#this kinda became more about steve and his first kisses but the steddie is there at the end

[atimeofyourlife]

@steddie-week Day 3 first kiss

Steve knew first kisses. He'd had so many of them in his life, didn't always get a second kiss or anything further, but first kisses were a speciality of his.

His first kiss had been with Tommy H when they were nine. It had been awkward, as neither of them knew what they were doing. But over time, they had perfected their technique together. Innocent kisses while they were still in elementary school turning into hours-long make-out sessions whenever they were both single as teenagers.

His first kiss with a girl had been with Nicole at the Snow Ball in sixth grade, when he was eleven. Tommy was taking Carol, so it only made sense that he asked Nicole, the only other girl they hung out with. It was much less uncomfortable than his first kiss with Tommy, as he actually knew what he was doing. It was still weird, because neither of them were that into it. They decided the next day that they were better off as friends.

He had so many other first kisses, some more memorable than others. Becky, Laurie, Anna, Tommy S (who was nowhere near as good as Tommy H), Gemma, Jodie, Carol (to make Tommy H jealous), Rob, Amy, Tina, Heather, Dean. In middle school, girls almost treated it like a game to get him as their first kiss. In high school, it was an open secret in the locker room that Steve would be happy to kiss any guys that were trying to figure out how straight they were, and would never name names. And that he was damn good at it, too.

The next first kiss to actually mean anything was Nancy. Right from the first one, he was devoted to her. He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper in love with every kiss. He thought that it could be forever, but drunken words leaving his heart shattered on the bathroom floor at a Halloween party destroyed that illusion.

After Nancy, there were more first kisses. He took some time without seeing anyone, trying to get over the heartbreak, then he hit his dry spell while working at Scoops. But he got back out there. Emily, Brandon, Alexander, Louise, George, Joseph, Rachel, Ian, Brittany, Linda, Ross, Stan, Heidi, Josh, Brenda. More first kisses with guys than before, as his confidence grew and he started spending every other weekend frequenting the gay bars of Indianapolis. Nothing serious ever came of it, a few dates with the women, and maybe a string of hookups if any of the men were interested enough to see him more than once.

He completely stopped after the Upside Down raised its head again, feeling on edge about what could happen next, but also realizing his feelings for Eddie. He'd known for a while what he was looking for. Something serious, in it for the long term, someone to plan a future with, where the relationship wasn't just about the sex. But he'd struggled with figuring out who he was looking for. Eddie was that someone he was looking for. But he was scared to admit it. He didn't want to fuck up their friendship, or to make it awkward for everyone if they couldn't last. He couldn't find the confidence to make a move, even after Eddie told everyone he was bi. That had caused a chain reaction of coming out in the party. Steve had quickly followed up by admitting his own bisexuality. Robin gained the confidence to be open about being a lesbian and introduce Vickie as her girlfriend. Argyle explained that he didn't like to label himself, but he was open to anyone. Will came out as gay, his voice shook as he said it, but the relief was clear in his eyes when everyone responded with love. Max came out as bi, saying she'd known since before she left California. Lucas admitted he liked both, but had felt so alone because he never knew there was a word for it or other people like him.

Steve hadn't accounted for how Dustin would react to him coming out. It wasn't a bad reaction, he accepted that there had been a reason why Robin and Steve wouldn't date and it wasn't something that was Steve's fault. But Steve choked on air and had to slam on the breaks when Dustin finally got to his point. "So why don't you date Eddie? I mean, you both like guys and you spend almost all your time together anyway."

Eddie beat him to it when bringing it up. "Henderson keeps insisting that we should date."

"Yeah, he keeps bugging me about it, he's just using your name where he used to put Robin's. All the points are basically the same." Steve leaned back on the couch, watching Eddie carefully.

"And it doesn't bother you?" Eddie looked nervous in a way that Steve hadn't seen before.

"Ed's why would it bother me?" Steve asked softly, taking Eddie's hand in his.

"Because I like you, man."

"Then why don't you do something about it?"

Eddie dove across the couch to Steve, tangling his fingers into the hair at the back of Steve's neck as he kissed him intensely.

Steve kissed back enthusiastically, pulling Eddie closer to deepen the kiss.

Yeah, he could live with this being his last first kiss.

I had to delete and repost this because it didn't post properly. if you saw it first time, no you didn't. also on AO3

[harmonictechnicality]

Memory Log Easter Eggs and Brain Worms

There’s quite a few of these, so I’m gonna do my best to scavenge for all of them. I’m going to start with the most important one:

Waking up Max: there were 3 key elements that were vital in waking up Max. 

Max’s birthday - I purposefully picked November 6th as Max’s birthday because it is the day that Will went missing in 1983. I think there is something so significant about the Upside Down being frozen in time on that specific day. That day must hold some sort of power and therefore, I needed Max to be tethered to that day somehow. Hence the November 6th birthday.

The happiest memory item/song - Max has been through a lot, especially as a kid. It is common for people (younger people especially) to repress their trauma in order to function day to day. However, a lot of good memories often times get repressed with the bad memories. The brain is just trying to stuff it all away and that can happen. So it made sense to me that Max couldn’t find her happiest memory because she repressed it, and needed to hear the song from the bear to pull the memory out of storage.

The witching hour - the time of day when supernatural entities are said to reach maximum power. Therefore, if Max’s consciousness is stuck in a supernatural realm, she would need as much power as possible to escape. This time of day gave her and Eddie the best chances of surviving.

(All three of these things needed to happen in order to set them free. The perfect storm.)

Going off of this, there is distinct significance in Max waking up on Day 77. Seven is commonly used as a number of extreme luck. So I used this day to represent that not only did they need those three conditions, but they also needed tons and tons of luck on their side.

And if you’re into math (I’m not, but I kinda had to for this fic), you’ll notice that Steve and Eddie kiss on Day 71. And if Max’s birthday is on Day 77, that would mean that their first kiss is on Halloween. Something, I doubt Steve cares about - but if Eddie’s memory had been better, I’m sure he would’ve be fucking STOKED.

The book behavior choices! Taming of the Shrew is such a nod to this fandom. I’ve seen a lot of people in the steddie nation that love 10 Things I Hate About You. And like, same. But 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern adaptation of Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare. So, I threw this in there as a little nod to this community and their shared love of that tale :)

Jekyll and Hyde… this one is pretty obvious. One is nice and the other is a monster (via potion). I’m assuming that Eddie is on a lot of medicines, some probably affect his moods, so that’s why I chose this one.

Beowulf - okay, so I’ve read articles on how Tolkien LOVES Beowulf, and therefore, I think Eddie would also love Beowulf. It totally checks out with his love of fantasy worlds.

There’s a moment in chapter 3 where Steve calls Eddie “hero” and I think this is less of a term of endearment, and more his way of showing Eddie that he did indeed read Beowulf for him (even though he did not read it lol). It’s also a nod to s4 when Eddie says they are ‘no heroes.’ Even though Eddie doesn’t have memory of this moment, Steve calls back to it so that Eddie feels like a hero (just like Beowulf) for surviving the Bad Days.

The heart monitor - this became a huge symbol for Steve in determining Eddie’s feelings. Whether he was feeling sick or flustered or sleepy, all of those beeps sounded different. But then, Steve ALSO uses it to determine that Max is waking up. I think it is fun to play off of this thing that he saw as a reminder of mortality, and ends up using it to know that his friend is being revived.

I picked the Corduroy bear because the story reflects Eddie in a lot of ways. In the Children’s book, the bear is searching for his missing button. In this fic, Eddie is searching for his missing memories. I just liked the idea of connecting him and Max in yet another way.

The heart sticker being underneath the bear’s overalls is another callback to s4 - the Russian Doll with the note inside. It’s not entirely the same, but it’s a tiny detail I threw in there to pay homage to that scene (and it ultimately led to breaking someone - Hopper - free). Just like Max and Eddie were set free.

In the final chapter Eddie says this about the bear: ‘Looks like she sewed it back together with yellow threads?’ The color yellow is used to represent Steve throughout this fic (and the whole damn fandom). So I liked having it symbolize the thread holding this bear together, like Steve is the person that has brought them all together on this quest to wake up Max.

The Firestarter reference - I used this particular movie/novel for a few different reasons. The first is that it’s by Stephen King, and the show (in canon) makes TONS of Stephen King references. At the end of s4, we see Lucas reading The Talisman to Max, so we get the sense that she’s a fan of his books. I also chose it because Max’s hair is red, so I thought Eddie would immediately associate her with fire :)

The Nightmare on Elm Street reference - again, a lot of s4 paid respect to this movie, along with lots of other Teen Horror Slasher films. But since this fic is dealing with lucid dreaming, I felt it had to be mentioned at least once.

I based the original character of Sam off of the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet. Lets be honest: Romeo and Juliet are shitty people. But the Friar and the Nurse are literally carrying the whole damn play on their overworked backs (so is Mercutio until he bites the bullet). The Nurse helps Romeo and Juliet meet in secrecy and protects their relationship. So having an actual nurse do the same thing for Steve and Eddie seemed like a no-brainer in my Shakespeare-obsessed brain.

In the epilogue, Eddie tells Steve “Would be a complete idiot not to fall in love with you, Steve Harrington.” I used this to negate Nancy Wheeler saying “you’re an idiot, Steve Harrington” all throughout s1. While she probably means this in an endearing way, I can’t help but wonder how this affects Steve. Especially after seeing her response to his essay in the next season. Yes, it might be playful, but it becomes a very real opinion of hers a year into their relationship. So I thought it was important to have Eddie twist that phrase and tell Steve that someone would be an idiot not to fall in love with him. That seemed healing and important to me.

The final line. This is in reference to them holding hands in chapters 4 and 5. Each time they do so, it means something different. At first, it is a sign of “helpless support.” Steve cannot fix Eddie’s medical problems, but he can literally offer his hand to show that he’s physically there for him. Once they kiss in Chapter 5, Steve says “it means everything,” in determination to get Eddie’s memories back once and for all. And finally, he repeats this because the gesture now represents their togetherness. Their bond. When they hold hands at the end, it means everything they’ve experienced as a pair.

I hope this was interesting and not too boring. Sorry if it was! I cannot thank you all enough for the love and support on this fic. It was a joy to share with this community.

[harringtonisms]

BABE, WAKE UP! YEAR IN REVIEW IS HERE!

I posted 3,239 times in 2022

That's 31 more posts than 2021!

396 posts created (12%)

2,843 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@steviesmunson

@hey-moonwtf

@shesapeachsconebob

@thehairthefreak

@bayouteche

I tagged 2,843 of my posts in 2022

Only 12% of my posts had no tags

#st - 1,397 posts

#steddie - 747 posts

#misc - 346 posts

#steve harrington - 328 posts

#oc - 203 posts

#eddie munson - 161 posts

#st cast - 120 posts

#buckingham - 98 posts

#steddie & their kids 👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 - 85 posts

#ducky quacks - 81 posts

Longest Tag: 113 characters

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My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i know max is supposed to be ronance's child but i cant help but see her as steddie's kid. like steve is the babysitter, he's always with the kids and he was there the first time vecna got max, and he knows about her relationship with billy and how complicated it is. he's protected her from him and took her to visit his grave. he's also the only big kid who got a letter. so i imagine he became like a brotherly figure in her life, being who billy should have been.

eddie and max both live in the trailer park, so i'd imagine sometimes she'd go over to his trailer, or eddie would come to hers to check on her. he'd teach her how to play guitar and she'd show him how to skateboard. i can imagine them working on cars together (bc i am a mechanic!eddie truther), and eating dinner together & getting to have the siblings they always wanted.

and bc it's me, every single one of my hc's include steddie, once steve and eddie start dating, everything kinda combines and they are protective & close with max in a different way than dustin and a different way than the other kids.

anyways!!!! my point being, max deserves brothers who love her & protect her.

2,383 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

#4

pov you're going through eddie munson's camera roll

See the full post

2,581 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

#3

steve canonically looked at eddie like this. he was ready to risk it all.

2,854 notes - Posted October 7, 2022

#2

steve "i can take care of myself" harrington and eddie "but you don't have to anymore" munson

3,169 notes - Posted July 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

steve telling his students (teacher!steve, so true) about his super sweet and caring husband and they all think it's just some average, boring dude. and they find out that the guy who irons mr. harrington's clothes every morning and adopted 3 kittens so the siblings wouldn't be separated, is a rock musician, with tattoos all over his arms and is wearing a shirt that says sum shit like "the devil was an angel too" when he comes in for career day.

alternatively, eddie telling his bandmates about how super cool and tough his husband is & then one day some guy in a baby blue polo and pressed slacks shows up before their show to give eddie a specific pick and a kiss on the cheek and eddies band mates are like..........that's him? that's the guy who bit the head off a bat and hit billy hargrove with his car?

(edit: read steve's version here!)

24,528 notes - Posted September 10, 2022

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