Mike Wheeler - Blog Posts
that was the night i nearly lost you.
the worst was over, my hand was the one you reached for, all throughout the great war.
hellfire t-shirt mike, you'll always be famous (lucas bailing on hellfire's plans)
has it ever occurred to you that we don't want to be popular?
hellfire t-shirt mike, you'll always be famous (the search)
that's just bullshit media propaganda!
hellfire t-shirt mike, you'll always be famous (cafeteria)
he's always revved up.
actually, to me it's not cool until you finally confess you're in love.
They both had butterflies in their stomachs in these scenes and I'm sure their little hearts were beating so fast and 🥲
*quietly chanting* possessed possessed possessed possessed po—
what's this? a possession theory post where mike's romantic subplots matter? i thought the day would never come
the contrast between byler and romantic mileven is so important to understanding what mike is actually trying to say
he doesn't let himself be weird and possessive about el once he actually starts thinking about it, because that's not the kind of thing that fits with their relationship, but he does let himself be selfish about will
that's genuinely behaviour that's stemming from the root of romantic feelings, like we're supposed to believe is what was going on with el in season 3, except mike himself told us that that's stupid and not him
that isn't what's happening in his relationship with el. mike doesn't want to hide el away forever. mike wouldn't get mad when she had other friends. the anger and jealousy weren't mike's feelings, they were vecna's. because his plan to isolate el and keep her easy to manipulate was falling apart
i have more to say about these scenes but i am being silenced by tumblr's image post limit. stay tuned
do u ever think about how naturally these two were able to reconnect and how damn easy it was for them to fall back into their usual, reassuring, effortless friendship?? like. as a reminder, this was the first time they'd actually spoken to one other after rink-o-mania, and yet they were still able to make each other smile and laugh and blush like their fight and their whole year of distance and miscommunication had never even happened 🥺😭🥹
mike wheeler realising that he's cared for and missed when he's gone and that his existence is a net positive by the way. if you even care
STRANGER THINGS 2 (2017) | STRANGER THINGS 4 (2022)
(insp)
I know what you are Mike Wheeler
Oh rosie made me laugh so hard with this one 😂
Byler au where they weren't able to rescue Will in s1 and he grows up being corrupted by the upside-down
'Stranger Things 3's' teenage purgatory
Hunter Ingram StarNews Staff
[WARNING: This story contains mild spoilers from "Strangers Things 3." Only read if you have watched the new season or don't mind being spoiled.]
Being young, gay and confused about what it all means can feel like the weight of the world bearing down on your shoulders.
For Will Byers, that internal crisis is only amplified as the actual fate of the world sits on his shoulders and his soul – yet again – in Netflix’s “Stranger Things 3,” the third season of the wildly popular nostalgia-tinged sci-fi series.
In many ways, Will (played with earnest emotion and incredible range by Noah Schnapp) is the heartbeat of the beloved series. Sure, superhuman Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who now has two evil KOs under her belt, is the breakout of the show. But it’s Will who acts as the story’s catalyst, having first been pulled into the Upside Down in season one and forever branded with a connection to the grim parallel dimension.
Yet, there’s another element of Will’s story that informs what has become a near-constant fight to understand who he is – it’s possible Will is gay.
It’s a notion that was briefly hinted at in the first season, sparking plenty of online theorizing and postulating about whether or not the shy teen’s journey to another dimension and back was all one big metaphor for the internalized struggle of coming to terms with one’s own sexual identity.
That theory is given its best credence yet in season three's third episode, when Will’s best friend, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), puts him down in an argument over their friendship and girls by blurting out it's not his fault Will doesn’t like them.
It's a jarring but fleeting moment between the two strained BFFs, one followed with a few seconds of silence as they process the once-unspoken truth now suddenly voiced out loud.
Mike wields this information as a weapon, not because he doesn't accept Will, but as a selfish defensive measure. He apologizes, but Will still retreats to his once-safe space, Castle Byers, only to realize its yet another reminder of the childhood and the innocence that has been stolen from him repeatedly.
Through tears and screams (again, Schnapp is incredible), he takes a baseball bat to his hideaway and tears a picture of him and his friends to shreds – and who can blame him?
Will has been kidnapped and sent to another dimension, rescued and returned home only to be possessed by the very darkness that imprisoned him and then subjected to an exorcism. Through it all, it was his family, friends and those endless days crowded around the table playing Dungeons & Dragons that tethered him to his home, even as it slipped further away.
Much of the first part of season three sees him all but begging his friends to forget their newfound hormones and girlfriends to play D&D and just be kids again – you know, like the old days before they were thrust into an inter-dimensional battle with world-ending stakes. As that chance for some familiar sense of normalcy fades away, Will is unsure where he can take shelter anymore.
That’s how it can feel coming to terms with being gay. For those who struggle with it, as so many do, any threat to the fragile existence you build for yourself to get through the day and feel OK can be overwhelming. Like watching your glass house crack all at once – or worse, in excruciating slow motion.
For three years now, Will has been a stranger in his own body, sharing it not only with a supernatural presence trying to use their bond to infiltrate our world, but also with an all-too-familiar anxiety about who he is – something we all feel, gay or not.
But what’s more unsettling is seeing how Will has found his new normal in the chaos.
As soon as he realizes the threat of the Mind Flayer has reawakened, he buries his hurt, confusion and anger in the name of saving the world. He deflects apologies from his friends because there’s work to be done.
That self-sacrifice for the greater good of those around you is something the LGBT community also has plenty of experience in. So often, we are forced – or feel obligated – to push our own self exploration deep down to make it easier for those around us, casting aside the important work we owe ourselves to find out who we are.
The third season of “Stranger Things” doesn’t spend much time with Will’s journey and that's a shame, especially considering it was through his struggle that were first introduced to this wild world. His story is even given less narrative attention than Robin's own coming out revelation late in the season.
But if you’ve personally experienced the trials of a sexual identity crisis, you recognize the subtext.
Feeling comfortable in your own skin can be a lifelong journey, one that can seem as though someone has turned your life upside down. In Hawkins, Will Byers knows that better than anyone.
If there was a possibility that Will and Mike get Vecna’d simultaneously do you think they’d meet at the swings just like before?🤔