#also i can talk a ton about how eddie is more queer coded than buck had been

[ranbling]

Thanking that a heavily queercoded character is "straight" makes you look homophobic, just saying

Though I guess you can't expect anything else from the people who bring out the "we need more platonic male friendships" argument

[wanderingwomanwondering]

*so long, so sorry*

Thank you for reading my post and sharing your thoughts, @afleetingindecency!!! I appreciate discussion so damn much so thank you ❤️

“The only risk is that the audience ends up encouraged to get some weird "straight with an exception" ideas rather than embracing Eddie and Buck as part of the queer spectrum. This is easy to avoid so I hope the show takes pains to do so.”

I can definitely see some members of the GA thinking like this. People use all sorts of tricks to shrink and box-in queerness in an attempt to protect??? heteronormativity. It’s frustrating and embarrassing when people choose to be that wrong-headed and that loudly too. Anyway, I agree that tptb can counter that kind of thinking pretty easily within the narrative and one way is by having buck/eddie’s therapists do a little education. I love that idea!! It won’t necessarily stop people from thinking problematic thoughts but it will at least provide a clear, educated, and professional counterargument within the show itself.

I will say for me personally, I don’t love but I do accept when people irl “cope” with their or others’ queerness by asserting that a person they have a queer interest in is the exception to their rule. People know themselves better than me and there is such a thing as queer identity development. Not everyone is at a place where they can understand that one queer moment/interest/desire is enough to get them a comfy chair and a delicious plate at the LGBTQIA Family BBQ, if they want it and aren’t being shitty to other queer people while they’re on their own journey of self-discovery. I try not to gatekeep. On the flipside, if they really don’t want to come to the gay bbq, we’re probably better off if no one is forcing them to be there. We can recline and eat our burgers wo their bullshit LOL.

In terms of tv rep though, we have to be mindful of how the GA can twist things in queerphobic ways that lead to irl harm in our actual living breathing communities so I definitely see your point and agree that tptb can and should work to counter harmful corruptions of the narrative in the actual show.

To your other point about Taylor as a catalyst for buck’s confession of feelings, at least to the audience. I like it and would take that confession however I could get it, lol. But I do struggle with yet another gf doing even part of her bf’s emotional labor. Taylor would be an easy option to get buck talking but I do think there are other ways to do it. Could be maddie when she’s healthier. Could be bobby if something happens at work that makes him notice. We have precedent for him doing that with various characters. Could be buck’s therapist, Dr. Copeland. We have tons of options.

In terms of queer tragedy porn, I couldn’t agree with you more! The tragic queer backstory is so painfully real and common, but it’s CONSTANT use in media feels like a Hayes Code holdover. It also serves as a shortcut to emotional storytelling. Thanks, I hate it! It’s 2021. If we can’t tell deep, emotional, meaningful queer stories without specifically queer-related tragedy and trauma then wtaf?! Again I’m not denying the truly fucked up shit our community endures AND also, alot of that queerphobic behavior persists bc non-queer people aren’t being shown an abundance of queer stories that expect and demonstrate better behavior from non-queer people toward queer people.

Also, I think the irony of the tragic queer history is that it actually centers the factors that made the history tragic. That’s great for raising awareness but kinda sucks for the character’s story bc it gets drowned out by the sad circumstances. Of course it’s never that simple but you get my point. If I’m oversimplifying things, I don’t mean to, so I’ll just…leave it. 👀

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts with me 🤓 and indulge my reciprocal word vomit 😬

Buddie & TPTB

Before I get into it: Queer shit just happens and characters don’t necessarily need to provide receipts for queer desire. Queerness can evolve for a character, with an unexpected moment/encounter catalyzing a self-discovery process. Then before you know it, the character learns something about themselves that they didn’t know before. This is a thing that happens irl, why not on tv.

That said, I desperately want Buck and Eddie to have that kind of love story. I rambled on about that in a previous post. I think it would/could be realistic, compelling, and fun. I also think it’s a pristine opportunity to use the power of storytelling to help the general audience understand the complexity and nuance of discovering one’s queerness later in life/without prior queer receipts.

We know that if/when tptb proclaim Buck and Eddie’s love story and start to show them as increasingly romantically involved, many general audience members are going to feel “blindsided��, and both low-key and high-key queerphobia are going to spike. Idec but I do…to a point.

I hope for better but I’m a frickin’ realist. There are already so many micro- and macro-aggressions perpetrated against the queer corners of fandom when it comes to Buddie. I have no delusions that Buck and Eddie exploring their evolving queerness on screen will be met with resounding positivity, support, and enthusiasm. Many will be okay or at least neutral but the phobes will emerge from their hidey-holes full force. I say bring it, because it’s time for a prominent queer mlm relationship on a network tv show that wasn’t planned to be queer from jump. 

Anyway, the GA doesn’t read queer-coding and queer subtext like queer folks themselves do so the transition will likely shock the shit out of a lot of people, whether they decide to be aggressive angry hemorrhoids about it or not. Whatever happens, tptb have a golden opportunity to allow Eddie and Buck’s process of queer awakening and self-discovery to mirror/guide/inform the general audience, to a degree at least.

They can let Buck and Eddie ask and maybe fumble a bit with some of the same pressing questions the general audience has. The main GA questions that come immediately to my mind are:

Can Buck and Eddie develop queer attraction where they didn’t have or hadn’t realized it before?

Does Buck and Eddie’s deep and abiding love for one another have to be romantic and/or sexual? Can’t they just stay bros?

If they do realize that they want a romantic and/or sexual relationship with each other, what the hell do they do next? 

Frankly, I think it’s a little harder to do this kind of story/character work if both Buck and Eddie are not in the same or similar boats when it comes to figuring out their feelings and desires. But still, even if it’s only one of them. there are rich possibilities. It’s just better if it’s both, in MY headcanon. YMMV.

Can you imagine the world if these assumed straight dudes (by themselves and others) awkwardly, but with determination and pure love, ask the above questions as a complex arc presented on screen, out loud?! If they get to explore separately and together what it means to have these feelings/desires for another man and all the beauty and challenges of that process??? 

I can practically see the authentic, heartfelt, but still maybe awkward moment when they say “I love you and I think I’m in love with you” then the other is like “We gotta be sure, right?” Of course they both know in their heart but they are hesitant. One says “maybe we should kiss? If we hate it then we can just go back to being bros”. Then these fools kiss and it’s electric. No more bro/comphet for these idiots. It’s scary, it’s amazing, it’s beautiful, it’s unexpected, and it’s also completely inevitable in a wild way that blows them both back. Whatever they decide in their romantic/sexual adventure, they can do whatever they want free and clear, sky’s the limit.

A combination of deep conversations and passionate exploration (as much as you can have on a network tv station, FOX no less!). Palpable moments of reckoning with what it all means, but first and foremost LOVE. IT’S ALL LOVE and it’s beautiful and they can’t deny it. They won’t deny it. They may decide to be reserved and thoughtful at first, especially with starting a physical relationship OR they may dive right in but still ask the tough questions at various points. Whatever happens, they ARE NOT COWARDS. They can’t not pursue this, and in so doing they could maybe bring at least a portion of the GA along for the ride.

Again I say, whether the GA accepts canon Buddie or not I want 911 to do this. I want Buddie. I want tptb to be bold enough and forward thinking enough to go there. But how they handle it could have a meaningful real world impact with a host of positive implications for the GA and more importantly for the diverse queer community represented in fandom, if tptb are thoughtful and intentional in the process.

Buddie deserves this! The queer fandom deserves this! If the GA/tptb are open-minded/intentional enough, the GA can come along for the ride. And OH what a mf ride!!!