#i’m rewatching eddie begins if you can’t tell

[buddiedaydreamer911]

what if the diaz parents being here is actually a way to bring up the will. and while arguing with his parents about it, it makes eddie reminisce about why he decided to draw up a will in the first place.

what if we see eddie search the articles from the Hayden/Well story, and after hours reading multiple articles, he finds the news clip and for the first time ever- eddie watches buck scream for him while clawing at the mud with his bare hands???

what if THAT causes eddie to realize his feelings?? or at least contribute to it lol

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Ok so I’ve been chatting on discord with @theladyyavilee @mistmarauder and like you do I had a lightbulb moment!! Jess is an enabler and made me make this post so I’m sorry everyone in advance!!!

We are talking tsunami and the next level layering the writers have been doing. I really love that this show rewards us for rewatching and really looking at the details! 

I was rewatching the tsunami arc for watery reasons and it got me thinking about the line the incident command dude says (3x02 15:29 if you want to watch for yourself!)

 ‘we’ve already had two [waves] so far and can expect another 4or 5 before it starts to recede’ 

Well that got me thinking about it being deeper than a throw away line about the fact that tsunamis aren’t just a single wave of devastation, but actually multiple waves. We’re currently doing so research to establish when the water theme actually starts but I’m currently wondering if this line is the possible beginning of the water metaphor - the two waves we’ve had being what precedes the tsunami - so the truck bombing and Shannon’s death. 

Then the 4-5 expected waves to come after being the show telling us that there will be 4-5 things happen before we get to canon Buddie - before the water finds it’s level. The waves we’ve had since then are the well, the shooting and the lightning strike making 3 and we can maybe include Eddie’s breakdown as another one (although I’m not sure) which makes 4. We also know there’s going to be some big disaster at the end of the season (two trapped dads theory my beloved) which could take us to either 4 or 5 (depending on if we include the breakdown or not) suggesting that perhaps water will find its level the the end of this season/ the beginning of the next season and therefore Buddie canon will happen shortly thereafter!

If we think about everything in a little more detail and think about how those 4-5 more expected waves would decrease in strength each time (as the water settles back to its level) and them being key marking points in their relationship - the most intense ones that have the biggest impact - being at the beginning and clearing a path for the subsequent ones which are no less important, but having seemingly less dramatic results as they are just building on what’s already there.

But lets, for a minute, go right back to the beginning - back to season two - things then begin to make even more sense - tsunamis are started/created by underwater earthquakes which means the earthquake in s2 is the starting point for everything (If that’s how this came about the writers of this show are so genius I can’t even begin to put into words how much I love them and their insane cleverness!) it is the big event that sets everything that comes after into motion - and it is the event that actually establishes buddifer (Buck mets Chris post earthquake when he drives Eddie to pick him up from school).

Then you get that vacuum where all the water heads away from land as the tsunami builds its strength - Christophers line ‘Where did all the water go’ is kind of a metaphor for the vacuum created with Shannon’s death. She was Christopher’s previous water level - his having two parents (even if she was absent he still carried hope that she would return - then she did. Her loss creates turbulence for him (and Eddie and by extension Buck) and his waters are no longer level. I love the idea of this vacuum being created at this moment, but the events leading to it had already been set in motion before she even came back into the picture - that this massive change was already incoming. 

The truck bomb is the first wave - and actually thats when we see Eddie’s attachment to Buck in a physical way - the hand holding - and it leads to our first Buddie hug (and technically the second as well). It also marks the point where we end up with both of them being single.

The tsunami is wave 2 - the big shift here is obviously the deepening of  Buck and Christopher’s relationship - the biggest and most important pivotal thing after Buck and Eddie’s own developing relationship - because Buck having an independent and strong relationship with Chris is a requirement if buddie are going to work - the show needs to establish them having their own special bond which is separate from Chris and Eddie and from the 3 of them together as a unit.

With those two things established - the two big waves - then the smaller waves can surge in - they don’t need to reach as far because the base has been created by the first two waves - their path has already been cleared making these subsequent waves’ jobs are ‘easier’.

So wave 3 (or wave 1 of the 4-5 further waves) is the well - with it comes the big and key change of the will - and we continue the link to water.

Wave 4 (wave 2 of the further waves) is the shooting which as well as revealing the will, independently continues to further the father-son relationship between Buck and Chris. I can’t think of any obvious watery connections here - beyond the pool of Eddies blood we see spilling onto the asphalt. 

If we assume Wave 5 (wave 3 of the further waves) is Eddie’s breakdown - which ties all 3 of them closer together and establishes just how deep the level of trust is between Buck and Eddie. there isn’t an obvious water connection to Eddies breakdown - beyond the tears - but the episode itself involves several water related accidents or scenes (Shark cage rescue, and all the fish from the freezer and we get Maddie playing with Jee in the bathtub as well).

Then wave 6 (wave 4 of the further waves) is the lightning strike - which just continues to build on all that’s come before - it doesn’t really reveal anything new just leads to a big jump in the amount of buddifer scenes we’ve had since. again we have a watery connection with the heavy rain!

And the potential final wave is the one we haven’t seen (which would be wave 5 of the further waves)- but could be the two trapped dads of it all - both of them being at risk at the same time and the realisation that potentially comes out of that - it not necessarily being a confession moment, but the moment before it - before the waters calm and find their level and then they’ll be in the right place to move forward - together!! We know there is a watery connection to whatever this happens to be from the bts we’ve had - filming at the Queen Mary and the road collapse is next to/ over water.

So there we have it - either the writers set out the roadmap to Buddie way back when, or I’ve gone insane and should probably be locked up in an institution - I leave it to you to decide which!

[mazzystar24]

Buck’s coma dream part 3 because I’m a menace to society

(Part 1, Part 2)

All of you probably:

And yet here I am, having typed this while rewatching it’s a wonderful life because the connections and references to the movie and Buck’s coma dream are insane and I felt the need to share them, ESPECIALLY AFTER THAT CHRISTOPHER ONE LAST TIME I MEAN COME ON also the last one on this list has me howling at how unsubtle the writers are with buddie

• In it’s a wonderful life George’s boss at the drug store (that kinda matches the theme of the final scene being in the medicine closet) loses his son and then subsequently makes a mistake and puts poison in the pills (nothing happens as a result and George catches it ) but the scene before the boss starts gets physical with George in his moment of grief but George forgives and comforts him which is sort of an escalated version of when Bobby was triggered and remembering his children’s deaths and then pushed buck against the wall

• George refers to his dad not as dad or any variation he refers to him as “Pop” much like buck calling Bobby “pops”

• George’s talk with his father and Buck’s talk with maddie in the flashbacks of buck begins match up really well, firstly both their personalities match in the sense that George says he can’t imagine being cooped up in an office but the talks match cos George says “ I wanna do something big something important” and buck saying “ I’m not (a loser) I’m gonna be something maddie, I just don’t know what it is yet” and George says “if I don’t get away I feel like I might bust” and Buck’s “ I can’t stay in that house”

Also George’s dad encouraging him to “get an education and get out of here” and maddie giving buck the jeep and telling him to just go anywhere the point is to go

• George’s mom says to him about Mary (his slowburn love interest) that she’s a nice girl “the kind that can help you find the answers George” this with Buck’s trying to find the answer storyline and him a few episodes later looking at Eddie and Chris and saying “I’m the guy with the answers” excuse me while I go scream into the void

[dearabby1990]

Things I’d like to see happen in the new & final season of Stranger Things. Things that should’ve already been done or the beginning stages of.

In my opinion Erica Sinclair should’ve had a big character arc at this point there’s so much they could’ve done with her character development. I may be Caucasian but my sister is a beautiful woman of color & im far from uneducated on people of color especially from an era that’s my most favorite. If I had a Time Machine I’d definitely goto the 80’s and stay there. Erica could’ve had so much more added to her as a whole not just the interests of most of the main cast. She should have loads of posters in her room where’s the Billy Ocean where’s the Janet Jackson you could’ve based her style of Janet alone shit I know I’d wanna rock one of those outfits with the earring with the key in it Ik y’all know what I’m talking about if you’re cultured and seasoned when it comes to music. No Michael Jackson anything he was HUGE THEN! I’m just saying I feel like the fell flat with her it’s making my heart hurt. & poor Dustin that character I’m not ready to see him hurting grieving & I’m sure as hell tired of them introducing us to lovable characters just to use them as a stepping stone for another character it’s annoying. Give us what we want more Erica character arc & give us back Eddie not a sparkle lameo twlight vampire lame I wanna see Eddie the head from Iron Maiden if we’re getting a fucking dead Eddie still moving. I’m traumatized from season 4 I need therapy from all that I usually watch a new season and then rewatch a dozen times I can’t do it with this one it hurts way too much only because Eddie is literally my mom to a science & I lost my mom to cancer every part of him was her minus the d&d shit. He’s also my father my dads name is Edward and he’s riddled with metal tattoos & has an Iron Maiden tattoo he got when he graduated high school in 1986 too ironically freaky for me not to feel some type of way from seeing him die not to mention watching Eddie & max suffer with survivor’s guilt just like me it helped pull me out of my hell push forward. & meeting Joe quinn was very overwhelming I couldn’t even speak I still kick myself for that but I did gift him a custom guitar strap & some custom corroded coffin guitar picks with his name on everything. Ladies when I tell you this man smells like heaven lord have mercy my whole face felt like it was on fire!!! lol

[birdsinmywalls]

Girlie the amount of times I have rewatched H20 should get me thrown in jail. You have reached the right audience for this fic if you do continue to write it let me tell you! Also I already like that he didn’t high tail it out of the quarry when he saw something in the water; his “I don’t believe in magic rant” at the beginning is void automatically by him going out there to help a mermaid and I love the contradiction. I also like all these questions you leave us with like why is reader injured from a lake/small body of water? Where is Eddie planning on taking her? He has no tub from what I can recall. Is he going to wait for the drug deal and leave her in the back of the van or is he just going to bail on it all together?

I can’t believe I missed this when it originally dropped but I’m glad I have seen it now! Happy writing bestie!!

hypothetically guys, how would u feel abt eddie x mermaid!reader

just u know…hypothetically👀

[fox-muldest]

Back To The Future

foxy_mulder

Summary:

The party is playing D&D when Steve Harrington, covered in scars, appears out of nowhere asking what year it is.

(Or, Steve returns to 1983 to try and stop it all before it begins.)

Notes:

CW for brief homophobic language & use of f slur

They’re playing D&D when it happens. Sat around the table in Mike’s basement as usual, in the middle of a campaign where they're fighting a Demogorgon.

"Quiet down," Mike hisses. "My parents will make us stop playing if we don't shut up."

"This is kind of an urgent moment!" Lucas says. He doesn't know what he'll do if his character dies, he doesn't want to make a new one in the middle of a campaign.

"The thing from the darkness strikes your character again."

"Can I see what's there?"

“Roll for--”

And then, out of nowhere, a human being drops out of the air to land on the table with a heavy thud, scattering papers across the floor. Dustin screams, and they all jump back as dice clatter to the floor.

The man sits up, and groans, pushing back his thick brown hair and straightening his polo shirt. It's Steve Harrington, Nancy's asshole boyfriend, but he's… different, somehow, in a way Lucas can't really pinpoint.

“Hey,” Steve says casually, like he hadn't just appeared from thin air. “Wow, you guys were small.”

“What the fuck,” says Mike.

“What’s the date?” asks Steve, sitting up. He winces, touching his head where it hit the table. "Head injury number six, here we come," he mutters.

“November 6th," says Lucas. Maybe he really doesn't have a head injury from falling and he's trying to see if he remembers stuff? Lucas has seen that in movies.

“The year, man," says Steve urgently.

“1983?”

“Perfect. Will, do not bike home by yourself. Stay the night here, or call your mom. The rest of you, I’ll hopefully make it back here tomorrow with a map of places to avoid, and I want you to stick to it like your life depends on it."

"Where did you come from?" asks Dustin.

"I fell from the upper floor?" tries Steve.

"There would be a hole in the ceiling!"

"You'll understand when you're older, now listen, have you seen anyone else?”

“Like, in general, or…?”

“Appearing out of the air,” says Steve exasperatedly.

“No, believe it or not, we haven’t. Can we get to the part where you explain how the hell you did that?”

“Are you magic? Magic is real?” asks Will, eyes wide.

“Uh, yeah?” says Steve. “I… didn’t mean to land here, though. So. I’ll see you guys around?”

“You can’t just leave after--”

“Listen. If it were up to me, you dorks wouldn’t even know I had been here, and I could fix everything with only El.”

“Who’s El?”

“Right, you don’t… okay. She’s a friend of mine. Keep your mouths shut, alright? Don’t tell anyone I was here. And stay here. Do not go outside by yourselves. Use the buddy system.” He pauses. "Do you have any guns here?"

"No?"

He snatches a brook out of the corner and breaks it to create two sharp sticks, then leaves, just like that. They all sit around the table staring at each other, at the mess left across the table and floor.

"Do you guys want to finish the game?" asks Lucas hesitantly.

"Hell no!"

"Magic is real!" exclaims Will.

"We have to follow Steve and bug him until he tells us how to do it. This is literally awesome."

They rush to the door, but Steve is gone, and his car isn't outside.

Mike runs up to Nancy's room. “What's going on with Steve? Where'd he go?”

“What?” she frowns.

“He was just here, and he popped up out of nowhere, and--”

“I’m on the phone with Steve right now. He’s at home.”

"He can teleport," whispers Will.

"When did you start talking to him?"

"Like an hour ago. Yeah, I--" she speaks into the phone. "Hold on, Mike is annoying me, I've got to--"

She shuts the door in their faces.

----

Eddie is rewatching Lord of the Rings when there's a knock at the trailer door. Probably Wayne, he's always forgetting to bring his key. He's lucky Eddie is awake at weird hours too or he'd be locked out at least once a week.

Eddie goes to the door and opens it. He stops in his tracks.

"Steve Harrington, at my humble abode?" He asks, putting on confidence that he absolutely does not have. Why would Harrington come here? Eddie is in boxers, socks and a T-shirt. He's not wearing shoes or pants, he couldn't run if Harrington is here to hurt him. "What do you want?

“Sorry. Uh… could I come in?"

He's got a bat in his left hand. Eddie's heart thumps in his chest.

“Are you gonna hit me with that?” asks Eddie.

Harrington had never done it before, but he runs with the jocks who do. Eddie peers over his shoulder, and doesn’t see anyone else, but they could be hiding in wait.

“No. It's for, uh. Something else. Okay, that sounded unconvincing, I should have left it in the car, but I didn't feel safe-- not because of you, it's because of something else."

"Something else," says Eddie blankly.

"I didn't want to get you involved. It's...I couldn't help myself and," he sighs. "Should have stuck to the paper."

Eddie stares at him.

"Hold on. Let me start over.” He pulls out a rumpled, folded sheet of paper, folds well worn like he’s opened and closed it a million times. “Disclaimer, hopefully I’ll have taken care of this before you even need this advice. But if Chrissy Cunningham tries to buy from you--”

“Buy what?”

He blinks. “Oh, you don’t sell drugs yet? Best not to even start then, because I know you were strapped for money but your uncle says he could have helped with the--” he stops, seems to realize who he’s talking to. “Sorry. Don’t sell drugs. And definitely don’t have Chrissy over to your house.”

There’s a lot to unpack here. “How do you know my uncle? And are you… warning me off of Chrissy? Not cool, man. Don't you have a girlfriend?”

Eddie isn’t even sure where he got the idea that Eddie was interested in Chrissie. Sure, Eddie might have liked her once, but she’s probably grown into another one of the mean popular kids like the rest of them. Brats like Harrington. He would never date somebody like that, he wants somebody who’s more open minded.

Harrington laughs again, knowingly, like he’s recalling some inside joke between them, though Eddie doesn’t know what it could be.

Harrington continues like he hadn’t said anything. “Like I said, if all goes to plan, it shouldn’t be an issue. Just keep it in mind.”

"You're being reeeally cryptic," says Eddie slowly, nervous now for a different reason. Maybe Harrington's off his rocker.

Harrington smiles tightly. "Sorry. I shouldn't even be here, honestly.”

“Then… leave.”

“Okay.”

Harrington looks like he’s about to cry. Now Eddie feels guilty. But, the guy came to his house with a fucking nail bat, what’s he supposed to think?!

“One more thing. Have you seen anyone around that looks like you?”

He laughs. “No one in this town looks like me.”

Harrington quirks a smile.

“If you do see anyone, give me a call. I'll go now."

He leans forward, and for a second Eddie thinks he’s gone completely insane because for a second it seems like Steve Harrington is leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. But he stops in the middle of the action and pats him on the shoulder instead. Then he turns and leaves.

----

This week couldn’t get worse. Steve keeps hearing these rumors about himself, that someone saw him hanging out with Eddie "the Freak" Munson. Which, like, doesn’t make any sense. He’s never even talked to the guy, and now he’s staining his reputation? Apparently Munson is telling people Steve’s stalking him. Besides that, Nancy’s brother and his weird friends are being incredibly annoying lately. They keep approaching him at school and trying to get him to talk about their little magic game.

Steve taps his pencil on the desk at school, bored. He looks out the window, and sees something strange.

Someone stands in the shadows at the parking lot's edge, right by Steve's car. That's creepy as hell. It might be Munson. Steve’s gonna go out there and show everyone who’s stalking who. Whoever it is, Steve's itching for a fight.

He gets a bathroom pass and leaves the classroom out the side door to the parking lot. He walks to the fence, where he gets a better look. It's not Munson, he's got shorter hair, and when Steve calls out to him he turns.

It’s… Steve. He’s got blood on his lip. Exhaustion creeps through the lines of his face, and he wears a torn polo shirt showcasing the old scars on his sides that look to be from an animal attack.

“Hey Steve,” says the man.

“Are we related?” Steve asks stupidly. He wouldn’t put it past his father to have another kid and not tell him, but god, they look absolutely identical, down to the moles on their faces.

“Yeah, you could say that. I mean, I’m you, so. There’s that,” he coughs awkwardly. “I was waiting for you to come out to your car. I need to ask you a favor. I need you to hide a kid in your house, there's people after her. I don’t have anywhere to stay, and I didn’t take that into account when I came here, and I know your house is empty as fuck.”

That's... A lot to take in.

“What do I look like, a babysitting service? And who are you, actually?"

"You'll love it, trust me," he says, skimming past the second question like Steve hadn't even asked. "Her name is El, she's gonna help save the world and stuff."

----

The kids show up at Steve's door that afternoon, and ring the doorbell repeatedly. Steve groans.

"These kids won't leave me alone. They keep trying to talk to me."

"Kids? It's not Mike and his friends, is it? The kids that play D&D at Nancy's?"

"Yeah."

"I should have known they wouldn't listen. You tell them 'stay,' they immediately run to wherever you're going." Future-Steve opens the door. "Hey guys."

"We demand that you tell us how to do magic," says Dustin. "Please. We have always wanted a wizard friend. We won't tell anyone, just pleeeease tell us how to do it."

"He cloned himself," gasps Mike. "Holy shit."

"Language. Anyway, I'll tell you what's going on, but you have to promise me some things."

"What?"

He starts listing off his fingers. "You will not interfere with my plan, you will be nice to El when you come in, because she's been through a lot recently, and you will not try to be a hero. And Dustin, if you find a little slug creature in the woods at any point, for the love of God kill it immediately, do not keep it."

They all nod, more confused than anything.

"Perfect. Come on."

"Hey, don't let them in, it's my house," says Steve.

"We like them, don't worry."

He sits them all down at the table.

"As you probably figured out, I'm not from here. It's like… how do I put this in nerd terms… you know Back to the Future?"

"What's that?"

"Oh. A little before your time I guess. Well, you guys are gonna love it when it comes out. It's like… ugh, I guess I shouldn't spoil the movie. Basically I'm from the future, and I came here to fix some things in the past. Or, the present, to you guys. Does that make sense?"

"That's incredibly simple. Could not be more clear," says Dustin.

"Okay, well some people might find it hard to follow," mutters Future-Steve.

"But what is there to fix?"

"A few things. El and I were gonna go take care of some monsters, the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer, but ultimately I think we should hold off because we might alert--"

"You play D&D?" Lucas' eyes widened.

"Uh, yeah. I play once in a while, but that's not what I'm talking about. These are monsters in the real world. There's this dark wizard, Vecna--"

"Are you a wizard too?" blurts Will, bouncing out of his seat.

"No? Well… Kind of. I had to learn a little necromancy one time, but that doesn't really count. I know someone who knows magic, and a psychic, that's El. They're the ones who sent me here through a portal thing. I don't really get how it works, but that's not the point. The point is… are you guys getting this?"

They stare blankly.

"I'm getting this all out of order." He takes out his folded piece of paper, a list titled THINGS TO DO IN HAWKINS 1983. "Knew I should've just read from the paper… Let me start from the beginning. There's an alternate dimension below Hawkins."

----

Steve goes to school the next day like everything is normal, like he's not having the crisis to end all crises, and like his cooler future self didn't come back to… save the world? Fuck up his life?

These kids keep following him around, talking about how Future-Steve is a badass, how he's so cool and mysterious and knows all about their interests.

At least Steve's not a nerd.

---

"Shit," Eddie hisses to himself, "shit, shit, shit."

They're coming to beat up the freak again. They've found his usual hiding spot, so now there's not much he can do but run.

He turns the corner and opens the back door of the school, casting wildly about for a place to hide.

The dumpster, he could hide in there.

He makes a run for it, but his shoe is untied and he skids across the concrete and eats shit.

He closes his eyes, waiting for the hits to rain down, but none come. He opens an eye, and one of the guys is on the ground, nose bleeding. Harrington is there too, holding the other guy up by his collar, calm as anything, like it was effortless.

"You okay?" he asks Eddie.

Eddie nods dumbly.

Steve frowns. "Your knees are bleeding. Hold on."

The guy with the nosebleed runs off, leaving just Harrington, Eddie, and the guy still struggling to get Harrington to let him go.

"Put me down, Steve, come on, it's me," says the guy. James, Eddie thinks his name is. Or Joe, or something.

"I like you man, but you can't keep doing this."

"It's the Freak. Don't tell me you're actually friends with--"

"Dude," he says sharply. "Don't make me hit you too."

He drops Joe or James or whoever, who looks at him for a long moment and then runs off.

Harrington kneels beside him, and Eddie has no idea what's happening, or if he's about to get beat up too, or if it'll be another confusing interaction like they had the other night at the trailer.

Harrington reaches into his pocket, and takes out… Hello Kitty bandaids.

Eddie stares shamelessly, and Steve blushes.

"Wouldn't have pegged you for a Hello Kitty fan."

"I went to the store for a kid I know. She likes cats," he says defensively. "They're cute."

That's… surprisingly cool. Who is this Harrington? He keeps hello kitty bandaids for kids, and throws punches at bullies, and he's a lot more filled out than Eddie remembered, his arms are muscled and a little bit of stomach is visible over his jeans--

He stops the thought in its tracks. He has no business thinking of Harrington that way.

"Do you know why they were chasing you?"

"The usual," he scoffs. "I'm a Satan worshiping, D&D playing freak. God forbid I exist in public."

"I'm sorry."

"Like you don't believe that stuff too."

"I don't. D&D is cool. My DM's got us doing this campaign with dragons and shit--"

"You are so full of shit," he laughs.

"I'm serious. I play a paladin. Took me a long time to figure the game out, but I had help." Harrington looks so fond when he says that, like he's thinking of his friends warmly. "As for the devil worshiping, you don't worship Satan. You have long hair and do devil horns at every opportunity because you wanna look like Ronnie James Dio."

Eddie's world has been totally turned on its head. Steve Harrington plays D&D? He knows who Ronnie James Dio is? He's not a complete asshole?

"How'd you know that?"

"I know things. Paladin, remember? I'm maaagic," he says, waving his fingers and grinning.

Eddie barks a surprised laugh. "You are strange, man."

"Eh," he shrugs. "There are stranger things out there."

Harrington's hands brush over the fine hairs of his knee, and he shivers as the band-aid is applied.

He wants to ask what that was, the other night at his trailer. Why he's being so kind. But Eddie's always been a coward.

"Thanks, Harrington. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah." He gets a weird look on his face, like he's got something more to say. "See you."

----

"Were you just out there with Steve Harrington?" asks Robin, a girl who he's seen around school.

"Yeah."

"Was he being… weird?"

"Yeah! He gave me these," he says, gesturing to the hello kitty bandaids on his knees. "These two guys were ganging up on me and he--"

"Took care of it? Me too. Yesterday. And then he totally wingmanned me! I don't know how he knew that i'm-- uh. Well. The point is it was, like, crazy, and I'm glad I'm not the only one because I thought I was going insane and then I saw him out there with you and I thought, maybe I'm not the only one seeing this!"

"Your name's Robin, right? I'm Eddie." He holds out a hand, and she shakes it awkwardly.

----

Steve is loaning Future-Steve some clothes, but he keeps getting them covered in blood and dirt from whatever he does all day. Fighting government agents coming after El, or something.

"You have to stop, this was my favorite polo," whines Steve.

"Sorry man," says Future-Steve.

The door opens, and Steve turns to tell the kids to get out, but it's not the kids. It's Eddie Munson.

"Hey," he says awkwardly. "That guy who looks like me? He's here."

Then another Eddie Munson walks in behind him, but taller, and with longer hair and a metric shit ton of tattoos over his body.

"Hey princess," he smiles. "Sorry it took so long."

Future-Steve runs over, and they're… kissing.

Oh.

Steve makes eye contact with Eddie and sees his expression of what the fuck reflected there.

Some girl he thinks he's seen in class comes in.

"El's downstairs saying hi to herself."

"Rob? You didn't have to come!"

"Course I had to, I wanted to see my bestie, it's been a week and I missed you and I wasn't gonna pass up the chance to freaking time travel!"

Future-Steve leans back in and gets right back to making out with Future-Eddie like they hadn't even been interrupted.

"That's us. Kissing," Steve says dumbly, mostly to make sure he's not hallucinating.

"Yeeeeahhh," says Eddie, eyes never leaving the pair. He swallows, and red rises in his cheeks. "Uh. Care to explain what the hell is going on?"

----

"Since I've seen you, has anything changed?" asks Future-Steve, sipping a cup of tea as they all sit around his kitchen table. The kids are quiet for once, avidly listening to their conversation like these people from the future are the most interesting things they've ever seen.

Future-Eddie shakes his head. "Things have been about the same. A little hectic, because getting the materials together to open another portal through time wasn't easy."

"You shouldn't have closed it behind you," says Future-El.

"Yeah, not cool. And don't give me that 'wanted to keep everyone safe' crap either. Now we have to set the chart back to 0 days."

"What chart?" asks Lucas.

"The Number of days without Steve trying to sacrifice himself chart. It was at 29! Almost a whole month!"

"When did Steve Harrington sacrifice himself for someone else?" scoffs Mike. "Look at him, he wouldn't save someone if it meant his hair would get messed up."

"He saved you. More than once, you little brat, so how about you show a little respect?"

"El," Steve interrupts. "Do you remember what happened today when you were," he gestures to the younger El.

She nods. "Hopper found me. Then I stayed with Mike, in his basement."

"That wasn't what happened this week. And you all said nothing has changed, so… if me picking up El hasn't changed your memories, this whole trip hasn't changed the future," says Future-Steve disappointedly.

"All of us still remember everything going how it went before."

Future-Steve sighs. "I was debating whether to kill Vecna or just close the gates, but if it isn't changing anything…"

"We could go back now. It was worth a shot."

"I don't want to go back without fixing things. You should leave me here, or send me back further maybe, and I can keep trying to--"

"We aren't gonna do that. That's the whole reason why we came," Future-Eddie says softly. "To get you."

Steve can feel his heartbeat in his chest watching the exchange. How had Future-Steve managed to find friends who cared this much for him? Who would find a way to go through time and space on his whims, and then would go out of their way to come pick him up even when he failed?

"No. If it'll be different in their timeline, then it's something, isn't it? I'll finish this."

"We'll help," says Robin firmly. "Duh."

"So will we!" says Lucas.

"Totally."

Future-Steve sighs. "I'm so sorry I got you guys involved in this again. This time was supposed to be different. You were supposed to be safe."

"These kids are a handful any timeline we go to," Eddie grins. "They'd do anything for you, Steve, you know that. Dustin wanted to come back with us, y'know."

"You told him no, didn't you?"

"Of course I did, he's got a chemistry test coming up. He needs to study."

"And it would endanger his life!"

"Oh, yeah, that too. He handled that well every other time though. Like, actively enjoyed it."

"Okay," sighs Future-Steve, long suffering. "Let me lead a bunch of children into danger, again.

----

Steve sits by the pool, bored. He’d called Nancy earlier, but not for long, because she had to go hang out with Barb. It’s always Barb, Barb, Barb with her.

Future Steve walks up behind him and takes a seat on the other patio chair.

“Heard you and Nance fighting,” he says. “What was that all about? You didn’t tell her anything, did you? I want to keep her and Barb away from this for now.”

“I didn’t. We were just… talking. She had to go see Barb,” he scoffs.

"You should be nicer to Barb," says Future-Steve, looking out over the pool’s blue water.

“She’s trying to sabotage my relationship.”

“She just cares about Nancy.”

"You think I don’t?”

“I know that you do, that’s why I’m telling you. If you want it to work with her, don’t treat it lightly, y’know? You gotta respect her friends.”

“Why would I listen to you? You’re dating Munson, clearly she dumped you.”

“Maybe it was mutual,” he says, too defensively to be true.

“Whatever. Can you fuck off and do whatever you came here to do and leave me alone?"

He's being unfair. He knows he is, Future-Steve is literally trying to save everyone, but Steve can't help but hate the guy. He's just so annoying, always preaching to Steve about what to do, and everyone seems to think the sun shines out of his ass. But, hey, Nancy dumped him, so maybe he’s not that great.

"Eddie said I should be gentle about this, but I don't see any reason to. You’re a real piece of shit."

"What?"

"Nobody's told you that before, have they, King Steve? But you are. You don't give a shit about anything but your image, can't even be nice to your girlfriends best friend because of it, and it's… it's such a joke. No wonder mom and dad don't wanna come home, you're a brat."

"Shut up. You don't know what--”

"I know exactly what I'm talking about,” he says, and he stands to look at Steve directly, voice rising to a shout. “Barb is dead because you couldn’t just--"

"She died?"

He stops, seems to lose all the steam he had built up in one fell swoop, and slumps back down in the patio chair.

They sit there quietly, Steve contemplating what he should say to that. If his own future self hates him, then maybe there’s something there. He knows himself best, after all. It’s not like he didn’t know mom and dad weren't proud of him, but to have his own face say it, it’s real in a way he’s never allowed it to be before.

"I would care. If she died,” he says. “I don't want anyone to die.

"It's your fault,” Future-Steve rasps, facing away from him. Steve thinks he might be crying. He doesn’t say anything.

----

Future-Eddie comes to talk to Steve later, while Future-Steve is out getting quote-unquote ‘supplies.’ He had refused to say anything more on what the supplies were.

"So, I heard that Steve's being mean to himself today,” says Future-Eddie as he joins Steve on the couch. “He never listens to me. I told him he should wait to talk to you 'til I was here, the guy’s self-esteem is lower than my high school GPA."

Steve just looks at him.

“Which is low. To clarify. I was held back. So don’t take what he said to heart, he doesn’t know you.”

"He's me. Of course he knows.”

"I know you pretty well too. You apologize too much, you always run into danger even when it’s not necessary, you’re, like, the most heroic guy I’ve ever met..."

"That's him, not me."

"Then be that guy. Except don't throw your life away because you feel guilty. Steve literally threw himself into the portal I made. Didn't even give anyone the option to go first, because he wanted to 'make sure it was safe.' Pissed me off."

"I'm not like him!”

“What’s so different?”

“For one, I'm not a fag."

He hums. "You had a crush on William Shatner as a kid."

Steve's head shoots up. He had never told anyone about that.

Future-Robin comes from the other room.

"Ugh, I wish you guys hadn't given him an early crisis," she says. “You couldn’t have kissed when he left the room?”

"I'm not not gonna kiss my boyfriend when I see him, Robbie," says Eddie, throwing up his arms dramatically.

"It took me years to get him to open up about being bi, and you're trying to do it all in a day? Look at him, he's, like, a baby version of Steven, practically in the womb!"

"I'm literally right here," Steve says. “I can hear you.”

“I’m giving him a pep talk! He’s the one who brought up gay people!”

Robin looks at Steve. "You don't have to listen to him. But we're also friends of Dorothy. So, don't be straight on our account. Or gay! Don't be straight or gay on our account! You can be… whatever you want!” She pauses, and backtracks. “ I mean, not that it's a choice, but it's your choice to… to tell people, or to not!"

Eddie rolls his eyes.

"Smooth. How are you, a lesbian, messing up the gay speech? I’ve gotta do everything around here. Steve, trust that you are very loved, and just be yourself."

"I am myself," he says defensively. "I don't see how you convinced me to stop dating girls. I mean, if you guys had the chance wouldn't you rather be normal? It's kind of gross, is all. I don't mind it, as long as you don't hit on me."

They’re silent for a long moment, and Steve smirks. He's gotten to them, and now they'll finally leave him alone.

Then the two burst out laughing.

"Oh, Steve."

"I forgot what a pill he was back then."

"You knew him?"

"From class, yeah. He was always saying shit like that. 'It's kind of gross, is all.' So were your polos. And they still are."

"I'm just saying, if a guy touches me, it would freak me out, so don't get any ideas!" As an afterthought, he adds, "And you, stay away from my girlfriend."

They just look at him in fond amusement, like he's being funny instead of insulting them to their faces.

"Do not tell him."

"I wasn't going to!"

"Tell me what?"

"Nothing!" they say in unison.

"If Nance and I aren't together in the future, uh," he swallows, nervous at the answer, "Do you know why we broke up? Like, what I did wrong?"

"How do you know you did something?"

He shrugs. He just knows. He wouldn't leave Nancy, and he was bound to fuck something up at some point.

Eddie sighs. “I don’t know if my Steve would want me to go into it. But you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Did I cheat?” His mom always said he would turn out like his father, it makes sense.

“No. You’re against that stuff, and you know it. You have never done that,” says Future-Robin firmly.

“Is it because I killed Barb?”

“Oh my God, I am gonna have a serious talk with Steve. God. You didn’t kill anyone!” says Future-Eddie.

“He said I--”

“You had a party, and a portal to the Upside Down opened in your pool, and Barb fell into it. You weren’t even at the pool at the time. Steve thinks it’s his fault, but he thinks everything is his fault. Really, we all just got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time,” says Future-Eddie sadly. “And it’s not our fault.”

Steve is quiet.

"What's going on in that brain of yours?" Future-Eddie says, poking him in the middle of his forehead.

"Nothing."

"Okay bud," says Future-Robin, ruffling his hair. "Well, we love you. Get to bed early and don't eat any cheese before bed, it gives you bad dreams."

"How did you--"

"You told me. Anyway, I'm off for the night, gonna go hang out with myself at my place and spoil movies for her."

"What?! Why?" yells Robin from the other room.

"So you can tell people at school the plots and pretend to have precognition!" She yells back. She turns back to the two of them. "We've always wanted to do that. She’s big time lonely. So it's me and me, slumber parties every night, bitches."

"You're spoiling yourself," says Eddie.

"You told your past self about the stock market. And how to make beef stew."

"Hey, cool. Beef stew is my favorite food," says Steve.

"We know," say Future-Robin and Future-Eddie at the same time.

Future-Steve comes back to the room carrying a bundle in a sheet glances between them, furrowing his brow.

"You guys aren't talking about me are you?"

"Get over yourself, not everything's about you," scoffs Future-Robin.

"Yeah, we were," says Future-Eddie.

“Okay. Well. supplies are here!” He drops a bundled sheet onto the couch. It unrolls to reveal a huge pile of weapons.

Where the hell did they get these?

----

They decide to kill Vecna instead of just closing the gates. It's a bigger risk, as by taking El with them they risk Vecna taking her powers and immediately opening more gates, but Future-Steve is worried that if left alive, Vecna might eventually find another way to open gates and they won't be able to stop him.

They trek through the Upside Down, which Dustin thinks is kind of a cool name. He wonders if he came up with it. Lucas, Will and Mike are waiting back by the gates, making sure no one approaches them, and that if they randomly close, they'll have people on the outside who can contact Hopper, Murray, or Sam Owens for help. The rest of them come to the Upside Down. Future-Steve is against the idea of any of them coming, but the others insist that it's safer this time, they know what they're doing now and Vecna isn't expecting them.

"Forgot what a dump it was here," says Future-Steve.

"Home sweet home," sighs Future-Eddie, but he glances around nervously. Future-Steve rubs his back.

Ugh, Future-Steve is so awesome. Doing that for a bro.

----

They travel through the Upside Down. Eddie and Steve stay toward the back of the group, glancing around nervously at their weird surroundings.

"Do you think we'll end up being them?" asks Eddie.

He doesn't have to clarify who.

"I don't know," says Steve. "They're… a lot to live up to."

"Yeah," Eddie chuckles darkly. "They said I died to save the Dustin kid, but I can't see myself doing that. I'm more of a runner than a fighter."

"Seriously, they said I learned necromancy to bring you back to life! And I have muscles like crazy in the future--"

"I opened a time portal and I'm a wizard apparently, and I helped kill… demon bats? Using metal? I'm like badass Gandalf."

"And in the future, I would know what the fuck you mean by that."

They laugh.

As Steve steps on a vine, it reaches out, snatching his leg.

"Oh shit! Shit!" He reaches for his weapon, a rifle Future-Steve has somehow obtained from the police station, but he's yanked out of reach.

Eddie grabs it.

"Shoot!"

"I might hit you," he says hesitantly.

"It's okay if you hit me, just do it! It's gonna reach for the others," he says frantically.

The thing is reaching out, feeling around, and if they don't sever it, it will grab more of them. Eddie doesn't like it, he would rather the responsibility be someone else's, someone more capable. His future self would do this better, but there's no time, he's got seconds to act.

Eddie could drop the gun and run, but… he couldn't. He won't.

He shoots. The thing contracts, dropping Steve and pulling away.

Steve sits up, panting. "Thanks," he says.

"It was no Gindeldalf, but that was cool, huh?"

"It's Gandalf." He smiles at Steve, who smiles back. "We might have to get you your own self sacrifice chart, mister 'its okay if you hit me a little.' Maybe we are gonna become them.'"

They run to catch up with the group.

"For the record, I think you're okay right now, Munson," Steve says.

"Thanks," says Eddie. "You're not so bad yourself."

----

They reach the Creel house very quickly. Eleven looks up the winding stairs. There is something dark up there, she can feel it. This is the center of the power.

"He's upstairs. Hurry. Don't touch anything."

"Did you think of a happy memory?" Asks the older version of Eleven. She had asked her, earlier, to think of moments of strong emotion.

El shakes her head. Everything has been fear. "I can use an angry one."

Her strongest feeling is anger, she thinks. She has so much of it, unused. Her hands shake as they walk down the hall.

"You're scared," says the older version of Eleven. She has kind eyes. Eleven doesn't think her own eyes are so kind. "Don't be. We can do it."

"I can go alone," says Eleven. "I'm strong."

"We're stronger together."

"If we fail," she says, voice catching in her throat, "You have things. I have nothing. I can go alone."

It would be less lost. Eleven would be missed by no one important. She has spent the past weeks in comfort, at Steve's house, but it came with uncertainty for the future, and the sense that it would soon be gone again. These people would go back to their future, those other children would go to their homes, and El would be captured again.

Older Eleven shakes her head, crouching to speak to Eleven at eye level. "You will have so much. You have friends, and a dad."

"Not like Papa?"

"No. He is kind and keeps us safe, and allows your boyfriend to spend time as long as the door is cracked. You like food. Waffles. They're good." She pauses, thinking. "You're not alone anymore."

She looks back at the other children, her future friends, and at her future self with kinder eyes and a reassuring grip on her hand.

Something unfurls in her chest that she's never allowed in before. And she knows she has a future, the proof stands living before her.

This is the memory I will use.

They enter the attic, and there's a thing there, like a man but wrong, red and covered in vines, power emanating from him.

Vecna. Eleven freezes. They had told her what to do, and who he was, but it's different to see it in real life.

Vecna opens his eyes.

"Eleven," purrs Vecna, reaching out vines to curl against the sides of the room threateningly. "I wasn't expecting you to find me so soon. I have plans for you, little one, I--"

El has a future.

She reaches out her hand, and eviscerates him.

"Oh," says Future-Eddie. "That was... efficient. Uh. Let's run away before the house starts to crumble."

----

The group from the future gets ready to leave, standing by the portal and saying their goodbyes.

Future-Robin and Future-Eddie, surprisingly, want to say goodbye to Steve.

“Thanks for helping us, Stevie,” Future-Eddie smiles at him.

"Uh, yeah, no problem,” says Steve. “Sorry I said that earlier. You guys are really nice. I was just being an asshole."

"We love you anyway, dingus."

He thinks she's said that today more than anybody's ever said it to him. He can’t understand these people. They seem to mean it when they say it, every single time.

"Why?"

"You figured yourself out. We've had a lot of time to talk about stuff and move on. And, you're my best friend and number one supporter in the future, so I’m trying to return the favor."

Steve’s eyes well up.

"I don't get what I could have done to deserve it. I didn't save your lives or anything.”

"We don't love you for that. I love you for that big fat beautiful heart of yours.”

“And I love you for your looks,” says Future-Eddie dryly. Future-Robin elbows him. “Ow. And all that other stuff.”

“Think about who you are, instead of who King Steve is, and it'll all come together. Okay?"

He shrugs, and looks away. "I'll think about it."

“Hug time!”

They hug him tight, and when they let go and walk through the portal, when the portal closes behind them leaving only empty air, he feels like he’s lost something crucial.

Steve looks around at the people left standing there. Lucas, Dustin, Will and Mike. Eddie, Robin and Eleven. They’re a strange bunch.

“What now?” asks Will.

After this bizarre series of events, it’s odd to think they might all go their separate ways and never see each other again. He can see it all now. Steve would go back to throwing parties and sitting in his parents house alone. Once in a while, he would see the others around at the grocery store or at school, and he would remember that, in another timeline, they could have all been something.

“You guys wanna go to the drive-in?” he asks. “They’re playing that Star Trek movie, you nerds would like that.”

They all pile into his car, several of them sitting in each other's laps to make room, and they chatter in the backseat. Eddie sits on Robin's lap up front and they argue about lore, and Steve has no idea what they're talking about.

Yeah. This could be the start of something beautiful.

A/N:

sorry about the "there are stranger things out there" line, I know it's corny, the strangest thing is that I couldn't help myself 😭

a couple things i wanted to put in but didn't want to go to the effort to write, or felt they'd distract from the main story too much:

-Eddie totally showed Will how to do magic in real life... because come on. he's Will the Wise

-Steve driving to wherever Max lived before moving to Hawkins and probably kicking the shit out of her stepdad and billy

-Nancy figuring out that somethings going on, joining the team, realizing she and Steve broke up, and the two of them having a real conversation about their compatibility as a couple

-Kind of wanted more of Future Steve lurking around and being mysterious before anyone found out who he was, but then I decided to make the kids find out immediately because it was more dramatic. Also because Steve is not someone who is very capable of being cryptic or mysterious

-El and Steve bonding and Steve realizing he does in fact love babysitting

-More explanation on magic. The time travel and necromancy were hand wavey but I think it would be cool if there's other things out there besides the Upside Down, like other alternate dimensions and systems of magic. In my head, many of Future eddies tattoos are runes for this kind of magic. Dont know how they came across it or learned it or anything, just a fun idea.

unbeta'd & unedited. If there are mistakes, no there aren't <3))

[fandomlovingfreak]

Welcome to Hawkins (7/?)

Eddie Munson x F!Reader

one two three four five six

Rating: SFW (no lemon)

Includes: Friends to Lovers, Alternate Universe where Eddie & reader are around 24 (it’s still 1986 though) and Eddie isn’t from Hawkins, Fake/pretend relationship, best friends, the proposal AU (loosely based!), trying to bond with fake girlfriend’s father, steve harrington

Word Count: 1289

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link

Summary: When you slip up and tell your mom you’d be bringing your “serious boyfriend” home for your week-long family reunion, who else would you turn to but your best friend, Eddie?

AU that’s loosely based on “the proposal”  (aka I rewatched and am obsessed w Eddie Munson rn) Eddie is NOT from Hawkins in this fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own Eddie Munson or the Stranger Things universe. This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: Thanks for reading, liking, reblogging, commenting, etc! Appreciate it so much. Anyways, there’s no sp0ilers in this fic. It’s hardly in the same universe as most know aha! And also, fuck canon. I rarely write canon compliant fics so don’t worry Eddie fics will be plentiful here.

y/ln = your last name, y/mn = your mothers name, y/dm = your dad’s name

enjoy!

I should've shut my mouth and let (y/n) make up an excuse for me. If I had, I wouldn't be sitting shotgun in Mr. (y/ln)'s Cadillac on the way to a fuckin' Country Club. Of course, the alternative would be holding (y/n)'s purse as I sat in uncomfortable chairs at a shopping mall. An equally domesticated nightmare.

"So, Eddie," Mr. (y/ln) doesn't look away from the road as he asks, "What do you do? Professionally."

"Oh--" I know (y/n) would not appreciate it if I told him I was focusing on music... "I'm a bartender." Not a lie; not entirely my full-time gig. And not exactly the answer a dad would want to hear.

Mr. (y/ln)'s knuckles whiten as he grips the steering wheel, "A bartender..."

The word bounces around the car.

"And that sort of job can provide for my daughter?" His tone indicates that he already has decided it, in fact, can not.

Clearing my throat, I try to buy time to think up a better answer. Because, damn, I'm not letting this guy insinuate that I couldn't give (y/n) a good life if I wanted to. He's struck a damn cord, and I'm not going to let him get away with it.

"I make decent enough money. People get generous when tipping at one a.m."

Mr. (y/ln) nods, "But you don't plan on bartending your entire life, I would assume."

He's giving me a chance to impress him. A chance to say I actually plan on working a 9-to-5 at a respectable establishment and buying a house with a white picket fence down the street.

"No. I don't plan on bartending forever." It feels ridiculous to have to admit this. I'm twenty-four; who says I can't bartend for another ten years? Or if I really wanted to, for the rest of my life.

He seems satisfied with my answer, hand reaching towards the radio. "You like Bob Dylan, Eddie?" He asks as he presses the play button. Is Your Love in Vain? begins playing softly through the radio speakers.

Not particularly, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

***

"I've brought along (y/mn)'s clubs. I hope you don't mind."

I shrug, hauling the grey bag out of the car trunk.

A man's voice yells out, "(y/dn)! There you are, you lazy son of a bitch." The voice belongs to a tall man with salt-and-pepper colored hair.

"Ken," Mr. (y/ln) shakes the man's hand.

"I thought you had bailed on us."

"Me, bail on a perfect day for a round?"

Ken cackles loudly, smacking Mr. (y/ln) on the shoulder again.

"Well, how about we hop to it?" Mr. (y/ln) begins to close his trunk.

Ken glances behind himself, "Steve's grabbing his clubs."

Perking up at the mention of 'Steve', I notice a tall brunet walking towards us.

"(y/dn)!" Steve grins, shaking (y/n)'s father's hand.

"Steve. How have you been, son?" Mr. (y/ln) grins back, smacking his shoulder.

"Good. Living life," Steve laughs, looking down at his feet before glancing back up. He spots me, eyebrows coming together for a moment before relaxing again, "Who's this?"

(y/dn) looks back at me as if he's forgotten I was around, "Uh-- I'd like you to meet Eddie. (y/n)'s boyfriend."

Steve's demeanor lightens at the mention of (y/n)'s name, "Boyfriend? You didn't tell me (y/n) was back in town."

"She and Eddie arrived in town about what? A day ago?"

I nod, feeling dumb standing here. So this is the guy (y/n) dated in High School. I didn't peg her for the type to date this.... type of guy. He was-- conventional in every way, a literal son-in-law in the making type. Clearly, the kind that her father wanted as a son-in-law.

Unwelcome jealousy creeps up through my chest. Pausing on the internal brooding, I question why I'm so upset over Steve's bond with (y/dn). It wasn't like we were real competition; this was fake! I don't have a good reason to be jealous or upset over (y/n)'s past. And I definitely don't have the right to want to smack that stupid nosy look off this former jock's face.

"You and Ken should come over to dinner tonight," (y/n)'s dad suggests.

"That would be great. My mom is out of town, and you know I love (y/mn)'s potato salad."

***

I'm even worse at this than I anticipated. 

"If you square up your shoulders, it should be easier," Steve mentions from behind me as I continue slowing down the group.

Oh, I am so making (y/n)'s life a living hell for forcing me into this. Or at least demanding more than a jacket out of this deal.

Taking another swing, I miss the ball again. A chunk of grass goes flying instead.

"Motherfucker," I curse under my breath, fighting the urge to throw the stupid club. I hated this.

"What was that Eddie?" (y/dn) asks.

"Oh, nothing," I play off the slip-up, returning to trying to hit the damn ball off the tee. 

Who invented this stupid game?

***

The car ride home is quiet, Steve and Ken following behind as we drive. Which I don't mind. This entire experience was-- horrific. But, at least now (y/dn) won't ask me to do something athletic again.

The moment he parks the car in the driveway, I'm out, pulling the borrowed golf clubs into the garage before making my way into the house. 

"Oh, Eddie," (y/mn) smiles from the couch, "Dinner's almost done. I think (y/n)'s around here somewhere."

"Oh, great--" 

(y/n) walks into the room, distracting me from whatever I was going to say. She's wearing a light sundress, looking like a wet dream come to life. She pauses when she notices me in the living room, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Do you like it?" She does a little turn, the skirt flaring slightly with the movement.

"Uhm--" I feel like my brain's short-circuited as I try to find words, "Yeah. Yeah-- I like it a lot."

(y/n) smiles, whispering, "It's different though, isn't it? I guess I got my karma for buying you clothing outside your comfort zone." I know her mother's watching from the couch. I tug her closer, my hand at her waist as I admire her.

"Yeah, except you look amazing, and I look ridiculous," my voice comes out a lot more breathy than teasing. 

(y/n) opens her mouth to say something back right as the doorbell rings. She turns right as (y/mn) opens the door.

"Oh, Steve! What a nice surprise." The bastard steps in holding a bouquet of flowers, embracing my fake girlfriend's mom in a hug.

"Steve--" (y/n)'s eyebrows pinch together, her lips parting slightly before she turns back to me. 

"I'm gonna go shower," I give her a weak smile, the hand on her waist squeezing slightly before I retreat back towards the hallway.

Shutting the door behind me, I turn to face the mirror. The ceramic of the countertop feels cold as I lean over the sink to stare at myself. Familiar brown eyes stare back at me, but the emotion they hold is unusual.

Why was I so jealous over (y/n)'s affection towards Steve? It pisses me off to see them continue to embrace their daughter's ex while I've received the semi-cold shoulder. At least from (y/n)'s father.

Seeing (y/n)'s family react so... positively towards Steve pissed me off.

What was it the clean-cut guys had that I didn't? No, I didn't have the material things or the physical appearance, but I was a decent person.

If I were actually dating (y/n), they couldn't ask for someone better. It would be my mission to make sure she was happy and loved. 

If we were actually together.

[lliaq]

can’t believe I’m here to talk about Eddie and Ana but...oh boy. okay.

(aka it’s time for my annual unnecessarily long meta post about the Buddie of it all but really it’s about how I think the writers backed themselves into a corner)

so, I was working on a gifset yesterday and in the process I ended up rewatching some s4 scenes. then today I went on the 911 subreddit (do not recommend) and I saw a comment saying how they felt the breakup seemed abrupt and out of nowhere, and it had me scratching my head because to me it wasn’t, like at all.

I think I mentioned this in a previous post at some point, but imho the writing was on the wall for them since at least the end of S4. I don’t know if the relationship was ever meant to last, that’s something only the people working on the show can say for sure, but it certainly wasn’t a “oh no what are we gonna do in s5? think quick, guys......Eddie and Ana breakup, yeah, good idea” kind of situation. 

Because 4x14 made choices, that are just. hm. They do not scream “this relationship is gonna last” to me. But not in the way they did it with Bathena, were there was an obvious conflict and it’s this whole dramatic omg is their relationship gonna survive this thing. It was the fact that Ana had literally 10 seconds of screen time in the entire episode and did not have a single line of dialogue. And it was in direct contrast with Bathena, and Buck’s presence. The show has a recurring trend of paralleling Buddie scenes with romantic relationships instead of platonic ones, and it does this here too, by literally cutting from Athena at Bobby’s hospital bedside to Buck at Eddie’s bedside. Not Ana. Y’know, his girlfriend, who supposedly spent a significant amount of time in he hospital, waiting for him to wake up. Not.a.single.line.of.dialogue.

There was also the awkward math date scene, if you want to go back even further, and a general sense of awkwardness and stiltedness that prevailed months into the relationship. It took Carla like 5 minutes of being in the same room with them to see right through that and tell Eddie to make sure he’s following his own heart, not Christopher’s. Overall their relationship was just never really properly developed. You’d think if they planned on having Ana stick around long term, they would have put more effort into writing the relationship, and developing Ana as her own character. They did neither of those things. So S5, to me, just feels like a logical continuation and conclusion to that.

And now that we’ve got that out the way, I would like to take a moment to talk about how, in my opinion, the writers backed themselves into a corner, whether intentionally or not.  See here’s the other thing about the breakup. Eddie was (initially) panicking at the idea of this “ready made family” with Ana. They could have easily spun that as ‘Eddie’s just not ready to move on from Shannon’, have them break up, the panic attacks stop, and that’s the end of that. Did they do that? No. They’ve made it clear that Eddie’s panic was part of a larger mental health struggle that, really, has very little to do with Ana. That relationship might have been the inciting incident that started his unraveling, but it goes way beyond that.

Now, people can (and will) argue all day about whether or not Buddie is gonna become canon. I’m not gonna do that, because a) only the writers/showrunners actually know (and, hell they might not even know at this point), so it’s always just going to be speculation and b) I’ll be fine either way. But. Here is why I think they wrote themselves into a corner: 9-1-1 isn’t the kind of show that is conceptualized and planned out from beginning to end before they even start shooting. It’s more of a figure it out as we go along and hope we get renewed for another season type of deal. Personally, I’m of the opinion that not every character needs to be in a relationship (in fact, one of the things I appreciated about the ending of Community was that they didn’t feel the need to pair everyone of), but shows like 9-1-1 tend to do that. And a next season is never guaranteed with 100% certainty. So they had the prime opportunity to set this up for Eddie, with Ana. I mean, Eddie himself tells us how perfect she is on paper. Call me crazy, but I do think they actually had some chemistry early on. It was a little awkward, sure, but they could have worked with that. I’ve definitely seen canon ships with less chemistry. But then they just made choice after choice to completely undermine whatever possibilities were there. So, now what? Ana’s gone, they sunk that ship. And I know no one likes to think about this, but the show’s not gonna go on forever. Every season brings it a little closer to the end, so if they don’t want to suddenly put Eddie in a relationship very last minute just for the sake of it, they need to take the time to develop a new romantic interest. And they don’t know how much time they’ve got. So why “waste” Ana?

*drumroll*

The Buddie of it all. 

That’s the thing that drives me bonkers sometimes, is that it’s going to be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for any new romantic interest to get even close to what Buck and Eddie have. Ryan and Oliver have great chemistry together, regardless of how you interpret the relationship, and that’s hard to replace/reproduce. It’s just one of those things where you either have it, or you don’t. Part of this is also just time. Their relationship has been built up over the course of years. To give a potential RI they bring in now the same kind of treatment, the show would have to go on for another 3-4 seasons, at least. Which again, is not guaranteed. It could happen, but it also could not. Bit of a gamble. Ana had been around as a character for a bit before they started dating, so she probably had a better chance with this than anyone new they introduce. But nope. Same thing with Taylor. Old recurring character put into relationship with main character. Sound familiar? Except, with Taylor they’ve actually tried a little bit to develop her, with the whole storyline about her father and all that, but it’s very obvious at this point that this relationship is not working, and it’s not going to last (much longer). Side note, I’m not a big fan of Taylor, but I actually didn’t mind her as much before. I think she worked as a character that just showed up occasionally, and her and Buck as friends (or frenemies, even) could have been an interesting dynamic, but oh well. Anyways, them breaking up is going to put Buck in the same spot as Eddie, as far as romantic prospects in the bigger picture sense go.

So whether or not the writers intended to end up here I can’t say, but here we are regardless. Are they just gonna keep introducing random women, hoping that they’ll find one that works before the show ends? Who knows, maybe. But they have something really good already right there. Something irreplaceable, one might even say. I really, truly, just don’t see how any new relationship they introduce is ever going to live up to that, even if Buddie never becomes canon.

(also I don’t want to say all the other main pairings are within the main cast, aside from Henren bc they were already established, but....they are. make of that what you will)

[ironkissedmage]

Okay so I'm sure it's been talked about plenty before but I just realized this direct parallel and feel like I'm going to scream so here is.. this lmao

So tonight I rewatched Buck Begins for the first time since finishing season 4. It hit me like a truck when Buck's mom yelled "You act like you're indestructible, but you're wrong." If you've finished the season too, then you'll know it's a direct parallel to Buck's hospital conversation with Eddie at the end of 4x14 where Eddie says to Buck, "You act like you're expendable, but you're wrong." So, I'm just going to unpack this a bit for my own sanity.

Buck's parents yell at him for being reckless, but by their word choice, it doesn't seem like they care about him. They think he's being careless with himself because he doesn't think he can get hurt when they know how easy it is to lose a child. They're chastising him for being reckless with his life because Daniel wasn't so lucky. It shows to me that they don't care so much about him, as much as they care about what he represents. They think he doesn't know how to think things through and that he just runs into things for no reason no matter what could happen.

Eddie, on the other hand, clearly cares about Buck. By telling him he's not expendable, he's going farther than extending a common curtesy for his friend's well-being. He's telling Buck that he matters. That it is important to him that he's okay because he can't be replaced. He's one of a kind and worthy of love and just so important to him that he has needs to know it. He knows that Buck runs headlong into danger, but he knows it's not because he's just a stupid, reckless kid. Buck would rather be harmed than see someone else go through something he could have stopped. He knows what could happen to him, he just thinks that he's replaceable in the grand scheme of things. Eddie knows he's not and is trying to get that fact through Buck's head. He cares about Buck and needs him to know it.

I could go on for hours about the hospital scene alone, but just... man this direct parallel is something else and I'm really hoping we get to see Eddie and Buck be even closer after this. I hope that Buck starts considering being cautious for his own sake because he recognizes his worth. And I really hope that they get together in the end because Buck deserves someone who loves him so completely like this.

[missmaxime]

bruh. rewatching the episodes by myself and I’m a me Sss s I’m so emotionallll.  I don’t wanna say goodbye to them ;___; tbh while the Nevada-dream felt too long last night, I didn’t have that one rewatch. maybe because now you know everything is from Beth’s perspective and it makes it even better.  - I caught on the red dress reference from the get go. But that song at the beginning ughhhh should have known it was the nightmare scenariooo - White Lily coming back several times; symbol for rebirth or rejuvenation of the soul. But also death (or the death of death in this case) soo good. And she picks it herself in it - All her dumb kids being all well-behaved, lol who are these clones. - Blueberry pancakes!!  - Kevin portrayed as a big man-child with zero responsibility (thank you Beth for sharing our collective opinion) - I’d argue he’s like a version of Dean in the way Annie is taking care of him - THEM HILLS - jaskldfjsdk Beth picturing them in matching outfits the whole vision, making THEM the unit they should be.  - Also, cryingggg; even after this huge overhaul she immediately switches to scenario’s she fears the most for Ruby and Annie - Annie not having the stability she craves. Ben not being being accepted at his school. No financial stability AGAIN. Sara rejecting her kidney - all back to square one and I AM fjadlkssldk - Dean back to being a car sales man icannot.  - Awkward Death hug kill me now - “I never thought you could be you again.” “Thank you.” (he will never accept you for who you are run Beth run). - E D D I E - the first man that was offed directly because of her.  - Also love the juxtaposition in this supermarket of Beth lecturing Eddie (the least experienced criminal that dies) vs Fitz (the most experienced criminal) lecturing Beth - “Do you wanna die?” “Kinda.” (= plz kill me i hate my life) - Wearing the same dress she wore when she broke out of her housewife role with Fitz, also endangering herself - While not exactly the same, I feel like Beth is almost picturing Annie as herself growing up. Annie has to mature real fast now, her kid’s not doing well, her living situation isn’t stable, Kevin is absolutely useless as a partner - not mature, not supportive. And while we know Kevin isn’t manic depressive like their mom was, he’s all over the place with highs and lows like someone who is might be.  - Even if Ruby and Stan start out as solid work-partners, it’s clear they disagree on how to handle things at work - which is small now, but Beth can obviously see this as a start of a snowball running down the hill  - sdkjfklasdkfj the three girls on the bench with the ‘our kids were fine at home’ - “I’ve been knitting.” DREAM BETH HAS NEVER BEEN THE PERFECT HOUSEWIFE SHE CAN’T DO IT - Even if Beth can picture this move might be a new start for all of them (or moreso for anyone not her) it’s BACK TO SQUARE ONE - And then after she gets shot Fitz juggles around a peach, which symbolisms:  “ Peach reflects happiness in all areas of our life and the satisfaction that comes from being at peace with our health, work, love and relationships. Peach also reminds us to stay grounded during this time in order to not get carried away in our fantasies. ” AND THEN. She wakes up again And Dean is close to yelling how much she should say it was RIO, that he had her shot because DEAN needs Nevada.  But she knows. That while she didn’t die from the gunshot. Nevada will truly be the death of her. And she doesn’t believe it was Rio who did this. So she can’t. She lies about Mick. Tells them it happened too quick.  And Dean feels the bubble burst inside his chest. Nevada, like he wants, is not going to happen. Not now. Not ever.  And Beth feels the same. Nevada isn’t going to happen. Not now. Not ever. Only in her case, that’s a good thing.  We see the lilies again, when Beth’s sitting on the bed. In her vision they symbolized the death of her normal. But now. Now they symbolize her rebirth, or maybe rather her tossing away that shell she wore for all those years and never 100% got rid off, but now she is doing that.  Beth chooses crime. And not only that. She chooses to go do that, gives Annie and Ruby their own choices in the matter. But she is going to do that, with Rio. She made her choice, and she choose herself and him. 

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Season 4 (Vol 1) Review and Thoughts.

Apologies for this coming a little later than I thought. I ended up rewatching  season 4 twice. The first time was for the experience, and the second time was to take notes and pick up on details I missed initially.  Needless to say, it’s still playing through my head as I’m writing this.

For the sake of people who haven’t seen this season yet, I will be tagging this as SPOILERS.

Here’s the basic breakdown:

1.) I appreciated how the show took on a darker and more mature tone in season 4, especially in comparison to the last season. There were some extremely creepy moments that kept me on edge, and times where I didn’t know where the story was going. I love feeling like this when I’m watching a movie/TV show because it means the writers are doing a good job keeping me immersed. I was also engaged in all 4 story arcs (Vecna’s attack on Hawkins, El’s journey into the past, Mike and his friends trying to find El, Joyce’s trip to save Hopper) and never got bored with any of them. I also disagree with anyone who claims the episodes were overstuffed. If anything, I appreciated the longer running time in order for the Duffer Brothers to tell the story they wanted to, and I love how this season expanded on its mythology.

2.) The opening scene in the first episode hits hard with the recent shootings that have happened in the United States. I get why they put the Warning Label at the beginning of the episode.

3.) Eddie quickly became a favorite character for me, and I felt bad for everything he gets put through. I also liked his brief but friendly interactions with Chrissy at the beginning of the episode.

4.) I know that this gets El in trouble, and it’s something that’s not advisable to do in real life, but watching El smash in Angela’s face with the roller skates after she cruelly bullied her like that was darkly satisfying to watch. I have no sympathy for Angela, and there are people out there who would have been less kind to her than El was.

5.) It feels like they’re not-so-subtly hinting that Will has a crush on Mike and is going to come out as gay. I’m basing this on what I’ve seen so far: The painting he draws and takes with him but is reluctant to show Mike, his comment about being a “third wheel” in Mike and El’s relationship, what he tells Mike about how scary it is to open up to the people you care about the most.......................they had Robin come out as lesbian last season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they go this direction with Will as well.

6.) Speaking of Robin, she was a delight this season! ☺️ Her quirky and socially awkward nature provided some great moments when she was interacting with Steve and Nancy. I’m hoping they give her a good resolution when it comes to which girl she wants to be in a relationship with.

7.) I was both disappointed and disgusted with Dr. Owens’s betrayal of El. I know they try to make him look sympathetic and explain his reasons for doing what he did, but that was still unforgivable. I also don’t really understand his reasons for trusting Brenner at this point, especially when Brenner is the one who caused this most of this mess in the first place, and probably has his own agenda.

8.) Speaking of Dr. Brenner..........................CALLED IT!  I speculated he was alive long before season 4 happened. Poor El really can’t catch a break. 😥 

9.) I don’t know how people feel about this scene........................but I was okay with the way they handled Max’s grief over Billy’s death. As much as I despise Billy as a character, I don’t think it was OOC for Max to mourn him and regret the way their relationship was. I appreciated how the show dealt with the complexities of an abuse survivor dealing with the death of the person who abused them. I was worried for a while that they were going to use this story to absolve Billy for his abusive behavior in the previous seasons (as well as to pretend he was a good brother to Max when he wasn’t), and I was relieved they didn’t go that route. The scene where Max is at Billy’s grave and reads her letter to him was emotionally touching, and Sadie Sink did a fantastic job!

10.) It’s a small moment, but it’s telling that Max went out of her way to write a letter to Steve when she thought she was going to die. The few interactions the two of them have gave the impression that Max has started to see Steve as both a friend and a protective older brother-figure. Aww! 🥰 

11.) I love Steve and Nancy individually as characters, but for the love of God............PLEASE DON”T HAVE THEM GET BACK TOGETHER IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP!!!!!!!! I do NOT want to see Nancy cheat on Jonathan, and I don’t want a love triangle where Nancy, Steve, or Jonathan come out looking like assholes. We already went through this in the first 2 seasons, and I am not interested in seeing this story get rehashed. Why can’t Nancy and Steve just be friends?

12.) Speaking of Jonathan.............am I the only one who feels like they’ve run out of ideas for where to take his character? 😒 His friendship with Argyle is okay, and Jonathan smoking weed was funny on occasion, but it’s starting to feel like the writers don’t know what to do with his character anymore.

13.) I’m reserving judgment on Lucas’s story right now because I’m not sure it’s completely finished yet. I’m theorizing that Lucas might be instrumental in stopping Jason and his gang.

14.) Speaking of Jason, am I the only one who was reminded of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast? Whipping the town into a mad frenzy to hunt down Eddie and the other members of the Hellfire Club, and to hell if innocent people get hurt or ostracized because of his actions. That town hall meeting was one of the most horrifying moments in the show. And that’s saying something considering how this show is chalk full or horrifying moments.

15.) The scene where Hopper and the other Russian prisoners try to fight the Demogorgon reminded me strongly of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Wouldn’t be surprised if the Duffer Brothers used that as inspiration for this season.

16.) Murray and Erica have started to grow on me. Erica’s sass was funny, and I like how she stood up for the Hellfire Club when Jason was painting them as a Satanic Cult. She was braver than anyone else in that room for speaking out against him. Likewise, I loved Murray’s fight with Yuri and his “black belt” karate skills! 😂 

17.) They finally managed to get Steve’s shirt off and objectify him! 🤣 

18.) Mike and Hopper were much more likable this season compared to season 3.

19.) I know Hopper is tough, but I still question his ability to ride on a snowmobile barefoot in the middle of wintry Russia at subzero temperatures, and not get frostbite on his feet.

20.) Minor question with Dr. Owens lab: Where do all the scientists and guards go once the day is over? Do they just live in that silo now? Do they have cars? If so, where are they parked, especially since they’re in the middle of a desert that they’re trying to keep off the grid? How do they get supplies delivered to them? I know these are minor questions, but they’ve been in the back of my mind since rewatching.

21.) More Nancy and Robin scenes please! 😀 

22.) Vecna was the right amount of disgusting and scary for a villain. I didn’t see the twist coming about him being Number 1, or even being Victor Creel’s son, and Jamie Campell Bower did a great job portraying him as a nihilistic sociopath. I also like the twist that it was Number 1 who massacred everyone at Hawkins Lab and not El. It seems like El finally has an adversary who’s equal in power to her.

23.) Soooo....................anyone think it’s possible that Mike, Dustin, and Lucas’s parents are going to find out about the Upside Down this season?

24.) Love the comparison between Vecna and Freddy Krueger! Lol! :)

I’ll come back and edit this if I have any more thoughts. Overall, I enjoyed this season and look forward to Volume 2 in July!

[kitkatpancakestack]

I had this saved in my drafts for awhile and I wasn't sure whether or not it added anything new, but I am feeling such EMOTIONS for these two that I figure wth I might as well chuck it into the void:

So, I know the fandom is frought with S5 speculations and head cannons, but as I have only begun to digest S4 in its entirety, I'm still thinking about it. They just gave SO MUCH, and in an abbreviated season no less.

This time I been thinking about Buck's character arc as portrayed in S4, and I've been doing my rewatch, and maybe I'm late to the party and this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I really think Buck Begins and Survivors are the literal bookends of his plotline that season. The parallels alone seal the deal for me. Can't believe I'm about to make a post primarily dedicated to Evan Buckley and not Eddie Diaz but here we go:

What I found interesting is the comparisons bw where Buck's character is in the beginning of each episode, where he wants to be, where he thinks he's headed, and where he ultimately ends up.

Where he is at the beginning

In Buck Begins, we obviously get Buck like a raw and gaping wound with his parents, completely untethered to his sense of self. His whole thing is feeling like he's lost purchase on the possession of his forged identity (Buck) in the wake of his parents - and Maddie to an extent - who intentionally or inadvertently corner him into the identity he is always trying to escape from (Evan).

In Survivors, Buck has supposedly gained sufficient closure by this point in the season regarding his disparate identities, but we find out this is still not the case. There's something holding him back, but this lack of closure is more portrayed to the audience through the surrounding characters: "Buck's gonna Buck", Bobby's use of the word "Buck" during their kitchen argument, Taylor dragging him for acting invincible like he always does. He's obviously improved from his starting place in Buck Begins, and yet the vibes are still the same: him seeking the correct way to be "Buck" from everybody but himself.

Where he wants to be

I think this goes without saying that Buck is just constantly trying to live up to the expectations wittingly or unwittingly placed upon him by the people he respects the most. In Buck Begins this concept manifests as an absence of meaning, which is noticeably filled during the end scene when the team (interesting how they chose to leave Eddie out of this moment 👀) is telling him what it means to be Buck.

In Survivors, whatever shaky grasp Buck felt he had on his identity is obliterated by the very same people who previously defined "Buck" as something good and noble, and then freely manipulate that name and ascribe to it a meaning with negative connotations. I think it's especially telling in Buck's scene with Bobby, when Buck feels he's being complimented, but this is not Bobby's intention.

Where he thinks he's headed

Buck is just so dumb sometimes, I say affectionately of course. In Buck Begins (and beginning of Jinx), it seems Buck believe he has gained the closure he thought would "fix him" from his parents and Maddie, that it's a work in progress but he's got what he needed. Nevermind this is conveyed in an episode titled Jinx. But I think he truly believes he has filled whatever hole is inside him, that he can now face the future without baggage, and that is just *face palms* *laughs sadly*

In Survivors, I'm going to humor the writers on the Buck+Taylor scenes, bc it's so obvious he thinks he's about to get what he needs, what he deserves, which is someone who chases him, and this is absolutely correct thinking, just not the correct individual. Since his parents, Buck's whole thing was seeking a meaningful relationship (he equates this with a romantic relationship) which he thinks he's headed for with Taylor.

Where he ultimately ends up

This is just me screaming my hiatus crackheadery into the void here, but in Buck Begins I Do Not get the sense Buck has ended up in that much more of a meaningful place than where he started. Yes, he has answers. Yes, he has closure (?). What he does not have is solidified sense of self. Putting my buddie hat on, me thinks it's very interesting of the writers to separate Eddie from the previous scene of everyone telling Buck what his name means to them, that they give Eddie an entire scene with just Buck where Buck doesn't have to explain himself, doesn't actively seek meaning or definition, there's just an implied sense of being Seen and Known which is of course confirmed by Eddie's, "No, I know you did ❤️."

In Survivors, this hanging plotline is resolved through Eddie. Absolutely insane of the writers. The buddie scene at the end of Buck Begins and the one at the end of Survivors have the exact same energy. They're saying the same thing. Eddie knows Evan. And when he says his birth name, when he says his whole spiel, I known I've mentioned this before but it feels like a period to the sentence started in Buck Begins. All Buck wanted, more than a place to belong or a relationship, was just to be Known. It wasn't resolved through his parents bc they didn't really know him. It wasnt resolved through Maddie bc, even they are the closest, there's something about the shared trauma of their childhood that prevents her from knowing him fully, in the way he seeks. It obviously wasn't resolved through Taylor bc despite what we get upfront, she doesn't know him either.

Eddie does resolve this bc he knows him, sometimes I think better than Buck knows himself, and the show makes sure to double down on that, and I just think that shit is beautiful.

[littlespoonevan]

Top 5 Buddie moments? ☺️🥰

oh my godddd where do i start???? can i even pick 5????????? *Edit upon finishing writing: most of these ended up focusing on Eddie’s feelings towards Buck I feel??? and I definitely have Things to say about their reunion in 3x06 and the kitchen scene bc they’re also up there as my faves so I could possibly also do an alternative top 5 that’s more Buck caring about Eddie but anyway here you go!

5. 2x04 - Buck introduces Eddie to Carla

Honestly every single interaction between them in this ep is my favourite because Buck supports Eddie so much throughout the whole ep????? Taking him to the hospital, telling Maddie what a great dad he is, giving Bobby the heads up when Eddie has to bring Chris to the station, it's all So Good. Especially when you remember they're still only just becoming friends at this point. But Buck introducing him to Carla has to be the icing on the cake for me. It's just- we've seen how smothered Eddie has felt in the past when it comes to caring for Christopher, how his parents have continually tried to take over or make him feel like he's doing something wrong, and I just really, really love that Buck offers him this support and this magic fix but in a way that doesn't undermine Eddie as a parent at all??????? Like he helps him but not because he thinks Eddie can't handle it but because he thinks Eddie deserves a break and wants to make things easier for him. It's amazing and I loVE IT

4. 3x18 - His fiancée's AbBy

sakljdfhs okay look. Listen. I love this scene so much and I think only recently sort of understand why. It's the first time we really see Eddie lose his calm during an emergency and the first time we see him specifically lose his calm over Buck. Because Eddie clearly knows how to compartmentalise and because of that we generally only see him look worried but not really outwardly react when Buck is in danger. But this scene akjsdh he's so aNNOYED and frustrated and it's fascinating because you have to wonder how much he knows about Abby and who's told him what. But what we do know is he knows Abby broke his best friend's heart and he knows Buck is willing to sacrifice himself for anyone but no way in hell is Eddie about to let him become collateral damage for someone who doesn't deserve it (and now we know he'd already changed/or was changing his will during this time *screams*). And yeah it's fun to call it jealousy but ultimately I think it was a lot of worry and a lot of frustration on Eddie's part because it's a very clear example of Buck believing he's expendable and Eddie wanting to shout, "You're wrong!!!!". Just. What a good fucking scene.

3. 3x03 - There’s nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you

I mean how could I not include this scene?????? It’s just- everything. All of it. From Buck’s voiceover to photograph playing in the background to the way Eddie all but bulldozes his way through casual conversation in the hopes of not having to explain. It’s about the absolutely unconditional way Eddie forgives him, like it’s not even a question, and the way Buck is so clearly torn up and can’t understand why Eddie doesn’t toss him aside. I’ll never get over “A few choice words can be the life raft that gets you home” combined with “There is nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you.” And obviously we know just how true that is later on but in this scene, you can tell Buck hears him even if he can’t quite allow himself to believe it yet. And it’s so soft and so gentle and just another one of those examples that prove to us that Eddie always seems to know exactly what to say to Buck to bring him back to the surface :’)

2. 4x04 - The gym scene

Honestly if it wasn’t for the season 4 finale this would be my number one. How do I love this scene? Let me count the ways. Just sakdjhfa fuck!!!!! it’s the first time we’ve ever seen Buck angry and I know obviously Eddie’s his confidant but it’s so good to actually see Eddie being his confidant. To see that Eddie’s the one he wants to vent to and that Eddie’s the one he trusts with his anger and Eddie just remains such a calming presence in the face of it all????? From the gentle way he talks to the way his foot holds down the punching bag while Buck hits it - I am on the floor. And also!!!!!! Eddie just repeatedly validating Buck’s feelings - “What do you have to apologise for? If that’s how you feel - how they made you feel - then you have every right to say so.” askdjfhas I think it’s really important actually because Buck is always called out for thinking before he acts and yeah, obviously sometimes he should apologise but I really love that Eddie takes the time to make it clear this is different. That Buck didn’t do anything wrong and is allowed to be upset. Also Eddie stopping Buck from hitting the punching bag when Buck says “I just want to hit things” and saying “I’ve been down that road. I don’t recommend it” goodbye???????????? He cares about Buck so much let me be. 

1. 4x14 - You think you’re expendable...but you’re wrong

askdjfha is there anything I can say about this scene that hasn’t already been said?????? It’s stunning. It’s so beautiful and so significant and I will never recover. Eddie is someone who struggles so much to talk about his feelings but he’s the one who initiates the conversation because this is important to him. And I said this yesterday but it really is a declaration of love????? I’ve written before about how the scene sort of parallels/answers Buck’s “Love me anyway” plea but one thing I noticed when rewatching Buck Begins is that when Buck gets hurt Margaret yells at him and says “You think you’re indestructible but you’re not” and it’s such a contrast to Eddie saying “You think you’re expendable...but you’re wrong.” even though the two sentences are almost identical. I’ve talked a lot about how significant the word “expendable” is and that parallel sort of reinforced it for me because Margaret is chastising Buck. She’s admonishing him for being reckless with himself and his body and it’s inarguably tied to Daniel. Whereas Eddie uses the word expendable because he knows Buck’s recklessness comes from a place of not feeling wanted. So he tells him I want you and I love you and you can’t get hurt because me and Christopher need you and Buck hears him. And I mean, that’s not even getting into the wILL of it all???? Like, hello???????? but I’m gonna stop now because I’m rambling but aksjdfhsja honestly this scene has broken me beyond repair and I for one am so grateful

[enbyeddiediaz]

I was rewatching 1×02 when Athena said "Cause when we take the uniform off at the end of the day it sympolizes letting go" it really made me think about 4×13 and 4×14 about when Eddie was shot, Buck was in his civilian clothing, meaning he cant really let go. What do you think about it?

I think many things abt it anon 😌

so what first made me think abt this when the episodes first aired was a gifset that paralleled this scene with buck standing there in his civvies covered in eddie's blood and I was like "oh. OH" and then I was thinking abt it, as I do. and I then I saw a meta post abt how this happened to Evan, not Buck (I can't remember who's gifset it was or whose meta post I was reading if y'all know which ones I'm talking abt please tag them). and it's true, eddie getting shot didn't happen to Buck the Firefighter, it happened to Evan. it wasn't Buck the Firefighter watching his coworker and best friend get shot, it was Evan watching his best friend and the love of his life get shot. He's not going to be able to shake this off in the same way he might be able to for another call or tragedy.

it's even different than the well in eddie Begins, bc there eddie's only in peril for a few hours, and when he's back, he's mostly fine, he's conscious, we can see the relief on buck's face, the smile, eddie probably gets to go home that night or the next morning. I'm not saying that that situation didn't fuck both of them up monumentally bc it did, but it happened on a call they were assigned to, in the middle of a storm, and they knew it was a possibility, and then the recovery was quick, eddie could go to christopher's show and tell later that week. this time however, it wasn't expected, the recovery was longer, eddie's life was in limbo longer. this time buck was actively watching eddie die in front of him, instead of just knowing it was happening underground, beneath his feet. this time buck had to tell christopher that his dad had gotten hurt and wouldn't be coming home. this time buck was taking care of christopher for days before eddie woke up from surgery. I don't want to say it was more real than the well, bc it wasn't, there's nothing more real than watching and knowing someone you love is dying and you can't do anything abt it, but this was more,,,,hard hitting. this was more than just eddie getting hurt and being in danger on a call, this was eddie getting shot right in front of him, in the streets of LA, and then having to go home to his (their) son and tell him about it, not knowing if eddie was going to live through the night.

so he can't shed the day with the uniform anymore, he wasn't wearing his uniform. he was just a guy, standing there, watching the love of his life get shot. there's no coming back from that, no shedding it with his clothes and a shower. it's going to follow him and affect him for the rest of his life.

(eddie won't ever be able to shed it either, it didn't just happen to him in his uniform, it got under his uniform, and into his skin)

[tvfangirladdict]

Okay, so like, I'm new to the 911 fandom, but I finally gave it a chance now that I've got a hulu subscription and I fell in love instantly. I binge-watched all 4 seasons in like a week, and the only reason it took me that long was because of work.

But okay, I can't be imagining Buddie, right? Because like, I have a bad habit of picking OTPs (ie. Destiel and Sterek) that have little to no chance being canon, especially when they're slash because we're still not at a point where television shows want to take the risk of alienating part of their audience by introducing the possibility of gay attraction in leading male characters. Like, it's fine if they're introduced as gay from the beginning and they become the token gay character (Michael basically, or Hen), but God forbid one or two male leads develop romantic feelings for a guy when they've already had relationships with women on the show, because apparently bi men don't exist.

So anyway, I've gotten used to shipping couples that will never happen, and being excited for every little scene they have together, and reading too much into everything. Like, Sterek I love, but I knew was never gonna happen. I never got a vibe off of them together that made me think it was possible, I felt they were completely platonic, no matter how much I might've hoped otherwise. But then there's ones like Destiel where they definitely hinted at and literally addressed in the show, but I still had no real hope for becoming canon because the previously mentioned television cowardice. Which just made 15x18 mindblowing for me and I'm still in shock, but I'm not here to talk about that.

I guess I just need to know, like, objectively, is Buddie real or is it just more hopeful thinking? Because, like with Destiel they're addressing it in the show but they're not shooting it down right after and mocking the idea like in SPN. And idk if they're wanting to hint at it, or if they're just trying to normalize straight dudes who are comfortable with their sexuality, you know? Like when Buck just thanked the elf, was that a hint at a possibility of Buddie, or are they just trying to show how a straight, mature man could handle being perceived as gay? I mean, Buck calls him "brother" right before that. I've noticed this show is probably one of the most progressive I've seen, so I can't tell.

They just bring it up so often, I can't help but hold out hope. I got on here to write this after rewatching 2x18 and seeing those live stream messages for the first time, two of which talked about how they're cute together and should be a couple. Like, idk, continuing to bring it up by throwing in small stuff like that, and the throw away comment Maddie made about Buck's boy crush on Eddie because he really does talk about Eddie a lot, and two conversations they've had about Eddie trusting Buck with Christopher and it's just a lot. Like, realistically, does Buddie have a chance? Everyone can read relationships and body language and the unspoken aspects differently, so I know there will be people who believe it's real, but I want to know if it's possible that 911 will actually make it happen officially. Do we really think this show will take two of the male leads who have up to this point only been with women, and allow them to come together romantically? Or will they just continue to tease and torture us with it like SPN did with Destiel? Because I don't think I can wait another 11 years for one of them to finally get their shit together only to die right after. Like, once was enough thanks, I'd rather Buddie go the platonic Sterek route than to go through that dumpster fire again. Just put me out of my misery

@lemotmo I'm just so used to my shows queerbaiting that I have a hard time believing any of it is genuine, you know? I'm used to writers hinting at it to keep us hooked, so I'm not sure I have it in me to hope for it, so I really hope they make a decision in s5.

[milenadaniels]

On Eddie/Shannon (and Ana and Buck)

So I was rewatching Eddie Begins for a thing I'm working on and I noticed almost a throwaway line I hadn't heard before. I've seen fandom talk a lot about Shannon as a mom but I've seen next to nothing about Eddie/Shannon as a couple and y'all, from what evidence we have, it was a pretty horrible relationship. I mean just god awful and irredeemable.

(Cut for length but as a teaser, I've been firmly on the Bi!Eddie boat since I fell into this trash bin but by the end of writing this I'm actually wondering if they don't mean to reveal him as gay instead because his relationships with women are nearly identical in the worst way.)

Obviously, we saw the fallout/arguments both times he came home and Shannon ended up leaving but there's a one-liner that points to how they were before Christopher was born too. Right at the start of the argument about Eddie re-enlisting without telling her, Shannon says, "Again. Without telling me. I got pregnant and you signed up. Surprise!"

This man literally heard he was about to be a father and went "how can I both provide for my growing family and not have to deal with this at all?" and joined the fucking army on the spot. And then he kept re-enlisting even though his continued absence was hell on his wife.

Honestly, from my POV, mad props to Shannon for dipping as soon as she could. Absolute dick move as a mother (she for sure could have taken/come back for Christopher) but as a wife I'm so on her side here. They got pregnant and Eddie bailed repeatedly and not only bailed but left her in El Paso with his family (her mother is implied to live farther away), and we don't know all the circumstances of her situation but we do know that A) she was very familiar with the Diaz' parents' criticism, and B) she had no life of her own to speak of!! She had no job, never mentioned anything other than her mother, and in their big fight Eddie even stresses that no, she can't get a job, her place is in the house raising Christopher.

I love Eddie Diaz an unhealthy amount but much like Buck 1.0 was painful to watch, Eddie pre-Shannon-leaving was a dick. Which is super telling me to me. Because Eddie's canonically an amazing father.....once he's a single father!

I still have a few important episodes of season 2 to watch that might provide more context but yeah, I think Shannon/Eddie were one of those couples that just were together cuz they had some interest (I always think of Sk8r Boi - he was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious?) but ultimately didn't really connect much? But they either got married because it was the Next Thing to do or because she got pregnant, it's not clear. And their relationship seems to have degraded with each milestone because they just weren't right for each other, they were just stuck.

Literally on the beach, they're admiring Christopher and his constant happiness and Shannon goes "yeah, I don't know where he gets that" ...maybe because happiness is not a defining trait of their relationship? And Shannon is also literally asking, bro what is this? What are we doing? What am I to you? And he can't answer! He can't say, "you're the woman I'm in love with". He just knows that he's supposed to be with the mother of his kid so there we go! :)

Throughout the entirety of Shannon's arc on the show, Eddie repeatedly is ambivalent about whether to get back with her. There's no consistent "I love her so much but X" or "I have no feelings for her anymore but I should try for Christopher", there's a consistent "I don't know, I don't know, I'm waiting for a sign I guess? I don't know".

WHICH

I think it's super interesting when it comes to Ana because our boy has learned precisely 0% of his lessons when it comes to romantic relationships. He's still operating under Sk8r Boi rules and looking for a vague cutout of what a "mother for Christopher" is supposed to look like, connection and shared values be-damned! And with Ana it's like ":) it's nice?" and correct me if I'm wrong but we haven't seen any actual kiss, or like big gesture or anything towards her, right? It's just more of the same "sure? I guess? waiting for a sign" kind of energy. And for those few who didn't see it very clearly from acting choices and writing, we have Carla stopping by to say "look at your life, look at your choices."

And it's so absurd because if this was any other show you'd just be like "aw, this poor guy really struggles to connect with people" EXCEPT HE DOESN'T. Eddie is shown very much connecting emotionally with other people - primarily Buck (and Bobby), then all of the 118 and Carla and his Abuela/Pepa. (Obviously Christopher is #1 but I'm talking connecting on equal footing as adults.)

And looking at his relationship with Buck...it's literally the opposite of ambivalence. As noted here, it literally took 1 whole day for Eddie "Mr. Broody, according to Shannon" Diaz to be dancing like a dork and throwing himself into Buck's space. He introduced Buck to Chris (offscreen) pretty much right after, made Buck a part of their Christmas when he didn't want to include Shannon. And yes there are more dynamics at play here (reintroducing a lost parent is a lot more disregulating to a kid than introducing a new coworker).

But I'm talking about active passion here vs passive indifference.

About pulling this coworker into his life to the point that Buck becomes a staple of the Diaz home, to the point that as Eddie's dying, he thinks of his son and half the memories include Buck too (and Shannon's there literally as a 'hey you can't leave him too' warning, there's not a single happy memory of her in that whole montage, not even at the beach which was super cinematically shot).

About the fact that when Shannon got pregnant, he signed up for the army without telling her.

The Big Thing he hid from Buck? Making him Christopher's legal guardian, tying him to his family legally for all time.

In conclusion, Shannon leaving was the best thing for both of them to have a chance at happiness (though healthy, well-adjusted people might have figured a divorce and living nearby would have been better for Christopher but alas). And now Eddie is repeating his pattern of not looking for or choosing his happiness with Ana. It's the exact same relationship dynamic, and I'm looking forward to him understanding that and moving on from it.