Mikes Character Is One Of The Most Interesting To Me Because Does Anyone Really Know How Mike Feels?

mike’s character is one of the most interesting to me because does anyone really know how mike feels? and i don’t mean like his obvious feelings like when he’s annoyed or sad etc. but does anyone SEE him. id say the closest person to see him for who he really is is will, but even then there are parts he hides from will that only us as an audience can infer.

i feel like this is one of the reasons mike getting vecna’d instead of will would make a lot of sense. we have a decent idea on what goes on in will’s head and how his mind works. but mike? he’s been hiding who he really is for so long that he’s even fooled the general audience into thinking he’s someone he’s not. mike’s character is so fascinating because we rarely get to understand why he does what he does, who he is to himself. all we see is who he is to other characters and how those people shape him.

if mike gets vecna’d, it would show the audience a direct pov of the mike we never get to see. the raw mike that hides away from not only viewers but his own family and friends. it would be the perfect gateway to seeing how complicated mike really is.

i would like to think one of mike’s biggest inner conflicts is whether he’s a good person to the people he loves. ofc he cares deeply about his friends and family, but he’s made so many mistakes with them that i wonder if he contemplates if he deserves them.

here’s how i envision mike getting vecna’d going:

the scenes like the snowball and the roller rink seem like places where we’d see will being jealous of mike, but what if instead they were spots where mike felt a strain in his relationships with will and el.

at the snowball, mike encourages will to dance with a girl and after he waits in a slump for el or possibly for will to be done dancing with the girl. here maybe vecna mentions how he should feel guilty that he’s jealous of will even though he’s dating el. maybe he’s told that he can’t be a good boyfriend for her let alone a friend, that will is clearly happy with that girl and that he’s better off without mike.

then we go to the roller rink. we see el getting bullied then mike and will’s fight. vecna tells mike that he’s selfish and inconsiderate to both el and will. that he didn’t even make an effort to say happy birthday to will. maybe mike sees el and will skating together and says he’ll never be good enough for either of them, that he better off leaving them be because they’re clearly happier without him. that he’s treated both of them undeservingly and they deserve better.

we see the scene where mike cant tell el he loves her, we see the famous s3 byler fight in the rain, we see all the times mike has hurt the two people he cares about the most and he starts questioning…maybe he doesn’t deserve them…maybe vecna’s right that they’d be better off without him.

they try to use his favorite song to save him, which only will knows because everyone else hasn’t been aware, but mike’s too far gone. he’s already convinced himself that vecna’s right.

this is when the party splits up in the upside down and go through what mike’s been seeing from vecna. they finally get to see a part of mike they never do. will and el are the ones to find mike being tormented by vecna. they’re the ones that pull mike out of his trance by dragging him through the portal created by his favorite song.

they all come back and mike’s alive. they all start crying after seeing how hard it’s been for mike, this guy that boasts confidence. they hurt knowing mike was willing to give his life up so that his friends would be supposedly be happy. then there’s mike who’s yelling saying they should’ve let him go, that all he’s been is a negative presence in their lives. here starts mike’s monologue. he talks about how he can’t love el the way she wants him to but he still cares about her deeply, that he’s sorry for being such a horrible boyfriend and that she deserves someone better than him. he tells will how he’s hurt him so many times he doesn’t understand why he keeps coming back. that he loves will but he can’t always prove it in a way will deserves even if he wants to.

el reassures mike explaining that she understands. that mike doesn’t need to worry about her and that she knows how much he cares. she gets that people make mistakes and that she would never want to lose mike despite what they are to each other. she gives mike a loving hug, one to symbolize the end of their relationship but not the end of their friendship.

will is the one most emotional. he finally understands what mike has had to go through so many times, his best friend on the verge of death. jonathan suggests everyone gives them space and the two are left alone.

will hugs mike while saying all kinds of things “ur so stupid” “why would you give up ur life” “never do that again”. and mike is just there hugging back apologizing like hell because he still doesn’t feel worth will’s attention. will shuts him up and pulls out the drawing. it’s of the swingset from when they first met. will explains how he does remember this day, and that ever since that day he hasn’t regretted a single day in his life because mike was always there, that being with mike are the happiest moments of his life, that he knows that mike isn’t perfect and he understands he’s figuring himself out, that he knows he cares because each apology mike gives is engraved into his brain. will confesses what he’s been meaning to confess since that day in california.

mike still in disbelief argues saying there’s no possible way will could accept all the mistakes he’s made, and will fed up with mike’s stubbornness takes the chance and kisses him. they break away and will explains how mike is the only one he’s ever wanted to be with. and mike, hesitant at first, goes for another kiss. he tells will that he’s sorry he couldn’t realize it sooner but he’s always been the most important person in his life and he couldn’t ask for anyone else either.

mike pulls out the “for will” mixtape, and he explains he made it for his birthday, but he was too cowardly to give it to him. will grabs the mixtape and on the back is written “love, mike” and scene ends.

people act like mike seeming interested in el in season 1 means he can't be gay and it'd be 'unrealistic'

my dude I'm a lesbian and I've had 'crush' on a guy once when my friends kept saying that i spend too much time with him (he was like my best friend in 7th grade) so i must like him I was 12 then (honestly it was mostly for the thrill of dating than actually liking him) we even 'dated' for good many months then i realised i was gay we're friends now I did like dating him when i was 12 because there's literally no romantic factor in that age i liked spending time with him also just "dating" seemed so cool to me i was just thrilled to be able to say i was dating someone but I was never attracted to him

it really isn't a big deal it's actually very realistic writing I bet most people in the lgbt community at one point thought they were straight (because we're told and implied about being straight so many times) and dated people of opposite sex just because that's what's expected of us on top of that it's the 80s there's very little awareness about positive lgbt stuff like it's only natural that the first time a girl paid attention to mike he immediately thought their relationship needs to be romantic (also the bullying and not being popular should make him think 'dating' would be really cool) but as he grew up he realised that they just did not work romantically. Personally that IS the most realistic storyline if they wanted mike to be a gay character

the relationship of tutor and fighter and why they’re not just some lust filled couple.

this shit is about to be super messy so don’t mind my shit explainations.

tutor and fighter are a gay couple from the series why r u, which is a thai bl.

their relationship consists of many intimate and erotic moments such as multiple make out sessions, a few “sex” scenes, and cute cuddling mantras. this caused many people watching the show to assume that they are the “fan service” couple, or that they’re just extremely horny and add no emotion to the show.

however, that is so utterly wrong.

let’s actually take the time to think about their dynamics and why their relationship is the way it is. once you understand, their relationship is very beautiful, but also somewhat sad at first.

firstly, let’s talk about their personalities.

tutor is a man who is often known to want to keep others happy and disregard his own feelings, he is an extremely hard worker, he’s stubborn, he’s petty, but he’s also a goofball that likes to tease people and have fun (especially while at the beach).

now fighter is a man who is stubborn, petty, loves to tease people, he’s also a goofball that loves affection, he’s pretty shy and doesn’t like sharing his feelings, but he often doesn’t let himself be happy.

their personalities are actually quite similar if you look at them. they’re two people who despite not like being pushed around, are super emotional when vulnerable. this dynamic creates the “tug-of-war” effect in their relationship.

for example; when fighter first kissed tutor because tutor was saying he liked men. tutor had figured out that fighter had been hiding his sexuality, so when he went to confront fighter about it, it put fighter in a vulnerable situation. he didn’t appreciate being put on the spot like that, so instead of reasonably settling the issue, he decided to act on impulse in kiss tutor to “prove” that he was winning their “fight”. which of course caused tutor to freak out leaving them yelling at each other because the other refused to own up to anything.

this dynamic happens during their 18+ scenes as well, but i won’t go into detail about such.

either way, this tug-of-war battle that they have going on carries out through their whole relationship. it dials down when their at peak happiness, but overall it’s still there. this dynamic causes for their emotions and actions to be a bit more impulsive and agressive. it makes their scenes more intimate and intense because there is so much emotion built up in them since they’re both stubborn at heart and refuse to open up fully to one another. (they do eventually but damn does it take forever😭)

now, that we’ve covered the personality aspect, now it’s on to the main conflict of their whole relationship.

tutor and fighter’s relationship is solely about (at least from what i picked up) them finally living for themselves instead of other people.

both men have constantly had to live for others and hardly got to make decisions for themselves. tutor had to work hard shifts and hours to pay back his father’s debt and he always tried to make sure that no one worried about him and thag they were happy (ex: hwahwa). he always disregarded his own feelings and always did things for others even if they were an inconvenience for him. while fighter was being controlled by his father for most of his life. he couldn’t decide who to date, where to work, nor how he wanted his future to be. he lived his life feeling like he had to always do what his father said and impress him rather than doing what he wanted or what made him happy.

however, when the two found each other, they finally found something worth being selfish for.

when they first started exploring their relationship, everything was done in secret. for fighter it was because he didn’t want anyone (mainly his father) to find out that he was into men because he was scared to disappoint him. while tutor, also somewhat having the feeling of getting judged, was worried about how others would feel seeing them together, like hwahwa would be upset that he’s dating her ex/love. or also that he’s feel selfish wasting time on a relationship rather than supporting his family and keeping others happy.

all the times where they made out, teased each other, etc. weren’t shown to please the audience with bl content, it was to show their longing of breaking boundaries. to show how much they craved doing what they wanted to do without the approval of others.

their relationship allowed them to break those boundaries. the day they decided to take a chance on what they had (the rooftop scene and right after that) they looked the happiest they had ever been since the beginning of the series. they were no longer holding their true selves back. they were doing something for themselves. and their trip to the beach just amplified that by 100.

their sex scene wasn’t just an 18+ scene to amp up the atmosphere of the show, it was shown to solidify that they were willing to be selfish for one another, that they were ready to say “fuck it” to those that don’t agree with their choices and to those doubts they have about if what they’re doing is right.

of course when they came back, they were still worried about what would happen, but they had decided to slowly start opening up to others about their relationship. however, all that went downhill when that photo got leaked.

at first they were still doing alright. they decided together to tell hwahwa about their relationship without trying to worry about how’d she’d react, which went well lol. but the second fighter’s dad found out, and went right back to controlling his son, all hell broke lose.

tutor curled right back up into his ball of doubt. he went back to trying to please everyone. he let fighter’s father take away his confidence and the first grasp at freedom he had. breaking up with fighter caused tutor so much pain because he once again went back to where he started rather than fighting for himself. he let his mental and physical state worsen and he eventually just lost it.

the whole time tutor had been hurting, fighter had been too, but he hadn’t lost his confidence because for the first time he was doing something that made him happy and he wasn’t going to just let it go away. when him and tutor had their fight outside, you could see fighter wanted to keep fighting for them despite not knowing what happened, but tutor couldn’t. he was tired of being selfish for himself because the second he did it all burned down. he just wanted all the pain he got from breaking his boundaries to stop and he thought going back to square one was the way to do it.

although tutor gave up, fighter never did and constantly kept trying to understand what happened to them. he wanted his happiness back. but tutor refused to tell him because he was once again trying to please the wrong people. this then leads to the trigger warning scene.

fighter had been hurting so deeply about the situation with tutor because he felt like he had did something wrong. he almost went down the same hole as tutor and was willing to change himself to get tutor back. but he never did, he continued to fight for his happiness, just in the wrong ways.

since their time at the beach was the only true happiness fighter had felt they had together, he assumed that sex was the only way to get tutor back. tutor obviously not invested at all feels hopeless because he’s thinking about the consequences that their relationship caused. he just wants things to go back to normal hence why he tried everything he can to get fighter to stop loving him and forget about him. and although it does get fighter off tutor’s back for a bit, it doesn’t stop fighter from fighting.

they have their reunion moment, and tutor lets himself be vulnerable for a bit, allowing himself to be selfish a moment even if it hurts him later because of all he’s put himself through. only to later bring himself right back. and whilst this is happening, fighter is once again fighting for himself and getting his life back by not allowing his father to control him anymore.

and when they go back to the beach, and fighter tells tutor about what he did and why he didn’t tell him about his father, tutor realizes that he should’ve fought for himself. that he, like fighter, doesn’t live to please others.

their whole relationship was based of this tripe that you need to live for yourself and not for others. so the reason why they had the amount of scenes they did was because they wouldn’t allow themselves at first to freely do as they pleased so once again, a lot of their pent up emotions were let out through actions rather than words.

they weren’t just extremely horny.

free.

a question I’m always asked,

is why do I choose free?

the answers not that simple,

it’s one you cannot see.

you’d think it’s cause it’s easy,

you’d think it’s cause it’s safe.

you’d think it’s cause it’s calming,

you’d think it’s just my taste.

i’ve never felt completely comfortable,

in my ranking no matter how high.

everyone says I’ve got it good,

even though I don’t try.

what most people don’t know,

is I test even myself.

a lot of those I know,

think it’s bad for my health.

i’d say I agree,

but they don’t know my story.

they don’t know the reason,

i’m in the bath every morning.

“he just loves water”

“a swimmer is all he wants to be”

i know that love it,

but is that how you see me?

i never liked emotions,

so the water drowns them out.

somehow the water understands,

that swimming’s not all I’m about.

that’s why I love racing,

cutting through the tide.

because their’s raw emotion,

in competitors I find.

i feel more like myself,

not putting in a mask.

cause the second I speak out,

all I hear are gasps.

why does it surprise you?

that I have more to say.

do you think I’m that weak?

am I really ok?

when I swim freestyle,

these questions never come.

though with every other stroke,

comes precision, tight lungs.

when I swim free,

i know where I belong.

the water actually listens,

to my dad swan song.

so when I never tell you,

the reason I swim free.

it’s not because there’s no answer,

it’s because you’ll never see.

-NJ

Mike Wheeler is NOT an asshole and his character didn't go downhill starting with season 3 , in fact season 3 did not set everyone's character back it was just the start of a development. Mike's large development as a character was kick-started in season 3 and is continuing to season four, it is overarching! If you paid attention you'd see that throughout the entirety of season 3 he was faking almost entirely everything , trying to be someone who he simply was not!! And even if that repression and conformity made him kind of a jerk, don't forget

HES THE KID THAT JUMPED OFF A CLIFF FOR HIS BEST FRIEND

I'd argue that he's probably one of the most well written characters instead of the worst. Mainstream media has dumbed the public down so now over-arching character development doesn't click. This doesn't excuse his bad behavior but it does give a reasoning, Mike didn't just grow up and become an asshole he's still an extremely loving and loyal and caring person. He's just going through it right now give him some time

will bringing the painting to the airport when they were going to pick up ONLY mike was brave af cause if mike wasn’t as dense as he is he would’ve put two and two together so quickly 😭 (unless…)