#Dustin Nightingale

[these-summer-nights-in-december]

Beautiful Postcard Issue 1 has arrived with my collaborative poem and a host of awesome others!

Behold Issue 1 of Postcard!! 10 gorgeously illustrated poetry postcards, with a collaborative poem by myself and Dustin Nightingale, alongside Kelli Russell Agodon, Jared Beloff, Lauren Camp, Denise Duhamel, Alban Fischer, Tom Snarsky, Leah Umansky, Donna Vorreyer, & Mary Zhou. Editor David Wojciechowski has made a thing of great beauty, and you can get the complete set for just $20 bucks. And the next submission period begins February 1. What a joy to be a part of this first issue! Thanks again David! postcardlit dot com 

[princessxpunk]

Crew Socks or Ankle Socks?! We settle the Great Sock Debate here at AEW! Which do you prefer??

[joearlikelikeswrestling]

[westofessos]

Happy All In Day!!

Here are my predictions:

💚 - who I want to win

❤️ - who I think will win

No idea who wins the gauntlet but I’m calling it now. I’m standing firm. Bryan is world champion by the end of the day.

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 4/10/24

Swerve attacks Joe before his scheduled eliminator match with Dustin Rhodes and spears him through a table!!

Adam Copeland (c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo for the TNT Championship -- Penta goes for Fear Factor on the apron, but Copeland blocks it and pushes him into the ring post. Penta runs at Copeland, who catches him with a powerslam on the apron! Copeland goes for a spear outside, but Penta moves and he hits Alex instead. Penta lands an avalanche Code Red inside, then snaps back Copeland's arm, and covers for two! Penta springboards off the ropes, but Copeland takes him out of midair with a spear for the pinfall!

Solid match here with Penta getting a lot of offense in. Kinda dragged on for me though. Rating: 3

Body King and Julia Hart surround Copeland after match. Willow comes out to help.

Renee is with Jericho, Hook, and Shibata. Jericho says Hook and Shibata will sit under the learning tree of Chris Jericho. Lmao. He lays out what they need to do to beat Shane Taylor Promotions. After Jericho leaves, Shibata uses Google translate to ask what Jericho's deal is. Then he tells Renee that he likes her necklace. Lol.

Renee is now with Copeland, Willow, Stokely, new ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe, and Eddie Kingston. Stokely suggests that Copeland defend the TNT Championship against Willow, which I think is a phenomenal idea that should absolutely happen. But they agree to a mixed tag team match against Brody and Julia.

The Bucks are backstage with a screen to show the All In footage that AEW has been hyping up all week. God. They mention the altercation between Jack Perry and someone who tried to make everything about himself, someone who is a friend of FTR. Nick suggests that FTR is behind the whole thing. Matt says they can't make accusations without proof, which is an obvious sarcastic shot at the Punk interview. Matt says they had to be EVPs at All In and had to neglect being professional wrestlers, so there should be a big asterisk next to FTR's victory over them that night. They show the footage of Punk shoving and choking Perry backstage, before the people around them stop the fight. Matt says that isn't the worst part. The worst part is filling a building with the most people ever at a wrestling show, only to be distracted by something so stupid that you lose on your big night. And FTR had the balls to stick their hands out and ask them to shake hands. Nick says at Dynasty, they're not shaking hands, you pricks.

Where do I begin? I think blaming the Punk/Perry fight on FTR and using that as an excuse for the Bucks being distracted and losing to FTR at All In is a fine angle. But obviously, the only reason this is being done at all is to give AEW an excuse to show the footage, because Tony got his feelings hurt by the recent Punk interview that no one will shut up about. I think it's a bad look for AEW to still be dwelling on this eight months later, as if they need to rely on this drama for ratings, or need to prove something to someone. Although I am not sure what Tony thinks this footage proves, as it only shows exactly what Punk said happened and only gives Punk, the well-known attention whore, more attention. This company cannot keep acknowledging every shot someone takes at them. It looks pathetic. Tony Khan is a huge man baby and needs to hire someone else to run this company and make the decisions, because he clearly isn't capable of doing it.

FTR come out to the ring with a mic. Cash asks why the Bucks are showing this footage, other than to have an excuse for losing. They are ready to move on and put this in the past. Despite the fact that AEW is now doing some of their best shows ever, they are still showing footage from eight months ago. At Dynasty, FTR have to win, not for their legacy, not to be considered the greatest of all time, but because they are sick of these "petty little bitches," the Young Bucks.

Dax says they have eclipsed the Bucks as the best tag team on the planet. At one time, the Bucks cared about the three letters AEW, but now, three other letters have taken over, and they only care about what is best for the EVPs. Dax says they are building AEW so that wrestlers can have a choice. They are building AEW for hard-working people who spend their money on tickets. And if the Bucks don't want to be part of that AEW, they can go home, because FTR have got this. Dax says the Bucks may have laid the foundation, but FTR are going to put the roof on top of the house, just to blow it right back off!!

Great delivery by Dax here. I am not sure what to make of this, as FTR basically said everything I was thinking about that All In footage being shown. It's kind of strange to show the footage, and then have someone else on the show acknowledge why showing the footage was a stupid thing, as the reasoning for why it was stupid can be applied to the real-life "man" Tony Khan as easily as it can be applied to the kayfabe Young Bucks characters. Weird to acknowledge that you knew it was a stupid thing to do, but you chose to do it anyway. I don't know anything anymore.

Ospreay comes out to the stage for an interview with Renee. He addresses the recent comments that Triple H made about not wanting people who want to work a lighter schedule and who don't want to "grind" in the WWE (comments which were obviously about Ospreay). He says there is a rumor going around that he is afraid of the grind. And he is not sure where that comes from, because he is flying back and forth from the UK to the US every week and delivering some of the best matches the world has ever seen. Normally, he wouldn't rise to this type of bait, but seeing as the person who said it is "only in the position he is in because he was grinding on the boss' daughter," he will. Ospreay says he is in no position to tell Ospreay what the grind is all about.

I have a lot of thoughts about this. I think Triple H's comments were completely asinine and unnecessary. Who wouldn't pick the lighter schedule and more money?? An idiot?? But regardless, we're back to tonight's theme of this company being unable to ignore shots taken at them and let their own programming speak for itself. I kind of get the feeling that this is all coming from Tony Khan, and isn't necessarily what these guys want to be showing or saying on TV. But who knows. It's a mess either way.

Ospreay then moves on to Danielson. He mentions Danielson saying that Ospreay is stronger and faster, and his only chance to win is to ground Ospreay. Ospreay says healthier, younger, and better men have tried and failed. But Danielson is a living legend. And Ospreay can't call himself the best wrestler in the world until after he pins Danielson. It is time for him to show everyone why he is the ace of AEW.

Yeesh. So we are back to cringe Ospreay promos after a couple of unusually good weeks. I hated every second of that. Lmao.

Chris Jericho, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, and Anthony Ogogo -- Jericho lands a lionsault, then a top rope rana on Moriarty early on. Shibata tags in with nasty elbows and a nasty round kick to the back of Moriarty!!! Huge lariat from Taylor to Hook! Hook and Taylor trade elbows, Taylor takes Hook down with a headbutt, Hook lands a German suplex on Taylor!!! Wow! Beautiful Shibata hot tag action, as he comes in with boots in the corner, rapidly alternating jaw jabs and chest chops, a running corner dropkick, then a nice snap suplex for two on Moriarty! Shibata lands a back heel trip and goes for a tag, but Jericho pulls Hook off the apron, yelling about the plan and the learning tree. Lmao. Shibata gets a sleeper on Moriarty, but Taylor comes in with a big right hand to Shibata to break the hold, then Moriarty lands the Fang on Shibata for the pinfall!! Wtf.

I really enjoyed this match. I thought everything was done well here. Shibata looked awesome as always. Really sick of Shibata eating losses left and right though. Rating: 3.25

Dustin is with Renee. He says his strategy doesn't change since Joe was attacked. It is always grit, passion, and glory for him, and tonight will be no different.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Cristiano Argento -- Okada lands the knee neckbreaker, a dropkick, and a Rainmaker for the pinfall and looks so bored 💕❤💕. Rating: AWESOME SQUASH

Okada gets a mic and calls out Pac. He says he accepts Pac's challenge and will see him at Dynasty. HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!! Pac heads to the ring! The Bucks come from behind to attack Pac. FTR come out to even the odds. They set Matt up for Shatter Machine, but Okada grabs a chair. The Bucks go nuts with superkicks. Okada swings for the fences with chair to Pac's head. Damn!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS MATCH!!!!!!!!!!

Bullet Club Gold promo about what happened at Supercard of Honor with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn.

Renee is with Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm for a "champagne toast" that Storm has organized. Storm just throws the champagne in Rosa's face and partially wipes her face paint off with a towel. Purrazzo comes out to try to help, but Rosa pushes her away. This was a really weird segment.

Anna Jay vs. Mariah May -- They trade overhand chops. Anna with a nice blockbuster neckbreaker, then a neckbreaker over the second rope. Mariah lands a headbutt. Anna with a back elbow then a spinning heel kick in the corner. Mariah lands a missile dropkick off the top and a hip attack for two. Anna gets a couple of nearfalls with a hook kick and a back heel trip. She goes for something else, but Mariah reverses into a roll up for the pinfall.

This was alright. Not much to it. Rating: 1.75

Anna chokes Mariah after the match. Mina Shirakawa comes out to help Mariah. She feeds Mariah champagne and kisses her on the lips. Mariah is very happy about this. What is going on.

Alex Marvez has a sit-down interview with Mercedes. Mercedes says AEW made history with their first pay-per-view in Vegas, and she wants to make history again this year at Double or Nothing. Julia and Willow are both some of the best. She has been in the ring with Willow before. She talks about losing to Willow for the New Japan Strong Women's Championship and getting injured. She hates to lose. But she always has a plan, and she is on a mission. The lights go out. There is commotion. The lights come back to reveal Mercedes on the floor.

Samoa Joe vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW World Championship Eliminator Match) -- Dustin with right hands outside. Joe sends Dustin face-first into the ring post. Dustin's head is busted open. Joe with jabs, elbow, chops, Manhattan drop, big boot, running back senton, and a cover for two. Dustin with a powerslam. They trade rights hands. Dustin with jabs and a bionic elbow, then Code Red for two! Joe blocks a bulldog attempt and pummels Dustin with a huge lariat, sending him outside. Dustin grabs the belt and thinks about hitting Joe, but then throws it aside. Dustin lands Cross Rhodes for two. Joe with a huge STO in the corner! Joe grabs Swerve's steel chain. The ref takes it and hands it outside. Joe grabs the belt while the ref is distracted and nails Dustin in the face, then covers him for three.

Perfectly fine match. Just short with an obvious result. Rating: 3

Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch on Dustin after the match, but Swerve comes out to break it up with a House Call kick, then lands a right hand to Joe's head with the steel chain!! Security comes out to get between them. Nana hands Swerve the AEW World Championship.

[ijustthinkevilunoisneat]

Support Being The Dark Order

[elitehanitje]

Cody Rhodes Supports Body Shaming

"This is a vanity business. This weird online contingent doesn't realize how important that (physique) is. We're wrestling with our shirts off, folks, it's ok to go the gym...and you hear fans be like "You can't body-shame wrestlers" - what are you talking about? We're standing there half naked and you're paying hundreds of dollars to see us. Body shame me all you want. Currently, I know it might seem toxic and stuff, but amongst the boys and girls, everyone [is saying] who does your diet? Who’s training? There’s a whole ‘nother health-conscious' now in WWE, and I love that. We’re trying to look our best."

This is normally the part where everyone might rant about how wrong Cody is on certain points, but the fact that he admits his answer “might seem toxic and stuff” pretty much does the work.

The world of professional wrestling today is quite different from the past. Gone are the days of wrestlers who were just overly muscular; now, more fit and diverse athletes are the norm.

Someone like Adam Cole, who has been receiving a lot of body shaming lately, might not agree with what Cody Rhodes had to say. Nevertheless, Rhodes has made his stance on body shaming clear and has no regrets about what he said.

Especially when AEW haters body-shame wrestlers such as Orange Cassidy, Adam Cole, Nyla Rose, Eddie Kingston, Deonna Purazzo, Samoa Joe, Marko Stunt, Jack Perry, Zack Sabre Jr, JD Drake, Beef, Willow Nightingale, Joshi Wrestlers, NJPW Wrestlers, CMLL/Luchador wrestlers, The Young Bucks, and many more, many fans are trying to figure out whether Rhodes wants fans to attack AEW/non-WWE wrestlers or just insult wrestlers in general.

Hana Kimura committed suicide following a series of troubling tweets addressing online bullying and body shaming directed at her from "fans", she was found dead in her apartment in Tokyo on May 23, 2020. She was only 22.

Deonna Purazzo was harassed and body-shamed by many "fans" and she had to make a statement about it. Cody Rhodes' green light about allowing body-shaming wrestlers is a dangerous path toward harassment and bullying. Even a champion such as Zack Sabre Jr was being called a skinny jobber by WWE fans for winning the G1 Climax, not even knowing what his face looked like because they'd never seen him wrestle.

Marko Stunt was body-shamed during his tenure as a wrestler especially when podcaster Jim Cornette fueled his hatred toward him by telling his fans to harass the wrestler. Luchasaurus was fired from WWE when he filed a complaint against many people who bullied and body-shamed trainees and wrestlers.

Wrestler Sheamus was body-shamed a lot during his tenure especially because of his weight gain. Fans also quickly pointed out that Cody Rhodes' father, the late Dusty Rhodes was well-known to have a large body type, which is ironic that Cody allows this behavior. His half-brother, Dustin Rhodes is also an AEW wrestler who doesn't react to Cody, but tweets words of encouragement to his fans.

Some critics say Cody Rhodes is saying these things because he is playing a character, so he's becoming toxic. But this is actually a genuine interview from him, not when he was playing a character. He wants to appeal to those WWE toxic fans who like to insult AEW, Japanese wrestlers, and Luchas wrestlers.

Critics immediately have something to say about his toxic beliefs:

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Nightingales

A Stedancy fanfiction

Summary: Nancy helps Steve take care of an injured Eddie.

Nancy let herself in like Steve said she should. She found him in his kitchen, shirtless with bandages on his back, wrapped around his arms, and his stomach. Steve was leaning against the counter, drinking a glass of water.

"Hey," Nancy said softly.

"Hey," Steve said.

She noticed how tired he was. They all were. It would be a long time before anything would get back to normal, if at all.

"How's Eddie?" Nancy asked.

"Worse than I am, he's sleeping right now," Steve said and sighed. "At least mine are getting better. It seems like sometimes his bites are getting worse. Although the doctor did talk about the possibility of the nerve damage being permanent. I hope not. He doesn't deserve that."

"No, he doesn't," Nancy whispered. "Do you need any help with him? I'll be glad to help. I figured I'd see Dustin over here."

"Yeah, Dustin got into a fight with his mother. She wanted him to stick around, didn't want him wandering off, which I don't blame her. The gates are closed, but they all know now, and the jocks are still on the warpath even though Eddie's been cleared of all charges. Plus, the whole fiasco with the police. . .Anyway, Dustin, as usual, put his foot in his mouth, so now he's grounded," Steve said.

"Yeah, Mike's been put on lock down, too, and he says that Lucas has as well," Nancy said. "The only reason that I got out is that I'm legally an adult, and I chose to stay in that house for as long as possible."

"They're all scared," Steve said.

"Yeah, I don't blame them, either," Nancy said. "Mom's pretty pissed at Joyce and Hopper for keeping them in the dark."

"I don't blame them for that either," Steve said.

"So, I guess Robin's parents have her on lockdown, too?" Nancy asked.

"Oh, yeah, and they don't care that she's now legally an adult either," he said as he finished his water.

Nancy watched him his swallow, staring at his throat for longer than she should have.

"So, you've got no one here to help you out with Eddie?" Nancy asked.

"I mean, Wayne comes by when he can, and Jeff. Gareth, of course, is being taken care of by his mother. His hand is still messed up. Doug refuses to step foot in here," Steve said. "Even if it's for Eddie."

"Why doesn't Doug want to step foot in here?" Nancy asked.

"In his eyes, all jocks are bullies," Steve rolled his eyes. "He tried to convince Jeff and Wayne to break Eddie out of here. I think Wayne might have given him what for, though."

"Well, that's not right. Even back then, you didn't toss anyone around. You were always there to stop Tommy and Carol," Nancy said, and then she smiled. "I wouldn't call you a bully, but a douchebag? Oh, yeah."

"That's fair," Steve smirked.

"Still, you saved his life, Doug should know that you're not a bully just because of your interests," Nancy said.

"It couldn't have been easy to watch Gareth get thrown around like that, especially in Gareth's own garage," Steve said.

"You're a lot more understanding than he is," Nancy said, looking at him softly.

"He'll come around, Eddie did, and if he doesn't, then it's his loss. It's too bad, though, I make really good brownies," Steve said and she laughed.

"I broke up with Jonathan," Nancy said, and Steve smiled, opening his mouth.

"AHHHH!"

Steve and Nancy both jumped. They looked at each other.

"Is that - ?"

"Nightmare."

They both took off. Nancy ran after Steve, her heart racing.

"CHRISSY! WAKE UP!"

They burst through the spare bedroom. Eddie was thrashing about, with the soaked sheets twisted around his legs. Nancy moved toward him, but Steve held her back.

"Eddie! Wake up! You're having a bad dream!" Steve yelled. "EDDIE!"

Eddie's eyes snapped open, and his arm shot out. He hit the pillow next to him.

"Fuck," Eddie sobbed. "I pissed myself again."

"It's okay, Eddie," Steve said and moved towards him. "Let's get you to the bathroom."

Steve and Nancy helped peel back the sheets before helping him sit up.

"You don't have to do that," Eddie said to Nancy.

"I want to. . .unless, do you not want me to help?" Nancy asked.

"I don't care," he scoffed, and Nancy smiled.

Nancy wrapped an arm around Eddie while Steve did the same on his other side. Together, Steve and Nancy helped him to the bathroom. They set him down on the toilet seat.

"You need a bath," Nancy said. "Do you want us to help with that?"

"Steve struggles when he gives me a bath," Eddie mumbled.

"Yeah, he tries to bite me when I give him one," Steve said. "Except when Wayne's helping me."

"Steven Nightingale over here forgets he's injured as well," Eddie said. "He needs a reminder."

"Steven Nightingale," Nancy snorted as she ran the bath, and Steve rolled his eyes. "It fits."

As the bath filled up, they gently helped Eddie out of his clothes. Nancy peeled off his bandages, and she couldn't stop the wince when she looked at his stitches.

"Yeah, it's fucked up, isn't it?" Eddie asked.

"Sorry," Nancy said.

"Don't be," he said.

"It looks a lot better than before," Steve said.

"Is he always this optimistic?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, yeah," Nancy smiled.

"I miss my nipple," Eddie said, holding a hand to his chest.

Nancy laughed and Eddie smiled when she did.

"Laugh it up, Wheeler, and be thankful you've got two of them," he said, showing her his dimples.

They lowered Eddie into the bath, and he hissed slightly before relaxing.

"Any particular way you like to wash your hair?" Nancy asked.

"No," Eddie said. "Go nuts."

"Well, I do. I got shampoo specifically for your hair," Steve said, as he grabbed them.

"You ever worried that one day you're going to go bald?" Eddie asked.

"Why would you say something like that? No, seriously, what have I ever done to you?" Steve asked and Nancy giggled.

"Sorry, I had to poke fun at you, big boy," Eddie said.

"Nancy," Steve said seriously. "My hairline isn't receding, is it?"

"No, you're good," she laughed. "Now, you've done it. He's going to be thinking about it all day."

"This bath is boring. You don't have any bath toys?" Eddie asked.

"How old are you?" He scoffed.

"Old enough," he grinned.

"Why don't you just play with yourself?" Nancy asked.

Eddie and Steve's heads turned to look at her. They both smirked.

"Okay, but you should know that I'm a screamer," Eddie said, gleefully.

"I mean, like, use your imagination," Nancy said, blushing. "That's not any better, is it?"

"No," Steve and Eddie said.

It fell silent as Eddie let Nancy and Steve wash his hair. Nancy smiled as Eddie hummed in contentment. She was pretty sure. . .was he humming Metallica?

"So you broke up with Jonathan, huh?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"So, like, any particular reason. . .?" Steve asked and Eddie snorted.

"Well, there are quite a few reasons. One of them is that we just don't understand each other anymore, and we both want different things," Nancy said.

They fell quiet again as they moved from washing Eddie's hair to carefully washing his body.

"Any other reason?" Steve asked.

"Well, I don't know, I'm trying to think," Nancy said, teasingly.

"Oh, come on, Wheeler, don't leave a man hanging," Eddie said.

"Okay, so one of the reasons might have been you," Nancy asked, smiling.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, grinning.

"Yeah."

"This is nice," Eddie said. "Do you guys usually flirt with each other while touching another man's junk? Unless you guys want me to be a part of this? I'm telling you now that you guys are going to have to do all the work. My arms hurt too much for me to even jerk off. . .hm, this is the most action I've gotten since that girl got dared to sleep with me."

"Sorry," Nancy and Steve said, pulling away and blushing.

"You know, if we were to invite you to sleep with us, I don't think it would be for a joke," Nancy said. "At least for me."

"Me neither," Steve said.

Eddie went quiet after that, his cheeks red. He stared at them for a long time, his dark eyes intense. They carefully got him out of the bathtub and dried him off before rebandaging his wounds. They carefully guided him back to the bedroom, wrapped up in the towel. They set him down in the chair, and Nancy sat down with him on the arm. Steve took the bed clothes down to the wash and came back to replace them with new ones. All the while, Nancy casually combed her fingers through Eddie's wet hair. He sighed and leaned into her touch. Steve placed his hands on his hips with a smile.

"Alright, done," Steve said. "I also got you some new sweats."

Eddie burst into tears and buried his face into Nancy's lap.

"Eddie?" Nancy asked softly.

"You don't have to wear the sweats! I can find you something else, you name it!" Steve exclaimed.

Eddie laughed and sat back up, wiping his face.

"No, Stevie, it's not that. I just don't want to go back to sleep," Eddie said.

"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to. The doctors just recommended that you rest as much as possible until you're ready to move around," Steve said.

"We were dancing," Eddie said softly, eyes downcast.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"In the dream, Chrissy and I were dancing in my old living room. She was laughing and smiling. I twirled her around, and then she did the same for me, spinning me out. When I turned around, she was frozen like she had been - her eyes like they had been in real life. Suddenly, we were falling because the floor had broken underneath us, and I kept trying to reach for her. I couldn't catch her, and I couldn't wake her up. I just wanted to go back. I wanted to dance with her and make her laugh. Suddenly, we were back at that picnic table, but her broken body was sitting there in front of me. I kept wanting her to wake up, for her to actually be there," Eddie sobbed. "I couldn't save her."

"Eddie, there wasn't anything that you could have done," Nancy said.

"I know, everyone keeps fucking telling me that and I keep waiting for myself to believe it," He sniffled. "You must think that I'm so pathetic, I clearly can't handle all this shit."

"And you think we handle it?" Steve asked.

"Look at you," he scoffed.

"Eddie, we may look like we do, but we don't have it all together," Nancy said.

"Yeah, we're complete messes," Steve said.

"You're just telling me that," he frowned.

"Eddie, all of us have nightmares. All of us," Steve said. "I may not scream, but I wake up in the middle of dripping with sweat, and it takes me a minute to realize that there aren't Russians standing over me ready to cut me open."

"Russians?" he asked.

"There was a secret Russian underground base under Starcourt that I got trapped in last year with Dustin, Erica, and Robin," Steve said. "They tortured me, then they drugged Robin and I without our consent."

"Torture? They tortured you?!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Yeah, I thought it was obvious with my bloody face and all," Steve said.

"No, it wasn't," Nancy said. "Oh my god, Steve."

"It's fine, I'm fine, Nancy," Steve said.

"You just said that you have nightmares about Russians standing over you to cut you open," Eddie pointed out. "Oh, yeah, you guys are a mess."

"We're going to talk about that later when you're ready," Nancy said softly and turned to Eddie. "I know what it's like to feel guilty about feeling responsible for someone's death. My best friend, Barb, died, and all I could do was blame myself for it. Not even getting justice for the people who were responsible for it helped. The only thing that did was realizing that there wasn't anything that I could have done and reminding myself of that. . .constantly."

"And time. Time and moving forward really helps, man. Take as many steps as you want, and they can be whatever size you want them to be. They can even be baby steps," Steve said.

"He's right about that," Nancy said, laughing with Eddie.

"It's okay, not to be okay," Steve said, squeezing Eddie's hand. "We all went through hell."

Eddie leaned back against Nancy, letting her start up the hair brushing again. He sighed, wiping his face.

"I hope you don't mind me asking. . . why do you feel like it's your fault that Barb died?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, well, I probably should talk about it. It's still pretty difficult, but I was just beginning to date Steve, and I was completely smitten with him. Will had gone missing, but Steve wanted to throw this gathering with Tommy and Carol. . .which now that I'm thinking about, I realize that you probably didn't want to be alone," Nancy said.

"Yeah, I did do that," Steve said bashfully, scratching the back of his neck.

"Anyway, ever since I laid eyes on Steve, I wanted him. . .all of him. I had this plan. Get a new sweater, get a new bra, and get on birth control," Nancy said. "I wasn't ashamed of how I felt, but I also didn't want to be one of the many girls that he had slept with."

"Uh, it actually wasn't that many, to be honest," Steve admitted.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Nancy asked.

"Because I'm not sure that you'd believe me that you were only the second woman that I slept with. I told other people that I didn't sleep with them, but they just assumed that I was ashamed of sleeping with those women," Steve shrugged. "Everyone just wanted to use me for my father's name and popularity. Nancy was the only one who didn't. I should have come clean about that because rationally I knew that you wouldn't be like those other people."

"You know, I never really think that guys like you have it hard, but life really is hard for everyone," Eddie said, shaking his head.

"Well, I found that with the right people, it certainly makes life better," Steve grinned at the both of them.

"Nancy Wheeler, I just wanted to let you know that you have competition now," Eddie grinned.

"You're vunerable right now, I can take you," she laughed.

"I think even if I wasn't, you could absolutely destroy me," Eddie said

"Oh, in the worst way possible," Nancy grinned.

Eddie stared at her, resting his head on her shoulder, letting her brush the hair out of his eyes. A look of realization appeared in his eyes, and they went wide as she looked at her.

"Holy shit, so the first time you two had sex. . .your best friend died?" Eddie asked.

"The first time I had sex over all," she said.

"Damn, I can see how that would fuck you up," he said softly. "I'm sorry that happened."

"For the longest time, I felt ashamed for my feelings for Steve. The last words my best friend told me was that what I was about to do wasn't me. And when I was looking for Barb with Jonathan, he told me that I thought I was being rebellious, but really, that I was every other girl who wanted to sleep with Steve. He told me that I was going to be stuck in a loveless marriage to a former jock just like my parents," Nancy said.

"He said that?" Eddie said. "What a dick."

"He was being defensive. I don't think he actually meant that. At least, I hope he didn't," Nancy said. "For the longest time, I was ashamed of how I felt about Steve. I was afraid that everyone was right. I was even ashamed of having sex. Even when I wanted to be with him, I felt like I shouldn't, I felt like this wasn't what people wanted for me, what Barb wanted for me."

"Forced conformity doesn't just belong to the conservatives," Eddie whispered. "You'll find that people do it in every group."

"Yeah, I suppose," Nancy said and looked at Steve.. "And as the one year anniversary of Barb's death came up, the anniversary that we had sex, I suddenly found myself even more ashamed. I couldn't breathe, but I couldn't think about celebrating that. I was drowning and I wanted to tell you how much I loved you but I couldn't. You were there for me, you were there every step of the way for me during that year and I couldn't stop the shame I felt for loving you and also having feelings for Jonathan. He was the easier path to follow, the one that hurt the less. It was always you, Steve. I have always loved you. No one else got me the way that you did. No one else saw me the way that you did. It's always been you, Steve Harrington."

Steve had been holding his face in his hands and finally, his body started to shake with sobs.

"If you don't go to him, I will," Eddie said.

Nancy kissed Eddie's forehead, got up, and slid into Steve's lap. She tilted his head up, his red rimmed eyes meeting hers.

"Sorry about crying," Steve said.

"It's sweet," Nancy said.

She kissed Steve’s forehead, both cheeks, as well as a kiss on his nose before finally pressing her lips to his. She could feel more tears spill out, and a little sob came out as he kissed her back. She smiled and deepened it further, wrapping her arms around his neck as he placed his hands on her hips. Her decision solidified even further as she slipped her tongue into his mouth, and he let out a moan. She suddenly felt like there were eyes on the back of her neck, and she remembered that Eddie was still in the room. Nancy didn't stop, and she didn't want to stop. She wanted Eddie to keep watching. Steve was the one to break the kiss, however.

"Sorry, Eddie, we forgot you were there," Steve said.

"No, man, it was a great show," Eddie said, his smile so wide his dimples were showing and his eyes were twinkling.

Nancy looked at Steve's hair, running her hands through it.

"You know, I think your hair might be receding a little," she said thoughtfully.

"What?!"

"You're right, Eddie, that was fun," Nancy said, and Eddie cackled.

Over the next couple of weeks, Nancy spent time between her house and Steve's. She was determined to help both Steve and Eddie, even when Steve didn't realize that she was helping him. Eddie was starting to move around more, and he could even walk downstairs, although he had to have help. Nancy insisted on having their first date at his house and having Eddie join them. Eddie, however, didn't know that it was a date, but Nancy just couldn't leave him out. Neither could Steve, apparently.

"Okay, so, I heard that you're going to Emerson, or at least you're planning to," Eddie said as he slurped the spaghetti.

"Oh, well, we don't have to talk about that," Nancy said, blushing.

"Did those idiots reject you?" Eddie asked. "Because I read the article that you wrote about me. . .thank you, by the way. . .it was totally metal. They'd be stupid to reject you."

"I agree," Nancy said, looking down at her food.

"I didn't know they rejected you, I thought you had gotten accepted," Steve said.

"Well, I did, but they sort of took it back," Nancy said.

"Hold on, did they - did they reject you because you helped me?" Eddie asked.

"No!" Nancy lied, and Eddie gave her a look. "Okay, yes, they did, but that makes them total assholes!"

"Goddamnit!" Eddie cursed, dropping his fork.

"Eddie, I don't regret helping you. As long as I live, I will never regret helping you or helping save this town. We saved the world, and maybe no one will ever know about that, but I'm okay with that. I would set my own career on fire if it meant saving you. . .this town. I risked it all to get justice for Barb and I'd do it again. I lost my job last summer to find the truth. There's nothing that I wouldn't do in order to do the right thing. Saving you was the right thing to do, Eddie Munson, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Nancy Wheeler, she cares about people," Steve said proudly.

"It's just. . .your dream," Eddie said.

"Emerson rejecting me isn't going to stop me from writing," Nancy said. "I can do anything and still write. Plus, I am putting in my applications to other places, and I know that one of them is going to accept me. When I do get accepted, I'll send Emerson a poloroid of the acceptance latter, a picture of my middle finger, and maybe a picture of my ass. One day, when I make it big, they're going to regret rejecting Nancy Wheeler."

"Well, damn," Eddie grinned. "That's definitely a plan."

"She always has one," Steve said.

"Quit trying to make me fall in love with you, Wheeler, you're taken," Eddie said and shoved spaghetti into his mouth. "You and Steve both. . .you're killing me."

Nancy and Steve smiled at each other as Eddie ducked his head as he ate. Ducking his head caused his hair to fall into the spaghetti. Steve rolled his eyes and pulled a scrunchie out of his pocket. He got up and pulled Eddie's hair up into a ponytail.

"Eddie!" Steve clucked his tongue, and Nancy laughed.

As Nancy waited to hear back from colleges, she kept busy. She wrote and sent papers out to other newspapers. She did end up getting a part-time job at Bradley's Big Buy, which was a good distraction as well. During all of that, she managed to keep up with Steve and Eddie. They were a handful now but also a wonderful distraction. Eddie was moving around even more now, and he could even take baths by himself. He can also walk down into the living room without any help. Robin was the first one out of lockdown. . .well, officially. She still went to work with Steve.

"When you said, you were spending time with both Nancy and Eddie, I didn't know you meant like this," Robin said after bursting into his living room.

Steve was sprawled out next to Nancy on the couch. Steve was shirtless and wearing sweats. Meanwhile, Nancy was wearing Steve's shirt and no pants. Her legs were draped over Eddie's shoulders as he sat on the floor and let her braid his hair while he massaged her feet. The television was blaring in front of them.

"What did you think that I meant, you knew I was taking care of Eddie? Did you think I'd keep them separated?" Steve asked.

"Your girlfriend has her bare legs wrapped around another guy's neck," Robin said.

"I noticed," Steve said.

"I've touched his dick, too," Nancy said and Eddie snorted. "Then again, so has Steve."

"Does that make you more or less confused?" Eddie asked.

"More," Robin said. "You know, I don't want to know. . .unless you'd rather just put me out of misery and tell me."

"We're friends, Robin," Nancy said, rolling her eyes. "I've been helping Steve nurse him back to health."

"You tend to get a little close when you give a grown man a bath," Steve said.

"Whatever, so, my parents finally freed me, and I'm pretty sure that it won't be long before the other parents start to cave," Robin said.

"I know, Dustin's been hounding me to visit. He really wants to," Steve said. "His mother finally ungrounded him."

"He's been calling like 24/7, not that I mind," Eddie said and grinned. "I'm already planning a campaign. . .it's going to be so fucking chaotic. It's going to be here, too, so Doug's just going to have to stow his shit."

"What's the problem with Doug?" Robin asked.

"He hates me because I'm a jock," Steve said. "He won't step foot in here."

"Well, Doug's going to get his ass kicked if he doesn't turn that shit around," Robin said. "Did he learn nothing? Don't hate people because of their interests! Hate them because they're assholes!"

"Ah, he'll come around, I did!" Eddie beamed, and he nuzzled Steve's knee with his cheek, looking up at him with his warm brown eyes.

"Hell, if Jonathan can come around then I believe in Doug," Steve said.

"If Doug could hear you right now. . .," Nancy said.

"He'd be a piece of melted butter like I am," Eddie sighed.

"Seriously, what's going on with you three?" Robin asked, and they just smiled.

The summer had been hotter than usual, and it seemed to last longer than last year. At least, it felt that way to Nancy. Maybe she was just eager to hear from the other colleges. Now that Eddie was able to drag himself outside, the trio spent a lot of time in the pool and a lot of time beside it. He seemed to be doing better with his nightmares, especially after talking with Nancy and Steve. Of course, that had to change when the worst storm of the summer hit Hawkins. Lightning flashed in the sky, and thunder shook the house while rain came pouring down outside. Eddie pouted, staring longingly at the pool, his nose pressed up against the glass door.

"The water is calling to me, Steve," Eddie pouted. "It knows that in order for me to be completely better, I need to swim. It's the sky that's against me."

"Yeah, the sky has it out for you," Steve scoffed. "Come on, we can sit down and watch television. Don't be so dramatic."

"You and Nancy love it when I'm dramatic," Eddie pointed out. "Ooh, I feel a rant coming on."

"Seriously! That's even better," Steve said and dragged him into the living room. "Nance! Forget about Magnum PI, Eddie feels a rant coming on!"

"Oh! I'll go make popcorn. Eddie, hold that thought!" Nancy exclaimed.

Nancy rushed back into the room with a bowl of popcorn and bottles of water tucked under her arm. She handed water to Steve and then curled up next to him. She waved at Eddie to start. They loved it when he ranted. It was one of their favorite past times. Lately, they've started coming up with topics to throw at him, but not tonight, Eddie actually had a topic in mind.

"Okay, so I was thinking about my mom the other day and how she left Tennessee because she fell in love with my dad. I mean, I think she would have stayed if her family hadn't been such complete assholes. How different would my life have been? I wouldn't be right here! They found out she had sex before marriage, and they kicked her out?! This is the same family who wanted her to get married so she could have sex and give them grand babies. So, she skipped the marriage part? What's the difference? Why does it fucking matter? It's because sex is disgusting, it's a tool to create more humans, and you shouldn't get any enjoyment out of it, especially women! According to them, anyway. Why the fuck shouldn't women enjoy sex if they wanted to, you know? It's fucking gross, let a woman have sex if she wants to and if she doesn't want to than that's great, too! It's like society wants women to have sex and also be ashamed of it, too! You know what? Fuck society! I just keep thinking about my mom. . .pregnant at 19 and looking at the only family she had. . .my father. Boy, she was disappointed. Women deserve to be treated like the queens that they are! Nothing should hold them back from doing whatever the fuck they wanted to!" Eddie yelled. "Or whoever the fuck they wanted to."

Nancy and Steve watched as he climbed onto the coffee table, continuing to rant.

"God, he's so sexy when he rants," Nancy whispered.

"Yeah, he is," Steve replied.

BOOM! A loud clap of thunder sounded from outside, startling Eddie right off the table and into their arms. The lights flickered for a moment, and they all held their breath before they went put completely. Eddie clung to Nancy, burying his face into her neck.

"Well, now, what?" Eddie asked.

"Strip poker," Nancy blurted out.

Steve and Eddie turned to look at her. They grinned. Nancy beamed. It had gotten Eddie to smile.

"If you wanted to see us naked, Wheeler, all you had to do was ask," Eddie said.

"Do you want to play or not?" Nancy asked.

"This was a terrible idea," Eddie said, a little later.

He threw down his cards and crossed his arms.

"Well, I don't know why you made the last thing you take off your socks," Steve said.

"My feet get cold, Steve," Eddie said.

Nancy, Steve, and Eddie were sitting around his kitchen table. Steve was completely naked. Eddie was only wearing his socks, and the only thing that Nancy had managed to lose was her shirt. She was pretty sure that Steve had lost on purpose. Nancy smirked and pooled her winnings.

"Oh. This is a great shirt, Eddie," Nancy said.

"That's my favorite Metallica shirt, Nance," Eddie whined. "Can I have it back?"

"Hm, I should try it on first before I decide," Nancy said thoughtfully.

She unhooked her bra and dropped it on the floor. She smirked when Eddie let out a loud yelp. She slipped on the shirt.

"I've decided," Eddie said, staring at her. "I like it better on you."

"You're evil, Nancy Wheeler," Steve laughed and she giggled.

"She definitely knows exactly what she's doing," Eddie said. "And I love it."

Suddenly, the lights flickered back on, and Eddie let out a holler. He rushed into the living room and started blasting Metallica.

"He forgot to put his clothes back on," Steve said.

"Did he forget or did he choose not to?" Nancy asked in amusement.

"I'm glad he's feeling better," he said.

"Me too."

While the storm had stopped for a while, it came back that night when they had all gone to bed. Nancy was spooning Steve as the storm raged on outside.

"I don't think I can get to sleep," Steve said.

"Me neither, want to have sex?" she asked.

Steve turned around in Nancy's arms and leaned in to kiss her when they heard a whimper from outside the door. They pulled away from each other.

"Eddie?" Nancy asked.

Eddie timidly peaked his head through the crack in the door, his hands over his eyes.

"We played strip poker earlier and he's covering his eyes," Steve said.

"It's for my benefit, I don't what to know what you do to each other. I wouldn't be able to get it out of my head," Eddie said.

"Well, we weren't having sex yet, so you're good," Steve said.

"Yet? Shit, I'll go," Eddie said, dropping his hand.

"No, Eddie, what's wrong?" Nancy asked.

"Well, I can't sleep, the lightning and the thunder are reminding me of the Upside Down and I . . . ," Eddie trailed off. "Can I sleep with you guys?"

Nancy smiled and looked at Steve, who nodded. Eddie crawled in between them, slipping underneath the covers. He laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling before turning over on his side and facing Nancy. She leaned on her elbow, looking at him. She stroked his cheek with her free hand.

"You want to tell us what else is bothering you?" Nancy asked.

Eddie sighed happily as Steve rubbed his back.

"No, I just want to stop thinking about it all for once," he said.

"You need a distraction?" Steve asked, his lips close to his ear.

"A really good one," he sighed.

Nancy leaned over Eddie and kissed him, her hair tickling his face. She felt Steve shift and attach his lips to Eddie's neck. Eddie gripped Nancy's waist, his hands slipping underneath the Metallica shirt that she was still wearing.

"Fuuuuck."

Things got even better after that, and suddenly, the three of them barely wanted to leave Steve's bedroom. Nancy really took control of the situation. There wasn't a single drop of shame in her entire body. . .there wasn't anything to feel guilty about. She loved every minute of it. She loved every touch, every kiss, and she loved being with both of them. She loved watching them together even more. What's even better was the cuddling naked afterward, and they let down more of their walls. . .it was all so intimate. The idea of being this intimate used to scare the shit out of Nancy, and it used to make her want to run away, and on several occasions, she did run away. She wasn't going to let fear stand in her way anymore.

"Did I ask you if I could host Hellfire here?" Eddie frowned.

He was sitting in between Steve's legs on the floor of the living room, his back against his chest as he scribbled in his notebook.

"No, you did not, but I don't mind," Steve said. "I plan on baking for it, anyway, I hope you don't mind."

"Are you going to make your brownies?" Eddie asked. "Please say yes, please say yes."

"Yeah, Eddie, I'm going to make my brownies," he laughed.

"Hell yeah!" Eddie said.

"I love seeing you so happy," Steve said.

He pressed a kiss to Eddie's cheek before ducking his head down and going for his neck. It was his favorite spot, Nancy noticed. She was sitting across from them, scribbling in her own notebook.

"I'm going to try my hardest to get off of work in time," Nancy said. "I don't want to miss a thing."

"Thanks, baby," Eddie grinned. "And Steve, I cannot finish with you doing that."

"Oh, am I doing it wrong?" Steve asked.

"You never do it wrong, but I need to finish this up for tomorrow," Eddie said. "And once I'm finished, you have my full attention, big boy."

"So, tomorrow? Are you ready for that? It'd be the first time the kids have seen you since you were on your deathbed," Nancy said.

"Oh, I'm ready, I'm just wondering if the kids are," Eddie said and rubbed the scar on his cheek.

Steve moved his head to the other side and kissed his scarred cheek.

"You're beautiful," Steve said. "And the kids love you. You're not going to scare them off."

"Fuck it," Eddie said, tossing his notebook aside.

He turned around in Steve's arms, kissing him.

"I can finish this article later," Nancy said and locked her eyes on them.

The next day, Nancy rushed into Steve’s house, peeling off her vest. She found Eddie watching Steve bake in the kitchen.

"It hasn't started yet?" Nancy asked.

"Nope, you're just in time, sweetheart," Eddie said.

"Good," Nancy said as Steve slid the brownies into the oven. "I have a surprise for you, Eddie."

"Ooh, I love surprises!" Eddie grinned.

Nancy moved back towards the front door.

"Alright! You guys can bring it in!" Nancy called out and then moved back to Eddie. "Dining room."

Eddie moved out of the kitchen with Steve and Nancy. Argyle and Jonathan came through the hallway carrying a chair.

"My throne!" Eddie exclaimed.

They followed them into the dining room, which was also the living room, and watched them set it up at the head of the table.

"They helped me break into the school to steal it," Nancy said.

"You broke into the school for me?" Eddie asked, clutching his chest.

"Well, not just for you, I think Nancy would find any excuse to break in anywhere," Steve joked.

"Our beautiful thief," Eddie beamed.

"Also. . .," Nancy said, ignoring them, and grabbed her bag.

"Ooh! More stuff!"

She pulled out a 2 liter of Mountain Dew and a silver goblet.

"I thought to grab the chair, but it was Steve who thought to bring you this," Nancy said. "We know that it's been a drag for you not to be able to leave the house just quite yet, so we wanted to do something to cheer you up."

"This is the most romantic thing that anyone's ever done for me," Eddie whispered.

He cupped Nancy's face and kissed her deeply before doing the same with Steve.

"Oh, wow, he really appreciated it," Jonathan said.

"Oh, man, I like you, Eddie, but I don't want you to kiss me," Argyle said. "I'm seeing someone."

"He's our boyfriend," Nancy laughed.

"Boyfriend?!" Eddie exclaimed. "You really want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, we were going to talk about it after the game," Steve said. "Now is a good time as any."

"This day keeps getting better and better," Eddie said, pulling them into a hug. "You won't regret this. . .well, only a little bit. . .okay, so, maybe a lot, but I'm going to make it worth it, I swear."

Eddie pulled away, his arms around the both of them.

"I'm glad you're happy, Nance," Jonathan said.

"Yeah, I'm very happy," Nancy said, scratching Eddie's stomach. "I'm glad you're happy, too."

"Yeah," Jonathan said, looking at Argyle.

"You guys staying for Hellfire?" Eddie asked. "The kids were wanting pizza, so Steve will be ordering that, but he also made his famous brownies."

"That sounds like fun," Jonathan said.

"One thing, though, can I make the pizza?" Argyle asked.

"You're going to want him to," Jonathan grinned.

"Hell yeah," Eddie grinned.

While Steve helped Argyle in the kitchen, Nancy and Jonathan helped Eddie set up in the dining room. It wasn't long before the kids showed up, driven by the parents. That had been the agreement to let them come over. The parents would drop them off and pick them up. They came rumbling into Steve’s house like a wild stampede.

"Hey! Slow down!" Steve yelled.

"Eddie!" Dustin, Mike, and Lucas yelled before barreling into him.

"Hey, you little shitheads, careful! He's not a 100% yet, I don't want you assholes undoing all of mine and Nancy's hard work," Steve said.

"Bless him, he's so protective," Eddie said. "And I'm fine."

"Nancy's been helping out?" Dustin asked.

"And she's been absolutely lovely," Eddie asked, giving her a one-armed hug and kissing her forehead. "Couldn't have gotten through this without her or Steve. Well, I suppose I could have but I wouldn't have wanted to."

"See? I told you he was awesome," Mike said.

"I never doubted you, Michael," Nancy replied, rolling her eyes.

"Don't call me Michael, Nancy Eloise!" Mike replied.

"Don't call me Nancy Eloise, Michael!" She yelled.

"Delightful," Eddie grinned.

A few minutes later, Jeff, Gareth, and Doug showed up. Although Doug looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. When Steve asked Gareth about his arm, Doug let out a snort of derision. Gareth elbowed him in the stomach.

"Yeah, Doug hasn't really forgiven me for siding with Jason," Lucas told Nancy.

"Yeah, but you came to your senses and helped Eddie," Nancy frowned.

"It doesn't matter to him," Lucas said sadly.

"I'll be keeping an eye on him. Don't worry about him. You apologized and made up for it. If he can't accept it, that's on him," Nancy said, squeezing his shoulders. "You have a good heart, Lucas."

"Thanks, Nance," Lucas said and snorted. "I told Max, and she's threatened to run Doug over with her wheelchair."

"How is that going?" Nancy asked.

"Good, better than ever. Her mom is doing better, too. Right now, her mom and El are helping her with her physical therapy," Lucas said and paused. "Hold on, do I smell Steve’s brownies?"

"Yes," she giggled.

"Hell yeah!"

Robin and Vickie, who also drove Robin here, were the last ones to arrive. Finally, the party could start. The feast was first, with Eddie at the head of the table. Nancy sat to his right, and Steve sat to his left. Doug, of course, sat as far away from Steve and Lucas as possible. When it came time to partake of Steve's brownies, Doug turned his nose up at it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he poisoned it," Doug said. "All the nerds are here. It would be the perfect opportunity."

He closed his mouth and took the brownie when no one laughed at his poor 'joke.' Nancy and Eddie narrowed their eyes at Doug. That was his first strike. They all decided to enjoy their brownies and hoped that Doug wouldn't put his foot in his mouth again. It seemed to be going well. They cleared the table after desert and set up the game for the people who were playing. The ones who weren't playing walked across the room to the living area. It was a huge open concept with the living room on the other side. They easily turned the couch around to face the dining table so they could see and hear everything that was going on. Steve collapsed on the couch with Nancy.

"Oh, is Steve Harrington too good to play with us or just too stupid to handle the math?" Doug said.

Nancy and Eddie glared at him again. She could feel Steve tense underneath her and she could have sworn she heard Robin growl beside her. Strike two.

"Hey!" Eddie snapped. "I don't want to hear that kind of shit from you again, Douglas."

"What the fuck is your problem, anyway?" Jeff asked. "You know that math isn't my strong suit, either."

"Sorry, man," Doug muttered. "I told you guys that I didn't want to be here. I'm only doing this because I didn't get to visit Eddie."

"Then fucking leave, man, I don't want someone around who doesn't really want to be here," Eddie growled. "And you not coming to see me is your own doing."

"I haven't played with you guys in a while, so I'm going to play," Doug said.

"Well, how about you be a little nicer to the guy who's invited you into his home?" Eddie asked.

"Fine," Doug said.

"Good."

"If it bothers him so much, I can go upstairs," Steve muttered.

"This is your home, Steve. If he says shit again, we're kicking him out," Nancy said. "He needs a reality check."

She leaned further into him, throwing her legs over his and kissing him. She stroked the back of his neck, running her fingers gently through his hair. They smiled as they watched Eddie switch into the role of dungeon master.

"He's just as sexy when he dms," Steve said, and Nancy hummed in agreement.

It was almost smooth sailing, and Eddie was an absoute rockstar with the way he weaved the story. Honestly, Nancy and Steve couldn't wait until Eddie started to play with Corroded Coffin again. It was nice to see Mike, Dustin, Will, and Lucas play together again. It was nice to see Will get to know Eddie as a dungeon master. Of course, it was going great until Eddie introduced a character that sounded a lot like Steve. Doug snapped.

"Oh, come on, did Harrington brainwash you?" Doug asked.

"Douglas!" Eddie shrieked.

"No, seriously? What is everyone's deal with suddenly being okay with Harrington and being okay with Sinclair, who betrayed us? Why is everyone okay with hanging around with someone like him who hurt us?" Doug asked. "Did everyone forget about what they did to us? What they did to Gareth?"

"I certainly didn't, asshole, and I'm more than okay with them," Gareth scowled. "Because they're not the assholes who hurt us."

"Come on, Eddie, you used to make fun of jocks and everyone else who hated us," Doug said.

She was about to intervene when Eddie slammed his hands on the table and stood up.

"Because not every hates us, we make the assumption that everyone does because a few people do! Yeah, I used to think like that, but I grew out of it. . .I realized that Steve Harrington was different from all those other meatheads who couldn't shake the fact that we're different, so that must mean we're wrong. Steve saved my life. He brought me into his home when he didn't have to, and he nursed me back to health along with Nancy Wheeler. They sacrificed so much for me even when I didn't deserve it. I was such an idiot, I screwed up the plan, but Steve picked me up and carried me all the way to the hospital. Nancy sacrificed her career to find the truth for me, for her friend, and for everyone in this goddamn town. I'm not brainwashed! I'm in love!" Eddie shrieked.

While everyone was all distracted, Robin got up and walked around the table, right behind Doug. She pulled the picture frame off the wall and went to raise it over Doug's head, Doug none the wiser. Vickie quickly ran to her girlfriend and took the frame away from her, putting it back on the wall. Robin pouted as she guided her back to her seat.

"What?" Doug asked.

"I am madly, deeply in love with Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for them. You're just like all the assholes who make the assumptions that because we listen to heavy metal, we're satantists! I won't have you talk shit about Steve anymore! I'm crazy about him, about Nancy, and I would do anything for them. I would bear their children if they fucking wanted me too!" Eddie yelled.

"Uh, Eddie, you're a man, you can't get pregnant," Dustin timidly pointed out.

"Don't rain on my parade, Henderson!" Eddie shrieked. "Listen, Doug, I think it's time for you to leave."

"What about the game?" He asked.

"I'll decide whether to let you back into Hellfire and Corroded Coffin when you decide to let go of your disgusting views," Eddie sneered. "We can keep playing without you."

"Fine," he muttered, and he pushed his chair back.

"And you know what's the worst thing about all of this?" Eddie asked Doug. "While you had no faith in Steve, Steve had all the faith in you that you'd come around."

Doug's face softened as he looked guilty. He sighed sadly before walking out of the house. Eddie sighed and sat back in his chair. Steve moved over to him.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked.

"Am I okay? Are you okay, sweetheart?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, more than okay, no one's ever defended my honor before," Steve said, blushing.

"You deserve it," Eddie said and pulled Steve into his lap.

"So, all three of you?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah," Eddie said.

"Cool!" Dustin beamed and everyone else muttered their agreements.

"So," Nancy said, leaning on his shoulder. "You're in love with us, huh?"

"Yeah," Eddie grinned.

Nancy looked at Eddie then to Steve, who smiled at her, his hazel eyes twinkling.

"We're in love with you, too," Nancy said.

Eddie kissed Nancy before doing the same with Steve.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that Eddie wants them to get him pregnant?" Mike asked.

"Well, it's not like we haven't tried," Nancy smirked.

"Ugh, GROSS, Nancy," Mike scowled. "We just ate."

"Ignore him," Nancy said. "I'm sorry about Doug, Eddie."

"I still think he'll come around," Steve said.

"Well, if Steve has faith in Douglas, then I do, too," Eddie grinned.

"I know what will cheer you up," Nancy smiled. "I got into college."

"Holy shit! Why the fuck didn't you lead with that earlier?" Eddie asked. "That's great!"

"It really is," Steve agreed.

"It's a lot further than I had hoped, but it's a good school with a good journalism program," Nancy said.

"We'll make it work," Steve said. "You deserve this."

"Hell yeah," Eddie said. "You worked your ass off for this, and you never gave up. You more than earned this. We won't give up either."

"I love you," Nancy said and kissed them both.

"Alright, anymore drama?" Dustin asked. "Or are we going to play?"

Eddie scowled and threw a piece of paper at him. He patted Steve’s ass.

"All right, let's play," Eddie said.

"You can't dm with Steve in your lap, Eddie," Mike said.

"I've done a lot of things with Steve in my lap. You have no idea what I'm capable of, Michael," Eddie said.

"Don't call me Michael! And GROSS!"

Nancy laughed as she sat back on the couch with Robin and Vickie. She watched her beautiful men, her eyes twinkling with joy. The three of them still had a lot of healing to do, but Nancy knew they'd get there together.

[nwonitro]

1-5-25

It's TIFFY time! TIFFANY STRATTON cashes in and is the new WWE Womens Champion!

THE ROCK was awarded shares by TKO to the value of $13.75 mil, I wonder if he's okay for a loan?

NJPW Wrestle Dynasty at the Tokyo Dome tonight will feature AEW stars Kenny Omega, Mercedes Mone, Dustin Rhodes, Willow Nightingale, Young Bucks, Mina Shirakawa and Ricochet!

CHARLOTTE FLAIR expected back soon!

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[wrestlingisfake]

Tokyo Dome times

I'm estimating each show will be about 5 hours. Pack a lunch.

Wrestle Kingdom

🇺🇸 Los Angeles - Fri./Sat. overnight, Jan. 3, 11pm - Jan. 4, 4am PST.

🇺🇸 New York - Sat. before dawn, Jan. 4, 2am-7am EST.

🇬🇧 London - Sat. morning, Jan. 4, 7am-noon GMT.

🇯🇵Tokyo - Sat. evening, Jan. 4, at 4pm-9pm JST.

🇦🇺 Sydney - Sat. evening, Jan. 4, 6pm AEDT.

All start times are for the kickoff match, the New Japan Ranbo for a future IWGP world title shot. This is usually a nothing match with a lot of goofy spots, kinda fun but also kinda skippable. It usually runs about 30 minutes, and then there's 30 minutes of dead air until the main show starts.

Wrestle Dynasty

🇺🇸 Los Angeles - Sat. night, Jan. 4, 7pm-midnight PST.

🇺🇸 New York - Sat./Sun. overnight, Jan. 4, 10pm - Jan. 5, 3am EST.

🇬🇧 London - Sun. before dawn, Jan. 5, 3am-8am GMT.

🇯🇵Tokyo - Sun. afternoon, Jan. 5, noon-5pm JST.

🇦🇺 Sydney - Sat. evening, Jan. 5, 2pm-7pm AEDT.

All start times are for the first kickoff match. This show has two kickoff matches: Willow Nightingale vs. Athena vs. Persephone vs. Momo Watanabe; and Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara vs. SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. A lot of people probably want to see the women's match, so don'cha dare miss it. AEW fans should take note that the kickoff matches will run during the second hour of Collision.

[these-summer-nights-in-december]

My collaborative prose poem "Don't Fall" in the new Idaho Review!

An early present arrived! My contributor copy of The Idaho Review which contains "Don't Fall" a collaborative prose poem I wrote with Dustin Nightingale. Thank you to Mary Pauline Lowry, Desmond Everest Fuller and everyone at The Idaho Review.

[hbyrde36]

Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy)

Chapter 9

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 ao3 link

*Eddie*

Eddie pressed his fingers to his mouth as he walked down the front steps, still feeling the ghost of Steve's soft lips against his own. He felt like he was walking through a dream, instead of the nightmare that his life had become in the past 24 hours. Though that feeling began to drift away rapidly as he got into his fan and drove away from the trailer, and Steve and Eleven. 

Once he was alone, with nothing to distract him and no sound other than the hum of the engine, Eddie couldn't help but start spiraling, just a little. 

Could Steve have really meant what he said, when it was far more likely that he had just latched onto Eddie because he was the first person who’d helped him after two years in what was essentially captivity?

Did Steve actually like him, or was this some kind of Stockholm Syndrome thing?

No, that was for kidnappers.

Florence Nightingale syndrome?

It was a slightly better match, but it wasn’t as if he’d nursed Steve back to health or anything. 

Okay, so maybe there wasn’t a fancy name for it, but the two of them had been pulled together under wild circumstances. Was it so surprising that they might cling to each other as anchors for their respective ships in this storm?

A little, considering they were both boys and he had been 100% sure that Steve Harrington was straight, right up until the moment he’d kissed him!

Eddie knew, at least for his part, that it was more than a thing born of shared trauma. He’d been crushing on Steve for years, and had fantasized about kissing him countless times. The reality of it had been better than he could have ever imagined, too good to be true in fact, or maybe that was him projecting his own fears.  

It was a scary thing to be handed everything you ever wanted, and even more frightening to accept it when you��ve spent so long being absolutely sure that it would never be an option.

As he pulled into the high school parking lot he decided to just put the whole thing out of his mind for now, as best he could anyway. There were much more important things to worry about than his love life.

The bell rang, and he watched from his parking space as students began pouring out of the school. He spotted Mike and Will first, the two of them having grown so tall this year that they stood out from the crowd. He peered behind them, knowing Lucas and Dustin wouldn’t be far off. The four boys were rarely without each other, except when Lucas had basketball practice of course. Which he must have today, Eddie realized, when he found Dustin bringing up the rear on his own. 

He stepped out of the van and made a beeline for the boys, wanting to catch them before they got on their bikes and took off. 

“Hey shitheads!” Eddie shouted, hands formed around his mouth to boost the sound.

All three boys whipped their heads in his direction. Dustin’s expression morphed from a wide happy grin into a worried frown in an instant. Mike and Will just looked confused. Eddie jogged the last few feet to them, in a hurry to get everyone on board and get back home as soon as possible.

“Is everything okay?” Dustin asked, at the same time Mike said, “Where were you today? 

“Everything is fine” Eddie began, holding significant eye contact with Dustin, then looking at the others. “But there is something back at the trailer that I need you all to come see.”

Dustin gasped.

“What is it?” Mike asked, sounding annoyed.

Will was quiet, watching it all go down with a slightly amused smile on his face. He was definitely in the running to be Eddie’s favorite today.

“All will be revealed in due time, young Wheeler. Go throw your bikes in the back of the van. I’m gonna see if I can snatch up Sinclair before his practice starts.”

Mike opened his mouth, either to ask another question or to argue, but Dustin elbowed him in the ribs and told him to hurry up. Will had already unlocked his own bike from the rack and was walking it towards the parking lot. 

Yup, favorite kid. 

Eddie set off in the direction of the gym. He opened the door only to see Chrissy who had just come from the girls' locker room. It was perfect timing. 

She smiled at him and ran over, her sneakers squeaking on the court as she did. 

“Eddie! You weren’t in school today. You okay?”

He smiled in return. Chrissy was a literal ray of sunshine and he couldn’t help but react to that, no matter how weird his day had been.

“Yeah, I just had some family stuff to take care of.”

He scrambled for a way to ask her to come with him. If things did pan out the way they feared, she was in very real and immediate danger, and he just couldn’t imagine letting anything happen to her. 

He didn’t really want to give anything away until he could prove it, and there were too many prying eyes and ears for him to just blurt out - I found Steve Harrington in the woods! But he had to try something.

“I know you’re about to start cheer practice,” Eddie began, “But…uh, do you remember all that stuff we talked about in the library?”

Her smile faltered a bit but she nodded encouragingly.

“There’s been some developments and I'd really like to fill you in on what I found out, if you wanted to come back to my place? The boys are coming too, my cousin and his buddies.” He added quickly, worried that she might somehow take his invitation the wrong way.

Chrissy glanced nervously around the gym, and he was pretty sure she was about to agree to go, when two things happened at once. The outer doors swung open loudly, revealing Dustin, Mike, and Will, who must have gotten tired of waiting and came to look for him, he guessed, while the door to the boys locker room was also thrown wide as the entire basketball team came trotting out. They were buzzing with pent up energy and Jason Carver was at the head of the pack. 

He spotted Eddie immediately and rushed over. With no hesitation the jock planted himself between him and Chrissy.

Jason crowded Eddie as he shouted in his face, “Get away from her, freak! She doesn’t want to talk to you. What are you even doing here?”

“Jason, stop!” Chrissy shouted.

He waved her back dismissively. “No, no, it’s alright babe, I got this.”

Eddie grit his teeth, fuming, and not only because of the way Jason was talking to him, he could deal with that, but the way he was so openly dismissive of his girlfriend. Someone he was supposed to love. Chrissy deserved better.

“What is it, Munson? You like to watch the girls while they practice, huh? You got a thing for looking up their skirts?” Jason accused loudly, then lowered his voice to a sinister whisper.  “Or is it the boys locker room you’re more interested in getting a peep at?”

It was a dangerous accusation, and it unnerved Eddie a little that Jason might have suspicions about him. If he’d said what he did a little louder, there might be a lot more guys looking to jump into this fight. He tried his best to ignore it like he would any other barb, but it was an effort to keep from overreacting and rising to the bait

“Oh fuck off, you neanderthal. We were just talking.”

“What did you call me?”

Eddie looked at Chrissy over Jason's shoulder and rolled his eyes. She stifled a giggle, stopping abruptly and going wide-eyed when Jason turned his head to glance back at her.

“Don’t worry about it, Carver.” Eddie answered. “Now, if you would just kindly back the fuck up so I can finish my conversation with the lovely Ms. Cunningham here, I’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy.”

“I don’t think so. What makes you think she wants to talk to somebody like YOU anyway?”

In Eddie’s defense, it had been a long and mostly no good very bad day. He stepped into Jason, closing the very small gap that remained between them until they were almost nose to nose. 

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” He said, jabbing the other boy in the chest with his finger.

Jason shoved Eddie away from him hard. He stumbled, but Will, Mike, and Dustin were all there to steady him.

“Stop it, Jason! He's my friend!” Crissy shouted again, still hovering but trying to stay out of the way. This time her boyfriend either didn’t hear, or completely ignored her. 

Eddie shoved Jason right back, pleased when he had to take a step back to maintain his balance. Unfortunately, Eddie hadn’t really been in that many fights. Guys usually took one look at him and backed off, assuming he carried knives and shit just because he wore leather and a battle vest. He was briefly a drug dealer, so maybe that had something to do with it too. So, he was a little unprepared for Jason cocking back a fist and punching him square in the face. 

Chrissy looked like she was about to jump on Jason’s back to stop him but suddenly Lucas was there. He caught Jason’s arm, stopping it before he could land another hit.

“I knew you weren’t really one of us Sinclair! I should never have told the coach I had a good feeling about you! I’ll have you thrown off the team for this!” Jason shouted.

He shrugged himself roughly out of Luca’s grip and walked back over to where the rest of the team was doing warm ups and pretending not to watch the drama unfolding in front of them. 

Chrissy looked torn. She watched Jason walk away, bouncing her eyes between him and Eddie as she gnawed on her bottom lip. 

“I’m sorry,” she finally said to Eddie. “I don’t know why he gets like that.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.”

She nodded a little to herself, sending a sad smile his way and turning to follow after her boyfriend. 

Eddie sighed. He’d have to let her go for now and hope that tomorrow wouldn’t be too late. He felt like an idiot, he should have known better than to approach her when that meathead was bound to be close by. 

“You good?” Lucas asked. Producing a small towel from his pocket and handing it to him to dab away the blood from his nose. 

“Yeah, sorry if I made trouble for you.” Eddie said, gesturing off towards the rest of Lucas’ teammates.”

“Don't worry about it, they all know how Jason can be. I’m sure the whole thing will be forgotten by tomorrow. What are you guys doing here anyway?”

“We need you to come with us.” Dustin butt in.

Lucas looked at all of them in turn. “Party business?”

“Don’t ask us,” Mike said, hooking a thumb in Eddie's direction. “He won't tell us shit.”

“I’ll tell you everything when we get to the trailer, I promise. We can’t talk about this here. You in, Sinclair?” Eddie asked.

“Fuck it, why not. Didn't feel like dealing with Jason’s attitude today anyway.”

“Good choice.” Eddie said, grinning. “Come on boys, let's get out of here.”

-

On the way back to his van, Eddie noticed Nancy and Jonathan about to get into her car. He’d thought for sure that he had taken too long and missed them, but somehow he’d gotten lucky.  Maybe the eldest Wheeler got caught up doing newspaper stuff after school. Whatever the reason, he was grateful. He told the boys to get in and trotted over to the couple.

Eddie found he had mixed feelings towards Nancy. She’d been so great about the investigation thing and told them everything they wanted to know, and she was nice about Eddie’s own reaction to it all, but there was a small part of him that bubbled up with jealousy when he thought about her and Steve being reunited. 

He knew she was with Jonathan now, and had been for a long time, much longer than she’d dated Steve, but the thought still set his teeth on edge. He shook it off, he had no reason to think they would still be interested in each other, and even if they were, it’s not like he had a claim on Steve now just because they’d made out a little bit. Nancy cared about Steve, and she deserved to know that he was alive and safe. Well, as safe as any of them were now.

“Shit, man, what happened to you?” Jonathan said as Eddie got close. He must still have some blood smeared on his face. 

Eddie shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “A disagreement between me and one of our resident jocks. No big deal. Listen, uh, are you guys busy right now?” 

The two of them shared a look. “Not really, why?” Nancy said.

“I can’t tell you here.” He was getting really tired of saying that already. “I’m sorry to be cryptic about it, but I think you’ll understand when you see. I’m taking all the kids back to my house right now, could you follow us there? There's something I need to show all of you.”

The couple looked at eachother again, confusion clear on their faces, but for whatever reason they agreed. Probably because he already had their brothers roped into something. Oh well, he'd take it. This had all gone much easier than he thought it would, apart from the black eye he could feel forming. 

-

The short ride back to the trailer park was uncharacteristically quiet. Dustin remained silent, though Eddie could practically hear the thoughts churning in his head. The other boys knew at this point that Eddie wasn’t going to give in, so there was no point in questioning him on the way. 

He pulled in front of the trailer and got out, ordering the boys to stop when they tried to walk right inside, insisting they needed to wait for Nancy and Jonathan.

He and Steve hadn’t exactly planned this part but Eddie made sure to stomp his feet on the steps so that anyone inside would hear them coming. He turned to his small assembled crowd, feeling like he should give them some kind of warning. 

“So, this might be a bit of a shock. Just…everybody try to be cool, ok?”

Eddie spun back around quickly to avoid the several sets of very concerned eyes that were aimed in his direction. He opened the door and stepped inside, doing a quick sweep of the room, finding Steve and Eleven sitting at the kitchen table with Wayne. He stepped further in, letting everyone trail in after him. 

Wayne, who’d had a sandwich halfway to his mouth, let it drop from his hands to hit the plate with a little thud. He rubbed at his face muttering, “God damnit Eddie.”

Eleven didn’t seem surprised at the influx of new arrivals, Steve must have filled her in when she woke up. 

“Wait, is that?” Lucas started to ask but was cut off by Nancy’s gasp of, “Steve?!”

Steve stood, giving her a little wave. “Hey, Nance.”

She hesitated, just staring at him for a handful of seconds before stepping forward and throwing her arms around him. “You’re alive.” She murmured softly into his chest, eventually pulling away to look at his face.

“Oh my god, you’re alive!” She said again, much louder this time and with tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?” She asked, reaching up to cradle his face in her hands. 

Eddie had that feeling again. He knew it wasn’t right but he felt like she was touching something that belonged to him. He held the jealousy in, Nancy and Steve had been something to each other once upon a time, and they were entitled to this without his interference. 

Steve lightly took her hands and lowered them from his cheeks. Then he finally looked up and met Eddie’s eyes, smiling as he said, “I’m okay, Eddie’s been taking good care of me.”  

Oh and didn’t that make his stomach flutter. Eddie could feel himself blushing a little under Steve’s gaze, glad that no one was really paying attention to him. Everyone was too focused on the missing person in the room, now found, and the young girl at the table who was a stranger to all of them.

Steve broke their stare after a moment and looked around at the rest of the assembly crammed into the small space of the trailer. 

“Hey guys.” He said, nodding to the younger boys.

Dustin, he greeted by name, causing the other three to look his way accusingly. He shrugged at his friends, mouthing the word sorry while looking far too smug to mean it, before walking over to take a seat next to Eleven. 

“Hey man.” Jonathan said, finally emerging from a stunned silence as Nancy came back to stand near him. “I’m, uh, glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks.”

“So that’s it? You found Steve?!” Mike blurted out, finally losing patience. Honestly Eddie was surprised he’d lasted this long. “I mean, not that that’s not cool and all but what’s with the secrecy, and why is he here instead of with his parents or Hopper?”

Eddie finally sidled up to Steve, close but not touching like he really wanted to. He wasn’t sure how he was meant to act now in general, let alone in front of this many people, so he was happy enough just to be near the other boy. 

Steve wasn’t. 

He took that one step closer that caused their sides to brush and rested his hand on Eddie's lower back where no one else could see. “Are you still sure about this?” He murmured the question softly into Eddie’s ear. 

Eddie nodded, even as his heart started to race from the gentle touch and the feel of Steve’s breath on his skin.

“There’s a lot we need to tell you all, starting with introducing you to someone. This is Eleven. She and I have been held against our will at Hawkins lab for the past two years.”

Mike, Lucas, and Will’s jaws all dropped simultaneously. Dustin grinned from his place next to the girl. She looked a little shy suddenly with all the attention and Eddie noticed Wayne gave her a little pat on the back in support. 

As he watched the interaction, and how the girl smiled up at his uncle, it hit Eddie suddenly how lucky he was to have made it out of that place when he did. Luckier still that Claudia had found him and took him home. He could have died, or been made to spend the rest of his childhood in that place the same way Eleven had. He honestly wasn’t sure which one was worse. 

-

Steve and Eddie took turns telling their parts of the story and then together explained the parallels between the game and the real world. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, it didn’t take much to convince the boys that they were telling the truth. They quickly accepted the fact that much of what they had played through was real and they even took Eddie’s backstory in stride, though they had a lot of questions that he didn’t have the answers to. 

Jonathan and Nancy were a bit harder of a sell. He was quietly skeptical, while she kept trying to poke holes in everything and seemed completely unwilling to accept that anyone could have the type of power they were claiming. Finally, with a flick of her hand El sent a magazine that had been sitting on the kitchen counter flying in Nancy’s direction. She caught it on instinct, her mouth opening in a soft ‘oh’ of surprise as her brain caught up to what it had just witnessed. 

The rest of the room went dead silent at the display, save for Dustin who was giggling like an idiot at having finally seen what he’d been waiting for since the morning. He offered her a high five, which she returned with gusto, smiling wider than Eddie had ever seen her in their short acquaintance. 

Things went a lot quicker after that.

Wayne didn’t say much throughout the explanation, which wasn’t surprising to Eddie, his uncle had always been a quiet person, but he watched the man's face fall as they reached the end and had to tell of Eddie’s character's death at the hands of Vecna via the demobats.

“You boys said things don’t always go the same as your game, right? Do you think…does that mean…is that likely to happen, Eds?” Wayne's voice shook as he finally spoke. His worry for his nephew clear as day. 

“We’re honestly not sure.” Eddie admitted reluctantly.

“That’s why we wanted to tell everyone who might be involved as soon as possible,” Steve added.

“There’s more too. Fred, and Patrick were victims in the story, and Chrissy. I tried to get her to come with us but her boyfriend interrupted.” Eddie said, mostly to Steve since the others had been there. 

“Yeah! You should have seen it, Steve.” Dustin jumped in. “Eddie got a good shove in but then Jason punched him in the face.”

Wayne shook his head, grumbling softly, “Gonna have to call that school tomorrow. Ain’t right letting my boy get hit like that.”

“I’m fine.” Eddie insisted, catching his uncle’s eye.

“Jason Carver?” Steve asked, jaw tightening every so slightly.

Lucas nodded, answering him. 

Steve touched his fingers lightly to Eddie’s chin, examining his face carefully. “Did he hurt you?” He said softly. 

It was almost too much, the way Steve was looking at him, and a lump formed in Eddie’s throat. “I’m fine.” He forced out, hoping his voice sounded more normal than he felt. He swallowed hard and tried again. “I'll probably have a hell of a black eye later, but that’s all.” 

“So, what do we do now, what’s the plan?” Will asked.

Steve and Eddie shared a look. “We hadn’t really worked out much past telling everyone what we had figured out.”

“What about Max and Billy?” Lucas asked.

Steve frowned. “Who is she again?”

“Max is a girl the boys tried to make friends with, she and her shitty brother, Billy Hargrove, moved here the fall after you got taken.” Eddie explained.

“What do you mean, tried to make friends?” Steve asked.

“We were all hanging out at the arcade once, a few days after we met Max.  Billy showed up early to pick her up. He saw her and Lucas holding hands and he freaked out.” Dustin said. “I’m pretty sure if we weren’t in public he would have killed lucas.”

“Yeah, he said some pretty messed up stuff.” Will added.

Lucas sighed sadly. “She wouldn’t talk to us again after that.” 

Will patted him on the arm. “She doesn’t talk to anyone, Lucas. It’s not your fault.” 

“He’s right.” Mike agreed. “She always acts pissed off, but sometimes when she thinks no one is looking her eyes go all sad. I don’t think she has any friends.”

Eddie didn’t like the sound of that. “So, she’s alone, and possibly depressed.” He pointed out, looking at Steve.

“And If Henry picks his victims like you said, then…” Steve trailed off.

“She’s screwed.” Eddie finished the thought. “Do any of you dipshits know where this girl lives?”

The younger boys all shook their heads, they didn't know.

“Cherry Street.” Wayne answered out of nowhere. 

Everyone including Eddie stared at him for a moment in surprise. 

How and why the hell did Wayne, of all people, know where this girl lived?

“That boy you were talking about, the racist one? I know his old man, Neil. He’s a supervisor at the plant and a real piece of work, apple doesn’t fall far, y’know? You go get that girl, but be careful.”

Eddie gaped at his uncle. “You’re seriously on board for this?”

Wayne laughed. “As if I could stop you. You boys go, I'll handle things when Jim gets here.” He paused to check his watch. “Which should be any time now. Probably better if you stay out for a while and let me explain to him what’s going on. He’s gonna blow his stack.”

“Jonathan and I can stay and help you explain it to him, Mr. Munson. If that’s okay with you?” Nancy offered.

“It’s fine with me, and please call me Wayne.”

Steve wanted El to stay behind too. She wasn’t happy about being left out while her brother put himself in danger, but she agreed once Eddie promised to keep an eye on him for her. It was decided that the four younger boys would go along with Steve and Eddie to the Mayfield/Hargrove house, because at least she knew them a little from school, and it would be less creepy than two older boys showing up alone unannounced. 

They were getting ready to leave when there was a knock on the trailer door. Eddie, thinking it was Hopper coming early, opened it without hesitation. 

It wasn’t the police chief, it was Chrissy Cuningham. 

She started profusely apologizing the second he opened the door, but stopped abruptly in the middle of her speech and let out a loud gasp when she spotted Steve hovering behind him.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you found him!” Chrissy cried out.

Eddie took her by the hand and pulled her inside, he didn’t want to risk his neighbor overhearing anything. “Actually, he sorta found me.” Eddie told her. 

She smiled brightly at Steve and hugged him before turning back to Eddie. “Is this what you wanted to tell me?”

“This, and a lot more actually.”

Chrissy looked around, finally taking notice of just how many people were inside the small home. 

“Why don’t we take her with us?” Steve suggested. “I think I can explain it to her on the way.”

Eddie shrugged and looked at Chrissy. “You up for a little field trip?” 

-

Dustin called shotgun. Eddie would have preferred to make the trip with Steve sitting by his side, but he and Chrissy had crawled into the far rear of the van so they could talk, giving the back seat to the other boys. 

The whole way there Eddie couldn’t stop staring through the rear-view mirror at the two of them huddled together. It wasn’t a jealousy thing this time, it was the fact that Steve kept catching his eye in the reflection, and smiling in a way that would’ve made his knees give out if he wasn’t already sitting down.  

When he almost missed a turn for the second time, Dustin elbowed him hard in the side. “Eyes on the road, Romeo.” He kept his voice low enough that Eddie didn’t worry about the other boys hearing it over the music, but he still blushed and swatted at the kid’s arm. “Shut up!”

It turned out that Chrissy knew exactly where the house was, since Billy had been on the basketball team with Jason before he graduated. They parked a few doors down, trying to scope out the situation a little before going in. 

It looked like the kids' parents must be out, as the driveway was empty, but a blue camaro that Eddie knew belonged to Billy was parked out in the street. That was going to be a problem. He had known better than to hope that the girl would be home alone but he still didn’t have any idea how they were going to do this.

“What if I went up to the door and distracted him?” Chrissy offered.

“Yeah! And then we can sneak around the back and find her window or something!” Lucas said.

Eddie chewed on his thumbnail, thinking. “If me or Steve get caught sneaking in a young girl's window we’ll get arrested.” 

Honestly if they got caught doing this, getting arrested for that would be the least of their worries. 

“You two can stay here then and keep watch. We got this.” Dustin said.

Eddie didn’t like it but he didn’t have any better ideas, so he reluctantly agreed. At least it was dark out now, so the kids had a decent chance of not being seen. 

Chrissy slipped out the back door of the van, and they all watched as she walked up to the front door and rang the bell. It didn’t take long for the door to open, revealing Billy, silhouetted in the doorway by the lights inside the house. They weren’t close enough to hear what was said but just based on the guy's body language she must have been doing something right. He leaned against the doorframe with his hip, smirking at her as he listened to whatever it was she was saying. 

They didn’t know how long she’d be able to keep it up so the boys quickly spilled out, going through a neighboring backyard to come up behind Max’s house. 

With everyone else now gone, Steve climbed over the back seats and settled in next to Eddie, taking his hand right away and squeezing it. It would have been romantic, holding hands with Steve in the quiet dark, had they not been so worried about the others and what could go wrong. 

About five or ten minutes had gone by since the boys had left the van, and Billy was still happily chatting with Chrissy by the front door. Eddie should have known that things couldn’t be this easy, that something was about to go wrong. 

Out of nowhere, all of the lights in the house began to flicker wildly. Eddie’s heart sank. It had to mean what he thought it meant, there was no way it was a coincidence. They’d almost been too late, still might be if they didn’t get in there right now and try to help the poor girl.

Without a word he and Steve both leaped from the car, perfectly in sync about what needed to be done, and ran for the house. Chrissy was already looking in their direction, a panicked look on her face. Billy was distracted looking around at the blinking lights. Neither of them stopped or slowed their steps as they approached the door to the home, pushing right past a bewildered Billy and into the house beyond. He recovered quickly, following closely at their heels and shouting at them to get the fuck out of his house. 

Eddie could hear distantly that Chrissy was trying to stop him or distract him, but he couldn’t concentrate on what was being said. They needed to find the girl. 

Thankfully the house was small and the second door they tried turned out to be her bedroom. It was a crazy scene. The young redhead was standing in the middle of her room stock still, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. He could see the boys standing on the other side of the window, they were banging on the glass and shouting. It looked like she'd been walking towards the window to talk to them when the attack started.

Finally Billy fought his way into the room. Eddie was sure that under normal circumstances fists would be flying by this point, but with the lights flashing and his sister having some sort of episode, it was chaos, and the guy didn’t seem to know how to respond to it all. 

“Music right?” Steve said.

“Yeah, let’s just hope it works. Everybody look for a walkman!”

Chrissy, Steve, and Eddie started to tear the room apart as Billy continued to shout.

“What are you doing to her?! You better get the fuck out before I call the cops”

Chrissy quickly found it lying on the girl's bed half obscured beneath a throw blanket. She shoved it in Eddie's direction. He popped it open, and after all of this he was still somehow surprised to find that the tape she’d last listened to was in fact Hounds of Love by Kate Bush. He shook his head, rewinding the tape to the start of the last song that had been played before shoving the headphones over the girl’s ears. 

He heard more than saw Steve bodily shoving Billy out of the room. Eddie was worried about him getting hurt, but he had to trust that he could handle it. Eddie had his hands full trying to save this girl. Once she was okay he could worry about everything else. 

The song began, the volume loud enough that it could be heard in the room which had grown quiet in Billy's absence. When Eddie had envisioned this moment, the young girl’s first battle with Vecna, it had been to the soundtrack of Running up that Hill. Though he was a metal guy first and foremost, he enjoyed all kinds of music, and was able to appreciate Kate Bush for her theatricality. He didn’t know why that was the song his mind conjured up, had never thought to question it. That wasn’t the song that was currently blasting out of the girl’s headphones now, however Jig of Life felt more than appropriate under the circumstances. 

🎵I'll be sitting in your mirror Now is the place where the crossroads meet Will you look into the future Never, never say goodbye To my part of your life🎵

“Come on, Red. You can do this.” Eddie murmured, shaking the girl by the shoulders. He wasn’t sure if she could hear him, and even if she could, he didn't know what he could possibly say to help her fight this thing. 

🎵No, no, no, no Oh-oh-oh-oh let me live She said come on and let me live, girl She said come on and let me live, girl Come on, let me live This moment in time, she said It doesn’t belong to you”🎵

The lights stopped flickering so suddenly that it was jarring, and in the same moment Max’s eyes shot open. She gasped as if rising out of a deep pool of water, swaying on her feet, and would have fallen if Chrissy hadn’t been there to catch her. Max grabbed on to Chrissy's arms, gripping tight as her breath came in short gasps. She looked frantically around the room searching for a danger that was no longer there.

“You’re okay, you’re okay. It’s over. I got you.” Chrissy rocked the girl gently, murmuring comforting words into her hair over and over again as she fought to control her breathing.

Now that Max was free, Eddie finally tuned in to the noise happening in the rest of the house, and he could hear that the raised voices in the other room had reached a fever pitch. It wasn’t only Steve and Billy that could be heard now, but the younger boys as well. 

He locked eyes with Chrissy over Max’s head. “Stay with her, I'll be right back.”

She nodded rapidly. “Go! Help them!”

Eddie rushed out to the hallway and found everyone in the living room. Steve was in the middle of it, the only thing standing between an enraged psychopath and the four younger boys. From what he heard, it sounded like Steve had been trying to explain to Billy some of what was going on, but he was refusing to listen. Then the boys had come bursting in, and Hargrove took one look at Lucas and lost it. 

Billy had his back to Eddie, so the asshole didn't see it coming when he creeped up behind him, snatched a commemorative plate right off the wall, and smashed it over his head. Unfortunately, it didn’t knock the guy out like he had planned, but it did send him to the floor. Eddie jumped on him, holding his upper body down, while Steve quickly got the idea and took hold of his legs. Eddie yelled at the boys to find some rope or anything they could use to tie him up with. They returned quickly with a handful of zip ties and a roll of duct tape. They made it work, finishing the job off with an extra piece of tape over Billy’s mouth for good measure. 

Chrissy and Max chose that moment to come out of the young girl’s bedroom, both staring open mouthed at the scene before them.  Max’s eyes were wide but sparkled with amusement as she watched her step-brother struggle against his bonds.

“What are you going to do with him?” Chrissy asked.

“I have no idea, but at least we shut him up for now.” Steve said between heaving breaths. He sat down on the floor hard, using the hem of his shirt to dab the blood from his split lip. Eddie tried not to stare at the strip of exposed skin that the move had caused, but it was a losing battle. He knew it was fucked up to ogle the poor guy while he was bleeding, but he felt less bad about it when he realized that Steve was watching him right back, eyes full of intense desire. Apparently seeing Eddie smash a plate over some douchebag's head had really done something for him. 

Dustin cleared his throat loudly, purposefully, interrupting the moment before either of them could do or say something they might regret in front of all these people. Eddie didn’t know whether to thank him for it or throttle him. 

Lucas was the first to approach Max, the other boys following close behind him.

“Are you okay?” Lucas asked. The tender expression on the kid’s face told Eddie that his little crush on the redhead hadn’t dimmed at all since that awful night at the arcade. 

Max gave him a small smile. “I have no idea what's going on or how you and your weird friends got me out of there, but yeah, I’m okay.” She said.

Chrissy stayed by Max’s side even as the boys swooped in to try and cheer her up, the poor girl was still clinging to her hand like a lifeline.

“Maybe we should take him back to the trailer with us, Hopper should be there by now. Maybe he can hold him for something down at the police station?” Steve suggested, mostly aiming the idea at Eddie since the others were occupied. 

“That’s not a bad idea.” Eddie agreed. He offered a hand to help Steve. He took it, letting the touch linger a little longer than necessary once he was on his feet.

Eddie raised his voice to be heard over the small roar of all the younger boys talking at once. “Hey Red, you got a problem with us kidnapping your shitty stepbrother?”

“No.” Max answered quickly, then hesitated before continuing, “but uh, I don't think I want to be alone right now. Can you take me too?”

Chrissy released the girl’s hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she said, “I think you’d better come with us anyway so we can try to explain what’s happening to you.”

Eddie caught her eye and nodded in agreement. “We’re definitely not all going to fit in my van this time. Maybe we could take two trips?”

“One of you could drive Billy’s car. I know where his keys are.” Max supplied helpfully. Eddie was really starting to like this kid. 

Together, he and Steve managed to pick Billy up to carry him to the car, the others going out ahead to keep watch and open doors. Halfway down the front yard, their captive started thrashing violently, causing them to drop him to the ground. Luckily for Billy, the lawn was pretty lush and probably cushioned his fall well enough, though Eddie sincerely hoped he hurt something in the fall. 

They were working on getting him back up, Mike and Lucas now helping now too, when Eddie heard a rustle in the bushes separating Max’s house from her neighbor’s.

Great.

The last thing they needed right now was for some nosy housewife to spot them in the middle of - whatever this was - and call the police.

Eddie shushed the group and had them lay Billy back down on the ground. He crept over to where he’d heard the noise. It was very dark in the side yard, since Max’s house didn’t have any outside lights other than the single bulb on the porch. He squinted as he got close, trying to see if there was really someone there or if it was just a raccoon, only to get blinded as the creeper turned on a flashlight that was aimed directly in his face. 

“Jesus H. Christ,'' Eddie shouted, stepping backwards as he threw his hands up to shield his eyes, and proceeded to trip over a branch and fall flat on his ass. 

Steve was at his side quickly, making sure he was okay, and helping him up.

The mystery person with the offending flashlight had also come out of hiding. Eddie blinked a few times, trying to force his eyes to adjust. It took a second, but once they did he realized they were standing face to face with Robin Buckley.

“What are you doing?!” She asked accusingly.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Eddie insisted.

She crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing the two of them curiously. “So...you don’t have Billy Hargrove trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, and you and your merry band of freshman, along with whoever else, aren't getting ready to take him and his step sister god knows where?”

Eddie sighed. “Okay, it’s exactly what it looks like, but I swear we have a really good reason.”

“We’re not trying to hurt anyone.” Steve added.

Robin tilted her flashlight up again, shining it directly in Steve's face this time. 

“Wait a second…Harrington?! I thought you were missing!” She all but shrieked.

Eddie slapped his hand over her mouth as he said, “Technically, he is still missing. It’s a long story.”

Robin glared hard and he lowered his hand for self preservation.

He turned to Steve, they hadn’t really talked about bringing Robin into things. She had mostly served as Steve’s side-kick in the game, and she wasn’t a victim of Vecna’s. She also wasn’t friends with anyone in the party, Eddie knew her from band but that was all. Now he wondered if there was some reason why, out of all the people in Hawkins, he had chosen her to be NPC-Steve’s best friend.

Steve seemed to read his mind. “You want to tell her?”

Eddie shrugged. “At this point we might as well.”

“I really love the way you’re talking about me like I'm not here, guys. Doing wonders for my belief that what you're doing has no nefarious purpose.” Robin said, clearly rolling her eyes despite the fact that they could barely see her.  

“Look, we can explain everything, but you’ll have to come with us.” 

She stared at the two of them, then looked towards the gaggle of kids behind them keeping watch over Billy. Finally, her eyes settled on Chrissy, going just a little wide as she recognized the cheerleader. 

Oh, that was interesting.

“Okay, fine.” She said. “ But if anything happens to me I will haunt your asses!.”

Chapter 10

Thank you @penny00dreadful for beta reading once again!

Taglist: @yeahhhh-suga @steddie-there @goinsteddie @brbsoulnomming @the-s-is-silent @paintsplatteredandimperfect @estrellami-1 @herebedragons404 @epiclazershark @mentallyundone @hardboiledleggs @manda-panda-monium @ellietheasexylibrarian @sofadofax @5ammi90 @bestwifehaver @eddie-munsons-lunchbox @soaringornithopter @buckleybarnes @adaed5 @goodolefashionedloverboi

As always, i'm happy to add or remove anyone from the taglist. Just let me know!

[d4jamso]

Alright bc the majority of you asked nicely here's the basic story plot for my byler pirate au :)

Will Byers is a privateer, captain of his ship SS Cleric, and well respected across the seas by his enemies and peers. He works under King Jim and Queen Joyce of the country of Haicela. Will is royalty, but his family was married in, so he never found his life in the palace, but on the sea. Wills crew on The Cleric are Princess Jane "Eleven" Hopper, Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, and many others in Haicela. Will has always encountered a prominent enemy, the infamous pirate Mike "Nightingale" Wheeler.

A runaway prince from the country of Eskaria, hiding underneath a fake identity. He sails the seas freely, scamming the greedy, raiding ships and docks, and exploring the world of its treasures on his ship The Cardiac. Mike's crew consists of Max Mayfield, Lucas and Erica Sinclair, Eddie Munson, and many others.

The Cardiac and SS Cleric clashed frequently, every crew member was well acquainted with eachother, especially Mike and Will, whose bickering over time had a gleaning hint of attraction, not that the two would admit to it. One day, darkness starts to spread across the seas as the kingdom of Eskaria is over thrown by the evil sea wizard Vecna, with the power of the powerful sea monster the Mind Flayer. They seek out to control the seas and all the countries of Hawkins and maybe even further. Queen Joyce decides that the only way to win this war is for SS Cleric to fight along with the army of Eskaria. Will knows they can't just do it on their own, so he reluctantly offers to make a deal with Mike that they work together to stop this evil, but for a price. Since they are pirates, they agreed.

The two boats set out to take over this evil with their bravery, and along the way, some special bonds are made, and Mike and Will learn they aren't so different after all.

That's the plot for it so far! It might change as I continue it, but that's the backbone of it for the mean time, I've also decided yes, I AM writing a fic for this😋

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 3/27/24

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Will Ospreay -- Shibata lands a big running boot to Ospreay outside! Ospreay comes back with a forearm off the barricade, then another springboard forearm into the ring. Shibata no-sells a series of elbows from Ospreay, then drops Ospreay to the mat with one hard elbow shot!!!! Damn!! Shibata with a running boot in the corner, repeated elbows to the face, alternating chops to the throat and jabs to the face, then a running dropkick!! Ospreay turns it around with a boot of his own! They trade abdominal stretch attempts, until Shibata catches Ospreay in the Flying Octopus, but Ospreay grabs the rope! Shibata slaps the arm to break his grip on the rope and goes for a German suplex, but Ospreay lands on his feet!! Ospreay lands a German suplex of his own! Shibata rolls to his feet and lands a German suplex!!! Ospreay ducks a boot and lands a back kick to the face! Ospreay springboards off the ropes for a flipping kick, but Shibata catches his foot and locks in an STF!! Ospreay gets to the rope. Shibata with closed fist shots, and while he is being admonished by the ref, Ospreay lands a big open right hand to the face!! Shibata with a big overhand palm strike to the face, then a kick to take Ospreay down! Shibata runs for the PK to the chest, Ospreay ducks, Shibata comes back with a PK to the back!!! Shibata goes for another, but Ospreay blocks it and grabs the foot!!! They trade elbows!!! Shibata takes multiple shots from Ospreay, then staggers Ospreay with just one elbow!!! Shibata with a big round kick to the chest! Ospreay falls back, but kips back up with an enziguri!!!! Shibata ducks a Hidden Blade attempt and locks in a sleeper!!! Shibata dumps Ospreay on his head with a sleeper suplex!! Geez!! Shibata locks the sleeper back in! Ospreay runs toward the ropes and sends Shibata to the apron!! Shibata hangs over the second rope, and Ospreay lands a stomp to the head, then a springboard dropkick!!!! Ospreay lands an OsCutter and covers, but Shibata kicks out at one!!!! Shibata with a huge lariat!!! Cover, but Ospreay kicks out at one!!! They collide with lariats at the same time!! Ospreay lands a hook kick to the face!! Ospreay calls for another OsCutter, but Shibata stops it with a sleeper! But Ospreay drops Shibata with a back suplex to escape!! Ospreay nails Shibata with the Hidden Blade!!! Cover, but Shibata kicks out at two!!! Ospreay lands the Tiger Driver 91, and Shibata just sits right back up!!!!! Aaaahhh!!!! Ospreay lands another vicious Hidden Blade!! Cover!! 1, 2, 3!!

That was great!! It was obvious that Shibata was going to lose this match, with Ospreay facing Danielson in a few weeks and Shibata being the most selfless man in pro wrestling, but that doesn't make me hate watching Ospreay pin Shibata any less. It was an excellent match with a great contrast of styles though. And it did take a hell of a lot to put Shibata away, which is good. This match really shows how much Ospreay has improved since they last wrestled each other. Rating: 4

The Bucks are with Renee. Matt says they had three goals: to retire Sting's old ass, to reinvent the Elite with Okada, and to win back their AEW tag titles. They have just one of those goals left to accomplish.

The Young Bucks vs. Private Party (AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament Match) -- Nick lands a German suplex on Marq on the apron! The Bucks set up for a Meltzer Driver variation from the top on Marq, but Marq reverses into a victory roll on Matt for two, while Isiah holds Nick's foot on the top! Private Party land the jumping rana off the ropes into the neckbreaker combo on Nick, then More Bang for Your Buck on Matt, but Nick breaks up the pin! Matt low blows Isiah, but Marq comes back with a belt to Matt's face and covers! Nick puts Matt's foot on the rope to break the count! Marq misses a 630 attempt off the top! The Bucks land the most awkward BTE trigger ever on Marq, as Nick slips and lands the knee two seconds after Matt. Lmaooooo. This gets the pinfall for the Bucks.

This was a good, solid match without a whole lot of suspense to it. It was entertaining though. I liked the cheating spots, and I loved Nick almost falling on the BTE trigger. Hilarious stuff. Rating: 3.25

Jericho and Hook with Renee. Jericho says Hook far exceeded his expectations in their match last week. He says he is proud of Hook for beating him. He says if Hook wants any advice, he is there for him. Hook says of course, he will take Jericho's advice, he's Chris Jericho. But also, he's Chris Jericho. Hook knows who he is. Jericho: "I know who you are. But more importantly, I know who you can be."

Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander vs. Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue (Number One Contender Match for the TBS Championship) -- Jay lands a superplex on Statlander. Willow with a nice missile dropkick off the top. Willow lands a DVD on Blue on the apron! Willow gets the pinfall on Jay with a gut wrench sit-out powerbomb. Solid match, but nothing special. Rating: 2.75

Mercedes is on commentary. There is a staredown between Julia and Mercedes after the match. Julia holds up her title.

Dustin is with Renee backstage. Butcher challenges him to a match on Rampage.

Toni Storm interview. The interviewer congratulates her on her title reign. She congratulates him on "whatever it is he does around here." She tells him to "crispen his enunciation," and repeat after her. Chin up. Tits out. And watch for the shoe. Lmao, ridiculous but great.

Swerve video promo. He talks about facing Takeshita tonight to determine who is ranked number one. He says their motivations are vastly different. His are for something bigger than him, and that's history. When he finally gets Joe one on one for the world championship, Joe will never forget what he does to him.

Trent Beretta and Orange Cassidy vs. The Kingdom (AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Match) -- Bennett piledrives Trent on the apron while Taven distracts the ref! Good double teams by the Kingdom. Spinebuster by Bennett, then Taven goes for the springboard moonsault, but Trent gets his knees up. Taven wipes out Orange with a running knee, and the Kingdom land Proton Pack on Orange for two! Top rope double stomp-assisted Beach Break by Trent and Orange on Bennett for two! Kingdom go for the assisted piledriver, but Cassidy takes Taven off the ropes, and Trent gets a jacknife on Bennett for the pinfall.

Really enjoyed this match. Great tag team offense by both teams. Rating: 3.25

Best Friends go for the hug after the match, but the Bucks interrupt it to stare at them from the top of the ramp for a moment.

Renee with O'Reilly. She asks him about his return to the ring on Collision and about the Undisputed Kingdom celebrating with him afterward. He says there is no way to prepare for getting back in the ring in front of the live crowd, and it felt good to rip the bandaid off. He loves the Undisputed Kingdom, but he isn't having second thoughts about doing this on his own.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Swerve Strickland -- Takeshita with a beautiful flying elbow. Swerve lands a hanging neckbreaker over the middle rope and covers Takeshita with a knee for two. Swerve lands a backbreaker on the knee and holds on for a suplex, but Takeshita reverses into a beautiful brainbuster! Swerve with a nice snap German suplex. Takeshita lands a huge elbow thag drops Swerve!!!!!! Hot damn!!!!! Takeshita lands a boot in the corner, a senton off the second rope, and neck crank with the legs! Huge elbow again by Takeshita!!!! Swerve handsprings over the ropes, off the apron, and into a rana on floor!! Swerve lands a cross body off the top for only one! Swerve swings, but stops and holds his neck. Takeshita lands a DISGUSTING ELBOW STRIKE!!!! Swerve goes for a rolling flatliner, but Takeshita catches him in a fireman's carry and drops him into facebuster! Takeshita lands a sliding dropkick to send Swerve outside, then a topé con giro! Takeshita goes for the top turnbucke brainbuster, but Swerve lands a headbutt and plants Takeshita off the top with a DDT!!!! Swerve lands a corkscrew senton off the top for two! Takeshita lands a jumping poison rana and Blue Thunder bomb for two! Takeshita with a huge elbow! Swerve lands a big right hand that drops Takeshita! Swerve goes for the rolling flatliner again, but Takeshita stops it with a jumping knee!! But then Swerve finally lands the rolling flatliner for two! Swerve with a double stomp off the top on the apron!!! Swerve comes off the top again, but Takeshita catches him with a powerbomb!! Swerve goes for something, but Takeshita reverses and lands that beautiful wheelbarrow German, then the running knee from hell!!!!!!! Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!! Takeshita covers, and Swerve kicks out at two! Ugh. Swerve reverses a Blue Thunder bomb attempt and sends Takeshita into the turnbuckle! Swerve lands the House Call and a double stomp off the top and covers, but Takeshita kicks out at 2.5!!! Wow!!! Takeshita swings, Swerve ducks, Swerve lands a headbutt, Takeshita lands nice jumping knee!!!! Swerve reverses a pop-up powerbomb attempt into a double stomp!!!!!!! Swerve lands a nasty looking JML Driver for the pinfall!!!

Oh my god, that was excellent!!! Takeshita was a complete rockstar, what's new!!!! Would have loved to see him get the win here. At least, would have loved to NOT see Swerve kick out of that nasty knee strike. But the result was obvious, and Takeshita did come out looking fine, kicking out of that House Call/Swerve Stomp combo. Fantastic match. Rating: 4.25

Renee interviews Joe backstage after the match. Joe says he will make sure that when Swerve signs on the dotted line for their title match, he understands what he is asking for. Swerve thinks he is ready? Joe says no, he's not that man. Heck yeah!!!!!

[lavenderstobins]

who's who in the dragon age au?????

Bear with, this might get long, so I’ll try and break it down by game.

Dragon Age: Origins

Chrissy is the Warden / the Hero of Ferelden, recruited by senior Grey Warden Ser Robert Buckley. I haven’t yet decided her class. Jason had been one of the recruits too but he either didn’t survive the Joining or was killed when trying to back out of it.

Jeff is the other Grey Warden, essentially filling Alistair’s role. Haven’t yet decided whether to incorporate more of Alistair’s plot for him yet! He’s a warrior.

Eddie and Wayne live in the Wilds. Eddie fills Morrigan’s role initially, with Wayne able to save Chrissy and Jeff at Ostagar—not as Flemeth, but as a passerby. Eddie’s a mage!

Nancy fills Leliana’s role. She’s a former chantry sister and a bard. She and Mike are fleeing from Lothering when they meet the trio. Nancy’s a rogue, Mike is a warrior.

Freak joins them at Redcliffe, where Jeff was raised. I’m thinking Freak is a warrior.

Gareth is a Crow (assassin) sent by Brenner to take out Chrissy. Nancy takes him out with ease and he offers to join them on their journey. He’s a rogue.

Barb also lived in Lothering, but she died in the darkspawn attack. She’d been a chantry sister same as Nancy.

Chrissy makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to end the Blight, leaving Jeff as the only Ferelden Grey Warden. He’s the one who goes to find the cure. The group separate after Chrissy’s death, which brings us to:

Dragon Age 2

Steve and Robin are both simultaneously Varric and Hawke. Steve finds his passion in storytelling and writes about their adventures and Robin ends up with the title Champion of Kirkwall. Steve’s the one with the family estate, Robin’s the one with the blood connection to seal away Henry Creel.

Vickie fills the role of the surviving twin, having escaped Lothering with Robin back when the Blight broke out. She contracts the Taint during the Deep Roads expedition and is saved by Jeff and recruited to be a Grey Warden.

Tommy and Carol fill Bartrand’s role, being behind the Deep Roads expedition. Tommy finds the lyrium idol and it eventually drives him mad, which prompts Carol to seek Steve and Robin out years later (after she and Tommy had abandoned them in the Deep Roads prior).

The Byers run the Darktown clinic. Will’s the apostate healer, with Jonathan and Joyce running the clinic with him and keeping him secret.

Max stole a Qunari relic and is trapped in Kirkwall, just like Isabela.

Lucas and Erica are two rogues who live in Kirkwall, friends with the Byers. Dustin’s also friends with them and has far too much of an interest in runes and magic despite not being a mage.

El’s a former circle mage, now apostate, who escaped the circle with the help of a Templar named Benny. Lucas, Erica, Dustin and El imprint on Steve and Robin like ducklings; I think they’d be getting into trouble in the city and Steve & Robin would intervene once and they’d immediately latch on.

Billy would be Meredith I think, I haven’t thought too much about it. I also don’t have anyone specifically behind the chantry incident at the end of the game yet.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Nancy’s a nightingale now, still filling Leliana’s role.

Eddie’s the Inquisitor rather than Morrigan, having been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He has the rift anchor in his hand.

Steve, Dustin, Lucas, Erica, Max, El, Jonathan and Joyce come to Skyhold once Skyhold is established. Steve claims to have no clue of Robin’s whereabouts, intending to keep her safe.

Hopper I think would have Cullen’s role, being a templar and an advisor. The other advisors are Mr Clarke, Nancy and Murray.

Briefly mentioned prior, I’ve got Henry Creel/Vecna as Corypheus. Robin’s father (Ser Robert Buckley) sealed him away years ago and Steve & Robin accidentally unleashed him while ironically trying to prevent his release.

Argyle is the potions master. I think Jonathan would become the stable master.

Vickie reappears as the Grey Warden contact for Here Lies the Abyss.

They don’t all fit the characters 1:1, more their roles in the plot, and as you can tell there’s a lot of overall changes! It’s SO fun though I’m having a blast

[westofessos]

Not that anyone asked, but I’ve been unhealthily obsessed with wrestling for a little over a month now (just AEW), and thought I’d share my personal favourites:

Favourite Trio: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, and it’s not even close. They’re just such a fun time. I don’t think there’s anything else to say.

Favourite Tag Team: MJF and Adam Cole. I mean, come on. I really didn’t care about MJF in the beginning (though I thought he was very good at what he did. Super talented), and I found Adam Cole kind of boring. But put them together and my god, it’s magic. Few things have made me as happy as the two of them together, and it’s going to shatter my heart when they get broken up. The bottom line, for me: MJF makes Cole fun, and Cole makes MJF a good person. It’s beautiful. I could talk about them all day, my god.

Top 5 Favourites in general:

CM Punk - I know opinions are very mixed on him, but it literally only took one Collision for him to become my favourite. Just so good on the mic, super enjoyable to watch in the ring, and he seems like a genuinely good dude. I just. . . I just love him. Nothing will ever change that. Plus, Cult of Personality is just fucking awesome.

MJF - Now, you have to understand, until these past few weeks this spot was 100% Orange Cassidy’s. But I realized just how happy seeing him every week makes me, and how all I really wait for every week is his next match or promo (with Cole, of course, but I think this will remain the case after they’re broken up). He’s just so entertaining, great in the ring and on the mic, and one of the few that I believe is truly a good actor. Just pure joy, every time I see him.

Orange Cassidy - Now, just because he got bumped down one doesn’t mean I don’t still adore him. I love his whole schtick, I really do. It’s very entertaining, at least to me. I really appreciate anyone who tries to be that different from everybody else. And Jane by Jefferson Starship as his entrance song? Goddamn.

Kris Statlander - The only woman in the top 5, for now. And only because there’s only one fucking women’s match every show, so I haven’t gotten to see them all or really get to know or like any of them. But Statlander. Wow. As with Punk, it only took one look at her to know I adored her. She’s just awesome, what else can I say?

Adam Cole - It took me a bit longer to love him than it did the others, but slowly but surely, over the weeks in his tag team with MJF, I began to just adore him. He’s great.

Ones that aren’t my favourite, but I do really like them:

Chris Jericho - Now, before anyone (rightfully) judges me, I will explain. I know that he’s a shitbag in literally every aspect of his life, but I can’t help but find him so goddamn entertaining. I like his whole thing, I just do. The hair, the jackets, the shoes, the arrogance, it just works. I also think part of it is because I grew up with my dad watching WWE all the time, and Jericho is his favourite wrestler of all time. And Judas is a damn good song, it just is.

Juice Robinson - A fucking nutcase who is entertaining as hell. I love watching him.

Christian Cage - What an asshole. He’s great.

Dustin Rhodes - Maybe just nostalgia from when I used to watch WWE as a kid? Even still.

Sting - Again, maybe just nostalgia, but I don’t care.

Keith Lee - I honestly don’t even have a reason here, other than that he’s just cool.

Komander - Cool as fuck! Super impressive.

Samoa Joe - Honestly, just very cool. He also really makes me laugh.

Willow Nightingale - So cute! I just love her, and was so happy she won the Owen Hart tournament.

Ones I could potentially like but just haven’t seen enough from yet in the time I’ve been watching:

Best Friends - I adore Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander but I haven’t seen much of Trent and Chuck. I’m sure I’ll love them though.

Danhausen - I haven’t seen him at all yet in any of the shows, but I have seen a bit of him on social media and I’m fully prepared to bump him up into the top 5 once he comes back.

Britt Baker - I’ve seen a few matches but definitely need to see more promos to like her.

Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley - I kind of feel the same about these three, in that I just need to see more before I decide to like them.

* if someone isn’t on any of the lists I either a) forgot about them, b) haven’t heard of them at all yet, c) don’t know enough to categorize them, or d) really, really dislike them (I was going to make this a category but honestly I just want to talk about the ones I like).

Lastly, I am deeply obsessed with this shit now and have no one to talk to about it, so if anyone wants to talk, feel free to send me a message. I have many, many thoughts and nowhere to put them 😂