Steddie

"I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine."

- Eddie to Steve, The Massacre at Hawkins Lab

Steddie is the slash ship between Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson from the Stranger Things fandom.

Vecna's Curse
While looking for Eddie at Rick's place, Max finds a large storage shed out back. She, Steve, Robin and Dustin then head inside and start calling for Eddie. Steve assumes that he might be hiding under a tarp and starts poking it with an oar, which Dustin makes fun of him for. Steve points out that everyone in the room has nearly died before and he's not taking any chances, when Eddie pops out and pushes Steve up against a wall. He holds a smashed beer bottle to his throat and Dustin immediately tries to defuse the situation. He does so and Eddie removes the broken bottle from Steve's throat, letting him go.

The Massacre at Hawkins Lab
As the group walks through the woods, Steve walks up to Eddie and tells him that he just wants to thank him for saving him. Eddie says that Steve saved himself and that he pulled a real Ozzy back there. Steve is confused till Eddie explains that he's referring to the time Ozzy Osbourne bit a bat's head off onstage. Steve still doesn't know what he's referring to, but Eddie just says that what Steve did was pretty metal and Steve awkwardly thanks him. Eddie says that Dustin insisted that Steve was a badass and Steve is surprised he did so. Eddie says that the kid worships Steve, it's kinda annoying. He doesn't know why he cares what Dustin thinks, but he did get a little jealous. Just couldn't accept the fact that the Steve Harrington the guy with a perfect life, was a good guy. He gets up in Steve's face and jokingly says he's still jealous, making Steve laugh a bit. But all that was why he would have never jumped in the lake to save him. Outside of DnD, he'd just run at the sight of danger. Which is what he's learned this week, but Steve tells him to give himself a break. Eddie says that it was the girls who went in first, and he wouldn't have gone in if they hadn't first. He tells Steve to try and get Nancy back when they're interrupted by the Upside Down shaking.

Papa
Eddie sneaks the group into on of his neighbors campers and starts to hotwire it. Steve asks how he learned to do that, and Eddie says that he learned if from his dad. Swore he'd never end up like him, but after being wanted for murder he's really living up to his family name. Robin says that she doesn't love the idea of Eddie driving, but Eddie says that he's just starting it. Steve's gonna drive, right "big boy"? He then gets the car started and Steve tells him to get out of the seat so that he can drive.

The Piggyback
As they leave the Upside Down trailer, Steve turns to Eddie and Dustin, and tells them that if things go south to get back through the portal and let them take care of things. Dustin and Eddie know, and Eddie says that they are definitely not the heroes. Steve starts to walk away but Eddie stops him and tells him to make Vecna pay.

The Hellfire Club

 * Steve passes on hanging with the Kids and Eddie "The Freak" Munson, which makes Dustin accuse Steve of being jealous of him having another older male friend, much to Steve's disgust.

Vecna's Curse

 * Steve makes a comment on how Eddie is Dustin's new best friend because he plays DnD with him.
 * Dustin tells Steve that he should be spending less time looking for a girlfriend and more time looking for Eddie.

The Monster and The Superhero

 * Steve gives Eddie a small wave when the group arrives.
 * Steve gives Eddie a nod and tells him about Eleven.

The Dive

 * Steve says that with the pack of beer they bought Eddie can at least drink himself into feeling better.
 * Eddie agrees with Steve's assessment of Dustin, and they share a nod.
 * Steve starts to explain El, when Eddie points out that he already did so.
 * Eddie asks if Dustin is cursed, and Steve tells him that he's not, just mental.
 * Steve says that they can't just go hiking through the woods since Eddie's still wanted.
 * Steve tells Eddie to grab his stuff.
 * Steve tells Eddie to take it easy with the boat.
 * Eddie has no complaints when Steve says he'll be swimming to the bottom of the lake.
 * Eddie hands Steve a flashlight and wishes him good luck.
 * Eddie freaks out when Steve resurfaces.
 * Eddie dives into help Steve after Nancy and Robin.

The Massacre at Hawkins Lab

 * Eddie helps take out the bats that are attacking Steve.
 * Steve explains to Eddie how all the vines are connected to the creatures.
 * Eddie throws a shirtless Steve his vest "for modesty".
 * Steve gives Eddie an annoyed look when he yells "hi" at the light spot.
 * Steve and Eddie both agree that Dustin needs to get his ego in check.

Papa

 * Eddie and Steve both immediately say no to going into the upside down.
 * Steve asks if Eddie has a car they don't know about, and Eddie says that it's not exactly a car and it's not exactly his.
 * Steve tosses Eddie a bag.

The Piggyback

 * Steve helps Eddie up from the mattress, and they help up everyone else.

Quotes
"I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine."

- Eddie to Steve, The Massacre at Hawkins Lab

Media

 * Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson: The Time the Two Should Have Had on ‘Stranger Things’ (THE MARY SUE • JULY 2022)

Fanon
Steddie quickly gained a following once Season 4 of Stranger Things came out. Although it took a little later in the season given that Eddie didn't have any major interactions with Steve till the end of the first half of the season. Many fans have also joked that Steve and Eddie are co-parenting Dustin, or are fighting over who's the favorite parent. Many fans see Eddie as gay and Steve as bisexual, although there are many different headcanons for the two. Most who ship Steddie also tend to ship Ronance and often call their stay in the Upside Down a Pride Parade or a double date. Fans also love the idea of Robin helping Steve realize that he's bi and has feelings for Eddie, and many fics involve Eddie coming in to family video to 'bother' Steve and Robin during their shift, but really just flirting with Steve the entire time.

Post Vol 2, fans were extremely upset that Eddie had died, regardless if they shipped Steddie or not. Fix it fics and fan art of Eddie living quickly became a staple of the fandom. Steddie fics followed suit and many became "Everyone Lives" AUs where Eddie officially becomes a member of the party and eventually gets together with Steve. Many still follow the tropes previously established in pre-Eddie dies fics with some mentions that Eddie survived the Demobat attack. Some also follow canon that Eddie did die, or was believed dead with him returning as a creature from the Upside Down. Steve being one to save him, sometimes with "True Love's Kiss".

Some fans interpret Eddie encouraging Steve to get back together with Nancy in 'The Massacre at Hawkins Lab' as way of protecting his own feelings. The theory is that, since Eddie believes Nancy likes Steve, given she jumped in the lake to save him, Eddie thinks he doesn't have a chance with Steve. He then pushes Steve to be with Nancy to avoid getting his hopes up to only be let down later. However, many fans interpret Nancy jumping in the lake to save Steve not because she has romantic feelings for him, but because him being dragged into the lake reminded her of how Barb was killed, and Nancy was determined not to lose another friend the same way when she had the opportunity to act. Fans have also pointed out that, while Eddie was telling Steve he should get back together with Nancy, it looks like Steve is staring at Eddie's lips, rather than paying attention to his words.

Fans have also theorized that Eddie may have been about to confess his feelings for Steve in 'Papa', due to the lengthy pause between getting Steve's attention and saying "Make him pay," as if he wanted to tell him something else instead.

Between Season 4 Volume 1 premiering and July 2022, there were over 5000 Steddie works written on AO3, making it one of the fastest growth for written works of a ship in the fandom. On August 27th 2022, Steddie surpassed Harringrove as the most written ship in the Stranger Things tag, and also the most written for ship for Steve. In October 2022, there were over 12000 Steddie works on AO3, making up over 21% of works in the Stranger Things tag.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * When twitter user @kelexyn tweeted out "Thank God Steve Harrington finally got a co-parent in Robin because really, eight kids and a new boyfriend is a lot for a single mother to juggle..." the official Stranger Things Quote retweeted it, the boyfriend referring to Eddie.
 * In an interview with TS Media, Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) stated that he thought Steve and Eddie should be the next couple in the series.
 * Joseph Quinn improvised Eddie saying "don't ya, big boy?".

Variations

 * Fruity Four refers to the friendship between Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson
 * Fruity Five — the friendship between Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Jonathan Byers and Eddie Munson
 * Spicy Six — the friendship between Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Jonathan Byers, Arglye and Eddie Munson
 * Harringroveson — the ship between Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson
 * Jonsteddie — the ship between Jonathan Byers, Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson