#NONE OF THIS OS CANON

[fenharael]

Yup

[puzzlingrubberknife]

Happy disability pride month y'all!!

Shoutout to disabled selfshippers and f/os that are either canonicay or headcanonically disabled :3

[basicallyjaywalker]

The timeline and history of Ninjago is weird and fluid: an essay

So recently I reblogged a post asking what people thought the length of the time skip between S2 and S3 was and it got me thinking about the weird chronology of this show.

Disclaimer: i have only seen up to S8 because I'm a hack and a fraud but I do still follow fandom and have seen enough clips I think to gain an understanding of how the ninja are portrayed and characterized in later seasons. I welcome and deeply appreciate those of you who are more caught up on the seasons adding to my points and pointing out where I'm wrong on this post! Who knows maybe in 15 years when I do catch up I'll make a follow up

Basically, the conclusion I have after years of thinking about this timeline way too much is this:

The time twins completely screwed up the timeline

Only slightly joking, but it does feel like the divide between S7 and S8 (coincidentally also when the design change took place) is when the writers had to retcon a lot of old ideas because the show was moving in a new direction spurred by an increase of popularity from the movie and by desires from the people supervising the shows creation.

My main points for this are as follows

The ninjas age

How old the country of Ninjago is

The depiction of the passing of time itself

So let's examine these one by one and let me tell you exactly what I think caused the chronological fluidity of this show

Wait... How old are the ninja?

The answer to this question depends on who you ask. Some people say they're in their late teens, that they're early adults, or that they've got to be hitting the mid 20s by now. Personally, I'm of the latter camp, but depending on which season someone is viewing, any of these can be true.

In the post I talked about at the start, I mentioned that S1-S4 felt like the ninja clearly grew older and matured as time went on. They went from blowing off training to play video games in S1 to dealing with the ramifications of trauma in various, independent, adult ways in S4. Yes, they can still be super immature and goofy, but let's be real adults are like that irl too. Now they seem to stall out on dramatic progression in S5-7, but they generally maintain the same level of maturity as before.

Now again, I have not watched the following seasons, but the general vibe I have gathered is the ninja seem to almost... Regress? They seem to go back to S1 levels of maturity. Teenagers! I mean Lloyd specifically seems to be more of a typical teenage boy archetype whereas beforenhe was portrayed as almost more mature than the ninja. Additionally, there's an interview wherein someone on the team confirms they're supposed to be teens (if anyone can find it I'll be forever in your debt).

This weird regression happens in the later seasons, and while I can't pinpoint where, to me it feels like a result of how they were portrayed in (you guessed it) the movie!

Small aside: I also haven't seen the movie but ik it's non canon and very typical Lego movie silly fun fluff. I like what I've seen and think the whole narrative is super cute. Plus movie aus are adorable. Moving on

Now I have no way of backing this up but I would be unsurprised if the movie brought more people to the Ninjago franchise as a whole and acted as a soft reboot after s8. We get the new redesigns, new garmadon brought back specifically to be able to mirror movie garm, and teenage ninjas including our favorite magical boy with daddy issues--Lloyd.

Basically, the ninjas almost have a parabola of maturation, starting off very young and dumb in s1, maturing into very adult people by S4, but slowly regressing after the rebrand to match the new style.

And funnily enough, none of this goes against an official canon. The ninjas ages are never stated, really, only implied. Really, they could still be in their mid twenties or early teens at any point. Even if you argued that they wouldn't be teachers or able to own stocks in a company or etc etc etc, you can also argue that the laws in Ninjago may not be the same, it may be through Wu or another adult, it could just be that they're the ninja and really no one is gonna question them on that. The canon itself is kinda wobbly which brings me to my next point:

HOW OLD IS NINJAGO?!?!

HOW IS NINJAGO THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD HOW ARE THERE MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF EMS HOW PLD ARE GARM AND WU HOW OLD ARE THE NINJA HOW OLD ARE THEIR PARENTS HOW OLD IS ANYONE WHAT THE HECK--

--Are all thoughts I've had when trying to piece together the timeline of this world because let's face it: it simultaneously seems to be very new and very old. "Long before time had a name...' HOW LONG WU. HOW LONG.

When I was watching S7 I specifically took note of when it was said that the Serpentine war was 40 years ago. It felt weirdly recent, as before when the serpentine were discussed and depicted they seemed to be an ancient race. So ancient, in fact, that it's mentioned in s1 that they're just "an old wives tale, meant to keep kids from poking their noses where they don't belong'

Now don't get me wrong, temporal perception is weird. Things that were 40 years ago can feel super old, I'm approaching 20 years old and things from when I was born feel like ages ago. Still, 40 years does not feel like enough for something as intense as an entire war to be forgotten. Ray and Maya fought in that war, so presumably Ed, Edna, and Lou all lived through it. Wu was literally present for the banishing of the Anacondrai generals, so how tf did it fade into obscurity?

Then there's the EMs themselves. In S4 Garmadon explains that they were the FSM "guardians" and that their powers are passed down through generations. This does give an answer to the origins of the ninjas powers except. No, wait, I have more questions now. Firstly, how many generations? We know Garmadon is the son of the FSM, so presumably if the first generation of EMs are contemporaries of the FSM, then we're on the third. Okay, that's less confusing. With three generations, we can explain how the EMs separated, the master of earth who was most definitely not Lily in a flashback in S4, and even the odd comment Nya makes in S5 about powers "skipping a generation" with people from the second generation not getting powers from their relatives while others do. We could possibly point to Zane as an example of this, as it could be possible that the master of ice seen inna flashback is his grandfather and Juliens father, with Julien having no shown elemental powers.

So with all of this in mind it makes complete sense that Ninjago is less than a century and a half old, allowing about 50 years for each generation.

So, I ask with great exhaustion, how the FUCK has all of it's RECENT HISTORY become LEGEND????

I would like to reiterate my point about the serpentine, but also see pirates (who had to have also been contemporaries to the FSM which begs the question WHY piracy in a barely established nation), the devourer and ouroborus (devourer specifically was around 60 so years ago to bite Garmadon, also how did the serpentine tribes just FORGET a whole city in 40 years or less between the war and being freed), the ideas of EMs as a whole???? (Specifically how did Kai, Nya, and Cole not know or at least have an idea Abt their powers bc it feels like they each had enough of a connection to an elemental parent for a MENTION to be made), etc etc etc

Now I will go on record and admit this point could just be explained by the fact that for a country that is say, 150-200 years old, things that happened 100 or even 50 years ago FEEL ancient, relatively speaking. Really most of my issues are just gripes of why and how and decisions made and could be picked apart easily. However, that idea, that things just FEEL ancient, despite being recent, brings me to what is going to be my favorite point

Tick Tock.

Throughout this incoherent ramble disguised as a coherent essay, I keep coming back to one excuse for each of my issues: nothing chronological is stated for certain (save for the Serpentine war date), merely implied. The ninjas ages are never stated, just implied over time. The actual age of Ninjago is never stated, just implied. Hell, NO ONE's ages are ever stated, just implied. Wu and Garmadon are simultaneously dad aged and ancient. Garmadon specifically is both an ancient demon lord and also the ex husband to a very private and very human museum curator and also the absent father to a boy who is simultaneously like 16 and 20 something.

Except, I get hung up on one thing the longer I think about it, which is that the show seemed to be a chronological passing of time at first.

I mentioned it again earlier when talking about the ninjas ages (can you tell that a lot of my confusion and frustration comes from that) but they do seem to age and mature over time. They have arcs and maturation that sticks. Lloyd does too. Id argue Nya does as well despite the fact that she's woefully overlooked by the writing a lot (I'll get to it in the love triangle essay) going from the "little sister" doing whatever she can to prove herself to a woman still fighting that omnipresent idea that she's lesser or different from her male teammates because of her gender. Hell, in s7 they specifically talk about how Wu is aging and will die someday soon--hed been time punched, but still.

The time skips add to this. Between s2 and s3 there seems to be a large leap-- new Ninjago city wasn't built in a day. So do S3 and s4 with the ninja splitting up and Jay having enough time to establish a hit tv show like... that had to take a few months at least???Same with s4 and s5 and steep wisdoms founding.

There's a strong sense of the passing of time that feels... Different when looking at the new seasons. I won't say the passage isn't there, just that it feels... Frozen? In the same way that a show like Pokemon is. The protagonists are the same age, despite the fact that their surroundings and lives change. They are constant even if their world is not. And that feels like the product of something completely different.

Ninjago will never end.

In the beginning, I think it was clear there were two seasons planned. Rise of the Serpentine and Legacy of the Green Ninja. S2 had a nice happy ending and a photo finish even!! Then we had S3, but it still felt like it was final. The loss of a friend, but the characters finding a sense of closure still. But then we had S4... Which left with a cliffhanger for S5. Which paved the way for S6. And after that... Well, Crystalized was what, S15? And now we have DR so who Knows when this franchise will truly end? Not to mention the seasons slowly getting longer and longer --

I think the crazy chronology we ended up with was the result of Many Cooks. As the franchise's fan base grew and the demand for more and more content grew with it, more writers came in and left. There was no more telling how long this series would go. We needed new villains to fight, new stories to tell, so came the retconning and, over time, the tighter chronology seen during those initial seasons faded because if we keep aging the ninja, how old would they be? Too old. We need to keep them at a place where the target demographic can look up to and relate to them.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Ninjago, I love how big this fan base is (I remember being on Quotev and Wattpad and Pinterest and YouTube in the S3 era SCOURING for any new fanfics or art or fan content, now I just scroll the Tumblr tags and find new stuff all the time) and I love that the series has lasted this long and continues to feed my autism fun colors and silly jokes and insane storylines to latch onto. These criticisms aren't meant to damn the show, hell they're pretty flimsy considering I'm not even halfway through the series relatively speaking and thus can't really use that as evidence for or against me. They're just a culmination of many thoughts I've had while watching the show and trying to build my own AU with OCs using as much of the canon as possible. I would LOVE to wake up someday and find someone has reblogged this rebutting all of my points.

As it stands though, ninjagos chronology is fucked. Why? Because what was initially a short, fun Lego show grew so massively popular that today we have a new Netflix spinoff? Continuation? Still being made today and so the writers had to change gears and make it so that could happen without the ninja becoming grandparents.

It is one thirty am and I have to wake up in 5 hours. Stay tuned for an even less coherent essay on why I hate the love triangle. Spoiler alert: none of it is nyas fault and my trait of evisceratinf the things I love w criticism is about to be set upon Jay my kin

[ghost--girlfriend]

YAY updated my f/o lists! the turtles have gone from my besties to brothers fghj

[funkyselfships]

Sometimes a S/I is yourself but 3 inches taller so that more of your F/Os are shorter than you

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: The moment they should have gone CANON!

I've posted the shooting before (3 minutes and 17 seconds & two deleted scenes) but I'm posting it again after OS's most recent interview because it was the moment they should have gone CANON.

Almost everyone who watched 4x13 & 4x14 UNDERSTOOD WHAT THIS SCENE MEANT.

BUCK & EDDIE ARE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER AND THEY HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS.

Buck & Eddie are soulmates who share a once in a lifetime, love of their lives type of love that transcends space and time.

It was the moment when Buck's heart stopped and he went into a catatonic state of shock when the love of his life, EDDIE DIAZ, was shot in front of him. Eddie's blood splattered across Buck's face and some of it went into his mouth.

Eddie was the one who was shot and bleeding out when the love of his life EVAN "BUCK" BUCKLEY, crawled underneath a ladder truck and pulled Eddie to safety but he was conscious enough to ask Buck, "Are you hurt?"

None of their previous or current LIs CAN EVER OR WILL EVER COMPARE TO THIS MOMENT!

The F*X network tried to make the audience believe we were seeing things when in fact, they were the ones who stopped Buck and Eddie from confessing their love to each other. It's been 2 years and so much time has been wasted. SMH!

But...

TM the OG showrunner is back and he's righting the 'SHIP. For Buddie shippers who've been around for years and who know OS and RG are the captains of this ship, we understand, one day Buddie will go CANON.

In 7x4 Eddie asked Buck, "You're not jumping ship, are you?" and Buck said "NO! I'm just keeping things fluid!"

HELLO! THEY WERE SPEAKING DIRECTLY TO BUDDIE SHIPPERS.

Now it's only a matter of time before Buddie goes CANON!

"Time will tell."

THAT'S LOVE!

I ONLY SHIP BUDDIE!

OS AND RG ARE THE CAPTAINS OF THIS SHIP!

RG NAMED THIS SHIP 'BUDDIE' AND OS AGREED!

[punkeropercyjackson]

Genuine advice for people who joined the Batfam fandom because of fan content and are too scared to get into actual comics or not sure where to start:Please don't buy a single word 'Fuck canon!' people tell you about ANY Batfam member and i do mean ANY.They're lying to you to get you to sanatize them and deprive you of deserving to know what they're actually like because their peabrains can't process multilayered characters and relathionships in favor of bigoted stereotypes and writing that's insanely insulting to them and if you're a minor especially,they're lying to you about whatever they say about shipping the male members with eachother not being in*cest or ped0 too-Bruce has been Dick's adoptive dad since Dick's debut issue,he legally adopted Jason and Duke too,Damian's his bio kid and with Tim it's a bit more complicated but it's very much canon that they see eachother as father and son and Tim has lived at Wayne Manor at several points in canon and would be brothers regardless of anything else due to this but they also use that exact word to describe their dynamic and so does everybody else

This applies to Cass being their sister too because Bruce adopted her after they formed a dad-daughter bond a while into her being Batgirl but as Stephanie has a mom she lives with and has never seen Bruce as a parental figure nor he her as one of his kids,you're freegame to ship her with Tim or Cass and in fact i highly encourage doing both.Batfanon stans are once again doing mass lying(damn they should get a different hobby)by saying the four male Robins are the 'core' ones.Stephanie has been included in Robin stuff for a long time now and Duke dosen't get the same treatment due to antiblackness so THAT'S an actual 'Fuck canon!' moment so you should make it six Robins and know that the intention with only four is always misogyny and whitewashing(also just saying but those fanarts are always ugly anyway,they make them look like shitty anime boys instead of themselves)

Dick is an almost perfect eldest sibling and the other Batkids deeply appreciate him for it,he was Tim's Robin and him and Cass are his favorite siblings,Duke is Jason's favorite brother and vice versa but he's also extremely close to Cass,none of them make Damian go through 'normal youngest sibling treatment' because none of them are normal so they grew a sense of basic decency and Damian's closest to Dick and Stephanie and Stephanie's a canon csa victim so kindly keep your paws off her with your 'date all of your s/os siblings' jokes because she has self-worth and class,thanks

Ignore the original Red Hood and The Outlaws run and anything to do with Jason and Roy friendship in fandom and read the original Teen Titans run,New Teen Titans,Arsenal 1998,The Titans 1999,Green Arrow 2001 and Outsiders 2003 if you want to understand Roy too or at least ask around blogs centered on him for context.Ignore Tom Taylor's Nightwing run and Teen Titans 2003 and Batgirl of Burnside and anything by Devin Grayson(she's quite literally done irreperable damage to Batman lore and i wish i was kidding).Read Robin 1993,90s Young Justice,Batgirl 2000,Batgirl 2009,Red Robin,Son of Batman and literally everything Duke's in which i can provide a reading list for instead and i'm working on a megapost of all the Jason media that's actually good so new fans don't waste their time.I'm genuinely saying this to be helpful because 'fandom isn't activism' is a puratical priviliged phrase that should've never existed just like Batfanon shouldn't either

[brucewaynehater101]

I remember this one shot where tim & bruce swaps bodies while bruce is as batman in some jla meeting. Tim just continues it perfectly.

This is the body swap au, btw

Anyways, would Tim do a good job as Batman?. I think if Tim sees the swap as something brief he would do his best. (But we all make them swap long enough to Tim having enough time for long term plans) so if Tim gaslights himself into believing they would swap back after some weeks, he would do better. He thinks he can do better as a way to show he can be Batman without being a evil one(he's fighting the gun Batman allegations).

Still, it would be funny that in his "I'm gonna fix Bruce's life while am here plan".

Tim acts less as a classic moody batman while in the atalaya. Gives more and kind advice. He talks with Superman about his situation with Kon. He helps Flash with his eating schedule. He helps Arthur with whatever is going on in Atlantis. He shuts off all of the surveillance on Bruce's coworkers, just to mess with Bruce.

He just avoids Martian tho.

Then, it's been a month since the swap. They don't seem to find any way back. Tim cannot lie to himself anymore and the Batman duties are becoming way too much.

Then Bruce dies in Tim's body.

Tim never wanted to be Batman, neither to be like Bruce. But he messed Tim up. Tim never wanted to be like Bruce Wayne. And now he is living his nightmare, every day since Bruce death, Tim has to wake up and avoid his reflection. Tim never wanted to be like Bruce Wayne and now everyone call him the wrong name. Bruce died and Tim does what he does best, he sacrifices. He ditchs his identity any hope of being Tim Drake, so Batman can rise once again.

.

.

(The last paragraph is a little darker end of the version of this au where Bruce dies in Tim's body. I happily would read some of your ideas where none of them dies tho. There's just so many aspects os this au we can develop more, also we need more bruce pov of this).

Here is the post being referenced!

[I'm sorry to say that 90% of Bruce POV's are just gonna be him suffering.... I can try, though. Put up a valiant effort]

Let's really pack in that angst, shall we?

For this AU, Tim has been compared to Bruce so many fucking times.

At first, despite his shaky relationship with the grieving man, he took it as a compliment. He was like his hero Batman!

It started with Alfred fondly tutting over Tim's capacity to neglect self care duties and his shared interests. The older man would sarcastically ask Tim if he was following Bruce's footsteps of being a loner who sits in his basement all day (just teasing and joking and slight reprimanding).

Then there were the heroes that remarked on Robin's uncanny ability to do the batglare or translate Bruce's grunts.

When Steph and Tim got into arguments (and Tim was being a grade A asshole), Steph would compare Tim's emotional incapability and distrust with Batman's.

Dick, in the heat of the moment, has yelled at Tim to stop acting like Bruce (they got ice cream afterwards as an apology).

Jason has tsked and grumbled and shouted about Tim being molded into Bruce's shape/image.

Even Babs has made a comment or two.

While they didn't mean to hurt Tim (unless they were fighting [for which they would both usually make up and apologize]), it caused a small dig and insecurity to Tim's own self-image.

He wanted Bruce to be proud of him.

Tim wanted to be nothing like Bruce.

Then you add on the 16th birthday, Bruce's shit with Steph, how Bruce treats his other kids, other canon events, gun Batman, and Tim losing the rose-colored glasses of childhood?

Yeah. Tim doesn't want to be Bruce.

It seems fitting, after stealing Robin, that he'd get stuck under the name of the man he grew to see as a warning.

It figures that his choice in saving Batman lead to Tim's loss of self.

[Hmm... I can do another post chatting about Bruce or no one dying if you would like.... Or someone else dying before the truth comes out :)]

[the-selfship-corner]

All of these apply to F/Os of mine :>

I just realized one of them says “One or more” so just pretend it says multiple 💀

[nqueso-emergency]

My favorite gotcha is the whole "nqueso, you're not an insider and everyone will turn on you when they find out you got their hopes up." I don't know any percentages but I'm willing to bet the overwhelming majority of people who read your blog regularly are similar to me: hag-aged, here for fun, like the canon ship or multi ship and GASP don't think you are some secret insider. I don't know if you have a cousin or not and I don't really care. I like your blog and your thoughts. Simple as that. You could be wrong about everything and I wouldn't care. I'm betting most of your readers are the same. We are here because we enjoy you and think you are fun and funny.

And THAT is why it's the funniest gotcha because it is SO MUCH projection. They stay big mad cuz they've been deceived, baited, and took shit at face value from BNFs and anonymous internet denizens about Buddie and feelings realization or whatever bullshit. And insider info. They have turned on folks for "lying" about a literal TV show and "getting their hopes up." Firstly, none of this is that serious. Second ....whose fault is it for hinging their "hope" on BNFs and journalist emoji clues and buddie insiders? Just admit that you're embarrassed for being gullible and move on. If Tommy sticks around we will be happy, if he doesn't, we will be fine. No one will wail and scream and rend their garments. It's okay kids, Admit you're embarrassed that you fell for BNFs lies, admit you got too into a ship, and move on. No need to keep projecting this at everyone else!!!!

Thank you! They should be more concerned about the color theory blog and the OS social media message reader.

What will happen to them when buddie doesn't happen??

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WITA if i told my friend that being on her period isnt an excuse for being a bitch?

I (FTM) have been friends with E (FTM) and K (NB) for about 2 years now. I am a bit closer with E than K because were both autistic but not so much closer that ruins our friendship with K. Ok for some background info E is autistic and has lots of F/Os, some of which are terrible people in thier canon story. K also has F/Os which some happen to be the victim of Es F/Os. K has taken offense to E having "evil" F/Os and has been trying to make E drop them for quite some time. Me and E have both tried to explain that for E they arent evil anymore but K is still mad about it for some reason. A week or so ago K was on thier period and was still mad about Es F/Os. K then told thier entire class ( none of which know about Es F/Os ) that Es boyfriend eats frozen lady parts. (happened in one if Es F/Os canon story) This was obviously really embarrassing to E and made people tease and make fun of E even more. When E finally confronted K and asked for an apology K blamed it on her period and said it was Es fault anyways for having evil F/Os and never apologized. Imo that is a bitch move and think that E should establish boundaries with K or drop them. K is Es only friend at thier school and also has major attachment issues and refuses to confront them and told me not to talk to K so it doesnt "ruin thier friendship". WIBTA if i texted K anyways and told them what they did was bitchy (🗣️ so i recognise my post)

What are these acronyms?

[bitty-bytes]

By "irredeemable monster villain" I do not mean literal pedophiles or nazis or stuff like that. Just need to make that clear.

Reblog if you can, for sample size!

[growup-thatbeautiful]

I love all your fics!!!! I wondering if I could please request imagine (Triple Frontier) Ben Miller x shy girlfriend reader and both your infant son is mommy boy. Pretty adorable like every single day walking around the building, waiting for Ben or after the MMA fights, being both his good luck charms 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

A/n: you’re a genius, lovely! this is post-canon so i don’t have to deal with tom :) also, i spent so much time choosing the gif because i kept getting distracted about how pretty they are (the tf boys and the gifs)

Warnings: none :) reader has a kid, so if that’s not your thing don’t read!

triple frontier masterlist

Good Luck Charm

The brick wall of the gym hallway is cool against your shoulder from where you’re leaning against it. The smell of clean linoleum and the hum of the fluorescents above you provide a timeless cocoon for the sleeping bundle in your arms to nuzzle in closer to your chest.

“Good morning, Jules,” you coo softly when the bundle opens his eyes. “Have a good nap?” You get a bleary-eyed stare in response. Julian, named after Benny’s mom Julia, slowly blinks at you before spitting out his pacifier, spit following behind.

“Baby, why’d you do that?” you ask him. “You want your paci.” Sure enough, his face starts to turn red and you see his throat work up an upset whimper. Before he can start to fuss to much, though, you press the pacifier back into his mouth. Contentment settles on his face and his eyes slide back closed.

Distantly, you can hear the yelling crowd from the gym, and you don’t know how Jules is sleeping at all. The crowd is larger than normal on account of the sizable opponent Benny is fighting, hence the reason you’re waiting in the hallway instead of watching the fight.

You used to watch all of his matches when you where dating- you couldn’t get enough of the thrill of watching your Benny up on that platform, fighting with all of his strength to win. But, as you got more attached to him, it got harder to watch him take punches, especially when you had Julian.

Even if you aren’t in the room, it doesn’t stop you from thinking about Benny. The fight hasn’t started yet, which means that he’s probably in the locker room down the hall getting hyped up by the guys. As clear as if he was right in front of you, you see him wrap his hands carefully with bandages and gloves, his wedding band around a cord on his neck that holds his dog tags.

Will’s probably giving him some sort of pep talk with Santiago tagging on any information he deems helpful, which usually isn’t. Frankie, quiet and composed, os sitting on the bench, sizing up the opponent and searching for any weaknesses. They make quiet the group of men together. All there for Benny, even though none of them have to do this anymore.

When the crowd’s cheers grow louder, you know Benny’s made his way into the gym. Your husband’s always been a town favorite, and tonight there’s some sort of special opponent that he’s facing. You try not to learn all of the details- they usually make you too nervous. Benny knows not to tell you anything the same way you know not to ask questions when you patch him up. Blood, after being with him for so long, isn’t a problem for you anymore.

From somewhere down the hall, a voice calls your name. You could recognize that voice from anywhere, and if that wasn’t a dead giveaway then the loud, expletive-filled Spanish greeting gives him away before you can turn around and tell him that Julian’s asleep. Santiago wraps his arms around you, careful of Julian, and greets you warmly. “Hola, mija. How’s the kid?”

“Trying to sleep,” you respond without any malice at all. “No thanks to you.” He at least looks a little bit ashamed, but that clears away from his face as soon as Frankie steps next to him.

“Jesus, Pope, could you be any louder?” Frankie says, patting you roughly on the shoulder with a grin. “You think you would learn how to be around kids after all this time, ¿eh cabròn?”

“Thanks, Frank.” Santi’s voice is dripping with its usual sarcasm and sass, but all of you are used to it by now. 99% of what Santi says can be taken with a grain of salt.

In the gym, Benny’s name is announced over the loudspeaker and the lights start flashing rapidly. “I guess that’s your que to go,” you say. “Wouldn’t want you to miss anything.”

“Can we convince you to join us?” Frankie asks. Because it’s Frankie, you know he means the offer. If you asked him, he would take care of Julian while you went to see Benny, and you would trust him fully to do so. After two of his own kids, Frankie knows how to take care of all kinds of disasters, and you know his gentleness applies to anyone he considers family.

But you just don’t think that you watching is a good idea. “Nah, it’s okay, Frankie. Maybe next time.” Both of you know you’ll say the exact same thing next time too, but you always appreciate the offer.

With a knowing look, Frankie nods and leads Santiago down the hall with him into the crowded, hazy gym. You turn your attention back to Julian, who looks content in his dinosaur onesie. It was a gift from Will, and Benny wanted Julian to show support for his uncles.

The rest of the fight passes in a the crowds oohs and aahs and you can only pay so much attention to it before it starts to make you too anxious. Realistically, you know Benny can handle whoever it is he’s fighting. You heard accidentally that there’s a pound difference between them, but Benny’s fast for someone his size and you know that he can his own. Plus, he’s got a hearty amount of backup in case something goes wrong. The worst you’ve ever had to patch up in a long is a bloody nose or bruised ribs, and even then Benny usually knows how to take care of himself more than you do.

Eventually, you hear the triumphant roars reach a crescendo and the announcer calls out Benny as the winner. Pride fills your chest as you whisper to Julian. “Daddy won his fight, Jules. Just like we told him to.” Julian, waking up due to the raised noise levels, looks at you through squinted blue eyes just like his father’s.

As people trickle past you through the back exit, you make your way into the locker room where you know Benny and the guys will be as soon as Benny’s cleared by the unofficial doctor on site. It must not have been close at all because they show up after only a few minutes, cheering and yelling their way through the door.

When Benny sees you, a grin lights up his face, as if it’s a surprise to see you there. Like you would ever miss a fight.

With one strong arm wrapped around your waist, he pulls you in to a bruising kiss. “Honey,” he mutters against your lips, “I think you might be my good luck charm.”

Even after all these years, your heart still swells at his words, at the idea of Benny being just as enamored with you as you are with him. “I think Julian might be part of it too.”

With a grin, Benny looks down at the baby between you. “Hey, bud,” he greets, two sandy blond-haired heads looking at each other. While you’re the one who can seemingly always get Jules to sleep, Benny always wakes him up. Luckily, though, Julian is usually happy when he sees Benny. You can’t blame him. “How was your day with mama?”

“He had a rough day at school,” you explain softly to Benny, looking at Julian. “Apparently he was fussy.”

Benny scoffs and carefully takes Julian when you offer him. If it was anyone else covered in sweat and blood, you would say no, but you know Benny’s at least washed his hands. “My baby? Never. He’s an angel.”

“Sure, honey,” you respond, happy to see the twinkle in Benny’s eye. He may not agree, but you know there’s nothing that makes him in a better mood than winning and having his family there. “How was the fight?”

Benny’s grin spreads across his face and takes on a confidence that you usually don’t see outside of your home. “Not even close. He didn’t see a fuckin’ thing coming.”

“Benny,” you sigh, gesturing to Julian. “I’ll let it slide because you just won.”

“Good luck getting Pope to stop. His favorite words aren’t appropriate for kids,” Benny says in return, but you know he’s trying. His language is already better than it used to be. “Isn’t that right, Jules?”

Jules responds with a happy noise, one that just makes Benny’s grin even wider. You can’t help but appreciate the sight before you; your two beaming boys with each other, your family together.

Yeah, you’re going to keep coming to his fights. Maybe your his good luck charm, maybe you’re not, but nothing could possibly stop you from seeing Benny like this.

Happy. Content. Loved.

“Come here, honey,” Benny calls to you, and who are you to say no. Carefully, you let yourself be wrapped in Benny’s arms, your head on the warm muscle of his shoulder. “Thanks for coming tonight.”

“Of course,” you whisper. “We’re your good luck charms, right?”

“Absolutely,” he agrees. You ignore the whistling and cheering of Santi and Frankie and the over-exaggerated gagging of Will. “Nothin’ like you, sweetheart. Or you-” he looks down at Julia “-bud.”

You can’t help but agree.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: 5 unresolved items from season 6

There were several things in season 6 that were left unresolved including some that happened between Buck and Eddie.  These are items they never discussed and IMO, it’s possible they might resurface in season 7 and present the small amount of angst that’s been mentioned by OS and RG during their recent interviews.

Full Disclosure:  When season 6 ended, I like many other viewers, absolutely LOATHED the way Buck’s and Eddie’s endings were handled since they were both shoehorned into relationships with one-dimensional love interests the same way they had been at the end of season 4.  The constant delays of Buddie going CANON was just 🙄 and at the time, I took a step back because it felt like all the metaphors, callbacks, foreshadowing and hindsight that happened during the first 13 episodes were replaced with a forced narrative.  Characters were retconned too so they could fit into some “metaphorical FOX procedural drama box” and it frustrated me.  After 6x18 aired, I took a couple of weeks to formulate my overall thoughts on the season and I completed 15 Constructive Criticisms posts to move past my frustrations. Additionally, I started writing a massive multi-chapter fanfic to unravel the mess that was season 6 and I must admit, doing so helped because I was able to put some of the messy pieces to that unfinished puzzle of a season together.

Now... back to the regularly scheduled programming…

This post highlights the 5 things IMO that are still in play that didn’t get resolved last season and I’ve included details about them below.  Since season 7 is shortened and only has 10 episodes, it’s possible none of the things listed will be revisited but it’s also possible they will. 

Before I get started, here’s a quick reminder, Buck and Eddie didn’t discuss any of the things listed in CANON.

1. The Donation

Other than 6x7 when Eddie heard about Buck’s sperm donation for the first time at the firehouse, in 6x9 when they were on the four-way call when he responded to Chimney and said, “I don’t know… it kind of feels weird to congratulate him” and in 6x10 when he replied to Buck and said, “Sounds like your family had your back on the whole donation thing. That’s definitely progress” (notice he NEVER said he had Buck’s back on it and also his facial expressions in 6x9 after Buck’s announcement showed he wasn’t too thrilled about it) Buck and Eddie never discussed it.  Therefore, it is possible there could be some angst coming from it when the Buckley family’s other “deep dark family secret” (related post linked here) is revealed during or after Madney’s wedding.

Furthermore, Maddie’s NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT BUCK’S SPERM DONATION in CANON and every time it was mentioned in 6x10, it happened right after she left the room to check on Jee-Yun.  It’s obvious she knows about it since Chimney spoke up and said something to rebut Sang’s comment regarding a man raising another man’s child.  Another point to make about the whole “Meet the Parents” saga in 6x10 is the audience never saw Maddie converse with Sang and based on BTS information for season 7, it appears Sang, Albert nor Albert’s mom will be in attendance at the wedding. 👀

[FTR, I still don’t believe Connor and Kameron’s baby is biologically Buck's and I will stand on this hill, even if I have to stand alone, until there’s a blood test proving he is related to the baby (post linked here).]

2. The Onesie

At the end of 6x9, Buck was asleep and he left the LAFD onesie he purchased sitting on top of his nightstand and it was right after the “Santa Ana Winds” ended.  However, there are two important things that should be remembered.

First, it has an LAFD logo on it which means it’s important to Buck because as he told Maddie in 2x18, "Being a firefighter is MY LIFE!  It’s the only thing I’ve ever done that was important and that mattered, ok?"

Why is this important? 

It’s important because BUCK IDENTIFIES HIMSELF AS A FIREFIGHTER and after all these years he still hasn’t figured out firefighting is what he does. Eddie knows Buck’s more than a firefighter especially since he knows and loves him to his CORE!  Also, if Buck believed the biological relation wasn't important, then he could have just bought a regular onesie from Target or Wal-Mart, right?  Yes!

Second, in 6x17, Kameron stayed with Buck for several days which means if he wanted to, he could have given it to her as a gift but he didn’t.  Therefore, it’s possible it might come back into play after 7x5 when Connor and Kameron are supposed to show up again (OS mentioned Buck being a sperm donor for his friends won’t resurface until after the first five episodes).  Additionally, after 6A, the narrative could have changed since the onesie wasn’t seen again and that could be due to all the audience backlash that happened after it was over.

Viewers didn’t like the jokes about Buck’s "swimmers" or the lack of his "alone time" and all the other ways the storyline was fumbled. By the start of 6B, the show tried to make the audience believe Buck understood he was the "donor not the dad" 👀. 

If the actual onesie doesn’t make a reappearance, then I believe the ramifications associated with the way Buck identifies himself will and it could be a point of contention between him and Eddie since Eddie was the one who told him in 4x14, “You act like you’re expendable... but you’re wrong”.

3. Buck’s Death

At the end of 6x18, it appeared as if Buck still hadn’t dealt with the fact that he DIED and it’s possible nobody else has either, especially Eddie, Maddie, Bobby and their found family. Reminder, Maddie and Bobby both said, “Buck, you died!” and when they said it, Buck became frustrated.

However, when Eddie said, “You died Buck!”, he stopped and listened but the way Eddie said it was different for A LOT OF REASONS (post linked here).  After Eddie asked if he was allowed to ask how he was, Buck replied, “Honestly Eddie… I don’t know” but they have yet to have a full CANON conversation about the effects of it the same way they haven’t discussed any of their other shared traumas.

Additionally, during that conversation, they briefly discussed the shooting but they didn't fully talk about it other than Buck asking Eddie what he remembered. It’s another important and shared traumatic event that’s happened between them but like the well, the hostage situation and Eddie's breakdown, they still have yet to discuss it. Buck seemed to be a little upset by the fact that Eddie “said” he didn’t remember anything other than the searing pain he felt in his shoulder (I believe he remembers more than he said he does).

Buck's response was, “Is that it?” as if to say, “You don’t remember me crawling underneath a firetruck, pulling you out, picking you up and putting you inside of the truck? You don't remember me holding a gauze to your wound and asking you to stay with me? You don't remember asking me if I was hurt? Because I WAS!”  Also, it was kind of like Buck’s heart broke because Eddie “said” he doesn’t "really" remember it while Buck can’t forget the way his heart fell out of his chest that day when he saw the love of his life bleeding out in the middle of the street.

Also, Eddie’s still waiting for Buck to talk about the fact that he died. Reminder, Eddie's heart fell out of his chest too and he yelled at the hospital staff and told them to "Do More!" Even though they briefly discussed it while they were in the cemetery in 6x15, BUCK STILL HASN’T DEALT WITH IT YET!  If he would have gone to therapy instead of whatever he was doing with the DeAtH dOuLa, then maybe he would have dealt with it by now.

4. Buck’s Couch

Full Disclosure:  Like so many viewers, I was pissed at the end of the season when Buck asked N to help him pick out a new couch because it didn’t make any sense and the truth is IT STILL DOESN’T but hindsight is 20/20 and I do believe the couch was still there for a reason.  IMO, it has everything to do with what could happen between Buck and Eddie in season 7.

Please note, these are my observations and interpretations about what I believe the destruction of Buck’s couch represented.

After Margaret bought Buck a new couch at the end of 6x11, beginning in 6x12, the show spent a lot of time showing how uncomfortable it was for Buck whenever he tried to rest on it.  Also, they AVOIDED showing it in a lot of other scenes even though Buck’s previous couch (the black leather one), when he still had it, could always be seen in the frame (post linked here).  However, the orange couch wasn’t fully seen until 6x18 before Kameron gave birth on it.

IMO, her giving birth on the couch Buck's mother purchased represented a lot of things including Buck’s idea of the life he always believed he was supposed to have.  Reminder, he gave his sperm (I don’t think the baby is his but let’s roll with this idea for a moment) to Connor (a former roommate) so him and his wife could have a baby even though Connor and Buck hadn’t seen each other in years.

He met him while they were in Peru and the only reason Buck ended up in L.A. was because Connor suggested he move with him and his friends because they were “kind of like a family”.  Also, he said Buck has a good heart and that was the reason why he wanted him to be their donor but reminder, the reasons why he said he chose him aren’t hereditary.

It appears the way Connor presented himself in 6x4, with a wife and in search of that "missing" piece (a baby) is exactly what Buck’s always wanted and that’s what his couch represented.  Let's be real, Connor manipulated Buck and they aren’t friends because if they were, wouldn’t he have invited Buck to the wedding or kept in contact with him over those three years? It kind of seemed like he wanted to rub his nose in the fact that he finally settled down while Buck was still living the bachelor life (not really because he already has his own family with Eddie and Chris, he just hasn't realized it yet).

The issue with Buck’s couches was he’s wanted his own family for years but the way his life has been presented, it appears he believes no one wants to build a life or a family with him and that's why he gave away a piece of himself. In doing so, he was trying to fix the issues he may have seen in Connor's and Kameron's marriage since it was barely hanging on by a thread.  Reminder, Connor let his pregnant wife leave and he didn’t try to reconcile with her.  Also, Buck never said why he didn’t want to turn them down when he was talking to Hen even though he should have.

I believe the destruction of Buck’s couch with the birth of the baby on it was about more than the couch itself.  It was destroyed and unsalvageable because THE DREAM OR IDEA Buck’s always believed he was supposed to have got destroyed when he gave his sperm away.  Also, the couch was his MOTHER’S idea of the life she wants him to have instead of the life he wants to have for himself, hence the reason why he told her he would get a couch when he was ready but she ignored him and bought him one anyway.

His "destroyed couch" illustrated the image Buck’s had in his mind of the life and the family he thought he was supposed to want for years, (i.e., a wife and a child) is no longer applicable because his family will include a husband, EDDIE and their son, CHRIS.

Reminder, there was a lot of talk about the types of family in 6B and they all related to Buck's idea of a family.  In 6x10, Buck told Bobby and Eddie, “It kind of felt like we were an actual family” but then Eddie replied, “You are an actual family”.  Also, in 6x13 when they went to play poker, Eddie responded to Buck while they were walking through the kitchen and said, “It’s a different kind of family” and later in the same episode, Chimney said to Maddie, Athena and Bobby, “Every family is different” but they were talking about Buck because Maddie said she would be furious with Buck if he did what Rhonda Fitzsimmons did when she used her nephew to gain access to Maddie's and Chimney's home.

5. Eddie’s Couch

Eddie’s blue couch has always been Buck’s couch too and if it wasn’t going to be Buck's anymore, then something would have happened to it or Eddie would have bought a new one like he did at the end of season 2.  But Eddie didn’t and only Buck’s couch got DESTROYED at the end of season 6👀.

Reminder, in 6x9 Eddie was shown sleeping on it, in 6x12 Buck was shown sleeping on it and Chris was shown sleeping on it in 6x15.

Eddie didn’t get the blue couch until season 3 and the couch he had in season 2 was gray (post linked here).  It’s evident Buck still hasn’t figured out Eddie’s couch is also his even though he does know he’s not a guest there.

Therefore, Eddie’s couch and everything it represents for Buck, i.e., a romantic relationship, family and fatherhood will be in play until Buck realizes it or until Eddie explains it to him.

Will the small amount of angst Buck and Eddie experience in season 7 revolve around these 5 unresolved items or others? Only the showrunner, writers and producers know the answer to that question.