#(not that that was the case for eddie but for us the audience we saw him truly start to heal within the next two episodes)

[evankinard]

I keep seeing people say buck has never gotten a breakdown moment and every time I have to reply well what's all this then

[chirpsythismorning]

Welcome to a series I'm calling:

Yes, that scene did foreshadow Mike's monologue was disingenuous

Because you'd be surprised how many times the show (even prior to s4) has poked fun at Mike's monologue in the most random ways.

The Bingham's Beautiful Performance

First we have Suzie's sister on the floor, bedazzled and sporting a veil all while her brother is filming. This is basically the kids attempting to present a tale of a romance ending in gruesome tragedy.

Our bride here is El. The edition of the veil could be a nod to the loud majority's series long assumption that Mike and El are going to end the show together, preferably getting married.

Unfortunately, this is the closest thing they'll ever get to it, with the acknowledgement of that possibility in and of itself being mocked.

This next shot makes the likelihood that these scenes are connected pretty much indisputable, that being the edition of the record player behind the bride's head.

The only reason they made a point of having Will push the radio out of El's way, was to subtly connect this moment in Surfer boy to the beautiful performance we saw at the Bingham's only a few episodes prior (scenes that are widely known to be filled with foreshadowing for the season's ending).

A few bylers have already talked about these parallels, so this isn't new knowledge per say. But I do know some have dropped it altogether as possible foreshadowing for whatever reason, while most fans outside of the byler fandom insist it only foreshadowed Eddie's death. However, I think there are too many details that equally, if not more connect it to Mike's monologue than to Eddie's death.

Some fans have also noticed how Will was missing in quite a few shots at the Bingham's, which is interesting, but not all that surprising. Especially in this case...

Will. Will is the director

Director Will: GET THAT RADIO OUT OF MY SHOT!

Will directed the monologue when he used his feelings to inspire Mike, with the reminder of it (literally in the moment) directing Mike to confess to El, just like Suzie's brother directed that beautiful performance. Both performances convincingly left its audience thinking that the performers feelings in that moment were believable and...

genuine...

[apomaro-mellow]

King&Prince 3

Steve didn't know how long he'd been in here between being knocked out and the fact that there was no window to help him tell the time. But it must've been a few hours at least, because someone came down to feed him. The person was nondescript besides the scowl on their face as they pretty much tossed the tray at him. It skid across the floor and Steve saw that it was some bread and some soup.

Steve reached for the soup first, wanting something to warm him only to find that it was just barely above his own body temperature. And something slimy was in it. He winced, making his deliveryman laugh.

"Eat up, your highness", he sneered before leaving him to it.

Steve tried the bread next. It was only slightly stale and he wondered if he should be rationing it. This could be his only meal for the next twenty four hours. They intended to return him home but that didn't mean he had to be in perfect condition. They could keep him on the brink if it suited them.

In the end, he decided to finish it all now. He looked at what he was left with. A spoon, a bowl, and a tray. He could probably use any of the three as a weapon, but that did nothing for his locked cell. Steve spent the next few hours, formulating a plan.

He would've thought about it longer, but that was when someone came to serve what must be dinner. That is unless they served bread and soup for breakfast here. It was someone different, but they handed him the tray in much the same way, sliding it in small space under the bars.

"I need to relieve myself", Steve announced.

"And? You've got four corners."

"So I'm just supposed to shit in the corner?"

"Enjoy your slop", he said, turning to leave when Steve grabbed an arm through the bars and twisted it behind his back and raised the spoon to his throat. It was probably the least threatening thing ever but his current warden was frozen.

"What the hell!?"

"You're going to let me out. Or else."

"Or else what? You'll spoon me to death?", he let out a choke of laughter as Steve pressed down.

"I think that's exactly what I'll do", Steve said as he slid the spoon up his neck, up his face and towards his eye.

"Waitwaitwait! I don't even have the keys! Only the king can let you out!"

"Are you lying to me?", Steve asked, his voice low.

"No! I promise. He's the only one with a key to this place. We don't keep a lot of prisoners!"

Steve waited a moment to see if there were any tells that might show dishonesty before dropping the spoon and backing away from the bars.

"In that case, I request an audience with your king. A prisoner I may be, but these current accommodations are not to my standards."

His guard gave him an incredulous look as he caught his breath and regained his wits. "Are you serious? You're making demands?"

Steve crossed his arms. "I am not going to shit where I sleep."

"No one here gives a fuck about what you want. Get used to that prince."

He spat out the word 'prince' like it was a slur. Steve didn't have a huge flock of fans back home, but the blatant disrespect was so foreign. He was left alone to figure out how he was going to keep his cell from smelling like a latrine.

Eddie sent out a letter the very day he had Steve in his keep, flying on the wing of one of his demobats so that there was no mistaking who the letter came from. Steve didn't know how things were going outside his limited scope though, and tried to make the best of his situation. He considered positioning his stream outside the cell and also leaving his solid waste as close to the bars as possible just to piss off whoever came down here, but considering that meant it might touch his food, he refrained.

There wasn't the smell of rot or waste here, so that could only mean prisoners weren't meant to be here long. That either meant they had different cells for long time stays. Or...

Steve brought a hand to his throat. He wouldn't think of 'or' right now. He paced around, considering trying to dig a hole in the softest part of the stone (what an oxymoron), when his foot stumbled against something. There was a small panel, it seemed. And when he opened it, it was a bottomless, black hole. Well what better place for waste to go?

------------------------

Steve was pretty sure a couple of days had passed, just from the amount of meals he'd been given. But he knew he looked more destitute than that. A side effect of having to choose between tearing up his blanket to wipe himself with or tearing his own clothes. And only one of those was comfortable on his ass.

It was probably about three days in when he got a new visitor. This one still brought food but he was also significantly younger than the others. A literal child.

"Whoa. So you're the guy who tried to kill someone with a spoon?" The boy tilted his head, inspecting Steve. "You don't look that dangerous."

"Give me a spoon and let's test your theory", Steve said, sitting against the far wall, waiting for the tray to be passed over. It seemed fitting that a demonic king would be using child labor.

"Spoons are too easy", the boy said. "Now if you could threaten someone wiiiiith your pinky! Yeah if it was your pinky that would be intimidating."

"My pinky?"

"Yeah", the boy nodded, flopping his brown curls around.

Steve held up his pinky. "You could poke someone's eyes out, hold them up by the nose, break their other fingers with enough force, just to name a couple of things."

"That's almost every orifice. I guess the ears aren't too vulnerable. But what about the ass?"

Steve's face scrunched up, confused as to what the boy was talking about and why he was having this conversation. "What about the ass?"

"You could stick a finger up there. Really disorient a person."

"...Yeah it'd do that. But you wouldn't really do that to an enemy."

"Why?"

"How old are you?", Steve asked.

"Thirteen."

"Ask someone when you're older."

"Oh come on! I'm not a baby."

Steve cracked his first smile in days. He thought of himself back at thirteen. It wasn't that long ago but he was both embarrassed and nostalgic for that age. "Just hand the food over, kid."

"You and Eddie. One day the youth will rise you know", the boy said as he pushed the food over.

Hearing that definitely made Steve feel older than he was but he tried to ignore it. What was harder to ignore was that the kid kept coming back. Steve had gotten used to a new face every time a new meal was delivered. But this kid, who he learned was named Dustin, came every time now. He asked Steve questions about how to kill people.

Steve told him flat out he'd never killed anyone, was just trained to. So Dustin rephrased to ask how he would kill someone. It still seemed like a morbid topic to have with someone locked up, but it wasn't like Steve had anything else to do. So he told Dustin what he knew. About people's typical weak spots, about the best weapon to use for what sort of damage he was looking for.

He never considered that Dustin might be performing espionage. He was just a kid after all. And when Steve wasn't talking about headlocks versus full body grappling, Dustin was talking about his friends. It was mostly Will, Mike, and Lucas. Sometimes and El was thrown in there. And then there was this Eddie character. Someone who drove Dustin up the wall but also clearly had the boy's admiration.

Apparently Eddie told stories to Dustin and his friends and let them insert their own characters, and gave them a chance to interact with the story. It was fun and Eddie challenged them with obstacles. But it was frustrating when they couldn't decide on the best course of action and Eddie bested them.

Steve had never heard of interactive storytelling like that. And he had to admit it was a good way to engage with kids, not that he had much experience with that.

Around the fourth day since Dustin's arrival, probably about a week or so in to Steve's stay, he really took in Steve's appearance and it surroundings.

"I should ask Eddie about getting you some new clothes. And maybe, I don't know freshen things here? We've never kept somebody down here this long."

Steve figured that. "How is Eddie going to get me anything?"

Dustin looked at him like he was a child. "He's got some pretty big pull around here."

Steve doubted that. Eddie sounded like perhaps a servant with a soft spot for the children of the castle, regardless of their station. Maybe he was a knight and Dustin had been downplaying his nobility? Either way, Steve wasn't going to hold his breath. It didn't matter who Eddie was. King Edward was like stone, he was sure. Listening to no one.

Part 5

Tag Team

@thesuninyaface @only-evanescent @snakeorsquid @ignoremyworld

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

I have a theory that the reason we as an audience feel like Sibuna in Season 3b are making monumentally stupid choices is because the show doesn’t actually spell out for us that the kids don’t have all the information we have. In fact, they are operating with less than half of our knowledge. (This is gonna be a longgggg post, so read under the cut if you dare)

On my latest rewatch of S3 for fanfic purposes, i found myself really struggling to justify why the hell Eddie couldn’t put two and two together with his vision of Patricia and the “traitor” in Sibuna. I was frustrated with him because to me it was incredibly obvious! Like who else could it possibly be?? But then, I rewatched it again with a closer eye and everything suddenly clicked:

We, the audience, are watching the action from a completely zoomed out angle. We’re not just following Sibuna, but we’re also following Team Evil. We know Robert is capturing Sinners and what a Sinner actually is, before Sibuna is even fully aware that they failed to stop the eclipse ceremony. The kids metaphorically tripped at the starting line.

Furthermore, this is the first time in the show that the Sibunas have not had either the upper hand or were even on equal playing field with the adults. In Season 1, the Society was wholly unprepared for a bunch of adolescents to start foiling in their plans (bc why would they be prepared for that??), and Sibuna basically destroyed them due to adults underestimating their willingness to fuck around and find out. In Season 2, Victor/Vera and Sibuna were on equal ground; no one knew how to solve the tasks and it was a matter of a bunch of separate parties trying to figure it out before each other. They were all just throwing shit at the wall and hoping it stuck.

At the top of Season 3, we play a lot with both the S1 and S2 dynamics. At first, Sibuna is leagues and bounds ahead of the adults, and then they pretty quickly end up on the same footing. Then, in the second half of the season, that entire dynamic is flipped on its head, and it’s Sibuna who are wholly unprepared for the adults. I’ve talked about how the kids, especially our Sibuna veterans, got a little too comfortable with Victor and co’s ineptitude and cocky with their own intelligence… but that’s not even why they were so slow on the uptake.

None of the Sibunas even hear the word “Sinner” until they find that book in the secret room and read it while sitting on the stage. And the book does not explain at all what a Sinner actually is. It tells them that Ammut needs “the souls of five human sinners who embody the greatest flaws on mankind” and once she has five of them she can enter the human realm and cause lots of problems. Absolutely nowhere in the book does it ever say “Also, much like Robert, the soulless body of the Sinner is reawakened in service to the underworld.” The only other hint that could have possibly clued anyone in is “when your friends are not your friends”. But like, that clue was ages ago! Why would they even be thinking about that, when it had absolutely no bearing on their hunt for the secret room/answers up to that point? I cannot stress this enough, THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE WHAT A SINNER IS! (I’m gonna repeat this sentence about 400 times in case you don’t get it now lol) Mind you, that atp in the timeline, this is approximately fifteen or so minutes before Denby captures Patricia.

But let’s rewind all the way back to when Team Evil devises a plan to kidnap Eddie. He’s in the crypt, right? It’s pretty evident to him that it was probably Denby, Victor, and/or Robert who trapped him here, but he’s got no real clue as to why. Of course, we all know that they’re planning on turning him into a Sinner, because we saw Victor get turned. But as far as Sibuna knows, Victor has never really been on their side, so all they think is that he’s being meaner than usual but of course he’s opposing them. That’s not strange.

Okay, so Eddie is stuck and distressed, but he’s not as panicked as he needs to be because nowhere in his mind does he think this could potentially end in what is essentially his death. Now, throw in the horrifying vision he has of Patricia getting dragged into a glowing sarcophagus. He still doesn’t know what a Sinner is, but he knows that whatever he just saw was really bad; it’s an incentive from the Osirian spirit (or the house, or the gods, or literally whatever) to actually try to get the hell out of there.

So we’re all sitting here watching going “Oh my god they’re gonna nab Patricia and make her evil! 😰” because we have context; Eddie has absolutely none. It’s also really important for later on that his vision ends when the sarcophagus door shuts. It’s framed as incredibly final, and for all Eddie knows, they’ve just stuffed Patricia in what he knows is a tiny cramped space and locked the door behind her. He thinks that at best they are going to kidnap her or, at worst, straight up kill her. Nothing in that vision indicates she’s walking out of there at all.

When Patricia ran off after the fake messages, Eddie is concerned for a lot of different reasons, but the two primary ones are the obvious “oh my god my girlfriend thinks I cheated on her what do I do???” and the other is “if she’s run off on her own, the adults could fulfill my vision!” But then she turns back up, which should be clear to us by now means that he thinks she’s safe. He’s waiting for her (for any of them) to disappear. But when none of them do, they think it’s fine. It’s not that Eddie doesn’t think Patricia is in danger of becoming a Sinner, he just doesn’t realize what that would actually look like.

Even when they’re all in the hallway morbidly joking about having to give up sinning, the language KT uses is telling of what they think being a Sinner means: “We don’t want to accidentally help out Team Evil [by sinning].” Of course, this statement works with the knowledge the audience has of everything, but if Sibuna actually knew what they were dealing with, KT would have said something more like “We don’t want to get captured/turned by Team Evil.” The jokes they’re making are still morbid, but because they think you just get put in the sarcophagus and that’s the end of it.

Let’s flash forward again to the phonograph getting smashed and Eddie’s second vision that prompts the witch hunt panic in the first place. The vision can be separated into three parts: 1) Eddie sees a hooded figure smash the phonograph (okay Sibuna already knows someone did it on purpose, not too crazy); 2) Robert approaches him creepily and has the mic-drop moment of “it was one of your little friends; you have a viper in your nest” (seriously what a raw line of dialogue… but also now Eddie is being told that there is a traitor. Pretty cut and dry); 3) he turns around and sees every other member of Sibuna mockingly throw up the Sibuna sign (uh oh!)

So here is where people (including me!) always got a little annoyed with Eddie for not doing the math. But upon several rewatches and actually listening to what everyone was saying, never once do any of the kids ever bring up the word “Sinner” during the entirety of this whodunnit arc. And that’s simply because it’s not even a thought that crosses their minds. The language they use is very telling: “traitor” and “betrayal” being the heavy hitters. If any of them actually had context for what was actually going on, the language they would be using would be more like “victim” or literally just “Sinner” as a noun. But they don’t, which is why they’re so hostile toward one another… and why KT was screwed from the moment Eddie had that vision.

Because the fact that they don’t know that a Sinner is an evil version of themselves (not just someone whose soul is being used as a power generator), means that on a subconscious level Fabian, Alfie, and even Eddie already assumed KT was guilty. And Sinner!Patricia knew that, and that’s why she was so easily able to pivot and pin it on her. KT was directly linked to Frobisher, and Fabian and Alfie had already been suspicious of her at the start of the season for other reasons. It’s why Fabian let Patricia help him with the finger printing in the first place: because he doesn’t believe it’s her. And Eddie would have no real reason to suspect Patricia for three reasons: 1) Because he’s in love with her; 2) Because he knows just how long Patricia (and Fabian, and Alfie) have been loyal to Sibuna and to each other; 3) Because he, like everyone else, was looking at this betrayal as a willing capitulation to the Team Evil.

The first time Sibuna becomes aware that a Sinner is an entity that they have to actually watch out for walking about (as opposed to just having to watch out becoming), is after KT and Harriet manage to escape Patricia in the Gatehouse. Harriet clearly knows what a Sinner is bc she has the presence of mind to actually explain (vaguely, of course, because she’s drugged to kingdom come) to KT what she’d just narrowly escaped.

And then when she confronts Sibuna and Patricia in the hallway after Miss Crocodile Tears is telling tales about KT trying to kidnap her, KT drops the bomb on the boys: “She was trying to make me a Sinner just like her!” Pause. Record scratch. Okay. Now everything they thought they knew about the situation is completely recontextualized as something much more sinister than what they initially thought. Because I’d always struggled with how cruel they were being to KT, especially if they thought it wasn’t her fault. But everything up until this point deeply suggests or rather expects us to understand that Sibuna only had two pieces of an 100 piece puzzle, and that them being mean to KT was because they thought she actually betrayed them.

With all of this in mind, Eddie is not stupid for not figuring it out right away. In fact, without knowing what a Sinner actually is, it would be an insane leap to assume Patricia had anything to do with the phonograph.

I’ve basically talked myself and all of you in several circles, but the bottom line is the show didn’t do a fabulous job of telling us that Sibuna had no clue what they were up against. It’s easy for us to sit back and go “what the hell is wrong with them are they stupid?” because we have all the knowledge of what’s going on eons before they do. This is a far more charitable read of the characters’ choices and thought process, and the only way any of their actions make any sense. In fact, this is less of a theory and more of what is… literally canon, I guess

[bidisasterevankinard]

So you’re pretty sure of him being next season still around… glad to know, because I totally agree, cause a lot of people is sure that they’re going to break up soon…and honestly, if that was the case, story wise, it wouldn’t make any sense to me…

Maybe you’re right and the ILY will arrive next season, but this season I would love for them to take the next step and label themselves as a serious relationship…

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Tommy will stays at least for season 8. because of story they are making and because of how bucktommy was taken by fandom and the thing that Lou was followed by 911 ig account. For me it all speaks "we want more of him"

You're absolutely right that story wise for now there's no reason for Buck and Tommy to break up. They for now was only on two dates(and we will not see the time skip to wedding I guess but still I believe it's several week after coffee date so we also can add some more dates+ wedding) and they are absolutely smitten with each other and want to try to know each other. Tim, Lou and if I'm not mistaken Oliver all said they want romcom and I can't see them break even at the end of the season,but I can see them taken more serious step as calling each other boyfriends. Oliver also said there's gonna be more kisses and Buck initiate some of them, so Buck definitely feels more confident in his relationship and I can see him only trying to make them deeper and more meaningful, but not "clinging" because he's scared to be alone, but because he really likes Tommy

When they didn't want someone for long, Ali for example, they barely gave us anything about the character. We literally just knew that where she works, that she was dying her hair blonde for a lot of time and that's all. About Ana, who stayed for pretty longer, we jts knew her work, that she has sister(right before break up) and that's all. Even Taylor had backstory only in 5s when I guess they tried to make Bucktaylor work.

About Tommy we already know some things from begins episodes and that's btw makes everything easier. Tim said that they chose Tommy because he was already existed in the universe, they don't need to create new person, but they made Tommy deeper. We literally had Tommy in 6 episodes (in one barely) and we already know more about him we know about Tailor who was around for 1,5 seasons. They showed us where he works, said that he was in the army(in begins it never mentioned), made his story we saw in begins deeper with saying "yeah, he was in closet.", told us about his interests like Muay Thai, cars, basketball, we know he's a movie fan like Chim (begins). We know he loves Love,actually and craft beer. They made him Eddie's new friend. Also they let Lou to share his ideas how he sees Tommy (hard unstable childhood) which I'm sure wasn't for nothing. I see them making Tommy the character on the Karen's level at least .The LI of the main character, who is regular with enough backstory to make them interesting and lovable to the audience, but no need to make them main. Also Tommy's job allows him to make appearance any time they want. And his friendship with Eddie, Chim and Hen too. So he doesn't need to be just "Buck's boyfriend". Tommy has way better treatment any gf of Buck or Eddie had and we have him as a LI for only 3 episodes. Imagine what they can do till the end of the season and during next one? Make him loveable LI who is not plot device, but also no need to make him main. And as Tommy not in 118, 911 don't even have to go through standard plot of "oh, we are working together and it's gonna be a lot of drama about it". Too old

[kassycreations]

Sally Starlet and the Moon (A Welcome Home Theory)

Welcome Home has invaded my every waking thought and as a result, I've been thinking about a lot of things. One of these things being Home's thespian; Sally Starlet.

Sally is apparently one of the characters the fandom has headcannoned and theorized to be self aware along with Wally and now Eddie. I didn't know this but now it's one of the many, many things I think about. I understand it completely, the character whose character revolves around being an actress and needing to follow a script and things like that. Personally, I like to imagine all the Neighbors are self-aware and it works like a scale or something. But, that's not what I'm talking about right now. Let's talk about Sally and her big head!

In Ms. Starlet's character bio, it mentions how she needs two or more puppeteers to operate her head. This is because her head was much larger than the other puppets. This is not elaborated on why this was necessary, so that could only mean one thing; the reason is plot relevant!

I've never really seen anyone question why Sally needed multiple people to puppet her and, I can see why. There's really not that much incentive to question why that'd be the case. Aside from the Halloween story book record, Sally doesn't do much to stand out storywise which makes sense, we are still in the prologue after all. That is until you pay close attention to her and realize... she's always facing the audience.

Take a look at these screenshots of Sally from the commercial compliation

Notice anything?

Anything at all?

She's always facing us. This is a theater thing I learned in my theater arts class; when on stage, you must always be facing your audience. They can't view you from the side, they always have to see your face. For Sally, this makes sense. She's into theater, she's an actress so why wouldn't she do this? Why wouldn't she face her audience? I'll tell you why! She shouldn't know she has an audience.

Not only does this add onto the self aware Sally theory, but, this is also where my theory came from.

We all know what Sally's house looks like, right?

It was a Sun and Moon on it which looks slightly similar to Sally's face; red nose, rosy cheeks and blue eyeshadow. It's just that the blue eye shadow is on the moon side. Obviously, this is supposed to be Sally's face. However we don't get to see the moon side of it. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, though.

My theory with Sally as to why her head is so big, why she needed multiple people to puppeteer, and why she always faces the audience is because she has a moon on the back of her head. Her head was so big because it needed to fit essentially another prop. She always faces the audience not only because of that one theater rule I mentioned but because we as the audience aren't allowed to see the moon side yet. Spoilers, basically. It's like how she's gatekeeping the guestbook submissions because we're not supposed to use them yet.

Side Note; I like how all the characters that are aware currently are all on the guestbook page. Barnaby is somewhere in the middle of not being aware and being aware though so I don't know if he counts.

Another thing I like to think that sort of adds to the theory is color theory. Orange is Sally's favorite color and the one she as well as the sun sometimes is associated with. Blue is the opposite of orange as well is often associated with the moon.

The idea of Sally having another face on the back of her head is really interesting to think about. Mostly because of the ideas of how would the other Neighbors react to it. Like, were they all scared slightly when they first saw it? How long would it have taken them to adapt?

But, anyway, tell me what you think about this theory and if you have any theories about Ms. Sally Starlet.

[spotlightlowlife]

The Kanker sister were unapologetic menaces

Related to my previous post on how kids show Ed Edd and Eddy did adult material (and a number of other things) better than both Hazbin and Helluva.

The other characters didn't find these girls amusing, they were terrified of them because of their inappropriate behaviour, even those who weren't their targets, their actions were addressed numberours times, yet they weren't about to learn anything and there was no reason for them to change their ways, their ways though not justifiable may have been understandable and unfortunately for all they had enough power locally to do as they pleased, they were a nightmare individually or united and weren't going anywhere.

It's been a while since I watched this show but here's a good old creepy example of Lee, Marie and May.

In Stolas we have someone of power, he's royalty and a big scary monsters, pretty much a god, he cornered and coerced someone he saw as a long lost friend into sex. In Valentino we have a pimp who makes porn and sort of has ownership over others. It doesn't matter however, because no matter how reluctant and visibly distant their playthings are, the playthings consented and the actual ruler of lust is big on consent.

There a pattern of stripping the powerful of the power we have seen them to have by supposedly leveling the playing field, in these cases it makes light of SA and it's all in order to make the abuser more likable and extended their staying power, dispite them also serving as a means to an end which should in itself extend their time, Blitzø needed certian resources to start his business and Angeldust is there to be sexualized by the audience more so than any of the characters. Stolas and Valentino facilitate an excuse to show us sexual content, no complexities.

[harrywavycurly]

Hi Sarah! I was seeing if it’s possible to get some random conversations that show different ways Eddie would meet you? Does that make sense 😂🙈 you’re the best!

Hiii babes!!! Sure I legit think of the most random ass ways you can meet Eddie so I hope you like these, have a good mix! Also YOU’RE the best!!! 🥹💖

*Eddie swears you’re the worst waitress and also wonders if you ever wear actual shoes or if it’s always slippers?*

“I didn’t order that.” “So you don’t want it?” “Uh…well I Uhm…didn’t order it…” “You can just tell me if you changed your mind and don’t want it anymore.” “I’d gladly take it but I just…didn’t order it.” “So you do want it?” “What? No that’s-” “your name is Eddie right? I think we had English together.” “Huh? Oh uh yeah…yeah my name’s Eddie.” “Enjoy your salad Eddie.” “Uh…thanks…”

“Do you need help?” “Are you going to kidnap me?” “Wasn’t planning on it.” “Most kidnappers don’t plan on kidnapping until they see their victim.” “Well uh I’m looking at you and don’t have the urge to kidnap you.” “Then why do you drive a van?” “It was cheap and it’s good to haul my band equipment.” “Okay then…sure I’ll let you help me. It’s just a flat tire.” “Is your spare in your trunk?” “My spare?” “Spare tire? So I can change your flat.” “Uh well it’s already actually in use…” “Right…” “Don’t look at me like that. Curbs are a nuisance and come out of no where.” “I agree. We should just do away with all the curbs so you don’t have to keep going through tires.” “Thank you! Finally someone gets it.” “I’m Eddie by the way just in case you want to know the name of the guy who owns a van and didn’t kidnap you.” “Great to meet you Eddie, I’d actually probably be better off if you did kidnap me. At least your van has all four tires…”

“Hi.” “Uh hello.” “So I have locked myself out of my apartment and was wondering if i can use your phone to call my friend who has a spare key.” “Where are your shoes?” “What? My shoes are…on my feet?” “Are those bunnies?” “Yes they are bunnies they are comfy and normally I don’t leave the house in them.” “But tonight you did?” “I didn’t realize the door was going to lock behind me I was just coming to check the mail.” “But the mail is all the way on the other side of the complex.” “Okay fine I wear these all the time now can I please use your phone.” “Sure sweetheart. Come on in.” “You know I’ve seen you around before and we live two doors down and I’ve never gotten your name.” “It’s Eddie and I’ve seen you and your bunny slippers before. A few times actually once I swear I saw you sitting by the pool in them.” “They are my favorite comfy shoe.” “They are slippers.” “Slippers are considered a shoe.” “No slippers are slippers not a shoe.” “These have rubber bottoms so they are a shoe.” “That’s your argument? They have rubber bottoms? So do grippy socks and those aren’t shoes.” “Why do you care so much about my shoes?” “I just think it’s funny you’re always in your bunny slippers every single time I see you.” “You’re just lucky I guess.” “You know what? I think I am.”

“Hi I know you don’t know me but can you act like my boyfriend really quick?” “Uhh yeah sure. Uhm…I’m Eddie.” “Great to meet you Eddie. Do you come here often?” “Yeah my band plays here once a week.” “No way you’re in a band? Damn I picked a rockstar for a boyfriend? Love that for me.” “I mean I wouldn’t call myself a rockstar by any means…” “Do you mind getting closer to me? Like put your arm around me or something?” “Oh uh yeah yeah sure I can do that…how…uh how’s this?” “Perfect. Oh wow you smell good.” “Thanks…” “Is it okay if I touch your hair?” “Sure..yeah that would be fine.” “It’s so soft.” “Thank you…so who uh are we putting this show on for? Just so I know who my audience is.” “Oh he already walked by.” “Oh…” “I just wanted an excuse to come talk to you.”

“Oh I’m sorry did you want this movie?” “No no it’s fine you take it.” “Are you sure? It’s the last copy left.” “I’ve seen it like ten times I have it memorized by now.” “Nightmare on Elm Street? You’ve seen it ten times?” “Yeah…I love horror movies and Freddy is terrifying…are you okay?” “Huh? Yeah I just…I think I just fell in love with you sweetheart.” “Has that line ever worked for you?” “You’re the first one I’ve used it on so you tell me. Did it work?…I’m Eddie by the way.”

“What kind of noise did you say it’s making?” “A rattling sort of noise.” “Okay and how long has it been making that noise?” “A few weeks.” “A few weeks and you’re just now bringing it in?” “Well I thought it would go away. The check engine light did after a while.” “What? Your check engine light was on?” “It was but then It went away.” “You’re killing me sweetheart. Okay I’ll take a look at it and you can come by tonight and I should have your noise and engine issues figured out.” “The engine is fine the light went off…” “Like I said…I’ll have your noise and engine issues figured out by then.” “Just be gentle with him okay? He’s been through a lot.” “Oh he will get nothing but the best I swear.” “Thanks…Edward? Is that what your shirt says?” “You can call me Eddie.” “Thanks Eddie….see you later.” “Looking forward to it.”

[mindswriters]

first-hand interview ─ joseph quinn

ty @waynemunson for the perfect gif :)

summary: you and Joseph give your first interview together after making your relationship official publicly

pairing: joseph quinn × famous!reader

warnings: did not proof read, some curse words, long-ass answers, kisses and fluff fluff just fluff

word count: 2.1k

a/n: not me posting a joe fic when i have more than three for eddie on hold in my drafts....... anyways! it was just a random thought I had while showering and imagining how cute would it be going to interviews w my sweet bf joseph quinn 😙😙 hope u enjoy it!!

"So, yeah, Matt and Ross worked really hard on this season, them and all the production team, even during the whole pandemic thing they never stopped working to give the audience the best they could, so behind of the cast's amazing work we also owe the success of Stranger Things 4 to this guys who worked with us through all of it." you can't help but admire the way Joe finishes his answer to the last question about the show the interviewer asked you.

"And we owe a lot, 'cause it was an amazing season!" the lady says excitedly, making you both laugh and mouth sweet 'thank you's to her "So, uh, I know that you came here to talk about Stranger Things, but I can't help in asking a little about your personal lives, especially when it comes to you guys. I believe at this point we all have seen your Instagram posts, the internet is freaking out over it, knowing that Y/n and Joe are really a thing. You're a thing, right?" she finally asks humorously, earning smiles and soft laughs from both of us.

"Yes, we are a thing." you answer with a smile and eyeing Joe "We have been dating for quite some time now, we thought it was better keep it on the low at first, Joseph here isn't really the type of exposing his personal life, but the rumors were already all out there, so we decided to finally make it official to the public as much as it is for us."

"Yeah, people who follow me use to know that I normally don't post anything about my life outside the work, but in this case it was worth it." Joseph adds, nodding towards you with a smile "Don't get used tho, most of the contents you guys live for will still be coming from Y/n" he jokes.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of content now, my gallery is full of the most hilarious and cute moments of us.” you cheer making Joe roll his eyes playfully.

“Oh, trust me, we can’t wait to see it!” the interviewer matched your excitement “While we're on the subject, can you tell us a little about how you started dating? Did you guys meet on the set, or had you seen each other before?” you exchange looks at the question, but you let Joseph answer, or you’d end up being the only one talking on the interview.

“That is actually a funny history.” Joe laughed, straightening his posture in his chair to tell the history “The first time we saw each other was at the table read, but we haven't talked much that day, I was new and still getting used with everyone and Y/n was already all over the place, even though her cameo in season three was pretty small she already seemed to know everybody." he said looking smugly at you.

“I mean, what can I say? I’ve always been an extrovert who talks a lot, so yeah, maybe I was all over the place. And I also remember very well how I tried to introduce you into the conversations, and you were all quiet in your own shy bubble.” you tease him nudging his shoulder.

“It was my first time around! I was more like trying to analyze the place, and the people. But I feel glad for it, maybe if you weren’t all over the place and I wasn’t paying attention, I wouldn’t have noticed you and-“ Joseph was naturally saying until you interrupted him with a frown.

“You what?” your voice sounded high while you leaned in your chair, pretending to be mad at his statement.

“Sorry, yeah, sorry, there is no way I wouldn’t have noticed you, darling.” Joe apologized quickly grabbing your hands and kissing both of them.

“You better be.” you joke “Anyways, after that day it didn’t took long for us to become friends, along with the rest of the group, we started to hang out together a lot during filming, on our free days, between scenes and everything.”

“Well, it all happened before the pandemic, and when I finally got the courage and tried to ask her out or something, she casually informed me that she had a super-secret anonymous boyfriend, and that she hadn't said anything before because the guy didn't want her to mix their personal life with work, and I was like what the actual fu-?” he didn’t finished his last word so they wouldn’t have to censure, meanwhile you were laughing your ass off at his antics and the interviewer’s reaction.

“What? Y/n had a boyfriend when you guys met?” she asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I kinda did had a boyfriend, who was a spotlight hater, so maybe dating an actress wasn’t the best decision he’s ever made, but at that time we were together, so I had to reject Joe right away.” you explained gritting your teeth, and Joseph faking a pout beside you “But soon came Covid, the filming put on hold, we got quarantined, and during this whole craziness my relationship went bye-bye so…” you shrugged, giving Joseph a cue to continue.

“Maybe I’ve spent half of my isolated days praying for it, and apparently someone up there listened to me, ‘cause a couple months later we’ve returned to shooting, and soon she came crawling for me to try a second chance.” Joseph joked dramatically, earning a narrow stare from you.

“Just for the record, I didn’t crawled back, I was waiting for him to make a move like he had before, but it was taking him forever, so I’ve had to solve it with my own hands.” you smirked playfully rolling your eyes.

“Just for the record, I was trying to be respectful! Come on, you had just broke up, I didn't want to seem annoying or pressure you into doing something ahead of time.” Joe stated arching his eyebrows.

“Yes, ‘cause you’re a gentleman, and because of that we’ve got to spend even more time together in the second phase of filming, getting to really know each other, talk about what we were feeling and that’s what leads us here, to a sweet couple interview.” you resume the last year in a few words, not wanting to prolong more than you already did.

“That’s really impressing guys, I’d have never imagined that you were living your own romantic cliché script behind the cameras.” the lady in front of you laughs “So, if that’s what happened, I wonder if you guys got quarantined together at some point? Like in some of the post waves of the virus, and if it helped in your relationship in some kind of way?”

“Oh, yes, I mean, the first Covid wave was like world wide panic so we all went back to our homes, ‘cause we didn’t know at all when we’d be able to work again, and Y/n was still in her past relationship, so at first place it didn’t happened. But when we got back to Atlanta to resume our work, things were more under control, so it happened a few times that the state declared lockdown and we kept working within the health protocols, but going from set to home and home to set, and since we didn't want to be apart for too long, in those lockdown times we practically lived together in one apartment, it sounds crazy since our relationship was new, but I believe it was a great time for us.” Joseph explained, immediately looking at you and passing the lead for you to share your point of view.

“Yeah, totally, I guess that spending times like these together is really important, there’s a lot of couples out there who don’t really know their partners because they’re too busy with other topics of life, and when they spend time together they try to follow a script to the perfect relationship, when honestly this isn’t even a thing. Me and Joseph got to share amazing things when we were quarantined together, of course there were days where we’d simply want to be alone, and deal with our things, but that’s how we’ve learned to respect each other’s personal space, that amongst a hundred more things we learned about and with each other during those days. To be honest, I think that learning is the key word for this question, I can say that back there I’ve learned a lot, not only about, but also with and from Joe, in every matter of life, and from this I got to understand him better as the human being Joseph Quinn, and I’m pretty sure he feels the same towards me, and it helps a lot when it comes to keeping our relationship always healthy and not getting bored of it at the same time.” you say calmly, catching their full attention but also noticing how Joseph would smile and nod his head at your words.

“That’s really nice words coming from a couple like you guys, who gets to inspire people out there with your experience.” the interviewer offers a warm smile to the both of you before moving to the next question “Y/n mentioned that you’ve learned a lot about each other, so would you be able to pin point a small trait or a craze that the other has?” she suggests wiggling her eyebrows.

“Oh, I got it!” you straight up your posture with a small laugh “I mean, I'm pretty sure people have already noticed it, but I’ll have to mention anyways, Joseph pokes his tongue out all the time.” you pause between the last three words and laugh at you “Like in more than one situation, when he's too concentrated, sometimes when he's having a hard time to think about something, when he has to make a decision, or do something precisely, the little tongue is always there, and truthfully I think it’s the cutest thing ever.”

“Aw, thank you, babe.” Joe blows you a kiss in the air and you pretend to catch it, bringing your hand to your chest as if keeping the kiss in your heart "But yeah, at this point our little traits are all around the internet. Like, I've seen people mentioning Y/n's side smile already, like the way her lips tend to move more to one side, the left one I guess, when she's feeling confident or trying to cause a good impression. And besides that, I think I'd say the nose scrunch she does when she gets too genuinely happy, which is also the cutest thing ever." he concludes giving you a lovely stare, and you scrunch your nose as he said on purpose.

“Well then prepare yourselves for all the compilations that fans will make of Joe's tongue and Y/n's nose.” the lady jokes making you both laugh.

“Please, don’t use my boyfriend’s tongue too much, it’s mine and I’m a jealous woman!” you also joke pointing both your fingers to your eyes and then to the camera in a playfully way.

“That’s right, be careful guys!” the interviewer supports you, while Joseph can only laugh and try to hide his blushed cheeks behind his hands “Okay guys, we’re having a lovely chat here, but unfortunately we have to finish soon, so last but not least, what’s one song that is always playing when you guys are together? That one that you guys choose together to sing in your car rides and everything, ‘cause I know you do that!” she asks amusingly.

“Hell yeah, we do, we love music, and in this case I think the answer is… Friday I’m In Love by The Cure?” Joseph says in half a question, diverting his eyes to you so you could confirm his answer instead of just admire him with a stupid smile.

“Yeah, he’s right, that’s our carpool karaoke song.” you agree fully smiling back at him.

“It’s a lovely one, just like you guys! I just wanna say thank you for your time, it was such a great interview! I really wish the best things for you both professionally and in your personal life, hope we get to see each other sometime!”

“Totally! We really enjoyed it too, thanks for the invite!” you say softly.

“Yes! Bye bye all you watchers, hope to see ya around!” Joseph says waving to the camera, grabbing your hand to the same.

+++

“Honestly, I thought it’d be worse, like, because it was our first one together after going public, y’know.” Joseph says approaching you in the backstage, some snack in hand while you waited for the next interview.

“I told you it wouldn’t be bad at all, actually I enjoyed it quite a lot.” you quietly laugh, taking a bite of his little salad sandwich.

“Hey! There’s a lot of those at the snacks table, you sneaky little shit!” he protests lifting his arm higher so you couldn’t reach the sandwich anymore.

“Yours is tastier.” you smile innocently, stealing a peck from his lips and intertwining your arms in his torso “I hope they invite us to more interviews, wanna go to that one with the puppies, it’d be so funny.” you admit, putting an adoring smile in his face, followed by tons of kisses around your face.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buddie Fanfic - Hiatus Reading: "Come with me to Italy!"

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

After 6x12 Speculation

Come with me to Italy!

25.2K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences

Buck and Eddie take a 10-day trip to Italy so they can heal together but Eddie doesn’t know Buck’s also thinking about relocating to Italy to become a firefighter.

____________

Here's a snippet of one of Buck's and Eddie's conversations during their day 4 of their trip.

____________

Buck remembers seeing a restaurant and a firehouse when the bus turned onto the street where the hotel is located. After they put their bags and luggage away, he says, “I saw a firehouse down the street and if it’s ok with you, I’d like to go see it before we have dinner.”

Eddie tries to keep his facial expression neutral because Buck is still adamant about touring a firehouse while they’re here. He’s not sure why but he hopes it’s not what he thinks it is.

“Of course, it’s ok with me.”

They take the short 10-minute walk up the road and when they arrive at the firehouse, they’re greeted by a man who Eddie thinks could be the captain because he recognizes the rank from the number of bars included on his shirt.

The man greets them and says, “Buona sera.”

Buck and Eddie understand the greeting because they learned it on the app and they both respond, “Buona sera”.

Buck looks at Eddie and then he just starts talking. “I’m Buck and this is my partner, Eddie. We’re firefighters in Los Angeles, CA and I wanted to know if we could take a tour of your fire station.”

“Ah, ok, ok… You speak Inglese and I do too. My name is Antonio and I’m the Caposquardra or I believe you call someone like me…” He looks up like he’s trying to think of the word and then says, “Ah, a captain in America”.

Buck smiles and nods. “Si’.”

“Alright... I’ll give you a tour.”

Antonio takes them around the firehouse and shows them everything. Buck’s face lights up even more when he sees their equipment and procedures appear to be very similar to the ones they use in L.A.

Eddie stays quiet because he believes his suspicions are correct since it looks like Buck might want to work as a firefighter in Italy. His heart starts racing a little bit but he tries to control it. He zones out for the second half of the tour because he doesn’t want to lose Buck. He decides he has to tell Buck how he feels about him just in case he doesn’t have the chance when they get back to L.A.

Antonio introduces them to a few of the firefighters who are on duty. They meet Mario, Enzo, Giovanni and Luca while they’re eating dinner.

After the tour, Antonio asks, “Are you… looking for il lavoro? In Inglese I think it’s called a job?”

Buck nods a little and responds, “Si.’ Since we’re visiting, I wanted to know if the procedures firefighters use here are similar to those we use in the United States.”

Antonio nods then says, “I understand. We’re always looking for good firefighters to join our team so here’s my card and when you decide, give me a call.”

Buck shakes Antonio’s hand and says, “Grazie.”

“Prego.”

When they walk out of the firehouse, Buck’s excited but Eddie’s not because he’s in shock. He can’t believe what just happened.

Buck’s rambling about everything he just learned and even though Eddie usually loves to hear him talk about random topics, right now he can’t hear anything because white noise has filled his ears. He’s so distracted that he walks past the restaurant and Buck has to touch his shoulder to get his attention.

He shakes his head. “Oh, sorry.”

Buck furrows his eyebrows and asks, “You, ok?”

Eddie thinks, hell no he’s not ok but he decides he’s not going to say anything while they’re eating dinner.

“Yeah.” He lies.

___________

Continue reading on AO3

[kob131]

"The writers aren't going to listen to their fans, because they can't even be bothered to listen to their own staff, because they "learned their lesson" to "listen to their gut" and "stick to their guns," and to ignore anybody who tries to educate their CisHet White Male selves on the matters of positive and accurate representation. Not just queer, but with everything. It happened with Jaune>Ruby, it happened with the White Fang, it happened with Emerald, it happened with Flynt Coal, it happened with Jaune>Ruby again, it happened with Yang, it happened with Cinder, it happened with Tyrian, it happened with Jaune>Ruby again, it happened with Pilot Boi, it happened with Ghira, it happened with Blake, it happened with Leo, it happened with Ilia, it happened with Sienna, it happened with Adam, it happened with Oz, it happened with Salem, it happened with Jaune>Ruby again, it happened with Terra Cotta, it happened with Ironwood, it happened with Marrow, it happened with Elm, it happened with Vine, it happened with Harriet, it happened with Clover, it happened with Qrow, it happened with Winter, it happened with Penny, it happened with Jaune>Ruby again - over and over and over and over and over, the fans have spent the past ten years explaining exactly how and why [X problem] was actually a real, tangible problem, with the writers either blatantly ignoring it, or hand-waving it away with vague and empty promises to "be better about it," only to pull the exact same shit all over again.

Ten years of hundredth chances, ten years of patient (or in some cases, not so patient, which is why we get villainized) adherence to the "Just Wait" rule, ten years of practically begging to see even tiny improvements only to be left hanging (or worse, to be directly baited as Eddy admitted happened with Fair Game, and then to be attacked directly by crwby itself and treated as if we were "just imagining things" and that we were "just horny salty fanboys" and that "it's not bait if we never intended to canonize the worm in the first place" and that it's our fault we were foolish enough to think Rooster Teeth would include queer rep and tentatively bit down on the hook) ten years of having it be PROVEN to us that the people who do most of the writing for RWBY write it specifically with a White Straight Male audience in mind, because at the time of RWBY's creation, data shows that Rooster Teeth's fanbase was 93% Male identified and 7% Female identified, and the separate demographic that was attracted solely to RWBY itself was just basically bonus income on top of that."

I saw this and I think it's a good showcase of an older RWBY critics. So let this be a lesson to the RWBY stans who not so coincidentally sound exactly the same.

For those who don't know what they're referring to, an old RWBY AMA on Reddit had this from Miles-

"-Boi howdy, did that take us by surprise. There's always a background character that gets super popular. Last season it was the Waitress. This season it was Pilot Boi and Cute Faunus Guard. Interesting story, we originally had a line for the Pilot that subtly told the audience he had a boyfriend back in Atlas (this was done in our attempt to get better about having more LGBTQ+ representation). However, when scripts went out to the team, a number of crew members were concerned that our first homosexual character with a line of dialogue addressing his sexuality was going to die in the very next episode and was "also kind of a selfish jerk". Soooo, we scrapped the line. Next thing we know, he's the most popular character of the volume and we're kicking ourselves for not sticking to our guns."

And the whole spiel is about how they wanted to keep Pilot as LGBT due to his popularity even though he's bAd rEP. Except that what makes bad representation (being stereotypical, being one dimensional ect.) makes a bad character IN GENERAL. It's why bad writers, no matter their subgroup, can't write good representation- You have to be a good writer. And given that Pilot Guy was so prevelant in Volume 5, he clearly resonated with/entertained so many people. So making him LGBT would have made a fan favorite LGBT, making it far more likely he'd be accepted. That's what happened with Illa. It's what happened with May.

But then, they don't care about the writing. Read it again- they care that the people don't have the right fucking genitals or melatonin content. Or rather, they don't get what they want EXACTLY when they want it. So they lash out like selfish children, crying about how thy don't get their cookie until after dinner. Except they DID get their cookie and they're being a greedy shithead.

Example? OP's own fucking examples.

Jaune>Ruby? Only happened in Volume 1...in the most shallow way possible (given that Ruby herself was a big part of JAUNE'S OWN ARC). Volume 2 gave her the involvement with the actual plot as well as her moment with Penny, Volume 3 gave her Penny's death, Pyrrha's death and being the driving force behind THE REST OF THE SHOW and Jaune got...a half baked arc that was made about Ruby in the only Volume where it got more than a episode (Volume 4).

The White Fang? Basically just "FUCK YOU FOR NO SUPPORING MY POLITICS!" With said politics being "Let me be as racist as a person from the 1920's.'

Emerald? Basically 'HOW DARE YOU MAKE A VILLAIN DARK SKINNED?!' while ignoring that she was a better person than her white cohorts (Roman, Mercury, Cinder).

Flynt Coal? Calling racism over a name (because 'black black')...while ignoring the German 'White White' girl.

Yang? That they skipped over her character arc...then gave her the lion's share of Volume 5 which they ignored because Jaune got mad at the woman who murdered his best friend for nothing was right there.

Cinder? Talking about her being a bland villain...which got shot and killed in Volumes 7 and 8.

Tyrian? Something something 'psychopath is offensive to people with mental disorders'. Completely ignoring LEGITIMATE PSYCHOPATHS..

Pilot Boy? See above.

Ghira? Something about him not being allowed to be seen as competent. ... Even though they accept Sienna being competent despite doing ACTIVE harm because Blake said so...in the same monologue saying Ghira was just as effective and more stable, just slower.

Blake? Her acting 'like a bitch' in Volume 4 despite the very clear reason of 'I just went through tramuatic events and am going through an arc.'

Leo? That having a Fanaus headmaster be a villain was racist. Even though he was still better than every other villain not named 'Emerald' present. He even got a shot in against Raven.

Illa? Psycho Lesbian...right in front of Adam 'Wannabe Racial Supremacist' Taurus. Also got redeemed and everyone went mysteriously quiet, almost like no one wanted to own up to their bullshit.

Sienna? See the WF section and add in racism accusations because Indonesians can't handle a fictional character dying apparently.

Adam? See WF section AGAIN.

Ozpin? Calling out the CRWBY for having the leader of the good guys preaching trust keeping VERY IMPORTANT secrets because 'uwu sad backstory'...after spending three years calling him the true secret bad guy.

Salem? Something about her not being a good villain because generic, cookie cutter complaints that really mean 'You will never appease us, slave.'

Terra Arc-Cotta? 'Racism' 'Why?' 'Fuck you!!!'

Ironwood? Some bullshit excuse about prosthetics that fails when you look at everyone with prosthetics which is just a cover for 'Gimmie my husbando or else.'

Elm, Harriet, Vine, Marrow? See above because no one talks about them outside of being an extension of James.

Clover and Qrow? 'We decided they were gay which not even half of the LGBT fanbase saw so you did a bad.'

20 swings, all misses.

This is not some grand outlier either. I have seen HUNDREDS, if not a THOUSAND criticisms. I have seen about a couple dozen stragglers and a half dozen consistent producers of good criticism...of which only THREE (Faboover, that Whitely Blog and Dual) are still around.

It's all just entitlement. 'You dared to ascertain your ownership over something you made so now I will bully you into compliance.'

As OP would say, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Tens of thousands of chances on hitting a fucking t-ball. They always miss, split their head open on the bat and then try suing for damages after proclaiming themselves so much better than the coach.

Fair Game is a perfect example. Nothing was explictly romantic...or even implictedly. It was just some guys bonding. I have seen actual ship baiting (Amorshipping from Pokemon) and Fair Game does not fit. People picked up on some flirty animation that the WRITERS didn't intend for, used a character for their purpose and people shat themselves. Blaming them for YOUR immaturity is fucking disgusting.

But hey, this is how the crowd has ALWAYS worked. Don't give them what they want immediately? 'Kill yourself, Monty hates you.' Give them a background couple? 'Give us a major character, kill yourself.' Give them a tragic villain with a defined personality? 'Psycho Lesbian, kill yourself.' Give them a couple with a child? 'Doesn't count, kill yourself.'

Time after time after time after time after time- They demand shit by using their DEAD FRIEND as a soapbox and bludgeon and then move the goalposts so they can threaten and attack them.

We know this for a fact- the Camp Camp blog incident provided the psychos.

Oh did you think I forgot? Silly little fragile hypocrite- I will never forget.

You fucks are some of the most psychotic pieces of shit I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. I also remember how the very SECOND you got push back, that you had to eat your own shit for once, you cried foul.

No matter what you fucks try, I will not forget. And you will NEVER escape your bullshit.

You don't deserve to be listen to. You deserve every little bit of pettiness and disdain...times a hundred.

P.S. They do mention the Glassdoor incident...for half a paragraph.

"ACTUAL LIVING PEOPLE got hurt? Eh...BU WHAT ABOUT MY EGO?!"

[filmnoirfoundation]

ASK EDDIE returns Thursday, July 20, 7:00 PM PT to our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/filmnoirfoundation/live

FNF prez Eddie Muller responds to film noir fan questions fielded by the Foundation's Director of Communications Anne Hockens In this episode, we discuss “Pier 23” and its connection to the radio program “Pat Novack for Hire”, staircases in noir, “Quiet Please, Murder”, “Desire Me”, “Stolen Face”, familial noir, the noir credentials of “Sin City”,and more. Eddie weighs in on what the last film noir of the classic era was and the first neo-noir. Plus, we discuss the newly coined phrase homme stupide. We wind up the show with a discussion of teen noir. On the cat front, Charlotte does not appreciate the question about the cutest cat in film noir. Want your question answered in a future episode? We solicit questions from our email subscribers in our monthly newsletters. Sign up for free at https://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/signup.html

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Can’t join us on Thursday? No problem! A recording will be up on our YouTube channel, @NoirCity, on Friday, July 21: https://www.youtube.com/user/NoirCitySF

Note: Eddie will not be able to answer questions posted during the livestream nor ones left on our social media accounts

This week’s questions:

Was the Stanford Theater ever considered to host a NOIR CITY Film Festival? What film ranks in your mind as the most important yet to be restored?

Richard

My wife Linda enjoys watching film noir. She particularly gets a kick out of the sap who makes poor judgments after succumbing to the “charms” of a femme fatale. She calls such a dope an homme stupide. She was wondering if you have encountered this anywhere else or if she has coined a new noir phrase.

Michael, Post Falls, Idaho

I recently watched a 58-minute, B noir programmer titled PIER 23, featuring Hugh Beaumont as Dennis O’Brien. I also saw ROARING CITY another under-an-hour picture with two more cases. Spartan Productions also released a third Beaumont/O’Brien flick, DANGER ZONE - with the same format, all based on stories apparently recycled from old scripts for the radio program PAT NOVACK FOR HIRE. Have either of you seen any of the films or listened to the old Pat Novack program?

Michael, Post Falls, Idaho

Do you have any comments or opinions on QUIET PLEASE, MURDER? 

Liz

Any thoughts on DESIRE ME?

Dennis James from Champlain, NY

I don't remember either of you mentioning STOLEN FACE which I think of as a precursor to VERTIGO. Thoughts?

Joe from Suffolk County

Don't you think the kitten in THIS GUN FOR HIRE is the cutest cat in film noir? I thought I read that Hitler invited about Veronica Lake and two other beautiful Hollywood starlets to visit his castle in the 1930s and that they went. Have you ever heard of anything like this?

Arlene

Is it accurate to claim that the multi-story staircase shot we see so often in Noir is an example of German Expressionism? Bob, Woodland, CA

Have you heard of the Netflix series BABYLON BERLIN? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

Adam from Indiana

 I consider Frank Miller's SIN CITY and SIN CITY A DAME TO DIE FOR Noir's on steroids.  Your opinion, please.

Chris

My question concerns one of my favorite films, 1978's FINGERS. Can you think of any other examples of "familial noir," where characters' lives are dictated by their parents or siblings or ancestors?

Kevin, Salt Lake City, UT

Do you consider, as some people do, that Welles’ brilliant TOUCH OF EVIL is the last noir film of the classic era? And what do you consider the first “neo noir”?

Bill Stewart of Winnipeg, Manitoba

 With the 2021 NIGHTMARE ALLEY and now MARLOWE, I wonder if the current picture business is starting to find interest in reviving old noirs. To me, it seems that to cater to a modern, jaded audience, directors have been making these noirs quite violent. There's considerably less censoring -- and more technology -- in filmmaking, but do you envision any noirs being brought back today in a non-R-rated fashion, or would noir have been a more violent genre in the 40's if the production code and technology allowed for that?

Neil

I have a question about a small but important detail re: two of my absolute favorite remarks in Film Noir. They are both spoken in the crackling dialogue in OUT OF THE PAST.  I have always attributed these great lines to the fine screenwriter, Daniel Mainwaring, who wrote the book and screenplay for this movie. But some time ago, Eddie, I thought I heard you mention that another screenwriter came up with these ‘gems’.   If you have the answer, please let me know.

Craig from Carlsbad

As I understand, OUT OF THE PAST was released in the UK under its original title: BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH. I was curious if either of you have ever seen a UK print with that title and if there were any other differences in the UK prints?

Dennis, Champlain, NY.

In a recent episode, Eddie said that he hates teenagers and hated being one. That said, are there any film noir movies with teen protagonists that you enjoy? 

Craig from Nashville

[apomaro-mellow]

i gotta do everything my damnself

Sitting in the back of his car, Henry Creel let out a bone deep sigh. How a world famous star like him couldn’t find the perfect voice was putting him close to depression. Every night, he went to a different club, listening to singers pour their hearts out. But not a one elicited the response he was looking for. Still, it had become his greatest ambition. Anytime he wasn’t asleep, he was searching for the voice.

“One more club”, he ordered his driver. “And then we’ll call it a night.”

---------------

Steve stood in the wings as a band performed. He looked to the crowd. Pretty slim out there. But that was life in this town. Even on a weekend, the bars they were able to find gigs didn’t have a huge pull. 

He moved away from the curtain and went further backstage. Jeff was doing his usual ritual of pacing back and forth, sometimes hopping in place, while Gareth and Crash were playing rock, paper, scissors, trying to get as many ties in a row as possible. Their record was four.

Steve found his boyfriend Eddie, sitting on a stool, tapping his foot in time with his strumming.

“So the stage manager said we get one song, right?”, Steve clarified.

“Yep, just the one before they kick us to the curb”, Eddie said, not looking up from his strings.

“But if we do good-”

“Stevie baby we always do good.”

“I mean if they like us”, Steve walked closer and bent over, his hands on his knees. “Then we could do two songs. And one of them could be mine.”

Eddie looked up then. “Angel, I love your voice. But that song’s not metal. And we’re tryina create a brand here.”

“What brand, Eddie? There’s like five folks in the audience.”

“Boys? What do you think?”, Eddie posed the question to the rest of the band.

He got a resounding round of no’s and head shakes. They knew better than to get between a lover’s quarrel. Especially since Eddie was so whipped he typically bent to Steve’s will anyway.

“Eddie, both songs could show off our versatility.”

“If we sing my song and then follow it up with some radio-friendly love-fest, it’s gonna be confusing. Better to just stick with the one genre for now.”

Steve frowned. “Eddie, that song is fo-”

“Hey punks, you’re on deck. Try not to clear the room too much, eh?”

Eddie scowled and now that he was in a mood, there’d be no talking to him. Steve would just have to jump on the opportunity when the time came and hope the rest of the band backed him up.

They were introduced to the stage and Eddie immediately got them started. The song began like an explosion. It was one they all resonated with, about getting the fuck out of Hawkins and never looking back and fuck everyone here.

Situated in a dark corner of the venue, Creel watched, waiting for any voice that would get a reaction. He had a small metal box on top of the table. Inside was an even smaller creature.

Creel’s cool eyes glazed over the guitarist parading on stage and shouting out over his own riffs. No movement from inside the box.

A few people in the crowd seemed into them but it wasn’t a very warm reception. When the song ended, the stage manager looked ready to shoo them off. When he saw Steve’s face, Eddie fought with himself. Then, after much mental deliberation, he gave a bow towards Steve and stepped away from the center.

Steve took his place and shared a look with the other members before a softer song began. Then he looked to his boyfriend, hoping that this time the words would reach his heart.

“Oh what will the signal be for your eyes to see me?

Watching offside as I wait, just in case you need me...”

For a moment Steve didn’t look away from Eddie, but Eddie kept his head firmly down on his guitar, looking for all the world like he just wanted to get this over with. Biting down the disappointment, Steve gave his attention to the audience. Maybe his voice could reach someone out there.

And it was.

But the one reacting was a tiny, slimy creature, trying to escape from its metal prison to get closer to that alluring voice. Creel drummed his fingers against the box, feeling something he hadn’t felt for a long time - excitement. His eyes glazed over Steve’s form.

“Now that you know why I’m here, let me show you what loving an angel is like.” Steve gave another meaningful look to Eddie, which was again wasted on him.

When the song ended, Steve left the stage first. By the time the rest of them came backstage, he was already gone.

Gareth was rubbing at his face and Crash wanted to bang his head into a wall.

“Hey Eddie, here’s a suggestion, why don’t you actually sing with Steve for once?”

“Cause I don’t sing that crap. We’ve got three types of songs: Fuck you, fuck me, dragons are the shit. Did you hear anything about love songs?”

“Plenty of hardcore bands sing about love”, Gareth groaned.

“But like that?”, Eddie gestured towards the exit door Steve had probably walked through. “All...gooey and soft and vanilla?”

“Dude!” Jeff jabbed a finger to his chest. “You just described you and Steve.”

Eddie looked like he was buffering and trying to catch up. “We-we’re not vanilla. If you knew what me and my baby got up to-”

“TMI”, Crash said quickly, covering his ears.

“Kinky or not, Steve turns you to butter. You melt”, Gareth said.

Jeff nodded. “You get gooey. And soft.”

Eddie pulled at his hair. His Stevie had changed him, but not that much, right? He let out a loud breath. Maybe that was the problem. But singing a song like that went against everything he believed. He didn’t want to become that kind of band. Was that kind of thinking worth causing a rift though?

“Why do I get the feeling that if I split with Steve, he’d take you guys in the divorce?”

Gareth, Crash and Jeff all answered in line.

“You don’t have custody of us, we’re always wrangling you.”

“Are you really gonna propose one day?”

“I would kill a man to keep eating Steve’s brownies. Even if that man is you.”

Eddie paced around for a moment before heading towards the door. “Alright, I’m stubborn, not stupid.”

The rest of them gave him looks that said ‘are you sure?’

“You three debate that while I find my lost songbird.”

Eddie left the club, already knowing where Steve would go. Unbeknownst to them all, someone else was already on the prowl for Steve.

A/N: the hardest part of this was NOT making Eddie the kind of guy who says “My baby angel sweetheart darlin can play ANYTHING he likes.” but he’ll get there eventually. Part 2 coming soon.

[uglypastels]

Stranger Things writing analysis: the two Eddies

I´ve given my opinions on Eddie´s development and the overall writing of his character several times, just like a bunch of other people have, but this came to me yesterday. (inspired by this great article, which I will reference slightly. its just a good rec)

I´m not sure anymore at how it had been described, but we know that originally, Eddie was supposed to be a bit of a stand-offish and darker character. A guy that people were supposed to be scared of until you realised who he was- a kind but broken soul, perhaps even a ΅coward¨. Most people had also auditioned for Eddie like this, playing him more menacingly and darker, until Joseph came along.

Joseph saw an entirely different side to Eddie, which the Duffers went along with... except they didn´t. They let Joseph play the character how he wanted it to, but they did not adjust the storytelling to this.

I´m bad at explaining, but basically, in my mind, Eddie (or any character) has three layers. There is the interior- his true character and feelings; the exterior- his looks; and the shield- the front he puts up over himself.

The idea that the Duffers had for Eddie is a guy with a thick shield, who we were only supposed to get through over time and that would break at his pivotal character points. He was supposed to be the tough guy that actually isn´t so hard and would have to go through the season and try to gain the confidence he had always pretended to have.

In that case, his death would have made much more impact because it would have been clear that Eddie had been a man that has always been scared, and just threw on this act in front of everyone else to protect himself until he finally let the fear go and become the hero he had always wanted to be.

The Eddie that Joseph decided to play, did not have a shield, or not a big one at least (bc I mean, everyone has one to an extent). He did not put up a cover for others. He was unapologetically himself to everyone, which was not appreciated and is what made people scared of him. Nothing he did that scared people or put people off was intentionally done by him. It was the views that people had of him- the prejudice- that created a shield around everyone else, separating Eddie from them. And even through all of that, he was always Eddie. That, just like the article I mentioned above states, is fucking heroic.

And because he is so truly unapologetically himself, as the audience, there is no need for us to see him break out of the shell or shield, because there isn´t one to be broken in the first place. He does not need to prove himself to us or the other characters and thus, his big sacrifice was not necessary or really had any effect on his development.

Eddie Munson that we get to see in Stranger Things is not a coward and never has been, but the script was not made for that Eddie and so, we didn´t get the ending that our Eddie deserved.

I could probably go on for a much longer time but I think you can get the general idea on what I´m trying to say but if anyone has any thoughts on this, I would love to hear them (just don't be mean).

[magicalhideoutengineer]

HULLFISH: I loved the erumpant scene (one of the fantastic beasts) in the zoo. Tell me about building the suspense of that scene.

DAY: I really like that scene too. It has very good visual effects and the erumpant is a very lovable, flirtatious and fantastic creature which alongside Eddie Redmayne who plays Newt and Dan Fogler who plays Jacob makes for a sumptuous feast because it starts off slowly as Newt tries to seduce the erumpant back into his case with his slightly surreal dance, and then Jacob, with the aid of an escaped seal, spills the erumpant musk onto his protective armour (don’t ask, just watch the film!) and that’s when she smells him and the chase begins. This then builds and builds gradually into an almost musical crescendo which culminates on the Central Park ice rink as the erumpant gets closer and closer to Jacob with Newt in pursuance before she is recaptured into the case having narrowly missed out licking Jacob’s face.

Now that sequence obviously took quite a while to get right and I did numerous versions myself using part live action and part pre-viz to get the rhythm of the scene working and as you know, you try things out a number of different ways. Then David and I worked together on it over the months with gradually more and more sophisticated post-viz animation being supplied by the visual fx department and eventually it found its natural length and rhythm and played very well.

It was quite a bit longer originally because there was a lot more that happened within the scene. But it felt a little too long in the context of the whole film and so we also referred to our ‘filmed audience recruit screenings’ which Warner Bros provided us with in the cutting room (because we were unable to go to some of the test screenings due to the schedule, which is a shame as you cannot beat ‘feeling’ the vibe in the room with a live audience) and whenever we were unsure as to whether it was the right thing to do we would check out the audience to see if they were enjoying it or shifting in their seats and that was an incredibly useful tool to have as there was one beat in the original version in which the audience seemed to shuffle about a bit, so we pared it down until it felt like the right length.

HULLFISH: Let’s talk about temp music. I specifically noted a track in the score after the strudel scene where Newt and Kowalksi are having dinner in the girls’ apartment.

DAY: Yes, that’s right. When they first meet Queenie in the Goldstein apartment.

The source track ‘You’re the cream in my coffee’ was being played on a gramophone. In fact Alison Sudol who played the character Queenie (and it was her first day of filming) had that playing on set to get into the character and because it worked so well and we could clear it for usage I laid it on the scene when I was editing because I loved it so much and David agreed. It worked really well with her character. From there James Newton Howard segued into his lovely score as the apple strudel was being magically constructed!”

HULLFISH: This is a strange question, but where did the edit start? There were so many motion graphics and logos and stuff before we saw film….or did you have to cut all that together with pre-vis and post-vis?

DAY: You’re referring to the newspaper montage at the beginning. That all evolved during post production actually. Originally it was used later on in the film as scripted, however one of the producers had the good idea that we could use it at the beginning of the film, not only to familiarize people once again with the Harry Potter world but also it is a useful way of getting across a lot of expositional information in an interesting way which is what we needed to do. For example, it showed us the name Grindelwald (the protagonist in the film) a number of times which subconsciously lodges in people’s minds and gives the film a slightly darker tone, whereas in the original script the film started with Newt arriving by boat in New York and it was all quite jolly. Now we introduce it with this sinister character killing a number of aurors and we catch a distinctive glimpse of the back of his head (this turns out to be Grindelwald who will be played by Johnny Depp in the next film and we see him transform from the character Graves played by Colin Farrell near the end) which then segues into the newspaper montage ending up on an image of the Statue of Liberty, so instead of just this slightly eccentric British man with a suitcase arriving on a boat we have introduced a number of themes that will resonate throughout the film.

HULLFISH: Tell me about the fight with the obscurus at the end. The final battle had a beautiful, musical rhythm to it. I really love the rhythm of that scene.

DAY: Thank you, Steve, I’m really pleased about that. These things take time to get right and I did countless versions until we found the right rhythm. Having said that I do have pre-viz to work with whilst I’m editing and I intercut that with the live action footage of the main characters which gradually builds up the scene and then when we are happy with it, we turn that over to the VFX department who in turn work on the edit and they were giving us back quite sophisticated post-viz. Then eventually when we ‘semi-lock’ the scene that goes out to the vendor who work on the individual shots that we then start to receive over the ensuing months and in time they become these very impressive shots which are ‘finalled’ after many viewings and comments and incorporated into the main edit so it’s a very time-consuming process that evolves over the months that we work on the film. We also had the advantage of having the Credence character played by Ezra Miller who gave us some fantastic motion capture footage of him emoting and screaming which was incorporated into the obscurus visual fx and this gave it a unique, interesting and beautiful look.

HULLFISH: There was quite a bit of interactive lighting in the movie, was it difficult to maintain continuity with that?

DAY: That can cause problems sometimes obviously. For example, there was a scene in the Pentagram office when Tina (Katherine Waterston) shows up with the suitcase and interrupts the meeting. Philippe Rousselot (the D.O.P.) had used interactive lighting above the crowd that was following the dead body of senator Shaw (who had recently been killed by the obscurus) Now you know how scenes change during the edit and lines are excised or the scene is restructured in some way or another so there was no continuity to the lighting at all and we had to cheat it in the grade with the help of Peter Doyle our colourist and also visual fx helped out with some of it.

[matan4il]

Sorry, I don't know if you've talked about this before, but do you think the show replicating parts of Eddie's introduction with Lucy (the call with the explosion, her competence during that, the way she is presented to the team with Buck turning around to look at her, the Speed reference vs the Top Gun one) was meant to highlight something about Buddie's partnership or a genuine attempt at making her introduction be as succesful as Eddie's?

Hi Nonnie! Thank you so much for the question!

I do think they wanted to make her introduction... one to make people pay attention, if nothing else. Lucy's introduced at the same time Greenway is. Many times, shows create contrasting parallels (think mirror images: they're the same in being the exact opposite of each other) and I think that's what Greenway and Lucy were meant to be. Lucy comes in all cocky, but her saving a woman thanks to a stroke of luck instead of thanks to her skills humbles her, while Greenway comes in seemingly humble, but we'll discover before the end of the season that he has a God complex.

Despite making Lucy seem arrogant at first, the show does seem to want us to like her, so it makes sense to parallel her to Buck's character in s1. Seeing their similarities will help in establishing the kiss in 511, still make Lucy more likable to the audience than she would have been without that similarity to Buck, and it also serves to show us how much Buck himself has progressed since his Buck 1.0 days to where he can mentor her in 514, both because he used to be where she is, and because he's not there anymore.

Is her introduction meant to parallel Eddie's? I tend to think if it did a bit, it might not have been intentional. Yes, she's competent. Yes, she's introduced to the team through Buck (just like Eddie was), but I think that's at least in part due to trying to sell her to the audience while also paving the way for the 511 kiss. Yet, even if it's not intentional, it does end up showing (as contrasting parallels do) the differences between Lucy and Eddie. She's competent, yes. But Eddie was SO incredible, it really got a reaction out of Buck. And at the same time, Eddie was interested in Buck, he was kind and complimentary (despite Buck being a bit of a jerk at the gym), and he saw Buck. Eddie full on told him he's a badass under fire, while the rest of the team were still babying Buck a bit, and teasing him, no matter how good of a firefighter he was proving to be. That's not the case with Lucy. We never see a moment of profound bonding between them, like the promise to have each other's back that we see with Buddie in 201. And that's despite Buck and Lucy having kissed, so technically they got more intimately acquainted... but not really. Because Buck and Eddie, they opened up their hearts, souls and lives to each other.

So at the end of the day, even though it might not have been quite intention, the way she was introduced and some similarities actually end up highlighting that Buddie really are soulmates and they have been from the very start.

Thank you again for this ask, Nonnie! Have a great day! xoxox

(If you're looking for my ask replies, here is my ask tag! xoxox)