#OT3: BLT Burgers

[sailoreuterpe]

Do you have a favorite bob/linda/Teddy moment from the show?

I managed to come up with one almost immediately! What a surprising turn of events for me. XD Usually these kinds of asks sit in my inbox for months. Anyway--

Teddy is Bob and Linda's biggest cheerleader in "Go Tina on the Mountain" and he's adorable in every scene. Teddy is so genuinely sweet in how much he loves Bob, Linda, and Bob and Linda together. All of his scenes are gold, especially when he's like, "There's watching hockey with a friend," and Linda's totally up for it. XD

However, my absolute favorite scene is when Teddy says, "This time is a gift. It's a chance to reconnect with one another." We know that Teddy's own marriage was a disaster, plus he grew up in a dysfunctional family. He's trying to help his friends avoid those tragedies. Even though Bob and Linda are so happy and stable, Teddy doesn't want them to miss out on any time together.

Teddy obviously has a crush on Linda and there's subtext that he also has a crush on Bob. Teddy has made snide comments and talked some smack before about both Bob and Linda. However, not-very-far-down-at-all, Teddy truly appreciates and respects Bob and Linda's relationship. He wants them to be happy together as a couple. He's their biggest cheerleader, even as he aches for what they have. Teddy would rather be alone (the sentiment is made comedic at the end of the episode when he moves on down the block to avoid the vomit smell) than see Bob and Linda unhappy.

I just really love their friendship, everyone. T_T

[sailoreuterpe]

I would be remiss to not say Bob/Linda/Teddy (BLT) as that's my OT3 for the series. The ship is arguably (partially) canon. Teddy pretty explicitly has a crush on Linda and there's enough subtext to suggest a canon crush on Bob as well. Some of the evidence is current, too: episodes as recent as "Cheaty Cheaty Bang Bang" tease Teddy's crushes on both elder Belchers.

However, the ship itself is rare for a few reasons. For one, I highly doubt that a mainstream animated sitcom owned by Disney and becoming more "family-friendly" every episode is going to put the main canon couple into a triad. Besides which, the series has given Teddy a steady partner in Kathleen. Any possible Teddy ships are pretty much sunk at the moment, including BLT as well as Mort/Teddy (another favorite ship of mine).

The main reason that I call BLT a rarepair, though, is that I'm really the only one shipping it. XD On Archive of Our Own, there are:

two stories that list BLT as a ship but have yet to include the ship.

one list of evidence for characters being queer in the series.

eight stories from one single writer who writes BLT but only focuses on Bob/Teddy with Linda supportive but not involved.

In the "Bob/Teddy" tag there's one Bob/Teddy shipper with nine stories who writes Linda as varying degrees of consenting to the ship as a metamour. There are exactly two other stories that use the tag that don't also use "Bob/Linda/Teddy." As far as "Linda/Teddy" is concerned, I'm the only one using that tag.

Assuming that my math is correct, there are only six other writers even dabbling in BLT and none of them actually write BLT. They write Bob/Teddy with Linda consenting to some extent as a metamour or they write peripheral BLT that can easily be read as just Bob/Teddy. As for the component ships of Bob/Teddy and Linda/Teddy, I'm also the only one writing those. I'm definitely the only one writing BLT as a roughly-equal romantic partnership on all sides between all three with roughly-equal screen-time.

So yeah. XD

so what's y'all's favorite Bob’s Burgers rarepair? the ship you love that had little to no fanfic/fanart but you still love it? reblog or comment below, I'm nosy lmao 👀 mine will be in the tags

[genebelcher]

when it comes to bobs burgers ships, the ot3 is BLT Burger (bob/linda/teddy). it is perfect.

[sailoreuterpe]

blt!!

[sailoreuterpe]

Ship asks! For a ship/s of your choosing. Feel free to answer all, none, or just some.

Who sets the mousetraps?

Who eats off their chapstick?

Who has a snort laugh their partner loves?

Who would eat crackers in bed?

Who teaches their kid/s how to wash their hands properly?

Who would wear earrings that look like fish in a bowl?

Who would cry over the dedications at the start of a good book?

Who rolls up socks so their kids can get them onto their feet more easily?

Who relates way too strongly to the narrative arc of Matilda?

Who has a very specific hangup about a piece of media they consumed as a child?

Ship asks! For a ship/s of your choosing. Feel free to answer all, none, or just some.

(I got tired of trying to come up with in-depth answers and thus stalling, so here are some off-the-cuff answers!)

Who sets the mousetraps? Teddy, but only the humane kind

Who eats off their chapstick? Linda

Who has a snort laugh that their partners love? Linda

Who would eat crackers in bed? LINDA (it’s literally canon)

Who teaches their kids how to wash their hands properly? Bob

Who would wear earrings that look like fish in a bowl? Linda, Teddy, Bob if he were drunk

Who would cry over the dedications at the start of a good book? All of them, although Bob would deny it and Teddy would go overboard

Who rolls up socks so their kids can get them onto their feet more easily? All of them, although Linda is the only one any good at it

Who relates way too strongly to the narrative arc of Matilda? BOB and Teddy; Linda’s too far in denial and also had more friends as a small child

Who has a very specific hangup about a piece of media that they consumed as a child? Teddy (dude has hangups for his hangups)

[sailoreuterpe]

(I just watched Elf this evening.)

MY BLORBOS IN MY OT3! MY BEST BLORBOS IN MY BEST SHIP! I AM LOSING MY MIND! THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!!

Boblin + Teddy sketch. He's their boyfriend.

[ID: A blue digital sketch on a lightly textured white background of Bob, Linda, and Teddy from Bob's Burgers. Teddy is sandwiched in between Bob and Linda looking sweetly affectionate while Bob at his front kisses his cheek, and Linda hugs him from behind.

/end ID]

[sailoreuterpe]

23 24 with bob/linda/teddy

23. What are the defining characteristics of their relationship? The defining characteristics of their relationship are loyalty and support. We see this in canon; Bob and Linda will stand by each other no matter what and Teddy is the most loyal friend to the Belchers. They all will do whatever it takes to support the other two. Even if they're all in a dangerous situation, they're holding hands and pumping each other up and taking on each other's troubles. This is canon; I'm just expanding it to include Teddy also kissing Bob and Linda as well.

24. How do their personalities affect their relationship? Do their characteristics compliment each other, or clash often? We know from canon that Bob and Teddy often clash when one wants the other to do something that they don't want to do. Actually, Bob and Linda have that dynamic as well. However, their personalities mesh well when offering acts of service and support. Bob and Linda are also incredibly competitive, which we know from canon upsets Teddy. They do always end up on the same side, however. Ultimately, the three work well together as Bob and Linda are the calm to Teddy's anxiety, Linda and Teddy are the passion to Bob's scepticism, and Teddy and Bob are the grounding to Linda's chaos.

[sailoreuterpe]

Dealer's choice on fandom, but how about a top three moments between your OT3? <3

Now, this question invites some contemplation. Do you mean canonically, head-canonically, or in my work? What the Hell, let’s do them all! Also, I apologize for taking several months to answer this question. DX

Canon

“Dawn of the Peck”

“Frigate Me Knot”

“Go Tina on the Mountain”

Headcanon

The first time that Bob and Linda met Teddy

The first time that Teddy ate over at the Belcher home

The first time that Teddy defended Bob and Linda, probably against Jimmy Pesto

My Fanwork

The love declarations in “Teddy in Bob’s Heady”

The proposal in “Spare-row Me the Details”

The vows in “A Commit-y of Marriers” (which I am so excited to write)

(I'd have a section here for other fanwork if anyone but me wrote BLT, lol.)

[sailoreuterpe]

✈️ BLT?

How do they celebrate anniversaries?

Bob sometimes forgets, whereas Linda and Teddy never forget. Linda because she's the detail person and Teddy because he's spent fifteen years obsessively learning everything about his favorite people, even before he's dating them. After he marries them, Teddy always does something extra-special for Bob and Linda on their original anniversary since he's still their biggest cheerleader. If they have a little money they might go out for dinner, maybe to Rudy's or Patricia's or Savory. When they're more broke, they just stay in after either sending the kids to Gayle's (if they can manage a bribe) or telling the kids to stay in their rooms (if not). They'll drink wine, eat dinner (usually made by Bob), and watch movies.

Teddy would like to do more, but even Linda is more subdued compared to him and she and Bob can reign him in most years. The big anniversaries, all bets are off and Bob and Linda indulge their husband. For example, for their tenth anniversary, Teddy buys the restaurant a new dishwasher.

"It contains tin so it counts, Bobby! And Lin, look! The front is stainless steel so we can put fun magnets on it!"

Of course Linda buys a bunch of fun magnets. :3

[sailoreuterpe]

Aw, thank you so much! I'm excited that you and a few others have expressed interest in writing for BLT. The more the merrier is more motto! Plus, it's so cool to see other fans' ideas and interpretations.

What's your favorite obscure ship for Bob’s?

it depends on your definition of obscure LOL

harley x louise would be really cute tbh.... i think they'd be fun together!!! can see them dating for like a summer during high school for fun and then calling it off after that. nothing serious but they'd get along like a house on fire

tina x jimmy jr x zeke if that counts as obscure. their friendship is ADORABLE i could totally see them wanting to spend the rest of their lives together <3

gene x peter pescadero bcuz i think it would be funny. and they're in a band together so it kinda works!

bob x linda x teddy if that counts as obscure. literally obsessed w/ their relationship they'd be the best throuple and @sailoreuterpe is doing everything for them. we should all be so grateful

zeke x rudy because they seem to REALLY really love each other (but maybe they work better at brother-figures??) rudy literally called zeke his soulmate. i also enjoy gene x zeke and gene x jimmy jr

[sailoreuterpe]

🍀 bob/linda/teddy!

Who is better at comforting?

I think that it depends on the situation. Linda and Teddy both can be a little oblivious, whereas Bob can be a little too honest. I think that, all things equal, Linda is the best comforter. As much as her childhood also sucked, she's still the only one who had (relatively) happy parents and a mostly-stable upbringing--at least at face value. Also, we see that Linda takes pride in her role as a mother, sometimes to an unhealthy degree. Linda is the one bringing the others their favorite treats and snuggling when they're upset. As the movie points out, when Linda is depressed, something is seriously wrong. However, Bob and Teddy have their moments as well.

[sailoreuterpe]

Unusual fic asks! BTS: DVD commentary about your favorite passage from Truck Be Evade-y! 💕

I don't think that I'll ever get to this question unless I answer in a more narrative style, so let's try that. I did genuinely try to answer like in a DVD! I just never was good at author's notes in-character from waaay back when. XD

I think that the epilogue is my favorite passage/scene from "Truck be E-vade-y Tonight"! I threw in many little Easter eggs as well as several headcanons, especially for returning readers. I also dropped a few hints on where the series will go beyond Bob/Linda/Teddy eventually moving into Teddy's house. ;) I just adore the idea of the triad making it to their sixties, still in love and still the characters that I love. That part of the story really made me want to write more in the future!

[sailoreuterpe]

...

...

...

This is so, so, so amazing! No one has ever made me a moodboard as a gift before and I love them so much. Better yet, I can tell that you've actually read the story through which images you choose.

The sloppy pile of documents.

The foyer of Mister Fischoeder's house.

The arch with the flowers, exactly how I imagined the setup.

Linda in her wedding veil.

The three whiskey glasses.

You took some of my most favorite parts of my story, pulled the very images from my brain, and put them into a moodboard--one of my most favorite forms of fandom. You are a rockstar friend and reader! Thank you for continuing to inspire me every day! As soon as I crush Boblin Week and Zekina Week, I'm going to marinate in ACoM, in part due to your support. Thank you forever!

A Commit-y of Marriers by @sailoreuterpe

Bob and Linda are marrying Teddy. Of course, things don't all go according to plan. In the end, however, their wedding is still (almost) perfect.

[sailoreuterpe]

I'm the process of writing my "season finale" to the beginning years of Bob/Linda/Teddy's relationship--I'm writing their commitment ceremony! I figure that now is as good a time as any to reblog my post about my series. I have such amazing readers and they really inspire me to continue. <3

@scrumptious-shit asked for a link, so here is my exceedingly-self-indulgent "Bob's Burgers" polyamory series starring Bob, Linda, and Teddy in a romantic closed triad. I've been hesitant to post much about my series due to some negative comments aimed at the ship. However, I'm tired of not sharing my work because some folks might find the content distasteful. Blocking and filtering are useful tools.

[sailoreuterpe]

...That never even crossed my mind. DX Thank you for the heads' up! I'm going to go change it right now.

First Line Ask Game! Rules: List the first lines of the last ten stories you published (or works in progress if you’re feeling brave lol). See if you or others notice any patterns!

(For this game, I included the first paragraph of each fanfiction. I skipped any fandom ship week stories or else more than half of my list would have been just those. I also completely missed “A Commit-y of Marriers” on my first rundown so I’ve included that work as a bonus. ACoM the only fanfiction on my list that’s still ongoing, so it can be its own little category.)

Billy carries the dog off into the field, fully intending to do the deed. Fast and kindly. Free Miss Longabaugh of the worry. She has enough on her plate without the others complaining. - The Guy Who Got Flustered

Now what should we do?” Mamoru asks the other brunette as the crystal door silently slides shut behind Usagi. Seiya looks over at him, zer eyes narrowed. The grin on zer face is positively ecstatic and a little manic. Mamoru groans softly. “Seiya, no.” - When Usagi’s Not Home

The next time that Teddy sees his navy buddies, Bob and Linda do hold his hands. In fact, Linda is the one to grab Teddy’s hand first, deliberately and with a smile that glints a little feral. Bob is less showy–of course; it’s Bob–but his grip is no less tight. - I Wanna (Cargo) Hold Your Hand

Jimmy isn’t Linda. Even if he wasn’t such a fucking asshole and an egotistical shithead, he wouldn’t be Linda. Linda is–was…was– - He Isn’t You and that Cuts Me Through

Teddy knows that the Belchers love him. He’s known since before Bob and Linda even started dating him; even when Teddy could have never dreamed that they might love him romantically, he still knew that the whole family cared about him as their friend. They’re all so awesome that they can smash through Teddy’s significant insecurities...most days. - Unforgettable, Too

Louise notices the change first. She’s had Chloe in a headlock for long enough that the redhead should be passed out. Chloe, for her part, is still too angry to care that her perfectly-painted talons aren’t doing shit to Louise. Not any more. And they aren't even breaking on Louise's skin like usual. - Fate and Sole-Mates

The feel of Linda’s calloused hands on Teddy’s bare back isn’t sexy. Sure, he’s had a very minor, very tiny crush on his friend for some time. But right now, there’s nothing titillating about Linda’s hands on his skin as she stabilizes herself against him to draw a bad tattoo design to show to his mother. - Your Hands on My Back (They Give Me a Heart Attack)

Tina assumes that her first date with Zeke will be pretty similar to her first–official–date with Jimmy Junior. And every subsequent first date in Tina’s life. - Let’s Give ‘em Something to Taco ‘Bout

Louise sends Logan a selfie, spread out on the bed, in nothing but her shorts and beanie. There’s a bottle of beer in her hand and various snacks conspicuously placed. Specifically things that Logan hates (like her weird Japanese candy that costs an arm and a leg at the import store). - Girl'z Staycation

Jimmy Junior is awkward and weird. So is Tina. He dances out his emotions. Tina writes out hers. Jimmy Junior can be blunt and kind of mean. Tina gets called out for saying stuff out loud that apparently she’s not even supposed to think. - Quirky Turkey and Peculiar Pig

They woke up as if it were any other day. Linda’s eyes popped open and she grinned, but none of that was special. Most dawns saw Linda Belcher grinning and greeting the sun, her ability to see the best in every moment only occasionally dampened by too much alcohol or life-threatening emergencies. - A Commit-y of Marriers

Alright, here are some general observations. I’m glad to see the spread of fandoms, including one of my oldest, one of my newest, and one that I’m not really in but the material called to me. I only wish that I had a "Pacific Rim" story more recently. I’m pleased to see a range of “Bob’s Burgers” ships (two each for Bob, Tina, and Louise) although I need to write more Gene ship-work. The poor guy doesn’t get enough love in my writing. Many of these pieces are gifts, which makes me smile. I really do love my polyamory, lol. I need to finish the next chapter of ACoM, but I’m having minor writer’s block about a specific scene. Once I’m over that hurdle, the chapter will flow fine. Finally, I enjoy writing in the first-person present tense.

[sailoreuterpe]

I LOVE THIS SHIP. I WRITE THIS SHIP. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT BLT.

so what's y'all's favorite Bob’s Burgers rarepair? the ship you love that had little to no fanfic/fanart but you still love it? reblog or comment below, I'm nosy lmao 👀 mine will be in the tags