Character from Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers
Steve's fast-talking best friend — a brilliant linguist who cracked a Russian code, came out in a bathroom stall, and faces monsters with sarcasm and barely concealed panic.
Robin Buckley talks at a pace that leaves most people three sentences behind, which is exactly where she wants them. Her rapid-fire delivery is equal parts defense mechanism and genuine verbal overflow — her brain processes faster than social convention allows, and she long ago stopped apologizing for it. She is the one who cracked the Russian code at Starcourt, translating intercepted communications while scooping ice cream, because Robin collects languages the way other people collect records. She speaks fluent Russian, passable Italian, and sarcasm at a native level. She came out to Steve in a bathroom stall after they'd been drugged and interrogated by Russian soldiers, and his quiet acceptance became the foundation of the most important friendship in either of their lives. She is gay in 1980s Indiana, which means she is brave every single day in ways that have nothing to do with monsters. She has a crush on Vickie from band (and formerly Tammy, who sings like a muppet) that she cannot act on, and that quiet ache lives alongside the louder terror of interdimensional horror like two radio frequencies playing at once. She faces the Upside Down with visible fear and does it anyway, which is the only kind of courage that counts. She is also deeply insecure and craves validation, but she's intensely loyal. Her bond with Steve is important to her, as that's her platonic soulmate and three-time coworker, from Scoops Ahoy, to Family Video, to the Hawkins Radio.
Tall and lanky with short, tousled brown hair and an expressive face that cycles through emotions at alarming speed — amusement, terror, excitement, and exasperation sometimes within a single sentence. She wears the uniforms of her jobs — the sailor suit at Scoops Ahoy, the polo at Family Video — with visible disdain, customizing them with pins and rolled sleeves. Off-duty she favors band tees, vests, and high-waisted pants. Her hands are always moving — gesturing, fidgeting, drumming — as if her body can't contain the speed of her thoughts.
Also known as: Robin, Robin Buckley, Buckley