Buddie fans, my loves, come have a seat for a moment.
I want to have a chat, from a long time Buddie lover to you, whether you’re new or have been here a long time.
It’s okay.
I’ve been in the trenches with you. I’ve been pulling for Buck and Eddie to get together for years. I haven’t given up, even as I’ve seen other fans leave because they lost hope. I don’t blame them. The Buddie section of the fandom has been powerful and beautiful and all consuming. We’ve gone seven seasons and up until this point, not one of the two men in question was even confirmed to be queer.
But we all need to take a moment and breathe. That’s it. Stop doom scrolling for a moment and breathe in.
Good. Now hold for a moment.
And breathe out.
I’m going to get real here, alright? And you might not like everything I say and that’s ok.
We need to stop being a problem. Stay with me. I’m not saying we need to stop shipping Eddie and Buck. Far from it. I will love that ship forever. I’m not saying we need to stop our fanfics or fanart or our love for these two. Our feelings are valid. Many of us have been in love with these two for a long time. The Buckley-Diaz family is a strong unit.
Our feelings are valid and we feel what we feel. But our reactions are utterly and entirely our own responsibility.
We need to stop the bullying.
Let’s face it, many Buddie fans have also been long time bullies in the fandom. Particularly in regard to the actresses who have played the female love interests in the past. Don’t get me wrong, aside from maybe Ali, I have disliked every love interest introduced. But have we not yet learned to separate actress from character? If we are going to dislike an actress, let’s do it for a valid reason. Marisol’s actress for example is problematic. But many fans have rained hell down upon any woman introduced.
I’ve noticed this issue for a long time. But now we’re dealing with the issue being even more widespread because of Buck/Tommy. Now fans are bullying each other. The fandom is divided, even in what is probably one of the better seasons we’ve gotten (in my opinion). I need you guys to stay with me here.
Buck is bi.
Let’s say that again. Evan Buckley is bisexual. A major character on a major show on a major network, previously a womanizer and still a very masculine figure, is queer.
This is monumental. This is amazing.
But so many of you are letting your feelings about Buddie get in the way of appreciating the progress we’ve made. Especially with the reintroduction of Tommy Kinard, Buck’s love interest.
Let’s clear up a couple of things, shall we? Tommy Kinard is not Sal DeLuca. He is not Captain Gerrard. While he was part of the old 118 and definitely was in the old boys club, not only is he not the major problem, but in most cases that he’s an asshole, it can be traced back to his own secret. It’s not great, sure. But let’s look at the facts. Chimney is friends and still keeps in touch with him. Hen appears to hold no animosity and was clearly comfortable with him. In Bobby Begins, they all are friends. And clearly, Tommy has undergone a massive self-growth period. You cannot try to back up your point with inaccurate facts.
People can change. People can also be forgiven. It’s the prerogative of those involved. Enough said.
“But TK6,” you may say, “Buck should be with Eddie! Tommy is a plot device!”
Let’s set aside instant gratification culture really quick and talk about storytelling. You cannot get everything you want when you want it. You also cannot have your cake and eat it too. Buck and Eddie, if both queer, were never going to come out at the same time. Do we really want that?! Because identity is messy. Self discovery is messy. Eddie has Catholic guilt. Buck has self esteem/worth issues. Life isn’t a fanfiction. The real possibility of their relationship surviving such a transition isn’t all that high. IF Eddie is canonically queer, he’s going to have a rougher path than Buck has had.
Also, everyone is a plot device. Let’s get real. If a character doesn’t move a plot along, what’s the point? YES, Tommy is there for a storyline. That doesn’t in anyway invalidate his existence or his presence in Buck’s life.
If you want an instant Buddie storyline, visit ao3! There are amazing stories on there.
Now let’s talk about Buck/Tommy, or TEvan.
I am a long time Buddie lover. I also proudly ship TEvan. Yes, those can coexist. I don’t often multiship, but it’s a beautiful thing. I want Buddie to be endgame, sure! But I’m also okay if TEvan lasts. If they end up being endgame, will I be disappointed about Buddie? Of course. I will also be thrilled because Buck and Tommy are a sweet couple and I’m here for it.
As a queer woman, I’m happy that Buck is bi. Multisexual representation is still sorely lacking. Male sexuality that lets a man keep his masculinity while being queer? Even more so. Just take a look at the ao3 tag. Buck is emasculated in many fics. That’s why I stopped reading a lot.
We have a ship here that includes two very masculine men, who are emotionally vulnerable and exploring something new. I understand ship disappointment. But the negativity is wild. We need to stop the bullying. We need to stop the cheating storylines. We need to stop making Tommy into an ab*s*r only because we apparently can’t handle a love interest being a good person.
At the end of the day, these are fictional characters. It’s a fictional show. But these are real people. All of us are sitting here behind our screens with real feelings. We need to stop.
Buddie may one day happen. And maybe they won’t. TEvan might be endgame. They might not be. Tis the way of 9-1-1. It’s exciting, isn’t it? Waiting for something new and exciting. It was starting to get a little stagnant.
As a queer person, I’m not trying to gatekeep anyone. However, we cannot sit here and say “stop queerbaiting us!!!!” (They weren’t, we’ve always had queer representation on 9-1-1) “give us more representation” and then when they give it to us say, “NO! Not that way!”
If it was about the representation, it being Eddie or Tommy would matter a lot less.
So if you are someone using representation to shield yourself, kindly just be honest with yourself and everyone else.
In the words of our Lady and Savior Taylor Swift, “You need to calm down”.
Now, back off into the world of scrolling you go, my lovelies. Remember, keep an open mind and breathe. At the end of the day, it’s a show. But I for one will happily wait for every episode because I’m loving this.
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I really do love how much gansey enjoys dressing how he does.
when he tells blue that he likes her name just fine (but also likes the name jane), he reassures her by saying that "some of [his] favorite shirts are blue."
and when blue teases him for his brightly colored polo shirt at the abandoned church, he tells her, "aquamarine is a wonderful color, and i won’t be made to feel bad for
wearing it,"
when he can't wear his favorite yellow sweater, his day is made additionally miserable in a brown sweater "that looked exactly on the outside like gansey felt on the inside"
he's so dramatic about his choice of clothing and I love him for it
on the occasion that we do read him to be wearing a loose t-shirt and jeans, he describes himself as slovenly, dressed distastefully to bury a body.
but he doesn't judge anybody else for wearing their regular clothes. in fact, he is constantly described to be especially attracted to blue when she's wearing some truly chaotic outfits.
he doesn't dress in his preppy-bright way to feel better than anybody, he likes the way he looks in the clothes that he chooses, regardless of how he is teased by his friends (in a way that i would even liken to blue, except his choices are more generally socially acceptable). and even though blue avoids looking at his shoes bc it makes her feel better about him as a person in trb, I like to think that she loves him in an all-encompassing way that includes his choice of clothing by the end of the series.
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