#If buck-up-buck can speculate and be right

[thetangycheesemanwithaplan]

Some speculation I have for the next episode!

Yes I'e been having a lot of speculation and maybe (most likely) i'll be wrong but its just some fun ideas I've been having

I talked about this with @buck-up-buck and she is a prophet (check out her posts here to see her vision-with a small contribution from me about the AA meeting being a thing) she has some theories that happen after this theory of mine which I'm excited for her to share with you all as she see's the shrimp colours.

And so with what we've seen in the promo, the still that Tim has shared (I have brightened it so it can be a bit clearer) here's what I think will happen. Especially in this still

So firstly the order of events I believe will be the AA meeting then the Bathena conversation and then the motel drama, just as we are shown in the promo. There will be other things sprinkled in but the next two eps will be very Bobby centric. So when i saw this still i immediately thought of the following ideas/spec:

So Amir makes his speech at the AA meeting, it slowly dawns on Bobby the connection they share and obviously this sends Bobby mentally spiralling. It's been 10 years since the fire and Bobbys come far but hearing from someone who he affected by his past actions is definitely going to stir up shit (duh). I feel like we may get some flashbacks to the fire, maybe even Amir's perspective (how he got his scars) because our boy Amir is angry (you saw his stare, seeing bobby has reignited his fire). I feel like Bobby may attempt to speak to him after but Amir is angry and storms out or Bobby is in shock and cant say anything.

We then see the conversation with Bathena. It looks like Athena was asleep and Bobby hadn't come to bed yet. Athena woke up and came looking for Bobby to find him hunched over his laptop going into a bit of a dive on Amir and who he was and who he lost. Athena maybe talks to him about it and Bobby is very much adamant on making amends (Step 9). Athena wants to support him but the sergeant in her is concerned at this guy. So she supports him in the moment but hatches her own little plan.

And here is where we see the still (it's clearly at the hospital)

Athena has found out where this guy works and goes to speak to him. Amir is just finishing his shift when Athena catches him. She introduces her self and that she's Bobby's wife. Amir is immediately angered by this but keeps himself calm, only showing annoyance. Athena talks about how she knows who he is through Bobby and that she's sorry for Amir's loss. She expresses concern for how he raised the issue to Bobby and asks that they can work towards making amends. She says that Bobby has come so far to turn his life around (gives examples of what Bobby has accomplished. Captain of the 118, his new family with her and the steps he has taken in recovery) and all he wants to do is carry on moving forward. She doesn't want this incident to cause Bobby to fall of the wagon, they've been through a lot and she's concerned (she also getting alarm bells from this guys so is trying to gauge his intent whilst also trying to clear the air)

I think this angers Amir, again he wont show it but it sparks something in him further than what has already been sparked. He starts scheming (@buck-up-buck's theories about the loft burning down hehe) I feel like he'll make some comment to Athena about how he's glad Bobby could move on so easily whilst everyone else was left cleaning up the mess(throw back to the comment he made to Maddie) Obviously Athena defends her husband and says something like "it was far from easy, he clawed his way out of the darkest place and fought tooth and nail to get where he is now. If he can do it so can you." cause Athena has clocked that this guy is massively holding a grudge.

But Amir doesn't want to hear it and maybe just says something like 'Good for him' before walking away from the conversation.Amir is angry because its been 10 years and he's still affected by the fire, he hasn't let go of the pain and the hurt (as he mentioned in his speech) but now seeing that the guy who caused it has a new family, that he's moved on and is happy, is captain of a firehouse (irony not lost on him) and Amir has been left scared and hurt and his life hasn't bounced back just absolutely fuels his revenge plan.

Athena tells Bobby that she tried to reason with Amir but there was no reasoning with him and that he's very angry still. She tells Bobby she knows he needs to make amends and he should but also says he should be careful and wait for him to calm down a bit first and that whatever he does he shouldn't do it alone. Bobby of course listens and agrees but also he understands Amir better than anyone and thinks he can get through to him (remember Bobby is shook up by this whole thing and won't make the smartest decisions) so when Amir reaches out and asks Bobby to meet at the Easy Motel, Bobby does go and then, Amir starts his revenge

Amir wants Bobby to suffer again like he did (he doesn't acknowledge that Bobby did loose everything in that fire, he's to blinded by his own grief and mad that Bobby has a shiny new life and seems unbothered by his past to listen to reason) he wants to rip Bobby's family away from him, saying he doesn't deserve a second chance.

[warpedpuppeteer]

But what if Eddie realizes he's in love with Buck when he finally remembers everything about the day he was shot? We've seen him say he remembers things but what if he didn't remember everything? What if he doesn't remember his blood smeared all over Buck, on his face, on his hands, on his tongue? What if he doesn't remember trying to call out to Buck but only managing to mouth his name soundlessly? What if he doesn't remember the way he reached out to Buck while bleeding his life out onto the asphalt? What if he doesn't remember thinking Oh, it's him, it's always been him. I should've told him and now it's too late.

What if he finally remembers it all and he sees Buck laughing with the team, shining bright like he's Eddie's personal sun and Eddie is drawn to him like he's Icarus and thinks oh fuck. He had realized he was in love with Buck and forgotten.

And now he remembers. And now...oh.

(and he thinks, like Icarus, is he doomed to fall short and burn his wings before he reaches his sun?)

[makorragal-312]

Gotta admit, after last night's episode, I was completely lost as to what the conflict was gonna be between Buck and Tommy that was gonna lead to them eventually breaking up.

But now that I think about it, I think Tommy is going to finally make his feelings known (most likely without meaning to) that he's envious of the family dynamic within the current 118 and that he wants to experience it.

This will lead to Buck questioning how he never experienced it or made any strong connections with anyone if he was in the 118 through both Gerrard AND Bobby. And that's gonna lead to Buck finding out about Tommy's past behavior under Gerrard and how he treated Chim and Hen and then it's gonna make Buck confront Tommy about longing for that connection when he could've had it had he not been a bigot.

The two are gonna fight and then BOOM, breakup.

[maxlarens]

Driver!reader and oscar starting the race from p1&p2 and before they put their helmets and stuff they kiss one last time on the grid and people go like "awwwww" because it was somehow filmed

i feel like u sent this in to be like a concept or something but I HAD to write it. i’ve been writing for lando so much lately i’ve very much been missing oscar + driver!reader. plus i’ve not ever written them in an established relationship before!

It’s not like you and Oscar are a secret.

It might have been easier that way, to keep your relationship from the public’s prying eyes, but it’s not really your style. It’s not Oscar’s either.

Being public comes with its problems— questions from the media, awkward interviews, your respective PR teams going a little buck wild, extra contracts and NDAs to sign— but it also has its benefits.

You like be able to talk about him, like being able to call him your boyfriend. ‘Oscar Piastri, the driver for McLaren? Yeah, that’s my boyfriend’. You like hearing him say things about you, praise your driving skills, talk about you as a rival and as his girlfriend. It’s all you can do to stop grinning like a madwoman whenever you’re in his vicinity. You equally like that the press can’t comment meaningfully on it, can’t speculate wildly about the nature of your relationship when you’ve made it clear.

Some people hate it. They think you’re a silly little girl with her head full of romantic notions. No room for skill, for ruthlessness. Which is funny, given that Oscar receives only praise for “bagging you”. You think they’re just jealous; if not of the fact that Oscar’s dating you and not them, then of your duality. The way you can love Oscar wholeheartedly and also race Oscar wholeheartedly.

They’re not mutually exclusive in your experience.

Naturally, there’s a massive buzz about you and Oscar being P1-P2 on the starting grid.

You’re not particularly surprised. The MCL’s had been performing well all through practice, just as you and Lewis had. You pull out pole in quail, fastest Q1 and Q2, with Oscar hot on your tail. There’s a barrage of bizarre questions in the media pen,

Do you think Oscar’s grid position will impact your performance during the race? Why would it?

Will this affect your relationship with Oscar? No.

What happens if one of you wins and the other doesn’t? The same thing that happens every time anyone wins ever?

You’re confused by it. Bordering on snarky and sarcastic the fifth time someone asks if you and Oscar might break up over this. Rolling your eyes, thinking your true feelings are obvious, you tell some Italian journalist that yeah no we might break up if he doesn’t let me win.

It’s funny, objectively it’s hilarious. You and Oscar laugh over it later that afternoon. Send the clip to a group chat you’re in with a few drivers closer to your age. And so what if it’s still funny when clickbait articles and gossip sites start saying that the two of you have broken up.

There’s even more buzz about it by the morning of the race. Journalists you’ve already talked to have suddenly become convinced that you and Oscar are on the rocks. You can’t help but play into it a bit— partially for the benefit of your PR team— arriving separately, forgoing the couple snap that you usually grace Kym Illman with, giving vague no-comment answers when the media accost you.

Maybe it’s a little childish, a little dramatic. But it serves them right for jumping to conclusions.

You avoid any presenters on the grid walk, sinking into the protective circle made by your engineers. Staying behind the roped off areas until about 10 minutes to race start when you finally hop over the MCL in P2.

Oscar’s drinking water, looking smug when you push through McLaren engineers, so used to your continued presence that they let you in with ease.

“Hey,” you greet, reaching out to smooth the collar of his fireproofs, “How’s it goin’?”

“Mm,” he hums, cutting a glance behind you, which you take to mean that there are cameras trained on the two of you, a reporter trying to get your attention maybe, “I’d be better if I was on pole.”

You hiss mockingly, “Yeah, too bad. You gonna break up with me about it?”

He raises an eyebrow, lashes brushing his cheekbones as he looks down at you, “I didn’t know you read F1 gossip sites?”

You shrug in response, “Don’t need to. The media make enough noise about it.”

He hums again, smile pulling at his mouth while someone from Mercedes shouts at you to get back. Rachel probably. You should go, you really should. But Oscar’s so close and so cute in those black fireproofs.

“Good luck,” you say,

leaning forward to kiss him, hand on the back of his head. A slip of tongue, not so much to be publicly obscene, but enough to leave him wanting,

“You’ll need it.”

You hear the sweet sound of him laughing as you slip away, back to where your car is sitting on pole. Ignoring the reporter dogging at your heels for a comment you don’t really need to give.

like maybe unrealistic. who cares!

[daddykinkkinard]

! crossposting from my twitter !

bucktommy costume analysis 👔

hi ! i'm a fashion student and am really interested in costume design so i wanted to do a (long) post on tommy's style and how i think buck might be influenced by it in s8 as seen in "buck's britches." :))

[about tommy]

tommy's wardrobe is entirely functional and indicative of his dedication to his work. it's practical, useful, and speaks of his can-do attitude.

all his signature clothes (henleys, shackets, canvas jackets) have historical traces to being used as workwear.

(1) henleys - this one, ironically in the philippines it has its own term in our local language. it's called a camisa de chino and is used by laborers. although i live in a different country, i'm sure its use case is still the same for other countries as it's historically deemed the workman's undergarment.

also: yes. tommy is technically right. there were henleys in the 80s. even in the 1880s. so what we're learning here now folks, is that he's a smartass little shit.

(2) shackets - historically, also an item used by the working class. they were mostly worn to prevent any possible stains on inner clothes from their work (i.e. dirt, grease, grime, etc.)

(3) canvas jacket - although this was only seen in 7x04, it's more likely that he still owns a lot more. (waxed) canvas jackets are traditional workwear often used as weatherproof outerwear or heavy duty rainwear.

as a form of fun speculation, i'd like to think some of these items are also in his closet:

contrast collar canvas jacket

an authentic flight jacket

overalls, but only for when he fixes up the car

denim trucker jacket

if anything, who better to listen to when talking about tommy's clothes than tommy himself !

here's lou's cameo for me describing tommy's closet as rugged, practical and useful :))

[about "buck's britches"]

now to the "buck's britches" post. two notable items of clothing:

the famous flight jacket

baker pants.

now here's the thing about buck:

buck doesn't wear utilitarian clothing. in fact, he doesn't wear woven clothing all that much. he wears knit. knit polos. sweaters. hoodies. he is not a workwear person. in fact: he's a comfort person.

that's his primary reason for style that's a testament to his own character. buck is widely recognized as the more radiant and funny character. he has charisma and is very inviting, which is accompanied by his choice in clothing.

soft, warm, comfortable.

which goes back to the photo ostark posted on his instagram story.

(1) flight jacket - here's where i have to go and burst everyone's bubble for a bit. this is only a flight jacket because it's labelled as such. but categorically, it isn't. flight jackets are the classic term for bomber jackets.

bomber jackets (and flight jackets) were workwear used by the military, characterized by garterized cuffs and hems and short bodices. for pilots, they were interchangeable. but modernly, they have some more definable features.

characteristically, flight (or aviator) jackets are leather with shearling or sherpa collars. bomber jackets are the modernized version taking the silhouette and cuff designs and making them more accessible through material choice (linen—like buck—nylon, silk)

(2) baker pants - as the name suggests, it's a piece of kitchen workwear often in twill (which i'd assume is what oliver is wearing), denim, cotton or linen. it's characterized by the topstitching to outline the pockets and diagonal pocket openings (vs. the usual curve).

so very evidently: buck has been influenced by tommy's style. he's wearing woven material versus knit for one. if i were hopeful, i'd say they're exploring one another's style because they're sharing a closet.

[character analysis]

woven fabric as a material is sturdy. it's more structured and does not stretch. think: cotton, linen, rayon, wool, denim. what this means for buck is that, by virtue of being tommy's boyfriend he is introduced to structure, groundedness and maturity.

tommy's closet is filled with utilitarian clothing and workwear. he, as a character, is known to be emotionally grounded and mature and it translates to his clothing.

buck adapting the defining features of his wardrobe shows how much tommy has helped him get off his hamster wheel.

in fact, even the inverse can be noted. when buck asks for a second chance and practices communication towards tommy. he's wearing a woven buttondown. and in emphasizing tommy's desire to make buck comfortable, he's in a hoodie. neither of which are common for one another.

buck and tommy, even through subtle clothing choices are becoming part of one another's world and that makes me so soft as someone whose love language is fashion.

[wishful thinking]

perhaps maybe we could see tommy in a fully casual sweat set? i know that they might be protecting lfjr but man. if i see a hoodie on him. (nqueso, if you can sneak me a photo of him in knitwear ill love you forever i just want to prove my theory right i wont even post it)

if they are putting buck in this sort of attire, my guess (or hope) is that they have tommy ease up too.

it would be nice to show buck's effect on tommy as much as tommy's effect on buck because tommy's an established character and has a backstory that the writers could explore.

so if the 9-1-1 costume designers ever see this:

please put tommy in a sweat set. or a hoodie. (not a zip-up one, im talking real hoodie). i'm willing to compromise with overalls. i see what you're doing with buck's wardrobe, and love it. maybe tommy's could soften up too :))

thanks for reading ! 🫶

[hardly-an-escape]

for @bucktommypositivityweek Sunday 8/18: meeting the friends and family | spicy cupcakes | 534 words | rated G

“How do I look?”

“What was that, babe?”

Buck stuck his head around the bathroom door. Tommy was standing in front of the mirror, plucking nervously at his shirt.

“How do I look? Do I look okay?” he repeated, turning toward Buck.

“Yes? You look fine?” Buck said, coming into the bathroom. “You know I like this shirt, it brings out your eyes. Why do you ask?”

“This is the first time I’m meeting her. I have to make a good impression.”

“Who, Maddie?” Buck asked, confused. “What are you talking about, you’ve met her. Like, twice now. She thinks you’re great, Tommy, you know that.”

“Not Maddie. Jee-Yun,” Tommy said, as if it were obvious. “Your niece.”

Buck couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him, and Tommy fixed him with a look.

“I mean it,” he said. “Do I look… approachable? I don’t have any nieces or nephews, I don’t know how to interact with little kids. Should I put on a t shirt instead?”

“Tommy. Babe,” Buck said, running his hands down his boyfriend’s chest and resting them on his hips. “You look fine. I cannot stress enough that Jee does not care. I mean, maybe if you showed up in a unicorn onesie that would score some points – she’s in a big unicorn phase right now. But outside of that? It literally doesn’t matter.”

Tommy got a speculative look on his face, like he was suddenly considering the logistics of finding a unicorn onesie at short notice that would fit a 6’2” firefighter, and Buck laughed again.

“Look,” he said. “My number one tip for hanging out with Jee-Yun? Or any kid, really. Just – treat her like a human being. You know, she’s not a doll, she’s not a prop. Ask her questions and listen to what she says. Play pretend. If she asks you to read a book, do the voices. But don’t stress.” He squeezed Tommy’s hips. “Seriously. They can sense that. Like sharks with blood in the water.”

“That is not helping.”

Several hours later, Tommy was sitting on the floor of Maddie and Chimney’s living room. A very elaborate tea party was spread out on the coffee table; he and Jee-Yun were both wearing sparkly pink plastic tiaras, and Tommy also had a purple feather boa draped across his broad shoulders.

Chim was in the kitchen, wrangling the dinner dishes, and Buck and Maddie were sitting at the dining table nursing glasses of wine.

“I think he’s a natural,” Maddie said conspiratorially, leaning toward her brother. “Look at them together.”

“Yeah,” said Buck. “I had a feeling he would be.”

“Your Majesty,” said Tommy, voice dripping with faux outrage. “Are you seriously telling me that you think the rainbow cupcakes taste better than the sprinkle ice cream?”

“Nooo!” cackled Jee-Yun. “Uncle Tommy! I maked you rainbow ice cream and spicy cupcakes!”

“Ohhh!”

Across the room, Tommy hissed and fanned his mouth as though he’d just downed a spoonful of sriracha.

Uncle Tommy, mouthed Maddie in delight, and I know, mouthed Buck back.

“Spicy cupcakes!” Tommy gasped. “My queen! How could you!”

“You’d better keep him around,” Maddie said fondly.

“I plan to,” Buck said with a smile.

[telekinetic-electronica]

Indigo Park: Salem is Important

I've already done a post on why I think Lloyd is important. I go over how I think he's the first mascot and the OG face for the Indigo brand. Not to mention, drawing a parallel to Mickey and Oswald. You can read it here.

There is also this picture at the beginning of Rambley's Railroad can suggest that Lloyd is giving the deed to the park to Rambley. I.e. transferring ownership to him, as seen here.

We also see Lloyd as a statue that's very similar to the style of the Rambley and Isaac statue we see when entering the park. I haven't seen this mention with people, but I think the biggest case for the other important mascot is Salem.

(Lloyd's statue in his maze)

Anything regarding to Salem is a mystery. Salem's part in Rambley's Railroad is completely destroyed. There's splats of blood, Rambley glitches out, Salem's cutout is ripped in half, and hints that Rambley's Railroad used to be Lloyd's Limos, in the backrooms.

(Salem's section destroyed in Rambley's Railroad)

(Lloyd's Limos in the backrooms)

Any important lore drop for Indigo Park, Salem is somehow connected. In the video game portion, where it's revealed Salem was the one who was corrupting the squirrels, then goes ahead and corrupts Mollie.

This is hinting to something big, something that possibly happened to the mascots at the park. Rambley did say, in a way, the mascots are like their cartoony selves. Via when he tells Ed the truth and in the credits song. Something either corrupted them or it could be symbolic to how trauma changes you. Within the same game, if you drop near the first half off of it, we see Mollie's sprite in a cage.

I mention trauma is because I think it's obvious that Mollie and the other living mascots were physically and emotionally abused by the staff and the on-goers at the park. Mollie can repeat things that were said back to her.

"I wanna play with the birdie!" "Don't touch that thing, son." "It barely hurts at all..." "Get up, you stupid freak." "Get back in your cage, bird." "The customer is always right." Mollie and Lloyd are conscious beings who were tossed around and mistreated from the employees to the people visiting the park. They treated them like they were just props, things. The parent calls Mollie a THING. The employees called Mollie a "stupid freak" and for her to get back in her cage. As shown in the video game. They were treated like rag dolls and if they didn't do want the employees wanted, they would get beat or screamed at, or left to rot in cages. It just makes the line "It barely hurts at all!" more dark.

It barely hurts at all.

She's convincing herself that the abuse she is going through is fine or that she's used to it. Or an employee saying the abuse she is going through isn't hurting her. It barely hurts at all. I wouldn't be surprised if Indigo Park's underlying horror is mistreating people as just tensions of the park to sell a fantasy towards parent for a quick buck, instead of, y'know, treating them like people.

Not to mention, Salem uses potions. Magic. A possible hint to how the mascots were brought to life. They aren't robots or anything, but they're conscious, living beings. Now, let's take a look at Salem's intro card. It was censored before chapter 1 was released, but I believe it is important.

Note of some important things here. They are a major trouble maker, super quick, and cunning. Interesting. Personally, in a speculation of mine is that Salem was the first one to act out and think what the employees and on-goers at the park treating them and the other mascots were wrong. Anytime something of lore is dropped or something of importance, Salem is involved. Salem is important.

Either or not they're an ally or enemy to Rambley and Ed, we'll see. Heck, Salem doesn't have any merch minus a keychain. So, whenever Salem is on the screen pay attention. Isn't it odd that Rambley NEVER mentions Salem? Like, the dude mentions Lloyd and he hates his guts. Interesting.

[buddierecs]

sharing clothes buddie fics

all of these are general audience, teen and up or not rated (no smut) make sure to kudos/comment on these amazing works :)

and i just want to wrap you up, want to kiss your lips by: bucksbuddies "five times buck steals eddie’s clothes and one time eddie gives them to him." word count: 9.8k important tags: 5+1 things, soft!buddie, getting together, sharing a bed, hurt/comfort in the arms of the ocean by: allyasavedtheday "after the tsunami, eddie takes buck home." word count: 6.8k important tags: hurt/comfort, sharing a bed, love confessions, cuddling the definition of love and all things ineffable by: elvensorceress "in which buck processes his breakup, learns his place in his family, has a huge crisis of sexuality, and finds the truth about love beating in his own heart." word count: 29k important tags: friends to lovers, mutual pining, idiots in love, sexuality crisis, love confessions, family feels firefighter diaz by: sourwolfseblaine "5 times buck wears something with 'DIAZ', making eddie go absolutely crazy." word count: 3.3k important tags: married!buddie, soft!buddie, possessive!eddie diaz, domestic fluff put my heart inside your palms by: markofalover "how an accidental pet name, a thoughtful dinner, and a shared shirt makes them get their shit together." word count: 3k important tags: mutual pining, idiots in love, pet names, love confessions, getting together the love within these threads by: warpedpuppeteer "the case of the missing hoodie and the subsequent capture of the hoodie thief eddie diaz." word count: 2.7k important tags: family feels, established relationship, fluff god only knows where this could go by: sam_writes_fics "buddie + clothes sharing" word count: 7k important tags: fluff, idiots in love, mutual pining, possessive behaviour you can feel it on the way home (you are in love) by: made_ofmemories "buck's apartment is destroyed when an earthquake shakes LA, luckily there's always a space for him in the diaz household." word count: 23k important tags: roommates, getting together, sharing a bed, fluff, moving in together, didn't know they were dating i built a home (for you, for me) by: made_ofmemories "eddie shows up to work wearing one of buck's shirts. assumptions are made and revelations are had." word count: 6.1k important tags: getting together, didn't know they were dating, idiots in love, fluff e. diaz: hoodie thief by: spaceflower eddie diaz is a hoodie thief and he has no shame about it. word count: 3.5k important tags: getting together, fluff, team as family, soft!buddie, first kiss clothes thief eddie my beloved (series) by: renecdote "the one where eddie is a clothes thief and buck kind of loves that about him." word count: 16k important tags: stealing clothes is a love language, clothes as comfort items, fluff a discovery of boxer briefs by: princessfbi "he had to be dreaming, right? or maybe just in heaven and painfully aware of the warm fluttery feelings in his chest that were making him dizzy. because there, in eddie’s kitchen, was buck in a pair of socks with one pooling down his ankle like the elastic had been overstretched, an oversized hoodie, and a pair of grey briefs and it shouldn’t be the thing that made eddie’s head spin but it was." word count: 3.6k important tags: fluff, lazy mornings, morning cuddles, 6x10 speculation fic, hurt/comfort stay (always) by: galaxyninjer "buck takes the morning off to attend a doctor's appointment with maddie. when he gets back to station earlier than scheduled, he learns that eddie had a rough call that morning and goes to comfort him" word count: 1.7k important tags: pre-relationship, emotional hurt/comfort, sharing a bed, cuddling, fluff, pet names, team as family and it smells like me; you can't get rid of it by: browney3dgirl6 "five times buck leaves his clothes at eddie's, and the one time they're right where they belong" word count: 6.4k important tags: 5+1 things, werewolves, scenting, getting together, idiots in love, soft!buddie

[sunflowerdigs]

It's kind of wild to read takes about how Buck "finally" has someone to love and support him unconditionally when I thought that's exactly what Eddie was doing for the last 7 seasons. I think that's the thing that irritates me most about people who have replaced Buddie with BT (not multishippers) - it's like they've completely forgotten 7 years of canon because of a few kisses. Especially because, as recently as 7x06, the show deliberately had Eddie demonstrate much more love and support for Buck than Tommy. In fact, that was the point of even having Tommy in that first scene at Chim's party. It's the willful blindness to more incisive and richer readings of the show combined with a weird pride in that more shallow reading because it's spoonfed that I think is really irritating to me. Buck and Tommy have some of the outward appearances of a committed relationship but I'm really hoping that in these last 2 episodes, Buck demonstrates who he's actually canonically committed to.

Some speculation under the cut.

It's worth pointing out that the Bucktaylor breakup happened in 5x17 and 5x18 with pretty much no warning. 5x17 set up the reasons for the breakup and then, in 5x18, the breakup happened. There was nothing about them in the official description for 5x17 and, from what I can gather, only one unofficial description for 5x18 contained anything about them.

While I agree that 7x09/7x10 would be pretty early for a BT breakup, it's hard for me to believe that the show wants to spend much more time on another hamster wheel relationship for Buck. Especially since, after 7x04, the hamster wheel is more visible than ever, what with the obvious contradictions in Buck's actions vs the conclusions he reached about those actions (similar to 4x14, where he prioritized Eddie over Taylor unnecessarily but then came to the conclusion that he wanted to be with Taylor).

I keep thinking about the 7x03 scene where Buck paused and smiled at Tommy for a bit before following Eddie. That scene right there was an indication that the relationship would be short-lived. Additionally, Lou wearing the same outfit in 7x10 that he wore in 7x04 is potentially a bookend, possibly indicative of a reset of his relationship with Buck back to what it was the first time he wore that outfit. After all, Buck was never jumping ship, he was just keeping his options fluid.

Finally, I think it's telling that Ryan keeps saying both that Eddie is heterosexual and that Buddie is possible because those two statements are contradictory. It makes me think his heterosexuality may not be permanent. Because if it was, then Buddie would be off the table, and discussions of Buddie would be banned in interviews like they were in previous seasons.

So...obviously no one can say anything for certain until the rest of the season plays out. I'm not here to promise anyone anything because I don't work on the show and my interpretation could always be wrong. But there's certainly reason for hope, at least.

[firewasabeast]

I figure if I keep speculating the relationship hurdle, sooner or later I’ll be right… so here’s one:

Buck is looking at photo albums at Tommy’s place and something drops out of the back. When he picks it up he finds it’s a high school diploma, but it’s from a youth correctional facility. Tommy didn’t know that was in there, but Buck has questions and Tommy isn’t one to shy away from his past.

He tells Buck about how he went to juvie at 14, after trying to be initiated into a gang. He was a lonely kid who wanted to belong somewhere. He grew up in a bad neighborhood and he’d see this gang all the time, always together and laughing and they seemed free. They noticed him, said all he had to do was choose someone on the street one night and beat them up. Then he’d be in. He’d have brothers for life. It was him and two other kids getting initiated that night. He was scared, but not scared enough to not do it, so they picked a person and did what they were told to do.

Then the cops showed up. The others ran, but Tommy froze. He went to juvie. Turns out the guy they targeted was gay and, even though Tommy had no idea about that, he was charged with a hate crime. He went to a youth correctional facility until he was 17. He graduated there, got out early for good behavior, went on to join the army after that.

Buck spirals there. He’s very familiar with hurting himself for attention, but couldn’t imagine ever purposely harming anyone else. Even as a kid. Tommy tries to explain some things to him but Buck just kinda up and leaves.

He goes to Bobby about it, goes to Maddie and Josh. Bobby reminds him who he was before he became captain- hell, even while he was captain. Reminds Buck people are capable of change. Capable of becoming better. Buck himself is even proof of that, albeit in a different way. He is still a better person than he used to be. Josh leans more toward talking to Buck about the loneliness and fear of being lgbt, especially back all those years ago. Desperate for love and attention from anyone and everyone, especially if you grew up in a bad household. It’s not an excuse, but people aren’t perfect… especially when they’re 14 years old.

Buck ends up going back to Tommy’s place, still unsure of what to say or think. Tommy asks if he can tell him one thing, and Buck says sure. Tommy tells him how he found the guy he hurt after he got out of the army. Apologized to him, which the man accepted. They ended up becoming pretty close. He helped Tommy over the years, and ended up being the first person Tommy came out to. They still talk to this day.

Tommy forgives himself of his past, but he also never expects anyone else to forgive him. He understands if Buck can’t.

Buck does.

[hearteyestommykinard]

Tidbit Tuesday

Heya! I was tagged by the delightful @actuallyitsellie so I thought I would post a little part of my gas leak fic (speculation for 8x4 but it's gonna be spicier lol). It should hopefully be up this weekend.

Buck affixes the last decoration and stands back to look with a critical eye, taking the whole loft in. “Does it have too many bats? I feel like it has too many bats.” Tommy wraps an arm around his shoulders. “I think it’s adorable,” he says loyally. Buck takes another look around and decides he’s right. It does look adorable. Buck turns in Tommy’s arms to face him. “I know I spend most of my time at your place these days, but I dunno, I just really wanted to decorate.” “I’m sorry about my place,” Tommy says, squeezing his hip. “Halloween doesn’t really hold the best memories for me. I haven’t decorated for years.” Buck leans forward for a kiss. “I understand. If anyone understands childhood trauma, I do.” “I sort of wish we didn’t have that in common,” Tommy says with a little laugh. Buck kisses him again. “Same. But what can we do?” Tommy looks around the place. “This is really cute though. Maybe, you know, we could get a pumpkin for my place. Or something.” “Ooh!” Buck says, squeezing his shoulders. “Can we carve pumpkins?” Tommy laughs again. “It’s a good thing you’re so cute. Sure. We can carve pumpkins.”

no pressure tags for lovely people: @desert--moonchild, @peppermintquartz, @tiltingheartand, @aringofsalt

[aaronsinferno]

'buck and tommy only had a one episode build up' no if they had a one episode build up that would be fine, tk and carlos were fucking within like an hour of meeting and i have no issue with that because they have an actually palpable instant attraction and connection rather than being thrown together randomly for shock value, their relationship actually developed really well after that, they're both very well developed characters, neither of them is significantly more invested in the relationship and their makeout scenes don't look like somebody frenching their dad lmao.

Regardless, the attraction between the two is real. They’re in a non speculative and canonically proven romantic relationship that’s been said to be healthy and will come off as a romcom. Just wanted to get that out of the way before I got into anything.

Evan and Tommy weren’t a slow burn. They didn’t see each other across a room and go “I’m gonna take you home later” or anything similar to that. It was just one guy unaware of his attraction towards another until the other guy in question made the first move. (Which was bold asf btw)

There’s no one way to jumpstart a relationship. Sometimes it’s taking a leap of faith and acknowledging your feelings in whatever way you can.

The kiss was always going to be shocking hence the uproar of homophobic outrage afterwards. If Evan, for whatever reason, kissed who you wanted him to kiss then I’m positively sure you’d still be pretty surprised that the kiss actually happened. A scenario that will live and die on the internet btw.

And you’re right to imply that Tommy isn’t a fully developed character. There’s still so much we don’t know about him. I’m assuming that if the writers want him around more, then not only will they build onto his character and background, but they’ll also build on his and Evan’s relationship.

I’m assuming the dad thing is you making fun of Lou’s age. I don’t have a problem with it. Unfortunately for you, though, neither does Evan. We’ve seen papa Buckley before, and I hate to say it, but Tommy doesn’t give that at all.

And I love Tk and Carlos, but using characters who have been sure and open about their sexuality since before their series began as a “gotcha” moment for Evan and Tommy is a bit odd. They know what they want and have experience identifying partners and forming relationships. Evan just came to realize that he’s bisexual. It’s new to him so it’s understandable if he’s not making moves like TK.

It’s a show. Let things fall into place. The story is still being told. Exhale.

[lover-of-mine]

I just had a thought regarding the “Tim should punish Buddie fans” of it all. Because at the end of the day it’s a TV show, the thing they care most about is ratings. Tim has admitted that the show got worse and ratings got worse when he stopped writing Buddie scenes (something I’m sure ABC is very aware of). So it honestly shouldn’t matter if some Buddie fans are annoying - we represent the majority opinion, which affects the ratings. Yeah they may lose some of the gained viewers from the BT stans if they breakup but it’s nothing on the viewers they’ll lose if they force Eddie into another straight relationship and separate Buck and Eddie for separate endgames.

Okay, pure speculation here, but the show is a business as much as it is a story and a show has to deal with stuff a book or a movie don't. Since the story is not contained, they need to adapt to the circumstances in which it is airing. We know for a fact that fox was against Buck being bi and that gives us the chance to infer that they were against the buddie thing as a whole. We know this was supposed to happen during s4, we know s5 separates Buck and Eddie physically since Eddie leaves the station, so that reduces their screentime without major problems because while we were getting less casual buddie since they weren't working together, we got a lot of quality buddie during Eddie's breakdown. They continued to reduce the Buck and Eddie of it all during 6a. No one was happy about it. We were NOT happy that we were missing out on their dynamic except for a few moments that were thrown in. That so created a problem that they overcorrect that in 6b. We all knew the lightning was coming but the promo had a lot of Eddie's reaction to it, we even got a bts video of Ryan running up the ladder, the do more was the teaser scene we got, when we got recovery and mixed feelings, with recovery giving us some quality buddie, and mixed feelings giving us a lot of buddie overall. Obviously, the threat of cancellation made them shift things around, we know there were reshoots, we know they tried to wrap things up in case that was the final season, and that made them drop the ball with buddie for a second there after the cemetery, but they fixed that during s7, because there was a LOT of buddie, especially considering it was reduced season. Abc has a lot of good queer rep, they seem to like their glaad awards nominations. We obviously have no idea of why fox was blocking biBuck, and again, pure speculation, but I am willing to bet you that the buddie of it all was part of the conversation while the buy was being negotiated or at least while they were discussing the plans to integrate 911 to abc once the buy was finalized. The abc people have an outside perspective on buddie, the same way we do, and buddie is a compelling dynamic that can be a gold mine if they play their cards right. If, I, a random person on the internet with a blog and hyperfixation and nothing to gain from it, can reach the conclusion that getting buddie together can bring them a shit load of exposure, I guarantee you that someone there reached that conclusion too. I believe they sat down with the team and asked "what's the deal with Buck and Eddie? Is there a plan?" and they reached some conclusion to finally get them there because they took Ryan out of pr jail and continuously put Oliver and Ryan together leading up to the season and the Buck and Eddie talk did not stop once Buck being bi was canonically confirmed.

Logistically, if the plan was to simply make Buck bi and not make the Buck and Eddie a thing, obviously, Eddie wouldn't be involved with Buck's bi arc the way he is in the story, but they would also not involve Ryan in the promotion with Oliver like that. It's 2024, no one wants queerbaiting allegations thrown at them. We lived through the mcu, and teen wolf, and supernatural, and no one wants to be that guy. They have a compelling dynamic that's been drawing people in for years, and they could've gone the whole show with both of them being perceived as straight in universe, keep doing what they were doing, leave us in the will they/won't they, and keep our part of the audience forever because we would keep coming back waiting to see them together. Personally, I think Buck being bi was a trial run in many ways from the business side of it. Buck is extremely well liked by the audience, he is a fan favorite, so people are a lot more lenient with his shit than other characters, that means that if Buck being bi was poorly received by the general audience, they could backtrack him out of it a lot easier and just introduce another pretty girl and not go there. Male bisexual rep is also not all that common, it's usually the pretty girl best friend that you later find out had a girlfriend in college who may or may not be in love with the female lead, so it stands on its own in the conversation. And, well, Buck being bi was extremely well received. Ship war aside, there is a significant part of the new influx of people who are just as invested in the Buck and Eddie of it all even with another male love interest in the mix. And there was a huge influx of people. Somewhere in the 911 team, someone is making predictions and they are aware that Eddie being queer will have the same type of reaction. Eddie might not be as popular as Buck on his own, but with the added fact that queer Eddie means buddie is coming, they get the same boom that biBuck had. They also became the first media to do this. No superhell, no complicated feelings for a car, no going back to the past. Just a compelling relationship between two male characters that's been drawing people in since the beginning that changed into something romantic and requited. They would be the first to take the popular m/m ship that drives the internet crazy and make it happen. I know of a lot of traumatized destiel or sterek or stucky or whatever else who are waiting for Eddie to be confirmed queer to start watching the show with the whole 911 already had queer rep, Buck being bi is no guarantee they'll follow through, I don't wanna be disappointed again. Which is fair, but it is a second wave of people that could come into the show. Buck and Eddie are unheard of rep. It's a 6+ seasons queer slowburn. They are best friends, they have a kid, their devotion to each other is very clear. Abc has the chance to go full Elle Woods "what like it's hard?" to every queerbaity ship that came before buddie. Especially considering we have Oliver on record multiple times saying fox was blocking it. And that would make them so much money. So much exposure. We're talking become subjects in television history classes for the rest of times because they were the first to pull through. We're not just talking ratings, we're talking being put next to genre-defining couples in media. They are a gold mine that Oliver and Ryan are on board with, that Tim seems to be on board with and that abc clearly likes using for promotion so they at least understand the numbers they could bring, so not going there because a fraction of the fandom is being bitchy on the internet is bad business.

Season 6 gave them the perfect opening to separate Buck and Eddie but they used season 7 to bring them closer together than they've ever been. If the plan was to make them end up with other people, they had the chance to make that clear this season, and they didn't. They're not gonna throw it away like this to "punish fans". They would be punishing themselves.

[helpimstuckposting]

TMAGP 30 Speculation

Now that it’s season finale time, I’ve got a LOT to say and a lot of ideas so I will ramble them here and either I’m horribly wrong or horribly right but unfortunately we have to wait to find that out

First, I can’t believe Alice had two mysterious talks with her friends saying they have something super important to say with a horrified quiver to their voices and she didn’t have time to listen to EITHER of them. Teddy and Colin are high high high on the list for ‘died off mic and we only find out next season’

Since Gwen was promoted (idiot) and Sam is… mmm… missing, it looks like the OIAR will need to fill at least one position, and I think it would be fun if Teddy came back to take his place as a main character. It’s possible that what he had to say was “This new job… it’s not exactly [working out]” and he was simply looking for a new one, and it’s no more ominous than that. If that’s the case, I can absolutely see him taking his position back next season. Colin’s probably dead, though, I’ll be shocked if he’s not tbh

Speaking of Colin, he called the system Freddy while talking to Alice. You know, the same guy that said “Don’t give it a personality. We shouldn’t even be calling it Freddy.” So the change up here is really blatant to me.

I’m still really attached to the idea that Jon and Martin (and Jonah’s) voices were stolen and they’re not actually trapped in the computers. However, I *do* think the voices are sentient, I just don’t think we’re right about who’s behind them. I think Freddy, the program itself, may be using the voices to push its own agenda and manipulate the decisions each OIAR employee is making. Alice gets a lot of JMJ errors, and is specifically the only person on staff who actively tunes the cases out and does not read into them.

OR, if it does turn out to be our guys, then I think it’s possible they’re working counter productively to Freddy, and the JMJ errors are a result of that — like they’re actively trying to work against Freddy. This could also be why Colin said he messed up, like maybe his attempts to deal with the JMJ errors made Freddy more powerful.

Either way, it seems the OIAR is in a huge bind going into season two. Colin probably did something buck wild and pissed the computer off, he’s probably dead, Sam is missing and they’ll need a new hire, Lena is gone (the only person who presumably knew anything that was going on) and Gwen just got promoted to boss despite having 1) absolutely no idea what’s going on with anything at all, 2) an inability to handle the externals and several panic attacks, and 3) no clue what Lena’s job even was, with no direction from the man who promoted her. It seems like even the PM has no real clue what the OIAR does, how it functions, or who it employs (“I’m sorry, do you hire a lot of murderers for contract and consultancy work?” - the answer is Yes, actually, several!)

Picturing the team next season as Alice, Teddy, Celia, and their boss Gwen is… a comedy of errors (or comedy of [ERROR]s? … Sorry) like that absolutely cannot go well. Although, we are pretty used to people being hired as a boss while they have no qualifications of the sort (also did not go well)

As for Sam, the Archivist, and Hilltop Road, I have a few questions about what could possibly happen. First, if the crack in reality was specifically calling for and tugging Celia toward it, we can probably assume that it’s the TMA universe on the other side, right? Which means Sam and the Archivist are now in our original beloved universe. I’m curious to see if Sam is just going to be MIA for the entirety of season two, or if we’ll get tape recordings of him at the same time as our TMagP friends, and we’ll have updates between both universes. I could see that being very interesting if some voice actors appear as two different people in the same episode (their TMA part, and their TMagP counterpart) but that would probably be really complicated to pull off in an audio format.

Also, we know the TMA fears cannot be separated, and that they’re possibly just one entity and have been one entity the whole time. That’s why they couldn’t start the apocalypse without all of them participating, and that’s why when Annabelle opened the crack in reality they all left the TMA universe. “Any attempt to separate the fears is doomed,” is what she said. She also said, “I would either travel with them, or I would die. I do not know which... Most would simply lose whatever power they have been gifted.”

So, if an archivist travels back through the crack in reality, what would happen to them? They’d be cut off from the entity that gave them power, right? So either the archivist will die, or maybe we’ll find out who Beth Eyre (the voice of [ERROR])’s character really is? Who they were before they became an archivist?

I don’t think they’d introduce [ERROR] and then just get rid of them without any resolution, which leads me to believe we will eventually find out what happened to Sam. I don’t think Sam’s just going to be dead or missing and never come back, I don’t see how there’d be any point to that. He is still the only person we know of who’s survived telling their whole statement, and even though he had a headache I feel like that must be significant. The janitor turned into a rock, I really don’t think a normal person would just walk away with a headache. Like, for all intents and purposes, Sam probably should have had his skin ripped off if we’re following the pattern of [ERROR] related deaths.

I hope next season focuses on Hilltop Road, because the lore in this episode was amazing. First of all, it was hard not to notice how each shop had a different danger. The custodian mentioned the drunk man walking into the newsagent and then he “ignored the smell of burnt hair and charred meat”. Then there was the shop that turned a woman into a mannequin, and Sam and Celia walked past the appliance shop where doors kept opening and closing, and the dentist that wanted peoples teeth. There was also the antique shop from episode 7 that almost buried the manager alive, plus the institute also used one of the units. I could be reading too much into it, but it feels like each fear from TMA has uhhhh… set up shop?

It’s also interesting to me that Annabelle said every owner on Hilltop Road in TMA was marked by the Spider, and died a grizzly death.

“So many schemers and spiders and full-throated monsters. Twisting manipulators and furtive liars. Each meeting a violent, grotesque end.” (TMA 196)

And the owner of Hilltop Center was no different.

“I found the owner dead in his office, with every blood vessel stripped from his body and strung around the room in a grim cat’s cradle.”

Not only did he die a violent and mysterious death, but his blood vessels were strung up ‘in a cats cradle’, which is pretty web-like if you ask me.

Anyway, I’m really really hoping to learn more about Hilltop Center next season, that’s the ONE thing I’m super latched on to post-finale

[miriellesandthegiantpeach]

How Not to Compartmentalize by Evan Buckley

BuckTommy fic

Summary: Evan tries to hold back about a bad day at work. When Tommy doesn't allow that, it opens the flood gates and Evan confesses that he's been trying to hold himself back. Tommy matches that and confesses something as well.

**

There is a pattern starting to develop, Tommy is pretty sure. Evan and him are firefighters, so stress on the job is a given. They potentially put their lives on the line every time they step off that fire engine. Tommy has discovered that his and Evan’s way of processing that stress on the real tough days are vastly different, and who’s to say which way is better. It probably lands somewhere in the middle. Tommy will compartmentalize the hell out of a call that goes south, putting all his mistakes into a box to open up again when he feels like it. His therapist has told him more than once that remaining stoic isn’t the best way to process heavy emotions.

Then there’s Evan, who feels everything with such intensity. His emotions are constantly boiling over, and that goes for everything - no one has to guess what Evan is feeling at any given time. Something that Tommy loves so much about him, has even taught Tommy to let the tight grip he has loosen a little bit. Once they got more settled into their relationship and Evan shows Tommy just how enthusiastic he is about learning the wonders of sleeping with a man, things shift a bit. Evan used to get openly mad at himself when he’s with Tommy, going through each call and speculating what he could have done to be better. Tommy is always there to listen and talk through it - always there to help Evan carry the load.

More and more Tommy starts to notice that Evan isn’t quite his talkative self after the bad days. He'll still go on and on about some article he read that was interesting but when Tommy asks about work, he gets more and more vague. It’s morphed into Evan slumping next to Tommy on the couch and huffing out a quick, “bad day” and pulls Tommy in for a deep kiss. Tommy will usually lose track of the conversation once Evan starts humming into Tommy’s mouth and asking him to do things that Tommy has no choice but to oblige.

It’s today that Tommy can’t ignore it any longer. He’s on day two of his three days off and tidying around his kitchen after a quick dinner. He knows that it’s Evan’s third day working and he’ll be off late and probably going straight to bed to sleep for 12 hours. His phone dings with a text from Eddie saying, “Real bad one today, Buck’s okay. He got stuck for a bit on the last call and got cleared by Hen and Chim. Bobby released him early.” Tommy shoots him a quick thank you text right as he gets a text from Evan that just says, “off early, coming over.” His stomach ties into a knot, half worried about the state of his boyfriend and half worried that Evan will just gloss over what he just went through.

Twenty minutes later Evan is letting himself into Tommy’s house with his spare key, gracelessly dumping his duffle bag by the door. Tommy goes to greet him at the door ready to catch him however he needs.

“Eddie let me know you were in a bit of a situa-” Tommy is cut off mid sentence as Evan rushes him, grabbing both sides of his face and crushing their lips together in a brutal kiss. Tommy reads anger and fear in the kiss. Even in his silence, Evan’s emotions bleed out, staining everything in proximity.

Tommy disconnects their lips by pushing gently on Evan’s biceps, holding him close and searching his face. “We have plenty of time for that, not going anywhere. Why don’t we talk about what happened? I’m still in the dark over here.” Tommy is pleading with his eyes as he watches Evan’s eyes turn glassy and dead.

Evan grabs the front of Tommy’s t-shirt and pulls him backwards in the direction of Tommy’s room. “Yeah.. sure - we can talk, in here.” Evan responds but his tone isn’t matching the words - like his mouth is on autopilot and thinks that will assuage Tommy.

Tommy will humor Evan until they get into the bedroom, standing at the end of the bed where Evan’s hands slip under Tommy’s shirt and wastes no time exploring the expanse of his back. But once Evan’s mouth is on his neck busy leaving wet kisses and teasing licks, Tommy steels himself. He can’t let Evan go on this track of not dealing with something probably traumatic and keeping it to himself. He manages to wiggle out of Evan’s iron grip on his shoulder blades, taking a hold of both hands in a close to crushing grip and sits down firmly on the edge of the bed. Tommy’s looking up at Evan now who has a dazed and confused look on his face.

“Okay, we’re here,” Tommy starts keeping his tone even. “Now we talk.” Evan squeezes his hands and heaves a sigh, hanging his head. Tommy thinks he’s got Evan and is ready to bear the weight of what Evan’s gone through today. Evan lets go of his hands and closes in on Tommy to come down onto the bed to straddle his lap. Evan focuses on smoothing down Tommy’s shirt on his shoulders and blows out a long breath, blowing out all the air taking some of the tension out with it.

Tommy tries to wait him out, but the silence gets too thick and uncomfortable. “Baby?” Tommy whispers hoping to at least manipulate a semi doey eyed look out of Evan with the pet name. Evan’s gaze is locked onto Tommy’s mouth giving him zero reaction.

“I don’t want to be too much,” Evan barely says, more like he is just breathing the words out and not actually saying them. Evan’s eyes are forming a wet sheen and still a thousand miles away.

“What? What was that, Evan?” Tommy encourages him and squeezes his waist, rubbing his thumbs back and forth.

“I said I - uh, I,” Evan swallows and meets Tommy’s concerned eyes. “I’m too much. Too needy.” Evan’s voice just about cracks on the last syllable.

Tommy still has zero context for what Evan is clearly battling with at the moment. While he thinks about how to tackle this with his boyfriend he wraps his arms around Evan’s waist grabbing his wrist and holding tight. Now Evan is securely caged in his arms, Tommy won’t let go even if the world collapses around them.

“Can you tell me what you mean by ‘too needy?’” Tommy gently asks. For a moment all Evan can do is squeeze his eyes shut.

He lets out a shaky breath, “I’ve been told I’m always too much, I go too far, that I’m ‘so needy,’” Evan explains, his mouth trembling slightly. Tommy stays quiet, giving him room to speak. “And- and you. You’re always so calm, even on the worst days. I can never do that. I get so fucking jealous of you, Tommy.” Evan heaves a heavy sigh. He looks pleadingly into Tommy’s eyes, “I thought that if i try to ignore the bad days and distract myself with you, maybe I could get there. Not let the hard days get to me so much. I’m just so fucking scared that you’ll get over my complaining and- and I’m too far gone about you to even risk that.” Evan frowns deeply and exhales hard, “Which I realize saying all that is the exact opposite of what I want to do. I don’t want to burden you.”

“Do you think you’re burdening me now?” Tommy asks. Evan nods minutely.

Tommy has never felt such urgency to correct someone in his life. He cannot go one more second having Evan believe that he is a burden and that Tommy doesn’t want all the weight of the baggage he carries around given to him to carry, at least for a little while.

“Oh, honey.” Tommy starts and lets go of his wrist to bring his hand to cup Evan’s face and rub his cheekbone. “Let me first start with I’m so far gone on you too, you’ve pretty much ruined me for anyone else.” Evan’s eyes are laser focused on Tommy’s now, so Tommy is taking full advantage of the attention. Tommy can just read in Evan’s eyes that he’s screaming for more and he is going to give Evan all he’s got.

“And you are not too much, not to me, never to me. Okay? I crave you all the time. You’ve crawled under my skin and I itch for you everytime you’re not with me. I’m so fucking lovesick that at work I’m constantly getting razzed for checking my phone every five minutes to see if you texted me. I’m pretty sure I know your schedule better than my own at this point. I’ve memorized how long it takes you to get here from work or your place and get butterflies as soon as I hear your Jeep rumble up.” Evan’s lips have parted slightly and soaks in all this information.

Tommy feels a little embarrassed about divulging all this to Evan, because yeah, he prides himself on being calm, cool, and collected. But with Evan it’s different, he doesn’t have to be the “cool guy” he can just be Tommy who laughs easily at Evan’s lame jokes and smiles ear to ear whenever he says an interesting fact. He is telling himself now to be more vocal with Evan about both the good and bad days. If Evan can do that, he can relearn to do it too.

“And I’ve done a lot of work to help me deal with everything about myself - my sexuality, my job, my fear of standing out,” Tommy confesses. “I’ve actually gotten too good at compartmentalizing to an unhealthy point. You’re helping me be more open and be okay with feeling frustrated and disappointed about work. And I can’t wait to learn more from you,” Tommy smiles and Evan scoffs at that. “Hey, I mean that. Your passion and enthusiasm is so goddamn refreshing. Especially here in LA, in a very masculine viewed job.”

Evan deflates and presses his forehead to Tommy’s, and before he gets too distracted with Evan’s lips right there for the taking he needs to let Evan know, “You are not a burden. It would burden me more seeing you carry all this on your own. I’m here, use me. Lean on me, baby. That’s what this is all about. Good, bad, ugly, I want it all. I need your neediness. I want more than anything for you to pull me into the mud with you. Because that’s where I belong. With you. You’re not getting rid of me easily.” Tommy pulls back just enough to look into Evan’s eyes and nod in a question. Right now he needs Evan to believe him. Evan nods back and all but consumes Tommy’s mouth in a bruising kiss. The kiss is as rough as before but Tommy feels a difference there; need, desperation, want. Tommy swallows all of it gratefully.

There’s heat building in his belly and he can’t help the moans that start to leak out from the back of throat. Tommy has the man of his dreams in his lap moaning back with just as much want, he’s not about to waste that. With a practiced ease, Tommy swings Evan over so he’s laying on his back. He stares down at Evan with blown out pupils. He balances on his hand and places the other on Evan’s jaw, touching his swollen lips. “If it wasn’t clear I love you so fucking much. I honestly don’t know who I am anymore without you, Evan.” Tommy isn’t scared of saying that now, they’ve destroyed the last wall standing in between them.

Evan hums and smiles big and bright for the first time tonight and Tommy swears he feels sun on his skin. Evan reaches out to lace his fingers behind Tommy’s head, “Show me how much,baby. I- I need it. Need you,” Evan tries out that once dreaded word with newfound confidence. He pulls Tommy back down to his lips. “I love you too by the way. So much I don’t know what to do sometimes,” Evan says against Tommy’s lips.

Tommy promises to prove to Evan that he needs him just as badly; needs him like oxygen. He fucks Evan slow and deep, relishing all of the moans and words falling between them. And if one or both feel wetness in their eyes, they don’t mention it.

After two orgasms each, they get comfortable in Tommy’s bed to rehash the day. Tommy faithfully nodding along and letting Evan express everything. Tommy smiles to himself. The weight feels good.

Find on AO3:

[lemotmo]

This is what I keep coming back to as well

A. Where do you stand on the whole queerbaiting argument?

Q. In the past this show has not been guilty of queerbaiting. I do agree that Buck and Eddie have both always been queer coded characters, and I believe Eddie has always been the more queer coded of the two, but the show never really sold them or marketed them as a 'couple'. Yes they absolutely played up their pairing and popularity but never in an overtly couple way. They definitely towed the line, but they never crossed it. Also in years past the show has explicitly stated things like 'we have no plans to go there at this time', or even 'stick to fanfiction'. It was always hinted at and broached as a maybe in interviews and reviews but it was never openly discussed by the show or Oliver and Ryan as a genuine plausibility. And even though many of their scenes have felt coupley throughout the series run they always gave them love interests separate from one another. That has not been the case the last two seasons. They do not have the shield of 'we told people it wasn't happening', and 'well canonically speaking we haven't shown any indication that their more than really close friends', this time. This time if they don't do it they will absolutely be guilty of queerbaiting. It's one reason why I genuinely think they are going to pair them together.

I do think the term queerbaiting gets thrown around way too much in fandom spaces because fandoms often create ships that a show never had any plans to make canon. Marketing will absolutely play up a pairings popularity, as is the shows right, but that doesn't mean they're insinuating the show is going to do something with them from a romantic perspective. Last season, but especially so far this season, 911 has absolutely insinuated, and loudly, a romantic possibility exists between the two. Eddie has been in 90% of Buck and Tommy scenes. He's been a subject or topic in other scenes he wasn't physically present in as well. That is intentional. And while I also think fandoms give far too much credit to shows for patterns and theories that are more coincidental than anything else, some patterns and theories do feel intentional. I will fully admit that I believe the couch and lasagna theories. I also increasingly buy into the color theory because there is ample evidence that lends it validity, but most things a show can excuse away as coincidence. But you cannot excuse purposely writing a character into scenes for another couple as a coincidence. They are intentionally placing Eddie in the middle of that relationship. They have not at any time verbally discouraged or dismissed the increasingly public speculation of Buddie this time around either. And Tim, Oliver and Ryan have all had numerous opportunities to shut the speculation down. They've placed themselves in this position and they don't have plausible deniability on their side this time. Not doing it would bring warranted queerbaiting accusations and probably consequences the show wants to avoid. As I've stated numerous times, anon, the show just doesn't really have an option anymore.

Thank you Nonny!

Yes. To all of this. There is no way back from here. They need to finish this story and hopefully do it justice.

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