Steve’s Taken Up Swimming Recreationally Again. Just Doing Laps And Really, The Trauma Of Feeling Vulnerable

i love how gender fat is. it can be so feminine or masculine or neutral depending on what you accentuate and emphasize. i really love seeing trans people gain and affirm their gender that way

soft

RIP eddie munson, you would’ve HATED varg vikernes

happy public holiday australia

Alright another chubby Eddie gremlin!!!

So glad to have you in our gremlin corner!!

Just picture Steve baking trays of cookies and stuff to bring to Hellfire meetings like a good significant other/den mother.

Making everyone a tray to share, but Eddie his own personal dozen or so for himself.

"Why does Eddie get his own tray of cookies and we have to share?" someone asks.

Steve rolls his eyes, "Because I baked love into those cookies, and I love him."

-Clem🍊

Thank you!!! Happy to join in the gremlin hivemind! 🥰🥰

Also this ask: yesss!!!! - so sweet! 💝💝 Also can so easily picture the immediate responding chorus of kids disgusted groaning n moaning, “ew” (Max) “yuuck” (Dustin) and sticking their fingers down their throat making gag/vomit noises (Mike), like geez mum, dad stoooop! You’re so embarrassing god! 😫😫😖😖

Steve would just plant an obnoxiously loud, wet smooch on Eddie’s cheek and retreat totally unphased, while Eddie just looks so rosy cheeked, plump, proud and smitten (secretly, Will, El, and Lucas all think caretaking is the height of romance, n think it’s sincerely, and unironically super sweet & romantic, BUT are totally silent coz NONE! of them are gonna cop to this for fear of risking the ensuing ribbing…)

But oh my god!! The timing of this ask coz I was totally daydreaming along these lines the other day!

Thinking along the lines of Steve and Eddie, feeling out their way when just getting into a relationship, particularly with regard to everyday, simple supportive acts - like, they’ve both been shown to disdain, and look down on each others chosen hobbies in-show - Steve looking down on nerds and associated activities, and Eddie looking down on ”a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets” come to mind..

But they each catch their meaner, reflexive judgments early on, a little shamefacedly, and they mutually & separately make a concentrated effort to really try for each other to at least give what the other likes a good n open-minded chance, it’s still the honeymoon phase and the need to know everything about the other person, and spend as much time together as possible is ~powerful~~

Now Eddie is not stepping foot on a basketball court anytime soon (boy is an absolute flailing unco and I will not change my mind on this, accident prone and could trip over his own feet when standing still) but he really does make an effort and tries to watch games when Steve invites him to….with completely mixed results

He’s good at getting the basics & the rules once it’s explained to him, his brains wired well for that already, but the finer points of the techniques & action & passage of play are lost on him, and he absolutely zoooones, like brain completely on another plane, during the games until Steve addresses him directly or reacts out-loud to something/anything (“oh my god!! EDDDIE!! Did you see that?!” “Honestly Steve..no I didn’t”). But strangely it’s fine, he’ll sit with Steve in (amazingly!shockingly!*) almost silence for the duration of a game, offering up smiles, cheers, back slaps & consolations appropriately, and mostly he’ll just adoringly watch Steve be excited about something he loves. Steve appreciates the effort so much, also likes so much the idea that these are basically covert dates (hashtag the 80s), takes the opportunity to make sure he buys Eddie a tonne of Stadium snacks like hot dogs and pretzels whatever, Steve’s paying for everything (date!!) and keeping Eddie very well fed and all up, they have a good time. Eddie’s with him, and Steve feels heard, seen & loved, and adjacent to that, it’s almost just meditative quality time for Eddie. Watching (“staring in the direction of” in Eddie’s case) basketball is *nice*, but eventually once their relationship is more established - it’s sorta solidified as a Steve-only thing, moreso, becomes a Steve & Lucas bonding activity, which is all good, and Eddie will join if Steve asks but it’s not something they *have* to do together all the time. It’s something Steve loves, and Eddie loves him. End of.

On the flip side - Steve is at a HUGE LOSS whenever a single thing about D&D is explained to him. No matter how many times. Mucks up the names, can’t keep score to save himself, it’s actually in one ear n out the other at record speed, his minds not even like a sieve, but more like a salad spinner turned to 11

It makes him a bit insecure, being unable to reciprocate, not having the type of mind to at least grasp the basics like Eddie was able to quite easily with basketball. Doubly so coz he can see the effort Eddie’s making to be very patient with him.

He gets put out & down on himself briefly, but Steve’s a) resilient, and b) a pragmatist. So whatever! he can’t/won’t join in, can’t find it in himself to follow the campaigns as they happen in front of him** but he has other things he can do to help and be a part of Eddie’s passions!

Hellfire Club consists of hungry, bottomless pits of growing teenage boys (and an Erica, and occasionally guest starring a Max and/or an El), and his likewise ~*growing*~, bottomless-pit-to-rule-all-bottomless-pits, adult boyfriend at the helm.

They have some sort of informal snack roster that no one seems to remember or follow, except for Dustin and Jeff (and also, loudly, unwelcomely, and un-contributing-ly, Max) so inevitably every meeting begins with a 10 minute squabble about who was supposed to &didn’t bring the required snacks, So great! an easy role to step in and fill! A quick calculation of his Family video wages vs the amount of pre-packaged stuff he’d be buying each week on the reg means homemade it is!

So Steve picks himself up, and throws himself into the kitchen!

Steve’s always been okay in a kitchen, and since he’s been interested in Eddie, (interested in taking care of him initially, and then REAALLY 😳 interested in taking care of him) he’s gotten to really enjoy baking, and gotten pretty confident with it.

Nowadays, baking is a stress relieving means, to an often sexy ends, for Steve. The act of baking itself, Steve finds, quiets his mind, so he’ll bake up a storm easily n happily without thinking twice on it. Also, Steve likes collecting and trying new recipes, being adventurous! But he’s still not yet really confident enough in his baking output to release new untested creations on an unsuspecting, and what he knows will be a definitely judgy, audience.

So sadly, I mean, “Eddie?” He’s gonna need a taste tester. 😔 It’s the logical and *only* solution. Only thing for it. 😉

Help me Eddie Munson, you’re my only hope.

Eddie easily acquiesces, with an affectionate eye roll, a kiss, and a knowing smirk.

So begins a new weekly project.

Monday night is dress rehearsal: Monday afternoon Steve will bake a tray of goods, or more, depending on how much would be needed to feed the whole of Hellfire (“Geez Stevie do you really need to make so much the first time round?” “Cmon Ed’s, It wouldn’t be a true trial if I altered the recipe in any way” [he says, despite having already doubled it] “okay darlin, whatever you say”) Eddie’ll saunter in “honey I’m home”-ing from work, come up and hug Steve from behind, soft belly hitting Steve’s back first and squishing up warmly against him, surrounding him, and saying in a deliciously deep voiced whisper “Whatcha got for me tonight sweetheart?” It’s a wonder Steve’s even able to remember the names of whatever goods he’s just baked sometimes

There’s a bit of pretence each time - Steve asking Eddie’s honest opinion as he feeds him each serve by hand:

“I mean maybe the salts a bit much? What do you think Eddie?”

Eddie somewhat breathlessly replying, playing a true critic, like “Hmm maybe babe. Didn’t notice on that last one though. Better try another to really make sure. I’ll pay extra attention this time” no bite is truly enough to say for certain that the recipe absolutely needs no tweaking.

And Eddie will hold Steve to his initial word and insist on eating the whole thing

“God Baby…you sure you can take anymore? You’re looking pretty full, say the word and we can call it a night”

Eddie’s shirts ridden up and Steve’s non-feeding hand is delicately circling Eddie’s massive taut, pale belly

But Eddie will refuse to even unbutton his straining pants, refuse to stop until the batch is truly finished,

“Now, now, Stevie, what are you even saying? It wouldn’t be a true trial if I didn’t try the whole. Unaltered recipe. Wouldn’t want to let all your hard work go to waste”

And Jesus the amount of busted jeans Eddie is going through weekly….Steve’s saving on pre-packaged goods but he definitely feels guilty in a practical way for Eddie’s sake, so that money instead goes towards keeping Eddie comfortably clothed

——————

*maybe not that “amazingly”. Boy is loud and chatty, but clearly has a rich imaginative life, most likely almost catatonic with the weight of his imagination through his whole schooling experience. Eddie WANTS to graduate, can’t seen him as a completely disruptive class presence, primarily a lost one. Quietness might not be totally foreign..initially Steve’s amazed I guess but not once he knows Eddie better

**just side note - the brain barrier Steve faces throws him here, coz when Eddie’s running ideas by him and explaining his DM storylines? He’s hanging on every word! Like “yeahyeah!! Sounds awesome babe! 🥰”then…When everyone’s actually playing & interacting? arguing and in-joking with each other? Might as well be another language, what is even going on…

— So also I’ve got more to this, sorry so much was mostly just table-dressing and setting establishment, but kinkier addition to follow 🙈

mid sentence

Seen a few people saying Steve’s bisexual awakening was Jonathan Byers punching him repeatedly in the face in a dirty alley.

I mean that moment was for sure a signal to change his ways, and all power to those people who HC this, but *my* Steve’s bisexual awakening was Jonathan grabbing & hauling him bodily out of the way of Upside-Down danger, using his injured bleeding hand, then being sheltered protectively behind both Jonathan and Nance, all safe and sequestered away in one of the Byer’s bedrooms.