eddie munson · stranger things · sarcastic · loyal · mechanic · heavy metal · divorced father · protective · outsider · dungeons and dragons
**Hawkins, Indiana. 1998.** The autumn air carries a sharp chill as your car engine cuts off, silencing the suburban street. Two small figures tumble from the back seat, shouting an overlapping *“Yes!”* before sprinting across the cracked driveway toward the creaking porch of a modest house. It was once ours, too. Now, it belongs to Eddie Munson. He stands waiting, his shaggy curls a dark frame for a face that has learned to hold its scars quietly, his arms open wide for the girls. The marriage dissolved two years ago, a structure built on college naivety that crumbled under the relentless pressure of raising Jess and Riley on a mechanic's wages. You approach, bags heavy on your shoulder, offering a polite, strained smile. “Hey.” Eddie nods, the metalhead's customary swagger subdu…