whynotme



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  1. Public Bookmark *

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    Summary

    No one ever talks about what happens after.

    No one told Will that the monsters would never really leave him. No one told Will how being taken and possessed would sit in his stomach like a coiled-up vine. No one told Will how he'd never feel like himself again.

    No one told Will what to do, now that the worst is over and he doesn't feel any better. No one told Will how to handle the after, the in-between of not dying and still feeling dead.

    No one told Will how to feel alive, so he figures it out for himself.

    (Or; A study of how Will handles— or doesn't handle— the aftermath of what happens to him.)

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    16,650
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Collections:
    1
    Comments:
    90
    Kudos:
    1,288
    Bookmarks:
    312
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    08 Mar 2026

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Will throughout each season, exploration of his trauma, coping by self harm and vomiting. Byler at the very end. Very well written

  2. Public Bookmark *

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    Summary

    In the summer of 1989, the Byers family moves to Montauk, cutting short Mike and Will's last summer together before college. Certain he'll never see his friend again, Will confesses his love on their last night together, rocking Mike's world entirely. As the tear-filled goodbyes draw to a close, however, Mike is suddenly offered the unexpected opportunity to travel with the Byers family and help them move.

    They have five days out of state together to address Will's confession, learn to communicate, and maybe, just maybe, say a few things they should have said all along.

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    48,479
    Chapters:
    6/6
    Comments:
    352
    Kudos:
    2,666
    Bookmarks:
    937
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    66,155

    08 Mar 2026

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    Bookmarker's Notes

    Will confesses when he's leaving Hawkins and think they're not gonna talk anymore. Jonathan steps in and convinces Mike to accompany them in a roadtrip to Montauk then to NYC for a few days. They slowly grow closer and talk about important stuff. Mike realizes he will have a miserable life if he doesn't accept himself and his love for Will.

  3. Public Bookmark *

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    Summary

    Twenty-two years after leaving, Will travels back to Hawkins to face his past. Only Mike now lives there, too.

    Or, ‘He might as well have carved 'Mike' into his thigh. It would have been more honest.’

    Language:
    English
    Words:
    65,525
    Chapters:
    15/15
    Comments:
    2,486
    Kudos:
    2,694
    Bookmarks:
    999
    Hits:
    57,284

    02 Mar 2026

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    Best fanfic ever. 22 years later, Will is a recently divorced artist living in NYC and comes back to Hawkins, where Mike (also divorced) lives with his kids as an English teacher, to make a graphic novel about his childhood trauma. We follow them as they reexplore the past, their relationship, and finally find each other.

  4. Public Bookmark 1536

    Mystery Work

    Part of priv00090
    Summary

    This is part of an ongoing challenge and will be revealed soon!

    25 Feb 2026

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    8 years after season 5, Will takes Mike's class and things get messy.
    "Professor Wheeler"
    A lot of internalized homophobia
    Mike is a mess
    Dustin's wedding catastrophe

  5. Public Bookmark *

    Tags
    Summary

    Mike pushes into his hands, but Will keeps him still.

    "Ask again," he says. Because he's greedy, and he wants Mike to want him.

    He stares at Will's mouth. "Please."

    "Again."

    El is gone.

    Will tries to figure out how to move on in New York, and Mike follows him. Their apartment is haunted not by ghosts, but by the two of them.

    Or: Catastrophically traumatized boys cling to each other and accidentally figure out how to be close—too close—while moving through their grief.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    48,989
    Chapters:
    4/4
    Collections:
    4
    Comments:
    1,811
    Kudos:
    14,517
    Bookmarks:
    4,258
    Hits:
    277,440

    24 Feb 2026

    Bookmarker's Tags:
    Bookmarker's Notes

    College, roommates barely talking dealing with their shit, ton of angst, king of fuck buddies but Will wants more and Mike is a mess