#bestbuds.org

"Don't listen to cops, kid." - Mr. Tapster to Austin

Heads up, talking about cops and the law is briefly mentioned in this!!!! Okay time to talk about these two

Besides Cindy, Mr. Tapster is also really close with Austin!

When Mr. Tapster first transferred to the third school, Austin saw him and already liked him from how he looked. But was too shy to approach.

Austin was one of the kids that Mr. Tapster first noticed because of his punk appearance, he did say hi to Austin but he was too nervous to say anything. Mr. Tapster understood though and decided to let Austin approach him when he felt ready.

Which is what ended up happening, one time Austin gathered enough courage to properly approach Mr. Tapster and the first thing he asked him was how to properly throw a rock. (Because all cool people know how to throw rocks, right??)

Mr. Tapster did him one better and decided to teach him how to properly throw a baseball! Because Mr. Tapster used to play baseball as a kid

As Mr. Tapster was teaching him how to throw a ball, he was also giving him tips from his own teen years, because Austin reminds Mr. Tapster of how he was as a teen. Much like how Cindy reminds him of when he was a kid

One of his first pieces of advice he told Austin was "Don't listen to the cops!"

"Now listen, Austin. Ya parents told ya to listen to the cops and obey the law, right?"

"Yeah, so I won't get into any trouble!"

"They're lyin'! Cops are no good. Don't respect them."

"What? I thought they were heroes?"

"Not heroes. But pigs for sure. Just trust me, kid. I know from experience."

"Wow, I have a lot to learn from you, Mr. T!"

While Mr. Tapster has an uncle relationship with most of the kids, Austin is one of the kids that views him as a father. He even looks up to him, so much that he draws facial hair on himself to look like him (facial hair is punk, am i right??)

Mr. Tapster really likes Austin, he hopes his future is bright and his teen years is better than how his turned out.

Mr. Tapster lets Austin come into the library whenever he wants! And gives him cool comic books to read. (Or maybe Mr. Tapster reads them to him??)

I can definitely see a situation of Austin and Cindy getting along because of their relationship with Mr. Tapster, of course at first Cindy wouldn't like it but she'd grow to like it

Because of the big cat symbolism, Austin is a puma!

Apologies for anything out of character 🥹

Back in high school they hooked up for prom and broke up eventually, but why? They broke up because ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED. No dates, no hand holding, no kissing, etc. It was pretty boring.

Applegate back in high school was preppy and absolutely peaked, she had EVERYTHING! She was leader of the cheer leading squad, boys wanted her (she has many exes) and girls wanted to be her. But after graduation, everything shriveled up (as you can tell).

Tapster as mentioned before in this post was "the class clown going through a crisis" (🏳️‍⚧️) but also a rocker in a garage band.

Now, why did a popular girl like Applegate get with someone like Tapster? Simple, to make someone jealous. It didn't go as planned and Applegate developed actual feelings for him.

Why did Tapster say yes? Because that's the leader of the cheer leading squad! Who would say no?

They were total opposites but that doesn't mean they got along (duh). Applegate liked going out to parties but Tapster liked staying inside playing video games and practicing drums. Eventually, they broke it off.

However, when they reunited in KG 1 let's say that interaction didn't play out so well.

[Mr. Tapster is at his cardboard box in the hallway during lunch]

"Mr. Tapster, or should i say... Tommy?"

"Heyyyy... Ms. Applegate, or uhh... Amy?"

"Amelia to you. I'm stopping by to let you know the principal wants to see you."

"Oh... Really? Why?"

"Ask for yourself, Thomas."

[Silence]

"He found out you were giving out candy and wanted some too."

"Ah! I see. Well, i guess I'll go--"

"But i want some TOO! WHERE'S YOUR SNICKERS?!"

[Applegate then trashes Tapster's cardboard box]

"UH- HERE AMELIA HERE!"

"Good! Now i don't want to see your face again!"

"You're gonna have to see my face again tomorrow..."

"Don't care! Currently eating a snickers!"

Applegate after high school has been bitter about all her exes, including Tapster and slightly dislikes him. Yet, she still has some feelings for him lingering.

She kept her feelings after the breakup bottled up which is not healthy (she's aware of this).

Meanwhile with Tapster he's now moved on and is trying to score a date with Lovelett.

It is to note that Applegate and Tapster dated before Lovelett and Tapster actually spoke with each other and became friends (the Chuck E. Cheese incident).

How does Applegate feel about Tapster's crush on Lovelett? Well, during high school she never paid attention to Lovelett. When she found out Tapster moved on she said, "You moved on?! Your loss, Thomas!" And on the outside tried to play it off nonchalantly. When in actuality, on the inside she was devastated. (Bottling up emotions 101)

Tapster is scared of Applegate because who knows what she'll do to him if they cross paths again? He tends to pretend he's invisible to avoid seeing her, because she'd rather not see his face (or would she?)

How does Applegate feel about Lovelett?

Well, she absolutely hates Ms. Lovelett and so does Ms. Lovelett.

But, they hide it. When they're in meetings together, they're all friendly but outside of meetings they're passive aggressive.

Applegate hates Lovelett since Tapster has a crush on her, Lovelett is unsure why Applegate hates her but will match that energy. (She doesn't know about Tapster and Applegate's past, yet.)

Lovelett tends to keep her hate for Applegate hidden well, "Oh, Applegate? She's just so... Well! Everything is so... Swell!"

Meanwhile Applegate is more catty about it, "Lovelett? She's so. So. SO."

The song that gave me this idea was The End by Games We Play! The chorus is also what i used to title their relationship!

Their ship names are ChillPill and Applester

Their emoji combinations are 💊📻 and 💜❤️‍🩹

Applegate used to call Tapster Tommy while they were dating, but now calls him Thomas.