a　rotten　apple.

[unbrave]

# UNBRAVE : 　 a plotting focused　&　mutuals only writing blog for eddie munson of str4nger things. 　 sacrificed by stef / stevie, he, 26. 　headcanon based & oc adjacent　 — 　portrayal est. 2022　&　REVAMPED 2025.　with fandomless & crossover verses.　RULES UNDER THE CUT. 　protecting manenuf　&　self-1ess.

　　　　01. INTERACTION GUIDE.　02. BIOGRAPHY.　

　　　　　　03. FAMILY HISTORY.　04. VERSES.

PINTEREST.　ASK MEMES.　HEADCANONS.

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𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢 𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔟𝔬𝔬𝔨.

i. this blog is mutuals only.　this means that i will only interact with people i follow who also follow me back.　that also means that if i've thrown a follow your way,　i want to write with you !　my follows are never empty　-　if you see me pop up in your notifications,　it's because i want to develop a meaningful connection with your muse(s).

ii. do not drag me into callout culture.　i have no interest in witnessing/being involved in drama.　if it is something that could be solved between two people in private　-　or by one person simply blocking the other　-　i have no interest.　i will not tolerate any kind of bigotry.　homophobia,　zionism,　racism,　transphobia,　&　anything of the like will be a zero-tolerance block.

iii. though this blog is new,　i have been musing eddie almost since his first appearance.　my portrayal of eddie is my own,　and headcanon-based beyond what we got through canon.　it is only somewhat influenced by the flight of icarus novel　( divergencies found here ).　you do not need a stranger things muse to interact　-　i have done a lot of fandomless / crossover development,　&　i welcome it all.

iv. i can be a bit of a fancy guy at times ;　i utilise colour text　&　occasionally blockquotes.　if that's a problem for you,　just let me know and i'll be sure to avoid it in our writing together !　i'd rather make sure my writing partners have an easy time interacting with me than prioritize my text decoration.

v. i will only practice exclusives if i am both close with the mun ooc,　and consider their portrayal of their muse to be integral to my portrayal of eddie.　it is unlikely i will practice exclusives with st characters.

vi. i love shipping.　shipping is great.　two thumbs up.　however,　please don't follow me if that's all you're interested in.　i won't ship with anyone i don't feel comfortable interacting with ooc.　all that being said :　if we've been plotting away,　our muses have chemistry,　and you're feeling it,　just ask !　i'm probably feeling it too.　( keep in mind i do write eddie as gay,　and this is something that will not change. )

vii. this blog can be expected to contain canon-typical triggering content including violence,　gore,　&　death.　i will tag these as '[trigger] tw'.　i will also tag / avoid in our writing together anything my mutuals ask me to,　no questions asked.　your safety is important to me.

[unbrave]

Happy pride month from your favorite gay mun and his gay little muse　🌈　who wants to kiss Eddie on the mouth ?

(　But also,　I am thinking so deeply about the fact he died out to nobody but Wayne.　Despite all his posturing and his throwing fingers to the man,　he never got to really be open about who he was or find community with anyone.　)

[metalheds]

THE FAMILY TREE :　THE ROOTS.

the maternal side of eddie's family.

jack franklin grows up lower-middle class,　but happy.　he's not as brash as his father,　nor as querulous as his mother,　but the love of the small group of friends he makes as a boy is enough to satisfy.　they have two dogs and a steady enough income to fill the icebox.　his parents care not for what he does,　nor where he is.　the library parents him more than those who gave him life　-　romance and mystery alike.　though not wealthy enough for the fancier schools,　jack is well-read and well-spoken.　he has dreams of authorhood　&　is the right kind of sentimental for when he meets betty archer at sixteen.　

betty's family,　much wealthier than his own,　has just settled in tennessee.　she newly attends his school's sister school,　and thus they are given to cross paths at a mingling lunch.　she wants to be a dancer,　and jack is the only one who does not laugh.　even her own father scoffs at girlish delusion.　perhaps it's because they both dream too big　/　too loud that their romance snowballs quickly.　they sneak into theater performances,　take picnics　&　pen love letters.　the archers don't like the franklins　-　even ordinary dwells too far below their station.　betty's father is controlling　&　prickly,　her mother enabling.　when jack presents her with a ring,　betty takes her leave from the fortune she might once have inherited.

they are married in 1938.　both of their sets of parents are left in the rear-view,　a family of their own the dream they cradle.

elizabeth　'lizzie'　franklin is born to jack　&　betty on friday,　the fourteenth of july,　1939.　they are overcautious not to step into the shoes of their own parents ;　to find the middle ground between the cold,　choking grasp of expectation that was betty's parents　&　the carelessness dressed as freedom proffered to young jack.　elizabeth is the center of their world,　but she is also the stopper shoved in bottled dreams.　her parents are not cruel or resentful,　but they speak wistfully of the things they had once wanted :　she can imagine her mother,　elegant and beautiful under the warmth of a spotlight　&　her father,　brilliant as he scrawls his autograph on front pages.

still,　they are happy.　lizzie knows she's lucky to boast parents whose hands are still and gentle　-　not all of her friends growing up are so lucky.　but lizzie's father reads her the novels written only in his notebooks,　and her mother shows her the music of tchaikovsky　&　tells her its tales.　from birth,　she is awestruck by music and words.　elizabeth grows up listening to the blues ;　beale street transforming in front of her eyes into the most beautiful place in the world.　the home of the blues,　cafes and parks her parents would take her to overcome with live music.　near every step she takes is loudly serenade　-　lizzie grows up just as loud as her home town.　 it's as a teenager that she bears witness the birth of rock　&　roll,　and what is a teenage girl with wild hair and the thrum of a song in her heart to do but to follow the music ?　not everyone understands a young girl so outspoken　/　so loud　/　so many things a girl shouldn't be,　but she cares little for decorum or tradition.

her parents haven't the money for all the records she would like,　so every one her guitar-callused hands manage to obtain is treasured.　every one is a ticket to another place　-　somewhere else in the world where there is music she hasn't heard,　but will someday.

is it any surprise a girl so raised on music and the stories it tells would be so easily wooed by charming passerby al munson,　who is roguish and mysterious and wonderful,　like a man ripped from a country song ?　( she will leave with him when she is nineteen,　and when she is alone in hawkins cradling her son　-　missing her own parents and wondering where on earth her good-for-nothing husband is　-　she will regret it.　her records will become plane tickets in a more heartache-inducing way,　then ;　freedom from the life in which she is trapped.　but for the time,　it seems like a wonderful adventure. )

[unbrave]

I haven't ceased my adoration of Eddie,　&　my return is imminent.　Be afraid.

[unbrave]

so,　so,　so very incredibly happy to have finally written out the little piece on eddie's mom's side of the family.　lizzie　&　her parents are so incredibly dear to me and so important to my eddie ...　

he never got to know his grandparents on her side,　but just know that betty 'n jack would have adored him !　there's also something so special to me about his grandma wanting to be a dancer　&　having reverence for the way dance tells stories　/　his grandad wanting to be an author when you then think about eddie's natural affinity for storytelling <33

[unbrave]

thinking very hard today about how eddie said his ma used to share her blues records with him when he was little,　but he never understood what she saw in them other than people singing about being sad until she died.

eddie,　who's only a kid,　whose favourite person in the world has just died,　and it's the heartbreak over that which makes him understand the music that was most important thing to her.　and she's not around to share it with anymore.

metal is something eddie can share,　even if it's in the zines he covets　&　his band nobody listens to.　the blues were his and his mom's,　something he keeps close and personal.　he doesn't share it with anyone else,　and when her records burn to ash with the rest of his childhood home,　he can't bring himself to replace them.

[metalheds]

THE FAMILY TREE :　THE ROOTS.

the maternal side of eddie's family.

jack franklin grows up lower-middle class,　but happy.　he's not as brash as his father,　nor as querulous as his mother,　but the love of the small group of friends he makes as a boy is enough to satisfy.　they have two dogs and a steady enough income to fill the icebox.　his parents care not for what he does,　nor where he is.　the library parents him more than those who gave him life　-　romance and mystery alike.　though not wealthy enough for the fancier schools,　jack is well-read and well-spoken.　he has dreams of authorhood　&　is the right kind of sentimental for when he meets betty archer at sixteen.　

betty's family,　much wealthier than his own,　has just settled in tennessee.　she newly attends his school's sister school,　and thus they are given to cross paths at a mingling lunch.　she wants to be a dancer,　and jack is the only one who does not laugh.　even her own father scoffs at girlish delusion.　perhaps it's because they both dream too big　/　too loud that their romance snowballs quickly.　they sneak into theater performances,　take picnics　&　pen love letters.　the archers don't like the franklins　-　even ordinary dwells too far below their station.　betty's father is controlling　&　prickly,　her mother enabling.　when jack presents her with a ring,　betty takes her leave from the fortune she might once have inherited.

they are married in 1938.　both of their sets of parents are left in the rear-view,　a family of their own the dream they cradle.

elizabeth　'lizzie'　franklin is born to jack　&　betty on friday,　the fourteenth of july,　1939.　they are overcautious not to step into the shoes of their own parents ;　to find the middle ground between the cold,　choking grasp of expectation that was betty's parents　&　the carelessness dressed as freedom proffered to young jack.　elizabeth is the center of their world,　but she is also the stopper shoved in bottled dreams.　her parents are not cruel or resentful,　but they speak wistfully of the things they had once wanted :　she can imagine her mother,　elegant and beautiful under the warmth of a spotlight　&　her father,　brilliant as he scrawls his autograph on front pages.

still,　they are happy.　lizzie knows she's lucky to boast parents whose hands are still and gentle　-　not all of her friends growing up are so lucky.　but lizzie's father reads her the novels written only in his notebooks,　and her mother shows her the music of tchaikovsky　&　tells her its tales.　from birth,　she is awestruck by music and words.　elizabeth grows up listening to the blues ;　beale street transforming in front of her eyes into the most beautiful place in the world.　the home of the blues,　cafes and parks her parents would take her to overcome with live music.　near every step she takes is loudly serenade　-　lizzie grows up just as loud as her home town.　 it's as a teenager that she bears witness the birth of rock　&　roll,　and what is a teenage girl with wild hair and the thrum of a song in her heart to do but to follow the music ?　not everyone understands a young girl so outspoken　/　so loud　/　so many things a girl shouldn't be,　but she cares little for decorum or tradition.

her parents haven't the money for all the records she would like,　so every one her guitar-callused hands manage to obtain is treasured.　every one is a ticket to another place　-　somewhere else in the world where there is music she hasn't heard,　but will someday.

is it any surprise a girl so raised on music and the stories it tells would be so easily wooed by charming passerby al munson,　who is roguish and mysterious and wonderful,　like a man ripped from a country song ?　( she will leave with him when she is nineteen,　and when she is alone in hawkins cradling her son　-　missing her own parents and wondering where on earth her good-for-nothing husband is　-　she will regret it.　her records will become plane tickets in a more heartache-inducing way,　then ;　freedom from the life in which she is trapped.　but for the time,　it seems like a wonderful adventure. )

[unbrave]

@self-1ess liked　🦇　for a starter　( for amber ) !

"i fail to see,"　words fall dry from ash-dried mouth,　"what the hell you think goin' back there is gonna do for anybody."　abandonment of the flock once herded by he and best friend dearest is no longer a guilt that plagues him.　THERE IS NO SHAME IN TURNING TAIL　&　GETTING THE FUCK OUT 　when all turns south.

they're better off with harrington,　with salene,　with bray.　with leaders who radiate goodness　&　learned better than eddie and amber to take their hits like a good tank　/　to stand in front like a protector.　amber died on eagle mountain,　buried young under rubble and ash.　eddie munson went missing　/　went gentle into that good night.

eagle and edmund were reborn under the ecos' star,　and he's more than content to let the trees of the lush forest be the fortress that protects them from everything left in the rear view.　"shit,　do they know i'm in here ?!"

[cheerlcd]

chrissy wrinkles her nose at the scent of cigarette smoke, but she doesn't say anything. she'd followed eddie outside because she'd been so mad at andy she'd seen red — just for once, couldn't he leave people who had never done anything to him well enough alone? and then jason had told her to calm down, and she'd felt even angrier, the anger trapped in her chest like a caged animal, so she'd gotten up, following eddie out of the cafeteria. if anyone asked, she'd tell them she just needed some air. but if getting that air just so happened to involve asking eddie munson if he was okay after what had happened, well, that wasn't any of their business.

“oh,” she says, softly, as she realizes the meaning of eddie's admission. it's a bad insult because it's true. she doesn't know what to say — she doesn't know anyone else like eddie, in more ways than one.

“i'm still sorry,” she says. “true or not, he shouldn't be calling you... he shouldn't be saying it like that.” the vitriolic tone with which the word had come out of andy's mouth had practically made chrissy nauseous, and she didn't even know why.

there's a long, tense beat of silence. the only thing chrissy can hear is her own heartbeat, speeding up as anxiety races in her chest. “i don't really know what else to say,” she finally admits. “i don't know any other gays.”

[unbrave]

empathy so easily extended　&　lacking in hesitation,　no matter how bumbling,　is not what eddie was expecting.　judgement is his bread and butter,　the only reaction he has the ability to handle.　PEOPLE ARE NOT INHERENTLY GOOD ;　not in places like hawkins,　and not to boys like eddie.　boys whose gazes stray to other boys,　who dare desire the scratch of stubble against their own face　&　the choking scent of cologne over cloying perfumes　&　strawberry lipgloss　( unless,　perhaps,　they're worn on a boy brave enough to try )　are not extended hands for anything other than hurt.

AND YET,　HERE IS CHRISSY CUNNINGHAM,　who does not race to retract her defense of someone who most would claim deserved the vitrol spewed.　fluffing admission of newness to the world of the queers is endearing ;　the same kind of warmth floods eddie's chest as when he watches his hellfire sheepies.　it's that same indomitable hope that stops him dropping out　&　leaving hawkins high in the rear view mirror of his cheap van.　hope that there are people worth staying for,　that there are a rare few willing to fight for the goodness eddie's cynical mind so oft begs he deem fiction.

"yeah,　well,"　eddie's chuckle is low,　"this is hawkins.　pretty sure we got a queer populace of myself and ..."　fingers nestle 'neath his chin,　index finger tapping atop so as to mimic deep thought,　"mmm,　nope !　just me."

perhaps such a drastic claim is unfair.　eddie knows well there is likely a boy on the basketball team whose hands linger too long,　or a girl on the cheer squad who likes the short skirts too much.　maybe a certified weirdo in band or on the school paper who feels as lonely as he.　but cross-clique camaraderie is the shit of film,　so even if statistics would beg to differ,　eddie feels for all the world that he is the only one.　he may as well be.

[unbrave]

just poking my head out to say that i am around,　and eddie is here to stay.　owed starters　&　dms are coming.　i'm just going through a difficult time　&　a lot of stress right now behind the screen　( things i don't wish to burden the dash nor my mutuals with ),　but i am slowly working to fill my queue.　i miss my boy !!!

[unbrave]

just poking my head out to say that i am around,　and eddie is here to stay.　owed starters　&　dms are coming.　i'm just going through a difficult time　&　a lot of stress right now behind the screen　( things i don't wish to burden the dash nor my mutuals with ),　but i am slowly working to fill my queue.　i miss my boy !!!

[unbrave]

consider this a mini starter call !　drop a 💙 and i'll toss a starter your way as i make my way through criminal minds beyond borders tonight !!

p.s.　you should totally let me know what verse you want it for ...　if you feel so inclined :]

[unbrave]

doin' these after my friend leaves,　'cause cleaning took longer than i thought last night so it's still open should anyone yearn for an eddie starter !!

[unbrave]

consider this a mini starter call !　drop a 💙 and i'll toss a starter your way as i make my way through criminal minds beyond borders tonight !!

p.s.　you should totally let me know what verse you want it for ...　if you feel so inclined :]

[unbrave]

... no,　actually,　i'm mourning ALL of the relationships eddie should have had.　begging nancy with his big cow eyes to help him graduate and encouraging her to look outside of steve/jonathan to do what She wants.　becoming vickie's best friend because they both deserved so much more screentime than they got.　let them bond over being the newbies to the upside down shit !!!　joining robin in being Older Gays™ for will to look up to.　trying to induct jane into metal　&　getting her her own hellfire tee ...　BEING TO MIKE WHAT STEVE WAS TO DUSTIN.　more of that fuckass begrudging divorced-but-never-married steve　&　eddie　&　dustin dynamic we got in s4.

[unbrave]

eddie and vickie you should have been bffs !!!!

[unbrave]

can't stop thinking about my headcanon post from the other day. someone take a trip with eddie to memphis PLEASE!

[unbrave]

femur. what drives them forward ?

HEADCANON PROMPTS :　ACCEPTING.

the reputation he's running from :　the one that hangs heavy with the last name munson.　eddie's father didn't graduate hawkins high,　too entrenched in scheme after scheme　&　too busy tripping down the spiral staircase that is a gambling addiction.　eddie loves wayne.　wayne is more of a father to him than al ever was ;　but wayne didn't graduate either,　&　prinicpal higgins has got it in his pea-sized brain that the munson family is just no fuckin' good.　the munsons are trailer park trash when they can even be bothered to get their criminal hands out of the cash in everyone else's hard-earned wallets.

dropping out would be easier.　acquiescing to the identity thrust upon him at birth solely for his last name　&　the misdeeds of the patriarch would be the easy thing.　it's something he almost did,　when his father came back in '83,　boasting a plan to steal enough weed that they could blow this popsicle stand　&　be a real father-son team.　but eddie is better than that.　he's going to be better than that,　even if it takes him three damn tries to graduate.

(　he also wants to become a star.　get out of hawkins and away from everyone who knew his name,　so he can replace it all with the stardom of a heavy metal rocker.　one day,　he'll learn that fantasies of stardom are just another excuse to turn and run away from the hard shit.　there's a fine line between proving you're not who they think you are　&　just straight up escaping into fantasy.　)