Deerington, Maine
March 2019 - June 2021Deerington took place in the terminally isolated town of Deerington, Maine, a darling picture of small-town suburbia beset by frequent, gut-wrenching horrors. Mike was in the game for just over two years. He was pulled in from 2x09, "The Gate", as his ankle was caught by vines in the Upside Down, and spent the first couple of months as a feral child, trying to fend for himself. As castmates arrived and strangers became friends, he found a close-knit family and gradually built a life between the terrifying chaos. He left only briefly, gaining his canon memories through July 4, 1985, but slowly began to lose the desire to go home at all, preferring the person he'd grown into in Deerington. After two years and three months, however, the world began to crumble, and Mike, now sixteen, took the last opportunity to leave, hoping against hope that he would return home with his memories intact.
He got part of his wish. His memories are intact, but he sure isn't home.
Here are the major highlights of this CRAU, in terms of changes to expect:
ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴠs. ɴᴜʀᴛᴜʀᴇ. In Hawkins, Mike spent his preteen years in relative comfort. Yes, there were monsters on occasion, but he was looked after by adults who fed him three healthy meals a day, took him to the doctor, made him to go school, and any number of other things important to a developing kid. The adults and older teens in Deerington tried their best, but there was only so much that could be done by a frazzled Steve Harrington managing several children in a ceaseless nightmare world. The product is a sickly-thin boy with untamable hair, razor-sharp bones, and a feral look about him. He's lost any semblance of manners or decorum, hasn't slept in a proper bed in years, and hasn't attended school since he was thirteen. Less apparent is the fierce struggle with depression, built up after years of survival and loss. And he's y'all's problem, now.
ғᴇʟʟᴀs ɪs ɪᴛ ɢᴀʏ ᴛᴏ... Okay, you try getting introduced to the concept of bisexuality then immediately getting reunited with your best friend after several months of being nearly alone, and proceeding to spend the next two and a half years with him as your only continuous companion.
ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ. Mike found all sorts of creative ways to get injured in Deerington, and a few have had lasting impacts. His nose is a bit crooked after he got hit in the face with a microwave and then failed to receive any medical care due to being stubborn and kind of embarrassed. He is missing his pinky and ring finger on his left hand, from where they were efficiently removed by a giant dog. Most noticeable and impactful is his right leg, which was crushed by a convenience store just a month or so before the end of Deerington. Treatment options weren't ideal at the time, and he was left with limited motion and chronic pain.
ᴜʜ ᴏʜ, sɪɴᴋʏ. Hard left turn, but it's just important to note that Mike drowned on the Titanic after it was attacked by Godzilla. It was deeply traumatic. He remains terrified of water and still has a whole AU in his head of growing up in the early 1900s.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴅᴇ ᴘᴏᴅ ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ. Mike got possessed by a dark entity that mostly just wanted to hiss at people from the ceiling and eat cleaning supplies. It turned out it just wanted friendship, and Will exorcised it with the power of love.
ɪᴍᴘᴏʀᴛᴀɴᴛ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘs. Don't worry, I don't expect anyone to honor CRAU importance and won't force CR that you don't want. But here are the most key relationships that Mike had in the game, to where he would be impacted by seeing the characters in another game:
He got part of his wish. His memories are intact, but he sure isn't home.
Here are the major highlights of this CRAU, in terms of changes to expect:
ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴠs. ɴᴜʀᴛᴜʀᴇ. In Hawkins, Mike spent his preteen years in relative comfort. Yes, there were monsters on occasion, but he was looked after by adults who fed him three healthy meals a day, took him to the doctor, made him to go school, and any number of other things important to a developing kid. The adults and older teens in Deerington tried their best, but there was only so much that could be done by a frazzled Steve Harrington managing several children in a ceaseless nightmare world. The product is a sickly-thin boy with untamable hair, razor-sharp bones, and a feral look about him. He's lost any semblance of manners or decorum, hasn't slept in a proper bed in years, and hasn't attended school since he was thirteen. Less apparent is the fierce struggle with depression, built up after years of survival and loss. And he's y'all's problem, now.
ғᴇʟʟᴀs ɪs ɪᴛ ɢᴀʏ ᴛᴏ... Okay, you try getting introduced to the concept of bisexuality then immediately getting reunited with your best friend after several months of being nearly alone, and proceeding to spend the next two and a half years with him as your only continuous companion.
ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ. Mike found all sorts of creative ways to get injured in Deerington, and a few have had lasting impacts. His nose is a bit crooked after he got hit in the face with a microwave and then failed to receive any medical care due to being stubborn and kind of embarrassed. He is missing his pinky and ring finger on his left hand, from where they were efficiently removed by a giant dog. Most noticeable and impactful is his right leg, which was crushed by a convenience store just a month or so before the end of Deerington. Treatment options weren't ideal at the time, and he was left with limited motion and chronic pain.
ᴜʜ ᴏʜ, sɪɴᴋʏ. Hard left turn, but it's just important to note that Mike drowned on the Titanic after it was attacked by Godzilla. It was deeply traumatic. He remains terrified of water and still has a whole AU in his head of growing up in the early 1900s.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴅᴇ ᴘᴏᴅ ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ. Mike got possessed by a dark entity that mostly just wanted to hiss at people from the ceiling and eat cleaning supplies. It turned out it just wanted friendship, and Will exorcised it with the power of love.
ɪᴍᴘᴏʀᴛᴀɴᴛ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘs. Don't worry, I don't expect anyone to honor CRAU importance and won't force CR that you don't want. But here are the most key relationships that Mike had in the game, to where he would be impacted by seeing the characters in another game:
- sᴛᴇᴠᴇ ʜᴀʀʀɪɴɢᴛᴏɴ: Steve was the first castmate to arrive in the game, and immediately made himself responsible for his ex's annoying little brother. He spent much of the next two years trying his best to take care of Mike, while Mike pretended that he hadn't gotten just as attached.
- ᴡɪʟʟ ʙʏᴇʀs. Will arrived a few months after Mike, and they didn't leave each other's sight until they walked out of Deerington hand-in-hand. It wasn't hard for a deep friendship to turn into some frankly stunning codependency, and for a little crush to develop on the side. They decided to be boyfriends after a very helpful red-string-of-fate plot.
- ᴡᴀᴅᴇ ᴡɪʟsᴏɴ. The first adult Mike felt like he could trust, who quickly became a weird uncle figure Mike could come to with questions about serious shit. He taught Mike about gay people and guns.
- ᴘᴇᴛᴇʀ ᴘᴀʀᴋᴇʀ. Specifically the PS4 Pete, but he doesn't know there are others yet. He took up the role of weird uncle after Wade left, and made it his job to check on the kid against all resistance, eventually becoming another trusted caretaker. Peter died in the endgame and didn't come back, and Mike feels responsible.
- ʙʀɪᴀɴɴᴀ ʙᴇʀᴇɴsᴏɴ. BFF, after Will. Partners in skateboarding, zombie-fighting, and weed-smoking. Mike failed to save her from dying two (2) times and will never be over it.
- ᴄʜᴀʀʟɪᴇ ᴋᴇʟʟʏ. Look. This one probably won't come up, but just in case, it's deeply important to know that Charlie once fell through Mike's ceiling, taught him about crack and STDs, and then left the way he came in.
