#s5 is good but it’s just like. there have to be more conversation topics

[arospecsyourblockdudes]

I really really really love TMA season 5 and I think the last handful of episodes were really good and it was a good ending for the podcast, I love how unique the statements and domains were now that any notion of reality could be done with. I just wish that the plot structure outside of the statements was something similar to what they did in season 3 and not just Martin and Jon talking about how the apocalypse sucks and Jon being depressed. Like ok got some iconic moments but I just wish what the plot structure was like in those last few episodes after they got to London was just how it was for the whole time. I also wish they stuck to their guns on Fear Soup, especially after all the blended domains they went through, instead of doubling down on “yeah the Fears are separate beings and also sort of sentient”. In my mind that isn’t real

[legomonkiefics]

Hello! I hope you’re doing good! I’m not sure if this has been done yet, but I got an idea for a fluff (possibly a pinch of angst?) scenario!:

Any, all or two of the traffic light trio sillies (Mei, Red Son, MK), with an s/o GN!reader that’s an experienced healer who takes care of them after a tough battle against a monster of your choosing. Maybe they have a heartfelt conversation afterwards, or during the process of patching them up, about getting themselves in danger for the sake of saving the world? 👀

Been thinking a lot about this since s5 lmao. Haven’t fully recovered yet 💀

🍜💛 Healing a Trio —🐉💚 Traffic Light Trio x GN Healer!Reader HCs 🔥❤️

Genres: Fluff || they/them pronouns for reader || No warnings needed

₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆˚｡⋆୨🍜🐉🔥୧⋆˚｡⋆✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ . ݁˖

- It had been a fight with a huge hawk demon, one that MK was pretty confident he could take, especially cause Mei could use her bike to move closer to the threat. Red Son was roped in by circumstance, begrudgingly working with the heroes to defeat the threat. The attack was a surprise, so there wasn't much the Trio was prepared to do. Once it finally ended, they were sufficiently scratched, scuffed, battered, and bruised

- The three had come to you a little hesitantly. They didn't like feeling like they were bothering you, especially because these always ended in some deep conversations about the nature of self-sacrafice and priorities. When you'd opened your door to the three and allowed them in without many questions, they filed in, MK and Mei attempting lighthearted jokes right off the bat to diffuse tension

- MK, for as much as he gets hurt, sucks at getting patched up. He hisses and writhes if the topical medicine stings, yelping and whining at the unpleasant sensations. He's a very dramatic patient, but a very talkative one as well

- He tells you about the fight, reassuring you that he already remembers the conversations you'd both had before about these things. He's not exactly happy having to sit still while getting bandaids and bandages applied, but he's obviously still proud of his victory

- He's more quiet when you're closer, focusing on the feeling of your hands on his skin, the gentle and reliable touch providing a sense of safety and warmth. He feels his heart swell seeing the determined expression you have while working, and little flutters when you occasionally banter back. This routine between you was familiar, it was comforting. He felt safe under your care

- Mei, meanwhile, is also a pretty passionate speaker, but much less of a whiner than MK. Her problems are mostly just squirming from being hyperactive and wound up on adrenaline, frequently trying to hop off of your workbench to demonstrate a move

- Your gentle chastising with Mei is unique, specifically taking time to address how she feels being on the sideline of missions these days, and having to hold things together for MK most of the time. She feels like she can have that full honesty with you, your complete confidentiality and understanding helping to hold her together

- She flirts with you more openly than the other two. Any time you're close enough, she points out something about your face to compliment. She offers to help you do small things, asking questions about your job and what kinda stuff you see outside of the Monkey Crew

- Red Son, like the others, is a talker. His ramblings are closer to ranting and raving, and outside of waving his arms or doing grand dramatic gestures, he's more still than the other two

- Conversations about his family are what come up most often, when he isn't bragging about his villainy or latest attacks on the town. More recently he's been talking a lot about working as a food vendor. It's nice to see him happy about something that doesn't come from malicious intent

- He allows himself to show past his anger and be more vulnerable with you. He's a hint softer, a little more willing to be honest and open with you. He loves your willingness to do this for them, and he tells you frequently how much he admires you and your work

- The three usually stick around for a few hours after each appointment, talking with you and telling you about everything you my have missed in their lives. They treasure their individual time with you, and Mei and MK especially try to hype you up all the time to show their thanks

- They invite you out every once in a while to have some hangouts without medicine or injury in the picture. They introduce you as a vital member of the team to others and get protective of you during battles

[shaunashipman]

Maybe this feeds into same-sex relationships, but I feel like Buck acts differently to how he does when he's in a relationship with his previous exes, like in the Halloween episode I don't think he'd act like how he did if he were with Abby or Taylor (the other exes - Natalia and Ali, they were quite shortlived, so I'm not counting them). I think it's partially cause of gender roles but maybe also because he feels more himself with Tommy? I feel like Abby and Buck kind of wanted different things, whereas Taylor and Buck were good for a while, except I think she used him sometimes, which is kinda insincere.

I could be wrong though in saying that, does this make sense? I think with Tommy he feels like he can be more himself and Tommy is good for him.

it probably is partly about it being a same sex-relationship, from both a watsonian and doylist perspective. maybe buck feels he can let himself be doted on now that he's been forced to re-evaluate what behaviours in a relationship were based solely on gender; and also maybe the writers are subconsciously (and maybe consciously) writing him in a less stereotypical masculine role in the relationship because it's between two men.

but it's not that he never acted that way in previous relationship that is notable; it's that we never saw it. abby isn't quite a comparable relationship here, simply because she was a main character herself with her own arc. with taylor, the majority of their interactions in the first half of s5 were either directly work related—ghost stories—or buck talking to her about his Plot of the Week—maddie & chim, the hostage ep. but she wasn't a running part of the plot throughout the episode, it was a scene or two where she was for the most part a sounding board.

and when she did start to more screen-time in buck's plots in 5b, it became immediately apparent that it was the beginning of the end, what with the lucy kiss happening in the 5b premiere. (we won't talk about how the kiss ended up having fuck all to do with their break-up, and therefore just poisoned the audience against a new character and caused them to dislike buck a bit for literally no reason) so all their scenes in 5b essentially just became conversations about their relationship. we didn't really get to see them just being around each other like tommy and buck were.

also just on the topic of taylor, i don't like her, but i don't feel saying she "used [buck] sometimes" is accurate. i know it was a Thing™ while s5 was airing that was using him for stories, like saying that's why buck didn't tell her the whole story about the hostage situation, but that stuff never happened in the show. in "first responders" buck goes to her first. yes, being on a story like that would be good for her career, but they were working together, there was no using. and it's not like she spied on his convo with hen & chim about jonah. she broke their trust, yes, and it could be said that she used him in that instance, but she also then did her own work off of what hen & chim said to find out all the other stuff. no hounding buck for info or anything.

anyway, yes buck may be acting a little different because he's dating a guy, maybe it's not that different and we're just actually seeing it, or maybe it's just that buck finally feels comfortable in a relationship, that happens to be with a man. the most salient point is that we're seeing this part of the relationship at all, where tommy is thoroughly involved in buck's plot, and that plot is not about their relationship.

[kiirotoao]

Can we talk about Mileven for a minute. Another reason I don't buy their romantic relationship is the fact that most of their one on ones as a romantic couple (S3) are comedic and not very serious. Where are the deep conversations and when are we ever shown how much they understand each other... post (S2). It's almost like once they started dating they became a joke? Yes they have a few sweet moments but it's also scripted to be laughable. (S4) never showed them having a honest deep convo resolving issues and growing romantically. It could happen in (S5) but at this point I don't see the emotional romantic draw.

And then there is Byler to compare it to, where most of their one on ones are much much more serious, deep, heartfelt, with actual evidence of understanding and talks involving their feelings (which Mike seems to not have an issue with unlike his plot in S4 with El). This, mind you, happens to some degree in every season with Will. If Mike just sees Will as his best friend, why is he so serious about Will especially alone together. Even best friends are more casual then this.

Also a side note. The (S3) Mileven straight stereotype of the 'lazy, lying, clueless boy' dating the 'girl who is playing hard to get to teach her boyfriend a lesson' troupe is icky and makes me want El to find her power solo and Mike to remember that the old Mike (who has a special will voice) is a much better person and boyfriend. Thoughts?

Damn! Well said, dear anon!! I couldn’t agree more.

To anyone who says anything along the lines of ‘oh, Mleven can’t be broken up, they’ve been building up this whole time!’ Or ‘here’s the slow burn everyone wanted,’ or ‘Mike and El have grown so much even after fighting,’ I really don’t understand how any of that is founded. I totally agree and I feel like their relationship has been rather unserious. Even in the most serious love-centered topics of support (s1), connection (s2), breakups (s3), and expression (s4), it’s really interesting to me how their relationship has consistently lacked depth.

Despite dealing with some of the most important aspects of strong relationships, they aren’t close enough to showing, providing, or proving to have one. Mike supports El in season 1 as she does him, protecting and aiding each other with their strengths. But… so does everyone in that season to each other? The only difference is that Mike sheltered El which is very sweet, but not inherently romantic.

Then there’s season 2, which I must confess - I think that their reunion scene at the end of the season remains one of the sweetest moments on the show. Ever. It’s raw and emotional, and this was the closest thing we got to something romantic. But what shoots it down is the fact that their emotion was due to forced separation and Mike’s very real complex grief which gets completely glossed over in the show. So, I don’t know. It’s tricky. So are they romantic yet? They get virtually no time together. It’s a no for me.

And oh yeah, season 3 was the peak of unserious-ness. I also don’t enjoy that trope of ‘the boy chasing the girl who just doesn’t get it yet and she snubs him until the very end’ kind of energy. I swear that that stuff is littered in family-friendly movies usually as comedic relief, and Mike and El just barely made that trope more serious at the very least. Their breakup is dramatized and humorous, and the way that it’s mended still makes me chuckle. Mike offers her M&Ms, compliments her looks, they smile at each other, and suddenly they’re all good again? Yeah, that’s not very clear romance to me. All season long, they keep resisting each other. Mike lashes out to everyone and declares that he loves El but can’t say it to her face, and El has Max’s words tattooed on her heart that she keeps asserting that she deserves trust. The two just don’t quite reach each other that season. The second that I heard Hopper say that they’ve only been kissing all Summer long without complaining about them talking, I knew that I was not going to be invested in their relationship this season.

And so season 4 was truly the nail in the coffin, the final turning point. They’re not only shallow in making up, they’re shallow in being together. El isn’t honest with Mike about her time in Lenora, how she’s spent it, the people she’s met, the fun she’s truly having. Mike snaps about Will being disinterested, so it’s pretty clear that he was dishonest about his true feelings that day, too. And the most telling part is that he’s not mad at El. He’s mad at Will.

I think that what the writers have done is craft something so deeply intricate and hidden with Mike and Will to the point of confusion in much of the audience today. Will has always been a buffer of affection for Mike. In season 1 he’s the one they’re searching for. In season 2, he’s the one that Mike protects. In season 3, he’s the true breakup that Mike fights for. In season 4, he’s the listening ear and bleeding heart that Mike relies on. Their love only gets stronger and stronger whereas Mike and El are simply loving under the guise of physical closeness. I seriously think that that’s all that they have for each other.

That hug sequence at the end of season 4 really shocked me, because when I saw Mike and El hugging (not to mention that shot with Will right between them) I thought that it was sweet, but then suddenly Will and El are hugging, the siblings who are absolutely platonic, and it felt more emotional than Mike and El’s embrace. So not only are Mike and El visually equated to a platonic relationship, but their bond doesn’t even hold the same weight as the sibling-hood of Will and El.

It’s just wild to me that people don’t see it. I think that Byler is made abundantly clear for us to root for. The crazy together scene did it for me the first time I saw it. It was and still is one of my favorite scenes ever because it’s the total package. Closeness? Check. Honesty? Check. Hurt/comfort? Check. Matching, nerdy Halloween outfits? Check. The lack of anyone or anything else to distract them? Check. The crazy together scene is a marker of their relationship, and it never, ever dies.

Even though they fight, where are they years later? They’ve gone through supernatural and personal troubles together, and they’re still by each other’s side. “Friends. Best friends.” The same at heart. They promise to support each other, they reconnect, they come back from every breakup, and they readily express things on their minds and hearts. They’re there for each other and tell each other things that no other boys in the party have told each other.

Mike and El try to understand each other, they do, and sometimes it’s just trying that’s enough, but on a truly intimate level, that’s bullshit. Mike and Will have everything that they need and want for each other, and there’s no going through hoops to get it besides internalized homophobia. Which I very well think can be reasonably addressed next season.

So yep. Byler is endgame.

[theninth09]

This isn’t anything deep but I just love that both Liam and Theo know how to fake cry and have utilised. Liam when Scott and Stiles tied him up and Theo in the police station and in Scott’s car.

Also off topic, but is Liam blonde? Cuz I see illustrations and some fics where he is written as a blonde guy. I honestly kinda like the idea of blonde Liam.

omg you're right. liam even went all out with those teary puppy dog eyes and that weird whimper he does... like its not just forcing a little tear, he actually tries to appear as if hes scared with his facial expressions. and i mean, maybe he was a bit scared. just a lil. he doesnt believe that sciles are telling him the truth at that point (obviously) but getting attacked by some creature-person, scott biting him and then kidnapping him? even though liam handles that situation impressively well, i do think there was a little real fear inside of him. so maybe he drew on that as well to be even more convincing.

actually- this would fit thiams conversation in the truck from s6ep16. "people only feel one emotion at a time, liam. which is why you get angry when you're afraid." if we assume that he was afraid because of getting tied up and everything, this would explain his aggressive behavior afterwards. i think he definitely fakes most of it (the crying), but this may be a pattern for liam, as theo points out. instead of demanding an explanation from sciles, he attacks them and runs away. sure, he just thinks they're crazy and wants to get away from them. but its not like scott kidnapped him for no reason. liam saw. he witnessed a "person" not looking or acting like a person. he got attacked by it. he felt scott's fangs, he saw scott. as a human, none of that has a reasonable explanation. so him getting angry and running away... that was probably him actually being scared bc he cant make sense of what happened to him.

regardless, its impressive (and really funny) that he makes himself cry and puts on this "im just a scared boy :(" show. its even more impressive bc stiles seems to fall for it? stiles, famously known for Not falling for anyone's bullshit, stilinski? believing liam? like, okay. this feels like further proof to me that liams fear, at least, was real bc in later seasons hes kinda bad at pretending (that scene in s6a where him and mason show up at the house where sciles were bc of the ghostriders and he goes "h-hey what. what are u doing here" lmao) Anyway. love this instance of his quick thinking skills. hes actually very smart (when he wants to be.)

and theo does it constantly, yeah. those scenes are actually some of my favorites, if not my absolute favorites, from him in s5. its just so good and so hilarious how he makes himself small and makes his voice go all quiet and he literally starts stuttering and stumbling over his words, just for him to do his Evil Grin as soon as no one is looking at him anymore. makes me wonder what watching s5 would've been like if they hadn't shown us who theo actually is. i think that would've been kinda cool, getting manipulated and lied to by him as a viewer, just as he does to the pack. the twist at the end of s5a not only being a surprise to the characters, but the one's watching as well. and then getting shown his evil schemes in flashbacks... idk. could've been fun.

and okay omg. liams hair is so confusing to me. because in s4, he definitely looks blonde to me. look at this.

thats blonde. not the lightest blonde ever, sure, but still. maybe a dirty blonde or whatever term fits here. i personally wouldnt call this brown. right? right. i think we can agree. blonde. in s5 his hair looks much the same, maybe a tiny bit darker but still.

and then. Then. s6ep1. excuse this weird fucking picture, its the only scene where his hair is like this.

like. okay... on top it looks blonde, but it's noticeably darker at his neck. but again, this is the only scene in s6 where his hair is like this. in the same episode, even before this scene, his hair is darker, like its the entire rest of s6. pics for reference:

the first one is the very first scene of s6ep1 and the lighting is shit but its still obviously dark. like that's brown. that is Brown.

so like obviously they filmed that kissing scene before any other scenes. makes sense, since that exact hairstyle is also the hairstyle he has at the very end of s5b. so like. is he blonde??? did they dye his hair??? i have genuinely no idea. if they did dye his hair, why? or did his hair just become darker as he aged? but in some scenes it looks like his roots are lighter than the rest of his hair...

i wish i could tell you what his hair color is. people have their own opinions about this, bc ive seen fanart where hes very blonde but ive also read fics where he gets described as having "raven locks" which?? i think of black when reading that. idk. its whatever. hes a blonde, a brunette, go wild. whatever makes you happy.

[daniclaytcn]

🔥 + maddie :)

i'm gonna be honest, maddie's conversation with hen in 6x16 kinda disappointed me because it made a really good point about maddie's difficulty in reconnecting with the people in her life after she came back from boston; and that would have been such a good and interesting aspect to explore outside of a single throwaway line. because, let's be real, maddie didn't exactly have a lot going on in this season until death and taxes. and i just feel like she (and chim) should have been given a lot more, individually and together, given the fact that they weren't there for a good portion of s5. idk. i just feel like it would have made the proposal at the end a lot more satisfying.

send me a 🔥 + a topic for an unpopular opinion!

[hecatesbroom]

I never thought about the multiple variations of when Dorothy was married as Sophia trying to publicly protect her but wow. I do wonder how much Dorothy understands Sophia is protecting her, because there's definitely Complicated Feelings between them and it seems like maybe Dorothy sees Sophia's disappointment/anger first (do they ever mention how Sal felt? I remember Dorothy saying she always thought he wasn't proud of her or something but idk if it was related to her pregnancy ... also gotta wonder how it effected her relationship with Gloria and Phil)

Hii anon! If you'd like a more in-depth take on Sophia protecting Dorothy through the inconsistency of her stories I highly(!!) recommend the lovely @the-eclectic-wonderer 's post on Dorothy's age when she married Stan (I haven't looked the same at Sophia since!)

I've got a lot of things to say about this, so I'm putting my thoughts under the cut to avoid clogging people's dashes haha

I personally think Dorothy doesn't really know the extent of how much Sophia cares for/protects her in those moments (& those moments specifically, because I feel like she's otherwise pretty attuned to the way Sophia shows affection? They've got pretty similar problems around opening up with other people and several of their scenes together show that they've sort of found a way around this!) But their general relationship aside, it's pretty clear in several instances that Dorothy is hurt by Sophia's remarks on her marriage with Stan, her pregnancy, etc — so I can't help but think she's not too aware of what Sophia is doing, trying to help and protect her? Especially when, in a lot of cases, she could've just said nothing and avoided hurting Dorothy entirely; there's usually a less hurtful path involved, but Sophia purposely chooses to make her remarks. Whether or not they're constructed to protect Dorothy in one way or another, she still makes the choice to hurt her too (although, knowing Sophia, I doubt she's fully aware of the effects her words have? Idk, that's some food for thought!)

It seems like this isn't a topic either of them has ever been too willing to discuss, let alone openly and emotionally. Sophia tends to deal with things with jokes and nasty comments, and Dorothy seems to shut everyone out entirely. I'm not sure where I'm going with this exactly haha, but what I'm trying to say is their coping methods are too far apart (and too similar) for the opportunity for any real, constructive conversation about this to have occurred? So maybe Sophia is reaching out to Dorothy in her way (the only way she knows how to) and Dorothy... Well, I think she mentioned it genuinely hurts her at some point (though I'm not sure if that was in response to a Stan-related comment or something else) which I think means we can conclude she doesn't see the deeper layer behind Sophia's behaviour — or maybe she does, but it doesn't take away the hurt?

As for Sal: I believe Dorothy mentioned something about his reaction in S5, E13: Mary Had A Little Lamb. I don't remember her speech in its entirety, but she mentioned something about "Only having one parent [Sophia]" for a while, so I think Sal took it a lot less well than Sophia.

Good point about Gloria and Phil too!! I genuinely have no clue. We do know Dorothy's a lot older than both of them (I think she was 7 when Phil was born, and if I remember correctly, it's implied that he was the middle sibling?) so if Dorothy was 17 when she got pregnant and married Stan, it means Phil and Gloria were 10 and under. She was, by all accounts, An Adult to them already — so it might not have damaged their relationship, so much as changed their perception of her? I'm sure they could've been a lot closer if Dorothy had been allowed to stay at home and be a child for longer than she was. As it is, I can't help but wonder if they ever saw her as their peer or more like an older relative?

[bylertruther]

same anon help. hi 🫶 no they definitely blocked and directed that s4 scene in will’s bedroom perfectly but i meant an intentionally shot lighthearted scene that we can’t miss about mike noticing his butt OR like you said some kind of acknowledgment conversation! show us that boy is gay as hell yk 😭 too funny. and i mean. will having his own gay moment in the apocalypse if mike happens to show his arms or torso like how nancy stared at steve (an example don’t judge me!) or max with the binoculars when. we deserve harmless chaos as a treat

i will take the fall and blame for these topics dw

did i get so lost in the teehee tight pants sauce tht i got too silly :/ are we not allowed to acknowledge his wardrobe, finn's eyes, what's in the frame when he's on screen, or what they say about it later on in conventions. girl help i feel like i failed a perception check and stepped on a land mine 😭

anyway. no, i get u. dustin has had a few moments throughout the series, lucas had his "mystery" item under his bed, el has had little joke moments n scenes where she acknowledges tht men are nice to look at or whatever, max had the binocular scene, and will had hosegate which wasn't funny/lighthearted but still counts. s5 is mike's turn, i'm sure! esp as this love triangle plot comes to a close and he'll generally be a bigger character again. if there were ever a time to be undeniably gay, it'd be then i hope.

that thought about the apocalypse shenanigans makes me giggle and kick my feet though bc will is sooo chaste victorian woman tht allows himself fleeting glances and yearning stares when he thinks no one is looking, at least thus far. he just 🥺 and 😳 or 👀. he already gets flustered so easily that i fear he'd need a fainting chair if we put him through anything more. i mean, mike just has to smile at him and he's already a goner. if you turn it up a notch, his heart would give out probably. unless....? coming of age... you make me feel like i'm not a mistake at all... like i'm better for being different... a new era may jus be on the horizon 🤔

and mike? uptight, ridiculous, and ever-turbulent mike? i'm cheesing at my phone rn, like i neeeeeeeed to see whatever it is they'll cook up for him. i Need to. i'm on the edge of my seat trembling with excitement for the day that gif makers can finally make sets of the "it's not my fault you don't like girls!" or "we're friends! x2" scene juxtaposed with whatever gay shit he'll do in s5. i'll bite a chunk out of my screen fr fr the second he starts floundering and flailing and realizing and feeling as his world totally shifts in a way that cannot be unshifted.

everything is always so Serious with byler, like... can they Please get some fun like everyone else. can they Please get some hehe haha moments. and can they PLEASE get some gay shit that you don't have to observe with a microscope to notice and that doesn't make you want to wail. can mike please have a moment that finally frees him of the straight man allegations for good and isn't homophobic or projection like is this all truly too much to ask for bc i think equal representation is the bare minimum actually 💔

[runninguplenorahills]

Mike is going have a heart-to-heart with Hopper in s5 Theory with a capital “T”

At the end of season 4 we have this very minor Mike/Hopper bonding moment which is honestly pretty cool considering the fact that they didn’t really leave on good terms in s3. It emphasized that the “hatred” towards each other was a short lived phase and not anything serious or overly concerning. Their interaction set the path for their relationship to be better in s5 than it was in s3!

Hopper:“you grew”

Mike:“you shrunk”

This is their dialogue in this scene and it immediately shows us that both of them are past what had happened the summer before, while still keeping that dynamic they’ve got going on with Mike having the freedom to be snarky and not overly cautious around Hop. They also hug afterwards which indicates that Mike is comfortable around him.

“You grew” is of course not only about Mike’s hight! It’s a comment on Mike having made progress in growing up, and that he’s more mature than he was last summer. This was their very first interaction since last summer though! They have not seen each other in 8 months and so Hop doesn’t actually have any evidence for the second meaning of “you grew”………yet!

I think this scene was foreshadowing the fact that Mike and Hopper will actually fully mend their relationship in s5 by having an impactful scene together! And I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be a heart-to-heart and variation of a coming out scene!

Why do I think that?

At the end of season 3, right after that very awkward kiss between Mike and El, El goes to Joyce and they talk about the speech Hop wrote, and Joyce says:

“It’s the speech Hop wrote for you and Mike” – “you know. The heart-to-heart” – “he never talked to you didn’t he?”

The speech was for El and Mike! They were all supposed to have a heart–to–heart together but as we know, that didn’t work out at all.

Could this also mean that Hop will have a heart-to-heart with El and not Mike? Well, yeah. But I honestly don’t think it does! Hopper wanted to teach them an important lesson with his speech. The message behind his words was the important thing and by reading the letter El got that message! It might’ve not been in person but El already received that heart-to-heart that she was supposed to get. Mike didn’t.

Hopper’s speech/letter:

“I know this is a difficult conversation but I care about you both very much and I know that you care about each other very much […]”

Hop cares very much about both of them! YES, Hopper is El’s dad and YES, he’s going to be biased in a lot of different situations, siding with his daughter, but he also cares very much about Mike! So when Hop finds out about Mike and El’s current situation, I don’t think he will be an asshole to Mike again!! He said he cares very much about him but he has yet to show that he really does! And if he’s just an asshole to him again in s5 then he’s contradicting himself, their scene in s4 would be totally misleading and it would just be bad writing which is why I’m actually certain that Hop will even try and be there for Mike if he sees that he’s in distress over something!!!

This whole sentence also feels like it could foreshadow a heart-to-heart with Mike and Hop because the way it is phrased can totally be applied to Mike and El’s current situation!

“[…]a difficult conversation[…]” -> a heart-to-heart with Mike and Hopper would definitely be a difficult conversation because the main topic is a sensitive one, Mike already struggles with opening up and talking about his feelings, the suggestion of a breakup is difficult and the situation is just overall complicated!

“[…]but I care about you both very much and I know that you care about each other very much[…]” -> anyone who cares about Mike and El sees that they’re both not happy and that this is not working so the conversation is very much needed because Mike sorting out his feelings and a breakup is the best for the both of them!

“I care about you both very much” , “you care about each other very much” -> those two fragments are almost identical in sentence structure and wording which is usually done when trying to emphasize a connection between two separate things! So I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that Mike and El care about each other in a similar way that Hop cares about both of them: platonically!! Which reminds me of “Care. But you don’t love me anymore?” It’s almost like Hop will suspect that Mike doesn’t love El but cares about her endlessly nonetheless! And because Mike cares about her so much he should break up with her because that’s the best for her as well!!

“So we can build an environment where we all feel comfortable, trusted and open to sharing our feelings”

Mike is so clearly included in this!! Hop doesn’t only want El to feel comfortable and trusted enough to be open to sharing her feelings with him, he wants for Mike to feel and do the same!!! Can y’all imagine what kind of cement block would’ve come crashing down on Mike if he had heard Hopper say this to him during s3?? A person representative of a father figure (not to mike but narratively) actively trying to arrange things in a way that makes Mike feel comfortable to talk about his feelings??? Mike is in desperate need of that heart-to-heart!!

I feel like this sentence is also very telling that it all rather leads to a Mike/Hopper heart-to-heart than to a El/Hopper heart-to-heart in s5 because while El does have internal struggles, her main struggles are external and she doesn’t seem too have a deeply rooted inner conflict that impedes her relationships with others. Mike on the other hand has exactly that! Mike has this internal conflict that leads to him constantly repressing his feelings which he’s shown to also not be comfortable talking about. Which makes me think of “I never really… unpacked.” The fact that Mike has never actually talked about his feelings is such a significant problem and as of right now it’s one of the things that stand at the forefront of his character!! Mike’s character arc can not be satisfyingly concluded without him talking about his feelings which means it’s inevitably coming in s5!! And Hopper’s letter kinda seems to tease that exact moment!

“[…]changing. And I guess, if I’m being really honest, that’s what scares me. I don’t want things to change. So I think maybe that’s why I came in here. To try and maybe stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were.”

This is the part of Hopper’s speech that directly resonates with Mike which is emphasized by the camera being on him all throughout! Mike has realized something about himself that inevitably will bring a lot of change along with it and that’s what he’s afraid of! He doesn’t want things to change so he represses his feelings in order to not have to face the change that would come with embracing them!! He’s so scared of things to change for the worse that he pretends that things are exactly like how they were before he had that realization!

That’s just not how life works. It’s moving. Always moving wether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes that’s painful. Sometimes it’s sad. And sometimes, it’s surprising. Happy.”

And this is the part of Hop’s speech that plays directly after the camera pans away from Mike! This is something Mike does not consider! Even less at the end of s4!! But it is most certainly something Mike would’ve needed to hear! That things can change for the better!!

The last sentence is also emphasized on. It feels like a big reveal before Hopper sums up his speech, which is why I believe that that’s where it’s headed. This is a piece of wisdom Hopper gives Mike! Mike will take it and life will be surprising. Happy. Change for the better!

There’s also actually a rainbow in the shot when Hop says “and sometimes, it’s surprising” and Mike coming out as gay would definitely be a “surprising” thing for the GA! [not for us though haha] And it will result in happiness 🌈

As I said in the beginning, Mike and Hopper’s little bonding moment at the end of s4 really set the path for their relationship to be better than it had been and I truly honestly think that a heart-to-heart/coming out is the only way to achieve that due to their very aggressive talk in the car in s3!! That was the furthest from what Hopper had intended to do so I think it would be really satisfying to have Hopper actually give that heart-to-heart which he had planned all along!!! Their relationship also really deserves a redemption from that car talk!

We also have to consider that Hopper was also in the shed when Mike opened up to save Will in s2 so Hop even suspecting something isn’t totally far fetched! A heart-to-heart would also open up the possibility for an insanely fantastic parallel/call back to Mike and Hopper’s scene at the end of s2:

Hopper:“it’s okay”

Mike:“No! Nothing about this is okay!”

-> There’s of course a big chance that this won’t happen!! But I honestly would love to see Mike coming out to Hopper!!! Something about it just feels so right and it makes sense too, so why not?

[dirty-bear-rick-sanchez]

OK wow I wasn’t expecting to feel things from this episode or for it to address anything serious. I’ll put my unordered and rambly thoughts under the cut (spoilers for Rick and Morty S6E2 Rick: A Mort Well Lived).

I’m actually really glad that they acknowledged this, since Rick refusing to admit he loves people has been an issue for a while (first explicitly mentioned by Dr Wong), although he has recently become better at it with Beth (“Daddy loves you” in the facehugger episode and “I love her, she loves you, those credits don’t transfer” in the hell demon episode), and even Jerry (also later in the hell demon episode, even though he tries to play it off, which Jerry fully sees through). We also see that Morty is fairly open with expressing love for his family for a 14 year old boy (he hugs Jerry and tells him he loves him, as well as telling Rick he loves him when he’s detoxed), and also that he feels out of place/not loved by his family (specifically in the Planetina episode), so it makes sense that he would be bothered by Rick’s lack of open affection towards him, especially after all they’ve been through together at this point.

I like the representation of different parts of Morty through video game NPCs, as I think it does a good job of showing his different/conflicting feelings. At first, I wasn’t sure if I felt like it was a bit of a cop out from having Rick and Morty explicitly have this conversation, but overall I think I’m satisfied with the way it was handled, since it was a unique and interesting way to show this topic and explore Morty’s character, and it was a pleasant surprise to see it being addressed, especially so soon after everything. I think it shows the commitment to the increased serialisation of the show, and it also reassures me that we’re going to have a deeper look at Rick and Morty’s relationship and its toxicity, rather than just brushing it off, which I was kind of worried about after the S5 finale.

I think I need to rewatch to fully appreciate this but I liked the fact that Rick kept the game running just for Marta and allowed her to stay in the game - it felt very much like Rick accepting Morty’s choices and hoping that one day she may want to rejoin Morty as a whole. However, it’s late where I am, so I may be misinterpreting this, since technically Rick is keeping the part of Morty that resents him/doesn’t want to carry on without Rick admitting he loves him. I hope that the fact that he’s keeping this part instead of erasing it means that he respects this part of Morty and hopes to be able to reestablish it one day, or at least that he respects this need of Morty’s enough to keep it alive rather than get rid of it. I’m glad that Morty was able to stand up and stand his ground to get respect/love from Rick, even if only a part of him. While I liked the humour of

Beth: Tell your grandpa you’re worthy of his respect

Morty: I refuse to do that, I’m desperate to get back together

Jerry: Just like his old man

in the S5 finale, it did feel very much like brushing any chance for development under the rug, so I’m glad it’s being addressed here.

It’s also nice to see Summer being given more responsibility and agency this season, and I particularly liked her like ‘I read your book while I took a shit’ because it feels very Rick - Rick might tell Diane that Summer reminds him of her, but she has definitely become very influenced by Rick, but still keeping her own personality.

I will say that I personally wasn’t a huge fan of the repeated Die Hard references, probably mainly because I’ve never seen it, and I think that this will mean that I probably won’t rewatch this episode as often as others, but I still think the character exploration/development and the concept of Morty’s self being split into different NPCs makes it a good episode overall.

I’ve only just seen the episode and it’s 4am for me so I definitely haven’t processed things fully but this is my takeaway so far.

[beepboop358]

Hey!

Taking into a count that there's three months that went unseen before the Byers moved out, El and Mike seem really awkward in their last scene talking, like they haven't talked that much, and she still hadn't even told him she loved him too, but Will and Mike seem much closer, so if in season 4 Mike and Eleven go back to how they were in season 3, it'll be like ignoring the ending the season had and the three whole months that we're overlooking.

That adding onto the fact that he instantly apologised to Will for being an asshole after their fight where Will accused him of "not giving a damn about anything other than making out with El". If he pulled the same thing he pulled in season 3, it wouldn't make much sense anymore. It's not exactly out of character because he did it before, but it is repetitive and would not make much sense anymore. There's a thin line between rejecting and accepting, and that line is acknowledging. The development I think Michael needs to go through in this next season is acknowledgement that who he is; isn't who he forcefully expects himself to be.

It's not even about accepting it yet, he has to acknowledge it. What he really seemed to do in the entirety of season 3 was reject it, reject that he might just be different. Regardless of whether he is or isn't gay/bi, (which I do believe he is) he's still different, and he's trying obsessively to be the image of an 80's teenage boy that's socially praised. So his attitude in season 3 is rejectful, not just of his most real self but of anyone or anything that reminds him he's not who he's trying to be, such as Will and D&D. He sets to ignoring his best friends and making out with his girlfriend, similar to the stereotypical picture society has for teenage boys. And the end of season 3, specially his conversation with Will, proves somewhere deep down he really wants to go back to how he used to be.

Hence I don't think he would go through the same phase of development next season when every season yet has succesfully focused on a different phase, specially for Mike. It's a really long process, so it would perhaps make the most sense if season 4 focused on him acknowledging it properly and finally season 5 focused on his self-acceptance. Which (I know I'm reaching but) could be a good way to contrast s3 and s5 - two odd numbers - as self-rejection and self-acceptance.

TLDR: the leak of Mike ignoring Will again does contradict the development of the three last seasons. Even being at the very beginning of the season it still doesn't add up anymore, considering in season 4 it'll have been about nine months since he last did that. At this point he'd be doing it with the mere purpose of hurting Will, which definitely is out of character.

Wow that was a long rant, I'm sorry- I don't see how a few specific leaks, even if the leaker got them from another source, can be more reliable than how the show's storyline has dealt with this topic so far. I really agree with what you said about how not every leak should be taken entirely seriously until we see the actual season.

Anyway, I hope you're having a good day!

hi!!

I agree with everything you said. This is spot on. I loved this rant, it's exactly how I feel. This is worded so well! You said my exact feelings on the matter so there's really nothing else to say aha XD <3

thanks for sending this, I loved reading it. I hope you're having a good day too!! :) xx

[purplerakath]

I think you fundamentally misunderstood my issue. So I'll focus on the misunderstanding. Forcing a character to face their worst traits, understand them, and grow past them is the kind of writing I'm looking for. If you just ignore those worst traits, have the character do the bad thing and just... never think of it again, you're damaging the character's potential.

Equal and Opposite

Daniel and Johnny are incredibly similar characters. Most of the subtle rewrites to Johnny's backstory are to make them more similar. Both are absolutely sure they are right, and absolutely unwilling to give ground to the other for all of Seasons 1 and 2. The difference is what the narrative does with it.

Johnny bringing back Cobra Kai with the full motto was wrong, and it failed. And Johnny saw it fail. He saw Miguel start to turn into Johnny circa Karate Kid and changed. He shifted gears away from 'No Mercy' the moment it was a problem. And he tried to get the kids off of that path.

Unfortunately part of that was he tried to forgive Kreese which- you know, wasn't a great move. It was an act of growth on his part, and generally him in the right direction, Kreese is just the (second) worst. If Kreese wasn't there, and Cobra Kai was just Johnny, the kids would have gotten better save one. Tiny. Detail.

But not in the Eyes of the Narrative

MiyagiDo being absolutely certain the lot of them are evil and running a holy crusade against them. Because when Daniel was wrong, even if Amanda pointed out he was going too far and making it worse, he didn't change. And in turn most of the cast kind of follow that same pattern (to lesser degrees, for sure). And that's my issue with his writing here.

Johnny is wrong more often than Daniel is, without question. He is, however, getting less wrong every passing episode. He tries, he fails, he changes, he tries again. Daniel isn't necessarily wrong through most of Season 5 because Silver is a lot but in the earlier seasons things were improving, and between Kreese and Daniel improvement ended up taking longer.

A part of this might be I really liked Daniel and Johnny finally getting along after teaching each other their personal styles... only for Daniel to immediately triple down on his self-importance as a white guy being master of a Martial Art that isn't his which is a whole other conversation.

Otherwise

A lot of what you said I generally agree with but isn't specifically the point I was getting at. Daniel's narrative takes longer than it strictly needed to because the narrative was shy of having him look at his behavior. There's some solid Sam growth that was left on the table because we brushed past it and didn't touch it. (Which is mostly Aisha deserved better, but that's another topic for another time.)

Kreese also plays a part slowing down the narrative, but... he's the antagonist. That's his job.

Sidebar: Tory's harsh backstory is a factor to who she is and how she acts, still starting with the S2 finale up through the start of S5 there's not a ton of her actions that are defendable. She's used to a world where her best option is Kreese, because the second best option is letting a guy extort sexual favors out of her to cover her rent. She's a teenager and primary parent to her sibling with no support, being taught by two madmen (Kreese and Silver) to cultivate her rage at her life into violence. And I don't hold teenage characters to the same standard as adults. Amanda didn't want Tory to lose her job, because Amanda is generally a good person. Comparatively Daniel was so dead set on getting Johnny evicted from the strip mall he was ready to cost everyone who worked in the strip mall their livelihood. And that's the sort of thing I feel should have been explored more. But again, they didn't. Because this isn't really Daniel's show.

MiyagiDo Karate and Protagonist Morality

So when I watched the first two seasons this bothered me and then last weekend I watched everything else (thus far)... and this still bothered me. So here we are.

Spoilers for all five released seasons of Cobra Kai (although I'll mainly be talking about Demetri, Sam, Danny, and Hawk).

Before I get started...

As much as I'm criticizing the writing of these characters, I don't think the characters are bad, or hate the show. I just think more could be done with them, or in the case of Sam they could have started the ball rolling sooner and she could be a better character than she is.

Except Demetri, they really screwed the pooch on his writing.

Protagonist Morality

So I guess I should explain this term. Protagonist morality is where a show doesn't question the behavior of it's protagonists, assuming that whatever action they've taken is morally correct (for the setting). In a video game, you know all those unguarded chests full of stuff for you. The ones all across the countryside and in towns and often people's houses? The ones you can loot freely and nobody cares or is concerned with all the robbery you're doing?

That's protagonist morality. If the game labels you a thief and you get run out of public spaces for your actions, then the game is labeling your actions as maybe less than a paragon of virtue, and giving you reason to think about it. (Then you do it anyway because it's really nice loot.)

So what about the ACTUAL protagonists?

Johnny, Miguel, and Robby are questioned and judged by the narrative constantly. They generally do things right for them, but not universally seen as correct. And generally the narrative is about them moving forward and making less questionable calls.

The whole point of the start of S2 is that Johnny realizes "No Mercy" is a bad motto, because it just gets people hurt, and changes his teachings to match this bit of character growth. Characters backslide, Johnny and Robby both crash spectacularly at the start of Season 3. Each needs to dig themselves out of the hole their in all through Season 3 (Johnny) and 5 (Robby).

So the show never treats them as not needing growth, as the show is all about their growth.

Daniel

Danny is a hyper-judgmental asshole due to unresolved trauma from his youth and it's a problem. But also the show would be a lot less interesting if he worked through all of this in a timely fashion. Primarily the issue is his reaction to "Cobra Kai" just being back at all, and how he never once gets pushed to question if Cobra Kai in Johnny's hands changed.

Some of this is miscommunication, which is the cornerstone of the Unresolved sexual Karate Tension with Johnny. But his absolute refusal to see good in Cobra Kai had a direct hand in breaking up Sam and Miguel in Season 1 and Danny... came out of it believing he was right.

And when he goes out of his way to try and destroy the S1-2 era of Cobra Kai, the narrative never once actively punishes him for his prejudice. He's also never forced to face why he's like this. It's kind of shit but very much a plot lodestone.

Sam

Like her father, Sam often rushes to a moral judgement on bad info and never goes back. Even if she's wrong. So much of her Season 1 behavior is swept under a rug so that other characters (Kyler, Yaz, Miguel) can be her personal villain. And the worst being Season 2 with Tory.

Sam rushed to 'all Cobras are evil' while in a plot trying to fix her friendship with her best friend, she instigated things with Tory, and blamed Tory for all of it without having to think about why she's following her father so readily. Of course, with the end of Season 2 it didn't matter what her behavior was prior, she had every justification to treat Tory as her own personal satan.

Fortunately for me, and everyone else who likes Sam, most of the later seasons focus real hard on having her grow as a person. Maybe not facing all of her personal failings, but she does grow past them in respectable ways. And while her behavior toward Tory is... still bad, Tory is her personal anxiety attack she's allowed it now. (Unlike someone else.)

She also unpacks some of the prejudice she learned from her dad. Sneaking off behind his back to learn Eagle Fang and figure out before Father Dearest that balance is better than pigheaded arrogance of your own greatness. Leading to the Season 4 finale and her mixed styles.

Demetri Hawk

Before I rant about Demetri, I need to explain why Hawk's narrative, regardless of his failures, is better. Eli starts the show with a clearly defined failing (confidence and courage), focuses hard on overcoming it (through Cobra Kai Karate), and turns him into someone new.

That new person is a loud abrasive asshole, but it's a growth arc.

When Hawk behaves badly, it's treated as a start of darkness. As he grows to love having the power his weaker nerdy self lacked. His acts of vengeance make sense as the flexing of power he's never had before. To the point he becomes the sort of bully he feared. His reactions are all overreactions and that's good writing. You understand why he beats Kyler's flunky to a bloody pulp, it's cathartic but also framed as an act of pure violence and destruction. He needs to live in his anger, his violence, listening to the whispers Kreese offers.

Season 3 is Hawk struggling to choose between good and evil, and in the end he chooses good. Leading him on the path toward balance and being better than either side of him before. Honestly of every character in the show his path is the best defined.

Now Demetri

Demetri is a anxious pessimistic leech. He feels he'll fail before he starts, and therefore doesn't try. He rides the coattails of his friends as they become cool and popular and Hawk was right to call him out. But rather than investigate that, he becomes the target of Hawk's new villain arc, and rushes to the arms of MiyagoDo.

Where he proceeds to never actually face who he was, and just... get to be a cool martial artist with a hot girlfriend as the show sweeps his negative traits under a rug and never touches them.

The narrative never confronts how 'it's fine for me to reap the benefits of your hard work' (start of season 2) or 'I can humiliate my best friend by spilling all his secrets then hide behind my badass martial artist friends' (late season 2) were bad calls, because at the end of the season he just... gets to beat up Hawk to establish the full defeat of Johnny's Cobra Kai.

Directly into Season 3 where he's just as aggressive and antagonistic as Sam is, while neither is treated as being 'over the line' by the narrative. Which is all before Hawk breaks Demetri's arm, meaning he doesn't have the extant trauma reason Sam has.

By Season 5 Demetri is a pretty cool person, but as there's no actual focus on how he got there, it feels cheap. Which really sucks.

What I'd Write-

I don't want to rewrite the whole show, and that makes Danny hard to fix. As so much of him is that paranoia of Cobra Kai. Like- best I could ask for is him going to therapy and trying to work past it (and just being bad at it).

Sam the easy answer is Aisha not forgiving her (at least during S1-2). Where Sam tries to get Aisha back, but every time she either says something about Cobra Kai, or Miguel, or Tory and Aisha points out Sam hasn't given any of them a fair shot, and that Sam has no room to talk after dating Kyler and being Yaz's friend.

Bonus points if Sam also gets taken to task for her going after Tory when Tory was working. Because Amanda already got Tory fired once, but she felt bad about it.

Demetri has a similar route of 'best friend does not forget.' A simple 'why should I ever trust you again' after Moon's party would go a long way to rub Demetri's face in what he did, how he was as bad as everyone who made fun of Hawk's lip at school. How Demetri, for one brief moment, was worse than Kyler.

I want all the characters to either get the kind of care in how they change direction that Miguel has, and failing that being absolutely perfect like Devon (the only person to join Silver's Cobra Kai and not turn evil).

[talkingtea]

changing the topic of this blog… do you think WA will ever move out of the loft?? we probably will not be seeing that in s8 because they’re cheap, and the writers seem to think scenes of elsa and her love interest are more important. but we’ve seen that future iris in s5 was still living at the loft (but that could be bc barry was missing) and nora and bart seemed to know about the loft in s7 (if WA had moved out before they kids were born, they wouldn’t know about it) so im guessing they’re just going to live in a 1-sometimes 2-bed apartment for the rest of their lives?? at this point, the loft holds more bad memories than good. iris almost being k*lled, barry getting kidnapped, barry being gone for 6 months/iris being alone for 6 months, devoe’s dead body/barry being arrested, mirror iris living there for 5 weeks, mirror iris kicking barry out, mirror iris almost k*lling barry… the list goes on.

to me, good writing would show WA maturing their surroundings such as their home, their jobs (iris is fine but i think barry should be doing more than just being a CSI, is he ever going to get a phd? is he even the head of the department?) as they progress through different stages of their life. but as we know, good wiring is almost impossible to find on that show. idk, i feel like they should’ve moved on from the loft by now (although i absolutely love the interior of that place and using it as inspo for my future apartment), they’re ready to start a family and need a place that reflects that. probably just me though 🤷🏽‍♀️

It would be smart to move Barry and Iris because it would not only be a change of scenery but moving and the reason behind it could be a story in and of itself. But since m Eric and the writers aren’t that nuanced and don’t think about little things like that they would never take advantage of something like that. Hell even if they just had them having a conversation about moving or show them house hunting it would be something new and interesting,

[bgcambrosiasims]

BAD GIRLS CLUB | BAD GIRLS ARCHETYPES

So, you want to be in the Bad Girls Club but don’t know where to start? Well lucky for you, over the 17 seasons of the show airing there’s DEFINITELY a few recurring and iconic archetypes to base your Bad Girl off of!

At the end of the day, the definition of what does and doesn’t make someone a “Bad Girl” isn’t set in stone. I encourage you all to think about what makes your girl a bad girl, but I also know we all want to make for a fun reality tv show experience so here’s just a list to refer to when making your sim! Also, don’t feel like your girl has to be just ONE of these or the other! It’ll definitely make things more interesting if she’s a mixture! 

THE PRETTY GIRL: 

Conceited, high maintenance, and self-absorbed. The Pretty Girl knows she’s pretty, but she’ll accept your compliment anyways. Looks are definitely the most important thing to this bad girl. She’ll come to the house with the best  clothes, make-up, accessories, etc. (which makes her a high target to getting her things destroyed). If you’re not deemed to be on her level, then you probably won’t ever be in her clique in the house. It’s her world and you’re just living in it.

Show Examples: Meghan (S9), the Clermont Twins (S14), & Janelle (S11)

THE PARTY GIRL:

Outgoing, bold, and just here for a good time. The Party Girl knows this show is all about the drama, but how can she pass up the opportunity to party every night in a luxurious mansion for 3 months?! This girl is known to be the daredevil of the house and probably the one who will be drunk the most. More often than not, she’s going to try and be neutral or the peacemaker. After all, fighting is definitely one way to kill the mood and this girl does NOT want to be thrown out of the club because of that.

Show Examples: Ashley (S9), Tiara (S7), & Stephanie (S10) 

THE FIGHTER:

Loud, hot-headed, and easy to provoke. The Fighter will ALWAYS back up what she says. This girl is going to be the one who’s getting into the most drama in the house, and will always be the most comfortable saying whatever’s on her mind about her housemates. She isn’t scared to throw down if she has to, and if she hears her name coming out of your mouth in a way that she doesn’t like, you better be ready because she’s coming for you.

Show Examples: Christina & Erika (S9) & Camilla (S8)

THE INSTIGATOR: 

Sneaky, conniving, and manipulative. The Instigator is just like the fighter, but will have other girls do the fighting for her. This girl is going to plant the seed and destroy alliances between other girls. She’s the pot stirrer, and unless you check her, she’s going to be running the house with no issues. Keep an eye out on the Instigator, because you’d hate to see yourself get played at the reunion once the season is over. 

Show Examples: Julie (S9), Mimi (S11), & Dalila (S12) 

THE FLIRTY GIRL:

Romantic, playful, and just downright horny all the time. The Flirty Girl is similar to the Party Girl where she’s here for a good time. She’s going to be the girl most likely to try and hook up with people at the club and even the other housemates (because after all, 3 months secluded from majority of the people affects people differently). She’s not known to get into any physical drama, but the gossip around her will be a hot topic for sure.

Show Examples: Zuly (S9) & Blu (S12)

THE NAME DROPPER:

Proud, snobby, and a little greedy. The Name Dropper wants you to know that she knows everybody and anybody. She’s almost always going to be dropping in a celebrity’s name into the conversation at any chance she gets, and is always going to be telling everyone how much of a local celebrity SHE is back home. She’s mostly all talk, and is definitely here to try and get her name out there even more.

Show Examples: Falen (S9), Mimi (S11), & Natalie (S4)

THE CLASSY GIRL:

Dramatic, stuck-up, and way too classy to be here. The Classy Girl wants to show a different kind of bad girl who doesn’t feel the need to get into fights to get her point across. She’s going to be looking down on the other girls who get too wild at the club, and is overall going to provide a different kind of Bad Girls experience. 

Show Examples: Alex (S12), Morgan (S5) & Tasha (S7)

THE REAL GIRL: 

Blunt, compassionate, and tells it like it is. The Real Girl is here to show that a Bad Girl doesn’t have to be mean or sneaky to be who she is. If there’s drama, she’s going to face it head on. If she sees somebody being attacked or bullied, she’ll be the first to stand up for them. The Real Girl is a true ride or die friend to have in the house.

Show Examples: Stasi (S7) & Paula (S10)

[sunflowerdigs]

Weirdly the first Buddie vibe I got was when Eddie said he had a kid and Buck did that goofy "I LOVE kids" line. Like...who cares that you love kids, Buck? It's not like he's asking you to live with him! 😂

Buck was so impressed with Eddie after he got over his initial jealousy. I'm convinced Eddie has been his bisexual awakening. He played off that "boy crush" comment from Maddie but inside, I'd like to think that Buck was secretly wondering why he couldn't stop talking/thinking about Eddie (while also slowly acknowledging that Eddie wasn't the first time he'd felt that way about a guy). While Buck is very open about a lot of things, I think that because he has always had that voice saying he wasn't good enough, being attracted to men would freak him out a little. So, as long as he was also attracted to women, he might ignore that attraction to men or put off thinking about it or chalk it up to really strong hero worship.

Under the cut is how I would go about outing both Buck and Eddie as bisexual in the same episode

Anyway, Buck has this far assumed that Eddie could never be anything but straight so his crush on him (like all of his other crushes on guys throughout his life) can remain irrelevant until it fades. But then the topic somehow comes up early in s5 while the whole 118 is in the firehouse and Eddie just...admits to everyone that he's bisexual. He's known since high school but where (and when) he grew up, there weren't any actual gay couples to emulate. And all the high school guys he messed around with were closeted and wanted to stay that way. It was easier then (and after taking custody of Chris) to date women.

Buck is shocked af because...well, he doesn't know why. It just never would have occurred to him that Eddie was anything but straight. However, because Eddie is so open about it, during that same discussion with the 118, Buck maybe asks some things that suggest he's questioning. Eddie is surprised, and Hen gives Buck some answers while Eddie is still stunned. Before Eddie can recover and say something, they're called out to a fire/emergency.

Then, towards the end of the episode, Eddie and Buck are together by the lockers (lmao, and there's your Glee reference in this meta) and they have a...conversation that is charged with longing from each side but where nothing concrete is said in regards to possible crushes. Eddie gives the advice he was too shocked to give earlier. Buck reacts in his usual straightforward fashion. But they're more hesitant around each other than they typically are and you can see them kind of feeling each other out. It ends with Buck saying that even though he doesn't plan on dating any dudes right away because of Taylor, it's nice to know this thing about himself. And Eddie says "Know? I thought you were just questioning" And Buck just kind of smiles and shrugs, then leaves. He has a date with Taylor.

And it's finally at that date with Taylor that he admits that he thinks he might be bi - is that a problem? Taylor says no and means it genuinely - as long as this doesn't mean he's going to start sleeping with guys while he's with her (it's a joke but not really because the widening crack in their relationship is that they don't trust each other and, at best, trust the other one to be untrustworthy - Buck because Taylor is loyal to her ambitions and Taylor because Buck is loyal to the 118). They have a laugh at the idea of Buck cheating, and then once they've recovered, you can see Buck is lighter and happier because of his admission. But then Taylor asks him what brought this revelation about and Buck looks thoughtful. We don't get an answer but instead cut to the next scene which is Eddie getting Christopher ready for bed. I'd include a brief scene where Eddie either came out to Christopher or where you could infer from the bedtime story he was going to tell him that he was about to come out.

And that's it. In a following episode, I'd have Eddie interact with Michael and his husband, maybe take Christopher for a play date with Harry. At that point, I might have Eddie confide in Michael about Buck (or at least hint that there's someone he's interested in). But since so much of the series has been devoted to Buck growing up, I like the idea of him going from questioning to bi over the course of an episode. I like Eddie playing a role in it. And I like Eddie having accepted his sexuality but not being super open about it for reasons that have more to do with his current situation than with shame or guilt (shows never approach homophobia in minority communities with any nuance and I doubt 911 would be an exception, so I would almost rather they not talk about any homophobia Eddie has faced in that context).

[slice-of-magenta]

I do have stuff against her too, but I also wish better for her. When the writers got rid of taking care of scotts character, they also took some potential moments that could have happened between Scott and Melissa. (And I do wish HEAVILY that melissa can hang out with friends, idk, resume something more than work bc she deserves a break. The huge relief i got when she kinda got that thru being with Chris. Felt so happy that she was happy.) I do kinda agree that she was definitely a mentor figure after the reveal. She also comes with terms that Scott is kinda no longer a kid too bc of what he is constantly doing to save and help everyone but even that gets addressed wayyy into the series when she is watching her son go down the hospital hall bc they had something to do. And that def was not school 😂. And then it keeps getting dismissed. Scott has an anxiety more and more about his mom getting killed and thats unfortunately just brought up time to time, but isnt something the show wants to reallyy dig into or resolve. And maybe its extremely worse when melissa does end up being hospitalized and scotts fears do come haphazardly close to, "what if things were worse than hospitalization?" And Scott is so torn, so soft by her bed like he cant even let go. Still. They dont focus too much on her afterward 😅. (Im saying there are flaws. Op this has kinda went off topic fyffyydyd)

I do kinda really wish Melissa could have stayed longer at the house with an injured scott in s5. The conversation, aka the lecture, did make me grind my teeth bc it served the plot rather than their relationship as a family. It said something about it, i guess, but it wasnt genuine. And maybe she did have to go to work. But my mind is stuck on that lecture. Scott dismisses his recovery and pulls himself together (and failing that bc he can barely stand) to go make things right with his pack, and that starts with Stiles. Who def killed someone (from scotts knowledge at the time), and still goes to check up on him. The lecture was... Bad in terms that he has this idea in his mind that his well being comes last. He gains a deeper sentiment to be kind (if thats the word), but at what cost? And possibly, Melissa could maybe carry those same attitudes for herself (as coming secondary when it comes to her needs). Now there were def a time where Melissa did defend Scott and thats one point, but it was way earlier on in the seasons where she tells Noah that Scott and his friends should stay out of this supernatural stuff and focus on school. Crazy how things changed actually tho ctdtdtdtxt she did have some well-meaning stuff even after her discovery of her own son being a werewolf. It just gets... Dropped.

I think s5 was a good time for melissa and scott to have some really good moments tho. It had that potential for more.

Scott McCall and Jim Lake Jr. parallels (and also reasons I love them both)

Both teenage boys who are struggling a little bit with school

Have a crush on a girl who becomes part of the main group and not just a love interest

Loves their moms!! Seriously, when I saw how much Jim loves and cares for his mom I immediately thought of Scott. They both even have scenes where they’re told by their moms that they should just worry about being a teenager and not taking care of them, it’s supposed to be the other way around.

Each have a rough period with their moms when she is close to finding out/does find out why they’re always out late and come home beat up.

Always there for their best friend

Wants to protect anyone and everyone they can

Has a lot of love to go around

Natural leaders!

Absent fathers

Scott’s mom is a nurse/Jim’s mom is a doctor

Super sweet

Residents of California

Both carry supernatural/magical burdens in which the rest of the world can’t know about

Not to do with Jim or Scott, but both their moms did date an antagonist