#randy tracker

[youre-only-gay-once]

Colter Shaw and Randy | Tracker 3×15 (No Good Deed)

[fandomrelatedshowerthoughts]

Randy [last name still unknown] from Tracker is basically the metaphorical second coming of Alec Hardison from Leverage (or at least has even more Hardison energy than Colter has Elliot energy) and I'm not just saying that because both black hackers as they also share personality-type, junk-food-junkie-ness, being more than just the techie kind of geek, the ADHD-coding and the being the only ones on their respective teams without any kind of major traumatic experience they've been through so they're the one sunshining everyone else out of the darkness

[thewickedbohemian]

No I'm not just making an unpopular opinions poll for Tracker so I can have done one for every show I've been watching this season

So which of these do you most agree with (if you agree with multiple but not all-of-the-above-equally pick the one you most agree with above the others)?

needle drops sometimes too hard to hear in the name of not drowning out dialogue

if ABC shows could cross with it High Potential or 911 Nashville should

team needs to be all together in person more often (esp. Colter/Randy teamup)

someone on team should be queer to make up for no Teddi and Velma

if justifiable at law firm not just helping him, team needs psychologist

they need to do more with the paranormal shit

at least one character should be canonically neurodivergent in some way

All of the above

Voting ended onApr 6

Explanations

I keep having to use either tunefind or the kind souls on the subreddit to play what's the name of that song because half the time when there's a needle drop I don't just know-already-because-I'm-a-country-geek I can't make out the lyrics because this show's mixing is sometimes as shit as its outdoor lighting

not sure if cross-network crossovers could happen but why these particular shows is 911 Nashville it feels like has similar themes (not to mention a similar vibed soundtrack) and High Potential has a mythology-mystery involving an abduction (if he can't find Roman for her maybe to make this still end happily he gets Morgan close enough to where she could find him herself) and it feels like tones and teams (as I feel like an easy crossover catalyst would have Colter and someone else in the field teaming up with the Major Crimes squad as I feel like it'd be easy to give certain characters past connections) would go together well

on a related note while I'm glad the support people have now got one base it still kinda doesn't feel as ensemble-y as it should (a lot of shows I've been watching on broadcast TV other than Brilliant Minds, High Potential and both 911s kinda feel like instead of a team it's just one hero and a bunch of supports and where's the found-family vibes) so I feel like it should be more than occasionally-Reenie-before-S3-decided-we-needed-to-focus-more-on-Reenie-the-lawyer and Billie-once-a-season-seemingly-but-she's-not-really-a-part-of-the-team being recurring field partners with Colter that's why I got so hype about both "Memories" (the episode with Colter and Randy in the field together) and the fact that we're apparently getting another team-up like that next week please let him being a regular mean this gets to be a regular thing with them being partners-in-person

since a lot of people esp. on the subreddit have been engaging in Discourse^TM about the team switcheroos I feel like the best way to satisfy them would be someone else being queer (but done in a natural way) to make up for lost representation. Heck with some of the series motifs about masculinity it'd even be thematically fitting to make Colter bisexual (and I'm not just saying this as a bit of a Colter/Randy shipper).

I don't know if someone in this role would be justifiable in the law firm side of things but if it would be then at the very least Colter's support team needs someone who's to them what Sweets was to the team on Bones (psychologist able to both help with the psychological-related aspects of cases and help the mental health of the team (as it feels like Reenie desperately needs one for her apparent PTSD and that feels like the narratively best way to incorporate that just make the psychologist part of the squad))

we've had canon ufos and witchcraft and Colter somehow able to walk through fire and I find it hard to believe with all the Supernatural references on the show we're just gonna ignore it. Not saying supernatural jobs have to take over the show but the weird shit should get out of limbo

Although it's neurodivergence vs physical disability this is another situation of making up for lost representation plus the whole team kinda seems to have that vibe, y'know, if you read the source material where you're actually metaphorically seeing through his eyes Colter comes across as very autistic (though the TV show does have a bit of a case), while I know autism and what my High-Potential-fan brain sometimes calls HPI are not the same thing Reenie does seem to have a little of that vibe and implicitly a lot of credentials given where she's allowed to practice, I swear me seeing ADHD in Randy isn't just wishful-thinking-y-projection-y-shit or confusing it for being a Ne-dom enneagram 7 and Mel seems the most neurodivergent of them all like she could have autism, ADHD or both (and it doesn't help the impression of her behavior being that that she's also got the kind of doe eyes that if Tracker was as big a fandom as it should be in more than just lusting after Shaw bros would inspire a bunch of autism creature or "stares at you with my big autistic eyes" memes)

[youre-only-gay-once]

Mel Day & Randy | Tracker 3×06

[youre-only-gay-once]

Tracker | 3×11 (To the Bone)

[youre-only-gay-once]

Mel Day and Randy | Tracker 3×11 (To The Bone)

[thewickedbohemian]

Announcing the #HappyTrackerDays writing challenge

So since the Tracker midseason hiatus is seemingly significantly longer than last season's for no apparent reason and because the Tracker fan activity on this blue hellsite seems rather one-sided and because we all need something light after that cliffhanger despite how I think the not-the-protag guy's still gonna make it too, I thought I might want to take it into my own hands to inspire the rest of the Tracker fandom (who really need a better demonym than the one I've seen around as Trackerbackers just makes me think of tracker jackers from The Hunger Games) to try and be more actively creating fanwork with some fic etc. challenges. And why not start with a holiday one (that since tonight is also the first night of Hanukkah I thought why not make more inclusive than just some kind of 12 Days Of Trackmas type event)

So as this is the first of this sort of thing I've done and also starting in the middle of the month this won't be one of those prompt-a-day things, just choose prompts from a list you feel comfortable writing on (I did 10 for each to halfway between 8 days of Hanukkah and 12 days of Christmas) and try to have at least one Tracker fanfic finished by when the challenge ends.

Rules

The deadline for the challenge is December 31st, 2025. People writing works for this challenge must tag them with #HappyTrackerDays and #HappyTrackerDays 2025 and post them on Tumblr by no later than that (other than that, since this isn't a prompt-a-day thing take all the time you need as long as they're up on Tumblr and/or Ao3 by the 31st or before and if you finish your first one before feel free to write another with a different prompt). Also I am currently on the Ao3 account waiting list, as long as you tag your fic with the tags I mentioned once I have an account I will create a collection for any works this challenge brings about

While non-Jews can write on the Hanukkah prompts they should only do so if they feel comfortable and either know or can research from reputable sources enough about Judaism and Hanukkah to know what they're talking about

Writing fanfics that ship a self-insert or original female character with either Colter or Russell Shaw while not not-allowed are at least strongly discouraged if you have other ideas as that's most of what Tracker fanfics exist right now online and part of the point of these challenges I'm doing is to diversify that (so if you truly want to write one for this you have to (if you can finish this second one by the deadline) write a second one on a different prompt that isn't like this)

No bigotry or use of generative AI allowed

Minimum fic length must be 300 words

If your idea turns multi-chapter you only have to have the first chapter up by the deadline to be a part of this, you're not required to write the whole thing by the deadline

Even though these holiday prompts are mostly intended to imply fic on the lighter side, your fic can be whatever you want it to be rating-wise just make sure you TAG IT APPROPRIATELY

Only reblog this post if you're interested in the challenge

Prompts

Christmas Prompts

Christmas traditions

Kiss under the mistletoe

Christmas music

Hallmark Christmas movies

Santa Claus

Finding the perfect present

A Christmas Carol

Christmas decorations or lights

Literal Christmas magic (as lest we forget the supernatural does exist in the Tracker universe, up to you if you want to go the Supernatural route with it or not)

homage to your favorite non-Hallmark non-Die-Hard Christmas movie

Hanukkah Prompts (Feel free to make any of the main characters Jewish if you feel that's the way to fill any of the first few prompts, just keep any jokes that might arise at Jewish stereotypes etc. they'd inadvertently fulfill if made Jewish (like Reenie being a lawyer who is also a little shit) either in good taste or put them in the mouth of the kind of bad guy who wouldn't say them in good taste and no, take it from someone with a mom with an as "what kind of name is that for a Jewish girl to have" name, Colter could still hypothetically be Jewish despite his mom's name being Mary Dove)

Menorah lighting

Latkes or sufganiyot

Dreidel

Mixed families/the "December dilemma"

the Maccabees

Miracles

The many and the few

Something lasting eight days (or even eight hours if that works better for your idea) that was enough to last only one

Refusal to assimilate

a job where a Jew goes missing on Hanukkah for reasons unrelated to hate crimes/antisemitism (think the kind of thing Tracker would do for a Hanukkah special if it had an actually-Jewish regular character enough to warrant one)

Misc. Prompts (Generic winter ones and some that could work for either Christmas or Hanukkah depending on what the writer celebrates/if they choose to write any mains as Jewish)

Snowed in

Visiting family (either character visiting family or their family visiting them) for the holidays

Outdoor winter sports (skiing, snowboarding or sledding)

Ice skating

Team holiday party

[Preferred pairing of yours] spending their first holidays as a couple once officially together

[Preferred pairing of yours as even the supports have gone out in the field with Colter sometimes] trapped somewhere in the cold finding warmth in each other

Snowball fight

Sleigh ride

city or town holiday festival

So as I said, here's the prompts, if any of these inspires some festive Tracker fanfic ideas for you, reblog this post if you're interested in doing this challenge (also maybe cut me a little slack on how everything's set up, first time doing this shit)

Good luck and it'd be a true Hanukkah miracle if anyone writes for any Hanukkah prompts and I'm not the only Jewish Tracker fan on Tumblr

[thewickedbohemian]

Thoughts on a Tracker that was my favorite so far and not just because of the Leverage energy or Colter and Randy being field-partner perfection again proving why Chris Lee being a regular now means this kind of team-up needs to happen at least once a season minimum (in addition to more excuses for them to be together in the flesh their chemistry is amazing <3)

ooh gorgeous

so that's where we are

and there goes the ankle monitor...

Randy and Colter in the field yay

so we've got even more of a Hardison type

and Mel being a Parker about it

whole team in field?

digging the rest of Randy's fit but orange no not with his skin tone

that's gotta be hard for a kid like that

I'm not crying you're crying

I guess that answers the question of why the ankle monitor didn't start metaphorically screaming

I'm just trying to figure out what the hell is Randy's necklace (the medallion-looking one)

that's an anxiety-inducing amount of dog barking

okay not real dogs

I was wondering where he was while Colter was snooping around, right behind him

and this is why we need more of them in the field like this, y'know, opposite-yet-compatible buddy-cop-but-not-actually (enough so when they're together-in-the-flesh I'm surprised more people don't ship them y'know they fit the certain procedural trope)

what else does a guy on house arrest do

and now we have a second missing person

meanwhile Reenie's going full Sophie

at least another seed planted in Colter's mind (and gotta love Tracker playing with gender expectations, guys being vulnerable, girls hiding pain)

so this guy's just anti-hacker

never tell someone stay in the car, remember what happened the last time Randy was in the field with you

fucking knew it

good he realized the cover wasn't gonna work unlike last time

meanwhile why is nobody/nothing here

both investigating in their own ways and what's with the gadget

and even more drone parts

look out fucking behind you

meanwhile Colter with the save insert Librarian/Guardian joke here

oh so he just got dragged into this unwillingly

found where she was

whoa dude take a breath

I love how them and Reenie are having to prove he's a good guy

that's something new, the hack don't work

what are we not seeing

meanwhile Simon keeping being good samaritan

is this just 'cause he rescued her or does she like him

the friends together and how much has Randy bounced around (given both this and the last time we saw him in the field it was in two different states that aren't where he is now both of which he had a past connection too and speaking of Randy lore we still don't know if he shares his cousin's last name)

oh shit is she the bad guy

oh shiit that's what kind of rich husband

Randy's not gonna like what he finds and what the hell is Reenie gonna do

and more playing with gender as Bruna exploits the damsel in distress angle

and sometimes Colter's easy way is the best way

follow that car

wow that's a lotta guns and classic Tracker low lighting

let's see if Randy stays in the car this time

and more blood on Colter's hands

Randy makes the direct rescue, he deserves to, that's his guy

oh so it wasn't an attraction thing

good on him declining the reward

wonder if the wish for repayment was foreshadowing (and since I know there are people out there who ship Coltrand (and I'm not surprised, they do kinda Fit A Procedural Trope), there's things one could do for ship-adjacent fics with the kind of bond/debt that Colter saving Randy's life could be thought of as creating between them)

that hug was everything

thought they were gonna travel back together but I guess Randy needs to see his friend

"whatever happened to face to face conversation" yeah Colter take your own advice and take this job as a lesson, you deserve to not just have your support squad supporting you over the damn phone

I get the feeling if that was supposed to be a date it would have been more obviously framed as one and as not their first (as there was at least one other time they shared a meal together in another diner, that time that they had pancakes for dinner after Colter talked about the special significance of pancakes in his relationship with his mother)