#st fic rec

[qprstobin]

the scenic route

i saw this post by @henderdads yesterday and started CACKLING at the image of eddie trying to hide from steve only to stumble across the rest of his stalkers fan club, so here it is

Ao3 link

--

Eddie was pretty sure he was supposed to be better than this.

He'd had more than his fair share of ill advised crushes over the years. His middle school science teacher, the entirely too-nice-for-the-popular-crowd head cheerleader, the bartender at the Hideout that he sold coke to on more than one occasion. And yet, here he was. Leering after Steve Harrington.

(Crush was maybe too strong of a word - that would imply he felt any positive emotions towards the man other than carnal lust.)

Every day at work, Eddie told himself he would take the shortest path outside for his smoke break, and every day he ended up taking the scenic route.

It was like he couldn't help himself. He'd shove his hands into his pockets, and meander his way passed the food court, trying his hardest to seem natural as his eyes strayed over to the Scoops Ahoy.

And there he was, Harrington in all his post-popularity glory. Eddie wasn't sure whose bright idea it was to put the Scoops employees in sailor suits, but he wanted to shake their hand. Or slash their tires.

The shorts clung to Harrington's thighs, somehow even thicker than they were when he was still playing sports regularly. The little hat was less flattering, causing his signature hair to fall limp beneath it, but that was fine. Eddie had seen his hair in all its glory more than enough to fill in the blanks.

As he got closer, he could see that Harrington was chatting up a female patron - typical of the high school heartthrob. It sent a pulse of jealousy and disgust through him. Harrington looked up at the girl from under his eyelashes, pulling his pink, glossy lips into a smirk.

The things Eddie would do to that mouth with half a chance.

The girl let out a laugh, turning in a whirl of curls as she giggled with her friends. He would've thought that response was a positive one if Harrington hadn't immediately let his head fall forward with a groan. Robin Buckley, the mousy band geek Gareth was infatuated with last year, popped up from the back room with a white board that seemed to be a record of all of his strikeouts.

Harsh.

Seemed even pretty privileged popular kids had trouble wooing fair maidens sometimes. Who would've thought. A feeling of satisfaction curled in his stomach - both at watching Harrington get put in his place and knowing that he was still painfully single.

He didn't let himself examine why that was.

While watching the interaction, Eddie hadn't realized he had been slowing to a stop. Until Buckley looked his way. Panic surged through him and he dove to the left, towards a gathering of potted ferns that should be leafy enough to hide him and his hair.

There was a snag in that plan - someone was already hiding there.

Eddie stumbled, arms pinwheeling as he tried to stop himself from running over three middle schoolers. Several little hands snagged the front of his shirt, keeping him from pitching backwards and falling on his ass.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ-" he cursed as he wobbled to a stop. He clamped his mouth shut, taking in the three children in front of him.

The two nearest to him were barely holding back giggles, one a boy with an unfortunate bowl cut and the other a redheaded girl who looked like she was trying to judge him but couldn't smother her mirth. Another boy with dark skin and a bandana tied around his head was looking embarrassed, crouching as close as possible to the girl as he could.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Eddie asked, unable to help himself.

"Same thing you are," Red replied with a smirk playing at her lips. He blanched.

"What."

"Eye candy," she said. It was clear what - or rather who she was referring to.

Bandana groaned softly, the embarrassment on his face deepening. Bowl Cut started giggling again. A fern was tickling Eddie's ear, and he desperately wanted to melt into the floor like the ice cream on a Scoops Ahoy cone.

Eddie didn't even bother to deny it. "You're like, 10. Aren't you a bit young for crushes?"

Red gave him an unimpressed stare.

"We're about to start high school, man," Bandana said as he wrinkled his nose. Judgment colored his tone.

"You don't look like the type to normally go for preps. So do you really have a leg to stand on?" she added.

Sheesh, the attitude on these kids.

Eddie refused to give her any ground.

"Also, I don't have a crush - I was dragged here against my will," Bandana continued.

"I can't believe my boyfriend is lying to my face like this."

"Steve's basically our babysitter, that's weird."

"I don't know," Bowl Cut piped up for the first time, "I think crushing on your babysitter is pretty normal."

Eddie's head was spinning as he tried to keep up with the back and forth. Steve Harrington was their babysitter? He pinched the inside of his wrist, convinced this whole situation was a bad trip or a surreal weed dream. It made more sense than a couple of toddlers claiming that Harrington babysat them regularly.

"I don't have a crush on him!"

"Then why do you keep asking him to 'shoot hoops' with you?" Red asked, turning her judgmental haze onto her sweating boyfriend.

"You know I'm thinking about trying out for basketball next year," Bandana said with an almost pretentious air. "I need all the practice I can get!"

"I didn't know getting smacked in the face with the ball when Steve takes off his shirt counted as practice," Bowl Cut said, a deceptively sweet smile on his face as he drove a dagger into his friend's back.

"DUDE!"

Bowl Cut and Red shushed him, tiny hands flying to cover Bandana's mouth. Eddie reflexively peeked through the fronds, checking to make sure the object of their well - their object hadn't noticed them.

(He hesitated to call him the object of their lust because the three in front of him were literally babies, but he refused to use the word affection in the same sentence as Harrington. Even if this entire conversation was throwing his carefully crafted view of the man through a loop.)

It was fine, though. Harrington and Buckley were wrapped up in their own world, chatting back and forth. If he had a heart he might even say they looked good together. Eddie's eyes strayed towards Harrington's fingers as he twirled his scooper in his hand.

He wanted to shove them in his mouth-

Not the time.

By the time he tuned back into the infants' conversation, Bandana was sulking. Clearly, he had lost, especially with how smug both Red and Bowl Cut looked. Red had even pulled out a little snack packet that she was triumphantly munching on.

"You brought snacks?" Eddie sputtered out, not sure if he was impressed or put out by the sheer balls on this little girl.

"Uh, yeah? Food court food is expensive," she said like it was a no brainer.

The balls, man.

He kinda wanted to be her when he grew up.

"Let me get this straight, you brought snacks along while you stalk your babysitter?" he asked anyway.

"I get hungry," Red said. After a moment, she rolled her eyes and pulled out another snack pack, throwing it at him. It smacked him in the face, but he managed to catch it before it hit the ground. "You're welcome."

"Thanks?" he replied automatically.

This may as well happen.

She distributed two more snack packs to her friend and her boyfriend, and the three returned to peering at Harrington through the ferns. Eddie just stared at them, once again feeling like he must have fallen into a different universe.

This whole thing was getting to be too much for him. His knees and thighs were starting to ache, and not for any particularly pleasant reason. He didn't want to know how long he had been crouched back here.

He needed to get out of here before he reached his limit. His boss may give him a lot of leeway, but he didn't want to keep pushing his luck hanging out in the food court for the rest of the day, babysitting Steve fucking Harrington's children.

Even if the view was pretty good.

"Well, this has been fun, but I need a smoke," he said finally. The three barely spared him a glance. Figuring that they were done with him, and because he didn't know how to leave well enough alone. "I'll leave you to your... stalking."

"Same time tomorrow?" Bowl Cut asked, turning that shy but cheeky grin onto him, revealing that not only had they done this before, but that they had seen Eddie here before.

Fuck. His face was turning red.

"Don't plan on it," he scoffed. The trio spared him disbelieving glances, but let him rock to his feet and start walking away without another word.

They all knew he'd be taking the scenic route again tomorrow.

[mc-i-r]

Any Stranger Things fic recommendations? I really enjoy your waiting, I'd love to see what you like to read.

Thank you so much!! I have a whole loooong list so I'll spare you the agony of going through that but! I will give you ten of the most memorable ones I've read! They are no way in order because I really don't think I could rank them if I had to.

1. You Know My Ways (I Know Your Fears) by Fitzgi

2. laughing at the broken glass by mustlovesteve (lukamustlove)

3. Falling Awake by inairbinad

4. It Was The Summer of 85 by Fitzgi

5. the lathe by palmviolet

6. Skull Rock Era by chattrekisses

7. Little Bits/You're Divine by Oonionchiver

8. One need not be a House by OhlioOh

9. Ahoy, Big Boy by ChronicRabbit

10. The One In Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting by badpancake

These are, of course, only a few of the amazing fics I've read but they've definitely helped me grow as a writer so here they are! Links are embedded in the titles, I hope you enjoy!

[daigina-3]

All the Good Ones are Straight (and Taken) (and Your Roommate)

A 5+1 steddie fic (On AO3! )

Rating: T

Pairing: Steddie

Chapters: 1/6

Eddie Munson finds himself in need of a new roommate. Lucky for him, he knows a guy who knows a guy who turns out to be perfect. And hot. And funny. (And straight). (And has a long-time girlfriend).

But that’s fine. Eddie’s fine. He’ll get over it, it’s just a stupid crush. Right?

OR: 5 times Eddie thinks the roommate he has a pathetic crush on is dating someone and one time Steve proves he’s not.

[jupitermelichios]

Best of 2022: Steddie smutfics

the affliction of the feeling by nondz (explicit, 20k+ wordcount)

This is so cute, and hot, and based on its hits most of you have already read it, but if you haven't, put this on your list, you won't regret it

Seems to Satisfy by peevee (explicit, 5k+ wordcount)

Steve's struggling with stress induced erectile dysfunction. Eddie introduces him to prostate orgasms.

Critical Hit by AidaRonan (explicit, 3k+ wordcount)

Eddie makes Steve roll damage to see how many times he gets spanked. What more could you need to know?

Needles by FlangePlackett (explicit, 18k+ wordcount)

The fandom desperately needed an amazing painplay/tattooing kink fic, and boy does FlangePlackett deliver

Lick It Up by peevee (explicit, 3k+ wordcount)

I tried not to repeat authors on these lists, but peevee is just that good, and Steve accidentally introducing Eddie to subspace is too tasty a premise not to include

[wynnyfryd]

hi:) hello. spare link to that fic you just mentioned where steve shows robin how to go down on a girl? please…i beg of u

aye aye 🫡

the fic is “how sweet the taste” by @pennyplainknits and it’s one of my all-time favorite platonic stobin one-shots! which is probably a weird thing to say about a fic where they literally have oral sex lmao, but it’s in like, the least sexy and most “educational purposes only for my gay best friend” kind of way. it really rings true to their whole co-dependent zero boundaries friendship vibe.

and the story is super respectful of robin’s sexuality throughout; it’s handled so gracefully, and robin is just- gah! she’s endearing disaster gay perfection in this fic. she is so, so delightfully gay and awkward and steve’s the best bro who ever bro’d i love it i love them

[heyitsodd]

What A Family Looks Like

Fandom: Stranger Things

Rating: M

Relationship(s): Eddie Munson & Wayne Munson

Warnings: None Apply

Word Count: 11,685

Chapters: 1/1

*

"Maybe, he thinks, family doesn't have to look like a junkie, jailbird father and an alcoholic, sharp-tongued father and a youngest son determined to follow in his daddy's footsteps and an oldest son who wants to wash his hands of them all. Maybe family can look like a thirty-seven-year-old widower with a back injury and a lifetime of heartache and his twelve-year-old nephew who plays heavy metal music in his bedroom just on the side of too loud and makes a mean grilled cheese. 

And maybe, just maybe, if that's what a family looks like. Well, maybe Wayne Munson does do family after all. 

OR

The Wayne & Eddie backstory we all deserve"

[fizzseed]

byler fic rec week 2023: DAY 4!

theme: friends & family (heavy on the jonathan because. i love him.)

all the bad dreams that you hide (show me yours, and i'll show you mine) by vissers [31.8k, series]

a series of will coming out to the party's members one by one, and then to mike.

it makes you crazy by delusionaltogether (@parkitaco) [1.9k]

jonathan has the shovel talk with mike. mike kind of has the shovel talk with himself.

friend of my brother is my enemy (or something like that) by maxfield [7.6k]

mike opens up to jonathan when they both least expect it.

who am i (to ask for more) by bookinit (@bookinit02) [20.5k]

five times will byers comes out to someone, and one time someone comes out to him.

i need you more than anyone darling (you know that i have from the start) by elmaxed (@elmaxed) [5.7k]

jonathan makes mike realize some things. some important things.

[ohfallingdisco]

HI YES THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU YOU'RE AMAZING <333

HERE'S MY FIC, SMALLTOWN BOYS

basically someone said "okay but instead of mike running away smalltown boy style, BOTH of them (byler) running away smalltown boy style" and I said YES

OH MY GOD I mean I expected you to be amazing but this is like probably one of my new favorites?? Ever??? I—

THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR SHOWING ME I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR STYLE <333 Sorry not sorry if you’re following me I know I am absolutely going to go insane over this story every once in a while

The vibes are very:

[octopusoptimusprime]

HI HELLO VERY GOOD BYLER FIC REC FOR YOU EVERYONE

leave this blue neighbourhood - aubreyandaubrey

by @/dianabelki on twt

much much love for this first chapter and am VERY eagerly awaiting the rest

[qprstobin]

Stobin Different First Meeting AU where they go to prom together. This was meant to be an au post and turned into a mini fic oops (written completely within a tumblr post so sorry for the poor quality)

(edit: realized I should link the fic I was inspired by for those who don't follow me and so didn't see me reblog it earlier)

Steve doesn't necessarily want to go to prom, right? Like yeah, he'd been imagining it for a while, but now that he was very, very single it just didn't have the same shine that it used to. And he really wasn't ready to start dating yet. However, he didn't want to just, not go to prom, and also knew it would seem really weird (and pretty fucking sad) if he didn't go.

Which leaves him in a conundrum.

He thought for a while that maybe he would go with one of the junior cheerleaders. While he didn't have any close friends anymore, he was still friendly with plenty of people. There were girls that wouldn't be going to prom unless they had a senior boyfriend - some he had even gone on dates with in the past who wouldn't think a single prom date meant that he wanted a new girlfriend.

However, he is pretty sure most of those girls would have... other expectations for the night. And honestly? He isn't quite sure that he was ready to get back on that horse either.

... Not that he thought women were horses.

He's pretty sure men are normally the ones called horses in riding metaphors.

Anyway.

That left him stuck. He couldn't just not go to prom, but also didn't want to wind up trapped on an actual date with someone. So who could he ask?

His solution ended up coming from an odd place.

Robin Buckley was... quite honestly, kind of a weirdo.

She was cute, in an alternative sort of way. She never took any of his shit (he wasn't completely sure she even liked him) but also reluctantly laughed at the snarky shit he said under his breath during their Film History class. And not in the fake giggly way girls did when they were flirting, but didn't actually care about what he was saying, just the way he said it. She actually seemed to think he was funny. Even if that revelation seemed to piss her off.

The only reason he was even in Film History that semester - and therefore, knew who she was - was for the easy A. He got to watch movies in class, and watch movies for homework. He was willing to plow through a couple of shitty essays in exchange for a class that he didn't feel like a complete idiot in.

(Well, he was pretty sure Robin thought he was an idiot about movies, but just because he had trouble remembering the names and shit of characters, didn't mean he couldn't analyze the themes, fuck you very much, Buckley.)

They had gotten assigned a project together early on, and it hadn't been completely terrible. She had quickly taken over doing most of the writing portions, but hadn't thought all of his ideas were terrible. By the end of the project he thought they were even sort of having fun together.

He'd always been one to try his luck, take a little more than he was given. So, after that assignment was over, he started sitting next to her in class, not wanting that easy, if sharp, camaraderie to end. Robin rolled her eyes at him and asked him what he thought he was doing the first time he did it, but she never sent him away.

They ended up chatting more and more during down times, passing notes to each other and sharing sly comments under their breaths during the movies. Steve often had trouble paying attention at school, his mind easily wandering away, and it was almost as bad during most movies, but Robin helped keep him on track.

The class turned into one that was done for the easy grade, a last ditch effort to improve his already hopeless GPA, and became one he actually enjoyed.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of going to prom with Robin. It made the night seem a little less unbearable.

He thought about making a big deal out of asking her, because he knows that's what girls (and even Nancy) had enjoyed for past dances. He quickly scrapped that idea, however, because not only did he not want to put pressure on her like that, but also she seemed to hate public spectacles like that.

Or at least when aimed at her, they both enjoyed watching drama unfold in the halls a bit too much to say she hated it completely.

So Steve waits until the end of the day, their film class being their last, to pull her into an empty classroom. She follows him without question in a show of trust he didn't realize she had in him. The notion warms him, and for some reason makes it more difficult to get the question out.

"Why do I feel like you're about to try to sell me drugs or something?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He squints at her in offense.

"Why is that your first assumption?!"

"I don't know! Why else are you pulling me out of the hallway all secretive like, making sure no one followed us, into an abandoned classroom," she asks, throwing her arms into the air.

"The classroom isn't abandoned, it's the end of the day! Also, who does drug deals on campus, that's just stupid?" He asks rhetorically, before waving one hand through the air, as if trying to erase the current thread of conversation. "That doesn't matter, you're distracting me."

"Well then, get on with it! Some of us have practice we need to get to."

"It's like talking to the kids," he mutters to himself, "Whatever. I wanted to ask - will you go to prom with me?"

That stops Robin up short. There's panic in her eyes now, though Steve isn't sure what exactly put it there. Was his reputation that bad that even band geeks are terrified of getting asked out by him?

"You want to go on a date? With me?" she asks slowly, disbelief coloring her voice, though it doesn't hide her unease.

"No, I want to go to prom with you," he scoffs, "Not go on a date with you."

"That is a date, dingus! The person you go to prom with is literally called your date!"

"Okay, sure, maybe, but I don't actually want to date you," he said, rolling his eyes at her.

Like, okay, he understood his reputation for being... what did she call him last week? A 'huge effing rake'? But that didn't mean that he was trying to date any girl that looked in his direction. A lot of girls looked in his direction. That was too many women, even for him.

Robin relaxes a little at that.

"Then why are you asking me to prom instead of someone you actually want to date?"

"Because!" he says, resisting the urge to flail his hands back at her. "I don't want to date anyone right now. Most people I ask are going to expect all these things from me - they're going to want dinner, and at the very least a kiss at the end of the night if not more, or another date the very next day. Because Steve Harrington is supposed to want those things!" He takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair to calm himself. "But right now? I really don't."

"Well then, what does Steve the Hair Harrington actually want?" She had relaxed fully at this point, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"I want to go to prom with someone I consider a friend, someone who makes me laugh," he says after a moment of silence. "I want to dance badly to really corny pop music and drink just enough spiked punch that I don't remember how much I hate wearing any sort of tie. Then I want to go get milkshakes or go see a really trashy midnight horror flick, just because I'm having so much fun I don't want the night to end."

That small smile has grown into a reluctant grin on Robin's face. It makes her eyes shine and her freckles pop. Steve thought that if he was in a better place, if they had met at a different time, he could have fallen in love with her.

But they had met now instead, in some shitty public school elective course, and she was the closest thing he had to a friend that wasn't a snotty middle schooler.

"That sounds... like a lot of fun, actually," she says, mischief sparking on her face. "Who would've known the hidden depths hidden behind all that hair."

"Hey!" he protests half-heartedly, unable to keep a grin of his own off his face. "So what do you say? Wanna go to prom with me?"

"I guess," she sighs, acting like it was such a trial to go to prom with him. Him! But her next words make up for it. "Since we're friends, and all. However, I still expect you to buy me dinner, though you can keep the kiss goodnight to yourself."

Steve can't help the giddy laugh from spilling out of him. For the first time in weeks, he is actually looking forward to prom.

[jim-bones-spock]

DEVOUR, a steddie vampire cowboy AU

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42266112

Summary: Steve Harrington is a respected deputy, but the life he dreamt for himself seems far away, completely out of reach. With his father’s immense expectations looming over his shoulders, the arrival of the Munsons in the small desert town of Hawkins send everything he knows upside down. Who is Eddie Munson and why can’t he shake the feeling that he is different from anyone he knows?

Pairings: Steve/Eddie, Nancy/Jonathan, mentions of Steve/Nancy and Steve/Jonathan, Robin/Vickie

Warnings: Implied child abuse (nothing graphic, just Steve’s dad being an asshole), implied injuries, blood.

Raiting: M

Other tags: vampires, cowboys, vampire cowboys, sexual tension, courting, internalized homophobia, a lot of cowboy hats, can i call this a period piece??? sure why not

Frequent updates as this is nearly finished in the google docs!

[loulou-garou]

Steddie fic rec

Imma need y'all to read this fucking masterpiece

[jupitermelichios]

Best of 2022: Steddie Longfics

I was going to make a more general best of 2022 fics rec list, but looking at my bookmarks... ST and OFMD really have dominated my reading, so I'm making fandom specific reclists instead.

All fics on this list are complete, several have sequels, and all are of a longer, plottier, variety.

You're Divine by OonionChiver (explicit, 200k+ wordcount)

The definitive Vampire!Eddie fic (and there are many excellent ones).

the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you by greatunironic (explicit, 30k+ wordcount)

if I had to convince one of those 'fanfic isn't real writing' people, this is the fic I'd show them

took you for a working boy by pukner (mature, 40k+ wordcount)

genderqueer!Steve, my beloved. apocolyptic!Hawkins my beloved. radio announcer!Eddie, my beloved.

Like the Hero Who Never Ran by callmejude (explicit, 30k+ wordcount)

I just love the central relationship here. The rare slow burn that feels entirely uncontrived in its slowness.

eddie munson's vampire mixtape by Springandastorm (teen, 20k+ wordcount)

this series is just charming. Not especially light, there's some dark shit in here, but even that manages to be charming somehow.

a special privilege for the resurrected by theopteryx (explicit, 50k+ wordcount)

I was going to make this 5 fics, but then I remembered this absolute gem. And I know I said You're Divine is THE Steddie vampire fic, but this is also THE steddie vampire fic. Yes there can be two. They have different vibes.

[adankrivervalleynearyou]

yo I bullied my friend @absolutegibberishandnumbers into posting an ST Cryptids au and it's very cool and you should check it out!!

[wisdomssdaughterr]

oh izzy i had no idea who you were for a second 😭😭😭 love the new url though!!!

i came because i have a challenge for you and i'm DYING to see it:

what do you think max's letter to lucas said? write it >:)

(if you wanna ofc and you're looking for a prompt)

ahaha thanks !!

and your wish is my command !! lumax is the it couple of st now (they always have been) and I can’t wait for them to be endgame

[cowboysandpilots]

does anyone have any Eddie x Reader fic recs that use he/him pronouns?? I need them in my life.