#these writers didn’t do anything else in season 4

[fakeblue]

<— has now actually seen freddie

#wwdits #wwdits spoilers #its a pretty funny concept i wont lie i just wish the ending was better hhhhfhk #but ok yeah just confirmed my suspicions real quick #these writers didn’t do anything else in season 4 #idk why like. paul simms or stefani robinson wasn’t in charge of wrapping up a season long arc #anyways it’s not a bad episode by itself it’s just an odd resolution. also people who just watch for nandermo calm down or something. #they’ve put those guys on a slow burn they’re not gonna start really cooking for a while 🙄

[joequiinn]

The Dos & Don'ts of Fake Dating | E.M. x reader | pt. 5

[all chapters here]

summary: You propose a crazy idea to the resident freak of Hawkins, Eddie Munson. But maybe he was even crazier for agreeing to it…

notes & tropes: fem reader, slow burn, faking dating, opposites attract, bratty rich bitch reader, super minor revenge plot, not-quite-enemies-to-lovers

a/n: I'm very excited for this chapter because it's actually one of the scenes that inspired this whole fic! Before I knew what the hell I even wanted to write, I played this idea of a figure skating character over and over again in my head as I built up the story around it. I'm a little behind on writing the next chap, so it may be a slightly longer wait between this and the next one! Hope you all love it!

wc: 4.8k

taglist: @costellation-hunter @daisyridleyss @damon-loves-pie @damp4eddie @delilaaahhh @em0220 @fromasgardandback @kthomps914 @lotrefcp @marrowfrog00 @mewchiili @munsonssweets @no-bueno-writer @rach5ive @sav12321 @sheneedsrocknroll92 @steeldaisies @stormgrl19

You skated at least four times a week. You’ve done so since you were ten years old, when you decided that you wanted to take figure skating more seriously. Whether or not you had competitions, whether or not you were in the mood for it, you always stuck with your skating routine. With competition season coming up in November, you knew you’d have to start practicing more, putting in longer hours and more days in preparation.

Or maybe not. After all, competing was something that your mom enjoyed, that she encouraged wholeheartedly. Regardless of how much you enjoyed it, it didn’t exactly fit the teenage rebellion thing you had going on right now. Maybe you wouldn’t go to competition this year, maybe you’d skip out on your final season out of pure spite - now that would be cruel. Although a part of you hurt at that idea - because you really did love skating - you reasoned that it was something you had to consider.

Fridays were always very long days for you. While your peers would be set free to roam following the 3pm school bell, you had more obligations for the day. Once you left school, you crammed in as much homework as you could before hitting the ice rink by 4:30 at the latest to get your own practice in. Once that was done, you led a youth skating practice until 7pm, then you tried to squeeze in some more skating time before the hockey team took to the ice at 7:15. After arriving home at 8 o’clock or later, you crammed more homework so you wouldn’t have to deal with it over the weekend, and then by that point you’d be too worn out for anything else, so you generally slept late into the next morning.

This had been your routine for over a year now, ever since your own couch suggested that you needed to get more extracurriculars under your belt for your college applications. She had insisted that your resume would look far more impressive if you showed that you had teaching experience and “leadership potential,” an idea that really appealed to your parents, who were determined for you to get into a good school, maybe even on a figure skating scholarship. So, you ended up taking over the Friday night children’s lessons whether you wanted to or not.

You honestly despised it. You led children age 5 to 7, and they were a constant pain in the ass. You couldn’t raise your voice without one of them crying, you couldn’t leave them to their own devices without someone inevitably ending up hurt. Yet, you stuck with it because you were told to, because the adults around you insisted that you needed to. You couldn’t stand the way your coach would insist that this would help develop your skills, you couldn’t stand how your mother insisted “you’ll look back on this so fondly when you’re older.” These damned kids skating lessons were something else you’d probably drop soon, because you barely tolerated them as is.

While everyone else was at the football game, while Eddie was probably off playing his stupid fantasy game or doing something equally as nerdy, you were here at the ice rink, shouting instructions at children while parents and hockey players watched. Some of the parents had made it clear before that they weren’t fond of your impatient and mean teaching methods, but your coach always seemed to talk them out of pulling their kids from your group. She always argued something about you being the best skating in the county, but you weren’t sure how true that was - sure, you had your fair share of medals, but even with your ego you were pretty sure there were better skaters at your level.

“Come on, slackers, we’ve got five minutes left!” You taunted your group of 11 kids as they skated around the perimeter of the rink as a cool down. You zipped ahead of them, leading the charge as you skated backwards to keep an eye on them.

Many of the older kids had grown used to your abrasive coaching, but you could see that many of the newbies were still frightened of you, your loud voice, and your cold eyes. As a means of excusing your poor teaching style, you always said that skating was a tough sport and they needed to toughen up if they wanted to be any good at it. For how pretty and elegant figure skating could be, you knew from experience that competitive skating could be harsh, so you figured you were helping these kids prepare for it.

Because the Hawkins High hockey team had the rink after your group every Friday, many of them were already sitting on the sidelines, getting their gear ready or watching you work. The cocky part of you enjoyed the attention, but hockey players were stupid, so you rarely gave any of them a chance whenever they tried talking to you. Nonetheless, when you were in a good mood, you enjoyed putting on a bit of a show for them, shooting flirty glances their way or occasionally calling out remarks to them between instructing the kids. Tonight, you were paying them little mind, but that didn’t stop you from looking their way every now and again.

As you led the kids back to the center of the ice to wrap up the lesson, a lot of their parents were also waiting in the bleachers or out in the lobby. While you skated back and forth in front of your little army of children, going over some instructions for their next practice with your coach on Monday, your eyes roamed the bleachers. You gave a wicked grin to the hockey players that watched you, meanwhile you took in the parents with very little regards. It was as you looked over the clusters of parents that you saw a familiar face sitting at the penalty bench, and unintentionally you let your toe pick drag on the ice, which very nearly caused you to trip.

God damn Eddie Munson.

As you glared in his direction, hoping your momentary lack of balance didn’t make you look too stupid, you dismissed the kids before gliding towards the dasher board. Eddie, grinning like an asshole, stood up to meet you as children began to exit the ice. You braced yourself on the rail of the board, eyes narrowed at Eddie who appeared far too amused for your liking.

“What are you doing here?” You ask in lieu of a greeting. Eddie briefly glances over at the kids leaving the ice.

“You’re incredible with children.” He mocked, smiling far too wide for your liking; you narrowed your eyes while wondering just how long he’d been here, “Figured I might find you here.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here, though.” You respond coldly, gaze briefly looking in the direction of the hockey team to find a couple of them watching your interaction. 

“You did say we needed to make plans, figure out how this was going to work,” Eddie started, taking in your red cheeks and slightly damp forehead that developed over the course of your skating lessons.

“I also said we’d talk about it next week.” You glowered a little, not worried if any of the hockey players saw it - maybe they’d simply mistake it for a lovers quarrel. Eddie grinned, holding his arms up as if he were a presenter on some dumb show.

“No time like the present, right?” Your unamused face gave him all the answer he needed, and his expression fell a little in annoyance, “And here I hoped I was being a good fake boyfriend by visiting you at the rink.”

“You’re being too good a fake boyfriend,” You jab.

Now that all the kids were off the ice, you slid towards the open gate; Eddie kept pace with you on the other side of the dasher board, meeting you at the gate and offering you his hand in assistance. You looked between his face and his outstretched hand with a glare, but eventually accepted his help, stepping over the barrier and onto the slightly cushy floor on the other side.

“I told you not tonight because I’m busy.” You walk over to the gym bag you left sitting on the nearest bleachers. As you sat beside it, Eddie shrugged with a carelessness that seemed almost false.

“Then I’ll go.” He answered simply as you removed your skates, “Just thought it might not be a bad idea to get to know you a little better. It’s not gonna be easy to fake date someone who you know nothing about.”

You shot him a harsh look while putting skate guards over your blades. You didn’t want to admit that he was right, but he had a good point, especially since you had already discussed it before. You sighed heavily through your nose, your cold eyes locked on Eddie’s.

“Can’t it wait? I’ve had a long day.”

Eddie studied you for a moment, leaning back against the dasher board before looking around the ice rink. You quickly put some worn sneakers on your feet and stood, picking your bag and turning away with the intention to leave. But Eddie’s gentle grip on your wrist stopped you from going anywhere, causing you to look between his hand and his face. As you two held eye contact, you realized that Eddie could be just as stubborn as you when he wanted; damn, was this going to be difficult.

“Let me buy you dinner - I’m sure you’re starving,” Eddie started, and for a fleeting moment you wondered if he thought your attitude was because you were hangry. You chewed your lower lip, eyes staring critically at Eddie for another few moments before you let out a defeated sigh, allowing your shoulders to relax a little. Considering that it had been nearly eight hours since your lunch break, it might now be a bad idea to eat something.

Eddie’s eyes softened at your silent resignation, the corner of his mouth pulling up. He finally released your wrist, nodding his head in the direction of the lobby, “Come on, you pick.”

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Your pick ended up being a 24-hour diner downtown. Eddie showed clear confusion when you mentioned it, so you explained that - for whatever reason - the diner had become something of a tradition, where students congregated post-Friday night football into the wee hours of the night. You’d joined that crowd a number of times in the past, but had no more interest in it - what you were interested in was having people see you and Eddie out together.

You knew it would still be at least an hour before the football crowd arrived, but that wasn’t such a bad thing - it gave you and Eddie a bit of time to actually become acquainted, to learn more about each other beyond “ice princess” and “the freak.”

You studied Eddie while sipping on a chocolate shake, waiting for your food to arrive. He stared back at you unabashedly, and you figured you could be locked into this staring contest until the end of time given how stubborn you both could be. As if Eddie knew what you were thinking, he smirked, finally caving as he looked away from you.

“Not to sound cliche,” Eddie scratched the back of his neck, almost as if he were nervous, but you assumed that couldn’t be true, “but… tell me about yourself?”

You smiled at how dumb the question was - that was so cliche. It was as good a starting place as any you figured, but that didn’t make it sound any less silly and forced. You leaned back in your seat, still holding tight to your milkshake as if it were a lifeline.

Putting on your best Miss America voice, you replied, “Well, I’m freshly 18 from Hawkins, Indiana. I love long walks on the beach, snuggling up with a good book, and I hope one day we’ll have world peace.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes at you, although you could tell he was fighting back a grin, “You’re making this very challenging considering that it was your idea.”

You shrug, taking a big gulp of the chocolate shake, “I guess I’m just a challenging person.”

“You guess?” Eddie laughed mockingly at that, “You’re the most challenging I’ve met. So, how about you try relaxing a little or else no one’s going to buy that we’re together.”

You made a face at the near-insult, finally putting down your drink. You leaned your elbows on the table, taking in Eddie’s face for a moment, stubbornly resisting the urge to say anything. Again, he had a good point, not that you wanted to tell him that. Eddie appeared to have an idea as he mirrored your pose.

“Okay, we’ll go back and forth, a question for a question; how’s that?” You nodded, “Right. First question: Why me?”

Your brows furrowed a little in thought, pinning down a good answer while trying to recall what you’ve already told him, “Haven’t I already explained that?”

“Kind of.” Eddie rolled his hand in a motion that basically said “but go on.”

You bit the inside of your cheek for a moment while thinking, “Your reputation. People don’t know you, but your reputation is in the absolute gutter. No better person to turn to than the guy who everyone in the school already hates.”

Eddie nodded in acceptance of the answer, “Okay, your turn.”

You grinned a little, a question already on your lips, “Why’d you agree to it?”

It was something you’d speculated briefly throughout the week, as you thought that your trade offer might not have been a compelling enough reason for Eddie to agree to this stupid plan. And now you could finally get the answer you were looking for.

Eddie silently stared at you in consideration, and again it almost felt like he was able to read your thoughts somehow. Finally, he answered, “Curiosity.”

You raised a brow in question, to which he once more scratched the back of his neck - maybe that actually was a nervous habit, so you took note of it.

“We both know this idea is kinda crazy,” Eddie started, mulling over his thoughts before continuing, “But I wanted to see how it plays out. See if we can actually trick people into believing it. And I wanted to see if you were as awful as I thought you were.”

You balked instantly, an amused huff escaping your mouth, “‘Awful?’ Jesus, you keep acting like I’m the devil or something.”

Eddie made a face while shrugging, not disagreeing with you, “You thought the same about me. So, let’s call it square.”

Food was finally brought to your table, and you had to resist the urge to attack the greasy burger set in front of you; you didn’t need Eddie to see you act like a ravenous gremlin over some food, even if it had been over eight hours since you’d eaten anything. But you nonetheless dug in, albeit with far more control than your empty, growling stomach would have liked.

“Your turn.” You say around a bite of food, causing Eddie to smile in amusement and the unladylike action.

“Hmm…” He leaned forward, scrutinizing you as he contemplated his next question. Self consciously, you wiped at the corner of your mouth just to make sure there wasn’t any stray ketchup or grease sitting there, “Why ice skating?”

“Because it’s better than cheerleading.” You smiled at your own joke before giving a slightly better answer, “I always thought it was pretty. Nothing else to it, unfortunately; no deep story and significance to it.”

“Fine.” Eddie responded almost as if he was disappointed by the mundane answer.

“Why Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Your questions can’t keep being off-shoots of mine.” Eddie laughed a little, and despite yourself it caused you to smile smally as well.

“Says who?”

“Says me,” He responded while pointing at himself, “I get to come up with some of the rules now, remember?”

“Whatever.” You rolled your eyes with a degree of fondness, which you immediately found strange, so you tried to wipe the look from your face. Nope, you weren’t fond of Eddie Munson, not at all.

You went back to your food, hoping Eddie didn’t catch the amused look on your face. You spoke around another bite of food, “Do you have siblings?”

“None that I know of.” He replied around his own mouthful of food, “But I wouldn’t exactly be surprised if there were any out there.”

You cocked your head a little at the response; it wasn’t so much shocking or sad, rather it was unexpected and different from your own life. You made a mental note to learn more about Eddie’s family, if not tonight then at a later point.

“What’s your plan after graduation?”

You opened your mouth to answer, but then paused - what was your plan now that you were trying to make your own decisions? You hadn’t even considered it. Did you still want to go to college? Where? Studying what? You suddenly realized that you had no true plan for yourself, only the one outlined by your parents, and that realization made you nervous.

“Honest answer: not a fucking clue.” Eddie looked taken aback by the response, so you continued, “My plan before was getting into a good school on a skating scholarship, and studying something completely irrelevant. My parents expect my skating to carry me through life until some good, rich man sweeps me off my feet.”

“But that’s not your plan anymore?”

“That’s another question.” You give him a teasing grin, causing Eddie to roll his eyes, “First, answer me this: If you weren’t stuck in Hawkins, where would you go?”

Eddie grinned with an unexpected eagerness, “LA. The music scene there is insane, and I’d happily sleep on the streets if it meant I had a shot at making my own music.”

Your eyes softened ever so slightly at the unexpected, genuine response - admittedly, you didn’t peg Eddie as the type to have any real goals. But music? That was interesting to you since you weren’t even aware that he played any instruments. You wondered if he was actually any good at it, or if it was some foolish aspiration.

“Now, what’s your plan?” Eddie repeated, smirking at the look on your face - this was one of the few times you didn’t look like a total bitch, so he appreciated it. In fact, you looked relaxed and, dare he say, content; that was certainly unexpected from you.

When you shrugged, he shook his head, leaning forward again, “No, you come up with a plan right now. Don’t base it off what your parents want or what you think sounds like the right answer. What do you want to do with your life once we’re done with this shit hole?”

You contemplated, a mild concern washing over you as you stared at Eddie - what the hell did you want? And why did you suddenly feel so vulnerable because of the question. You had to rip your gaze away from Eddie’s, hardening your expression as you tried to think up an answer that felt right.

“I… I like art, I love clothes,” You started dumbly, glancing at Eddie through your lashes, expecting him to make a face at the lame answer, “I don’t know shit about them in a technical way, but it might be fun for college. Take painting or sewing classes during the day, skate until my feet hurt at night, maybe… I want to be somewhere big and interesting. New York, LA… fuck, even Florida for all I care, I just want out of Hawkins, out of this town.”

“Then I guess we’ll be those high school sweethearts that run off to LA together after graduation, huh?” Eddie smiled widely, and you allowed an amused look to cross your face.

“Oh, I’m sure.” You returned to your food as you tried to come up with a good question for Eddie. An intriguing one came to you, so you asked before you could second guess it, “How do you expect your fake girlfriend to act?”

Eddie’s brow furrowed; it didn’t appear to be due to him misunderstanding the question, but rather that it was unexpected; he even looked maybe hesitant to answer it. Again, he scratched his neck.

You lean forward a little, looking at him seriously, “Give me a good answer, okay? We’re just gonna keep going in circles otherwise.”

Eddie shrugged, “Maybe I don’t have any expectations.”

“Then come up with some.” You immediately counter, prodding the same way he had about your plans for the future. Eddie stared at you with scrutiny while chewing the inside of his lip, as if he didn’t want to come up with a response to the question. You waited, making a mock sweet face at him while you chowed down on your fries. You were going to demand an answer until he gave you one.

“Well, going off the rules you already established,” He made a bit of a face as if to mock the oh-so-sacred fake dating rules, “Aside from playing nice in front of others, it might be helpful if you were less stubborn; you’re like a damn bull.”

You gave him a joshing smile right back, “Fair. Is that it?”

Eddie quickly shook his finger; now it was just a back-and-forth game of you mocking one another, “Ah, that’s another question.”

“Oh, fuck off.” You rolled your eyes with a short laugh, “That is not another question.”

Eddie gave a fake look of apology, shrugging again, “Unfortunately, it is.”

You threw a french fry at him, which lamely hit his chest then landed in his lap. As he laughed and picked it up, you found yourself smiling fondly again, and you quickly tried to shake off the expression.

At that moment, the bell above the front door chimed, and immediately the diner was filled with rambunctious conversation. Your heart jumped a little, realizing the time, and you briefly glanced in the direction of the door; the group that had entered wasn’t your friends, although you recognized them. You turned your attention back to Eddie, who gave you another grin.

“Showtime.” He stated simply, and then a thought appeared to cross his mind, “You want another expectation? Tell me if anything I do is too much, but otherwise let me do what I do - you don’t need to be in control all the time.”

“Don’t I, though?” You countered haughtily, which was met by a flash of seriousness across Eddie’s eyes.

“No, you don’t. I know what I’m doing, okay?”

You studied him for a moment, not entirely convinced that he did, in fact, know what he was doing. Considering that you’d never seen him even interact with a girl before, you weren’t sure if he knew the first thing about dating or romance. But despite your doubts, you relented, relaxing your shoulders as if to show you were relinquishing some control.

“Fine,” You rolled your eyes nonetheless, forever obstinate as you mocked, “I’ll tell you if I don’t like something, but otherwise I’ll let you do what you do.”

“Was that so hard?” Eddie replied with a condescending smirk. You sneered before relaxing your face, knowing your friends were bound to appear any minute now.

As you stole another glance at the door, you suddenly felt Eddie’s fingers graze the back of your hand, drawing your attention back to him with a confused little knot between your brows. He held your gaze as if to make a point, as if to remind you of the conversation you just had, that he knew what he was doing. His hand simply sat on top of yours, your fingers ever so slightly lacing together - he raised his brows as if to dare you to pull away from him. You had to resist the urge to narrow your eyes at him and snatch your hand away, and in turn Eddie gave you a cocky grin before continuing to eat with his free hand.

Eventually, your friends appeared, although they didn’t notice you at first. They were all so full of energy as they excitedly spoke to each other, descending upon a few tables in the middle of the diner and pushing them together. The staff were used to it, although you knew from experience that they nonetheless hated it; you guys were always disruptive to the other patrons, and you figured that was never going to change.

You tried your best not to stare, but your eyes kept trailing over, kept studying the excited faces of the people you considered friends only a couple of weeks ago. After your eyes had drifted over for the umpteenth time, you felt Eddie lightly squeeze your fingers, causing you to unintentionally sneer at how strange it was to maintain this physical contact with him.

“Stop staring,” He instructed when you looked back at him.

With a quarrelsome look in your eyes, you did as Eddie told you, returning your attention to the half eaten burger on your plate, “Talk to me about something, then.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t care, just talk so I can pretend to be interested.”

Eddie looked mildly put off by that, and you realized that you’d taken your customary mean tone with him. You couldn’t seem to help yourself with your former cohorts nearby, it was as if their energy was rubbing off on you.

“You know what I’m going to talk about,” Eddie taunted with a wide grin.

Your face fell in realization, “Please not Dungeons and Dragons.”

“I’m gonna do it.”

“I wish you wouldn’t.”

“So, there’s this character, Kas, who has really interesting lore--”

You threw another fry at Eddie, and at that same moment, you felt someone come up alongside your table. You both look up to see Amelia there with a critical look on her face; your gaze drifts past her, noticing that a few people from her table were also looking at you and Eddie.

You met Amelia’s eyes again, giving her a wide, false smile, “Small world.”

Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms, “Yeah, I’m sure you just completely forgot we always come here after games.”

“Maybe she just wanted to see her dear friends.” Eddie chimed in mockingly, once again surprising you with his willingness to instigate confrontation. You laughed as a dumbfounded look crossed Amelia’s at his remark.

“I don’t know what the hell she sees in you.” Amelia snarked with a glare before turning her gaze back to you, “And I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but it’s already getting pretty old.”

You shrug with exaggerated nonchalance, “Sometimes a girl just needs a bit of a change every now and then, you know?”

Amelia didn’t look convinced as she rolled her eyes with a dramatic sigh, “Yeah, well, this ‘change’ doesn’t suit you at all.”

Before you could respond with another quip, Amelia spun on her heel and briskly returned to her table. By that point, everyone there was watching and awaiting Amelia’s return, quickly huddling together to whisper conspiratorially once she sat down.

You and Eddie shared an amused glance; he went back to poking at his food as your gaze trailed back to Amelia and company. You happened to lock eyes with Duncan, who stared at you with harsh scrutiny, as if he wasn’t buying this thing between you and Eddie in the slightest. You gave Duncan a mocking while, starting to wave before flipping him off, causing Eddie to snort and choke on his food. You couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he hit his chest a couple of times, trying to clear his throat. The sound of such a genuine laugh escaping you was absolutely foreign to Eddie, but he decided it was a sound he enjoyed, even if it was at his expense; he made a mental note that he had to find ways to make you laugh more that didn’t involve him choking.

“You could’ve killed me.” Eddie croaked before laughing himself, his smile wide.

“You’re fine.” You teased, squeezing his fingers while giving him a false pout of sympathy, “You big baby.”

Eddie rolled his eyes in amusement, digging his wallet out while finally relinquishing the grip he had on your hand, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

He tossed money onto the table and stood, offering his hand to you again. You quickly snagged one last fry before accepting Eddie’s hand, allowing him to pull you to your feet. He once again laced his fingers with yours as he led you through the crowded diner, and you had to fight back the desire to cringe in confusion at it. The both of you eyed the crowd of Hawkins High’s elite as they watched you back critically.

Once outside the diner, Eddie paused in front of one of the large windows and pulled a ridiculous face at the kids still watching you; he quickly tugged your arm, leading you back towards the van as you laughed again at his antics.

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #stranger things #em #dos and donts

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  deadratz/@munsonkitten! They have 32 works in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and 31 of those are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @munsonkitten:

the sound of silence

float among the wreckage

share the same space for a minute or two

you make me feel like i am whole again

sugar on my tongue

"In a fandom with over 20 thousand fics, it's hard to find fics that stand out, and Grim has so many that feel like a breath of fresh air for the characters. His specialty is exploring Eddie's trauma, past and present, and being patient with letting him heal in a messy, realistic way that tears your heart out and puts it back. Grim takes on topics that can be difficult to explain, like trauma and gender exploration, and puts them into words so perfectly. His fics are entertaining and heartfelt and always hot, no matter which one you open, you're in for a treat and he has some hidden gems! Regardless of what's popular, Grim stays true to the characters and it's easy to trust him with them, and that's something to appreciate!" -- anonymous

Below the cut, @munsonkitten answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

When Season 4 came out, I had lost all motivation in my old fandoms. I hadn’t written anything in months, but then I saw Eddie and fell in love instantly. As I was watching, I started to have this little thought like “is anyone else seeing this?” when I saw Steve and Eddie interact, and I ended up on AO3, reading through anything that looked good out of the 300 fics that came out in those first couple of days, and then I kept reading, and I was completely inspired. I was pulled in, and I tried to write something between volumes 1&2 that didn’t go anywhere, but I didn’t want to give up on them because there was just this pull that kept me thinking of them, and then, of course, we saw Eddie’s fate and I immediately had to rectify that in my own way. I love writing Steve and Eddie because they come from very different worlds, but as a queer punk who also played sports in high school, I know firsthand how those worlds can collide and I can relate to both Steve and Eddie and how they fit into their places as the freak/jock. There’s also just a certain coziness that comes with writing Steddie for me, like they’re familiar and something I can find safety in. They’re both complex characters with traumatic experiences and there’s comfort in that and there’s comfort in being able to process my own life through the perspective of the two of them and apply different things to their canon personalities and backstories. It really comes down to, like, even though they’ve fought monsters, they’re really just regular guys, too. They’re relatable and accessible because their lives are pretty average without the monster stuff. I don’t find myself wasting time doing tons of research about certain jobs or lifestyles as I have with other pairings in the past. Steddie has just given me a lot of freedom to do what I want.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

There are so many tropes that I love. I think a lot of them depend on how they’re written, of course, so even tropes I don’t typically like to read can end up being really good to me. My go-to answer for this is usually pre-dating sharing a bed/only one bed, whether they’re sharing because they get paired up together on a trip; they’re laying low at Steve’s and Steve needs to keep an eye on Eddie while he’s healing; nightmares bringing them to each other in the middle of the night; or one of them just crashing in the other’s bed. I think there’s something so intimate about the way these scenes can be written, something very vulnerable that I just love. There’s a lot of trust that goes into being comfortable enough sleeping near someone else, and I think it’s a really good way to start Steve and Eddie’s relationship. I also love, love like any kind of friends with benefits situation where they’re obviously pining for each other and completely in love but try to pretend the things they do together is just “helping a friend out,” while mutually being in denial of feelings. It serves for great tension and there’s always really good pay off when they start dating.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

My answer for this is really similar to the last one. First and foremost, I write what I want to read. I’m just very drawn to these kinds of fics with pre-relationship intimacy that turns into something solid between them. So I love writing only one bed and pining/fwb/friends to lovers fics as much as I love reading them.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

It’s hard to choose just one favorite after almost two years of reading Steddie fics, but some real stand out fics for me that I’ve read fairly recently have been Trouble Looks Good on You by indelicate, Metamorphoses by fastcardotmp3, Play it Right by stereobone, and Doing Nothing with You by redoaktree. All of these give such nice depth to the characters and their situations and have stuck with me. “Trouble” is still ongoing, but I trust Rue (indelicate) with these characters so much that I can say it’s one of my favorites without having the entire fic yet. It just hits so many of my boxes for Steddie, has all the right factors for a phenomenal fic, and stays so true to the characters in my opinion.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I have so many plans for upcoming fics, but one I’ve been trying to find time to write for over a year now deals with a lot of grief/mourning of a loved one and includes rockstar!Eddie with a good slooow burn. It’s all things I’ve somewhat explored, but want to really expand upon with this one. I feel like I haven’t written a proper slow burn, either, because I tend to do fwb situations with slow burns on the emotional aspects and admitting feelings part of their relationship, and I want to do a full slowburn in more aspects of their relationship. 

What is your writing process like?

Usually I’m inspired by something, whether it’s a situation that happens to me or something I see on TV, and I think about what kinds of stories could be told with those elements. Sometimes I take one trope and try to build a fic around it, sometimes I see a tiktok or a scene in a show and decide I need to use that in something. Other times, I just have a sentence in my head that I have to write down and it turns into a whole page and then suddenly I have 5k words. A lot of my process is spent brainstorming with friends, talking through scenarios and seeing what kinds of responses they get, other times I have an idea and I run with it and don’t tell anyone until it’s done. There are some fics I’ve fully outlined and then gone in completely different directions, and there are some fics I never wrote down a single note for. I’ve had a few fics that started as just single sentences and turned into paragraphs and merged them with other ideas in other documents. My process is kind of chaotic and always changes, if I’m being honest, but it works for me. I think it entirely depends on the mood of the fic I’m trying to write, how much research goes into it, and how long it’s going to be, and all of that. Sometimes I’ll sit down to write something fully knowing it won’t go anywhere just to get me into a writing mood. I’m really all over the place with my process.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don’t know if this is really a quirk, but I’m the type of person who will go weeks without writing anything and then suddenly have an entire chapter or oneshot finished in two days. I procrastinate until I realize I need to do something or until inspiration really hits me and then I just lock it in and write nonstop until it’s done.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

This is kind of fic-dependent. If I know for sure that I have the time and motivation for a story, I post as soon as I get chapters finished. If I know I don’t have the capacity for another long form fic, I’ll write out the first chapter and leave it in my drafts until I get a bit further on it, just working when I’m between other projects or stumped on something else. I wouldn’t exactly say I post on a schedule because it’s nowhere near consistent, but I’ve never finished a full multi-chaptered fic before I start posting. I do write a lot of oneshots and two chapter shorter fics, though, so those two chaptered ones are usually close to finished before I post them.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Hands down, the sound of silence. They’re not done yet, but ‘you make me feel like i am whole again,’ and ‘sugar on my tongue’ are also up there with ‘sound of silence.’ It’s my longest fic in this fandom (currently) and my second longest fic I’ve ever written. I put so much of myself into this fic and I’m just really proud of myself for it. There were some definite challenges with this one, with one character in the main pairing barely having any dialogue for the first half of the fic, with the other half of the pairing navigating his newfound sexuality and his life being turned upside down yet again, and I also have a few outsider POVs like Wayne, El, Robin and Hopper sprinkled in there, which is always difficult to work in for me. I’m proud of myself for doing all of that and finishing it.

How did you get the idea for the sound of silence?

This fic started as two separate documents, just unconnected pieces of different stories, both of them hitting dead ends with no hope for continuation. I had started with just a simple idea of Wayne and Steve meeting after the events of season 4 put Eddie in the hospital, and I wanted to show the way Wayne cares for the people who love Eddie, and that ended up becoming the beginning of the fic once I put all the pieces together. The other document I had started around the same time was a short Wayne POV about living with Eddie after S4 and the person he turned into after losing so much of himself. I wanted to explore the idea of someone as loud as Eddie going non-verbal for weeks to months at a time (something I explored in a different fandom, so that sort of inspired me to write SOS too), and when I finally put those together, it just felt like everything was so clear to me and I took off with these ideas.

When writing float among the wreckage, what was something you didn’t expect?

Oh boy. This one was actually difficult for me because I wanted it to be a hate sex fic, and I realized I’m just incapable of making Steve and Eddie hate each other at all. I did something like that one other time earlier when the fandom was still pretty new, but wreckage came to me nearly a year into writing them and I’d really cemented the idea of these characters in my head, and it was just… Very unexpected that I struggled to tap into that tension and hatred. It ended up being less about hating each other and more about misplaced/misidentified feelings in the end.

What inspired share the same space for a minute or two?

I think my friend Teddy actually gave me the main idea for this one. An end of the world “I’m going to die a virgin” apocalypse setting during “season 5.” From that, I just started writing and saw where it took me, and I’m happy with where I took it. Sometimes all I need is one sentence and then I have 11k words written in just a few days, and that fic was one of those times.

What was your favorite part to write from sugar on my tongue?

This is a really hard question because I love so much of this fic and it’s still ongoing so I might still write something I love even more than any previous parts. Without giving too much away, it’s probably a tie between their first smut scene in chapter 1, their club night in chapter 2, and the part in chapter 3 where Eddie’s walking down the road after he runs out of gas and has a lot of introspection about his life and how he finds safety in Steve. One of my close friends told me the writing in that last part was beautiful and I’ve since decided it’s one of my favorite things I’ve written.

How do/did you feel writing the sound of silence?

Sound of Silence was very cathartic for me. I’m so proud of this fic and it deals with so much I rarely see in fanfiction – some of the topics are unsexy and there are a lot of symptoms of mental illness that are highly stigmatized that people just might not want to read in a story. But I knew it was the story I needed to tell for Eddie, mostly, but for Steve, too, and for myself. It’s not always happy, but it’s real to me. Life can be ugly and people can be volatile and traumatized and struggle with sexual function and have undesirable compulsions, and writing that whole fic felt like a release in a way because it’s stuff I relate to and stuff my best friends have also gone through. And the comments on this fic have made me feel seen and less alone in the things I struggle with that I had Steve and Eddie struggle with, as well. I think it’s just really important to have those fics that give at least one reader some comfort in their own situations.

What was the most difficult part of writing you make me feel like i am whole again?

This fic is about gender identity and pregnancy and love and all sorts of stuff that can be hard to put into words. I’ve never experienced a pregnancy, so there’s a lot of research that goes into that, a lot of reading firsthand accounts and finding out all sorts of things that weren’t taught in sex-ed classes. It’s also been a very vulnerable fic for me because Steve and Eddie both experience gender in ways that I do, too. Every time I write about identity and dysphoria through them, I’m putting parts of myself on display for others, and that can be hard, especially when people don’t always understand. I’m very protective over this fic, and I’ve had to defend aspects of it from people who can’t always accept other people’s experiences with gender identity and queerness. That’s been difficult, even well meaning comments can come across as criticism when the writing is so close to home, and it’s been a struggle to keep my head on straight with this one. But as difficult as that may be, the pros outweigh the cons with this fic. It’s so rewarding when people DO relate to the things I write about, and it’s been validating for my own identity and I’ve been told so many times the fic has felt validating to others, too. So as difficult as it can be, I wouldn’t change anything. 

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I mentioned this bit of sugar on my tongue earlier and I think it’s my current favorite, but I have so many scenes and lines from other fics I’d consider my favorites: The sun beats down on his face and arms. He’s burning, red skin and hot tears. He feels like he needs to crawl out of his own skin. To leave it on the ground and walk away someone else.  Someone who doesn’t have to deal with Al Munson, doesn’t have to deal with a town that hates him for things he didn’t do. He wants to be someone who doesn’t have to be Eddie Munson at all. He just wants to be someone else, to feel safe in the skin he wears.  He thinks Steve might be the only person who makes him feel that way, even if it’s only for a glimpse, a small fraction of his life. Even if it’s just in the quiet hours of the morning when they’re curled up in Eddie’s bed, or when they’re just two boys kissing in a bar where no one knows their names. He wants to feel like that again. Safe. 

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I’m helping with a Sub Eddie Week event in April, so if anyone wants to do a fic or art for that event, you can find all info @subeddieweek. Most of my upcoming work is going to be made for this event, so stay tuned.

Thank you to our author, @munsonkitten, and our anonymous nominator! See more of deadratz works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

#writer's spotlight #steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #steddie writers

[willowhistle]

how season 4 of tvd should have gone (klaroline edition):

- caroline breaks up with tyler near the start of the season like the writers should’ve done

- she partly blames klaus for their breakup (rome wasn’t built in a day okay)

- but then after having the best date w him at the miss mystic thing in exchange for a hybrid she starts to warm up to him (+ the date didn’t end when it did, instead of going to talk to stefan straight away after, she comes home late because she spent most of the evening sat talking with klaus - and she’ll totally deny it - but she was so caught up in talking to him that she barely realised everyone from the event was long gone and they were still sat on that bench together) he totally offers to drop her off home like the gentleman he is btw but she says no and decides she’s spent enough time w klaus for the day

- cue confused and conflicted caroline

- tyler and hayley still try and kill klaus w the hybrid plot but caroline isn’t involved bc she’s not w tyler anymore. oh and klaus kills hayley instead of making the stupidest decision of his life

- klaroline still have their spat though before going to find bonnie and the 12 witches and that whole “you’re in need of comfort” scene plays out the same too bc they wouldn’t be klaroline without the back and forth arguing and conflicting feelings and denial

- but when the gilberts kill kol and trap klaus inside of the house, caroline’s a lot more gentle about it

- but klaus still ends up biting her bc despite the fact they’re not together tyler would still probably care about her to some degree and he’d ofc be running his mouth so klaus would feel like he’d have to get back at him

- and i could never want to get rid of the scene where he chooses her over revenge against tyler (and realises how important caroline is to him)

- that all plays out as normal but instead of her leaving the next day as if nothing happened i’d like to think she stays w klaus until the barrier is lifted. he’s definitely shocked by that decision (and so is she tbh but her bleeding heart is making the choice on that one and despite her head telling her to go leave and help her friends who hate the guy she’s currently sat with, she can’t help listening to her heart that’s demanding she stay sat with him)

- and they both totally start out rlly snarky with each other bc they have issues let’s be honest. but she eases up and becomes a lot softer when he first mentions kol to her since his death.

- and he becomes a lot softer every time he looks at her bloodied shirt from where he staked her bc while he’s not one to feel guilt or regret, caroline manages to bring out these new feelings within him

- and by the time the barrier is lifted they both feel a lot more calm. they practically melted into the other’s presence. and they know a lot more about each other. like caroline could now list 10 historical figures that klaus has met and how his encounters w them ended (some a bit bloody). and klaus could tell you all the things caroline enjoys about being a vampire (bc she finally admitted that she prefers herself this way after a gentle nudge from klaus) - although he could probably tell you that before their conversation

- but life gets in the way again and caroline goes to deal w her friends (who question her endlessly about where she’s been but don’t actually care about the answer beyond annoyance at her bc they’re busy discussing what they’re gonna do next about the cure)

- but if caroline finds herself not running away the next time she’s alone at the grill and klaus goes up to her, she can’t blame anything except for this weird longing she has to talk to him or just spend time with him.

- so she does

- klaus 100% goes home all giddy and blushing after spending time w caroline for something that’s not a distraction, or a plot, or life or death, but just them two and nothing else in between.

- caroline on the other hand goes home expecting to freak out and feel angry with herself or disappointed but struggles to bc how could she when she feels so light and relaxed for the first time in ages (if she’s really being honest with herself, for the first time since she spent the day with klaus at the miss mystic event)

- cue caroline not putting up w as much of non humanity elena’s BS because she has klaus whispering in her ear half the time to not just sit there and take it. and that it’s not her issue to worry about elena to the point of coddling or treat her as something fragile.

- when silas gets in klaus’ head most of that goes the same. i mean they’d probably be a lot more friendly w each other (?) but they’d still have that big argument w the whole “don’t turn your back on me” bc again it’s a big point for klaroline in my mind

- but it definitely ends a lot different in my head (with a kiss, or a make out session bc all that tension and then relief at none of the pain being real has to go somewhere)

- the clean up would be a tad more awkward after bc caroline would NOT want to address the kissing, but she doesn’t immediately run out on him after which says tons

- him thanking her having more longing eye contact than it did in the show (somehow), and caroline’s reaction to the “friends, then?” line from klaus having a MUCH more different meaning. bc they’d just done something far beyond friendly. but she’s not going to be the first to address it… yet

#klaroline #caroline forbes #klaus mikaelson #more like half of season 4 but i got carried away #it feels like a crime to have such a perfect couple and not do justice to them #there could’ve been a million different stories and outcomes for klaroline and the show went with the worst one.

[the-bi-space-ace]

Is There An Echo In Here?

No. There isn’t.

Alright. Here’s the thing. Echo is my favorite character so I’m going to want to see him all the time but I can still understand his absence even when I miss him. His absence in season 2 hurt me but it made total sense. He needed to go. I love him for doing what he needs to and not giving up what he values. It’s part of why I love him.

What I can’t understand is what happened in episodes 6&7 of season 3.

I’ve been fairly positive in my outward opinions for the most part. I rarely loudly complain. I rarely throw in the towel but I do still have opinions that aren’t positive and that’s okay.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of episodes 1-4. Not in the way that I didn’t like them bc I did. They had moments that I really really liked and I genuinely had a good time watching them. But they didn’t wow me. Tbh they don’t have to for me to enjoy them. They just have to be fun in my book. There’s no problem in having fun and not being wowed by every episode. I think that’s just how it goes. You can’t please everyone and I never expect to be happy about everything. It’s part of why I’ve kept my love of this show for so long.

I don’t have high expectations going in so I am rarely ever totally dissatisfied.

This is the exception.

I was absolutely thrilled with episode 5. Finally Echo is back. The Crosshair content was top tier. There’s jokes. There’s heart. It’s fun. It’s exciting. Loved it. It’s everything I want out of the show. They’re together. They have really heart wrenching moments right up against heart warming ones. It’s perfect. I was feeling pretty positive about moving forward.

Then 6&7 happened and I think I lost a huge chunk of hope for this show where Echo is concerned.

I still liked the episodes! I think the episodes were really really good. I love Rex. Crosshair really shined again so my heart rejoiced. There’s intrigue there’s excitement there’s plot. I skew more towards character growth and plot focus than anything else so a lot of my boxes are getting checked here.

Except for one very large thing that made me unhappy.

I’m not counting Echo’s two appearances in these episodes as him being there. Seeing his face and him saying one line really…. Doesn’t count. Not in my book. So far out of 7 episodes he’s really only been in one. I’m almost convinced the writers have forgotten he’s a main character with the way they’re treating him.

The first four episodes were very focused on the different characters and what they’re doing and how things are going. I love these types of episodes. I do this in fics when I want development to have a lot of focus! Split them up! Follow them around! Put them in different pairs and watch them grow! I love that! So… why didn’t we get an episode like that with Echo? Since we’re showing them all split up where was Echo’s episode to focus on what him and Rex were doing? The show followed Crosshair and Omega three times. It followed Hunter and Wrecker. Why would there not be an episode following Echo? Or at least having him meet up with Hunter and Wrecker and following those three for an episode.

When we finally got Echo back my heart literally rejoiced. Episode 5 was the first episode that got me excited about where this season was going.

And then, yes! We’re going to see Rex. We’re going to see what’s up with the clone network and Echo *checks notes* has carpool duty???? Are you serious? These two episodes were possibly the best ones to have him around and he’s just… not? Why? So he can pick them up at the end of it?

It doesn’t make sense to me.

At this point it truly seems like this show is just sidelining him because they don’t feel like writing him. Is this how the rest of the season goes? Is he not with the batch for the majority of it? Are we going to have two maybe three episodes that he appears in at all?

It hurts. It hurts because it’s starting to feel purposeful and not even in a good ol’ he’s got something good coming in the plot kind of way.

If we get some good Echo focus in the later episodes then fantastic! Maybe this post will be meaningless and I’ll be proven wrong. I’d honestly really love that tbh. I’d love to look back and go: huh. I was so worried for absolutely no reason.

Otherwise if the season continues with how it’s been then I don’t have much hope for my little Echo loving heart.

As always I’ll still write Echo-centric fics and yell about him all day. Hell maybe I’ll write a long post for Echo like I’ve done for Crosshair. Give him some extra love and attention in these trying times.

As a last note: I love this show. And my criticisms or opinions are never a declaration of hatred for this thing that we all love. I’m simply screaming into the void and hoping people who love Echo as much as I do hear me.

#the bad batch #tbb echo #tbb spoilers #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb season 3 #just. why is he never around? #what is happening #i miss echo

[elialys]

Per your lovely, lovely flawed show tag, I am curious what you think the flaws of Fringe are?

I’m sorry it took me so long to answer, I got distracted!

Fringe definitely had its share of flaws. I won’t even address the ones that can “be excused” by the fact that it was a show made before/early 2010s in terms of representations/inclusions, because you know, it is what it is.

I think my biggest ‘regret’/annoyance has always been the writers’ tendency to…shove traumas under a rug, or to not properly (if at all) talk about the consequences of some events that happened. I get that they had to make the characters go through a lot of drama because that’s the point of stories, especially on TV shows that have over 20 episodes per season, but the characters suffered through some terrible stuff time and time again, and they were just FINE. And it’s not like they didn’t know how to do it!

I’ve always loved the first few episodes of season 2 because they showed recovery. Olivia had a bad car accident, then she had to kill “Charlie”, and it took her time to get better from all of that, not just physically but emotionally, too. And yet, over and over again after that, she goes through horrible things and there’s…almost nothing? Like, I adore Marionette, I think it’s a brilliant episode through & through, but I still can’t believe Olivia went through all the shit she went through Over There (and coming back) and didn’t have some serious PTSD, on top of EVERYTHING ELSE she’d already gone through (aka why I wrote Shivered Bones). Peter too was barely allowed to mention what Walter did to him after he came back at the end of season 2, barely ever allowed to mention what Altlivia did to him either, except in some awkward bits of dialogue (I will discuss Peter’s character a bit more later).

Also, the whole REWRITING THE TIMELINE at the end of season 3?? Biggest cop-out. I mean, I’ve never hid the fact that any kind of ‘amnesia’ plot is honestly one of my LEAST favorite tropes, in anything. From the moment that season started airing and Peter reappeared being a complete stranger, I just disliked that so much on principle. But what will always pain me is how by doing so, the writers completely erased not just Peter but THE FIRST THREE SEASONS.

Like, poof, gone.

(adding a 'keep reading' because this is long 😂)

Conveniently, it erased Baby!Henry in the process, which the writers might have felt would be too much of an issue? Personally I would have loved to see that unfold. I know I’ve discussed this before on this blog, probably more than once, but they could have kept SO MUCH of season 4 the way it was, as far as the Bridge was concerned, could have come up with a brand new Vilain to do all the “NEW UNIVERSE” stuff Bell/Jones tried to do, while our core characters had to deal with the consequences of everything that happened in season 3 (including Peter being a dad, WITHOUT trying to force a stupid ‘love triangle’ down our throats, thank you). It would have made for great, impactful family drama, because who are we kidding. Anyone who loves Fringe typically loves it because it is such an emotional, family drama. So yes, I will forever mourn the universe(s) we had season 1-3, and endlessly daydream about what could have been.

Now let me talk about Peter Bishop, it’s been a hot minute. Peter Bishop, who was hated basically the entire time the show was airing, and still now is strongly disliked by a lot of viewers, and honestly, I can’t blame them? I’ve had over a decade to analyze his character, have spent hundreds of hours writing stories from his POV, explaining his traumas & mistakes, have written giant meta posts about him back in the days to explain his behavior, so I’m not exactly objective, but I’m also very honest about how flawed his character is. Not (just) as a human being, which is normal because humans are flawed. I mean, he’s flawed in the way the writers used him/wrote him.

He’s probably the most inconsistent of all the characters. He’s the character who suffered the most from the ‘let’s make this person act out a certain way to make sure it fits our plot’ syndrome.  I will never forgive the writers for how…clueless (for lack of a better word), they wrote Peter in early season 3 during the Switch. Yes, Peter was traumatized as a kid, yes he was in love, yes yes, I know all of that, I’ve written endlessly about it to explain his cluelessness so I know.

Still, Peter should have figured it out. Peter as we saw him in season 1 and 2, especially second half of season 2, would have figured out. He figured out BY HIMSELF that he was from another universe, ‘just’ from his dad and Olivia’s weird behaviors and the fact that he didn’t go ‘POOF’ on that bridge in 2x18. Peter went to another universe, he met Olivia’s alternate. He’d just spent weeks running from his life, trying to accept the fact that he was lied to all of his life. At best, he was suspicious, at worst, he was paranoid (as was mentioned in 2x20 in Northwest Passage). Literally 3 days after he gets to THAT OTHER UNIVERSE, and 3 hours after meeting Olivia’s doppelganger, Olivia ‘I hide from my own emotions’ Dunham comes tell him he belongs with her and smooches him, so he goes home. Yet the writers want me to believe Peter would not have still been reeling from EVERYTHING that just happened in his life, and not be a bit on edge?

Like, ‘damn, the woman I love and have come to know quite well these past 2 years is suddenly SO DIFFERENT? ALMOST LIKE SHE’S ANOTHER PERSON? A BIT LIKE THAT ALTERNATE VERSION OF HER I MET 48H AGO, THAT’S NOT A COINCIDENCE AT ALL’. But nope, Peter just accepts it, EVERY CHARACTER on that side just accepts it, when Lincoln and Charlie keep on looking at our Olivia like “Is this chick for real? WHAT IF THEY SWITCHED THEM?”

I’m forever frustrated. It just doesn’t feel believable to me, never has. It feels like the writers went “we want everyone, and especially Peter, to be clueless the entire time so we can write our drama the way we planned it.” And that’s a shame, honestly, because that whole damn arc is already so good as it is. But it would been even better if Peter HAD figured it out, if he’d kept on pretending for a bit, if HE’D conned Altlivia the way she conned him. Like I mentioned before, Olivia already went through so much trauma during the Switch, they could have found ways to make her miserable upon coming back, without Peter having slept with her alternate for a few weeks—and the knowledge that he didn’t realize what was going on. More daydreaming on my part about what could have been.

I could go on when it comes to the way they wrote Peter honestly. The whole “maybe Peter has feelings for the other Olivia” crap in the second half of s3, and “the universe that will survive depends on which Olivia Peter chooses”, excuse me??? Altlivia basically abused him??? She used him in so many ways, including sexually. She wasn’t even herself, she was pretending, playing him the whole time. HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FEELINGS EXCEPT A LOT OF SELF-LOATHING AND MORE UNRESOLVED TRAUMA?

Anyway, I think you get my vibe and why I’ll forever be sad/mad about this. As a writer & storyteller myself, one of my strengths and favorite aspects of writing is figuring out the characters’ motivations, what drives them, and how it makes them behave. Peter’s character is just…wobbly, during those arcs. He’s inconsistent from plotline to plotline, and it feels off to me. He’s a lot more true and consistent to how I understand him in season 4, but in season 3, he’s a hot mess, meant as a plot device more than anything else, and that makes me sad. Characters are what drive stories and shape the plot, not the other way around. So yeah, I don’t blame people for always having such strong opinions/dislikes where Peter is concerned.

I could come up with more things, but this is already long enough 😂 In case that wasn’t clear, those flaws don’t stop me from having the deepest love for this show. What it did well, it did extremely well, and even all those years later, I still cry rewatching it, because the emotions were real. They're still real.

Plus it gave me Olivia Dunham, so really, it wins just for that.

#fringe #fringe meta #kinda 😂 #also called 'ambre is ranting at 13 year old plotlines that made no sense' #meta

[booklove22]

I’m having such a hard time with this episode - and I saw the larger beats coming a mile away. I knew it would be a solo-visit to the 70′s for Nancy and Tristan and that the Drew Crew would be left in the current timeline. I knew it would be Nancy and Tristan dancing. So none of what happened with them was like “OH NO I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE NACE DANCING”  - like I was already mentally prepped for that. But what kills me about this is all of the missed opportunities...and I’m trying to be objective here and not just wrapped up in the romance aspects - but the larger storytelling opportunities that were also missed.

1) It’s a 13 episode season, but for all the “this is going to be among the greatest ND episodes of all time” chatter from the writers and Kennedy, this felt distinctly like a filler episode. Something that would have been at home in an 18+ episode season, but here feels like a weird detour. It feels especially wasted since the 2nd most recently deceased corpse died in 1975! This could have been an ideal opportunity to explore more about the corpses and...they blew it. They chose to dabble in something time-travel adjacent tor....a spider? 

2) There was absolutely no reason to have Bess do the errr...c-section? Like, Ace’s job is literally cutting people open? Like, as a writer, isn’t the goal to up the emotional stakes as much as possible? Can you imagine how much more tense the scene would have been if he was the one doing it instead of Bess? Again I’m not even talking anything romantic here - just more...he was the right person for the job. 

3) Ace watching Nancy slow dance with Tristan was repetitive. Like, it didn’t hit or hurt nearly as hard as when he was in the liminal space and seeing it with Park. I know it was probably an intentional callback, not unlike the Gil kiss>Park kiss mirror, but here it just felt like they could have achieved the same outcome another way? Not that I want to hurt more than I already do, but at some point you have to weigh whether a callback is a better choice than some new kind of painful visual. 

4) The Ace/Chunky storyline was hit or miss. I prefer when the entire drew crew is working together toward a common goal and when someone is missing (or in this case working on a totally unrelated “case”), the entire vibe of the show feels off. I thought the conversations between Nick and Ace were interesting and I’m still marinating on them. Honestly, they were probably the most interesting part of the episode to me - particularly Nick’s observation that Ace trying to go back to the “friendship” he and Nancy used to have might be a futile effort because what they had might have always have been more than friendship, whether they knew it then or not. Like DAMN NICK, don’t hold back. Everyone else is telling them to move on and Nick’s the only one out here gently letting Ace know that his whole grand “friendship” plan may be impossible. 

5) Speaking of Chunky....I’ve seen some people say that Ace let him go out of spite. But my read on it was more that Ace realized there may have been a kernel of truth in what Nick said. Letting go of Chunky was him realizing that there is no going back to the relationship they used to have..so now the journey is figuring out how to be in her life moving forward if its not what they were before they knew they had feelings or what they could have been had the curse not been in place. 

6) Finally, I don’t get the vibe anymore that we’ll be seeing Ace’s “ire” over her whatever with Tristan. Ryan’s for sure. But I don’t know...after this ep, I just don’t see “ire” being the thing that comes out of Ace. At the end of the day, he knows Tristan was key to saving Nancy and she would have died otherwise. I’m not saying there won’t be jealousy or anger but I think its something he’ll let fester inside of him rather than calling her out on it (at least for now). 

Anyway, I just...I didn’t like that episode. I feel like it had the potential to be so much more and just fell short of what it could have been.

#nace #nancy drew #cw nancy drew

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: 6x18 was the third time the audience watched their relationship movie

Several people have commented on 911blr, other social media platforms and post-mortem interview articles about the way the audience saw this movie before at the end of season 4 with Buck/Taylor and Eddie/Ana. However, the truth is, it’s the third time the audience has witnessed their dating fiascos.

Buck always follows Eddie’s lead which makes it seem like Buck is waiting on Eddie to let him know he’s an option.  If Eddie’s not dating or attempting to date neither is Buck.  Buck starts dating the very next episode after Eddie does and it’s happened three times and the timeline below proves it.

In 2x7 “Haunted” Buck finally let go of Abby in the same episode that Eddie reconnected with Shannon. Then in 2x8 “Buck Actually” Buck started dating Ali.

Neither of them dated in season 3.

In 4x6 “Jinx” Eddie started dating Ana and in 4x7 “There Goes the Neighborhood” Buck got back onto the dating apps and had a disastrous date with Veronica.  Then he started to heavily pursue Taylor in 4x8 “Breaking Point” but she friend zoned him until after Eddie was shot and she told him she wanted him in 4x14 “Survivors”.

Neither of them dated in 6A.

In 6x14 “Performance Anxiety” Eddie’s aunt set him up on a blind date and in 6x15 “Death and Taxes” Buck said Natalia sees him followed by Eddie giving him a look filled with hurt.  So, Eddie started pursuing Marisol because he thought Buck rejected him again just like he thought Buck did after the will reveal in 4x14.

Once I realized this, I remembered Karen’s comment to Hen in 5x17 “Hero Complex”, “Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence and three times is a pattern”.  Their relationship fiascos with these one dimensional women keep happening and this is the third time which means it’s a pattern.

Does this mean they’ll be together in season 7, PROBABLY NOT but isn’t it interesting that even though the creators and more than likely the showrunners knew they would be cancelled after season 6 but they chose not to make them CANON?

Since they knew they were going to be cancelled they didn’t have anything to lose if they had made Buck and Eddie a CANON couple unless they wanted to stall/delay it yet again.  Therefore, it could mean they were already in talks with Disney months before they told the cast about the switch from Fox to ABC.  Let’s be real for a minute because a deal like that doesn’t happen overnight since there are a lot of legalities and financials that have to be sorted and decided which could mean the 9-1-1 creators and Disney were in talks for months.  Also, it’s possible they were required to sign an NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) stating they wouldn’t release the information until May 1, 2023 when the official announcement was made, hence the reason why the cast wasn’t notified until two hours before the 9-1-1 Fox Cancellation story was released.

This speculation doesn’t dismiss the creators’ or the showrunners’ actions/agendas for 6x18 but all of this seems to be very suspect.  Also, viewers can voice their constructive criticisms about the show they enjoy watching on their own blogs so the creators of that TV show will know their audience isn’t happy and that’s the goal of my posts regarding my lack of enjoyment with season 6 overall.  Since it’s evident they’ve been reading fanfics, it’s possible they read posts and comments too, otherwise how else would they know what the audience thinks about the show they created for entertainment purposes?

Being frustrated with the outcome doesn’t mean anyone should be rude to the actors, actresses, writers and producers because they don’t have the final say.

Disclaimer:  I’m UNSURE if I will watch season 7 and to be honest if I do, I WON’T watch it live.  I won’t know for a while because I’m still reeling from the things that happened in 6x18 but after last night’s dust finally settled (for me at least), I read some wonderful speculation posts here on 911blr this morning and the users analyzed a lot of things I missed during my live watch because I was SUPER PISSED.  I didn’t even watch the last few minutes because it felt so RIDICULOUS and I won’t rewatch that episode again.  LIKE EVER!

For me, season 6 ended at 6x13 “Mixed Feelings” so when and if I feel like writing fanfic again (I probably will because I love writing it but I’ll take a few days to decide) I will act like 6x14-6x18 never existed.

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #911 fox #911 on fox #911onfox #911 abc #911 on abc #911 meta #911 s6 #911 season 6 #911 season 6 speculation #anti natalia #anti bucktalia #anti marisol #anti eddiemarisol #anti taylor kelly #anti ali martin #anti abby clark #anti shannon diaz

[daringdarlingdt]

Ok I have some Thoughts™️ about Trapper’s leaving m*a*s*h and how it was handled which I really want to throw out into the void even tho there’s only a very small, concentrated fandom for this 50-year-old show… so bear with me.

Is Trapper leaving without a goodbye scene heartbreaking??? Do I wish, for Hawkeye’s sake, that he’d at least left a letter?? Are the first 15 minutes of Welcome to Korea just gut-wrenching and painful? Yes. And this, dear friends is because of good writing!!

One of the things that’s great about the way Trapper leaves—suddenly, no note, no goodbye, just a proxy peck on the cheek for Hawkeye via Radar when he returns to camp and finds Trap gone—is that there’s no way to be justifiably mad at Trapper for disappearing. He was discharged suddenly and did everything he could to contact Hawkeye, unsuccessfully. Yes, obviously he could have left a letter for a more satisfying, cathartic departure but realistically… there is more to say than could ever be said in writing between Trap and Hawk and I think they both know all of the things that are worth saying, so it wouldn’t accomplish much even if he’d tried, especially since we did get that goodbye scene in Check Up when it looked like Trap might be leaving, then didn’t. No, the reason Trapper’s leaving without a proper goodbye feels so unfair is because of all the irreplaceable in-person stuff that we, the audience, and the characters are cheated out of. Looking into each others eyes, some final wisecrack and parting words of brotherly affection, one last embrace. A wave as the chopper takes off or the keep drives away. I think the proxy kiss is left as an attempt to encompass all of the love and melancholy and bittersweetness that those moments would have conveyed.

I don’t think anything else the writers would have done for that moment, except if Wayne Rogers would’ve stuck around to explain his character’s exit in the first episode of season 4, could’ve really packed the same punch. The abruptness of his leaving is quite emotional and sends Hawkeye on the tense chase after him to try and get some cathartic goodbye and we’re all disappointed for a second time when he misses him at the airport. It’s all the more painful for Hawkeye because you can imagine how guilty he feels for not being there, for not answering the phone, for allowing the one good thing keeping him sane (or something resembling it) in the war to get away without his even seeing him off. It’s really effective and the kiss as a goodbye really speaks volumes by saying so little!!

Like I said before— we’d already gotten a goodbye scene, and a one-sided letter wouldn’t have done justice to Trapper and Hawkeyes friendship anyways!! The kiss is so wonderfully ambiguous in its meaning but also so delightfully unambiguous and all-encompassing. Piercintyre is one of those ships I’m chill with shipping kind of casually. Actually I really like them as a couple and think if they just kissed a little.. cuddled sometimes… y’know, the works— that it would actually add so much to their relationship and homies should kiss sometimes, actually. But regardless of that they canonically just mean so much to each other as friends. Beyond the things that they say out loud in Check Up, it’s evident in the way they take care of each other, how well they know each other and joke with each other and would do anything for each other. Their casual physical contact, they’re matching dress up. It’s all right there. They’re best friends they’re family they’re bonded forever by the horrible circumstances they have endured and attempted to make enjoyable together. Regardless of how you, the audience, or they, the characters (if they were sentient), define their relationship. They love each other. And the proxy kiss on the cheek communicates that.

I’ve seen some people say that they wouldn’t have been able to have that kiss on the cheek if it hadn’t been framed the way it was—through Radar who’s obviously uncomfortable passing it along. That if it had actually been Trapper we wouldn’t have that peck on the cheek at all. Idk that that’s true. Hawkeye kisses Henry on both cheeks in Abyssinia, Henry and he very very casually and briefly gives Trapper a little peck in Kim when he gets the letter from his wife agreeing to adopt the little boy. It’s part of a whole celebratory hug/embrace there and it’s just the best ever and I think a more subdued, sweet, melancholy and maybe even a little lingering version of that could have been a part of an in-person goodbye. And that would have been fantastic. If we could have had a proper goodbye scene between them… just a really brief one, not drawn out like Check Up is. Like if everything was the same but Hawkeye just caught Trap at the airport and he had 30 seconds to say goodbye and hug and deliver or receive that peck on the cheek. I think that’d be the bestest ever.

But as it is, with Wayne Rogers not being in the episode at all. I think the writing choices are as good as can be expected to deal with the abrupt departure and it pivots really tidily into welcoming BJ (although I wouldnt have minded a brief grieving period like if he’d shown up the next episode instead of the same episode or smth like that). Like I hate from a psychological, shipping, character supporting perspective that Hawkeye didn’t get something more concrete and permanent and explicit from Trapper, like a letter. But the fact that I feel that way and that I’m so so sad on Hawkeye’s behalf is an indication of good writing choices. And it does the thing. The thing mash is always trying to do. Which is remind you that it’s a show about war which is constantly and infinitely unfair, arbitrary and abrupt and doesn’t care about your feelings.

So in conclusion it’s really sad and thinking about it brings me great psychological and emotional pain but I’ve made peace with that fact and I applaud the writers for making me feel that way.

#thank you for coming to my Ted Talk #mash #m*a*s*h #mashposting #nia originals #hawkeye pierce #trapper john mcintyre #piercintyre #I’m only on season four still so I don’t have anything to say about trapper leaving in comparison to bj’s departure but… #there are still Things to Say about it on its own

[bugsbenefit]

From the last anon - I could go on and on about how much I just don’t get bylers who like mike when he’s canonically done stupid shit and still don’t really know the reasons. Put away all your little theories away for a second and think about it, he’s literally not a good person. The way he treats el and Will are just a testament look at the stank faces he pulled at Lucus’s game, he wasn’t just being annoying he was showing how he doesn’t know how to be a good friend. I think his character arc should be completed with him learning how to be a better friend to everyone around him maybe then would I be interested in him. Maybe then he could apologize to hopper for whatever season 3 was where he was being disrespectful for no reason.

What I’ll give Mike is him helping Joyce with the whole possession thing in s2 at least he was trying to be helpful to the plot. Season 4 he really didn’t do anything but sit there and yell at will make a weird attempt of apologizing to him, sit in a van acting oblivious to Will pouring his literal heart out then going back to el and saying the most cringe monologue in that entire show. That’s not someone I’m gonna really like or tune in to especially since they killed his character development he’s not developing.

So yes this happens to be the el show and the Will show the hopper show and the Joyce show I’m gonna say core 4.

and i'm gonna say you sound dumb as hell why are you camping in my ask box when you clearly know i'm just going to keep calling you stupid?

i don't even know where i could start to tell you you're wrong here this is just a complete disaster statement

you're baffled that people are interested in a character who's agency and reasoning is unclear? or a character that had good and bad moments? have you ever been in a fandom? one of the main reasons Mike is so interesting to me personally IS the fact that his pov is purposefully left unclear. having engaging characters that aren't laid out to you with all cards on the table while offering enough content so you can guess what's going on is always going to draw people in. that's also the reason why Will's involvement with the UD works so well, that hasn't been explained yet either and people are looking forward to it in s5. i really don't understand how the concept of being invested in something that's open ended is making you this upset

no one is forcing you to start liking Mike anonie, i promise it's going to be okay, maybe the reason you're so upset is because you're engaging with blogs that Do care about his character? have you considered that before?

also since you apparently think the show is simultaneously the El Will Joyce and Hopper show i'm assuming you Know that it's an ensemble show and there's multiple main character (sadly for you that just happens to include Mike as well based on the narrative itself and on what all the actors and writers have said until now but oh well)

also also are there actually people that think Mike should apologize to Hopper for some reason??? he was being annoying and smug in s3 that's the most forgivable teenage behaviour why should he apologize? Hopper is a cop and full grown adult and directly threatened Mike in a car because he sucked so bad at talking. i don't know what to tell you, might just be the evil Mike sympathizer in me talking, but i feel like the adult responding to an annoying teenager by being threatening because he can't think of anything else to do doesn't deserve an apology here💀

#what is going on today are we all good? #also what is your point here anonnnn are you trying to convert me to the ignores-the-show Mike hater club? #are you trying to make me feel guilty for enjoying more characters than just El and Will? #what is your purpose and are you succeeding #genuine question 🎤 #ask tag

[emmys-grimoire]

Going forward

You might have noticed I stopped the lesson summaries. This is for a simple reason: after lesson 11 the Nightbringer storyline began to seriously drop off and I was holding my breath for the plot to start again and get everyone excited for something again.

That didn’t happen. Nightbringer barely makes an appearance again shortly thereafter, and just chills in the background for a good third of the season while the rest of the lessons are mostly filler. There’s not even a finale or climax, really, and the cliffhanger you leave on is so muted that it feels wrong to even call it that. So serious are the implications of Raphael’s ultimatum that they decide to throw a ball after telling him to sod off. And congrats, you’re officially their babysitter now, I guess. It feels very Season 4-ish again.

It’s very clear that the writers just decided to pause all the conflict and tension until the next season. I’d applaud them for taking their time with the pacts if I thought they did the actual legwork in building the relationships between characters, but they really don’t. For a story that was trying to portray itself as more serious and edgier than the original flavor, it becomes very safe, very conservative very quickly after they forgive MC for lying about their identity.

If they’re not going to treat their central conflict seriously, neither am I. Going forward, I’m going to be engaging with Obey Me! as a casual player instead of expending an undue amount of effort on trying to make heads or tails of a story that should probably never be taken seriously -- even by campy otome standards. It’ll be mostly commentary from here out, sorry.

For those of you whole followed the blog for the story updates because you can’t keep up with the lessons, I’m sorry, but do know that the wiki is now doing a better job uploading shorter lesson summaries. I’ll still be open to answering asks and questions, and you can get ahold of me more directly on our discord server.

I’ll still post sporadically, and I *do* look forward to finally getting the Michael reveal I’ve been itching for since OG season 2, but I’m not expecting anything substantial going forward. The Nightbringer is probably exactly who we think it is (Barbatos), but I guess there’s a TINY chance it may be a completely different character if they’re finally willing to spare the art assets for Michael.

I’m not holding my breath, though: they could just have the guy disguise himself as someone else again.

#blog stuff #blog update #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me spoilers #obey me nightbringer lesson 20 #obey me nightbringer season 1

[thestupidhelmet]

That ‘90s Show Ponderings

The fact Fez calls Eric his best friend on That ‘90s Show is another example of how little T9S’s creators (two of whom were two of That ‘70s Show’s creators and one of whom was a T7S writer) care about the source material (i.e. That ‘70s Show) and the meager amount of effort they put in to refamiliarize themselves with it.

While Fez definitely demonstrates an attachment to and affection for Eric on That ‘70s Show, they barely have any scenes or episodes where they truly connect. Their friendship is woefully underdeveloped. The two characters Fez has the closest bond with are Hyde and Kelso.

Until season 5, Fez considers Hyde his best friend. They have many storylines (often B stories) and interactions in episodes together during seasons 1-4 that establish their connection and develop their friendship 

A flashback in “Class Picture” (4x20) shows us how Hyde, Kelso, and Eric meet Fez, and Hyde is immediately protective of Fez and offers him on-going protection, which inspires Fez to declare that Hyde is his best friend.

Once Hyde is paired romantically with Jackie in season 5, most of his significant storylines invovle her. Fez and Kelso are developed as true friends because of this new status quo, whereas before season 5, they are generally antagonistic to each other. By the end of the season, they’re clearly established as best friends.

While Fez and Hyde’s friendship is never forgotten in the later seasons, it’s no longer Fez’s primary platonic relationship for the rest of the series.

Never, though, are Fez and Eric depicted as best friends. They are friends because Fez is there (in the basement). He and Eric interact without much significance, except on rare occasion. We hear in “Trampled Underfoot” (5x21) about a phone call Fez makes to Eric at three a.m. to ask if they’re still friends, but this is a punchline adding to a  theme of the episode about Fez’s neediness 

“I’m Free” (6x05) is the only episode where Fez and Eric’s friendship is featured, but no growth in their bond occurs. It’s mostly jokes and a confirmation that Eric truly does care about Fez.

That Fez doesn’t mention Kelso at all in any of his That ‘90s Show episodes, or Jay -- Kelso’s son -- makes no sense. Fez would’ve very likely been Jay’s godfather. Once Fez’s romantic interest in Jackie dies in “Ice Shack” (T7S 3x10), they eventually become true friends in the later seasons (particularly season 7). Kelso, Jackie, Jay, and Fez all live in Point Place -- seemingly continuously (with maybe a few breaks) the last fifteen years (Point Place Time™). 

The above paragraph again, begs the question as to why Red and Kitty have no idea who Jay Kelso is until the events of That ‘90s Show and act like they haven’t seen Kelso or Jackie for years. The series establishes that Fez has been Kitty’s hair stylist since he became one, and true to Fez’s nature he would’ve talked about Kelso, Jackie, and Jay -- since character-logic dictates he would’ve been involved in their lives (even if he weren’t Jay’s godfather).

All of this is to reiterate the point of That ‘90s Show being a canon-divergent AU continuation of That ‘70s Show. It couldn’t be anything else since its creators seem to have the barest of memories of That ‘70s Show and didn’t do the research necessary to refresh their knowledge.

The one exception is Red and Kitty’s relationship, and that’s thanks to Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith knowing and caring about their characters (and Kurtwood making sure he and Debra Jo became executive producers of T9S so they’d have the clout to keep their characters [mostly] on-model).

Red and Kitty’s relationship is returned to canon in That ‘90s Show after That ‘70s Show introduced a boatload of character drift into their relationship in season 6 (catalyzed by Kitty’s menopause / self-medicating with alcohol storyline in season 5) -- to the point where their relationship in season 7 is almost not recognizable as the one from seasons 1-4.

#That 70s Show #That '90s Show #That '70s Show #Red x Kitty #Eric Forman #My Meta #My Essay #Meta #Essay #Fez #Michael Kelso #Steven Hyde #Jackie Burkhart

[constant-merlin-torture]

Merlin Episode Rant--His Father's Son

Wow. Wow wow wow. This show istg.

His Father’s Son is perhaps one of the most cohesive, easily understood episodes of the show. It's complex, it's interesting, but it lacks one thing that they always lack: Character continuity and just in general having a strong grip on their character relationships. Meaning, Arthur’s decisions, and his character literally contradict each other in this episode. He normally (character) is brave, has conviction, and above all else, loves really hard. Like really hard. Think of the formative stages of Arthur/Gwen! He literally tries to relinquish his kingship for Gwen. I actually really like that moment on its own, if the rest of the relationship didn’t have useless roadblocks or if Gwen actually still was a good character in 4 and 5. Instead, in this episode, he bends like a pipe cleaner to whatever Agravaine is saying, disregards Merlin’s counsel (which, believe it or not, he actually does listen to normally and frequently seeks out), but most importantly, he literally breaks up with Gwen. 

Now, if you’ve been following me for a bit, you’d know that I’m not the biggest fan of the Arthur/Gwen relationship mainly because it doesn’t really change either of them as characters in a good way (The show-runners remove Gwen’s personality for some reason and Arthur stays the same). But, I think this should have been a breaking point moment. Why, oh my god why, does he break up with Gwen? 

Agravaine so easily convinces him to go and cut things off with her, even after the show blares at us that they are “so in love” and that they “are each other’s forevers” but then they have him just go and break up with her because Agravaine thinks so? And not even that---because its not appropriate????????? mmEXCUSE ME???

AND THEN

He seems to believe it. This, for me, shows two things:

The writers have no idea what they’re doing with these characters

If the writers truly understand this decision, then they’re basically telling viewers that Arthur and Gwen’s relationship is so fragile that he would break up with her if his random uncle told him to. Like what the hell.

Also, I want to address what is going on between Arthur and Merlin this episode. I actually think its the most nuanced their relationship has been for a bit in this season. They are not seeing eye to eye on something, and Arthur is pushing him away, but we constantly see that Arthur comes back to Merlin, for everything, after everything, because he needs him. And this is really beautiful. I think Arthur should have made a pinnacle decision in this episode, for both of his relationships.

Here’s how I would fix it

For Arthur and Gwen moment: When Agravaine tells Arthur that his relationship with her is inappropriate, this should have been a wake up call for Arthur. If he truly loves her that much, if he needs her that much, then this relationship should be much stronger than counsel from his pushy uncle. AND, this would actually move the plot forward, as well as strengthen Arthur and Gwen’s relationship. We could have a regroup moment with Arthur and Merlin, where he realizes how much he needs Merlin (maybe not to a full extent to keep up with the pace of the show), as well as his friends and their advice. So, Arthur would decline Agravaine, he would start trusting him less, and this could still progress to that final scene with the fight and Arthur showing mercy and there would be a LOT MORE CONTINUITY in arthur’s character! 

I actually like the idea of Arthur killing the king of Caerleon mainly because it forces his character to go through something difficult like getting it wrong. Plus, it makes sense for him to bend to Agravaine in this situation since he’s genuinely new to making these sorts of decisions.

Also I’m such an advocate for apologies on tv. It seems like on Merlin especially, they really milk the idea of Merlin getting no credit or gratitude, but in this situation, there is nothing to do with his magic or anything. SO, Arthur should have sort-of (in his way) apologized for not trusting Merlin with the Caerleon thing (at least in that scene where Merlin has just gotten all the knights to come and tell him life-affirming things, I think it would have been nice if Arthur had just given some sort of indication that he recognizes that Merlin did tell him, and was trying to help)

Anyway, this is in my top ten Merlin episodes, in terms of it having some sort of weight and making sense on its own, but also, it has so many problems. Plus, there isn’t any real continiuity in Arthur’s character after, and he doesn’t really change at all. 

Also, at the end of the episode, when Arthur and Gwen have that romantic moment, I just feel awkward because it would feel cute and romantic if Arthur hadn’t just easily broken up with her because someone told him to. Like I get that he told Merlin to give her his ring, and that he’s sorry, but like, you did it so easily?? Why wouldn’t you do it again?

This show dude.

#merthur #bbc merlin #arthur x merlin #merlin #merlin emrys #and arthur #arthur pendragon #arthur and gwen #bbc arwen #I wish it was actually good #cause then id ship it for sure #but it wasn;t good #maybe ill do like a full post on why #that sounds fun

[flamingfalcon3]

Why Mike lying in his monologue would destroy his character

So the idea of Mike lying during his monologue has been an almost universal theory among a certain group of shippers. I get the impulse to write it off, as the monologue was pretty damning for their ship. I’ve seen the theories about the lightning, and the vines tightening, and the screenshot about the writers not believing in love at first sight, but I’m not here to discuss whether the monologue is real or not. I might do that another time.

I want to discuss the implications of the monologue being a lie, as I believe it would decimate Mike’s character and put his treatment of El on par with Brenner’s.

Throughout season 4, we get a glimpse of El’s time in the lab; how she was forced to compete with her brothers and sisters in order to earn childhood commodities like candy or extra time playing with toys. This struck me, because in previous flashbacks we’ve mostly seen her being punished for not accomplishing tasks. However, on a second rewatch of season 1, I noticed other moments where Brenner “rewarded” El for doing what he wants. One moment where he gave her a plant before she went in the sensory deprivation tanks, and, more importantly, the moment where El kills the two guards who threw her in the dark closet. This time, however, instead of giving her a physical reward, he cupped her face in his hands and called her “incredible.” This was the first instance where we saw Brenner act as a “father-figure” towards El instead of an emotionless scientist. We can conclude from these handful of scenes that affection was something El was supposed to earn. Love was conditional, and she had to use her powers to earn it.

Mike, from the very start of the show, was portrayed as the foil to Brenner. While Brenner rewarded El as it benefited him, Mike showed compassion to El before he even knew her name. It would’ve been easier to leave her out in the storm. He did not know about her powers or that she could help him find Will. He was also incredibly defensive of her when they found out she did have powers, and ridiculed Dustin when he treated her powers like a fun dog trick. He was the first person to ever treat El like a human being, and she fell in love with him for it. With Mike, love wasn’t something she had to earn.

Skipping ahead to season 4, El was at her lowest point. She believed that she was a monster. That her boyfriend had fallen out of love with her. The powers that she’d been trained since birth to associate with love and affection were gone. She’d started to regain a sense of self after standing up to Brenner, coming to terms with the fact that he was the one who caused all the pain and suffering in the world, not her. Vecna tries to shake this newfound confidence El had during their confrontation, reminding her that she was the one who made him into what he was, as well as letting him back into the world. We’ve seen that El is at her strongest when she feels loved. Vecna knows this, and uses her insecurities against her to make her feel like a monster again, which in turn makes her feels unlovable.

Mike’s monologue assures her that she is loved. More specifically, she’s loved by the person who’s seen her at her worst and who she feared stopped loving her because of the things she’s done. Again, she’s being reassured that love isn’t conditional. That Mike’s love isn’t conditional.

If Mike lied during his monologue, and by extent the whole relationship, he would’ve been acting like her abusers. He would’ve been manipulating her emotionally in order to get something out of it. He did not have to tell her that he loved her. He could’ve said anything else because he didn’t know that love was what gave her strength. The implication that Mike lied during his monologue means he used one of El’s biggest insecurities in order to make her more powerful so she prevent the apocalypse. You can argue that El did not believe him, but you cannot argue that it wouldn’t have been a despicable thing to do regardless. Trying to manipulate someone to that degree is bad even if they didn’t fall for it, especially someone like El.

If you want to theorize Mike as some master manipulator then that’s one thing, but what baffles me is the group that believes Mike was lying in his monologue should be with their favorite character. Why would you want a character who emotionally manipulated his girlfriend for years to be with another heavily traumatized character? It would be so much easier to just have his feelings be genuine and have El break up with him regardless.

Idk how coherent this is, but I can’t stand it when people spend so much time trying to prove that Mike was lying in his monologue without considering the horrible implications it has for him as a character and I wanted to bring some light to that.

#I should write about why i believe mike was telling the truth in his monologue next #mileven #stranger things #el hopper #eleven #mike wheeler #mike x eleven #stranger things 4 #stranger things season 4

[theerurishipper]

Do you think Adricat hates himself?

Hi!

I wouldn’t say hate, but he does have very low self-worth. He believes very sincerely that no one could like him as he is, so he has to put on masks and act a certain way around them to please them. So he can never be himself, and he doesn’t think that anyone would like him if he behaved like he wanted to. This is, as all things are, Gabriel’s fault. We see him say many times that Adrien is overly emotional, and Gabriel wants nothing but perfection from him. If Adrien acts out, he gets punished, and if he conforms perfectly to Gabriel’s wishes, he just gets neglected, and maybe gets a scrap of attention from him if he’s really lucky.

Because of Gabriel’s controlling nature and his tendency to deny Adrien any affection unless he acts like he wants, Adrien has internalized the idea that love is conditional and that he has to earn it by pleasing the people around him. Which is why Chat Noir is so healing for him (until Season 4). It’s not the “true” him or anything, because Chat Noir is still a mask. He swings to the opposite end of the metaphorical pendulum there and acts out a lot, so even though it’s part of who he is, it’s still an exaggeration and not all of who he is. But he doesn’t have to please anyone in that role. Ladybug accepts him, cat puns and all, and he gets to be free. It’s an escape from his abusive home.

He occasionally tries to act out and go after what he wants as Adrien, but most of the time, he does listen to his father. Because this is how abusers like Gabriel behave. It’s a cycle. Gabriel is controlling, Adrien listens to him, Adrien gets tired of it at some point and tries to rebel, Gabriel gaslights and manipulates him, Adrien listens to him again. If it gets to be too much for Adrien and he seems very ready to fight for it, Gabriel offers him the smallest of concessions and the slightest bit of attention so that he won’t try to break free of him, and it starts all over again. I don’t have enough faith in the writers anymore to know if this was intentional, but it’s a very accurate portrayal of an abuser. Adrien expresses disappointment with Gabe sometimes in the early seasons, but he still makes excuses for his behavior because he loves Gabriel and believes the best of him, and wants Gabriel to love him.

Gabe is a master at gaslighting. In The Collector, Gabriel had a copy of his book the whole time, and he still pretended that Adrien had hurt him, and threw all that stuff in his office around to make it look like he was deeply distraught, all so that he could hammer it into Adrien that it was his fault. And again in Illusion, when he goes on bemoaning about what he did wrong in raising Adrien when he knew Adrien was listening so that he could make him feel guilty. All this just reinforces in Adrien that it is his fault if Gabriel doesn’t love him, that he’s not good enough as himself because he makes Gabriel sad and hurt by being that way, and that he has to pretend to be perfect for him and everyone else. If someone doesn’t love him, it’s his own fault. If someone is upset with him, it can’t be anything other than his fault.

Gabe says things like “You’re too emotional to be allowed to make decisions, it’s your fault,” and Adrien believes him. He’s not good as himself, he has to be perfect. He has to be exactly who the other person wants him to be. This is what he did in Kuro Neko with Ladybug. He thought she didn’t like him as he was, so he tried to be the partner she wanted him to be. It’s why he always downplays his own emotional needs and feelings, because he’s been told that his emotions don’t matter and that they are a burden, and so he can’t bother other people by having them. That they won’t like him if he shows them his true feelings, and in fact they'll be hurt.

So to actually answer your question, I don’t think he hates himself. Hate is a pretty strong word. But he doesn't have much self-esteem and self-worth. He doesn’t dislike himself so much as he doesn’t really know who “himself” is, because he’s been forced to conform to Gabe’s expectations of who he should be his whole life. I hope this answers your question.

Thank you for your ask!

#MLB #Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Gabriel Agreste #Meta #My meta #Asks #Abuse tw #Abuse cw

[bitterflames]

list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern (tagged by @sunriseverse on main, tyty! 💛)

...i've only got 9 posted fics so we're gonna have to make do lol. talk about inspiration to get off my arse and finish some of my wips >.>

1. how to deflower your martial brother (wo jia dashixiong naozi you keng, dongfang wuqiong/gong changsheng) Gong Changsheng had noticed this when he was younger, the way Dongfang Wuqiong would sometimes press a hand to his chest as though in pain, the recurring cough he’d shrug off as a minor seasonal affliction. 2. what's in a name? (mysterious lotus casebook, di feisheng & fang duobing) He didn’t mean to keep it, but something about the helpless little bundle of cream-coloured fur had stirred his heart. 3. no takebacks (mysterious lotus casebook, fang duobing/li lianhua) Li Lianhua is teasing him about his supposed upcoming marriage to the princess again, in that way he does sometimes that’s more of a defensive mechanism than anything. 4. to gravity and the unknown (elder scrolls online, verandis ravenwatch/prince naemon) It’s cold. 5. you and me and a bottle of wine (baldur's gate 1, player character/xan) Beregost is a welcome sight after weeks of trudging up and down the Sword Coast at the mercy of the elements, the wildlife both mundane and monstrous, and the seemingly endless roving gangs of bandits. 6. hold me tight and fear me not (baldur's gate 2, player character/xan) The dark elves are not much for merrymaking, Ceru thinks as she sips at her second tankard of black mead; in all her travels, she’s never seen a tavern so quiet. 7. snow and repetitions of snow (elder scrolls online, mannimarco/vanus galerion) Vanus Galerion sank into his bathtub wearily, the troubles of the day weighing heavily upon him. 8. a light that does not flicker (elder scrolls iv: oblivion, hero of kvatch/martin septim)

Nevos could only watch, mute and uncomprehending, as Martin was enveloped in a blaze of light so bright it hurt his eyes to watch.

9. into the abyss (elder scrolls iv: oblivion, hero of kvatch/martin septim) Blue, all around him is blue, a placid calm sky that stretches on in all directions as far as he can see. taking "first line" as the first full sentence, which... lol. if there's any consistency in these it's that i am very inconsistent! past tense, present tense, rambling run-on sentences or just "it's cold"? no pattern no rhyme no reason baby!!!

tagging! @shararan @strandedchesspiece uhh i think i've seen this one around a bit, i'm not sure who else has done it! any writer friends who are interested pls feel free to do the thing and @ me about it 💛

#oof ow ough so much old bad fic #motivation to finish my wips for Real #patchy output bc i only started writing again last year after like a 4-year hiatus... of sorts. i was deep in RP stuff for a while #the thing about RP though is when that relationship implodes horrifically you don't really get to keep the resulting writing as a souvenir #(and probably don't really want to. it's covered in the fucking ooze. you know how it is (?)) #oop that's enough tag rambling from me. ty for reading anyone who's gotten this far! 😅 #text post tag #tag games #vayne writes stuff