michelle's buddie fic recs: week 38!
some more fics!! it’s been an excellent reading week!
this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading!
if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!
all you're giving me is friction | hammersmiths/@henswilsons | 7.9k | T
Eddie is new, and married, and Buck won’t stop flirting. 5+1.
excellent team vibes and such a fun twist!!
family feud: first responders | Princessfbi/@princessfbi | 3.2k| G
The FireFam go on Family Feud.
hilarious lovely fic that was so nice to read in 911 family feud week <3
ice cream before dinner | cloudydaisies | 58.6k | T
gerrard messes with the team's schedules and eddie 'i just drove my son to flee the state' diaz is the only option to watch mara and jee-yun after school on tuesdays, which, shouldn't be a problem at all, right?
this made me cry. eddie and jee and mara <3
i'm here (i'm yours for the taking) | farfromthstars/@doeeyeseddie | 19.1k | T
at the winter wedding of an old friend, buck and eddie pretend to be married to each other. the plan has no weaknesses, obviously, not even mistletoe or anyone’s secret feelings…
using this as a blanket rec for this author because i've been slowly making my way through all their fics and every single one of them hits the spot <3 but this one in particular has a lovely lovely pretend relationship and it's so good!!
invisible string (tying you to me) | bookinit/@bookinit02 | 5.3k | T
buck, eddie, and the intimacy of a properly-tied shoe.
buck's acts of service <3 i love fics of buddie doing Totally Normal Friend Things hehe
i've only known you to keep your word | thisissirius/@thisissirius | 4.4k | M
buck's lonely and eddie knows.
i love fics that go no no this man's not gonna be lonely anymore and this is exactly that <3
no thing defines a man (like love) | timeshareindestin/@timeshareindestin | 12.3k | T
the buckley parents are visiting LA for jee's 4th birthday. which is fine, except they don't know two things: 1. buck has hearing aids again, and 2. he's engaged to eddie.
hard of hearing buck series my beloved <3 i love eddie's interactions with the buckley parents and the maddie convo!!
a reservoir in your eyes. | dylaesthetics | 7k | M
the Buddie roommates fic where Buck’s apartment burns down, Christopher teaches him Gen-Z slang, and Buck finally snaps.
the buck and chris slang bit never fails to cheer me up!
You Ran Outside and Caught the Moon | yoddream/@yoddream | 47.8k | M
Eddie wants to tell him that it only happened yesterday, but then he thinks about quarantine, and when Shannon died, and when she left for LA after he was discharged, and when he found out Chris was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and when Shannon told him she was pregnant, and when he was ten and his dad yelled at him for crashing his new truck because his mom was in labor and nobody was around to take her to the hospital. He thinks about how he wanted to disappear every time, wished for something to kill him so that he didn’t have to face his fears, deal with reality. It hits him like his dad’s truck hit the tree.
mind the tags for this one but it's such a fantastic character study and exactly the fic i needed this week <3
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Finding Love in a Zombie Apocalypse - A JJK Interactive Romance Fanfic Round 2
Read the details about this event here!
During a zombie apocalypse, you meet a group of seven handsome men. Which one will you choose to be your survival/romantic partner?
Vote for the man you want to be eliminated! The man with the most votes will not be killed off in the story, but he will be removed from all future polls and his branching story will be closed off!
Reminder: Vote for the man you DO NOT want to survive with! You are voting someone OUT!
For the first two rounds, I’m not naming the men. You can probably figure out who is who, but that’s part of the fun! I’m doing it this way to encourage readers to vote based on the scenario rather than just automatically voting out their least fave character. Feel free to make guesses about who each man is!
In Round 1, Man #1, Choso, was eliminated!
Dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more!
You’ve decided to stick with this group for the time being. They’re a nice mix of strong, smart, and caring. None of them come across as creepy or make you uncomfortable, which is saying a lot considering it’s a group made up entirely of men relatively close to your age.
You spend the evening gathering what supplies you need into a duffel bag you found in the store’s rather scant sporting goods section. At night, one of them insisted you sleep in the stock room and keep the key until morning. He really was very considerate, and none of the others objected.
The next day, someone makes coffee in the break room. You don’t know which one did it, but it’s the first cup you’ve had in over a week and tastes delicious. With foam cup in hand, you walk over to the front entrance to check the situation outside, only to find the man who called out to you yesterday keeping watch.
Man #1: Choso (Eliminated in Round 1)
He’s standing near the door, slightly to the side, still as a statue until you approach.
“Want me to bring you some coffee?” you ask, taking a sip from your cup.
He smiles at you. “Thanks, but I had some already.”
You gesture toward the entrance. “Anything new going on out there?”
“No, just a dozen or so zombies roaming around,” he replies. “They come close to the door sometimes, but with these tinted windows they can’t see much of what’s inside.”
You hadn’t realized they were tinted until he mentioned it, but you suppose that’s why everything looks so dreary outside.
As you stare out the window, you notice something in the distance. You squint your eyes, trying to make out if it’s just another zombie or something else. As you watch, the figure picks up speed, breaking into a run.
“Look! There’s someone out there!” you shout, pointing to the figure fleeing toward the store.
The man beside you looks out through the glass door. “It’s definitely a living person!”
Behind the figure, a large group of zombies, perhaps the biggest group you’ve seen, is slowly giving chase. The figure stumbles, hits the ground, and you feel your heart race. You’ve witnessed zombie attacks before, but it’s always disturbing. And you can’t help thinking that this could easily have been you yesterday.
You want to open the door and beckon the figure, but that’s not your call to make. You’re a guest with this group, and you don’t have the right to put their safety at risk.
Thankfully, the kind hearted man beside you makes that choice. He flings the door open and calls out, “Hey! Run this way! To the grocery store!”
The figure looks up, and from this distance they appear to be a young man. He scrambles to his feet and breaks into another run, a desperate dash for the store.
You and the man both yell out to him, encouraging him to hurry and keep going. Just as he runs through the door, two zombies that must have been close to the entrance follow him in, shambling into the store.
Man #2:
Before anyone else can react, the large, imposing man who tore the zombies off you yesterday runs by you. With his bare hands he picks up the first zombie by the neck and literally throws it outside. Then he delivers a devastating punch to the second zombie’s head, knocking it clean off its shoulders.
You yelp in surprise, having never seen someone kill a zombie in such a way before. Someone closes the door and locks it, but the herd of zombies definitely saw the young man run inside, because they’re heading straight for the store.
Backing away from the door, you glance at the man who took care of the two zombies. “Do you think the glass will hold?”
He doesn’t seem the least bit scared. “Probably not against a horde like that.”
“What should we do?” you ask, trying not to sound panicked as the zombies close in.
He grins. “You should run when they break in. I’ll tear the fuckers apart.”
Uncertain whether that statement is comforting or alarming, you turn to look at the newcomer. He’s a teenager, probably around sixteen, and he’s panting to catch his breath.
You walk over to him. “Are you alright?”
He looks up at you, and his face is twisted in horror. “I’m so sorry!” he yells, tears in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have come in here!”
“It’s alright,” you tell him, reaching your hand out to pat his shoulder. “We’ll figure something out. We’ll-“
He swats your hand away. “Don’t! I… I’ve been…” his voice dies in his throat, and he pulls up the sleeve of his shirt, displaying a messy bite wound.
You inhale sharply, your heart sinking at the sight. He’s just a kid! “How long ago?” you ask. You’ve heard rumors that severing a limb with a bite will stop the spread of the virus, but it has to be done quickly.
“Yesterday,” he answers.
The man who fought the zombies steps up beside you. “Too long,” he says, his eyes narrowed as he looks at the wound. “We should probably throw him out. He’s no good to us.”
You look at him incredulously. “We can’t do that!”
Man #3:
The man you spoke to yesterday who seemed like a leader, who was clearly a planner, walks over. He looks at the boy, then at you. “We’ll need to discuss this,” he says.
“Discuss what? What are the options here?” you ask him. “Let him stay or toss him out there to be eaten alive?!”
The man’s smooth expression doesn’t change. “Those aren’t the only options. We could tie him up, lock him in the break room, or even give him a quick and painless death.”
You feel your outrage subsiding. Those sound much more reasonable. You’re surprised he can think so rationally in this situation. “Okay. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
He smiles that same charming, not-quite-genuine smile he gave you yesterday. “Don’t be. Tensions are running high, so it’s understandable. I’d worry more if you were the type to want to throw him out immediately.”
You sigh in relief, then turn toward the boy, who is still muttering apologies. “What would you like for us to do? Restrain you? Or… or make it so you don’t turn?”
The boy looks up at you. “I don’t want to turn! Please, don’t let me end up like them! I’d do it myself but I’m too scared!”
Hearing such a young man say that is heartbreaking. But you understand. If you ever get bitten, you hope someone will kill you before letting you become a zombie, doomed to roam the earth, rotting and attacking others.
The man pulls a blade from a holster on his hip and approaches the boy. “Are you ready? Or do you need more time?”
The boy hesitates for a moment, then nods. “I’m ready. Please make it quick!”
The man pats him on the back affectionately. “You’re very brave. You can rest easy now. I’ll make sure you don’t suffer.”
The boy is staring at him, and seems comforted. “Thanks,” he says with teary eyes.
You turn your head, unable to watch. You don’t hear a sound. No scream, not even a grunt. It really must have been painless. When you look back, the man is easing the boy’s body to the floor. He looks thoughtful, maybe a little sad.
“I’m sorry you had to do that,” you say.
He’s wiping his blade off on a handkerchief. “Someone has to make the tough decisions, and then carry them out.”
You start to ask why that had to be him, but you remain silent. You don’t like the way he seems to be taking all the darkness and sadness onto himself. But you have bigger things to worry about right now.
Man #4:
The man you saw standing guard yesterday, who said he wanted to go back to the city, is staring out the windows of the store, watching the growing horde approach. He doesn’t seem scared, only annoyed, as if this is no more than a minor obstacle to his plans.
“I’m gonna get out of here,” he says, loud enough for the others to hear. “I don’t have time to get held up.”
You look at him in shock. “You’re just going to leave the rest of us?”
He looks at you dispassionately. “A group will draw their attention a lot more than a single person. I’m not getting stuck with these guys.”
You look him up and down, at his sturdy physique. “But, we need you.”
“You ever stop to think that maybe someone else needs me?”
The question takes you aback. You have no answer for him. If he’s that desperate, if he’s willing to wade through countless zombies to get to the city, there must be someone very important to him there.
“Can you at least wait a little while?” you ask him. “The zombies might give up and wander off if they can’t see us through the tinted windows.”
The man sighs. “Fine. I’ll see what happens.”
You look out at the horde. The first few zombies have reached the front of the store and are clawing at the windows and doors. You shudder as you watch them. You’ve never seen so many before, or so close up in a situation where you can actually get a good look at them. If one is close, you’re usually fleeing or trying to kill it.
They’re all staring straight ahead, seemingly at nothing. Can they see their own reflections in the glass? Can they even perceive themselves? Seeing them just leaves you feeling empty and sad.
“Do me a favor,” the man says. “If I ever get bitten, put a bullet in my fucking brain.”
You nod. “Same,” you say.
Man #5:
The man who gave you the tip yesterday about using duck tape on your arms steps over to the windows to survey the situation. He already has his arms wrapped in a layer of the tape, over top of his sleeves. A few of the others notice, and begin wrapping their own limbs in tape or thick fabric, so you do the same.
He steps closer to you and takes the roll of tape from your hand, then begins wrapping your forearm for you.
“Thanks,” you tell him, hoping he can’t hear how nervous the growing horde outside is making you.
He seems as calm as the more physically imposing men, despite having a more slender frame. “Our best option would be to bang on the glass and draw their attention to the front, then all of us slip out the back way,” he says.
You glance toward the back of the store. “Should we check to see if they’ve circled around?”
He nods, and the two if you make your way back, through the storage area and to a large drop down gate. You assume trucks come in this way to unload merchandise. But it’s locked up tight and you can’t see anything on the other side.
“There’s a window up there,” the man says, pointing. You have to use a step ladder to reach it, but you both climb up to look out.
There aren’t nearly as many zombies roaming around behind the store, but there are definitely enough to be a problem.
“I think we can make it through, but it’s going to be a challenge,” he tells you.
You feel fear creeping up your spine. So far you’ve been able to evade most large groups of zombies, but with the store being surrounded, it’s looking like you’re going to have to wade into them.
As the two of you return to the front, you feel your spirits sinking.
Man #6:
The man with the bright smile comes up beside you as you stare out hopelessly at the zombies gathered at the windows.
“I’ve seen bigger hordes,” he says.
You look up at him. “You have?”
He grins. “Sure. They’re not so bad when you realize how slow and uncoordinated they are.”
You appreciate his optimism. But you realize it’s more than that. His confidence rings true, and it makes you feel a little more hopeful.
“So you think we can get out?” you ask.
He nods, still smiling, then gestures to where a few of the men are standing in a small circle. “They’re planning our escape right now. We’ve got some real smart guys here, so don’t worry.”
You finally return his smile. “I hope you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” he replies.
Just then you hear something, like tinkling glass. Both you and the man look around for the source of the noise. After a few minutes, you spot a tiny crack in the glass, right where over a dozen zombies are pressing against the windows.
“They’re breaking the glass!” you cry, backing away.
The man calls over to his friends, “Guys, put a rush on that brilliant plan!”
They look up and rush over to check the crack.
Man #7:
The man you met in the stock room yesterday is the first to crouch down and examine the crack in the glass. His brow is furrowed as he watches the zombies shove themselves against the window, then he turns to face the others.
“Everyone, get whatever you need and be ready to go in ten minutes. We’ll take our chances going out the back.”
You already had your backpack ready, so you pull it onto your shoulders as the other men begin doing the same. You feel your heart racing as you prepare for the fight of your life.
The man is securing his own pack with a strap around his waist and checking the heavy denim sleeves of the jacket he’s wearing. He seems uncomfortable in the fabric, as if it’s not something he’d normally wear, but protection is the most important thing right now.
“What do you think our chances are?” you ask him.
He looks around the room. “With this group? Pretty good. If we all stick to the plan,” he adds, glancing at a couple of guys in particular. Then he looks back at you. “Try to stay in the middle of us. We can protect you.”
“Thanks,” you tell him. “I guess I lucked out when I stumbled upon you guys.”
He gives you a warm smile. “I’m glad you feel that way.”
Just then, you hear glass breaking, another crack at first, and then a shattering that startles everyone in the store. Right beside you, the first zombie crashes inside, and the man grabs your arm, pulling you back behind him.
As the zombie horde begins shambling into the store, the men around you take defensive positions and get ready to fight their way to the back.
Tag List:
@tadabzzzbee @babysoo-meu @atomicweaselpaperapricot
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TFOne!
I enjoyed it! Spoilery thoughts under the cut.
The scenery was so artfully and beautifully done!
-The way Iacon was built, with buildings coming up from the ground and down from the 'sky,' was so pretty! Actually, it's not until just NOW that I'm realizing how that works. The buildings are basically stalactites and stalagmites underground- attached to the ceiling and floor of an unimaginably huge cave.
-The surface! A fantastic feeling of awe as the characters rode up to the surface to find the stars and the landscape and the colors. The changing/rippling surface was super intriguing and I think that some of the first canon descriptions of Cybertron included that element - constantly changing landscape - but, citation needed. The wildlife and the flora were so pretty. I personally would've loved to see more about that, but I know in a kid's movie we have to focus on other things xD
-The character designs themselves I'm not super in love with, but they're not bad, they're fine. It was fun to watch the background for familiar characters, and MY GOD the "Jazz gets doorwingies and they bounce" moment was SO CUTE! Loved that.
The writing was totally fine. We definitely get invested in the characters. It was very nice to see the friends -> enemies pipeline in action. The moment Sentinel Prime mentioned his dead fellow Primes I thought, "lol bet you killed them" and yeah. As each scene progresses, you can easily predict what's going to happen plot-wise. But, you know, kid's movie, lol. You have a pretty simple premise, a few characters, some good dynamics... yeah, it did a good job balancing all that. If it weren't a kid's movie, it could've cut back on the 'humorous' moments (or made them less slapsticky) and spent more time on other things, and still retained the positive elements :D
Some things TFOne did very well that I hope future offerings from the franchise adapt:
-focus on smaller group of characters (especially if in a movie. a comic or serialized show can support a larger cast)
-focus on NOT THE WAR. we've seen it. we've seen iiiiiit 😭 give us more 'day in the life.' mining, racing- these are all nice glimpses into previously established, normal things. TF is science fiction: leaning into the worldbuilding for Cybertronians will add soooo much to the storytelling
-no humans 🎉🎉🎉🎉 this is a personal preference of mine, of course, but I would much rather watch the robots interact with each other, and their culture and their world, than see them come to earth and do the "revealed to humans" thing for the 4000th time. also, the humans are usually so annoying. my god. let the robots be the human analogs- that is what sci fi is. we see ourselves in other worlds, etc etc.
Where do we go from here, story-wise?
A quick recap of the conflicts in TFOne:
-OP-D friendship turmoil
-Sentinel Prime('s lies) vs the reality of the world
-Cybertronians vs Quintessons
By the end this changes to:
-OP vs Meg, and by extension, Autobots vs Decepticons
(-Sentinel Prime is dead)
-Quintessons are still out there soooo...??
It's a natural segue to The (civil) War, but the external threat from the Quintessons still exists. It'd be interesting to see what a sequel did, addressing that. OP would be fighting two fronts... which would naturally push the Autobots to finally abandon Cybertron, which is what leads to Earth landings and meeting with humans. But the movie ends with Cybertron overflowing in energon: now it's even more appealing to the Quintessons.
idk man. I'd love to see a different solution to what we've seen before.
anyway, this is long enough. I do recommend seeing the movie, if you can. It's visually stunning and fun. I hope it does well so that Uncle Hasbro dumps more money into this kind of storytelling.
On a personal note, I saw this with the 2 friends I saw RoTB with last year, and afterwards, we posed in front of the giant poster stand thingy in the movie theater lobby. My friend held up a finger like ☝️ as in "one" as in TF One, lol, so now when I think of this movie it comes with that sign
TF☝️
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