#they are also goggles buddies now

[julissart]

Luffy Gear 5 ☀️

Day 2 @luffyweek

Ko-Fi

[cartcop]

Don't get we wrong, I feel hopeful too, specially with the whole network change because it means the series has an actual shot of going back to the way it used to be. I feel like lately the emergencies don't have that spark anymore, so I'm looking forward to see what ABC does with them. Also, let's cross our fingers and think that they'll actually give a damn about promo and they'll use (at least in social media) what attracts more attention... I mean, if the answer is a couple of firefighters that are raising a child together, I wouldn't mind.

However, what makes me mad is that by the time they were working on the finale they weren't sure if they were going to come back or not. From what it looks like, all the characters will get a sort of happiesh?) ending just in case, because again, the ABC move back then was not a sure thing.

They did that with The Resident. Sure, at first it was supposed to be a season finale, but they still did an ending that could be interpreted as both options: season finale or series finale. Well, it was cancelled so at the end they at least got a chance to leave the characters in a good place.

That's what will happen with 911 this season, I believe, because after almost six years the show at least deserved a decent ending if for one reason or the other they were not coming back.

My point is, we know that it's not going to be an open ending, and that all the characters will be left in a good place. I know there are a lot of possibilities, but we are talking about miss Kristen Reidel, it wouldn't surprise me if Buck and Eddie end this season with Natalia and Marisol, representing a "traditional" conclusion for both characters.

It wasn't hard to leave them single, if she truly didn't want Buddie to happen, but she just had to bring two random characters for the last four episodes of the season, right? If I follow her previous patterns, what will happen is that for the general audience, Buck and Eddie will end in "heathy" relationships with Natalia and Marisol, but they will share a significant moment together that's up to interpretation for the internet. Classic queerbaiting behavior me thinks.

I'm aware that now we are far from losing the war, especially if we consider that ABC has a different target audience and that they actually tend to listen to them. So, Buddie truly has a chance of happening now.

At the end, what I'm trying to say is, I feel optimistic for the ABC move, but I'm also frustrated because if that had been the series ending, that woman would have given a poor conclusion to Buck and Eddie just because yolo?) There was no reason to have those two random characters with them.

Buddie has a second chance, but I hope and pray to the universe that ABC will realize what they have in their hands and even if *she stays, they will overule her bad takes, not only on Buddie, but for the show in general, that move was not a cheap one. If they really want for the series to last, changes need to be made.

It's also sad to think that if they had stayed at FOX or if they had cancelled the series, we never really had a chance to win, huh. Homophobia will always prevail, no matter what.

The thing with this, anon, is that mostly I think it's a really fair reading of what's been going on. I just read the information we have really differently.

I definitely agree with you that the emergencies have been meh for a while now, but to me that's just a symptom of being 6 seasons deep into a procedural; a new network might breathe a little more life into it, and I hope it does, but I've never watched a show through a network switch so I'm pretty 🤷🏻‍♀️ on how much it's gonna affect the actual content. Def hoping for more promo though.

I get what you're saying about all the character's getting a "happy-ish" ending because they didn't know about season renewal but....isn't that always how it is? Like, I don't personally see much of a difference between where it seems they're gonna leave off 6x18 than any of the other finales we've had.

And I get why a finale where one or both of the boys are in a relationship with a woman would be disappointing if we're reading it from a "they thought this might be the last episode they were ever making" angle (but I am BEGGING someone to show me what KR has said or done that makes y'all believe she hates buddie. Because I was watching casually through most of s5, I missed all that. And from the show itself, I don't get that impression at all. I am genuinely asking PLEASE i need context). But, while I've always been a buddie girlie, 6b is literally the first time I've ever thought they might actually do it. And I've been really confident since 6x13 and the interview about the couch being in play until the very last scene of the season (and still am) that the closing shot of this season is gonna be the three boys on the Diaz couch. It's just the only thing I see as a possible resolution. Not to say you can't read that as a "open for interpretation" fan service moment, but until I know exactly why people think KR is fundamentally opposed the idea of buddie together, I'm gonna be reading it the way the text tells me to.

Because while I've become a bit of a buddie truther in 6b, they're not in a place where getting together by the end of the season would make....any sense. A lot of people disagreed with me on that, but that's been my stance since like, early s6. Just cuz there was no development for them in the first half of the season at ALL, and we knew how jam packed 6b was gonna be with other plotlines with other characters. They've got a lot of growing to do before buddie canon would even be satisfying imo. I just really believe we might be on that track now.

And with that in mind, here's my perspective on the ending IF they were writing it thinking they might never write another episode again: Buck can and should end up alone at the end of the season. He should really concretely know what he's looking for, in the way he didn't when he dumped Taylor. Having Buck explore the opportunity to date someone who is fascinated by his experiences but not actually interested in him is a great way to do that, imo. Him walking away from that and realizing he needs to find someone who will, in Oliver's words, meet him where he's at. I really cannot see Natalia being relevant beyond the finale at all, and if I'm wrong, I'm gonna start seriously questioning the writers, because they've told us she's not it for him (like, even my friends who watch the show very casually were screaming "NOOOOO!!!" at the screen every time she was mentioned in 6x15).

Eddie's more complicated though. Let's say, hypothetically, they realized midway through shooting 6b that renewal wasn't likely with Fox, and they didn't know whether or not they'd be picked up by another network. Eddie's been on this little journey of self discovery about wanting a partner, and has accepted the fact that he's lonely. Ending the show with Eddie in his single status quo would be sad as hell for the GA! We have to remember, we are not the only ones watching this show, and the vast majority are not seeing buddie as romantic options for each other. That can change, I really hope it does change, I am optimistic that it WILL change; but it hasn't yet. If they were trying to wrap things up nicely, with everyone in a pretty good spot, I can see why shoving relatively-underutilized Eddie with a nice girl would be a good way to do that. Easy to undo if they got a s7, but also a lot easier to convince the GA of a love interest for Eddie being good for him, just because he's not as big of a deal to the show (which I hate. I love Eddie I want him to have the world. But Buck is the main character on this show, let's be real)

That's not to mention that this is all speculation; we don't have any idea what's gonna happen with these two women. I'm standing pretty firm in my belief that they won't end the season in relationships, but I could be wrong. And if I'm wrong about Eddie, I can see why they'd make that choice and I'm not even a little mad at it. If I'm wrong about Buck, and he ends up in a clearly doomed relationship with Natalia, I'm less cool with that, but I can see the opportunities for s7 and assume that they were working under the assumption that they'd get a renewal somewhere. If Buck ends up in a seemingly perfect and happy relationship with Natalia, my faith in the writers is gonna plummet, not because queerbaiting, but because they told us it was doomed in 6x15, and it would make it clear to me that the writers don't even know what kind of stories they want to tell on a micro, episode to episode level. But I really can't imagine that happening.

[tadc-harlequin-au]

God your designs are so fucking good bro, I'd love to know how the design process went

lmfao, I can give some insights

Caine's design was mostly an accident. In the scrapped initial intro animatic for this AU, he had a placeholder design until I could finalize him when I went to clean up the frames

which became this, then this, then...

He literally got designed as the animatic went on, the coat on shoulders was a subconscious approach because I blame One Piece for making me a coat-on-shoulders whore. His final coat design is mostly taken from my own oc lol

up to this point, I had no idea how he would've been colored until I did this shitpost

Pomni's is weird too

She was partially inspired by both the Circus breach crack idea, Pauline from my Unexpected Reunion AU, and Mystery!Pomni because I do love women (in suits)

so if Caine was designed overtime within an animatic, Pomni's design spanned fucking AUs-

Ragatha was literally just me thinking, "hm. what if. hear me out. maid. but tattered skirt cus puppet revolution time"

this is her VERY first appearance and it hasn't changed much since leave me alone let me enjoy women being gay

Now, Kingr is actually the closest ANY design in this AU would come to it's base inspiration Lies of P, because AUGH King of Puppets my beloved

He started as a boss design from the get go then reverse engineered to look more friendly, because by the time I was designing him, I was already incorporating the idea of Pomni having to fight bosses so she could free them from these insane forms of theirs

This idea was recycled from my other AU for fnaf btw, the Eternal Eclipse AU where Freddy has to free the other Glamrocks from their "Primal forms" by fighting them WITH THE POWER OF ROCK AND ROLLLLLLLLLL (which are GIGANTIC and INSANE, sound familiar yet?)

back to the rest, I actually didn't really know what I wanted for Jax, aside from a Cheshire Cat motif from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland because love that mofo and Jax's constant smile reminds me of him

I guess that's why his initial design was so unnecessarily cluttered and so hard to draw, because all I knew was that I wanted it to be loose, flowy, bouncy and airy, like an actual cartoon. But, still respecting the laws of reality somewhat

and then I had to switch the outfit out, because at around this time, The Patriarch's design was finalized, and I didn't want people to start to think Jax was associated with him purely due to similar palettes. So I sneakily swapped it out with an explorer's outfit (since I was thinking of Jax as the team's scout), and tried to play it off as simply a "oh it was hard to draw"

He was even supposed to have goggles in the newer design, but I scrapped it because I'm repeating the same mistake of making him too cluttered again.

Z is a pretty straightforward one, although they diverged from the initial idea. My first thought was making them a brawler of sorts because they were initially going to be Pomni's training buddy, so I looked up "Victorian brawler" and yoinked the outfit I liked.

The concept of Z being the training dummy was then recycled to be Kingr's role instead because Kingr was more of a tank character than Z, and in turn, she became the weaponsmith

Each part of Z was also inspired by something that randomly came to mind when I was trying to wrack my brain with what parts should they have:

the hook peg is from Hiccup, the other peg is from A series of Unfortunate Events, the antler is a reference to Mystery!Zooble but combined with the Minecraft Warden's palette, spiked chokers were taken from my own sona's eel tongue. The flexible arms are very much Doc ock

Gangle... She was the hardest to design that my brain is blocking me from remembering the process because it was so traumatizing /j

I just know that like Caine, her design was also mostly an accident. Iirc, she wasn't meant to have cat ears/motif in the first place, but after I finished the mask with the <:3 face I went like "fuck it we ball" and went furry mode

I think she was also meant to have painted whiskers, and the only reason why she doesn't is I forgor 💀

There was no inspo for her outfit except maybe Disney Cinderella because I was only putting what worked and discarded what didn't (not recommended)

The double ribbon arms was literally just me thinking the ends are her little fingies, and her "feet" is just me wanting to make her ribbons look like a part of her dress and looking flowy because ew feet

anyways if you can't tell, there's a pattern here: recycle ideas, take inspo, look it up or fuck it we ball when all else fails lol

the lesson here is to not follow in my footsteps because I keep stepping on shit /lh

[cool-thymus]

i saw your post on the ninken smelling obito, and also the post on the ninken being on the rin mission, and now i am thinking. au where... we combine those facts.

Ninken: boss, boss! girl-teammate is this way, but goggles-teammate is that way!!!

Kakashi: WHAT.

And Kakashi's brain short-circuited!

That would be such a curious plot bunny to chase! I do realize that teen Kakashi was already a perfect shinobi able to think fast and act efficiently in any situation on the battlefield, but even so... if the ninken mentioned Obito in "yeah he is totally alive" way, Kakashi would momentarily stop functioning. Adult Kakashi had a panic attack mid-battle when he saw Obito (although the impact of the reveal was doubled if not tripled by Obito's "i'm a villain now" attitude). Kid Kakashi is still going through the loss, and his shared-trauma buddy was kidnapped, and he couldn't prevent it from happening yet again. I can see many ways this situation could unfold: Kakashi might go find Obito first and then unite forces and save Rin together (reliving the same horror scenario yet again); he could send ninken to investigate bc wdym it's Obito! go find the source, it can't be him!; he could think he'd been trapped in a genjutsu and his dogs aren't real; or he might just simply freeze.

If it's the last one, it'd be a perfect moment for Pakkun and older dogs to act as Kakashi's guardians and get him through his episode and help him make cohesive decisions. He shouldn't ve been alone out there. He is still a small child with so much pain, fear, and grief trapped underneath his composure that he was bound to break.

[nqueso-emergency]

I acctually started watching 9-1-1 after season 6, i heard there was a cute Gay couple, yes buddie.... Imagine my suprise after binge watching 6 seasons... Yeah

Anyway, i went into season 7, excited to See the whole Ensemble, (because At this point, its my comfort Show) and also, like a lot of people, hoping we are getting buddie... And then... We got Bi Buck... And as a queer person myself... I was just so fucking happy, and i love it when they bring people back from the past, it allways makes the Show more... Lived in..? Real...? Yes, so i was very excited!

But i was a bit on the fence over the hiatus, i still had my buddie goggles on... I liked the idea of Tommy... But Yeah.. Just a bit on the fence.

And then season 8 aired, and for the first time i watched it without buddie goggles, which was a whole New, amazing experience! And seeing Buck this free, amazing! (seriously, Olivers acting this season is just so... Happy? Whatever he puts in his Coffee in the morning, i want that too)

And watching Lou's acting is also, just wonderfull, he tells so much with just facial expressions, and fits in so well!

Aaaand then... You go on socials... And you see all the hate... And i just... Dont understand.. How Do i have such a happy experience watching everything and some people just hate?! Over nothing?!

Yes, i was on the fence With my Ship over the hiatus, but seriously... Seeing all the hate, made me dislike buddie so much and thats acctually so sad.. Because now i cant even enjoy buddie fanfiction anymore, because its.. Just bashing on Tommys behalf, which is... Not nice

But hey... Still my comfort Show, i am ferral over Lou and Olivers acting, the whole Story is just amazing... And thanks to your Blog, i know i am not the only one annoyed by the hate.

Thank you for taking the hate on you and give all of us an anonymus place to yapp and exhale.

Keep going, you are great💗

See, that's a shame because you, and everyone else, has the right to ship buddie. It actually sucks that the hate has taken all fun from that ship, even from fanfiction.

That's what bestie boos don't understand. It's not that we don't think they should ship buddie, it's that we don't understand why they have to hate on another ship and character/actor, to do so.

Thank you for sharing, anon! And you are most definitely not alone ❤️

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

Last ones for now! I'm sure I'm missing someone's blorbo but for now I'm done. Let me know if I missed your blorbo. Also if anyone knows please tell me the names of the last two Lodgers!! The only unaccounted for name I know of is Chestro.

Thoughts under the cut as per usual

VIRGINIA ITO MY BELOVED!!!!!!! I adore her so much. I wanna know what the potions she keeps with her are. My guesses are something like the Flesh Weaver for workplace accidents, some kind of flame extinguishing stuff also for workplace accidents, and Mystery Goop.

Tanis was very fun to draw, though the facial hair took some reworking to get right. I'm also pretty sure the pant length is anachronistic but the pose looks better like this so

The third doctor? Absolutely the most difficult to piece together out of all of them. She almost never has a full-body shot and when she does it's in her Exhibition outfit. So I took the top of the outfit from her feature in a splash page early on and modeled the skirt on her Exhibition dress. Hopefully it works??

Speaking of the third lodger oh my god her hair was a BITCH to figure out! It took me way longer than it should've (and cross-referencing later chapters) to figure out that she had curly hair on the top, and rag curls at the bottom, something I had thought was just part of her Exhibition outfit. Once I realized it I felt like a dingus, cause that was a very common hairstyle for the time. But I figured it out eventually, and I think it looks pretty good! Also I love her big chunky gloves. I accidentally made one too long but it's too late to fix it now so haHA

The goggles and gloves have returned!!! Except for Tanis, which does make me wonder what necromancy looks like in this world and what his pretentious latin title is. Also genuinely love that he looks like the nicest guy you've ever met and when you ask "oh what do you do?" you have to deal with the answer being "raising the dead for science". He and Lavender are Sweet Face/ Sinister Job buddies

[starstruckbyacomet]

Bullying – BoBs' Reason behind It, and Their Last Straw (probably)

BoBs have used every reason and tool they can think of to trash Tommy and to bully Lou online. A lot of their excuses could be broken easily, makes them look stupid, manipulative, or (most often) both. But they don't care.

Why do BoBs keep bullying Lou?

Because they think this strategy has served them in the past, several times.

They have bullied the actresses who played Buck's or Eddie's love interests: Gabrielle Walsh (who played Ana Flores), Megan West (who played Taylor Kelly), and Edy Ganem (who played Marisol). After the bullying, all the actresses had their characters broke-up with either Buck or Eddie.

They also bullied Kristen Reidel, then showrunner from Season 2 to Season 6, because Kristen has mentioned that she only viewed Buddie's relationship as platonic (link). After the interview was published (and the subsequent bullying happened), it was announced that Tim Minear would come back to the show, and took back the showrunner's mantle from Kristen Reidel.

Has the bullying strategy actually served BoBs in the past? NO! Because of the following reasons:

According to Tim Minear, Buck has been queer-coded at least since Season 2 (link). It means Buck would date a man at some point on the show. Until Buck dating a man happened on screen, it was logical to assume that every relationship he had with women would not last. The break-ups had been planned by the writers all along. There was no need to bully anyone to make them happened.

Right after Shannon's death, it has been coded that Eddie had unresolved feelings toward his late wife. Several clues: Eddie's confession that he was upset about Shannon's request for a divorce, his reluctant to open a dating app which he had downloaded himself, his half-hearted efforts to meet women (golfing, hiking, forced blind date), and his panic attack over the prospect of marrying Ana Flores. When he started to date Marisol, Eddie had not yet addressed his unresolved feelings. From the beginning, it was very possible that there would be a break up with Marisol in the horizon. It's reasonable to assume that Eddie would not have a lasting relationship until he addresses his issue. Bullying the actresses had nothing to do with the break-ups.

Tim Minear's return as the showrunner is most likely part of the deal between ABC and Fox. 9-1-1 is Tim's own brainchild. It is reasonable that ABC has wanted Tim to come back, to ensure the quality of the show. Kristen Reidel being bullied was not the cause of Tim's return.

However, too many positive coincidences apparently have made BoBs cocky and overestimated their power. The power that they don't actually have, as implied by Tim Minear who had said that the online responses had not reflected at all the number of viewerships shared by the network (link).

So, what's next for BoBs?

With Buddie goggles on, canon Buddie seems really close right now:

Buck has been out as bisexual.

Eddie will address his unresolved feelings about Shannon, and his supposed Catholic guilt, on the next episode (8x06).

The next steps would be: free from his mental burden, Eddie will realize his attraction to Buck. They will confess their love to each other. Buck will dump Tommy. And finally, Buddie canon ever after.

Is the above scenario going to happen? ABSOLUTELY NOT, because:

1)) Tim and Ryan have a mission with Eddie's current storyline: to break the stereotype that men who open up about their feelings must be weak, or gay.

Imagine what will happen if some straight boys / young men who grew up with toxic masculinity watch Eddie talks about his feelings, then watch him comes out as gay several episodes later. They will think 'talking about feelings = being gay'. This only perpetuates the stereotype Tim & Ryan want to break.

2)) The show made Eddie read a swimsuit magazine in front of half-naked Buck in a hospital setting.

This painfully shoehorned scene is a not-so-subtle way to show the audience that Eddie is sexually attracted to women, not to Buck.

3)) Viewership numbers show that General Audience loves Tevan, while on the other hand, BoBs have bullied Tim Minear and his actors. Why the hell would Tim replace Tevan with Buddie?

4)) There are tons of other reasons which I couldn't possibly list one-by-one. But you get the gist.

As predicted, BoBs are fully determined to ignore the above reasons.

What will be BoBs' last straw, probably?

From Buddie shippers' POV, once Eddie is free from his unresolved feelings and his Catholic guilt, there is nothing substantial in the way of canon Buddie. Buck has openly admitted his attraction to men. Now it's Eddie's turn.

If Tim Minear wants romantic Buddie to happen, then it's the right time. There is no reason to not make Buddie canon.

Unless, there is only one reason left. It is...

Tim actually DOESN'T WANT Buddie to be canon.

How do we know this?

Because he will give Eddie another FEMALE LOVE INTEREST,

which is something he doesn't need to do, because like Buck, Eddie will finally be free....

It's been 7 years already, how many more years he wants to drag this story on....

The longest slow-burn queer love-story must have been breaking all kinds of records by now...

Oh, I can't wait to see BoBs' reactions when this happens 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buddie: Buck’s “In Another Life” journey continues into Season 8.

Buck’s and Eddie’s journeys are the MAIN FOCUS and Buddie is the ‘SHIP’ TM (showrunner) is highlighting and is primarily concerned with since the other ships, Bathena, Henren and Madney are already CANON.  Based on the way things happened in 8x5, it appears he’s reverting back to the original reason why he included Tommy in the first place and it’s evident in the way the character is being portrayed!  Instead of being Buck’s boyfriend, he was shown to GUIDE/ADVISE him in a way that would lead Buck to Eddie.  Furthermore, Buck and Tommy are NOT boyfriends!  It was illustrated numerous times in 8x5 via the absence of any displays of affection between them.  There was no kissing, no longing gazes that illustrated how much they like each other and there wasn't any casual intimacy of any kind included in the episode and that was ON PURPOSE.

This is a LONG POST because there’s a lot about Buck’s, Eddie’s and Tommy’s scenes in seasons 7 and 8 to unpack.  It’s imperative to note a lot of things changed after 7x4 aired and I’ll get into the possible reasons why below but it’s important to specify some details before I get into the analysis regarding the way it appears the showrunner wanted Tommy’s role to be handled in that initial episode.  When things went sideways and some fans turned into BT and LFJr. STANS, they started walking back the things that happened after 7x4 to rectify them and in season 8 they’ve included callbacks, foreshadowing and metaphors that specifically lead back to Buck and Eddie.

Before I delve into this, please note these are my interpretations and observations and everyone may not agree with them especially since people interpret media differently. I'm basing my speculation off the entirety of Buck's and Eddie’s 7 year relationship which includes a lot of depth. If someone doesn't agree, that's perfectly ok because differences of opinion can co-exist. DO NOT REBLOG THIS AND ADD AN OPPOSING OPINION BECASUSE IF ANYONE DOES THEY’LL GET BLOCKED.  EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN BLOG TO POST ON SO PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND.

I ONLY SHIP BUDDIE!  I ALWAYS HAVE AND I ALWAYS WILL.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program...

Analysis of episode 8x5 is below the cut.

Before I begin, there are a few points I need to highlight.

I haven’t watched any episodes in season 8 live because I need to be able to fast forward through scenes I don’t want to see.  Therefore, once I finally watched 8x5, I was able to rewind certain scenes to see what the show was trying to relay to the audience.

While watching the episode, I HAD TO REMOVE MY BUDDIE SHIPPER GOGGLES AND PUT ON MY GENERAL AUDIENCE LENSES.  Also, I asked myself questions that I believe TM considers when he’s originating his ideas for each episode.  I did this because numerous times he’s explained how his focus for episodes is based on the network’s needs and the things he believes the GA should see.

1. What information does 9-1-1 want the GA to gather from the episode? 2. Which main characters’ story/stories is/are being told? 3. What should the GA interpret from the included scenes? 4. What is Tommy’s purpose? 5. Why was Eddie included in several of Buck’s and Tommy’s scenes? 6. Why are Buck and Tommy acting differently with regards to displays of affection?

Full Disclosure: I DON’T LIKE TOMMY KINARD!  My dislike for him has nothing to do with Buddie but it has everything to do with the way his character was originally introduced in season 2 as a racist and a bigot!  I’ve posted about it numerous times and I still don’t like him (I NEVER WILL) but in order to provide a balanced and fair assessment, I had to review the character from the same perspective as any other person in the GA.  I’m not excusing his past behaviors because I’ll never forget them and I’ve already posted about the reason why I think Gerrard’s and Tommy’s problematic pasts were pushed under the rug never to be discussed again (linked here).

Based on the way things played out after 7x4 aired, it appears the “Network” stepped in (just like they did with the airplane disaster) and if they did it after that episode, then it could be the reason why Buck’s storyline and arc for season 7 went in a different direction than the showrunner intended.

Since TM (showrunner) appears to be fascinated with old movies, he’s continued to incorporate them into 9-1-1 scripts, i.e., “Earthquake” 1974 (season 2 opener); “The Poseidon Adventure” 1972 (season 7 opener); “Vertigo” 1958 (episodes 7x7 and 7x9) and the list goes on with “Speed”, “Tsunami”, “Rear Window” and others.  Additionally, the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” was used as a point of reference for 6x11 “In Another Life” and based on the way things have been handled over the past two seasons, it’s possible it might still be in play.  Before 7x10 aired, I posted “My Buddie Crack Theory” (linked here) and it includes a lot of details about why I believe Buck could have still been in a coma during season 7.  I don’t know if he is now but his actions show that he’s still trying to figure things out and now I’m thinking he may have some form of retrograde amnesia because of the way his interactions with Tommy were handled in 8x5 since he can’t remember or understand the nature of his relationship with Eddie.

Let’s get started!

Overall, my perspective after watching 8x5 is that Tommy was NEVER meant to be Buck’s boyfriend and 9-1-1 is course correcting in season 8 by putting him in the role they originally intended during season 7.  All the scenes he had with Buck and Eddie and the ones he had alone with Buck portrayed him as a HELPFUL friend or a supportive guide but after 7x4 something happened and I have my suspicions it was related to network interference.  Basically, the writers gave him a personality transplant and put him in the position of a guide or an advisor so he can be there for Buck to help him realize who’s attention he was after in 7x4.  IIRC, since he was reintroduced, Tommy has never considered Buck to be his boyfriend and in fact, in season 7, he continuously told him that he didn’t think Buck was ready for a relationship.  Additionally, after Tommy showed up unannounced at the loft, he told Buck that he could have more than one friend.  Therefore, Buck is being shown to do what he’s done in the past which is cling to someone even though they aren’t looking for anything serious and he’s the one pursuing Tommy but reminder, the story is being told from Buck’s unreliable perspective.

The character’s point of view is important because TM said in a season 7 interview that Buck’s not really seeing things the way they actually are (paraphrasing).  He was trying to get Eddie’s attention but he got confused and projected them onto Tommy.  That projection of his misplaced feelings was supposed to be temporary but I’ll get into that later.

“Evan” vs. “Buck”

IMO, Tommy calls Buck “Evan” for two reasons.  First, Buck listens when people call him by his legal name and in CANON there have only been a handful of people to do it.  His parents do it consistently even though he’s asked them to call him Buck (in 7x6, Phillip called him Evan again when he called him before the wedding), Maddie also calls him by his legal name but she uses it interchangeably.  Bobby called him Evan once and it happened on the day Buck arrived at the 118 and Dr. Copeland calls him Evan.  Once or twice Ali called him that and since I rarely listened to anything Taylor said, I can’t recall if she did.  Finally, Eddie called him Evan once in CANON and that was during the will reveal.  Therefore, it leads me to my second point of reference, the will reveal.  I think Tommy calls him Evan to remind Buck about that important encounter that happened the day Eddie was being discharged from the hospital.  It was a pivotal moment in their relationship because it’s when Eddie gave Buck his heart for the rest of his life.  Make no mistake, Chris is Eddie’s heart so him updating his will and naming Buck to be Chris’ legal guardian is a huge deal for both Eddie and Buck.

Here's another point I want to make about Buck’s death and I’ll start with his comment in 7x4 to Tommy because it’s where all of this begins.  While they were at Air Operations, Buck said, “I guess that night was the most fun I’ve had since being struck by lightning” and Tommy replied, “You need to raise your bar, kid!”   Then Buck responded, “Not that being struck by lightning was fun, just uh… using it as a point of reference.”  Every word in the script, every piece of clothing the actors wear and every item on set has meaning, therefore Buck referencing the lightning strike is important and it’s his comment that kickstarted all of this.

Their conversation and everything that followed it appears to CLEARLY illustrate the way TM wanted Tommy’s character to be perceived and that’s as a GUIDE/ADVISOR person for Buck the same way Clarence was the AS2 for George in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Several of the scenes are similar to those in the movie and I’ve compared them below.

Why is this relevant?  Because in a post 7x4 interview, OS explained it each time a journalist or podcaster asked him about Buck and Tommy’s relationship.  He said (paraphrasing) the character of Tommy was serving a purpose because he was there to help Buck navigate that time in his life and once it was over, he hoped Buck and Tommy could remain friends.  He said it repeatedly but then someone (perhaps network interference) had the idea to put Buck in a relationship with him so that they could maintain the new viewers who started watching just because of the kiss.  Instead of the focus remaining on Buck, the effects of changing the course of the narrative resulted in a $hitshow of epic proportions because several BT Stans refused to see what the show was illustrating.  It didn’t help that the actor who plays Tommy egged them on with his Cameos which made the hiatus unbearable for the network, showrunner (TM admitted it in an interview), cast, crew, fans, audience and Buddie shippers by sending death threats, harassment and just plain vile actions.  These are facts and it’s the reason why I believe the show is rectifying and retconning whosever decision it was to turn Tommy into a love interest instead of leaving him as Buck’s advisor who’s purpose was to lead him to Eddie.

During their conversation at the hanger, Tommy called Buck “kid” but the only people who have ever called him that in the past were Bobby, Red and Athena.  Additionally, if Buck’s death wasn’t supposed to be highlighted, he wouldn’t have mentioned it.  Reminder, everything in CANON has a purpose.

Furthermore, after Eddie drove up and Tommy said, “This guy” to Buck then patted him on the back, he was trying to tell him that he doesn’t realize he’s overlooking the fact that Eddie’s right in front of him and he’s been waiting for Buck to realize it.  There’s a slang definition for this phrase and I’ve already posted about it (linked here).

Also, Tommy mentioned how saving someone’s life and then DATING them never turns out the way someone expects it and his comments parallel with Clarence’s statement to George about the reason why he jumped into the river.  He told him that he did it because he wanted to save him but George said he jumped to save him.  Clarence responded that he knew George was going to jump in to save him if he saw him drowning and he did it to prevent George from committing suicide. The point is the NEW AND IMPROVED Tommy shares a lot of character traits with Clarence since they’re both supposed to be guides to the people they were assigned to. Buck can be compared to George and Tommy can be compared to Clarence.

8x5 - Scene Analysis

I’m not going to delve into the Christopher birthday party scene in 8x1 because Buck, Eddie and Tommy were the only three there.  Also, Tommy only had two lines and one was “You’re a vision in a cone” which was weird but after analyzing their scenes in 8x5, I don’t think he meant it as a compliment but let’s move on and my reasoning for this will be explained below.

Billy Boils’ Introduction

The introduction of “Billy Boils” or “William James McCurdy” is important because it appears Billy’s life parallels with Buck’s in a lot of ways.

Buck’s description of him while he was in the hospital relates to Buck’s life, i.e. his birth year 1993 (which was CANONICALLY retconned from 1991 in season 6) along with the year Daniel died but there’s one date he didn’t have and that’s what’s missing. Also, when Tommy asks is there a twist coming? The answer is YES! Why? Because the twist is Buddie is coming! The camera panned to Eddie after he asked the question. Just saying.

Additionally, at first glance, Billy’s shirt appears to be similar to the suit jacket Eddie was wearing in 7x6 during the bachelor party but once Billy’s whole casket is shown, it’s apparent he’s not wearing a full suit.  His shirt is similar to the suit color but he’s wearing a red bandana around his neck and he’s also wearing a pair of blue jeans.  I think the jeans and the bandana were meant to connect with the “Cowboy” costume Buck wore later in the episode since he was wearing those clothing items.

The hospital

When Tommy arrived, Eddie was already present and most of the time while he was talking to Buck, he kept glancing at Eddie for some reason and at first I thought it was because he was trying to get at him (my Buddie shipper goggles state he still is) but upon further review, it appears he was trying to direct Buck’s attention to Eddie.  He did it several times throughout their scenes and on at least two occasions, he verbally said something that caused Buck to refocus his attention onto Eddie.

Tommy was outside while the doctor was in the room and he only entered afterwards.  I’m not going to delve into his visitor’s badge and other things because they’ve already been discussed but I will focus on the lack of affection between the two of them since it was a theme throughout the episode.  It seems like the show wanted the audience to know that Tommy and Buck are friends and nothing more.  If they were in a relationship, then Tommy would have reacted differently especially since Buck didn’t have any boils on his face at the time.  I mean Buck was lying in bed with his chest all out and from both a Buddie shipper and a GA perspective, I asked myself why because every other time Buck’s been in the hospital (he’s been in one at least four times over the seasons) and each time he was wearing a gown but not this time.  Therefore, there had to be a reason.  Logically, if Tommy and Buck were dating, Buck would have covered up since Eddie was in there but he was bare chested before Tommy arrived.  Additionally, Buck hasn't been seen SHIRTLESS IN YEARS (IIRC, season 2 was the last time), so there's a reason why he was naked up top, right? Right! I will point out that he pulled the covers up when Tommy entered so there’s that but from a viewer’s point of view, Buck’s boobs were out for Eddie’s benefit.

Also, the part about Billy getting his sights on someone, that was another reference to Eddie because once Buck figures out he was trying to get Eddie's attention, he'll never let him go. 😎

The loft before Eddie arrived

The next time we saw Buck and Tommy, it was nighttime and they were in the loft getting ready to go to sleep.  Buck was doing one of his deep dives on the internet about Billy Boils but after Tommy got him an ice pack and some ibuprofen, he wanted to lay on the couch and go to sleep.  Now before I mention any details regarding the things he said to Buck, I’ll admit when I watched the scene with my Buddie shipper goggles, I thought he was being an asshat.  However, when I viewed it from a GA perspective, I asked myself what the show wanted the audience to see and it appears he came across as a friend who didn’t want to end up there taking care of someone he’s only known for a few months.  It would have been easy to have Eddie there especially since he spent time there with Buck during the pandemic as well as other times.  However, if he would have been there, it’s possible the audience wouldn’t have questioned why Tommy wasn’t.  Apparently, this is all part of TM’s big relationship reveal for Buddie.  Was it painful for anyone who knows the character of Buck to watch?  YES!  Why?  Because Tommy literally told him to go to bed and that he needed to turn off his laptop.  He sounded like a parent and the more I think about it, the more I believe that’s the option the show wants the GA to see and believe.

Reminder, Tommy calls him Evan but what other grown man on the show calls him that?  PHILLIP!  Eddie’s only called him Evan once but Phillip does it all the time (I’ll do a separate post about this because if I include it all here, this post will be even longer).

The point is if Tommy’s supposed to be Buck’s boyfriend, then the GA will question why they aren’t acting romantically.  Therefore, it appears the show is allowing them to demonstrate in CANON that they ARE NOT in a relationship.  Why is this important?  Because if someone watched 7x4 it means they saw them kiss and now they’re questioning why they are so distant and why they aren’t touching each other or holding hands.  They showed just enough for their relationship to be questioned so that whenever Eddie was in the scene, it would be CRYSTAL CLEAR that he’s Buck’s life partner NOT Tommy’s.

The loft after Eddie arrived

The next day, after Tommy literally recoiled at Buck’s boils, Eddie was there and he was shown medically assisting Buck while Tommy just watched.  This is also important for the GA because they should ask themselves the same question I did since Tommy’s a firefighter/EMT too (post linked here).  I wanted to know why he wasn’t helping him and honestly, it pissed me off regardless as to whether I was viewing the episode as a GA member or a Buddie shipper.  It’s just another reason why it seems like the show wanted Eddie there and IMO, it worked perfectly.

While they're talking, Tommy actually tells Buck to "listen to the medic" and "Well, there's you answer" and he was looking at and talking about Eddie when he made both statements. Reminder, Eddie and Chris are the answers (related post linked here).

The firehouse

When Buck arrived at the firehouse, Eddie wouldn’t look at him and from a Buddie shipper perspective, initially I thought it was weird.  But after I remembered the way Eddie was wearing sunglasses for the majority of 7x4, I figured he did it because he didn’t want Buck to see his heart eyes.  Reminder, the episode is called “Masks” and Eddie did everything he could to avoid looking at Buck whenever they were alone together.  It happened at the hospital while he was pretending to read a magazine, at the firehouse and at the hospital again while they were waiting to get news about Denny.

If they caught it, the GA should question it but since most viewers only watch an episode once, it’s possible they didn’t.  Reminder, they don’t theorize, look at scenes more than once to see how many times they looked or glanced at each other and they don’t analyze episodes.  Therefore, the interactions between Buck and Eddie have to illustrate they’re perfect for each other from an overall perspective so they can notice it and that’s what it appears the show is doing.

The hospital scene with the 118

After I watched this scene I laughed because it kind of seemed like Tommy wasn’t even present.  My perspective didn’t change when I rewatched it because I noticed for the second time that no one was interacting with him except for Buck, the nurse who asked Buck if he’d been seen and the one time Eddie looked up.  This was another scene that reminded me of George Bailey since there were times when he was the only person who could see Clarence.  I thought it was interesting that Chimney, Bobby and Athena didn’t interact with Tommy once and in fact, they never looked at him.  Chimney was literally sitting in front of him beside Eddie but he couldn’t be bothered.  From a GA perspective, I asked why and I think other viewers might have too.

The graveyard

After watching Buck stand in the graveyard with Tommy several feet away from him, I was reminded of Buck’s and Eddie’s graveyard scene from 6x15 along with two movies; “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Karate Kid.”  First, the way Buck and Tommy were standing caught my attention because when George and Clarence went to visit George’s brother Harry in the graveyard in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, they were standing several feet apart too.

Reminder, Clarence was an angel who served as a guide to George when he questioned why he was born.  Also, if George had never been born, then his brother Harry would have died.  It’s similar to Buck’s story, however even though Buck was born to save Daniel, he wasn’t able to save him.

Second, in the movie “The Karate Kid” after Daniel kicked that bully’s ass (I don’t remember his name), Mr. Myiagi (the man who taught Daniel how to do karate) was standing outside of the ring watching Daniel during his final match.  When Daniel won, Mr. Myiagi smiled and nodded his head the same way Tommy was doing while Buck was talking to Billy Boils.  It stuck out to me because Mr. Myiagi was the guide/teacher/advisor to Daniel and it appears that’s who Tommy is to Buck.

While Buck was doing his monologue, when he got to the part about dying alone and the scene cut to Eddie, my heart broke and it reminded me of the scene in “It’s a Wonderful Life” when George went to find Mary (the woman he married) who ended up being an “Old Maid” (the movie’s words not mine) because George was never born.  I think that’s a reference point and if my season 7 analysis is correct about Buck still being in a coma or having amnesia, then it’s possible Eddie’s still waiting for Buck to remember.

Also, when Buck asks Billy to lift the curse and he walks away, Tommy says, “Please lift it” but I don’t think he was saying that for himself.  My interpretation is Tommy’s found himself in a situation that he never intended to be in because he’s a loner and he’s the type of person who does exactly what he said in 7x4.  He doesn’t date people he meets on calls because it never turns out the way they expect it to but they’re grateful.  If that’s the case then it seems like the show has turned Tommy’s character into someone who’s only supposed to be there for a short time, i.e., a teacher, an advisor or a guide which means he’ll be gone soon.

It appears Buck’s the one who’s trying to turn him into his boyfriend simply because he’s confused about who’s attention he really wanted.  OS has referenced relationship problems for them but no one knows what those are.  Based on this episode, it’s possible it could revolve around the status of their relationship or the fact that they were never meant to be.

Additional references

There are several references that link Eddie and Buck that have been incorporated into episodes and I’ve included some important ones below.  Four of them are specific to Buck, Eddie and Tommy and they include the words “Math” (or functions that relate to it), “Cowboy”, “Exhausting” and “Dating someone you rescued.”  They appear to be used as a way to direct the GA to Buddie since Eddie said them first, Buck repeated them and Tommy said the words too at some point while he's been on screen. It appears he was gently reminding Buck that his focus and attention should be on Eddie!

“Showstopper”

Buck told the 118 that Billy Boils was a real showstopper and after he realized he was a real person, Bobby told him he was right, Billy was a real showstopper.  I included this reference because it seemed like it was relevant to 7x4 since Buck’s bisexual journey began at the end of the episode and it was a showstopper.  It’s just the BT stans took things too far by focusing on the PLOT DEVICE instead of the MAIN CHARACTER and that’s how things got off course. Buck and Eddie are MAIN CHARACTERS and Tommy is NOT. He never will be so it's evident the show wants the GA to remember that especially since Tommy will be gone soon.

“Math”

In 3x4, Eddie told Buck, “You don’t know math!” while Buck was the Fire Marshal and in 6x13, after Buck was struck by lightning, he ended up with a special math skill.  He told Eddie and Chris, “Turns out, I love math” and in 6x15, while Buck and Eddie were standing in the cemetery, Eddie said, “I know we razed you about your old ‘math’ skills.  Maybe I even tried to get rich off of them.”  And in 8x5, Tommy referred to his accountant (math related field of study) cousin and commented, “Every tax season, my accountant cousin breaks out in hives all across his legs.”  FYI: Math is a universal language just like love.

“Cowboy”

In 6x10, Eddie said, “Alright ‘cowboy’ go get ‘em” right before Buck went up the ladder before the lightning strike.  In 8x5, Buck’s costume (reminder, his blue jeans was the bottom half of Billy Boils’ costume) was a ‘Cowboy’ and later in the episode, Tommy said, “I think someone was up too late with their ‘cowboy’.”

“Dating someone you rescued”

In 6x15, Eddie told Buck that dating someone he rescued from a call wouldn’t end well which means Buck knows this but he did it anyway.  Then in 7x4, Tommy reiterated what Eddie had already told Buck when he said dating someone he rescued never ends the way he expected.  This is one of the reasons why Buck dating Tommy would never work because Tommy isn’t looking for a long term relationship but Buck is and now Buck’s clinging like he always does and it appears Tommy wants to leave.

“Exhausting”

In 3x5, during Eddie’s and Buck’s famous supermarket argument, Eddie said, “Because you’re ‘exhausting’!” then he continued and explained his reasoning (which had absolutely nothing to do with firefighting and everything to do with how much he missed Buck).  Then four seasons later, in 7x4, since Buck was STILL confused about who’s attention he was trying to get, he told Tommy “Trying to get your attention has been kind of ‘exhausting’!” but Tommy’s response of “My attention?” proves he KNEW Buck wasn’t trying to get his attention and the showrunner called back to this in 8x5 when Tommy said, “Lights out Evan.  I’m ‘exhausted’.”

Similar to the cowboy reference, Eddie said it first, Buck remembered it and said it to Tommy who turned around and referred to it in 8x5 to Buck to HELP GUIDE HIM TO EDDIE!

The point of this post is to illustrate 9-1-1 was trying to show the GA that Buck and Tommy were never meant to be a couple.  If they were, then they would have shown some sort of public displays of affection.  They would have been in bed together when they went to the loft and REMINDER, this is a TV show and that “Hotshots” director reiterated that when Bobby was trying to tell Brad and the other actors about using sledgehammers to open the wall.  That’s important because TV shows aren’t accurate and that means if they wanted to, they could have let Buck and Tommy be romantic and show intimacy BUT THEY DIDN’T BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T WANT THEM TO AND THEY’RE NOT A COUPLE.

Tommy didn’t kiss Buck once but he touched his leg when he arrived at the hospital and that was before the boils appeared on his face.  The bottom line is in 7x4, Tommy was set up to be Buck’s confidant and guide so that he would have a supposedly more experienced and older person to help him as he learned more about his bisexuality.  However, either the network, BT Stans or both ruined it because they cared more about Buck being with ANY dude than the man who’s given him his heart over and over again (EDDIE).  Therefore, it appears the showrunner is unraveling the messy way season 7 ended with Buck being in a relationship with the person who was supposed to be more of a friend so that Buck and Eddie can get their EPIC LOVE STORY!

It’s likely Buck’s next onscreen kiss will be with EDDIE DIAZ and reminder... Buck’s boobs weren’t out for nothing. 👀 Eddie was trying not to look but Tommy didn't look below Buck's face at all for the entirety of episode 8x5. Just saying.

These are the things that were shown in CANON and I am not involved in the show so I don’t have any say in how things are done.  But if I did, Tommy wouldn’t have ever been included because IMO, he wasn’t needed since Buddie’s romantic foundation was established several seasons ago (looking at the kitchen scene).  For some reason, TM felt like he needed to redo everything and here we are waiting on Eddie’s storyline to move forward and Buck to remove himself from whatever TF he has going on with Tommy.  The only logical idea I can came up with is maybe TM wanted to start over since they’re on a new network but it wasn’t necessary especially since 9-1-1 is in its 8th season.  Older shows run out of time and if viewership keeps dropping (I’m talking about live viewers), it’ll be difficult for them to get a 9th season so this show needs to get on with making them CANON so they won’t run out of time.

Before I end this post, I’d like to invite everyone to think about what happened at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  George went home after he realized he was better off being alive than dead and he went home to his wife and kids.  I’m not saying Buck will go home to Eddie for Christmas but… if my analysis is correct and 9-1-1 is still using Buck’s coma dream/amnesia or whatever as a point of reference then who knows what could happen before the end of 8A.  Also, as of the date this post is completed, there hasn’t been any confirmation that there will be a Christmas episode this year.  One last thing, in 3x10 “Christmas Spirt” Buck worked with Athena so the 118 could celebrate Christmas with their families since they had to work and in 2x10 “Merry X-Mas” the Christmas Elf told Buck, “You two have an adorable son” and Buck said, “Thank you.”

We’ll all just have to wait and see what happens.

TLDR: Buck and Eddie are the main characters and the BUDDIE SHIP is the primary and only focus.  The showrunner created the ship, he’s very vocal about his opinions of it and he’s quick to let the audience know it was his idea.  BuckTommy is a fan/stan created ship, it’s NOT part of the plan, Tommy will never be a main because he’s a PLOT DEVICE who had one job and that’s to guide Buck to Eddie because Buck was trying to get Eddie’s attention in 7x4.

[in1-nutshell]

Hey just had a thought what if all the old Predacon buddy accidentally stumbles upon a relic that reverts them back to their younger body somewhere between when they were still a gladiator like they are mentally and physically reverted back into their younger form and younger predacon buddy is like more cold and distant but is still nice to the younger bots and Optimus

Young Predacon Buddy is not happy with this sudden change.

Especially with the buff Orin Pax they found.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon turning back to his prime youth with Wheeljack, Smokescreen, Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Optimus Prime

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronain reader

TFP

The team had recently acquired a new relic from the latest find.

Buddy had stayed in the base with Ratchet and the kids to try and decode the item.

When the team arrived, they placed the relic in one of the med slabs to be scanned later.

Buddy was finishing the decoding when the relic started powering up and had a bad feeling about it glowing.

Glowing things and Buddy didn’t exactly mix well.

A sudden beam came out of the relic and started bouncing around the base.

Everyone ran for cover.

The beam headed straight for Optimus.

Buddy ran and threw themselves at him covering the mech with their beast mode and large wings.

A sudden bright light flashed before dying down.

Buddy and Prime were okay.

But the closer the bots looked at Buddy they realized something was off.

Either that beam polished them and gave them a frame upgrade.

Or…

Something wrong happened.

The Predacon groaned as they got off the Prime shaking their helm.

They stood up straighter than they had ever seen Buddy go normally.

And they stretched their massive wings farther than they had seen before.

Buddy goggling opened and blinked their optics.

Their entire paintjob was new yet scratched.

They also had more decorative markings and more armor plating.

Buddy finally looked around and hissed.

Their plating flared up a bit making themselves look bigger.

More threatening.

They demanded to know where they were before they slit everyone’s throats.

Something was terribly wrong.

Optimus took this moment to call Buddy.

Buddy turned annoyed but it turned to shock and surprised.

They called him Orion.

…

Oh no…

After a bit of explaining and finally decoding the purpose of the relic.

The relic had the ability of returning a bot to a point in their youth along with all their memories from that point in time.

That meant Buddy was only familiar with Optimus and Ratchet.

Everyone else was a stranger to them.

Wheeljack

Buddy gets annoyed at all the asks to spar by many of these ‘Wreckers’.

Especially from the white one, Wheeljack.

A very persistent fellow.

When Buddy finally gave into the challenge, it was over in a couple of seconds. Usually this would have taken 5 minutes tops for Wheeljack with older Buddy.

This strength was scary.

Too quick…

Too brutal…

Too much of everything.

Buddy may have gone a bit too far with some more denting than what they would usually do.

And they weren’t even using most of their strength, and Wheeljack knew that.

Even now at the prime of their youth, they were still holding back.

“Hey Buddy, you wanna spar?”-Wheeljack

“And why would I want to spar with you? Do you not value your own life Wecker? I’d rather not give Ratchet more work in the med bay.”—Buddy

Buddy goes to walk away.

“It’s only sparring, or are you too afraid of the challenge?”--Wheeljack

Buddy stops and slowly looks back at Wheeljack with cold and calculated optics.

“Challenge accepted Wrecker…”--Buddy

Smokescreen

Buddy is softer with the younger members of the team.

Even when they found out about humans, they were soft on them too.

Smokescreen, still being one of the younger bots, got this treatment too.

Buddy did mention before that they had a habit of ‘taking bots under their wing.’

He didn’t think they meant it literally.

Buddy was a bit rougher than usual, but they still cared and looked out for him.

When Smokescreen asked to spar, Buddy hesitated to ask if that was what he really wanted.

Smokescreen said yes.

5 seconds…

5 seconds was what it took to bring him done.

A minute with the phase shifter on.

Buddy constantly gives him tips on footing and arm placement, but he doesn’t really take that into account while his helm is still spinning from the tail whip.

“Hi I’m Smokescreen.”--Smokescreen

Buddy looks at the bot.

Buddy takes their wing over him.

“Mine now.”--Buddy

“What?”--Smokescreen

“Mine.”--Buddy

Bulkhead

Buddy liked Bulkhead.

He was an almost adequate sparring partner.

He could take much more damage than some of the other bots here.

Bulkhead didn’t want to fight Buddy though.

Bulkhead had been the one to cause some heavy dents in Buddy before.

But that was the older, more patient Buddy.

Now he was talking to the les patient, younger Buddy.

Which gave Buddy the wrong message.

They thought that he didn’t want to spar them because they were a predacon.

An animal.

A monster.

Something not worthy of his time.

Buddy defiantly made sure the two of them sparred even adding more denting from their frustrations.

But not too much

They didn’t want to upset Ratchet or Optimus.

“Have you come to spar with me like your friend in the med bay?”--Buddy

“Nah, I don’t wanna hurt you, Buddy.”—Bulkhead

“I almost guarantee you won’t Wrecker.”--Buddy

“Yeah, but I hurt you last time—"--Bulkhead

Buddy clamps their jaw on Bulkhead’s arm and throws him on the far side of the room.

“You calling me weak!? I’LL SHOW YOU WEAK!”--Buddy

Ratchet

It was between Ratchet and Optimus to explain to Buddy what was happening.

They only trusted being around the two.

Both knew it would take a while for Buddy to warm up.

Buddy often dropped off team members who thought it was a good idea to spar with this much younger predacon.

Or the ones who pissed Buddy off.

Buddy does look after Ratchet.

More worried about how many years the bot put on.

Nearing the same age as each other, Buddy worried for their friend’s health often asking him to take naps while they kept watch.

Surprisingly this worked many times while Buddy was in the med bay.

Buddy would always stand guard over their resting friend, growling at anything that would disturb his sleep.

Mainly because Ratchet didn’t want to be physically subdued by a younger Predacon that could take him out in seconds.

“Ratchet.”--Buddy

“Buddy.”--Ratchet

“Have you been sleeping well?”--Buddy

“Why?”--Ratchet

“You look closer to my age than a few cycles ago.”--Ratchet

“I’m old Buddy.”--Ratchet

“Not as old as me.”--Buddy

Optimus Prime

Buddy was extremely surprised to see Optimus and Ratchet the way they are now.

Ratchet for the number of years he took on.

Optimus… well that was self-explanatory.

From small Orion pax to big Optimus Prime there were quite a few changes.

It did warm his spark seeing Buddy so worried for their friends looking like they went a joined the pits.

Buddy for the first few days was Optimus and Ratchet’s shadow.

They constantly watched over the two like a hawk.

Even going as far as growing when one of the team memebers came to close to one of them.

Buddy insisted on sparring with Optimus

With this new form of him, he had a painted target on his back and Buddy was not going to let him go anywhere where he could get hurt.

Bigger framed or not, Buddy has taken down bots far bigger and stronger than him. He needs to get ready.

Optimus had the best time out of the entire team.

Mainly because Buddy focused on training Prime than getting the match over with.

“Orion?! Orion!”--Buddy

Buddy wraps their wings around the much larger Prime before taking a good look at him.

“What is all this? Are you planning on competing in the pits? When did you get so big? You were so small, why, you’re as tall as I am!”--Buddy

“There’s much that needs to be explained old friend.”--Optimus

“You, even sound old. Did Megatronus put you up to this? I swear that mech…”--Buddy

Buddy looks at Ratchet and nearly drops.

“Ratchet?!”--Buddy

Buddy goes up to him with a worried look.

“What happened?! You look almost as old as me? We just saw each other over two cycles ago? WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”--Buddy

[amethystfairy1]

I JUST READ THE NEWEST CHAPTER OF SIGHTLINE SUNRISE AND broooo....... tango's crop top being an accidental assassination attempt was NOT on my bingo card but I AM THRIVING WITH IT......

god... zed buddy there's no saving you.... no level of feather falling could save you from how down bad he is......

also tango just cannot catch a BREAK can he?? keeps getting picked up like a pile of grapes, silly man I love him

and now I'm imagining how doc and zed meeting would go as well like. that would be so funny to me specifically but terrifying for just about everyone else involved

you've inspired me to try to draw humanoids, so take a tango

and also a weapon of destruction

I gave tango earrings because I think he deserves them as a little treat. like with all those glass beads he makes, why not?

OH MY STARS I ADORE HIMMMMM

AHHHHHH HES SO CUTEEEEE

Nah Zed is doomed. Doomed doomed doomed. He’s so down bad for Tango and Tango has no clue what taking off his vest has done, he nearly killed his new friend because he wears a CROP TOP

I love his little earrings! And his little goggles are ADORABLE!!!

I can’t help having people keep snatching Tango off the ground to all of his friends Tango is just a fiery little kitten that they want to cuddle and he just has to deal with that 😂

I LOVE THIS TANGO ART THO HE’S SOOOO CUTE

Local biotech researcher found dead after blaze-born proves to be too hot, and not in the way you’re thinking. 😆

Also you’re very good at drawing humanoids because this lil Tango looks AMAZING!!!!

Zed and Doc meeting is gonna be…an event. I will say that. 😆

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS LITTLE CUTIE I ADORE HIMMMMM! 💖💖💖

[abbu0414]

Boarding Lessons (snowboarding!Ghost x fem!reader)

Word Count: 552

♪ Song to Listen To: A Dream With a Baseball Player by Faye Webster

I know this is really short but it's based off of a Tik Tok I saw this morning and it was literally the CUTEST thing I've ever seen.

This was literally the worst and most embarrassing experience of your life. Seeing so many people go down the hill with ease, and then you only being able to fall on your ass. You had been brought by your best friend and her boyfriend and they were the cutest skiing couple you had ever seen. It was disgusting, but you had been a hopeless romantic your whole life so it was easy to get over. 

You had been snowboarding maybe once or twice in your life when you were younger, but it is so much harder to relearn now that you are 21. Unfortunately, you had forgotten what the levels of slopes were so here you were…stuck on the top of the black diamond. 

“I-I don’t know that I can do this.” You said to your friend. But it was too late, her and her boyfriend were already down the hill.

“FAKE ASS BITCHES” You yell down the hill in frustration. You had decided to get over yourself and just go down. That’s easier said than done because you’re not even half way down the hill and you’ve fallen about seven times.

You would’ve been down the slope sooner but this group of assholes sped down the hill racing each other, and just about running you over on their boards. You fell yet again and burst into tears under your goggles. You laid in the starfish position and just sobbed for a few minutes. You hear another snowboarder make their way down.

“Slow down ya bunch of muppets!” A thick British accent pokes through the skeleton balaclava and a pair of goggles look down at you. 

“Would you like some help…?”

“Y/N, and yes I would. Your buddies are kind of assholes.” He lifts his goggles on top of his helmet and raises an eyebrow.

“Well I apologize for them, but what are you doing on the black diamond then love?” You turn bright red.

“My friend dragged me up here and went down with her boyfriend” You frowned. You see his cheek bones lift a little bit under his mask and loose strands of blonde hair poke out of his helmet as he stretches out his hand. He easily lifts you off the ground and holds on to your hands.

“I’ll help you down the slope, yeah?”

“Y-yeah okay,” You kept hold of his big, gloved hands and looked him in the eyes. “Don’t let me go, I cannot fall again in front of all of these people.” 

“I’ve got you love, bend your knees a little.” After a while it was smooth sailing and you both got to the bottom of the slope. You see a group of men approach him.

“We’ve been waiting FOREVER for you Ghostie, what took you so lo-” A man with a mohawk gets shoved by his friend. 

“Johnny, shut up, he’s flirting.” His friend says, rolling his eyes.

You looked up at him while his friends walked away shoving each other while unlocking your boarding boots. 

“Ghostie? Is that what I should call you too?” You laugh to yourself.

“You can call me Simon, and you can also call me anytime” He winks. You look down in your glove and see his number on a piece of paper crumpled up as he walks away.

‘Call me soon for boarding lessons Lovie ;) -S’

[outercrasis]

The Distance - Ch 13

Pairing: Din Djarin x Pilot F!Reader (reader is petite/no other descriptors)

Word Count/Rating: 4.8k / T (will become M/E in later chapters)

Summary: Time to meet a new (old) friend.

Warnings: some general angst (nothing too heavy), alcohol consumption

Previous || Series Masterlist || Next

Din doesn’t offer any additional details about Mos Pelgo or whoever you're supposed to be dropping in on. You put together a small bag, prepping for a couple days away from your ship. Tex seems more nervous than you do.

“I know buddy, but I'll still be on planet,” you placate. “It's a good opportunity to test out these long range comms too. You can send me whatever updates you want while I'm gone.”

Tex beeps lowly, reluctantly accepting the situation. You don't blame him – you can't remember the last time you left Tex or the Chimera for more than a single night.

“Got ‘em!” You hold up your old goggles triumphantly, finally locating them at the bottom of a long forgotten pack. “Knew I still had these somewhere.”

Peli is already waiting for you at the bottom of the Chimera's ramp. You can see why Din likes her – she feels like a crazy aunt that you only see once a cycle, while also being able to intuit things better than anyone else you know.

“What should I know about her?” Peli asks. You can't help but smile.

Thirty minutes later and you've given her the  rundown of the Chimera's basics. Tex has instructions to share schematics with Peli when needed and is officially given authority over the pit droids. He's not so secretly thrilled by that fact. Knowing that Peli is the mastermind behind the N1 calms any of your bigger anxieties about leaving your baby behind for repairs.

Din is already standing by the speeder bike when you’re done. It’s a bigger model that could probably support a sidecar, but there are none of those in sight. The only option is to sit on the bike with Din. You steel yourself, trying to push down your hurt feelings. There’s no point in lingering on them right now when you’re about to be in very close quarters with him. 

You give Grogu a couple pats goodbye and then shove your bag into one of the saddlebags already attached to the bike. 

“Is it comfortable?” Din asks. You're more than a little lost.

“My bag?”

He chuckles, the low noise just managing to bypass the vocoder. “No, the holster.”

It's the first time you've been able to wear it since he got it for you. Sure, you've worn it around the Chimera a few times, but never out in the world. “It's good.”

If you were in a better mood you might tell him that it fits like a glove – that you can almost forget you have it on. You don't know how he managed to find a holster that feels like it was made for you.

“Good.”

You climb onto the bike, moving yourself forward to make it easier for Din. He turns and says something to Peli you don’t catch before getting onto the bike behind you. It’s tight, but you both fit. 

You’re hyper aware of his body around yours. The firm, cool beskar at your back, the way his legs bracket around yours, his arms caging you in as he reaches up to the handlebars. You barely have enough presence of mind to pull your goggles down before he takes off, launching the two of you into the vast expanse of the desert.

You wish you could enjoy this more. This is the closest and longest you have ever been next to Din and yet you're stuck in a terrible mood. With nothing to distract you, his stupid words are running on a loop in your head. 

Just a pilot.

Even worse is that you're getting upset with yourself as well as Din. You don't know why you can't let it go. Why the words wormed their way into the worst part of your brain, plaguing you and making you feel childish. He probably didn't mean anything by it. You wish you could convince yourself of that.

The speeder bike is doing nothing to improve your mood. While the bike is capable of carrying two, that doesn’t mean it was built for it. Peli was right when she said it was junk – the seat cushion barely offers a modicum of support. 

Din’s position on the bike is so firm you can’t move or readjust at all. It was fine at first, making you feel a bit safer, protected by him on the dangerously fast bike. Now though, your body aches. Your refusal to create any additional points of contact between your bodies beyond what's unavoidable isn't helping either.

Your muscles demand to move, one of your legs half asleep from the position it’s in. Only your hands are free to move but you can’t decide what to do with them, so you settle for relaxing them in your lap until that gets uncomfortable after a while. Logically you know this isn’t actually Din’s fault, but the irrational side of your brain is winning. You feel trapped, stuck in one place on the machine until Din determines that it’s time to stop. You aren’t even sure of a way to signal to him to let him know that you need a quick pause to stretch.

You endure for a bit longer before deciding that you can’t continue. You don’t know how far away Mos Pelgo is and your body feels like it’s being turned into stone from inactivity. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, you need to stretch your legs. You decide to tap Din’s leg and try to look up at him. He gets your message because soon the speeder slows down and comes to a stop.

“What’s wrong?” Din asks.

“I need to stretch. I haven’t moved in too long and I’m way too stiff,” you explain. 

Din gets off of the bike first. You keep your eyes firmly planted forward, unwilling to watch and risk an awkward situation.

You stretch your arms and back first before moving from the seat. Your spine pops and you can feel your muscles rejoice from the new movement. You swing your leg around and go to step off the bike, only to have your legs give out and nearly fall face first into the sand. It appears that your leg was more than half-asleep in its crunched position.

You’re saved by Din’s quick reflexes, catching your arm and holding you up before you fall completely. “You okay, can’gal?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you mumble, pulling your arm from his hold. You do your best to ignore the painful tingles in your leg as blood flow and feeling returns. You scan the landscape as you continue to stretch. It’s desolate, countless dunes of sand as far as the eye can see. Yet the planet is beautiful in its own way – a sterile kind that is unique with its twin suns shining brightly overhead.

After about five minutes of stretching and moving around, you turn back to Din. He’s leaning against the speeder with his arms casually folded over his chest. He looks like he should be on the cover of Speeders Weekly.

“I’m ready. Mind telling me how much farther we have?”

You climb back on and Din follows. “About another hour and a half. Think you can hold on that long?”

You glance up at him behind you. “It would be easier without your giant body blocking me in, but I think I’ll make it.”

Din lets out a distorted chuckle at your barb. He gives your legs a quick squeeze with his own. You ignore the skip in your heartbeat. “You can move if you need to, just don’t fall off.”

“How can I, with you in the way?”

Din laughs again and starts up the speeder. You pull your goggles back down and he takes off, launching you back over the endless sand dunes.

Nearly two hours later, Din’s prediction a little off, you can see Mos Pelgo in the distance. The twin suns hang low in the sky and cast barely enough light to see by. The second half of the speeder ride wasn’t as bad. It was shorter and the suns sinking had alleviated much of the heat. 

You felt a bit more comfortable moving when your body began to stiffen which helped to prevent more pain. At some point you even begin to relax – if you ignored how uncomfortable the seat was beneath you it wasn’t so bad. Din’s chestplate acted as a nice backrest for you and you can tell he tried to position his legs to give yours more room. They didn't start tingling again at least.

Once you see the tiny settlement on the horizon you feel your stomach drop. Your palms are getting sweaty and you know it has nothing to do with the planet’s heat. This town clearly doesn’t have much and you wonder why Din made his way out here before. Did he track a bounty all this way? And who could compel him to return? Whoever they were, they must be pretty to come out here for a visit.

Din slows the speeder bike as you roll into town and you see a few people wandering around Mos Pelgo. You expect them all to stare in wonder or fear like what normally happens when Din comes into a town. Instead, you can hardly believe your eyes as they… wave? Are the people in this town actually waving at the big scary Mandalorian? Maker, what is this place? It’s unlike any experience you’ve ever had with Din at your side before.

Din stops the speeder outside of the cantina. He hops off and offers you a hand. You still feel anxious and a large part of you doesn’t want to take it, but you can’t fully trust your legs at the moment. His hand is firm in yours and you can’t help but feel a small amount of comfort at the touch.

The cantina is as small and cozy as you've ever seen one. The lights are low, half the tables taken up by patrons. There's a comfortable murmur filling the air that mixes with the jizz music coming from a jukebox in the corner.

Din guides you towards one of the rounded booths. You've never seen him this relaxed in a public setting before. His visor is scanning the room but the looseness of his shoulders tells you he’s not looking for a threat.

You figure you'll know this mystery person when you see them. Din might be hidden away under all that armor, but somehow the only the prettiest of people find their way to him. You've seen more than a few brave souls be turned away. Nerves get the better of you and you begin to absentmindedly pick at your fingers.

Moments later, a drawl comes from above you. “Well I'll be.”

You look up and see a tall, lanky but not awkward man standing in front of you and Din. He’s got a sideways grin plastered on his face, which should look more ridiculous than it does. His silver hair looks as though it was nicely styled like his short beard before the desert winds blew through it. His eyes are bright and you’re tempted to describe them as sparkling.

“Mando,” he says in a friendly greeting while sticking his hand out towards Din for a handshake.

“Marshal,” Din shakes the man’s hand. He turns to you and gestures to his acquaintance. “Meet Cobb Vanth, Marshal of Mos Pelgo.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Cobb turns his smile to you and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel yourself melt a little. You already understand why Din would want to come out here for a visit – this man could probably charm just about anyone.

“And just who might you be, darlin’? Don’t tell me you’re somehow that little green kid he had with him before.”

That makes you laugh out loud. “No, I’m not.” You offer up your name along with your hand to shake. Cobb takes your hand and presses a soft kiss against your knuckles. You have to admit, he’s smooth. Din gives a small cough from his side of the booth.

“Sorry there Mando, just couldn’t help myself,” Cobb says, winking at you. Oh, he’s very smooth.

“Sure you couldn’t.”

Cobb sits on your other side, across from Din, and hails the bartender over. He sets down three cups and an entire jug of spotchka. The Marshal must be well liked then, you think, if the bartender is willing to part with a jug so easily. Cobb pours all three glasses, which strikes you as odd, considering that he should know Din doesn’t eat or drink with others. Din doesn’t say anything about it though, so you keep quiet as well.

“What brings you out this way?” Cobb asks as he passes the cups around.

“Had the time. I was told you came back here after your time in the bacta tank.”

Just how many friends does Din have on this backwater rock? You thought you were getting to know one another – two loners who found each other – and here he is with a number of mystery friends he never speaks of. Maybe you had misjudged the closeness of your relationship.

“Nowhere else for me to go,” Cobb says. “Besides, the new arm works for intimidation purposes.”

With a flick of his wrist, a small blaster pops up out of the Marshal's robotic arm. It probably doesn't have any more power than a hold-out blaster, but it gets a message across. Din doesn't even flinch.

As close as you are to each other, you're able to see the gears whirring in his arm and follow the different lines and parts as they travel up towards his shoulder. His mod isn't the fanciest you've ever seen but it's still a work of art.

“Marshal, do you mind if I take a look?” you ask, gesturing towards his arm. He seems proud of it, so you don't think he'll mind the request.

He puts the blaster away, setting his arm down on the table in front of you. “Not at all. Just don't touch with that part there, sends my nerves ablaze if it's messed with.”

This new man is just as much of a mystery to you as the other one at the table. Din took months before he'd let you poke around at his armor’s electronic components and that wasn't even fully attached to his body. Meanwhile Cobb is more than happy to have you take a look while also revealing its biggest weakness.

Din and Cobb's conversation fades away as you look over his arm. This kind of fine mechanical work is always tricky, ten times more when you factor in the biological component. Cobb allows you to move his arm in whatever way you see fit, easily answering the questions that you’re mostly muttering to yourself. You ignore Din’s weighty stare.

“You’ve got a thing of beauty there, Marshal,” you say as you complete your observations.

“Well that's not a word I hear that often,” he defers. “And please, call me Cobb.”

“Somehow I doubt that, Cobb.”

He laughs loudly. “Well shoot. You've got one heck of a girl here, Mando.”

You glance over at Din. He's as stoic as ever. You're left floundering – no longer truly understanding your relationship with him or his relationship to Cobb. Irritation bubbles over.

“Not his girl. Just a pilot.” You throw back the shot of spotchka in front of you, ignoring the burn as it goes down.

“Duly noted,” Cobb says, giving you a small nod. You don’t look over at Din. You don’t want to see his reaction.

The three of you are able to fall into easy conversation from there. You discover the connection between Cobb and Din – You mean you haven’t told her ‘bout me? I’m hurt Mando, real hurt – and you decide you can’t imagine Mandalorian armor on Cobb. There’s just something about him that doesn’t work quite right with your picture. He’s too casual, too comfortable with himself to ever need a second skin over top. He's also too skinny you decide, not nearly broad enough to fill out Mandalorian armor as it should be.

You don't try to hide your fascination as Cobb regales you with the tale of the krayt dragon. "I thought he was a goner for sure, getting eaten like that. Just when I'm thinkin' the worst out he comes, flying out of the beast's mouth like some sorta hero."

You turn to Din, the spotchka in your system removing any embarrassment as you openly gape at him. "Is he telling the truth?" you ask. It's not that you don't trust Cobb, but the whole thing is so remarkable that it's hard to believe.

"He's making it sound like more than it was. I was covered in it's bile, I stunk for weeks after that."

You learn about Mos Pelgo, how Cobb came to be its Marshal, and how the town has been getting on since the dragon's death. He tells you about the run-ins with the Pyke Syndicate and how he came to lose his arm.

Through all the replays of Din and Cobb's greatest hits, you figure that if there are any kind of romantic feelings between the two, it's never elevated beyond some flirtation. It makes you feel foolish for ever getting jealous in the first place. Old habits and ways of thinking die hard, you suppose.

The spotchka goes down easy, a welcome distraction from any unhappy thoughts lingering in the back of your mind. Cobb continues to flirt with you throughout the night, serving as another nice distraction. You know you shouldn't encourage it, but his open attraction and the alcohol make it difficult to resist. Sure, he is a bit skinny, a bit talkative, and his skin isn't as sun-kissed as you preferred, but he could do. 

As the night wears to a close, you can feel sleep begin to pull at the corners of your mind. The long day in the sun combined with the alcohol you consumed start working together to make your body shut down. You hardly register as Din asks Cobb where the two of you can stay for the night.

You pull yourself out of the booth, slapping your cheeks gently to try and clear up the fog in your mind. You regain enough clarity to function without assistance. After Din grabs your bags off the speeder, you both follow Cobb as he leads you both to the single spare room above the cantina.

"Sorry it ain't much, but as you know we don't get many visitors out here," Cobb says as he opens the door.

He's right. It isn't much. Just a tiny square room with a bed and a dresser with a 'fresher attached. You're happy to note that it all looks clean though, devoid of the layer of sand that seems to cover everything on Tatooine.

"It'll be just fine, thank you Marshal," you tell him. Cobb tips an imaginary hat and throws a wink at you. He gives Din a wink too, which makes you snort. He then walks away, throwing a goodnight over his shoulder.

You shake your head, amused, and follow Din into the room. Rather than flounder about the sleeping arrangements, you grab some clothes from your bag and go into the 'fresher, determined to get off at least some of the day's grime. You're disappointed with a sonic shower, although you weren't sure what else you expected, being on a desert planet. Still, it provides some relief and you change into some clean clothes to sleep in. You splash a small amount of water on your face from the sink and gulp some down in your cupped hands.

"All yours," you announce as you walk back into the small room. 

Din doesn't say anything, but he goes into the 'fresher and closes the door just a bit too hard. Was he mad about something, you wonder? Although you've hit your second wind, the alcohol is still playing with your thoughts. Maybe he's just moody from the long day.

He doesn't take long in there, certainly less time than your small tipsy fumbles, and comes back out still fully dressed. You push yourself up onto your elbows in the bed and look him over. "Take off the armor," you tell him.

"You're drunk,” he responds.

“Yeah? And why does that matter?” you ask. Din doesn’t reply. You sigh and drop backwards to stare up at the ceiling. 

“There’s no way you can be comfortable sleeping in all of that metal. So just take it off and get in the bed. I’m obviously not talking about the helmet.”

You stay staring at the ceiling. It’s a fairly comfortable position, head cushioned in the pillows, while you try to not make him uncomfortable. 

You aren’t really sure why this is such a big deal to him tonight. He’s taken off his beskar in front of you plenty of times now. Yet maybe something had changed between the two of you again without you noticing. You were just a pilot to him, maybe that meant some of his walls were coming back up? Desperately, you tried to ignore the stab of pain that thought caused you. You don’t want to lose Din to the cold, distant Mando you met so many months ago, especially not without knowing why. The thought is too much to bear.

You turn on your side, away from Din, offering him extra assurance that you weren’t just trying to perv on him as he removed his armor. You know he's caught you staring more than a few times around the Chimera. Did that bother him? You should have asked.

Part of you knows you should be more nervous about sharing a bed with Din – particularly with this growing gulf between the two of you. This is intimate in a way, isn’t it? Sharing a space to sleep like this? Yet, whether it’s the influence of the alcohol or the exhaustion, you can’t find it within yourself to be flustered over it. It’s practical anyway. You both need sleep and Mos Pelgo only has the one room and bed to offer. One of you sleeping on the floor would be stupid. You try to convince yourself that if only Din would stop being ridiculous and get into the bed, things would be just fine again – right?

After what seems like an eternity, you hear metal pieces begin to clank down together on the dresser. A small smile works its way across your lips and you’re happy that for once it’s your face hidden away from his. He’s hesitant maybe, but not uncomfortable enough to keep the heavy armor on. Knowing that things are okay enough, your eyes shutter closed and a deep sleep carries you away.

Din is surprised to discover that you’re already asleep when he climbs into bed. You seemed so awake a few moments ago when he started taking off his armor. He’s still kicking himself for his reaction. 

Of course you meant for him to take it off to go to sleep, not... anything else. Why would you? You’ve been acting off ever since landing on Tatooine. You wouldn’t suddenly be asking him for that, not now. Not that you would want anything like that with him anyway – Din feels like a monster for thinking that way about you.

Looking down at you, Din ruminates a bit more. Somehow between all of the bounties, long hours, injuries, and repairs, you worked your way into his heart. Part of him doesn’t want to admit it still, that you have such a large effect on him, but it gets harder with every passing day. Touches and stares linger for longer and Din takes notice of your bashfulness every time he calls your name. Until today.

Din hasn’t been able to figure out what has caused the change. Soon after landing in Tatooine you brushed him off, distancing yourself from him. He knew the speeder bike situation wasn’t ideal, but usually you would have handled something like that with more tact, not the brash way you questioned Peli about another bike. You were tense for the longest time on the bike, not relaxing until the small break you took part way through the ride. Were you just upset to be stuck on Tatooine? Bothered by the beating the Chimera took? Or had he done something?

He was leaning towards the idea that he had done something to upset you. Just a pilot. Those words bounced around in his mind. 

He panicked when Peli asked who you were and those had been the first words out of his mouth. He hardly even considered the way they would sound. The way you repeated those words to Cobb, it felt like a slap to the face.

The town marshal wasn't helping anything either. Watching the two of you was making his blood boil. He likes the man, killing a krayt dragon together has that effect, but he has few qualms about punching the Marshal in the face right about now. He stared at you so openly, flirted so shamelessly, and you reciprocated. If Din was a lesser man he would have thrown you over his shoulder and carted you out of the cantina.

His mind continued to swirl and wander. Was it simply being stuck on Tatooine that made you change? Did being stuck here, with no agenda as you put it earlier, make you realize flying around with him was not the life you wanted? 

Of course you didn’t want to be stuck, tied down to a man who couldn’t even show you his face, who couldn’t even admit what you were to him. Cobb was able to make his intentions towards you obvious from the first words he spoke. You deserved that, not the brief, vague moments of intimacy Din had to offer.

Din looks away from you, trying to close his heart off from you, deciding that it’s what's best. He makes himself comfortable, lying on his back, helmet cushioned by the pillow.

He reopens his eyes just as soon as he closes them. You've repositioned yourself in your sleep, turning over and wrapping an arm firmly around his waist, face tucked into his side. 

The touch makes him nervous, unsure of how to react to the foreign embrace. His resolve to give you up quickly crumbles. Din’s never had this. He’s thought of it before, but it was all theoretical. This is real and unlike anything he ever imagined.

Part of him feels perverted for enjoying it as much as he is and so quickly after realizing you deserved more than him. You’re asleep and you fell asleep facing the other direction – you had no control over this, no consent. 

Despite those protests, he can’t help but sink into your touch. He repositions his arm, wrapping it around you, which causes you to shift your head up onto his chest. His breathing stops for a minute, terrified that you’ll wake up and pull away, but you remain lost in blissful dreams. The feeling of your warm body pressed against his, hand fisting into his shirt, the gentle rise and fall of your back against his palm while you breathe, is almost more than he can handle.

Din lies there for a few minutes, trying to commit every sensation, every sound you make to memory. It’s overwhelming and yet he craves more. With the helmet on in this position, he can’t get the right angle to look down at you. A risky idea runs through his mind and once again he ignores his protesting thoughts, following the path your touch has sent him down. 

He calls your name twice, softly, just to test how deeply you’re sleeping. When you don’t do so much as twitch, he decides it’s safe enough. 

Carefully, Din removes his helmet with his hand that isn’t holding onto you. He doesn’t set it down, holding onto it in case he needs to quickly put it back on. Vision unobscured, he looks down at you wrapped around his body. Din finds himself dumbstruck.

That moment secures your position in his mind as the most beautiful thing in the whole of the galaxy. You look so peaceful, any worries wiped clean from your face. Your mouth is slightly open and although Din knows that means you’ll probably drool on him, he can’t bring himself to care. Your hair is a beautiful mess and Din thinks back to the one time he was able to touch it before, back on Rishi with you half-conscious from a concussion. He's really got to stop having these moments while you aren't awake.

Moving more cautiously than he ever has before, Din dips his head down and presses a gentle kiss against the top of your head. He whispers cyar’ika to you and dares to kiss you again. With one final look and a shaky breath, Din slips his helmet back on. He knows he’ll never get to sleep otherwise, far too tempted to spend the rest of his night just staring at you.

No longer using a taglist -- If you want alerts, this fic is available and gets updated on ao3 at the same time, so you can subscribe on there if you want to know when I update!

also going to be mushy here and say thank you to anyone who has sent me a message, left a comment, etc on this fic. It genuinely means the world to know that people are still reading and thinking about this fic 🥺💕

[triglycercule]

murder time trio should get to all experiment with dead bodies. why? because they can and it would be cool (okay but seriously i'll provide an explanation). all these freaks are scientists. i think it would be cool and funky if they all got to experiment! except morbidly and bloodily because none of them are right in the head now

killer like has his whole thing with wanting SOULs for some unspecified reason??? i'm just gonna steal the common interpretation that it's so he can find a way to fix his own soul through coding. but like,,,, what does he do with the desd bodies??? all the fellas he stole those souls from??? well this is where dust and horror come in

it's One Panel and i'm ABSOLUTELY reaching here but there's a (single) panel in horrortale where horror's pulling apart some sort of human limb like an arm with a device. why? what for? i dont fucking know at all man like papyrus said why is he always doing something weird in his room. anyways i'm just gonna guess its probably for rationing in horrortale (but it could also be that horror just felt like ripping apart an arm. for scientific purposes. or because he did this after ripping off aliza's arm so maybe he's doing some sort of recollection reflection or something i dunno im not a professional on this man). killer could totally send all the already dead HUMAN bodies horror's way for horrortale's food situation. maybe horror likes to dissect the humans yk maybe he's not just the type of bash (a head open) and dash. monsters dust so you cant see their guts but humans dont so horror gets prime time first hand experience on the human body! and then after he's done poking around in the brain he can give the meat and organs to papyrus for him to do his specific spaghetti confectionery

but but but what about the monsters that killer takes the souls from! surely he doesn't just take from only humans (dude idk if he actually does take from only human or monster. probably not right? he needs to study BOTH types of code so he can be most informed) so he must also take monster souls. and fortunately for dust (i do NOT think he'd quite like handling gore) monsters don't leave behind bodies or blood or allat they leave behind dust. hah. dust experiment with dust. i think its already a headcanon out there that dust likes to study dust. i cant exactly recall WHY exactly but maybe it's for sentimental reasons or just something to do to pass time between resets. so killer can just pass on whatever dust he gets to him and he can put it under his little microscope and be a little nerd what a GEEK. give this guy glasses and remove all his teeth but one i guarantee you he'll look like 🤓

and once again i hear you cry out but but triglycercule! why would killer even give the dead bodies and stuff to horror and dust in the first place??? erm number one because i said so silly. jk. and number two (if we're going in a nightmare's gang context here) it could be as a way for killer to gain horror and dust's trust. a way for them not to tattle on him for stealing souls for some unknown reason. maybe there's somehow important coding information left behind in the bodies/dust (because that's literally what utmv is made of) and killer wants dust and horror to do that work for him for some reason. maybe just a way for him to get rid of evidence maybe if theyre buddy pals and close enough just as a gift. i dunno man there's a bunch of reasons as to why he could possibly do this. i just really liked the thought of the trio all wearing fancy lab coats and goggles and i was like damn how can i make this a real possibility

[rabbittf2x]

Mercs + Miss Pauling with a reader who is waking up from anesthesia? Reader is super chill and says something stupidly funny then gets too emotional about it. they probably also try and get out of bed a few times (Purely platonic)

Mercs and Miss Pauling with a Reader waking up from anaesthesia

Pyro💖

Pyro didn’t care what Medic said. He was in that operating room with you until the very end. He was so worried that you wouldn’t pull through, and couldn’t stop himself from crying a little. So when you finally woke up from the anaesthesia, he was overcome with joyful relief

From the moment your eyes groggily cracked open, Pyro was hovering over you. He was mumbling under his mask a million miles a minute, extremely excited to see your smile again

“Hey, Pyro. What’s going on, buddy?” You cooed tiredly

Pyro clapped his hands happily, before grabbing ahold of one of your own and giving it a firm squeeze. The action tugged at your heartstrings, making you emotional

“I’m so happy you’re here with me.” You whispered

He tilted his head, moving your hand up to his masked cheek, and then nuzzling into it. You instantly bursted into tears, startling Pyro. He gave muffled words of concern and comfort, wiping away at your tearstained cheeks

You couldn’t help but laugh through your sobs, shaking your head amusingly. “I’m okay.” You stammered. “I just love you so much.”

Pyro was your guard dog for the next few days in the infirmary. He spent most of his free time with you, which you really appreciated. He was there to make you laugh, and also a good shoulder to cry on!

There were moments where you tried to get out of bed, but Pyro was there to guide you back down. He didn’t like having to tell you you had to stay in all day, and wanted nothing more for you to come out and play! But deep down, he knew it was for the best

Engineer💖

As soon as you woke up from your operation, Engie was there to greet you. “Hey there, sleeping beauty. How’re ya feeling?” He asked with a gentle smile

You smiled back, slowly blinking as your eyes adjusted to the bright lights. “Hey, Engie. I’m good. How are you?” You croaked

The Engineer chuckled, reaching down to stroke some hair away from your face. “I’m doing just fine, sweet pea. You just rest up now, alright?” He cooed

The anaesthetic made you feel exhausted, mixing up your emotions. You gave Engie a pout, tears pricking your eyes. You were just so thankful to have him <3

“Okay, Engie.” You whispered tearfully. Although Engineer was wearing goggles, you could tell he was giving you a worried look. “I love you.” You added

Engie was relieved that your tears were happy, his shoulders relaxing. He wheezed out a small chuckle again, shaking his head at your innocence

“I love ya too, sweetheart. I’ll be back to check up on ya later, alright?”

Spy💖

Spy would never tell anyone, but while you were under anaesthesia, he checked up on you a lot. He was very worried about you. He was so happy to see your pretty eyes when you finally woke up from your operation

“Heya, Spy…” you smiled weakly up at the man

Spy was the first thing your blurry vision focused on as you regained consciousness. A sympathetic smile of his own slowly crept across his masked face

“Hello.” He whispered back

Spy was very proud of how well you coped with your operation. Though drowsy from anaesthesia, you still cracked jokes and made light of your situation. You never failed to make him laugh. Especially at the times where he really didn’t want to

You could break Spy’s heart too though. After awhile of just being stuck in bed, a wave of sadness washed over you. You kept trying to get up, making Spy unwillingly force you back down

“But I gotta pee.” You whined, staring up at him with big teary eyes

You really knew how to tug at Spy’s heartstrings. It took every fibre of his being to tell you you unfortunately had to stay in all day

Heavy💖

As Medic operated on you, Heavy waited outside. Medic offered him to come in and observe, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Seeing you under anaesthesia, cut open and bleeding… it was too much for his big heart to take

When Medic was finished with the procedure, Heavy still waited. This time he was in the room with you, sitting in a little chair by your side. He sad there with a big frown, not moving an inch as he watched you sleep

Heavy waited and waited until you finally awakened. Just as he was about to drift off himself, he was startled awake by you looking straight at him

“Misha…” you murmured

Heavy said back your own name quietly, giving you a small smirk. “Is good to see you.” He added

A pained smile slowly crept across your own face. “It’s good to see you too.” You croaked

Heavy had been quietly stressing about you to himself for hours. When he said it was good to see you, he really, really meant it

“Thank you for being here for me. I really appreciate it.” You whispered tearfully

Heavy’s unusually soft expression was laced with a bit of concern. He didn’t like seeing you cry, but it was obvious you were getting emotional

“We are team. I will always be there for you.” Heavy replied

Sniper💖

Sniper came to visit you in the infirmary a little after your operation. You were still loopy and groggy from the anaesthesia, but you took it like a champ

“Oh! Hey, Sniper.” You greeted as he entered the infirmary. Though sore, you peeled the blanket off your legs and shakily tried to stand

“Hang on, mate!” Sniper exclaimed. He rushed over to your side, gently guiding you back down. “I don’t reckon you should be standing up for awhile. Doctor’s orders.”

You shook your head with a giggle. “No, it’s okay. I’m fine.” You said softly

You attempted to stand again, holding onto Sniper’s arm for support. You didn’t last long, your legs wobbling and giving out. You stumbled against Sniper’s chest, and he caught you in his arms

“Whoa! Ya right, mate?” Sniper asked, wrapping himself around you almost in an embrace

“Yeah… maybe I should lay down for awhile.”

Sniper enjoyed unwinding with you as you rested up. You were very sleepy, but you really appreciated him just being there for you

Scout💖

Scout was more than eager to visit you after your operation. As soon as Medic gave him the green light, he was rushing through the infirmary doors and greeting you with a big smile

“Hey there, slugger! Looking better already!”

You were startled by Scout’s booming voice, as you had just woken up from being under anaesthesia. But a tired smile met your pained features at the sight of the young man

“Oh… hey, Scout. Thanks, buddy. I feel better too.” You croaked

Scout’s blue eyes lit up with joy. “Really?” He asked hopefully

You pouted, tears welling up in your own eyes. “No…” you whimpered

His face instantly fell as you began to cry into your hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, hey! Don’t cry! It’s—it’ll be alright.” He panicked. Scout rushed to your side, placing a bandaged hand on your shoulder. “You’re okay! You—you look great! Don’t be sad.” He pet your shoulder nervously, and you wiped away stray tears

“I’m sorry, Scout.” You sobbed

Scout sat next to you on the edge of the bed, acting like he couldn’t get close enough to you. “You kidding? You ain’t do nothing wrong. You’re fine.” He reassured

After a few tender moments, your tears began to simmer. Without thinking, you leaned your head against Scout’s side. As your tired eyes fluttered shut, a few final tears slipped down your cheeks

Soldier💖

Medic had to rip Soldier away from you when he tried to forcefully shake you awake

“Don’t you die on me, maggot!”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. If you were gonna die, he wanted it to at least be on the battlefield. Soldier really liked you. So much in fact, that he had the possibility of your death all planned out:

Soldier cradled your dying body in his arms. Your belly had been ripped open, your guts and intestines hanging out. His hands were stained red with blood as he desperately tried to shove them all back into your stomach. When your head fell limp on his shoulder, he screamed at the sky until it broke apart

But instead, you were just rotting here in Medic’s lab! How boring? Soldier was not letting you die in such a pitiful way like this

“Soldier, for the last time. They’re not dying! The procedure was successful.” Medic groaned

As if on cue, your eyes slowly cracked open. “Ugh, what happened?” You moaned

Medic and Soldier snapped their attention back to you

“Hooray! You’re not dying!” Soldier beamed

He scooped you up into his arms, hugging you tight even though you were severely fragile. Medic protested, but you told him it was fine. As painful as it was, you still thought Soldier’s affection was amusing

Demoman💖

Demoman was thrilled to hear your operation went well! He wished he could celebrate by having a drink with you, but sadly you were in no shape. He visited you as soon as he heard you were awake, poking his head through the infirmary doors

“Aye, mate. How’re ye feeling?”

A weak smile met your face as you spotted Demo by the door. “Hi, Demo. I’m going alright. Thanks for asking.” You croaked

The Scotsman approached the bed you rested in, sympathy washing over him at the sight of your injured state

“Let us know if ye need anything, alright?”

Even though you just woke up, the anaesthesia made you feel like you had been awake for way too long. It made you overtired and emotional, unintentionally spilling all that onto Demoman

“Oh, you guys are so nice…” you bawled

Demo didn’t know what to do when you started to weep. “Oh… darling, no. It’s okay. Don’t cry.” He stammered

He felt helpless, until he began to vaguely remember what you did for him when he cried. Whenever he was drunkenly bawling his eye out, you were there to wrap your arms around him and whisper sweet nothings

“C’mon, love. It’s alright.”

Demoman sat next to you on the bed, snaking an arm around your shoulder. You hugged his waist, crying into his chest as he tangled a large hand into your hair

Medic💖

Medic was the one that was operating on you. He usually had his patients awake during surgery, and was very careless. But it didn’t feel right with you. He instead put you under anaesthesia so you wouldn’t feel anything

Medic was more than relieved when he completed your operation with no complications. He was very anxious for you to awaken. He had to stifle himself from smiling like a total idiot when your eyes began to crack open

“Medic…?” You wheezed

Medic couldn’t hide his grin any longer at the sound of his name rolling off your tongue. “Oh, stupendous! You’re finally awake! How are you feeling?” He beamed

You shifted uncomfortably against the stiff bed. “Eh, been better.” You joked

Medic began to ramble on about your operation, but you were hardly listening. You were still pretty drugged up from the anaesthesia. But as he turned to grab some medication for you, an idea popped into your head. Could you stand?

As Medic turned back to face you, the bottle of meds dropped to the floor. He sputtered your name in a scold, speeding over to where you stood

“No! You are in no shape to be up right now! You must stay here and rest!” He lectured like a parent. Medic immediately regretted his words when he saw your eyes well up with tears. “Oh, no.” He called your name. “No, please don’t c—!”

You bursted into tears, sitting down on the bed as you cried into your hands. “You hate me!” You bawled

Medic held his gloved hands up in a surrender. “Ah—no! No, of course I don’t hate you, dear! Oh, please don’t cry!” As he hugged you close to his chest while bawling your eyes out, he wondered if he drugged you up too much…

Miss Pauling💖

Miss Pauling felt terrible. You were on a mission—under her supervision when you got injured. She lost track of how long she was outside Medic’s door pacing. When he finally opened up, he was shocked to see she was still there waiting for him to finish

“Medic! How are they?” Miss Pauling gasped

Medic opened the door for her, beckoning her to come in. “Why don’t you come see for yourself, Miss Pauling?” He asked politely

The girl rushed in, eager to see you. Relief washed over her at the sight of your sweet little smile. “Hi, Miss Pauling!” You greeted happily

Miss Pauling sighed tearfully, a huge weight lifting off her shoulders to find you were still in one piece. “Gosh, I was so worried about you.” She huffed

“Thanks, Miss P. But I’m okay! Just a little loopy, is all.” You giggled

Your cheery attitude was contagious, yet Miss Pauling still let out a guilty sob. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve had your back.” She cried

The smile ran away from your face, and you felt your own tears coming on. “Oh, god. Miss, don’t cry. When you cry, I cry.” You whimpered

“I’m your supervisor. I should’ve been watching over you.”

Medic had to step out because the pair of you were both just crying. When Miss Pauling sat on the edge of the bed, you wrapped your arms around her shoulders weakly. She instantly leaned into your touch, laying against your chest

“I’m okay.” You breathed, wiping away the tears that ran down your cheeks

Miss Pauling took off her glasses and smushed her face into your chest. “I’m so glad…” she murmured, holding you impossibly closer

[saucyjothoughts]

Festival sex with Jan was my umazane misli request, and I love you too. Because YAAAAAY ADDGSSTHDFH🥵🥵 that was amazing and cute and hot and so much more than I had hoped for. My heart started beating faster when I saw my request on your Tumblr and I've read it at least 7 times by now. I looooooove it.

Thank you so much! Thank you thank you thank you ❤️ The whole festival atmosphere was spot on. In my mind it never was a just-for-once-hookup and I love it that you made them actually exchange numbers. Real numbers. They will definately hook up again on the second night, won't they? The festival weekend is far from over. So if you're up for a sequel..😇

Festival Sex with Jan - Part Two

(part one here)

(nsfw under the cut)

You can still feel him on your mouth when you get back to your tent. You’re a little tender between the legs and you smell of him and he’s left marks on your neck and your friends immediately quiz you about where you’ve been. Annoying, but also kinda good for your ego.

The second day of the festival goes much like the first. Except this time, you’re checking your phone a little more frequently. Because once wasn’t enough. The sun is hot and so are you, and you’re thinking about how his body felt against yours, how his cock pulsed in your hand, how good his tongue felt against your clit. It's another day of rushing between stages and singing until your lungs are raw and indulging in greasy food and feeling your skin burn under the summer sun and meeting people with cool styles but no one grabs your interest for too long because none of them are him.

When his message finally comes through, you forget all about the next band.

Jan Nosering Festivalfuck: “Can still taste you x”

Something deep in your gut quivers. He tells you that his tent buddy suffered an injury that meant he had to leave the festival early, so he has room if you want to 'hang out' later.

It’s already dark when he meets you at the agreed place and walks you back to his tent, leading you by the hand. So it wasn’t just the beer goggles yesterday – he really is as cute as you remember. You’d missed his voice and that little smile. He sneaks you inside when the coast is clear, zipping it up behind you. It smells of grass and his dirty clothes and cologne and there’s just enough room for you to stretch out and get comfortable before he’s touching the side of your face, asking about your day. You tell him about which bands you saw while he’s running his palm over the curve of your hips and about those amazing cinnamon churros while he’s tracing his fingers along your thigh and about your friend getting one of her shoes stuck in a tree while he’s flicking gently at the spot where your nipple pokes against your top. All the while he’s listening, asking you questions, telling his own stories, and you begin to realise you might actually like him. He’s nice, he’s funny, and you need him in your mouth right now. You don't even know how badly he's been craving you all day and how greedy his body is with you finally right there under his touch.

He cranes his head back for you to devour that milky-sweet neck and this time you’re in no rush, this time the whole night is yours if you want it. The grounds are loud but his tent is a bubble and before you know it, you’ve taken his shirt off and let him remove yours and the air is steamy, heavy with tipsy-tired breath and the need for relief after a long, restless day. It’s almost too warm to be this close to him but his bare chest against yours feels so good, even though you’re both sweaty and breathless, every touch almost unbearably intense.

He’s exploring your tattoos with his gaze, his fingertips, his mouth - logging every inch of you to his memory to keep him satisfied for long after the festival is over - while you fumble out of the rest of your clothes and you can’t get over being able to see all of him, to feel him everywhere. You wonder what his job must be to have these rough but oh so delicate hands, this lithe muscle (he mentioned something about playing guitar but half the people at this festival do - he probably isn't even good) but now isn't the time for such personal questions. He has just the perfect amount of body hair across his chest and down his abs and under his navel and… how did you get down here? He shifts a knee and if you’d looked up you’d have seen him biting the back of his wrist, but your attention is squarely on the cock that gave you so much pleasure last night. The tent isn't big enough for this to be comfortable but you don't care, crouching over to take his erection in your hand and kiss at his balls as he groans in encouragement, trying to keep himself quiet. His musk fills your lungs and his body tenses in anticipation of your mouth and when you do finally take mercy on him and press your kiss against his cock, he hisses an inhale through his teeth and bucks his hips up against you. He's been dreaming of your lips all day; against his own or around his dick. Those lips, too.

You suck him leisurely, all spit and salt, cock jumping in your mouth and the taste of precum on your tongue, balls tightening until he reaches down to lift your chin.

“I need to fuck you.” His voice is delicious.

He flips you over in the cramped, sweaty little tent and tastes himself on your mouth unapologetically. On your back, he kneels between your legs and takes a moment to drink in the sight of you while he dresses his erection and then all at once he’s on top of you, as close as anyone has ever been. He explores you with his fingers first, slippery and skillful, and then it’s his cock pushing into you as you wrap one leg around his waist and he holds it for you there, rocking his hips deep into you. It’s intense and filthy, an indulgent little luxury in the liminal space of this festival, of this tent. His hair is wet with sweat - as is yours - and a bead of it drips from his brow onto your cheek which he hastily follows with his mouth, lapping it back up. He feels so good inside you. You’re eager to let go, to push through into euphoria.

He pauses. You note him hushing his breath and lifting his head, listening. There are new voices outside, close. His friends have returned. His thrusts slow but don’t stop altogether, and you can feel every inch of him as he moves. The feeling provokes an involuntary whine from your lips and Jan Nosering FestivalFuck slowly places a hand over your mouth, begging your silence. His hand is big and rough over your face and he uses just enough pressure to push the back of your head into the ground. There's naughtiness in his dark eyes, wickedness in his smile. In a playful moment, you push your tongue out to lick at his palm and he just about melts above you.

You hear voices call his name and after letting you suck on his fingers for a second, he reaches to pull a sheet over you both, covering your nakedness. Just in case anyone tries to open the tent. A part of you hopes they do.

You want to make this worse, to make it harder for him to keep his cool. You slip a hand between your hot bodies to touch yourself while he’s inside you, his cock leaping in you when he realises what you're doing. Watching him drunk on you, losing more and more control, it doesn't take long for your orgasm to hit. With the way your wet pussy clenches around his cock and how your pleasure shudders through your voice and makes you cling onto him so tightly, he's coming hard in you while you're still high. He continues slamming himself wetly into you for a long time after your peak is passed and you free fall together through the ecstasy of this intimate moment, landing softly on each other.

Afterwards, sweaty and sensitive, he continues touching you, cuddling you, your body quivering in residual pleasure. The whole tent reeks of sex and you never want to leave.

But you'll have to.

You're heading home tomorrow. You’ll never see Jan Nosering FestivalFuck again. You wonder if you'll message him anyway (maybe share some naughty pics) but it'll be pointless in the long-term. After the summer you’re moving all the way to Ljubljana to study pure mathematics at the university. Maybe you’ll find someone there to take your mind off him.

[nqueso-emergency]

I was a buddie shipper who converted early because bucktommy was cute and also I realized that it meant Buddie would never happen. I still fucked with buddie for a while though, because a ship doesn’t have to be canon to be fun, but the increasing toxicity from buddie-only fans and the way it invaded fanworks turned me off.

Eventually I realized even fanon buddie was never real. The Buck and Eddie in fanfics are something separate from the Buck and Eddie in the show. They have a few canon window dressings, and the rest is just the same fanfic tropes as every other popular slash ship.

The process of taking the buddie goggles off and admitting I got sucked in because the fanbase was really prolific and I’m not immune to propaganda was a little rough, but I learned some things about myself and about fandom operations for sure.

The truth is Buck and Eddie on the show are friends and perhaps even brotherly. The Buck and Eddie in fanfic are lazy fantasy caricatures most of the time. Eddie is not the most important person in Buck’s life. Important, yes, but Buck goes to Bobby and Hen and Maddie for advice and guidance because he looks up to them and models who he wants to be on them. He goes to Eddie for a peer to have fun with. The trust Eddie has placed in him in regard to Christopher is really meaningful to Buck, and they have supported each other (Eddie’s breakdown, Buck dealing with surviving the lightning strike), but Buck has an actual support network and doesn’t rely overly much on any one person, which is good, but fanfic tends to ignore that.

What’s kind of sad is that Eddie… doesn’t. He’s just a more closed-off person, even Buck usually has to push him to talk about difficult things. He just tries to keep on moving, like he’s doing now with Chris. He’s doing that thing where your parent won’t apologize to you, they just offer you food. Eddie needs a network. Eddie has a network, really, ready to offer him a hand, he just has to make himself reach out. He cannot afford to rely only on Buck, fanfic loves that but it’s a terrible idea really.

I think Eddie is kind of stunted. Emotionally. In part due to his upbringing, but also because he became a parent young and never got to be stupid and irresponsible when he was young. I want to see him grow and rely on people who are not Buck for a while as he learns to trust himself more. I’m hopeful that will happen this season.

But buddie definitely won’t be, and more and more I think it would be the reductive choice anyway.

I agree so much with this, anon!!