#he's to devoted to Natalia

[paddymoonstruck]

DEAR READER | C.L 16 (ONE)

Notes: (This involves an Original Character btw)

* English isn’t my first language and I’m still trying to get back my writing mojo ehehe

* No trigger warnings besides mentions of catcalling ??

*This was written to be intentionally a bit vague since it’s just the first chapter

next parts: TWO | THREE

THE AROMA OF FRESHLY watered plants hit her senses. She exhaled the nature-given scent, producing a wave of serotonin in her body. A hand came up to brush away the brunette locks flying across her face from the strength of the wind. Her eyes gazed upon the calm rhythmic waves of the sea, smiling as the floral fragrance mingled with the salty taste of the air.

She was aware of the consequences. The blissful silence she was feeling had a price and the piper would eventually come for the gold. Nonetheless, she chose to bask at the few moments that she had left. Later, she’d be back to scrubbing at a her boss’ expensive yacht. Getting a nice manicure had been long rendered useless at how easily they’d get chipped.

Glancing down at her hands, a grimaced presented itself on her mouth as she spotted the dirt clinging on the inside of her nails.

As she got lost in her thoughts, she raked at her fingernails to clean through the icky substances. She truly had no qualms working for the rich. Not only do they pay handsomely, they also handed her occasional gift apart from her daily salary.

The amount of times she’d been mistaken for a hooker were extremely unhealthy. She often recalls the eye rolls she’d give the old men who’d whistle at her across the port as if she’s some sort of animal.

Lucky for her, her present employer was far from the elderly rich men, sporting beer belly that prey on girls younger than their own daughters.

Her boss was not passed sixty years of age. Instead of bothering young girls, he has this lovely wife and son whom he never fails to show his unwavering devotion to.

One could only dream of a life like his.

“Natalia!”

And here we go.

“Yes?” She yelled back, turning her body to look at the direction of her boss. She watched his towering stature make its way to the harbor, steps creaking beneath the wooden surface.

He squinted at the glare of the sun behind her head. “Would you like to join us for dinner?”

Her eyes widened at the invitation, hands waving from left to right. “Oh! I couldn’t possibly intrude—”

“Nonsense. You’re not.” He silenced her worries. “Come on.” Lending an arm to assist her down the step she was standing on.

Natalia stared at him, her features conveying incredulity. “Right now?”

He peaked at her curiously, slowly tugging her away from the port, taking care not to step on her dress. “It’s passed 6 PM . . .” At his remark, she raised her arm to take a look at her watch.

The hands did indicate a 18:37. Her mouth formed into an “o” at the confirmation. She hadn’t realize she had been dilly-dallying for that long. Her break started nearly two hours prior. The thought to recharge her energy were originally to last only an hour at best.

“I’m sorry— I completely lost track of time,” She apologized, tilting her head up to her boss who simply chuckled at her hushed tone.

“It’s quite alright.” He hummed, returning her gaze. “You’ve finished everything, haven’t you?”

She nodded her head, eyes glistening with pride. “I did! The magazines are back inside the father right cabinet, scrubbed the deck and the body. And I swear— It’s so clean, I could see my reflection ever surface,”

Her enthusiasm brought joy to him, optimg to approve her hard work. “Very good, then.” Natalia spotted his wife by one of the many luxurious cars they own.

A kind smile graced her lips as the pair approached her. “Oh, look at you! What have you been doing?” The motherly scolding tone was anything but scary to Natalia as the blonde woman began to fuss over the her.

“You should really tell her to come inside when she’s done, Toto . . .” Your boss winced at his wife’s glare.

Her graceful hands worked through Natalia damp locks, untangling the knots the had formed on her head. “I must’ve gone for a short swim. . .” She released a laugh to cover up her growing anxiety at the glare she threw her way. “I’m fine, Susie! Just need a shower— if we still have time?”

She glanced up at Toto, who suppressed a playful eye roll, nodding at the smiley girl nonetheless.

“Great! I’ll be back as soon as a can!” Natalia landed a peck on Susie’s cheeks before waving a hand to Toto, running back to their estate.

“That girl. . .” Toto clicked his tongue, but the grin on his face betrayed his true feelings.

“Absolutely adorable,” Susie chipped in, eyes crinkling at her husband’s own glee. But as she stared at Natalia’s retreating form, her expression fell serious. “I thought I told you to tell her that she doesn’t have to work for us anymore,”

Toto strides along with Susie as he answered the question. “I will, later over dinner.”

Susie raised an eyebrow at her husband, arms crossing to her chest. “Dinner? The one you’re having with Fred?”

“Yes— but,” He got ahead of her disapproving look, lifting a finger up to soothe away her frustration. “I’m taking her with me to broaden her connections.”

The enlightenment brought recollection to Susie’s features, heart warming the generous gesture Toto was giving to Natalia. “It’s nice that she knows what she wants, no?”

The tall man agreed, tucking his hands inside his pockets. It had been a nearly a year since Natalia started doing minor tasks for them. In her own faith, when she arrived at their residence, a natural rhythm fell place in her actions. The chores that were usually done by the usual cleaning lady was finished by her.

In her persuading self, she tried to Toto that she could do some of the boat cleaning as well. Of course, he was quick to deny her insistence, stating that her studies are the only thing she needs to focus on.

Natalia Valle was an exchange student from the Philippines. She had passed the examination for the University of Monaco and had been staying in the dorms for the last 3 years. That was until a financial crisis arose between her parents and before she knew it, a wet sponge and a bucket of water was her saving grace to get by everyday.

Thankfully, Susie had found her by the harbor. She sat there, eyes falling close a few times. The bags under her eyes were impossible to miss, conveying her lack of rest. Her hands gripped lightly at a fishing rod. The wooden handle constricted at her hand instinctively as the pull of an object from under the water awakened her spirit.

She flinched, eyes flying open at the force. Susie remembers hearing her devastated groans as the string snapped from its hook, light splashes appeared at the large body of water, indicating the fish’s escape.

One would turn away and go on with their life, Susie would have if she hadn’t seen the distinguish cut on her palm. The one she later turned over to use her fingers as a grapple to dig for another hook and string in her bag.

Getting Natalia’s wounds treated by Susie Wolff was definitely not in her bucket list. But she sat there, trying her best not to look too nervous as Susie herself dressed the long cut on her hand.

Susie didn’t need to make small talk, Natalia thought. Unknown to her, the genuine intentions that harbored Susie’s questions.

From there, Susie struck a deal with her after hearing how she ended up on that port. Susie offered to pay off her last year as a journalism student and her dorm rent. All she wanted in return was for her to graduate.

Of course, disbelief was a natural reaction. To Natalia, she hasn’t done anything special to earn a free pass for her burdens to be lifted off her shoulders.

As she expressed her hesitance, stating that she should not leech off someone else so easily with anything in exchange. Irises expanded at her sheer assertions to at least do something for them in return. To wrap her in solace, Susie agreed to the simple tasks.

Here they were, in the present. Natalia continued to work for her allowance despite Toto’s futile attempts to take the chores off the girl’s hands.

But tonight, he’ll finally be telling him a news that would make her, hopefully, drop all those cleaning supplies.

————————————————————————

Natalia clenched her hands in her lap, settling on admiring the silver bracelet adorned with the crystalline diamonds given to her by Susie last Christmas. Her fingernails chipped at her cuticles, watching the car pass through a series of establishments, deliberately crating a closer approximate to their destination.

The silk of her dress wrinkled at the spot which had had enclosed on her hand, leaving the mark of her worries.

“What’s the matter?”

Toto’s voice made spring her though back, choosing to return Toto’s waiting gaze.

“You didn’t tell me Charles was coming,” She sulked, her whiny tone caught a tug at the corners of Toto’s mouth.

“I knew you wouldn’t go if I told you,” The nonchalance of his shrug expelled a sigh from Natalia.

She tucked a stray curl behind her ear, twiddling with her phone. At the silence, her thoughts scrambled into one idea. One she couldn’t let go, electing to ask it.

“Are you switching teams?”

Toto didn’t seem astonished at her rash query, solely negating her with a soft “No, I’m not.”

The furrow of Natalia’s brows relaxed at his answer, shoulders sagging in defeat. She swore she had it.

The car came to a holt in front of a popular restaurant she was all familiar with. The bright lights twinkled in her vision as the valet opened her door. She tipped her head as a polite greeting, plucking herself from the seat. Her hand drew the rest of her dress out of the vehicle, proceeding to stand her full height.

Toto came to her side, patiently waiting to get herself ready. When she did, she strode with him to the cemented steps where he lent his hand as assistance.

Just one last step to spare before they’re at the door, but heavens had other plans.

“Toto!” An accented voice came calling from below. His joyful exclamation was accompanied by a chuckle similar to his expression.

Natalia found herself turning back as well. True enough, At the bottom of the stairs stood two figures. The jolly French team principal of Scuderia Ferrari, Frederic Vasseur and the team’s golden boy, Charles Leclerc were both wearing matching smiles.

Toto mirrored their smiles, extending a hand to Fred when the pair reached them. Natalia greeted the team principal as well, shaking his hand lightly. When she let go, her eyes wondered to the green eyed individual in front of her.

“Hi,” She chipped, giving him a soft grin to which he responded with a chuckle.

“Good evening, Natalia.” He roamed his eyes through her well-dressed figure. The silk on her body hugged her curves in all the right places. Charles realized he had been staring for quite some time. Fortunately, Toto invited everyone to come inside and start dinner.

————————————————————————

Dinner was going fairly well. The dimly lit hall invoked an air of ease, along with the delectable dishes that have been served. The candles illuminated her face, giving off a warmth through her skin.

She would go as far as to say it was perfect if it wasn’t Charles’ eyes burning into her face. Granted, when she would attempt to reciprocate his stare, he’d look away. Her consciousness made her click unto her phone’s camera, thinking there might be a peculiar substance on her appearance. However, after a few checks every little while, she found no disarray to her make up.

Why was he looking at her like that?

“Natalia,” At the sound of her name, she snapped her head towards Fred, who sat across Toto. “Toto tells me that you need an internship . . .”

The tone of his voice dripped of knowing. Natalia blinked back at him. “Yes, I am.” Was the only thing she could manage as she studied the expression on his face.

Is he? No, surely not.

Fred inclined his body, hands clasped together on the table as a smirk ghosted on his lips. “Well you’re in luck,” No way. “Ferrari’s currently accepting interns. Would you be—”

“Yes!” A hand slapped on her mouth as her voice resounded through the space.

Charles halted the chortle that crawled up his throat, concealing it with a bow of his head.

“Then it’s settled,” Toto clapped Natalia shoulder in a congratulatory amenity, a sense of pride flourishing in his chest. “Whenever you’re ready. I’ll drive you to the Ferrari headquarters.”

Natalia could barely contain her excitement at Toto’s claim. She stood up, reaching her hand toward Fred who gladly received it with the same enthusiasm.

“Thank you so much,” The heat of her eyes were beginning to burn, signaling her near waterworks. “This is such an honor, honestly. . .”

“Actually, we’re heading back to Maranello tomorrow.” Charles joined the conversation, peering up at her standing stature. “You can go with me, if you want,”

Natalia didn’t miss the emphasis on the last words, lips curling behind her teeth at the suggestion.

“That would be great,” She nodded, shooting him a grateful look. “Is 9 AM fine?”

Trying to catch Natalia’s gaze, he kept his on her. “Perfect.”

An indecipherable expression crossed Charles’ features, leaving as quickly as it came when Natalia blinked.

This is wasn’t a well thought idea. Natalia was aware of this fact. The thought of spending four hours in a car with Charles sent rippling shudders down her back. Perhaps the yearning to commit to her life long dreams were stronger than the impending discomfort she had to endure for a few moments.

After all, they both agreed never to speak about it ever again. A long car ride shouldn’t be so hard.

————————————————————————

NEXT PART: H E R E

[lemotmo]

They got an ask about Buck/Eddie being written like Hen/Chimney. Because of course 🙄

A. Good evening anon, my week has been pretty decent, thank you. I hope yours was as well. Buck/Eddie are not written or played remotely similarly to Hen/Chimney. Their dynamics are purposely different. I don't know if you belong to the group of viewers whose knowledge of the show only consists of 6 episodes from season 7, but based on your ask, I'm going to assume that you are. But even if your knowledge is relegated to season 7 exclusively you should still be able to see the difference. Hen and Chimney are your textbook besties for life. They support each other. They cry with and cheer for one another. And sometimes even share one braincell. But they have always been shown to have lives separate from one another and their friendship (that's part of the show history you're deliberately avoiding). I believe Chimney has had one scene with Denny (Hen and Karen's son) throughout the entirety of the show's run. Buck and Christopher's relationship is its own unit within the show. They have episodes and arcs devoted to the two of them (that pesky show history again, sorry). Buck is not written as his sudo uncle. He's not written as his dad's best friend who occasionally babysits. He is a coparent. Eddie and Buck had one episode, Eddie's first episode, and it wasn't even the full episode, where they weren't written as immediately living in the pocket of each other. The show made a point of developing Hen and Chimney outside of their friendship. The show has deliberately chosen not to do that with Buck and Eddie. It's a season after season writing choice. It's why Kenny, Aisha, and Tim can all easily use the word friendship to describe Hen/Chimney. It's also why Oliver, Ryan and Tim cannot use the word friendship to describe Buck and Eddie. It's why in interview after interview they all struggle to describe it. The word friendship does not feel right or remotely strong enough to describe their relationship. And they all know it (again, it's that lousy show history).

It's okay to say you don't want Eddie to be canonically queer because you know what that means for Tommy. That's okay. You're allowed to hate it solely for what it means to that character. We all hate something that is canon. I hate several canon things. I won't tell you all of them, but I will share one that seems minor to a lot of people, but fills me with rage. When the show had Buck tell Eddie that he thinks Natalia 'sees' him I wanted to burn the studio to the ground. Evan Buckley looked Eddie Diaz in the face and actually said out loud that someone he just met is the person who makes him feel seen (even typing the words out made my face hot). Eddie Diaz who knows Evan Buckley better than anyone else in the world had to listen to those words be said about someone else. I hate it. I hate it so much that any time anyone mentions that scene around me all my friends groan because they know I'm about to go on a rant. I don't pretend I hate it for any other reason except it made me upset on Eddie's behalf. That's it. To me it felt wrong, wildly out of place, especially considering Buck had known her all of 5 minutes, and I thought it was stupid. That's it. I don't try to convince everyone that my feelings towards that scene are about some greater morality point. I hate it because I hate it. And that's all that matters. I don't know who told you all that you're not allowed to not want Eddie to be canonically queer because you know they'll put him with Buck. That's the reason you don't want it. Say it. You can. No one will judge you for you saying that. People are judging you because you're pretending it's all this other greater good for television bullshit. It's not. It's not because television needs a straight/queer bestie combo, those are everywhere, including 911, hello Hen and Chimney. It's not because television needs a straight man who's not afraid of his emotions. It's not because putting them in a relationship would ruin one of the best platonic relationships on television. It's none of those things. It's because he would be with Buck. Period. Just own it. It's fine.

The only problem with admitting it means you're also admitting that once his arc with Buck is complete there is no purpose for Tommy. That's why you don't want to admit it. You guys have spent the entire hiatus letting people convince you that he's becoming an integral part of the show. That he's going to have storylines and episodes devoted to him and his past. He's not. Even if they keep him around as a boyfriend for a bit he will still just exist on the fringes of the show. He will never be important as a stand alone character. The show has given zero indication that he is anything more than a plot point. They just haven't. And maybe you all are correct, and Tim has spent the downtime thinking of ways to make him more permanent. But that is very unlikely. Everything we've seen so far, including the decision to release that deleted clip, seems to indicate he has a very particular story purpose, and once they've told that particular part of the story, his services will no longer be required. You can hate it. You have absolutely every right to hate it. It doesn't matter if I, or anyone else, ever understands why you hate it. You can hate it. But it won't make it less true. It will just be part of the canon that you hate. And that's okay.

Okay, I wouldn't know what to add to this to be honest. Every single thing that has been on my mind for some time now is right there, in the answer above. The only difference is that the OP managed to summarise all of it in a few paragraphs. It would probably have taken me hours and pages of text to say what they just said in their answer.

I just want to add on thing. It's true, we all have canon parts of the show that we hate. Mine is the lawsuit arc. I can't watch it anymore. I can't even read fics that deal with the lawsuit. That is how much I hate it. I hated how they made Buck sue the Fire Department and how they made him tell that lawyer all about his friends' private lives. I absolutely detest it, because it made me dislike Buck during that time. And I've always loved Buck, even season 1 Buck. I eventually got over it and forgave Buck around the same time Eddie did. I will always hate that arc, but I also realise that it happened and that it will forever be a part of Buck's character arc.

This will be part of the canon that I hate. And that's okay. It won't make me love the show any less, but it will always be there.

What are the canon parts of the show that you hate(d)?

Remember, no hate in comments or reblogs. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of the anonymous OP’s posts, you can find all of their posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[between-a-ship-and-a-hard-place]

A small November fill for Build a Bucky Bingo 2023 @buckybarnesevents and the prompt AU: Regency.

Ficlet under the cut!

Rating: G Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanoff no warnings (apart from wild liberties taken in regards to historical accuracy)

“I regret not having paid witness to such a memorable occasion. It shall surely be the talk of the town for at least a full day.” Rogers dipped his brush into the pan and added swift strokes of brown to the untamed landscape emerging on his canvas; he was in his shirtsleeves, his easel set up next to the always blazing fireplace. He paused, scrutinizing his marks. “And are you certain there is none among the ladies who has caught your eye?”

James bristled. “As I have told both you and my mother repeatedly, I am not looking to marry this season.”

He rose from the ottoman he’d flung himself down onto in a fit of boredom, to wander around the stuffy drawing room. Rain poured down outside, grey curtains obscuring the gardens; James was itching to get his hands on the reins or his boots on the ground. He turned his back to the windows.

His friend had not been taken aback by his sudden temper. He rested the end of the paintbrush on the pointy tip of his chin, considering James with the attentiveness he usually devoted to his paintings. There was a smudge of blue on the angled point of his jaw; he would forget to clean it off and be scolded for it at dinner.

“What about Miss Romanova?”

“Natalia?” James balked. “Have you lost your senses?”

Rogers regarded him with a crooked smile. “I was referring to the younger Miss Romanova.”

James opened his mouth and closed it again. He could hear his mother’s voice echoing the same question. Yelena Romanova was a pretty girl, from a respected family—and to his knowledge did not hold the same stance on marriage as her older sister. She was also known to be an accomplished painter. Her eyes did have nearly the same blue colour as—

He banished the thought from his head.

“No,” he said, declaring the topic of conversation over.

His friend did not heed the cue. “Then what about Miss Maximoff? I recall seeing you dance with her on more than one occasion, if I am not mistaken.”

James only grunted in response. He did not care to divulge that the main reason for his dancing with Miss Maximoff so often was that it provided his sister ample opportunity to converse with the brother, Mr Pietro Maximoff. Rogers did not need to know the extent to which his little sister had him wrapped around her finger.

He came to stand next to the easel to observe the half-finished painting, which did not seem half-anything in his eyes; the desolate northern hills were captured in such detail that James would have sworn he could feel the howling wind pulling the breath from his lungs.

“And you?” he asked, rather abruptly.

“What of me?” Steven looked up at him.

James waved his hand in the air. “Is there no lady who has charmed you with her intelligence, lively wit and …. extensive knowledge of art and poetry?”

His friend laughed. “I do not suppose any lady possessing all of those qualities would bestow her charms on one such as myself.”

James made a face his mother would have scolded him for had she been there to witness it. “I wish you wouldn’t talk about yourself that way.”

Steven offered him a rather pitying smile. “I am only stating the truth, as you well know. A man’s fortune can make up for much of his shortcomings in matters of looks or manners. As I am neither in possession of good looks nor a fortune—”

“Stop, please.” James grasped ahold of his arm and spoke with a rush of some strange emotion, “Not every match is made for money.”

He came to his senses a moment later, to discover they were all but standing chest to chest; the brush still held in Steven’s hand was threatening to stain his waistcoat. James let go of his wrist and backed away, face hot from the proximity of the fire.

“No,” his friend said slowly, eyeing him with a curious expression, “I suppose some are foolish enough to make them for love.”

&

“You are making my head spin,” Natalia drawled from where she was lounging on the chaise in that particular manner of hers, much like a cat ready to pounce. “Will you quit that and tell me what is the matter, or do you prefer to thread holes in our carpets?”

James stopped his pacing and spun around.

“I—” He paused and stared up at the ceiling. “How do you tell someone that you cannot fathom spending the rest of your life in anyone’s company but theirs?” he asked, rather more desperately than he’d wished.

Natalia dropped her book and pretense. “Bad poetry is a favoured choice.” Her eyes gleamed with a bright hunger. “Who is she?”

James shook his head and turned his back on her; he clenched his fists by his side. “You must forget I said anything.”

He walked over to the French windows. It was raining again, as it had been all those weeks ago. A servant scurried along the path from the stables with a basket in her arms. James stared out over the rain-damp grounds; they felt less real to him than a painting.

A slim hand grasped his elbow. “How can I help?” Natalia had never cared much for propriety when it did not benefit her—and anyone who dared to suggest anything about her character was sure to find their own reputation more affected.

“You cannot. Please,” James begged, “leave it be.”

“You do not have to tell me,” she said in a soft voice. “But I do not like to see my friend this way and I believe I know what is ailing him.”

It should not have come as a surprise that his thoughts and desires were so transparent to her. James banished the stab of fear and laid his hand on top of hers. “Then you know there is no cure,” he confessed.

“But friendship may be a balm. And if one’s friend would happen to find themselves in a similar position …”

James tried not to betray his astonishment; he had heard whispers but always disregarded them as evil, envious rumors. A small, wild thing fluttered in his chest as he turned to face her. “What are you proposing?”

She looked up at him with a matching fervour in her gaze. “Would you not say most offers of marriage are made on the grounds of a mutual advantage?”

James could scarcely breath and was not certain he’d understood her. “What would be the advantage of such a marriage?���

Natalia smiled at him and there was a deep sadness to it.

“Freedom, Mr Barnes.”

[hippolotamus]

writing patterns

rules: list the first line(s) of your last 10 posted fics and see if there's a pattern!

it's tempawrary (Stevie Budd | 3.1k | T)

Stevie is at least 87% certain this week can’t possibly get worse. For starters, she’s in the motel lobby surrounded by overstuffed bankers’ boxes. Boxes that now belong to her, courtesy of Aunt Maureen’s highly inconvenient death.

stay here honey (i don't wanna share) (Lutalia | 1.8k | E)

Lucy drapes one arm around Natalia, burying her nose in her hair. Nat smells like the overpriced mousse from the salon. Like sweat and sex. She smells like Lucy. That knowledge sparks a primal, possessive urge, just enough to make itself known. The one Lucy isn’t ready to admit to having and Natalia won’t admit to loving.

if this love is pain (let's hurt tonight) (Buddie | 3.2k | T)

Eddie knows it’s him immediately. Feels the weight of his presence like a favorite coat that doesn’t quite fit anymore. Of course he does. Try as he might, Eddie will never not know when Buck is nearby.

with eyes wide open i tore you apart (Buddie | 377 | G)

“Which is why I have to make the most of every single moment.”  Even as Buck says the words, they taste like ash on his tongue. Because his heart’s not in them and he knows Eddie’s not buying it either.

if i’m being honest (it scares me to death) (Buddie | 2.9k | T)

Just got in. See you tomorrow.  Buck pockets his phone and enters the apartment — it’s not home, never really has been — his movements slow and easy, like he’s floating. Buoyed by the sort of love and contentment that can only come from spending an evening at the Diaz house.

the only thing that matters now (is everything) (Twylexis | 882 | G)

Alexis combs her fingers through her hair, letting manicured nails lightly scratch along her scalp while she stares at the ceiling. Golden wavy strands glide between her fingertips before dropping back to the pillow, a feeling she wants to take advantage of while she can. The self-soothing act had always calmed her as a little girl. Tonight she’s not exactly troubled, but ever since the tests came back, and the immediate future is wrapped in so much uncertainty, she’s found herself doing it more often.

a prelude to a kiss (Twylexis | 335 | G)

It’s no secret that Alexis has kissed lots of people. Like, so many. Men, women, non-binary, genderfluid… Alexis Rose has locked lips with them all. Even so, none of those could ever compare to the woman standing in front of her. To the moment they’re about to share.

I know all your secrets (David/Patrick | 4.6k | E)

In all the years of artfully sneaking around for missions, Agent Patrick Brewer never thought his expertise would lead him here. At least, not as many times as it has.

Whatever may come (your heart I will choose) (Buddie | 77.4k | M)

Love /lǝv/ (n) - strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. Warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion. Unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. Thousands of years ago, the Ancient Greeks identified eight types of love: Agape (unconditional), Eros (romantic), Philia (affectionate), Philautia (self-love), Storge (familiar), Pragma (enduring), Ludus (playful), and Mania (obsessive).

all in the Jee-tails (Buddie | 4.5k | T)

Okay. Just a little turn aaaand- yes. Alright, only one more to go. You got this, Buckley.  Buck watches with fascination as the sewing machine’s needle dips and resurfaces, piercing the shimmery blue fabric. A wave of satisfaction and pride washes over him when the final stitches meet seamlessly with the beginning ones.

umm... i don't even know how to categorize whatever's happening there. although i feel like i can confidently say that i love using parens in titles 🙃

tags below the cut. if you see this and wanna play, too, consider this your tag!

thanks for the tags @lemonzestywrites @honestlydarkprincess @wikiangela @spotsandsocks @tizniz @thekristen999 @jesuisici33 @hoodie-buck @apothecarose 💖

no pressure tagging @stereopticons @blackandwhiteandrose @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz mi amor @disasterbuckdiaz @elvensorceress @barbiediaz @buddierights @chaosandwolves @daffi-990 @diazsdimples @eowon @fortheloveofbuddie @gayedmundodiaz @giddyupbuck @heartshapedvows @indestructibleheart LOML @lizzie-bennetdarcy @ladydorian05 @loserdiaz @monsterrae1 @spaceprincessem @statueinthestone @steadfastsaturnsrings @the-likesofus @theplaceyoustillrememberdreaming @thewolvesof1998 @vanillahigh00 @watchyourbuck @wildlife4life @your-catfish-friend @rmd-writes @weewootruck @welcometololaland and anyone else who wants to 😘

[nightingale2004]

Meet my TVD/The originals oc:

Natalia Petrova Mikaelson: female

Age: 19 (turned), mid to late 500s

Looks:

Personality: ruthless, protective, loyal, caring, reliable, intelligent, calculating, blunt, stubborn, clever, confident, aggressive, generous, compassionate, fierce, respectful, honorable, cautious, feisty, devoted, determined, strong-willed

Family: Katherine Pierce (sister/dead), Nadia (niece/dead), Elijah Mikaelson (husband), The Mikaelsons (in laws), Hope (niece)

Species: Vampire

Extra: Natalia is the older sister of Katarina Petrova/ Katherine Pierce. After their family died, it was always Natalia and Katarina together against the world. For a century, they have always been stuck together and always were on the run. Natalia would protect Katherine and always get her out of trouble. It wasn't until she met the Salvatore brothers that she understood who her sister really was. So she was on her own and reunited with Elijah, who agreed to spare her in exchange that she worked for him and so she worked for Elijah doing whatever he asked and following his orders. Throughout the years, they've gotten closer to point where they had a secret marriage and she does not like sharing what is hers.

[blazinghotfoggynights]

My Mind Did That Thing Again!

You know, where it sees something, then takes off in a random direction for no reason other than it can and it's fun. So, I had a crazy thought last season and it just kind of...experienced an accelerated unchecked growth spurt today after reading the info about the next ep's and the upcoming eps's titles. *looks at the titles of the remaining episodes* 🤨

I have a WIP that I began the night the lightning strike episode premiered last season. Let me preface this by saying the fic is nowhere near complete. (I'm in no hurry. That is the beauty of fandom. You can offer a fic forty years after a show ends and the devoted fans will still be there.) The plan is still for it to be a series with several entries, all of which are multi-chaptered.

Why am I bringing this up? Because it's that time again folks where my imagination runs wild and I ask you all to play 'I know this is crazy, but just hear me out and humor me". For those who have seen this game, participated, and maybe even enjoyed it, you are awesome!

So, the game is played just like the title states. Let's go! (I put the insanity under a cut. If you move forward, I am not responsible for anything that happens!

We know Shannon and most of Eddie's family are supposedly going to appear in the next ep, right? (I say supposedly because you can't really trust anything that gets leaked. Remember that karaoke scene?)

What if it's because Eddie Diaz is balancing on a thin wire between the living and dead? He is close enough to the other side to see Shannon, but still physically hanging on in this plane.

You're probably rolling your eyes and wondering, "What the hell does this have to do with last season?" That's okay and I will tell you.

What if, all this time, we've been viewers of Eddie's coma dream? What if the person who actually died and had to be revived was Eddie? Everything that has happened since then has all been a figment of his imagination.

I'm not saying this is plausible, probable, or practical. I'm just having some fun. (I write. I paint. I am creative. Some say cray cray, but what is normal anyway?)

Now, if I look at what has transpired between then and now, I could point out a few things that could support that theory. (You can call me crazy later. I'm used to it.)

1- Eddie was hit by the lightning.

Eddie was hit first, but just hopped right up? I know some people will say the lightning threw him, but let's look at simple science. To be affected by the electricity, he had to experience the electricity. It was powerful enough to throw him off the truck.

Eddie was hit.

2- Eddie was not in Buck's dream.

Why? If it is really Eddie having the dream, but imagining it is Buck, it's possible he can't conjure a dream version of himself.

I thought it was interesting that Christopher was in the dream and asking Buck for help. Maybe it's Eddie's subconscious reminding him that Christopher will be taken care of by the man he trusted enough to give his son to should he be incapacitated.

3- The scene at the graveyard.

Why on Earth did they go to the victim's grave? Don't they have a rule of letting go at the door? Why would Eddie go to the cemetery and stand over the grave of someone he did not know having a heart-to-heart with Buck?

4- The death doula wasn't a doula.

She was death. Natalia taking Buck away the first time could have been Eddie coding. In his dream, Buck was leaving him, when in reality he was leaving Buck. Natalia coming back could have been Eddie moving toward death again, but managing to escape it's grasp once more. The final breakup? Eddie was resurging.

5- The bachelor party.

What about Eddie Diaz in the past six seasons would point to what he and Buck did? He got smashed, destroyed a hotel room with a bunch of strangers, and all in the name of a bachelor party for a man who didn't want one and was not even there.

The party could have been his subconscious rapidly processing a lot of information, both conscious and subconscious, suddenly. The drag queens? Come on now. Everything with that show is intentional and that scene was disjointed, chaotic, and completely unhinged. None of that is Eddie Diaz.

6- Marisol

Eddie is not into that woman. He is clinging to her for some reason and he fast forwarded through the relationship. Did the Eddie Diaz of seasons 2-early 6 seem like the type of father to let some woman he barely knows supervise his son's dates, babysit Christopher, and move in?

Or was it Eddie's mind simply pulling a woman he had met briefly into his subconscious and building a story around her?

(For those who are science nerds or just fascinated by psychology, there is a theory our minds can't create faces and every person in your dream is someone you have at least seen in passing.)

6- Tommy

It has been mentioned soooo many times how similar Eddie and Tommy are.

That is all I will say on that topic.

For now.

If you made it all the way through, I will end it by saying this.

This may be a crazy idea about the show, but it will happen. If it doesn't in canon, it will in fic. This is why I love fandom. 😁

[agnostic-priest-metal]

Timeline of Agnostic Priest & Introducing characters

1996: Tobbe and Skwisgaar found Agnostic Priest

1996-1998: The rest of the bandmates join AP

1998: First studio album releases

2004: Skwisgaar leaves

2005: AP officially splits up and ends their contract with the label

2024: Nana makes contact with everyone and starts setting up sns account

⬇️ Backdrop of the character

1. Erik Ekdahl

- Born 10 June 1975, Gothenburg, Sweden. He is an only child.

- Started playing viola when he was 4 years old but soon his interest moved toward acoustic guitar, he was 6 years old at that time. Few years later after listening to KISS and Iron Maiden - a music that changed his entire life - he started playing electric guitars when he was 11.

- His first guitar was an Ibanez RG550 and later he bought a Jackson rr24 Rhoads with his own money. He continued using that until now(1998).

- Attended the University of Gothenburg, but soon he dropped out(1995) with a dream of making his first metal band. Due to his decision he had a lot of fights with his parents and eventually left his home.

- His first band’s name was Moonchild, a symphonic metal band, and he was also a guitarist in that band. But its genre didn’t suit him and he wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the music so he decided to disband it(1996).

- Wandering around for 2 years, having some part time jobs and sleeping in an abandoned car, he saw the notice about Skwisgaar and Tobbe’s band by chance and decided to join the audition.

- Current(1998) music inspo: Alexi Laiho(COBHC), Björn Gelotte(In Flames), Johan Norman(Dissection), Michael Amott(Arch Enemy), Ihsahn(Emperor)

- Later music inspo: Kim Carlsson(Lifelover), Georg Börner(Coldworld), Neptune(Gris), Einar Selvik(Wardruna), Amalie Bruun(Myrkur)

After Skwisgaar’s departure(2004)

For a few months he was totally wasted. He tried to contact Skwisgaar one way or another but kept failing, and it made him more and more fall into depression.

Eventually, he decided to leave the band(2005) and thought he should sublimate his feelings into music - so he created a one-man DSBM band called Viva la Vida(2007), using his stage name as W. Although his band drew excess attention to listeners and achieved pretty much success, he refused all show suggestions and all interviews at that point.

In 2012, his parents accidentally died in a car crash. He heard that news from his friend and had a small funeral with his friends, but didn’t invite AP members(He didn’t want to show his weakness). After their death he started getting into some kind of old norse religion, so he stopped Viva la Vida(2013) and made another side folk music project called Heimdall. He devoted his entire life to it(2014~) until he received Nana’s call.

Misc.

- Fluent in Swedish. English is conversational but sometimes broken. Or many times.

- Never dyed or bleached his hair.

- That time when he was a member of Moonchild he was in a dating relationship with one of the band members, however the disbandment made him break up.

- Had a huge crush on Skwisgaar at the first sight and still secretly likes him. But well everybody knows that except Skwisgaar…

- Always wasted especially after the concert, he’s the one who brings all those boozes with a box. Became more mischievous and flirty than ever when he got drunk(natural bottom energy?)

- Soooooo jealous. One of the default personalities of a moody person.

- Doesn’t like outdoor activities or exercise, the only way to make him chill is a horror movie with a pint of beer. Or some phone calls with Skwisgaar.

2. Natalia (Nana) Berg

Childhood (5-14)

- Born in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil-december 20th 1975.

- Natalia was "made" as an accident by two young adults who didn't feel like wearing protection at a party. her dad was a Swedish tourist , and her mom was a stripper.

- When she was born,Nana lived with her mom till she was 5 in a messy shack in the slums of the city. but she was taken from her after many neighbors report loud crying and screams coming from their house, her mother used to leave her child alone for days to attend funk balls/parties without leaving food or anything for them.

- She was forced to move to Sweden to live with her dad, who was mostly an emotionally absent man,whom Nana would be homeschooled by until they turned 14 and were registered into an actual school.

- But before they were even attending classes, Nana already had a fascination for bugs from any shapes and sizes, and used to play with those in their father's backyard, sparking their interest in biology.

Adolescence(14-18)

- Soon after Nana starts to attend school she starts to get bullied by her classmates for being a quiet(mostly non verbal) and ‘’weird’’ kid,which made them completely change their personality to become more defensive but that only made things worse,as now they would constantly get into fights with her bullies.

- Towards the ending of their highschool years, Nana began to date a guy she met in biology class, she didn’t know how to differentiate between platonic and romantic feelings and ended up accepting his offer to date him.

Adulthood(18-20s)

- like 2 years go by,and Nana at some point realizes she didn’t like him that way, but couldn't bring himself to break up with his partner as they are now living together after their dad kicked them out for coming out as queer.

- And while dating this guy, Nana realized their talent for music and they would sometimes do some gigs here and there to pay their rent. She would sing while her partner would play guitar.

- After saving enough money to move out and finally breaking up with their boyfriend,Nana moves into a shitty apartment next to a bar,in which he would perform almost every night,singing some cheesy and moody blues.

- This goes by for almost a year and a half until he auditions for agnostic Priest as the vocalist.

Skwisgaar leaves and AP breaks up.

- After trying to keep everyone close and failing at it,Nana loses contact with his old friends and goes back to Brazil to get a new start at life. with the money they got while being in the band he’s able to buy a good new house in a good neighborhood.

- Things where going great,he goes to a good university(UFRJ) and starts studying biology like he always wanted to,though he still misses working in the music industry.

- Until he decides to get drunk in the middle of a Carnaval,blacks out,and wakes up in someone’s bed.(9 months later he has a VERY UNEXPECTED surprise!!!)

- Finally after such a long time,Nana gets her biologist degree and decides to contact their old friends again to try for one last time to get everyone back together,luckily this time it’ll work out.

- (They never really moved on completely,just avoided thinking about it all the time.)

FUN FACTS

- Fluent portuguese and swedish,a bit shitty at english,sometimes he’ll forget words and curse in portuguese until he figures out how to speak again.

- Was terrified of thunders as a child,never grows out of that.(the nights where Ocelot sleeps with him helps him chill out in case it’s raining)

- Really wants a pet snake.

- Might not be the best at giving advise,but will def listen to a dear one vent and comfort them.

- Has trouble opening up to people,even those he’s close with.

- There’s bug bites literally all over his body.

- If they’re angry at someone or just wants them to shut up he just stares at them without saying anything until the person gets uncomfortable.

- Forgets to eat for hours until he starts to get a bit dizzy.

- Longs to know what true loves feels like (OH THATS SO CHEESYYYYAUGGHHHH)

AFTER AP

- Kept contact with Skwisgaar for a few weeks until they were asked not so politely to leave him alone.

- considering top surgery after their baby grows up a bit

- Gains a bit of weight,which makes them happy

- Still uses the friendship bracelet Ocelot made him years ago

- Damn i still want a pet snake.

3. Torbjørn “Tobbe” Sørensen

- Born 9 September 1974 - Aarhus, DK. Oldest of 3 children (a younger sister and brother).

- Pretty normal childhood. Parents had an amicable divorce when he was 5 and both remarried. Tobbe and his siblings spent time with both sets of parents evenly.

- Began piano lessons at 7 but wasn't really into playing the classics like Bach and Beethoven. He was good at it despite being bored and continued playing at the urging of his parents.

- Got into hard rock and heavy metal around age 12. He tried learning both guitar and drums for a few years but had no patience for it. In the early/mid 80s, he realized that keyboards had a place in hard rock and heavy metal through artists like Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nocturnus, Faith No More, etc. He swapped his piano for a Korg Krome and began learning lead guitar solos on the keyboard.

- Dropped out of high school at 16 (1990) and moved to Copenhagen with a group of friends who wanted to start a band. They had limited success and performed local gigs at small venues. Spent some time living in a VW van.

- By age 19 (1993), their band had broken up. Tobbe moved to Gothenburg which had a bigger metal scene in hopes of more opportunities to advance his musical career. He played as a session guy with limited success until meeting Skwisgaar in 1995/96(?) and beginning to record demos.

1998

- AP releases its first studio album.

- Current (1998) equipment: Korg Krome 88 key workstation.

- Other musical abilities: Classical piano. Occasionally does backing vocals. Can play very basic chords on an acoustic guitar.

- Current (1998) musical inspo: Jesper Strömblad (In Flames), Stian Aarstad (Dimmu Borgir), Janne Wirman (CoB/Warmen), King Diamond (Mercyful Fate)

2004 - Present

- 2004: Tobbe and Skwisgaar's argument leads to Skwisgaar leaving the band. Tobbe immediately cancels all remaining shows on their tour so the band can re-group and plan what to do next. However, they never find a replacement for Skwisgaar.

- 2005: After Erik leaves, Tobbe officially dissolves AP and ends their contract with the record label. He disappears back to Denmark and has no contact with his former bandmates for several years. He leaves the music industry altogether at this time.

- 2007: Starts one of the only long-term romantic relationships he ever has.

- 2008: He finally gets his student matriculation degree (basically a GED/high school diploma) and begins attending university for a tourism management degree.

- 2009: With social media becoming more popular, he reaches out to those of his former bandmates who he can find online with a long written apology message about how everything ended. However, he doesn't maintain conversations with anyone, still feeling guilty about everything. He marries his partner, which is probably a mistake.

- 2011: Divorces. It's not bitter but they don't stay in touch.

- 2012: Finishes his degree. After this, he moves around Scandinavia and the US for some time, unsettled and kind of aimless. Never really gets into a new career and just kind of works odd jobs here and there.

- 2018: Finally settles in Copenhagen to be nearer to his siblings and his nieces/nephews.

- 2024: Returns to Gothenburg after receiving Nana's call.

Misc. Facts:

- Languages: Danish (fluent/native), Swedish (conversational), English (conversational), Norwegian (very basic)

- He's been bleaching his hair fringes for years…perhaps the bleach has affected his brain…

- Doesn't really like doing interviews - especially if it's not in Danish. He gets nervous.

- His personality is pretty reserved and easygoing. Alcohol makes him come out of his shell a bit more, and on the rare occasion that he gets VERY wasted, he's like a totally different guy (loud and laughing at everything, flirtatious, etc.)

- Health-conscious and likes to be outdoors every chance he can get. Also loves exploring different cities when they have free time during tours.

- Keeps his private life separate from his rock star persona/work life.

- Skwisgaar was one of his best friends before… everything. :c

- Still visits his siblings and parents when he has time. They're quite supportive! His mom has a scrapbook with mementos from all their tours, interviews from magazines, ticket stubs, etc.

- His freckles are more pronounced after a lot of sun.

4. Ziggy

- Born May 29, 1980

- He is grumpy, introverted, and picky. He prefers spending time alone rather than socializing with others, valuing his personal space and time. He doesn't easily show his emotions and often appears aloof, but he is actually warm and sensitive inside.

- His favorite is Drum playing. He has been playing the drums since he was 5 years old and is highly skilled, excelling at creating fast and complex rhythms.

- His hobby is Collecting vintage records. Ziggy has a deep interest in music, particularly vintage records from the 60s and 70s. His room is filled with a carefully organized collection.

- He loves Spicy food, especially Buffalo wings. He enjoys eating spicy food to relieve stress.

- He hates Seafood. He especially dislikes food with a fishy smell.

- He prefers simple street fashion and mostly wears dark-colored clothes. He likes comfortable yet stylish outfits, often seen in black T-shirts and jeans.

- He lives with his parents and an older brother. His father is a mechanic, his mother is a nurse, and his brother is studying engineering in college. Though he gets along with his family, he spends a lot of time alone.

- He has a black cat named Shadow. Shadow is a close companion who understands Ziggy's introverted nature.

- He dropped out of high school after finishing middle school. He attended an arts high school, majoring in music, but left to focus more on actual music activities.

- He listens to Rock, punk, metal. He enjoys playing and listening to aggressive and powerful music.

- His favorite stuffs are Drums, particularly his vintage drum set. This drum set, inherited from his grandfather, holds great significance for him.

- He has a small circle of close friends. He dislikes large groups and prefers deep conversations with a few trusted friends. His best friend is Erik, the band's guitarist.

- He avoids Crowded places and parties. He feels uncomfortable in noisy and crowded environments.

- He loves video games. He particularly enjoys arcade games and often spends time at a local arcade.

- Most Cherished Item: Drumsticks inherited from his grandfather. These sticks are a source of inspiration for him.

- He hates Rude people, noise, overly cheerful individuals. He prefers serious and quiet atmospheres.

- His dream is to become a famous drummer and tour the world. He wants to move people with his music.

- He is actually emotional and sensitive, though he rarely shows it. He struggles with expressing his feelings, which can make him seem cold at times.

- He's fluent in English and has trouble with speaking Swedish but he's perfect at body language so it doesn't matter.

5. Ocelot

(CW: Physical and verbal abuse, drug addiction)

Pre-band - Present (1998)

- Born on August 29th 1976 in Gothenburg Sweden. She was the youngest of four, though with a fifteen year age gap between her and the nearest sibling

- Was generally a pretty outgoing, loving kid up until the teenage years when they started getting verbally and physically assaulted by her parents

- Moved out swiftly the day she turned 18, leaving to Germany for a few years

- Made some friends there and that's when they realized they were a lesbian. It's also where they found their passion for music and was introduced to alternativae bands

- In 1997 she moved back to Gothenburg to hopefully patch things up with her parents, which didn't go well

- Soon after breaking up with her girlfriend she met Tobbe, who practically picks her up off the street. She was one of the last members to join the band in 1998

Post Band

- When Skwisgaar leaves in 2004 Ocelot quickly descends into a deep depression, though trying to pull herself together and keep the band going. She never openly talked about it or expressed it

- In 2005 when everyone breaks up she attempts stability, failing miserably

- From 2005 - 2012 she spirals into a major drug addiction, mainly downers, becoming heavily reliant on heroin and pain killers.

- In 2013 she meet someone who helps her back on her feet and forces her into rehab where she makes a full recovery. She begins focusing on music again and attempts to reach out to her old band mates, though mostly failing

- In 2015 she's broken up with and that sends her into another deep depression where she ends up in and out of homelessness and desperately attempting to not slip into old habits

- 2020, as the world fell into disarray, she gained an emotional dependency on weed

- When Nana reached out in 2024 she was quick to respond and more than happy to regroup

Fun facts

- Languages: Swedish (obviously), German (conversationally), English (conversationally and somewhat broken)

- Avoids any sort of conflict unless absolutely necessary due to the abuse she received as a child

- Wears little cat ears because she thinks they're cute

- Is intensely physically affection, having lacked it throughout her life, quickly growing attached to anyone that gives it to her

- Isn't very emotionally available

- Will drop mildly disturbing facts for no reason, always with a deadpan face

- Her favorite color isn't actually orange, she just really likes how it goes with all the black she wears. She actually prefers purple

[buddiebeginz]

When that one AMAZING BLOG responded with "You guys have spent the entire hiatus letting people convince you that he's becoming an integral part of the show. That he's going to have storylines and episodes devoted to him and his past. He's not".💀💀

Here's what the BT fandom either don't want to admit or don't know (because they haven't watched the previous seasons), this is NOT bucks first relationship. We have Abby (which was more her ARC, then bucks). But also having that relationship being the turningpoint for buck. Then we get to Ali. While Ali and Buck didn't have many scenes together, they gave us JUST enough to always know where they stood with each other. Next we have Taylor. You MEAN TO TELL ME, TAYLOR AND BUCK WHO WERE TOGETHER LONGER AND HAVE MORE SCENES TOGETHER and WENT THROUGH WAY MORE TOGETHER, and their friendship, didn't give her a "Taylor begins" or "main character" status or "to be on the season poster" 🧐🧐🧐🧐 ESPECIALLY WHEN FOX TRIED SO HARD WITH TAYLOR to be liked by the GP but will give it to Tommy???? Are we drinking stupid juice?This is someone who buck has been dating for 10 a total of minutes of screen time? You literally are saying that with YOUR FULL CHEST? Better yet, Natalia. Natalia could have EASILY been a main if they wanted.Why? Because they had the scenes. They had the depth. They had CONVERSATIONS. Buck and Tommy DONT. they purposefully chose not to, rather equate their relationship ship to strictly physical (given all the fucking sex jokes). So please, miss me with "Tommy main s8 bullshit". Don't they know, if they were to make Tommy a main (which they won't), they would need to build an entire NEW set and hire more actors?? I truly don't see ABC wanting to pay additional money for a NEW SIDE CHARACTER

[daniclaytcn]

Sometimes I struggle with the idea of how I view every love interest for Buck and Eddie. Like they are just bland and plain with little character development (Taylor as the exception but I also feel that is due to the fact that she was around so long they HAD to give her something). I wonder if I am blindsided by my views and can’t see anything good? But then I think how I liked Abby as a character - heck I will admit I enjoyed her and Buck. I thought BOTH of them got what they needed out of the relationship and then that was it and it was done. I enjoyed Ali and hold no ill will over her bailing because she realized she didn’t want to live a life of fear. Taylor was an amazing character till they ruined everything good to shove her into a Buck LI. Natalia ~ alas I barely knew ye. Ana was just there and then the cracks were showing and it’s like ‘girl if you want to stay with a man who literally just tolerates you, that’s sad.’ And Marisol was literally whack a mole with the character traits in season 7 (babysitter, nun, LI, plot device). Which leads me to Tommy. So far he’s developed into whatever Buck needs at the minute. Bi awakening ✅ Madney wedding date ✅ Finale scene filler to discuss how he and Bobby are Father/Son coded ✅. Tommy’s development is literally whatever the plot needs to convey Buck’s story. It’s why I can never abandon Buddie. Tim had literally said he doesn’t want to close doors and it shows. Literally the last LI that produced major character change - Abby and that is because she was on for season 1 and Connie was never coming back. So I firmly believe until Tim either commits or abandons Buddie we as fandom will do this same song and dance over and over and over and over and over …

well you see the thing about all these other relationships vs the buckandeddie of it all is that with the latter, we have been fed SO good. carefully written and planned out development. delicious conflicts and angst. years of unending support and devotion. and i'm supposed to settle for LESS than this? nah. "but bcktommy is actually canon—" you are asking me to settle for store-bought ramen when i could have a delicious three course home-cooked meal instead. please be serious. learn how to ask for better things for yourself...

[scuttledusk]

Lantern Eclipse Cast

THE ACCUSED

Fairywren Merlo - A hitman from Guardian City who was forced to flee after a job gone wrong.

Eddie Reeves - A successful, respected businessman of the Violet District in search of a mysterious artifact.

Ford - A Terror who spent the past 40 years in servitude and just recently gained his autonomy.

Bex Dlamini - A former Shepherd removed from service for his softness and now lost in the Cursed Wilds.

THE FORSAKEN

Heidi Cantrell - A wandering trader and musician, leader of a motley crew of outcasts and “freaks.”

Davin Fitzgerald - A protective sharpshooter with a mechanical heart of gold - or, well, titanium.

Ratshot Durchdenwald - A hyperactive young mechanic and medic-in-training with a venomous bite.

Judas Durchdenwald - A game hunter with a long family history and an even longer criminal record.

Gloria Tungalag - A singer and sniper, who’s been traveling with Heidi for as long as either can remember.

THE DEVOTED

Marcus Ramsey - Paladin of the Breaking Dawn and a trusted, noble leader to his team.

Nisha Houghton - Knight of the Breaking Dawn, a ride-or-die friend with an indomitable spirit.

Hank Montoya - Happy-go-lucky technician for the Breaking Dawn, as well as the best cook on his team.

Arthur “Art” Danus - Knight of the Breaking Dawn, blunt and judgmental but a loyal friend.

Reuben Haverkort - Cleric (or healer) of the Breaking Dawn, who has harnessed cursed magic to help others.

Sadie Clem - Knight of the Breaking Dawn, soft-spoken and timid but never one to back down from a fight.

THE HIDDEN

Anderson “Roach” Trengrove - A member of a failed revolutionary group, now the guardian of his two nephews.

Styke Trengrove - An impulsive young punk with a tendency to get into more trouble than he can handle.

Benji Trengrove - An innocent younger boy, oblivious to the horrors of the world, with a passion for sports.

Francis “Wasp” Mortimer - An old friend of Roach’s, and the only other survivor of their lost revolution.

THE INSPIRED

Pearl Artair - The charismatic and elegant owner of a nightclub in the Violet district called “The Visionary.”

Finnegan “Mercury” MacEirie - A prostitute working at the Visionary, on the run from his past.

Inez Coronel - A singer at the Visionary, as well as a collector and broker of secrets and important information.

Vera Romeo - The bartender of the Visionary, who has new romantic troubles every day without fail.

Vaughn Grandis - The owner of a rival club and an influential figure in the Violet District’s underground.

THE IDOLIZED

Kerry Faulcon - The captain of the Rhettshore Redhawks, a cordball team known all across Guardian City.

Gage Bandy - Another member of the Redhawks, calm and reasonable but a bit condescending.

Lauren Bandy - A player on the Redhawks, who fans think may drop out of the league after this season.

Emerson Wheeler - A Redhawks player widely appreciated for his looks and charm rather than his skill.

Belle Eriksson - A skilled Redhawks player who is believed to be competing with Kerry for the title of Captain.

THE DAMNED

Antony Valdovinos - The mastermind behind the Damned, leader of a deep-rooted criminal organization.

Simon Demaret - Antony’s second-in-command and personal assassin with a secretive background.

Natalia Barrueco - A down to earth but extremely irritable member of the Damned, Antony’s cousin.

Kian Kinnerk - An entertaining young man and member of the Damned, who brings his violin everywhere he goes.

Vivi Seacoal - An extremely intimidating older woman, the muscle of Antony’s inner circle.

Lazarus Cain - Friend and rival, a mysterious young assassin who is always present yet rarely seen.

I’ll try to update this whenever I need to, since new paras and storylines pop up every now and then! These are also just the “major” paras - there are a few side characters who just aren’t mentioned at all bc. this ain’t abt them

fun fact: eight people on this list are dead </3

[orthodoxadventure]

The soul that is in all things devoted to the will of God rests quiet in Him, for she knows of experience and from the Holy Scriptures that the Lord loves us much and watches over our souls, quickening all things by His grace in peace and love. Nothing troubles the man who is given over to the will of God, be it illness, poverty or persecution. He knows that the Lord in His mercy is solicitous for us. The Holy Spirit, whom the soul knows, is witness therefore. But the proud and the self-willed do not want to surrender to God's will because they like their own way, and that is harmful for the soul.

From the Life and Teachings of Elder Siluan by Bishop Alexander and Natalia Bufius translated by Anatoly Shmelev

[lemotmo]

When that one AMAZING BLOG responded with “You guys have spent the entire hiatus letting people convince you that he's becoming an integral part of the show. That he's going to have storylines and episodes devoted to him and his past. He’s not”. 💀💀💀💀

Here’s what the BT fandom either don’t want to admit or don’t know (because they haven’t watched the previous seasons), this is NOT bucks first relationship. We have Abby (which was more her ARC, then bucks). But also having that relationship being the turning point for buck, buck 2.0. Then we get to Ali. While Ali and Buck didn’t have many scenes together, they gave us JUST enough to always know where they stood with each other. Next we have Taylor. You MEAN TO TELL ME, TAYLOR AND BUCK WHO WERE TOGETHER LONGERAND HAVE MORE SCENES TOGETHER, and their friendship, didn’t give her a “Taylor begins” or “main character” or “to be on the season poster” but will give it to Tommy???? Are we drinking stupid juice? This is someone who buck has been dating for 10 a total of minutes of screen time? You literally are saying that with YOUR FULL CHEST? Better yet, Natalia. Natalia could have EASILY been a main if they wanted. Why? Because they had the scenes. They had the depth. They had CONVERSATIONS. Buck and Tommy DONT. they purposefully chose not to, rather equate their relationship ship to strictly physical (given all the fucking sex jokes). So please, miss me with “Tommy main s8 bullshit”. Don’t they know, if they were to make Tommy a main (which they won’t), they would need to build an entire NEW set and hire more actors?? I truly don’t see ABC wanting to pay additional money for a NEW side character. 💀💀💀

That's what it always comes down to, isn't it? Most of these people haven't seen the previous episodes, so they don't know what these characters have experienced in the past seasons.

If they had seen all of the previous seasons, they would know all the above you mentioned.

Making a new character a main character is something that doesn't happen very often in shows. It mostly happens in shows where a main character left.

For example: Two main characters left SWAT last season, so they might be looking to make some beloved recurring actor a main character. Now that I think about it, that actually sounds like an awesome idea to me. ;) So, this is a strong possibility.

For 911 there is no possibility right now. And if they were to make someone a main character? It would certainly not be Tommy, but would most likely be Karen, since she has been there since the beginning of the show.

[beezonia]

Nice day for a white wedding

Pt2 of the little haunted mansion au gabenath fic

You are her, you have to be

Those words echo in Nathalie’s head like a siren, lulling her into a false sense of security, only to rip her into pieces afterwards.

She couldn’t be Natalia, no way in hell! Nathalie was Nathalie and he would just have to deal with it.

Nathalie had to find Penny and Vincent get out of here as soon as possible before she went mad, before he drives her to the brink of insanity.

“I have to find a way out.”

It’s a murmur, she doesn’t want anyone hearing this, they’d report it to him and she really didn’t need that.

The woman gets up from where she’s sitting on a small poof, just in front of the vanity (ironic) it’s time to open the door.

Face the facts and get the hell out of here.

———-

The hallways are just as confusing as they were before. Long and winding, portraits hung on every little space.

History at its finest really, although Nathalie isn’t really sure who any of those people are and she really doesn’t want to delve deep into it anymore.

She keeps quiet. Not wanting to attract any unwanted attention, stepping over those floorboards she thinks are going to creek when she steps on them.

The woman breaths slowly, not wanting to panic, although her brain is working on overdrive right now.

Declarations of love echoing in her head, that deep grey staring right into her soul. It made her heart race, whoever Natalia was, well the woman was lucky to have someone as devoted to her like Agreste was.

But it wasn’t her, and it never would be.

Nathalie really needs to find Penny and Vincent, she thinks she’s going insane!

But the hallways are just so confusing and long, the woman can’t remember which ways she’s turned and which paths she hasn’t taken.

It all too much, too much for her to bare. Maybe it was time to rest, stop and think for a while.

That would be nice.

“There you are dear, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Or maybe it’s time to keep running! Don’t let him fool you!

But Nathalie’s legs weren’t moving and then she starts to panic even more.

“Stay away from me! I’m not who you think I am!”

She’s pleading with whatever gods can hear her, help her get out of this mess before it’s too late and she’s trapped.

Agreste is getting closer each second and all Nathalie can do is back herself into a corner, he had the advantage of knowing the place better then she did.

OF COURSE!

This was his plan all along, lead her into a trap and then grab her. All she could do now was play along.

“You are her, I know it. Now you’re here we can finally be together again.”

Nathalie gulps, her back hitting the wall. She’s fucked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, please just let me go!”

He shakes his head, taking one of her shaking hands, pulling her towards him.

“You don’t know how happy I am that we have been reunited, my dear Natalia. We’re going to be so happy together.”

Agreste places a kiss on her palm, then looping the arm he holds with his.

Nathalie had no choice but to follow, trapped in a web that would continue to be spun until her fate was decided.

Well, like the saying goes.

Till death do us part.

[outrunningthedark]

Can I just say a lot of the complaining about Natalia really rubs me the wrong way? Like NO, nobody has to like her just because she’s a Female Character. YES, people are allowed to simply not vibe with a character. But… what is there to vibe with, one way or another? Across the episodes she appeared in, we learned her name, and her profession. That’s it. It’s genuinely part of what’s frustrating about the decision to tie her and Buck together for the ending. It makes the intended message that much clearer. They didn’t give her even two minutes of dating-montage things you might learn about a person. She’s an utterly blank slate, because she only exists to hammer home the hetero message. I can neither like or dislike her because we know nothing (and it’s not a fact of being a side character, we learned more about the lady whose husband died last ep in just a couple minutes). That’s kind of what’s so insulting about it all.

All opinions are welcome (as long as people leave the hostility at the door, which can be a big ask, apparently). I get where you're coming from, and I think it's probably in line with the majority opinion because MOST of us can separate actress just doing a job that she was paid to do vs. what her character brings to the story. No one HAS to like Natalia. No one HAS to hate Natalia. What people should be able to agree on without infighting (if the assumption/expectation was for the season to end with hope for Buddie) is that her presence had the opportunity to MEAN something. It should not have been used as an excuse to bring up Buck's relationships to/with other women because if you're gonna introduce this character as a POTENTIAL SERIES ENDING LOVE INTEREST she deserves to be given the kind of attention we saw devoted to TayKay even if there were only a few episodes in which to do it. Where was the conversation about Buck's anxiety/uncertainty surrounding death? Where was there a date in which they actually TALKED rather than Natalia learning things off screen (the first time) or by accident (when Lucy, TayKay via TV, and Kameron popped up)? Where was there even a line from Buck before the catastrophe where he told someone about not reaching out to Natalia after Kameron showed up unannounced (because if someone hadn't read the synopsis, adding her name to a scene would have at least left a little crumb to get back to later in the hour)? This is not, and should not, be a discussion about whether Natalia is likeable, and I've already got posts detailing the subtle differences between the s6 interaction and the one from s4, so no, it's not as simple as "a carbon copy of BT" - take, for example, that 6x18 being a possible series finale (vs s4 when the show was secure) meant Buckley-Diaz content was nowhere to be found. Because the takeaway was not supposed to be about that relationship. Just the ones the guys had found with other people. Other women, to be more specific. This is about the show putting out a product they ASSUMED the general audience (the millions not tumblr or twitter or even Facebook) would be okay with, yet they still somehow screwed it up by not actually putting in the proper effort along the way. People have spent YEARS complimenting 9-1-1 for being "above" such shoddy story telling. There's your proof that they are not. And just as an aside, though this ask was specifically about Natalia, if the worst thing you can say about Marisol is that her chemistry with her brother creeped you out, you don't actually have any kind of argument to make. How the show runner and directors interpreted that scene is not the fault of the character or the actress that was instructed to do everything that ended up on screen. And who knows, maybe she doesn't think it's weird either because not everyone automatically makes things sexual when talking about SIBLINGS.

[nonchalantee]

hm i see a lot of commentary on buck's story being retreads/going nowhere, which is technically true, but i think is kind of a disservice. he doesn't have linear trauma, is the issue. he has traumatic events that he habitually revists with new contexts.

by this i mean - there's trauma of cause/effect, and we see that play out a lot with eddie, bobby, & athena's storylines. something happens & they respond to it happening, then heal from it happening, then grow. like for example bobby: he discovers in s1 that his suicide plans are no longer available to him because he has golden blood, he rages about it but is reminded of the good, he refocuses on living & the future, he gets together with athena. its all cause/effect chain. his initial addiction issues are caused by a broken back. his addiction issues cause his family's death. his family's death causes his suicidal ideation. etc.

buck's initial trauma is his brother died and it hurt their family, but it happened before buck could form memories - to him it's not a cause/effect chain. its an effect/explanation chain. he is exposed to the effect of trauma, and has to figure out afterwards why the trauma happened. abby leaving - he's exposed to the trauma of her abandoning him, then meditates on it for p much all of season 2 and even into s3. he only gets closure when he understands why she left directly from her - when he gets her context.

buck's always seeking the why of things, and looking at the nuance, and approaching trauma in different contexts in order to get that why, get that nuance. once he finally knows that he had a brother who died, he recontextualizes his entire family life in that light and gets closure for never being good enough/never being unconditionally loved, because now he knows the 'why'. sperm donor arc - he gets nuance from connor's pov, then from hen's pov, before giving his own pov and deciding to donate.

buck & eddie's romantic arcs this season are a similar vein. eddie has a linear storyline laid out: christopher is growing up, eddie starts feeling lonely, his aunt intervenes, eddie initially resists, then opens himself up to possibilities and admits to himself he wants love in his life again, he starts looking for it, he finds marisol. linear.

buck's romantic life is initially about gaining new context on his death experience. his date with natalia at the bar literally has him saying something along the lines of giving her the full experience in order to understand him - giving her contextual knowledge of him. we see lucy and taylor in that episode too, to bring in context of past failed relationships. buck is not linear; his story isn't linear. his story is meditations/explorations on a theme. it's giving new context to old information to gain different emotional knowledge & resolutions. and i'd say the focus with buck's relationship with natalia so far is also more about him understanding himself - we know basically nothing about natalia, after all, and the majority of their shared screen time is devoted to buck talking about himself or showing her something about his life. he's meditating on his identity and using his new relationship with her to do it; using the context of a new relationship to reflect on himself.

chimney is the same! we see it most with the tatiana/maddie parallels, but we also saw a bit of it with his dad, when his step-mom approaches him and recontextualizes his childhood. i mean yea we all hated that moment and felt it was too easy on chimney's dad, but it's also consistent with how chimney typically develops. his frustration at how his rebar head incident didn't change his life the way he thought it should - because he's not a cause/effect trauma guy. he's a meditation on a theme, different contexts guy. he struggles with kevin dying, and gets new context from the lees that gives him peace. a lot of his arc with maddie, esp in late s5 and early s6, is about revisiting their past relationship traumas and giving them a new, positive context - writing over them, but not rewriting them, if that makes sense. adding to them. making them more complex - not straightforward. like a palimpsest.

cause/effect character development is rly narratively satisfying to watch, whereas recontextualization character development can feel rly frustrating and like nothing is actually happening. but i mean, something IS happening. s1 chimney is not the same as s6 chimney, and the same is true of buck.

[wikiangela]

wip wednesday

decided to share a lil bit of what I'm working on rn - it's my first Buck POV in a while, bc I had some kind of block when it comes to that, and it was all unblocked and inspired by Eddie in 6x17 🍑 lol (it's gonna be a smut if it works out haha)

Buck is not avoiding Eddie. He’s really not. It’s just that they’re both busy, especially Eddie, what with all the dating he’s doing. Buck has no feelings about it whatsoever, he’s happy for his friend, for getting back out there and looking for love… It’s great. Good for him, honestly, Eddie deserves to find happiness. It’s good. Buck’s fine. Except- Okay, so maybe he’s avoiding him a little bit. But only hanging out after work. And looking at him too closely and too often and too… all over. Because, well, Eddie’s so gorgeous, and it’s distracting. And lately, since the dating started, it seems like he’s putting more effort into looking fucking divine, and Buck can’t take it. It’s driving him crazy. And he can’t help the ugly possessive, jealous monster taking up residence in his chest, that rears its head every time the topic of Eddie dating is brought up – he has fun teasing him, of course, but a part of him wants to die. Or grab him by that beautiful face and kiss him so gently and softly, and with so much devotion, Eddie will melt against him, into him, so much that they’ll become one and Buck will never have to share him again. Of course, with Eddie dating, Buck had to find a way to occupy his time, too, and that’s how he ends up trying really hard with Natalia. And he likes her, he really does. She’s nice and pretty, and for a second there it seemed like she understood him and saw him – but she’s not Eddie.