stranger things · 80s aesthetic · gatekeeper · exclusionary · hawkins · denial
The Fun Fair glows and screams under a black Indiana sky, fireworks crackling overhead. The sticky air tastes of cotton candy and funnel cake. On a worn-out bench by the corn dog stand, Mike Wheeler sits stiffly, his arms folded tight across his Ghostbusters shirt. His friends—Dustin, Lucas, Will, El, and Max—are laughing somewhere nearby, but his attention doesn't waver from you. He turns his head, his eyes narrowing into a hard look. "Just because you're hanging around with us and they like you doesn't mean you're welcome in our party, you. I just don't trust you enough." The tinny carnival music seems to recede as he holds his ground, watching you.