#momotonescreaming

[corrodedcoughin]

When I went to university, there was a guy a year or so above me who was famous across the whole department because he was super nice, super gorgeous, and went jogging regularly while shirtless and wearing very tiny very short bright red shorts. And so everyone called him Beautiful Dave. Genuinely! Not an insult in the slightest. He was Beautiful and people needed to know!

And listen. LISTEN. That's Steve.

Hot college student who loves to get up early and go jogging shirtless and in his old basketball shorts.

Him, Robin, and Eddie all move up to Chicago together. Robin studies languages, Steve studies to be a paramedic or a physical therapist or something, Eddie fucks around and gets a job bc he has had enough of academia. They all get a shitty apartment near their college campus together and Steve finds he likes academia a lot more when it's something he cares about. He joins the swim team, he makes friends, and he finds out one day that people have started referring to him as Beautiful Steve.

He worries at first that it's another King Steve thing, but it's not!  People genuinely think he's absolutely beautiful and super nice and friendly. And so he kind of... goes along with it. He'll go jogging in his short shorts and people will greet him as Beautiful Steve and he responds with a smile and a wave.

Robin and Eddie find out while on campus one day when a group of people call him Beautiful Steve and he responds. Steve tells them that people started calling him that and It's the best day of their lives. Because that's their Steve! Their Steve is Beautiful Steve!! And they're nice about it because I want fluff and silly happiness and people are too mean to Steve

MOMO I CANT COPE. YOU ARE TRULY WIRED DIRECTLY TO THE SOURCE

Robin and Eddie FULL SCALE endorsing beautiful Steve!!! They get so into it they get the student to eventually treat him like a cryptid in that there’s sticks and badges of ‘I believe in beautiful Steve’ and it’s over a pair of illustrated red shorts. It’s a fun way of making some side income for them all and Steve gets a kick out of it.

Campus legend Beautiful Steve but it never becomes a creepy or uncomfortable thing. Everyone just enjoying what has organically grown from it all. He ends up as a ‘wheres Wally’ situation on the campus brochure. Never centre stage, always in the background and happily so.

He goes out on placement for his course and get a warm welcome on his return. Getting nods and waves and feeling like he has a Place here in his own way. Eddie and Robin observing it all and delighting at the smile it brings to Steve’s face every time. He may be Beautiful Steve to the uni but he’s Their Steve first and he won’t let them forget that

[findafight]

Hope you're okay with my stray starbara thoughts bc oh my god you've given me brainworms like no other!!!

They're getting serious and telling each other things that they've never told anyone else before. Barb tells Steve that she worries that Nancy is outgrowing her and their friendship is slowly dissolving. She felt it before but it's worse now after the Upside Down and Nancy is charging her way through the journalism world. And she doesn't know what to do. Steve tells her that he does all these things to impress his father but he's not sure if he likes the man he's becoming. Especially since sometimes he's not sure if his dad even loves him. He sure as shit doesn't love his mother what with all the cheating his dad does. He talks about how lonely he gets in that big empty house by himself and she talks about the stares she gets now that she's Poor Barbara Holland who got sick from a gas leak and got lost in the woods.

Steve invites Barb around to use the pool. He talks about how the water will be good for her physical therapy - and while he's not technically wrong it slowly dissolves into them goofing off, splashing each other, and kissing in the pool loungers. She doesn't feel as self conscious with Steve there with her being supportive the whole time.

The first time he lends her his letterman jacket she rolls her eyes at what a fucking move that was Harrington, oh my god. But she blushes and wears the jacket and Steve smiles and looks so happy and smiley he's practically dizzy with it.

He tells her his hair care secrets and she promises not to tell anyone. Barb lets him do her hair for her one time and it comes out so soft and looks so good and she really likes the feeling of his nails gently scratching against her scalp. She knits him a scarf , and it comes out a little wonky with a couple of missed stitches, and all she can see are the imperfections, but Steve loves it and wears it all winter.

He gets his summer job working at Scoops and he hates his dad for forcing him into it but Robin seems cool - if a bit standoffish to him at the moment. The first time Barb comes by to visit while he's on the clock he pulls out the "set sail on an ocean of flavour with me" speech and it's so lame and so dorky but Barb leans over the counter to kiss him on the cheek when he gets her a free cone.

She gets nightmares of the Upside Down still - though they're not as frequent anymore - and they're horrible but if Steve's there he'll hold her close so she can feel his warmth, and his heartbeat, and he'll run his hand along her back until she feels safe again. She returns the favour after the mall burns down and he dreams of being tortured. Of almost dying. Of being drugged and out of control of himself while others were in danger. She holds him this time and reminds him that he's not alone, and he's safe.

idk they're in love!!

I am not only fine with it, I encourage it!!! Send me so many Starbara thoughts! Brainworms forever!!

yes yes them slowly opening up to each other, being soft together!! How Steve doesn't know what he wants from the future, how Barb feels Nancy pulling away (even though it's Barb who got the shiny, new, popular boyfriend) and how she feels she did the same thing to Robin, way back when. How Barb's parents mean well but they're suffocating in their over-protectiveness and she can't even properly talk to them about what she went through. How Steve doesn't want to become his Father, and how especially doesn't want to become his mother, how he thinks he might not be doomed to it when he's with Barb.

She tells him about the Upside Down, how cold and dark it was and how scared she had been. About the nightmares where it feels like she'll never be warm or able to breathe easily again. How sometimes she can't sleep until she's called the Byers and made sure Will is alright and how sometimes she gets a call from him in the middle of the night doing the same. She tells Steve that some days, he's the only thing about her life that she feels she chose. When her parents were pleased she wasn't distracted by boys, she chose Steve; when Nancy was a bit surprised(though encouraging) at how excited Barb was for the party, she chose Steve; after everything, when the world had tipped right-side up but she was surrounded by doctors and government agents and confusion, Barb chose Steve; how she wants to keep choosing him. (Steve holds her tight, right then. Kisses her forehead as she buries her face in his neck and tells her that he's here, she's safe, it's over. Doesn't tell her quite yet that he's pretty sure she's the first person to choose to love him.)

They float in his pool, no bad memories in it, no last-seen pictures of a girl dangling her legs over the side. Just them, chatting and splashing and laughing and kissing. Feeling like the teenagers they're supposed to be. When he first suggested it she joked that he's just making excuses to see her in her swim suit, and it's a bit self deprecating, because why would he? but Steve just smirked, shrugged, obviously dragged his eyes up and down her body, and said "it worked, didn't it?"

They get looks when he pulls Cliche Boyfriend Stunts and how openly gone on her he is. @jestyzestyn on the first post pointed out that beauty standards and 80's tropes played into the original Nacy-Barb-Steve dynamic. So not only is she Poor Barbara Holland, she's also a not conventionally Pretty Girl going out with thee most desirable boy at school. There's whispers that Steve feels sorry for her--guilty, after she went missing from his house. Once, someone asked why he was with the girl who got poisoned by the gas leak, and he gave them such a scathing look that no one asked again. (the answer is, of course, that he loves her. She makes him feel safe, and loved, and that there's more to life than their dinky hometown.)

She teases that maybe since she has his junior varsity jacket, she'll have to make him a sweater one of these days. (And she knows about the Curse, how making a boyfriend a sweater will inevitably lead to a breakup. but what is the time and effort of knitting a sweater to finding out monsters exist and fighting one, on the off chance it'll help save her? probably even, she thinks.) He says she better make sure it matches his scarf.

Okay lighter side, Steve lifeguarded the summer of '84, and this is prime time for girlfriend to ogling him. But it is also prime people-who-are-not-your-gf-ogling-you-time. Barb is like Steve. those girls were flirting with you. If they wanted an actual pool noodle they would have gone to the office the first time you told them to. and he does his confused puppy head tilt going "why would they do that? everybody knows I'm dating you?" and she doesn't know if she needs to explain the concept of trying to steal someone's man and also that he's hot to him or not. She's like babe.....ok. (there was some jealousy at first but tbh after a guy has told you he loves you and told you how much his parents infidelity bothers him and also literally fought a monster to save you [she isn't letting that one go. nancy makes sense. Nancy is her best friend and is like a dog with a bone for mysteries. Jonathan also makes sense. His brother was missing too. She had been seeing Steve barely a month before everything. who DOES that? Steve. Steve does.] you kinda grow secure in your relationship)

(in the fall, after they get to the tunnels, Steve gives her an out. looking at her through his goggles. He tells her she doesn't have to go back down there, doesn't have to touch the Upside Down again, but she clenches her jaw and tells him that he's concussed and there's no way she's letting him go down alone.)

but oof. lifeguarding you can't get distracted so even tho Barb gets to ogle hot bf steve is a professional and does not get to ogle hot gf the same :( '85 is when they really get their flirt on during company time. He tries on the outfit and shows her at home and he's like "this is literally the worst day of my life. this is horrible."

and she goes "well, hon. at least it makes your butt look good?"

and Steve huffs and crosses his arms over his chest and says "my butt makes everything look good. Let's not give any credit to the sailor suit."

"okay okay."

And every time she comes in he does the "ocean of flavour" spiel and she's dying. he's soooo lame. she loves him so much. she kisses him every time about it.

Robin is a bit cold and standoffish because steve is not only the guy who never paid attention to Tammy Thompson, he's also the guy currently dating Robin's childhood best friend who sort of ditched her. It's many messy feelings inside our girl. But Barb does try to make amends with Robin, and they do rekindle their friendship (and gang up on Steve)(literally I think it'd be so funny if Steve wanted to be Robin's friend sooo bad. world's most giant squish on her. sooo embarrassing. And Brab is playfully like oooh do you have a cruuush on Robin? and steve is like absolutely not I am in love with YOU i just want Robin to live next door and also share cat custody what's not to get?)

When Dustin comes back, talking about Suzie, he looks right at Steve, starry-eyed, and says "she my Barb." hkadsjhfkashd

After the Russian base Barb spends a lot of nights in bed with two other people, shaking them out of nightmares she doesn't want to comprehend, not really knowing what to do but loving them anyways.

[stevethehairington]

From the prompt list you just reblogged (absolutely no pressure btw, I just love ur writing!)

“I’ll still be here when you’re ready.” + Steddie

hellooo!! thank you for sending this in!! (and ahh thank youu!! 🥺💕)

okay i had SO much fun writing this one omg, i hope you like it.

79. "I'll still be here when you're ready"

“Eddie, come on, please. Cut a deal with me,” Steve just about begs for the third time since Eddie has snatched up Pennsylvania Avenue — the last green property and the only one left Steve needs to collect before he can start loading them up with houses and hotels and fining the everloving shit out of everyone. “If you give me your green card I won’t make you pay if you land on any of the rest of my green. If you land on any of all my properties. You’ll get full immunity.”

“You can’t do that!” Dustin cries out from across the floor, throwing his hands up. “That’s against the rules! No one gets full immunity!”

“No one gets any kind of immunity!” Mike chimes in vehemently.

Steve ignores them both, and the rest of the gremlins who kick up a fuss too, in favor of drifting into Eddie’s space. He pushes his lower lip out at him and widens his eyes, batting his lashes a couple of times for good measure. Eddie’s always been ruthless with his own puppy dog eyes, but Steve can give as good as he gets, too. He knows he can break him.

Except Eddie doesn’t even falter. He just laughs, this deep, amused chuckle, and tries to shake Steve off of his arm. “No fucking way, Harrington,” he says. “I’m not giving it up.”

“I’ll pay you for it,” Steve adds to the pitch, desperate now. He hopes that the lure of even more fake money will make his offer that much more enticing, that much more lucrative, and he reaches for a couple of the orangey-yellow hundreds from his small stack to wave Eddie’s way.

It does not have the desired effect. Instead, Eddie snorts. “What is that? Two hundred bucks? I paid more than that to buy the damn thing.”

Steve pouts for a moment, before he lights up with the idea for a new tactic. Leaning in closer, he turns on the bedroom eyes and drops his voice lower. “If you give me your green card,” he whispers slowly, making sure to brush his lips against the shell of Eddie’s ear, “I’ll give you a blowjob later.”

This time Eddie’s attention seems well and truly captured, and Steve internally pats himself on the back for that. It may be a bit of a questionable move, to sink so low as to promise sexual favors in return for help to win a family game, but all is fair in love and war. Especially with this bunch.

And this? This is war.

Eddie looks up from the board, where he’d been carefully watching Max move her tiny silver dog piece forward six spaces, to meet Steve’s eyes. “A blowjob, eh?” He repeats quietly, the corners of his lips curling up lasciviously.

Across the board, Robin scrunches her nose up at their not-so-subtle exchange. She can’t hear them — at least Steve hopes she can’t — but he has no doubt that she knows him well enough to make an educated guess as to what, exactly, his proposal here is. Ergo, nose scrunching. 

Eddie hums out a considering noise. “Mm, that does sound nice,” he says, and Steve thinks he’s done it. Thinks he’s finally sold Eddie on the trade.

He smiles proudly and stretches his hand out, palm up, so that Eddie can pass the property over to its rightful new owner.

Eddie starts to pull his hand from where it’s splayed against the floor, propping himself up, presumably to snatch up the coveted card. Except instead of reaching for it, Eddie’s hand floats right past it and settles into Steve’s instead. He curls his fingers around Steve’s, then draws his knuckles to his lips, where he kisses them softly.

Steve’s heart flutters at the display, but he reigns himself in. He can’t get distracted. Not when he hasn’t secured the switch yet. That’s exactly what Eddie would want.

Eddie meets Steve’s eyes again over the top of their hands. “But I’m still not giving you my card, sweetheart,” he says, oh-so-smugly, grin turning sharlike as he shatters Steve’s glee.

Around the circle, the kids cheer out triumphantly, thrilled that Eddie actually stuck to the game rules this time, and didn’t give in to his boyfriend, as he is so often apt to do, much to their chagrin. Steve had been banned from Hellfire campaigns for exactly that reason.

“Sorry, Stevie,” Eddie says with a helpless shrug, but he doesn’t sound sorry at all. 

“You’re gonna wish you didn’t say no, Munson,” Steve replies, taking his hand from Eddie’s so he can point a finger right at him. He shakes his head, then bumps his shoulder into Eddie’s. “But lucky for you, I’m a good guy, so I’ll still be here when you’re ready. When you come crawling back. The offer will still be on the table.”

The game goes on, and the offer still stands. But Eddie doesn’t cash in on it.

He continues to do fairly decent, plucking along mostly unscathed. Occasionally he lands on Max’s Water Works or Lucas’ Electric Company, and he has to fork over those fees, but they’re not too bad considering neither one of them managed to snag both of the utilities — the perks of playing with eight.

And then somehow, some fucking how, Steve manages to land on both Park Place and the Boardwalk. He wastes no time shelling out the $750 it costs to own them. After a few more rounds collecting rent on all his properties, he gets enough money to add houses, and eventually to trade those houses in for hotels.

The tension in the game has been slowly building up over the last half hour or so, but what happens next — it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Eddie rolls a god damn fucking five and his little silver boot piece hops its way right onto Steve’s god damn fucking Boardwalk.

He loses his shit.

“Two thousand? No fucking way, no way!” Eddie shouts, eyes wide after Steve hits him with the magic number he owes. “That’s all my fucking money, you asshole! I’m not gonna have anything left after that! What the fuck!”

Steve just throws his head back and cackles, rubbing his hands together like the sneaky little bastard he knows he’s being. “Them’s the rules, Munson,” he says. “Pay your fucking debt, babe.” 

He holds his hand out and wiggles his fingers at Eddie.

Eddie tries to smack his hand away, but Steve catches his arm with his other hand and holds Eddie back, grinning the whole way through.

“I don’t know how, but you did this shit on purpose,” Eddie says, shaking his head.

“I did not!” Steve cries, still laughing. “You landed on my property fair and square! Pay up!”

Eddie groans and gathers up his money, giving it a quick count through before he holds it out for Steve. Steve’s hand only just closes around it when Eddie freezes, grip tightening.

“Wait,” he says, sitting up straighter. “Wait, wait, wait. Your offer, from earlier — you said it still stands.” A slow grin spreads across his face. Loophole.

Steve barks out a laugh, though. “I… I did say that, but it’s kind of a little late for that now, don’t you think?” He asks. “I don’t know if I can give you that.”

“You can’t! You can’t! No immunity!” Dustin shouts, waving his hands in the air.

Again, neither Steve nor Eddie pay his outburst any mind.

Eddie shakes his head at Steve. “Come on,” he pleads, “throw me a bone.” He bats his eyes, folds his hands together and holds them over his heart. “I’m at your mercy, sweetheart. I’ll do anything.”

The counteroffer there stands between them, unspoken but very much obvious.

“Oh boy,” Steve hears Robin mutter across the way.

And oh boy is right. The way Eddie’s looking at Steve, the way he’s casually managed to spread his legs where he sits, the way he’s chewing on his lip, letting it pop out from between his teeth all shiny and glistening.

Fuuuuuck.

Steve is just a man. An incredibly, ridiculously, embarrassingly weak man.

Still, he tries to make it look like his decision isn’t already made. Tries to pretend like he has to mull it over. Like he has to debate the choices here.

But in the end, he gives in. Of course he does.

“Well,” he starts, and a delicious grin starts to spread slowly across Eddie’s face while the rest of the party erupts into groans and shouts and utter chaos over this injustice. “I did make a promise. That wouldn’t be very fair of me to go back on it.”

“No. No, it certainly wouldn’t,” Eddie agrees, already inching closer to Steve.

Steve hands him back his money, and Eddie accepts it gratefully, dropping it carelessly to the side before he tugs on the front of Steve’s shirt and pulls him in for a kiss. He keeps it chaste in their present company, but the promise of what’s to come sits heavy against his tongue.

“Thanks, Stevie,” Eddie says sweetly.

“Anything for you,” Steve says back.

And if in the process of “getting more comfortable” for the remainder of the game, Eddie “accidentally” kicks his foot out and knocks the board clean off the table, thus ending the game and giving them an excuse to escape, that’s nobody’s business but his and Steve’s.

100 ways to say i love you prompts

[aringofsalt]

oh im so curious about so many of these BUT 'btw toy chest' for wip weekend pretty please 👀

oh i love this one, okay!!

—

“You’re holding out on me,” Buck teased. “Got some secret pirate booty in that treasure chest? Arrrr,” he growled playfully, teasing, and Tommy… Tommy paused. Not for long, not like he was actually bothered, but it was there. Buck was about to backpedal, apologise, something, but then there were strong arms wrapping around him and tugging him gently into bed.

“Something like that,” Tommy repeated as they got comfortable. “I’ll show you. Later.”

Later, Buck thought as he drifted off to sleep. There’s going to be a later.

[cranberrymoons]

Coffee Shop Au for WIP Weekend!

@steventhusiast @shares-a-vest @sidekick-hero

COFEE SHOP AU!!! 🗣️☕️

this one started over the summer when I got a very aggressive brainworm about Eddie running a shop called Corroded Coffee and then at the end of august when ao3 was down for a few days, I posted the first chunk of it here on tumblr and then immediately ruined goldie's life by making them wait 6 months for an update 😭 but I've been working on it! it's still on the list! the whole thing is about 10k right now and I DO want to finish it and get it posted for real at some point SOON I PROMISE

anyway, here's a little snippet :)

“You’re very smooth,” Steve says. “Everything you do is like –” He laughs, shaking his head. “Like something out of an old movie or something.” Eddie makes a face. “Smooth makes it sound like it’s an act.” “Is it not?” He shrugs. “My uncle raised me right.” “You were raised by your uncle?” Eddie hums, nodding a little. They come to a stop as they wait for the light to change, and he squeezes Steve’s hand.  “My parents didn’t really stick around.” He takes a breath, staring across the street. “Dad was in and out of prison, until he was just… in. And my mom was all over the place, but Wayne was always there.” He shoots a look over at Steve. “No Hungarian nannies for me.” Steve laughs a little. “I regret telling you that, by the way.” “Was she like – a live-in nanny?” Eddie asks as they start walking again. “Did she carry a big handbag and fly with her umbrella and sing songs about spoonfuls of sugar?” “No,” Steve says, laughing harder. “She was just a lady. She took care of me after school when I was a kid. My parents weren’t around a lot either.” “Oh, so ‘nanny’ is just rich people speak for ‘babysitter’,” Eddie says. “Got it.” “Basically,” Steve says. He tucks his chin into his scarf to hide his smile and lets their hands swing between them as they walk. After a moment, he looks over at Eddie again. “You never answered me, by the way. Do you live around here too?” “Yeah, just –” Eddie points in the direction they’re walking. “A little ways up, on the right.” “Oh,” Steve says. He raises his eyebrows. “Okay.” And Eddie laughs, giving him a teasing, sideways glance. “Okay.” They walk for another moment, Steve swaying closer into his side until Eddie slows them to a stop as they reach the steps up to a brownstone, old and rich-looking with lights glowing in the upper story. “So,” Steve says, tilting his head to the side. “I guess this is you?” Eddie lets go of his hand to settle it on his waist instead, pulling him closer. Steve lets himself be pulled, feeling his heart kick, his breath catching a little as he stares at Eddie, head angled back. They’re almost the same height, but Steve is just an inch or two shorter, and up close like this it feels like Eddie towers over him.  “I’m going to kiss you now,” Eddie says. “Is that okay?”

(lol at my wip weekend literally extending INTO THE NEXT WEEKEND because I'm such a slow replier rip)

[shares-a-vest]

Would-Be Mayor Harrington for wip weekend!!

A snippet of Would-Be Mayor Harrington, freshly edited just for you Momo 💖

She had meant to ask later that evening while she made dinner – the typical allotted time she had to speak with her son without interruption while Richard stayed glued to the nightly news. But she forgot after a lengthy phone call from Candy Hagan, who had some serious gossip to spill and snide comments to make about each of their mutual friends, moving through each one like she was flipping through Roladex before fretting over her husband’s annual barbeque. Marianne purses her lips and sets down her glass of red, making sure to ‘miss’ the coaster and leave a mark on the end table that is typically Richard’s side of the sofa. She sighs as she changes the channel, noticing that the blush-pink polish on her thumb nail is chipped.

help me work on my wips this weekend

[delta-piscium]

Steve holds hands for wip Wednesday 💜

thank you so much <3 sorry this is so late, I got stuck on all my writing but it is actually Wednesday today so better timing right (right?)

Steve hums in agreement, "but hey, at least we can keep each other company.” Eddie can’t help himself. He never can but especially not around Steve, he’s like a goddamn siren, or catnip. So he smirks, slants a look at him and in a voice that comes out deeper and raspier than he meant asks, “oh yeah? And what kind of company would that be?” But then, because this is Steve he backtracks, diffuses, “I could tell you about the new campaign I’m planning. I’m thinking no monsters, no fighting. Just a good happy time for everyone.” Steve peers up at him, that frown back between his eyebrows but now there’s also a glint in his eyes. One Eddie has only seen flashes off before, not now though, now it stays. Steve looks at him with interest, with determination. “You keep doing that.”  He looks between Eddie’s eyes, searching and keeping him pinned on the spot.  “You keep saying all these things filled with intent and meaning.” Eddie swallows, can’t look away. “But then nothing happens, you just switch topics, pretend like nothing. Gives me whiplash man” “I- um,” he stammers, tries to find something to say, and finally lands on, “Sorry?” Steve sits up on his elbows, still not breaking eye contact, “I just wonder why you do it?” Because you’re Steve Harrington. Because not only are you hot but so pretty that I don’t actually understand it. Because you’re so fucking kind, so caring, so good, that I can’t help but flirt even though I shouldn’t. Eddie shrugs, “dunno.”

(very late) WIP weekend (or Wednesday)/make me write

[steddieasitgoes]

Drive Thru Thing for WIP Weekend ? 💜💜

Who needs a plot when you can write silly dialogue instead! Here you go and thanks for asking!

“Can I get a Filet-O-Fish tonight?” Steve finally asks the following week. 

Eddie winces, sending a shrill noise through the speaker. “You seriously want to order fish from a fast food burger joint and have some dude making two bucks an hour prepare it for you? Are you stupid?” 

He might have a point, but Steve really is craving fish. And it’s not like he has the culinary skills to properly cook one himself, especially not at 3:30 in the morning. 

“No, I just really want fish.” 

“Your funeral, dude. One Filet-o-Fish coming right up.” 

💜 WIP WEEKEND 💜

[riality-check]

Dive Bars, Meddling Family, and the Metalhead Enigma for WIP Weekend 💜

Sure!!

The dress code is probably the thing he hates most about working at McCoy’s. It’s stupid and reductive, full of double standards and insane requirements. God forbid Steve wears nail polish, and God forbid Robin wears men’s trousers.

Make me write more!!

[solarmorrigan]

🪱Wiggly Worm Wednesday🪱

I was tagged last week by @devondespresso! Thank you <3

I've mostly been working on prompt fills for Steddie Spooktober, and that's taken up pretty much my whole entire brain, but in the spaces in between, I've been thinking about autistic!Steve

See, Steve sort of "lucks out" in that his special interests fall under what's considered acceptable for a boy to be interested in. He loves sports. He loves cars. He loves learning everything about them - about statistics, about the players, about how engines work, about all the different makes and models there are. He just... has to learn not to talk about these things so much, after a while. Or maybe not talk about them at all, because he thinks they're fascinating, but other people - maybe not so much, and he's bad at gauging when people have lost interest until they're telling him to just shut up already

But he learns

And stimming? Well, it turns out that exercising and playing sports are the perfect, full-body stims for Steve. Things like rocking and flapping his hands and wiggling in place? Not acceptable. Things like going for a jog, swimming laps, shooting basketballs again and again and again until he's perfected his technique? Great; encouraged, even. And for the times when he can't exactly go for a run or start doing sit-ups, he finds something to fidget with; he learns how to spin and twirl pretty much anything he can get his hands on (anything to keep him from doing those socially unacceptable things)

Emotions are harder. When he's a kid, and the world is too loud too close too much and he hasn't learned how to handle it yet, when he has meltdowns, he gets written off as a spoiled brat, crying because he hasn't gotten his way. That's no good, so Steve learns how to internalize it; when things get to be too much, he's likelier to withdraw and shut down. Outsized emotional reactions aren't cool, and they make the other kids pull away from him, so he swerves towards the other end of the spectrum and expresses very little. Being aloof, it turns out, is considered cool, so Steve keeps it up

So he's out there masking so hard that the thing is practically glued to his face when he falls in love with Nancy Wheeler. Nancy, who isn't impressed by his cool facade or by how well he can play basket ball or by who he's friends with, but who seems to like him when he's being a goof, when he lets tiny slivers of himself out

So he lets a little more out. Nancy likes it, likes him, and it makes him feel safe

It doesn't work out, of course - of course. Steve should have known better. No one likes it when he lets all his shit out. He's halfway through duct taping his mask back on when Dustin happens. The kid works his way into the cracks, widens them, makes himself at home there, encourages Steve to be loud and weird if he wants to - all of Dustin's other friends are, and they seem... happy for it

Maybe Steve can be happy that way, too

Maybe he can watch movies he used to consider himself too cool for and come up with a secret handshake that he practices the motions for over and over again because it's fun. Maybe when he and Robin become friends, he can listen to her infodump about foreign languages, and then he can tell her all about sports statistics without worrying that she's going to tell him to shut up. Maybe he can talk to Eddie about cars and learn about them from a new perspective, and he can soak the information up and never wonder if Eddie is getting sick of talking to him. Maybe, with time and distance, he can realize that he and Nancy just hadn't been what the other needed, that she had never hated him, and he can be a goof around her again, and they can make each other smile

Maybe, bit by bit, Steve learns that he doesn't have to cut himself into small pieces in order to be loved, and he thrives

-

Gently tagging @paperbackribs, @estrellami-1, @momotonescreaming, tag-back for @devondespresso, aaaand hell, anyone else who wants to talk about their brainworms. Tag me and show me, I love hearing about people's ideas c:

[steviesbicrisis]

The drama is cleared, the gay ending we all deserve is here.

Corroded Flowers (19/20) - AO3 Prev | Next

And so, this is it. There are a million things I'd like to say but I want to leave them for the epilogue. I wanna thank every single person who has been supporting me through this au, if I got until this point is all thanks to you &lt;3

As for the epilogue, it will be a Q&A to show some stuff I wasn't able to include until now! so if you have any questions you'd like to ask to the fruity four, stuff I've left out, things you're curious about etc. please let me know and I'll do my best to include it!

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Taglist: @legallymarriedtorobinbuckley @loserwithagodcomplex @unclewaynemunson @bookfrog242 @goawayrvse @whimsicalwitchm @lightwoodbanethings @nelotegreitic @kerlypride @munsonmanor @brassreign @e-dollly @yes-im-your-mom @howincrediblysapphicofyou @courtjestermunson @nancewheelerwife @injectingelation @goingsteddi3 @a-little-unsteddie @undreamingscatworld @crykea @stevesbipanic @narcissist-era @hagbaby420 @feministfandomgeek @scarletzgo @whydamnitwhy

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[corrodedcoughin]

So I know celebrity rockstar Eddie with Just-Some-Guy Steve is popular, but what about the opposite?

Steve, who is a professional Basketball player, got scouted from where he played for his college team. The fan fave, the darling of the locals, and one of the best players on the team. Models for sportswear brands, has had interviews and talks at schools and the media loves him. He's handsome, and nice, and has publicly come out.

And then there's Eddie. His boyfriend since college. Just some guy who runs a music store. Started just as a minimum wage worker and then slowly worked his way up to running a small business himself. Sells guitars and drums and other instruments. Vinyl and cds and music merch. Hosts guitar lessons. Is happy playing music because he loves it, not for the fame and money.

Eddie goes to all his games (or as many as he can) and while he's not a sports guy and never will be he loves watching Steve play. Is only about 80% sure of the rules at best and that's good enough for Steve. And Steve who's not a metal fan, and will never be into DnD but will spend his free evenings helping Eddie plan a campaign or listening to this song Eddie's been trying to learn on the guitar.

Idk I just think it's fun to explore the opposite! Eddie getting excited any time he sees people wearing Steve's merch in public and people keep mistaking him for a hardcore fan because no one knows who he is and honestly he's fine with that. He is a big fan of Steve

he's a big fan of steve' MOMO THAT LAST LINE TOOK ME OUT!!!! OHH!!!!

Okay so as always i am IN LOVE with your ideas and where you take them and explore with the space.

Please can I have Eddie who doesn't completely GET sports but he DOES get collecting so he has one of those card books and collects basket ball trading cards. He has a full page of 'Steves' that he every proud of because he's drawn on some of them, giving him different outfits/hair/facial hair/speech bubbles, some include dragon hatcher steve, android steve, malibu barbie steve and pronstache steve (that one wasn't even drawn on, Steve was just trying something new and it got immortailised in a trading card much to Eddie's delight. His personal favourite is a Steve mid spin of the ball on his fingertip, the image of concentration and Eddie has yet to see a photo that highlights the muscle and bite-ability of Steve's arms quite as well as that one.

When Eddie and Steve are out for dinner and Eddie sees a little kid wearing a shirt with Steve's name on it he's quick to point it out to the delight of his boyfriend, both of them trying to figure out a way to subtly let the kid know that 'Harrington' is here.

Eddie who turns up to games with the kids and a foam finger because 'Steve come on its hilarious' but in reality he just loves obnoxiously supporting him. Steve kisses his finger tips and waves to Eddie before running to join the team in the changing rooms. Eddie who catches it and stuffs it in his pocket in the most dramatic way possible. Steve who laughs every time because he wouldn't have it any other way.

[findafight]

Just wanted to let you know that I have not been able to stop thinking about your Steve/Barb au it's so good!! and so interesting to think about how that would change things!! Idk rare pairs are so fun to think about!

Forgive me if this is not where you were going with this but I'm thinking about Barb surviving the demogorgons attack because she's not in the pool with a cut hand. Barb doesn't know where she is or what happened to her, but she's scared and she knows that /something/ is hunting her. Everything smells like rot and decay and all she's focused on is survival. Her glasses are broken and gone, and she's sprained an ankle, but she's alive. Steve's sweatshirt is warm and still smells like him. It's a comfort, she thinks, as she runs and hides in the woods behind Steve's house.

Topside Steve is getting sucked into the Upside down stuff way earlier because his sort of (they haven't made it official yet) girlfriend is missing after leaving his house and she wouldn't just dissapear like that. And he's scared but he has to do /something/.

After some time in the Upside Down, God knows how long, Barb hears something. And it doesn't sound like the monster that's hunting her. So she stays silent, grabs hold of a stick or something to make herself feel safer, and peeks. And it's a boy. Alive. Human. Trapped just like her. And then for a while it's her and Will Byers, growing weaker and trying so hard to stay alive and let people know they're there.

Eventually, they get out. And she's sick and barely holding on and traumatized but she's alive and in the hospital recovering. As soon as Steve's allowed to see her he's there. He's bought flowers and a fluffy teddy bear. He calls her Barbie because he knows she'll roll her eyes fondly at him. He kisses her forehead and holds her hand.

Sorry this isn't more coherent I'm just !!!!!! Thoughts!!!!!

Are you in my brain?? Because exactly. (I have been holding on to "steve is the only one allowed to call her barbie" for way too long. not even romantically just in "barb lives au" they deserve to be annoying friends to each other haha) In the show Barb almost got away, and possibly would have it weren't for the fact she was in the pool, so I don't think it's too far of a stretch for us to say she survives in this au (there is a version where she dies and it's just. Angst. But that's not this one!)

I think the potential for Nancy to suspect Steve of doing something (even when it was Jonathan who is officially the last person to see her) would lead her to Jonathan. Similar to the show, she sort of just...brushes off the creepy pictures (it's both easier and hard for her here because it's not her in the pictures so who cares...but it's Barb [and Steve] so she cares very much, actually) and they go monster hunting without Steve and see the deer and Nancy gets pulled in through the tree etc.

Steve, who's definitely freaking out that is (basically) girlfriend is missing and her best friend is mad at him and won't talk to him, uses his ninja skills to check on her to see if she's okay, and sees her with Jonathan. Nancy isn't his girlfriend so the only thing he's mad about is her hanging out with the perv who took pictures of him and Barb and specifically a picture of her almost in her car which they know she never got into. So he knocks on the window and they jump but let him in. And that's how Steve gets into monster hunting. (idk if Tommy and Carol also join...maybe Steve waves them off through the window, maybe he gestures for them to come to...idk. much to think about. Maybe they don't join the upside down gang but they remain friends with Steve and know Something Happened, but he can't tell them what)

blah blah blah it all basically goes the same except because no cheating allegations there's no graffiti or fight, Steve 100% gives a backhanded apology for breaking Jon's camera "Hey, man. I shouldn't have broken your camera like that even if you deserved it..." or something. The trio fight the demogrogon, even if Steve is a bit, ah, weary of leaving a bunch of twelve-year-olds who have proven that they don't listen to grown ups when they say to leave well enough alone even for their own safety...but leave them he does. Fight an interdimensional monster with a nailbat he does. Dies, he doesn't.

Meanwhile, now that our girl Barb has survived he initial confrontation with the monster with no face, she's wandering, hiding, around the woods behind Steve's house except...it's not actually Steve's house. It's some twisted up version, and it's dark and creepy and oh so scary. Her glasses are cracked through one lens but it's better than not being able to see at all or not feel the comforting weight on her nose, and Steve's sweatshirt is big, comfy, and smells like him. She holds onto these tiny bits of home as she tries to figure out how to get out of...wherever she is.

At some point, she hears shuffling in the woods, but not from the monster. It's definitely smaller, and...there's a voice. Singing. She walks over quietly, and says "hi". the little boy jumps and stares, wide-eyed. They stick together, she holds him close.

When all is said and done, she and Will end up sharing a hospital room, due to Upside Down convenience. She;s older and wasn't in it for as long, but she's still weak. Her parents are besides themselves, having been told it was a gas leak that led her to be disoriented and lost in the woods, only by grace of god did she find and help Will.

Steve is behind them, with scratches on his face and a haunted look in his eye, but he smiles a little, and wiggles his fingers at her. She wiggles hers back. Her parents shuffle around, and leave the room to talk to the doctor. He sits beside her and reaches out to gently fiddle with her fingers.

"Hey," she says.

His voice is soft, when he responds, "hey," and doesn't take his eyes off her face.

She squeezes his fingers a bit. "heard you fought an interdimensional monster with, like, a lot of teeth for me."

He shrugs, squeezes back. "also to get Will Byers back."

"He's a good kid." she flicks her eyes to where little Will is being smothered by his gaggle of friends who nearly died trying to get him back.

Steve blinks rapidly, and tucks his chin to his chest. "I was so worried, Barbie." the nickname usually annoys Barb, too baby-ish, too connected to the doll, too...a lot of things. But Steve says it like it's precious, like she's precious, and she thinks letting her boyfriend (because that's what he is, isn't he? What's a boy you kiss and who would fight monsters to find you?) can call her Barbie.

"I'm back. I'm okay now."

"Yeah. But. Christ, things could have gone so much worse." He pinches the bridge of his nose, squeezes his eyes shut.

"Hey." she rubs the back of his hand with her thumb. "Hey. It didn't though. The government goons will be on us, sure. But Will is safe. I'm safe. All those kids and Nancy and Jonathan are safe. You're safe. Okay? And, when I get out of here, you're taking me out for burgers and milkshakes."

He smiles, actually smiles all squinty-eyed and toothy, "Yeah. okay. It's a date."

"Yeah, it is. I've got high expectations, Harrington. Killing a monster for a girl really sets the bar high, you know."

He laughs, and presses a kiss to her cheek, smiling.

(later, he tells her everything that happened on the rightside up, and she tells Jonathan to burn the negatives and that her boyfriend has a nailbat he's pretty good with, so he better not try to trick her...)

and idk. i think they're cute. They bicker, and Steve chooses topics just to rile her up so she'll roll her eyes at him but then explain why exactly he's wrong in step-by-step detail, and he also scoops her up and twirls her around and kisses her in the halls. they're gross and in love. In s2, i think Nancy still wants to expose the lab (other people did die, those hunters? what happened to them?) and both steve and barb are like "they will kill us" (pragmatic duo) so that's why they both go to nancy's to try to talk to her about it, which is how dustin kidnaps them, etc.

s3 we get scoops troop except robin is just tallying how many times Steve sighs dreamily until his gf comes by and he turns into a golden retriever and robin is like. ew. straight people (they are not, actually. I have a coming out scene between starb (seriously i need to figure out a ship name for them haha) that involves barb telling steve she once had a crush on nancy and steve's like yes obviously everybody has crushes on their best friend of the same gender you just don't do anything about it...like buddy...do i have news for you...bi4bi starbara) anyways the five of them get stuck in the elevator, stobin still hold the door, get tortured, etc, but this time dustin and erica have Angry Protective GF on their side. They get out, steve and robin have bathroom confessionals, which involves robin asking if steve's ever been in love and then immediately realizing he's going to wax poetic about Barb and steve also being like "i wanna be your best friend sooo bad barb said i maybe have a crush on you but i don't i wanna be like, the best man at your wedding, y'know? you're so fun and make me laugh and I want you and Barb to get along because I love Barbie and omg you could be my kids' auntieeee..." and robin tells him that he doesn't know her, and if he did he wouldn't want her around any of his hypothetical future children, tells him about tammy, and they sing total eclipse of the heart when dustin erica and barb bust in, and steve is like "barbie, honey pie, robin is gonna be our kids' godmother." as though that makes any sense. everyone else is like ????

idk i just like monster fighting power couple barb/steve a lot i think theyre neat.

[stevethehairington]

hello!! r i n g s for wip wednesday?

hiiiii momo!! ty for sending this!! 💕💕

the latest three sentences from r i n g s!

“Shit,” Eddie breathes out, awed. “Look at you,” he says, raking his eyes over Steve. His flushed face, his heaving chest, his obvious arousal.

wip wednesday

[theweewooshow]

✨wip wednesday✨

tagged by @evansboyfriend 🥰🥰🥰

(honestly you would never guess the title of this fic in my docs from this snippet)

It’s insane to Tommy, how he never really knew what it meant to really miss someone until Evan stumbled into his life. Tommy’s good at compartmentalizing, good at separating his work life from all other parts of himself. When he’s at work, there’s no room for other thought—not while he’s in the air, not when he’s trying to save lives.

But he’d gotten so good at it that it bled into his down time at work too. He never let himself think of the people he’s dated while hanging out in the rec room at work before. Partly because it never felt safe at the 118 and the habit stuck even after he left.

And he’s never dated anyone quite like Evan, never dated someone who weaseled their way past all his defenses, never dated someone who loved him so openly and fully, never dated someone who he felt safe to love back like that.

He had someone who he was in love with before, but it was a quiet kind of love, one he was able to push down the minute he walked past the front doors at work.

He’s not able to push it down with Evan. How could he, really, when Evan’s sending him memes and texts and calling him when there’s shared down time, when Evan has touched every part of his life now?

When looking around the hangar, he sees the ghost of Evan leaning against a stool in the kitchen as he flirts with Tommy in front of his coworkers. He sees him laughing with Lucy as he waits in the parking lot for Tommy to get done after a shift.

When he takes out his shirt to put on at the start of the day, he remembers Evan wearing it in his house, Kinard stamped right there on his chest, unfurling a possession in Tommy that he didn't know existed before now.

no pressure tags: @aringofsalt @momotonescreaming @erodingsinner @apassingbird @jellobody @agenttommykinard @bidisasterevankinard

[cranberrymoons]

coffee shop au 👀

coffee shop au!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

“This is Steve,” Eddie says, gesturing between them. “Steve, Chrissy. Chrissy, the guy that I don’t want you to scare away.” She rolls her eyes, a conspiratorial little shake of her head. “Please. As if I’d be able to scare anyone off.” “Don’t let her fool you,” Eddie says into his ear. “She’s much scarier than she looks.”

make me write for wip weekend!