“fireworks in the fog …”

uh. intro post !

i’m not sharing my name and i can’t think of one to use BUT you can just refer to me as my username because he is so me trust.

i’m into stranger things. I LOVE mike wheeler so if you’re a mike hater respectfully dni (for your own sake and mine).

im 16, she/her, all that stuff … uh uh uh crap I can’t think of anything to say. I tend to type in stream of consciousness so you’re getting my thoughts in real time ok?

i like to write, draw, and do anything artistic pretty much !!!

im not much of a shipper so there wont rlly be posts about stuff like that. platonic mike truther (but idc if ur into shipping as long as its not weird! then maybe dont interact, bc i dont wanna see that ok???…)

this page is mostly about mike or I’ll just yap sometimes.

we can be mutuals but I don’t interact with anybody on a personal level! (like, personal befriending or messaging outside of comments)

my favorite music artists are finn wolfhard, mitski, alex g, and weezer !

YAYY intro post over yay

and it’s WORSE when you don’t get taken seriously !!! but ah well. it is what it is

throwback to that time I learned about manifestation and kept getting intrusive thoughts about it

throwback to the number 4 and the many reasons I hate it

throwback to when I would delete my music app every night because I was scared my parents would see my music and judge me for it

throwback to all the times I’ve retraced my steps or skipped back on a song or video or retyped something again and again

throwback to the room that’s always a little dirty because I’m too scared to throw some stuff away

throwback to whenever I wouldn’t use certain words in my writing and would get really scared if I did and found a way to avoid them

flash forward to me doing it all again tomorrow

flash forward to me doing it all for the rest of my life

HIS ROLE IN THE PARTY (AND WHY IT MATTERS)

Mike Wheeler: the leader, the strategist, the heart. He takes charge and pulls the group together. When hope is lost, he boosts morale and gets things done.

Mike is an incredibly protective person. In season one — despite his friends’ initial misgivings — he takes in and cares for Eleven. In season two, he sticks by Will’s side during the Mindflayer’s fight for control. He makes an effort to comfort people when they need it, always there to lend a helping hand.

Despite everything, he keeps it together. Almost too well. He rarely cracks outwardly, and when he does, he explodes. His feelings simmer like magma, and the pressure builds until he erupts.

“I don’t blame her, I blame you! I blame you!” (S2E9)

Though his outbursts are more frequent in earlier seasons, as time progresses, he gets better at suppressing his emotions.

Why?

It’s simple. Mike is the leader, the strategist, the heart. He thrives when he believes he’s needed. To be needed, he supports people — to support people, he ensures he never needs support himself.

“But— but what if after all of this is over, she doesn’t need me anymore?” (S4E8)

MIKE THE BRAVE AND THE WHEELER FAMILY DYNAMIC

Mike The Brave is a figurine. His concept is first introduced in The Crawl (S5E1) when Mike explains him to a stressed Holly. He describes Mike The Brave as not just a toy, but something meaningful to him, something that aids him in the suppression of his emotions.

“But Mike The Brave is never scared, so whenever I’m feeling frightened or nervous, I just imagine that he’s at my side, and I feel better.” (S5E1)

Mike doesn’t see the problem with it at all. In fact, he suggests it to Holly. He gives her Holly The Heroic as ‘replacement’ to Mr. Whatsit, demonstrating how far Mike is into repressing himself that he believes it to be a viable solution.

What’s interesting is the way Mike describes how he uses him. He doesn’t imagine that he is Mike The Brave, just that he’s with him, and that he’s never scared. If Mike The Brave, the idealized version of himself, is never scared, why should Mike himself be? He uses this figurine not just as a coping mechanism, but a way to deepen the hole he’s already made for himself.

But this isn’t something that came out of nowhere; Mike has been experiencing this since day one.

The emotional climate in the Wheeler household has never been the most open. From Ted, to Karen, to all the stress on the siblings, tensions are high and vulnerability is low. Ted is distant and unavailable, while Karen drowns the misery of her own life in fancy wine and other empty luxuries. Mike and Nancy, though they say they want to be more open with each other, never take each other up on that offer.

Mike has essentially raised himself. The Wheelers never seem to know where their children are, and nobody ever seems to ask why Mike is such a protective, if not parental, friend. He knew how to house another kid in his basement and provided her with food, clothing, and undisturbed shelter — if his family had been just a bit more involved, they might have uncovered Eleven. The issue lies in the fact that they didn’t.

Though Karen makes an attempt to talk to Mike about Will’s disappearance, Mike is already closed off and dealing with things he can’t say. Words are hard for the Wheelers. In the scenes where Mike goes to his mother for comfort, he’s taken into a silent hug and (mostly) nothing more.

Mike hugs Karen after seeing Will’s fake body. (S1E3)

Mike takes a parental or protective role in his friendships because he’s been left to his own devices for his entire childhood. This also explains his issues with communication in later seasons (particularly 4 and 5).

MIKES WIDER TRAUMAS

Lack of supportive parental figures (particularly his lack of a father figure.)

Will’s disappearance, and later El’s.

Witnessing intense gore (the agents in the school, the attack on the lab, the flesh form of The Mindflayer, the shot agent, etc.)

Being victim to violence / near death experiences.

Jumped off a cliff … oh, I need to talk about that !

THE CLIFF SCENE AND PASSIVE SUICIDALITY (TRIGGER WARNING)

Mike stands on the edge of a cliff at Sattler’s Quarry. (S1E6)

Mike’s need to be useful extends to life-threatening situations as well. After Troy and James threaten to cut Dustin’s teeth out, Mike is less-than-hesitant to step off of a deadly drop as long as his friend is okay. This demonstrates Mike’s lack of regard for his own life, as long as he’s being useful. The stakes weren’t deadly for Dustin, but they were for Mike. The only reason he survived was because El saved him. If she had been late, Mike would have died.

In season 4, he puts himself in danger during the shoot-out in Lenora. Earlier that season, Will and Jonathan expressed fear when Mike ran for the van El was being transported in, shouting for him to stop before realizing what he was running at. (The assumption can be made, based on their reactions, that they thought he was going to do something drastic.)

Mike shows, time and time again in nearly every season, disregard for his own life to protect others. He is also implied (and slightly confirmed through interviews) to be depressed, especially during season 2, implied to be in 4, and in the season 5 epilogue.