#people can speculate about cheating buck

[bidisasterevankinard]

Tommy becomes regular and when show ends with bucktommy canon we have one of the last episodes as Tommy Begins where he was looking for family and love and had hard way to admit he's queer and then episode ends with him proposing to Buck

You see my vision, right?

[vanmarkus]

everyone can ship whatever and however they want, it's all fiction and just simply not real. so if someone wants to speculate and write fic about buddie getting together while Buck and Tommy are dating, fine.

that being said, I really wish people would stop expecting canon to go there. do you genuienly think that Oliver Stark — and even Tim Minear — would be down for a cheating arc at this stage of the show?

the same Oliver Stark, who is so deadset on doing an authentic job at giving positive and accurate representation for the queer comminity and bisexuals as a whole? do you really think that man would want another cheating arc for his character after he came out as bisexual? that he'd really wanna further the harmful stereotype that bi people cannot stay faithful?

more than that, do you really think that after all the work they put into Buck's realisation/coming out arc, they'll just throw Eddie in there with a drunken kiss and call it a day?

if that'd be the case, I'd be incredibly, incredibly disappointed in how easily they discarded their own work and principles about doing right by the community and all the years of groundwork they laid down for buddie as a whole.

luckily, no chance in hell that would actually happen, it just boggles my mind that people would want it to.

[james-spooky]

Eddie Diaz and the Phenomenon of Queer Representation

A post to organise my thoughts ahead of the rest of the season and to really get this off my chest! (Spoilers for 9-1-1) (It’s long and I will inevitably have more thoughts about things I failed to mention)

Within queer representation in media, there’s a certain expectation that audiences have been conditioned to accept, including the omission of any representation at all. This has led to many non-canon ships being popularised in fandoms in an attempt to obtain agency surrounding queer media. One of these such head canons is Eddie Diaz from 9-1-1 who is largely speculated to be gay. This is sort of an essay and sort of me rambling on.

Picking up in Season 8, Episode 1, Eddie’s been trying for three months so keep his shit together and try to stay in contact with his son in the wake of the whole emotionally-cheating-with-the-doppelgänger-of-your-deceased-wife situation. I think the birthday zoom was really the beginning of his breakdown. To keep all of this inside him it way too much for someone to handle. He is going to break at some point with the stress. Not only that but as others have pointed out, Helena and Ramon are not actively participating in the reconnection of their son and their grandchild. This ties into their long-term goal which has been present across multiple seasons to be Christopher’s sole caregivers, without any acknowledgment of Eddie. To me it looks like he’s been trying to put on a brave face for his kid and sort of suppress everything (as he always does) to try and be a better father. But you can’t be that person if you’re not taking care of yourself; not necessarily “putting yourself first”, not in a selfish way but genuinely having self-love and a certain assuredness, something which Eddie doesn’t appear to have pinned down. I can definitely see him being introspective this season and forced to deal with quite literally everything that’s ever happened to him and to actually process that and who he really is. Ergo, realising his sexuality.

Tim said that the episode six thing was one of his favourite moments in the show, is actively excited for us to see it, is the episode where the “reason for the moustache” is “explicitly stated”; genuinely what else could this be other than gay Eddie. I cannot think of a reason personally. Other than “religion” which I don’t is a path they’d go down; I cannot come up with another reason for why they’re being so vague about it.

This is exactly the same thought process I went through pre-s7. I wrote down all my thoughts and analysis on those articles and Buck’s arc, coming to the conclusion that there could be no other outcome other than Buck being bisexual. Before s7 there were lots of articles about Buck and they all had that same sort of strange wording surrounding his storylines that season. E.G: “a season of self-discovery for Buck”, describing him getting off that “hamster wheel” of failed relationships. Whether or not you believe that he has achieved that is beside the point; the point is that, the vague quality to them which alluded his storyline going in a particular direction is happening yet again. Ryan has the exact same thing happening now, if not more with the majority of the season’s promo being his moustache. This is pattern recognition if I’ve ever seen it. Truly, due to the sheer amount of promo and interviews there have been, in my mind I don’t see another reason for why this would be, other than Eddie having a large and pivotal storyline this season.

It’s not just “about buddie”. When people pin down a character’s sexuality to purely the ship they’re in, it annoys me because it’s genuinely about the storyline and Eddies character arc. Yes, these headcanons have stemmed from the ship and obviously if they were to go down this route, the ship would most likely be a by-product of this discovery, but it’s not the priority. It may be an end goal, but what about the journey? It’s more than ship wars or trying to one up each other. For me personally, it would be so beneficial to his character to go in this direction. Not even just for his character but for the show and representation in general. What other show on a major network would have a character who’s been on the show for multiple seasons, had relationships with women, a wife, a child, religious traumas, PTSD, grief, catholic guilt and then having a gay awakening in their eighth season? None. How many have had strong platonic male relationships? A lot. Honestly, I don’t interact with those people who whittle down Eddie having a queer realisation or the possibility of Buddie being canon as “erasing platonic male friendships”. I simply don’t buy into that and my reaction towards those people who use that argument is just “Point me towards a show where (the written above happens)” and you can’t. Because it hasn’t happened. Not only that but queer ships in mainstream shows are notorious for “queer-baiting” and not “going canon”. I could name numerous shows where this has happened all to the dismay of a large percentage of the audience. In my experience in fandoms with popular queer ships, (majority mainstream shows with non-explicitly queer characters) I cannot think of a single time where they have been confirmed in canon. To me, this would be a huge step in the right direction for queer media as a whole. Of course, we cannot deny the massive impact that Buck being canonically bisexual last season has had and I commend ABC, the writers and Tim for bringing that to our screens. It was so heartfelt and truly amazing to watch. However, in terms of fandom and popular ships, it’s a little different. I’m in no way disregarding bi Buck, but rather exploring the impact that having a popular queer ship becoming canon would have on other media and the audience in general.

As queer audiences, we are so often let down with the directions that tv shows and film take in regard to their queer-coded characters. It’s become normalised to expect disappointment over seeing a popular pairing actually become “canon” within the text itself.

I’m aware that queer-baiting is definitely different than simply having queer-coded characters, however the two often come hand in hand. There is a misconception, in my opinion that “going woke is going broke”. I think that yes, having queer elements or characters in media definitely effect the reception and reaction, especially online from the general audience. This has happened time and time again and because the negative reaction is so loud, it drowns out any of the positive ones, forcing media companies to pull back in fear of losing money or audience. They want to be seen as “impartial” as a large percentage of audiences are bigoted but by removing any conversation surrounding queer representation in media, it immediately becomes biased and panders towards the people who shout the loudest. Queer people know all too well that on social media, it can be hard to avoid the rampant bigoted views that are shared so violently towards marginalised communities. Companies are so fearful of the backlash towards queer characters, that they won’t even have them at all, regardless of whether it would be classified as “good” or “positive” representation.

In my experience with fandoms with popular queer ships, when the show is still airing there’s this sense of hope that we cling to that it might “turn out different this time” and the character or characters might actually end up canonically queer or together. And every time, it ends the same. And even if they are confirmed queer, the “bury your gays” trope swoops in before it can truly be explored. As a collective, we tend to self-deprecate in order to deal with it but it’s actually quite a damaging thing. It reinforces the idea that queer characters and storylines are not of merit or valued in mainstream media. This turns into a vicious cycle of queer-coded characters staying queer-coded and never becoming canon as that’s how far the media company producing the show is willing to go. They are not willing to take it a step further and explicitly show queer characters having agency and a place in media as this will result in backlash. Additionally, even when we are given queer characters, a lot of the time there is a lack of depth or exploration of their queerness, almost as if it doesn’t exist. For example, Loki’s genderfluidity and bisexuality is canon and confirmed but a large amount of people who were invested in this, were disappointed to see it not having any effect on his storylines at all due to Marvel as a distribution company whose audience, or rather, targeted audience is largely cisgender, straight men. Therefore, queer audiences typically already have an expectation going into a show with a queer ship; it will most likely never happen. I’ve seen first-hand people who actively don’t partake in these shows in order to avoid being disappointed and it hurts me to think that queer people have obtained this way of thinking in regard to media. That we know it’s not going to happen so we either avoid it or watch it with the miniscule hope that something will happen. And even if it does, the show will most likely get cancelled after the first season in the name of “watch hours”, (despite how dedicated or prevalent the fandom may be, dead boy detectives, IANOWT, first kill etc.) once again solidifying the belief that queer characters or stories are not worth the time, money or value that heterosexual ones are. This causes queer media to have a lack of funding and marketing, essentially dooming them to crash and burn. It’s like building a house made of paper and then blaming the weather on its destruction.

So no, I don’t believe that “going woke is going broke” as I have personally indulged in many shows and films due to the sheer prospect that there might be a queer character or couple. Too many times, I’ve binged several seasons of a show (in an alarmingly short amount of time I may add) purely because there is a popular ship/one of the characters might be queer – emphasis on might. It is due to the fear of these media companies that queer shows and film are immediately disadvantaged straight out the gate. However, I do see there has been a change. Obviously, there are many popular queer shows that have been given chances such as Heartstopper and Interview With The Vampire. To me, this clearly shows that queer storylines and characters, showing diversity and marginalised communities does bring audiences and value (as we ourselves know) and it’s purely the skewed bigotry which overtakes the reception and influences the production of media.

Additionally, when bi Buck went canon, the sheer disbelief of queer audiences that it happened at all, to me showed the standards that we’re used to. We’re so used to not having that, that when it does happen, we’re actively surprised by it. Obviously, 9-1-1 in particular has showcased many queer characters before and continues to do so, however this was different as Buck was a previously established character for six seasons and so to have a sexuality arc for someone later in life was definitely a huge moment for bisexual representation in television.

For Eddie, if Tim is doing this storyline, he is right in the approach he’s taken. I’ve talked before about how they weren’t sure whether it was going to be Buck or Eddie having this queer storyline in Season 7… To me that’s basically confirmation of queer Eddie, right? Well, not necessarily “confirmation” but the fact that he was even considered at all for this storyline solidifies his queer-coding to me and that we aren’t all “delusional” for recognising it. I’ve said before but it makes so much sense for Buck to essentially “go first” by having him realise he’s bi and come out in S7 because it was a very different way of doing it, as you would have with Eddie. Buck is very sure of himself as a person and for him it’s something that was always there, but he never realised it and he’s quick to accept it! There’s no tortured Buck struggling with his sexuality (unless of course you count the basketball scene) it’s relatively smooth in the sense that he’s not having a breakdown over it; it’s just his relationship that’s rocky and provides those hurdles. This was refreshing to see as it can often be an expectation that the queer character in the show is negatively affected by their queerness. However, with Eddie, it wouldn’t make sense for him to have that arc in season 7 itself. Partly because it had 10 episodes which would not do it enough justice, and because Eddie already had a lot to unpack. For instance, his whole season 7 storyline was surrounding his deceased wife which was just the start of his journey. Even many seasons later, he is still grappling with the effects of his grief on him and Christopher. Everything is much deeply rooted in him, as is everything in his backstory.

His whole begins episode and all of the backstory we see of him, is him trying to be someone he’s not/who he thinks he should be. He was trying to be a big brother turned parent for his sisters when his parents wouldn’t. He’s trying to be a good father at nineteen, he’s trying to conform to the hegemonic standard of masculinity by marrying Shannon (pressured by the church as she got pregnant young) he enlists because he’s trying to provide for his family even though he doesn’t realise that it’s actually hurting them instead, he’s trying to keep custody of Chris from his parents who only see Chris as a “do-over” for Eddie. Eddie trying his best and get a job to provide for his son. Him doing anything his can for Chris. Shannon coming back, dating her again for Chris - despite the fact that Shannon wanted a divorce (and then died). Eddie dating Chris’ teacher who he loves but Eddie doesn’t. Again, for Chris. He’s always doing things for other people. His parents, Chris, his partners, but never for himself. We’ve seen him spiral before into his fighting arc; that was something he did for himself in a sense, but it was only because he didn’t know how to properly regulate all the pain and grief he was feeling! He’s a single father trying so hard to be the very best he can for everyone around him, to live up to “what it means to be a man” pushing down any emotionally vulnerability until he inevitably snaps. The church, his catholic guilt! This affects him in numerous ways - religious wiring quite literally effects the ways you think about everything and internalise the things that happen to you. Kim was something he did for himself, but it still tied to everything else and his grief. Because of all this, no wonder you wouldn’t be able to fit his gay awakening into a 10-episode season… Eddie requires more time and thought behind what he’s going to have to face and process by himself. For the first time, he is truly alone with his thoughts and is faced with who he is. Outside of his parents, outside of Chris, Shannon, the army, the church, the 118, he is discovering who he truly is, not what anyone else or any institution expects him to be. And this is why, it’s gonna take a lot out of him and is a much different storyline to the one that Buck went through.

Everyone’s sexuality realisation/coming out is different and I really can’t imagine Eddie going through the arc that Buck went through so I think it was a good decision to go with Buck for Season 7. Eddie has so much more to deconstruct and process in order to accept or even just realise his attraction to men, however that plays into his relationship with Buck. And even more so, his lack of attraction to women.

Honourable mention of “I’m broken. I’m broken and I can’t fix it,” being said in his conversation with Kim which is a heavily queer coded statement, as this is a concept that is frequent in the queer community of thinking you’re broken due to your identity. I’d genuinely be surprised if this is not the direction they’re going as there’s so many moments like this with Eddie across the seasons (cough dating feeling like a performance cough) especially this one, which just stand out and heavily resonate with queer audiences. I’d say if they don’t, it’s a huge missed opportunity and character assassination to be honest. I care so deeply about Eddie and he’s such a complex character, it annoyingly makes me mad when people undermine him or pin him down to one thing as if multiple things can’t be true at the same time. I know he’s a fictional character and in reality, it’s not that deep but when people undermine his queer-coding or deny it, it feels like denying a whole group of people’s experiences akin to his.

So, the “emotional reason” behind the moustache in my mind, would definitely link to the idea that Eddie has clung possibly extra hard to his perceived idea of what masculinity is to him/what it’s expected to be. Yes, the style of moustache is engrained in queer culture, but I think that it’s more so an accessory which he’s using to overcompensate for his queerness, (consciously or not). I’m relating this to one of my favourite queer films, Maurice, as in that movie facial hair, specifically moustaches play a significant role in displaying the characters attitudes towards their queerness without explicitly saying them. Maurice and Clive both go through phases of having a moustache, with Maurice first when he is in a period of reluctance towards his sexuality. He’s the more accepting of the two, so it doesn’t last long. However, as Maurice moves out of this phase and begs Clive to stay with him and be together, Clive transitions into that position and denies Maurice’s claims that they could be happy somewhere together. He clings to the traditional ideals of marriage and heterosexuality, as is the norm in 1910’s England, trying to bring an end to the whole affair. Later, when Clive announces he’s engaged to be wed to a woman, he has a moustache and continues to have this moustache for the rest of the film, showing how he’s never going to accept himself for who he is, and is using this to conceal his emotions. The moustache here, represents hiding your true self and repressing your desires, acting as a “mask”. This to me, is very reminiscent of how Eddie appears with his moustache, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up with the same metaphorical reasoning.

In the first episode (the only episode that’s currently out), we saw that Gerrard approves of his moustache, himself being the typical masculine archetype that Eddie may believe himself to be or believes that he should be. Not that Eddie wants to be like Gerrard; of course not, he’s a bigot. It’s that portrayal of masculinity which ties into how he was brought up, and the ideals of the catholic church surrounding gender roles and sexuality. I thought this direct comparison was interesting between them as Eddie is definitely doing this for approval if not from others, but from himself that “this is who he is” when in reality it’s not. In my interpretation, the fact that they’ve specifically mentioned episode six as when he shaves off the moustache and has this physical manifestation of his inner demons, screams to me a queer arc for Eddie. I think there is so much potential for his character and storyline, not just for the ship he’s involved in but for himself and everyone who sees themselves in Eddie.

In conclusion, I really hope they go down this route and if they don’t, once again, it will be a huge, missed opportunity and I wouldn’t be certain where they’d go with his character if not there. This was just a chance for me to get my thoughts out, ahead of the upcoming episodes and I really hope we get to see a positive outcome for his character, whatever route they take.

[buddiebeginz]

I keep seeing posts about how us Buddie fans are just being delusional. How we need to stop reading so much into what’s being said during interviews and oh also how it’s offensive to the current ship.

First of all let’s be clear here Buck is NOT in a relationship with Tommy. I feel like this is something you Buck/Tommy shippers are failing to grasp because I constantly see posts about how Buck shouldn’t cheat on Tommy. They have kissed once and been on 2ish dates they are not a couple yet. Being exclusive requires a conversation or at least some acknowledgment by the characters and we haven’t had that yet. They still barely know each other.

Second we have always theorized about Buddie when the characters were with other love interests. We did when Buck was with Taylor. We did when Eddie was with Ana. Is it somehow different now because Tommy is a guy? Is it different now because Buck and Tommy aren't straight? Or is it just because Buck is dating the guy you want him to be with now? I don't know there's just something very strange about how some of you are responding to Buddie/Buddie shippers with all of this.

What's even crazier to me is that so many of you who are all about Buck/Tommy now used to be Buddie shippers or still say you'll be happy if Buddie happens down the line. Yet you're still attacking Buddie and our meta and speculation because it threatens the current ship you want at the moment.

No one is saying that every one of our theories and speculation is 100% correct but we have always speculated on the show and the interviews this isn't something new people are doing. I feel like the response some you have is that we're somehow seeing/hearing only what we want to and or twisting the words of the actors/etc to fit some kind narrative we have about Buddie.

It's not like we're seeing interviews where Oliver, Lou, Tim, etc are saying Buck and Tommy are going to be together 4eva and then immediately twisting that to mean oh they must be lying Buddie is so obviously happening tomorrow. We're inferring what we think might happen based on spoilers and what the actors (and Tim) have said combined with what we hope might happen. We know not everything we think will happen will. We had a ton of theories on 7x04 and 7x05 (many of which turned out to not be true) and despite what some of you think we didn't all collectively lose our shit because they didn't come true.

You can dislike Buddie and us all you want and can disagree with us or our theories all you want but these posts talking about how we're just seeing what we want and setting ourselves up for disappointment come across as hypocritical (considering most of you used to be Buddie shippers) and patronizing. We don't need or want you to save us from our fandom experience. If we're disappointed by the storyline that's our business but right now we're having fun with where things in the show are and are going.

---

I also really don't like how some of you are trashing Buddie to prop up Buck/Tommy. Basically saying that because Buck and Eddie's feelings haven't been verbally confirmed on screen (like in an I'm in love with you kind of way) that we're making it into something it's not and it's not fair to Buck/Tommy because they are canon.

Buddie isn't in a romantic relationship at the moment but they have loved and supported one another and always been been more than friends since basically the beginning. Even Oliver just confirmed that Buck was attracted to Eddie from the first scene. And no attraction alone doesn't equal love but if you can look at the six seasons of history shared by these two characters and only see two bros being the bestest friends you really need to take some media literacy.

I feel like some of you don't understand that not every part of a fictional story is spelled out super literally nor should it be. We know how deep Buck and Eddie's love goes because we can infer that based on their scenes. On all the ways they are there for one another, on how they treat each other, on how their relationship differs from the other friendships on the show. On all the things they say and don't say to one another. A big reason we want to see them in a canon romantic relationship is because of how clear the show has already made it that these two men love each other.

As for Tommy even though I'm not a multishipper I get Tommy's significance in the storyline. I'm also more thankful than I can put into words that Oliver and the show have decided to do Buck's bi awakening storyline epecially considering I'm bi myself. Buck being bi and his journey is incredibly important all on it's own but Buddie being canon is equally as important not because we need to see these guys together but because of what they represent. We have never had a slow burn same sex love story like this and the way it would change media forever if Buddie were to be canon cannot be understated.

[canonicallyobserving911]

“I do need you.”

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

New Buddie Fanfic in the "What do you want?" A Series of Fics and Ficlets

The 7th fic in the "What do you want?" Series in now available on AO3. "I do need you." - It’s late and after being on the road from Los Angeles to El Paso for more than 12 hours, Eddie and Buck are tired but they aren’t sleeping. Instead, they’re continuing to discuss things they’ve left unsaid.

"I do need you."

5.0K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences

Please note: the fics in this series were season 8 speculation before it began; however several things I included in the first 6 fics/ficlets, i.e. Buck's breakup with Tonsilitis along with Eddie going to visit Chris in El Paso, TX and taking Buck with him either haven't happened yet or they won't. Therefore, these are now solely based on my head FANONS and they include things I wish would happen in CANON. The CANON BT breakup is coming but I REFUSE TO WRITE ANYMORE FICS WITH T.K. 2.0 IN THEM. I’ve written two and a couple of others where he’s mentioned but I don't like the character; in fact I NEVER have and I'm too tired of Buck’s tragic repeated relationship with him to write about a character just to end up writing him out of the fic anyway. Also, as I've stated many times before, I write Buck and Eddie so they're getting ready to enter a relationship or when they're already in an established one.

___________

Here's a snippet of a conversation Buck and Eddie are having while they're in their hotel room.

___________

“Can we talk about something?”

“Of course.”

Buck nods and he takes a moment to determine the best way to say the things he wants to say.

Eddie doesn’t rush him; he just patiently waits for him to continue.

Once the words and sentences formulate inside of his mind, they begin to fall out of his mouth unbidden.  “Uh, ever since Friday morning… two times you’ve said you need me.  Once was when we were at the firehouse then you said it again a few minutes ago but um, I have to ask… do you uh, just need me to be Chris’ guardian or do you need me for you too?”

Eddie eyebrows go up so high on his forehead that they almost touch his hairline because he thought he made it crystal clear that he needs Buck in both of their lives.  Without breaking eye contact, he admits, “Buck, I need you for me and Chris and I want…”  He trails off because he was about to say he wants to spend the rest of his life with him.  Also, he was about to admit that he’s in love with him but he caught himself since he still has a lot of work to do to fix the things he broke earlier this year when he emotionally cheated with a doppelgänger and when he lied to the two people who mean the world to him, Buck and Chris.  He refuses to be in a place of mental despair when he tells the man of his dreams that he wants them to spend the next 50 or 60 years together.

He turns on the lamp, stands, walks over to Buck’s bed and stands in front of him.  After he places his hand on his shoulder with his thumb on his pulse point, he looks into those ocean blue eyes he loves so much and explains, “Buck, you’re mine and Chris’ family and I—I need you to be with me because I can’t do this alone.  You’ve been co-parenting Chris with me for the past 7 years and you’ve been part of his life longer than his mother.  You’re not a guest in our house and Buck…”  He pauses then says, “Ok… listen.”

What is Eddie going to say next? 👀

How will Buck respond? 🙃

___________

"What do you want?" - A Series of Ficlets

Currently 7 works completed; 46.4K Words: Rated; Teen and Up Audiences:  This is a series of “Fics and Ficlets” that I’ll be writing over the course of the next few weeks and my goal is to keep them under a certain number of words. I’m challenging myself to do it this way for multiple reasons but mainly because I want to see if I can write a full Buddie story by including smaller fics in a series in comparison to the multi-chapter fic I’m still in the process of writing titled, “I’m still in love with you but… I needed to learn how to love myself too!” I began writing it last year after season 6 was an epic disaster, however this time I started with my dislike for the way season 7 ended. Finally, I have several WIPs that I want to finish and I figured I can turn them all into one shot fics or ficlets to build the full story for Buck and Eddie.

Since these ficlets will be posted in order, it’s imperative to read them one after the other. Each part ends at a specific point with a cliffhanger and the next part will begin with the ending of the previous part. Therefore, parts 1 - 6 should be read prior to reading part 7 and the series will continue in that manner until it’s complete.

"You don't know math!" - 3.3K Words; Rated Teen and Up Audiences: Buck is forced to choose while Eddie might be presented with another option.

"Math is a universal language." - 5K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Eddie reconnects with an old acquaintance and they spend a lot of time together. However, now that Buck’s single, he finally tries to understand math is a universal language but when he sees Eddie talking to another guy, he wonders if it took him too long to figure it out.

“You know, it’s like that thing when you meet somebody and you just… click.” - 5.1K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: When Buck comes face to face with Eddie’s new friend; he hates it but since he’s only told Maddie about his breakup with Tommy, Eddie’s still under the impression he’s taken. Therefore, Eddie makes plans to spend even more time with his new acquaintance.

"I can't stop thinking about him." - 8.1K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Buck and Eddie are trying to move on but they can’t stop thinking about each other.

“How I hide my true feelings from others.” - 9.6K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Buck and Eddie return to therapy but they’re both not telling each other about recent events that happened. Will they finally have an open and honest conversation before it’s too late?

"We need to talk." - 11.4K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: After Eddie and Buck decide to take a weekend road trip to El Paso, TX to visit Chris, during the 12-hour drive, they talk about a lot of things they’ve left unsaid.

"I do need you." - It’s late and after being on the road from Los Angeles to El Paso for more than 12 hours, Eddie and Buck are tired but they aren’t sleeping. Instead, they’re continuing to discuss things they’ve left unsaid.

Now Available on AO3

[allwormdiet]

Agitation 3.1

Got waylaid by work and brain weather, but we're back to it. Let's see how Taylor's life is going

Her routine has come up before, but it bears saying that I think Taylor's actual superpower might just be that she's a morning person who can hold herself to accomplish daily goals, like goddamn girl

The constant, casual cruelty that makes up so much of Taylor's history is equal parts saddening and infuriating. I'm sure we'll get an explanation for why the bullies do this to her, I think I've said as much in previous posts, but also as mentioned in previous posts I find it aggravating to endure.

...I don't know if this is quite the right place in my reading to speculate on it, but I'm not sure if Taylor even has a shot at university at this point, even setting aside the cape thing. The bullies are all in her year, which means they'd never be separated from her by graduation. Their constant sabotage and harassment would mean her grades are low, so even if she gets into a college with whatever GPA she can bodge together (and no extracurriculars to pad her application out), she's probably not going to earn any scholarships and money's already pretty tight for the Heberts. That means student loans, and probably shit rates considering the world they're in.

Maybe this is my bitter ass reflecting on how the greatest benefits I got out of going to college were completely incidental to the courses I took or the degree I earned, but... Taylor, I know college meant a lot to your mom, I just don't think that path is nearly as open to you as it used to be. I think it's fine to just learn a trade, and I think it's fine if the trade is armed robbery.

So you're telling me Taylor's self-image used to be worse? Jeeesus

I like that Brian knows how to blend into an environment as the situation calls for it. That speaks to a pretty keen observational ability, and also is maybe tied to his need to act more grown-up than he is. And now I'm sad again.

"I want" is cute, embarrassment is for suckers (I say, easily embarrassed)

I don't even like coffee, but a fifteen dollar coffee had better be the best coffee you've ever had, oh my god

And honestly that must have been weird for every member of the team, just suddenly having money not be a problem anymore. Taylor's holding out for now, although I suspect it won't be that way forever, and everyone else either wants or needs it bad enough for their own ends that I don't think they're gonna think about it too hard (except for Lisa, who has the full context and whose power is thinking too hard)

Taylor please don't undersell your injuries to your teammates, I don't like you doing it with your dad but I understand it. Here though? Come onnnnn

Yeah there we go

Violence is an easy language to understand. Cruel, obviously, and painful, but if Rachel is already struggling with other people's words and feelings (five bucks says she's autistic tbh) then getting the shit kicked out of her is probably a better sell on the new recruit than any pretty speech

...Ideally they move past that pretty quick so words can be used again

Also poor Rachel, for real. Ten years in the system and then whatever it was that triggered her powers, which is obviously never good. No wonder she came out the other end more willing to trust dogs than people.

Ugh, my heart

Is she showing off for the guy she's crushing on? That's adorable

Curious that the limits of her power seem to be based on complexity of the brain. I assume there has to be a brain at all or else she could just shoot germs at people, although that'd also be a little bit inefficient as a power unless she started getting into disease warfare and holy shit this would be a very different story if Taylor could give people smallpox

Gotta be a weird day for the crab though

Couple things here

Brian you're not even eighteen yet as far as I know, what the hell

Of course Lisa cheated, she's built to cheat, at that point I'm not sure it even counts as cheating

Knowing what I know about Alec, somehow I doubt he was ever in school to drop out in the first place

...on the flipside I'm a little surprised that Rachel never went during her time in the system, you'd figure that'd be a condition of her fostering but either the guardians didn't give a shit or she fought her way out of ever actually attending

Also, I know it's a matter of course that she'd have a key to the base, but it's sweet all the same

It's nice of Brian to make this offer, although I'm willing to bet it's because he's the only Undersider who would get up before 6 AM. It's also a pretty smart call to keep her up to date this way

Also very funny that Taylor is like "Oh I like Lisa just fine but she scares the shit out of me"

...Also also, for real, Lisa has to already know what's going on with Taylor right? There's no way Taylor's good enough at lying to bury that one.

Girl I'm dreading it and I'm just reading about it

This is just. So goddamn sad. And maddening, to boot.

Gee Taylor you sure to seem to spend a fair amount of time thinking about the comparative attractiveness of other women

Agonizing, though, for real. Wildbow has knocked every school scene out of the park and I hate it.

I wonder if Taylor's gonna even bother coming back to school at this point. First day she left mid lunch, second day she left right after lunch started, here she's splitting before first period. As much as she clings to this side of her life... I don't know if it's any healthier than full-time villainy.

Go blow off steam with your new friends Taylor

Current Thoughts

I actually don't have any real expectations for this arc going into it. Obviously Arc 1 is the start of... I mean kind of everything, and Arc 2 is made up of the immediate aftermath from those events. This one? I dunno. I was a little worried I'd have to deal with another chapter of Winslow, but it looks like Taylor decided she was sick of that shit

I like Brian, but I think mostly I'm worried for him? This is a lot of effort so far made to seem mature and normal, and I don't know if that's possible for a teenager who goes out to be a supervillain. It's admirable in a sense, but I'm worried about how fragile it leaves him.

I don't love that Rachel seems satisfied by an exchange of violence but that's more bc I don't want these kids beating the shit out of each other, not any kind of "this is bad actually" sense.

Other than that I'm mostly just curious what the rest of this arc looks like. Thank fuck it's not more high school.

Oh, yeah, I'm gonna try and read more at work today, I might take my screenshots then and see if they drive me up a wall, but even if so I'll just retake them when I get home. Fingers crossed work is slow enough for it.

[bucknerdycore]

Speculation spoilers 7x10

Tw: mentions of alcohol and cheating

So there are so many ideas about what could happen in the 7x10. This is a speculation of what could happen if Buck's apartment did catch fire while he was with Chris with the help of @ezvlli and @hisbucky)

Order:

Marisol and Eddie have a talk after what happened with Kim. They broke up and the camera focus on Chris listening to the talk from his bedroom.

Eddie leaves Chris in Buck's apartment because Chris asked so and goes to a bar where he orders a drink.

Eddie calling buck from the bar; sobbing about how bobby is alright now and everything is supposed to be fine but his two favourite people in the world still aren’t talking to him and buck says “call me back tomorrow. let’s talk, okay?” and Eddie starts drinking more. Shot in Buck's apartment which the camera goes down and you can see a stove or something similar burning and (by this I mean someone else is repeating bobby’s mistake)(@hisbucky idea)

Eddie is drunk so he doesn't notice the messages and calls that Buck is sending him. The camera focus on the phone.

The camera would focus on the glasses on the coffee table. We can barely see the fire. Then, the camera pan and we see the fire (@ezvlli idea)

Chris shouts "Buck!" and there are the credits.

[deadnatura11]

Stay with me now:

- the next few episodes are Bobby & Eddie-centric

- we know Amir is connected to Bobby through the apartment fire in Minnesota through him being IN the building at the time of the fire

- we can *speculate* Amir lost his wife from the 7x08 post-episode trailer

- Amir has not forgiven Bobby for the fire he caused, for scarring him, for costing him his wife (he is still STUCK and has not PROCESSED his GRIEF)

- Eddie is cheating on Marisol with a woman, Kim, who looks like his dead wife Shannon

- Eddie, famously, has not processed his grief over losing Shannon and is STUCK as well and cannot self-actualize (ie be the person he's truly meant to be) he's in arrested development

- Bobby, too, is STUCK (despite moving away from killing himself, despite the true blame being on the faulty wiring of the space heater, and despite opening himself up to friends and finding love and family again) because the Minnesota fire plot line has yet to be fully resolved

I think the spec that there's a fire in the finale, a major fire, is not far off. Everyone wants Buck's loft to burn down. Well, what if -

Amir comes close to killing Bobby with the knife (if that's even him in the promo) but never gets the chance. He escapes despite a very moving convincing monologue from Bobby about moving on about how he lost his family in the fire, too, and even OFFERING Bobby the chance to kill him to make up for his sins. Amir is not swayed from his decision to get revenge/"retribution" for Bobby's past sins.

So.

Sooo.

Soooooooooo.

Amir decides to recreate the Minnesota apartment fire. Where? In Buck's building, in Buck's loft. With Buck still inside. So, in Amir's mind, Bobby can feel the pain of knowing he's responsible for more people's deaths anew because "death is too good".

And of course the 118 respond to the call. Of COURSE.

And as they're evacuating people inside they realize Buck's not there and, who rushes inside? Eddie and Bobby.

And they're stopped by Amir who holds them all at gunpoint because he refuses to let them save him and save Buck.

Cue another monologue from Bobby, this time more meaningful because he has put in the work to actually believe the words he says, maybe by speaking to his brother, ESPECIALLY from talking with his wife. And his talk about letting go of the past and moving on, trying to be a better person for yourself and those who you leave behind is what matters, things like that not only affects Amir but Eddie, too.

This time it works and Amir let's Eddie carry Buck out of his loft.

That leaves Bobby and Amir. Amir tells him to leave but Bobby says he won't do that. His job is to rescue people.

And Bobby helps Amir out of the burning building. He's arrested, sure, but he can begin the healing process.

As can another person, Eddie. Who is by Buck's side the entire way to the hospital and, after Buck is treated, offers him the couch at his place for the time being. If he hasn't broken up with Marisol and/or Shannon, he does so because he recognizes he is in no place to date because he doesn't know a) who he is or b) what he wants.

And Bobby? I think this helps him finally close the book on his trauma from Minnesota.

[hamletshoeratio]

They actually did it. The sons of bitches actually did it. We got canon bi Buck!!!! I'm actually in tears. Do you know how rare it is to get representation like this? So often in media, it's the one type of queer love story or the one coming out story. We rarely get to see characters discover their sexuality in later life because the media we do get on coming out typically only portrays characters experiencing that as a teenager, despite the fact that it's not everyone's journey. B99's Rosa Diaz is the only character I could think of that canonically embraced her sexuality as an adult. Greys' Callie Torres too i think. After years of speculation, Buck has too, and we get to see him on this journey. Buck is now in or is entering his 30s, and is on a new journey of self-discovery as he embraces a part of himself he hadn't known about before. Fans get to rejoice because we were right; we always saw him. I've seen some people complain that buddie still isn't canon, and can I just ask; do they hate storytelling? Judging from Oliver's comments, if they do make it canon, they want to do it right, they want to tell a good love story that happens to be queer. Not to mention, Eddie is still with marisol; if Buck and Eddie had kissed in this episode, they'd be cheating, which would perpetuate outdated and harmful stereotypes about bi people. We have never properly gotten a will they won't they slow burn canon queer love story. It's why Destiel is called the last great American queer bait, it is the closest we've really come to getting one which is... yeah. Still hate their ending. I do think buddie will happen, but I also want it to happen in a satisfying way that will reward the fans. I trust abc far more than I trusted fox to do so, more than that I trust Oliver who has basically been in the trenches for years because he agreed with us.

[tommykinard]

Serious question, no hate or anything but why are so many people convinced that Ryan and Oliver would love for buddie to happen? Because everything they said sounds quite like the opposite, especially from Ryan. He said the same thing since 2019, he wants to portray this vulnerable, close, platonic friendship/bromance without it turning romantic. He also said he doesn’t even see or play Eddie as gay. And Oliver also said he doesn’t even know if he would actually want it to happen. Which means he doesn’t even think about it actually happening. Sure they love the (non toxic) fans and their love for the characters but I really don’t think they’re dying for buddie to happen. They always say they’re open to it if that’s what Tim decides and if it doesn’t come off as fanservice. But they know exactly it could never be anything but fanservice if it happens. And even if they absolutely wouldn’t want it to happen, they couldn’t say it or else they get called homophobic. So what is it that makes people believe they want Buddie to be canon?

Okay so I'm gonna answer assuming this was sent in good faith, but I really don't like the putting of words in people's mouths and also this extremism re: :they never said that", "this will never happen", etc.

I can only speak for myself, not for anyone else in fandom and definitely not for Ryan or Oliver since I don't know these people personally and I can only assume that you don't either. And as much as we joke about them being unhinged and out of PR jail and whatever, we have to remember these people are professionals who have been in the industry a long time and know how to interact with journalists and press because it's their job. They're never going to outright confirm or deny anything, they can only speak to what material they're given in the moment. As of right now, buddie is a vulnerable, close, platonic friendship. Neither of them have any reason to suggest otherwise. Also please remember that they are actors, they don't write for the show, yes they can offer input into the storylines but they cannot definitively change the trajectory of the show. Sorry anon, but Ryan and Oliver saying that they don't know the future of buddie does not mean they "don't even think about it happening". You don't know what they think, I don't know what they think, so let's stop with these extreme assumptions.

Also "they're not dying for buddie to happen"? I never said that they were. I said that from everything I've seen, I can tell that Ryan and Oliver know their characters and love their characters better than anyone in this fandom ever could. And understanding and loving Eddie means knowing the full depth of how much he loves Buck, whether that be platonic or romantic or some secret third thing. Same goes for Buck. I think if it goes the romantic route, Ryan and Oliver would have a blast getting to explore and portray another aspect to the buddie dynamic. If it doesn't go there, I think they would still knock it out of the park with how they portray a very important relationship in these characters lives, and I think they would still have a blast with it, like they've been doing this whole time. But again, I don't know them and I could be wrong, I'm just going off of the bare minimum info I have.

As for "they know it could never be anything but fanservice", did they tell you that? I've seen time and time again how this show surpasses expectations, I for one did not want an Eddie cheating with Shannon's doppleganger arc when it was speculation, but the show surprised me with how much I liked the way they did it. Same goes for buddie, if you think it can only ever be fanservice, just give them a chance to maybe surprise you. Ryan and Oliver are gonna get shit on no matter what they say in interviews. If they talk about buddie too much and hint about it being romantic, they're going to get accused of queerbaiting. If they don't talk about buddie at all or keep emphasizing that buddie is platonic, they're going to be called homophobic. It's a lose lose situation.

And another thing? Interviews are not word of god. This fandom (and any fandom) needs to stop placing so much weight on them. They're a fun behind the scenes look into the conversations and decisions surrounding different scenes and storylines, but that's it. Personally, I don't care what Ryan or Oliver might feel about buddie. It's fun seeing them be supportive of it, sure, but they could outright say that it was never going to happen and I wouldn't care, because they're not the writers or showrunners, what they say in an interview has no impact on the show. A lot of people weren't there or have forgotten when Tim made comments about how much he loved Taylor Kelly and wanted to pursue more journalist storylines, or when he said Eddie would have no PTSD after the shooting. So even if Tim confirmed or denied buddie in an interview? It means nothing bc it didn't occur in the show. We'll all find out whether Ryan and Oliver wanted buddie to happen or not if/when it does happen, or when the show ends. Until then just stay along for the ride or hop off if you're not having a good time.

[vaamiel]

Okay wait one more post on 911 before I actually get some work done today:

Thinking about Ryan's interviews and the stills we've seen of people on set, I wonder if, at the end of the season, it's not Christopher who 'leaves', but Eddie. Talking about being more alone/without a support network, the vibe to me is not just emotional distance, but physical distance.

Like, that's crazy right? But if he's legitimately priming for a mental breakdown of colossal proportion (which he's GOTTA be at this point), and combined with whatever secret abuela is keeping AND Eddie's parents showing up, I wonder if they'll convince him to go back to Texas for a while to receive mental health treatment/do something with abuela.

BUT THEN what if Chris is pissed at his dad for cheating or the Shannon look-alike thing or something, so he stays with Buck? I mean he's his legal guardian if something happens (LIKE A MENTAL BREAKDOWN) and you KNOW Buck and Chris aren't going to be very impressed with Eddie once all this shit comes out...

So Eddie is really, actually alone, gets to have a reset and can come back and heal/make amends with his family a couple episodes in to season 8???

Obviously we have no real info about the final episodes/S8 so all this is WILD speculation, but I think it would be neat and a cool parallel! Like closing a loop!

[outrunningthedark]

"If Tim is “no longer involved” with OG, there’s less of a chance his influence can fuck things up for the fandom."

Me, to whoever unironically believing that: Kristen Reidel and Buck's cheating/sperm donor drama hello? Anyone?

She's picked as the co-showrunner because Tim likes her brand of drama the most. Why haven't people realized that? Is being a "911 writers' stan" cloud the judgment so much?

I don't think it's about "stanning" a show runner as much as it is wanting or trying to promote the belief that their choices have a purpose that matches the fandom's, especially when a lot of the activity in this space comes from people who write fics and paragraphs worth of analysis and speculation. If Tim was still dividing his time between both shows or there was no spinoff, you wouldn't see the "good riddance" reaction going around since s4 of LS started. They'd *have* to put their faith in him because there would be no backup plan. This is evident in the "defense" of the two story lines you mentioned. Buck cheating was (from a fandom POV) supposed to spell the downfall of BT. It did not. It was also supposed to be an indication of Buck's "regression" and inevitable breakdown. It was neither of those things. Mainly because Eddie's breakdown followed immediately after and Buck had to be on his best behavior to care for Chris/offer Eddie emotional support. Now that the arc is closed, nobody brings it up because it added nothing to his story. BT broke up because TayKay's work got in the way, giving people the excuse to harp on about terrible they were together or she was as a person. (We were never supposed to like her for him or them together. Maaaaybe if the fandom wasn't celebrating her #charactergrowth in s4 and pushing the idea that she would stay on as a platonic friend, the trajectory of the relationship could have gone differently, but alas. They were duped.)

With the sperm donor arc, the initial thought process (my preferred outcome, obv) was that Buck wouldn't actually go through with it because he'd realize he isn't built for not being a constant presence in his bio kid's life. And for the bloggers who think they know everything, it doesn't make sense if canon!Buddie isn't the outcome. (A lot less likely now that the spotlight is on another couple. Can't have social media talking about Buddie and Buddie only.) Making a rash decision, but then having the universe "scream" via failed donor attempts or having Buck speak to someone from his family about the mistake he'd be making and then he realizes he shouldn't do it, would have been a good story, absolutely. Stop doing things for other people, Buck! Do them for you! Because you understand your worth now! But here we are months later and: - His attempt at helping make a baby was successful, and proven successful in the 6A finale, meaning we're nowhere near the end. - The show runner was already talking about the impending birth in her s5 post-mortem interviews. Unless it turns out that Connor was able to impregnate his wife (still rooting for this no matter how unlikely, especially when the reaction could have changed what was meant to happen down the line) there's gonna be a kid, and it will be biologically Buck's. IMO, the people who will still "applaud" the story line if it turns out Buck has a kid out there somewhere are the ones who want to see him with his "own family" because Chris isn't actually his. (Apparently "the family we chose" doesn't apply when there's an option for Big Man, Tiny Baby? Okay.) But to everyone else? RED FLAG. Kristen would not create a fictional child just to never bring it up again. It's easy drama. Also, the audience is going to know that Buck has someone else with his DNA. They are going to be thought of as "his kid", not Christopher, until canon says otherwise. It's a way to appease a certain part of the base in the event that Buddie goes canon because at least he got to have one of his own, right? And honestly, it works in the opposite scenario - Buddie remaining friends throughout - because TPTB have no way of knowing how long OG will run for or how long OS will stick around. If Buck gets a LI that's not Eddie, there may not be time for a pregnancy plot.

[timeclonemike]

Economics and Logistics

Coin of the Realm: The nation of Veck (and by extension the Barony of Barry) uses a currency colloquially referred to as a Buck, a silver disk roughly the diameter of the average thumbnail. The official name is the Royal Mark, but the nickname "buck" won out because one side prominently features a stag, that animal being a focal point in the royal family's coat of arms. The Hafton Princes also mint silver coinage with their own heraldic emblems, and that might have helped the "buck" terminology gain traction, to make it clear what nation's currency will be accepted at any given business. (The coins are similar in size and shape, and have been similarly devalued with other metals over time, so in practice they are used interchangeably throughout the archipelago.)

You Can Take That To The Bank: Carrying around a large bag of silver has numerous logistical problems when it comes to making large purchases, so of course there are various means by which different individuals and organizations get around it. Banks offer written checks (or cheques, as the empire on the mainland spells them for some reason) against the recorded balances of account holders, businesses establish records of credit and debit, and there are plenty of traders and merchants who speculate on physical goods that might fetch a better price than what they paid for them. All of this creates paper trails of one sort or another, which the Hero can use to try to figure out the Villains' plans - but the Villains can also do the same to keep track of the Hero and their Party. Buying cash is not that anonymous when every trader remembers the three dangerous looking people carrying fistfuls of silver. (Dexter points this out early on in his Mission Planning tutorial and also lampshades how hard it is for an individual to launder money compared to a larger organization.)

Can't Make Bricks Without Clay: In order to oppose the machinations of at least two aspiring dictators, the Hero and whoever they recruit will need more than just a sense of righteous indignation and catchy theme song. Party members will need food, medicine, equipment maintenance and upgrades, ammunition for various types of weapons, crafting components, and all manner of unusual context specific items needed for one quest or another. All of this runs into questions of money. Establishing and upgrading safehouses often requires an outlay of funds if the safehouse is not acquired through some sort of quest or mission, and any damage will need to be repaired as well. All of this means that saving the world can be a costly proposition, and some of the missions and side-quests the Hero will need to undertake will be purely for financial gain and stability; Party members without food, medical care, or a safe place to sleep can't fight as effectively, recover from injuries, or use their full range of skills.

New Money Versus Old Money: As part of their attempts to leverage control over occupied territory, both Silas Van Der Horne and Ben Waters start mandating the use of their own currency instruments and financial networks in any territory they manage to occupy. This means the only businesses in occupied territory that will still take bucks will be Pawn Shops, which do not have the same range of inventory. Complicating things further, traders from across the sea or the mainland will sometimes try to spend the money of their homeland rather than finding somebody who can do a currency exchange, and a few of those traders are either hamstrung by port regulations or paranoid about being cheated and will ONLY accept payment for their goods or services in the forms they recognize. (At least one quest requires Imperial Crowns from the Siderial Empire.)

[appleciderp]

As some of you guys may know, I'm obsessed with Soap having a journal. I recently just bought a collectors edition MW3 just for the Journal (It legit only cost me like 20 bucks + shipping because the box was damaged)

Here are some little tidbits I didn't see when I looked up the journal in the past! Under the cut, since I'm gonna ramble a lot.

It's a small notebook of ~14cmx9cm (~5.5"x3.5" for you Americans). I expected it to be a proper Moleskine-sized, not pocket. But I guess it makes more sense.

I've said it in the footnotes of my fic, but Soap has at least 4 pens he constantly uses. Black, Red, Blue, and Green. He also has a yellow pen, an orangy-brown pen, and a pencil that crops up occasionally. I also think there are 2 blues; a lighter and a darker. Boy's carrying around multiple pens. You can see for yourself on the PDFs, but I feel it's not talked about enough.

After the "They're smooth, Price has taste" there's a cardboard Cigar Band. It's a "Villa Carla" brand, which upon a quick google search, is fake. He either wanted to know the brand (which he could have quickly written down the name instead) or he likes keeping items like that as memories.

After the final plans, there are about 7 pages blank before the last quote (which is speculated to be written by Price) The first page immediately after the plan is ripped out. At first, I thought it was the previous owner (I just bought it second-hand, the journal is a bit crumpled; but I like it, it's a bit more realistic) but the ripped page is slightly thicker and slightly different in texture. Plus, why rip out a page?

I didn't want to put my speculations on it, but I fucking will. Soap wrote his "If I Die" letter. We know it's somebody else who wrote the last quote in the book, so why else would the "last page" that Soap wrote be ripped out if it wasn't something to give to somebody else. Because what would be the odds that Soap ripped out a random page and it ended up right after he wrote his last entry.

Much like Moleskin notebooks, there's a pouch in the back, this part made me happy. There are 5 items:

Russian newspaper clipping, two different areas are highlighted. One underlined in red pen with "Man of the People" written on it.

Another diagram of a fight, this time with a Range/Elevation Chart overlayed and some "Quick Dope Cheats"

A fake "Hotel Lustig" matchbook. Filled with images of matches and a textured strip on the back.

Finally two team photos, one for each MW game that came before.

So it's OBVIOUS he carries this journal around with him, but he keeps lil memento's in it as well.

The love and attention to detail make it one of the prettiest Collectors Edition items I've ever owned.

[theultrablog]

Pulp Storytime #53: Do my BIDDING! Based on an adventure in Pulp Cthulhu by Mike Mason, Alan Bligh, James Lowder...

How much would you pay for a machine that broke reality? Hopefully, I can just hit the highlights without giving you a blow-by-blow. We started with Raymond “Jonesy” Jones. The kiwi scrap mechanic was returning after nearly a year away from the group! In Santa Monica, he was receiving an early birthday present: a set of keys to a DC-3 (an aircraft with internal heating!), and a chauffeur hat.

quote:

"How's about a job, Ray? We already sewed your name on the seat."

Ray was poked out of his reverie by Devika. “Hey, it’s getting good!” At the front of the room was the Los Angeles DA. At the defense table was Florence, charged with arson, and Abogado Numero Uno, Tacito Uriel Velasco! (I compelled her “rode the rails” aspect to explain why the LA Combination was trying to pin a crime on her. Obviously, she was an ex-hobo, used to starting fires, and there were people who saw her start a massive fire at Maude’s residence in Pasadena…) Luckily, the group (rounded out by Penny An’Te and Aldous Bingen) was able to discredit the prosecution’s star witness.“You rich lawyers, you’re getting paid hundreds while I’m only here because they gave me 20 bucks!” The group was planning the next stage of the defense when a palooka stood up at the back of the courtroom and opened fire on Boss Dragna! Tacito responded by using the fire hose, fighting fire with water. The gunman fled. (Obviously there’s a fire hose there, haven’t you seen Disorder in the Court?) The group chased down and defeated the gunner and his pals, earning a trial dismissal. The group celebrated at the Cocoanut Grove and had a weird encounter. Jones, the pilot of the Vivian Leigh, met the ACTUAL Vivian Leigh. His failed schmoozing earned an injunction that was only Papered over by Tacito. Maybe instead of a lawsuit, a royalty plan? Meanwhile, Penny spent her time in Los Angeles gambling. At three in the morning, she left the Roosevelt Hotel, having missed a half dozen “come see me” messages from Lala. Oops. On the plus side, Penny'd won a hot tip: there was a disintegration ray being auctioned next week at a hotel in Scotland! The group investigated the ray, and all the n’er-do-wells who wanted it. The auction was being held at a remote hotel near Inverness… And that’s when the problems started. Among the bettors were a weapons trafficker and a member of the Black Hand. There was also the question of the inventor, a sickly man who was five years older than his wife but looked 70. There was a great bit as Jonesy snuck his way past the device’s guards, letting them go on break to watch Florence sing in the lobby:

quote:

Guard: “If you play nice, I’m not gonna tell anyone you were in here.” Jonesy: “And I won’t tell anyone you weren’t.”

The scrap mechanic discovered something strange: The device worked, but 90% of its casing was superfluous. Florence worked her charms on the inventor’s wife, discovering the urgency of the sale and his lack of technical talent. Tacito discovered something else: the machine, when activated, messed with phone lines and radios, as well as making him feel a little queasy. Maybe that’s why long-term exposure had aged the “inventor”? The night of the auction, things went strangely. The device disintegrated a statue, as promised, but Devika pointed out two things: 1. The device was emanating magic; 2. Between the cheating, mixed feelings, and blowing her off, Penny’s relationship with Lala should go on break. Thick fog rolled in from the loch. The players speculated that the inventor had just wrapped mechanical gizmos around a magical device. Solved! They just needed to win the auction. After dinner and the first round of secret bidding, a 9-foot-tall, gray-skinned man approached and put in his own bid: a huge sack of gold coins. An Am Fear Liath Mòr! As if a creature of folklore wasn’t bad enough, bright lights pierced the fog. Aliens ALSO wanted the device! Jonesy rushed to his plane, helping Penny into the gunner seat. Florence rushed to find Trudy (on location to cover the story), ending up in a nearby barn. Tacito and Aldous had their hands full stopping everyone else from flat out stealing the disintegrator! In the barn, heavy petting was interrupted by a bright orange light. It was a flame beam from the UFO, interrupting the Aussie girls’ roll the hay! On the ground, the boxer/lawyer made short work of the mafioso bidder. It didn’t matter the continent, he cleaned crooks' clocks. In the sky, Jonesy flew dangerously close to the saucer, analyzing its anti-gravity potentiator. If Penny could attach a hook, they could swing it in another direction, sending it flying outta Scotland... Unfortunately, their first attempt lodged the ship into the top floor of the hotel! Meanwhile, two of the greedier attendees were trying to steal the device on behalf of the gray giant. Florence, now up front, analyzed the situation… The Mòr was afraid of touching the device. And as a magic creature, he was particularly susceptible to Tacito’s spirit boxing. It was a mostly even fight, except that the creature kept melting into the fog, then attacking from impossible directions. In a stroke of brilliance, the butler aimed the high beams into the fight, weakening the grey man… Above, Penny finally attached the tow cables sideways, launching the aliens far away, probably becoming a meteor over the Arctic. Below, Florence turned the disintegration beam directly into the fog man, turning the tips of her hair gray and earning wrinkles in the process. Saving the day always required sacrifice…time to get to the beautician. Jonesy inverted the machine, laughing as it destroyed itself. But what would he tell Vivian? The aliens:

[canonicallyobserving911]

“It’s in my will if I die you become Christopher’s legal guardian.”

Fanonwriter2023 on AO3

Where CANON and FANON collide!

New Buddie Fanfic in the "What do you want?" A Series of Fics and Ficlets

The 8th fic in the "What do you want?" Series in now available on AO3. “It’s in my will if I die you become Christopher’s legal guardian.” - Even though it’s after midnight, Eddie and Buck are lying in their individual queen size hotel beds continuing their conversation about Eddie’s plan for when they arrive at his parents’ house later today and they're finally discussing Eddie's will.

“It’s in my will if I die you become Christopher’s legal guardian.”

4.4K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences

Please note: This is a series of “Fics and Ficlets” I’m writing and my goal is to keep them under a certain number of words. I’m challenging myself to do it this way for multiple reasons but mainly because I want to see if I can write a full Buddie story by including smaller fics in a series in comparison to the multi-chapter fic I’m still in the process of writing titled, “I’m still in love with you but… I needed to learn how to love myself too!” I began writing it last year after season 6 was an epic disaster, however this time I started with my dislike for the way season 7 ended and it’s continuing through the end of 8A. Initially, this series was going to be speculation for season 8 before it began; however things I included in the first 6 fics/ficlets, i.e. Buck's breakup happened in 8x6 instead of 8x1; Eddie hasn’t dated anyone since the doppelgänger cheating debacle and Eddie going to visit Chris in El Paso, TX and taking Buck with him didn’t happen. Based on the way 8x8 ended with Eddie looking for a house in El Paso, it’s unlikely that it will, therefore the fics in this series are CODAs or “fix it” fics.

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Here's a snippet of a conversation Buck and Eddie are having while they're in their hotel room.

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Seconds later, Eddie finally admits, “I’ll tell my parents about my will today and I’ll tell Chris about it tomorrow.”

He nods his head in agreement but he wonders if he should be there when Eddie tells Chris because he knows how Chris feels about his mother. Back in March, he said she left them in Texas even though they loved her, instead of saying she died. He doesn’t want him to think that him being his legal guardian would be him replacing his parents because that’s not what’s happening. When he hears Eddie ask him a question, he figures he’s been quiet too long.

“Buck? Is everything, ok?”

“Yeah, it is. I just want to know if you want me to be there with you when you talk to Chris because uh… I can stay here.”

“Buck, I need you with me. When I went to my attorney and changed my will… you were my first and only choice. There was no one else because I know you will fight for Chris the same way I do. I’ve seen you do it and I know you love him and it’s the reason why I don’t want anyone else caring for him but you.”

He knows he’s made mistakes in the past, he’s tried to fix it for other people too but Eddie and Chris are his whole world and he’ll do anything for both of them. “And I promised you that I’ll do everything to make sure he has the best life because I love Chris like he’s my own.”

“I know and you love him just as much as I do.”

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"What do you want?" - A Series of Ficlets

Currently 8 works completed; 50K Words: Rated; Teen and Up Audiences:  This is a series of “Fics and Ficlets” I’m writing and my goal is to keep them under a certain number of words. I’m challenging myself to do it this way for multiple reasons but mainly because I want to see if I can write a full Buddie story by including smaller fics in a series in comparison to the multi-chapter fic I’m still in the process of writing titled, “I’m still in love with you but… I needed to learn how to love myself too!” I began writing it last year after season 6 was an epic disaster, however this time I started with my dislike for the way season 7 ended and it’s continuing through the end of 8A.

Initially, this series was going to be speculation for season 8 before it began; however things I included in the first 6 fics/ficlets, i.e. Buck's breakup happened in 8x6 instead of 8x1; Eddie hasn’t dated anyone since the doppelgänger cheating debacle and Eddie going to visit Chris in El Paso, TX and taking Buck with him didn’t happen. Based on the way 8x8 ended with Eddie looking for a house in El Paso, it’s unlikely that it will, therefore the fics in this series are CODAs or “fix it” fics.

Since these ficlets will be posted in order, it’s imperative to read them one after the other. Each part ends at a specific point with a cliffhanger and the next part will begin with the ending of the previous part. Therefore, parts 1 - 7 should be read prior to reading part 8 and the series will continue in that manner until it’s complete.

"You don't know math!" - 3.3K Words; Rated Teen and Up Audiences: Buck is forced to choose while Eddie might be presented with another option.

"Math is a universal language." - 5K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Eddie reconnects with an old acquaintance and they spend a lot of time together. However, now that Buck’s single, he finally tries to understand math is a universal language but when he sees Eddie talking to another guy, he wonders if it took him too long to figure it out.

“You know, it’s like that thing when you meet somebody and you just… click.” - 5.1K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: When Buck comes face to face with Eddie’s new friend; he hates it but since he’s only told Maddie about his breakup with Tommy, Eddie’s still under the impression he’s taken. Therefore, Eddie makes plans to spend even more time with his new acquaintance.

"I can't stop thinking about him." - 8.1K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Buck and Eddie are trying to move on but they can’t stop thinking about each other.

“How I hide my true feelings from others.” - 9.6K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: Buck and Eddie return to therapy but they’re both not telling each other about recent events that happened. Will they finally have an open and honest conversation before it’s too late?

"We need to talk." - 11.4K Words; Rated: Teen and Up Audiences: After Eddie and Buck decide to take a weekend road trip to El Paso, TX to visit Chris, during the 12-hour drive, they talk about a lot of things they’ve left unsaid.

"I do need you." - It’s late and after being on the road from Los Angeles to El Paso for more than 12 hours, Eddie and Buck are tired but they aren’t sleeping. Instead, they’re continuing to discuss things they’ve left unsaid.

“It’s in my will if I die you become Christopher’s legal guardian.” - Even though it’s after midnight, Eddie and Buck are lying in their individual queen size hotel beds continuing their conversation about Eddie’s plan for when they arrive at his parents’ house later today and they're finally discussing Eddie's will.

Now Available on AO3