ESTRANGER

Blog dedicated to the development of ESTRANGER: a Stranger Things interactive Novel

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“I can’t dream.

For as long as I can remember, sleep didn’t mean relaxing. It was a void—or worse, a patrol.

And when I didn’t patrol, there was nothing to dream of.

Until now.”

While the Byers flee Hawkins, another story unfolds in Lenora Hills, soon to intertwine. An old experiment--Scout-- stirs in dreamless nights with one goal: get rid of their powers forever. But what begins as restless sleep spirals into a mystery of spreading comas, guilt-ridden confrontations, and dangerous bargains made in the dark.

ESTRANGER is a psychological horror and narrative drama set between Stranger Things Seasons 3 and 4 — a story about identity, memory, and the danger of trying to forget.

Interactive Narrative: A text based story where your choices shape your Scout's psyche, relationships, and fate.

The Mask system: Shift between personas--The Jester, The Specter, and The Berserk--to navigate everything from small talk to life or death situations.

Relationships: Nurture or destroy the connections you make with the people in your Scout's life.

Explore Lenora Hills, its secrets, and the dreams that refuse to end.

Peter the Cat: The most important character. Dote on him as much as possible.

Meet some new faces and encounter familiar ones... maybe a bit too familiar for comfort.

Sanity: Try to keep it.

Content warning: This story contains themes of abuse, psychological trauma, needles, violence, blood, manipulation, dehumanization, PTSD, and similar sensitive material. I will update this list as needed.

I will keep the story as accessible as possible, so even people who haven't watched the show can enjoy the story!

Read the prologue now!

Estranger: A Stranger Things Interactive Fiction by Curtipillar

Estranger: A Stranger Things Interactive Fiction by Curtipillar

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when the original contents lore/characters are kind of ass so you lowkey stare at your google doc like this for 4 hours

In somewhat normal news, I’ve been outlining ESTRANGER more and am really happy with where it’s going. I’ll probably post more art here. My fear was revealing my cards too early, but I think there’s a strength in showing what it’ll eventually become, just so people know what they’re in for and wanna stick around.

also got a gross migraine today so. Yucky.

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Post finale, I see a lot of people are sitting with these complicated feelings about how Stranger Things ended—especially queer fans (such as myself) who saw parts of themselves in Will, his struggles, and his hope. When you invest in a story for years, it can hurt when the resolution doesn’t feel carefully constructed, but disrespectful. I’m not here to argue canon or ships, frankly I think that doesn’t fix anything. I just wanted to say that I see the hurt, and I understand why parts of this fandom feel fractured right now.

While it’s still a work in progress, I fully intend for my story to explore queer themes, particularly through the main character and Will. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s being made with care.

I know a story won’t fix everything, I know I’m not immune to mistakes, but I want to share my story anyways. I want to bring comfort to the people that needed it. I want to take the stories that Stranger Things neglected and show them the proper care they needed to fully thrive.

If you’re looking for something character-focused and supportive, you’re more than welcome here ❤️

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Updates

Happy holidays everyone! So I’m very close to finishing up chapter one, the only thing holding me back is responsibilities (gross) and motivation. However, I’ve done a lot of planning for the story and characters, so a new post regarding possible changes may come (if I decide I wanna go through with them. Nothing major! Just a few tweaks.)

Also, I apologize for my lack of consistency here. I’m not a fan of posting on Tumblr because, frankly, the stranger things fandom here is exhausting. Not my kind of crowd. So, maybe I’ll consider posting on a different platform I use more—though the only contender for that would be Youtube.

Anywho, I’ve considered posting a sneak peek of chapter one, so, if you would like that, I’d appreciate some feedback

Thank you for your patience and have a good day/night!

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UPDATES

It seems I won’t be able to make the mid November deadline like I hoped, since I got stupid sick for a week and it threw me off completely. 😭

However, I’m doing much better now and plan to continue my progress on Ch. 1, Act 1.

Thank you for your patience :)

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Scout design!

While Scout can look like whatever you want inside your brain, I like depicting this little weirdo with certain features.

I plan (or at least want to) post more frequently here, not just about updates but general art and Estranger content.

Genuinely can’t wait to release the next bit of it tho! There’s a certain guy who’s gonna be real important, so be on the look out!

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ART + UPDATES!

Some art of Will, I’m pretty proud of how this one turned out. Just look at that face! He’s definitely experiencing the horrors™️.

As per game updates, chapter one will be divided into three acts—just to help me structure it better and get updates out quicker.

So far, I’m pretty far into the first act. My goal is to finish it before mid-November, however, I’ll keep you guys posted if I can’t make this date.

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As someone that hasn't watched stranger things ever. This was an interesting read. I have to ask tho are we going to mainly be playing an MC that is a child or a teen? What is the age range here? Will this contain any romance or is it gonna be mainly an explorative sci fi vibe?

Either way, i like mcs parents they seem adorable. Gotta shoot that doctor, tho. Definitely in the face. And i liked it. I look forward to seeing where this goes ❤️

Hey there, and thanks for reading the prologue! Glad you liked it!

When it comes to MC’s age, they’re 10-12 in the prologue and 14 in chapter one. Most of the story will fall within that range.

As per romance, there won’t be several love interests like traditional IFs I’ve come across. There is one outlier, but I can’t show my hand too early.

As per your comments, I condone shooting Dr. Crowe in the face :)

See you in chapter one! (Soon, hopefully.)