#for characters and storylines if you want the writers and showrunners to see it and have it influence their decision making

[buckevantommy]

Do you think we’ve made enough noise over here about how great Tommy/Lou is for the showrunner of 911 to just keep him around for……ever?

i honestly don't know. but i think we should continue making noise about how great Tommy/Lou is for the foreseeable future just because.

i do find it interesting that when Minear called Lou about Tommy's return, Lou tells us: “[Minear] laid out the arc, and it was a really, really cool situation, and I agreed to it.” Which kinda sounds like Tommy's storyline is already mapped out, but it's not set in stone.

i’m not keeping an eye on things over on twitter, so if anyone has any updates, please share!

[drakaripykiros130ac]

All anger aside, it’s really sad what’s happening to the Asoiaf world. Because the books were/are amazing. And now, because of these idiotic shows, you have people calling this and that canon, even if the author never approved it.

GRRM should have had someone more trustworthy to put his work of art on screen, or forced the showrunners to sign an agreement, through which they are not allowed to stray from the books or add any sort of flourishes unless he says it’s okay. Because from the way he recently spoke about the second season, it’s not okay with him. And the fact that he won’t be in the writers’ room for season 3 says a lot.

He is disappointed. But he should have seen this coming, especially with all the political agendas going around these days. All I see in the comment section is “it’s good for representation”. That’s all they care about. Not the story itself. At this point, they should have Daemon and Caraxes hook up. It would be good for zoophilia “representation”.

If these showrunners are so proud of their work, I wonder, why do they constantly feel the need to justify themselves after the episode is out?

I wish someone would redo the Dance of the Dragons, with actors looking exactly as the characters are described in the books, and the actual storyline. Every single thing. I do not care if it’s predictable for book readers. Good. I want to see what I read come alive on screen.

And I want to give a shoutout to @sweetestpopcorn who wrote a wonderful version of the Dance of the Dragons, while staying true to the characters. That’s how it’s done.

[wenellyb]

How I feel about Buddie...

You guys have been warned, this is a long post.

I've always liked 911 and was a casual viewer but never got involved in the fandom or anything. Of course I knew about Buddie, but I personally never saw it. Buck and Eddie have always acted like best friends and do stuff best friends do. I have never seen any scene that could be interpreted as romantic, except maybe for the "you want to go for the title" scene. But to me it wasn't enough to ship them, especially since it was the only scenes in their hundreds of scenes together that could be seen as romantic.

That being said, I've always thought the ship was cute, and I understand it because who doesn't like a good friends to lovers storyline?

I just never got involved in the fandom because their behavior reminded me of the Stucky and Destiel fandom, which were chaotic experiences for me. Some people just don't know how to handle non canon ships and act entitled, complain to the showrunners and harrass the cast. I've always tried to avoid fandoms like that, but wasn't against the idea of Buddie as a ship.

The 911 Lone Star crossover episode for me was the confirmation that Buck was into men. To me, it was obvious they confirmed he was into men but hadn't set up a storyline yet. So naturally I thought... if they set up a storyline it will be with Eddie. There was no doubt it my mind.

So fast forward, a few years, I wasn't really watching season 7 and then I see all the fuss from Buddie shippers I follow, and it makes me watch the sneak peek video from 7x04 and I'm like....For sure Buck is being jealous right? (it was the scene where Eddie interrupted Tommy giving Buck a tour)

So I decided to watch the episode convinced this was going to be the episode where they confirmed Buddie, but I was also very cautious because Buddie shippers had cried wolf too many times before.

So I was careful, but I was also convinced that this was it: "Buck was going to get jealous of Eddie hanging out with Tommy and then confess his feelings or the other way around".

And that's actually what was happening until the end of the episode, we saw Buck get jealous, and most of us assumed he was being jealous about Eddie.

We didn't figure out until the end of the episode that it was all about Tommy.

And that's the beauty of that episode because you think you're watching something when in fact you're watching something else and when you rewatch some scenes you understand it, and that plot twist was written so beautifully.

So we have Buck and Tommy have a heart to heart in Buck's kitchen and they kiss. And what a kiss... the kiss itself was Nice but the look Buck gave Tommy after the kiss was breathtaking.

From that moment on, I was rooting for them.

But I still had Buddie at the back of my mind because I was thinking, what if this is all temporary and they're planning to break them up to set up a buddie storyline? So I shipped it but didn't want to get my hopes up.

This feeling got bigger when I started watching 7x05 and I saw the way their first date ended. I thought... this is it, we might not see Tommy again, what a shame. But then Buck talked to Maddie about his date and confessed it was with Tommy. And Maddie asked: "so tell me about the hot pilot", and I thought this isn't how they'd talk about a character we never see again. But I didn't know for sure.

Maybe they were setting up a Buck x Eddie storyline....

I changed my mind when I saw Buck's coming out scene to Eddie, the scene was beautiful and at that point I still was thinking Buddie was a possibility. But one line made me think that Buddie wasn't happening: "I can't stop thinking about him".

No writer would put a line like that and have Oliver say it like that with that look, if they were thinking Buck and Eddie would have a romantic scene in the future. And if you do write that, you would get a jealous reaction from the other character, not a "You should call Tommy".

And then I was conforted in my feelings when the writers doubled down and had Buck invite Tommy to Maddie's wedding. Buck could have just apologized and asked Tommy on antoher date, but no, he invited him to his sister's wedding.

There has been absolutely no hint of a romantic relationship between Buck and Eddie throughout the season. There has never been a sign of jealousy from Buck or Eddie's side when they were dating Tommy, Marisol. If they had been setting up that storyline, the writers would put some hints here and there. Instead, they shared meaningful scenes like best friends do.

I never had anything againdt Buddie as a ship, I was even open to it, but all the times I thought Buddie was going to happen, it was because of the fandom, not because of something I saw in the saw...To me Buddie is and will stay a fanon ship.

TL:DR: I don't hate the ship, I find it cute but the behavior of some shippers has made me want to stay away from the fandom. And when I thought Buddie might be happening, the writers showed us they had long term plans for Bucktommy.

[tevanbegins]

This is a long rant to shoot down mad BoB theories insisting that Tommy is a villain / secret spy in cahoots with Gerrard / plot device / temporary LI. The show's writers are mature adults who surely wouldn't go so out of the way to villainize a queer character? To the extent that he'd fool all the main characters into thinking he was a good guy and great for Buck for an entire season, and then start revealing his true colors in the next season? To make a beautiful storyline about queer joy blow up into flames with such a major negative plot twist? All so that Eddie can suddenly realise he is gay and he and Buck can get together? I seriously don't think a 60 year old showrunner would allow such childish nonsense to happen on his show.

I'm not saying queer characters can't play dark / negative roles — Eva's character is an example from this very show itself. But the writers always told us that she is a bad influence on Hen's life right from the start, never got us attached to her by depicting her as a great person in the beginning and then revealing later that she is bad. If Tommy was meant to be horrible for Buck, the narrative would clearly tell us that from the start the way they did with Eva and Hen. The writers cannot be so insensitive as to give the LGBTQ+ community such significant mlm representation with Buck and Tommy, first making us fall in love with their romance and then humiliating us (as well as Buck) by completely destroying Tommy's character — all to serve the end purpose of making a fanon ship go canon? That might happen in B*ddie fanfics written by teenagers, but it can't happen on a show being written for a sensible, mature audience by grown-ass career TV writers!!!

B*ddie would have happened a long time ago if the writers wanted to make it canon. They are not going to do it now, definitely not by making Tommy the scapegoat in that awful mess, just so the toxic portion of the fandom can be appeased over the rest of the audiences who appreciate the show for its thoughtful and sensitive storytelling.

Why is maligning Tommy even necessary to make B*ddie canon? Like Eddie and Buck have seen each other dating one woman after another through the seasons but only Tommy being the bad guy will suddenly lead to a feelings realisation arc? Why didn't it happen before, or why couldn't it happen without reintroducing Tommy if B*ddie canon was always the end plan? Probably because the writers aren't interested in going there at all, and Tommy is genuinely being written as a long-term LI for Buck?

Backing this argument is the fact that most of the conversations had by the other characters after Buck's coming out have not been explicitly about him now identifying as bisexual, but more about him being involved with Tommy. If Tommy was being written as a plot device or a short-term LI, I don't think the other characters (including Eddie, mind you) would be hyping him up during these conversations. The writers would have probably framed the conversations on the lines of, "Oh wow Buck you realised you're bisexual? Congratulations!" instead of "OMG you and Tommy? Tell us more / We love him for you and approve of you two together!" They wouldn't take the efforts they've been taking to make Tommy a pivotal subject of these conversations if he was just a plot device as the BoBs believe. And if he was supposed to be a villain, the other characters would have told Buck to find someone better if they thought Tommy's vibes were off. Not all of them can be foolish to not see through Tommy if he was truly as bad as BoBs say he is (especially not Bobby.) Yes, Buck's bisexuality is valid regardless of who he dates or even if he doesn't, but the fact the characters talk so positively about both him + Tommy during these convos clearly implies this is an important love story blended into the coming out arc.

If B*ddie canon was in the works, JLH and Kenny Choi wouldn't have said on their IG lives that it's not going to happen, Ryan Guzman wouldn't be referring to Eddie as heterosexual, etc. So, we cannot let the BoB comments get into our heads because they are not the ones writing the show. I think we can expect a lot better from Tim & Co. than them giving in to the delusional fantasies BoBs want to see being manifested. Wanted to say this piece because I am fed up of seeing the BoB conspiracy theories all over and don't want to give them the power to steal our joy. That's all for now!

___

[lover-of-mine]

https://www.tumblr.com/lemotmo/755374254590246912/can-we-take-a-minute-to-talk-about-how-todays-bts

This is spot on. The BT fandom has worked so hard to completely try and twist the narrative 9-1-1 has put forward. I’m not surprised Oliver is blocking people and not promoting the ship because there isn’t anything worth promoting and if I were him or a showrunner I would also be annoyed that a small amount of fans are trying to hijack a storyline. BT fans act like the general audience loves Tommy when I genuinely think the general audience just does not care one way or another about Tommy. Because the show has not given any reason to care about him. The only people that care so strongly (either liking or disliking him) are fandom people online who are stuck in discourse. That is not the majority of viewers. We’re going into season 8 - we don’t have a guarantee of how many seasons are left. Now that they’ve moved networks and we’re given the green light they’re going to focus on the storyline that wraps up their main characters arcs in the most satisfying way (which based on everything we’ve seen in this show is Buddie) not trying to start from scratch for both Buck and Eddie with new relationships. And if they DID want to pair Buck and Eddie with other people they would’ve actually tried to develop Buck and Tommy in season 7 and they very purposefully didn’t.

clickable link for the post because it's very spot on

The thing with the cameos is that it turned a narrative that was supposed to be about Buck and turned it into a narrative about Buck and Tommy. There is nothing in canon that backs up the idea that Tommy is anything other than just some guy. The show didn't restart at season 7 and if they wanted to make Buck and Tommy something with a fighting chance, Tommy would've existed in the narrative beyond the coming out plotline. Taylor's storyline was complete with beef with lafd personnel and a canon tragic backstory. If they wanted to make people care about Tommy they would've. They made it with Taylor with 4 episodes. You want me to believe they couldn't do it with Tommy after 6? Lou was putting out headcanon after headcanon and people took that as gospel as if he was reading scripts and had input from writers when Lou said in an interview that they didn't even tell him what label Tommy was supposed to have when they filmed the kiss. The show created a very clear narrative that shows that the relationship is not that serious. And if we are taking word of god as canon, Tim said that it's a "level entry relationship" and used the word "first fling" multiple times. First implies a second and fling is as unserious as it can get. The actual show is saying something, the creator of the show is saying the same thing. But sure, the actor they are paying and prompting has more say than the actual source material 🙄🙄. This story is about making Buck bi. Nothing else. If they wanted to make this be a Buck finally found his person, they would've developed Tommy into someone who's at least a little bit likeable, not continuously make him look worse every time he opens his mouth. If Oliver really is frustrated with this and blocking people because people hijacked the storyline he's telling, he has every right to be. He wanted to tell a nice story about Buck being bi and now he's caught having to dodge people who want him to walk up to the creators and say they have to marry Buck and Tommy by 802 or else he walks, when he clearly just wanted it to be about Buck's identity. Somehow Buck got pushed to the background of his own story by this very loud group of people while being aided by an actor who's creating a pr nightmare. The story is about Buck exploring bisexuality not about Buck falling in love with Tommy and it's painfully clear. The fact that people can't see it because someone paid a dude 100 and something dollars to say they are "thriving" is madness and shows the lack of basic media literacy.

[mickeym4ndy]

I see a lot of season 6 talk recently and tbh it's an interesting one because rewatching season 6 can be difficult. Because it actually is so hard to have to sit through the anti-mickey rhetoric that the writers were forcing, but watching Ian become an EMT and learn to accept his bipolar is so beautiful (Caleb can choke but like the rest of it).

I feel like people have this idea that if you criticise anything about season 6 then you hate all of it and you're completely writing off the whole thing, but I think both ideas can exist together tbh. Like i loved watching Ian become and EMT and come back to himself, but at the same time, I really had no interest in watching him in another relationship at that point tbh, it seemed like it was just too soon and they forced it simply because they wanted to make mickey a terrible villain. Which is painful to watch after they'd spent 5 seasons building a complex, flawed, loving, multi-faceted character only to minimise him to an abusive thug just because of a BTS issue with cast and showrunners. And it's okay to not like that imo.

But there is also a beautiful and important story about Ian finding himself again, and watching him accept his bipolar. Like the joy that scene where he talks about it with the rest of the EMT's gives me is insane it's sUCH beautiful scene.

Anyway what I'm saying is I don't think one opinion cancels out the other. I don't think voicing criticisms of mickey's characterisation or some of Ian's actions means that you're writing off the whole season, or that you're villainising Ian's whole character, or acting like mickey was perfect. In the same way that loving Ian's storyline doesn't mean that you have to agree with or even enjoy every part of the season. If you do then cool! There is a lot to love and defend about it. But it's okay that people don't like elements of it.

There are parts that are not nice to sit through as a Gallavich fan imo. And I think it's okay that a season that doesn't feature your favourite character isn't your favourite season. And it doesn't mean you're writing off the journey of self acceptance Ian goes through or that you're a bad fan or whatever. And it's okay if you loved the season because of that journey. I'll agree that there probably are some people who are extreme on both sides but I just don't think you have to be one or the other.

There are great parts to talk about but it's okay to talk about the flaws and the uncomfortable parts too.

[t1gerlilly]

I’ve seen a number of posts dismissing discussions of racism in the new storyline out of hand. To the point where I have no idea what the original criticisms were. And I think that’s really unfortunate. Partly because it feels like there’s a part of our community we’re not listening to and partly because I have some questions on the subject and would really like to hear what people are saying about it, but I’m clearly not following the right people.

I think folks forget how important Eddie is as Hispanic rep. Although 25% of the US population is Hispanic, only 3.3% of lead roles in TV are played by Hispanic actors (source) They’re also only 1.6% of showrunners and 1.9% of directors. And they are also under 5% of executive or management roles in media (source). So there is clearly a systemic problem.

But how does that apply to 911? Well - Carlos on lone star is notorious for having the least screen time of any character, despite the fact that his character is the closest to Athena in terms of role. And Eddie? Well, the latest I could find was season five totals - and Eddie and Chim, the non-white or black men, were bottom of the barrel. To really establish a pattern, you’d want more than two shows, but at least across half a decade of shows, the pattern is pretty consistent. I’m not making an argument about the reasons for that, but those are just the numbers. If I were to speculate, I’d assume it was a combination of who the network exec, showrunner, and executive producer was, since they have the power to make decisions. Just coincidentally, their racial identities mirror the screen time of the characters? Hmmmm

So then let’s look at who does press for the show - making themselves more visible…yeah, that’s largely Oliver. And you can say that’s because he’s a POV character- but you might be surprised to learn that in many seasons either Hen or Athena had more screen time than Buck. Yeah. Really. But you NEVER see Aisha put out to do press the way that Oliver is.

Why is that? Is it because she’s a black woman? Because she plays a queer character? And who is making that decision and why? Because that lack of visibility impacts her personal career. Same thing with Ryan Guzman and Kenneth Choi, who both have less screen time AND less press.

But in particular- and this is the rub - Ryan has CLEARLY been making intentional acting choices FOR YEARS to shape his character and his dynamic with Buck as queer. Oliver played into them, thinking of them as natural chemistry- but it’s clear that other creators on the show - notably the directors and writers, picked up on Ryan’s choices and fan reactions to reframe the dynamics and the characters.

And it’s really clear that Tim originally intended to have Eddie come out, but the poor reaction to Natalia and the fact that the actress was unavailable led him to switch the storyline to Buck. All of which is perfectly understandable.

But if there’s one person most responsible for the reason we ultimately got bi!Buck, it’s Ryan Guzman - for the bravery and perseverance of his choices as an artist. It’s amazing to me that in all the praise for Oliver saying that he “would have” leaned into Buck as queer even without the go ahead…no one has thought to praise the actor who actually DID THAT - for YEARS- when he was in a much more precarious position as a character and an actor. Like really take a minute to look at what that took…he was risking his livelihood with that choice.

And then, when the show DOES finally make it canon…who gets the praise? The buzz? The support? The white guy who was mostly oblivious for the past five years. Like…how is THAT fair?

And OK, the original plan was for the helicopter pilot to be Lucy, and that fell through so they reached out to Lou, because Tommy was a former character- but also quite likely because he looks a good deal like Buck - and the SL was supposed to have that character be a stand-in for the other half of Buddie. When they switched to Buck, they had to make Tommy have similar hobbies to Eddie to establish the similarities, since they couldn’t rely on looks.

But that meant they totally whitewashed the story line. And if you want to talk about firsts - when has a Hispanic lead come out as gay or bi? And how many of them were men? And how many were over 21? And on a mainstream show?

And no, it wasn’t intentional (just a function of having so many more white characters than Hispanic characters), but it was unfortunate. Not to mention the intersectionality of it all.

So…I honestly think there’s a decent basis for critique there. Not a “these people are terrible” critique, but a “not paying attention to diversity systemically” in a way that lets unconscious bias have the same impact as deliberate bias.

And I really wonder at the people who just dismissed the entire discussion - how hard did you listen? How willing were you to hear what people were saying? Because this is an issue that has to do with real people, their careers, their hopes, dreams, and identities. And you should be willing to listen.

[coal15]

My opinions on the whole multi-shipping Buddie and Tevan situation. But first, [steps up on soapbox and yells into bullhorn] HAVE NO BEEF WITH ANYONE WHO FEELS DIFFERENTLY THAN ME SO I'D REALLY APPRECIATE NOT GETTING ANY "YOUR OPINIONS ARE STUPID AND PROBABLY SO ARE YOU" COMMENTS IN MY REPLIES. **If any such comments do appear in my replies I would ask the rest of you to please simply ignore them. You won't change their minds so confrontation will do nothing but further poison the waters.

Ahem. Carrying on. Warning, this post is LONG. Like, practically a novella.

I'm still a multi-shipper at heart in the sense that I will always love my memories in the Buddie fandom and how vocally we showed our support over the last six years--yes there was a SUPER PROMINENT contingent among us who directly engaged with and verbally disemboweled every actress who played a li on a regular basis, (and who harassed Oliver to the point of him quitting twitter) but most of us had the sense to direct our ranting at the fictional character or writers/showrunner/network with varying degrees of anger or indignation. Now speaking just for myself, in my time as a Buddie fan I never commented on the physical appearance of any li, so seeing a lot of buddie-or-bust folks now referring to Lou as "ugly" "rectangle-faced" "gross looking," etc has been disappointing. I hope they represent the minority. So far it looks like they do.

On to my reasons for and/or role in shutting down non-Buddie romances: While I never took to engaging her personally, I voiced harsh criticism of GW over her "honorary latina" comment, likewise EG for her transphobia and non-apology apology ("I'm sorry if you felt offended). And while I wish bucktaylor had stayed besties (preferably bi besties since there was no reason Buck couldn't have his bi awakening with a woman), my issue with them dating was at first just a lack of romantic chemistry and the fact that Taylor never apologized for what she did to Bobby or even admitted it was wrong. But as the relationship dragged on I watched the life drain out of Buck. They were stagnant as a couple and the look on Buck's face when he said ily back to her was . . . laughably unromantic. The only growth his character got from that relationship was him being the one to end it. As for eddieana, on top of lacking chemistry they were just plain dull. The end.

Moving on to Buck's kiss w/Lucy: I actually like AK and was excited to hear about her coming to 9-1-1. She was fun af as Lexi on VD so I was looking forward to seeing her play a different character. Aaaaannnnnnd then KR immediately ruined her by making it abundantly clear that she was created for one sole purpose: to complicate a man's storyline and spark off a love triangle--and she did so in the most offensive way possible. It was appalling, negatively affected Buck's character, and thankfully KR's response to the intense backlash was to pivot so the love triangle never manifested. But the damage was already done. No one had any interest in watching them poke/flirt for the rest of the season. I was deeply offended by such a misogynistic use of a female character and it still boggles my mind that a woman created her.

Anyhow, all this was a long winded way of saying that my reasons for wanting those li gone went well beyond my investment in Buddie. Though I did strongly believe no romantic narrative for either of them could ever compete w/the Buckley-Diaz Family, at the end of the day those romantic arcs were ruined for me by writing mistakes, problematic actresses, and lack of chemistry (which is admittedly subjective and something we all approach with shipper goggles to some degree--if you think you 100% absolutely don't you're lying to yourself). I stand by a lot of the reasons Buddies were so opposed to those li being endgame. Yes, plenty of us took things waaaaaaay over the line re: direct personal attacks against actresses and/or non-buddie fans, but I think far more of us than not did argue in good faith and toward the right people. We just didn't stand out as much or get as much engagement because . . . well, toxic behavior is rewarded on sm with more clicks, shares, likes, quotes, etc. Attention seekers gonna seek.

As for why it's so hard to ship happily on sm: in my experience a handful of problematic or outright unhinged fans (on both sides) will go around stirring shit, provoking arguments, and soon the dog pile effect kicks in because everyone wants to defend their tribe. Arguments go in circles, spin off, get more and more petty, until most of "us" end up discussing amongst ourselves about how "they" are a bunch of [insert string of negative attributes here], which then in itself provokes a reaction from "them." Lather, rinse, repeat. Eventually way too many of "us" are hissing and snarling at "them" more often than theorizing about or celebrating our ship . . . the thing we enjoy . . . and it's really hard to detach from that cycle, especially when things get personal. I recommend total non-acknowledgement, but even I struggle to hold that line when I read something I think is terrible. I'm making an effort these days to just keep scrolling thru my feed until I hit something happy, and if there's a negative comment somewhere in the thread to give it ZERO engagement of any kind. Not. Easy.

Which brings me to where I am today. During my time in the Buddie fandom I assumed that for most of us the actual queer rep mattered more than any one ship. Hell, if Taylor had been the one to wake Buck up to his bisexuality--and admitted what she did to Bobby was wrong--they might have grown on me as an endgame couple. I've accepted "meh" endgame couples before as long as everything else on a show stayed solid. I also thought that Buck could never, ever look at anyone with bigger hearteyes than the way he looked at Eddie, but . . .

. . . Enter Tommy. As soon as they kissed, and in their albeit limited screentime afterward (thanks a lot shortened season!) I learned a lesson: there are different kinds of hearteyes. In my opinion Buck looks at Eddie with complete adoration and love, yes. Total hearteyes. But the way he looks at Tommy is . . . "Oh, that's what Buck looks like when he's absolutely smitten, that's how he acts, that's what a romantic crush looks like on Buck. Wow." It wasn't better or worse than his hearteyes or vibe with Eddie, just conspicuously different. It re-framed the way I see the Buckley-Diaz Family as well, and the way I read their chemistry. As I mentioned earlier chemistry is subjective, and once I actually had something queer to compare with Buddie's chemistry, I stopped rooting for romantic Buddie. I wouldn't exactly be furious if they went canon since I did spend all those years rooting for them and it would still be a high profile queer storyline, but I would rather see the Buckley-Diaz Family and Tevan coexist. I think they can, and I think it would be beautiful.

So here's where I stand with my preference and opinions today:

Falling in love doesn't mean everyone else in your life gets demoted. Feelings aren't like pie. Maddie doesn't love Buck any less since she fell in love with Chimney. Athena didn't love her daughter any less when her son came along. There's not a finite amount of love and you're serving out pieces of it. You can love more than one person with all your heart. And that's how I feel about Buck and the Buckley-Diaz Family. He and Eddie are more than friends, different than brothers, they just . . . have their own dynamic. It's unique, special, and vital to both of their identities. And those facts will not be altered by either of them falling in love w/another person. If anything, the Buckley-Diaz Fam has become more special to me since I started rooting for a Tevan endgame.

Queer rep matters more to me than Buddie. Buck coming out as bi wasn't and shouldn't be seen as a step on the road to "winning" the ship I wanted for years. It is completely awesome progress for us whether they're endgame or not. Ditto for Tevan. Also, at the end of the day I ship Buck+Happiness and Eddie+Happiness, and right now Buck seems to be falling for Tommy. What happens with Eddie remains to be seen.

Looking at the whole picture, I will always love Buddie and kinda wish they'd gone canon in s4 or 5, but I think that moment has passed and I'm not mad or bitter about it. I adore the Buckley-Diaz Family, I adore Tevan, and I want to see them both thrive in s8. Now if you'll excuse me, my fingers have begun to bleed from all this typing.

[girllookingoutwindow]

The writers should have just let Cressida marry Debling. Think about it: season 4 is going to have a time skip of at least three years meaning Debling should have returned from his travels by then but still hadn't returned. He would be pronounced dead and Cressida would be an extremely wealthy widow. The new showrunner admitted that she wanted to explore queer storylines for both Benedict and Eloise so if Eloise isn't the leading character for season 4 then that could be her storyline. Exploring her newfound romantic and sexual feelings for Cressida. The two had wonderful chemistry in season 3.

What do you think?

I think it could be a good idea for Cressida marrying Lord Deblin. But, I hope she could find a better life in Wales? I'm not a fan of Lord Deblin, honestly but I think the actor is really pleasant to gaze.

I think she had a good chemistry with Eloise she made her get out to her confort zone. But El still felt invisible, she still was loving someone else, and she was heartbroken. I don't think she's read to love again or she knows to much about love yet.

Cressida is another thing. She needs to find to personal journey first. To me this two characters have potential, but they're not there. They need time. Maybe we can see them growing through the seasons. To me, now, they only can hurt each other.

But, I understand why some liked this two characters together. I hope next season is Benedict's season and their story continues like side characters.

[positivexcellence]

EXCLUSIVES INTERVIEWS How Jared Padalecki Changed From A Gilmore Girls Kid To Walker Season 4's Father - Exclusive Interview

"Walker" is now in its fourth season. What about the show, and also the character of Cordell, has made you want to keep coming back year after year?

Well, so many things. But I think to answer your second question first, what I love about the character of Cordell Walker and what he is going through is that it feels, though very different, very similar to my own life. I mean, I am a father. This is the first chance I've ever had to play a father. So selfishly, I love exploring what that looks like. Our writers have been so diligent about making this show as honest as possible. I hope I don't sound like I'm disparaging the OG "Walker, Texas Ranger" in any way, shape, or form, but this is not a martial arts show as much as it's a human being show about adulting and about having relationships and having troubles, and things are dirty and messy and there's not always an easy fix. 

It's not necessarily get the bad guy and everything's good for the week. It's sort of like, get the bad guy, but in the process of getting the bad guy, you ignored your daughter, so how do you fix that? Or in the process of getting the bad guy, you skipped out on your son. Or in the process of getting the bad guy, you locked yourself in your room for three weeks straight and weren't available to anybody, and now you have some relationships to repair. So it's much more similar, in my opinion, to life. Life as I know it, at least.

And to answer your first question about Season 4, I'm really excited. We haven't really explored past traumas in the sense of the Ranger world. And so we have this serial killer, the Jackal, and it's very clear that the Jackal — before Captain James (Coby Bell) was captain, he was just Ranger, and Ranger James and Ranger Walker were partners — he really terrorized these guys, specifically Ranger James, then Captain James. And Season 4 has been a great kind of dark dive into what someone can do to you psychologically when it seems like they're playing with your emotions, and they're one step ahead of you all the time, and you just can't save those around you when your job is to protect and serve.

"Walker" is your first dive into the world of executive producing. What has that been like for you? 

My trailer's bigger, I get to tell people what to do. [laughs] By the final seasons of a show I did before "Walker" called "Supernatural," Jensen Ackles and I both had a say in the storylines and in the scripts and the blocking. And then, to quote the Bard, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." We weren't executive producers by any means, we weren't involved in all the meetings that artists aren't necessarily usually involved with, but we were so passionate about our characters and about the story and about the canon and about the cast and crew that our vote was counted, even though we were never producers on "Supernatural." 

With "Supernatural," I think the executive producers were able to see through 10 years of example that Jensen and I cared about the story and the script and the characters, not about like, "Hey, it'd be cool if I took my shirt off. Hey, it'd be cool if I had leather pants and a motorcycle." They knew that we were doing what was best for the character. And so I think when you come in as the EP, that's assumed, and so that kind of bridge has already been passed, that speed bump has already been navigated. That's been wonderful. 

I have a wonderful relationship with ["Walker" creator] Anna Fricke. Funny enough, her husband Jeremy Carver was executive producer and showrunner of "Supernatural" for many years, and that's how she and I first met. And from day one, she and I have just been on the same page. We just talked this morning, as a matter of fact, about the finale that we're shooting right now. And so it's been nicely passionate. I think what I've found in my 20-something years in the industry is that, as an actor, what happens between action and cut doesn't really interest me all that much. It's fun. But what I'm interested in is being home with a script, with the puzzle of how does this work? Where does this not work? How can this work better? What else could we do? 

So to be a partner and trying to determine what storylines are most poignant and most pertinent along the way, and what works best for each character has been really special and I'm really excited about it. And even learning a lot about what happens, quote-unquote "behind the scenes," some of which is kind of unnecessary for me to know. "Well, hey, this location's going to cost $1,000, but this is going to be $1,200." I'm like, "Okay, well, what's better?"

I was a kid that spent time in my room building Legos, much like my middle son. I was just so fascinated by the way things work. And I think, frankly, for certain actors, that informs their performance as well, knowing everything that went into why a scene has to be a certain way. I can recall on "Gilmore Girls" or "Supernatural" reading a scene and going, "Well, wouldn't it be a lot better if we did this instead?" And now having been EP for years, I can read a scene and go like, "Oh, I know why this is inside, not outside. Oh, I know why they just push each other and don't get into a full-on fight. Oh, I know why this person has lines, or this one doesn't." So it kind of helps complete the puzzle, so to speak. 

Speaking of "Supernatural," you've had some really big roles in your career, like Sam, and Dean on "Gilmore Girls," obviously.

OG Dean! I like to say OG Dean because Jensen was Dean on "Supernatural," but I'd already been Dean on "Gilmore Girls" for five years. So I like to try and kind of wink and nod. 

What does it mean to have those fans that started with you on "Gilmore Girls" also embracing this newer character of Walker?

I can't put into words how grateful I am that people have enjoyed the work I do. And funny enough, even though it's scripted television, I feel like my work and career have been kind of like a journal. On "Gilmore Girls," I did the pilot when I was 17 years old and I was a kid fresh out of San Antonio, Texas, where the only apartment I could afford, the door didn't lock. It was in the parking lot of a liquor store. And then I grew up a little bit. And then at 22, I started "Supernatural" and I was still essentially a kid. But during "Supernatural," I became more of a man and an adult and a husband and then a father. And now on "Walker," I'm a father. And so it's really life imitates art. 

And so the idea that people have taken the time to listen to me, I feel listened to. Which is ironic because I'm playing characters. This isn't a documentary by any means. But I'm flattered and I hope they all understand that I would not be here able to tell stories if it weren't for them, period. 

Is there anything that you want the fans to know before they watch the "Walker" Season 4 premiere?

Yeah, we have a shortened season. We have 13 episodes. Jensen and I used to joke when we were doing a 23-episode season of "Supernatural," you're not going to win them all. If you go up to bat 23 times, you're not going to hit home runs every time. If you shoot 23 three-pointers, you're not going to make them all. But with 13 episodes, each one is wham, bam, don't miss, don't blink, don't walk away. We're bringing a lot of awesome, incredible, high-stakes stuff the audience's way, and I can't wait to watch alongside them. 

Looper

[sukibenders]

I really enjoy Yellowjackets but the way it throws its poc characters to the side, the way the fandom does is so unsurprising but saddening at the same time. Shauna is one of my favorite characters, she's cool and stuff but, being honest, the trope of housewife having an affair because she's bored of her current life has been played before. So what if this one had certain elements outside of it, it's still common so it kind of grew tiring to see Yellowjackets constantly shove this plot at me when Tai's storyline is right there.

Taissa, a biracial woman who, even after living through something horrific as a kid, "bounced back" and lived the life she always wanted. She was a lawyer, now ran for and won a position in office, married a beautiful and smart woman and had a son, has a whole perfect family who she loves. Only for the trauma, the aspect of her life she promised herself and others to never talk about, is now coming back and in the process causes her to do things she doesn't want to do. The plot that could have come from Taissa alone is out of this world. You mean to tell me that a biracial lesbain running for office wouldn't be more entertaining than Shauna's storyline? Why couldn't Tai be the main focus?

And I don't even want to get into the fandom, but I have too. Listen, I like TaiVan for all that they are. They helped each other survive during a time where they thought it would be impossible. But what annoys me and, sadly, almost pushed me away from this ship, was how the writers and fans treat Simone and Sammy. Like the shows only way to have Tai together with Van was to put her wife in a coma and abandoned her son? That really does not sound like Tai, who fought to get her old life. And very insidious how some fans make certain jokes that just reek of "Let's push away the black characters to make room for the yte ones", because I've seen people call Simone the villain, to other things, just because she told Tai to get help all while framing Van as the better option. I've seen people in the fan call Sammy unnatural or even a demon just because he exists in a way that is not natural, by that I mean acting out and expressing coping mannerisms because he saw a version of his mother who terrified him but can't express, but I forgot because he's a little black boy who needs help people will ignore him or dehumanize him, because that's how this works right? The shows main, and only dark-skinned black characters were quickly pushed aside by the plot for what?

And I have a feeling the show may make us watch Taissa go through great lengths to keep Van alive (even though I do want Van to live), but won't extend the same want to Simone, which will read badly with the undertones in so many ways.

And the fandom treats Tai poorly as well (don't even get me started on some pretending to care about her family just to hang it over her head and call her a deadbeat) and reaching some nearly very ableist thinking when talking about her. Taissa deserved so much better, from the show and the fandom, and I hope they do better in season three but I'm not so sure to be honest, because most of the scenes even having mentions of Tai's blackness were because of Jasmine, not the showrunners, who it would be fine if it were small things here and there but to add so many crucial parts to your character because others won't begins to become a pattern.

[wellcomeoneileen]

Post 2/? on Processing QaF

End of qaf -technical points. 

This is a very logistical view on the literal end of the show. My more thematic l thoughts about the whole final season are also under this tag, in post 1. Again, conceding that I am very new to an established fandom and this is my immediate processing of finishing my recent obsession, and there are probably several other posts like this floating around.

I read every spoiler possible. I read nearly every fanfic possible all before I watched any of the last season of QaF. The endless thought pieces really did help sooth me for seasons four and five. I think I was a much more at peace with them than fans who were watching it live back in 2005. But the last one or two episodes had me pausing with my jaw dropped multiple times. I hated it!

And I contemplated why - when I knew every single thing that was gonna happen, even several lines of dialogue I knew!

And I think it comes down to the breakneck pacing and editing.

:readmore:

Because right after finishing, I paced around my home angrily muttering over what had happening. And outlining the end like that, even though I was in a mood, still sort of made sense. 

Brian has been a sex god for several seasons. He let down his guard to let Justin in. Out of fear, he did what fans/Justin thought they wanted, and asked for marriage/said I love you with Justin. Brian loves him enough to not force him to stay, Justin loves him enough to not make him change. Peacefully and lovingly, they go their separate ways with the strong and insinuation that they will either do long distance or reconcile. That sounds good! It was horrible to watch.

The show betrays itself by acknowledging the Britin arc is the most important to the show and viewers by saving it for the penultimate scene. The final episode(s) have all really revolved around Brian. Even the girls leaving was really about Brian (in its show presentation, at least). And Brian and Justin have the final scene of all the characters resolving their storylines. The final, final scene was an ensemble one (as it should be for an ensemble show) which reflected on the show as a whole. That was the epilogue, because Britin was the denouement.

This is tough in two ways.

First, because the Britin arc has a bittersweet end, yet felt more like the writers wagging their finger at the audience instead of a thoughtful conclusion that was necessarily bittersweet. Whole other post.

Second, because of their editing – both storyline wise and visual execution wise.

The decision to show Justin and Brian in bed together, not even see Justin leave, and then show Brian in bed alone was pretty cutthroat. I literally paused and my jaw dropped – but not in a good, teary way, or my heart strings were pulled way, but in a … I felt like the writers were kind of flipping me off? Or flipping the actors off? I literally googled if Randy Harrison had fought with the showrunners because of that (and allegedly, yes, lmao. You can tell!!!). That was just an unpleasant viewing experience.

Then, the writers did not give any sort of breathing room for that emotional beat to end and then the series finale beat to begin. There is no space between Brian being left alone and Brian and Michael going to the club and then dancing. No space timewise, plotline wise, or even visually, as they literally meld the end of Britin into the start of Brian/Michael final.

Because of this, even though I’m sure it was written and outlined as very separate plot points for separate emotional beats for separate scenes, it doesn’t feel that way as an audience member.

Instead, it feels like a run-of-the-mill action-reaction pair for a singular emotional beat. It doesn’t feel, or look, like two separate, contained, emotional beats.

Without being able to digest a very bittersweet conclusion to what is arguably the most important plot line of the entire show, it still feels like we’re still wrestling with that in the final scene. It is LEAPING from denouement to epilogue, which even tacky, bittersweet rom-coms don’t do, if you pay attention ( I am literally thinking of how the HARRY STYLES FANFICTION movie Idea of You handled this similar thing better, good lord.)

Therefore, watching Brian dance alone, while we’re being told the thumpa thumpa goes on, feels like he’s being reset. Because we go oh sad, Britin is getting a bittersweet end :/ then THIRTY seconds later we are seeing Brian party and it’s impossible for audience members to not directly connect those dots. Those are the only dots we’re shown!!

I read a 2005 livejournal where stayci28 said she viewed the end as more symbolic than real. It’s about the queer community continuing matter what and it’s really about people will continue to rise up. No matter what is being given to them and they will persevere, they will be proud, they will be here and they’re not gonna go anywhere. That’s a beautiful sentiment, makes a lot of sense, and is a fitting conclusion for the WHOLE show after the Britin bit is wrapped up.

However, Ron Cowan himself said that was only half true in an interview here: https://bjfic.livejournal.com/2528384.html?

He said that the dance was real and was one last outing. Though the sentiment is true – the scene was meant to be about queers surviving, not Brian being alone or an old party boy. (sidenote: see post 1 for me complaining that if this is one last outing…what is Brian doing, exactly, with his time now??)

But the editing and the pacing did not give the audience that space - and so the final scene still seems to be solely about Brian, not about the overall message of queer survival and joy. It LOOKS, at least, like (as Tumblr user @sophsun1 said) Brian was out with no son, no lover (who was in the city he wanted to be in), in a burnt out club. Rip.

The smallest of changes, like having the Britin ending coming earlier in the episode, or even inserting a single “breathing” scene between the Britin and finale scenes would have established the scene beats much better. Honestly, just changing Michael’s awful line (really that whole convo) about Brian always being young and beautiful to simply be about the ~~hopeful future~~ would have set the tone to be not about Brian being miserable.

When I see really old comments online about the end, I don’t get the sense that people fully “got” the end. From what I’ve seen, even fans who were okay with a bittersweet end weren’t really connecting that the finale wasn’t showing Brian miserable, lol.

I think the writers continuously structured the show to revolve around Brian and Britin, then wrote themselves out of that with various in your face plots/dialog, but ignored that beyond the literal words on script, story STRUCTURE impacts viewing experience just as much! These final two scenes display the embodiment of that issue.

The writers desperately needed to slow down, allow digestion, and visually show a divide of scenes if they had wanted the audience to comprehend the last two scenes as separate beats and not action/reaction.

Later this week, I have lots of thoughts about S5 replacement plotlines that would have easily fit into Cowlip’s established world, and a lot about Brian Kinney’s value system and internalized gender issues :)

[whomstwedointheshadows]

THE NICEST POSSIBLE INTERPRETATION of PAUL SIMMS

I suggest using this as deposition prep when Nandermo sues for emotional damages.

Earlier in the panel, the writers confirmed a plot card exists on the wall in their writers room with Nandor + Guillermo + Kiss. Look, they’ve thought about it before!

‘People’ even want it. Whomst could be amongst thee people, he’s not naming names. Ignore the history of queerbaiting as a grand tradition of showrunners, did those showrunners ever tell you the writers room periodically comes back to the discussion of a ship and keep a dedicated index card of space to a potential kiss?

So as far as explicit statement that Nandermo ship is not sexual, keep your showy gays away- Paul does not restate it in exact terms. He still support that it’s a love story- even if that love story is not as we want it right now. He’s not confirming in this statement it’s a chaste one of ONLY boss/employee nor is he saying it cannot grow into another form.

Furthermore, this entire statement is in response to a question. So, he confirms the foundation of love story, divergence between what is desired at this moment and what the writers intend, and even the framing as turning=infidelity/broken trust. Now, just because it wasn’t sexual doesn’t mean it doesn’t impact their greater love story.

I think it’s very useful to dig in here to the actual question poised to Paul; the question explicitly eliminates Paul giving a response that acknowledges the plotline as explicitly romance-advancing in function.

(Even if this plotline is instrumental in their greater romantic storyline and personal journeys which may become romantic.)

His response has to be about the connection between them, and he cannot just respond, “oh because they love each other deeply and wanna fuck.” It’s a nuanced response to a question which took away a romance pairing between the two to explain it as about the interpersonal dynamic. That’s also not the driving factor of the characters.

I also think the writers know what ship they made, and constantly have address the question of Is It Ready Yet? Could, from a creator perspective making a show that is character driven, see a difference between ‘just hook up already’ because that’s what the fans want and these two characters become the richest possible combination because of how they grew together? I don’t know about you, but I tweet about just fucking do it already and write long metas on tumblr about epic loves. I want to see an epic story, not just doing something to get it off their backs.

Here’s the big quote:

Knowing that these questions were prewritten, screened, and answers were practiced because that’s their job on a panel to be prepared, it’s striking to me there was no denial of an explicit romantic relationship. He answered a carefully worded question with a carefully developed response. He’s about to get flustered by an audience interaction, and then dig a deeper hole.

Okay, now here comes our true soldier in the trenches interrupting the panel.

Does that final response not feel scripted? I wonder if the writers for an improv comedy show like to pull off jokes and throw people the scent. Or could that be an actual joke? Did they just spend the first four seasons giving Guillermo more autonomy and power and season 5 see Nandor fighting for his attention?

Or is it amusing to see someone twist themselves in knots trying not to state the obvious? Would the writers really be so unaware of everything else problematic on the show?

Just take a minute to think about the humor on this show. Does this feel like a bit to move the conversation along, away from the thing they don’t want to give anything away?

The love between them doesn’t just have to be sexual. {They could also be like, best friends, or something, like Lazlo and Nadja. Do you think there’s more than one type of love you can have for someone?}

Or, if you’re doing press for your show and your job today is to talk to the media and get the hype for season 6 and confirm filming in Jan, do you maybe have some tricksy talking points that will generate interest and capture attention while also preserving a surprise element. If I didn’t want to give too much away about the new season, especially if it was driven by the final episode and had some major developments on a personal and interpersonal level, I wouldn’t leave much room for further questions, probably drop the big news item to make sure the attention stays on that. Maybe the person doing the interview is a professional and knows the things a showrunner won’t give away before it airs, so there isn’t going to be a hard press to circle back unless the writers do it during their response time.

Also, look at the reiteration the writers explore multiple paths and pick the best one. They certainly picked an interesting option, if the goal was not to bathe the ship in romance tropes.

Oh wait, it looks like one writer (also exec producer) who won’t say spoilers wants to make sure there’s one last hook thrown out there. Almost like it’s softening the response from Simms from a ‘nope’ to a ‘watch and see’ like planned remarks at the end of a panel, or something.

My interpretation of Sam’s comment, in the most generous to shippers, is- this is a driving engine and intentional plot of our show. We want to make the best show. They pay off of getting together has to be worth it and interesting. It’s integral to the story we are telling. Part of our story is the journey and we’re on our timetable, not to rush this.

So, what does Guillermo want?

Can you think of why he’d stick around the vampires, as per the format, if not to become one?

TLDR: the bait is still on the hook. They’re going to keep it there as long as possible. Nothing has been ruled out, in fact it seems like they’re actually building against what they say would be the problematic aspects. I wonder if comedy writers ever a) keep secrets before something is even filmed so who knows what they decide is the best pathway on an improv show or b) tell jokes in plain sight. If they do things to twist our expectations.

It’s a queer show, so this is not queer baiting. It’s just a Will-they-Won’t-they. There are a lot of choices in plot and character arcs which point to someone in the writers room being fluent in better queer characters if not relationship representation. One would think, as a writer, they would Know Their History of Queerbaiting and associated tropes. {Personally, the ‘No One Dies in Shadows’ seems like a nose bop at Buffy, but that’s a meta for another day. }

I find the boss/employee line so unserious considering everything else in the show, and I wonder what tumblr would be like if we focused on the Kiss Card left on the writer’s wall instead.

[witheredoffherwitch]

I don't think Aemond and Alys relationship will be off-screen or that they'll only get 3-4 scenes. Alys is the most prominent character in Aemond's Riverlands arc, they will have a lot of scenes together whether those scenes are romantic or not. Also they are the only love story/sexual relationship of the Greens in the book and the Blacks have many: Daemon and Rhaenyra, Daemon and Laena, Daemon and Mysaria, Daemon and Nettles, Rhaenyra and Harwin, Baela and Alyn, Jace and Sara(possibly), Cregan and Aly Blackwood and I'm probably forgetting someone. The Greens only have arranged marriages, Alicole is the show's invention and looks like the showrunners downplayed their relationship in the final cut compared to the script. Unless the writers are really against the idea of giving the Greens romantic storylines, we'll get a proper development of Alysmond.

Hi nonnie 🤗

I am not saying that we won't see any of their dynamic on-screen, but rather that we won't get a slow buildup (romantic or otherwise) like the one we saw with Daemyra in season 1. I doubt any of the ships you mentioned will receive much attention. Rhaenyra is the main character, so her love interests, particularly her relationship with Daemon and his engagements with other women, will have more focus. The rest of the ships are minor in comparison.

My guess is that we'll have around 4-5 scenes of Alysmond, and only 2 of those will focus solely on them. These scenes could be more intimate in nature, such as a sex scene or a final kiss, or just them riding a dragon together while burning the Riverlands - which would be quite epic ngl 💀

It really depends on how much depth the showrunners want to go into their relationship, but my gut feeling is that they won't delve too deeply into it. Both Aemond and Daemon's relationships with Alys and Nettles are portrayed as distractions that lead them down a destructive path. These two women are ultimately the reason why both men abandon their families back in KL during their time of crisis. Neither relationship will be portrayed in a positive light, despite what we might want, and instead will showcase how these men were lured away from their cause. If we do get a more positive and romantic interpretation of Alysmond, it could perhaps be like an understated version of Robb and Talisa's love story. However, unlike Robb who was generally seen as a good guy that viewers rooted for, neither Aemond nor Daemon will receive that same treatment. Still, we can piece together the story from Aemond's point of view as someone who was in love with a woman destined to bring about his downfall (much like Robb).

And quite frankly, it's these relationships that truly stand out in the end. Aemond is a clear villain, and there are no illusions about his character, unlike the other characters who are still on their path towards becoming villains. But even so, Aemond still resonates within the fandom - and I am sure Alysmond will receive a similar nuance and appreciation in the end (this is me manifesting as I type this crap out here haha, hallelujah!)

[invested-in-your-future]

The only thing worse than disliking a pairing is genuinely liking a pairing and seeing the writers completely ignore it for seven years and then throwing a bone at you just because they got desperate for their financial situation.

Six years that could have been filled with development as they overcame their issues - struggled with where they had ended up at the end of V3 and grew as people (as opposed to getting flanderized)

Six years which could have contained two intertwined character arcs about overcoming one's past and finding a new future.

Six years that could have had an intricate storyline where both characters grow stronger and defeat a villain whose actions had tied them together in tragedy.

Six years of proper textual growth(rather than bait) that would then lead to the one moment where both characters finally overcome their struggles, doubts, and flaws, and let go of their reservations and actually take the step forward together - and the actual pairing happens.

Six years of development, touching moments, and growth - missing because the showrunners and everyone involved wouldn't commit and would rather bait all that time.

Do you know how it feels to have a six-year-wide hole in your heart for something you like? An abyss that can never be filled - because it's way past the time for that, and both characters have ended up way worse off than when you fell in love with the idea of the pairing and them as characters?

Imagine being part of a marginalized community that longs for representation - hopes for that moment when something they like is recognized as valid - only for the company treat you as second-class citizen for years and then throw breadcrumbs in your face because they need something from you - to exploit you?

"Hey, look, it's a thing now - aren't you happy? You'll give us money now, right? You got what you wanted after all! Why are you so ungrateful expecting the pairing to be treated with actual love and respect it deserved rather than like this?"

I wish I hated this pairing, I really do. At least it wouldn't hurt so much to see how the showrunners treated those characters for years.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Hii!! I just read your answer to the other anon about quuerbait and journalism it was akl very clear, thank you. I have only one doubt in my head, if they already have a gay canon couple with henren and in general the show is very diverse. Why wouldnt fox let them make buddie canon?

If my speculation is true and FOX wouldn't let them do Buddie (I know nothing this is entirely speculation)...

There's this continued bias in television that characters are whatever sexuality you decided they were when you first introduced them. Queer characters can only be queer if they were planned as queer from the beginning. Hen and Michael are both strongly established as gay in the pilot episode, for example.

Characters that started out straight (or as far as the audience knows are straight) and are allowed to be revealed as queer, or realize they are queer, are very few and far between. Networks, showrunners, writers, etc still struggle to accept that maybe a character has naturally evolved, or a relationship has naturally evolved, into something queer.

Especially when it's conventionally attractive men, because you not only bring homophobia/biphobia into play but toxic masculinity as well.

Additionally, we know that FOX really, really pushed Oliver (the handsome young white man) as the "face" of the show and pushed him to do the majority of the PR for the show the last few years. So it would not surprise me if they wanted Buck to remain an available man with various (straight) romantic escapades for cheap stereotypical drama.

I also (personally) noticed after season one a real drop in letting the characters be... adults that have adult sex lives? The way the couples interact is very... PG? Even Bathena who is noted for having a kinky sex life, it's played for laughs. Compare the "fire in the kitchen" roleplay that May walks into vs the handcuffed situation Athena calls Hen for help with in season one. But Hen and Karen especially it felt very PG? this is just a personal vibe and others might very well think I'm crazy but I just got a real... sense that Hen and Karen and other queer characters were allowed to discuss their queerness but not show it. There wasn't a genuine sexiness allowed. But that was an issue (in my opinion!) across the board after season one. I just really really noticed it with Hen and Karen.

But that last one is really my personal "vibe check" and others could certainly feel differently. Mostly it's the fact that we're seeing FOX didn't allow them to do things they wanted in other areas, so it wouldn't surprise me if they also didn't allow Buddie to happen, especially when you consider that FOX really pushed Oliver/Buck as the star/face of 9-1-1 (something the actors commented on and disliked) the last few seasons (Tim has even hinted that he felt recent Buck storylines were stupid), and the fact that historically, trying to take a character originally believed to be straight and having them actually be queer gets a lot of pushback and is still pretty rare in the TV landscape.