I'm teaming up with @ro15in as an artist and @steddieasitgoes as a beta for this year's @steddiebbang. I'm so excited, you have no idea. I wish I could tell you everything right now, but I have to go. Eddie is late walking his neighbor's dog again and Jeff is hovering over my cubicle and telling me to stop reading fanfiction and emailing during working hours. Rude.
We should grab lunch with Robin any day, apparently Steve is up to new shenanigans.
Kisses!
Shell
P.S.: can you please let Heather use your printer? She already asked to use mine three times today, I can't get any work done. Not that I actually want to work, but you get it.
Summary, snippet and moodboard under the cut! 💌
Summary:
Steve Harrington should stop being so nice. Or maybe he should just change his contact info to protect himself from old college friends bringing up debts he made years ago. If he had done that, he wouldn't be in such a mess, but he also wouldn't have met the most charming, hilarious, hot (and perfect for him) resident of New York City, aka Eddie Munson. The worst (or maybe best?) part is that Eddie seems to be into him and they fit great together. It would be perfect if Steve hadn't met him while pretending he is Tommy Hagan. Or if he knew how to tell him the truth without making an ass of himself.
Eddie Munson thought his comatose neighbor's big ass dog was a huge problem, but that was onl until he met Mrs. Hagan's nephew Tommy (or Steve. Who has a fucking name for a nickname? Tommy Hagan apparently). Steve just moved next door to take care of the pets, which would be fine if he wasn't the nicest, hottest, most charming motherfucker who ever crossed Eddie's life. And if Eddie didn't have so many trust issues. Steve seems too good to be true, so there's gotta be something wrong there. But what is it?
Yes. To my absolute dismay, he did. Robin, I'm so fucked. I don't think I have ever met someone so charming.
Eddie, that's his name, "oh man, just call me Eddie", he said. That's how everybody calls him since childhood, apparently. His apartment looks insane, by the way. He has so many band posters and paintings and framed pictures, it's like he lives in one of those hip bars–in a single dude way, of course, but a lot more organized that my apartment would be if I had that much stuff. Seriously, he has stuff everywhere: books, shelves full of trinkets and action figures, guitars hung on the wall, boxes of vinyls and VHS tapes. Who still keeps their VHS tapes??? And so many mugs. I think I counted twenty. He lives by himself!
But well, he told me about Tommy's aunt Doris, showed me the way he found her, showed me the pets. I'm gonna kill Hagan for not telling me the woman has a fucking Great Dane. At this point I think I should just kill Hagan and get rid of this debt I have with him, to be honest.
What do I do, Robin? I'm standing there at this insane apartment, listening to this handsome guy talk about how he likes Doris, how she's such a kind person and how he hates to ask me to drop my humanitarian work in Ethiopia just to do this, but his job performance is getting compromised and he's very sorry. So okay, I nod, I pretend I'm Tommy (whos in Bali, not in Ethiopia by the way), I tell him I'm moving in because aunt Doris's pets need someone regularly. I can tell they do. I know what you're gonna say, Robin, but those pets need me. Angel, the dog, needs to go out three times a day! And Mr. Doodles and Muffin, the cats, seem so lonely. You'd do the same if you saw the looks on their faces, I know you would.
@steddiebbang 2026 project announcement | team #038
artist: @psychotic-nonsense | beta: @midwestharpy
SUPER excited (and terrified) to announce my first ever steddie big bang project! can't believe how lucky i am to have such a BRILLIANT artist and beta reader to work with on this!!! thank you for loving s2 aus with me <3
details:
rating: M
wc: 25k~
cw: graphic violence; detailed explorations of trauma; substance abuse
tags: S2 AU; canon divergence; eddie joins the party in S2; not-quite-enemies to lovers; angst/comfort; past trauma; past child neglect and abuse; canon typical violence; discussions of foster care; miscommunication; awkward flirting; happy ending
summary:
The funny thing about wearing a mask for so long is that eventually you almost forget you’re wearing it.
Steve Harrington has spent his entire life trying to be someone that people love. That people want to be around. That people want to stay for. He’s spent so long carefully crafting this persona that he’s not even sure who he is without it anymore.
Eddie Munson has spent his entire life just trying to survive. The best way he’s learned to do that is by not letting anyone get too close. By giving everyone some overly dramatized version of himself. Because everyone who’s ever gotten close to who he really is has either left or been ripped away.
One blurry night together bleeds into the jagged edges of the Upside Down returning. As the two of them fight off yet another wave of otherworldly forces while protecting some rather death-wish hungry barely-teenagers, their own demons suddenly demand to be confronted, leaving Steve and Eddie unable to keep hiding – from themselves and each other.
lil preview below the cut!
excerpt:
And for some reason Steve does not fucking understand.
For some reason he will continue to question for long after this.
For some reason he still won’t have an answer to years from now when they’re well and truly past this.
For some reason, Steve puts himself between Eddie and everyone else, says a quick “You might want to run” over his shoulder as he pushes Eddie toward the door with one hand, the other –
Well, in the span of approximately 1.7 seconds, Steve smiles, flips Tommy the bird, and kicks the leg out from the makeshift bar table.
The folding table holding a smattering of drinks.
The folding table holding the absolutely massive punch bowl.
Just in time for Tommy to collide with it.
And crash to the floor.
“Holy fucking shit.” Eddie laughs, hot on Steve’s ear.
Steve laughs too, actually, kind of shocking himself as he watches the punch bowl shatter – watches the greenish-red liquid spray everywhere. The fake eyes and dismembered candy fingers scattering across the floor. The partygoers shrieking as they’re coated in punch.
Tommy falls across the table as it collapses, getting completely drenched in punch and glass, the punch bowl half-beneath him as it crumbles.
Jason is hot on his heels, stumbling and falling on top of Tommy, the pair of them groaning in tandem.
“Oh–” Steve is laughing hard now.
Laughing as he watches Jason and Tommy writhe on the floor, helplessly trying to wipe the punch and glass from their…well, their everywhere, really.
Turns out glass likes to stick in things.
“Holy fucking shit.” Eddie whisper-laughs behind him again, a sentiment Steve wholly agrees with, except –
“Run, man, seriously.” Steve’s eyes are wide as he pushes Eddie a half-step towards the door, even as the laughter is still coursing through him, making him feel more alive than he has in who fucking knows how long.
“You’re fuckin’ dead.”
Which comes from a voice Steve has grown to loathe in a few short months.
Billy goddamn Hargrove.
Steve turns, watches Billy stop on the other side of the table catastrophe. People are still screaming and laughing and running around – mostly, they’re running away from whatever the fuck is happening. Forming a perimeter around the spectacle, circling them like they’re in a fucking ring about to face off.
“Running. Running now.” Eddie says, which, yeah – Steve told him to, so why the fuck is he still here?
“Dude, go.” Steve half-whispers over his shoulder, still trying to push Eddie toward the door. But, Eddie is more of a solid pillar than he would’ve imagined.
“Uh, yeah.” Eddie says with all the sarcastic merit of a 5th grader. “Let’s.”
“Wh–”
“Jesus.” Eddie’s hand wraps hard around Steve’s bicep, full-bodily yanking him back toward the patio door.
Billy is honest-to-god actually growling at them, mouth open, like, teeth bared and shit, fists clenched at his sides as he stalks across broken glass and spilled punch, when Steve…
Well.
Steve holds up a finger, somehow actually making Billy stop a foot away, surprise etched on his face. Then, Steve grabs a half-empty cup left forgotten on a shelf by the door.
“Sorry, did you want some?” Steve asks before taking a sip. “How rude of me. Here.”
Then, in some feat of King Steve of days past, he takes a big mouthful, pulls down his sunglasses just enough and winks at Billy, before spitting the drink all over Billy. “Enjoy.” Steve croons as he throws the rest of the cup at Billy and blows him a fucking kiss.
Steve laughs hard as he turns and tumbles through the patio doors and out into a run across the yard with Eddie motherfucking Munson still holding onto him.
2026 Big Bang project reveal time! I'm so excited to get to work with @lamoabss as the artist for this Big Bang project! I'm thrilled you were interested in teaming up to work on my NFL Steve AU submission! I can't wait to have so much fun!❤️
Details:
Rating: E
Estimated Word Count: 60,000-65,000
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson & Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson & Gareth, Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley
Characters: Robin, Gareth, Wayne, Dustin, Tommy, Chrissy, Goodie, Jeff
Tags: Sports AU, American Football, Modern Setting, NFL Football Player Steve Harrington, Hobby Shop Owner Eddie Munson, Getting Together, Falling in Love, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Closeted Steve Harrington, Gay Eddie Munson, Secret Relationship, Boys in Love, Happy Ending
Summary:
If there's anything Eddie Munson knows, it's that he doesn't give two shits about sports, or the people who play them. Professionally, or otherwise. It's practically the charter entry in The Munson Doctrine, despite growing up with his Uncle Wayne glued to games on the television year-round. Sports just don't interest Eddie. Never have, never will.
Enter, Steve Harrington.
Henderson dragging this football player into his store wasn't in Eddie's game plan, but, well, Eddie supposes there's an exception to every rule in the book. And now, here Eddie is, living a sports-filled life he never could have predicted.
Eddie learns about football.
Eddie cares about football.
It's honestly quite troubling.
Excerpt:
"Jesus H. Christ, look at that thing," Eddie says in a barely hushed whisper, reverent, eyes trained on Steve on the jumbotron screen at the end of the field. He looks to the other side of the field, because that screen is even bigger. It's trained on Steve as he swings his leg high into the air.
He's right there.
It's right there.
"Gareth. Look."
Gareth scoffs. "Would rather not."
"But you can see it, right?" Eddie asks, eyes glued to the live feed of Steve's lower body, his crotch, being projected into the stadium. It's all Eddie can focus on. The camera operator must be a perv. He deserves a raise. Why didn't Eddie bring binoculars? Fuck. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. "I'm not hallucinating it?"
"No, unfortunately everybody with eyes can see it. White pants? With that hog? Children are here."
Eddie laughs, "God bless tight white pants. I think I love football. I wonder if he'd wear them for me, up close and personal? For science."
The woman behind him says 'ew' through a laugh, but she leans forward, grasping both of Eddie's shoulders, making Eddie jump as she squeezes a little too hard, her lips resting near his ear, whispering, "Hi. Eddie? You're Eddie, right?"
Eddie nods. She continues:
"Great. He's not out. So can you just be cool? And less horny? Please?"
He turns. She's a cute lesbian. Well, he thinks so anyway. His gaydar is very rarely wrong. Steve did confuse it a little, he can't get everyone right on first impression. Why is she footballing? She doesn't look like she'd enjoy that any more than Eddie would. And why does she know his name?
"Nearly everybody around you are season ticket holders. They know exactly whose seats you're in. Just. Be quieter with your cock color commentary. Please and thank you."
Eddie swallows. He never would have thought of that.
"They come to every game?" Eddie asks, because, like. Seriously? That doesn't sound fun.
"Every game," she confirms, "and I'm really happy for him. You're cute. For a boy. But. Zip your lip. Got it?"
Eddie nods.
He knew she was as queer as he is.
"I'm Robin, I'm his best friend," she says, finally introducing herself.
Eddie turns, "Does Henderson know that?"
She rolls her eyes.
"He's a little shit. He can say whatever he wants, he's always running that mouth of his. But I know the truth. Who is here right now? Me. I don't see him, do you?"
Eddie grins, "I own a hobby shop. Henderson is a regular. That's how I met Steve."
She raises an eyebrow, "I am aware of exactly who you are, Eddie. If you have any other questions, just ask."
Eddie grins, wickedly. "I do have one."
"Okay," she says, suspicious. Rightfully so.
He leans back, getting closer to her, "Is it a cup?"
She sighs, rolling her eyes as she slumps back in her seat.
He raises an eyebrow, waiting.
"It's not," she grits out, and Eddie is delighted with this information.
She seems to be weighing something, but finally she leans forward, "Do you know what Reddit is?"
Eddie rolls his eyes. Yes. He's new football, not earth. He nods.
"Check the NFL Bulges subreddit, then. He's a frequent post subject. I hate that I know this. I should not have to know this."
Eddie laughs, absolutely thrilled that this is a real thing that exists. Maybe he can get down with football.
July 2026 marks the 20 year anniversary of the Hetalia series!
What better way to commemorate such a milestone than a fanzine to highlight and celebrate the amazing fan community that has built up around this series over these years?
Featuring, art, writing, and more!
Keep a look out for more details coming soon!
@hetaliahappenings @heta-on-the-books @hetaliacalendar @fuckyeah-hetalia
Wicked by Nature has officially launched! A story of two villains trying to make a name for themselves in a world growing from the brink of destruction. Come check it out!
@steddiebbang project announcement, #022 Lullabies and Birdsong
Artist: @kaspurrcat | Beta: @shelleyminx
A post Season 4 story based in my Soul Book AU, where the kids of the Party are guided back to their ancestry, and the return of this living legend slowly pulls Steve and Eddie closer together.
There's tenuous friendships, a little bit of fighting and magic (not.. quite at the same time 👀), exposition out the wazoo, and the biggest question of all: is it worth it to place your life into the hands of another - risk it Breaking right before your eyes - all in the name of trust, care, and love?
Summary:
The essence of the universe and humanity’s home rests in our blood. Their influence guides our creation, but we’re Lost from them upon birth. It takes a Teller to guide us back to them, though being Found doesn't save you from everything.
Eddie begged to the skies on the night he was meant to die, to the Sun and the Stars and his beloved Moon. Begged for the kids to one day be Found, and his Soul Parent answered by helping him survive so he may Tell them himself. He reunited them with their soul heritage, the entire Party bearing witness to the age-old tradition, and the teens guiding them through it.
Yet when it all dies down, they can't just return to the lives they once had. The eyes of the kids are opened now, and the taboo topic is back in Steve's circle. It's all anyone can talk about, and with it under light again, a once ignored past is forced to the present, looming over Steve and Eddie like high noon.
The Sun and Moon are thousands of miles apart, where only their light can travel the distance. But when their descendants are forced closer and closer together, how long until they eclipse?
And below, you'll find a fresh excerpt just for this announcement :] Happy SBB Season to everyone!!
Excerpt:
"Alright, that's it, time's up," he snaps, getting out of his car. Startling Jeff, who pushes off the wall to, surprisingly, try and discourage him with hands outstretched.
"Whoa there, hang on, Steve-"
"No, no, I'm done waiting," Steve just walks around Jeff, speaking over his shoulder as he walks up the steps to the side doors of the school. "Eddie's rules can go shove it, alright? I have a responsibility here, and I'd rather get my ass kicked by him than hear one word from another parent." He barges into the school, walking down the halls to Hellfire's base.
He's so determined that Jeff has to jog to keep up, still hesitantly trying to hold Steve back and definitely failing at trying to talk him down. "You-You know he's just gonna tell you off right?" He chuckles nervously. "I-I mean, can't beat a Munson in a debate and it would just kill the scene," he says through gritted teeth before trying to laugh it off again, "s-so what's even the point there-"
"Well maybe," Steve spins to look Jeff in the eye, freezing the poor guy in place, "Eddie should've thought of that before taking another half hour to nerd out."
He really doesn't mean to make Jeff the subject of his annoyance, but there's this weird energy in the air now. Makes his skin all buzzy, and a warmth suddenly radiates through him. It almost feels familiar, like the faint burn of a sun tan residing in every move you make after coming inside. Something about it acts as fuel, as Steve turns to trudge the last few feet and bust open one of the doors to Hellfire.
Of course, he's immediately met with a chorus of ("totally-not-girly, gosh Steve, grow up") yelps from every single person in the almost pitch black backroom. All the kids are seated around the center table, each of them going bug-eyed at Steve's entrance and freezing on the spot. Eddie, standing with his back to Steve at the furthest end of the table, flinches so hard it almost makes Steve want to apologize.
Almost.
"Eddie, I do not care how long this thing takes, I'm not waiting another second to- to…"
And Steve just stops. Because something catches his eye from the darkest corner of the room.
It's Gareth, the youngest of Eddie's crew. He's sitting on their poor excuse of a couch next to the last original Hellfire member (Freak or Frank or Harold or something like that), both just as wide-eyed as the rest of the room. The only difference is, in the darkness, Gareth's eyes have a glowing spark at the center, and Steve swears a magenta hue streaked behind his head when it swiveled to see him.
That makes Steve look back at Eddie and finally notice that, beyond the brilliance of the moon in front of him, Eddie is glowing.
Eddie is still in a braced position from his fright, and begins to slowly turn to face his friend, right side first. But by the time Steve catches his nervous/scared/guilty expression, Eddie can see him too, and he immediately forgets hesitation to turn the rest of the way and gape at Steve the same as the others.
And in his left eye, as though stolen straight from the night sky itself, is the moon.
The suffocating silence finally catches up to Steve. He slowly brings his free hand up, not wanting to believe what was so clearly right in front of him.
But there it is. His hand, his arm, his entire body, engulfed in a golden glow as bright as the sun.
Despite being terrible at self-promotion and forgetting for a week, I am VERY excited to announce my Steddie Big Bang project for @steddiebbang '26.
Team: 015
Artist: @miserablekingsteve
Rating: E
Beta: @lilac--sugar
Summary:
Words: 30,000~
When Eddie Munson wakes up, Hawkins is being dismantled, its people being scattered by a government desperate to bury the truth. Eddie is forced into a new life in a strange city far from everything he’s ever known. He tells himself it’s enough to survive. It has to be.
But Steve Harrington refuses to accept distance as an ending.
Haunted by guilt, grief, and a love he waited too long to name, Steve sets out across a fractured continent with Robin at his side, determined to find the people they’ve lost. A journey of reckoning. Of who they were, who they’ve become, and what it means to choose each other in a world designed to keep them apart. Love deferred, identity reclaimed, and the fragile, stubborn hope that even after everything, you can still find your way back to the people who matter most.
Tags and teaser below the cut :)
Tags:
Eddie is in a coma the first time Steve says, ‘I love you’. Unconscious and unable to reply. Over the next few years, the memory will grow cloudy and unreliable. The doctors will spend a lot of time explaining that, although it can happen, it’s probable that he is not remembering the specifics of conversations. It’s more likely that he remembers visits from familiar voices, can recall ambient sounds and comforting music. But Eddie knows for sure that isn’t what it is; he is positive that he heard the first time Steve told him that he was probably in love with him. That’s not something you just let slip out of your brain, even if your body remains asleep and incapable of responding. When the hottest man in Hawkins admits that he’s fallen for you, you hold onto that information, even if you can’t convince yourself to shake yourself awake and demand answers at the time.
Government Detention / Imprisonment (non-legal, temporary), Forced Relocation, Loss of Autonomy, Post-Final Battle Against Vecna, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a happy ending, Mutual Pining, Childhood Friends, Slow Burn, Trauma & Recovery, Road Trips, Platonic Soulmates, Eddie Munson Runs Away, The Party Sticks Together (Eventually), Does the author love Winnipeg or hate it? We will never know.
Excerpt:
Steve Harrington is a pendulum, always has been. He swings back and forth between being the boy who was not serious enough to handle much of anything, and the Harrington Heir who was way too serious about everything. Even before the Upside-Down, Eddie had known that. Over the seven years of not-quite-friendship, Eddie had learned not to predict which version he was going to get.
The secret of their association had never really bothered Eddie; being a freak in a small town prepared you well for the reality that friends you had in private didn’t always translate into the ones you had at school. He’d genuinely liked seventh-grade Steve, from that first moment he'd shown up like an apparition to Eddie's secret forest fort behind the park.
The first version of Harrington he’d met had whimsy and joy etched into his bones. He made dumb jokes and thought deeply about things that the other boys would never admit to caring about. But he was also the boy that Wayne had warned Eddie about when he’d moved to Hawkins. He was A Harrington, with a capital H, and Eddie understood very early on that that designation came with many more roadblocks than money could solve. Steve is so scared of his own softness, his own fanciful soul, that he shoves it down beneath hairspray, unkindness, basketball, and flirting with the girls he’s expected to flirt with.
The fear takes over as they hit high school, as the stakes of being Different become more painful. Eddie had understood it, even at the time. He knew the pain of isolation intimately. His understanding came at a cost, though. When Steve stops coming around at all in the middle of his junior year, Eddie’s understanding turns to bitterness. Then, Eddie doesn’t graduate. Then, Steve’s little cronies seem to realize he’s a great target for their low-brow bullying. The longer he gets trapped in Hawkins, the harder it is for Eddie to ignore them. Suddenly, it turns him into a villain in the story of far too many people at school. He isn’t scary, not even a little bit, but he leans into the safety net the Scary Persona affords him. Leans into the asshole behaviour and the loose morals that do more harm than D&D ever has.
Eddie knows the truth about Steve because he’d been right beside him for years. But how many times is he, Hawkins' own impish Puck, meant to put up with the swing? How many times are they all supposed to pretend Steve hasn't hurt them all? How many times is he going to stand in a proverbial boathouse, broken bottle in his hand, and pretend Steve is just a stranger, a jock, an asshole who intimidates Eddie for fun?
He can’t quantify the confession, can’t get past the fact that he’s seen Steve at both his best and his worst, and can’t decide which version is sitting beside his hospital bed.
Is it the one from the picnic table, twelve years old and afraid of the dark? Is it the one from the third-floor men’s room, demanding free cigarettes in exchange for not letting his friends steal his bag again? Is it the sixteen-year-old who’d push Eddie against a wall in the dark corner of his bedroom while a party raged downstairs? The one whispering that it was fine if Eddie tugged his hair a bit as his tongue found purchase along the column of his throat?
That memory always sparked heat in Eddie’s chest. It wasn’t the only time their hidden friendship had crossed boundaries into something else, but it was the clearest in his mind. Probably because Steve’s expensive cologne had filled his senses as nimble fingers gripped his jacket. The way Steve had whispered his name like a confession against his skin.
But Eddie’s body hadn’t obeyed as Steve spoke words that seemed essential for him to get out; he couldn’t ask when exactly this ‘love’ had developed. Was it during those childhood forest adventures? After the Upside Down turned everything on its head? Or somewhere in the murky middle, when they had pretended to be nothing more than reluctant acquaintances passing in school hallways.
So, though he hears it, though he even fully understands, the first time Steve Harrington tries to tell Eddie Munson he loves him, Eddie decides to stay in a coma rather than sort that all out.
It will be a while before Steve works out how to say it again.
