#I'm thinking him processing his Catholic guilt (and just guilt in itself) would be a perfect way to spark his queer awakening too

[dangerpronebuddie]

I really really want them to follow through on Eddie's Catholic guilt storyline. It could be such a beautiful thing to see, no matter how it concludes. If he divorces his religion, if he finds new comfort in it- it could go either way and be beautiful. Linda using her mother's religious encouragement and it sticking with Eddie in a way the "universe screaming" just didn't is a tiny detail but an important one to his character. He stopped going to church, but those beliefs are still ingrained in him, for better or worse. He carries so much guilt on his shoulders, only a tiny sliver of which he's looked at with Frank and the helicopter crash. His struggle with processing that guilt and deciding whether or not he wants to keep his beliefs (partially or completely) would be fascinating to see, not to mention a sizeable amount of people would identify with that struggle.

And while we're at it, I really wish we could've seen Eddie (with Buck) praying for Bobby. He might've been wrestling with religious trauma he thought would remain dormant, but he put that aside because he knows Bobby's religion offers him comfort. The compassion Eddie has for everyone around him never fails to make me emotional. It doesn't matter what Eddie felt about his own religion, or that his life was actively falling apart. Bobby needed a miracle, and Eddie was willing to plead to a God he probably hasn't spoken to in years to give him that.

[valenschmidt]

I'm finding this seasons promos and interviews very interesting in regards to Eddie and Buddie. I mean, like with Tim's recent interview.

Like, Tim, buddy, pal, bro, friend, man, WHAT DO YOU MEAN by "Eddie's going to be left out in the cold, so to speak" bc like, I get Buck is probably excited to learn about this new aspect of himself and delve into this whole other world of dating he didn't really know was for him. I also find it funny how now it seems Tim is reversing their (Buck and Eddie) roles; Eddie perhaps being the jealous one and Buck being, I guess the best word would be oblivious (it's okay, we love him anyway).

I also think it's going to be interesting because, like, Eddie doesn't have Chris to hide behind anymore. Chris was a shield he had learned to use to divulge his personal feelings, deflecting what he felt onto his son, even when chris didn't feel the same (?). He was quite good at that, and I think Chris gave him a way to not look too closely at some things in his life. Some things *cough cough* that might perhaps scare him.

But now that Chris is gone and Buck is dating and exploring new things and not around as much (which is what I gathered from Tim's interview), Eddie is going to have to sit with these thoughts and feelings that have plagued him for a long time, I think, and he's going to have to take a deeper look into who he is and what he wants and feels without having someone to hide behind. And I think some things having to do with that Catholic guilt too are going to come out full force and he's going to have to reevaluate some relationships in his life. *cough*

As the days for the premier draw closer, I can't help but feel that something is coming about Buck and Eddie's friendship and the dynamic they have is going to change drastically. It might be worse for an ep or 2 - one might pull away from the other so much the team gets involved. But I have hope yet!

Hi there nonnie!!!! That is a very interesting and awesome observation you did there and I SO agree with you

I really believe this season Tim is circling back to that 7x04 jealousy dynamic but this time not only from Eddie's pov but ALSO Tommy is a boyfriend that is coming between them, not just a new friend. The fact that Eddie will feel isolated and left behind is probably gonna be because of the same reason Buck felt it before, because Tommy is a man who is kind of replacing him in Buck's life (which had never happened with his previous girlfriends) which is kind of odd if you think about it because if you were never afraid of the women in Buck's life, why does a man who is in that same position as those ex girlfriends threaten you... well that is because their friendship is a very close knit tight, co-dependent one that is VERY similar to a relationship but they don't know it yet. That is why both of them feel replaced when there is man between them. Because them having other friends and taking some distance from eachother is completely healthy and normal but because they have this weird friendship that is more closer to a relationship than friendship itself they feel replaced by a man getting too close so I feel we will see that shift in their dynamic because of it

That second thing is something that I was just talking to my friend about... Eddie is now without Chris and (not quite but it feels that way to him) without Buck so he really will need to have to sit with his thoughts and feelings for a while and it is time for him to do so because he needs to process everything that has happened. He needs to ask himself why he did what he did, why is he so attached to Shannon, his dead wife who literally was going to DIVORCE him right before she died and why does he keep their previous relationship so idealized... the reason??? Well Shannon is the only woman he has ever managed to have feelings for because she was his best friend, he cared about her and so he loved her. But he hasn't managed to replicate that feeling with any woman no matter how hard he tries...

And that is gonna mix with the fact that he's gonna be missing Buck and he'll realize how attached he is to him and maybe begin to connect the dots together and say "Oh. I think I'm in love with my best friend" because he is. Completely in love with Buck... he has been since the will scene at least, but he hasn't realized it because Buck isn't a woman. He hasn't realized that Buck literally has every quality that he looks for in a girlfriend (someone who loves Chris, who has his back, who understands him, etc.) And when he realizes it's gonna be HUGE

And then we will get everything about his sexuality realization, his introspection to every action he's ever done in his life and realizing the explanation to many of the things he's done and felt.

To finish, I think that the dynamic change you talk about it's probably gonna be cause by those feelings Eddie will have about Buck spending time with Tommy. He's gonna feel jealous, threatened, and when he's threatened he becomes petty and mean and that could make him say something that could drive Buck away (which he wasn't before with Eddie but he will be after he gets upset)

Wow that was a lot of talking 🤣

Thank you for sharing your thoughts anon!!!! Feel free to send them any time!!!

[breitzbachbea]

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like), 6. What character do you have the most fun writing? 10. How would you describe your writing process? 16. Tried anything new with your writing lately? (style, POV, genre, fandom?) -> I'm beging nosy and asking FOUR questions 👀😂

Oh Amber, PLEASE be nosy. I love answering questions about my writing or characters, even though I take 5000 years to answer.

Fun meta asks for writers

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Okay, I thought about this for a while and I think I have a few more I could also share (and I'd probably have a sizeable amount of scenes or sentences if I reread ALL I wrote). But this scene was the thing that came to mind first and stuck the most.

From Italian Affairs, Chapter 9 "Drained Chances", Scene 3:

“I know I have to make up for what a jerk I’ve been”, he said. “But I still wish I could just forget.” He looked back into the room and spotted the wine bottle on a sideboard. “Charlie, you’ve got to face this”, Harry said and Michele sighed: “Okay we’ve got to think sober about this situation. Well, you do, Charlie.” “Damn right”, he muttered before walking over to the sideboard, almost falling over when he came to a hold with his hands on its upper side: "I have to correct my mistakes tomorrow!" “That’s the spirit!”, Harry said and Michele smiled. “You most certainly have the right ideas even now, Charlie.” “I have fucked up but I am a grown man and like that I will take responsibility for my actions!” He had grabbed the bottle even before the other two could yell “No!” and they only watched in horror as he emptied it. Charlie held down a burp, put the bottle back on the table and smile confident: "I have to talk to him again and explain myself." “And there it goes down the drain, the last piece of his common sense”, Harry hissed. “Thanks for lending me your ear, guys”, Charlie said and took a wobbly step away from the sideboard. “I am going back to my room now, enjoy your night.” He walked towards the door: “Or maybe I could try to talk to Marco again – no, that’s a stupid idea.” “You just drank half a bottle of wine in one go, mate, you are not going anywhere”, Harry said and Michele sighed but Charlie waved his hand while he staggered towards the door. “Don’t let me cockblock you, Happy fucking.” And with that he tripped and fell to his knees. He frowned at the floor while Michele got up to help him. “You know, Michele”, Charlie said while the Sicilian pulled him on his legs. “On second thought it might have been six beer.”

'Don't let me cockblock you, happy fucking', followed immediately by Charlie tripping and nearly falling on his face is deadass THE funniest thing I have ever written. I love how hilarious the entire situation is, solely because Charlie is an impulsive son of a bitch who keeps making bad decisions. Whenever he seems on track, he just cannot shut his mouth, he just cannot control a whim for a moment too long and it bites him in the ass the very next second. I love him so much. Furthermore, the scene itself is a perfect blend of wit and slapstick. I've outdone myself here.

Also, fuck you, ao3 says I have 382 170 words uploaded right now and that is still far from all I've ever written. So you're getting another scene.

From Smudged Makeup & Cleaning Up:

“I hate myself,” she said in French. “I hate myself and I hate him, I hate both of them so much,” she sobbed as her breath hitched and tears began to run down her face again. “Don’t cry again, shhht, don’t do that,” Hugo whispered and began to rock from side to side. “It’s okay, it’s nothing to cry about.” “I wouldn’t have to see it if I had just opened my stupid mouth and had told him how I felt, if I had just told him these stupid three words I now wouldn’t have to see this.” Her voice was something between a whisper and a hiss.

There are at least two more little paragraphs I could have shared from that one-shot, so I decided to go with the most emotional part. I reread it last night and I still think it is a pretty damn good piece of writing. It's funny, interesting and it shows all of the characters (Timothea, Hugo, Arielle) and their relationships to one another marvellously. I'd sincerely reccommend it to everyone, although the (not as good for sure) A French Trio Of Bad Decisions may be required reading to understand who Arielle is talking about in the above excerpt. (Amber, since you already read that one though, you can just go and enjoy Smudged Makeup & Cleaning Up as your first taste of Thea before you delve into The Amulet for more <3)

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

That's a good question! I was going to go through Irish Problems and Italian Affairs again, tallying up who has how many POV Scenes, but gave up rather quickly; it's just very hard to determine with all the headhopping that happens in the beginning. Last time I checked it was Harry. The following list is by no means exhaustive and talks mainly about the characters as POV characters. I very much enjoy writing all of my children, whether they're the POV character or not in any given scene.

Charlie is definitely one of them, I feel very at home in his head and he's so much fun to write. His catastrophizing, his intense but jumpy emotions, his impulsivity and kindness, his dialogue and thoughts ... He is so much fun. I'd have to lie to say this gay adhd mess doesn't hold a special place in my heart.

Francesco is another good one, solely because I love being in his head. It's a nightmare in there at times, but that's what makes it fun. Let the sadism fight the catholic guilt, the lust for pleasure at all cost the need for kindness. He's a very vibrant character with an undeniable presence in each scene he is in and it's always fun to write interesting characters.

Lovino's also always a blast. His ranting, his annoyance, his fidgeting (oh, god, if someone asks me for a favourite scene again, I am sharing the one where he shuffled around too much during a car ride and ended up folded like a lawn chair in the footwell). The tumultous inside of his head, his doubts, his fears. I have nothing but love for him and I already miss him, despite not technically having finished Italian Affairs. The rewrite is still ahead of me and I am going to savour every single moment I get to write my favourite South Italian.

Last but not least a shoutout to Hugo. I think he is very interesting as well, with the masks he wears and the intensity that lies beneath them. He's both a sweet young man AND a fuckboy AND a little bitch. The only problem with Hugo is that I'm never 100% sure in his characterisation and have to consult Jonah, his creator, in those cases.

10. How would you describe your writing process?

Messy as shit for being this organized - or Surprisingly organized for being messy as shit. I've developed this process over the past eight years and I'll probably keep tweaking screws as time goes on.

This is my process for my big, multi-chapter, novellength main series entries. Anything else usually gets done in a similiar fashion, just with some of the steps lacking. (I didn't vomitdraft for rarepairweek, for example, nor did I do the proofreading on paper because deadline.)

1. I make an outline. I used to call this "Scene Plan", because it is just that - a list of each scene, with a very short description that makes no sense to anyone but me. Seriously, YOU tell me what is going on here:

2. I collect all snippets that come to mind for a series in a document; if I already have an outline, I copy whatever scene they would belong to as a header. Those things happen all the time, it isn't a conscious effort.

3. I take those snippets, paste them into Quollwriter and then vomitdraft for a few days. Each day around 500 words, as fast as possible. Whatever comes to mind goes onto the page, rarely backtracking. It's not about it being presentable, it's about having something written that serves as skeleton for the scene. I research jack shit at this point and directly type (Look this shit up) into the text.

4. Once a scene/chapter is done, I copy it into word and read through it to take notes in a little notebook. I write down what to research, what I like in the draft, what I dislike and what I still ponder. I try to draw the first connections to give the chapter a coherent feeling. (Chapters for the main series consist of three scenes, so I take notes for a scene and edit it before I repeat the process for the next - I don't take comments for three scenes in a row.)

5. I begin to edit the scene with a goal of 200 words a day. I usually exceed it; during a very bad day I fall a little short of it. I try to write every day or every two days, unless something else requires my focus more (like a term paper). Oftentimes I start a writing session with tweaking what I did the day before, before I continue. I usually also do the research as it is called for at this stage - The Amulet was the only time I did research before I even begun to write. My usual timer is 30 Minutes, but I tend to write for a little longer if I am in the flow. Or I sit there for 4 hours to finish a scene because I am THAT much in the flow and I want the GODFORSAKEN THING DONE.

6. Once I finished editing the chapter or one-shot, I print it out and go through it with a red gel pen. I correct typos, formatting errors or formatting choices I don't agree with. I rewrite sentences that I think read clumsily and cross out words that repeat too much. I sometimes add things to moments that are lacking or I cross out sentences that now feel unnecessary. Once finished, I apply the corrections to my document.

7. If I have a beta-reader (like the lovely @swabianmapley for Herz Auf Beat), this is the point at which I send them the document and wait for their feedback & corrections.

8. I post the thing onto the black void that is The Internet, lie to myself that I don't care about feedback & yet still keep checking ao3 for new hits/kudos/bookmarks/comments and begin the same process for my next project a few days later.

16. Tried anything new with your writing lately? (style, POV, genre, fandom?)

Hmm. I don't know if it counts, but in the coffee one-shots for rarepairweek I tried to make peace with the 'holes' I left. To not explain everything, but let the reader draw their own conclusion. Aside from that ... Been trying to put more emotion into my writing. I felt so unsatisfied with the big Charco kiss at the end of Italian Affairs that I'm now making an effort into describing emotions and sensations more, especially internally and not simply physically.