#↷ hudson beckett ꒰ threads ꒱

[thcbclter]

hudson hesitates for a moment before nodding, hurrying inside before justin changed his mind. shutting the door softly behind them, his eyes wander around the place, taking it all in. he didn't think he would get this far. the blond had fucked up enough that he had expected to be kicked to the curb. he's glad he wasn't, at least, not yet. "look, i know - sorry isn't going to cut it this time, but i am sorry."

he stays silent. he feels like he might have pushed too far, been too intense; he had such a habit of doing it that he wasn't even sure that it wasn't just who he was at this point. finally he nods, silent agreement, acceptance that hudson would owe him with no resolution that night, "come in?" he finally moves from his doorway, allowing hudson to see inside his house.

[ines-perez]

with: @beckshudson​ where: shining ball, outside. 

Fresh air. 

Not that she’s sure its all that fresh with the cigarette thats sat between her fingers (a bad habit she picked up whilst socialising). 

Still, she makes it look graceful, and it gives her a moment of respite to people watch. 

A flick of ash down on the ground beside her perch, and her attention is drawn to the male perched somewhere nearby, her head cocking to the side as she watches him for a moment. 

“I think I know you.” She remarks softly as her gaze meets his, he sure seemed familiar, but most people in this godforsaken town did. 

Bold of her to expose herself as such, she’s been hiding in the shadows for months. Fuck it, it’s at a party that she’s hopeful most wont remember, she can’t hide forever, she’s a little more drunk than she’d intended to be, and she’s only a solid 74% sure she knows his face. 

[nancydrew-mysterycrew]

Theory time!

OKAY so, Kaitie (@naancypants​) and I spent a while on this post trying to figure out what this piece of paper that was revealed at the end of 3.03 says: 

and we’ve def gotten pretty close, i just wanted to gather all of my ideas in a new post since our original thread was on someone else’s post and i don’t wanna keep hijacking it 😂also just need to organize my thoughts since we might get some answers tonight!! 

so my current hypothesis for what it says is this: 

- Hippocratic Corpus

- drain systems / bootleggers

- protection ritual

- Benjamin Dow 20th ME 

     August 29th, 1862 

C. H. Dow, accompanying

The first three lines look very faintly crossed out to me, making it feel like a checklist of sorts..

Many of us have guessed that the note was revealed by a ghost at the historical society, likely a Woman in White. My personal guess is Martha Marvin, simply because she’s been mentioned several times by name this season and it would make sense if she’s trying to connect with her descenent, Bess. 

The reason I think the last name on the paper is “Dow” is also because they’ve mentioned a “Dow” by name this season, namely Beckett Dow, the maker of the soul-splitter and the cage that held the heart freezing creature. 

SO my theory is this: I think that Benjamin Dow is Beckett’s brother or son or father or something, AND I think he was married to Charity Hudson, Temperance’s daughter. This is kinda a crack theory but hear me out!! C. H. Dow COULD BE Charity Hudson Dow - a lot of women back then kept their maiden name as a middle name after they were married! 

I’m thinking there was a meeting at the Dow household or maybe just held by Benjamin Dow and his wife Charity Hudson Dow (hence the accompanying part) on that date in 1862. Perhaps the meeting had to do with the three items on the list that were crossed out, and they were crossing them off as they discussed them.

Maybe something happened at this meeting that is somehow relevant to the crew’s current adventures and Bess is supposed to do some kind of ritual to see what happened at the meeting? Or the list will somehow help them in another way? 

The Hippocratic Corpus is a collection of Hippocrates’ works, so could it have something to do with a medical issue? The next item is “drain systems/ bootleggers” which seems unrelated to that. No idea what that could be about unless it has to do with the secret tunnels under the historical society? Then the third thing is “protection ritual” which we’ve already encountered through Bess, via Martha Marvin (or Temperance Hudson, depending on who you believe) so that points another finger towards this having something to do with Martha or Charity or both. 

I’m not sure we know the year that Temperance was “killed” by the WIW but if this takes place after that, why would Charity be meeting with the WIW? So maybe it’s not a WIW meeting, but rather one about them? Or maybe about something else entirely and the WIW just want Bess to know about it? Who knows. 

I still find it odd that the paper was revealed to Bess while she was distracted and so we still don’t even know if she saw it... has the paper just been sitting on the desk this whole time unnoticed? I must know lol 

Anyhoo I think that’s all my thoughts, I really just wanted to get my crack theory about Charity Hudson being the C. H. Dow on the paper out there 😂

One thing that could throw a wrench in this is: does anyone know if Charity was real? Or was she just Temperance pretending to be her own “daughter” since the WIW killed her? Cuz it was very unclear in 2x18 honestly lol if anyone has insight.. let a bitch know ok

Anyone who wants to please feel free to add on! And thank you Kaitie for being my partner in this mystery 🥰 here’s hoping we get some answers soon!

[thcbclter]

"and the beautiful thing about owning a bar is being able to kick whoever i want out, without having to explain myself to them." he's satisfied with his comeback, a smirk forming on his face. "maybe. doesn't matter, though. i can do what i want." yet, he still makes her the shot and doesn't tell her to get lost. he doesn't know if he had it in him to do so. maybe when her date shows up, he will. petty? maybe, but the blond didn't care. "who says? maybe it is here."

' see , the beautiful thing about america is i can come and go as i wish , without having to explain myself to you . ' she bites back on his provocation . ' oh , yeah ? and what would it be the reason under it ? your pettiness ? ' she scoffs , blonde brows raising --- as if she's not one being petty first . watching him make her drink , she can't hold back another bitter taunt ' don't forget you spit is not an ingredient . '

[missdcalls]

open: m/f/nb

muse: hudson beckett. he/him. pansexual. bar owner.

"well, well, well," leans against the bar counter "-look what the cat dragged in."

[thcbclter]

Hudson had a love/hate relationship with their hometown. There were some wonderful memories that had been made there, but sometimes, more often than not, they were tainted by his past. More specifically, his father. The man who had promised to take care of him after his mom passed and failed. The same one who instead of trying to help his son, went and made a new family with someone else. It still stung, despite not having talked to him for years. Thankfully, when it all became too much, Kai was there to bring him comfort. The light of his life.

The bar, however, always had him coming back. His grandfather's pride and joy, now left in his hands. He had vowed to keep it going, not only for him, but for the customers as well. The Garage had become home for many.

An amused chuckle leaves his lips as he watches their dog howl at the seagulls. She was jumping in the air, acting as if she were actually going to catch one. Just like himself and Kai, she thrived on the road. Nothing made her happy like an adventure.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Once I'm asleep...well, I don't even know if a tornado could wake me." Hudson had slept through various things, things that most people wouldn't have. It was safe to say that he was a heavy sleeper.

"I think so, too - which is funny, considering she's a husky. Maybe we should take her to Alaska. She'd probably thrive there." A place they had yet to go. It wasn't quite their scene, considering they loved the beach, but it was beautiful nonetheless and the blond had been itching to go.

"I think we have our plans for the day. Maybe we can make some breakfast, then catch some waves? Unless you had other plans, of course." Hudson teases before placing a kiss on the side of her head.

It wouldn't be too long before they'd head back to the bar and their hometown to do their usual checks on things. Kai loved running the bar with Hudson and chatting with the regulars who cared so much about them. She loved their adventurous life, and it was always impossible to go back.

Honey continued bouncing up and down the beach with the occasional happy howl. Kai could watch her all day. Even the dog thrived on the road. She paused for a moment when she senses Hudson too, but Honey was quickly right back at it.

A strong arm slung around her shoulders and she squeezed herself in beside him. Her entire body relaxed with a content sigh. The gold of the upcoming sunrise shone in his eyes and dancing across his skin. She took his free hand and pulled it to her lips. Her heart fluttered the same way it had when they were kids.

"I know, I know, but you always look so peaceful sleeping. Besides, it's impossible to wake you some days." She had laid there for a ten minutes and listened to his breathing and felt his chest rise and fall against her back. "I think the beach is her favorite. She could chase seagulls all day."

The waves crashed against the shore and didn't quite reach them. The sun slowly made its first appearance over the edge of the water. "You know, it's going to be perfect for surfing."

[missdcalls]

"i didn't - we never made it official, sage. and from our last conversation, i figured you wanted nothing to do with me." hudson sighs, clearly frustrated as well. "besides, she's my friend, sage. nothing more. that would be like, dating my sister. i wouldn't do it. this ain't some sweet home alabama shit." // @mccntower

↪ closed for @falscgcds

"you showed up to the party with someone else and now you're here expecting me to accept your apology?" brows rose at the other, arms cross over her chest as frustration grows in her voice.

[halfgrown]

neveraftcr​:

          an adventure with him? god, she wished. theia wouldn’t admit it to him but she did miss the adventures they had got up to when they were together. her arm wrapped around his beck if only to help her guide him outside and down the street. 

“ if there’s no hangover? we’ll see, maybe. ”  even though she knew there was a chance that he wouldn’t actually remember her agreeing to go on an adventure with him, she couldn’t bring herself to agree or say no. curiosity soon got the better of her and desire to plan one final adventure with him won. even if they never actually did it. 

“ what kind of adventure are you thinking? a road trip or more of a one day kind of adventure? there are some hikes we talked about doing but never got round to. ”  

theia had always been up for an adventure, regardless of the time of day or what she had planned. it was one of the many things he loved liked about her. his current girlfriend wasn’t as adventurous as she was, preferring to stick to a schedule, something hudson never seemed to have. the only one he ever made and followed was the one for the bar. other than that, nine times out of ten he was winging it.

“i was thinking more of a day trip, but if you’re up for it…it definitely could last a few days. there’s plenty to see this time of year.” the blond grinned, not even bothering to hide his glee at the thought of the two of them getting away, even if it was just for the day. “then let’s get to those hikes! we aren’t getting any younger. let’s go. tomorrow.”

[halfgrown]

littledots​:

graceland’s nose crinkled up at the nickname, she wanted to chew him out for calling her gracie, but she decided against it, she let hudson get away with way more that she would let most people. she liked him, he had a good heart, lovely energy and he was always kind to her. caring, even. “ i am, and i will continue to do so. bud light like sleeping with someone in a canoe, hudson, it’s fucking damn near close to water. ” blinking as she swore, but the joke was too good to give up because of a little cussin’.

“ i would never try anything insincere to you back in your good graces, i promise. not quite, we are about half way now. i still have to finish up a few songs as far as writing goes before we can even consider recording them. ” she sighed, maybe she did need a break. she was running herself ragged, and as much as she wanted to finish the album, she was really struggling with three of the songs.

“you have your drinks and i’ll have mine. i don’t want to hear you complain ‘bout it until i start forcin’ you to drink it, alright?” he continued, wagging his finger at the other before picking up his own glass and taking a sip of his beer (or water, like she liked to call it.)

“come on, gracie.” he understood where she was coming from, as he could be a bit of a workaholic himself, but even he made sure to take time off in order to relax and enjoy life. “why don’t you take tonight and tomorrow off, and let me whisk you away on an adventure. a small one, that’ll have you back in time. maybe it’ll even give you some inspiration.”

[flythesail]

Alright here goes.

The gist of it is that in s1 and s2, the themes arise organically from the combination of the plot and characters. In s1, solving the mystery of Tiffany Hudson interwines with Lucy Sable and becomes personal, tying in to themes of grief and trust as Nancy lets the Drew Crew into her life and begins to heal.

In s2, we have a lot of single episode plots. Yet, the overarching theme is Nancy's mental health, her struggle with identity (Drew vs. Hudson), and the way the Wraith plays into that. Everything is interconnected, yet because the Wraith is a presence throughout the season despite not being confirmed until the end, it's character driven. Single episode themes emerge while still connecting into that overall idea of identity and arising from the character journeys themselves.

Now in s3, this is where the themes are shaky. It feels less personal with the Frozen Hearts Killer. Temperance, by default of being this centuries old witch, results in a less grounded story. There are single episode storylines thrown into the mix, yet toward the end of the season, a whole bunch of plot is shoved in.

Note it's been a second since I've watched s3, but one idea I've played around with is the idea of choice and sacrifice as primary themes. See in the finale: Nancy being forced to choose between Ace and Horseshoe Bay, sacrificing one for the other. Beckett splitting Charity's soul into pieces, becoming the Copperhead himself, unable to sacrifice her soul in order to prevent Temperance from eventually using her soul as a key to open the veil. Possibly also a theme of love. Love for power over love for your daughter. Love that saves the town or for an individual.

But point being the theme(s) of s3 are not as consistently present so some episodes become very plot heavy to make up for the lack of a clear emotional pull from episode to episode. More or less, the plot has to be the connecting thread as opposed to the character journeys. Which, to an extent makes sense as the plot does carry throughout every episode. Yet the season as a whole will feel more unbalanced because the characters and plot are less interwoven than previous seasons. Plot is happening to the characters as opposed to moving with their journeys.

S4, however, is the direct opposite of s3 in that its themes are very clear. We have the Black Door - bringing up the idea of being able to sweep your wrongdoings (or sins) under the rug. It's the idea of taking responsibility, or in this case, not. S4 has single episode storylines too, but for the most part, those connect into the plot.

By the end of the season, though, we're left with the same issue as s3 where a whole lot of plot seems to happen at once. My thought is that the issue here is that there's too many themes to cover.

If s1 and s2's themes came to be organically, then s4's are almost the driving force of the season. In some instances, the characters are made to reflect the themes, as opposed to the themes reflecting the characters. The biggest example: Nancy going to the Black Door. The question being answered here is: What would you do for someone you love? Nancy crosses a line she never thought she would, but she does for Ace.

The issue with this is - Nancy and Ace already have their own thing going on with the curse. An easy way to fix this would have been Nancy going to to the Black Door and in some form erasing the curse so they forget about it and their feelings for each other. That works as a lead into the finale too, when they break the curse.

What the writers did do - it's like they're trying to use this plot point to do two things at once. Nancy going to the Black Door brings nace back to the forefront, but in a way that's inconsistent with the rest of the season. Prior to this, I'd say nace was about accepting the risk of loss that comes with love, but in the end you love anyway.

If you're not going with the curse, the focus of Nancy going to the Black Door should not have been nace. Because at the same time, we have a storyline going on with Bess and the police chief where Bess (and the Drew Crew) lose access to the Historical Society and effectively, the resources to manage the supernatural safely. The focus should be that Alice was killed from something preventable.

Instead, the focus is nace and forgiveness. Now this does align with another theme of the season - that you can always choose to do better. That this wrong choice of Nancy's does not make her irredeemable or unforgivable. But, you still have multiple themes shoved into the back half of the season.

It's entirely fine to have one storyline representative of more than one thing. Bess's storyline at one point or another, has symbolism for the LGBTQ+ community (4x03) and I think... drugs? (See 4x12 for that.) Yet, timing does matter.

There's just a whole lot going on, and rather than linking to the storyline with the Historical Society, Alice's death is used to create conflict for nace. Who did NOT need it. This also does not at all address what the problem really is: dropping the curse jar into the water. This is an unrecognized piece to the storyline concerning Bess and the Historical Society.

So out of the two options (pairing nace with the Black Door OR pairing Bess's storyline with the Black Door) they combine the two ineffectively, introduce Alice to create tension in a relationship that did not need it, and kill her in the process. Without even addressing the root cause that led to her death. It's a poor writing choice, especially for a show that prides itself on being fairly self-aware to use Alice like this.

If the concern was Nancy not having a big enough role in the story at this point, it was an active choice to go the direction of nace as opposed to connecting to the established storyline with Bess and the Historical Society.

Really, it would've been easier to just make Nancy going to the Black Door about the curse rather than opening up a whole new conflict. This also avoids tying into a theme that did not necessarily need more support. The finale goes ahead and makes the point of "you can always choose to be better," when we learn of Nancy's past life. Outside of that, nace had enough going on as is. Overall, certain themes were prioritized over pre-established character journeys and poor decisions were made in the process.

Now, of course, s3 and s4 do have less episodes than s1 and s2. Could more episodes have fixed these issues? Probably. Just in the sense that they could have spread out the plot in those "plot heavy" episodes toward the end of both seasons. Maybe there would have been time to further develop certain plot points and look at different points from different angles.

Still, I no longer think fewer episodes is the sole cause of the issues of s3 and s4. Instead, it's a result of a less defined focus as opposed to s1 and s2. A clear approach is always going to be important. But it's especially important when you have fewer episodes. There's less wiggle room.

As we see a trend toward shorter seasons, it's not impossible to tell solid stories in 13 episodes or even 8. Personally, I find 6 to be too short for television. 18+ is still going to be ideal for a show like Nancy Drew, where the writers sometimes love their themes too much.

Maybe that's why s2 is (imo) the best. A more episodic format gave the freedom to explore as many themes as they wanted. What happened to that in s3? They went to a more concrete plot focus. If they wanted, they could have continued with a more episodic approach.

S1's core plot would always be hard to top just because it was interesting AND it was personal. It let the show be character driven, with a strong plot, in a way that balanced. The best way to approach s3 and s4 would have been to look at s1 and s2 and ask: why did these work? They worked for different reasons, but it all comes back to what was prioritized.

I have a running theory of why the writing in s1 and s2 of Nancy Drew is arguably stronger and that it has little to do with the number of episodes and instead the approach to storytelling but alas that's all I can say for now

[missdcalls]

"huh. that's odd. last time i checked, we weren't the only bar in town. you get banned from the others and that's why you decided to come here?" hudson questions with a raised brow. "might have to add you to our list." blond adds with a wink. he tries to ignore the way she smiles when she mentions her date. of course she'd bring him here. was she hoping to get a reaction out of him? he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. "one basic shot, coming right up." // @afterglitch

' i'm not here to see you , beckett . so don't even get excited . ' maëlle sighs to her ex while sitting on the stool over the counter . that was very much a lie , as she knew damn well she'd find him in his bar when she chose the location . ' but what you can do is make me a lemon drop while i wait for my date . ' she teased with a faux innocent smile , also purposefully leaving out the fact that said date would be her cousin .

[thcbclter]

hudson is silent for a moment as he decides what to do next. he's losing justin and he's unsure if he's able to fix the mess that he had made. a hand rubs at his mouth as he thinks. "i'll do whatever it takes." he finally speaks.

a grimace flashes over his face, eyes downcast as his head shakes - he didn't even mean what he was saying. he was angry, he was bitter that hudson just didn't seem to care about him as much as he cared about hudson, but he knew he was exaggerating, "you want me to take it back? prove it."

[missdcalls]

More often than not, Hudson couldn't believe that this was his life. How lucky was he, to be able to travel the world with the love of his life and his dog at his side? Not many could say they had the freedom to do so. He had made sure that he had. This was the life he had always dreamed about and while he loved taking care of his grandfather's bar, it was nice to be able to escape whenever they pleased.

This week's destination was the Key West. After a late night last night spend around a bonfire, Hudson was sleeping peacefully when his girlfriend and Honey had slipped out. About ten minutes later, he finally woke up, noticing the empty bed. One glance at the clock and he knew where the two were. Somewhere on the beach, no doubt getting ready to watch the sunrise.

After a yawn and a stretch, Hudson throws on one of his hoodies as he exits the van. It's a beautiful morning. He's glad that the weather is nice here, because back at home it had been nothing but rain. As he walks through the sand, it doesn't take him long to spot Kai. She seems to be watching something. Honey, no doubt, chasing seagulls or whatever else she found interesting.

Coming up behind her, he doesn't even have to announce himself. She already knows. There's a smile on his face as he joins her, sitting next to her. An arm instantly wraps around her shoulders, pulling her close. "You know you could have woken me up. I wouldn't have cared." It didn't matter how much sleep he got. If he was with her, he was happy. "She's a bit of a weirdo, isn't she?"

closed starter for @missdcalls

It'd been almost a year of living in their little van and travelling to all the places they talked about as kids. Kai never imagined this would be her life. From being someone she hoped to never see again to being the love of her life--Hudson had always been everything she hoped for. After all this time on the road, she thought they'd get sick of each other, but they never did. The warmer weather brought them to Key West. The sunrise on the beach was her favorite so she woke up early with Honey and kissed Hudson's sleeping head before heading out for the morning.

The van was still in sight when she sat down and waiting for the sun to rise. Honey's bounded up and down the beach in excitement. Her knees were tucked up to her chest with her chin resting on her knees. Kai could always feel him behind her. He had a soft presence that always radiated a light. "I didn't want to wake you. Come on, sit with me. She's a bit more interesting than the sun, though."

[thcbclter]

"don't - don't say that." he's heard those words before, and they had come from his father. to hear them coming from justin...it was breaking his heart. "take it back. you know that's not true."

closed starter for @thcbclter

"everything you've ever done has been for yourself."