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Hi! Before I start actually writing this, I feel it’s important that I make a few things clear. (Just…skip to the end of the chapter for the TLDR if you don’t wanna read my rambling.) Also, make sure to read the tags! They include important information, and there shouldn’t be any spoiler warnings within them that you need to worry about.
- Since being gay is such an important part of his character, Will (now Willow) is going to be a lesbian. Now, if you’ve taken a peek at the tags, you’ll see Byler is there, but Mike is still a boy. The simple answer? Mike is in love with Willow, which she does not notice or reciprocate, and neither will end up with anyone as a romantic partner. This is because I love Eleven and she deserves better, and because I can’t write romance very well as I’m aroace. Mike will not move on from this crush within the fic, because I genuinely hate his character and I hold grudges.
- The SA and pedophilia implications and themes are going to be far more prominent because Will is now a girl. This is, of course, not to say that they don’t exist within the original show, but instead because male SA is horribly underrepresented in media, and the Duffers are cowards, fearing backlash if they decide to incorporate uncomfortable ideas or scenarios within their show. I’ll probably write more on Will’s implied SA as a whole, but that’s for later me. Also, the specific scene where Will states that the Mindflayer ‘touched him everywhere’ is going to elicate a very different reaction from Joyce, simply because it’s the 1980s and she’s probably far more aware of what it could mean for her daughter rather than for her son.
- Despite only changing Will’s gender being the main plot point, there are going to be (platonic) relationships between other characters that are far more developed because she now shares the same gender as other characters. Some examples of this are El, Max, Nancy, Erica, Robin, Vickie, etc. I would’ve loved for the entire cast to be more connected as a whole, since many characters don’t have interactions with each other, but I’ve obviously been disappointed, as, despite being a member of the main cast, there are a number of characters Will just… doesn’t get interactions with. I’m fixing this because I can, and also because it would realistically make more sense; why wouldn’t the only girl within the original party spend time with her friends’ sisters, or other girls? In the show, this would’ve been seen as weird or gross; a guy hanging around a bunch of girls of different ages, for seemingly no reason? He must’ve been trying to hook up with one of them, or he’s gay. However, with Will now being a girl, this is fixed! Woohoo!
- As discussed in point number one, Willow won’t be ending up with anyone. To expand on this, I mean Willow won’t be having a crush on a canonical character; it’ll be more of a slow realisation that she simply isn’t attracted to guys. My main reasoning behind this is the fact that not all sexualities are realised through crushes, and also the fact that there isn’t really anyone for her to like, if it makes sense. I would incorporate a sort of admiration type crush, maybe on Vickie, Robin, or Nancy, since they’re older and it would make sense, but I also cannot write romance, and I can’t stand my favourite characters’ love being unrequited (fuck you Duffers). While this does reduce a bit of his character, as the shame he has for being in love with Mike does influence his self-worth, we’re just going to…carry that shame over for no reason, other than to make her a (hopefully) accurate representation of a queer character.
- Updates will be s l o w. I haven’t actually watched the series, other than Season 5, because my attention span is horrid, and I wasn’t really interested in it before, like, November of 2025. Due to this, I’ll have to watch the entire thing, which is pretty time consuming, especially because I have to get up and pace everytime I see something I dislike, which is going to waste precious time since I hate Mileven. This is, of course, not to mention the fact that I am somehow always having writer’s block, and my motivation is akin to that of a dying snail. So, if I go weeks or months without writing, don’t be alarmed; I’m probably stuck trying to word something properly, haven’t checked my calendar, and need to rewatch a scene I can’t remember. I’m actively shivering in my boots, because I am not looking forward to having to rewatch every scene that has Will in it, or a mention of Will, or that I could incorporate Will into, so you may be waiting a while, especially where Mileven is involved, since I have to write it entirely out of the script, because no. Mike, in my eyes, will forever be single and unloved; but not in the angsty, gacha react type of way. No, in the pathetic, pitiful way that makes everyone cringe in unison. If you like Mike Wheeler, you may want to click off; I hate him with (almost) my entire being, with the little bit of my heart that is not dedicated towards detesting him reserved for Vecna due to the pedophile implications.
- This fic isn’t going to entirely be in the POV of Will, though it will be entirely surrounding him. I want to do this for a number of reasons, mainly to highlight his importance as a character, and also to make Mike Wheeler look pathetic lmao. Essentially, there might be a sector of time that Will’s POV isn’t shown, simply because I don’t find it necessary to do so, or because I don’t want to write within his POV due to the situation he’s in (*cough cough* the entire upside down sector, especially due to the SA implications… *cough cough*).
- While my intention is to essentially rewrite Stranger Things with the only change being that Will is now a girl, there may be major plot points that I just scrap because fuck that. For example, I hated Volume 3, and a bit of Volume 2 for Season 5, so those’ll most likely be scrapped (if I even get to that point).
- Nothing about puberty. I’m not writing about the bIoLoGiCaL cHaNgEs a ‘girl experiences throughout her pre-teen and teenage years’. For the sake of my sanity, we’re going to pretend like periods and stuff don’t exist. Don’t ask how that works biologically, I don’t know enough to pretend to care. Obviously, there’s more to puberty than just periods, but that’s mostly physical changes that I won’t be describing vividly since I’m lazy and I don’t want to.
- This entire fic is essentially just me glazing Will and hating on Mike. This is going to conform entirely to what I want it to, so if you love Mike or hate Will, then this isn’t the fic for you.
- Just want to point out that this isn’t a trans fic, in case anyone was confused. This is an alternate universe where Will (now Willow) is a girl, and seeing how that changes things within the plot.
- Ignore mischaracterisation or me not picking up on things within the plot. Sometimes things need to be blatantly obvious and spelled-out for me to get it, so I may just rewrite things to fit what I want because idk what it means.
- No Scoops Troop :c. This is a Will-centric fic, so it’s all revolving around Will. I know the series kinda does that to some extent already, but scenes without Will that don’t mention him will most likely be ignored or rewritten.
TLDR because Jesus Christ was I yapping:
- Willow is a lesbian. Mike is going to hopelessly pine after her. Neither will have a romantic partner at any point in time. Bye bye, Mileven.
- Expansion on the SA and pedophilia themes that already exist within the show, because the characters are going to realise what happens since SA is usually associated with girls.
- A lot of development or blatantly just new relationships between characters because Will is now a girl.
- Willow may be a lesbian, but she won’t have a crush on anyone; just a realisation that she finds girls attractive instead of guys.
- Slow updates because I need time to watch the series for the first time, and actually write all this stuff down.
- Multiple POVs, mainly because I’m not writing some scenes (e.g. the Upside Down during Season 1), and also to show how other characters think.
- Some major plot points may be rewritten, since I don’t like them; for example, no Mileven. At all.
- Nothing about puberty. We’re pretending that periods and stuff don’t exist.
- I hate Mike Wheeler.
- Just to say, this isn’t a trans fic; just an alternate universe where Will is a girl instead, and how that changes things.
- Ignore people being ooc or me genuinely not getting things.
- Extra plot points, like, the Scoops Troop, will (probably) happen but won’t be mentioned at any point in time. This is because this is Will-centric, and I’ll be damned if I let a moment go past when the universe isn’t revolving around him.