#is 911 the show that gets me back into writing fanfics? might be

[kathrynmjaneway]

6x14 Performance Anxiety pipeline to buddie fake dating so that everyone leaves eddie and his dating life alone and we all know how fake dating ends im just saying

[wikiangela]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @dangerpronebuddie @diazsdimples @aroeddiediaz @underwaterninja13 @nmcggg @ladydorian05 thank you <33

How many works do you have on ao3?

right now it's 90! (57 of these are 911 lol)

What's your total ao3 word count?

535,450

What fandoms do you write for?

currently just 911, but I have some destiel and sambucky fics and who knows, I might get back to them at some point haha

Top 5 fics by kudos:

For a holiday (and forevermore)

I can't love you any more (than I do now)

I'd marry you with paper rings

the next best thing

There’s no way that it’s not going there (with the way that we’re looking at each other)

(they're all buddie and I just noticed that the top 4 are all over 1k kudos?? when did that happen lmao)

Do you respond to comments?

I do! sometimes it takes me a while bc i get lowkey overwhelmed lol but I always do!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

there's not a lot bc I prefer happy or hopeful endings, but I guess by post 6x10 fics? Fine and don't know what I'd do if your tomorrow never came idk lol

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most of my fics have happy endings, but I guess I'd say For a holiday (and forevermore) 

Do you get hate on fics?

not really? got like one or two not very nice comments but generally no haha

Do you write smut?

yes I do 😁 not often and it always takes me forever but I do have two smut fics in the works (one buddie, one bucktommy lol)

Craziest crossover?

don't have any

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no, as far as I know

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

Have you co-written a fic before?

no

All time favorite ship?

buddie

(ngl, bucktommy is a veeeeery close second rn🙈)

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

there's two that have been fighting me for so long they're lowkey abandoned now and tbh I don't know if I still want to finish them? one is a 5+1 nicknames, and the other just a silly idea about eddie flirting with buck since they met but buck being veeeery oblivious lol

What are your writing strengths?

I think (usually) I'm pretty good at staying true to the characters and not making them too ooc (and I know when it's ooc, okay, I have one wip rn where I just don't give a fuck, I'm writing it anyway lol), and I can get into their heads pretty well. Also I think I'm good at the cute fluffy stuff lol idk

What are your writing weaknesses?

there's probably a lot lol - rn the one that comes to mind is descriptions probably, which is why writing fanfic where we have established characters and settings is so much easier than og stuff haha

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I don't mind it but I don't do it a lot aside from a pet name here and there bc I just don't wanna get anything wrong lol

First fandom you wrote in?

for tv shows supernatural, but before that I did write rpf which i just wanna forget about lol

Favorite fic you've written?

rn it's three:

we don't know where this is going now (don't be afraid of heights, let me open your heart wide) - my tommy pov fic <3

I'm comin' back, don't let me go - buck driving/breakdown fic

baby, you drive me wild - car smut - might not be my best but it's my fave smut lol

tags: @elvensorceress @eddiebabygirldiaz @watchyourbuck @loserdiaz @evanbegins

@wildlife4life @lover-of-mine @monsterrae1 @weewootruck @loveyouanyway

@spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @spotsandsocks

@rogerzsteven @hippolotamus @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @exhuastedpigeon

@jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @buddieswhvre @theotherbuckley @daffi-990

@hoodie-buck @tizniz @bidisasterevankinard

[vanmarkus]

I know they care about ratings most of all and obviously the online toxicity has been off the charts but ignoring fans' feedback because they say the general viewers don't care about that stuff is kinda weird too. The reason this show has been running for so long are the super passionate fans and that includes shipping (and criticism of storylines he didn't think through. again he said he doesn't plan a season in advance and umm that shows sometimes lol he just has to be ok with that. as much as we need to be ok with things not going our way)

genuinely, not to be rude, but a very large portion of the fandom doesn't even watch it on TV or Hulu. because it's not available in other countries to the same extent as it is if you live in the US — and it's great that people love the show so much that they will bridge that gap, but... the general audience is made up of millions and millions of people; who push the ratings and actually bring in the money.

some of that are the shippers, sure, but by and large that is definitely a much smaller scale than people who just tune in when it's on the telly.

and i talked about this before, but it's incredible to me how entitled fans feel about getting what they want. Tim or anyone on the show doesn't owe us shit. i'm sorry, but they don't. especially not after all the death threats and toxicity, but also just in general.

they either write and create the show the way they want it or they write fanfic scripts. you can't have it both ways — i know which one i prefer.

Tim might be very blunt about certain stuff and more blasé about others, but for a showrunner/writer to genuinely have 1on1 facebook convos about the show and (in the past) back and forths on twitter is not something we are entitled to and also not something most people in his position would do. he clearly cares about the fans, he just doesn't want their expectations to cloud his writing and with the toxicity of it all, i'm surprised we even get this level of engagement.

there are plenty of shows that'd be nowhere without their shipping based fandom and with the size of our fandom, it definitely matters, but i highly doubt it wouldn't be popular without us.

just look at the Chicago Fire franchise; it's the only one that goes toe to toe and sometimes even ahead of 911 and its fandom is pretty dismissable imo... procedurals are always one of the most popular primetime TV shows with the GA and that's just how it is.

in any case, being a critic about the rushed writing or elements that felt wonky and telling Tim Minear indirectly (and directly) to die because a ship is or isn't canon or because they cut a party scene sure are two very different things.

[imascar]

Devils advocate, aka best friend, who is admittedly a fandom-aholic and a multi-show fan, and who has seen a lot of favorite shows get canceled, said that Fox knew that they would not renew 911 and thus the writers and producers had the job of finishing the series off with a nice little bow.

So this is what she thinks will happen. Pls note that this is not my opinion. I'm posting it more as food for thought. Also, she is a massive Buck and Eddie fan but doesn't feel like their story arc was meant to end by Seaaon 6.

Here goes...

Kameron goes into labor while the 118 is dealing with the collapse of the bridge. She calls 911 and is told that help will be delayed (or something like this) and gets up to take herself to the hospital. She opens the door and is greeted by Natalia, who has her hand raised to knock on the door. Kameron is overwhelmed with contractions, and Natalia helps her to the couch. Long story shory, Natalia helps Kameron give birth to a boy (she thinks) on the couch, and then the EMTs come in a short while later and take mom and baby to the hospital. Buck gets called by Connor as he is nearing his front door and is told Kameron gave birth to a healthy baby boy with help. Buck asks, who helped, and opens his door to find Natalia in his kitchen. She is sipping something (tea, maybe) and turns around and says, me. They talk and Natalia said she came over to apologize and would like another chance. Buck is charmed and says, sure. Also, Natalia mentions he needs a new couch, and Buck says something like, yeah, about that. (End scene)

Eddie is back at the hardware store since his home sustained some kind of minor damage (?) He has one arm supported in a cast or sling. He is painstakingly picking out supplies and runs into Marisol (again) and they talk. She offers to help him, mentions returning the favor, and Eddie stares at her for a few seconds, half shrugs and says, sure. They leave the store together, chatting away. (End scene)

She said Chimney and Maddie are perfect because the writers could have them get married at the hospital with the aid of a chaplain or end the series with the intent to marry in the future off-screen.

Hen and Karen, along with Denny, are also perfect, she said, because their ending scene could be something really sweet and domestic at the house or at a park. (She loves romance.)

Bobby and Athena, as we already know from Oliver, will be the last scene, and my friend thinks that Athena will have the last words of the season and might say something about finally taking that honeymoon while holding Bobby's hand.

(Seriously, she should be writing her own series or fanfic. Her imagination is really something. )

..... she said the intent could always have been to leave Buck and Eddie open to explore later on, but that also, no one could have predicted the chemistry between Ryan and Oliver, so who knows.

I'm tired after writing this.... I'd like to take a nap but sadly, work calls. 😪

[snarkythewoecrow]

Thank you @mollymagician for the tag! This was a fun distraction from things I should be doing, so very very welcomed!

What ship were you completely obsessed with as a teenager, but now you don't care about anymore?

hmmm... I suppose I had a few, but off the top of my head, I'd say either Hawkeye/Trapper or Hawkeye/Margaret from MASH or Duncan/Methos or Methos/Amanda from Highlander the series

Which ship would you consider your first one?

Probably Hawkeye/Margaret MASH, little me was very much into that show and loved all the potential hurt/comforts

Your first fanfic was about which couple?

Honestly, could have been any of the above, but the first ships and fandoms I shared any fics for would have been for Interview with the Vampire, having read the book and then been unable to stop myself from writing

Do you remember the first couple you saw fan art of?

I don't remember what I ate for breakfast when I woke up at noon (which wasn't that long ago)

Have you ever gotten into ship discourse?

Not really, just blocked people and curated my online enough to avoid it

Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently?

Not really? Idea, I have ones that are just really aren't faves but I will read fics about them if compelling enough

Who were the last couple in the last fanfic you read?

Tony Stark/Steve Rogers

Currently, do you have any OTPs?

Too many to list or even try to list--fickle and free, my heart loves deeply but doesn't like to commit--you'll find that one day I'm endeared to a pairing and the next I love another--but thankfully, for my own sanity and those that read my stories, I always come back around to each and everyone, even if it takes a bit of time

Is there any couple that, to this day, that you are extremely mad about not getting into?

I don't think so?

Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they're kind of interesting?

Not really

Do you have any ship that, in the past, would have been considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

Never really paid attention enough to notice or care, definitely ship things that piss off people though, both past and present

What is your favourite crack ship?

JARVIS with Darcy is honestly one that I kinda love--though really, is anything truly crack if you believe in yourself enough when writing it? Because if the writer is confident enough, the reader will not just accept those crazy things, but might even fall in love with them. Crack treated seriously is honestly a favorite trope of mine

What is the couple you read the most fanfics about?

😅😂 aim a round of buck shot at AO3--I am chaos incarnate in what I read and how I find it. Rhyme or reason does not exist. Simply vibes. But I suppose, in spirit of the question, I can narrow it down to Buck/Eddie of 911, Dream/Hob of Sandman, and Steve/Tony of Marvel

What do most of your ships have in common?

usually the potential for power imbalances--be it physical, financial, emotional, sexual, you name it--and not necessarily in a healthy way, though just because I like pairings with that potential, doesn't mean I don't also love ones with potential for comfort and softness

What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Nothing really? I don't think?

tagging @plotbunnypettingzoo @buckybeardreams @kingofdarkness00 @father-salmon @underwater-ninja-13 @limetimo @thefangirloutof-time @mammameesh @bluesimplicity73 @skrybspryt and anyone else that wants to do this

[lonestardaily]

Each week Lone Star Daily looks to provide you with a decent (not  comprehensive) list of the fanfics that have been posted for the week.  The week runs from Friday - Thursday, as that way it does give us an  opportunity to put the list together. There’s no requirement to tag us  as we will check the tags #911 lone star fic and #911lsfic while also  combing through ao3. We currently are only going to post new fics, not  updates. You can check out this week’s fics below the cut.

All our past recs can be found on this page.

Please  feel free to give this post a boost to give our writers a chance to  receive some love for the work they do for the fandom.

(if  your fic is not tagged with a tumblr, it’s because we couldn’t find one  - feel free to send us a message and we’ll be happy to add one)

TARLOS FICS

bring your fears to life by @marjansmarwani

↳  (TK x Carlos | Hurt/Comfort | T | 5.9K)

A series of unfortunate events and an accident: that's what might make Owen's worst fears a reality. That's what might finally take his son from him.

Carlos just wants to know why: why the universe keeps trying to throw these curves at them. Especially after everything; especially now that they were finally standing on steady ground. He wants to believe that what they have is stronger than anything, but it's hard to hold onto hope when the person you love the most is being taken from you—again.

Or, 3x14 if things hadn't gone as well as they did.

porque you voy a quedarme by @morganaspendragonss

↳  (TK x Carlos | 5+1 | T | 2.5K)

five days in the year after tk's death, plus one more.

Hold Me Steady by @chaotictarlos

↳  (TK x Carlos | Angst | M | 4.3K)

The team responds to a scene where someone has overdosed and TK isn’t prepared for it. Thankfully Carlos is there and is able to provide some comfort.

Can’t Keep My Hands to Myself by @chaotictarlos & @ronensass

↳  (TK x Carlos | AU | E | 4.1K+)

When Carlos took the job at a strip club, he certainly wasn't expecting to get a boyfriend out of it.

My Constant Companion by @child-of-wonderland

↳  (TK x Carlos | Hurt/Comfort | T | 23.7K)

Moving to Austin, in a way, made things easier than TK expected. Having a support system that never faltered, that didn't know the depths of it but still supported him, was something TK never knew he craved until he moved.

A simple case wasn't supposed to be enough to knock it all down. He wasn't meant to be faltering just days before reaching 2 years. He wasn't supposed to. And yet, here he was.

The tender things are those we fold away by @beautifulhigh

↳  (TK x Carlos | AU | E | 21.7K)

Season 1 AU - TK turned down the offer of a dance from the (very hot) man at the Honky Tonk, but they're thrown together when someone threatens to expose TK's page on the site Only Fans.

i’m yours (and you’re mine) by @rmd-writes

↳  (TK x Carlos | Missing Scene | E | 4.1K)

In which Carlos takes TK home and shows him who’s boss (kind of, TK has a lot of feelings)

long as there are stars above you by honeymarwani

↳  (TK x Carlos | Hurt/Comfort | E | 4.3K+)

A season three rewrite wherein TK wakes up from the coma with retrograde amnesia, oblivious to the events of the past six months.

begged and borrrowed time by @iboatedhere

↳  (TK x Carlos | AU | E | 82.1K)

TK leaves home in search of work. In 1915, he finds himself on a ranch outside of Austin, Texas, working for a family that will change his life forever.

Look Where We Are by @chicgeekgirl89​

↳  (TK x Carlos, Nancy x Mateo | Fluff | T | 2.7K)

Some post-engagement fun and shenanigans involving Tarlos and the 126 fam.

Love Game by @welcometololaland​

↳  (TK x Carlos, Nancy x Mateo | AU | T | 6.2K)

Love Game: when a player wins a game without allowing their opponent to score a single point.

Since that fateful US Open semi-final, there have been two words used to describe TK Strand: "unfulfilled potential." There's a chance for redemption in there somewhere, and TK is willing to do whatever it takes to fight his way back.

Carlos Reyes finds himself in New York City due to the widely held belief that although he's rocketed up the ATP rankings, he'll never be good enough training out of Austin. Carlos might be Austin all the way down to his bones, but he also wants to win.

i don’t know what i want (but now i do) by falloutmars

↳  (TK x Carlos, Nancy x Mateo | FWB | T | 8.1K)

Can we meet?  

TK freezes in the middle of the firehouse’s kitchen. Eyes glued to his phone, to the text that’s just popped up, he’s blissfully unaware of the team’s gaze locked onto him.

It’s not that he doesn’t get texts from Carlos, but he doesn’t get texts like that. They have something of a casual texting… relationship? Friendship? Acquaintanceship? Honestly, TK isn’t sure. Between hooking up, a failed dinner, and continuing to hook up again, there hasn’t been much of a conversation about whats and whos and whys.

Honestly, TK’s been mostly okay with it. Mostly.

Adhesive by paperstorm

↳  (TK x Carlos | Coda | M | 5.2K)

A tag for 1x4, "Act of God", in which Carlos has some feelings and TK finds out about Owen's diagnosis.

OTHER PAIRINGS/CHARACTER FICS

love in the time of rodeo by @marwani-strickland

↳  (Paul/Marjan | AU | T | 10.6K)

paul strickland isn't looking for love, he's too focused on his career. it finds him anyways in the form of a news reporter. (cowboy! paul strickland and news reporter! marjan marwani.) 

Unknown Muse to Known Companion by Regent_of_RarePairs

↳  (Nancy/Marjan | AU | T | 971)

When Nancy first sees her all she knows is that she's the most beautiful woman she's ever seen. Months, and hundreds of pieces of art, later her Muse shows up at the show featuring the art inspired by her. Lucky for Nancy Marjan is flattered.

[buddielove]

Hi! I'm a gay fan of 911 and I have a question about the whole Buddie fandom. As much as I like Buck and Eddie, it's frustrating that a HUGE part of the fandom is pushing for these two characters to get together instead of putting energy into supporting Hen & Carla and Michael & Dave. Not to mention Carlos and TK in Lone Star. Can you explain to me the appeal of wanting these two men together? Wouldn't it be more interesting to see two heterosexual males just be able to bond in a non-toxic fashion? That's something we don't get to see often on television.

Hey! This is MAD long lmao I am so sorry! You caught me on a day I felt like talking! Also this took like a year to answer you lolololol. This does have a few ʻhot takesʻ so please be warned! So like in this essay....

So first I am also apart of the LGBTQIA+ community, so I do understand how it could come across as a fetish or being non supportive of the current canonically LGBTQIA+ characters, however I think a lot of the interest around Buddie and the want for them to be confirmed as a couple is how they are being written. Me personally I knew since s2 e1 Buck and Eddie were written not as rivals but as two people who would eventually become friends, but it wasn’t until the Christmas episode with the elf assuming Buck was Chris’s dad and Eddie’s partner that I was like ‘hold on!’ because I was really hoping Abbey would return and I didn’t see Eddie as a possible Buck live interest because of that. The elf’s comment wasn’t played off like most other shows would (think Dean and Sam arriving anywhere in Supernatural) it made me go back and look at the other episodes to see exactly how Buck and Eddie were being framed/written. And as we have moved into further seasons I think there has been a shift in how Buddie is being written, in s3 it was very much like two people progressing into a deeper friendship then the blood clot/lawsuit gets in the way and they both have to deal with emotions surrounding that, then Buck’s response to Eddie being trapped (we see how is he when Boddy is trapped in a fire WITH A GUNMAN, it’s emotional but not to the point is is with Eddie), even the love interests feel very pushed on us and there’s so little banter between Buddie about their gfs and how they feel about these new beginnings. It feels off, not like a friendship in the slightest, more like two people trying to force something and not wanting to deal with any other feelings. Then when Eddie gets shot and reveals Buck is Chris’s legal Guardian in the event Eddie dies, that’s huge, and he did this after only a year of knowing Buck (I have friends with kids. I’ve known one of them for FIVE years, I’m at their house every week, the kid calls me family. I’m person #10 on the list of ‘who gets my kid if I die’, not #1 lol) It just feels like it’s all building up to something, and people are getting tired of waiting for that something! We’re all emotionally tired from the past two years, and probably from many shows queerbaiting us and this is something that could happen, seems to be something the actors are ok with and the fans want. So why do they keep drawing it out. This isn’t about us demanding they ignore the chance to write a healthy platonic male friendship, or forcing two characters to be gay, it’s about holding the writers to what they’ve implied and seeing what could come of it.

Also think of it like this; If Buddie is confirmed it will still be a good example of a healthy friendship which then developed into something else, like Booth/Bones! Showing the natural progression of friendship to relationship that happens a lot in real life. It’s two men who previously (on screen at least) have only been with woman, but now they have an emotionally connection with someone which they then develop and explore. This could be 911’s first nontoxic depiction of two gay characters coming together, because sorry not sorry the canon couples aren’t perfect (which does humanize them) but they also reenforce harmful troupes that plaque the LGBTQIA+ community, which I’m sure you understand: TK was a drug addict, who only got with Carlos at first cause he was hot and sex was TK’s new addition (all gay men are sex addicts who do drugs and sleep with anything that moves). Carlos was ashamed and wanted to keep TK on the downlow (poc gay men want to pretend to be straight but have free access to gay sex). Hen cheated on Karen seemingly the first chance she got (lesbians can’t handle monogamy when pushed, and cheat on their long term partners). All known and documented troupes that happen far too often.

I’m not saying Buddie is some gay jesus ship that’s gonna save the entertainment industry but if done right it could prove to be one of the few healthy depictions of two men getting into a gay relationship we have. If they plan it out correctly, show us the relationship development, like they did with Maddie/Chim for example, Buddie could be used as a positive example of a gay fictional relationship (I really could go into depth about this. I probably should tbh).

As for not supporting Hen and KAREN, or Michael and DAVID, I think fans do support them! The writers don’t. If you read fanfics Henren and Michael/David are featured heavily in many fics, and ik some people might say ‘well they’re only there so Buddie can talk about their gay side!!’ but both these couples have their own fans and fanfic tags! They aren’t just plot devices in Buddie stories. There is a huge side of the fandom that supports Henren and wants to see more of them and their family. Same with Michael and David, during the episode where Michael and Bobby team up to find that plastic surgeon who was working illegally many people where ecstatic that we were getting more Michael/David content and that David was getting more than a couple lines. But sadly it seems like the writers only want to delve into these story lines when they need filler, they even miss opportunities to include these other LGBTQIA+ characters when it makes sense;

(Someone came for me about this but I am going to bring it up again)

When Chris is sad and wants more human connection, instead of bring Harry + Michael/David and Denny+Nia+Henren back into the picture (and yes I understood at the time the pandemic was bad (lmao still is!!), but all the actors at some point would have/had crossed over into each other’s ‘bubbles’, so ALL the actors would have been exposed to each other so getting the children together with adults they had ALREADY been with during shooting wouldn’t have been a super spreader event) but instead they brought in Ana after only two on screen dates and pretended like it was a logical thing for someone who’s up to that point been extremely careful with their child.

They really could have pushed the ‘118 is a family!’ message here and included the canonically gay supporting characters, and the lesbian main character(s) but they did not and instead chose to push the Ana/Eddie coupling even though they hadn’t properly developed it yet. The writers themselves don’t seem to care about developing their canonically gay characters and including them more than they have to but fans are continuously developing Henren and Michael/David with hc and fics.

I’d like to use your logic against you for a second, in s1 we have a very healthy, platonic friendship between Chim/Bobby but that got written out to the point they are more like boss/employee unless the scene calls for them to seem closer, we now have Bobby and Michael friendship but again we hardly see Michael. On Lone Star we have Owen and Judd as a really, really good example of a healthy male friendship but we see Judd more often with Tommy now then we do with Owen, and in s2 it’s overshadowed by Owen trusting Charlie from Twilight and constantly getting fucked over! Why can’t the writter just be happy with these happy, healthy, emotionally well male-male friendship they’ve already included and expand upon them. There’s enough drama because the show literally involves burning buildings and people’s lives being at risk from some natural/man made disaster ever 12 seconds. Does it need to have so much interpersonal conflict and male peacocking??

[liesoverthec]

Hey !! So I hope my previous ask didn’t come off as me saying I think buddie would turn out corny because they are a mlm ship, because that definitely isnt the case (although I totally understand the gender roll thing in lgbt relationships and how that makes couples come off) ! And agree with you that bathena, maddie/chim and henren are all beautifully written couples and that the writers do a great job with them. I think more of my concern with buddie is the proximity with which they interact with each other at work and how it might change if they become canon. For example, bathena and maddie/chims jobs overlap, but they don’t work with each other which allows them space to have their own stories, I guess. And we get scenes where they develop the relationship at work (like the ep last season where athena went into the building to save bobby, or the dispatch hostage episode). But because they have separate jobs its not all the time, so the characters are allowed to grow in the relationship but also outside of it. But eddie and buck are very well established as partners and I just worry that there would be blurred lines between work life and home life and given the fact that theres not really a strong comparable on 911 (closest would be bathena) and my distrust in network tv in general I guess that just makes me a little wary? And then I also think the way the other couples were clearly developed as romantic while buddie’s development so far has been more platonic/familial (once again imo - completely understand if ppl view their development differently) that it makes it hard for me to see how they would write buddie as a couple because I personally feel like writers haven’t written “romantically” for them yet, so I dont know what their romantic take on buddie would be. but on the other hand if they canon and their interactions remain mostly the same as they are now then thats great! I just personally cant picture it well (also like you said, maybe fanfic has a role in that too haha)

Hi anon, sorry I held onto to this for a little bit! (For anyone curious, the first ask is here)

Okay so I'm gonna start with your second concern first - bc actually you're wrong! Of the couples, only Henren was really MEANT to be together. Originally Eddie and Maddie were going to be a couple, so Madney was a shift, and Bathena was DEFINITELY not meant to be together (idk if you remember but they took a swing at Bobby/Abby first even). Going back to my relationship data, Bobby and Athena only had 12 interactions together in the entire first season (aka only 12 of 314 interactions total, so only 3.82% of the entire season had them together. Only 4 of those interactions were the two of them alone, and all 4 of them came from eps 9 and 10 so only 1.27% of the entire season was the two of them together). Plus Peter Krause has mentioned before that he didn't know he'd be married to Angela on show when they started. So when you say Bathena was developed to be romantic (as opposed to Buddie in particular), you're dead wrong! The romance actually came AFTER they got together. Which goes to show that they're capable of pulling a loving, convincing relationship out of a hat on a dime just because. So your worry there is totally actually based on completely wrong evidence.

As for your other point regarding their jobs, here's the thing. The incredibly simple solution to your worry about them blurring the lines between work and home is them having stories with people other than each other. And honestly - they're doing that already, particularly with Buck. Buck already spends copious amounts of time with his sister and Chim, and has stories related directly to his relationships with them, and not his relationship with Eddie. So they can just ... keep doing that. And Eddie has plenty of openings for the same thing (since I'm assuming you're worried that his stories with Christopher would be absorbed into Buck's) - he has two younger sisters, if he and Buck got together there's PLENTY of room for a story with his parents, hell it doesn't even have to be bc he's dating a man that he has issues with his parents, he could talk to Hen about queer identity, he could have an Army buddy come to town, it's all there. I can think of a million things they could write for both Buck and Eddie that have nothing to do with each other, and some of them are really, REALLY compelling - so I'm not really sure why you think the writers wouldn't be open to exploring those. They developed David as his own person w his own character outside of who he was with Michael, and he wasn't even a main! David was absolutely the side piece, in terms of the show. So I'm not really sure why you think the writers would do that for David and just ... not extend the same courtesy to Buck and Eddie, whom are infinitely more important to the writers as individuals than David.

Also - the thing is, most of the Buddie scenes where they're at work, aren't Buddie scenes. Things like Buck mentioning the telenovelas Eddie watches this week isn't actually a Buddie scene, they're talking about Toni and Clive and Hen, and they just happen to connect to one another during that. Which is a thing that happens between ALL the characters on this show all the time. So your worry that their work lives will always be about each other is something you're probably just viewing completely through a Buddie lens. They can have stories outside of work together, and still be together at work, and things they do that WE think are solely about their relationship won't really be. And it's okay that we see that, but it's also important to acknowledge that at moment, they're just two participants in a conversation about someone else's life. Not everything will be about them, bc rn now not everything they do is.

So I really think all your worries are unfounded, and I reiterate my statement that it's important to get to see them together BEFORE the finale, bc I know they're going to be treated right!

[lemotmo]

911 4x14 - thoughts and rambles

Okay, I just watched the finale of 911 after I managed NOT to get spoiled all day long. I’m still proud of that fact by the way. I wanted to peek at spoilers so badly, but because work was so exceptionally busy I made it work. And I’m so happy that I had no idea what was coming.

I’m not one to write episode reviews or anything like that, but I feel the need to write down some of my rambling thoughts, because this episode really blew me away in many ways. It was like a good fanfic come to life. I have to admit that, when I opened Tumblr, I was a little surprised that, in between the positivity, there was still quite some negativity about this episode. All while I’m sitting here, still crying over that great ending with ‘Skyscraper’. So, let me get these random thoughts out.

Be warned! Spoilers and thoughts on the overall storylines from the episode, different characters and of course relationships between characters after the cut. Mainly Buddie positive relationship thoughts though, because this episode filled me with the Buddie-feels. 😊

1. The episode as a whole felt a little rushed. The sniper storyline wasn't well-developed at all. I think that probably has to do with the fact that they had to shorten the season because of—well, you all know why. Let’s not spoil my happy mood here.

2. Eddie and Buck and all the blood—man, that entire sequence of events with Buck rescuing Eddie was just *chef’s kiss*. And the way he was in shock and shaking when he was talking to Taylor. Such good acting by Oliver! Also, did Taylor call Chris ‘his son’? I mean—what? Even outsiders can see it now. The Buckley-Diaz family vibes are real.

3. Question: How is it that Athena seems to be the only capable police officer that actually does any work on this show? She seems able to do everything: patrolling, investigating, finding evidence without any problem or help, walking into a fire and shooting people… You name it and Athena Grant-Nash will do it. And other police officers just let her as well. Is there no hierarchy in this fictional police force? I love Athena to bits, but this was a bit too much for me, if I’m honest.

4. Maddie! Yes, she’s getting help. Thank God. Listen, I’ve been there, right after child-birth. There was no fluffy pink cloud for me either. Just a lot of greyness. I started talking to someone when I felt it was getting to be too much and it really helped. So hopefully, she’ll get through this eventually. I’m hoping that they won’t brush over it in S5. I want to see her progress.

5. Bathena. Man, those two. Such a strong couple. One of the greatest fictional couples out there. I’ve always liked Bobby. Hell, I started watching 911 because Peter Krause was in it and I used to be obsessed with ‘sports night’ way back when in the nineties. 😊 I just loved how Athena showed up and rescued her man in a direct parallel on how he showed up when she got attacked and he was ready to kill someone to save her. Couple’s goals, I’m telling you.

6. Nia was back! That is all! I loved that so much!

7. Albert wanting to be a firefighter felt a little strange to me, but okay. Good for him I suppose. I admit that I don’t really care about him that much. He’s not a character that really speaks to me.

8. Buck and Christopher. Pffff—THAT scene where Buck broke down and Chris consoled him that Eddie would be fine. I mean, yeah—they really pushed the whole ‘Buck is Chris’ dad’ storyline. And then Eddie went and actually made it official. What can I say? I cried— hard.

9. Carla’s little talk with Buck. So many parallels to last week’s talk with Eddie. I mean, the first thing Buck thinks about is Eddie when he is asked how he’s doing. I’m a firm believer that Carla knows there is something unexplored there, right under the surface. If those dumb boys would just figure it out already.

10. That brings me to all the Buddie. Oh man, this episode soothed my aching Buddie-heart so much. It was like reading a good solid Buddie fic. It was all there, the terror and heartbreak, the fear to lose the other, the ‘you’re not expendable’, the ‘I made you his legal guardian’… all of it.

In the end Buck and Taylor happened (I’m not really surprised there as it was a season finale and 911 likes to end that with happiness for everyone) and Eddie and Ana still seem to be together. At least Buck and Taylor acted like a couple and kissed. Eddie and Ana have this weird dynamic going on. A kiss on the cheek? Really?

I will say this: I didn’t mind Buck and Taylor getting together. Like— at all. It -weirdly enough- didn’t even phase me.

Mostly because I was reeling so hard from the infinitely much more powerful emotional connection that Buck and Eddie displayed. Buck saved Eddie, but in the middle of it Eddie was worried about Buck. Buck was not fine after he delivered Eddie to the hospital. He seemed broken. And then Taylor kissed him and ran off. She later told him ‘You didn’t chase me’ (or something like that) and I’m like— no, he didn’t, because right then Ana called him and he knew this would be about Eddie and Eddie will always be more important. He didn’t run after Taylor. He ran towards Eddie. There's something poetic about that. And then Ana stepped aside, and Eddie looked at him with the biggest most soft heart eyes that I’ve ever seen. He’s never looked like that at Ana. In the last scene, when he told Buck about the guardianship he looked so sure of himself. Then he basically told Buck everything he’s ever wanted and needed to hear. Buck told Taylor earlier that he never felt like he was enough. Well, Buck— Eddie just gave you his entire world (his son). You are more than enough for him.

As a single mother I can attest that it’s very important to think about what you want for your child if anything ever happens to you. You don’t take the decision of guardianship lightly. I’ve been there. I was Eddie. It’s hard to make the right choice. For him to make that choice—to make Buck, his best friend, the legal guardian of his child? That’s incredible.

Combine that with Carla’s question last episode about following his own heart and not Christopher’s. It seems to me that Eddie has seen the light and he’s started to partially follow his heart. He’s still not completely there yet, but if this narrative continues, I can see him breaking up with Ana next season, because he realises that following his heart means following Buck, not Ana. And of course, by then Buck will still be with Taylor and there might be pining. I’m all for that.

There were so many parallels between Buck/Taylor + Eddie/Ana and Buddie. Not to mention the clear parallel between Bathena’s storyline and Buddie’s storyline.

I just— I feel really good about this when it comes to romantic Buddie. Listen, I have nothing against platonic best friends Buddie and if that is your jam, you do you! But, for me, the narrative is clearly pushing us towards a romance. I’m getting some really good slow burn vibes here. So far it feels as if Buddie is still right on track with no signs of slowing down. Now, I don’t have a crystal ball or anything like that so I don’t know what the future will bring and showrunners can always change their minds if they really want to, but –in my humble opinion- there is no reversing this kind of emotional connection. If the showrunners really wanted to stop the ambiguity between Buddie, they could have easily done that in this episode. All they had to do was feature more Buck/Taylor and Eddie/Ana to strengthen their connection towards season 5. Instead they focused on the bond between Buck and Eddie and intertwined them even more in each other's lives. So yeah, personally I feel like this is clear: There is only one way to proceed with the storyline and that is forward.

I’m actually really excited for season 5! A lot more than I thought I was going to be two episodes ago. And now there's Tim with his cryptic little quotes about Buck and Eddie. Another thing to obsess about! YAY! 😊 It's a great feeling to start the hiatus like that.

[recurring-polynya]

For the AU request, whichever one(s) you prefer (for RenRuki of course):

the X-Men universe

the Mafia/criminal underworld

the circus

as FBI agents (the X-Files world perhaps)

So, I got this ask, and I immediately wanted to go for X-Files, because I was hugely into X-Files when I was a tween/teen, and I think that my actual first published work of fanfic on the internet might actually be X-Files. (I didn’t even post it myself, I was like 12 and I didn’t have the internet at home, but a friend of mine posted it on Usenet for me, I have no idea whatever became of it). Anyway, I was going back and forth in my head who I wanted to be Mulder and who I wanted to be Scully, and then I got this ask:

@ulkoilla​ said:

I though the 10 would be full in about 1 microsecond so I didn’t even try :D This is maybe not AU enough for the purpose but I'd love to see your take on Bleach world where the shinigami work among humans as if they were in gigai -> they'll have to balance the supernatural, perhaps violent elements of their life with the modern day laws and such (like in Supernatural). Renji and Rukia have ofc gotten in trouble with the non-supernatural law (meet: Detective!Aizen?) and are on the run…

It suddenly occurred to me, What If: X-Files World, but Renruki are the cryptids. And it suddenly popped into my head exactly who I wanted to be Mulder. Anyway, I am sorry missrambler, if I messed it all up, I hope you like it anyway.

Also, I somehow thought that I would save myself some trouble by combining two prompts, but then it ended up… really long. (Forty! Eight! Hundred! Words! Go to Talks-Too-Much-Jail, Polynya!!)

PS: This takes place in D.C. because it’s X-Files and also because I am familiar with D.C. and I never get to write about places I know about. A half-smoke is a local delicacy that’s halfway between a hot dog and an Italian sausage. They are delicious.

Read on ao3 or ff.net

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Ichigo Kurosaki had known that an office with a view of the Smithsonian might be too much to ask, but he had not expected to take have to take two separate elevators down to sub-basement C, and walk past a storage room, two broom closets and a weird old vending machine full of brands of snacks he swore he hadn’t seen since he was a child.

Maybe Agent Inoue has a huge lab, he told himself. Maybe it needs to be 50 meters below ground because she collides large hadrons down here or so that her work can’t be picked up by spy satellites.

He had to turn sideways to get past a rack of wire shelves full of banker’s boxes, but there, on the other side was a door sporting a handwritten cardboard nameplate reading “Special Agent Orihime Inoue.”

“Come in!” a voice called inside, just as he raised his hand to knock on the door.

Ichigo blinked twice, and then went in.

The office was cluttered, mostly with more cardboard boxes, but books were also stacked precariously on top of boxes on top of books. The walls were plastered with maps and graphs and photographs of hazy blurs in front of staircases. There was a large poster showing a UFO, with the words “I WANT TO BELIEVE” in block caps below it.

A woman with long chestnut hair twisted up into a bun and held in place with three pencils was hunched over a metal box full of diodes and transistors and other things you would buy at Radio Shack. Or rather, that other people would buy at a Radio Shack. Ichigo had never set foot in a Radio Shack in his life.

“Er, good morning,” Ichigo said, as the woman looked up and blinked at him owlishly. “Agent Inoue? I’m Ichigo Kurosaki. I’ve been assigned to work with you.”

“To spy on me, you mean,” Agent Inoue corrected, cheerfully shaking his hand with great vigor.

Ichigo bristled. Yes, he had been directed to ‘provide additional documentation on Agent Inoue’s activities,’ but that hardly counted as spying. She was known to be somewhat scatterbrained, and having an organized person around would probably be a great benefit to her. “If you have any doubts about my qualifications or motivations--”

“Oh, don’t take it personally!” Inoue replied, slotting a lid onto her electronics project, and attacking it vigorously with a jeweler’s screwdriver. “Just because you’re a spy doesn’t mean you aren’t a nice person. Also, I read your file, you have a very interesting background! Degree in literature with a focus on folk legends. Teaching at the academy for the last few years while working on your book.” She took a momentary break from her screwing to fix him with her big, soft brown eyes. “Tell me, Agent Kurosaki, what do you think happens after you die?”

Ichigo froze. “I would be buried? Maybe there would be a funeral first?”

Inoue started laughing so hard that Ichigo was sure he caught a tiny, adorable snort. “Sorry, sorry! I wasn’t clear!” She sniffed, and wiped a tear from her eye. “Do you believe in continued existence after the death of the body? An afterlife, religion-based or otherwise? The existence of ectoplasm, cold spots, spirit photographs, EVP?”

“Are you talking about… ghosts?” Ichigo asked hesitantly.

“Yes!” Orihime replied with a nod. “Ghosts.”

“We-elll…” Ichigo drew out. “I believe that people believe they observe certain phenomena, as part of the cycle of grief and--”

“Just say ‘no’ if you don’t,” Inoue interrupted him.

“Er, no. I don’t.”

“That’s okay. Are you good at carrying heavy things?”

“Am I... I guess?”

“Perfect!” She shoved the box into his arms, and Ichigo’s knees almost buckled under the weight. “Let’s walk and talk, I want to go get a reading over near Franklin Square before 9 am. We’re gonna pass a really good half-smoke cart on the way, do you like half-smokes?”

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“Take a look at this,” Inoue said, her cheek half stuffed with sausage, jabbing a finger at the LED read-out of her mysterious box.

It was rather hard for Ichigo to see, because he was holding the box and the readout was on the other side, but he did his best to crane his neck around. “What am I looking at? The squiggles? I’m sorry, it looks like nothing to me.”

“Exactly right!” Inoue announced, waving her half smoke in the air. “Not a sniff of spiritual residue!”

Ichigo pressed his lips together. “Um… is that good?”

“It is interesting,” Inoue corrected. “Five days ago, a sixty-four year old woman had a heart attack while sitting in that bus shelter.” On every day since, I have been able to record EMF fluctuations, and on Sunday, I was able to get a voice recording that sounded like a woman reciting a grocery list. But this morning, nothing! Nada!”

“Well, uh, ghosts gotta move on eventually, right? Otherwise, just about everywhere would be haunted, right?” It’s not that Ichigo had suddenly started believing ghosts or anything, but there was something about Agent Inoue that just made you want to go along with her and see where all this panned out.

Inoue shot him a finger gun. “Or, they get moved along.” She shoved a folded paper map at him. “You can put that thing down.”

Ichigo eased the Spirit Detect-O 9000, or whatever it was called, to the grass and accepted her map. It was a street map of DC, meant for tourists, emphasizing all the local transit routes and popular attractions. There was also a great loop marked on it in orange highlighter, zig-zagging back and forth through the city. There was a little ‘x’ marked on Franklin Park, with “Tuesday, early morning” written in a bubbly hand.

“What is this?” Ichigo frowned. It didn’t seem to match up with any of the metro or bus lines. It didn’t even match with the sidewalks, it appeared to cut straight through large buildings like the convention center.

“As far as I can tell,” Inoue said, her brown eyes very solemn, “that is the patrol route of our local grim reaper.”

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“So I actually got interested in grim reapers,” Inoue explained, once they were back in the office, “while I was investigating violent ghost phenomena.” She was eating a bag of corn chips that she had gotten from that ancient vending machine by punching it and then shoving her own arm up the chute. (She’d gotten Ichigo a bag, too, but he was too afraid to eat them.)

Ichigo was sitting at a cluttered table that Inoue had told him “could be his desk.” Half of it was taken up by a large aquarium full of rocks and a water bowl, but no life forms that Ichigo could detect. The other half was covered with back issues of “Ghost Hunter Technology” magazine. “You mean like poltergeists?” he asked.

“Not exactly. Poltergeists are noisy, but they aren’t usually able to kill their targets.”

“Kill? Ghosts can’t kill people, aside from, like scaring them to death,” Ichigo scoffed. “I mean, folklorically speaking. As we established earlier, I am not a ghost-believer.”

Inoue tipped her head to the side. “They do, actually, it just tends to get blamed on something else.”

“By ghost-non-believers.”

“By everyone, really, and that’s what’s so strange.” Inoue pulled a fat binder from a stack of seemingly identical ones, and tossed it open in front of Ichigo. “Edison, New Jersey, 2014. An elderly woman dies ‘of a broken heart’ a week after her husband dies of cancer. Coincidentally, a telephone pole falls on her house the same night and rips a hole in her house.” She turned a page. “Norfolk, Virginia, 2017. A young woman dies in what the police rule as a suicide, despite the fact that she made a 911 call 48 hours previous, expressing fear of her ex-boyfriend. Three days later, the boyfriend is dead of mysterious causes. Coincidentally, his apartment complex suffered significant damages from ‘a wild cougar.’”

Ichigo squinted at the pictures. The walls of the building were scored with what did appear to be scratch marks. “Hell of a cougar.”

“Exactly! And I’ve got dozens of these historic cases. But about four months ago, I was able to investigate one myself-- a young man named Joe Wallace. He lives here in the city, over near Dupont Circle. Wallace had cut off his toxic dad years ago, and refused to visit him in the hospital as he was dying. Four days after his father’s death, a truck crashes into his house in the middle of the night and then drives away before the police can arrive.”

“And he died.”

“No!” Inoue held up one finger. “Scratches and bruises, but he doesn’t die!”

“Okay, great. So what does he remember?”

“He remembers a truck crashing into his house.”

Ichigo scratched his chin. “I am confused.”

“Look at this!” Inoue stabbed a finger at the pictures. “These are claw marks, not vehicular wreckage! There’s damage on the second story window! Wallace had scratches and defensive wounds, as if he had been fending off an animal! And look here, at the damage to the walls of the bedroom!”

“What am I looking at?” Ichigo asked, squinting at a photograph that looked like it had been blown up past the point of recognition.

“There were cuts and slashes in the walls and bedding as though someone had been fighting with a sword.”

“Like a Medieval Times sword? Was the guy a Medieval Times enthusiast?”

“More consistent with a katana. Do you like Medieval Times?”

“No one likes Medieval Times.”

“I like Medieval Times. You’ve probably never even been. But back to the ghost! Why would Wallace remember a truck crashing into his house, when nothing about the scene is consistent with that story?”

“He was...lying?”

“His memories were replaced.”

“His memories were replaced,” Ichigo echoed.

“Yes.”

“By… aliens?”

Orihime heaved a deep sigh. “By a grim reaper.”

“A grim reaper with a samurai sword.”

“How on earth did you come to this conclusion?”

Inoue raised one eyebrow. “Because when I placed him under hypnosis, Wallace didn’t remember anything about a truck. He did remember a monster with batwings and a mask made of bone and his dead father’s voice who tried to kill him, except that he was saved by a tall man dressed in black. The man had bright red hair and fought the monster with a sword that was also a whip and then he wiped Wallace’s memories.”

Ichigo stared at her. “You can hypnotize people?”

Inoue gave him a long-suffering face. Ichigo had the sudden flash that he was going to be seeing that face a lot in the days to come. “Yes, I am a certified hypnotist.” Inoue’s phone suddenly started playing “Tubular Bells”. “Oops, that’s an alarm. Come on, we have a meeting with some important people. Do you like diners?”

  👻     👻     👻

Agent Inoue apparently did not care for public transit, but she walked very quickly. Ichigo was concentrating so hard on keeping up with her that he nearly collided with her back when she stopped very suddenly.

“You don’t mind if we make a quick stop, do we?” Inoue asked.

“You said the meeting was with important people.”

“Oh, don’t worry about them!” Inoue pursed her lips. “You see that bodega right there?”

They were in a part of downtown that was mostly mid-to-upscale restaurants and government buildings and FedExes. But sure enough, there was a dingy little bodega nestled between a Mexican-Indian fusion place and an Au Bon Pain, the windows stuffed with t-shirts from the last administration and a variety of cell phone chargers. The overhead sign read “Urahara Shop.”

“Y...eah…” Ichigo replied.

“That place is a hotbed of supernatural activity.”

“Is it?” Ichigo asked.

“I am almost positive that it is a supply point and meeting place for grim reapers, monster slayers, cryptids, alien hunters, and lycanthropes, but the owner is on to me.”

“I see,” Ichigo said levelly.

“Can you go in and pretend to be a customer? They have lots of good candy you can look through. Inoue dug in her purse and came up with a fiver. “Here. Buy a scratch ticket or something.”

“I’m not buying a scratch ticket, they’re a scam.”

“If the big guy is working the counter, he’ll glare at you until you buy something, so be prepared.”

As Ichigo pushed open the door, he realized he’d never actually agreed to any of this. Agent Inoue’s secret hypnosis powers, once again. Whatever. It was a bodega, there were a thousand of them in DC. They all had the same Nats t-shirts and coffee mugs with pictures of the Washington Monument on them. Ichigo pretended to be interested in a rack of comics. He tended to prefer indy comics over the big publishers himself, but even so, he didn’t recognize any of the books. Maybe they were by local authors.

Up at the front of the shop, a tiny, dark-haired woman was giving whatfor to the man behind the counter, a tall fellow with pale, straw-colored hair sticking out in tufts from under the saddest hat Ichigo had ever seen, a shapeless, battered bucket, striped green and white.

“Well, I can sell you a new battery for your phone, Miss Kuchiki, maybe that would help.”

“Not if it only lasts as long as the last one you sold me! I really need to get in touch with my partner, except that even if I could get my phone working again, his battery is probably dead because everything you sell is the same crap!”

“Ah, that’s too bad! You know, I think Mr. Abarai was in here a few days ago… I wasn’t in at the time, but Jinta said he came in, asking about…”

The man trailed off, and Ichigo glanced up to see the shopkeeper looking directly at him.

“...metrocards. But as you know, we don’t sell metrocards anymore.”

The woman made an aggravated noise. “You’re so useless! If I write him a damned note, will you give it to him if he comes in?”

“Oh, of course! Anything for you, Miss Kuchiki!”

The conversation trailed off as the woman hunched over the counter to angrily scratch out a note.

Ichigo stuffed the comic he was flipping through back on its rack. He skipped the enormous display of bedazzled flip-flops and started perusing the surprisingly extensive selection of gum.

“Here!” the woman finished and shoved her note at the shopkeeper. “You’re the worst, you know that?”

“Have a wonderful day!” the shopkeeper tootled, giving her a little finger wave.

Ichigo felt bad for the woman. “Er, excuse me?” he said as she passed.

She turned to scowl at him. For such a tiny person, she seemed to contain a remarkable amount of rage.

“Do you need to call someone? You can use my phone, if you’d like.” He held it out like an offering.

The woman blinked at him for a moment.

“I didn’t mean to be nosy! You were just kind of loud and you sounded worried about your, um, partner.”

“I’m not worried about him, I just need to find him.” Her face softened. “Thanks, Mister, but I can’t reach him on a regular phone. Don’t worry, I’ll track him down eventually.” She turned to leave, then stopped to jab an accusatory finger at Ichigo. “And that’s professional partner, not… you know! Whatever!” She stomped out.

What a strange, tiny person.

Ichigo selected a gum and walked up to the counter.

“Oooh, dragonberry lime, good choice!” the man trilled. “Anything else I can get you? Bottled water? Fanny pack? Spare phone battery?”

“I’ll pass,” Ichigo replied dryly.

“I imagine it’s against FBI policy to let a stranger use your cell phone,” the shopkeeper said sweetly.

Ichigo’s brows furrowed. “This is my personal phone. And how did you…?”

The man gave a chortling laugh that sent shivers down Ichigo’s spine. “Because headquarters is three blocks away and only an FBI agent would wear a suit that square.”

Ichigo took his change and his gum and shoved them both in his pocket. “Yeah, well, your hat sucks.”

The man laughed harder. “Doesn’t it, though?”

Once he was outside again, Ichigo handed Inoue the gum and her change. “The owner of that place is a creep.”

“The guy in the green and white hat?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Urahara. You’re right, he’s the owner. Were there any other customers?”

“Just the short lady. You must have seen her come out. She was ripping Urahara a new one for some dodgy cell phone battery he sold her. I think she must have been NSA or something. She said she was trying to get ahold of her partner, but she needed a special phone.” As he said it, Ichigo realized it would be pretty odd for an NSA agent to be buying cell phone batteries from some shady bodega.

“No one came out,” Inoue replied.

“She definitely did! I heard the bell over the door ring.”

Inoue regarded Ichigo very seriously. “Agent Kurosaki. I was standing here the whole time. You were the only person who went in or out.” She looked at the gum. “Ooh! Dragonfruit lime! Do you want some?”

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They were late to the meeting.

Two men were waiting for them in the back corner booth. One of them had pinched, pointy features and piercing blue eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. His chin-length haircut was pretty dramatic, but not as dramatic as his pure white trench coat. A cup of black coffee sat on the faded Formica table in front of him, but it didn’t look like it had been touched.

His companion was an enormous, good-looking Latino who was shoveling pancakes into his face.

“Inoue,” the dramatic guy said. “Who’s this?”

“This is my new partner, Kurosaki,” Inoue replied. “Kurosaki, this is Uryuu Ishida,” she indicated the white trenchcoat guy, “and Chad,” Mr. Pancakes.

“Also known as the ‘Lone Archers,’” Ishida specified. “We are apolitical actors who are interested in revealing the truths that are regularly hidden from the general populace by secret forces that conspire within the machinery of the American government.”

“You can just call me Chad,” said Chad.

“Good morning!” the waitress said. “Can I get you folks anything?”

“Oh, yes! I’m getting mozzarella sticks! Do you like mozzarella sticks, Kurosaki? They’re so good here!”

“So’re the pancakes,” added Chad.

“I’ll just have a coffee,” Ichigo announced. He glanced at Ishida’s cup. “Black.”

“Double mozzarella sticks, please!” Inoue chorused. “And a cherry coke!” She leaned over to Ichigo and spoke out of the side of her mouth. “I’ll give you a mozzarella stick.”

“Do you want some pancake?” Chad offered to Ishida. “I never think to offer.”

Ishida waved him off with a hand. “Agent Inoue. At great personal peril, I was able to obtain a sample of the item we discussed.” He slid a small paper packet across the table. “There are two tablets inside, but one should be sufficient for your purposes.” Ishida leaned forward, his mouth set in a firm line. “I was cautioned very strongly against using this, unless one had a firm plan for handling the… consequences.”

“I understand,” Inoue replied, stuffing the envelope into her purse.

Ichigo wanted to ask more questions, but the conversation shifted very quickly to some USGS floodplain maps that Ishida wanted Inoue to obtain for him that were apparently not available from the public webportals, allegedly because of filesize. Ichigo could practically hear the air quotes around the word “filesize.”

“We’re going to look for Jersey Devils next weekend,” Chad explained, sounding pretty excited about it.

“There’s only one, Chad,” Ishida corrected. “It’s just ‘Jersey Devil.’”

“There could be more than one,” Chad shrugged.

Thirty minutes later, they departed. Inoue had an order of mozzarella sticks in her purse. Ichigo had an armload of backissues of the Lone Archers’ ‘zine, which was, conveniently enough, titled The Lone Archer. There was no doubt in his mind that at least Ishida was completely off his rocker. The jury was still out on Chad… he struck Ichigo as the sort of guy who just went along with Ishida’s nonsense because he was a good friend and also liked taking camping trips and doing layout for ‘zines.

“So what was that thing they gave you?” Ichigo pestered. The idea of that little paper packet had been burning a hole in his brain the entire time.

“You busy tonight?” Inoue asked, raising an eyebrow slyly. “Between 10 and 11?”

“What are we doing?” Ichigo asked cautiously, wondering if he would be able to charge his time.

“We’re going to try and attract an angry ghost.”

  👻     👻     👻

“Are you… sure this is… a good idea?” Ichigo asked for the sixteenth time, as Inoue focused the thermal camera on him.

They were in an old, abandoned lot that had formerly served as a Metro service facility. It was pretty spooky all on its own, filled with train cars too dilapidated for salvage.

It was 10:25pm. Inoue had set up no less than 17 different pieces of ghost detection equipment. Ichigo was questioning his life choices.

“You told me you don’t believe in ghosts. If ghosts don’t exist, then what could possibly go wrong?” Inoue posed.

“Well… that’s true,” Ichigo granted. “And, for the record, I still do not believe in ghosts. But in the Pascal’s wager sense of things, I am considering the ramifications of what happens if there are ghosts that exist, regardless of my belief in them.”

“And?” Inoue asked.

“Well, you said that these ghosts have hurt and killed people before. It seems like trying to attract one without having any method of, um, fighting it, seems kind of… irresponsible?”

“Ah, but you see, I’ve specifically picked this time and location to coincide with the grim reaper patrol routes I’ve been mapping out. Our friendly neighborhood psychopomp ought to show up just on schedule to fight the angry ghost for us. We’re doing them a favor, as I see it.”

“How so?” Ichigo exclaimed.

“It’s not like we’re creating an angry ghost out of nowhere. We’re just attracting an existing one to our location. We’re saving the grim reaper the trouble of having to hunt it down.”

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose. Why was it so difficult to argue with Inoue? Possibly because she was so incredibly earnest in all her beliefs, and all her arguments were in completely good faith, it’s just that her logic came from some other dimension. This woman has solved multiple, high-profile murders, including several that were ice cold, Ichigo reminded himself. So she’s quirky. I am sure I can learn a lot from her.

“Okay, everything is in place!” Inoue announced, placing her hand on her hips. “Go hide behind that pile of moldy seats!”

Inoue took Ichigo’s place at the center of her recording equipment. “Agent Orihime Inoue speaking,” she said, for posterity. “It is 10:28pm. I am crushing one tablet of a substance called ‘Hollow Bait.’” She crunched the little white tablet, which looked an awful lot like an Alka-Seltzer, between her fingers, and then made a flying leap for the rotting pile of damp, orange upholstery that Ichigo was crouched behind.

“So, just out of curiosity,” Ichigo started. “How long would we have to wait, theoretically, with nothing happening, before we would declare this a bust?”

Inoue pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Usually, I would give it about two hours, but if you’ve got somewhere to be, I don’t mind if you leave early. It is nice to have company for a change.”

“No, I don’t have anywhere else to be,” Ichigo replied. “I mean… sleeping, I guess.”

Inoue gave a charming little laugh. “I don’t sleep very well. And hunting for ghosts is more interesting than most of the stuff on Hulu.”

The way that she said it gave Ichigo the distinct impression that Inoue was, well, lonely. But that didn’t seem correct. She was weird, sure, but she was also friendly and talkative, and, er, well, she was extremely cute. Surely she had tons of friends.

“How’d you get into ghost hunting, anyway?” he tried to be conversational.

“Hmm,” Inoue hummed noncommittally. “Let’s just say there was an incident in my teen years, where my memories don’t match up to the property damage.”

Oh. Ichigo wondered if he should apologize, when suddenly, a cold chill ran down his spine and a sound like a roar echoed in his ears, except he didn’t actually hear anything. “Did you hear that?” he gasped.

“It’s the EMF detector,” Inoue nodded, scrambling for the reader and Ichigo realized he could hear a faint beeping.

“No, not the beeping, it was like a… a… scream…”

“You heard a scream?”

“I didn’t exactly…” Ichigo trailed off as he heard two more, coming from different directions. “There’s more than one. Monster screams. Not human screams.”

Inoue stared at him, eyes wide. “I don’t hear anything. Have you ever been tested for latent psychic ability?”

There was a sudden change in the air pressure, and a fetid, rotting smell, even worse than the Metro seats. Ichigo grabbed Inoue by the shoulders and rolled out of the way, just as the pile of junk they had been crouched behind compacted like it had been through a car crusher. Or smashed by a giant foot.

“Whoa!” Inoue exclaimed, trying to push Ichigo off of her so she could see what was going on.

Ichigo blinked through the night. He couldn’t see anything, but there was an area of space that looked thick and hazy, like it wasn’t refracting the harsh glow of the sodium street lights quite correctly.

“We have to get out of here,” Ichigo gasped.

“Can you see it?” Inoue asked, her eyes wide and excited.

“Not-- not really,” Ichigo replied, pulling at her arm. The air blurred, and Ichigo had the sense the thing was jumping at them. He could tell it was fast, but he couldn’t see it, he didn’t know what to--

“Howl, Zabimaru!”

It was both there and not quite there, a liquid blade made of glass and starlight, that snapped through the air at the invisible thing. The monster bellowed, and whipped around, charging at a dark figure standing atop one of the old Metro cars.

“Pick on someone your own size, ugly!” the man bellowed, and as Ichigo squinted, he realized that their savior was dressed all in black. He was tall, and his hair was pulled back in a spiky ponytail. It was bright red. He was also wearing sunglasses, even though it was the middle of the night. They were pushed up on top of his head, to be fair, but Ichigo had a feeling this detail would stick with him.

“You can see that guy, right?” Ichigo asked Inoue desperately. “The guy who’s fighting the ghost? The guy that looks just like the guy in your report?”

“There’s a guy?” Inoue asked. “No. Where is he? Can you usually see ghosts?”

“I don’t even believe in ghosts!”

“Well, maybe you don’t believe in them because you can see them and you don’t want to, did you ever think of that?”

“I don’t think now is the time to interrogate my personal traumas!”

Suddenly, there was another drop in pressure, and Ichigo had the sense of heavy breathing and sharp teeth. “Inoue. I think there’s another one.”

“Well, can you get the guy to come fight this one, too?”

“He seems busy,” Ichigo squeaked.

Something black flashed by his vision, and there was a loud crack and a sound of something screeching in pain. A second dark-clad person had arrived, landing softly on sandaled feet. There was the same unreality to her, a sense that she wasn’t entirely there, as well as a certain familiarity that Ichigo couldn’t place. Her sword was bright in the darkness, like moonlight reflecting on snow.

“Oi, there you are, you big dummy!” she shouted at the first man and Ichigo realized with a jolt that it was the angry woman from the bodega. “I’ve been looking for you for four days!”

“I had a problem with my gigai and maybe you should check your texts once in a while!” the tall guy shouted back. Ichigo refused to think of him as a grim reaper. A grim reaper would not wear sunglasses.

“My phone died!”

“Can we-- ow! -- discuss this later? I’m glad you’re okay, I missed you. Why are there so many Hollows in this train yard?”

“You’re such a sap! And the Hollows are here because some stupid humans got ahold of some Hollow bait.” The woman turned, and glared at Ichigo. Her eyes burned with blue flame, like the burner of a gas stove.

That would have been the last thing Ichigo remembered, if he had actually remembered it, or any of the things that came before it.

  👻     👻     👻

Ichigo was sitting at his desk.

Inoue was sitting at her desk.

The sun was streaming in the window. The clock on Ichigo’s phone read 7:12am.

Inoue frowned. She examined a coffee cup on her desk. She took a hesitant sip, and then made a face. “Why are we here?” she wondered softly.

“I hate to pull an all-nighter,” Ichigo said, stretching, “but it sure does feel good to be caught up on paperwork!”

Inoue regarded him. “Kurosaki,” she said, “how long have you worked here?”

Ichigo frowned. “Well, I guess this is my second day.”

“Right. So… how much paperwork did you have to catch up on?”

Ichigo blinked. He very distinctively recalled working through the night-- his hand cramping, the incredibly spicy Thai food they’d ordered, Inoue’s seemingly infinite Boy Bands of the 90’s playlist. “I… was helping you, I guess?” Come to think of it, why was he filling out paperwork by hand, anyway? His laptop sat next to him, the lid closed. It wasn’t even plugged in.

Inoue’s fist slammed down onto her desk. “Gosh darnit! They wiped my memories again!!”

[noxsoulmate]

Salty ask list: 2, 8, 14, 19 & 22. Bonus, if you like: 6 & 7

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

Supernatural:

Well, I guess every ship that includes Dean and/or Cas with anyone else but Destiel? They are all popular in the fandom to a certain degree but for example, for me, Sam and Cas are the biggest BroTP out there, so are Benny and Dean. So yeah, any ship that includes either Dean or Cas with anyone else is a ship I don't ship in a romantic way.

Harry Potter:

Harmony - I get that it's a big, big ship and it's certainly one up to Romione. But I love how during the whole series, Harry and Hermione have always only been like brother and sister without any mention of any moment of romantic feelings, ever. No drama, no pining, no hidden feelings. These two found each other and became best friends and family and I love that it shows that a boy and a girl (and later a man and a woman) can just be close friends without anything ever happening between them.

911 & 911 LS:

Paul & Marjan - I simply see them as siblings. I mean, I wouldn't mind if they go canon but right now, I just don't see it. For me, they only give off sibling vibes. Now, Paul & Nancy though...

(and no, hateful anon that goes around the Marcy tag, it has nothing to do with me being a transphobe. It just means I ship another ship than you do)

Buck & TK - yeah... well... besides the point that I don't get why people ship them together (because, hello, TK has a boyfriend and it's very serious), I totally love these two as besties. BroTP for life... with Carlos and Eddie in the background, rolling their eyes and suffering together about the fact that they have dumbasses as boyfriends 😂

8. Have you received anon hate? What about?

Yep, I have, just the other day. Pretty sure it was the same person that commented on one of my fics, calling me a transphobe because I wrote Marcy into a Tarlos fic. Thing is, that person thinks I'm a transphobe because I took Marjan away from Paul (sounds crazy, I know). Of course, that doesn't make me a transphobe, it just means I don't ship Paul with Marjan. Though I actually heavily ship him with Nancy. More than Marjan with Nancy by now, actually. It started out pretty equally but by now, Paul and Nancy hold my heart 😍

Also, side note: even if I didn't ship Paul with anyone it still wouldn't make me a transphobe - because Paul is more than "just a trans man". He's a great character and reducing every decision made about him down to him being trans is pretty... well... transphobic, don't you think? Take him as a whole character, don't focus on just one aspect of him 😉

Oh, wait, I also got one saying that I fetishize the queer community because I write smut (or something like that...) Well, first: I'm part of the queer community myself, thank you very much. And second: I write characters. I write them flawed, I write them honest, I write them the way the characters tell me to - if that includes fluffy cuddles on the couch, then that's what I write 🤷‍♀️ If that includes a fight, then that's what I write. If that includes sexy times... well, yeah, guess what: then that's what I write 😉

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

🤔 I don't think I have one? I mean, two of my three fandoms are pretty big, so every opinion made in them is somehow "popular" to some degree. And with 911... oh! wait! I might have one: Buddie. Don't get me wrong, I love them, I ship them, I see it. But contrary to some, I wouldn't mind if all we ever get is this amazing friendship between them 😊 is that opinion unpopular enough? I'm not sure 😅

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

The negativity and hate going on. And that counts for all fandoms, even in a (relatively) small one like the 911 & 911LS fandom...

22. Popular character you hate?

Supernatural: Lucifer

911 & 911 LS: Owen (I probably wouldn't hate him if he weren't in almost every scene. Just... equal it out a bit more! Let Judd and Marjan and Mateo and Paul do a rescue once in a while...)

Bonus:

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

No, not really. It has shown me some new ships I never thought of before - but since I rarely hate any ship and only do so if I have a strong opinion about it, there wasn't much to change my mind on.

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

Oh, a lot, I think. It's been years since I started reading fanfics and I've gone through quite a few phases. I sometimes stumble upon fics I used to enjoy way back when... but then I start reading them and I'm like, "Nope, not my thing anymore." 😅

I mean, it's not the fic's fault - my taste has simply changed...

Want to know more about me? Come ask me a weird or a salty question or both 😁

[dc41896]

Secret’s Out

Pairing: Jake JensenxBlack Reader

⚠️: None all fluff💕!!

Sat on the black leather couch, you impatiently looked at the clock on the wall as you waited for your boyfriend to arrive for your date. He forgot your last date nights from being so busy the last couple of months, so he promised to give you the best night of your life.

Securing the fallen strap of your short, white, flowy dress back on your shoulder, you glance at your phone to make sure you didn’t miss any of his texts or calls.

“Relax it’s just after 7,” you thought to yourself taking a breath. “I’m sure he didn’t forget....again.”

Just to check though, you picked up your phone sending him a reminder masked as an innocent check in. Either way if he forgot or not, your nerves could relax now that you said something.

Y/N: Hope you had a great day at work☺️, can’t wait for tonight! ❤️

Grabbing the remote off the coffee table, you figure you might as well catch up on your shows while you wait as you tucked your legs under you and lie your head on the armrest. By the time you finished an episode, you were sure he’d be here ready to go.

However one episode turned into two, then four, and so on until you didn’t even feel yourself fall asleep holding the remote close to your chest. Eyes fluttering open to now see the “are you still watching?” message across your tv, you quickly reach for your phone to see that it’s now 10 o’clock and no word from Jake.

“And he forgot again,” you sigh, standing up to go to your shared bedroom to change into your pajamas and wash the makeup from your face. Walking down the hall, you pass the familiar mysterious door your boyfriend practically begged you not to go in when you started living together. He didn’t say much about it, just that his “important and personal belongings were there” and he’d really appreciate it if you didn’t open the door.

“I bet he’d remember if it had something to do with that room,” you muttered to yourself crossing the threshold of your bedroom and placing your purse on the nearby dresser.

And that’s when your pettiness and curiosity got the best of you.

The logical and responsible part of your brain knew you should just calm down, go to bed, and not go against his wishes. But with no sign of him coming home anytime soon, the part of your brain that was hurt and fed up wanted to go on a mini field trip.

“How to pick a lock,” you typed into safari to be met with thousands of results.

———

“Babe?!,” Jake called rushing into the apartment and quickly locking the door behind him. “My phone died so I couldn’t text back and I’m sor-whoa!,”

“Who are you really?,” you ask holding your phone in one hand and a meat fork in the other pointed in his direction. Hands up in front of him, he looks over your shoulder to see a light shining into the hall through the wide open door making his eyebrows furrow.

“You opened the door?!”

“Hey I’ll be the one asking the questions ok? First one being why are there guns and basically a whole surveillance van in there?!”

“I’ll answer anything you want, but can you put the fork down please? I know you’re a bit on edge and skeptical but it’s me, Jake. I’m not gonna hurt you.” As he takes a step forward, you take a step back gripping tighter on the handle of the fork and ready to tap the screen of your phone, which he figured already had 911 dialed.

“Alright,” he sighs slowly getting down on the ground with his hands behind his back. “If you go in my sock drawer there’s handcuffs towards the bottom. If it’ll make you feel better go get them and you can handcuff me so you know I won’t do anything. I promise I’ll stay right here the whole time.”

Hesitant at first, you slowly walk backwards to the bedroom making sure to keep your eyes on him before following his directions to look in the drawer.

“I’m guessing these weren’t an employee appreciation gift from CertaTech,” you retort tightening the metal around his wrists.

“Not exactly,” he lightly chuckles as you help him stand to his feet. Leading him to the kitchen table, he carefully sits in the creaky chair as you sit across from him placing your phone and fork down in front of you.

“Worked with handcuffs before, have we?”

Crossing your arms in front of your chest and looking at him unamused, his innocent smile falls as he stops laughing and clears his throat to collect himself. “You’re right, definitely not the time.”

“The room Jake. If that’s your real name.”

“It is. My name is actually Jake Jensen and the room is because I work with a special forces team that carries out missions given to us by the government.”

“So...like CIA, undercover agent type stuff?”

“Something like that.”

“And by team you mean Clay, Pooch, and everyone?”

“Yea.”

“So all this time you’ve been leaving for work, you’ve actually been going on missions?,” you ask gently rubbing your temples to which he nods.

“Either I’m on a mission, a briefing giving me my orders, or I’m at the warehouse doing intel.”

“And why did it take all this time to tell me? Like I get it with that line of work you have to be private but still Jake. I mean were you ever planning on telling me?”

“Yes of course I wanted to tell you, but I was waiting on the right time.”

“And when would’ve that been?! When I’m in the hospital giving birth and a nurse comes in with a letter from you saying ‘hey babe! Sorry I couldn’t make it I’m in Africa on a covert mission’?!”

“No, it would’ve been long before-wait, are you pregnant?”

“Jake!”

“What?! You’re the one who brought it up I’m just trying to make sure.”

“I brought it up as an example,” you sigh with hand on your forehead. “At this moment no I’m not, but now I know what all could potentially come with it if I do in the future. Like you not being there.”

“Y/N look at me,” he softly orders leaning forward as his chest hung over the table. “I promise I was going to tell you and would not have waited that long. It’s just I love you so much and I didn’t want to scare you off, especially by saying something when we first met.”

Getting up from your seat, you saunter over to sit in his lap gently holding his face in your hands.

“I get you not wanting to scare me away, but you know once I put my mind to something I’m in all the way. That includes relationships too,” you softly smile before connecting your lips with his. “I’m sorry for breaking into your private room.”

“It’s okay, and I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“You’re forgiven,” you giggle leaning your forehead against his. “That is the only secret you’re hiding right?”

“Well...”

“Seriously?!”

“I’m kidding! That’s it I swear,” he chuckles pecking your lips.

“Ha ha so funny,” you sarcastically reply standing up.

“Now can you take these cuffs off? My arms are starting to fall asleep.”

“Right sorry. Where’s the key?”

“The key wasn’t with them?”

“No I thought you had it...?”

“Y/N if this is you getting me back-,”

“Babe I promise it’s not!,” you respond slightly panicked now trying to figure out how to get your boyfriend out of this predicament. “Here let me try to pick it.”

“You’re probably not gonna be able to-,” he starts before hearing a click and feeling a release of pressure from the restraints.

“Got it! They didn’t scratch you did they?”

“Uh no, no I’m ok,” Jake answers standing up as he lightly rubs his wrist looking at you in awe. “Call me crazy, but the fact that you can pick a lock now makes you even hotter.”

Looking down as you shyly giggle, he raises your chin as his lips come dangerously close to yours, with blue eyes intensely peering at you as if you were the only thing in the world he wanted.

“Speaking of being hot, you want to know what you do that always gets me excited?,” you sensually whisper biting your bottom lip.

“What’s that?”

“Getting me food,” you answer against his lips lightly patting his chest before walking towards your bedroom.

“It’s after 11 though, nothing’s open.”

“Well that wouldn’t be a problem if someone would’ve came home on time or told me they were gonna be late,” you smile before closing the door.

“It’s not my fault my phone died it kept roaming!,” he calls after you before picking up his keys and heading out the door while shaking his head.

Taglist: @crushed-pink-petals-writes @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicanawrites @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @literaturefeen @renfrewscorner @damnitaa @curlyhairclub @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy @plokyu23 @secretmysteriousperson

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for, or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

[dispatched-a]

———  BASICS! ♡

(PEN)NAME! ♡     lou

PRONOUNS! ♡     he / they

ZODIAC SIGN! ♡     virgo moon, taurus moon, leo rising.

TAKEN OR SINGLE! ♡     single 😼

———  THREE  FACTS! ♡

1! ♡    i am SUPER into making lists. i don’t know if it’s because i’m autistic, have ADHD, or because i’m a virgo – probably all three? – but i literally love making lists and spreadsheets. i also love organizing and sorting stuff. i will find a reason to make a list for literally just about anything. right now, i’m working on tackling this list of the shows i want to watch.

2! ♡     i can make my tongue form into a clover (three-sided) which is probably gross and i won’t embed a picture here, but showing it off has gotten me past at least 2 different forms of hazing so i feel like it’s worth mentioning at the very least.

3! ♡    most of you likely know that one of my special interests is history, specifically working class interpretations/tellings of history. i’m always looking to learn and educate myself more, but i can spew off a bunch of obscure facts about most points of american history which is... a lot. i spent 3 years in uni for history and almost got my certificate in queer studies before i dropped out and i might change my course of study now that i’m back in uni, but i now consequently own an obscene amount of books on imperial america. i may not shut up if asked about post/911 history or anything having to do with the bush presidency, or the war in vietnam/cambodia/laos. i’m sorry to anyone whose dm’s ive unleashed in before, lmfao. because of all of this, i feel like i enjoy writing essays and am better at academic writing than prose, which gives me a complex about my prose being too dry and not poetic enough so, fun times.

———  EXPERIENCE! ♡

PLATFORMS USED! ♡   at the moment, i use tumblr and discord, and i sparsely use dreamwidth. before, i’ve used facebook and livejournal, and occasionally youtube, which is how i got into roleplay about 10 years ago.

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE! ♡

GENDER! ♡  i’ve always gravitated toward writing men and i was not self-aware enough to know my discomfort in writing women has always had to do with projecting my personal Butch Gender Envy and my own discomfort with societal notions of womanhood – however, now i can write any gender. at this point, i tend to be drawn toward nb/trans muses. 

LEAST FAVOURITE FACE(S)! ♡    i don’t HATE any faces i guess, but i dislike fc’s that are super popular or obviously the very problematic ones. the rpc tends to cycle through a favorite face 1-2 times a year. like semi-related, i guess, but: never forget the 2016-2017 e/iza g/onzales fixation, and the amber heard fixation that i feel like only recently ended but began circa 2012. and yes, ive been on this website for WAY too long.

MULTI OR SINGLE! ♡    i’m fine with interacting with either! for myself, i have frank and a multi-muse, which is how i tend to operate. i cannot operate more than 1-2 blogs at once, especially single muse blogs.

———  FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡    

FLUFF:    i love fluff! but it’s not all i enjoy. a big issue i’ve had is constantly perpetuating slice-of-life content with little plot. i love slice-of-life and fluff a whole lot but i need plot and dynamic building to back it up (more so dynamics, as i care more about character relationships than plot, usually, but point stil applies). i feel like a lot of people misconceive frank to be an overly soft, fluffy person – which frank definitely can be, but i’m kind of uncomfortable with the way he’s constantly written in fanfic to be a mindlessly loyal himbo (namely to karen bc k.astle fans are Like That) and the way his old-fashioned (and subsequently hypermasculine and condescending lmfao) nature is constantly lauded instead of questioned. he's not a great person lmao. also, i feel like this plays into people writing and portraying frank as straight in so much of the fic i read, which i dislike. 

ANGST:    i LOVE angst, but i don’t like trauma/torture porn. i like angst when it also props up plot and dynamics, but trauma porn? hate it. i feel like an issue that i have with angsty plots is that it tends to occasionally turn into a dynamic revolving my muse taking care of another person’s, or vice-versa (which ive ... tried to work, but still, i can be guilty of it!). i also specifically fucking hate (usually very graphic) immediate post-sexual assault/rape plots that have no basis in canon, which is such a specific thing to rip on but i’ve seen it more than once lmao and it makes me so uncomfortable. please stop torturing your muses for no reason. i feel like i’ve worked on doing that myself, and yes i am aware that the punisher is the hugest example of an edgelord, but uh.... please, i’m begging. 

SMUT:    ii feel like i enjoy writing smut but not just for smut’s sake. not too into pwp, but sometimes i can be. like what i’ve said about fluff and angst, it just depends! 

PLOT / MEMES! ♡    i LOVE both. i feel like memes at this point work better than starters for me. i also enjoy plotting a lot, which for me includes going back and forth about our muses, sending quotes/pictures/etc as inspo, etc. i enjoy that a lot about writing and it’s a huge reason why i love roleplaying - i just love collaborative storytelling. i have a very bad habit of dropping dm’s because my executive dysfunction is Bad and also i can get easily overwhelmed if too many people talk to me but just know i love both.

tagged by :  @vylingas thank you ♡ tagging :  @transforms, @bulletballet, @hammurabicomplex, @streetknown, @errorware, anyone who wants to do it!

[howtosingit]

I just want to say yes to everything you wrote in the tags about the crossover. I only mentioned Carlos because the Buddie fandom seems to be really excited about TK and Carlos being there to validate their ship. I wasn't overlooking Grace and Tommy and I'm glad you mentioned them. I will be pissed if Tommy, Grace and Carlos don't get their own storyline back in Austin and it better not be just them watching news footage on the TV. All three deserve better.

On one hand, it was so great to see everyone so excited about the crossover confirmation yesterday - it’s been a long hiatus with very little spirited discussion about this show, and I’ve truly missed that!

On the other hand, I just 10/10 could not relate. Literally, here’s a visual representation of my face as I scrolled through all of the tags yesterday: 😬

(I’m going to put my initial concerns under the cut in case people want to avoid that kind of discussion - I’m really not here to rain on anyone’s parade...)

I will admit that a crossover is never something I’ve wanted. I’ve watched a lot of crossovers for other shows and they are almost never worth the screen-time that they take up, especially when that screen-time is already so limited and unfairly allotted to cast members. While it’s exciting to see fan-favorite characters interacting, when the shows are set so far apart, it’s not like we’ll be seeing important relationships develop that can actually be explored well in the future beyond a random line thrown out here or there. Sure, scenes with TK and Buck seem fun and enjoyable, but I’m here for the development of the characters and relationships that I love, many of whom already suffer from slighted storytelling. If I wanted to see characters from different shows interact, I’d read fanfic about it. (Spoiler: I don’t do that.)

And yeah, the minute that I realized that the 126 was most likely in California to fight wildfires, my heart absolutely sank. Carlos definitely won’t be there. There will be little-to-no Tarlos in the episode. Grace definitely won’t be there, and probably very little Grace/Judd. It would be so easy to just cut them from this episode entirely, and if the Lone Star writers have made one thing clear throughout season 1, they like to take the easy way out. Like, I get that as the sole cop on the show, Carlos is an outlier and easy to get rid of when it’s convenient, but that’s bullshit. A good writer would find ways to incorporate him into scenes and moments, not just be like “we don’t need him” and then CUT HIM FROM 20% OF THE SEASON and give him scraps of screen time in episodes that he does appear in. 

And like I said in my tags, I really only have this problem because Carlos was the only character to be cut from episodes in season 1. If they were to say “well we have a lot of main characters and can only focus on a few at a time, so everyone gets to be in 9/10 episodes,” that would make me feel better. I could accept that. But that’s not what’s been happening on this show, and it’s still a concern I have for future seasons. (God, please let me be wrong, I would love to be wrong.)

(And like, how does this all really serve the characters and world-building of Lone Star? This episode already feels like it’s entirely for the benefit of the original show and while I like that show well-enough, I’m not happy that Lone Star’s budget and screen-time is being sucked into a 2-hour wildfire adventure. Tell me you can imagine, at some point in the future, the entire 118 crew coming to Austin for an episode. That would seem pretty ridiculous, I think - so I’m just not seeing a balance here. It seems to me like this episode serves 911 more than anything, ESPECIALLY if Lone Star characters get cut completely to make it happen.) 

While I would HOPE that the writers will write material for Carlos, Grace, and Tommy, I’m not holding my breath. I’m seeing the following ways this episode will be written:

LIKELY: No Austin scenes at all. The 126 arrive in California at the end of the 911 episode, and then spend their entire episode in LA.

POSSIBLE: If they do show Austin, it might be when the crew returns home at the very end - maybe we’ll see Carlos and Grace greeting their partners as part of a classic episode-ending montage sequence.

POSSIBLE: Maybe we’ll get a phone call between characters in Austin and LA. Or, more likely, we’ll get reference to phone calls having been made, but we won’t actually see them. 

I WON’T HOLD MY BREATH: The writers divide the episode’s screen time between LA and Austin, showing the 126 working with the 118 while Carlos + Grace + Tommy deal with emergencies back in Austin. Maybe, even, a scene between all of them or at least between Grace and Carlos - IMAGINE THEM BONDING OVER MISSING THEIR MEN, IT PRACTICALLY WRITES ITSELF (if this doesn’t happen, I’m definitely writing the scene anyway, watch me)

(To end this on a more positive note, I am so beyond excited that we’re getting Carlos’s backstory this season. Whether it’s a “Begins” episode or just something that comes up throughout the episodes, I am here for it! Even if it goes against all of my headcanons, I’m so fucking happy that Rafa is getting a chance to explore his character more. He is so damn talented, and it’s what he deserves.)

....

AND AS A FINAL THING: I can tell you right now, I have never, for one moment of my life, wanted “Buddie” and Tarlos to interact with one another, especially not so that Tarlos could be used to validate a fan ship. I have seen some truly vile comments about Tarlos from Buddie shippers (not really on Tumblr, but elsewhere) and I really would prefer if they have nothing to do with each other ever. (And yes, if you’re a person who says “Tarlos only exists so that the writers don’t have to make Buddie canon,” you are homophobic and not an ally. Don’t invalidate actual queer representation/characters, ONE OF WHOM IS PLAYED BY AN OUT GAY ACTOR, just because the writers won’t make your perceived ship happen - that’s disgusting and I do take offense to it.)

[softbuckismykink]

JUST TIRED OF PEOPLE NOT APPRECIATING THE 9-1-1 WRITERS...

I was gonna reblog someone’s post but I don’t wanna hijack it and impose my opinion on someone else... I saw someone commenting 9-1-1 has bad writing in my dash, it’s because the show did not focus on Buck’s trauma and/or say something about the bad disgusting therapy session he had in season one and I just have to say something it...

It’s really unfair to hardworking writers of 9-1-1 show to call what they have done that bad writing... I mean come on they are alloted 45 mins at most (not an hour because of commericials) to tell their stories, and 18 episodes each season that’s 810 mins or about 13.5 hours... They have an ensemble cast, 8 main characters, 11 including the children, each of those cast members have their own storyline, their own drama going on in their life. The writers have to weave those in midst of telling stories involving big emergencies like tsunami, train derailment and normal everyday emergencies first responders deeal with. AND THEY HAVE ONLY 13.5 HOURS PER SEASON TO TELL ALL THOSE. Do you even know how hard it is to write within those parameters? Not to mention there’s not just one of them they are a group, it’s hard enough to write alone, try doing that and working with other writers, trying to make sure all your stories line up straight. It’s a process let me tell you not to mention they have to have those scripts be appoved by network exec or something...

9-1-1 might not have the best writing out there but it’s not bad writing... It’s called 9-1-1 not Evan Buckley’s Trauma Show, do not expect them to elaborate on his trauma alone, that’s what fanfiction is for... And short of Buck Begins, they’ve given Buck good story progression and character development... It’s in the nuance, if you look hard enough... They did deal with Buck’s trauma... they did it over several episodes, Buck in 3x01 was depressed, the tsunami is an allegory of how he was drowning in it... and all through out the season we see hints of how Buck have dealt with that, how after tsunami he got back up from depression only to be triggered back into it with that lawyer and that disaster dinner with Bobby and Athena... Buck more than any other character on the show have been open about his feelings, he was depressed and we saw that, he was angry about losing his job, we’ve been shown that, when he got back and everyone gave him a cold shoulder except Chim and Hen and he felt bad about it, yeah that’s shown... It’s not like we saw Buck get crushed by a truck and he was fine the next episode and the show forgot what happened, they’d shown what Buck went through and how he got past with his trauma in best way they can and working with what they have... And I think fans should appreciate that...

The trauma of losing that guy in episode two, Buck’s way of dealing with it was to have sex with that therapist... IS it wrong? YES, it is. It’s really disgusting that the therapist acted the way she did. But to Buck it was not even a blip in his radar, he didn’t get trauma from that encounter despite what fanfic writers like me have been writing. Buck had always joked about it and that’s how he coped with the shame of the encounter, it speaks to Buck’s Buck 1.0 character, playboy with a heart of gold. And the writers sort of dealt with the therapist seeing as Bobby mentioned she doesn’t work on with the department anymore, that may not have clearly meant that she got fired but if you looked at Bobby’s face you’d know that they knew about the incident since he knew who Buck was talking about and the fact that Chimney didn’t comment on it meant he knew about that incident too which tells me it was brought up some time between them... And in the grand scheme of things, that one incident in Buck’s life is not as traumatic as what he went through with the truck incident, so of course the show won’t focus on that because AGAIN limited time slot of 45 minutes!!!

The thing is if they gave more focus on Buck’s trauma in season three that might have mean that we don’t see Hen’s struggles with her relationship with Karen or her job. It might have meant we don’t get to see Micheal struggling with his cancer diagnosis, or him having a moment with his son and a talk with him about being a black man in America. It might meant we don’t get the storyline with Josh. The thing is that if you are a writer on a show like 9-1-1 you have to choose which storyline to go with to keep viewers or engage new ones. It’s having to choose what’s best for the show and it’s not elaborating on Buck’s trauma cause not everyone who watch the show is gonna want to see that. I love Evan Buckley and I would have paid to see that but at the same time I acknowledge that not everyone who tunes in to 911 is in it for that and the writers know that and write accordingly, that doesn’t mean it’s bad writing.   

[inkbloodpaperandbone]

911 or 911: Lone Star for the fandom ask thing ☺

Favourite female character

9-1-1: Maddie Buckley or Athena Grant I can't decide.

911: lone star: Marjan Marwani, from the moment we see her jumping into the water after a car I was like 'i love her!' lol.

Favourite male character

9-1-1: it's gotta be Buck I just feel like I can relate to him a lot

911: lone star: either TK because I can also relate with him a lot

or Judd because I guess I have a thing for giants who are also really soft with their loved ones

Favourite book/season etc.

9-1-1: I love all the seasons respectively for different reasons. 1 introduced to me to this amazing fandom, 2 gave us Eddie, Christopher, and Maddie, 3 has been the biggest emotional rollercoaster ever.

I really can't decide sorry.

911: lone star: since there's only one season at the moment I can't give an answer for this.

Favourite episode

Damnit that's harder than favourite season.

9-1-1: Okay I love all the 'begins' episodes and the tsunami episodes but I think I've got to go with 'Oceans 9-1-1' it might be a filler but it's an episode I'll happily watch whenever.

911: lone star: Friends like These, watching the team come together to help Mateo with his studying gets me every time.

Favourite cast member

9-1-1: so I have been the biggest fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt since I was nine years old watching Ghost Whisper reruns after school so obviously I have to go with her.

911: lone star: Liv Tyler, I'm a huge lord of the rings nerd, sorry not sorry.

Favourite ship

9-1-1: Buddie, if you've seen my blog that's not a surprise.

911: lone star: Marjeo, I just, they're so cute together.

Character I'd die defending

9-1-1: Buck, that boy gets whumped all the time by both the 9-1-1 writers and the fandom, poor baby.

911: lone star: TK, I can relate deeply to similar struggles with addiction and self harming behaviour and like Buck he's definitely the writers and fandoms whump character.

A character I just can't sympathize with

9-1-1: Sue, Maddie's former colleague she endangered so many people even possibly got them killed because she didn't get thank yous, lady that's your job you signed up for that.

911: lone star: Billy Tyson, the other fire house captain he's such a dick.

(although Billy Burke as Charlie in Twilight was the only good thing about those movies)

A character I grew to love

9-1-1: If I'm honest Bobby I was kinda unsure of him up until the plane crash and then when he started to open up is when I really started to like him.

911: lone star: As much as I love him now probably Judd. I really wasn't sure how they'd write him from the first episode onwards but yeah he quickly became a favourite.

My anti otp

9-1-1: Taylor Kelly and Buck. I'm really glad they only hooked up briefly. I'd have hated it if the writers had dragged out her and Buck sleeping together. I wouldn't mind see Taylor Kelly again I like it when there are characters you don't like it makes for good drama, lol.

911: lone star: Alex and TK, I hope they don't bring Alex back into TK's life on the show, in fanfic sure I want all that drama but on the show no.