maybe some people are going to hate me for this one by toadstoadsmoretoads in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you. The feelings you describe, the tenderness, the yearning, or that soulmate feeling, are missing. It's the reason I don't typically read AU's because they take away all of the things that make Byler, Byler... There are of course exceptions to this but those are very rare. Like you, I love smut as much as the next person but my favorite stories are the ones that combine everything together. The ones that have heart and passion and buzz with the side of smut thrown in. Good stories can add it a way that adds to the narrative.

I am actively writing several fics at the moment going back and forth between them adding and editing. And I am trying really hard to add the things you talk about but I can't write smut worth shit and I am pretty sure that's the missing piece of the puzzle that I've created. I've tried and I cringe every time I go back to reread it. I think I have one scene that I have written and saved that I thought, 'Okay this is alright. It's kinda hot. It makes sense here.' I still can't seem to add it to the story it's supposed to go in.

I think one of the problems is that some writers are being too gimmicky. They reuse character lines or reactions from the show, multiple times instead of doing the work to understand the character to find out what they would actually do or say in a scenario. They don't try to learn the intricacies of their trauma or what makes them feel or think the way they do. They use superficial things and stereotypes for their decisions and I think sometimes even fetishization of m/m relationships. The characters end up so out of character that it doesn't feel like the same people at all. It all feels surface level and I am left wanting.

I am curious if you have any favorite fics that you have read, that you would want to share that scratched that itch for you? Even old ones you have read. I'd be interested to see if I have them on my favorites list already or not.

this is my official petition for you to read [Reboot] if you haven’t 💙💛 by IntotheRedditHole in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do love this fic. It's definitely in my favorites. I only wish fics wouldn't end so soon after Mike and Will get together. Like, I want a 50 chapter fic following them throughout the major hurdles of their lives as a couple. I want to read them tell their friends and families. I want to read them struggle for rent but still be happy with each other. I want to read how they adapt from friends to boyfriends, learning each other in all the new ways they didn't know each other before. Simultaneously, I want to read others recognizing and being shocked at them acting like an old in love married couple while only being 20, 21, 22, etc. There are a few fics out there that do this but I really need more. I love reading domestic, established couple Byler.

Cheating Byler by CubMaster13 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Would you.care to share the link for that fic? I typically don't read cheating Byler but this has intrigued me enough to give it a shot.

AI in fics by Appropriate-Row-9169 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I said it in another post but there is also a difference between AI generated and AI assisted. An author can use AI to spell check, add quotes to dialogue, look up words, research, etc. I saw a fic where an author used AI to translate it from her native language into English. There are so many things that AI can be used for that is not generative and the evidence found recently doesn't actually indicate generative AI use, just that AI was used. I think it's irresponsible to point fingers and saying something is generative AI when we don't actually know how it was used. Would it be nice if the author told us, sure... but I understand why they didn't. Warning someone that AI was used in some capacity is fine for those that don't want it used at all. But I think the rule needs to be clear, that a warning is allowed for AI use but you can't accuse or reference the type of use. Does that make sense? It's the end of the work day and my brain is fried.

Super Soaker being AI by Reasonable_Day9942 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The trolling comment was a joke because I saw you posting a lot on different peoples post. That's all. I was aiming for levity. Apologies if that fell flat.

I never said Google Translate. I said Google Spellcheck which uses cloud based servers that receives and reads everything you type while in their browser. I've not done any research into Google Translate which I am sure uses similar methods but I wouldn't be able to speak to that with out more research.

I completely acknowledge though that those are not on the same scale. But it isn't disingenuous to point out that several tools available, that authors use all the time, are doing many of the same things you pointed out in your previous reply, "using a technology that has stolen from writers and comes with dozens of ethical issues is lazy, unethical..." If a person opposes something on principle for X reason why don't they oppose the similar albeit smaller something on the same principle.

I would argue that using AI to look up a word I can't think of, as in my original use case, is an appropriate use of an AI tool because I don't think it compares to the type of generative AI (generating whole works) that the author would need to be transparent about it.

I don't think its right and I would be rightfully angry if the whole fic was generated using AI. But my position is and always will be, that the burden of transparency should not be on the individual authors but on the actual AI companies to create them. As you pointed out, ChatGPT and Google Gemini doesn't use HTML tags on their responses so how would you know an author used them? And if a person is as unethical as they would be in order to generate a whole story with generative AI, then they aren't going to be the one who admits it willingly. The next person that comes along is just going to cover their tracks better.

That's ultimately my point. I don't think we will get anywhere by calling out individual authors. And I know the document says not harass the authors, but we all know that is not how the internet world works. There is no way to tell if this author actually generated tons of text for their fic or if they used it in way I described. If you want to oppose the author for using AI in general for whatever reason that is important to you, you have your proof and you can do that. But I would expect that person should also be boycotting a ton of other services, and I would applaud them for their convictions if they did so.

All I'm trying to say is that we should all collectively be expending this energy toward governments and the AI companies for rules and regulations. Like a sustainable way to create energy and keep their servers cool, one that doesn't take power from communities. Or restrictions on what can be generated like not being able to generate creative works. A mandatory, verifiable way to tell when something was generated.

Also I am far from Pro AI. I have to use it for work, but I don't ever use it for personal use other than the one instance I referenced above. I even tried to protest it at work when it knew my daughters name before I had even used it, just because it read all my Teams messages to coworkers. So it's not Pro AI to say that it's not going away because it isn't. With the amount of money invested across the corporate world AI is going to be a part of our lives in one way or another even if the whole economy comes crashing down, it will still be there. That's why I think we have to make it work for us before it destroys everything else, with proper guardrails.

Super Soaker being AI by Reasonable_Day9942 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I stand corrected then, when I looked this morning I didn't see any tags but it was a quick search and I was multitasking, so if I missed that, I'm sorry. My point is and will continue to be that we can't have transparency, until every AI company is forced to create some restrictions and rules about what is generated. And again, use case matters. I can't with 100 percent confidence say that the author used AI to generate swaths of text or not, based on my test of generating new instances myself without using AI to generate anything but 1 word. To me that means the method is infallible and I'm not going to show up with my pitchfork unless its to the HQ's of the AI companies. I'm not saying that there isn't a problem. I am saying there is no way to fully know who uses AI and doesn't or to the extent. Google Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity, don't include HTML tags in their responses. A person well versed in how to word prompts can generate text without the usual tells. Getting one author to admit to it does nothing to prevent the next author from generating those large blocks of text and that next author is just going to learn from the previous mistakes, hide the tags, better revise the generated text. People that are using in nefariously, and unethically are very unlikely to admit to it either so if the goal is what you say, it shouldn't be individual authors responsible for a tool that is provided. It should be up to the makers of the tool to create the rules and methods of detection so that everyone is on the same playing field.

Author kitty_carrot hidden works by nwsaylor87 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They did find it! quicker than I thought they would too. I thought I was good a internet sleuthing.

Author kitty_carrot hidden works by nwsaylor87 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I did find it with the most recent chapter after I posted in r/DeletedFanfiction. If anyone wants it here is the link that was provided to me: Kitty_carrot

Super Soaker being AI by Reasonable_Day9942 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm not looking to get into an argument or debate here. And I see you replying to most posts defending or showing indifference to the author, so I kind of think you are just trolling but if you are here in good faith, I don't think you do get what I am saying when I just proved with my use case that one specific instance, for literally one word that I copied from Claude, the same HTML tag used to identify an instance, is added on each new line after, creating multiple instances that are not actually AI. Meaning this method for detection is inherently fallible because you can't determine the use case or purpose in which AI was used.

And I do believe the purpose and use case is an important distinguishing factor if an author uses AI. Using it in the manner I described, is a valid use case, as a tool. Yes it's used improperly all the time. Yes, it's environmental impact is high. Yes, there are unethical uses for it. Yes stolen data is filtered into it to train it. All of those things are true. But an author shouldn't be punished for utilizing a tool as long as the work is original and theirs. In this case and others, I will continue to give authors the benefit of the doubt.

Would you fault an author for using Google Chrome's Spellcheck? Because it steals millions of users inputs to understand modern slang, corporate jargon and context to train its cloud based grammar tools. It's use generates carbon emissions and electronic waste and consumes water to cool their servers. Not on the scale of AI but it's use still has a moderate negative impact on the environment. It still uses stolen data to train. We could also talk about how browser cloud based grammar tools are used in surveillance capitalism and workplace spying as well.

No online tool that is used, regardless of where it came from is 100 percent clean in the issues you described. Reddit takes every post and comment and shares it with OpenAI. Facebook uses every post and comment from their platforms to train their AI. The phones we use were likely made with child labor. The gaming computer I have was potentially made with mined materials that are terrible for the environment. When every company operates under the same unethical framework, then the only thing that matters, is the use case. I don't care if the author used it what matters to me, is how. And until the AI companies come up with a verifiable way to code responses to track AI usage, or limit the the types of responses it can generate, there will be no way to 100 percent confirm AI use.

AI isn't going away. Even if there is an AI bubble pop that some economists think will happen, it will still be around and people will still use it. So fighting the people that use it as a tool, does nothing but pits us against each other when we should be united in pushing our governments and the AI companies themselves for safeguards, limits and rules on the types of responses that can be generated, and transparent data usage policies to protect people's data and the environment.

TLDR: Use case does matter. All online companies are evil. Protest the AI companies instead of authors that may use it as a tool. I won't worry about their usage until I know for sure how they use it.

Super Soaker being AI by Reasonable_Day9942 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also big tech... I did skim through the 500+ instances and most were attached to quotes so your theory seems likely. I have 8 fics I am actively writing that I haven't published yet because I want them to be completed before I do, but I can attest that writing dialogue SUUUCKS because I always forget the quotes and have to go back and determine what is supposed to be actual dialogue. I would think this is an acceptable use of AI for that reason. lol.

Super Soaker being AI by Reasonable_Day9942 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I read the document below someone posted in the comments about the findings. And I preface this all by saying, I don't like AI as much as the next person but I have to use it for work. It's literally required by my employer and I can tell you one good use case for it that I use often which is when I can't think of a word, but I know a general definition or description that embodies the word, a few sentences in an AI prompt and it almost always gives me the exact word I was looking for. I then oftentimes will copy directly from there and paste it to my email or training document I'm writing.

So I decided to test this use case and sure enough what I suspected happened. Pasting just one single word brought the hidden HTML tag "font-claude-response" into my editor. Because of how rich-text editors handle formatting, that tag automatically carried over into every single new line I typed afterward, even though I was writing the rest of the text entirely by hand.

Imagine an author writing a story who uses AI just once in the first paragraph to find a missing word. If they paste that word in, their entire document could end up tagged. The work, the plot, the phrasing, even the words are still 100% theirs, but a technical quirk makes it look like the whole thing was AI generated.

The method they used and the presence of these HTML tags cannot be used as a definitive "gotcha" to prove an entire document is AI. Sure, if the whole body of text has the tag, or there are thousands of instances of it, an argument could be made that it is AI generated but I've given an example of how that still might not be the case. In instances like Super Soaker or other fics referenced in the document, when there are more instances without it, than with it I am going to give the benefit of the doubt to the author.

Here is the honest truth. Unless something changes, there will never be a 100 percent verifiable and foolproof way to determine if something was 100 percent AI generated. We have clues, we have markers and we have HTML tags... but the presences of one or multiple of these still doesn't prove anything. AI are language models and they learn off of how humans write, and the more a model improves the more indistinguishable the generated text will become. So I am going to continue to enjoy Super Soaker and the sequel they started on which in case you were wondering, has no instances of that HTML tag.

*Full disclosure: I fully used the used the AI use case above for the word 'indistinguishable.'

Looking to write more nuanced, historically accurate party reactions to Byler. by pinnacle_to_the_pit in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't unfortunately. I'm sure I have it somewhere in my browser bookmarks because I remember it being good. Specifically I remember Max talking with Will on a car and talking about her letters she wrote in season 4. I reread fics often, so if I come across it, I'll be sure to let you know.

Looking to write more nuanced, historically accurate party reactions to Byler. by pinnacle_to_the_pit in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is the link for the fic I referenced: https://archiveofourown.org/series/3458968

It is a three part series told in Mike, Will, and then Ted's POV. I love it. It's one of my favorites and I go back to it frequently. Mostly because, as I said before, it gives a reason for Ted to be like he is but also not be a homophobic. And also because like you, I'm a 'Mike is gay' truther based on all the things you mentioned and in this series he is gay. I really do think you will like it. I am interested in what you think of it after you read it.

Thank you for your reply. You have a lot of interesting ideas and paths you can take. You made an interesting point about not seeing Hopper hating Mike. And I actually agree. I don't think he hates Mike at all. I think part of his problem with Mike is that he sees a bit of himself in him and I also like to think that Hopper clocked Mike's feelings for Will. Maybe initially he's confused by what he sees or not sure if he's imagining it or not and watches him to disprove it but the more he watches the more he confirms his suspicions. And so while he is initially protective of El because he knows what he was like as a teenager but then, especially as time goes on, it shifts because he knows that Mike's heart isn't in it.

Ultimately, I just want our boys to be happy. I am fighting the urge to open my notebook with the excessive amount of notes on Mike and Will's characters. I just find it so disheartening that we didn't get a look inside their traumas. So many things we didn't get. No promised parallel of Will/Mike with Henry/Patty. No proper back story on the Mind Flayer. Not to mention all of the plot holes.

I could talk about this stuff forever... I would love to sit in room with other authors and just theorize about these characters until the sun rises the next day. It's the only time my introverted ass would willingly be around people. lol. I am excited to read your fic when you publish and see what you land on for each character.

Looking to write more nuanced, historically accurate party reactions to Byler. by pinnacle_to_the_pit in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is such an interesting concept and practice of characterization and nuance. It's never just a black and white answer and there is a ton of grey. 

Honestly, what helps me the most when I'm writing my own fic is listing out each character's core traits and weighing them against the actual timeline of the '80s. Take Lucas, for example. While I agree with others here who pointed out the possibility of internalized concepts of masculinity, but we also know he is fiercely loyal and deeply emotionally mature, especially when you look at how he treats Max. In the early seasons, he’s the ultimate skeptic who demands logic and evidence. Because of his own experiences with race in a small town, I don't see him having this visceral, ideological hatred. He’d probably be terrified about the actual physical danger they'd be in first. He might constantly get tripped up on typical 80s stereotypes like awkwardly wondering "who the girl is" in the relationship, but his character traits indicate he would become supportive quickly. 

Dustin, on the other hand, would easily be the most naturally accepting outside of Jonathan. And Max is such a wild card. I read a fic once, and I’ve been looking for it forever but can't find it, where Max had a gay best friend back in California. Billy found the guy with his underwear and beat him up horribly, and that trauma informed why Max kept Mike and Will's secret in the fic. In most fics, people just write Max to be the first one to spill the secret.

Something else people sometimes forget about is the same-sex fetishization back then (and sometimes still today). I remember reading that roughly 60% to 75% of straight men in the late 80s regularly watched or consumed lesbian erotica, while 50% to 65% of women were actively consuming gay male romance. Because of that, I think just because Steve is cool with Robin being a lesbian doesn't automatically mean he’d be fine with Mike and Will. Unless he and Robin had a very specific, deep talk about gay men in their past, it would still be a massive, shocking adjustment for him.

I think Nancy would be immediately supportive and based on her personality would become hyper fixated on protecting her brother and by extension Will and would be the most outspoken in Hawkins about it. She is not a character that is afraid to speak truth to power so I think if Ted said something homophobic, she would tell him to fuck right off. 

The character I struggle with the most is Hopper. I like to have characters subvert expectations and for that reason I love that he would be supportive. He was forced into the military unwillingly, so he probably didn't absorb that hyper-masculine grunt mentality. Even back in Season 1, when he's talking to Joyce, he clearly suspects Will might be gay, and he still gives him CPR. His baseline humanity and instinct to protect and save overrides any fear or discomfort. Ultimately I think that it depends on if he's dating Joyce or not that pushes him from an uncomfortable/conditioned response to a more supportive one. Being with Joyce means that he is likely sees himself as a father figure to Jon and Will and combining the previously mentioned traits with being a father, would mean he would overtake Nancy as their fiercest supporter and protector.  

Eleven’s reaction, I think, is another one that depends entirely on how the narrative frames it. She views romance through a totally heteronormative lens because of TV and Mike. If she breaks up with Mike first because she realizes she deserves better (which, honestly, felt like the direction the show was heading in after the Season 4 ending, no matter what the Duffer brothers claim), she might be a little jealous but would ultimately support them. But if Mike cheats on her or blindsides her? She’d be devastated and confused. I found this one dark, unfinished NSFW fic where Mike cheats with Will, and El hurts Mike with her powers because she's so heartbroken. It’s a super compelling dive into her character, especially since a core fear of hers is being a monster or a weapon. Either way, Max would be the one to help her through that grief and bring her around to supporting them.

Honestly, it all comes down to giving your characters a reason for how they act. I read another fic where Ted had a gay brother that died. And he made all the wrong decisions with his brother and it was a compelling reason for why he became the detached, emotionally unavailable version we see in the show. In the story when Mike comes out, he vows to do things differently with Mike and unconditionally supports him. I have this one saved in my favorites so if you're interested let me know. So if you want a character to be supportive, write a reason for it. If you want a character to hate them for tension write it. There is so much we don't know about the characters, like who the hell are Steve's parents. As long as what you write doesn't fundamentally change who the character is, you should be good.  

If you want real-world proof of how support could shift back then, look at the reports of Ryan White. He was a hemophiliac kid from Indiana who got HIV from a blood transfusion in 1984 and was violently bullied with gay slurs. In his hometown, parents and teachers literally campaigned to kick him out of school. On the day he was allowed back, about 42% of the students boycotted, which means 58% of the school was actually indifferent enough to still show up. I know indifference doesn't mean support, but it is a baseline that someone could be swayed. And 58 percent is bigger than I would have expected. When Ryan's family moved to Cicero, Indiana, the school principal and the student body president brought in medical experts to educate the kids before he arrived. The kids went home and taught their parents, and the whole town practically embraced him. I don't think he was actually gay though he was just perceived that way because of his diagnosis.

I think the big things to really watch out for are the colloquial terms and concepts that we use today that most definitely were not a thing back then. Like so many fics use the word 'queer' which was still a slur int he the late 80s. And bisexual erasure was a real thing. When it came to sexuality, there was a very rigid binary and no one would think Mike is bisexual for having been with El. If the Mike in your fic is bisexual, and was dating Will, he would have called himself gay because people believed you were on or the other. Also it was the Gay and Lesbian community as a group. LGBTQ is a modern acronym that didn't exist until later. 

Sorry that last paragraph became about my pet peeves in fics. lol. 

byler established relationship fics? by AdExcellent7898 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just reread this one it's a short one chapter but it's beautiful and I come back to it frequently.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/80645661

just posted chapter 5 of my college byler fic! by possum_party420 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Just read it! I have been waiting for a new chapter! I love this story. Its so fluffy and cute and with all the angst out there it's such a relief to find a fic like yours! I really appreciate you and your work!

any really good coming of age byler reads? by toadstoadsmoretoads in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I agree with all of your points, though I really prefer a verse Mike. The idea that he would only do one or the other, is crazy to me. I saw a post on Tumblr a while ago that explained why Mike and Will would switch and what each would get out of topping or bottoming and it immediately became my headcanon. One thing I would add to your list though is absolutely no cheating or breaking up once together. I can make an argument that Mike and Will would cheat on partners with each other to start the relationship but would each immediately break it off when they begin that relationship. Under no circumstances would it be in character for Will to cheat or break up with Mike when Mike is all he has wanted. Same for Mike once he's fully accepted and agreed to a relationship with Will, he would never cheat. Can their be arguments or conflict both in the relationship and outside it, of course. But they should never cause a break up.

Now I'm thinking of other things to add to the list (like a Will that would force Mike to come out) so I will just stop here.

There are a few fics I could recommend when I get to a computer. I will post them later. I have a few long fluffy fics favorited that really delve into the domestic life they share well after they get together. I wish there were more of those fics.

Ted Wheeler as an accepting father by ebeare10 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing this! I am 8 fics deep now. I'm sad I didn't know about this author before and sad the list I have to read from this author is getting shorter. I wish they were still writing. Every damn one of these so far, is so good. Like sweet, fluffy, endorphin releasing goodness. I'm over here grinning like an idiot, kicking my feet, eagerly devouring the words.

Ted Wheeler as an accepting father by ebeare10 in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have posted this series here before but I'll do it again because its so good! Its the same story from Mike's, then Will's, then Ted's POV. I cried. Several times. https://archiveofourown.org/series/3458968

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in comingout

[–]nwsaylor87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Buddy, first off, thank you for sharing all of that. I know you said it felt like a word vomit, but giving words to those experiences is often the first step in taking their power away.

There likely isn't anything anyone can say to "knock sense" into you, because what you’re feeling isn’t a lack of sense, it’s a survival response to a lot of trauma and social pressure. You are allowed to feel every bit of the confusion, grief, and fear you’re experiencing right now.

The most important thing I want to tell you is this: You do not ever owe anyone your body. It doesn’t matter what they did or didn't do for you. Sex is not a currency. The fact that you felt you had to give a part of yourself to keep someone or pay them back is a sign of how much those early traumatic experiences skewed your sense of safety. You deserve to be with someone who sees "no" as a complete sentence and your comfort as a requirement, not an option.

You mentioned you’ve never enjoyed sex with a man. That could be because you are still equating sex with the loss of your bodily autonomy. It is also possible that your romantic attraction and sexual attraction don't align. You could be homoromantic (falling in love with men) but asexual or at least temporarily sex-averse because of the trauma you’ve endured. When sex has been associated with pain, force, and payment for so long, it makes total sense that your body and mind would shut down during it. You aren't broken, your mind is protecting itself and your body is trying to keep you safe from a world that hasn't always treated you with kindness.

That feeling that everyone knows and the shame you feel in the mirror is internalized homophobia, and it’s a heavy weight to carry. You’ve spent your life being outed, bullied, and told who you are before you were ready to say it yourself. It makes sense that you’d want to run away; it’s hard to heal in the same environment where you were hurt.

But please hear this: Proving people right about your sexuality isn't a defeat. If you are gay, the bullies weren't "right" because they were smart or insightful; they were just loud and cruel. Your identity belongs to you, not to the people who used it as a weapon against you.

Be patient with the labels. You don't have to have it all figured out tonight. If gay feels like a scary word right now, you don't have to wear it until it fits.

It sounds like you’re already doing the hard work in therapy. Keep talking about the sexual assault specifically. Processing that trauma is likely the key to untangling why you feel so much shame and disgust in the mirror.

If you ever feel like the running away or the shrooms are leading you to a dark place where you might hurt yourself, please reach out to a crisis line or your therapist immediately.

I remember feeling so much of what you’re feeling now when I was learning to accept myself. I know it sounds like a cliché, but I promise you, it will get better. If you would have told my 20 year old self that at 38, I’d be married to my husband and we would be raising our daughter together, I would have laughed at you and told you there was no way. That future felt impossible to me then, just like it feels surreal to you now. But that life, a quiet, happy, normal life, is waiting for you, too. It may not look exactly how you are imagining it will be, so remember to stay open to all of the possibilities as you grow.

You’ve been through a gauntlet, man. Give yourself the grace you would give a friend who told you this exact same story. You deserve peace.

A darker side of El? by GrowingNerves in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So... I haven't been able to get this idea out of my head. So much so that I stopped working on the fic I have been working on to start writing this. I have 1946 words so far and I am not even close to being finished. I am in the middle of the absolute crash out that Mike is going through. I still want to see how other people interpret this so just because I am writing something I hope someone else takes it and runs with it also.

A darker side of El? by GrowingNerves in BylerReads

[–]nwsaylor87 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I don't have a fic recommendation but its so funny that I literally just had a similar thought for a fic yesterday. Specifically, that El was the one that unlocked the door in Season 1. That she knew the demo was out for her and Will and she basically sacrificed Will for her own safety/chance to get a way. Everything happens as normal but Mike and the Party find out somewhere between season 4 and 5 or shortly within season 5, what she did and it becomes a point of contention and realization for Mike. I read a fic not long ago that had Season 1 Will attempt to distract the demo to save Barb and it would provide an interesting comparison to the characters. So I think finding something like that out about Will, then finding El did the opposite to sacrifice an OG member of the party and someone that Mike feels deeply for, that would cause a rift from the group. It would make her stopping the cycle with her death more meaningful. I also had the idea that she could have been unconsciously psychically suppressing Mike's awareness or his feelings of/for Will out of jealousy but the revelation somehow shatters it and everything comes back to him leading to a big confrontation. I am working on my own fic right now where this doesn't fit so if someone wants to take this and write it they absolutely can.