#her: be honest i genuinely want to know is that the end of bobby for this show

[howldean]

my mom after 7x10 “i hate your dumb show”

[chronicowboy]

tomorrow will always and forever now be today (tomorrow is our always and forever) | 43k

"Think I can get a hug from my best man on my wedding day?" he asks, quietly hopeful in a way that makes Eddie want to tear off his skin.

"Sure," Chris replies with a shrug, turning to throw Eddie a cheeky grin. "Dad, Buck needs a hug."

Two things happen at once then: Eddie has to plaster on a smile authentic enough to convince the one person on this planet that knows him inside out—except he doesn't really have to fake his smile, not at first, because of number two—he sees groom-Buck for the first time. And groom-Buck is every bit as beautiful as Eddie might have imagined him over the years. Happy eyes bright and blue, pink lips stretched wide in a beaming smile, cheeks flushed pink with joy, hair carefully styled and stunningly golden in the morning sunlight. He's half-dressed too, tux jacket still on the hanger on the back of the chair, so Eddie gets an unbarred view of Buck's white shirt stretched taut over his biceps, shoulders, abs.

For a moment, Eddie falls into the greatest betrayal his brain has ever laid out for him, imagining that he might have got to see Buck like this for the first time from the other end of the aisle if he'd just been brave enough to—

"I think he meant you, kid," Eddie teases as he drops their suits to the couch. He widens his stance, so Jee can run through his legs and evade another of Chimney's grab attempts, then he ruffles Christopher's curls as a steadying act before he's suddenly in front of Buck. And he tries not to think about the pathway cleared through the living room by Jee's chase, or the fact that they're under the archway between the kitchen and the dining table, or the knowledge that Bobby is an ordained officiant where he stands behind them. "Hey, Buck," he says softly, smiling genuinely now because this is Buck.

"Hey, Eds," Buck murmurs back, and it's the first time since they'd promised to have each other's backs that Eddie can't quite decipher the emotions making Buck's voice thick.

Eddie wraps him in a hug then, careful and detached as he can manage, but it's Buck in his arms, warm and alive and his for just a few more hours. He doesn't let himself hold Buck's hips like he used to before—before he'd realised why he'd wanted to hold Buck's hips so tightly—just splays his fingers over Buck's back and tries to focus on the soft cotton under his palms rather than the way Buck's temple rests so perfectly against his. Eddie stays there, for too long probably, fingers digging in too tight possibly, and squeezes his eyes shut when they start to water. He's clinging, and he tries not to think about how it feels a little like Buck is clinging to him too.

"Ah," Eddie huffs as he pulls away, taking two steps back just to be safe. He catches Maddie's eyes on him then, sadder than they should be for the happy tears she'd been crying just before he'd got here, and Eddie wonders if her big sister omniscience is working on him too. "Come on, Buckley. Got to make an honest man out of you sooner rather than later."

"Whilst we're on the topic," Chim intervenes, a wriggly Jee on his hips with two shoes on—finally. "Are we sure he should be wearing white?"

(OR: eddie gets trapped in a time loop on the day buck marries natalia)

@butchdiaz @danielsousa @shitouttabuck @alyxmastershipper @diazass @911-on-abc @folk-fae @stagefoureddiediaz @jeeyuns @piningeddiediaz @robsumagpie @athenagranted @prince-buck-diaz @eddiediaztho @carryingbears @ladydorian05 @made-ofmemories @sherlockcrossing @violet-rot @binickmiller @rainbow-nerdss @thatnamewill-probably-change @ducksbellorum @organizedstardust @mangacat201 @faggotjoness @sibylsleaves @kaseysgirl86-blog @daughter-of-winterfell @thisyearsloveisnow @goodiecornbread @wordsofdiana @thehumongouskargomice @xandromedan @acebuddie @girlnamedjesse @pirrusstuff @angstydiaz @haradrimculture @pinky-promisesss @starlingbite @dontneedmyheart @spaceprincessem @shortsighted-owl @buck2eddie @diazly

[slutisnotabadword]

I decided that I’mma take a big step back from the 911 fandom, because if last episode has taught me anything is that you guys have forgot to enjoy the show you’re watching.

As soon as the episode is over, all I’m seeing is unnecessary Tommy hate, people giving up on Buddie and people criticizing people for giving up, people saying Karen is oc, and that Eddie was acting out of character, and blah blah blah, and like all of you are wrong LMAO.

I think the problem is that everyone is watching this show with the expectation of watching the entire’s show’s future in one episode. Y’all want everything now, and it’s just not gonna happen like that, and on top of that, y’all want everything to be what y’all expected. So, let me crush that shit for you.

NO, they’re not gonna bring up Tommy’s past. They actually don’t give a fuck about what that man did, and you know why? Because the producers of whoever on this show literally called up Lou and was like “Hey, we need someone to be Buck’s boyfriend, wanna do it?” And that mf was like “Yeah, sure why not.” That’s most likely what happened. You know why? Because Tommy is only gonna be here for a very short time, so who gives a flying fuck. And Tommy in episode 5 wasn’t even that damn bad. Eddie acted the same way in the other cursed episode years ago. The only difference I would say about them is that Eddie expects Buck to believe in curses because he known him longer, so now it’s more endearing and induces playful banter. And with Tommy, this relationship with Buck is more new and his irritation comes from a place of genuine annoyance, instead of more endearing like Eddie. That’s it! That does not mean that Tommy is the devil’s incarnate, calm down.

NO, Eddie isn’t going to bust out the rainbow flag and touch nipples with Buck in one episode. ESPECIALLY now. Look, I want Buddie to happen, more than the next person. But this is Eddie Diaz we’re talking about. Eddie has a lot of shit to work through, and I’ll be honest with you, we probably won’t see Buddie become official until around the end of season 8. It’s the hard truth, but take comfort in knowing that this is indeed Eddie’s season—hence, the plethora of photo shoots and spotlight this man had recently.

NO, the characters weren’t oc. Karen had the right to be upset that Hen was always missing out on their family’s big moments, and from the fact that Hen doesn’t really try her hardest to take off of work. In my opinion, I think that’s a great way to open up the topic of the 118 becoming everything for these characters—like Hen, Bobby, Buck, Eddie, Chim—that they would forget that they have family at home, because the 118 is also their family, as well. no i mean, is that so hard to consider? They work these 24 hour shifts, and even sometimes longer and go through these traumatic events all the time. Of course there’s going to be some intense loyalty and bonds that would seem to “overshadow” what they have at home. That is actually a very interesting plot direction the writers could explore.

I could go on and on about the wild takes in the 911 fandom, because there’s just so many that I didn’t realize before. But can we all please, genuinely, shut the fuck up. Like for two seconds and enjoy our show. Because let me tell you what’s happening, you guys are theorizing yourselves TO DEATH. You guys are creating these wild expectations and you are setting yourselves up for disappointment. It’s good to hope for the things you want and sometimes it’s fun to theorize, but TAKE A BREATH. Because we are starting to look like crazy people, and let me remind you that these people SEE THE SHIT YOU’RE SAYING. You don’t think Oliver, Kenny, whoever the fuck is watching you rant on and on about how Tommy is a bastard and complaining that Eddie’s not gay yet. Get y’all shit together because it’s starting to look embarrassing and WEIRD.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

“this is a very long hug now sort of hug” for the soft prompts 🤭🩵

The call goes ok, in the end. It was a five alarm, called in late in a shift with nothing to do but build anticipation. And it goes fine, except this is the first five alarm Buck's been on shift for since the night he died, and Eddie knows he's not the only one feeling some kind of way about that. It's in the way Bobby inhales before every order he gives Buck, in the way Chimney's jokes are just a little too loud, in the way Hen does a visual assessment every time Buck is in her line of sight. It's in the way Eddie's own heart stops every time he pulls Buck back from falling debris or loses sight of him in the flames. The only person who seems like they're taking things in stride is Buck himself, tackling each task given to him with his usual cheerful determination.

Except they're back at the station now and everyone crawled from the showers to the bunks and Eddie is seconds from nodding off but Buck hasn't come in yet. Eddie has been lying there staring up at the ceiling waiting for him to wander through the doors, safe and in one piece, but the minutes stretch on and on and still he doesn't appear. Eddie curls his hand into a fist, uncurls it, and stands up.

Buck isn't hard to find. Eddie can hear the soft tread of footsteps in the sleeping station, and follows the sound up the stairs to where Buck is pacing from the couches to the kitchen and back again.

"Hey," Eddie says, word coming out on a sigh of something like relief. He'd made no attempt to quiet his approach so Buck doesn't startle at the sound, but he does half in his path. His body is stretched taut as a piano wire.

"Hey," Buck responds. His hands clench and unclench, a trait so shared between them Eddie isn't sure which of the two of it started with anymore. "You're not tired?"

"Exhausted," Eddie says, scrubbing a hand over his face. "But you didn't come to bed."

"Sorry," Buck says and, gentleman that he is, looks genuinely guilty for it. Eddie shakes his head and comes a few steps closer.

"Just wanted to…" Eddie's not sure how to finish the sentence. Make sure you were ok? See you standing with your eyes open, because when we're apart for too long I feel your dead flesh on my palms? That one doesn't even make sense, Buck, I was wearing gloves, but I keep thinking about how cold you must have been, and how still. "Check in."

Buck spreads his hands in a check away gesture, face unhappy. Eddie is grateful he's not hiding it, at least. "I'm… I can't sleep."

Eddie nods, stepping closer again. He just stands there, arms folded, waiting for Buck to continue and breathing evenly in case he needs a pace to match. Buck watches him, chewing his lip.

“It wasn’t even going up the ladder,” he says finally, “that was the hard part.”

“What was the hard part?”

“I slipped a little,” Buck says, and he lets out a little laugh as he says it, eyes wide and shaking his head. “Stupid. Loose tile. I slipped a little and I didn’t even fall, but it felt like I was going to for a second and I thought I was going to die.” He shrugs, big, lips pressed together. “How stupid is that? I was so scared and like- what even would have happened? Even if I had fallen, it would have been fine. Floor was solid. That room wasn’t even on fire yet. But in the moment I really thought I was going to die and it scared the shit out of me, Eds.”

“It’s not stupid,” Eddie says, moving close enough to reach out and touch but not doing it yet. “And hey, you’re a tall guy, long way to fall. With your luck I bet you could have managed a fatality.”

Buck breathes out sharp through his nose, mouth quirking up in one corner. He looks small, and if Eddie had to explain the thought process behind taking the final step and wrapping his arms around him, the honest and nonsensical answer would be that he's checking to make sure Buck is still two inches taller than him. He is, of course, and 6'0" and 6'2" is not much of a difference but Eddie's always appreciated the way Buck's spine curves down around him when they embrace. All the air in Buck's lungs exhales out over Eddie's left shoulder. He can feel his chest sink in with it.

"I'm always… I'll try to catch you," Eddie says. His hands are flat on Buck's back, and he moves one up his spine to rest on his neck. "If you fall."

Buck nods, their hair scraping together. "I know."

They stand there for a while. Eddie thinks he should probably step back, but Buck is relaxing in his arms, and it's warm, and he's still so tired but this feels sort of like dreaming already. He idly rubs Buck's neck, and Buck's hands tangle gently in the back of Eddie's shirt.

"Thanks," Buck whispers, minutes or hours later when the tension holding him rigid is all bled out around their feet. He presses his face into Eddie's shoulder for a second, and Eddie misses it when it's gone. "I think I can sleep now."

"Alright," Eddie whispers, and since this is half a dream anyway he lets his hand cradle Buck's chin for a moment as they part. Buck smiles at him, easy, the brightest thing in here at 3 AM with the kitchen lights set to dim. "Come on."

They walk to the bunks with their shoulders bumping together, and Buck is out seconds after he's down. Eddie, as always, follows right behind him.

send me soft fic prompts!

[roe-and-memory]

besties can i just say omg so i went thru ur blog obsessively bc i looove the ideas behind ur headcannons and little snipets of stories. i was wondering what bobby headcannons u guys have. also memory i loove ur writing and roe?? gorgeous fanart oml

AWWWWW THANK YOUU!!! rhis is so sweet 😭🫶🫶 i saw your comment on my fic thank u sm

im gonna be honest, we dont have many bobby hcs (i really wanna change that, i fucking ADORE bobby - and, if its any help, i actually have a fic up ((dont look back in anger)) where he’s a main character!! although its an au, i hope it’ll suffice for now :3)

- bobby is definitely a prankster, but like, hes NOTORIOUS for it. and not in the bad way. he has silly pranks that only mildly inconvenience the person on the receiving end (like the dumping water on lmq and cals heads after races) and he’s Always at the scene of the crime when something silly happens. he just Is the embodiment of silly. and yes i know this is canon for the most part but hes literally just so silly i cant not include it

- hes the youngest of the trio, the baby, even, he’s a december baby, born in 1988 (same year as lightning - cal is an ‘87 baby i believe - so when bobby started racing in 2007 he was still 18) but just at the End, whereas lightning was born in may . despite this he’s still the tallest, and probably the most well built of the three . aka lightning is scrawny and cal is just Average. and when lightning makes fun of him for being a Baby hes like ok well ure literally short as hell. what about that. huh? what can you do about your height? i’ll have a birthday but you dont have a get taller day? huh? and lightnings like. well. okay.

- i feel like he befriended cal first, like, he and lightning “hated” each other but it was less hate and more lightning being incapable of making friends (lmq and cal met at the infield care center after strips crash, so they were friends ever since then) and so cal was just in the middle of this “rivalry” that was in reality like. hey. cal. i think that bobby guy is really cool do u think he’d wanna be my friend. and cals like I DONT KNOW TALK TO HIM? and they talk and theyre like wow i actually thought u hated me (theyre best friends now)

- bobby both has an iconic autograph, but hes also so good with his fans its impossible for anyone to hate him. he has so many iconic pictures and literally everyone he meets praises him for his kindness and blatant silliness . hes just super easy going and generally amazing to be around

- out of all the racers hes probably got the most amusing advertisements as well, he will go ALL IN for whatever octane gain (or his smaller/secondary sponsors) want from him, and its so Genuine it just feels like he LOVES to be there

- he loves taylor swift. AND I KNOW WHAT YOURE GONNA SAY. “ITS STEREOTYPICAL” BUT NO U DONT GET IT.. SHE DOESNT MATCH THE REST OF HIS MUSIC TASTE AT ALL. hes the last person you’d ever expect to listen to her. he says its because they have the same last name so hes obligated to be a fan, but also the day Taylor Swift (album) debuted he bought the dvd and forced the other two to listen to the entire thing multiple times on a road trip and its safe to say that since the day taylor swift has existed, lightning and cal have feared her album release dates.

- hes the burnout king. every race he wins he will do a burnout down the frontstretch in front of the grandstands that will take his tires down to the RIMS. the tire marbles are INSANE

THIS IS ALL I HAVE IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY 😭😭 i wish i had more and i WILL eventually make more trust me on that.. but thank you so much for the ask and i hope u liked them :3

[rdng1230]

911 spoilers

god where do I even begin???

First of all, I was ready to flip a fucking table when Gerard said that to Tommy. I really love the detail of Chim standing up to him though, I think it’s nice that 911 continually reminds us that Tommy isn’t just buck’s boyfriend, he also has his own history with the 118 gang. I could see how tense Tommy was and my heart broke for him. I also love Buck getting in Gerard’s face a little as he walked away. We Stan a protective boyfriend.

I was never a foster kid but because of custody fights I know EXACTLY how it feels to be ripped away from the family you love because of what a judge says. My heart breaks for Mara and for Henren, when Denny got in the middle my heart tore even more. That councilwoman genuinely is evil. She has no idea how long lasting and deep those wounds are for a kid.

the last supper montage/scene with Bobby hurt my feelings, but I loved the voiced acknowledgement of bucks growth. I think Buck still has lingering self doubts, and Bobby coming out and saying “you’re not that guy anymore” I think will help Buck let more of those doubts go.

the scene with Buck discovering Kim played out pretty much exactly as it had in my head. I don’t know why I just had the feeling Buck was going to encounter her first before shit hit the fan. I loved his concern for Eddie *and* for Kim. “Does this poor woman know she’s a carbon copy of your late wife?” I think he’s really good at saying things that genuinely reach Eddie. Buck knows that Eddie doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and so he uses that to wedge the door open. Listen, I’m not opposed to buddie happening one day (although I really don’t want a Bucktommy breakup) but whatever happens, them being friends who can be honest with each other is so important. They’re great partners for each other in really every sense of the word.

I can see Athena’s desperation but I also think her completely disregarding Amir’s boundaries and needs is a fucking dick move. Bobby needs a therapist, and probably some in patient mental health treatment too. Amir should be left in peace.

I knew the Kim thing had been too easy and as soon as that door opened and I saw her hair, I fucking knew Chris was going to see. But god Ryan did SO WELL with that scene. He genuinely had me choked up. He Shoulders so much loneliness and anger and hurt and he never really unloads it. I really can’t imagine the grief he feels even if I don’t always buy that he was *in* love with Shannon. I think she was very special to him, but I don’t think she was the love of his life. I still can’t decide what I feel about Kim for that. Truly, on the one hand girl WHAT THE FUCK and on the other, yeah maybe that was the only way Eddie was ever gonna say all that shit out loud. Her motives are as yet a total mystery to me.

Chris gets his own bullet point. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. I really can’t imagine the hurricane of emotions he must have felt and will feel. I truly do not know how his relationship with Eddie will ever recover, and it would not shock me in the least if chris went and stayed with Buck for a while. I get what Ryan means when he says Eddie’s gonna end the season really isolated.

Im gonna miss that house, it really was gorgeous.

I love a good fretting over someone in the hospital scene and this cast in particular does so well with them. Looking forward to next week and also fucking terrified at the emotional fallout of everything particularly for Chris, Mara, and Denny.

boy “punched in the gut repeatedly” really was accurate huh?

[rose-and-lemongrass]

Ok I’m on the verge of falling into Despair so As Per Tradition here’s a list of horror movies I’ve watched for the first time this year that I’ve really liked

-The Wicker Man 1972

So here’s a good example of why spoilers don’t really bother me. I knew the ending going in (bc of the Nic Cage remake) and it still FUCKED ME UP SEVERELY. Like I was in TEARS. I didn’t even like the main character but GEEZE. It was 90% the sound of the ending scene I think.ikr the singing and the hymn and the cows screaming all layered on top of each other. It’s awful (high compliment). On a lighter note it’s also a secret musical and all the songs are bops :D

-Sinister

Speaking of knowing the ending and also horrifying sound design. This got spoiled for me by a classmate like 13 years ago. Was still sitting there watching it like 😨 Like god I get why this is considered THE scariest movie. Like hell damn this is one scary movie. Mostly bc of the music like holy god I felt like eas having a fever dream. This movie genuinely reminds me of the time I was sick on the couch slipping in and out of consciousness and my mom put on American Horror Story. I’m mad it was a Blumhouse film i genuinely believe it would be a masterpiece if Blumhouse wasn’t forcing jumpscares in there.

-X/Pearl

Lumping these two together cause idk they’re both in the same series and I love them. Pearls fucking great I love it dearly. And X reminded me I’m scared of Alligators uhhh rip Bobbi Lynn

-Longlegs

Lee Harker ❤️❤️❤️ I vibe with this one I don’t care. I understand it deep in my soul. It’s also one of those things of whenever I watch it or watch a reaction to it I notice something new and I love that shit!! What a cool fuckin movie

-In A Violent Nature

Oh I vibed heavily with this one. A jaunty nature walk with my best friend Johnny. Turning a girl into a human pretzel. Awesome. Was emotionally impacted by the ending and was apparently the only one who was!! Spent the weekend afterwards wondering why my interpretation of the ending was the complete opposite of everyone else’s and now I might make a video about that because. What the fuck

-Saint Maud

This movie deeply wounded me. I also watched it on my birthday. What an awful decision that was I was just sitting there in shock afterwards like. Oh no. Oh god. Anyways awesome movie I never want to see it again

-Speak No Evil 2022

Speaking of movies that fucked me up I never want to see again. I was literally pausing the movie every 5 minutes to scream at the characters. And then the end made me sick. I respect the hell out of it though. And I deeply resonated with it bc IM a spineless coward who gets roped into awful social situations all the time!! The characters are me!! Someday a freaks gonna invite me over to their house and I’m gonna be too polite to leave and then they’ll kill me and I’ll just be like. Damn Speak No Evil 2022 was right. Also fuck the American remake

-Happy Death Day

…Ok this has no business being as good as it is wtf. Amazing lead too like wow Tree is such a great character I love her. This is a good one if you want to get into horror but are nervous about it btw bc there’s basically no gore and it’s really really fun

-Suitable Flesh

I’m gonna be honest idk if I LIKE this movie. Or if I’m just shell shocked. That there’s a possession movie where a demon possesses a woman for the first time and then experiences a female orgasm and is like WOW THIS IS GREAT IM ONLY POSSESSING WOMEN FROM NOW ON!!! Like excuse me???????

-Strange Darling

Yesssss this movie is soooooo good!! Idk even what to say about it I’m starting to lose steam it’s just really really good :D

-Stream

This movie is not good. But that kill. With the tick tack toe. Was the most fun I had in the theater all year I was scream laughing and rolling around in my seat. Ah god bless I hope they make more i need more crazy shit like that in my life

-Blink Twice

Honestly really good thriller. There’s a bunch of twists but they’re GOOD twists they were set up properly. And some solid female solidarity in that movie, always nice to see. The last five minutes were…. Umm…. Less good? Idk how I feel about that yet. But I love the rest of it!!

-Oddity

I just thought it was neat :) EXTREMELY tense opening too oh my goddddd

-When Evil Lurks

That kill. You know the one. It made me cry ☹️

-Abigail

Soooooo the last 20 minutes were complete nonsense and drag the movie down for me but the rest is so much fun I’m including it here. Like genuinely just a really good time. That one dance scene was so cool

-Hatchet

Oh I didn’t know this existed till like a week ago. Genuinely really enjoyed it though. Reminded me a lot of Terrifier!!! And it’s really funny. I also kinda like how the first three movies function like one narrative and despite losing the lead actress it’s shockingly seamless you could stitch them together and it would flow perfectly

-Wolf Creek

Yo what the fuck Australia. That head on a stick thing was. Actually the most upsetting thing I’d seen in a while. Haven’t worked up the courage to watch the sequel yet ahahaha

-Evil Dead 2

I just think it’s neat!!! I’ve watched it twice now. It’s like my exact sense of humor it’s so good!!

-House of 1000 Corpses

Fish Boy!! And Captain Spaulding. The rest is ummmmmm. Ummmmmmmm. I mean it’s artistically really cool and I think it’s fun so you know what it’s going here’s

-All the Chucky movies

Haha. Yea. Y’all were right these are great

[sibylsleaves]

Helloooo defend in place/mayday anon :) sad to report I did not finish my s4+s5 watch/rewatch this weekend (tall task in hindsight plus anirudh tweets dropped right before I was about to start jinx of all episodes lol) BUT I did finish up to 5x10 which means I got to defend in place yayyy! General s5 thoughts 1. Watched ghost stories for the first time and its not nearly as bad as I thought it would be (although 618 and 710 didnt exist when this seemed to be consensus worst ep. So). I get how this ep might be hard to watch on a weekly basis but its pretty fine while binging and also features crucial henren/karen lore like … also noooo way chim really said he was going to bring buck near death, revive him with his paramedic skills and then kill him. Did the writers know. Lmao. 2. Taylor kelly stuff is not nearly as bad as I remember it from what I had watched. Its just painfully obvious her and buck should be friends and not even because their physical chemistry is outright bad just their dynamic feels super friend-ish. And they put all that development time into taylor when they should have developed bucktaylor instead, like how karen was developed after henren, for example. Bucktaylor ily scene still hits like nails on a chalkboard though. God forbid we have to live through something like that again 3. Ravi deadass in every episode. When will my sweet prince return in this capacity 4. Forgot about athena hitting harry :( definitely one of the things that I had issues with from before and was just as shocked now as before like why did that need to happen :(

Okay okay NOW defend in place thoughts !!!!!! I really really liked it, definitely a top 3 s5 episode for me probably (the other 2 I really love are 5x11 and 5x12). Michael/grant family proposal montage… genuinely top (fun) montage in the show. Up there with jinx and stuck/chris and poker date montages imo it was so cute. And while I really loved the ep the whole time I was like damn we were robbed of david content so bad 😭😭😭 he was so good in this ep and the s4 michael bobby ep like I just want more I cant believe we’ll never see him again. Okay and the ravi lore. Im going to be honest I spent years thinking the ravi cancer child thing was fanon/ravi begins spec LMAO like I saw gifs of that ravi hen scene a few weeks ago and was like damn… that lore is canon😭 but yay I wish the show would just once expand on his lore beyond surface level. And the defend in place call was so good although I will say it was giving greys anatomy massively though. Before I kinda wished the show would have done more with david/hen dr stuff but honestly after this Im glad it didnt bc I swear Ive watched this exact stuff happen in greys before lol. But yeah overall what a great send off for michael like so good. On my first watch years ago I was always kind of like okay michael is fun but he doesnt really get to contribute to the main part of the show much outside of being a dad and in that sense I always found his character a bit weak/neglible. But now on this watch Im like why didnt they give us more of this michael!! Copaganda aside, The athena team up when theyre searching for harry was so good and it was probably when I started thinking damn this cast is really missing rockmund in recent seasons. But at least they went this direction with the send off, if theres one thing you can trust 911 for its an eventual happy ending. (And also side note. Amidst the summer of bpreg and domesticverse some of the scene in this episode had me really in my feels. Yay)

hiiiiii bestie!!!!!!! thank you for updating me!!! i also did not watch 5a live (started the show the january between 5a & 5b) so i'm in agreement with you on the fact that it's really not a bad half season when binged!! i can understand the frustration of watching it live though. also ravi being in every episode omg......we used to have it all....(totally forgot about that athena and harry shit too wtf...)

OK YAY DEFEND IN PLACE!!! idk if you saw but i ALSO rewatched it this week (partially in your honor and partially to fulfill the summer of buddie self-care prompt). I have SUCH a soft spot for david, we really don't get to see much of him but i loved their meet cute, loved him in there goes the neighborhood and he's just!!! ugh!!! super hot and so sweet and such a good partner to michael.

lol I've never seen grey's anatomy but i can def see that...anyway yay i'm glad you enjoyed the episode. on my rewatch it really hit home for me how much the episode was grant-nash focused (like you said, with the fun little proposal montage) and it made me realize how much i really do miss them. Looking back, part of what really drew me into the show in s2 was all the family stuff--Buck and Maddie first & foremost (also Eddie & Chris), but also definitely the Grants and how they navigated adding Bobby to their family. It was such a good storyline and they really continued to showcase how special their family is through the next couple seasons!!!

anyway thanks for updating me, let me know how the rest of s5 goes (esp May Day!) 🫡

[vox-off]

what started as a way to pass the time while miserably sick for two weeks has become a new hyperfixation and i have catapulted myself face first into the wayhaven chronicles and i wanna yell about my detectives under the cut

Eilidh is reserved, kind in action if not in affect, patient, logical, soft-spoken, and iron-willed. Her backbone makes steel seem doughy. Her resolve is unshakable. She is the older sister of Det. Cameron Fox. She joined the Wayhaven PD for something mentally engaging to do. She is wildly intelligent and gets Weird when she doesn't have a puzzle to solve; once she has one, she's a dog with a bone. She feels intensely but privately; to see - or, more accurately, to be shown - what Eilidh is feeling is a surer sign of trust than anything else. Though she experiences emotions intensely, she is able to let them go. She is without artifice and almost without ego; she owns her mistakes, but does not dwell on them. Beyond her very small circle of beloved people, she cares very little what others think of her. She did not believe in soulmates until Adam; she has never wanted anyone as badly as she wants him, has never loved as fiercely as she loves him, but will not settle for anything less than all-in. She has no intention of waiting for him to get his head out of his ass, but also knows she will never find his equal. There is no getting over Adam du Mortain, there is only learning how to live with him at arm's length. Besides her brother, Mason is Eilidh's best friend, full stop. She loves Tina and Verda, but she knows they oftentimes wish she were different, more open, warmer. Mason is the first to not only accept but respect her for who she is, no changes imagined or required. She is slow to anger and uses violence only when her hand is forced, but heaven help you if you touch her brother. Neither Fox sibling has a good relationship with their mother. Eilidh sees Rebecca as little more than a stranger. Rebecca projects acceptance onto Eilidh's stoicism and Eilidh does not trust Rebecca enough to be emotionally honest or demonstrative with her. In turn, Rebecca does not know Eilidh well enough to recognize the difference.

in my blorbo headspace, my two detectives are siblings, they both work for the wayhaven PD, and they both have the blood mutation. rook died just after cameron, the youngest, was born. i'm handwaving the probable police policy against siblings working together in a professional capacity because, quite frankly, i don't care enough about police procedure to portray it accurately. also if their mother can be their agency liason/handler, their sibling can be their partner in (solving) crime. also also vampires exist, we're already firmly in unrealistic territory

Detective Eilidh (AY-lee) Fox - Intimidating/Cautious/Genuine/Stoic/Stubborn. 34 y/o. 5'9. Dark brown hair, grey eyes. Highest skill: Deduction.

Cameron is passionate, combative, irreverant, loyal, has unrepentant problems with authority, and is a little bit of an asshole. He is the younger brother of Det. Eilidh Fox. He joined the Wayhaven PD as an alternative to prison and despite it being what landed him in hot water in the first place, he still punches first and asks questions later, if at all. His sarcasm is a bulwark for his soft spots, of which there are many, the biggest being his sister. The only thing quicker (and sharper) than Cameron's wit is his anger. He is possessive in such a way it backfires into heroics: you mess with his people or his town, you'd better have an excellent exit strategy, for hell hath no fury like a pissed off Cameron Fox. He is in a Something with Mason. Like Mason, Cameron doesn't do complicated; he prefers one night stands and flings without expectations of commitment. Bobby was his last attempt at a real relationship, and it ended disastrously. He and Mason have the same general ineptitude with feelings and the recognition of them. Cameron is stupid gone for Mason and is absolutely clueless about it, right up until he isn't, at which point he tries very hard to be clueless again; the only thing more terrifying than what he feels for Mason is the possibility of Not Having Mason. Come hell or high feelings, he will not rock this boat. He wouldn't consider himself super close with anyone in Unit Bravo besides Mason, but if he had to choose a second favorite, it would be Felix. In Rebecca's absence, Eilidh raised him and he would kill - and die - for his sister. Neither Fox sibling has a good relationship with their mother, but of the two, Cameron is more openly hostile to Rebecca. Cameron felt Rebecca's absence less, as Eilidh stepped into the caregiver role without second thought; his anger at Rebecca is for the burdens Eilidh had to bear in her stead.

Detective Cameron Fox - Charming/Impulsive/Sarcastic/Stoic/Even split Easy-going and Stubborn. 31 y/o. 6'3. Golden blond hair, dark blue eyes. Highest skill: Combat.

[dream-beyond-the-fantasy]

Angst questions reply

These are replies to Angst Questions asked by @curiousdamage on February 4, 2019 about Julie and Jimmy in Is This Love?  Don’t ask me what happened to the actual ask.  I think I left this post in drafts for so long because some answers spoil events in the story.  However, I think some of these events are subject to change.  I’ll still leave it under a “keep reading.” 

Julie

1. What’s one experience your character had that made them very afraid? Between six and seven months after giving birth to Lily, Julie finds herself pregnant again.  However, she started having severe pains while giving 8 month old Lily a bath.  She was having a miscarriage.  Julie tried calling Jimmy, but he was unreachable.  So, she called Johnny and Bobby, whoever could get there faster.  Julie was determined not to scare Lily, despite her fear and pain as she was losing her unborn child.  

4. Has your character ever been hurt or betrayed by someone they thought they could depend on? What happened?  Yes, it was actually Jimmy, to be honest.  There were two times during the early part of their relationship.  During the weekend that Julie lost her virginity to him, they had been using condoms.  But Jimmy neglected to tell her that there was a failure with at least two: one had broke and another had slipped off while he was inside her.   He felt guilty and awful about not telling her or even taking her to see a doctor afterward.  But he thought she would be okay, as he assumed she was on birth control pills.  Jimmy actually didn’t tell her about this until Thanksgiving, a day after he learned about the pregnancy.  Naturally, Julie was pissed and felt that he had betrayed the trust she had placed in him.  Julie obviously ended up forgiving him as he was the love of her life, father of her children, and a genuinely good guy who made a mistake and felt remorseful.  The second time was during/after their first big argument.  As I’ve previously stated, she wanted to go out drinking with friends for her 21st birthday, rather than the romantic dinner Jimmy had planned.  She did as she wanted, coming home quite a bit drunk and having to be carried in by a handsome male friend/classmate, which didn’t make her husband any happier.  In her inebriated state, Julie initiated sexual advances.  Sober and still upset with her, Jimmy reciprocated but ended up being rougher than usual.  When she woke up the next morning, Julie was alone in the living room, covered in a blanket and sporting a bruise or two.  It was the first time she had ever woken up alone after sex and that loneliness made her cry.  Jimmy was still a bit cold to her days afterward and they continued to have small fights, leading her to move in with Johnny for a few weeks.  Then she found out she was pregnant.  They forgave each other and reconciled.  But it took a little bit longer for them to get comfortable enough to make love to each other again.  When they did, Jimmy made sure that he was slow and gentle.

6. Have they ever committed a crime, or something they felt was wrong? What was it?  No, I don’t Julie has committed a crime, at least not knowingly.  She never took drugs that were not prescribed.  She never drank underage.  She waited until she was eighteen to have sex, but in hindsight, she sometimes wishes she waited a bit longer.  She has done a few things she felt were wrong at the time, such as getting married and deciding to raise the babies, instead of putting them up for adoption.  However, she doesn’t regret doing them, as she can’t imagine what her life would have been like if she made another choice.

Jimmy

7. If your character was allowed to murder one person without any consequences, who would it be and why?  Jimmy isn’t someone who would commit murder, unless he was pushed to extreme limits.  If someone was responsible for hurting or the deaths of Julie or their children, then it is possible that he would kill them.  I know it isn’t much of an answer, but it would be too dark and depressing to think about.

13. What does it take to make your character cry?  Jimmy will cry if he is worried about losing or has lost someone that he cares about.  Or if he feels such deep guilt and regret over something he has done wrong, especially if it has a big impact on someone else.  He has cried tears of joy at the births of all of his children just because he felt such an overwhelming rush of emotion, such as love for Julie and each child she brought into the world, pride in his family, thankfulness, pure happiness, and so many more that he can’t put a name to.

16. What are your character’s vices and bad habits?  Jimmy has smoked a few joints and cigarettes, but they were easy habits to quit.  His brother Thomas jokes that he and Julie have a sex addiction and thinks that they are too into public displays of affection.  Jimmy believes that he and Julie have sex and show each other affection as much as any normal happy couple who are completely in love with each other.  He also doesn’t care what anyone thinks about it.  Julie did have to point out that grabbing and pinching her ass so much in front of the kids probably wasn’t such a great idea.  She had to bring this up when one of their young sons did that to her because he “saw Daddy do it to Mommy” and didn’t understand what it meant or what the big deal was.  One vice he has is food.  Jimmy may live a healthy lifestyle, but he likes to indulge in food and sweets, every so often.  He likes to go out to new restaurants, even though he tries to keep it to certain days of the month.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 306

Stranger in a Strange Land

“Stranger in a Strange Land”

Plot Description: Sam coordinates efforts to search for his brother. Jack struggles to adapt to life as a human. Castiel tries to get more intel on Dean from a demon

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: Nope. If the archangel Michael came to me and threatened me with the question of what I want, I’d also say peace and love. And he would also kill me for the times in my life where I did not exhibit the desire for those things

I love how alive and bustling the bunker is with the apocalypse world refugees

Sam is WAY overworking himself. You’re not good, kiddo

Really? Castiel spent like two seasons palling around with Crowley, and you think he wouldn’t consult with some lower level demon? (Hey, what’s goin on with the power vacuum in hell? Lucifer is dead, Crowley is dead, and all the princes of hell are also dead as far as I know. So is it just chaos down there now?)

“How did you lose Dean? I thought you two were joined at the…everything” 👀 this demon though

Ah fuck nooooooo. Cas got ambushed. Everyone in this restaurant is apparently a demon, and he’s getting his ass handed to him

Oh, Jo’s back on the sort of grifting.

I was right about Michael last time. Not only is he Bella Swan of spn but he still fucking sucks. I miss Dean

Sam getting to be big brotherly is actually really sweet. He had a good role model for that growing up and with his own experiences with losing powers and his own empathy

Oh. Fuck. How?? How is Nick (Lucifer’s vessel this whole time) not dead?! I don’t super trust this…despite seeing the wing imprint when Luci died

Ooooo Sam’s gonna be at his wits end soon. He just got Mary and Jack back, lost Dean, and now that demon is threatening Cas

Sam is the opposite of Shanks (from one piece. Sorry, Mary. You’re learning things about one piece tonight.) Shanks wouldn’t put a kid (Luffy) in danger just because the kid said they’re ready. Sam believes Jack needs this (going on the mission to save Castiel). “Better a disappointed kid now than a dead one later.”

Did this…did this demon get visited by Michael? And he’s still alive?! He just said someone asked him what he wanted. That’s what Michael has been asking everyone

Ok. This guy wants to rule hell now. Omg. He’s trying so hard to be Crowley A Bit To the Left and FAILING. It’s embarrassing watching him, honestly. Do you know what’s even funnier? Watching him try to intimidate Sam while being pretty much a full head shorter…Crowley could have, but this guy ain’t got the jennies (certain je ne sais quoi). It was too much, calling everyone darling every five seconds

When did Jack learn parkour?? (Megumi also recently learned parkour…maybe they learned together because I don’t know where she got it either)

Not to ship Jack and Maggie because they’re practically the only two teens in this whole group and he’s pretty protective of her, but I do want to see him form genuine bonds with people outside the Winchester family

Well, they’re goes that demon’s plan to rule hell. Why does Sam think he can dictate whether or not there will be a king of hell??

I’m glad Sam and Cas can be open and honest with each other

Apocalypse World Bobby, are you gonna fuck Sam and Dean’s mom??

“You did well” “all I did was get punched in the face” “to be fair, we all got punched in the face” conversations between Cas and Jack never disappoint

Why does grace regenerate now? When Metatron took Cas’s it was just GONE. Is it an archangel thing? A nephilim thing? An archangel sired nephilim thing? A plot hole??

I don’t trust this call, and not just because it’s from an unknown number (though Sam probably shouldn’t answer those either) oh, it’s Jo

Is Michael teaming up with monsters?? That’s terrible and yet…it’s intriguing at least. It’s probably the most interesting thing he’s done

[that-one-dudette]

Okay, I will assume you genuinely want to discuss and not just break havoc in the tag . This is my opinion, but if you scroll around, you'll find numerous posts that address your points in a structured and argumentative manner:

1) Tommy makes a racist comment, “You forget to tip the delivery,” and then plainly ignores him, as does the rest of the team. But Chimney wants to connect with him; he doesn’t try with Eli or with his captain, and at the end, after Chimney saves him, you don’t have an apology, but you get this moment of “I acknowledge you and I respect you” (and honestly, as a Latina woman working in European industry, that is way better than an I’m sorry). Then you have the comment to Hen about New York bitchiness, which is a complement, that, for me, is about a young, dumb man without a filter who is commenting on a comment that Chimney started, but at the end of the episode it is the same: Tommy and Sal showed her respect. Then, when we see Tommy again, Bobby begins again. Hen teases him in the same manner she teases Buck and they go for drinks after work, and they like him enough to have that small goodbye party + cake. He maybe never said the words, but he took the action.

2) Buck knows because he mentions twice about his time with Gerrard and about being ashamed of it.

3) Here we know Tommy never saw here with Buck, so this is second-hand gossip someone handed out to him. I'll be honest with you: I don't see anything particularly wrong with this situation. Abby, in maybe 2 years, went from being engaged to dating a man half her age to leaving everything and ghosting out to Europe. The context of her mother here is important, but still is something crazy to do. Now, I didn’t like that they made Tommy that Tommy, because it implies that Abby ends up with younger firefighter 1 and then looks up on the same station to even younger firefighter 2. Tommy is not dismissing the damage; he acknowledges the two times they talk about it, but it is also something that happened 7 years ago. Also is their 6-month anniversary; it was a comment that was not supposed to be a heartbreaking revelation, a bit more lore of his times of not being proud about.

4) Well, yes. And I think it is clear now that after 6 months in a relationship with a man, Buck could not say that he was bi or that he was putting Tommy on the gey icon pedestal that Tommy was reacting to Buck's pace. Bucks feels weird out to being kind of flirting with the photo girl, and Tommy helps. Buck feels uncomfortable on their first date, and Tommy helps (and then cuts the date short when he sees that Buck is way behind).

5) We are still processing this, and we are sad and angry and it feels weird, right? Feels like it doesn’t go where the story was taking this relationship? That’s why we are losing it on this side of the fandom. But also we are understanding (and the interviews confirm it) that Tommy is a man that has been hurt and it’s scare and ultimately hurt himself and Buck instead of fighting for a love that seems that both of them already are feeling.

So that’s it ;)

listen, i liked tommy as a character when he was friends with eddie, but he and buck being in a relationship has never made sense to me, and hated it more and more as time went on.

firstly, i really can’t get over how he treated chim and hen when he was in the 118. i get that at that point in time he was suffering from both internal homophobia and witnessing homophobia on a daily basis at his job. i get that he had to protect himself. but its possible to protect yourself without also perpetuating the problem. he was homophobic and sexist and racist, and him being closeted doesn’t excuse the former, and certainly not the latter two. i get that hen and chim forgive him, but he legit never apologized. he’s never truly taken accountability for what he did, and he honestly doesn’t seem to feel that bad about it

2) on that same note, i don’t know that buck would be able to forgive him so easily. he has such a big heart and a strong sense of right and wrong that it feels out of character for him to know how awful tommy was to his best friends and coworkers and not really care, despite the fact that, again, tommy hasn’t apologized or anything

3) everything about how he spoke about abby and their relationship was gross. “she went crazy after” and “went after a himbo half her age” is so callous and cruel. it also is casual sexism at its finest. it’s not unreasonable for abby to have felt lost after her engagement and long term relationship suddenly ended because the person she thought she wholeheartedly knew turned out to be gay. but tommy just sort of brushes it all off, dismissing the fact that he played a role in her personal turmoil, and expressing no sympathy for a person he supposedly cared for. obviously, tommy did the right thing in ending their relationship, both for himself and abby, but the way he discusses it feels cold. (also the sexism is really highlighted by the EXTREME hypocrisy in saying she went for a himbo half her age when he literally is also dating a man way younger than himself, even without knowing that it’s the same man)

4) i’ve always felt like tommy has treated buck as a “baby gay” rather than as an equal partner. looking down at people that don’t fit the mold or are young and still working things out is a problem in the queer community (of course, this is ironic given the fact that we are all about not fitting the mold society wants for us). i think tommy and josh both have some of that mentality. again, yes, tommy was trying to protect himself and yes, younger queer people will never be able to fully understand what the old generations of our community faced and experienced, but that doesn’t mean that young queer people’s opinions and feelings are invalid. like me, buck felt icky about how tommy spoke about his relationship with abby, and instead of being encouraged to open a discourse, his feelings are shut down with a “you will never understand so shut up, and, in fact, THANK tommy”. YUCK.

5) tommy just continues this treatment of buck as a clueless “baby gay” when he breaks up with him. instead of listening and trusting buck when he tells him what he wants and how he feels, tommy completely invalidates all of it. he acts as though he knows buck better than he knows himself, and acts like their breaking up is buck’s fault. ugh, the whole scene made me so angry.

i know that there are a ton of BuckTommy shippers, and i’m not trying to attack you at all. this is just my perspective, and i’m always open to discussion!

[doctordonovan]

❀    ||      maeve  &&  her mindset

for most people growing up,   issues are born from other people leaving.    for maeve that was never case   -   nobody else left,   it was her who was always leaving,   yet never by choice.    I’ve briefly discussed the three families of her childhood,    and it does stem from that.    she wasn’t even one when her birth mother gave her up,    five and half by the time she ended up with the donovans and it took another year and a bit before they decided to adopt her.   which took time.   months where she was aware they might change their mind.

 so by the time she left to stay with a family friend for university at 14,   what did maeve know?   her entire identity was formed around the idea of her own impermanence in other people’s lives.   whilst she grew,   experienced new things,   was loved in passing…    that was still a core part of her.

 plenty of things in the world are permanent,   she has faith in a lot of people.   but one of maeve’s biggest flaws is she simply doesn’t know how to judge the damage her leaving causes.    and she does leave.   she calls off the engagement to bobby,    she goes on the run from diane   (  and cuts everyone off  ),    when she recovers she leaves reid/her mother.    is she wrong for leaving in any of these circumstances?    not at all.   she’s always justified.   but she just doesn’t grasp the fact it’ll hurt people for more than a little while.

 love:    as I rambled in my tags on this post maeve also has a deeply engraved notion that people who do love her will always want to change her.    the donovans cared in their ways for her,   but still worked hard to help her become what they’d see as more successful.    she was always completely brilliant,    but little!maeve was shy    &&    mostly nonverbal.    at first joe taught her sign language,    yet she only used it when she really had to.    over the years,    they did drill into her to speak    -   to the point it becomes linked to her anxiety.     maeve talks a lot   -   often accompanied by subtle ASL hand movements   -   but more often than not it’s a sign of a nervous tick.   when she genuinely rants about something that makes her happy,   it’s her risking being vulnerable and honest.

[litgwritersroom]

A Friendship Thing

Emily - 5100+ words - @tammyisobsessedwith

It's been years since Love Island ended, and Emily has long since moved on (or tried to). Then an opportunity and an old face make their way into her life unexpectedly.

“Hey, I think I recognise you from somewhere! Were you on TV or something?”

Oh wow, the unexpected Scottish accent smack in the middle of Essex from whoever had said that brought a welcomed wave of homesickness, but those were some words Emily Paisley hadn’t heard in a while. Even in the heyday right after her short participation on Love Island three years ago, she’d never been one of the faces most recognised by the public or the media alike; something that in all honesty she was more than fine with. After all, when they did remember who she was, it was only to harass her for having had sex with a man she barely knew on national telly.

Yeah, sleeping with Jakub Zabinski right after meeting him hadn’t admittedly been her best decision, although, if she were honest, it was quite on par with the type of decisions she’d usually make out in the real world. The only difference was that if she chose to sleep around with virtual strangers the only people hearing about it normally would be her friends (and, presumably, that virtual stranger’s friends) whereas under the watchful cameras of Love Island she’d had to contend with the whole of Britain weighing in with their opinions on everything that had happened at the Villa in Mallorca.

And frankly, she’d told them all they could suck it. Basically it was her life, her choice ─ and Jakub’s, of course. If she wanted to sleep around and be a slag, then that’s what she was gonna do. Emily had always been unapologetic about her sexuality and being able to express it in whichever way she chose to, and she’d be damned if she would let strangers and their unnecessary or unwelcomed opinions dictate what she could or could not do.

Rolling her grey eyes a little to herself, Emily turned around with a sweet (and completely fake) smile to answer whoever it was that had the misfortune of recognising her right in the middle of her shift. As she’d been working at the top nightclubs circle for the past few years now she’d been subjected to all kinds of shit and was practically a master at indirectly telling people to fuck off while mixing them cocktails and dismissing them away all under the same breath.

However when she directed her gaze to whoever it was that had called out, she was met with a boyishly handsome face dotted with freckles, bright hazel eyes and a cheeky smile she would recognise anywhere in the world. Her fake smile melted into a genuine one before morphing into a smirk.

“You know, your pretty face is really familiar too.” Emily commented loudly over the music blasting through the nightclub, her own Scottish accent coming out more strongly than usual and accompanying a cheeky raised eyebrow as she continued mixing the cocktail shaker in her hands. “Did we happen to share a bed together one time or something?”

“One time?” Bobby McKenzie gasped in a mock offended tone. “Try multiple times, woman!”

“Soz, I can’t really keep track.” She replied with a careless shrug as she poured the drink in a cocktail glass and garnished it before handing it to someone next to him. “Y’know, ‘cause I’m such a slag.”

Bobby snickered at that as he leaned forward over the bar and gestured at their surroundings with one hand. “So when do you get a break?”

“A break? What’s that?” She asked, the sarcasm in her voice pairing nicely with the dry eyebrow she raised at him as she already turned to make the next drink in her order line.

“C’mon, Em!” He said, laughter in his voice. “Get someone to cover for you, come out here and give me a proper hug.”

She shook her head, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her lips. “Hold on, let me see if I can find someone.”

It took a while, as she needed to get through the peak of drink orders for the night and wait for movement to slow down a little bit before she could get her somewhat regularly scheduled cigarette break. Her eyes scanned for Bobby across the dwindling dance floor and she found him chatting and laughing with a group of girls, but as soon as he saw her looking he broke off with some quickly exchanged words as he followed her head tilt towards the outside smoking area.

“So what are you doing here, McKenzie?” Emily asked after he gave her one of his bear hugs as she leaned against the outside wall and gestured at the cigarette pack in her hand.

Bobby wordlessly shook his head at the offer. “Ah you know, night out on the town, checking out the hotspots. How have you been?”

“Fabulous, as you can see.” She said with a smile after lighting up her cigarette. “Enjoying the life of the bartender extraordinaire to the fullest. And you’re certainly in the right place if you were looking for the best night out.”

“Yeah, I heard this was where I’d find all the buzz.” He said, looking up at the nightclub’s facade and neon sign.

She took a long drag before speaking. “How’s the bakery doing?”

“Business is thriving. So much that I’m actually expanding my portfolio a bit.” He said it with waggling eyebrows.

She reflexively rolled her eyes. “Oh god, you’re one of those people who use the word ‘portfolio’ now.”

“Hey, I’m still the same old Bobby!” He protested, but there was a smile on his face.

“Hardly. You’re a proper famous person.” She gave him a pointed look. He may like to downplay his fame sometimes, but with the exception of DJ Tim “Big T” Davies, Bobby was probably the most famous and successful of all former Islanders. “I’m surprised one of your fans hasn’t tackled me yet out of demented jealousy or something.” A smirk pulled at her lips, as she reminded him of an old incident when one of his rabid fans had literally tackled Lottie when they’d been walking in the streets a couple of months after they’d come back from the show.

“Ugh, that was one time.” He said, a groan in his voice accompanying an exasperated and somewhat embarrassed roll of his eyes.

“Still, you’re never gonna live that down.” Emily insisted with a grin, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. “Let me say that’s one of the upsides of the fact that almost nobody even remembers I was in that show anymore. I really couldn’t care less for all of that attention.” She made a pointed tap to her cigarette, watching the ashes float down to the ground as if they carried her words with them.

“Yeah, you really had it rough there for a while.” He commented, his hazel eyes looking softer as he looked back at her.

“Not sure why I was the one who got all the flak seeing as Jakub was the one actually sleeping around.” She said dryly with a raised eyebrow.

“If that ain’t the truth.” He rolled his eyes then grimaced a little. “Sorry I never spoke up about it when it was all going down.”

“It’s fine.” She said easily with a dismissive hand. “I know you guys are friends.”

“We are,” he agreed with a matter-of-fact shrug, as Bobby was literally everyone’s friend, even the people not everyone got along with at the Villa or those the public or media didn’t really favour. “But I still think he was a fuckin’ numpty.”

A smile broke out on her face. “Aww Bobby McKenzie, the Love Island player with a heart of gold.”

He snorted at that. “Still not sure where I got that reputation.”

“It’s your face.” She explained, inhaling on her cigarette before elaborating, watching in delight as he blinked his eyes in a perplexed manner. “It’s too pretty, everyone automatically thinks you’re a fuckboy. Like you’re gonna ‘love them and leave ‘em and ruin ‘em for all other men’ type of shit.”

Bobby let out a bark of laughter as he shook his head. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“It’s not me, it’s your fans!” She insisted, laughter also bubbling up with her words. “They’re the ones coming up with it.”

His hazel eyes narrowed playfully back at her. “Oh so you’re saying you’re not a fan then?”

“Definitely not.” She volleyed back immediately, her lips twisting into an impish grin before his exaggerated gasp at hearing her words. “Sorry mate, I can see you for all you are, the good parts and the flaws.”

“Unbelievable.” He shook his head. “And here I was, coming all the way over to Essex just to make you a proposition only to be treated like this?”

“Oh?” Emily raised an eyebrow. “So are you proposing? Or propositioning? Not sure which one of those is the more terrifying prospect, actually.” She faked a shudder for effect.

“Oi! I’m actually serious here for once.” Bobby said, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face or the laughter off his voice.

A smirk pulled at her lips as she put out the end of her cigarette and threw it away. “Then use more serious words or at least put on a serious face, ‘cause right now it’s still seriously hard to take any of this seriously.”

“That word has lost all meaning now.” He shook his head again, but made a show of taking a deep breath in and trying to put on a serious face. “Okay, here goes: I’m opening up a restaurant and I want you to be my cocktail person.”

“What?” She blinked her eyes in surprise before she recovered herself a little. “I mean, great news about the restaurant! Congrats!” She enthused, wrapping her arms around him for a quick hug before she pulled back with a frown. “But what is even a cocktail person?”

“You know, the person in charge of creating cocktails for the menu.” He explained with a shrug. “Yeah, there’ll be the classic shit in there, but it’s a fusion restaurant and I want to have a cocktail menu that’s innovative as well. And I think you’re the person for the job.”

“Oh wow, I dunno what to say.” Emily said, unusually lost for words as she took in what he said. She’d always been one to give rapid fire responses, especially when talking to Bobby as they vibed since they’d first met during Casa Amor, but she had definitely not been expecting that.

He seemed somewhat delighted at having surprised her and laughed a little. “That’s easy, say ‘yes Bobby, I’ll be your cocktail person’.”

She crossed her arms and frowned. “Is this you doing one of your charity things?”

Emily thought that was a valid question. Bobby was not only everyone’s friend, he was also always showing up, supporting and posting on his platforms about whatever the former Islanders were doing over the last three years: Lottie’s new makeup brand, Priya’s new collab with an up and coming designer, Hannah’s new novel, Hope’s new toy line. Catching one of Kassam’s shows on his tour, watching one of Rahim’s tournaments, cheering on at Jo’s races, checking out Noah’s project with kids at the library. Celebrating Marisol’s graduation from law school, doing a spot for Elisa’s socials, being a special guest at one of Chelsea’s parties, or even just retweeting Jakub’s photo shoot or sharing one of Gary’s reels about the new big crane he got to operate on at work.

“What are you even on about now?” He asked with a bemused twist to his lips.

“You know, you doing your rounds, keeping up with the gang and putting a marginal spotlight on what they’re up to through your social media and shit?” She said with a slight roll of her eyes and somewhat vague gesture with her hands. “‘Cause I told you already, I don’t really care for the attention. And I’m not a charity case.” She added the last part a little under her breath, looking away.

“I know, I agree. You’re actually one of the best in the business and that’s why I’m here.” He replied at once before dramatically placing one hand over his heart. “Honest to God, Em. I didn’t even know it was you, I thought you were still up in Edinburgh!”

“I didn’t really tell anyone other than my immediate family that I was moving.” She said with a careless shrug. “Just needed a fresh start, I guess.”

Bobby just stopped and looked at her for a few silent beats. “Yeah, I get it.”

The unexpected concern in his eyes made her suddenly uncomfortable as it was so at odds with their normally playful banter, so she looked away and cleared her throat. “Anyway, how did you manage to stumble into my playing grounds tonight then, that is if you weren’t actually stalking me?” Emily looked back at him while arching a teasing eyebrow.

He playfully tapped the side of his nose with a grin before shaking his head as she laughed. “Nah, jokes. I was putting together a list of experts to scout and I was told to come check out this place by a mate who works in the area and knows what’s what.”

“You’re having me on.” She said, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe she was good at her job, because she knew she was. But the idea that people would be actively pursuing her was a little baffling. It wasn’t like she was a drinks connoisseur or entrepreneur like Allegra D’Annunzio ─ self-proclaimed or otherwise.

“No, for real. He said your cocktails are one of the reasons people love this place and I could see that. Plus I remember back at the Villa how great you were when you taught me how to make a jellyfish.” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

“Don’t you mean a Bobbyfish?” She asked cheekily and they shared a chuckle at that. “So you were looking at potential candidates and now that you saw it was me working here you’re just offering me the job, just like that?”

He nodded back at once. “Yeah, absolutely.”

He just left it at that and Emily looked back at him for a moment as she thought it over. “Alright. I’m in.” She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a quiet smile.

A wide grin spread over his lips. “You are?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, suddenly feeling just as excited about it as he seemed to be. “Bet you weren’t expecting me to agree so fast, huh?”

“No way, I’m buzzing! This is gonna be amazing, Em!” He wrapped her up in another of his bear hugs and they laughed together for a moment before going back inside as apparently she wanted to give her notice right away.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. Emily negotiated her exit from the staff at the club in Essex even as she worked out the details to get on board with Bobby’s new restaurant. It may have been a hasty decision even for her standards ─ though in all honesty she’d always been more of a ‘leap before you look’ kind of gal; it was how she’d ended up on Love Island in the first place after being scouted back in Edinburgh then how she’d impulsively moved out of Scotland to Essex after all. But after sitting down with Bobby for a proper meeting where they went over his plan and the vision that he had for the restaurant, she knew it was a solid business endeavour.

As it should be. Ever since the Villa, everything that boy touched turned to gold, and it was one of the things that had prompted her to take his offer.

The other was that she never really got over the teeny, tiny (minor, really) crush she’d developed on Bobby during the Casa Amor days ─ but if asked, Emily would deny it to her very last breath. She’d gone through enough humiliation back then, going from fucked (by Jakub) to friendzoned (by Bobby) faster than anyone could say, “whiplash much?”

“You’re gonna be working with him now, Em.” Blake commented when they were out for drinks one night after she’d told her the whole story. “Day in, day out. You working at the bar, him in the kitchen then working the room to greet important people. Your eyes meet across the crowded room. You guys stay out late to close the books or something like that…” She trailed off, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow before bringing her cocktail glass up to her lips.

“You’re reading too many trashy romance novels, love. You know we’re just friends.” Emily replied in a dry tone. “That’s all Bobby’s ever wanted with any of the girls.”

“Not true.” Blake retorted. “He was shagging Lottie by the end of the season.”

“Yeah, but it was always a more friends-with-benefits type of thing.” Emily countered with a frown. “They barely carried on once they were back home. I don’t think he ever saw anything long-term with anyone at the Villa, to be honest.”

“Except the new Mrs. Rennell.” Blake replied, rolling her eyes a little. “I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t save you at that recoupling even if just to keep you in the Villa because he was so ridiculously besotted with her, even after she dumped him to get back together with crane boy. D’you think he ever got over his crush on her or is it like extremely awkward if he ever hangs out with Gary and the missus?”

“I don’t think it’s awks, because that’s not Bobby.” Emily shook her head, as she knew he was always making sure everyone was comfortable and having their best time if they were out together. “But if he still has feelings for her… Who knows?” She finished with a shrug.

Blake was right about one thing: Emily did get to spend a lot of time with Bobby now, especially as they started working on the new cocktail menu. As the licences and other business and legal requirements were underway for the new restaurant, she spent several nights in a row at his apartment as he cooked her what would be his signature dishes and she experimented with different cocktails, the two of them workshopping to see which flavours would go best together.

It was also a lot more fun than she’d been expecting. She’d created a few signature drinks for past employers, but she’d never got to think about a whole menu like this ─ plus having someone else to bounce off and who knew so much about food made a world of difference. 

Yet as things started ramping up for the big opening and Emily watched Bobby spending more time training his kitchen staff, she realised it was just the way he did things. He was the total opposite of the classic, clichéd head chef yelling his head off and terrorising his sous chefs. He treated everyone nicely, huge smiles all around and good humour, good vibes surrounding the whole kitchen and supporting staff.

She’d never seen someone working as hard as he was. And honestly she’d never worked as hard either, as she now had staff under her and needed to train the bartenders so they’d be as skilled as she was in making those drinks that they’d created after so much joint effort.

It seemed like in no time at all the grand opening was upon them and everything went off without a hitch. Emily wasn’t really surprised, given the amount of effort everyone put into it, but it was also one of those things where it seemed like everything magically aligned together and it went so smoothly that it was almost too good to be true. But it was the sort of thing that just happened around Bobby, either as a direct result of his actions or the way he seemed to be such a great boss and uplift everyone around him that they all wanted to do their best for him, too.

She realised that went for her too, one afternoon between shifts at the restaurant when she was checking the bar for supplies and doing inventory and he hurriedly walked out of the kitchen, heading straight towards her.

“I need you to take tonight off.” He said without preamble when he was still halfway across the salon. “I know it’s not in the schedule, but I called Samantha and she’s coming ‘round to fill in for you.”

“You don’t want me working tonight?” She turned to him with a frown. “Why?”

He made a half resigned, half exasperated hand gesture, but there was still a smile on his face. “I squeezed in Gary and Julie for a last minute reservation late in the night and they want us to join them for dinner.” He reached the bar and braced his hands against it, leaning forward. “Say ‘yes’ to this, please?” He asked with one of his charming smiles.

“Well, what choice do I have?” She asked with a teasing eyebrow. “The boss is telling me to take the night off. I can’t very well say ‘no’.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” He said with a grin before shaking his head. “And I thought I told you to stop with this whole ‘boss’ nonsense already.”

“Bobby, you are the boss.” She insisted with a smirk. “It’s literally your name on top of that door.” She pointed at their front door with the clipboard in her hand.

“I’m pretty sure it says ‘The Melting Pot’.” He countered with a raised eyebrow.

“‘By Bobby McKenzie.’” She volleyed back with a pointed look.

They bantered back and forth for a bit as she kept doing inventory until he took the clipboard away and handed it to one of the bartenders on staff, saying she was off for the rest of the day.

She took the opportunity to dress up, doing her dark hair half-up, styling it to come down in gentle waves over one shoulder. She also got one of the nicer cocktail dresses she had out of her closet, which made a nice change from the usual dark trousers and blouse she’d wear for work.

It was a very nice evening, but it was so surreal at the same time: getting to the restaurant with the other patrons instead of being there hours before to open things up. Being seated by the maitre then waited on by people who were her colleagues and personal friends. She imagined it was the same for Bobby, as he split his time being in the kitchen overseeing their plates then sitting down with them to enjoy the meal and the drinks.

Gary and Julie were delighted they were all able to spend the night together, drinking and eating and chatting away. Emily could see the lads were still as silly and easygoing around each other as during their time back at the Villa, as even if time had passed they were still the same jokesters as before. Their sense of humour and easy banter was one of the things she most liked about them, and it was the same for Julie, who gave it back as good as she got.

They’d been done with the main course and chatting away before moving on to dessert when Emily got a little sidetracked in her conversation with Julie about her new research project for her doctorate at the university as she peripherally noticed an exchange of sorts happening between Gary and Bobby, the latter shaking his head and laughing away at something the blonde man had asked in a low voice.

“Alright, it’s time for my fave part.” Bobby said, almost as if he were trying to distract his friend from whatever they had been talking about. “Just wait here as I get the finishing touches on the desserts.”

As he got up and walked back towards the kitchen, Emily noted how his ears were red and that a light blush spread across his face under the freckles. “What was that about?” She asked with a bemused frown.

“What?” Gary said in a distracted manner as he turned to face her. “Oh nothing, Em.”

“Oh! I think I know.” Julie said, a slow grin taking over her lips. “Was it─?” She raised her eyebrows as she looked at her husband, and it was like they were sharing a whole silent conversation at that moment.

“C’mon, Gary.” Emily insisted with an easygoing smile. “Is it a secret? Why can’t I know?”

“Nah, it’s not a secret.” He replied with a shrug. “I was just asking Bobby if you two are a thing now.”

She felt as if the smile was frozen on her face. “What?”

“Yeah, the whole group thinks you are together and we’ve been dying to know.” Julie said, as if that had been the most normal thing in the world as she brought her glass up to her lips.

It took her a couple of seconds before she could properly react, but then Emily was laughing dismissively. “Oh no, we’ve always been just friends. Why would you even think that?”

“I dunno.” Gary commented, a sly smile forming as he rubbed a hand on his jaw. “There’s been a vibe, lately. The way he talks about you sometimes. That sort of thing.”

“Yeah, the way he looked at you when you were talking about the cocktail menu and how you two came up with all of that together…” Julie added, leaning her chin on her palm as she looked at her across the table. “I don’t know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Bobby looking that happy.”

“He’s just excited about the restaurant.” Emily countered with an easy shrug.

“Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong.” She said, waving away a hand. “I know it was a lot of work to get this all going and I’m sure that’s part of it.”

“Just saying…” Gary chimed in then, as if he were continuing on his wife’s train of thought. “He wasn’t this happy back when he opened up the bakery.” He gave her a wink as Julie nodded emphatically next to him.

Soon, Bobby brought back the desserts and the group enjoyed the rest of their evening together, but Emily couldn’t stop those words from rattling around inside her brain and what it could all mean ─ if it even meant anything at all.

Then desserts led to more drinks, and more drinks led to the group just chatting away the rest of the night. Before they knew what was happening it was actually closing time and while they could’ve stayed put and just spent more time together having drinks as the dining room emptied out, Gary and Julie said they were in the mood to go dancing and insisted they needed to go together, for old time’s sake. The staff at the restaurant insisted they should all go and enjoy themselves and that was how Emily found herself in a nightclub with her friends instead of working behind the bar. Sure, even back when she was bartending at clubs she still went out on her free nights, especially with Blake or if Shannon happened to be in town, but with all the work recently it had been a while since she’d been out like this.

To be honest, the more surprising aspect was that she was out with Bobby and how different things felt between them. She couldn’t tell if it was the many drinks they’d had, the fact that they were letting out some steam on the dancefloor after weeks of stressing and working so hard or even if it had been Gary and Julie’s comments and questions about their current status quo. Whatever it was, something definitely felt different.

And she might’ve thought it was all in her head, some sort of shyness or awkwardness which had never been in her nature but that somehow had been brought to life at being confronted with a possibility that she’d never thought was actually possible. But she kept catching Bobby stealing glances at her, an almost-there smile on his lips as he danced a little too close, his fingertips brushing against her waist in a way that could’ve been innocent if not for the gleam in the warm hazel of his eyes.

Ah fuck this, Emily thought as she felt the familiar thrill running down her spine whenever she was about to do a ‘leap before you look’ as she pulled him by the hand and led him away towards a back wall. He followed her with no resistance, a grin pulling at his lips, almost as if he’d been expecting her to pull that move.

It was reckless and impulsive and maybe even foolhardy, considering he was not only her friend who had put her in the friendzone some three years ago but her boss nowadays. But it was also the only way Emily Paisley knew how to be and as she pressed him up against the wall and leaned into his personal space, she paused as if to give him an out, give him a chance to put a stop to this, tell her he didn’t mean for her to get things the wrong way and that they were in fact nothing more than friends.

Then she looked up, her gaze locked with his and she felt almost naked before him, feeling the buzz in the air between them and she knew it wasn’t all in her head. With a smirk pulling at her mouth, she threaded her arms around his neck and leaned in, moving her lips to brush up against the shell of his ear.

“Your move, McKenzie.”

She could feel a shiver run down his back with her hands pressed against his shoulders. She leaned back a little to look him in the eye and saw the smile forming as the words almost tumbled out past his lips. “Shit, Em. Let’s fuck up the friendship.”

Emily barely heard the words before she felt his lips capturing hers, the taste of his lips more intoxicating than any drink they’d had that night. She pulled his body flush against hers as her hands ran over his back and neck and she practically melted under his touch.

If this was just a drunken mistake or something to just get out of their systems or something else entirely, she was willing to wait and figure it out in the morning. Right now, feeling his lips and his touch igniting her whole body, she couldn’t quite understand why they’d never done this before. But she was gonna make damn sure it’d be a night to remember.

At least there were no TV cameras around this time.

[rebelrayne]

Honestly? Priya is gorgeous and all but she's not that good of a friend, way too immature for her age and I don't pity her getting dumped at all. She was right about not fitting in to be honest. I think it was her fate that she was in line for a dumping.

I don't think Lucas should have been an LI, he's not much of a good one and the same goes for Ibrahim. I just don't trust them around MC...sorry. They just weren't made for her.

Noah should have stayed off limits if they well knew they weren't planning on letting us have him in the first place, it was SO messy and I hate the entire concept of operation Nope. As sad as it is...they should have gave him a proper route or not at all.

They should have continued with the "Player Bobby" storyline...because why do I feel like it was dropped after they saw his popularity to please the mass? But with the switch of writers I guess we'll never know.

Also Returning Hannah and Returning Lurik were a waste of time. They didn't add anything to the plot and should have just stayed at home. What "rekindling flame" storyline- I don't see it.

I asked for unpopular opinions and boy, did you deliver! Okay let’s goooo

Priya - 100% agree. I said it in another ask, Priya is one year older than I am canon. She’s so immature and she’s not ready for a relationship. I didn’t feel bad when she was dumped either. My mc happily helped her pack like bye.

Lucas, I do like him. He’s probably one of the only LIs in S2 I can still stomach but I’m currently trying to get through Gary (very slowly). Lucas definitely can rub people the wrong way though so I can see why you dislike him as an LI.

Noah’s route is 1000% the worst afterthought in LITG history. The way they just made him available at the end… I like Noah but I like his headcanon. His route is pretty difficult to do, I always do it along with someone else so I can just restart the day to finish with him and the other LI.

Bobby as a player. I’ve gone back and forth on this. I used to be a Bobby Stan (yes, yes, go ahead and gasp) and thought it was possible they wanted to hint this then I decided I didn’t think he was. I think this was another victim of FB lazy writing - if you’re not with Bobby, he’s clearly just playing the field in friendship couples which could come off with a player vibe so it fits but it comes off as he’s not genuine if you are coupled. If you didn’t know, Bobby can give a friendship couple speech at the first recouple (no one ask me what he says it was literally my first play through and I’ve never gotten it again). I don’t think Bobby is a player but could have been interesting to see it in the game!

Okay but YES. I cannot stand returning Hannah so any scenario where I never have to see her face again, I’m for it. Where do I sign up?? Also yeah, I guess the only purpose returning lurik will do is if you want to lose (which some people do) so it does add to the story there. But Hannah? Yeah goodbye, go write another book about your thirty seconds in the villa 😂

[ktinastrikesback]

Alright, here it is: The meta post about Eddie Diaz and mother figures and how it all leads to Buddie (I think). Thanks to @yramesoruniverse for your help with this, and @kitkatpancakestack and @evanbucklies for inspiring it! I really have been thinking about this nonstop and had to get it all down. This got quite long, so I'll include a cut in order to spare everyone who doesn't want to continue reading!

We first get an idea of Eddie's complicated thoughts surrounding mother figures throughout his whole storyline with Shannon in season 2 when he romantically reconnects with her for Christopher's benefit. I do want to keep the focus here trained on Eddie in season 4, but I want to point out a season 2 line that is pretty fitting. As much as I don't want to use a Shannon quote as a starting point for a meta, I think this one is actually pretty useful: "...Eddie always knows what's best for everyone...God forbid you stop for a second and actually ask them what they need." While it's harsh and spoken out of spite, Shannon does make a point here which becomes relevant at the end of season 4.

We don't know a whole lot about season 4 Eddie (thanks writers) aside from the fact that he's working on being a single father (he tells Marjan in the crossover that he's "doing the whole single dad thing") and being a support system for Buck and the rest of the 118. Eddie's "arc" this season is moving on from Shannon and beginning to date again (a very small and limited arc, which hopefully season 5 will remedy). Of course, because it's Eddie, the core of this arc is him wanting what is best for Christopher. And it seems pretty clear that what Eddie thinks Chris needs is a complete family with a mother figure (note how he asks Bobby if he's "happy now, with Athena and the kids" and just assumes that Bobby is talking about Ana Flores), but the universe pushes against this idea throughout the whole season. There are a lot of examples in season 4 of unreliable mother figures (for example, the alcoholic mother who causes the wreck in Blindsided), but in order to save some space here, I'll list and discuss those in another post. The main thing I want to point out is that we've seen that mother figures aren't always perfect, and they aren't the end all be all that Eddie thinks. And canonically, the show suggests several times throughout the season that the partner that Eddie needs/wants and who is best for Chris is actually Buck.

In Breaking Point, while Eddie is on his date, it's Buck who is at home taking care of Christopher and getting him through his nighttime routine (which establishes that he knows the routine and has gotten Chris ready for bed before, hence the reference to his "cautionary tale"). On the date, when Ana says that no one has been in his life since Shannon passed away, Eddie noticeably looks uncomfortable (the will reveal makes this scene and that particular comment and Eddie's subsequent reaction so rich. Eddie knows that what Ana is saying is completely untrue, because the person he trusts most with his son is with him at that exact moment). Later, when Eddie tells Christopher about his new 'friend', he says "it's a woman." And...to be honest, what the hell was that? He could have said, "I'm dating someone" or "I have a girlfriend." But he says it like this? And it's weird...right? Christopher is the one who has to say "girlfriend." Also his tone of voice when he says it...it's suspicious to me. Anyways...Eddie talks with Ana about Christopher's reaction and her first instinct is to take a break and wait for Christopher to warm up to the idea so as to not cause him more pain. Meanwhile, Chris is out the door, in an Uber, and on his way to Buck, the person who actually gets Chris to talk about his feelings and who fixes the whole mess. So while Eddie is talking with Ana, Buck is playing a parental role AND promising Chris he isn't going anywhere, completely juxtaposing everything Ana has said and done in this episode (throwback to Fools, anyone?). Just like we see in 4x14, the perfect partner that Eddie is looking for is already putting in the work, no questions asked (and this is all before Buck knows about the will!). Yet Eddie is still trying to force it with Ana.

We see this again very briefly in Parenthood. Eddie and Buck are seen agreeing on parenting ideals on a call, similar to how we saw them work together in Future Tense to talk Chris out of playing video games. At the end of the episode however, when Chris asks to join the movie, Ana just jumps ahead and lets him in, not consulting with Eddie. Of course, this isn't a serious issue and Eddie is happy to have Chris join them, but it still carries on with juxtaposing Ana with Buck. It's also a bit interesting that Chris sits between them, parallel to the video game scene from season 3. But again, it's a very brief scene, so I don't know how much value it has overall.

We see all of this come to a head in 4x13 when Eddie becomes invested in the single mother and her son from the balcony call. Interestingly, this call happens after Eddie's conversation with Carla ("make sure you're following your heart"). On the call, Eddie flirts with the mom. This is interesting because we've seen many times in the past that Eddie...doesn't like flirting, especially on the job. Eddie openly flirting with the mom here may be his way of fighting against what his instincts are telling him Carla's comment was about (him liking Buck/a man). Eddie quickly becomes invested in Charlie (the son) and takes a liking to his mother because he relates to her. You can kind of see the gears working in Eddie's head when he's at their apartment...he's admiring her and perhaps maybe fantasizing about having a partner who gets it. And he sees a mother taking care of her son...reinforcing his love for the mother figure. But of course, we all learn by the end of the episode that this mother figure is extremely warped and not at all what her child needs.

The best part about this plot is the way it plays into the shooting scene at the end of the episode. Just before he gets shot, we see Eddie in an interesting framing choice (I am genuinely serious when I say that I want to sit down with Brenna Malloy and ask her about her directing choices for this whole scene):

The mother and son are placed into separate ambulances, and Eddie stands between the two vehicles. Visually, Eddie is literally placed between the mother figure and the son, and Buck is standing in front of him (at a slight distance). As (thank you to @kitkatpancakestack for pointing this out!) the ambulance with the mother drives away, Eddie says "shoulda gotten here sooner" to Buck (who replies, "That kid is just lucky he met you." He knows how to reassure Eddie and recognizes what is good for the child). Then of course, Eddie gets shot. But let's focus instead on why this framing before the shooting is important: the universe does scream, and it sure as hell was screaming at Eddie this whole episode. Carla calls him out for not following his heart, he idolizes this mother only for her to end up being horrid, then he gets shot with his partner standing right in front of him (you know, the same person who takes care of his son for the entirety of the next episode).

This can be read so plainly: Eddie has been fighting hard for what he thinks is best for his son, and he's stuck in this relationship with Ana because he thinks she is what will make Christopher happy. Meanwhile, Buck is in front of him and has been there the entire time putting in the work with Chris and making him feel heard, loved, and important. This ties right back to that Shannon line: if Eddie had simply asked Christopher what he needs/wants, it's very possible that his answer would be "Buck." Eddie doesn't need to be stuck in the middle of this relationship he doesn't care about because Chris' happiness is not dependent on having a mother figure.

Of course, we didn't see very much of Eddie in 4x14 so we don't really know what is going through his head regarding the shooting or Carla's comment just yet, but I'm hoping we see a lot of him working through all of the events that took place in 4x13/14 throughout next season. Because of the way the mother/son storyline ended up and the way they framed Eddie in the shooting scene, I'm willing to bet that he's going to be reevaluating just what Christopher needs and what he already has (with his Buck).

(Also side note--the welcome home party scene...when Buck is watching Eddie greet Christopher, notice the framing there too. The photo of Chris and Shannon is on the right side of the frame, Eddie and Chris in the middle, and Buck to the left. You already know what I'm going to say, so I'll leave it at that...)

Anyways. Edmundo Diaz is confused about what he and Christopher need, and it's actually a brilliant way to dive into a storyline about his sexuality and his feelings for Buck. Remember that post-finale interview with Tim where he said Eddie is always concerned with what's best for Christopher? That there will be a lot to explore with Eddie? I take everything Tim says with a grain of salt, but looking at all of this, there's quite a bit here pointing in the direction of pining Eddie. It's not wishful thinking, it's in the text.

I'm literally just applying basic film analysis to these scenes...and everything is adding up to a larger picture. I'm really excited to see what Eddie's arc in season 5 will be because there's so much set in place for it to be really great.