#appalachain wayne

[vyncentevelyn]

I’ve seen a lot of posts about what Eddie’s mom looks like, who would play her, etc. and none of them really clicked for me.

And maybe that’s because I’m writing about her. Maybe I’m too close to her.

But then it hit me. Rachel Weisz but with brown eyes.

This is Winnie Munson.

Look at them.

I mean. They are mother and son.

I just.

Look at them.

And then like here’s one with Wayne because why not.

Siblings. Sister and brother. Brother and sister. The Munsons.

[vyncentevelyn]

OK BUT I’M WRITING A FIC ABOUT EDDIE’S LIFE, SPECIFICALLY HIS MOM, AND I NAMED HER WINNIE AND TO SAY WHEN I SAW THIS I CRIED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

Also this is amazing art and I love it.

eddie and winnie circa 1990

(steddie kid steddie kid steddie kid!)

[kitchen-spoon]

southern Nights

Pre Season 4 Steddie set Post Season 3:

After the mall fire Robin's parents take her out of Hawkins to go visit family in August so Steve is left to cope without her after spending nearly every day and night with her. So he turns to Eddie who he had been becoming friends with all summer leading up to the fire.

Eddie has to leave Hawkins in August too to go live out in Kentucky with his grandmother (Wayne's mom) at her farm until school starts back up again. He offers for Steve to come with him because he doesn't want to go alone and he knows Robin is leaving and doesn't want Steve to be alone.

Initially Steve being his stubborn self refuses but eventually he relents and agrees to come. They drive out together and once they are there Steve calls Robin Everynight after dinner while Eddie's grandma's cat Bruce sit in his lap and gets attention and pets.

It takes them about a week and a half to start fooling around together after all the tension they had been building at the start of the summer. It Happens for the first time after they smoke weed together on the porch and Eddie teases Steve about hogging the joint because he is spaced out and says "Never learn how to share baby?"

One Night Steve cuts Eddie’s because it was in his face all day and getting in the way and Eddie had been quietly grumbling about it at dinner. He does it at the kitchen table after dinner and its the first time they kiss without having sex. A few days later Eddie gives Steve a small stick & poke star in return.

Steve always insists on sleeping alone in the guest room even after they start fooling around. Eddie hears Steve’s screams when he has nightmares, he always waits until he hears Steve leave his room and go to the porch to check on him and sit with him.

Steve refuses to sleep with Eddie because he sleeps with a little stuffed lamb from his childhood and is embarrassed about it. It helps with his nightmares though. One night Eddie finds it and Steve gets really embarrassed and tries to hide it but Eddie doesn’t let him. They talk and Steve starts sharing a bed with Eddie and bringing the lamb (Cloud) with him. One night Steve falls asleep first and Eddie see’s how Steve rubs its ear against his lips to sleep.

Wayne comes down for the last week of their stay to help move his mom from the farm and back into her home for the winter.

One night Steve has a nightmare and wakes up where it turns into a panic attack. Eddie finds him kneeling on the lawn in front of the porch head in his hands rocking while he mumbles to himself barely breathing. It's when Wayne was coming so he pulls up and sees that and goes to Steve and recognises that it's PTSD. Steve is mumbling about a plan so Wayne plays along with it, assures him it worked and they are safe it's over.

While Wayne is there for the last week they try to be sneaky but he catches on and calls them out when he catches them being all sappy in the kitchen. Steve is cooking dinner and Eddie comes up behind him and wraps his arms around his waist and kisses him. Wayne *ahems* in the door frame and they split a part, Eddie is out to Wayne so he is more embarrassed but Steve is scared. Wayne is like calm down boy, I knew it the night I got here.

[vyncentevelyn]

Preview of “And When I’m Gone, Remember to Tell the Bees”

This is a preview of my WIP. It’s an excerpt from my project focused on Eddie’s mom, Winnie. This preview is from 4-year-old Eddie’s POV.

CW/TW:  Indirect reference to child neglect/abuse, indirect drug use reference

Eddie likes when the nice lady comes.

She is always happy.

She brings nice things with her. She smells like flowers. She cooks yummy, warm food. She washes Eddie’s hair, makes it feel light and bouncy. She washes Bear. Sometimes she makes mommy smile. Sometimes she makes mommy smell like flowers too. And the whole time she is there, dad doesn’t come home.

She wraps Eddie in a towel, which smells like flowers too. She smiles at him, dries his face.

“How old are you now Eddie?” She asks.

Eddie thinks. He knows someone told him. He wants to get this right. He wants the nice lady to smile at him and tell him he did good. Tears sting his eyes because he does not know the answer.

The nice lady smiles, “Hey now, this is nothing to be sad about.”

Eddie looks up at the nice lady, the tears fall anyway. But Eddie knows to be quiet when he cries now. Knows how to be sad without any sound.

The nice lady’s smile widens showing her gapped front teeth. Eddie thinks she has the prettiest smile. She holds up a slender finger, then another. And another. And another.

She wiggles all the fingers she holds up like a wave and says, “Four.”

“Four.” Eddie repeats.

“That’s how old you are now.” She smiles and then she says, “It’s ok if you forget Eddie. I sometimes forget my age.”

Eddie smiles even though the tears still fall. Sometimes Eddie wishes she would take him with her. She never makes Eddie feel sad. She never makes Eddie feel bad. She never leaves Eddie trapped in the bathroom.

She kisses Eddie’s forehead.

Eddie smiles. Wants to hold on to the nice lady and never let go.

She wraps the towel closer around his shoulders and pulls him into her chest. Squeezes him and Eddie feels so happy the tears fall even more then when he was sad. Which doesn’t make sense. Eddie tries hard to keep the tears quiet but it’s harder when the nice lady holds him.

“It’s ok Eddie.” She says.

And for a second, it is ok. But Eddie knows when she leaves it will all be not ok again.

“Are you hungry?” She asks, still holding Eddie.

Eddie nods.

“Ok, well let’s get you in some PJs. And then we’ll eat some lasagna.” She says carrying Eddie out of the bathroom.

They go out to the living room of the trailer. She helps dress Eddie in PJs that also smell like flowers and fit better than his other ones. Then she sits him at the table and fixes him a plate with a food Eddie doesn’t know. He knows it smells good though. It makes his tummy rumble. And he’s so hungry that he’ll eat it even if it is those tiny green trees he doesn’t like.

She sets the plate down and sits beside him. Eddie smiles, there are no tiny green trees. She helps Eddie eat the food. It’s warm and cheesy. It’s yummy. Eddie thinks it is his new favorite food.

“You know,” she smiles as she watches Eddie chew, “this is your uncle’s favorite dish I make too.”

“Uncle?” Eddie says, mouth still full.

She nods.

“Bear!” Eddie smiles when it clicks. Mommy told him once Bear was from his uncle. And Bear is his favorite toy.

“That’s right.” She smiles and nods her head. “Good job.”

The words make Eddie’s heart feel heavy and warm, like his belly.

“Where is uncle?” Eddie asks.

“He’s in Hawkins. He misses you dearly.” She says.

“Can he come with you?” Eddie tilts his head, looks up at the nice lady.

She looks sad for a second but then says, “He would love to. Maybe he can come with me next time.”

“Ok.” Eddie smiles. He doesn’t want the nice lady to leave.

After dinner, the nice lady cleans the trailer. She makes the whole place smell like an orange. Eddie likes the smell just as much as the flower smell. He watches her clean as he plays with Bear on the couch. As she works, she turns and talks to Eddie, or smiles at Eddie.

Eddie watches her go into the dark room in the back. Hears whispers. Knows that mommy is in there. He wants to tell the nice lady she can’t go in there. But the nice lady never seems to know that. She always goes in and gets mommy. She takes mommy out of the dark room and into the bathroom. He hears the water turn on. Then the nice lady comes back out.

The nice lady looks sad when she helps mommy. Eddie understands. Sometimes Eddie tries to help mommy too. But mommy never wants him around. Maybe mommy doesn’t want the nice lady around too.

The nice lady cleans the dark room. Makes it bright with light and orange smell. And even though Eddie wants to be where the nice lady is, he stays on the couch. He’s too scared of the dark room.

When she stops cleaning in there she goes back in the bathroom. He can hear mommy and the nice lady talking. Can hear mommy cry. He doesn’t understand why mommy cries when the nice lady is there. But maybe the nice lady is holding mommy like she held Eddie and Eddie cried when she held him. So, he understands.

Eddie holds Bear to his chest like the nice lady had held him and how he thinks she’s holding mommy. He wishes to Bear that it fixes mommy. He falls asleep on the couch still holding Bear tight to his chest.

[vyncentevelyn]

My current project is a fic focusing on Eddie’s mom, because I can see her and she needs her story told. I call her, Winnie. In my head, she is Wayne’s sister. And today I’m plotting some upcoming events and these are my notes:

- Chuck takes Eddie to pickpocket at bar

- Wayne is alone

- Winnie & Mary (Are they gay? Yes. Do they know it? Who knows.)

This is unlike anything I have ever written. And I’m so close to sharing the first part. There will be plenty of Wayne and Eddie, especially very young Eddie. And I know we all have an image of Eddie’s parents in our heads, and maybe this won’t be exactly how you picture his mom but I am really excited to share my version of her. I will explain more when the time comes. Anyway…

Can’t wait to introduce you to Winnie. 💙

[vyncentevelyn]

For my WIP I am very, VERY, tempted to make Eddie’s middle name Edward.

And then make his first name crazy…

My personal favorite right now is to name my WIP fanfic Eddie, because Winnie is an absolute shadowy star, Rosalind Edward Munson.

And Rosalind is pronounced like RAWZ-lind instead of ROSE-a-lind.

I mean just imagine when The Party figures out his first name is Rosalind. Like imagine the chaos…

Or imagine it’s like considered an honor or like a club whenever one of them learns the secret.

Plus his initials would be REM…like rapid eye movement…

I don’t know. Anywho…

[vyncentevelyn]

And When I'm Gone, Remember to Tell the Bees - Preview

Winnie walks into the diner. It smells like coffee and fryer oil tinged with cigarette smoke. A few old men sit at the bar, each with their own cup of coffee, ash tray, and newspaper. A girl around Winnie’s own age places a plate of pancakes down in front of one of the men before she turns to look at Winnie.

The girl is dressed in a uniform, blue apron over a robin’s egg blue dress, but her make-up is done to what Winnie can only attribute is her own style. Her eyeshadow is traffic cone orange, with sharp cat eyes of black eyeliner. Her lips purse in ruby red. Tiny specks of glitter flash across her cheeks like freckles as she moves under the diner’s lights. If she didn’t carry herself in a very no-bullshit demeanor, Winnie would say she looked like a clown.

She blinks. Her eyes are a dark blue. Heavy drops of water in a storm. Winnie can see the clouds twist inside her.

Winnie walks up to the bar, meets the girl by the cash register.

“Hi.” The girl says pushing her blond bob behind one ear. The action reveals a crescent moon dangling on a thin silver chain from the girl’s right earlobe.

Winnie smiles, feels something like ice melt in her stomach, “Hi.”

“Can I get you anything?” The girl asks.

Winnie looks down at the name tag pinned to the blue apron. It reads:  Mary. Winnie looks back into the storms watching her. She shakes her head, “I was wondering if I could have an application.”

The storms blink. Mary tilts her head like a bird, “You want to work here?”

“Yeah.” Winnie’s voice sounds flat.

Mary looks her over before saying, “Yeah, ok.”

She reaches below the counter and pulls out a sheet of paper. She hands the page to Winnie and subtly nods down at a cup full of pens. Winnie picks one up and points over to a booth in the corner, “Is it ok if I fill this out over there?”

“Works fine.” Mary says, “You want a coffee?”

“That be great.” Winnie smiles.

[vyncentevelyn]

So in my WIP Winnie Munson is Eddie’s mom, and the sister to Wayne.

But now I’m reconsidering Eddie’s dad’s name.

So let’s vote.