#and i think it’s very funny that eddie can read steve’s thoughts so the last two months were just steve thirsting and being sad

[steddieas-shegoes]

🪱 Wiggly Wednesday 🪱

cw: temporary character death (Eddie is alive and well in my heart and in every story I ever write don’t you worry)

steve doesn’t know why he still feels such a deep pull towards the trailer park. he thinks it’s because of max at first, but once max is awake and teasing him like she was never in a coma at all, he realizes that’s not it.

he feels…fluttery. like he can’t sit still, or focus, like he’s floating in the universe. like he’s waiting for something.

but he doesn’t fucking know what.

robin keeps telling him he should consider his feelings for eddie, how maybe the friendship they’d acquired meant a little more than steve initially thought. maybe steve has some internal deep-diving to still do.

but steve did that already. he concluded that he very much would’ve liked to kiss eddie on the lips with tongue. maybe forever.

eventually, he gives in and visits the trailer park. most people moved after everything, and eddie’s trailer is still neglected. his uncle moved closer to the plant as soon as he heard eddie was gone. trying to fix the trailer didn’t feel as important to him without his nephew coming home.

there’s no reason for the way his hands shake and his lips quiver as he walks up the porch steps. there’s no reason for his heart racing as he cracks open the busted front door. and there’s certainly no reason for his dick hardening the moment he catches a scent he recognizes as eddie.

the man is dead, dude. get yourself together.

but as he walks further into the trailer, closer to what was eddie’s bedroom before it got raided by the cops and ruined by people who thought the worst of him, the scent gets stronger. steve’s sweating. his breath catches and he nearly chokes on his own saliva.

eddie’s there.

eddie’s there in his bed.

alive.

and suddenly that pull he’s felt for so long makes sense, and he recognizes it for what it really is: some creepy monster connection.

“it’s about fuckin’ time,” eddie grits out. “i couldn’t leave here until you came.”

“what? how?” steve is so lost, so confused. “what’s happening?”

“what’s happening is that you and i both got some major shit to discuss with your friends. the bats gave us some kinda venom and i can hear every single thought you have.” eddie smirks. “which has definitely helped me pass the time.”

steve blushes because he knows exactly what eddie’s talking about. “you can hear my thoughts? why can’t i hear yours?”

eddie shrugs. “i guess my exposure was more so i have more powers? i dunno. but i love what you were thinking with the rope. that was clever. definitely up for it if you are.”

“can i please have a second to come to terms with you being alive before we start planning out my sexual fantasies?” steve rubs his hands across his face. “i don’t understand how you’re here.”

“probably the venom.”

“you seem way too calm.”

“i’ve had two months to find calm.”

steve looks around the room, sees wrappers on the bedside table and dirty clothes piled in the hamper. most of his personal belongings are still sitting at the police station, but his acoustic guitar and a notebook are sprawled in front of him on his bed.

“you’ve been here for two months? alone?”

“with your thoughts, yes.”

“so you-“

“yep.”

“and when i-“

“uh huh.”

“and you’d want to-“

“most definitely.”

steve nodded, sure of himself for the first time in a long time. “can you leave here now?”

“probably. why? you gonna whisk me away to your castle so we can pleasure each other in the moonlight?” eddie’s teasing grin should annoy steve, but he’s gone too long without it and he thought he’d never get to see it again. “quite sappy, aren’t you?”

“if you promise to never refer to sex as pleasuring each other, i’ll definitely take you back to mine.”

“i’m sorry. would you prefer the term making love?”

“yes, actually.”

eddie’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t tease. “then we should…go…do that.”

steve leans down to kiss the corner of eddie’s mouth, shocking both of them with how quickly and naturally it happens.

“should we bring a blanket to cover you in the backseat? until we figure out what we need to do to keep you safe.”

eddie wraps a blanket around his shoulders and stands up. “lead the way, my liege.”

[mrsrdlw]

Insecurities…

warnings: problems with body image; angst; caring!boyfriend!eddie (the sweetest guy in the world); fluff; he makes sure you understand that he doesn’t care how your body looks, you’ll always be the prettiest girl he has ever seen.

that’s a bit short i know. but i had this draft for a while and i wanted to post it. i just love the idea of eddie comforting the reader. at least i genuinely think that he would always try his best to make you feel better if you’re not or make you laugh when you need to. HE IS THE BEST!!!

******

“Sweetheart, are you still doing you makeup thing? Because if you’re ready, we have to leave.” He knocked on the door hoping he was not using a tone that seemed like he was rushing you. He knew better. You were in your house, getting ready to go to one of the famous Steve Harrington’s parties.

You were in your room for hours, at least that’s how Eddie felt. He wasn’t the most patient person ever, but you were taking too long. Longer then you normally take. Little Eddie knew that you were sobbing in front of the mirror for 20 minutes by now. You tried your hardest not to cry. That seemed only to make things worse. Now you were miserable, mascara all over your cheeks, red eyes and nose, freaking out. Fuck! What were you supposed to do. You forgot that you also had to deal with your boyfriend. So you cleared your throat, trying to sound chill so he could just give you a minute.

“Hey Ed, just give me a minute ‘kay? i’m almost done-“ You were cleaning your face when he cut you, opening the door to your room. “Eddie!”

“What happened?” How did he knew? you thought to yourself. Like he read your mind, he answered “i heard your crying voice. Do you need something, baby?”

“No sweetie, i just-“ You looked at you reflection in the mirror again. He gave this dress to you as a valentine’s present. According to him, he wanted to see you even more hot. The dress was extremely pretty. It was a dark green dress, tight on the waist. But for some stupid reason, you thought you looked… not extremely pretty in it. “Do you think i look too fat in this?”

“Babe, why would you even say that?” He looked concerned when your eyes locked with his and the tears started to stream down again. “No no no, i’m so sorry i said that. I meant like, you’re not fat, not at all.”

He opened his arms welcoming you to a tight hug. He knew that sometimes you would compare yourself to models and singers you liked. Or even the Hawkins High Cheerleaders. And they were all very skinny. Eddie was pretty sure that some girls of the last group didn’t even eat right. But he could not stand that you couldn’t see yourself the way he did. To him, of course you were so much more than your body, but if he was talking body, you were the whole package. Always kind to the ones you loved, funny, making him laugh so much sometimes, he would have to pee, AND your sexy smokin’ hot body.

“You know me angel, i would never care only with your body. I’m not dating you because of your body” He separated from your hug to wipe your tears and placed his hand on your cheek. “I love you, this person inside here” he placed the other hand right up your heart. “And really, I, Edward Munson, think you are perfect, inside and outside. And i know i can’t make you just forget about this angst your feeling right now, but i need you to know that. That you are beautiful. And still, you have so much more. Honestly lady, i could keep going for hours.” seeing you smile at him, made him feel a bit better. He hated seeing you sad about this shit.

“Can i kiss you?” He asked. You were sensitive and he didn’t want to push things

“Of course you can.”

You always loved the way he made you feel safe. His arms around you and his soft lips pressing into yours, kissing you so tenderly. It almost felt like you were never sad.

“I’m sorry-“ You whispered, still close to his lips, caressing his chest but he kissed you again.

“Don’t say sorry for feeling things. I just hope you’re feeling better. If you don’t want to go to the party anymore that’s totally fine too!”

“No! I want to go. Just give a minute to fix this mess” You pointed to your face and started to clean it with a tissue. He was smiling at you now, sitting on your bed, he whispered to himself “That’s my girl”.

In 5 minutes you were ready. Eddie was a little scared by the way you made it look like you never cried.

“I’m better now, thanks Eddie. What would i do without you?” You took his hand in yours, ready to leave the room.

“Oh please baby, that’s what you deserve. I only work with princess treatment here. Now turn around, let me see you.” Giggling a bit, you did as he said “Yeah, we’re good to go, my love. After you” He gave you the space to leave the room first, extending his arm dramatically.

“I love you so much!” It was the only thing you could say now.

“And i love you more!”

*****

•for the one who would like to send me a story request, please do! my inbox is open! so feel free to send me your ideas to stories or headcannons there. :)

[imfinereallyy]

#38 "i was eavesdropping and i heard something i can’t scrub from my memory" sounds like it could be very funny, especially from a kid's perspective!

you read my mind, it 100% needs be a kid POV, sorry this one is a bit shorter than my usual but it was fun to write. *it actually ended up being longer than I thought cause I have a problem with not knowing when enough is enough lol* ♡

find the request game here

Lucas was going to throw up. He liked to think he had a strong stomach, he really truly did, but this was too much even for him.

“What the hell is your problem?” Max asked him as he came back to Steve’s living room.

“Yea you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Will pipes up, head leaning on his knee.

Lucas swallowed dryly, he had to phrase this carefully. “Well I was eavesdropping…”

Max snorted from her seat on the couch. “You Lucas Sinclair was eavesdropping? Didn’t think I’d ever see the day. What about the whole ‘respect people’s boundaries’ thing you rave about?”

“And I still stand by that! It’s just I didn’t want to interrupt and…” Lucas thought back to a few minutes ago. He had gone into the kitchen to grab Max an ice pack; she was having a bad hip day. When he had reached the door, he had heard Steve and Eddie talking, and it had sounded serious. Lucas felt bad about interrupting, but he also couldn’t go back to Max without the ice pack. They had been good for months now, and he didn’t want to risk it. (He knew this was ridiculous considering they weren’t really that dysfunctional, and she loved him, a reluctant secret smile confession on her end. But there was this deep part of Lucas who was terrified of disappointing her). So he was content with waiting outside the door until they were done.

Lucas really should have turned around and left.

“What if they don’t…want to be around us Stevie?” Eddie whispered.

“Baby they are just kids. They are good kids. They are our friends. They won’t be upset.” Steve murmured back.

This was the point Lucas should have turned around, but he was confused and wanted to understand.

“You aren’t even the slightest bit worried, that maybe they won’t be accepting? I don’t think any of them have been exposed to gay culture, let alone two men dating?”

Oh. Oh no. This was really private. Lucas should have really turned around but at that point, his feet were glued to the ground.

“I mean yea a little bit…they are shitheads. Especially Mike—“ Lucas had to hold back a snort, “—but they are good. It’s why we are friends with them. As much as it pains me to admit we are friends with children.”

Lucas wished he could see their faces.

“What if…what if they are more than shitheads this time?” Lucas had never heard Eddie’s voice sound so small.

“…do you want to wait a little longer?” Steve’s voice asked gently, with no anger.

“If that’s okay. I just…want to live in our bubble a little longer. Well our bubble plus Robin.” Lucas imagined Eddie biting his hair in that moment.

“Yea baby. We take this at the pace you need. And Robin already knows, which is pretty much the only person I can’t keep a secret from. And I like our little bubble too.” Lucas heard shuffling around, like fabric reaching around itself.

“Yea?”

“Yea. I think I can go a little longer without the twerps making gagging noises every time we kiss. We can wait to tell them we’re together.”

“Hmmmm should we do a practice show right now, to prepare for when we need to freak them out?” Eddie’s voice turned suddenly flirty.

“I like the way you think.” This was the last words Lucas heard before the sounds of the two of them clearly heavily making out came through the doorway. It was at the first moan that Lucas ran away.

Lucas was brought back to reality when Max snapped her fingers in his face. “Want to share with the class loser?”

Oh god, Lucas was gonna throw up at the memory.

It wasn’t the fact that they were men and that they were dating. Lucas was, in fact, really happy for them. He had never thought about it, but in a weird way, it made sense. He wanted them to be happy. And if he was really being honest with himself, he was hoping maybe this would get Max to stop staring at Steve when he doesn’t have a shirt on (a few months later, Lucas would be horribly proven wrong of this theory).

It wasn’t this kissing that made him want to vomit either. Sure, the idea of his older brother figure making out with his dungeon master wasn’t a pleasant thought, but he had witness Mike make out with El, so he was pretty immune to grossness.

No, the problem was Lucas realized with great certainty he was going to have to keep a secret.

He gagged at the thought.

Sure, he could keep a whole other dimension and government conspiracy theory a secret from his parents (and, ya know, the world), but he caved relatively quickly when it came to Max. And Max could tell whenever he was lying. But Lucas wasn’t stupid; he knew you couldn’t just tell other people that someone you know is gay. He didn't know the word for it, maybe there wasn’t one, but Lucas knew what it was like to be different. He didn’t want to make Steve and Eddie feel bad, or cause others to be mean to them. He didn’t think the rest of the party would care about the gay? Bisexual? Queer?—wait, that’s a bad word, Lucas thought—it didn’t matter what specifically, but he didn’t think they would care about the gay stuff—more like Lucas knew his friends. El and Max would have a million, invasive questions. Mike would be a dick, but not for serious reasons. More like “I have weird insecurities” reasons. It would probably be good for Will (again, Lucas isn’t stupid). And Dustin, holy shit, he would most definitely either be pissed he didn’t know sooner, or would rub it in everyone’s face that he made it happen. Both of which Lucas knew would be horrible reactions.

God, he was going to throw up. He was going to lie to his friends. His girlfriend. He couldn’t just share this secret. It would go horrible if he told, it’s not his secret! His stupid, stupid friends (not El and Max) would blow up if it came from him first. And then Eddie and Steve would be upset, he told, and they would think that the party hated them for something out of their control, even though they love them no matter what! And oh god, he’s gonna have to lie so much—

He was spiraling, he needed to calm down.

“Lucas?” Max’s face suddenly softened, like she knew he was having a hard time getting the words together. Lucas looked at her face, and took a couple of seconds to count her freckles but lost track quickly. He didn’t mind; he would to start again later. He followed the laugh lines around her eyes that weren’t there last year, and thought about trying to make her laugh.

Max said nothing as he stared, even as the guys pressed him to answer. It was strange, he was terrified of lying to Max, but he knew deep down she would understand. That she would know he was lying but wouldn’t call him out on it.

“I was eavesdropping and I heard something I can’t erase from my memory. I almost walked in on Steve giving sex advice to Eddie, so I walked away before it got gross. I forgot your ice pack; I’m sorry.” Lucas apologized; he did genuinely feel bad he didn’t succeed on his mission.

The guys started chattering behind him, asking questions and yelling out in disgust, but Max stayed quiet for a second, then said, “It’s okay, stalker. Didn’t have high hopes for you anyway. You always get distracted.”

Lucas sent her a grateful smile, and pretended to be offended. “Are you saying I don’t finish what I’ve started? You should know better, Max.”

Max threw her head back, and full body laughed. She scooped Lucas’ hand and wove her pale fingers between his. “That’s me being nice, Lucas. Don’t go around telling people that. Or I’ll have to up the ante.”

Lucas kissed the back of her hand and whispered, “Maybe I like it when you’re a little mean.”

Max blushed and looked to check if the guys were paying attention (they weren’t; they were still arguing over sex they weren’t having), and leaned over to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. Max didn’t ask any questions even though Lucas knew she knew he was lying.

Lucas didn’t let go of her hand, and quietly hoped that Eddie made Steve feel the way Max made him feel.

He deserved something special like that.

**

I need you guys to know that I had to keep backtracking to correct boys into guys, cause I’m so used to writing from an older persons perspective. But I wanted some steddie and lumax mixed together. And Lucas! Deserves! More! Attention!!!

thank you so much for the ask I had so much fun with this one.

[strangersteddierthings]

What's Eight Plus Seven?

Part One🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six

Being friends with Eddie is interesting, now that Eddie knows they're friends. Or trying to be. Or whatever it is that's happening.

If Steve thought Eddie was in his personal space before, it's nothing compared to now. It's not like this is a revelation to Steve, he's been around and seen how little Eddie cares for everyone else's personal space. It's just interesting to be part of that group, now.

He leans in close to stage whisper about anything and everything, especially if what he has to say will get a stir out of one of the kids. He gets to be on the receiving end of Eddie's touching now. Always touching. Eddie's hand on his arm as they talk, an arm flung around his shoulders as Eddie laughs about something and uses Steve to stay upright, so many high fives and fist bumps. Like, so many.

It's not like Steve is a stranger to touch. Robin leans against him all the time. The kids have no problem doling out hugs and attempted tackles in equal measure. And even the other Hellfire club members have warmed up to him, offering high-fives or handshakes when they show up for games. Except for Gareth, whose sole greeting seems to be clasping hands and pulling him into a half hug before patting him on the back like he's trying to burp a baby.

Not that Steve is complaining about the lack of personal space. He's just making an observation. He can now see just how much Eddie has been holding back when it came to touching him, back when he was still trying to befriend Steve. No, none of this is a problem. It's just, well, Steve didn't expect to crave the physical touch as much as he does now, is all.

It also turns out that beyond losing all access to his own personal space, Eddie is funny, can be kind, and is taking accountability. Steve was witness to Eddie pulling Lucas aside to talk, and even though he couldn't hear what was said, he did get to see the hug it ended it. And while Steve still declines all invitations to actually play Dungeons and Dragons, Eddie's been taking the time to explain it to him. To talk him through the words that swim on the pages of the Player's Handbook. He answers any questions Steve has after ever session of the campaign they play, and recaps the ones Steve isn't around to hear, whether because of work or a migraine (Dustin has a key to his house to let them all in when Steve is gone).

He and Eddie have been hanging out after ever Hellfire session, along with two or three more times in the week. Robin is still the person who Steve spends most of this time with, but Eddie is a close second these days.

So, overall, befriending Eddie has been interesting this last month, and that brings him to the now.

Now, Eddie has just finished cleaning up after the most recent game and Steve is lounging on the couch. It's perpendicular to the table, so Steve's laid out on it, head at the end furthest from the table so that he can watch as well as listen. Steve watches as Eddie fiddles with some papers, brows furrowed in thought, for a good five minutes before Steve speaks up to break the silence, "what are you thinking about?"

"I just- I made you something."

He props himself up on his elbows to get a better view of Eddie, "You made me something?"

"Don't, uh, don't get too excited. It's nothing fancy," he says, before grabbing the pieces of paper he was fiddling with and marching over with determination. "I know that you might never play a game with us, but here."

Steve sits up fully now that Eddie's approached the couch and reaches out to take the pages.

They're homemade character sheets. His character's character sheets. Three pages per character, where he can very clearly see that Eddie has taken the time to keep his handwriting neat, even, and as Steve examines the words, he can see Eddie has done his best to mimic Robin's handwriting, which Steve had mentioned very briefly, and only once, being easy for him to read. Robin's letters all look so different from each other with the 'f' having a slight curve at its top, but every 't' is perfectly straight. For reasons Steve doesn't fully understand, it makes it easier for him to read. Robin's writing rarely swims on the page like printed words do. Even the numbers are painstakingly written to look different. The 6's curve while the 9's are almost as straight at the t's. The 5 perfectly mirror a printed 5, with straight lines and a curved bottom but the 2 looks more like a capital cursive Q, all rounded edges.

The third page of each character sheet, however, has a character portrait drawn in a corner of the page. The top character is his dwarf paladin, drawn to look like Steve with a thick, full, braided beard. He laughs out loud at it, too touched and happy to keep it in. "Did you draw this?"

"Yeah. Will's not the only artist here," Eddie grins at him.

Steve flips to the last page, to see how well Eddie did with the elf magic-user. Steve didn't base this character on himself. When Eddie asked how he imagined the elf to look like, Steve had tried his best to describe him with words and gestures, demonstrating how long he thought his ears would be, and the length of his hair.

What he sees makes his heart skip, or stop, he's not sure. Because even though Eddie's never seen him, what stares back at Steve is Christopher. It's not perfect, the jawline is more angled than Christopher's was, and the hair is too long but that's because Steve described it that way. It's as close to being Christopher as one could get without seeing a picture.

It makes Steve's eyes water.

"Is it that bad?" Eddie asks.

He just shakes his head in response, setting the pages on the coffee table and stands. He disappears into the study and returns with a single photo frame. He reaches for Eddie's wrist, pulling his hand up and shoving the frame into his palm. Eddie grips the frame and frowns down at it for a moment, a confused expression on his face.

Steve feels a lump in his throat, emotion blocking words that usually come easily to him. All he can do is grab the page with the character portrait on it, offering it up to Eddie to see again. Eddie looks from the photo to the drawing and back a few times before quickly looking up to Steve. "I- is this... Christopher?"

He nods. There are three people in the picture frame. Christopher in the center with Amber and Robert on either side of him. A Santa hat hangs off his head while the twins are each wearing headbands with antlers on them, all three of them in ugly Christmas sweaters. It was sent along with a Christmas card and his mother, perhaps in a pique of nostalgia, framed it. It had sat on the mantle above the fireplace for a few years before migrating to the bookshelf in the study.

"Oh," Eddie whispers, looking between the two pictures again. Then he looks up again, a soft smile on his face and mischief in his eyes as he says, "you think Hopper'll hire me to do the police sketches? Turns out I'm pretty good at drawing from verbal descriptions."

That helps clear the block in his throat, helps him find his words again. Eddie's good at doing that. Saying just the right thing at just the right time to make Steve laugh instead of cry. "You? Working for the police?"

"The police!? No! Slander! I'd work for Hopper, though."

He does laugh, then. "I think your character is developing, or whatever."

Eddie snorts out his own laugh before passing the photo frame and paper back to Steve. "Yeah, well, I'm trying."

And Steve see it, is that thing. That Eddie is trying, has been trying. He makes less comments about conformity and says less snarky things about the customers that come into Family Video when he's loitering around. He does it even when Steve's not around to see this. Robin vouches for him, so do the kids, and even Wayne mentioned that Eddie sat and watched a full baseball game with him without his usual scoffing and ranting.

(And by mention, Steve means that Wayne pulled him aside when he went over to the trailer recently to tell him, "Eddie watched a whole game with me last night and didn't bitch once. And of course I questioned if he was gettin' sick and he said someone had given him a needed talkin' to about bein' a right ass 'bout some things and he was workin' on his way of thinkin' 'bout those things. I think I got you ta thank for that."

"What? Why?" Steve had asked.

"Eddie 'n I don't have much we bond over, believe it or not. Even though Eddie's decided baseball still ain't for him, he said he wouldn't be opposed to watchin' with me again. Don't think he'd of done that without ya.")

So, Steve sees it. He sees that Eddie is trying to be a better person than he was, and that he's drawn an almost perfect picture of Christopher because he listens when Steve talks. He wrote out character sheets that might just make it easier for Steve to read them, instead of just trying to argue that words don't move and if he'd just try harder he'd be able to read like everyone else.

He sees Eddie and it makes Steve want in a way he's been repressing since he was a freshman and first thought Eddie was cute. Eddie's fingers brush against his as he hands the pictures back, and even though Eddie's touched him probably a million times since that first talk, this is the time it makes electricity run through him and his stomach swoops and he feels his face heat.

Not wanting Eddie to see him blush, he turns on heel and speed walks to the study. He places the photo back on the bookshelf where it was before and then pauses to lean his forehead against the wall. They just got to the point of friendship! Steve cannot ruin this by catching feelings.

Although.

He did tell Robin he had a crush on her and got a soulmate out of it.

No. What are the odds he'd get two soulmates? No. He needs to talk to Robin.

He gathers himself and heads back to the living room, where he plans to sit and chat with Eddie like they do after every game and pretend everything is normal.

He crawls through Robin's window that night. She wasn't expecting him, but the window is always cracked.

"Rob, you awake?"

"Mmm," Robin hums back, rolling over in the bed to pop one eye open. She watches him untie his shoes and toe out of them before scooting herself to the edge of the twin, lifting the blanket she's under up for him to slide in. Usually when he does this, it's with his back to her, but this time he needs to see her face, to see the reaction to his confession. He climbs in and settles facing her, watching as she blinks herself more awake.

"What's happened?" she says around a yawn.

"I want to date Eddie."

Robin's eyes go wide. "Oh! Ah, so, that's definitely wake me in the middle of the night kind of news."

"It's barely midnight, but yeah."

"So... how, umm, did you find out?"

Steve sighs, wiggling to lay on his back and stare up at the ceiling now that he's dropped the bomb and it didn't explode instantly. "That I like boys, or that I like Eddie?"

Robin wiggles forward and slings an arm over his torso, curling into his side. "Were they different epiphanies?"

"Yeah."

He feels Robin nod her head against his shoulder. "So, how long have you known?"

He swallows thickly before whispering, "since the summer of '78."

A long silence follows that, and Steve doesn't try to fill it. Steve knows that there is no universe in which this confession to Robin ruins their friendship, but that doesn't mean she can't be mad or upset at him for not telling her. He tells her everything.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" is the question she asks after an eternity, and Steve feels tears in his eyes because she doesn't sound angry or hurt, just curious and maybe confused.

"It didn't matter before," Steve says and waits a moment to see if Robin will say something, but she doesn't, so he continues, "I thought it never would matter, living here in Hawkins. And- and a little part of me was afraid you wouldn't even believe me. If I said it out loud, if I'd let anyone know, and they scoffed, or, or rolled their eyes, or- I know I would have shoved it down. 'Cause I knew I could just like girls for the rest of my life and it would be fine."

She squeezes him with the arm draped over his torso. "Hmm, shoulda known that you'd like girls and boys, ya slut."

The laugh he lets out is way too loud to this late at night, but he doesn't care. That Robin is teasing him means they're okay. That she's not too hurt or mad at him for keeping this from her. For letting her think she was alone. His voice holds no hint of that laughter when he says, "I'm sorry."

"Unless the thing you are apologizing for is speed-running the gay crisis, which is unfair, you better shut your stupid mouth, Steven Michael Harrington."

"Don't government name me while we cuddle in your bed."

"I seem to be the only one doing the cuddling, so I'll say what I want."

He huffs out an exasperated breath but wiggles his arm under and around her. "Better?"

"Yes. Now, Eddie, hmm? I don't see the appeal, but neither can I claim he's a dud like Tammy Thompson. Give me a crush you had I can mock."

"... Tommy H in freshman year."

"No!" Robin is so flabbergasted by that she has to prop herself up on an elbow to look down at him.

He knows he's blushing because of the heat in his face but the room is only lit by the light of the moon, so she might not notice. "It was like for a month. A confusing time where I couldn't tell if it was a crush crush or a friend crush."

"Disgusting."

"Yeah. I know."

They giggle after that and Steve shifts so he can place a kiss on Robin's forehead, bending his arm to pet Robin's hair.

"Alright. You want to date Eddie. Do you... think he likes guys, too?"

"I don't know. We don't sit around discussing who we like, you know? Eddie's never mentioned liking anyone. Ever. Lots of talking about Dungeons and Dragons and his guitar, though. Hmm. He calls it sweetheart. Did you know that?"

Robin snorts. "What a dork. I lied. Eddie's a total dud and loser. Who gives their instrument a name, much less that name being sweetheart."

"What, you don't have a name for your trumpet?"

"God no. I'm a band geek but I'm not a total weirdo."

"Well, does Vickie have a name for her instrument?"

Robin gasps suddenly, a realization of some sort, and says, "Oh! This is why you were so sure Vickie liked me back at Warzone! Why you were so sure she could like both! Because you did!"

Steve shushes her. "Is this how you want to come out to your parents?"

"Right. Quiet time," Robin whispers, "I can do that. Anyway, back to you and Eddie. Are you going to... pursue that?"

"I don't know. I know I'm usually a Pursue Immediately kinda guy but this time... I'm scared, Robbie. I've never been friends with someone before dating them. I've never had something to lose if they said no."

"I don't know what to say," Robin says like a confession, quiet. "I don't know how to help. You're the only person who knows about me because I'm also scared. I don't want to lose our friends 'cause I don't know what they would say. You can never know how people will react about it until they, like, have to actually react. But whatever you decide, however you proceed, just know I'll always be here."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, you giant sap."

May gives way to June and graduation parties. Steve conspires with Wayne to hold Eddie's graduation party at his house. The trailer wouldn't have room for all of Hellfire and the kids. The graduation ceremony goes by quickly and the party is a hit. Nancy and Robin are at their own graduation parties hosted by their parents, so this one is only for Eddie.

Which is what Steve wanted. He didn't want Eddie to have to share this day, a long time coming, with anyone.

(He does make an appearance at Robin's party, because that's his soulmate, but she tells him to go away after fifteen minutes with a my parents already want to betroth me to you, if you stick around, they'll actually try).

"Thanks for hostin'," Wayne says once the party starts to wind down, plopping down into the camping chair he'd brought with him. He'd actually brought four of them, to ensure enough seating for everyone when factoring in the chairs Steve already had at the house. Wayne then gestures across the pool, where Dustin, Lucas, and Max are welcoming a recently dropped off Mike, who had to spend most of the day at Nancy's graduation. "Speakin' of hostin', you gonna let 'em play their game here over the summer? I can start chippin' in snack money."

Steve laughs. "It never even occurred to me that they'd stop once school ended. So, yeah, if they want to keep playing then my place is open. We can take turns buying pizza."

"Best tell Eddie that. He's been tryin' ta work up the courage to ask ya. I can hear him pacin' 'round his room, mutterin' to himself."

"Is he... scared to ask?"

"Nah. Just don't wanna overstep himself, I think," Wayne says, then leans forwards, elbows on his knees. His expression is serious and his voice is low when he adds, "Eddie might not look it but he's always had a fear of bein' too much, y'know? It's not anything you've done, son. It's just Eddie, gettin' up in his own head again."

That Steve understands completely. "Don't worry, Wayne. I'll make sure Eddie knows I want him here."

Wayne nods, reaching out to pat Steve's leg and then use it pull himself out of the chair. "No doubts, here. Now, I think there's some potato salad left callin' ta me."

Steve stands, too. Wayne heads inside to where the food has been safely stored away from the bugs, and Steve heads off to join Eddie, Frankie, and Jeff in whatever they're talking about. They're discussing band stuff, so Steve listens happily, chipping in when they ask his opinion.

Eventually, Frankie and Jeff claim they want to go throw Gareth in the pool as payback for some earlier misdeed, and Eddie opts to stay and chat with Steve.

"So, I originally came to ask if there were any DnD snacks you'd like to change up. We've been getting the same things for a couple months now. Any summer specific snacks?"

Eddie's face glows with delight, smile big and eyes bright. "You're not sick of us yet?"

"No way," Steve smiles back. "I like having you and the guys around."

Eddie's face softens into a fond expression and Steve feels butterflies erupt inside him. Eddie opens his mouth to say something but a shriek interrupts and they both whip around to the sound of splashing.

"Oh. They were serious," Eddie says, which is a weird thing to say. If Eddie didn't think they were serious about throwing Gareth in the pool, then he must have thought they were just making an excuse to get out of conversation. Why?

"Looks like it," is what Steve says, instead of questioning Eddie.

"Oh! Steve! I had an idea," Eddie blurts.

"Oh! Eddie! What?" Steve parrots his phrasing back at him.

"And, like, you can tell me this is none of my business and to drop it, but, uh, Christopher's younger siblings, they're the same age at like Dustin and the rest, yeah? I was thinking, maybe, you should invite them to come stay with you for a couple weeks. Like you used to do with your grandparents? I mean, what's the difference between one older relative and another, right?"

Eddie keeps going, talking about the pros and cons, how it might be cool to get their kids to be friends with Steve's cousins, and Steve hears him, but also isn't listening at the same time. It's a great idea. Steve wonders why he hasn't thought about it. There's nothing stopping him from calling up his aunt and uncle and offering. He doesn't know if Amber and Robert still spend a month of their summer in Michigan, but he wants to know.

And that Eddie has been thinking about it. Has been listing ideas for group activities so Amber and Robert have fun while here. He's got great ideas, and it sounds like he plans to be around for the whole thing, like he wants to be around for the whole thing.

The want swells inside him and Steve just acts. He grabs Eddie's wrist and drags him into the house, passing Wayne as he's heading back outside with a new plate of food. Which is good, because Steve had forgotten Wayne was inside but with him back outside, they are alone in the house as he drags Eddie into the kitchen.

"Uh, what-" Eddie starts to ask once Steve has stopped walking, but Steve cuts him off. He's turned to face Eddie, dropping his wrist to reach up with both hands and cup Eddie's face between them.

"Can I kiss you? Please? Please can I kiss you?"

Eddie's eyes widen but he's nodding his head almost frantically and Steve pulls him into a kiss.

It's electric, like that first time Eddie's fingers brushed his own the day he realized he had a crush on Eddie. Eddie presses in, his own hands wrapping around Steve's waist, pulling him in as much as he's pressing forward. He runs his tongue along Eddie's bottom lip and Eddie opens to him immediately.

Eddie backs him into the wall that divides the dining room from the kitchen, kisses turning heated, biting. It's a heady feeling for Steve, to not be the one pressing someone against the wall; to instead be pressed. There's a high-pitched whine that echos through the kitchen and it takes Eddie breaking away to kiss his way down Steve's neck for him to realize he's making that noise, encouraging Eddie with it.

"Fuck, Eddie," Steve says as Eddie shifts, his leg sliding between Steve's own. "Wait, stop. Wait."

Eddie pulls back, although reluctantly. "Hmm?"

"Anyone could walk in here. And your party is still going. We gotta slow it down."

"Right, shit, sorry," Eddie pulls away, far too quickly, and Steve doesn't like the uncertainty that settles on him.

"Hey, no, don't apologize. I just- Jesus Eddie, I want to continue so bad, but not if we have to rush. Not some quicky in the middle of your party."

Tentatively, Eddie reaches back out, takes one of Steve's hands in his. "So, this isn't just a- this is something you've thought about?"

Steve nods. "Yeah. I told Robin almost a month ago I wanted to date you."

"Yeah?" Eddie looks shocked and shy at the same time.

"Yeah. So, uh, let's finish this party and we can talk about us after?"

Eddie nods, bringing Steve's hand up to his lips and planting a soft kiss to his knuckles. "Definitely."

[withacapitalp]

Countdown Pt 3

Part One Part Two

Tw: Slight suicidal ideation and general grieving

--------------------------------------

They only carry a couple things with them on the run. 

Surviving the apocalypse isn’t pretty, and it’s easier to make a quick escape if they’re always traveling light. Essentials only, with a few sentimental items so they don’t completely lose their minds. 

Nancy had her journals, Max had her skateboard (even if she couldn’t use it right now), Will brought a pack of colored pencils, and Steve was pretty sure Hopper had somehow saved a half a pack of smokes. 

And Steve….Steve has a shoebox. 

It’s an old thing, held together with duct tape and decorated with sharpie doodles. Wayne had given it to him right before he left town, along with the necklace that Steve kept around his neck every moment of every day. 

He’s never let any of them look in it. They think he’s insane, but they’re not the ones with zeroed out timers.

This shoebox is all he has left of his soulmate. 

What’s inside would seem like junk to most people. A handful of rocks of varying size, shapes, and colors. A leather cuff with spikes that Steve had immediately put around his timer wrist to hide it from view. A matchbook from a gay bar in Indianapolis, a Spalding bouncy ball. Some hand-sewn patches with logos he didn’t recognize, three different mini figures, a dozen faded beautiful photographs, and a single mixtape. 

Only Robin knew about the mixtape. He had only told her in case they needed a song for him. That mixtape was the only thing in the world that had the song that could save his life. 

But the most important thing in that box was the letters. 

He read one every night. He had promised himself he wouldn’t read more than one. It was routine. When it was his turn to be on watch and the rest of their family was sound asleep, Steve would open his shoebox, pull out a letter, and read it. 

The first one is probably his favorite. It was written in dark red marker on yellow construction paper, the edges ripped and torn with age. The marker bled through the back of the paper where the child who wrote the letter had pressed down too hard, and Steve could imagine the way his fingers must have stained from the ink. Blood red. The same way his fingers were stained when he died. 

7/4/1971 

TWO SULMAYT,

HI.

I AM EDDIE MUNSON. I AM FIVE YEARS OLD. I LIKE TRUKS. YU SHUD LIKE THEM TO. WE CAN WATCH THE BIG TRUKS! 

WHAT IS YUR NAMY? 

BIE

LUV EDDIE

P. S. I HAD A NANA FOR BRIKFEST. YUM. 

There was a picture of two giant monster trucks under the words, and a tiny thing Steve assumed was a banana under the postscript. Steve keeps that one tucked in his jacket pocket, just in case he ever loses his bag or his precious shoebox. 

He keeps the first in his side pocket, and keeps the last one in the breast pocket right above his heart

6/13/1986

Hi Love,

The first one says ‘Two Sulmayt’ but every one after that starts with ‘Hi Love’. 

Steve can’t help wondering if Eddie would have eventually called him ‘Love’ if they had gotten more time. 

Well, if you’re reading this, then I guess my plan to be the one that lived really didn’t work out. Damn, that sucks. Probably a little bit more for you than for me. 

I don't know how you dealt with knowing we only had five days, but I thought it was kinda fucked. Like damn, really? Five? The universe sure has a funny sense of humor, doesn’t it, Love? Or maybe it just hates me. That is also a very real possibility. 

Maybe. But if the universe hated Eddie, then it must hate Steve more for making him continue to live. For giving him other people to love, people to care about, people to force him to not give up. 

Anyways this is how I dealt with it. If you only get five days to have me, I’m going to make sure you know me. Or know who I was at least. One letter a month for the last 12 years, and a bunch of random one off ones from when I was little. Before I lived with Wayne it was kind of catch as catch can with paper and stuff, and I was also like seven, so how many letters do you really want from a seven year old who still can’t spell ‘Difficulty’?

I know how to now, by the way. Mrs. D, Mrs. I, yada yada. Do you ever wonder why all those women are married? I think that’s stupid. Forced conformity, even in our nursery rhymes. 

That joke always made Steve laugh. He’s read this letter so many times it’s starting to come apart at the creases, but it still made him pause and chuckle. 

Anyways. This is yours. Eleven letters a year for twelve years is one hundred and thirty two. Adding in the ones from before, it’s probably around a hundred and fifty. It’s not the same as having me around, but if you spread them out, you might get thirteen years or so before you have to start rereading them. 

Or read them all in one sitting. Do whatever you want. 

Steve had counted. It was one hundred and forty one. He read one new one a night, because every single day they survived seemed like a miracle right now. 

He only had seventy three more left. 

Not like I can stop you, haha. 

That’s probably not as funny to you as I want it to be. Sorry, Love. 

It wasn’t funny. Not in the slightest. Steve wanted Eddie here, wanted him to tell him to wait. He wanted Eddie to write him more letters. 

Oh, I also included a bunch of stuff I thought was too cool to lose, and a mixtape with songs that I wrote for my band. I thought you might want to get to hear my voice. It’s probably stupid, but you don’t have to listen to them if you don’t want to. 

Steve listened to it. They had been forced to scrounge up new batteries for his walkman three times because it kept dying. 

Everything in this box is yours, Wayne has strict instructions to give it to you. And, anything of mine Wayne doesn’t want is for you too.

Wow. A whole trust fund of trailer park trash. Some people leave their soulmates huge inheritances. I left you rocks and pictures and a shit ton of letters. Aren’t you lucky, Love? 

He was lucky. He had seventy three more letters. Seventy three more reasons to survive another day. 

After that…Steve wasn’t sure if he would be lucky anymore. 

Now if you’re good at math- which I hope you are, because I’m terrible at it- then you might be saying to yourself ‘Is my soulmate an idiot? Does he not know there’s twelve months in a year?’ 

No. I’m actually incredibly smart, even though my grades don’t really show it. I rewrite this top of the box letter every year on my birthday, and then I burn the last one. It’s a fun, extremely morbid, tradition. 

I’m 20 today, Love. I wonder how old you are a lot. I hope you’re close to my age at least. Maybe you’re like fifty years older than me, and I meet you when you’re on your deathbed, and that’s why we only have five days. 

They had only gotten five days because Steve hadn’t just taken Eddie and run. He should have just told Eddie to go as far from Hawkins as possible the second he realized. Fuck the rest of the world, fuck stopping the apocalypse. The best part of Steve was already dead. 

Two whole decades, but somehow I’m still in high school. I failed. Again. I wrote a lot about it in my letter last month, so I’m not going to talk about it again. Suffice to say I’m pretty bummed. I mean, c’mon, even Steve Harrington managed to graduate last year, and that guy barely even went to class during senior year. 

That part of the letter always made his stomach turn. He hated the reminder of all the wasted time, the little nudge that always told him it was his fault they barely had any time. 

If he had only looked up. 

Oh, well. This one is it. ‘86 baby! I’d say I want this to be the year I meet you, but I really want to graduate, so maybe hold off for just one more year? Stay wherever you are for just twelve more months, Love, just to be safe. Then I can put a picture of me flipping off my principal in this box for you. I’ll add my diploma in too, just to prove to you I did it. 

Eddie wasn’t going to get a diploma. 

If you wait a year, I’ll give you twelve more letters. So just wait one more year. By then, I think I’ll know what to say to make this better. I’ll know what to do to fill the gap I know you’re going to have. I’ll have something to say that will fix all this. I say that every year, and I never do, but hey, ‘86. 

Nothing anyone said would fix this. Nothing Eddie could write would fill the hole left in Steve’s soul. Nothing. 

I’m sorry. 

I say that every year too. 

Steve didn’t want apologies. He didn’t want letters. He didn’t want a hard to hear voice on a single mixtape. 

He wanted Eddie. 

Well. Happy birthday to me. One more year without meeting you. Eleven more letters. You better be doing something just as nice for me in case it's you that bites it, or I’m bringing your ass back just to kill you again. 

Steve didn’t care if Eddie killed him. Eddie could reappear right now and immediately shoot Steve and he would die happy. He just wanted one more minute. Just a little more time. 

…Wait just a little bit longer. I’ll have better words next year. 

Can you do that for me, Love?

P.S. You should read the first letter I wrote to you, just to appreciate how eloquent and charming I am in this one. 

Eddie called him ‘Love’. Eddie asked him to wait. Eddie wanted to have the right words. He wanted to live long enough to save Steve from his own broken heart.

Steve wishes he had waited.  

[lorifragolina]

The Devil Wears Metal

Finally my last entry for Metalsandwich Movie Mania! @now-showing-at-the-hawk-events!

It was originally thought for the Iconic Movie prompt out yesterday but I just missed the day, so, I post it today!

I really venerate The Devil wears Prada and it's so iconic to me that started thinking and preparing this entry the last year when I first knew about the event, and even so I was able to miss the date!! I couldn't stop me making our Metalsandwich version, although I cheated a little but a prequel and a sequel are possible!

Read it in AO3

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Billy Hargrove/Eddie Munson Cast: Eddie Munson as Miranda Priestly Billy Hargrove as Emily Charlton Steve Harrington as Andrea Sachs With the special appearance of: Dustin Henderson as Nigel Kipling Robin Buckley as Lily Heather Holloway as Serena

Rating: Mature Word count:9390

One of my favourite dialogues above the line, I had really so much fun writing it!

“Come on, we have the cover briefing in 5 minutes, that means we are 10 minutes late” smiled Dustin, dusting the crumbs from Steve’s shirt.

Eddie was already there with Heather and another girl, and Gareth took inside two guitar amps almost identical.

“Stand here, watch and listen,” said Dustin, reaching Eddie’s side. Gareth plugs a guitar in one of the amps.

“Where’s my pick?” asking Eddie, and the girl runned searching in a box. “Why is no one ready?” Eddie grunted and raised a brow.

He wore the guitar’s strap and played a chord, then tested a string, adjusting the keys. Then they plugged the guitar in the other amp and played again.

“No,” he said, doing it another couple of times. “Listen? That little sting in the high”.

The sound seemed absolutely the same to Steve, and he was a little bored. 

Gareth nodded. “It seems completely different”.

Steve chuckled, snorting behind his notebook. “Something funny?” Eddie raised a brow. A stone cold silence fell on the room, and Billy came out from his desk and got close to listen. “No… no, no, I’m sorry, nothing” Eddie’s glance was so sharp that he just couldn’t stop himself. “This is… those sounded exactly the same to me… but, don’t mind me, I’m still learning about this stuff”. “This… Stuff?” Eddie growled slowly, in a low voice that was able to turn off all the sounds around him. “Oh, I see… You think this has nothing to do with you. You turn on your radio, your MTV, and think that you can listen to your easy pop just to fill the silence just while you do your laundry. You think that you should play a whatever instrument and mix it with a computer and dance it at a club when you’re drunk. But this is not just playing. This is not just pop music. This is technique. But you don’t bother to think that those tragic pop albums you listen to when cleaning are the job of a lot of musicians that spend a lot of their time searching for the right sound for you to bounce your little head. And it was in 1990 that U2 decided to explore new sounds and tried a lot of different equipment to release that album that you are wearing right now and probably you found at a tragic gas station, in the casual corner. You think this all is not about you, but in fact you’re listening to something that had been selected and produced in this very room, by those very people, playing with this stuff ”.

[bugsbenefit]

i'm mmmmh still thinking thoughts (it's about the poster, of course it is, been fascinated by that since s4)

the last few minutes of every season always drop some major hints for the next season that are pretty explicit in hindsight. some examples

s1 shows the baby slugs Will coughs up that come back in s2, hints El might still be alive when Hopper leaves Eggo waffles out in the forest, and gives Nancy a sweet moment with Jonathan despite still dating Steve, s2 has El living with Hopper and J/ancy going canon

s2 shows the mindflayer looming over the school -> meatflayer is the main threat of s3 (as well as s2 having lumax and mleven dancing who will both be established couples by the start of s3)

s3 ends with the Byers moving away and Max sitting alone in Billy's room, s4 then has the Byers living in California be a major plotpoint as well as Max's trauma around Billy's death almost killing her

and so on you get it. in hindsight there will obviously be some pretty major hints in the last 10 minutes of s4

and some already seem pretty straight forward. obviously the gates opening is the big thing, the UD will be a focus in s5. the camera lingering on the church and Jason's bible quote outside also seems like it's a pretty solid nudge at the vibe in town next season. also things like the hill scene in general with the coupled grouping (doesn't even have to be about "endgames" necessarily, would also make sense as main groups of s5, since they're split into adults, teens (now young adults), and kids (teens) again)

but the whole blood thing going on in the last 10 minutes that comes out of nowhere? i want to know where that is going

we already had a ton of blood in s4, with the lab massacre and nose bleeds for the Vecna victims. so why does the donating blood theme come up after all that, what happens in s5 that makes it warrant the blood teaser (that sounds horrible) when s4 already had so much of it? and it's not just blood in general, there's a very specific focus on "giving" blood, however you want to interpret that

the poster in the hospital room already feels extremely foreshadowy in s4 given how bold it's written, how it's the only legible text on screen, and how it's in the negative space of the blocking the whole time so your eyes are drawn to it

but it's not even just that one poster either. in case you missed that one or didn't bother reading it in the hospital they also give you the blood donations promo table that the shot lingers on, that has so many posters begging for your blood it's not even funny anymore. and hey, even for those not reading background posters, there's 4 separate blood drop graphics so you definitely know they want blood, the show seems to really really want people to acknowledge it

and now they use the same exact poster from these last 10 minutes again? in another location? that's more focus on it than even i expected what are we going for here

be a hero give blood you say? on the show with the constant allusions to being a hero? "heroes" by david bowie, superheroes and powers, "don't try to be heroes" only for Eddie to die when he breaks his own advice? all of s4 was about how you shouldn't try to be a hero and that running away is okay. Max also almost dies when she stops running to distract Vecna. girl you know someone is fucked with that poster, that's a set up screaming for disaster (it's also not lost on me how even the stage show has a focus on blood and !TFS SPOILER! as far as i know Brenner senior even dies after not being able to receive blood donations due to his now abnormal blood type anymore. so there's some weird focus on blood going on even outside of the in show canon now, even specifically about giving blood, or well, not being able to give blood in this case. no one was a hero and gave blood in tfs i guess lmao. what are they cooking here)

the poster is also so vague there's so many ways this can be horrible for the characters. in the actual blood donation to save someone way? would be kind of tame but who knows what lore/plot s5 will deliver. in the sacrifice yourself/get injured to save someone way? or a secret third thing we don't have enough context to guess yet?

be a hero give blood my ass. who's giving blood for what tell me now. also how bad will "giving blood" be for them

[spicysix]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @missberrycake thank you lovely ♡

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

38!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

115,027!!! that's so many words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently, only Stranger Things. before, i've written for a bunch of RPF - McFly, The Maine, One Direction. don't think i had ever written for a show/movie before

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

crush crush crush - steddie X reader

fuck-marry-kill - steve X reader

it feels like i'm going home - eddie X reader

now i'm ready to start - eddie X reader

love sneaked in with the smell of you - eddie X reader

i find it very funny that my top 5 (actually, my top 9!!!) it's all reader inserts. didn't think they'd be popular at Ao3 hah

5. Do you respond to comments?

i do!!! currently i have a lot of comments to answer to, because i've been a little away from fandom and specifically from writing since last year, and haven't found it in myself to answer them. but i will!!!!! someday

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

me and you (we can't lose) [eddie X reader] definetely. canon compliant. that's all needed to understand lmao but some of the drabbles for my Forever Halloween Challenge are also very angsty and gory

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

basically all my other fics have happy endings, so that's a hard thing to answer lol i think it's relative

8. Do you get hate on fics?

never did, thankfully!

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

i've only ever wrote one smut scene for going home and nothing else in english. in portuguese, i've had a series of three short smut fics that i never finished lol. it's not my thing and it's hard for me to do it because of the language barrier in english, i feel insecure about it. i just prefer writing pure fluff in general

10. Do you write crossovers?

never did, no, cause it's usually not something i like to read as well

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

also not that i know of but that would be so nice if done with permission!

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

also no. i think i'd have a bit of a hard time, but wouldn't be opposed to it

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

i'll say that nothing has ever got me as much as Steddie before. i've always been a reader insert girlie, besides the first fics that i've ever read (Jemi - joe jonas X demi lovato) fics, i'm pretty sure Steddie was the only characters ship that i've read and got completely obsessed over

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

your sweater (up over your head) [stonathan]. this fic is very special to me and a personal challenge in many ways, and i'd love to finish it someday but i'm not sure i'll get back to writing ST, so it's a hard chance

16. What are your writing strengths?

i'd say dialogue! it flows very naturally to me

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

description. haaaate describing things, scenarios, clothes, faces, animals, whatever. i think i'm really mediocre if not entirely bad at it

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

if it's through someone's specific POV, i'm in favor of writing as the character understands it - so if they understand the language, keep it translated and just describe that it was in another language; but if they don't understand, then don't translate either. then you can either put it on a note or make the character who said it translate it. but also, if it's too big of a text, i think it can be annoying. so, mostly short phrases it's good

19. First fandom you wrote for?

McFly rpf reader insert

20. Favourite fic you've written?

ahhh that is such a hard question, i love all my fics so dearly. but i'm gonna go with going home because it's my first and only finished long chaptered fic, and all the research i did for it and everything else involved in writing it that made it a bit more special

Tagging (no pressure): @marvel-ous-m @hbyrde36 @stellarspecter @starryeyedjanai and anyone else who sees it and wants to join in!

[spookystarfishzombie]

Just a little 'hello & welcome to my blog' post.

Most people have a pinned introduction post & I thought I should probably get on that. This will also double up as a FAQ post too.

Also, if you wanna buy me tea, you can -> (green tea of course)

First & foremost: FREE PALESTINE! I won't hear any different, go argue with a wall (no it's not performative, as I have been accused of in the past (all because I criticised an actor), I've attended marches, signed petitions, written to my local MPs, attended meetings & help set up fund raising events, so fuck off with your 'performative activism' buzz words, I'm not here for it). As I run a Stranger Things page, it's worth noting that I do not support the zionists in the show, most notably No*h Schnapp (tagged as 'he who shall not be named) & Br*tt Gelman (tagged as 'other he who shall not be named. I honestly think he's down right insane). If you are one of these people that venomously supports them then fuck off off my page. You're not welcome here.

Secondly, Hi, I'm Kay (she/her), I'm a veteran of Tumblr, unfortunately. I love watching films, I love to draw, read and have green fingers, yes I'm a plant mama, I just love plants. My prized plant is my monstera because she started off so small & now she's doubled in size. So happy! I also put the B in LGBTQ, I'm very proud of the bi community & love being part of it (biphobes, especially within the queer community, are truly baffling to me - so take your biphobia elsewhere, or better yet, you know, educate yourself? It's not a hard thing to do). I also have crippling anxiety and I'm irritatingly shy, I wish I wasn't but I've always been shy, so if you want to talk to me, you're going to have to be the one to reach out otherwise I'm radio silent (I'm working on it). I'm a millennial, so if you're a minor, sorry, I won't be forging friendships. But you're awsome, just know that!

I used to have Texts From Last Night (TFLN) blog for Stranger Things a few years back that was basically the same as this blog (except back then I had thousands of followers *sigh*). I deleted it because a) people were annoying about it, b) people didn't seem to understand that this wasn't to be taken seriously and c) I got chased off the site because apparently labelling Mike as bi was a death sentence. I said fuck it, and deleted. I started it around when season 2 came out & deleted just before season 4. But I'm hoping the fandom is a little more mature now & I can start up with a fresh, new Stranger Things TFLN blog again, mainly because I miss making edits. Making edits helps take my focus off my anxiety. Yay anxiety.

I take texts from the site Texts From Last Night (it's no longer being maintained, unfortunately), then I take screencaps from my own laptop or from a site called screencapped, then throw it altogether (if you want to look at the site for yourself, just a trigger warning, some of the texts are either gross or bigoted - so just a heads up, I obviously filter out those ones from my blog, I don't want that on here).

I do sometimes edit the original TFLN to fit the screencap, so if the original TFLN mentions a name, I'll change the name to say, for example, Lucas or Nancy. I'll change it if it includes ages & place names too, just to fit with Stranger Things. I also sometimes add my own Text to make it flow smoother, for example this one with Steve & Eddie (the post), the original TFLN only had the 'Eddie' part but I didn't think it flowed well, so I made up a 'Steve' text with a made up area code, so it made more sense that 'Eddie' was responding to 'Steve' rather than just having it as a stand alone text (I really over-complicate my descriptions, huh?).

The numbers on the posts are area codes, and the texts aren't colour coded, I just use what ever colour stands out against the background. I also don't do it by ships; I'll find a text that I think is funny and find a screencap that roughly matches up, so please don't request ship/character posts. I'll maybe do submissions at a later date, where you can send in your funny texts but right now, I'm just making my way through the TFLN site.

Not a particularly interesting introduction post but there you go. I ain't got much to say, I guess. But I will say thanks for your support so far on here, you guys seem to be enjoying the posts and that's all that really matters. Much love!

Kay

x

[stevethehairington]

Ship game 24 and 27 please

ooh thank you!! these are fun ones!! 💕

24. What are their favorite places to kiss on their partner(s)? What are their favorite types of kisses?

LOVE THIS ONE!! okay. so. eddie absolutely LOVES to kiss steve's freckles and moles. it's his favorite thing to do. the ones on his cheek, just beside his nose. the little triangle of them on his neck. the spray of them across his shoulders and down his back. the ones on the inside of his knee, the underside of his thigh. given the chance, eddie will take his time to kiss each and every one of them. his favorite to kiss, though, is the couplet on steve's cheek. the very spot that eddie had stared at as he leaned in close and called steve "big boy". he'd nearly done it, nearly taken the plunge and kissed him there for the first time, but he'd thought better of it at the last second and held back. when he did finally get to kiss it for the first time, he was delighted by the pretty, rosy color that bloomed beneath the freckles and made them pop as steve blushed. now, every change he gets eddie will swoop in to press a kiss there.

(also, honorable mention to the inside of steve's thighs lol. whenever they're in the bedroom and eddie's got steve laid out against his bed, he LOVES to kiss the inside of his thighs. loves to press his lips to the soft, sensitive skin there, loves to bite at it and suck bruises like secrets and smooth them over with wet kisses, with gentle kiss, with adoring kisses.)

steve's favorite place to kiss eddie is his pulse point, right there against the side of his throat. he likes to sweep eddie's hair out of the way, to gather it and push it to the side so he can duck in and press his mouth to that sweet sweet spot. he likes to feel eddie's heartbeat beneath his lips, strong and steady and sure. alive. here.

27. Who would propose? What would their wedding be like?

actually, i think it would be really funny and also really sweet if they both wanted to propose to each other, sort of around the same time too. except i think it would play out like this:

i like to think that steve bought the ring, like, a year after they started dating. he'd been that in love, that sure of them. he, of course, held onto it for all this time, because he knew a year of dating was way too soon to be bringing up marriage, and he knew eddie had a rocky relationship with the idea of marriage because of his parents, and honestly, steve sort of did too. but he'd had this gut feeling, and eight years later, it was still there. still there and stronger than ever.

steve wants to do something really romantic for the proposal, something that will truly sweep eddie off his feet (even though he's already done that). he wants it to be memorable, thinks eddie deserves something just as grand as he is. so steve spends SO much time planning it. he recruits robin and nancy (and even considers asking some of the kids for advice, but even though they're pretty grown now, they still don't know how to keep secrets from each other, so that's out of the question, he can't risk eddie finding out) and he has them help him brainstorm something good. it takes some time, but he finally comes up with a plan — the perfect proposal.

except, three days before steve's plan is supposed to finally come to fruition, eddie ruins it.

it's late in the evening, and steve is in the bathroom running through his nightly routine. he's got his hair pushed back with a bright pink sweatband, some sort of clay face mask goop all over his face (it had been a gift from robin — she'd made it herself, said it did wonders for her skin), and he's just finishing brushing his teeth too.

eddie's in the bedroom, already in his pajamas, but he's on top of the bedsheets as he leans against the headboard of their bed and reads.

steve spits the toothpase out and rinses his mouth. he's still got a few more minutes until he's supposed to wash the face mask away, but he doesn't want to sit in the bathroom, bored, so he marches the short distance to the door and walks into the bedroom.

eddie doesn't look up from his book, not until steve flops onto the bed beside him, then wriggles his way closer and pushes eddie's book aside.

"hey, i was reading that," eddie protests, and he looks like he might complain a little more until his eyes land on steve, and he promptly bursts into laughter — the deep, full-bodied kind.

eddie twists to face steve, pushes a hand flat to his chest so he can press him to the mattress and props himself up on his elbow to hover above steve, squinting at his face. "oh my god, what is that?" he asks in between his snickering. he swipes a finger against steve's cheek and collects some of the green goop. he holds it up and eye it, then gives it a sniff. he wrinkles his nose.

steve frowns at him as best as he can through the mask. "quit it," he whines, as eddie wipes the clay onto the side of steve's arm. "it's from robin, she said it's good for my skin."

eddie drops his forehead to steve's chest, still laughing. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry. it's just— you look like slimer, man," he says, and laughs harder.

steve makes an indignant noise, but he's laughing too.

and then eddie picks his head up again, catching steve's eyes, and he's got this ridiculously fond look on his face, something warm and adoring sparkling in his eyes, and he's shaking his head, smiling so wide, and then, "marry me?"

the laughter dies in steve's throat, catching on a soft, sharp inhale, his eyes going wide. "what?" he asks.

eddie doesn't even falter. "marry me," he repeats, not so much a question this time. this time, as it is a declaration.

"eddie," steve breaths, and his heart skips in his chest. then, "eddie." it's a little petulant, a little miffed, and it makes eddie's face screw up, that insecurity clawing it's way up for the first time since the words slipped from his lips.

eddie rolls off of steve, takes his hands off of him. "i— is that— i don't— look, steve—"

but before he can start to apologize or, god forbid, rescind the offer, steve rolls onto him, pins him to the bed. "i can't believe you just asked me that," he says, and he smiles.

eddie's brow furrows, but the sight of steve smiling must reassure him that he's not upset by the question. "should i— should i not have asked you that?" he asks, and he looks so confused that steve kind of wants to laugh.

so he does. drops his head to eddie's chest, just like eddie had done to him before, and laughs. "no," steve says, shaking his head. "no you shouldn't have," he lifts his head so he can meet eddie's eyes again, "because i was going to ask you that first," he finally says.

it's eddie's turn to be surprised. "what?"

steve nods. "yeah, i was going to propose to you in a few days. i had— shit, i had this whole thing planned out." he laughs again. "it was going to be so good. you were going to love it. there's no way you wouldn't have said yes."

a bubbly sort of laugh spills from eddie's lips. "baby, i would've said yes any way you ask me," he tells steve, wrapping his arms around steve's middle.

"except i didn't get the chance to, you ass!" steve complains, swatting lightly at eddie's arm. "i can't believe you!"

"i beat you to the punch," eddie says, grinning. "you didn't give me an answer, though," he adds, trailing off. he looks at steve with expectant eyes.

steve rolls his, then sighs. "ask me again," he tells eddie.

so eddie does. "marry me?" he asks.

and the smile on steve's face grows. it grows so wide that the clay starts to crack, and a couple flaky pieces fall off. "yes," he whispers. "yes," he says, and he dives forward so he can kiss eddie senseless.

(and at some point a little bit later, after the proposal and the acceptance has been celebrated and the two of them are lying together in bed, eddie will take steve's hand, twine their fingers, rub his thumb over the knuckle of steve's left ring finger. then he'll take the single ring he wears on his right hand from his finger and he'll slide it onto steve's. he'll tell him that that ring was his mother's — not her wedding ring, but still hers. and now it's steve's. his two favorite people. they never got to meet, but they still get to share this. to share this ring and eddie's love.)

Ask Game for Ships!

[steddieas-shegoes]

omg hi-- can you do 89 for the writing prompts thingy? it made me almost laugh out loud at work & i think twould be very funny so !!<3

(also you are doing so good & i am loving what you're writing !!!!)

HI! This one is hilarious and I am so amused by the versions I've already read: 89. "YOU SENT ME PICTURES OF YOU NAKED WHILE I WAS IN A WORK MEETING!"

Rated M | tags: mention of nude pictures, language, allusions to sex, this is borderline a crack ficlet because it's funny and absurd, modern au, rockstar eddie, corroded coffin guys

📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱📱

Steve hadn't moved from bed all morning, couldn't even try at this point.

He was a little sore from Eddie's homecoming last night, but that was to be expected when he'd been gone for a month.

But he could accomplish a lot in bed, even if Eddie had to go to some stupid meeting this morning with the band.

The photographic evidence of all the things he could accomplish were sent and Steve was just waiting for the hilarious emoji response that was sure to come.

But minutes went by and he got nothing.

Eddie had definitely seen the pictures, the little 'Read 10:06am' popup under the set of four images showing he'd seen them immediately.

By 10:15, Steve was sitting up in bed, biting his nails, a nervous habit he'd picked up during his senior year of college and hadn't been able to kick.

His phone started buzzing, Eddie's contact photo filling the screen.

"Eds?"

""YOU SENT ME PICTURES OF YOU NAKED WHILE I WAS IN A WORK MEETING!"

"No, I sent you four pictures of me naked while you were in a work meeting," Steve replied, smirking to himself.

"And you didn't think that maybe that wasn't the best idea? That maybe someone sitting next to me, or two someones sitting next to me, might see these pictures? That thought didn't occur to you?" Eddie sounded mad.

Which was something Steve wasn't used to.

No matter what, Eddie was never mad at him. He'd never raised his voice, never ignored him on purpose, never done anything to show anger.

Except now.

Steve bit his lip, pulling the covers over himself and curling into a ball.

Eddie sighed.

Steve could picture him running a hand over his face, tugging on his hair, closing his eyes, all the things he did when he was stressed.

"You look beautiful, Stevie, okay? I'm just, I'm stressed and the meeting was really important and our producer saw them. He's such a creep, and then Jeff accidentally saw them when he heard my phone vibrate, and he won't even look at me now, and it's just not good timing."

Steve nodded to himself. He probably should have thought about that, but honestly, he was so high on having Eddie back, he didn't consider much of anything beyond showing off how his morning was going.

"I'm sorry, Eds."

Steve wasn't crying, it was clear that Eddie wasn't actually mad at him, but his voice still came out a bit broken, a bit sad.

"Sweetheart, I promise I'm not mad about it. I'm gonna be home soon and I'll show you just how much I loved the pictures, okay?"

"Okay." Steve smiled to himself. "Maybe we could take some new ones together?"

"What, and send them to Jeff? He might leave the band," Eddie joked.

Joking was good, it was their baseline. Steve could handle joking.

"As if he hasn't been sneaking looks at my ass for years."

"Hey!" Jeff's voice yelled in the background. "It happened, like, twice!"

Steve giggled.

"It's okay, bud, it's very distracting," Eddie said to Jeff. "Let me just grab some coffee with the guys and then I'll be home to take care of you."

Steve let out a moan, tried to hide it in his pillow.

Eddie wasn't mad, but Steve heard the tone of his voice, knew exactly how he'd be taken care of when Eddie got home.

"I was gonna get dressed and go to the store," Steve lied.

"You won't. You'll stay right there." A door closed as Eddie spoke and Steve knew he'd just found a room to talk to him privately. "You won't put any clothes on, and you'll stay in bed with your fingers keeping you ready for me just like in that third picture you sent me."

Steve was gonna scream.

"But I was gonna run errands..."

"You aren't going anywhere until I've made up for the last month. We'll have food delivered. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good." The door opened. "Do you want me to bring you any coffee?"

Steve snorted. "Nope, I think you'll keep me awake just fine."

"Why do you even have him on speaker right now?" Gareth's voice said, faked annoyance in his tone.

"Because I have my hands full!"

"We know!" everyone yelled.

"Not like that!" Eddie yelled back. Then, "Okay, a little like that."

"See you soon, baby," Steve smiled into the phone. "Sorry about the pictures."

"You can say you're sorry when I get home," Eddie replied. "Love you."

"Love you too."

When Steve ended the call, he was sent a steady stream of texts:

Jeff: i swear i don't look at your ass. it's a nice one tho

Gareth: literally i don't wanna look at eddie anymore please make him come home now

Gareth: seriously please he doesn't need coffee he's already annoying

Grant: that's a good angle

Eds: be home soon 😉

An image came through a few seconds later, one that was clearly taken while he was talking to Steve, probably when he hid in a room.

It was just a dark shot of Eddie's crotch, pants unbuttoned and unzipped, showing absolutely nothing.

Steve shook his head and replied: you're not very good at this. love you though.

He would just have to show Eddie how to get a good angle for his next attempt at sending something suggestive.

[pizzaqueen]

A very rough beginning to the fic I mentioned yesterday, which I thought I’d share because of @route1961’s tags on this post

#agHhh! dont do this to mE op! im LiViNg for this idea and now im totally invested! i nEEd to know more!!! #though i totally understand wanting to take a break from writing #just know if you ever write this i'll read it in a hEaRtbEat

“It was a dark and stormy night—”

“That wasn’t funny the last three times you said it,” Steve says, “and it’s still not funny.” He sighs as he squints through the windshield.

“Who says I’m trying to be funny? It’s literally a dark and stormy night.” As if on cue, thunder booms and lightning forks through the sky. What Eddie can see of it through the thick canopy of trees, anyway. He gives a flourish of his hand and makes an I told you so face.

“Yeah, yeah.” Steve waves him off. It tangles in Eddie’s chest. Things have been weird between them since—

The car suddenly stops. Rain beats down on the roof, almost deafening. “Why’d you stop?”

“I didn’t. The car just…died.” Steve scratches his head, looking at the fuel gauge.

“Oh, pulling the ol’ ‘well, dang, looks like we’re outta gas’ trick, huh?” Eddie leans back in his seat, crossing his arms and tutting. “You cad!”

Steve’s jaw ticks; Eddie can’t tell if it’s in annoyance or the beginning of a smile, but it’s the only indication he gives that he’s heard Eddie. He sighs again and says, “I’ll go see what’s wrong,” and gets out of the car before Eddie can say anything.

Eddie follows, soaked through in seconds. Steve already has the hood up, leaning over the engine.

“It’s too dark to see anything,” Eddie says, “you got a flashlight in the car?”

“No.” Steve slams the hood down. He pushes his hair out of his face, but it flops back down. Eddie fights the urge to push it back again for him. “I didn’t think we’d need a flashlight.”

“Okay. I guess we just have to wait until morning and we can see better.” Eddie shifts his weight. “Or at all.”

“Yeah, shit.” Steve lets out a long breath and says, “Looks like we’re spending the night in the car.”

It doesn’t take long for them to realize that spending the night in the car is not a great idea. But it’s Steve who says something about it, first.

“Look, man, I think we passed a house a little ways back. Maybe there’s someone home and we can stay there or something.”

“You mean that one that looked like a murder house? Yeah, no thanks.” Eddie shifts. There’s something digging into his butt and his wet clothes are sticking to him. “Haven’t you had enough of weird old houses?”

“Yeah, but…” Steve waves around the car. “We’re not going to get any sleep in here. And I can hear your teeth chattering.”

“Freezing to death in the car still sounds better than getting murdered in a murder house.”

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fine.” He shakes his head. “I’ll go and see if I can bring some help back.” The car door opens, letting in cold air and the roar of the rain.

“Hey, wait. You’re not going alone!” The car door slams shut again and Eddie curses. He waits a beat and then he follows Steve. If he ends up sacrificed by some weird cult, he’s going to be so pissed.

[azrielgreen]

I have lots more to say so I’ll be back later but I have to say this now.

BOD has impacted me like no other, maybe because I see a lot of myself in Steve (I was always a victim of imaged based abuse similarly to Steve), among other traits but I think about the story so often.

Anyways, I’m reading it AGAIN but this time I’ve been annotating it on my iPad and it’s funny because now that I’m dissecting it, I can see the spiral where things are starting to slip into the dangerous pattern and then I thought about the song with the same namesake and it does feel like that part in the song, I don’t know how to describe but where it’s a decent into madness but you know somethings wrong?

I can see the moments where the boys, anyone should have pulled back and said wait a minute.

But at the same time, Eddie being only 23 and experienced such great loss, I can’t blame him from holding on and giving into this happiness. He’s been taught that good things don’t last so he has to hold on, very “everything I’ve ever let go has claw marks in it”.

Anyways, thank you for creating the BOD world it’s given me so much and I’ll be back xx

Oh this is just SUCH a beautiful thing to share, thank you so much😭 Black Out Days is still my favourite thing I've ever written and to hear that it holds meaning with people is so wonderful. 💜💜💜

[scary-ivy]

Elvis Costello and the Imposters at Golden Gate Theater, SF 6/13/23 Concert Notes

-we missed the beginning of Nick Lowe's set :( but we came in to Los Straightjackets doing a really good jam

-then Nick Lowe came back and did Trombone and Cruel to Be Kind. He really sang great tonight, better than last time I saw him and I loved his little stage mannerisms which were very Carl Perkins, bending his legs and such. Then he said one more song and this song is a story and did I Knew The Bride When She Used to Rock & Roll. During the "When she used to pony" part he kept repeating the same line over and over like a skipping record, and then yelled "somebody stop me!" which I thought was quite clever and funny. He also forgot a line at one point lol.

- On to the other show, they opened with Mystery Dance! A very high-energy version of it, with extra guitar solos or something idk it just sounded great tonight.

-Right into This Years Girl. Love that they did it, thought the way Elvis sings it now is quite strange. Must be a deliberate choice on his part since he can sing his old songs normally when he wants to. His voice was great on all the fast songs, it didn't feel at all like he was falling behind on them tonight, like it sometimes does nowadays.

-At some point Elvis randomly said "Uno Dos Tres Quatro" as like a count in to one of these songs.

-Hatty O' Hara Confidential. He yelled something like "who's scandalous tonight? People in the top row?!". This song always kills live, Elvis Costello has insane flow for no fucking good reason, even with alternate rhythm patterns. At one point he said "confidential" in a fake French accent randomly.

-At this point I was thinking even if the rest of the show sucks, this was worth it.

-Costello told one of his rambling stories. It started with "we were just up in Canada and the border guard, who was a young man, and I call him a young man…because I can, I was very polite to him because he had a colt gun onn his hip, but he read the papers and said "Eddie Costello". So we're thinking about changing the name, it's either going to be "Eddie Costello and His Imposters" *crowd cheers for this option* or "Elvis Money and His Two Tickets to Paradise". *Crowd cheers and calls out what option they want* I toured with Eddie Money and they put us together every through our styles were very different. To be hip with the kids, they made art for the poster where it looks like we're both wearing lipstick. And I'll say, Eddie Money looked a lot better in lipstick than me." (Sidenote I can't believe he said this. Much to unpack). During this whole speech he said fucking and fuck so many times. Then he said it was great that he and Eddie Money were on the same label as a bunch of other greats (I forget which ones he listed but Bruce Springsteen was one of them). The crowd cheered for name-dropping of bands they like. He said "you had to be careful as a young man buying records…you might accidentally pick up something by Rush…or Styx." The crowd started half booing for this dig. "I almost picked up Metal by Pink and His Floyds. The record store cleck said…don't get that one son…you might hurt yourself". He started talking about Bruce Springsteen and how he made America seem so magical with girls in red dresses wind in your hair, and how he picked up a Bruce Springsteen record in 73' and it inspired him to write this song.

-then almost midsentce he went into Radio Radio, like one second talking next second Radio Radio. Loved Steve Nieve's piano part, as usual.

-Elvis Costello said "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Steve Nieve!!!" about 6 gooddamn times during this concert. He introduced the rest of the band about 3 or 4 times. Steve Nieve deserved the extra introduction because they did so many songs as like a duo.

- When I was Cruel No. 2. Elvis sat on a stoll near the piano that has this little sound effect board kinda like the one Gerard Way has and Steve Nieve played the melodica? I did not know he could play that, it was awesome. During the ABBA reference part Steve played a minor key version of the dancing queen riff, it was very subtle and extremely cool.

-they were like a jam band tonight? Jamming on long solos in the middle of songs and it always sounded extremely good, like as good as the Beatles or Jimi Hendrix or something, I was just blown away. Elvis played a couple notes on the piano when Steve was soloing, lol.

- We are All Cowards Now hit insanely hard. The political message came through so clearly it sounded like a prayer, no a plea for peace. When he said "throw down your arms" and held his hands up everyone held their hands up.

- "Anyone here like New Wave music? I hate it, horrible speed-up stuff. I was once accused of playing it, and that wounded me deeply, the type of sadness that comes to you when you wake up at 3 am in the morning, and you can't find your car keys but then you find them, but you don't have a car, and then you find your house keys but you don't have a house". Mistook Me For A Freind, which has such a great high energy live sounds like it could be off this years model.

-Accidents Will Happen, fully as the solo piano version, except for at the very end with the "I knows" we were encouraged to sing along with. What a lovely treat to hear it fully as a ballad.

- Waiting For The End of the world, which rules, but also Elvis did a funny thing were he just said "Waiting" and then cut it off and paused the first time, before after a pause finally getting to the "Good Lawd!" part, like continuously teasing the audice each time as people sang the normal line. The rest of the song simmered down along with the pause, increasing the impact of this bit.

- "Clown Around Town" wound up being a very cute acoustic song. He explained the story that he was looking out at the sunrise in Reno and all they had for scenery was a miserable looking clown statue holding up a drum. He said they should put that on postcards for the town, and then said actually it's a very nice town nice people it's not their fault they left an old clown out in the rain. Then did the song on acoustic guitar, except for the end the band joined in. Loved it, just a cute little song, which was refreshing considering what the rest of the music is like.

- MASHUP OF WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK AND WORKING MAN BLUES. Man can they do country, switching styles so easily , and I was so happy to hear one of my favorite songs and a clever mashup too.

-WHAT IF I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE! I WAS WORRED THEY WEREN'T GOING TO DO IT. I'm literally in heaven during the solos during this song. Idk what it is but it's just so so good and satisfying to hear. Elvis hit falsetto on end of the second bridge, which was unexpected.

-he sat down in a big red chair, said "a throne fit for a king", random said "I'm colorblind" and didn't elaborate. Panted audibly into the mic an alarming amount, like I was genuinely concerned, then said "I'm not sitting down because I'm tired, it's so that I can look into your wicked souls" 

-Said he got the news that he had been dreading but also expecting for a while, that his friend Burt Bacharach had passed away. The crowd audibly :( at this, I guess some of them didn't know and were just now finding out? He said he got the news at while on tour and it was hard to think of doing a show right after that. He said they were working on the remastered collaboration album right before Burt passed away, as something he left them, and Burt still said the track order was wrong. Apparently they worked on and off together for like 30 years? Since the 90s. He then said Burt Bacharach songs were like overhearing a couple talking in some sexy language like Portuguese or French, joked about doing a song in German and how long the bars would have to be to fit in the words, and then said he only learned about two words in Portuguese and they're both in this song, which was Toledo. As like a piano and acoustic guitar piece, lovely.

-He then said they were always doing new takes on old songs because they were trying to find some reason to keep doing this, but the end was near. The way he said that I wasn't sure if he meant the end of touring, the end of his life, or the end of the world. He said it so bitterly.

-Everyday I Write The Book as a slow acoustic guitar and piano ballad. Fucking beautiful, and genuinely so sad and heartbreaking to hear idk why it worked so well.

-Immediately up into a fast song, I forget which one.

-Costello had a couple long guitar solo moments, and they were awesome, he's genuinely gotten so much better on guitar, lots of picking individual strings while holding the same chord and bending it a lot. Simple but effective.

-I Don't Want To Go to Chelsea, Magnificent Hurt, and Pump It Up, lovely high energy section. Dancing in the seats. 

- "we've got just one more song for you tonight" this was a lie.

- said "we just learned this song today, I'm getting a bit excited" and did some song about Licorice, which I think is either a cover or new. Very bawdy song, but it was fun.

-to the audience: "We want you individually, and as a group" ???

-I Don't Want You Lyndon Johnson was very interesting. Last year Elvis Costello did a little spoken word bit in the middle of Watching the Detectives called "Invisible Woman" and I noticed parts of the words of that in this. Also just found it pretty funny and listenable, I hope he does another country album I'm liking all these acoustic little songs. 

- He invited Nick Lowe back up to the stage?!? I literally freaked out like. I was hoping they would do this last time. They did Indoor Fireworks as a duet, trading off verses, which was beautiful. I was surprised by how good their harmonies sounded - their voices are so different but work so well together. I saw Nick signaling to Elvis to repeat the last verse another time.

-for the second time we were told that there was just one more song, which once again was a lie.

-Whats So Funny Bout (Peace Love and Understanding) as a duet! I've wanted this since they first started touring with Nick Lowe, this rules. Lowe did the "for the children of the new generation" spoken word part perfectly. They started doing this funny little thing where Elvis would move his guitar to one position then Nick would mirror it, like a little dance

- "When we first did this song Nick Lowe wouldn't let me play guitar on it he kept me behind a glass wall in the corner of the studio." 

-Allison as a duet with Nick Lowe, it was beautiful with the harmonies, with Lowe doing great on his verse. During the last chords they dropped out and let the audience sing it, and the audience somehow sang Allison perfectly, one of them said "so pretty".

-giving Good Omens vibes with all the songs about the end of the world and especially with Nick in white with normal glasses and Elvis in all black with dark glasses.

-My mom said "this felt like a farewell tour" and that broke my heart because it honestly did. I've literally seen Elvis Costello and the Imposters every year for three years in a row and yet I don't want this to end. But yeah,they could definitely take a break, they tour and release new stuff so much more often than any other band I follow. 

- Probably one of, if not the best Elvis Costello and the Imposters concerts I've been to because it was great energy the whole time, and I knew every song (except for the new ones, which were also great). Highlights for me was getting to hear so many songs off of My Aim Is True, This Years Girl, What If I Can't Give You Anything But Love, WELCOME TO THE WORKING WEEK, Accidents Will Happen Ballad version, Everyday I Write The Book ballad version, and Nick Lowe coming back on stage near the end which was like a dream come true.

[laundrybiscuits]

Director's Commentary: what will today's adventure be

Wrote this on the bus even though absolutely nobody asked for or needed it! Posting because why not. It's 1300 words of commentary for a 3100 word story. WHY NOT.

I've had the vague idea of Erica running a MLP game for a while, but seeing her little speech in Hellfire absolutely locked in her potential as a DM for me. I jotted this down in my ST scratchpad a few weeks back:

I desperately want Erica Sinclair running a MLP GURPS game. Dustin and Eddie are 10000% on board and wildly delighted. Mike is a massive dick about it the entire time. Lucas is in agony between acknowledging that it’s a pretty fucking well-designed game and he’s kind of proud of her but also HIS LITTLE SISTER HAS INFILTRATED HIS NERD GROUP WITH HER GIRLY CARTOON PONY SHIT. If Will’s around, he’s a little skeptical but quickly gets into it; it’s not his genre/style, but he can have fun trying something new. It’s ruthless, and clever, and slightly unbalanced because she hasn’t figured out how to calibrate on the fly for dumbass player decisions yet. She’ll get there. She’s got the taste for it now. The campaign ends when the party ends up luring the innocent Sea Ponies into a blood sacrifice to defeat the demon lord through necromancy and take over his dark reign. Steve shows up for the last fifteen minutes to drive the kids home, just in time to hear Erica describe the incredibly gory showdown, and tries to telepathically communicate to Eddie that this is NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN; Eddie just grins back like hell yeah, baby, you got that right.

Obviously it has changed a bit since that initial thought, but not a huge amount, dynamic-wise. I was somewhat hampered by the fact that I remembered absolutely nothing about my brief stint with GURPS a billion years ago, and also the fact that I have literally never consumed any MLP media whatsoever. No, not even Friendship is Magic, although I was on tumblr during that initial era so I picked up a thing or two via cultural osmosis. To write this ficlet, I ended up spending a very instructive hour or two on YT watching old clips and commercials, and now the G1 theme song is permanently lodged in my brain.

This has more or less been my first time writing Erica, so I tried to put a lot of thought and care into it. In fact, I based her primarily on what my own little sister was like at that age—my sister was a regular player in my D&D games growing up, but she also went on to be a wildly popular homecoming queen, and is a very politically active adult. She's the coolest person I know, and it was an honor to be lovingly bullied by her all throughout our childhoods.

One thing I really hope I get across in this fic is that this Erica is the type to double down when she's uncertain. She's smart and funny enough to get away with it most of the time, and it's actually a big part of what makes me so sure she'll be a great DM; that's definitely a core DM skill, spinning up some off-the-cuff bullshit with the kind of authoritative tone that makes it sound like you've been masterminding this twist for months.

I wanted her to be somewhat uncertain and insecure in this fic, because running a game for the first time, in a (VERY dense) system you've never played before, is kind of a big deal! I've done something similar myself when I wasn't that much older than Erica is in this fic, and you absolutely need nerves of steel to pull it off.

I also wanted her to be fully resolved not to let that uncertainty show, because Erica strikes me as the kind of person who haaaaates being vulnerable. Given her vocab (i.e. probable reading level) and practical inclinations, I think she'd probably deal with it all by over-prepping, which experienced DM Eddie obviously clocks.

She wouldn't have gone to Eddie for advice or help. That's not how she rolls. She'd rather work through the difficult stuff on her own and show up triumphant and already perfect. It's probably something she's going to have to unpack in therapy later in life, but it is also actually a pretty solid DM instinct. Smoke and mirrors, baby.

So anything Erica says can and should be taken with a grain of salt. She's working very hard to have her audience believe she's in charge and absolutely correct about all things. (I also just thought it was pretty funny to include that bit about GURPS being the future of TTRPGs, given the wild ascendancy of DnD and the relatively low profile of GURPS nowadays, but in retrospect I'm not sure that came across.)

By the way: I know it can get confusing when actual kid-acquisition is sort of a trope, but I hope everyone knows that this Eddie's not being serious/literal when he makes the internal comment about adopting Erica! He just loves her a lot and wants to be in her life in a permanent kind of way, and he's a dramatic dork. If he had to pin down a specific extant familial role he literally wanted with Erica, it would probably be "weird gay uncle." The Sinclair fam seems relatively stable/healthy which is a rarity for these kids, but family can always expand, and Eddie is definitely angling to be another part of Erica's familial-type support network. That's just way too awkward and serious a thing to say, hence: joke about adoption.

I actually didn't mean for the Steddie part to come on so strong, but I put them in Steve's house because I thought it'd be funny to have a bit about Dustin casually breaking in to all their houses, and then it became instantly clear when Steve opened the door that the whole setup would be some kind of wild domestic fantasy for him. Like, in his head Eddie is already 100% wifed up. (Not that I think that would be a particularly comfortable dynamic for Eddie, but Steve's allowed to have his little fantasies.)

And then I just wanted to write a little bit about them being really comfortable with each other and being a team, taking care of each other as they deal with the minor inconveniences of everyday life, working together to look out for kids who are their friends but not quite their peers.

I don't think I got too deep into that particular dynamic, but it's one I'm pretty invested in; they're really only a few years older than the kids, but they're also responsible for the kids' care, and it's a very nuanced thing. I've been on both sides of that, and it's an absolutely incredible gift either way. Having friends who are a little further along their paths than you is amazing; having friends who you can provide for and support is amazing. It gives you so much perspective. I don't think of my mentees (for lack of a better word) as anything like my children, and I don't think Steve and Eddie think of the Party that way either. It's a very specific dynamic that I might need to spend more time on in a later fic.

As for the ending...normally I go hard on the pining, as y'all know by now, but this just felt like a very different thing was happening. Also, one time a girl did pull that "talk about what? lol jk come here" thing on me IRL and it was very cute.

Finally, just because I did in fact come up with them, here are the Party names and pony types:

Dustin: Jester the Pegasus Pony

Lucas: Nettle the Pegasus Pony

Mike: Skullcrusher the Earth Pony

Will: Glint the Unicorn

Eddie: Belladonna the Flutter Pony

[withacapitalp]

Hidden Gem Friday

Hey guys! It's time for our second Hidden Gem Friday. If you don't already know the drill, here's how it works. You guys send me fics you like that have less than 2k hits on ao3 or less than 200 notes here on Tumblr, and I read them and put them out as reccs on Fridays. I also like to add in my own reccs, because there's some stuff I've read that just really needs more engagement. I really like doing this, but I have a few asks. If you read these fics, please leave a comment! Comments are the lifeblood of keeping authors invested in writing for a lot of us, and it makes us feel super happy to know people enjoyed the fics. Secondly, if you comment, let the author know where you got it from! I always love to hear I was added to a recc list. Okay Reccs under read more as always. If you want to see the others look at the tag #Hidden Gem Friday

Still So Much To Learn by BonitaBreezy recced by me. @bonitabreezy on here! 4k words (Complete)- Steddie

Summary:

Steve Harrington knows he’s stupid. Everyone has made that very clear to him. But sometimes it hurts to hear, especially from the people you love.

My Thoughts:

Ough you guysssss. Okay so I watched this being written, and I got it in bits and pieces slowly over the course of four(? maybe five) hours. It was so fucking intenseeeeeeee. This fic is really well written, and it deals with one of my favorite headcanons, and I really like that it didn't pull the usual route of 'Eddie is the only one who never calls him stupid'. I love that sm but like this is so much more realistic? These kinds of miscommunications happen allllllll the time, and we do things and say things we don't mean, and I just yeah everyone should read this one!!!!!

Go At Your Own Pace by Cardigains recced by @andrea-csenge 17k words (Complete)- Gen El focused

Summary:

“Write down three things,” Hopper says, ducking his head to catch her eye. “Three things you want to make happen this year, and we’ll do everything in our power to help you. How about that?” or New place, new school, not new but new-together parents—after last year, El is more than happy to let the world pass her by from the safety inside of their home, but her friends and family have different ideas. How they work to prove to El she is not alone and can succeed at anything she sets her mind to.

My Thoughts

This one is really really good. It's canon to season four ending, and I didn't even have time to doubt, because this El is so good. This is an El who is past the traumatic events, but still impacted by them. She feels older but still El? I love it. All of the characters are super realistic, amazing jopper, WONDERTWINS, it's all jsut really well written, and it floooooows god does this flow. It is awesome

uh-oh, love comes to town by 96 tears recced by @daysarestranger 13k words (Complete)- Steddie w side of Robin/Vickie

Summary:

It’s not like Steve thought Eddie would stay single forever, but he figured he’d have a girlfriend by the time Eddie got a boyfriend. So, when Vickie and Robin set Eddie up on a blind date with Vickie’s cousin, Steve figures he feels weird about it because he’s the only one without a date.But an annoying little voice starts telling him maybe there’s more to it than that. He just has to figure out what it is.

My Thoughts:

This one is so fricken sweet!! I love the way Vickie is characterized in this one, we don't see her a lot (except for people saying her and Robin didn't work) but this person took the time to think about it. There's also a good dollop of QPR stobin which I always love, and a badass little granny for Steve, but the main thing here is the awesome Steddie! It's really well written, you an see them doing this complicated little dance around each other and the ending is so so sweet. It's also really funny I laughed at least three times

down on the timeline by annabeeus recced by @silverysnake 6k words (Complete)- Steddie with Ronance and a little Jargyle

Summary:

In a slightly altered universe where the Demogorgon never became more than a D&D character - The Party are semi-famous Youtubers. Steve, one-half of movie commentary channel BLOCKBUSTERS, and Eddie, the leader of D&D channel THE HELLFIRE SOCIETY, can't help but start falling for each other after meeting through a mutual friend.

My thoughts:

I always wanna try to be honest with my thoughts here- I did not think I was going to like this story. The way it was formatted isn't something I'm used to and it threw me off, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did! It's really funny, and I love the little references thrown in everywhere. You know when you can feel an author probably worked harder on something then they initially planned, and the result is fucking awesome? Yeah that's this fic. It's super cute, it's told in this really unique kind of outsider perspective, and I so so enjoyed it.

i wish i knew how (your eyes are like starlight now) by MacksDramaticShenanigans aka @stevethehairington this one is also a me recc bc it's my list! I can do as I please haha. 10k words (Complete)- Steddie

Summary:

“Mistletoe!” Robin cheers, and Steve’s heart stutters so hard in his chest that he thinks it might crack his ribcage and drop right out the bottom of his stomach. His eyes fly up, and, sure enough, there hangs one of the many sprigs hung all around the apartment. Small and inconspicuous, but unmistakable. That ridiculous little plant has no idea that it’s just turned Steve’s entire world on its axis. Across from him, Eddie’s eyes are trained up too, big and round and wide where they stick on the mistletoe. His lips are parted in surprise, and Steve can’t help but stare and think am I going to kiss those now? When Eddie finally tears his gaze from the plant and lets it flicker down to Steve, a pretty pink dusting blooms across the bridge of his nose and spreads into the apples of his cheeks when he finds Steve already looking back. Steve spares the mistletoe one last quick peek before he takes a deep breath and steels himself. This is it. He sticks his hands on his hips, aiming for casual, and asks, “What do you say, Munson?” Or, Steve makes a promise, Robin likes to meddle, and the spirit of Christmas strikes (out) again. And again. And again. (Until it doesn’t.)

My Thoughts:

Okay I'm going to be frank I may be biased bc I betad this fic, except I'm not because it's so goddman spectacular. I'll start with how funny it is. I reread it today to have it fresh in my mind, and it's hilarious. Secondly the reveal and the moment where Steve thinks Eddie doesn't want him is so quietly heartbreaking, but perfectly written. Characterization is awesome, I watched every iteration of this as it grew and grew into something absolutely magnificent, and I'm so lucky to have gotten to beta for it!!