#the buckley parents suck

[criminally-obsessed]

EDDIE, talking to the Buckley parents: You know what’s funny about Buck? He's my best friend, and anyone who’d hurt him is someone I’d murder, probably.

[i-dont-have-time-for-this]

I don't care what 911 tries to tell us, the Buckley parents have not been redeemed and I still hate them.

[cecilyv]

Atlas (bound) | New Fic | 9-1-1

We were struggling with a few wips, so I rewatched Buck Begins and y'all I had feelings. And opinions. And @liminalmemories21 indulged me as only she could. Honestly, so much of the foundation for this fic was me expounding at her at length in chat and then her turning that into something that actually made sense.

He glances at Tommy. Waits for him to say something.  "Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”  Buck doesn’t say anything.  Partly because what he’s apologizing for is too big to quantify, and partly because Tommy’s right, he’s not sure what it is precisely that Tommy’s mad about.  “You know," Tommy finally says in that tone of voice that sounds calm but isn't. "When you asked me to your sister's wedding for our second date, I did kind of assume that meant you were close to your family."

Wherein there are many dates, a visit to the Venice Beach gym for reasons, and a meet the parents that goes predictably sideways.

And if you haven't seen Michelangelo's Atlas, here you go.

[dazzle02]

When he was a kid, Evan made a Mothers Day card for his Mum at School one year. Everyone was making them, and he was really excited. She was not interested in it at all, and he later found it thrown away.

He did the same thing on Fathers Day, same thing happened.

Both times broke his heart.

The next time Mothers Day came around, he wanted to cry. Everyone in his class were making these cards and so excited about giving them to their Mums, how happy they'd be and how much they'd love them. Evan knew that wasn't the case for him. He knew who would appreciate a card though, who loved him more than anyone. Maddie.

So he made Maddie a Mothers Day card. She cried when he gave it to her. She put it up in her room, and then kept it in a box with all the other drawings and stuff her little brother gave her.

It became a tradition. Every Mothers Day, he'd make Maddie a card. Even when he got to an age where it wasn't really cool, he'd get her a card.

He never actually stops. Even when she's with Doug, he sends her one every year, just as he sent the postcards. And just like with the postcards, she keeps every one of them.

The first Fathers Day after Maddie and Chimney get married, Buck gives Chimney a card referring to him as his Step-Dad as a joke. He does this at work in front of everyone, they all find it hilarious.

That also becomes something he does every year. Chimney keeps them all too. He'll never admit it to Buck though.

[menace-behaviour]

Buck: I was put on this earth to do one thing.

Buck: Luckily, I was also given bad birth parents and ADHD, so I forgot what it was and I can do whatever I want.

[hollersparrow]

just some 9-1-1 headcanons/plot bunnies

so i've kinda gone on a 9-1-1 deep dive that started out casual and rapidly turned into an obsession. a few things to note, i definitely think that buck and eddie have something (whether it's romantic or queerplatonic is up for grabs but there's something beyond friendship there and no one can convince me otherwise) and i am a strong subscriber to any tropes that strongly encourage found family/families so...make of that what you will

anyway, after binging all of the available episodes, i have several headcanons that i want to put out there (for some reason a lot of them are from season 5???)

ana realizing that there's more to eddie and buck's relationship than it seems in that scene from s5e2 when she brings christopher to the station. buck clocks that eddie has started panicking immediately and ana just like. *looks* at him for a few seconds in a way that just makes me think that this woman clocked that they have a deeper than normal connection to one another. that or she's heard about buck but obviously has never seen eddie and buck interact and is suddenly realizing exactly what people keep trying to tell her about

a buck/eddie-focused exploration of the aftermath of 'brawl in cell block 9-1-1'. buck freaking out once mitchell's been carted off to get his heart taken out and refusing to let eddie go anywhere while checking him for injuries, eddie having some uncomfortable realizations about just how affected buck was by the whole experience. personally, i feel that would lead to them actually talking about the sniper and all the mess that goes with it

lots of potential for temporary angst with eddie having a lot of big feelings about having failed as a husband in his marriage to shannon and not wanting to get married again b/c of it (thinks he doesn't deserve another shot at it? thinks there's something fundamentally wrong with him to where he can't? don't know how this would manifest exactly). personally, i see this eventually leading to him and buck realizing that they're more or less functionally married and they may as well reap some tax benefits from it but you can do whatever you want with that

buck goes to the funerals of many of the people who die on calls that he's a part of. it's mostly people that he directly worked on and he doesn't tend to tell anyone that he's a first responder that was involved (b/c of how devon's sister reacted in s1) but he does go to them.

kinda of tied to the headcanon above this but! buck getting adopted by a bunch of older queer folk following the deaths of mitchell and thomas in s2. he goes to the joint funeral that was planned for the two of them, in part b/c he wants/needs to and in part bc he accidentally took a few photos from the scrapbook from the scene (he shoved them in his pocket on instinct when thomas collapses). anyway, he shows up and the older queer community has rallied to show up at the funeral and they recognize him as someone who needs more found family and just adopt him into their ranks. i could see the 118 finding out about this soon after it happens or not until years later; maybe karen and hen finding out sooner than everyone else but buck asks them to keep it quiet?

s5e14 where jee-yun gets sick? what if it actually WAS leukemia and she somehow ends up needing some sort of donation (plasma? bone marrow? idk really anything about how cancer is treated). jee's put on a list and they start testing family members, none of whom work out until...buck. cue maddie not wanting to ask that of buck b/c of all the baggage that comes with daniel and the buckley parents are absolute assholes about it (along the lines of completely disregarding buck's autonomy as a human being in the face of their precious granddaughter being in trouble), maybe a chimney that isn't trying to be pushy about it but also just...can't help pushing a bit, a buck that so overwhelmed with everything that he's feeling that he goes off the rails a bit. obviously everything works out and buck donates or whatever needs to happen and jee-yun is completely fine b/c i don't actually want it to end badly

the entire 'buck's a sperm donor' family argument and maraget saying "you're a miracle baby yourself" made my fucking blood boil and i want to see a better exploration of the fallout of that statement b/c you just know that there was more to it than it just getting brushed off

buck telling maddie that he has a checklist that he goes through every time he wakes up post-coma in s6e12. chris and eddie being part of that list, where buck is just constantly checking up on them to make sure that they're still in LA (part of the reason why it's so easy for him to fall asleep/relax on the diaz couch or in their house in general). eddie doesn't notice the uptick in check-ins b/c he's too busy figuring out the least intrusive ways for him to check in on buck at all times b/c he NEEDS to know that buck is alive/breathing. once eddie notices though, he confronts buck about it

maddie asking buck to be her maid of honor for her wedding since hen is obviously going to have best man privileges. mostly just exploring the ridiculous that this brings up and everyone joking about buck in a dress (up to you whether he actually wears one to the wedding or not), but i have to include a side note that the buckley parents are dicks about it and have no sense of humour/fun

literally anything featuring athena being worried about buck as a maternal figure, i was so disappointed by her lack of interaction when buck was struck by lightning and, while i'm so fucking happy to have may acknowledging that buck is bobby's son too, we missed out on athena being devastated by the situation as well

there will probably be more of these to come at some point knowing myself.

[kiragirl17]

"We live with a reminder everyday, staring us in the face."

This is why I can't understand why 911 is going down the "parents are forgiveable" storyline.

No love in that house.

Just a rewatching thought

[theatrical-penguin]

Watching Buck Begins and wow are Athena and Bobby way better parents to Buck than the Buckleys.

Maddie was more his mom than Margaret anyway

[mr-and-mr-diaz]

I’ll Be There For You

a 911 young!Buck fic that’s been plaguing my mind for ages

All his life, Evan Buckley had an imaginary friend. Some of his first memories were with his imaginary friend. He was three, left in his crib, tired from crying but too distressed to sleep, when a voice to his left made him turn. 

The face was kind, the voice familiar and yet strange. The hands reached but could not touch. But the soothing, loving tone was enough to croon Evan to sleep.

That voice was the only happy thing that he could remember. His parents didn't pay him much attention and when they did, it was weary and angry. Maddie gave so much love, but she was usually sad and Evan didn't know how to fix it, only that he loved her hugs. Nothing was better than snuggling up next to Maddie while that kind person who no one else seemed to notice was talking to him.

When he was five and words began to mean something to him, he spoke back. "Who are you?" But he only got a smile for his troubles and more kind words. You're special, kid. You're gonna grow up to be amazing some day, just you wait.

Like with everything in the world around him, Evan was all questions. "What should I call you?" And unlike his parents, his friend would answer. Whatever you want. "Why doesn't anyone else talk to you?", asked right after a tense dinner. They can't see or hear me, Evan. Just you.

"Can I tell them about you?" Evan asked as he brushed his teeth carefully, just the way Maddie had taught him. Next to him in the mirror, he noticed how much his imaginary friend looked just like him, except maybe a little older. His friend shook his head.

When he was six, his first grade teacher read a book to the class about imaginary friends. Evan was delighted, and raised his hand to tell everyone about his friend, but the teacher shushed him and kept reading. "...Of course, all imaginary friends go away as we get older. Then we make real friends and don't need them anymore."

Evan ran out of the classroom in a panic. He ran until he was in the empty schoolyard where no one else would see him turn toward his friend, tears streaming down his face. "You won't go away, will you? Please say I won't grow out of you! You're my only friend!" His friend reached out again, untouching hands hovering over Evan's cheeks. I'll stay as long as I can. As long as you need me.  "You promise?" I promise, Evan.

Evan cried himself into an exhausted sleep in the schoolyard, leaning against the slide. He was awoken by his friend's frantic voice. --van! Evan! Wake up, they're looking for you! 

He looked around, disoriented, before noting his mother, looking annoyed and angry, running toward him. "Oh no." He was definitely in trouble now.

It'll be okay. She's just worried about you. "She's mad. I hate when she's mad." Evan stalled in place, waiting for her to arrive and no doubt scream at him about how dangerous the world was, how stupid he was for staying here. "If I ever need to talk to you, what should I call you?" I said you can choose whatever you want.

"Evan!! That was irresponsible and dangerous of you! What on earth were you thinking...!" Evan's mom continued her tirade and Evan shrank back into the slide, leaning as close to his friend as he could. His friend reached out a non-corporeal hand and sat closer to Evan's side through it all.

She doesn’t mean it. But you don’t deserve to hear this either, Evan. 

Later, after he’d been dragged home and deposited in his room to think about his actions, Buck turned to his friend. “I hate the name Evan. It just makes me think about Mom or Dad yelling at me.”

His friend sighed. Makes sense. If you could pick a name, what would you choose?

“I dunno.” Evan shrugged. “Oh wait! Sal in class’s name is Salvator, but he hates that too, so we just call him Sal! I could do that too!” He hopped up and started pacing his room. “Okay, help me choose one!”

Hmmm. His friend’s forehead wrinkled as he thought. Evan’s already pretty short, so you can’t really shorten it more, unless--we could call you E? What about Buckley? You could be like James Bond, how he sometimes goes by his last name!

“Buckley.” Evan looked into the mirror. “Mmm, it’s just not as cool as Bond. Too long and clunky...”

What about Buck? It’s short and it’s still you.

“Buck,” Evan said into the mirror. He felt a grin spread on his face. “Yeah, I like that. I’m Buck.”

Hi, Buck.

“Now you pick a name for yourself.”

You can--

“I know, you already said that, but I’ve thought of so many names in my head, and none of them are right, and I just want to know what you want to be called. Everyone has a name. You should have one too.”

His friend hesitated. But not like he was thinking of name. More like he’d already chosen one and was debating whether or not to share. Finally, he spoke. 

Daniel. You can call me Daniel.

Tell me if this is something you’d want to keep reading!

[sir3n-s]

Italian Steve Harrington hcs because why not:

He was born in Italy (ovbisouly) but moved to hawkins when he was around 10 or 11.

He speaks fluent Italian, it's his first language, which is why he asks what certain words mean so much. He's still expanding his English vocabulary.

He always writes his notes in Italian, he was forced to stop writing in Italian at school but after he graduated he started again. Robin keeps trying to read his little notes but she doesn't know Italian yet. (He has a journal that's in Italian because he knows Robin keeps trying to read it)

He teaches Robin Italian because she wanted to learn. Mainly so she could understand what he mumbles.

When he's stressed, scared, or angry he'll start rambling/yelling in Italian. No one understands him but Eddie always gets him to calm down. Robin does too but for some reason Eddie does it the best. Unless he's arguing then he has to be reminded to speak English.

He's an amazing cook, everything he makes is good. Steve tries his best to introduce everyone to certain Italian dishes.

He has several of his grandma's old cook books.

During the holidays his parents force him to fly out to Italy to see the rest of his family. After the age of 13, his parents are already there waiting for him.

He insults people in Italian so they don't understand him. Dustin, Mike, and Robin are normally the victims.

Sometimes he'll just switch into Italian and has to be reminded to speak English.

He loved living in Italy but refuses to move back because all of his friends (family) that matter live in Hawkins.

[sophsun1]

+ bonus

9-1-1 – 4.05: Buck Begins

[steddieas-shegoes]

Nother Idea: Steve has a really bad migraine when he sees his parents for the first time post spring break from hell. He is still recovering from his injuries & his parsnts don't know how to help him. He is in tears begging his father or mother to get him Rob or Eds. And they have no clue who that is. The other parent finds a note by the main house phone and one by his bedroom phone with the names Robin & Eddie with their numbers. And they watch their adult son get coddled by a lesbian and a metalhead. Bsjsjcjdjd maybe they find out about the UD???

I TOOK A BREAK FROM PLANNING OUR WEDDING FOR THIS MY LOVE!!! You know how I feel about migraine Steve and you know how I feel about some good old hurt/comfort and how I feel about Steve's parents just being shitty always. It's like you wrote this request from MY BRAIN. It's a bit shorter than I could've done, but I am rushing out the door at this point and wanted to have it posted today in case I can't tonight. Hope you love it!!! - Mickala ❤️

-------------------------------------------------------

Luck was never on Steve’s side.

He hadn’t slept more than a few hours in weeks, his brain and body constantly running through checklists of things he had to do and people he needed to check on.

It was catching up with him in the form of the worst migraine he’s had in months.

And now his parents were home.

He could hear them talking downstairs, their voices carrying and making Steve wince against his pillow.

He managed to close his curtains when he got up to use the bathroom this morning, but hadn’t managed to do anything else. Including close his door.

He hadn’t really expected that to be an issue since he was alone all the time.

His parents hadn’t been home in nearly six months. They hadn’t even bothered to call when the “earthquake” hit.

He kept his eyes closed in hopes that they wouldn’t bother him, maybe they’d even close his door for him if they thought he was asleep.

Wishful thinking.

His dad’s booming voice was suddenly right next to him, echoing around his room and his head.

“It’s the middle of the damn day, Anne! He can’t sleep his life away!”

Steve let out a groan, burying his head as far into his pillows as he could to avoid some of the noise.

His father would give up eventually, probably call him something terrible, be disappointed, the usual. But he’d leave, and Steve could bask in the peace and quiet again.

“Do you hear me, Steven? Anne, he’s ignoring me!”

Steve groaned again as he heard his mother’s voice from the doorway.

“Richard, he’s clearly hungover. We should come back later.”

Steve loved that idea. If they left, he could try to sleep this migraine off.

“I’m not just leaving him! He has to act like a responsible adult someday, Anne. We don’t pay for this house for him to spend his days hungover in it.”

“Not hungover.”

Steve’s voice was muffled against the pillow, his head pounding with every movement of his lips, but he knew he had to at least try to stick up for himself.

“So you’re just a useless sack in the middle of the day on a Thursday for no reason, then?”

Steve let out a whine at the sharp pains shooting through his head.

“Eddie. Call?”

Words were hard when your head was trying to implode on itself.

“Who is Eddie? Is that the person who got you drunk? I will not be calling this Eddie person, and I expect you to be up, showered, and dressed by the time we are back from our business dinner. Do you understand?”

“Robin.”

“Isn’t that your girlfriend? Is she responsible for this?”

Steve wanted to scream that the people responsible for this were dead or Russian spies who were hopefully dead and no thanks to either of his parents, he often spent days like this.

Not as often since he practically had Robin and Eddie living with him, but enough.

“No. Eddie.”

“Eddie isn’t your girlfriend.” Anne was closer now. “Do you need medical attention? You’re not making any sense. Oh goodness, Richard, maybe he’s having a stroke.”

His side was pulsing. Eddie said his did too sometimes, a casual reminder that they’d been nearly eaten alive. The pain wasn’t nearly as bad as his head, though.

He needed to get to his phone so he could call Eddie.

Eddie knew what to do to help. He wouldn’t be scared of his parents.

Just as he started to move his head so he could try to roll out of bed, he heard his mom speak again, much lower, probably directly to his dad.

He had extremely sensitive hearing when he had migraines, though, so he could still hear what she was saying.

“This note has those names with phone numbers. Maybe we should call them?”

“It’s just a hangover. He has to man up.”

“It just seems like more than a hangover. He’s in real pain.”

“You do what you want. Coddle him if you must. I have a business dinner to get ready for.”

He heard his father leave the room, but didn’t bother moving.

His mom was suddenly talking into the phone.

“Is this Eddie? Yes, this is Anne Harrington. Steve’s mom, yes. He had your number written down by the phone. He’s asking for you and he seems to be quite hungover. It’s not? Oh. Oh. Okay. Well, could you come keep an eye on him, then? I would appreciate it. I could pay you.” Steve heard yelling on the other end and tried to smirk, but his face was in too much pain. “Okay, see you soon.”

“Steve? Eddie’s coming. He didn’t want any money or anything to sit with you, but I’ll leave some on the counter just in case.”

“Loves me.”

“What was that?”

Steve turned his head to the side so he could say it again, emphasize to his mother that people actually loved him.

“He loves me.”

He was met with silence, but he was happy about it, his head still finding new ways to hurt even after 100 migraines.

His mom left the room, but he knew Eddie was coming, so he rested.

When he woke up, Robin’s hands were in his hair. She was gently combing through it, from scalp to ends, being careful to avoid any tangles that may have been hiding.

“Robs.”

“Hey Dingus,” she whispered, knowing he couldn’t handle normal talking voices when it was this bad. “Gave Eds and I quite a scare having your mom call, you know.”

“Sorry. Couldn’t.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

“Eddie?”

“He’s downstairs giving your parents the riot act while he unloads groceries. He’s pissed.”

“At me?”

“No, never you. He’s got your extra strength pain meds that you were out of though.”

Steve had forgotten to get more last time he went to the store and he admittedly wouldn’t be this bad off if he had them ready to go when he woke up this morning.

But Eddie always took care of him and Robin always took care of him, and he was allowed to not have to do everything for himself anymore.

“It’s like you don’t even care that he’s hurt because of fucking government conspiracies!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Robin’s hand froze as they listened to Eddie and his dad go back and forth.

“The Russians almost killed him! Where were you? Not fucking here! The monsters almost killed him! Where were you? Probably on a business trip or whatever it is you rich fucks like to do with your time that should be spent checking in on your son.”

“Oh boy,” Robin slowly started to get up, causing Steve to whimper. “I’m gonna send him up here to cool off. Just breathe.”

So he did. He breathed in, then out, in, then out.

He did that until he felt Eddie’s hands in his hair, lips on his forehead.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he whispered against his hair. “Brought you some water and meds.”

“Yelling?”

“They deserve it. But don’t worry about that right now. Just take these pills and sleep. I got ya.”

“Got me.”

“Yeah, sweetheart, always got you.”

He could hear Robin yelling downstairs now, but he didn’t focus on it, following Eddie’s advice and sitting up just enough to swallow the pills and half a glass of water.

As he fell asleep, he heard Robin whispering to Eddie.

“He’s got us, at least.”

“Yeah, he does.”

[911is]

There’s no way you could make me like Any of the main characters parents in 911

Like all of them suck ass, why try redeeming them if they have no redeeming qualities.

Like Maddie and Buck’s parents are insane, not only do you have Buck to only save Daniel; you told your probably 9-12 yr old daughter to never bring him up again, to act like he doesn’t exist..

Then you ignore Buck for all his life and make him feel as if he did something wrong; making him feel like a burden like a loser..

Then you get upset with Maddie when buck finds out about his dead brother that he failed to save. And you’re yelling and crying at him saying he never made your life easy.

And like was he supposed to ? He didn’t ask for any of that and Maddie didn’t either.

You practically abandoned her too because she ‘ran off with Doug’ you literally never gave you daughter a reason to stay or to trust you.

It’s them never thinking about Buck and his feelings and making him feel like a disappointment. Making him think that the only way to ever get their attention as a kid was to put himself in a bunch of dangerous situations.

And to get hurt because that was the only time that they ever showed him that they cared about him.

It was them always putting their feelings about the past first and thinking about their future with Buck.

______________________________________

Then you have CHIMNEYS DAD !! Like let’s talk about this man.

Not only do you neglect your wife and kid- your son who tried to build some—any type of relationship with you. And you just flat out refuse to acknowledge him. Then you guys move out to a different country/state whatever…

You guys stay out there for some years and you’re ready to go back but your isn’t and you’re like you know fuck you and bye ✌🏾

Then while you’re back at home your WIFE ! Your wife falls ill with cancer; and your first thought isn’t hey let me go be there for my wife and kid or anything- it’s like ‘what can I do vibe’ then your wife dies and you move on and have another kid.

You don’t comfort your son during his time of grief or anything, you just move on. Then years later the kid you have with your now current wife; is now moving out to where Your first son stays and you’re like watch him and help him..

You never really apologize or anything, you just move on with your life.

_________________________

For Eddie I have a whole other post for him

But it’s like for the moment the guy can even think- it’s was Eddie being there for his mom when his dad wasn’t.

It was Eddie at the Age of like 9 stepping up and being the man of the house. It was Eddie being there for his mom and trying to drive the car and get her to the hospital because shes in labor with Sophia, and he was probably did same thing with Adrianna.

It’s Eddie growing up way too early; it’s Eddie having Christopher and both Helena and Ramon are pressing Eddie to marrying Shannon and step up (which Yeah he’s got to take care of his kid) but Eddie and Shannon were literally teens and making them get married at that age just added a whole lot of pressure on them.

Even though Eddie doesn’t regret the marriage or anything; And still it’s Eddie going out to war and then coming back— to stay with his kid and it’s him move miles away from his parents—And it’s them saying ‘you can’t do that you’ve barely been around and he need and your son needs the best’ implying that Eddie isn’t what’s best for his kid ?

And them constantly after that telling eddie in their own way that what he’s doing isn’t enough- that he’s going to bring his kid down and he needs to do right by his kid..

And it’s never about Eddie and it’s never how’s Eddie (their son) doing— and how can they help be there for him or nothing. It’s always about Chris and never him.

-They didn’t comfort him when Shannon died and they definitely didn’t comfort her when she was alive and Eddie was out serving.

And they don’t comfort Eddie with the whole Kim thing either- like I get it Eddie messed up by seeing her and all that; but there this lady was with his whole dead ex wife’s face and he didn’t know what to do but to go talk with because— he’s so clearly hasn’t gotten any closure in her death,but I digress.

So with the whole Kim thing they don’t think to be like oh OUR son is clearly going through something and has been going through something for quite a long time— let’s take this moment and talk with him.. NO ITS

“ how could could you do this around Christopher”

“And what were you thinking”

“ he called us—and we think it’s best for Christopher to come with us”

AND YOU STANDING THERE WATCHING YOUR SON CRY TO HIS SON AND— And !?!?!!

——————————————————

So Much Much more for all of them

Like it’s not even funny when you out all of this to thought.

[typicalopposite]

Ok so in all honesty I’m hoping the look Buck’s mom gave after seeing him and Tommy was nothing more than her old brain trying to understand and process what she was seeing…

I really hope if his parents mention Tommy anytime soon on the show the depth of angst is so shallow it doesn’t even faze Buck… maybe even surprises him a little that it goes so well. Because we don’t have much time left with Buck this season and even less with Tommy and I want it to be so happy and easy for them

however… HOWEVER

in fic format.

I am devouring the deep angst post coming out fics. I need more of them. I crave more of them😀

Because… there’s a because I’m not just sadistic ok. I need Bucks tribe to stand up to his parents for him. I need MADDIE to stand up to their parents for him. I need Chimney and Bobby and Hen and Eddie… I NEED CHRISSSS TO STAND UP TO THE BUCKLEY PARENTS FOR HIM…. I NEED THE NURSES AND- AND SOME RANDOM PATIENT DOWN THE HALL TO STAND UP FOR HIM

YALL *feral noises* I NEED TOMMY TO STAND UP TO MARGARET AND PHILIP BUCKLEY FOR THIS MAN!!!

I know there’s already quite a few out there… but I need more! I need all the fics of Buck’s people showing up for him!

Because his parents just were (are if you are petty like me and cannot forgive and forget) so terrible and they got let off so easy… so soooo easy! And it’s not fair!

And so I (ok maybe it is a little sadistically) want even more angst from them so it can be fixed with love from everyone else

Ya know?

[steventhusiast]

saw a tiktok of a guy playing acoustic guitar in the wind and letting the wind add to his music and it got me thinking about steve being able to play guitar.

he’s private about it, keeping his acoustic guitar delicately in its case at the back of his closet unless he’s playing it. it’s partly out of fear for his parents’ reactions if they knew he still had the guitar, and partly because playing is one of his coping mechanisms and he doesn’t want to taint how much it helps him by sharing it with others.

the guitar itself is nothing extravagant at a passing glance, but steve has had it since his grandma on his mother’s side passed away and left it for him. his mother had been so happy for him to have it at first when he was 8 and too small to properly play it, telling him about her own childhood full of acoustic songs on the porch and in front of the fire. but that had been before she found out about his father’s affair and had blamed it on steve… she doesn’t seem to care about him and his guitar anymore, or maybe she’s just forgotten.

playing first became a huge coping mechanism for him after the first upside down incident. his whole world view had been destroyed, and he had anxiety lingering in all of his limbs, so he took his guitar up to the roof of his empty house and just sat there and strummed. he never played any specific songs, but after that first night on the roof he noticed how the wind changed the sound of his guitar and added to it. it was like the wind herself was saying “it’s okay, i see you, i hear you” and adding more to the music he played. it calmed him down immensely.

so, whenever he’s upset or his bones felt too big for his body, he finds himself on his roof with his guitar.

robin is the first to find out. she comes to visit him one evening after he doesn’t answer the phone (he’s too busy on the roof) and practically screeches when she bikes up to his driveway and sees him perched on the roof. it’s dark already, so she can’t see the guitar or the peace on his face, she just sees her best friend on the roof, too close to the edge of it for her comfort.

she assumes the worst, but steve is quick to placate her as he climbs down and goes downstairs to let her in. he shows her his little secret, and even takes her up to the roof with him. tells her to listen for the wind, and ignores her baffled and disbelieving look in response. minutes later, she’s swaying gently and quirking her brows every time the wind adds something to the aimless strumming.

eddie finds out next, but much less dramatically. he and steve have been dating for about a month when he stumbles across the case in steve’s closet as he’s making fun of all the polo shirts hung up.

“my, my, who is this beauty you’ve been hiding?” is all eddie needs to say for steve to know he’s found her. he’s shy in response, because this feels different to robin finding out. robin knows music, sure, but eddie is pretentious about music. and steve’s not the most technically skilled, he just plays what feels good. nothing extravagant or metal like eddie’s used to.

but eddie presses gently, seeing the shy flush to his boyfriend’s cheeks. he wants to know more, urges steve to show him, can tell it’s special to him. so steve indulges him, takes his hand and drags his boyfriend and the guitar case up to the roof. eddie’s much sillier about the wind, in an adorable way. steve tells him about how the wind accompanies him and makes him feel heard, so eddie smiles up at the sky and talks to her.

“thank you for takin’ care of my baby, lady wind. can i hear you sing with him?”

steve just looks at him, baffled for a minute, because even robin (his platonic soulmate) had seemed doubting of how much the wind comforted him and aided his music, but eddie just. is all in, immediately. trusts steve, knows it’s important to him.

so steve plays, and the wind sings, and eddie taps along. his guitar still feels private and secret, but he feels comfortable that maybe more people than just the wind should hear him sometimes.

[sammoose22]

A passing thing in fanfics that I think is so real is that when Margret and Philip Buckley ever talk to Eddie they ask him if his full name is Edmundo/Eduardo or if Eddie is a nickname and he just says

“No”