#mike wheeler ik what you are

[adrenalynette]

I drew Castle Byers! It’s inspired by the song treehouse by Alex G.

[talssyyy]

this part will never not be insane to me.

because look how mike first looks will up and down multiple times then doesn’t TEAR HIS EYES AWAY FROM HIM the whole time he’s pulling the painting out of his backpack and THEN proceeds to glance back TWO. MORE. TIMES. when being handed the painting

explain to me how this is in any way platonic i’ll wait thank you.

[literallymikewheeler]

i will never not find it funny that el was literally actively getting bullied and crying in a closet somewhere but WILL was the one sabotaging the whole day?? bc he wasnt… paying attention to u mike????

[cringengl]

One thing I find funny about this poster in Mike's room is not only does it show a dragon either very unnecessarily over exaggerated muscles, suggesting that Mike likes guys (as posters of attractive people in various character's rooms often show sexuality) but the fact that the monster is conjoured by a wizard- Will.

(Although Will is referred to as a cleric most of the time, especially by Mike, he was originally a wizard I'm pretty sure, plus the Stranger Things fandom wiki also calls his DnD a wizard- Will the Wise is a very wizardy name- so I'm going to use this iffy logic for this post lol)

It's almost as if Will is revealing Mike's sexuality to Mike himself . Furthermore, the appearance of the monster in the poster is very demon like- corrating to the themes of the satanic panic in s4, suggesting that Mike sees his sexuality as sinful and 'freak'-like.

I also love how easy it is to apply the blue/yellow colour theory to this poster- the smoke is blue showing how this monster is coming out of Mike and the background behind the wizard is yellow which reminds the audience of Will, but my favourite part is how the monster is green. If we run with the concept that it represents Mike's sexuality, then you could also say how the green represents Mike and Will together- saying that not only is Mike attracted to men but he also likes Will.

[parkitaco]

last wip wfriday of pride month 😘🏳️‍🌈

[heartsgettingwiser62]

Do you guys ever wonder if Mike slipped that sticky note into Will's locker. And when he found it he was scared bc he thought it was someone bullying him again. Until he read it and he absolutely melted. And he just stood in the middle of the hallway, re-read it 10 times, looked both sides to make sure nobody was watching, clutched the note against his chest for a second, gently shoved it inside his schoolbag and walked away. (And had to come back bc he had forgotten what he had to do in his locker lmao i love him)

[doriandrifting]

The Magic 8 Ball in the opening gave us our answers about Mike?

Our opening flashback scene takes place in the rainbow room where 010 holds a magic 8 ball. When he shakes it, a blue triangle reads, “SIGNS POINT TO YES.”

Then we get the scene with El’s letter to Mike which ends with him in his room reading it:

He’s holding a sheet of rainbow paper with a “ONE WAY” sign above him pointing into his closet, tying it back to that initial scene.

At school we get a line from Mike’s dialogue about D&D that could subtly allude to the magic 8 ball again:

At the roller rink, we learn that Mike and Will are both 10s and we get confirmation that he’s the blue in the code from last season and that Will is the yellow:

The ending scene has Mike with his triangle pointed at Will, seemingly connecting the opening of the season with the ending:

Signs point to yes.

“And you said yes. You said yes.”

[aemiron-main]

“mike wheeler isn’t autistic’

what the fuck was this then LMAO

[livsmessydoodles]

you ever remember how mikes room has a massive one way sign pointing straight to his closet and go insane a little bit

[raebow]

ok listen up byler nation i know someone has probably already said this BUT

in this scene, not only are mike’s eyes open, but he is standing in front of an OPEN CLOSET and WILL’S TEDDY BEAR is between el and mike. am i clowning or do yall agree with me

(scene is from s3 ep8)

[trasiycrem]

"Smile ur in the 'before byler becomes canon' era"

the way they followed after each other is so funny tm

[talssyyy]

leather jacket mike wheeler bf confirmed????

[sade-alicious]

it flopped on tt☹️

[loubetcha]

mike was stuck to will’s side after halloween in s2 not only because there was a new monster in town but because it was around the same time will disappeared last year. and the monster was after him, again. he couldn’t lose him, again.

[castleclerics]

idc i think mike 100% understood will in the van

i have for a while but was inspired by this post to look back at the van scene for definitely the 200th+ time with what they pointed out in mind and really tried to analyze mike's faces more than i have before.

the first time we see mike after will says el commissioned the painting he furrows his eyebrows twice, (while looking at will, then again after he looks at the painting) very subtle but there. bro's so confused and disappointed that it's not THE painting. the one will made for who he likes.

"even el especially el" mike's like ok. what in the hell is going on here what am i not getting *looks back at painting to try and figure it out*

"she's so different from other people and when you're.....when you're......"

put yourself in mike's shoes. your best friend is talking pretty seriously to you about this damn painting, but he keeps looking out the window at certain parts. he's probably like 'why is he completely turned away from me ? something must really be wrong whatever he's saying he doesn't even want to look at me while saying it, that's not like him.' etc.

will says the word 'different' again while describing a person which prompts mike to look further down to will's back, looking at him and this situation as a whole, zooming out if you will. mike relates all too well to that word, then looks back up at will's head area.

he looks back at painting with that tiny jaw movement (you can see if u watch the actual scene i can’t put another video) as he has his realization. looking at the painting the few other times wasn't enough. but will talking about being different was the missing piece to the puzzle. mike looks at it again and it all makes sense. because mike is queer too, he gets it. that's how he figures out will's talking about himself, everything he just told mike about being the heart. the heart painted on his shield. it's clear as day now for him.

will links being different to feeling like a mistake and the look on mike's face on the left is way more concerned than the very first blurry pic of him, then does his classic 'i feel bad for this person/myself' mouth thing. he wants to reach out to will so badly and make this right but he literally can't. he knows this is the only chance he might get and he can't.

put yourself in his shoes again. 'oh my god my best friend who i like is literally confessing to me and there's nothing i can do about it i want to tell him everything but he used el as a shield for a reason and i don't want to ruin that for him. also i'm in a pizza van that reeks of weed with his brother and his insane friend in the middle of the desert going to rescue el from a military base we might all literally die and something bad is waiting for us if we do make it to hawkins i feel so bad for him though and i need to tell him i feel the same way but i can't rn oh my god what do i do'

mike isn't stupid/oblivious in the van scene, he only is when will tells him "you're the heart". he read that situation wrong. he read the van scene 100% right.

[mikewheelergayat14]

shout out to conan gray for having 2 of the most byler songs known to man