#Strings Theory

[bhramarii]

the thurible bearer

[zegalba]

Candace Hicks: "Notes of String Theory" (2022)

[hajimedics]

I'M NOT YOUR DOLL AND I'LL THINK FOR MYSELF AND I'LL LIVE FOR MYSELF

[zelpharofficial]

Red String of Fate

[moonstoast]

can you hear the music?

[sanska]

Ariadne explaining how to navigate the labyrinth (and after) to Theseus. It’s important, she’s committing treason for you Theseus, don’t look at her like that.

[epiphainie]

it's absolutely bonkers to me how easily so many of tommy's scenes in the begins episodes can be read as him being gay and closeted. like we all know they weren't intentionally building that subtext but jesus christ, it works so fucking well. like the team jacob moment was obviously there for hen to witness indirect homophobia at the 118 for the first time but it could be any other way with any other character but no it's tommy and he looks like he's just been caught in the headlights. when will your girlfriend come cook for us comment was just gerrard being a sexist pig but tommy's answer is so awkward, almost nervous, and with the hindsight of season seven it's impossible to not read more into the implications of that reaction. the chicks hate it when you get scars thing is just them shooting shit together after work but coupled with him saying he prefers being single, it almost comes across as him overcompensating for why he is single. even love actually being his favorite movie is like, the show going "hey look, there's more to this guy than just being a masc macho blue collar dudebro" because they want to show chim's influence on him but with the broader context, it again becomes a character moment you read into more, as stereotypical as it sounds

[cull3nblaze]

"Invisible string theory is the idea that you and your soulmate are 'connected through an invisible string or a thread' and it's 'written in the universe' that you’ll be together one day"

♫ isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me ♫

BuckTommy Alphabet - I

61,6 % for "Invisible String Theory" (268 votes)

[mintedwitcher]

talk to me about the bucktommy invisible string theory, if you please 🎤

Okay hear me out. Without Tommy? Buck would not be where he is now, and so much of the 118 falls apart without him:

Tommy starts at the 118 closeted and desperate to hide it so he follows along with the boys club

Howie arrives and starts chipping away at that by trying to become actual friends with his team mates

Tommy only decides to open up after Howie stuck his neck out to save Tommy's life from that retail explosion. This is the start of his separation from the boys club mentality

Hen joins the 118 and Tommy sees how quickly Gerrard shits on her (his look when Gerrard calls Hen the "latest diversity hire" is almost sheer disgust, hidden fairly quickly) despite Hen proving that she is just as smart and capable as anyone else on the job

Hen's "I see you" speech is his catalyst; he files complaints against Captain Gerrard, contributing to Gerrard being fired and Bobby being instated as captain

The boys club is almost done with anyway, but Tommy's done playing with that mindset. He befriends Hen and Howie.

He is personally present to witness the shift in dynamic happening once again when Bobby instates family dinners as a 118 tradition

When he eventually leaves to join Harbour, he leaves a gap in the 118 A-shift to be filled by none other than Evan Buckley, probie.

If Chim hadn't saved Tommy's life: Tommy wouldn't have started to pull back from the boys club, or really understood the issues with Gerrard's captaincy.

If Tommy hadn't reported Gerrard: Bobby wouldn't have become captain.

If Tommy had stayed at the 118: there'd be no room for Buck.

If Tommy hadn't befriended Hen and Chim: Buck never would've met Tommy.

Tommy Kinard is the linchpin holding it all in place. If just one single decision had been changed, everything would be different. Buck is where he is, with the family he's found, because of Tommy Kinard. And he can't see it. Tommy can't see the bigger picture, the opportunities he created with his seemingly small actions. And Buck is exactly the same way.

Their paths were always meant to cross. They were always meant to know each other, to fall in love. Because without even knowing it, Tommy has always been making a space for Evan. And just like with their first date, it turns out that Tommy stepping away is exactly what Buck needed in order to step forward.

I guess if you really want to go in on the metaphor: Buck's been following the pull of this invisible string for a long time, following Tommy from such a distance that he can't see the other end of the string yet, can't see who he's following. He just knows he's searching for something. For someone. And then the pull slacked once Buck got to the 118. The tether relaxed when they both stood still, when they both found the right places to wait. And one act of loyalty and courage from a friend years ago echoed along the string to pull them closer together, until they were standing in the same place.

By a helicopter on an airfield, preparing to fly out into literally unknown waters, the string pulled them in tight and said: "There he is. He's what you've been looking for, what youve been waiting for. Go get him."

Or something like that.

[bhramarii]

the trees have faces

[gravitysaint]

wait wait wait wait

get the red string—silly string? that’ll do—because i have some Thoughts and Ideas.

Lady Mowbray, Ms. Hunt herself (so far in Protocol) is… well, a Lady. Insert Gwen’s class-worship thing here.

Trevor Herbert, Mr. Hunt himself from Archives is a Minister. Literal murderhobo in the government.

The OIAR, a government agency, seems to be tasked with assigning targets to the Externals. You know, making them hunt.

Do you see where I’m going with this? Do you see that the British government in Protocol is run by the Hunt? DO YOU? no seriously i need someone to double-check my vision, everything is blurry

[rosetterer]

you have been where i am now, and i have never belonged. the love i have for myself is out of place. i have seen you before knowing you, and deep down, you were so afraid. the love you have for yourself is unrequited. the people who saved you and me are the string that was tied between us. and now it's pulling. but i'm unraveling. i hope you want me anyway. why does it keep pulling? call me by my name again. i want to be yours. and you do. and i am.

[fuzzyhairedfreak]

um uh uh um. so. did anyone else used to follow Nate Stevenson's D&D campaign drawings back in the day or-

[total-dxmure]

ೃ࿔ “INVISIBLE STRING THEORY” MASTERLIST

the marines didn’t ruin ellie. ellie ruined ellie. after being medically discharged she feels lost. being sent to live with joel is more of a last ditch effort to save her and less of a fun reunion for the father-daughter duo. jackson is worlds different than chicago, but the fresh air and sprawling countrysides are a welcome reprieve. ellie finds herself finding comfort in more than just the change in scenery though. after losing your girlfriend due to an accident you feel as though you’ll never find love again- but that was before meeting ellie williams. the two of you figure out that you have more in common than just the fact that she and your girlfriend were both marines though. tethered by some invisible string, the two of you meeting has to be fate. who would have known that you were the golden ticket to ellie’s recovery?

total word count: 13.8k

𖦹 chapter one- grief is a difficult thing for anyone to navigate, but ellie finds it impossible to tread through her bottomless depression. all roads seem to lead to nowhere and everyday is a struggle. after a run in with the law after a ptsd episode, her close friends decide that it's do or die. a quick phone call to joel is all it takes to turn her world upside down. moving back to wyoming is a last ditch effort to save the scarred marine. the woman has no idea what's waiting for her back home. . . or who.

𖦹 chapter two- it's easy to pretend that things are normal when she's with joel. she can put on a brave face. grin and bear it, as they say. your sudden appearance in ellie's life hits her like a battering ram, and she finds it impossible not to be drawn to you. joel lets her know that you are no stranger to loss. the two of you seem to have a lot in common. a lost engagement ring, a smitten ellie and a minor mental breakdown.

𖦹 chapter three- you're tired of waking up in bed cold and alone. abby would have wanted you to find joy again. . . so why can't you? ellie shows up bright and early to help you with your duties on the farm, which is when you realize just how irresistible she is. for the first time in a while you feel comfortable to be yourself around someone, and she feels the exact same way. she shares some hard truths about herself and discovers what was once lost to you.

𖦹 chapter four- to be continued . . .

ೃ࿔ fic "soundtrack"

i fall to pieces - patsy cline

i walk the line - johnny cash

big black car - gregory ivan isakov

blue eyes crying in the rain - willie nelson

streets of laredo - marty robbins

plastic jesus - tia blake

almost gone - my terrible friend

death don’t have no mercy - rev. gary davis

i’m so lonesome i could cry - hank williams

god’s gonna cut you down - johnny cash

[deadboydoodling]

red string theory

[iphyslitterator]

"Hi!" Buck calls out when he hears the door open from where he's sprawled sideways on Tommy's couch, engrossed in a book on the history of vaccines. He vaguely hears the door closing and the clatter of Tommy's keys in the dish when he throws them across the foyer instead of taking three steps first.

After a moment his boyfriend appears, unceremoniously crawls onto the couch, and faceplants into Buck's chest with a groan.

Buck smiles as he wraps one arm around Tommy's back. He drops his book on the floor and cards his newly free hand through Tommy's hair, resting his chin on Tommy's head. "Long shift?" he murmurs.

"Mmm," Tommy hums. "Just tired."

They lie there quietly for a while. Tommy's worn brown leather couch is actually long enough to hold them comfortably, even in this position, and broad enough that Buck never has to worry about falling off when he fidgets. It's not the biggest reason he loves Tommy's house, but it's one of the little luxuries, like the house plants and the novelty mugs, that make him feel like he fits.

"What are you thinking about?" Tommy asks, muffled.

"How I'm grateful for your stupidly big couch," Buck says. Tommy chuckles and rolls his head to the side.

"Yeah, me too," he says. "Picked it up at an estate sale a few years ago. Belonged to a couple of men. A couple."

"Fit two guys then, fits two guys now?"

"Something like that," Tommy says.

His voice has that strange raw quality it gets sometimes when he talks about his time in the closet. It must have meant something to him to buy a couch where a gay couple spent time together, cuddled, maybe fucked. Buck turns it over in his mind. A few years could mean anything from two to fifteen with Tommy.

"Did you get anything else?" he asks.

"Yeah, actually," Tommy says. "Here, hold on." He levers himself off Buck with a grunt and heads to his bedroom. Buck stretches and sits up.

"I never got around to fixing it," Tommy's saying when he reappears, something small in his hands. "Probably should someday. But it had my name on it," he says with a smile, and the light bulb goes off even before Tommy hands him the watch and Buck turns it over to see the engraving: To Thomas • My love • My partner • My friend

Buck looks up, and Tommy seems taken aback by the shock on his face. "Where did you get this?"

"At an estate-"

"Their names, what were their names?"

"Well, one of them was named Thomas." Buck just keeps looking at him urgently, and Tommy adds more seriously, "Evan, I'm sorry, I don't remember."

"Was it a big house in Hollywood Hills West?" Buck asks. "Nice gate, lots of landscaping, lots of windows?"

"Yeah," Tommy says slowly. "It was."

"I was with them when they died," Buck says, and Tommy's eyes widen. "We were on a call, one of them, Mitchell, was crushed by their car, it was awful. And, and I was talking to the other one, Thomas, before he lay down and just, died, with his husband. They wanted to go together." Buck's eyes are stinging, and Tommy's kneeling with a hand cupped against his cheek. "I told him I hoped I'd find something that good."

Tommy strokes Buck's cheekbone with his thumb, wiping away a tear. Gently, Tommy takes the watch out of his hands and fastens it around Buck's wrist.

"Do you think you will?" he asks quietly, eyes lowered.

The watch is tight, grounding, even with the lump in his throat. "He said you don't find it, you make it."

Tommy looks up and slides his hands to cradle Buck's in both of his. "Do you think you will?" he asks again.

There's a wry smile tucked in the corner of Tommy's mouth but vulnerability in his eyes. His hands are big and warm, his hugs are nearly bruising when Buck wants it, the lines next to his eyes are so deep Buck can run his fingers along them when he's smiling, when he's sleeping. He's Buck's partner. His couch is big enough for both of them.

"Yeah," Buck says. "I do."