#beyond buddie

💙 There's More to 9-1-1 Than One Ship

Hey everyone! 💙

I've decided to create something fun—a sort of fan club, if you want to call it that—for all of us who absolutely love 9-1-1 but aren't Buddie shippers. 😊

First of all, this isn't meant to be anti-Buddie in any way. Buddie fans already have an amazing, supportive, and incredibly active community, and I'm genuinely happy they have a place where they can celebrate what they love. ❤️

But I've also realized that those of us who enjoy different ships, different dynamics, and different interpretations of the show often don't really have a place to gather. Sometimes it can feel like our voices simply get lost, even though we love this show just as much.

So... I thought, why not build one ourselves? ✨

I've put together a page that serves as a little hub for everything related to my 9-1-1 universe—my fanfictions, essays, analyses, meta posts, and all the thoughts I've shared about the series over the years.

But I'd also love for it to become something more: a meeting place for fans who simply enjoy looking at 9-1-1 from a different perspective. 💙

To make things fun, I even created four "teams" (think of them like Hogwarts Houses 🏰😄), each centered around one of my favorite ships. It's all completely lighthearted! If you're new to my stories and don't know the pairings yet, you can simply pick the team that includes your favorite character—or just whichever one feels right to you.

This is really just the beginning.

I'm tagging a few people who I think might be interested. Maybe you'll want to join, maybe not—and that's totally okay! ❤️

If you like the idea, feel free to reblog this post, share it, or invite other fans who might enjoy having another corner of the fandom.

My dream isn't to compete with anyone.

My dream is simply to build a welcoming community where people who love 9-1-1 in different ways can meet, talk, analyze episodes, share fanfiction, participate in watch parties, meta discussions, games, contests, creative challenges, and whatever fun ideas we come up with together. 🥰

I'm always open to suggestions, too! If you have ideas for events or activities, I'd absolutely love to hear them.

Every fandom is stronger when there's room for different voices. 💙

If you've ever felt like you were a little "outside the mainstream" but still love this show with all your heart, then maybe you've just found your people.

Everyone is welcome aboard. 🚢✨

Let's build something special together. 💙

So, just to make it absolutely clear one last time: this Challenge is entirely, exclusively, and completely about the all seasons of the official 9-1-1 TV series that aired on FOX and ABC. It has absolutely nothing to do with my original characters or my fanfiction universe.

What kind of project can I submit for the challenge?

You can participate in whichever way feels most fun or inspiring to you! You don't have to join every challenge—you can do one, a few, all of them, or none at all. It's completely up to you.

Your entry can be:

✍️ A drabble

📖 A flash fiction

❤️ A one-shot

Technically, these formats each have their own standard word counts, but I'm not strict about that. Feel free to interpret them however you'd like. The goal isn't to meet a specific length—it's simply to have fun, be creative, and celebrate 9-1-1 together. 😊

📌 The Only Rule

There is only one creative guideline for these challenges.

Since this project was created specifically to explore another side of the fandom, Buddie (Buck/Eddie as a romantic pairing) won’t be part of these prompts (and the May/Ravi romantic relationship too).

Everything else not specified is permitted:

-Canon couples

-Past couples

-Rare pairs

-Friendships

-Sibling relationships

-Mentorships

-Family dynamics

-Crossovers

-Original characters (yours, not mine)

-Alternate universes

-Missing scenes

-etc…

You can find the publication dates here. The challenge has no start or end date.

📅 Challenge Schedule

🎬 July 6

9-1-1 Director Challenge

🎞️ July 13

Rearview Mirror Challenge

🚒 July 20

Rewrite the Rescue

📖 July 27

What Happened After?

💬 August 3

The Unspoken Scene

🎬 August 10

If I Were the Showrunner

🎥 August 17

Deleted Scene: 9-1-1

🧩 August 24

I've received private messages wishing me dead. Messages telling me I should be ashamed of myself, hide, or simply disappear because of what I dare to write—my "controversial" views on the show and its ships.

The one that shocked me the most came from people asking if they could join my challenge just so they could write a story where Elara is raped or brutally murdered, because that's the only way they could "free" Buck from her, since they believe he belongs with Eddie.

Honestly... your words speak for themselves.

Chooseable: A Meta on Buck’s Arc and Why It Was Never About Destiny

Before I start, I want to say this gently:

This is a fan theory. It’s not an attack on Buddie. It’s not meant to invalidate anyone’s interpretation. It’s simply how I personally read Buck’s arc on 9-1-1.

You’re absolutely allowed to disagree. I only ask that disagreement stays respectful. We can interpret the same story in different ways without tearing each other apart.

Okay.

Fan Theory: Buck has never been searching for love. He’s been searching for proof that he’s chooseable.

If you follow Evan Buckley’s journey from Season 1 onward, his arc isn’t fundamentally romantic.

It’s about identity.

1. Buck Was Born to Be Useful

Buck isn’t “the guy who loves too much.” He’s the child who was born to save someone.

The Daniel reveal reframes everything. It’s not just family drama — it’s psychological foundation.

Buck wasn’t born to exist. He was born to fix.

And when that becomes your origin story, your entire sense of self is tied to usefulness.

The question under all of Buck’s behavior becomes: “If I’m not needed, who am I?”

2. Seasons 1–2: The Body as Anesthesia

Early Buck is impulsive, hypersexual, adrenaline-driven.

But that’s not shallowness. That’s avoidance.

Sex. Risk. Chaos. Those aren’t expressions of freedom.

They’re noise.

Because silence forces him to confront the fear that he has no intrinsic worth.

Buck doesn’t want to be loved for who he is. He wants to be necessary.

That distinction defines him.

3. The 118: Love vs. Usefulness

At the 118, something shifts.

For the first time, people care if he disappears.

That’s new. That’s destabilizing. That’s terrifying.

Being needed is safe. Being loved is fragile.

So Buck oscillates: – deep attachment – self-sabotage – control – constant reassurance-seeking

He believes abandonment is inevitable, so if something feels too good, he destabilizes it first.

Because controlling the loss feels safer than being blindsided by it.

4. The Daniel Reveal: The Core Wound

When Buck learns the truth about his birth, his internal narrative changes permanently.

It’s no longer: “My parents didn’t understand me.”

It becomes: “I was never meant to be me.”

That creates three deep wounds: – fear of being second choice – anger at parental betrayal – compulsion to compensate

From here comes his most dangerous pattern: If something feels too good, he risks it himself.

Control over abandonment.

5. Buck’s Bisexuality Is Consistent, Not a Twist

Buck’s fluidity doesn’t contradict his arc — it fits it.

He’s never been rigid. He’s connection-oriented, not label-oriented.

The real question isn’t who he loves. It’s why he chooses.

If love has always functioned as proof, validation, necessity — then his endgame cannot be passion-based or destiny-based.

It has to be stability-based.

6. Seasons 7–9: The Shift Toward Maturity

In the later seasons, Buck changes.

He stays in hard conversations. He doesn’t flee immediately. He tolerates vulnerability. He asks for reciprocity.

He isn’t healed. But he’s self-aware.

And this leads to the central thesis:

The person who stays with Buck long-term won’t be someone who completes him.

It will be someone who doesn’t need to be saved by him.

He needs someone who: – doesn’t idealize him – doesn’t fear him – doesn’t use him as emotional scaffolding – doesn’t leave when he stops being the hero

Someone who stands in front of him when he’s wrong. Not behind him.

Someone who teaches him duration.

His happy ending won’t be loud. It will be quiet.

7. Buck and Eddie: The Deepest Bond in the Show

Let me be very clear:

Buck and Eddie have the deepest connection on 9-1-1.

And that’s exactly why I don’t read them as romantic.

Intimacy is not automatically romance.

What they share is intimacy — but of a specific kind.

8. Eddie Is Not the Resolution of Buck’s Core Trauma

Buck’s foundational wound is: “I exist to be useful.”

To truly heal, he needs someone who: – doesn’t depend on him to survive – doesn’t need rescuing – doesn’t choose him because he’s indispensable

Eddie enters Buck’s life with Christopher.

Buck becomes essential in that dynamic.

He’s steady. Protective. Present.

But that also means he’s necessary again.

That doesn’t make the bond unhealthy. It just means it doesn’t fully break the original pattern.

9. Eddie Is a Mirror, Not a Regulator

Buck and Eddie are deeply similar.

They both: – carry family trauma – struggle to ask for help – default to self-sacrifice – protect others to avoid themselves

They understand each other instinctively.

But they amplify each other.

They don’t regulate each other.

And mature Buck needs grounding, not mirroring.

10. They’ve Already Said “I Love You” — Just Not Romantically

There’s a kind of love that isn’t romantic.

It’s ontological. Foundational.

Buck and Eddie have already expressed that kind of love:

– absolute trust – guardianship – instinctive loyalty – emotional belonging

That bond feels complete.

Romanticizing it could actually reduce it.

Because its strength is that it’s not dependent on desire.

11. Buck’s Romantic Arc Must Exist Outside the Firehouse

If Buck’s growth is about identity and conscious choice, his endgame relationship must:

– not be built on shared trauma – not revolve around mutual saving – not function as an extension of the 118

Eddie is family. Chosen family. Emotional brotherhood.

But Buck’s romantic love has to exist outside that ecosystem.

Not as mission. As choice.

12. Final Synthesis

Buck and Eddie are not a failed romance.

They are a completed love in another form.

And some bonds don’t evolve because they’re lacking.

As someone who's not a Buddie shipper, I don't think I'd ever truly enjoy a 9-1-1 convention. 🥺

And that's heartbreaking because it sometimes feels like those of us who aren't Buddie shippers simply... don't exist.

We're part of this fandom too. We love the show just as much. We care about the characters just as much. We just happen to connect with different relationships, different dynamics, and different stories.

Sometimes it feels like our little corner of the fandom isn't really acknowledged—or that the quieter we stay, the better.

Maybe that's not anyone's intention, but that's honestly how it can feel.

It feels like everything revolves around that one topic, and everything else barely exists anymore.

I've been following all the conventions and panels, and honestly... it's starting to feel really repetitive. 🫤

9-1-1 isn't a Buddie TV show.

I miss what this series used to be. ❤️ I miss the show I originally fell in love with—the one that was about an ensemble cast, different relationships, incredible rescues, and stories that gave every character room to shine.

As much as I'd absolutely love to attend a convention someday (I'm really hoping they'll organize one in Italy eventually! 🤞🇮🇹), I'm honestly a little worried that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I hope.

You can find the challenge/collection on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/911_Hiatus_Challenge

How would you have written this scene? 👀

Out of all nine seasons of 9-1-1, choose one episode and one specific scene you would like to rewrite.

In your post, make sure to include:

🚨Season number + episode title

🚨The scene you chose

🚨A short reminder of what happens in canon

🚨Your rewritten version of the scene

That way, everyone can understand exactly which moment you're working from before reading your interpretation.

After that, the rest is completely up to you. ❤️

Your vision.

Your writing.

Your reinterpretation.

Have fun with it! ✨

28 years later

Samuel Diaz leaned back against the cool metal of the engine, sleeves rolled up over solid forearms, dark eyes — his father’s eyes — fixed on the horizon where the sky bled from indigo into streaks of orange.

He carried himself with an easy gravity. A steadiness born from the Grants, tempered by the proud, unyielding current of Diaz blood running through him.

“With that sunlit profile, Diaz, you almost look profound,” a voice called from across the garage. “Like some old-school philosopher contemplating the human condition.”

Robert “Nash” Han stepped into view, grinning. He looked so much like a younger Chimney it was almost unfair — same spark in his eyes, same irreverent humor humming under the surface.

Samuel turned, a lazy, genuine smile tugging at his mouth before he tossed the rag he’d been using to wipe down the truck straight at Nash’s chest.

“I’m just thanking God there aren’t any endless stairwells today,” Samuel shot back. “Last time I felt older than your dad.”

Nash barked out a laugh and handed him a steaming cup of coffee.

“Careful, Diaz. My father can probably hear that from the Fire Chief’s office. And you definitely don’t want Deputy Chief Eddie Diaz finding out his son’s complaining about cardio.”

Samuel shook his head, amused.

His father had climbed the ranks without ever stepping back from the fire. From him, Samuel had learned that kindness wasn’t ornamental — it was a muscle. Something you trained daily.

From his mother, he’d inherited something quieter. The near-mystical ability to hear what people didn’t say. She now ran her own social services office, and Samuel knew that behind every “save” he made in the field was a piece of the resilience she’d built into him from the start.

“Team, brief up.”

The voice cut clean through the bay.

Harry Grant didn’t need to raise his voice. As captain, he commanded with calm authority — the wisdom of Bobby Nash layered with Athena’s steel.

Behind him stood the Pannikar twins, the paramedics on shift. Arya moved like controlled lightning — sharp eyes, faster reflexes. Tomàs was quieter, steady as winter ice.

They weren’t just coworkers.

They were family.

The shift passed in waves — routine calls punctuated by moments that made your pulse spike. Samuel moved with instinctive fluidity. There was a rare sensitivity in him, honed over years beside Christopher.

His older brother lived in Texas now — married with Paige, father to six-year-old Shane. Samuel remembered the subtle shift from being the kid Chris protected to becoming the one Chris confided in. Christopher had been his first teacher in empathy. The one who showed him how to look past the surface of people.

Mid-afternoon, during a break, Samuel’s phone buzzed.

A video call from Texas.

Shane’s face filled the screen, bright and unstoppable.

“Tío Samuel! Did you save anyone today?”

“Just one extremely ungrateful cat,” Samuel laughed.

Christopher leaned into frame, giving him a knowing nod.

“Dad treating you okay?” Samuel asked.

“Yeah,” Shane answered before Chris could. “But he says you’re more fun because you’re younger.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Don’t let him start.”

Distance had never weakened them. It had simply stretched the thread.

After the call ended, Samuel stood still for a moment longer than necessary.

His faith wasn’t loud. It didn’t live in declarations. It lived in action. In fairness. In the way he switched to fluent Spanish without hesitation when someone in South L.A. struggled to explain what hurt.

That, too, was inheritance.

Before clocking out, Harry caught him near the lockers.

“Good work today, Diaz,” Harry said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Your grandmother would’ve been proud of how you handled that South L.A. call.”

“Thank you, Cap,” Samuel replied, steady. “Just doing my part.”

There was always that unspoken understanding between them. Inside the station, Harry was his captain. Outside it, just his uncle.

As Samuel drove home, the city lights flickering awake one by one, he slowed near Elara’s bookstore.

Through the front window, he saw Eden.

Curled over a book. Blonde hair falling forward, obscuring part of her face.

He didn’t go in.

When Eden Buckley slipped into that focus — that quiet, relentless search for truth — the world could burn and she wouldn’t look up until she’d found what she was hunting.

He smiled to himself.

They’d grown up side by side. Seen each other’s scraped knees, first heartbreaks, impossible ambitions. There was an invisible thread between them — one time had only pulled tighter.

Samuel inhaled the evening air.

He was a Diaz. He was a Grant.