#sterpevent

He took the camera out of his messenger bag and started practicing his stance for when the fireworks finally started, taking a few test shots, not realizing someone had walked over and stood in front of him until he pulled the camera away to adjust the settings.

"Oh," he jumped, dropping the camera. "Didn't see you. Uh, hi."

𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟑𝐭𝐡

(𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫/𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 @sterpstarters)

Walking in the dark was nothing new to Ollie. Her boots hit the ground with steady steps as she moved forward. She could see a faint hint of orange glowing in the distance. Today was Friday the 13th, her favorite day besides Halloween. On this day, she always felt lucky and drawn to supernatural things. She had that witchy vibe she always seemed to carry. It drew people in. She had a way with others, even if she was a nervous wreck at times.

Tonight, she felt brave. She felt like she could take anything on. The quarry was said to be haunted, and that there might be some masked dude wandering around. All Ollie could do was laugh at herself as she got closer to the fire. In her hands, she held marshmallows and candy to make s’mores. She might as well have a good time, right?

Her hair was now dyed black. She wore a flannel shirt, ripped black jeans with chains hanging down, and black boots as her footwear of choice. The glow of the fire lit up her face as she finally got closer, feeling her body grow warmer. She set down the lawn chair that was in her other hand and sat. The fire crackled to life as she stared into it for a long while, the night sounds around her coming alive.

A branch cracked in the distance, and Ollie turned her head.

“Whoever is out there, come out. You can’t scare me, you know. Besides, who else started this fire? It’s me, Ollie, from school,” she said, shaking her head as she leaned back in the chair, her boot scraping against the dirt.

Ollie was one of those people who loved chaos and superstitious things; for some reason, they intrigued her. The only fear she ever felt was when the echoes tried to pull her in. She knew she couldn’t hide forever and that she would eventually fall under the echoes’ control soon enough.

Tonight was the night she could let go, relax, and not worry about anything at all. Besides, whoever was out here must have wanted her to show up. But where were they? Were they the one hiding in the trees, or were they her friends trying to prank her?

July 1–7 (Real Time), set in 1986 Hawkins.

Hawkins is gearing up for the 4th of July — fireworks, fairs, lake days, backyard cookouts, and that electric feeling of summer freedom. But in Echoes, even a holiday built on celebration comes with strange distortions humming beneath the surface.

This is a low‑pressure, open‑world event with optional Echo interference, perfect for slice‑of‑life, angst, nostalgia, or eerie tension.

EVENT OVERVIEW

The 4th of July in Hawkins means:

The annual Hawkins Independence Fair at the fairgrounds

Fireworks stands popping up on every corner

Teens sneaking off to Lover’s Lake for late‑night parties

Families grilling in their backyards

The town gathering for the Fireworks Show at dusk

That warm, buzzing sense that summer is finally in full swing

But this year, the Echoes feel… celebratory in a way that’s almost unsettling like the past is trying to join the party.

ECHO TWISTS

All optional. All atmospheric. All muse‑choice.

Patriotic Flicker: Flags ripple even when there’s no wind. Red, white, and blue lights blink in patterns that feel like Morse code.

Ghost Fireworks: Bursts of light appear in the sky hours before the real show — silent, shimmering, forming shapes that feel too specific to be random.

Echo Doubles: Characters catch glimpses of themselves in the crowd — younger, older, or dressed from another decade — before the image dissolves.

Heat Echoes: The summer air warps, revealing brief scenes from past Hawkins celebrations: old fairs, forgotten parades, faces long gone.

Radio Rewind: Firework‑stand radios glitch, playing patriotic broadcasts from eras that don’t match the static-laced voices.

Memory Sparks: When fireworks go off, characters feel sudden, vivid flashes of old emotions — joy, fear, longing — not all of them their own.

None of these are harmful. All are flavor for RP, angst, nostalgia, or supernatural weirdness.

EVENT LOCATIONS

Use any of these as thread starters or scene anchors.

Hawkins Independence Fair - Carnival rides, fried food, rigged games, couples sneaking off, Echo distortions flickering in the funhouse mirrors.

Lover’s Lake Bonfire - Teens, music, cheap fireworks, gossip, and strange ripples moving across the water even when it’s still.

Backyard Cookouts - Burgers, sparklers, awkward neighbor conversations, Echo glitches in the corner of your eye.

Main Street Firework Stands - Kids begging for firecrackers, adults arguing about prices, radios glitching with patriotic static.

The Fireworks Show - The whole town gathered at dusk — perfect for emotional threads, reunions, confessions, or Echo visions lighting up the sky.

Forest Trails - Quiet escapes from the noise, fireflies drifting in unnatural patterns, memories surfacing in the heat.

The Hideout: “4th of July Blowout” - Live music, sweaty crowds, summer romance, and Echo distortions pulsing with the bass.

TONE

This event supports:

Wholesome summer nostalgia

Emotional character development

Soft supernatural weirdness

Chaotic teen energy

Quiet, reflective moments

Slice‑of‑life comfort

Angsty fireworks‑lit drama

May 23–30 (Real Time), set in 1986 Hawkins.

Hawkins is gearing up for Memorial Day Weekend — barbecues, parades, lake days, and the first real taste of summer. But in Echoes, nothing stays normal for long.

This is a low‑pressure, open‑world event with optional Echo interference, perfect for slice‑of‑life, angst, mystery, or chaos.

EVENT OVERVIEW

Memorial Day in Hawkins means:

The town parade down Main Street

Families gathering for cookouts

Teens flocking to Lover’s Lake

The VFW ceremony at the cemetery

The first weekend where Hawkins feels alive again after a long winter

But this year, the Echoes are acting strange — subtle, flickering, almost… nostalgic.

ECHO TWISTS

Each muse can experience these or ignore them entirely.

Time Slips: For a few seconds, the world looks like a different decade — 1950s storefronts, 1970s cars, 1940s music drifting from nowhere.

Memory Bleed: Characters briefly see someone they’ve lost standing in the crowd, smiling, waving, or walking away.

Patriotic Static: Radios glitch, playing military broadcasts from wars long over — or ones that never happened.

Heat Mirage: The air shimmers, revealing silhouettes of soldiers marching… then vanishing.

Echo Fireworks: At night, sparks in the sky form shapes that feel too personal — initials, symbols, memories.

All Echo effects are non‑harmful, atmospheric, and fully player‑choice.

EVENT LOCATIONS

Use any of these as thread starters:

Hawkins Memorial Parade: floats, marching band, kids with flags

Lover’s Lake Cookout: burgers, sunburns, gossip, Echo ripples across the water

Forest Trails: quiet walks, strange sounds, old memories resurfacing

The Hideout: “Memorial Day Weekend Bash” with live music

Cemetery Ceremony: somber, reflective, perfect for emotional threads

Backyard BBQs: neighbors, fireworks, awkward small talk, Echo glitches

TONE

This event supports:

Wholesome summer vibes

Emotional character development

Creepy, subtle supernatural tension

Chaotic teen shenanigans

Quiet, reflective moments

It was just a gathering with her stepdad's family. It was supposed to be fine—maybe even enjoyable. For once, David didn’t act like a total asshole. For once in his life, he actually behaved. He had invited his sister and her four kids over. Three of them were around eight years old, and one was a boy around Ollie’s age named Drew. They would always sneak off and have a smoke session without anyone worrying about where they were. Ollie sat in a lawn chair outside, enjoying the breeze, as her three cousins hunted for eggs. She felt something off, as if she was remembering something. She shook it away and focused on her cousins, watching them pick up each egg they found. Lost. The word rang in her head, twisting itself to match her tormented mind. A day that was supposed to represent the resurrection of someone holy… but today it only made Ollie think of the lab. How Papa had planned an Easter egg hunt of his own. Whoever found the golden egg was offered one-on-one time for two hours in the Rainbow Room. Ollie hated that place with a burning passion. But there was one person she enjoyed being with—Henry. 001. He was always at her side, silent, like a quiet savior waiting for his chance to save her. Her mind drifted again. Her cousins’ laughter sounded distorted, and the conversations around her faded into something distant and warped. Her vision blurred as she tried to breathe properly, but found it difficult. The day the Easter egg hunt began in the lab… someone tried to hurt her. Someone did something that changed her—changed who she trusted. Someone who never should have done what they did. And now, they had paid the price. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair, her knuckles turning white. “Ollie!” Someone shouted, but she didn’t recognize the voice. She didn’t know if she was home or back in the lab. She jumped from her chair, and everything snapped back to normal—or so it seemed.

For now. She stood there for a moment until one of her cousins handed her an egg. She looked down. It was Drew. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked, holding another egg in his hand. “I stole it from Trevor—hope you don’t mind. Figured you could use it, considering—” He stopped himself. Unlike David and the rest of the family, Drew knew about her powers. He thought they were cool and kept it a secret from his mom and siblings. Ollie just stood there, unable to speak. Drew knew everything she had been through—the lab, the abuse, the abuse at home. All of it. He also knew that her best friend, Eddie Munson, had suddenly come back from the dead, and how much that terrified her. How she had started investigating the echoes and what they meant. Her mind snapped back again. All she could see was the man in the Rainbow Room, reaching out to her with that evil smile. Then—blood. Everywhere. Henry stood over him, fists clenched, striking him again and again. And then— Nothing. That was where it ended. Ollie stood frozen in the present. Slowly, softly, she tried to speak—but no words came out. She looked down at the egg in her hand, as if it could give her answers. As if it was something good she could cling to. She cracked it open. Blood. Ollie screamed and threw the egg to the ground. It shattered against the concrete— But when she looked again, there was no blood. Only a gold coin inside. She shook her head. Drew was at her side, but she raised her arms, signaling him not to come closer. He stopped a few feet away, giving her space. Her body trembled. The echoes were playing tricks on her again—making her see things that weren’t there, dragging suppressed memories back to the surface. She was in agony. The pain from the lab, the memory of watching Henry kill her abuser…Easter was never a good time for her. It was just pain—just a reminder of something terrible. A witness to a justified crime. The rest of the day only brought more fragments of memory, like the world itself had something against her. And when she finally got away from her family, she walked toward the woods. It was the only place where she could find peace. The only place where she could think clearly.

The season shifts… but Echoes never lets anything stay simple.

Spring has finally reached our cursed little town. Flowers pushing through thawed soil, longer days, warmer air. Hawkins is gearing up for their usual mix of Easter egg hunts, family dinners, Passover gatherings, spring fairs, and small‑town celebrations.

Except… something feels off this year.

📅 WHEN:

All of April (real time)

In‑universe: Spring 1986, right as the town tries to pretend everything is normal.

📍 WHERE:

Anywhere your muse would be during spring festivities:

Community center egg hunt

A family Seder or dinner

Church basement bake sale

The woods behind Black Pine

School hallways decorated with pastel construction paper

A “totally normal” spring fair

Someone’s backyard gathering

Or any place where spring should feel safe… but doesn’t

WHAT’S HAPPENING:

Spring brings renewal but in Echoes, renewal doesn’t always mean rebirth. Sometimes it means return. Expect:

Eggs showing up where they shouldn’t

Lost items reappearing in pairs

Shadows that stretch too far in the longer daylight

Animals acting strangely

Family traditions interrupted by flickers of the uncanny

Sweet moments soured by déjà vu

Threads that start wholesome and drift into the eerie

Characters confronting what they’ve “left behind”… or what refuses to stay gone

This is a low‑pressure, open‑ended event.

ECHO TWIST:

Someone finds an egg with something inside that isn’t candy.

A Seder plate item goes missing and something else appears in its place.

Kids report seeing “a rabbit” that walks on two legs.

A spring storm knocks out power, but only on one street.

A family tradition triggers a memory your muse shouldn’t have.

Flowers bloom overnight in a perfect circle.

A pastel‑colored flyer appears in lockers advertising an event that doesn’t exist.

Something green is stirring beneath the surface.

Hawkins doesn’t usually make a big deal out of St. Patrick’s Day. A few shamrock decorations in shop windows, a themed special at Benny’s, maybe a school hallway half‑heartedly taped with green streamers.This year, though, something feels… off.

📅 WHEN:

Real‑time March, still 1986 in‑universe.

📍 WHERE:

Anywhere in Hawkins but especially places where the veil tends to thin:

The woods near the quarry

The high school hallways after dark

The hospital’s long, humming corridors

The radio station, where the static has turned an unsettling shade of green

Any home where the lights flicker just a little too long

🍀 WHAT’S HAPPENING:

St. Patrick’s Day brings a strange kind of luck to Hawkins, the kind that feels more like a warning than a blessing.

Residents report:

Green glimmers at the edges of mirrors

Footsteps that sound like they’re following, but leave no prints

Objects vanishing, only to reappear in impossible places

Whispers in a language no one recognizes

Sudden bursts of good luck that twist into misfortune minutes later

A figure in green seen at the edge of the woods, always watching, never approaching

This is a low‑pressure, open‑ended event. Characters can treat it as:

A normal holiday with weird background static

A mystery to investigate

A chance encounter with something Echo‑touched

A day where luck, good or bad, bends around them

ECHO TWIST:

Thresholds pulse green when crossed today.

Lost items return with messages carved into them.

People experience déjà vu so strong it feels like a memory from someone else’s life.

Animals refuse to cross certain streets, as if sensing something humans can’t.

A green‑tinted fog rolls in after sunset, swallowing sound.

TONE:

A NOTE MAKES ITS ROUNDS

The note starts in third‑period and spreads like wildfire. By lunch, everyone’s seen it or pretends they have. It’s soft at the edges from too many hands, covered in doodles, warnings, and different handwriting styles. You catch glimpses of it everywhere; slipped under trays, shoved into lockers, traded between friends like contraband. Some kids laugh it off. Some look uneasy. Teachers keep trying to confiscate it, but every time one disappears, another version pops up. By the final bell, the whole school knows there’s a bonfire tonight, there are rules, and no one can remember who wrote the first note.

bonfire. at the quarry. tonight.

On Friday the 13th, of course. No adults. No rules. Just one last chance to blow off steam before the next wave of responsibilities, secrets, or supernatural nonsense hits. The fire crackles. Someone’s telling a ghost story. Someone else is trying to impress their crush with a questionable dare. The night is warm, but every so often a cold breeze rolls through like something exhaled from the treeline. Pay phones glitch. Radios pick up static. A few swear they see movement on the cliffside, but when they look again, nothing’s there. Just the dark and the feeling that tonight is the kind of night where anything could happen.