theflyindutchwoman - Tumblr blog

[theflyindutchwoman]

From the ashes

Chapter 1

It’s dark by the time Tim leans into the front door of Mid-Wilshire, pushing it open with his shoulder. The cool evening air surrounds him as he steps outside and glances around. He’s parked just a few spaces down but even from here he can see a familiar figure leaning against the side of his truck waiting for him. He doesn’t know exactly why she’s here today, but Angela hasn’t been holding back lately, sending dose after dose of tough love in his direction.

Whatever it is tonight, he’s already sure he’s not going to like it.

She pushes off the vehicle as he approaches, and Tim comes to a stop in front of her. “What do you want?”

“Nice to see you too,” she replies.

Tim huffs a sigh of irritation. “What, Angela?”

“Wanted to make sure you heard about Lucy.”

“What? No,” he answers hurriedly, looking around as though there’s something to see that he's somehow missed. “What happened? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Physically,” Angela adds with a pointed look.

Tim ignores her. “Then what?”

“Narcotics needs a UC for their trafficking case,” she begins.

“And they tapped her.”

She nods.

Tim shoves his hands into his pockets and glances around, taking a moment to gather himself. “How long?”

“Couple months, probably.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Angela echoes. “That’s all you have to say?”

“Look, if you’re worried she can’t handle it right now, don’t be,” Tim says. He’s been undercover with her and he’s witnessed her ability to compartmentalize. “She’s solid.”

“I’m not worried about her,” Angela assures him.

Tim crosses his arms. “Then why are you here?” Angela raises an eyebrow and fixes him with a piercing stare, and he sighs heavily and barely conceals a roll of his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“Neither of you are fine right now,” Angela states. “And I think it would be good for both of you to clear the air before she leaves.”

Tim sighs once more but doesn’t reply. There’s no point denying it. He knows Angela is right, and he knows she knows that too.

“She’s in the locker room now,” Angela adds. “She should be out soon.”

And with that, she turns and walks away, leaving him alone in the middle of the parking lot.

Read the rest on AO3

[theflyindutchwoman]

Hey! How are you holding up? Just finished the episode and I haven't really recovered. I am sad, I am frustrated, I don't really know what's happening? I thought they were mature and Tim is so dumb right now, I can't even.

And Lucy? I can't even start to imagine what she's going through. She has been so badass for the 5 seasons and this season she just gets fail after fail and loss after loss and doesn't even get a good job storyline.

So sorry I didn't reply sooner but I first wanted to take a little step back in order to fully digest the episode. As much as the waiting is killing me, I actually appreciate the hiatus for that. I imagine your feelings may have changed a bit as well since then… or that was the impression I got from our different conversations here and there. How are you feeling now? A bit better or still frustrated?

I'm going to start with Lucy. I was rewatching the beginning of season 5 and this is hitting even harder now. Not because of the pining era. But because the narrative was already showing her isolation back then. I couldn't quite put my finger on why her storyline in season 6 felt so familiar but now I get it. This is merely the continuation.

As we all noticed, the scene of Tim breaking up with her had a very similar vibe to the one at the end of 5.02. But think back of when she went to Nyla for advice about going to UC school, when she was trying to confide to Aaron who was too caught up in his own drama to hear her… or when she spent hours locked in a freezer because no one realised she was missing - besides Tim, that is. And then, there was the whole Rosalind thing where Lucy had to push through her own trauma to help Chris deal with his and help Bailey stay calm. But no one ever took the time to ask her how she was doing with all of this (on screen). They all had good reasons, by the way, this isn't me trying to paint them as the bad guys. But this still has an eerie similarity to what is happening right now. Only there has been no payoff for any of this. Yet. It didn't seem to go anywhere. Until now. Same with her career : she nailed UC Academy, something that was supposed to help her standout come promotion time… She helped the FBI on a raid, she was asked to be the acting Watch Commander, she was told that the whole station had her back… And yet, none of this paid off either. Yet. So this is a great opportunity to finally connect all the dots that have been dropped for the past two seasons and give Lucy the amazing arc she deserves. I sincerely hope this will be the case.

As for Tim… Look, the reason why I didn't want a breakup (besides the fact that I dislike this trope so much), is that I was afraid that it would cheapen the whole "worth the effort / worth the risk" speech. You can't say that and leave at the first difficulty without downplaying the whole story. So I'm glad that the writers were able to find a way to circumvent that issue by showing Tim completely unravelling. Because this isn't about him thinking Lucy is not worth the effort or the risk… This is about him thinking HE is not worthy of her. And that changes everything. For me, at least. I still get the frustration. I still wish this storyline would have been done with them sticking together and trying to work through it. But I can understand his perspective, why he thought this would be better for her. And I can see how that could make them stronger in the end. So, just like with Lucy, I hope Tim's arc will be treated properly and carefully. I need to see the payoff, the progress… I need to see them heal. Separately and then, together. It's always hard to see where a story is going when it is still unfolding… But for now, I choose to remain optimistic and hopeful. Does that help you even a tiny bit?

[theflyindutchwoman]

Chenford + I'll always be looking for you in the distance, wherever I am.

[theflyindutchwoman]

requested by anonymous

[theflyindutchwoman]

#alexa play "every time you walk away" by DA 🔊🔊🔊

[theflyindutchwoman]

ch. 36 - life is full of surprises

Lucy is driving Tim insane while she’s on maternity leave, some thoughts and feelings, and more.

end of January 2027

Lucy makes it a habit of calling Tim at work every day. It’s usually for what would seem like minute reasons to anyone who has never been pregnant, but to Lucy? Well, every reason was valid and it was unfair if Tim didn’t come home early.

On day six, it’s because she’s, in her own words, “horny and desperate for him” so of course he needs to come home at least long enough for them to have sex before he can go back to work.

Then it’s Braxton Hicks on day seven that Tim can’t really help with but she still wants the comfort of him while her body prepares itself for actual labor.

On day eight, there is no phone call. Instead, he finds her in the bullpen at her desk as if it were just another normal day at work for her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hi,” she offers with a sheepish grin.

“Hi. What happened to maternity leave and resting at home?”

“It got boring. You try and stay home for a week and do nothing. It’s nice, until it’s not and you’re bored out of your mind.”

“Mh-hm. So naturally you’d come to the station during your maternity leave to..” he trails off to lean over the desk, getting a better look at the case files in front of her, “..look through cold case files,” he finishes.

“Exactly.”

keep reading on AO3.

[theflyindutchwoman]

I’ve seen it said a few times that Tim lying to IA was out of character or even that it ruined his character. But in season 1, we learned that he’d lied to IA to cover for Isabel. And when Det. Murphy confronted him about it, he claimed he hadn’t lied - which was a lie. This isn’t a new thing for him. It’s actually very consistent and in character. Tim has always been willing to lie or do whatever else was necessary to protect the people he cares about, even if it gets him into trouble. To me, that’s one of the biggest things he needs to address moving forward.

[theflyindutchwoman]

Do you think Tim has been acting OOC lately? Breaking up with Lucy, what he did in the army and lying to Grey and West so easily : I can't help but think it came out of nowhere. Old Tim would never have done that. What do you think?

Old Tim would never have done that. I disagree. Not only would have Old Tim done exactly that, we know he actually did - @makeitastrength and @roguetwelve made some very good points on that subject yesterday. The difference is that we didn't see it play out in details like in 6.06. But Old Tim lied to IA about Isabel's addiction. That was why Detective Murphy was so gung-ho against him in 1.16 : he knew about her addiction but didn't report her. He covered for her to protect her. Just like he didn't immediately warn the detectives about the kilo of drugs in Isabel's apartment after she confessed. He was even ready to steal that piece of evidence for her before he came to his senses and realised that it wouldn't help her in the long term. And it definitely wasn't the first time he lied to Grey. Remember that time he went rogue (with Lucy) in 2.14? Granted, there was no IA inquiry but he still officially lied on a report and to Grey's face (with the rest of the team). Or that time he made Lucy lie in a report after he instigated a fight with the bikers or by not mentioning Isabel?

Also, not to be that person, but the man has mentioned several times that he did some work with the CIA in the past… and, well, no offense, it doesn't get shadier than them - which is kind of hilarious when you think about it, considering how black & white Tim is. Let's not forget that Guatemala op too : it was never sanctioned to begin with, they used a black-op branch of the DIA and it's pretty safe to say that they covered it up after getting Angela back. The biggest difference is his motive. Tim claims that he did what he did back then for his career, which sounds far less noble than saving his BFF or fighting for his country. It would be interesting to see if that's true though or if it was the self-loathing rewriting history. But either way, he has done some shady things in the past and we knew about it.

As for Tim breaking up with Lucy… It is very much still in-character, unfortunately. This is the same man who decided to divorce Isabel because he thought that it would help her, not because he wanted to. He was terrified of being a walking reminder of her addiction and didn't want to hold her back. In that regard, his decision to break up for Lucy because she deserves far better (his words, not mine) is not that different. So, no, I don't think Tim was acting out-of-character. If anything, that's what makes this storyline so painful. Because it feels exactly like something Old Tim would have done. Because it feels like he just took a huge step backward, practically erasing his growth. And for me, that what makes it so real and interesting. Personal growth is rarely linear. Sometimes you take a step forward and sometimes you take a step backward. Sometimes you need to touch rock bottom before you can get better. Life is messy that way. We thought Tim was doing better - and in many ways, he was. But he never really dealt with his trauma. He simply tried to move forward and forget. Only now, his past has caught up with him and he's stuck in this self-destructive mode.

I fully understand disliking this arc. I also fully understand being frustrated by that 'regression'. But that doesn't mean he was written out of character. Because, unfortunately, that was the most Tim Bradford he ever did. Like the man said, he is "a man of principles and contradictions".

[theflyindutchwoman]

Lucy + pulling Tim in for a hug

[theflyindutchwoman]

“You deserve so much better.” 💔

[theflyindutchwoman]

SEASON 6 FINAL IS GONNA BE GOOD! 😍🔥🔥🔥🔥

[theflyindutchwoman]

LETS GOOOO BABY!!!!

[theflyindutchwoman]

6.07 | Crushed

[theflyindutchwoman]

Chenford Crumbs Per Episode:  Episode 6x6 Secrets and Lies

[theflyindutchwoman]

CHENFORD — 6.06 Secrets and Lies

[theflyindutchwoman]

CHENFORD — 6.06 Secrets and Lies

[theflyindutchwoman]

chenford + LAPD parking lot THE ROOKIE (2018—)