#**tomman

Requested by theemmed.  First: A DISCLAIMER. No one thinks Tomclay is real. Tom is at the very least dating and quite possibly married(?), to the very lovely Charlotte Rose, who is okay with shipping.  No one is saying otherwise. No one is trying to guess at or label their sexual orientations or invalidate their existing relationships. It's literally just FUN TO SHIP THEM.

That said, if you are in the market for a new, fun, drama-free slashy ship, Tomclay is comin' atcha. They are wonderful and darling.

So, who are they?

Tomclay is a portmanteau for Tom and Barclay, more specifically, Tom Mann and Barclay Beales from Stereo Kicks.

Tom Mann

Barclay Beales

What is Stereo Kicks?

It is Simon Cowell's new boy band brainchild on the current series of The X Factor.  They've made it into the Top 8 so far (and thus will be on the X Factor Tour), but definitely deserve more fans and votes than they've been getting!  They're genuinely very good.  There's something to be said for Simon's talent with boy band production.

There's also something to be said for Louis Walsh's mentoring ability, but it is THE OPPOSITE SOMETHING.  Don't let Louis Walsh fuck over a good boy band: vote Stereo Kicks.

Also cute boys and their butts!!!

Okay, I'm listening. So that's WHAT Stereo Kicks is, but WHO is Stereo Kicks?

(At this point I'm going to point you towards my slightly-out-of-date Stereo Kicks Primer Post and move on to the important two tbh.)

Got it!  So there are eight boys? Why ship these two?

Honestly, the Main 7/8 are all very shippy with each other (and if you aren't comfortable shipping Reece, since he's only 16, the Main 6 are VERY VERY shippy with each other.  Charlie is literally a child and no one is allowed to have feelings about him.  He's literally a child.)  I ship Tomclay because they're my favorite two and because THEY HAVE SUCH A GOOD SHIPPING BACKSTORY.

You know that whole "fate" thing the X Factor is good at? YEAH, IT SUPER APPLIES TO TOMCLAY.

The X Factor is Really Good at Helping Fate Out: The Beginning

If you haven't been watching XF since 1D's season (or Little Mix's or Union J's), then you have not been witness to the Absolutely Horrifically Dull New Audition Process.  Which is long.  Too long.  All you really need to know is that these days, it takes a lot longer for acts to get as far as bootcamp than it used to, so they end up knowing each other moderately well even by then.

Tom and Barclay both auditioned last year.  They both made it as far as bootcamp.  As far as I can TELL, they MIGHT have auditioned in the same cities, too, but I'm not honestly sure where Tom's from.  They also both got really heavy TV coverage because they have adorable faces and because they were unique, which last year's XF was sorely, sorely lacking.

(Barclay was, to be honest, a little too unique. He yodeled. He yodeled WMYB.  It made Nicole Scherzinger take her clothes off.  It was a whole... thing.  Tom sang Little Mix and it was gr8.)

Here are their audition videos if you're interested: Tom Rooms 2013 | Tom Arena 2013 | Tom Bootcamp 2013 | Barclay Rooms 2013 | Barclay Arena 2013 | Barclay Bootcamp 2013

BUT ANYWAY.  So they both auditioned, they both got heavy coverage, they both made it to bootcamp, and they were both sent home.  The end?

APPARENTLY NOT.

APPARENTLY THEY BECAME "I LOVE YOU MAN" LEVEL FRIENDS RIGHT OFF THE BAT.  (Side note: congratulations to Barclay for hella growing into his face over the last year.)

"Oh, but V," you say, "14 months ago? They probably took that photo AT bootcamp.  Big deal!"

True, that's possible... but then in December of last year:

At some point, too, it seems like Barclay might have met Tom's family bc he follows them on Twitter?  I really don't know, though.

Tom and Barclay also performed at a lot of gigs together over the last year because they a similar XF fame, although Tom benefited from having a pretty thriving solo career before XF and lots of endorsement deals and stuff.  Barclay spent most of the year proving that he wasn't a joke act. :(  (He isn't.  He does a fair number of solos now in Stereo Kicks and has great stage presence.)

And then March 2014 rolled around again, and they both decided to audition. 

They both get through to bootcamp, once again. 

And they're both cut.

Until Simon calls eight boys back... and they're kept for a day-long workshop to learn how to boy band, how to harmony, etc. They're told that some of them will make the band and some will not.

Note that they are holding arms as they wait to hear who will be in the new boy band.

And of course, they both are.  (Point of fact: all eight are. But the others are not FATED in the same way, obv.)

FATE.

Cuuuute!  What else?  Prove this is a cute ship.

1.  They both love bad puns.  They have inside jokes.  They delight in making each other laugh.

(These gifs doesn't have words on it bc Tom's just muttering something private to Barclay.)

2. They are the calm, quiet, constantly exasperated dads of a giant boy puddle.

3. That leads into a thing everyone loves in a ship... MIRRORING! (♫ 'cause it's like you're my mirror...♬ )

(Also note the casual hand-on-thigh here.)

4.  But they aren't just daddish.  They also have cute fun together...

Like when they pranked Petsy (Parisa/Betsy) from OTY...

Or when they take particularly dorky selfies...

Or, you know, that time that Tom mimed spanking dat Barclay ass onstage...

5. Which obviously leads into another important aspect of shipping, because being a cute ship is well and good, but so is being a sexy ship.

(Other than the fact that they're both just sexy in general, I mean.)

Jake says Barclay's naked, and no one's head moves faster than Tom to check it out...

Tom can't keep his hands to himself, apparently.

6.  But more importantly, they just love each other.

7.  They're overwhelmed by their own Fond.

THE FINGER-TOUCH.

8.  They're little cuddlebugs!

Again: the comfort of the hand-on-inner-thigh.  ALSO HOW BIG BARCLAY'S BIG HANDS ARE ON TOM'S TINY THIGHS.

9.  THIS LEADS INTO MY PERSONAL FAVORITE THING ABOUT TOMCLAY.

The size difference between Tom and Barclay is pretty intense.  Tom is a little pocket boy.  Barclay has broad shoulders and big biceps.  They are that CLASSIC ship trope of "the small foul-mouthed snarky defensive one and his big quiet easily-satisfied boyfie."  This is even more perfect with some of their other perfectly-ficcable traits, such as that Tom is the youngest child of three in his family and Barclay is the eldest of three in his, and such things. 

BUT MOSTLY THIS: their height difference is EXACTLY JUST RIGHT for Tom's ~place to be the back of Barclay's shoulder.

SO

FRIGGING

CUTE

And also, c'mon. top!Tom.  C'mon. 

10.  In conclusion, Tomclay is a very good ship and they are fun to ship because there's no sadness or drama or nastiness.  Embrace the new boys in town, love the fresh faces and fresh butts, and #votestereokicks!