#^^just because . el told me to post this 100%

[queeleronwheels]

I saw a post talking about how Mike's love at first sight confession was bogus because the only reason Mike grew close to El in the first place was to use her as a tool to find Will.

While I 100% agree that Mike did not, as he claimed, love El since the moment he saw her, I think the beginning of their relationship is more complex than that, and I think acknowledging this lends more credibility to the idea that Mike doesn't, and never did, love El romantically. Hear me out:

Mike loves to be needed. It is the very essence of his character, and moves beyond just subtext in S4 when he says to Will in the van, "What if after all this is over, she doesn't need me anymore?"

El was all alone and on the run when she was first found by the Party. She needed to be hidden, to be protected, and Mike latched on to the role of protector immediately. He especially liked being her guide through an unfamiliar world, and in doing that, they did grow close, and they did grow to care for each other, outside of anything to do with Will.

That alone didn't push Mike to turn their relationship into something romantic (because yes, it was Mike's decision; El was very vulnerable, unfamiliar with how the world worked, and looked up to Mike to show her the way. Not a great foundation for a romantic relationship, and all the more reason El should end up single and on a journey of self-discovery and independence in S5). The beginning of their romance was a result of Mike's need to be needed in combination with him being a young boy in a heteronormative society that thought “oh, and she’s a girl too, so I guess I’m her boyfriend."

For Mike, kissing El was taking advantage of the fact that there was a girl in his house and she relied on him and according to Ted Wheeler and the rest of the tiny suburban bubble he lives in, that's the stuff of picket-fence romances right there! Off to the Snow Ball they go!

In S3, as he grows more in tune to his feelings and less naive about how romantic relationships actually work, his relationship with El becomes about waiting. He is waiting to finally feel about her how he "should", especially as they become more hands-on and El begins to expect boyfriend-y things of him. He even tries it on for size with his whole "I love her and I can't lose her again" blunder, because no doubt he does love her, but it isn't the way he wants to for the sake of conformity. Maybe if he professes it out loud for the whole world to hear, it'll hit different (it doesn't—it's portrayed comedically, with no swelling music or relieved laughter or running into El's arms. In fact, go watch it again—the music literally dies once he says it).

By S4, he knows it's not going to happen, the feelings aren't going to come—he very visibly realized this when El kissed him and told him she loved him at the end of S3—but he's motivated to keep up the act because in his mind 1) he can't be gay if he's with a girl and 2) he really does still want to be needed by her. That part wasn't a lie, as we know from him saying it to Will in the van. If she still needs him, maybe this could still work even if he doesn't love her romantically. Without that need, he has nothing to offer.

The real substance of Mike and El's relationship is platonic, sibling-like love (they established this the second before they got together in S1 with the "Will you be like my brother?" line, which is a hell of a weird springboard for a first kiss between your central couple, even if it's a chaste one between kids).

It was never love at first sight—it was forced heteroromance at first convenience.

Mike's relationship with El suffers in S3 and S4 because El begins to want more from him romantically, and Mike is not romantically attracted to her. His S5 arc is going to at the very least be about him accepting that for what it is and why (🏳️‍🌈). Personally I think when he learns that Will has feelings for him, it will make the idea of him having feelings for Will potentially less scary in his mind, and that's what will hurtle him toward the end of that arc. That's my hope, anyway!

[air--so--sweet]

Okay I've posted like 100 theories on how Buddie will go canon in season 8B, but I think theory 101 could be the one (watch the stills for next week come out and have me walk that back completely).

We know from the promo Buck gets trapped alongside Ravi and a civilian, and we know from BTS photos that, despite not being a member of the 118 anymore Eddie gets involved in the call (it doesn't look like he'll have suddenly re-joined offscreen next week as he's wearing turnouts over a Henley). I've already talked about how I think he'll get involved in rescuing all three, but Buck will become trapped alone due to further explosions/a minor earthquake causing more of the building to collapse after Ravi and the civilian getting out.

Because Buck's spiralling right now, and when talking to Bobby in the confessional he told him that he's not okay and that the other's don't need him. So what if rather than getting cut off completely from Eddie as I originally thought, what if Buck gets pinned or trapped in some other way where he can still communicate with Eddie and he's telling Eddie to go. Gerrard ordered an evacuation, it's not safe and Buck (whose passively suicidal at the best of time and this isn't the best of times by any stretch of the imagination) says its fine if he doesn't get out. No one needs him, they'll be fine without him.

And Eddie will argue, the 118 needs Buck, Eddie needs Buck and Buck will keep denying it, Eddie left Buck to go to El Paso like it was nothing, none of them haven't found Buck's efforts at support helpful (because Buck doesn't understand that others grief isn't something he can fix and and they just need him to be there and talk to them rather than doing psych evals on them) and he failed Bobby at the lab and he's failing him now by not being able to stop everything falling apart.

And Eddie, at the end of his rope, maybe fully crying now, will say 'I do need you Buck, I do. I can't lose you because I-' his voice cracks, 'I love you. More than I even knew I could love someone. I can't do this without you Buck, I can't. So please, I need you to still be here, so I'm not leaving!'

[pearynice]

So lately I’ve been thinking about how a fic would go if Eddie who “came back wrong” like vampire- adjacent but instead of blood thirsty the man’s like… a fruit bat.

Like he loves bananas and grapes and honey and nectar and shit. Can’t even eat animals products like he’s a full blown vegan (we’re ignoring that fruit bats eat insects sorry).

I just think that would be hilarious because thinking about who Eddie is in MY heart wouldn’t be able to hurt a fly in his day to day life. Like he probably gets sad when he sees roadkill so he could never drink someone’s blood- so of course he’d be a vegan “vampire”.

Also been thinking about writing this from Eddie’s POV? Like I think there’s a lot of fics where Eddie who “came back wrong” but it’s told through Steve’s POV (which are 100/10 don’t get me wrong) but I think it would be interesting if it’s told from Eddie’s side- who is confused and scared and who doesn’t remember a lot of who he was and who escapes the upside down because he knows this isn’t where he belongs, but when he gets to the right side up he feels wrong there too.

And of course Steddie happens because Steve is the one who hides him at his ever-empty house and so Steve by default is the one who helps him get his memories back- like reads him lord of the rings and buys the records he used to listen to and all of that. And it’s a slow build of trust because Eddie’s memories are still wonky and it’s slow burn but also not, and in the end Eddie who was a weapon that Vecna created is able to be the one to help El and take Vecna down for good- because idk he can communicate with the demobats or something yada yada idk about how yet.

And by “I’ve been thinking about this” I mean I’ve written almost 10k with no end in sight and this is now occupying my mind at all times. 🫡

Anyways if this sounds interesting pls let me know… every other fic I’ve written has been alternate universe instead of like- what could season 5 look like? And I’ve never written Kas!Eddie so I’m agonizing over /literally/ every word I write and overthinking this to hell and back. So. Would love any thoughts- mwah.

———

EDIT:

This got more attention than I thought it would!!! ❤️❤️❤️ I can of course do a tag list and add whoever would like to be, but you’ll also be able to follow along at #fruitbat!eddie

I do want to make it clear that as of right now I want to get the first chapter out by the end of the year. I really don’t like posting (based off of prior experience) multi chaptered fics without first having it all written out. So it just might be a while until we see the actual first chapter. But thank you for the response and trust me this is rotting my brain and rn so much of my free time is dedicated to this ❤️✨❤️✨

[henrysglock]

Escape from Camazotz: TFS, Shadow NINA, and Saving Your Dad From The Fucked Up Idyllic World A Shadow Monster Has Imprisoned Him In

Loads of people have already talked about how this all:

is reminiscent of A Wrinkle In Time. And I agree...to an extent. I even have an initial Thing about AWIT from April 2023.

What doesn't make sense, though, is if that's the case...then whose father is being sought after/saved? The whole point in AWIT is that Meg Murry had to save her father from Camazotz, a creepily idyllic/conformist world created by IT...

...that also serves as a prison.

The capitol city of Camazotz is CENTRAL/Central Intelligence, and it's overseen by IT and the man with Red Eyes, who serves as a front for IT. Something something...CIA...Richard Brenner being the head of narcotics at HNL vs all the NINA-TFS-Mindflayer hallucinogenic drug ties I outlined previously.

Anyway, returning to suburban Camazotz...You know what else is idyllic that arguably shouldn't be?

Henry's current form.

There have been numerous posts relating the Mindflayer to IT (AWIT), which is where the idyllic but unreal nature comes in.

I've spoken ad nauseam about how TFS, NINA, and Shadow NINA all run along the same lines re: unreality/simulation/Matrix-y type deal, with the Mindflayer being able to quite literally run a different version of NINA to entrap Henry in the VR game. What I want to touch on is a section from the big analysis re: Henry's current whereabouts—

Specifically, per the VR, Henry was banished back into his mind in 1984, just before Will's flaying...which, as far as the VR tells us, he had no active involvement in. We don't know where he ended up, exactly, but the banishment does introduce us to the Shadow NINA concept.

Henry, per the VR, may very well still be trapped in the unreality maze of Shadow NINA.

It's also hilarious to to me that AWIT has a stage play...

...because we see, per TFS, this degree of romanticization coming from Henry alongside the unreality (below is also an excerpt from the big analysis)

In the VR, we're told Henry was bullied by his peers, but that never takes place in TFS. Nor is Bob bullied, though he also canonically says he was. This tells me the romanticization feeds into the unreality, creating what I had been saying all along: A nearly perfect dream world...

...until it comes crashing down when TFS Brenner exposes the truth. Henry has a persistent and steadfast commitment to writing off aspects of this unreality that flag it as unreality, and a persistent drive for normalcy. He wants to be normal and happy, and he tries to push down/hide from/ignore anything that says otherwise until he can't anymore.

In short: He's in deep, babes.

However, the real point I want to make with all this in mind: It's 100% possible the leaks we've seen of Jamie and Nell are set in a Camazotz-like Matrix-y idyllic dream world.

It's also possible, given the ties between Nell's character, Jane, and Henry, as well as Jamie's statements on Henry truly having wanted a nice life with El outside the lab and the understanding that parallels between texts and show are NEVER going to be 1:1, that Nell's character is the Meg Murry to Will's Charles Wallace and Mike's Calvin O'Keefe.

This works especially well considering that Charles Wallace is the one who ends up possessed by IT, much like Will has his persistent connection to the Mindflayer, and Meg Murry is looking for her father, which Henry isn't to either Mike or Will...but might be to a Mindflayer-generated version of the daughter he wanted to run away and start a new life with: Jane.

That's not to say Henry would be willing to leave that world, especially if he's got the life he always dreamed of, whether it's a gilded cage or not.

Final additional point: Hello overalls on Meg and flannel+bowl cut on Charles Wallace.

[spaceshipkat]

May i ask a rough summary of whats happening with 911? I've seen some of ur posts but i have barrly any context

okay so uh long explanation and a looot of spoilers (and some 8x18 spec) so i'll stick this below a cut!!

re your question about someone canonically coming out: yeah buck came out in season 7 and dated a guy named tommy until 8x06, when tommy broke up with buck, though there was also a brief moment in 8x11 when buck and tommy hooked up, though that only happened for buck as a way to hide from his feelings about eddie moving--he was feeling lonely, and tommy was offering some physical comfort. and then the next day tommy admitted he saw eddie as the competition (he broke up with buck by saying he thought buck would break his heart one day, and we now know it's bc tommy believes that buck is in love with eddie and that eddie isn't straight, so buddie in his mind is a real possibility) but now that eddie left for texas to get his son back, tommy's fine dating buck--except he told that to buck, who got angry, understandably. bc buck's got it in his head that eddie is straight and so eddie can't even be a romantic option for him, even though tommy quite literally scoffed and said "okay" when buck said "eddie's straight" and then, later, when maddie brought up the idea that it wouldn't be so crazy--it wouldn't be so crazy if buck were in love with eddie--buck said "i know everyone wants me to be pining for my straight best friend, but it's just not like that" even though there's been like. only one (1) person who has so much as hinted at that: neither tommy nor maddie actually named eddie when they brought the topic up to buck. buck named eddie all on his own.

so anyway then eddie was in el paso in the second half of season 8, and he and buck kept facetiming to coparent and just talk because they felt like it. like we have (i think) four canonical moments of them facetiming, not just to coparent chris but also to just hang out and cook together. (eddie was cooking an eight-hour barbacoa recipe and it's fun to think that he and buck were on the phone for those eight entire hours because honestly it wouldn't be that strange for them to do that) but then bobby died and eddie wasn't there, so he goes back to LA for the funeral with a lot of guilt about not being there, and he and buck are sharing buck's house (which was eddie's house until eddie needed a subletter in order to be able to go to texas, and buck became his subletter to allow eddie to leave, so buck has been living in eddie's house which is now his house, because eddie did a dumb dumb and put a down payment on a house in el paso, but that dumb dumb part isn't 100% relevant to this so i digress) but not really talking because they're both kinda tangled up in their own grief over bobby's death. hen and karen have each other, chimney and maddie have each other, and buck and eddie would have each other if they were brave enough to finally talk about it (and "it" covers a lot, from their relationship to their grief). anyway, a blowup finally happens in the kitchen in 8x17, and there's an argument where they're kiiiiiinda running parallel, kiiiiinda understanding one another and allowing one another to be the support system they both need (which is something they do like 99% of the time outside of this moment, but they're both dealing with a very personal death, so it's hard to be there for each other while they're both dealing with grief over the same person at the exact same time) but then that kinda falls apart. they're not quite there yet, bc while they both treat one another like a life partner and buddie has been treated like the fourth main pairing in the show for yearsss now, it's not (yet, hopefully) canon.

so the next morning eddie leaves a note for buck that says he's gone to the airport, and buck thinks that eddie went back to texas--that eddie left bc it got too real or something--and goes to work. then he comes home that night to eddie in his house, and buck is surprised bc what else does "went to the airport" mean if not flying back to texas, and eddie says "i heard some dick was being mean to you," which is his way of apologizing (it works for them! it really does) and then steps back to reveal he brought his son chris back to cheer buck up. and it does cheer buck up because he's essentially chris's second dad (buck is in eddie's will to be chris's legal guardian should eddie die, and he's spent the past seven years acting and behaving and being chris's second parent/eddie's coparent) and buck and chris have a really sweet reunion. (it's important to know that the reason eddie went to el paso is bc chris left to live with eddie's parents in season 7, and eddie didn't think he could bring his own son back home to LA--eddie has a lot of hangups; he's working on it--which is why he uprooted his entire life and moved to el paso so he wouldn't be parenting over a screen. so there he and chris worked it out and chris is living with him again in the el paso house, but it's still an unspoken thing, whether or not eddie is gonna move back to LA. he did get a job offer from the el paso fire department, but 8x17 ends before we get closure on that, since 8x18 is the finale and we'll get it then. so even though eddie didn't think he could bring his son back to LA, he did think he could bring him back to LA in order to cheer buck up. so that's what he did.) there's a conversation between pepa (eddie's aunt) and buck in the kitchen--the kitchen is an important setting for buddie moments--wherein pepa is basically treating buck like her son in law/eddie's partner, which is very sweet. she tells him to not be afraid of change but to embrace it. hint hint nudge nudge

and based on previews we know that buck is getting trapped inside a building that blew up at the end of 8x17, and we know from behind the scenes pictures that eddie is on the scene with buck at this disaster (we've seen eddie in his turnouts, and we've seen footage of oliver stark, who plays buck, and ryan guzman, who plays eddie, enter the aforementioned collapsed building together to film something), even though 8x17 ended with eddie not having yet decided if he's staying in el paso or moving back to LA (we all know he's gonna be back in LA, bc many people behind the show, including ryan guzman, have said the goal was always to get eddie back to LA).

so the current running theory is that eddie will go into the aforementioned collapsed building to save buck (and possibly other characters, like ravi, though there has also been bts footage of a character ziplining to safety, so maybe ravi ziplines to safety and buck is trapped, prompting eddie to go into the wreckage to save him) because eddie won't let another member of his family die when he could've been there to save him (which is what he feels guilty about re not being there to save bobby, even though eddie being there might not have made a difference--we'll never know! but eddie feels guilt about that, which yknow that's something i can relate to alas, that eldest sibling thing, y'know? the everlasting guilt from things outside your control). who knows if anything romantic will happen, especially since we've seen more bts footage of eddie's furniture and chris back in his LA house without anything of buck's there, but at this point, i'd like to stay hopeful that we'll get something. it's been seven straight seasons of slow burn, so like. haven't we had enough of that?

but anyway, lately it's been like pretty much every journalist given five minutes with either oliver stark or ryan guzman (or both) have mentioned buddie and asked whether or not fans can expect that to finally go romantic, which is a vast change of pace from the usual avoidance of the question because the show and network and actors don't want to be accused of queerbaiting. frankly, i'd be happy if we got even a hint that we'll be finally exploring buddie in its full romantic potential in s9, bc i'm. a bit tired of the slow burn. i know not every buddie fan is tired of it, which is fine! but like. i am. so. heh. a buddie roommates arc with mutual pining made explicit, domestic bliss between them that they're both propping up with "friendship" when they and everyone else, other characters and viewers alike, can clearly see is actually romantic, not platonic. hell, even an almost kiss that gets interrupted by bobby's sudden resurrection would be great. something to make it clear they're finally going down the romantic path, rather than continuing to drop hints to keep us watching but keeping it platonic. maybe that makes me greedy, but eh. i was in the destiel trenches. it's why i avoided watching 911 until i felt at least a little hopeful that buddie would go canon. i think i'm entitled to want something real to happen, rather than alluding to realness.

well, i hope that answered your question!! oof what a ramble. 😂💖 but i'm always happy to talk buddie/911!!

[ven0moir]

Why is Bychance not happening?

You mention (I think it was you, it was a bychance shipper anyway) that "Bylers were wrong about how Byler was going to go down so far", but see they weren't. They were right that Will is painfully in love with Mike. They were right that Byler have this special connection and this soft interactions, when one on one. They were right, I believe, that they love each other.

What they were wrong about is specific scenarios they made up about how it is going to happen. Because there are actually a million ways it COULD happen and make sense in itself.

You are doing the same thing. Could Will have a fling with a Latino "Tigers" jock and could his Tiger with a sombrero then be seen as a hint for that. - I mean, it can be written, I just wrote it, and I don't think it would go against any laws or the Duffer's core values. But it's highly likely not the case, because there could be so many other reasons for this Tiger and we likely don't know the real one yet as we weren't in the room.

Bychance smells like Creelclarke or what that ship is called.

hi anon! ty for this one, it gives me the chance to clarify some really important aspects of this.

first of all, im a byler through and through. i don't 'ship' bychance--i analyze it.

also, what you mentioned about the sombrero was posted in the early stages of the theory but it isn't what it hinges on--comparing bychance to creelarke kind of shows to me you might be unfamiliar with where the theory is at right now, so if you're curious to read about it here's my breakdown of it so far! of course, all subject to change and develop as time goes on. cypherheartnokey also has some very compelling posts about it, i def recommend checking out their blog.

and yes, thank you for bringing that up to let me expand on it--yes, bylers have gotten the emotional beat of byler right, but beyond just the 'how' byler will happen, it's the WHEN they've gotten wrong as well--re: them expecting byler to get together at the end of s4. and obviously none of us are MEANT to know exactly how it'll happen, but what im doing with bychance is opening the door to a different angle to observe the story from.

and let me tell you why i find value in that:

there seems to be a consensus within the byler community ( as far as i've seen ) that byler will happen in this order:

-- Mike breaks up with El -> Mike and Will having a fight about the painting and a) getting together, b) it being unresolved and them getting together as they fight the supernatural or after -> Mike having a Vecna induced vision/dream sequence at some point where it is revealed to the audience he's loved Will all along.

and whereas the truth might be somewhere here, ( & it likely is ) something has always felt off to me about this. it never fully clicked to me or felt right. something's missing. how are they going to recontextualize mileven without it feeling retconny, aka: exposition vs revelation? ESPECIALLY when we think about the TIMING and contradictions:

OOC, it makes sense for the painting ( & thus the Byler ) reveal to be saved for the end, just like how Will's painting was revealed in the penultimate episode.

IC, however, it makes 0 sense, with what we know about the timeline so far, for the painting arc to come up at the end. We can assume two things: Mike is 100% clueless about the painting lie and the lie will only come up once El and him talk about it. Which ... would need to be at the end for some reason. They COULD get away with saying that it just simply never came up. We'll see. The other option is, Mike knows Will lied and has been strategically waiting for the right moment to bring it up. I think I like this option better but it raises some questions--the GA cannot just be cold turkey'd into the reveal, there needs to be build up to it otherwise it risks coming across as Will just, once again, being a passive observer in his own love life. And whereas as a fan this frustrates me, we've also been told this IS his coming-of-age arc and we'll see him come into his own as a young man. that means agency. that means making mistakes as you figure yourself out ( which was already set in motion via the painting lie )

to make matters worse, the GA doesn't buy byler bc this is the only way they see Byler happening too and they HAVE said it feels fanservicey, forced, rushed, etc

and you're 100% right, there are a million ways things could go. but not all of them will feel on-theme even if they 'make sense', and chances are, the duffers have already left enough of a trail that we can somewhat piece together where they're going ( i mean, after all, they said in an interview that someone on reddit could probably piece together the UD lore, that's HUGE stuff--so what does that say about character arcs, which are inherently easier to piece together? )

bychance, if it were to occur in-show, wouldn't be filler or detour ( the duffers literally cannot afford it to be tbh ) it HAS to serve as a catalyst for Mike and a way for Will to reclaim his agency before getting with Mike.

in the end, we're still doing what bylers are doing: trying to make sense of the patterns and breadcrumbs we've picked up on!

i've also said this before, that i personally just want byler to pay off--as long as byler happens i'll be 100% happy.

i HAVE reservations about bychance of course ( the age gap between them which was recently brought to my attention, or the thought of chance being portrayed as this one-dimensional asshole, so on ) but i can't really ignore what i'm seeing rn and just hope the duffers treat that storyline, if it were to happen, with the care it deserves.

fingers crossed & once again ty for this amazing ask!

[pluvioloulou]

Sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear in my ask before because I actually agree with everything you said! I’ve always hated the idea that Buck makes everything about himself because he doesn’t! I just also feel like in many of the scenarios it really IS about Buck in some way or another, so even if he did do that it would be understandable to me.

When I referred to being kept out of the loop I meant Eddie avoiding telling Buck about getting offered the job in El Paso. Buck was 100% right to be upset that Eddie didn’t trust him enough to tell him about it himself. For Eddie to respond to the totally reasonable question of “you didn’t think I would be happy for you?” the way he did was the very definition of selfish and I’m so sick of him behaving like that because it’s how he’s been the entire show.

Oh yeah, you are absolutely correct, sorry for misunderstanding, I'm just so used to defending Buck at this point and misread!

It is about Buck, but not in the way that Eddie is making it out to be, he's twisting it to make Buck look selfish, which he's obviously not.

And as for Eddie keeping Buck out of the loop, he told Hen who shouldn't really have told Chim, so it's a bit messy and Eddie should have handled it better.

The link to the other post is here

[mrslectermoriarty]

Headcanon Series #12

Here goes some Stranger Things stuff because I finally watched it yes it broke me so here I give you some Eddie centered Headcanons because that guy is 100% me as a fictional character and I died with him in the Upside Down which makes him a huge inspiration :)

Yes I ship Steddie so fuck off if you don't like it

1. Eddie always humming some metal or rock songs, most times without even realising it (that's how Steve learns all the great bands)

2. When Eddie finally graduates, Hellfire throws him a party and honours him with a framed picture of him and "Hail to thee our infantry, still brave beyond the grave"

3. No but seriously, they definetly honoured him post mortem

4. There is this black stray cat in the neighbourhood who keeps scratching at his door so Eddie feeds it and adopts it eventually

5. He names it Ozzy because it once brought him a dead bat as a present and Eddie still a little uncomfortable around bats almost pees his pants because no way his cat just helped him deal a little better with that trauma

6. Ozzy becomes his mental support animal from then

7. That cat is a little sceptical about the kids at first but as soon as Dustin enters, it won't let go of him because let's be honest Dustin is so Eddie's son

8. Eddie is convinced that Ozzy can read his mind

9. Or that Ozzy is from the Upside Down which freaks him out a little but untill now Ozzy hasn't tried to slaughter him in his sleep so he gets comfortable eventually

10. Eddie and Steve move together in a cute little house

11. Corroded Coffin goes on tour one day and of course Eddie takes Steve with him but the kids (who are no longer kids but it doesn't matter) won't let both of their parents "leave them alone to rot in the town" so they all join and Steve has a little breakdown because ge will end up being a babysitter again and he's not okay with that

12. Of course he is, he loves his children

13. Ozzy can't be left behind and in the end the tour bus is stuffed with people

14. The kids are Corroded Coffin's biggest fans and love to brag about how they know all members personally

15. Eddie doesn't throw his guitar pick during concerts, he hands out dices - just for the flavor

16. He will happily sign anything for you with "The Munson Killer" if you ask him about the homicides during autograph session

17. Yes, his name was cleared by the government pretty fast after the earthquake but people are still a little uncomfortable around him - he takes it with humour

18. Since its the 90s where you can only be subtly gay, Steve and Eddie get pseudo married in Mike and El's yard in autumn after the tour ends - Argyle comes down to Hawkins to be their wedding officiant (they don't regret a single moment during the ceremony, it was hilarious) Robin ist Steve's Maid of Honour and Eddie asks Nancy because honestly, Nancy may have had eyes for Steve for a while when Jonathan was back but she saw the looks Eddie and him exchanged when they thought the other one wasn't watching and that tension so she eventually sat Eddie down and told him to ask Steve out and they kind of bonded over the years after that because in the end there is an understanding among those who love Steve Harrington

19. Steve gifts Eddie Metallica cards as their 'honeymoon' - Eddie cries for half an hour

20. He pays Steve back by slamming adoption papers on the kitchen table on their anniversary in 2006 with the words "You got me everything I could dream of back then. My turn. Bam."

22. Eddie and Steve got properly married in 2014 when same-sex marriage became legal again, surrounded by their three kids and their kids with their own children - "Why do I feel so old, Eddie?" "Because you are old. Now smile for the pictures, Grandpa!"

24. And yes, of course they had very exhausting negotiations about the number of kids they'd have

[dorkydegeneracy]

Late Night Buddie Thoughts: 8x09

Guys. . . this episode was SOOO GOOD!

I am absolutely distraught that Eddie is leaving. Next week is gonna be the most painful 911 episode I have watched live. And with all of the post-episode interviews, I am afraid that Eddie won't be back around 8x12/13 like I initially thought he would be. Don't get me wrong, EDDIE DIAZ IS 100% COMING BACK TO HIS HOME IN LA WITH ONE EVAN BUCKLEY. It just might be a longer timeline.

Half of this episode was about Buddie, which was a treat, and it gave us lots to look at.

Starting at the end, did y'all see how Buck was staring at Eddie that whole last scene from the moment Eddie opened the door? Go look at it once more for good measure. Oliver is absolutely looking at Eddie as if Buck already knows he is in love with him. I wish I was kidding (I don't). MAJOR HEART EYES. 😍 More than I think I've ever seen Oliver portray before tbh.

Contrasting that to the way Ryan masters an Eddie who has had enough of Buck's childish behavior. Now of course, we know why Buck is acting this way, but Eddie just thinks he's pissed and being petty. Ryan initially portrays a very defensive appearance. Not necessarily super mad, just upset and defensive.

But when Buck finally lets the cat out of the bag, Ryan has this perfect look about him. It's a look of gratitude. "You did this for me?" The thing is, I get zero romantic vibe from Eddie here. Because he is SOO focused on Chris.

But what Eddie is going to realize is that even after he mends his relationship with Christopher, he's not going to be happy. In fact, Eddie was arguably the happiest he has ever been in the show post-Confessions. But when he's in El Paso, he's not going to have anything to make him happy. Both he and Chris are going to be miserable, because El Paso isn't home.

And honestly, LA isn't home either. Once Eddie breaks down his own Catholic guilt and sexuality, he's gonna know that he needs to be with Buck. This is because Eddie has never had anybody prioritize him in his life. His parents never did. Shannon never did. Nobody has ever done something specifically and only because they love him. And that's literally what Buck just did by subletting Eddie's house. At least that's what Eddie thinks, because we all know Buck probably loves that place more than Eddie.

It's the whole "Eddie knows he loves Buck, but he doesn't realize that he is (or can be) attracted to men" thing. Eddie's gratitude we saw today is 1000% Eddie loving Buck. He just doesn't know that he is in love with Buck.

Which is why I wouldn't hate it if Eddie told Buck that he loves him. Because it wouldn't be a romantic confession for him. In Eddie's mind, he's just being thankful.

Now, if Buck doesn't already know that he is in love with Eddie, he damn sure will know very, very soon. And I wouldn't hate it if Eddie telling him he loved him was the catalyst.

I don't see that happening at all btw. I'm just saying I wouldn't hate it.

[error404vnotfound]

in which i rank the whole seliriaverse

as of July 5th 2024

how to read this tier list:

books are indeed in order (which was very hard)

the symbols next to the book titles indicate whether they have gone up, down or stayed in their rank in respect of this prediction tier i made (and/or previous opinion i had of those books years ago)

i did in fact change the tiers up a bit because i had like half of this in F tier and not all bad books are made equally

kind of a long post

sueños de piedra tier

this tier is for sueños de piedra and sueños de piedra only because it's one of my favorite books of all time and it would be unfair to rank the rest with it in mind

sueños de piedra (marabilia #1)

573 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2017 / read: too many times to be counted

i've read this book like 100 times and i'll read it again. it made me cry so much but i felt so good after too. this book never fails to warm my heart <3

A tier

10/10 screaming crying throwing up i love these books

-- ladrones de libertad (marabilia #3)

638 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2018 / read: 4 times

i cried and that's an instant fave. i loved this book so much in the past (and i still do) but not with the same intensity and i think that's okay

-- jaulas de seda (marabilia #4)

637 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2018 / read: 3 times

another past fave of mine. i just love fausto and ivy so much. it did suffer from the *knowing* about reinos de cristal. they are so cute tho. if experienced on a vacuum it belongs here, if not on the tier below

B tier

10/10 too i do love these books too but not as much as the A tier ones

-- encuentros (secretos de la luna llena #2)

737 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2018 / read: 3 times

the drama. the angst. the mess. i love it. i did skim through the povs of characters im not too invested in (because this book is. so long man) but eirene and seaben just carried i love them so much. and chryses

↓ alianzas (secretos de la luna llena #1)

653 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2018 / read: 4 times

the plot of this book is very fucked up in the best way possible. eirene and seaben my beloveds (i did give it a slightly lower rating than previously but i guess that just happens sometimes)

el sol y la mentira (olympus #2)

592 pages / ya retelling-sci-fi (ish)

first time reading (2023)

my expectations for this book 🤝 what it delivered. very fun 10/10 reading experience

-- despedidas (secretos de la luna llena #3)

572 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2018 / read: 3 times

a good ending for the journey :] there's no eirene and seaben drama so i enjoyed it less and i do not care for the fay and svent plot. also chryses' death is mean

-- alma y los siete monstruos

228 pages / middle grade about mental health

first read 2021 / read: 2 times

such a good book. would recommend it to everyone. i did tear up a bit too

C tier

this was a pleasant reading experience :]

imperio

672 pages / ya distopia

first read 2024

started strong but then became too formulaic in a way that detracted from the experience. overall i did enjoy it. it was fun and dynamic and the characters were all interesting and fun to read. the ending did disappoint me. the thg x unwind at home

personally disliked that a couple that broke up came back together but i can get over that. i can't get over not committing to the bit tho and for that the book is just okay and not great

-- antihéroes

520 pages / ya urban fantasy

first read: 2018 / read: 2 times

what it says on the can (tier description). it's just an okay book. very easy to read too which looking around is a big ass thing on its favor. it's funny, and i love yeray. im not as attached to the rest of the cast (and i do despise alicia), but it's a fun, easy read

-- rojo y oro

446 pages / ya fantasy retelling

first read 2016 / read: 2 times

the only good thing i can say about this book is that i wasn't bored so... i feel that speaks for itself. an okay tragedy. interesting enough

D tier

what if i told you that i got bored 💀

↓ títeres de la magia (marabilia #2)

521 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2018 / read: 3 times

i don't care about the characters and i was very bored. can't in good conscience put it over books i've enjoyed the whole of just because i got my arthmael and lynne fix

↓ reinos de cristal (marabilia #5)

688 pages / ya fantasy

first read 2019 / read: 2 times

respectfully your honor: idgaf about 60% of the plots. also the whole fausto thing. the first time i read this i was devastated about it but now (4 years later) i can see that his death is just incredibly dumb and stupid and i hate it and it also lowkey ruins jaulas de seda. like títeres i did struggle with having it this low because lynne and arthmael are on it but even my love for them can't fix this mess

↓ el orgullo del dragón (el dragón y el unicornio #1)

562 pages / ya steampunk (ish)

first read 2019 / read: 2.5 times

what can i say except: i was very bored. technically it's an extremely well crafted and well written book and it does an excellent work of laying the groundwork for part 2. but again, it was VERY boring

E tier

these books did not achieve what they set out to do

la furia y el laberinto (olympus #3)

538 pages / ya retelling-sci-fi (ish)

first time reading (2023)

the main character was unlikable (in a bad way) and suffered from the authors being cowards and not making her unhinged. the adventures they go on are boring and overall pointless. at the top of this tier because i came up with a genius ending that made it worth the pain (the canon ending was fun too)

pétalos de papel

544 pages / new adult contemporary fantasy romance

first time reading (2024)

the Point of this book is to make you attached to the main couple so they can then pull a memory loss ending with an epilogue. needless to say, they failed the first main point. i did not buy their relationship, i did not care whether they ended up together or not, or if they did if she forgot him. it also had very dumb plot points that tried to be dramatic but sounded stupid

i did chuckle at a couple of jokes

el eco del destino (timekeeper #1)

477 pages / ya fantasy

first time reading (2024)

boring. so much yapping in the internal monologue of the characters that got repetitive real fast. all the characters felt like the same and they faced problems in the most stupid way possible (for the plot)

the world building (the point of the book) was all over the place and not great at all. it was an amalgamation of stuff with no connecting tissue tying it all together, and even the things that were connected made no fucking sense

seremos el huracán

526 pages / ya contemporary retelling (ish)

first time reading (2024)

go girl give us nothing. fail book because its mediocrity was bad. bland. didn't achieve either of the two things it should have: make the reader believe the synergy of the band members, and their romances. characters only interact on page with their love interest, which impedes them forming bonds with the rest of the group, and then this interactions are so surface level and one dimensional that you don't see why they then say they are in love with each other

it also left the grief plot completely underutilized (which was honestly just an excuse to have a cross dressing character in the boyband)

la venganza del unicornio (el dragón y el unicornio #2)

664 pages / ya steampunk (ish)

first time reading (2023)

this one did achieve what it set up to do but it did it in a way that ruined the whole ass book when it could have been a C tier, even B tier. the ending destroyed all the groundwork the first book painstakingly set. it went from a grounded, tonally serious story to something completely out of the ballpark. the tonal shift was so jarring it gave me whiplash. and for that, it's the lowest one in this tier

not a fail book because the first 400 or so pages were very enjoyable

F tier

devastating: your favorite authors published a fail book

anne sin filtros

384 pages / ya contemporary retelling (ish)

first time reading (2023)

i get so mad when thinking about this book. i could look past the poor writing but they went and ran over anne and diana's beautiful friendship to turn it into them being horny for each other and that's it and im. so tired of the allos

la flor y la muerte (olympus #1)

632 pages / ya retelling-sci-fi (ish)

first time reading (2023)

i was so bored it was insane. even if it's actually shorter than other books higher in here it felt longer. also, it's a bad book on a technical level, not for the writing style but for its structure. time skip(s) killed this book. there's also 0 chemistry in between characters (even those we have to believe are in love)

i have a whole ass rant on this on the tag

soulcial

506 pages / ya contemporary romance

first time reading (2023)

im so brave for not dnfing this book. did i skip most of the scenes? yes. didn't affect my understanding of the plot whatsoever. read like a bad hallmark movie. like. not even a fun one or one you can hate watch (read). just. bad. i dont like saying this but it's actual garbage. the plot is braindead. it's not even well written

and so we reach the end of the tierlist and the end of the reading marathon

if you read through all that thank you. hope you enjoyed my journey (and my pain) <3

[katimanki]

you sound bitter bc the “art stealer” is getting more notes on posts than you. I know them irl. they also don’t claim the art as theirs, they’re just sharing it on this platform. the artwork they are posting is all over the internet, mainly Pinterest, without any indication who the artist is. they give credit when they know who the artist is. they literally changed the post to include credit as soon as you gave them the original artist’s instagram handle, despite you claiming that they did nothing.

I am aware that I sound very bitter. I am allowed to. You're saying that I am not allowed to feel bad or bitter when I see someone steal, and get interactions on their stolen posts? And yes, in this case they have reached higher notes than most of mine. But when I called this out the first time, they didn't, the elmax art had just around 100 and this el one had 14 notes.

I have seen stolen art on the Byler tag before that got zero notes. ZERO. And that also made me want to call that person out. I didn't, but I still think about digging up that post and doing it. So I don't know what to tell you, art theft makes me mad every time, but yes, in this instance the amount of notes has a part in my actions. Because now it's not just about the op deleting the post, because that doesn't delete it from this platform completely. It will stay here as long as there are reblogs of it.

You're really trying to justify art theft? Art theft is never justified. Just because the art has been stolen several times already and is all over pinterest as you say, DOES NOT make it okay for more people to be spreading it around. I highly doubt any artist posts their art on pinterest, (my art has been posted there and it was terrible) so it is safe to assume that if you find art on pinterest it is already stolen.

And just like op you're trying to justify art theft by saying, they don't claim it as their own. They only wanted to share it to this platform, you say? And that isn't stealing? When it's still posted without the artist knowing or conseting? Interesting. Well, that's not cool. It's not right. It is not justified, and it's still stealing, no matter what you say.

And you also say there's no indication to who the artist is. (You're also using the exact wording as the op did in DMs. I'm not gonna say it but I'm thinking it) The elmax art had the artist handle right in the middle of it. You call that "no indication"?

Also it took me about two minutes to figure out the original artists and to find the original posts. So it really is not that hard to find them. And if you can't, then don't post it. And even if you do, still don't repost other people's art because they aren't consenting to it. This is what the elmax art had in the description. Doesn't seem like your friend even checked out the artist after I told them who it is.

And fine, I admit saying they did nothing is not completely true. I was going to bed and trying not to ramble in the tags of that post. I'm sorry that I spread misinformation like that. They did do something, they added the artist credit to the description. But as we already established, that artist doesn't allow reposts. And also, if you don't know how tumblr works editing the original post after there are reblogs, only edits the original post, not the reblogs. So now there are reblogs of that art with no credit floating around tumblr.

Honestly I know that reasoning with people who have stolen art never works. My art has been stolen on Instagram and for two years I have asked for it to be taken down(yes the repost has more likes then mine, I am allowed to feel bad about that). I just really wish it never happened in the first place but the world can't be that perfect now can it?

[butmakeitgayblog]

Hey babe, first, wanted to let you know that it hasn’t stopped raining in my town you know since when? since you posted that midwestern Clexa fight, coincidence? Don’t think so 🤨

Second, been bombarded with that ops show too and I agree 100% with you, both in the copaganda aspect (they lost me at the mention of marine’s and middle east terrorism)and the thing about this new ships. I want to stop a moment in the answer you gave me a time ago about this wn comeback, so, even if they write them well (at first), never forget who’s behind these shows and suddenly this thing we haven’t heard about gets popular cos it has a wlw couple with amazing chemistry, they get increase in viewers so they explote it to promote their next season and then what? Sound familiar? We just can’t trust them anymore.

Third, I super totally agree with you on the Clexa lightning in a bottle. As one of the newer Clexa fans (next week will make one year since I saw the second season and told my sister “I’m sensing a little bit of the gay vibe in here, wonder who of the two will die”) I’ve seen already most of the shows one sees named in the conversation about wlw couples and let me tell you, only this one got me hooked both from the beggining and way long after its ending (hell it got me into tumblr and twitter, things I’ve never done before and I even bought a book about it “El legado de Lexa” to know more about this shitstorm her death caused). Whatever IT is, they have IT. I honestly prefer reading fics about them than get invested in a new show.

Fourth, do you really wouldn’t recommend Clexa to new fans? I mean, yeah we got hurt but they’re more than their sad story, they’re this whole community and I think that’s a beautiful thing. Personally? I wouldn’t recommend the loo but I’d tell them about Clexa warning them beforehand so they can decide for themselves? There’s this dialogue on a media fic comparing someone with a really good book that you can’t put down or let go, that even if it made you suffer and you know the ending, the feeling you got reading its unique and you just wanna keep back to it, and that’s this thing to me.

Finally, I love how you apologize beforehand if your opinion that you posted in your personal blog offends the people who asked for it and came to said blog willingly and with the intention to read it. You humble polite kiddo *pats you in the head affectionately*

Sorry about the long rant 😬, en resumen, this new show? not sure I’ll watch it, Clexa is the “el que no conoce a dios a cualquier santo le reza” of ships, I’m leaning more into the recommed Clexa side of things, we love you and your opinions.

And we need the reconciliation so the sun can come up in my town again.

There's a lot here 😅 not complaining tho!

Ok so the first real thing I gotta answer is about would I rec theloo and Clexa to people who haven't heard of it. My honest answer is would I rec Clexa fic? Yes. The show? Maybe, but it'd come with A Lot of caveats 🥴. Because the thing is, and I may be alone in this thinking idk, but I'm not really sure if someone can appreciate the entirely of Clexa and Lexa, and Clarke in particular, as characters or why their dynamics and eventual love story were so amazing if they didn't watch the show. While the Clexa movie is fantastic at showing their chemistry, there's things that happen within the show that effect them and speak on who they are as individual characters that aren't ever really included in the supercuts because they aren't together in them. Which I agree with! The thing is already 3+hrs long lol. But it does matter for context and it does hold weight in their story, both together and individually, so I would have to say to really get them you have to watch the show at least up until 307. I know there's people who write fic who haven't watched the show at all and I just... no shade! But I can usually tell. Cuz it shows.

But in that same breath the show got so fucking stupid and nonsensical I, in good conscience, have a very difficult time telling people that they should watch that hunk'a shit 😒 Season 2 was its best, let's just be honest, and season 3 was JRot's bullshit Frankenstein creation that he used as a way to shoehorn in this fucking AI plot from a movie or show (I can't remember which) that didn't get picked up but he was just convinced it was brilliant. He wanted to be GoT meets Star Trek or some shit so badly I just know he was pissing himself watching dailies. So overall it's such a double edged sword because yes I want more people to love Clexa, but at the same time the show overall is so gd bad I don't wanna put them through it.

About the Ops show, someone said it is copaganda which I expected, and not even actually enemies to lovers?? Which baffled me but apparently one of them is undercover and using the other one to get to their father or something? That's not enemies to lovers 🤨 that's manipulation. Which ok fine I'm down with that in fiction but if one party is unaware of your nefarious ways and is just interested in you then that's not... that's not EtL. That's just I was trying to trick you and caught feelings/I had feelings and then found out you were a liar. False. Advertising. 😤

Lastly, I'm a midwesterner we apologize for everything 🥺👉👈 knocked into a chair with my knee today ans accidentally apologized to it before realizing myself 😔. But really it's mainly because I know how easy it is online for people to think everything is a personal attack on them or their tastes when it's not, so I find it's just safer and more pleasant to remind people that I am just a person stating their own personal opinion, and it's really not ever anything to get upset about 😅

[reddanceragain]

Democracy Docket

Hello, everyone! I’m Jacob Knutson, a reporter for Democracy Docket, and I’m excited to welcome you to The Opposition. Each week, I’ll help you navigate the efforts to use the courts to stop President Donald Trump’s power grab. You can expect in-depth coverage of the week’s top stories, detailed analysis of burgeoning legal issues and interviews with those fighting to keep the administration in check.

To start us off, a look at Trump’s “Burger King receipt” executive orders. Also in this edition: The case that could ignite a showdown between the executive and judicial branches, and data undercutting the GOP’s “biased judges” claims.

Before we begin, I’d like to say that I want to hear from you. Your thoughts, concerns and questions are always welcome. Most importantly, I welcome your feedback. Please email me any time at knutson@democracydocket.com and I will do my best to respond.

You’re reading the first edition of Democracy Docket’s newest premium newsletter, The Opposition. Every Thursday morning, The Opposition dives into the latest efforts in our nation’s courtrooms to bring President Trump to account for his actions. To make sure you don’t miss out on next week’s issue, become a Democracy Docket member today.

Catch up quickly

Democrats and watchdog groups filed three separate lawsuits to block Trump’s sweeping elections executive order. If allowed to stand, the directive could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters while vastly expanding the executive branch’s power over federal elections.

The Trump administration admitted in a court filing that it made an “administrative error” by deporting a Salvadoran man to a hard labor prison in El Salvador. A court had previously determined that the man should not be sent to his home country because he could be persecuted and tortured by gangs that extorted his family.

A split federal appeals court cleared the way for Trump to remove two members of independent federal boards. Lawsuits challenging their dismissals are ongoing. If courts ultimately uphold their firings, Trump could gain unprecedented power over independent regulatory agencies.

Trump’s executive disorder

No president has sought to so rapidly alter the country by decree than Trump. On average, he’s currently signing over 1.5 executive orders every day.

We’re still weeks from Trump’s 100-day mark, but he’s already broken former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's record of 99 executive orders issued within his first 100 days in office.

Roosevelt was attempting to guide the country through the worst economic crisis in modern history. Trump, on the other hand, appears to be pushing the country toward new political and economic crises.

Through his dictates, Trump has attempted to override the plain language of the Constitution, usurp Congress’ power to create federal offices and appropriate funds, and wrest control over elections from the states.

Presidents have used executive orders for many different purposes but generally they are directives to the government to take certain actions to ensure laws passed by Congress are executed. And they are permissible so long as they are rooted in the president’s power as outlined by the Constitution or federal law.

If they go beyond that, they should be considered equivalent to “a scribbled note on a Burger King receipt,” Justin Levitt, a professor of constitutional law at Loyola Marymount University and a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice, recently told me.

“An executive order that does not stem from a basic constitutional authority is just a post on Truth Social with a fancy header,” Levitt said.

Numerous organizations have filed lawsuits challenging several of Trump’s orders. Around half of the 64 major Trump lawsuits we’re tracking at Democracy Docket are direct challenges to Trump’s decrees, while many other cases confront secondary effects of orders.

“There’s a dangerous time ahead in which the leader of the executive branch will continue to assert powers that he doesn’t have,” Levitt said. “But one of the clearest ways to restore constitutional balance is to remember that that's fiction.”

TRUMP ACCOUNTABILITY TRACKER

Democracy Docket is tracking the 64 most important Trump accountability lawsuits related to democracy. Here are some key updates on the cases we are tracking.

Overhauling Federal Elections

3 lawsuits have been filed against this action.

Status: Courts have yet to grant relief, so the action is in effect.

Dismantling Agencies (CFPB, USAID, Dept. of Education)

11 lawsuits have been filed against these efforts.

Status: Courts have blocked some efforts to dismantle the USAID and the CFPB. Courts have yet to rule on efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.

Targeting Federal Employees and Civil Service

9 lawsuits have been filed against this action.

Status: Courts have blocked actions firing federal workers at several agencies including the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs.

Unlawfully Dismissing Political Appointees

7 lawsuits have been filed against this action.

Status: Courts allowed the termination of key political appointees including the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), a National Labor Relations Board member, the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

Federal Funding Freeze

7 lawsuits have been filed against this action.

Status: Courts have blocked most efforts to freeze federal funds.

The moment of truth case

The Trump administration last week asked the Supreme Court to lift a district judge’s order and allow it to use the Aliens Enemies Act (AEA), an 18th-century wartime law, to deport people to a Salvadoran hard labor prison without due process.

It marked the eighth time Trump appealed to the Supreme Court’s emergency — or “shadow” — docket to intervene and stay lower-court orders blocking various aspects of his agenda. SCOTUS punted on one of the president’s requests and denied another, leaving six pending.

SCOTUS could grant or deny Trump’s stay application in the AEA lawsuit any day now. Just how justices handle the case will not only give us more insight into how receptive the court’s Republican-appointed majority is to Trump’s sweeping assertions of presidential power. It will also show how willing the court is to protect the judicial branch and the rule of law.

How the Trump administration reacts should the Supreme Court uphold the lower court’s ruling will also be telling. Considering the many attacks Trump and his allies have launched on lower-court judges, including threatening impeachment, there’s a significant risk that Trump and his allies will do the same toward conservative Supreme Court justices if they rule against the government.

It’s worth remembering that Justice Amy Coney Barrett was already the target of MAGA’s outrage earlier this year after siding with Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s liberal justices in denying one of Trump’s emergency applications and for apparently looking at the president incorrectly. Roberts, too, faced pushback from Trump allies and MAGA figures after mildly rebuking the use of impeachment threats for judicial decisions.

There’s of course the looming possibility of Trump ignoring the Supreme Court, which would definitively plunge the country into a constitutional crisis. Ominously, prominent Trump officials — including the vice president — have openly questioned the judiciary’s authority and floated the prospect of defying the courts in recent weeks. And in the AEA case, it appears that the government may have been doing just that.

A reality check to the GOP’s ‘activist judges’ claims

In its most recent application to the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice insinuated that lower courts are ruling against the government because they are prejudiced against Trump.

“In the two months since Inauguration Day, district courts have issued more than 40 injunctions or TROs against the Executive Branch,” acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris claimed. She noted that district courts issued 14 national injunctions against the federal government during the first three years of former President Joe Biden’s term but issued 15 similar orders against Trump in February alone.

The DOJ’s bias allegations — which Republicans regurgitated in a House Judiciary committee hearing on “judicial overreach” earlier this week — are comically weak.

Yes, lower courts have issued dozens of orders declaring Trump policies illegal or unconstitutional. That’s because the president has issued dozens of dubious orders and is testing legal norms on a daily basis.

Also missing from DOJ’s analysis are the ideological leanings of the judges ruling against Trump. Adam Bonica, a professor of political science at Stanford, recently found that liberal, conservative and centrist judges appear to be ruling against the administration’s policies at similar rates.

The cross-ideological rulings suggest that Trump’s actions may raise legal issues that transcend partisan divides and concern core questions about the country’s constitutional order, Bonica noted.

To do list

Millions of people across the country may attend protests against the Trump administration’s power grab this Saturday, April 5. Coordinated by the consumer advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen and other groups, there will be demonstrations in almost every state. You can find a rally near you with this map.

The federal judge overseeing the AEA lawsuit will hold a hearing at 3 p.m. today over whether the Trump administration violated his order halting deportations under the act. You can listen in by calling 833-990-9400 and entering this meeting ID number: 049550816.

Quote of the week

In each issue, I’ll share an important quote that I came across during the week. Our first comes from a statement signed by 1,300 former Department of Justice officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations condemning Trump’s retribution campaign against major law firms:

Make no mistake: the Trump Administration’s punitive and unjust actions are 

[nataliesnews]

I go to shul 13.10.2023

This evening I went to shul with my friend, Bettina. I have never been to a reform service before. In fact I don't think that I have been in a shul since Oscar was ill. It was so different from anything I know.

The service was conducted by two rabbis, a woman and a man. But when the rabbi broke down and the rabba comforted him  it was a very emotional  moment. One rabba whom  I know said when she saw me that we must really be in dire straits.

 At the end the names of those who have lost family were read out and amongst them one of the foreign helpers who was killed with her employer. So bitter. To come all this way to help her family and then to be murdered. I wish I had faith but not only do I have no faith but I have lost all belief in anything that is being told to us. There is no news. Just discussions. When Bettina brought me home, we agreed that the worst was that there was no one in whom we could believe anymore. In any other country, the prime minister would have resigned.

But in Israel no. He does not mention his two brats. Where are they?

And what is there that we do not know that can still happen to us. How come they are concentrating on Ashkelon? Is there a reason that Jerusalem  has been spared until now. Is Hamas preparing a massive attack on the capital of Israel. All the time we are hearing of sudden attacks all over the place.

When I was at the demonstration against one of the ministers,Barkat, a man,  not with us,  was screaming at the guards pof a useless minister that he had just come from four funerals of friends and why were they guarding a  minister of a useless government. I went past Mount Herzl and it was a terrible sight. Worse than Yom Kippur. People going in and coming out. 100s if not 1000s. When we got to the station, I could not get to my feet and had to ask someone to help me.

Now I am forcing myself to eat. I don't want to be a burden to anyone.

My head is like cotton wool. I get up and don't know why I get up. .

El Al will not fly on Shabbat because of the owner even though so many young people are desperate to get back.

This is the post

This is Eli Rosenberg - 28 years old and he is the owner of El Al.

This boy, who was born for money, got everything in a golden spoon and never fought for anything in his life, is the one who decides now not to operate El Al flights to bring equipment that will protect our soldiers.

Why? Because it is forbidden to sell plane tickets and fly on Shabbat.

I want to know who is the rabbi who advises this zero? Both of them have a place in hell alongside everyone who has ever betrayed their people.

This is how it is when you allow a third of the people not to serve in the army and not to be part of the fight for our right to be here.

Neither he nor his rabbi know anyone who has been killed or injured.

Their children did not recruit in Order 8, the money did not stop flowing to them in the finance committee in the Knesset this week.

incidentally. Why Postpone Shabbat? Of money.

If the state issues an order that he does not have to sell and cover the cost of the tickets, he will operate the flights.

There will be no more Friday flights. Too late to take them out

When we came back from shul the streets were empty.

I am sending you a PDF which no one speaks of on tv and I doubt you would have heard about it from anyone else. How the Bedouin whom we have treated so badly have reached out to all of us.

Evidently Netanyahu is going to speak to us. Maybe I should not have eaten beforehand. I must be a glutton for punishment if I listen to it. How can he explain that he has so little pride that he does not feel the need to resign.

How can that bastard stand and speak of those who are serving, those who are grieving, why does he answer us as to  where his sons are hiding.  If they had belonged to a decent family  they would themselves have come back. How can he ask for help of foreign powers when his sons remain overseas. He did not say one thing worth repeating. He looks as if he is under the influence of some drug.

Watch his eyes.

There just came a report that terrorists entered a religious town near Jerusalem. But after that there was no follow up. We do not know from one moment to the next what is happening.

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Movies I watched this Week # 142 (Year 3/Week 38):

“Wasson?…”

Mark Kermore just resigned from his post as The Observor's film critic after 10 years, and in his last article he listed his top films from 2013 until now. His most favourite? Bait, which he called “the defining British film of the decade”, by new Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin. It is indeed a visually-different, experimental-like masterpiece, shot in splotchy black & white, like a grainy, monochrome Tarkovsky. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. 8/10. I'll watch his recent film 'Enys Men' next (even though I don't usually care for 'British Folk Horror').

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2 about the monstrous Margaret Thatcher:

🍿 Meantime, my 9th beloved film by British mensch Mike Leigh, another story about the plight of a lower working class family, living in a dystopian Clockwork Orange tenement. Uncomfortable viewing about dreary, miserable lives, mired in poverty and hopelessness during the 1979 "Revolution". With teenager Tim Roth, young Alfred Molina, and psychotic skinhead Gary Oldman. Tragic And heartbreaking. 7/10.

🍿 El Conde, my second by Chilean Pablo Larrain (after 'Spencer'). A black comedy horror metaphor that tried to humanize Augusto Pinochet, by making him a blood-sucking vampire. Like 'Jojo Rabbit', it caused me nothing but distress, especially now on the 50th anniversary of Pinochet cruel coup. It opened with the most unpleasant voiceover, which turned out to be Margaret Thatcher, the other despicable puppet master from that time, here playing the fascist's mother. He went for Magical Realism, but he was no Gabriel García Márquez. 4/10.

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The quiet girl, my 3rd or 4th re-watch of this tender, magnificent gem, one of my most cherished films from 2022. An illustration of Care vs. Neglect. My mom told me about this beautiful story she was reading, and which was the basis for this film, and I was delighted to introduce her to this sublime masterpiece, which we watched together. 10/10.

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First watch! Charlie Chaplin's 1915 silent movie The tramp, the first time he introduced his signature character proper. Filmed in Niles, California, which is today Fremont, and then was a budding film town.

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Objector, a very Israeli 2019 documentary about a young woman who refuses to serve in the army, becomes a conscientious objector, and even serves 110 days in a military prison. As an ex-Israeli and as a guy unwilling to join the army in 1970, this affair was specifically very relevant to me. My hatred for the Israeli occupation is immense, and the story told here was desperately tragic and heartbreaking. Unfortunately, as a movie, it wasn’t very good, probably because the director was inexperienced. That most of the characters spoke English among themselves was another big drawback.

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I never heard about comic genius ventriloquist Nina Conti (Tom Conti's daughter) until finding her on r/nextfuckinglevel. Watching a bunch of her YouTube clips, this pretty, sexy, hilarious comic is superbly creative. In 2012, she wrote and directed a personal documentary, Her master’s Voice. In it she travels to an odd international ventriloquist convention in Kentucky (Photo Above). But it's mostly a tribute to a man, Ken Campbell, who just died. He's the one who had introduced her to the puppets years ago but he also was her lover, when she was in her twenties, and he was in his sixties. Brilliant. 9/10.

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Another re-watch of occasional random 'Mad Men' episode, Signal 30 from S5 E5. That's the one with the dripping faucet in Pete's kitchen, and the visit to the whorehouse, which ends in a fiasco. Co-written by Frank Pierce (who also directed 'Conspiracy'). Another example of the superb ensemble drama, featuring dozens of complex characters. "A thing like that"... 9/10.

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Jeff who lives at home, my second film directed by the Duplass Brothers, the "other" writer-director brother-duo. And this too is an "indie" comedy-drama about two brothers at odds with each other. What a different and how much better film it would have been, if indeed The Coens were the ones doing it. 3/10.

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2012, a Roland Emmerich's big budget disaster extravaganza from 2009, about the end of the world. CGI science fiction popcorn is usually not my gig, but I stuck out and watched all 158 minutes of it. Who pays to see these kind of mindless garbage movies? 1/10.

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Throw-back to the "Art project”:  

Ahed Tamimi Adora.

Ventriloquist Adora.

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(My complete movie list is here)

[zedif-y]

#cottagecore