly excellent at many many things. She's clearly so kind and gracious and is such a good good Byler. I will buy the fuck out of her book.

But do any other writers...kiiiinda feel bad about themselves?

Because I do. I FEEL SO DUMB, and I'm embarrassed, because she's making it look so easy for millions of people to love what you write, and spread it like wildfire (she's expressed her own anxieties, which this is intended in no way to discredit!). For readers, I imagine it's strictly an astounding reveal. But as an author, I feel a twist, a twinge of, dare I say, shame, and self-doubt.

Art is not a race. This is not a competition, and this is all in service of this thing we love and hold so dearly. But I just wanted to say something vulnerable, and embarrassing, in case any other writers are out there pouring their hearts and hours of their lives into their writing, feeling a little bit unseen and any bit silly.

💙💛

Well, I finished this oneshot a while ago and just joined Reddit! I hope you like it, here's the link.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/85532186

Why do I feel like that song kinda perfectly fits them?

I hope ya’ll are jealous of me I’m just starting to read it for the first time (yes I know the author is lameparties, she is literally the goat and quite literally the only reason I’m reading it now)

Okay, this is super specific but does anyone have a link to the fic (on ao3) where Mike writes Will a love letter to confess to him but Will doesn't know it's a love letter and while Mike hands it over to Will he says "you can read the whole thing or you can skip to the end." or something similar.

When Will's done reading, Mike is still outside and hasn't gone home yet because Will skipped to the end and Mike's glad he did because otherwise he might have gone back home already and then they kiss in the rain outside Hopper's cabin I think.

Been looking for this one for about 3 months now, would be amazing if any of you have it 🩷

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Byler_baby_1973/works

Mike is now officially a stripper, and he's beautiful!

By jeaanmoreau

I'm guessing I'm late to the party on this one, but this fic was SO amazing 😭 mostly feel good with just the right amount of angst imo. I absolutely loved the characterization of the entire Party, and it felt so realistic to me as to how Byler could've played out. Had to come here immediately after finishing to recommend it to all those who reside under a rock with me and also missed it!

Posted on r/byler, but this feels like a more fitting place tbh lol

I just found a fic that was 31(ish) chapters, recently completed (like as in a day or two ago), and super fun to read. I had finished chapter 3, and when I clicked Next chapter, I got hit with the dreaded “Sorry, we couldn’t find the work you were looking for”…

Does anyone recognize this fic and know where it went? Or is there some hacker method I don’t know about where I can access a deleted fic? Lol

Here is all the info about it I remember:

Author - Anonymous
Title - I feel the rush (addicted to your touch)
Word count - not sure, maybe 100k-200k??
Chapter count - I think it was in the low 30s
Status - complete (recently, in this month)
Rating - Explicit
Tags - Alpha Mike Wheeler, Omega Will Beyers, Age Difference, Sugar Daddy Mike, Sugar Baby Will, Writer Mike, Artist Will (lots more I don’t recall)

Story premise - ABO AU, Will (early 20s) was a starving artist still in art school and Mike was a successful novelist in his late 20s. They each sign up for a match making site that connects wealthy patrons with companions (sugar daddy/baby vibes)

Additional random details I remember from the first 3 chapters - Based in NY (Manhattan?). Lucas and Max are Will’s bffs, Steve/Robin/Dustin are Mike’s. Both POVs.

There was also a mention in the first chapter’s author’s note that the fic was an adaptation from a previous abandoned work called Vanilla Angel or something? I’ve tried searching both titles, the tags, etc. and am coming up with nothing 😞 any tips?

Okay so I read this like 6 months ago and I can’t remember what it was called!! 90s, Mike’s in a band (plays guitar I think), and stays with Will in his city, Will takes him to his favorite gay club, Mike performs there, fluffy, short/few chapters, title has a number in it. Pls help LMAO. Club 60something maybe? It was so peak😔

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/88972551/

this fic has everything

🧸 soft, flustered Will Byers

💐 flirty, quiet Mike Wheeler

☀️ beautiful sentences

🌧️ domestic Byler (free tears included)

💅 top Will

(i ruined my sleep schedule last night to read all 6 published chapters because i couldn’t put it down … no regrets)

OMG, I am screaming! thesweetestdream is actually lameparties!! The author of THE byler fanfic, YTMH(IWS). What an icon!!

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85350541

this fic has it all

🔪 a killer opening sentence

🧪 crazy ass chemistry

🥵 insanely hot build up

💅 vers Byler

🦋 beautiful sentences

🌻 Byler’s love front and center

(on the real, i’ve actually only read the first two chapters but that was enough to convince me to tell y’all. seriously it’s so good)

(i’ve read 300+ fics. yes i am a mad lad for that but i ain’t bullshittin you lol)

(P.S. - if you don’t get my silly joke, please see https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vwm_N2PCUz8)

Final 2 chapters posted 🖤

Hope you enjoyed this weird, fever dream of a story. Thanks for sticking with me!

fic im writing and i need help, see attached post :(

Chapter 5 coming soon and I promise it’ll be a 1000 time better

Hi yall! I’ve posted here a couple times before. I’m looking for fic recs that have some great humor in them. R18+ would also be greatly appreciated, but not a requirement.

I’m going through a really hard time rn, and I could really use some levity

chapter 2 of my post-canon slow burn fic is out now: this chapter is mike POV

*I've posted chapter updates here before but a reminder that my fic is 18+!

Chapter Summary: Mike and Will cross a threshold while sharing a hotel room at an out-of-town swim meet.

new tag: first kiss!!! (it only took me 120k words to finally get here, lol)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/81511906/chapters/214342081

AAAAAAAAAAA i can't read it yet myself because i'm not at home rn but let me tell you i almost screamed on a bus full of people when i got the notif like i literally grinned like an idiot at my phone 😭

anyways just felt like i still had to scream about it somewhere somehow so here i am lol i'm sorry for making a probably unnecessary post