#<- top 5 favorite steddie tropes

[marvel-ous-m]

Eddie Munson's Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (1/5)

Part Two

Eddie Munson is many things, but he is not the kind of guy who will kick someone while they’re down.

Call it a hero complex, call it too many hours spent licking his wounds after particularly harsh words from a bully- whatever name you give it, Eddie is vehemently against hurting someone who's clearly already hurting, no matter how much he may hate that individual.

Which is why, in early November of ‘84, Eddie hatches a plan.

It starts in the library, as most of his brilliant ideas do. He’s spending his lunch hour pouring over a borrowed fantasy novel to try and get ideas for NPC’s for his latest campaign with Hellfire, but he gets distracted by a loud thump and a whispered ‘shit’, followed by a sniff. Eddie turns, book still in hand, and proceeds to drop the book onto the carpeted floor of the library in shock.

Because there is Steve Harrington- face beat to hell, hands shakily holding on to a lunch tray, and a salad spewed in all directions at his feet. The librarian- Ms. Boliene (a bitch to everyone other than her outcasts)- began cussing Steve out, demanding he pick up the salad, and Steve got a glossy look in his eye that told Eddie that he was about two seconds from breaking down in tears.

Which- honestly, that was probably the strangest part of this whole ordeal. Steve was King of Hawkins High (and maybe, Eddie theorized, was was the operative word there). Steve had been on a downward slope of popularity since last year when he and Tommy had their falling out. Billy Hargrove (barf) had been getting more and more popular, and, after last weekend, there was a rumor going around that Steve’s girlfriend, Nancy, broke up with him then immediately hooked up with Jonathan Byers.

(Hey, Eddie’s always one to root for the outcasts, he is one, after all- but kinda a dick move, Wheeler. Also, not great of Byers to agree to something like that, especially if he knew about the situation.)

Eddie focused his attention back on the scene in front of him- Steve was now crouching down to pile the wasted salad onto his lunch tray and was blinking rapidly, trying to stave off tears. His head was also doing this thing where it was dipping forward than instantly picking up, like he was trying to even stay awake. Which… huh.

Eddie was sure at this point- this was the lowest he’d ever seen someone get. Even his dad after his mom passed wasn’t like this- at least that bastard could still go out and break shit and get arrested. Steve looked like the only thing he wanted to do at this point was fall apart. Why was he even at school?

Eddie sighed and stood, crossing the room to where Steve was crouching. He gently batted Steve’s hands away and finished cleaning up his lunch, tossing it (and the plastic tray- because fuck this school, honestly) into the large garbage can sitting by the front door of the library. When he turned around Steve was standing, looking a bit shell-shocked. “I… that was my lunch.”

“The floor salad was your lunch? I could believe that before you dropped it, but after? Dude, that’s a low that you cannot reach. I have an extra sandwich in my bag, c’mon.”

Eddie grabbed Steve’s arm, letting go immediately when he felt the whole-body flinch that Harrington gave. Eddie held his hands up, backing up towards the table where he was sitting previously. “I won’t touch you, but you should probably eat, Harrington. I’m extending the metaphorical olive branch in the form of food, I promise that I’m not gonna bite your head off.”

Steve assessed the situation, eyes darting around the library, before he finally nodded and joined Eddie at his table, sitting across from the spot where all of his materials were strewn about. Eddie grabbed his book from the floor and ripped into his backpack, pulling his lunch out and passing it to Steve. (It wasn’t really an extra sandwich, it was his lunch, but it was fine. Jeff always brought snacks to Hellfire and Eddie wasn’t even that hungry today).

Steve stared at the cling-wrapped sandwich in shock, then carefully set to unwrapping it. Eddie noticed a slight tremor in his hands, but decided against commenting on it. “So, uh… what happened?” Fuck, Eddie, abort, abort, that was literally the last goddamn thing you were supposed to ask.

“Um…” Steve finished unwrapping the sandwich, pulling the bread slices apart. “Bologna?”

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. I know it probably goes against your rich folk sensibilities, but I promise it’s worth a try.”

“Yeah.” Steve took a bite of the sandwich, then washed it down with the bottle of water Eddie slid his way. “S’not my first time having bologna and it won’t be my last. Not bad, though.” Steve set the sandwich down, licking his lips. “Thank you, by the way. Eddie, right? You played at battle of the bands last year?”

Eddie blinked in surprise. The change in conversation topic made him totally forget his previous question. “Um- yeah, that was me. Me and the boys- Corroded Coffin. Not your thing?”

“No! I liked it, actually. Very ‘stick it to the man’. I can get behind that.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at Steve, to which he received a responding chuckle. “My dad- he’s an asshole.” oh shit, did Steve’s dad do this?

Eddie’s expression must have shifted, because Steve immediately started rambling. “Shit- no, fuck, I know what you’re thinking, he didn’t do this, my parents have been out of town for like, three months. This was Billy- but it’s fine, really! Like, I can see, and I’m not super dizzy, I’m just a little lacking in coordination which- yeah, the lunch tray. You know what? I’m gonna shut up now.” Steve took another bite of the sandwich and another swig of water, and Eddie noted that Steve’s knee began to bounce up and down.

Eddie decided to push everything aside and deal with it later. Apparently this wound was still fresh (both emotionally and physically), and while Eddie could get into a number of things that Steve just spewed out (his parents have been gone for three months? Billy did this? Steve is halfway to falling over but he’s still at school?!) Eddie elected to change the subject.

“So, Steve, do you know anything about D&D?” Steve’s eyes lit up and he launched into a rant about a couple of kids that he hung around. Eddie listened with a small smirk on his face, eyebrow raised.

Steve was… different than expected. Kind, a little awkward, anxious. There’s only one reason that a jock like him has lunch in the library, and it’s because he didn’t have anyone left to sit with in the Cafeteria. He reminded Eddie of an abandoned dog… specifically a golden retriever with Steve’s eyes and his floppy hair.

Curse Eddie’s big heart and savior complex, but he knew what he had to do. Steve was about to become the newest member of Eddie’s little herd of lost sheep, whether he liked it or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I haven’t decided if I’m going to write a part 2- let me know if you’d be interested in one! I’m so glad to be back to writing after a very long semester of school. I should be writing a lot this summer, so drop some prompts in my ask if you want to see something specific!

[aidaronan]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @wynnyfryd and @stevethehairington. Thank!!! 1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 131 (Jesus Christ)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,069,649

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently I write primarily Stranger Things with the occasion OFMD but I have written for Marvel (Stucky, Sambucky, Danbeau, gen), The Old Guard, and The Walking Dead. I tend to hyperfixate on a ship/fandom for a few years and then mostly move on when for whatever reason I no longer have interest.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Steddie completely overtook all my top fics, which is pretty wild. The top five are: The Prettiest Boy in Hawkins, Indiana Anywhere, Anytime Critical Hit It's Not a Big Deal I'd Burn the Castle for You

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Sometimes. I very much like to interact with fandom and fandom people. That's kind of the whole point. But I'm ultimately a person with a lot going on and treating comments like they're transactional (aka always owed a response) makes responding to comments feel like a job which is exhausting for me personally.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I mean, as much as I generally like a hopeful ending, there's a fair few. I mean, I was in The Walking Dead fandom where anyone can die so... lol But a recentish one I can remember is one I don't talk about much or promote really bc I don't like to think about it all that often. It's just Steve sneaking back into the Upside Down to bury Eddie. Nothing else, just closure. I wrote it when I was processing some feelings about losing my grandma's cat in a pretty traumatic way. I bottle fed him as a baby and always considered him kind of my cat too. Because of how and when it all happened, I had to take charge and bury him all alone, so I sort of used Steve to get some of it out.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Lol I tend to do Happy Endings so... God, hard to pick. I like the way I'd Burn the Castle for You ends because it's happy but it feels really grounded at the same time which I think makes it happier because it feels like they could actually have it. But when I think of the happiest, I might have to go back to Stucky and We didn't need this to love each other, but I'm glad we get to do it anyway which is a fic where Steve and Bucky never went to war, find a way to live a whole life together despite how hard it was to do so, and then get married when it's finally legal in NY. (Yes, I will keep using the characters getting married when it's finally legal trope because 1. I'm actually a sap, and 2. It's a good reminder that it's recent and hard-won.)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Sometimes, not in a while

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Well. Hahahhahaha It can be anything from tender lovemaking to hardcore to hardcore with monsters and any mix or combo of those.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Crossovers in the sense of characters from different fandoms interacting? Not in a very long time, I don't think?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Stolen where they attempt to pass it off as theirs, I don't think so. I have, however, had quite a few rude little fuckers repost it on Wattpad lol

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A few of my Stucky fics were translated into Russian.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No because I'm terrible at asking for people to work on stuff with me lol I am trying to get better at not thinking I'm annoying everyone all the time and actually talk about collabs and things. @sparklyslug and I are maybe going to do something if we can stop signing up for bangs lmao

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I can't answer this because the answer is always going to change based on whatever I'm into at the time lol

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I can't point to any specific one because I genuinely don't know which ones I will and won't finish. BUT I do know there's never any conceivable way I'll finish all of my WIPs because just for Stranger Things, I have like 59. Maybe I'll say the Paramedic fic because I sort of lost the will to work on it after I took it down. It didn't really feel like there was any interest.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. And fucknasty porn if we're being honest.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I sometimes feel like I really struggle writing any interpersonal relationships because I'm pretty bad at them irl. I know ADHD bleeds into my work and in every single character I write even if they don't intentionally have ADHD traits because I'll never ever actually understand the world from any other perspective. I also have to resist overexplaining shit even in my writing. I'm also bad at actually, you know, starting the task of writing sometimes lmaooo Plus just, like, me and my insecurities. Which is more of a personal weakness but it def affects how I interact with some of my own work/responses to it sometimes. Also see above and hate asking for "help" and being a "bother" and the fact that only like a few of my stories are beta'd lol

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't do it very often, esp in Steddie. But I've done it in the past (I mean, Bucky Barnes, so...) It's like anything else in writing. You do it when you have a reason to do it and you consider the why of it and how different readers might interact with it and how you WANT them to interact with it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

MCR and The Used bandfic back on motherfucking Quizilla

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Not to flex with the fact that I have 131 works on ao3 and that I've been writing on there for over 10 years, but there are so many things I love and love still--or even things I don't love still and would do a completely different way but love the memory of, or even just the accomplishment represented by that thing--that it'd be impossible to pick just one. But I'll talk about a few that come to mind - Fave Steddie is still Cut and Changed and Rearranged and my baby bisexual Steve learning he is loved

I love the work and historical research I put into The Second Labor, my alt version of the first Captain America movie where Steve joins the war effort in a different way.

And I also love my Cyberpunk Stucky, Empires Fall, but Not Us and think of it fondly.

Anyway thanks again for the tags Wynn and Mack 🥰! This was a nice little reflection moment lol Tagging @sparklyslug @greatunironic @banannabethchase @vecnuthy @starryeyedjanai

[stellarspecter]

20 questions for writers

i was tagged by @devondespresso and @spicysix! thanks guys!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

68! oh shit my next fic is my 69th i gotta finish that smut fic STAT

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

191,966. crazy

3. What fandoms do you write for?

most recently, stranger things, but i've also written a lot for julie and the phantoms and be more chill. and then various other oneshots for random stuff

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Befriend the Bully - Nerdy Prudes Must Die, 868 kudos (and 3rd most kudos'ed fic in the hatchetfield fandom???)

Saint Frost - Rise of the Guardians, 593 kudos

Me Too - Percy Jackson & the Olympians, 392 kudos

Hopefully - Be More Chill, 286 kudos

All This Feeling Second Best, It's Got Me by the Throat - Julie and the Phantoms, 249 kudos

most of those are pretty old so it makes sense that they've had the time to accumulate kudos, but that means they were also written when i was in high school so it's kind of like 😬

5. Do you respond to comments?

i used to more, now i don't really unless they said something that i specifically want to comment on. i just kind of forget or don't have anything to say lmao

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably my troped round 1 fic, you look like you've just seen a monster (is that what i look like to you?). usually i like to have a happy ending but i wrote this in like two days the week of my first breakup. so uh yeah couldn't really think of happy ending for that one.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

pretty much anything else lmao. i love to write fluff and cuddles and shit like that so just go read any other of my fics

8. Do you get hate on fics?

the only hate on fics i can remember ever getting was back in my bmc days when i wrote meremine and someone was mad bc michael is gay and didn't like that i put him in a throuple with a woman. but like other than that clown behavior no not really lmao

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i have one (1) smut fic published and it is on a different account because i was so scared of jatp fandom being mean lmao. luckily i only got nice comments on it so i will share that you can go read it here. i mean it was probably kind of obvious that it was me because there are only so many ppl into that rarepair? but idk jatp mutuals lmk who you thought it was lsdfksjf

i have been trying to write steddie smut recently, i have a wip that i'm working on that i will hopefully finish soon. if anyone would like to beta that lmk lol 👀 it is pretty kinky i will say lol but like. that's steddie for ya

10. Do you write crossovers?

not really. i'm more likely to just make an au of something for whichever fandom i'm currently obsessed with

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i don't think so? ppl would be welcome to do so tho

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no. co-brainstormed and went crazy in the dms about it tho? oh yeah

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

evidence shows it to be steddie, at least for now. i'm a big multishipper so a better question would more be "what do i find myself most often in the mood for?" and the answer would still be steddie sldkfjs

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

vampire chrissy fic i want to do right by you i fear i may not.... i signed it up for the wip big bang tho so hopefully i do actually get it done

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue! i love writing dialogue. screenwriting is awesome because it's just dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

hrmm action scenes. repetitive prose. actually sitting down and plotting something cohesively

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

nothing against it but i'm only fluent in english so i'd consult someone else who actually speaks that language

19. First fandom you wrote for?

doctor who in middle school :) i wrote my fics in my little writing notebook and some of them are even on ao3 lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

like i said earlier with the favorite ship question, this is tough to answer because i feel like it comes down to more what am i in the mood for most often. i'm pretty proud of my trans steve fic as well as aro bi reggie, both of them because i spent a long time trying to make sure i doing the representation right and i think i did a good job. also that sad bobby polycurve fic from the kudos question, i put a lot of myself in it and i feel very proud of how it came out.

no-pressure tagging: @wr0temyway0ut @zazujoy @sunsetcurvecuddles @chickwiththepurpleguitar @weneedglitter

@queenofthequillandink @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @innytoes @floating-in-the-blue @invisibleraven

and anyone else who wants to do it!

[eyesofshinigami]

20 questions for writers

I was tagged by the amazing @just-my-latest-hyperfixation and @devondespresso. Thank you lovelies!!

20 questions for writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

77 fics from various fandoms. I've had AO3 for a hot minute and it's gone on the same fandom journey I've been on, lol.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

596,417 at present.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, just Steddie. But I suspect that I'll churn out an Arcane fic or two when S2 inevitably drops because I'm a simp for Vi and Caitlin, okay?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

*coughs loudly* Okay, well. They're all old One Direction fics, so I'm going to do the top one from each of my top 5 fandoms:

Right Side of the Wrong Bed (One Direction)

All the Ability to Love I Have (The Witcher)

Don't Be Surprised If I Love You (For All That You Are) (Stranger Things)

Locking Up the Sun (Captain America/Marvel)

Pull Me Out (From Inside) (Arcane)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try really, really hard to, but I typically forget about it until months later and then I go on a comment-reply spree. So, if you send a comment, I read it and treasure it and you'll probably get an answer six months later.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't have any, actually. I'm not really big on writing angst on the whole because I don't feel like I'm really good at it? So I shy away from it. I have a couple of angsty fics I've written, but they always have a happy ending.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Honestly? All of my fics have happy and hopeful endings! I don't know if I can pick just one that stands out.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? I've had one or two comments where people questioned creative choices I made, but that's about it. I don't think my writing is popular enough to attract people who have Opinions About Everything. I'm sure it'll happen one of these days.

I think the closest are some comments I got on a One Direction daddykink fic I wrote, right when that blew up in the fandom. One person wrote one fic and of course the trope went wild, and as always, people have things they feel like they need to say. I miss the days of "don't like, don't read" of yore, yanno?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Smut is actually the easiest thing for me to write. I write all kinds, but mostly of the gay/lesbian variety, lol. Currently I'm on an A/B/O kick, so there's that.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Not typically. I've only written one, where it was Steve and Bucky and it was a Snowpiercer fusion that I wrote for an exchange many a moon ago. It was fun, but I don't have very many fandom interests that overlap well enough.

I also have about 22k written of a Cap!Steve and Winter Solider!Eddie AU that I cooked up, but it's more of a fusion than an outright crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Probably. I've never gone looking, but I know that Wattpad is a lawless land, so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah, a couple. I'm really picky/choosy about it though. It's gotta be on AO3 where I can see it linked or I say no, tbh.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! It's not been a recent thing, but I wrote a couple of fics with friends when I was in the One Direction fandom. It's a lot of fun, especially when your writing styles blend together well. I enjoyed it a lot.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That's really hard to say, actually. I typically go balls-to-the-wall when I get into a fandom, and I'm a die-hard OTPer. I find one and I stick with it. The only exception to that has been the Witcher fandom, because Jaskier and the Wolves were just really fun fandom bicycles to put in many different combinations. I'm only human.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

I'd like to think that I will finish all my WIPs but alas. Some are just going to sit and rot in my Googledocs. A Stranger Things one I'd love to finish is the Cap!Steve and Winter Soldier!Eddie one I mentioned earlier.

The one I feel the worst about is the Catskier threequel that I promised ages ago. I open the document and stare longingly into it, but the words just won't work. Maybe one day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I write good smut? And sometimes I'm funny?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have Wordy Bitch Disease like nobody's business. Call me Charles Dickens because sometimes I write fifteen words when it only needed three. Also? I'm awful at writing long fic. I want to be one of those people but I know what I'm about. The most I can manage is about 30-40k and that's that.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Probably not, honestly. Or if I did, I would have a good reason and would try to find a native speaker to help me translate it.

I did it once upon a time for a fic where the main character was a priest and the chapter titles were in Latin, but that's the closest I've come.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Published on a site? Saiyuki. Which is still one of my all-time favorite series for forever. It was my first real fandom experience, back in the Ye Olde Days of Livejournal and Fanfic.net.

But written, even if nobody could see? Probably for Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I have notebooks where eleven year old me was writing self-insert fanfic because what else are you going to do when you want to be cooler than you are, right?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Probably Right Side of the Wrong Bed, my most popular fic on AO3. Not because it's popular, but because I loved the concept, had so much fun with it, and had so many people tell me how they still go back and read that fic for comfort. It was funny and fun to write and I just had a great time with it. It sticks out for me.

A closer runner-up is Show Me, Don't Tell Me How it's Going to Be, which was a very vulnerable fic for me to write. It was an A/B/O fic where I projected some of my own sexual dysfunctions onto Jaskier, and the response to it was incredible. Some of the messages I got made me cry, tbh.

Okay, so now that I'm like... fifty million years late walking in with Starbucks, I'll do some no pressure tags: @ataliagold, @pearynice, @ghostinthelibrarywrites, @thefreakandthehair, and anyone else who wants to do it, just tag me so I can read your answers!

[whataboutthefish]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks to @mayalaen for tagging me!

First, my AO3

How many works do you have on AO3?

84

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

891,404

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently write for Stranger Things. Fandoms I have written for include, Witcher, Hannibal, SPN and i've poked around in the Marvel Universe

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Like Fine Wine - The witcher - moresome, omegaverse Masked Protection - Hannibal - Hannigram, omegaverse Yeah you made me feel - Stranger Things - Steddie, omegaverse I've been in Chains - Stranger Things - Steddie, omegaverse If I should fall - Stranger Things - Steddie, omegaverse Guess what my favourite trope is

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love to respond to comments, sometimes it takes me a bit because I get overwhelmed but I adore them and read them several times.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

A witcher fic that I love The final Winter Jaskier dying of old age as his Witchers that remain youthful hold him and love him as he goes.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Yeah you made me feel. It's a loss of virginity fic that is just so sweet and hot.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have done on Twitter which really fucked me up - but that's a hellsite so we won't count that, beside the odd weird comments I've come out fairly unscathed.

9. Do you write smut?

oh god I rarely write anything that doesn't include smut

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

OH ok I wrote A View to Kill - a Hannibal/Blood and Chocolate/ James Bond-Casino Royal fic. It's probably one of my most intense fics, it has a little in there for everyone and no guessing needed... it's omegaverse

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes one

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wrote a lot of my Hannibal fics with another person. it was really fun and a productive way to write. I think we also did a couple of marvel fics and a couple witcher fics together as well

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh nooooo I can't. I'm a multishipper through and through and I can't even decide on a favourite character.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Hmm well all of them 😂 maybe Wrapped in your arms (witcher) and Jigsaw falling into Place (spn)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Being able to balance absolute filth with fluffy soft sweetness

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

writing short things. which I never thought would be my problem until the last couple of years. I can also take ages to update something because my muse wants to write all the oneshots in my brain.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

TBH I've never tried

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Supernatural

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I don't think I can answer that. I love them all, I re-read them all a lot.

tagging anyone who wants to play! Please tag me so I can see your stuff 💜

[spicysix]

25, 35,and 43 for the writer asks 🩷

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

if it's a longer fic, it's brainstorming, outlining and planning, definitely! looove coming up with what will happen, when, and where if it's a shorter one, it's the writing process for all of them, though, i love creating the art for it. even if it's the same template (all my oneshots are the same template of fic banner, i only change the colors and fonts i assigned to each character), i looove messing around on photoshop. i also love drafting the tumblr posts and making them look pretty, just waiting for me to copy and paste the actual chapter/fic into it skkkskskde

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

it's like Sophie's Choice 😩🤧🤧 i think i gotta go with now i don't hate California after all [jargyle], i've really really liked how it turned out, i've re-read it a billion times myself and i'm so obsessed with those stoners that it's probably alarming at this point

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

hmmm right now i don't think so. i'm currently working on everything i really want to write - self indulgent roadtrip eddie fic, angsty stonathan to challenge myself, more jargyle bc i love them, 5+1 trope bc it's a really great one looking over my plot bunnies and ideas, none of them pops out in my eyes. i do wanna write more self indulgent steddie X readers and have many ideas for them, but they can wait. i think i'm at the top of my game right now 🫶 (i'm also very humble)

send me some writing asks!

[fangirlandtheories]

for the top five game: ships, songs you listened to this past week, accessories, dream vacation destinations, fics you've read lately, food stuff you don't get to have often, comfort films

Thank you my love <3

Ships:

Steddie Obviously

Stobin FRIENDSHIP

Fruity Four Friendship/ Steve Harrington and The Party

Jopper

Lumax

Honorable mention: The friendship between Murray and Joyce *chefs kiss*

Songs:

Chiquitita - ABBA

Sunny - Boney M

Take On Me (Symphonic Version) - Aha

Say You Love Me - Fleetwood Mac

Hammer To Fall - Queen

Accessories:

Claddagh Ring from my late grandmother

Nose Ring that looks like this

Necklace, again from my late grandmother, that looks like this

This pride anklet

Clip on earrings, mostly from Claire's, these or these in particular

Dream Vacations: (doing this one in black so it's more visible)

Ireland or England. I am actually planning a trip to Ireland, England. and Scotland so I'm definitely made this the top of my list.

The Island of Tonga. This one is tricky because it's not a very feasible dream tbh. Tonga is very far from me but also this is a very environmentally selfish trip. The reason I want to go is because that is where Humpback Whales tend to migrate. I love whales and I would love to see them in the place where they are happiest and free.

Disney. I went when I was little and now I have 3 young nieces and I want to go with them because the magic of it would still exist for them and thus make it more magical for me.

The West Coast. For those that don't know, I am from Pennsylvania and the furthest west I have been is Wisconsin. I wanna see the other half the country on a big road trip.

Maine. I have spent about a week in Maine and it was my favorite place, to the point that I eventually want to move there. I wanna spend as much time as possible there.

Fics:

If you hold me without hurting me (you'll be the first who ever did) by charlies_ginger This one ripped me apart and is my NUMBER ONE favorite thing I've been reading lately.

2. Where the 20 Chain Links Lead by agentM40

Clearly I like to see Steve feeling insecure about his intelligence. This is my favorite trope right now and so far this one has ticked all the right box.

3. exeunt ; enter stage by stardustcoral

Vecna'd Steve is always a goldmine of angst and this one really focuses on the idea of Steve believing that he's hated by everyone before he can figure out that it's Vecna. A must read.

4. with no cross to bear (these words just come out) by hitlikehammers

Protective Steve is so incredible because that is his wheelhouse and he loves to show his love by protecting others HOWEVER protective Eddie is my jam. Eddie who will put everyone in their place and clear a path for his love is just simply too sweet and I adore it.

5. At Below Zero by StrangerSteddie

I am a whump girl through and through so give me all the Steve whump if you wanna see me happy. Truly if anyone ever wants to send me whump recommendations I'll read every single one. This is a prime example of well written whump.

Food I Don't Have Often:

Salmon, ironic because I am having it for dinner tonight

Oxtail. My mom made it once and it was soft and rich and so fucking delicious.

I call them Beef Rollatinis, it's been the birthday meal for the past few years. It's skirt steak rolled up with bell peppers, onions, and carrots with a balsamic glaze. It's the best.

Kentucky Butter Cake. It's so yummy and a pain in the ass to make.

Low Country Boil. It's a big pot of seafood all boiled together. We usually do clams, muscles, and shrimp, and then add in sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob. It's expensive and kind of work heavy but it's so gooood.

Comfort Films:

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Mamma Mia 2) WHEN CHER CAME OUT I SOBBED AND SCREAMED

Night At The Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian. I fucking love every NATM movie but this one in particular is the best fucking one. I am a history nerd and this one just settles so nicely in my soul.

The Wizard of Oz. Surprise! Me making Steve love Wizard of Oz is a reflection of it being one of my favorite movies from when I was little.

The Muppets Christmas Carol. IN THIS FAMILY WE LOVE THIS MOVIE. Michael Caine ate. By far the best Christmas movie ever written and nothing compares. I've watched it every year since I was 8.

Life is Beautiful. This movie comforts me but it also hurts me more than any other movie. It's tragic and painful yet goofy and loving and it makes me swoon every time but I have to insist that you watch it in the original Italian as Roberto Benigni intended.

Thank you so much love, this was a lot of fun!!!!

[sky-neverending]

Get To Know Me Tag Game

Ok so here’s how this is going to go. There’s a few questions below for us to get to know each other!! A lot of the questions are fanfic writer specific, but if you can tagged and you don’t write, you can skip them or answer them as a reader!!

Questions:

Name: Sky

Pronouns: She/they/he

Favorite color: purple

Favorite tropes (pick up to 5): sharing a bed, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, roommates, fake dating.

How many active wips do you have?: more than i can count

Top 3 Fandoms: currently it’s Six of Crows, Young Royals, and Stranger Things (i have about a million that was so hard to pick lol)

Top 3 Romantic Ships: Wesper, Steddie, and Kanej

Top 3 Platonic Parings: STOBIN!!! The Crows, and Eddie & Max

Last paragraph you wrote (no cheating): “Tell me you're joking, kid.” Steve said, rushing toward the wall where the map was hung. “Oh god. Fuck, where did El send us?” He started to pace, floorboards creaking beneath his anxious feet.

Ok now for tags!!! No pressure to do this, just tagging people i’m mutuals with!! and if you want to do this and I didn’t tag you, go ahead!

@thegayafgoat @queereldritch @topheecoffee @drdsb and anyone who wants to join!!!

[imhidingonceagain]

I'm gonna say something very controversial about the Steddie shippers/community, but before you cancel me please just read what I have to say:

I need to start clarifying that I myself enjoy and ship Steve and Eddie. I enjoy their edits, fanart and fanfiction (I have one work written about them actually). I know that the Duffers weren't expecting them to blow up but I myself believe that they're two characters that have SO MUCH POTENTIAL to be written as a couple.

However, recently I have seen a bunch of post about Steddie shippers talking about surpassing the 8000+ works written under the Steve/Billy tag on Ao3 (They're always acting like it's a marathon. They write things lik: "Come on guy, we can do it!!!")

Listen, I understand where you guys are coming from, because I personally believe that while Billy Hargrove is an excellent written character (as in he's a really complex character) he IS a bad person, an awful person even, the list of problematic things about him is LONG.

So yeah, I understand that you guys want to surpass the number of Harringrove fanfics and put Steddie on top because it's indeed a fact that canonically Steve and Eddie have a better potential of being a healthier couple, an awesome ship.

Still, what's the point of surpassing the number of fanfiction written if the works that are being published under the Steve/ Eddie tag are not viewed as creative and fun works anymore? A lot of you are just perceiving their fanfiction just as a "number", a "target" to accomplish.

If you go through the "Eddie/Steve" tag you'll see that it is clogged with works that are just titles, works that have been improperly tagged, works that people are clearly not planning on finishing, works that are a copy of the previous one (as in it's literally the same story, the same tropes, the same dialogues and same plots with minimum variations). Works that are straight up -Excuse my language- SHITTY.

The fanfics that were written by the Stranger things fandom from 2016 until the first few months of 2022 (wether the fanfic was Mileven, Harringrove, Byler, Lumax, Jancy, Elmax, Stancy, etc) were works of people that wrote them driven by the fact that they genuinely love the fandom, the ship or just writing in general.

I can't tell or classify people's intentions (only they know why they write their stories) but by the way you guys are behaving on TikTok, Twitter, etc. in regards of the Steddie fanfiction it seems like a lot of your are only posting for the sake of posting.

Again, I'm not the fanfiction police or anything but... is it worth it?

Will it be worth it if Steddie has thousands of works under their tag if most of them are objectively a much lower quality than the 8000+ works that Steve/Billy fans have been working on for about 5 years? Why are you putting that kind of pointless pressure on yourselves?

I can testify that most of the Harringrove fanfics are very well written (I'm not a Billy Hargrove apologists, don't come from me) so when Steve and Eddie became a thing I was excited because "Yay! A non problematic ship that involves my favorite Stranger Things character (Steve) is here" and yes, at first it was fun but now that the Steve/Eddie tag is clogged with bullshit & not even half of the fanfics are good it's turning disappointing.

And yes, the Billy Hargrove of the fanfics is super "remixed" to make him less of an ass, but at least those stories are well planned and executed.

Also... The majority of the Steve/Eddie shippers seem to be the biggest Billy Hargrove antis (and I get that, canonical Billy is AN ASSHOLE, he's literally all the red flags in one dude. I would run away from him if I ever saw him on the street) but somehow you guys tend to "Billyfie" Eddie Munson a lot. You guys tend to give him Characteristics and fanfiction tropes that have been given to Billy for years...

Like, why? I find it kind of ridiculous...

At this point I don't know if I want to read more about Steve and Eddie anymore... Or if I do it I guess I'll have to sort from the thousands of awful stories that have been written in the span of months...

Or maybe in a couple of months you guys will forget about this weird behavior and will start writing decent stuff again.

As always, this is MY OPINION. If you disagree that's okay, we can have a civilized dialogue without insulting each other (also, English is not my first language, excuse my mistakes).

My advice as someone who has been reading fanfiction for more than 10 years is: Quality over quantity, guys.

Take your time! Writing can be a very personal an beautiful process, It is DEFINITELY NOT ABOUT NUMBERS, specially not in fanfiction where people are writing not as a job but FOR FUN.

[jjtheresidentbaby]

Rating Stranger Things Ships

(I’ve seen so many people do this so I wanted to)

(Some of these don’t have ship names as I can’t remember them or just can’t spell sheubeud)

(Btw feel free to send in any asks you have any these or just want me to talk more abt them)

- Byler 8/10- I love them but I understand the people who don’t. Honestly before season 4 Will and Mike were low on the favorite character tower, they were basically at the bottom actually. But I love Will in season 4 and season 4 Mike is so good to me (even if he’s oblivious). Also them being absolute idiots when they start dating is canon, just little whispers back and forth, Mike crushing will in his sleep, wills constant need to do laundry bc Mike drools in his sleep, Mike posing funny for paintings, Will getting his picture taken by Mike every five seconds- just awe

- Mileven- 4/10- Eh. I didn’t even like them in 1&2 so there isn’t much to say, I think season 3 showed some cute moments and the part in the pizza place in 4 was so cute to me. I don’t really love the idea of them staying together but I get peoples liking to them

- Jopper- 10/10- I mean come on, the best, love them, they need to get married and move in together

- Jancy- 5/10- I loved them in 1&2 but three ruined them, it was just so bad and then 4 on top of that proves they need to break up. It’s that thing where the build up is way better than the actual thing, they just aren’t it and some of their fans get crazy so it makes me dislike the ship even more

- Stancy- 8/10- my loves <3, would be a 10/10 if steve didn’t do that billboard sign thing in 1. Steve being a housewife while Nancy is out making the money sounds like heaven to me. Lovers to enemies to friends to lovers again trope give me (I know they weren’t really enemies but shush) (also if anyone tells me Steve would force Nancy to have kids, fuck off and shut up, disrespectfully)

- Steddie- 3/10- IM SORRY!!! They just got so much hype and for what?? I don’t hate them or anything but they do nothing for me. They’re just eh. Meh. Bleh. Bland I guess

- Ronance- 6/10- I could see it and I could get behind it but it’s not like my otp or anything. They are super adorable and I love seeing fanart for them so yeah, good ship just not my fav

- Jargyle- 10/10- if you don’t think they’re gay you’re just plain dumb. Stoner bfs for life

- Stonathan- 8/10- need I say more? Steve and Johnathan? Yeah. Yup. 1&2 just make them have the best enemies to lovers arc known to man

- Steve x Johnathan x Argyle- 10/10- I feel like this is self explanatory but yeah them, them over so many

Steve x Johnathan x Argyle x Nancy -11/10- YES I NEED IT!!! It’d solve every single problem ever!! Omg I would sob so bad if I ever found a fic of them

- Stoncy- 10/10- one of my favorite ship of the older kids. They’d be perfect and having Robin third wheel at all times is great, they are everything to me. The three of them in 2 makes me feral

- Lumax- 10/10- how can it not be a 10/10??? It’s perfcet!! Max is so great for Lucas and Lucas is so great for max!! I love them!! Would die for both of them <3

- Elumax- 10/10- give it to me now!! They’d be so fucking adorable and just so pure. I’d die for the three of them

- Elmax- 9/10- add Lucas and boom 10/10, I’m a sucker for these two together though and that mall scene remains one of my favorites out of the whole show

- Byclair- 5/10- okay so I see potential but it’s nothing I’m actively thinking about a lot, they’d be cute tho

- Madwheeler- 7/10- id pay money for them to be together in a different universe where they’re snarky sarcastic partners that shit on everyone and love doing it!! Their relationship would make me giggle and I know it. They have actual potential for enemies to lovers but just not canon cause y’know Lucas is <3

- Wheelclair- 8/10- yup I see it and I love it. Nerdy broody boyfriend with jock teasing boyfriend?? Yup. They’d be so smart together don’t even lie, also Lucas teaching Mike how to play basketball is a must. Them skipping hellfire to make out- yup! Mm them <3

- Dustin x Suzie 4/10- okay I like season 4 them as Suzie is a queen but season 3 made me annoyed a bit, like girl shut up about a song when the worlds collapsing

- Henderhop - 6/10- I can see it and they’d be adorable but I wish they had more interactions in the show. Like yes they’d be adorable but I have a hard time picturing it with how little I can think of them that relates to actual scenes

- Lucas x Dustin - 5/10- I see it okay but they just meh for me, like season 1 them yeah but I much prefer max and Lucas

- Dustin x Max- 2/10- I remember rooting for Lucas when watching 2 for the first time and my points still stand, it wouldn’t work out good and I know it. Max is too mature (?that sounds mean but I can’t think of another word) for Dustin and it’d crumble so fast

- Will x Lucas- 5/10- okay yeah I can see it but I think it falls into the category of the not enough screen time together for me to get a good visual of how it would play out

- anything with Billy- 0/10- he’s racist and abusive stop trying to pretend he isn’t

[greatunironic]

ive read remarkable thing from the first time i saw it pop out of my steddie ao3 tags and my life had changed since then.

i think the way you wrote it has somehow kind of morphed into a popular trope in the steddie writing fandom (i certainly place the "remarkable thing" trope in my top 5 favorite steddie tropes) what do you feel/think of people writing fics like yours and giving it their own spin?

part of me would like to be very silly about this and be like “yes thank you i’m a trendsetter and a prophet and a genius” but more of me wants to be way too fucking earnest about it so:

it’s an honor, an absolute honor. i’m touched beyond measure by the response to this story and if it inspires just one person to create their own art, it’s gonna make me insane. totally bugfuck. i don’t even know if i have any other words to say about it, because i’m truly rendered speechless by it.

also like i think it totally speaks to the source material and what a portion of the audience wants to see from it, but knows it probably won’t get, the comfort we are trying to give ourselves in the face of tragedy and horror and the unknown. it’s the zeitgeist, baby, and i am just a puppet of its whims!! (or maybe i’m just projecting because i live in america and every day is another undiscovered hellscape.)

[starlightshadowsworld]

Love this!

Eddie Munson's Guide for How to Adopt a Jock in Four Easy Steps (1/5)

Part Two

Eddie Munson is many things, but he is not the kind of guy who will kick someone while they’re down.

Call it a hero complex, call it too many hours spent licking his wounds after particularly harsh words from a bully- whatever name you give it, Eddie is vehemently against hurting someone who's clearly already hurting, no matter how much he may hate that individual.

Which is why, in early November of ‘84, Eddie hatches a plan.

It starts in the library, as most of his brilliant ideas do. He’s spending his lunch hour pouring over a borrowed fantasy novel to try and get ideas for NPC’s for his latest campaign with Hellfire, but he gets distracted by a loud thump and a whispered ‘shit’, followed by a sniff. Eddie turns, book still in hand, and proceeds to drop the book onto the carpeted floor of the library in shock.

Because there is Steve Harrington- face beat to hell, hands shakily holding on to a lunch tray, and a salad spewed in all directions at his feet. The librarian- Ms. Boliene (a bitch to everyone other than her outcasts)- began cussing Steve out, demanding he pick up the salad, and Steve got a glossy look in his eye that told Eddie that he was about two seconds from breaking down in tears.

Which- honestly, that was probably the strangest part of this whole ordeal. Steve was King of Hawkins High (and maybe, Eddie theorized, was was the operative word there). Steve had been on a downward slope of popularity since last year when he and Tommy had their falling out. Billy Hargrove (barf) had been getting more and more popular, and, after last weekend, there was a rumor going around that Steve’s girlfriend, Nancy, broke up with him then immediately hooked up with Jonathan Byers.

(Hey, Eddie’s always one to root for the outcasts, he is one, after all- but kinda a dick move, Wheeler. Also, not great of Byers to agree to something like that, especially if he knew about the situation.)

Eddie focused his attention back on the scene in front of him- Steve was now crouching down to pile the wasted salad onto his lunch tray and was blinking rapidly, trying to stave off tears. His head was also doing this thing where it was dipping forward than instantly picking up, like he was trying to even stay awake. Which… huh.

Eddie was sure at this point- this was the lowest he’d ever seen someone get. Even his dad after his mom passed wasn’t like this- at least that bastard could still go out and break shit and get arrested. Steve looked like the only thing he wanted to do at this point was fall apart. Why was he even at school?

Eddie sighed and stood, crossing the room to where Steve was crouching. He gently batted Steve’s hands away and finished cleaning up his lunch, tossing it (and the plastic tray- because fuck this school, honestly) into the large garbage can sitting by the front door of the library. When he turned around Steve was standing, looking a bit shell-shocked. “I… that was my lunch.”

“The floor salad was your lunch? I could believe that before you dropped it, but after? Dude, that’s a low that you cannot reach. I have an extra sandwich in my bag, c’mon.”

Eddie grabbed Steve’s arm, letting go immediately when he felt the whole-body flinch that Harrington gave. Eddie held his hands up, backing up towards the table where he was sitting previously. “I won’t touch you, but you should probably eat, Harrington. I’m extending the metaphorical olive branch in the form of food, I promise that I’m not gonna bite your head off.”

Steve assessed the situation, eyes darting around the library, before he finally nodded and joined Eddie at his table, sitting across from the spot where all of his materials were strewn about. Eddie grabbed his book from the floor and ripped into his backpack, pulling his lunch out and passing it to Steve. (It wasn’t really an extra sandwich, it was his lunch, but it was fine. Jeff always brought snacks to Hellfire and Eddie wasn’t even that hungry today).

Steve stared at the cling-wrapped sandwich in shock, then carefully set to unwrapping it. Eddie noticed a slight tremor in his hands, but decided against commenting on it. “So, uh… what happened?” Fuck, Eddie, abort, abort, that was literally the last goddamn thing you were supposed to ask.

“Um…” Steve finished unwrapping the sandwich, pulling the bread slices apart. “Bologna?”

“Hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. I know it probably goes against your rich folk sensibilities, but I promise it’s worth a try.”

“Yeah.” Steve took a bite of the sandwich, then washed it down with the bottle of water Eddie slid his way. “S’not my first time having bologna and it won’t be my last. Not bad, though.” Steve set the sandwich down, licking his lips. “Thank you, by the way. Eddie, right? You played at battle of the bands last year?”

Eddie blinked in surprise. The change in conversation topic made him totally forget his previous question. “Um- yeah, that was me. Me and the boys- Corroded Coffin. Not your thing?”

“No! I liked it, actually. Very ‘stick it to the man’. I can get behind that.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at Steve, to which he received a responding chuckle. “My dad- he’s an asshole.” oh shit, did Steve’s dad do this?

Eddie’s expression must have shifted, because Steve immediately started rambling. “Shit- no, fuck, I know what you’re thinking, he didn’t do this, my parents have been out of town for like, three months. This was Billy- but it’s fine, really! Like, I can see, and I’m not super dizzy, I’m just a little lacking in coordination which- yeah, the lunch tray. You know what? I’m gonna shut up now.” Steve took another bite of the sandwich and another swig of water, and Eddie noted that Steve’s knee began to bounce up and down.

Eddie decided to push everything aside and deal with it later. Apparently this wound was still fresh (both emotionally and physically), and while Eddie could get into a number of things that Steve just spewed out (his parents have been gone for three months? Billy did this? Steve is halfway to falling over but he’s still at school?!) Eddie elected to change the subject.

“So, Steve, do you know anything about D&D?” Steve’s eyes lit up and he launched into a rant about a couple of kids that he hung around. Eddie listened with a small smirk on his face, eyebrow raised.

Steve was… different than expected. Kind, a little awkward, anxious. There’s only one reason that a jock like him has lunch in the library, and it’s because he didn’t have anyone left to sit with in the Cafeteria. He reminded Eddie of an abandoned dog… specifically a golden retriever with Steve’s eyes and his floppy hair.

Curse Eddie’s big heart and savior complex, but he knew what he had to do. Steve was about to become the newest member of Eddie’s little herd of lost sheep, whether he liked it or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I haven’t decided if I’m going to write a part 2- let me know if you’d be interested in one! I’m so glad to be back to writing after a very long semester of school. I should be writing a lot this summer, so drop some prompts in my ask if you want to see something specific!