#henry creel costuming

[aemiron-main]

Henward’s Belt During Nina, More Than One 001, and Time Loops: We May Have Seen The 001 From The Soteria Scene During The Very First NINA Scene

So, I was taking a closer look at the two different versions of Henward that we see during that first NINA scene, and I noticed something- the first version of Henward that we see (with the nice, neat hair) has his belt partially undone- the little silver part on the other side of the buckle is hidden because it’s not done up properly:

Usually I’d write this off as a genuine production error because it’s such a small thing, and getting in and out of costumes, it’s not totally unrealistic that a minor belt issue might get missed.

However, the context of the boiler room/soteria removal scene completely changes this and makes me believe that this partially undone belt is 100% intentional- why?

Because Henward takes his belt off during the Soteria scene so that he can bite down on it.

So, did this guy just come back from the Soteria scene in some sort of NINA time loop? Does he already have Soteria out?

But there’s more evidence for this than just the belt- because there’s also the ID.

Because that Henward that has the partially undone belt is also missing his ID- we never see it.

We see the ID on the other Henward that has a properly fastened belt, we don’t see it with the partially undone belt guy.

And why is this relevant to the Soteria removal scene/the scene where Henward takes his belt off?

Because he also puts his ID on the floor in that same scene. (thank you @givehimthemedicine for pointing this out & for the image that i nabbed from your post)

So, is it just me, or is it suspicious as hell that a.) NINA has so much time loop stuff going on already and b.) Henward took off his belt and put his ID on the floor during the Soteria removal scene- versus there being a Henward in the beginning of NINA with a partially undone belt (almost like it was put on in a hurry), who’s also missing his ID?

This also brings me to this post that I made awhile ago regarding the scene where Henward says to El that “I meant what I said when I called this place a prison,” but Henward has NEVER called the lab a prison prior to this scene- hell, he hasnt even said the word prison prior to this scene.

But, as also mentioned in that linked post, he DID call the lab a prison/tell El that she’s a prisoner during the massacre, after that tunnel scene:

So, we have two instances here of events seemingly happening in “reverse” order/in a loop- we have a guy in the beginning of NINA with a messed up belt and a missing keycard vs a guy at the end of NINA/in the Soteria removal scene who takes off his belt and puts his keycard on the floor, and then we ALSO have a guy in the tunnel scene telling El that he previously said that this place is a prison/that she’s a prisoner (something he hasnt actually said in any of the prior scenes) vs massacre Henward, later on, saying that El is a prisoner.

Anyway! It’s weird as hell.

[henrysglock]

"This is the 'he likes it cold' guy" and then the few times we see him as a human without any lab influence at all...

He's in three layers, one of which is a thick sweater. Consistently.

I know it's a small thing, but it does make me laugh that the "he likes it cold" guy is canonically chilly. He, as a normal human being, canonically does not enjoy being cold. Mans is always in sweaters unless its a) warm and sunny outside, or b) he's at the dinner table.

[mangoob]

Hey I was vecna today u guys

I assaulted 4 children (telepathically and interdimensionally)

[shinebrightlikeanarwhal]

Will: *tender emotional music playing*

Vecna with his Starbucks and chik fil a: no. No absolutely not. I’m not dealing with the lgbt tonight.

[findurfuture]

In Stranger Things season 4; Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) is the main villain. The Creed family 1959 moved to Hawkins, Indiana. Henry has illusionary and remarkable psychokinetic abilities which discovered when he was a child. He eventually kills his sister and mother; used his powers to suffer family members corrupted by greed and nihilism. He frame his father for these crimes and drove him to madness. This diverted Dr. Brenner’s attention toward him; brought him to Hawkins Laboratory and study the subject as number 001. Dr. Brenner planted a device in his neck to suppress his powers and made him an orderly in the lab. Collect all the accessories of the Henry Creel costume from Stranger Things for Halloween and cosplay.

[thepunkmuppet]

costumes / looks I desperately need gerard way to wear on stage (add your own in reblogs!!)

greek statue, he’s fully painted white including his hair with a white toga with a golden wreath thing on his head. I just think that would look sick

police uniform covered in blood

straight up zombie with full on green decaying gory make up

one of the heathers from heathers

either the blue cheerleader outfit from the i’m not okay mv or the iconic red ones from teenagers. then we’d have a little trio!

ghostface. possibly cunty ghostface as a treat

vanya from umbrella academy - young version with the school girl fit and black mask OR the all white comic version of course

also number five from umbrella academy (classic school boy fit)

this sounds weird but I think this would be really cool and meta for wwwy - a stereotypical mcr fan / emo. as in with that one black parade t shirt, heavy eyeliner, black nails, side swept emo fringe, studded bracelets and belts, skinny black jeans, vans or converse. again a very meta concept, after their old person looks in 2022 I can really see them doing this as a whole band this year and I would loooove to finally see gerard in the fashion style that’s so associated with him and his music

howl from howl’s moving castle

possibly also sophie from howl’s moving castle

slenderman

literally just satan. like the most stereotypical devil, give them fully painted red skin, horns, fangs, yellow or black eyes, maybe even goat legs. probably with a majestic black suit or something, or for a succubus vibe a black flowy dress with a slit down the leg. now that I think about it, this would be a SICK wwwy look to shock us all, esp if ray mikey and frank all dressed as other demons or the souls of the damned or some shit.

peni parker - he made her!!

question mark jumper from doctor who

also missy from doctor who omg

jane doe from ride the cyclone, possibly with added marionette or cracked porcelain makeup like in some renditions

classic majestic white-robed angel, with enormous fake wings and maybe even sparkly gold makeup and a big gold halo. also would be cool in all black, or all white but covered in blood (red, gold, or black, all would look cool)

buffy summers in prophecy girl, except he also has blood all over his neck from where the master bit her. I hope he’s watched btvs I think he would very much enjoy it this look would fit with their vampire vibe sooooo well

classic frankenstein’s monster

mothman. not only is he a heartthrob but he’s also a hunched goblin cryptid to me. the duality of man (he/theys)

jane prentiss from the magnus archives. if you don’t know she is a living flesh hive of sentient worms, she’s decaying and full of holes. again with all the nasty decaying rotting prosthetic makeup plus THE RED DRESS!!!

mr darcy vibes, sopping wet regency man with a big puffy white t shirt

opposite side of that, fuck it give him a full on ballroom gown

henry creel from stranger things (pre-vecna, nurse outfit)

any disney princess

crowley from good omens. my man looks GOOD in those anthony janthony aah sunglasses he has

cute flowy summer dress with like a flowery pattern. either go cottagecore with it and have flowers in his hair, or go full white soccer mum and put him in huge cunty sunglasses a massive straw sun hat with a ribbon on it

all-black cowboy!!!! the fact I’ve never seen him in a cowboy hat is actual sacrilege. also would very much appreciate an all-pink sequin studded cowboy

any alice in wonderland character, especially alice herself, the classic disney movie look with the blue dress and the bow in the hair. he would also do a great chesire cat (spooky big grin makeup paired with his weird ass dramatic facial expressions?? inspired) or a super extravagant queen / king / knave of hearts. also 100000% the mad hatter omfg, he was BORN to do a jefferson from once upon a time look!!

[therainscene]

hey again! i just saw the new henry and holly pics and... well...as i commented on one post of them:

i wonder if this could be nancy's storyline even moreso than mike's? looking after holly AND mike, who is preoccupied with will as well? also, has anyone considered that vecna may just be an inside-the-UD avatar for henry, who stills exists in the real world as a human (in the form we see above?) why would he only be living in the UD as this odd spidery man? we only saw him being sent there in one memory fragment, and his transformation into the monster was also him as vecna describing things to nancy IN HER MIND. so if vecna can appear in people's minds, maybe he is only a mind-version of henry, who still exists as a real dude roaming free.

oh god i can imagine rewatching the whole series and seeing a man cropping up in the background of everything looking just like henry in those new pics! with the hat etc. he looks older there too, so it matches the timelines

Always lovely to see you, scrunchie <3

These new leaks [pics under the cut, spoilers for S5] certainly raise a lot of interesting questions, though I'm not entirely sure what to make of them right now.

We don't know for sure that this is Holly -- they've recast her if so -- but loose blonde pigtails are her signature hairstyle and the girly dungarees would fit S5's costuming theme of S1 callbacks, so Holly's definitely a strong candidate for this character.

And even ignoring other, less solid leaks that suggest Vecna might be targeting her next season (the alleged "The Vanishing of [BLANK] Wheeler" episode title; Ted's actor mentioning that his character is going to come through for Holly) -- I do think there are already hints in the canon that there's some sort of connection between Henry and Holly.

Hint #1: I've often seen folks use this moment with Holly and the lights as evidence that Will could have powers:

The lamps light up far too quickly for Will to have realistically affected them via the wave-your-hands-in-the-golden-aura method Nancy discovered in S4, and the circular motion of the lights parallels a training exercise from the lab.

...But if this was Will, then how did he know Holly was there? He knew when Joyce was there because she spoke to him, but Holly doesn't talk. And why would he want to get the attentions of a toddler anyway when there are two adults in the house?

It makes sense that powers were being used here... but who says it was Will using them?

Hint #2: According to the source, this latest leak was snapped at the Creel house, which is next door to a playground. We've never seen Henry at the playground. But we have seen his sister, with her little blonde pigtails, playing there.

Something I've always found interesting about this shot of Alice is that as she stands up in horror at the sight of the mutilated rabbit, the camera tilts up so that she's brilliantly washed out by the sun:

Light is an important symbol in Stranger Things, so I never really knew what to make of this... but now I've seen these leaks I think it's veeeerrrry interesting that Alice and Holly have both been associated with light and childish innocence and rabbits via a single shot.

So that's Holly. As for Henry...

I think your theory is really interesting -- my first thought on seeing these leaks was that Henry probably looks human because he's appearing to this girl in a vision, but I definitely think it's worth exploring other possibilities, because there's something weird going on with regards to Henry's banishment to Dimension X -- how did he end up in there looking so intact when we saw El completely disintegrate him into ash?

It's giving time shenanigans, in my opinion. These leaks are certainly giving time vibes too -- why is Henry dressed like he's from the 50s while speaking to a girl who looks like she's from the 80s?

So, the Wheelers and their S5 arcs--

@conflictofthemind has an excellent theory about how whatever happens to Holly is likely to precipitate an arc in which the Wheeler family come together and overcome their conformist ways once and for all; and @pinkeoni has a scathing take-down of the idea S5 is going to rehash S1's family-and-friends-coming-together-to-rescue-a-missing-child concept. Both are good takes worth reading, I think.

Personally, I'm not sure what the hell is going on with this apparent connection between Holly and Henry -- but I do think the parallels between the Wheelers and the Creels as family units are the thing to focus on here, and I suspect time travel is probably going to be a big part of what ties it all together.

And, well. There's only one character other than Henry who is associated with interdimensional time shenanigans--

--the light--

--and calling Wheelers out on their harmful conformity.

[jokeringcutio]

Halloween Refuge – Henry Creel x Reader (Contains Smut)

AN: Follow me for more Halloween Reader Inserts. More stories will follow this month.

Fandom: Stranger Things Pairing: Henry Creel (001) x Reader Rating: Explicit Summary: It’s Halloween when a young, wounded man appears at your door. How can you refuse him.. anything?

Warnings: Explicit Sexual content, mention of blood, orderly Henry Creel.

Halloween Refuge

The flickering glow of the television bathed the dimly lit room, casting eerie shadows on the walls as you snuggled under your favorite soft blanket. The scent of cinnamon and pumpkin filled the air, a warm contrast to the chilly Halloween night. You sipped your hot cocoa, letting it warm you from the inside out while classic horror films played in the background.

"Trick or treat!" you heard from outside your door, and you paused the movie, setting down your drink before grabbing a handful of candy. Opening the door with a smile, you greeted the group of costumed children who shrieked with delight at the sight of the sweets being dropped into their bags. Their giggles echoed through the crisp autumn air as they scurried away, leaving you to retreat back into your cozy sanctuary.

You had just settled back onto the couch when the doorbell rang again. A small sigh escaped your lips – another interruption. But it's Halloween, you reminded yourself. With a quick stretch, you stood and headed for the door. As it swung open, you were met by an unexpected sight. A tall young man stood in front of you, his clothes a bright white in the light of the candles and lanterns. Blonde hair glistened like gold in that very same light, and pale blue eyes settled pleadingly upon you. He looked lost and vulnerable.

"Can I help you?" you asked cautiously, eyes drawn to the splatters of blood staining the once pristine fabric. For a moment, you thought it was just an elaborate Halloween costume, but something in his pale blue eyes told you otherwise.

"Please," he breathed out, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I need shelter."

Shelter from what, you wondered. Who was he running away from?

Pity welled up inside you, and despite the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right, you stepped aside, allowing him into your home. He looked so helpless, so broken; you couldn't just turn him away.

"Thank you," he murmured, stepping inside and glancing around the room with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

"Are you hurt?" you asked, your concern growing as you studied his bloodied attire. "Do you need me to call someone?"

"No," he replied quickly, a hint of panic in his voice. "I just... I need to rest."

"All right," you agreed, though still uneasy. The blood on his clothes indicated that something serious had happened, possibly something bad. But you also knew that not everyone who got into a fight wanted to have the police involved.

You led him to the couch, gesturing for him to sit down. As he did so, you couldn't help but take in his features: high cheekbones, luscious blonde hair that fell past his ears, and those captivating pale blue eyes that seemed to hold an untold story.

"Is there anything I can get you?" you inquired, watching him carefully.

"Water would be nice," he answered, attempting a weak smile.

"Of course," you said, heading to the kitchen. As you filled a glass with water, your mind raced with questions and concerns. Who was this man, and what had led him to your doorstep?

Did it matter? You returned to his side to find him sitting in the same position you had left him in. His eyes rested calmly upon you and a small grateful smile curled the corner of his lips. He seemed harmless. Despite being taller than you and quite possibly being capable of overpowering you, even when wounded, you didn’t think he would try and harm you. There was just a very kind vibe about him, something that made you feel you could trust him and want to be near him.

And so you sat down on the couch next to him, leaving a safe distance between you two, and watched him sip the water, your heart pounding in your chest. His left ear seemed to be bleeding and there definitely was a gash on his head. A million questions swam through your head, but you hesitated to ask any of them.

"Are you sure I shouldn't call 911?" you asked gently. "I don't want you to be in pain."

He shook his head, his pale blue eyes locking onto yours. "No, please don't. I just need some rest."

"All right," you murmured, not entirely convinced. "What's your name?"

"Henry," he replied, that weak smile returning to his lips.

“Henry,” you repeated his name, tasting it on your lips. A weird fuzzy feeling bubbled up inside the pit of your stomach, making your core feel hot and cold at the same time. “Well, Henry, it seems I’ll be letting you rest here for a little while. Is there anything I can get you before I let you rest?”

Henry’s blue eyes seemed to darken as he weakly reached out a hand to you. “Actually,” he murmured, “there is.”

Over the next hour, you made him as comfortable as possible, bringing him a warm blanket and some painkillers. Instead of retreating to your room, Henry engaged in a pleasant and gentle conversation with you, allowing you the time to stand up and hand candy to the kids whenever the doorbell rang. And each time you returned to his side he’d be waiting for you, a gentle smile on his lips.

The conversation flowed surprisingly easily between you, touching on everything from favorite films to childhood memories. You couldn't help but become entranced by the mysterious man who had appeared on your doorstep.

As the evening wore on, the air between you grew thick with unspoken desire. Henry, despite his injuries, managed to sit up and reach out to gently caress your cheek. Your breath hitched, your body responding to his touch. His fingers felt like warm silk against your skin, igniting a fire within you.

"Is this what you want?" he whispered, his voice soft as velvet.

"Yes," you breathed, leaning in to capture his lips with yours. The kiss was tender, yet hungry, fueling the growing need inside you.

You felt his hands on your sweater, slowly lifting it off your body. You allowed him to undress you, feeling a thrill at being so exposed to someone you barely knew. But there was something about Henry that drew you in, a magnetic pull you couldn't resist.

As his own clothes joined yours on the floor, you marveled at the intimacy that had blossomed between you in such a short time. The world outside seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you, bound together by fate and undeniable attraction.

Your body, now bare before him, seemed to glow in the dim light of the room. Henry's pale blue eyes raked over you, admiration and desire clear in their depths. The intensity of his gaze sent shivers down your spine.

"Careful," you whispered, pushing him back gently onto the couch, mindful of his injuries. "You need to rest."

He didn't protest as you straddled his lap, settling yourself against the heat of his body. You leaned in, pressing soft kisses along his jawline, down his neck, savoring the taste of his skin beneath your lips. The moment was tender, romantic, filled with a connection that transcended the physical. You didn’t know attraction could be so strong, so magnetic. But all you knew was that you craved him, needed this, wanted this to happen.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, his voice laced with vulnerability.

"Absolutely," you replied, your conviction evident. To show how determined you were, you slowly moved your hips over his, gently taking the tip of him in your tight heat. Henry’s eyes rolled back and a moan escaped his lips. With a moan of your own, you started to roll your hips against his, taking him in deeper and creating a slow, steady rhythm.

He liked it, you could tell, because when your eyes met you saw the spark of joy in his. Encouraged by the lust in his eyes, you became a little bolder, moving your hips a little higher, thrust down a little harder.

Your lips sought out his and captured them once more. He welcomed the kiss, even deepened it, while his hands reverently traced down your body, exploring each piece of unclad skin. His fingertips traced patterns with featherlight touches and at that moment you knew how it felt to be worshipped.

Once the kiss broke in favor of catching your breath, Henry’s head dipped and his lips sought lower down your chest until they brushed lightly past your nipples. With a gasp  - from your lips – he sucked one of them between his lips, hollowing his cheeks as he started to pleasure you. Your thrusts became erratic as your walls pulsed around him with each suck. What was he doing to you? This was absolute bliss. Throwing your head back, you rode him as deep and as passionate as your body allowed you.

It was perfect. All of him was perfect. Until-

Henry’s hands gripped your hips, guiding you down his shaft with a rough thrust that made you open your eyes in shock. You’d lost control. He took the lead now. You knew it the moment he started to guide you harshly up and down his cock, sinful wet sounds accompanying the action. His initial thrusts were harsh, almost painful, but you bit back any complaints. This was what you wanted. He must be close, you reasoned. And so your lips parted in a silent gasp.

His fingers dug into your hips in an almost painful grip, certain to leave marks. You tried to move your hips away and alleviate the pain, but Henry wouldn’t let you. And when you glanced down at him to tell him to be gentler, you saw the way his eyes had rolled back in pleasure and how he had gritted his teeth.

You couldn’t say it. You couldn’t want anything else but to see him like this. Lost in absolute pleasure.

He struck too deep for comfort, his cockhead battering your cervix with a passion that was unparalleled to anything you’d ever felt before in your entire life. Low groans tumbled from his lips as he forced your hips to move and take him in deep and deeper, until the battering made you gasp in a mixture of pleasure and pain, and he hit a delicious spot deep inside that made your toes curl and your eyes close in ecstasy.

Liquid gushed forth, slipping down his cock and slickening your core, allowing sopping wet sounds to reach your ears with each and every thrust. His grip had become possessive, almost aggressive, as if he sought to claim you entirely. He hit that spot inside of you again and again. It made you gasp, your orgasm building like a tidal wave.

"Please...," you managed to choke out between moans, unable to articulate more than that single word. Your hands clawed at him and pulled him closer. More, your mind repeated. More, more, more.

So close, so very close.

Henry didn't relent, didn't pause to ask if you were okay. Instead, he continued to pump into you, even as your walls clamped down tightly, even as his thrusts became erratic, even as you felt your orgasm wash over you. And then it was done.

He came, filling you with his essence while his hands held you firmly in place, keeping you from squirming away. A part of you screamed in protest, wanting to push him away, to reclaim your autonomy. But another part of you – perhaps the darker, more primal side – reveled in the intensity, the rawness of it all. And so you swallowed your complaints, allowed yourself to be overwhelmed by the pleasure and the pain.

Henry moved again, deep but slow thrusts, his cockhead pushing against your womb’s entrance as if he wanted to get in. It felt good. Even as both of you seemed to come down from your bliss, it felt good to have him rocking gently into you, so deep that it felt as if your bodies could melt and become one.

Finally, as your body relaxed again, leaving you breathless and shaking, Henry's body stilled. He held you close, his breath hot against your neck, his heart pounding in time with yours.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his voice gentle once more, concern lacing his words.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady yourself. "Yes," you whispered, though you couldn't quite shake the lingering doubts that clung to the edges of your mind. “Yes, I’m fine,” you assured him, slowly sitting up and flashing a careful smile.

Henry’s concerned eyes met yours, but upon seeing your smile, he mirrored it with one of his own. He hugged you against him and placed a kiss on the top of your head, all the gentleman once more. You blinked at his tenderness, at his need for comfort and touch. Had he truly been so rough with you only moments before? Had that side of him been real, or had it just been your imagination?

He slipped out of you and a wet, sticky glob ran down your legs. He paid no attention to it, so neither did you. Instead, you decided to keep your eyes focused on him, to see him smile his gentle smile.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" he asked softly, his fingers tracing a tender path along your arm.

"Y-yeah," you replied hesitantly, still trying to reconcile the two very different sides of him.

With lingering touches and soft smiles, you both began to get dressed. It was weird how natural it felt to touch Henry, or to have his hands on you. Small talk flowed between the two of you and your laughter filled the room as you shared stories and jokes, trying to reclaim the sweet intimacy you had felt before.

"Stay here tonight?" you offered when your clothes were back on, gesturing towards the couch. "It's late, and I don't want you wandering around injured."

"Thank you," he said, the warmth in his voice melting your heart. "I would appreciate that."

"Let me make you some dinner too," you added, not wanting him to go hungry after everything he'd been through.

As you turned to head towards the kitchen, you caught Henry's gaze lingering on your stomach, an ominous look in his eyes. It was as if he knew you were worried about the consequences of your heated encounter. Shaking away those thoughts, you busied yourself with preparing a meal for the both of you. The evening turned into night, and you and Henry stayed close to each other until he sent you to sleep.

The next morning, you awoke in your own bed, your body feeling the aftermath of the previous night's activities. Stretching, you made your way to the living room. You frowned as you glanced at the empty couch.

Henry was gone.

You looked around the house, not quite believing the young man would have just left without a word like that, but no matter where you looked or how many times you called his name, he was gone.

What else had you expected, you berated yourself silently as you sat down on the couch. The seating was cold. Henry must have been gone a long while now.

With your head in your hands, you sat and contemplated what to do next. Forget him? Forget the entire encounter?

As if to distract you, you switched on the television. A sudden chill ran down your spine as the news popped on.

"Serial killer on the loose, last seen in the area..."

"...escaped from Hawkins lab where he was being held."

The reporter's words sent shockwaves through you. The description of the missing male matched Henry perfectly, right down to the bloodstained white suit.

Blood that wasn’t his own.

Your heart pounded in your chest, the haunting realization settling in. You had unknowingly invited a dangerous man into your home, and now he was out there, somewhere. And you couldn't help but feel an unsettling connection to him that refused to fade away.

~ Fin ~

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[sattlersquarry]

superfreaky (steve harrington x fem!reader)

Summary: [AU inspired by Freaky (2020); modern body-swap-with-a-slasher AU] The Hawkins Hacker has been terrorizing your town for years now. What happens when he digs his hooks into you is surprising. It's shocking. It's downright superfreaky.

Word Count: ~7.3k

Warnings: 18+ PLEASE!!!! for language, violence, grief, mentions of alcoholism, mentions of death and serial killers/slashers. all the characters are at least 18 in this (and Steve is the same age as the others). There's no descriptors of the reader except when she and Henry Creel swap bodies (then, you're Jamie Campbell Bower). Also Officer Callahan is your stepbrother in this.

a/n: this is a halloween fic. I'm aware that it's mid-November and everyone on this website has moved onto winter/holiday fics. I'm late! I'm sorry! Blame depression/personal life weirdness/my horoscope.

🔪🔪🔪

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12th, 2023

Your life kind of sucks.

Just a little.

Currently, you’re dressed in a godawful tiger suit on a Thursday night, shaking your clip-on tiger tail like there’s no tomorrow. You don’t want to be here, but extracurriculars look great on college applications. If you want to get far, far away from Hawkins, Indiana after graduation, this is the kind of shit you have to do to be impressive on paper.

Plus, someone must be the brave soul that dons the Hawkins High school mascot costume on the sidelines of basketball games. The brave soul that gets soda cans chucked at your head by Billy Hargrove.

You turn and scowl when you feel the liquid splash across your back—not that Billy can see through your stitched-on tiger expression.

He and his buddies laugh and laugh, until team captain Steve Harrington chews them out for being assholes. You can’t help it—you inwardly swoon at the sight of him defending your honor. With that floppy hair and those gorgeous eyes and…

You snap yourself out of your wild, romantically charged fantasies about said basketball player when he jogs his way toward you.

“Hey, Y/N, you okay?” he asks quietly. You lift your mascot head and give him a small smile.

“I’m good,” you say. You shrug. “I’m used to it.”

Steve sighs and shakes his head.

“I’m really sorry. I told Hargrove to cut it out when you threw the nachos last week, but he just doesn’t know when to quit.”

The Tiger cheerleaders begin the school fight song.

“I’ve gotta get back into it,” you say. “But, um, thanks.”

“Anytime,” Steve says. He shoots you a smile before jogging back to his teammates. The timeout is over, and he steps back onto the court.

As you flail around next to the cheerleaders, the Tigers sink a three-pointer thanks to Steve and win the game.

Post-game, you shuffle into the parking lot with your best friends Robin Buckley and Jonathan Byers by your side. Jonathan works for the school paper and photographs the games while his girlfriend, Nancy Wheeler, interviews players and attendees on the sidelines. Robin is in band and plays the trumpet. (Sometimes, you wish you’d followed their extracurricular pathways instead of going the mascot route.)

“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Robin points out, sensing your disdain as you glare at the tiger head in your hands and the oversize, fuzzy orange slippers adorning your feet.

“I do!” you say. “It’s senior year, fall semester. I can’t flake now. It’ll look bad on my applications.”

“You and those applications,” Jonathan says with a shake of his head. “You’ve been worrying about them since we were freshmen.”

“Obviously! They’re my ticket out of this town. It’s not safe here anymore.”

Robin and Jonathan share a look. They know what you’re referring to: the Hawkins Hacker.

The Hacker is the town's own slasher. He claimed victims every year around homecoming for years and years, until 2016, when he suddenly stopped. However, just last night he killed again. The whole town—including your stepbrother Phil, who’s a cop—are on edge.

“Do you need a ride home?” Jonathan asks, spinning his car keys in his hand.

“No, it’s okay,” you say. “My stepmom’s on her way. And there are plenty of people around. I’m totally safe!”

Famous last words.

Literally. (Almost.)

“You sure?” Robin questions. “Because he’s taking me and Nancy home too, but he’s got an extra seat!”

“I’m good,” you say. You hold up your cell phone. “She texted me an hour ago to say she’d get me on time. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, okay?”

Your friends look a little worried, but you wave them off. Game attendees meander out of the school and head to their cars. It’s a sea of people. You’re fine.

However, the minutes tick by, and the crowd thins out. You watch the away team hop a school bus and zip back to their hometown. You feel the temperature of your tiger suit inch up a few degrees when you see Steve wander to his BMW with a couple teammates in tow.

It’s considerably quieter than it was when you first left the game. You text your stepmom LeAnn once, twice. Then you call her once, twice, three times. A third text, a fourth call. Nothing. Radio silence.

By now, it’s dead quiet. Everyone is gone. You feel an icy chill zip down your spine, like you’re being watched…

You miss your father. He died about a year ago, and he was always on time.

You startle when the phone in your hand buzzes. It’s your stepbrother Phil.

“Hey!” you say. “Where’s LeAnn?”

“Passed out again,” Phil says with a beleaguered sigh. “Where are you? Did Jonathan give you a ride home?”

“No, I told him your mom was coming to get me,” you say. “Can you—”

Beep! Beep! Beep!

You pull the phone away from your ear and groan. It’s dead. Just great.

A streetlight across the parking lot flickers. When your eyes adjust, your heart drops through your stupid mascot feet and to the center of the earth: there’s a man watching you.

You can’t tell, but it looks like he’s wearing a mask. You gulp, panic stretching itself through every fiber of your being.

“Please don’t be the Hawkins Hacker,” you mumble to yourself. “Please don’t be the Hacker. Please don’t be the Hacker.”

The Man continues to stare. Something glints in his hand. It frightens you.

“My stepbrother is on his way!” you yell, hoping to scare him off. “He’s a cop. With a gun.”

That doesn’t seem to bother the man at all. In fact, you see him walk toward you—a slow, Michael-Meyers-esque stride that has you shrieking in fear and stumbling to the school doors.

You yank at them to no avail. You don’t bother looking back and instead run around the school building to the football field. Panting from exertion and sheer fear, you duck under the bleachers and hide behind a big banner.

You slap a hand over your mouth to quiet your panicked whimpers. Why oh why did you trust LeAnn to get you on time, when every night for the past month she’s drank a whole bottle of chardonnay at 6 p.m. and passed out? Why didn’t you go with Jonathan when he offered? Hell, why didn’t you ask Steve for a ride? He’s a nice guy! He would’ve done it!

Now, you’re hiding from a slasher in a stupid rubber gray mask. And if you die and come back as a ghost, you’ll be wearing the Hawkins High mascot suit for all eternity.

You watch the Hackers’ feet as he stands in front of the bleachers and listen as he steps on them. He seems to think you’ve left, and you hear him wander off.

Or, so you think. Actually, he sneaks up behind you and grabs your leg, yanking you out from your hiding place.

You scream and kick at him, hitting him right in the nose and giving you the chance to run.

You don’t get far, though. He tackles you somewhere around the fifty-yard line.

“No! No!” you scream as he raises the knife above you. The knife has a spider carved in the handle with red ruby eyes. “Please! No!”

You push at him, knocking his mask off. His face is gaunt: all sallow cheekbones and purple under-eye bags. His eyes are a dull, washed-out blue, and his blonde hair is scraggly and unwashed.

You hate that his face is the last face you’ll ever see.

He plunges the dagger into your shoulder just a few inches shy of your heart and you scream in pain, the bloodcurdling sound echoing across the football field. The Hacker hisses in pain and drops the knife. He touches his shoulder and looks angry at the sight of blood on his fingertips.

His blood. From the wound that appeared on his shoulder after he stabbed you in the same spot.

Bang! Bang!

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Phil roars from across the football stadium, gun raised in the air.

The Hacker stumbles to his feet and ambles off. Still prone on the ground, you turn on your stomach and watch him go, shocked at what you witnessed. How did he get stabbed?

You’re in so much shock, you don’t even realize that Phil is by your side until he gently helps you sit up.

“You’re okay!” he says, voice tinged with an urgency you’ve never heard from him before. “I’ve got you, okay? I’ve got you.”

“It hurt him too,” you mutter, a bit delirious. “It hurt him too!”

“Try to stay calm, okay?” Phil says. “You’re in shock. I got you, Y/N.”

You hear him bark into his radio: “This is Officer Callahan! Send an RA unit to the Hawkins High football field! My stepsisters’ been stabbed!”

The rest of your evening is a blur. You get patched up by paramedics and then taken to the police station to give a statement.

LeAnn arrives as you’re sitting with the sketch artist, crying and screaming and apologizing a million times. You forgive her (even though you aren’t sure you want to), and later that night, you hear Phil chewing her out for drinking and forgetting you again.

“She could’ve died, Mom!” you hear him yell as you lie in bed and try to sleep. “If I had been just a minute too late, we would’ve lost her and Allen in the span of 11 months!”

“I’m sorry!” LeAnn sobs. “I just had one glass—”

“One glass, Mom?! Try the whole bottle!”

Despite your anger at her, your heart breaks for LeAnn. You know your dad’s death has been hard on her. She hasn’t been doing too well since he passed, but sometimes you wish she’d realize you weren’t doing that great either. Phil tries to comfort you both, but he’s so busy with work, his pep talks are usually thirty seconds long between bites of a bagel before he’s rushing off to save Hawkins again.

Your phone blows up with texts and DMs. Somehow, the kids at school found out what happened and won’t stop messaging you for details on your encounter with the Hacker. You can’t deal with it. Except, there are some messages that you do respond to:

---

Text Thread with BOBBIN and JONNY B GOOD

BOBBIN: Oh my God!!! Y/N are you okay??? Please text back!!!

JONNY B GOOD: We saw what happened on the news. Please text us when you have a chance. We’re worried about you and thinking of you rn.

BOBBIN: WE’RE FREAKING OUT!!! ARE YOU OKAY???

JONNY B GOOD: Robin, just chill. She’s probably resting.

BOBBIN: Please don’t die and leave me alone to third wheel Nancy and Jonathan!!

JONNY B GOOD: Wooooow.

YOU: Wow is right. I got stabbed and those are your priorities?

BOBBIN: SHE LIVES!!!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!

YOU: Yep, I’m alive. I’m really sorry but I feel like shit. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?

JONNY B GOOD: Of course. We’re here when you need us.

BOBBIN: WE LOVE YOU <3

YOU: <3

---

DMs from steve.anthony.h83

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Hey Y/N I saw the news I rly hope ur OK

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Hi Steve, thank you for reaching out. It means a lot to me. I’m not feeling too good right now.

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Im sry to here that that sux 😞😢💔

---

God, even his text message typos and cheesy emoji usage are endearing. You’re in too deep with this crush.

---

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Yeah. But I think I’ll be okay.

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Anything I can do 2 help? Maybe I can get u smtg, wats ur fav candy?

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Oh, that’s sweet, but you don’t have to do that!

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): I want too 😃 do u like nougat

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): I love nougat!

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Perfect 😃 Ill bring u sum tmrw after school 🍫

YOU (y/n.y/l/n86): Thank you, Steve ❤️

STEVE (steve.anthony.h83): Feel better Y/N 😃😃

You go to sleep, shaken up but in slightly higher spirits thanks to your conversation with Steve.

🔪🔪🔪

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13th, 2023

You blink awake hours later, startled at the sight around you.

You aren’t in your room. You’re lying on a mattress on a concrete floor. The room around you is full of weird stuff: grandfather clocks, paintings upon paintings of black widow spiders, and mannequins with nails in their faces like Pinhead.

“What the hell!” you say. You gasp and clutch your neck. “Why is my voice so deep?!”

You stagger to your feet and look around the creepy space. Why are you further from the floor than usual? In the corner, you see a mirror half-covered with a sheet. You yank it off and gasp.

“AHHHH! IT’S THE HAWKINS HACKER!” you scream.

The Hacker screams as well. You reach your hand toward the glass—and the Hacker reaches his hand toward it as well. You pull it away and so does he.

The you in the reflection is the Hacker. Holy shit.

You realize where you are: the old mill. Phil told you to stay away from this place because it’s where drug deals go down, and where Eleanor Gillespie got attacked by birds that one time.

You rush away before you can freak out too much. You head downtown, mind swirling.

This must just be a nightmare. Right? A really, really realistic, terrifying lucid dream.

But when you hit your head on a tree branch (because you’re way, way taller than you used to be) and it actually hurts, you realize it’s not a dream. You’re really the Hawkins Hacker. Somehow, you’ve swapped bodies with a homicidal maniac.

You need to find Phil. He’s been your stepbrother for a decade now and you trust him more than anyone else. He might be able to know what to do—or just be a shoulder to cry on.

You pass an electronics store, and your heart sinks when you see your face—the Hackers’ face—on TV.

“The Hawkins Hacker has been identified as Henry Creel,” the news anchor says, showing a photo of the face that you are unfortunately saddled with now. “He’s most known for killing his mother, father, and sister as a teenager—and also for driving a Jeep Wrangler through a Dairy Queen drive-through window without a license.”

“Hey!” someone shouts nearby, having connected the dots. “You’re the killer guy from TV!”

You don’t even stop to see who’s yelling at you before you run as fast as you can, ducking through alleyways to lose whoever’s chasing you.

You can’t go to the police station now that your face is plastered all over the news and social media. But you need an ally, or allies.

Besides Phil, the people you trust the most are Robin and Jonathan. You sneak into Hawkins High through the gymnasium doors, wishing you had your mascot head to hide under. Then, you take a quick shower in the locker rooms and hide until class change is done.

You slink through the empty hallways and make it to the school’s auditorium. That’s where you, Robin, and Jonathan spend study hall every day.

You open the door to the theater as quiet as a mouse, hiding in the wings for a moment when you overhear them talking about you.

“I hope Y/N’s doing okay,” Robin says with a sigh. She takes a bite of an apple and says through chews, “Why did she blow us off earlier?”

“Give her a break, Rob,” Jonathan says. “She’s probably really shaken up. But it is weird that she even came to school anyway. I wonder—”

“Guys!” you say, stepping onto the stage. “It’s me! Don’t freak out.”

They immediately freak out.

“AHHHHH!!! THE HACKER!!!” Robin screams. She chucks an apple core at your head and it bounces between your eyes. You stumble back and groan.

“COME ON!” Jonathan says, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from your, fear flashing in both of their eyes.

“Wait!” you shout. “Come back!”

You follow them as they run through the hallways and end up in the school cafeteria’s kitchen. A lunch lady shrieks and runs out when she sees you.

“Stop!” you call, following Robin and Jonathan to the back room. “Wait! Please just hear me out.”

Jonathan snatches up a soup ladle and hits you in the spine with it.

“ARGH! Dude, stop!”

Robin grabs a tray of mozzarella sticks and lifts it above her head. The sticks go flying when she whacks you in the head. Repeatedly.

Angry that they won’t stop hitting you, you yank the tray out of Robin’s hand and toss it away. Your newfound strength the body you’ve found yourself in possesses surprises you. The old you would’ve grappled with Robin a lot longer before getting the tray from her, if you even got it at all.

Robin tries to jump on your back piggyback-style to tackle you to the ground, and you elbow her in the stomach.

“Cut that out!” you bark as she wheezes.

Jonathan hits you again with the ladle and you shove his shoulder, a bit too hard. He falls on his butt and winces.

“Enough!” you say. “We’ve hit each other over and over. Can we agree we’re all tired and end this?!”

“No!” Jonathan says, pulling himself back to his feet by gripping a countertop. “You attacked our friend and now you’re attacking us!”

“I’m not attacking you!” you say. “I’m trying to get you to listen. I am not Henry Creel. I am not the Hawkins Hacker. I’M Y/N! YOUR FRIEND Y/N Y/L/N!”

“As if!” Robin scoffs. “I’m calling 911.”

You snatch the phone from her hands and hold it high above your head. She’s tall, but not tall enough to reach it thanks to your longer arms.

“I promise!” you beg, holding your other arm up in surrender. “It’s me. It’s Y/N!”

“Yeah, right!” Jonathan says darkly. He picks up the ladle again, wielding it like a lethal weapon. “Tell us something only Y/N would know or we’re going to the cops.”

“What’s Y/N’s favorite movie?” Robin asks, eyes narrowed.

“I tell everyone it’s Casablanca but it’s The Muppets Take Manhattan!”

“Favorite candy?” Jonathan demands.

“Three Musketeers because I feel guilty that everyone shits on nougat when it’s really not that bad!”

“Who’s Y/N’s biggest crush?” Robin asks.

The face that’s not yours blushes deeply.

“Duh,” you say. “It’s Steve the Hair Harrington.”

Jonathan and Robin share a look. A sense of realization flashes on their faces.

“Handshake?” you offer. You hand Robin her phone back and hold out your hands—or, Henry Creel’s hands—and wait.

Robin and Jonathan slap you five, before the three of you complete the intricate handshake you made up in seventh grade.

“Holy shit!” Robin shrieks, eyes shining. “You’re really Y/N!”

She pulls you and Jonathan in for a group hug and you laugh.

“Oh, thank god,” you say. “If you didn’t believe me, I don’t know what I’d—"

“Hold on,” Jonathan says, pulling out of the hug. “If you’re actually Y/N, that means the Hawkins Hacker is going around school wearing your face!”

“Oh damn,” Robin says. “Is that why you look hot today?”

“What do you mean I look hot?” you say, trying not to take offense to the implication that you don’t look hot every day.

Robin opens Instagram and shows you a photo posted to the student-run Hawkins High Gossip Instagram page. It’s a blurry photo of you (or Henry Creel in your body) walking in the hall past Billy and his asshole friends, who are checking you out. Instead of your usual mousy wardrobe of flowy skirts and cardigans, you’re wearing a tight black tank top, a red leather jacket, and bright red lipstick.

“Hot damn!” you blurt out. “I do look hot! Shit, have I hurt anyone? Or, has he hurt anyone?”

Jonathan grimaces.

“Tommy H. was found unconscious in the chem lab,” he says. “He was mostly fine, except his eyebrows were burned clean off…”

“But if fake-you did that,” Robin says quickly, “you aren’t liable because you weren’t in control of your body!”

“I don’t even know how we body-swapped in the first place!” you lament. “How do I get control of my body back?!”

“Let’s think about this,” Jonathan says. “Maybe it was some kind…spell? Or enchantment?”

“Enchantment?!” you snap. “Dude, be for real!”

“Wait,” Robin says, eyes shining. “I heard about this!”

She opened the internet app on her phone and went to www,theweeklywatcher,com/body-swap.

“No fucking way,” you say. “The Weekly Watcher is not a refutable source!”

“Why not?!” she says, scrolling ferociously until— “Ah! Found it.”

She shows you an article about the mythology of body swapping. At first, you roll your eyes, but then—

“That knife!” you gasp. “That’s the knife he had!”

You point to the photo, featuring the ruby-eyed spider in the knife handle.

“According to this,” Jonathan says, “that knife is an artifact that was used in ancient rituals."

“If you’re struck with the blade when the clock strikes midnight,” Robin reads, “you and your attacker switch places. And you have 24 hours to stab him and switch back.” 

“No, no, no!” you groan. “That means we only have 12 hours left!”

“That’s plenty of time,” Jonathan says. “Where’s the knife? You have it, right?”

“No!” you say. “Phil took it as evidence.”

“So we’ll just steal it from the police station,” Robin says, as if it’s easy and obvious.

“Oh, sure,” you lament. “We’ll just waltz into the police station while I have the face and body of a mass murderer and steal evidence. Easy-peasy!”

“We’ll figure something out,” Jonathan says. “Come on.”

The three of you head toward the exit and end up walking past the woodshop classroom. You do a double-take and watch yourself enter the hallway. Or, you watch the Hawkins Hacker parade around as you.

“Hey, stop!” you shout at Henry Creel. He pauses and turns. A shiver runs down your spine at the dark, evil look gracing your features. Features you’ve seen your whole life, features you’ve struggled to like after years of taunting and bullying. Now, they’re marred with the evil spirit of the Hawkins Hacker.

Yet, goddamn. You look hot with red lipstick. Who knew slashers had good fashion sense?

“Don’t try to run,” Jonathan says, the waver in his voice indicating that his bravery is false. “We’ve got you cornered.”

The Hacker suddenly changes expressions. Instead of a nasty glare, he opens his eyes wide, covers his cheeks with his hands, and shrieks: “AHHHH! IT’S THE HAWKINS HACKER! GET HIM!”

A couple cops run around the corner of the hall and you curse, rushing toward a side door with Robin and Jonathan in tow.

“GET YOUR KEYS!” you yell. “We have to get out of here or I’m headed to jail forever!”

Jonathan struggles to start his car, but he peels away just before the cops can stop you all. After your first-ever police chase, you three lose your tail in the parking lot of the big-box store LeAnn works at.

You hide out in a changing room while Jonathan and Robin find you a disguise—a plastic Halloween mask of Bill Clinton’s face.

“I can’t see or breathe in this thing,” you grumble as your friends lead you back to the car.

“If you get arrested,” Robin points out, “you won’t be able to switch back.”

You bite your tongue from any further complaints, too worried about just that.

“So, what’s the plan?” Jonathan asks, once you all are back in his car. “How can we get the knife?”

“About that,” Robin says. “I think we need to bring in your stepbrother.”

“If Phil doesn't believe us, we're in big trouble!” you protest.

“He’s an ally!” Robin shoots back. “And we need one if we’re going to…oh shit.”

She holds up her phone screen for you and Jonathan to see. You squint through the eye holes of your uncomfortable mask and gasp when you realize what’s going on.

“Fuck!” you groan. “What the hell is he doing?!”

It’s another post from the school gossip Insta. The Hawkins Hacker is schmoozing with Billy and his clique of jerks at the local indoor mini-golf place. You watch in the video as he leans into Billy’s ear and whispers something before sauntering off.

The caption of the post says, “OMG is Y/N Y/L/N like, hot now?!”

“I resent this!” you snap. “Why is everyone under the impression that I’m not hot all the time?!”

“No, no, no!” Jonathan gasps. “Look!”

At the tail end of the video, you see Nancy and Steve follow Henry Creel into the glow-in-the-dark golf course.

“They’re going to get killed!” he says, turning the ignition in his car with shaking hands and reversing haphazardly, almost taking out a mulberry bush as he speeds toward the golf place. “Robin, call Nancy now.”

“She’s not picking up!” Robin says, phone to her ear. “I’ll text!”

Your stomach churns with anxiety. If the Hacker kills Nancy and Steve while he’s in your body and you switch back, you’ll feel guilty forever. You’ll also go to jail. But if you don’t switch back, you’ll go to jail as Henry! This is all too much.

You’re certain the pale face that doesn’t belong to you is green right now as Jonathan drives like a racecar driver to save his girlfriend and your crush from “your” wrath.

🔪🔪🔪

Steve’s not sure what’s gotten into you today.

First, you showed up to school. That was surprising after your attack.

“Hey!” he had said when you walked into woodshop class. “How you feeling?”

You hadn’t responded, but you had looked quite intrigued when he accidentally cut his finger working on his birdhouse.

“Ah, shit,” he’d grumbled. “Do you have a—”

You leaned over and licked the blood clean off his finger. It startled him—and annoyed him when that freak Eddie Munson mumbled, “Whoa, that’s hot,” from across the worktable.

Steve’s cheeks glowed rosy red, flustered at your boldness. But you’d left class before he could do or say anything about it (or give you the candy he brought for you).

And now, after school, you’re standing with Billy and whispering salacious things into his ear. Since when do you like Billy? Billy, the guy that throws things at you? Billy, the guy that wrote “Y/N Y/L/N is an ugly stupid bitch” on the bathroom stalls? Billy, the guy that didn’t give you the time of day until you dressed differently?!

Why doesn’t she like me?! Steve thought, trying to look unaffected as you continued flirting with Billy. He fails, the wrinkle between his brows getting deeper as you continue talking to Billy in a low voice.

“Steve,” Nancy says urgently, rushing up to him. “We need to talk.”

“Can it wait?” Steve says. He crosses his arms. “I don’t want to do anything right now except sulk.”

“Something’s really, really wrong,” Nancy continues, ignoring Steve’s pity party. “Jonathan’s MIA and isn’t messaging me back. And neither is Robin. And Carol claims she saw them earlier get in Jonathan’s car with a tall, blond weirdo.”

“So, maybe they have a new friend,” Steve says. He squeezes the handle of his mini-golf putter and watches you walk toward the glow-in-the-dark course. “I need to go talk to Y/N.”

“No!” Nancy hisses, following him as they cut through the crowds. She tucks her phone deep in her purse. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. The Hawkins Hacker is a tall, blond weirdo. Carol didn’t get a good look, but—”

“But you think your boyfriend and Robin are rubbing elbows with a killer? Nance, that’s bullshit.”

“It’s not!” she snaps. “I think that, somehow, that tall blond weirdo is actually Y/N and that girl that you’re going to go talk to is the Hacker.”

“That makes no goddamn sense,” Steve says. “Body-swapping isn’t possible.”

“Just listen to me! I was reading an article in The Weekly Watcher…”

Nancy follows Steve into the course, whispering her findings and bringing up Y/N’s odd behavior as they navigate the dark room lit up with black lights.

The more he listens, the more it makes sense. You’re not acting like yourself. But it still seems too far-fetched.

“I don’t know, Nance,” Steve says, scanning the room for you. “I think you need to stop listening to Robin so much.”

Swish! The beaded curtain leading into the next section of the course rattles as Henry Creel barrels through.

“Nancy! Steve!” he yells. “Watch out!”

Henry pushes them to the side and grabs Y/N’s hand—huh, when did you sneak up behind Steve and Nancy? The Hacker twists your wrist and you cry out.

“Y/N!” Steve shouts, rushing forward to protect you. Before he can, Jonathan and Robin grab his arms.

“No, no, let them fight!” Robin says.

“Let go of me!” Steve snaps.

He watches, helpless, as the Hawkins Hacker punches you between the eyes and you crumple like sand.

“Whoa, cool!” Henry Creel says, turning around and facing the four teens with an excited glimmer in his eye. “I’ve never knocked someone out with one punch before.”

“Wait!” Nancy says. “Am I right?”

“Right about what?” Jonathan asks.

“Did Henry and Y/N…switch bodies?”

Henry (or, Y/N?) puts his hands on his hips.

“Girl, how did you know?”

It all becomes too much for Steve. He blacks out.

🔪🔪🔪

When Steve wakes, he’s lying on the Byers’ couch. Henry Creel sits on a kitchen chair next to him.

Steve opens his mouth to scream.

“Wait!” Henry says. “Steve, don’t freak out. It’s me! I know I look like the Hacker, but it’s Y/N!”

Across the room, the person that looks like you is tied to another kitchen chair.

“Steve, don’t listen to him!” Y/N laments. “He’s crazy! He brainwashed these three idiots into working for him!”

“Who are you calling idiot, idiot?” Robin snaps.

“Steve, I was right,” Nancy explains patiently, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Y/N and Henry Creel have switched places.”

“No!” the tied-up Y/N shrieks. “Please! Steve, look at me.”

Steve turns his head toward her.

“No!” Henry says. “Look at me, Steve.”

Steve turns back toward the Hacker/potential real you.

“Steve!” the tied-up Y/N groans, trying to sound in distress but actually moaning like a Bridgerton reject. “Steve! Steeeeeeeve!”

“Oh, dry up, bitch!” Robin snaps.

“Jesus Christ, Robin!” Henry says. “Don’t talk to him like that when he’s got my face. That’s rude.”

“This is all too much,” Steve says, jumping to his feet. “I—I can’t be here.”

He darts toward the door, but before he can exit the Byers house, Henry stands and says, “We danced together at our freshman year Snow Ball!”

Steve pauses with his hand on the door handle.

“It was in the parking lot,” Henry continues. “You were vaping and I was leaving early, because truthfully, I was having a terrible time. But I saw you, and you saw me, and we split a snowflake-shaped sugar cookie and talked for, like, half an hour. And then someone propped the doors open and we could hear the DJ, and he was playing that creepy ’80s song about always watching someone, and we ragged on the lyrics for being weird and stalker-y. But you asked me if I wanted to dance, and we did for half a minute, and then my dad came to pick me up and I left. But that was the most fun I had had all semester and it gave me a fat, embarrassing crush on you. And I really, really wish I wasn’t a total coward, or I would’ve told you way sooner than our senior year—and when I wasn’t in the body of a serial killer.”

Steve watches the way Henry nervously wrings his hands—he recognizes it as a habit of yours. For a long minute, he’s not sure what to think.

🔪🔪🔪

For a long minute, you’re not sure what to think.

You just blurted out your secret crush on Steve Harrington to Steve Harrington, and he’s staring at you like he doesn’t understand you.

But then, he gives you a small smile.

“Maybe this is weird to say while you’re in the body of a serial killer,” Steve says, “but I have a fat, embarrassing crush on you, too.”

Your heart soars.

“Pathetic,” the fake-you/the Hacker grumbles. “You’re both cowards. I can’t wait to gut you like a fish.”

“That’s enough!” Nancy says sharply, shoving a sock into the Hacker’s mouth. He glares up at her with your face, but Nancy doesn’t even flinch.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” Jonathan says, “let’s divide and conquer. I’ll stay here to keep an eye on murder Barbie.”

He nods in the direction of the scowling, incapacitated Hacker.

“And I’ll drive the rest of us to the police station,” Nancy says. “Y/N, you’ll stay in the car while we distract your stepbrother and steal that knife back. He should be the only one working, because everyone else is hunting you. Er, Henry.”

“Knife?” Steve asks. “What knife?”

“It’s a spooky, magic dagger and it’s the reason Y/N and Henry Creel are swapped!” Robin says.

Steve blinks once, twice.

“Right. Totally. That makes sense.”

“Let’s go!” you say. “We have four more hours to do this!”

🔪🔪🔪

While Nancy and Robin go to get the knife, you and Steve wait in the car.

It’s a little awkward, due to the circumstances. When you imagined sitting in the backseat of a car with Steve Harrington, you hoped for something a little more amorous. Not you in the body of the Hawkins Hacker.

You start to feel a little brave and even consider reaching for his hand to hold—when you see the fake you running down the sidewalk and into the station.

“What?!” you say. “How’d he get out?!”

“Shit,” Steve says. “You stay out of sight, I’ll try and stop him.”

“No!” you say. “My stepbrother’s in there! I have to go help. You stay here and call Jonathan! Make sure he’s okay.”

Steve frowns but nods, agreeing to stay behind.

When you bolt into the police station, you see Phil with his hand on his holster, glaring at Robin and Nancy. Fake you feigns a frightened gasp and runs behind him when you enter, and Phil pulls his gun and points it at you. You throw your hands up.

“Don’t shoot!” you squeak.

“Kill him!” Henry says from his hiding spot.

“Don’t! Stop!” Robin and Nancy shout.

You see the spider dagger on the ground by your friends’ feet. Before you can try and grab it, Henry does and runs out of the station.

Phil doesn’t even give him a second look.

“Put your hands behind your head,” he says to you, “and walk slowly into the cell.”

“This is a mistake!” you protest, but following his instructions so you don’t get pumped with lead.

“Please, Officer Callahan,” Robin begs.

“We’re telling the truth,” Nancy says, “just—”

“Quiet, you two!” he barks. “You! Keep walking.”

You gulp and step into the cell.

“Do you remember what I got you for Christmas in 2017?” you ask.

“Shut up,” Phil says. You glance behind. He still has the gun pointed at your back, but you see his hands shaking. And his finger’s not on the trigger.

“It was a pack of limited-edition Pokémon cards,” you continue. “Mint condition. With a holographic Charizard. But I didn’t realize I ordered a rip-off pack called Pokeymans, so it was actually a Chumpizard card.”

“How the fuck do you know that?!” Phil demands, voice shaking in tandem with his hands.

“Because I’m not the Hawkins Hacker!” you say. “I’m really Y/N. And…I’m sorry about this.”

With Henry Creel’s strength, you knock the gun out of Phil’s hands. It skitters across the floor, and you yank him by the arm into the cell.

He stumbles against the back wall and you step out, closing the door and locking him inside.

“HEY!” Phil screams, yanking at the bars. “LET ME OUT!”

“I’m so sorry!” you say. “But it’s really me. I have to hunt that bitch down and stab him with the stolen dagger and then our bodies will switch back and things will be normal again!”

“STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!” Phil roars, evidently not buying into the body-swap story.

Touched, you clasp your hands to your chest.

“Wait, you called me your sister!” you say. “Not stepsister! That’s so sweet. You’re my brother, Phil. And I’m going to make things right.”

Phil furrows his brow, confused, as you run out with Nancy and Robin in tow.

Jonathan and Steve meet you three out front.

“Your brother can’t drive for shit!” Steve says. “He just almost ran us over with his squad car.” “That wasn’t Phil!” you say. “It was Henry! He stole his cop car. But why? Where the fuck is he going?”

“Earlier this evening,” Nancy says urgently, “I heard you—uh, him—tell Billy that they should throw a homecoming party at the old mill, since they canceled the real dance.”

“That’s where he lives!" you say. "His homebase. It’s where I woke up this morning.”

“It’s his hunting ground,” Robin says darkly. “No doubt he’ll be killing teens left and right.”

“We have to stop him,” Jonathan says.

“No shit, Byers!” Steve says. “Let’s go!”

🔪🔪🔪

When you arrive at the mill, your group agrees to split up.

“Wait!” Steve says, before you dart off. “Hold out your arm.”

You hesitate and do as he says. He attaches his watch to your wrist.

“I always have it set for five minutes ahead,” Steve explains. “So I’m not late to stuff. So we have 30 minutes to find the Hacker, get the knife, and do the switch.”

“Everyone keep your phones close,” Jonathan says. “Move out!”

You divide and conquer, searching the party of wild, drunk teenagers for the evil man wearing your face. Eventually, you find him in an empty back room — towering over an unconscious Billy with an axe in hand, ready to whack the bully in the skull.

“WAIT!” you yell. “STOP!”

The Hacker freezes and turns, giving you an evil smile. You see the hilt of the magical dagger shining in a sheath attached to his belt. 

“It’s you again,” he spits.

“Yes, hi,” you say. “It’s me. And I’m going to ask you to put the axe down before I make you.”

The Hacker cackles.

“Really?” he says. “Even in your pathetic, puny body, I could overpower you in half a second. Plus, this jerk makes your life hell. Don’t you want me to finish him off?”

“No!” you snap. “Because I’m not a monster like you!”

You notice Jonathan in a doorframe behind the Hacker, staying out of his eyeline.

“What’s your problem, man?” you ask, hoping to distract him so Jonathan can take him by surprise. “Why do you kill people?”

“Do you really want to know why?” Henry asks. You nod.

“Well, guess what: there’s no reason. None at all. I kill people because I think it’s fun!”

“You’re sick,” you mutter.

He grins evilly.

“And you’re my next vict—Argh!”

Jonathan interrupts the Hacker’s evil spiel by hitting him in the back of the skull with a fire extinguisher. The murderer crumples to the ground, the axe flying out of his reach.

He doesn’t stay down for long. Thankfully, you’re able to tackle him and snatch the magical knife into your hand.

You raise it above your head, and—

Beep. Beep. Beep.

You gasp and look at Steve’s watch. The timer is done. You’re out of time.

The Hacker laughs and laughs and laughs.

“Shit,” you say, tears of anger and despair welling up in your eyes. “Shit! I’m stuck like this!”

“I win!” the Hacker cackles. “You’ll be tossed in jail, and I’ll be free to keep killing. I think I'll stab your little boyfriend Steve next.”

You’re about to drop the dagger and run, unsure of where to go or what to do, when Jonathan says: “Wait, the clock tower!”

You whip your head over to look at him, brow furrowed.

“The clock tower in the library!” Jonathan continues. “It’s not going off! You still have time!”

Puzzle pieces fall into place.

“Steve sets his watch five minutes ahead,” you say, glancing at your wrist.

Henry Creel’s eyes widen, and then you plunge the dagger into his shoulder.

You feel strange, like you’re floating in the air. Then, suddenly, both you and the Hacker are thrown backward.

When you hazily blink and sit up, you see the Hacker doing the same.

“It worked!” you say, face splitting into a grin.

The Hacker glares at you. You feel a chill down your spine. But before he can do or say anything, your brother swoops in with his gun raised.

“Hands where I can see them!” Phil yells. The Hacker grumbles but obeys. You and Jonathan skirt away from him as Phil slaps handcuffs on the killer and drags him into a squad car.

“Y/N!” Robin shouts, running over with Nancy and Steve in tow. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m okay,” you say. You wince and grip your shoulder. “Except I reopened my shoulder wound, and I think I’m going to have really, really freaky dreams every night for the rest of my life.”

Phil races back over once his colleagues have Henry Creel in custody, fussing over you like a mother (brother) hen. You find yourself seated in the back of an ambulance with a freshly bandaged shoulder.

After Phil steps away to debrief Chief Hopper on the arrest (and to lock the magical dagger away once and for all), Steve wanders over.

“Can I sit here?” he asks, gesturing vaguely next to you on the back bumper of the ambulance. You nod and scoot over.

“How’s your arm?” Steve asks.

“It’s mine again,” you say, “so it feels amazing, despite the stab wound.”

“I’m definitely glad to see you as yourself again,” Steve says, cheeks flushing pink. He looks down at his fidgeting hands, the epitome of bashful, when he adds, “Actually, now that you’re yourself again, I was going to ask if you wanted to go on a date with me sometime.”

Your insides melt.

“Really?” you practically squeal, trying not to sound too eager. “Ah, I mean. That would be cool, or whatever.”

Before you can convince yourself not to, you give Steve a quick kiss on the cheek. He beams at you, but you both roll your eyes when you hear Robin, Jonathan, and Nancy hoot and holler from a few yards away.

Everything will be fine, now. You’ll be fine. That’s what you tell yourself when Phil drives you home and LeAnn gives you a million hugs and says how happy she is that you’re okay. That’s what you tell yourself when you fall asleep after having a lovely text conversation with Steve. That’s what you tell yourself when you have nightmares about being stuck as the Hacker forever, nightmares where he escapes jail and kills you (and everyone you love) once and for all.

But you tell yourself it’s fine, that you’re fine. That nothing is wrong, despite the chill down your spine that can’t quite go away.

🔪🔪🔪

a/n a happy yet spooky ending. is everything really fine? is the hacker really gone for good? maybe I'll write a sequel one day. or maybe I won't, as to not torture y/n any more.

tag list: @hollandweather @starry-eyed-steve @aloneinthehellfire @a-dealwith-god

if any of my mutuals (or anyone else) would like to be tagged in any of my future steve fics, lmk!

[doriandrifting]

815 Gate: 008 is 001’s “5 star general”.

Season Two shows us Kali’s crew in the very first episode, but it isn’t until Chapter Seven: The Lost Sister, that we meet 008 and her friends. This is episode fifteen of the series.

Dustin: You're going to crack the case, Steve.

Steve-the-hair-Harrington: *cracks a literal case*

Before this interaction, Nancy says, "The answers are here. Somewhere." A few beats later, Steve drops Dustin's bag and we get a zoom in on it. We see a ghostbuster's pin that references their costumes in Season Two.

So let's go back there, shall we? We'll start on Seventh Street.

"They turn to you, remove their [masks]."

This is not to mention the visual parallels between the Mind Flayer's possession and 008's powers:

Regardless of whether Kali had anything to do with this specific instance, as it was shown to be the Mind Flayer, the parallel is sinister. Character symbolism is also already happening from the moment we see her on screen. She's wearing gloves and covering her mouth—a classic sign that a character is hiding something.

The very next shot after that is this:

One grave reads: “Ashes to Ashes / Dust to Dust / Here lies someone I wouldn't trust.”

Meanwhile in Season Four:

A graveyard with a hand.

Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust.

Here lies a sister I wouldn't trust...

The police standing around and not seeing anything directly parallels the abilities we see Kali display in Season 2. Not to mention, the dogs in the neighborhood are clearly seeing something that we're not! Dogs in media are commonly shown to perceive the supernatural, hence why the dogs are barking when Fred and Chrissy get cursed, and yet they're noticeably silent when Steve, Nancy, Robin, Max, and Dustin return as a group. The dogs could see past Kali's illusions.

This is more theorizing than solid evidence but, I think Season Four was Stranger Things' Freddy vs. Jason moment. We quite literally have Eddie vs. Jason, and also a character named Fred who tells us he's rooting against Jason's team winning. They've also cast the actor who played Freddy, Robert Englund, as Victor Creel, and there's a cardboard cut out of Freddy at Family Video. Vecna's hand was inspired by Freddy and a whole bunch of other things, so this isn't a major reach (maybe lol).

Anyway, in Freddy vs. Jason, the townspeople of Springwood have forgotten Freddy Krueger. The ones who do remember him are sent to a mental institution as a government coverup. (I'm not suggesting that is what has happened in Hawkins, but the inspiration is clearly there as Nancy and Robin take a trip to Pennhurst to gather information from the only person who seems to know anything about the case. Henry being taken is also covered up by the government.)

Because no one remembers Freddy Krueger, he's been trapped in Hell and unable to invade children's dreams using their fear. ("Dream a little dream of me" + "Welcome to Hawkins Hell") Freddy sets Jason Voorhees on a killing spree in order to manipulate the children of Springwood into remembering him. Essentially the murders spread a wave of panic and Freddy's name gets tossed around until Freddy's power grows strong enough that he doesn't need Jason and can lure them himself. It leads to a showdown between them, yadayada.

So what does this have to do with Stranger Things? Well, we're told that Vecna is stalking his victims. Dustin says he's trying to build a strong psychic connection with them. We see as much while Vecna's in the Upside Down. But until this season, he never shows any of these vision abilities. He obviously always had them, but it seems like maybe he’s been unable to use them because of being stuck in an alternate dimension. Before this, he’s always relied on the Mind Flayer to physically possess characters like Will and Billy, but we don't see any of that this season. Max says, "All we know is this is something different. Something new."

I think, like Jason Voorhees, Kali was helping build Vecna's psychic connection to his victims. Once it was strong enough, Vecna was able to finish the job himself, opening the gates. This would account for the fact that our victims are seeing visions for awhile before they're actually killed. "Your time is almost at an end." Why not just kill them at that point? It doesn't make a lot of sense. There are also some inconsistencies at the name that Max is called. We also see lurking shots of the characters clearly being spied on, especially Mike. A big one that a lot of people noticed is the one in the junkyard where someone is watching through a car window. Who is watching our characters? Could it be Kali and the "cult of Vecna"? Kali is able to travel through the void, just like El, afterall. And maybe it's a coincidence, but Kali takes El to a junkyard in Season Two to help her train. Again, it seems to me like the writers are leaving a clue.

[edit: Someone pointed out that Kali is surprised by El explaining how she used the void, but I think that there’s reason to believe that she’s lying about that. The purpose of the Hawkins experiment was remote listening using the void. Kali is 20 years old in Season Two, meaning she’s 7 years older than El, but she is somehow completely unaware of the existence of the void? That doesn’t make sense, but El had basically no memory of her time at Hawkins, so it was an easy lie for Kali to tell.]

Besides this, there are so many visual parallels between the opening of Freddy vs. Jason and Season Four—the Molotov cocktail being thrown and setting Freddy on fire, a human puppet on flesh strings (“Master of Puppets” + Vecna’s tentacles making him look like a puppet on strings), etc.

Okay back to connections that I swear can't just be a coincidence (To preface this, I'm not saying the characters are aware of all of these things. IMO, most are just subtle clues being left by the writers/set designs, etc.):

When El goes to visit Kali, she walks into the warehouse and passes a giant Upside Down sign that says "To Paris". Next to it is a spray painted smiley face. This season, Jonathan's wall has a Paris sign and a smiley face balloon, and his tapestry is upside down. (The balloon and smiley face motif also floats around different scenes this season—Like a smiley face balloon by the Christmas lights at Benny's when Lucas wakes up. Another link to the Upside Down.)

El also passes a giant sprayed Magic 8 Ball at the entrance hallway, just like the one 010 was playing with in the lab at the opening of Season Four.

El asks Kali, "Are you real?" just as Max does to El this season.

The sign between Kali and El is a red hand and eye with broken lights that make it read "Spiritual ISOR [eyesore]" instead of Spiritual Advisor:

Downstairs, Axel throws knives at a painted target. It's a person with a heart drawn on it. Next to him is a giant spray painted crown. This is similar imagery to Mike in Will's painting this season.

Axel says something something, "You mean the loony bin," which (offensively) connects to the Pennhurst storyline in Season Four. Kali responds with, "Mick, our eyes, our protector."

Dottie asks to play a game. "Awh, come on. Just one hand." Mick's response is, "One hand leads to two hands, two hands leads to three, and before you know it, I'm as broke as Axel." (This connects to Vecna using his hand to curse people and the motif of four. Also mimics his signature phrase: "You will break.")

Axel has the exact mask from the one they slow zoom in on at Joyce's job:

Something similar happens where we get a long zoom in on a news paper stack. Later we see a piece has been torn out and placed in Will's locker with the phrase "Zombie Boy." The eyes have been crossed out in red marker, just like Vecna's victims losing their eyes. We're never given an explanation for how it got there. We're meant to assume a random bully did it. Some have theorized it was Will's crush who asked him to dance, but that makes little sense. But we are shown that Kali and her crew have a closet where they have a collage of newspaper clippings of all the people they're targeting taped to the wall. They've drawn on clippings in red and black marker. There's Xs through the faces of the ones they've killed.

How did Kali escape before the Rainbow Room Massacre? And why does she nearly verbatim repeat Henry's lines to El while asking her to pull a train? (Also note that while El was in the Rainbow Room, Brenner tells her a story about how she needs to "leave the train station." While Kali isn't aware of the story of Nina, it's another hint from the writers about how this episode is connected.)

"He found his strength in a memory that made him sad, but also angry," Henry tells El in the Rainbow Room. Is it possible that Henry had already gotten to Kali? Where did she learn this? (Both of their speeches are longer, but line by line they parallel.)

To reiterate, we see Kali in a junkyard—the same place we're shown that the California crew is being watched from. These are the only two scenes that the writers chose to take place in a junkyard. Not shown in the screenshot, but there's actually giant "NO."s spray painted on the walls inside the warehouse, always next to Kali. They follow her into the scene at the junkyard, and in the initial shot they obscure El with a bin, so it's just Kali in the background with a big 'ole "NO." in the foreground.

There's a door with a red window spray painted behind Kali like the Creel's door. (Although it's much more prominent when El first comes to the warehouse, we can also see the magic eight ball I mentioned earlier on the right side.)

Kali questions El about what she remembers of her. On the surface this might seem sentimental, but if Kali is working with Vecna, the reason behind this is because she's trying to figure out what El knows about what happened.

One character asks, "Yeah, what about a lullaby? Did you sing her one?" Another allusion to Vecna, but also the idea of singing someone a song, when we know music is a weakness of Vecna.

One character says, "You don't kill their men and expect them to look the other way." Kali responds with, "If they find us, they will release Hell." Another allusion to Hell that we see as a continuous theme in Season Four.

Vecna's army is supposed to be undead, and we get an interesting line from Funshine, "We were dead, all of us. Kali saved us here. And here." He gestures to his heart. Whether this is actually literal is up for debate. Maybe Kali used powers similar to El's and essentially brought these people back to life, which is why they feel they owe her (and by extension, Vecna) their service in hunting down her enemies.

Kali torments El by making her hallucinate Brenner:

Does this not sound exactly like Vecna? Is this not incredibly similar to what happens to Vecna's victims? For instance, Max, when she sees her mother? Not to mention Kali's face is completely devoid of empathy, and the half of her face that we can see is lit in a purplish red glow that is eerily reminiscent of Vecna.

This line is the line. In this scene, Kali is talking about her powers, but it actually takes on a double meaning. Throughout this conversation, she earns a lot of empathy from the viewer, but look at how half of her face is obscured in darkness again. Like El, Kali is only showing us what she wants us to see.

Pt. 2

[ohfallingdisco]

Nancy’s Pictures with Barb

Also known as, “4 Reasons Nancy Wheeler Has Been An Absolute, Closeted Bisexual This Whole Time”

So she has four noticeable photos with Barb up on her bulletin bord in her room: kissing faces, same-outfits-but-in-color, a Halloween costume picture, and a printed strip taken in a photo booth.

Let’s start off with Kissing Faces. Listen, I’m not saying Nancy has a type, but I’m not not saying it-

The picture with Barb is up on her bulletin board in her room. It’s fun how both of her love interests friends have their eyes closed when she’s looking at them like this, huh?

In the same-outfit picture…well, Barb looks like—you could see Steve, right?

Except Nancy looks consistently happier with Barb than she ever did with Steve. Her hair is free and curlier, they’re goofing around in sunglasses, and she’s got a watch displayed (which has only ever otherwise been a motif with Mike and Will, really).

Listen, I’m not gonna hate you if you say something else—but there’s clues Nancy is bisexual. She’s not unhappy with Jonathan, like Mike is with El, but she’s not all that different than how she was with Barb, either.

And the Halloween picture. Oh, what foreshadowing.

Barb is dressed like a clown, but also a Vecna victim: arms pulled back, fingers jagged, undereye makeup drawn on like blood. Oops.

Nancy is a bunny—an animal which is consistently associated with both her, and Henry Creel. Hmm…?

And the last: the photo booth strip.

There’s two of the same pinned up, which means she owns two copies. Nancy’s being playful and hanging off Barb, and in 2 out of 3, Barb’s grinning like there’s nothing she’d rather be doing. Nancy in these pictures feels very authentic—like this is the girl who would dress up as an elf for her little brother’s D&D campaign, with the same kind flirty happiness that Mike and Nancy can both give off.

Anyway, thought these were interesting lmao. The Wheelers are probably all somehow queer, right?

[aemiron-main]

The Invisible Belt- One Of Henry’s Weird Costume Details

So, I was looking at BTS photos again, and i still have so many questions regarding why Henry needed a stunt double in his dinner outfit. However, something else caught my eye in this picture- Henry’s belt.

At first glance, it seems like he isn’t wearing a belt. But when we look closer, we can see that he IS wearing a belt- a belt covered in the exact same fabric as his pants, right down to the metal buckle being covered in fabric.

He also has this belt in the show:

I don’t even have any particular theory on this, I just think it’s a really odd/interesting choice to make him a belt that makes it look like he’s not wearing a belt?? And I know there’s certain styles of pants that have belts built into them & made out of the same fabric, but what gets me about that is that generally, the buckles of those belts aren’t covered in fabric whereas Henry’s belt is, though fabric covered belts do exist, the combination of “fabric covered And covered in the same fabric as the pants/part of the pants” seems to be fairly uncommon.

It’s just a weird little detail I noticed that I wanted to point out!

[henrysglock]

Oh, hello Henry—I mean Eddie.

They fucking copy-pasted his outfit.

And not to mention the timeless classic:

“Henry Creel” Sure, Jan. I’m so convinced that this guy’s not Edward Creel 🙄😒

[foundtherightwords]

The Hollow Heart - Chapter 3

Pairing: Hellcheer, Gothic AU

Summary: To escape her mother's control and the stifling society of Gilded Age New York, heiress Christabel Cunningham impulsively marries Henry Creel, a charming and seductive stranger, and accompanies him to his remote mansion on the West Coast. There, as Henry grows cold and cruel, Christabel must uncover her husband's sinister secret before it's too late. But can she trust Kas, her husband's enigmatic assistant, who seems to be her only ally in this strange place, or is Kas's loyalty to his master stronger than his attraction to Christabel?

Chapter warnings: none (unless you count some controlling behavior from Mrs. Cunningham and Jason)

Chapter word count: 4.1k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

Chapter 3 - The Mighty Spell

"Have you lost your mind?" Mrs. Cunningham said. "I won't allow it!"

Christabel sighed. She knew this was how her mother would react to the news of her engagement, but there was a small part of her that still hoped and wished that her mother could have been happy for her.

"You've mistaken my meaning, Mother," she said, with as much calmness and dignity as she could muster. "I'm not asking for your blessing. I'm simply informing you. I am twenty-three years old, I don't need your permission to get married. And Henry and I are getting married, whether you like it or not."

"I am your mother!" hissed Mrs. Cunningham, glancing at the closed door of their suite, looking out for eavesdropping servants. "And I won't let you marry some upstart nobody! Why, his father could have been one of those gold hunters!" She closed her eyes briefly, the idea of her daughter marrying the son of a prospector too horrifying for her to contemplate. "I will lock you up if I have to!"

"You've used that threat once too often, Mother," said Christabel coldly. "Aren't you afraid of what people will say?"

Mrs. Cunningham sputtered in outrage, and Christabel's heart pounded with exhilaration. She had never been able to speak to her mother like that, but now, when freedom was so close she could practically taste it, it had given her a boost of courage. But her triumph was short-lived, for a vindictive glint came into her mother's eyes, and she said slowly, "Mrs. Carver told me Jason has made you an offer."

"Yes, and I refused him," Christabel said warily. Her mother was planning something, and she didn't like it. "Didn't Mrs. Carver tell you that?"

"She did," her mother continued in that same awful, calm voice. "But I told her it was just silliness. Now that you've had time to think it over, you have accepted him, and we're going to announce your engagement at the ball tonight."

Now Christabel thought it was her mother who had lost her mind. "What are you—"

"What would it look like then, when you run off to marry someone else? Aren't you afraid of what people will say?"

Christabel stared. She didn't imagine her mother could be this extreme in her control. "You would humiliate your own daughter?" she asked in disbelief.

Her mother was all smiles and sweetness now. "I'm only doing what's best for you, darling."

"Jason would never agree to it," Christabel said, desperate to regain some control.

"He already did," her mother said smugly. "Now go and try on your costume. I'll send a maid up to help you." She went out, and Christabel heard the lock click shut. So her mother had locked her in, for good measure.

Alone, Christabel slumped down on the bed and let the tears of anger and desperation flow down her face. They were all ganging up on her, including Jason. By publicly announcing the engagement, they would force her into it, binding her hands and silencing her voice just like a kidnapped bride of some savage land, and she didn't know if she had the strength to stand up to all three of them. If only she had Henry with her! Could she risk bribing one of the maids again? Or—who was that servant of his, the strange, rather impertinent young man? Perhaps she could find him and ask him to bring Henry a message...

But Christabel never had the chance to write a message, let alone to send one, for her mother didn't leave her alone for a moment that entire day. She hovered over Christabel, ordering the maid to tighten Christabel's corset so she could fit into her costume, and telling Christabel to stick to the soup at lunch if she still wanted it to fit by that evening. And then she spent the rest of the day supervising the maids in packing their trunks—they were returning to New York the next day—in a state of false cheerfulness that oppressed and infuriated Christabel, like a summer storm that refused to break. Christabel thought about feigning a headache or illness to avoid going to the ball, but it wouldn't change a thing—her mother would still announce the engagement, with or without her. She held on to the hope that perhaps, when he found no message from her, Henry would know something was wrong and come to her rescue... But what could he do? No, she couldn't count on that. It would be best to steel herself for the inevitable and stand up for herself, if she could.

She tried to think of what she would say to the announcement. What my mother said is not true. I have rejected Mr. Carver, and I have no intention of marrying him. In fact, I am engaged to someone else... Too much? I'm sorry, my mother seemed to have been mistaken—No, she shouldn't place the blame on her mother. That would only worsen her mother's ire. I'm sorry, there seems to have been a mistake. I was honored by Mr. Carver's offer, but... Should she mention Jason at all? Her mother had said he was going along with this farce, but perhaps that was a lie to convince Christabel that it was no use fighting back. Should she fight fire with fire and preemptively announce her engagement to Henry before her mother could announce the sham one? But without Henry there, she would look rather foolish, wouldn't she?

Christabel's legs were shaky as she descended the stairs in her costume—a red velvet dress with long puffed sleeves and a huge lace ruff framing her neck and face, the skirt split open to show a petticoat of gold satin. The dress was trimmed with gold hearts, and a bejeweled girdle made of red hearts encircled her waits. Her hair was done up under a red velvet-and-gold crown, and a scepter also in the shape of a red heart in her hand completed the look. It was ostentatious and heavy and not at all to Christabel's taste, who would prefer to go as Psyche or a fairy, but she'd decided it wasn't worth it to fight her mother on this.

The Carvers' enormous ballroom was thronged with people and ablaze with light. The candle flames reflected on the silk and satin of the guests' costumes and on the jewels—both real and paste—that adorned their heads and necks and wrists, casting brilliant flecks over everything, dazzling Christabel's tired eyes, so she could not see who was dressed as what. The orchestra was striking up a quadrille. Someone took Christabel's hand and drew her into the circle. She danced along other young men and women, following the steps mechanically without seeing who her partner was. All she could think about was the announcement and what she was going to say. I'm sorry, there seems to have been a mistake. I have rejected Mr. Carver, and have no intention of marrying him—I'm sorry, there seems to have been a mistake. I am engaged to someone else—I'm sorry, I can't—I'm sorry—

It all sounded so clumsy, so childish. What was she apologizing for? None of this was her fault.

Then the quadrille was over, a polka began, and Christabel found herself dancing with Jason, who was dressed as Louis XVI.

"What's this I hear about our mothers planning to announce our engagement tonight?" she asked him, without preamble.

Jason was slightly taken aback by her accusing tone, but he soon recovered. "Your mother said that she could convince you to change your mind," he replied with a placating smile.

At that smile, any hope Christabel had of turning Jason into an ally vanished. "So all of you just go around deciding my life for me? Am I not a person, with my own thoughts and feelings and opinions? Or they just don't matter?" She realized she was getting loud, and people's heads were starting to turn toward her. She forced herself to lower her voice. "Why don't I just attach strings to my limbs so you can jerk me around like a puppet?" she hissed.

Jason's arms tightened around her. "Come now, Chrissy dear—don't be like that—"

"Don't call me Chrissy!"

She pried his hand from her waist and turned away, but the dancers closed in around her, a crowd of kings and queens, of French marquises and Oriental princesses, of cats and demons and birds of paradise, their eyes staring inquisitively, their mouths whispering gossip behind their fans or gloved hand, all blocking her way. The ballroom was a gilded cage, and she was trapped in it.

Suddenly, the crowd parted. Coming toward her was a figure dressed all in red—red brocade doublet and hose, red stockings and shoes, and a red velvet hooded cloak. An hourglass shape, half-red and half-black, adorned his chest. Nobody at the ball wore mask, but this person's forehead and nose was covered by a half-mask in the shape of a skull. Red spots splattered the lower half of his face like blood. The figure caught Christabel and whirled her into the next dance, a waltz.

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm not interested—" she tried to say.

"Hush, my dear Christabel," the figure said. "We are being observed." Her heart leaped at that rich, melodious voice. So he had come after all!

"Henry!" she exclaimed, almost sobbing with relief. "I wanted to send you a message, but I couldn't—"

"I know, my love, I know," he said, caressing her arm. "That's why I came. It took me a while to find the appropriate costume though. Do you like it?"

Though worried about their predicament, she couldn't help feeling thrilled at the way he called her my love. She ran an appraising eye over his costume. "What are you supposed to be?"

"The Red Death, from The Masque of the Red Death. Did you not recognize it?"

"Oh! Of course." She lifted up her red velvet skirt. "Look, we're matching!"

"And you are—?"

"The Queen of Hearts. You know, like in a deck of cards." She rolled her eyes. Now that Henry was here, all her fear was gone. "So silly. My mother insisted on it."

A strange smile spread across Henry's red-splattered lips. "The Queen of Hearts. Of course you are. How fitting."

She didn't ask him what he meant. "Listen, we don't have much time—" Maneuvering him through the crowd to the edge of the ballroom, where they could have a modicum of privacy, she gave him a brief summary of her mother's intention. "I believe they're going to announce it after the firework display," she concluded. "What are we going to do?"

Henry's eyes, brilliant blue behind the red polished surface of his mask, were thoughtful. "Do you want a big wedding?" he asked.

Christabel frowned at the non-sequitur, but she answered anyway. "No." Most of her friends dreamed of big lavish weddings with white satin and lace and pearls and orange blossoms, but none of it had ever mattered to her. "Why do you ask?"

"Then we can get married tomorrow morning, if you so wish."

Understanding dawned in her mind. "You mean—eloping?" she whispered.

He nodded, his smile widening under his skull mask. "We'll slip away tonight, get married in New York tomorrow morning, and be on the train back to San Francisco before they know it."

Christabel's heart hammered. By this time tomorrow, she would be Mrs. Creel and on her way to San Francisco! It sounded almost too good to be true.

"But"—she glanced back at her mother, who was watching her from the corner of the room with the other chaperones, a mistrustful frown on her face—"how are we to slip away?"

"I have a car at Brenner's," said Henry. "But we can't leave now, it will look suspicious. Before supper, I'll go and bring the car around. When the fireworks start, meet me by the back gate. They're all going to be looking up at the sky then, nobody will notice."

The waltz ended. Henry gave her hand a brief squeeze to lend her some courage, and slipped into the crowd.

Mrs. Cunningham questioned Christabel about her mysterious partner, of course, but she only answered vaguely that he was some friend of Jason's and danced the next three dances with Jason to soothe her mother's suspicion. All the while she kept her eyes fixed on Henry's red hood as he moved amongst the other dancers, praying that her mother wouldn't suddenly decide to make the announcement earlier than planned.

When Mrs. Carver clapped her hands and the orchestra stopped playing, Christabel's heart almost stopped as well, as she was certain they had decided to make the announcement early after all. But no, Mrs. Carver was only inviting people to go in for supper. Christabel searched for Henry. There he was, standing on the very edge of the crowd. He gave her a subtle nod before disappearing through a side door.

Christabel hardly knew what she was eating at supper. The meal seemed to go on forever, and every time Mrs. Carver or her mother or Jason stood up, her body would grow numb and cold with fear. But eventually supper was over, and people started drifting outside for the firework display. Christabel hung back until she was certain her mother was with the others, and then she ran upstairs and into her room.

She didn't give herself time to think. If she thought about what she was about to do, she would lose heart and never be able to go through with it. Thank God they had packed! She tore off her satin-and-velvet costume, heedless of the glass hearts on the girdle, which tinkled as she tossed it on the floor, and removed the ridiculous crown from her head. She threw on the traveling suit that had been laid out for the next day and picked up the valise containing some changes of clothes and her traveling case with some essentials. Did she need more? How long did it take to travel to San Francisco? Should she pack more? There was no time for that now. Had the fireworks already started?

She scribbled a few lines to let her mother know she'd left, without saying where or with whom—her mother could work that out easily enough—and put it on the desk. Then, valise and case in hand, she cracked open the door and looked down the long hallway, just as the tip of her mother's Duchess of Burgundy headdress with its fluttering veil came up the stairs. Christabel's blood froze in her veins. Was her mother coming to check on her? Either way, she could not possibly go down the same way now. What to do? What to do?

Locking herself in the room, Christabel turned around like a caged bird, frantically searching for a way out. Her eyes fell on the large elm growing outside the window. One of its branches almost reached the window sill. If she climbed onto the branch, she would be able to slide down the trunk...

Her mother was moving about in the room next door. She may come into Christabel's room any moment.

She threw the valise through the window and thanked God when it fell soundlessly on the grass below. Then, gripping the traveling case with one hand, she gathered up her skirts with the other and lifted herself on the windowsill. From here, she realized that the branch was much smaller than she'd thought. Would it hold? Only one way to find out. She stepped across the gap onto the branch. One foot, and then another, and then—

Her foot slipped. She reached out—for the window frame behind her or the tree trunk in front of her—but her hands only found thin air. The world tipped over, and Christabel fell, the canopy of the elm quickly receding over her head and the ground rushing up to meet her at an alarming speed—

She was too startled to scream. She only shut her eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable, sickening crunch of her body hitting the ground.

It never came.

Instead, there was only a jolt, and then a heavy grunt. It took Christabel a moment to realize someone had caught her, and the grunt was her own, made by the air being knocked out of her lungs as she fell into the arms of her rescuer.

She opened her eyes. In place of Henry's blue ones, she found herself looking into the dark, dark eyes of the strange young man who had introduced himself as Henry's servant. For a second, when their eyes met, Christabel felt as though the air had been knocked out of her again.

Then fireworks burst over their heads, breaking them both out of the spell.

"You all right, miss?" the dark-eyed man asked.

"Y-yes, thank you."

"Can you walk?"

"I— I don't know." She wasn't injured, but the rush from the fall had left her weak and trembling.

"Then, with your permission, miss, I'll carry you to the car. Mr. Creel is waiting."

She nodded. He leaned down to pick up her valise and traveling case, and, with Christabel in his arms, walked to the back gate in long, easy strides. For a confused moment, Christabel was reminded of the day she first met Henry—had it only been two weeks ago?—and the same matter-of-fact way that he had picked her up and carried her. The only difference was that this young man had asked for her permission first.

A small two-seat roadster was parked by the back gate of the Carver mansion. Henry was in one of the seats, waiting. He'd changed back into his usual clothes, though there were still some red spots on his jaw and chin. The man put Christabel next to Henry, placed her cases at her feet, and took the driver's seat. Soon the car was rolling down the path through the trees, while the fireworks continued to flash and crackle on the sky above, their boom and the pop of the car engine unable to drown out the the delighted oohs and aahs of the revelers.

"I thought you'd changed your mind," Henry said, hugging Christabel close.

"She had a fall, sir," the dark-eyed man said on her other side. "She's a bit shook up."

"All's well now," said Henry. "I see that you've met my assistant, Kas."

The dark-eyed man—Kas, what an odd name—nodded at Christabel briefly. "Please to make your acquaintance, Miss Cunningham," he said, before turning his attention back to the road.

"Soon to be Mrs. Creel, Kas," Henry corrected him, laughing. "Soon to be Mrs. Creel. Isn't that right, darling?"

Christabel was still too dazed after her fall to answer, and she was unsettled by something she thought she'd glimpsed in Kas's eyes when he glanced at her—something almost like pity. It reminded her of his enigmatic words the day he'd brought her Henry's message. I wouldn't go if I were you... But surely she'd imagined it. What did he have to pity her about? He didn't know her, and besides, she was on her way to marry the love of her life. What was to be pitied about that?

"Did you bring this car all the way from San Francisco?" she asked Henry, to change the subject.

"No, it's Brenner's. But he doesn't have much use for it now, does he?" Henry grinned and winked at her. She smiled back, though she didn't see much humor in the situation. "I do have my own car in Frisco though, a much better one," he continued. "You'll see."

They hadn't gone far from the Carver mansion when Henry suddenly called out, "Stop!"

Kas pulled the car over by a bend on the road. Christabel looked around, confused. "Why are we stopping?"

Henry grabbed her hand. "Come. There's something I want to show you."

"We don't have time—my mother may have already realized that I'm missing and raised the alarm—"

"It will take but a minute."

Christabel let him drag her through the woods to a clearing. A crescent moon shone its silvery light over the ivy covering the ground. Startled, she recognized this was the same clearing where Henry had proposed, where the ruins of his family's cottage still stood. She hoped somebody had removed the dead hare.

"Here." Henry pulled something out of his pocket. It was the same piece of stained glass she'd helped him find amongst the stones, the one depicting a rose, now polished and attached to a chain to form a necklace. "I had this made for you." He put the chain over her head and settled the rose on her chest. "I know it's not a ring, but I wanted to give it to you, because, well, because it's half yours, really. You found it."

Christabel lifted the stained glass pendant to examine it more clearly. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

Henry clasped her hands in his, closing her fingers around the pendant. "We have this tradition in our family," he said, "that the bride and groom will have a separate Celtic ceremony and exchange their own vows, in keeping with our roots, before the church ceremony. We can't have much of a ceremony here, but I can't think of a better place to exchange those vows, do you agree?"

His eyes were shining with a fervent light, and Christabel, caught up in his excitement, found herself excited as well.

"What are the vows?" she asked.

"Repeat after me," Henry said. "Heart bound to heart, soul bound to soul. I pledge to you my life and undying love. I'm yours, my body, my spirit, my being whole."

"Heart bound to heart, soul bound to soul. I pledge to you my life and undying love. I'm yours, body and spirit, my being whole," Christabel repeated, trying to suppress a delighted giggle, not wishing to ruin the moment with her girlish nervousness. How terribly romantic. Not just an elopement, but a secret pagan ritual in the middle of the woods, under the moon as well! Oh, wouldn't Mother throw a fit if she knew!

A red glow seemed to emanate from the pendant clasped between her palms, but when Christabel opened her hands and looked again, it was gone. Under the moonlight, the rose wasn't even red—it looked almost black, like volcanic rock. She must've imagined it, or it had been a flash from the fireworks.

"In the eyes of my ancestors, that means we are married now," Henry said, leaning forward to kiss her. "Nothing else matters."

They ran back to the car. Kas started the engine, and they flew down the road back to New York, as the last of the fireworks died out over their heads.

They arrived at Manhattan just as the city was waking up. The electric streetlamps were still burning, but they were already dimming in the approaching gray light of dawn, and workers were filling up the streets, ready to start their day. Kas dropped them off in front of a chapel and headed to the station to secure their passages on a train to San Francisco, while they waited for the chapel to open.

It was probably because she was too tired, but Christabel didn't remember much of the ceremony—afterward, in her mind, the memory was forever shrouded in the grayish light and fog of a Manhattan autumn morning. What she did remember was the minister being rather grumpy about having to perform a marriage ceremony first thing upon waking up. She remembered, too, how Henry had brought in two men who were on their way to work to act as witnesses, and how he gave them each a silver dollar once the ceremony was over. But what she'd said, what Henry had said, how he'd looked when he slipped the gold band over her finger—when had he found the time to buy a wedding ring?—and how she'd felt at that moment, it was all a blur.

Then Henry called a cab, which hurried them to Grand Central, and Christabel was bundled into a compartment. She barely had time to remove her hat before collapsing onto a bed and promptly falling asleep to the soothing rhythm of the train as it rolled westward, taking her toward a life new and unknown.

Chapter 4

[talesofliia]

"Stranger Things: The First Shadow": My Experience and Impression ❤️‍🔥

"Stranger Things: The First Shadow" is an absolutely unforgettable experience for fans of the series, taking them on an out-of-this-world journey. I was absolutely blown away by the fantastic production and performances. 🎭✨ Here are some interesting insights about the play!

• "The First Shadow" serves as an excellent prequel to "Stranger Things", offering viewers new details about the show's fictional universe. It sheds light on the pasts of familiar characters and the events that set the stage for the series we know and love.

• The story is divided into two chapters: “The Girl from Nowhere” and “Captain Midnight”. There was a brilliantly staged opening scene and then the theme tune of “Stranger Things” played. 🎶

• Set over 20 years prior to the events in the series, “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” introduces us to younger versions of familiar characters such as Joyce, Hopper, Bob, and others who will later become the parents of the kids from “Stranger Things”, along with Henry Creel, his family and Dr. Brenner.

• One important new character, not (yet) introduced in the series, was Patty Newby, the adoptive sister of Bob and Henry’s love interest. She was portrayed as good-hearted and compassionate.

• Young Joyce was just as much of a badass as she is in the series! I absolutely adored her in the play because of her confidence and determination. 🔥 Plus, it was interesting to see that she was quite popular with the guys!

• It’s still surprising to me that she chose to be with Lonnie over Bob or Hopper. It feels like an unusual choice. 😅 However, without their relationship, we wouldn’t have Jonathan or Will, so it’s an interesting twist of “fate”…

• Young Hopper was struggling to live up to his father’s expectations of him, but as we know, he later becomes a police chief, following in his father’s footsteps.

• Fun fact: Joyce invited Hopper for a drink after her shift but he was supposed to leave and had to decline (as far as I understood). Jopper was always meant to be but it just happened much later. 🥹

• Joyce and Hopper have always been an iconic duo, not only when they want to have fun, but also when solving mysteries together! It’s in their blood! Bob was also there to help them.

• Young Bob was a lovely character, passionate about radio and infatuated with Joyce, who didn’t take him seriously at first. He also served as comedic relief in the play (like some other characters).

• Karen (Nancy and Mike’s mother) was portrayed as a real flirt, often seen making out with Ted Wheeler. Also, It’s crazy to see how Ted changed from a jock to a couch potato. 🙈

• While some have suggested that Karen wanted to kiss a girl in the school play, this wasn’t explicitly stated in the story. Karen volunteered to read lines with Patty, another girl, and there happened to be a kiss scripted. So, whether Karen is bisexual or not isn’t confirmed but remains a possibility.

• It was fascinating to explore the history and background of Henry Creel, witnessing his struggles with the desire to be normal, how his powers developed, and how love ultimately failed to save him. Additionally, gaining insight into Brenner’s storyline was equally captivating.

• The play expanded our understanding of the “Stranger Things” universe, delving into secret government experiments and Dimension X.

• We got to see a very special character at the end of the play. 🤫 I’m not going to retell the plot and spoil everything, but if you’re interested, you can read it here.

• There were some other minor characters in the play that contributed to the overall story. The cast was absolutely brilliant, but I was especially impressed by Louis’s acting skills (who played Henry). 👏🏻

• I can’t even imagine how much they invested in this production! The staging, decorations, props, and costumes were marvelous! And the special effects created this incredible immersive experience that left the audience in awe! 🤩

• A special shoutout to London’s Phoenix Theatre, which truly elevated the entire experience! Alongside the cool merch, they even had a bar designed to resemble the “Scoops Ahoy” ice cream parlor from “Stranger Things”. 😃

• As you can see, this stunning play left a lasting impression on me, and it’s an experience I’ll cherish forever, especially as a huge fan of “Stranger Things”. 😍 Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the play – I’ll be more than happy to answer them if I can! 🙌🏻

[hawkinslibrary]

below the cut i've included all of the pictures from the sneak peek of the rehearsal of the first shadow with a little description. spoilers ahead.

henry with brenner, both very obviously pissed off. seems to be in lab/hospital/exam room setting. mirrors scene with brenner and el from "papa"

creel family arriving to their new home in hawkins. mirrors the scene in the show. bob in the bg at his radio booth -- possibly narrating ? band instruments and misc costumes on the stage in the back, might be trees/shrubbery to the right

joyce and lonnie on a bed; she doesn't look happy. bob in the background/center stage again at his booth

school picture day ? joyce and alan munson, charles sinclair on the lockers with a sling shot (wrist rocket), some cheerleaders, hopper, ted (jock), claudia with a cat, bob hidden behind the photographer, a few other hidden castmates (someone in band), henry having his picture taken, walter henderson center stage, bob's father (principal newby) furthest right

henry and patty. if you download from twitter, flip upside down, and zoom in, you can make out pieces of the scene (henry and patty feeling like they don't belong in hawkins/are too different to fit in)

henry and patty, again. this time at chuch in a confessional booth. rest of the cast seems to be in attendance. og casting for patty (betty) called for a goody-two-shoes type, preacher's daughter (principal newby was originally referred to as father newby -- maybe now he's both ?)

there's also been some changes on the cast list. more ensemble, actresses listed for alice, a henry double, claudia's last name has changed (was henderson, now yount = walter Is dustin's father), and the father newby to principal newby change as mentioned above