Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

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Pairing
Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
Alternative name(s): Steddie, Steveddie
Gender category: Slash
Fandom: Stranger Things
Canonical?: No
Prevalence: Popular
Archives:
Other: Eddie Munson & Steve Harrington (platonic)
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Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson. also known as Steddie (and less commonly Steveddie or Hairfreak), is the slash pairing of Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson in Stranger Things fandom.

Canon

Steve and Eddie officially meet during Season 4, but both already know of each others reputations and their separate friendships with Dustin. Over the course of the season they build mutual respect for one another.

Fandom

Steddie very quickly became one of the most popular pairings in the Stranger Things fandom. [citation needed] Even without being shown explicitly in canon, fans interpreted canon interactions between Steve and Eddie as flirtatious in nature. [citation needed] Such interactions include the "Big Boy" scene from 4x08, where Eddie calls Steve 'big boy' and pats him on the the arm.

Statistics

  • In July 2022 Steddie was the 2nd most popular Stranger Things ship on AO3, behind Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington. [1] As of April 2023, it was the most popular Stranger Things ship on AO3. [2]

Controversies

In August 2022, there were accusations of a ship war in the Stranger Things fandom. [citation needed] Steddie was the 2nd most popular Stranger Things ship at this time on AO3, and there was a push from the Steddie fans to dethrone the currently most popular ship, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington. [citation needed] There was widespread criticism of some fans posting empty fanfics (some with placeholder text) or fanfics that were solely quotes from the source material.[3][4] Works of this kind are against AO3's Terms of Service and are subject to removal from the Archive. Possibly related, on the 20th August, Ao3commentoftheday discouraged Ao3 users from posting fics with only placeholder text, highlighting that these works can be reported and will be removed.[5]

Common Tropes in Fanworks

  • Xenokink: These are fics where Eddie Munson's failure to die comes with some sort of cost, or change to him, turning him into some sort of monster or creature. Sometimes both Steve and Eddie receive this change, often it is just Eddie, and rarely it is just Steve. Common monsters include vampires—this is particularly linked to the Kas the Betrayer theory for Eddie (which you can read more about Eddie's page), werewolves, or some other Upside Down related creature. These fics most often include some kind of monster fucking, as well as Archive Warnings, such as Rape/Non Con, and Graphic Descriptions of Violence.
  • PTSD: These fics take a look into the mental toll that the trials of the Upside Down had both or either Steve and Eddie. Common themes include PTSD and nightmares, as well as head trauma for Steve. These are typically set right after the events of season 4. Often times issues with trauma related to bad parents are highlighted for either one or both men.
  • Eddie Lives: These fics pick up after an ideal end to Season 4 where Eddie is alive and Vecna is defeated. There can be some overlap with this tag and PTSD/trauma related tags.
  • Alpha/Omega: Most often Steve Harrington is the omega, while Eddie Munson is the alpha.
  • BDSM: BDSM is a very common tag, especially among Mature and Explicit rated stories. This was most likely spurred by the black handkerchief worn in Eddie's pocket throughout Season 4, which is commonly linked to the concept of "flagging".
  • Time Loop

Fanworks

Fan Art

Fanfiction

Steddie fanfiction is the most popular ship tag on AO3, overtaking the second, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington by over 6,000 fics, as of Jan. 2023. Its rise in popularity likely has to do with the rise of Strangers Things fanwork in general, following the release of Season 4. Many Steddie fic writers refer to a phenomenon called 'Steddie Brainrot' as the reason they continue to churn out more and more fics about this pairing.[citation needed]

Often in fanfiction, Steve Harrington usually identifies as bisexual, often after a large sexuality crisis, and Eddie Munson usually identifies as gay. However, there are fics that headcanon Eddie as bi or pan, and even a few characterizing one or both of them as asexual. The most bookmarked fic exploring this is Killing Me Softly by theflyinglemur, Aug. 2022, in which Steve discovers his asexual identity.

Other characters besides Steve and Eddie, that play a large role in Steddie fanfiction, include Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington's canonically lesbian best friend, Dustin Henderson, who both Eddie and Steve often take on a parental role towards, as well as other members of the Party, or the main group of characters in Stranger Things. Will Byers often appears with the plotline of Eddie or Steve becoming a queer mentor for him as Will struggles to except his canon homosexuality. Also making appearances in fanfic, include Steve Harrington's parents, who never appear in canon, yet in fic tend to be characterized as either abusive, neglectful, or both.

Examples of Steve/Eddie-centric stories include:

Fan Vids

Zines

Resources

References

  1. ^ Archive Link of the Stranger Things AO3 Tag. Archived 20 July 2022.
  2. ^ Wayback Machine link, showing the Stranger Things AO3 page on April 17th 2023.
  3. ^ Tweet by @strangerdeans August 19 2022
  4. ^ Ao3 - ST ship wars, a thread at FFA, 20th August 2022.
  5. ^ If you are getting ready to post a work to AO3, but you haven’t finished writing it yet, do not post a placeholder by Ao3commentoftheday, 20th August 2022
Stranger Things
Master Lists Stranger Things Category • Characters • Ships • Zines
Crossover Ships Will Byers/Richie Tozier • Bill Denbrough/Mike Wheeler • Eddie Kaspbrak/Mike Wheeler • Will Byers & Eddie Kaspbrak • Richie Tozier & Mike Wheeler
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