Hello this is fic-rec anon! I’ve compiled a few of my favorites if you or anyone who is itching for more ST fic to read. These are mostly Will-centric with some byler and wiseone thrown in
Obligatory disclaimer that I am a reader who claps my hands when authors drag characters to angst and torture city *especially* in a supernatural genre. I think only 2-3 of these recs are actually pure fluff with zero or minimal pain lmao.
First few fics are non-supernatural focused character studies and/or relationship centric, the rest have supernatural/horror elements tied into the plot
1. Make a move by astrobi.
Post-canon high school senior year written before s5. Mike thinks Will might be psychic. featuring confident Will affectionately teasing Mike, Mike being a bit of a mess and realizing his feelings for Will
https://archiveofourown.org/works/45380008
2. I can’t make you love me by eyeofmw
Post-canon fixit: Will is hiding that he can’t see with one of his eyes anymore. Mike notices. Featuring some madwise
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76978256
3. Each time (close to knowing) by mouthlikeawound
Byers brothers 5+1 fic about Jonathan not getting to be a kid and Will never falling in love. Warning for discussion of off-screen Lonnie abuse
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76211061
4. Point and Shoot by AirDoodles
Jonathan-centric one shot about his love for photography. Lonnie gives him a gun. Joyce gives him a camera. Also featuring five seconds of the cutest tiny Will ever written. Warning for abuse from Lonnie.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/8048029
5. heads or tails? By yousaidyes
Mike realizing both his attraction and feelings for Will and being a mess. Featuring The Party, Mike realizing how much he observes Will and how flustered he gets every time Will turns the light beams (eye contact) on him. Love the characterization throughout. Unsure if this is post-canon or a no upside down AU as this fic starts in medias res. Rated explicit for third chapter
https://archiveofourown.org/works/24944635
6. We all have a hunger (tell me what you need) by papenathy
A classic. Post canon college byler. Will dresses as a vampire for Halloween. Mike goes into a crisis and discovers his feelings
https://archiveofourown.org/works/65157475
7. I’d make a deal with god by smoosnoom
In which Mike doesn’t let Will rip off the bandaid.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/41171127
Fics with horror, supernatural and/or wiseone elements:
Of course your fic first in case there’s followers who don’t know about your wonderful wonderful modern gothic AU :D
8. He chased me and he wouldn’t stop
I love it for the gothic horror atmosphere, slowburn wiseone manipulation, slowburn byler, Will Byers hurt, how you write the nightmare/dream segments and all the characters, and how you weave details and foreshadowing that build up on each other bit by bit into a colossal tower of dread. This story is the deep-dive of my dreams into Will’s struggles and his relationship with himself, Mike, and Henry. Cannot praise it enough!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/74469706
9. Something’s wrong with the morning by meadowlarkutility
alternate s5. Will is slowly getting more and more possessed. fantastic chilling horror atmosphere writing. I also love a Hawkins that clearly has something going wrong]
https://archiveofourown.org/works/58185175
10. come to me again (in the cold, cold night) by perexcri
Vampire AU in which Vampirism is a pandemic and Hawkins has not been spared. Will returns to what was once his home to save Mike but the situation is not as simple as it seems.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/45580750
11. Bury your doubts and fall asleep by anonymous
alternate s5. Wiseone psychological torture with byler haunting the narrative. Vecna little by little convinces Will that deep down he’s a monster too and his love and attraction to Mike is only proof of that corruption. Read the tags.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/74602551
12. no more shame, no more fear, no more dread by Duck_Life
s5 canon-compliant wiseone introspection fic. Will grapples with the differences between himself and Henry. Fic delves into Will’s trauma from the csa Vecna subjected him to and his fear of furthering the cycle of abuse. Read the tags.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/77190691
13. so (so sorry) central rain by fireflywitch
Alternate s2 ending. Will kills Bob, El kills Terry. Willel grappling with feeling like monsters finding understanding in each other. Little by little they learn how to heal. Fantastic writing and prose all around.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/44824258
14. center of gravity by bluebears
alternate s5. byler, wiseone, and gothic heroine manipulation and corruption. It’s got nightmares, it’s got creepy visions, it’s got a 12 kids rescue plot with actual tension.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75356466
15. California show your teeth by fireflywitch
https://archiveofourown.org/series/3774865
Cannot emphasize enough how blessed we are to have this *series* in our fandom. Basically a whole-series AU (you read that right) in which the Byers originally lived in California when Will got taken and possessed and El escapes the lab in Lenora and is found by Jonathan, and the Byers move to Hawkins to investigate the supernatural occurrences that echo what they’ve gone through.
We have wonder twins and Byers family up the wazoo, The Party, coming of age, really interesting reinterpretations of the supernatural within this new AU’s premises, character dynamics unexplored in canon and such good small-town horror. The mindflayer and upside down are interestingly still tied to Hawkins despite Will not having grown up there which is an ongoing mystery the story is exploring. Author is also wonderful with character voices and the whole series is a study on how to properly handle a large cast and organically developing everyone’s arcs to fit the story all while keeping the spotlight on the main characters (full shade to the Duffers). The author literally has an installment for every season with the s5 one currently in the works. It’s a feast.
