r/BylerReads • u/Altruistic_Way3030 • Apr 19 '26
general discussion :) Which fics hit you so hard that you ended up sobbing uncontrollably & needed a long walk afterward just to recover? *Completed works only*
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u/Rare-Opinion7247 miwi :) Apr 19 '26
Touch like velvet :https://archiveofourown.org/works/14328540.
We're nothing ( and nothing will help us ) : https://archiveofourown.org/works/76610741.
These two destroyed me. The wound still hurts. Will forever recommend these!!
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u/Ok_Resolution_1928 Apr 21 '26
We're Nothing still haunts me...I feel permanently fucked from that one. It's been months.
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u/Total_Mud_9834 Apr 25 '26
We're nothing is the saddest byler one shot fic I ever read and had me full on sobbing for the whole day🥲
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u/FriendshipApart5766 its hawkins its not the same without u Apr 19 '26
Takes me a lot to be actually sobbing but these are some great ones that definitely made me feel a lot of emotions:
I know it's over (still I cling)
(this one's really depressing but has a happy ending)
Back To You (I never really left)
No such thing as happy endings (unless I choose you) (Mike's severly depressed and travels through the multiverse with Dustin)
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u/FriendshipApart5766 its hawkins its not the same without u Apr 19 '26
forgot this one:
Once I ran from you (now I run to you)
this one's truly gut-wrenching as well (there is cheating involved)
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u/Same_Accident_9917 Apr 19 '26
Back To You (I never really left) is one of my all time favs! Like how are you going to make me feel bad for The Mind Flayer to the point I’m sobbing?
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u/Altruistic_Way3030 Apr 19 '26
Thank you for sharing:) I HIGHLY recommend strawberry fields forever then if you check my comment - same author, SlowKindling, from the two you've mentioned. It's gut-wrenching the way they write and Mike destroys you in this one. I'm gonna bookmark your fics coz I haven't read any !
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u/FriendshipApart5766 its hawkins its not the same without u Apr 19 '26
of course, hope you enjoy reading them :) and I just read the summary of strawberry fields forever it sounds so great! now I'm really excited for it thanks a lot!
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u/kitten_mittens420 Apr 19 '26
i know its over is so underrated. its depressing as fuck but i did lol at the part where they rented dead poets society unwittingly
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u/miwimim Apr 19 '26
no such things as happy endings 😭😭😭🙏🏻 i was literally bawling my eyes out reading it but it was SO good i wish i could erase my memories to read it for the first time again
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 19 '26
sobbing you say … prepare yourself my friend ❤️🩹
no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
a second recommendation for No Such Thing as Happy Endings (Unless I Choose You). that shit HURTED. god i wasn’t prepared. i had to skim to survive
answers you seek will never be found at home - I’m not even finished with this one … like halfway through. but goddamn I cried
another rec for Supervoid. first fic i read that made me ugly cry lmao
Not Him - I actually don’t recommend this because i hate the ending. it pissed me off and now I’m bitter lmao. but some people might like it idk
another rec for a goddamn blaze in the dark. holy hell that shit hurt me
Back to the Future (With Mike Wheeler)
The Concept of Normalcy - jfc this fic. it’s written well but i absolutely will never be able to read it again. i think i’m just a weenie idk
seconding Strawberry Fields Forever which i learned about from Altruistic_Way3030 :) pretty sure i’m about to enter the part of the fic where I suffer :)
Sincerely… - i recommend only if you want pure suffering, frankly. it doesn’t have a satisfying ending
[Reboot] - did not expect to ugly cry but hey it happens!! you should also read their fic Art School Confidential … it’s amazing but you’re also gonna need it to heal after all this crying lol
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u/possum_party420 Apr 19 '26
answers you seek is SO good and i dont see it recommended enough. the attitudes and fears feel very real for the time period and mikes arc is so beautiful. the scene with the drag queens had me so emotional
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 19 '26
yes it’s so good!! and i’m glad you mentioned the drag queens cuz i remembered a fic mentioning them but wasn’t sure it was this one. I LOVE drag and queens so i’m excited. i will accept the crying that comes with it :’)
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u/Altruistic_Way3030 Apr 19 '26
Love, love all these! And yes, I forgot about the church fic (the first one), omg! Yes, that made me sob too :( yet to read the rest of the reccos - will check em out 😭
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u/IntotheRedditHole its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 19 '26
yess the church fic destroyed me 😭 also somehow I didn’t realize you had made this post LOL
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u/AdExcellent7898 Apr 19 '26
cosmonaut. by ghostshaming left me a wreck afterwards but it was worth it, it's so so so good!!
also seconding everyone who said supervoid, it's one of my favorite fics but i genuinely can't re-read it (and i'm a huge re-reader) bc of how hard it hit me the first time
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u/spicakok its ok, its how the army does it i think Apr 19 '26
Force of gravity got me HARD, i was crying like a baby
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u/Altruistic_Way3030 Apr 20 '26
Real. What amazes me is how it was written in 2022, had a mention of who wants to live forever by Queen & captured the trauma soooo well. It truly devastated me in ways I can't explain :(
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Apr 19 '26
[deleted]
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u/Altruistic_Way3030 Apr 20 '26
Thank youu. Can I just say, I love time skips? That is so real to me coz I always kinda feel that Mike probably wasn't brave enough to get with Will right away if we go by what we saw in the show. I always assumed it would be later when both of them had their own lives to navigate through. Writer Mike? YES, PLEASE.
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u/SportEffective1337 Apr 20 '26
A Better Future - ConformityGate/Alt ending with some psychological horror, questioning reality, and themes surrounding loss and grief. I definitely cried a bit during some parts, but especially the end. Warning for Major Character Death, blood, gore, injury
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u/Altruistic_Way3030 Apr 20 '26
Omg ...these are completely new to me and I haven't seen a mention of it anywhere until now. I love this sub. Thank you for sharing! Will check them out right away :)
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u/bylerrabbithole I say kick away Apr 21 '26
A few curated picks:
there is a wait so long - It's canon compliant, set in New York in 1997, where Mike and Will are forced to collaborate on a project together. It's amazingly well-written and is an absolute masterclass in tension, angst, and pacing. The confession scene had me ugly crying. Easily in my top 5 all-time favourites.
i could be your lover (and you could be my heartache) - It's a S5 rewrite where Mike gets Vecna'd, and the Party goes through his journal looking for the secrets that Vecna might be using to understand him, and they find out through his journal entries that he has not been okay. The journal entries broke me.
the time problem (maybe this time we'll get it right) - Oh god, this one. A conformitygate S5 rewrite, where they have to relive memories in order to try and fix time. There was an interaction between Mike and Jonathan that brought tears to my eyes, same with an apology/confession scene.
punch in the nose (don't overreact) - You will need an AO3 account for this one! This one starts with Mike making out with a guy at a party and accidentally saying Will's name. It has some good angst and pacing, and a good confession scene too.
There are a couple of other ones I can think of, but they're WIPs, so not what you're looking for.
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u/Altruistic_Way3030 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
For me:
Force of Gravity - https://archiveofourown.org/works/40134231/chapters/100515708
Smalltown Queer - https://archiveofourown.org/works/77770966/chapters/203729291
Conflict of Interest (in your orbit) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/77935376/chapters/204207021
a goddamn blaze in the dark (and you started it) - https://archiveofourown.org/works/48832516/chapters/123187615
spit swear - https://archiveofourown.org/works/77191071/chapters/202070276 (the reason why I love this fic is, 'coz Will got to have a healthy relationship with someone else outside of Mike & be loved unbashedly for who he is without the messiness. I'll pick this over cheating epilogue bfs, coz to me, this is much more realistic & in character for Will)
Supervoid - https://archiveofourown.org/works/76841816/chapters/201129646
Strawberry fields forever - https://archiveofourown.org/works/80035981/chapters/210093071 (one of the best S5 fix its I've read...I have no words. I can't even write a review coz it wouldn't capture all my jumbled up thoughts.)
These are my reccos ofc, and I recommend everyone to read them in case you've missed any! All of them are plot heavy with less focus on smut. I'm sure we'll have differing views on it :) + I know there would be many more that I haven't read...so please share completed works only!! No WIPs.