#divorced shannon i guess!

[simptasia]

yeah i fucking double-taked when boone said this because they drop this little fact and then never pick it back up again

[extasiswings]

Okay, SO! In the category of "I think it's possible that Eddie has a brain tumor/is sick in some way":

Eddie is acting weird. Eddie has been acting weird from the beginning of the season, and I know there has been discourse about "it's just that we haven't seen him so happy before" but I respectfully submit that multiple things can be true at the same time. Eddie can be happy AND it can be out of character for him to impulsively drop everything to take a helicopter ride with his new friend he met two seconds ago to see a fight in Vegas (the last time we saw Eddie be truly impulsive I'd argue was S3, buying a truck while in the midst of a serious crisis). Eddie can be happy AND it can be out of character for him to ask his girlfriend of five minutes to move in (and I recognize that we were given an explanation from Eddie in the episode, but Eddie is an unreliable narrator and his explanation also doesn't totally square with what we've seen previously - him rushing introducing her to Christopher tracks, him jumping into moving her into his house without knowing basic information about her life does not).

Then there are the Eddie-coded calls. The guy with the alien hand who is all about rigid self control and being the master of yourself - his body turning against him not because the control failed but because of a blood clot in his brain. And now the guy with encephalitis (the same condition that ultimately caused Chim to hallucinate dead people), who has amnesia and has forgotten the marriage that ended in divorce but recalls the happy time before that when his wife was just his fiancee, the guy who was experiencing chest pains that he thought was a heart attack only for Chim to say he was having a panic attack. They had Eddie be so open about his own experiences with panic attacks and coping mechanisms in 7x01 for a reason - he's genuinely doing better with his own mental health and isn't ashamed or afraid of talking about his mental health struggles. But looking at these two calls, the underlying reason for the call (alien hand, amnesiac/presumed stalker in vent) theoretically could have had mental health explanations, but instead both resulted from physical ailments in the brain. [Tangent: I also think there's something really interesting in the potential callback to S5 and the way Eddie and Maddie were sort of mirrors - Eddie with a seemingly physical problem that was caused by a mental health issue, Maddie with a seemingly mental health issue that turned out to at least in part be the result of a physical problem]

Then there is whatever they're doing with ghosts. Shannon's ghost has lingered over the narrative and was actively put on screen in 7x01. For Chim in 7x06, the ghosts were hallucinations because there was something wrong with his brain. For Bobby, I'm guessing his arc with the burn unit nurse from his past will be more of a metaphorical haunting, bringing up any number of old ghosts (but I'm also going to guess his wife will be one). For Eddie...unclear. Ryan was filming with Devin (ostensibly for 7x09 but if they're doing anything with Shanon's ghost I'd be shocked if it wasn't introduced in 7x07, "Ghost of a Second Chance"), but she didn't exactly look like Shannon. Is she supposed to be Shannon? A dream or hallucination of a different or older her? Is she a real woman who just happens to look like her? If Eddie is hallucinating, then something is clearly very wrong. If it's a random woman and he's, idk, pursuing her in some way because he's drawn to her/the fact that she looks like his dead wife, that's still another point in the "Eddie is acting weird" column (because Eddie is a bad boyfriend and wasn't the greatest husband, but what he has never been is a cheater, even when he and Shannon were separated).

And then of course there's the will of it all. The will that Buck and Eddie haven't talked about since the shooting. Now, it's no secret I love the potential of a trapped dads experience circling back to the will, but I also think there is an argument to be made for a callback to "You're the guy who likes to fix things, maybe this isn't something you can fix." Because usually, when Eddie is in danger, Buck can do something about it, take some actionable step even if a futile one - he can dig through mud, he can drag Eddie's body out of the line of fire and into an ambulance and keep him alive. And for someone who, I would guess, still thinks of himself and the will as a backup plan/contingency, who if put in a trapped dads situation may not be able to stop himself from trying to save Eddie or, if necessary, sacrificing himself to do so, because in his mind, Eddie is Christopher's dad/who Christopher needs most, it is deeply compelling to imagine what happens if Eddie is in danger from something Buck can't fix, can't fight, can't save him from. And Eddie being sick in some capacity does that.

Anyway...I just think it would be Neat.

[mvltisstuff]

Hi! i was wondering if i could do an eddie request. if so can you do one where him and the reader have been friends he joined the 118 (she’d been there a bit longer and helped him get comfortable). they always flirted but because of prior relationships, they never moved to level up the relationship. it takes chris (who loves the reader) to encourage him to ask her out.

how you get the girl - e.d

summary: request :)

eddie diaz x reader

a/n: i have yet to write for eddie so i hope this is good :) this idea is so cute 🥲

since the very start of eddie’s probationary period at the 118, y/n had been there as a leader for him. she led him everywhere, as it can be incredibly overwhelming starting at a new work environment. especially having buck on his back the first few days.

both immediately clicked on the first day he arrived. if she’s being honest, watching a powerful, and definitely hot new person come into the firehouse. whenever he needed help during the first few shifts, y/n was right behind him to be his guide. having to deal with his son and even adjusting to a new place himself was scary, and y/n was able to wash away his anxiety.

the policy of dating between firefighters was strict and surely made clear, and their rule-following personalities is what kept them even further apart.

after shannon had passed away, it took eddie a while to go back to his normal world. it felt like things had been shattered, christopher was happy and so was he. even when she asked for a divorce, if it mean chris was happy, so be it. eddie was the most selfless person y/n knew, and that’s what she admired most about him. watching him deal with every causality and call with nothing but care and respect created a new love for him, and it grew more every day.

there was no denying eddie felt the same exact way. he knew y/n has also had a rocky past with her exes, and he never would want to disturb the peace she has made with herself as he is well aware of the strength it took. her resilience and patience with him made him feel safe and loved every day at work. the way she cared for christopher and the way he lit up when she was around made his heart swell. he absolutely adored her, but both of their pasts had achieved in making them frightened to admit.

watching y/n walk in every single day with a motivating smile on her face was the highlight of eddie’s day. she was beautiful, too. her hair was always done neatly, no matter what. even if she was covered in ash or dirt, she still shines through it. her smile was like a thousand fireflies and her laugh was music to his ears.

they had both had their fair share of teasing from other people. buck, carla, chimney and hen, and even his own son had joined in on the fun. they pestered them about when they’d end up in between the sheets, and how long they would last before their true feelings about each other came out.

the one thing that gave eddie hope was how christopher felt. he absolutely looked up to her in the best way, and she treated him like her own. she gently speaks to him in a sweet voice and treats him with nothing but respect, like she would any adult.

they admit all the time that they flirt constantly. passing little comments about each other back and forth. for how smart they are, it shocks everyone else that they are so oblivious to each others feelings. and it drives them up a wall. making bets as to when they’d get together, and taking guesses as to when one of them would crack under the pressure.

as eddie had set the table, carla had prepared another home cooked meal for the father and son. christopher, as much as he loves his dad, cannot stand his cooking, so carla certainly does most. sometimes y/n will stop by to help carla make dinner, saying hello to christopher and spending as much time as she can with eddie, trying not to make it noticeable.

they all sit around the table, devouring the delicious meal carla had served to them. “so, eddie,” carla starts with a small smirk growing on her face. “where is miss y/n tonight?”

“she had a few things to finish up at work, so her shift ended later than mine did,” eddie tells him before christopher interrupts.

“you should take her out to dinner,” he suggests. “to a restaurant, don’t make her something.”

carla and eddie share a laugh before he questions christopher. “and what makes you say that? you don’t think she’d be impressed?”

“oh, honey, i think she’d flee the country,” carla laughs, earning a loud chuckle from christopher.

“alright, fine. i could take her out, but why?”

“because…” chris begins.

“because?” eddie and carla repeat after him.

“she likes you a lot, dad!” christopher exclaims like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“you got a smart kid there, eddie.”

eddie didn’t really know how to respond as he wanted to completely come clean with them, but also wanting to keep his cool. the thought of him and y/n, alone, out to dinner is honestly a dream, but it also makes him nervous because he would definitely not be able to contain his feelings about her then.

“you- you think so, chris?”

“i know so, dad. even buck told me he knows,” eddie gives him a confused look.

“why is buck talking about that?” he says, under his breath.

“i think we all know so,” carla says. “don’t think you’re good at hiding, i wouldn’t boost your ego that much.”

“what do you mean? y/n and i are very close friends, she helps me a lot,” eddie tries to cool down the topic that has risen over dinner.

“only love can make you that bad at covering something up, honey.” carla tells him with a pat to his shoulder.

the next day at work, eddie walks in with his head up after a night of barely any sleep. he thought that if anyone he needed approval from, it was the most important person in his life. and he had gotten that. the only person left was y/n herself. confidence was running through his veins, and he knew he had to ask now before he chickened out again.

he spotted y/n, already in uniform with two french braids running down the crown of her head. a breath was sucked from his mouth as he looked at her, laughing at the playful bickering from hen and chim. music to his ears, the laughing, of course. the fighting was practically white noise at this point.

“y/n! hey!” he says, jogging up to her with his bag thumping behind him.

“hi, eddie!” she replies back, another glowing smile even bigger than before grows on her face. “what’s u-“

“do you wanna grab dinner after todays shift? i heard of a really nice restaurant downtown.” he says abruptly, and she would be lying if she said it hadn’t startled her a bit.

“u-um, sure? what time?”

“get there at 5:30?” eddie says, almost sounding like he’s out of breath.

“okay…” she says slowly as eddie runs off again to the locker rooms to get dressed. y/n turns around, walking back over to the trucks and begins polishing the sides.

the grin on her face is almost painful as she can’t conceal it anymore. it does not go unnoticed by the rest of the team, as buck and bobby make their way downstairs.

“what’s she so thrilled about this morning?” bobby asks and gives her a side eye.

“diaz.” hen and chimney say at the same exact time.

y/n stands in her apartment with some of her girlfriends standing around. she invited hen, athena, and maddie over and athena had also brought may over.

“do you think this is ok?” y/n asks, holding up a skirt. “or maybe i should just grab some jeans, do you think he’d like that? he said a nice place, so maybe a dress or-“

“ok, relax,” athena says. “take a breath. i’m sure he’ll be head over heels if you were in sweatpants.” y/n smiles at herself in the mirror as may shuffles through her closet.

“you could do this!” she says, holding up a navy blue dress that fell mid thigh, with thin straps and a cross in the back. “did you forget about this baby or something? this is perfect! you’d look so hot in this, y/n, he’d probably transfer.”

“well, i don’t think that is the goal tonight sweetie,” athena says, pulling may in to have a seat. “i think it’s perfect too, it’s sexy, but not too much.”

“20 says he’s speechless,” maddie says.

“40 says he faints,” hen jokes back.

y/n exits to try it on, and comes out of the bathroom with a face of light makeup, but not too much. she pulled her hair down with some loose curls in it, hopefully something different from the average up-do for work.

“oh, my god!” may exclaims. “am i a beauty icon or what?”

“may, i have everything to thank you for this!” y/n says, slipping on a pair of heels and grabbing her purse. “it’s getting late, so i’m going to go, thank you for coming and if you guys need anything-“

“go! get out of here!” maddie yells. “he’s probably waiting for you!”

y/n scurries out of the apartment building and into her car, playing some music to get her feeling confidence for tonight. she’s worried her heart might burst out of her chest and break her ribs from how anxious she is. if tonight goes well, she might throw a party in her honor.

when y/n arrives, eddie had already been there. he was dressed in a casual suit, with a few of the buttons undone. the second he saw y/n walk up to the waitress at the front, and say she’s here for eddie, hearing his name making him shake a little.

when y/n is finally directed to the table, eddie stands up and walks over to her. he’s praying he’s not about to fall over right in front of her, because of how breathtaking she looks.

y/n, looking right at him, feels identical. she takes one glance at him and suddenly her eyes are glued there. the breath that she’s been harvesting is let out, and she walks over to get closer to him.

“y-you look,” eddie starts, looking at her figure up and down as she suddenly feels like all the lights in the world are on her. “stunning. wow, uh..”

“you look hot, eddie,” she spits out, not even thinking about her words. “or, amazing! you look amazing! sorry, that was really forward but uh-“

“it’s ok,” eddie laughs and smiles and he appears content, but his heartbeat is clear in his own ears. “i, uh, hope this isn’t too fancy for you.”

“no, it’s perfect! just weird seeing each other in such a, clean? place,” she says. “i mean we’re surrounded by tragedy every day, so.”

“that’s true,” eddie replies. once they order their food, they spend the whole night laughing, and forgetting about their worries and stubbornness. they exchange stories from when they were younger, and eddie shares funny things about chris which y/n absolutely adores.

after the night goes on, they both sit back and don’t know where to go. they could take this opportunity to change everything that they have, or ruin a perfect relationship because they thought they were too greedy for more.

standing outside, they both wait, the upset settling in that the night is over. they start mocking some of the rich people that were sitting next to them who demanded everything be perfect for them, but ultimately land just sighing and standing in silence.

“i had a really great night, eddie. thank you,” y/n says.

“it was really no problem, i had a perfect night, too,” he tells her back.

“i think there’s something we need to talk about, though.”

eddie’s heart drops a bit, as she might be completely dropping their friendship. he fears the worst, but allows her to continue.

“this friendship between us has opened to many doors for me, and you have taught me so much,” she begins, carefully as eddie gets more nervous for the result. “but i cannot keep doing this if i keep pretending i’m not in love with you, eddie.”

he stops for a minute, taking a step back and having to bring himself together. “you’re in love with me?” he says, barely above a whisper. y/n nervously nods back and he lets out a relieved laugh. she immediately turns red, worried it’s a mocking laugh and that he’s about to tell her he’s crazy.

“shit, sorry,” she starts to apologize, “i didn’t wanna mess things up but i couldn’t hide anymore and i haven’t felt this way about someone and i, oh god, i’m so sorry-“

eddie moves in to cut her off. his hand lands on the dip of her waist and pulls her in. he brushes a piece of her hair away behind her ear and lands a passionate kiss on her lips, trying to calm her nerves. “you have nothing to be sorry for, y/n.” he says and she pulls him back in, grabbing the back of his neck and planting a deep kiss. their sweet kiss turns into a heated make out in front of this fancy restaurant. they stay there for a few minutes, before they pull away and smile at each other, brightly.

“i’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

“of course, eddie,” y/n says back with a gentle grin as she turns around and walks back to her car. eddie makes his way back around, quietly cheering himself on for finally landing the girl he’s been thinking about for months.

[yourlocalgayfrogboy]

Disaster Tim Bradford x firefighter! Reader

(As of recent ABC got the rights to 9-1-1 a first responder tv show created by Fox Network. This is a crossover between The Rookie and 9-1-1 none of theses characters besides the oc's are mine.)

Pairing: Tim x reader

Characters: 9-1-1 and The Rookie characters.

Warning: Talks of serving in war and slight injuries. Events taken from season 2 of 9-1-1

Prologue

It was a busy morning at the 118, calls were answered, people were saved, fires were put out. I walked out of the locker room noticing the team around someone. I stride over to the group, noticing someone I hadn’t seen in a long time. I smiled and stood in front of him. “Holy crap, why if it isn’t Eddie Diaz, I haven't seen you in a long time. How have you been?” Eddie smiles and brings me in for a hug. 

“Good to see you Corporal. How are you doing?” I shook my head with a smile at the old nickname. “Oh wait, you aren’t a Corporal anymore.” I took a step back and looked him over. 

“I’m good, thank you. How’s Christopher and Shannon?” I then noticed the drop in his face when I mentioned Shannon. “You guys are divorced? I’m so sorry. Everything has been so goo-” The ground began to shake and I got down low to the ground. I get up after the ground stops shaking and I check if everyone’s okay. “That was only the baby after the shock is the problem.” That's when the station radio rang. 

“Alright we’ve got to a hotel to respond to multiple injuries and unstable vantages. Police and fire have been sent out.” This must be a huge disaster to have police sent out. Well I guess it makes sense. “Y/n you were in the army correct?” I nod my head when Bobby asks this. “I want you to command this since you were a high ranking officer in the army.” I understood my assignment. We all got to the hotel and I looked it up and down. Bobby talked to the police commander and fire chief who was in charge and talked since everyone was in panic and they agreed that I’d command the scene.

I grabbed the megaphone and turned it on yelling into it, “Everyone listen up this was just the start of the earth quake, we can expect an after shock. Hen and Chimney you’re on triage duty. Paramedics, I need you stationed at each triage center. Fire, extraction and evac, if they don’t have a pulse leave them, your main focus is to get anyone with a pulse out. Police, we need blockades on the highways and freeway 12 mile radius to make it easier for ambulances to get to the hospitals. All hospitals have been notified that the trauma center and the ER will be flooded. Head injuries, open wounds, and suspected internal bleeding are immediate transport. Other officers there will be chaos and raids make sure you calm down those so we don’t have to have any of these resources used up. All right, break and get to it!” I go into the command tent and watch as everyone goes their ways. This was going to be one hectic day. 

It was a 6 hour operation, we got everyone out, minimal casualties, one brother down. I walked into the hospital checking on Hen. “Hey Hen, how are you feeling?” Hen had gotten hurt as they needed an extra hand in the disaster zone. 

“I’m all right, just a minor head gash.” I nodded and told her to get well and then walked out of the hospital room. That's when I ran into someone I worked with in the army, Tim Bradford. He never really changed, the only difference was the slight aging, but it made him look good. 

“Hey, it’s been awhile Anderson. How are you doing?” I smiled when he asked me. 

“I’m doing okay, had a busy day commanding a disaster zone. Police and fire command put me in charge since I had more experience dealing with bigger crowds from being in the army.” Tim nodded and walked with you. “How’s everything going?” Tim rubbed his neck and sighed.

“It’s been quite a  challenge, I’ve got a rookie that I’m training, she’s nice and all but she sees the world as this happy thing and the truth is, it’s not. We’ve seen things when we served in Afghanistan. You started real young, straight out of high school.” I nodded while he talked, walking alongside him. “I’m giving her a whole different side of me since she’s not seen half of what we’ve seen. I better get going and check on her. Nice seeing you Anderson.” He walked off to check on his rookie. 

[sortasirius]

"Ashes, Ashes" and Eddie Diaz's Grief

This entire post is just about Eddie, literally him and him alone lol

Good lord what a stressful fucking episode.

Just to start off, after Buck meets KIM WHEN SHE JUST SWAGS ON IN TO THE FIREHOUSE WITH HER BROWNIES, the way Eddie opens the back door like he's not sure who would be there, only for him to scoff when Buck asks if he can come in...it's giving "this is Eddie's house, I'm not really a guest."

"Eddie...who's Kim?"

And Eddie immediately turning away from him and picking up dishes to put in the sink...yeah my man how's that denial taste?

"Marisol's my girlfriend. Kim's just...a friend."

"Just a friend who's a...dead ringer for your late wife?"

I don't think there's anyone else in the world who could talk like this to Eddie. I genuinely think he would turn tail and run if it was anyone else.

I noticed when Eddie says that "nothing's going on" he has an eerily similar expression on his face when Ana showed up to the firehouse. And Buck clocked him then, too.

"It's not even what I want from her."

"Okay. So what do you want?"

"I...don't know."

And that's it. That's Eddie's narrative arc. He doesn't want Shannon. He thinks he does, he's so lost in this fantasy of having her back, of doing things "right this time" that he's convinced himself that, if he could just have her alive again, everything would be perfect. He doesn't want Marisol, we know that, but he doesn't want Kim either. And if I'm honest, he wouldn't want Shannon if he had her back.

What does Eddie want? What does he really want? It's a question none of us can answer. In fact, I don't even think Eddie can answer it right now.

"Does this poor woman know that she is a carbon copy of your dead wife?"

Absolutely brutal line. Wake his ass up, Buck!!!!

"I'm worried about you."

"Yeah. I'm worried about me too."

I AM ALSO VERY WORRIED ABOUT YOU EDDIE!!!

Insane that after one (1) conversation with Buck, Eddie decides to come clean to Kim. The power that he holds.

"Have you been spending time with me? Or with her?"

What a fucking gut punch of a line.

"I didn't realize how much I...missed her. Then I saw you."

This is the thing!!! It's almost like he feels like seeing Kim somehow gives him a second chance with Shannon. If he could just have Shannon back, if he could just do it all over again, he would do it right. They would finally have that happy, perfect relationship that he remembers, he would finally be the best husband that he could be, Chris would finally be happy.

He doesn't seem to get that Chris is already happy. OF COURSE he misses his mom, he always will, and Eddie will always miss Shannon, but dragging in this person that just happens to look like her to cling to this semblance of a perfect marriage that never even existed in the first place? Yikes, my guy.

"I guess she was the love of your life."

"I think she was. Yeah. Though I'm not sure I knew at the time."

Because what he remembers isn't real!!! He's whitewashed this relationship to the point that it's not recognizable. She's the love of his life...that he ran away from before she even gave birth to enlist in the army. The love of his life that he reenlisted to stay away from. The love of his life that he fought with constantly. The love of his life that left him a few months after he was discharged. The love of his life that asked him for a divorce days before she died.

I'm not saying relationships are all sunshine and rainbows, but we saw next to none of that with Shannon and Eddie. The sex was good, they both loved Chris, they cared for each other deeply...but love of his life?

I don't even know that he would be able to identify what that even means for him.

I think his grief has taken so much from him, he can vocalize how much time they spent apart in their marriage, how so much of it didn't work, but it's like it doesn't get all the way through to him. Kim is right when she says they have unfinished business, because that's what happens when you lose someone unexpectedly like that. It's clear Eddie has never gotten over it, maybe never even tried to process it, but seeing Kim brought it all back to the surface, similar to how realizing that all of the people in his unit were dead brought up his untreated PTSD.

He so carefully bottles everything up until it explodes, and this is no different, we're just seeing the explosion and the fallout of something he has tried to tamp down for five years.

Look y'all, I felt as bad for Kim as anybody could, she did not deserve to be used as a pawn in Eddie's strange journey with grief, but for her to show up with those fuck ass bangs and basically cosplay as Shannon to try and get Eddie to open but about his grief???? WHAT ARE WE DOING????

I think ultimately, this comes down to the fact that Kim is trying, in a very weird, very misguided way, to do a good thing. Eddie said he never got closure, and was trying to use her for that closure, so she thought that, if she just dressed up like Shannon, she could help him move on from her.

But for her, this is an acting job. For Eddie (and for Chris), the loss of Shannon is very, very real.

"Who's Kim?" WAS FUCKING CRAZY. ABSOLUTE FREAK ENERGY.

"I know I wasn't a perfect husband, I did my fair share of running too."

Babe...you ran the whole ENTIRE time...

"I came back because I couldn't imagine a life without...without you."

I'm so fascinated by this delivery, because is he looking at Kim and having a hard time saying that? Or is he looking at SHANNON and having a hard time saying that?

"And you know what? I still can't. But I'm still living it. But it's broken. I'm broken. And I can't fix it. This is the life I have now. This is the life from now on. The life...without you. You were supposed to be here with me, baby. And now you're not. And you never will be."

First of all...Ryan Guzman...actor that you are.

This monologue is so heartbreaking because that grief is still such a raw nerve. He's stuck in that moment in the back of the ambulance. wishing that he had done things differently.

But the thing is...Kim is talking to him as a person that she doesn't know, as a person who never existed.

Eddie asks why he never got a letter, but he doesn't mention that she wanted a divorce. He can mention all the times he left her, or she left him, or even the fights they had, but he can't seem to ever remember, ever think about that. His speech seems doubled sided. It's not just that she left them when she died...it's that she was going to leave him before, WHEN SHE WAS ALIVE. It's that she didn't want to make things work and he never got to ask her why.

And then...the other shoe.

"Mom?"

I think we all knew Chris would find out one way or another, and while I hope that conversation with "Shannon" was healing for Eddie, it is going to set Chris back years. Because he doesn't know that it's not her! For all he knows, his mom is back again, answering that Christmas wish he asked for five years ago all over again.

I'm gonna be honest, I love Eddie so much, more than anything, but I was...pretty fucking pissed the moment they walked through that door and he called Kim "mom." Because it was SELFISH, and Eddie has never been allowed to be selfish, not once in all his life, and I wish I could support this selfishness now, but not at the cost of Chris. AND I KNOW EDDIE FEELS THE SAME WAY! This is going to fuck him up just as much as it fucks Chris up!

I know that Tim has talked about how season 7 is kind of a mirror for season 4. He's trying to get back to that narrative and tell the story he wants to tell again. If we look at that, we know that Eddie is incapacitated (shot) at the end of season 4, and that, after his recovery, he tells Buck that he's in his will, that he will get Chris if something happens to him.

Well. Something is really happening to him now. And they couldn't have Eddie near death again, but what if he becomes incapable of taking care of Chris in another way? We know that Helena and Ramon are in the last episode too...what if someone calls them, and they plan to take Chris back to Texas, only for it to be revealed to them that Buck is the one that gets Chris, not them?

This plotline was so strange in so many ways, but I think it served a very specific purpose for Eddie to begin to move beyond his grief over Shannon. And while we are, in no way, finished with the fallout of it, I hope that this conversation with Kim will help him be able to move forward with his life, instead of sticking himself in relationships he thinks he needs to be in to fill the void in his life that he thinks Shannon left.

And yes, I'm a Buck and Eddie truther until the day I die, but I really just want Eddie to begin to process this raw grief, because this was clearly the first time he had even tried.

It seems like we have A LOT to deal with in the finale, and with everything going on, I'll be interested to see the aftermath of this moment, and how it effects Eddie and Chris' relationship in particular.

[an-li-su]

so ep 7... I`m very not okay right now.

I hate cheating storylines. Hated when they've done it with Hen, hated when they've done it with Buck. 

I`m pretty sure if they wanted to address Eddie`s unresolved issues with Shannon`s death and his constant attempts to recreate a family in the image of his past relationships (which were just awful in all ways possible) they could`ve tried a million other ways to do it. 

Like we all know that Eddie idolized the shit out of his relationship with her which I guess was just a trauma response (she did want a divorce in the end and it was the right choice, good for her) but he went to therapy. And as we see now it didn't work at all? 

At the beginning of the season when he was on a call with a girl in a tub and was walking her through her panic through his own experiences and wasn`t shy about it I thought "Oh, finally, we`re making some progress on that part" but now it all went down into shackles.

I did not expect the Shannon doppelganger at all. Like even without the cheating part - it`s bad. Just bad. 

Also, him lying to both Christopher AND Buck?? Oh, god, I feel a storm coming from miles away. From the interview with the actress who plays Shannon, we have information that we will have a scene with Kim and Buck later, and, listen, I`m all in for the drama although not that kind of drama.

And let's return to Chris. He has unresolved issues with the death of his mom, which was addressed this season. Eddie was not okay with his son dating multiple girls simultaneously and asked Buck to talk with him about it. So I guess we will get some kinda of a parallel to this interaction but with Buck and Eddie? idk I'm just trying to make sense out of it. 

Also what reaction is Eddie expecting from Chris when he meets with Kim who looks like THE EXACT COPY OF HIS DEAD MOM? Excuse me???

Oh, at this point I`m just spiraling. 

The only thing that I`m sure about is his relationship with Marisol just done. In the worst possible way, yes, but it`s final. 

[hysterekbuddiez]

2nd half thoughts (spoilers)

Eddie immediately telling Kim after talking to Buck but why do it at the house?

What power Buck has over him

Poor Kim (for now… but if you have ulterior motives, I may have to rescind this)

“I guess she was the love of your life” “i think she was” You think? Sounds like “my attention?” “I guess”

Bro you need to tell her about the divorce that Shannon wanted

My goodness Eddie!

Wait, is it really wise for Athena to invite Amir over?

Bathena Fighting 😳

The best I could do was love you…

My parents are fighting 😭

He brought up his book with 148 names

He threw it away? Was that onscreen?

I believe in you Hen!

Oh Councilwoman Ortiz did her homework 👀

She’s gonna make the dept question Hen’s abilities.

No dont take Mara!!

You’ll always be their family, Mara. My heart is hurting so much!!!!!

Can’t HenRen have a happy adoption process!!! 🙏🏼 please let them!

Nope, not Kim showing up as Shannon. Wth This is unhinged

Ryan is eating this up tho

I mean i get her intentions? But this method is crazy

I can’t with this, knowing Chris is gonna see…

Lowkey feel bad for Mar*sol (not e*y) but M was really just trying to be a good gf/babysitter.

Dammit Eddie 😭😭😭

Sorry, the “baby” threw me off

“Mom” 💔

Holy crap… this is beyond traumatizing for Christopher

Eddie is gonna be single at the end of this (seems appropriate since he started this season with a gf)

Oh Bobby is dreaming/hallucinating?

Bobby is a HERO! Idc, he’s a hero!!!

Did Amir set fire to their house? And cause the explosion?

No no no!!! Bobby and Athena!!!

Not the 133

Bobby having a heart attack??? Please be ok 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[wikiangela]

seven sentence sunday

tagged by @daffi-990 💖

making more progress on alive shannon yaaay! this fic is gonna be such a mix of angst and fluff, and I hope i'll get the angst part right bc I'm not good at it, and so far a lot of after-accident stuff is turning out too cute lol (gonna fix it soon with the bombing lol) here's a lil buddie moment finally haha (they're not in love here yet but obvi there's always been something - and it's so hard to write them not in love and pining bc in my fics they're always in love already haha)

prev snippet

___

“So, it’s weird, isn’t it?” he asks, then takes a huge gulp of his beer.

“What is?” Buck asks carefully, grabbing the second bottle and opening it.

“This whole thing.” Eddie shrugs. “Shan being here. Was it weird?” he nods towards the living room, indicating Buck hanging out with her before Eddie came home. Buck thinks for a moment, not really sure how to answer.

“I mean, I guess a little bit? Not as much as I expected, we just watched TV.” It’s Buck’s turn to shrug. “It was fine. It is fine. A little awkward, but we literally just met, so hopefully that changes. Since, you know, she’s here to stay, and I’m- I’m, uh- I guess I’m here often enough, so I don’t want it to be awkward and stuff-” he stumbles over his words, suddenly not sure why it’s even important for him and her to get along. It would be so easy for them to just not see each other. It’s not like Eddie and Shannon are gonna hang out all the time now, after she’s better and gets back to her own life. All that’s gonna connect them after the divorce is Chris. So, really, Buck has no reason to want to get along with her beyond her staying here for now. They don’t have to be friends, and if it’s weird for a couple weeks, so what?

“Buck.” Eddie interrupts his rambling, his eyes softening. “I know what you mean. I- I kinda hoped you guys would get along, is that stupid?” he chuckles. And, well, it’s settled now, Buck has to make friends with her, doesn’t he? “Since you’re, you know, Christopher’s best friend.” he adds with amusement, and Buck beams. But then Eddie sighs and shakes his head. “And he’s so happy to have her around.”

“I noticed.” Buck smiles.

“Yeah. He loves being able to just go into another room and hug her, talk to her, have her help him with his homework, play games with him. Just have a relationship with her again. He’s actually-” he laughs. “He’s teaching her to play his favorite video games, and she sucks at it. So bad. He’s determined, though.” Eddie gets that look on his face he always gets when talking about Chris, so much love and fondness and adoration. It might be one of Buck’s favorite expressions of his. Not that he has any favorites, of course, that’d be weird. He’s not analyzing his best friend’s face and looks and smiles, and he’s definitely not making sure to remember every single one, mentally filing them carefully in the rapidly growing drawer with Eddie’s name on it in his mind.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gayarthur @diazass @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @arthursdent @diazblunt @911onabc @eddiediaztho @housewifebuck @lover-of-mine @gayhoediaz @rogerzsteven @watchyourbuck @hoodie-buck @monsterrae1 @hippolotamus @ladydorian05 @forthewolves @honestlydarkprincess @wildlife4life @spotsandsocks @eowon @theotherbuckley @weewootruck @thewolvesof1998 @disasterbuckdiaz @spotsandsocks @jesuisici33 @callaplums @loserdiaz @fortheloveofbuddie @underwater-ninja-13 @thewolvesof1998 @giddyupbuck

[lover-of-mine]

I had a theory I wanted to share but bear with me while I get to it.

Thinking about how now we know for sure Eddie & Marisol are actually having sex regularly got me thinking about how Eddie & Shannon's problem was never their sex life and wondering how/if that plays into Eddie being with Marisol? Because we know things never seemed to click with Ana both emotionally and physically but they are clicking physically with Marisol up until the whole nun thing after which Eddie seemed to be like "well I guess we'll break up now" but didn't seem too devastated by it? If anything he felt more like someone in the beginning of relationship not someone after months of dating & then moving in together. Which of course they decided to slow that because he realized they were going too fast but he said he really wants this time to work out but I'm not seeing a convincing reason why? They're friendly sure & having good sex I guess but what's their emotional connection? How close actually are they? I'm having a hard time understanding it. But this is only his like 3rd ever relationship right? He doesn't have a lot to compare it to & so maybe because he clicked in a way he didn't with Ana that maybe reminds him of what he had with Shannon? Except he & Shannon were best friends, they had a deep emotional connection in addition to a pretty good sex life. So I don't know but maybe Eddie is thinking they needed to move in because it would help them get closer and now maybe they need more time or something? We know he hates dating and feeling like he needs to perform so maybe it's like this is the first woman since Shannon he's able to/enjoys sleeping with so he figures that must mean something more? And I love the idea of he's never considered men being an option before and him now starting on that journey or realizing he did like men or at least Buck and he's now realizing Buck could be an option, like any of those theories and then realizing maybe what he's actually missing in his relationship with Marisol he already has with Buck and realizing he can also have that good sexual part of it (not that he has to but it does seem important to him) too. Because for all of the problems that he & Shannon had they did love and care about each other. I like to think if she'd lived they would have still gotten divorced & actually settled into a solid friendship with each other. But that's neither here nor there.

Is this a crazy stretch? Maybe. I'm just trying to make sense of it all. And I'm a Buddie girlie at heart always so it makes me feel more hopeful.

No, I'm actually with you here. I think Ana was just the first person he thought he could latch onto back then, and she was pretty and nice and Chris liked her, so he thought he could learn to love her eventually. I mean the show does imply that eddieana had sex. I know we like to joke they didn't, but the show very much does imply that with the "you really like to dress me up" "and the other thing" comment at the store before the first panic attack. But they weren't clicking emotionally and we didn't see them connect physically, so Eddie was just "sticking it out". Shannon, the sex worked and I did know how to talk, I don't think you can fight the way they did if you don't know each other. Shannon knew exactly how to disarm Eddie. How to say the thing that would get him questioning his actions. So even if we didn't get to see a lot of moments in their marriage where they were just happy, we know they had good sex and we know they knew how to talk. With Marisol he seems to be connecting with her physically, but he can't seem to connect with her emotionally, because we don't know anything about Marisol because the impression they are giving is that Eddie doesn't know a lot about her. He could have thought that the shock of moving in would bring them closer and then make the relationship better, there is an argument to be made there. And like, he says he really likes her but his brain went to the break up route and he didn't seem that devastated about it. It is canon information that this is Eddie's 3rd relationship, assumed 3rd person he slept with. So he doesn't have a lot of reference points. Which is why he keeps chasing Shannon. But I also think that enough pent up sexual energy can make people see more in a relationship than there actually is, good sex doesn't equal a good relationship (just look at Buck and Taylor and the way they had the chemistry but lacked everything else). But Shannon worked because they had both the friendship and the chemistry. If Shannon was still alive I think they would very much learn to be friends for Chris' sake and eventually settle back into the friendship and figure out who they are together while better equipped to handle what's being thrown at them. But he's lacking the communication aspect of a good relationship with Marisol. He doesn't have the friendship. He does have the friendship with Buck though. And I guess having sex with men in general never occurred to him (but as a demisexual Eddie believer I think sex is not something he worries about a lot unless it's actively creating problems in his life like in merry exmas and you don't know me, both episodes who contain the two sex scenes that lead to problems in the relationship, and it is an interesting way to create problems on Eddie's relationship by calling back to that conflict with Shannon that eventually led Eddie to let Shannon back in but literally led to him kicking Marisol out, also interesting that he sneaks Shannon out of the house and leaves Marisol alone in it) so he never thought about having sex with Buck specifically, but I don't see how Eddie could go "oh maybe I want to have sex with men?" and not instantly attach that to Buck too, because he's Buck. Considering the way I don't think Eddie knows how to qualify who Buck is to him, but does have Buck stored away as the person he trusts the most, I think that attraction to men would instantly attach to the safest person, and that's Buck.

But the question is how they are gonna handle his sexuality. I don't know if they are ever gonna explicitly label him, or Buck for they matter, on the show, but on a meta level Buck is being thought of as bisexual and they are adding to the pieces that are already there to make Buck a bisexual man. I have no idea where Eddie's sexuality is going. I can give you an argument for that man to be demisexual and/or demiromantic with the last episode. The fact that he didn't know that aspect of her killed his boner and his excitement with the relationship. So much so he had to go back to the getting to know her step. But is the show ballsy enough to have a character like Eddie be demisexual? Are they ballzy enough to make the womanizer bi and the single father ace? I don't know. Probably not. I think Eddie has a complicated relationship with sex. Is it the religious trauma? Is the demisexuality? Is it both? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ I also think that that complicated relationship with sex makes it harder for him to want to date, because dating comes with expectations. He's clearly not romance or sex repulsed, but he does have trouble connecting on a deeper level with these women. He doesn't have trouble connecting with Buck. I think if you plant the attraction to men seed with him, his brain would fill the empty space with Buck. Kinda in the same way he keeps trying to match these women to Shannon. So he could get there. He can absolutely get there. I see this being a route to be taken. I don't know if the show is brave enough to do it though.

[billthedrake]

GOALS (PART SIX)

Story idea by and collaboration with top son Turner (bimgm36@gmail.com).

[SCOTT]

There wasn't going to be a Glacier National Park hike, or a Montana trip for that matter. Not this year.

I won't go into the details, but after Kelly found out, I moved into an apartment hotel for a few days until I could line up a small apartment closer to my office. I took a few personal days off to sort through all the practical bullshit: getting a good divorce attorney, tending to bills and protecting my finances without doing anything out of line legally.

I called Shannon, which was the hardest phone call I ever had to make in my life. I decided I wasn't going to make excuses or try to convince her of anything. I just didn't want to take the easy way out and step away.

Turns out she was great. Maybe weirded out as fuck I'd been involved with her high school boyfriend. But otherwise she seemed surprisingly mature. "I told Mom I'm not going to pick sides," she said on the phone.

"You have every right to be mad at me," I acknowledged.

"Am I happy?" she said. "Of course not. I feel really bad for Mom. But you have to be who you really are, Dad. I just hope you can find a healthier way to do it."

Yes, I was being lectured by my 23 year old daughter, and yes I deserved it.

Kelly told her friends and word spread around our club. I stopped going. My golf buddies had quietly uninvited me from their group anyway.

Soon word spread around the office too, but corporate policy meant there was no real blowback. I never considered myself gay, not really or fully, but here I was being treated as gay. Hell, it didn't matter, I decided. It was just a fucking word.

The divorce took a while. Negotiation. Filing period. I put myself into work. Like, full workaholic mode like I hadn't done since my early 40s. It came back to me too easily.

I felt bad about cutting things cold with Austin. But there was too much upheaval in my life and negotiating a second emotional relationship was too much on top of it. He deserved better, I knew, but I had to look after myself first for a change.

[AUSTIN]

Army daddy Steve and I had texted some over the weekend. He used to always go radio silent after a hook up, but I think he was getting over some of his hangups or guilt. And maybe our year-long absence had made the sexual chemistry between us more powerful now that we'd reconnected.

Our messages started out thanking the other for a hot time. Saying it was hot to hook up again. Then Steve ventured, "If I came into town next week, what would you think about meeting again?"

I typed back. "You just gave me a hardon, that's what I think about it." It was true.

"Ha," he wrote. "Saturday might work better for me." Then, "I guess I'm coming off a dry spell."

"Yeah?" I wrote.

"I tried to be a good boy. That didn't last." This was night and day different than the army daddy I first hooked up with.

I massaged my bone as I typed with the other hand. "I think I prefer bad boy Steve instead."

"I bet you do." Then "I'm thinking about being a little badder when I see u next."

I sat up some. From another dude I would have written this off as flirty banter. But Steve usually wasn't the flirty banter type. "What do you mean?"

"I can trust you right?"

My heart pounded. "You know you can," I wrote. "Totally discreet."

There was a little pause. "I've been thinking what it would be like to get fucked."

"For real?" I wrote.

"I can't believe I'm typing this," came the response.

"Even if it's just a fantasy it turned me on," I wrote. "but NGL i'm boned as fuck thinking about being in your ass."

"Be honest," he wrote. "How much does it hurt?"

I grimaced, trying to think of what to type. "I've never bottomed," I wrote honestly. "But I've been the first top for a couple of guys and they have both very much enjoyed the experience."

I could sense him mulling it over, even though I couldn't see or hear him. "We'd have to use protection," he wrote.

I respected guys' wishes, and if a rubber was what it took to get into this Army officer's hole, I'd abide. But fuck, I hate condoms. "I'm clean and tested," I wrote back. "But sure. Your call."

"You fuck a lot of guys?" he asked.

This was something we didn't talk about before. Guess we were talking about it now.

"Just one guy lately. But I've tested since him."

"You seem like a player," he wrote.

I hoped he wasn't getting cold feet. "I love sex, and I love hot older men. I try to do what it takes to get off with them." Then, "Not sure what you want me to say, man."

"You're being honest, bud. I respect that." Then. "It's just some scary new territory for me, you know."

"I get that," I wrote. "Not gonna push you." I mean, I did want to push him. Bad. But with some men you had to use the soft touch. Steve was that kind of guy.

"At the very least I can give you a nice long BJ Saturday," he wrote.

"You know I'd like that."

I spent my week focused on my own workouts. I had plans with my buddies Friday night but kept Saturday open. True enough, I heard from Steve bright and early that morning.

"Morning," he wrote.

"Hi there," I typed back. I was getting ready for my morning workout.

"You gotta a chance to talk?"

"Hitting the gym in a little bit," I typed. "But yeah, I'm around now."

We normally texted, but hearing Steve's deep voice was a treat. "Hey..." he said. "Wasn't wanting to check... you still up for meeting today?"

"Oh yeah," I replied. "What's your plan?"

"I'll be hitting the road in a couple of hours," Steve said. He gave me the name of the hotel he had booked, some regular chain hotel in the suburbs. "I wanna get settled, but maybe late afternoon?"

"Works for me," I said. But a question had been eating at me all week. "I don't wanna push you, man... but what you are thinking you wanna do?"

His voice got a little quieter. "I wanna go for it... see what it's about." God his voice was so sexy.

"Getting fucked?" I clarified.

"Yeah that," he answered. At first I thought he was just being shy, but I sussed out he wasn't alone or at least wasn't sure his conversation wouldn't be overheard. Still he ventured further. "You um... do the stuff before?"

It took me a second to realize what he was getting out. "You mean would I rim you?"

His reply sounded throaty and lusty. "Yeah, that."

"I love doing that," I said. If I had any thing I wished Scott had been into more it was that. He'd let me eat him out and seemed to enjoy when I did. But the man didn't crave it or ask for it much.

My reply must have been enthusiastic because I heard a chuckle on the other end. "Nice. I just wanna try it all today."

"It's gonna be a long fucking day waiting," I teased.

"Sorry,” he said. “It's a couple hours drive."

"Nah, man, it's good. I'll go work out some of the frustration in the gym. Look forward to it."

"Yeah, me too," he said softly. This was a new side to this Army Daddy for sure.

I don't know if the Army PT shorts Steve wore when he opened his hotel door were for my sake, or if that was his normal loungewear. His skin and chest fur was damp and I could tell he's just gotten out of the shower. It wasn't the first time I'd seen his bare chest, but it had been too long, and I was enjoying the full military-dad muscle he had going on. I don't expect a 50 year old body to be fit and hard like his brawn was, but it was a nice treat.

"I'm pretty nervous," he admitted. Indeed, he was shaking a little. It was wild to see a gruff butch man like this in a vulnerable state. It gave me a full-on fuck hard but also made me a little concerned.

"We can take it slow," I offered. "Whaddya think?"

He nodded. "Yeah, maybe just feel each other up for a bit?" This wasn't what I was expecting, but I was very into the idea.

I peeled off my zip up and my T-shirt beneath. I had a good pump from the gym that day and in general was proud of my muscle. But I still loved his reaction. He walked over to the bed and pulled down the covers, watching as I took off the rest of my clothes to show off my steely erection.

That was what Steve touched first as I got into bed with him. Reaching out, he gripped my hardon and tugged gently at it. I scooted forward and let him enjoy playing with it.

We both watched the connection for a while, then I decided I wanted to feel up that Army officer muscle. We had never really had this level of intimacy. It was always about Steve servicing my dick. But I was glad for this now. He was a big guy, and firm, but that muscle also felt like a 50 year old's muscle. My dick throbbed as I ran my hands along his pecs and over his shoulders.

Steve seemed like he didn't want to relinquish my prick, but he too, began exploring my body.

"You still a trainer?" he asked. We never did much small talk or shared much of our lives, but he knew what I did.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"I should probably hire you," he joked.

I snuggled up to him so I could run my hands along his lats and down to his ass. I was cautious, not wanting to spook him, but he seemed OK with the contact of my hands on the roundness of his buns.

"Your body is perfect, man," I hissed.

He cracked a smile. "You really are into older men, aren't you?" he said. I'd put that on my profile that Steve had initially responded to.

"Very much so," I replied. "Exclusively." I now kneaded that ass brawn as I pressed my boner against his and felt the heat between our bodies. Steve had something between what I'd call a muscle ass and a daddy ass. I considered daddy asses to have a little give and not be so perfectly round. Steve, though, clearly didn't skip leg day and I could feel the strength in his glutes. If I was a bottom, I'd probably get a thrill from the potential he had to throw a hard fuck.

I looked into his blue eyes. "But guys not into older men would be into you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," he admitted. His hands now ran along my back. "I've been trying to be a good boy."

One of these days I'd go for unattached men. Or men open to a real relationship. But I had a hot as fuck Army officer in bed with me, so I wasn't gonna second guess why I was so attuned to straight men getting gay sex on the side.

"It's just us here," I assured him. I ground my crotch into his, signaling our mutual desire. "Maybe being a good boy is overrated," I hissed.

"Oh fuck," he hissed back as our eyes met. Then, with a deep voice, he said, "I've never kissed a guy."

My heart pounded. This guy was so sexy, and the vulnerability coming through his gruffness was turning me the fuck on. "Like I say, it's just us."

Steve moved his head toward me and I took that as the signal to close the gap. His lips were rough and a little chapped, but he opened them up and our tongues met. He grunted at the contact but was clearly into it. Soon we were making out, swapping tongues and clutching at each other.

"Fuck," he gasped as we broke up. "It's different with a guy."

"How so?" I asked.

"Not as tender.... a little rougher."

That caught me by surprise, since I thought we were doing tender. "You liked that?"

He gave a sheepish smile. "I did."

I wanted to feed his desire. "We can go harder at it, if you like," I offered.

And like that we were kissing again. I normally am not into so much tongue and so much sucking, but I fed off his energy and that thrill of going at it, man to man. It was a raw, sexual kiss. Almost like Steve was trying to make sure it wasn't an emotional thing for him.

My fingers dug into his cleft and he growled into my mouth as I started exploring his crack and touching his hole. That he was turned on was a good sign. The hole was clean and a little dry so I didn't press far into the ring, but gave enough pressure for the man to know my intentions, if he didn't know them already.

"Let me eat you out," I gasped when we pulled apart, our stubble leaving each other's chins and lips a little raw and spit covering the lower half of our faces.

"How you want...?" he started to ask, but I interrupted.

"Just lie back and relax. Let me know what you like," I said. Something about this Army guy's vulnerability made me want to make this really good for him.

I took my time kissing down his body and I could feel his tension relax as I did. I avoided his thick, firehose stub of a cock but licked his hairy ball sac some, which he liked. Then lower, beneath it.

"Lift your legs," I ordered softly and then saw those thick legs pull up and back. His trench had some of that dark blond fur in it but the pucker was clearly visible, pink and tight. I felt its heat as I leaned in, then gave it some licks.

"Oh god," Steve grunted.

I pulled back and look up at him. He had an excited, expectant look on his face. "You've ever been rimmed?" I asked. "Maybe by a woman?"

He shook his head. "No buddy. Wasn't sure if I'd be into it."

I head the upper part of his hamstrings to keep his ass steady. "Let's change that," I said then turned my attention back to his trench. Maybe it was because he was virgin, but I was very into eating this guy out.

It helped that Steve got really into it. He wasn't verbal, at least not verbal in a way a guy comfortable with gay sex is. But he let out some deep moans as I munched his ring and have a couple of "yes" cries to encourage me.

It was very hot, but I wasn't there to rim him all evening. I pulled back and gave a soft spit on his pucker and gave one last push of my tongue to smear the saliva around his entrance. I looked up at him and I knew I had a pride on my face for a job well done. I'd been fairly inexperienced when I started fooling around with my college professor but now I had enough under my belt to be confident in the bedroom.

"Tell me if something isn't good for you, man," I said, reaching over to pick up the lube he'd left out, along with a few condoms. I flipped the cap, squirted a good amount on my digits, and then began slowly fingering him.

"OK?" I asked, staring into those beautiful blue eyes and taking in his handsome, clean shaven face.

"Yeah," he replied. Letting those 220-ish pounds of officer muscle relax on the bed. "It's weird but good."

I smiled and added a finger. "I won't lie, man, my dick may sting when it first goes in," I said, wanting to be honest and to prepare him. "But the fingers should feel nothing but good."

Steve took a deep breath. Getting a little nervous.

"You got this, man," I said. I slowly worked my fingers in and out. I could tell he sensing the pleasure his insides could give him. "You know how much you like having my cock in your mouth and throat?" I asked.

He blushed but nodded. "Yeah."

"It's not the same, but focus on that. Having me be a part of you... inside you."

I lined up my prick next to my fingers, ready to push in.

"Could you put a condom on, man?" he asked.

"Sure," I said with some defeat in my voice. He'd said I'd have to use protection, but I thought I'd give it one last chance. As I picked up the packet, I added, "I swear I'm clean and tested if you wanna..."

He was getting a little impatient. "Just wrap it up man."

I did as instructed. I'd respect his wishes, especially if this man was offering his virginity.

I decided I didn't want Steve time to get nervous and tight. I lined up and entered him. Slowly to be sure, but I pressed in, millimeter at a time.

"I told you it'll sting," I said, sensing his bodily reaction. "It'll get better, trust me," I assured him.

I added more lube and rocked back and forth about an inch inside his hole. That seemed to do the trick. I felt that inner ring open up for me. "There ya go, man!" I growled excitedly.

"Fuck!" Steve let out. I knew it wasn't a yelp of pain or discomfort but there was a psychological reaction to having been penetrated for the first time.

"Feel good, right?" I prodded.

He nodded. "You're big. But yeah..."

I rocked a little more. Wanting him to get used to my size but needing to keep enough friction on my dick through the rubber. "You're almost there," I encouraged.

"Almost?" he asked. I was completely buried so he didn't understand.

I cocked a grin and pulled back several inches, then plowed in. His first real fuck thrust.

His dick jerked on his belly. I was pretty sure he was feeling his prostate for the first time. "Oh God!" he hissed as his hands clutched at my chest.

I started fucking him. Steady strokes in and out of his tight Army guts.

"See... I told ya," I smiled enjoying the act of breaking this big man in. This is everything I loved about sex. A much older man beneath me, learning that he loved me topping him. I fucked faster.

He jerked his dick some but mostly watched me, like he was mesmerized by watching me in rut and enjoying the close-up view of my body.

"Can we do another position?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, sure," I said. "This one not working for you?" I wanted to figure out what would make this great for him. It was his first time, after all, and a cocky part of me wanted him remembering this for a good long time.

"Not exactly comfortable to have my legs back," he replied. "Maybe you can fuck me from behind?"

"Definitely," I assured him. I pulled back and watched him flip over and get into a doggy position. In addition to the physical comfort, I gathered that Steve like the lack of emotional connection to this position, it was more purely animalistic.

The condom still kept me from feeling much but I loved the sight and act of penetration. Holding his hips and watching my rubbered cock push in between his buns. I felt like I had scored some big game here. Big strong Army daddy.

The new position worked wonders for the guy. I fucked with steady powerful thrusts. Not hard or rough, but it was very physical and Steve loved it.

"Fuck me stud!" he bellowed, now jerking his rod in time with my strokes.

God, his voice was deep and his neediness egged me on. I went harder and faster, holding his hips tight. The contrast of his paler ass cheeks and light tan of his strong back was a turn on. I could tell from his jerking arm and his body posture he was getting real close.

"You getting close, man?" he asked. His voice was urgent with need, like he was holding back his cum.

"Nah," I said. "Can't with a rubber." I wasn't trying to be an asshole, but that was the truth.

Steve bucked his ass back against my thrusting crotch a couple times, as if he was trying to work my cock to see if he could be the exception. Then he spoke up again. "Just go for it, buddy."

I wasn't sure if he was saying what I thought he was saying. "You mean?"

Steve didn't answer me but instead reached down past his balls between his legs and tugged at the base of my cock. An unmistakable signal for me to raw dog him.

I did the rest of the work, pulling back as I held the condom steady so it would slip off. The second I'd cleared the sheath, I plunged back into that officer's ass, bare.

The psychological excitement had been building up like crazy, and now the physical part of the fuck was catching up with it. I pounded with maybe five or sex strokes before my cum started.

"Oh FUCK!" I cried, holding his hips real tight as I jackrabbited in and out of that slick ass, feeling it get slicker as my seed spurted into him.

"Aw yeah, stud!" he grunted and the knowledge I was coming gave him the sign for him to allow his own orgasm. Not quite simultaneously but close in succession.

I slowly pulled out. Still hard, though pretty much his ass had drained my balls well. I patted his furred buns in silent thanks. "Let me get you a washcloth," I said.

I came back from the bathroom to find him lying back against the headboard, a quiet, almost dreamy look on his face. He gratefully took the damp cloth.

"I didn't think I'd enjoy it so much," he said, like he was admitting defeat.

"I'm glad you did," I said, standing next to the bed, and letting my dong dangle in a half hard state. "Thanks for giving me the full ride just now, buddy." I softly touched his arm to show a grateful affection.

He gave a wince of a smile. "You really like getting your way, don't ya?" Maybe he resented the barebacking now that we'd gotten our rocks off.

"I swear I'm not a man whore," I said with as much a grin as I could muster. "That was a special treat, honest."

That seemed to put Steve at ease and he set down the washcloth. "Well, at least I can say I went all out," he said almost philosophically. He picked up his watch from the nightstand. It was almost 7. "You feel like grabbing a bite, buddy?"

I gave a nod. "I wanna respect your boundaries. But yeah, that'd be nice."

He stood up from the bed and gave me a light mock punch to the shoulder. "You copped my goddamn cherry, I figured you could buy me dinner at least," he joked.

I laughed but was sincere in my reply. "Dude. After that fuck, I'll treat you to a fucking steak dinner. Honest."

Steve stood and looked at me with a smirk. "God you are a good looking fucker," he muttered. Then, "let me clean up first."

I checked my phone while he showered. Maybe a part of me hoped I'd see a message from Scott, like I did every time I picked up my phone. But it was just a couple of messages from my college buddy Jason. I gave a quick reply. Then scrolled through to find a good steakhouse to reserve for dinner.

[SCOTT]

I stopped training with Austin and for a month stopped working out entirely. Then I got back into it, at my corporate health club. It helped me deal with the stress.

I was splitting most of my assets in the divorce, so I cut corners. I found a way to transfer the country club membership to Kelly, in case she wanted to keep that up. My rent was cheap, at least cheap by Scott Delahunt standards. I was fine financially, but I didn't want this to set me too far back on my retirement goals.

I stopped beating myself up. It was too strong a statement to say I was grateful for what happened, but maybe it needed to happen.

I had a lot of alone time to think and reflect. After about four months, I texted Austin on a Saturday morning. "Would I be able to apologize to you sometime?"

I could sense hesitation on his end in replying, before he wrote. "You don't have to."

There was the rebuke I was expecting. But then I got another text from him. "It would be good to see you though."

"When?" I asked. Nervous and excited. "Name a time."

"I'm free this weekend. This afternoon?"

I was going to offer him to come over, but instead I figured it would be best to meet on neutral territory. There was a brewery with an outdoor deck. The weather was a nice early September day, so I suggested that.

He had on his faded Titans T-shirt, mesh shorts, and flip flops as he walked up. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him, for all the emotions and unfinished business left between us. Austin just looked amazing.

"Can I get you something?" I asked. In natural "treat" mode.

"Whatever you're having," he said. Then. "Great to see you Scott."

My eyes daring to meet his steely-blue gaze. "Great to see you, too, Austin."

AUSTIN

It was actually our first time in doggy position. Scott on all fours as I held his hips and did that slow-and-hard trick I'd done with the Military Dad.

"Oh, Fuck me, stud," Scott grunted. His ass was tighter than before, but he was quickly opening up for me. "You love your dad's ass don't ya, buddy?"

It was like where we left off. "God yeah, sir," I hissed. Pounding him with a series of deep, steady jabs. Feeling like a total stud boning him.

"You're so horny today, son." I sensed Scott was having a hard time keeping to a script, he was getting too carried away in the physicality of our mating.

"I missed you Scott," I said, giving him a break from the Dad talk. Even as my cock moved in faster shallow thrusts. "Missed being with you."

"Missed you, too, buddy," came his soft reply. His hand working his cock beneath him.

"You almost there?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Tell me when you're real close," I urged.

"OK," he said. Then after a few seconds of my fucking and his masturbation. I heard. "Yeah." A signal.

I gripped his arm to pull his hand away. “Do it!” I barked. “Come for me!”

It caught Scott by surprise but was perfect timing. He nutted hands free, on my cock. And even if I couldn't watch I could hear him and see his body jerk in pleasure. I busted my own seed inside him, turned on like mad by making him cum like this.

I slowed my fuck and leaned into kiss his shoulder and neck. He twisted free of me and met my mouth for the rest of our kiss.

After a little making out, I plopped on the bed and looked around. "So this is your apartment, huh?" I asked.

"Yep," he said. "Living the simple life these days."

I laughed. "Your version of the simple life is different than what lots of people would consider simple." It was a gentle accusation.

"Probably," he conceded. God, he somehow had gotten even more handsome. 52, and well on his way to 53.

"Well, it suits you," I said. Giving another quick peck.

[SCOTT]

It was a new phase for me and Austin. No longer did we have that naughty thrill of sneaking around, but it was so much better to sleep in the same bed multiple times a week and have sex more frequently.

He began training me again, unofficially, though he refused to take money this time. A couple of sessions a week, and I'd join him for one of his weekend workouts.

I tried not to be as free flowing with the money, but I still enjoyed spoiling him from time to time. We caught a few Titans games that fall, though I stepped down from the box seats.

I realize Austin had driven so much of our affair. His libido, his kinks, his love of older men. I wasn't passive in it, but mostly it was this fine young man opening a world for me. But I knew I had to make a choice.

It was his birthday weekend. We went to a Mexican restaurant he loved rather than somewhere fancy. I'd blown him before dinner, but I had a sense sex would be on the cards again later. He was in a good mood and acting flirty with me, which I loved.

But I knew we had to talk about us. "So, Austin... I've been talking to some headhunters."

"Yeah?" he asked. Intrigued, but still not sure where I was going with this.

"In my position you hear from them all the time. But I never wanted to leave Nashville before."

That stopped him cold. "You do now?" he asked softly.

I nodded. "Ever since the divorce, I hate being here. Listen... I'm not going to ask you to uproot your life. But if I moved, you'd be very welcome to come with me. Live with me."

"Wow," he said. Taking it all in. "Where are you thinking?"

"Denver, maybe Atlanta, maybe Boston," I said. "Anywhere, but Nashville." Reading his face.

"I'll have to think about it," he said.

"Of course," I said. It tore me up to bring this up with him. But we couldn't keep going in suspended animation.

Our sex was quiet and physical when we got back. Austin guided me on to my stomach and rimmed me out before mounting me and fucking me hard and slow. I could feel the need and emotion in every thrust. It made me cum against the bedsheets.

Over breakfast the next morning he was almost a new man. "It might take me a while to build up a new client base," he said. He'd clearly been thinking all night and all morning about this. He speared a slice of avocado on his plate and smiled up at me. "You know, we don't know what it'd be like to live together."

"We don't," I replied. "But I have a good guess the sex would be very good."

He grinned.

"You would be in a relationship with a man twice your age," I warned him.

His voice got low. "You know that gets me hard, Scott."

"Yeah, I do," I said. "But I mean beyond the hardons. The relationship part."

He shrugged. "We'll figure that shit out, right? Figure out what's right for us."

My heart beat hard. "So... we doing this?"

His eyes locked on mine. "If you'll have me... Dad. Yeah, we're doing this." I knew Austin saw me as a substitute for his own father. I knew there was some short circuit between that and his need to be with me sexually.

Just as there was a short circuit between my attraction to him and my need to give him what he needed. To indulge him. "Love you, son," I muttered, words catching in my throat.

His foot pressed against mine under the table. "Love ya, Dad."

[pinkarsonist0]

I'm watching the Craig of The Creek movie rn, and oh my God, MY SCOUT BABIES IT'S THEM.

Spoilers for Craig Before The Creek below:

WHOSE THAT GURL WITH THEM IS SHE LIKE LIKE AN OLDER SISTER/MENTOR TO THEM. OKAY, SO SHE'S CLEARLY A FELLOW SCOUT AND WOULD BE LIKE A MENTOR TOWARDS THEM.

Based on how Boris held her hand and the way Jason smiled at her comment towards getting the friend group name correct, that could be to imply they were rather close to her. Especially Boris. I doubt they're related by blood or law. However, I do think they had a big sister bond with her when they became scouts. According to Google, you can be a scout as young as kindergarten to 5th grade, and the oldest you can be a scout is 18.

My headcanon is that she is the reason why the scouts started going to the creek, and she would show them around it and guide them, I get a very strong older sister vibe from her. Much like Mari from Omori, let's hope she didn't play the piano...

I don't know how many years the movie takes place before the movie (at least not yet). However, I stirred up some guesses. Jason seems to be 10-11 in the show like Craig, so based on how young the scouts look, my guess will have to be that they are 6-7 years old (possibly 8 years old for Boris). So, 3-4 years before the show.

Imo, Jason seems to be happier in that scene, and in my opinion, Jason in the show isn't a very happy child if we exclude certain scenes. So, assuming the theory that Jason's mother is dead is true, we can assume the movie takes place before the tragedy.

In conclusion, this is what I stirred up for Jason (after the movie and before the show): I still have my headcanon that Jason's mother cheated on Jason's father, rooting their divorce. Jason's clearly upset by this as he begins seeing his mother a less, and his father is growing distant. However, he still had the girl we see in the movie for guidance and comfort. I do think that Jason was still pretty lonely in his childhood, so when his parents weren't around, he had her to act as an older sister for him.

But then, tragedy strikes, and Jason's mother is dead. Life begins to suck more for Jason, he now lives with just his dad and now he's straight up ignoring him and only remembers he exists in order to brag about Jason's achievements as a Forest Scout and to top it off he drags in Jason's step mother. And she clearly doesn't like him as much.

But at least he still has-

Oh, she's leaving too.

Jason's sister figure ages out of being a scout and leaves, leaving him to handle his new home situation.

I still think that Boris and the girl were the closest to each other and meant the most to each other. I think she loved them like little brothers and she loved showing around the new Forest Scouts and showing them the ropes. But Jason, Boris, and Tony stuck out to her THE MOST. She acted as an older sister to the younger scouts and maybe even stood up for them when the fellow older scouts were teasing them. She loved the scouts like little brothers, but time caught up with her, and she could no longer be a scout.

I love overanalyzing so much, you have no idea. I missed my scouts so much but now that they're back I can do SO MUCH WITH THEM NOW AHH

Also, do not think I didn't see the girl and (present) Tony having similar hats. Imma just go crazy with that and make the headcanon that she gave Tony that hat when she left. (I know her hat is a little different, but let me have fun).

And another thing, maybe she's the camp counselor we see in Camper On The Run. They have a lot of physical similarities, I need to see the episode again after watching the movie.

Edit:Just got done watching the movie, and the credits confirm that girl is the woman we see looking for Roxy in Camper On The Run and that she was indeed a fellow scout. Shannon is credited as Shannon the Scout rather than just Shannon. So, this could be a lead for my theory/headcanon being true. Someone on the COTC subreddit said that in the movie, Kelsey says she is in the second grade, and she is 9 in the show, so that would mean that the movie takes place 2 years before the show.

Now, let's get back to Shannon with this new information. The youngest to become a camp counselor is 16 and when I googled the age you can no longer be a scout I got multiple answers, but the most common one is 18. So we are safe to assume that Shannon left at 17-18 aka the estimate for when a Junior Forest Scout can no longer be a scout. I assume Shannon is 15-16 at the time of the movie and left at 17-18. So we can assume Shannon is probably 18-20 at the time of Camper On The Run.

Since she went to the creek, I wonder if she got to see Boris, Tony, and Jason again briefly. I NEED SOMEONE TO WRITE A FIC WITH ALL THEM PLEASE.

[oceanic316]

A very short analysis of all* the dads and daddy issues on lost

*Considering every character that was a main character

Daniel

Charles widmore- complete sociopath in many ways, only met Daniel when he was an adult to manipulate him into going to the island on which he would be killed by his mother which Charles witnessed

Boone

Split up with his mother at some point, was clearly left with a nanny frequently enough to kill her, definitely has unresolved issues with his dead stepfather as he fell in love with the stepsister

Miles,

Very obvious dad issues from being raised without him present. Did get to meet him but he was a bit of a dick tbh. I guess he did love him but too little too late

Michael

Little known about his dad but only his mum was looking after Walt off island. His role as a dad could be interpreted as daddy issues

Ana Lucia

Deffo has mommy issues but the lack of clear father figure points to possible daddy issues as does her time with Christian

Charlotte

Goes to shithole island to try to discover her father who was never there. Clearly has daddy issues regardless of her fathers (unknown) quality.

Frank

Has issues but there’s every chance they are NOT daddy issues. Good for him

Shannon

He’s dead and his widow is a terrible stepmother. Daddy issues up to here-may have contributed to her sleeping with her brother

Desmond

He had to raise his siblings so this points again to an absent (at the very least emotionally) father. Daddy issues

Eko

Had to raise his brother suggesting a largely absent father who wasn’t around much

Kate

Blew up her real father due to his general terribleness, her stepfather was in the army so probably has issues over him not being around all that much even though he seems like an alright guy

Jack

Jacks daddy issues regarding Christian are basically a main plot point of the show and even made it into the finale. Points to Christian for feeding into a lot of the characters daddy issues

Sawyer

Dear Mr Sawyer… probably the nastiest daddy issues, doesn’t really get much worse than murder suicide with your kid under the bed. All of sawyers bad bits are due to his daddy issues. Also has daddy issue ties to Christian and Anthony

Locke

Attempted murder was a pretty bad look from Anthony as was the kidney theft. Anthony traveled across the world giving kids daddy issues left right and centre, despite only Locke being shown as his biological kid

Ben

Skeletor was not a great dad and is a key reason captain bunny killer is so messed up. Also bens habit of adopting children (Ethan, Alex) is likely linked to his own crappy upbringing

Sayid

His dad the war hero gave him some toxic masculinity problems, sayid not killing a chicken is our only main clue but it was pretty dark

Libby

Like everything involving Libby’s past, her parents are a big mystery. She does have dead husband issues?

Sun

Mr Paik for sure messed Sun up. His treatment of Jin and his general murdery tendency affected sun not only as a child but also screwed up her marriage

Jin

Jins dad is the nicest guy on the list, but jin had intense daddy issues due to his shame and being raised by a single father.

Claire

Christian really putting it out of the park here! Being the result of an affair involving an American doctor cannot have been fun and his absence in her life probably didn’t help with her wanting to give Aaron up. Also may have contributed to her not trusting Charlie that much

Hurley

David Reyes is an asshole, but he’s a pretty run of the mill, leave my family and don’t come back til there’s money, but he made the most effort to fix things. Hugo has big daddy issues tho

Juliet

Pretty standard daddy issues but her parents divorce clearly stayed with her and led her into some pretty unhealthy relationships later on in life

Charlie

Charlie’s dad seems like quite a nice guy if I’m honest but his older brother messed him up enough I’m happy to say Charlie has something very close emotionally to daddy issues

Richard

Too much of an enigma for a strong analysis but imma go out on a limb and say yes

Bernard

I don’t think so?

Rose

She seems pretty well adjusted so I think no

Vincent

Everyone on the island has been his dad at some point- probably missed Walt his original dad a lot

[echowithpain]

idk if that was originally the plan with shannon. i remember reading an interview with one of the creators tim minear saying something along the lines of the audience didn't warm up to her because they couldn't forgive her for abandoning chris, so they decided to get rid of her character. (idk why they really needed to kill her to do that though! lol)

Hey Anon!✨️ (You're my first so you get a cookie 🍪)

I understand the audience not warming up to her...

But like...

Aren't the scripts already written??? 😂😂😂

Idk anything about screenwriting but I would assume they would have the scripts finished before the actors started, y'know... acting?

And I agree they really didn’t need to kill her to get rid of her, but that fact that she's in the show for 4 episodes before dying just makes me laugh 😂 She couldn't even make it to the end of the season she tripped at the finish line 🤣🤣🤣

Also since they did kill her, why do it randomly at the end of season 2 with a car accident instead of the beginning of season 3 with the tsunami? Chris even has nightmares about her drowning during it which is I guess how he learned to process she wasn't coming home. That honestly would've been better instead of... *points at mess* that

Eddie could've convinced her to let Chris spend the day with Buck to help him get out of bed, leading to Buck and Chris at the pier, so she can have a day to herself while he's busy at work. She agrees, says I love you to both of them, and is out of the show until episode 3 where Eddie either gets a call while at the makeshift hospital about his wife or he's reading the list of people at the morgue (assuring Bosko her captain's name isn't there) and comes across her name. But since it's busy and people are still coming in who need help, he pushes it aside, instead putting all of his focus on helping out and being glad Chris isn't near the disaster (😬) Then we get the scene with Buck wearing Chris' glasses and Eddie starts to process the fact he lost his wife AND child in a tsunami before seeing the lady carrying him in the jacket

Again, idk anything about screenwriting and we can't change the past (except with fanfiction!!!) but what we got and the context we got it in was funny. They spent literally half her time there fighting or fucking and the other half being sweet and sincere. Then it's:

"Eddie I'm not pregnant also I want a divorce" *dies literally the next scene we get with her* 😂😂😂

[exhuastedpigeon]

I'm so lost with this show. I mean I understand wanting to get marisol out if the picture, she's clearly not popular with fans and not a long term love interest for Eddie. But this shannon lookalike story is bananas. They could have just come up with a story where he meets someone else he has more chemistry with/likes more but who doesn't look exactly like shannon, and ends it with marisol. There must be a reason the writers are going this way. I don't think Kim is a long term LI either because that would be way too weird and nonsensical, not to mention how Christopher would feel having a lookalike stepmom. My guess is her and Eddie go on a few dates, but she's not all she's cracked up to be, Eddie eventually realises he's chasing a ghost, or chasing someone who can be a good parent to Chris AND someone he genuinely wants to have a life with, before he realises buck is that person lol

Hiya anon!

Before the season started Tim Minear said he didn't want two off-screen breakups and that he had originally had a storyline for Buck and Natalia to break-up, but Annelise Cepero who played Natalia wasn't available so they called an audible and had them break up off screen kept Marisol around.

My guess is that Kim is another plot device and not a long term love interest, like you said. I think she's there to show Eddie that even someone who looks like Shannon, who sounds like Shannon, isn't Shannon because no one will ever be her.

She was his first love, the first person he had sex with, someone who he enjoyed being married to, and then she died before he could move on from her romantically after she asked for a divorce. She's haunted every one of Eddie's romantic relationships since her passing because he hasn't let go of the idealized version of her that lives in his head.

Kim is likely here to show Eddie that Shannon is truly gone, he won't find her even in a look-a-like, and that's okay. Just because love looks different than he expected it to doesn't mean he can't have it.

Now I'm pretty sure Eddie is going to accidentally blow up his entire personal life in the process of making his discovery, which is going to be fun and painful to watch, but that's what makes good TV.

I truly don't know if Eddie is going to realize that Buck is the person he wants, the tracks are certainly build in the narrative to take him there, but this show has so many twists and turns that we can't anticipate - so buckle up bud, we're in for a hell of a ride.

[birgittesilverbae]

may i kindly clarify what is the current dynamic/relationship between ava, beatrice & lilith in your fic: dads; also what's the arrangement with libby so far. im so delighted with your musings of these characters!

glad you're enjoying it! it's super fun to write.

I cannot stress enough how little a timeline I have in my head for this, we're going on vibes and then I say something that sticks (case in point: what is the relationship between shannon and bea that had shannon baking kid!bea cookies? fuck if I've worked it out but if you wanna ask about it I guess I'll be forced to?)

I think generally as a rule of thumb anything before libby age 5 is no ava in the picture and before libby age 4 bealil are still married. somewhere between 5&7 it moves from ava x beatrice and ava x lilith to ava x beatrice x lilith. libby starts consistently calling ava 'mom' sometime around age 8, and at some point they all end up living together?

libby lives with bea all the way through; when divorced lilith has a flat nearby and sees libby most weekends as she's typically out of town during the week. they have a custody agreement on paper but are on good terms with each other and don't adhere to it religiously

[drunkeddiediaz]

big agree with what you said in those tags wrt tim's big bombshell being him copying what he did in lone star, my big theory for eddie's isolation going into s8 is that it partially stems from them burning down the firehouse in the s7 finale and temporarily reassigning the entire 118 to all different stations while they rebuild, which spans the haitus gap and would help close some of the timeline issues that were brought about by the strikes, like they all continue to make the effort to have get-togethers and stay in touch, except for eddie who always seems to have some excuse ready or he's caught up on an opposite shift schedule and they're all lucky if they occasionally run into him on a call, as for why? idk im not the best eddie understander but maybe it's that catholic guilt still and the catholic urge to punish himself for whatever's happening in that head of his post- blowing up his life for a ghost, bonus points for divorce era 2.0 and christopher ending up at more 118 get-togethers than his dad because we NEED to revive the chris&denny&harry friendships

YESSS to your last sentence! Chris needs to be in more scenes!

Now I still believe the ‘isolation’ doesn’t mean physical isolation, he’s gonna have to deal with the aftermath of blowing up his life so I think he’s gonna close himself off and mentally isolate himself from others. AND I don’t think Tim’s gonna do the same thing twice but I’m not sure at this point.

I’m just hoping this cheating arc will have a good payoff and he can finally move on from Shannon, for himself. But if the only narrative outcome is just so Eddie can breakup with Marisol, then that’s bad writing. I don’t have confidence that they’ll go deep dive into his mental state, deal with the aftermath AND get him to therapy with only 3 episodes left so I guess we’ll see just how much of it will be carried into the next season.