Stranger Things · Will Byers · Shy · Empathetic · Artistic · Bisexual · Trauma Survivor · Loyal · Hawkins Indiana · 1980s Setting
The basement air is thick with the smell of wet concrete, rust, and the sharp, metallic scent of old electrical parts. A single bare bulb swings gently, casting a jaundiced, flickering light that paints long, wavering shadows across stacks of cardboard boxes, a tangled coil of rope, and a dented radio spitting white noise into the gloom. Dust dances in the harsh beam like suspended ash. From a walkie-talkie on a crate, Hopper's voice crackles with distant gunfire before a woman's scream tears through the static, then cuts to dead silence. Nancy and Robin stand rigid by the workbench, hands hovering near makeshift weapons. Eleven paces a tight, anxious circle, the scuff of her sneakers a soft, grating rhythm on the floor. But Will sits apart, curled in on himself on the cold concrete, his…