#UD eddie??

[milf-harrington]

canon-divergence: max survives and vecna does not but the rifts still open for plot reasons, eddie does not exist as a hawkins citizen and is instead an upside down creature that comes through after the earthquake + steve's just kind of like "i guess"

---

Steve wondered when he'd stopped being phased by these things.

There was a time when all of the Upside Down shit had affected him normally. Had him flipping out in a panic, had him running.

Now, after four years of it, it was starting to feel like just another weekday.

There was something hanging out by his pool, but it was 7 in the morning and hadn't made a move to attack him, so, until he made coffee: it was none of his business.

He drank it in the sun room, blinds open for a clear view of the pool yard and the thing wandering around it. It was kind of human shaped, except for the wings and the tail and the claws that Steve could see from where he was sitting.

Maybe he should call Robin. She still had normal reactions to this stuff.

He paused, watching the creature tentatively reach down to touch the water before startling away, wings flapping. Actually, from the start, Robin hadn't reacted normally to any of it.

(He hadn't forgotten the time she'd told him about spitting in the Russian's face when she thought they'd killed him. Or the way she laughed when she thought they were going to kill her.)

The creature danced further around the pool, still peering curiously into the water. It lowered itself right down until its chest was brushing the cement, reaching for the water again, wings poised like it was ready to flee. It flinched when it's fingers brushed the surface, but didn't pull away and Steve watched as it plunged its whole hand in with a splash before pulling it back out to watch the water drip from its claws.

Steve put his empty cup down on a side table and stood up, nodding to himself before jogging upstairs to grab his bat from his room.

-

The pool yard was empty.

Steve yanked the sliding door open anyway, stepping outside like it would magically cause the creature to appear. Nothing.

Fingers curled tight around the handle of his bat, he circled the pool from a safe distance, scanning the surrounding woods as he went. The only evidence that he hadn't been imagining shit were the dark patches of water splashed across the cement.

Facing the deafening quiet of an empty backyard, armed with a monster-slaying weapon, Steve felt the first whispers of unease curl beneath his ribs. It was kind of like finding a spider in your room, always worse when you lost track of where it had gone.

Cautiously, Steve headed back inside, locking the door behind him with another glance across the backyard. He really should call the others, let them know the rifts had spat something new out.

He thought about the way it had played with the water, and wondered if maybe not every creature from the Upside Down was bad. If maybe, now that Vecna was gone, they were changing.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he kicked something, sending it skittering towards the hallway, under the indoor balcony. Steve frowned, confused, as he looked from the mug laying on the floor to the side table he thought he'd put it on.

Must have knocked it off, he realised as he walked over to pick it up.

As he did, he noticed the ceramic was oddly wet, and he quickly scanned the carpet to see if there'd been any coffee left in the cup that had spilled over the floor. Everything was as clean as he'd left it, so-

Something cold dripped on the back of his hand and he blinked, staring at the droplet in surprise. Another landed on his wrist, and a third hit the back of his neck and rolled down his shirt. He flinched in surprise, dropping the bat to slap a hand to the back of his neck as he looked up.

He came face-to-face with large, dark eyes, and an inky mop of dripping hair, two leathery wings flared slightly for balance.

Alarmed, he threw the cup at it.

#i might come back to this #hopefully #bc i have ideas #but also i don't control the writing machine the writing machine works when it wants to work #uhhh #idk what to call this #UD eddie?? #also it's important to me that you know that eddie was hanging upside down from the railing like the monkeybars #BUT he had his legs like. /through/ the railing and then his tail wrapped around the pillars #and you know how people hold their arms out to keep balance?? that's what his wings are doing #i just had a really strong mental image for what eddie's doing right there but i didn't get a chance to write it #but now you know #my writing #eddie munson #monster eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie #TECHNICALLY #bc that's where i wanted to go with it #anyway #love you all #goodnight #hope you enjoy #upside down eddie #<- i like that name for it i think im gonna go with that #it works doubly bc he likes to hang upside down

[kennahjune]

Thinking of Steddie Soulmates where you feel every pain your soulmate feels.

Thinking of little Steve feeling every backhand and punch from Eddie’s dad.

Thinking of little Eddie feeling Steve break his arm and the pain being so much worse because his parents refuse to take him to the hospital until the school gets involved.

Thinking of Eddie finally moving in with Wayne and sure, the paternal beating are done, but now he’s just a small town Freak that’s constantly targeted.

Thinking of Eddie and Steve in their Sophomore/Freshman years respectively, not knowing who the other is outside of rumors and (unknowingly) their shared pain.

Thinking of Eddie finally escaping pain, the bullying turning to mainly verbal shit.

Only to be thrust right back into pain because his soulmates a walking hazard.

Thinking of Eddie having no idea what’s going on when he suddenly feels like one giant bruise after Steve’s beat up by Jonathan. Eddie watching Steve fall from grace in his Junior year and not connecting the dots.

Billy coming along and smashing a fucking plate over Steve’s head while Eddie’s peacefully sleeping. Eddie jolting awake with a shout because /holy fucking shit ow—/

Neither of them connecting the dots.

Then Steve graduates, and Eddie’s held back. And the pain subsides for a bit.

And then fuck all happens in Starcourt and Eddie literally feels like he’s dying and Jesus H. Christ is his soulmate /ok/??? Like they are getting seriously fucked up.

And then that recedes and it ok for a while— Eddie will still get killer pains that seem to circulate in his chest and head, but that’s to be expected with whatever tf his poor soulmate is going through year after year.

And then the fuckery of March 1986 happens and Chrissy Cunningham is dead in his trailer— his home— and he’s wanted for fucking murder and hiding in Rick’s dingy ass boat house—

And then he’s shoving none other than Steve Harrington up against a wall with a broken bottle helps to his throat. Eddie’s so piped on adrenaline he barely feels the sting in his back, but he does feel the zing of pressure on his throat and ok /ow—/

And he’s staring at Steve Harrington, who looks kinda terrified and so pretty and Eddie’s holding a bottle to his throat and is that Dustin?—

And—

And holy shit.

Eddie’s eyes widen at the same time as Steve’s and the realization hits them both at once.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #robin buckley #will byers #lucas sinclair #steddie #max mayfield #el hopper #steddie fics #steddie idea #steddie soulmate au #gonna do smth with steve and robin being literal platonic soulmates #steve and eddie going through the bat bites #steve saving eddie in the UD because of their soul bond #i can’t think of anything else #I’m so fucking tired 😭 #goodnight (probably)

[mardyart]

it’s the 90s, they’re still pining

#i just Love drawing them in little beards and their matching scars #and of course they’re painfully pining over each other like five to ten years after vecna and ud #steddie #steve x eddie #eddie x steve #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fanart #stranger things #stranger things fanart #stranger things 4 #art #fanart #artists on tumblr

[stevethehairington]

Steve loves Eddie's tummy.

It is one of the absolute best parts of Eddie — the softness of his hips, the little pudge of his belly, the squish of his abdomen. It's Steve's favorite place to nuzzle into, to kiss, to touch, to bite.

Most evenings end with the two of them curled together on the couch, watching whatever movie or television show catches their interest that night. They usually start out side by side on the cushions, but over the course of that first hour they slowly but surely shift around so that Steve ends up with his head in Eddie's lap. Eddie's fingers always find a home in Steve's hair, absentmindedly carding through the soft strands.

It's cozy, it's comfortable, and at some point, Steve will sigh softly and turn to bury his face into Eddie's stomach. Whatever's on tv becomes nothing more than background noise as he rubs his cheek against Eddie's tummy, as he nuzzles into the softness, arms loosely wound around Eddie's waist to hold him there. He'll leave a sweet kiss over Eddie's t-shirt, then squish his nose against his belly button and just lie there, face pressed into Eddie's stomach, just breathing.

Just enjoying the closeness.

Eddie will laugh softly and tell Steve that he's missing the movie, and Steve will just shake his head briefly and mumble back that he doesn't care. (It makes Eddie laugh again and squirm a little, because Steve's so close that the movement of his head, of his mouth — it tickles a little.)

But Eddie won't question it again, will just let Steve nuzzle against him and continue to pet his hair until he eventually falls asleep like that.

Steve also loves to shower Eddie's tummy with all the attention when they're in the bedroom (or wherever they make it to before they get too carried away) and are getting hot and heavy.

He loves to press Eddie back into the mattress, bare chested and breathing harder already. Steve will kiss him deeply, once, twice, three times, before he starts his descent. It starts with a kiss to the corner of his mouth, to the scar along his cheek, to the sharp of his jaw. Then Steve will press soft, sweet kisses to the hollow of Eddie's throat, the edge of his collar, one over his heart and another over the scar tissue where his left nipple would be. He'll trail those kisses down Eddie's ribcage, taking his time with it, showing each patch of scarred skin the love and attention it deserves. He'll leave a kiss right above his belly button, will sometimes dip his tongue in if he wants to make Eddie laugh.

And when he finally makes it to the soft pouch of Eddie's tummy, he'll kiss it. Gently, affectionately, tenderly. And then — he'll bare his teeth and he'll bite. Nothing too hard (unless Eddie asks for it), but he'll sink his teeth into the pudge, he'll nibble at the softness, he'll start to suck bruises into the skin until Eddie's squirming below him and straining in his boxers. Sometimes Steve will tease a little more, will kiss the parts of his tummy that are close to the waistband, his nose or cheek brushing over where Eddie wants him to touch the most. Other times he'll show Eddie some mercy, will leave one last kiss to his stomach before turning his attention even lower.

But he never forgets to show Eddie just how sexy he finds his tummy.

The touching isn't always sexual, though. There's something comforting to Steve about just touching for the sake of touch. And Eddie's tummy is one of his favorite places to do just that. He'll take any and every opportunity he gets to get his hands all over the softness of his stomach.

When Eddie's in the kitchen, standing at the stove to cook their breakfast Steve will sleepily trudge up to him and drape himself over his back. He'll tuck his chin over Eddie's shoulder, and he'll curl his arms around Eddie's middle, hugging onto him. Steve's hands will sneak their way beneath the hem of Eddie's shirt (or, his shirt, because Eddie has a habit of stealing Steve's clothes, especially in the mornings), and he'll just press the flat of his whole palm to Eddie's belly. Just to cover the warm skin. Just to touch.

Or whenever they're in a crowded room together — whether it be the bustling kitchen of the Hopper-Byers clan on Thanksgiving, or the middle of the thriving dancefloor of their favorite club in Indy, or squished together in the audience at a show, Steve will always find a way to touch Eddie there.

He'll hold onto Eddie's hips, curling his fingers around the love handles. Using his touch to shift Eddie out of the way when Mike barrels through with the kitchen without warning, hoisting the pie above his head. Staking his claim with his grip and the reassuring thumb he sweeps across the soft skin, dipping beneath the waistband of Eddie's jeans when he's feeling cheeky as a promise for more later. Squeezing gently when the crowd surges and jostles them both to say "hey, it's just me, I'm right here".

Steve just loves Eddie's lil tum, and he'll do anything and everything in his power to show him that. To shower him and his soft stomach with all the love in the world.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #eddie munsons soft tummy my beloved <3 #(LOL that tag autopopulated but its RIGHT) #anyways steve loves eddies lil tum and SO DO I!!! #and also this all gets uno reversed right back at steve!!! bc after hs and after the UD stuff ends he can finally relax & finally not WORRY #and so he gets softer. squishier. and eddie LOVES it on steve just as much as steve loves it on him #they are both Tummy Guys #they are tummy4tummy #just let steve and eddie be soft and squishy and in love!!!

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Steddie Upside-down AU Part 21

Part 1 Part 20

Steve’s dragging his feet on their way out the door, not that Eddie can blame him. He’s practically been vivisected by that thing twice now, and Eddie can’t blame him for not wanting to see it again.

Eddie wants to sandwich Steve in the middle. He’s listing on his feet, and his skin’s ashy and pale from all the blood loss. But he’d shoved Will in-between them like usual, and that was that.

He keeps his pace slow and measured without making it obvious he’s doing it. Steve will kick up a fuss if he realizes it’s to accommodate him. He keeps his ears peeled.

They’re walking around in a hellscape, weaponless. Just like old times.

They don’t make it to the quarry. They’ve barely made it anywhere at all when there’s a scream that sounds alarmingly human.

It, of course, comes from the woods. The trees tower over them, casting looming shadows. They all freeze like dear in the crosshairs of a car’s headlights.

It’s quiet.

So, so quiet.

Then, “Nancy?” muffled, like it’s being screamed through a straw. “Nancy, are you there?”

“Jonathan,” Will says, taking off into the woods, Steve right behind him because “Nancy” can’t mean anyone other than Nancy Wheeler.

“No, no don’t,” Eddie says, knowing it’s too late. “Son of a bitch!” The trees cast shadows, long and menacing as they swallow Steve and Will up. Eddie runs. “Oh, this is so stupid, this is so stupid.”

“Follow my voice!” Jonathan calls again. Eddie does.

He doesn’t hear the clicking of the Demogorgon until he sees it. Will and Steve are frozen, watching it stalk toward where Nancy Wheeler is crouched, peering into a pulsing red light between two trees.

Steve turns toward Eddie, eyes wild. “Keep the kid alive, Munson.”

Eddie’s stomach lurches violently enough that bile fills his mouth. Because Steve is standing there, weaponless and injured. There’s ash coating his hair, band-aids plastered to his forehead, dirt caking his pants to his thighs. A fallen angel in the making.

“No,” he whispers, voice gaining volume as his words gain speed. “No, no, don’t do this to me.” He takes a step toward Steve, not caring at the twig snapping beneath his foot. “Come on, come one, I dare you to stay alive.”

Steve smiles with his whole face. Blood drips down from beneath the bandages on his forehead. It looks black in the shadowed wood. “I didn’t pick dare he says.”

Then, beautiful, brave, fucking stupid Steve Harrington runs at the Demogorgon, screaming as he punches it in the back of its head.

“Come get me, you fucker,” Steve spits. The Demogorgon’s face splits open, and it screeches, guttural.

“Steve?” Nancy calls. Her hands stuck in the red light now, but she’s just sitting there, staring at Steve like she’s never seen him before.

The last thing Eddie sees of Steve Harrington is his back as he bolts through the trees, the Demogorgon following close behind.

“Eddie,” Will cries. He’s tugging Eddie relentlessly toward where Nancy’s still crouched. They’re stumbling over every root and rock because Eddie refuses to look away from the spot Steve had been. If he looks away, that’ll be it. Steve will be gone.

But then the kid shoves him, hard, and he falls. Nancy Wheeler latches onto his arm hard. Just as unrelenting as Will’s grip on his waist.

They’re pulled through the pulsing red hole in the world. It’s a squeezing, almost violent pressure, that pops along with his eardrums once they’re free.

It’s nighttime in the real world. He doesn’t realize the shadows of that place had been wrong until he seems the right once more. His breath comes easy, clear of ash and that pulsing red. He doesn’t care.

Eddie turns back to where they’d come, but it’s just fucking bark. Innate fucking wood. He slams the heel of his palm on it, trying to find any give at all.

“Will?” Jonathan says, voice breaking. Eddie doesn’t care, barely registers it at all.

“No,” Eddie cries. He doesn’t feel his nails give as he starts clawing at the thing, like he can scratch his way back to where he’s supposed to be. “No, no, no!”

He doesn’t stop until someone pulls him bodily back and away. He struggles like an animal in a trap. Doesn’t stop until another set of arms box him in, holding him back.

He sags, bringing all three of them to the ground. His throat feels raw, like he’s been screaming. Maybe he has.

He lands partially on other bodies, feels them shove him off. Doesn’t care. Just stares at the bark where Steve Harrington isn’t until Will calls, “Eddie?”

He turns on hands and knees. The ground is cold, but Eddie barely feels it. Will’s in his brother’s arms, face pressed into Jonathan’s chest, one eye watching Eddie, wide and trusting.

Nancy is on her butt in the dirt, mouth still parted in shock as she looks at the same spot Eddie was just staring at. She’s wearing a brown jacket with pristine white trim, hair in a perky ponytail. Eddie wants to yank it clean off her head.

Beside Nancy, her redheaded friend sits, squinting suspiciously between Eddie, and Will, and Nancy, then back to Eddie, like she can’t figure out who’s fault this is.

It’s Eddie’s. He sinks his fingers into the dirt, clutching it in his fingers, even as his messed-up pinkie screams. He barely feels it past the shock.

He can still see Steve Harrington’s back as he turned away for the last time.

“I’ve got to go back,” Eddie says, looking up at Nancy imploringly. “How do I go back?”

Nancy shakes her head, shaking loose a few tears that trail down her cheeks. “I don’t—” she says, swallowing. “I don’t know.”

Eddie makes a sound like a wounded dog, full of unwanted pain and impotent rage.

“Why the hell would we go back?” Nancy’s friend asks.

It’s like the words are the last cut needed to break him. Eddie starts sobbing, barely hears Will’s answer over his own devastation.

“It’s Steve,” he says. “He’s still there.”

Part 22

#steddie upsidedown au #steddie fic #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #my fic #eddie in my outline was supposed to stay in the UD but then he just didn't???? so

[sourw0lfs]

My 'Steve gets taken instead of Barb' AU has been churning in my brain for a couple of weeks now and I'm desperate to give it some love and attention, even if I have other WIPs that need my attention more, so I'm throwing a sneak peek out into the world <3

~*~*~*~

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?”

Steve’s voice is little more than a frantic whisper as he tries to right himself, hands and feet scrambling under him as they slide on… he doesn’t even know what that is, but it feels disgusting under his fingers. And he wants— No, he needs to get away from it now.

He also desperately needs to get away from whatever the fuck is growling nearby.

Finally he gets some kind of traction and propels himself out of… Steve doesn’t stop to look around and find out. Instead he just heaves himself up and takes off for the line of dead, decrepit trees he can see in the distance. His breaths come in harsh pants and he wants to look over his shoulder, to see if what he heard is chasing him, but he doesn’t. Instead he keeps his eyes forward, pushing as much as he can to create distance between himself and whatever the fuck that thing is.

It’s only once the burn in his legs is too much to bear that Steve stops. His palms find his knees as he doubles over, chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath again. Every muscle in his body feels like it’s going to shake free with how much he’s tremble, both from the exertion and the fear, and it’s all Steve can do to keep his feet under him.

Around him, the world is quiet, broken only by the strained gasps.

Once he finally feels like he might not pass out from lack of air, Steve straightens up and looks around. It’s hard to make anything out in the dark, but he can see the faint outline of bare trees and dark shadows of undergrowth. There’s something off about it all, a sense of wrongness coming over him as he looks around. The area looks familiar and foreign at the same time and he didn’t even know something could do that.

Turning back the way he’d come from, Steve takes a single step before hissing in pain and crumpling to the ground. The rush of adrenaline that fueled his escape is gone now, leaving only a sharp sting down the bottom half of his right leg in its wake. Fingers shaking, Steve prods at the area, whimpering to himself a bit when it makes the pain worse. His fingers come back dark and wet.

Blood.

Whatever it is that grabbed him has also shredded the skin of his leg in the process. Perfect, great, fantastic, amazing.

Sob ripping free of its own volition, Steve falls back. He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know a damn thing about dealing with fucking claw marks. He doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t know how to reach help. He doesn’t know if that thing is coming back. He doesn’t know what to do.

Tears slide down from his eyes, down his face to his ears, but Steve doesn’t make any move to wipe them away. Instead he just lays there, staring up at the discomfortingly red sky above him. He’s never seen a red sky before. It would maybe be pretty to look at if he wasn’t spiraling and catastrophizing.

Lightning streaks across the dark clouds, and Steve startles at the sudden brightness of it. But it’s something. It’s enough to get him pushing himself back up, to wipe his eyes with dirty hands, to collect his thoughts again. His leg stings with each movement, but he knows he can’t stay on the ground. He has to go…somewhere. Anywhere but here. Except the part where Steve doesn’t know where he is.

The ground is wet under his palms as he drags himself towards on the twisted trees surrounding him. Reaching it, Steve reaches up to grab onto a branch, hoping and praying that it doesn’t crack under his weight, and uses it to pull himself up. The bark is dry and rough against his skin as he pulls, but the branch holds and Steve gets his feet under himself again.

Leaning heavily against the trunk as Steve tests how much weight he can put on his torn apart right leg. “Fuck!” he swears when the pain sears all the way up as soon as his foot touches the ground.

Another sob tears its way free as Steve leans on the dead tree for a moment, breathing heavily through his nose until the flash of pain fades away again. Once he can straighten up enough to look around again, Steve feels the need to sob again. He really has no idea where he’s at.

#fox writes things #steddie #because i can't write any other ships #don't look at me #it's just gonna be the slowest fucking burn in existence since steve's in the UD for like three years #it's fine #he's fine #everything is fine #steddie fic #steddie fanfic #steddie brainrot #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson

[estrellami-1]

If I Should Stay

On the 15th, as promised! Ngl, I definitely almost forgot this. I have SO many feelings about this one, y’all check the tags if you want my ramblings. Buckle up. Also, happy stabbing Caesar day.

Part 1 | . . . | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66

Steve works his jaw, staring at Will. “Yeah,” he whispers. Will looks down. “Hey,” Steve says gently. “That’s not on you, okay? And Jonathan’s a really great guy. He and Nancy both had a lapse in judgement. They got together a while later and they were better for each other than she and I ever were.”

“But they hurt you.”

Steve chuckles. “In the moment, sure. But I’m fine now, I’ve moved on. It surprised me just now because I didn’t expect her to react like that. I know that’s not who she is as a person, and I’m sure as soon as Joyce talks to her about it and she’s had some time to think about it, she’ll come apologize. But none of that is on you, okay?”

Will shrugs, playing with the hem of his pants.

Steve glances at Eddie, who winks and plops down cross-legged next to Will, nudging their shoulders together. “My dad’s in jail.” Will looks up at him, surprised. Eddie shrugs. “I’ve had time to process, but it took me a while to realize he just isn’t a good person. Now, my momma was an angel among women, she just had a disease. It didn’t make her a bad person. But they’re my parents, so that must mean I’m a bad person with a disease, right?”

“No!” Will says emphatically. “Just because they-” he pauses, mouth a perfect circle, before flushing and ducking his head, smiling a little. “Okay. I get it.”

“Good kid,” Eddie says fondly, ruffling his hair. “Now, back to the planning?”

“Probably,” Steve nodded. “First things first, who wants out?”

“Papa hurt El?” Mike asks. Steve nods. “Then let’s kill this fucker.”

“Language,” say all the adults, and Mike rolls his eyes.

“I’m in,” Will adds.

“Me too,” Dustin says, and Lucas nods.

Steve looks around, and all the adults present nod at him. Robin squeezes his hand, and Alli pulls him closer to her by his shoulders. “Alright, little brother,” she says. He elbows her. “What’s the plan?”

Steve sighs and looks to El. “What do you think, Ellie?”

“Everyone else is dead,” she murmurs. “But if I go into the rainbow room, I will see them.”

Steve’s heart breaks. “You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to.”

She smiles sadly at him. “You cannot promise me that, Steve.”

He meets Robin’s eyes above El’s head, watches her heart break. “Watch me.” He looks back to El. “I know what he put you through, El.”

“He loves me.”

Steve takes a breath, shuts his eyes for a moment. “Remember what I told you, last time you said that?”

El nods. “You thought the same thing about your parents.”

“Exactly. It took me a long time to learn, but they don’t love me. And there’s nothing I can do to change that. Even if I was perfect, that wouldn’t be enough for them. Does that make sense?”

She nods. “You love me differently from how Papa loves me.”

“Yeah,” Steve whispers. “Which do you like better?”

“Yours.”

“Do you know why?”

She thinks about it for a minute. “You love me because you see Ellie. He loves me because he sees Eleven.”

Next to him, Alli makes a broken sound. Steve reaches back to hold her hand. “Yeah, Ellie. That’s exactly right.”

“I do not want to only be Eleven anymore,” she decides. “I want to be Ellie.”

“And that’s why I’ll do all of it myself if I have to,” Steve tells her. “So you can be Ellie. You don’t have to go in the rainbow room, okay?”

“Okay,” she nods, wiggling around until she can bury her face in his neck and whisper, “I trust you.”

He blinks quickly. “I’m glad,” he whispers back.

“Ellie,” Wayne says, voice not much steadier than Steve’s. She shifts to look at him from where she’s tucked into Steve. “We all want you t’be just Ellie if you want it. We’re all gonna be right there with you.”

“Thank you,” she says quietly. “Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“I won’t be strong enough. If I see Papa.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Hopper says, checking his gun. She shifts to look at him. “He’s not going to hurt you again.”

She frowns and buries her face back in Steve’s neck. “I’m happy,” she murmurs. “But I’m also very sad.”

Steve sighs and hugs her tightly. “I know how you feel.”

“I don’t like feeling this way.”

“I know, El. I don’t think there’s really any way to get rid of the feeling, though.”

“Just life,” Alli says quietly, scooting closer and laying a comforting hand on El’s upper arm. “I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true.”

El looks up at Alli. “Okay. What’s a cliché?”

Alli meets Steve’s eyes, a smile starting to spread, and Steve thinks everything’s going to be okay.

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#stranger things #if I should stay #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #robin buckley #Allison Harrington #el hopper #will Byers #ok SO. Will. he’s defensive of Steve not Jon bc Steve helped save him from the UD #this is very near and dear to my heart #also EL #WANTING TO BE ELLIE #NOT ELEVEN #YALL I CRIED WRITING THIS #I BROKE MY HEART EDITING IT #this is the singular best character study I have EVER done #I am. SO in love with her jfc #If Steve had a mean bone in his body THIS would be his villain origin story #fix it #fix it fic #time travel #time travel fic #time travel fix it #time travel fix it fic #starambles

[fastcardotmp3]

truman show esque "trapped in a reality you think is The reality when it is, in fact, just an experiment in which you are the subject" situation except when Steve gets dragged through the gate at Lover's Lake, when the rest of them follow him into the Upside Down, it's like the place has been adapting since the last time any of their people were here.

The Upside Down made itself into a mirror of Hawkins for a boy who it wanted to keep, but it didn't do so great the first time around. Vines and thick air and cold, it may have memorized the map of the place it was emulating, but it never quite got the details right.

The thing is, it's had time to learn. It was in Will's head, for fuck's sake, took over the bodies of countless Hawkins residents during the Starcourt fiasco of '85, so by the time Spring Break of '86 rolls around, the Upside Down knows.

It's a living thing and it knows better how to be a mirror, how to maybe better keep that boy here next time it gets ahold of him. Only before Will Byers has the chance to stumble his way back through one of the gates being created just for him, just for him and his sister, there are four others who are maybe a good trial run.

It's confusing for them, on the other side of being dragged to the bottom of a lake. It's confusing because it actually looks like Hawkins, smells like it, the water is the same in the lake and the mud feels the same on the shore.

It's less like being dragged to the bottom at all, actually, because the water makes them weightless, makes the transition disorienting rather than a clear crossing between worlds, so when they resurface and it looks the same it's. It's not the Upside Down the way Steve saw it in the tunnels, it's not the Upside Down the way Will or Joyce or Hopper or El described it.

Maybe there are hints and clues out and about-- unnatural chill for the season and tree roots that kick up out of the earth a bit more frequently, a haze to both nighttime and daylight that makes it feel gray and-- artificial almost? But none of that is enough to combat the sense of disorientation, the knowledge in their heads of what the UD actually looks like, and there's this fog in their heads...

There's this fog...

Their people aren't on the shore waiting for them under that starless night sky, but that's actually-- were there people waiting here for them at all?

It was just the four of them, right? It was just--

There are people here, when they decide to, um, "how did you hurt yourself, Steve? We need to-- shit, that needs to be disinfected, like, yesterday."

Robin's worried about rabies but Steve reminds her, "that's an animals thing, I just, like, fell on, uh-- those rocks at the lake? When we were swimming?"

It's too hard to question why they all went swimming in their clothes when it's this cold and dark. The fog is-- it's thick but also untraceable, it's like trying to make a logical decision in the middle of the most absurd of dreams.

It's like darkness encroaching in on your vision when you're involuntarily losing consciousness...

There are people here, when they decide to go find a first aid kit at Nancy's place because it's closest. There are a handful of cars driving around town, Mrs. Brady putting out her trash down the street when they sneak past.

Mrs. Brady, she was-- she is-- she-- but last summer during the-- the issue with-- there was a whole thing and she di--

Nancy's parents are out.

Steve's bites scrapes are oozing and painful and Nancy slaps at Eddie's hand when he tries to snoop at her diary.

The sun rises. The sun only just set. There are people here but they're-- were there people waiting for them on the shore?

There was something, some reason, why they were at the lake and that's important. That has to be important, somewhere beyond the fog.

When they fall asleep in the light of a too-quick morning, like the sun turned on rather than rose, it's not weird that there's no one else in the Wheeler house.

"Stop looking at me, I can feel you," Robin mutters as she dozes off to sleep on the bed beside Nancy, the boys on a spare mattress on the floor.

Everyone else is already asleep.

#apparently I want to write today but only about things not relevant to my big wip like first max feelings now this pls #dot post #dot fic #ronance #steddie #(sorta for both. pre steddie ronance if you will) #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #stranger things fic #in the big version of this that is forming in my head everyone killed by the UD shows up in 'town' #but in various states of themselves depending on how they died #aka we get chrissy and barb back is my point jfkladj

[pittsburghhockeybirds]

F this, F that, F everything

#are.... ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? #THATS HOW YOU KILL EDDIE? #JUST LEAVE HIS CORPSE LIKE THAT AND NO ONE BUT HIS UNCLE AND DUSTIN MOURN FOR HIM? #This season has done more damage to the fans than the UD has done to Hawkins this season #ALSO JOPPER!!!! FINALLY. HAPPENED. #JANCY IS BACK TOGETHER!!!!!! #MILEVEN IS OK!!! #LUMAX PLEASE BE OK MAX PLEASE BE OK #FUCK VECNA ALL MY HOMIES HATE VECNA #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things spoilers #st spoilers #st4 vol2 #st4 spoilers #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson #What a season good GOD

[rainbowrobin]

the real question is how has eddie’s hanker chief survived in his back pocket for this long

#running in the woods #hiding in said woods #diving in a lake #fighting bats #running through ud woods #I mean? #casting dept said. yeah this is important we need to keep it. doesn’t matter that he’s gone through shit #like we understand the meaning ok #stranger things #eddie munson #joseph quinn #mine #stmine

[cosmicbash]

It’s my one day off for the week! So you know what that means!

WIP TIME

The gangs gotta fill Eddie in on the whole proper story eventually, so, why not over some food and milkshakes??

#this is my first time drawing everyone but steddie #bahahaha #argyle is straight vibing to his food #robin wants to think of anything BUT gross demodogs and ud slime #johnathan byers #stranger things #stranger things art #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #argyle #eddie munson #technically not ship art #but #still #steddie #my art #procreate #digital art

[bit-odd-innit]

Lucas & Eddie is one of the more fascinating dynamics to me because I think there’d be this, like, mutual guilt? And a need to make amends with each other? Eddie for making Lucas feel othered for the crime of Having a Mainstream Interest when his whole Ethos is making people feel included; Lucas for siding with the basketball team after Chrissy’s death and not interrogating that, given all of the everything in Hawkins there might be Something Else At Play Here. Lucas is also the most self assured of his friend group and probably didn’t need Eddie the way Mike and Dustin did, and Eddie probably didn’t know what to do with that? Couldn’t figure out how to Connect with Lucas the way he had with the other two boys and because of that disconnect he (let’s be generous and say inadvertently) drove a wedge between the three of them. But then he does click with Erica, and it’s through his friendship with her he’s able to build something genuine with Lucas. Idk like. The two of them are sensitive and kind and intuitive and put themselves out there for the benefit of their friends and admit when they’re wrong about something and apologize. They have a lot more in common than meets the eye, and I think after everything they finally see that. I also think Eddie gives Lucas one Cancel Hellfire Free Card that Lucas cashes in at the ABSOLUTE more INCONVENIENT time.

#lucas sinclair #eddie munson #stranger things #been in my lucas feelings lately #he's so!!!! him!!!!!!! #i've been wanting to do a no one could love you more followup where eddie gets triggered on the way to lucas's basketball game #and he does NOT take his own advice and he pushes that shit DOWN cause he really really wants to show up for lucas #he didn't make enough of an effort for him before so it's important he does NOW #and lucas realizes how out of it eddie is and thinks it's his fault? but it's NOT it's completely unrelated to UD stuff #and eddie is honest with him like no it's not you i got reminded of something from my shitty childhood nevermind me i'll be fine!!!!! #and lucas has to be like man. you're being stupid. don't hurt yourself more for my sake. #but eddie takes a breather and stays for the game and then steve takes him home and takes care of him :') #someday!

[thestobingirlie]

some of the shovel talk stuff is so dumb. like ppl really expect me to believe joyce and hopper are giving steve shovel talks on eddie's behalf? really? i don't think joyce knows who eddie is and i can buy hopper giving eddie a shovel talk if it's a fic where they explore the steve/hopper relationship but generally i think hopper would rather gouge his own eyes out than think about teenage relationships.

these are two different asks, but they touch on the same topic, so i’m answering them together!!

yeah, joyce and hopper would never give steve the shovel talk for eddie. they do not know that man. i can’t imagine joyce giving anyone a shovel talk tbh.

i love fatherly hopper and steve, and yeah, i think him attempting to give any kind of talk to either of them would be hilarious, especially considering he’s talking to a drug dealer, and ‘keg king’ steve harrington. but i also totally agree that hopper would hate every second of it. he tried to have one rational convo with mike and el and he ended up threatening mike!

i think he would just want to remain blissfully ignorant. he doesn’t need to know about the drug dealing boyfriend. i think at most he’d just have a convo with steve about how if eddie did something to hurt him, to remember that hopper has a gun. but i don’t think he’d actually give eddie a shovel talk.

#i have a lot of thoughts about hopper and steve. #like. i think steve is the kid that hopper has the most interactions with pre-UD #what with keg king. party boy steve. he was drinking and smoking weed. he’s bound to have run into hopper #i’d just love if we actually got some content in s5. especially because now they’ve both been tortured by russians. let them have a convo! #steve harrington #eddie munson #steveddie #jim hopper #joyce byers #stranger things #asks #anon

[findafight]

Putting out into the universe Demi romantic Steve. He likes flirting and physical stuff but he also wants a Real Connection and for him it takes a seemingly too long time. He wants the Spark he talked about for more than just physical chemistry. That's why he's struggling with second dates. He WANTS to feel romantic attraction but doesn't realize that he's not operating on the same field as most others and doesn't want to date if he doesn't really know them.

With Nancy he was low-key going through the motions and legit wanted to like her and they got closer before they were "official" and he fell really hard because Nancy is Nancy. When he confessed to Robin and then immediately changed gears it was because those crush feelings were stemming from his big fat (like absolutely MASSIVE) squish on her because Robin is amazing, and so cool, and obviously he wants her to be in his life, so it wasn't hard for him to go into supportive bestie mode and not get romantic feelings.

Idk I want arospec Steve I think it fits him and his frustration in his journey and search for (romantic) love.

#steve harrington #stranger things #platonic stobin #this could be pre #steddie #listen. he was so jealous of the guy his nuggets idolized but also who sounded like a good dude and then UD stuff #and then DEALING with the upsidedown with eddie?? shared custody?? steve is like wow why cant my dates feel like this...wait a second... #hes like yeah id make out with eddie but could we build a home? *proceeds to live in domestic bliss* oh shit yeah ok #also LISTEN. LISTEN. steve had the stupidest squish on robin he was like a kindergartener asking to be friends. #he wanted to be her bff and was like what is a gf if not a bff that you kiss? do i have a crush on robin? and when she shut it down he went #into FULL bestie mode. he was so ready. possibly even releaved. because sometimes he gets squishes and crushes mixed up. bc 80's #and amatonormativity. stobin's greatest enemy. #finda's rambles #yes maybe i do put steddie tags on these so ppl will see them hehehe but also its kinda relevant! #demiro steve

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Steddie Upside-Down AU Part 92

Part 1 Part 91

Eddie laugh cuts off with a snotty scoff directed toward Carol when she’d immediately walked to the thermostat to crank it up. Eddie’s face is a mess of blood and bruising, and he’s listing slightly as he walks. Will wants to grab the phone and call for an ambulance. Have all the doctors in their white coats scan Eddie’s brain for damage, his knuckles for breaks.

He clutches Steve tighter into his side, and stares at Carol as she whirls toward Eddie, brow furrowed as she mutters out a tired, “what?”

Her face is just as bruised and swollen, but there’s no blood clotting along her hairline or pouring out of her nose. And her steps are steady as she moves through the house.

The years of friendship and history trail her every movement in this house. The way she fished the key out of its hiding spot, the way she works the Harrington’s fancy thermostat with minimal fiddling. The way she moves with such purpose, like she knows every spot the floorboard creaks and what every cupboard contains.

It makes Will ache somewhere deep, where Mike and Dustin and Lucas live within him.

Did Steve and Carol have sleepovers, performing late-night missions for forbidden snacks and risky science experiments? Did they grow together, here in the Harrington’s empty mausoleum – elementary, to middle, to high school – chained at the hip until the chain snapped?

Will knows Steve in the way he’s a sword and shield. In the way his words take shape, and his body holds space. But he doesn’t know what haunts him through rooms, trailing behind like a ghost he can’t shake.

He knows the shape of his parents, looming in unreturned calls from hospital rooms, and the way sometimes other high schoolers will walk up to Steve around town, clapping his shoulder and shaking his hand like he’s someone they recognize, even while Steve’s smiles turns fixed and blank.

He knows what he’s observed from the edges of ghosts Steve hasn’t been able to hide.

Will wants desperately to know what’s knocking around inside Steve’s head.

They’ll get him back, so Will can ask.

“You really think that’s going to be enough?” Eddie asks, scowling at Carol with crossed arms.

Carol hits the button a few more times before turning back toward Eddie with a raised eyebrow. “What would you suggest?” She says it calmly, sweetly, but Will’s known enough scary people to see the murderous intent in her eyes.

“We run him a bath!”

Carol scoffs. Apparently, they’re trading them back and forth. “You think that’ll be hot enough?”

“The Harrington’s heat their pool in the winter. I should know, I got dragged into Hell through it!” Eddie gestures expansively at the closed blinds blocking their view of the pool.

“What are you—”

“I think they’re boiler can handle a measly bathtub!”

His Mom chimes in agreeing with Eddie’s plan, but Will barely notices. He stares out at the pool past the closed blinds, trying to capture the scene. The Demogorgon getting it’s claws into Eddie and dragging him through the pool. Steve, ever the hero, jumping in after to save his friend.

Had the chlorine burned? Had they been scared?

Will pulls their connection into himself, desperate to feel their liveliness pulling back. Eddie whips his head around, meets his eyes as he tugs back. Steve doesn’t stir at all.

He’s docile at Will’s side, something else holding Steve’s body upright as he’s trapped in his head. It should be a relief, not to have to lug Steve’s weight up the stairs, but it’s not.

Will wants him to settle his hand on one of Will’s shoulders, let go of some of the burden, show he’s still a person somewhere in there, with limits and needs.

But he goes where Barbara and Will prompt him, nudging him forward with a branding hand on his

“How are we going to keep the headphones and blindfold dry?” Carol demands, but she’s following closely behind, hand brushing Will’s side every now and then, like she’s got her palms raised to catch Steve if he stumbles.

“How hard do you think it’ll be to keep his head above water?” Eddie calls from a few steps above,  not turning around but shaking his head hard enough that his frizzy curls fly around, almost smacking them in the face. “Babies manage it.”

Carol doesn’t reply, but when they reach the second floor, she shoves past them all to lead down the hall, past the plaid bedroom where they’d found Steve curled up in his closet last time.

The room she leads them could fit the Byers entire living room and kitchen in it. It’s large and airy, but empty aside from a soulless painting of a cityscape across from the largest bed Will’s ever seen and a chest of drawers with nothing but a vase and a bouquet of fake flowers arranged atop it.

Will stops for a second, gaping around at the lifeless husk passing as living quarters until his Mom clasps his shoulder, pushing him along.

Carol leads them to a bathroom. It’s sterile and white, lighting like a hospital, tub large and deep enough to fit three grown men.

Will stops, staring down at the empty tub, bubbling with trepidation.

Steve’s vulnerable, possessed, and vacant, and now they’re, what? Throwing him into the fire?

This house is already so vast and empty, swallowing Steve back up like it’s been starving for him since he left. Should they do this here, of all places?

Will’s hesitation doesn’t stop anything. Steve’s placid enough that Barbara can lead him on her own. Once she reaches the lip of the tub, she leads Steve’s foot up and over the lip, settling it in. He follows with the other on his own, foot raised at the exact same height before he lowers it to join the other.

Once both feet are in the tub, Barbara pushes on his shoulders, urging him down in the bath, fully clothed.

Eddie’s shuffled up beside Barbara, reaching into Steve’s pocket and fishing Jonathan’s Walkman out, setting it gently on the porcelain tile below the tub. The headphone chord stretches taught, but the jack stays firmly in the port, just barely reaching its destination.

Carol reaches around Barbara, hand on her shoulder to keep steady as she reaches down to stopper the tub. Eddie reaches down, hands on Steve’s shoulders as he pushes him down until he’s prone, head propped up on the lip of the tub to keep the headphones and blindfold dry and in place.

“I’ve got you, Stevie,” Eddie whispers, but his voice carries in the confines of the bathroom. “You’ll be just fine.”

Everyone stares down at them for a moment, stalled at the threshold. Steve’s skin’s turning pink where Eddie’s hands are still holding Steve’s shoulders, pushing down with force, like he’s a mother getting ready to drown her young.

What will the hot water do to his skin?

It’s Mom that moves first. She turns the knob of the tub as high as it will go, and water cascades down.

It only takes a moment for the steaming water to reach Steve’s feet. He gasps, curling his feet into his ribs until he’s in the fetal position.

Eddie just keeps holding him there, whispering things into Steve’s ear that Will can no longer hear over the sound of the water filling the tub and Steve’s own whining gasps.

Everyone else stares, watching his skin turn a vibrant pink, darkening to red as it crawls up the back of his calves.

It’s not until the water starts raising, engulfing his back and ribs that the screaming starts. It’s guttural and loud, deep in Steve’s throat. It’s reverberating, like static from a misfiring radio, echoing strangely off the walls of the bathroom.

It sounds wrong, like nails on a chalkboard. Like the Demogorgon, screeching before it devours its prey. Like the Demodogs howls echoing from beneath the earth.

Something not Steve is calling out its pain from within him. Will hopes, fervently and with all he is, that Steve’s untouched somewhere in there.

Steve jackknifes up, back lurching out of the bathwater as Eddie does all he can to keep him down. Will rushes forward, dropping to his knees hard enough on the stone tile floor that he feels the reverberations all the way through his teeth. He sinks his own hands into the hot bath beside everyone else’s, pushing him back down.

Even with all their hands pushing, it’s a struggle to keep him under. Steve thrashes his head back and forth, Jonathan’s headphones falling off into the water and floating away on the waves made by his struggle.

Eddie’s sobbing, open and loud, tears trailing down his bloody nose and dripping saltwater and blood onto Steve’s own face.

They trail down Steve’s own cheeks, leaving bloody tears that look as if they’re leaking from his own eyes.

It reminds Will of the one time he’d gone to church with Mike, Christ on the cross, dripping tears and blood, a martyr of his own making as he slowly died.

Steve’s been dying by inches. Will latches onto their connection and yanks. Like he can pull him free from all that smoke, off the cross, into the boiling tub.

Beside him, Will feels Eddie doing the same, still weeping. He’s not pushing Steve into the water anymore, the rest of them strain harder against Steve’s thrashing to make up for it.

Eddie’s cupping Steve’s face, fingers digging into his cheeks like claws, opening scratches that mix with the blood already dripping down his face. “Get the fuck out of him,” he snarls, digging his nails in harder. “Do you hear me?”

“Is it working?” Carol demands, breathless with strain.

No one answers. The bathroom is growing hot even for them. It’s filling with steam and sweat and screams. It’s suffocating. Will wants to flee. To curl into the fetal position and wait for Steve to come back. His Steve. Not this thing.

But then he feels Steve pull back. It’s fluttering against Will’s ribs, like a caged bird straining against its constraints. Feathers flying until it’s free.

Eddie gasps, hand slapping against Steve’s face hard enough that the sound of skin against skin echoes even past Steve’s continued screams.

“It’s working!” Eddie cries.  

Will pushes harder against Steve as his thrashing grows stronger, more desperate.

The tubs full now, overflowing and flooding into the bathroom. Only Eddie’s iron-clad grip on Steve’s face is keeping him out of the water and breathing.

“Not fast enough,” Carol says, voice gravely like her throats all clogged up. “Aren’t you the one that said that the little punk girl doing whatever she’s doing could hurt him?”

“What do you want me to do?” Eddie demands shrilly. He’s leaning forward so far over the tub that his hair’s trailing into it, ends wet.

Will wants to tie it up in a ponytail for him the way he does for Mom sometimes when her hands are wet with dish soap. But then Carol lets go of Steve, storming out of the bathroom with a frustrating shriek down low in her throat, and Will’s got other priorities.

“Shit, hold him, hold him!” Barbara calls, and all three of them press down hard, Eddie fighting against them with his clutching hands.

Steve’s still screaming, and crying, and flailing. He doesn’t know it yet, but his oldest friend just walked out on him, just like his parents and every other friend besides those crouched over him now.

It's going to hurt, once he’s back.

Steve’s flailing more now, like that thing inside him can sense the weakness in their ranks.

Will stays and holds his friend down as he shakes. It’s not a surprise when he shakes them free, sending everyone sprawling down onto the wet tile with a splash.

It is a surprise when the first thing Steve does is lunge forward to wrap his hand around Will’s throat and squeeze.

Will gasps, fingernails raking against the back of Steve’s hands where it’s choking him. Around them, everyone screams. 

Taglist: @deany-baby @estrellami-1 @altocumulustranslucidus @evillittleguy @carlprocastinator1000 @hallucinatedjosten @goodolefashionedloverboi @newtstabber @lunabyrd @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @manda-panda-monium @disrespectedgoatman @finntheehumaneater @ive-been-bamboozled @harringrieve @grimmfitzz @is-emily-real @dontstealmycake @angeldreamsoffanfic @a-couchpotato @5ammi90 @mac-attack19 @genderless-spoon @kas-eddie-munson @louismeds @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme @pansexuality-activated @ellietheasexylibrarian @nebulainajar @mightbeasleep @neonfruitbowl @beth--b @silenzioperso @best-selling-show @v3lv3tf0x @bookworm0690 @paintsplatteredandimperfect @wonderland-girl143-blog @nerdsconquerall @sharingisntkaren @canmargesimpson @bananahoneycomb @rainwaterapothecary

Part 93

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie upsidedown au #will byers #Eddie once again Absolutely Losing His Shit on Steve in a dire situation. His vaguely Violent reaction to extreme stressors is so important #to me. I always think of him in the UD fighting the bats when he does that little 'come one!' freaking out thing. He Freaks Out. He does #and that includes an extremely maladaptive response to the thought of losing those he cares about

[cowboythighs]

i’ve never been more obsessed with a theory 🤯🤯

#stranger things theories #videos #give me back everyone we’ve lost to the UD (barb bob billy chrissy eddie etc) AND LET THEM HAVE THEIR REVENGE #season 5 theories