a Wheeler.

it's just one of them John R. Neill Wheelers except with more fucked up hands and feet.

every day i think about nancy and mike. and how mike got will back and nancy didn’t get barb back and that probably kills her every single day and she looks at will sometimes and is simultaneously resentful and grateful for his survival. because she knows she’s stronger than mike. she knows that if mike had lost will he would’ve lost everything. yeah she lost everything too but she’s the big sister. that’s her job

He said is this the return to Oz? The grass is dead The gold is brown And the sky has claws

Return to Oz (1985)

Directed by Walter Murch Written by Gill Dennis and Walter Murch

Based on The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, both written by L. Frank Baum

He knows he's being cute. Dashemoff's costume is, of course, that of a Wheeler (from Ozma of Oz), color adjusted for Emerald City.

People will say Nancy wheeler is stuck up and a priss, but that’s because the last time she allowed herself to have fun, and be a teen, her best friend was killed. Nancy doesn’t let herself relax, or act her age, or just do normal teen things, because that’s exactly how she lost Barb. Now she constantly feels guilty and blames her self for being a young girl trying to fit in.

I will never understand people who grew up when Return to Oz came out saying the wheelers traumatized them. Yeah the movie was dark but this what they looked like in the book. This is what you could have gotten.

I Was Made For Lovin' You, Baby (Billy Hargrove x wheeler!reader) ♡.｡.:*

a/n: so happy it's finally out!! i did the first chapter AGES ago but i never knew where i wanted to go with this story. still kinda figuring it out but i already have some ideas tehe. the first chapter is the only chapter that will be in first person. there were some things that Everleigh (the reader) does that i think would be weird if it were written in her pov. so the rest of the chapters will be in third person :) hope u enjoy!!

C H A P T E R  O N E

“Okay, okay next one! Hurry up already!” My sister Nancy giggled as we sat on her bed. I was helping (definitely not forcing) her study for her upcoming test. Pop music lightly played from the radio while I shuffled through her flashcards. “Alright, alright!” I smiled. I repositioned myself sitting cross legged on her bed. “Which polymers occur naturally?” I asked, looking up from the card. Nancy was looking up towards the ceiling, chewing on her bottom lip which was a habit we’d both had since we were little.

“Starch and cellulose.” She answered somewhat confidently. “Mhm.” I hummed, picking another card. “In a molecule of CH4, the hydrogen atoms are spatially oriented towards the centers of--” Nancy sat up straighter, interrupting me. “Tetrahedrons.” I smiled again. “Way to go, Nance. I think you’ll ace that test.” I concluded, handing her back her flashcards. She grinned happily. Nancy and I got along quite well as sisters, surprisingly. We didn’t argue that much and when we did, it was over something silly. I’m the eldest child in the family, so I mostly take care of my siblings considering my dad is always asleep or watching the television and my mother is only really interested in Holly. Don’t get me wrong, they love us a lot. We just feel like strangers sometimes.

I was going to ask Nance about her luck with Steve Harrington, but her door suddenly slammed open, revealing Holly with syrup all over her face. “Mommy says breakfast is ready.” She announced and quickly took off back downstairs. I wasn’t even dressed yet, so I quickly exited Nancy’s room into my own where I changed into a cute but basic outfit. I added jewelry and my signature perfume and ran downstairs. Everyone was sitting at the table eating Eggos. I sat down, fixing my skirt. I grabbed a plate and started cutting my waffles. Mike was already about to finish, on the other hand. We all looked at him grossly. “Slow down, Mike. That’s disgusting.” Nancy mumbled, looking away. Mike rolled his eyes at her and continued to eat. 

I grabbed my backpack once we had all finished eating. I walked over to grab mom’s car keys which I borrowed while Nancy and Mike said goodbye to mom and Holly. I hugged mom and kissed her cheek softly. “Have a good day, guys!” She waved as we walked out the door. I drive all three of us to school every day since I was allowed to legally drive last year. Once we were all sat, Nancy pulled out her flashcards from her backpack and began studying quickly. I pulled into the parking lot in my usual spot, and we all got out, grabbing our stuff. Mike walked the other way to the middle school, greeting his friends while me and Nance walked to the high school. “Everleigh, what if I fail?” Nancy whined, gripping her books as we walked in. I rolled my eyes.

“You’ll do fine, Nance.” I waved goodbye and walked over to my locker, putting stuff away. “Hey, Ev!” I didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. I turned my head, looking at one of my best friends. “Hi, T!” I smiled, giving her a small hug. Tina was the life of every party, her outgoing personality and beaming smile made people adore her. Many boys threw themselves at her, but who wouldn’t? She’s drop dead gorgeous. I loved gossiping with her, it’s always fun. But don’t get it twisted, we have a very deep and understanding relationship. I shut my locker and slung my bag back over my shoulder. “There’s a new boy coming tomorrow. I hope he’s cute.” We walked to our first period which we shared together. First period was always loud and fun to be in, which I loved. It’s all fun and games until Mr. Mundy calls the deans. “You want a piece of gum?” I offered, changing the subject. Tina grinned and nodded. I gave her a large strip of bubblegum and I opened mine. We blew bubbles and gossiped, the both of us strutting through the halls. It’s not that I didn’t like boys. Of course, there weren’t any boys that peaked my interest. I’ve had two boyfriends before and they both used me for popularity and my looks. I don’t mean to sound full of myself, but that’s just what happened. “Are you coming to practice today?” I questioned. Me and Tina were cheerleaders, which I forced her to do. I was a cheer captain along with the ginger Chrissy Cunningham. “Not today, sorry babes. My mom needs an extra pair of hands for the bake sale. She said if I help her, I can get a few bucks.” She boasted. I nodded in understanding, also smiling at a girl who waved. Everleigh Wheeler was one of the most well known names in Hawkins High School, much unlike Nancy who’s quiet and to herself. Within a month of joining the cheerleading squad, I was at the top of the pyramid and by the end of freshman year, I’d been promoted to captain. “Oh my god, did you hear about Brian cheating on Samantha?!” My face changed into a disgusted one. “Yes!! And with Tiff? She’s such a skank. I heard she’s slept with half of the soccer team.” Tina spat. We pushed open the classroom, smiling at others. We walked to our seats, getting settled in. Tina and I sat next to each other, thankfully. I sat next to the window so I wouldn’t really have to interact with anyone but her. Math was nowhere near the top of my list of subjects I enjoyed, but I tolerated it enough for an easy pass. The class’ attention was pulled by Mr. Mundy’s booming voice who took attendance while me and Tina continued talking, not really caring, only ever stopping to say “Here”. Mr. Mundy cleared his throat. “Valentina and Everleigh. Please quiet down.” We looked up and muttered “sorry”. And we did stop talking- for about five minutes. As soon as attendance finished, we continued talking again. We turned our bodies to face each other and chuckled loudly. Mr. Mundy’s attention turned back to us. “That’s it. Tina, your new seat is there.” He pointed to the seat on the right of the one she was seated in. “Wait no, we’ll stop talking! For real this time.” She pleaded. We stared at him with sad eyes. “I’ve had enough. Move NOW.” He scowled. Tina pouted and grabbed her stuff. She stood up, heads turned to face her and walked to the seat next to her. She sat down and folded her arms, angrily. I frowned. Now I’m alone. I changed my mind, math is my absolute LEAST favorite class.

C H A P T E R  T W O

The bell finally rang after what felt like years. Everleigh grabbed her stuff and walked out the door, happy to leave. Annoyed that she no longer had anyone to talk to in first period, she stomped through the halls; her happy demeanor slipping. Her soft glossy lips fell into a pout, and she pushed a strand of gorgeous silky hair out of her face with a manicured finger. Life was just so hard.

As soon as the bell rang for the end of the last class, Everleigh strutted to her locker to put stuff away. Sure, she had some homework, but most of it wasn’t due until Friday so she’d just put that on hold for now. One of her other best friends, Melanie, was leaning against the locker next to Everleigh’s, holding two books in her arms. “Carl’s picking me up tonight for a date. I’m so excited! I need you to help me pick out an outfit.” She squealed. Everleigh didn’t like her boyfriend, Carl. He was always weird whenever she was around. He also didn’t treat her right, which made Everleigh furious. But there wasn’t much she could do because Melanie was absolutely head over heels for him.

But Everleigh could never not be excited to help her friends get ready. “Okay, what time do you want me to be over?” She grinned, shutting her locker. The girls began to walk out into the school’s parking lot. “Maybe five thirty-ish?” Melanie suggested. Melanie was decently popular. She enjoyed roller skating, cheerleading, and fashion. She had beautiful lush blonde waves which complimented her oceanic eyes. “Sure! I’ll ask my mom when I get home.” Everleigh beamed. The girls separated into their cars. 

Everleigh walked to her car where Nancy and Mike waited impatiently. “Finally, why were you late this time?” Mike grumbled, getting into the car after it was unlocked. Nancy clicked her seatbelt in while Everleigh started the car. “Calm down, I was only like ten minutes late.” She hated having to defend herself to her idiotic brother. Normally, he’d continue to scold her about how he and Nancy could’ve been kidnapped or died, but this time, he let it go. While she was driving, she felt a tap on her arm which rested on the armrest in between her and Nancy. Everleigh looked over to the passenger seat where Nancy mouthed some words to her. She raised an eyebrow to say “Wait, say it again?” The brunette nodded. Then, Everleigh took in what she was trying to say. “We’re dating.” Nancy leaned back into the chair, waiting for a reaction.

“We” was Nancy and Steve Harrington. It seemed like the entire school knew who he was. Everleigh had wanted the two of them to date since Nancy mentioned he began talking to her, except it was different. He was kind around her. He listened to her and didn’t judge her for what she believes in. Everleigh grinned, satisfied. This was definitely coming up in girl chat when Mike wasn’t around.

As the siblings arrived at home, Everleigh pulled into her family’s driveway, being careful not to hit the mailbox. They all got out, grabbing their stuff. Everleigh unlocked the door where Holly was visible in the living room, playing with her toys. “Mom, we’re home!” Nancy yelled. Mike dashed upstairs into his room, slamming the door and locking it. “Micheal, stop slamming my doors!” Karen yelled from the kitchen. The sisters walked in, kissing their mom on the cheek. “Hey girls, how was school?” Everleigh walked behind her mom, with her arms folded, waiting for Nancy to respond first. “It was good. Same as always.” Nancy replied, shifting her body weight slightly. Everleigh wiggled her eyebrows from an angle so only Nancy could see, making the girl giggle slightly. Karen nodded, turning around. “What about you, Ev?”

She relaxed her face in time for her mom to face her. “It was alright. Mr. Mundy changed Tina’s seat because we were talking too much.” She rolled her eyes, hanging her coat up by the front door. Nancy had walked away to her room, probably to dream about Stevie poo. “I told you there were going to be consequences to you two chatting all the time.” Karen joked, smiling. Everleigh pouted, but then remembered about Melanie. “Can I go over Mel’s after dinner?” She asked, with begging eyes. Karen changed her position with her hand by tapping her chin above her arm. “What did you get on Mrs. Click’s assessment from yesterday?” Dang it. Of course she was going to ask this. Her lowest grade was in Mrs. Click’s class. History just wasn’t her thing. It was so boring and why did we need to know about The Great Depression anyways? “I got a B..” Everleigh muttered. Karen perked up at this.

“Well that’s much better than your last grade! A C- to a B? Good job, honey. Sure, you can go.” Everleigh stood up, proudly. “Thanks, mommy! Love you!” She ran upstairs into her room, shutting the door. She placed her backpack down next to her bed on the white carpet. She walked over to her pink telephone on her nightstand. She dialed Melanie’s number and waited. “Hello?” She heard. “Hey, Mel! Mom said I can come over after dinner.” Everleigh sat down on her bed. “Okay! Carl said he’s coming to pick me up at 7:00.” There was a loud knock at the door, interrupting the call. Everleigh covered the receiver with her free hand and took her ear off. “Yes?” She called. “Where’s my walkie?!” She heard Mike yell outside her door. “I don’t know, go away, Mike!” Everleigh snapped, rolling her eyes. “How am I supposed to know what you did with it..” She muttered. She took her hand off the receiver and put her ear back. “-and my parents don’t know about it so we have to keep it as chill as possible.” Melanie continued talking. 

Once the call was over, Everleigh put the phone back. She opened one of her drawers and pulled out a silky white hair tie, shutting the drawer. She held the tie with her teeth while she gathered her hair up with her hands and tied it into a bun. She walked out of her room into the bathroom to shower. When she finished, she dried off and changed into a simple white long sleeve shirt with a pink plaid dress over top. She put on lace socks and tiny black booties. By the time she was finished, it was time for dinner. 

She walked downstairs to sit at the table. Surprisingly, Mike didn’t come down for a few minutes. Karen looked at the stairs while everyone else ate. She sighed, picking up her fork. “Can one of you go get your brother, please?” She asked, waving her fork at Everleigh and Nancy. Everleigh nodded at Nancy and went upstairs. She knocked on the door. Once. Twice. No answer. “Mike! Come on, it’s dinner time!” Everleigh’s face scrunched up. She opened the door to reveal no one was there. He wasn’t in the bathroom either. Meaning he was in the basement. 

She ran downstairs past her family, opening the door to the basement. “Where’s Mike?” Karen called. “Hold on!” Everleigh replied. She walked in, seeing Mike under a blanket with his walkie talkie. He sat, frozen. He pushed the antenna down and cleared his throat. He looked… sad. “What are you doing? It’s dinner time. Don’t you hear us calling you?” Everleigh snapped, folding her arms. “Uhh.. well I was trying to talk to Dustin.” He lied. “Okay well tell him you guys will talk later, I’m starving.” She stomped back upstairs.

When dinner was finished, Everleigh cleaned her plate, rushing to grab the car keys. “I’m going now, bye mom! I’ll be back soon!” She waved, closing the door. She got inside the car, driving to Melanie’s house. When she arrived, she got out of the car and walked up to the porch. She rang the doorbell and stood politely waiting. Melanie’s father, who she’s seen a handful of times, opened the door. “Well, hello, Everleigh. How are you? Come inside. Melanie’s upstairs.” He moved over so she could enter the very homely household. “Thank you, Mr. Harris. I’m good, how are you?” She grinned with that candy sweet smile that almost everyone loved to see as she stepped inside. He nodded, smiling back and shutting the door.

Everleigh walked upstairs to Melanie’s room and knocked softly. The door opened revealing Mel in her pink nightgown with curlers in her hair. “Oh, come in!” The girls squealed, excitedly. Everleigh walked over to the girl’s divine wardrobe and began looking through. “Wait, where is he taking you?” She questioned, turning around. Melanie plopped down onto her queen sized bed, smiling dreamily. “He’s driving me to Enzo’s. How romantic, right?” Everleigh was happy for her friend. Happy that Carl wasn’t being such a punk and only taking her to his grandmother’s house. I mean, of course! Grandma’s cookies always scream “romance” to me, don’t you think so?

She turned back around, taking dresses out and handing them to Melanie. “Try all of those on! See which one you think fits.” The girls put on a mini fashion show, laughing and posing. Once they finally found a dress, Everleigh did Mel’s makeup. She sat down at a small vanity so Everleigh could stand over her. “One day, you have to teach me how to do more than just mascara, lipgloss, and blush.” Melanie half joked. Everleigh nodded, grinning. She spinned her chair around to face the mirror. “Like it?” She asked, hopefully. Melanie looked beautiful. “I feel stupid!” She laughed, staring at herself. “Well everyone feels stupid! Who cares?” Everleigh turned her chair back around, adding some finishing touches.

“Do you feel stupid?” Melanie asked, half smiling. Everleigh giggled. “Yeah I did, but then I chose not to feel stupid.” The girls smiled. They always had a strong bond together, feeling they could talk about anything and everything and never feel awkward. They took out Melanie’s curlers and waited for the phone to ring or a knock on her window, sitting on the bed. And they waited. And waited. And waited…

Everleigh started getting annoyed when it was already 8 and there was nothing. She scoffed. “That prick stood you up.” Everleigh’s face was disgusted. She stood up and kissed the top of Melanie’s head. Her mascara was ruined from her crying. Now she was just silent. Everleigh could tell the girl was thinking over her relationship and she didn’t want to interrupt it. She always knew Carl was a jerk, but this ends it. She was ready for her friend to find someone better. She knew she could stay and comfort her, but something was telling her it was time for her to be alone for a while with her thoughts. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out, babes.” Everleigh sympathized.

“I’m gonna go home. My mom’s gonna kill me if I’m out past 8:30 on a school night. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mel.” Melanie nodded. She walked towards the door blowing a kiss. She walked out and into her car. She took off home. “I’m going to kill him.”

a/n: soo what do we think?? if u guys have any ideas or things u wanna see, please send me a request or a dm and if i write it, i will credit u for the suggestion! im actually really proud of this so far! and ik billy wasnt in these chapters, but hes coming in the next one ;)

Extracts from Gabriel Gale's "The Art of Oz", a visual companion to his young adult series "The Ages of Oz"

Day 5 👺 Lead Wheeler - Return to OZ 🛞

it’s been over two years and every day I still wonder why Karen wheeler got a season 4 poster ????

Almost forgot! Here’s the Return to Oz stickers I acquired. It brought me so much joy to find these, you have NO idea.

Bonus: 40-year old stick of gum that came with it.

I did not eat it.

Has anyone here watched Return to Oz?

I would recommend watching it if you haven’t. I mean, you’ll probably be scarred for life, but the movie is incredibly entertaining I must say.

the fucking wheelers live in my nightmares though.

People who only watched the Wizard of Oz movie (the first one, not the one that they made based on Ozma of Oz) do not know how weird those books get.

So we’re all well aware that Nancy and Mike aren’t affectionate with eachother, and that despite being almost killed numerous times or being separated during disasters they still haven’t hugged eachother

But I can think of one time where I could imagine them hugging.

If Mike and Nancy came out to eachother

Because I think for them it’s more scary to not be accepted than it is to die, more scary to know that the ones you love wouldn’t love you no matter what, I think that fear that it isn’t something or someone else, that it is just them, would be scarier to them, to the point that they would hug

And it breaks my heart so much because it would show just how scared they were to tell each other, and how much they care about the others opinion, to the point that they would hug, despite not hugging after almost dying

We've got a new book planned for Paper Cuts later this week, and it's a very exciting one! This tale, joining us by author permission, is one that I've been looking forward to since the moment I heard we can do it!

Drop by on Friday night, 8 pacific, 10 central, for Wheelers, by Matt Stephens! I've been really digging deep into Solarpunk as a genre of late, and the short story this is based on being practically my introduction to the concept! I'm absolutely ecstatic to be able to share this story with you all!

Once again, that's this Friday night, February 2nd, at 8 pacific, over at the link below! I'll post again when it hits the podcast feed!