#and how FOX treated Oliver/Buck

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Hii!! I just read your answer to the other anon about quuerbait and journalism it was akl very clear, thank you. I have only one doubt in my head, if they already have a gay canon couple with henren and in general the show is very diverse. Why wouldnt fox let them make buddie canon?

If my speculation is true and FOX wouldn't let them do Buddie (I know nothing this is entirely speculation)...

There's this continued bias in television that characters are whatever sexuality you decided they were when you first introduced them. Queer characters can only be queer if they were planned as queer from the beginning. Hen and Michael are both strongly established as gay in the pilot episode, for example.

Characters that started out straight (or as far as the audience knows are straight) and are allowed to be revealed as queer, or realize they are queer, are very few and far between. Networks, showrunners, writers, etc still struggle to accept that maybe a character has naturally evolved, or a relationship has naturally evolved, into something queer.

Especially when it's conventionally attractive men, because you not only bring homophobia/biphobia into play but toxic masculinity as well.

Additionally, we know that FOX really, really pushed Oliver (the handsome young white man) as the "face" of the show and pushed him to do the majority of the PR for the show the last few years. So it would not surprise me if they wanted Buck to remain an available man with various (straight) romantic escapades for cheap stereotypical drama.

I also (personally) noticed after season one a real drop in letting the characters be... adults that have adult sex lives? The way the couples interact is very... PG? Even Bathena who is noted for having a kinky sex life, it's played for laughs. Compare the "fire in the kitchen" roleplay that May walks into vs the handcuffed situation Athena calls Hen for help with in season one. But Hen and Karen especially it felt very PG? this is just a personal vibe and others might very well think I'm crazy but I just got a real... sense that Hen and Karen and other queer characters were allowed to discuss their queerness but not show it. There wasn't a genuine sexiness allowed. But that was an issue (in my opinion!) across the board after season one. I just really really noticed it with Hen and Karen.

But that last one is really my personal "vibe check" and others could certainly feel differently. Mostly it's the fact that we're seeing FOX didn't allow them to do things they wanted in other areas, so it wouldn't surprise me if they also didn't allow Buddie to happen, especially when you consider that FOX really pushed Oliver/Buck as the star/face of 9-1-1 (something the actors commented on and disliked) the last few seasons (Tim has even hinted that he felt recent Buck storylines were stupid), and the fact that historically, trying to take a character originally believed to be straight and having them actually be queer gets a lot of pushback and is still pretty rare in the TV landscape.

[stolenkissesdiaz]

me? oh i’m good yk just thinking about how maybe buck gets all excited when he finds or learns something he knows chris likes but when he goes to send it to him, he remembers they haven’t spoken since he left. u think he ever goes to eddie’s house bc he misses chris and after he opens the door, for a split second, he forgets he’s gone and his smile drops slightly when he remembers? how eddie probably notices and bites his cheek looking away with guilt bc he forgets he’s not the only one that misses chris? u think they rewatch chris’ favorite movies? that buck practices cooking his favorite foods? or has a list in his notes app of a bunch of book and documentary recs and new places to show chris when he comes back? that he keeps chris’ favorite snacks stocked in his loft? or that buck comes over eddie’s house and sends eddie to grab something just so buck can dust off chris’ bedroom so eddie doesn’t see? how he probably looks around the room feeling a little sick bc it feels like chris is dead sometimes? confused why there was a lump in his throat when eddie told him chris didn’t dress up this year for halloween bc they usually always do…..laugh out loud. lmfao even.

[mydiazboys]

ALSO ALSO ANOTHER THING when can the 118 fam get a dalmatian??? cause like... i wanna see my fam with a puppy, an actual puppy

[nqueso-emergency]

I was scared of saying it since i saw how you were treated when you started sharing your information. Non everyone is strong like you and can take all that insult and harassment people on both sides are direct to you. I saw someone come to you with information and i said fuck it, maybe anonymously i will be able to do it.

My aunt is a tailor and part of the costume department of tv shows and she worked for a lot of little production but 5 years ago she booked a job for 911: first thanks to Fox and now to ABC because the production liked her job and they wanted to take her and her team to the new network. They don’t stay a lot on set unless there is some particular scene where a shirt or a dress need to be ruined.

So, when she had to dress Oliver for that coffee date, they give her a picture of that old man in his young version how reference. I don’t know if this is because Tim was really intentional with the Invisible String Theory or because they wanted Buck to look “more” queer but this happened and you can interpret it as you want.

Also, since s8 filming started she prepared 5 outfit for him and if i remember correctly one is an elegant one so maybe a date and one is a flight suit so i think he will be featured in the big emergency. I don’t have too much gossip on why and how they are hiding him but my aunt made him a couple of outfits so he is there. And she said that he is a wonderful human being.

Hey! I wanted to answer this asap before things start moving.

I heard something similar about the coffee date outfit but it was never confirmed or denied from my side.

I'd love to talk to you more if you'd like! I'll never reveal people's identities, I get it.

[outrunningthedark]

They don’t even want to talk about how Eddie being queer wouldn’t dismiss the way he treated women. I’m afraid Eddie Diaz is a character lost to fanon, which isn’t hard to do when the writers themselves did him a disservice. His character deserves better on both sides.

I'm never gonna lie and say that I'm upset Shannon was killed off... (yes, this is is "the redemption show" but Shannon not turning her life around is equally as important because it still reflects real life! not every disabled child is given a MOM who puts her child first!) ...but it really is wild to think about how the Eddie we know in canon wouldn't exist were Shannon still alive, and therefore the "evidence" for his supposed queerness would be damn near nonexistent. Alive Shannon means more sex scenes even if they're fighting. Alive Shannon means Eddie wouldn't be attempting to date other women and failing because he's grieving his wife. Alive Shannon means more scenes with Chris (once she got her shit together, obv) so the audience would see Eddie, Shannon, and Chris as the real family unit. Alive Shannon means the will they/won't they would be between Eddie and his wife instead of Eddie and his BFF. What a fumble by Tim, honestly. Took so much stock in what the online fandom was saying that he didn't stop to consider the online fandom had no control over where Eddie's story would go. (Even if Tim consider Queer Eddie at any point during the run on FOX, FOX would have said no. Somehow we managed to know that, but the guy who's worked with FOX for years did not know that, as evidenced by him telling Oliver about Bi Buck without the proper approval from above.) And now? Well. We see what's going on now. And we support it!)

[cosmicclownboy]

Look there was always going to be ONE show that did the canonizing of a heavily popular m/m pairing first. If we're being honest a lot of fans wanted their show to be first.

The reality is a lot of the reasons it doesn't go there is because 1.the network they are on and 2. the viewership numbers and demographics they choose to target. What people don't get is half the time the actors and the show WANT to go there. Supernatural the NDA's may of been ironclad but the actors disappointment is forever visible.

Now when it comes to 9-1-1 imo I think why they went fuck it lets do it is multiple factors.

This was always a queer show since day 1. People can fight it deny it try and jump through hoops but since day 1 it has centered queer characters regularly. In real life queer people are drawn together whether they have figured it out or not so Buck and Eddie and Hen all actively working on the same rig makes sense to me. Just like Tommy being gay and originally being on the rig makes sense to me. It's always unintentional but it happens. And probably part of the safety for being there is knowing they will always be actively accepted regardless even if they don't know who they are.

The network change. Now being on Fox they clearly had marked the demographics they cared about the most and threw an odd crumb here and there to the younger fans. And I think that's changed. I think with the transition of networks they just want viewership numbers to be high. Which means looking at what all fans want in general. People were never clambering the seats for Buddie because they were two hot men or whatever. It was about how they both had queer coding and that their relationship moments would often parallel the romantic pairings in the show. Further giving more queer coding. When one of the men is having a panic attack and admitting that they are performing when being with women my thought isn't damn he'll meet the right one eventually. It's um buddy are you sure you like women? And with Buck- Eddie's introduction is centered on his pov so the mighty good man song the slow mo that's all Buck's seeing. There was actively nothing about Buck that was straight he's always been open and nurturing.

THEY HAD A CHANCE TO DO THE FUNNIEST THING AND THEY DID. Between the memeability of Buck being canonized Bi in 4 episodes with a different network. The sheer amount of fandoms who went through the M/M queer coded long running shows - they had an audience they could target with good results. People are already starting the show because Buck got to be himself .And they have actively marketed to Buddie fans.. The interviews with the actors. Buck's bi walkthrough being a positive experience with a guest star. Everything about this story is treated with respect because it was never just the fans who wanted this. Poor Oliver wanted Buck to be kissing men for years. AND ALL THE QUEER CHARACTERS DOING FAMILY FUEDS DURING PRIDE MONTH!!!! Iconic marketing actually. We love to see it.

And lastly out of every m/m pairing Buck/Eddie is the easiest imo to sway general audiences. Think about it. Buck and Eddie are basically raising a child together. Eddie wrote a will that said if he dies Buck raises his son. Eddie forces himself to be with women who he doesn't like out of duty. Buck seeks out unattainable women or relationships he know won't work. WHY IS THAT? The story gives a reason to both characters behavior. Why they keep repeating the same patterns over and over. You won't stop the closeminded people and the ones who are biphobic or ignorant but it opens the door for fans who are none of those things. And changes the game of television.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie and these last few days have been a ride, to say the least. I am not feeling very normal about anything going on myself, how are you?? We're not even on the same day as the episode and everything already feels unhinged. Masks?? Confessions?? BUDDIE HOLDING HANDS (in front of the tree)??!! I have never hoped so much (a mistake I know) that we are living in the best timeline and I suppose in less then 24 hours we'll see how insane it is to do that.

Anyway my "saving it for an episode emergency" wine is toast after today (todo list: replace that before tomorrow's episode) and thought I'd share my dumb spec for this episode. So not dumb is BT bones are obviously happening (like seriously, windex couldn't make it any clearer at this point) and I do think the Eddie-takes-care-of-Buck while treeman-cowers-in-fear is going to play a role in that, but I can't help thinking of the choice to have the mummy in Eddie's old bachelor party clothes. Like its kinda weird to have that specific outfit back in "masks" of all episodes, but maybe its not so much for the symbolism but just to remind the audience that that was a whole thing. Because what if one of our boys, via meditation or mummy curse or whatever (I'm not picky) actually remembers what happened that night?? And it, er, it wasn't exactly strictly platonic?? So one of them has to confront exactly what that means and we end up with (at least one) third party confession. I'd like to see it. But either way I feel like for sure next episode will end with Buck at least realizing he's been putting on a mask with his current relationship, and its covering up who he really wants, and I for one can't wait to see it. Less than 24 hours my friend, let's hope they don't do anything else insane before then 🥂.

Good morning friend! I'm glad you sent this last night because with the banger d20 ep last night and the pettiness and excitement about tonight, I just KNOW I'm gonna be put in post limit jail SO early, so I'm getting this out now while I can!

What a month these last couple days have been! I am feeling unhinged and damn is it hard not to get my hopes up! 🤪

I am *desperately* hoping that we see a bachelor party flashback in the next couple episodes! I would be happy with either Buck or Eddie, but not Buck if he's still clinging on to Tree #3, because I don't want the guilt spiral or him breaking it off because he "did something wrong". He really does for once need to recognize (on screen for the audience to share with him) that he is not being treated well in a relationship and leave. (Justice for the BT 1.0 breakup we SHOULD have had in 5a but FOX sucks.)

And now we have a scene (that to be fair I haven't watched because I like going in if not blind, at least not having watched big chucks of the episode yet) that once again shows Eddie knowing and loving Buck to his weird, superstitious core, and his BF being the odd man out, once again putting others down as a way to get laughs at work, and not knowing who is married to Buck's dad, Bobby, months after saving her and her and being together with Buck all this time. No wonder Oliver has been so excited! That man is a menace and petty bench and I love him SO MUCH.

Cheers my friend, I'm probably not going to have to drive home since my car is in the shop so I plan to have a drink and enjoy the chaos! Fun Halloween episode after 84 years, let's fucking gooooo! (Because the Denny stuff is not real, I do not SEE, I do not PERCEIVE.)

[lover-of-mine]

Did you see Kat and Lizzie both tweeting about buddie today? I wasn't in the fandom before season 7 but I heard this didn't happen before. That and the articles talking about the possibility of buddie... Do you think the network has to something to do with it, like they might have reached out and give them the green light to talk about buddie all they want? Or is it just because everyone is sensing the "shift" this season? I don't know how all of this works.

Purely speculative opinion here. No, this wasn't a thing before season 7, but fox didn't care about promotion nearly as much as abc does. Fox did the basics. And Ryan specifically didn't do interviews from 3b to right before s7, so there wasn't a lot to talk about in the same way they have now. Abc is very clearly doing more, and the amount of interviews Ryan and Oliver are giving, and the way they always talk about buddie, especially with the added context that Buck is bisexual, raise the interest. If it generates views, everyone involved is happy about it, you know what I mean? There was a shift on the way buddie is treated inside the show and abc is investing in Oliver and Ryan as a big part of the promotion, so entertainment journalists will latch onto that. To talk about buddie and their relationship and will they/won't they feels like safe speculation with everything surrounding the narrative. So I guess it could be a combination, there are more interviews being greenlit by abc and that creates a buzz that makes people want to write about them. There's also the way the show itself is very popular right now, so more media outlets will want to talk about it because it generates traffic, and talking about buddie is an easy way to make more people click on your article.

[hereforthe911buds]

https://www.tumblr.com/hereforthe911buds/750034363228487680/but-ryan-called-eddie-heterosexual-well-eddie

I think the big concern is they have never done that before. In the 6 seasons he’s been on the show, they have never until this season specified a set term related to Buck or Eddie’s sexuality. The show hasn’t. The crew hasn’t. The cast hasn’t. It’s been assumed heterosexual but left ambiguous. And now we’ve been told bucks is bisexual. And Ryan stating multiple times Eddie is heterosexual. Which yes currently true but it’s the fact it’s actually being labeled for the first time that has people spiraling.

oh wig? I'm not meaning to invalidate people's feelings. I'm relatively new here, and I do feel for buddies who have been in the trenches because Fox hella traumatized y'all with how they treated this fanbase. But I've also seen this fanbase work itself up over things that I don't believe were warranted so I wanted to remind people to take a deep breath. I think about PR intensely so I'm interpreting every comment/interview etc through that lens. to me the show is canon, interviews are actor interpretation, so I always take everything they say with a grain of salt. I also expect misdirects from them.

regarding this specifically, if I remember correctly, Oliver said in an interview right after Buck came out that he didn't want a storyline of Buck immediately falling for Eddie out of fear of stereotypes of queer men falling for their best friend right off the bat. for me I coded that as "buck is bi and Eddie is straight" especially since if buck was considered straight until coming out as bi then I apply the same to Eddie. I personally never saw either of them as ambiguous identity. to me they were both straight, so with Ryan saying straight I literally don't think much of it.

[echowithpain]

Damn...

You know, maybe it's just cause things are a bit crazy in my life right now but suddenly I'm not so excited about 911 coming back??

Don't get me wrong, I love all the trailers and the promos and the behind the scenes stuff we're getting, but... I have a somewhat bad feeling about it?

First things first, the way some of you assholes were treating Oliver was absolutely childish and uncalled for.

HE'S A MAIN CHARACTER AND A LOT OF PEOPLE'S FAVORITE!!!

You don't think ABC was watching the show with you guys? Yes 911 was on Fox but when they cancelled it do you really think ABC was going to pick up a show they knew nothing about with an expensive cast? They had to do their research to see what they were getting themselves into and that includes looking at characters that the audience liked. That's why for the cruise ship disaster I'm like 97% sure we're gonna see Norman and Lola again.

And when they look to see who of the main cast is people's favorite they look at who gets the most results. I've seen so many polls and online forums, tweets, Tumblr blogs, Pinterest posts, fan art, Instagram posts/stories etc. where people say Buck's their favorite character and how they can't wait to see him in Season 7. I'm sure ABC saw the same thing and since they now had to do 911's 100th episode, they looked to him.

I know if I was writing a story or shooting a movie/tv show and we had a special milestone coming that wouldn't be able to happen again, I'd want to do something special and have people's favorite characters in the spotlight.

"Hey guys guess what? Thanks to FOX giving up on you, we get to do the 100th episode! So let's make it a good one. Oliver! This one's all about Buck. We ran the numbers and you're the people's favorite character! Don't worry, everyone here is still loved. The general audience just loves Buck about 4.3% more! So let's make this episode special for the show, the audience, the characters, and more importantly, yourselves! Now get out there and give it your all!"

I can definitely see that conversation happening. Can you imagine how ecstatic he must've felt learning the 100th episode was gonna be about Buck? But instead of celebrating that Oliver gets this huge opportunity to have the 100th episode be focused on the character he's been busting his ass to play for YEARS, you guys are tearing him down and making him feel bad because "ugh, another buck centric episode barf, why does he have to be in everything?😩😩😩 I'm gonna tank all the online reviews on it so it makes the episode look bad to people who haven't watched it yet and let the new network know they're doing a bad job 😩😩😩"

SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

You don't have to like his character, but that doesn't give you the right to be throwing hate at the actor. My literal last post was saying how much I hate the Buckley parents, but you don't see me blowing up Gregory Harrison and Dee Wallace's social medias about how glad I am that they aren't in any trailers because I'm getting sick of them and they can't ruin the show for me. Grow the fuck up.

And if you're one of those people who can't differentiate fiction between reality, then go get fucking therapy.

.

.

.

*sigh*

Anyway, number 2:

People are already hating on the show because they think ABC taking on 911 is what's causing their other shows to be in danger.

Station 19 people, I'm talking to you specifically!

You wanna know how you can actually "Save Station 19"? Be excited for 911 with their fans!

The perfect example of this that I saw is with Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death.

Both shows were cancelled/not promised a renewal after season 2. Then Good Omens was promised their season 3. Instead of being pissy about GO getting picked up and not their show, the Our Flag Means Death fandom was actually excited for Good Omens fans. Just by them being happy and supporting the other show, I have seen so many other people, Good Omens fans included, now screaming about how much they want OFMD to get picked up. If you want support, you bring people in, not push them away.

I can not tell you how many Station 19 fans I've seen shitting on 911 tweets, Tumblr posts, Instagram stories, etc. because they think ABC picking up 911 has caused their show to be cancelled. And you know what? Stay mad.

I don't know anything about your precious Station 19 except for the fact that its fan base is absolutely horrid to people that aren't them. You guys could've welcomed 911 to the new network and started bringing up how if your show got renewed, then there could possibly be a crossover episode with them both being about fire stations (I'm assuming) and calls they could go on together. That would've made people so excited and want to help spread the word about saving your show.

But now, instead of me sympathizing with you guys and wanting to help get your show back, I only see you as a nuisance. A toddler throwing a temper tantrum because someone else took their favorite toy at the daycare before they even had the chance to get there.

Shut up. Sit in timeout. And think about what you could've done differently.

Number 3:

"Captain Nash and his wife's cruise ship"... Seriously? 😂

Okay I know they're different scenes because you can hear the break between "wife's" and "cruise ship", but... Seriously??? 😂😂😂

Captain Nash and his wife'?

Not Bobby and Athena

Not Captain Nash and Sargent Grant

It's Captain Nash and his wife...

Guys...

Actually, you know what. I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt. Like I said, it's clearly two different scenes based on the audio break so I'm sure they say something different 😂 But why advertise it like that? It's weird lol.

Full disclosure: if we get to the episode and they actually DO say it like that, I will not hold back clowning on their asses 😂

TLDR: Leave Oliver alone, Station 19 people need to do better, Captain Nash and "his wife" made my eye twitch lol

Another one

[hoediaz]

who is agn? i've seen loads of posts about 'her' but idk who she is or what's going on

sorry to be an absolute bitch but she is the worst blog on this website for real. putting this under a read more so people who don’t suffer rage black outs don’t have to deal with this.

chelsea mentioned some of her highlights before which include some overt racism and homophobia but last night she really decided to up her game. first, she spent weeks pulling the word retcon out of her ass and slapping it on every plot point she doesn’t like or understand instead of rubbing together two brain cells to even attempt to comprehend how narratives might work (including eddie ana’s break up since, according to her, eddie was Clearly in love with ana in 4x13 during the follow your heart scene and yet at the same time he was a misogynist and treated her terribly :/ did you know panic attacks are misogynistic? shame all those panic attacks i’ve had have been out of misogyny and not mental illness if only i had known id be able to attend agn’s school of feminism and cure myself). but then with the end of bt (aka the departure of her most beloved girl boss who can do no wrong, since i don’t think she cares about bt at all past taylor since she actively hates buck) (and yet. while she hates buck she never treats him with the same vitriol she gives eddie. now i’d say that’s racism but according to her eddie’s white so! guess it’s texas phobic or something :/) she went completely off the rails.

part of this was of course! saying it was a retcon despite the multiple references to dosed but what can we expect from someone who learned the word retcon last week and never bothered to dig up the meaning. it’s ok i get it i did the same in the ninth grade with words like pathetic fallacy and i don’t think you need anything higher than a ninth grade education to work at fox news. anyway! that led to saying anyone celebrating the bt break up is a misogynist! bc idk if you knew this but apparently 911 is the taylor kelly show and everything should be about HER development, not buck’s, and if you celebrate buck’s development you’re a woman hater just like eddie ❤️ now EYE am actually a woman hater because i think taylor kelly and owen strand should move to ohio together to start a bed and breakfast, the bt bones celebration was just a bonus.

and when that wasn’t enough absolute bullshit stupidity for one night, she decided to use her time to type out a post onto oliver stark’s internet in which she called buck a “dirty firefighter” for not wanting his gf to report on an incident that involved his family, equating him to dirty cops that protect other corrupt cops. because that’s a totally fucking proportional reaction to having your fictional ship break up, because police corruption is not a genuine thing that happens in real life and impacts real people who aren’t taylor fucking kelly. i fr even hours later don’t even have the words to put together to express how fucking stupid and insensitive and offensive that is. it is genuinely beyond me how you could ever in your life see a FICTIONAL couple break up and become so fucking unhinged you think it’s ok to make light of real issues to force a fictional character into some make believe villain role just so you can avenge a side character on a ryan murphy production. get some fucking help for real.

anyway last night when she posted i reblogged it calling her an idiot and she immediately blocked me, just like she blocked every other person who tried to reblog it to point out how offensive that was which is always a good sign that you’re being rational.

oh also she said taylor and lucy should be together which was just personally offensive to me, a lucy understander, and then also, since miss agn can’t go three seconds without being generally offensive, she has to say taylor/lucy would be better than buddie bc buck and eddie are [checks notes] white men and taylor and lucy are oh dear…. yeah :/

in conclusion agn is racist, homophobic, terminally fucking stupid, and also cowardly to boot and i hope she has an absolutely terrible day. i hope fox news fires her. i hope megan west never has a job again just to spite agn. bt is finally bones and the fact that that makes agn feral is all i need, get fucked agn.

[sisterspooky1013]

Only One Choice, Part 2, Chapter 17

Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

“We should get champagne or something, to celebrate,” Scully says, her eyes roving over the menu.

After three weeks of rehab, Teena Mulder has finally been able to move home, though she’s under the constant care of an in-home nurse. Knowing that she’s back in her own space, no longer the medical setting that made her miserable, is a huge weight off Mulder’s shoulders. This is why they’re out to dinner, celebrating a hopeful return to what feels like normal.

“Only if you’re driving home,” Mulder replies playfully, “you know what bubbly does to me.”

She gives him a flirtatious smirk. “Yes, I do.”

“Dana?” someone calls out, and they look over to see two women. One is tall and slim with light olive-toned skin and brunette shoulder-length hair. The other is significantly shorter, Latina, with thick hips and an ample bustline, her dark hair cascading down her back.

“Monica, hi,” Scully replies warmly to the tall woman. She turns to the shorter one, “you must be Dahlia.”

“Guilty as charged,” the short woman answers jovially with a heavy Spanish accent.

“This is my boyfriend, Fox Mulder,” Scully continues, gesturing to him, “Mulder, this is Monica, I’ve told you about her.”

Mulder nods in understanding. Scully has often mentioned a woman she regularly has coffee and lunch with who works in VICAP.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Mulder says, offering his hand to Monica.

She takes his hand with a firm grip, then gestures to the short woman, “this is my partner, Dahlia.”

Mulder and Scully both greet Dahlia with handshakes.

“Well, we’ll leave you to your meal, it was nice to run into you,” Monica says.

“Would you like to join us? We haven’t even ordered yet,” Scully offers, giving Mulder a quick glance to confirm that this is okay. He nods almost imperceptibly.

“Oh, we don’t want to impose,” Monica answers.

“Not at all,” Mulder jumps in, correctly picking up that Monica is worried about imposing on him, not Scully, “I’d love to finally get to know this mysterious VICAP woman Scully is always talking about.”

Monica smiles and he moves to the chair beside Scully so she and Dahlia can occupy the other two. They order champagne and appetizers, and he finds the two women to be very pleasant company.

“So, you work in VICAP too, then?” he asks Dahlia, and she gives him a confused look.

“No, I work at a little flower shop in Alexandria,” she answers.

“Oh, sorry, I thought Monica said you were partners.”

Scully shoots him an embarrassed glare, but Dahlia laughs.

“You know, I always tell Monica she should just call me her girlfriend, but she insists on ‘partner,’” she says, looking at Monica affectionately. He can’t help but smile, realizing he’d missed the very obvious fact that they are lovers.

“Girlfriend sounds so juvenile to me,” Monica explains, “partner feels a bit more serious, and permanent.”

“It’s okay, mija,” Dahlia continues, “you can call me your partner, hasta el día en que puedas ser mi esposa.”

Monica beams at her, and while he didn’t understand a word of that, it’s plainly clear that they are very much in love.

Appetizers come and go, flutes of champagne are emptied and refilled and a second bottle is ordered. Scully brings up Monica’s education and her experiences working at the New Orleans field office, and she and Mulder carry on a conversation about the change in VooDoo practices over the course of generations while Scully and Dahlia discover that they have similar taste in literature. Dahlia is telling a story about reading a Spanish translation of Jane Eyre as a teenager and how she still, to this day, has a hard time not calling him “Señor Rochester,” when the waiter brings by the check and Mulder snatches it away just as Dahlia was reaching for it.

“My treat,” Mulder says, pulling out his wallet.

Dahlia gives Monica a look, saying “me gusta este chico,” and Mulder chuckles.

“That I understood,” he quips, and they all laugh.

Back at the apartment, they get ready for bed. Scully is standing at the sink brushing her teeth when Mulder slinks up behind her, slipping his hands onto her hips and dipping his head down to kiss her neck.

“Mmm, there’s that champagne,” she says, the words garbled around her toothbrush.

“It’s not that champagne makes me want you, Scully. I always want you. It just makes me a little more bold,” he explains, trailing his fingers down to the hem of her night shirt and lifting it enough to get a look at her panties.

She swats his hand away. “Let me finish brushing my teeth,” she chastises, and he retreats to the bedroom.

She joins him a few minutes later, slipping under the sheets and draping her bare leg over his. He lifts his arm so she can burrow against his torso, her head on his chest. He rubs his hand across her back, eliciting a contented sigh.

“So, what did you think of Monica?” she asks, her fingertips on his ribcage moving in small circles.

“I really like her, I can see why you two hit it off,” he answers.

“She reminds me a little of you, actually,” she says, and he can feel her smile against his skin. “She has some...out there ideas.”

“Am I not talking enough about cryptids at home, Scully? You had to go find a friend to supplement?” he asks playfully, dipping his fingers into her armpit briefly in a threat to tickle her.

She clamps her arms against her sides and giggles. “We don’t talk much about that, but when I first met her she told me about my aura, so I figured you two would have some things in common.”

“That sounds more like Missy’s purview,” he comments, and then they fall silent for a moment.

“I’m actually really glad we ran into her,” Scully begins, running her hand down his abdomen to rest just beneath his belly button. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about and I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without you having some context.”

“Scully, if you’re about to suggest we have a foursome with Monica and Dahlia, I’m going to owe Frohike five hundred bucks,” he interjects.

She scoffs, “in your dreams, Mulder.”

“I think you mean Melvin.”

“Well, sorry Melvin, but that’s not what I was thinking about.” Her thumb hooks just beneath the elastic of his boxers, his happy trail tickling her skin.

“Okay, sorry, what were you thinking about?”

“What if,” she begins, dragging her finger back and forth under the fabric, “Monica was your partner. On the X files.”

He puts his hand over hers to still the movement, pulling away a bit so she’ll look at him.

“What do you mean, Scully?” He feels a rush of adrenaline, though he’s not yet sure if it’s from excitement or fear.

“I mean, she’s open to...unexplainable phenomena. The two of you get along quite well, and she wouldn't try to debunk your work or scoff at your theories. You said they might let you reopen them if you had a partner you could work with, and I think Monica might be that person.”

He considers this for a moment. “Who’s to say she’d even want to, she’s assigned to VICAP-”

“She hates VICAP,” Scully interjects, “it’s a bunch of macho men trying to one-up each other. I know she’d be happy to be reassigned, and to work out of the Hoover building. She and Dahlia live in Palisades; her commute sucks.”

His mind is reeling, but he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. “I don’t even know where we’d start, Scully. It seems so unlikely.”

“Just ask for a meeting with AD Skinner. If you think it would help for Monica to be a part of that meeting, I know she’d be happy to attend. I’ve told her a bit about The X files and I wouldn’t even bring this up with you unless I was sure she’d be interested. I can talk to her about it on Monday, if you want to give it a shot.”

He looks up at the ceiling, eyebrows stitched in thought. Hope pricks at the corners of his mind, but he knows well enough not to let it take root; he’s been disappointed too many times before. He looks over at Scully, her expression holding all the hope that he won’t allow himself to feel.

“Why are you doing this?” he asks gently.

“Because I want you to be happy,” she says earnestly, pulling her hand from beneath his and bringing it to his cheek, “from the moment I met you, I saw how you light up when you talk about The X Files. If there’s a chance you can investigate them again, I want to pursue it.”

He sighs, a tender smile tugging at his lips. He turns on his side, pushing his palms under her ass and pulling her on top of him as she giggles.

“Okay, talk to Monica,” he says, sliding his hands under her sleep shirt and up her bare back, “I’ll email Skinner on Monday.”

She smiles at him, self-satisfied and victorious.

“Now, about that champagne,” he says, pulling her down for a kiss.

———

She nervously checks her email every two minutes, aggressively clicking the send/receive button. Monica and Mulder were meeting with AD Skinner at 11:00am and it’s now almost 1:00pm and she hasn’t heard anything. That could either be a very good sign, or a very bad one. She has class in ten minutes and needs to head over to the lecture hall to prepare. She refreshes it one more time, and an email pops up.

From: fmulder@fbi.gov

Sent: September 18, 1997 12:51pm

To: dscully@fbi.gov

Subject: Maybe good news?

He didn’t say no, but he didn’t say yes, either. He asked us about 800 questions and then said he had to run it by the section chief. My impression is that he wants to make it work, but obviously it’s not totally within his control.

Fingers crossed. Hopefully we’ll know by Friday.

She heaves a big sigh, a cautious smile playing on her lips. She shoots him a quick response and then makes her way to class, praying all the way that the answer will be yes.

———

She’d taken that Friday off, for no reason in particular. Ever since Mulder had effectively moved in with her, she liked to take random weekdays off here and there just to have some time to herself. She’d spent the afternoon reading, re-arranging her spice cupboard, and making space for Mulder to have half her dresser instead of just one drawer. She’s sitting on the floor of the bedroom, surrounded by neatly folded stacks of T-shirts and pajama pants, when she hears the front door open. She checks her watch; it’s only 3:00 pm, too early for Mulder to be home.

“Hello?” she calls out nervously.

The bedroom door swings open and Mulder is there, his chest heaving and a dopey smile on his face.

“Is everything okay?” she asks, “what are you doing home?”

“It was approved,” he says breathlessly, apparently having run from wherever he parked the car.

“What was approved?” she asks, standing.

“The X Files, Scully. They’re reopened, effective Monday, with me and Reyes as the assigned agents,” he says, his smile broadening even further.

Her mouth drops open in disbelief, a surprised smile forming on her lips. She had held out hope, but she was also very aware that the chances were slim. He crosses the room, scooping her up in his arms, her legs wrapping around his hips.

“It never would have happened if it wasn’t for you,” he says, adoration in his eyes.

She kisses him, and he turns to lay her on the bed, shedding his suit jacket and tossing it on the floor. Moving quickly, desperately, he tugs at the waistband of her pants, stripping them off along with her panties, and pushes her shirt up to expose her breasts. He begins kissing her neck, down to her chest and belly, pausing intermittently to speak words of affirmation and gratitude until he reaches the apex of her thighs and is quiet.

He laps at her tenderly, humming and sighing as her body catches up and she feels the flush of desire form in her belly. She pushes her fingers into his hair, scraping gently at his scalp in encouragement as he flicks his tongue against her opening and she bucks her hips in response. His thumb swipes gently over her clit as he pushes his tongue inside her, licking at her increasingly slick walls and making her whimper. After a few minutes, he switches to his fingers inside her and his tongue at her clit. Swirling and sucking until she commands him not to stop, he holds steady as she falls apart against his lips, flexing his fingers deep inside to draw it out. Finally she taps on his head, and he crawls back up to plant soft kisses along her jaw.

“Consider us even,” she breathes out, eyes still closed in bliss.

“I think I might like to continue making it up to you,” he says with a nip to her earlobe, and she laughs.

“Okay, if you insist.”

[lovecolibri]

Okay, no, I'm so sorry, but we do have to talk about Ghost Stories. I know not everyone is an OG TK hater and I've said my peace about that so I'm gonna stear clear of that mess as much as possible.

But for this fandom (and especially me as a horror hater), the Halloween episodes are some of the most fun and beloved, and due to Covid, we didn't get one in season 4. So EVERYONE is hyped for this. If I remember correctly it aired the day before Halloween too, and was an episode coming back from a week off maybe? Because I feel like, as with the bachelor party (GOD did they not learn their lesson?!), we got a couple weeks of promo about the ghost roommate call. So that was point 1, the *hype*

Then, the episode airs. There is no ghost roommate call. The firefam responds to a call in the opening that is quickly resolved. 98% of the rest of the episode is tay kay, and SOME RANDOM DETECTIVE, NOT EVEN ATHENA, investigating what the opening emergency was about. Like her or not, tay kay was still a guest character at that point, and Oliver had Buck looking like he was getting teeth pulled in every scene with her so no one was expecting her to be around much longer, ESPECIALLY after how that Eddieana breakup went Like That. And then we got hit with what felt like a backdoor pilot to some investigation show just like the approximately 7,000 other cop dramas out there, and we barely got to see the main characters we know and love while getting SO much info on some random emergency victims the audience did not care about (when we KNOW the show can make us care very quickly and without having to give us tons of info, unless it's necessary for a main character plot point).

No Eddie, zero explanation. People lost their minds. This also started the trend of them not all being together on shift which is lame and I hate it.

Also, instead of utilizing JLH's maternity leave to show the firefam pulling together to support Maddie and get her to treatment (showing growth and movement forward compared to how her parents and Dug treated her) and help Chim being a new dad (firefam watching the baby! Chim with the baby!), Chim fucks off for like, half the season after this, follwing Kenny (DESERVEDLY) fighting for a raise in pay per episode. So like, fuck FOX forever actually.

It was sure an episode of tv, but it sure as FUCK wasn't an episode of 9-1-1. And this is right on the heels of the opening disaster being a whole rapist plotline ALSO sidelining the other mains and becoming a cop drama focused on brutalizing women which this show normally steers more clear of.

Every bit of hate is deserved.

Were there ever any deleted scenes in earlier seasons, like the karaoke scene, that you guys saw stills/teasers for but didn't get?

oh BOY were there. what comes to mind first that is ghost stories was supposed to be, like a whole different episode than the one that aired. season five in particular had a bad habit of the promos not matching the episodes at all because they had a little issue with the order of episodes that had to be fixed in editing. eddie not being in this episode despite it being a totally normal episode at the 118 was never explained or advertised and everyone was pissed because ?? you can’t just not have a main character in an episode without explanation ?? but anyway there was supposed to be a whole “ghost roommate” call storyline that had a guest star from the woman who plays harper in the rookie and there was some ravi screen time that was taken from us never to be seen again :( but yeah moral of the story is fuck ghost stories all my homies hate ghost stories it’s the worst rated episode for a reason and it deserves to be.

[junker-town]

Super Bowl 2017 pregame: Start time, TV schedule, and live stream

Don’t know what to do in the hours leading up to the Super Bowl? Watch people talk about the Super Bowl!

The Super Bowl is the biggest event in American sports and it’s set for Sunday, when the Atlanta Falcons will take on the New England Patriots from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. With the event comes a ton of hype, and a ton of coverage.

The Super Bowl Experience has been running all week and of course, on Sunday, those not in Houston will have plenty of options for absorbing all the content they can related to the big game. Pregame coverage of the game will be running all day on some television channels.

The game itself will be broadcast by Fox at 6:30 p.m. ET. An online stream of the game will be available on Fox Sports GO, free to everyone in the United States, even those without a television subscription.

As far as pregame action, the NFL Network leads the way with more than 11 hours of coverage on Sunday. Things start at 9 a.m. ET with an 8.5-hour edition of NFL GameDay Morning. Their coverage will feature a slew of interviews with coaches, players, athletes, actors, and musicians, including Bill Belichick, Dan Quinn, Julian Edelman, Matt Ryan, LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Mark Wahlberg.

If you’re planning on watching on Fox, its coverage will start at 11 a.m. with NFL Films’ Road to the Super Bowl. From there, we’ll be treated to a full hour of Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, a special hour-long Super Bowl special of their television show where they yell about nothing and have generally bad opinions.

At 1 p.m., the Fox Super Bowl Kickoff show is on for an hour. Former players like Kevin Dyson and Santonio Holmes will recount their Super Bowl memories, and reporter Clarissa Thompson will interview Falcons running back duo Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.

After that, Fox will have a 4.5-hour Fox Super Bowl Pregame show. This will feature the typical pregame crew of Terry Bradshaw, Curt Menefee, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, and that dancing football robot. Long will also talk to his son, Chris, who is playing in his first Super Bowl with the Patriots.

During an animated segment, Rams DC Wade Phillips will take viewers on a journey of Houston football history. Pam Oliver explores the popularity of high school football, with appearances by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Somewhere in there — around 4 p.m. — there will be an interview between Bill O’Reilly of Fox News and President Donald Trump, which should be nothing if not interesting.

Also airing on Fox before kickoff will be the NFL Tailgate Party. Fitz and the Tantrums are the opening act, and then Zac Brown Band will take over the stage.

Finally, ESPN will have its own content on Sunday to watch as well. That will begin with NFL Insiders at 10 a.m. on their flagship network, and will continue with Postseason NFL Countdown from 11 a.m. through 2 p.m. with special guests Rex Ryan and Odell Beckham Jr. It will be Chris Berman’s final time on Sunday Countdown after over 30 years as host. There will be a segment celebrating his legacy, as well as a sit-down between Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Ryan, a history of Super Bowl footballs, and a feature detailing Malcolm Butler’s game-winning interception against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl two years ago.

Here’s the Super Bowl coverage from Fox, NFL Network, and ESPN (all times Eastern):

Fox

Road to the Super Bowl: 11 a.m.

Undisputed with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe: noon

FOX Super Bowl Kickoff: 1 p.m.

FOX Super Bowl Sunday: 2 p.m.

Donald Trump interview with Bill O’Reilly: 4 p.m.

Super Bowl pregame: 6 p.m.

Super Bowl kickoff: 6:30 p.m.

ESPN

Postseason NFL Countdown, with guests Rex Ryan and Odell Beckham Jr.: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Featured segments: Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl XLIX Interception: noon Matt Bryant’s Tragedy and Triumph: 12:15 p.m. Matt Hasselbeck and the Thunderbirds: 12:40 p.m. Super Bowl LI Game Balls: 12:55 p.m. Conversation with Matt Ryan: 1:15 p.m. Chris Berman’s Sunday NFL Countdown Legacy: 1:30 p.m.

NFL Network

NFL GameDay Morning: 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

So there you have it — those three networks should have you covered with with all you need (and a lot that you don’t need) before the Falcons and Patriots face off on Sunday evening. Just in case, here’s the info you need to know to watch the actual Super Bowl.

How to Watch

When: 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas

TV: Fox

Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, and Chris Myers

Halftime performers: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett

Online: Fox Sports Go

[lovecolibri]

It’s amazing how they try and use the excuse of “Oliver doesn’t want to post Lou content or bummy content” to “anger the buddie fans”. Little do they know, at the PEAK of buddie, this man was POSTING CONTENT with bucktaylor💀💀

oops. This got lost in my inbox. 😬

I will say, especially knowing what we do now about FOX shutting down bi Buck in season 4 after Oliver was told and was already on board, it's VERY likely he was told/asked whatever to try and push BT because the network wanted to be very clear about the direction Buck was going (NOT bi. because apparently sticking him with someone who treats him badly and doesn't care about others in the antithesis of everything Buck, the 118, and 911 the show as a whole stands for is better than allowing him to love a man 🙄).

But given that Tim, Oliver, and even Lou were pretty clear about the BT 2.0 thing not being serious or long-term, Oliver didn't feel the need/pressure to promote it, as well as him sticking to his desire to not give out false hope. He's also been vocal about blocking accounts that make him upset so like, if he posted something that "angered buddie fans" he would just...block them and go about his day. 🤷🏻‍♀️