Buck Silver

**James 'Buck' Buchanan Silver** is an ex of Rick Rounds' and was a childhood bully of Big Mikey's. He is an Ex-member of Fort Freedom, having left of his own accord to join the Scoutpost.

## Personality

Buck seems to be easily swayed by those with powerful personalities around him, and is polite to a fault. He cares very deeply about Rick, and is shown to feel guilt for his decision to support Mrs. Wicker in her choice to Rick Rounds from Fort Freedom.

Despite this Buck has had a quick development of character, and has rapidly begun to stand up for himself and create boundaries.

## Description

Buck is a small man with crooked teeth and glasses. He walks with a crutch most of the time, and trades it out for a cane on special occasions.

## History

As a child, Buck used to bully Big Mikey (formerly 'Little Mikey'), until Rick pushed Mikey into a bog, causing him to drown. What happened in his life from this point to the main timeline of HFTH is currently unknown, although at some point he became romantically involved with Rick. At some point prior to the Mikey incident, Buck was nicknamed 'Buck' by Rick due to his odd teeth, which Buck says Rick caused. Both of Buck's parents are dead, it is assumed that this happened either during or immediately after the beginning of the Black rain.

### Season 1

Episode 18 - Bones: Buck is only briefly seen, but he has taken up announcer-like role in the "disposal" of creatures that Rick and the daily patrol bring back, which they throw into a gladiator style ring with a Bird-like creature called The Frogsticker.

Episode 19 - Devils: Buck is once again only shorty seen, when he questions why Rick is staring at Polly's Umbrella [after Rick stole it in 18 - Bones], Rick then snaps at him to put some clothes on and "*get back to work*". Prior to this it was not know that the two men were in a relationship.

Episode 22 - Mountains: Buck's brief appearance in this episode is him buckling the strap under Rick's helmet as he tells him that he wants him back in one piece (after Rick makes the decision to hunt down Polly and his trio).

Episode 30 - Stones: The segment begins with Mrs. Wicker meeting Buck in Rick's tent. She tells him that they're kicking Rick out, and he can either go with Rick or stay with Fort Freedom. She also informs him that she's aware of his relationship with Rick and that they killed Mikey all those years ago. Buck leaves the tent and meets Rick in the hospital house where he breaks the news to him. Rick assumes Buck is coming with him, but Buck tells him that Rick has treated him horribly over the years, both emotionally and physically, and that he doesn't want to go with him, as well that he's breaking up with him. When he leaves the hospital house, Mrs. Wicker is outside, congratulating him for doing the right thing.

### Season 2

Episode 55 - Threats: Buck accompanies Mrs. Wicker in her negotiations with The Scoutpost

Episode 59 - Friends: Buck accompanies Mrs. Wicker to dinner at the scout post, which is promptly attacked by frogglins. Everyone survives the attack.

Episode 61 - Protectors: Buck meets Jonah Duckworth and Hector Mendoza, whom he immediately recognises as not only being like him ( that is, gay,) but also in a healthy and tender relationship. He talks with them about Fort Freedom, giving a very brief explanation of why Mrs. Wicker is in charge, where it is also revealed that he both misses and feels bad about what he did to Rick. Mrs. Wicker buts into the conversation to get Buck before they leave. On the way back to Fort Freedom, Mrs. Wicker reveals that she intends on storming The Scoutpost, deeming them as Pagans and homosexuals, and threatens to kick Buck out of the truck when he attempts to voice his opposition.

Episode 66 - Morals: Buck has been forced to sit in a closet for an unidentified amount of time with no food to think about his actions (speaking out against Mrs. Wicker) and 'repent to the lord'. He receives aid from Jedediah Wicker, one of Mrs. Wickers younger kids, when he sneaks him an apple. Buck contemplates what his future at Fort Freedom would look like if he stayed, thinking about how he'd probably have to marry "*one of Fort Freedom's pallid ladies*" which he struggles even picturing. In the end he decides to leave Fort Freedom.

Episode 70 - Lines: After being let out of the closet by Jacob Wicker (Mrs. Wicker's oldest son) , Buck stumbles through an apology to Mrs. Wicker, which is heavily wrapped in religious language. She is satisfied and tells him to go home. But instead of returning to his place of residence, having made up his mind that he doesn't belong at Fort Freedom, he sneaks into the back of one of the trucks that's set for The Scoutpost. Specifically, the truck that has The Frogsticker tied up in it.

Episode 75 - Loyalties: Buck escapes the back of the truck unnoticed and immediately finds Jonah and Zelda Duckworth. He warns them of the massacre that Mrs. Wicker is planning, and requests a place of residence at the Scoutpost. Zelda accuses him of being a spy, Jonah tells him that while he isn't in charge, he was sure that they'd happily have him. Big Mikey appears and chaos breaks out across The Scoutpost.

Episode 85 - Roots: Buck has become stuck and trapped with Zelda Duckworth after The Scoutpost became enveloped in the roots of The Hallowoods in Episode 81 - Fears. Zelda manages to get herself free with the aid of her shot gun, but is still stuck underground. Zelda still accuses Buck of being a spy for Fort Freedom. Buck still reassures her that he isn't, and that they were probably beyond the point of spies even mattering anyway. Both Buck and Zelda begin to lament on their lives, Buck regretting having not left Fort Freedom sooner, how he feels as though in his life he'd never done anything that was just for him. Zelda reassures him that at least he got to leave Fort Freedom in the end. They shit talk social rules, Zelda contextualising Buck's experience being ~~neurodivergent coded~~ 'different' from his peers -partially from his being gay and partially just in general- and his past relationship with Rick with her own past relationship with Dexter Duckworth. They finish their conversation just in time for Al to show up. Zelda introduces the two, and then gets Al to go above the roots and report back with what he saw. Buck comments that they had an odd relationship with the dead at The Scoutpost. Al comes back and says that Jonah was still above ground, then leaves again to ask him if he could get Zelda and Buck out of the ground. Which he does.

Episode 91 - Orders: Buck joined Violet, Bern, Jonah, Hector, Jacob, and Virgil on the Scoutpost's peace meeting with Mrs. Wicker, the proceedings of which go over smoothly, with them handing Jacob Wicker back to his mother. Before they leave however, Mrs. Wicker notices that Buck isn't following them. She turns to Violet and tells her that she'd promised them *all* of their people back. She tells Buck (calling him James) to come back home, as there were injured people who needed tending to, and that they might forgive him for his previous disobedience. She tells him that he'd be able to start fresh in the eyes of Fort Freedom and in the eyes of God. Buck corrects her to call him Buck, reminding her that no one called him James but her and that he didn't like it. He tells her that he wasn't going back with her, and that the Scoutpost residents were his "people" now. Mrs. Wicker addresses him as his preferred name, and tells him that the people of Fort Freedom still loved him, that the Lord still loved him, that he could run from them, but he couldn't hide from God. Buck tells her that he wasn't running, and that he was happy where he lived. Violet tells Mrs. Wicker that she had her people and that their deal was done. The two groups separate again, with Buck returning to the Scoutpost with the others.

Episode 96 - Horizons: Buck is attending a Scoutpost meeting, happily standing in the corner of the room as he waited for the last member of the Scoutpost leadership to arrive. He thinks about how no one had ever saved a seat for him when he was at Fort Freedom. When they gathered around the Table of Freedom, or when the people of Fort Freedom filled the cafeteria, not even Rick would save a chair for him, unwilling to show even the casual intimacy of siting together in public, despite how he felt in private. Zelda asks if he was going to keep standing or join the rest of them sitting, and Buck realises that the eighth chair was for him. He sits, and Violet thanks him for agreeing to attend. Violet takes attendance, follpwing her usual "Name, Rank, and a fun fact about yourself". Everyone follows as such, with Buck answering that he was still in the classes (meaning that he didn't have a rank), that he knew how to play the banjo, and that he used to play for the worship team on Sundays. Jonah invites him to play together some time (as Jonah's fun fact was that he used to play the ukulele), but is cut off by Violet, who says that they had concluded attendance and begin. to move on to the subject of the meeting (see Episode 96 - Horizons), this concludes with Cindy Lockheart proposing the expedition North. (see Episode 91 - Orders and Episode 95 - Homecomings).

This results in confusion throughout the room, and Buck speaks up, asking if she meant North as in into the Woods, and inquires on what it was she was waning to see up there. She tells him about the crew of the Ruth Ester Barnes and their fate, saying that she was going to finish what Rizwana Mirza had started or die trying, Buck asks her what she meant by this, and she explains to him what she knows about what had caused the rains. Violet begins to conclude the meeting, asking if anyone had any last though they wanted to say. Buck responds by saying:

"*Growing up, they’d tell us at Fort Freedom that the rains were a judgement against us. God preparing for the final years, punishing the sinful with plague and famine, readying up for the big old battle of armageddon.*

*We prayed for a rapture, or that we’d be taken before it got any worse. And I don’t know that mortal beings can do much against God’n revelation, but if it’s a real thing out there, then real people can stop it. I believe that. I’m not sure I’d be the best pick to go with you—I just lived through one apocalypse, and I’d like to go to Virgil’s class and all. But if you go, for all it’s worth, I’ll pray for you.*"

Cindy stands up. She thanks him for his words and tells him that she hoped he survived to see the apocalypse to an end.

### Season 3

Episode 98 - Harvests: Buck participates in Scoutpost Two's annual Fall Fest/Halloween, where he hands out caramel popcorn and dresses up as an un-named biblical character. Since season 2 he has settled in to the Scoutpost well, but still expresses fear of being shunned. He overcompensates by being as helpful as possible to fit in.

## Known Abilities

* Buck can play the Banjo, saying that he used to play for the Fort Freedom worship team on Sundays.

## Relationships

### Rick Rounds

Buck is Rick's childhood best friend and ex-lover. Buck got his nickname 'Buck' from Rick when they were children due to his odd teeth, which Buck says Rick gave him. Rick had always been violent towards Buck, and had no qualms about hitting him, even after their relationship became romantic. It is unknown when they became more then friends, but the discovery of their sexualities at what is assumed to have been approximately the same time in an incredibly homophobic environment under the guides of religion would have only served to draw them further towards each other. The long term of this was a relationship that brought out the worse in both of them. Buck's inability to call rick out served to further feed his bad habits, ego, narcissism, and self-importance, while Rick's abuse and disrespect only made Buck even more timid and unable to stand up for himself. After their breakup and Rick's exile, Buck expressed deep regret in having aided in kicking him out, feeling he abandoned him. While this is somewhat true, Buck is gradually learning that he didn't owe it to Rick to have to stand by him and take the blunt of all his problems.

### Big Mikey

Buck, along with a group of other boys including Rick, murdered Big Mikey (then referred to as Little Mikey) when they were all teenagers. After physically abusing him and making fun of his relationship with his best friend Abe, referring to him as his 'Boyfriend', as well as his parents neglecting to teach him how to read, they settled on the topic of his lack of ability to swim. This was when Rick got the idea of throwing Mikey into a nearby lake. Unsurprising to all except these stupid fictional teenage boys, Mikey drowned.

### Mrs. Wicker

Though Buck is not biologically hers, Mrs. Wicker treats Buck as if he were one of her kids, a truth that is significantly less heart warming in context of her terrible treatment of her children. Buck is an MLM, but Mrs. Wicker insists that if he repents to the lord enough he will be cleansed of his Homosexuality and rebellious tendencies, as well as his attachment to Rick. Mrs. Wicker insisted on calling Buck 'James' despite him preferring Buck. In Episode 91 - Orders Buck cut off his relationship with Mrs. Wicker, in favour of joining the Scoutpost.

### Jonah Duckworth

Jonah Duckworth, along with Hector Mendoza were the first healthy queer relationship that Buck had ever seen. The two of them were quickly able to identify Buck as also gay and in a situation that he didn't want to be in upon meeting him. When Buck escaped from Fort Freedom and goes to The Scoutpost, Jonah is the one to offer him a warm welcome, however cut short (see Episode 79 - Kingdoms). Buck has since been accepted into Fort Freedom after forming a friendship with Jonah's mother Zelda.

### Zelda Duckworth

Buck was trapped with Zelda after the events of Episode 81 - Fears, during which time they lamented and reflected on their lives to each other, Buck regretting having not left Fort Freedom sooner, how he feels as though in his life he'd never done anything that was just for him, and Zelda reassures him that at least he got to leave Fort Freedom in the end. They shit talk social rules, Zelda contextualising Buck's experience being 'different' from his peers and his past relationship with Rick with her own past relationship with Dexter Duckworth.

### Hector Mendoza

Jonah Duckworth, along with Hector Mendoza were the first healthy queer relationship Buck had ever seen. The two of them were quickly able to identify Buck as also gay and in a situation that he didn't want to be in upon meeting him. During the events of Episode 91 - Orders, Buck hid behind Hector when they confronted Mrs. Wicker during their peace meeting.

### Riot Maidstone

Riot finds that Buck reminds her of herself when she'd first come to the Scoutpost, still feeling like a tremendous burden rather than a family member. She tries to give him the impression, on the off occasions that they spoke, that he would still be welcome even if he wasn’t trying so hard to earn Scoutpost badges and fit in.

## Trivia

* Buck is one of many characters who possess a physical disability, experiencing chronic pain in one of his legs (although not yet specified)

## Appearances

* Episode 18 - Bones
* Episode 19 - Devils
* Episode 22 - Mountains
* Episode 30 - Stones
* Episode 59 - Friends
* Episode 61 - Protectors
* Episode 66 - Morals
* Episode 70 - Lines
* Episode 75 - Loyalties
* Episode 85 - Roots
* Episode 91 - Orders
* Episode 96 - Horizons