#I need to think of a character to ship chrissy with from another show

[thestobingirlie]

With the asks about Eddie and the 'hunt the freak' thing it made me think of two things I've seen fandom talk about with it

1. Acting like it's a classist thing that Eddie was considered a suspect for Chrissy but Steve wasn't considered a suspect for Barb. When there was another (ok, it was wrong) explanation for Barb being missing, with the whole runaway line. There was no evidence for the police to believe that Barb had been harmed at Steve's house. And with Chrissy there was a body! There were two people living in the trailer, one had an alibi for his whereabouts, the other was seen entering with her and leaving without her. Of course he was a suspect. And when you add in the fact he was a known dealer, the police probably had a potential motive of a drug deal gone wrong in mind.

2. I recently saw a post saying that fans are wrong when they make Claudia Henderson such a loving and accepting person when she's 'obviously' a judgemental person because she believed the police that Eddie was dangerous and not going off what she would have been told by Dustin. She's a single mother to a teenager who is known for not having the best judgement (Dart, the Russians). She would have been worried about Dustin's safety or him getting caught up in something. If she'd never met Eddie and all of a sudden the police are saying he's a suspected serial killer, she'd be terrified about what it meant for her kid. If he was going to get dragged in as an accomplice or if he was in danger of being the next victim. She didn't know Eddie outside of what she'd been told, so she had no reason to believe he wasn't dangerous.

Some fans seem to forget that we, as the audience, have additional information as to what's happening, we know things that the other characters don't, and the characters need to stop being judged for acting in a certain way because they don't have all the information.

it’s kinda funny because this fandom, like, invents things that eddie is oppressed over. for example, no one ever calls eddie trailer trash in canon. but in every anon i get calling him that, it’s in quotes. like. just admit it’s you calling him trailer trash, no one else lmao.

but anyway!!

1. i actually made a post about this so long ago!! so here you go. but yeah, it’s dumb to compare the two. the cases are not at all the same, and like you said, eddie is known drug dealer, he’s had run ins with the police before. we know this from max’s mum, and chief powell himself who asks jason if chrissy would buy drugs from eddie.

2. who tf is shitting on claudia henderson, because i will not allow it. like. jesus sorry she lives in a HELLHOLE, where people seem to get brutally murdered on a yearly basis and everyone does fuck all about it. let her be nervous damn, she doesn’t owe eddie anything.

honestly i think most people need to rewatch the show, preferably without shipping goggles, just to remind themselves of what actually happened.

[ymaohoh]

Hellcheer addition! (ignoring the 1 like thing as I just want to write about these two crazy kids) 1. Chrissy being single. 2. So I don't have just one, but the music from the soundtrack 'I wouldn't remember me either' which plays for them? It's a beaut! (bit of a cop-out answer this one, sorry). 3. The ship observed by other people (so alternative POV's - Max, Jason, Dustin etc.) 4. Has to be my own as we only got one damn episode. 5. In the woods, when Chrissy says 'me?' so cute and Eddie is just soft and silly. 6. When Eddie heads back to the trailer with Steve/Nancy/Robin in the Upside Down and there's just a missing 'oh shit this is where Chrissy died' moment I would have liked to see. 7. (god this is tough as there's loads) Eddie being really really into eating Chrissy out. 8. I've seen a lot of fics that take Jason's character maybe too far (though yeah, he was a lunatic in the show). I don't think he'd harm Chrissy. 9. The 'opposites attract' angle. They have no business being so perfect for one another - but they are (second option would be how hot they are as a couple). 10. That Eddie would have to step on Jason's toes pretty severely (thanks Joe) and it would be messy. Ideally Chrissy would end it before getting with Eddie. 11. Deffo canon, thanks, but yeah I need them to come back to life in season 5 for more... Time travel? Alternative universe? Come on, Duffer Brothers. 12. Baldur's Gate 3... I could see them both as Bard's but maybe Chrissy could be a Cleric. Chrissy's BFF is clearly Karlach and Lae'zel scares tf out of Eddie (someone write me a crossover with the whole party being there?) 13. Eddie's easier to write than Chrissy, I think. Some authors really NAIL Eddie. 14. I've not been drawn to another pairing from Stranger Things in the same way - but I do like Chrissy shipped basically with anyone ('cause she's pretty). 15. Chrissy. I'd give her a big hug and we'd hang out watching 80's flicks. My girl needs love and take out. 16. The only way I could see this playing out is if one of them tries being all stupid noble and self-sacrificing. Eddie might so Chrissy goes to college (if she wants to stay behind with him) and Chrissy might because she doesn't want him to get hurt by Jason etc. It wouldn't last. 17. I think so - both have vulnerable spots which everyone can relate to. I find myself very similar to Chrissy (especially at her age). 18. I didn't like Eddie leaving Wayne to find Chrissy's body, but I get that's a character choice and he was scared af. 19. Lots? (and I'm new to the fandom). More are incoming, sorry. 20. You know, I didn't get sucked in when I first watched season 4 but on a re-watch? Yeah. I have no control over my fixations and I re-watched when I was recovering from surgery so...plenty of time to go mad? 21. I'm an angst girl. Always have been (but the smut is HOT too).

(psss pass it on - what do ya'll think?)

Template by @aph-cb 

[robinswise]

okayyyy unpopular opinion that will more then likely turn into a rant!

EDDIE 'THE FREAK' MUNSON IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE

AAAAAA

ok.

I. Do. Not. Like. Eddie. Munson.

Just to get this out of the way, I don't hate Joseph Quinn at all, he's a great actor, but I hate Eddie.

OKAY I NEED TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE POINT-

Eddie is an asshole

Why couldn't he push the dnd campaign to a different day? Is there a reason? I don't think there was, I don't remember there being one and when I googled it, sure enough, there doesn't seem to be a reason.

Really couldn't his role have been given to pretty much any of the characters?

Mike.

Lucas.

Dustin.

Jonathan would've made the most sense (to me) if he wasn't in Cali (in season 1 we know some people thought Jonathan might've k!lled Will, so they could've thought he did the same to Chrissy)

Even Steve.

Honestly, even Max could've been given the role

Also, I don't dislike most people who like Eddie, alot of them are just really obsessed (like a scary level of obsession)

ALSO STEDDIE-

I posted about them positively one time a while ago but no I do not ship them.

The context for that post was that I didn't hate Steddie - at the time I even vaguely liked them (or more specifically, I liked the way that certain people wrote them) but I didn't ship them, they just made the most sense for that specific idea and I didn't hate them at the time.

I was reading something that was part of a longer series of posts and the person had hinted that Stonathan would be in it but then suddenly Eddie appeared and Steddie was heavily implied - which normally wouldn't be an issue but they didn't tag it with Eddie or Steddie.

Anyways, Argyle is in my opinion the better character added in season 4.

Another thing, it didn't bother me initially but Eddie stans acting like Eddie and Dustin's friendship is so unique is really annoying to me-

Because- no- like sure, he's close with Eddie, but the friendship is not unique whatsoever, in terms of older brother like friends he had Steve, in terms of outcast nerds who like dnd he had the party, and in terms of friends with attitude problems he had Mike and Max

Also, was his death really all that shocking? It fit the st formula perfectly! Introduce a new character just to k!ll them off

Benny

Barb

Bob

Billy

Even in search 4 we got Chrissy Fred and Patrick

About his crazy fans - not all are like this, I've met some genuinely nice Eddie fans who've written genuinely good Steddie ficlets - but was sending death threats necessary? Because I just don't get why that whole thing happened.

I think Eddie coming back in any form other then a flashback or Vecna vision would just maks me upset tbh, like actually, what would be the point? They already pulled "look he's actually alive!" Trick with Hopper (and to an extent, Will) so doing it a third time (even for such a fan favorite) would just feel lazy to me

Also, in my opinion, Will would dislike Eddie, so many people say that Will would love him but to me, I feel like it would be very out of character for him to like Eddie (knowing that Will doesn't like extra attention - at least not from people who might judge and/or ridicule him - and Eddie actively draws it)

I feel like the fact we only got a reaction to Eddie's death from Dustin and Wayne is really telling as to how little importance he actually had, because even Mike who was friends with Eddie didn't know about his death - or at least his reaction wasn't important enough to show.

I found Eddie's guitar solo to be very pointless and even rather boring.

Also, there are people who ship Eddie with Billy?? Ew.

Even as someone who does not like Eddie at all I can confidently say that he deserves better and would probably not fall for that walking piece of dog shit (once again, I don't hate Dacre Montgomery I just hate Billy)

Anyways, in short, I don't mind Joseph Quinn or Eddie's fans, I know there's definitely worse characters in the show, and at the end of the day I'm just a nerd on the internet who's been fixated on the same subject for probably way to long so it's fine to have a different opinion then me

[mixsethaddams]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @mojowitchcraft

1. How many works do you have on AO3? Twenty as of right now

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 293,097. I know there's a lot of writers who'll get to that same level with one or two of their long fics but it's still a lot for me 😅

3. What fandoms do you write for? Just Stranger Things these days

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Bartender Was A Trap with 2135, Eddie/Hotdude Official Megathread! with 1887, Slither with 1360, Could you coo, could you care? with 1202, and good to me with 1004.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? As often as I can! It means a lot when people take the time to leave comments. I mostly don't reply when someone is trying to 'well actually...' me about something though

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't tend to write a lot of sad endings or angst for actual fics. I have some posts on here that have sad endings though. Maybe this one probably that I'd written for febuwhump is the saddest/most angsty?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I only write happy endings! But definitely either Slither or wasted crying . There were people cheering for those ones

8. Do you get hate on fics? Yeah I got a lot of hate from some people about crushcrushcrush because of the Eddie/Chrissy relationship tag. This version of the characters was in an unhappy and, as we later find out, mutually toxic relationship and I had maybe two or three chapters planned out to explore how it got to that point between them and have her as a much bigger character. I folded under a lot of really horrible things being said to me in anon asks here and guest comments on ao3, and cut it down to a single chapter with everything crammed in, reduced her character down to (as I refer to her) a cardboard cutout pantomime villain, and took the tag off. I wish I had have been able to just brush it off and plow through to give the story the chance it deserved, but I'm still glad I was able to do what I did with it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do indeed. I claim not to, but let's be honest with ourselves. Its entirely mlm right now but I do have some wlw written and hidden away. I haven't written straight boy/girl sex in a very long time but I have some that I want to do as part of a series of follow ups to The magic number

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I haven't! But I do think that Eddie Munson would spit in Gator Tillman's mouth the first chance he got.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I have, yes. That's entirely why I created my whole online 'persona' and started trying to show some sort of presence. I had a few too many things taken and claimed as someone else's and I just got sick of it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No! The opportunity would be a lot of fun though, with the right person

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Honestly Steddie. It's the only one that's held my attention for so long

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have a really cute Farmer's Market AU for Steddie but I can't find a way to tell the story I want to with it

16. What are your writing strengths? I'm good at characterizations

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Sometimes I over describe things because I myself have trouble visualising it or making a link between point A and point B and assume the reader would too.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've never tried it because I know I'd be relying so heavily on google translate and I don't want it to sound jarring or stilted.

19. First fandom you wrote for? ...Green Day RPF.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Slither has a very special place in my heart obviously. When He Loved Me was a cathartic and freeing way to help myself work through various things while telling the story. I also need to give a shoutout to my first Stranger Things fic, which was an Eddie/OFC story called What happens next? based in canon after Vecna is beaten. I really love the story I told there and I really like the way I wrote Eddie especially. It's cute and fun and I'm proud of it.

zero pressure tags:

@henderdads @infinite-orangepeel @steddielations @thorniest-rose @eddywoww @steddierthings @lexirosewrites @3minsover

[discoscoob]

People started shipping Klaus and Eddie (I love this) two characters from completely different shows, which shows us that characters don’t even have to interact, meet or even be in the same show for people to ship them.

That’s while I’ll never understand people responding with “they only interacted once” “they shared 5 minutes on screen together” when they see people shipping two characters.

Even if I don’t understand the appeal of a ship why should I expect others to not ship it because I don’t see the appeal?

Anyway, Eddie becomes Kas the vampire and he and Klaus are already boyfriends and Klaus was obviously devastated when yet another one of his boyfriends died and he’s even more upset when he can’t even manifest his ghost. Then he realises that he can’t manifest his ghost because Eddie is not actually dead. So he goes looking for him and when he finds him he discovers he is a vampire and Klaus lets Eddie drink his blood because it doesn’t matter how much he takes Klaus is immortal so he just keeps coming back. And since vampires can’t die, unless they get a stake through the heart, Eddie is technically immoral too, so Klaus will never have to worry about outliving him and they’ll just be immortal together and live happily ever after.

[sevensided]

What would upset me most about a romantic love monologe to El would be their lesbian/gay characters getting dust. Oh Will is the gay kid with an unrequited crush nothing ground breaking there. Robin can't ask out the girl she wants to. Valid, but she is sadly pining from afar. And Eddie(hanky code being confirmed?) who, if they kill off would be bury your gays. Where is the happiness in these stories? Their m/f ships get to kiss,be affectionate and say/show their love. What about them? :(

I hear what you're saying, but don't lose sight of the time period. The 1980s weren't a good time to be gay. That's not to say that gay people didn't live happy, fulfilling lives where they were accepted by their families, but they did face challenges, and it is important to underscore that this show isn't Heartstopper in that regard.

Having said that, yes, I do agree that from a media perspective it would be disappointing if they did not go down the path of Mike/Will. Something that has recently occurred to me, though, is that the writing does show a lot of affection for these characters. They don't suffer needlessly. When we look at the Mike/El/Will debacle, you could feasibly say that Mike and Will are suffering for similar reasons (feelings, identity), whereas a lot of El's suffering is more macro (morality). I've maintained that El and Mike will go their separate ways and it will be because they don't need each other to find their happiness - they can do that alone (as in El's case) or with someone else (Mike and Will). Just my two cents, but I do think they will give the characters a happy ending because that is fundamentally what the show is about.

Regarding the characters you mentioned, I disagree with Eddie. I get the handkerchief thing, but this is small-town Indiana; and there was a lot of textual evidence to suggest that he and Chrissy might have, in another life, been in a romantic relationship. The Breakfast Club was cited as an influence for S04 and Eddie/Chrissy's dynamic is clearly Claire/Bender. I'm sorry, but I don't see gay Eddie being a thing in canon - in fanon, though, hell yeah, go for it.

I would say that ST does deal with unexpected romance well, though, and particularly that romance which might be considered marginalised. Max and Lucas, for instance, are in an interracial relationship, and you can see across S02-3 that they are becoming aware of race as a factor in their relationship. I personally think Lumax was the standout of this season, and I believe it's down to how their story played out - they really came full circle.

Sidebar, it's interesting how Mike is consistently amazed that he has to deal with "mature" and "adult" situations/arguments in his relationship with El, when arguably Max and Lucas have been dealing with that for far longer, and better, and they're the same age. But I digress.

Regarding Robin, she states in canon that she has to be careful. The writers are aware that she can't just march up to Vickie and ask her out - it's measured, considered, a situation where, if Robin isn't careful, she could even be in danger if word reached the wrong people. ST has never been about skipping into the sunset. It's always been about overcoming trials and finding who you are even if you will not/cannot be accepted by other people. In that respect Will being gay fits perfectly within this thematic framework. So, tl;dr... I hear your frustration, but there is both evidence to support our happy endings plus some historically-accurate gay romance.

[futuregws]

DON'T READ THIS IF YOU GET OFFENDED EASILY LOL (bc I'm not about to deal with your tantrums)

You can tell the shippers are becoming desperate for content when they grab the bloopers of the forest scene that was only 2 seconds and only showed the back of her head, and use it to start some shit, I'm not even kidding I just saw one of them saying how after watching the bloopers that they are certain now that in the forest scene it wasn't Eddie flirting with Chrissy it was actually Joe who just so happened to be dressed as Eddie and on camera flirting with Grace who also just so happened to be dressed as Chrissy, so if you didn't understand they are basically saying that first of all the forest scene was flirty which is a whole other topic for another post, but they are saying that he wasn't in character at all and he was just flirting with Grace and I- seriously I have no words. First of all the scene they use from the bloopers he looks crazy how can you say he looks in love or like he was flirting, and second of all how old are are you bc if that for you is flirting then a lot of people are doing a whole lot of flirting on a daily basis, and I don't think I need to bring on the fact once again that this whole shipping real people think is fucking weird and the fact that yall will grab a scene from a character and make it the actor just to ship them its so creepy, and the person that made the post also mentioned that they want a romcom from the two which honestly I had to give my biggest eye roll to that, like it's so clear to me that they have some sort of fantasy going on and that's why they ship ed*ssy so much and why they also ship the actors AND now want them on another movie, fucking weird, and the final thing mentioned, the one thing that they love to close their eyes when someone points out how that also happened with other characters/actors, the chemistry, it's always chemistry this chemistry that bro you learned one word and ran with it, is that all you know how to say, the chemistry they wanna hold onto so badly is a chemistry that he literally had with everyone.

This is what I hate so much about this ship its how they will ALWAYS involve the actors and make the most ridiculous claims, and will also claim something as canon when that only came from your head nowhere else and then they get mad when this is brought up to them or when their "rival ship" does the same to prove a point and they just get mad bc they can reach further than the moon when saying this stuff but let a steddie shipper say something a little bold and all of a sudden there's chaos

[calzonekestis]

Okay I don't go to Hawkins anymore but everyone is on the Chrissy/Eddie thing and may I just suggest, for hope, that we don't know if something has been/will be filmed to make amends since even the Duffers said 'oops we had no idea omg'. Like, I could see that. Especially if this is their last season or what not

There’s very much a part of me that would like that to be so… but I’m also not about to get my hopes up.

A lot of things plot wise were dependent on her death, and people’s reactions to it. It’s been compared to the losses of Barb and Bob, but imo it’s more impactful than both of them? Barb’s death served to give Nancy some guilt, and also establish the fact that no one was safe.

Bob… low key, couldn’t stick around. We all know Jopper is endgame, they kind of had to kill him, or they would have been stuck in a similar situation with Steve. Where they have a ship they want to make Endgame, but now here’s this placeholder boyfriend is played by an actor who is way too charming and now we want to incorporate him into the stories more - but that also takes screen time away from other characters.

Now, good story is good story. Good characters are good characters. A good writer needs to be able to adapt and not hold firm to their initial series bible. Like, again. Steve? Totally different from his original conception. Instead of the protector of children and queer ally he is, he was heinous in the original pilot script. The love scene with Nancy was actually going to be dater*pe, and he was going to die by the season’s end. But when they cast Joe Keery, they realized that would be a waste of him… and that with his talents they could make Steve a more likable and well rounded character.

So they changed plans before, because an actor was charismatic and endearing. That much is true. The difference here being while Steve’s death would have been comeuppance for his original characterization… it would be satisfying, but the story didn’t depend on it.

A lot this season’s plot is dependent on Chrissy’s death, and the ramifications it has on the different characters. As I talked about in the meta I posted, it’s true for the era of entertainment the show is a love letter too… but it’s still kinda sorta fridging. I get they wanted to do that First Girl horror trope, because it’s really one 80’s horror element they had yet to homage… but bringing her back after that would be tricky.

Again, it’s a science fiction/sci-fi show. There are ways you could do it, and make it an interesting story. I just don’t know that they would, given how they just have one more season. I would think it would consist more of wrapping up existing story threads rather than introducing new ones, but you never know. I know that elements of Eddie’s story have inspirations in true crime, and that another big inspiration for the show is time travel related. And there’s something with time and the upside down. It’s stuck on the day Will disappeared, a clock appears whenever Chrissy’s killer attacks. I don’t know if time travel will be introduced or undo anything, or alternate timelines - I’ve seen theories that the upside down is a like a timeline where the Cold War resulted in Russia sending nukes into the heartland of Hawkins. That this mutates life and creates things like demobats and dogs, and demogorgons. Mindflayer.

I’ve also seen it pointed out how the man made gateway in S3 needed massive amounts of power, and how Alexiei in season 3 said there were more keys all over the USSR. The Chernobyl disaster is only a few months away in their timeline, and they’ve said there will be a time jump going into season 5. I would think they’d have to address this someway.

TLDR, it’s possible, but I don’t have much any real expectation. I’d love to be wrong, for them to somehow undo Chrissy’s death - and all the other victims, but that gets into a slippery slope of fans wanting them to bring back every beloved dead character. If time travel does play a part, I see it being more of “we have to stop what happened in the upside down from happening in our reality” than I do a method of bringing characters back.

That said, I would absolutely love it if they found a way to bring back Grace (the actress) next season. I think that’s more likely than actually bringing Chrissy back to life. They killed off Billy last season, but brought back Dacre Montgomery for a scene where Max is confronted with a vision of him. The villain Vecna tortures people with their own trauma, so it was Billy for Max - and for Chrissy, it was her abusive mom who gave her an eating disorder. It would make perfect sense to have Chrissy come back if Eddie were to experience the same thing. As a manifestation of his survivor’s guilt, any feelings he may have had for her, etc.

The only thing that I think would preclude that is actor availability, and the fact they now that music can weaken Vecna’s hold on a person… but if Eddie sets Vecna back by jamming on his guitar as seen in the finale trailer? It’s quite possible that he’d hold a grudge and try to target him.

So now you have me thinking maybe we will see Chrissy again in some form, but I don’t think that she will return to life or that she and Eddie will have any sort of happy ending. Sadly. I’d love to be proven wrong. They could just start season 5 and say “she’s alive again! cause reasons! idk Brenner’s lab people took her body to study it and somehow brought her back with science! Forget the snapped limbs and hemorrhaging eyes! She’s all healed up and even more traumatized!”

I’d be fine with that. But I don’t expect it.

However I would like to take this opportunity to pitch to @netflix @strangerthingsnetflix. Give us an Eddie nightmare sequence that starts off with he and Chrissy having a nice romantic moment. We’re confused, this can’t be right - she’s dead. But oh hey they’re kissing now, so we’re not complaining. But then Eddie opens his eyes, and Chrissy is all mangled with the bloody eyes from her death scene. He screams and wakes up we scream and we cry bc Chrissy didn’t wake up.

Ooh. Yes, I would absolutely love that kind of suffering.

I don’t need any sort of credit or royalties, though I’d sign any waiver I’d need to. Y’all making that happen would be thanks enough.

[chrissyslittleartwork]

So...I might as well post all my Yu-Gi-Oh! OTPs. Not to mention it's to hopefully clear up like who I ship with who. I have had people think that just because Atem and Bast are together, that must mean Yugi and Catzi will be too. And let me just say, no. That's not the case. While Yugi and Catzi are the renicarnation of Atem and Bast, it doesn't mean they will end up together again. Yugi and Catzi are just good friends.

DestinyLoveshipping (Pharaoh Atem/Queen Bast) – This kinda speaks for itself. I always felt Atem deserved to have a good strong Queen by his side. (Not to mention I never shipped him with Tea…or Yugi for that matter. Seriously…why do people love Puzzle shipping so much? -_-; ) So, when making Bast, I tried to picture of what would be the girl he would fall for. And thus, Bast was born. She’s mature, quiet, strong-willed, and kind. She is also not afraid when facing off anyone she duels. Like her husband, she shows no mercy. I do feel like Atem would love her strong good heart. Her being beautiful is just a plus. Their relationship seriously makes me smile because omg the angst and feels. Ah! I love these two so much. CX

 

Loneshipping (Marik Ishtar/Catzi Kaioh) – I’m going to say this, over the years of me coming back to YGO every now and then, I feel like Catzi has gone through a few guys. First time I made her; she was with Yugi. Second time, with Ryou. And now coming back a third time, I loved Marik so much that I loved the idea of him and Catzi being together. I mean, I already did kinda ship them back then too. The thought of Marik falling for Catzi due to her feisty ways as well as the fact she is willing to forgive him despite what he did. This relationship just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. CX

 

Guardianshipping (Yugi Muto/Carrie Francess) – I have said it before but, this ship was kinda a crack ship. And this was before I decided to make Carrie a flexible character. Yup, she was still a DP character when I thought of this ship. But now, she is no longer tied to DP and now I am free to have her be any character I see fit. This relationship between the two has developed and thanks to my friend, she got me to love them very much. Just picturing Yugi being such a sweet boyfriend to Carrie just makes me heart melt.

 

Drawnshipping (Joey Wheeler/Yuki Fumiya) – As I have mentioned before, I am not the biggest fan of other people’s OCs. If they are well written and great characters, I am willing to make an exception. Luckily, someone I became friends with who helped me love ships like Guardianshipping created her own characters and she made some really good ones. Yuki is a nice character and I do like her relationship with Joey. Plus, it’s hilarious that she has a crush on him and he’s downright freaking clueless about it. XD Ah, Joey, I love you but man you are dense. I also like this pair way more than Polarshipping. I have never cared for Joey/Mai especially with their age gap.

 

Blissfulshipping (Ryou Bakura/Chrissy Major) – I don’t do a lot of self inserts. XD I have only done it once before and that was with SWAT Kats. But the fact I had loved Marik/Catzi, I felt so bad for Ryou. The poor boy is forgotten so much, I feel he deserves some love and attention. And by goodness, Chrissy would be sure to give him that love and attention. But she is respectful of his boundaries too due to his fangirls never leaving him alone.

 

Warmshipping (Chase Fumiya/Tea Gardner) Again, like with Yuki, Chase is an interesting character. Plus, the fact Tea being the only one to stand up to him besides his sister Yuki would make him start to crush on her. I like to think Tea would come to care for Chase and wishing to change him for the better. Not to mention, I never really shipped Tea with anyone (except with Kaiba honestly) like I certainly never liked her being with Yugi or Atem for that matter. With Chase, I can see this working out. ^-^ Not to mention she would keep him from getting in trouble.

 

Raidershipping (Thief King Bakura/Carmen Sandiego) – When I saw the Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego, I really loved the concept of it as well as Carmen herself. She is downright gorgeous, and I couldn’t help but like the idea of her being with Bakura. Her calm sassiness would go great with his sarcastic ego. Plus, she would probably be the only one to put up with him. XD I can picture the two going on missions and using their thieving skills to keep artifacts safe. Also, this would be after he has been redeemed.

 

Sideshipping (Tristan Taylor/Miho Nosaka) – Let me just say this…I don’t really care for Miho. So why is she in this? Because this Miho is different to what we saw in the season 0 anime. I never liked the fact she is just some gold-digging dense girl. She never seemed like the type to even hang out with Yugi and the others. I know they wanted to have it so that Tea is not the only girl, but seriously. There were barely any good things about her. So, for this, Miho is more like her manga self. She’s shy but caring and quiet. I feel like, if she wasn’t embarrassed by that mean teacher, I think Tristan would have had a shot with her. Plus, I don’t ship Tristan with Serenity. Why? The duel he, Serenity, and Duke had in the Noah’s Ark. Duke didn’t baby Serenity while Tristan did. He acted like she couldn’t do a thing for herself. True it was her first duel, but she could learn and I’m sure Duke could trust her to do that. Tristan didn’t and I feel like their relationship just wouldn’t last even if Joey were to let it happen. Plus, Serenity seems to like Tristan as another brother anyway. Like I said, I know Tristan can have a girl, and I rather be it Miho.

 

Honorable mentions since I didn’t include them here because I haven’t drawn them…yet:

 

Cheershipping (Duke Devlin/Serenity Wheeler) – As I said above, I ship Duke/Serenity way more than Tristan/Serenity. I just like how he is willing to believe in Serenity and the fact he says in the manga of how she helps him be stronger. I just…awe!

 

Empathyshipping (Seto Kaiba/Ayano Shibata) – Another friend of mine came up with this character after seeing DSOD. Like Kaiba needs some serious help, so she came up with a therapist for him and even ended up shipping her with him. It’s freaking hilarious XD and Ayano is great.

YGO characters (c) Kazuki Takahashi

Yuki and Chase (c) @shiroi-majo

Chris, Carrie, Catzi, Bast, and art (c) me

[comfortablynumbonthepuzzle]

Is Will Byers Gay?

@byelertrash wrote a great analysis of Will Byers’ sexuality. I wanted to add to it -- this is a sort of long post, so bear with me. 

I was looking for a script of the pilot online, and while I couldn’t find the shooting version, I did find a version of the pilot when the show was still called Montauk. It’s really interesting to look at all the differences: for one thing, Steve’s character is still what the Duffers intended him to be in the first place — a shallow asshole, he and Nancy have sex basically right away, and from what I remember, Barb dies.

There are lot of minor dialogue changes, but there was one discrepancy that caught my eye, from the scene between Joyce and Hopper when Joyce first reports Will’s disappearance. 

In the actual scene (i.e.: the one that aired), Joyce says “[Will’s] got a couple of friends, but you know, kids, they’re mean. They make fun of him, call him names, they laugh at him, his clothes…” Hopper then says, “His clothes? What’s wrong with his clothes?”, to which Joyce responds, “I don’t know, does it matter?”

The Montauk pilot makes a critical change. When Hopper asks what’s wrong with Will’s clothes, Joyce responds saying it’s because they’re too colorful. Here’s a screenshot:

I initially thought this part of the scene was an allusion to the Byers’ poverty; that maybe kids laughed at Will’s clothes because they were hand-me-downs or unfashionable or worn out. But I really don’t know what else about colorful clothing kids could take issue with, apart from the fact that it could theoretically imply homosexuality. I’m not sure why the Duffers removed the line (though I imagine it’s probably a matter of subtlety) and I’m not sure what it means as far as the canon is concerned. But I thought it was interesting.

Moreover, the entire scene itself is EXTREMELY loaded with meaning. It initially confused me, because I wasn’t sure why Joyce would bring up her son’s perceived homosexuality at that particular time. It didn’t seem immediately relevant to his disappearance. But, I think the Duffers wanted to hint that Joyce was worried about her son because he’s already a target. It’s important to note that Hopper asks about Will’s sexuality — when Joyce says that Lonnie used to call Will a fag, Hopper asks, “Is he?”. Later in the show, Troy says that his dad speculates that Will is dead; probably killed by “some other queer”. So, it would appear that even other adults are aware of Will’s perceived homosexuality, and that to some extent, it’s a topic of speculation and gossip in the town itself, and not just at Will’s school. So, I think Joyce, in this scene, is trying to explain to Hopper that Will’s disappearance isn’t just symptomatic of his age — she’s trying to explain that he’s queer, other people know it, and that makes him vulnerable. 

It’s ESPECIALLY worth noting that Joyce says “he isn’t like you” to Hopper right after he mentions “screwing Chrissy Carpenter”. This probably means that Will isn’t the type of person to skip class at all, but it could also mean that Will isn’t the type of person who would skip class to do something like screw somebody. Perhaps it’s because Joyce, who we know is very close with Will, has never observed him express romantic or sexual interest in anyone. One possible interpretation is that he hasn’t had those feelings yet, but another, more probable one, is that he has, but a) is confused and scared by them, b) knows that it’s unacceptable to have same-sex leanings let alone articulate them, and c) is already worried about being a ‘freak’ and an outcast, and therefore chooses silence. (But I bet you Joyce already knows this about Will, that’s kind of what I think the subtext of the “I was so proud of your rainbow ship” scene was...)

If you need anymore evidence of this, throughout the show, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin all express romantic interest in someone. Will, however, never does. There is only one instance where Will is paired with someone at all, and he neither initiates it nor seems too enthusiastic that it’s happening. Will’s own romantic inclinations have been unaddressed thus far, and I think that’s intentional. If the Duffers were really concerned with portraying Will as straight, the girl he danced with at the Snowball would have been introduced earlier in the show, if briefly. They would have included some shot of him looking at her longingly, or added a small subplot where he laments how being “zombie boy” has affected his romantic opportunities. And I’m almost certain they would have had him ask her. Instead, the girl is a rando; we don’t even know her name. We’re meant to be uninterested in her. The fact that she asks Will to dance is absolutely critical, because it means we have yet to see Will’s own romantic impulses -- we only see someone projecting theirs onto him.  also Will doesn’t lament his romantic choices because he already has a crush on Mike.

Now, of course you could make the argument that assumptions about Will’s sexual identity don’t necessarily have any bearing on his actual identity. I would agree. But I don’t know why a) Will has repeatedly been targeted for being queer when Lucas, Mike and Dustin, all outcasts, have not, b) why even adults seem to be aware of this rumor, and c) why Joyce feels it’s necessary to bring up in a meeting with Hopper about his disappearance. And of course, there’s this clue from the pilot script, which is, IMO, unquestionably about him being gay.

Again - I’m not arguing that the speculation itself proves that Will is gay, I’m arguing that it seems like too much of a conscious effort on the Duffers’ behalf to amount to nothing. It seems that the Duffers are developing Will’s storyline, by planting subtle hints at his sexuality. They did it in the first season by belaboring everyone’s speculation about his orientation, and in the second season by emphasizing his close relationship with Mike. (I could write an entire tumblr post about the way their relationship in the 2nd season was shot alone). 

I think it’s especially possible given the fact that we have yet to really get to know Will as a character independent from the supernatural trauma he’s had to survive the past two seasons. If the Duffers are going to keep the show fresh, and I imagine they will, they’re going to change things up, which means we’re going to get to know Will in a different way. Dustin, Lucas, and Mike all have had romantic storylines, and each of these have deepened our understanding of and love for them. It would be repetitive and boring to yet again introduce a new character to be a love interest for Will, so in lieu of that, we may get more evidence to Will’s sexual identity. I am NOT suggesting that we will get Byeler, and I doubt we will see Will “come out” (because he’s 13 and this is 80s Indiana), but I don’t think that doesn’t mean he’s not canonically gay. It just means that we have to wait and see. 

[100percentjazzedtomeetyou]

THIS IS SO LONG I’M SORRY

*There are many spoilers in here for Pitch Perfect 3 ok*

Here's some thoughts from me fresh out the cinema that I'll probably feel were too emotional and incorrect after a while as I always do, but here we go...

***Warning, this got really long! ALSO A THOUSAND SPOILERS***

Let’s start this off by saying that it wasn’t a bad film. Not at all. Was it amazing, maybe not, but I had fun watching it and i’ll see it again, and i’ll buy the dvd and i’ll continue to listen to the soundtrack and love everyone who was in it, because they’re beautiful, wonderful people who were amazing in it and fought really hard to get the movie how it is.

First of all it didn’t really feel like a finale, especially one that was supposed to be about them being a family, (YES I KNOW THEY SAID THEY WERE A FAMILY AND OTHER PEOPLE SAID THEY WERE A FAMILY LIKE 20 TIMES, but they didn’t show it like they really did in the past two films in my opinion) like they had like 2 and a half scenes where they actually all spoke to each other and about life. There were really sweet interactions by people we don’t usually get the see interact, and i’m glad they carried on the beca/amy friendship, because that was lovely to see in the second one, but like, and i know i’m a bechloe shipper so i’m biased here, but beca and chloe didn’t really interact at all, neither did chloe and aubrey (DID CHLOE AND AUBREY ACTUALLY SPEAK TO EACH OTHER???i can’t even remember) and so much of the other films had a lot in about their friendship, the second one especially, and now i’m thinking back to this one and wondering if they even had a one to one conversation other than the boob grab (which was shorter than the trailer one ugh) and Beca calling her ‘sweetie’ in their apartment, which came off 98% less sarcastic than when she calls theo ‘honey’ later on which i loved.

The editing felt kinda heavy handed to me, like they had to put in all these silly effects around chloe and chicago stuff to make it overly obvious to us that she liked him. And cut to him and theo so so often i actually started rolling my eyes at it, because it made it look like chloe and chicago had been dating for years when at that point they didn’t even know anything about each other. Like, i’m not one to say no to watching chloe be all bashful and bite her lip and play with her hair, but it seems like exactly what Kendrick said she didn’t let them put in for Beca, the tripping over her feet kinda crushing, was put on chloe instead. And chloe is the confident, sexual, ‘i get what i want’ kinda girl who literally barged into someone’s shower because she liked the way they sang. This chloe didn’t make sense to me. She doesn’t even know anything about the guy other than his name and she’s talking about commitment. (Like okay, that scene was funny and Brittany was amazing in it and, like i said i love a flustered chloe because she’s adorable and it was like all the fics where she acts like that around beca, but it felt really strange in this position) Chicago just showed up, said a few things that didn’t really matter and we were supposed to be all the way in for their relationship. Like, a relationship storyline wasn’t necessary at all. It was actually more distracting than anything else, i’d rather have no relationships at all. The bellas and their friendship is all we need.

I felt like you could tell more than one person wrote the script and you can tell it was changed a lot. The lack of chemistry i felt was between chloe and chicago was actually funny and maybe that’s why they made chloe be extra lusty, ditsy, flirty and add those slow motion and sound effects......... And interestingly to me or hilariously so, in a sad way, chloe and Chicago and beca and theo are filmed/edited so similarly, other than the weird slow mo chloe stuff, yet one is absolutely not gonna happen and one does and it's so heavy handed and they're so similar that neither of them really work. (That credits scene felt stupid to me, the only reason it was okay was that we didn’t get to really gauge beca’s reaction to it, but it wasn’t overly positive i don’t think) I also hated that beca and theo still came across all flirty, because it was similar to how she was with jesse, but at least they didnt happen. I am so glad Kendrick fought so hard for it, because I actually don’t think I would sit through the film again if they had. I’d just download my favourite scenes and make a whole other movie out of it for myself to enjoy. HEY THAT’S WHAT FANFIC IS FOR.

On to bechloe for a bit i guess,

The thing with bechloe was that it was always just fun for me, they’re fun movies and an amazing cast that I loved for shipping the characters as well as us, understanding the importance and never making fun of us (and they still don’t, see brittany’s build interview for recent stuff and kendrick all the damn time). We had (and still have OF COURSE) our own little community and we didn't really have to think about what it would mean to us for it to be canon because we never ever thought it would be! I never ever imagined it could be canon until they started really leaning into it. And when the ads started well that was just too much.

It just became a marketing ploy for a movie where the couple barely speak to each other. The film wasn't even really about the bellas, not really.

I don't know. Maybe I would have enjoyed it so much more and not picked up on all the stuff i’m saying if I didn't feel like I'd been played the whole time leading up to it. Even yesterday with the ads saying 'will bechloe ever happen'.... No wonder the ads are full of clips from the old movies, because they don't really interact in this one at all. It was the type a example of queerbaiting and i really hate them for that.

I'm sure I'll watch it again and have different thoughts and again, it wasn't not enjoyable, I just felt like the baiting without any intention for them to at least be sweet to each other throughout the film and talk to each other was extra extra wrong, and actually having a canon love interest for chloe all the while doing this..... it’s really not okay. And there must have been a hell of a lot cut for the way the cast was talking and why did they have to stay in the giant water tank for two days when there was literally ten seconds of them in the water I don't understand.

Anyway, I was there for the bellas and I don't feel like I got them. It was funny yes, it really was and i smiled throughout most of it. The baiting just dampened it a lot for me.

NOW LET ME BE MORE POSITIVE - here’s some things i liked:

- AMY WAS BADASS, really, i’ll watch a bellas action movie anytime - there was more aubrey and she was funny and cute - background jessica and ashley was adorable and some of the actual best hilarious one liners/moments comes from jessica which is amazing - THE MUSIC WAS SO GREAT -OMG THE DANCING WAS INCREDIBLE LIKE HOWWww - little drunk chloe in the bg of aubrey talking about the USO tour was adorable - the fact that chloe gives speeches like those all the time and the bellas roll their eyes at her everytime but you know they all secretly love it - the off hand comment about there having been a sexual encounter between some bellas (by chloe, probably including chloe) ‘one time’ is the stuff dreams (fics) are made of - kendrick looked so good, like extra good - chrissie got to sing more which makes me happy - emily still felt like emily and she GOT A HAMSTER (aca-child is overwhelmed by hamster) - beca telling theo he looks like a turtle - the other performers in the tour were awesome, really awesome - kendrick is super gay in the riff off - cynthia rose got to say the word gay which was cool - there were def some bechloe glances that will make wonderful gifs (not enough tho) - lilly (/ester) got an okay amount of screentime and we got to hear her speak properly finally even if only for a few seconds - the scenes with all the bellas in were actually beautiful and funny and made me feel good  - also the stacey baby thing was the most cliche, but adorable and i’ll admit i got a couple of goosebumps at that cliche, sweet, loving naming moment

In conclusion, the film was fun. The bellas were great in it. They kinda forgot about all the other characters other than the men after the riff off which was stupid because they were so much more interesting and charismatic and musicians, which the films are supposed to be focused on... Couldn’t the film have focussed more on the tour and them working and fighting for their place, i get that that’s the plot of the others, but that’s what they do and it wasn’t broke so why try and fix it

I do not want to take away from anyone's performance because they were wonderful. Kendrick was amazing and so sweet and gay and it felt right for beca for the most part, you could see the character development. The rest were not given enough time really. I know most of us were there because we care about these characters and not getting a chance to hear them speak and get to know them a little better because thats what the films have been about so far was sad. It still feels open ended to me. It doesn't feel like it was wrapped up. I don't know anything more about any of them really. I don't know. Again, I didn't hate it, I didn't even dislike it. What I dislike, what I feel really emotional about, is how they exploited us, how hard Kendrick had to fight for bechloe and for beca to be who she should be in this film, something that should be so obvious. And how little time we got to see our bellas be bellas. it had a really different feel to the other films, and i hope that i watch it again and feel differently because i wanted so much to love it and i was so nervous going in. 

 It all just feels a little strange, maybe that’s just because it’s supposedly the end and it doesn’t feel like it should be at all. I can’t wait to be all over those dvd extras and am hopeful for another Kendrick book where she can tell it all.

THANK YOU to the cast and crew and everyone. This isn’t the end, i’m writing like 3 bechloe fics as we speak and the community of amazing people and artists and writers who make me laugh and cry and grow to love these characters more and more each day will still be here and i am so happy about that. Thank you to rebel and brittany and kendrick for how they’ve spoken about bechloe especially, it really means more than i think they know. AND TO EVERYONE ELSE IN THE CAST I LOVE YOU SM.

I have to stop now, but i may update after i see it again. This is a little in the heat of the moment.

If you’ve made it through my 2000+ words of mess then i thank you and also apologise to you.

bye. 

[buddiebeginz]

i just read on an aaron blog that the only love interest they want for aaron is one that makes him happy and where the relationship is stable. okay here’s the thing. while i want aaron to be happy and have something of a stable relationship this is a SOAP we’re watching power couples do NOT have super healthy relationships. If you want to see your couple featured regularly they’re going to have to go through some serious drama on a fairly regular basis. that means they’re gonna hurt each other a lot, and make up a lot, and sometimes break up, and then get back together if the show has decided they’re the long haul kind of couple like robron and coira. 

if the show decided they didn’t want rob and aaron together for the foreseeable future and wanted to push forward alex and aaron then the two of them would be facing drama eventually as well. if rob was totally out of the picture (for aaron) the show would probably have more storylines where aaron was getting into trouble and alex didn’t want to deal with it. it’s a common soap dynamic especially in emmerdale where one character in a ship is propped up as the “good guy” and one the bad and given aaron’s history in any dynamic that wasn’t with rob he’d be the “bad guy”. but no matter how they played it if aaron and alex were a long term couple and getting big storylines they’d eventually be hurting one another. 

also i know what rob did with rebecca was awful but some of you need to comprehend that cheating is a soap staple that will never go away, look at all the storylines that have happened in emmerdale this year. if you are going to hate and write off a soap character for cheating you might as well not even watch soaps. your fav will cheat at some point. yes even aaron will cheat at some point. it’s a statistical probability that given that way aaron and rob’s storylines have gone that it will happen. plus it would be way too good of a juicy dramatic storyline for them to not show aaron cheating on rob. aaron has been cheated on, and he cheated with rob on chrissie, the only thing he hasn’t done is full out cheat on someone like rob has done. i’m certain it will happen at some point down the road. is fandom going to write him off the way a lot of you have rob? i highly doubt it. i’m sure when the time comes it will end up being rob’s fault for working too much or it will be looked at as pay back for all his cheating. 

I just really think some of you need to better understand the medium you’re watching and have different expectations for it. soaps aren’t meant to be this realistic view of the world to which we should base our life and relationships on. would robron work in the real world? probably not. and are they the healthiest couple in the world? hell no. but do they make the best kind of soap couple? yes i think so. i think if a lot of you understood better what made a soap couple great you’d agree. 

i feel like people put a lot of unrealistic standards on robron and rob in particular. robron and coira are very similar and yet i don’t see cain ever getting the same kind of hate rob does. sometimes i think no man will ever be good enough for aaron (in the eyes of certain parts of fandom that is). and that’s sad because robron will be remembered years from now. they’re in league with a lot of the other soap power couples that people still talk about like john and marlena (from days of our lives), who also have had their ups and downs and craziness over the years but that’s what has made them so great. i would never want aaron to end up in a boring, cookie cutter, forgettable ship where nothing bad ever happened. he’s a complex character with a troubled past who deserves a relationship every bit as complex and exciting as he is.

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Do you think tere might still be a chanse that Seb is not Roberts, or has that ship sailed? I just feel that would be the best outcome, but I feel like Ian might have planned this sl with the end goal (apart from the Whites leaving) of giving Robron a aby. And if that's true than I think he severely missjudged the fandom, and it very well could blow up in his face. And I'm not sre it could be fixed with Seb leaving with someone either.

I mean this is the biggest question isn’t it? And I don’t have a good answer for you either way because I literally change my mind every second and no outcome seems to actually fully make sense or work out or would seem satisfying. 

I still feel like ultimately the two goals involved in the Hell Plot were ‘have the Whites exit’ and ‘break robron down to their core and rebuild them to be stronger’. None of that involves a baby sticking around. And the baby has been such a plot device this whole time. First the baby was the consequence that sort of forced Robert into telling Aaron what happened. Not quite but it was something of a factor in getting him to the telling point anyway. Then the baby was used as the main reason Aaron broke things off, the other being that he needed to work on himself which goes back to the main robron goal. Then the baby was used as a way to get Robert in with the Whites again so he could do all of his scheming. Then the baby was used to show that Robert needs to change because he can’t keep ruining people’s lives. And now, the baby being taken away from Robert is being used as a punishment for everything that Robert has done. 

None of that is actually about that baby. And now Rebecca and Seb are going to leave next week to return who knows when, and at least with the Alex stuff, things seem to go back to being about Robert and Aaron. So...I just don’t know how they can have Robert end up with this baby long term if nothing has been about this baby thus far. 

But then it’s like, what are the options for them not to end up with the baby? 

1. Presumably, we’ve all sort of decided anyway, that they’re killing Rebecca off so that would seem to suggest that Chrissie gets the baby as some kind of second chance after Lachlan really loses it in January and they all die or leave or go to prison. So if Chrissie gets the baby, it’s either not Robert’s due to the theory and she just takes him. But the Theory requires them to allow Rebecca to be like almost a real character for five seconds. It requires another candidate to be the father, both theorized options are involved with another storyline at the moment. That storyline may be wrapped up for one or both of them by mid december but who knows. Adam is leaving so they could tie his exit into this, but neither have really been involved for a while, so I have a hard time seeing them bring them back in all of a sudden. That said, they’ve been moving things so fast lately, who the hell knows?!

2. Or, she decides that yes, Robert does ruin everything he touches and she doesn’t want him anywhere near this kid so she takes him. Robert tries to find her and the kid and can’t because all of a sudden his dodgy contacts fail for plot reasons so we can have a Seb free existence. 

3. Or Robert can give up his son because he realizes that he is bad news and needs to change for himself and not other people and that his son deserves to have a chance at life without him ruining it and lets Chrissie take him even though she probably was going to anyway cause she hates Robert but in this version he at least gets to say goodbye. 

I don’t know, none of these sit right with me but since I just want to be able to have a fresh start after all of this they’re more preferable to me than Robron getting stuck with this baby at the end of it. Really though, I just have no idea and it’s literally a daily argument I have with myself and I wish I could stop. 

None of this is helpful to you, I’m sure. 

[dxringred]

unleashing-a replied to your post: unleashing-a replied to...

This is so true. I feel they should mix up their cast a bit too, that would be a nice change

I’m putting this under the cut because I accidentally went full rant/essay mode. I’m so sorry asdfghjk.

I feel like their cast, for the most part, is relatively decent in terms of personality and character. They have an even gender split, give or take one, and their only weakness is their staggering lack of diversity across the board.

Most people feel the cast needs a mix-up because the show focuses too much on certain characters. With the horde of obsessed fans, comes the need to shoehorn Robert into every storyline, and make him as prominent/central as possible in as many as can be. It gets them the views, it gets them the tweets, and it gets them the slew of votes that guarantees most of their wins at awards shows. Emmerdale are rooted in their comfort zone, because they know it works for this particular group of people, even if it doesn’t for everyone else. 

The bigger ships, too, get all the drama and are written on/off so much due to their popularity. The idea is to break them up for as long as feasibly possible, and subsequently persuade viewers to keep watching in the hopes that their ship will finally reunite - and, most times, Emmerdale caves, regardless of how blatantly obvious it is that the ship is toxic/abusive.

In soaps there should be no explicit background characters, and even tertiary characters should get their storylines. The idea in soaps is to rotate between the individual characters one by one - Emmerdale has a big issue with rotating between the same 7-10 characters out of 50, and occasionally breaking the pattern to include 1-3 characters you wouldn’t really see much of. They also have a massive issue with isolating characters once they enter an individual storyline, which is yet another reason why some of the cast get left out and forgotten. 

For example, I’ve noticed that whenever Rhona enters a romance storyline (particularly with Paddy), Vanessa gets sidelined more often than not, or vanishes completely, despite the two of them being best-friends. Similarly, Aaron’s family commonly seem to abandon him whenever he enters a solo storyline. Chrissie has been isolated ever since, well... the entire Lachlan/Alicia storyline, I think, and that’s the reason she gets no content/storylines of her own - because there’s no-one outside of her family to participate. 

So, sometimes it’s a little bit of a surprise when two characters interact or show their strong bond/friendship, because their lack of interaction (whether in the background, as filler, or amidst a bigger storyline) made you forget just how close they really are. 

With Emmerdale, you can genuinely split the cast into four categories, with perhaps only a few anomalies: core, primary, secondary and tertiary characters. Below is my opinion of that sorting. 

Core characters: they’re the ones you see most frequently, even if they’re not involved in any of the current ongoing storylines. Core characters tend to be related and/or strongly connected.

Robert, Aaron, Cain, Adam, Moira, Chas, Victoria, Debbie, Liv.

Primary characters: the ones who get a lot of screentime, but not as much as the core characters - oftentimes, they’re seen in storylines outside of their own to fulfill a certain role/voice, or because they’re connected to the person whose storyline it is.

Paddy, Marlon, Rhona, Charity, Rebecca, Tracy, Leyla, Ross, Priya, David, Pete, Laurel, Gabby, Belle, Gerry, Faith, Diane, Doug, Lachlan, Bernice, Lydia. 

Secondary characters: sometimes they’re in the background, but mostly will only appear prominently when they’re directly involved in a storyline, or when they’re needed to fill up a scene/add some variety.

Nicola, Jimmy, Megan, Eric, Jai, Lawrence, Dan, Kerry, Sam, Zak, Lisa, Harriet, Jacob, April, Sarah, Amelia, Arthur, Daz. 

Tertiary characters: who? The ones you almost forgot about, who get their own storyline once in a blue moon, usually serve to further someone else’s, and are mostly backgrounders/scene fillers.

Bob, Brenda, Frank, Rodney, Noah, Sandy, Samson, Rishi, Pearl.

I’m only missing one character from my list, as far as I know, because I can’t determine where she would fit, and that’s Chrissie. Due to her screentime overall, she fits in with the primary characters, but because she spends so much time confined to Home Farm, and has essentially no connections in the village, she fits the secondary description to a T. Some others do fit into multiple categories, based on both how one views them as well as what storylines have happened recently, but she’s the only one I couldn’t confidently place. 

That many characters is a lot, even excluding the children, so I can understand why some get under-utilized, but if it’s to the point where they almost never appear, then it’s either time to get rid and replace them, or make a conscious effort to involve them more and finally give the core characters a backseat. After all, at this point, a lot of the secondary/tertiary characters can be viewed as expendable, which is never good. If you want shock deaths and storylines, Emmerdale could benefit from turning these four categories into just two.

I know massive casts are per the norm for soaps - hell, I think CS has bordering 60 characters or something - but if you can’t control that many characters effectively - and Emmerdale really can’t - then you shouldn’t have that many, and you certainly shouldn’t be adding more. Looking at you and your 12-month contract, Tom. Nobody wants to see their favorite character(s) go, but it’s inevitable here when Emmerdale have exceeded the amount they can effectively control/write. It’s why so many have gone this year - Emma, Finn, Ashley, Joanie - and why so many more are set to go - Adam, Lawrence, potentially Lachlan and Chrissie. 

Maybe it’s easier for me to pick on Emmerdale specifically because I haven’t watched another soap in a while, or because I’m used to shows that aren’t soaps, and have much smaller casts. But, from what I have seen of Coronation Street, Neighbors, and Home & Away, they seem to juggle their big casts much better than Emmerdale can. 

[scrumptiouslyburningphantom-blog]

Open the door you Knucklehead!

When you don’t have your love you are doomed to get the Blues.  Everything seems wrong.  Nothing feels right and you think death sounds peaceful if you did not to have to endure this torture of being part from love.  I’ve been looking for that person for what seems an eternity now of 39 years of living but not as many looking but apparently many reincarnations in the process.  I’ve kissed a lot of frogs to just settle for anyone now but it’s not looking good.  Nothing looks good everything seems like too much  Nothing feels right or taste right.  My reason for living seems to be consumed with daily chores of trash, shit, piss, dishes, laundry, shipping listing, driving, smoking, popping pills for energy that do the opposite now, drinking a beer to numb the pain to only find more upon awaking and the bills are pilling up.   Where is my Sunshine?  Where is my soul mate?  Where is the one who loves a wretch like me?  where are you hiding?  When you think you find them they deny your love which is more painful than I can bare.  Why does this have to be Mission Impossible?  Why does everything have to seem so difficult?  Why is everything so expensive?  Why do I have no pie for myself?  Where is my crumb?  Where is my share?  Why is life not fair?  Why do the meanies keep winning?  Why are the crooks in charge?  Why is our media just garbage?  Why?  Why is this world so fucked up?  Why does this fat bitch have a husband?  Why are they happy and I’m not?  Why are they rich and I’m not?  Why I ask myself?  Why did I get delt this hand in life?  Why did I have to learn the hard way?  What was all this for?  What purpose do I have anymore?  What left do I have to give?  When all everyone does is take.  When will it be my turn to shine?  Or am I just a burned out star now?  This little light of mine shined too long and it’s about to form a black hole, it’s doomed for chaos, run boys! run from her seems to be the case.  The ones I love don’t love me or know know me but I love them it seems to be the only thing keeping me alive at this point is some kind’ve hope of my dream.  That it’s not over just yet.  That you have one more shot one more chance.  You aren’t a complete failure just yet.  Don’t give up Chrissy it will work out I try to comfort myself.  Nobody cares, they all keep chiving on as I sink.  They throw me  a bone but the bones get smaller and smaller,  Now I feel like it’s doomsday that they forgot about me.  That God has forsaken his promise, that I’m gonna end up worse then Scarlett.  At least she tasted love and we don’t know how it ended do we?  We don’t know what ever came of Scarlett.  Did Rhett ever come back?  Did she kill herself?  Did she get her Ashley?  Did  she die alone?  Just like Jesus we don’t know what he was like during his early life.  Maybe when Jesus comes back we will learn what happened to Scarlett.  In my life I can relate to Scarlett a woman cursed with tragedy for the price of her Beauty.  She to most is very unlikeable by her deemener, she is spoiled, mean and manipulative, Life loves to hit Scarlett and people love to watch her Sink.  Those that do help her nearly get killed in the process or killed.  What is the curse of the Scarlett woman?  Why are we all doomed for this tragedy of a unrequited love?  Why do we feel as though we are doomed to never find true love?  Why does this task seem like a dying battle?  Why did so many have to fall in the process?  Why is this love such a battleground?   Scarlett wasn’t really that bad if you think about it.  She survived many tragedies and in the process was still beautiful and had more then most.  She did what she had to do in order to survive and kept her fiesty spirit along with style and grace.  She stayed true to her nature by enduring the blows to only become even stronger and more beautiful.  I think if I were to write the ending to Scarlett it would be very easy to just have her kill herself because you’d rather her do that then to view her drown.  I mean what if Scarlett had lost everything and ended up being a whore?  We don’t want that for her.  I think I’d rather see her kill herself then to see that.  What would a happy ending be for Scarlett?  Could anyone ever make her happy?  Why is she so hard to love but so easy to watch?  Maybe it’s kind’ve like wtinessing a train wreck from a distance it may look crazy and wild but if you were actually  a person on that train or near that track it wouldn’t be so cool.  It would probably not end up good.  Instead of figuring out why these two trains are about to collide and wondering who engineered it or what could prevent this in the future.  We do nothing.  Stop the Train!  Do something!  Help!  Everyone involved in her life I’m sure will never forget her,  She made quite the impression.  I don’t think you could forget a Scarlett woman maybe that’s why were doomed.  People are jealous of the Stars the ones to stand out in a crowd.  We are treated like caged animals.  We try to escape the cage to only be trapped in a smaller one.  The only way out for us is death and even in that we never die.  Death is not the end.  We just come back and do it all over again and again.  When will this curse end and this curtain come down?  Why is it always a tragedy?  Why can’t we live happily ever after?  I think by having Gone with the Wind end with us left hanging is probably the best ending because those that loved her still have hope for her and those that despised her character can be happy that it did not end happily ever after.  Now if Scarlett was a terrible spoiled wretch why did her character fascinate so many people?  What would Gone with the Wind be like without Scarlett?  Would it even exist?  What would be the point?  That is why to me I find that it be most urgent for the Scarlett woman to be protected and helped. Without her their would be no point.  Life would be boring and plain.  Stop beating Scarlett women up.  They are going extinct.  God put them here for a reason just accept that most books have a main character you can’t take away that character without making it another book.  You need a main character.  That is how life should be.  Scarlett was a Queen and really deserved to be treated like one.  I wish she didn’t have to suffer by causes not her own but she was a lot stronger then you would give her credit for that’s for sure.  I hope Rhett is lost without his Scarlett and she tried to get him back.  Maybe he gave her quite the challenge the next time but in the end it only made her love him even more and everything was sugar plums, cupcakes, rainbows again on Earth because with a love that big it would effect the Universe, it would put the train back on track, it would be heaven on earth.  Come on God make all those scars be worth the price of Love.  With love they will be worth it.  With love they will tell a story so spectacular that not even the stars above have ever witnessed.  Let this prophecy come true, let the covenant of God stay true to a promise long ago.  Let love live again in the Scarlett woman, let this curse be denied and removed, let her enemies be the ones forsaken, let the Word of God ring truth and Justice in the wise.  Tell the Stars above and the heavens.  Let them see this happy ending,  Give me my love sooner than later, cupid shoot him with my arrow of love, and have a messenger bring him my way at once.  Tell him that I love him, show him that I am the one he’s been looking for, let him not escape my love, let him see only me in his heart, let my love engulf him and his body yearn to have me at once.  May his dreams guide him to me, show him now I beg of you, let him know I’m the one he’s been looking for, let him know I’m the one he’s been singing about, tell him I’m the one made for him.  If he denies my love may he feel something missing, let his heart feel my pain,  may he hear me cry for him while were apart.  May he feel like he’s dying without me.  When he sees my face may he realize that he loves me.  May his body ache for only me.  May he wonder what would have happened had he kissed me last November.    If I could redo that night I would have kissed you and showed you how much I loved but you know Cupid thinks its funny sometimes to shoot arrows at others instead.  You and I still were never really apart because soulmates can still love at a distance.  You were always with me and I with you in some way or another.  Seeing you always made me happy the only thing painful is not for long enough.  I guess i am happy to have tasted the love we shared and always hoped that one day you’d come back to me that you’d somehow figure out that you loved me.  I thought you were still with me somehow on this journey.  If you were my one true love you could feel this and know that no matter what  a love like this can only grow bigger the more you deny or run. May you know that I will always love you and wanted only you the whole time.  Cupid don’t stop shooting aim for his heart.  Why is my love so stubborn?  Why won’t my love come home?  Why can’t cupid aim right?  Cupid stop shooting arrows and confusing more hearts.  Cupid just give me my love to hold tight, give me my love to touch, cupid stop playing games, this is not funny,  Cupid if I can’t have my love you can kill me.  Shoot me next time to death.  Maybe in death he will miss me.  Maybe in death he will know that he loved me.  Maybe in death we will be together.  I’d rather have a happy ending in this please don’t let it end like Gatsby.  I beg of you to give me my love at once, let this game of love be over,  I will surrender to my love, give me my love please I beg you.  If you have to write it in the stars heavens somehow let him not deny my love.  Have the stars shoot only above my house.  Have the stars write our names and be his guide home.  May it be a miraculous event.  Guide my love to me someohow nature, show him if he is blinded, show him that i love him, show him that I’m the one somehow.  Have a birdie whisper in his ear my name, have a horse nah my name, have a donkey show up at his door with a bow tie that reads my name and address on a tag, if he is still in denial may he hear someone call my name when no one is there, may he start to hear voices to tell him I love him,  make him learn he can never escape my love, he will find only me in his dreams, may he start to go crazy and get paranoid.  May he realize he surrounded my fakes and phonies. That nobody in this world is real anymore no not one person but that girl he met at a picnic.  That girl he loved for a short time be the one girl to never escape his mind.  May he feel me when he sings his songs, may he start to see that one girl he’s been singing for this whole time was me all along.  May his love start to fill his body may his thoughts start thinking about that girl in Helena more and more each day, May he start to tingle with pleasure when he thinks of me.  May he want me more and more.  For Gods sake Cupid bring my love to me in one piece this time.   Someone shoots cupid and cupid falls from the sky. My love is a witness of this event of cupid falling from the sky. My love runs to see what just fell from the sky My love hears cupid moan in pain My love follows the voice to find Cupid laying at what appears to be a railroad track crossway.

My love runs to Cupid and sees that somebody had shot Cupid in the heart. Cupid says I once loved a girl a mortal that you have known. She loved you and to.ld me to shoot you with her love but instead thought it would be funny to shoot others instead  I wanted her for myself I was wrong in that I now know.  I learned that you can’t play with mortals hearts like that.  All this playing has finally caught up with me.  For now I am dying please here me out.  Chrissy Bowers is your soul mate she’s the one you’ve been singing about.  She’s your muse and you know it she is the one promise this world has left.  You are both the ones phopetized long ago.  I urge you to go to her at once.  Stop everything you are doing and go get your love.  I am cupid a messenger that has never felt love for a mortal.  She is like no other I promise in time you will know. I tell you the truth I promise so in death I can have peace.  I pray that I am forgiven for what I did by telling the truth in my last dying breath t.  Cupid points to the sky and says see even the stars above are waiting for you to go get her and tell her you know for certain she’s the one you love. that she is your twin flame now you know it.  Cupid points and then breaths his last breath at the site above.  My love can’t believe what he’s seeing in the sky.  My love is now in awe at the beauty he sees that night that he thinks he’s dreaming that this can’t be real.   My love is now greeted by a donkey with a bowtie that has my name and address on his tag. My love laughs and can’t believe what he’s seeing. The donkey speaks and says your love is waiting for you here just hop on my back and I’ll take you to her now. My love can’t believe what he’s seeing but is now certain that he loves only me.   He gets on the donkey with a bow ties back and they ride through the night.  The donkey says see the stars they are guiding us to your love right now.  This is only a sign of a promise you must now know without a doubt.   This is the one lesson that I am telling do not ever deny a ladies love but if you do by error or mistake let it be known that the stars will always be happy guide you back.  There is always hope that love will find its way home by this story is a promise and testimate of a True love story can have a happy ending even if someone has to shoot cupid and a donkey gives you a ride.  Love can have a happy ending after all.  May nothing be in vain if in the end you get your love.  May no man nor no woman ever become between us again now that our curse is broken and covenant reunited.  Let love rule your heart not Cupid he’s dead and gone now.  True lovers are now reunited you don’t need cupid here anymore  

Cupid was forgiven but God sent him on another journey he’s somewhere following the stars in the sky to find his one true love.  Cupid is now learning the hard way for why you should never interfere with love. Don’t hate Cupid for shooing and aiming wrong sometimes he apparently doesn’t have the best vision it seems because Cupid is now lost without his love.  Now that cupid knows that God made him a soul mate too he has hope he will find her.

Funny how love works sometimes it moves in mysterious ways but the lesson like I said if a lady gives you her heart don’t break it mend it to yours and your love will get bigger each day as your love for one another grows you will see what you have been missing and now know never to run from a lovers call.  

Open the door to love next time you knucklehead.  

[secondsofhappiness]

It's been a while since I've hated a soap character this badly - she just brings absolutely nothing right now. As you've said I'm sure this is all just so stuff gets dealt with (which is necessary before the wedding) but they really need to draw a line under this bs now as I'm sick to the back teeth of it. Ideally I don't want them sharing scenes at all (and she'd die painfully in a fire) but I can suffer business stuff as long as it's not more of this rehashed crap :)

Ouch! Haha.I'm all for the fire! I don't want them to die horribly, I'd like them to leave because their home is burned, I want to make that clear!! Haha. I agree that she hasn't been developed well and has been used for cheap drama from the second she came back which only serves to make her character feel empty. She's most compelling when she's with Chrissie imo. Their sibling dynamic could be excellent to watch, both of them vying for the top job and for Lawrence's attention and money, both of them working through their issues, trying to work together and causing drama ETC. It's all there for the taking and it may humanise Chrissie or give Rebecca a purpose and flesh her out more. It's no wonder people are irritated with her as a character - she's either written with confusing motives, an air of petulance and entitlement (without it being fun to watch), as a ruthless home wrecker (which niggles me because I hate when they reduce women to that) etc. It's not fun and it's a shame.So I get it, I get that you're frustrated but she's here and it's a case of people dealing with it. The Whites won't be around forever, HF families never are. They've already been in the show a few years now so something has to give and I don't think Iain's frightened of shaking stuff up, especially as the general audience seem to loathe the family as a whole. They could have been so much more. She isn't always going to be involved with Aaron/Robert. She will eventually get shipped off into another storyline and so will Aaron and Robert... I just take it all with a pinch of salt.Today's scene was OTT and camp for a reason. He calling him Roberto (JESUS Christ on a bike it was cringey - who wrote today's episode? I need to know!), using the word sexy and the lights all being out ETC. It was just over the top unnecessary cheap drama! Nothing robe concerned about. Yes, it's frustrating to have to put up with her character being so involved so much but as I've said all along, she's the catalyst. She's the plot device and as much as it maddens me they've reduced her to that, you can't deny it. She's there to instigate all of the tests to Rob and Aaron as a couple and those tests and issues and problems won't just end without the show recognising them and talking about them. Rob isn't just going to go "oh you beat someone up" and not wonder why the hell. There will be a point where Aaron has to speak his mind. There will be a point that Rebecca is irrelevant to them because she's tangled up in Ross drama or the family etc. I'll be joining you waving a flag the day the Whites get their marching orders but until then, my advice is accept her for what she is in their storyline and hope that the show makes her something other than an overtly dressed, quite posh plot device... so I can start enjoying her!