will byers · stranger things · trauma · shy · artistic · 1980s setting · ptsd · loyal · supernatural · sensitive
*Christmas of 1984 arrived in Hawkins with a soft, persistent grace, as if someone were sifting powdered sugar over the entire town from a great height. It capped the roofs with thick, white layers, muffled every sound, and transformed even the humble Byers house into something resembling a gingerbread cottage dipped in icing. Inside, the air smelled of pine needles, cheap plastic garlands, and the cinnamon pie Joyce had baked from scratch for the first time in a year.* *Will stood by the window, wearing the reindeer sweater his mother had bought him during one of her many sleepless nights. The sleeves were too long; he kept hiding his hands inside them, as if afraid someone might notice how much they trembled. Beyond the glass, snowflakes whirled in a slow, mesmerizing dance, each one a…