they hold dinner parties throughout their adult years. steve loves cooking for people, and it's a controlled way for him to make food everyone (including himself) can eat (see my celiac steve hc lol).
dustin loves being the center of attention and commanding the room/ entertaining guests, so he does that while steve is busy in the kitchen ahead of dinner. their friends often pop in to the kitchen to gab with steve and steve enjoys having tasks to keep his hands busy as people arrive and get settled.
at the end of the meal, dustin always clears the table and does some minor cleaning up so steve can continue to sit at the table and relax and gab with their guests. dustin likes to make intricate post-dinner cocktails, so while he's in the kitchen he'll whip up something elaborate and bring the drinks out on a tray. that's when they all retire to the living room for either more conversations or a game.
regular dinner party guests include lumax (who live nearby), as well as robin and her gf of the month. if they live near hawkins, dustin will invite former teachers (and steve's colleagues) like mr. clarke. occasionally will and his partner will be in town, plus mike and nancy and even jonathan will come by for the larger yearly holiday parties that they throw.
Normally, Dustin will be the one preparing an elaborate baked dessert because he's the scientist and baking is science, but I like to think that when Lucas and Max come over, they always ask Lucas to prepare something for dessert. Lucas got a lot of old recipes from his grandmother and loves to bake them. He's not the best baker, though he is getting better, but he always comes with a story about the dessert because his grandmother wrote notes about where the recipe came from on the back of the 3 x 5 note card.
Robin gets really into wine at some point, and so she always brings a fancy bottle of whatever new thing she's into at the time. Really it's an excuse for Steve and Robin to jump on the phone together the week before the party to discuss what wine will pair well with what he's preparing for dinner and then they gossip for another hour and a half.
You know what I am sick of seeing, in general across social media. What is your fanfic ick? What makes you stop reading a fic? What fic tropes do you hate? Here are my 10 tropes I hate in fanfiction
Honestly. Why does the world need to know. Why does every option need to be shared especially with fanfic. I don't like many things but I don't harp on about them all the time. What good does it do?
Stop reading it. Its really that simple. I don't know why we have to make a million posts about how we hate things especially things people are doing for the love of the game.
inspired by all the old dusteve conversation in the discord and on tumblr from a few days ago, I have been rotating gilf dusteve in my mind and have many thoughts.
Steve and Dustin move back to Hawkins at some point during their retirement. why is not important right now. they buy a house in downtown Hawkins so they're in the middle of things and so they can walk and drive to places easily. by their 70s or 80s, Dustin is very unsteady on his feet and really should be using a walker but he hates it because "it makes me look like an old person, Steve!" to which Steve snipes back "you are an old person!"
Dustin likes to use a cane instead because he thinks it makes him look distinguished (it does but don't tell him that or his ego will get even bigger)
anyways, every week Steve insists on taking a walk to get dinner at their favorite restaurant, which is right around the corner from them because it's important to stay healthy and get regular movement for your body, Dustin. you can't sit in the same chair every day! Dustin grumbles and bitches the entire time but also holds onto Steve's offered arm very tightly because he's really actually unsteady (despite how much he denies it) and he trusts that Steve will never let him fall. and that's how they totter off to dinner every week.
Holding arms like this:
now im just looking at stock photos of old couples holding hands and crying
tagging you @allsunshin3 bc you are a gilf dusteve truther
#they got old TOGETHER#They saw how wrinkles slowly appeared on their faces#How hair became gray#How bones thinned out and muscles weakened#Sometimes they see each other's faces and get surprised at how old they are#But they are still in love with each other#Remembering themselves young and in love and carrying these feelings through years decades#And knowing for sure that after their death they meet each other again no matter where
read ch 16 on ao3 part 22 read from the beginning on tumblr
“What the hell?” Steve said, staring out the window.
“Steve, would you just calm--” Dustin’s voice died in his throat when his eyes landed on the same sight that confused Steve.
“Am I going blind? What is going on?” Steve murmured.
Dustin searched for an answer. “Maybe it’s just really dark? Like, the trees grow really thickly around the lab so maybe they’re just obscuring the light?
Steve looked at him dubiously.
“It’s just an idea! I don’t see you coming up with anything. Look, let’s just go outside and see what’s going on. We walked here and could see just fine. So maybe this happened when the exotic matter got shot,” Dustin suggested.
“It’s something to do--why let Doc and Coach have all the fun, right?” Steve said, heading for the door, leaving Dustin to hurry to follow.
“Okay, so if a wormhole brought Coach and Doc here, and if the Upside Down is a wormhole too, that should mean that there should be a way to make or find a Gate that Doc and Coach can use to get back to their own time,” Dustin started talking out loud, trying to puzzle through things.
“...So we need to find a Gate, right? Like we--” Steve stopped suddenly and staggered against the wall, holding his head.
“Steve? Are you feeling sick again?” Dustin asked, trying to support him.
Steve tugged his arm away. “What the hell, man? Why’d you call me a slut?” Steve accused Dustin, sounding hurt.
Dustin gaped at him. “What are you talking about? No, I didn’t.” Even as the denial left him, the words sounded familiar, though Dustin couldn’t place why.
“You did! In the hallway! You said I was just a nice piece of ass, you asshole,” Steve sounded angry now, and Dustin started to feel dizzy himself as memories from being the hallway that shouldn’t exist crowded at the edges of his mind.
“We're in the hallway right now, and I definitely did not call you a slut even though I probably should have for hooking up with Doc!” Dustin said, the words building into a shout by the end, not knowing where or when he would have seen that happen. But the image of Doc on his knees sucking Steve’s dick was somehow firmly lodged in his brain, and it made him feel furious and betrayed.
“What the hell are you talking about?! I think I would remember doing that!” Steve defended himself even as he looked like he was trying to chase down his own memories, brow furrowed in confusion.
Dustin stopped with his mouth hanging open, ready to argue back, while also fighting back nausea as another memory resurfaced of Doc insisting he and Steve hadn’t done anything. But Dustin had. He and Coach had definitely done something…he just couldn’t remember what. Steve looked at Dustin, confusion and anger warring for dominance on his face. He also looked like he was seconds from retching again. In the silence of their paused argument, they heard raised voices coming from the end of the hall. Steve and Dustin eyed each other, and then scurried silently down the hall to listen to whatever argument Coach and Dustin were having. The door to a large corner office was ajar, and Dustin crowded close to it to peer inside. He could feel Steve hovering just behind him, craning his head over Dustin’s to watch too.
“--He’s being a self-righteous piece of shit, Dust! He’s lying to himself and being a dick to you and acting like he’s completely in the right!” Coach exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. “And he refuses to even acknowledge the possibility that he could love you!”
“It’s not like I made it easy for you! Haven’t you heard the shit he’s been saying to you? Putting you down, calling you stupid. I haven’t forgotten the way I compared you and Eddie,” Doc pushed back. Guilt squirmed uncomfortably in Dustin’s stomach.
“Only because I compared us first. What do you think I’ve been trying to do here? Dustin needs someone to be in his corner, and the moron out there sure isn’t doing that,” Coach said.
“Yeah, and how’s that been going for you? The kid is angrier than ever!” Dustin’s older counterpart sighed, turning to lean against the desk. “And Steve is just as bad.”
“Is this your way of admitting that shamelessly flirting with him for hours on end maybe isn’t working the way you’d thought it would?” Coach snapped.
Doc crossed his arms. “Oh, I think it worked just great,” he said defensively. “He’s like putty in my hands. It’s my younger self that’s the problem. He doesn’t know how to handle you yet.” He tugged Coach toward him, sounding flirtatious.
Dustin’s head felt squeezed, trying to keep track of the riot of emotions in his heart and the contradictory memories in his head. The ones of him sitting on Coach’s lap and alternating between begging and bossing him around were particularly insistent.
“You’re one to talk,” Coach said nastily, pulling out of Doc’s embrace and turning away.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Doc asked sharply.
“Nothing,” he replied. “He’s not the only one falling over himself pathetically is all I’m saying.”
“Steve, don’t be like that. Please don’t tell me that not only are you mad at your younger self you’re also jealous? Tell me you’re not that insecure.”
Coach turned around, face suddenly angry. He pointed a finger at Doc. “Oh, screw you, Dustin. You’ve made it abundantly clear just how horny you are for the newer model of me who doesn’t have wrinkles or arthritis and doesn't get migraines all the time and isn’t looking older by the day. Just admit you miss the young me because the one in front of you just isn’t quite doing it for you the way he used to!”
Dustin’s mouth fell open at this speech. His counterpart seemed equally shocked, inhaling so sharply that Dustin could hear it. Doc struggled to come up with a response before bursting out: “You--you asshole. I’m trying to show you how much I love you! You’re the same person, Steve! Don’t you get it? I see that twenty-year-old out there and all I feel is so much love because that’s who you used to be! And you’re hurting so much. You should see the look on your face when I tell you that you’re smart and brave and loved. It’s like no one has ever told you that. Why wouldn’t I take every opportunity to try and convince you of that fact?”
Doc stood up fully, bristling with righteous anger. It was the first time Dustin had seen him get mad the entire time they’d been here, and it somehow struck him as odd when Dustin himself was so full of rage. Steve’s hands had found Dustin’s shoulders, gripping tightly like he needed the support to stay upright. Dustin wondered if he even knew he was doing it consciously.
“Dustin…” Coach said, but Doc interrupted whatever Coach was trying to say.
“And you should know better than to think that I don’t wake up every goddamn day grateful that I’m waking up next to you. Grateful that you’re alive, that we got out of this nightmare together, and that you’re choosing to spend your one life with me, of all people. Grateful that we get to grow old together.” Doc’s voice was shaky, voice nearly breaking, and Dustin realized it was because he was crying. “How dare you?”
Coach crossed the room in the next moment and then he was kissing Doc, clutching his face desperately. Dustin’s heart was in his throat, horrified that he was about to witness another knock-down drag-out fight, worried that somehow it was going to be his fault that these older versions of themselves that were married were going to have a fallout with each other. Steve’s fingers squeezed harder into Dustin’s shoulders, like he was just as nervous.
But Doc grabbed Coach back just as fiercely, wrapping his arms around his back, fingers clutching tightly at the fabric of his husband’s sweatshirt. Dustin strained his ears to hear every single soft, wet noise they made, the darkness of the room obscuring their faces. Finally, they broke apart, breathing heavily.
“You should be,” Doc said, still sounding affronted. “You sound ridiculous. Jealous of yourself… you’re unbelievable, you know that?” He smacked his shoulder lightly. “But I’m sorry too.”
Coach slid his hands down to hold Doc by the waist and ducked his head like he was trying to minimize the height difference between them. “I know. I’m sorry, Dust. I love you. I love you so much, and all of this is just…it’s been a long time since we were those people. It breaks my heart seeing how much pain you’re in right now. I just want to make you--the younger you--happy. I wish he knew how much I’m going to love him--love you. I want him to know now.”
Doc pulled Coach down by the back of the neck to kiss him. It was a long, slow kiss, less desperate than before, and Dustin flushed with longing hearing his older counterpart sighing into it, sounding perfectly in love, the argument between them resolved so easily.
"I haven't paid enough attention to you," Doc said, voice pitching lower and more sensual, before pulling Coach in for another kiss.
Dustin pulled back from the edge of the door, not wanting to watch anymore as the older pair made no sign of breaking apart any time soon. He bumped back into Steve who was still behind him. He looked up at him, standing transfixed, mouth hanging open. A second later, his eyes widened at something happening inside the room, and Dustin looked back, too curious not to. Doc was whispering something in Coach’s ear that made him pause and groan in embarrassment before laughing and muttering back, too quietly for Dustin to make out. Then suddenly the kissing turned a lot more insistent, the noises more passionate, and hands started fumbling out of sight, as Coach crowded Doc back up against the desk. Dustin’s gut tightened, though whether it was because he was turned on or because the deja vu of watching another version of Steve and Doc getting hot and heavy in this office was making him nauseous. His feet were glued to the spot, unable to tear his eyes away...
This rewatch is reminding just how far removed fanon eddie ended up becoming from canon eddie
Canon eddie is a great character because he is rough around the edges. Mike and Dustin are genuinely intimidated by him in the first episode. Steve, Max and - most tellingly - Lucas all briefly entertain the idea that he could have killed chrissy, because that's the image he's cultivated to people who don't know him very well.
And it is an image, obviously, it's a survival mechanism and he's also very much the victim of people's preconceived notions about him, given his family's history. So I don't blame him for playing into it. But he's just as guilty of upholding the high school status quo and us vs. them mentality as the jocks are (and notably it's not just the popular kids he goes after in his speech but other "outcasts" like that band kids that he views as conformist). His approach is definitely helpful to dustin but also contributes towards lucas feeling singled out for joining the basketball team.
I'm not saying he's a bad guy or anything and I'm definitely not saying he deserved the raw deal he got. I just think characters are far more interesting when they're allowed to be complex and flawed.
If the trash pickup people stop doing their job for two weeks you'd be throwing a fucking tantrum. Same for the janitors who keep your office spaces and bathrooms clean. (And that's before the various illnesses start to spread all over your city from the build up of pathogens.)
The people responsible keeping our spaces clean (and thus, mostly disease-free) should both be paid more AND thanked more.
due to his ccd, dustin has to complete various dental surgeries over the years because teeth are a process even into adulthood. steve becomes old hat at caring for dustin post-surgeries. knows all of dustin's favorite soft foods and makes him smoothies and soups and has perfected his "date night risotto" recipe to ensure dustin feels cared for and nourished.
(dustin loves to bake for steve but steve is the resident cook in the house. for steve, cooking is very intuitive and sensory-- whereas dustin enjoys the more science-y and precise baking process.)
dustin doesn't talk much in the twenty-four hours post surgeries since his mouth is obviously very tender, but steve has become an expert in reading dustin's facial expressions and body language. if all else fails, he's bought dustin a tiny dry erase board, which dustin mostly uses to heckle steve with as steve putzers around his sick bed. "hey beautiful, nice ass" etc. :)
The funniest part about watching fandom treat a four year age gap like it's an absolutely crime against humanity
Is the knowledge that my partner was committing grand theft auto and then thrown in jail the year I was BORN
Like four years is NOTHING that's the most normal age gap in the history of age gaps to the point that once both parties have reached 16 it shouldn't even COUNT AS AN AGE GAP
steve develops an allergy to gluten once he reaches his thirties. he doesn't like to flag this for people or call attention to it, preferring to just quietly not eat much or bring his own gluten free granola bars to functions.
dustin, on the other hand, takes managing steve's gluten allergy into his own hands. steve may not want to "make a fuss" but dustin ABSOLUTELY will. he makes a point of calling every restaurant and every party host in advance to confirm they have gluten-free options available and that there is no cross-contamination. dustin decides to take up baking for the sole purpose of baking every gluten free bread and sweet treat imaginable because he wants steve to still enjoy carbs, damnit! and plus he knows steve has a sweet tooth.
on his days off, steve often finds dustin in the kitchen covered in gluten-free flour and muttering about xantham gum and resting times like a mad scientist. steve's heart flutters a little every time dustin pulls out a fresh batch of cookies or makes him a flourless cake.
this is the late 90s when gluten-free options were not widely available yet and definitely not understood. steve hates being "different" and "feeling like a burden," but instead of saying that out loud he rationalizes that he probably shouldn't be eating bread and sweets anyway since he "should lose weight."
dustin is affronted by the implication that steve should be skinnier and makes him a gluten-free cake that he decorates with the words: "i <3 your cake" and the icing is in the shape of butt cheeks. 🍑
this singlehandedly overcomes any possible body image issues steve had developed up until that point. :)
ryan atwood is truly the character of all time like. he’s the brooding bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks but he’s also the moral compass of the story. he got adopted by his public defender. he stayed at the cohens’ house for one night and immediately decided he was ride or die for their geeky ass son. he has started at least four fights at fancy parties. he has a savior complex. he’s afraid of emotional intimacy. he is loyal to a fault. his type is girls who are just a little annoying. he is the king of the side-eye. he has experienced unimaginable levels of trauma. he’s 5’7”. he’s afraid of heights. he wants to be an architect. he stole a car. crashed it. he’s whoever you want him to be. he even played snoopy in his eighth grade production of you’re a good man charlie brown.
steve is a morning person and dustin is a night owl.
steve wakes up early to exercise, make coffee, and pack lunches for himself and dustin. since he's a teacher, he has to leave early to get to school and set up his classroom/gym equipment before the morning bell. dustin is always seemingly fast asleep when steve leaves, but if steve goes out the door without kissing dustin goodbye sweetly on the cheek he WILL receive a phone call about it later during his lunch break. and steve just makes it up to him with an extra sloppy and long kiss when he gets home later that day :)
Steve’s mind returned to a reality bounded by time more quickly than he had before, the memory of being split apart and scattered across the universe fighting to stay lodged in his mind even as he felt the rest of his brain shutter around it, like caging a wild tiger that wanted nothing more than to rip Steve’s sanity to shreds. It was difficult, but his brain had done this before, and it knew what to do.
Steve sat up quickly like he’d received a shock from a defibrillator, pushing Dustin’s arms off his chest.
“Do you remember this?” He wheezed. “This happened before, Dustin, we have to remember this time!”
“What? What are you talking about? I don't understand. One minute you were--gone and then you reformed in the center of the room,” Dustin said in a shaking voice.
Steve needed him to understand. Needed Dustin to remember because Steve was terrified they'd keep doing the same thing over and over again. That Steve would flee down these steps and hurtle out into the void to be unmade and remade, and Steve was terrified that he'd go crazy if it happened again.
“Dustin, promise me! We can't forget this moment!”
But Dustin just looked at him without comprehension. For a hysterical second Steve imagined this was probably how Dustin felt talking to him on a near daily basis.
Dustin. His wonderfully brilliant genius Dustin who was far too smart for him.
“Why would we forget this? Steve, what is happening? You need to explain,” Dustin said, sounding frightened.
Steve pulled Dustin into his arms who made a noise of surprise even as he clutched back at him tightly.
“We're going to disappear and wake up back in the break room before our last fight. Before we do anything with Doc and Coach. It’s already happened before! I went through those doors and died and you brought me back to life and then we--”
“You're saying time is looping?” Dustin interrupted sharply.
Steve sagged in relief that Dustin was always so quick to understand. He brought a hand up to hold the nape of his neck.
“Any second now,” he breathed. Steve leaned in, pulled like a magnetic force toward Dustin. He caught the way Dustin's eyes widened and his breath hitched in recognition that Steve was about to kiss him. But even as Dustin’s eyes fluttered shut, he dissolved in Steve's arms, fading like smoke in the wind.
When Steve woke up, it was because he sensed Doc's presence hovering over him. At least, that's what he assumed at first but the towering wave of nausea that rolled over him could have been the culprit too. Steve turned from Doc, leaned over the armrest of his chair and vomited. There wasn't much in Steve’s stomach to purge but the nausea was so strong that he continued to retch until nothing but bile came up. When he finished he shook violently, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. Doc was running a hand up and down his back and when he turned back to him, his face was full of care and worry. The older man placed a warm dry hand to his forehead and smoothed down his face.
“Are you okay?” He asked.
Steve saw movement out of the corner of his eye--Dustin was hovering nearby, brow furrowed as he watched him. Coach still sat on the couch, looking shaken and weak, though not nearly as bad as Steve felt.
Something pressed at the corner of his mind, like a memory just out of reach.
“There's something I'm supposed to remember,” he said haltingly, voice chattering. He was shaking from head to foot, chills running through him. He wracked his brain, trying to recall it, but his thoughts slid around his mind like they were trying to run from him. Maybe trying to protect him. But from what?
“You’re going to look in Dr. Brenner’s office, aren’t you?” Steve asked Dr. Henderson who was still crouched over him, arms bracketing him in his chair comfortingly.
“What’s going on?” Dustin asked, looking back and forth between the two Steves. “Is this to do with the exotic matter?”
A headache built in Steve’s head rapidly, pounding sharply over his left eye. Steve strained to get the words out as if fishing for them out of a deep chasm in his mind. “You and Coach--you traveled here through a wormhole.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Dustin immediately retorted.
Steve ignored him and looked at Doc who looked confused and alarmed, but nodded slowly. “There’s a corner of the bookshelf--top right--that’s what you’re looking for. Information that will prove how all this happened.”
Everyone looked at Steve with doubt painted clearly on their faces.
“Look, I can go with you and prove it if you don’t believe me,” Steve said, rising from his chair. He took three steps and then his legs wobbled as if he no longer knew how to stand at all. He crumpled and only Doc’s quick leap to catch him under the armpits saved his knees from cracking against the floor. Steve sagged heavily against the older man, unable to keep himself upright, so Doc guided him to the ground.
“Steve!” Dustin crouched down next to him. “Are you--?” His lip trembled briefly when Steve dragged his head to the side with supreme effort to look at him. Chills continued to run up and down Steve’s body, his breathing thin and ragged.
“Okay, you need to stay here. I’ll go look.” Doc unfolded himself from where he was supporting Steve and crossed to Coach who was holding his head in his hands like he too was struggling with a pounding headache. “Baby, are you okay? Is the same thing happening to both of you?”
Coach stood slowly, accepting Doc’s proffered hand and swayed, but didn’t collapse. “I think I’m doing better than him, but I feel…weird. I feel like we’ve done this before. Except not. As if the previous times were different.”
Steve watched as Coach shook his head as if trying to clear water from his ears, resting his hands on Doc's shoulders whole the shorter man supported him. “You two just--just stay put, okay? I know that’s difficult for you both, but we’ll be back soon.”
Steve didn’t have the energy to put up an argument as he watched them turn to leave the room, but Dustin spluttered indignantly. “Wait! I’m coming too! I want to figure out what’s happening.”
“You can come up with a theory after we come back with information,” Doc said shortly. “Or better yet, listen to Steve and come up with a theory based on what he’s told you right now. But don’t leave him alone when he’s so weak.”
“I’m not that weak,” Steve mumbled as he folded in on himself even more.
“Jesus Christ,” Dustin muttered under his breath as Doc hurried out of the room, Coach quick on his heels.
“Oh, sorry to be such an inconvenience,” Steve tried to snap. The words dragged out heavily, dropping like stones into the silence. “Sorry to make you miss out on a chance to be a complete know-it-all.”
A bizarre sensation of deja vu stole over Steve, and he shook violently with more full-body chills. His sweat felt frozen to his forehead, and he wondered if he had a fever. Dustin swore and swooped back in to grab at Steve as he listed over, unable to keep himself propped up any longer. God, he just wanted to go to sleep. Ideally forever. Steve drooped in Dustin’s arms, and swallowed down the whimper that threatened to bubble up out of him at how warm Dustin was. The last thing he needed was Dustin mocking him for that, too.
“What’s wrong, Steve? What’s happening to you?” Dustin asked, his voice suddenly stripped bare of the frustration from moments earlier. A hand fluttered over Steve’s brow and cheeks that Steve shamelessly tried to chase. He was so cold. Steve shook again and this time the chills didn’t subside. He continued to shudder, leaning into Dustin’s chest, feeling like he was going to fly apart, like every part of his self wanted nothing to do with any other part of him. “Steve?” Palpable fear threaded Dustin’s voice, and the teen tightened his hold on him.
It helped, and Steve felt enough strength to twist his fingers into Dustin’s jacket. “I’m tired, Henderson. I’m just tired. I’ll be okay. Look, why don’t you explain to me how wormholes work. I know that’s how Coach and Doc traveled here but I don’t know why I know that.”
“Steve, you can’t even stand up right now…” Dustin said helplessly, keeping a firm grip around Steve’s shoulders.
But even as Dustin said it, Steve felt strength returning to him, his muscles tightening and itching to move. He stood swiftly, leaving Dustin crouched on the ground and stretched his arms, wanting something to put his energy toward.
“C’mon, Henderson, tell me what you think. I know you’ve got a theory.” He leaned down and flicked at the brim of Dustin’s baseball cap, wanting to tease him. He felt exuberant, despite how little they knew of what was going on. The weariness of the prior moment was utterly forgotten. “How does a wormhole explain why everyone’s watches have stopped?” Steve started to pace the room for lack of anything better to do.
“Steve, you’re freaking me out. Can you just stop and calm down? A second ago you could barely walk!”
Steve strode to the window and looked outside. Or at least, he tried to look outside, but instead of the forest outside the Lab that he expected to see, it was like someone had drawn shades on the outside of the windows. There was nothing. Not a single pinprick of light or shape of anything. Just total darkness.
I think it's very fitting for Dustin specifically to start emulating Eddie after he died. Because like I've said in previous posts, he always imagined there was a hierarchy of friendship, and he always put himself at the bottom of it. So, if someone who valued him for who he was, and encouraged him to never change, up and died out of nowhere—specially after a stupid choice—he absolutely would want to preserve that person's presence. And really, who would miss Dustin? Eddie is clearly the more important person to keep existing.
But that's the grief talking. And regardless of how much effort he puts into emulating Eddie—his hair, his mannerisms, his clothing, wanting to restart Hellfire—when people complain about how his actions, they complain about Dustin. Dustin is losing his mind, Dustin is being a brat; everyone still sees him as Dustin.
Which, to him, would be funny if it wasn't tragic. He is dismissed and ignored so often, that even when he is not being himself, none of his supposed friends recognizes it. No one reaches out to try and bring back Dustin, even when Dustin is being Eddie.
So maybe he should stay as Eddie. No one misses Dustin, anyway. And the world needs more Eddies—people who aren't afraid to live by their own standards, who wear their differences like a badge of honor instead of hiding them in shame. The world needs less Dustins—annoying know-it-alls who are always screaming they are right, and offer nothing of value besides their intelligence. Dustins can be replaced by an encyclopedia. Eddies make the world a nicer, more fun place to live.
Eddies are better friends, that people actually miss. Dustins are friends that people can do without.
And for over a year, no one challenged Dustin on that. As always, Dustin was right.
