#I'll be posting a new chapter for runaways in a couple of days

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  LadyKailitha! @ladykailitha has 33 fics posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 32 of them are in the Steddie Tag.

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @ladykailitha:

Little Runaway

Staking My Claim

I'll Be Your Knight

Eddie's Big Stevie Rescue

"LadyKailitha is a wonderful writer both on Tumblr (shout out to WIP Wednesday, makes my day!!) and on AO3! They absolutely deserve all the recognition and respect for their work. And now I'd like to share the love 🫶"-- anonymous

Below the cut, @ladykailitha answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I’m obsessed with them. LOL! On a more serious note, it’s because I relate to the two characters a lot and want to see them happy.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Childhood friends. I just love watching them be friends as kids and then grow apart and then back together again. I could read it a billion times and do it again. As long as there’s a happy ending of course.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

AUs. Just all of them. I like canon Eddie and Steve, but putting them in different worlds and still finding ways to make them who they are. chef’s kiss

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

There are so many good ones but one that I’ve read several times is STRIKE TEN by oaseas. So good.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

That’s the best part of steddie is not knowing there’s a troupe I want to write for until inspiration strikes. Like I never thought I’d do a sugar baby/daddy AU, but I’m currently writing one. Ditto for omegaverse, but now I’ve written two from the same universe. But as I’m typing this… probably sentinel/guide. The idea has always intrigued me.

What is your writing process like?

First is day dreaming up an idea. Then depending on how long the idea is, I’ll do a short write up about. If it’s long, then it gets treated with plot beats I want to hit. I don’t consider it an outline, because they aren’t in order. Then I will sit down and start writing. I will do at least 400 words a day and keep at it until I have at least 3 or 4 chapters into it before I start posting.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I have to have a backlog of unpublished chapters because I worry if I’m not putting out stories people will lose interest. It’s also so that if I write myself into a corner I can go back a couple of chapters if I have to and change it to fit the new direction the story is going.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Definitely on a schedule. I’ve tried waiting until I’m done and I just get too excited for other people to read it and start posting.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Well Met By Moonlight. I’m really proud of the world building and mystery.

How did you get the idea for Little Runaway?

When I first got into the fandom, there was a severe lack of Eddie and Steve postseason 2 and I really wanted to lean into that a bit.

When writing Little Runaway, what was something you didn’t expect?

Max becoming a reader insert in a way. Where you see the characters through her eyes at the end.

What inspired Staking My Claim?

LOL! Steve licking Eddie’s hand like he was a cupcake he didn’t want to share.

What was your favorite part to write from Staking My Claim?

Jeff. I loved how he just kinda rocked up and said, “As Eddie’s boyfriend, you are now my responsibility and no, you don’t get a say in this.”

How do/did you feel writing I'll Be Your Knight?

I love this one. It really does not get enough praise honestly. I loved the idea of the sound of Steve’s lighter as he lights and puts it out over and over again. I just really loved the idea of Steve guarding Eddie because he’s part of the group now.

What was the most difficult part of writing Eddie's Big Stevie Rescue?

The subject matter. It’s one of my darkest fics because Steve gets slipped a date rape drug and the fall out of not trusting the people you care about with the deepest parts of yourself. Also, keeping the tension ramped up.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I absolutely love the scene with Billy and Steve from “Never Hold Back Your Step…” when Billy gets Steve’s lifeguard job and Steve calls him a washed up surfer. That whole takedown was cathartic as hell.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I’m currently working on a couple that I think are just so much fun. “The Hellfire Exotic Club” a stripper AU that has been a blast to write. And “Of Butterflies and Backstrokes” the Olympic swimmer AU. I’m proud of that title, too.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

nope!

Thank you to our author, @ladykailitha, and our anonymous nominator! See more of LadyKailitha's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[pixelchills]

Not sure if you've been asked but have you read any good sun/moon or sun/moon/y-n fics lately or have any you recommend? I'm in the process of reading yours. So far so good!

Hi! Sorry it took me a couple of days to answer this, I had to actually think really hard of some of my favourite fics to recommend, as so many of the on-going ones have been abandoned for months, but I personally like multichapter fics over one-shots. So, anyways.

None of my recommendations are Sun/Moon/Reader fics, because I do not read reader-inserts. Besides one Solar/Reader fic based on my own AU, all the other fics are Sun/Moon (mostly romantic, but I have a couple of platonic ones I like as well!)

My current favourite on-going fic is "Yellow" by Haru1027: Moon gets a new human partner to do his nightly patrols with him, and Sun doesn't like how the girl acts around Moon. She is literally trying to steal Moon from Sun! Sun and Moon are in an established relationship here. I love this fic because Sun's anxiety, Moon's obliviousness, and the unnamed nightguard's character are so well written and I've been on the edge of my seat every time a new chapter gets posted because I'm so scared of what she will try to do next to mess with Sun's love. Moon is obviously a very adoring and loving boyfriend, but the girl keeps coming up with a lot of stuff that just stings right into poor Sunny's heart! (CW: Has smut in some chapters.)

The next fic I'm not completely sure if it's still continuing or not, since it hasn't been updated for a while, is "Runaway Robots" by Made_Of_Galaxies: Sun overhears that he and Moon are about to get decommissioned. Moon takes forcefully over their body, and runs away. The story focuses on their survival in the outside world; they need a place to stay, a way to hide, and a spot to charge. I love this fic because their relationship is so cute. Both of them are written in a way that I personally headcanon them to be, and they're just so sweet with each other my heart literally melts. The adventure and slight angst add nicely to the story.

The next fic is "Long Distance In The Same Body" by SplatteredRaccoon, though, I'm not sure if it has been abandoned. It has a short prequel, "I'll Be Waiting, When You Wake Up...". Sun and Moon lose their headlink connection due to their new body upgrades after the fire. Thankfully, the new staff is nice enough to gift them a phone! They start recording videos for each other. The fic is very cute and has that sort of silly miscommunication tease of both of them obviously pining over each other, but being too shy to admit it aloud. Some Sun-sided jealousy is added as well, which I always find interesting to read.

This one is not a ship-fic, but more of a parental/sibling relationship. "Big Brother Moon" by NightingaleWitch7: Moondrop is an advanced Daycare robot good at his job. But he starts to get stressed, and it ends up in an accident where the Daycare needs to be closed for a while, and his supervisor starts to look for another helping hand for him. Moondrop thinks he doesn't need it, but the higher-ups think the opposite. After sneaking around the Plex while being bored due to the Daycare being closed, Moondrop stumbles upon a small robot baby in his supervisor's workshop. He takes the baby to himself, eventually naming it Sundrop. Moondrop's caretaking code clearly was playing some tricks on him, as he tries to accompany himself with the new, adorable baby bot he literally stole while the Daycare goes through its renovations. Baby Sundrop is literally the most adorable thing in the world. This fic is very slow-paced, and I was actually struggling a little bit at first because of my short attention span, but now I'm waiting for the new chapters a lot because Moondrop is written in a very nice and funny way, and baby Sundrop really makes me want to get a baby robot on my own... XD

Another fic that can be read either romantic or platonic is a oneshot, "Be Still" by QueenEvac: Sun is ADHD and ASD coded, and can't sit still to appreciate the world around him. Moon helps him, and it is just so fricking cute.

Another oneshot recommendation is "Love of Mine" by RanniParty: This is literally in my bookmarks as "Re-read when u need fluff". After the fire destroys the Pizzaplex, Sun wakes up, but he is alone in his body, without Moon is his code. He grieves over his other half, only to see him walk through the door in his own, separate body. The fluff in this is so immaculately cute, this fic is my rainy-day saviour.

And here are some explicit/adult-content fics that I'd recommend for adult readers:

"Redeeming the Stinky Man" by quixotic_calamity: The Solar x Reader fic I mentioned. Now, as I am not a big fan of reader-inserts, nor am I into smelly mutants, but chapter 2 of this fic literally made me simp for my own stinky character. Quix did an amazing job writing him so well, and the story is set very nicely in the universe, even though it's mostly just going to be smut for the two last chapters. So far, Quix has only posted the first chapter, but I've already read the second one since she sent it to me privately, and it is very... interesting and Solar-like. Boy just needs a bath and a reward- I know this isn't Sun/Moon/Reader, but more of Eclipse/Reader.

Another smut fic from Quix is "Blackberries and Lavender", which I'll soon post separately as its own post too. This is also from my Animutant AU, and after reading it, I've decided to make it canon to the universe. It's a oneshot about Moondrop overcoming his trauma of 'being not pure' and hating his vagina due to the past he had with El Chip. Sunrise helps him to gain the trust and worth of his body back in a very Sun-typical way. The fic is absolutely adorable, and despite being a sex fic, it is so fluffy your teeth will rot worse than Solar. Sun and Moon are perfectly in-character, which makes it so perfect to fit the AU Canon.

The next, possibly still on-going(?) NSFW fic is "All's fair in Robo-Dicks and War" by LavalampGoldfish: This fic is, as the name suggests, technically about robot genitals. It's written from Monty's POV, but Sun and Moon play kind of an important role in this. Monty loses a bet and is forced to go to the weirdo-land (Daycare). When he sneaks in he sees Sun and Moon having sex. The fic follows Monty's inner and outer struggles of trying to understand WHY the Daycare attendants have dicks, who gave them to them, and can he have one too. The fic is so funny and well-written, I am in love how (to my own headcanons) accurately this fic describes the relationships between the characters. I would lie if I didn't say my own fic was inspired by some of the characteristics given to the characters in this fic. The parts where Sun and Moon show up are so adorable, Moon is SO overprotective of his precious Sunshine, and Sun just wants to be friends with everyone. I don't wanna spoil too much, but reading Sun and Moon from someone who dislikes them POV is a refreshing experience. The humour is really top-tier in this one as well.

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Here's my recommendation list, I hope you like it! :>

[ettawritesnstudies]

happy sts! i've been out of the loop on things too, so hit me up with an exciting factoid about something you've done in your wips recently!

i'm so sorry I swear I answered this but I think I responded in my head and forgot to actually post slkdfjslfdkj

I have mostly had applesauce brain the past couple weeks dealing with.... a lot of school and life and family and work stuff, so I'm in a weird kind of writers block where I know there's work I should be doing and stories I want to be telling, but it's been so long since I touched a document the idea of starting again seems too daunting to actually make the jump. Even though I know I'm perfectly capable of picking up where I left oft, the energy is lacking, and I have to slog through a swamp of exhaustion and overwhelm to open Word. All the excerpts I've posted on my website are things I wrote a while ago and just saved for a rainy day.

I was hoping taking the long weekend off to draw and hike and explore my new city would help get me back to normal but the burnout is unfortunately lingering. I'll have to get my act together starting tomorrow for June, new month, fresh start, y'know. I have free time now, after work and on the weekends, so the new goal is to transcribe all my beta-notes for runaways and start editing, finish 1 chapter in Storge, and maybe do some fun brainstorming for the Laoche Chronicles. Plus some other easy, fun, creative goals to just get me doing things again and not just wanting to lay comatose haha

On the other hand, I got a tablet and started doing digital art which has been a ton of fun so far! Hoping to figure out how to make animatics and amvs for my OCs soon...

Thanks for the ask!