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Anger as Poison, Us as Drinkers by theGirlwiththebrokenSmile
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
04 Apr 2026
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"Before she can think it through, she has already stopped the wheels of Will’s left roller skate and he jerks to a sudden halt. He loses his balance and she watches him fall."
//
El watches the princess treatment Mike gives Will and the attention he bestows upon him and something ugly rears its head inside her
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
11 Apr 2026
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Mike's life is split in three categories; the life he should have, the life he wants to have, and the life he has to have. Currently, he's living in limbo between all three; he'll never have that white-picket fence and suburban wife, not when the only girl he could try to love has left him, and while he's finding it harder to live the life he has to have— the life where he hides himself so deep, not even the people he loves know who he is— he'll never get the life he wants, either.
Limbo sucks, to put it simply. He's so close to what he wants (which is Will, no matter how hard he tries to shove it down) but he just can't push past that barrier and talk to Will, not when everything he does always feels wrong.
But, maybe, Mike might come to learn that what he wants isn’t so bad, after all.
(Or; Mike's struggle with his internalized homophobia— among other things, including the concept of free will, Robin Buckley's mildly terrifying presence, and wanting things Mike's sure he doesn't deserve— structured around the five stages of grief. You can mourn a life you'll never live, and you can mourn someone you haven't actually lost.)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 27,344
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 199
- Kudos:
- 2,364
- Bookmarks:
- 656
- Hits:
- 40,313
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
07 Apr 2026
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“It’s not my fault that it took me so long to figure myself out,” Mike says thickly, no longer angry, instead just barely holding back tears as he repeats the sentiment that Debbie has spent so long trying to get him to believe. He’s not sure why this is the thing pushing him towards accepting it as truth, but he means it when he says it—means it, too, when he continues with, “It’s not my fault that it was hard for me to understand how I felt. It’s not my fault that I didn’t realize what it was until after you moved on. That’s not—that’s not my fault, Will.”
mike's queer journey happens a little later than will's. that doesn't mean it's any less real or valid. or: 4 of mike wheeler's birthdays and the ways things change.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
07 Apr 2026
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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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Summary
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.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
05 Apr 2026
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Ever since their return to Hawkins in the previous spring, Will has kept a careful distance from Mike, keeping himself busy with school clubs to avoid spending time with Mike one on one - because every time they're in a room together, he finds himself on the verge of saying things he shouldn't, asking questions he knows are only going to hurt him. But then a snowstorm wreaks havoc in Hawkins, trapping him and Mike in the Wheeler house while the rest of the family are gone. And now Will has no choice but to confront everything he has tried so hard to ignore.
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Or: Mike and Will are home alone at the Wheeler house for a week.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
05 Apr 2026
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Will tries to seduce an NPC during a campaign. It gets a little too real.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
04 Apr 2026
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It’s 1995; Mike Wheeler is twenty-four, new to New York City, and desperately in need of someone he actually knows to help with his semester-long Master’s assignment.
And then, he runs into a familiar face at a bookstore.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
29 Mar 2026
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Once I Ran From You (Now I Run to You) by arsonsmatch
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
01 Feb 2026
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That’s because he’s my boyfriend, Mike!” Will shouts.
“And us?” Mike presses, a sick sense of deja vu creeping coldly over his brain.
Will exhales sharply, “We’re friends. We’re friends! You made sure of that. So I don’t know why you’re so mad at me!”
“Because it was supposed to be me!”
Will blinks, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m mad because it was supposed to be me!” Mike shouts it desperately, like a plea, like this is making him go crazy, and fuck, maybe it is, “After everything—at the end—it was meant to be me. Not him. I don’t want it to be him. I want it to be me.”
Or, Mike doesn't realize his own feelings, until Will's are staring him dead in the face. Vecna's gone, they're nearing the end of their senior year, and all of a sudden Will has a boyfriend. Everything goes downhill pretty quickly from there.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 74,789
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Comments:
- 319
- Kudos:
- 1,706
- Bookmarks:
- 585
- Hits:
- 39,155
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
28 Mar 2026
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It's 1992, and Mike and Will are juniors in college and living together in a tiny NYC apartment. Life is great. It's everything Mike could ever want: his best friend, an incredible city, and the world at his fingertips. The only problem? He's in love with said best friend and has no idea how he could ever tell him.
Luckily for him, he's presented with an opportunity to get much closer to him every Friday night, as long as he promises not to get all weird after. How hard could that be?
Or: Mike and Will become friends with benefits and the universe laughs because they're both ridiculously in love with each other.
Series
- Part 1 of Nirvana
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 71,098
- Chapters:
- 5/5
- Comments:
- 1,089
- Kudos:
- 6,971
- Bookmarks:
- 1,896
- Hits:
- 142,112
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
25 Mar 2026
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“I’m about to do something really shitty,” Will said. “But I think we might die today. And I guess I’d rather live with you hating me than die without you knowing exactly what I am.”
Or, Mike Wheeler gets kissed, lives, and tries his hand at a happy ending.
Series
- Part 1 of Come On, Pilgrim
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
23 Mar 2026
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“Shut up!” Mike says with a scowl. “I meant, like…I was just thinking…why don’t we just do it? Why don’t Will and I kiss?”
It’s as if you could hear a pin drop.
Lucas stares at Mike like he’s grown an extra head. Dustin and El exchange a meaningful look. Even Max, who just a moment ago had been happily poking fun at Mike, is seemingly at a loss for words.
Will is silent too, color rising to his cheeks. It’s one thing for Max to suggest it; it’s another entirely for Mike to double down. Mike, his best friend for as long as he can remember. Mike, who regardless of any newfound warmth could barely touch Will for an entire year. Mike, who is oblivious to the fact that Will is desperately in love with him.
Mike, who despite all that said Why don’t Will and I kiss as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
After his first semester of college ends, Will is more than happy to spend a relaxing New Year's Eve in Mike's basement with the rest of the Party. Things go off the rails, however, when Max and El ask everyone to join in on an interesting new tradition—a tradition which may or may not involve him and Mike sharing a kiss.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
23 Mar 2026
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After playing his part in preventing the end of the world, Mike thought senior year would be a piece of cake. Compared to fighting monsters and keeping government secrets, how hard could it be to deal with regular family drama, looming college decisions and his suddenly blaring obsession with staring at his best friend?
It's a gradual realization that he may have never wanted the things he thought he did一and some things, he may have wanted all along.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
20 Mar 2026
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Summary
"Cicadas spend the vast majority of their seventeen-year life cycles underground. They chew on roots for the better part of two decades, crawl up trees, Cronenberg/Kafka into enormous flies, tear out of their alien shells, scream for two months, and die. I guess cicada days could either be a long time spent growing but not emerging, or they could be days spent struggling to become something new that doesn’t quite pan out so great, or they could be the two months of screaming. Or maybe it’s the height of summer, or the days when you can’t stand the noise outside. I guess I don’t really know. But the words feel kind of right to say."
Will Byers and Mike Wheeler have spent a semester at different colleges in Manhattan. After five months of no contact, they're about to meet back in Hawkins for winter break. Will has spent the semester growing but not quite emerging as he struggles to become someone new. Mike has just been screaming.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
20 Mar 2026
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“It’s a good thing,” Will reassures, and his thumb swipes over Mike’s cheek. Mike thinks he might explode. “It means you’re nice to look at. Artists would love you.”
Mike’s heart feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest. Will is still looking at him, and he swallows, throat dry. “Yeah?”
Will’s own face reddens, like he’d just thought about what he said. “Yeah,” he answers, and Mike grins.Living in a shared apartment with Will is all Mike could ask for, except for the part where he keeps thinking about kissing Will in the middle of their kitchen.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 15,645
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 148
- Kudos:
- 5,833
- Bookmarks:
- 1,277
- Hits:
- 62,837
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
19 Mar 2026
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His Mom smiles at him with a knowing look, and Jonathan has an arch to his brow like he wants to ask more – but before either can, there’s the sound of a thud.
Will’s smile falls into his stomach. It wrenches with fear, with horror.
All three look to the entrance of the lounge, the direction of the thud.
“Shit,” says someone out of sight, just beyond the entrance, almost too soft to catch.
Will’s blood runs cold, because he knows that voice, knows the specific lilt of it.
“Mike?"
Or, Will comes out on his own terms, to the two people who truly matter - and is overheard by the one other person who means the most. In wake of the revelation, they decide to split off and take the final battle with Vecna into their own hands, all while navigating the undeniable pull that grows between them.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 139,931
- Chapters:
- 11/11
- Comments:
- 174
- Kudos:
- 761
- Bookmarks:
- 243
- Hits:
- 14,125
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
18 Mar 2026
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Summary
Isaac can’t stop thinking about Scott McCall. Not in, like, a weird way, or anything. Definitely not in a weird way.
In which, Isaac decides to stay.
For Scottuary 2026 prompt: Hope
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 2,037
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 10
- Kudos:
- 77
- Bookmarks:
- 9
- Hits:
- 419
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
14 Mar 2026
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Summary
Anger tastes like salt and iron.
Under the blood and the panic and the fear is a deep haze of furious rage. Each newcomer is a fresh injection of fury, until that scent is the night’s only constant. It stretches in every direction, as far as he can sense.
(an intimate look at a small part of Scott's experience that night in the Sheriff's station)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 1,653
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 6
- Kudos:
- 14
- Bookmarks:
- 6
- Hits:
- 91
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
14 Mar 2026
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the heart (it was always you) by Abyss_In_WonderLand_likes_sexy_cannibals
Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
02 Feb 2026
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Summary
Mike still had one more thing on his mind that’s been eating at him. It wasn’t that crazy of a question to ask. They had nothing better to do anyway. Also, they were friends and friends usually talked to their friends about these kinds of things, right? This could just be one friend asking another a simple question. Anyone would’ve done the same. To fill the silence, make the wait shorter. And he used to talk about El a lot, so it only made sense to give Will an opportunity to do the same.
"So who was it?" It came out in one frantic mess of a phrase that even Mike himself barely understood.
Will jumped a little, startled. "What?"
"Um, you said you had a crush on someone," Mike said, already failing spectacularly. "Who was it? Anyone I know?"
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Or; Mike and Will really need to talk, but Vecna trying to kill them keeps getting in the way.
An alternative Stranger Things finale, told by Mike.
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
13 Mar 2026
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- Words:
- 1,652
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 1
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
12 Mar 2026
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Summary
Scott dreams about those words.
Series
- Part 2 of low dog
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 961
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 30
- Kudos:
- 37
- Bookmarks:
- 4
- Hits:
- 185
Bookmarked by MermaidMarie
12 Mar 2026