strangeswift
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“I’m fine,” Will mumbled, shutting his eyes tight.
“You’re not fine,” Mike argued. “Here, just let me try.”
Before Will could protest, both of Mike’s thumbs were pressed to the center of his forehead. Will huffed as Mike pressed down, moving his thumbs in a downward motion then back up, and actually—
“Oh,” Will said, “that… kind of helps.”
or: will’s mental link to vecna is causing severe headaches. mike just wants to help.
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“What’s wrong?” Mike prompted, his voice impossibly soft, rubbing his thumbs gently where they rested on Will’s cheeks.
That seemed to snap Will out of whatever state he was in, and he finally spoke.
“It was my dad.”
or: lonnie byers finally calls. things don't go well.
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the great divide (i think about you all the time) by strangeswift
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
06 Dec 2024
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you know i think about you all the time / and my deep misundеrstanding of your life / and how bad it must have been for you back then / and how hard it was to keep it all insidе
mike comes out. lucas processes.
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Mike wasn’t coming after him this time. This whole thing was Mike’s fault in the first place, and Will didn’t want to see him, he made that clear. He did want Mike to notice, though. He wanted Mike to be standing inside the arcade, staring at the front door, itching to come outside and talk to him. He wanted Mike to get a shit score at Dig Dug because he was distracted wondering where Will had gone.
It was kind of like the View-Master feeling, being stuck between resenting Mike so much and wanting him back so desperately. Sometimes, there would be a glitch, and the facade he carefully constructed would disappear, revealing the cold, harsh truth. I still love him.
or: byler exes to lovers
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“That’s kind of deep,” Mike said, staring at Will’s palm where it was split open at the heel.
“Yeah,” Will answered. It was a pretty gnarly cut, but Will hardly noticed. He wished he could say the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins was purely a result of his near death experience, but he knew that wasn’t the truth.
“It probably needs a bandage,” Mike said.
“Probably,” Will agreed.
or: mike cleans will's wounds (homoerotically, of course)
Recent bookmarks
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Will's footsteps are silent as he creeps into view of the group. They don't spot him at first, half of them prodding at the dead Children on the floor, checking for life, while the others stare terrified at the girl, tears staining their cheeks as they breathe shakily.
The girl looks from the dead Child at her feet to the burly man in front of her. She opens her mouth to answer, but Will seizes her chance.
"Found you." He snarls, a smirk spreading across his face.
or the one where will byers was never found, a giant crack just opened between the upside down and hawkins, and he has one task: find the girl.
title from 'one way or another' by blondie
CHECK WARNINGS: MCD
Bookmarked by strangeswift
11 Jan 2026
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"It’s his own fault, too. Not just for – for being like that. Mike blames himself because he wasn’t able to keep his damn mouth shut. He never has been, so he’s learned to pick out the strained smiles and glassy eyes that worm their way onto others’ faces when Mike is being too much. He felt it from other kids at school, from teachers, and from his own family.
Fuck the people who say they miss the bubbly, vivacious little kid he used to be.
All they ever wanted was less of him, and Mike delivered on that. He made sure to shove bits of himself in drawers, under beds, and behind closet doors. Sometimes it was the trash can, the side of the road, or among the embers of a roaring fireplace.
He realized his mistake too late – everyone hated the parts that he’d kept, but he had no way of going backwards. The damage had been done, utterly irreversible."
Or: Mike runs into some trouble at home and has to find the comfort he needs somewhere else. Luckily, Joyce Byers is ready with open arms.
Series
- Part 1 of here began all my dreams
Bookmarked by strangeswift
08 Nov 2025
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'cause if we don't leave this town by castlebyer (loverslakes)
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
05 Oct 2023
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The thing is, Will hasn’t really had time to form an opinion about where he and Mike live because he’s been too distracted by the fact that he lives with Mike in the first place. After so many years of dating, hours of long-distance phone calls, miles and miles on highways and planes — they finally share a bed every single night. Will’s belongings finally have permanent residence in the drawers beside Mike’s.
The thing is, Will would go anywhere with Mike.
It’s 1993, and Will, Max, Mike, and Lucas go on a road-trip. Absolutely nothing goes wrong! (A story about friendship and growing up loved)
Series
- Part 2 of it feels good to be known so well
Bookmarked by strangeswift
31 Aug 2025
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"It's fine," Will reassures them with a dismissive hand as he pulls back, "We don't have to ignore the fact that it's, like, ten days into the semester, and I'm already visiting."
"Can we also not ignore how it looks like you've been crying?"
"Jesus Christ, Lucas," Mike's voice carries through the apartment from his room, bursting back into the living room after setting Will's bags down. "He's been here for, like, four minutes."
It’s 1993, and Will is having a hard time. Mike loves Will, according to Lucas.
Series
- Part 1 of it feels good to be known so well
Bookmarked by strangeswift
30 Aug 2025
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Summary
"I'm sorry."
His voice came out croaky and wobbly. He couldn't stand the sound of his own voice. He couldn't stand to hear the desperation and shame and guilt seeping from his words.
This time, it was Mike whose features tugged into a frown, his other hand situating itself on Will's free cheek as he shook his head. "Don't. Don't be. Will, hey, look at me, baby. You have nothing to be sorry for, okay? Nothing at all."
Will stared into Mike's imploring eyes and chose, for once, not to believe him.
- Or, 5 times Will sought comfort from his friends, and one time he didn't need to go looking.
Bookmarked by strangeswift
12 Aug 2025
Bookmarker's Notes
maybe my favorite dustin characterization in a byler fic. very sweet established byler.