#like it does some great things with chris specifically

[cavka]

@grison-in-space didn't want to derail from this post even more and also i think this may have gotten too long for an ask sooo...

heavily agree on everything you've said re: chris. i'm audhd and physically disabled (though i can often hide the physical disability) and have a lot of the same thoughts and frustrations about fandom and the show. i remember when i was watching for the first time i got to the whole "he never feels sorry for himself" thing and just... sighed. a lot.

at the same time, i'm kind of grateful to the show? 'cause even if they're missing the mark a bit, i can tell they're trying. they're not shying away from giving chris' story everything it would every other character: inner conflict, learning, growing. like the fact that they gave him that mini-arc where he had multiple middle school girlfriends was huge, imo.

and it's kind of frustrating to go from that ^ to fandom. because there's a ton of flattening of his character and his struggles. like you said, kid's clearly inherited some of his dad's anxiety. there's the chess tournament but also things like him stressing out about xmas which set the trajectory for a lot of s5!eddie's arc, and him having nightmares about his mom post-tsunami and not wanting to make eddie sad. that's not even touching the fact that, despite fandom in general often bragging about the obscure and minute research it's done for fic, a lot of times it feels like people don't want to do so much as a cursory google search or wiki page skim about cp or disability in general.

which i guess circles us back around to the original post's point of "it's easier to ship these characters if a.) i can project one onto another character, b.) i just shove their kid in the background, or c.) everything is happy families and unrealistic." makes me sad. and a little mad. smad.

(also re: buck--tooootally agree with him being audhd. like the first time i watched him do the confused puppy head tilt because someone said something and he took it literally--specifically thinking things like hen's "you don't ever hear wham, bam, thank you, sir" and buck's "it doesn't rhyme..."--i was like "oh! he's mine. i'm claiming him for the audhd crowd he's so not just adhd. god it's like watching myself on tv." and it just was reinforced from there especially because of a lot of things you mention.)

(personally, i also tend to think eddie is neurodivergent but that's a whole other can of sardines.)

[muwapsturniolo]

Hockey!Matt ᯓ★ Headcannons

Warnings…. there is some nsfw ahead but there is a warning before it starts but otherwise, it's pretty chill

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who.... Is a hothead on and off the ice. He couldn't help it really, ever since he was a kid he had a temper and it only got worse when he made it to the big leagues.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who...Is the best center and enforcer, never losing a face-off and always making sure whoever has the puck has a clear path to the goal.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who...Is so focused on his job he doesn't dabble in relationships unlike his brother and teammate Chris.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who.... Has a bad article written about him by a specific sports journalist.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who.... Meets said sports journalist at a press conference and can't help but find her fiery attitude attractive.

"You called me a brute if I remember correctly." He smirks, his eyes looking her up and down. "I actually said the energy you radiate when your head is in the game resembles the hulk who is a brute force. I never called you a brute specifically Sturniolo. If you're going to call me out, make sure you know what I said."

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who...Becomes obsessed with her after that small debacle.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Reserves a seat at every game just for her, making sure it's the best seat so she can see him play.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Pays for her to come to every game, covering travel fees, hotel expenses, as well as dining.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who...Takes her out for dinner after playing against the Golden Knights, the two of them having a great time drinking, eating, and laughing.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who...Wakes up hungover with the journalist in his bed naked....and a ring on their finger.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Is oddly calm about the situation despite the girl waking up and freaking out.

"Oh god, oh god! Did we really do what every blackout drunk people do in Vegas and get married?!" Matt stands up and pulls on his boxers, walking over to the bathroom to brush his teeth. "We did, why are you complaining?"

"Why aren't you complaining?"

"Because now I don't have to face the fear of asking you to be my girlfriend when I can just call you my wife."

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Does just as he said and calls her his wife from here on out, treating her like a wife as well.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who...Demands that she attend his games and wear his jersey.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Points to her after every goal, sometimes even skating past and blowing a kiss.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Always wears one of her signature star barrets when playing, or has it clipped to his pants pocket on a normal day, claiming it's his lucky charm

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Asks her to move in with him after 4 months of being "married".

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Despite being more of a dog person, knows she likes cats, so he gets her one as a move-in gift, claiming it's their child.

「 ✦ 𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✦ 」

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... The dominant energy they both have makes things in the bedroom exciting.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Loves to fuck her in the locker room after a home game win, soon taking it back to their penthouse.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Takes his frustrations of losing out on her in the bedroom, endless rounds until he feels like he 'won'

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Worships her, laying bewteen her thighs for as long as she will let him.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Won't admit it but loves when she attaches a collar around his throat, yanking on it as he drives his cock into her cunt

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Loves to fuck her while shes in his jersey, it was something about seeing the black and yellow jersey attached to her body as she begs for him to go harder that releases an animalistic drive in him

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... Loves to show off the scratches on his back in the lockerroom, enjoying the way his teammates gape at the deep scratches.

ᯓ★ Hockey!Matt who... After winning the stanley cup gives his girl the most passionate and soft sex they ever had before officially asking her to be his wife.

Purrrrr new trope! i'm very excited for this one and i'd love to do blurbs for this how i did with bunny!!

[strnilolover]

Fic where Chris is obsessed with !Readers ass like he slaps it, lays on it, hugs it, and subtly touches it just because it's basically a fixation and they find it normal by now but when he does it in public he gets weird looks especially in-front of their friends 🙂

chris had always been a hands-on kind of guy. but when it came to you, specifically your ass, it was less of a habit and more of a full-blown obsession. at first, it had been playful — a teasing slap here, a cheeky squeeze there, something you’d laugh at or bat his hand away from. but as your relationship grew, so did his fixation, and now? it was a part of your daily life.

he’s find any excuse to touch it. if you bent over to grab something from a cabinet, his hand would automatically reach out, giving you a sharp smack that left you yelping. if you were lying on your stomach watching TV, he’d flop down right on top of you, his head resting on your backside like it was a pillow. and if you were cooking or standing in the kitchen? forget about personal space. chris would come up behind you, his arms wrapping around your waist, his hands slipping down as he hummed contentedly like it was the most normal thing in the world.

at this point, it kind of was — for you, at least. you barely flinched anymore when he randomly grabbed you or hugged your hips with his face buried in the curve of your back. It was just chris being chris. but for everyone else? it was a lot.

like tonight, for example.

nick and matt had wanted you both to watch a movie with them for the night. you’d been in the kitchen, grabbing drinks from the cooler, when you felt the all-too-familiar sting of chris’ palm landing on you.

“chris!” you hissed, nearly spilling the drink in your hand as you turned to glare at him.

“what?” he said, his tone so casual it was almost infuriating. he leaned against the counter, grinning like he didn’t just embarrass the hell out of you.

matt’s jaw had dropped, and nick looked like he didn’t know whether to laugh or leave the room. “dude,” matt said, his voice full of disbelief, “do you have to do that every five minutes?”

chris shrugged, completely unbothered by the attention. “what? it’s my girl. you think I’m just gonna ignore her when she looks this good?” you groaned, your face heating up as Nick rubbed his temples.

“it’s not normal,” nick muttered, shaking his head. “you’re obsessed.”

“not obsessed,” chris argued, coming up behind you again. his hands landed on your hips, squeezing affectionately. “just appreciative. big difference.” you shot him a look over your shoulder, muttering, “you’re so embarrassing,” but all chris did was smirk and press a quick kiss to your cheek.

“don’t act like you don’t love it,” he whispered, low enough that only you could hear, before giving you another playful tap. by the time you returned to the living room, drink in hand, chris had taken a seat on the couch. but instead of sitting next to him, you stopped in front of the coffee table to grab the remote.

big mistake.

you heard the sharp slap before you even felt it, followed by the sting radiating across your skin. “chris!” you yelped, whipping your head around to glare at him — your hand rubbing your backside from the sting.

“what?” he grinned unapologetically as you turned to glare at him. nick and matt, meanwhile, were staring at him like he’d lost his mind.

“bro,” matt finally said, shaking his head in disbelief. “in front of us?” chris leaned back on the couch, arms stretched out, looking completely unbothered. “y’all don’t appreciate greatness when you see it,” he said smugly, gesturing to you with both hands like you were some kind of trophy.

you buried your face in your hands, groaning in secondhand embarrassment as nick muttered something about needing better friends. meanwhile, chris just reached out, his hand sliding along your hip as he gave you an affectionate squeeze.

“don’t worry,” he whispered, his lips brushing your ear. “they’re just jealous they don’t have someone as perfect as you.” you couldn’t decide whether to laugh, roll your eyes, or bury yourself in the couch cushions. by now, you were used to it — but that didn’t make his shamelessness any less mortifying.

[becausebuckley]

michelle's buddie fic recs: week 19!

slightly shorter list than usual, sorry about that - i had a major thesis deadline last week, so i've both been reading less and haven't been keeping track as diligently as i normally do, whoops. still, i hope you enjoy these!

this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading! some contain spoilers for season 8.

if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!

a man in finance | carpediaz/@sofa-king-lame | 13.9k | M

The one where Chimney finds Eddie a man in finance. Trust Fund. 6'2". Blue eyes. And he's an asshole, but only for like...five seconds (until he finds out about Chris). Eddie falls hard and fast, but it's ok because Buck does too. this is such a wonderful one!! i love how this author incorporates side characters into these alternate universes (loved lucy's appearances here, and chimney is always so fun) and the buddie dynamic is just lovely <3

cool and chill things to say to your best friend who you've accidentally been having phone sex with when you pick him up at the airport | hwaelweg/@the-hwaelweg | 6k | M

in which we explore the intimacy of having someone's voice in your ear, accidentally falling into phone sex, and edging Eddie Diaz until he can admit he's a good person. i love the distinction between facetimes and phone calls here and the intimacy of it all is just <3 also very hot!!

good things come to those who wait | ithilien22/@ithilien-writes | 2.6k | E

Turns out, Buck likes when Eddie makes him wait for it. (And they're embarrassingly in love about it.) this has such lovely buddie characterisation!! the best combination of domestic fluff and smut <3

i looked at your face & i knew that i'd found it | fleetinghearts/@shitouttabuck | 3.3k | GA

it might be just slightly obvious that buck really, really likes to talk about eddie. such great firefam feels!! buck constantly yapping about eddie is one of my favourite things ever and i love how this fic captures it <3

if i have your heart forever | ipretendtobesane/@usercowboy | 9.2k | M

The day Eddie returns to Los Angeles for good and the day he realizes he’s in love with Evan Buckley happen to be the same twenty-four hours, which makes sense, really, if you think about it. He was coming home. To Los Angeles, to the 118. To Buck. this is the loveliest gentlest fic <3 i love both buck and eddie here, but eddie's realisation felt especially natural and in character!!

sobriquet | rainbowninja167/@rainbowtitania | 18.4k | T

5 Times Buck Called Eddie by a Nickname + 1 Time He Didn’t. this is just so, so, SO much fun!! such a fantastic writing style, and i love how it incorporates humour specifically <3 so good!!

something so lonesome about you | serenelystrange/@serenelystrange | 7.9k | E

Buck signs up for a Christian Dating site, and accidentally stumbles into the man of his dreams. i loved watching buddie's relationship grow in this one! and what a hilariously wonderful fic premise <3 brilliant!!

the way that you hold me tight (there's no other place in the world where i rather would be | The_Lonely_Wolf_Needs_A_Star | 4.2k | M

10 hugs throughout Buck and Eddie's relationship. this was a reread! i'm such a sucker for buddie fics focused on physical intimacy and this hits the spot every time <3

u/minutetomidnightenthusiast's reddit post history. | dylaesthetics | 6.7k | M

the emotional rollercoaster of Eddie's Reddit posts throughout the history of knowing Buck. this author's reddit fics are the gift that keeps on giving <3 i love how this one and the previous one compliment each other, i highly recommend reading them both!!

[sturniolo04]

Can u write a fic where Chris is streaming with reader and matt but reader is pregnant and nearly due so she is bouncing on her ball while Chris massages her shoulders and back as they hurt from her not sleeping good and chat is saying how good Chris is to reader and wishing y/n a safe birth. Hope this makes sense

Wife!reader x husband!chris

A/N: ofc, I’m so glad you reached out and wanted me to write this request for you! Thanks for the idea! I hope you enjoy it! If you don't like the preadded name in my stories, you can either add your own name or not read it; it's up to you- Charli

Dividers: @issysh3ll and @mintsturniolo

Being married to Chris and being pregnant with your guys first child has been nothing but an amazing journey. Aside from the back pain and your normal clothes not fitting and oh, let’s not forget the contractions you were currently experiencing. See you were due at any given moment and of course you were excited to meet your precious baby girl finally but boy was she a pain in the ass, literally.

“What’s up chat”

Matt greets as he looks at the screen to display the rolling chat of ‘hellos’ and ‘hi’s” and the occasional “why are you so fine” comments directed specifically towards Matt.

“We aren’t playing on Fortnite today chat we are just chatting’

Chris added on as he stood behind you massaging your shoulders as you bounced up and down on the blue yoga ball to relieve some of the contractions that were present and continuing to be persistent. Being this close to your due date you haven’t been able to sleep as well as you normally would since you got pregnant and Chris knew this.

“ Ayla the chat asks how is baby girl doing”

Matt directs towards you after reading the series of comments genuinely asking how you were doing with the pregnancy and everything.

“I don’t think she is in position to respond”

Chris states covering for you seeing you brought your hand to intertwine with his squeezing it letting him know a serious contraction was taking place.

“But she is doing great she is due any day now so we are just doing all that we can to make sure that both of them are healthy”

Chris replies looking up at the chat display on the monitor Matt was sitting at. He felt your hand ease up in tension. He quickly shifts his attention directly to you.

“Do you want me to go get your cup”

Chris whispers sweetly to you as you simply nod your head him leaving the room do just that after getting the approval from you.

“Ayla the chat is asking what is it like to get all this princess treatment”

Matt reads off chuckling looking towards you still sitting on your ball.

“I love it”

You giggle out.

“Hes the best guys honestly I don’t think I could or can make it through this without him”

You sigh out as he returns with your cup of water resulting in you taking it with open hands.

“Were you guys talking about me”

Chris jokes out not really knowing for sure as he looks at Matt and then over at you taking a sip of water.

“Yeah All good things babe all good things I promise”

You reply after taking a sip bringing your hand up to his toned bicep in the process showcasing your diamond wedding band on your ring finger.

“I hope so”

Chris states honestly bringing your hand up to his lips to place a sweet kiss to the inside of your palm, knowing you love when he does it.

“Oh my god the chat might as well be down bad for both of y’all at this point”

Matt jokes as he continues to read through the chat

“There’s no way”

Chris chuckles out as places a sweet kiss on your head and sits down next to Matt reading the chat reading off the various comments like ‘Chris is such a good husband’ and ‘Ayla is so lucky’ and even comments joking saying that they are Ayla at this point making them chuckle.

“Guys I literally love her that’s why I do everything I do for her when you love someone you would do anything for them”

Chris states simply as Matt continues reading the chat.

“Someone asked do you know the name yet or have y’all picked out one yet”

Matt asks you two simply as Chris quickly looks to you to see your answer first.

“Um maybe should we say it on here”

You ask looking at Chris for an answer

‘If you want to I think it is fine”

Chris shrugs as you take another sip of your water.

“Okay well baby girls name is Charlotte Nicole Sturniolo I wanted something basic but still cute so we agreed on it’

You hum out the answer as Chris nods his head in agreement.

“Yeah that’s baby girls name so she’s got a little bit of both of our names I feel like”

Chris trails off as you reach up to tap Chris on the arm with your Stanley cup, trying to get his attention.

“What’s up mama you done with it”

Chris asks simple as he directed his attention to you. You nod your head ‘yes’ as he take the cup from your hands and places it on the desk next to him.

“Okay I just read this and I actually want to know when do you think Ayla will pop genuinely”

Matt questions looking between the pair.

“I think honestly Friday would be cool babygirl coming into the world on a sturniolo Friday”

Chris chuckles shifting his attention towards you as well as Matt to see what your answer was

“What do you think”

Matt asks you laughing at his brothers predictions.

“Uhh how about today my water just broke”

Taglist

@mintsturniolo @spicymuffins03 @ksturnz @stayingstromboli @wh0resstuff @chaoswithus @emely9274 @ivysturnss

[hearts4werka]

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 Introducing… zombie!chris .ᐟ

Died in the 00’s, some ghost-hunting kids accidentally brought him back to live from the grave, family died many years ago, torn up clothes, scars and sew marks on his limbs, greenish-withered tint to his skin, a specific scar going down his eye he likes to make up stories about how he got it, quite flirty, charming, face card is at max, has a special rotten spot in his heart for innocent!reader, loves how delicate reader’s skin is, compares hand sizes but without a few fingers, even tho he may be undead he does know how to fuck well, doggy style enthusiast, loves classical music, quite a prankster, likes to scare reader whenever her nose is in a book too long, doesn’t want to dress up for Halloween even tho reader wants to match costumes, adores the fuck out of dogs, loves watching reader get flustered when he calls her ma’am darling or sweetheart “Oh cmon, darling, you have to watch your step next time than have your nose stuck in those books”

| ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 - things I assume he would say |

🧟‍♂️ - “Do you need a hand, ma’am?” He asks while detaching his arm and waving it around.

🧟‍♂️ - “Fuck… um- could you sew my dick back onto me, please?” He gestured down to the place where his dick is now missing from.

🧟‍♂️ - “I don’t need new clothes, I’m fine with these, they add character to my person!” “But people think you’re dressed up as a zombie all year.” “Well they can go fuck themselves for all I care,”

🧟‍♂️ - “Now do I have to? I have no idea how to bakee…” He whines but you grab his hand and drag him into the kitchen, but try not to be too rough as his arm is pretty flimsy.

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 introducing… innocent!reader .ᐟ

A big sweetheart, loving family, virgin, loves all small animals, pink bows, mostly pastel clothes, delicate skin, gentle with anyone & everyone, always wanting to help, books enthusiast, clueless, falls for Chris’s pranks, a scaredy-cat, very lovable, secretly is falling for zombie!chris even tho she shouldn’t, blames all of it on the books, very curious about zombie!chris & tends to ask a lot of questions, adores baking fresh pastry, wants to create her own bakery but is too scared too, soft spot for zombie!chris, feels bad for him, always tries to convince zombie!chris to do something new, forces him to bake with you knowing he secretly enjoys it, bit of a crybaby, hates being mean, cozy like a little cute grandma, very innocent on a lot of topics, “S-stop calling me that, it makes my face feel weird”

| ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 - things I assume she would say |

🌸 - “You’re such a unique creature, sometimes I wonder how you’re even real” She cluelessly wonders while she runs a hand through his hair.

🌸 - “Let me just grab my sewing kit and you stay here, ‘mkay honey?” She reassured before getting up from her seat and going into her kitchen.

🌸 - “Can you tell me the story of how you got brought to life again?” She asks curiously, loving to hear how he tells the story each time.

🌸 - “Can we pleasee go bake some cookies? It’ll be great bonding time…” She pleads, giving him the sweet puppy eyes that always make him say yes.

-

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ! : if anyone has any questions about these two, please ask me them, it can be any questions you have and I’ll gladly provide as much information about that topic as I can, I love talking to y’all and hope y’all have an amazing day wherever you are 💗

𝐀𝐔’𝐒 ! | check out this & this!

𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 🏷️ | - @sturnsxplr-25 - @strnzzvsp - @luvvs4chriss - @sturniolosweetheart33 - @pussypie456 - @choclatestarfishwithahat - @venusxsturnio - @bagsbyclair0 - @sturnstvs - @dykes4chris - @hoe4matt - @cayleeuhithinknot - @strnilolover - @marrykisskilled - @phone4pills - @emely9274 - @cupiidk1lls - @lily-strnlo - @nicksgirlfriend - @sturniolosiphone - @sophand4n4 - |

| - credits to @bernardsbendystraws for the dolly dividers! They are adorable and tysm for making them 🩷 - |

[paceywittters]

yes, i do think lucy has fault in their relationship breakdown - happy to talk about that elsewhere if you want

okay, so @to-the-east asked me to expand on this thought from my other post and while i know this is an unpopular opinion on a beloved character, i don’t mind talking about it (even if it’s become a really polarizing thing for the rookie fandom). the fact that lucy's flaws get looked over in favor of constant praise for her actions is kind of odd to me.

a note before you see how long this is: this is just my opinion about a tv show, i am allowed to have it just like you are allowed to have yours! if you don't agree with me that is ok i will be fine and so will you. please don't come at me for typing my little essays, if you've been here long enough u know i just like to yap.

also just to be clear: i think lucy's a great character. i think she's good at her job. she deserves happiness personally and professionally in whatever way that looks like for her. i also, however, recognize that as a three-dimensional character, lucy's flawed - and i like that she's flawed. i want the show to delve further into those flaws the way they do with basically every other character rather than pretending they're not there. me saying lucy has flaws is not an attack on her character. it is observation and analysis of the source material. that is all.

ok now you may proceed if you want lol

some chenford fans looked at the breakup in season six and saw tim’s issues, tim’s faults, tim’s lies, etc. as the root cause - and they were absolutely part of the cause, but there were bigger things at play than just what was happening in the moment. tim’s knee-jerk reaction to his deception/inability to see himself in his actions/breach of his moral code during 6x06 was to break up with lucy, because he didn’t know who he was. he couldn’t trust himself with himself, so he certainly couldn’t trust himself with her. we’ve all heard this a hundred times over, i’m sure, but it’s worth repeating because i actually think the breakup happening like this did a major disservice to the characters. while i wanted a breakup, after sitting with the way it’s played out, this breakup didn’t scratch the itch for me, so to speak.

throughout the end of season 5 and the beginning of season 6, tim and lucy both wind up facing a major shift in their lives. they decide to be together in 5x08/5x09, and this is where we begin to see the…lack of consequences, more or less, for lucy’s actions specifically.

just to reiterate, because i'm about to sound harsh: i want lucy to succeed, and i want her to grow. i am not trying to say lucy should have to face consequences for things while others shouldn’t - this isn’t meant to be a comparison to anyone else in the cast, but an analysis of what we’ve seen laid out in front of us.

throughout the show’s run, lucy’s had fairly good luck when it comes to not facing disciplinary action when she should’ve - but this goes absolutely batshit crazy in season 5 and 6. in the span of a season, lucy:

breaks up with her boyfriend of at least 6 months who has been expressing interest in living with her, giving little to no reason re: why (regardless of how you feel about chris, this should've have some kind of consequence or challenge attached)

begins dating her superior officer in secret without disclosing that information appropriately despite knowing she is supposed to legally (skirting around rules, ultimately without any consequence)

devises an inter-departmental swap with a group of colleagues in order to find a way to benefit her personal life without consulting tim, who this would directly impact (she does eventually face a professional consequence for this, but not a personal one)

expresses no remorse to tim when she gets caught and he is, rightfully, irritated (she quite literally says “sorry, not sorry”)

learns that someone within the inter-departmental swap is not happy that she’s manipulated a bunch of people for her personal gain and doesn’t seem to understand this is a problem (again, she will eventually face a consequence with this - but does not appear to understand why, which is the issue)

continuously appears to understand that her boyfriend, who has baggage surrounding undercover work, is struggling with her decisions but is trying to put on a brave face and doesn’t call him out for a lack of communication (to be clear, this part is very much also on tim - in moments even more so than lucy - but we’ll get to that later)

picks fights with her boyfriend for doing his job/treating her like his colleague when she has directly asked him to do so (i will not be engaging on the discourse surrounding tim's behavior in 6x01 other than to say that lucy asked him to behave like a TO and he did)

pushes her boyfriend again on his stance on undercover work when he’s openly trying to resolve his issues with it in order to keep their relationship stable (6x01/6x02 pre lie detector test is wild)

makes some deeply dangerous and mostly unnecessary calls that put her in extreme danger in order to make herself stand out because she doesn’t feel she’s getting enough recognition at work (lucy getting that dinged up radio as a trophy was sweet but we veer away from the fact that lucy quite literally chose to do something she didn't need to for kudos and could've died because of it - instead, we see her praised and applauded for her efforts without any ounce of "but you didn't have to do all that")

ignores the fact that she knows going into her detective’s exam that one of the proctors is not in favor of her, and then doesn’t anticipate the fact that it will impact her score/opportunities moving forward (again - this is a time where she does face a consequence, but does not anticipate it whatsoever, which i think is part of the problem)

and that’s just the big stuff. lucy consistently doesn’t face consequences for her actions - the detective’s exam thing is probably one of the few times i feel like i’ve seen her actually find herself in a pickle due to something she’s finagled. i love the fact that lucy can be crafty and creative, it’s one of the things i enjoy the most about her character…but a lot of the writing in the last season or so has felt less to me like she’s being crafty or creative, and more like she’s just skirting any legitimate consequences for her actions/ignoring any faults she’s shown as she’s moved through this phase of her career. even when she does have to face her decisions head-on, lucy often winds up trying to justify her behavior rather than admitting she was just...deeply over-achieving, or trying to do something to better her situation. she rarely sees a consequence coming, which is confusing when her character is clearly someone who can analyze situations for others.

with that being said, let’s get to this part: tim and lucy had problems before their breakup, and neither of them wanted to talk about them. think about the back half of season 5 - we see tim struggling with lucy’s uc work, lucy struggling to talk to tim about it or get him to own up to his feelings.

early on in season 6 we see them confront this a little, but it comes to no resolution whatsoever - and while it’s tim’s problem with lucy’s uc work, lucy chooses to act like that’s the only problem in their relationship. in 6x02, tim’s discomfort with uc work is treated like it’s their biggest issue when we as viewers know that there have been multiple times lucy’s just straight up lied to/withheld information from tim, either because she doesn’t think he needs to know or doesn’t want him to be in the know. lucy’s long-preached having great communication skills/knowing that open honest communication (5x18) is the key to her relationship with tim…but she doesn’t actually practice it.

lucy, unfortunately, is a bad communicator who thinks she’s a lot better at sharing her own feelings than she is. lucy is good at facilitating communication for others - it's a major skill of hers - but she's far less in touch with her own self, and we've seen that many times through the course of the show.

seeing her refuse to acknowledge her faults to tim, who she’s supposed to be sharing herself with fully, is a struggle throughout the beginning of season 6 - and so the tension was brewing for chenford when tim’s whole past-life-army-drama came into play.

now, here’s the thing: tim also has some serious baggage that he brings into this relationship (and just being real, in your 30s/beyond who is not bringing baggage into a relationship? i would be offended if they didn’t) and he has his own level of fault. the direct cause of their breakup in 6x06 is a tim thing. he’s not communicative, he’s a people pleaser (this is what i meant when i said we’d get into that later - tim’s people pleasing tendencies, esp in interpersonal relationships, are huge, to the point that he needed to be hooked up to a lie detector to even really grasp that he had issues with lucy going uc. that man gaslights himself into thinking things sometimes, and he’s always going to try to be amenable to the people he loves because he doesn’t want to lose them - which is a big flaw and a big reason why he broke up with lucy, but i digress), and he’s the kind of bitch that self-sabotages. things got difficult and he fucked up and he took himself out of the equation because leaving is easier than getting left - which, honestly, is probably a new feeling for tim.

but. this is about lucy, and the fault she has in the breakdown of their relationship. to be clear: they share fault. they are very much both at fault for the breakdown of their relationship (again - the direct break up was tim’s call, but we’re talking about what led to that), and i don’t think either of them grasps it just yet.

lucy has become used to getting her way more often than not (not all the time, obv, but enough) and if she doesn’t get her way directly, she can usually find a path into what she wants without much consequence. she doesn’t speak directly about her feelings or find herself probing for the feelings of others in tough situations where she’s directly involved. it's a strange dichotomy for lucy, who comes from such a psychology heavy background - and i often think it's one of the most interesting parts of her character, but the way she's been written in the last season and a half has really brought to light how misused it feels as a trait when she doesn’t see it.

so, tl;dr: lucy has flaws in her communication style and often finds herself lucky enough not to face the consequences of her actions, so when they do crop up at times, she's gutted by them. her chronic over-achieving has become her fatal flaw, as she's often trying to overdo things to make herself look good, rather than taking a step back to actually consider situations. while we can see these things on screen, they’re not addressed by the show which can be frustrating.

these qualities of lucy’s wrapped up in a bow make for her own set of issues that lent directly to the slew of issues that simmered into a boil of a breakup for chenford. while i don't think lucy was the whole problem by any means, i'm also not going to put that fully on tim. i want lucy to be able to grow and change and receive recognition for her work in a meaningful way, but without actually focusing on her flaws and acknowledging them, i don't really see how the rookie can do that in a way that serves the character.

ok don't hate me bye

[puckpocketed]

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference 2025 - Decisions on Ice: The Next Frontier of Hockey Analytics (YouTube video. Please be advised you WILL be hearing it entirely from your left ear.)

Arda Ocal is moderating, hear from: Philippe Desaulniers (Habs, makes the tools GMs use to fetch data, reports, anything), Meghan Chayka (Stathletes), and Jeremy Rogalski (Bruins - he does get asked about trade deadlines briefly due to the banger that they had this season LOL)

I liked the diversity of voices here, felt like I was getting an interesting cross-section of the kinds of people who work in analytics & their perspectives. Lots of fun things but the first section was what I found most interesting. They talked about how analytics has changed coaching rooms, players and their relationship to analytics, and give a bit of insight on how that interface all goes nowadays. Transcript of that part below <3

ROGALSKI: Echoing what Phil and Meghan said, like, just the way to describe the game. Y'know, working with a - I started in the coach's room doing video work for them, and watching how, even a pre-scout for a game evolves from, y'know, coaches previously would watch like, three games of video and kind of look for some common trends in that, maybe do a deep dive on the season. But now you can describe, like, how a team breaks out, or how their power play formations are in so much detail that wasn't available 10, 15 years ago to put that together.

[...]

ROGALSKI: It's actually interesting you use the word 'storytelling', too, because I think Meghan's bang-on, I think, about a lot of inquiries coming our way now, which is great! But I think also in terms of, y'know, building a relationship with a coach, understanding what their schedule looks like, what their needs are, where they have windows of time to work through and educate on the data.

But also, I think packaging it in a digestible way, right? You're still, in some ways, doing the same thing with a coach where if there's a point you're trying to make, there is a time for a fact: "This guy's whatever on faceoff percentage," that's a fact, that needs to happen. But sometimes you gotta package it in a narrative that really helps them understand how they can then turn around and use that fact to improve the team or communicate to a player. So there is a component of that storytelling that's needed as well.

DESAULNIERS: To tack on what Jeremy was saying... So, I really see three things mainly that are important in order to have communications flowing between our group and the coaches.

The first thing is, really, it's really great to have a translator. You usually will have, like, someone on the team, or you want to have someone on the team who's able to speak the language with the coaches and who understands on the analytics side.

And so we'll be creating some reports, some setting up the information there so it can be consumed, and then you'll have, you, in our (the Montreal Canadiens') case it's Chris our Director of Analytics, who will be talking with the coaches and knowing what the coaches are expecting and presenting it in a way that they understand. So that's one thing.

The second thing that we found effective is, we've started creating some concepts that we try to keep as simple and as high-level as possible, but that then become part of the vocabulary that we have with the coaching staff.

So just to give an example, we'll be talking about players that are, that have a certain number of pillars, we call them pillars, which are at the bottom. They're metrics, very specific metrics, that we're tracking - you don't need to understand all the details to know that, okay, so this guy has a four pillar, or five pillar, and this way you know, like, where he stands at a very high level without having to dig into it.

The third thing that we do, that we've done, is get the coaches on board, so work on a way of organising the metrics based on what they're looking for, what their understanding of the game is, and organise the information that way. So then when they start digging into it they actually see what they were looking for.

And you get the buy-in from them, too, when you're doing that, because they've worked on it to build that structure.

ROGALSKI: I would add one thing, too, that I thought of. You raise a good point, too. I think visuals are huge here, too, right? Whether it's a heat map or just picking the right graphic or trend, or something that's -

DESAULNIERS: Colours!

ROGALSKI: I mean, reds and greens, like, it helps. It truly does help.

CHAYKA: Not to play your role Arda but I have a question for Jeremy, because you've been through some different coaches. Do you find, like, coaching staffs, as they change... From my work I find some are far more, just, ease of use and understanding and their ability to implement it in their game flow. Works a lot better for some people's style than others, have you seen that change with, like, different coaches?

ROGALSKI: Yes. It's definitely seen a change. Also, I think now you're starting to see coaches have worked with different teams, so. Before it's, you're educating on, "This is what we can offer you," now it's, you're coming in with a set of preferences, or, "This is what I worked with previously, " so.

Y'know, more recently it's been coming in with a set of expectations for, "I know this works for me, is there anything you want to add or change or do whatever?" So, it's definitely, there has been a change.

OCAL: That's a great question, I want to generalise that, like, y'know whether it's a first-time coach like Marty St Louis, whether it's a Jim Montgomery, or a long tenured coach... Let me start with you, Meghan, like, from different experience levels of coaches, in the NHL or otherwise, how have you found their acceptance and how they use that in their daily jobs?

CHAYKA: And I think it can be background, too. You know, you, you're a math grad, you like numbers. Some people come from engineering. People come to coaching in so many different ways, so they have such a different way of approach and understanding and ease with it.

And I think that they can just implement it and know what's assumptions and what's noise and what's actually important to them and their job that they need to do. So I think it's just being realistic about your personnel.

But I will say that I've noticed, doing the Draft a lot, and at ESPN and working with Draft people in the CHL and doing a lot of Junior work, that young people now expect data. They want it, they want to take control of their own, whether it's a coach or a player coming up. So I'm seeing, like, the 25-and-under crowd.

It's not, "Do I, should I use analytics?" it's like, "Why aren't we using analytics? Why isn't my agent doing that for me? Why isn't my team doing that for me?"

And I think that, too, both empowers people working in tech but also empowers, like, the person who that data is being used to dictate their career, right? Giving them some control and oversight and insight into what they actually have to improve. So it's kind of, like, flipping it on the head a little bit.

OCAL: The paradigm is changing!

CHAYKA: Correct.

[fanofseabassanddorito]

Dear Chris Evans,

I’ve waited and watched. I’ve gone back and forth with Real vs PR. I’m just a fan, of your work, but I also because of what you seemed to stand for and acted like a real person. I think I’m done now.

There has been questionable ‘sightings’ even though you claim to want to be private. Your friends and hers have posted the two of you. You have posted her twice yourself. But then you seem to hide her. That isn’t a good look. If you are in love with someone, you don’t hide them because you want to be private yet leak photos and hints to keep your fans spiraling when you know how some can be.

We all know celebrities use social media for what they WANT fans to see. Why? Because they want privacy, as they should, to separate their work world from real life. I completely agree with doing so, BUT I don’t agree with going back and forth. You owe fans nothing except maybe the respect that goes both ways. After all, your fans have been the reason you have your paychecks. I think we deserve a little bit of respect not to be played by what you say in interviews vs. what you show yourself to be through your actions.

There are so many examples of couples being private but NOT hiding significant others like they are embarrassed to be seen. A real private couple does things together but do not post montages on their socials, like scare videos and couples pictures. People do not call paparazzi unless they want to be seen. A real private couple does still go to things together, they don’t hide but they don’t bring attention to themselves. Real private couples do not let things drop during a special date for something else. One example, the NYC pap walk on the day that Warrior Nun season 2 dropped right after SMA.

Tabloids run on things they are given. There have been more articles about you and this girl than Harry and Meghan, Jennifer and Ben, etc., etc., etc. your reps have never confirmed anything. IMDb does not list her as your wife. Your mother liked a tweet about the girl being racist.

I had no issues at first, thinking you wanted privacy, which I thought was a great idea, given your fandom. I gave you the benefit of the doubt for a good while. But then it seemed like her friends and yours, her mom, along with the likes on IG, proved this isn’t private. Certain social media sites have been the only ones to randomly get these pictures that are nowhere to be found. It’s only a few, and they usually come at specific times when there is doubt. Friends posted from Lisbon, Avengers in MA, and the wedding rumors began. I’m sorry, but when there is an NDA, then the wedding news should not have leaked because the NDA would cover that. And if you have to ask people to turn in their phones to attend, that’s rude and you’ve invited people you don’t trust.

Showing up to a convention, with a ring on but you can’t say her name. Just ‘Go Portugal!’ And then go on about Dodger.

Let’s not even get into photoshopped or not photoshopped because I don’t even know anymore.

I could go on and on but it saddens me. I cannot be a fan of someone just because of their projects, and that’s just me. I have kept quiet, because it’s none of my business what you do with your life. What is my business though, is who I give my hard earned money to. Barely getting by on what I make, medications and food for my kids continue to rise in cost, but they also enjoy Captain America because he seemed like a good guy in real life too. Now they come to me with things they’ve seen online like Captain America’s new wife nude in the shower. They have seen people posting about her friends and their previous tweets, and things they’ve said. Why? Because you have played games with your fandom and they got pissed and exposed things. Let’s be honest, kids get online and see things even if they aren’t supposed to. Luckily they didn’t see your ‘slip’ up, because your fans cleaned that for you quickly, but the shower pictures continue to be passed around. They also said in some of the pictures they saw you post that they thought you had a daughter but found out it was your girlfriend.

I would make sure you don’t have any more slip ups because I feel like your fans are limited at this point. The ones that see your work the day it comes out. That’s one reason why Ghosted flopped. Before this, your fans would have said you did wonderful even if you didn’t.

After the new picture of the two of you at the Globes after party, I CHOOSE to not be a fan and hand you my money. I know it isn’t much, but I will choose to spend it on a different movie or person at a convention. Maybe I just won’t have a favorite anymore because it seems like a lot just tell fans what they want to hear.

I don’t know if it’s Real or PR and don’t care but it’s the game you seem to be playing that I don’t like. I don’t care what people think of my opinion and have not posted anything about a side. I just know you look like such a hypocrite and lose fans by the hour now. So many blogs and pages that are team PR or Team Real and they argue over who is right and wrong, because you and everyone around you are playing with them. You are using them for free publicity and that is sickening. I didn’t believe it was happening and you were just trying to protect your love life. But, eventually, it was just so obvious with the tiniest bit of things creeping in on the same sites and coincidences on dates. Mostly, I just don’t want to watch all the drama that has become part of being your fan. I like to escape the real world by looking at my favorite celebrities and what they are up to or their movies etc. I don’t want to see the gross mess you have become. She looks like your daughter, so I choose to leave. You don’t know me or care because I’m just one fan, but I do know who you want people to see you as now and I don’t like this version. Be private or just don’t hide. Look happy, not miserable. Treat her like your love and wife, because I would never allow my boyfriend/husband treat me the way it appears you are treating her. To the public, she looks like a mail order bride that jumps as soon as you tell her too. It’s gross.

So, it’s been a long, fun ride being your fan until now. Enjoy traveling back and forth and wear sunscreen to the beach, because boy are you white. Research the word ‘privacy’ and maybe get those NDA’s to the people leaking things if you want privacy or take their phones from them when they are in your proximity. Invest in energy drinks next, she’s a lot younger and likes to travel and have sex (maybe check out her soft porn). Let Buddah know she did a film with a demon having sex with her. Maybe purchase a plane and get a pilots license, because older dogs don’t travel as well as they age and that’s a long ride to Portugal. Remind your wife to keep her clothes on and keep your 🍆 in your pants because I think Team Real is even over this mess and don’t want to see it. Thanks for the laughs and smiles over the years. I wish you luck and hope you’re happier than you actually look.

Sincerely,

An Ex-Fan of Christopher Robert Evans

[ivegotyourbackbuddie]

The Wrong Buckley. Part Three of Six. Ao3 Link. Part One. Part Two.

Maddie’s birthday is marked on the calendar in their shared purple marker – Eddie makes sure to circle it with a heart, and Buck accepts that that’s the way it’s going to be whenever something Maddie-related is written down. And he’s not going to do anything about it because two of his favorite people are happy.

Okay, the only way Buck will ever intervene is if he gets absolute damning evidence of something happening from Maddie’s side as well. Which will never happen.

For now, he can suffer knowing that his best friend is hopelessly in love with his sister. Hopelessly, as in there is no hope... ever. And Eddie's feelings will eventually fade. Hopefully.

The upside to this whole thing is Eddie holding his hand every night when Buck overthinks. He thinks it’s probably Eddie’s last-ditch attempt at getting Buck to sleep because he can’t sleep unless Buck is snoring away.

And somehow, that small point of contact is always enough to stop the racing thoughts. But Buck gets the best sleep of his life the morning he wakes up spooned against Eddie’s back. Luckily, it’s early enough when Buck wakes up and tries to untangle himself, that when Eddie stops him and grumbles, “Stay.” Buck does just that.

After that, it starts becoming a bit of a thing. And Buck finds the only way he can make Eddie very reluctantly let go in his sleepy haze is to tell him he’s making coffee and will be right back.

Buck has got to have maybe the greatest straight best friend the world has to offer.

He’s so great that he even comes up with the perfect joint gift idea for Maddie’s birthday.

“It’s a yearly pass to a women’s spa that focuses on all things women’s health and mental health related. It even has some specific sessions for mothers who might be going through postpartum depression, and I know you and Chimney have been worried about what will happen after she has the baby. And Maddie doesn’t want to go back to therapy with Frank unless she has to so… I thought this would be something good for her.”

Buck stares over at Eddie’s iPad, lit up with the spa's website decorated in flowers and pastels that he knows he’ll be scrolling through later, but for now…

He puts down the box of spaghetti in his hand and pulls Eddie into a tight hug.

Eddie laughs and squeezes back just as tightly, leaving Buck feeling breathless. “So, you like it?”

“I love it,” Buck whispers into the crook of Eddie’s neck. He pulls back and gets a little overwhelmed by how much he loves Eddie, so he lets the line blur a bit as he plants a kiss on his forehead before hugging him again. “Thank you.”

The sway back in forth for a while before Eddie says, “I didn’t even tell you the best part.”

Buck seriously wonders if he’ll have to hold himself back from kissing Eddie on the mouth. “What is it?” he asks as he pulls away just enough so they’re still embracing, Buck’s arms around Eddie’s waist and Eddie’s around his shoulders.

“Linda from dispatch goes there, so Maddie won’t be alone her first few visits. Plus, she knows the owner, so we’re getting a discount,” Eddie says with a sly smile.

And here in his arms, Buck’s not sure if Eddie’s ever looked more beautiful. “I don’t know what I would do without you,” Buck confesses.

Eddie tilts his head and tightens his grip around his shoulders, shifting them closer together. “Luckily, you’ll never have to find out what that’s like.”

Just as Eddie shifts even closer to him, Chris yells out, “Buck, there’s a spider in the bathroom!”

Buck steps back, hands trailing down Eddie’s arms until he gets to his hands, stopping to squeeze them before reluctantly letting them go. “I’ve got it.”

He sees a hint of regret in Eddie’s face as he turns around, but he’s not sure what that’s about. Maybe he misses Buck's body heat - he's always shifting closer to him on the couch with the excuse that he's cold. During their next Friday family check-in (a new therapist-recommended tradition), they should discuss bumping the thermostat up a few degrees for Eddie.

It doesn’t take long to carefully remove the little creature from the bathroom before gently letting it crawl into the bushes by the back door. But it’s enough of a break for Buck to start thinking about random things, like his place in Maddie’s life.

And sure, he knows that he’s not the greatest gift giver in the world – hence Taylor’s last-minute emergency beacon. But, surely, he should be able to think of a great birthday present for his sister of all people.

But he knows he and Maddie have an unbreakable bond, and any gifts exchanged between them aren't going to change that. It’s just… stuff.

Yet, if it was Maddie who thought of a gift for Eddie that was better than something Buck could think of… he would probably be at risk of throwing a "Buck tantrum," as Eddie so lovingly calls them.

With this whole situation, he’s only been stuck on the fact that Maddie could be taking his place in Eddie’s life, or the fact that Eddie’s feelings could blow up the life they’ve carefully crafted and gotten back only recently. Not for a moment has Buck been too concerned about the Maddie side of things, of feeling like she’s replacing him with Eddie. And maybe that’s because their relationship is so strong.

But… maybe this has something to do with Eddie. Something that goes back to getting Tommy's attention, but maybe he’s had it wrong this whole time. Maybe-

Eddie’s hand wraps around his.

Everything in Buck’s world narrows down to the slow slide of their fingers together.

“You okay?” Eddie asks.

Buck looks at him and forgets about all of his worries. “Yeah.”

“No overthinking, okay?” Eddie says with a squeeze before letting go at the sound of Chris’s crutches approaching. He leans in with a small smile. “I thought we reserved that for nighttime.”

Buck laughs. “No overthinking,” he agrees.

“Good,” Eddie answers, eyes dipping down to Buck’s lips before he takes two steps back and asks Chris something about dinner.

Buck’s hand reaches up to swipe at whatever he has on his lips, but he's pretty sure there was nothing there. Which could mean...

Buck shakes his head. No overthinking.

-:-:-:-:-:-

It becomes Buck's mantra as he stalks around the Buckley-Han house.

No overthinking, he tells himself when Maddie pulls Eddie into an everlasting embrace when they arrive.

He whispers it under his breath when he watches the two exchange knowing looks and have weird silent conversations with just their eyes across the room.

He nearly says it to the closest person to him - poor Ravi, who cannot bear another Eddie rant- when he watches the two of them disappear into the back hallway together while everyone else continues on with their conversations as if nothing is happening.

Because nothing is happening. Not between Eddie and Maddie. And not at this party... which means it’s time for an event.

Buck eyes the box on the kitchen counter. They should cut the cake soon, and they’ll need Maddie, who is doing absolutely nothing suspicious at the moment, to blow out her candles and make a wish.

He passes by Chim and makes the suggestion, to which he replies, “Speaking of Maddie, where is my beautiful wife?”

“I’ll get her!” Buck is quick to insist. “You just… get the cake ready.”

“But that’s your favorite part…”

Buck’s pretty sure he’s still talking as he rushes away, but he’s a man on a mission who cannot be stopped. He just hopes no one else notices his quick getaway.

As he rounds the corner, he sees Maddie and Chim’s bedroom door that’s been shut. But that’s how it is during every gathering.

“No overthinking,” Buck says as quietly as he can as he creeps up to the door.

The closer he gets, the clearer he can hear the pair’s hushed voices.

He’s outside the door and ready to knock when he hears, “It’s my birthday, Eddie. I just want this one thing.”

“I know, I know. But… I can’t right now. Especially with everyone else out there.”

Buck should really knock.

“Then, later tonight please.”

“Mads…”

Mads.

“Remember, it’s my birthday, and I’m also pregnant. I deserve this.”

Eddie sighs, and Buck feels like he might throw up.

“Well, you’re going to have to wait.”

“Eddie,” Maddie groans. “I’ve been waiting months.”

Months. She's been waiting all those months Eddie was away for him to...

“Okay, okay,” Eddie gives in. “I’ll tell h-"

As soon as Buck hears Eddie give Maddie the okay, he raises his hand and knocks loudly.

There’s a slight hesitation before Eddie asks, “Yes?”

That’s when Buck realizes he hasn’t said anything. “Uh… cake is ready.”

“We’re kind of in the middle of something, Evan, can it wait?”

He’s allowed to overthink now, right? “Chimney brought it out, so I’m sure the kids are already waiting impatiently.”

There are whispers from the other side of the door that he picks up bits and pieces of “We’re not finished with this...” and “Do you think he heard anything?” and then more panicked whispers from Eddie.

Why didn’t he grab a glass on the way so he could’ve listened through the door? Or is that something that only works in movies? Instead, he should've stolen a stethoscope from one of the paramedics here. Surely someone brought their medical bag with them, right? Especially after the whole pulmonary embolism thing.

The door creaks open a minute later, and a slightly frustrated looking Maddie walks out, leaving behind Eddie, who is perpetually rosy-cheeked when he’s around Maddie. He gives Buck a quick glance, eyes darting away when they make eye contact.

Buck isn’t sure what to say.

“Uncle Buck! Uncle Eddie! It’s cake time!” Jee pops her head around the corner to yell.

With a ton of effort, Buck plasters a smile on his face and hurries over to her, scooping her into his arms. “It is, isn’t it? Do you know what flavor the cake is?”

Jee shrugs. “Mommy’s favorite.”

With her recent pregnancy cravings, Buck isn’t sure what flavor that is. “That makes sense that your mommy would get her favorite flavor on her birthday.”

The girl giggles and claps her hands together as they join the group gathered around Maddie.

After a quick rendition of “Happy Birthday” that is a little rough on the ears, Chimney yells out, “Make a wish!”

Maddie’s eyes flicker up to Eddie, giving him a little wink before she blows the candles out.

Buck is going to be sick.

He carefully sets Jee down, watching as she runs to her mom and hugs her. Then, he excuses himself and walks to the bathroom, faintly picking up on everyone laughing as Jee requests the biggest slice of cake.

He closes the door and grips onto the porcelain sink, slowly looking up at himself. It’s not a pretty sight. His skin looks an almost ghostly white, which brings out the bags under his eyes from all the tossing and turning he did the night before, anxious about this party. To make matters worse, the image of it reminds him of when he caught Eddie confessing his feelings to Maddie unknowingly to an audience.

Buck turns on the faucet, letting cold water trail over his hands before he splashes some in his face. This all feels like a bad dream he needs to wake up from.

He gives himself two more minutes of misery before he exits the bathroom, only to find Eddie right outside the door, leaning against the wall with a slice of cake in both his hands. “I got you the one with the most frosting.”

Usually, an act of service from Eddie would make him feel butterflies in his stomach, but right now, he feels nothing. “I’m, uh, not hungry.”

“You love strawberry cake.”

“I’m not hungry,” Buck insists, nostrils flaring involuntarily.

Eddie steps closer to him, shoving the plates into his hands. “Take this.”

“I’m not–”

He’s cut off when Eddie rests the back of his hand against Buck’s forehead. He frowns and takes the plates back. “Wait here.”

Buck watches him until he disappears around a corner, then he’s forced to stare at the same bedroom door that's bound to appear in his nightmares.

By the time Eddie gets back, it’s a miracle Buck hasn’t done something like break down the door or curl into a ball right in the middle of the hallway.

“Let’s go,” Eddie says, putting a firm hand on Buck’s back.

“Eddie–”

“You’re not feeling well, and I’ve already told everyone we’re leaving so you can get some rest. God knows you didn’t get any last night.”

“But Maddie–”

“Will be okay. She even agreed to wait to open our gift when you’re feeling better. Now, we’re going to say our goodbyes, and then we’re going home.” Eddie leads him a few steps away, then stops abruptly. “And Chris is going to stay at Hen and Karen’s tonight, okay?”

Buck nods. Being home alone with Eddie sounds like a nightmare, but maybe he can go to bed before he has to confront anything he overheard tonight.

The two make their way out of the home, getting lots of well wishes. Buck’s personal favorite is from Athena, who hugs him and tells Eddie, “You take care of our boy.”

Eddie smiles and says, "You know I will." But there's a tension in his spine when he says it that only Buck would be able to notice as frustration rather than something like soreness.

He knows he's right when the drive home is filled with silence. When Buck reaches forward to turn on the radio, Eddie cuts him off with a look.

They still don’t talk after that.

When they park, Eddie is the first one out of the car, marching his way into the kitchen where he grabs two beers. He uncaps one and slides the other to Buck right as he takes a seat at the small table. Buck takes the bottle just to have something to fiddle with while Eddie stares at him.

“What's going on, man?”

Buck doesn’t want to have this conversation, but he knows he must.

He glances up at his best friend. “I need you to be straight with me,” Buck says. Something about the statement makes a muscle jump in Eddie’s jaw, but he continues, “Are you having an affair with Maddie?”

Eddie stares at him for a second. Then, he nearly folds in half as he bursts out laughing right in Buck’s face. It only takes a few moments of glaring from Buck for Eddie to ask, “Are you serious?”

“I heard you two in her room.”

All amusement is wiped from Eddie’s face the second he processes what’s been said. But his fearful look turns into confusion, head tilting to the side as he asks, “You heard all that and thought… we were having an affair?”

Buck sets his beer bottle down, wiping his hands on his pants anxiously. “I heard… part of it.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up. He takes a long swig from his beer bottle before setting it on the counter behind him. “Tell me exactly what you heard.”

Buck can feel himself getting a little nauseous as he digs into that particular memory. “I heard Maddie say that she wanted something from you. That she had been waiting for months for this… thing. And you said not with everyone around and agreed to do whatever it is later tonight.”

Eddie groans and runs his hand over his face. He stares up at the ceiling for a moment, looking like maybe he’s either pleading with or cursing God before he looks Buck in the eye. “That’s… not what was happening. At all.” He shakes his head and makes a grab for his beer, looking… disgusted? He takes another long drink, and Buck is pretty sure he finishes the bottle by the time he’s done, which is confirmed by the hollow thud of the bottle on the counter. “That’s not what we were discussing.”

“Then what were you discussing?” Buck pries.

It’s a simple question with a simple answer. At least, it should be. But all Eddie does is stare at him as if he’s asked him to reveal some secret truth about the universe. There’s an internal battle going on behind Eddie’s weighted stare, and, for a moment, it looks like Eddie is going to share it with Buck.

Then, a wall goes up. And he shakes his head. “It’s not that simple.”

Buck’s heart breaks a little when he asks, “It’s not that simple to tell me, but it’s simple enough to tell Maddie.”

“It’s not like that, Buck,” Eddie groans in frustration.

“Then why can you tell her and not me?” Buck presses on. “I’m your best friend. I’m the person who is supposed to have your back no matter what. So how am I supposed to do that now if you won’t tell me what’s going on?”

“You’re supposed to do that by waiting until I’m ready to tell you.”

And look. Buck knows Eddie's right. Deep down, he knows that he shouldn’t be taking this so personally, but it’s Eddie. Anything involving him is going to hit closer to home than it should. So, he does what’s best for both of them and says, “Okay.”

The tension in Eddie’s shoulders dissipates with a sigh. “Okay,” he echoes.

“But…” Buck stares down at the table as he says his next thought, “I think I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight.”

He’s met with silence. It nearly suffocates Buck as he's given the time to take it back.

He doesn't.

Eddie disappears down the hall before reappearing in the living room, spare sheets in hand. He silently makes up the couch for Buck, who remains frozen in his chair.

When Eddie finishes, fluffing a pillow the way Buck once showed him how to do, he glances up at Buck, locking eyes with him.

There’s a boldness to it, as if daring Buck to tell him he’s being dumb, and there’s no way he’s actually sleeping on the couch tonight without him.

But Buck holds his ground.

Eddie nods at him a single time and walks down the hall. Buck thinks that’s the end of their silent discussion until Eddie comes back with a short stack of sleep clothes for Buck.

He doesn’t look at Buck when he turns around and goes back to their room, closing the door behind him gently.

Buck lets out a deep breath and feels his heart slightly break.

He puts the beer back in the fridge and goes to the couch, noticing how Eddie purposefully grabbed his nicer pair of pajama pants from the back of the dresser that he saves for nights after a rough call or the occasional visit from his parents.

It’s a little early for their usual bedtime, but Buck feels exhausted. He gets ready for bed in the bathroom and turns out the lights in the rest of the house. When he settles into the couch, the door down the hall opens, and he listens as Eddie closes the bathroom door behind him.

It’s all wrong. But he needs the space.

That doesn’t mean he has to be a complete asshole though.

And with that thought, Buck gets up and fills up a glass with water, quick to slip into their room and leave it on the nightstand on Eddie’s side – he always wakes up sometime in the middle of the night thirsty if he doesn’t have water before bed, and Buck has made it part of his routine to bring him the glass.

He nearly wipes out on his way back to the living room as he slips in his socks, hearing the faucet stop when he’s right by Chris’s room. But he manages to somewhat quietly slip around the corner and onto the couch as the bathroom door opens. There’s a few seconds of hesitation before the bedroom door shuts.

Buck lets out a deep breath and lets himself think about everything.

Eddie and Maddie aren’t having an affair. This doesn’t change the fact that Eddie is in love with her and apparently telling her things he doesn’t want to tell Buck about yet.

Maybe he told Maddie he’s in love with her?

That doesn’t seem entirely likely. If Eddie told Buck he’s in love with him, he doesn’t think anything would stop him from getting together with him, and Maddie has to be the same way.

Or maybe it’s something Chris related that only parents can understand?

Something about the thought makes Buck’s chest ache.

He goes through too many maybes to count, tossing and turning on the couch he never truly realized he hated until now. Several hours must have passed by now, and there seems to be no end in sight for this sleepless night. All he wants–needs–is Eddie’s hand to reach out and hold his so the thoughts can end.

But he’s mad at him right now. Because why doesn’t he trust Buck? It’s not like Buck has ever kept something super important from him and gone to Maddie first instead.

…Wait.

Okay. So, maybe when he realized he was bisexual, he ended up coming out to Maddie first and kept it from Eddie for… some unknown reason.

And Eddie… had been perfectly understanding.

Fuck.

So, maybe there is something big in Eddie’s life that he has revealed to Maddie – maybe on accident like Buck had – and he isn’t ready to tell Buck.

Which is almost exactly what Eddie had said if only Buck had really listened and taken him at his word.

Buck groans and runs his hands over his face. Eddie said he’ll tell him what it is when he’s ready, and he will.

Right now, he isn’t ready, and maybe he’ll even tell Buck why that is… once again, when he is ready. And Buck can be a good–no, best–friend for now and not take it personally.

Buck grabs his phone and finds his old therapist’s contact. He drafts a message about scheduling a session sometime soon before turning his phone off and sitting up.

He has a sneaking suspicion that if he’s awake, Eddie is too. He only hopes that Eddie needs this as much as he does.

Buck makes his way down the hall, being quiet enough to not wake Eddie if he’s asleep but loud enough to alert him if he’s awake. He hesitates outside their door, wondering if he should knock gently, but he settles for slowly opening the door.

It takes a moment for Buck’s eyes to adjust to the dark, but he can hear Eddie’s breathing.

He’s definitely not asleep.

He takes a slow step into the room, taking in Eddie’s figure in the dark, facing away from the door under the blankets.

Buck closes the door behind him and slowly slips into the bed. His side is unusually cold, but he lies in it for a minute, waiting for Eddie to kick him out.

He doesn’t.

So, Buck scoots toward the middle of the bed, close enough to feel the heat radiating off Eddie’s body.

Eddie moves back an inch, the back of his knees touching where Buck’s are slightly bent.

Buck holds his breath as he reaches a tentative hand out, settling onto the bare skin on the top of Eddie’s arm until it slides down to his elbow.

A hand settles on top of his, and it tugs forward, pulling Buck enough for him to get the memo. He fully moves forward, plastering himself against Eddie’s back and wrapping his arms around him, fitting the two of them together properly like two pieces of a puzzle.

He fully understands how they end up like this whenever they fall asleep. 

“I’m sorry,” Buck breathes out against the back of Eddie’s neck.

Eddie shivers and squeezes Buck’s arm. “I want to tell you, Buck. I just… can’t right now.”

“I understand,” Buck says sincerely. “Somethings take time to say even to your best friend. Plus, in my experience, stuff just comes out around Maddie.”

“Tell me about it,” Eddie laughs. He shifts, pulling himself out of Buck’s embrace enough so he can turn over to fully face him.

They’re close. Maybe closer than they’ve ever been. Buck thinks his eyes are slightly going cross-eyed staring at him, but he doesn’t want to shift even a hair backwards.

Something about the darkness seems to make all the lines between friends blur into the "something more" Buck and Eddie have always been.

He can hear the shaky breath Eddie takes before he whispers, “I missed you.”

Buck ducks his head until Eddie’s forehead presses against his. “I missed you, too.” His hand reaches out, searching for Eddie’s and lacing their fingers together. “Can’t sleep without you.”

“Me either,” Eddie breathes out, breath ghosting over Buck’s lips.

Eddie shifts, tilting his head up until his nose is brushing against Buck’s ever so softly. Buck’s lips start tingling when he feels Eddie's breath ghost over them. Then, Eddie’s bottom lip brushes against his.

Eddie pulls back suddenly and presses his forehead against Buck’s firmly. A barely whispered, “Sorry,” worms its way into the space between them.

Buck doesn't dare breathe.

Sorry for almost kissing him? Sorry for not kissing him? Sorry for accidentally getting close enough to brush their lips together in a ghost of an almost kiss?

Buck can’t ask.

He’s pretty sure his hands are shaking, but he can’t tell if the one still holding Eddie’s hand is shaking from him or Eddie.

Maybe both.

It takes a few deep breaths to recognize that Eddie’s heart is equally beating out of his chest and his breathing has gone a bit erratic.

Buck risks letting go of his hand so he can pull him into a hug, intertwining their bodies in a way they haven’t fully let themselves do before. Eddie’s arms twist around him and pull him in tightly.

Buck nearly lets go of the hand he has tangled in Eddie’s hair to brush gently against his still-tingling lips. But he doesn’t dare let go.

He doesn’t know what to think about it.

Maybe it was an accident or a fluke.

Or maybe… this has something to do with the secret he shared with Maddie.

The thought nearly makes Buck scoff. Eddie is his straight best friend. He can’t… let himself think about it or hope for a moment that maybe this is something Eddie might want when he’s ready.

Or maybe.

Maybe he wanted to kiss a Buckley. And this was the closest he could get to the real thing he wanted.

Eddie’s hand finds its way to the hand in his hair, pulling it between them instead, holding it to stop the thoughts.

And Buck’s last thought that he’ll allow is that maybe, just maybe, this can be close enough to the real thing he secretly wants.

Part Four

[valentialbein]

I figure it’s worth putting on the Tumblr radar since much of this is current discussion of Niosi is happening on Twitter.

(content warnings for sexual assault, abuse, manipulation, and otherwise taking advantage of people)

On Chris Niosi, and Kyle McCarley’s defense of him:

Recently Chris Niosi (aka Kirbopher), who has admitted to abusing people around him for at least a decade, was cast in Honkai Star Rail as the character Moze. Five years have passed since his public apology, where he addresses some specific callouts from victims to debatable effect, but unfortunately he’s lied about apologizing to all of his victims (1, 2), and the specific apologies he has written are now deleted from his tumblr, calling his efforts into changing for the better into his question. Furthermore, as he has a history of taking advantage of his fans even in his more underground days (1+2, 3), putting him in a situation where he has access to more fans to put him on a pedestal is dangerous. Other users have iterated much of this already on tumblr, where it was already discussed in previous years, so this is just some context.

But I’m here to talk about something related that hasn’t gotten any Tumblr coverage. For example, people here have talked about Griffin Puatu’s reddit post defending him already. But nobody has mentioned Kyle McCarley defending him yet.

On July 19, 2024, in the replies of Moze’s introduction tweet, he had this to say:

He addresses his use of “bad boyfriend” downplaying legitimate abuse later. I don't think it's great but we’ll get to that. However, “the court of public opinion” is a concept that he does stand by, perhaps reinforced by the backlash he received for this. Some of this was vitriolic, given the kind of person he was defending from further criticism, but others did try to reason with him, including some of the above and more as evidence that Niosi isn’t being entirely truthful about his atonement, and overall most responses expressed disbelief and disappointment more than anything else.

Still, he deactivated his account the following day, on July 20, 2024.

Unfortunately, our story doesn’t end there. In the early morning of July 21, 2024, he made an announcement in his Discord server.

So here's the thing about Niosi not being a confirmed sexual abuser or rapist or pedophile. I don't have everything, with this being such an expansive case so this is off what I've found. You know the time he planned to take advantage of his girlfriend at the time while said girlfriend was intoxicated (plus this follow-up where he attempted to cover for himself)? Drunk people cannot consent, especially not when drunk sex is already a hard boundary. Although this technically doesn't make him a rapist, to my knowledge, if you're gonna argue semantics it'll just sound like "well he didn't ACTUALLY rape someone so it's not as bad". Is it not already terrible that he tried to and still downplayed it when called on it? Besides, as mentioned in Lighty's testimony linked above, he's let other in his sphere groom minors under his watchful eye, and his other ex Audrey had things to say about how he weaponized sexual favors too. If someone actually has more on a history of sexual abuse and pedophilia, though, please bring it to my attention. I'll add it to this post.

Either way, we don't know what he knows. At best, Kyle has a very incomplete picture of the situation, and at worst he does have a complete picture and he just doesn’t think it’s valid or up-to-date criticism. The person who first brought this to people's attention on Twitter also mentioned that her messages in the server were being deleted when she spoke up to provide evidence, so for someone who welcomes others to share evidence how open he actually is to it is questionable. (UPDATE: There's more to this part of the story but we'll get to it in a future update.) His final message a couple of hours from these just solidifies it.

Having joined the server myself to see, around the time of the announcements seems to have been scrubbed clean, but there is some current discussion of the topic as of this post. Furthermore, someone there has stated that they're compiling sources to send his way to give him a better understanding of the situation (even if they're not sure if he still wants to talk about this), so maybe this will finally get him to reconsider his stance! Only time will tell.

Overall, though, I stand by my point that if Niosi makes a living, it should be somewhere far away from the public eye. Don't give him a platform to find new fans to take advantage of. Don't give his victims the opportunity to be retraumatized whenever they start a new game of show. He's been given more than enough chances. It's time to turn over a new leaf instead of digging his heels into the ground.

Still, I don't know if Kyle will change his mind at this point. I want him to - I tried, back when his Twitter was still up - but even at this stage he's doubled down on a situation he knows he might not have the full story on and I'm not sure if I can trust that. For any other fans, give this some thought - keep an eye out for any future developments if you still want to have faith in him, move on from him if you can't stand it. I just want him to at least hold his friend accountable instead of trying to shield him from the lasting consequences of his own actions.

(I'll be linking future updates here: #1, #2 and #3 for now.)

[miumiumandoodz]

My personal (emphasis on personal) interpretation of Resident Evil's main four birth chart placements. All for fun and giggles. I'm only going through basics, major placements, and things that affect their relationship with the world around them (especially since houses is claimed to determine the specificities in one's life path). Also, I'm no means an expert at Astrology, this is all based on the things I understand over the years but again, all for pure fun!

Chris May Taurus sun feels closest, hard working but stubborn, does not deter easily. He kinda lacks the "self indulgent and rest hard" part of a Taurus but certainly has the "mom friend" Taurus characteristic. It takes a lot for a preteen to have be able to successfully raise a younger child and make a stable life for themselves through adulthood (man could send his sister to college!). He's also all about security, with his way to achieve a sense of stability is to "keep fighting for a world worth living" (RE5) and the trigger to his downfall is his failure to do this (failing to protect his men). You really don't wanna piss him off to the core. Ascendant might be Cancer and Moon might be Leo. This Moon Leo probably affects him more when he was younger, having a stubbornness derived from certain ideals and self righteousness that puts him at odds with superiors or authority. He's still that when he's older but just better at strategizing his movement to carry on his ideals. He's also warm and easy to approach, a good big brother to his juniors (not just to Claire but to Rebecca and Leon too), a good father to his men, willing to (technically) godfather a child, etc. Fourth House could be in Virgo, Tenth House in Aries. Probably Pisces in Venus or Fifth House (something about him not minding sacrificing a lot for a greater good) but a Capricorn in Seventh House. Mars probably is in Scorpio (again, the way he can keep the job for so long and his mental strain can break him in such ways to addiction and violence).

Jill I'm very divided with Jill's sun sign, she can pass as a Cancer and Virgo to me. Her straightforwardness, analytical aspects, and response to chaos feel like a Virgo to me (and the way she can hold everything together despite everything, that's very earth sign and Virgo's kind of stability) but she appears to have an emotional depth of a Cancer. Her Cancer can be in her Ninth house instead. Her Ascendant might be in Libra, which from outiside, she's a person with good work-life balance, the type who is great in social setting, very diplomatic, and loves the active outdoors (having a golden retriever!). Her Moon might be in Scorpio because she feels things intensely, but tends to keep it in at all times. Her other placements help her to not let her emotions get in the way but you know she's seething angry about the things she had to go through. You can see this sometimes slips in her sarcastic remarks, backed with her sassy Virgo Sun characteristics, and the way it's a bit hard for her to let go off some things (how Spencer Estate and Raccoon City secretly haunt her and her pure recklessness and anger in Death Island). She probably has an earth sign in her Fourth House and a Leo in Second House (independent career woman who can afford the lifestyle she wants for her own -- if only situations were better). I really can't determine her Venus or Fifth House though. It's hard to assess this one through canon materials alone.

Claire Definitely definitely a Cancer Sun (a July Cancer too). All the Cancers in my life are like her; determined, hardworking, intelligent, but everything they do is driven by compassion and empathy or the great desire to nurture. It also makes sense that she has a sun sign that is most compatible to her brother. She's most likely has Sagi in her Tenth House. Her Ascendant seems to be Cancer too with Moon in Libra. She's very careful to assess which action aligns with her emotions, tries to keep things in balance, and seems to be the type of person who loves to surround herself with crowds that completely vibe with her. Her Seventh House is probably in Aquarius, given how progressive she is and she often places people's needs before hers and tries to achieve the best for everyone. This is completely against the world she’s in and thus her purpose is rather “rebellious” or “unconventional”. This also gives her the ability to make great interpersonal relationships with people from different backgrounds (the way she's so great at working in NGOs). Canon really makes it clear that she's the yin to her brother's yang, but a great unit as a whole.

Leon An August Leo Sun. He do it subtly (or not so subtly, depends on how you look at things) but it's all there. This man really cares about how he looks and how he presents himself in a rather shallow manner. He's by no means shallow but it's just the way he copes. He's also kinda chill and all about pulling big moves (makes sense he's a heroic government agent with a tendency to rebel a little). His Moon, however, might be a Capricorn because this man doesn't really care about his emotion that much although he really does feel a lot of things. He has a knack to repress all of those things and act like everything's fine and tend to push down his more serious side. It makes an interesting parallel to Chris' response to a mental breaking stress too (broken drunk Chris is violent and sad while broken drunk Leon is "lmao let me die"). If he was a Millennial, he would be the type to send you cringe out of the world memes and he'd be close to his Gen-Z juniors. Sixth House in Aries (seems to be someone who will impulsively work out and tone his body.... but also impulsively get wasted) and Seventh House in Gemini. The reason why he's so good at being an agent is because he adapts well to the constantly changing environment, quite socially intelligent, but also able to not keep it too personal when it comes to work. His Venus is probably in Libra, given how he's kinda fixed with Ada (and romanticizes the idea of her) but also "understanding of their situation" that he's okay with a confusing "on and off" relationship. This applies to his other lovers, that he would try to accommodate through the situation and doesn't mind something uncommital so long that it's agreed upon.

[kinardsevan]

with him being calm and collected, good with cars, reliable friend, etc etc i want to see imperfect tommy. what do you think he's *not* good at?

i love the headcanon that he can't cook, but in ~my head, the man knows his way around a kitchen.

he's dyslexic. he has multiple ways of dealing with this, given that he also deals with auditory processing, but having Evan around has been a game-changer, because his boyfriend will break shit down for him into minute detail and he doesn't have to read shit.

Tommy loves chocolate. He's really good about maintaining his diet for the most part, especially because he loves bodybuilding, but when he gets his hands on candy, it's like a green-eyed monster appears. He absolutely WILL fight with Evan over who ate the last brownie, or who finished the last of the kisses out of the candy bowl and didn't have replacements on hand. (it's usually him, but he's not going to admit it)

getting raw about the trauma he hasn't processed. our boy has done years of therapy and is pretty good about being able to be open about what he's faced/moved on from. but there are some things that he keeps close to his chest and still struggles with, and he definitely struggles with being honest about having problems about his triggers. Evan can always tell though when he's been triggered because Tommy is so good at being calm no matter the situation that when something does bother him, it's all over his face, and Evan won't move forward until they've at least discussed what brought it on.

picking up his clothes. look, he's lived by himself for almost two decades. he knows what he's looking for and where he last left it, and if he needs to find those socks, he left them in the bathroom. he'll find them later. (this drives Evan crazy and they argue about it a lot. there's a hamper in almost every room now.)

he can't deal with upsetting kids. he's constantly got a separate part of his chocolate stash now, just for Jee, Chris, Denny, and Mara. of course, he tells them regularly, "if your parents find out, you didn't get it from me" (Evan swears he knows nothing about this). (all their friends absolutely know it's Tommy giving their kids sugar). (he refuses to buy sugar-free)

-this does bite him in the ass one time. he gives Jee chocolate after she bangs her knee one night, jumping at him from the couch and hitting the coffee table. she's fine pretty quickly, but she's also up way past her bedtime because of the snack

he has NO organization of his music or movie library. again, this makes Evan crazy. Evan has specifically curated playlists for everything (including the one they share in which they're constantly sending one another songs that make them think of each other), and Tommy just willy-nilly throws things together (or worse, lets Spotify curate his Daily's and is satisfied with those.) When Tommy proposes, the first thing Evan tells him is that he's in charge of the music, lest their first dance end up being something god-awful suggested by the internet.

he can draw. he can paint. he can throw a pot. he can shoot photos decently (not as well as Evan). he can't sew to save his own life.

also, on the food thing: Evan is great with recipes. Tommy can just do natural chemistry in the kitchen. however, whenever he tries to follow a recipe, he ends up fucking it up. cooking together ends up always being an adventure because of this, because Evan is very meticulous about how things are made, but Tommy goes by his tastebuds and what sounds good. sometimes it works out. sometimes they end up ordering takeout.

...sometimes someone ends up covered in dessert toppings.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

WOW, a Mario Reacts! It's been a long time, hasn't it? Hell yeah, I can work with this!

(no bc seriously, I just finished watching ep. 7 of Arcane before this and I need an emotional break, yeah I know the rest of Act 3 is gonna kill me)

(the following is my live reaction:)

oh hey, Mario! Wassup?

jigsaw, is that you?

oh nvm, hello Swag! nice to see you again since last episode

I'm about to commit a crime [*strikes a pose then walks away*]

I'm willing to work in a government office just so I can come up with an acronym like, gee idk, Y.U.R.I. or something (I should've been a worker in NASA)

NO STOP STOP WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING?!

At this point, Mario, I would just give up

[*clears throat*] mejor me muero, ni modo que sigo con estos porquerías. bueno como dice Mario, bye bye [*drinks some water*] alright I'm back

TADC? ah, just a normal Saturday

no thoughts, head empty

honestly, mood

well, in his own way, yeah

[*echoes announcer voice*] VR, the new era of entertainment

...mr puzzles? nah jk jk

oh, Four's theory may not be wrong here (omg it's jesus)

still can't believe christianity is canon in the SMG4 universe

oh, so I was right! [*jigsaw voice*] "I wanna play a game."

That's actually kinda sweet that he immediately chooses his brother

OH SHIT OOOOH that's gotta hurt

NO MARIO, THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN ME

[*other me pops in*] emo girlfriend, omg it's smg3

no, we're NOT gonna look too much into this, shut up other me

PPFFFTTT that caught me so off guard

say it with me now: YOU CAN'T CONTROL MARIO [*applause*]

I mean, we've been through simulations before, we can take this one too

unironically, I wouldn't mind a 10-hour video of just Mario (and/or the rest of the Crew) just dancing :)

it doesn't even need to have music, I can just put my playlist on and I would totally join in

ooooh, you want to scan that QR code so badly

but also, how did they get a screenshot of my computer?

Mario 🤝 Mario Buddy from the last episode → destroying PCs for the LOLs

AKLDHLKSAFB;KL just the way Mario goes for a fighting stance just so he could run away will never not be funny to me

LET ME IN LET ME INNNNNNNNN

10 hours, welp I got my wish lmao

Mario morphing his face... hmmmm..... [*flashback noises*]

[SMG4: MAR10 Day]

....

don't think about it don't think about it don't think about it

KIRBO NOOOOOOOOO

NO NO NO SWAG NO

same vibes

meme factory? youtube arc? is that you? /j

(yeah I know that the Team uses the same assets ik)

LET'S DO THISSSS oh welp time to vibe

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

what would that be, Swag? Try not to Laugh challenge? I might win tbh

LET'S GO GAMBLING

laughing because of early victory call? very in character for Swag

oooh that's some good animation (y'know, as always)

HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE

am i thinking too much into this or is this the same military base from last episode?

Alright, my little headcanon: the events of this episode and the last one took place on the exact same day

that's just for me specifically

oh hey, more TADC ref

Also, nice PINGAS STUCK IN A DOOR ref

man Mario can't catch a break dude

Congrats to CMorseu for your art being featured at the end credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Such a good episode! Not plot-heavy, just a silly episode. I'll gladly take it as my late birthday present. And it's great to have Swag back, kinda was half-expecting Chris to just pop out.

I've said this once and I'll say it again: I wouldn't mind if the rest of the year is just filled with goofy episodes. After all, we just came from WOTFI and we do need a bit of a break so the Team could work on the next arc. (From the looks of things, we might get goop!4 *cough cough*)

Loved the bits of animation and Mario's expressions as always.

Now, I know there is some talk about the SMG4 Crew/Mario Does Things being on hiatus and merging with the Saturday videos. If you can even call it that. Personally, I don't mind it. I completely understand if doing 2 episodes per week is a lot for the Team to handle, though I do wish they would give an explanation for it. I think the best solution would be for the Team making an announcement of the change, the reasons behind it, and how it may be different from the regular Saturday episodes. Also make it clear that "hey, the title says this so it doesn't impact the main storyline".

Anyway, it has been overall a pretty funny episode and I quite enjoyed it! Now, if you excuse me, I'm gonna cry my eyes out watching the rest of Arcane Act 3 and bring that angst to the next episode concept :)

OH THE MISERY EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY ENEMYYYYYYY

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

max of 🪽?

(also i just reread both blade and branch and let me tell you it still hurts the 2nd time around. hurts really really bad. 😄)

AH THANKS but also SORRY but THANK YOU!

1k for 🪽:

---

“Oh, sorry,” Eddie frowns. “What unit?”

“The Great Depression,” Christopher says. 

Eddie can see why he might not have been enthusiastic about studying. 

“Do you, uh, need extra help there?” Eddie asks. “Like a tutor? Or maybe you and I can work on it together?”

“No, thanks,” Chris shakes his head. “I didn’t do badly. I just didn’t get as high of a grade as last time. I liked the nineteenth century stuff.”

Eddie blinks. He was so not this kind of student. This is all Shannon in him. 

“Okay,” Eddie nods. “Well, it’s okay to be stronger in some areas than others.”

“Yeah, I know,” Chris shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.”

Okay, so Chris isn’t stressed about school really then. 

“Is there anything else going on?” Eddie asks. “Anything in your life you want to talk about?”

“Not really,” Chris says.

“Any girl stuff?” Eddie tries.

“Nope.”

“And you and I are good?” Eddie asks. 

Chris frowns. “Dad, are you good?”

Eddie sighs. “Yeah, sorry. I just, uh… I have this weird feeling that I've forgotten something important.”

It’s as close to the truth as he can get.

“Well, don’t worry,” Chris says. “It’s not about me.”

And, actually, that does help. But it doesn’t fix things. 

🪽

It keeps him up at night, thinking. What the hell is his problem? Why can’t he release Buck back to floating over a fucking fairytale oasis or whatever? 

Both of the reasons Buck has stuck around lately have been women related. Ending things with Marisol. Not pursuing Fake Shannon. Not her name, but… Well, he doesn’t know it. Regardless, he thinks this is important. It has to mean something. No one is in danger. Chris is fine. The last two times he needed a guardian angel were for… Women problems… 

Why would a guardian angel be needed for that? And still be needed after it? Honestly. Why? People navigate relationship drama all the time without some sort of heavenly guide at their side. So what is it about Eddie that makes this more serious?

He tries to reflect on his history with women, he really does. What he liked about them and didn’t like about them. It all comes back to that trying to get it right piece. Trying to not fail at something. That seems to be his resounding emotion when reflecting on Ana and Marisol specifically, and Shannon… Well, he holds so much shame over what happened with Shannon. How much of missing her is just wanting to alleviate that shame? Because the truth is, for the small windows of time where they were good together and Eddie wasn’t messing everything up, she was the only woman he’s ever really felt comfortable around. 

It hits him hard. So hard his chest hurts. 

He gets out of bed, creeps quietly out of his bedroom, and searches for Buck. He’s expressed that he doesn’t want Buck in the bedroom at night, watching over him, unless there’s a genuine emergency. So the angel approximation of his long lost friend seems to just linger in the vicinity instead. Eddie imagines nights are long and boring, when you don’t need to sleep and you can’t actually do much of anything. 

“Hey, Buck?” Eddie whispers out into the night. He needs to talk to him. Badly. He’s careful not to wake Christopher, though. “Buck?”

Within a few seconds, Buck physically steps through the front door. The locked, closed front door. He phases through it like a comic book character. 

“You okay?” Buck asks. 

Eddie shakes his head. No, he’s really not okay. 

“I didn’t find the Shannon clone attractive,” he says. 

“Uh, okay?” Buck frowns. “You like ‘em better with bangs, or…”

“No,” Eddie shakes his head. “I was interested in talking to her because she looked like Shannon. Exactly like Shannon. But I wasn’t attracted to her.”

“Okay,” Buck nods. “I mean that makes sense. It wasn’t a sex thing, right?”

“But… But was I attracted to Shannon?” Eddie asks.

“I don’t know,” Buck says gently. “I can’t answer that one for you.”

“What if I wasn’t?” Eddie asks quietly. Very quietly. 

“Okay,” Buck nods again. “What if you weren’t?”

“I loved her,” Eddie says.

“I know,” Buck says.

“I loved her so much,” Eddie insists.

“I know you did.”

“I don’t think… I mean, sex with Marisol was good,” Eddie says. 

“Sure,” Buck nods. 

“I hardly ever… With Ana. I didn’t… It was me. Not her.”

“Eddie, are you…” Buck frowns. “What are you getting at?”

“You said I was just with them because I thought I should like them and I never would,” Eddie says.

Buck looks nervous, but he doesn’t deny it.

“What if I’m not…” Eddie sighs. “What if I don’t…”

“Are you implying that I’m still here because I set off a sexuality crisis in you?” Buck asks.

Eddie nods sheepishly.

Buck blinks. “Wow.”

“Wow?” Eddie fires back, a little too loudly. He has to lower his voice before he speaks again. “You’re an angel! You have to guide me!” 

“Oh,” Buck’s eyebrows crease. “With my abundance of lived queer experience and divine angel training. Sure.”

Eddie groans.

“No, hey,” Buck amends. “Of course I’ll help. Just… Let me think.”

“What is there to think about?” Eddie asks. “Do you think I’m… Gay?” 

“Well,” Buck puts his thumb and forefinger on his chin. “You’re reasoning is that you might not have been attracted to women, despite enjoying sex with them occasionally. Do you know if you have been attracted to men, despite having not had sex with them? Or have you had sex with a man?”

[kteezy997]

Co-Eds pt. 1//todd anderson

Information: this does not directly follow the movie, Dead Poets Society’s plot. It takes place the following school year after the film ends.

Warnings: mention of masturbation right off the bat lol oops

They did it. Apparently, they took Charlie’s suggestion to heart, after punishing him initially. Welton Academy decided it was time to allow girls to attend. The boys, especially the Poets, were ecstatic. “Now we won’t have to jerk off as much!” One of them had said, making Todd blush, but ultimately shake his head with a chuckle.

It was still warm when the first day back to school came, but the leaves were starting to change and were plucked from the trees with the promising fall breeze. Summer was officially over. Senior year was beginning.

Neil put his arm around his best friend and roommate, Todd, “Now we get to put our poetry skills to good use.” he nodded to the flock of females on the campus lawn, “Look at all of them!”

Todd, never really knowing what to say in these conversations, smiled softly, joining Neil in the girl gazing.

Being in an all-boys school could feel pretty isolating from the outside world, namely from the opposite sex. Todd had read all about women in fictional books and heard all about romance and passion in Mr. Keating’s class last year. He found all of it wondrously fascinating. But to put it into reality was unimaginable for someone like him. He hadn’t even gained the confidence to read aloud during Dead Poet meetings with his close friends, let alone even speak to a girl.

The rest of the guys caught up to Neil and Todd, each of them oohing and awing at the girls waiting to go inside. The exception was Knox, who only had eyes for his girlfriend, Chris.

“Good morning, ladies.” Neil greeted a group of them as they walked by.

Charlie chimed in as well, asking some of the girls if they were excited to start at Welton.

“I’d never have the courage to do something like that.” Todd thought to himself.

As the bell rang, he happened to look over and notice three girls looking at him specifically, one of them even waved. He smiled right at them for a second, waving politely before he looked away. As he headed in with the herd, he knew he was red in the face.

Todd found his assigned locker, and there was already a girl to the left of it putting things into hers. He made eye contact, and she smiled kindly at him.

He then opened his locker, placing his book bag inside, grabbing a notebook and other things he needed for his first class. He couldn’t stop thinking about how pretty she was. He could smell her too, her scent was of roses and light hints of vanilla.

“Hi, I’m y/n. Is this your first year at Welton too?” a feminine voice chirped next to him.

Todd looked at the girl, brows raised as if to ask, ‘Who, me?’ “Oh, uh-mm, no I was here last year.”

“Oh, that’s cool. I’m new…obviously.” she giggled.

Todd couldn’t help but smile at her. It had only been a little over a year since he’d been back at his old school that was a co-education, but a year at an all-boys school, especially one as elite and serious as Welton, felt like a lifetime.

“So, are you a senior?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I am.” Todd tried his best to keep his trembling at bay.

“Me too! So maybe we’ll have some classes together…”

The long pause and the questioning look on her face was all kind of silly to him before he finally realized that she wanted to know his name. What was it again? “Todd.” he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Todd Anderson.”

The girl smiled at him again, “Well, Todd, it’s nice meeting you.” she closed her locker, “Um, can I ask you...which is the history classroom? They showed us during orientation, but I can't remember."

His eyes widened, he couldn’t believe she was still talking to him. She was so lovely, like the type of girl that poetry was made for. “Oh, it’s-a just passed the lockers, second door on the left.”

She smiled appreciatively at him, “Great, thanks. I’ll see you around, Todd.” she sang, turning to catch up with another girl that had called her name. She turned her head slightly to look back at Todd and give him a friendly wave.

“See you.” he said, but she was already too far away to hear him.

Suddenly, he felt a slam of an arm across his shoulders. Charlie.

“There’s no way that Todd Anderson was talking to a girl.”

“He definitely was.” chimed in an enthusiastic Neil Perry, a proud smile splayed over his mouth.

“No, I wasn’t. Not really.” answered Todd, brushing off the interaction.

“No, no, we saw that little wave she gave you. She’d totally sleep with you, Anderson.” Charlie teased as the group walked to class together. The bell rang again, “Aw, second bell. Better get to class before we’re all marked late.” he said sarcastically. “We will talk about this later.” he rubbed the top of Todd’s dark blonde head teasingly.

Todd shrugged off his friend’s typical antics with a laugh.

…….

U.S. History class. Typically, this would be a snooze fest for the poets, but this year, of course, was different. Instead of dozing off or doodling during the lecture, the boys could try to gain the attention of the young ladies in the class.

Charlie Dalton had the best time, passing notes to girls and giving them nods. Neil caught the eyes of a few girls. Steven Meeks mostly just smiled at them awkwardly.

Todd kept to himself as he usually did. He’d hate to say something and end up sounding stupid. Nothing he said ever came out right.

“Now, you’ll have a research paper due at the end of the quarter. But I’ve decided to add a twist. Since it is our first year with females attending, I will let them pick their partners. And yes, you’ll be working on your paper in pairs.”

Murmurs and soft chatter filled the classroom.

“Yes, gentlemen there's a chance you will be paired up with one of the ladies but remember that there’s work to be done. Conduct yourselves with respect and discipline. We don't want to scare these young ladies out of the school when they've only just arrived, do we?"

Some mild laughter sprouted through the class.

"Now, I’ll just begin alphabetically. Go on and pick your partner when your name is called, ladies. Let’s see…” the teacher picked up his clipboard with the class list, “Ah, y/n y/l/n. You may make your choice.”

Todd perked up when he heard her name, he knew where she was sitting as he had spotted her at the beginning of the of class. His eyes found her in an instant.

Y/n took a second to scan the room, but she already knew who she wanted her partner to be. “Todd Anderson.”

He nearly swallowed his tongue.

March 5, 2025

Author’s Note:

I know this is a leap from what I usually publish. No, I’m not anti-Timothée. I’m just a bit burnt out. And it’s not his fault. I just want to write for Ethan Hawke. lol I hope you stick around, but if you want to unfollow, I completely understand. and if you happen to be here from the DPS fandom, HI LETS BE FRIENDS!

DM me if you’d like to be added to the tag list for this story.

@gatoenlaciudad @thebetawolfgirl