#you'd think a man would know that making your school essentially the center of a magical reality would attract all kinds of ne'er-do-weller

[kacievvbbbb]

I understand that the Rat Grinders are bad and they are kind of annoying and honeslty I don't think that the bad kids are required to have that much sympathy for them be cause of some one sided beef because they are also children and the direct recepients of all this bad energy But I do think Arthur Aguefort shares a large portion of the blame along with Porter and Jace and Daybreak and Kalvavis. Because how does what seems to be the greatest wizard of their time keep letting so many bad and harmful adults into his high school filled with children?????? Like u get on some level they are adventurers and not regular kids but they are still kids and they are still vulnerable to adults who will prey on their insecurities. Two seasons now have focused on how adult teachers who had very close seemingly unsupervised access to these kids have specifically gone after vulnerable students and preyed on their insecurities and childish desires to essentually make them evil. Kipperlily Copperkettle's anger at Riz was ridiculous, completely undeserved and extremely childish but she was still infact a child and atleast seemed to be trying whether under duress or not to be getting some help when Porter preyed on those insecurities and she was literally killed and brought back with her worst desires on full blast. Buddy Dawn was maybe a little bitchy and was definitely mormon with a predator for a grandfather but seemed to be an overall goodish guy before he was literally specifically targeted and then killed by his friends against his will with seemingly no knowledge that this was going to happen where he had to make the choice between dying and having his soul be unrecoverable or forsaking his god and taking on another one for the chance to come back. Forgive me if I kind of understand him being afraid of dying he is SEVENTEEN. He should have never been put in that situation and I really liked that Kristen despite the fact that she very validly did not like or trust him, recognized that. Oisin and Ivy where assholes (I don't know how much of Ivy's deal was the rage but she wasn't any meaner than Aelwyn was ) they still didnt deserve to get preyed on by adults that should have kept them safe. Daybreak preyed on the fact that he was a father figure like person to Ragh and the Bloodrush team and that he was literally all that was stopping Zayn from being homeless. Kalvaxis preyed on Penelope's vanity (which yes her desperation to be prom queen is so very stupid especially the fact that she apparently was okay giving up her best friend) Johny spells was 25 and allowed to hand around a high school and date literal children for atleast 2 years. Hell Porter even preyed on Fig's confusion about who she was and what she wanted to do. He saw a vunerable teeneager in the middle of an identity crisis and mentored her into serving his god so he could then use her to help end the world. And don't get me wrong I'm not saying that all these kids should be redeemed in canon or that I'm sad Dane and Penelope went to hell or that they didn't deserve it. Or that these kids don't share any blame in how they tried to end the world. But I also don't think they are incapable of redemption or fundamentally evil. I think they were kids with childish wants and desires and the wrong person took notice of them.

And also How was any of this ever allowed like at all???? What are Agueforth's teacher screening practices 😭. Why does Arthur Agueforth live and die by the keep your friend's close but your enemies closer and why does he consistently take that to mean put all my enemies into a school filled with vulnerable children learning how to be adventurers. 😭 Why does he keep leaving his school unprotected. This should have never been allowed to happen. I'm just saying that the man needs to be tried for child endangerment or something.

[lilsqueaksqueak]

https://www.tumblr.com/macavitymayormaynothavebeenthere/778206417292230656/question-for-bucktommy-shippers?source=share

I'm sending an anon response because posting about BT before has gotten me hate messages and I don't want to deal with that today.

I'm not a gay man but I am a lesbian the exact same age as Tommy, which means we're both members of an odd generational subsect of queer culture. What do I mean by that? Well, it means that in our formative years the gay representation we saw was almost entirely based around the AIDS crisis. In 1995, 1 in 9 gay men had AIDS and 1 in 15 died. Lesbians rose up to help and many of my generational predecessors served as de facto nurses for their friends, because no one else would help them. So my entire understanding of gay culture growing up was seeing that, combined with every bully in school throwing around words like f** and gay with no repercussions, AND knowing my parents were homophobes, just like Tommy and his dad. There was no safe space for us to exist in the world.

Then, by the time both Tommy and I were young adults, the height of the AIDS crisis was over, HIV therapy became more readily available, but the hate was still systemically embedded. For me (closer to Karen's story), it influenced the career choices I made. For Tommy, it meant he served in the army under Don't Ask Don't Tell (which wasn't repealed until 2011). DADT essentially meant you could die for your country but if they found out you were gay, you'd be stripped of your medals. You'd be dishonorably discharged and lose all your benefits.

Now, Tommy and I are both considered middle-aged and we're now in a world in which queer is no longer a slur. Where there's beautiful, meaningful representation of all types of queer culture that we have access to. PrEP is on the market. We have legal protections in place (for now). Queer kids still may not grow up in a welcoming environment, but they at least have the internet to find community and a modicum of safety. It's night and day from how I grew up and that's a great thing! But I definitely perceive (especially in fandom) a total lack of awareness and appreciation for how queer culture has evolved so quickly and dramatically, and that while we're thrilled people can be so open now, we're also seeking understanding on why that isn't so easy for many of us who are older.

So when I see people be totally unforgiving to Tommy about his past behavior, it just seems either disingenuous because you prefer a different ship, or a complete lack of understanding about what it was like growing up as a gay person in that era. I don't like his past behavior, but of course I understand it. When you're made to feel small and vulnerable your entire life, in every possible setting, you lash out. You might make others feel small and vulnerable out of a need to protect yourself. And then, hopefully like both Tommy and I both found ways to do-- you grow. You learn. You become a better person. But that formative fear never, ever goes away. No one needs to like Tommy. He has plenty of flaws I can point to. But I would very much like to see some compassion towards this character, and for people to stop treating him like a cartoon villain. Especially when he's on a show that, at its core, is about growth and redemption. I see myself in this character and I want so badly to believe he can stop being his own worst enemy and allow himself to be happy.

Nonnie, out of all of the responses I've gotten to my post I think this one is the most interesting to me. (Which is not to say I don't appreciate everyone else who has responded of course) because this is a perspective I really hadn't considered and it's one that doesn't center Buck. I can definitely agree that a not insignificant amount of the dislike of Tommy comes from a lack of charitability and an inability (or refusal) to acknowledge the nuances of the context that surrounds his character. People have a hard time accepting queer characters who are imperfect in ways they disagree with, which sucks.

I do think criticisms of his past racism tend to be unforgiving because the show hasn't addressed it in any meaningful way. I think some sort of acknowledgement, an apology to the wronged parties even, would have gone a long way to endear him to many of people who aren't too hot on him, as opposed to implied off-screen personal growth if that makes sense. Of course there will always be some people who don't like him simply because he is Buck's LI and simultaneously is not a certain emotionally constipated single dad.

Like you said not everyone needs to like him (myself included), but I definitely agree that the vitriol is excessive. I'm glad that you've found such a deep resonance with Tommy, that's what art (yeah 9-1-1 is art fight me) is supposed to do.