Fire Country

[queer_scribbling]

Some part of my brain just keeps gnawing away at bits of Fire Country ideas, but I'm just collecting them all in the comments on this post.

Comments

[queer_scribbling]

1) Trans Man!Bode

Working at the self-acceptance and self-worth at Three Rock. Some sort of affirmation from what seems like unnecessary shirtless and/or working out scenes. Idk, it's mostly just a little what-if idea.

[queer_scribbling]

Branching off of this idea:

The plotline about how Bode is Gen's father takes on a little more comedic tone in his perspective, but it's also not super light because this might be the first time he's come out as trans to different characters (possibly including a family court judge if that's what was involved in the paternity test).

Do I want to stick with a more accepting environment, or do I want to poke around at Bode being a trans man in prison in a potentially unaccepting environment?

The S2 possibility of Bode being a father brings up different questions for him. Is the 'good with kids' scene a sign of baby fever? If able to, does Bode want to carry his own kid? Is the idea of being a father fraught because he's uncomfortable with the internalized expectation that he'd carry a pregnancy eventually? Is he hoping to one day adopt or have a surrogate?

[queer_scribbling]

2) HIV+!Bode

I mostly gave this idea a hesitant poke because it'd be different for me to think about and look into. Like, a not explicitly queer man who was a drug user before he was incarcerated somewhere in the 2010s would not be another take on a 1980s/1990s queer man going through HIV and AIDS with a queer community. Mostly, I was wondering if his point of finding out would have been that S1 plotline about possibly being a transplant match for his mom's kidney (providing a new reason for him to be skipped).

[queer_scribbling]

Branching off this idea:

Some sort of alternate S2 scene where Bode is injured in the field and ultimately talks to Diego while getting treated. May or may not be a way to introduce a lack of resources in prison where Bode can ask some questions.

A sufficiently funny set up could really make it awkward for Bode if he's got any sex or partner disclosure questions, since I definitely would want this to be a Diego/Gabriela section [canonical relationship that Gabriela entered after ending things with Bode]. While I can glimpse the funny potential, I'm mostly side-eyeing feeling like I'm hand-holding this character through sex ed in a way that wouldn't actually land as funny.

Is there still an interlude back in prison? It's all well and good to have a 'this isn't an automatic death sentence anymore' talk, but I haven't heard of medication being easy to access for any sort of chronic condition inside so it's probably not going to be any easier in this instance.

Do I want to broach disclosure to other characters? Would the other inmates at Three Rock change how they interact with Bode? Would he be allowed to choose whether or not he told his parents or friends, or would a situation involve prison staff (like a guard) sharing that?

[queer_scribbling]

3) Dashed Hopes for Co-Parenting with Jake

I don't really have a fleshed out backstory for this. It's more of a vague idea of Bode being disappointed that Jake pushed so hard in a you vs me way instead of entertaining the idea that they could actually co-parent Gen together. [S2 plotline where Bode might have been Gen's biological father.] Could be co-parenting as in platonic friends, QPR territory, or maybe some sort of pre-crush -ish thing?

[queer_scribbling]

4) Jake/Bode Slash?

I want to magically just read it instead of having to write it myself. Maybe part of Bode's guilt over Riley dying was that he was jealous of her dating Jake. Maybe all the fighting tension in S1 wasn't just forcefully reconnecting after their friendship ended. Maybe Bode seemed to throw himself at women in S1 because he was trying to prove to himself that he was only straight. Maybe there's some internalized homophobia or biphobia post-incarceration to get through. Maybe Gabriela doesn't implode her relationship with Diego, and Bode feels guilty about liking Jake in S3 while he's still grieving Cara. Maybe there's some ridiculous reason for Omegaverse to make an appearance, I dunno.

[queer_scribbling]

5) They've Got Two Hands

Did Gabriela have to pick between Jake and Bode in S1? Did she have to do that with Diego and Bode in S2? Jake and Gabriela and Cara could've had something in S1 and S2, and sure, we can add Bode in there, too. Break out the flowchart and add in Diego in S3, and maybe Jake wouldn't have had trouble finding a babysitter or whatever.

[queer_scribbling]

6) Eve

At this point in S3 (and with the focus on Bode and Bode/Gabriela), I feel like I'm drama-saturated and very boring when it comes to thinking of F/F ships. I don't want a ton of angst for Eve and Francine, I don't want surprise bio kids, and I don't want a 'Choose A or B' to be drawn out for almost three whole seasons.

(Due to mostly focusing on Bode at a men's camp, we don't have a ton of background women to flesh out for a potential relationship with Eve unless we dredge up someone from S1's women's camp. At that camp, we mostly saw Bode's brief lover turned friend, but in theory, it'd be a way to introduce an OFC.)

Maybe if we want to be imaginative, maybe Audrey doesn't have a long-distance boyfriend, and she's not set up to be jealousy fuel for Gabriela, and she takes an interest in Eve. Someone could probably draw out some angst or relationship choice on Eve getting to apologize to Francine and whether she wants to try dating again while balancing a new, uncertain relationship with Audrey. Or, you know, Eve's also got two hands, and maybe you could develop an Audrey/Eve/Francine fic.

[queer_scribbling]

Branching off this idea:

Redirect whatever's going on with Gabriela away from isolating and spiraling in S3 to a sudden (optionally a bad idea) fling with Eve. Or maybe have Gabriela leave Jake for Eve back in S1 instead of Bode? Dial up Gabriela's drama-o-meter and have her show interest in Cara in S2 instead of Diego. (Or have a named female character instead of Diego.) Age difference folks might want to have Whatsherface who took up a fling with Manny [Gabriela's father] also take up something with Gabriela.

This really sounds like Gabriela is nothing but drama and questionable relationship decisions. She's not, not really; there's just some moments where the way she's been written strikes me as annoying, and it wouldn't be that difficult to have her introduce relationship drama in a fic.

[queer_scribbling]

7) Returning Citizen

Depicting prison life in fictional tv can be a bit variable on what a character goes through, doesn't go through, or gets a little plot armour for. It's not really surprising that this happens with Bode, but I think it varies a bit on what seems like a little too much plot armour for some audience members.

I mean, S1 features an awful lot of people sneaking into Camp Three Rock to talk to Bode after visiting hours, so I can imagine that someone out there has some questions about depicting Bode as a prisoner through S1 and S2. Some of my seriously side-eyeing the narrative point has kicked in more around the deus ex machina release and how Bode's been depicted as a returning citizen. I don't want it to be an unending portrayal of agony or something, but the part I liked around Bode's release was his newly assigned parole officer being upfront that the first 24 to 48 hours out were going to be the hardest and Bode should find something that wasn't drugs (recidivism).

Ideas to think about:

- S2 change that doesn't get Bode out in about one sentence for saving someone's life. Maybe allude to some sort of transitional program.

- S3; devote more than one sentence to returning citizens trying to become firefighters once they're no longer in prison. Sure, this is something that can become outdated later, but Edgewater's training program felt like another deus ex machina move. Did that even exist last season?

- If there's supposed to be a set order to the program and a wait list, I'd like to see Bode actually wait for the next round of Phase 1 instead of jumping straight to Phase 2 of the current round. It'd provide time for him to get through the transitioning into a new life part. (Does he have to share with his parole officer progress on a job hunt? Is his record making apartment hunting even a little bit hard? Has he gotten a new driver's license?)

- Even if Bode gets a relatively easy transition (like Vince offering a part-time job at Smokey's), we could get a little shout-out to some of the groups or California's programs that help with reentry.

- Mention AB 2147?

In September 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2147 into law. This law allows former non-violent incarcerated people who participated in a CDCR conservation camp to have their records expunged. As a result, barriers are removed so they can seek jobs as firefighters in the community. The new law went into effect on January 1, 2021. - AB 2147: Expedited expungement for former fire crew members.

- Send Bode off to Ventura instead of keeping him in Edgewater?

[impala_chick]

I've been meaning to start watching now that Jared Padalecki guest-starred!

[queer_scribbling]

Good luck, and no pressure on liking or not liking the show. Jared plays the Phase 3 trainer for the Cal Fire cadets, so he's only in the current season [S3].