(which I use to rec some fics I forgot or wasn't sure how to categorize)
No one should ever have to look at themselves. by Stanningeverything
Mike discovers his asexuality, catastrophizes, thinks his relationship is doomed by learning the fact and despite everything his family still weighs on his mind. He deals with all of this (badly)
Just the ordeal of figuring yourself out, dealing with your family issues, all while thinking you are the worst person on earth. Hopefully he has a great support system with his friends and boyfriend.
i turned around and nothing was here by ethqreal
Mike didnโt care. Maybe because he always managed, he made his own choices regardless of what his parents chose to preach and if he really was cursed with ice running through his veins, it didnโt matter because he would always love the boy across town until his very last breath and he had frozen from the inside-out.
or a cursed boy, his boyfriend, an idle town and them against the world.
The End of the World by eagle_ace
Post season 4, vaguely pre-season 5. Things fall apart, to say the least. After everything, the party's not really a party anymore. Mike wants to fix it, but he doesn't know how.
Mike's POV, lots of emotions, I tried writing in the present tense which I don't normally do. There's byler, there's an el-initiated milkvan breakup, there's the party (sans max unfortunately) being friends. Hypothetically this could take place between seasons, but I'm certain there'll be something in season 5 that makes that impossible.
Left to Rot by Cate_Olivyn
โOh.โ Mike snapped his fingers, huffing out a laugh. โOh, this is like that- that black and white movie my mom likes to put on at Christmas. The Jimmy Stewart one.โ He stood a little taller, a wild look in his eyes. โAlright! Iโve learned my lesson! I can go home now, and appreciate my life, yada yada.โ
Nothing happened. Mike snapped his fingers again, more urgently, before raising his voice in a yell.
โLesson learned! I wanna go home!โ
The world stayed as it was, broken and decayed, and Mike screamed into the cold, stale air.
Or: After a bad fight with his friends, Mike wakes up in an alternate reality that seems to be plunged into an apocalyptic nightmare.
an ode to hope (and other funny things) by @pyschologicalrocketgirl
โEverything's going to be fine, please don't freak out.โ Nancy starts to say, which causes Willโs eyes to widen.
โThatโsโฆnot really reassuring, you know that right?โ
Nancy huffs a laugh, โYeah, it isnโt, sorry.โ He hears shifting through the receiver, and he thinks maybe that's all she's planned to say.
โMikeโs in the hospital.โ
Will sucks in an involuntary breath, letting the air back out, shaky. He nods repetitively, a little numb as he tries to process, before realizing Nancy canโt see him.
โOkay.โ He aims for level but his voice cracks mid-way. Heโs almost whispering, โIs- he okay?โ
Mike's in the hospital, which kickstarts a drive to Boston and a worried Will as he thinks about Mike, the past, and love, all while conveniently held up by New York traffic.
the loneliest blackout by @drop-of-infinity
Will knew the stages of Mikeโs breakdowns. First came the silence, then the welling tears. They would stay there, perched on the edge of his eyelids until he began to talk, and then they would make their enviable path down Mikeโs face. The tears would increase as his words trickled off, and eventually he would break into gasping sobs, unable to speak, unable to do anything but cry.
Or, Will tries to rip the bandaid off. Mike breaks down. They figure it out in the end.
@bylerficrecweek thank you guys so much for organizing this! the whole week was so much fun and I really enjoyed going through my bookmarks and discovering new fics loved by others <3
