#and mike admires him for it

[kennahjune]

the moment mike accepted steve into the party

he didn’t get it. what was so good about steve harrington?

yeah, he was good looking and strong. but other than that? nothing. in mike’s eyes, he was still the asshole rando that dated his sister. and he didn’t plan on that changing.

until march of 1985.

mike had been held back after class for falling asleep. it wasn’t his fault. he couldn’t ever sleep unless someone else was with him. and there was no way in hell he was gonna cuddle with nancy. besides, he was good at the class— so no need to pay attention really.

at least miss noelle didn’t call his mom.

dustin, lucas, and will were waiting for him in the hall. oh, and max, cause she was actually kind of cool.

“what was up with miss noelle?” lucas asked as they walked down the hall.

“pissed i fell asleep in class,” mike said dejectedly. max snorted from beside him.

“maybe just don’t fall asleep?” she asked rhetorically.

mike huffed and flipped her off. “you sound like my dad.”

dustin shuddered from his other side. “ew. not cool man.”

mike rolled his eyes. “it’s true! my dads always like ‘just don’t this’ and ‘just don’t do that’ instead of actually helping! It’s so annoying.”

will came up and bumped arms with him while they finally left the school. classes were done and they were finally left to do what they wanted.

“uh oh.” came from lucas. mike sighed, catching sight of what— or who— lucas was “uh oh-ing” about.

“just don’t look at them,” max said under her breath while she averted her eyes to the ground.

“that never works,” retorted lucas.

“you have any better ideas? just keep walking.”

great. the one day nancy or jonathan aren’t picking them up and they run into noah and joey.

in 1983, el had gotten troy and james to back off— even scaring them into moving. but el’s not here right now, so she can’t help with noah and joey— the party’s most recent tormentors.

will stepped closer to mike and mike nudged his hand with his. everyone pulled in closer to each other in hopes of concealing themselves and the others. of course, it didn’t work.

“hey hey! look man, it’s the circus!” mike saw noah nudge joey beside him.

“shit,” dustin cursed.

and ‘shit’ was right. no one wanted to deal with noah and joey. especially with the mood mike was currently in after being held up.

“seriously what hell is it, tanner?” mike addressed noah directly.

joey whistled lowly and took a sharp step forward. will and dustin both flinched pretty hard. max gave a twitch but lucas and mike held their ground for the most part. noah and joey got a kick laughing at dustin and will.

“awwww they’re scared, joey! like a bunch of babies!”

mike forgot how stupid kids sound most of the time. they could call him a baby all they wanted— nothing will ever compare to watching will get possessed and then watching bob die.

mike still reached out and grabbed someone’s hand. he thinks it was lucas’.

joey and noah were both a good bit taller than mike, which meant they were also a good bit taller than everyone else in the party. they liked to use their height to their advantage but mike had dealt with monsters twice his height. it wasn’t scary, just annoying at this point.

still didn’t help the fact that they didn’t want to deal with this.

mike had zoned out, because next thing he knew he was being shoved to the ground. it probably wouldn’t have hurt too bad if they weren’t outside in the parking lot. mike felt his chin bust on the pavement in a sickening repeat of ‘83 with troy and james.

will was there in a second with dustin, helping him up off the ground and dusting him off. dustin held his hands while Will held his face, frantic over the now gushing blood that he could feel running down his neck. he was trembling. why was he trembling?

he faintly heard yelling and assumed lucas and max were arguing with joey and noah.

“just fuck off, murphy!” he heard max yell at joey. “we’ve literally done nothing to either of you and yet you make us hate our fucking lives!”

“aww, noah, she thinks we actually care! isn’t that cute?”

mike stood up with the help up dustin and will. but that only served to turn noah and joey’s attention onto him. well. better on him than on max.

“so whatcha gonna do, wheeler? gonna push me like troy? gonna wimp out and go cry to mommy and daddy?”

mike actually considered pushing joey. but that’d probably just make thing worse. if el hadn’t been there last year to save his ass from troy mike would’ve gotten pummeled.

but it was a serious option he considered.

dustin stepped in front of mike and shoved joey back. mike didn’t even realize how close he’d gotten. wow. he was really out of it today, huh?

“back off murphy.”

mike wanted to hug dustin, but at the same time he wanted to smack him upside the head for putting himself in the way. it’s easier when they target mike. just let them target him. he doesn’t care at this point.

dustin stayed arguing with joey and stopped only when there were multiple shouts from max, will and lucas.

noah had pulled max’s hair and in return was shoved to the ground by lucas. but noah had taken will down with him and now will struggled with lucas and max to get noah off.

mike saw red, and in a moments notice had noah off of will and on the ground. he was vaguely aware of dustin and max cheering him on with dustin and will watching.

it didn’t last very long until noah shoved mike hard enough that he fell backwards and busted his head on the ground. again.

at this point he was working himself towards a concussion. just like steve, he thought deliriously. and speak of the devil.

“aye!”

mike, dustin, lucas, will, and max all looked up, startled by the familiar voice and claps.

“what the fuck are you shits doing, huh?”

steve fucking harrington was suddenly right next to mike on the ground, kneeling and helping him sit up.

“shit, you ok mike? that’s a nasty scrape you got there. i have bandaids in the car, let’s go get you one, yeah?”

mike just nodded. he really wanted to know what the fuck steve was doing there and why he seemed to intent on helping.

“who the fuck are you?”

steve stood with mike halfway to the car, the rest of the group following, mike noticed. joey and noah stood idly in the parking lot, seeming put out by steve’s sudden appearance.

steve’s eye twitched and mike watched him bite the inside of his cheek. mike watched in real time as steve recognized joey and noah and seemed to piece together exactly what happened. he scoffed. not what mike was expecting.

steve gently nudged mike towards the car and knocked his knuckles on dustin’s hat. “you kids go get in the car. max you can toss your board in the trunk.”

dustin seemed to want to protest but even he could see how pissed steve was. even max was keeping quiet. lucas and will were quick to follow instructions and headed to the car. mike was right behind them.

lucas tried the back door (knowing mike got shotgun for the bandaids and possible concussion) but the handle only wiggled. “locked.”

“did he give one of you the keys?” asked will.

they all shook their heads. they didn’t have to wait long until steve was back with them at the car.

“why aren’t you guys in the car yet?”

“locked.” informed will.

“ohhhh. oops.” steve unlocked the car and helped max put her skate board in the trunk. when he hopped into the drivers side dustin and lucas were hounding him with questions.

“why are you here?”

“I thought we were walking home?”

“what the hell was that?”

“what did you do to noah and joey?”

“settle down and shut up, would you? nancy mentioned you guys were walking home so I came to grab you. you’d think that after everything they’d be a little more cautious. and also, language, henderson. I am so not taking the blame when you end up slipping in front of your mom.”

“awww you were worried steve.” max teased.

steve scoffed. “‘course I was, red. and it turned out I had every right to be. anybody wanna explain what that was?”

suddenly the car was quiet.

steve clicked his tongue.

“fine. guess you’re all coming to my house, huh?”

there was a sudden uproar in questions and “what the hell?”s.

“listen! i’m not letting any of you shits go home until I one; know for sure mike doesn’t have a concussion—“ steve eyed mike and he felt himself flinch. “—and two; before I get the whole story.”

there was a bunch of grumbling from the backseat, but mike himself stayed quiet throughout the rest of the ride.

“oh! and mike—“ mike looked at steve briefly and barely caught the box of tissues tossed at him. “—put that on the scrape for now, yeah? I’ll clean it properly when we get to the house.”

mike nodded and held a wad of tissues to his chin.

when they pulled up to the harrington house, everyone was inside quickly. everyone went to use the phone in the living room to call their parents and when mike went to follow he was grabbed gently on the shoulder.

“can you head to the kitchen and grab out the med-kit? I need to make sure they don’t drive my bill up.”

mike knew it was meant to be used as a distraction. but he’d take it. so he headed to the kitchen before realizing he didn’t know where the med-kit was. he rifled around in the cabinets for a bit before finding it stored away under the sink.

mike pulled it out and waited at the kitchen island. he noticed that it was a pretty heavy kit. and it seemed to be used a lot judging by the lack of dust and how it had a couple of bandages peeking from the crease.

everyone piled into the kitchen, book bags dumped in the living room and shoes discarded by the door. will sat on a stool next to mike and dustin and max hopped on the counter. lucas took a seat on the other side of mike.

“ooookay. ah! there it is.” steve opened the kit and grabbed out a brown bottle and a few cotton balls. mike noted how he seemed to know where everything in the med-kit was as if he used it on a daily. he filed the information away for later.

“what’s that supposed to be?” mike eyed the bottle with weariness.

“just peroxide. it’s meant to clean the cut. I know for a fact that that parking lot is fucking filthy and I’m not risking an infection due to gunk in the wound.”

steve put a cotton ball to the open top of the bottle and tipped the bottle over. “i’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t hurt, cause it does sting a bit. but it also definitely helps in the long run.” steve held up the cotton ball as if in question.

mike nodded and looked up, giving steve more room to see the scrape. mike gripped will’s hand and hissed when the cotton ball first dabbed, but the pain soon subsided.

“now this part isn’t too fun either but it’s kind of needed. how attached to that shirt are you?”

mike looked down at that faded, off-white with blue stripes shirt he was wearing. “not very. why?”

“ok, good. this won’t ruin the shirt but you might have to change is all i’m saying. I need to pour the peroxide directly on the scrape to clean it out properly. “

(I know that hydrogen peroxide actually tends to damage tissue and delay healing but they didn’t really know that in the 80s so bare with me.)

mike shuddered at the thought. “I don’t have clothes to change into.”

“I have an extra shirt in my bag.” offered lucas. “I had gym today.” he clarified when he got off looks.

“that’d be perfect, thanks sinclair.”

lucas jumped up to get the shirt and came back in with a white t-shirt with red sleeves. he set it on the counter for afterwards. lucas wordlessly took mike’s hand that will wasn’t holding.

it wasn’t long before the scrape was clean and steve was putting away the kit. while everyone else ran into the living room to watch movies and raid steve’s snacks, mike took the shirt and went to the bathroom to change.

when he came back out (after looking at the funny bandage on his chin— because seriously, what kind 17 year old just had dinosaur bandaids in their med-kit?) mike was quick to join everyone in the living room before steve could pull him aside again.

honestly? fuck that guy.

(but when mike sat between will and max on the couch he couldn’t stop thinking about how soft steve was when taking care of the scrape. he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how old he was when he last felt that gentleness.

the answer was 7. mike was 7 when his mom deemed him old enough to deal with his own cuts and bruises.)

steve eventually held out on his promise of getting information. and after their first movie he forced them all onto the couches while he stood in front of them.

“so am I actually going to get an answer this time?” he stood with his hands on his hips and a dish towel thrown over his shoulder. mike remembered this same stance from not even a year ago, when they were trying to talk him into going in the tunnels.

steve almost reminded mike of his mom for a moment. but mike doubted his mom would go this far if she ever found out about the bullying. (mike refused to admit that he liked the idea of steve fretting over them like this. the idea made him almost sick to his stomach.)

everyone refused to look at him. max looked dead ahead at the wall, lucas kept his eyes trained on the floor, will was messing with his jacket sleeves and dustin was paying extra attention to the ceiling.

mike chewed the inside of his cheek.

“what the hell do you wanna hear from us, steve?” he asked. “that we’re being bullied? that they picked a fight with us first? that we’re nerds and freaks and weirdos?”

will, dustin and lucas flinched with each insult. max refused to look at anything other than what mike assumed was the odd spot on the wall. mike saw steve’s left eye twitch— the one he was always getting punched in.

“that what they told you?”

mike scoffed. “that’s what everyone told us. we’re the school circus!” his voice raised at the end and will flinched violently next to him.

“mike..” dustin uttered from beside max.

“sorry.” he mumbled, finally letting his gaze drop from steve to the coffee table in front of them.

steve sighed quietly.

“noah tanner and joey murphy, right? they both have older siblings, noah an older brother and joey an older sister.”

that made head snap to him.

“what—“ lucas started.

“mitchel tanner and annie murphy are their names. mitch is on the swim team, annie on the cheer team. they’re both barely passing their classes and aren’t exactly the kindest either— in fact I watched mitch shove freshman into a door yesterday.” steve continued, his voice soft as if he was simply talking to himself.

dustin’s and lucas’ jaws were on the floor, max and will were looking at him as if he were insane.

“so— wait—“

“you know their older siblings?”

“what the hell does that have to do with anything?”

steve smirked. and mike was /scared/. he’d seen steve smirk before, when he was dating nancy, when he said something particularly bitchy.

but this. this smirk was plain /mean/.

“would be a real shame if.. I dunno, their coaches suddenly find out about the poor sophomores they make do their homework. or worse— principal higgins finds out. who are mitch and annie gonna blame then, huh?”

dustin sputtered, “you! they’d just blame you, wouldn’t they?”

steve shrugged. “sure. but then they’d know why I did it. their brothers fucking with my kids.”

he said it so calmly. as if it was just the plain truth. as if he wasn’t scared to admit it.

if this is how he’s treated, being of steve’s “kids”, then shit. he may not be all that mad after all.

steve pulled the towel off his shoulder and walked back into the kitchen, a call over his shoulder about ham and cheese sliders and chips for dinner.

but none of the kids were listening.

lucas turned dustin who turned to max who turned to mike who turned to will who looked back at all of them with the biggest grin mike’s ever seen on his face.

ok. so maybe mike gets the hype the steve harrington.

(and if the next week of school went by with no issues, with noah and joey looking at them in /fear/? well. mike had steve to thank.)

#stranger things #steve harrington #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #will byers #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #el hopper #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #bullying #steve protecting his kids 🙌 #as he should #bitchy steve harrington #swim captain steve harrington using his status to scare assholes #steve harrington is scary #and mike admires him for it #(begrudgingly) #mike being forced out of his shell pls #mike and steve bonding time #kind of mike wheeler angst #mike is my sweetheart #and so is steve #mike wheeler appreciation #mike finally accepting that he’s one of steve’s kids

[janeirl]

starting off pride month with mike “i’d like whatever eddie’s having” wheeler

#so serious when i ask why tf did the camera focus so much on mike & his gay admiration and not dustin’s who’s gonna spend more time w eddie. #riddle me that #it served ”he makes me feel comfortable as myself and i’m so enticed by everything he does” and left w the universal celeb crush experience #ngl i could write an essay on how the hellfire club makes mike feel he can be himself more #vs how he behaved after leaving for cali. like honestly i feel for him #twyla moment #mike wheeler #eddie munson #st4 spoilers

[wiseatom]

anyway you can literally pry mike and will sw*ftie agenda from my cold, lifeless hands

#no hate to anyone not agreeing #however when has WILL CANONICALLY ever EVER showed to be pretentious with music #when has will EVER displayed the same music snob personality as jonathan #like canonically. really. point out a SINGLE time. #he of course loves the music bonding w jonathan and he loves the songs jonathan shows him but like genuinely. really and truly #i am asking you to point out anything about will's character that would indicate in any way he would be pretentious about music. #will's CANON traits repeated over and over are that he is sensitive and emotional and not like other boys #and that is not in the 'i want to be different' way like it is for jonathan. will canonically does not feel Better for being Different. #he just Is. #so like i absolutely one thousand percent believe he'd identify w her music that is sensitive and romantic and whimsical and tells stories #bc those are all things will either is or values. hello lol #and mike lmfao. mike literally tries to be like everyone else. if taylor is popular he's gonna listen and then the absolute bops are gonna #make him stick around. he'd definitely be a closet sw*ftie during rep era to go along w the crowd but he'd come back #also hold on let me circle back to the will point. even if he were pretentious u can't sit here and tell me taylor is not an incredible #songwriter who consistently puts out sonically cohesive albums (for the most part) and is able to nail almost any genre #even if he was Super Pretentious about music -- which to be clear he Would Not Be -- he would admire her for the artist she is #even if it wasn't his vibe. ANYWAY. BACK TO MIKE AKA I WILL LISTEN TO ANYTHING ANYONE SAYS IS COOL #he definitely has Opinions (calling should i stay or should i go Weird) but like. come on. his entire s3/4 arc is abt Desperately trying to #Conform. he'd listen to taylor lol. i just think he'd actually still like her for some of the same reasons as will #bc he also values story telling and then also probably just wordplay. #i'm so sorry to rant about this like i simply know it is not that deep but ALSO. Y'ALL LMFAO. the way that i'm seeing this opinion shared #'this isn't hating!' *is a hater* #<- also exactly what i'm doing but like PLEASSEEE #WILL =/= JONATHAN #AND LIKE MIKE IS EMBARRASSING. THT'S WHY WE LOVE HIM. HE'D ABSOLUTELY BLAST N BOP TO TAYLOR LOL #IDC IDC!!!!!! (CARES SO MUCH) THIS IS THE HILL I WILL DIE ON!!!!!!!!

[lunar-years]

Some people think Nancy is popular and some people think Nancy is a nerd? Hmmmm.

In my head Nancy is academic-popular, which is very different from popular-popular. Like, she’s top of the honor roll every semester and she’s in Honor Society and she volunteers and she runs the newspaper and she takes only the advanced versions of every class. So the other smart kids are kind of jealous of her because she’s usually doing better than they are and could totally get in to an Ivy League college, and the more openly nerdy kids and band kids (such as Robin) don’t like her because she comes across as a priss and as someone who probably thinks she’s soooo superior to activities like band, which is pretty rich from someone who does the newspaper, and the weird and eccentric kids (such as Eddie) don’t like her for the same reasons, and besides, they think she’s just a goody-two-shoes, and everyone is at least a little intimidated by her. She’s pretty and she’s smart, so everyone knows who she is and people are largely friendly enough to her, but she isn’t close to anyone and has basically no real friends (after Barb).

Basically, she’s popular enough whereas other academic kids like Fred can say “you’re the most desired girl in Hawkins” and that can sort of be true, but if you asked say, Jason, star of the basketball team and an actually popular kid, if Nancy Wheeler was the most desired girl in school, he’d laugh in your face. There’s enough bleed through to where her dating King Steve was surprising but not so totally crazy, but it was very clear that while her proximity to Steve gave her an acceptable “in” to the more popular crowd, Barb was very much not invited in with her. Because that’s the other thing about Nancy, the people she associates with are weird. Barb, who is ‘uncool,’ then Steve after he’s fallen off his pedestal and is considered a bit of a loser, and finally Jonathan, the weird loner kid. None of these relationships exactly help to make Nancy an It Girl. Also, the “Nancy ‘the slut’ Wheeler” fiasco is so scandalous because it’s such a fall from grace from the “little miss perfect” image she was exuding up to that point. I’m sure her classmates ate that drama UP.

Obviously Nancy is completely a badass and is so much more complex than the persona she gives off, but I think the point is that very few people get to actually know who she really is. By season 3, it’s really only Jonathan? And that’s part of why her season 4 arc hits so well. Robin (and to a lesser extent Eddie) finally get to see her as her, and not just her within the warped social strata of a Midwest high school.

#Nancy Wheeler #stranger things #Idk I saw a post about this and I thought it was an interesting debate #peoples opinion on this are shockingly varied #also I think she was definitely more nerdy in elementary school and then worked her way up to middling popularity in middle school #and that’s also when her and Mike grew more distant #because she scrubbed away a lot of her nerdier interests and stopped doing things with him #if you asked me to sum up how I think most of the school thinks of her…it would be equal parts vague dislike and admiration

[blueberri3s]

tbh after the duffers literally FORGOT Will‘s birthday i wouldnt be surprised if they forgot that Will went missing the day Mike met El

#because why the hell would they ever let him say that in front of Will #at this point i don’t have the admiration for them that i used to have anymore #they probably even forgot the things Mike said to Will in the shed #it was the best things i’ve ever done #because oh yeah they don’t rewatch their seasons #THEY LITERALLY SAID THAT??? #anyways sorry duffers you’re great but i’m beyond pissed for what you’re pulling rn #byler #stranger things #st4 #mike wheeler #will byers

[thefandombringer]

breaking my silence: i absolutely hate it when people make mike’s new personality/style (especially style) an eddie munson rip off LET MY BOY BE HIS OWN PERSON PLS

#like i get that that’s kinda what he was doing??? #because he admired eddie?? #but now eddie is dead #and mike needs to be his own person and discover himself #but i see so many pieces of mike being all edgy and shit and i DoNt LiKe It #byler #bot really #but ya know #mike wheeler #anti eddie munson #im sorry i don’t like him anymore #i blame the fandom #anyways

[ronanceisintheair]

No offense but lucas is actually the party member that had no crush on any of the other three.

#lucas sinclair #it's very imperative in the way he's the only black boy. #you wouldn't get it #but trust they all had an unreciprocated crush or crush like admiration for him #mike wheeler #will byers #dustin henderson

[eightfifteen]

Mike is the kind of guy that would put flowers in Will’s locker for Valentine’s only to get incredibly pissy about the party gushing about Will’s “secret admirer”, hurting Will along the way somehow

#he’s my Babygirl and he’s so troubled but I love him #will belongs to HIM not some ‘secret admirer’ #some non-existent asshole getting all the credit when HES the one who loves Will lists and should be allowed to hold his hand #byler #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things #st

[exsqueezememacaroni]

"You never get a creepy vibe from Mike - and he's an old man saying very inappropriate things while wearing S&M gear, if you think about it. But still, zero creepiness - he's not a leering lothario."

I agree 100% with this anon, he says bizarre things, he presents himself in a bizarre way, but I still get 0 creepiness from him. I don't understand this dynamic, it just happens... sometimes I also think that it's all just an act, because there are several interviews with him where he seems like a 100% normal guy, very polite and calm, and there are times when he seems completely crazy, but brilliant... one day I'll understand Mike, and I'll tell you, I promise

the Mike intrigue -gugh, it's so strong.

For the interviews thing - his general uncomfort with the media, prying or stupid questions and his very strong empathy really does play into how he is during an interview. If he gets to talk about a thing he is interested in, or he senses that the interviewer is not trying to take advantage of him, he can relax and be more "himself" otherwise, forget it....all your getting is an act. He also seemed to calm down a lot after the specter of FNM and Mr. Bungle breakup (for the time being) was behind him and he was more in charge of his own music and who he talked to about it.

I always do feel a little bad....like...here I am fully objectifying him on tunglr dot con...but the saving grace is that at least he'll never know it.

#anon asks #mike patton #this is gonna read a little funny but..... #i bet it's pretty disappointing to mike that he didn't have more success in making music soundtracks #like - he did well enough and he still is involved with projects - but i think he really wanted to make a splash and he didn't quite do it #he admires soundtrack composers so very much and if anything those are the people he idolizes - they're his goal posts #and you can see him run right up to the very edge of his talents there...i just...i wonder how he really feels about the work he's done

[enamouredless]

one of the reasons why I'm a mike having a crush on eddie truther is bc eddie being someone's mentor is already dustins gig, so from a writing standpoint if thats eddies storyline/relationship with dustin then what is mike's relationship w him supposed to be? 🤨 Exactly

#that and it being the most relatable thing mikes gay ass has ever done #finding the only queer person in school and immediately start admiring him so much to the point hes starting to dress like him #wouldnt be surprised if he also tried to get into metallica too i mean #hes even trying to learn how to play the guitar he has one in his room i think? #Michael I Know What You Are #and dont get me wrong btw i dont think its gonna lead anywhere #but i just think it would be a good idea for it to hammer in the fact that he likes men yk? for the general audience or whatever #byler

[mickgaydolenz]

it’s time for me to admit that my second favourite monkee is davy

#peter is next obv and then mike is the complicated outlier which i refuse to place in this #okay actually let me explain to no one in my tags but. i’m far too critical of mike to feel any kind of great love for him. but also i have #a genuine admiration for what he accomplished and sympathy for what he went through in his life #but i know if i we had ever known each other irl it would have ended in a fight to the death. and like i know i’d have won but still

[flamagenitus]

Also Ty has unreciprocated feelings for Mike (or, really Michael), right?

#woe.begone #woe.begone spoilers #like. just based on the amount of admiration Ty expresses for Mike. how much he will stick his neck out for him. #not just Cowboy Ty but in general: hmm! #Ty in general is baffling. what're his motivations

[the-acid-pear]

I have yet to keep inspecting the sweepstakes, I need some air and food first, but I might as well share what I've been thinking about Mike today, because I heard of an interpretation saying Mike was a camera man for Spamton which ... Is very interesting. Like for me this makes me think of Mike as someone who admired Spamton, someone way smaller than him, definitely younger imo, who simply excitedly followed along with the orders given. I mean, up to a certain point. I mean this feeling is reinforced in the q&a when asked about Mike, that makes Spamton get very defensive, almost protective. In my eyes it almost creates this almost platonic familiar bond dynamic whatever. But like this is just a shot in the dark, bc what we know is, 3 lines, period. But if when chapter 3, 4 and 5 come out and Mike is there and I'm right about these things then I'm gonna feel like a god tbh.

#luly talks #not gonna put this one on main tag bc its a bit too vague and speculative and shit but im leaving rbs on in case some1 is like hm ur into #something here nemo im which case i will wag my tail and bat my eyelashes #but am i making sense anyway? #like just to make sure: my idea of mike is a camera man younger and smaller than Spamton who admired the guy #and spamton out of idk fondness bc he reminded him of his old self kinda took the guy under his wing in a way #that's why he's so protective and shit #although unrelated to this bc just. putting that there and NOT touching it but it's interesting what Spammy says right after name dropping #mike if you believe in the cameraman interpretation (which i saw in a video i then stopped watching bc i wanted to explore that shit myself) #bc he right after says to not believe anything you see on tv but this could easily imply mike did do his part but the editing team changed #shit. but its just very curious what involvement Mike could've had because. why would he be as targeted as he appears to be? #and what caused him to also abandone spamton? is mike even fucking alive? judging by Spammy's q&a dialogue you'd assume he is #but i mean that's official but not canon right so it's a bit hard to judge? #but Mike seems to be the only one he isn't really resentful towards for leaving him almost implying it wasn't Mike's choice? #i just can't wait to see more of this bc it's gonna reveal a whole side to this little puppet previously unknown #in fact i think that after breathing some air im gonna go look at the snowgrave neo fight flavor text and cry and piss and etc #I'm still not over spamton begs the audience to stop taking the furniture i can see the poor guy being evicted as he tries to plead not to #so vividly wugh. my poor little guy of questionable morals . . . 😢 #also don't get me started on the commemorative ring man what on earth is going on there.........

[sophie0197]

Watch Mike absolutely swooning over Will the second he'll tell him "you're my hero Mike"

#It would be so funny tho please #Byler #Mike only wants to feel loved and admired it's why he has an obsession over superhero imagery #And thinks poorly of himself #He's already giving such LOOKS to will when will told him he's the heart kddjkdksks

[zombie-boys]

hey guys so uhhh folks keep going back and forth between will being a baby or will being a bad*ss and i'm just so tired of it.......

like he is so much more nuanced than either one... (if you're going to read, please read the whole thing! thank you!!)

there are the baseline observations that will is quiet, sensitive, maybe a little shy; he's sweet and loyal and incredibly selfless; in addition, he's frequently a victim of terrible circumstances, with unfortunately little agency to fight for himself. none of these observations are objectively incorrect, even if they're just a fraction of the observations that can be made.

some fans flanderize how shy and sweet will is, framing him as a cute crybaby in need of protection (which is ironic, as will canonically hates when people treat him like that). to them he's a sad gay boy, a soft little angel with teary doe eyes; they attribute a stereotypical femininity to him, a helplessness, making him a fragile damsel in distress. these fans take the canon aspects of will's personality and warp them, not only making them larger than life but also romanticizing them.

an opposing interpretation of will seemingly came about in opposition to "baby will" - many fans were reasonably unhappy with this belittling take on him, and so highlighted other aspects of his personality.

great, right? it'd be nice for people to perceive will as a whole person as opposed to a list of stock traits... it'd be nice for people not to ignore character traits of his that don't align with their perception of his character...

but alas, these fans traded in "baby will" for "bad*ss will" - a take i don't like either.

"bad*ss will" comes in two varieties: bad*ss villain will and bad*ss hero will. the latter is better than the former, but not by much. both involve will being uncharacteristically violent and confident, standing up for himself in a way that often involves firearms.

before delving into either of these varieties i should point out that yes, will isn't just a sweet shy little boy. he's incredibly brave and incredibly resilient, able to survive the upside down for a week and stand up to the mind flayer - and yes, he canonically knows how to operate a gun. will is also shown to be stubborn at times; he's an annoying little brother, perfectly willing to point out how his siblings have no friends; he also does curse, even if that cursing is nothing compared to the constant swearing of his friends. will's a strong kid. i can't accept "baby will" because he simply isn't a baby.

...but does that make him a bad*ss?

some people really want will to stand up for himself in st5, to finally have agency, to fight back against everything that's harmed him; i completely understand that.

some people think that will should become the villain in st5, getting revenge on the people in his life who have demeaned him, neglected him, and bullied him. they think that will has been through so much that he'll snap, his kindness being broken down by pain. they want will to be a villain, a tortured soul with a traumatic backstory who deserves to give everyone the hell he got condemned to - they want him to be a bad*ss villain.

others think that will should become the hero in st5, getting revenge on the upside down for ruining hours life and the lives of his loved ones. they want to see him confidently wielding a gun against vecna, unfazed by the circumstances that would've caused him to run and hide in his younger years. they want will to rise up from adversity and stop being the victim - they want him to be a bad*ss hero.

what really bugs me about these interpretations is that they completely gloss over the aforementioned observations of will being gentle and cautious - even though they're true. saying that will is timid, that will is kind, or that will is scared is not the same as saying he's a baby - because being timid, kind, or scared doesn't make you weak. after all, there is no bravery without fear.

all of these bad*ss whatever wills are conjured up only after scouring off any trait picked up be "baby will" truthers, instead favoring vague notions of will's "sass" or the fact that he can operate a gun. they make will completely out-of-character all for the sake of a fantasy in which the victim miraculously becomes confident and powerful. yes, i want will to gain confidence, but nothing i've seen contributes any ideas about how that would happen - especially considering how in st4 will's self-esteem was as low as ever, tearing up when his best friend and brother say they care about him. if he's that surprised that they love him you can't seriously expect him to suddenly love himself.

not to mention how a lot of this "bad*ss will" stuff revolves around will using a gosh darn shotgun. the only thing being addressed is the fact that there is an association between will and the accursed weapon, and the fact that he has aimed it at an upside down monster before - while completely sidestepping the trauma the gun carries with it. will only learned how to use it because of lonnie's homophobic coercion, and only actually dared to use it when scared half out of his mind by an interdimensional stalker in his garden shed. in no world could will ever be slinging a gun casually, confidently, suavely - if he's going to be aiming the gun at vecna (which he would only do if completely necessary) he's going to be anything but calm while doing so. if you wanted that, you already have nancy gosh darn wheeler. (will does not need to be your girlboss.)

my point in saying this is that will is kind. he's stubborn. he's brave. he's hesitant. he's sarcastic. he's sweet. he's shy. and none of that is contradictory. will is a character, sure, but he's complex; if you dislike will's corners being rounded off so he can be called a baby, you have to understand why i dislike will's curves being sharpened so he can be called a bad*ss. i want will to triumph, of course i do, but i want it to be him triumphing. his whole self.

will was the victim. and he can be a hero. but he shouldn't need to be a different person too.

#stranger things #will byers #st5 #wise words from will #just for the record i'm not angry at anyone for drawing will with a gun #the potential of him reclaiming that symbol of stereotypical masculinity is something that can certainly be explored #and i'm not against him shooting vecna to be completely honest #i just think that because of the 'bad*ss will' idea forming in opposition to 'baby will' it's often done without much tact #without acknowledging how much he'd need to recover before he could gain even a fraction of the confidence people are ascribing to him #i don't really think will could ever be that confident. he could in no way be cool as a cucumber in this type of situation #even if he isn't actively afraid he could never be... posing hotly with a shotgun so mike can admire him?? idk it's not my fanart hhghhghh #y'know i'm just glad most 'bad*ss will' people want him to be a hero and not a villain #because people who think will would genuinely be a villain and would genuinely want to harm people drive me insane. i hate that so so much #if you think 'will should be the hero and he should shoot vecna' then i don't actually mind that much #it's when you start turning him into nancy 2.0 that it goes south for me #he can be a hero and he can have a gun but he will never be hot or a bad*ss or a girlboss while doing so #he will be shaking trembling crying saying to vecna 'i won't let you ruin anyone else's lives like your ruined mine! etc' before shooting #i want him to stand up for himself. but standing up for yourself does not mean you have to be fearless #shaking my head did we all just forget that el's strength comes from her emotion. from her love #why should will's strength come from anywhere else #he is sensitive!!! stop treating that like an antithesis to strength!!!!!! good grief #will byers shaky with the gun. i rest my case #also i hope you appreciate the dustin meme. i find it unreasonably funny

[nicxxx5]

i have a massive crush on finn wolfhard...this is a problem

#finn wolfhard #im sorry he's just very pretty #and cute #and handsome #fuck #hhhhhh #i just admire him a lot too #i also admire him for how he works around his anxiety #because me too bestie #and his music is top notch #ah im down bad #this is bad #just another person to raise my standards for men #when majority of them cant even give the bare minimum #stranger things #mike wheeler #byler #the goldfinch #boris pavlikovsky #it chapter one #richie tozier #ghostbusters afterlife #trevor