#this is not mike wheeler friendly

[coldninjaruins-blog]

More stranger things + incorrect text posts

[groovinrightalong]

Posting dumb little wips as I struggle through the end of the semester

[ronancebyler]

i love jealous wheelers as much as the next person but you need to hear me out on this one.

mike and robin both get jealous the same way, nancy and will both get jealous the same way.

mike is obviously so unserious like he's just like "fuck you fuck you fuck you if will doesn't stop talking to them i will throw myself in front of a bus."

and we've heard of robin's jealousy with steve. "i wanted her to look at me. but she wouldn't stop staring at you and your stupid hair." like is that not so mike coded??? when she gets jealous it's all 'i would rather go back to getting tortured by russians than see one more person flirt with nancy.'

and just like mike it's all internal. mike is fully convinced he only platonically likes will and robin is fully convinced she likes vickie so we just get a bunch of 'im fine. im so fine and normal about this! im not upset, you are!' and the reason the jealousy is so hilarious is because we know nancy and will both will only ever like them. Which brings us to the other side of the ship.

nancy and will are both people who know what they want. nancy took a bit longer with steve but now she's very solid on what she likes. when she likes someone, whether it was jonathan or is robin, she knows it. will has only ever loved mike since they were kids. he is also very solid on the fact that he wants mike.

so when nancy's jealous? it's just scary. the poor person is probably shitting their pants she has guns you guys. besides, she's pulled enough to know when someone likes her so she definitely knows that robin likes her back.

will's jealous? absolutely fucking terrifying my guy has been possessed by vecna and the mind flayer AND was kidnapped as a child AND had to deal with bullying and a piece of shit father that kid can fight. Literally all he needs is conformation that mike likes him back for him to unleash how fucking PETTY that guy is. "is it? is it early michael?" "friends? what friends?" "how'd you forget the socks? because you come here so often 😐?" "is that why you don't have any friends?" like do you see my VISION

[cringengl]

So in the tags in this poll I put my reasonings for why I believe Will mainly fell for Mike in s2. While yes, it's possible that Will had a small crush on Mike pre s1, I think most, if not all of his romantic feelings came from s2 and why I think so is all because of the van scene.

One of the most important lines in the van scene, especially when explaining why Will loves Mike, is this:

Much of Will and Mike's scenes in s2 is Mike making Will feel better for being different. This is established pretty early on when Will has his talk with Jonathan where he berates Jonathan for treating him "like there's something wrong with me", just like "Mom, Dustin, Lucas. Everyone", clearly leaving out Mike. Mike isn't like the others, who make Will feel even more different.

The crazy together and superspy scene are also good examples of Mike making Will feel better for being different. In the crazy together scene, Will says how Mike can't tell the others how he's feeling because "they won't understand" and in that scene, instead of Mike making Will feel more different, he promises to be there for him and to understand him- to go crazy together. In the superspy scene Will is upset as he feels like as the mindflayer takes over more of Hawkins he also takes over more of Will, but instead Mike makes him feel better by saying that Will can use this to his advantage and spy back. Both of these scenes have a clear pattern of Will feeling different and Mike making him feel better for it.

These scene obviously give Will the courage to fight on- it's one of the reasons why Will tries to spy back and even though that strategy ultimately fails, it keeps Will from initially completely giving up. However, the biggest example of "and that gives her (me) the courage to fight on" is the shed scene. Mike once again uses an example of where Will or both of them feel different (alone on the first day of kindergarten) and uses it to help Will get the courage to fight on against the mindflayer and tap out the morsecode to close the gate.

Due to the emphasis on this line in the van scene, I just think it makes more sense to show the specific times when Will fell for Mike onscreen, when Mike made him feel better for being different, instead of leaving it up to pre s1 speculation. Although there's the argument that Mike stood up for Troy when he was making fun of Will in the gym, but it was heavily implied by the expressions of suprise on everyone's face that Mike has never done something like that before and that it was likely fueled by anger due to Will's disappearance as well as the fact that not only was Will not there for it, but it doesn't happen pre s1.

Furthermore, I also see people say how Will's love for Mike is hinted from s1 and although it's possible that he did unknowingly have a small crush on Mike, I think most of the season 1 stuff that David Harbour said that is supposed to make sense later on is mostly Will's queercoding, as it's just done through people calling Will homophobic slurs (which was kinda messed up of Stranger Things ngl). Like yeah there's the whole part where Will doesn't lie to Mike about the roll, but that's probably due to either a subconscious small crush, or Will just being his honest self (even if he does cheat Dustin out of his X-men #134- it's not like he lies about it and he's probably going to have more integrity with DnD over a bike race with Dustin).

So yeah, TL;DR: Will fell in love with Mike in s2 because that's when Mike spent the entire season making Will feel better for being different and giving him the courage to fight on.

[madwheelerz]

Friendly reminder that Mike thinks his friends are worth like 10 of him and would give his life to try and spare them from a little harm

[vecna-is-here]

A pop of colour

Pairing: Peter Ballard x F! Reader

Note: Peter is NOT Henry Creel / Vecna in this, just a friendly orderly

Warnings: none I think?

Summary: Y/N is training as a nurse in Hawkins Laboratory, but when the new orderly comes into her life it changes everything. He’s a pop of colour in the never ending white.

You had been an orderly at Hawkins Laboratory for three years when Dr Brenner gave you the chance to train as a nurse. You had always been smart and a quick learner too, so you decided to do it. The other nurse, Philippa, was an old and mean woman and all the children hated her. The amount of work and the hours of studying you’d have to do didn’t scare you off: you were determined to make it work.

You still helped out as an orderly whenever you could because the children were rather fond of you. A little girl who went by the name ‘011’ was shyer than the others, but also more gifted - which made her unpopular. The others, especially the older kids, were often bullying her so she’d usually sit next to you in the rainbow room and you made sure the others were behaving themselves towards her.

October 17th, 1983

You sat in the rainbow room with an anatomy textbook opened on your lap. The coloured drawings and figures within were a big contrast to your white skirt, the white floor, the white walls… Everything there was white, except for a bold rainbow painted across the walls. At least white looked good on you, it was nice with your dark hair.

Papa came through the door and walked towards 003, he asked whether he was ready for another lesson. His hair had grown grey over the years but he still had his severe expression, you wondered whether he ever smiled. Another person had entered the room, but you only noticed him when he was standing in front of you. His name was Peter Ballard, the new orderly who arrived a few weeks ago. Peter was a tall man and handsome man, his eyes a bright shade of blue and his blonde hair looked so soft and it curled ever so slightly. Whenever he was near you felt your cheeks heat up, he made you feel so… shy, and lightheaded.

You looked up to meet his keen eyes and he gave you a little smile

‘Oh, hello…’ you said distractedly and scooted over to make room for him on the bench. You had been trying to contain your emotions but the mere sight of him made you burn.

He stretched out his hand, as if he wanted you to give him your book. ‘Just a moment.’ you muttered and turned back to your studies. He playfully grabbed it from your hands and sat down beside you with a grin.

‘Peter!’ you scowled.

‘What?’, he asked innocently.

‘I need to study.’

‘Do you?’, he raised his brow and looked at you with a curious expression.

‘Yes!’ you scoffed and tried take the the book back from him. He was much taller than you so there was no way you’d get it back.

‘Let’s see…’ he said and started flipping though the pages with a focused gaze. You rolled your eyes ever so slightly but of course he had seen it. He shook his head with an amused smile and cast his eyes down again, a small strand of blonde hair fell onto this forehead. You sat in silence and watched him carefully choose something to ask you. You wanted to brush that soft curl from his face so badly…

‘Can you tell me… the name of this tendon?’ he suddenly asked and showed you a drawing.

‘That’s a muscle, and it’s called the flexor carpi.’ you said, you didn’t even have to think about the answer. He seemed impressed and asked more questions, which you all answered flawlessly.

‘I think… that you secretly have powers, like them.’ he whispered and looked at the children. Your eyes grew big and you felt the corners of your mouth curl up. ‘Either that or you’re uncannily intelligent.’

‘Oh… I would have found out by now… if I had powers I mean… thank you…’ you uttered, feeling silly for him much his compliment meant to you. The bend in your voice made it all even worse.

‘You should have a little more faith in yourself.’

‘That’s what I told Eleven yesterday.’ you admitted.

‘See?’ he said and blinked slowly before looking up from the book to meet your eyes.

‘Thank you, Peter.’ you blushed.

He said nothing in return but gave you a sincere smile. He closed the book and gave it to you, his fingers brushed yours for a moment and his touch tingled your skin and left you yearning for more. A dozen thoughts crossed your mind at once: how could you ever be with him? Papa would never allow it. And besides: Peter was just being friendly, he would never feel the same about you…

[dinosaursatemymom]

Ranting

el doesn't know what gay means

If Mike came out to her she would not understand, she would probably be like, "gay...? What is gay...?" And she wouldn't understand why mike wouldn't want to tell her, because she doesn't understand what homophobia is or why it would affect someone. The only exposure she has had to homophobia is the bullies in s1, but she didn't understand what those words meant, all she knew is that they made mike upset. If Mike or will had a coming out scene to her, she would be very confused of why it was a big deal, after she found out what it meant. I think she would be upset about Mike lying to her, because she doesn't have the context to understand why he would need to lie. I personally think she has already picked up on that something is going on between Mike and will, she wouldn't understand why this would need to be kept a secret. From her perspective they are just lying with no good reason to do so, she might even accidentally out ones of them. She would not have the context to instantly accept, she is going to be upset about Mike lying, and maybe will too. But once it is explained to her why, and she sees homophobia again, this time through a new lens and understanding, she will be accepting and probably apologize for being upset, now that she understands.(this is if she doesn't accidentally out ones of them, which I don't think the duffel bagels would do)

Basically I'm trying to say, El wouldn't be all instant ally.

[bananasbyler]

Huge parallels between Byler + El and how it proves the separate ways everyone will go!!

[Color coding: El, Mike, Will, Bullies/Troy/Angela, important/key words/Max x1]

In season 1, Mike overhears the bullies talking badly about Will. This is how the scene goes in order.

1.) Mike confronts them, shouting Troy’s name. They turn around.

2.) The bullies (Troy) say more shit about Will.

3.) They turn back around. Mike pushes Troy to the floor.

This moment signifies the lengths Mike is willing to go to defend Will when he isn’t even there.

In season 4, El sees Angela still gloating from bullying her earlier and goes to talk with her. This is how the scene goes in order.

1.) El confronts them by saying Angela’s name and they turn to her attention.

2.) The bullies (Angela) say more shit about her to her face.

3.) They turn back around. El calls her name again and hits her on the head, knocking her to the floor.

SUMMARY:

El was just mirroring what she saw Mike do when he was defending Will. It literally shows her watching his every move in that scene. So why is it so bad to Mike when El does the same to defends herself? (In all fairness, she did hit harder, but still!!)

CONCLUSION:

Many have been saying that El will go off on her own. Posters are evident about this and so are the s4 Netflix icons. It’s also what s3 was leading up to with Max giving her her own independence.

It’s ALSO, also shown at the end of s4 v2 when everyone pairs off into the field:

Byler is together, other couples are together, and El is again, by herself. This isn’t a bad thing by any means. It just shows that El is ready to be on her own and byler is ready to be together!!

Both are positive!! :DD

[adelacreations]

19. Who are their number one supporters in canon out of their peers? Why?

Well for Steve it would OBVIOUSLY be Robin like come on, there is no question about it. Plus Robin compared to like all of the party doesn't really have that connection with Billy, most likely all she knew about Billy was what she had probably witnessed in high school.

Robin to me was the one that had to sit there and watch Steve come to the realisation that he likes Billy Hargrove.

Heather. Goes without saying (what do you mean she is dead? She's not). She is Billy's ride-or-die for real. She would be the slightly judgemental cause "Really? Steve Harrington...wait...Robin Buckley is his best friend. Fine...you are getting Steve to help me bag her.

(They go on double dates, tell me I am wrong, I am not)

Now for the party:

Will! But that is because ya know Steve and Billy would be the only m/m couple in Hawkins and I LIVE for Billy being a person that Will looks up to.

El! She has been in Billy's head, like come on it's a no-brainer.

Max too! She is Billy's sister, and chances are she has noticed the way that Billy and Steve look at each other. She is cheering her brother on (and has given the shovel talk with El at Steve)

[rainbownixie]

i just find funny how mike's "apology" to el in s3 is basically blaming hopper/el for everything and then proceeding to give her a bag of m&ms.

oh, it kind of looks like the only person mike can be vulnerable around and properly apologize to is... will.

[coldninjaruins-blog]

"Season two was when we really, with the writers, we developed an overall plan and a backstory for all of this"

(Season 2 episode 2)

[buck-yyyy]

hi yes hello, im back on my bullshit and ready to talk more about mike’s one track mind, as a continuation of this post from last night :)

@magentamee made a really great point in the tags that i kinda want to explore further because i wasn’t thinking about it at all when i first made that post, so here we are :0

[image id: tumblr tags from user magentamee that read, “#this checks out for me…. HM!!!! #mike definitely had a one-track mind #which? also makes st4 super wild bc he has his Objective yet.. hes really thinking about something Else the whole time #mike wheeler analysis” /end id]

this is so interesting to me because his objective in season four SHOULD be to find el- but it’s not?

like, let’s recap the beginning of season 4:

he isn’t focused on finding el at the roller rink- rather, he seems like he’s hyper-aware of what’s going on with will.

he crumples up el’s letter.

he shows no clear interest in going to find el until jonathan suggests that they get a ride from argyle to escape the house and go find her.

the only time that he’s completely focused on el is when they’re fighting about the ILY and when she gets arrested- why isn’t that a continuous theme throughout season four?

later, in the van, his objective should still be to find el. and on the surface, it is! but the fact that he and will have so many heart-to-hearts that are INCREDIBLY coded conversations makes that objective rather iffy.

while those conversations appear to be about el, we know that they’re not, especially from will’s POV. in the junkyard? will isn’t talking about how it’s hard to say ILY, he’s talking about how it’s scary to come out. in the van with the painting? will isn’t talking about el’s feelings, he’s talking about his own.

the fact that mike is so captured by will’s own feelings disguised as understanding of mike and el’s feelings/relationship tells me that his objective ISN’T solely el- it’s will. if they wanted to show mike fully focused on el, on getting her back and on fixing their relationship, they wouldn’t have made these conversations the way they are- because they’re not about el, they’re about will.

so if we’re deeming mike’s season four objective to be will, then why does he respond to will like that in the beginning? why does the monologue happen?

number one: mike is disguising his own objective. it’s a shield, it’s repression, it’s mike pretending that el is his only focus when it’s now become clear that it’s really will. we see that shield start to crack when mike has his outburst at rink-o-mania, about will rolling his eyes and ruining their time together. and yet, mike still tries to keep it up- but it doesn’t work! we see these coded conversations and we’re able to recognize that really, el has nothing to do with it all. it’s all will.

number two: perhaps will isn’t the true objective, maybe he’s just the surface of the underground objective (yes, i know that wording sucks, but i can’t think of a better way to put it). will starts out there season getting ignored by mike, because he’s still stuck in the mindset of conformity. but underneath, he’s clearly struggling with something- something that’s making him want to push away both will and el.

whatever could that be? /sar

in my mind, mike is trying to figure himself out. he’s struggling with his sexuality, he’s struggling with his feelings for will, he’s struggling with his lack of feelings for el. the reason he’s having so much difficulty focusing on both el and will is because that is his objective- the age old question of “why do i feel like this, is there something wrong with me?”

also, a disclaimer, because i feel like my words can easily be misinterpreted: mike still cares deeply about el! he still wants to find her very very badly, because el is in danger and he loves her! but el isn’t his focus (and neither is will!) and he doesn’t love her the way he thinks he should- so he pretends that she’s the focus and that they’re in love.

this post also doesn’t mean that i think he ONLY cares about one person or thing at a time- he cares so deeply about everyone in his life, and i think that’s part of why i love him. it just means that he tends to get tunnel vision on a specific goal.

tldr; mike’s objective this season isn’t the surface interpretation of el, or the slightly deeper interpretation of will. his objective is himself, and figuring out how that relates to will. and that’s why he’s pushing them both away, that’s what makes season four mike so different from season one through three mike- because for once, his objective isn’t a person. it’s not will like seasons one and two, and it’s not el like season three. season four presents mike’s objective as simply, ‘who is mike, and what does that mean?’

*drops mic*

anyways. thoughts?

[palettehao]

Looking into Mike and Will's body language is super fun and interesting

[luckybyler]

Am I misremembering, or does Hopper not know that Mike and El got back together at the end of season 3?

[emily-mooon]

From that post I made about Nancy’s favourite flower being a lilac, it makes me wonder what every other character in Stranger Things favourite flower could be.

I have no idea on how to word this but let’s start a discussion about this and come up with ideas on what they could be.

I’ll start and say that Robin’s favourite flower would probably be a violet due to its meaning in lgbtq+ history (especially lesbian and bisexual women’s history).

[mikesbasementbeets]

hmmm considering analyzing the joey/dawson/pacey love triangle up against willelmike…… don’t know if there’s really anything there but I haven’t seen anyone do it (correct me if I’m wrong? I’d love to see it) and pacey and joey literally mean so much to me and knowing that dawson’s creek was ALSO extremely formative for the duffers? i’m thinking…….