#I have a lot of thoughts about them

[chatlote]

It's the 50 day anniversary since I finished Royals and got obsessed with Akechis character. Thought I would share some of my sketches 👉👈

[kristensdexscore]

i think maybe perhaps part of the reason im so attached to romantic fabriz . is that im very much arospec and in a dedicated romantic relationship and i like using riz to portray the fact that there isnt just One Way to be aroace

(idk bro im a sucker for seeing arospecs thrive in relationships)

[glowinggreeneyes-e]

if it’s not already out there I need a modern Robin/Julian AU where Robin is Julian’s dealer for, well, anything.

and they eventually hang out together, because Julian can actually be himself around Robin, there’s no expectations and he’s fun and puts up with him! And Robin doesn’t really trust anyone but the untrustworthy MP, who has put his reputation in his hands. His life in his hands.

so try new strains and imports at Julian’s second or third or fourth house, get high off whatever, and eventually make small mistakes - falling asleep in the same bed, roughing up hair just to feel the other man, fumbling open buttons to get out of clothes because the air con isn’t working but neither is my body, craving intimacy when it’s only one more half-hearted drunken shoulder massage away, trying to remember if they actually did touch each other last night or hallucinate it or dream it because everything is melting together now

until the dam breaks

[hanhwrites]

I feel the need to write an essay on Achilles and Patroclus

[desertsportshipping]

Crack ships and rare pairs are like my favorite thing in the whole world. I see you on the Leon tag all the time and I'd love to know how you came up with the idea for this ship / plotline / ect.!! I'd love to learn about your vision with these two

Honestly, the plotline spiraled from what it was originally supposed to be. The original concept was "Rui goes to the other Champions so that Wes can be certified a Champion so he's somewhat protected legally while in the background Wes falls for the golden retriever man." As you can see, it has changed quite a bit.

(I also had a concept in the back of my head of a Wes who takes over as the leader of Team Snagem but I don't know how Wes and Leon would meet in that framework)

Now that Wes is out of the whole environment that has been hurting him (Orre), he can take the steps to heal, and Leon watched Wes smile once and became obsessed with seeing him smile again.

Meanwhile, in the background, all of Leon's friends are convinced he has some sort of brain damage for wanting to date Wes, but Gloria and Hop are their biggest cheerleaders.

TLDR: golden retriever x feral street cat

[transmasccofee]

sorry for torisai brainrot but i like that toritsuka immediately just maneuvered saiki to his lap without thinking

[linguinibilly]

quackity and charlie slimecicle also have such an interesting relationship on qsmp, it makes me feral

like before juanaflippa died the first time, they barely spoke, barely interacted really but after that? quackity was charlie's lawyer, he fought to bring his daughter back for him, to give her a second chance at life despite having no real need to (ik he wanted payment for it but still, there was no relationship there to make it an obligation) like after he found out about the 5 other lawyers, he could've just stopped trying and left or switched onto el mariana's side but he didn't.

and then, after flippa's back, charlie's supervising tilin, quackity's son, and he accidentally kills her. there is something tragic in the fact that the person you helped save their own daughter is the one that ends up taking your child from you, even as an accident. it's such an awful setting, such an awful scene of charlie feeling genuine remorse over tilin, clearly in denial over everything and so confused because 'why can't he revive her?' so much that he leaves his own daughter -- the one he fought hard to get back -- out of regret and guilt of killing tilin, his daughter's best friend and quackity's son.

then when quackity finds out about tilin and what charlie did, he can't even get revenge or any sort of peace or argument because charlie's in exile, has already given himself a punishment that quackity didn't get to have a say in or anything like that. he didn't get to witness the justice that charlie did, didn't get to have a court case justify his pain and the unfairness of tilin's death when he wasn't even there. instead, he has to live with the knowledge that the man he helped, killed his son -- someone charlie was only with because juanaflippa wanted to be so if he hadn't had helped get her back, would his son still be alive? -- and then left in his own exile so quackity can't even find solace in revenge or law or anything.

it's no wonder that at the funeral he wants to fight charlie in the graveyard, it's no wonder he's so fucking pissed and desperate at everything that he's willing to risk his life, his stay on the server to fight charlie because, after all, what does he have left to stick around for? his son is dead, tilin is dead, he doesn't have a partner like charlie, doesn't have anyone to turn to or find an equally gaping heart because he was a single dad, he was all tilin had as a parent and now he can't even be that so what can he be? what's worth staying for after he's got revenge?

then after the fight, after the funeral, after both grieving fathers got to say one last goodbye to the kids they weren't there for, they meet again. both have undergone their own coping strategies, moved onto their new path of life with resigned emotions. quackity says he's not upset at charlie anymore, not enough to fight him or want revenge anyway, and charlie isn't bargaining against gods and the server to get his daughter back. they're both there, in quackity's house, with fresh wounds and less children but now they have each other

it's something el mariana can't understand, something that sets him apart from quackity or charlie because el mariana feels a different kind of guilt, has a different emotion -- he was directly responsible for his daughter's death, was the one that directly killed her -- while quackity and charlie were both absent, both trusting their children onto other people to take care of for them and it cost them everything.

quackity may look into charlie's eyes and see his son's last moments but he will also see a grieving father in the same boat, with the same pain, and isn't that more than he's had so far?

charlie will look at quackity and see a man that he has hurt, that has helped him. he's caused the same pain onto quackity, a pain he doesn't forgive himself for, but the same one they both have.

it's why their relationship is so good, why it's so meaningful and impactful because they both understand each other. they both know how the other feels, what the other wants more than anything, and they both can sit there or stand there and understand.

their two grieving fathers with little else to their name, no children, no real committed partner, but at least now they have each other

[starrynightarchive]

hmm how about platonic dazai & yosano + "there's something you aren't telling me" or nikonathan + "i thought i told you to leave" ?💗

"there's something you aren't telling me."

dazai rolls his eyes, "did you already figure out that i'm batman?"

yosano flicks his forehead and sits beside him, "shut up you-" she wrinkles her nose when the wind made her hair fall into her mouth and dazai laughs, shoulders loosening and eyes crinkling. yosano huffs out a breath and continues, "just spit it out, dazai. what is it?"

"it's my birthday today. i don't like my birthday."

yosano turns to him. blinks. and nods, "okay. you owe me a lot of money-"

"where did that come from?"

"-you are an insufferable little bitch-"

"you're on a roll today."

"and you get on my nerves way too much but i'm glad you exist." she bumps her shoulder against his, "I don't care for birthdays and it's fine if you don't either. but i'm giving you a chance to eat ramen and drink whiskey with my money. take it or leave it."

dazai smiles. he doesn't care for birthdays but if you ask him, he'd say this one wasn't too bad.

[sallymew4]

i want them to be happy

not a SINGLE canonical timeline do they get a happy ending

cant BELIEVE THIS

anyways

passes out

[nervousbreadpuppy]

you see flower husbands is about escapism and the reason they didn't work after 3rd life is because they realized there was no chance of escape or a happy ending and so there was no point to even trying even Scott's house in last life was just a cover for his actual base *gets shot*

[y97dgu]

continuing my thorin and thranduil thoughts

The movies give Thorin his hatred of elves and told us it was a big deal. Ok got it. For three whole ass movies, this was upheld. Fine. Yet, they never did anything to resolve it in anyway, which I think would have benefited Thorin’s character. It's built as this conflict we need to constantly think about bc of Thorin’s past, and his stubbornness but doesn’t have any sort of rectification. Which not all conflicts need, but in this case, in this narrative, I think it would have helped immensely (I mean fuck Thorin speaks more lines to Thranduil than to some of his own loyal followers other than Bilbo or Balin).

I’m not saying they needed to be best buddies, but I still stand by this: if they’re going to have the scene where Orcrist was thrown to Thorin, it should have been Thranduil. If they removed a lot of Thranduil dealing with Tauriel, and put Legolas there instead, it would have given the love triangle more meat to it. Not a lot, but more than there was. Have Legolas tells her “bc it was real” would have been more impactful, showing he was letting her go. AND it would have given a chance for Thorin and Thranduil to fight together or come to an understanding in the end.

And if that isn’t there, then HAVE THRANDUIL PLACE ORCRIST ON THORIN AT HIS FUNERAL. My personal take would be: 

Thranduil gives Orcrist back to Thorin at his funeral, despite not been given the gems that are emotionally important to him and mean nothing to Thorin, the other dwarves see this and are touched by this gesture and give Thranduil the gems as a way to heal the rift in Thorin’s place, since his pride and his myopic view of his own suffering above others hindered him.

Have Thorin learn a hard lesson from Thranduil. Thranduil gives the Laketown refugees help with no strings attached. Thranduil didn’t do it the first time with Thorin, realizes his mistake, and trying to do better this time. And Thorin, after breaking from his gold sickness, recognizing this. He learns that he’s doing the same thing Thranduil did to him, and he wants to rectify his mistake, gain back his honor, and keep his promise. 

or i can stop complaining and just draw it myself.

[otaku553]

Hello there!! Regarding the last ask about your Kirby in KNY and MHA (I'm not the same person btw), I remembered your Au where Kirby was in the Harry Potter universe, and I find myself asking you how you came with the idea, and if you will bring it back in the future!

Also, still regarding with the Au, what is Kirby's relationship with the other characters in the HP universe?

Asdsjdjsfj that was a while ago, I’m impressed anyone still knows about it,,,,,,

My thoughts are a bit long so if you want to read them you can click into the read more!

So I came up with the idea at the time because I was and still am really into crossovers! You often find that there are fandoms that are good worlds for crossover fodder, such as Harry Potter or Hero Aca! It’s not just that the fandoms are large, but also the fact that their worldbuilding is robust enough that adding a character allows them to mesh with the world seamlessly, while being loose enough that you can play with concepts that aren’t explored in canon. Crossovers are a fascinating character study of how a character can still remain a character removed from their setting, their comfort zone, and sometimes removed from their key experiences and memories.

One of the really popular crossover niches for example is FMA x Harry Potter, with Edward specifically acting as an alchemy professor. It’s unique within the setting he’s placed in— Ed is a strong-headed character who does not have the disposition of a mentor figure, but has the expertise and ability to teach. Meanwhile, Ed himself is placed in a situation he has never found himself in, where the intellectual progress of dozens of people possibly his age, older or younger, is now his responsibility. It’s a seamless combination also, since Alchemy is a canonically existing field in Harry Potter. It has all the elements of a well set-up crossover! I’ve seen it executed to varying degrees of success :)

Harry Potter is easy crossover fodder because the world is naturally designed to test people and reveal their secrets. Look no further than the boggart, which takes the form of one’s deepest fear, or legilimency, where you can read into someone’s thoughts, or the pensieve, where you can literally experience someone else’s memories. It could be called poor writing to have so many forced methods to invade someone’s privacy, but the fact that they exist means they can regardless be taken advantage of when writing crossovers.

The standard crossover structure very often keeps the origins of a transmigrated character a secret, and when a character has no connections to the world around them, people get to know that person from the ground up, from the persona they portray to their history and deepest parts of their personality. It’s what makes crossover interactions interesting beyond the shock value; we essentially get to relearn a character from the eyes of a world and characters that have never met the character before.

I don’t know if I’ll ever write anymore Kirby crossovers, to be honest, so I might not bring back the Kirby HP crossover, unfortunately. Kirby is difficult to crossover with other fandoms because their sheer strength makes many problems in other worlds irrelevant. Back when I was writing these, Kirby’s strength was what appealed to me, since having a character who is unshakably happy and powerful is a breath of fresh air after protagonists that go through an existential crisis or two in their journey. Contrary to the popular hero’s journey for most protagonists, Kirby is just very simply Kirby, and continues to remain Kirby through everything :)

Regarding the AU, in this crossover Kirby would at first treat Hogwarts as a safe haven away from the battles against gods that they often have to fight. Maybe they stumble across the world while exploring and happen to land close to Hogwarts, or maybe they accidentally crash land and are stuck there until they can fix their ship or until someone comes to pick them up. In any case, Kirby breaks all rules of logic that people have. They’re too young to attend classes or pass as a student so they wander the halls, with most students theorizing that they’re the child of one the professors. Only their eyes, which sparkle with the light of galaxies behind them, give any clue that they aren’t quite as human as they seem.

Kirby doesn’t see a point in hiding anything about themself because they’ve never had to on any planet they’ve gone to. If people don’t know that Kirby is an alien to this world, then it’s just because they haven’t asked.

I tend to write the golden trio in HP as nosy children who want to solve every mystery, including whatever is going on with Kirby, so I think they’d go through roundabout methods to follow Kirby when they really could have just asked. Otherwise, Kirby is friends with about everyone, though more often than not they’ll disappear off planet for their own responsibilities.

I was playing around with the idea of Kirby acting as a representative for the GSA and being a diplomat accompanied by Meta Knight in later years, so Kirby’s resting place away from battle becomes tainted with the responsibility of being a Knight, but I never got that far :p

[wackybuddiemewbs]

Some spec on who's to live and to die on next season's 9-1-1 no one asked for...

Note: This will be long, in not the fun way, most likely. This won't be pretty. Or coherent. Or deep. Or a hot take. But the cringe's never stopped me. So yeah. Let's get this over with, right? Cool. Cool.

With the recently released trailer (obsession overload since then!), I've seen a lot of interesting convo and thought pieces on whether the person Buck is supposedly losing out in the field is “just” a stranger or someone they actually know.

And while my prediction game is shit, I have my money on either Captain Mehta or Lucy at this point, in the event that it is indeed someone they know.

Here's why I think that might be the case:

It'd make narrative sense for it being either of the two. It'd forward the plot overall and wouldn't contradict where their characters are at present.

It'd serve to further progress Buck's and Eddie's characters in their individual and shared arcs.

It'd be in-tune with the reactions we see from Buck and Eddie in the trailer.

So let's start with the latter, and that is how Buck and Eddie are portrayed to react to the death of the person, granted that those are *not* two separate scenes and some funny editing for the trailer.

If this was, suppose, Taylor Kelly, I don't believe Eddie would be stoically crossing himself, not with Buck right next to him as he's losing that person. He'd be more visibly upset – for Buck's sake already, right? Coz that'd be his ex right there.

Like, sure, Eddie tends to keep his cool (unless he buys suits and feels baby-trapped without a baby, just many, many salads and muffins). But he's had a relationship with Taylor that was at least friendly enough. Even if they weren't ever BFFs, I don't think he'd be this stoic about her passing. He may keep a straight face for Buck, but then the gesture wouldn't fit. He would be more focused on offering Buck comfort than cross himself, when there's nothing in the narrative that'd suggest Taylor to be overtly religious or him feeling the need to pay some kind of tribute to her by crossing himself.

Though the crossing *does* have me sold on the idea that it is “one of their own”, but someone who's distant enough for Eddie to *not* start crying or showing a strong emotional reaction right there. Say, if this was Bobby, you bet we'd see a different reaction. More so since he's in therapy now and learns to talk about his feelings.

So that leaves either people Eddie hasn't gotten to know at all that well on the 118 or someone from another team. And that'd leave three candidates from the established ensemble that we got to know:

Ravi

Lucy

Captain Mehta

Ravi and Lucy are new members of the 118, which means they'd fit the aforementioned conditions.

So let's start out with Ravi.

Ravi's character was further developed during Eddie's leave from the LAFD, but Eddie's been shown around him before. They weren't BFFs necessarily, but it is implied that they were friendly and that they spent a lot of time together on the job, as one does when you work for the fire department, right? So Eddie just doing the stoic crossing after someone he knows not just as a colleague died? I find it kind of hard to believe, personally. Also, if we take into account that he knows Buck is next to him, who's known him even more? Even harder to believe for me that this is what he'd go for.

Second question we'd have to ask ourselves in that context: What narrative purpose would it serve – for Ravi, and for Buck and Eddie? And that's where I draw a blank when it comes to Ravi.

First, Ravi's come more into his own as a character with his own arc, his past, his wishes, his personality. What purpose would the build-up have, only to toss him under the bus (blimp) now that they created more opportunity to progress his character?

Second, if this death is supposed to be a catalyst for Buck and Eddie, then what purpose does Ravi's death have that is specific to *them*? Other than being “one of their own”?

It'd potentially have more impact (emotionally, theatrically, etc.) for Hen to lose Ravi. Because they have had a lot of those heart-to-heart scenes in the past season. Buck losing him would be devastating, surely, but it wouldn't be specific to what may be bubbling underneath Buck's surface this whole time. That he's tried his best to fix things and be fine – which is what I take to be the focal point of that arc, should they go for it that they want to portray him spiraling following the events.

So that rules out Ravi for me, really.

So what of Lucy?

Lucy would make a lot more sense. Her death would be much closer geared to the reactions we see from Buck and Eddie, for instance.

Eddie doesn't know Lucy that well as of now, as far as we, the audience, know. She was introduced in his absence. And it may well be that Buck didn't really talk about her because of the whole kissing thing and his relationship troubles with Taylor. And Eddie's own issues. And just about everything else going on at the time (also great way to highlight lacking communication, am I right?).

So Eddie being more stoic and “paying a bit of a tribute” to a colleague by crossing himself would be a more natural reaction, granted that he'd think that Buck is on a similar level of knowing her. It wouldn't be out of place, and it'd leave room for Buck to freak and Eddie going on ahead to comfort him then. And it'd give an opening for a conversation, as Eddie might see that Buck's not been talking about himself recently, and he doesn't know what's going on with him.

So what would be the narrative purpose her death might serve to her own arc?

Again, more than I'd think Ravi's death might server to his.

While she has been explored some in the past season, we haven't seen as much of her as we've seen of him. So if she were to go, it would be devastating, since we got to know her, but it's not like we would see a lot of loose strings about her character. It would be about a good person, a great co-worker, being taken out of her life. So that would not pose a contradiction to where they left her character last season, developmentwise.

On another note, I don't know if there might be something to be said about filming logistics. If I remember correctly, the actress won't feature much (at all? Please don't quote me on this!) due to another role she's landed. So maybe “writing her out” would be convenient. But let's cast that aside for the moment, because that's not narrative-related spec.

What narrative sense would it make for her character to die, then? To reiterate, it would be devastating for sure. We see a good person and teammate, someone who's funny and confident, a trained and capable firefighter, who's just taken away from us. Because that's what can happen. A cautionary tale that none of them are ever truly safe, no matter how tight you work together as a team, and no matter how tough your plot armor may seem.

Hehe. It rhymed.

But that'd apply to any firefighter or police officer dying in the field, too. So that wouldn't be specific to *her character* or to the characters who can't save her.

And the closest would be Buck, right?

For one, after the awkward... beginnings... she and Buck progressed in their friendship already in the past season. Buck offered her an outlook, shared in his past when she was brooding about losing someone, etc.

That might be foreshadowing, or her running out of dumb luck, if you catch my drift.

For her own character, it'd mean she might die as she lived. Risking her life, not looking back, not hesitating to help people. It may mean she'd see her own purpose fulfilled and dies not happily, but without regrets, really, which would hit that bittersweet spot very well. If we get some personal revelation preceding the call, it might also be adjusted to something about her past that we don't yet know about her. Say, her saving someone who'd reflect on a past regret of hers (be it about the life she may have lived instead or whatever else). And the conclusion of her death being later on that the team reckons with the fact that she is gone, but that her death didn't mean as much as the life she's lived. And that she seemed at ease where her life ended, how it ended, because she served the purpose she's chosen for herself. That kind of thing.

While we have only caught glimpses of her character thus far, that might be just the narrative upshot on a more general level. That it is someone we've only just gotten to know, someone the team only got to know recently. And then she's gone. Ripped out of her life. Out of theirs. And they don't even know who to call, that kind of thing. Which would also be tough on Buck especially, maybe even a callback to Red, in the sense of not being remembered. But that might be a bit of a stretch.

What I find specific to her character is the function it serves to Buck's character. And that is that she is introduced as a mirror for Buck, as a way to look at himself. When he looks at her, he sees a part of himself. Not just the daredevil kind of tendencies that he may even enjoy about himself, the risk-taking, the liveliness. Because that is what the kiss has always felt like to me: a way for Buck to embrace (kiss, reconnect with) a part of his old self, the one that was feeling alive, that didn't feel sad and inadequate in helping (fixing) the people he loves (Maddie, Chim, Eddie). Things didn't turn out that way for him once he sobered up, but I think the want for it remained. And that's what her death might well bring back to the surface.

In that same way, he might see “his own future” through her, as someone who's been around longer and still features that kind of personality that's close to his. The part of himself he embraced dies in his own arms. Which would leave him to figure out how he can still be the one to get away, if you catch my drift a second time. How he can bypass ending up where she ended up. How he can prevent his future from the loss of more people close to him.

If this is in any way preceded by some last-ditch effort by her to save someone else at the risk of her own life, it'd fit oh too well. Because that would be like forcing Buck to watch himself doing a rescue and failing. It'd force him to look from down there as he climbs a crane, at the risk of being shot by a sniper. It'd force him to look at himself through the eyes of the people around him – and how it'd feel like to lose him (her). He'd find himself standing on the other side, looking in, and being unable to do anything about it. Like the people around him must have felt before, watching him put his own life at risk.

And that may well edge him closer to the breaking point.

So the metaphor of losing someone out there in the field while losing himself in the aftermath... that would make a lot of narrative sense for me. It'd give room for his character to progress. If they are going to have Buck unravel, that sure would present a great opening.

It'd also fit in with Buck feeling immense guilt of not having saved someone. Even if he may have understood by now that he saved Eddie by crawling under that truck and getting to him. If he can't get to Lucy in time in the crowd or whatever else, his guilt will be overwhelming. And it may inspire him to go back to some of his old coping mechanisms. Even though Eddie slammed it into him that he is not expendable, Buck losing someone like Lucy, having been unable to do anything about her death, may prompt him to go back to his old habits to feel alive. To feel something, anything, that's not this kind of all-consuming guilt.

Because even if we make progress emotionally, we sometimes have setbacks, and we have to start over. So Buck trying to help fix things for Eddie leading to Eddie helping Buck to put himself back together in the aftermath (even without the Buddie goggles)... That seems like a plot point naturally flowing from that idea of trauma coming back in waves. And how you have to tackle it time and time again. Together.

It'd certainly open up an opportunity for Buck and Eddie to address the will, which still feels like Chekhov's gun here, just like the overdue talk about how the shooting affected Buck and Eddie, both individually and together.

We've gotten bits and pieces last season, with Buck giving an opening when they are at equine therapy and addresses the shooting at least. But they did not, in any way, on-screen, talk about how the shooting affected them emotionally. How it affected and traumatized them together. He just stated that this got him thinking about it. But not *what* he felt during the shooting, or after, or how he feels about it even now.

So, to sum up, Lucy is a viable opportunity, from a narrative standpoint. Her character would progress Buck's arc immensely, if that is the route they are taking. And if her character's upshot is to be the mirror, the glimpse into Buck's future, to inspire change, that'd fit and not have her character “go for nothing”.

And then we have Captain Mehta.

To me, if the Chekhov's gun that's supposed to go off in season 6a is the shooting and its aftermath, then that guy's death would be a perfect catalyst for it.

Again, it'd fit with Buck's and Eddie's reaction as we've seen so far in the trailer. Eddie may not remember as much of the shooting itself as Buck does. So to Eddie, Captain Mehta might just be someone who was also there when it happened. Eddie will certainly have heard that he helped get him to safety, which would fit with him crossing himself stoically and seemingly wanting to pay his tribute in some way. And it may well be that he does not comprehend how much of a trigger that man may grow to be for Buck, or rather, how much his death might be. Because he doesn't remember what happened immediately after he was shot.

What narrative purpose would Captain Mehta's death then serve?

Well, we haven't gotten to know him much. If it is so to happen, we might get some personal info right before he dies (similar to Claudette – they dug into her character some more to make it *mean* something when she died). Like, he's about to have a child or whatever else. And then disaster strikes. Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone, you catch my drift again, I hope.

So him dying would be sad, but more of a catalyst for other characters, namely Buck and Eddie. It would be less about concluding things for a character and bring his arc to an end. His death would trigger a situation, start a conflict, if you will.

With Lucy, I struggle a bit on that, since they developed her as a character in her own right. Sure, maybe that's supposed to be it, to make it hurt even more, as I mentioned before. And that's where I'm struggling on what the show might opt for. Captain Mehta's death would be more on the side of “this character was primed as a catalyst for other characters later on, which is why we didn't develop his character in greater detail before”.

If Captain Mehta is supposed to die, it's his death and his role in the shooting that would serve the narrative purpose. That would make Chekhov's gun about the shooting go off most likely – and may then lead to others going off as well. But that'd be the most obvious connection to Buck and to Eddie – the shooting.

This, again, could lead to a conversation about the will. But it doesn't necessarily have to. Yet. What it would provide in both cases is an impact on both Buck's and Eddie's characters. Because it is something they have not discussed, have not really moved past yet (and never really will, less so if they just try to move on from it without talking about its impact on their lives and emotions).

If it is supposed to be Lucy, it'd seem more likely to me that the narrative upshot is her relation to Buck, being a mirror to him. That would make Chekhov's gun about Buck's unraveling or confronting him with where he might end up if he continues with his tendencies.

That scenario may open up a conversation about the will, if we further assume that Buck will get himself into danger to save Chim during the car chase (Buck and those bicycles...). Like, a scenario where Eddie calls him out for being this reckless along the lines of "Did you think about what that would do to Christopher? You remember you're his legal guardian?" and everyone else goes 👀👀👀 (which is a fanfic trope they can pry from my cold dead hands). That'd make the shooting perhaps a topic to be discussed, but it wouldn't be the initial, focal point.

What that scenario doesn't provide as much is the impact it'd have on Eddie personally. Yes, it'd affect him to see Buck spiraling. And if we get some talk about the will, we might, but not about the shooting itself. Which is a narrative path that may work all the same. It's just a question of when to address which conflicts or loose threads.

Which is why I am so torn on whether it'd be Lucy or Captain Mehta in this scenario. To me, it really boils down to what plot points the writers wish to hit WHEN. Lucy's death could get them the same plot points covered as Captain Mehta's death might (shooting, will, Buck unraveling). It just depends on what they wanna go for first.

If Lucy is meant to go, it feels like Buck unraveling would be first, which might give an opening to the will. And perhaps the shooting. But the shooting would only ever flow from Buck's unraveling, which may force Eddie to step in and force the overdue conversation.

If Captain Mehta is meant to go, the starting point would have to be his role in the shooting. So Buck unraveling would be in relation to it, the catalyst, but the shooting would be the focal point from which all other plot points flow. The will can turn up in that same context, but doesn't necessarily have to.

To come back to my initial 3 points (again in reverse order):

Both would fit from the limited information we have from the trailer, i.e. Buck's and Eddie's reactions to the person's death.

Buck and Eddie would be given opportunity to progress individually and together in both instances. If Lucy dies, it'd start out with Buck likely unraveling in some shape or form, seeing a life he could have lived pass, being unable to save that part of himself. And Eddie would see him spiraling and finding himself having to step in. Which may force the conversation about the shooting and/or the will. If Captain Mehta dies, the focal point would be their shared trauma of the shooting that they'd finally have to address. Buck's unraveling would then be the catalyst for Eddie to realize that he has to talk about it to Buck to help him “fix” things again. In both instances, it would facilitate Buddie progression (if I may put those goggles on for a second here), to force them into the realization how much they care, need, and love each other.

Both would make narrative sense. It'd drive the plot along for the 118, losing one of their own, and how that'd affect them as a team and as individuals. Either seeing people being ripped out of their lives despite being so experienced, or to highlight that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. Even someone the audience got to know a lot more personally may go. Because that is what happens in their line of work. And finding ways to move on from there, hitting the bittersweet spot about someone having followed her heart – even if that meant to her own death.

Last but not least... the Buddie goggles.

Because you did not expect that I could keep them off towards the finale of this way too long, verbose post, right?

Even with the Buddie goggles on, both Lucy and Captain Mehta make as much sense within that arc, if that is what the writers are (finally) going for this season.

Eddie hasn't seen Buck lose someone who's close to him (Maddie was gone temporarily, the others were people they haven't had a personal connection to). If they lose either of those characters, Eddie will see Buck's devastation over losing someone close to him first-hand for the very first time, I believe.

And now as friend or future love interest, he'd want to be there for Buck, more so if Buck starts spiraling in the aftermath. Because Buck's been there in the room with him, and you bet he'd do the same for him in a heartbeat.

I think we've talked a lot about how Eddie hasn't seen Buck's reaction to him being buried alive, and we may never really get there, but that might be the twist in that arc: Eddie would get to see real-time, unfiltered, what Buck is like when he loses someone close to him. How Buck was like when he thought he'd lost Eddie. When Buck completely loses his professional cool that he was able to keep while Eddie himself was spiraling (see Eddie finding it hard to breathe during the hospital call last season where Buck told him they move on to the next).

Extra points (not that extra points from me would amount to anything, but I'd still give them) if we see Eddie actively trying to get through to Buck, but initially failing.

Here's why:

It might be very interesting to see Eddie finding himself ill-equipped in his mission of Buck up Buck 2.0. Before, he always got through to him. He got Buck to leave the loft after the embolism (okay, only to get caught up in a tsunami, but that wasn't his upshot, c'mon). He snapped Buck out of it when he thought it had been better, had he gotten shot by the sniper instead of Eddie. He was all smug BF over dinner, telling Buck he isn't going anywhere when he considers to transfer after Chimney leaving. Up until now, Eddie's always found the means to get through to Buck eventually. To keep him off that ledge.

It would be brutal and dramatically delicious to see him feeling like he can't get through to Buck, even though he is so accustomed to it. Even though Buck did it for him, and we all know what a tough case Eddie's been to crack.

And it may well be that he has to come to the painful realization that he can't get through to Buck because of the elephant in the room, Chekhov's gun on the wall: The shooting. Potentially also the will.

Because he may still struggle with it himself so much that he feels like he should leave it to his therapy sessions with Frank alone. It might be that he feels not ready for it yet, to go back to that fateful day and face those scary, scary emotions attached to that moment. Only to realize that he has to do it. Not just for Buck's sake, but also for his own.

Like, I'm a downright hoe for all the hurt and all the comfort, so I'd be damn FED with that, but it'd fit from a narrative perspective. In my view, at least: Eddie and Buck would be forced to have that overdue conversation (Chekhov's gun) about the shooting and/or the will. How it impacts them. Because it's the only way they can move forward. Because their tried and trusted methods, the way their relationship used to work, it no longer works that way. It's something deeper, something much more intimate, and even downright scary. To realize just how close you let that other person be in your life, and how much you need to let that other person in, so you can both heal.

Also, Eddie would see first-hand what Buck's seen in the last season: What happens to your loved ones when they eat it all up and don't find an outlet and start spiraling as a result. How helpless you find yourself to be when you don't find a way to get through to them. He'd have to see Buck in the way that Buck's seen him in season 5.

You know, being mirrors to each other, which might be an overall theme coming back full swing this upcoming season. That kind of thing. If we see any more shots involving mirrors, you know where I got my money.

And in that same vain, that may very well serve as a catalyst for Eddie to realize his (romantic) feelings for Buck. Because that wouldn't just be about seeing his best friend struggling. This would be a callback to not being able to help Shannon (i.e. his dead WIFE) and wanting to break the cycle with Buck. Which would force him to have a hard look at himself and his feelings for Buck, and how they might be much closer to what they were for Shannon than for any of his other friends (i.e. romantic vs. strictly platonic).

And if we get some callback to Carla telling him to follow his heart, only for him to go to Buck... I will eat glass. Not literally. But I will eat lots of glass. *crunch*

To me, it could go a number of ways from there. We may even find ourselves in a situation where they don't manage to talk about it until well later (6b), but still try to offer and seek comfort with each other (not friends with benefits, but more like... and then they had sex because of tragic event A, and they just want to forget their grief and find comfort in each other's arms kind of way). I find that not at all otherworldly, really. And it may force the conversation all the harder (pun maybe intended).

Like, imagine a scenario where Buck seeks comfort with Eddie and Eddie offers it, not knowing what else to do since all other attempts of his failed thus far. Buck stops spiraling somewhat. All's well. All's fine. It's alright, right??? And damn, that can maybe even sexy in ways a certain someone did not learn in Sunday School. Then shit hits the fan, because of course it does. And both Eddie and Buck have to realize that just seeking comfort in the intimacy between them isn't fixing it.

Because A) they are not just there for comfort but for the lurve, B) it doesn't fix the initial problem, which is Chekhov's gun about the shooting and/or the will and Buck's struggles, and C) since when has that worked out in a narrative ever???

So it might well be that Eddie feels like he's got it under control, only for Buck to spiral again, fast, harder, and much further down. And Eddie has the Oh moment right there and then that he doesn't just want the intimacy that springs from grief (is grief sex a thing like angry make up sex??? Like narratively? Asking for a friend). That he wants to be with Buck in that way not just as a way to forget, but because he's chosen him in his heart long ago, but just hasn't allowed himself it yet. Love confession. Confused Buck noises. Kisses and tears. See you next season. Wham. Bam. Thank you, ma'am.

But even if we don't go that path, and resolution about the shooting will be reached without anything Buddie-like happening this season, it would be a great eye-opener for Buddie, still.

Buck having Eddie show up, seeing him in his struggles (contrast with his parents much), and doing anything he can to save Buck from himself self-deprecating. Someone choosing him, and choosing him at his lowest, not on the height of a heroic deed, but right when he hits rock-bottom. Someone who chooses and loves him anyway.

Eddie choosing to follow his heart, which would be to go to Buck, to be with the person he loves, through thick and thin. To be the partner he felt he wasn't to Shannon. If we get some gay/bi reckoning before that, choosing himself and embracing his sexual identity. Realizing that the person he thought he had with Ana was Buck all this time, and he just didn't look at him in that way because he was just always Buck to him.

Like, it'd bring things full circle in a lot of ways. At least from where I'm standing (okay, sitting, typing away unnecessarily on my laptop, fine).

What remains by the end of this post (I know, fuckin' finally, right?), is that if we are losing one of our own next season, Lucy and Captain Mehta may get us to just those plot points.

And yeah, I do hope to see some of my beloved fanfic tropes to become a reality. A fangirl can dream. And if canon goes a different way, you bet my fingers are already typing to indulge myself with those scenarios.

But at the very least, they owe us a Buddie hug. Even if they don't go for Buddie this season, they deserve a hug. We deserve them hugging. They HAVE TO HUG, okay? Okay. Now, that didn't relate to anything from my initial long-ass post about who might die next season... and I can't seem to think of any elegant ways to make that come full circle. So I will just end on this note:

I hope our firefighters remain safe and that it's just someone else. But if we lose one of our own, that's the people I'd sadly bet on.

Thanks for coming to that... talk. With myself.

Cheers!

Merry start into season 6 of this wee-woo-show that's got us in its vice grip! 🚒🚒🚒

[zoroara]

Buon Compleanno Mammon~

They like the rest of the arcos are very mysterious, but man, I always wonder why they went into hiding as they did. Most of the arcos didn’t change their name or anything like that but Mammon did. And while yes they do hate that they are in this form was is more them not wanting their previous name tarnished by it, or did they simply want a new identity?

But I think given they weren’t looking forward to much other than their body back and was insistent on their new identity, maybe it was something else.

[amaraudermind]

No, so here's the thing. Dick is a master of emotionally adopting younger siblings. He sees a person younger than him, asks "is anyone gonna watch their back?" And doesn't wait for an answer.

But Jason, see, he doesn't have the adoption issue, he's the opposite: he's an adoption magnet. Every adult that meets Jason wants to make him their child(which is barely a joke: especially when reading pre-crisis Batman and tec comics) Everyone wants to parent Jason.

And then Tim is the reverse of Dick: he adopts older siblings indiscriminately. He sees someone older than him and immediately imprints on them, there is no escaping having Tim as your annoying younger brother.

Cass doesn't fall into either category of Must Adopt or Adoption Magnet, but she is not immune to everyone else's adoption tendencies. And she is definitely Annoying: Tim tries to do the annoying younger brother thing and is immediately outclassed by her being an annoying shit of an older sister. If there's one thing about her she Will Annoy anyone and everyone. For fun.

Then Damian is another adoption magnet, himself, this time mostly gaining older sisters, but especially older siblings in general and not so much parents. You cannot meet him without going "damn, kid's the most horrible little shit I've ever met. Can't believe he's my brother now." "You realize you don't have to-" "no he is my brother now it's too late."

And Duke, he also has not shown any of the adoption tendencies yet(caveat being left that he has considerably less page time and as such an adoption trait could yet make itself known) but he does the stubborn sibling thing to an Alarming degree.

Now, those unfamiliar may be saying, void, they're all stubborn, how can he be The Stubborn one, but listen: there is a big difference between being stubborn and The Stubborn Sibling. My siblings and I are all stubborn. No One beats my younger sibling in being The Stubborn Sibling. No one is immune to the stubborn sibling. You tell them you cannot go to the store today and twenty minutes later you're suddenly at target. They say you have to talk about your feelings and suddenly you are spilling all of your dark secrets. Everyone thinks they're such a nice, lovely sibling. Wow you guys are close you'd do anything for them. They don't understand the power of the Stubborn Sibling. They seem chill. They are UnHinged. No One Is Immune.

Anyway yeah that's the brief description of the Wayne Siblings it's really simple overall.

[earthlightsong]

HELLOOO i’m still thinking abt ten with rivers memories u get it. we r on the same level. literally he would’ve saved her if he could and he wasn’t able to and then he gets all of these memenories and ohhhmygod it was always supposed to happen that way of course it was but he met her again and again and fell in love knowing it was going to end that way. god. scream. she was such an anomaly to him ohhhhmyguodd. they make me crazy

LITERALLYYYYYYYYY i go crazy thinking about them all the time i'm just not very vocal about it cause it's all in my head <3

but ten with all of his memories thinking about river ......... and like. the helplessness in thinking about her death and he shouldve done more but if he did he couldn't spend all that time with her ... and he's like that wasn't even me! i didn't even live those times! it was just Some Guy, it shouldn't affect me this much but it still HURTS cause i DID love her but i DIDN'T. it's just something to think about