#plot devices

There is a spiritual artifact that heightens cultivation to the point that the cultivator goes mad. This is because it shows the truth of the universe, which is half the point of cultivation in the first place, but to most inhabitants of the world it is like an unknowable eldritch horror. For Shang Qinghua, who already has a pretty good idea of how the world came to be given he was the one to create it, he is mostly just a little stunned/overwhelmed/dazed by the effects of the artifact. 

"Oh yeah, I can totally see how that would drive any righteous cultivator mad. Nobody touch it, I don't want to have to deal with any insanity or suicides today."

"Are you alright Shang Qinghua?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, I knew most of that already. I mean, how things went from words and code into become a full fledged world I didn’t know, so that part was interesting and a bit mind-bending, but I knew about the words and the code already and so it wasn’t too terribly hard to comprehend. I probably would have understood it a bit more if i understood the inner workings of computers, but I've never been a big computer nerd, so some of it flew over my head a bit. But yeah, the transition from idea to code to matter and qi is such a fascinating thing. Definitely won't be doing that again, but still fascinating."

"Alright, how about you sit down and we'll get you to Mu Qingfang."

"That’s probably a good idea. I know that my body adapted well enough, but it still feels like I've got way to much qi for my body. Not really helping my god complex any, let me tell you that."

The seeds were planted back in Eddie’s first episode, and ever since, have been fruitful and multiplying.

“What A Man” playing as Buck looks at Eddie for the first time, plus him peacocking the entire episode with him just to fold the second Eddie smiles at him and tells him he “can have his back any day.”

The way Buck automatically assumed a position in the Eddie-Chris family unit and it was never questioned. The way Buck would and did and does drop absolutely everything to make sure his little family is okay.

The elf in season 2 just automatically assumed that they were together and that Christopher was THEIR son.

The way they fight and argue by feeling through or about Christopher because anything else would be an admission of feelings.

Buck fighting for his life to wade through water, debris, and bodies to find Christopher after he fell off of the firetruck, even with his own catastrophic injuries he was recovering from.

Buck literally forcing himself to take a deep breath and push through the fear of being beneath a firetruck to pull Eddie out of the line of gunfire after he’d been shot, then literally picking up and carrying Eddie into the engine and refusing to let anyone else work on him, even if he wasn’t the most qualified.

Eddie putting Buck in his will after less than 2 years in each other’s lives because there has never been and never will be someone that Eddie trusts so much he’d want them to take care of his son. Eddie has NEVER trusted anyone with his heart more than he’s trusted Buck.

Buck being the one to help, or get the correct help when Eddie was falling apart and away from the station.

Buck fighting for Eddie’s attention the entire time Tommy is in the picture for one episode, Buck pretending to like basketball pick-up, Buck reacting and accidentally hurting Eddie because HE was hurt, Buck deflecting his feelings (and BELIEVING IT) by saying he was trying to get Tommy’s attention (which even HE didn’t believe [IN CANON]).

Buck realizing he likes men is its own big piece.

Buck completely losing it when Eddie decides he’s moving back to Texas and inadvertently sabotaging his subletter interviews. Correcting their fight by applying to sublet so that neither he nor Eddie and Chris lost the house.

Whatever the fuck the moving truck scene was.

Buck missing Eddie so bad he tries to befriend Ravi and then sleeping with Tommy the second the opportunity presents itself so he can feel something other than wistful snd sad about Eddie.

Tommy accusing him of having a thing for Eddie, literally calling Eddie the competition.

Buck overreacting as if the accusation is far-fetched and then telling Maddie “everyone wants him to be pining for my straight best friend” and “I’m living in Eddie’s old house, therefore I must be in love with him”. (No one said anything to him about being in love with Eddie, he reached that conclusion all his own)

Not wanting to unpack his stuff because it means Chris and Eddie really aren’t coming home.

The puzzle is almost done — he really is getting there. And when he finishes it, he’s gonna have the wind knocked out of him when he sees Eddie’s face.

I really don’t like time travel plots at all. In fact, I don’t read that kind of fiction, they just feel messy to me. I think a character is defined by everything they’ve been through, so changing the past doesn’t make sense to me. That past is what made them who they are, so if you change it, they’d never become that person in the first place. I just don’t find it interesting.

Also, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t care about changing the past. I wouldn’t change mine. I’m very happy with who I am, and I think I’m this way because of everything I’ve gone through, the good, the bad, the things I’ve done, the things that were done to me, everything that’s happened. So yeah, I just don’t see the point.

That said, the only kind of time travel storyline I actually like is that one with Bruce Willis, I think the movie is called The Kid? Maybe I’m mixing up the title. And then there’s a K-drama with basically the same premise but with a woman, called Hello, Me!. It’s when, for some reason, your younger self—your inner child or teenage self—shows up in your present life when you’re an adult who’s kind of a mess, and calls you out. Like, your younger self sees what you’ve become and goes, “What the hell are you doing? Why are you like this? We weren’t like this.”

he’s soooo nervous to meet the baby to hold the baby. when he finally works up the courage to hold her he wants to scream and cry kinda. she’s so tiny in his big hands. and looks just like the two of you. he doesn’t know what to think. or do.

GODDDDDD </3

Patrick kind of just wants to die. He can’t even make it to the hospital on time, he misses Art’s ten fucking panicky calls after your water breaks and he’s driving you to the hospital. Patrick’s on the tennis court when you go into labor— halfway through his first set. He doesn’t even see all of the calls and texts until he hits the locker room and reads it all for himself. Panics, drives the hour and a half to the hospital, forfeits the fucking tournament too. You were supposed to go into labor in two weeks, right? That’s how due dates worked, wasn’t it?

He’s a mess in the waiting room— pacing and nauseous. He wants to smoke, but fucking can’t since you and Art told him to quit, and he wouldn’t be allowed to in a goddamn hospital anyway. He sits, watches the news, buys a coke from the vending machine, then a pack of sour skittles. Does breathing exercises for a bit when he thinks he’s having a panic attack.

And then there’s Art, in stupid fucking scrubs because the first thing he did after the baby was born and he held her was run out to see if Patrick made it. He hugs him so tight, presses his forehead to Pat’s and just beams. “She’s so beautiful, Pat,” is the first thing he says. “She wants to meet you.”

You look more beautiful than he’s ever seen when he walks into the room— all sweaty and flushed, with your hair sticking to your forehead. The baby is in your arms, wrapped in the generic hospital blanket, looking puffy and swollen the way all babies are.

You’ve got your peridot type or your Scorpia type or potentially your zuko-type. The clearly-antagonistic-but-obviously-engineered-to-be-likeable-enough-to-get-a-redemption-arc type of character. You have them slowly go through the motions of realizing the empire is bad,  or realizing the power of friendship, or having a moment of connection with the protagonists and realizing that they aren’t Thriving (tm) under the oppressive system.

 So they do what these sorts of characters usually do and defect to the protagonists side, and the protagonists chalk up another win for team principle and compassion, and they accept the defector with open, if cautious, arms...

And then a supporting character pulls out a gun and shoots the would-be redemptee in the head, because their entire family was in one of the buildings that the redemptee set on fire in the background during a previous one-off episode. 

And, to be clear, this wouldn’t just be a mean gag or a one-off commentary on audience sympathies or out-of-universe discourse on redemption arcs. Episodes going forward would deal with the fallout of such a nakedly ruthless act of retaliation.

 It’s now next to impossible to deal with would-be defectors in good faith anymore because it’s been proven the heroes can’t stop acts of vengeance in their own homes, its not clear who among the heroes is even extending the olive branch in good faith to begin with or if it was always a trap. If things ever turn in the heroes favor, Bad guys are now escalating the stakes and fighting to the last man, because they know they aren’t gonna be forgiven if the nicest person in their ranks couldn’t be forgiven. There’s internal political tension about what to do with the assassin (nothing, they need the manpower) and how to go about disavowing the action when half the group doesn’t even want to disavow it- the redemptee might have been nice, but they also burned buildings full of innocent people, a lot of people are just glad they weren’t the ones who had to pull the trigger. Friendships end over this.

A lot of narratives about forgiveness in these kinds of shows are more about how it’s interpersonally healthy and beneficial to forgive and let people grow. I want to see a narrative about how that’s also, like, politically the only path forward if you don’t want to lock your society into an Orestian blood bath, which I have always found to be a much more compelling argument against revenge in general, just as, like, a rule utilitarianism thing. I want a bittersweet ending that’s essentially tracible back to that cathartic, unretractable decision to kill that one likable flunky.

If you're considering including a supernatural transformation in your story, it can happen in several ways. One way is for your character to accidentally transform. Here are some positives and negatives to think about before you decide:

Positives: 

Adds unpredictability: Accidental transformation can add an element of surprise to your fiction. Readers may be more likely to wonder what happens next.

Creates chaos: A sudden transformation would likely throw your character's life into disarray, which can make things interesting. They might need to learn their new powers and adjust to life with new rules, disadvantages, or advantages. As a writer, you can explore how this upends your hero's life.

Feels natural: Sometimes accidental transformations feel natural and less contrived way of gaining supernatural abilities. It might make things a little more believable. 

Negatives:

Can feel contrived: In the same breath, accidental transformations can also give a coincidental tone. It can feel like an easy way out for the writer when giving characters supernatural powers. You might leave readers wondering if you're trying to move the story too quickly.

Lack of agency: The character didn't choose this. They have no control over it. Sometimes giving your character a choice to get themselves into trouble is a great way to create conflict. They got themselves into this mess now they need to get out. Accidental transformations can make it seem more like a character is a pawn in the story instead of a participant. 

Limits exploration: Random transformations limit the ability to explore themes like fate and destiny.