If anyone is Eric/Donna coded, it's Nikki/Nate 🤷♀️
Now, to preface this, when I say 'coded' I mean 'I see several similarities', not 'they are identical and will have the exact same storylines and outcomes'. I think that is still very much up in the air. But I've seen several takes that Jay/Leia are Eric and Donna 2.0, but as the resident Eric/Donna expert™ I think Nikki and Nate are moreso.
Exhibit A:
NikNate's season 1 dilemma almost perfectly mirrored Eric and Donna's Promise Ring dilemma. Nate is insecure about his relationship with Nikki throughout the season - he worries Nikki is too smart for him and will leave him behind, he worries she's interested in other guys, etc - and he needs reassurance from her that they are a serious couple and will be together in the future. Nikki can't really give him that reassurance. She says the future's not set - and quotes Terminator 2 😂 - "There's no fate but what we make for ourselves." Aka - "If we're meant to be together, then we'll end up together," which is what Donna tells Eric at the end of season 3 when he is searching for the very same reassurance.
This conflict doesn't break-up NikNate like it does Eric and Donna at this point, but it's not a conflict they really solved or addressed, so it simmers under the surface for the rest of the season and into the next, ultimately setting up their break-up in early Part 2.
Think a number of factors contributed to their break-up: Nate's almost kiss with Leia eroding Nikki's trust, yes, but ultimately they break-up in the circle after both coming to the realization that they've been more invested in their friends' relationship than their own, leading them to question whether they're really compatible and in a relationship worth saving after all.
They're both devastated after the break-up, but Nikki does a much better job of hiding it than Nate - just like in early season 4, with Eric and Donna.
NikNate's break-up mirrors Eric and Donna's in a lot of ways.
Nikki dresses hot to try to torture Nate (her referee striped thong *lol*) - so does Donna (Eric begs her to stop trying to look so hot when she comes over - aka not wearing a bra).
Exhibit B:
and
Exhibit C:
and
Both couples, after a few episodes of trying to move on from one another, find each other back in bed. Both couples try to explain their 'relapse' off as meaningless, but it eventually becomes apparent they still have real feelings for each other (NikNate's tenderness with each other during the pregnancy scare storyline & Nate's feelings while watching Nikki sing; Eric and Donna... well, shit, I wrote a whole fanfic about this, you can read it here if you want 😅).
I don't know if NikNate are ultimately meant to be or are going to end up together like Eric and Donna did. But I wanted to add my thoughts to the discourse, because I don't think they are Jackie/Kelso reincarnate at all.
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Prompt: “are you sure we can’t just stay like this forever?”
Can you please drabble for Niknate with this prompt?
Hi there, Poorni! I really hope you like this a lot!
We Are in The Moment and We Can't Just Stay Like This Forever
On July 7th of 1996, Nate and Nikki are in Nate's bedroom, just finishing their passionate lovemaking from last night, Nate was watching Nikki in his bed sleeping; and he just can't believe that Nikki is sleeping peacefully in his bed looking so beautiful and precious like a dream coming to live.
"Are you sure we can't just stay like this forever?" Nate replied back to Nikki once she is fully awake and dressed to go back to her house. Nikki said to Nate, feeling guilty that she has to leave Nate behind; "Maybe, but we know the rules to our fling arrangement but maybe someday, we will work things out." Nate smiled brightly at Nikki after that sentence and replied back to Nikki. "I hope so, Nik because I missed you." Nikki smiles at Nate like that but then she leaves because of her growing feelings for Nate again and is afraid to get hurt again by him. But maybe things will change for them.
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Real life was real life’in this week 😅, so I’m just now able to share my thoughts re: the newest That ‘90s Show episodes.
Overall, another wonderful installment! The actors have definitely settled into their characters, and I’m invested in their storylines and relationships (beyond just Eric, Donna, and Leia). Reception to part 3 so far seems very positive. I’m going to remain hopeful it will get another season!
More thoughts beneath the cut:
It’s sort of stream of consciousness rambling, lol.
-Leia, my love. The wrestling storyline in episode 1 was funny. I loved seeing Leia’s persuasive, edgy side come out when she secured the autograph, much like back in the pilot when she got the tap from Mama. She’s really come into her own as a character this season.
-So much appreciation for the Doug Funnie and Porkchop cameos! 😆 As a child of the ‘90s, Doug was one of my favorite cartoons! And Red and Kitty’s Beanie Babies plot was… strange, lol, but funny. And it was nice to see them in cahoots. I knew Beanie Babies were going to make an appearance at some point, because they’re such a quintessentially ’90s thing. Remember how they gave away mini ones at McDonald’s for a while, and people went nuts? It was a strange time.
-Okay, the scene at the kitchen table with Red, Kitty, Leia and Donna after she broke the shower head genuinely had me cackling. And Donna gets another gold star mom award for the way she talked to Leia about it afterwards. I love how good of a mom she is. Hits me right in my feels. 🥹
-Jay and Leia… okay, probably an unpopular opinion but I just feel so lukewarm about them! 🤷🏼♀️ I don’t dislike them, I don’t ship them, they’re fine, I just don’t feel emotionally connected to them. Their first time didn’t elicit any big feelings or emotions from me. Their cliffhanger at the end - meh, I don’t really care if they stay together or break up. I remain more interested in seeing Leia explore other relationships - with Gwen or Nate, for instance - but she didn’t have many storylines apart from those with Jay or her family this time. Maybe it was foreshadowing to have Leia admit she expects to have a life long love like her parents do, and her friends reminding her that’s not realistic at all…
-Betsy! She reminds me of Brooke a bit and also Laurie, but mostly feels like her own character. Her relationship with Nate also reminds me of Kelso/Brooke’s relationship and Kelso/Laurie’s, in turns. She is much smarter than him but seems bemused and oddly charmed by the simple Nate, ala Brooke. And she’s manipulative, dominant, and sex-positive, ala Laurie. The scene where Nate tried to break up with her and she said no (😂) literally mirrors the Kelso and Laurie one from T70S. I definitely believed her as a Kelso, but you can tell she has intelligence her brother does not (thanks, Brooke) and seems serious about college/school in addition to having sex. A good mix of her parents, overall, and I enjoyed seeing her interactions with Jay and all the Kelso family lore we learned about this season!
-Kelso family lore: Jay and Betsy’s quibble - “Dad stayed with MY mom!” shows some underlying resentment/competition between the siblings, and also reveals that Kelso and Jackie took a 3 year break at some point (which we already kind of knew, due to their multiple remarriages) during which Kelso went back to Brooke (unclear)? Jay’s line about the time the entire Kelso family went to therapy for 20 minutes and the therapist told them they’re all afraid to love themselves was interesting, too.
-Okay, it was actually very sweet how Kitty found Isaac for Ozzie. I’ve enjoyed his arc this season: his heartbreak over Etienne, finding a queer community, his horror over being the last virgin *lol*, and now his blossoming relationship with Isaac. He seems more confident about himself and his sexuality than ever before. And his dry sense of humor always makes me laugh.
-We got to meet Gwen’s dad! I enjoyed him, his backstory, and his interactions with both Sherri and Gwen. Hoping we might see him again. Also, this shuts down the ‘Hyde is Gwen’s dad’ theories for good.
-The Jay and (Not So) Silent Bob schtick is so-so to me, but I did laugh at how they were following ‘their kids’ Ozzie and Isaac at the movies 😂.
-We got some good Eric nuggets! Starting with Eric and Donna being the same height in their wedding pictures - which I would cut my pinky finger off to see, btw. He lands his dream job working with George Lucas on Skywalker Ranch (I looked it up, and yes it’s a real place) and writing a book about the new Star Wars movies. Gets him out of the picture more permanently, but still leaves the door open for him to visit/return for a holiday episode or something. Loved Donna’s conversation with him on the phone, and imagining her helping him get settled out in California and visiting. And then Kitty’s comment about Donna drooling on his chest when they sleep - 🥹. My favorite detail yet.
-(Did anybody else think of the scene in T70S where Eric and Donna were discussing going to premarital counseling and Donna said they’d learn things about each other, like for instance what if one day she gets a high paying job in California - will he move? And then Eric is like ‘Whoa, why can’t I be the one to get the high paying job?’)
-Oh my god, I loved the ending sequence of them all in the car, dressed like the T70S characters and imitating the opening credits. Loved, loved, LOVED. When Leia put her hands on the dashboard like Donna, I think my shipper heart exploded. 🥰
-Donna and Bob’s moment on the car was very sweet (as was Bob reminiscing over Midge - this feels like confirmation that she’s passed away in-universe). I also thought it was poignant how Donna realizes (and values) both Eric and Leia’s happiness and doesn’t want to take that away, yet feels lost herself and is thus having difficulty making this decision. And then ultimately, she decides to just go back and forth between her two favorite people. 🥰
-The Clueless fantasy!!!!! Yes. So much yes. (I really enjoyed all of the ‘90s references this season)
-Wow. Sherri really is a Laurie clone (*cough* replacement *cough*). The fact that she’s done it with everyone - including the judge at Kitty’s court hearing. She’s earnest and often well meaning, but trips over her words and her relationships. Red and Kitty have so much to teach her. It’s a very parental relationship. Really makes you think about what could have been…
-This season made me such a NikNate shipper. I was kind of starting to come around to them after part 2, but their arc at the end where Nate believes in her musical talent and sells his van to buy back her guitar really got me. Nate is really winning me over, in general. #OTP: You’ll Always Be My Baby
-Ooh, that cliffhanger! Will Donna let Leia stay in Point Place now? Will she have to go to Our Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow? Will Leia forgive Jay for stealing her grandma’s keys? Stay tuned to find out! 😁
