As a looooong-time Tumblr user, watching how Heated Rivalry fandom is expressing itself on other platforms is so cute to me. Baby's first all-consuming love for a ship? So cute! Enjoy yourself bbs. No, no, don't put that in your mouth. No you can't touch the actors, sweetie. Yes, I know you want to. That's what fic is for. Yep, nope, yes it's ok and normal to feel like you're vibrating all the time. It'll mellow to a manageable amount soon. Or, sometime. Probably. Here, give me your hand. Here's AO3 and Tumblr. You're welcome here. Have fun! Awww! *grandmotherly pinch to the cheek* Precious! Make some edits and I'll hang them on the fridge!
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(I don’t even like this storyline but I’m going to make it work for me)
Buck tried not to dwell. Deirdre had told him that a cousin lived in Los Angeles and knew Theo, was happy to take to him in.
She’d let this cousin know that Theo’s donor wanted to keep in contact, but she also wanted Theo to have time to settle in, so she hadn’t connected them yet. No names or anything, even, so Buck couldn’t accidentally run into them. Or get Athena to run a background check. Maddie had laughed at that.
“Come on, Buck, you know they do that before Deirdre places a child anywhere,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, but what if she missed something?” Buck glowered.
Maddie softened. “He’s fine, Buck. You’ll see him soon. Trust her. She’s been doing this a long time.”
So Buck distracted himself. His knitting circle, baking, picking up extra shifts, babysitting.
Nash had a doctor’s appointment, so Buck had Jee for some Uncle Buck and Jee time. She’d been telling all of them about a playground she went to for a friend’s at daycare’s birthday party, and Maddie had given him the address so he could take her.
He was standing next to the swings, watching her (“I can do it myself, Uncle Buck,” she’d proclaimed, only allowing him to give the starting push) when he heard a familiar voice yell “MISTER POOP!”
He barely had time to brace himself before Theo ran into his leg.
“Hey, buddy,” Buck grinned widely and dropped to one knee to talk to him. “Where’s your, uh, adult, Theo?”
“His name is Uncle Buck, not Mister Poop,” Jee interrupted, glare and tone somewhat dampened by the fact that she was still swinging.
“Theo,” another familiar voice said, and Buck slowly looked up to see Tommy staring down at them.
“Tommy!” Theo grinned. “This is Mister Poop!”
Jee and Theo quickly reached a truce on Buck’s name and started swinging next to each other.
Buck and Tommy were still staring at each other.
“I, uh, I can’t believe I never knew Connor was your cousin,” Buck blurted out.
“I think it’s more like second cousin?” Tommy scratched his head. “Mom’s side of the family tree is big and confusing.”
“You don’t really look alike,” Buck admitted. “Maybe the curls. The smile, a bit.”
Tommy grinned. “Connor always took after his mom.”
“Are his parents not—?” Buck stopped.
“Oh, they are,” Tommy said. “But his dad’s… not doing so great, these days. We visit about every other week.”
“That’s, uh, that’s great,” Buck said around a lump in his throat. “That Theo has so many people.”
“A brigade of cousins,” Tommy agreed. “Theo, we’re going to sit on the bench, okay?”
“Stay in eyesight,” Theo finished.
Tommy nodded. “You got it.” He guided Buck over the bench. “So, you’re Theo’s…”
“Donor, not dad,” Buck said. “Hen and I talked a lot about it before I said yes.”
“Right.” Tommy nodded. “Deirdre told me you lived in the city. Theo’s been asking when we could see you, but Deirdre wanted to give him a little more time to adjust.”
“Sorry,” nervous laughter bubbled out of Buck. “Jee was at a birthday party here and wanted to come back. I didn’t — this isn’t really close to you.”
“No, but it’s close to where Connor and Kam lived,” Tommy said.
“I’m— Tommy, I’m so sorry,” Buck said.
“I didn’t really know them that well,” Tommy admitted. “Growing up, we didn’t spend a lot of time with Mom’s family. After I came back from the army, I reconnected with them but,” he shrugged.
“How come, uh, how come you have Theo then?” Buck asked.
“I live closest.” Tommy smiled at him. “Really, that’s part of it. Our family’s all up and down the coast, but I’m here, he can stay at the same school, see his friends, his cousins visit on the weekends, we see his grandparents — they’re out in the Valley. And he’s a great kid, you know?”
“What about when you’re on shift?” Buck asked. “Is there. I mean. Who, uh, looks after him?”
“Well, I took some time off at first,” Tommy said. “And I’m doing six months at the academy while Theo gets settled. He has before and after school care if I need it, but my hours are pretty consistent right now.”
“Okay is relative,” Tommy said slowly, “but yes. He’s got a really good child psychologist, and we have a family therapist. I think being around people he knows is helping. And therapy is helping me adjust.”
“Oh you’re, uh, doing that for yourself too?”
“Yeah,” Tommy smiled at the ground. “Yeah, it’s been good.”
“As much as any four year old,” Tommy grinned. “He’s got a lot of energy. I’m trying to get him into soccer or basketball or something.”
“You think sports will help?” Buck asked.
“Help with what?” Tommy looked at him.
“With his… hyperactivity,” Buck said softly.
“Oh!” Tommy looked surprised. “Well. I may have stumbled onto something for that by accident. But I think sports would just give him something to focus on and look forward to, a little more structure outside of hanging out with an old guy like me, you know?”
“What, uh, what worked?” Buck asked.
“Theo woke up one night when I was working on a model,” Tommy said. “He didn’t want to go back to sleep, so I gave him one of the simpler kits to play with. And uh, well, we have a lot of model planes now.” He gave Buck a conspiratorial look. “I had to redo the earlier ones but he’s getting pretty good at doing the kid ones with just a little bit of help.”
“He’s not sleeping?” Buck frowned.
Tommy laughed. “That’s what you took away from that? He’s had a couple bad nights, yeah. Woke me up once when he crawled into bed because he wanted to make sure I was still there. But the psychologist says that’s pretty normal and nothing to be concerned about.”
“Sorry, sorry, I’m not trying to question you, it’s just…” Buck sighed. “Sorry, I met him again at a weird time for both of us.”
“I can understand that,” Tommy said. “Dare I ask why he calls you Mister Poop?”
Buck flushed. “Oh. I was trying to — wait, do you know about the electrical tower thing?”
“Of course that was you.” Tommy said it with a grin. “Got it. He can be pretty stubborn when he wants.”
“Yep,” Buck sighed, shoulders slumping.
“Hey,” Tommy knocked their shoulders together gently. “What’s that about?”
“It kind of feels like I gave him all my worst traits,” Buck muttered.
“You mean your boundless enthusiasm, ability to make friends, easy smile?”
“He’s four,” Tommy stressed. “He’s testing limits. That’s what kids do.”
“If his donor was someone different,” Buck started.
“Then he’d be a different kid,” Tommy said. “Who would probably still have those qualities at age four.”
“Jee isn’t like that.”
“Jee has different parents, and I remember you telling me what a little terror she used to be,” Tommy said. “The toilet paper all over your loft, remember? She ran you ragged.”
Buck tried to smile at the memory.
“Look, Theo has been asking for you to come visit,” Tommy said, changing the subject. “Why don’t you send me your schedule and we can find a night for dinner? He really wants you to see his room.”
“Pizza!”
They both startled to see Theo and Jee right in front of them.
“Mister Buck likes pizza,” Theo repeated.
“Yeah, we, uh, we had that when you came to my house,” Buck said. “You remember that?” Theo nodded.
“We can do pizza,” Tommy agreed.
“I want pizza,” Jee interrupted.
“Sweetie, your mom already made dinner,” Buck said. “It’s going to be ready when we get home.”
Jee crossed her arms. “I want to have pizza with Theo and Tommy.”
Buck and Tommy exchanged a look.
“Well, actually, we are going to have dinner with Theo’s grandparents tonight,” Tommy said smoothly. “But if it’s okay with your mom and dad, we could have pizza another time.”
Jee considered this, head tilted to the side as she thought. “Okay,” she said finally.
“And we have to head home,” Buck checked his watch. “It was really nice to see you again, Theo.”
“You too, Mister Buck.” Theo waved as they started their separate ways.
“Bye Tommy! Bye Theo!” Jee yelled over her shoulder.
Buck was buckling her into her car seat when she asked, “Are you and Tommy going to be a family now, like Mommy and Daddy?”
Buck nearly choked. “What makes you say that, Jee?”
“Mommy and Daddy had me and then they were a family, and now Tommy has Theo,” Jee said simply.
“I— it’s not really the same,” Buck said.
Jee pouted. “But I like Tommy. And Theo’s okay. He’s good at swings.”
“Well, maybe we’ll see them again,” Buck settled on.
Jee smiled at him. “For pizza dinner.”
“Right, for pizza.”
“But only me, not Nash,” Jee continued as Buck got in the driver’s seat and started the car. “He’s too little to eat pizza.”
“Your brother actually does eat pizza,” Buck said.
“I have to go everywhere with him,” Jee sighed. “Just Buck and Jee, no Nash!”
“We just had a Buck and Jee day,” Buck pointed out as he reversed carefully. “Maybe we can have two dinners, one with just you and one with everyone else, okay?”
I have started to think of the Jedi being blamed for the Fall of the Republic like blaming firefighters for wildfires.
They have been fighting fires (corruption) for years, but the fire is getting bigger and hotter and spreading farther. They're doing their best but there aren't enough of them to go everywhere there are fires. The Senate points them to where really big fires are, but sometimes it turns out they just want their property saved and there weren't that many people in the building. The Jedi still save lives but they have to look at the bigger picture and hope volunteers will put out the little fires because they simply don't have the people for every little fire even though they wish they did. The Senate starts restricting their use of water. Then an arsonist, Palpatine, is made mayor and takes control of their budget.
Dooku and the CIS start lighting fires on purpose. Palpatine let's Dooku know where the most flammable places are.
And the firefighters (Jedi) keep fighting the fire. They can't not fight the fire. People will die if they don't fight the fire. Then the government is like: there are not enough firefighters to fight the fire, but here is a large population of people we will force to fight the fire with you. You shouldn't have qualms, apparently an individual that used to work for you is the one that paid for their training so really they're your responsibility. You'll be in charge of them on the field and get to watch them die, but we control their lives and have decided they're not people so we don't have to pay them. Good deal. We are good at fighting fires.
And the Jedi can't say no because they need to stop the fire and they can't do it alone at this point. Many of the Jedi are killed in their attempts to stop the gasoline fire Dooku lights and it shows how badly they need these new people.
Luckily, the people drafted to fight with them, the clones are also good at fighting fires! It's dangerous many clones will die, but despite having no choice they stand beside the Jedi bravely. The Jedi do everything in their power to protect them. They fight alongside them and try to minimize loss.
There are a few Jedi that get overwhelmed by anger or trauma. They become arsonists themselves, but the number of those that do can be counted on one hand compared to the thousands of Jedi that continue to fight fires.
Sadly, the clones have explosives inside them that Palpatine, the mayor, has the trigger for. Just when it feels like the fire is under control and the people lighting the fires have been stopped, Palpatine sets them off.
Most of the clones are never the same. They think the Jedi had to have set off the bombs inside them, even though they would have never thought them capable of it before. Most never learn the truth. They hate the Jedi for being traitors.
Most of the firefighters die. And their families too. Their children and uncles and aunts and grandparents, and cousins even if they weren't capable of fighting fires they all get burned to death.
The mayor declares it was the firefighters lighting fires and outlaws being a firefighter.
Some of the Jedi survive. Some of them can't bring themselves to fight fires anymore. Some of them keep doing it because it's what they were trained to do. A lot of them are novices who didn't know all the best techniques, but they find their own methods to put out fires and teach others how to do it as well.
And the rebellion begins because when you see fire the logical thing to do is put it out, but all the firefighters are dead or in hiding and being a firefighter is illegal. There's no one to call so the town's people start doing it themselves, inspired by the Jedi.
This becomes extremely important when the mayor makes a device that can light entire cities on fire at the push of a button.
Anyway that's my metaphor and maybe explains my point of view when it comes to the Jedi.
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oh Drifter my Drifter you did not stand a snowball's chance in hell at hiding your attraction to either of your love interests. zero for two bc your lovers are
Eleanor Nightingale: actual empath and mind reader
VRGCA Roathe: had to know how to read people to survive
Tyranny taking on the form of a child really clicked something for me. There is something about her that is very much like a child with how she interacts with people: asking very blunt questions, not understanding why people don't do what they want, how she clings on to Wick but also wants independence.
Like when she was asking uncomfortable questions about Ulbid's wife it was like: oh she's being demony, but really her blunt curiosity was basically someone who has only been in this reality six months and doesn't know how to navigate it and is curious about everything.
And after when she takes the knife impulsively and begs the others not to think of her as evil. It really puts how she reacts to things in a new light.
And I'm not trying to infantalize her. Her mind is that of an adult, it's that her newness to being a person means she hasn't figured out all the things people grow into.
Also why Wick is probably comforting while they're on the road. He's been with her the whole time, and he's also very new to how the world works outside his family so they're sort of learning together and she can cover her own ignorance by asking or doing things on his behalf. Wick asking his own blunt ignorant questions to Thimble.
