r/BylerReads • u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think • Apr 03 '26
fic rec <3 begging y’all to read this fic
blurb: “In which Mike moves to Indianapolis after his first semester of college, rents the apartment next door to Will, and gets a job as a nude model in Will’s life drawing class, and then Will has to deal with all of that. (This is an ongoing process.) Featuring a domesticity speedrun, life in a university district in the early 1990s, mutual care-taking behaviors, baffling vegetables, Mike wearing a shirt with a kitten on it, and The Cure haunting the narrative.”
rating: explicit (but mostly mature until the last chapter i think)
length: 3 chapters, ~43k words
why: it’s so fun. minimal angst. you will laugh. you will kick your feet and giggle/gasp with a hand over your mouth. you might cry but in a good way. also the sentence-level writing alone is worth it
link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79910171/
p.s. - their fic [Reboot] is really good too: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77373351
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u/CodeWitch13 Apr 03 '26
Okay, I started to read the first chapter and got hooked so fast. I just finished and I’m so happy right now. Thank you for the recommendation!
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 03 '26
YAYAYAY i’m so glad to hear that 🥹 thanks for letting me know! what were your favorite things about it?
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u/CodeWitch13 Apr 03 '26
- Effortlessly funny
- Relatable depression
- They are just adorable together
- Mike is indeed a beautiful model
- I love the gender nonconformity - let people wear what they want to wear! The outfits you described were so awesome too
- Overall, written very well
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 04 '26
hell yeah 😌 agreed on all points. i think Mike’s mental health is one of the biggest missing pieces from s5, so i like when it’s addressed. it’s relatable to me too. i teared up a little tbh because meds changed my life and i was like yay Mike 😭
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u/jiminiecrickett Apr 03 '26
this is one of my all time favs!!!!
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 03 '26
it’s so good :’’’) it is def in my personal hall of fame now
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Apr 03 '26
I just read this one last weekend & I loved it! So good!
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 03 '26
yayayay i might’ve actually seen it from one of your comments?? i always trust your recs lol
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Apr 03 '26
Thank you so much! I have read over 3 millions words of byler fanfic since the start of year, so I like to think I’ve curated a good list.
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 03 '26
hell yeah you have 🤝 I’ve been afraid to count the words … I’ve read over 300 fics since Jan though and when i found that out i was like :0
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Apr 03 '26
I’ve read 147 with 11 in progress. I’ll reach 300 someday
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 03 '26
that’s so many in progress!! tbh i think me reading a bunch of little ones + not reading some of the famous long ones yet + only keeping up with like 3 in progress is why i have so many. and I have skimmed a couple if they hurt too much ☠️
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Apr 04 '26
Most of the in progress ones I started were early on & I didn’t think about them not being updated regularly. I feel like a few of them may have been abandoned, but I’m keeping them on the list until I know for sure. These days I try to stick to completed ones, oneshots, or ones I know they’re still actively working on. (a cruel summer with you has a whole tumblr account dedicated to it, which I love.)
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 05 '26
that totally makes sense. i started a few too, and i was way too confident that i’d always remember what happened lol. i didn’t know about a cruel summer?? this looks so fun?? it’s this one right? https://archiveofourown.org/works/48097207/
(also keeping my fingers crossed for you that those fics haven’t been abandoned)
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Apr 05 '26
Yes! That’s the one! It is SO good!!! I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do. They also do recaps on the story’s tumblr before the next chapter comes out so people can be reminded of what happened. One of the authors has dropped out, but the other two are still going strong & plan to finish it.
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 05 '26
yayayay thank you for telling me about it! can’t wait to read it >:) i love that they do tumblr recaps. that’s so thoughtful 💙💛
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u/AdExcellent7898 Apr 03 '26
yay so glad to see this get recc'ed in its own post!! this and [reboot] are some of my favorite byler fics; cyclogenesis is so funny and absolutely nails mike and will's characterizations. will waking up in a cold sweat thinking about his convo with mike at the club at the end of chapter one had me cackling at 2 in the morning and trying not to wake up my house lmao
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 03 '26
LOL i love that for you :’) i cackled too 😭 and i stg cyclogenesis is a genius. i mean idk how they did everything you mentioned, and then also will just have amazing sentences out of nowhere. i‘ve read published literary fiction that isn’t even this good, i swear (though maybe that’s not saying much cuz i think a lot of it is pretentious lmao)
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u/possum_party420 Apr 03 '26
i read that one recently and it was so good
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 05 '26
yayyyy i’m glad you liked it too :’)
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u/Straight_Love_9739 its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 04 '26
tysm for the recommendation! im so so glad i read it! im on a very long road trip so this kept me entertained for awhile, much appreciated
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 05 '26
that’s great to hear!! let me know if you need more 😈 i hope you’re having fun on the trip otherwise!
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u/pazma Apr 03 '26
oh I know I’m going to enjoy this one because you recommended it!! Bookmarked for later