hyugatisi

[woso-dreamzzz]

Pipsqueak's Halloween

Ellie Carpenter x Daniëlle van de Donk x Child!Reader

Summary: The seventh of my Halloween-centric fics

When Ellie first found out how seriously you and Daan took Halloween, she hadn't expected this.

She'd expected some trick or treating, of course. Maybe some horror movies, child appropriate obviously. There may have been pumpkin carving but Ellie hadn't ever considered she would be sitting in the car by herself.

She drums the side of the steering wheel, eyes narrowed as she leans forward to check through the windscreen.

All the other families she spies aren't you and Daan.

It wouldn't be difficult to spot either of you.

You're both wearing very stupid Teletubby onesies that makes you stick out from a mile away.

But, yet, you're both nowhere to be found until maybe half an hour (and two packets of skittles) later when Ellie spots one red and one green furry onesie come sprinting up the road.

Daan's yelling something that Ellie can't hear, mouth moving.

Ellie frowns, trying to lip read.

You're yelling something too.

You can't quite keep up with Daan's pace, you're still a kid after all, but Daan's half tugging you along, a tight grip on your hand.

In the end, Ellie loses the lip reading battle and just rolls down the window, sticking her head out of it.

"What?!"

"Start the car!"

"What?!"

"Start the car!"

"Huh?"

"The car!" You interrupt, opening Ellie's door and clambering in, climbing over her to go tumbling into the back," Start it!"

Ellie barely has any time to react as Daan also uses her now open door to climb in. She hauls herself over Ellie's body, slamming the door shut at the same time on her way to the front passenger seat.

"Start the car!" You both snap at her as you spy someone else come running down the street towards you.

"Okay, okay," Ellie says," We're going. We're going."

She throws the car in reverse, backing out of her parking spot as the man who ran after you yells and shakes his fist.

"Did-Did you two do something to him?" Ellie asks," He looked pretty angry."

"I don't know," Daan says," Some people just have those kind of faces. It was nothing."

"Really? He was pretty angry."

"Some people just don't know how to take a joke, Ellie," You say from the backseat.

Ellie frowns, angling her rear view mirror to look at you properly.

You've got the same innocent, butter wouldn't melt in your mouth smile that you wore when Ellie found all of her bras hidden under the sofa cushions and her phone chargers in the back of the fridge.

"Alright," She says, slamming on the breaks," What did you two do? Huh? What did you do this time?"

Ellie isn't used to being the voice of reason of the family.

That's normally Daan, which is another surprising thing for people outside of the family to realise. But Daan's been your mother for years now and she's used to all your tricks and even though she can be a bit childish herself, she's still trying to raise you as a functioning member of society.

So, usually, Daan is the voice of reason in the family.

Especially on occasions where she catches you and Ellie attacking each other with Nerf guns in the early hours of the morning.

But there are times, like this one, where Daan's childish side comes out and Ellie comes to the startling realisation that two Van de Donks is maybe two too many.

"Ellie, you're in the middle of the street," You say, still smiling innocently at her," You can't park here."

"There's no cars coming," Ellie says," And stop deflecting. What did you do?"

"Ellie," Daan says, wearing a matching smile," Why do you think we did something?"

"Because men running after you down the street, you demanding I make a break for it, all on Halloween means you were up to something."

You giggle. "You're so silly, Ellie. Turn right here."

"Are you really giving me orders right now?" Ellie deadpans," We're not moving until you tell me what happened."

"That's fine," You say," We can walk."

Ellie switches on the locks.

"We egged his house!" You say instantly and Daan groans.

"You weren't supposed to tell her!"

"You egged his house?!"

"Yes," Daan says," She just told you that."

"You-You can't go egging people's houses! It's wrong! It takes ages to clean up and-and that man had a right to be angry with you!"

From the backseat, you shrug.

"Yeah and people shouldn't be getaway drivers for people who egg other people's houses. I guess we've all been incriminated here."

[wheneverfeasible]

I feel like Steve could be oblivious at first, catch on but still pretend to be oblivious to see how long it takes Edie to cut to the chase. Steve and Robin have a bet going on how long before Eddie asks Steve to court.

The post in question.

He hadn’t noticed at first, what Eddie had meant. He wasn’t stupid, or an idiot, no matter how much others might say he was. He just…didn’t get everything everyone said all the time, especially when they weren’t being straight forward. And let’s face it, some of Eddie’s puns were truly horrendous.

It was funny though, and honestly kind of endearing, not that he’d ever tell Robin that lest he never live it down. She was brutal about things like that, and she already made fun of himself for falling for Eddie Munson of all people.

“I thought you had standards, dingus,” she’d huffed after he’d broken down and confessed his growing feelings for their friend, absolutely certain that his feelings would never be returned and wanting to do nothing to risk that friendship.

How was he to know that Eddie’s lingering touches and trailing gaze meant the guy wanted to bone him? He wasn’t used to others making the first move. He might be omega, but he still was the one that had to seek out the others he had wanted to date. He wasn’t used to someone else taking the initiative.

Hell, he’d thought Eddie had been making fun of his moles the first few times he complimented them, like when he started talking about how he wished he were those same moles so that he could stay close to Steve’s beautiful neck. Steve could smack his own head for not understanding soon, but he did now.

Oh, he definitely did. And he was delirious with joy about it.

At first, when Steve first realized Eddie was interested in him, it had kind of bummed him out actually. He had thought Eddie actively enjoyed spending time with him, but then he’d began second guessing that. Began wondering if Eddie only put up with him because he wanted to hit it.

The thought that Eddie could ever like him the way he liked Eddie hadn’t even crossed his mind at first. At least not until he began noticing more and more of Eddie’s pickup lines were involving his neck. Until they exclusively consisted of his neck.

“Your beautiful neck must be tired, because it was running around in my dreams all night,” Eddie all but purred as he leaned on the counter at Family Video, looking up at Steve through his lashes with a grin that sent a shiver down Steve’s spine. Not that he let any indication of that show in his expression.

“That must have been terrifying,” he said, sounding innocently confused. “Just my neck? What, did it have like little legs or something?” He shuddered. “Creepy, dude.”

He had to pinch himself beneath the counter so that he didn’t smile at the disappointed look on Eddie’s face. Robin dropped a stack of movies to cover her snort, not that it did it well. Eddie obviously didn’t suspect anything at least.

“Right,” Eddie said after a moment, and flashing Steve another quick but rueful grin, pushed off the counter to walk backwards towards the door. “Guess I’ll see you neck time, Stevie,” he said with a wink before slipping out the door with a soft jingle of the bells.

It was only when Eddie’s van was no longer visible through the glass panes of the windows at the front of the store that Steve let the absolutely besotted smile spread across his face. He dropped down on the counter where Eddie had just been leaning, feeling the afterimage of his body heat still radiating from the surface.

“You really picked a doofus there, dingus,” Robin dryly remarked as she began sorting through the stack of tapes, popping open the plastic cases to make certain they had all be rewound and removing the ones that hadn’t.

“I know,” Steve dreamily sighed.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t already asked you yet what with how obvious you are. I can smell your desperation from here.”

“You’re a beta!” Steve said, tone scandalized, as he jumped up from where he was collapsed against the counter to turn and point at Robin.

“Yeah, that’s how badly you stink,” she snorted. “Just remember, no cheating or I win,” she added with a smirk.

Steve rolled his eyes, turning his back to her with a huff to return to his own duties. He couldn’t help but smile a little again, because Eddie Munson wanted to court him. And, judging by how much Eddie talked about his neck, he wanted the official mating at the end as well.

He sighed dreamily once more, not even bothering to do more than lazily flip Robin off when she threw a bag of sunflower seeds at his head.

And that was how things went. Eddie would tell Steve terrible pickup lines involving his neck, Steve would play at being oblivious, and secretly he and Robin would bet on how long it would take for Eddie to just give up and ask him straight out. You know. Like a normal person.

Not that Eddie Munson could ever be accused of being normal. Which was one of the things Steve loved most about the man. He just wished Eddie would hurry up and get the picture.

Until then, he would have to put up with these godawful pickup lines and puns and continue pretending like he didn’t know what the ridiculous alpha meant.

“Did you get a driving ticket from a vampire, because your neck has fine written all over it.”

“You know sometimes I still get nightmares about being turned into a vampire by the demobats. Being a vampire wasn’t the nightmare part though. It was the fact that I couldn’t have garlic bread ever again.”

“…”

“You’d have to die first to become a vampire, dingus. Munson’s the only one that died here.”

“Only temporarily!”

“Yeah! I gave him CPR.”

“What I wouldn’t give to remember the resuscitation process there, Stevie.”

“What I wouldn’t give to forget it.”

“Robin! Eddie could have become a vampire! He’d never be able to have garlic bread again!”

“…” A defeated sigh.

And then a week later.

“Is your neck a map? Because I think I just found some treasure.”

“One time Robin wanted to use a marker to see if she could draw a pattern with my moles. But she accidentally used a sharpie. Do you know how hard it is to wash sharpie off your own back?”

“…” Then: “I could help you out in the shower next time, Stevie.”

“Oh it’s fine, that was months ago so it’s all gone now.”

Steve thought Eddie might bash his head against the table then, but he merely muttered something under his breath with a shake of his head and continued eating his meal. Too bad Eddie wouldn’t just come out and say it was a date, because Steve would really love to kiss him.

But the pickup lines just kept coming. Never ending. Robin cackled each time she witnessed one, though obviously after Eddie left after Steve’s continued oblivious act, but Steve was getting impatient. He really wished Eddie would just hurry up and ask him.

“If I said you had a beautiful neck, would you hold it against me?”

“Aw, thanks, man. I love getting compliments from friends. If only I could find an alpha like you.”

And okay, maybe Steve was *slightly* cheating with that one. But Robin wasn’t around and Eddie, lord help him, just gave him a look that totally said that he was silently screaming. But he still…

Didn’t.

Ask.

Steve couldn’t take it anymore. He really, really couldn’t.

At all.

“Are we in a museum, because your neck is a work of ar—”

“If I was a guitar, would you grab me by the neck while fingering me from behind to see what noises I can make?”

Steve didn’t react at all when coffee sprayed from Robin’s mouth, simply staring Eddie straight in the eyes as the other man choked on his words, Eddie’s eyes wide and face turning rapidly pink.

When Eddie still made no response besides staring at him while Robin let out a slew of curses as she tried to clean herself up, Steve just raised an imperious brow.

“Well?”

Eddie sucked in a sharp breath, snapping out of his frozen state to begin nodding his head rapidly like a puppet with loose strings. “Uh. Yup. Uh huh. Yes. Yup.”

Steve smirked, leaning in towards Eddie and lightly arching his neck to the side. “I’ve been told my neck smells like candy. Why don’t you taste it and find out.”

As Eddie spluttered, Steve reached into his pocket for his wallet, pulling out the crisp $20 bill there and sliding it over to Robin without bothering to look her way. They could always make another bet later.

Like how long until Eddie asked to put his pups in him.

Judging by the slowly growing, manic smile on his face as he seemed to finally catch on to the situation, Steve figured it wouldn’t be long.

Which was just fine by him.

Maybe he’d ask Eddie first again.

Or maybe they’d do it together neck-and-neck.

~

Thank you, @foulwitchknight, for that fantastic initial post. I just couldn’t help but do a little something with it after you answered my musings. 😉

Hostage Hotties:

@derythcorvinus @katyawriteswhump @honeii-puff @scoops-aboy86 @dotdot-wierdlife

@everywherenothere

[nurse-floyd]

A Very Ricciardo Halloween

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x reader

Warnings: none.

Written for @faithshouseofchaos who requested some Halloween fluff with Daniel and his kids.

Halloween had always been one of your and Daniel's favorite holidays of the year. You always roped him into doing couples’ Halloween costumes, and the love the pair of you had for the holiday only grew when your son, Ethan, came along and you basically had a mini Daniel to dress up too.  

The first year he was born, you had gone as a cowboy and cowgirl, with your son in a little cow onesie, which was loved by everyone on socials and at the party you’d been invited to. The second year, you’d gone as Alan and Ellie from Jurassic Park, with Ethan as a little dinosaur. The third year, it was Shaggy, Velma, and Ethan as Scooby-Doo. The fourth year, much to all of your disappointment, Ethan was sick with an ear infection. As much as you hated missing out on a year of dressing up together as a family, you enjoyed it just as much snuggled up on the couch, eating candy and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas with him and Daniel. Then Rosie came along, this was her first Halloween. 

Eventually, you knew the time would come when Ethan wouldn’t want to do costumes with you and Daniel anymore, so you cherished each Halloween you did have. This year, before you’d had a chance to even ask your son what he wanted to be, two weeks before Halloween, he approached you. He wanted to be just like his dad, matching race suit and all, and at his request, he wanted you to be his teammate and be just like Uncle Max. Obviously he’d roped his baby sister Rosie into it too. You weren’t sure how you were going to find a race suit for a six month old! 

You weren’t sure how Daniel was going to take it; you knew he’d been struggling since he’d left F1, but you also couldn’t say no to your son. So that’s how you ended up the night before Halloween sewing multiple patches and ironing on transfers of various sponsors on not one but two race suits you’d bought online. For Rosie you settled on a couple of iron on transfers stuck to a baby grow. Honestly, you’d surprised yourself at how well you’d hidden the project from him, especially with how nosey Daniel could be at times. 

Finally, you hung up the costumes and snapped a few photos, proud to show off your work as soon as your husband got to see the costumes. You couldn’t wait to see the look on Ethan’s face when he saw the costumes the next morning. 

Ethan ran into your room that morning, “Happy Halloween,” he yelled as he began jumping up and down on the bed, causing Daniel to let out a groan as he grabbed his son and began tickling him. 

Rosie began gurgling and making cooing noises and you knew your idea of sleeping in was not going to happen. Daniel set down Ethan as he grabbed Rosie and held her against his hip bouncing her up and down. 

“Can we show him, momma, can we?” your son practically bounced in your husband’s arms. 

Daniel looked between the pair of you. “Show me what, sweetheart?” he asked. 

“Our costumes, Dad!” he responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and with a little too much attitude for a four-year-old. 

You smiled at your son and nodded, “come on then.” You walked over to your husband and daughter, kissing her on your cheek before you grabbed her from your husband, “I’ll be needing this one too.” 

Daniel shook his head as he made his way out of the bedroom to get started on breakfast for the four of you.  

Ethan practically squealed as he saw his little race suit, covered with the big Red Bull logo on the front. But where Daniel’s name should have been next to the small Australian flag was Ethan’s. Next to it was your own matching suit, with your name also printed on the waistband. 

You got into your suit first, knowing the surprise would be ruined in 10 seconds if you’d dressed Ethan first, and then got him changed, too. Ethan just about stood still long enough for you to snap a few photos of him alone and then the both of you together before he was begging you to let him out to show his dad. 

He held out his hand for yours as you both made your way downstairs to where you could hear Daniel making coffee for you both. “Close your eyes, Daddy!” Ethan yelled as you got to the bottom of the stairs. 

The pair of you walked into the kitchen slowly as Daniel waited, eyes closed as instructed. “Open them, Daddy!” 

Slowly, Daniel opened his eyes and blinked a few times as he cleared his vision. You chewed on your lip as you waited nervously for his reaction. 

“I’m you, Daddy!” Ethan squealed as he ran into his dad’s side and hugged against his leg. Daniel easily picked him up and sat him on his lap, knowing he’d be too big for it soon but cherishing every moment like that he could with his son. 

“Look at you, little racer!” Daniel’s smile was huge as he walked toward you. “And look at you, pretty momma,” he whispered in your ear as he pulled you into the hug. He took Rosie from your arms, and he squealed as he tickled her, “and look at you Rosie!” 

“You like it?” you asked, nervously. 

“You all look amazing,” he responded as he placed a kiss on your cheek. “This is the best Halloween surprise ever.” 

[vigilante-3073]

Harm

Edward Cullen x Female Reader (Platonic)

Summary: Y/N has always had issues with physical contact and Edward never understood why until an accidental touch brings up unpleasant memories for her.

TW: Mentions of sexual assault, death and molestation, angst.

*Contains mature themes that could be triggering*

Y/N had always had an issue when it came to physical contact, she would shift away like any kind of unexpected touch made her squeamish. Edward had never questioned it, simply assuming that it had been a matter of personal preference. Physical contact had never been a big factor in their friendship and Edward found it easy to respect her boundaries.

Most people were willing to accept her dislike of physical touch, but there would always be people who didn't understand or respect her wishes.

They were walking down the hallway talking about their biology assignment when Emmett ran up behind Y/N and grabbed her waist. She let out a panicked scream as memories began to race through her mind. The memories were so powerful that Edward couldn't keep himself from hearing them.

"Here, munchkin, I got you a toy, but you can only have it if you promise not to tell anyone about our little game," The man said to a 5-year-old Y/N.

The sound of a belt buckle clinking and a sudden unyielding feeling of fear overcame everything.

"Such a good little girl," The man said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before leaving her bedroom.

The memories continued to fly by, each one more unpleasant than the last. It was years of torture, fear and abuse. Her emotions were overwhelming as the memories began to resurface, like a festering wound that never healed.

Emmett set her down on her feet and she immediately broke free of his hold, running down the hallway and into the girl's bathroom.

"The hell was that about?" Emmett asked.

Edward shook his head before quickly following after her. He pushed aside his discomfort and made his way into the women's restroom. Edward moved over to the stall where Y/N had fallen to her knees, coughing and retching as she threw up.

Edward held her hair back, providing silent comfort as she continued to get sick. The memories obviously weighed heavily enough on her to produce such a visceral response.

She finished getting sick before slowly shifting onto her butt, leaning back against the wall of the bathroom stall. Tears rolled down her cheeks as Edward reached past her and flushed the toilet. He stepped away and wet some paper towel for her before returning to her side.

He held out the paper towel to her and she took it silently, wiping her mouth. Edward watched her, listening to her erratic heartbeat as it began to return to normal.

"Who was it?" Edward asked, she gulped, "My uncle," Y/N admitted softly.

"How long?" Edward asked.

"Until I was twelve," She stated.

"Where is he now?" Edward questioned.

Y/N shrugged, "I don't know," She said, toying with the paper towel in her hands.

"Did you ever tell anyone?" Edward asked.

She shook her head, "No, I was-I was scared and I just- I felt like it was my fault," Y/N said shakily, more tears gathering in her eyes.

"You were a child," Edward said, kneeling down beside her.

Y/N scoffed, "I could have said something but I didn't... I thought that no one would believe me," Y/N said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm sorry that you felt like you were alone in that, Y/N. No one should have to go through that," Edward said.

Touch had become an evil thing for her. That man, that family member, had taken her choice away and robbed her of her innocence. Y/N was just a child when he took advantage of her and it went on for years before she was able to escape him.

Y/N was abused and manipulated into thinking that no one would believe her. She endured years of pain and lived in a state of constant fear of this man who was supposed to be someone she could rely on.

He was family.

...

Edward took some time away from school after that day. He told Y/N that he was going to see his cousins, but he wasn't going to Alaska. Edward went to Y/N's hometown and found her uncle stumbling drunkenly out of a bar.

The stench of alcohol permeated the man's entire being as he staggered over to his truck. He fumbled for his keys in his pocket, dropping them down onto the pavement with a mumbled curse. The man bent down to pick them up and Edward had appeared in front of him when he straightened up.

"The hell do you want, kid?" The man asked.

"I'm a friend of Y/N's," Edward said.

"Oh, wow, I haven't seen her in years," The man chuckled.

"You mean that you haven't assaulted her in years?" Edward questioned, eerily calm.

The man scoffed, "Now, I don't know what she told you-," He started.

Edward didn't allow him to finish, grabbing onto his throat and slamming him back against the side of his vehicle. The metal caved in from the force, knocking the wind out of the man.

"I know all about what you did to her and you deserve to endure a lifetime of suffering for it," Edward growled, leaning closer to him and tightening his hold around the man's neck.

He sputtered, hands shoving desperately at Edward's chest to try and push him away.

Edward felt like an avenging angel in this moment, choking the life out of such a vile man. It brought him comfort to know that he would be removing a very evil person from the world.

Edward leaned in and bit into the side of the man's neck, shredding the arteries and spilling his blood in the parking lot brutally.

He pulled away, watching the life drain from the man's face, "You will never hurt her or anyone else ever again," Edward said before letting him go.

He watched the man's body slide down to the ground, gasping and gurgling on his own blood as he died. This man was a predator and he finally knew what it felt like to become the prey.

...

Edward returned to Forks a day later with red eyes, Carlisle knew what he had left to accomplish and chose not to acknowledge it. Even Carlisle had to allow him leniency in this case, violence was never the answer until it was the only answer available.

That man was sick and he deserved to suffer for what he had done to such a kind person, a child nonetheless. He could not be saved or changed and the world would be a better place without him in it.

Edward never told Y/N about what he had done that day, but he would never forget the day her mother had told her the news. They thought it was an animal attack, her mother called it 'gruesome' and 'awful.' She had said that the animal responsible hadn't been located, but assured Y/N that they were searching for it.

Edward watched the look of recognition cross Y/N's face before her glossy eyes slowly came to focus on him. She hung up the phone, dropping it down on her bed.

"What happened?" Edward asked.

"My uncle is dead... They said it was an animal attack," Y/N said.

"Seems to be happening a lot lately," Edward stated.

Y/N stepped over to him, sliding her arms around him and pressing herself against his chest. Edward slowly wrapped his arms around her, holding her gently.

"Thank you," She mumbled, a few warm tears soaking into his shirt.

"You're welcome," Edward said.

She let out a soft breath before her body began to shake with sobs. Y/N cried until she had nothing left in her, standing silently with her head on his chest and her arms wrapped tightly around him.

His shirt had been saturated with her tears and he could feel her beginning to shiver from the ice cold temperature of his body. Edward wanted to get her a blanket or a warm cup of tea, but he knew that she needed this. She needed to hold onto him and feel safe.

Edward had protected her more than anyone else had and Y/N finally allowed herself to enjoy the touch of another person. Y/N would never have to live in fear of that man again and maybe she would eventually be able to tell her family about what he did to her. And if she didn't, her secret would rot in the ground with her abuser.

[bonefall]

Do you have any plans for Frost’s littermates in ASC?

It's odd that Canon!Curlfeather is portrayed on the screen as a scheming character who was fully willing to manipulate her daughter into a position of power, and smart enough to know that she needed lackeys to carry out her dirtywork... and yet, seemingly had no plans for her other two kids.

On one hand, I can understand her wanting to "use" her family as little as possible. You could say she's willing to make a sacrifice with Frostkit's comfort, but wants to spare her other children from it.

On the other hand... I just don't feel like that works. I want to portray BB!Curlfeather as someone who truly believes every choice she made was good for her children. She might reconsider some of her beliefs based on her closeness to Morningstar while in the Dark Forest, but in life, she is absolutely the sort of person who would have a use in mind for her kittens.

I'm not super proud of these quick designs I made for Mistpaw and Graypaw, but here's a first draft;

You probably notice that they're all dog-like, and that's because they are direct descendants of Bluestar in BB! WOLF MOTIF BABEY

In fact, this is going to be a massive contributor towards their characterizations. I may be shuffling my tree in some other ways to make for better faction drama in RiverClan, but BB!Curlfeather priding her lineage, especially as it connects to Crookedstar and Stonefur, is very important to how it shapes her identity.

DESIGN AND DRABBLE BENEATH THE CUT;

On the wolf motif as a whole;

To begin with; note the apple-leaf eye markings! They are subject to the Mapleshade Curse.

Something I like to play with a lot is misconceptions about wolf behavior. For Bluestar herself, where this all began, I use the myth of the "lone wolf" as symbolism that she never truly acted alone.

At every turn, she had friends and family. Her sacrifices, her ruling style, everything she's ever done, is based on her love for both ThunderClan as well as the cats in other Clans.

The symbol of her friend group, the Forget-Me-Not, comes to symbolize Fire Alone as an ideology.

So... the Curlkin.

What I'm playing with is the idea that wolves are perfect, ferociously strong predators from birth.

Curlfeather wants to eventually give her children strong, respectable positions in the Clan. For Frostpaw, that's the Cleric position.

For the other kids, she was still assessing them as they were growing. Deputyship would have been for one of them, but she hadn't planned so far ahead that it would have been unreasonable.

"When you see a fish upstream, you don't race ahead to catch it downriver."

So, she wanted Mist and Gray to be strong and always encouraged them to achieve greatness. They were battle training as soon as they could, and never missed a day.

But it wasn't really their interest, and they weren't really "naturally gifted" or anything. They just do what their mom tells them is good to do for their future.

As a result I want all of them to look a little goofy in some way, except Curlfeather herself.

Frostpaw herself is the softest of the lot, but I want to make sure Gray and Mist are pretty obviously sweeter than they seem too.

Unfortunately though, I don't think I captured what I was going for. I'm definitely gonna give the Frost Siblings a second pass, while Frostpaw will just get refined a little.

Graypaw

He's naturally huge. Even as a newborn, people would comment about him being a big fat kitten.

As a result, he was probably the most "promising," early on.

Understand though; this wasn't necessarily nefarious. Having accomplished warriors as offspring is a sign of a great warrior, it makes a strong family.

It didn't mean she only saw her largest child as an opportunity. He just had great potential, which she would nourish.

He's a little bit entitled as a result. He's big, he works hard, his family's a big deal, he knows it.

And that's sort of his "issue," if you want to call it that. He's not really interested in honor for honor's sake, or improving himself for the sake of the Clan, the way his mother would expect a great warrior like herself to be.

He likes the tangible rewards of strength and is motivated by approval.

...which causes him to be a bully to those he considers weaker.

That ear got shredded in a fight somehow, I haven't decided yet if there's going to be another set of apprentices around the time, if it was Splashtail or his sister, or if it was a cat from another Clan who got tired of his shit lmaoo

(In any case it was NOT his mother.)

Since him and his sister have "obedient to their mother" as major personality traits, I decided to give them both domestic dog characteristics. Graypaw has a german shepherd "stance."

I really like when people give Gray some cream in his design, so I made him look kinda like how I imagine Stonefur.

I don't really like it, though, especially since he's usually described as "silver tabby."

In my next draft, I'll probably make him look more like "Swansong if he had the wolf motif."

And also fatter. They are not fat enough. These are RiverClan warriors and they are all too damn skinny.

Frostpaw

Since this arc began, I've imagined that Frosty has a sort of "little red riding hood" vibe. It's been mixing in my head with the wolf motif, the phrase "wool over the eyes," and the idea of a wolf in sheep's clothing to result in a sort of wooly cloak idea.

Something about a wolf cub who doesn't know who to trust-- the Big Bad Wolf, or the Lumberjack with a blood-soaked axe.

Lost, confused, their whole world turned upside down.

(hmmm.... maybe I'll do a thing where, before their mom's death, the wool covers her eyes. When she sees her die, the look of shock and horror is etched into her face forever.)

In BB, the Clan cats are monitored by scientists. They wouldn't be spaying or neutering the subjects of their investigation-- so I made her iconic "scars" MUCH bigger.

In fact, they're autopsy stitches. I'm going for a sort of "BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD" vibe there.

Real "there is no way you would have survived those injuries without modern medicine" hours

I'm satisfied with this design, so I probably won't be changing it much besides tweaks. Though, I might make it so her "belly" wasn't exposed before the scientists shaved it to stitch her back up.

NOTE: If you wanna see more Frostpaw Plans, go check out this post where I jotted down a ton of ideas, it's also got further links to explore on BB!ASC thoughts I've been sitting on

Mistpaw

This is the one I like the least. She looks waaaaay too much like an Ivypool.

In my next pass I need to make her look cuter and goofier, give her some curls.

Like Graypaw, she only has one particularly unique scene in ASC so I'm building her personality around that.

Graypaw was a bit of a bully, so Mistpaw's got her mom's silver tongue and sharp wit. She can give a Mistystar speech if she wants.

She's a natural thinker, very curious, willing to question. It's something Curlfeather encourages in her, always coming in with the right answer to keep her satisfied.

"Mom, why do we train so much harder than everyone else?"

"To outdo them, of course."

"But... why train so hard when there's no threat? The impostor is gone, we're at peace."

"Oh, my love. You cannot pack a week's worth of training into the minute before a battle. They come hard and fast, and your attacker will have the advantage of surprise. Only practice will compensate."

Though Gray was a really big kitten and naturally imposing, Mist would be the one Curlfeather would ultimately decide was most fitting as a deputy.

If they'd gotten to that point, the siblings probably would have gotten in more fights as Gray started desiring the position for its benefits.

He'd see his mom was clearly giving Mist more opportunities to prove herself, and demand equal chances.

Mist would start thinking of Gray as a stupid bully who thinks he deserves everything because his shoulders are big.

BOTH of them would probably start trying to get Frost to support them over the other.

It would have been a MESS.

BUT, they never did get to that point. Curl was pretty equally focused on them at the point where she died.

When Graypaw got his ear shredded, Mistpaw thought it looked disgusting and horrific and "decided" to crop her own entirely. For reasons I covered in this Hearing Loss guide, RiverClan relies very little on hearing while hunting anyway.

I wanted Mistpaw to look extremely practical, and reference the cropped ears of a domestic dog. Give her a sort of "doberman" vibe.

Something struck me that Curlfeather could have talked her daughter into getting her ears cropped, both to show visually that she's politically grooming her just as much as she's politically grooming Frostpaw.

But... I'm unsure if I'll stick with it. I might have both Gray AND Mist get their ears cropped, or neither.

I also batted around the idea of a cropped tail, too, but THAT would definitely be too far since a tail is very important in swimming.

In fact, I made her tail waaaay too short and her build too thin, in the pursuit of that "doberman" idea.

Again; not a fan of this design. I will probably re-use it later or just give it away. Maybe I'll wait until I have a couple of "Rejected BB Designs" and do an adoptable batch lmao.

[vivalafxxku]

Zagreus escapes AU

AU where Zagreus was the one who grabbed Melinoë and ran away to the Crossroads with Hecate.

Like obviously, he tried to stay and fight with his parents. But Hades and Persephone were like "your job is to protect your sister and it is our job to protect you" and then Nyx (with Hecate's help) does some magic bullshit to prevent Zag from following.

So he lost his parents and his lover(s).

He no longer is as quippy and sassy. His vibe is solemn. (Think Patroclus with Thanatos' silence)

I think he would be a boss too, trying to stop Mel from confronting Chronos and risking the Titan taking away his final family. (I imagine that's how Mel would permanently vanquish Chronos? Convincing Zag to fight with her as a call or something. It triggers a dialogue/cut scene right before entering Tartarus: "Spent years breaking out of Tartarus, never thought I'd be breaking in")

Zag's design would be less red and representative of Hades, and more of what he lost. He'd wear more greys and blues (Than and Meg's colours) with small hints of red. A butterfly following him around would be a cute but sad touch.

At the Crossroads, he'd probably be a bit of an outcast. He's withdrawn, kinda hates Hecate (it's a little misplaced) and is definitely hated by Nemesis (he can't blame her, he blames himself too). Whenever Charon is around, Zag is nowhere to be found. And he can't even look at Hypnos.

Whenever Mel tries to ask Zag about what happened, he doesn't say much other than it was his biggest shame.

He warns her about trusting the Fates. Sure they helped him in the past but now he's wary.

The Gods and Goddesses ask Mel about Zag because he's been ignoring their calls. (He's paranoid that Chronos will somehow use it to find the Crossroads)

Zagreus obviously has a soft spot for Melinoë, she's all he has left at this point. He was left one job after abandoning his parents (he didn't abandon them, but it sure felt like it) and he's going to keep doing it until his last breath.

So it's a given he's protective of Mel. She walks in on Zag talking to Nem and telling her to "back the fuck off my little sister" when Nem is airing her grievances about Mel. Though whenever Mel talks to Zag directly (passive dialogue and not the important plot ones with the special interact icon) after each run, he's asking Mel why she insists on doing an impossible task and subtly trying to talk her out of it.

FISHING WITH ZAG! FISHING WITH ZAG! FISHING WITH ZAG! FISHING WITH ZAG! FISHING WITH ZAG!

At the garden, he makes a comment like "you have a green thumb like Mum. Dad and I kill everything we try to plant without her help. Except for pomegranates".

The most emotion the Crossroads have ever seen on Zagreus was when he quite literally blazed through camp searching for Hecate because his little sister was turning into a shade.

All Hecate heard was a desperate cry of "LADY HECATE", full of panic, and when she turned around, she saw the prince clutching her writhing disciple in his arms.

[gothamiteeditor]

Recently I was thinking about a fanfic I read where the bat family members had animalistic traits based off their symbol. Not in the sense where they were physical, so no wings or beaks or ears. In a more nature based way.

Now reading it got me thinking and as I went down the rabbit hole in my brain, it came across the fact that Batman is obviously a bat, right, how could he not be?

But then I realized I know nothing about bats and their families or relationships with other bats outside of stellaluna. So do bats adopt other bats?

The answer is fascinating. They do. There have been a few cases where a bat has adopted an orphaned bat pup (which pup is such a cute term omg) and just casually would feed them and groom them with little hesitation. Just boom, you’re mine now. It’s not common, and has only been observed a handful of times. You might be thinking, oh I bet this is a case of fruit bats or something.

Nope. Vampire bats.

Specifically in the case of BD the Vampire Bat, adopting the pup of a female Vampire Bat named Lilith who she had previously been grooming and feeding far more than others in the colony. And when Lilith passed, she took up her orphaned pup and fed him blood and milk.

Nature is beautiful. And further makes me realize just how batty Bruce really is.

[op-sys-chaos]

Inspired by a post by @snakeredbirdbatkatana

Tim couldn’t believe it. He’d been left behind. AGAIN.

His siblings really should’ve learned their lesson at this point. But no, they were too busy paying attention to themselves to think about Tim.

Dick had been exposed to the Morality Virus first. It removed your morality, leaving nothing but emptiness behind. He wouldn’t be held back anymore - now, he could do things like kill the Joker and avenge his brother without guilt. (It also gave you a general disdain for human life, which was a problem, but Dick could manage it. It would be fine. Right?) He was quick to infect Jason, thinking he’d enjoy the freedom. He infected Damian after, knowing Damian would enjoy being able to give into his more feral instincts.

Dick didn’t go after Cass, Duke, or Steph. Cass chose not to kill because she couldn’t stand watching people die, not with her ability. It had nothing to do with morals for her, so there was no point. Duke was too new for the family to know how he’d react to something like this. And Steph had actively chosen to reject her villain father and become a vigilante, partially because of a grudge and partially because of the adrenaline rush of vigilantism. She’s probably just pick being a hero anyway.

So obviously, Dick would go for Tim next, right?

No!

No, he started branching out to heroes outside of Gotham!

Unbelievable.

Tim hacked Dick’s computer, only to see his analysis:

Tim looks up to Bruce too much and would keep following him. Besides, he has a strong sense of morality, and would likely keep operating under it out of habit.

Did Dick really not know Tim that well? How little did his brother care about him to not notice?

Tim followed Bruce’s moral code because he didn’t have one of his own originally. He was very detached from normalcy and therefore morality as a kid. He took up Bruce’s code, following his example (not his words, mind you) down to the last detail, including being willing to leave bad people for dead if needed. But it wasn’t because he looked up to Bruce. It was because Bruce had a strong moral code and therefore was a good person to model his own after. It was convenient and reliable. Not some stupid hero worship bullshit.

Tim was so incredibly offended that his brothers cared so little that they couldn’t even tell this basic thing.

Cass noticed, of course. She read Dick’s note over Tim’s shoulder and gave him a hug.

“He doesn’t get it,” she said. “He can’t imagine why you would do be like this otherwise. He won’t consider other options.”

“He’s just… excluding me. Because he doesn’t understand me. How stupid. Everyone else had thought out reasons for exclusion, and he only wants to turn people who will kill because the virus is driving him to turn as many people as possible to create lots of killers, so those exclusions had valid reasonings. But me? Hero worship?”

“Honestly, I feel like this is a good thing to be excluded from,” Steph commented as she walked in.

“You don’t get it, Steph. It’s not that I want to be dosed-��

“You want to be seen. I get it, Tim. And I see you, but I know you want your whole family to be able to see you.”

Tim nodded.

“So how do you get them to see you, and how do you save them?” she prompted.

“…I get myself infected,” he whispered. “Act like I’m on his side. And deliver the antidote when I’m close.”

“Exactly. Can you do it?”

“Of course,” he replied.

“He will,” Cass chimed in confidently.

And that’s how, a week later, Tim ended up breaking into Dick’s apartment, alone and unarmed.

“Dick.”

“Tim? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to prove a fucking point.”

“And that is?” Dick asked with a frown.

“That you don’t know me half as well as you think,” Tim replied, grabbing a syringe of the virus and jabbing himself with it before Dick could stop him.

“What?” Dick asked in a whisper.

It felt strange, being hit with the virus. All it really did was make him feel cold for a moment, and give him the slight nagging sense that he should start killing people. But he easily shook the feeling off by reminding himself of the code.

“Pay better attention to your siblings, asshole.”

“I… Tim, I don’t understand.”

“I don’t have hero worship for Bruce. And I certainly don’t have a strong sense of morality. I never had morals, Dick. You think I would’ve stalked Batman if I did?”

“Well well well,” Jason said, walking into the room. “Pay up, Dick. Told you you were wrong about him.”

Tim almost jumped in surprise. Of his brothers he was definitely closest with Jason, but he hadn’t realized Jason would know him well enough to bet on this.

“But he…”

“Was raised without morals. It’s obvious. He doesn’t think about moral implications until he’s already 50 clones into trying to bring his clone bestie back.”

Dick choked out a cough. “What?”

“Yeah, not my finest moment,” Tim admitted. “I was not thinking about the ethical implications of cloning, I just missed my friend. Bruce’s code is a strong and simple road map. That’s all.”

“Amazingly, I actually respect you more for that,” Damian told Tim as he entered the room. “It takes a lot of willpower to follow a code that’s not your own.”

Perfect. All of them were here.

“Thanks, Damian.”

“You are welcome. I assume your presence here means you are on our side? We have planned our first escapade.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Lure all of the currently free rogues into one spot, then blow up the building. Immediately after, blow up Arkham. Civilian casualties will be a factor, of course, but a necessary one to rid the city of evil.”

Huh. Even with no morals, they were still heroic. Interesting.

“I can help with that,” Tim said, pulling a device out of his pocket.

“What’s that?” Jason asked.

All three came closer, and Tim pushed the small red button on top. Gas instantly exploded outwards, enveloping the room.

The sounds of coughing surrounded him, and he felt the curse of the virus wash off. He didn’t suddenly gain morals, of course, but his drive to kill was gone, which was a relief.

As the smoke cleared, Tim saw his brothers sitting on the floor.

“What the…” Dick started, before clapping a hand over his mouth in horror. “Oh god, was I really planning to…”

“Yeah,” Tim replied, standing up and leaving the apartment. “Next time, pay better attention to your siblings, asshat. You would’ve known that because I don’t have morality to follow, I would stick to saving you all and saving the city. I thought we were brothers, Dick. But you proved today that I’m just another face in the crowd to you.”

With those words, Tim left. Cass, who had been waiting outside in case it went wrong, gave him a quick hug, and the pair grappled off together.

“That was AWESOME,” Steph said over comms. “You kicked so much ass, Tim. They’ll think twice before dismissing you again.”

“I hope so,” Tim whispered. “I was honestly surprised that Jason at least partially knew that I would act that way.”

“Yeah, well, Dick will think twice about underestimating you again.”

And he did. When Dick came back to the cave that night, he sat down and had a conversation with Tim, telling him about his impressions of Tim and asking him to correct anything he got wrong. To Tim’s surprise, Dick actually saw a lot more than he expected. He even picked up on the fact that Tim’s first male crush had been Kon, even if Tim hadn’t admitted it even to himself. And Dick was the only person who’d ever told Tim that they had figured out that Tim had originally modeled his personality after a book character. Dick wasn’t wrong; Tim had no idea how to act normal as a kid, and modeled himself after his favorite character. His actions changed over time, becoming more natural and more his own, but they’d still originally been based on someone else. Dick had picked up on that, to Tim’s amazement.

It turned out, Dick actually knew Tim better than he ever realized his brother did. Dick just missed the morality piece because Tim had never wavered from the code and had always been so devoted to following Bruce’s code that Dick assumed it was hero worship of the first hero Tim knew.

They vowed to be more open about things in the future and to work on knowing each other better. And Dick vowed never to exclude Tim again unless someone else gave him a very, very good reason to do so (such as the “it’ll make him want to get involved if he knows and his involvement will make this worse” type of stuff typical in their line of duty).

[germhammy]

“Fencing Team Practice”

Wednesday entered early with Enid and her brother Pugsley

Wednesday: Bianca. Time to pick the squad for Ilvermorny

Bianca: yes. I really like how Illyana is doing. But we need our stat keeper.

Wednesday: my brother will do it. He is not eligible to be a part of the fencing squad yet but he can keep stats. Illyana and Miguel can show him

Pugsley: hi. I’m Pugsley. Nice to meet you

Bianca: nice to meet you. You’re obviously nothing like your sister.

Enid: don’t be too sure, Bianca. He is still an Addams

Bianca: I’ll keep that in mind

Wednesday: indeed. Pugsley is soft and weak. But still an Addams. And my little brother and my weakness. But also my strength

Pugsley: hey! I’ve gotten stronger!

Wednesday: you have. Thing has kept me posted. You have been standing up to Dalton and the rest of the water polo team

Pugsley: it was so unfair that my bullies didn’t get any punishment. Just you.

Enid: anti bullying policies are always downplaying the victims and giving meaningless punishment to the bullies.

Wednesday: not to mention Dalton’s family probably paid them off. If it were not to be detrimental to my own dream? What a shame it would be if it were to get out that he was a high school bully and is missing a testicle due the revenge of his victim’s elder sister?

Bianca: I want to read your novel

Wednesday: I will give you an advance reader copy

The rest of the team started to file in. Bianca addressed them

Bianca: today we are choosing the squad taking on Ilvermorny as they visit Nevermore. They will be out for vengeance as we not only beat them on their territory, Nevermore had never bested them previously

Xavier: are you even sure the tournament will proceed? What about Tyler and his mommy?

Wednesday: you mock the danger we could possibly be in, Xavier. Especially yourself. If any of Tyler’s feelings for me were real? He could target you

Xavier: what about your previous girlfriend?

Enid: I’m prepared to defend myself as well as my girlfriend. I am not the same first time wolfing out werewolf that he encountered last time.

Xavier: oh and you think you can take him on?

Enid: I didn’t say that. And I don’t think that either. But at least I actually helped Wednesday that evening unlike you.

Xavier: hey! Helped!!

Bianca: I witnessed your idea of “helping”, Xavier. From what I saw? You did more harm than good. In my opinion? Wednesday shouldn’t have stepped in front of that arrow

Xavier: are you saying she should have let me die?

Wednesday: I did not necessarily step in front of the arrow to save you. Crackstone misdirected the arrow. If it was to hit you? It would have prolonged things. Or he could have prolonged things by making it chase me. I took the quickest means to stop the arrow and continue my confrontation

Bianca: Xavier. Please get back in line with the rest of the team. Enid, you too. Wednesday and I will be naming the squad to fight Ilvermorny when they visit Nevermore. We need to get practice in and get some details in to Wednesday’s grandmothers to perfect their charms and potions.

[flowerbloom-arts]

“It's for a comic strip I do called 'Grumble and Bumble,' Grumble likes to yell but deep down he loves Bumble like a son.”

Seymour sometimes has a creative side, whether it be accidentally plagiarizing Jurassic Park for a book he's been thinking about writing (s5 ep19) or writing a couple screenplays in the hopes of getting them to Universal Studios and winning an Oscar (s19 ep18), and likely due to a lack of an active imagination or minimal media consumption he tends to draw inspiration from his own life for his art.

The screenplays he wrote in Any Given Sundance had titles that he fairly obviously based on his life or desires - “When Edna Met Seymour” (this is 4 whole seasons after they broke up), “Ghost Willie” (Willie hates Seymour's guts like most of the school staff but how much Seymour hates him back I can't quite say, or this could be more metaphorical and Willie's hatred is manifested into a threatening ghost form), “Killing Seymour's Mother” (he's expressed a desire to kill Agnes multiple times throughout the show due to resentment and despite his seemingly unconditional love for her), and “The Principal Who Sold a Screenplay” (this is simply premature wish-fulfillment)

“Grumble and Bumble” is no different. If the designs of the characters didn't make this obvious enough, Grumble is Chalmers and Bumble is Skinner himself, and thusly he is speaking indirectly about his ideas of what his dynamic with his superintendent is by using Grumble and Bumble as an allegory. But why would Seymour believe that despite the sometimes abusive tendencies Gary treats him with, Gary loves him "like a son" deep down?

I've often thought how similar Chalmers is to Agnes in some respects, especially when it pertains to their treatment of Seymour, but to an audience they have their fairly obvious differences.

While Agnes' abuse stems from a mix of bitterness and a fear of abandonment from the only person who still loves her despite her behavior, Gary's abuse seems to stem from a deep-seated annoyance with Skinner's behavior. Chalmers doesn't like Skinner being his bootlicker, the few times Chalmers treats him with benevolence or fondness is when Skinner acts confident in himself, unburdened by Chalmers' whims over him, meanwhile Agnes actively kicks him down when he tries to stand up.

Of course, it doesn't really make a difference to Skinner, I doubt he himself sees the difference, all he knows is that they dislike him but he can sometimes win over their affection if he does... Something, anything, likely whatever they want him to do which is be obedient and successful at his tasks despite his nightmarish circumstances because that's what they yell at him to do. He can't differentiate between what Chalmers likes and what Agnes likes because he's so used to his mother and Chalmers is so close to that pattern of behavior they might as well be the same.

And just as Seymour loves Agnes, he also loves Chalmers. It doesn't particularly matter if that love is familial or platonic or even romantic on Seymour's end, really, because it all leads to the same result; that love leads to a desire to fulfill whatever harsh demand is given to him. He's a dog in that sense, and he never knows when to quit (as Bart says; "No matter how badly you get treated, you always come back for more! It's like your superpower!" - s32 ep8).

And despite everything Gary's put him through, he hopes desperately that he can achieve and continue to maintain any morsel of affection he may throw for doing a good job, just like Agnes would. He thinks the abuse hides an inherent affection Chalmers harbors for him; why else would Gary keep coming to school to see him? Why else would he seem to care about it so much? It must be similar to how his mother still keeps a roof over his head or cooks him food; she cares despite her hatred, because he is her son and there's an unconditional love there between them. Seymour knows this, and so therefore there has to be one conclusion, no matter what kind of affection Skinner feels for him:

Chalmers likes to yell but deep down he loves Skinner like a son. Just as Agnes loves him as a son.

“No he doesn't.”

— s26 ep11, Bart's New Friend

[book--wyrm]

Since I've been having so much fun with predictions for this show, I'm gonna lay down my incredibly specific bet for how Francis dies.

I've touched on most elements of this before but I want a post to go back and reference when ep 7 ends, to see where my head was at even if I'm wrong.

It's time to connect some dots.

And then find out next week that i didn't connect shit lmao.

There's a reveal waiting in the wings to do with Rex Calabrese, for sure.

Obviously Rex has been set up since the first moments of the pilot, and he came up again in ep 5, and again ep 6.

Rex has specifically been set up as a positive, aspirational figure in Oz's life, the guy who took care of everyone, for whom crime was his way of being a good guy.

This entire show, this Rex Calabrese Myth has been the core of Ozwald's self justifications. It's all worth it to do the good that Rex did, to be loved like Rex was.

But the show has also not shied away from how selfish and hollow these justifications are. Even in this episode—"You know how meaningful that is? To be the guy in the neighborhood who takes care of people?" Not to take care of people for their sake. To be the guy they love for taking care of them.

Especially compared to Eve's genuine love and bond with her girls, Oz's good gangster fantasy has been shown time and time again to be just self aggrandizing excuses.

So I am convinced that one part of this Rex Calabrese reveal is going to be that he was also a lying asshole con man, that Oz was just one of the suckers who fell for it. We've seen from Eve that Oz can spew bullshit with the best, but can't sniff it out like Sofia can.

But there's something else to the Rex thing. The show has been real quiet about Oz's dad so far. That even got pointed out this ep.

In Ep 5, Francis says that Oz has big dreams, just like his father. And Oz says, no, I ain't like him.

In Ep 6, Francis talks to Oz as if she thinks he's his dad, saying that he needs to do something about the heat, that like it or not, "they're his boys", and if he doesn't, she'll go to Rex.

It sounds initially like Rex and Oz's father are different people, but... Oz had two brothers. Two older brothers, too, I think.

This is a bit of a stretch, and the part of this theory I'm least certain about, but I think it's possible that the person Oz thinks is his father is only Jack and Benny's bio dad, and that his bio dad is actually Rex, when his mom went to Rex after the dad couldn't keep the money coming in.

I just feel like this would make for a great gut punch combined with the takedown of the Rex myth, you know? If Oz learns that he is the son of his childhood hero, only for that idealized vision of Rex to be exposed as a facade at the same time, for Oz to have to face that he was born of, has admired, and has ultimately been acting just like a slimy, sleazy scumbag who did more harm than good in his life.

Maybe even hurt his ma? Maybe that's why Francis left Rex and went back to her original partner?

Vic's lie to Francis about Oz killing the whole Falcone family

First of all there is no way this doesn't come up when Sofia and Francis are in a scene together. Like. Vic didn't say all the Falcones except Sofia. He said they're all dead. Oz pulled this off.

But it was a lie. Sofia is the last of her line, by her own hand. It was all a lie, and Francis has been so consistent about this, she hates when her son lies to her. I can't blame her, either—when your own mind lies to you constantly, you want there to be an anchor, a pillar of truth in your life. If you can't trust yourself, you have to be able to trust *someone*, or you're lost.

Oswald didn't lie to her, this time. Vic did. But under the circumstances, I wonder if that isn't a technicality that gets easily lost.

I wonder if she isn't going to do what she's done all throughout the show, and cut Oswald to the core when she finds out.

The way Francis has been displacing affection onto Vic has clearly been leading up to... something.

She has consistently been so harsh, so demanding towards Oswald, the only remaining son who has the means to take care of her.

But to Vic, she has been so sweet and kind, possibly because she has no expectations of a boy not her blood, possibly because she's mentally substituting him in for her other sons.

Death makes martyrs of your children.

And Oz hasn't been responding well to this. To the way Francis praises Vic, to the way Vic was able to calm her down and make her happy when he just made her angry.

Oz responds badly to a lot of things. But when Eve broke up with him, he said something specific. "You got some high roller you'd rather be shacking up with?" Do you have someone better than me? Have I already been replaced? Am I not enough for my place in your life, is there someone who does everything I do but better?

This whole family unit is sitting on an emotional powder keg.

Francis's request for euthanasia uahghghghghgh

In a show about a determined antihero, Oz would follow through on his mom's request. This is not that show.

That being said, I think that means there are sort of two really evil ways that the show could kill Francis. Which will happen, btw. She is going to die.

The first is for Oz to refuse to kill his mom, leaving her in position to die horribly at someone else's hands.

I can see this one in theory, but I feel like it doesn't have a solid emotional impact? Refusing to euthanize your mother is an understandable, if slightly selfish thing to do. Especially under an extremely stressful situation like your mom has been kidnapped and. idk. electroshocked by Dr Subdrop, who fucking knows.

The other really awful thing they could do is to have Oz kill his mom, in a scene where she is explicitly lucid and clearheaded, and then justify it to himself afterwards as a mercy killing, it's what she asked of me, I was a good son to her.

People working on the penguin have been dropping hints that by the last two episodes, Oz will have done something irredeemably horrific, and I just. This would be fucking *vile*.

Here's my theory. And I type this with the full understanding that this is so specific it's almost certainly not going to go down like this.

Sofia takes Vic and Francis away somewhere, and over the course of whatever scenes they have, Francis realizes that "Oz wiped out the Falcones" was a lie. (idk that I would want Sofia to tell her directly, we already did a "oh, you didn't know?" scene with Eve.) Oz shows up at some point, and learns both about the lie Vic told, and that his mother is now furiously angry about it

Somehow Oz gets Francis away, and here my theory kinda splits into two possibilities.

a) Oz gets Francis away by sacrificing Vic, and Francis blows up on him about leaving vic and about the lie.

or b) Oz, Francis, and Vic all get away, and once they're out Oz attacks Vic for lying to his ma and making her mad at him, and Francis blows up on him in Vic's defence or just because she's so angry at him she doesn't even think about Vic.

Either ways, she throws the truth in his face in a moment of clear eyed lucidity—he is Rex's son, and just like Rex, he's a scummy, lying piece of shit who will never amount to anything.

(there's a part of me that thinks maybe instead of Rex it'll be smth about his brothers? god knows how their deaths will play into things idk where they fit here)

and in a mirror to the absolute senseless rage and pain he felt when his childhood dream of being Rex was insulted by Alberto in Ep 1, he kills his own mother, and cements himself as the villain of this show.

[babybluebex]

anyway you could please write more Dominic/ angus fics either just domestic life, or pregnant read?

ok i talked a lot ab domestic dom, but domestic angus... 👀

first of all, let's paint a picture: you meet him at college, it's very meet-cute while in your undergrad at harvard university, you're both studying in the library and need to use the same big dusty textbook at the same time so you sit next to each other and share it, but it's not a lot of studying a lot more whispered conversations and flirting, and he walks you back to your dorm and as he watches you go inside, he thinks, for the first time in his life, how much he would like to have a life with you, like sure he's been horny before and has had crushes, but never anything like that

anyway fast forward, you're both graduated and in your post-grad programs, and you've been dating for like 5 years at this point?? angus got close to proposing to you when you both graduated but decided not to do that bc he didn't want to be the reason that you decided not to pursue grad school, so he's kept that to himself (but fully has a ring and is just waiting for what he thinks is the right time)

WELL you discover one day in march that you think?? you might be?? pregnant?? and obviously you and angus had talked about kids before, you've been dating for 5 years, of course you've talked about it, so you know that angus is riding the dr. spencer reid train, ab how he's worried that he has his father's sickness and how he doesn't want to pass it down to any potential kids and how he thinks he'll ultimately be a bad father bc look at the material he has to work with yknow

but you tell him that you're going to the doctor to see but you're like "it's possible that i'm just late on my period, the stress of startin g my masters program yknow, but i'm keeping you updated just in case" but he's like "can i come with you?" and you tell him it's a little useless bc you're certain you're just late like "i know what's gonna happen, i'm going to the doctor's tomorrow morning, and then tomorrow night my period will come, and i'll have been paranoid for nothing" but he's like "nah if there's a chance, i'm gonna be there"

and. whoops. but you've been so careful! you don't know how this happened! but angus is immediately very excited, and you talk it over that night at dinner and you're like "i do want a baby... i just.. i dunno, i thought we'd be married and shit by the time we had a baby..." and angus instantly gets up from the table and goes and gets the ring he has, and he's like "here :) we can get married before the baby gets here :) if you'd like that :)"

and of course you do, and you ask him like "how long have you had that???" and he's all pinky and shy like "... a while..." and you DO chalk your crying up to pregnancy hormones, but angus slips the ring onto your hand and he can't stop cheesing all night

and the next 10 months fly by in a snap, you tell all your friends and family that you're engaged and pregnant, and of course angus's mom and stepdad want to make a big deal out of it, like want a big traditional church wedding and shit, but like that's not you?? and you're not gonna compromise with your mother in law like you refuse to, and especially when your tummy starts to swell and press against your jeans, you don't want to try to pretend that you're anything but you, no matter how badly judy clotfeltter wants you to be some perfect sweet little wife to her son

you end up marrying angus right around halloween time, a cold breeze chills your spine and angus holds your hand as you go up the steps to city hall, one of your friends from university is your legal witness, and your marriage is finalized with the pen leaking a lil on your fingers so the polaroid your friend snaps has you with a smudge of black ink on your cheek that you had no idea about until angus wipes it off with his thumb

and angus oh my god, he is RELISHING in being a husband and a father-to-be, he never ever thought he' d be the domestic type but he finds such peace in the promise that you're there for him no matter what, doesn't matter if his doctoral advisor told him that he has to push back his research deadline or if his mother had called and mentioned something about his father, he knows for a fact that you'll be on the couch when he gets home, surely listening to the new linda ronstadt record and singing to your belly, and that he can come lay his head in your lap and you'll brush out his curls and kiss his ear and listen to him bitch and moan and get everything out of his system

and every night before bed, after your shower, he insists on (and gets a little pouty if you deny him) rubbing cocoa butter into your tummy and kissing your stretch marks and listening to you bitch and moan about how your back hurts and you feel your heartburn in your toes and how you hate hate HATE the way your body doesn't even look like yours anymore, and when you get teary and whimper out how you're so nervous and scared about everything, angus is so good to you, he holds you and wipes up your tears and holds your face and assures you that any kid who get to you call his mom is like winning the lottery here bc "baby, you are so kind and smart and funny, and god you're a knockout, fuckin the best woman to ever walk the earth, i know it, and baby won't have a choice but to love you and appreciate the fuck outta you"

and you nest like a motherfucker even though you don't know the baby's sex, you agonize over what color to paint the walls of the nursery (which was angus's office previously, but he donated most of his old textbooks that were just taking up space, although he DID keep the like 6 year old copy of aurelius' meditations for some reason, even tho he's like never even opened it) and finally angus helps you decide on a nice light green, soft to the eyes, but he will not let you do any of the painting or even be in the room bc "paint fumes, mrs tully, bad for you and bad for baby!"

eventually, christmas comes and goes, and new years too, and you're so pregnant that you feel like a fucking blimp, and baby will not stop kicking your ribs omg, but angus adores pressing his palm to your stomach and feeling baby kick his hand, his eyes glitter and he smiles all lopsided "holy shit..."

and then one night you're grading papers (since part of your masters' program requires you to TA for at least one semester, so might as well do the spring term before baby arrives) when there's a tight cramp low in your belly and suddenly your seat and sweatpants are soaked, and you're like "umm??!!"

and angus is out with some friends that night, first time in a WHILE that he gets to hang out so OF COURSE baby decides it's his time to shine, and you phone the bar angus told you they'd be at, and you ask the bartender to ask for angus, and he comes to the phone pretty quick "hey, what's up?" he asks all casual-like

"angus i either just pissed myself right now or my water just broke"

he tells you to stay right where you are and he'll come get you, and you like?? don't know what to do with yourself?? so you change clothes out of your damp pants and get the bag that angus had meticulously packed in prep for this exact moment, a onesie for baby and shit like that

and angus wants so badly to be in the delivery room but he's like Not A Fan of it, he loves you and every part of you, as well as every part of his baby, but the sight of all of it makes his stomach turn, so he stands upwind by your head and focuses all on your face, wiping up the sweat that dots your hairline and trying to keep you calm

all things considered, it happens quick as fuck, you get to the hospital around 10pm , and by 4am your baby is earth-side, and the relief that washes over you when you hear their tiny little screaming is all warm in your chest, and you let your head fall back and you laugh a little "jesus christ..." and angus kisses your face and pushes your hair out of your eyes "oh my fucking god, baby... we've got a baby"

and when you see them for the very first time, all cleaned up, your eyes water up at the little pink hat they put on her fuzzy head— you had never learned the sex on purpose, and your little daughter is all rosy and small and she's here, she's real and here, and you had never understood what people meant when they said that instincts kick in until the nurse puts her on your chest, and your arms come and cuddle her and gently rub her back, and you softly shush her whines and she settles down in an instant

"hi pretty girl" you whisper because she is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, and you see the little bump on the bridge of her nose, and you look up to see the same nose on her father, and you can't help but cry

and seeing angus holding her for the first time, his big hands dwarf her tiny little 6 and a half pound body, and he's looking at her like she's a space alien like "holy shit... our daughter... she smells really good... like, warm milk or somethin..."

and getting little miss violet tully home, and angus hangs out in her nursery and watches her sleep, and there's a couple times in those first few weeks where you're like "ang... you have a meeting on campus in an hour..." and he's just heart-eyes at violet like "but i just wanna watch her forever!"

her hair starts to come in, brassy but dark, just like angus's baby hair, and her blue newborn eyes pretty quickly darken down to a dark hazel-y brown, and you're talking to some friends of yours like "i carry her for close to a year, and she ends up looking nothing like me and everything like her father"

but in the morning, when angus gets violet up from her crib and brings her into the bedroom to wake you up and cuddle, with your husband's cheek on your shoulder and your daughter cooing on your chest, everything seems so right

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

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I'm not entirely sure how this whole thing works but I just scrolled back for AGES to read Dove's whole story and it was adorable and I'm dying to read more

Hell yeah! SO happy you're enjoying.

186 sentences or 1k words - whatever I hit first:

---

“You want a name other than Dove?” He asks.

“Is that allowed?” She asks.

“It is,” he says. “I just want to make sure that’s what you’re asking.”

“Yes,” she says. “It is.”

“Okay,” he exhales, still not sure what to think. “Uh, okay. Can I… Can I ask why?”

It’s not that he wants to say no. He doesn’t. He wants to give her whatever she wants. It’s just that… That’s a big deal, right? He wants to understand her thought process. 

“Because…” She struggles. “Because… I want you to pick it. Like… I don’t know.”

He thinks on this for a second.

“You want the name to come from someone who loves you?” He asks.

“From my dad.” 

Buck’s throat tightens with emotion. 

“And you’re sure you’re okay with people calling you something different?” He asks. 

“Yes,” she says. “I’m not a dove.”

Buck smiles softly. 

“You’re not?” He asks. “I could’ve sworn you were a tiny little bird.”

“No!” She protests. “I’m a girl. I want a new name.”

Buck feels a little sad. He likes the name Dove. But he gets it. There’s nothing wrong with the name Evan, either. It’s a nice name. But he’d joined the fire academy and they’d called him Buck, and suddenly, he felt like he knew himself a bit better. 

“Okay, sweetheart. I’ll find you a new name.”

“Yay!”

“But we have to decide on it together, alright? One we both like. Not just what I like.”

“Okay, Dad,” she agrees.

“And until we find it… Are you okay with me still using Dove?” He asks. 

“Yes,” she says. 

“Alright,” he exhales. “I guess I have some thinking to do.”

iii.

“This is impossible,” he confides in Eddie two days later, during one of those post-shift times where they should be either fooling around or sleeping. But, instead, Buck is spiralling. 

“Naming your child?” Eddie asks. “The thing every parent ever has had to do?”

“Well, this is different!” Buck insists. “She’s not a baby!”

“Yeah,” Eddie agrees. “It’s even easier. She’s a person with a clear personality, likes, and dislikes. She can weigh in. Shannon and I had to pick Christopher’s name based off, what? His skull shape? It was still all weird from labor.”

Buck wrinkles his nose.

“I see your point.”

“This isn’t that hard, Buck,” Eddie says. “You know her. You love her. You can find something to honor that.”

Not that hard, huh?

“Okay, well you also know and love her,” Buck says. “What would you choose?”

“Nice try,” Eddie says. 

“Damn it.”

“I will weigh in on names you come up with,” Eddie says. “But she asked you to pick it.”

Buck groans. “Okay, fine. Then answer this for me. How did you choose Christopher’s name?”

“Fair enough,” Eddie replies. “We had a list of names we both liked. Ones that worked in both Spanish and English. Then, once he was born, we waited to see what felt right. I had one I’d been gunning for more beforehand, but Shannon did all the work, so I wasn’t going to argue.”

“Smart man,” Buck observes.

“Occasionally.”

“So maybe I come up with a list and see what Dove likes?” Buck wonders aloud.

“That’s an idea,” Eddie agrees. “Give her some options to choose from.”

“Okay,” Buck decides. “I can do that.”

iv.

Obviously, a list of potential names for Dove to pick from is easier said than done. So he extends his efforts for help to beyond just Eddie. 

He starts, naturally, with his sister. 

“How did you land on Jee-Yun as a name?” He asks her one day after a family dinner, while the girls are playing in the other room. “I mean, I know it was your mom’s name, Chim, but like… How did you get there for her? Did you have other options in mind?”

Maddie and Chim exchange an amused glance. 

“We could not agree on a name,” Maddie says. 

“Oh no,” Chim shakes his head. “There was no we about it. You hated everything I suggested.”

“Uh…” Maddie scrambles for a retort. “Well, that’s clearly because her name was meant to be Jee-Yun and you never once suggested it.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Chim chuckles. 

“So what made you choose it?” Buck asks Maddie.

“Something Mrs. Lee said when I called to let her know she’d been born,” Maddie said. “And it just… Felt right. I’m not that spiritual or anything, but I felt sort of guided towards it, if that makes sense?”

“It does,” Buck says. “But it doesn’t help me at all.”

“Sorry that our daughter’s naming didn’t involve you,” Chim says flatly. 

“Well, I am not naming Dove after my mother,” Buck huffs. Not that there’s anything wrong with the name Margaret. Lovely name. Nice meaning. Cursed association.

“Oh, yeah,” Maddie winces a little. “Definitely don’t do that. Love them, but…”

Buck nods. “Not happening. If I was going to name her after a female family member, it would have to be you.”

“And as lovely as that would be for a baby, I think I would feel very strange suddenly calling my seven year-old niece by my name,” Maddie says. “So maybe don’t”

“Yeah,” Buck sighs. “Fair enough.”

▪️▪️▪️

Hen is more helpful. She doesn’t solve his problem. But it’s closer to it, anyway.  

“I know you didn’t name Mara, obviously,” he says to her when they’re alone at work. “But how did you choose Denny’s name?”

“Oh,” Hen rolls her eyes. “That was not easy.”

“No?” Buck inquires.

“No,” Hen emphasizes. “The name on his birth certificate before we adopted him as Diesel Mathis.” 

“Diesel?” Buck asks. “Like the fuel?”

“Like the fuel,” Hen confirms. 

“That’s…”

“Horrid?” Hen asks. 

“I was going to say creative,” Buck replies.

Hen sighs. “Well, we were never going to keep it.”

“And I think you’re an excellent parent for that decision,” Buck says. “But how did you get from Diesel to Denny?”

“Well, I had a lot of complicated feelings about Eva still,” Hen admits. “I didn’t totally want to abandon her choices. Especially since those choices were the only reason we had him.”

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

If a metalhead falls asleep on you, keep them forever

A Stedancy fanfiction

A/N: It's longer than I thought it would be.

Nancy had been with them since the very beginning, having walked into Family Video right before Max and Dustin. She had talked Eddie successfully down from accidentally stabbing Steve, his body pressed up against Steve and holding him in place. Nancy had pleaded with him, looking at him and then at Steve. Her Steve she had called him. Nancy wasn't mad at him, not really, because she knew how scared he was. Eddie had briefly smirked when she moved closer and threatened to shoot him if he didn't let Steve go. There was this moment between all three of them. . .it was weird and couldn't be explained.

"That's a lot of pretzels," Nancy said.

"Dustin said he loves pretzels," Steve said.

"He also loves throwing them at the kids," Nancy said.

"Hm, well, maybe you can fix it, and I can make him worse in other areas in like a good way," Steve said.

"Are you saying we'd be good for him?" Nancy asked.

"You know, as friends," Steve said, blushing.

"Right, friends," Nancy said.

"Because he needs friends and food, come on," Steve said.

They had left the kids with Robin at Nancy's when they both volunteered to bring Eddie food. It was starting to get dark now, and the man was probably hungry. They grabbed the bags of food and walked up to Rick's front door. Nancy watched as Steve picked the lock on the door with a bobby pin. She looked at him in surprise.

"What? I'd figure it would be a skill we would need to know," Steve said. "Turns out, I'm right."

They pushed open the front door and searched the lower floor of the house but couldn't find Eddie. Steve and Nancy set the bags of food down on the coffee table before moving to the second floor. To their relief, they found him curled up fast asleep on the floor of Rick's bedroom. Eddie's body jerked, and he started whimpering, calling out Chrissy's name.

"He's having a nightmare," Nancy whispered.

Steve and Nancy moved to his side immediately. They touched him gently and shook him. Eddie gasped as his eyes snapped open.

"Wheeler? Harrington?" Eddie asked.

"Hey, man, we're here," Steve said softly.

"We're not going anywhere," Nancy said and began stroking his hair. "We've got you."

Eddie let out a sob as he buried his head onto both of them, holding on tightly. Steve frowned and rubbed his back while Nancy continued to run her fingers through his hair.

"It's not real. It's not real," Eddie cried.

Eddie cried himself back to sleep pretty quickly, nuzzling Steve and Nancy's legs as he relaxed under their touch.

"What do we do now?" Nancy asked with wide eyes.

"Well, we obviously can never move again," Steve said.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, when a metalhead falls asleep on you, you're not allowed to move," Steve said.

"I think that's when a cat or a dog falls asleep on you," she said in amusement.

"No, I think that applies to metalheads, too," Steve said. "He seems to be sleeping better. Listen to the cute little noises he's making. Aww."

"We can't leave him here, Steve," Nancy said. "We have to take him back with us. It won't be long before they find him here, too."

"Okay, so, what? Hide him in your basement?" Steve asked.

"Well, if my brother can do it, then so can I," Nancy said.

"Hey, El and Eddie!" Steve exclaimed, and Nancy couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Should we wake him up?" Nancy asked.

"Aw, I really don't want to," Steve said.

"Well, either we wake him up, or you carry him down the stairs," she said.

Steve slipped his arms underneath Eddie and picked him up carefully. Nancy walked behind them as Steve walked down the stairs with Eddie. She was amazed that Eddie was still asleep. Nancy grabbed the bags on the way out while also helping Steve maneuver Eddie out the front door. They managed to get Eddie into the backseat without waking him up. Steve slipped into the backseat of Nancy's car while she slipped into the driver's seat, and they drove off. He had slept almost the entire time. . .until they were almost at the back door to the basement. Eddie panicked and fell out of Steve’s arms. Steve quickly pressed him up against the wall and put a hand over his mouth.

"We're sneaking you into Nancy's basement, but in order to do that, you need to be quiet," Steve whispered. "Okay?"

Eddie nodded as Steve removed his hand. Nancy leaned against the wall next to them.

"Hm, this seems familiar," Nancy smirked. "By the way. . .sneaking Eddie into my basement?"

Eddie snorted and clapped a hand over his mouth, winking at Nancy.

"Alright, Jesus, let's go in," Steve rolled his eyes with a smile.

Eddie helped Nancy with the bags as she knocked on the door with the secret knock that Dustin and Lucas had come up with. Robin opened the door and gasped.

"What is he doing here?" Robin whispered.

"Let us in Robin, and we'll tell you," Steve hissed.

"Right!"

Robin quickly stepped aside and let them in. Nancy and Eddie immediately set the bags down on the coffee table.

"What's Eddie doing here?" Lucas asked.

"Jesus, don't everyone hug me all at once," Eddie said, rolling his eyes.

Dustin threw himself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Eddie laughed as they broke the hug.

"You know what I mean, man," Lucas said.

"Wheeler and Harrington were the ones who kidnapped me. You have to ask them," Eddie replied.

"We just couldn't leave you there, especially after you had that nightmare, and you curled up in our lap like a puppy," Nancy said. "It wouldn't have been right."

"Thanks," Eddie said softly, looking at them with wide and earnest eyes before grinning. "And thank you to Harrington for carrying me out in his big strong arms. You really had me, didn't you, big boy?"

"Are you flirting with Steve, Eddie?" Dustin blurted out.

"Dustin, man, you can't just ask a guy if he's flirting with another guy," Lucas said.

"I didn't mean to! It slipped out!" Dustin exclaimed. "Just forget I asked anything. If someone were to flirt with another guy, we would be okay with that."

"That's sweet of you, Dustin," Eddie laughed. "But I wasn't flirting with him. I'm not gay. I've been with women. Well, one woman. I definitely like women. Okay! Moving on! Sinclair! Talk to me."

Eddie plopped onto the couch next to him.

"Uh, about what?" Lucas asked.

"You know, I never did apologize for the whole basketball sports game thing," Eddie said. "I could have postponed, and I definitely shouldn't have gotten your friends to replace you with your sister. I shouldn't have tried to get between you guys, period. I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't have tried to fit in with those assholes, I should have been honest with them from the beginning. I just wanted the bullying to stop, and it was never my intention to make you guys feel like I was ashamed of you," Lucas said.

Eddie and Lucas hugged tightly, clapping each other on the back.

"For the record, Eddie, you can't ever get between us. Our bond is too strong," Dustin said. "We're family."

"You're officially one of us now," Lucas said.

"I wish there was a better way of doing that," Eddie muttered.

"Don't we all," Nancy said sympathetically.

"So, it's decided. . . Nancy is going to keep Eddie in her basement?" Robin asked, and Nancy snorted, pressing a hand to her mouth. "Really? I expected this kind of behavior from Steve and Eddie, but from you? Nancy, you're the editor of the newspaper!"

Nancy giggled.

"I don't get it," Dustin said.

"I'll explain it to you when you're smarter," Max said.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of the basement door opening. Nancy and Steve quickly shoved Eddie into the bathroom, standing guard in front of it. Karen appeared on the stairs.

"I was just checking in. I heard your car, Nancy. Where'd you run off to?" Karen asked.

"Oh, I went and bought snacks for the kids. They're still feeling a little unsettled by what's going on," Nancy said.

"Well, it's nice that you're all sticking together. I called your parents and let them know that you're staying here tonight," Karen said.

"Thanks, Mrs. Wheeler," Dustin beamed.

"Try not to stay up too late, okay?" Karen asked.

"As long we all fall asleep before Lucas starts snoring, we're good," Dustin said and Karen laughed.

"Goodnight," Karen said as she exited the basement. "Sweet dreams."

Nancy and Steve opened the bathroom, letting Eddie out.

"So, your mom's nosy, huh?" Eddie asked Nancy.

"Yeah," Nancy said.

"That's good. It means she cares," Eddie replied, and Nancy smiled. "I'm fucking starving."

Steve and Nancy watched Eddie dig into the food, tossing some to the kids. He was crouching like some sort of goblin, and they couldn't help but smile at him.

"Waffles?" Eddie asked, pulling out a box.

"You know, when I picked that up, I was thinking of El, but I didn't think at the time that we would be hiding him here," Steve said in amusement and they laughed.

"Is that an inside joke that I don't know about?" Eddie asked, and they continued to laugh. "Yeah, it's an inside joke. Fuck you."

Dustin grabbed the box and ripped it open. He tossed a waffle to Max and to Lucas before grabbing one for himself. The three of them toasted their waffles before eating them.

"To El!"

The kids and Robin had fallen asleep pretty quickly after building the fort for Eddie. He quickly found some entertainment as he couldn't get to sleep. Eddie had drawn on Dustin's face and was now deciding on whose hand to put the pen in. Nancy and Steve watched in amusement as he tried to pick the right person to blame it on. Steve decided to put him out of his misery. He grabbed the marker and placed it in Robin's grip.

"She's going to think she sleep doodled again," Steve said. "It's going to be hilarious."

"You and Buckley have lots of sleepovers?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, she'd freeze my boxers, and I'd freeze her bra. We'd draw on each other. She likes playing connect the dots with my moles. We'd talk about. . .things. It's all platonic. Very platonic. With a capital p," Steve said.

"Yeah, obviously. She's your Ronnie," Eddie said, flashing his dimples.

"Who?" Steve asked.

"Ronnie Ecker, the platonic love of my life since I was eight years old," Eddie said. "When I was about 13, I assumed that the next logical step in our relationship would be romance. I tried to kiss her. I had never seen her move as fast as she did then. I was so embarrassed. She still laughs about it. I'm glad she rejected me, though."

"Yeah, I tried to ask Robin out," Steve grinned. "I'm glad she rejected me too. Shouldn't have let Dustin convince me I had a crush on her."

"Yeah, the little shit has a way of getting stuck in your head and never leaving," Eddie said, gazing fondly at him. "I could say that I don't care about what the little shrimp thinks, but I would be lying. I was super jealous as hell by the way."

"Of me?" Steve asked.

"Oh, yeah. Dustin wouldn't stop talking about you. Kid worships you, the both of you," Eddie said.

"Both of us?" Nancy asked, moving closer to them.

"Yeah, he loves you guys and Buckley, too. But you two mean a lot to him. He didn't go into detail, but he said you put it all on the line for him and his friends. You driving him to the Snowball. . .and you dancing with him there. . .it meant a lot to him," Eddie said. "And Mike won't admit it, but he definitely looks up to you, too."

"He means a lot to us," Nancy said. "They all do."

"Yeah, I got that when you said you didn't want to see Dustin cry," Eddie said. "Can't believe you threatened to shoot me."

"She almost shot me once, " Steve smirked.

"And you almost deserved it," Nancy grinned.

"Is there something wrong with me, or is it. . .?" Eddie asked, leaning closer to him.

"Super attractive? Oh yeah," Steve said. "Definitely hot. By the way, man - and I don't mean to put a damper on this - but you need a shower."

"I don't smell that - oh, yeah, yeah, I do!" Eddie gagged.

"Well, my mom and dad should be in bed by now," Nancy said. "I can sneak you upstairs, and you can take a shower there."

A few minutes later, Nancy and Steve carefully led Eddie upstairs. They paused on the stairs when they heard a noise. Eddie crouched down behind Steve.

"Oh, that's just Holly," Nancy whispered. "She, uh, sleeps dances."

"That's adorable," Steve and Eddie whispered.

"Come on."

Nancy showed him to the bathroom, gave him some of Mike's clothes, and told him to meet her in her bedroom. Steve and Nancy watched him enter the bathroom before moving to her bedroom to wait for Eddie. Steve picked up the bear on her bed, smiling at nostalgically at it. He put it under his chin and waved it at her. Nancy smiled and laid down next to him.

"We've come a long way, haven't we?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, it feels like we're both different people," Steve said.

"Well, we kind of are," Nancy said. "I'd like to think we both matured since then. Although, there's one thing that has stayed the same about you. You learn, grow, and you're always willing to do anything, to walk away from anyone, for the people you care about. You've always had heart, Steve Harrington, and it's something that I have always seen even when you had it tucked away."

Steve turned on his side to face her and stared into her eyes.

"You've always cared so much about people, and you were always willing to do whatever it takes to find the truth. You know, maybe it takes me a while, but I do learn. My mom told me I used to crawl backward. One time, I crawled backward and fell down the stairs, nearly busted my head open. I mean, eventually, I do learn. And you coming into my life. . . It was the fastest that I ever learned, and I just want to thank you for giving me the biggest thump of my life," Steve said. "I was asleep, and you woke me up."

Nancy slid her hand into Steve’s, smiling softly at him.

"Jonathan and I broke up," Nancy said.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry," Steve said.

"It was a long time coming. We were both lying to each other about why we didn't want to go see each other. Jonathan told me he wanted to go to Emerson for me, and I told him I didn't want that. I wanted him to go where he had always wanted to go. For once, I wanted him to choose something for himself. When I found out that he was going to the community college to stay near his family, I accidentally let it slip to Joyce. I didn't know she knew, but Jonathan thought I did it on purpose. He wasn't all that angry when he broke up with me, I think he was looking for an excuse, and quite frankly, so was I," Nancy said and paused. "I think he's seeing someone now."

"I'm sorry," Steve said. "Wish I knew what else to say other than that."

"It's okay," Nancy laughed and paused. "Honestly, it could have gone a lot worse. . .kind of like us. . .you deserved better. You weren't a shitty boyfriend. You were the best first boyfriend a girl could ask for. I was just - "

" - lost. I forgave you a long time ago," Steve said. "We were in two different places then."

Nancy opened her mouth to say something when the door opened and quickly closed as Eddie walked in. He was wearing a pair of Mike's sweats, no shirt, and his hair was wrapped up in a towel. He tossed his dirty clothes into Nancy's hamper, leaving out his vest and jacket. He tossed Mike's shirt over the back of the chair.

"Did I interrupt something?" Eddie asked.

Nancy and Steve took in the sight of him. The sweats hung loose at his hips, revealing the start of his treasure trail. His stomach was soft and pale. . .well, all of him was like that. He was muscular in the arms but also still soft. Nancy wondered how many times he helped load and unload his band's equipment. . .did that play a part in the muscles on his arms? The tattoos above his nipple were weird but interesting as well as the tattoo on his arm. It definitely suited him. Nancy wondered if there were any more tattoos. . .maybe under his sweats? Nancy shook her head and pulled herself out of her thoughts, and looked at Steve to find him openly staring at Eddie with his mouth open. She nudged him.

"Oh! Uh, no, man, you didn't interrupt anything," Steve said, blushing.

"Wheeler, I hope you don't mind that I used your razor to shave my pits," Eddie said.

"What?!" Nancy exclaimed, sitting up.

"Just fucking with you," Eddie said with a grin and he began moving around her room, looking through her things. "Oh, look a Tom Cruise poster! And a box with a tiny woman in it to protect your jewelry! Hmm, she looks innocent, but I bet she comes alive to kick ass when people try to take your shit."

"Are you and Robin related?" Nancy asked. "That's literally the first thing she did when she came in here."

"Jesus, yeah, he's like the male, metalhead d&d playing version of Robin!" Steve exclaimed and then shook his head. "You know, Robin doesn't know who her biological father is. Her mother was already pregnant with her when she met Robin's adopted father."

"My father is a notorious whore," Eddie grinned. "But my uncle has been known to get it on occasion. I walked in on it once."

Eddie shuddered as he continued to rifle through Nancy's things.

"What are the chances that you and Robin are related while ending up here in this situation?" Nancy asked.

"Shouldn't you know the statistics on that?" Eddie asked. "It's very good, though, because now that I'm thinking about it, Buckley has Wayne's eyes."

Nancy watched as Eddie moved to her closet and started looking through her clothes. She grinned as Eddie slipped on a pair of her sunglasses and a bright pink scarf.

"You don't mind him looking through your stuff?" Steve asked.

"He's happy," Nancy shrugged. "Plus, I have nothing to hide."

"Ooh, what's in this box?" Eddie asked.

"Except for that! Eddie, no!" Nancy yelled, jumping off the back and grabbing the box from him.

"Hm, if I didn't know any better, I'd say I found Nancy Wheeler's porn collection," Eddie said, looking absolutely delightful.

"A woman has needs just as much as a man," Nancy blushed.

"I'm right! Now, I'm even more curious," Eddie said.

"If you look in the box underneath that one, you'll find my guns," Nancy said pointedly.

"Noted," Eddie said, putting the box back.

"I'm not surprised at all that you keep your guns and porn together," Steve laughed.

"Shut up, Steve," Nancy smiled. "There's a six year old in the house. Of course, I keep them in a safe place and away from her reach."

"We're not judging you, Nance," Steve chuckled.

"Just mocking you affectionately," Eddie said and then paused, his grin growing wider. "I bet there are naked photos of Steve in there."

"No, Nancy threw those Polaroids out," Steve said and looked at Nancy, who refused to meet his eye. "Right?"

"I just didn't want it to accidentally be found by the garbage men," Nancy blushed.

"That sounds believeable," Eddie scoffed.

"Okay, that's enough snooping," Nancy said.

She took off her sunglasses and scarf, putting them away. She guided Eddie to the chair and pushed him into it. Nancy took the towel off his hair and began rubbing it harshly all over his head.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, just trying to help you," Nancy said sweetly.

Nancy dropped the towel and picked up her hair brush. She began brushing his hair, running her fingers softly through. Eddie sighed and leaned into it. Steve had gotten up and started running his hand through Eddie's hair.

"I don't think this is a two person job," Eddie said.

"I just need to do something with my hands," Steve said, and Nancy giggled. "Nancy!"

"So, you mentioned Ronnie earlier. Where's she now?" Nancy asked.

"Oh, up in NYU studying to be a lawyer," Eddie said. "She was lucky enough to get out. I was jealous of her for about a minute, but I got my head out of my ass. Realized that she deserved to fulfill her dream even if I wasn't there physically. Although it still feels like a part of me is missing, she says the same thing whenever she calls."

"Yeah, Robin tried to go out of town over Christmas, and she ended up begging me to come with her. Are we a little codependent? Sure. I'm her platonic soulmate, though, and she insists on getting matching headstones," Steve grinned.

"Oh, great idea! Next time, I talk to Ronnie. . .so you get it?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, yeah," Steve said as he continued to untangle the rest of the knots in Eddie's hair.

"You know, I don't think anyone's played with my hair like this since my mom was alive," Eddie sighed. "I never really let anybody since. . ."

"Do you want us to stop?" Nancy asked.

"No, it's nice," Eddie said softly. "I was six when she died, I still miss her like she had died yesterday."

"I'm sorry, Eddie," Nancy said softly.

Eddie went quiet, staring at the pictures on Nancy's board in front of them. Barb was still in on there, and so was Fred. Fred. Grief hit Nancy like a ton of bricks. She had been so focused on everything that she hadn't really taken the time to feel what happened.

"Uh, I know I haven't said it yet," Steve said softly. "But I'm really sorry about Fred. I know he was your friend."

Tears welled up in Nancy's eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

"Thanks," she whispered as her hands shook.

"It's my fault," Eddie whispered, sniffling.

"What?" Steve and Nancy asked.

"If Fred hadn't been there. . .if Chrissy hadn't been there with me, then they wouldn't be dead," Eddie sobbed. "I'm fucking cursed."

Nancy and Steve touched his shoulders gently. He flinched and jumped up, pacing the room.

"Eddie, it's not your fault," Nancy said.

"It is, though! Before, when everyone hated me, I kept telling myself that they hated me because I looked like my no good rotten father who conned everyone in this goddamn town! Maybe it's me! It's always been fucking me! Higgins was right! I am rotten to the core, and everyone around me will suffer because of it! I should just do everyone a favor - "

"Don't!" Nancy exclaimed, tears in her eyes, and then she lowered her voice. "It's not your fault, Eddie. When Barb died, all I did was blame myself, and even though I went over and over it in my mind, I realized there wasn't anything that I could have done. It was Martin Brenner, who started this all, who messed with things he shouldn't have. Barb, Bob, Chrissy, and Fred. . . Their deaths are the fallout from his actions. . .all you did was play a game," Nancy said. "Brenner wanted to play God."

Nancy was crying now, too, and Steve had to pinch his nose to stop himself from crying with them.

"Why do I still feel guilty?" Eddie asked, sniffling.

"Because you care, and that's what makes you better than all those mouthbreathers out there even if you can be an asshole yourself. You're an asshole who cares," Nancy said.

She moved closer to wrap her arms around Eddie, and he flinched before hugging her back just as tightly. Nancy appreciated the fact that Steve let them have their moment because they had both needed it. All it took was a look from Nancy, and Steve was wrapping his arms around both of them.

"Just for the record, our little shrimp loves you for a reason. He may not have the best judgments when it comes to making choices and choices that I tend to have to rescue him from when they go bad, but. . .he does have a big heart, and he is a good judge of character," Steve said. "If he loves you, man, then you definitely deserve it."

"We're going to do whatever it takes to save you, Eddie," Nancy whispered.

"Thanks," Eddie said, his voice cracked.

And now he was crying for a different reason. Eddie clung to them, sobbing. A while later, they were laying in Nancy's bed with Eddie curled up in between Steve and Nancy. He had fallen fast asleep the minute he had laid on the bed.

"How did we end up in the position again?" Nancy asked.

"Because we really want to keep him," Steve said.

"You're right. He really is cute," Nancy said softly. "We have to save him, Steve. We have to stop this."

"I know," Steve said. "We will. I'm not going to run away this time."

"What are you talking about?" Nancy asked.

"I couldn't be there when you needed me the most, and I really wish I could have been, but I was scared," Steve said. "I was terrified that something was going to happen to you. . .to all of us. I couldn't sit there and watch that."

"Are you talking about when Jonathan and I took down the lab?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah," Steve said.

"Steve, I know why you didn't want to do it. It was a huge risk, and it was my risk to take. It was a risk that Jonathan decided to take. I never hated you for that. It wasn't your fault that Barb died, and even though I was drunk, I never should have said that. We wanted to be with each other, and it was just unfortunate timing that Barb died the first time we had sex. It was coming up on a year, and I just couldn't celebrate that day knowing what happened with Barb," Nancy said. "I sort of ran away, too."

"So, we're all runners," Eddie's voice spoke up. "Which is ironic, because my lungs are shit and gravity is an absolute bitch to me. Also. . .fuck, your best friend died when you two fucked for the first time? Jesus, no wonder you didn't work out back then. Fucking heavy ass shit, man."

"Eloquent, Eddie," Nancy laughed.

"I'm sorry, I just woke up," he said and rubbed his eyes.

"We should probably get you back downstairs," Nancy said. "I don't want my mother to come looking for us."

Nancy, Steve, and Eddie quickly but quietly snuck downstairs. They were halfway way down the stairs when they ran into Ted. He wasn't wearing his glasses. Nancy started at him, and he stared back at her. He looked at Steve, at Eddie, and then back at Nancy.

"I didn't see anything," Ted said with a sigh.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"Look, last time your brother kept someone in the basement, and it turned out to be a very good reason even if I didn't know it at the time. I'd rather my children not put themselves in danger, but I learned very early on that when it comes to doing the right thing, there's nothing in this world that's going to stop you," Ted said. "And when it comes down to it, it turns out that I can lie to people with guns. . .so, it's too bad I left my glasses upstairs. I can't see shit. Just be careful. . .if you need help, you know where to find me and your mother."

"Thanks, Daddy," Nancy said.

Ted moved past them and back into his bedroom.

"Well, that was unexpected," Steve said.

"Yeah," Nancy said with a smile. "That was."

They ushered Eddie back down into the basement and into the fort. Steve and Nancy dropped down on either side of him, throwing an arm over him.

"Oh, we're doing this? We're cuddling?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Steve and Nancy said.

"Goodnight, then," Eddie said, and he lowered his voice. "I feel safe."

The next morning. . .

"Who the FUCK drew on my face?!" Dustin shrieked from the basement bathroom.

"Goddamnit, I did it again," Robin said, frowning at the market in her hand.

Nancy handed a plate of pancakes to Eddie that she had Dustin smuggle in from upstairs. Ted had complained about it loudly and then sent a wink her way before rubbing his eye. He didn't see a thing except for the markings on Dustin's face. Nancy shared a smile with Steve and Eddie as Dustin stormed out of the bathroom.

"Robin, what the hell?!" Dustin exclaimed.

"I don't know! I think I have a problem!" Robin exclaimed, causing Eddie, Nancy, and Steve to burst into laughter. "Oh, you assholes! What did you do? Steven, did you do this?!"

She threw the pen at Steve, and it hit him in the head.

"It was Eddie!" Steve laughed.

Dustin and Robin shrieked at him before laughing themselves. It caused everyone to giggle.

"Well, that was entertaining," Eddie laughed. "So, what's next?"

Eddie ended up going with them to check out the Creel House as they didn't want to risk anyone finding him at her place. Plus, Nancy still felt weird about leaving him alone. Eddie was currently helping Nancy and Steve peel away the board covering up the front door.

"I just don't think the wig was necessary," Steve said. "Your jacket is in my car. You're wearing my yellow sweater. I think you could have gotten away with wearing your hair up."

"Artistic liberty, Steven," Eddie grinned. "We're just lucky Nance had another wig. Red really suits me, don't you think?"

"You look like my ugly older sister," Max told Eddie.

"Max!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Nah, it's alright, I love it when she does this. We have an understanding as neighbors," Eddie said, and he looked at Max, trying to think of a comeback. "Damn it, that one was good."

"If Mike were here, he would have gotten her," Dustin said.

"He would not," Max rolled her eyes.

"Please, you and Mike are practically the same person," Dustin said.

"Excuse me, I am own person," Max scowled.

"Sure, I said practically the same," Dustin said, rolling his eyes. "He's a nerd who reads comic books. You're a nerd who pretends she isn't a nerd."

"I am not a nerd," Max scoffed.

"You read comic books, don't you?" Dustin asked, grinning. "Nerd."

"Whatever," Max said, rolling her eyes.

"And you're both defensive in the same way. You both care about El rather deeply. You both have your differences, but you also have the same thing that's very important: you care and sometimes a little too much. When it overwhelms you, you tend to pull away, but you also use it to fight like hell. One thing that's very important is that this party doesn't work without both of you," Dustin said.

"Ugh. . .shut up," Max said, but she was smiling slightly.

"Your kids are sweet," Eddie said.

"Don't you mean our kids?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, you're not just going to leave us to take care of them ourselves, are you?" Nancy asked.

"No, wouldn't want that," Eddie grinned, and then he scowled. "I refuse to be a deadbeat like my own father."

They pulled down the board to find the door locked. Robin quickly rectified that by finding a key. A key that turned out to a brick that she threw the glass window. It was a shame, Nancy had thought. It was a beautiful window. The house was just as creepy and decrepit on the inside as it was on the outside. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs.

"It's a big fucking house," Eddie said.

"We should probably split up. It would be easier to look around," Nancy said.

"Are you also going to make a trap that inevitably fails?" Eddie asked.

"I did that once when I was little when I watched a little bit too much Scooby-Doo," Steve said. "My parents weren't happy when they came home early."

"Okay, so you're Fred?" Eddie asked.

"Sometimes," Steve shrugged. "And sometimes, I feel like a Daphne."

"Can we all just agree that Dustin is Scooby?" Robin asked and Max snorted.

"You act like that would insult me, but the entire show is named after him, so. . .," Dustin said.

"So, what's this guy's obsession with clocks?" Steve asked as he stared at the grandfather clock in the hallway. "Is he like a clock maker or something?"

"I think you cracked the case, Steve," Dustin said.

"Don't talk to your mother like that, butthead," Eddie said.

"Excuse me - ," Steve started to say.

"I think clockmaker is a definite possibility," Eddie winked at Steve, and Nancy smiled when Steve blushed. "Ooh! Maybe he's a time traveler!"

"Aren't we all time travelers?" Steve asked.

"We do all travel through time," Eddie said. "Like the Doctor! Except none of us have two hearts. . .well, not yet."

"You like Doctor Who?" Steve asked.

"I swear if you tell me that Steve Harrington likes Doctor Who I might scream," Eddie grinned.

"I prefer Star Trek. Me and Robin both," Steve said. "We watch Doctor Who with the kids, too, though."

"We have a bet going on that Kirk and Spock are gay for each other," Robin said. "We haven't watched all of it, so who knows. I think Steve’s full of shit. There's no way that Kirk is gay. He likes the ladies too much."

"I never said that he was gay, Robin, and you know very well that I like women, too," Steve said.

"Yeah, I know that you like women, what does that have to do with anything?" Robin asked.

"Not this again! How many times do I have to tell you?" Steve asked. "It's like the Indiana Flyer all over again!"

"In what way is it like the fake horse, Steven?" Robin asked.

"You don't listen to me, Robin!"

"Nance, do you watch the Who?" Eddie asked, grinning at the pair of bickering best friends.

"No," Nancy said.

"Let me tell you all about Sarah Jane Smith," Eddie said, throwing his arm around her. "You'd love her."

Nancy wasn't sure how she got here, but she found that she didn't mind much listening to Eddie rant about Doctor Who and then about the politics of Middle Earth. It was endearing, actually, and she knew that Eddie needed it to cope with what was going on. At some point, there was a loud noise, causing Eddie to jump and grab her. She thought for a moment that there was going to have a Scooby-Doo situation on their hands and that Eddie was going to jump into her arms like she was Shaggy. He had clearly stopped himself. Nancy and Eddie had just moved down a different corridor when Steve burst out of a room, wiping cobwebs off of himself.

"Yeah, don't - don't go in there," Steve said as he quickly closed the door and turned with his back to them. "Are there spiders in my hair?"

"Hold still, big boy," Eddie said.

Together, Nancy and Eddie ran their fingers through Steve’s hair, working together to get out the cobwebs. Nancy smiled as Steve sighed happily under their touch.

"If there's a spider nesting in there, you're never going to find it until all the eggs hatch and the babies spill out," Robin said as she passed by, cackling.

"Seriously, Robin, what is wrong with you?" Steve asked, and Eddie laughed at Robin. "Don't laugh at that."

"Yes, dear," Eddie said.

They worked in silence for a minute until Steve cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Maybe after we find Vecna, kill him, and save the world and stuff, we can all go out: you, me, Eddie," Steve said. "Or maybe we just hang out at my house and watch Doctor Who or Star Trek. . .I mean, whatever you guys want. I have other tapes."

"Not Robin?" Eddie asked.

"Uh, definitely not," Steve scoffed.

"Or any of the kids?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, no," Steve said and turned around.

Suddenly, there came the sounds of skidding feet, and Robin re-entered the hallway. She slammed into Steve’s back, hugging him tightly.

"Oh my God! I just got what you meant earlier! I'm so sorry," Robin said. "Tell me again! I'll listen with my ears this time."

"What were you listening with before?" Eddie asked, frowning.

"No, the moments passed, Robin," Steve said.

"I'll totally get it if you want to hold auditions for a new platonic soulmate," Robin said. "You've been telling me for months!"

"Nah, too much hassle," Steve said.

"I'm the dingus now," Robin said.

"Yeah, that's true, but I still love you," Steve said.

"I love you, too," Robin said.

"I don't know what's happening here, but I like it," Eddie said and wrapped his arms around them.

"Seriously, this guy?" Robin asked Steve.

"My uncle might be your father, Buckley," Eddie sighed.

"What?!"

"Nancy, you want to get in on this?" Eddie asked.

Nancy giggled and joined the group hug. A minute later, Dustin, Lucas, and Max found them still in that position.

"What are we celebrating?" Dustin asked.

"Steve’s hair is pregnant with spider babies."

"Robin!"

"I knew it!"

They continued exploring the house until they finally followed the lights all the way up into the attic. Night was soon starting to fall again, and wielding their flashlights, they followed the source of the flickering. Eddie didn't have a flashlight, so he took Nancy and Steve's free hands in his. Standing in the dark room, Nancy could feel his presence, and judging by the looks on their faces, they could feel him, too. One by one, the lights flared to life and then burst suddenly. Eddie squeezed their hands tightly, and even though it was hurting slightly, Nancy didn't want to let go of his hand either. Yes, Vecna was definitely in the Upside Down. Shit.

"So, now what the fuck are we going to do?" Eddie asked, plopping down on the basement couch, in between Steve and Nancy.

Before anyone could answer, the basement door opened, and Karen came downstairs. They didn't have time to hide Eddie. Luckily, he was still wearing Nancy's wig. Karen stared at him and then looked over at Nancy.

"New friend, Nancy?" Karen asked.

"Steve’s new girlfriend!" Dustin blurted out. "Uh. . .Elizabeth!"

"Really?" Karen asked, clearly not buying it. "You're Steve’s girlfriend, Elizabeth?"

Eddie nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Yeah, we ran into her when we were out earlier. The kids wanted to invite her over," Steve said, throwing his arm around Eddie.

"I was pretty sure that you and Nancy were getting back together," Karen said.

"They are!" Dustin blurted out again.

Nancy resisted the urge to roll her eyes and smiled at her mother. She placed her hand on Eddie's knee.

"We have a, uh, very open relationship," Nancy said.

"Really?" Karen asked, crossing her arms. "I always assumed it would be you, Steve, and Jonathan."

"Really?!" Everyone asked.

"Well, it's not. Besides, Jonathan is dating someone else," Nancy said.

"So, I'm just supposed to ignore the fact that Elizabeth is Eddie Munson in a wig?" Karen asked. "You do remember that I bought you all those wigs when you were younger when you and Mike decided to play barbershop? You were bald for the longest time."

"I swear, I'm just a lady - " Eddie said in an over the top feminine southern accent and then dropped it. "Yeah, you're not buying any of this."

"No, I'm not," Karen said and sighed. "Look, we've all tried to be patient with all of you, but clearly, there's something that you've been hiding from all of us. As much as I want to, I can't force you to be honest with me. We do trust your judgment. If you think that Eddie's not a murderer than he must not be. We've lied to the police before, and we can do it again. But if you get into danger, then you call us, alright?"

"Dad said something similar the night before," Nancy said. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"You think after Will, after Starcourt, that we wouldn't know that something's up?" Karen asked. "We may not be perfect, but we're not stupid. You might as well all come up for dinner."

"So, this is what it's like being on the other foot," Dustin said.

"Next time, let someone else tell the lies," Max said.

After a very awkward dinner, Eddie found himself in Nancy's room, cuddling up to Nancy and Steve again.

"I feel like everything is going to change tomorrow," Eddie muttered. "I don't know how I'm going to come back from all this."

"Don't say that, Eddie," Nancy said softly, but Eddie had fallen asleep on them again.

The next day had proven to be a lot harder when they got wind that Patrick had died at Lover's Lake. Eddie was now, officially, a suspect for all three deaths. They had no other choice but to involve the other parents and let them know that they were hiding Eddie Munson. Although Nancy couldn't exactly tell them what was going on because, well, how would they prove it was true? They had spent that day talking about their plan and how they were going to find a gate to the Upside Down. It had been Dustin who figured out that there might be a gate at each murder sight. While the parents were all talking, they all snuck out to Nancy's car and then drove off to Lover's Lake.

"Look, I was captain of the swim team, I've trained as a lifeguard," Steve said. "Anyone else want to go down there to check and see if there's a gate?"

Max, Lucas, and Dustin had protested when they all filled into the boat without them. Steve had ended up with the yellow sweater again while Eddie was once again in his vest and jacket. Steve took off his shoes and shoes before stripping off the sweater. He threw the sweater at Eddie, winking. Eddie scoffed and immediately pulled out a cigarette, popping it into his mouth, tucking the sweater close to him. Robin took the cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it into the lake.

"I refuse to have a cousin that smokes," Robin said.

"Well, you're not going to like having a dad that smokes," Eddie said. "And whatever fish that swallowed that cigarette is probably going to die. Nice, Robin."

Eddie grabbed a plastic bag and used it to wrap up the flashlight. He handed it to Steve.

"Thanks," Steve said.

He moved to the edge of the boat. He was stopped by both Nancy and Eddie grabbing his hands. Steve turned to look at them. Nancy shared a look with Eddie before grabbing his hand as well.

"Be careful," Nancy said, looking backing at Steve.

"Good luck, sweetheart," Eddie muttered.

"Starting to feel like a fourth oar here," Robin said to herself.

Nancy's eyes took all of Steve in for a moment, smiling and knowing that Eddie was doing the same. They released Steve’s hands, and together, they watched as he jumped into the lake. Nancy was the one squeezing Eddie's hand this time, and he squeezed it back, letting her know that he was just as frightened as she was. They waited with baited breath, not saying anything. It seemed to last forever until finally, Steve’s head broke the surface, and he swam towards the edge of the boat. He reported that there was definitely a gate down there, but it was small. Before they could pull him back onto the boat, something yanked him underneath the water. Everyone screamed. Nancy immediately jumped up.

"Nancy!" Eddie yelled.

"We have to go after him," Nancy said.

"I know," Eddie said.

He stood up and grabbed her hand. Together, they both jumped into the lake. They found Steve in the middle of the Upside Down version of Lover's Lake. A vine was wrapped around his ankle and a tail of a bat like creature wrapped around his throat. There were bats eating into his stomach. Nancy didn't hesitate to pick up an oar and start swinging. She was pleased to note that Eddie and Robin didn't hesitate either. They hit the ones attacking his stomach away, but it was Steve who grabbed the one around his throat and tore it in half by stepping on it. Blood dripped out of his mouth as he gasped for breath. More bats were coming, and the others had blocked the gate. Their only choice was to find cover, which happened to be Skull Rock. Nancy wrapped an arm around Steve while Eddie did the same on his other side. Robin led the way to Skull Rock. They set him gently down underneath, all four of them diving for cover. Nancy knelt down in front of Steve and immediately began tearing off bits of her shirt.

"Does he get hurt a lot?" Eddie asked. "I feel like he gets hurt a lot."

"This is definitely not the first time," Robin said, looking over Nancy's shoulder.

"And it won't be the last," Steve said.

Eddie helped Nancy wrap the makeshift bandage around Steve. Nancy chuckled softly.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"Just thinking about the last time that Steve and I were here," Nancy said.

"Seriously, Nance?" Steve blushed and smiled.

"We were in similar positions, except that it was the other way around," Nancy grinned.

"Really? You got King Steve to kneel for you?" Eddie asked, his eyes twinking.

"He loves being generous," she said. "He is very good with his tongue."

"Really?" Eddie asked with a wicked grin. "That's good to know."

"I'm also good with my tongue," Nancy said.

"Damn," Eddie said. "That's also good to know."

"And you know those pictures of Steve? The pink scarf is the only thing that Steve has on," Nancy said.

"Nancy!"

"Fuuuuckkk."

"There's a special dance that goes with them," Nancy said.

"Too much information about my best friend!" Robin exclaimed.

They helped Steve up, securing an arm around him. Just as they were moving out from under the rock, the ground began to shake. Steve held on tight to both of them as all three fell to the ground. He was still holding onto them even when the shaking stopped. The four of them decided that the next best course of action was to gather Nancy's guns from her house, and they moved quickly on. Well, as quickly as they could with an injured, shoeless Steve. Nancy was sure his ankle might have been sprained from being yanked into the lake. Eddie gently slipped his vest onto Steve’s shoulders with a grin. Nancy and Eddie each kept an arm secured around Steve, letting him lean on them while Robin led the way.

"Thank you both for saving my ass back there," Steve said.

"You've got an ass worth saving, Stevie," Eddie said grinning.

"I'd do it again," Nancy said, squeezing his hip. "It's not just your ass that's worth saving. You deserve it, too."

"She didn't waste a second, you know," Eddie said fondly. "Not a single goddamn second. You know, if I were you, I'd get her back because that was the most unambiguous sign of true love that my cynical eyes had ever seen."

"You jumped in with me," Nancy pointed out.

"Yeah, I did do that," Eddie said, clearing his throat before smirking. "Maybe you've got competition, Wheeler."

"You're not fighting over me in the Upside Down," Steve said.

"It's hard to believe, you know, that I am in this position. I'm glad I was wrong about you, man. Steve Harrington, popular, great hair, and good with women. . .no way, is he such a good dude?! I was wrong about Chrissy Cunningham, too. She was kind and beautiful. . .not as mean and scary as I thought she would be. I was wrong about you, too, Nancy, I thought for sure you'd be prissy, but you two are the most badass people that I have ever met," Eddie said. "I've never been more glad to be wrong in my life. If there's any good that's come from all this shit, it's been getting to know you two."

"Eddie," Nancy said softly.

Nancy looked over at Steve, and he looked just as touched as she did. Nancy blushed, suddenly, as she realized that Steve might not get told this often enough. She should have said something back then that he wasn't a shitty boyfriend. Eddie gazed at Steve, looking at him with soft eyes, and Steve's eyes were even softer. Yeah, he definitely needed to be told that more. Does he know that he's a good man?

"And Robin, too!" Eddie yelled suddenly. "Gaining her as a cousin has been an absolute delight!"

"I can do better!" Robin yelled back.

"Asshole," Eddie grinned.

"You were pretty sure earlier that it was just women for you. What made you change your mind?" Steve asked, softly.

"You did, big boy," Eddie winked. "You two, without a doubt - ,"

Before he could finish his thoughts, the ground shook again. He fell quiet after that, holding onto Steve as tightly as he could without hurting him. Nancy knew, without a doubt, that she was falling in love with Steve all over again, but goddamn it, she was also falling for Eddie. Eddie, who was falling for Steve and she couldn't help but wonder if he was falling for her as well. She wondered if this could really be something. After getting to her house, they discovered that the guns were no longer there due to the fact that the Upside Down was stuck on the day Will went missing. After that, they discovered or, rather, Steve and Nancy had discovered they could communicate with Dustin through the lights. Apparently, Dustin was somehow back at Nancy's house. They ended up riding to Eddie's trailer on bicycles. Nancy tried not to laugh at the fact that Eddie got stuck with the kid bike. He playfully glared at her.

"Want to switch?" Nancy asked.

"I can manage," Eddie said.

Eddie pushed off, and when he fell back behind Steve, Nancy got curious and fell back with him. Eddie nodded his head at Steve, who had his rear hiked up in the air as he peddled. Eddie flashed his dimples at Nancy, and she giggled. The laughter had died down when they entered Eddie's trailer and found the gate glaring at them with a red light, reminding them that this was where Chrissy died. Nancy took Eddie's hand and caught Steve’s eyes. He quickly grabbed Eddie's other hand to let him know that he was there for him, too. There was a long stretch of silence as they all gaped at it. Suddenly, something tried to tear through the skin like opening of the gate. It startled all of them, especially when it was revealed to be the handle of a broom. They moved closer to the gate, very careful not to do anything stupid. They looked up to find other other people looking up at them as well. It was Dustin, Lucas, Max, Erica, and. . .

"Dad?!" Nancy exclaimed.

"So, this is what you've been up to?" Ted asked. "I'm both mortified and filled with regret."

"How can you tell?" Eddie asked.

"That's just his face, Eddie," Nancy said, slightly offended for her father.

"Right, sorry."

It was Dustin, yet again, who figured out a way for them to get through safely. Which to Nancy's amusement, Eddie had enjoyed quite immensely. Nancy was the second to last, climbing up into the gate until. . .suddenly, she wasn't. She was in Steve’s pool and watching Barb die again. The visions changed to Eddie dying, being ripped open by bats. . .the same thing happening with Steve. Then, she was shown visions of Vecna's past. Henry Creel, the comatose son who had been behind it all. . .who had tricked and manipulated Eleven. And she was shown Henry's vision of the future: Hawkins being ripped open. . .Nancy's family dying: Mike, Holly, Karen, and Ted. She was shown her friends dying one by one, the kids dying. . .once again, she was shown Steve and Eddie. This time, Jonathan was there, too. Nancy woke up from the nightmare to find herself in Steve and Eddie's arms with Ted hovering above her.

"It's okay, darlin," Eddie said. "We've got you."

Shaking, they all helped Nancy up and through the gate. Max quickly offered up her trailer, and as soon as they were away from the gate, Nancy threw herself into Ted's arms. She never wanted to get him or her mother involved, but right now, she was glad that her father was here.

"I'm here, baby, I'm here," Ted said softly.

He wasn't the best at showing physical affection, but when the kids needed it, he came through, like he was right now. Ted held onto her tightly as she continued to sob. Nancy was about to tell them all what happened when there came a knock on the door. Everyone tensed up. Nancy and Steve quickly hid Eddie behind them as Max moved to answer the door. Wayne Munson stood on the doorstep.

"I was stopping by the trailer to pick up some stuff. . .I didn't expect to see, well, hell, I don't know what that was," Wayne said. "I thought I'd come check on ya. Is your mama home?"

"Of course she isn't," Max scoffed.

"Is everything alright?" Wayne asked, and then he spotted Steve. "Hey! That's Eddie's vest. Why do you have that? Where's my boy?!"

When Wayne stepped into through the door, Max quickly closed the door behind him. Eddie popped up from behind Steve and Nancy.

"I'm here, I'm fine, don't kill him!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Eddie," Wayne said, his voice breaking.

Wayne pulled Eddie into a hug, holding onto him tightly.

"I didn't - ," Eddie started to say.

"I know, son, I know," Wayne said.

Eddie cried into his shoulder, in the very same position that Nancy had been in earlier with her own father. Robin came up between them, clutching Steve’s arm. Nancy glanced at her. Right, there was a chance that Wayne was her biological father. She was standing back, though, and letting them have their moment. . .or maybe she was afraid. Studying Robin's face, she knew that it wasn't the right moment, not for Robin or for Wayne. As soon as Wayne pulled away from the hug, Nancy caught him up on what was going on, including letting him and everyone else know what went on in her vision. Nancy stood in front of them all. She knew what they had to do.

"We have to kill him," Nancy decided.

"Did you forget one obvious thing, Nance?" Robin asked. "He has powers. We do not. How the hell are we supposed to go up against Vecna/Henry/One with nothing?!"

"We can't let him kill Max and destroy this town, Robin. We have to try because if we sit here and do nothing, then what's the point of everything we've ever done? What would have happened if Joyce had given up on Will? If El hadn't come back when the gate was still open?" Nancy asked. "What if Dustin had given up on finding you and Steve in the Russian bunker under Starcourt? If you had been left there to be tortured? We have to try because that's who we are."

"Okay. . .fair point. The question still remains: How?" Robin asked.

"Well, if he has powers like El. . .then maybe has weaknesses like El, too?" Dustin asked.

"What do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"Well, El is at her most vulnerable when she remotes travel. Maybe it's the same for Vecna. We'd need bait to pull him in," Dustin said.

"I'll do it," Max said. "I'll be the bait."

Everyone was immediately up in arms about it, but in the end, it was Max's decision. They needed an arsenal. Eddie immediately suggested going to the War Zone.

"When did you go to the War Zone, boy?" Wayne asked.

"Remember in the spring of '84 when Dad manipulated me and conned me into helping him rob a drug kingpin's supply line?" Eddie asked.

"Vaguely," Wayne said, scowling.

"That was when," Eddie said.

"I'll never forgive Al for that," Wayne muttered. "No good, son of a bitch."

"You have the same mother," Eddie said in amusement.

"You can't prove that," Wayne said. "His mama - "

"Your mama, too, Uncle Wayne," Eddie said.

"HIS mama was a bitch," Wayne said and Robin laughed.

"Hey, Wayne, have you met Robin?" Eddie grinned. "We might have the same grandparents."

"Al?" He asked.

"Think again."

"Your mama's name Melissa?" Wayne asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, you'll tell us all about that thing with your dad, right?" Nancy asked Eddie.

"As long as you promise not to put it in the paper," Eddie grinned.

"Can't make any promises," Nancy said, and he laughed.

After making plans for the War Zone, they realized that they needed a bigger vehicle. That meant stealing one, specifically the RV in Forest Hills. They all had to sneak into an open window, including Ted and Wayne. They had argued against all of this, but they knew their kids were going to do this with or without them. They thought it was better to do it with them. As much as Ted wanted to go back home to let Karen know, the police would also had eyes on the house still, and Nancy knew they figured out by now that Ted had slipped past them. Now, Nancy was watching with Steve as Eddie hot wired the vehicle.

"Just one of the things good ol' dad taught me," Eddie muttered.

"It's a useful skill to have, especially now since you're using it save the world," Nancy said. "Very heroic."

"You know, I'm not so sure about you driving this thing, Eddie," Robin said.

"Oh ye of little faith, cousin!" Eddie yelled. "Wayne, tell your daughter to have more faith in me!"

"Nah, she's got you pegged pretty good, Ed," Wayne said.

"Ha!"

"Don't worry, Robs, Harrington's got her, don't ya, big boy?" Eddie asked, peering around Nancy.

Suddenly, Wayne moved Eddie to the passenger's seat and took the wheel.

"You shouldn't let your wounded boy drive, son," Wayne said as he started the vehicle.

"My wounded boy?" Eddie asked, blushing.

"You gave him your battle vest," Wayne said as he drove faster.

"Oh, they're after us, and they're pissed!" Dustin yelled.

"Well, it's not every day you lose your car and your house in one fell swoop!" Robin exclaimed.

"Trust me, darlin, they're assholes! I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure they killed our cat!" Wayne said.

Nancy was moving towards the back when they hit a pothole. She fell backward and right into Eddie's lap. He grinned and held onto her. They managed to get far enough away where Wayne could slow the vehicle down.

"You know, if I had another vest, I'd give it to you, too, sweetheart," Eddie muttered to Nancy.

"You're so cute," Nancy muttered.

"So, what's going on here?" Wayne asked.

"Pay attention to the road, old man," Eddie grinned.

Nancy and Eddie got up to move over to Steve to check on him. Eddie yanked Dustin up and took his spot beside Steve. Nancy and Eddie immediately began to fuss over him, ignoring Dustin's protest about moving him out of his seat. Meanwhile, Ted squeezed Nancy's shoulder before moving to the passenger's seat to sit beside Wayne. Eddie made some makeshift bandages from the clothes he found in the RV and a bottle of water. He picked up Steve’s feet and began cleaning the wounds on the bottom. He wrapped them up and looked up at him.

"Hey, Steve?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"You do know that you're a good man, right?" Eddie asked.

Nancy smiled. Clearly, he had picked up on that, too, from their little moment in the Upside Down.

"I mean, yeah, I guess," Steve said awkwardly.

"Well, you are, sweetheart. The best there is, I think. You two, both. I mean, I don't know anyone who'd do what you all have done. You love these kids, and you put it all on the line for them. You've even risked it for me," Eddie said softly.

"Hey, you're a good man, too," Steve said, tilting his chin up. "It's important that you know that."

"You're both amazing," Nancy said, biting her lip.

"So, are you, darlin," Eddie said.

"Oh, yeah, I know," Nancy said, and they laughed.

"You know, I had this dream when I was a kid. . .it probably sounds silly," Steve said.

"Tell us," Nancy said softly.

Eddie remained on the floor and nestled himself between their legs. He rested his chin on Steve’s leg, looking up at him.

"Ooh, story time," Eddie said.

"There's an RV kind of like this one. . .I'd imagine gathering up the six little Harrington nuggets into it. We'd go anywhere. . .to the beach, to California, to Yellowstone. We'd see it all together, and it would be like. . .," Steve trailed off.

"An adventure?" Eddie asked with a smile.

"Yeah, not like this one, though," Steve said.

"It would be exciting," Eddie said.

"It sounds nice," Nancy said and then said in a teasing voice as she glanced at the kids. "The six kids part sounds like a total nightmare."

"Hey, are you talking about us?" Dustin asked.

"Well, it's not like we have any practice, or anything," Steve grinned.

"Hey! You are talking about us!"

"That's fair," Nancy laughed as they continued to ignore Dustin.

"So, what made baby Steve dream of such adventures with his little chicken nuggets?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"Well, whenever my dad would go away on business, my mom would go with him to make sure he didn't cheat. They didn't like bringing a kid on a plane, and they'd leave me at home. I always wanted to travel with them and see more of the world outside of the house," Steve said. "They always left me alone, though, and I just didn't want to do it alone."

"I get that. Before I moved in with Wayne, my father constantly left me alone because he was a conman, and his schemes were always more important than me. I used to dream of getting out of Hawkins and traveling the world, making it big with my music. My mom had these records. These records that she loved. She used to call them her plane tickets. She loved music, and because she did, I did, too. I never wanted to leave this town on my own, though. I hate being alone," Eddie said. "Despite the fact that I do have a tendency to keep people at arms length, sometimes."

"I don't want to be alone, either," Nancy said softly. "You know, reporters can travel anywhere, too."

"Well, if I didn't know any better, I would definitely think that Nancy Wheeler is asking us to run away with her," Eddie said in amusement.

"It certainly sounds like that," Steve said with a smile.

"Well, if this doesn't work out, the whole clearing my name, I'm definitely going to have to go on the run," Eddie said and smiled. "It would be nice to have company. Although, I'm not sure if I can ask you to do that."

"You don't have to," Nancy said softly.

Eddie took her hand, and then Steve’s. He placed a kiss on Nancy's hand before doing the same with Steve’s. Curled up in between their legs, Eddie laid his head on Steve’s leg again and fell asleep.

"It's amazing how quickly he does that with us," Steve said.

"It's because he feels safe with you!" Wayne hollered from the front seat. "As a baby, it used to take forever to fall asleep in Al's arms, but whenever his mama held him. . .Boy fell asleep so fast. He was the same with me!"

Nancy and Steve shared a smile before running their fingers through his hair.

"We're definitely keeping him," Nancy whispered.

Ted went into the War Zone with Nancy, Steve, Robin, Erica, and Max. Wayne decided it would be safer if someone stayed in the RV with Eddie, Dustin, and Lucas.

"I'm sorry," Ted said as they walked through the aisles. "That you had to go through all of this, and I'm sorry that I haven't - that I'm not sure what to say."

"You know I don't hate you for being awkward, right?" Nancy asked.

"No?" Ted asked.

"You and Mike are a lot alike," Nancy said.

"We are?" He asked.

"Both very awkward people who tend to put their foot in their mouths," she said in amusement. "Then again, so am I. Maybe I'm more like you than I thought. I'm not the greatest at picking up on social ques either, which is something I have in common with Robin, Steve, and Eddie."

"So, I'm normal, then?" Ted asked.

"I think normal is an overrated and overused word that no one really knows what it means. Everyone has their quirks," Nancy said.

"Never thought about it like that," he said.

"Most people don't," Nancy said.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Ted replied.

"Thanks, Daddy. I'm proud of you, too," Nancy said softly. "Thanks for showing up."

"Always."

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Steve talked to Robin. He was wearing proper clothing now, which was a shame because he looked hot in Eddie's vest with his chest hair peaking out. Although Nancy thought he looked attractive in the camouflage shirt and the brown leather jacket. Steve probably also appreciated the fact that he had shoes now. Nancy followed Robin's eyes and found what, or rather, who she was looking at. Vickie Fisher. Oh. Nancy had talked to her a few times. She was in the band, and Nancy knew she rambled a lot. Yeah, she was perfect for Robin. Nancy smiled as she showed her father the guns. He didn't know much about them. Nancy was in the middle of explaining each one to Ted when Jason Carver showed up. He had clearly wanted to show her who was in charge, but with her holding a gun and her father behind her, he had changed his mind. They left quickly after that. . .rushing to gather their things and nearly tripped over each other, getting into the RV. As Wayne drove away, Nancy noticed that Eddie's eyes never left Steve, and she smiled. Yeah, he liked the new outfit as well.

"Alright, this seems good," Wayne announced.

He had parked them in a clearing surrounded completely by trees. It was a good place to hide from people and a good place to put their weapons together. Nancy was showing Max how to make a sawed-off shotgun.

"So, you seem cozy with Steve and Eddie," Max said.

"Yeah, I suppose I am. Where are you going with this, Max?" Nancy asked.

"Do you like both of them?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do. I definitely do," Nancy grinned.

"Are all three of you a thing?" Max asked.

"I mean, I don't know for sure. We've talked about it, but we haven't really talked about it," Nancy said. "You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess," Max said and paused. "So, Steve was willing to take you back even though you hurt him?"

"Well, he didn't hold a grudge because he understood the circumstances involved and why I pushed him away. He knew how hard I was struggling then. He has a really good heart," Nancy said. "He knew that some people just fuck up, especially when life turns into something so messy and complicated. He just completely understood that I deserved to be forgiven."

"Do you think Lucas will do the same thing?" Max asked softly.

"I know it," Nancy said. "You both deserve it. He understands that you've been through so much and that it wasn't your intention to hurt him."

"Billy was hurting," Max whispered. "When he hurt people, he was hurting, too."

"Max Mayfield," Nancy said. "You are nothing like him. You're allowed to get angry, and you're allowed to pull away when you're hurting, but it doesn't make you a bad person. Intentions matter, Max. You handled it way better than he did. Even at your lowest, you chose not to hurt people the way that he did. It's difficult to go through this, and no one is expecting you to know how to deal with it all. The fact that you managed to get this far says a lot. The fact that you're still willing to fight. . .we're all proud of you, Max."

"Thanks, Nancy," Max said.

Nancy smiled and hugged her. Max froze, and then she wrapped her arms around her, hugging her back tightly.

"I'm here, Max," Nancy whispered. "We're all here for you."

"I'm scared," Max sniffled, and Nancy held her tighter. "I don't want to die."

Nancy glanced over Max's head and watched as Eddie fought playfully with Dustin. Suddenly, he pulled Dustin close to whisper something to him, and then they hugged. She was more determined than ever to save Max. They had to stop him. They just had to. Nancy glanced over at Steve. He was sitting next to Robin, Wayne, and Ted, making molotov cocktails. Nancy smiled briefly as Steve talked with Ted. He always got along with her father. Suddenly, Max pulled away from her.

"I'm going to go talk to Lucas," Max said.

Nancy caught Steve’s eye and nodded towards the RV, then back at Eddie. Steve smiled, letting her know he understood before getting up and walking into the RV. Nancy caught Eddie's and motioned to him to follow her before moving to follow Steve. When Nancy and Eddie got into the RV, Steve was sitting on the couch in the back. They sat down on either side of him.

"Before we did anything, I wanted us to talk," Nancy said.

"Yeah, me, too," Steve said.

"Do you have something that you need to get off your chest, Stevie?" Eddie asked. "Your shirt, perhaps?"

"Shut up, I do need to say something, asshole," Steve said.

"You go first," Nancy said.

"The dream that I mentioned earlier, it was true, every single word of it, but there's an important part that I left out," Steve said, taking their hands. "The most important part. You were there. You've always been there, Nance, but now there's someone else there, too. It might be a little soon, but you're there too, Eddie. I don't want to chose between you. . ."

Steve looked down at his lap. Nancy touched his cheek, gently with her fingertips, and turned his face so he could meet her eyes. He said what had needed to be said.

"Then don't," Nancy said and closed the gap between them.

God, she missed kissing him. It really did feel like coming home, coming back to a part of herself that she had left behind. Steve was sweet and soft as ever. She could feel it in the kiss that Steve missed her just as much as she missed him. She pulled away and let Eddie be the one to kiss him. They looked beautiful together. It clearly wasn't Steve’s first time kissing a man, but it was his first time kissing Eddie Munson, who brought the same energy towards kissing as he did with everything else: enthusiastically manic. Steve had pulled back a little bit, startled by the enthusiasm at first, but then he kissed Eddie back, trying hard to match him. It was like they were challenging each other. . .their lips fighting together. Nancy recognized the warm feeling in her stomach. She didn't give them the chance to break apart. She yanked Eddie back. She had to know. Nancy slammed her lips to Eddie's. He tasted like the old cigarettes and flat mountain dew he found in the RV. It was gross, but she enjoyed the way he kissed. . .how desperate he was to prove himself. God, she wanted to climb on top of both of them. Eddie let out a whine as she pulled back. She cupped the back of their heads with each hand.

"Mine," she said to them.

"Yours," they agreed.

Nancy was charged up and ready to go. Maybe it was Max telling her she wasn't ready to die or maybe it was her dad being there for her, or maybe it was the kisses she shared with her men that fueled her rage. Solidifying all of that and tying it together was the rage she still felt from Fred and Barb's death. . .from Bob's death as well. . .from all the trauma the kids endured. She was ready. It was time to do this, and knowing what was at stake, she was more determined than ever. They dropped off Max, Lucas, and Erica at the Creel House first, then drove back to Eddie's trailer. They were all wearing protective vests, something Eddie refused to zip up, much to Nancy's and Steve's annoyance. Wayne, Ted, Dustin, and Robin were the first ones out of the RV. Steve and Nancy held Eddie back.

"You're missing something," Steve whispered.

He grabbed Eddie by his hips and pulled him flush against him. Steve wound his arms around him. Nancy stood behind Eddie and encircled her arms around his waist. She fastened Eddie's new belt from behind him. Eddie looked down.

"Holy shit! Is this belt for me?" Eddie asked, touching the bullet belt.

"Yeah, Eddie, the belt is for you," Nancy laughed.

"Metal," Eddie breathed.

Nancy moved and wedged herself in between the two young men. She grabbed his chin, not too forcefully, to look at her.

"We need you to not do anything stupid, okay, Eddie?" Nancy asked.

"Yeah, don't be cute, and try to be a hero," Steve said.

"Nah, I'd figure I'd let you two be the heroes," Eddie said with a smirk.

"We're serious, Eddie, we want you to be safe," Nancy said.

"I want you to be safe, too," Eddie said softly.

"Eddie," she said gently, touching his face, and then she scowled. "For fuck's sake, zip up your jacket."

He leaned down and kissed Nancy before moving to do the same with Steve. They moved out of the RV and into the trailer. With Ted and Wayne's help, they were a lot more confident, though they wished they had somehow gotten a message across to the other parents without alerting the authorities before they started all of this. The seven of them went through the gate without any problems. . .well, almost. Wayne nearly busted his ass. Luckily, Ted was there to help him.

"Aw, I think my dad is making a friend," Nancy said.

"Aw, that's crazy because my dad is also making a friend," Robin said.

"Shut up," Ted and Wayne said.

Of course, Steve had to show off for Eddie and Nancy, who just laughed him. They weren't impressed at all. Once they were through the gate, they knew it would mean parting ways. Ted would be going with Steve, Robin, and Nancy while Wayne would be staying with the others.

"You take care of them," Wayne said to Ted, clapping a hand on his shoulder, glancing at Robin.

"Of course, you do the same," Ted said.

Robin rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Wayne.

"You have to stay safe, okay? I don't need any DNA test to know that you're my father. I can feel it. My mom and Pop, they want to see you. My pop wants to know you, and my mom wants to thank you for giving the greatest gift of her life. No matter how many times I say that, I'm not great, and I try to prove it by pointing it out that she hates it when I ramble," Robin said and laughed. "Like I'm doing right now, which is weird. My mother doesn't do it, so who knows where I get it from."

"Used to be quite the yapper when I was younger and my daddy, too, but my mother couldn't stand it. She talked a lot, too, but her way was more subtle, not all together all the time. A lot more conniving, too. She used to yell at us all the time to shut up," Wayne said. "You don't ever have to stop talking with me."

Eddie threw his arms around the both of them. Nancy watched with a smile on her face and shared a look with Steve, looking longingly at them. Suddenly, she remembered that Steve didn't have his parents, and he never really did. Nancy put her arm through his and pressed her cheek into his shoulder, reminding them that they were his family. Dustin had the same idea and hugged him.

"You're not allowed to get hurt again," Dustin muttered. "You die, I die. Remember?"

"I got it," Steve said softly. "I'll tell you what I told Eddie. Don't try to be a hero. You guys are the distractions. You get to safety as soon as possible. Got it?

Steve wrapped an arm around Dustin and pressed his cheek onto the top of his head.

"Got it," Dustin chuckled weakly. "We'll leave the heroics to you and Nancy."

"You and Eddie are both assholes," Steve said in amusement.

Dustin pulled back to hug Nancy as well.

"You're still my favorite," Nancy whispered as she hugged him, and he laughed.

Robin pulled away from hugging her father and cousin to hug Dustin.

"You're a pain in our ass but I love you, you little hellhound," Robin said. "Stay safe."

"You too," Dustin said before moving to hug Ted.

"I thought you hated me," Ted said in surprise.

"Oh, Teddy, you really are clueless," Dustin said. "I enjoy our banter, and you make it easy it mess with you."

"Glad I could help," Ted said and paused. "Don't die."

"You don't die," Dustin said.

Ted, Steve, Nancy, and Robin started walking towards the Creel House when Eddie called out.

"Steve, Nancy?"

Nancy and Eddie turned to meet him. Eddie paused, looking at them both meaningfully.

"Make him pay."

Nancy swallowed. Yeah, that they were definitely going to do. For a moment, she could see what he was thinking. She was thinking of Barb. . .of Fred while Eddie was clearly thinking of Chrissy. Nancy threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was brief, and she could feel Steve beside them. She moved aside to let Steve kiss him as well. They didn't say anything else. They didn't need to. As hard as it was, Nancy and Steve walked away from Eddie. She reached out to Steve and took his hand, holding onto it tightly. As soon as they got to the Creel House, it was an immediate disaster. All four of them had gotten trapped to the walls by the vines, nearly choked to death by their grip. Luckily, something had stopped it from killing them. . .as though it had been some invisible force guiding their hand. Nancy wondered if El somehow got her powers back. She didn't dwell on it for too long. They finally made it to the attic. Shit, he was just as terrifying in person.

"Get into place," Nancy said to her dad, and he looked at her. "We'll be fine."

Ted nodded and moved delicately towards the back of the attic, behind Vecna. He gripped the axe in his hand, preparing to do his worst. Steve and Robin lit their cocktails while Nancy prepared to shoot, praying that her plan worked. This was her plan. This was all on her if it didn't work out. Nancy tried not to think about it. If she thought about it, then she'd throw up. Robin threw her molotov first, and then it was Steve lighting Henry Creel on fire. Vecna awoke with a roar and started moving towards them, the vines snapping off him. Nancy raised her gun and started shooting. Ted had moved at the same time. He raised his axe in the air and slammed it into Henry's neck. It had barely made a dent with the thick vine like material that was now his skin. Vecna roared and turned to swipe his claws at Ted, throwing him backward as he did so.

"DADDY!" Nancy screamed. "HEY! ASSHOLE!"

Nancy moved forward, closer to Vecna as she continued to shoot. Vecna turned to her and smirked as he moved closer to her as well. Ted had gotten up, blood soaking his vest, and raised the axe again. He slammed it into his neck, this time with more force, and hit him again. Together, Nancy and Ted came after him. No one was sure what finally killed him, but it was Ted and Nancy who took one finally shot at him. Ted sliced through his neck at the same time Nancy's bullet hit the skin. Vecna's head rolled off his body. Nancy, Ted, Steve, and Robin followed it. Nancy quickly loaded her gun again while Ted raised his axe and started to hit Vecna's head with his axe while Nancy unloaded her gun. Finally, after a minute, they realized he wouldn't be moving. They stopped. Sharing a look, they realized they wanted to make sure he was dead. The four of them gathered his head and body into a pile. With the last of their supplies of molotov cocktails, they lit his body on fire. Nancy turned to Ted.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Nancy asked.

"We can worry about that later. Let's get out of here," Ted said.

They didn't waste any time arguing with him. They moved as quickly as they could towards the trailer, the flames of the burning Creel House at their back. Nancy could swear she could hear screams coming from the burning vines themselves. The ground began to shake harder than ever, and they stumbled a few times, getting back to the trailer. The closer they got, Nancy could feel that something was wrong and the feeling only grew. Just as they were almost there, they heard it. Dustin's screams. They took off without hesitation. When they arrived, Dustin was kneeling in between a bloody Eddie and Wayne, surround by dead bats.

"NO!" Nancy, Steve, and Robin screamed.

They skidded down next to Dustin. Nancy's heart was hammering in her chest. No, this couldn't be happening. Not again. They couldn't lose him, either of them.

"They're still alive," Dustin sobbed. "Not for long though, we have to get them out of here."

Ted quickly helped Robin with Wayne while Nancy and Steve helped Dustin with Eddie. It was difficult, but they managed to get them both back through the gate. Eddie and Waybe were both slipping in and out of consciousness. None of them had time to watch, but they managed to get a glimpse of the gate closing behind them. They stole the RV again with Ted behind the wheel this time. Nancy and Steve cradled Eddie between them. Nancy leaned forward to give him mouth to mouth, her hands beating on his chest as she tried to keep him breathing. Steve took turns to do the same when Eddie finally gasped for breath and opened his eyes. Nancy burst into tears at the sight of his beautiful, confused brown eyes.

"Did I fall asleep again?" Eddie asked, his eyes fluttering.

"You have to stay awake, Eddie! You have to stay with us," Nancy cried.

That was when Wayne woke up with a loud holler.

"Boy! You ain't going before me! You ain't allowed to! You hear me, Edward Wayne! I promised your mama!" Wayne sobbed.

"Neither one of you is going anywhere!" Robin sobbed as she held onto Wayne. "I just got you. It isn't fair."

"Five more minutes, Uncle Wayne," Eddie muttered, glancing at Steve and Nancy with a smile. "Safe."

Eddie closed his eyes, and this time, it was Steve letting out a loud cry. Steve slapped Eddie's face gently.

"Eddie! No, come on, babe! We want you to stay. We want you with us!" Steve exclaimed.

"You want me - " Eddie started to say with a gasp. "You want me to stay forever?"

"Yes, forever, Eddie," Nancy said, sniffling.

"Forever," Eddie muttered and went still.

Nancy let out a loud shriek, her chest tight and full of pain as though someone was squeezing her heart. . . Choking it. Steve pressed his forehead to Eddie's, his body shaking with sobs. Dustin and Robin screamed together.

FOUR DAYS LATER. . .

Nancy sighed, rubbing her eyes. She wondered if she would ever sleep again. She walked into the room, squaring her shoulders. She glanced at the loud, annoying machines. As obnoxious as the sounds that come from it were, she also appreciated it. It filled her with joy because it meant that Eddie Munson was alive. His eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," Eddie gasped.

"Hey," Nancy said, smiling.

"What a beautiful sight to wake up to," Eddie beamed.

"Please, I look like a mess," Nancy muttered.

She felt like one, too. Her hair was piled messily on top of her hair, curls spilling out. She was dressed in sweats and Eddie's vest. She and Steve had taken turns wearing it.

"Considering that, I didn't think I would wake up at all," Eddie said. "Yeah, it's definitely a good sight."

"Eddie," Nancy said softly.

"So, we won?" Eddie asked. "I don't see any cuffs on me."

"Yeah, we won. I don't know how Dr. Owens managed it or who he had to call, but he not only did he clear you all of the charges, but he managed to persuade Sullivan to stop hunting El down and help clean up the mess made by Vecna and Sullivan," Nancy said. "Sullivan had been after El and any project created Brenner for a while now."

"Damn," Eddie whistled.

"Of course, there's one thing they couldn't change," she said.

"The court of public opinion," Eddie sighed.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm going to fix that. I'm going to write until my fingers bleed - ," Nancy said.

Eddie groaned as he reached over and took her hand.

"You don't have to go through all that trouble for me, sweetheart," Eddie said. "How's the kids doing?"

"Traumatized as hell again," Nancy said with a sigh. "But we'll help them get through this."

"Shit! Wayne!" Eddie yelled with wide eyes. "The last thing I remember is him trying to save my stupid ass."

Nancy smiled and pushed back the curtain. Wayne was fast asleep in the other bed. Robin was asleep as well, snoozing on Wayne's shoulder. Her parents were asleep behind Robin. All three haven't gotten the best sleep. . .well, none of them had, really.

"They're good, Eddie. The kids are alright, too. It was crazy, actually. When we came here, it wasn't long before Erica, Lucas, their parents, Max, and her mom came storming in here. Susan had been picking up something from the store when she overheard a couple of jocks talking about heading towards the Creel House. They had named Max, Lucas, and Erica. Susan had snuck out, slashed their tires, and went off to my house to warn everyone. Susan and the Sinclairs showed up to the Creel House with my mom and Claudia. By the time the assholes showed up, they were face to face with the others. They were pretty sure that Jason and the others would turn their tails and run, but Andy attacked Erica. . .all hell broke lose. Luckily, they were there. No one on our end got too badly hurt, Erica and Lucas only got a few bruises. Jason and his friends are pretty messed up. They might not be able to play basketball ever again," Nancy said, and then she smiled. "My mom, Sue, and Susan fucked them up pretty good."

"Holy fucking shit. . .I'm glad we have the parents backing us up," Eddie said. "How's your dad?"

"Yeah, me too," Nancy said. "He's good. He'll have a scar forever, but he'll live. My parents are getting a divorce."

"What?! That's crazy! I'm sorry, sweetheart," Eddie said.

"No, it's fine. It's better this way for all of us. Their relationship actually seems better now that they've accepted the fact that they don't really want to be with each other," Nancy said, and she scrunched up her face. "I'm glad I wasn't the one to walk in on our mom giving him a proper goodbye, though. I think Mike's scared for life."

"What? Mike's back?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, they're all back from California. Including the Byers. Don't make that face. Yes, that includes Jonathan," Nancy said as Eddie furrowed his brow. "Baby, you don't have to worry about him, remember?"

"Right," Eddie sighed and paused, frowning. "Where's our Steve?"

Suddenly, someone burst into the room. It was Steve, and he was still in his hospital gown. He beamed at the sight of Eddie.

"You're awake," he said. "Is it going to hurt you if I kiss you?"

"Probably, but it will be worth it," Eddie said. "Get over here, big boy."

Steve shuffled over to Eddie and bent down to gently kiss his lips. Nancy grinned.

"Steve, babe," Nancy said in amusement, and he pulled away, turning around.

"Yeah?"

"Hello, Sailor!" Eddie exclaimed, looking at Steve's backside.

"You forgot your underwear again," Nancy said.

"Oops," Steve said.

"Happy accident," Eddie said, flashing his dimples and then frowned. "Were your wounds that serious?"

"Yeah, I collapsed after bringing you here when I finally had a moment to pause. Nancy didn't want to risk me leaving the hospital and dying of like an infection or something, so we've been here ever since," Steve said as he secured his gown tightly around him.

"Did you flash your ass to the entire hospital?" Eddie asked, cackling.

"Yeah, I think so," Steve said.

"You're an idiot, Steve Harrington," Nancy said.

He just grinned proudly at her while Eddie laughed again. Yeah, she was definitely keeping both of them.

OCTOBER 1987

Nancy sat comfortably behind the wheel of the RV, a place that had become their home over the last year or so. The people hadn't wanted it back after Eddie and Wayne had gotten their blood all over it, so Nancy had kept it along with Steve and Eddie. Ted had reimbursed them with a new one, anyway, using the hush money that they had been given. Sure, the memory of Eddie almost dying was a constant reminder, but it was easily overshadowed by the fact that they also shared their first kiss in there. Nancy smiled as she slid into the lot of the gas station, lining up perfectly next to the pump.

"Alright, I'll fill it up," Steve grinned and bounced out of the trailer, his long hair bouncing with him, and let the door close behind him.

It had become an unspoken contest between the three of them to see who's hair could grow the fastest. Eddie's had been set back slightly when that kid in that dinner in Colorado had put gum in his hair, so now Eddie was determined to grow a beard along with his shaggy hair. It wasn't going well. Nancy's hair was now long enough to tie into a messy braid down her back, which it was currently at. She was going to cut it when she went to Emerson. Hmm, Emerson. Nancy was startled out of her thoughts by a cry and then a loud groan from Eddie in the back of the RV.

"He woke the baby!" Eddie exclaimed.

Nancy turned in her seat to find a sleepy looking, shirtless Eddie cradling a bundle in his arms. Of course, Eddie had him wrapped up in his shirt. Nancy admired him like she and Steve always did when he had his shirt off. Her smile when she caught sight of his new tattoos. There was a new one right above his remaining nipple: a nailbat crossed over a shot gun. Nancy's and Steve's names were underneath it. Eddie plopped in the passenger's seat. Ace popped his head out from the blanket and yelped at the sight of Nancy, tongue hanging out of his mouth. He was a beautiful golden retriever puppy and apparently a little small.

"Aw, did Daddy wake you?" Nancy cooed, and Ace wiggled out of his arms, towards her.

Nancy took him into her arms and pressed a ton of kisses to the top of his head, narrowly avoiding getting the tail on top of his head in her mouth.

"I still can't believe they were going to put him down," Eddie said.

"Luckily, we rescued him," Nancy said.

"What do you mean we?" Steve asked as he came back into the RV. "That was all you, Nance."

"You guys were great backups as always," Nancy said. "So, we're sure about his name?"

"Ace Cerberus Wheeler," Eddie grinned. "I definitely still love it."

"Me too," Steve said.

Eddie had found a huge book on mythology on one of their trips and had insisted on reading it allowed. Nancy loved mythology, especially learning about it, but she definitely loved discovering Steve’s interest in it. . .the way his eyes lit up as Nancy and Eddie took turns reading it to him. Steve loved to read, but at the same time, he also had trouble with it. Nancy gazed at them fondly as Steve and Eddie cooed over their dog. It had been a long journey, but Nancy had loved every minute of it. . .seeing the country and all that it had to offer. She had even loved the hard times that came with it. Living in an RV for several months with two guys definitely wasn't perfect, but even when she had been frustrated, it had been amazing. Together, they were able to find a way to communicate and were able to let out their anger in a healthy way. Sometimes, it wasn't so healthy, but afterward, when they made up, it was exciting. It was all so perfectly imperfect. It was the best kind of chaos. Nancy grabbed the Polaroid and snapped a picture of them.

"You still coming with me when I go to Emerson?" Nancy asked.

"Of course," Steve said.

"Wouldn't miss it," Eddie grinned. "And as we discovered, we can find work anywhere."

"Did we ever say how fucking proud we are of you?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, those assholes rejected you because of me, and you worked your ass off the entire time, while still fucking taking everything in, just to prove them wrong. One day, you're going to stand up there, and you're going to make eat their words of rejection. We'll be there in the crowd, cheering you on and flipping them off," Eddie said and paused as he thought about it. "I mean, you writing in the RV, on top of the RV. You even stopped in the middle of the Grand Canyon."

"I love it when she couldn't find her notebook, and she used us to write on," Steve said with a goofy grin.

"I took a Polaroid of the one she wrote on me yesterday," Eddie cackled. "Totally getting that one tattooed. . .proud of you, babe."

"I'm proud of you guys, too."

Steve and Eddie leaned forward to kiss both of her cheeks. Nancy giggled and got up.

"I hope Claudia is okay with us bringing a guest to her Halloween party," Steve said.

"She better be! Oh, Steve, he fell asleep again. Shh!"

Nancy wandered over to the board with all the Polaroids on it. There were several of them traveling throughout the country. From California to Yellowstone to New York where they met up with the rest of Corroded Coffin and Ronnie. She smiled at the one with three of them in front of the RV, ready to embark on their journey for the first time. Nancy wasn't sure how she was going to go back to living in a house. She loved the RV life. . .Hopefully, everyone in Hawkins has calmed down by now. She couldn't wait to see everyone again and tell them everything. The several letters, phone calls, and post cards hadn't quite been enough.

Nancy stared at a picture of them in a small town in Texas where the RV had broken down. It had been smaller than Hawkins, and they had ended up being there for two months. They all worked at the diner, but Nancy had also worked as a tutor while Steve also played basketball with the kids there, and Eddie taught some of them to play the guitar. It was where Eddie discovered he wanted to teach music, and Steve wanted to bake but also coach basketball. Nancy loved the picture where she was writing with her back against Steve’s while he wrote a postcard to Robin. Both of them had been focused with their feet on each window. Nancy's hair was loose with a pencil in her hair, while Steve had his glasses perched on his nose with his tongue out. The next one was her most favorite. Eddie had fallen asleep on Steve and Nancy again. The kids had taken it upon themselves to draw on Eddie's face, much to Eddie's displeasure and amusement. Nancy smiled. When a metalhead falls asleep on you, she thought, keep them forever.

[fideidefenswhore]

What do you think about the whole Anne wanting the christening robe from Catherine that she brought from Spain?

The Lady, not being satisfied with what she has received already, has solicited the King to ask the Queen for a very rich triumphal cloth which she brought from Spain to wrap up her children with at baptism (en temps de la tesme (?) qu. baptesme?), which she would be glad to make use of very soon. The Queen has replied that it has not pleased God she should be so ill advised as to grant any favor in a case so horrible and abominable.

Chapuys to Charles V. (July 1533)

So, I mean...there's no record of this response, or any letters, that corroborate this incident? And there should ostensibly be a few, right? At the very least the letter requesting it and the letter of refusal.

All that's left, really, is to argue for the likelihood based on what we know.

Against: Anne doesn't seem to have wanted reminders of Catherine around? She didn't like that Henry's shirts were being made for her by that reason, it's theorized she "could not abide the sight" of monkeys because they were Catherine's favorite pets, etc.

Moreoever, the argument Borman has made that this was a symbol of legitimate royal blood, I mean...sure, it definitely was, but it was passed down through the Trasmataras? It seems strange that Anne would request it as seeing her future child as an extension of that dynasty, actually, it makes like...no sense. Had the christening robe been one used by Henry and his siblings, perhaps his mother and theirs, and for some reason Catherine had this in her possession, then it would make sense.

And doubly, the argument Henry was making at this time was that his children by Catherine could not have even be bona fides, because the marriage contravened divine law. So, the christening robe, as far as their perspective would have went, would actually be associated with illegitimacy (since it was used for the children of Henry and Catherine), thus asking for it would be contradictory to the beliefs they espoused, as would the imagery of that symbol.

Since it doesn't make any sense even as far as symbolism goes, if Anne requested it, the gesture could only have come from a place of cruelty and pettiness. There's reports of Anne being petty and cruel, so that does nothing to disprove anything, really. In this vein, Elizabeth Norton states that Anne “spotted  an opportunity to continue her persecution of Catherine”.

So, maybe the argument can be made that the request was not even so much a symbol of power and legitimacy, as it was that the robe was said to be very beautiful and Anne thus wanted to use it? With perhaps the added benefit that some of her detractors might recognize it and seethe, Ainsi sera, groigne qui groigne

For: Anne did, if memory serves, take several items from the inventory of Catherine's goods and used them in her household, as did Henry. I have the quote of these items from a biography saved somewhere, I would have to find it, I can't remember if they were sort of more generic, utilitarian objects (gilt pitchers, that sort of thing) or if there were any that displayed Catherine's actual symbols. Either way, this demonstrates that Anne was not that adverse to reminders of Catherine surrounding her, so lends credence to the claim made by Chapuys here.

[coquelicoq]

the best reason to socialize is so that you will have stories to tell other people while you're socializing with them. it's a racket. a pyramid scheme. it's all built on air