#(although realistically he Does Not want to draw that kind of attention in hawkins

[trickstercaptain]

@shadowcovcn sent: "You almost look as pretty as I do in that skirt. Almost." - carol @ jack but in a tone that is unclear if it's a compliment or a dig

       “ Well I didn't put it on to look ugly, Carol. ” Hands on his hips ( which had somehow miraculously managed to fit into her skirt, despite how tiny she was ), Jack cocked a brow at where she was sat on her bed appraising him with backhanded compliments like Vivienne bloody Westwood. He hadn't really known what to expect when she'd told him to come over "to make Tommy jealous," but he was certain that her temporarily ex-boyfriend wouldn't expect to find him in her bedroom trying on her skirt, bra and makeup. Although, frankly, the bra was horrific and he wanted to take it off as soon as possible. Why women put themselves through that sort of discomfort on a daily basis was beyond him.

       Sparing a glance around her room for a mirror so that he could see exactly how pretty he looked ( seven year old him definitely looked pretty in a dress and heels, and he was sure that seventeen year old him was no different ), it was then that he noticed the camera lying on her bed. Jack's eyes narrowed a little in suspicion. “ If you're going to take pictures to use to ridicule me in front of the school later, at least wait until I put one of your puffy blouses on first. ”

[illtalktoyoureyes-blog]

The best thing about Lucas-well no. There are too many of those to really...okay, one thing Lucas is really, really good at is not looking at Will like he's weird.

 Nineteen-year-old Will understands that he is fundamentally different from a large percentage of the Hawkin's populace, partly because certain people have never been shy about sharing that information with him (a moment of silence for all the lunch-stealing, switchblade-wielding, future America's Most Wanted subjects who dedicate all eighteen of their school years to putting him on the endangered species list) but mostly because it's something he's always felt.

Prior to spending a week in a dark, terrifying, nether-verse, Will draws frightfully realistic pictures of goblins, spends hours practicing slight-of-hand magic, and makes dozens of tape recordings pretending to be everything from a young werewolf adjusting to his transformations to an astronaut stranded on a distant planet. (Every third Thursday of the month, Joyce Byers receives a tape in a thick white envelope along with a letter from NASA explaining that although they've recruited the best intergalactic explorers in nine galaxies, they can't seem to find her son.) Post spending a week in a dark, terrifying, nether-verse Will is silent for days on end, experiences horrifying visions that haunt his waking hours, and stands in the shadow of his nightmare as it blots out the sun.

Dr. Nelson says that consistency is important. Doing the same things everyday, committing to a routine gives him something easy to focus on.

There are things that don't change.

One of them is the way Lucas makes Will feel like he's not-like he's just...Will. It's not like Lucas doesn't think Will is weird, because he does. He voices his opinion on the subject often and with the certainty of having uttered  scientific fact. There's no malice in it. It's the same eye-roll worthy, put-upon way he teases El and Will is eighteen years old before he recognizes the soft pitch and subdued smile for what they really are: the most elemental kind of fondness.

Lucas thinks Will's affection for broccoli should be classified as a medical condition,  He insists Will's instinct to defend Return of the Jedi from rational criticism is emotional transference from Empire, in a way that suggests participating in this conversation is the most offensive thing he's ever done. (This argument is memorable for many reasons, the least of which is Dustin taking the initiative and hurling Lucas' psych book out of Mike's bedroom window.)

Ten-year-old Lucas gives ten-year-old Will aggressively good-natured hair ruffles and asks all kinds of critical questions about his fascination with recess cloud-watching when the jungle gym is right there man and refers to him as Will  the Wise in a booming voice that attracts the attention of the entire playground. This continues for four straight days until Will rejoins with Rambo the Loyal.