for the character ask game, mike wheeler!!
favorite thing about them
it sounds kind of minor but probably his love for people?? he's not great at always doing the right thing & he hurts people quite often but he cares about the people around him with a very powerful intensity that i love him for. i know he's not always particularly good at showing it — or even being particularly good about it (eg. miscommunication with el/jane in regards to how he feels about her, pushing will away during the s4 california arc, not showing up for lucas at his games in s4) — but even through that you can see that (no matter how far deep down he pushes it) he really does love his friends, and he'd offer up his life for them . and i think that's incredible
least favorite thing about them
his atrocious communication skills 😭 he can't tell people if he's okay and he can't tell people if he's okay with them and he's bad at asking for help and he constantly holds himself back from asking for what he needs even when he's literally like twelve years old. which is truly harrowing and i feel awful for him, but also it goes on to affect and sometimes hurt those around him too,,, this is only added to by how flat his character became as stranger things progressed because it overall just gave the effect of him being in a far-away, trapped in his head state for all of s5 he absolutely one of my favourite characters though as you can very much tell
i'm a big fan of s4's "it's not fate, it's not destiny, it's just - simple dumb luck." because it made it very clear how much mike hates himself and it hits like a gut punch
in a slightly happier light, "crazy together, right?" and what i think was roughly "i got him, i got him" both from s2 e2 (i think !!) because they showed how much he loved will :(((( he loves that boy so much that it rips him apart at the seams :(((( he's so worried all the time :((((( he just wants to take care of will :(((( also he changes so much from s3 onwards that s2 really makes it clear how young they were...the world hadn't told them they're dirty yet....i feel very much about this
max and mike!!! die hard loyal, blunt and sad, tough love kind of friendship. i care about them a lot past just a oh-i-think-they'd-be-cute level: i genuinely think they'd be able to talk to each other about things they can't talk to anybody else about without fear of being pitied or judged. i think they'd be really close!! i'm very much anti the max-hates-mike agenda
bonus: does it count as brOTP if it's nancy and mike??? i wish they had more screentime!!!!!! they care about each other so much and their dynamic is so perfect younger brother-older sister <33
BYLER !!!! who's surprised....will is gentle where mike is blunt and generous where mike is defensive and quiet where mike is "too much"... i truly do not think there is a better match for either of them. who else could get what they'd been through?? who else is eye-to-eye with mike like will is?? who else could take care of mike like will can and who could take care of will like mike can?? they were best friends first and foremost and i think that's worth everything.
mileven. i mean i just think mike is gay which kind of chucks a spanner into the works here to begin with, but even if you're interpreting him as something other than gay, i really don't think mileven was healthy for him or, most importantly, el 😭 she was in such a bad place for all of it and so was he, the power balance was completely off, she didn't even know what romantic attraction was, he was using her as a safe guilt-free alternative to her twin brother.... the whole thing is off to me.
also, i just can't see them as romantic!!!! like it doesn't make sense to me. i think they're amazing best friends and definitely love each other just 😭 not like that. (he never says it!! he can't even write it)
he hates the texture of red meat. this really is random but i think he has very specific preferences and feelings about food textures (hashtag neurodivergent mike wheeler 2026)
he's not functionally useless ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ i feel very strongly about this. the shtick of "mike can't cook" "mike can't fix things" "mike can't do anything right" is very tired out to me...have some confidence in him...
song i associate with them (okay i'm weak so i picked 3)
i want you to know that i'm awake/i hope that you're asleep by car seat headrest
a knock at the door by ethel cain
and, obviously: are friends electric? by gary newman
either: hospital bedside scene because he cares so much :((( he's so young :((( ohh :((
or. not to be massively cliche but s4 van scene all the way. the desire. the reckoning. the realisation. a truly astounding piece of acting + great microexpressions and i did love the scene 😭
