Here is a list of all the work identification numbers for the fucked up fics that have been posted in response to… not shipping the same thing, I guess? Many of these are untagged. A few of them have triggering summaries. All of them are crappy writing, maybe by whatever free AI this person decided to teach CSAM. And all of it is homophobic because of the simple premise that they are using the character of a canonical gay man as a child predator, which is something that has been used to other the queer community for generations.
I have been compiling this list for over a year now, from when the first fucked up fic was posted on AO3 and then subsequently sent to people’s inboxes here. Maybe it’s a different group chat reading the same playbook, but it was fucked up then, it’s fucked up now, and material like this is illegal in a bunch of countries.
Below is what you copy & past into your AO3 site skin to block your view of these fics.
It has been literal years but every time I see Martin’s tweets posted somewhere and his word is shared as truth while her post is not shared it sort of reiterates the fact that we trust men to speak about feminism more than we believe women who experience it.
Reading her account of how their boss treated her blows me away. Men are so emboldened that they will literally admit to illegal discrimination casually and face no consequences.
Adding screenshots of her post. His whole post is there without needing a link. Hers should be, too.
Also, she posted this is 2017! It’s fucking 2020 and I’ve seen his side of this for years, but it took 3 years for her side to make its way to my dash…
I wrote a little meta piece about character bashing in reaction to a conversation on a Discord server. It turned out pretty long, I still posted it on the Discord server. And someone pointed out it could've been a Tumblr post. Probably should've been one.
That's maybe true, but as it was a conversation that was happening on that server, I didn't see why I should bring that conversation here. But now I thought I could still share it here for the wider fandom, too. (With some edits at the beginning, so I won't bring other people's words from the server here.)
It all started when people complained about the fact that Character Bashing exists at all. While at the same time claiming they're anti-censorship. Which, in my eyes, was a very huge contradiction.
So, under the cut is a meta piece about Character Bashing, nearly as I posted it on the server. I've cut out most of the first paragraph, but otherwise it's nearly unedited. The examples I discuss are all about the TV show 9-1-1 on ABC.
This is probably me stepping on a soapbox. But I can't not do it with this topic.
Gonna start with a clarification: I'm talking about fiction and fictional characters whenever I talk about bashing. Because I wouldn't call talking about real people bashing. There are other terms for that that are more fitting. (Which, of course, might be a language problem on my side, because English isn't my first language and communicating in English is a hard-won skill.)
I stand by my point: Character Bashing in itself is neutral. As is every other trope and literally structure or method used in the art of creating fictional worlds.
Fanlore defines Character Bashing this way:
Character bashing is defined in different ways by different fans and communities.
1. any expression of hostility towards a character by fans
2. the portrayal of characters in fanworks as worse than they are in canon
3. characters in fanworks being hated for or facing consequences for actions they did in canon
I'll argue each point in a separate message for the sake of conversations about each point. But the biggest problem is already in the first line: "It's a question of which community you're in to determine what definition is used." That's one reason I went to fanlore to look up the "official" definition. I think in this case, it's also that people sometimes deliberately use an unfavorable (twisted) definition so they can justify why they use someone bashing a character as an excuse to harass that real person over their fandom interpretations.
"any expression of hostility towards a character by fans"
I argue that the first point is absolute rubbish. "Hostility" means acts of aggression, right? Acts intended to cause harm. You can't cause harm to a fictional character. They're essentially dolls, but only in our heads, so you can't even destroy them like you could an actual doll. Even if you kill or otherwise harm the character in a story, it's not causing any actual harm to the character.
Can bashing under certain circumstances be used as an act of hostility against the fans of that character? Yes. We've been going through this with Tommy for nearly two years now.
But there is much more character-bashing around that's not supposed to be aimed at the fans of that character. Things that are tagged correctly, so anyone who doesn't want to see or engage with them can avoid them, are not an act of hostility against other fans. Even if some fans do take every negative word about their fav as a personal attack. But that is very much a problem of interpretation, both in fan fiction as well as in fan art.
An example: Imagine there is a drawing of your fav out there where they're hurt, or even killed. You look at it, and you might see the depiction of your fav character being whumped. You feel the pain of the character's injuries, and it might be cathartic because what you think about is the healing process. Or maybe the death of the character is the end of a hero's journey, and you feel relief because they're finally free of their burden. Or you might look at it and be horrified and appalled because you can't stand seeing your fav hurt. And you might think the artist set out to cause you this pain, and they drew this art specifically to harm fans of the character.
But the thing is that you don't know. Maybe the artist drew it because they hate the character. Or they wanted to work through something with drawing this pain. Or they enjoy seeing their own fav in pain (as so many people in fondom do, this discord included). Whatever you see looking at this art or reading this fic, it's your interpretation, born out of your own life experiences. You don't know the person behind the art or fic; you don't know their intention. You don't even know their full intention if they left a one- or two-line note with this piece of art, indicating one or the other, or one of the plethora of other possible interpretations.
In any way, just because that art exists and floats around fandom spaces doesn't make it a hostile act, especially not against a fictional character.
2. "the portrayal of characters in fanworks as worse than they are in canon"
Yeah, that definition does make a lot more sense. Sometimes you need a villain for your fanfiction. And this one character fits it perfectly. (Especially if it comes in relation to the third point of the definition and the story takes off based on a canon event by that one character.) Or the author just doesn't like the character and enjoys writing them as the villain.
Which is perfectly valid, by the way. It is stupid to assume an artist or author has certain beliefs because they use one character or another as the villain in their stories. It's also stupid to assume everyone has to like a specific character. That's never going to happen. And that's just human nature. No one can expect you to like someone else or something else. In real life, you learn to avoid people you don't like. In fiction, you can also avoid. Or you can explore things you can't explore in real life, because in fiction, you aren't causing anyone harm.
Not very surprisingly, this only becomes a problem with characters people like. It's not a problem if it's a character that most people don't like because they were intended by the narrative of the source material not to be liked.
Like, I've made Vincent Gerrard into a murderer, even a serial killer, on more than one occasion. No one will come at me and start harassing me for this. Because no one cares for Gerrard. I didn't even bother tagging that bashing because I know no one will blink an eye about it. Though, according to the definition above, it is bashing, because he isn't a murderer in canon, so I portrayed him worse than he is in canon.
On the other hand, writing a story about Maddie or Chimney behaving just even slightly worse than in canon (e.g. Chimney not regretting the punch and even being proud of it, though we don't even see him regretting it in the show; or Maddie acting just a little more obnixious than she alread did with forcing their parents back into Buck's life) will get you harrassed immediately, no matter how carefully you tagged bashing and critisims and even made sure to mention it in your author's note a second time.
"worse than in canon" is also, once more, very much a question of interpretation for every single person. I'm a little hesitant to use this as an example because it's such an explosive topic in the fandom, but I'll still do it: In season 5, Chimney punched Buck. And afterwards, there was no resolution. We don't see on screen an apology. We don't even get much of a mention of it. Chimney says to Hen that he and Buck hashed it out (mind you, after we watched him tell Hen weeks after the punch he'd like to kill Buck, then revive him, so he can kill him again). Buck says to Maddie that he owes Chimney a punch. Some people interpret that there was a conversation between those two at one point, including an apology. Other people interpret that there was no conversation about it at all, and they both went on ignoring it. Both interpretations are valid from what we see on the show. One interpretation is certainly more favorable than the other. But we don't have an apology or any kind of resolution in canon, so neither of those interpretations is "worse than canon" because there is just nothing in canon here. (But because of the mood in this fandom, I've never seen the second interpretation at last explored in fanfiction without the bashing tag for Chimney. Can't talk about Tumblr because I wasn't on Tumblr at that time.)
3. "characters in fanworks being hated for or facing consequences for actions they did in canon"
I'm going to circle back to something I already said earlier: There is no problem in hating a character. Not a single one. Even if it's a character that others dearly love. The problem begins if you make it a problem of the other people by harassing them over your dislikes and your likes. Because it does go both ways.
Sure, I make fun of people who hate on Tommy, too. But I do that in safe spaces where I know people who hate him won't necessarily see it, like this server or a friend's DMs. Or places others can easily avoid, like a Tumblr blog with appropriately tagged posts, or my AO3 account with appropriately tagged fics that also have author's notes with warnings for fan fiction. (I know at least one person on this server who celebrates any spite fic born of something I saw in fandom spaces I thought was stupid.) That provides everyone who doesn't want to see it every chance not to interact with it, and using those chances is their responsibility, not mine.
The same goes for fics or fan art dealing with the actions of canon and the consequences. As long as it's tagged, it's not an attack on anyone. It's a tool for the creator to work through whatever they feel about that canon action. And everyone is allowed to have whatever feelings they have about events in canon.
For a third time, it comes back to interpretation, mostly based on personal life experiences. Everyone is allowed to have whatever reactions they have to events in canon. Their interpretations are valid. Talking about those, exploring them, isn't a problem, no matter what shape those interpretations take on.
Like when Eddie got into Buck's face in 8x17. Most people here on the server were horrified. Other people barely shrugged about it. And other people again somehow saw something romantic in it. Can I understand the last interpretation? No, and I also don't want to go to the effort to try to understand it, while I might do that work with other canon events. But okay, the only thing I'll take from it is that I won't want to interact with the person with that interpretation a lot or at all in the future. As long as they don't accuse me of whatever because my interpretation fell into the first group mentioned above, there is no problem.
Bashing Eddie based on 8x17 and having him face consequences, and if those consequences are only that his friendship with Buck falls apart completely, isn't a problem. That's my freedom to work through the emotions that canon scene caused in me. It would become a problem if I sent this person, who saw it as a great moment between Buck and Eddie, any kind of Eddie bashing story or interpretation on anon or in their DMs or whatever. Or if I wrote a story with tags drawing in this person and conveniently forgetting the Eddie bashing tag.
As another example, I think Buck's baking away (and failing) the heartbreak after the breakup with Tommy is deeply painful. And that everyone else's reaction to it feels cold and dismissive, and that they're letting him down. Others interpret it as a sign that everyone else sees a truth that Buck isn't able to see, and that they're really great friends and supportive of Buck by taking his phone away to stop him from calling Tommy. That's their right, as long as they leave me alone and I don't have to interact with their interpretations.
To summarize a very long post of taking apart three (of probably even more) different definitions of "character bashing": The bashing in itself is always a neutral expression of interpretation.
Both of these things are true about it, though:
It can be used as a tool to attack others.
It can be misinterpreted as an attack.
Everything can be used in an attack, in the end, which doesn't make that thing in itself an inherently evil thing. And in my very personal experience in this fandom, it is much more likely that it is misinterpreted as an attack. (Because even if there is an outrageous number of Tommy bashing fics, most of them are tagged so we can avoid them. Those tagged fics aren't an attack against us, even if they make us feel uncomfortable. And even though I have been accused otherwise, I wasn't even aware of the Madney defense squad until they started harassing me after I had written several--carefully tagged from the very beginning--Maddie critical fics.)
Toxicity and Hypocrisy – in 9-1-1’s Fandom and Journalism
I didn’t think I’d ever end up writing what is essentially a real essay about 9-1-1, but here we are. I’ve been familiar with the show for about a year now, and I’ve been active in the fandom since around March. I follow discussions about it on Tumblr and Twitter/X, so I consider myself fairly well-versed in 9-1-1 discourse. By that, I mean not only the show itself, but also fans’ posts on social media, the show’s promotional content, and journalistic materials (articles, reviews, interviews) about it. And that’s why I believe the most dangerous phenomenon within this fandom is the overwhelming hypocrisy and sense of superiority.
9-1-1 is a procedural drama
We should start with the fact that 9-1-1 is not an outstanding production. It’s far from deep metaphors, hidden meanings, and messages that later come together into a whole. It’s not The Da Vinci Code, it’s not Hannibal or Shutter Island.
That said, 9-1-1 still has its humorous elements, delicate metaphors, and even episodes with double meanings (for example, Season 7 Episode 4, “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered”, where Athena must face allegations of assault involving her son Harry, while at the same time dealing with a case of a woman who literally didn’t “recognize” her own son due to a head injury and shot him).
The show plays with the audience through such word games, but it shows and emphasizes everything as it is. Nothing that significantly affects the plot is left unexplained. In accordance with the conventions of procedural dramas, the action usually begins and ends within a single episode (the overall seasonal storyline stands above it, but a viewer who watches one episode can understand everything – the only exceptions are special events/disasters divided into two or three parts). The viewer doesn’t have to analyze or solve puzzles; 9-1-1 provides answers to the story’s questions.
Wikipedia says it simply: “9-1-1 is an American procedural drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear. […] The series explores the high-stakes professional and personal lives of Los Angeles first responders—firefighters, police officers, and paramedics—as they endeavor to protect and save those in danger.”
The phrase “procedural drama” perfectly captures the essence of 9-1-1. It’s a show focused on firefighters — their work, their actions, their day-to-day operations. It also portrays their personal lives, but that’s secondary. It’s not a complex genre. It’s made for a broad audience — airing at 8 p.m., it’s meant to be accessible and, at times, lighthearted (though it certainly includes serious topics, tragedies, life lessons, and socially relevant themes). It’s a show designed to help people relax after work.
Why am I writing this?
Let’s be clear — I believe that the relationship between one of the main characters, Evan “Buck” Buckley, and Tommy Kinard, who returned in Seasons 7 and 8, is a healthy, well-developed relationship that has the potential to become Buck’s “endgame” romance. In other words, I’m a shipper of BuckTommy, also known as Tevan.
However, the second, more popular in the 9-1-1 fandom is the relationship between Buck and his co-worker and friend, Eddie Diaz (Buddie).
Let me say right away that when I started the show, I thought their relationship in later seasons turned romantic – that impression was caused by fan-made edits on TikTok, countless fanarts, and edited photos found on Google Images. So while watching, I was looking for signs of that romantic relationship, but while I saw deep care and attachment between Buck and Eddie, I didn’t notice any romantic undertones between them.
Considering the fact that while watching the show, I approached it as the type of person it was made for – a member of the General Audience – I didn’t search for it on social media or dive into the fandom. I interpreted their relationship exactly as the show literally presented it to me – coworkers, best friends, almost like brothers. The fact that their relationship in Season 8 became strained is sad, but I think it has a purpose. A separation of Buck and Eddie. Why? Again – it’s about a literal, straightforward message for the viewers.
Now, I don’t judge anyone. Everyone in a fandom has the right to ship whoever they want. And based on that rule, I wouldn’t have a problem with Buddie — if it weren’t for some of its fans.
The problem isn’t the ships themselves, but people’s behavior: the hypocrisy, toxicity, and sense of superiority, along with the total lack of accountability and the illusion of freedom that social media provides.
It seems people forget that there’s another person on the other side of the screen – someone just like me, who has their own goals, feelings, future, life circumstances, mental and physical health (the same problem also applies to the actors, whom some members of the fandom treat as public property they’re entitled to comment on – for example, their looks – without consequences, because they’re “free people” and “fans”).
But as I said – my goal here isn’t ships. The real inspiration for this text is the yet-unpublished interview by Katey Soetzel with Oliver Stark [1], the announcement of which met with a disgusting reaction from Twitter/X users. And that’s exactly the problem – the journalism surrounding 9-1-1 , the hypocrisy, and the sense of superiority among Buddie fans (a ship that could have been an interesting contrast to BuckTommy, but became an artificially constructed creation that seems to haunt the show and its actors, distorting its reception among new fans and forcing on them a strange narrative full of over-interpretations of real events). And although I’m “on one side,” I’ll try to approach the problem objectively.
Clickbait journalism about Buddie
It’s undeniable that Buddie is the most popular non-canon ship from 9-1-1 . We’re talking about two objectively handsome young men connected by an exceptional bond that sometimes crosses friendship. Many moments (especially before Season 8, I must note) show an almost brotherly love between Buck and Eddie: they’re comfortable around each other, express affection through physical touch (hugs, a hand on the shoulder), and Eddie trusts Buck when it comes to the well-being and safety of his son, Chris.
One quick Google search for “9-1-1” and we’ll be flooded with Buck and Eddie, articles about their possible relationship, edited Buddie pictures, and now horrific AI-generated “kisses.”
I believe Buddie is one of the things responsible for 9-1-1 ’s popularity on TikTok and among younger audiences. Edits get clicks, fanart gets likes, and everyone thinks, “two hot guys who are firefighters (and one has a son!!) with a special bond – THEY’RE ALREADY CANON.” And so, the machine keeps running, creating a separate little bubble of reality.
And in that bubble sit: Buddie fans; journalists who are Buddie fans; and journalists who cover pop culture and entertainment but only heard about 9-1-1, because they had to write an article about it.
That’s why we see this kind of journalism – distorting facts and constantly playing on the unfounded certainty that “Buddie must be together, so Buddie will be together,” which is met with a very positive reception from fans of the ship. The characters of Buck and Eddie have existed side by side for seven seasons without any (real [2]) mention of a possible romantic relationship, but the ways to encourage fans to click on articles seem endless.
Episode reviews often have “Buddie” in the title, the pictures usually show Buck and Eddie, and in the content, one often encounters “playful” over-interpretations of their story and the same unjustified confidence (repeating the word “yet”).
“It’s a tale as old as time: boy meets boy, boy saves boy’s kid, boys share flirtatious sparring metaphors and emotionally intimate conversations in kitchens. And then… nothing. Nada. Zilch.” [3]
“But just because Buddie isn’t canon (yet), doesn’t mean they’re not legendary.” [3]
“Sure, maybe they haven’t kissed (yet). Maybe there’s no official couple’s montage set to Hozier (yet).” [3]
I’m not focusing here on specific journalists known, for example, from Twitter/X, who might be recognized by the fandom. These are literally the first headlines that appear when you search “Buddie 911.”
Another example of such low-quality, click-driven writing are lists: “The Best Buddie Scenes,” “Ranking 9-1-1’s Best ‘Buddie’ Moments in Order of Queer Significance” [4], “10 9-1-1 Scenes That Just Don’t Make Sense If Buddie Won’t Be Endgame” [5].
Such lists are designed precisely to attract fans and generate clicks. And theoretically, there’s nothing wrong with that – it happens in every fandom. However, they significantly contribute to building that “bubble,” encouraging community interaction – while at the same time reinforcing in their minds the belief that Buddie is already practically a CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP, that other potential relationships of Buck and Eddie MAKE NO SENSE, and that Buddie fans are ALREADY RIGHT and stand above other fans of the show who ship different pairs.
Articles use Buddie for clicks. Every article about 9-1-1 must include at least one line about Buddie. And they use this technique cleverly. Everyone knows that when writing a sentence, what comes first stands out the most, while what comes after “but” is often selectively ignored. That’s why we encounter clickbait titles like “9-1-1’s Oliver Stark is open to ‘Buddie’ becoming canon – but only if this key condition is met” [6], where we learn that Oliver Stark is “open to Buddie,” and that’s what stands out.
And we see this not only in articles, but also in interviews and videos. Take, for instance, the US Weekly interview with Ryan Guzman — the quality of some questions was downright embarrassing. Let’s be adults here. It’s fine to enjoy your ship, draw fanart, or jokingly call a grown man a “princess” or “girly pop,” but remember — this is a professional actor, almost forty years old, working during that interview. Suddenly, serious questions about Bobby’s death are followed by awkward ones about “the obvious relationship between Buck and Eddie and the famous ‘couch theory’” [7].
Another example is how Stark and Guzman are used as a duo to promote the show (for instance, the BuzzFeed Celeb Thirst Tweets video [8]). There’s no deeper reason for this — the marketing team and journalists know that this pairing will bring the most views. As long as they’re together in one room, one interview, one photo — engagement skyrockets.
Katey Soetzel’s journalism
This will be a short section. In my opinion, Katey Soetzel is a very objective journalist who sees the show as it is. Her season reviews and episode recaps touch on genuinely interesting plot threads. She often draws comparisons and connects different scenes, giving viewers a new perspective they might not have considered.
She doesn’t forget any characters; she discusses what actually happened to them, how their stories can be interpreted, and where they might go next — based on *canonical* information. Soetzel isn’t afraid to criticize the show either (“Poor planning contributed to a lot of the issues in 9-1-1 Season 8” [9], “9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 13 falls incredibly flat” [10]), and she always provides solid reasoning.
Most importantly, she doesn’t use Buddie for clicks.
So what’s the problem with her? Well — she doesn’t ignore the actual, canonical relationship between Buck and Tommy. She recognizes it as the show presents it — normally, naturally. And as her posts on Twitter/X suggest, she’s a fan of that pairing.
She was also one of the few to invite Lou Ferrigno Jr. [10] for an interview, recognizing his importance in Season 8. That interview wasn’t solely about Buck and Tommy either — it covered Ferrigno Jr.’s approach to his character, the technical aspects of filming helicopter scenes, Tommy’s relationships with the 118 team, and Bobby Nash’s death.
Of course, there was a question about Buck and Tommy’s interaction — but it had to be asked. And I say this objectively, not as a BuckTommy fan — that storyline hasn’t ended yet. After their last real interaction in the helicopter, Tommy’s teary gaze toward Buck, and his presence at the funeral, one thing is clear: the audience was shown a lot, but told nothing.
Now Soetzel has approached the other side – an interview with Oliver Stark, who plays Buck. Let the reactions to the announcement of that interview speak for themselves.
> “not the bt dear god free us” [11]
> “are they accepting random fans to interview oliver and ryan bc can i volunteer ❤ i'd actually ask individual character questions too pls” [12]
> “the girl who is gonna interview Oliver is the same who doesn't like buddie and thinks that temu is buck's best love ?” [13]
> “Oh my god what is this story Oliver is actually going to do an interview with a BT? ... I hope Oliver will confirm to him that BT is over” [14]
> “How the interview with that interviewer is going to go...
interviewer: 'So... How is L*u?'
Oliver Stark: 'Good, I guess? we havent spoken in months.'
bts: OMG SEE?! L*U HAS BEEN ON SET THIS WHOLE TIME!!” [15]
> “god we're abt to read an interview SO BAD” [16]
> “I think ostark should be allowed to murder people…… just as a treat.” [17]
> “haven’t we & oliver stark been through enough?” [18]
> “Ooh, I'd be interested to know how he handles this! I hope she'll be professional enough to keep her views separate...” [19]
> “o stark was interviewed by a bt journalist… this nightmare is never gonna end is it” [20]
Everything’s presented as a joke, hidden under a layer of dry humor, memes, and “opinions.” But where does simple cruelty and bullying begin?
Buddie fans question Soetzel’s ability to do her job, her professionalism, and the quality of an article that hasn’t even been published yet. They form a parasocial relationship with Oliver Stark, suggesting that the interview makes no sense, that “Oliver has already been through enough,” and in this context, even write that “ostark should be allowed to murder people.”
Toxicity, cruelty, hypocrisy… and why it’s sad
You might say I’m too soft for the internet — that “this isn’t cruelty, it’s just a joke,” or that “everyone has the right to express their opinion.” But where’s the humanity in that? Why can’t we just… not engage with people who think differently? You don’t have to be nice, you don’t have to comment, you don’t have to like or repost. You literally don’t have to do anything. Let other sides of the fandom exist, and focus on what makes you happy.
I try my best not to be cruel or mean. I don’t comment negatively on people’s appearance — I don’t believe I have that right. I don’t mock, question, or diminish Buddie fans, because I believe they have every right to ship what they love. Now, I only interact when they tag me in quote-tweets (and even then, I try not to anymore).
That’s why I find the examples of bullying, ridicule, and body-shaming from that corner of the fandom so hard to stomach.
Dear Buddie fans — let other people ship what they want. Let journalists conduct interviews with whomever they choose. Don’t be hypocrites. I know there are many among you who don’t behave this way — who simply find joy in this ship, who enjoy fanfics, who treat 9-1-1 as a fun interest. That’s the healthy approach.
I understand your frustration. Your ship — the one you’ve invested so much time, talent, emotion, and maybe even money into — isn’t canon. You’ve been waiting since Season 2, hoping, creating, writing, editing. Maybe you’re losing faith. Maybe you still believe Buddie will become real one day.
But one thing is certain — we don’t know. We don’t know what will happen to Buck, to Eddie, to Tommy. Maybe a new character will appear. Maybe they’ll both end up single. Maybe, maybe, maybe…
Just remember — your uncertainty and frustration are not excuses to be cruel.
Remember – there’s a real human being on the other side.
PS. The interview was published just as I was finishing editing this text – so I’m not changing anything (it remains written as before the article’s release), but I consider it important enough to share it anyway. You can read Katey Soetzel’s interview with Oliver Stark here.
[2] Yes, I’m aware of the comment from the livestrem on call in episode 18 of season 2, as well as the line from the woman dressed as an elf in episode 10 of the same season. However, I see them as possible references to Buck’s bisexuality—since, for example, in the latter case, the focus is on his reaction and the fact that he doesn’t seem affected by the remark—and as a little "wink to the fans" of the ship.
hot take: buck taking legal action and attempting to sue the 118, potentially jeopardizing the future function of the station was utterly justified, and he did nothing wrong. not allowing buck back into the 118/ wrongfully terminating him was entirely unethical. the fact bucks hurt and upset response to being sidelined in the one thing he's ever found true joy in, was seen as selfish and asshole behavior? something was truly wrong with that whole plot line, and a genuine rage fills me at the fact they tried to depict him and paint him out as this villain that whole time, when in reality he just wanted his family to take him back.
I just need ONE person on the cast or crew to remember that Tommy Kinard's favorite movie is 'Love, Actually', and since we could absolutely have the opportunity to have holiday episodes this season I need something... ANYTHING... close to this scene with Buck and Tommy for the LOVE OF GOD
Many lgbt teenagers and young adults growing up on the internet today have socially conservative beliefs that they voice at all times that they got from their conservative parents which they’ve never challenged because they think the life experience of being gay or trans makes them politically progressive
This is why I hate it when people say something homophobic and then go “so you’re really accusing me, a whole ass lesbian, of being homophobic 🙄” like yeah
Just because you’re part of an oppressed party does not mean you cannot hold bias against other groups or members of your own group. Bias is learned and ingrained through society and family and it takes real work to unlearn it. No one is perfect, no one is without bias and you are in fact going to fuck up now and again—what matters is if you learn from it and grow.
Honestly the whole thing sounds like bullshit to me. My favorite part was about how “Queso” and “Cassie” “sound the same” so obviously that means that it’s the same person. So obviously that means you’re also Cassandra Claire, infamous for the Shadowhunter chronicles.
All of it is just supposition based on needing a person to blame, and our besties are going to jump on it because it saves them from their own accountability of ignoring this shit.
It gives them someone to blame and I'm not going to lose sleep over something I know I didn't do. If they need to blame a specific person fine.
Funny this all happens after I leave their discord and make my own.
Kind of off topic but I think tommy being so calm with buck is also a nice contrast to how he was with eddie when they were friends. They were soo loud and "bro", they bonded over shared interests and sexuality wasn't even a topic of conversation. With buck, tommy's energy was very different, flirty and open and patient, right from the beginning and somehow even while breaking up with him.
This renewed theory of "tommy wanted eddie first" really annoys me because that's not what we saw at all. 7x4 was all blurred by buck's pov and his jealousy anyway but this theory is also hugely influenced by people who simply cannot fathom that buck would be anyone's first choice instead of eddie.
Yes. Exactly. All of it. Thank you for saying it and reminding me— this is such a beautiful observation.
Tommy’s whole vibe with Eddie was loud, casual, and “bro” energy, characterized by surface-level camaraderie ( so is Eddie vs Buck at times), which ended as it started. There was zero romantic or flirty undercurrent in what we saw, and that’s good. But it’s a completely different tone from how Tommy interacted with Buck.
Even before 7x04, in 7x03 in the helicopter, Tommy was soft on Buck — answering his comments and questions when others ignored them (“can’t see out there,” “hurricane/after showers”).
In 7x04, we literally see him checking Buck out on that tour, and not once looking at Eddie that way. During the basketball game, Buck was focused on Tommy and Eddie’s interaction, but Tommy? He was tracking Buck as well: blocking him, pushing him, being wherever Buck was on the court.
We might not have gotten Tommy’s POV, but his interest was pretty clear from the beginning. And at the loft, even before the kiss, there’s a fondness in the way he talks to Buck that simply isn’t there with Eddie. The contrast is obvious again in 7x05 at Chim’s party — polite with Eddie, defending his presence, but soft, warm inflection for Buck.
Absolutely beautiful, the way the writers did that. And instead of matching Buck’s high-energy chaos (like Taylor did), Tommy meets it with steady, deliberate affection.
For some, it’s almost unthinkable that Buck could be someone’s first choice over Eddie, so they retrofit the story to make Eddie “the one that got away” and Buck “the consolation.”
It’s not in the text. It’s in the bias.
What we actually saw was Tommy choosing Buck .... in tone, in focus, in intent, from the very beginning. (Wish we had gotten 703 initial meet). Breakup or not, his calmness with Buck reads as naked affection, and it was deliberate. They wanted us to spot it, to see the intimacy without making it look like a casual fling built only on “fun energy,” and for Tommy to stand out among others in Bucks' life.
Tommy’s more settled, and he complements Buck.... a risk-taker himself, but one who takes Buck’s eccentric, impulsive energy in stride and with genuine fondness.
That’s why the “Tommy wanted Eddie first” theory doesn’t track. Yes, there’s that old interview floating around where someone mentioned Eddie, but I think it’s been taken out of context. It’s more likely Tim always wanted one character to come out as bi, and between Eddie and Buck, Buck was the only realistic choice. But people ran with that, and it turned into a way to pile hate again. 🤷♀️
Sending much Love 🩷🩷 .. thanks for sharing this with me!!
xoxo
Here is a list of all the work identification numbers for the fucked up fics that have been posted in response to… not shipping the same thing, I guess? Many of these are untagged. A few of them have triggering summaries. All of them are crappy writing, maybe by whatever free AI this person decided to teach CSAM. And all of it is homophobic because of the simple premise that they are using the character of a canonical gay man as a child predator, which is something that has been used to other the queer community for generations.
I have been compiling this list for over a year now, from when the first fucked up fic was posted on AO3 and then subsequently sent to people’s inboxes here. Maybe it’s a different group chat reading the same playbook, but it was fucked up then, it’s fucked up now, and material like this is illegal in a bunch of countries.
Below is what you copy & past into your AO3 site skin to block your view of these fics.
Here is a list of all the work identification numbers for the fucked up fics that have been posted in response to… not shipping the same thing, I guess? Many of these are untagged. A few of them have triggering summaries. All of them are crappy writing, maybe by whatever free AI this person decided to teach CSAM. And all of it is homophobic because of the simple premise that they are using the character of a canonical gay man as a child predator, which is something that has been used to other the queer community for generations.
I have been compiling this list for over a year now, from when the first fucked up fic was posted on AO3 and then subsequently sent to people’s inboxes here. Maybe it’s a different group chat reading the same playbook, but it was fucked up then, it’s fucked up now, and material like this is illegal in a bunch of countries.
Below is what you copy & past into your AO3 site skin to block your view of these fics.
So I’m gonna completely redo my master post tomorrow, cause A) I’m so fucking tired tonight, B) a couple of fics were deleted and one is now up twice(!), and C) if I try to do it now it’s going to be obsolete in like ten minutes because the fuckers are in the middle of their circle jerk. So here’s the screen shots of the fics plus the A/Ns of what they feel justifies this and tomorrow I will compile all the numbers to make it easier for your AO3 site skins.
