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[nerdystudentcloudposts]

So just a few more days to go until our suffering is over, how we feeling Byler gang?

After volume two I am very much in two minds about the Byler possibilities, and if I had to pick a lane I'd say I am quietly still optimistic and here is why...

1) We still don't actually know how Mike feels about Will for certain. Will has assumed that he "isn't the same as him" without a conversation, therefore we are definitely going to get Mike's response to this statement one way or another... I honestly think if Mike just says "I love you as a friend" this is the boring route for them to take, and the Duffers don't do boring!

2) We still don't know for certain that Mike and Eleven are a couple. Yes they are close, but all of their interactions could be interpreted as friendship between them (even Mike explicitly saying friends don't lie). I am actually wondering if Mike has come out secretly to El and they are secretly broken up which could technically be possible... It would explain why no one else knew if Mike wasn't ready to come out to others yet?

3) Mike still hasn't carried much emotional weight yet... The catalyst for this could only be Holly, Will or El related so that also leaves us hope!

4) The painting is still not addressed yet... Need I say more!

5) Vecna wants to break Will down, and a big underlying theme of this season is Will overcoming his trauma and abuse to fight Vecna. What would be better for this than Will getting love from his supposedly unrequited love?

6) The whole premise of the show in general is outcasts overcoming evils from society. What would be a better portrayal of this than Will and Mike using their "socially unacceptable" love to save the day?

7) Noah and Finn both said they are very happy with the ending, and I believe both of these guys are Bylers so that's also possible hope for us...

Basically I ain't giving up on this till the fat lady sings.

If I'm wrong about this the Duffers are the biggest queerbaiters ever and fuck those guys, but also don't lose hope!

[laxinxiang]

robin saying that time slowed down when she saw tammy....the ending shot of will wiping his nose being in slow mo....that shot being from mike's pov......IM GOING CRAZY

[edenway]

When Hopper and Joyce reunite in s4, that was also in slowmo... When Lucas passes Max in the hall during her "ghost" era, he viewed her in slowmo as well. JUST SAYING

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

After seeing all the Byler panic and doubt going on I'm here to weigh in my own thoughts... I like you guys have been hurt many times in hoping for a prominent gay ship to become canon, so I understand the worry but after rewatching the show from start to finish I honestly can't see a way that it isn't at least heavily hinted at by the end of the show in terms of the storyline. (At best... I actually think it will be blatantly canon but leaving some doubt about the fears of the GA homophobia)

I won't bother discussing Will's arc because that's already clear to us and instead will focus on how Mike's arc makes no sense unless you view it from the lens he is in love with Will and either (a) trying to repress the feelings out of shame or (b) is too stupid to realise his feelings are different than a platonic friendship...

______

1) Mike's softness with Will

- Watching the show and the only people the Mike is a softer version of himself around is Will, Eleven and his sisters.

- His sisters I don't need to elaborate on, but his softness around El also makes sense even if he isn't in love with her per say.

- He took care of El in a vulnerable state, she has clearly been abused and mistreated and he helped her out of this - so it makes sense he feels protective of her.

- Why does he act so soft towards Will though? Yes they are best friends, but so are Lucas and Dustin, and the way he acts with them is the abrupt, sassy and funny version of himself... Why does Will get this special treatment?

You could argue that he's being kind because he doesn't want to hurt will by rejecting him, but actually all the 'soft' scenes are all instigated by Mike himself not the other way around.

Mike chooses to search endlessly for Will.

Mike stays at his bedside in season 2.

Mike runs to Will to give an emotional apology after being a dick in season 3.

Mike wants him and Will to be a team, to be best friends... He wants wills advice about not being able to say I love you to Eleven and wants to understand that...

He wants to boost wills confidence calling him a sorcerer because of his powers.

He wants to fight an army man to get to his beloved best friend falling over...

There are many more examples. But time and time again Mike is the one throwing himself into protecting will, making amends when they fight and being sweet and using his 'Will voice'. Yes it's lovely if it's just because they are best friends but let's compare it to the relationship with Eleven...

______

Yes Seasons 1, 2 and beginning of 3 give the impression of a solid Mileven end game. However after that some glaring cracks start to show that hint that Mike's feelings are not quite what he thought them to be during their whirlwind romance...

(1) From Mike.

Watching season 4 the first time I was utterly baffled by this storyline. He'd openly confessed his love for El in season 3 so why was he being so odd about saying he loved her this season?

Honestly it just seemed like a pointless argument I thought they just put in for some extra drama, but watching back maybe it's sowing the seeds for Mike's gay awakening (or Will awakening at least).

Why is he being so cagy saying he loves El? Unless he maybe realised he loves another person more hmmmm 👀

(2) Weirdness with Will.

If Mike has nothing but friendship in mind with Will what the hell is with his odd behaviours towards him in Season 4?

He was weird giving him a hug at the airport, and questioned the painting in a snappy tone.

El literally gets bullied in front of him, but he's more upset by Will being grumpy and they have a huge fight than about the fall out with Angela.

Honestly he seems more upset at Will being quiet than his girlfriend making up a whole fake life to him that she is popular... What the hell's that about?

If you replaced will with Dustin or Lucas they would have just picked up where they left off and it would have been fine, but with Will he is tense and awkward around him.

All of this seems to hint that Mike is confused about his feelings for his friend, trying to sup-ress them and act like 'bros' but also having no idea how to act this way with Will leading to conflict.

(3) The distance with El this season.

He and El have one moment together all season, and in that moment it seems like he is kind of friend zoning her.

She clearly wants them to discuss their future together as a couple, and Mike is talking about them in the context of the party.

He's also not even talking about El or worrying about her being away which seems very out of character for a very protective guy like Mike (unless his overprotective ways only apply to Will of course...)

(4) El being a monster Vs Will being a sorcerer

In season 4 Mike is disgusted by El hurting Angela even though she somewhat deserved it. When El asks him if she is a monster he hesitated...

On the other hand Will murdered a Demogorgon in an arguably hideous way, and we clock Mike looking at him like this:

In my head I have no idea how the storyline and Mike's character make any sense unless he has feelings towards Will that he is very confused about.

I believe the Robin story about her lost love was a red herring. I think Robin probably hasn't clocked Mike because he hasn't even clocked himself just yet...but next season we'll get some fretting and protective Mike whilst Will recovers from his powers and Robin will realise that the romance maybe isn't one sided...

Have some hope guys!

[gotigersiguess-deactivated20260]

Oh God now the GA is thirsting over Will Byers. This is such a turnaround, honestly I wanna applaud Noah and the Duffers because they are playing the audience like a clarinet. This is huge. This is a gay main character in the biggest Netflix show watched by the most mainstream audience. He's not just a character with some ambiguous sexuality that is never really talked about in the show. This is not a typical masculine hero archetype. No. This is a sensitive, kind and strong gay main character who loves and wants to be loved. This is a gay main character (!!!) who is running around doing cool shit with his cool lesbian sidekick and people are living for it. Like this is HUGE.

[crazytogether05]

YUPPPPPP

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

I understand all the doubt going around and I am trying not to get too optimistic here, but I have some points in favour that Byler could still happen despite some of the hints that it's not.

(1) The show is literally built on plot twists - we had Hopper clearly dead by the end of season 3 and pop back up... So tbh I would be pretty shocked if they said YES BYLER 100% by the end of the first volume. They want to keep us guessing guys come on 🙄

(2) You guys are treating Robin as a psychic with her speech. Even if she was trying to get Will prepared for rejection we also need to remember that she isn't the biggest and best reader of social cues (Steve had to point out to her she stood a chance with Vicky if memory serves). She might have been preparing will for the possibility of rejection to protect him but she ain't psychic!! Plus... She didn't hear the content of their chat and Mike bigging Will up and calling him a powerful sorcerer... No idea how you can say with 100% certainty that Robin was telling Will he has no hope. Even if she is she can still be wrong guys...

(3) If they are prepping for a Will rejection why not make Mike and Eleven more obvious? No kiss? Why would they make Mike talk about the happy future of the party when Eleven clearly wanted confirmation of a future for the two of them?

(4) They ended with Mike looking at awe towards Will... Strange choice of shot for someone he's going to reject. Why even put Mike in the shot, it could have easily been Dustin there or Jonathan if they wanted it to be a "accept I am going to be a single gay guy" storyline?

I get the doubt, but stop with these bloody aggressive comments calling the people with hope delusional, it's ambiguous at best and that's what the duffer bros want! It ain't that deep to be mean guys... I want it to happen but I'm also pleased that Will is in his power bitch era and fuck Mike if he doesn't want him 😂

[mikesbasementbeets]

Listen, as far as crazy theories go, I've had crazier.

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

Why is no one noticing that this totally parallels Mike saying "Well they do say X makes you crazy"

Why are you saying such crazy stuff to Will huh Mike... Does will Make you crazy 👀?

[boyfriendsmalec]

While Mike struggles to interact with El in private moments in S3/S4, he is able to "perform" the role of "boyfriend" whilst in the public eye. But the opposite is true for him and Will. While Mike struggles to interact with Will in public spaces (the airport scene, Rink o Mania) in private moments he's able to be his true, authentic self.

[alieznora]

The reporter asked what were the most impressive episodes. Noah began to speak, but duffer said to be careful, and they began to laugh

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

Ok so season 5 byler doubt creeping in... Trying to understand something from Mileven lens in case my heart gets broken with it 😂 (been burned too many times before)

Can a Mileven shipper explain to me Mike's inconsistent friendship with Will from the lens of anything other than him repressing his feelings for Will and feeling confused by his feelings please?

Like Season 3 yes I could get it at a stretch that he wanted to grow up and ditch the D and D behind which is why he was a douche...

But season 4 Mike only makes sense to me from the POV he realised he is in love with Will and not Eleven and he has no idea how to handle those feels!

He goes from this....

And this...

To this...

I would never behave like this with a friend, but I may behave this way with someone I was awkwardly in love with/crushing on and I felt the feelings aren't reciprocated or felt confused by my own feelings...

The only possible other explanation is Mike knows Wills feelings and doesn't know how to handle them...but this also makes no sense as Mike always speaks his mind and tackles things head on!

Trying to sooth my Byler doubt with these thoughts, be also curious about what others think?

[lizardthelizard]

forever obsessed with their later series dynamic

[ariart0]

🔸Hospital visit

🔸 Part 1-8/14

[habken]

can I still be a hero?

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

Trying to find a fic (Bakuduku)

Does anyone know of a fic where Deku realies he doesn't know how to go out with friends so Kacchan shows him. They go out to loads of places together for random trips out like hiking, arcades, for food etc and it ends up turning into dates?

I read it over a year ago or so but it was so wholesome and loverly and trying to track it down!

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

Parallels with Bakudeku and IzuOcha

I have been re-reading the MHA manga and something I find interesting is when Uraraka first notices her crush on Izuku it's because she finds herself copying his actions and realises how much she admires him and replicates him. She has his image in mind when conducting herself as a hero.

It's interesting to me as multiple times when trying to craft his own skills as a hero Izuku frequently references and copies Kasuki's style of fighting. Almost as though he admires and replicates him deliberately. Almost as though he has his image in mind.

[patientno7]

the suffering never ends

[sinksanksockie2]

This is the real process

[thewritingbeast-blog]

Resources for you!

Character Ideas:

Character creation masterpost

Character Alignment Chart

More character alignment descriptions

Muslim Character questions

Characters with magical powers

Building a new character advice

How to create a character for an online or tabletop RPG (also a good guide on creating characters in general)

Royalty/nobility TV Tropes page

Basic character profile

OC masterpost

Random character generators - (1), (2), (3), (4)

D&D Character Building Tool

Character Design Ideas:

How clothing affects a character’s personality

Character Design Inspiration blog

Concept art, fan art, cool art to be inspired by

Character design references and inspiration

Sources for POC character design ideas and models

Create your own character model using HeroForge

For horned characters

Body and hair types guide

Random outfit generator

Naming Help:

Amazing site with an endless amount of naming resources

General advice on avoiding naming appropriation

Hispanic Surnames

Gothic Victorian names

Huge master list for character things in general

Masterlist of names of all types - including but not limited to ancient/old world names, Celtic, African, Northern European, Southern and Central American Native names, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Polynesian, and more

Another name masterlist

How to pick a character name guide

Yet another names masterlist

Creating Background/backstory:

Character Sheet/Development Sheet

Another character development list

In-depth character personality, motivations and traits sheet

320 talents and passions for characters

On writing likes and dislikes that aren’t frivolous

Why you should write non-human characters non-conforming to the gender binary

Stereotypes, tropes, and archetypes

Random backstory generator

Assassin and thief character tropes to avoid

Character Interactions and putting your character into your world/story:

Comparing character height/height references

Characters who are scientists and writing about them doing science

Describing what different voices sound like

Describing skin tones

Writing friendship interactions that are platonic

Why having one character knock their friend unconscious to prevent them from doing something is a bad idea

Advice on shipping OCs with canon characters and what to avoid doing

Sweet Polly Oliver and Sweet on Polly Oliver situations (think of Disney’s Mulan for an example)

How to write multiple viewpoints/juggling a main cast of more than 4 to 6 characters

How to make readers care about your morally gray hero/anti-hero

On platonic OC and canon character relationships

How to avoid Godmodding in RPs

When it’s cheap to kill off a character

Writing dialogue

Things you shouldn’t do to canon characters

Avoiding purple prose in writing and RPs

Slang resources

Dialogue tips

Websites to chart your story/plot/character relationships

Bonus art masterlist!

[brucewayneright]

BLESS EVERYONE IN THIS POST.

[jasmehraj]

Oh my God!

It’s amazing, some links aren’t working for me but those who are, are spectacular.

[jenn-i-guess]

Holy shit thank you.

As a writer who not only writes fanfic, I appreciate this v v v much!!!

[inebriatednovelist-deactivated2]

[nerdystudentcloudposts]

Hi,

Sooo I don't think I have ever successfully finished a fanfic, and think I only posted one when I was about 13 (14 years ago D:) ... But I am on lockdown so when is a better time to start a new hobbie.

I kind of have an idea for a Bakudeku fic and I am wondering if anyone would be so kind as to be my beta reader for me?? I am happy for you to be as brutal as possible, I really want to improve my writing.

#bakudeku #myheroacademia #fanfic #novicewriter