Three Weddings and a Funeral (starting point of Let us Dwell in Fair Ithilien and There Make a Garden series, see read order in summary)
Steve Harrington falls in love and gets married. Not in that order. Some other stuff happens along the way too. But those are the two big things. That first one especially.
(Or: celebrations of life)
Lovesick in Loch Nora
Even though Eddie's name has been cleared legally, he's still very much on trial in the court of public opinion. Dealing drugs isn't a lucrative occupation anymore, and getting a legitimate job in a town who still considers him a killer isn't much of an option, either. Eddie is beginning to think skipping town and starting over somewhere no one knows his name is the only chance he has left. Steve has another idea.
AKA: Steve gets Eddie a job as an anonymous columnist at a local newspaper.
Keep It for Me
It's 1993, and Steve is attending Lucas and Max's wedding.
It's 1993, and no one has seen Eddie Munson in seven years.
same as it ever was
In 1986, Steve Harrington is doing his best. Trying to rebuild a life for his friends who’ve been to hell and back, and trying to carve out space for himself and his strange growing friendship with Eddie Munson.
At least, until Eddie leaves.
Four years later they meet again, and Eddie comes crashing back into Steve’s life, ready to tear down the walls Steve has painstakingly built around his heart.
Or: a story about holding on, letting go, and opening your heart to the unexpected. Even if the unexpected is a flighty rockstar in skin tight jeans.
smoking guns (hot to the touch)
Sure, they've saved the world, but the best part of that really is that it doesn't end there and in a town where everyone thinks he murdered a girl, he's at least got Steve Harrington and Robin Buckley. It's really not his fault he accidentally starts living at Steve's house, he was invited, after all. There's a mystery too, about Barbara Holland and Steve's pool.
You're the Driver, You're the Road
Eddie meant it when he said once he graduated, he was getting the hell out of Hawkins.
He just didn't realize that Steve was going to keep showing up.
misgiven
“I know we don’t– know each other that well. Like, at all. But I remembered that night in January and how– how you tried to help, when I needed it, and didn’t really want it. And I’m not letting anyone read their letters unless it happens, but yours isn’t– I don’t know. It just says thank you. For trying. And for getting it, when no one else did."
(or, turns out eddie's backstory is pretty similar to max's own. he offers her an understanding ear; when vecna comes, she and steve might need to return the favor.)
a cinematic vision ensued (like the holiest dream)
Eddie and Steve have been spending a lot of time together since Vecna. They're co-parenting kids, getting high every night, and sleeping in the same bed. They basically share a wardrobe too.
He thinks this is dangerous, its like they’re married, the casual sharing of intimacy, this space between them which feels like something and nothing all at the same time. He thinks it’s dangerous for him to pretend Steve sees it the same way, that one day Steve’s droopy, kind eyes are going to see right through him and he’ll lose this. This being a side of Steve’s bed that is his, a nightstand where his rings always pile, a draw of shirts in Steve’s bedroom that only Steve uses. He can’t lose it, so he shuts his mouth, turns out the light, and watches the slow breathing of sleep fill Steve’s chest.
the most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it's you
Sixteen years after the world didn't end for the last time, Max Mayfield showed up on Steve’s doorstep and said, “You gonna walk me down the aisle in May or what?” Or, it’s 2002 and Steve Harrington attends a wedding, a funeral, and a birth.
make a deal with god
“Yeah, great job, Henderson,” Steve says. “Risk your life for the ticking time bomb. I don’t foresee a way this can go wrong at all.”
“Uh, no man left behind,” Dustin argues, which would be kinda sweet, except, “even the ones with a hundred murder charges.”
“Thanks, dude,” Eddie says to him, anyway. In his peripheral, Steve rolls his eyes.
or, Eddie escapes the Upside Down. Problem is, he’s still wanted for—well. Pretty much everything. So he hides out in Steve's basement.
Some Things Cosmic
Steve has a dream about Eddie.
And another. And another. And another...
The One in Which a Time Loop is Fucking Exhausting
It’s the first time in a while that he doesn’t know what comes next. He’s dove into the water hundreds of times. Screamed as his flesh was torn apart, heard Master of Puppets in the distance and held back tears. Felt Max’s cold, small hand in his as she laid in the hospital bed. There are things that always happen, no matter how hard he tries: El doesn’t arrive in time. Eddie dies. Max is put in a coma.
Steve fails. They lose.
“Steve, how many loops have you been through?”
His head is nodding, and his eyes are watery, and Eddie has approached him like a spooked animal.
“I lost count.”
AKA: The one where Steve Harrington is stuck in a time loop, and Eddie Munson is really fucking hard to save, or: fuck Volume 2, these bitches are in love.
Summer '86
After everything that happened during Spring Break, life for everyone in Hawkins returned to somewhat normal. Well, aside from Steve's new friendship with one Eddie Munson.
The gang decide they all deserve a break and head to Steve's family beach house for a week, featuring copious amounts of fluff, found family bonding, blurring (or completely ignoring) the line between platonic and romantic, and bullying being considered flirting.
Whole Lotta Love
Steve scoffs. "I think if I was dating someone, Robin, I would be the first to know about it."
"Would you, though?" Robin says.
looking for something dumb to do
It's June 26, 2015. Eddie Munson turns fifty today. Steve has a question for him.
(hey baby, I think I wanna marry you.)
Various Polyamories
Birds of a Feather
Robin watched as Will slipped away from the group, and into the hall. He looked like he couldn’t breathe, and fuck. She knew that feeling. Dear God, or gods… or goddess… hell, maybe it was the Flying Spaghetti Monster out there… but dear whatever, did she ever know that feeling and hated to see others in it.
She rounded the corner to see a truly heartbreaking sight. Will had his back on the cinder block wall, his butt on the cold cheap tile floor, and his knees up. Tears rolled down his face as he stared off into the distance, but he didn’t heave any heavy breaths or sob. It was a scene Robin was all too familiar with. She had seen this in herself at many dances or school functions where she felt too different. It was deja-vu in the worst way, and Robin thought back to all those times and remembered how all she wanted was a bit of comfort.
“Will?” She called stepping closer.
You Give It All (But I Want More)
It only stings a little when Steve leans in one night and kisses Nancy by the firelight. Eddie’s used to being in pain, anyway, and it’s nice to have the ache come from someplace different, variety being the spice of life. He thinks he does a decent job at keeping his expression neutral, but Robin reaches out and hooks their pinkies together, such a small, conciliatory gesture, he knows she’s got his number. Maybe she’s feeling the same ache, too.
I Wanna Hurt You (Just to Hear You Screaming My Name)
This, Eddie knows, is a bad decision, because Nancy and Jonathan broke up three days ago, in a way that hardly feels like a break up at all, so much as growing pains. It’s a bad decision, because Steve’s heart is in his hands, and Nancy has never been careful, not with him, not with anyone. It’s a bad decision, because Eddie is still on the floor looking up, watching as hands trail across skin, as lines are crossed, and more than wanting to stop them, he wants those hands on him, too.
Nancy and Steve fall into old, familiar patterns, with new, unfamiliar parts.
House Like a Homecoming
The thing about being the Resident Weirdo of Hawkins is that when Eddie buys Reefer Rick’s place out on the lake, people don’t notice - or at the very least pretend not to notice - when a few extra people move in.
Or, the gradual unfolding of a polyamorous relationship between our favorite Monster Hunters, set some amorphous months post-season 4/post-series where the gang just gets to be soft and have the things they want
My definitive ranking of my least favorite bodies of water! These are ranked from least to most scary (1/10 is okay, 10/10 gives me nightmares). I’m sorry this post is long, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this.
The Great Blue Hole, Belize
I’ve been here! I have snorkeled over this thing! It is terrifying! The water around the hole is so shallow you can’t even swim over the coral without bumping it, and then there’s a little slope down, and then it just fucking drops off into the abyss! When you’re over the hole the water temperature drops like 10 degrees and it’s midnight blue even when you’re right by the surface. Anyway. The Great Blue Hole is a massive underwater cave, and its roughly 410 feet deep. Overall, it’s a relatively safe area to swim. It’s a popular tourist attraction and recreational divers can even go down and explore some of the caves. People do die at the Blue Hole, but it is generally from a lack of diving experience rather than anything sinister going on down in the depths. My rating for this one is 1/10 because I’ve been here and although it’s kinda freaky it’s really not that bad.
Lake Baikal, Russia
When I want to give myself a scare I look at the depth diagram of this lake. It’s so deep because it’s not a regular lake, it’s a Rift Valley, A massive crack in the earth’s crust where the continental plates are pulling apart. It’s over 5,000 feet deep and contains one-fifth of all freshwater on Earth. Luckily, its not any more deadly than a normal lake. It just happens to be very, very, freakishly deep. My rating for this lake is a 2/10 because I really hate looking at the depth charts but just looking at the lake itself isn’t that scary.
Jacob’s Well, Texas
This “well” is actually the opening to an underwater cave system. It’s roughly 120 feet deep, surrounded by very shallow water. This area is safe to swim in, but diving into the well can be deadly. The cave system below has false exits and narrow passages, resulting in multiple divers getting trapped and dying. My rating is a 3/10, because although I hate seeing that drop into the abyss it’s a pretty safe place to swim as long as you don’t go down into the cave (which I sure as shit won’t).
The Devil’s Kettle, Minnesota
This is an area in the Brule River where half the river just disappears. It literally falls into a hole and is never seen again. Scientists have dropped in dye, ping pong balls, and other things to try and figure out where it goes, and the things they drop in never resurface. Rating is 4/10 because Sometimes I worry I’m going to fall into it.
Flathead Lake, Montana
Everyone has probably seen this picture accompanied by a description about how this lake is actually hundreds of feet deep but just looks shallow because the water is so clear. If that were the case, this would definitely rank higher, but that claim is mostly bull. Look at the shadow of the raft. If it were hundreds of feet deep, the shadow would look like a tiny speck. Flathead lake does get very deep, but the spot the picture was taken in is fairly shallow. You can’t see the bottom in the deep parts. However, having freakishly clear water means you can see exactly where the sandy bottom drops off into blackness, so this still ranks a 5/10.
The Lower Congo River, multiple countries
Most of the Congo is a pretty normal, if large, River. In the lower section of it, however, lurks a disturbing surprise: massive underwater canyons that plunge down to 720 feet. The fish that live down there resemble cave fish, having no color, no eyes, and special sensory organs to find their way in the dark. These canyons are so sheer that they create massive rapids, wild currents and vortexes that can very easily kill you if you fall in. A solid 6/10, would not go there.
Little Crater Lake, Oregon
On first glance this lake doesn’t look too scary. It ranks this high because I really don’t like the sheer drop off and how clear it is (because it shows you exactly how deep it goes). This lake is about 100 feet across and 45 feet deep, and I strongly feel that this is too deep for such a small lake. Also, the water is freezing, and if you fall into the lake your muscles will seize up and you’ll sink and drown. I don’t like that either. 7/10.
Grand Turk 7,000 ft drop off
No. 8/10. I hate it.
Gulf of Corryvreckan, Scotland
Due to a quirk in the sea floor, there is a permanent whirlpool here. This isn’t one of those things that looks scary but actually won’t hurt you, either. It absolutely will suck you down if you get too close. Scientists threw a mannequin with a depth gauge into it and when it was recovered the gauge showed it went down to over 600 feet. If you fall into this whirlpool you will die. 9/10 because this seems like something that should only be in movies.
The Bolton Strid, England
This looks like an adorable little creek in the English countryside but it’s not. Its really not. Statistically speaking, this is the most deadly body of water in the world. It has a 100% mortality rate. There is no recorded case of anyone falling into this river and coming out alive. This is because, a little ways upstream, this isn’t a cute little creek. It’s the River Wharfe, a river approximately 30 feet wide. This river is forced through a tiny crack in the earth, essentially turning it on its side. Now, instead of being 30 feet wide and 6 feet deep, it’s 6 feet wide and 30 feet deep (estimated, because no one actually knows how deep the Strid is). The currents are deadly fast. The banks are extremely undercut and the river has created caves, tunnels and holes for things (like bodies) to get trapped in. The innocent appearance of the Strid makes this place a death trap, because people assume it’s only knee-deep and step in to never be seen again. I hate this river. I have nightmares about it. I will never go to England just because I don’t want to be in the same country as this people-swallowing stream. 10/10, I live in constant fear of this place.
Honorable mention: The Quarry, Pennsylvania
I don’t know if that’s it’s actual name. This lake gets an honorable mention not because it’s particularly deep or dangerous, but it’s where I almost drowned during a scuba diving accident.
it’s actually really easy to include gay characters that don’t die, what you do is, you just write a character, make them gay, and then don’t kill them
This is an experiment to see if there really are as few of us as people think.You can also use this to freak out your followers who think you’re 25 or something. Yay!
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