#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.

[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.

[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.”

[foreverintheinbetweeen]

There’s no way you are comparing Michael, David and Josh to BUCK AND EDDIE….there’s just no way. Also, remember what Oliver said, Tim wanted to do bibuck in s4 but was shut down. Why do you think that is…Buck is and has been the FAN FAVORITE. The actress Carla who played Carla, went on insta live a few years ago and basically said FOX would never do buddie because they are homophobic and Becuase straight women love Ryan and love. So if you think they were shut down bibuck, it would make sense for eddies queer to be as well. Also, friends, was VERY racist and homophobic so idk why you’re using them…also, they wanted chandler to be gay but given the time period they didn’t. Look at how they treat hen and Karen..the only black lesbian couple on the show. The same old storyline since s1 who are never truly happy. Look at Josh? Look at the storyline they give him…his FIRST date he was assaulted…such good representation right there? Nice one FOX. Has he had anything else since then? Does he have a boyfriend…hell even a story line OTHER than dispatch. Just becuase you characters doesn’t = good rep. His character has been the same since moving to ABC. Just there. Michael and David whileyes were there, but how much actual screen time did they get? Idk why yall believe Ryan refused to do it? It literally got a green light and it fell through🤣🤣

A Feedback to ABC

🎄All I W❄️nt for Christm⭐️s Is L❤️U☃️

Below is a copy of my feedback to ABC. I wrote the feedback on a Microsoft Word document, because it was too long to be written on the description column of ABC's feedback page.

I'm not suggesting people to read the whole thing (it is a long-ass letter). However, there are some points in it which I think worthy to be mentioned, if anyone still want to write feedback to ABC:

1)) Criticism on the writing of Season 7 and Season 8. I made a list of '13 reasons why' 🙄 I thought the writing of Season 8 was crappy, and actually called it 'crappy' on my feedback. The list included everything which has bothered me, except 2 things: Ortiz and Eddie storylines. There is a possibility that Ortiz would come back as a stronger villain in the future, and Eddie's issue with Shannon might be resolved in Season 8B. Thus, I withheld my judgment. It's important to tell ABC how bad the writing was, because you wouldn't guess it from all the positive publications and adulation about the show out there. The higher ups on ABC might also not be aware about it.

2)) Mentioning that fans have noticed the three-baitings: the thrill-baiting, the Buddie-baiting, and the Tevan-baiting. Even if the show or ABC didn't mean to bait anyone (which honestly I doubt 🙄), at least ABC would be aware of the distrust and negative perceptions on the show, and hopefully would take actions to counter them.

3)) Reasons why we don't want to see Buck with any love interests other than Tommy.

4)) Suggestions of possible storylines for Tommy. Initially I was hesitant to write this part. I thought, these professional writers surely didn't need suggestions from someone like me. But then I remembered how they'd botched Season 8A (*shudder*), and I was afraid that they wouldn't bring Tommy back, because they didn't know what to do with him. So, fuck it! Someone, anyone, got to tell them. And if that someone had to be me, so be it.

5)) There was no mention of the online harrassment. In my criticism about Buddie-baiting, I called the Buddie fans "obsessed", instead of "toxic" or "hostile". I want my feedback to be read pass the social media team. Mentioning the online harrassment might make the social media team tossed my letter to the garbage bin, because they didn't want to be blamed on their passivity.

I'm sorry that I couldn't participate in financial donation this year. I've been out of job for quite a while, because I was bullied on my previous workplace. This is also the reason why I've been so adamant against online bullying. I hope however small what I do for this movement, it still helps somehow.

🎄..☃️..✨️..❄️..🎄..⛄️..✨️..❄️..🎄..☃️..✨️..❄️..🎄

Dear ABC,

I've been watching 9-1-1 show for years, and have been involved in its fandom for quite a while. There are growing concerns among the fandom about the show, which is the reason why I'm writing this letter:

A. THE WRITING

The writing of Season 7 was not good. Shannon's doppelganger storyline was hard to believe, and Amir storyline was rushed. Buck was the only character who got a decent story with his new relationship with Tommy. However, most of us were willing to look past those shortcomings because it was a shortened season, with only 10 episodes instead of the usual 18 episodes.

We'd expected Season 8 will be better, alas, it's been worse:

Gerard was retconned to be a bumbling old relic. It's hard to believe that he was the same menace who had ruled the 118 firehouse with iron fists in the Begins episodes of Season 2.

In episode 8x05 "Masks", Hen and Karen had a disagreement about Hen's working schedule. Why did this issue come up now, after their 7+ years of marriage? Hen never changed her job during their marriage. Karen has even been very supportive when Hen was enrolled in a medical school, while also working as a firefighter from Season 4 to Season 6. At that time, she was notably busier than she is in this season.

In episode 101 "Pilot" Abby mentioned that Tommy was her ex-boyfriend. Why did in episode 806 "Confessions" Tommy say he was Abby's ex-fiancé?

In episode 8x06 "Confessions" Maddie told Chimney, her husband, that she was pregnant. After her unexpected pregnancy back in Season 3, we expected the couple would be more careful with birth controls. Apparently they didn't. It is a running joke within fandom that birth controls don't exist in 9-1-1 universe. Also, why didn't Maddie have a discussion with her husband before she got pregnant? A pregnancy should be a couple's decision, not forced by half of the pair to the other half.

In episode 806 "Confessions", Tommy gave Buck two Lakers tickets as anniversary gift. It is implied that Tommy didn't know that Buck did not like basketball. We're not sure what the show wanted to tell with this scene. If it meant to imply that Tommy was not a good boyfriend because he didn't know that fact, it achieved the opposite effect. Buck was the one who had given the impression to Tommy that he liked basketball on episode 804 "Buck, Bothered, and Bewildered". Thus, if Tommy still didn't know that Buck disliked the sport after 6 months into their relationship, it was Buck's fault for not coming clean to Tommy.

Buck was flustered when talking with a woman on his anniversary date with Tommy in episode 806 "Confessions". Buck is 33 years old, not twelve. He's been dating a lot of people before. Buck should have known better than showing his attraction to other people while being on a date.

Still in episode 806 "Confessions", Buck asked whether Tommy was attracted to women. At the time, they've been dating for 6 months. Previously, in episode 705 "You Don't Know Me", Buck told Eddie that Tommy was gay. If Buck had known that his boyfriend was gay, why did he ask Tommy whether Tommy was attracted to women? Buck might be not the brightest bulb in the box, but we didn't think he was so stupid or ignorant that he couldn't differentiate between being gay and being bisexual.

Again, in episode 806 "Confessions" Tommy broke up with Buck because he was afraid to go further in their relationship. Tommy that we knew was mindful to other people's feelings. In episode 704 "Buck, Bothered, and Bewildered" Tommy visited Buck to clear the air after he'd sensed that he might have inadvertently created a wedge between Buck and Eddie. This mindful Tommy wouldn't date Buck in the first place, if he knew that he couldn't go to the next phase.

After Tommy broke up with Buck, Buck didn't seem to fight for their relationship. In episode 405 "Buck Begins" Athena said that being Buck meant never give up. In the past, we have seen Buck fought for things which mattered to him. He sued LAFD to get his job back. He broke the law to save Maddie when she was in danger. However, after Tommy broke up with him, Buck didn't even try to communicate with Tommy like an adult. Instead, he was... baking? This is not the Buck we have known.

In episode 807 "Hotshots" and episode 808 "Wannabes" Buck didn't even look sad when he was not baking. He did look anxious when Tommy was mentioned, but other than that, he acted normal. Tim Minear mentioned in interviews that Tommy was important for Buck, but we didn't see it on screen. Fans have been mourning the relationship harder than on-screen Buck.

After the break up, why didn't any of Buck's closest people encourage him to clear things up with Tommy? In episode 709 "Ashes, Ashes" Bobby told Buck that Tommy was good for him, and Chimney has asked Tommy to fly into a hurricane, practically made Tommy risked his own life for the 118 team. However, after Tommy broke up with Buck, none of them told either Buck or Tommy to talk with each other and clear things up.

In episode 807 "Hotshots", Chimney encouraged Buck to "jump back in the pond", and Buck answered with "I don't know which pond to jump back into." The conversation seemed like a subtext that bisexual Buck now could sleep with both men and women. As a bisexual person, I am very offended by this scene. Like other people, bisexual people cannot control to whom we fall in love to, regardless of the gender. The implication of the scene is that bi people are 'easy' or 'loose' and used to pick partners to sleep without giving much thoughts on it. It is a common prejudice which we've been fighting against for a very long time. Watching it implied on the scene is insulting, to say the least.

The prolonged screen time of Brad Torrence. Initially fans didn't hate Brad. However, we couldn't help but notice that a big portion of Season 8A was spent on Brad, while other main characters we actually cared about were put aside. Now, Brad Torrence becomes a bitter joke among fans. Most of us couldn't stand him any longer. On top of that, the scene of Brad saved a suicidal Hotshots fan in episode 806 "Wannabes" felt like an undeserved pat-on-the-back to the show, considering the crappy stories the show has been giving us since Season 7.

B. THE BAITING

B.1. THE THRILL-BAITING

Fans have noticed that 9-1-1 has been seemingly baiting new viewers to watch the show, but didn't give them what they were looking for. One example is the big disaster emergency stories at the beginnings of Season 6 and Season 7. There was no other big emergencies during the rest of the seasons and audience knew that. Long term fans like me were delighted by those stories, and ratings indicated that the big emergencies have attracted additional viewers. However, surely you've noticed that ratings were back to normal right after the big emergency stories had ended. The drops were not even gradual. It's because new viewers knew that the thrill ended after the 3rd episode of the season. And with such crappy storylines which I have explained in Part A, new viewers hardly wanted to stay.

B.2. THE BUDDIE-BAITING

Another baiting that we've noticed is the Buddie-baiting. There are fans who want to see Buck and Eddie (a.k.a. "Buddie") in a romantic relationship on screen. These fans are not subtle about what they want. Tim Minear, Kristen Reidel, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, and Ryan Guzman have acknowledged the existence of the fans in various occasions. The Buddie fans have been voicing their demand since Season 2. Unlike normal fans they are very obsessed about the pairing they root for. Other 9-1-1 fans like me, who don't root for Buddie, have concerns regarding how the show has been portraying Buck and Eddie's interactions on screen. In our opinion, if the show didn't want to pair Buck with Eddie romantically, then it should stop giving nods or hints about them as if they were a couple or a couple to-be. Those nods or hints only give false expectations to the Buddie fans. For examples:

1)) In episode 7x06 "There Goes the Groom", there was a Buck & Eddie drunk karaoke scene. The scene should include Henren and Ravi, or at least Ravi in the scene, to avoid misinterpretation by Buddie fans.

2)) In episode 8x06 "Confessions", Eddie talked about beards, right after he mentioned that he was straight. Buddie fans has interpreted this scene as a clue that Eddie was hiding his sexuality. Here's the actual conversation on screen:

Father Brian: "And you, you have that... very handsome mustache." Eddie (chuckling): "Do you wanna know why I grew this?" Father Brian: "Tell me." Eddie: "Because the LAFD doesn't allow beards. Too flammable. Otherwise, I'd have gone full mountain man." Father Brian: "So, it's a disguise?" Eddie (averting his gaze): "Something like that." Father Brian: "What're you afraid of seeing when you're looking in the mirror?"

The conversation could be done without mentioning beards at all. For example:

Father Brian: "And you, you have that... very handsome mustache." Eddie (chuckling): "I'm glad someone likes it." Father Brian: "Nobody else likes it?" Eddie: "Well, sometimes my friends tease me about it. But I think they're just not used to see me with a mustache." Father Brian: "So, it's new? Is it a trend that I didn't know about?" Eddie (chuckling): "No, not a trend. I just want to see something different when I look in the mirror." Father Brian: "So, it's a disguise?" Eddie (averting his gaze): "Something like that." Father Brian: "What're you afraid of seeing when you're looking in the mirror?"

If a non-writer like me could come up with an alternative conversation with the same ending without talking about beards, so could the writers. Even if the conversation became longer, the show could cut some time off of Eddie's dancing scene at the end of the episode. Inserting beards in the conversation feels like baiting Buddie fans without actually giving them what they want.

3)) In episode 8x06 "Confessions", a pantless Eddie opened his door to Buck after Buck was dumped by Tommy, and proceeded to let Buck sat next to him. Eddie was pantless because he had been doing the Risky Business Dance. There are other iconic dances which Eddie could do without losing his pants, like Michael Jackson's Moonwalk, the Footloose Dance, John Travolta's Staying Alive Dance, etc. This sexual innuendo only gives a false message to Buddie fans.

There is a growing concern that the show has been baiting Buddie fans to keep watching without actually making Buck and Eddie a couple. This feels deceitful, exploitative, and manipulative. Fans don't need 'nods' or 'hints' or 'subtexts'. A few decades ago, when homosexuality was a taboo, giving nods and subtexts about the subject on TV shows seemed brave. It doesn't work that way in this modern era, when marriage equality has been a law for quite a while. On the contrary, it feels deceitful and cowardly. As if the show was afraid to upset its queer-averse audience, but also wanted its queer-leaning audience to keep watching.

B.3. THE TEVAN-BAITING

After 9-1-1 re-introduced Tommy back in Season 7, a lot of fans were captivated by this character and his love story with Buck. We dubbed the couple as 'Bucktommy' or 'Tevan'. In the fandom, a lot people have shared how they could relate to Tommy. I'm one of them. Like Tommy, I came out later in life, although only to selected people in my life. Like Tommy, I also have done less than honorable things to cover my sexuality, which I still regret even now. A lot of fans, including me, also relate to Tommy's longing for a family who could fully accept him. That's why we were rooting for his relationship with Buck.

We were shocked and heartbroken when the couple broke up in episode 806 "Confessions". To add salt in our wound, everyone involved acted out-of-characters like I mentioned in Part A. It makes the break up felt like a rushed afterthought, instead of a well-prepared storyline. It's very contrast with how the story of Brad Torrence and Hotshots were told. Furthermore, Tommy had been portrayed as a loving boyfriend to Buck in the previous episode (ep. 805 "Masks"). We felt that the show has played with our feelings, and for what? To make us cried our hearts out on the internet and gave the show hypes and online engagements for free? Once again, it feels like the show has deceitfully baited us. Looking back at how it has seemingly baited thrill-seekers viewers with emergency scenes only at the season openings, and how it gave 'nods' to Buddie pairing without ever make it happened, the thought doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility.

A lot of fans have noticed a trend of ship-baiting in TV shows. Unlike queer-baiting, these TV shows have included openly queer characters from the start, so people don't accuse them of queer-baiting. However, there's usually only one queer couple who has a long-term relationship which lasts until the end of the show. Other queer characters either end up single or appear single (e.g. Guilermo de la Cruz of What We Do in the Shadows), have elusive romantic partners who appear very rarely on screen (e.g. Paul Strickland of 9-1-1: Lone Star), or have a string of failed romantic relationships until the shows ended (e.g. Travis Montgomery of Station 19). The story of Travis Montgomery of Station 19 is very telling. He was the only main character who didn't get a 'soulmate' at the end of the show. He was dragged from one failed relationship to another during the whole 7 seasons. This was a notably different treatment compared to other main characters in the show. It has made fans wondered whether the fact that Travis was gay had something to do with it. There had been one queer couple, Maya Bishop & Carina DeLuca (a.k.a. "Marina") who was prominently on display and got a happy ending in Station 19. Why didn't Travis get a lasting relationship like other main characters, instead of being paired with a brand new partner in the end? As if there was a diversity quota, where only one queer couple per TV show was allowed to be prominently on display and got a happy ending.

C. WHAT NEXT FOR BUCK

Reflecting from what happened with Travis Montgomery of Station 19, some fans have predicted that 9-1-1 planned to drag Buck to a string of failed relationships before pairing him with a woman at the end of the show. There's also a speculation that Buck would be paired with Tommy or even Eddie right before the show ended, because by then the show would not have to portray his queer relationship on screen further. Until then, the audience might have to watch Buck jumps from relationship to relationship again.

There are several issues with this scenario:

1)) Buck has gone through FIVE failed relationships since the beginning of the show (with Abby, Ali, Taylor, Natalia, and Tommy). It would be NINE if we include hook-ups and kisses (the unnamed firetruck hookup, the snake-keeping lady, his ex-therapist, and Lucy Donato). Giving Buck another failed relationship is beyond repetitive. It screams "we run out of ideas what to do with this character." A lot of us simply don't want to watch that repetition.

2)) It would be hard for any other partners to measure up to Tommy. Tommy shared a unique connection with Buck: Buck was Tommy's replacement in 118 firehouse and they shared a same ex, Abby. Tommy also had a good relationship with Bobby, Chimney, Hen, and Eddie, and has been portrayed as a good boyfriend for Buck. If an ideal partner like Tommy was thrown out of the window, why should we care about Buck's next love interest(s)?

3)) Tommy's unique connection with Buck and how Tommy has been portrayed on the show have given a lot of potential stories for Buck and Tommy together. For examples:

Tommy has done terrible things in the past, probably while he was in the military. This would give Buck a dilemma: would he leave Tommy, or would he love and trust someone with a checkered past although that person has repented.

Tommy could have a trauma or PTSD from his time in the military, probably related to DADT. This would give Buck a new role as a caregiver to who tried to help his partner struggles with a serious issue. It would be more serious than accompanying Taylor Kelly to meet her estranged father.

Tommy might apologize to Abby. Not only Buck and Abby deserve a closure, Tommy and Abby do too. Buck might even facilitate this.

Those examples have never been shown before. Any of them would feel fresh and better than having Buck goes through several romantic relationships again.

4)) As I mentioned before, a lot of us feel that the show has been baiting us, the queer-leaning viewers, to watch the show without giving us the queer relationship that we want. Our experiences with TV shows like Supernatural, Station 19, and the latest one, What We Do in the Shadows, have taught us to recognize the baiting signs. A lot of us refuse to be exploited again. Several fans have quit watching the show after episode 806 "Confessions", others were waiting until the half season hiatus to see whether Tommy was coming back or not, before quit watching it for good. We plan to watch the show again only if Tommy and Buck get back together.

This is not the first time I was disappointed by a TV show. Several years ago, I quit watching Grey's Anatomy because it messed up Jackson and April (a.k.a. "Japril")'s relationship with a love triangle story for too long. Although disappointed, at the time I didn't care enough to express my concern to ABC. I simply quit watching the show, because it didn't give me joy anymore. However, I care more about Tommy and his relationship with Buck, hence this letter. I hope the show will bring Tommy back and restore his relationship with Buck once more in Season 8B. I know a lot of fans have a similar hope.

#All I Want for Christmas Is Lou

Best regards,

[My name]

[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

[baddygab-bi]

I’m almost completely certain they’ll end up together based solely on what we’ve seen on screen and what I’ve heard from general audience members.

They said that the show being cancelled by Fox was known about since the beginning, the pick-up from ABC seemed like the part that was probably the most unsure, since they had a feeling it would remain with Disney/20th century, but you can’t be 100% certain on that. So Fox was treating this like a final season. Knowing what we know of the showrunner and her love on romantic relationships for the boys, she would want to make sure that they’re in some when the end comes.

Based on what we saw in the last episode with Natalia, we know she left. She said what all his exes did when she left. This would make so much sense as a break up, but she’s listed in the guest cast for this episode, the break-up didn’t feel finished for Buck, and the entire arc of their relationship would have been pretty pointless. She was another girl who came in and left. Oliver said that whoever Buck ends up with has to accept him etc etc, and Natalia didn’t. But based on the way she returns this episode, the way nothing with them felt concluded, KR’s want to put the guys in relationships, and an article saying that personal relationships (plural) were going to follow to season 7… it seems pretty certain that they very well may throw them back together with her admitting that she was wrong, and him accepting that. “You don’t find it son, you make it,” could be shoehorned in if they want Natalia to say she can try and meet him where he is or something like that, but I don’t think the writers remember this happening.

I really hope I’m wrong. But it’s either this, or Buck being happy with holding his friend’s baby and like, both of those seem odd. Plus they have to finish the couch metaphor some how

ok people help me put on my clown make up here;

how sure are we buck won’t end the season with natalia, that somehow, despite her not accepting buck completely for who he is, she stills ends up being his new couch?

i need cold hard facts, not biased speculations because i don’t wanna wake up tomorrow and find out buck decided to forgive her and take her back and they end up sitting on his couch together. 😫