#i do think there are a lot of people who write beth super well

[pynkhues]

Hi! I just read an extremely popular Brio fic and it was wonderfully well written but I found I kept losing interest. I realized it’s bc while Rio felt somewhat authentic for the AU, Beth seemed like a completely different character. There wasn’t really much background information on her so the changes didn’t really make sense to me, even in an AU setting.

How do you approach AU settings to make sure the characters feel connected to the originals? Like in your pornstars AU I can still see Beth in there, even if it’s not something I would have ever expected of her! So I’m curious as to how you approach that.

Also why do you think this seems to happen more to Beth versus Rio? Are people just projecting themselves onto her you think? Idk I just feel like she has such a strong personality that I’m curious why I seem to feel that way in some fics.

Anyways, love your work 🩷🩷🩷

Hi! Thanks for your lovely words, although I'm sorry for your experience with that other fic. It can be such a bummer when we're overall enjoying a story - whether fic, or books, or shows - but for whatever reason it's just not quite landing. I know the feeling pretty well, haha.

For me, I find that capturing a character in all writing is basically about distilling two things:

What they want

What they need

These two factors in so many ways embody the main narrative arc of a story. In fact, many author talks I've been to suggest that plot in its entirety is a matter of asking three questions - what does a character want? What's standing in their way stopping them from getting what they want? And how will they overcome this obstacle? I don't entirely agree with this, and it's not a method of plotting that I personally subscribe to these days (although I have used it in the past and still sometimes find it helpful when I'm stuck), but I do think it can be useful to think about in terms of the role character motivation contributes to story overall.

More to the point though, I find dividing a character's wants and needs to be super useful, both in terms of analysis and writing, as to me, it's those wants and needs that really feed into everything when it comes to characterisation.

Beth's actually a great example of this as her want vs need are both complimentary and frequently in conflict with each other:

What Beth wants is to earn enough to save her house, provide for her children and get herself, her sister and her best friend to a point of financial security that doesn't leave them in a state of constant free fall.

What Beth needs is to feel real self worth, to connect with the woman inside of herself beyond wifehood, motherhood and even sisterhood, and to be seen and acknowledged as that woman by people she respects (i.e. Rio, but not just him). She needs to be seen as capable, and to feel autonomous and in control of her future.

Both of these wants and needs have greater implications when filling in the details of a character. In Beth's case, her adultification as a child in raising her sister feeds her lack of identity as an adult at the start of the series and her need to find herself (she's been raising children her whole life!), Dean's cheating compounds those feelings of self-worth, and him losing the family house is what becomes the catalyst for Beth to act. Her wants are created due to the situation Dean forces her into, her needs have been there for a lot longer than that.

When writing fic in general, but especially AUs, I try not to change the wants or needs of the characters. Like I said, I tend to view them as pretty crucial to the character overall, but I also think those wants and needs are what makes me feel connected to them as opposed to other characters or other shows. Those are the things I like! Why would I want to change them?

And anyway, I tend to find it super fun figuring out how those wants and needs might guide characters in a different setting. In both the porn star AU and the pirate AU, I really wanted to use the time period, the industry and the context of those story worlds to see how Beth might navigate her needs and wants, and to see how those factors might influence the shape of her story arc. It was pretty interesting to realise that I didn't think much changed, even in the pirate AU which is set so far in the past. I hope that means I understand her as a character, or at least, I guess, my interpretation of her, haha.

As for other writers - - yeah! I mean, in some ways I do think Rio's probably easier to write because his own wants and needs are more ambiguous on the show and he's therefore a little more malleable in fic. A lot about him can be true when we ultimately saw so little of him, whereas Beth, as you said, has such a strong personality and defined character that to change elements of her voice or her background, or to make certain decisions for her, can leave us with the age old feeling of: 'she wouldn't do / say that'.

I do think that, especially by the end of the series, there was a not insignificant portion of the fandom who didn't like her so ultimately wrote her differently (I personally had issues with the fact that so many people wrote Rio as punishing and Beth as both taking and deserving that punishment, which is why some high profile fics in the fandom aren't of particular interest to me), but I think there are other factors as well.

Yes, some projection, yes, some who mostly wrote her to be able to write about Rio, yes, some who were simply disinterested in her interiority, but I also think GG was a lot of people's first fandom, and a lot of people's first time writing fic, and that ultimately, Beth was a complicated character who only got more complicated over the four seasons of the show. She's not easy to write, and I do think the fandom was chockfull of talented writers, but a lot of talented writers who were still ultimately pretty new to writing.

I've been writing for a long time (man, I think I worked out that I posted my first fic when I was about 13 which was like, twenty years ago now, haha, and I had my first short story published in a journal at 19 too), and ultimately writing is a skill like anything else - you get better the longer you do it. :-)

[thewritingautisticat]

🥸- Which character is most like you?

💥- What does your writing schedule look like?

🫂- What was your inspiration for your WIP?

Thanks for the ask! Sorry the answers are really long but the questions just really got me thinking!

🥸- Which character is most like you?

Hmmm. Well, I had a character from my very first WIP (which I haven't worked on in forever) who was basically a self insert. Her name's Beth. She's anxious, wants to help everyone, loves cats, and to be honest, is a bit self-righteous. She even looks pretty much exactly like me except she's short. I still want to finish that story sometime, but every time I read it I feel the cringe of my 15-year-old self. I don't know if any of my current characters are that much like me, although most of them have parts of me. Caldren (post redemption) has a lot of my morals, Peg has my super cuddly nature, Liliana has my romantic side, Junia has my love for writing and nature, Jett has my compulsive need to "save" people, Phoenix has an extremely amplified version of some of my anger issues. What's that one quote about breaking yourself into pieces and making characters out of them? But I wouldn't say any of them are much like me, just that they all have fragments of me in them.

💥- What does your writing schedule look like?

Hehehe what's a writing schedule? 😅

Generally I just write whenever I feel like it or come up with something. Recently I've been writing on all my lunch breaks to try to do something more useful than scroll social media for half an hour. While I don't get a ton of writing done then, it is a little bit more regular than usual. I honestly have a horrible time trying to create any sort of daily habit. I'm trying to be a bit more regular but it's really hard. But I have most of my writing stuff accessible on my phone so I can pull it out and write whenever the mood strikes me. Still figuring out what works for me!

🫂- What was your inspiration for your WIP?

I'm going to go with Days of Resistance since that's my main WIP right now. Man, it's been a while since I first started it so it's hard to remember. I think the very first idea I had for it came from watching a short film that was made as a teaser/concept for a TV adaptation of the Wingfeather Saga book series. I barely remember what it was about it that started me thinking, but I think it was the sibling relationship of the main characters. The first thing I created was Andreu and his younger siblings based on that, but they took a backseat once Caldren showed up. I don't even know where he came from, but once again the side characters became the most interesting part. Caldren had his whole angsty backstory, which led to Peg, who immediately stole my heart. Plot wise I threw in some Les Mis and Hunger Games and a smidge of Oliver Twist and am just kinda rolling with it.

That's basically how most of my stories start, just me watching/reading something and thinking, "what if this story was like, slightly to the left" and then suddenly realizing I somehow planned out a full book that miraculously has nothing to do with the original thing I borrowed the idea from.

[aloeverified]

i know we all have different thoughts on all stars, but can we agree that all the season finalists should've been there at least?

a lot of people were confused as to why owen wasn't there, and although i do think beth stands out a little bit amongst the others, it could've been used for some good jokes and plot lines. maybe have some of the tdroti cast ask who she is and have chris mention she's super forgettable, maybe inspiring her to win a challenge or something. courtney might also still have a grudge against her for tda, which could be interesting to explore since a lot of her character just revolved around gwen and duncan that season.

this means gwen, owen, duncan, beth, heather, alejandro, cameron, and lightning are all a given. along with them, maybe add the most popular characters as well — which could be anyone depending on how you write it. you could choose the most boring character and be like, "yeah, they're a big hit to our swedish audience. no idea why," to explain throwing in your fav.

if you do go the route of choosing fan favorites, then you could add four of them and have three equal teams: season winners, losers, and then the favs. if twelve characters is too less for you, you could also add the most hated/boring as another team. i feel like that follows the theme pretty well, even if i do think the heroes/villain thing could've been cool.

[enid-rhees]

Hiii ! So I was thinking about Beth right? Well, imagine reader is originally from North Carolina, and moves to Atlanta (or wherever the hell the Farm was at lmao 💀). Reader and Beth end up in the same school together, both seniors (pre-apocalypse obvi lol).

They're super close friends and can both relate to eachother, especially with mental health struggles. Soon, they end up dating.

But before they get to graduate, the apocalypse begins. Rick finds the farm and all that. Carl ends up becoming best friends with Beth and reader (they're all aged up to 18, same age as eachother).

Time skip to the group making it to Alexandria... Beth is still alive ofc, and dating reader.

Beth, Carl, and reader end up exploring the woods, and stumble across a struggling Enid, who's trying to fight a walker off of her. Reader quickly saves Enid, and the four become super close, since they're all the same age.

Reader starts to develop feelings for Enid...but still loves Beth. So she gets an idea: polyship!

Enid, Beth, and reader end up dating eachother :)

Sorry if this is a lot, and apologies for any typos. I think the three would be an interesting dynamic, yk?

And I just know you'd be able to write this out wonderfully, and make it work!!

Anyway, ily T <3

(I made this btw, it's inspired by what I had in mind when I was typing out the request hehe 🖤)

i’m gonna answer this really quickly, tysm for all of your wonderful requests all the time <3 i truly love writing them. with this one, i really love the idea, BUT i am not experienced with polyship.

i want to write this out since i know a lot of people are poly, but first i want to take my time researching it so i don’t mess anything up in the story.

so, i’m not saying i’m not writing this. it’ll just be a while until i start writing it so i can do proper research 🫶🏻. hope you understand! ty 🩷

ps: this photo is amazing and i love it <3 i can’t wait until i do start writing it :)

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: How to Best A Marquess by Janna MacGregor

4/5. Releases 4/25/2023.

For when you're vibing with... Roadtrip romance, a heavy dose of second chance, hot bathtub scenes, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, and a bit of sweetness.

Beth Howell is in trouble. After discovering that her late husband was a bigamist--and that her marriage was never valid--she's socially ruined and financially dependent on her brother, who's on the verge of forcing her to marry an old man. She had a dowry--but her husband ran off with it within days of their marriage. Taking matters into her own hands, she goes on a hunt for the money... and the only man she can think to ask for help? Julian, the Marquess of Grayson: her former fiance.

This took a minute to get going, but once it did, I was quite charmed by the soft-yet-hot chemistry and sense of knowing and longing between our leads. It's a classic second chance, with a good dose of roadtrip romance.

Quick Takes:

--There are certain things you want from a historical roadtrip romance. Tense carriage rides, highwaymen, general mayhem. You get all of this here, but it's a bit... tenser, because Julian and Beth actually know each other quite well and are still not entirely over that whole "ended engagement" thing. The sense of them knowing each other and having both a lot of affection for each other and a lot of unresolved beef is strong with this one.

--If you're a fan of the "hapless man is unable to deny wacky broad anything", this is for you. I am a fan of that dynamic, personally, and it's deliciously clear from the jump that Julian really can't deny Beth much of anything. And part of that is also due to guilt. If it wasn't for him, would she be in this mess at all?

--I will say that I think the "why" of the broken engagement could've been a bit angstier. The general conflicts keeping our couple apart really weren't quite as intense as I would've wanted, but I am nothing if not an angst hound.

--There is a really lovely sense of friendship that really isn't friendship because while they know each other very well and like each other a lot, they also want to fuck like rabbits. I really loved this sort of back and forth they got into fairly early in the book where they just sort of kissed for fun and made flimsy excuses about why they were constantly kissing and how that's actually just a normal thing for pals to do? Just friends being buds, slipping each other some tongue on the regular. It's nonsense reasoning, and I was digging it.

--There is a thing relating to the dead bigamist husband that I found to be a bit... much, but it's pretty minor. You'll know it when you see it.

--A lot of the dynamic in this book is "who you are in the eyes of others and how you're perceived by them versus who you are with someone who truly knows the soul of you". It's very touching, and I was about it.

--The flirting is a LOT. You get all the casual kissing, the There's Only One Bed thing, them trying to catch glimpses of each other naked all the time. It really feels like you're reading about two people with a decade's worth of unresolved sexual tension.

The Sex Stuff:

There are several sex scenes in this book, and while they aren't super lengthy, they are well done, and the sexual tension leading up to them is very good. There's one scene (the bath shenanigans!!!) that was just so decadent and caring and all about the spoiling, and that was... quite nice. I did not expect that from Julian, to be real.

This is the end to a trilogy, and I would actually say each book is better than the last, which is always nice. There's a gentle, soft sense to Janna's writing style, which doesn't always work for me--but with her, it does. It's a lovely read.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[fili-urzudel]

Infodump

Whoops it looks like my threat to infodump backfired lol

I wanna let you guys get to know me without compromising my personal information online so if this seems vague in weird spots that's why.

Name: well I just looked through my several Name notes and saw the name Maewyn (the name of my future daughter in Stardew Valley lol) and I like that so why not, if you need to refer to me call me Maewyn or Mae.

Family: I live with my parents and sister, all of whom I adore! I'm the eldest child. We got our first dog when I was 12 and he's still with us.

Favorite Color: Purple. It's pretty and I look good in it ngl. I prefer more blue-tinted shades like indigo or periwinkle.

Favorite flower: it's insanely hard to choose! Botanical gardens and hikes through parks are some of my favorite activities and oh my goodness the pretty plants you see in those places. I might just have to say roses because I have three bushes of my own in the front garden that I tend to every summer and fall.

Favorite Animal: Elephants! I have reasons but I'm not going to articulate that right now sorry

Favorite metal: I'm not a very jewelry oriented person, mostly because of my eczema, but I own mostly silver jewelry.

Favorite stone: once again hard to choose, they're all so pretty. Opal is magnificent, but my only problem with it is it's so soft, so as a practical person who prefers day-to-day wear, it's not the best stone for me.

Zodiac (just in case you were thinking of asking): All I know is I'm a Scorpio.

Hogwarts House: I took the Pottermore quiz in fifth grade and got assigned Ravenclaw so that's what I'm sticking to. Not knowing anything about Harry Potter, I think I'm a Ravenclaw with Hufflepuff tendencies, or vice versa.

Favorite thing to study: I am a student of a lot of things so it's hard to choose, I think every subject has its charm. I love reading and thinking about themes and creative writing (obviously) but I couldn't see doing that for a living because I fear I either wouldn't be motivated enough or having to make money off of something artistic would take the joy out of it. I'm studying Computer Science, and it's very interesting. Biology and Anatomy are super cool as well, but once again I don't think I'm suited to the life of a researcher or a doctor.

Hopes and dreams: just to be a well-adjusted and kind person. I want to be the person that people are drawn to and feel like they can trust, the kind of person where "my door is always open" is a reliable statement. I'm a very shy and quiet person, and maybe not necessarily super emotive, so I feel like at the moment it's a bit hard for people to believe that I care or I'm someone who could care, even though I do, very deeply. Literally my personality goals are Peeta Mellark, Beth March, Samwise Gamgee, and I think my faith plays a lot into that.

Other Fandoms: Star Wars (esp. the Prequels and cartoons) and Star Trek for sure!! I have another sideblog dedicated to that. I'm watching ST:TOS right now and it is so unbelievably fun. I used to be a Marvel fan. I'm still a hardcore Spider-man fan (all media fr fr). I play Stardew Valley, a little Palia but just for the graphics if I'm honest. Uhhh I'm blanking right now so that must mean those are the really important ones.

Fun facts:

I need all four wisdom teeth removed and either braces or Invisalign in the next few years, along with a not-so-purely-cosmetic periodontal surgery.

I downloaded Goodreads maybe three weeks ago and I have 229 books on my Want to Read list.

I skipped all of my high school English classes through Dual Enrollment.

When I clean my room I clean clean but I only do it once every one or two months, and in between it kind of turns into a disaster zone.

I'm gonna get my hair cut from 18 inches to 4-6 inches in a couple months and I'm nervous and excited at the same time.

I want to make myself a capsule wardrobe soon.

I crochet and as soon as I have a little more free time I'm going to teach myself to knit. After that probably quilting, even though I suck at sewing.

I interviewed someone about his beard today.

I'm watching The Vow with my family right now when I probably should be working on my physics.

And if you know me irl, these fun facts will probably let you piece together that it's me running this blog.

That concludes this evening's infodump, I hope you enjoyed.

[hournites]

Hi there! While I know you aren't exactly the author behind those very quite funny JSA chat fics that I've been reading at least since the first trailer came out in July where Beth, Yolanda and Rick shade the heck out of our poor Court in a series of very teenage relatable hilarious text messages her relationship with Cameron I kind of do know that they're usually written by someone else for you because I've read some of your fics too (they're awesome) and so I was wondering if, like, is it possible if that Hournite author could come up with another JSA chat fic based on the recent events? XD I think we all could use another laugh in the aftermath of such an epic fight scene by looking at how ridiculous-ish it was that the JSA just got their first defeat at the hands of two old people and the unassuming art "creep" despite the fact that Beth unlocked Combat Mode, Artemis entered the fray and Rick had unlimited strenght and yet well, OOPS XD Sorry if this was random but I just really would love to read another of those and they're dedicated for you so please, could you ask that author to do one? :) I also enjoyed the last fic where they went in Rick's car singing Taylor Swift and the ride home was DEAD SILENCE XD Like now I do wanna read the aftermath in chat versions post-the silent ride home hehe. XD OK I RAMBLED TOO MUCH, Thank you for reading this! ^_^

Hi! I hope you're having a great day! You are a little confused but I am here to clear things up so do not worry! I am, in fact, the author for most of the chat fics that you are referring to. I started writing JSA chat fics in 2020 but never quite finished them, so I then decided to put together a fic where the theme is JSA nonsense but it's just all in chat here. Then, I met my friend and fellow co-host for the @starsquadcast Cam @bluevalleybreakingnews! Together, we put together that post-trailer chat fic in July - The JSA Group Chat Presents: "Breaking the Ice" so I am one of the authors behind that one! Then, following canon Camney, Cam continued with The JSA Group Chat Presents: Wiki Leaks and gifted the work to me since I helped her out with a few of the lines and we had previously worked on the last group chat together. We also have another group chat fic which is a JSA/ISA AU - Zoo Valley. So, all that to say, she doesn't usually write these FOR me.

She is the one who wrote the Infinity Inc trio Taylor Swift fic, though, so that one, yes, was all her and you got that right. But you don't have to go through me to reach her! Very conveniently, she posted last night that she's open to fic ideas and I'm sure she'll find your request fun so maybe we can whip something up :) But also quick note we're also two grad students who are podcasting on the side so just because I'm blogging, giffing, podcasting, fic-writing, working and writing a thesis at the same time without falling apart (maybe) doesn't mean I expect her to be ridiculous like me, so coordinating fics can be time consuming and might not be able to happen super quickly, but, we'll see!

Thanks again for sending this ask! Don't worry about rambling :) And don't forget it is a lot easier to directly comment on fics that you like so the authors know that you appreciate their work! Fic writers work very hard for free and do not get the recognition on the work itself that they deserve!

[fandomjoy]

So, the Quantum Leap podcasts have been doing a lot of interviews lately with the writers/producers/showrunners of QL22, and they have been SO enlightening.

The particularly good ones have been: Quantum Leap Podcast - Dean Georgaris; Fate's Wide Wheel - Dean Georgaris, Drew Lindo, Benjamin Raab & Deric A. Hughes. You can find all of the episodes on the QLP and FWW YouTube channels.

Most important takeaways from these interviews:

Everyone on the creative team is a fan of the original show. Everyone respects and honors what came before. Even those who came to the sequel with no real knowledge besides general awareness, like Benjamin Raab (who did catch himself up after getting the job). On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have people like Deric A. Hughes, the other half of the Raab/Hughes writing duo, who is a SUPER DUPER MAJOR fan of the OG from back when it was airing. So he's one of those fandom "elders" for QL, and listening to him go on about how much he loves the show and how important it's been to honor it in the sequel... Well, I mean, the show has shown time and again, every episode, that it acknowledges and respects what came before. But it was so fun to watch one of the writers just GUSH over the OG.

Now that QL22 is guaranteed a second season (they're already breaking stories for it; no break between the end of season 1 and beginning of season 2 for makers of the show), they've been given the greenlight from NBC to just go ALL OUT. Make brave choices. Go just as deep as the OG on social issues and then go further.

Pretty sure episode 112 is gonna be a MAJOR turning point for this show. From what I know based on casting calls, who is writing, and hints gleaned from these interviews... I am expecting some fantastic stuff!

Basically, y'all are missing out if you're not watching the Quantum Leap sequel; it just keeps getting better and better with every episode and this back half of the season has already given us two excellent episodes and the rest sound like they're gonna be AMAZEBALLS!

Episode 111 is a time-loop/Leap-loop episode. Episode 112 will tackle trans athletes in high school sports. Episode 113 is directed by Deborah Pratt herself!!!

Oh, and if you love Al Calavicci, you will love this show. Janis Calavicci is such an intriguing, multi-layered character, and based on things said in the aforementioned interviews, there are some very interesting things to come with that character. Also, Georgina Reilly is just absolutely PERFECT casting. She's a perfect mix of Al and Beth, both in looks and in personality.

OH, and I'm expecting us to finally hear more about other legacy characters, based on things said in the interviews, particularly in the Ben Raab & Deric Hughes interview. Let's just say that everyone working on this show knows that Janis is not the only offspring of Al or Sam; it's not being ignored - it just hasn't come up yet.

Honestly, please just do yourselves a favor and go watch all the aforementioned interviews. I've already been sold on this show since it was announced, and I legit didn't think I could get more excited about it than I already am, but these interviews just... they really hit home just how amazing and exciting it is to have new Quantum Leap to look forward to!!!

[softpine]

Random question: do you think your sims would like you?

LMAO i will try to answer this honestly and without any self deprecation :’)

asa: i actually think we’d get along really well! we’re both chill and quiet, but i feel like we’d still be able to carry on a conversation because we have similar interests including a love for nature 💖

stevie: she can talk to anyone, whether she likes them or not. i don’t think we would mesh well as long-term friends (my fault, not hers), but i would always remember the weird ass conversation we had that one time.

jada: i don’t think we would say a single word to each other fjksdjs we’re both super quiet... matching resting bitch faces... i would probably think she’s mad at me and she would think i’m mad at her... :/

elaine: her approach to friendship is exactly the same as my irl best friend, so we would get along sooo well. the only problem is that i can’t bite my tongue when i hate someone’s boyfriend 😬

finn: omg... this one is funny, because as you all know finn is one of my favorite characters to write, but if i met him in real life i would most assuredly hate him. i can’t stand it when people come out swinging before you’ve done anything to bother them. i don’t have time to wait around for you to show me your softer side, either be nice to me now or i’m not talking to you sjfjskdj

casper: he is the embodiment of so many guy friends i’ve had over the years; we’re not super close, but he’d be fun to hang out with every now and then.

for the adults i’ll just pretend they’re the same age as me (23) for the sake of simplicity:

caroline: to be honest beth was kind of a self insert character in the beginning so i think she would like me quite a lot lmaooo

beth: beth wouldn’t trust me... we’re too similar. she would spend our entire encounter wondering what kind of game i’m playing.

mikaela: she likes anyone who’s nice to her, which i definitely would be, so yes!

danny: he was at the height of his career at this time, so there’s no way we would even be interacting. he’s nice to fans though so maybe i could get a picture with him

[tuiyla]

any headcanons about Quinn as a mom? not necessarily in relation to any pairing, but more so in general - her parenting style, certain rules she expects the kids to abide by, etc. it's interesting to think about what she'd inherit from her parents vs she'd make SURE she doesn't inherit from them haha

I love this ask because every time I'm like "hmm I like Quinn but I don't go all that hard for her" a topic like this comes up and I realize I could write a thesis on the girl. I also might or might not have started writing out a reply about Quinn's mom and the Fabrays as a whole and, 500 words later, have to now recalculate. That's on me Anon lol, maybe another time.

But, Quinn as a mom! I think you're so right that there are so many things from her own childhood and parents that she'd want to avoid. I think a mistake a lot of people with such complicated familial backgrounds like hers make is going overboard. You know, like those parents who didn't have any freedom as kids so they set no limits for their children and that ends up being to their detriment. In Quinn's case the opposite of the classic Fabray attitude, imo, would be to encourage embracing imperfections and open communication. But I also see Quinn struggling with that even well into adulthood so who knows.

For some reason I'm kind of picturing her as a single mom, adopting? Like, I think she'd kind of give up on romance for a while, adopt a child and decide her life is full that way. Eventually another person would find their (cough her cough) way into Quinn and the kid's life and it would happen a lot more organically than Quinn ever expected because she always had, shall we say, expectations when it came to love.

But anyway, Quinn as a mom. I think at first she'd be super anxious and not let anything happen to the baby, not even things that are, you know, supposed to. A cold here, a bruise there as they grow up and explore the world for themselves. She has so much guilt about Beth and not being there for her but eventually she needs to let that go if she stands a chance at being there for her new kid as a mom. So she reluctantly relaxes and learns just as much from the kid as they learn from her.

I HC the Fabray household to have been super strict in that surreal, WASPy but make it the 60s sort of way. In fact, I think one of the most damaging things about Quinn's own childhood was that she didn't even always know what the rules were, there was just this expectation to instinctively know because she was supposed to be a virtuous perfect little girl. So she does have rules about behaviour and hygiene and such but she tries to communicate them the best she can. The first time the kid is old enough to know they messed up and Quinn's had a long day where she's exhausted, she isn't mad at them just has this exasperated sort of look. And the kid is unsure, like, was I really that bad? Do you... still love me? And it's just one of those innocent childhood moments where kids see everything in such a larger than life way, in this case Quinn's disappointment. But fuck if it doesn't break Quinn's heart. So maybe after that she makes a conscious effort to create a safe space for emotions and vulnerabilities that she wasn't granted as a kid.

You know how I said some people go overboard, well, I think I've convinced myself Quinn wouldn't do that. Because there's just something about her that ultimately craves a system and set of rules, and she's way too afraid of letting her kid fly completely free so there are limits. Much healthier ones than what she had but still, limits. But overall she aims to be very, very different from her own parents if only in the way that she'd never ever in a million years turn her back on the kid, for anything. This is a girl who became essentially homeless at 16 because her parents valued reputation above her; she'd be damned if her kid ever feels like home isn't their safe space.

And then it's just other juicy things like the rest of the Fabrays' role in the kid's life. How often does Judy see her grandkid? Does Russell ever reenter his daughter's life? And there's Aunt Frannie and whatever the situation is with her. Basically Anon this is a very interesting topic I have not once thought about and now I want to go on forever so, excellent ask!

[thebadboyfanclub]

She Will Learn (Rio x Reader)

Look I will let y’all in on a little secret, the way this account is going to work is by me seeing your requests, making a mental note to finish them and then getting an idea for another imagine that wasn’t requested but can’t move on until I write it so.... Enjoy!

P.S I chose Greece cause I am from there and I never see us anywhere

(Y/n) had met Rio when she was about to graduate college, a business major that was striving for being the first millionaire in her family. She came from a lower middle class first generation immigrant from Greece, her parents were troopers for successfully raising her and her siblings, they never had things to spare yet they had enough to be respectful.

He saw her at a restaurant, completely overdressed and accessorized like she was dining in France, however she somehow made it look like she didn’t think about what she was going to wear, like this was her natural way of dressing, her nails were done and he noticed how... soft her hands looked. 

What intrigued him was that she was extremely kind to everyone, she smiled brightly at the waiters and she would often reach over to her friends for a touch of encouragement of just a simple caress, she exuded confidence that made you feel like you would never dare to touch her, still she carried herself with elegance and in a graceful manner.

“Excuse me, can you tell me who are the girls at the table over there?”

“Oh they haven’t been here before but I can tell you they are here to celebrate for the girl in the red dress, it’s her birthday”

“Oh is it? Send them a bottle of champagne please”

“Right away Sir”

He was never the flashy type of guy, he never cared for stuff that showed his status or economic achievements, people that had money knew to never flaunt it carelessly. When it came to her, he felt the need to show off, to woo her and catch her eye, she had this sense of luxury, she looked like she took care of herself way too much to let men not treat her anything less than that.

He watched her face switch into surprise when the waiter came with the bottle of champagne, a few seconds after that her gaze went to him, as the waiter pointed towards him and then proceeded to open the bottle of bubbly. 

She had noticed him when she entered for a few moments, although she decided that since it was her big night she wouldn’t waste time gawking at good looking men, she had saved money for months to be able to afford the finest for her big day, every year she wanted her birthday to be like the life she wanted. She send him a smile as her hand went to her heart to show gratitude for the gift. 

Except that didn’t feel like enough, she felt like she could push it a bit more, try her luck just a bit, she looked too good to worry about a man turning her down, he would have to be mad or blind to do so.

She walked to him with the glass of champagne in her hand, giving him the chance to take her in. Her legs were exposed as the dress went to the middle of her thigs, they shined and looked so smooth making him wonder how good would it feel to touch them. She had a figure of a dream, as her hips swayed with every step, her posture was proud and she walked like a supermodel, if he didn’t know the owner he would have thought she was the one that had not just the restaurant, the entire block.

“I don’t think we’ve met, I’m (y/n), I wanted to thank you for the champagne, you really didn’t have to”

“I wanted to darling, I’m Christopher but people call me Rio, how wonderful to meet you”

He said, taking her delicate hand in his and pressing a light kiss on soft skin. He could smell the lotion of vanilla she had chosen to moisturize her skin, settle yet unforgettable. His raspy voice made her flustered, trying to mask it with a smirk and confidence, he was intriguing to her, the cool, calm and collected exterior that suited him so much. 

“I wish I could stay and talk but I don’t like leaving my friends by themselves”

“I understand darling, we’ll be in touch”

-

It had been years since then, he had managed to not only stay in touch with you but make her the queen of his life. She was an asset that he so desperately needed, he trusted her with his life and knew she had the best intentions for him, her loyalty was iron made, her degree came in handy when he needed to handle business in a discreet manner, she was the master mind behind a lot of his negotiations, her brilliance on playing the trophy wife that didn’t know anything in front of others was the secret behind his success. 

She is his secret weapon, so secret that no one knew she even existed, the few that did didn’t even know her name and the people that knew were the most trusted ones that worked with Rio for years, she liked to be under wraps, walking in and out of the building with the men Rio had hire to protect her and the rookies wondered who was she, he only called her with pet names when others were around but they could only address her as “Miss”, she was the miss of the mister and his most trusted soldier. 

Despite that, (y/n) was no fool. She had broken up with Rio and called of the engagement several times, making Rio go wild every time. She wasn’t unreasonable, Rio was out of line a lot of the times, especially when Beth came in the picture, his men feared her just as much as him, maybe even more, so when she found out they had done such major damage multiple times but still took them back in, she would pack her stuff and leave without warning, leaving her ring and a note that wrote “goodbye” behind. That’s when he would hook up with Beth, make up for the loss of his queen, yet when he had manage to convince her to come back and buy her a new ring every time, he felt like he was on top of the world.

“Be honest with me Mick, who did this to him?”

“Everything points in one target, Beth”

“Of course. Thank you Mick, I got him”

She stood by him throughout his healing process, waited patiently until he was back on her feet, took care of his bullet wounds and had many sleepless nights to make sure he was alright. She was his wife to be after all, even kept in contact with Rhea and Marcus, made sure they were alright and taken care of in any way, shape or form.

“Are you ready mama?”

“Almost, can you help me with the necklace”

They were there when Rhea got the call from Beth, acting like there friends even though she caused Rios life and invited her for drinks. Rio knew (y/n) was boiling, wanted to take revenge for what Beth had caused and this time he understood, so they got dressed up to meet her instead of Rhea. 

As Rio approached and took the necklace in his hands he saw it was the necklace he bought her for their one year anniversary, her birth stone surrounded with diamonds. When (y/n) let her hair down he got a whiff of her scent, still making him feel weak in the knees, he got closer to her and wrapped his one arm around her, his lips found the nape of her neck and left light kisses. She closed her eyes for a second to enjoy the feeling of warmth and lust he brought her.

“You look beautiful princess”

“It’s my first time meeting her isn’t it?”

“What have you planned gorgeous?”

“That’s for me to know and for her to find out, let’s go daddy”

She knew exactly who she was. Seeing the back of her head made her want to pull out her gun and blast her right then and there, that wouldn’t be classy now wouldn’t it? She approached the clueless woman and sat on her left side, leaving the right seat empty for Rio to join later. 

“Can I get dirty martini please? Thank you dear”

She instructed the bartender before taking off the faux black fur coat to reveal a   Split Floor-Length Sleeveless Spaghetti Strap Pullover black dress. The first thing Beth noticed about the young woman that sat next to her was the big diamond ring that she wore on her ring finger, mentally thinking of what that girl had done to earn it

‘she probably hasn’t worked a day in her life’ she thought, making herself feel a little bit better, she had to admit that she looked really pretty, the jewelry she had on complimented her skin tone and the dress looked like it was custom made. (Y/n) waited for her drink to arrive before she looked at Beth and got ready to reveal her identity.

“You must be Beth, I don’t believe we’ve officially met. I’m (y/n)”

Beth looked at her puzzled. How did the young woman that looked like she was some old mans pretty young thing to show off knew her. (Y/n) was smiling as she took a sip of her cocktail, knowing damn well that Beth had already made up her mind about what type of woman (y/n) was and completely missing the purpose of this meeting.

“How do you know my name”

“Oh I know everything about you, where you live, the names of your children, your sister Annie and your friend Ruby. Rio has told me all about you”

“Rio? How-”

“I know he doesn’t talk about it, I like to be invisible to the public eye... his secret weapon as some would say. I also know you are waiting for Rhea”

“She ain’t comin”

Beth heard Rio’s voice and her eyes went wide with fear. (Y/n) let out a soft giggle and took one more sip of her drink as Beth turned to look at him like she had seen a ghost, judging by how pale she had gotten she was more of that vibe than he was. 

“Excuse me, can we get a glass of neat whiskey for the gentleman? Thank you so much”

(Y/n) ordered once more before hoping off her chair and joining Rio. He snaked his arm around her and brought her as close to him as he could before placing a kiss on her cheek.

“How you feeling mama?”

“Oh I was just having a chat with Beth”

“A-are y-you”

“His fiancé? Yes, we are planning on getting married on my homeland during the summer, aren’t we daddy?”

(Y/n) started rubbing Rios back as she smiled at him, she was super excited for her wedding, he had given her complete control to do whatever she wanted, it was her big day and he knew better than to object to anything.

“Oh we have to show her something”

Rio reached for his pocket and (Y/n) looked over at Beth who was in the verge of a mental breakdown. Rio pulled out his three bullets that the doctor had pulled out from his body, (y/n) wanted to throw them away but he insisted in keeping them, reminding him how he cheated death. 

“Lung, spline, shoulder”

He put each one down in front of her. Beth had terrible aim and for once (y/n) was thankful that one of their rookies missed the shots. Beth stayed silent, taking in all the information, not only was he alive he also had a woman he was planning to marry, calling him “daddy” right in her face, she looked like she was straight out of a magazine and even thought she was kind to her that terrified her more, her entire life was crumbling in front of her. 

“Now I think you understand that you are in a bit of a jam, Christopher has agreed that I should decide your punishment since he wanted to kill you-”

“Don’t, do that. I’m sorry babydoll, she will learn”

Beth had tried to leave in the middle of (y/n)’s sentence, making Rio grab Beth by the arm and restrain her from doing so. (Y/n) stayed stoic and just watched the scene unravel, she knew Rio would never allow anyone to disrespect her. As Beth sat back down Rio smiled (y/n) before taking her hand once more and placing a kiss on her knuckles. (Y/n) reached for his face and caressed his cheek with her free hand making Beth sick to her stomach, he had never looked at her like that, with such admiration and love.

“It’s alright, I will let it pass this one time”

“Go on mama”

“I feel like it would be too easy to kill you, such an easy way out. So now you will work for me”

“What?”

Beth felt her stomach twist at the statement. Working with (y/n), having to do daily tasks for her, a woman she had no idea even existed an hour ago, now she had work under her and take orders from her directly, for a second she thought that death would be better. (Y/n) left Rio’s side for a second and took Beth by the shoulders, standing right behind her, Beth’s eyes fell on her shinny ring, that only felt like someone was rubbing salt over her wound, he had probably spend a fortune for it. (Y/n) leaned closer to Beth getting next to her ear and causing goosebumps on Beth’s body. 

“Think of it as an assistant or maybe help Rio with anything he needs but mostly you will be on call for anything I need. Since you wanted to outsmart Rio and spit where you eat, I need some help to plan the wedding and also take care of our business. What do you think darling?”

“I think it’s an excellent idea”

Rio was pleasantly surprised. (Y/n) was one of the most intelligent people he knew, bring Beth so close to her and making her work for their wedding even though she knew she had slept with him was a very cruel and mentally humiliating way to punish her. 

She truly was one of the greatest choices he had ever done, no one could compete with her, she held such power that made Rio feel like he could not only trust her but also submit to her, let her take the wheel and not having to worry about anything going wrong. As he watched her look over at Beth there was no comparison, (y/n) had such way of carrying herself, that je ne sais quoi as some would say, she was the embodiment of female divine energy. 

Rio knew that her leaving him all these times was a game of push and pull, making him work for her and a mental slap in the face, yet every time he ran to her like an obedient dog and begged for her to come back and take her spot as his queen in the palace, promised her and gave her everything she wished for, every ring was bigger and better than the one before. It wasn’t like he did it because she wanted it, he was the one that wanted to spoil her, give her everything under the sun, she deserved everything and he was for sure not going to hold back for his sweet little princess.

“And then when all of that is done... Rio can take care of you, I feel like it would bring bad luck to our household if we killed someone before the wedding”

[ultimatebethylficlist]

Veteran Author of The Month: September 2021

The featured veteran author for September is a well-known and beloved name in the fandom, @rckyfrk !

Rckyfrk can be found on AO3 and FFN under the same penname.

When asked what got her into Bethyl and what the fandom means to her, she said:

I did not start watching TWD until late into Season 3. I don’t do well with horror. My husband would watch and I would just read a book in our bedroom or something. Well, one fateful night, I needed to get some work done on my laptop and didn’t feel like sitting in bed to get it finished, so I just stayed in the living room (our house was teeny tiny - there weren’t a lot of other places to go), and I turned so I wasn’t looking at the TV, plugged in my headphones, and got to work. Well, I glanced over and there was the wonder that is Daryl Dixon gracing my screen. I was instantly intrigued. (I believe my exact words were, “Who is that? What is he...DON’T DO THAT THERE’S ZOMBIES THERE!” and I was instantly hooked. Dammit. I found that as long as I could watch some of the behind the scenes stuff on how they make the walkers, it took some of the horror out of it and I could just focus on the artistry of all the makeup and stuff. Season 4 premiere, we had some friends come over for a “watching party,” (remember those?) and I was actually up getting refills for everyone (being the good hostess that I am) so I completely missed the hug in Beth’s cell and when I came back into the room, NO ONE THOUGHT THAT WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO TELL ME ABOUT. (I thought they were my friends…) So I really didn’t start *shipping* Bethyl until “Alone.” I mean, I saw how close they were getting during “Still,” but I guess I didn’t realize what I was really seeing, you know? (Keep in mind, I was still a relatively new fan and had missed most of Season 3 and THE HUG.) Anyway, I couldn’t stand waiting for the next week to find out what happened to Beth, and thus began the ONLY time I have EVER looked for spoilers. That’s how I happened upon this crazy thing called “fan fiction,” (I honestly had never known such a thing existed before that fateful search.) I got to know some of the Bethyl writers, and someone suggested joining tumblr and writing my own stories, and the rest is history. Bethyl is the only pairing I’ve actually, actively shipped, before or after. The only two characters I’ve invested time in. The only two I’ve cried over (just ask @jbird9...hubs has seen me go through all kinds of emotions over these two). My boys can identify Beth and Daryl (they’ve NEVER seen an episode, not even a commercial for TWD, but recognize them from pics I’ve shown them.) The Bethyl fandom has brought me to meet some wonderful people, who probably know me better than members of my actual family. This fandom has been such a bright spot in my life, and has been so supportive even when the well has been dry for years (at least as far as new content from the show). I love you guys.

For her personal fic rec list, she recommends:

(Ugh. I’m really hesitant to come up with personal lists because I’ve read SO MANY WONDERFUL STORIES and I don’t want to leave any of them out, but I also know my brain and I’m not always the best at recalling names and places when I need to. I do want to give some love to:)

@gneebee [AO3] Love’s Highway and One Cold Night live in my head rent free

@piper1016 (basically anything she’s written) [AO3]

@inkinmytea (Audriss) [AO3] especially By Any Other Name

These ladies have been super supportive of my writing, and I can’t thank them enough.

I also really miss Pussyfoot by SaraiVe

is this how you say hello (in the zombie apocalypse) by the queen conquers (dastardly_dame)

Also, @leftmywingshome [AO3]

and @majicmarker​ [AO3] who not only write amazing Bethyl stories, but have their own original work published, all of which I strongly recommend reading.

There’s about a gazillion other stories that I’d like to recommend, but we’d be here all day if I listed them all. PLEASE don’t feel left out or disheartened if I didn’t pull your name from the deep recesses of my brain. I swear I’m not doing it on purpose. There are so many gifted writers in this fandom - we are SO lucky! - and I truly do appreciate @ultimatebethylficlist​ for recognizing the veterans and newbies equally.

Rckyfrk’s Works & Personal Thoughts:

Lady in Red and Man in Black Summary: It's finally the big day, Maggie and Glenn's wedding day. Beth is maid of honor, Daryl is the best man. - This started as a one-shot/prompt for Bethyl Week on Tumblr, but has evolved into becoming a full-sized story. Thoughts: I miss these babies. I had to take a break to try and get Terms and Conditions going because they are so drastically different from it, but now it’s been so long I almost have to get T & C out of my system before I can get my head back in the syrupy sweetness. Lady in Red started as a prompt (technically two) WAY back in the day. We’re talking back in the summer of 2014. The first two chapters received such a supportive response that it took on a life of its own, but it was solely from Beth’s POV, and I had Daryl in my head basically screaming to be heard, so Man in Black made its way in. The goal is to get MiB caught up with LiR, then write them simultaneously (mainly so no one knows what will be coming next and the reader gets to decide which “side” to read first).

Terms and Conditions Summary: It was Beth's first time in Atlanta by herself when the world decided to end. When she lost her way home, she winds up meeting a crossbow-toting man with steel blue eyes and a smile that gives her chills. This is not your typical Bethyl story - imagine if Daryl were more like Merle. Thoughts: I think this is the darkest thing I’ve written (and really, it’s not even that dark). I had this idea in my head for Daryl to be a lot more like Merle and all these little scenarios kept popping into my head of Beth “taming the beast,” and having them slowly fall in love despite how they met and him being a total jerk - at least in the beginning. I think there’s only going to be a couple more chapters of this one, I just need to buckle down and write them. Maybe that’s why I’m dragging my feet to do it. 

And once upon a time, I was writing a non-Bethyl story called “Summer of Learning,” which is actually kind of misleading. Back to that summer of 2014, where I was going through some fandom drama and was about to give up writing and tumblr all together when this group of Norman fans (we called ourselves his Harem...I miss you @basswipe and @unicorns-and-myblacksoul) came along and included me into their shenanigans. Anyway, they gave me the prompt “Imagine Sean Patrick Flanery is your dad’s best friend and teaches you everything there is to know about sex.” In the story, the main character’s parents are Norman and Emily, so it’s...Bethyl adjacent?

[mego42]

I know it’s the writers fault, and I feel like this season rio is a different person than seasons 1,2 and even 3. But if I ignore my opinions on the writers and the odd choices they’ve made for him, and just watch the show as a normal viewer, rio is fucking pissing me off. Like all he had to do was tell Beth she was being followed. He made the mess. And he’s such a dick. Like at this point kill her or don’t. But this whole “Rio can’t hurt Beth/rio has love for her/brio love triangle” thing? Like nah I’m not seeing it. He’s being literally stupid for no reason.

i'm v sorry he's pissing you off and you’re super entitled to feel that way! but tbh, personally i don't totally agree that he's different or that he's being stupid for no reason (though, if you're not buying into the idea that he's genuinely into beth than yeah, i can v much see why you would feel that way, i think that's a p significant puzzle piece). 

imo, the primary difference between the rio of s4 and the rio of previous seasons isn't in the character, but how much more context/insight/backstory we're getting for him. we’ve seen bits and pieces before, but they’ve been very sporadic (something that’s been a p consistent complaint since i joined the fandom) and i think s4 has really dug into shading rio’s character and backstory in with much more detail and depth than we’ve seen so far. i also think the show's p steadily developed the idea that he has some degree of genuine feeling for beth (and that they make him act rashly and stupidly) along the same pace.

putting the rest of this below the cut bc it got long and should you continue, do so with the caveat that i’m not here to change anyone’s mind, i’m just breaking down why i disagree.

in s1, rio was a p one-dimensional character (like, on paper he's basically a walking first page google search result for "mexican gang banger stereotypes") and it's a testament to how much manny brought to his performance and the way he sparks with his scene partners (particularly christina and jim) that he came across so engagingly and elevated the character far enough that people so easily overlook that. over the course of s2, they peeled back the curtain a little bit and rounded him out more in ways that (imo and ymmv) really efficiently counteracted that stereotypical portrayal like introducing marcus, being softer with beth, and the different faceted glimpses of him we saw through his personal and business spaces (the club, his loft and bar). in terms of his feelings, while a lot of the softness with beth was him working an angle, we still caught glimpses that hinted at something real developing in his reactions to her that either served no purpose for keeping her in line (the way the camera lingered on his face falling in 209 after beth had turned away and couldn't see him) or, most significantly imo, doing things for her that actively undermined his authority (retrieving!!!!!!!! the!!!!!!!!!! dubby!!!!!!!!!!!!).

and speaking of 209, we also saw him react in increasingly more irrational and outlandish ways (ignoring her calls/texts about the fbi closing in on a business he’s somewhat tied up in, sending her body parts in the mail, kidnapping her) in reaction to beth quitting him, underscoring both the idea that 209 (and beth) meant something to him and that he gets real dramatic and questionably intelligent when he’s in his feelings. 

there's nothing to really say any of this was a swerve from s1 bc s1 left p much everything on the table. s3 built that out a bit more both in terms of what we know about him (thinking specifically of fitz's rundown of what he gets up to when beth's not around) and his feelings for beth (how he handled the wake of 213 was, uh, illuminating and it’s been made even more illuminating with the context s4 added with nick’s involvement in rio’s business and the fact that nick knew nothing about lucy).

s4, to me, is building on all of that (see the above comment about the new layer of context to lucy and repeat, for one). we’ve met his family (who they’ve already hinted he’s very close to through the photos in his loft), we’ve found out how he got involved in crime in the first place (and i've seen criticism of the tragedy aspect of it and how that disproportionately applies to characters of color and that’s super valid, though i do think there’d also be a lot of valid criticism if they’d gone the opposite route and written rio as knowingly and gleefully deciding to be a criminal. the show kind of put itself in an impossible position there, but that’s something that goes back to s1 and the entire concept of his character. i’m not saying there isn’t a nuanced way to tell this story but, i don’t think anyone in the fandom would argue the gg team doesn’t often do so well with narrowly threaded needles, hahaha), and we’ve also seen that rio’s got some kind of big, complicated feelings for beth that result in him making moves and choices that both are and aren’t in his best interest/at her expense and the dichotomy is sloppy bc, as established, those kinds of feelings make rio sloppy. 

honestly, i think one of the biggest reasons rio’s deepening characterization is so controversial is bc by holding off for so long (a choice that i admire conceptually from a storytelling angle—keeping him shrouded in mystery keeps the audience firmly rooted in the girls’ POVs which is where they want us to be—but v understand how it hasn’t worked for a lot of people and do think they’ve fumbled it at a couple of key steps), it allowed people to sort of choose their own rio and now that the show’s committing to their vision, it’s demolishing a lot of people’s personal versions and that sucks! if the show ever canonically says rio and mick haven’t been friends since they were kids, i, for one, am going to elect to ignore it bc FALSE!!!!!! but this phenomenon is also, you know, part of watching tv. someone else writes it, you ultimately have no say in it, you can really only decide for yourself when it no longer sparks joy enough that it’s a dealbreaker and you walk. 

BUT yeah, i guess to wrap it all up, i do think s4 rio tracks with and has been directly built on the rios that have come before, but also think that accepting that he has big messy feelings for beth is a crucial part in understanding the choices he’s making, and if that’s not working for you, i don’t see this trajectory ultimately being v satisfying bc uh, yeah, i think it’s only going to get exponentially messier as we go. 

[theteasetwrites]

4. Did you have any ideas that didn’t make the final cut of The beginning is the end is the beginning?

Oh lots tbh. Especially in the early days of writing it. This is going to be super long and also will contain spoilers for the show/my series (tho I’m gonna assume pretty much everyone here knows these things) so answer is below the cut.

I think I’ve mentioned this before but I initially wanted there to be some conflict with Shane in the early seasons. I was going to write Shane as being attracted to Reader, but she doesn’t share his feelings and Daryl gets pissed with how much Shane is obsessed with her (kind of like what happened with Lori but with Reader). I ended up writing more about this idea in Protector, so it didn’t really go to waste, just didn’t end up in the series because I wanted to do the Jerome thing and it would just seem like too much if Jerome, Shane, and Daryl all had the hots for her lmao. Like yeah she’s pretty but come on no one has that many guys after them realistically (well I’m sure some people do 🥲)

Aaron being Reader’s brother was a later decision. Initially, when I mentioned that she had a brother, it was either going to be an off handed mention (in other words, her brother was never going to be in the series but would just be mentioned as part of her family), or he was going to be an OC who had his own unique part separate from the canon. I actually got a comment on one of the first chapters like “ooo I wonder who her brother is” and then I realized “oh… maybe he should be a character lol.”

When I was trying to figure out who Reader’s brother should be, I first considered Negan. Yeah, I know lol. I’m glad I didn’t go with him. Plus he would’ve been a little too old to be her brother I think, and I didn’t see her as anything similar to Negan so it didn’t make much sense to me to have them be siblings. I almost completely forgot about Aaron, but then I remembered him and was like “he’s perfect!” He’s perfect because he isn’t super detailed (no last name, not much backstory) so I can play around with him as a character, and he is so much like Reader in a lot of ways. Of course, it’s difficult making the Reader related to a character in the show (Aaron is white, and I recognize that it’s weird to imagine yourself related to Aaron if you’re not white), but he really was the best character to use as her brother, so it might require some suspension of disbelief if you don’t look anything like Aaron lol. I want people to be able to imagine whatever person they want to be in the Reader slot, but with a series like this that’s so long and detailed, the Reader is also part OC, so she’s going to have some specifics that are unavoidable. My philosophy is that reader fanfiction is never going to be 100% applicable to every reader. That’s just how it is.

I was also considering diverting quite a bit from the plot in season 4. I was thinking about killing off Beth at the prison attack, then having Reader experience Beth’s arc at the hospital (so Reader would get kidnapped instead of Beth). Of course, this would’ve caused some issues with the plot I think, and I would’ve felt bad for replacing Beth since her impact on Daryl was important (NOT in a romantic way, might I add). I’m glad I went with Reader, Daryl, and Beth being separated, and then Beth getting kidnapped. I did have Reader replace Carol when they went to go find her which I think is a happy medium.

Reader and Daryl weren’t going to get together until Alexandria. So this is something I struggled with changing because I wanted there to be development to their relationship before they finally kissed, and in the TWD timeline, it’s about two years since the beginning when they get to Alexandria, so honestly it would’ve made more sense for Daryl to fall in love over a longer period of time like that. However, I couldn’t wait that long, and I feel like you guys couldn’t wait that long either lol. Then I considered having them get together at the prison (season 3/4), but even that was too long for me. I really loved writing them together in season 1. They were so cute and just idk had immediate chemistry I think so I just wanted them to get together as soon as they could lol, and the first opportunity was at the CDC. I know it was super early and they only knew each other for about a month, but I think in TWD apocalypse time, every moment is so precious and everyday is more like a week of knowing each other. So much can happen in such a short amount of time for these people, and their lives are constantly hanging in the balance, so I think I was justified in having them kiss and therefore start their relationship at the CDC. I also think sometimes people overestimate how long it would take Daryl to fall in love. I generally do agree that it would take him a while, but I also think Daryl is human and has strong feelings. If he is falling for someone, he can fall hard and fast, and I think in this instance, he fell hard and fast for Reader. I don’t always write Daryl like this, but this is what worked for the series and the Reader character. They were just too cute.

Robin was going to be a redhead for a while. This was more just because I love red hair and wanted her to be a cute little ginger kid, but then I realized that it might not make a lot of sense for her to have red hair if her mother doesn’t have a described physical appearance (tho I personally imagine she has red hair too lol), and I once again wanted her to be as physically blank as I possibly could, so I just decided to have Robin look exactly like her dad lol. Plus it’s cute to imagine her getting all Daryl’s genes.

I almost wrote Bev as being Reader’s “arch enemy” lol. I considered her to be a snobby, rude woman who disapproved of Reader and Daryl and the rest of their group, but then I realized I didn’t really want to do that because there’s way too much stuff about the reader or an OC being at odds with another woman, and for a change I wanted to just have these women develop a really sweet friendship. I wanted Bev to be more like how Reader was in the very beginning, and Reader sort of takes on Daryl’s role by teaching Bev how to fight and have more confidence in herself. I really liked Bev and I thought she was a great friend for Reader when Maggie left. I also loved pairing her with Eugene haha. I thought they were cute in my head. I’m excited to write for Bev again soon…

I was considering having Reader miscarry when she was trying to get pregnant. I thought it would be an interesting concept I don’t see very often in fanfiction, and it would be realistic. Lots of women miscarry during their first pregnancy, and in the world they live in, I’m sure it would be even more likely. I wanted to try to write how she and Daryl might’ve felt during that period, but it just got too sad and I felt like it would’ve needed a lot of devotion instead of just one chapter. Plus there was other stuff happening during that time that seemed more important to address. Maybe I’ll tackle this in a oneshot at some point though.

I almost included Leah and the Reaper arc in season 11. I know I’ve talked about this before and I won’t go into too much detail here, but I had a whole plan for how I was going to incorporate Reader into that and actually have her deeply involved with the Reapers and discovering that Leah had a romantic interest in Daryl (unreciprocated, of course—Daryl would never cheat). It ended up being way too much to put into the series. I’m probably going to do a mini-series with the same concept tho because I have some interesting ideas for that.

I wasn’t going to give them another baby. Robin was intended to be their first and only child, but when I did a poll, a lot of people said they wanted to see another Dixon baby. I had thought about them having another child, but I didn’t really consider it that much until I realized how many people wanted another baby, and the idea of the baby being an accident was really fun I think. I have a lot of plans for the second Dixon kid and he’s going to be fun to write for I think.

I think that’s pretty much it??? There’s probably a lot more stuff but those are basically the big things I almost did with the series. Thank you for asking! I love answering these kinds of questions. 💕

[ask-laz-and-pals]

hey laz! have you met anyone else in the basement yet?

Lazarus nods. "There's a lot of other people down here."

"My older sister is down here too. Her name's Bethany but I usually call her Beth."

"Beth doesn't like going on runs with me since she doesn't want me to see her corpse if she ends up dying. I don't want her to know how many pills I eat in one run, so I guess it works out."

“I think Isaac was one of the first to end up here. He's also the youngest. He doesn't talk much, but he does like to draw! …Sometimes the things he draws are really violent, but if he's in a good mood he'll draw pictures of cats or familiars."

"Maggie is kind although a little blunt sometimes. She's one of the more social people down here."

"I don't know how to feel about Eden. They say a lot of things that don't make sense. One time I woke up to them standing over me and them saying that my 'stats' are terrible."

“Apollyon scares me a little. He’s not mean or anything- he’s actually really nice, but sometimes he just stand still and stares at his void for hours or talks about the apocalypse. Him and Beth like to talk about books sometimes.”

“I don't know much about Judas. He's usually busy studying his book or writing stuff down. Cain likes to hang around him sometimes and Judas will tell him to go away but he never actually makes him leave.”

"Cain is really good at finding pills and winning stuff from the arcades. He's a bit superstitious though and he'll get nervous if a run goes too well or if he doesn't go through rooms in a certain order."

"Samson is strange. He's really friendly towards everyone, until he gets mad. Sometimes it'll just be little things like accidentally stepping on a spike or missing the boss rush. I saw him beat a gaper to death with his fists and keep hitting it until he was covered in blood... I stopped going on runs with him after that."

"I don't know much about Eve either. She usually keeps to herself. Sometimes she'll spend time with Lilith or sing to her bird."

"Blue is... a dead body. They move around and talk like they're alive, but they look and smell like they're rotting. Sometimes he coughs up flies or maggots. I feel bad for avoiding him but he creeps me out."

“The Lost hides and cries a lot. They get mad whenever someone tries to comfort them though. He yelled at me when I offered a hug."

"The Forgotten is really curious about everything. They like to investigate things by smacking them with their club. They've hit me a couple of times but I don't think they meant anything bad by it... I hope."

"Keeper bit me for quarter during a run once. I'm afraid of what he would do for a dollar.”

“Jacob and Esau are always together, but sometimes it seems like Esau wants to explore on his own. Jacob is really cheerful and talkative but sometimes he'll say mean things or push me out of the way for a good item. Esau can be a bit grumpy sometimes but he always apologizes if he ends up saying something mean."

"Azazel is hyper and loud. He's always flying around or hiding in dark corners to try and scare someone. Beth doesn't like him very much since he almost burnt her book one time."

“When I first arrived, Lilith scared me the most since, well, she's a big tall demon, but she's super nice! She worries a lot about me and the others who are human. She says we're too squishy to be crawling around the basement. I think she wanted to cry when she realized we don't have claws or sharp teeth.”

"I think that's everyone but I wouldn't be surprised if there are more people down here."

[mrslackles]

what do you think are gg's biggest flaws?

Ooh, Anon! It’s like you’re in my head. 

I’m busy making a video (that will probably never see the light of day) about this --  my distance from the show has really helped with some super objective clarity -- so I’ll use my notes from that to help me answer. 

I’ll preface this by saying what I was most shocked by after putting down all the points was that Rio isn’t even mentioned until really far down??

Anyway, let's get into it.

These are Good Girls' greatest flaws in my opinion (and relative to season 1 -- while I think it had its flaws too, the list is far smaller and I think that's a separate post)

1. It didn't stick to its guns

What set this show apart from others in the 'Everyday person does crime (poorly)' genre was its comedic lightness, strong friendship element, relatability and emphasis on girl power.

a) By season 2, the lightness was already slowly disappearing to make way for season 3's darkness. (Quite literally; this show said sunlight scenes for WHO.) It also stopped being as fun. Remember how it genuinely used to be fun? I mean let's not forget The Best Scene Ever where Ruby shoots Big Mike by accident and we all laughed our asses off. (Compare and contrast to a similar-in-tone-and-context scene -- or even the whole episode -- like Boomer popping up behind them as Rio's package in season 3.) I think season 3 had some great lines and laughs, but in general, the fun element was completely missing for me.

b) As was the friendship. We already know Annie and Ruby basically became Beth's backup dancers in season 2, but at least then they still seemed to have some type of agency. In season 3, they rarely question Beth's (truly questionable) decisions, don't talk to her about shit like why she's still with her horrible husband and have very few true friendship moments as they did in season 1.

c) Which made it less relatable, but what also contributed was the major plot holes (it's less easy to relate when you're constantly having to remind yourself to suspend your disbelief). And, to be honest, their stupid actions. Just the most common-sense things weren't followed, like not taking your children to a crack den or not putting a hit out on a gang leader. It's frustrating watching a TV show -- where characters are supposed to learn things, have arcs and improve over time -- and feeling like you have more logical sense than all the main characters in every scene. (WHO would think a hitman was going to use a sniper rifle on people in broad daylight on the side of the road???)

d) You don't have to look any further than the title or the stans who shout "THE SHOW IS ABOUT THE GIRLS" -- or, hell, the first 10 seconds of the show where Sara is literally talking about the glass ceiling -- to know that the main characters being women is very important to the show. If not formally feminist, it was at least supposed to be empowering or feel like "girl power" (a term I hate, but we won't get into that now).

And I think it did it pretty well in season 1 -- it actually played on my favourite theme of the show, which is the world's perception of these women being what ultimately allows them to get away with so much. (Rife with opportunities for commentary about white privilege, but also a genius way to upend patriarchal beliefs.) But more and more it seemed like the show was asking you to accept empowerment as simply "these things are being done by women, yay".

And, well.

2. Its marketing

I'll keep this one short because I think we all know how messed up this situation is. Basically they're selling a show (every week!) that they're not making while ignoring all feedback on every social media platform. Which brings us to...

3. The marriage of Death

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times -- Beth's character development starts with getting rid of Dean. Her growth is stunted by him on multiple fronts and it's frustrating to viewers since she's constantly put forth as the main character. Not to mention how the audience, separately from Beth, was originally conditioned to see Dean as the scum of the earth (think of scenes like him crashing his car because he was perving on a woman jogging) so keeping them together is really... a choice. To actively root for this marriage (which seems like what the show wants, at least for the protracted moment) means either thinking Dean is a great person (which, as I said, we've only seen the opposite of) or believing he's all Beth deserves. Which leads me to...

4. Beth's (socio)path(y)

Is sociopath a 'good' word? Probably not. Have I seen dozens upon dozens of posts talking about whether Beth is one? Yes. And I see it from a huge variety of people -- from viewers who just binged the show last weekend to those who've been watching for years, the question keeps coming up. And I entirely blame the writing of the show that, by the way, I don't believe is deliberately creating Beth to get this reaction. I think she's written (and, to an extent, acted) in a way that is much too aloof and I'm not convinced it's meant to come off as cold and unfeeling as it does. Everything else leads me to believe that the audience is supposed to root for Beth, but it's just so difficult.

Beth does a lot of messed up shit that requires dialogue to sympathise with her and the inner workings of her mind, but in the later seasons Beth rarely gets to express herself verbally. And every time she does get to speak about her emotions, the dialogue is a pick-your-own-adventure between "She's in so much denial", "This person feels no emotions" and "I'll go find an analysis/fic later to explain this" (scenes like "Nothing" or "I was just bored"). Compare and contrast with some of the great scenes in season 1 where she emotes, like her paralysing shock after they first rob the store or admitting she enjoys crime, or (one of my favourites!) the one in the park where she's mimicking the other mothers beside her.

5. Brio

I said in the beginning that I was shocked Rio doesn't get mentioned until this point and that's because I've always felt like he was an integral part of the show. When people say the show is about the girls, they're truncating -- the show is about the girls getting into crime. That crime is represented by Rio over and over again -- they never bring in another criminal at his level (which is another one of its flaws, but that's also a different post); Rio is it.

And though I stand by Rio's importance, the truth is that Brio isn't as essential to the show, by which I mean that if all of the above were done well, it wouldn't be as sorely missed. In lieu of riveting plot, a fun friendship, character development and empowerment, most viewers have glommed onto Brio like a lifeboat (or ship, heh).

Unfortunately it's also what the show has most stubbornly refused to develop significantly.

It's honestly a toss-up for why I feel Brio is a flaw: is the flaw that they got together? That they never got together well enough? That the writing keeps bringing in these 'chemistry-filled' scenes that are ultimately filled with air?

I don't know. Maybe all of them; maybe just one, depending on the day.

6. Its criticism falls flat without intersectionality

This is a big one because Good Girls is *trying* to do something very clever. As mentioned previously, my favourite theme of the show is how the women's apparent innocence/vulnerability in the eyes of society is their biggest strength. The show plays with this and other interesting themes with varying levels of success, but ultimately they all fall a little flat when they don't feel intersectional.

When Ruby gets sidelined. When Turner, who sees and all but calls out by name Beth's privilege, is portrayed as the villain. When Rio is told he's gonna "pop a cap" in his young child's "ass". When the racist grandma becomes a sympathetic character whom we must later grieve. (And she really didn't have to be racist, now that I think about it? It was just that one line for laughs and that was it.) When, despite the real-world implications, Dean can loudly announce in a store that he's buying a gun to kill someone with and the show just glides past it. When Ruby has to grovel for forgiveness from Beth for trying to protect her husband and family from the system, with no acknowledgement from Beth about how their realities are different. When Rhea gets booted off the show as soon as she's done serving Beth's plot. When Rio gets treated like a prostitute for absolutely no reason. (Oh, and is accused of raping Beth and is literally spoken of as an animal and starts only existing in zero dim lighting as a one-dimensional stereotype... the list goes on.)

7. PR/The actors

I'll risk my life here to sprinkle this in because I do think it's a massive problem. The Manny/Christina of it all is just the tip of the iceberg (although wtf Good Girls? There's nothing you could do to get these two into an interview together??). The main actors do the bare minimum to promote the show and it's weird. I also think it's the height of unprofessionalism to keep characters on the show against the wishes of the majority of the audience just because you enjoy their actors (Boomer confirmed; Dean highly suspected). While, on the flip side of the coin, limiting a character's screentime because you aren't best buddies with them. Having less and less Rio when he's such a fan favourite is dumb; as is not including him in any series marketing material. It feels personal and that isn't how a TV show should be run.

8. The entire hair and wardrobe department needs a stern talking-to