#trudy monk

[mndvx]

MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE (2023) dir. Randy Zisk

[victoria-writes]

Love Diagnosis

Pairing: Adrian Monk x Reader

Summary: Monk has a crush on his new assistant (reader) and talks to his therapist about it

Word Count: 1,544

Notes: She/Her pronouns are used for the reader. Trudy Monk, Leland Stottlemeyer, and Natalie Teeger are mentioned but don't make an appearance. Entire fic is just dialogue between Adrian and Dr. Kroger. Mentioned age gap between Monk and the reader.

Read it on AO3 here

Story:

“You don’t understand, doctor. This isn’t some cute crush. I can’t get her out of my head!”, Monk said frantically from the chair he sat in across from his therapist.

“Adrian”, Dr. Kroger began while taking off his glasses and sitting forward in his chair, “it’s perfectly normal to look forward to seeing someone you like. It seems that you and Y/N have developed a special relationship and it’s only natural for you to think of her. If anything, this is great progress. It means you’re moving on after losing Trudy”.

“No, no, no, no”, said Adrian as he waved his hands about, “I am not moving on from Trudy. She is my wife. Y/N is a parasite who has infected my brain. She’s probably an alien. That’s the only explanation. A very pretty alien, but an alien”.

Dr. Kroger smiled, “Y/N is not an alien. It’s okay to be scared. You and Trudy were together for a long time and you were both very devoted to each other”.

“I can’t be scared because I’m not moving on. How can I be scared to do something I’m not doing?”

“Adrian-“

“It’s like she’s taken me hostage in my own mind. Everywhere I look, she’s all I think about. I walked into a CVS with Natalie today to get more wipes and I saw the shampoo section. Why was my first thought ‘What kind of shampoo does Y/N use? She always smells so nice.’?” 

Dr. Kroger sets his glasses on the table next to him, “I’m going to suggest something that may sound a little crazy to you. Have you considered telling her how you feel?”

“…Dr. Kroger”, Monk scoffed, “Are you sure we’re sitting in the right seats? Because where I’m sitting it seems that you may be the one that needs help if you think that is a reasonable solution.”

“So I’m going to take that as a no.”

“Of course, I haven’t talked to her about it!”

“And why is that?”

“….well…”

“Well?”

“…” 

“You’re frightened she may not feel the same way as you do.”

“…yes”

“And if she does feel the same way, you don’t want to know because then you’d have to accept the fact that you’re in love with a woman after Trudy’s passing.”

“yes”, Monk grumbled while looking at the floor with sudden interest.

“So you think it’s better to bury your feelings deep inside and only let them out during our sessions”

“Now you’re getting it. I’m so glad we could come to an understanding”, Monk smiled and sat back in his chair, relieved. 

“Adrian, these feelings aren’t just going to disappear overnight because you don’t want to face them. You see her almost every day now.”

“This is all Natalie’s fault.”, Adrian furrowed his brows as he spoke, “I wouldn’t have had to hire another assistant if she didn’t need so many days off.”

“Natalie needed the time off to take care of her daughter as a single mother. It’s a miracle she was able to balance work and her child for as long as she did.”

“Yeah, well, she should’ve balanced for longer so I wouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“Tell me, what is it that you like about Y/N?”

“She smells nice.”

“You mentioned that already”

“She’s a good assistant. She’s very clean and doesn’t touch me without asking. I like her hairstyle too, not just the shampoo. Her nails are neat and manicured, so I don’t feel disgusted by the thought of her touching me.”

“Anything else?”

“When she does touch me…her hands are soft.”

Dr. Kroger looked at Adrian with raised eyebrows and interest written across his face.

“Y/N, she has a certain way of talking. She emphasizes certain words in her sentences and talks with her hands.” 

At this point, Adrian is staring up at the ceiling and smiling fondly as he pictures Y/N in his mind, “She gets so animated when she’s passionate. And she has so many strong opinions on things. Things I never even give a second thought to. Just the other day, she went on a very passionate rant about what kind of handle she prefers on umbrellas.”

“I would’ve thought you’d have an opinion on that sort of thing.” 

“Oh, I do now that I’ve thought about it. I much prefer the curved handles to the straights ones, even if they have grooves for the fingers to sit”, he scoffs and shakes his head, “the fingers are never as comfortable on those as they are on the curved handles and-“

“I think we’re getting off track here. Is there anything you dislike about her?”

“Oh, yes”, Adrian quickly nodded, “She’s a horrible driver and always parks crooked. She’s lucky she has me or she’d anger a lot of other drivers with her parking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“She chews on her mints and I can’t stand the sound. What psychopath chews on those? You’re supposed to let them sit in your mouth.”

“I see.”

“She stands too close to me wherever we go. Like I said she doesn’t touch me without asking but she’s always so close.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Yes, my heart starts to beat very fast and I can’t breathe sometimes. Once I thought I was having a heart attack but she told me I was just having a panic attack and made me do breathing exercises with her.”

“Did they help?”

“Yes, but only for a little bit because she kept standing close to me after that. She was worried I would faint so she stood even closer.”

“And?”

“I’ve never had clammier hands in my life.”

“Did you have these symptoms when you first started to see Trudy?”

“I…I don’t remember. It was all so long ago. Let’s not talk about that.”

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. Let’s move on from that.”

“Okay.”

“…”

“I had eggs for breakfast this morning but the yolk was a little too runny. That made my skin itch.”

“Let’s not talk about eggs.”

“Okay.”

“If you and Y/N were to enter a romantic relationship-“

“That would never happen.”

“Humor me for a second. If you and Y/N entered a romantic relationship, what do you think it would be like? Truly imagine it for me. What would dating Y/N look like?”

“I…I don’t know. I’m not dating her so how would I know?”

“Just try and imagine it.”

“Okay.”, Adrian sighed quietly as he closed his eyes, “Okay. I’m imagining.”

“Go on.”

“We’d have to spend a lot of time together. That’s what couples do.”

“What would that time spent together look like?”

“I suppose we would hang out at my house. Go to different places around town. Maybe to that coffee shop she likes.”

“Which shop is that?”

“The one on third avenue with the blue walls.”

Adrian’s eyes were still closed but he could hear the smile in Dr. Kroger’s voice, “You remember the kind of things she’s passionate about, little details about her, and even what coffee shop she likes.”

“I’m a detective. It’s my job to remember things about people.”

“Do you know how she takes her coffee?”

“Of course.”

“Do you know how Natalie takes her coffee?”

“No”

“Do you know how Captain Stottlemeyer takes his coffee?”

“No”

“Interesting. Have you ever thought about kissing Y/N?”

Adrian opened his eyes, “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

“I find it very relevant. Have you thought about kissing her?”

Adrian took a long pause before answering, “Yes. Once she stood very close to me, she stands much too close to me, and I…”

“You…?”

“I was looking at her lips and I started to lean in but I pulled away.”

“Did she know you wanted to kiss her?”

“I don’t think so. When she asked why I was staring I lied and told her she had dry lips and needed to put on chapstick. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Her lips looked very”, he pauses looking for the right word in his mind “soft.”

“Has she ever indicated any interest in you in a romantic sense?”

“I don’t think so.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”, Dr. Kroger sighs, “Adrian, there is only one solution to this dilemma and that is to speak to her about it.”

“That would be highly inappropriate. I’m her employer and several years older than her.”

“While that is true, she has the right to know about this. She spends nearly every day with you.”

“What if she quits? Then, I’d have to find another assistant and I don’t want her to go.”

“That is a risk you’ll just have to take. It is much more likely that she will either tell you she doesn’t feel the same way or that she does. She’s your assistant but she’s your friend too. I’m sure she’d understand.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“But what is she does?”

Monk sat in silence with no rebuttal prepared. What could he possibly say to that?

“We’re nearing the end of our time together, Adrian. Next time you see Y/N, politely tell her how you’ve been feeling about her.” 

“...”

“Adrian, tell her.”

“Yes, Dr. Kroger.”

“I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

not to be overly critical of an incredibly tiny fandom but i think it says a lot about fandom practices in general when the main supporting character in monk, arguably a dual protagonist, has always been a woman, yet there is rarely fandom content about sharona or natalie (two undeniably well-developed and interesting characters) and instead people fixate on a male character who is in fact the third most present character on the show (arguably the fifth most present when you consider percentages rather than plain numbers) and also apply a highly amatonormative lens to his relationship with adrian. i won't even comment on how trudy gets sidelined and reduced despite being thee specter that haunts the text. fandom misogyny truly cuts deep

[kidneys-and-custard]

What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

[mr-stottlemonk]

Imagine Monk, Trudy and Leland, but it’s Poly

hell yeah, bi power. more love. triple the hugs. you hurt monk you get a duo who will make you REGRET and REAP in more ways than you're ready for.

[karihighman]

BTS FROM MR. MONK’S LAST CASE AKA: THE MONK MOVIE PREMIERING DEC. 8 ON PEACOCK 😀🧼🔍 | 📷: IG linked here.

Also enjoy this pic of Tony Shalhoub at the Packers vs. Chiefs game yesterday via WWE IG:

[hipstersbleedroses]

[s-misaki]

“I went to the grave and it still hurt.”

[alexisnoir]

Mr Monk's Last Case

Okay, so Adrian Monk was and still is my first show thanks to which I was in a fandom. This show is the reason I can write, talk and understand English language, even though I had English language lessons at school. The show was like a teacher that would give me one hour assignment which I would repeat day after day for a week until the next assignment. That pattern would repeat itself for the next 6-7 years (I wasn't in the shows fandom in season 1 and joined when season 2 was at the end)

I met a lot of great people who were helpful, kind, understanding to this young Polish girl trying to teach herself another language, knowing mostly basics and nothing else, using Google translator and any dictionary she could find.

I was with the fandom when the news of Stanley Kamel death was announced, he was on the official shows forum, talking to us, interacting with us. Yes, we used the official USA network forum to talk and share stuff, fanfiction and art included.

I remember there fans who met with Michael Shalhoub, Tony Shalhoubs brother, can't remember if this was at his house or one of the fans. But those were the days where actors could go and meet fans, talk to them, meet with them. Now I can't imagine something like this happening.

Since Mr Monk's Last Case has its premiere today December 8th on Peacock, that's what I'm going to do - watch it!

[startrekmemequeen]

I'll be in denial for at least a little while

[mitsuki91]

Once again I am reminder that I like one type of bond with the superiority of Monk/Trudy as a ship (yes, I love man who are pathetically in love with his wife even after death :v)

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

just realized how well trudy and adrian fit for:

"i'll take care of you."

"it's rotten work."

"not to me. not when it's you."

[kidneys-and-custard]

Everybody Dies by Billie Eilish

[mr-stottlemonk]

How do we feel about trudy? Personally i don't like her, or maybe i just got so sick of monk mentioning her every minute.

I really like the show but hated most moments that were about trudy.

I don't know it felt so awkward to watch. and i know shes his wife and it's hard to get over a lover dying but come on, 8 years. Its okay if he brings her up sometimes i just don't think it's necessary that they bring her every episode or so.

Also i don't really appreciate the way they portrayed ocd, I feel like the show would've been much better if they didn't exaggerate some things.

But that's just my opinion though! you may not agree and i hope i phrased my thoughts right because English isn't my first language

*long post so half of this will be under the cut!

**you phrased your thoughts just fine dear, no worries <3!!

when i started (re)watching Monk, i definitely felt my own heart ache for Adrian because loosing someone who you love that makes life look better, seem better and makes it out to be something you can manage is amazing. I loved that Monk truly loved his wife that much. It's hard letting go of someone who loved you for who you are and didn't try to turn you into something else. Or make you hate yourself even more.

About 5 seasons in though, the potrayal of her became more of something like... painting her out to be the perfect wife, woman and person - and while we can't exactly dispute that because we only get flashbacks, hallucinations, dream-like visions and the episodes at the end. No one is perfect and it did grow to be a bit tiresome.

At some point, you do realize that it turns to unhealthy dependency. On her. On the memory of her. On their past relationship. The years go by and Adrian is stuck in one place. And yes, there are episodes where he does make a bit of progress, ask other women out and tries to go out with them but then, it doesn't work out (it never will, that's always the transparent outcome).

Trudy stands for acceptance and love all through out the show. And the other characters (Natalie, Stottlemeyer, Sharona and later on, Randy) show that easily too.

Thing is though, with Trudy and a lot of other things; Monk does not have the proper coping mechanisms/processes etc. He's not that great at understanding his own emotions and letting things go. Though, that gets better over the course of the series.

Not towards Trudy though and partially, i definitely blame the writers. I would have loved to see more of Monk self-healing. Self-healing and accepting himself (which is fucking hard) but it would have been great to see a man so broken down and unable to move on finally love himself. There's a lot of self-albeism in the show that Monk sets on himself, toxic masculinity standards and self-esteem issues. And ofc, a whole lotta bunch of things.

And I'm ngl, the show tried their best to tackle that. I'd have loved more of dealing with that. But 2002-2009 shows aren't overally the best with that. By the sixth season I stopped paying much attention to it. I found the episode Mr. Monk Stays Up All Night a bit... too much, lmfao.

And the episode where they think she's alive also feels,, this or that. Though, i think such a situation happening was not entirely RARE back then. Missing/Dead people do turn up again... once in a blue moon.

and yes, definitely. as a person with adhd & ocd myself there are episodes where i did have to just pause and walk around my house or take a break (and sometimes even skip) because i felt a bit offended or among the lines of "err,,, that's not exactly how it is/works..." -> especially towards the episode Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine. Didn't like how they portrayed that at ALL. The group therapy episode was also a little iffy but i've never been to group therapy myself so I can't say much there.

They could have done better research, because there are some things that just seem so out of the blue you have to pause but there are also other things that hit you right IN THE FACE that you feel seen and heard for a moment. the show definitely helped me feel like there was a chance for things i struggle(d) with when i was younger. But then again, ocd research isn't that great currently either. :")

To add on to that though. I'm not sure if you've given Mr. Monk's Last Case a try but i don't think they improved much on it there either. It's tiresome, tbh, that when people think ocd they think it's all about aligining things, cleaning things... like gosh, no, a person with ocd can have a messy desk, mugs littered all about their room too... so the writers do lean into being lackluster in their potrayal of OCD.

there's also the thing where most of the time, it's not easy for people to actually SPOT someone with ocd. the show makes it out to be an oddity, struggle for willpower and startingly exaggerated sometimes. Which is a shame. Though, extenuating circumstances can definitely make it worse so, it's here and there too.

Anyway! i think i rambled off a bit too much... i do agree with you on this anon! that the focus on Trudy grew, in some episodes, to be over the top. But Adrian's commitment to her is quite heart-warming but right now, I do tend to skip over those episodes, lol. Unless there's a particular thing I feel like watching in either one of them.

thank you for very much for the ask!! i love discussing such topics haha. i hope i managed to convey my own opinions on the show and Adrian/Trudy.

<3.

[hjbirthdaywishes]

June 29, 2024

Happy 57 Birthday to Melora Hardin.

[willowbee-brook]

I like when Monk talks about Trudy. He is truly in love with this woman and his expressions of love are for the small details he noticed about her all throughout their time together.