#madaboutmunson WIP

[madaboutmunson]

WIP Wednesday

Here is a treat as I haven’t posted something in forever.

[captions welcome]

I went for:

“Eddie doesn’t like the show and he’s gonna make it a problem!”

Other things:

I’m working on a lot of different events and projects right now. I’m still writing a fic that turned into a bit of a beast, but once it’s finished I’ll be posting chapters on a more regular basis for it.

So here is a snippet from that mini beast

ITICHBS (it’s a secret 🤫 😂)

rockstarSteve x photographerEddie

Eddie goes to type back, but he feels the car slow to a stop. A crunch of gravel and muffled voices. Moments later, his door is opened.

"Mr Munson?" The woman asks as Eddie steps out and nods. The car is swarmed by athletic people sporting black security uniforms.

The woman in front of him makes eye contact with her team members and then looks back at him, "Your agent said you were staying?"

"I-I am. Just not here." Eddie says nervously. He was supposed to be, that's what Marney had advised, but Eddie had dug his heels in and got an airport hotel instead, at his own expense, "I'm so bad at waking up for flights, so," he scratches the back of his neck, "the closer, the better."

She folds her arms and levels him with a look before scanning him up and down. "You don't want to spend the night? Stay in Steve Harrington's house?" She almost laughs out the last question.

Eddie figures it's something ingrained in him that is making him nervous with all these official-looking uniforms around him, "Not if I wanna keep this job," he says with a forced laugh, looks down and rubs his stomach, "I should really learn that fast food doesn't always agree with me." He raises his eyes to her to see if his performance has landed, and though he's not sure she believes the story, she seems happy enough to accept it for some reason. She extends her hand to him.

"Buckley. Head of security here for Mr H. This is my team. Get to know their faces and names if you care to. If it's not one of us telling you, it's not mandatory." She says and waves him through the huge ornate gates that slowly open as she signals to the house.

Eddie quirks an eyebrow at that. Mandatory? If it's not one of us? What did that even mean? She didn't look like your typical bodyguard or security guard that Eddie had seen over the years, but knowing he'd be meeting her at the gates, he'd done his research.

Robin Buckley. She'd only ever worked with Harrington, no one before, no one in-between. She wasn't a waif by any stretch of the imagination, but she was not your typical heavy-set build either. However, the footage Eddie had unearthed last night definitely sent the message home that she is not to be fucked with. She easily kept the crazies at bay, and Harrington's humanising posts about how safe he felt with her around, made her a fan favourite. Even though she was often the only thing standing between him and his adoring followers.

He'd seen three times caught on film she'd intercepted a weapon or projectile aimed at Harrington. One effortlessly caught out of the air, cool as anything. Then there was a guy with a gun who had been leg swept to the floor, had his wrist snapped, and was disarmed in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it display of prowess. You could see on the video Harrington hadn't seen any of it. Busy leaning back into the crowd for a selfie at the barrier with a fan's phone. Her team carried that guy away, and she just fell back into step beside him. The third was definitely the most terrifying. Mainly due to the fact, there were so many different views of the same event because it happened whilst Harrington had been singing one of his most famous songs. It looks like a fan rushes the stage, not uncommon, but as Harrington shuts his eyes to croon to the crowd under the spotlight, something catches the light in the fan's hand, and if this had been a movie, you'd swear this would be the singer's last scene. But it wasn't. From out of nowhere, Buckley's big black boot steps into the light and puts the assailant in a choke hold from behind. They were out for the count in seconds and pulled back with her into the darkness.

Hope you liked it 🥰

[rindecisions]

Something's Coming...

Join me!! 🤍

The AO3 collection is already live for you to post anything you make based on my work from now until forever

Join my Discord for more information and community. It's also the easiest way to get in contact with me.

Below are some scenes and ideas to give you jumping off points if you need them but I'd prefer you to use YOUR favorite!

Includes Sneak peeks!

(These were so hard to pick)

The Devil of Hawkins

I'd love to hear theories on this fic

First Kiss

Ceiling 69 🔞

Give Me Fuel, Give Me Fire

The Sunroof🔞

Stranger Tales

Something to go with the next chapter (Sneak Peek)🔞

You Know Where to Find Me

Something to the song Another Place by Bastile would be great. It's just such a fitting song for this story.

Their first goodbye

From Hell and Back

I'd love to see what one-shots you could come up with for my shapeshifting Demon Eddie

Mini Eddie

Tentacles🔞

A New Arrangement

What song should I base the next instalment on?

The teased kiss

Kiss in the rain

Steve's New Obsession

I'm torn on continuing this one. If I did what would you like to see happen?

Steve watching Eddie at the Hideout🔞

Beneath the Watch's Band

Where would you see this fic going?

Their first kiss

Billy 'The Freak' Hargrove

What do you think their other escapades looked like?

The proposition

Nectar

I bet you guys could come up with some impressive one-shots for plant cryptid Steve.

First kiss

Come and Get Me

To be released on March 20th. It's part of the @strangerthingsreversebigbang and will be accompanied by the incredible artwork of @waldos-art

A peek at one of my favorite scenes

The WIPs

These will be released on May 1st

Evil Things🔞

From Trashed to Treasured

Been working on this one with @madaboutmunson

Here's two scenes from the first chapter.

The Target 🔞

VERY DARK - DEAD-DOVE - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Demositter

What Next?

Unnamed Sex-Pollen One-Shot

[marvel-ous-m]

Six Sentence Sunday!

rules: post 6 sentences (smutty or not!) of an unfinished work

I was tagged by @pearynice !! Thank you for the tag, friend!

This is from my current WIP, Something's In My Mind (and I'm Focused On You)- Tried to keep spoilers to a minimum because the fic is currently at a very spoiler-able place!

Eddie sighed to himself as he shook the memory, glancing down at the watch on his wrist.  4:53pm.  He grabbed his duffel bag from the floor next to him and exited his office, heading towards the back door. “I’m out, boys! See y’all in a week!” Eddie shouted the words loud enough that the guys could hear them from their respective spaces, where they were all either wrapping up with clients for the day or sticking around to work on some new designs.  “Bye bye, loverboy! Have a good time!”

No pressure tags: @devondespresso @steventhusiast @madaboutmunson

[2btheanswertothequestion]

Get to know me tag game

tagged by @eriquin 🖤

Last song I listened to: Honey (are you coming) by Måneskin. I asked my sister for an artist to check out, and she said she'd been playing Måneskin nonstop for approx 3 weeks. I have now been playing Måneskin nonstop for 1 week (I only like the third album enough to play on repeat, though).

Currently reading: Does my own novel writing plan count? Because I've been staring at it for a while now.

Currently watching: Not exactly watching, but I'm between season 1 and 2 of Good Omens (yes, I'm finally jumping on that wagon). I also have Marmalade up and ready to stream.

Currently obsessed with: My WIP. Also, I have a bunch of fanfic ideas that I'm beating off with a stick so I won't become obsessed with them.

"No Pressure" tag list: @throughthevale, @britkunoichi92, @roguenancy, @stevethehairington, @thefreakandthehair, @madaboutmunson, @inklessletter, @letters-to-rosie

[bifuriouswaterbender]

✨ Fic Writing Review 2023 ✨

@oh-stars tagged me in this, and honestly this is kind of fun! I finished a single Willow fic this year. Everything else was Stranger Things and largely Steddie.

Words and Fics

156,508 published words, another 22,582 of WIPs or about to be published, and 6,540 of unpublished works set aside

Completed Til We See All The Stars and have finished writing Can't Start A Fire (Without A Spark) which will post by the end of December

24 published one-shots, 1 upcoming- 25 in total (which feels a little absurd compared to how much writing I normally do)

2 ongoing WIPs on Ao3

2 unpublished WIPs that will hopefully see the light

Top Fics by Kudos

I don't care if it's dirty, the view's so pretty

Hold Me Like A Grudge

Is There a Word for Bad Miracle?

Time is Luck

Til We See All The Stars

for pasts that we're never gonna change

All this effort to make it look effortless

In All My Wildest Dreams (They Just End With You And Me)

Get The Feeling

When Will Falls in Love

My fandom fic events in 2023

@steddiebang: The aforementioned Can't Start A Fire (Without A Spark) 

An upcoming @steddieholidayexchange fic posting on December 23

I completed boards for both @steveharringtonbingo and @eddiemunsonbingo

Monthly responses for @steddiemicrofic

Upcoming Events and Projects for 2024

I will continue both He's All That and Craving Something Deeper

1 WIP for @strangerthingsreversebigbang

A possible merfolk Eddie fic

Who else can say? I've got my eye on a few events in particular

Rules & Tags below the cut!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

Tags: @tathrin @lowkeyed1 @madaboutmunson @onirislanding @eriquin

[rindecision]

WIP Tag Game

Tagged by @slippy-slip

Rules: In a new post, list the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Oh jeez this is going to be quite the list...

Bazaar

STRBB (Stranger Things Reverse Big Bang)

You Know Where to Find Me

Give Me Fuel

Deg Special

Evil Things

The Target

Demositter

Stranger Tales

The Devil of Hawkins

Symptom of the Universe

Sex Pollen

That makes what... 12 WIPS?... Fuck me. Do I even know that many people?

No Pressure Tags: Love you guys 🤍

@madaboutmunson @lady-lostmind @bifuriouswaterbender @unattainablesongs @waldosakimbo @medusapelagia @stardust-walker @ghostdeb @atmilliways @yeacatniphulk @hellfireloserclub @thefreakandthehair

[panicatthediaz]

Holy shit I am alive! Well, I'm just on Tumblr less, but I'm around. And I'm still writing!! If you couldn't guess by the not actual Sunday posting, I'm not ready to go back to regular posting. On top of on-a-whim WIPs I have at least one work project a week, and this week is my last week before finals for the semester :) somebody save me But I wanted to give y'all something, so this is it.

[Part 1] – [Part 10] – [Part 12]

@madaboutmunson @lamburrito @benjaminrussell @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @dijkstraspath @queerbuckleys @spectrum-spectre @epiclazershark @redheadchimechild @steddie-there @gayngerthings @manda-panda-monium (I... hope no one else changed their URLs for pride month 😂)

Pin a String to My Chest – 11

A song

When he started high school months ago, Eddie hadn't expected to find people that shared his interests for a while; he wasn't the oldest guy in the band, but the rest of Corroded Coffin still had to finish middle school, so he wasn't sure what to expect.

In the end, Ollie, their drummer, decided to drag him to a D&D session, and the rest was history. It had been some of the best fun he had, and he was sure the others would like it too.

It had also become a small problem.

Eddie dropped himself on the couch next to Wayne as soon as he got home. Hellfire had run a little bit later than expected, but it was the last session before winter break, it couldn't be helped.

No, the problem wasn't the sessions running late. Wayne was usually at work by the time they were done, and on the off chance he had a Friday off, he was always warned of where he was.

(Eddie would not make that mistake, ever, where Wayne was concerned.)

Wayne glanced at him but kept his attention on the crossword he was working on as Eddie fidgeted with his ring. The radio played softly somewhere close to them.

Okay, calling it a problem was a little dramatic even for him. It wasn't a problem. It wasn't. But it was a little unexpected, he'd never even thought it was a possibility.

"Alright, kid." Wayne put the newspaper down, turning slightly to look at him. "What's goin' on with you?"

"Uh," he stalled like an idiot. If something would make Wayne assume something was wrong, hesitating would be it. "I don't… It's not bad."

"But it is something," Wayne guessed. "What kind of something?"

"You ever figure something out that you thought you knew about yourself?" Eddie asked, but made a face immediately after, twisting in his seat to look at Wayne as well. "Like… You thought something, but it turns out that the truth is something else?" He chanced a look at Wayne's face and saw a flicker of understanding. "It's nothing bad! I promise it's nothing bad."

Wayne nodded. "You said that, Eddie, and I believe you." His eyes unfocused for a moment, in a way Eddie knew meant his uncle was looking for words. "Well, there was that one time I learned I'm allergic to grapes, remember?"

Eddie nodded. That had happened years ago when his Ma was still alive, and it had freaked him out as a kid. It had been a surprise to Wayne as well.

"Now, I'm guessin' this isn't about food, or even music," he prompted. Eddie nodded, looking down at his hands and spinning the ring on his finger. "You know whatever's in your head is safe here, Eddie."

"I know," he groaned. "It's just… not something I expected?" Eddie shrugged. "I told you about Dylan, right?"

"Yeah?" Wayne nodded, looking a little confused. "First kid from your club to actually try and teach you that game of yours? You made 'im kinda hard to forget, Eddie." The smirk was both on Wayne's face and voice. Eddie flopped onto his back, almost hitting his head on the arm of the couch and causing Wayne to huff a laugh. "What about him?"

"Ollie said he was flirting. With me," he clarified while looking at the trailer ceiling. There was a stain up there that they should probably look into at some point.

"And that's not bad."

Eddie hummed his negative, spinning the ring that used to be his mother's.

"I mean, I didn't notice but Ollie swears he was." His hands started moving above his body. "And while Kant was driving us all home, I realized that I didn't really mind if he was, it's—it's kinda nice, and I wouldn't mind!" He raised his head a little to look at Wayne. "I mean, I know there's nothing wrong with liking another boy," he said in a low voice. At this time, there wasn't anyone to overhear their conversation. It just seemed like the softness was needed. "I just never stopped to think about it."

Wayne hummed thoughtfully, and Eddie stretched out on the couch, unceremoniously dropping his feet on Wayne's lap.

"Pretty sure this is a good age to be thinking about this stuff, Eddie." Wayne patted his leg, ignoring the noise he'd just made. "I was about 20 when I thought, hell, maybe I'm better off just by myself."

"I spent all that time telling Dick that I wasn't interested in boys like that," Eddie mused, the nickname he bestowed upon his father making him smile. Wayne shook his head with a smile of his own. "Might have saved some time if I'd just—"

"Don't even go there, kid," he interrupted. "Your old man was a piece of work who couldn't handle not being in control."

Eddie sighed, nodding slowly. "So, what do I do?"

"About what?"

"Wayne!" Eddie shot up from the couch, standing in front of his uncle with his arms crossed.

"Alright, alright," Wayne conceded with a chuckle. "Do you like him?"

"I…" Eddie frowned, thinking it over. "Think so?" Wayne raised an eyebrow at him, waiting. "He's a good person! He listens, y'know, and he's nice to be around."

"That ain't quite enough, kid," Wayne said softly. "You need to know for sure because people have their expectations in a relationship, and you need to know whether you two can find a middle ground."

"Expectations like…" His frown deepened, trying to think of something. "What?"

"All sorts of things," Wayne shrugged. "Sex, for one."

Eddie groaned, sitting down on the little coffee table that was behind him. It creaked ominously for a moment but settled down again. Wayne chuckled and continued talking. Eddie only half listened, as he was prone to when he wasn't interested in the topic, while Wayne kept going about how people — most of them, anyway — eventually wanted more "physical action" out of the relationship. Some sooner than others.

Those were Wayne's words. He wasn't sure how his uncle knew any of it, Eddie had never heard about the man being in any sort of relationship, ever, but the fact was that Eddie would much rather just… not do what he was very obviously implying.

Did people really have nothing better to do? This was starting to feel a little bit like some of the conversations he'd overheard over the halls in high school…

It was kind of ridiculous.

"Okay!" Eddie exclaimed, raising his arms to stop Wayne before he could go into any type of detail. "How the hell do you even know any of this?!"

Wayne shrugged, smiling in a way that made Eddie narrow his eyes. He did not want to know.

"Either way," Wayne continued softly. "Make sure to respect them and that they respect you, kid." He stood up, patting his shoulder. "Just want you to stay safe."

Eddie watched him move to the kitchen for a moment before standing up himself. He turned the radio up a little, just enough to be heard from his room. He didn't think Wayne had anything to worry about; if what he'd just said was true, Eddie was probably better off on his own just as Wayne was.

He lay down on his bed, listening to Woody Guthrie's voice in the background. He wasn't sure which song it was, but he had the impression of it being one of Wayne's favorites. He was sure he'd listened to it a lot since he came live with him.

It wasn't long before he fell asleep to the music.

At some point, Eddie was aware he was on his back. He usually moved around in bed more, but he felt tired. Still tired. He was supposed to feel better rested, he'd been asleep just now.

He could still hear the music on the radio, lowered and muffled somewhere to his right.

Do not think 'bout tomorrow; let tomorrow come and go…

Right, that was Wayne's favorite song, one of the first he'd taught Eddie on the acoustic guitar. Without opening his eyes, he tapped his finger on the bed to the rhythm of it. It wasn't his usual type of music but it was… pleasant.

Something wrapped around his wrist, stilling the movement of his hand. He tensed. The last time something held him— He tried holding onto his sheets, but the thin, scratchy material felt wrong and—

"Eddie," a soft voice called to him. He didn't know it, he didn't like it. Whoever they were, moved their hand so they were holding his hand instead. "Can you squeeze my hand?"

He didn't want to listen to them, but he could tell it was important. It took more effort than he'd expected to put any type of pressure on the hand holding his. He couldn't think of it as a squeeze of any kind.

"That's great, Eddie, that's great." They sounded happy for some reason. "Think you can open your eyes, now?"

Eddie made a noise that might have been a no if he had any more energy. The stranger — a woman, he realized — chuckled.

"I know it's unpleasant, but we really need you to open your eyes."

He wanted to go back to sleep. He was still tired, his body was aching all over, head to toe. But he was pretty sure she wouldn't let him sleep again.

If squeezing her hand took effort, opening his eyes was like… something worse. There was a golden-ish glow to the room he was in, but not much in the way of furniture of any kind. It was him and this lady.

Listen to the steel rails hummin', that's the hobo's lullaby.

"Wayne…?"

[harmonictechnicality]

oh hell yeah this tag game is great, thank you @stevethehairington @judasofsuburbia @madaboutmunson for thinking of me 💕

RULES:

Post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post.

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in or just post.

WIPS:

redoooo

i'm a hot mess

part 12

meet cute

whose lips are these?

SNIPPET:

Shower. Eddie just showered before meeting him here. It’s so fucking clear by the way he feels damp, smells clean. Steve hates that he notices that. Wishes he didn’t care about Eddie’s hygiene schedule. But the scent of shower gel is addictive. He breathes it in way too fast, big gulps of fresh air. Lungs extending like they can capture Eddie's atmosphere and keep it there. All of it. Okay, seriously. Steve thought his Eddie Munson Crush had been buried with the rest of his trauma back in 1993.

no pressure tags (and pls say I tagged you if you're interested in doing this): @flowercrowngods @spinmewriteround @strangersatellites

[medusapelagia]

Tag game

Tag game: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better! Tagged by @lorifragolina (thank you!)

Favourite colour: eletronic indigo but I usually wear steel blue (it's easier!)

Last song: Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls 

Currently reading: honestly? Fanfics. I just finished Touch by @azrielgreen and I'm waiting for an update of Bandaids for the Heart by @lexirosewrites.

Last movie: at the movie theatre Barbie, at home Shrek

Sweet/spicy/savoury: bitter and sour

Currently working on: too many things as always! Harringrove Big bang, Halloween AU, Kinktober and my WIPs

As always don't feel pressured to do the game, and if you are not tagged and you want to do it feel free to join!

My tags are: @cranberrymoons, @rindecision, @kallisto-k, @madaboutmunson, @skepsiss, @destroya2005, @stardust-walker, @oh-stars

[steddie-there]

WIP Weekend Wednesday

I was tagged by @afewproblems to do a wip weekend - thank you for the tag, my friend! You consistently keep me on that writing train and you have no idea how grateful I am for it.

Sadly, my brain betrayed me, and I had the first migraine I've had in 6 months, so the weekend was shot, but fortunately, wip Wednesdays are a thing, too 😁

I have to go back to work today, but will be bored out of my mind in trainings all day, so please make me write!

I'd Fall For You Twice

Can't Take My Eyes Off of You

Paul Saga - Proposal

Steddie Daughter

Steve Vacation

Snippet and tags under the cut!

Steve runs his hands through his hair with a sigh after Erica heads for the kitchen. For an eleven year old, she sure makes a hell of a lot of sense. Despite the tear tracks drying on his face, he feels lighter than he has for the last two weeks. Erica was absolutely right that talking about it, going over exactly what Eddie said and how he was acting that night, would help sort through the rubble left in the wake of him breaking things off. Saying out loud to someone else the hurtful words Eddie had spewed before he left had made the other boy's insecurity so obvious, Steve wonders how he missed it. But then again, like Erica had reminded him, "being in the middle of getting dumped isn't exactly the most conducive to rational thought, Steven." That was the first time he'd laughed in weeks and he was grateful Erica had been the one to draw it out of him.

He also knows one more thing after his heart to heart with the young spitfire - he isn't ready to let Eddie just slip away from him. The weeks they'd been together had been some of the very best of his life; for once, he had been unconditionally happy and sure of what he wanted. He isn't about to let the future he imagined with Eddie go, not when he can do something about it. Now the only question is how to get Eddie to believe that he is all Steve will ever want for the rest of his life. Damn stubborn asshole, Steve thinks fondly. Can't just tell him, clearly, he'll need more than that to get the message through his thick skull. I wonder if…

He's startled out of his musing when a bowl and spoon are shoved under his nose. He glances from the ice cream up to Erica holding it out to him and tilts his head. She rolls her eyes, but doesn't hide her smile.

"Just this once, the ice cream's on me, dweeb. Better enjoy it."

Steve sniffs, pushing back at the tears he can feel gathering in the corners of his eyes again and grinning instead. He takes the bowl and spoon with an eye roll of his own. "Yeah, yeah, I know, don't get used to it."

"Damn right," she says, completely serious. But then she plops down next to him on the couch, leaning into his side as she eats from her own bowl, and Steve knows exactly how lucky he is to have Erica Sinclair as a little sister.

And no pressure tags:

@willowworkswithwords @scoops-stevie @sourw0lfs @panicatthediaz @steddieas-shegoes @ladykailitha @madaboutmunson @stevesbipanic @stevethehairington @unclewaynemunson

And anyone else to wants to jump in and do a wip wednesday/weekend, feel free to tag me in it so I can send you an ask!

[madaboutmunson]

Eddie Month WIP

So my ambition for @eddiemonth is to use a brand new AU, and write a fic for each week, incorporating a prompt from each day into it. Can I do it? I hope so. Anyway I've decided to stick with Steddie (my beloved) buuuuut, the AU is going to by late 50's Chicago. I'll add some pics of my version of the guys below, and this is a chunk from my Week 1 fic, around the prompt 'Crush' I hope you like it!

Also massive thanks to @thefreakandthehair and @nostalgicbones for creating this event. I absolutely love Eddie, and am so excited to see what everyone creates for this month! ================================================

Stupid Cupid

Eddie hurriedly bustles his way past them, briskly walking away, and doesn't look back. Not even once, as his pulse thunders in his ears. The city seems to swell and contract as the anxiety starts to weave its way into him, and he might have walked right on by the grocery store if not for the uneven sidewalk.

He manages to get his hands in front of him, preventing his face from meeting the pavement and scrambles to his feet.

“What? Not even a postcard?” A thick Chicago accent rings out. Eddie starts to feel the defensiveness rise in him. He’s going to give this joker a piece of his mind. It's only his first day here, and already, it's going to hell. It's a stupid joke, anyway, which makes no sense at all because he didn't trip. He fell. Couldn’t this moron even see that? He dusts off his new clothes and notices a small tear in the knee. And that might be the final straw. Eddie screws up his face in rage. Fists clenched at his sides, one finger extended, ready to point right at this guy.

“No! Not even-” Eddie begins angrily as he turns to the voice. But all language and oxygen leave him, and all he can do is take one gulp of an inhale like a human goldfish.

Standing in front of Eddie right now is something he can barely comprehend. A miracle has occurred, and it doesn't seem like the rest of the world has noticed because it's carrying on like this isn’t even happening. He can vaguely hear the cars and the shouts of others, but they are all starting to dwindle. It was like someone was turning the volume down on planet Earth, and all he could hear was his own heartbeat and breathing.

Then, almost like a vignette is placed over his vision, blurring and darkening the edges, he can only focus on one thing.

The man of Eddie’s dreams.

Physically, at least.

He is right there.

Like the great animators in the sky plucked him out of his mind and drew him into existence.

Had he not put his hand out in time? Was he, in reality, currently knocked out by the fall, and that's why he can see this guy now?

He’s about the same height as Eddie. His hair is neatly cropped, not shoved away and hidden under a hat like his own. It’s side-parted, with a perfect swoop of brown, neatly combed and styled hair. Save for a few strands that hang over his forehead, rebelling against the pomade. His light brown eyes are shaped with a slight slope downwards, giving them a natural, hooded, adorable sadness, just like Elvis himself. But these are larger, which made them infinitely easier to get lost in. But there isn’t an ounce of sadness in the rest of that face as a cocky open-mouthed smile spreads across it. Tucked in the corner of his lips is a toothpick that rolls, as his tongue is idly toying with from inside his mouth as he looks Eddie up and down. 

Then there are those rose-blushed lips of his. They looked so soft, in direct opposition with the perfectly chiselled jaw they rested above. And all of this with a backdrop of olive skin littered with beauty marks. As if this guy needed any more indicators of how beautiful he was. Jesus.

Eddie dares to give him a rapid look up and down, and it is also awful news because not only did they give him the face of an angel, but they had to provide him with a body that would launch a million classical sculptors across all time into action. His shoulders are broad and sit atop two very pleasantly muscular arms. The white cotton t-shirt embraces them, one tighter than the other as it's rolled a little higher to hold his pack of smokes. The fabric stretches over his chest to reveal the mounds and dips of an anatomical landscape that Eddie is sure he would happily sit and admire for longer than any national landmark this fair country had to offer. Then the killing blow by this everyday garment is struck by how it falls and clings to his stomach, revealing he’s even got a little slightly soft tummy on him. Eddie is starting to feel light-headed. This cannot be real.

Then Eddie notices something else, he’s wearing an apron, and in his arms is a crate of apples. He fucking works here. Oh god. Oh, god, no! Eddie starts to feel like he's overheating, and he’s eyelids flutter unintentionally.

“You ok dere, buddy?” The man’s smile and amusement take an eighty per cent plummet as they look over Eddie with concern.

He’s overwhelmed by everything happening right now, the whole day of mistakes leading up to it, questioning if it was even the right choice to come to the city in the first place. If all of these things were glaring warning signs, pointing him to go back home to Hawkins, stop chasing stupid dreams, and get a job with his Uncle Wayne at the factory. And this…this man at his local store of all places spelt trouble for him. He wasn’t good at hiding his thoughts or feelings, no matter how hard he tried. 

That was it decided. He would turn around now, go pack, and go home. This was a stupid idea. Eddie feels a tightness across his shoulders start to spread, his palms heat up, and he realises he’s been staring into space for the last few seconds. 

He tries to run, but his legs suddenly feel like lead, and though he’s stopped, the world spins around a few more times. Instead of the street being in his eye line, the horizon starts to fall, and all he can see is the sky before he feels his back hit something, but it's not hard like the ground. Soon, the horizon returns, as does the street and the face of an angel, moving him to sit on the ground outside the store, next to a pyramid of oranges.

“I need ya to sit right here, ok buddy. I’m gonna get ya some water, alright?” the angel’s mouth moves, and Eddie watches it seriously to make sure he can hear every one of his precious words.

He pats him on the shoulders, steps toward the store door, and pauses before looking back and tilting his head, “Whats ya name?”

He is still a little dizzy, but he knows the answer to that question, “Eddie.” he replies quickly. 

The man smiles hugely and repeats his name like he’s testing it out. He places his toothpick behind his ear, “I’m Stefano, yous can call me Steve. Most do,” he gives him a little two-finger wave and disappears inside the store.

[madaboutmunson]

Future Steddie snippet.

So this would be set in Steve and Eddie's future but our past.

Anyway here is a snippet. It's still very much a WIP. It doesnt even have a title yet.

Hope you like it :)

Mackenzie is clutching her books to herself. There was room in her backpack for them, but Steve wondered if she was using it as some kind of shield or line of defence. He wants to say, don't worry honey, I'm right here, but he knows how well that goes down, so he lets her take the lead, "Just let me know what you need me to do, honey." He gives her a small smile as she turns to talk to the woman at the counter, who seems to be directing her elsewhere.

Books held firmly against her like some kind of magically imbued chest plate and her eyes boring into the floor, she speed walks past Steve towards the front door, "Hey!! Where are you going??" He yells, running after her while making a mental note of Corey's location. As he should have suspected, he is safely in a chair, thumbs clicking away.

"Mackenzie Robin Harrington!!" He shouts, and she stops in her tracks. He's glad to see at least one thing still works. He bends down to look her in the face, "Honey, what is going on?"

Her face is bright red with embarrassment, and Steve remembers the kind of parent he wants to be, "I'm sorry I embarrassed you by shouting your name like that. I just wanted you to stop walking, so I could talk with you and understand what's going on, ok? That's all. We don't have to stay if you don't want to. I just want to make sure you aren't missing out. Please?" Steve tries his best. He sees her swallow, and her eyes flick up to his for a moment, "I got the time wrong. We're late, like nearly a whole hour late."

"I thought this was just a workshop for character creation type thing today, not an actual game session? I'm sure it won't matter. Do you wanna try at least?" Steve is amazed he's retained any of this information. 

"I just…I wanted to get here before everyone else…so when other people turned up, it looked like…it looked like I belonged…because I was here first," She says, eyes blinking at the ground.

"I tell you what. I'll go in first, check it out, and then relay the info to you, and then you make the call, huh? How about that?" He says excitedly, like he's in a timeout huddle. She looks up, and her shiny eyes meet his with a nod and didn't his heart just explode into a million tiny cute plush toys when that happened. Dad mode engaged. "Ok, let's get your half-electronic game system of a brother and point me at the target, honey."

"It's a Gameboy…" Corey starts to correct him, and honestly, Steve could be mad about the attitude, but it's the most he's said to him all day so far.

"...Advance, I know I paid through the nose to get it on release day for you, Cor," Steve says, hand on hip pointing at the little plastic attention black hole.

"Er, no. I've actually completed all the games I had for that one, so I'm back on the Colour. They look completely different! Urgh," Corey almost peels his eyes from it to target Steve with his disdain. Almost.

Time was of the essence, so rather than try to engage verbally, Steve lifted Corey out of his chair and gently pulled him along with them.

Steve opens the door to the side room and can see a bunch of kids of all different ages at tables, happily scribbling away and talking. He does note the distinct lack of girls in the kids he can see. Some of the older kids have polo shirts with something printed on them. They must be like the instructors or what was it, Masters…Dungeon Masters, that was it.

Then Steve hears some booming footsteps and an almighty roar. His spirit nearly leaves him until he hears a ripple of laughter after it and sees one of the polo shirt wearers sporting a paper mache dragon head stomping around the tables.

The dragon…locks eyes with him…and runs over.

Everything in Steve says run, but he's here for Mackenzie. So he pretends he isn't alarmed in the slightest. The dragon extends their hand, and when Steve accepts the handshake, he is engulfed in a hug, the dragon head bumping him several times before it finds its way over his shoulder. Steve grimaces with something between disgust and horror. What kind of weird place was this? He's glad they were late; if this had happened to Mackenzie, this dragon's head would have been punched somewhere into next year. The dragon is gesticulating, and Steve's hearing isn't the best. He knows they're talking, but all he can hear are mumbles, and he has no mouth to read for assistance.

"I'm sorry. Can you speak up? I can't hear you."

The dragon puts its hands to its head and laughs before revealing itself.

"Shit! Long time no see, Harrington!!" The familiar voice says.

Steve takes a moment to process, The big smile and eyes, the dark wavy hair that reached his jawline, the ringed hands, and the scars. Steve knows those scars and instinctively reaches for his side. He holds up the dragon head, "Sorry about that, um, the kids find me less scary if I scare them with the dragon head first," he says quietly.

Steve laughs, "Eddie?"

"In the flesh!" He gestures at his whole self, with a flourish, and the hugest smile, that Steve can tell he's trying hard to turn down a little from max wattage.

"Wow, I mean. I know you loved this game, but it's like huge, and we're nowhere near Hawkins. I'm just surprised, is all. Pleasantly, obviously. It's just…wow…" Steve says a little nervously. It was a little guilt for not keeping in touch, mostly surprise, but also, Eddie looked different, even though the trademarks were all there. His hair was less frizzy and more defined, and his face had aged a little. He looked more manly.

"Ah, don't get all flustered over little ol' me now", he laughs, and Steve feels comforted by his teasing. It was the Eddie he remembered.

"Er…listen so. I'm not here for me." 

"Well, I could have guessed that", Eddie snorts out a laugh.

"My kid wants to join."

"Ok, we'll circle back to the fact you have a kid but do continue."

"Well, I have two, but anyway, the point being she really wants to join in and was worried it would be a problem because we're late. My fault, you know. She wanted to get here first, so it looked like she belonged here, and she was just worried it would be full of assholes that might give her a hard time about it, you know."

Eddie looks at him, confused, "About being late?"

"Er..yes…but because she's a girl."

Eddie's eyebrows furrow, "Well, thankfully, for everyone concerned, a penis is not a required piece of starting equipment." 

[madaboutmunson]

WIP Wednesday

A section of Chapter 7 of my RockstarSteve/PhotographerEddie fic

He'd thought about it. Digging his heels in again, demanding to fly commercial so that he wouldn't end up trapped on there with Harrington and whatever set of groupies he was going to use for in-flight entertainment, but Marney had said he was willing to give the entire flight time to Eddie's project.

Eddie had been collecting candids and quotes and diary entries for years now from bands that only played their local bar to multi-platinum artists. His hypothesis was this. Money can buy luxury, and it can make things easier. It can push people to succeed or keep pushing on, but nothing moves a musician more than the music itself. All he had to do was gather the evidence, lay it out nicely, and boom! Perfect coffee table book. Though he loathed Harrington, he wasn't stupid. His fans would buy Eddie's book simply for the exclusive shots and interviews. And Harrington had just given him a whole hour, no questions asked, apparently. Maybe it was another masked apology for their meeting?

Like his therapist has said to him repeatedly, he didn't have to forgive him, but if he could find a way to let go of all this anger towards a stranger, he could find a little more peace. The world was a tough enough place as it is.

After all, how much should Eddie be allowed to hate the guy if he doesn't even know what he did? And after the last two weeks, Eddie has been wondering how much control Harrington has over the asteroid bombardment that happens to things pulled into his orbit.

A day after their meeting, a grainy picture of himself leaving Harrington's house, hilariously labelled him as a mystery woman, had started making the rounds online. He only found that out because a few days later, he started getting notifications from his old Munson Photography account, thousands of them asking the same thing. Was he finally going to work with Harrington? As the messages started to pour in, the fear that curled around his spine had almost induced waking nightmare recollections of his life falling apart around him. He didn't respond to any of them, but that didn't stop the barrage. If anything, it amplified the situation. Groups of people, girls mainly, positioned around his usual daily haunts. The studio, the coffee shop, the local bar, the laundromat, occasionally surreptitiously, one would snap a photo of him with their phone. He'd just repeat the amount of money he was going to get paid over and over in his head. He'd even had his bins and mailbox rifled through. Soon, they had him tracked all over, and he was extremely glad all his socials were already set to private. Requests appearing on his other social media profiles were all declined. He decided that if this project went well, we'd start up a new public account and dump all the Harrington in dribs and drabs and, hopefully, future stuff there, too.

Eddie wasn't sure if it was because he'd gotten laid last week, if he was excited to get back to doing what he loved, or if it was because he had a golden opportunity, but whatever it was, he wasn't feeling so concerned.

The driver had picked him up from the hotel, which was only a ten-minute walk away, but he supposed someone might have had a few questions if he had just strolled out onto the tarmac here. He'd been ushered to the plane immediately, which was odd because he could still see the pool of photographers waiting in their strategically placed pens. A few snapped at him as he boarded, which was pretty unnerving as he definitely preferred being on the other side of the camera. Luckily, Marney had advised him as such, and he'd taken a little more care of his appearance this morning. He turned down the idea of sunglasses this early in the morning, though they had been recommended.

Once inside, he'd realise Harrington wasn't early because he wasn't on the plane. So Eddie takes the opportunity to unpack his camera and head back down the stairs to the runway. He hides behind the staircase to avoid invading the other photographers' shots. He had access they didn't, but he didn't want to be a complete asshole about it. He said he'd be here on the hour, so Eddie sits on the Tarmac anticipating at least an extra thirty-minute wait, but much to his surprise, Harrington is on time with his team but bereft of groupies.

He steps out of the blacked-out windowed vehicle, again in the typical rockstar clothing you'd expect. Tight leather look pants, a sheer shirt and a knee-length jacket with faux fur trim topped off with swathes of accessories and a black set of wayfarers. Obviously, the specific items are slightly different, but Eddie wonders if it's almost like a uniform.  A dark alter-ego of the all-American blue-collar guy who just happened to be good at playing guitar, he portrayed on stage, on album covers, and inside exclusive magazine articles. Despite the predictability of his outfit, his behaviour is surprising. He opens the door, and someone from another car rushes over to him, then to the photographers and then back to Harrington, who nods, and the rapid shutter sounds ride the breeze around them. 

Harrington shields himself at first, almost like he's trying to make a secret escape to the plane. Then, once at the foot of the stairs, he turns back, gets back into the car, re-emerges with a big smile, slow walk, and waves for the photographers, even stopping to pause and pose for a few shots as they shout his name repeatedly. The man is methodical. It makes Eddie wonder if any of the harassed-looking pictures he'd seen of Harrington were real at all.

Eddie takes a few shots from this angle. It might be cool for a reader to have the photographers in the frame for a change and then quickly rushes back up the stairs to capture him getting on the plane.

Once in position, Eddie feels a little strange, a twinge of guilt. Shouldn't he let the guy get settled on the plane before taking his picture? But on the other hand, he did have Harrington's permission to snap whatever he wanted. A flicker of humanising Harrington almost has him stand up out of his crouched position, but people are already boarding around him by that time. Buckley gives him a nod as she starts going over her extra checks. Harrington spots him in the aisle, and a half-smile pinches at his cheek.

"Hi," he says almost too quietly to be heard over the plane's noise and everyone else bustling around.

Eddie raises his eyes from behind the viewfinder, mirrors his smile, "Morning, Mr. Harrington".

"How do you want me?" He asks, gesturing around.

"Uh, just pretend I'm not here," Eddie replies, not tearing his eyes from the camera this time.

"Sure, I'll try my best." Harrington oddly responds and smiles a little wider.

[madaboutmunson]

Let's go with Chapter. If you have a Chapter 5 on any of the WIPs

Thanks for the ask :)

I didn't think I did, until I found a partial Hell Raiser Chapter 5 so here you are :)

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

Not knowing how long he could keep the tears at bay, he took a shortcut through the barriers. The last thing he needed was for some jacked-up dumbass giving him shit for crying too.

Gods, this place sucked.

Eddie could have sanded down every sharp edge he had and contorted himself like a pretzel, and he felt he still would never fit into the obscure hole required just to have an easy life.

Whilst it was true he was loud and stood out, it was because he had no choice. He could not fit it in. He'd tried for years.

Kept his hobbies quiet and pretended he liked things he loathed, but he always ended up in the same place. Cast aside and/or at the hurting end of someone's fist.

They must be able to smell it on him, his differences, and that's why in middle school, he'd hacked off his neat preppy hair, and he'd thrown most of his clothes into a bonfire someone in the trailer park was having. He only saved his mom's leather jacket, some jeans, and a plain black t-shirt. Wayne was furious initially because he couldn't figure out what had possessed Eddie to do something so out of character.

In his Uncle’s defence, he’d known Eddie for only a few weeks and met him a handful of times before. They constantly moved because his Dad was continually getting in trouble, and when he finally left, they settled into a nice place. Eddie tried his best there, but even with the right clothes, neighbours, and sports, he was still the new kid, forever on the outside. Then Mom got sick. So the Eddie he met wasn’t who he’d always been. The Eddie he got was a grieving, worn down, desperate to fit in Eddie, who was a few nudges away from breaking. And Hawkins pushed, so Eddie decided he wasn’t just gonna push back. He was gonna roundhouse kick this place right in the teeth with as much Eddie Munson as wouldn’t leave him vulnerable. If they were going to ostracise him, at least let it be for who he was rather than a cheap imitation of the fake people he had no genuine desire to be like.

But though Wayne was angry at the blatant disregard of his belongings, he asked him why, and Eddie replied, “I’m tired. He’s not me.” Wayne paused, cast his eyes to the ground and left the trailer.

He nervously fidgeted around his room for the next few hours, wondering what official Wayne would return with because Eddie was too much to handle. He’d lost the only person in the world whom he could be himself with, but Eddie wanted to live and breathe who he was. He didn't want to merely exist anymore.

When Wayne returned with a smartly-dressed woman at his side, Eddie thought the worst, but to his surprise, Wayne handed him a bag of plain black t-shirts, underwear, and socks and gestured to her, “This here’s Cheryl. She’s gonna fix your hair for ya’, and tomorrow we’ll go to the city. You can pick out some things you like. That sound good?”

[madaboutmunson]

Super fun WIP I was tagged by a wonderful writer, who stole it from another wonderful write

Thank you @rindecision for the tag!

Word game: Send me a word and if it's in my fic I'll post the snippet it's in. If not I'll write three sentences and post those.

Scene game: Send me a pair (or group) of characters and if there's a scene between the two (or more) of them I'll post the snippet. If not three new sentences.

Chapter snippets: Send me a chapter number and (if I have it) I'll post a snippet and do a quick edit session on the chapter.

Trope game: Send me a trope you think is in my fic. If it is I'll post the snippet. If not three new sentences.

I have so many things in progress at the moment, so if there is one in particular that takes your interest, let me know :)

A - My rare pair of Wiggins (Wayne and Principal Higgins from Eddie's POV) B - My Eddie Dream Diary Entries (Prompt from Eddie Munson Bingo Dreams are your soulmates Memories) C - Hell Raiser - A Steddie Monster of the week type fic D - It's a Kind of Magic - Alternative dimension where that version of Steve is a nerdy little magic user and Hawkins Eddie drops through a portal to there. E - Born to Run - An Eddie Munson / Reader fic, sequel to my first ever fic called Creep (that although I feel my writing has improved since this one, I still really move some of the scenes and plot)

No pressure tags to play along with your own WIPs if you like : @panicatthediaz @2btheanswertothequestion @infinite-orangepeel @callme-keys @its-steddie-time @jal00t @madamonsieur-silvrene plus also all you other awesome peeps that see this and want to play along too :)

[madaboutmunson]

WIP Wednesday

A sfw other than swearing page from my Eddie Dream Diary WIP.

Here is part of the second entry where Eddie reminisces about a Fourth of July from his past. Complete with doodles!