It happened so fast. They were kids, barely ten, and Tommy wasn't thinking. He was new in town and his friendship with Steve was still fresh but he loved spending time with him. They were playing in the woods behind Steve's house and had found a tree that Steve declared was the perfect one for climbing.
As they attempted to scale the large oak, shouting out plans for a tree house they could build someday, Steve got distracted and slipped. His hand scraped on the bark as he fell down. He landed on his feet for a second before falling flat on his rear. Tommy hopped down from where he was hanging on to a low branch and made his way over to his friend. Steve sat there silent and dumbfounded, tears welling in his eyes as he stared down at his palms. "Please don't tell anyone I cried," he pleaded as Tommy crouched beside him and took his scraped palm in his own to look it over. It's what his mom would do when him or his brothers got hurt. Check for bleeding and press a kiss to the would for healing. So, that's what Tommy did. He wasn't thinking. It was just what felt right to do at the time. He hadn't looked up at Steve yet as he said, "There. All better." As he lifted his head and met his friends eyes, all Tommy saw was awe and surprise and he realized that maybe that's something only his mom did for his family and maybe he shouldn't have-
"You won't tell anyone I cried? My dad says I shouldn't-"
"Of course not, Steve. You're my best friend. I cry when I fall all the time. It hurts."
Steve wiped a tear from his face with the back of his hand as he chuckled. Then he brushed himself off and hopped up and went back to the tree.
"So, if you can get some tools and wood from your garage, I was thinking we could build our fort on this branch here."
"Great idea. We can start this weekend."
Steve beamed at Tommy and he beamed right back.
Fifteen years later and their friendship had seen more scrapes and scars, some invisible. Steve and Tommy's friendship fell apart in high school only to reconnect at their ten year reunion. Tommy didn't think Steve would talk to him and he was scared of the confrontation that it could incite as he walked over, but something about Steve aways helped him feel brave.
"Hagan?"
"Harrington! Hey! So, I was an asshole. I'm sorry, man."
And then Steve smiled that sideaways smile and extended his hand out to him.
"Me too. I'm sorry, too. We were kids. What the hell did we know?"
"Not a damn thing."
They laughed together. Laughing turned into talking.
They talked for hours that night. Rehashing memories from their youth, catching each other up on their lives now. Twenty minutes into their conversation they realized they were both living in Chicago now so they decided to try to revisit their friendship again. They started at meeting at bars on Sundays to watch a game or catch up after the week. Then they started calling eachother every day and it was as if they picked up where they left off as teenagers.
Inseperable again.
Another familiar feeling creeped into Tommy's gut. The same familiar feeling when he realized at fifteen that he felt things deeper than friendship for his closest friend. He tried to push it down, not wanting to screw up the friendship he just got back. Even when there were moments where he caught Steve's look lingering or his expression seeming to mirror his own feelings. But it had to be in his head. There was no way Steve shared Tommy's feelings and crush. A crush? Steve couldn't possibly and Tommy shouldn't either. Even if that was what was happening, weren't they a little old for crushes? So, no. Tommy needed to not feel this way. It was giving him ideas and putting thoughts of possibilities that were not probable in his head that risked ruining a friendship he was so glad and relieved to have back.
"So, I was thinking we could head over to that place on Clark to watch that Cubs Pirates game Thursday night." Steve is putting his own groceries away as he talks with his back to Tommy who's moving magazines around on the coffee table just to have something to do with his hands.
"Yeah. That works for me. Wanna meet after work and get dinner there or— Shit!"
One of the cardboard inserts in one of the magazines knicks the inside of Tommy's hand between his thumb and index finger.
The expletive seems to pull Steve from his task as he moves the two and a half strides from his fridge to his living room, brow furrowed in curiosity.
"What is it? You okay?"
"Yeah, no. It's fine. Just a stupid paper cut."
He lifts his hand up to show his friend the cut that's barely present but throbs like a son of a bitch. Tommy tries to keep a brave face on while it stings. Maybe a joke will difuse the situation and distract himself from the pain.
"Betrayed by Sports Illustrated, yet again."
Steve lets loose a soft laugh as he closes the space between them to stand directly in front of Tommy and grabs the wounded hand in his own.
"Let me see."
As Tommy offers his hand to his friend he hopes the other man doesn't hear his breathe hitch in his throat that happens as an involuntary reaction to the touch.
Steve meets his eyes as he lifts their hands up to press a kiss onto Tommy's palm.
"There. All better."
Tommy can't help but look on with wonder. This can't be happening. He feels like he's hurtling in space. Moving at warp speed to a long lost memory from their youth while simultaneously moving at warp speed through every sensation, sound and happening occuring in that space they share in that moment they're sharing in Steve's apartment.
All he can do is cock his head to the side in question but he knows there must be hope written all over his face.
Steve drops Tommy's hand and lunges forward to grab the side of his face instead, pulling him into a bruising kiss. Tommy melts into it and kisses back into Steve, head spinning.
As they pull away to catch their breathe, Steve whispers in the space between them, slightly brushing his lips to Tommy's as he speaks.
"When did Sports Illustrated betray you the first time?"
They laugh and lean back in to eachother. Paper cut, magazine, and the remaining groceries long forgotten.
It's a sunny lazy Sunday and all Barb wants to do is stretch out on her couch like a cat in a sunspot. Her boyfriend must have had the same idea because he makes his way to the living room in their three bedroom place they share with Robin.
Steve is sleep rumpled and handsome. Even handsomer still because he has two mugs of coffee in hand as he offers her her favorite mug, an old clunky ceramic thing with green and pink polka dots. He looks down at her and gives her the same look he's given her for what feels like a million times and yet she still hasn't gotten used to it. Something warm and soft. It's intense and awestruck.
She doesn't know if she's ready to admit to herself what it probably is. It's too early to be love, though. Right?
Once her coffee is in hand, he takes a sip of his own cup, sets it down on the coffee table and then proceeds to crawl onto the couch so he can lay across Barb and set his head into the cradle of her collarbone. She looks down at him fondly before reaching her cup out to him in an unspoken request for help. He takes it from her and sets it beside his own and then takes the opportunity to lift himself up and hover above her, bracketing her between his strong arms. She hooks the side of her index finger under his chin to bring him down towards her. The ease in which he follows the ever so slight direction of her hand is a gravitational pull. His expression as they close the gap between them takes her breath away.
Just then, Robin's door opens—as the knob turning is any indication and she starts talking outloud to noone. Everyone. Anyone in ear shot to hear. In this instance it's the couple on the couch. Even with being preoccupied, this is a normal occurance so they're able to multi task and take in what their friend is saying even when melting into each other. Robin's going on about how she's going to the farmer's market in town so if they want anything "say something now or forever hold your peace."
And how her library book had a page torn out of it. "It was just some random page, too. In the second to the last chapter. I'm not even sure if I can find another copy. I'm beyond irritated."
And how there was a news story she read yesterday about a family of cows wandering off from their farm a few towns over that she hopes are having a nice adventure.
And other assorted topics that she's bouncing back and forth from rapidly. All while moving about their kitchen with her back to them.
"—So, I told Keith that unless he's giving me a pay increase I don't really care how much of an honor it is to be night manager, I don't want i— Oh my god, you two! Can you come up for air for a second? It's not even ten in the morning. You know if you hadn't stolen my best friend we could maybe go to the farmer's market together, but noooo. You'd rather suck face on our communal couch."
Barb laughs into Steve's mouth as they pull away, roll their eyes at Robin's tantrum, and speak at the same time.
"Who?"
"Which one of us?"
That seems to add fuel to her annoyance's fire and a sigh that goes on for far too long leaves Robin before she responds.
"Both of you!"
And then there's a rustling of her keys off the hook by the door followed by the sound of the door being yanked open and slammed shut. Steve lifts himself up to straddle Barb's lap, kneeling around her legs. He looks toward the front door shaking his head.
"Dramatic."
Barb laughs lightly and lifts herself up, leaning back on her elbows.
"She doesn't mean it. She's just pissed at Keith lately and I bet she just feels like we're ignoring her. She hates not feeling heard. And I get that."
Steve cocks his head to the side like he's thinking about it. "Maybe we need to make more of an effort, huh?"
She matches his expression and pose tilting her head in mirrored curiousity.
"I think so. We'll talk to her after she cools off. But she isn't here now, so—" Her gaze darkens. Steve seemingly catches the glimmer in her eye because he dives back in to her, pressing his lips to hers. Barb licks into her boyfriend's mouth, letting her tongue lightly brush across the seam there. He follows her lead, kissing and biting softly at her bottom lip before pulling away again.
He looks down at her exasperated. Barb loves the way his hair flops to the side, so who's to stop her from looking up and admiring the view while they contemplate the ridiculousness of their roommate? She smiles softly at him. She can't help it.
Steve looks curious as he continues. "It's just a little bit of an over reaction though. Don't you think? Even for Robin."
Barb opens her mouth to respond and the front door creaks open followed by Robin's soft apologetic voice.
"Guys, I think I overreacted."
The couple break out into soft laughter as Barb's hand fists the front of Steve's shirt to pull him back into her. Unable to stop their laughter, their teeth slightly clink together as their mouths meet. Neither of them caring because they're both lost to the humor of it all.
Robin continues on waxing poetic about how she actually thinks she hit the best friend lottery and how it makes sense that two of her favorite people could enjoy each other as much as they do because she thinks the sun shines out of both of their asses but also could they both put on pants so they can come with her to peruse the produce and flowers at the park down the street. "Please?"
They take their laughter and coffee to go, linking each of their arms through Robin's on either side to set off to spend their shared Sunday together at the farmer's market gathering ingredients for their dinner and flowers for their table.
They've played this game before. There have been a handful of times Chrissy has leaned over while Robin is mid sentence and mid rant, and pressed her index finger to Robin's face. Smile beaming and blue eyes bright she'll say, "Eyelash. Quick. Make a wish."
It never fails to pull Robin out of her head and into the present moment, which not a lot of things do, especially when she really gets going on what has been affectionately coined a Robin Ramble.
They've played this game before, so Robin knows when she sees a stray lash on Chrissy's cheek that the other girl will play along. She knows what her next move will be if Robin plucks it and presents it for Chrissy to wish upon. Robin isn't the one to ever initiate this game. Not really. She's never been the wish demander, only the wisher, but she still knows what Chrissy will do. Chrissy was pretty adamant that Robin was wishing wrong the first time they played like this. Which quite frankly is ridiculous. How does one wish wrong? It's a wish. Who cares? Well, Chrissy, that's who.
Chrissy had stamped her fingerprint onto to side of Robin's face and then brought it within Robin's line of vision to blow it away and make a wish. Robin had looked straight at Chrissy's manicured finger and pursed her lips to blow. Before she had a chance to take any breathe to prepare her lungs for the task, Chrissy pulled her hand away and shook her head back and forth.
"No, wait! That's not how you do it. You need to close your eyes."
"Why? How can I see if I actually blow it away or not if I'm not looking at it?"
Chrissy's smile was all mischief then.
"You don't. But I will and I'll tell you if you need to try again."
Chrissy took her opposite hand and slid her palm over Robin's face to close her eyes for her. It was electric. Robin's nerves felt like a live wire, her stomach a cage for a dozen butterflies, and a handful of other cliches— cliches that Robin rolled her eyes at until she felt them all and realized why they're cliches in the first place.
That was ten wishes ago, but Robin still remembers it like it was yesterday and she's been waiting for an opportunity to play back, it just hasn't happened, until now—And honestly Robin was starting to wonder if this was just another way Chrissy was perfect because it just never happened. Every hair in its place and every eyelash where it was meant to be and not a stray on a cheek bone to be found. Robin was starting to think it would never happen, until it did. It was finals week. They were in their University library studying side by side at a table. It was crowded and there was an energy in the air from all the stressed and focused college kids trying to absorb and retain as much as they could before their exams by any means necessary. A copper haired freshman two tables over was making the most noise in the room rustling their notes. A girl with dark hair had two books opened flat on her table as she cross referenced one and then the other bouncing back and forth as she shushed the freshman. Someone in a hoodie was lying their head on the stack of books in front of them. Osmosis was also a choice.
There was a lot happening around them but the table both girls sat at may as well have been an island. Robin's attention kept getting pulled back to her crush turned friend turned even more intense crush sitting next to her. The other people in the room nor her Dialects of Lost Civilizations textbook held her attention as much.
That's when it happened.
Chrissy was looking down at her book, Robin was looking at Chrissy. She leaned in close and brushed Chrissy's face to sweep up the lash. Chrissy turned her head fully and beamed at Robin, then immediately closed her eyes, took in a quick inhale to prepare to make a wish and blew. Robin wasn't sure what came over her but she felt pulled in by Chrissy Cunningham's gravitational pull and leaned forward to gently press her lips to Chrissy's right eye lid. Rather than release her exhale in a pursed lip blow, Chrissy sighed and relaxed further into her seat. Robin pulled away just as Chrissy's smile deepened and she opened her eyes to look down at the eyelash still on Robin's index finger and then up to meet her gaze.
Chrissy whispered into the space between them,"Pretty magical how a wish can be granted before it's even made. Don't you think, Robin?"
"Well, you're pretty magical, so I'm not even surprised."
Chrissy reached out and grabbed Robin's wrist, bringing her own eyelash within reach of her own exhale, closed her eyes and made a wish Robin hoped was her.
inspired by the infamous "i want the k" meme by deactivated tumblr user tastcful. send 🎲 to generate a kiss! potential suggestive/nsf.w themes may appear
A kiss on the cheek
A kiss on the nose
A kiss on the forehead
A kiss to the top of the head
A firm kiss
A gentle peck
A romantic kiss
A platonic kiss
A kiss to the eyelid
A kiss along the jawline
A kiss to the neck
A kiss along the collar bone
A kiss on the chest
A kiss to the stomach
A kiss along the hips
A kiss in the rain
An upside-down "Spider-Man" kiss
A kiss while laughing
A kiss underwater
A rough kiss
WILDCARD! Dealer's choice :)
A french kiss/kiss with tongue
A kiss influenced by alcohol/other substances
A sleepy kiss
A kiss that's an accident
A kiss while one or both parties are crying
A kiss in greeting
A kiss in parting
A kiss to the back of the hand
A kiss to the palm of the hand
A kiss to the inner thigh
A kiss while someone watches
A kiss to a scar, birthmark, injury, or other marking
#thought I'd give this a try #with help from encouragement from a friend #i've missed writing something awful #haven't written in a year #so this seems like a fun way to shake off the cobwebs #accepting ST ships #never opened asks before #and I don't have much engagement here #and I haven't used this is Tumblr in forever #and if no one asks I'll still shake off the cobwebs and write in another way #i still don't know if I use tags right #🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️😂
This week’s writer spotlight feature is: WabiSabiPapi! @arimakes has 16 fics posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 12 of them are in the Steddie tag.
Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by WabiSabiPapi:
Fill My Lungs With Sweetness
Peach Boy
Dog Days of Summer
March Madness
"They're multitalented-- not only do they write beautifully but they're an amazing illustrator, too. Ari puts so much heart into everything they create." -- anonymous
Below the cut, @arimakes answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!
Why do you write Steddie?
I’m starting to think I’m possessed? It all began because I really wanted to read one specific thing and nobody had done it yet, so I figured, why not try writing it myself? I haven’t been able to stop since. Turns out, it’s my favourite thing in the world to do, and I think about it all the time. Art has been my source of creative expression since I was a kid, I really never expected to love telling stories this much, too.
What’s your favorite trope to READ?
Hands down idiot4idiot, mutual bi-discovery! I’m pretty sure Steddie’s natural state is clueless and confused! Big shout out to @bilbosmom-belladonna’s Exactly What It Looks Like!
What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?
Hmm, so I love writing an Alternate Universe. I love canon, but I really enjoy plopping them in a variety of situations and discovering how a change in circumstance might impact them. Looking at my tags on AO3, I tend towards Friends to Lovers as well!
What’s your favorite Steddie fic?
Oh goshhhh! This is so tough because I have so many that I think about often, but the very top would have to be Is Your Light On? By Vio. The boys are imperfect in such a human way. Their motivations make sense even when their decisions have you screaming at your phone. Vio is also a master in subtlety. There is a treasure trove of subtext to parse through so reading any of their work is truly a remarkable experience.
I also credit Vio entirely for my involvement in the Steddie fandom. My first piece of fanart was for IYLO. It’s the reason why I ended up connecting and making friends with other creators!
Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?
There would be so much to explore through a Came Back Wrong fic! Either POV, really! The gnawing suspicion of someone you know who is acting strangely or maybe losing grasp of yourself after a tragedy. It’s a great opportunity to utilize an unreliable narrator, plus I really enjoy misleading readers or hiding things (either from the reader or from a character) until a big reveal.
What is your writing process like?
I always write a bullet point outline with the overarching plot and then pass through it over and over and over again, adding more details every time. Sometimes, I’ll be on a walk or cooking and an idea for a scene or piece of dialogue or interiority will pop in my head, so I pick up my phone and add a bullet point in the proper spot. I am always considering interiority, action, dialogue, and scenography as I plan and write. If the scene is hinging on a conversation, I’ll write that part first and then weave in the rest of it to make sure all my bases are covered!
By the time I’m actually writing prose, I’ve got pretty well every scene figured out beat by beat.
Do you have any writing quirks?
At the beginning of the writing process, I often have the intention to keep a fic short… like in my current fic The Carnivorous Lamb, I literally told a few of my friends that I was just gonna write a quick n dirty one-shot and now I have no clue how long it’s going to be. For some reason, I can’t make em hook up without an in-depth character study!!
Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?
I have no patience! As soon as I’m done writing a chapter and it’s been beta’d (shout out to Amy), I am raring to post.
Which fic are you most proud of?
Right Where You Belong will always be the one I’m most proud of, I think. It’s the first thing I ever wrote and even though I’ve learned a lot since that one, I am still so so proud of it. The timeline was complex (it’s a time travel au) so I had to thread things throughout it all and make sure the dates all made sense!
How did you get the idea for Dog Days of Summer?
Dog Days of Summer is actually the final installment of a series! The first part was a Tommy POV called A Piece of Something (You Think Is Gonna Last) which came from a list of prompts from a Valentine’s Exchange on a server I’m a part of. I wrote the first part over the course of a few days, and I couldn’t stop thinking of the little lake town and the silly characters living within it. A bigger story webbed out from that first part so I decided I’d write a different one for the exchange and explore the backstory more thoroughly through an Eddie POV (Peach Boy) and then a Steve POV (Dog Days of Summer) to then catch up to the events in the Tommy POV. So, I have CheshireDog to thank for the entire Boys of Summer series!
More specifically, though, in Dog Days of Summer, Steve is finding his place in the world in a big way. It follows him over a span of six years while he falls in love with this town his family summers in and surprise surprise! He falls in love with Eddie, too! It was my first time doing a deep dive into Steve as a character. I partially wrote it as a challenge to myself to understand him more thoroughly and discover his voice!
When writing Dog Days of Summer, what was something you didn’t expect?
I honestly wasn’t expecting it to resonate with people as much as it did. Out of all of my fics, it was the one I got the most engagement on Tumblr with folks sending asks just to tell me how excited they were for the next chapter.
What inspired March Madness?
March Madness was written as part of Sub Eddie Week last year. I love Steddie in any combination: top, bottom, vers, sub, dom, switch! Let the boys have fun! I’ll read and write it all. But something about Sub!Eddie just clicks with me. From the beginning of this ship, Dom!Eddie fics have DOMINATED (is it tacky to wink here?). Currently, searching the tags on AO3, Dom!Eddie has 1,511 works whereas Sub!Eddie has 658. That event from last year added 118 to the pool! To think that one event is responsible for nearly one-fifth of that tag is pretty incredible.
Don’t get me wrong, March Madness is a very silly fic. I love to bring humour into kink, because in my personal experience, I prefer it when there is an edge of humour and playfulness. That’s all to say that I don’t take myself too seriously in regards to this fic, but in the second chapter, I did want to represent submissive tops. I won’t make any grand statements here, but I think some folks equate domming with topping, which again, in my real-life experience just isn’t the case. If it were, then femdoms who receive wouldn’t exist.
What was your favorite part to write from Peach Boy?
There’s a scene in Peach Boy—actually, it’s the scene that everything was building towards… Eddie is thirteen so his emotions and imagination are big and wild. He’s been driving himself mad over something so small and innocuous (finding peach pits lying around town in strange places) and he reaches a breaking point. I love writing Eddie’s interiority. He’s got such an over-dramatic, colourful, and unique voice, so finding ways to express that with odd turns of phrases and jaunty language is a blast. And when he’s thirteen, that just amps it all up ten-fold! In that particular scene, he loses control and his interiority bubbles up and bursts out of him in a very physical and silly way. It was fun to play with his awareness of his actions and to orchestrate how a moment stretches on or freezes or slips away from oneself.
How do/did you feel writing Fill My Lungs With Sweetness?
Super inspired! It’s a twist on Hanahaki and I did a bunch of research on the ancient Greek/Roman medicine system of humorism in which the human body is made up of four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. If anything is out of balance in a person’s life, a build-up or stagnation of any of these four things occurs in the body, and that’s how people get sick. I loved the marriage of humorism with Hanahaki—a physical manifestation of not expressing one’s love.
In this fic, rather than flowers invading a person’s lungs, it’s vines and sap. The illness first presents as an upper respiratory infection (lots of sticky, sappy, phlegm) and if you wait too long, you eventually lose the ability to speak because of it! Sorry if I’m nerding out too much here, but I’m a sucker for symbolism so I also tied the seasons in with it, and the phlegmatic humor is associated with winter!
What was the most difficult part of writing Fill My Lungs With Sweetness?
I had finished writing one of the chapters of Fill My Lungs With Sweetness and sent it off to be beta’d, but something just wasn’t sitting right with me. Initially, I wrote a conflict culminating in a certain way, but when I started writing the next chapter it felt like I was trying to write myself out of a corner. So after chatting with Amy, I decided to rewrite a big chunk of it and switch up how everything shook out so I could approach things from a totally different angle that made so much more sense for the characters and story.
I’ve encountered the same issue before while co-writing Late Bloomers with Amy. I just couldn’t get through writing a scene and we determined that it was just the wrong thing for the character to go through. In the planning phase, a scene or a decision might make sense, but as the story shakes out while writing the actual prose, things can definitely change. Sometimes you gotta scrap entire scenes and approach things from a different perspective!
Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?
It’s a toss-up between the final scene of Right Where You Belong and the final three paragraphs of Dog Days of Summer. My favourite parts of writing a story are always the beginning and the end. Tying everything together into a satisfying conclusion is thrilling! I get a lil rush of serotonin from it I think.
Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?
Right now, I’m working on The Carnivorous Lamb. It’s ongoing and it’s the first fic I’ve really allowed myself to settle into the middle of the story rather than barreling toward the finish line. If you like age gaps, power dynamics, and kink exploration with a big helping of religious quandary, this may be the fic for you!
Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?
Mainly, I want to express my gratitude for the friendships I’ve formed through this fandom. It’s so inspiring and such a special thing to be a part of. And I’m honoured folks read my work at all, let alone get excited about updates. Having not found this hobby until my thirties, it really is a testament to never knowing what you might discover about yourself as the years go on! There are things you have NO CLUE you will love waiting for you in your future!
Thank you to our author, @arimakes, and our nominator! See more of WabiSabiPapi's works featured on our page throughout the day!
Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!
Hello everyone! It is that time again where we are looking for nominations for our Wednesday Writer's Spotlight! While we have authors scheduled for the next few weeks, authors need some time to respond to our questions. So if you know someone who you think is deserving of a spotlight nomination please Fill out this form!
This week’s writer spotlight feature is: katdeerly! @katdeerly has 3 fics posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and all of them are in the Steddie tag!
Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by katdeerly:
Here For A Reason
you remind me of someone (it's probably you)
if you were a melody (i used only the good notes)
"Each of katdeerlys fics are like putting on a comfort movie, sitting back and enjoying. Each story is visual and dynamic and I've gone back to read them as comfort fics over and over. The ensemble casts, the characterizations, the ensemble cast. It's all so good and I return to them like a warm cup of soup and blanket around my shoulders." -- Anonymous
Below the cut, katdeerly answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!
Why do you write Steddie?
I write Steddie because it was the first pairing in a really long time that affected me enough to get back into writing and fanfic and fandom in general! I was dealing with a lot of big personal life changes when S4 came out and I somehow fell into Steddie fic, so it wasn’t long after reading that the itch to write finally hit. I love the duality of Steve & Eddie’s dynamic - on the surface, they are the stereotypical “opposites attract” but when you examine who they really are as characters, there is so much they share: caring, self-sacrificing, passionate, thoughtful. Even from their few interactions in canon, there was so much to build on and so much unexplored potential.
What’s your favorite trope to READ?
I love angst, so really any trope that inspires that, like a good miscommunication or misunderstanding. And I believe all the best relationships are rooted in friendship, so I love a friends to lovers or a second chances fic. And always need a happy ending!
What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?
Doing this exercise really made me take a big picture look at my stories so far – so apparently, my favorite tropes to write are slow burn, found family, romcom AU, with a little forced proximity, slice of life, character study.
What’s your favorite Steddie fic?
I literally have too many to count, I have an obscene number of private bookmarks on AO3. The ones I’ve reread the most are probably “Exactly What It Looks Like” by Bilbosmom, “You Taste Just Like New York” by IrisLanding, “Dog Days of Summer” by WabiSabiPapi, “Buy Local: Steve Harrington’s Guide to Modern Sexuality” by loudsnapdragon, “swing for the fences” by occassional_loverboy, “Tuesday’s Gone With the Wind” by thisapplepielife, among many others…
Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?
I’d really love to do a future fic. I’ve written a lot about first falling in love (and for good reason!), but I like the idea of showing something more lived in, a well-worn but well-loved relationship or something about the passage of time and grappling with the “what could have been”s and roads not taken.
What is your writing process like?
SLOW. Not actually but currently? Yes, it’s slow. I find myself needing to really immerse myself into the story to write and edit from the mindless scribbles that my outlines start out as and sometimes that takes more time and energy than I find myself with, especially during the week. I write mostly in sprints where I set aside a few hours to get out a big chunk in one sitting. So I guess my writing process is: sporadic and finicky. Oops.
Do you have any writing quirks?
Not so much a quirk but a lot of my initial outlining happens in the middle of the night while I’m half-asleep. I set the brightness on my computer on low, close my eyes, and “stream of consciousness” write without looking. Which means my first outlines are usually riddled with misspellings and logical leaps that make no sense in the light of day.
Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?
I post as I go. I usually have everything vaguely outlined but (as noted above), sometimes revisiting my middle-of-the-night draft weeks or months later means I’ve backed myself into a corner or what I’ve outlined doesn’t fit into what eventually made it onto the page in earlier chapters. So, in the spirit of “it’s good enough”, I post as things actually get written!
Which fic are you most proud of?
“if you were a melody”, if for the only reason that it’s the first fic I finished! It’s the first time I really got the rush of getting engaged readers as I was posting and I’ve received the most lovely comments on it. It was also definitely the most fully formed in my mind before I even started writing, which made it feel almost effortless from the beginning.
How did you get the idea for Here For A Reason?
When I first started reading Steddie, after S4, the pieces of the storytelling I connected with the most were about what came after - after the trauma, after the healing, after you start putting yourself back together. I loved the idea of starting from scratch, but not starting from a clean slate. You bring everything with you, for better or worse, so for me, the story really started from this place of having both Eddie and Steve recognize where they are, what they have to build on, and decide where they want to go next, together.
When writing Here For A Reason, what was something you didn’t expect?
what was something you didn’t expect? This story was the first thing I wrote in a really, really long time. Until I got back into fanfic via Steddie, I had a mental block on creative writing for years. I look back on the early chapters and I cringe! So I guess what was most surprising to me about this story was the fact that it allowed me to find my voice as a writer again. Reading back, I can see myself experimenting and finding my style, so just the sheer rediscovery of this passion of mine is something I never expected.
What inspired you remind me of someone (it's probably you)?
I came up with “if you were a melody” after a drunken movie marathon of The Holiday and White Christmas, sprinkled in with a little Stick Season by Noah Kahan, and after I finally finished it, I still had romcoms on the brain - and my favorite movie of all time is While You Were Sleeping. Looking back across all my fics, they all seem to stem from a character’s inherent loneliness and then tripping their way into love and community (oh boy, let’s not delve into that particular inherent trauma too deeply). And apparently, I was not done telling that type of story! Lucy in the movie is truly that lonely but loveable character archetype, and I found it translated so well to my favorite Steddie dynamic to write.
What was your favorite part to write from you remind me of someone (it's probably you)?
Honestly, delving into the character motivations! While “Steddie but make it romcom!” seems simple on the surface, I spent a lot of time trying to make the character motivations realistic. What inspires Steve to keep the lie going? Why would Wayne keep encouraging this absolutely insane scenario? What would ultimately get Eddie to forgive Steve in the end?
How do/did you feel writing if you were a melody (i used only the good notes)?
It was so fun! Yes, there’s angst and obstacles, but ultimately the time pressure of the set-up and the “love at first sight” nature of the Steddie dynamic made it so easy to write their relationship journey and really intertwine the fluff and the angst, the mistakes and the inevitable happy ending. I also just really loved Eddie in this one, confident and competent but still a chaotic goofball at heart.
What was the most difficult part of writing if you were a melody (i used only the good notes)?
I didn’t want the happy ending to seem too easy or inevitable! They were so clearly in love but with Steve really trying to be strong and not fall into old patterns, having him realize that pride at the expense of happiness isn’t worth it and that trusting in love again after heartbreak is one of the bravest, strongest things to do - again, really making sure his emotional journey made sense. And also, exploring Eddie’s POV in the epilogue was challenging just for the sheer logistics of how he would have done all the things he needed to do; I had a spreadsheet with different time zones for each character’s story beats.
Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?
Honestly, I have a terrible memory for specific lines, I’m sure I wrote some good ones? I remember scenes and emotions more so than specific lines – so the blue wall at the end of “if you were a melody”, the downtown Chicago rooftop at sunrise in “you remind me of someone”, Eddie & Steve at the tattoo parlor in “Here for a Reason”… all of those evoke the same feeling in me, of the two boys experiencing something intimate and magical, of finally giving in to that undeniable pull between them.
Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?
Oh god, I don’t want to embarrass myself by promising or promoting anything in the future when I’m such a slow writer! It is my solemn vow that every fic of mine will be completed. Not to say I don’t have a few plot bunnies hopping around in my head, but in terms of anything specific, I guess I’ll know more after my next sleepless night…
Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?
It was truly such an honor to be asked to do this! Life has been rough and writing has been slow, so taking the time to look back and explore my own process and fics was such a lovely, much-needed reminder of why I love fanfic and this Steddie community. Thank you for thinking of me, and thank you to anyone who decides to read one of my stories because of this.
Thank you to our author, @Katdeerly, and our nominator! See more of katdeerly's works featured on our page throughout the day!
Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!
I heard one of these songs a week back and it immediately made me think of this fic. I immediately dmd Kat because I'm an obnoxious fan girl for her and this fic. So when this challenge came up I was 1 song down 10 to go lol. ( I edited because I forgot I added the darkness in the final hour leaving the final count to 11)
Steve coded. This universe Steve coded. That's all I'll say. Vibes vibes vibes and Steve.
Up all night- the boomtown rats
This is the song that screamed at me. It's Steve. It's ho. Wandering the city with insomnia. I can see it like a movie and if this fic had a soundtrack this being on it would be incredible to me.
Family line - Conan Gray
This felt very Eddie in this fic coded to me. The family dynamic he struggles with and how he relates and doesn't is so poignant in this fic and a big part of what I love about it. The theme woven in this fic about belonging resonated with me deep and is a big reason why I love it so much.
Why am I like this?- orla gartland
Steve coded but I think both characters in this fic struggle in ways that make this song resonate with me in the lens of his fic. It felt very much in line with Steve's inner monologue on page and potentially off page with what's happening around him. Feeling conflicted about the predicaments he found himself and the patterns he falls into having the bleeding heart he does.
Softness as a weapon - kindness
This felt like the moments Steve and Eddie come together and in moments of friendship, authenticity and vulnerability they show parts of themselves to each other and those are the cracks where the love spills out and the fall for one another.
TRY- Madison McFerrin
Again. More vibes. The way their friendship evolves with a love under the surface under a veil of secrecy and a lie. I can't explain it but it fit in my mind in some way and I loved it for this and them.
Sometimes - mannequin pussy
"And why'd you go and take your life
And try to fit it into mine?
I know that it's not right for us
To stay
But sometimes
Oh, sometimes
(Come and leave your lonesome ways behind)
Oh, sometimes"
It's them, your honor. I won't take any questions at this time.
Don't delete the kisses- wolf alice
Oh God, this one. Ok so the whole foundation of Steve in this one is he falls in love with everyone he meets so easily. He's everything to everyone as he puts together the puzzle pieces of a found family together after his own family of origin slipping away.
Parts of the song feels like that and how his friendship with Eddie and the Wheelers evolves ... And then when conflict arises ... It all comes crashing down-
"what. If. It's. Not. Meant. For. Me? Love. "
Big black car- Gregory Alan isakov
I hate to say this again but don't say I didn't warn you... This song just felt the way this fic felt. So again. My redundant ass says, vibes.
These days- Nico
After the conflict but before the resolution vibes. Steve wandering the city evolving in the "after".
I believe in a thing called love - the darkness
Last chapter resolution vibes. I also feel like it's end credits magic. ( I know I can't help it, I moviefied it again, I'm sorry. ) And besides that, I thought it was a fun way to end the playlist.
Ok fine I'll read it again. If you havent you should too ❤️
Hey, look I'm using this account lol. I'm chronically inactive on Tumblr and bluesky. Looking to rectify that. And why not rectify it with kindness?
The @st-loveconfessions is doing a kindness week and I felt inspired to do today's challenge. Two fics cross my mind often when I'm bopping along to my playlist on shuffle so I made a mini playlist for each of them. First up, @arimakes fic, fill my lungs with sweetness
Here's a little playlist for wabisabipapi and their hanahaki apocalypse fic. A lot of them are just vibes but I'm gonna write below the reasonings behind my choices as well as the song title and artist.
I hope this silly little playlist does the the fic justice because it truly is wonderful and beautiful.
We'll become silhouettes - postal service
Mainly vibes. A lot of them are just vibes but it reminded me of Eddie's time in his home / bomb shelter and then their shared time there.
Don't panic- Coldplay
This mainly was vibes but the irony of Eddie being afraid of the world they lived in and it being seen as a beautiful world by either of them felt like the back and forth of Steve cracking Eddie's hard exterior. Steve trying to encourage Eddie go out into the world and those who are left are there to lean on one another.
Come into my arms- november ultra
This reminded me Eddie and his mom and all he internalized about her and how he missed her and how they translated to how he inevitably opened up and closed off to Steve
Surface tension- Genevieve Stokes
This felt like Eddie vibes to me. Denying himself what he doesn't think he can have.
Silhouettes- colony house
Again vibes. This felt vibes of the both of them during their time together and the very end.
Tourniquet - Jeremy messersmith
This felt like a Steve to Eddie song. That he would have been there for him no matter what after the time they spent together no matter what the unreliable narrator in Eddie's head told him. No matter what Eddie's fear told him.
Under my bed- provoker
This felt like Eddie's fear in a song. There's a part when all feels lost and Eddie is consumed by his fear which is just a surrender to the fear he already has on the surface all along.
Gilded lily- cults
Another Eddie song around being consumed by the fear of dying and being consumed by unrequited love and all he sacrificed unknowingly because of his fathers choices and then eventually having glimmers of hope that he may be wrong about Steve coming back for him.
Into my arms- nick cave and the bad seeds
Again vibes. I'm sorry. But this felt very much like vibes for the end of the story to me.
Bloom- paper kites
I had to mainly because it's the song the title comes from but also every time I hear this song I think of this fic.
romaincrisis
snowghoul
stormborns
annaxmalina
theartofmadeline
pixelskylines
