An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson
Characters: Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, Claudia Henderson
Additional Tags: Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, Dustin Henderson Needs a Hug, Codependent Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington Comforting Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington is Dustin Henderson's Big Brother, Dustin Henderson is Steve Harrington's Little Brother, Steve and Dustin are brothers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Stranger Things 2, Stranger Things 3, Good Parent Claudia Henderson, Post-Stranger Things 5 Finale, Slight Mention of The Party - Freeform, Steve and Dustin centric, Steve and Dustin are the Best of Brothers, seriously theyre so cute, Love them, no beta we die like eddie
Summary:
“Everything’s gonna be ok, kid.”
“You don’t know that,” Dustin whispered, fighting the heaviness in his eyelids as he lay in his bed. Steve was set up on the floor next to him, sitting up as he looked at the boy.
“No,” He started. “But, I can make sure of it, ok?”
--
Or, Steve is always comforting Dustin, so the one time Dustin has to comfort Steve, he just copies what Steve always does.
................
Based on this post by @literallyidontwannadothis because I just had to, and might do more since this isn’t my best (very tired but had to get my thoughts out)
If youve been wondering where ive been, ive been on Lexapro for a while. and it seems to work pretty well! its the only antidepressant ive tried so far thats had an actual measurable impact on the episodes i get.
but also... i just feel a little less me. Idk, im the erratic lesbian, you all know this. but ever since the lexapro kicked in i just havent really been getting mood swings like i used to. And like, yeah, im less depressed. But im not getting as angry. im not getting as sad. im not getting as happy.
which is maybe for the best. but it has made me just... not as interested in anything on tumblr. specifically, i havent really fixated on artificer or pebbles since the lexapro kicked in. so thats why i havent been posting much here.
I still have that little voice in my head. get mad. get mad! get mad!
say what you want about reddit but the kind strangers of r/excel just helped me solve a work problem that's gonna make me look like a superhero tomorrow
Of course I love him because he’s a child you can adopt in Pathologic 2. Of course I love him because he very obviously cares a lot about Artemiy, of course I love him because he basically clings to you into the game. Of course I love him as a constant by my side in game. But of course I also love him because of his own character as well.
A few months ago I had realized that it was inevitable for him to become my favorite character. It wasn’t just that I had run out of ideas to think about with Murky, or that I already loved him so much (so much that he was pretty much the sole reason I bought Pathologic 2), but also because he somewhat fits into my favorite character archetype. I once compared him to Dieter from Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, which I understand that’s something that only a few people will really get, but like... it’s just the whole “stubborn kid trying to raise himself above his past and pursue his passions (and also clinging and caring a lot about a doctor I guess?)” thing that they both share.
It’s hard for me to explain why I like him. I love his personality. I love that he’s snippy, that he’s so stubborn and like... rough around the edges. He’s fun to read, his way of talking is just so.. fun sometimes! It may not be a lot but he just... talks like a kid. I love the times when he mispronounces words, I love it when you ask if he knows what a serum is and he is just like “a thing that makes people tell the truth.” Like he’s... just a kid! He seems like he tries to act older than he is, he’s someone who doesn’t know a lot but he’ll put the things he does know to use, even if he’s wrong. He wants to help!
I love his story and arc so much, too. It’s not especially present in the game, but it’s interesting to think about this kid who has known thievery for probably almost his entire life to be the way to survive, but then getting incredibly... interested in being a doctor, and wanting to help people. Like, I just love to think about his dedication towards being a doctor, why hes so passionate about it... Like, he’s INCREDIBLY dedicated. In Marble Nest, he’s there because he wanted to learn how to be a doctor from Daniil, the third person he’s tried to learn from... He’s just so passionate about helping people. And I love to think about what could possibly be the reason, or how this connects to his past. Not in a sort of “Why is he so desperate to help people,” or in any sad sense, but more of how him becoming a doctor could relate to his skills or how his world was like before. Like, my favorite line of his is, “I know the Lines, too. How else could I find my way around all the attics, and the cellars, and those twisty yards?” Just the connections between who he was and now is trying to be... is incredibly interesting to me.
Everything I’ve said so far mainly applies to Pathologic 2, mostly because he’s in that one more and has more of an arc there, but I also love him so, so much in Pathologic 1! Maybe not everything, but I love how fucking weird he is. And I love his facial expressions! He looks like he’s in on a secret, or like he knows something about you that you yourself don’t know... And, just, he’s just SUCH a kid in P1. And I love his voice lines sooo much, like how unfazed he seems by weird shit, like the line like “Someone's leaned against my window at night. Ooh, spooky!” is SO fun to listen to. He’s just a fun character to talk to in P1!
Like, overall, he’s just such a nice character to think about, and he’s become such a big comfort character for me.
All the people I ship romantically with this character
I don’t think about him in a romantic relationship often. I think that him and Notkin could be potentially interesting, or him and Khan, due to the whole sort of triad thing they have, and how that could factor in a relationship, but it’s a little boring for me to think about him in a romantic relationship otherwise.
My non-romantic OTP for this character (im just interpreting this as other relationships i find interesting)
Murky. You all know it’s Murky first and foremost. I love, love, LOVE sibling relationships, especially their’s. I love the dynamic they have, they both love and care for Artemiy, and are connected through him, but have incredibly different opinions on Isidor, both of which are just... so interesting! Like, I love that they both come together, are both connected by showing the different sides of the same coin, of Sticky seeing Isidor as a mentor, as an incredibly good, helpful person, but of Murky knowing what Isidor has done and how much his own actions have hurt people, that he’s not always the best man you, or Artemiy, think he was. And even beyond that, even beyond just that tiny piece of their relationship, I LOVE them. I love thinking about how they might get along, how their personalities might clash (because wow they would!), but overall they’re both just... siblings who have suffered, who both would probably do anything to help one another. I love thinking of how much they must care for one another... Murky saying, “I don’t hate having a brother at all,” literally made me sobbbbb the first time I read it. I love sibling relationships, I love that they’re both explicitly siblings, I love that the writers didn’t keep it vague at all which I feel like must happen, or else I wouldn’t feel so strongly about this. I just love them. I love them.
Artemiy, of course, is another relationship I find incredibly interesting. I feel like I focused on a lot of it here already, so I won’t have as much to say, but I love how much Sticky cares about Artemiy, and maybe Artemiy doesn’t deserve that, but... It’s really sweet. And... I don’t know. I feel like Artemiy is someone that Sticky needs. Not the Artemiy that yells at Sticky, of course, but more of the Artemiy in those last few days, someone who is more of a friend to Sticky. Of course Sticky would need a father figure, and Artemiy isn’t really the greatest person for that, but I also think that Sticky... wouldn’t want him to be strictly a father figure. I feel like if Sticky had been adopted by a parental figure that was just... overtly caring, or something of the sort, he wouldn’t be comfortable with it. I think he would feel a little too old, a little too able to take care of himself to handle having someone else take too much care for him. And... I don’t know. I just feel like Artemiy could be a good match for him. Plus, Sticky already cares and trusts him a lot, and wants to learn from him... I just really enjoy thinking about their dynamic. It just can be really sweet.
The rest of the Termites! I just will be brief with this one, but I love every sort of interaction he could have with the rest of them:
With Notkin and Khan, the sort of triad thing I spoke about before, what their friendship could possibly be like. I typically think of it more in a silly way, like Notkin and Khan are arguing, while Sticky is just like, “You’re both wrong and dumb.” Like he would just be an intermediary between them, which I think is really interesting? Sucks that he finds them annoying, though.
With Grace, I find their dynamic interesting. Niru pointed out how they’re both self-sacrificing (well, Grace more-so), which... I don’t know. They have interesting parallels in regards to that. I feel like it would be such a... soft friendship, and like there’s many ways they would get along, many things they have in common. Plus, I’m just thinking of playing Sticky in MOTW with him yelling SO much at Grace for her putting herself on the line, and trying to care of her as much as possible or like whenever Grace stayed over (outside of the game), Sticky would play games for her, and I don’t know... I just see their friendship as being maybe not exactly super established or deep, but they care for one another a lot. It just would be very soft which is nice to think about.
With Capella, I have less thoughts in regards to them. I feel like they would have a respectful relationship towards one another. Maybe they get together and complain about Notkin or Khan or something, but other than that I see it more as a friendship built on mutual respect towards one another, and I can’t quite see them hanging out as much. Still, a very interesting dynamic to think about.
And finally with Taya, I love the idea of Sticky telling Taya stories! I don’t think it would come up in P2, as the changes in Sticky’s character may take that out, but it’s so cute! I love, love, love it!!! I love thinking of what kind of stories, and it’s just... it’s a nice dynamic, and I feel like it fleshes out both of their characters in a nice way.
Before I move on, I have to say. Read Niru’s fic on Sticky’s relationship with the other Termites please it’s so good!!!
Outside of the Termites, I have to say I find the parallels between him and Clara interesting. Both are thieves, and I just realized both of them are healers in a sense, who just want to help. I don’t have quite many thoughts on it, but I think the parallels between them could be so interesting to explore.
And, finally, Shrew!!! I love Shrew so much, her dynamic with Sticky is so interesting. I love how while she’s trying to let Daniil pass on, she also seems hopeless and scared, and she’s so frustrated with Sticky for not allowing her to help. And I just find the fact that despite all we ever see of Sticky and Shrew is them arguing, and disagreeing heavily on what the situation needs, Sticky still says they’re quite good friends... It’s interesting to think of what their friendship could be like. In MOTW, I had Sticky and Shrew be childhood friends who have grown apart in all of these years, but still care about each other, but not really relating like they once did... I just feel like they have the vibes. I love thinking about them.
My unpopular opinion about this character
Hmm... I don’t think Sticky really, truly cares about Daniil in Marble Nest. I can only see him caring about Daniil being because Daniil is a doctor, someone who can help him help people. Well, I mean, of course he cares about him, but not quite like as much as other people seem to think. I also don’t like people only focusing on Sticky only in relation to Daniil or Artemiy. I want to see more people think about Sticky as his own character, rather than a character that cares about their favorite. However, I tend to stay away from most Sticky content I think, so who knows what the popular opinion on Sticky is.
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.
Oh, like I said, I hope that there’s more on his dynamic with Clara in her route! I think it would be so interesting and fun!! I also wish you could talk to him a bit more, like on day 10 or 11 in Artemiy’s route. Also, of course, I wish you could hug him in P2. I don’t know, I’m more just excited to possibly see him in the other routes, interacting with other characters!
