Communal grief should be healing in theory. Although no two people have the same relationship to the lost party, they will at least have an idea of what it was like to have that person in their life, and the size of the hole left by their absence.
The crux of the conflicts in 9x5 stem from the inability of the characters to see how the others are grieving.
For Harry, dressing up as Bobby was supposed to be a cheeky Halloween costume, but also a way to honor his first responder mother. For Athena, Harry dressing up as Bobby is a mockery; a horrifying reminder of what she lost as well as a brief hope that he could still be alive.
For Buck, baking is a way for him to honor Bobby's memory. For the 118, it's a way for them to indulge in Buck's latest distraction. To Buck, the Ouija Board was a fun way to reconnect with Bobby on Halloween. To Eddie, the Ouija Board represents false hope for those seeking understanding/guidance. This is the first Halloween he's had with Christopher since the Kim Incident. He just wants to eat pizza, watch a movie, and not accidentally trigger Chris with his dead mother again.
With everyone dealing with their own grief and a world that keeps spinning and throwing out new obstacles, it'll take some time to get back on track. However, on track doesn't mean back to the way things were. Eddie will forever be changed by his compounded grief on top of all the realizations he had in season 8.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who finds the goatee hot 😂 he pulls it off so well. I don’t know why but it reminds me of the 90s bad boy vibe and I love it lol
and also goes with Oliver’s 2001 MTV vj look he had going on last night!!! literally it’s hot 😭😭😭
I wanted to come back to this post now that donor baby’s (fondly referred to as Unethically Sourced White Baby, or USWB, by the server I’m in) return has occurred, but haven’t be certain on how to formulate my response. I tried. So, in a (long) defence of USWB:
I think, as a donor conceived person, that the discourse regarding the TheoandBuck of it all so far is just missing some context? People may just not know what it’s like to be donor conceived and/or adopted, have forgotten how Hen’s family is constructed, and/or be ignorant to the vast amount of ethical issues surrounding sperm- and egg-donation. That’s fine. I’ve just been seeing a lot of accusations of bio-essentialism and found family dismissal (which the show doesn’t do), and personality retconning (the behaviour is consistent with the plot’s introduction in season 6) all to give Buck a baby, and I’m not sure I agree.
I viewed a lot of Connor and Kameron’s behaviour during the dinner, in addition to their reasoning for seeking out Buck for help in season 6, as pointing to Theo being an attempt at a designer baby. Sperm- and egg-donation exists in a precarious position that can shift into eugenics rather easily: though people with genetically hereditary diseases are often barred from donating for health reasons, more and more people are pointing out that refusing donations based on mental disorders may be related to the eugenics (and thus, creation of ‘designer babies’) driving the industry, and I’m inclined to agree. Connor and Kameron largely didn’t seem to be asking for help in handling Theo (other than the “Could we speak to your mother?” comment), and instead sought out someone to blame. It didn’t come from my side of the gene pool, you better not be a criminal, he’s absolutely your kid, we’ve visited a number of professionals and none of their suggestions have helped and he might be [said ominously] Diagnosed with Something so we must ask if you are too and withheld it from us.
It’s no secret at this point that disorders like ADHD and ASD may be hereditary. It’s also no secret that it doesn’t have to be: realistically, Theo could’ve exhibited the same behaviours and symptoms if Connor had been his biological father. There’s fine line between ‘it’s okay if you’d rather your child didn’t have this’ and ‘it’s okay to pick and choose genetics to have The Best Child’: you cannot truly remove ‘a person with autism/ADHD shouldn’t donate sperm or eggs’ from eugenics, and you especially cannot disregard the optics of Connor and Kameron specifically choosing a white man to donate when Connor isn’t white.
Prospective parents should, of course, be able to make an informed decision, but as my mum put it: Buck’s behaviour, to Buck, does not include symptoms of ADHD. It’s just his behaviour. He helped them make an informed decision with the information he himself could provide, based on the questions he was asked. To go to his house and essentially blame his DNA for Theo’s behaviour (great parts of which are not solely caused by undiagnosed ADHD, because there is such thing as permissive parenting, especially if none of the four experts they consulted could come up with even slightly helpful solutions and methods) is very plainly weird. Any parent worth their salt of a donor conceived person wouldn’t blame all their child’s ‘bad’ behaviour on genetics. They’d be removing their own hand in raising the child. That, specifically, would be bio-essentialist.
The show doesn’t have a habit of using that line of thinking. Mara and Denny are not biologically related to Hen and Karen, but there’s no doubt they’re not their kids. The fandom keeps comparing Chris’ behaviour to Buck’s, Buck’s to Bobby’s, May and Harry’s to Bobby’s, and nothing is written accidentally. The show itself even has suggested Buck’s impulsive streak comes from his parents’ emotional neglect: the flashbacks of Buck Begins are steeped in the idea that he was desperate to receive their attention, and getting hurt was the only way he could.
I could go on like this. Had Bobby’s father not been an alcoholic, Bobby likely would not have drunk the whiskey after his death to connect with him. Had Ramon Diaz not had a job that had him away from home for such long stretches of time, Eddie likely wouldn’t have been so insistent on what a father’s role is in a family, and might not have joined the army after Shannon got pregnant. You’re coloured by your environment and the way you grew up, not just by your genetics. My own behaviour is most similar to that of my legal father’s: nurture, not nature.
Of course I’m not ignorant to the show’s potential implication that Buck may be better at handling Theo because they’re related—or at least, because he understands his own mind and behaviours, and as such would understand Theo’s. But then he wasn’t shown to be better at handling Theo. He was shown to be somewhat capable handling him whilst babysitting, which is different from parenting: when he can’t give Theo all of his attention, Theo almost sets his kitchen on fire.
Disliking this storyline doesn’t mean it’s inherently an amoral depiction of something, much like enjoying a storyline doesn’t mean it’s inherently a good portrayal. It ultimately exists in a grey area in a reasonably progressive show that, from time to time, proves itself as one of the more democrat-aligned shows of American procedurals. But as someone donor conceived, I simply don’t see this storyline as particularly problematic, as Buck doesn’t even want to be Theo’s parent—he’ll (perhaps only initially) be a foster parent at most, underlined by the show (and Buck himself) differentiating between ‘Buck’ and ‘next of kin’. And if anyone could encourage Buck to foster, it would be Eddie, as Eddie’s been concerned with people falling through the cracks of the safety net the entirety of season 9. That would be the found family you’re looking for: choosing to help and to love.
So before you write this storyline off as fridging, bio-essentialist, or out of character, please remember that the show has a habit of relating a child’s behaviour to how they’ve been parented. Remember that Buck doesn’t consider himself to be Theo’s dad. And remember that in season 6, Connor and Kameron were pushy, stepped over boundaries, and chose Buck because he was Connor’s tall, handsome, heroic, (white), friend without a criminal background. Their behaviour hasn’t been retconned since; it’s just been built upon. If that means some viewers therefore see Buck of all characters as the better option, then so be it.
Hello hello! A detailed view of my day at Rescueverse New Jersey comin' in below! I debated for a while on whether I was showing my face but I posted all the pics on my social media and my outfit is pretty unique, so I guess we're going full reveal (pls be nice)
The Schedule
NOTE: Everything is in approximate times. The schedule did get more off as the day went on, but by the end it was only about an hour behind! Lowkey I blame Ryan - either all his events went long or he's chronically late lmfao
10 AM: Registration
We arrived at the hotel at about 9 AM. Parking was super easy and there were some people there, but not a lot. We got inside by 9:15 and registered right away (they said registration didn't open until 10 but they got us all checked in early!). Then we went to stand in line to get into the conference room where we'd wait to be called for photo ops and such. There were maybe 50 people in front of us.
10:30-ish: Oliver's photo op
So last minute my friend @littlefinnnnn and I decided we wanted a solo Oliver photo op, and I'm so glad we did. He was happy and smiling from the moment we came in and as soon as he saw me he said "Did you knit that shirt?" I told him I crocheted it and he was floored. He complimented both of our shirts and was just so nice I love him
10:50-ish: Ryliver's photo op
After that, we got right back in line to get pics with Ryan and Oliver. The first people who came out of the photo op room were dying bc Ryan's hair was fluffy wavy perfect and thank god for the warning bc that man looked beautiful. Oliver was happy to see us again and my friend gave them bracelets and we got our pic.
After the pic, Ryan looked me right in the eyes and said thanks and that it was nice to meet me. I bluescreened so hard those eyes are even more dangerous in person jfc
11:15-11:30-ish: Ryan's selfies
Up next was Ryan's selfies! He showed up a bit late but I think it was because his photo ops went long. He was like "nice to see you ladies again" and took our selfies for us - highly recommend bc:
After that, we had as much free time as we'd have all day, so we decided to get lunch. I heard there weren't really options at Chicago, but the hotel here had a concession stand with salads and burgers and chicken tenders and muffins/snack stuff. It is probably venue specific though so don't take my word!
We also went to check out the vendor room around this time. There was about 6-7 vendors there selling various merch and it was cute! I got to meet some 911 content creators selling stuff and it was cool :) Did end up getting a buddie backpack and I can't wait to use it lol.
1:10 PM: Oliver/Kenny/Aisha photo op
Next, it was time for me and my other friend to get our Oliver/Kenny/Aisha photo op. There were like 6 people getting this particular op so it was a lot more chill. We were the first ones in line so while they were setting everything up Kenny (in his leather jacket just to kill me I think) saw me, said "118!" to my shirt. Oliver jumped in immediately like "she made that!!! She crocheted it!" and Kenny paused, looked me over, and said "that is impressive." They talked about it a bit and I lost my mind idek if I said anything but I definitely forgot to tell them the pose I wanted but it still worked out nicely I think :)
1:45: Kenny's selfies
After that we went to Kenny's selfie line and god. That man hugged probably every person in line. He wanted to talk to everyone and it was so sweet. When we got up front he was like "Crochet shirt is back!" and we got our pic. He gave us another hug and I held his hands for a minute while we thanked each other and I think I'm in love btw
2:25: Ryan's autographs
This is when the day really started to get behind that I saw. Aisha and Oliver both had private M&Gs happening at 2:30 and this was supposed to start at 2:15. It did not start until about 2:25 so I got to cut the line. It was a little rushed because of that but he did laugh at my picture choice so that made my day :)
2:30: M&G with Aisha
After that a bunch of us ran to the third floor for our M&Gs. I can't say a lot about what was said in there but it was really nice to sit in a room with Aisha and just get to talk to her in such an intimate setting. The dog from her insta stories was there and I was sitting right next to her so the dog got passed to me and I almost cried ily ily ily Aisha. She was so excited about getting selfies with us too and she took a few with me :)
(Also side note that I didn't get back to the panel/autograph room until 3:15 and Ryan was STILL signing autographs for like 15 minutes after that)
3:15-5: Kenny/Aisha + Ryliver panels
So, I sent most of my updates to @911onabcbts as they were happening, and you can find a full video of the panel on their blog, but for recordkeeping's sake, by big takeaways were:
In the episode where the mom with cancer called 911 when she was dying so her daughter didn't have to take care of it: apparently Kenny was like "Chimney's mom died in the same way why isn't he freaking out about it?" So he called Tim to remind him of this little detail and Tim said "Oh." bro completely forgot 💀
[POTENTIAL SPOILER] Someone asked Aisha/Kenny which character would be best to get stuck in a situation/elevator with, and Aisha said "You'll know when you know who isn't good to get stuck with..."
Everyone's dream character blunt rotation is Athena Grant, Except Ryan, who said Bobby (two terrible answers imo...a cop and a sober person but okay)
Ryan really did NOT want to tell people he was supposed to work with Athena before the Bobby's death storyline but the crowd bullied it out of him lmao. When people asked why the plotline got scrapped he said "no comment" Ryan give me 20 mins alone with you and a bottle of tequila
Someone asked Oliver what Buck thought of Artemis II and he said "It proved to him that the moon landing was faked because why are they just sailing around it now when they walked on it 40 years ago?"
When asked which past characters (other than Bobby) they'd like to see again Oliver said he wants the Lucy Donato dynamic back hell yeah hell YEAH
Ryliver's songs for the last two episodes are Eye of the Tiger (Oliver) and Smooth Criminal (Ryan). However the other protested when they both gave their pics so who knows how accurate they are lol
Ryliver's top letterboxd picks for Buddie are
Buck: The Lion King, Zorro, Pineapple Express;
Eddie: Armageddon, Step Up (With Channing Tatum)
Ryan said Eddie should have hated Max more and did really hate him in his head for taking Buck's spot iktr
Ryan noted a good Eddie arc coming up in the last two episodes! He said it was going to go one way and then he talked to Tim about it and made him rewrite it haha
Ryan and Oliver were unaware of their canon birthdays being one day apart; they said their joint bday party theme would be cowboys...
Ryliver thinks Eddie would be a wolf as an animal, and Buck would be a lion
The actors' comfort shows:
Aisha - Love is Blind
Kenny - Real Housewives
Ryan - Scrubs (OG and reboot)
Oliver - The Office (ok whiteboy)
5: Aisha/Kenny/Oliver autographs
Finally, we ended the day getting the last of the autographs. Aisha's line was really short and fast; I got to thank her again for the M&G and for putting queer black women on my screen every week :') Then Kenny's line was probably the longest because he personalized his autographs! When we got to the front he recognized me and said "crochet shirt!!!", hyped up my shirt to his handler and the rest of the line, and shook my hand about 5 times. My last thing of the day was Oliver's autograph, and he called me "Crochet!" and was super excited to see my shirt again. I asked him if he was making one next and he told me that he fucked up the fake knitting on set so bad that their advisor couldn't fix it 😭
After all that I drove home with the biggest smile on my face. The cast was soooo nice all day and I made a lot of friends with people in line! I truly cannot talk this day up enough and even though I dropped a financially irresponsible amount of money on the day I can't feel upset about losing a single dollar because it was so worth it.
If you have any more questions pls feel free to ask, and take a look below at:
My Tips
Okay, so @buddiesystempod has an excellent crash course video for preparing for Rescueverse - I checked it out the day before I went, and I found it really helpful in knowing what to expect! However, here are my personal tips:
Bring a fan: OH MY GOD JUST TRUST ME BRING A FAN WITH YOU. Like a paper/cloth accordion fan. I pulled mine out of my bag within minutes of getting in my first line and it was in my hand for most of the day after. There are hundreds of people in the same room as you all the time, and as the season only gets warmer, you will get sweaty. I rolled up to every photo op not worried about being sweaty because I had a way to cool down! Also, it's a great way to make friends with the people around you in line!
Bring a friend: If it's at all possible for you, I highly recommend bringing a friend. Of course it's nice to have someone you know along to chat with in line, but also:
a) you can split photo op costs (every op/selfie ticket is for up to two people!)
b) you can get a little more time with the actors if you're subtle about it. My friend and I went to almost every op/autograph together, and so when we got to the front of the lines we stood together while the other talked to the guest. No one tried to shoo either of us away because it was clear we were together, and it was a nice little treat for us to have a few seconds longer, given how fast the ops go!
Bring your fear: Seriously, it's so okay if you're nervous! You'll have a few minutes in line to gawk at the guests before you get to them and ease some of your nerves. Plus everyone is SO fuckin nice. SO open and welcoming. It's impossible not to smile and feel seen around them, and I promise they really want to meet you!
Catherine O'Hara was one of the funniest actresses of her generation, maybe of all time. She made generations laugh from SCTV to Home Alone to Best in Show to Schitt's Creek, there was no one like her. She will be so dearly missed.
It’s a Tuesday on Tumblr, and the Heated Rivalry fever is showing no signs of stopping. The adaptation of Rachel Reid’s bestselling novel about rival hockey players is light on hockey and heavy on good old enemies to lovers, and we’re so here for it. Please enjoy this collection of Hollanov art (and some Skip, for balance) to tide you over til Friday.
