#they know that if they make eddie canon queer then there’s nothing stopping them from doing canon buddie if they want to

[buddiebeginz]

Fandom I'm begging you all to wait and see how the season plays out. Everything right now seems to be pointing towards Buddie and sure I could be wrong but I also think it would be the shows downfall if they didn't make Buddie happen this season and I think Tim and abc know that.

This isn't just about catering to fandom whims this is that since right before s7 they've done so much to put focus on Buddie way more than with any season before. Deliberate choices have been made that if they're not leading to Buddie can't not be seen as queerbaiting. And yes a show with queer characters can still queerbait if they're using a popular queer ship to garner attention and views. Though I don't think that's what's happening here.

The only reason I think more didn't happen with Buddie last season is because the season was short and they got renewed for s8 early. You can tell if you watch from eps 1-6 that they were leading somewhere with Buddie (they had them singing a karaoke love song ffs) but changed gears after getting renewed for s8. At the same time Tim still didn't put more development or focus on b/t so it's not that Buddie happening was shelved (as in it's never happening) it was just paused.

Also I see people spiraling about that pic Ryan posted assuming because he's in a robe and because he put "Don Diaz" on it that it's a reference to Don Juan and this means Eddie is going to be hooking up with a bunch of women. I just don't see that happening. Ryan could have easily just been making a joke or trying to mess with fandom or it could mean nothing. It could be a Godfather reference. Or it could be something like Eddie tries to hook up with a random girl and he just can't do it and then that leads to him talking to the priest. Unfortunately we aren't going to know what that pic really means until the episode airs.

I know we've all been burned by the show (and other shows) before and I get being nervous about what could happen this season. But remember that Buck was supposed to come out in s4 (this has been confirmed by Oliver) and Eddie in s5 (this has been confirmed by the the insider) and presumably that's when Buddie would have happened. Buddie has been in the works for years. The main thing stopping it before was Fox and last season it was just too short to have Buck to come out, Eddie come out, and then Buddie to happen. 10 eps was just not enough time to tell such huge important stories for the show and these characters.

I know Tim and others behind the scenes of the show have made decisions we haven't always loved and maybe it's naive of me to still have trust in them after all this time but it's not just that. I see the signs. If I had seen more effort being put into b/t last season and into promoting them as a couple and especially if I saw that happening this season I'd be a lot more skeptical about the likelihood of Buddie ever happening. But I haven't seen any of that.

This season Tim has talked about how b/t are still together but he doesn't talk about the ship like it's this important thing, he talks about it like T*mmy is just like any other person Buck has dated. Meanwhile Eddie is ALWAYS mentioned when b/t are talked about including by Tim. Networks and showrunners know how to handle these kinds of things. If they wanted to minimize the attention Buddie gets they would have done so. We know this because that's exactly what they did in past seasons while they were with Fox, particularly after Tim left. Instead though since last season they've actually been putting more attention on Buddie, Ryan, and Oliver.

Like I said I get being nervous that something we've all hoped for for a long time might not happen. I know that Buddie and Eddie coming out means more to a lot of us than just some fictional characters and a ship. I know a lot of us see ourselves in them and we also see how important and groundbreaking in a way it will be when they finally go canon. I get why the anxiety around this season is heightened probably more so than any other season before it. We've never been as close to Buddie happening as we are now and that's so exciting but also scary.

But this is why I think we need to take every bts and spoiler etc that we get from the show and people involved in it (including the journalists who review it) with a grain of salt. We just aren't going to know what each episode is about until we watch them. Even when the season starts we need to remember to let the story play out. We might see things we won't like with b/t or Eddie in 801 but there will still be 17 more eps to get through where anything could happen.

We are so lucky that 911 is still on the air with most of the original cast still there and not looking to leave. That all the people that matter Tim, Oliver, and Ryan have all spoken out in support of Buddie happening. I've shipped non canon ships before that just were never going to happen, where showrunners and actors literally made fun of the fans for even shipping it. That's not what's happening with 911. Buddie now is being treated like a legitimate possibility we just have to be patient.

[mishtershpock]

.

[lover-of-mine]

I just had a thought regarding the “Tim should punish Buddie fans” of it all. Because at the end of the day it’s a TV show, the thing they care most about is ratings. Tim has admitted that the show got worse and ratings got worse when he stopped writing Buddie scenes (something I’m sure ABC is very aware of). So it honestly shouldn’t matter if some Buddie fans are annoying - we represent the majority opinion, which affects the ratings. Yeah they may lose some of the gained viewers from the BT stans if they breakup but it’s nothing on the viewers they’ll lose if they force Eddie into another straight relationship and separate Buck and Eddie for separate endgames.

Okay, pure speculation here, but the show is a business as much as it is a story and a show has to deal with stuff a book or a movie don't. Since the story is not contained, they need to adapt to the circumstances in which it is airing. We know for a fact that fox was against Buck being bi and that gives us the chance to infer that they were against the buddie thing as a whole. We know this was supposed to happen during s4, we know s5 separates Buck and Eddie physically since Eddie leaves the station, so that reduces their screentime without major problems because while we were getting less casual buddie since they weren't working together, we got a lot of quality buddie during Eddie's breakdown. They continued to reduce the Buck and Eddie of it all during 6a. No one was happy about it. We were NOT happy that we were missing out on their dynamic except for a few moments that were thrown in. That so created a problem that they overcorrect that in 6b. We all knew the lightning was coming but the promo had a lot of Eddie's reaction to it, we even got a bts video of Ryan running up the ladder, the do more was the teaser scene we got, when we got recovery and mixed feelings, with recovery giving us some quality buddie, and mixed feelings giving us a lot of buddie overall. Obviously, the threat of cancellation made them shift things around, we know there were reshoots, we know they tried to wrap things up in case that was the final season, and that made them drop the ball with buddie for a second there after the cemetery, but they fixed that during s7, because there was a LOT of buddie, especially considering it was reduced season. Abc has a lot of good queer rep, they seem to like their glaad awards nominations. We obviously have no idea of why fox was blocking biBuck, and again, pure speculation, but I am willing to bet you that the buddie of it all was part of the conversation while the buy was being negotiated or at least while they were discussing the plans to integrate 911 to abc once the buy was finalized. The abc people have an outside perspective on buddie, the same way we do, and buddie is a compelling dynamic that can be a gold mine if they play their cards right. If, I, a random person on the internet with a blog and hyperfixation and nothing to gain from it, can reach the conclusion that getting buddie together can bring them a shit load of exposure, I guarantee you that someone there reached that conclusion too. I believe they sat down with the team and asked "what's the deal with Buck and Eddie? Is there a plan?" and they reached some conclusion to finally get them there because they took Ryan out of pr jail and continuously put Oliver and Ryan together leading up to the season and the Buck and Eddie talk did not stop once Buck being bi was canonically confirmed.

Logistically, if the plan was to simply make Buck bi and not make the Buck and Eddie a thing, obviously, Eddie wouldn't be involved with Buck's bi arc the way he is in the story, but they would also not involve Ryan in the promotion with Oliver like that. It's 2024, no one wants queerbaiting allegations thrown at them. We lived through the mcu, and teen wolf, and supernatural, and no one wants to be that guy. They have a compelling dynamic that's been drawing people in for years, and they could've gone the whole show with both of them being perceived as straight in universe, keep doing what they were doing, leave us in the will they/won't they, and keep our part of the audience forever because we would keep coming back waiting to see them together. Personally, I think Buck being bi was a trial run in many ways from the business side of it. Buck is extremely well liked by the audience, he is a fan favorite, so people are a lot more lenient with his shit than other characters, that means that if Buck being bi was poorly received by the general audience, they could backtrack him out of it a lot easier and just introduce another pretty girl and not go there. Male bisexual rep is also not all that common, it's usually the pretty girl best friend that you later find out had a girlfriend in college who may or may not be in love with the female lead, so it stands on its own in the conversation. And, well, Buck being bi was extremely well received. Ship war aside, there is a significant part of the new influx of people who are just as invested in the Buck and Eddie of it all even with another male love interest in the mix. And there was a huge influx of people. Somewhere in the 911 team, someone is making predictions and they are aware that Eddie being queer will have the same type of reaction. Eddie might not be as popular as Buck on his own, but with the added fact that queer Eddie means buddie is coming, they get the same boom that biBuck had. They also became the first media to do this. No superhell, no complicated feelings for a car, no going back to the past. Just a compelling relationship between two male characters that's been drawing people in since the beginning that changed into something romantic and requited. They would be the first to take the popular m/m ship that drives the internet crazy and make it happen. I know of a lot of traumatized destiel or sterek or stucky or whatever else who are waiting for Eddie to be confirmed queer to start watching the show with the whole 911 already had queer rep, Buck being bi is no guarantee they'll follow through, I don't wanna be disappointed again. Which is fair, but it is a second wave of people that could come into the show. Buck and Eddie are unheard of rep. It's a 6+ seasons queer slowburn. They are best friends, they have a kid, their devotion to each other is very clear. Abc has the chance to go full Elle Woods "what like it's hard?" to every queerbaity ship that came before buddie. Especially considering we have Oliver on record multiple times saying fox was blocking it. And that would make them so much money. So much exposure. We're talking become subjects in television history classes for the rest of times because they were the first to pull through. We're not just talking ratings, we're talking being put next to genre-defining couples in media. They are a gold mine that Oliver and Ryan are on board with, that Tim seems to be on board with and that abc clearly likes using for promotion so they at least understand the numbers they could bring, so not going there because a fraction of the fandom is being bitchy on the internet is bad business.

Season 6 gave them the perfect opening to separate Buck and Eddie but they used season 7 to bring them closer together than they've ever been. If the plan was to make them end up with other people, they had the chance to make that clear this season, and they didn't. They're not gonna throw it away like this to "punish fans". They would be punishing themselves.

[lemotmo]

Bless her heart 🫠

Q. From a PR standpoint what would be the purpose of the official 911 account responding directly to so many comments hinting at Buddie? And gay/queer Eddie?Isn't that highly unprofessional? It's not like they don't have audience members who don't want to see them together.

Q. I'm sorry but Ryan and Oliver are just cringe. I get it they like one another and everyone is clearly having fun with mustache stuff but it's officially over done now.

Q. As far as the audience is concerned Tommy is Buck's canon relationship and he is the one they should be pairing with Oliver for promotion. ABC isn't doing anything to discourage the Buddie nonsense and it will backfire on them when the Buck/Tommy relationship is solidified in season 8.

Q. God Oliver and Ryan are going to be insufferable aren't they? Filming runs thru March, ugh. We get it you want your characters to bang. Stop rubbing it in.

Q. Everyone involved in this garbage should be ashamed. Buddie is not canon and until it is no one, especially the shows PR, should be leaning so heavily into them for promotion.

A. Rip to my ask box 😭. I will say I'm genuinely surprised by the number of comments they directly replied to. The Eddie Mercury one was definitely brow raising. I'm stunned they replied to that comment. That being said though Oliver/Ryan and Buddie was 95% of their entire PR campaign last season and they were the number one show on the network. Number one show in their timeslot. It worked. They're absolutely going to do it again, especially if Buddie is actually going canon this season. And you're correct, anon they're doing nothing to discourage that conversation. Some of their replies are actually only going to fan the flame. But they knew that when they chose to reply. And they replied to them in a way that would make people talk. They know what they're doing. But they do have to be careful. All implications are it's happening. But if they don't do it then t's absolutely queer baiting and it will cost them dearly. But I think they're well aware of that and it's why I don't think that's what's happening here.

Yes there are audience members that don't want them to be canon, but there are far more that do what them to be canon. Oliver and Ryan clearly want it. And they're not cringe, anon. Nearly 22,000 likes in a little under two hours is impressive . That is a quick clip. Their audience likes Buddie. Their audience likes Oliver and Ryan. You all are in the minority. And frankly it's not content for you. Your opinions of it are irrelevant. He's not there, anons. Deal with it. You'll get something small at some point, maybe, unless he isn't coming back at all. But your time is nearly up. You're going to have to settle for your imaginary content for now.

Thank you Nonny!

Ali, how are you holding up? Everything okay? Make sure to drink a lot of water and take a break when you need one. If you need a new keyboard after replying to all of those asks, we can start a GoFundMe for you. We'll make it happen. Trust. :D LOL!

Seriously though, if it all becomes too much, take a break okay? This must be a lot to handle.

Yeah, the social media team never really interacts all that much. They did now. That must mean they were told to interact and hype up the viewers. Another way of promoting the show.

But I do agree that they need to pull through with Buddie after all of this and all of the Buddie promo they did last season. There is no way back after all of this. I have no doubt that they will pull through though. It's glaringly obvious at this point that is where the story is going.

Buddie has been around for 6 seasons now. It has drawn in a big audience. Even the more casual fans of the show would like to see Buddie happen. The BT fandom is very small and most people of the general audience have already forgotten about Tommy, but they haven't forgotten about Eddie. They have eyes and see the same things we see. They can draw the same conclusions. They just aren't as openly passionate about it as we are.

Season 8 is our season.

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[begebege28]

My thoughts. Please don’t come for me.

Ever since that man is has been introduced back on our screens, and is now kissing Buck, it’s like we aren’t allowed to view Eddie anything other than, straight? It’s so interesting because we all over the years whether or not people shipped buddie, people viewed them as queer coded. Therefore, queer individuals identified and connect to their story. Now, we can’t because…… NOW it matters what’s canon in show? NOW, it matters what the actors say? REALLY NOW? Did we forget throughout the seasons, the SR and Oliver when discussing buck, classified him as straight… because at that time, he was. To buck and BuckTommy fans, you NEVER viewed buck as bi or queer coded DURING his previous relationships when he was CANONICALLY straight or when Oliver and co said he was straight in interviews? how he talked about his relationship with Natalia pre s7. Bi buck wasn’t even supposed to happen this season. So now they are tying to use Ryan’s comments as a “gotcha”…. They love to throw out the term “actual representation”.. but it’s like, you talk about “actual representation” but bi buck was simply a LAST MINUTE decision. They were gonna continue with buck and Natalia. But due to scheduling it fell though. Then it was gonna be buck and Lucy (same thing). Then Eddie and Tommy. AND THEN WE GET to buck and Tommy. They think Tim is master and this “great love story” but if that was the case, they would have planned them from the start. Not a last minute decision as Oliver admitted. Why have these scenes if you want the audience root for them. For example, their first date. Why include Eddie? Why make it awkward for buck. Why did Tommy leave buck stranded on the sidewalk looking like an idiot. It’s NOT Tommy didn’t have a right to leave. What we are saying is the “joke” wasn’t funny. Why even say it? Especially since Tommy is “so confident” Second, if Tommy knew he wasn’t ready, why continue with the date after buck made the “hot chicks” comment. He clearly saw and realized, and buck TELLING HIM. “THIS IS MY FIRST DATE WITH A DUDE, and IM AN ALLY”. Like…. It’s not rocket science. He led him on. Why not show the continuation of the date? They could have easily done that. But they mirror bucks and Natalias where they only showed like 5 minutes. Buck thought they were continuing with the date to go to the movie. Tommy couldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially he KNOWS what buck is going through… Tommy immediately, seconds after coming outside of the restaurant ordered the Uber and WAITED until he opened the door of the car to tell him. That’s fucked up and fuck him for that. Then they had buck apologize because he wasn’t ready to come out? LIKE HUH? Or Tommy’s continuation comments of being jealous of buck, the 118, and the way he belittles buck. “Enjoys while it lasts” after earning his medal? Like do you have to be a POS. WHY WHY for the life of me, have his LI say that if you have the audience to like him. The “daddy joke”. Really? In ANY other context, awesome! But there? I simply can’t. The way I have been watching since s1 and have never seen this much pushback to like a character or couple. None of bucks previous LI had this many “defenders”… AND HE ONLY HAS LIKE 15 minutes of SCREEN TIME. It’s weird.

Now, the plot hole that is 7x04 What stopped buck from reaching out to Tommy after the air hanger. NOTHING? He never called or texted… also, idk if anyone realized buck Tommy knew he was goi he to hang out with Eddie, and YET CONTINUED to invite buck… why show us the last maybe minute before they begin to talk about Eddie and where Eddie is NOW in the frame. Why didn’t they show the beginning where buck comes and meets Tommy? Buck getting upset at Eddie circling the basketball game? Buck grilling Christopher on his thoughts about Tommy? When did he care about Christophers thoughts before about his dads girlfriends or friends? Accusing Tommy of lying to get bonus points with Chris. You think he truly cared which movie is better? Why does he try to make him a bad guy to Maddie? He really didn’t have the time to talk to Eddie to go to the basketball game? Really? You mean to tell he HAD to wait until the gym scene? Or hell… even ask Tommy. When he does talk to Maddie after hurting Eddie, he says “i felt left out”. So that tells me something, he felt left out over not being able to do things with Eddie. the fact that buck didn’t know they were hanging out for 2 weeks? Not that he was trying to get Tommy’s attention

[eddiediazismyhusband]

rant/vent post bc im exhausted and my brain won’t stop buzzing about this:

you know i find it mildly infuriating that tim had time to address the karaoke scene debacle bc of twitter fans, but he doesn’t have time to addresss the fact that since the start of s7 there have been fans who have been spouting hateful rhetoric about poc cast/characters and sending death threats to other fans, crew members, and journalists for not supporting their lukewarm ship, and he also for some reason is trying to remain on this high horse of “representation” when that is probably one of the weakest character sexuality storylines i’ve seen, and not only that but he decided to make the entire second half of the season practically dedicated to the pain of poc, as well as exploiting racial stereotypes for cheap drama….. all of this while these fans are acting like this guy who came out of nowhere (something that has literally been admitted by tim) is somehow this holy grail of a character when his emotional range is less than the “😐🧍” emojis, and tim is simultaneously ignoring the hate and blatant racism from the fans, but also promoting and giving a storyline to a racist character— even going as far as to brush that racism under the rug narratively, as well as allowing the actor to rile up controversy and division amongst fans

this is why it is so hard for me to trust tim anymore because that man has not shown to ke that he actually cares about good storytelling, he just cares about money going into his pocket.

now, no i don’t believe he is out here DM-ing fans s8 spoilers because the man is a moneymaker not an idiot, so before you try to say anything about me saying i believe bree, i most certainly do not— but unfortunately i don’t trust tim to handle any of the storylines he’s set up for s8 well until i see it.

and most of all i feel awful from ryan and oliver who want nothing more than to tell such a beautiful story but they are constantly being mowed over by tim, by the network, and now by the fans… oliver really wanted to do something with buck’s story, and all it’s done is caused a group of batshit fans to spread hate to other fans for not jumping ship after 6 years. ryan is so exhausted of having to rehash the shannon shit every season even though we’ve been given plenty of evidence to show that he has moved on from her— this storyline wasn’t necessary (and especially not the way they chose to tell it).

and lastly— oliver and ryan have wanted the fans to be happy. they want buck and eddie to be happy. and right now, neither of them are in a narratively satisfying spot, and until the show actually cuts the bullshit and starts doing something with their storyline and not just exploiting it, I’m not gonna support it by watching. they’ve shown they don’t care about queer rep by making half of a popular ship canon by bringing back a former character who was literally racist and misogynistic just to serve a character arc, and haven’t gotten rid of him despite having an entire half of a season to do so. they’ve shown they don’t care about queer rep by giving the bisexual main character a sexuality arc that lasted 0.2 seconds narratively and had him end up with the first guy who kissed him, despite there being zero chemistry or build up to imply there were ever actually any feelings of interest. they’ve shown they don’t care about queer rep by once again putting the show’s two black queer women through the same storyline they’ve had before, rehashing their trauma once again in an arc that didn’t even carry over because it was mostly resolved after 3 episodes. they’ve shown they don’t care about queer rep by saying that they wanna “do the story naturally” if they make eddie queer, yet they ignore every opportunity they have to do do by (literally) digging up his ex wife at every turn despite having written numerous lines of dialogue in which he blatantly admits to not actually loving her romantically, and stating that their marriage only happened because she got pregnant.

season 7 had the potential to be something great. it turned out to be mid.

season 8 also has the potential to be something great. until it starts looking like it im not gonna waste my time, energy, or sanity forcing myself to watch- especially if they’re just going to continue the blatant fan service bullshit after telling buddie fans for 6 years that they “don’t wanna do fanservice”….. well what the fuck do you call this dumpster fire, tim?

we may get some more information once filming starts that will change my mind, but right now it’s really not worth it after spending 7 year watching this show to just continue to be spat on and slapped in the face by the creators.

sincerely, an emotionally and physically exhausted fan who just had a long day and desperately needs to take my anxiety meds and crash

[fromkenari]

For the love of Buck, this fandom hasn't been chill since Season 2, and their choice of introducing Eddie in a classic love interest way with Buck being the lead it was aimed at and then pretending we had ship goggles, which was beyond disingenuous. But please, as a steadfast fan of the show, can Buddie fans wholly ignore the Tommy part of Buck's longtime evolving love arc instead of arguing about which ship is better? This fandom usually ignores Buck's onscreen love interests. Why is this one dude so different? I know why on both fronts, but please consider that the BuckyTommy ship is new and has only a few interactions from this season. Just let them ship it. So what? Where is the harm? Most of us have had blinders on for even the longest-lasting love interests of Buck, which were never significant beyond Abby, and that's because she was significant to Buck and not the other way around. You don't need to rip anyone to shreds by sending links to each other of people talking about BuckTommy or Buddie with a snide, "I'd love to hear your thoughts. <3" because it's not the one y'all ship. Buddie is still going to be the largest ship for the show. So please lay off because I have seen some actual homophobia happening from Buddie fans and that's not okay. Telling a queer man he is a predator for liking BuckTommy is gross. What are you doing? Can we all be happy that Buck is a canonically on-screen bisexual man? For Buddie, that is halfway there in what you want, and the statement already out there that they were going to make Eddie the bi lead, which makes it the second time Eddie's planned multiseason love arc has not happened. They also took his son away from him, so something has got to give on the Eddie front next season. Nothing is holding back changes in his life, and if something queer does happen, Tommy might not even matter anymore. There's also nothing wrong with enjoying the scraps of a new ship, especially a queer one, because that's usually how it goes for queer ships on these shows. Do y'all even pay attention to what has happened to Henren in seven seasons? Do you know the crumbs they have had in most of those seasons? I love Buck. Period. Y'all tearing each other down because you like different ships is so tiring and so disheartening. Just stop. Please.

[chevelleneech]

So it means something when Tommy is awarded and the camera pans to Buck, and Eddie is awarded and the camera pans to Marisol, but it means nothing when Buck is awarded and the camera pans to Eddie instead of Tommy?

This is the stuff I be talking about when I say BT shippers are being intentionally rude. Of course it may have just been an oversight on the editing team, but we don’t know that, do we? So when added to all the other times Buck and Eddie have been framed as a couple or parallel the other couples on the show… why are they mad?

Claiming the editors had to put the cut of Eddie there because he was up next, as if they chopped up the scene for any other character being awarded, is ridiculous. Because it once again proves BT shippers do not care about Buck, just his bisexuality. Because in what world is everyone else getting that wholesome little moment perfectly fine and sensible, but for Buck it’s suddenly meaningless and was the only editing choice left because Eddie was coming up next? Again, if we learn it was an oversight, sure. But until then, they’d rather we believe it to mean Buck didn’t get a shot of his loved one because the editors didn’t care enough to do it? Huh?

And no, BT shippers aren’t delusional, because at least their ship is canon, but they sure can be goofy. Like, even though we didn’t see it nor were told, it’s fine for them to headcanon Buck as having gone to Tommy’s place after his talk with Eddie, to get railed out of his sadness. But it’s the reach of all reaches to wonder why Buck and Eddie were yet again framed in a questionable way?

I don’t agree with majority of Buddie shippers in thinking BT will be over before s8, but I truly cannot understand where their shippers come from most of the time. They’re getting less than bare minimum screen time and plot, and as of right now, not even the editors thought to include Tommy in a scene where every other loved one was shown.

What makes how I feel about this worse (funny worse), is that I also don’t think any of this is intentional. The Buddie framing, yes, even if Tim or whoever tries to say it isn’t. But I’m referring to the lack of BT development. People keep saying they think Tim is purposefully keeping Tommy on the sidelines or as a Debbie downer to prove he and Buck are incompatible, but I really don’t think so.

I think they think they did their big one by having Buck come out, and I think they’ve convinced themselves that because fans will eat up whatever queerness they shovel out for Buck, even the smallest of bits, they don’t need to do more. I can 1000% see BT lasting as it is, because people love it. They don’t care that the nicest thing Tommy said to Buck was he’s adorable. They don’t care that Tommy did more exciting things with Eddie. They don’t care that Tommy has never mentioned anything he likes about Buck at all. They don’t care that Buck hasn’t talked to anybody about Tommy beyond telling two people he’s dating him, and coming out to the rest in one fell swoop.

I would love for s8 to bring up the possibility that Buck is both frightened by and idealizing his relationship with Tommy and that’s why he won’t talk about it, and Tommy’s lack of screen time and sarcasm is the “reality” of their coupling. And I wouldn’t be mad about that. It would actually be a solid story for Buck to have, because he does idolize people and bury his own wants in order to be accepted and loved. So imagine him learning something new about his sexuality being the catalyst for him to stop just letting relationships happen to him?

But again… I don’t think they’ve gotten that far in brainstorming for s8, and I don’t think they even really see what we see once the finished product airs. The actors and creative team have so many different versions of the stories they’re telling, I imagine it’s impossible for them to recall all the correct emotions and tethers needed to react and respond accordingly. That’s what show bibles are for though, and based on the timeline and ages in the show in general, it’s clear Tim doesn’t have the best one or at least it’s not being used to it’s fullest. Either way, I think BT shippers are absolutely loose in the brain if they think the only scenes that make it to air that matter, are all except Buddie.

No, Buddie isn’t canon and fans have spent six seasons theorizing, but in a season where the show runner has stated he’s open to making them a couple and has made one of them canonically queer, it doesn’t make any sense to act like Buddie shippers are reading too far into things. The only reason Buck is bisexual, is because of Buddie shippers latching on to the ship and Oliver and Ryan saying they’d be down. The only reason BT is canon, is because Tim wanted to canonize Buck’s queerness and didn’t want to write a new character into the show.

It was not built up. It was not some red string of fate inevitability. Tim and Oliver both have spoken about how it came to be at the last minute, but BT shippers flat out refuse to listen. Buddie may never become canon, but it won’t change the fact that because of the dedication of Buddie shippers, and Tim and Oliver liking the idea of Buck being queer, BT is happening. Which is not a gotcha or me trying to be petty. It just is the unbiased truth.

[lovecolibri]

Thank you for answering question regarding buck and Chris. It’s truly amazing to see how the discourse shifted within like 2 months. It’s so interesting especially seeing that one TikTok account and just attempting and failing at “proving” how buck is a” fun uncle”. For reference below

https://x.com/buckprotector/status/1802246051673358561?s=46

https://x.com/bucksdaylight/status/1800876967061008885?s=46

Just a few days ago, Ryan discussed how ever since Shannon is gone, buck is there. To quote ““I believe there’s an offer of comfort to Eddie knowing that even though Shannon isn’t there, he has somebody else in his life that he can kind of pass the reins to and say, ‘Hey, I need another perspective. Please help my son out”. HOW is this, a FUN UNCLE.??? To add, ever since temu has been back on our screen, we aren’t even allowed to discuss eddies sexuality or buddie because “it’s not canon”. It just sucks. Like, the whole pride post? And all the occurred… for YEARS we as a fandom have identified with buck and Eddie and viewed them as queer coded/queer and WERE SO HAPPY when we got confirmation. But now, we can’t view Eddie as gay because it’s “disrespectful” and “not canon”. Like huh? If THOSE people were happy about bibuck, they are the biggest hypocrites. Because how can you be happy about bibuck if you never viewed him as bi? (Right? Because it’s not canon). Shouldn’t you have been shocked, angry, or confused? Make it MAKE SENSE!!!!!!! The way they dismiss temus actions and try and rewrite history and make him besties with chim and hen? Like yes, 2x14 chim called him for A FAVOR. then, 3x16 proved that he hadn’t reached back out or talked in over a year (even attempted to make contact) and both chim and hen said they wouldn’t consider their old teammates “friends”. Plus, he was never mentioned again. Also, temu calling him Howie vs chim. Again!!!!!!!! The way they talk about T and honestly i ask myself, “is my tv not showing these scenes”. The way they accuse the cast of being “forced” to like/hang out with Ryan or the “reason” as to why Oliver doesn’t post about BT is due to the buddie shippers???? Like he was POSTING CONTENT about bucktaylor at the PEAK of buddie. What’s stopping him now? Why did he post a screenshot of 7x09 regarding buddie+chris when he easily could have added a SS of chimney+buck+ T or Buck+ravi+T? But didn’t. Nothing for 7x10 besides liking a buddie post… hell, even after 7x04, he never once posted the kiss or their scenes, but simply the basketball scene and then in 7x05 the buddie karaoke. Nor did he post the hospital kiss.

lol. you KNOW some of the people being pissy about that pride post this year were former Buddies who re-tweeted something like it last year 🙄

Also, the cast so, SO clearly LOVES Ryan, and love hanging out with him! They have a great time on set together! They're always goofing off and joking around! It's just a fact that we have seen from videos cast and crew have taken BTS! Please, be so for real right now.

As for Oliver posting things, I would even argue that the ONLY reason he posted tay kay stuff was because the network forcibly shut down bi Buck/Buddie and he was told he HAD to promo that relationship in interviews. Same with L and the thousand and one interviews we got there when the network was trying to force something there, desperately trying to get the GA to like literally ANY woman with Buck so they could swerve from what we all saw building since 2x01. The fact that the show put zero effort into BT 2.0 and Oliver wasn't posting with a gun to his head about it speaks volumes to me about what is planned for s8 🤷🏻‍♀️

[steviewashere]

Return to Sender

Characters: Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove (A Warning in Itself), Eddie Munson (E.M.)

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

General Audiences (May Change, but Will Not be Explicit)

CW: Use of the word Queer (as a slur, from Tommy) mentioned briefly and not at all lingered on

Tags: Pre-Season 2, Rewriting Canon, Though Keeping to Main Canon Events (i.e. Steve getting roped into finding Dart, Billy smashing in Steve's face, The junkyard, etc.), Eddie Munson has ADHD, Steve is Self-Deprecating, Teasing Banter (sort of), Steve has Shitty Parents

This is Part 2! To read Part One, follow the link here!

-------- It dawns on Steve that trying to find somebody by their little hobby of drug dealing is going to be tougher than he thought. He can't just ask anybody. And it's not like he can make some bulletin board statement or put an advertisement in the newspaper. What would that even look like?

Local Teenage Boy Who's Seen Some Shit Is Now Seeing Cute Little Locker Notes! Looking For Inquiries About A Drug Dealer With The Initials E.M.! Will Give "The Best Sex" You've Ever Had a Run For Their Money as Reward!

Yeah, he can't imagine that looking very well.

Not for him. Not for the other person involved. And he doesn't want to lose these little notes that he now looks forward to every time he goes to grab an assignment or a textbook or his lunch money. Because, what he's still reeling about, the notes keep coming. With not a single sign of stopping.

Little things. Like telling him how amazing he looks in his new polo shirts, to not listen to the scoffing of Tommy Hagan—who keeps telling Steve that he looks like a "Queer little prep." (Which, Steve's not sure how he's been found out in that regard. He hopes Tommy can keep a secret. But, knowing the history they share, he definitely can't.) And there was one with the answers to the math homework he was doing last minute at breakfast in the cafeteria, which were all correct, and Steve found himself giddily smiling over the big fat letter 'A' on the header of his paper. So, the notes are getting to be more frequent. They're nice. He loves them.

The only question is:

How the fuck is he supposed to find this person?

He began with the, albeit, dumbest way first. Standing vigil near his locker. Watching for anybody that looks like they're about to leave a note. A few girls wander near, but they don't mess with his locker. No, they flock to the other side of the hall to mess with Billy's. He scoffed when they did. And while he was busy watching them, he noticed at the glance back of his own locker, a new note.

It wasn't a very long one. Just:

"Have a good day, man. Also, stop watching random girls. You look like a creep. -E.M."

Steve physically slapped himself on the forehead when he reread it. Of course he missed his opportunity. Because he was distracted with some other mindless thing. That thing not only being those girls, but also stupid fucking Billy Hargrove. He always manages to find a way to ruin Steve's day, even without physically doing or saying something. He grumbled with the note tightly in his grip and stomped away to his last class of the day.

Then, when standing by his locker proved to be futile, he lurked in the cafeteria. Watching the tables. For somebody who was nose deep in a slew of little slips of paper, scattered near their hands, a blue pen secure in their hand. But—

He was the only one truly alone at a table. And the crowds of people at the other lunch tables made him nervous. So, he stopped watching. Besides, everybody was too busy talking to one another.

His locker didn't have a note at the end of the day. He was bummed about it.

Steve came to the conclusion on that day, Random person doesn't want me to be lurking. Or at least, that's what it seems like. Either he gets caught doing something he shouldn't be doing, or he can't actually see anything. Because there's nothing to see.

Some of his other ideas fell through.

Looking through last year's yearbook. Asking a few random students in the hallway if they knew an E.M., but they only rolled their eyes and shoved past him. (He's not used to that. Being ignored by the people around him. Maybe with his parents, but school life is supposed to be different than his home life. He doesn't like that the two are now bleeding together.) He even attempted the phone book. But that was a bust. There were probably thirty names to go through. And he didn't know which ones were teenagers in high school. And he seriously didn't want to call each one and ask: "Hey, are you the person that's leaving notes in my locker?" What kind of creep would that make him? An obsessive one, probably.

At least the student obsessed with giving him notes isn't bothering tons of other people in the process. At least this elusive stranger has morals and values.

He's growing frustrated, though. The longer this drags out. But he just has to...wait. Be patient. See if he can catch his secret admirer off guard.

In the mean time, he attends his classes. The ones that hold all the information for him to graduate, but all the knowledge goes into one ear and leaks out the other. He falls asleep at his desks from time to time. And since he's no longer on the basketball team, his schedule is wide open for after school detentions. Great, he thinks as he holds the pink detention slip in his hand today. Because what I need is proof that I'm still a failure, no matter what I do.

But he swallows his pride. Well, what's left of it. Some meager crumbs and a couple laps of liquid bravery that paint his insides like dried acrylic paint. Shuffles over to his locker at the end of his fourth period. Stuffs his oversized backpack onto the hook. Rustles around with some textbooks—maybe he can attempt his math homework; attempt is a strong word. He'' probably just stare at it and doodle a few drawings in the margins, hoping for time to pass.

There's a white slip of paper wedged between two books.

"Tough luck, Stevie. Maybe you'll get a proper nap at home once you power through detention. Believe me, the pent up frustration will knock you clean out. -E.M."

Steve scoffs. Crumples up the little thing into an even smaller ball. Tosses it at the metal backing of his locker. And watches as it bounces down pathetically to the floor. Embarrassingly, he finds himself on the verge of tears. Could my senior year get any worse, he asks nobody. But groans aloud as he picks up the paper once more and pockets it instead.

Textbook in hand and a wrinkled homework sheet in the other, he's on his not so merry way.

When he gets to the detention classroom, he's the only senior in it. Well, other than that overtime senior, Eddie Munson. He takes his seat next to Eddie, near the back, a textbook and homework sheet dutifully laid out on the desk, and his eyes stubbornly locked to it. Just to make sure it looks like they're not talking. Because he seriously doesn't want to be the only one in here. Sure, there's what appears to be a couple sophomores spaced out on the left side of the classroom. A few girls that he recognizes from Nancy's school year, all huddled around each other and whispering not so soft under their breath. But it's just him and Eddie in the back right corner. And hopefully he doesn't get reprimanded, forced to sit somewhere else, he isn't sure he can take anymore awful shit in his day.

However, it seems like it can get worse. His calculus homework. It's not something he knows well, having cheated off of one of those locker notes. Sparing his life of cognitive embarrassment, having to prove himself to maintain his average 'C' grade for sports this year. I'm not getting accepted to college, why the fuck do I have to do this shit, he has to wonder. It's giving him a dull headache.

The problem that's getting him:

What is the integral of the function f(x) = sin 2x?

He wants to slam his head onto the surface of his desk until he's just a mound of bloody, pulpy meat. He's better with English literature, surprisingly enough. Even if the words move a little bit, it's better than whatever garbage he's looking at now. It's like the problem knows he doesn't understand. It's like it has teeth, gaining and baring and wanting to chop off his fingers. It's like—

Something taps on the corner of his desk.

Looking up from his paper, agitated and exhausted, he finds the eraser end of Eddie's pencil clacking against the wood of his desk. Growling, he asks, "What the hell do you want, Munson?" Adding, huffed and close to giving up, "I'm trying to do my homework."

Eddie just grins at him. "I know, dude," he snarks. "We're in Mr. Nelson's class together, remember? I've got the answers, if you want them."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right," he mutters. "Like you'd know. I know for a fact that you have an F in calc, why should I trust that you actually have the right answer?"

"Oh, that's simple," Eddie chirps. "I know my shit. Just don't turn in my assignments. You know—" He gestures vaguely at his head. "—I got that new diagnosis, ADHD. The thing that sort of makes you forgetful, or whatever? I know it, I'm just...Not on the money with turning it in on time."

"ADHD?" Steve can't help but asks, somewhat suspicious. "What does that even mean? Are you just making that up? There's no way—"

"Look," Eddie interrupts, voice short and firm, "do you want help on your homework or do you want me to explain shit that I know you won't retain? Because I could sit here and describe the whole thing, get you bored and distracted, and send you off on your way even more dumb and lost than when you entered in here. Or...I could tell you the answers and make you look better in front of Mr. Nelson and your basketball team."

Steve huffs. "I'm not stupid," he argues, voice weak. "And besides, I'm not on basketball anymore. So..." He sighs, defeated. His eyes fall back to his blank homework assignment. And he can feel his eyes begin to burn from embarrassment. Maybe I am stupid, he thinks, Maybe I'm no better than some super senior. "Can you just show me what to do, without making fun of me? I get that I was a jackass in the past, but this week has been rough. I just need to get through the end of it." He knows that to his own ears that he sounds like a petulant, begging little kid. And knows, too, that it's not a good look on him. His dad doesn't like it. Coach didn't like it. Mr. Nelson and Nancy Wheeler and Tommy Hagan and...Nobody likes it when he sounds like this. When he's a sight for sore eyes, down on his luck, ready to just curl up in a ball and melt into the floor.

He drags a hand quickly over his eyes, trying to wipe away at the wetness barely coating him. Sniffs back whatever emotion is still souring his throat. And keeps his line of sight pointed downwards. “I—Never mind, you probably don’t want to help some jerk. Especially one that just made fun of whatever you…whatever you said. God—“ He chuckles something deeply self-deprecating. “—You were right. Can’t even fucking remember what you just said. Can’t remember how to do math. Can’t remember…My head hurts and I’m tired and this just sucks. I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to come off so shitty,” his voice strains, though spits. Guess wiping my eyes did nothing, he notes, watching something wet drip down onto the desk.

“Steve,” he can hear Eddie breathe. “It’s fine, dude. I didn’t take any offense. Nobody knows about my shit, it’s fine. I was just giving you a hard time.” Steve looks up briefly at that. “I don’t even know why, if I’m being honest. You seem like you’re better, but maybe I’m wrong?” Eddie shakes his head. “Just let me see your paper. Act like you’re studying your textbook, I’ll do your assignment.”

“How am I supposed to learn if you do it for me?” Steve asks wetly.

“You’ll learn, I’m sure of it. Just give it here.”

At the end of the detention period, his homework is completely filled out. It looks correct, better than what Steve could ever possibly do. He has to go to the bathroom, stops inside, erases some of the correct math and fills in with his own scratchy handwriting, goes through his whole restroom routine, and returns to his locker.

Only to find another note.

“See? Detention wasn’t that bad, you survived! Now, take a nap at home. Relax. You’ll be alright. Senior year will be a breeze for you, I’m sure of it. -E.M.”

If only mystery person knew that taking roses to Nancy Wheeler leads to weird creatures that eat raw meat, tunnels and fire, and a beaten face.

If only he knew how to lick his own wounds. When he gets to his locker the day after him and Billy fight, he finds one more note.

“Okay, maybe I was wrong about this being a breeze. Meet me in the woods, picnic table, sit and wait for me. Think it’s time I show myself. Get you a friend around here. Someone who’d be willing to kill Hargrove if asked. -E.M.”

-------- Some Notes:

Did you know that ADHD was not an official diagnosis until the 1980s? So it's literally brand new here. Also, gotta get them to have a little bit of rivalry—something akin to a rivalry, at least, before they can be buddies and then lovers and then rivals again. Hehe, I love angst. <3

[lover-of-mine]

Yk, something about my Eddie fell first essay, I never really went like "oh this is something that could be proven right by canon" mostly because when I wrote that I was still dealing with buddie being a distant possibility not something that's so close I can taste, but then Ryan was let out of interview jail. Then I went full conspiracy theorist. (Please note everything from here on out is a conspiracy theory that will most likely never be confirmed or denied so I'll live in it forever) I had made the post about how I think Ryan is playing Eddie as in love with Buck, the question was whether he was being told to do that or he was just playing it up as much as they allowed him to because we know Ryan supports the ship, and then Ryan said the "this goes beyond friendship and I love you to the core" thing.

He said he talked to someone about what it meant for Eddie to do that, because he didn't understand it at first, and then that's the conclusion he reached. But the thing is, that line "I love you to the core" specifically means so much in the context of the season, to say I love you to Buck like that in season 4 is so MONUMENTAL, that I wanna believe one of the writers straight up told him "yo this is a love confession" and explained it to him like that, and he has been playing Eddie with that line in mind ever since, and that's why he had that locked and loaded for the interview. Because, like, I, in my most normal day, am out here arguing they casted Ryan with a plan, even more considering the way Eddie was written for Ryan, they could very much have told him "look, play with the chemistry you and Oliver have, if the audience likes with might amp it up, if we're lucky we might go there someday" because you have moments in season 2, but season 2 is still very low stakes, but then when I think about the the season 3 of it all, the there's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you, the lawsuit, and well of it all and the way they put Ryan in pr jail after Eddie begins, an episode that would retroactively be HUGE for buddie but it's pretty big for them anyway, I'm like 🤔 because we all saw Ryan talking about buddie this past month, the guy CANT SHUT UP, and if he was told something during season 3 or 4 along the line of "play it up, we are gonna fight to make this happen", putting him in pr jail would make sense, because they can't risk him saying something if they're not sure they can deliver, because how fast they dealt with Buck being bi while in a new network makes me convinced someone on fox was blocking it and nothing will convince me otherwise. But now they can, so they let Ryan run free. Because you can make a VERY strong argument that Eddie is aware of something during season 5 and 6, season 6 most of all, but you can very much make season 5 queer coded and have Eddie be like "oh I can't ignore how I feel about him anymore", because Ryan also said something about Eddie's breakdown and how that's what allowed Eddie to let Buck "know who Eddie truly is" which is interesting with the way Eddie is constructed, because if Buck is inside the last wall Eddie had up, what's actually stopping Eddie to see he's in love with Buck by the end of the season? Which would make season 6 as a pining season for Eddie make sense. Down to the way the cemetery seems to be pulling these very specific reactions from Eddie that are the same reactions we saw him have in breakups and flights with Shannon. But also things like Eddie's reaction to the lightning being something we never saw from Eddie before AND the way Oliver talked about a scene of Eddie losing his composure during in another life, not during in a flash that we didn't get to see most likely because they completely rearranged 6b because they thought they were gonna get cancelled, so they wouldn't be able to deliver what they had in mind. But now they have nothing but time, season 8 is already confirmed, and by the looks of it abc was like "go for it" with buddie in a way that fox never was, so they finally got to tell Ryan "we're doing it, go crazy" and now we are here. They could prove me right today. About Eddie not about Ryan knowing and some secret plan being in place forever. I don't think it's gonna happen. I seriously don't think it's gonna happen. I'd be more surprised to be proved right than wrong here. But the conspiracy theory is a possibility that felt very real for a second there during promo season lol

[gettingfrilly]

gimme eddy for 2, 3, 6, 14, 21 & 22!

my boy

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

TRAUMA >:) And he's an asshole because of his trauma, but also not a villain tho. Media tends to make abused characters either evil 4ever or these heroic saints who would never let something so cruel befall another. In reality, trauma really complicates a person's development and personality, especially prolonged trauma in early childhood when you're supposed to be learning how to form healthy attachments. Some people are genetically predisposed to be resilient to trauma, some go on to continue the cycle of abuse for the rest of their lives, and most fall somewhere in the middle, like Eddy does.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Canonically attracted to Nazz :/ I'm very attached to my strictly gay Eddy hc lol.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I hate being bored so god damn much and I'll die if people stop paying attention to me.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

I know nothing about fashion lol, this is actually something I'm struggling with in the fic I'm writing (chapter one draft is done yippee.) I want to get across that Eddy is a stylish dude who cares a great deal about putting himself together and it's hard to do that when my fashion knowledge is zilch. I once spent an afternoon researching fancy sneakers that were released in 2003 for Eddy to wear in my fic. Would they be Eddy's taste in canon? Fuck if I know. But he's wearing them. So yeah. Closest I can get to describing his aesthetic is butch gay guy who wants to look hip and happening. Probably tries to emulate a lot of stuff that was fashionable in the 70s, but a little more modernized. Maybe. Probably. Guy's a disco queen.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I don't like writing anything it just brings me pain. I only keep writing because the pain of writing is slightly less painful than the pain of not writing.

Other than that, my favorite thing to write Eddy doing is bickering with Double D. I try my best to make his comebacks as witty and quick as they are in the show. I don't like writing Eddy's... thoughts? Or well... doing descriptive imagery in his POV. I typically use 3rd person POV limited, and whenever I'm writing descriptive imagery from Eddy's POV, I feel like my prose is a bit too. Well. Frilly, lol. With some big words Eddy probably doesn't know. And I'm not actually sure if that's okay or not when doing 3rd person limited, because like, Eddy isn't the narrator, I am, but he is the POV, so... bleh. I wish I had a formal education in creative writing. But I had to go and be practical and become a counselor instead.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

I loooooove everyone's different interpretations of Eddy's baby queer era. The denial, the disgust, the fear, the drama... so fucking good. Every time I read someone else's take on it, I'm like, aw man, that's how I shoulda done it!

I don't like torture porn with Eddy. Anything that goes into detail about the smack downs Eddy received as a child is booooring to me. We know he got the crap beat out of him, now let's see how it affects him later in life!

ty for giving me so many numbers so I could rant about my boy ;-;

[outrunningthedark]

joined the 911 fandom few months back and…has it always been this annoying or did something shift recently. someone on twt said maybe mehta coming back doesnt have anything to do w buddie at all and now they are getting cooked for “raining on people’s parade and being a negative nancy for no reason” …. this whole cycle of setting expectations and bullying people for not having the same enthusiasm then getting annoyed that the tv show isnt delivering the same expectation you set is just so annoying??? glad that your blog exists and you exist because this fandom is in heavy NEED of rational minded people 😭🫶🏽

I've been actively involved in fandom since the start of s4 (was a lurker in s3) and from my perspective...things get worse as the seasons continue! In s4, there was *some* hope for canon!Buddie, but Ana came back into the picture and TayKay soon followed so expectations were lowered (because we didn't know how long they'd stick around). Thennn...the shooting happened. Plus the change in guardianship. People were on board again AND we were introduced to even more new fans who couldn't believe "the gay firefighters" weren't together yet. Season five? Eddie breaks up with Ana, Buck breaks up with TayKay..."If Buddie not canon then why did they break up with their girlfriends?" And now season six is about how "all signs point to canon Buddie" no matter what happens. (ie They were convinced Eddie would be a big part of Buck in the coma to hint at feelings and when he wasn't they changed their theories to "explain" why his absence was a good thing; same with the sperm donor arc - all that non-communication was going to pay off once Eddie confronted Buck about a decision he didn't think through and now the lack of 6A content is going unmentioned because Oliver has (twice) emphasized that there's nothing for Buck to come to grips with, he knew what he was doing when he said yes.) I think the fandom just really, really wants to be right about this one thing for two reasons: 1. It would be a game-changer. How many fans of a queer ship can say that they got the endgame they wanted? Furthermore, how many can say their canon ship started out with two straight characters who fell in love over time because a show thought that made the better story? (Not the SPN fandom, that's for sure. They're some of the biggest naysayers you'll find around here because "I've been where you are." Mind you, most us are old af and remember a time when queer ships stayed in fandom spaces because TV shows wouldn't dare take the risk of alienating audiences.) 2. Having Buddie go canon is an opportunity to get back at any and everyone who doesn't believe it'll happen; the ultimate "I told you so!" victory lap.

I do agree with the fandom when it comes to keeping opinions out of other people's inboxes unless they're open to reading it (obviously me :P), but expressing an opinion on your own page (whether that be twitter or tumblr) is what having a social media account in a fandom is for. You don't have to agree with the person. You don't even have to read it. But you can't stop them from feeling how they feel. And quite frankly, while having hope is nice to see (I do, too!), some people could use a reality check. We're not in the writers' room. We don't know what the writing staff is really thinking when they come up with stuff. Even when Kristen makes comments and Oliver gives his perspective, the fandom calls them "liars" or twists their words to fit a narrative that makes for (what they think is) a better outcome. They'll also advise people not to read the articles, but...nobody actually lies in those because they don't give away all that much information, and the information they do give is to tell fandom when things aren't about Buddie, lmao. Kristen said the coma arc was about Bobby and Chim and there fandom was hyping up Eddie's importance only to realize she meant what she said. Oliver says Eddie going after Buck in 6x10 isn't hinting at anything and they're envisioning feelings realizations at Buck's bedside, which never came. They're TELLING fandom to not get its hopes up right now and the speculation has only gone deeper into "this can't be about anything other than Buddie" because everyone is too invested to turn back now.

As for Captain Mehta - I have my own theories about this. Could his presence bring about a mention of the shooting? Yep. Could his presence inspire another conversation? Yep. But *why* him and *why* he finally has a first name? 1. Is everyone at that table supposed to call him Captain Mehta or just Mehta? Nobody knows him on a personal level? 2. Is it possible that throwing some third no-name/relatively unknown firefighter into the scene (along with Capt. Williams and possibly Julie) does nothing to gauge the audience's interest? At least the audience will remember Mehta and there's a connection between him and both halves of Buddie whereas we've seen Julie in limited quantities (and not even as one of their friends off the job) and Miranda Williams was last seen in early s4.

I'm not saying him being back can't be the precursor to important things, but people also thought the Buckleys were coming back after two years so their kids could yell at them some more and they would decline to be with their son in the hospital (why else would they have returned right then, duh!) and we all saw how that turned out. This fandom loves to say "Bestie, you're watching a FOX procedural" on the ~discourse~ days while routinely ignoring the fact that we're watching a FOX procedural. Sometimes what you see really is what you get when the show runners are (currently) pandering to an audience that includes everyone but us.

[eddiediazismyhusband]

This is what gets me when people write in depth analysis about how dumb they would be to not go there with queer Eddie and with Buddie. Like yes, I agree it would be incredibly stupid and bad writing - unfortunately as much as I want that to reassure me(and I’ll admit some days when I’m sad and need to not be I pretend to let it), it doesn’t. Just because it would be stupid and bad writing doesn’t mean they won’t do it. We’ve seen this show repeatedly make bad writing choices before. I’ve watched TV shows time and time again screw things up in the eleventh hour, I’ve seen so many shows set things up and then take a hard left turn into the dumbest plots in existence. And they get backlash for it but still do it. So as much as I want to believe that because logic and basic literary analysis says Eddie is queer and Buck and Eddie are each others’ best match - that isn’t a guarantee of anything. I’m also preparing myself that if we actually do get a queer Eddie storyline and buddie canon - there is a high possibility that they stumble through it in a ridiculous and poorly written way. I want more than anything for that not to be true but it is still a very distinct possibility.

this is exactly my feelings- like one of my biggest pet peeves are people making posts as if buddie is 10000% happening and there is absolutely zero possibility of it not going that way which i’m sorry to be a debbie downer once again but that’s just not true

what kills me is everyone in the fandom keeps talking about “it’d be so ooc for _______”, seemingly forgetting the fact that s7 was ooc for so many of the main characters to the point that we were all ragging on the writers about it… like if they were able to write a season so sloppy and terribly ooc what makes you think they won’t continue to do so, especially after tim just said “i don’t like to plan out seasons”

ooc writing happens in tv shows all the time. just because something wouldn’t make sense for a character/plotline doesn’t mean they won’t just do it anyway. like I’ve said before, tim has shown us that he only cares about shock value and drama- telling us himself in a interview that “i can’t just let them be happy, then no one would watch” (which is such total bullshit but this is the man who decided to make eddie have an emotional affair with a doppelgänger of his dead wife rather than just, yk, confirm his queerness)

i get it. it’s disappointing. you don’t want your favorite shows/characters to tank and go off the rails. but unfortunately, it has happened time and time and time again in network tv, and 9-1-1 is not immune to this.

i fully agree with the posts and analyses that detail how the show has set up buddie being the only satisfactory endgame relationship between them, and how it would be foolish and bad writing for them not to, but unfortunately (as you said in your ask) this show has made god awful writing choices frequently (literally the entirety of s7 is proof of that) and they have jumped through hoops to avoid buddie canon countless times— there is nothing stopping them from doing it again.

and this idea that just because they’re talking about buddie openly must mean they’re going canon is ridiculous. the short is reaching the end if it’s run; if it even gets renewed past s8, it’s very unlikely that they’ll go past s10 at the longest. they just moved to a new network, baited the fuck out of buddie pre-s7 and then didn’t give us anything and people are still watching. they know that as long as people think there’s a possibility of buddie canon that they’ll watch the show— it’s textbook queer/shipbaiting. 9-1-1 is not immune to this just because they’ve said “we don’t want to be accused of queerbaiting” in the past. we’ve reached a point where the network queerbaiting won’t cause enough backlash to warrant them being cautious anymore. it’s a dick move, yeah, but these creators are in this job for one thing: money. they have proven they don’t actually give a fuck about meaningful storytelling. it’s why they rely on cheap drama and shock value to get by bc they know people will tune in anyway.

i completely understand wanting to be hopeful and optimistic. i will forever be hopeful for the day that buddie finally go canon (although i hope they ditch the mustache before then because i don’t want to think of my alcoholic uncle when i see eddie kiss buck for the first time) and when it does i will be so fucking happy after waiting for 6 years.

but that’s the thing. i have waited for 6 years. i’m tired of getting my hopes up each season bc “guys this is literally the closest we’ve ever been there is no way they aren’t going to go there now” just to get slapped in the face by the showrunners and writers. i’m not going to get my hopes up about it just to be let the fuck down once again. and frankly, i don’t wanna see the fallout when we are let down again because people decided to convince themselves that it was 100% for sure set in stone happening when in reality it’s really not.

[sherlocking-out-loud]

I've read here and on Twitter people saying that nothing can be done to stop buddie shippers from believing the ship will go canon because if Buck and Eddie have scenes together then "it's a sign", if they haven't then "they are being pulled apart so that they get back together stronger later".

well, ok, there's some truth in that. when there's hope, one always sees a way.

but.

it isn't difficult to kill this hope once and for all. they could just come out on interviews and say it clearly, like "No, Buck and Eddie will never be together. That's not in our plans. They are both straight and really good friends, like brothers even."

there. it's not hard.

or they could show this within the show. Buck and Eddie calling each other "brother". them talking about each other and saying "He's like the brother I never had". Chris calling Buck "uncle".

or. or.

they could stop paralleling Buck and Eddie with other couples in the show. they could stop using other queer couples' scenes as a template for scenes with them (Eddie shooting vs Buffy). they could also tell Ryan and Oliver to look at each other with less heart eyes (or even tell Ryan to stop looking and Buck's ass. you know which scene I'm talking about). they could talk about The Will normally, like it's something between brothers, and not something that Eddie hid from Buck for a year (why??) and that they probably didn't tell their previous girlfriends (what would Taylor's reaction be? who knows).

also.

they could use buddie stickers on their clapboards if that tickles their funny bone, but not share it on social media. and directors could shut up on social media instead of confirming that a shot of Buck and Eddie can be read as romantic (you know the one. where they are on opposite ends of the frame and there's a separation. I'm on my phone and don't feel like looking for receipts, so if anyone would like to add them, I'd be grateful). and also writers/directors could avoid liking tweets specifically about buddie.

idk. just me here thinking out loud some ideas.

unless.

unless.

it's either not decided at all and they want to keep that possibility open for when they decide to make them canon, or they have no intention to make it canon but the engagement they get from this side of the fandom is useful.

I don't think there's a way for us to know, so yeah, it's natural and understandable that many fans still feel hope, taking the showrunner's and her crew's actions in good faith.

but no, it was definitely not difficult to stop the speculation.

[cannibalistic-vampirefag]

Thing I would change in vol.2

in order

The scene where Vickie kisses her boyfriend doesn't exist because what was the point of having it there if not to make Robin suffer? it didn't further the plot, didn't further her character, it was there just to give us a bit of queer pain for nothing.

During the hug between him and Jonathan, Will says something that is undoubtedly queer (not necessarily "I'm gay", but even just a referce to him having a crush on Mike so The Straights can't interpret his feelings as something else) because the discussion of Will's sexuality was hyped up a lot and what we got was underwhelming.

Steve gives Eddie a talk about how he isn't a coward for running away because what he did was all for survival instinct, but when he was actually given the choice to stay safely behind (at the lake and once they got back to Hawkins) he still chose to follow his friends into danger to help them knowing the risk.

Murray dies. I feel like someone from the Russia plot has to but it obviously isn't going to be Hopper, since he's just come back from the dead, or Joyce, since the Byers have already lost so much. Murray is just right because he's not a main character, but he's also not a background one.

No Steve/Nancy talk because in my version for season 4 the writers never tried to make Steve and Nancy get back together.

Jason goes to Eddie's trailer instead of the Creel House and there he finds the portal to the Upside Down while Eddie is playing, so he gets in and Dustin explains everything. Even if he's confused, he understands the situation and believes them (considering he's literally in another dimension about to get attacked by demobats and it's clear that Hellfire isn't leading them but actually fighting them). He sticks with them to help them fight.

The demobats are attacking the trailer but at one point they stop abruptly and we see that they are heading towards the Creel house to kill Nancy, Steve and Robin, so, after making sure Dustin is safe in the normal world and cutting the rope, Eddie and Jason run to distract he demobats again. They get followed but keep running until they can, but at one point they reach a dead end and have no other choice but fight. Jason is dying after fighting alongside Eddie, while he's bleeding out he apologises for being a dick, accusing him of murder, and sending an angry mob after him. His last words are 《I'll tell Chrissy you said "hi".》

Therefore, yea, Eddie also doesn't die. by now we've understood the trend of killing off all the new characters, do something different. how do they handle him being wanted by the whole town? I don't know. maybe they hide him in Hopper's cabin like they did with Eleven in seasons 2 and 3, maybe Jason said something to his friends after finding out the truth, maybe he clears his name in season 5, maybe they help him leave the town.

Max dies because this time Vecna knows about the music thing and makes sure she can't save herself again. she and isn't brought back to life and dies in Lucas' arms while the portals open. The reason for this is that I feel like so far all the main characters have had huge plot armor and killing one would really raise the stakes, make it clear that from now on everyone is in real danger.

Also to raise the stakes, I feel like one between Nancy, Robin and Steve should die but honestly I don't know, I'm not sure (obviously not Robin, one of the only canon queer characters, and I do think the Duffers want to keep Steve's death for season 5, so maybe Nancy? not sure though, so this is just an idea, not necessarily something I'd for sure change)

Antonov doesn't follow the others to America, he goes back to his family so they can all move somewhere safer with Yuri's help.

Nancy and Jonathan have a serious talk and Jonathan tells her the truth about the college letters. they understand that them going to college together isn't going to work, so they break up, but Nancy still tells Jonathan to not stay stuck to his family forever, but to go to NYU instead (y'know, NYU, literally Jonathan's dream school since he was six, as is mentioned in season 1?). after season 5 we learn that they got back together after they were both done with college and being a journalistic power couple and are as strong as ever, and the break up helped the grow individually.

no time skip at the end of the season because I don't really see how it could work out with the finale. also, every other season has had a time skip of some months, and it would be nice if, for once, two seasons happend in direct sequence. I do understand that they are doing it for the actors' ages, but also, I don't care.

this is it, I think.