#democreature eddie

[formosusiniquis]

Earlier this/last week @thefreakandthehair did some possible s5 scene speculation based on some leaked pics that circulated. The scene and it's kas!eddie/pre-steddie implications stuck with me and now I present you all with this

---

Maybe he should feel worse about it, but the first thing Steve thinks when he hears the voices cresting up the hill, angry in a way that sounds drunk, is he's glad.

It's not that he wants the kid's mourning time interrupted, Steve is just glad for something to do. Something that isn't standing off to the side doing his own mental math. How long do you have to know someone to feel this anguish looking at their headstone? How long to make it okay that you've added their grave to your city patrol, checking a couple times a week for new graffiti and especially two hours before picking up Dustin to bring him here. At least his time on the ladder outside The Hawk was well spent, paint remover and rags in his trunk beside a bat that only leaves to join him in places like this.

They put Eddie's grave near the back but it's still surrounded. The Hawkins Cemetery taking on dozens of new residents, tall dirt mounds marking their new homes. He tries not to think too much about the details. Was this the plot Mr. Munson had bought for himself? Did the government provide it? The least they could do for the hero they're generously allowing to take the role of villain, a free plot for an empty grave.

He's five back and four to the right of another empty grave, Steve needs to remember flowers next time he comes. Anniversaries have always stuck in his mind. Four years maybe geraniums.

Ball caps crest over the hill before faces, and he already knows this won't be good. Tiger green has become his least favorite color. He pats Dustin on the shoulder, letting the kid know he's stepping back and away. Let it look like privacy, not that he’s done more than stare. Edward Munson Now with God.

Meandering over to where the problem is headed his way, Steve wonders if that was deliberate. A preventative measure, to keep people away. Or is Mr. Munson a devout believer, hoping this inscribed plea will help the universe do right by his boy?

He tries not to think too hard about it.

There are other things to worry about. Five important things in ballcaps and letterman jackets, stalking up faster like the closer they get the better they can smell the blood in the water. He hadn’t moved fast enough. They’re too close. To him, to Dustin. Andrews and Miller and Jackson and Thompson and one other, three seniors, a junior, and a reedy kid that must be a sophomore like Dustin. Faces he recognizes in the vague sense of athletic camaraderie. Guys he’s played pickup with on nice days.

“What’re you doing here, Harrington?” It doesn’t matter who actually says it, it’s the voice of the mob. There’s a blankness in all of their eyes, maybe he was wrong about them not being drunk. Mob justice, the spirit of the night.

“Feels like I should be asking you fellas that.”

“Kid up there’s been running his mouth, he’s gotta learn what happens to freaks around here.”

They’re way too close. Steve can tell Dustin heard that the same way he can tell when the kid is ignoring him on purpose. There’s a second that he thinks about playing along, five on one, if he could play the jock card and get away with it things could be easier. But Dustin is pointedly not listening now, picking at the grass that’s barely started growing over the dirt they covered Eddie’s grave in.

“That’s not gonna happen, not while I’m standing here.”

Five against one.

He’s still not very good in a fight with people. Maybe it’s the fucking yips.

The bat has worked as a deterrent. When people with anger and bile in their eyes looked at him cleaning up red painted words across grey granite. Nails pointedly facing the sky, keeping their sneers at a distance.

Held at his side, they all know he doesn’t want to hit anyone with it. He swings low, he pulls them shy.

It isn’t long before it’s wrestled away. Tossed to the side and he’s left with only fists to swing.

When the first hand closes around his collar, the seams on his sleeve popping, the adrenaline presents him a pointless gift. The collar on Dustin’s shirt didn’t get torn by the agitator in their washing machine. Of all the things to lie about, of course he lied about this.

The telltale throb of his pulse in his face and his fists point to the fight going rapidly down hill. He’s put one down. Four against one.

“Hey assholes!” And of course Dustin can’t help but get involved.

“Get out of here,” Steve tries to urge him away. Can’t make the gesture with his hands, every time he moves another person grabs his shoulder or his arm. Pulling him deeper into the fight. Like he’s that horse in the swamp in that movie. 

But Dustin doesn’t listen. Of course he doesn’t listen. Dustin is swinging the bat wildly like it’s a club and he’s BamBam, he’s going to hurt himself before he hurts someone else.

Andrews or Miller or Jackson, they're all the same in this mob, pull away from him. Moving toward Dustin.

“Get away from him! Get away from him,” Steve struggles, shouting even as his voice cracks. He can't get away, can't move. Two people have his arms held. The sleeve of his shirt rips. The third hits him again.

Pain and adrenaline, there's a ringing in his ears that drowns out whatever Dustin is saying. Mouth moving in a babble that Steve can't make heads or tails of with his blurred out vision.

But he sees the swing. Dustin unused to the weight of the bat, the hit lands too close to the handle.

He only gets the one. Then it’s ripped from his hands and tossed back toward Eddies grave.

Then he sees the swing. A fist that lands exactly where it's meant to. Dustin staggers back but stays standing. Staggers closer to the grave.

Where rivulets of red are spreading across the ground the same way they're pouring from his face.

Steve struggles harder, pain tolerance fucked he can barely even feel the hits that have been landing. He has to get to Dustin.

Long black claws, a hand with greyed flesh. It digs itself into the ground ready to pull itself up.

“Dustin, Dustin, you have to run. Go!”

“I'm not fucking leaving.”

Another hit. It takes Dustin down this time. One eye blinks as the other already begins to swell. Steve can taste blood in his mouth.

A dark streak launches itself into the air. Moving too fast to make out anything but big, it vanishes into the dusky fall sky. Steve tries to track it. Tries to keep his eye on it and Dustin and the guys.

Another swing, on Steve this time. Attention drawn too many places he doesn't see it coming. Hard across the temple, one of these assholes is still wearing his class ring. 

Vision greying out, when Steve can see again there's one more missing. The hold on his arms is slack. Steve pulls loose, running straight for Dustin, trying to pull him up from the ground.

“We've got to go. C'mon, Dust, we've got to get back to the car. Make the call.”

He's tugging but Dustin isn't moving. The sound of a scream takes the air. Steve doesn't know if he can pick him up. Isn't sure he ever healed right after the bats.

Another scream. Another. Dustin is moving now. Barely. Feet stumbling over themselves. Two hard hits to the head, could be a concussion.

It's following them. Moving faster through the air than they have any hope of on their feet. Prey. They're running, they have to try.

Swooping low, the thing passes overhead. That throaty clicking that haunts his nightmares fills the air. It lands on two legs. Tall and human. Long, leathery wings extend from its back. Steve's bat clutched in its hands. It walks closer. Stalking.

Steve tries to shove Dustin farther behind him. Tries. Tries. But the thing walking toward them, it's Eddie.

He struggles against Steve's hold. “Let go. Let me go! It's Eddie, he's alive.”

“Dustin. Don't. Dustin,” he isn't sure what he's trying to stop. He isn't sure he can anymore.

Back wheels skidding on a wet road. There's a helplessness every time he realizes that things are starting again. When he knows for sure that the wreck is going to happen, fishtailing out of his control.

It's November and it's back.

It's back and it's wearing Eddie's face.

At least when he comes to the end of his borrowed time, the thing that will kill him will be beautiful. Even with the milky film covering those big brown eyes. Even though he looks pale as a corpse. 

Predator. Eddie moves with a fluid grace. Closer. Closer.

Anything is better than the demogorgon. He supposes. But he probably shouldn't be thinking that either. 

Will Dustin run when he goes down?

Steve thinks they're about to find out. Eddie starts to fold, a sprinter getting into position, a cat about to pounce.

Only he keeps going, collapsing until he's down on one knee. Far enough away that if they had to, Steve thinks they could get away before he's chasing them again. Close enough that he can make out the humor that's spread across a smile with too many new teeth. A seriousness in his eyes. He holds the bat flat across both hands, offering it out to Steve. Urging him to step forward and take it. Proposing.

“Your scepter, my king, you're going to need it. Vecna is coming but I have a plan.”

[steddieas-shegoes]

one chance

for @steddiemicrofic prompt ‘one’

wc: 111 | rated t | cw: mention of injury | tags: Eddie Munson lives, post-Vecna, Steve has a crush on Eddie, getting together

1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣1️⃣

He had one chance to get this right.

Eddie was stuck in the Upside Down, injured enough that he couldn’t make it to a gate on his own. Steve was the only one strong enough to carry him.

A mistake would lead to them both being stuck and the kids couldn’t handle more loss.

Steve was cautious as he made his way across vines and dead democreatures.

Eddie called for him.

Steve ran.

He carried Eddie from hell. He didn’t make a mistake.

He saved Eddie.

He sat with Eddie for days.

He brought him home to Wayne.

He stayed.

And he realized it then.

He leaned in to kiss him.

[lavenderstobins]

Kitty (Josieverse)

for @stcreators event 07: comedy [ao3]

—

Steve comes home from work and finds the house oddly empty. Eddie's at Wayne's, he knows, but Robin and Josie should be long home by now.

"Rob?" he calls, heading up the stairs.

They're not in Robin's room, Josie's room or his and Eddie's room; not the bathroom, attic or playroom.

He's about to call for them again, heading towards the entrance to the basement, when he hears a muffled noise from the backyard.

Steve opens the backdoor and immediately finds both Robin and Josie atop the trampoline. They're not using it, though — Robin's holding Josie in her arms, her back to him, pressed as close as she can get into the netting around it.

"Kitty!" Josie shouts joyfully, waving her hands. "Here, kitty, kitty!"

"Josephine, for the last time, that is not a cat!" Robin's voice is strained. "Do not encourage it!"

"Kitty cat!"

"What's going on?" Steve calls, scanning for whatever's got them seemingly trapped. There aren't any bears in Hawkins, to his knowledge, or at least, none close enough to wander into their backyard.

A jolt of panic goes through him. The Upside Down was sealed off years ago, but what if it's reopened somehow? Could there be a democreature in their garden?

He's about to race off to grab his nailbat—carefully bubblewrapped in his wardrobe, he's not irresponsible—when Robin turns to face him, eyes wide and terrified. In doing so, he can see not only Josie's gleeful expression, but the 'kitty cat' that has them holed up on the trampoline.

It's no democreature. At the back of their garden, staring back at them, is a small raccoon.

"Steve!" Robin's face floods with relief. "Get it away!"

"Kitty!" Josie makes grabby hands in the raccoon's direction. "Fluffy kitty!"

"No fluffy kitty!" Robin holds her tighter as she struggles, wrestling to keep her from bounding towards it. "Plague carrier! Death bringer!"

"Steeeeve, look! Look!" Josie waves at him. "Kitty!"

"How— How long have you been up there?" Steve's trying so, so hard to keep a straight face. Now that there's a clear lack of danger, the situation is looking a lot funnier.

Robin, because she always sees straight through him, scowls at him. "It's not funny, Steve! Do you want us to all die of rabies?"

"Rabies!" Josie yells delightedly.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on." He ducks back inside, grabbing the broom from the cupboard. He grabs Eddie's gardening gloves for good measure if only so Robin doesn't yell at him.

Robin watches him with the eyes of a hawk as he slowly approaches the raccoon. It's a little thing, clearly young, only a couple of steps actually into their garden. It blinks up at him with big eyes.

"Go on, little fella," he murmurs, gently nudging it with the end of the broom. He's careful not to jab at it; he doesn't want to hurt it.

The raccoon scuffles back a bit, looking at him dolefully.

"Yeah, I know, it looks ridiculous to me, too." He glances back at the other two, taking in the stress on Robin's face, then prods it again. "But I think Robin might genuinely have a heart attack if you stay here any longer."

The raccoon chitters at him, possibly in annoyance, and flounces off into the woodland. Once he's sure it's gone, he heads back to the trampoline, trying to hide his smile.

"You got rid of it?" Robin squints at him, like he might've hidden the raccoon up his sweater or something. "It's gone?"

"It's gone," he confirms. Her shoulders sag with relief and she finally lets Josie slide down.

"Kitty," Josie says sadly. She stares off into the distance for a moment, but then seems to distract herself remembering that the trampoline is a trampoline, beginning to bounce wildly instead.

Robin wobbles, grabbing Steve's shoulders to steady herself as she finally emerges from the trampoline.

"Thanks," she mumbles, brushing her hair from her face.

He grins at her. "How long?"

She grimaces, flushing. "... I don't want to talk about it."

"How long, Buckley?"

"... Two hours."

[questionablequeeries]

Free Space (Too Far Gone? by Metallica)

Day 0

“Absolutely not. We need to put it outta its misery.” Hopper insisted as they recovered in the Harrington home. He grimaced when the sound of screeching and thrashing sounded from the basement, and Steve would have found the expression almost humorous any other day.

“He’s not an it!” Dustin protested, “And we didn’t abandon Will! We don’t leave party members if they can be saved!”

Nancy sighed, taking a gulp of water to gather her thoughts before she spoke, “Will was savable. Eddie is…Is he even Eddie anymore? He didn’t drop when the other democreatures did, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means everything!” Dustin’s voice got a little louder, “I don’t know what final boss battle you guys were watching, but Eddie, El, and Will did most of the heavy lifting!” While tentacles (vines? Whatever, either way Steve wanted to pretend that hadn’t happened) pinned them down, Eddie had turned on Vecna. He’d bared his fangs and lunged, catching the monster offguard enough for Eleven to mindblast the vines (vines aren’t slimy. Definitely tentacles) off of herself. He had even caught a tentacle (but tentacles imply they’re attached to something and the majority weren’t. So…vines?) through the chest for his trouble. Apparently whatever had been done to him made him heal faster, so yay for small miracles.

“He’s staying.” Steve finally spoke up, “Hop, with all due respect I won’t hesitate to do what it takes to protect him.” His voice was even, the ‘from you’ left unsaid but still understood.

Hopper paused before he sighed, “We do this, you aren’t taking care of him alone. The second he becomes too much of a danger…”

“He won’t.” Steve said firmly. They would make it through the night and pull his heart into the day.

Day 1

“Wow, you look bad.” Robin grimaced at the sight of her platonic soulmate absolutely drenched from head to toe.

Steve sighed as he wrung out his shirt, “I had El restrain Eddie so I could chain him up.”

“And that required you to take a swim first?” Robin arched an eyebrow as she walked into Steve’s bathroom and gathered a few towels.

“It was for a bath. He hasn’t had one since at least three days before he died.” Steve grumbled, drying himself off, “I know he’s not exactly Eddie right now but the moment he remembered he had wings was the most Eddie thing I’ve ever seen.” He’d watched as Eddie had gone from thrashing in the plastic pool they’d brought down to flapping a tidal wave in Steve’s general direction, making an almost pleased sort of chirp. The bastard had even looked smug, and it was annoying, but it was all the proof he needed that Eddie still lived, was more than an attack dog. It was progress.

Day 10

“So, um, the party’s gonna deal with Acererak, but the twist is that he’s the DMNPC that’s been traveling with them.” Will explained his next campaign, glancing over to Eddie. The man had to be restrained when people were with him, and the kids needed an adult by their side, but he couldn’t help thinking that maybe the vampire wasn’t so bad. After all, being changed by the Upside Down didn’t mean you were automatically evil, just…different.

Steve smiled softly. He was pretending to read a magazine to give them some privacy, but he heard the curious chirps Eddie was making, the inquisitiveness spoken in a language Steve was starting to learn, and he couldn’t help speaking up, “I think he wants to know more.”

Will’s eyes lit up, “Okay, the big reveal’s gonna be at the end of the tomb…”

Night 35

Steve was woken up by screeching, mournful and terrified. He booked it downstairs so fast he nearly fell down the last steps. He saw Eddie in his little nest of sweatshirts he’d taken from Steve, wings wrapped around himself and brows furrowed, fighting some horrors his own mind had created. Without hesitation, Steve climbed into the nest and laid there, pulling Eddie into his arms and brushing his hair back, “It’s okay,” He whispered, “You’re not alone.”

Day 63

Dustin was sat right next to Eddie, reading from The Hobbit, when he felt a wing wrap around him, startling him out of the paragraph, “You okay? Do you need something?”

Steve grinned, “I think that’s mostly because he can’t do it with his arm.”

Eddie let out a confirming chitter.

“Let’s let him out!” Dustin undid the chains before he could be stopped though, considering it was just he and Steve, there wasn’t really a voice of reason there.

Eddie froze when he was freed, looking around the room as if this was a trap, a trick, and a soft whine pulled from his throat.

“No, it’s okay. Like this, see?” Dustin demonstrated by wrapping an arm around Eddie’s stomach.

Eddie hesitated before he rested a clawed hand on Dustin’s curls and ruffled them. What startled both Steve and his semi-child was the purr that rumbled from the vampire’s chest.

Day 86

Steve walked downstairs with breakfast. They’d found that Eddie could eat normal things but that most of his nutrients came from blood, so the adults had been donating when they could. Thankfully, he only seemed to need to be fed once a day, with Steve giving him human food the rest of the time. He frowned when he heard what sounded like hissing, an incessant ‘s’ sound, “What is it? You okay?” He asked in concern, setting down the cup and approaching his vampire.

Eddie let out an annoyed sort of grunt then continued hissing, shaking his head.

Steve crouched down in front of Eddie, resting a hand against his cheek, “What’s wrong? Do we need El?” Because Eleven was the only one who could communicate with Eddie better than Steve through her static blindfold mind powers (and Steve totally wasn’t jealous, no, why would he be? Totally fine with someone else speaking to his Eddie, totally chill and cool)

Eddie growled, hissing louder, until he stopped and took a deep breath. Robin had been teaching him how to control his emotions, though hers were mostly panic attack related. He leaned into the touch, closing his eyes, “SSSSSStevie.” He whispered.

Steve felt tears spill out, instantly throwing himself at Eddie, “Yeah, Baby, it’s me.” He murmured into a cold neck that still felt so familiar, “Welcome home.”

@steddie-week You can read the entire week here!

[kassifieddocuments2]

Wiggly Wednesday 🧠🪱

i was tagged by @medusapelagia and i got a lil brainworm still growing over here!!!

so. undead Eddie, but the unnatural bits beside being alive again aren't at all related to the Upside Down. He's blind (because why not) but he can hear much better now. whatever curse/disease this is, he can transfer by killing something else.

which leads to how the others find him! Eddie doesn't leave the UD, but his little army of undead democreatures sometimes do. they're visibly different and not as instantly aggressive to people, mostly just attacking if they feel threatened. for whatever reason, Steve follows one at some point and finds Eddie's "den" or whatever i end up calling it if i do more. of course, Eddie looks messed up and monstery, and he doesn't even realize because he can't see himself. whether it's his clothes or his tattoos staying or that he still looks human enough, Steve recognizes him. And then... idk steddie happens eventually but that's all i got

brain too fried to think of people to tag. do it if you want, frens readin this

[sailing-through-hawkins]

saw this post and it reminded me of a snippet I wrote for a crack-ish Kas!Eddie AU idea i had a while ago ft. nobody knowing Steve has demobat venom in him that tells other democreatures he's a friend:

Imagine Eddie coming back as an undead vampiric bat person thing and he's all "oh how you left me behind" and shit and he's surrounded by demodogs and demobats and they're poised ready to strike at his command and -

"Eddie?" Dustin whispers like his heart's been broken. Steve's grip on the nail-bat (he still refuses to give it a name because it's not a person, Robin) falters but he steels himself - the kid is gonna be vulnerable, now more than ever and he's gotta keep him safe.

"Oh Henderson." The thing wearing Eddie's face grins the same way Eddie grinned, with a promise of chaos at his fingertips. "Not anymore."

So Eddie sets the democreatures to attack and Steve shoves Dustin behind him while he tries to fight them off but they overpower him until he's on the floor except -

The scratches and bites aren't happening. He's just - drowning in slobber? And very weird bits of flesh just, like weirdly pushing at him oh god, this is so weird. Steve squints one eye open and sees all the gross creatures nuzzling at his arms and chest like they're just innocent mutant hellbeasts who didn't mean to break the vase.

"Wh - I said attack, dipshits!" Kas yells out and that seems to just...make them nuzzle harder? Steve doesn't know, okay, he's been through a lot and he's just tired. So tired that he doesn't even register how one of the demodogs bumps his hand up onto its closed head (a phrase Steve doesn't and will never fucking like) or the fact that he just...pets it like it seems to ask. The other beasts apparently all really like that and run over each other trying to get under his hands.

"S-Steve?"

"What's up Henderson?" Steve tries not to laugh as one of the littler creatures topples upside down after it tried climbing his leg. He sets it right side up and gives it a big long pet along its back, holding back his shiver at the slimy skin. "Y'know when they're not trying to eat you, these things aren't half-bad."

"You always manage to fuck things up, huh Harrington?" Suddenly Kas is right in front of him, pushing him back onto the ground harshly with a hand on his throat. Steve idly wonders if the guy has a thing for necks. Maybe Steve just has a very targetable one? "You ruin everything, don't you?"

He then wonders if it's the high from not being ripped apart coupled with the excess adrenaline in his veins. There should definitely be a stinging in his chest from the words but he's just...god, he's just so tired right now. The other creatures are making weird, pitiful noises around the two of them.

"There there," Steve chokes out, raising a head to pet at Kas' very angry head. The vicious eyes go blank. "You just needed some attention, huh?"

Steve thinks he hears Dustin spluttering somewhere but his vision is already blacking out. Shit, he's supposed to take care of Dustin. Nope, no time to black out now. The hands, kinda claws really, around his neck loosen and Steve blinks the big splots of darkness out of his head just to open his eyes to Kas or Eddie or whatever staring at him with like...it's kind of what Steve thinks he looks like when Dustin tries explaining his latest strategy for a campaign. Incomprehension? But funnier because Eddie doesn't look like he's trying to understand, he looks like his head is just totally empty, no thoughts. Scratch that, this is hilarious.

"Doing alright, Munson?" Steve coughs out, his voice wrangled from the...wrangling. He continues to pet the hulking figure above him, moving his hand behind Eddie's ear. "Am I getting the right spot?"

The blankness in Eddie's face turns into a bright purplish blush (that means he's still got blood in him, right? or is it some kind of Vecna juice? Ew gross, no, don't think about that) and he scutters back away from Steve, who's once again surrounded by the various monsters as they yip or whatever the fuck sound monsters make. He finally manages to sit back up, no thanks to Henderson, the little shit just watching the whole thing in a corner with a fucking notepad are you kidding me -

"D-don't come any closer!" Eddie holds a hand out as Steve gets himself on two feet, his back against the wall like Steve's the one who was strangling him, oh fuck you Munson. "I have - I'll bring a parade of pain on you, Harrington, I swear it!"

Steve snorts as he pets one of the demodogs, hoping to god it doesn't eat his hand. "Yeah, okay, Kas, sure. You wanna do that now or after you give these guys a bath?"

And Eddie is basically half-angry because NO HE IS KAS HE IS A GENERAL HE WILL BRING HELL UPON YOU ALL, half-smitten because omg hiiii stevie wow do you feel a connection right now because i definitely do i think this is like fate or something

[viviseawrites]

our project for the @strangerthingsreversebigbang is now fully live! i had the distinct honor of writing for @ent-is-indecisive, and the amazing artwork inspired something a little outside of my usual wheelhouse. i'm so glad i got to work with ent and i hope i did this work justice!

Title: they gave you life, and in return, you gave them hell written by @viviseawrites with art by @ent-is-indecisive 

Art: view on Tumblr Fic: read on AO3

rated E | ~13,300 words Summary:

Eddie Munson died in the Upside Down during the spring break from hell. Steve knows that all too well. But when Steve is captured by Vecna’s forces, a familiar face reintroduces himself as Kas. And Kas’s mission? Interrogate Steve for details on the party’s plan to face Vecna. 

Still, Steve can’t help but see Eddie somewhere under the magical new powers and blank eyes. He just has no idea how to reach him.

tags and a peek at the first scene under the cut!

Fic Tags: Post-Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, Eddie Munson Lives, Eddie Munson as Kas the Betrayer (Dungeons & Dragons), Eddie Munson Has Powers, Captive Steve Harrington, Captor Eddie Munson, Power Imbalance, MagicCanon-Typical Violence, Possession, Horror, Torture, Sacrifice, Temporary Character Death, Exes to Lovers, Love Confessions, Getting Back Together, Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Dom/Sub Dynamics, Dom Bottom Eddie Munson, Sub Top Steve Harrington, Offscreen Kink Negotiation, Kissing, Blow Jobs, Oral Sex, Face-Fucking, Praise Kink, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Daddy Kink (very light!), Angst with a Happy Ending

Archive Warnings: None.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Vecna, El, Robin Buckley

The forest of Hawkins sounds different than it used to. When Steve was a kid, birdsong filled the air and leaves crackled as small creatures scurried underfoot while he and Tommy raced for his tree house. But right now, he hears only his own heartbeat, pounding in his head; his breathing, too fast and too loud; and a familiar, dreadful high-pitched screeching accompanied by the flapping of many leathery wings. The demobats chitter excitedly as they search for him. 

Steve flexes his hands. His back is pressed to the bark of a sturdy oak tree, stripped of its greenery like so many of Vecna’s other victims as his influence eats away at the natural landscape. The blight creeps out from the center of Hawkins a little more each day. Dustin’s theory is that Venca needs to consume life force to maintain his power, especially considering all the sacrifices. He never misses one of Lucas’s scouting reports as he attempts to track the decay and its relationship to Vecna’s abilities.

But none of that matters to Steve, not right now. The trees are dead and the animals are gone and the demobats are hungry. But El is in danger, so here Steve is.

One of the demobats finally breaks through the bare branches above. Steve holds himself still and silent, fingers wrapped around the handle of his bat; the democreatures don’t have eyes, but their sense of smell is strong enough to make them dangerous anyway. He can hold his own against a single monster, but as soon as he spills its blood, the rest will be on him. 

Better on him than El, though. Steve firms his resolve at the thought. 

The demobat lands on the forest floor, turning its head this way and that as it tries to pin him down. He takes in a quiet, stabilizing breath. When he darts forward, it swings around to face him just in time for his nailbat to crunch down onto its skull. The cry it releases echoes shrilly around him before it abruptly cuts off. But the damage is done.

read the rest on ao3

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Steddie (not) Getting Married Today

I love this song on its own, but imagine...

Steddie are getting married and Eddie is OVERTHINKING.

Surely Steve is crazy. Surely he must have not noticed that he's getting married to the trailer trash, ex-drug dealer, mostly maimed/nibbled on by bats and a human trash panda incarnate Eddie Munson. Steve must have overlooked it, sure. Steve must be still in the honeymoon phase (they are well in their 50s now but maybe Steve's honeymoon phase is just long?) and not realizing that Eddie isn't really someone he should want to marry?

Enter Robin who is incredibly amused and tries to keep Eddie's stress under control (except not because she knows he's crazy about Steve and Steve is crazy about him).

Steve is still good-looking, kind, patient, wonderfully bitchy and Eddie is suddenly reminded that he's way out of his league ("you're not, second dingus, you literally have better career than him, I saw a woman AND two guys hit on you in the last bar, you thanked them for the consideration, flashed your engagement ring and then smooched Steve into oblivion, very consensually, which part of that all screams OUT OF HIS LEAGUE?") and he's 100% convinced he's about to ruin Steve's life and his own in extension, when Steve finally realizes he can do better.

In the meantime, Steve is running around, finishing everything, making sure his hair is perfect, brushing his teeth again so the first kiss is everything Eddie could ever want.

Eddie is curled up in a ball, asking Robin if she thinks Steve will mind being married to someone who has tattoos. Robin is somewhere between pity, amusement and attempted strangulation.

And maybe Eddie still has his running tendencies, maybe he's still insecure and a trembling mess, but it takes a single worried look from Steve, a whispered "you...don't want to get married?" and Eddie grabs his hands, kisses him (mhmmm, peppermint) and drags him towards all their waiting guests because he's fucking terrified, but he'd rather get eaten by a bunch of democreatures (again) than give Steve a single indication that he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life with him.

(Robin gets very drunk afterwards and Nancy consoles her, maybe poking a bit of fun at the fact that Robin was even worse mess at their own wedding)

[love-toxin]

honestly vampire!angelface is my new favourite daydream, especially the bat aspect 🦇 flitting around the fruity four's house in bat form and rolling around on the rugs, learning how to use your wings and your claws by working the knots out of your lover's hair, getting flying practice and having fun when you curl up into a ball and let Eddie slingshot you out the second floor window, baby-bird style. riding on Robin's shoulder around the house when you're too lazy to use your wings, and cause she always feeds you a bit of whatever she's eating--she even has a trick where she puts a grape or a cracker in her mouth so you'll lean up and bite the other end off, like a kiss! and you act as a hot water bottle for Nancy when she has cramps or a stomachache, spreading yourself out on her tummy to warm her right up, especially when she's at her desk trying to get work done at the same time. and when Steve's in the shower, you hang from the curtain rod and hand him his hair products and soap, letting him spray you clean with the showerhead and chittering along to whatever tune he's singing in a melody of squeaks and tiny howls.

(cws: blood, bones, slight yandere)

you're so cute, and when you're with your partners just spending time with them, you seem so harmless. but you're protective, extremely protective over your mates. you fly around the roof when it gets dark at night, going out several times every couple hours to watch for danger--when you're unsure or on edge, sometimes you perch at the very top and sit there all night. you don't really need sleep, so it's only a bother when the fruity four miss your warmth and want you to come back to bed, calling your name out the open window to lure you back inside. whenever one of them brings you something special, something you know they only do for you--like giving you some of their blood, or offering some animal bone for you to chew on--you promise them with that sudden, unsettlingly serious demeanor that you would kill anyone they asked you to, and you're completely devoted to them. doing things like that for you, gross things that humans would naturally shy away from, is basically like a marriage proposal to a creature of the night like you.

and they can trust that if real danger ever does arise, you'll be hunting down whatever creature dared to hurt your loves--and you won't stop until you've hunted them to death, torn them limb from limb until the people of Hawkins sit up in their beds at the sound of a democreature yowling and squealing in agony. doesn't matter how big it is either, how strong, or how terrifying it looks compared to your relatively small form. humans, demogorgons, animals--it doesn't matter what stature it has or what weapons it uses, if the fruity four run out into the darkness to find you, they'll be met with the sight of your fangs sinking into your prey's flesh as you drink all the blood you desire from it. and when you're done, you'll happily sink into the arms of one of them as they carry you home with a full belly and your protective predator instincts sated.....for now.

[chickensoupleg]

-pokes head in with a prompt- Hi, it me, Brightside!

Billy gets brought back 'wrong', Eddie gets brought back 'wrong', but one thing Vecna underestimated was the homoeroticism of one Steve Harrington. Now all three are on a cross country road trip in a stolen bus or RV to save the world. These are their stories -dun dun-

Your thoughts?

STEVEN NOT AGAIN.

Okay so what I'm imagining is the Upside Down after Vecna's defeat is repairing itself back to what it used to be, and since everything is a hivemind it just repairs everything. That includes whatever was left down there, including Eddie and Billy's body. Billy's body technically isn't physically there, but since he was hive-minded and kept in one piece at one point there is a Billy somewhere down there.

Except of course humans don't naturally exist there so they get revived using non-human materials. My idea is the UD repaired them like they did the Mind Flayer body so they're semi... liquid. Not entirely! But whatever was lost was filled in with evil putty. And the evil putty may or may not be controllable.

To make it cool it looks like tattoos once their bodies (forcefully) accept the goo. I am a sucker for sun scar Billy and bat scar Eddie, so that's what the 'tattoos' look like, which are entirely black. They're not entirely controlled by the Upside Down, but there's a part of it still in them. It freaks Billy out way more than it does Eddie since he's half convinced that he's not in control of himself again, but Eddie manages to calm him down and get everything explained for him.

After a while Vecna (>:() gets a hold of himself and decides to try yet again! Man is as stubborn as a toddler in search of ice cream. Eddie and Billy find out somehow, perhaps through a democreature they managed to befriend to their side and decide 'Yeah no that's not gonna happen again' and figure out a way to portal back into the real world. They're not the greatest at it (all hands on deck), and only manage to open a rift near the closest person they could imagine.

That being of course a Steve Harrington. Steve of course is besides himself because not only is Eddie alive, so is Billy. They're both supposed to be dead! Eddie and Billy find out that after Hawkins was destroyed Steve stayed just long enough to help with reparations until he disappeared with Robin out across the country, back in sunny California because where else would it be. Perhaps Steve wanted a taste of the sea, reminiscing about stories Billy told him by the quarryside and needing to see it for himself out of memoriam for both him and Max.

Except, well. Turns out he's back.

And after a tearful reunion and some relaxing they explain what was going on in the UD and Steve decides (after a lot of griping) that he's going back into the fray.

Lucky for him, he's gotten the RV of his dreams and now his Billy and Eddie back. He finds out about their new abilities a few hours in when a bump in the road knocks over a cup and before it shattered Eddie caught it with a black vine shooting out of his side.

... So there's that.

For a lingering danger over their heads they sure do take a long time getting there. Why stress? The world is their potato. Perhaps the black duo still have a connection that tracks how close Vecna is to coming back again and know there's a lot of time (Steve and Robin get a lot of congratulations for defeating Vecna so hard he's taken this long to collect himself). Steve's learning a lot about his feelings towards the recently revived and also a lot about his body's feelings towards the recently revived.

Robin comes along as well. She has to leave the RV often for the privacy of her best friend. Perhaps even picks up a girlfriend on the way who is oddly very okay with what's going on in the studio. Maybe even two girlfriends, Robin has two hands.

They have a lot of souvenirs as they go along and the RV is just filled with trinkets by the time they return to Hawkins to save the world a fifth time.

[rottenaero]

Okay okay so I got an idea about Kas Steddie, where he thinks he’s just a vampire, one that throws up awful sludge from time to time, but a vampire none the less.

He’s staying at Steve’s house, waiting for his name to be cleared when things start…Happening.

One night, he wakes up, and he can’t see, or talk. His face feels numb. Everything around him is fuzzy, and he knows whats around him but it’s dark.

Steve goes to check on him and find that skin has healed over his eyes, and that his mouth is completely gone.

His fingers ghost over his face, and Eddie feels something for the first time that day.

He starts turning into a democreature, and brings dead animal carcasses back to the house.

He stops being Eddie, and becomes other.

[xenon-demon]

hiya!!! just wanted to say i LOVED your kas!steve post so much it makes me squeal with delight no joke

any chance you can drop some details about steve's new appearance/abilities 👀 because i would love to hear more!!! (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

Hi thank you SO much!!! <3 I have so many THOUGHTS about Kas!Steve constantly and am always keen to talk about it! (if I defeat my crippling executive dysfunction issues long enough to post more I can tag you in it if you'd like 👀👀)

Kas!Steve's whole deal is that Vecna revived him to act as his "ultimate weapon", particularly against the bunch of meddling kids who already interfered with his plans once. He's not worried about the government or any of the scientists ruining his plans, he's worried about Eleven and her allies. He knows damn well the Party & co are going to have a much harder time defeating one of their own, or at least something that looks like one of their own, than an assortment of inhuman beasts. Plus, having a second in command who is intelligent is an asset to Vecna (and Steve, while not academically gifted, is really good at tactics/strategical thinking).

This got wayyyyy longer than I thought it would so I'm chucking this under a readmore, I have "can't shut the fuck up" disease and it's terminal.

BASICALLY I wanted Kas!Steve to be at least a little different from the classic fandom depictions of Kas!Eddie, just for flavour - so to start with Steve absolutely Does Not have wings. Regarding his appearance, the main stuff is:

prehensile, multiple tails like the demobats do - Steve has 5 tails, with one (the central one) being slightly longer and thicker than the rest while the rest sort of loosely weave together around it at rest. They can be controlled independently, but it's quite difficult to do so and Steve is absolutely not at that point yet. It's like - if he went "I want to grab that object with my tails" they would all wrap around it to grab it securely like a human hand would, but it would take a looooooot of practice and experience with this new form to go "I want to hold a different object in each tail at the same time" (and even then it'd be tricky as fuck/take a lot of concentration).

FANGS. So all of Steve's teeth are now sharper and pointed, like the democreatures tend to have, but in addition to that boy's got MAD fangs. His top canines actually jut out from under his top lip and visibly dig into his bottom one, Steve has to relearn how to hold his face when his mouth is shut to hide them. His bottom canines are also larger and pointier than the rest of his teeth, but less egregiously than his top ones. Plus he has claws too, where his finger/toenails have essentially expanded and hardened so instead of just being a "cap" on top of the digit, his fingers and toes blend from skin to keratin and end in a hardened, sharp point. It is actually possibly to file/trim them without hurting him though, with appropriate tools (since they're harder than human nails).

Steve's eyes have vertical pupils now (like cats), since he's got what essentially amounts to DnD darkvision. They also glow gold when Steve's craving blood. Or craving... other things. (I'm talking about being horny his eyes glow gold when he's horny. In Steve's defense, bloodlust and regular lust are kinda intertwined when you're a vampire.)

His skin is also just that bit tougher than it used to be, Steve no longer gets scrapes or cuts as easily.

He does still eat food in addition to blood, he's just carnivorous now - lots of meat (can be cooked but tbh raw is better) and animals products like eggs and dairy. He doesn't digest plant products properly anymore and will throw up if he eats too much of it. As for human blood... he doesn't NEED it to survive, but he craves it, and it gives him a boost to his abilities when he's drank some recently (in that what I've described is him at Full Power™, and if it's been a while since he's had blood it's progressively harder and harder to do those same things). He also just Looks Sick if it's been a whie since he's drank blood. Also when he's out of the Upside Down (especially if, say, he was no longer connected to the hivemind) if he doesn't drink human blood on a regular basis he WILL go feral and revert to a much more animalistic state of mind.

Now the fun stuff, aka his powers:

Superhuman strength, pretty much no one would be able to beat him in a one-on-one, hand-to-hand fight. Bring a weapon, ideally a gun. He also has better stamina than a regular human would and tires much less easily.

Heightened senses - he can see in the dark better than humans ever could and his sense of smell is heightened (particularly smelling blood, human blood in particular). His hearing is actually not that much better than a normal human's, but very high pitched or "artificial" sounding noises grate on him in a way they never used to (e.g. Curse The Fucking Fluorescent Lightbulb Buzz).

He's connected to the hivemind like all UD creatures are, but unfortunately that means he's connected to Vecna. Vecna has a very strong connection to him, given that it was through Vecna's powers that he was revived, and he can plunge Steve into a hallucination whenever he pleases just like with the curse victims. This is how he communicates Steve over long distances.

Steve also has vampiric thrall/mind control abilities, but he can only really pull it off when he's freshly loaded up on blood. It also works best for simple instructions - he could exert simple, one-word-command type control over almost anyone, but complicated multi-step instructions or more abstract things (e.g. being encouraged to forget about something or instructed to not answer certain questions going forwards, indefinitely) would only really work on someone Steve has an extended, close relationship with. It works through eye contact - the gold eye glow also happens when Steve's using these abilities. But shhhhhh I'm sure Eddie's going to be totally fine, everything is chill he'll be fiiiiine ;)

God this is WAY LONGER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE I'M SO SORRY. I hope you enjoy the lore drop!! <3 Let me know if there's anything else you want to know about because I could talk about this AU all day, I'm obsessed with it

[ja3ger-the-3ater]

------------------------------------------------------- MONSTER EDDIE AU HEADCANONS -------------------------------------------------------

TW: GORE,DIGESTION MENTION, SEWERSLIDE MENTION, SH MENTION, BODY HORROR, DARK TOPICS, ECT.

•It's been about a year and a half since

Vecna and everything, the gang have already roasted that shriveled grape.

•Eddie's a cryptid in this au too (similar to my Vampire Eddie Au).

•Eddie did die but came back, waking up as a more monstrous version of himself. Climbing up from the Upside-Down to the normal world.

•He comes back super feral and slightly aggressive at first, hungrily hunting, and being overall terrifying. But calms down a small bit before he meets Steve.

•Monster Eddie meeting Steve for the first time would be at night in the middle of the Hawkins forest. He sees the small man and his crush comes slamming back into his brain full force.

•When Eddie finally gives in to his beast side, Steve is out there checking the woods, to make sure no Democreatures got out of the Upside-Down.

•Eddie has followed Steve around for a couple of weeks, observing him, and protecting him from a distance.

• One particular night Steve is tired/sleep deprived and patrolling again, when Eddie decides to finally devour the man.

•Having been contemplating doing so for a good while, his instincts constantly telling him to, but also because he wants to reunite with Steve, and he wants to protect the smaller man.

•Steve hears something big behind him growl, so he takes off running. Not wanting to meet whatever made the sound.

•Eddie runs after Steve, chasing the man through the forest, catching him when stops running, thinking that he's got away from The unknown predator

•Unbeknownst to Steve, Eddie is right behind him, silently looming over him drooling, nervously and excitedly about to devour the frightened human.

•Right before Steve is eaten, he turns around to see Eddie, seeing the massive metalhead with his new features: some more hair, long ears, fangs, sharp teeth, and claws. Screaming in terror as he's shoved in Eddie's maw. Being quickly gulped down and stomached by the giant monstrous man.

•Of course Steve is absolutely mortified.Thinking that this monster that looks like his former friend is gonna end him.

•But that's just not true at all, so Eddie takes him back to his nest/cave/lair. Going to sleep with scared Steve still in his belly. Steve making the decision to go to sleep before 'nature takes its course'(it never does).

•Eddie doesn't spit Steve up the next morning, well sorta, he brings him up from his stomach and keeps the small man in his maw until morning.

•Steve wakes up, having freak out 2: the electric boogaloo. Punching, kicking, and squirming around in Eddie's mouth.

•Eddie just nonchalantly opens his jaws and lets Steve slide off of his tongue, either onto the floor of his cave or in his hands.

•The babysitter is still panicked, so Eddie grabs him up and is like "Dude!...it's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you. " saying the last part in a soft voice.

•After that Steve is like "ARE YOU CRAZY YOU ATE ME?!?!" In a frantic voice

•Eddie in return says "Oh uh...Yeah, sorry about that man..." just sheepishly grinning, but also feeling bad.

•So Eddie has to explain that his instincts told him to, and that it's safe, but leaving out the part where he wants to keep him close in his belly.

•Steve does not want to be eaten again, just the idea of being in a stomach again puts his mind in fear.

•But he's not afraid of Eddie, well mostly not afraid of him.

•Eddie hangs out in the woods and occasionally gets spotted when going across roads/ back roads

•Our big boi lurks just outside of town. But most frequently in-between the Lab, the Harrington house, and the kids houses.

•His nest/cave/lair is in a forest hollow behind Lovers lake.

•Steve convinces Eddie to come back and hide out in his house.

•Piggyback riding on the giant man's head to his house(like the art above), since he is still scared of being eaten again

•He doesn't always stay at Steve's, he's free to come and go, usually occupying the woods around his nest

•Eddie doesn't eat Steve again for a while but jokes about doing so, because he can. Sometimes running at Steve, baring his teeth and claws, doing the devil horn bleh thing, yelling "I'LL EAT YOU ALIVE, IF YOU DON'T RUN LIKE HELL, HARRINGTON!!!!"

•He doesn't realize just how much this terrifies Steve, mainly because the small man hides it.

•The giant beast is almost discovered by the kids several times, having to hide out in Steve's room or one of the spare rooms.

•Steve frequents the woods, purposely running into Eddie/more or less Eddie finding Steve bc of his heightened senses.

•Eddie sometimes breaks into Steve's house and stands over Steve protectively watching him slumber, wishing he could hold him in his tum.

•Democreatures are still around, and Eddie is constantly running into them, killing them

•His first human meal was a murderer that was dragging a body past Lover's lake

•He learns he has to chew them bc he eats some bad people alive and they don't die(one even stabs him in tongue)

•Eddie acts cat-like: stretching like a cat, clawing trees like a scratching post, licking things he likes, and carrying people around by the back of their clothes.

•Eddie has a ‘soft spot’ in his stomach that temporarily paralyzes him when it's pressed too hard.

•Feral Eddie is terrifying and Steve has never encountered him before, like true feral Eddie

•But feral Eddie's instincts won't let him hurt good people or anyone he cares about, even if he doesn't remember them.

•The second time that Eddie eats Steve, is a couple days after the babysitter is cornered by stupid town hicks that were hunting Eddie.

•One of the guys points a gun at Steve, and is about to pull the trigger, but Eddie mauls the guy, before he could shoot. This scares the others off.

•And Steve is detrimentally shook up, after watching Eddie drag a bloodied up half eaten screaming guy off into the woods.

•The monster has been saying he will eat the small man, wanting to but never doing so.

•So when Steve is terrified of being eaten by Eddie/ending up like the hunters, Eddie is like 'I have to make this right' and 'fine I'll show him'

•Meaning, that when Steve is walking at the outskirts of his yard one night, Eddie decides to finally nom him again. Spookily grabbing him up and basically shoving him down his throat.

•Eddie again takes him back to his nest, bedding down for the night, while sleepily and gently mumbling that he'd never ever ever hurt Steve.

•Steve wakes up early the next morning, still in Eddie's belly, laying back trying to take in what happened last night. Having some time to think through everything because Eddie was still asleep.

•As soon as Eddie wakes up, the monster reaches down his throat, grabbing Steve and pulling him out of his stomach.

•Once Steve's out, Eddie, avoiding eye contact, apologizes and says "I didn't wanna scare you."

•Steve understands this now, quietly replying "Yeah." In a knowing voice.

•This obviously doesn't cure Steve's fear of being eaten, but it does help him get a small bit used to being in Eddie's stomach.

• It takes Steve longer than the kids to get used to Eddie and his abilities due to his trauma + the fact of how Eddie ate him in a scary way when he came back.

•Steve's getting better at it though, asking for Eddie to eat him sometimes.

•So, Chrissy lives in this au- everything is the same as canon except for she survives by a centimeter of luck, and by the time that Eddie is discovered by Steve (a year and a half later after Vecna’s defeat) she's completely healed and almost back to normal.

•And yes, she is semi blind and uses walking crutches!

•She runs into Eddie around Skull Rock, after he's eaten Steve.

•Chrissy hears Steve in Eddie’s belly, causing the monster to panic and eat her.

•She is surprisingly chill with being in Eddie's belly, when he explains that it's 100% safe.

•The party finds out about Eddie by following Steve into the woods

•At first they freak out, but Steve calms them down(with the help of Dustin, of course)

•Will out of all of the kids, takes the most time to get used to their new monster friend, afraid this is a trick by Vecna. But he soon enough learns that it's not a trick by the dark lord.

•But they don't learn about Eddie's nomming abilities, for now.

•Dustin and El are the first ones to find out.

•El before Dustin, because she could literally sense it and all but see Eddie the whole time.

•Most of them are unnerved but learn that it's okay and aren't afraid of being eaten by Eddie

•Will is a different story though, due to all of the shit that happened to him.

•They have to describe most of everything to Max, because unlike Chrissy, she is completely blind, but can walk.

•Eddie has to help Will get used to it after the boy asks him to.

•One night, Joyce catches Eddie eating Will. To say she's furious, is an understatement.

•Eddie is 30-50 feet tall…But he's terrified of all 5 foot 3 inches that is Joyce Byers.

•So similar to a wild snake, he gets an upset stomach and pukes up Will when Joyce corners him

•He avoids her until, afraid that she'll hurt him or make people hunt him down, more than he already is.

•Wayne finds out about Eddie being alive again, a couple of months after Joyce does

•He is confused and frightened, but relieved to have his nephew back.

•Because the man loves Eddie, even if he isn't human anymore

•Though when he finds out that Eddie can safely eat people alive, it takes him a hot moment to get used to that kinda info.

•Feral Eddie gathers all of the kids and takes them to his nest, acting almost like a brooding mother hen.

•This is when it really clicks to Steve that feral Eddie is and never was dangerous to the kids.

•He's still on the fence about himself though, being that he was the first one Eddie ate, because feral Eddie still acts terrifying towards him.

•But that is just his protectiveness showing in its purest form, basically he's frightfully loving.

•Robin tries to literally explain this to Steve. With pictures too. But he still doesn't believe her.

•Steve goes out to the forest one day with food to feed feral Eddie and to try to win the beast's trust(even though he already has it)

•Eddie eats the food, then noms Steve, purring.

•He’s like “ah shit, this is it for me”

•But then realizes that it isn't, remembering that he's safe based on the fact he was eaten alive, not chewed or maimed.

•And also because Eddie is purring louder than a fucking chainsaw.

•Steve has a really shitty day(whether it be because of: work, the jocks, his parents, or just overall depression.) actually going and finding Eddie, asking to be eaten, just wanting to get away from it all for a moment.

•Of course Eddie obliges and gulps the babysitter down, but also tries to cheer him up by making jokes or doing funny things. Both while he's nomming Steve and after the man's already in his gut.

•All Steve can think of then is "God I love this man" restarting his Bi crisis.

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

[ifishouldvanish]

I refuse to accept that my boy Eddie Munson is dead. Season 5 better open with a shot of Eddie in the upsidedown riding a giant demobat dragon and wielding a sword, decked out in warpaint while thrash metal blares in the background.

Or the next time someone is in the upsidedown and about to get killed by a demobat, it gets taken out by a spear. A spear thrown by whom? A spear thrown by a feral Eddie Munson, who has spent the past several weeks/months in the upsidedown, foraging and crafting and learning how best to survive there. Finds out that democreatures HATE amp feedback and is able to stay safe in the trailer. He's charted the land, knows all the flora and fauna, what can be eaten and used as medicine, what's harmless and what can kill you, what weapons and tactics work best against the democreatures, etc etc. He's just out there living a real-life DND campaign and killing it.

[sennqu]

i would really like to know what part of vol2 was a masterpiece beyond it looking and sounding slick and cool.

first off. the Vecna reveal as the big bad behind everything when nothing in the previous seasons even hinted that he and his family existed? Those murders would have become a town urban legend in no time!! Especially since it only happened 30 years ago?? And as evidenced by the writers keeping in the line "the murder house" when Jason and co. talked about it, other townspeople beyond Eddie's uncle did know about the Creels so why did none of the other born and bred main characters ever know this?? This reveal was an ass-pull of a retcon plain and simple.

Max ending up in the coma?? Completely diminishes the Dear Billy scene. Oh, music and human connection saves you from despair?? SIKE! actually it doesn't because we really just wanted to use this Kate Bush song for style points. Trauma does actually get you in the end wdym? then they used the song again, for what I don't fucking know, but certainly not for thematic reasons. Timing the lyrics to come back just as Robin throws the molotov?? ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. And also we get to El to "revive" Max because El really is just that special. No one would know what to do without her!

Not even going to get into that indulgent close-up of El's feet.

Not even going to get into posing dead Brenner like Jesus on the fucking cross.

Lucas' speech ending with "normal is just a raging psychopath". Really?? Really?? Was this supposed to be a shot at Jason? The same guy who, upon seeing Max - a stranger to him- immediately tried to rescue her?? I will die on the hill that S4 accidentally created a compelling antagonist in Jason and just never fucking knew it. (i've cooled down on my thoughts with this one. still think the line was stupid as hell though and that jason was a lot more compelling than vecna)

Eddie dying for no reason, plot-wise or narrative-wise?? WHY? So he could die a hero? BITCH HE COULD HAVE LIVED AS A HERO. I didn't care for Eddie all that much but he should have died right after his guitar solo if he was already marked for death. at least that would have been cool instead of stretching it out like what happened

Not even going to get into how Steven, Nancy, and Robin were choking for what seemed like an hour or longer. Pacing was off the entire 4-hour runtime but that especially seemed egregious.

The El and Hopper reunion feeling like an afterthought?? It was so emotionally dull. They might as well have made them reunite at the start of S5. El going "I always believed you were alive" BENCH WHERE. YOU LITERALLY CREATED A SCHOOL PRESENTATION TO HONOR HIM AS A DEAD HERO. This one actually got to me the most because I live for loving father and daughter dynamics and I was rooting for them to reunite but what we got.... it fell so, so flat.

The entire two day timeskip in the first place. Absolutely abhorrent. Completely cutting into the climax, completely removing the falling action.

Hopper fucking beheading a Democreature in slow-mo. The entire Russia story arc was already very heightened but you know what. yeah sure why not. WHY THE FUCK NOT

Mike's monologue about loving El even when she's not a superhero when she is literally doing superheroism right in front of him. Mike straight up saying with his full chest that his life started the day after Will went missing. Will who is next to him as he's fucking saying this shit. Will who has done nothing else this season except to help mend his relationship with El.

Robin seeing Vickie again at a fucking weapons emporium. WHAT FOR? They didn't even rationalize this with a throwaway line that maybe she and her (ex) boyfriend were going hunting or whatever. Literally just did this so we can see Robin upset. Because really? We could have that scene in the gym WITHOUT THE WAR ZONE SCENE.

Whatever the fuck they did to Steve "oh actually I wanna have six kids" Harrington.

Will not even getting the dignity of saying his feelings. Was a simple last longing look at Mike as he says, " I really am stupid for falling for him, huh, Jonathan?" Too Fucking Hard? No need to say Mike's name, no need to say the word GAY (calling him a fag or a queer or a fairy was fucking fine though) to make it clear as day where Will stood. it could have been done so easily with how they set up the Jonathan and Will scene. And now we have to contend with people arguing that maybe he really wasn't in love with Mike at all or the even stupider take that maybe Will was actually in love with Eleven.

Brenner getting shot multiple times was actually very cathartic and I'm glad El left him to rot. But again this just comes back to why is El's storyline the only one handled with this much grace and understanding for her agency?

The Russia storyline just fucking ending with them being able to cross country borders no problem??? and no sign of Dmitry or Yuri at all?? Fucking sloppy.

Mike just... existing as El's cheerleader now apparently?? What the hell happened to him. They couldn't even make him a malewife right because he had to have Will push him into his monologue.

Speaking of monologues, fucking Henry got pages and pages of the most uninspired villain script I've ever had the misfortune of hearing in this year of 2022. Yeah yeah we live in a society. yeah yeah El is actually just so special she even created her own super villain what else is new.

S4 Volume 2 was a total let down and I am not going to be blinded by the beautiful cinematography into saying it was better than it is, than what it could have been. All style, no substance.

And as redditor timlest said it best:

[hephaestn]

ugh it’d just be so good if they brought back billy now. ofc we need the billy living in the upside down for months, fighting all types of democreatures arc because that’s just simply chef’s kiss. but if he were to return to the real world, he would have to go into hiding because everyone in hawkins knows he’s dead the party’s first idea would be to have him at hiding at el and hopper’s cabin but it brings billy flashes of his flayed times. eddie would be the one to bring insane amounts of groceries and supplies because “hey, been there done that, buddy. no one is starving under my watch” as he side-eyes the party for his low supply during hiding billy would be struggling with each memory of his flayed times, each time he looks at any of the kids  — especially when he looks at max. he’d still feel trapped but then he asks max about neil: “he left”. and that knowledge alone would lift a weight off his shoulders, even if the weight is still heavy and suffocating