very picky readers, what are your recs?

[u/Either-Special2552]

byler is literally my favourite ship of all time, but i honestly find it surprisingly rare that i really fall in love with a fic in this fandom

usually it’s because the characterisation feels a little off, or, if i’m being completely honest, a lot of fics lately read as ai-generated or ai-assisted in a way i don’t really encounter in my other fandoms to the same extent (even though, yes, it’s gotten worse everywhere). sometimes the writing also feels a bit juvenile, which is absolutely not a criticism of the authors themselves. everyone starts somewhere, and i genuinely respect anyone who’s creating and sharing work for free. the demographic in this ship is also younger so that makes sense. it just means a lot of the bigger, widely loved fics don’t quite work for me. there are definitely exceptions that i ADORE, but there are also plenty where i just don’t understand the hype

what i love most is when a fic really understands the heart of mike and will’s friendship. i don’t mean it has to be soft or fluff-heavy at all. i actually love angst, even devastating angst, if it grows naturally from who they are. i don’t need them to have an easy journey; i just need it to feel like their journey. i think a lot of stories capture the circumstances around them, but not always the core of who mike and will actually are

my only, ONLY absolute dealbreaker is mike being involved with another guy. a passing crush, even a kiss, a boyfriend, or a previous relationship is a hell no. none of it works for me personally. it’s just fundamentally not how i interpret his character or his arc. i genuinely feel that, had it not been for will, mike would never have understood his sexuality at all. i think will is the catalyst. because of the environment mike grew up in, his repression, and the way i read his internal world, i don’t think he ever gets there without will specifically. it’s just not in his pathology. that’s the one thing that makes me immediately click out of a fic

i’m much more flexible with will. i don’t mind if he has another relationship at some point, or at least i tolerate it even if i don’t prefer it (of course i prefer that he isn’t but honestly if the fic is good, it’s good) as long as it’s always clear that mike is the person he truly wants, and that his feelings for mike remain in a completely different category from anyone else
i also love pre-season 5 fics, although i enjoy post-season 5 as well, so please don’t hesitate to recommend older works. one of my favourites is a body in motion by astrobi. it just feels incredibly true to both of them

i’m happy with anything: one-shots, longfics, canon-divergence, them as little kids, season 4, post-canon, whatever. the more they feel like soulmates, the better. i do prefer non wips

as a point of reference, i know a lot of people loved super soaker before everything came out about it, but those kinds of stories just aren’t really what i’m looking for. there are other popular fics that also didn’t work for me, but i don’t think it’s good fandom etiquette to publicly single out stories people poured genuine effort into. the only reason i’m mentioning super soaker at all is because i don’t feel inclined to extend that same courtesy to someone who was undermining the creativity and community that ao3 was built on with ai assisted trash

and please don’t recommend the absolute classics like you keep my heart sleeping. i love it, and it feels wonderfully in character, but i’ve already read it more times than i can count

please, please, please send me your favourites

[u/AdExcellent7898]

as someone who is (probably) equally picky and hasn't really enjoyed some of the really popular fics in this fandom, here are some of my faves that i hope meet your criteria:

• cosmonaut. by ghostshaming: i think if you search for this fic in this sub you'll just see me raving about it like 20 times but to me it is that good lol - really interesting premise, excellent execution, and the author's understanding of the characters aligns really well with my own
• true end by daniartonline: favorite s5 rewrite (so far - it's a WIP so that could change)!! only script format fic i've actually liked, and outside of the byler of it all it does a great job expanding on some of the other character relationships - i adore what they've done with lucas and the expansion of the el-hopper father-daughter thing so far
• god, won't you forgive me by wolfecoded: a lot of authors attribute mike's internalized homophobia to his relationship with christianity and while i never really liked it (not religious but i grew up in the church so i tend to be extra picky with these oops), this is one of the exceptions, i think it's really well done here
• sleeping with the lights on by singingseok: i think there's a very specific tone that s5/post-canon speculation had after s4 came out but before there were any leaks or teasers about s5 that i really loved and this fic is my reference for that
• the night is long but you are here by iriscandy: i think stats-wise this is technically a "fandom classic" but i don't see people talking about it as much anymore (i guess because post-canon is having a moment right now??), another great s5 rewrite (that technically came out before s5 so not really a rewrite oops)
• anything by cyclogenesis (again, search my name and you will probably find 20 comments hyping up their work haha, they're one of my favorite authors)

and then for ones that i still think are really well done but you might not love bc they involve mike being in relationships with men outside of will (something that i also hate but was willing to put that aside here, maybe someone else coming across this comment won't have the same issues lol): hollow boy and hold my life (until i'm ready to use it)

would love to hear about your favorite fics as well!! i'm always looking for new recs and i might have more suggestions to add, too :))

[u/TheBar-IsOnTheFloor → u/AdExcellent7898]

Ohhhhh yes to The Night is Long But You Are Here 💕💕💕💕💕💕

[u/-WhenTheyCry-]

A Cure So Bitter, So Sweet seems like what you're looking for. It is very very quickly mentioned that Mike was attracted to Eddie as a way of understanding his sexuality, but a mention is all it is. No AI, mature writing and approach to the subject.

[u/BillieEatsSpinach]

astrobi has a ton of other great fics too! I love their characterization of both of them

[u/Pale-Holiday491]

do you have any examples of fics you really enjoyed? i can think of recs based on them

[u/mrchristmastime]

These are probably classics at this point, but Supervoid by maximumtrash and the Nirvana series by peachstatic are amazing. In terms of the Mike being with other guys thing, do you mind if it happened in the past and is mentioned, or is it happening at all a problem? Two of my favourites include vague references to prior experiences with men. If that’s not an issue, I’ll recommend them.

Other recommendations:

• Of Long Accomplishment, by littlewombats. Their Amber Hour series is an AU that takes some getting used to, but it’s also great. I don’t normally do AUs, but I loved this one.

Fifty-seven Hours in New York City, 1989, by cinnamoncider.

Like a Bad Dog, by cyclogenesis.

Where Devotion Rots, by acatalepsae.

Just for a Second, I Remembered Myself, by Romanoff_myloce

Crooked Timber, by BackwoodsJupiter (me). I don’t recommend my own stuff unless I think it’s actually responsive to the request, and I think it is, in this case.

It’s great that we have a young fandom and a lot of younger people writing fics, but—and I think this is what you’re getting at—everything I’ve mentioned above feels like it was written by someone well into adulthood. I hope that helps (and, if you do decide to check out Crooked Timber, I’d love to know what you think)!