#i feel like the first part is abed and the second bit is troy

[conanssummerchild]

trobed as illicit affairs

[doverstar]

abed/annie is my community otp, so I would love to hear your essay if you’re willing to share ♥️

girl it would be my pleasure

this is going to be an absolutely enormous word-vomit, please prepare-

I want to start off by saying I actually think Abed is genuinely a little bit crazy. Yes, he might be on the spectrum or have some disorder but the show is so loose with that it never really confirms it, so I’m not going to confirm it either, I just think there’s something-something-spectrum there but I’m not educated enough to understand exactly what they’re communicating he has or is dealing with. I think the safest thing to assume is indeed that he’s insane (he said it himself; he saw literal lava when Troy was leaving) but in a small, functional, unique way that doesn’t make him dangerous except when he wants to cut people’s arms off because “Evil Abed has taken over” hello someone do something about that –

Anyway. It’s super difficult for me to understand what goes on in his head episode-to-episode, but with Annie it’s actually easier? Abed has such a specific set of needs when it comes to relationships that it’s a miracle he found the study group at all. He’s so smart and creative and he’s actually very empathetic and sweet but he doesn’t always seem to know how to express things.

Annie is clearly Abed’s second-best friend in the show (it helps that the actor/actress are best friends too). When he can’t turn to Troy, he can always turn to Annie. She understands him and there’s never been a point where we see that start or end—it just naturally happened and they’re both used to it. Abed is always touching her, always sitting by her, always making eye contact with her, and if you pay close attention to even background scenes, he’s measuring her reactions to things more often than anyone else’s. If I had to guess, I think she’s the group member he understood faster than any of the others. Abed (this is, from what I’m told, part of being on the spectrum? but like I said I am uneducated and don’t want to definitively say something the show decided not to be clear about) needs certain things to be a certain way, or he can’t operate normally. He panics, or gets angry, or tries to mutilate Jeff Wingers. He genuinely thinks he is crazy, and he genuinely thinks no one he meets will be able to deal with him for an extended amount of time. (Let’s begin at the beginning from his POV.) Abed meets Annie (and the group), and she seems like the typical Molly Ringwald girl-next-door; pretty, smart, wants popularity, ambitious. That’s why he chose her when he created the study group. Annie is all of these cliched things, but hey, quickly it’s pretty clear Annie needs things to be a certain way. Annie needs structure and lists and good grades. So she gets it when Abed needs that, what a pleasant surprise! And part of that is that Annie empathizes with everyone around her, without even trying, so much so that she’s depicted often as the heart of the whole study group. She gets Abed, both because they’re the same in lots of ways and they’re the opposite. She can crush easily, explode easily, cry easily, laugh easily. Everything Abed has no idea how to emote. Annie is a volcano of emotions, and they’re triggered most when she’s feeling because of or on behalf of other people.

So here’s this girl near his own age who is orderly and structured, and knows how other people feel and can enter in with them emotionally, including Abed. She’s so nice, and tries so hard. She’s even good at playing pretend (Mixology Certification, party of one?). What a perfect leading lady for the life-movie Abed sees everywhere he goes (because that’s how he makes sense of the world). Annie is the ideal female star he’d want in any story: the girl full of passion and drive.

But then there’s Jeff—the study group’s Judd Nelson—presumably the perfect leading man. When Abed first handpicks the group in the pilot and first season, Jeff wants Britta. Hey, that makes sense, Britta seems to be the leading lady type, actually! She’s nice, she’s strong, she’s beautiful. Works perfectly. And look, Annie wants Troy—the brainy bubbly girl wants the dumb jock, that makes sense too. Everything works. Then things start changing within the dynamic. Troy is actually not that dumb, and not that sports-obsessed—he’s fun, and he’s the ideal bro for Abed, but he doesn’t work with Annie. Britta is not that nice, and not that strong—she’s bad at everything, and she doesn’t understand people, she just wants to and is constantly trying to portray (and then hopefully become) the kind of person that does. And Jeff is a stunted jerk who needs reformation.

Oh, Annie is Abed’s friend now too. She said it herself, and that’s rare in Abed’s life. She called them really good friends, and that’s so important to him that he’ll sit in a room for 26 straight hours with nothing to do because Annie asked him to do it. Troy is not the only character Abed would give up control for. There’s one other from the start, because the moment she told him with all her earnest doe-eyedness they were friends, she had him hook line and sinker.

Season 1 progresses. Jeff and Britta might still work, and Abed seems mildly interested in that if only for the cliches—maybe Britta can make him better. No, wait, Britta is bad at that too. Actually, they’re not good for each other. Actually, they’re bad for each other—they’re bad for everyone. But they have similar terrible flaws and habits, so maybe they do make a good pair. Still fine leads. Still works. And besides, Annie has filled in the place of Troy with hippie Vaughn, which is also fine. Doesn’t really work long-term, but Jeff and Britta drive the plot forward more anyway, so the focus should be on them, right? The group is working. The group is thriving. The TV of life moves along.

(Except Jeff kissed Annie to win the Man Is Good/Evil debate. And Abed predicted it. Which means he was thinking about that as a possibility, because he operates on variables and tries to understand outcomes so that he’s not surprised by anything and can keep his friends for longer by relating to and reacting to them better. Jeff has leading man vibes, Annie has leading lady vibes, that’s one potential outcome. And though he insists he’s just making hypotheses based on what he’s learned about his friends so far, when it does happen right in front of them in real life, they kiss, Abed is just as shocked as the others—he literally can’t take his eyes off them until the debate is won. Then afterward, he tells Shirley he can’t predict the future and uses his plans for Pierce being discovered as a genius next in his home-movies as an example, which he believes would never happen—then Britta calls Pierce a genius right in front of him and Abed looks visibly concerned. Maybe what he predicts about his friends will keep happening, even the things he thinks are the least likely of the potential outcomes. Maybe even Jeff and Annie as the two leads. But that doesn’t make sense, does it? Jeff and Britta are endgame, aren’t they? Annie is too young for a leading man like Jeff. Annie is too nice; Jeff is too selfish. Annie is gorgeous and driven, Jeff is handsome and needs fixing, that would work, no, it would change things too much, it’s too unlikely, back to Jeff and Britta, back to playing with Troy and studying film, don’t give it a second thought—)

Transfer dance happens. Annie is going away for the summer with Vaughn. Classic Annie, has his back, always doing the better thing for the plot, bringing a good end-of-Season twist, but it’s okay, as far as he knows she’ll be back in the fall and besides, Abed’s got to-roomie-or-not-roomie with Troy issues to deal with.

And then the new semester starts after the transfer dance. And Anthropology 101 happens (again, one of my favorite episodes for the group fight at the end when it comes to my lil ships). I’M GONNA TALK ABOUT ANTHROPOLOGY 101 NOW. For A CHUNK of time. Jeff and Britta are doing relationship-drama stuff Abed doesn’t quite care about, until Shirley suggests he’s being selfish and that a real friend would enter into Jeff and Britta’s [incredibly fake and nasty] “happiness” and Abed thinks that could work. Actually, progressing Jeff and Britta’s relationship is a goal he can definitely work with. In fact, if you pay attention to the show, whenever there is an opportunity to advance or out Jeff/Britta, Abed takes that opportunity. And whenever there is an opportunity to put JeffAnnie in an uncomfortable or inevitable, c’est la vie light (which two independence-heavy freaks like Jeff and Annie would consider negatively) he takes that too.

Abed urges Jeff/Britta to get married right there in the library before the fight, gives them the ring, because he thinks that’s the next logical step in their grossness. Special episode, all about Jeff/Britta, endgame endgame endgame! He can work with that. In fact, he’s happy to control that. He leaves the room to inexplicably get an Irish singer, dead-ringer Clooney, and a transportable wedding set.

When he comes back and tries to prep the group for the special wedding episode, everyone is tense and Jeff is bleeding from the nose, and Abed does not notice; he’s intent on advancing the plot and the endgame. Then Troy says, “Abed. Jeff made out with Annie.” And Abed’s immediate reaction is “What? Where? When?” And he looks unhappy, like the rest of them. Jeff made out with Annie, and that means everything Abed thought he understood is incorrect. (And I think it bothers the crap out of him and he doesn’t have the ability to unpack why that is the way most people do because he’s different. Surely he’s just angry for the same reasons the rest of the group is? That must be it. That must be why he’s angry specifically with Jeff, not Britta in any tangible way, or even Annie in a tangible way—until later, which I’ll talk about eventually.) Annie tells him they kissed after the transfer dance in a guilty voice, which is a sheepishness she does not respond with to any of the other members of the group. It’s almost like she’s picking up on Abed’s emotion specifically this time. And while everyone else in the group explodes, and Jeff reduces his kiss with Annie to something he should be ashamed of (accurate) because men are monsters who crave young flesh and Annie looks absolutely crushed like a deer in the headlights, Abed starts packing up to leave. And we only see how angry he is right then—he doesn’t enter into anyone else’s problems. We see him react to “Jeff made out with Annie”, and then this is the next time we see him react. Jeff asks where he’s going and Abed throws out a quippy “I now pronounce you cancelled” with a bounce of his eyebrows in an angry way, at Jeff, and when he tries to leave Jeff hurls insults at his back and Abed stops in the doorway, in a normal-person—again, angry—way and turns around and drops one of the sickest burns of the whole show, that TV makes sense and has “likeable leading men”, and says “In life, we have this. We have you.” And walks out. His anger is not directed at anybody else. He doesn’t help Troy with the Pierce situation. He doesn’t try to fix any of it. It’s like he heard “Jeff made out with Annie”, learned the specifics, and was standing there reeling until eventually he decided he couldn’t deal and went to leave, and wouldn’t have shown just how angry he was with Jeff unless Jeff had provoked him, which he did.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE HE’S MAD JEFF KISSED ANNIE, JUSSAYIN’-

let me pretend I’m a 14-year-old shippy fangirl in my reasoning, okay-

Abed likes logic, and as Season 2 continues, Jeff/Annie gets more and more logical. In fact, even though he has noticed that Jeff and Britta are secretly hooking up in the background of the Season, he is not surprised in Paradigms of Human Memory when Annie calls Jeff out for the will-they-won’t-they he’s been enacting with her, and even says there is something between the two of them, matter-of-factly, which Jeff refuses to own up to. But Abed and Annie are getting closer and closer, too. It’s subtle, but it’s clear they’re 100% comfortable around each other. That becomes super clear by Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas, when, besides Troy, Annie is the only other character to enter into Abed’s way of thinking and play with him, because it’s genuinely important to him and she recognizes that this is what he needs, when everyone else kind of drops off. She helps Abed and Troy stop Duncan from dealing with Abed in a practical, normal way, because she sees that Abed is dealing with something and can only deal with it his way to get through it. That’s incredibly rare for Abed, we see. He’s very attached to her—like I said, often touching her, often sitting by her, often reacting to her.

(I mean hi, in English As A Second Language, Abed thinks he won’t be affected by Annie’s Disney Face; when everyone else obeys Jeff in closing their eyes to it, Abed doesn’t. “Oh don’t worry about me, I can only connect to people through...movies...” literally stops in his tracks when he sees her Disney Face with the cutest wistful twitch of a smile. Jeff has to Indiana-Jones-reference him to make him look away. He doesn’t only connect to people through movies—at least, Annie can get through to him without the need of movies; he’s not a quirky lil robot, he can have normal feelings, but boy does it seem like Annie is the one bringing them out of him more often than most. she gets under his skin ajhzsdkejdb-)

Abed definitely has a crush on Annie. But he doesn’t know how to deal with that or portray it. To his mind, Annie should be with a leading man. Any time he flirts with her, he is pretending to be a leading man from a movie or show. (For a Few Paintballs More, anyone?) Because that’s who she should be paired off with. And that’s what she wants, right? She loooves Jeff Winger now. Britta’s not the leading lady, she never was, that role was always Annie’s, and it makes sense she wants Jeff, and it makes even more sense that Abed is observing the love story, not part of it. Abed is not the leading man, he’s the computer. He watches, analyzes, does not get involved or get the girl.

But he still wants her around, and he can have that much—in fact, when he moves in with Troy and Annie tells him she loves their place, Abed instantly suggests she move in. Not Abed and Troy. Just Abed, and he does not discuss it with his roommate. And Troy seems confused and surprised and gives Abed such an interesting look right after. Annie moves in, Abed agrees to sacrifice some of his routine for her (blanket fort for he and Troy, full bedroom for Annie), things are happy. Things are fine. She puts away his buttered noodles when he’s not finished with them, but she adapts to his needs when he expresses he doesn’t want her to do that; she breaks his Batman DVD but he adapts by forgiving her in a role he can express that in—Batman himself, plus, bonus, he gets to flirt with her as that leading man—and things are better. But then Annie starts trying to control things. Annie starts trying to make life go according to the movie in her head. She tries to get Britta and Troy together, which not only robs Abed of his best friend for a day and disrupts his routine, it makes him angry with Annie. And not just because she tampered with the group’s dynamic, which he doesn’t want anyone else but him to do. okay we’re caught up NOW I get to talk about Virtual Systems Analysis, which is my FAVORITE COMMUNITY EPISODE-

Throughout that episode, Annie is trying to speak in Abed’s language in the Dreamatorium in order to teach him empathy. In the past, she’s had success in communicating with him on his level, but this seems extra hard for some reason. She sees somehow through his expressionless face right away and sees he is angry with her, and though he tries to deflect by saying she’s going to ruin the group by meddling, she eventually does recognize what the problem is. At first she’s convinced Abed just wants Abed’s way and that he needs to be taught how to think of others first (she’s right), but he hears her say that to Troy and it spirals him right into the worry he always has—that he’s crazy, that he’s a problem, that he’ll never fit in because of that, and that when Annie (and anyone else) tries to deal with or fix him, they will get sick of it, give up, and toss him aside. He was already angry with her for a different reason, not just wanting his way again—but now he’s sure she’s done with Abed, too. So he becomes someone else, everyone else, to make his point: that she’s just messing with Britta and Troy so that nothing will stand in the way of her and Jeff.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE SAYS WHEN HE IS PRETENDING TO BE JEFF TO HER? He says, “With Abed gone, and Troy and Britta together, there’s nothing standing in the way of us.” With Abed gone. Why did he say that? Because with Abed gone, Annie gets to be in control of everyone? Obviously not. Or is it because out of everyone, every variable, the only other match that makes sense for Britta is Troy and the only other match that makes sense for Annie is-

Oops, Freudian slip. Oh, she’s not falling for it. And Abed is mad at her because he thinks she set up Britta and Troy so she could be with Jeff. Abed is mad that that’s what she wants. And when she tries to argue it’s not, he literally pretends he is her, logicking it out at her, trying to convince her that that is what she wants, because that’s what he thinks she wants, and her controlling things to cause JeffAnnie makes him mad. But c’est la vie, it’s inevitable anyway, right? Why isn’t she seeing that? Why is she trying to talk about him, he doesn’t want to talk about him, especially not after what she said about him— Then she fights back and tells him that she does not love Jeff, she loves the idea of being loved and if she can teach a guy like Jeff to love her, she’ll never be alone. And then she finds out that’s what Abed is afraid of, too. No—that’s what Abed is used to. “I’ve run the simulations, Annie. I don’t get married. [Why is that the first thing he said?] I don’t etc. etc.”

He’s afraid he’ll be alone, and people will always be getting tired of him and throwing him away. Didn’t Annie get tired of him? But she doesn’t, she’s not—in fact, she understands him. She shows him other members of the group understand that feeling, too. She uses his language to explain to him that he’s wrong, and that neither of them should be trying to make life go according to a script in their heads. Abed sees that she does understand, and if she can get into his head and understand him, she really can do it with anyone, and if she can do it, maybe he can too. Annie helps him and makes him a better person, because she reminds him to empathize, which is something Abed didn’t think he could do. Okay I just spent a long time talking about Abed’s perspective. A tiny bit of Annie now, because this is going on too long. As for Annie, she is afraid of being alone and unloved. She’s “psycho”, she’s crazy too, because someone who empathizes that much and can exude that much emotion does seem crazy to other people. She’s a different crazy than Abed, but her brand of psycho lends itself well to getting and communicating with him, because his crazy is escapism and her crazy is confrontation. His crazy is emotionless, her crazy is emotional. His crazy is control, her crazy is compassion. Her parents cut her off, her high school shunned her, Troy never noticed her, of course she’s scared of being ditched. Of being unimportant. Annie’s need to be perfect comes from the need to feel valued. And doesn’t Abed understand the need to not feel left alone? Doesn’t he understand everything needing to be just so, doesn’t he understand wanting to feel important but never expecting it? Just the computer. Just the observer. Wait. Didn’t he invite her to live with him, voluntarily? Doesn’t he always seem to be choosing her to sit by, don’t they always seem to be reassuring one another with a look or a touch? He gets how she feels about Jeff and Britta and their monopolization (hi Basic Sandwich), he gets when she’s feeling insecure, he gets when she needs to escape, just for a second, to pretend to be someone else in any given scenario so that she can take a risk or get out of her comfort zone, and he excels at that so they often do it together. They don’t have to be alone, they have each other. Annie doesn’t have to be perfect, Abed doesn’t have to be normal, and neither of them have to be in control. But nobody listens to me and instead we have Jeff kissing Annie and Brie Larson in a sweater. And don’t get me started on VCR Maintenance and Educational Publishing and why Abed and Annie are individually trying so hard to fight each other’s third-roommate preferences-

[karouvas]

for the ask grid, an array of community pairings: jeff/britta, jeff/abed, troy/abed, annie/britta, britta/frankie, annie/abed

Jeffbritta — I really like them they compel me quite a bit! I thought about putting them higher but because part of their whole thing is that they’re the normie toxic hets who are so basic in concept that they work all the way around to be subversive and fun I thought this ranking made sense for them. Also it’s true that the first time I was watching Comm it took me awhile to warm to them but eventually did and then on my second watch through I got real attached. Hand in unloveable hand core. Trobed — they’re great they compel me Geothermal Escapism makes me cry so much. I don’t think I have anything really insightful to add they’re the moment. Abedison — in a lot of ways this is my favorite community dynamic… they are my two favorite characters so that’s part of it. I love them romantically or platonically or queer-platonically, they’re two bisexuals in love they’re lesbian bi solidarity they’re a yuri couple nonbinary Abed rights they’re in a qpr with Troy they’re in a polyamorous relationship with Troy they’re in a fake relationship to cover up identity fraud one if them (could be either) committee and/or a murder one of them (Annie) committed, they’re neurotic freaks who understand each other best and they’re worsties. I did write multiple romantic Annie/Abed fics during quarantine with an account that’s now orphaned. My feelings on them as a ship are less cut and dry than on Trobed and Jeffbritta though hence placements.

Jabed — I also go back and forth on platonic/romantic with them but either way am compelled, a fascinating dynamic and foil ship, the most important relationship of the show in some ways. Critical Film Studies is usually the episode that puts me in a shippy mood where they’re concerned because there are Vibes present in that one.

Brittannie — the thing with them is I find them compelling but mostly from an Annie perspective because I very much read her as having feelings for Britta at points in the show and am interested in what it means for her, I’m less interested in seeing them together romantically in most scenarios except for the Brittannie Carmilla au I wrote one time, that was compelling to Me. Also I do flip flop on how I feel about them if you’d asked me when I first got into community I would have been more enthusiastic and maybe I’ll change my mind again next rewatch.

Frankie x Britta — I remember being into them but I don’t remember the justification much but.. it’s a good dynamic cute first date idea surprise a girl in her car and bond over nihilism in a round about way. There is a balancing effect there.

[g30citiesexe]

AI DUNGEONS BATSHIT ATTEMPTS AT MAKING A COMMUNITY MOVIE WITHOUT EVERYTHING GOING TO BALLS: IN A NUTSHELL

PART 1 of ?????

Frankie continues driving. She puts on a song, "You've got to fight for your right to dance" by the Beastie Boys.

(ah yes, my favorite beastie boys song. we all know the

--Troy pulls a gun from his pants and points it at the others.

(this is completely random. by the way)

----

Troy: First, we need a map.

Troy opens the RV's map chest and grabs a map.

Elroy: Where the hell did you get a map?

Troy: We have ways.

-----

Annie: You're different, Troy.

Troy: Oh, really?

Annie: Yeah.

Troy: I guess I'm just a bad person.

Annie: I guess you are.

(i don't know who the hell AI dungeon thinks troy is. a bank robbing villian for some reason?)

-----

Jeff: This is like, the 20th thing that's gone wrong on this damned trip.

Britta: 20th? Jeff, do list all 20 things that went wrong!

Jeff: Oh I will. Number 1, I left the map at home and we ended up lost. That was number 1.

Britta: That was the first thing that went wrong.

(12 things later)

Jeff: Number 12, Troy wants to rob a bank.

Elroy: Number 13, Troy wants to rob a bank, so he's going to do it, no matter what.

Frankie: Number 14, Troy is going to get us all killed.

---

Troy: Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright.

Britta: Tell them, Abed.

(britta forgets who troy is for one second)

---

Abed turns around in his spinny chair. He's a bit surprised. He's got long, curly brown hair, and dark eyes. He's quite a handsome boy.

(real!!! he is a handsome boy glad to see ai dungeon getting ONE thing right)

----

Abed: What?

Troy: I just...I wanted to talk to you.

Abed: Like what?

Troy: I don't know.

Troy: It's stupid, but I wanted to see you again.

Abed: You can see me whenever you want.

Abed: I'm here.

Troy: Yeah, but I want to see you.

Abed: Why?

Troy: Cause' I like you.

Troy: I do.

(GAY)

-----

Annie is wearing a tank top and Abed is wearing a blue dress. (slay)

Annie: I don't know why I come here every day.

Abed: I know why.

Annie: I don't.

Abed: It's gonna be okay, Annie. This'll all work out in the end, okay?

Annie nods, her lips quivering. She sits down, covers her eyes with her palm, and starts crying.

-----

Abed: "The first time I experienced this feeling, I was eight years old. I was on a family trip to Washington, DC. I can remember being in the middle of an elevator ride, and it felt like I was drowning.

I put that feeling deep down inside me. I didn't want to feel it again. The elevator door opened, and my family had to get off. I don't know how I managed to get through the rest of the trip, and I didn't talk to my parents about it. It didn't go away, and it got worse. I remember sitting in class, and the teacher asked me what I was thinking about. I said I was thinking about a rabbit. She said, 'What are you thinking about?' I said, 'Nothing.' She said, 'Don't do that. What are you thinking about?' I said, 'I'm thinking about a rabbit. What are you thinking about?' She got very angry.

I felt like I was losing control of myself. I started to hyperventilate. I wanted to run away from the whole school. I remember trying to calm myself down. I said to myself, 'If you're really you, you'd get yourself to the principal's office, and you'd tell him your teacher is threatening to hurt you. He'd do something about it.' I was able to calm myself down. But, I still felt trapped, like I couldn't get away. That was the last time I had ever felt that feeling."

(AI dungeon describing the universal experience of having a panic attack in public. yeah i get it.)

------

(so now they've teleported into the school)

Abed and Troy run into the supply closet. Troy begins to breathe heavily. Abed puts his hand on Troy's shoulder. Troy starts to shake. He starts to tremble.

Abed: Troy?

Troy: (softly) I can't do this. I...I don't want to die.

Troy: I...I'm so scared.

Abed: (softly) I know.

(boys will comfort each other during the end times)

-------

Suddenly, before the gun can go off, Nick is impaled through the face with a pencil.

The blood spurting out is shocking.

Dean: Oh my god.

Shirley: Oh my god.

Britta: Oh my god.

Annie: Oh my god.

---

Troy rushes over to Abed, who is still screaming.

Troy: Abed, what the hell?

Abed: It's me. I'm sorry.

Abed kisses Troy.

Frankie: Oh my god, that was so hot!

(frankie. frankie a man just died.)

------

so basically troy attempts to use some random guy's blood to help abed which obviously fails and kills him they make out

, annie runs out crying and it ends with the dean walking in confused. moral of the story know what you're doing when you do emergency care.

[turboacek-blog]

Community ending: My changes

How I would add the missing characters

So I like Community, so for Season 5 and 6 it did suck that cast members had to/wanted to leave which I get as life had other things planned and etc, and them not returning would be hard with schedules and pay and more

But in the Community universe I thought it would have been nice if these characters made an appearance at the end as the group officially split apart

So here’s my ideas to include them even if just a little bit

Shirley Bennett

I do like that Yvette came to do the pitch scenes as that was nice but I did want her to “actually” be there as they seemed to care less that Shirley wasn’t there in comparison to Troy probably because she was there briefly in a dream scene but also the terms on how she left

So my idea would be that Shirley maybe to see family comes back to the Greendale area from Atlanta and she stops by the school

She runs into Britta and Jeff first and they reunite, Maybe she’s at the bar Britta works at and asks for a drink Britta would recognize and they reunite and Jeff would also be there and kinda have the feeling his world isn’t crumbling

Shirley can make a passive aggressive line at her boss in that spin off she was in and they get her caught up in time for the pitch stuff

She can maybe give Jeff and/or Britta advice as they seem to be the ones staying and maybe she helps ease their mind about being the ones staying and the young ones going off to do adult stuff

And how sometimes not being the young ones is good or gives maturity as they had their time like it or not

As they are the adult trio of the group (minus Pierce) Shirley can relate more to what they’re feeling

and she can be a part of the goodbye hug and everyone leaving for the airport and such maybe even join in on the bar ending scene and have her classic “That’s Nice” line

Interactions that I can't highlight much of would be Shirley and Annie’s duo and the might just be so excited to speak properly as they are the girly girls, Abed’s social differences and they are able to bypass that with a hug, Troy’s mother son dynamic, how the new characters feel about her, Chang being the godfather of her son, etc

Buzz Hickey

He comes maybe to collect stuff runs into Abed have a brief interaction and Hickey talks about his funeral company and growing older and maybe this is what gives Abed the idea to accept the job as a PA in California

Or maybe have him interact now with the staff like the Dean and Chang and possibly Frankie and Elroy

Nothing too big he was temporary but he was fun in season 5 as a fill in for Pierce and did give Abed some development there

Troy Barnes

So to not throw shade at Troy like they kinda did at the end with Abed’s comment

I had two ideas

One idea is that on his world journey he and Levar Burton coincidentally are back in the Colorado area because of mapping and Troy decides to say hi conveniently

Simple and can stay true to his leaving as he’s still going around the world and fits Abeds request of Troy wanting to return home occasionally

The second idea I had is someone like Annie calls for a plumbing service to fix a toilet or sink or something and Troy shows up it could even be his company if he really has Pierce’s money

Maybe his journey was done, or just decided it wasn’t for him and settled down with the plumbing/mechanic idea they were building up for him.

They reunite happily this could be their high school connection, like old classmates checking in and seeing where their futures are heading and this could reveal Annie’s internship earlier to us the audience

If it’s at the apartment Abed could be there as well since they lived together and they also reunite

And obviously have to have a Troy and Abed scene in there

This gives the younger trio a moment together similar to the older trio

Annie brings Troy along for the little reunion and he’s there for the pitches and goodbyes maybe even joins Abed or Annie reasons depending on which route as the first could just be to keep traveling and second is he has the time and money to take days off

Dynamics I can't go too into, Shirley’s mother son dynamic with him, Britta past romance might kiss or something, Jeff would probably hug him tightly as he would really miss him at this time in his life, the new characters, Dean and etc....

Pierce Hawthorne

I know irl Chevy has the most issues with the show so to not just bring him back to life I’ll stay true to the idea he died in the show

iirc they made a museum in Pierce’s name in the show so to have him have the study group stop by there as a moment for the original 7 and have them look at Pierce’s hologram similar to the start of season 5

Pitches

Shirley

Would probably be funny where they either work for her in a food business with her as a controlling boss and/or are make them main members of her church or something and they aren’t at Greendale

They would look at her funny particularly Frankie and Elroy but the others just knew that was Shirley

Troy

Probably some adventure show starring him and Abed with Annie and Britta as love interests Shirley as a motherly mentor and Jeff as the comedic relief very much like the homages they've done

As Troy would take the pitches a bit more literally and just make up a show but they would probably like his idea

Changing Jeff Britta Abed and Annie

I had a few changes to make with their endings as well

Abed and Annie

I don’t have a problem with their endings

Minus the AnniexJeff aspect for Annie which I’ll bring up for Jeff

I would just change how they bring out the information of where they’re heading as we didn’t build up Annies at all and Abed’s made sense but also had not hints

So would just add a scene where they get the email they got the job or something similar so when it’s revealed more towards the end it’s shocking but not out of nowhere

Jeff and Britta

With these returning characters being here for the end I would personally adjust Jeff’s and Britta’s endings, as realistic as it is, it is kinda sad that they had to both give up their dreams and just accept being there

Like Britta even if being a therapist didn’t work out she could have been a school counselor at the school

That way she’s making a difference and also helping people which is similar to a therapist just not in a same way

As I think her desire to help was a main characteristic they played for laughs but they didn’t really use that for her bartender job as she wasn’t really giving advice like other bartenders in media do so even though it wasn’t as high as she wanted she’s doing what she wanted similar to Jeff not being a lawyer but still is involved with law

And Jeff’s failed law firm didn’t make much sense to me given how they were treating his knowledge before that but a teacher is fine, they could also have him accept more of a consultant role as well with other firms like with his old lawyer friends that don't hate him

Outside of that, I do think that they had to either commit him to Annie or Britta though as I understand why they didn’t but to basically say he ends up with neither felt weird after everything

Not that he “deserved” them but there was definitely a want from all three parties

So maybe Jeff ending is marrying Britta at least a serious proposal, giving him something stable as they teased it multiple times so while everyone goes away they will at least have each other, Shirley could have inspired this idea giving how she feels about marriage and etc

Would probably have to cut the ending kiss and fantasy scene with Annie and Jeff but yeah

It also gives it a full circle moment as Jeff and Britta kinda started everything and they would now end it too

Also I know the actors weren’t the issue as Alison Brie was playing younger but Jeff and Annie might have looked too weird in universe looking back as there was around a 15 year gap with them as Annie was in her early 20s and Jeff near 40

(Plus I kinda liked the idea of Troy x Annie or Troy x Annie x Abed more personally lol)

But yeah that would be my ending changes

Jeff marries Britta and does more law stuff on the side giving him stability

Britta becomes a counselor having a better job at helping people which she loves doing

Shirley still has her spin off and is being a helpful Christian

Abed follows his film/tv dreams and still has is best friend in his life

Annie goes to become more successful and still has a bright future with her friends and doesn't have to worry about a Jeff

Troy either still traveling the world for his money or actually becomes a productive member of society with his plumbing/mechanic career

Pierce still dead but still affects the group positively and negatively

Hickey has his cameo and still becomes the elder of the group

Frankie, Elroy, Dean and Chang can stay the same

[never-fully-lucid]

[Un]Subtle Signs

Pairing: Abed Nadir / Reader 

Summary: You’re caught off guard when the boy you’ve been [not so] sneakily admiring just straight up asks you about your feelings. No Y/N used.

Word Count: 1.3 k

“Do you like me?”  

The words seem to echo in the silence of the empty street, and it takes you a few seconds to process the loaded question. How you’d gone from discussing the quality of visual effects in Inspector Spacetime to Abed dropping this fucking conversational bomb was a mystery. The two of you had offered to buy Troy some medicine for his current cold, and had been making your way back to their apartment while casually discussing the show. Seemingly out of nowhere he’d popped the question, in the same tone you’d use to discuss the weather, and now you’re stuck waiting for your brain to stop making fax machine noises.

Once your brain has sufficiently rebooted, you realize that you’ve stopped walking and take a few strides to make up for the distance between you. Abed- now also standing still- is looking at you expectantly, clearly awaiting some form of reaction.  

Deciding to tread cautiously, you respond, making sure to keep your tone light-hearted,

“Of course I do, Abed. I consider us good friends.”  

Friends, you repeat to yourself. Just friends.

Instead of taking your answer at face value and resuming the trek, Abed studies you. You hope that the one theater class you took when you were twelve is paying off right now. As his silence stretches for a beat too long, you feel yourself growing a little flustered and more than a little stressed.

Could he know how you feel about him? You’d been so careful! Taking care not to stare at him for too long during study sessions, making sure not to ask him too many personal questions despite wanting to know him better. After all, you didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable around you; you’ve been known to come on a bit too strong in order to compensate for your own awkwardness.

Finally, he speaks up;

“I know that we’re good friends. But that isn’t the kind of “like” that I’m referring to, and I think you know that.” he says, and your stomach sinks a little, blood rushing to your face.  

Shitshitshit! He knows! Or at the very least, suspects!!

“Hah- hah” you laugh weakly, meaning for it to sound lighthearted but coming out slightly choked off. Alarm bells ring in your head and you scramble to do as much damage control as possible, your brain working on overdrive trying to salvage your cover. For all you know this could cost you your friendship with the boy in front of you.  

“Not that you’re not a good-looking great guy,” great start, real smooth, “but can I ask why you’re asking me of all people?” you manage to pull off a small perplexed smile as you speak, which proves hard to do under his intense stare.

Without a pause, Abed launches into his seemingly prepared explanation:

“I'm a perceptive person- I observe those in my close circles, and we’re around each other pretty often. I know that you look at me more than you look at others in the group. At first I simply accredited that to our placement at the table, but there were other signs.”

Uh oh.  

He continues;

“When our eyes meet, you look away and usually flush shortly after. You smile a lot when I’m talking, even if it’s about references that you don’t get. You try to be open about your feelings when we talk so that I don’t have to decipher what you really mean. You look at me the way that you were looking at me minutes ago: your eyes crinkle at the edges, you lean forward; your lips curl slightly upwards- you look... ‘soft.’”

Nonono.  

Your heart is racing. Palms sweaty. Knees weak. Arms heavy- you know; the whole shebang.

“Plus, on the rare occasion that I wear tank tops, I can basically feel you burning a hole into me with your sta-”

“I get it!” you interject, cutting him off rather abruptly. You’d been rapidly growing redder throughout his speech, and by this point you’re sure that all the blood in your body has flooded to your face. You wonder if you could faint to avoid this conversation, and contemplate holding your breath to better those chances.. 

Oh well.

A sigh escapes your mouth. “I thought I’d been so sneaky,” you admit a little dejectedly. There’s no point in trying to deny it now, not after all the surprisingly detailed examples that clearly pointed out your infatuation. Abed’s brows raise, a little surprised to see you acknowledge it so quickly.

“You did your best, and I don’t think the others know,” he points out, seemingly to offer some consolation.  

His words don’t make what you need to say next any less painful, but you know you have to put your feelings aside:

“I’m really sorry if my attention made you uncomfortable. Our friendship is really important to me, not just on the basis of being study-group friends. To be honest, ever since the whole trying-to-set-you-up scenario, I was nervous to ask if you were open to dating, let alone admit my growing feelings and ruin our friendship,” your palms are sticky with sweat, so you wipe them on your shirt.

“I really did try to ignore them. My feelings, I mean. Regardless, I really hope that this doesn’t affect our relationship, and I’m willing to just forget that this talk ever happened, and I promise I’ll try to stop reacting to you the way I d-”

“Don’t.”  

This time it’s Abed who cuts you off, which has you blinking up in surprise at him. Which part does he not want you to do? Before you can ask, he continues,

“Don’t pretend this didn’t happen. And don’t try to change the way you act around me.”

Your eyes widen a little as his gaze moves away from your face, almost self-consciously. A flicker of hope ignites in your chest, and with baited breath, you ask:

“Why not?”

Abed takes a small step towards you, still looking away. 

“Because we share similar interests. Because you always try to think of others, even when being scatterbrained. Because you find happiness in the small things in life. Because I like spending time with you. I’m drawn to you in the same way that you’re drawn to me.” He’s looking at you again, that intense gaze directed at you, with a small smile gracing his lips.

Your flicker of hope is now a burning flame that’s spread throughout your body, and you can feel your mouth stretching into an ear splitting grin. Almost in a dream-like state, you take a small step towards him, looking for any sign that he doesn’t want you so intimately close. Seeing none, you proceed to wrap your arms around his waist, and lean your head into his chest. He smells like soap and some kind of laundry detergent, mixed with a scent that’s just uniquely him. As he returns the embrace, wrapping his larger arms around your frame, a strong sense of comfort washes over you; a feeling you didn’t know you were longing for so strongly prior to this very moment.

The two of you stay standing in the middle of the street, simply basking in your newfound closeness, until the moment is punctured by a deep growl coming from Abed’s stomach, making you giggle against his chest and unwind your arms from his torso. 

“We should get back to Troy, he’ll get mad if we leave him waiting,” you suggest, voice hushed due to the lack of space between the two of you. Before you can move to step back in order to walk beside him, Abed reaches out and takes your hand, studying your reaction. Your grin returns tenfold, grateful that he’s considerate of your response, and you lace your fingers through his larger ones, pulling him in the direction of his and Troy’s street. 

You know there are still things left to be discuss, feelings left to share; maybe friends left to tell, but right now the warmth of his palm against yours is your primary focus, as you walk hand in hand down the empty street, debating the special effects budget of your favourite Inspector Spacetime episodes. 

     ___________________________________________________________

A/N: This is my first fic in a while, so I’m a little nervous posting it,,,  If anyone actually sees this, I’d love some feedback / criticism- my knowledge of appropriate tenses, character writing, and all syntax went out the window. 

[I struggle with expressing physical contact, which is why there’s a lot of making sure that both parties are comfortable with what’s happening!] 

Abed deserves all the love 🥺

[sandalaris]

send your a character impression asks: Seth and Kate if you don't have those already, and Jeff Winger and Annie Edison! ❤❤❤

Seth Gecko

First impression: I think I loved him right off the bat. He’s snarky and quick witted and those are usually the characters I like first. 

Impression now: Not much has changed. I suppose I have more of an understanding for how he handled his demons now compared to my initial reaction to his heroin use. And I definitely think he’s at his healthiest in season three. 

Favorite moment: Oh jeeze, he has so many good ones! I suppose I rather like him in Shady Glen. Just like his whole taking charge of the group and his awkwardly trying to smooth things over when he and Richie busted in guns drawn on that woman and her son. Reminded me of the convo between him and the Dew Drop Inn clerk.

Idea for a story: Nothing new, but I’ve got anther tUA-inspired AU snippet brewing that touches more on Seth’s Bad Ass Normal superpower though.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t know that it’s all that unpopular, but I’m not convinced Seth used again after season two. I’m not convinced he didn’t either, but it’s never been a personal headcanon or something that I’ve felt was a given or anything. I mostly feel that he went back to popping prescription pain pills and probably mixing them with alcohol (not smart) when he was feeling particularly shitty.

Favorite relationship: Probably him and Richie (although he and Kate are a close second.) Their relationship is pretty much the heart of the show and I don’t think I would’ve loved it nearly so much had it not been.

Favorite headcanon: It’s a tie between Seth getting a cross tattoo to represent Kate after season three, and that Seth started questioning his faith after the blood-transfusion-that-shouldn’t’ve-worked. And as a tie into the second one, that he and Kate do not have compatible blood types, something Seth learned after the fact.

Kate Fuller

First impression: That she was a typical, albeit a bit on the mature side, teenage girl, lol. At least for most of season one. I think I probably stereotyped her a bit, because I remember not realizing just how quickly Kate grew unafraid/immune to the Gecko Brothers until my first rewatch.

Impression now: She is so much a “there’s bravery in remaining soft”/”world’s nicest badass”/”do not mistake my kindness for ignorance” character. She has this quiet strength and is unwavering in who she is at her core.  

Favorite moment: Pretty much anytime Kate meets someone new and they inevitably get attached and decide to go to the ends of the earth for her (or they’re evil and decide they want to possess her *cough*Malvado,Tanner,Oculto*cough*)

Idea for a story: I’ve been wanting to write a fairytale!AU, particularly with my favorite fairytale, but it doesn’t fit SethKate all that well. Maybe I’ll just expand on that crack!ficlet I wrote...? Idk. I’ve got too many wips anyway.

Unpopular opinion: I can’t think of one I haven’t named before. I suppose with the increase in purity culture here on Tumblr the fact that I really don’t mind the age gap between Seth and Kate nor do I think it makes any difference if Kate’s underage or legally an adult would count.

Favorite relationship: In show it’s probably her and the Gecko Brothers, but in those inbetween moments I really love her and Scott.

Favorite headcanon: Currently I’m think about how I headcanon that Kate has some lingering muscle memory about swordsmanship from Amaru. Its nothing too exciting, especially since Amaru’s pre-Earth memories -and therefore her memories of learning to use a sword- are fuzzy at best, but her body practiced with one enough during those six months that it falls into place easy enough when she picks up a blade.

Jeff Winger

First impression: Like Seth, he’s that brand of snarky and quick witted that I immediately like. 

Impression now: I don’t know that it’s changed much. I love how the show let Jeff grow but also let him slip back into old habits. People don’t change overnight, and while Jeff didn’t need each lesson hammered over his head repeatedly, he did need to learn not to fall back into his default mode whenever he could.  

Favorite moment: Anytime Jeff shows genuine excitement to hang out with the study group. Like when he showed up early to the apartment for the wedding.

Idea for a story: I’ve had this idea for a while where Jeff never got caught and is an even worse version of himself than he was circa the pilot. And he somehow meets a few (maybe all?) of the study group only they don’t make him a better person so much as he manipulates them into being part of his life as he unwantingly grows attached to each of them. It’s kind of dark for a Community fic, not counting some of the darkest timeline fics, but the idea entered my head one day and has been living rent free there ever sense.

Unpopular opinion: Its mostly unpopular among Jeff/Annie shippers, but I rather like how the Jeff/Britta storyline played out. It makes sense to me that they became friends with benefits and that the sexual tension between them faded as they got to know each other on a deeper level since they were incompatible. Plus, I really like their friendship.

Favorite relationship: I really loved his and Abed’s dynamic at the beginning of the series, but for the bulk of the show it’s a tie between him and Annie (romantic) and him and Britta (platonic)

Favorite headcanon: I fully believe Jeff is demiromantic. Its why he doesn’t think romantic love is real, he so rarely experiences it and only after getting close to someone, something he actively avoids doing, and why he figured that having a friend he gets along with and is sexually attracted to is all that was needed for a romantic relationship.

Annie Edison

First impression: Mainly I just remember not liking her crush on Troy in the first season, lol. I’ve never been that into ships where one side is super obvious and kind of desperate while the other is oblivious and/or sees them as just friends. I was really proud of her when she decided to not let Troy use her grandmother’s blanket (which is coincidentally also the episode I started to ship her and Jeff, albeit mildly at the time) and their friendship later on was wonderful.

Impression now: She’s one of my favorite characters on the show, although on Community I love them all so that’s not saying much, lol. Troy says it best when he says that Annie expects everyone to be better than they are and for herself to be better than everyone.

Favorite moment: I can’t just pick one moment, grr. Fine, the first thing that popped into my head was Annie saying the line about “a C? Why don’t I just get pregnant at a gas station?!” or something like that. Just her absolute insistence that anything less than perfection in herself is some kind of a epic failure in life is just amusing to me.

Idea for a story: I don’t think I really have any off the top of my head that aren’t Community as a whole fics. I’d love to write an AU for the show someday, it lends itself to the concept so well that just about any sort of AU would do. An I still have the FDtD crossover fic that is sitting all messy in my wip folder.

Unpopular opinion: I don’t really care where they went with her character in seasons five and six (I particularly don’t like how it was played for laughs that she started taking pills again between seasons 4 and 5). Her storylines are mostly fine, but I prefer the way her character went in the seasons that came before.

Favorite relationship: I was trying to think of someone besides Jeff, but even not looking at them as a ship I really did love their dynamic throughout the show. 

Favorite headcanon: Annie’s parents where the ones who got her hooked on Adderall, telling her what to say to her doctor to get a prescription or maybe bringing home a bottle themselves, so that she could keep up her perfect grades and do all the right afterschool activities to get into an Ivy League school and make them proud. They were mostly embarrassed that Annie “couldn’t handle it” and tried to quit, saying she needed to try harder and “really, Annie, stop being so dramatic” when she OD’d.

[vanxcks]

and a movie

Abed Nadir lives in LA now, and there's something they still haven't done.

Word count: 1766

AO3 link in notes

“I want to make a movie.” Abed says it abruptly. It’s the reason he came, after all. And it’s important to make your point early in the conversation; otherwise it runs away from you.

“You know I’m not a producer, right?” his friend asks.

“I know that. But I wanted to be able to air the idea out. See if it’s Hollywood-ready. I know what I’m doing, but a second opinion can’t hurt. Besides, you seem to have some success.”

His friend laughs. “I mean, a couple movies in, I guess my opinion counts.” Abed cracks a smile. “What’s it about?”

“Friends. Not the show. Friends of mine. Old friends, actually. From before I moved here.”

“A movie based on your friends?”

“I was thinking my friends could be in it, actually.”

“So, a biopic?”

“Yes. I could document some portion of their lives.”

“You mean it would be a documentary.”

Abed pauses and then says, “Technically, yes, but six seasons and a documentary doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing.”

Abed doesn’t have a roommate, but he does have friends. People that he hangs out with regularly—going out to dinner after work, having movie nights where they all bring different snacks. They have bad taste in movies, but so does he. He’s the first to admit Kickpuncher isn’t a masterpiece. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t still have his costume hanging in his closet for emergencies.

Or non-emergencies. But only if they involve watching the movie alone at two in the morning and acting out the scenes as they go. Those are acceptable.

In high school, he didn’t think he’d ever have any friends. He thought he was stuck in the underdog role, the nerd that got his books knocked out of his arms, the kid that no one wanted to be partners with. Although Abed had never actually gotten his books knocked out of his arms. He thought it was a ridiculous trope. He’d fit into the rest of the categories though.

At some point at Greendale, he’d thought he would never again have friends like the study group. These were the days, the short period that would change their lives forever. The period that they would eventually have to leave behind, but that nothing would ever measure up to again. He’d expected to spend the rest of his shallow life thinking back to these four (five, six) years with his found family. As it turns out, though, tv shows are short because of budget, because of the inability of writers to churn out more, because of low viewership. And just because they’re short doesn’t mean there isn’t more to the story. He’s happy now. He’s comfortable.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a picture of that first halloween up on his bulletin board, though.

“So, what exactly would this documentary be about?”

Abed cocks his head. “I don’t know. It would be about them. It would be about them and...I guess it would be a little bit like Friends, except funnier. I mean, the relationship and drama of it. Although the emotional bits were always my least favorite. I liked the action episodes the best.”

“The action episodes from Friends?”

“No, from when I was at Greendale.”

“Oh, sorry, yes, the episodes from when you were at Greendale,” his friend says, and Abed can tell it’s sarcasm, but he can also tell that it’s not mean.

Abed nods. “Yes. Maybe I should do something more whimsical, like that. It’s not exactly in the sitcom format, but the show never was.”

“And by whimsical, you mean…”

“Oh, you know, paintball fights, eerily accurate homages, the like. Genre-bending stuff.”

“That’s what college was like for you?”

“I told you,” Abed says. “Genre-bending stuff.”

--

Everyone still keeps in touch. Annie visits the most. She’s happy, and he’s glad he told her to take a forensics class. It’s better for her.

She visits and she asks how he’s doing (well), what he’s doing (he’s working on his portfolio before he starts trying to get a big title—it’s an important step), and where his new dreamatorium is (he doesn’t have one. He’s grown past the need for childish things like that. He doesn’t need a designated room for rendering imaginations. He’s an adult. He can do it anywhere in his house now.)

Annie’s doing well, too. She had to intern for a few years, but now she’s properly training at the FBI Academy. (“Basically, I’m, like, really fit now,” she says and laughs. “And they let me carry a gun.”

“But you already had a gun.”

“What? No I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did. Troy and I found it in your bag when you moved in.”

“You searched my bag?”)

--

Abed and Troy talk to each other sometimes, when Troy has cell service. It’s not often.

Troy didn’t bring a DVD player (which is ridiculous, Abed should have helped him pack), but he did manage to buy a crappy portable one from one of the places he’d stopped for fuel and food. Every several weeks they call, put the same DVD in, and then count down to play. Troy’s movie is always scratchy and terrible, so it’s awkward (“Pause. No, wait, play...oh no, it’s lagging again. Did it just skip over a scene? Pause.”) They dress up and make popcorn, and a couple of times they even made a blanket fort like back at Greendale.

Troy has been on his trip for longer than any of them had expected, but that’s what happens, right? And that has to be okay. He’ll be back eventually, and Abed is okay with that.

Troy says he’s been making music. It makes sense. He’d always liked writing raps for the two of them.

--

Britta visits often too. Mostly to detail him on the rampant racism and misogyny in the film industry. (“You work with these people? Abed, I can’t believe you. Do you understand the history behind this? These people have been silencing voices for decades. Blackface, yellowface, and don’t even get me started on the women’s roles in a lot of these movies.”

“They’re good movies.”

“Yes, but the impact of them on our society is astronomical!”)

He knows about all of it, anyway—he’s a muslim and half-arab man watching movies made in the twentieth century. It’s difficult not to notice the bigotry. But he knows she means well. And he likes it when she visits.

Abed shows her the neighborhood. It’s small and busy and feels like a movie set, probably because it is the movie set. He’d seen so many stories told in Los Angeles. Being here is amazing. They go to a coffee shop, and she drinks coffee while he eats a cupcake. Then, they go for burgers.

-- New Message To: dharmon@gmail.com Subject: Props

How much would it cost me to get enough paintball guns to stage a school-wide fight if the school had about one thousand people in it? Try and get back soon.

New Message To: dharmon@gmail.com Subject: Re: Props

Disregard the paintball guns. It’s been done too many times.

--

Shirley visits the least, although he knows that she wishes she could come more. (“I’m so sorry,” she says, “I just wish I could take care of all of you, but my babies take up so much of my time.” Then, “did you know that Ben Benjamin took his first steps last week?”

“Yes. You sent me a video, remember?”

“Oh, yes. Wasn’t it nice?”

“Very nice.”)

She bakes for him. She bakes for all of them, actually, since she always makes them send pictures of themselves with the food to the group chat. It’s not like it was. She knows her worth, and she knows that they need her. “I just like to take care of you, is all,” she’d said. They sit at the table and eat. Shirley doesn’t like silence. Which is nice, because it means that she’ll listen to him talk for hours. He can’t always tell if she’s getting bored, but she doesn’t outright stop him, and that’s nice. She thinks everything is nice.

--

New Message To: dharmon@gmail.com Subject: Re: Props

How about a vat of lava?

--

Jeff doesn’t visit the most out of all of them, but he does stay the most in touch. He’s still at Greendale, the only one other than Britta. They’re still trying to keep the school running. Britta started a bartending class, which is ironic because Britta is terrible at bartending. But being incompetent is part of Greendale’s charm, isn’t it?

When Jeff comes to visit, he wants to watch Abed’s documentaries. They’re getting good. Jeff thinks so too, and Jeff would say if he thought they were bad. Abed likes that about Jeff—he says what he thinks. Except for the sarcasm. And the lawyering.

The point is, Jeff rarely lied to them.

He does critique everything except the filmmaking, though. He jokes about Abed’s friends, about his boss, about the logo for the coffee shop at the corner of the street. He gets distracted by every conventionally attractive woman that comes on-screen, too.

“Hey, you’re doing all of this documentary filming, Abed,” he said, during his last visit.

“Yeah?” Abed pressed pause.

“Remember when you would film us? Make all those movies? Like when Pierce tried to fake his goddamn death, and you wouldn’t put down your camera even when we were all having breakdowns? Or when the dean made that commercial, and you wouldn’t put the camera down because of his breakdown?”

“Yeah, I do. Why?”

Jeff paused, and Abed turned a little to stare at him. “I don’t know. It was fun.”

“You’re right.” Abed’s brow creased. “It was fun.”

Jeff didn’t reply, so Abed pressed play again.

--

It takes a lot more planning, but Abed eventually cobbles together some things. A ragged film crew. The equipment he needs. He isn’t sure what he’s going to do with this, once it’s done. Sell it? Keep it on his shelf, along with his other documentaries? Their adventures had always seemed like too much to keep from an audience.

He types out the email a few times, many times, because he’s not sure it’s right, because it’s too long, because it’s too brief, because it’s too cliche, too plot-twist-slash-sequel-slash-unecessary-renewal. In the end, though, he deletes the whole thing and just writes what he wants to say.

--

New Message To: brittaperry@hotmail.com, jwinger@greendale.edu, troyisawesome@gmail.com, shirleybennet@yahoo.com, aedison@gmail.com Subject:

Hi,

I want to make a movie.

A/N:  i binged this show on netflix during quarantine and it absolutely destroyed me. i immediately opened up a document to write a fix it before realising that there wasn't anything to fix, really. i just wasn't used to show creators actually knowing how to write, so props to dan harmon for that, i guess. i have a bunch more fic ideas, so i'll definitely get to work posting them soon!! thank you so much for reading and please leave a comment and/or kudos if you liked it! (all email addresses in this fic are either fake and made up or blatant and obnoxious references to the show! you'll never know)

[come-to-the-day]

Now, we go into the storyline of Rigo’s second weight gain. 

As I said before, Jorge and Nick have a modelling tour away, and they happen to have sex with each other, one night. While Nick feels incredibly guilty, Jorge is completely satisfied with himself, having completed his vengeance - he is so happy that when he comes back home, he immadiately jumps in Rigo’s arms and starts kissing him. They hug, and kiss, and caress, and do whatever they are doing to each other all the way back until they are in their flat, and then they have wild, passionate sex. But once everything is other, Jorge returns to his room, confusing Rigo. Jorge explains to him that he just wanted to have a sexual relationship, he doesn’t wish for a love story. He goes on, saying that he learned from Rigo that “sex can be totally and completely meaningless”, and that he still thinks Rigo has feelings for Troy. (It is unclear here if Jorge is really honest here or if he is a bit crueler than normal to “complete” his revenge). But anyway Rigo, who has now all of his sweet illusions broken, feels depressed, and starts binge-eating chocolate ice-cream in bed in front of telenovelas (note that before, during his first weight gain, he binged-ate in front of advertisement for building muscles).

An unclear time lapse passes, and Rigo gains back all of the weight he has lost. TO the point that when he has to go to the court, for a trial that opposes him to the boss that fired him, he can only fit in his pajamas pants and nothing else. Troy has to bandage his torso again to make him fit in his suit. (There are a lot of jokes about Rigo being a new Oprah - because he apparently gained back all of the weight in just A FEW DAYS). 

Troy also mentions that Rigo is now “bigger than last time, as fat as a balloon” and I have to talk about a question of size here... Troy says Rigo is bigger in strip 236 (picture 3), but when we see fat Rigo in strip 235 (picture 2) he actually looks roughly the same size he used to be during his first weight gain. BUT the picture 4, strip 238, makes him appear quite rounder (indeed, bigger than during his first weight gain). In this strip, after winning the trial, the boys all go celebrating, and Rigo takes off the straps, revealing a huge, round gut - and I mean round. Before, his fat gut stayed in a roughly square or rectangular shape, it was just wider, thicker, curvier. But here his belly is completely round - much rounder than before.

Funnily, this time he isn’t criticized anymore. “I like a man with a little meat on his bones”, “Who wants one of those anorexic little stick-boys anyway...” “Amazing what a fat wallet can do for a fat ass”. Because yes, Rigo ended up winning a huge sum of money after the trial, and yes, that is why everyone is now so kind to him. Plus, Rigo mentions “When I’m upset I eat!” - so either it means he learned and admitted the new habit a developped a few strips back, either it is something he used to do earlier in his life (pre-Troy comics)... I don’t know, I’ll let you judge. 

We move on to six months later (issue 239, picture 5). We see Rigo, rich, floating on a dream pool, and still quite fat. Not at big as before, but still fat: he keeps the weight on the sides, with the love handles, but in terms of thickness he doesn’t have a big, round gut anymore, just a bulge of fat over the belt, a cover of flab over the abs and that’s it. Troy informs the reader that Rigo is now perpetually patrying, “You never have to work again! You have this house in the hills! You can eat anything you want and still get to fuck anyone you want!” etc... 

Which is actually quite interesting: indeed, remember, Rigo said he could only lose weight by doing two things. One, having a regular sex life, and two, stop eating junk food. It s here mentionned that while he regained a regular sex life, he still doesn’t eat healthy - that’s why he lost a big part of his weight, but still keep fat and flab. I love these little details 

Then we move on again six months later (so now one year after the trial). Rigo became a cop (or a sheriff thingy? I don’t know anything about you weird forces in USA). I added this picture because he actually looked quite buff and thick when in uniform - I thought he had kept the flab. His belly, in uniform, seemed slightly curvy. But when we see him later, with not much clothes or not at all, he is ripped, all muscles, no flab. But... I don’t know if that’s me but he still looks thicker in the middle, with a thicker, wider torso. Is it just his new design? Has a gained more muscle? I don’t know.

Oh yeah, and now Rigo is in a threesome relationship with Jorge and Eddie (he met again Eddie when the later became Rigo’s lawyer for the trial). 

Later, when we see him in a tank top, he actually looks just as thin as he used to be. So I guess it’s goodbye fat Rigo.

Except that... I’m really searching for small details here, but look at picture 10, strip 273. We see Rigo on his back, and from the sides, and we see that, while he has abs, they are thick abs, and not fully “defined”. Either 1- as I said it may be a new style and design the artist is going for or 2- Rigo actually worked out to eliminate all of the excess weight and get back his muscles but he stopped drying out, resulting in him having a natural and normal level of fat and flash. (It was mentionned before that drying out to have 0% body fat and a killing definition was an habit of the protagonists and the people surrounding them). So maybe Rigo became even more healthy by adopting a more “naturally muscled” look? 

[littlestsnicket]

community rewatching continues, mostly done with season 4. usually i skip season 4 so it’s been a while since i’ve seen it.

- megan ganz GETS britta. she’s the only character that consistently feels like herself. (also, i live for the casual references to jeff being not great in bed, and there’s an uptick in those this season.)

- the muppet episode is unwatchable garbage. i recoiled the first time they started singing and actually for real physically flinched and immediately pressed the button to skip to the next episode when i got to the confession part. just... eeugh, cringe. not good.

- there are two (2) episodes that i think are really solid.

(1) the inspector space time episode: i really like troy and britta’s relationship here, and the complete and utter subversion of the girlfriend pushing the best friend out of the relationship trope. and also that abed ultimately believes that he is important to troy. I also kind of like the annie/jeff stuff in this episode? like... i like how weird and committed to play acting annie is, and her speech about fantasies at the end and if this had affected their relationship where annie realizes she needs to be more careful because jeff is an actual human person she has a real non-fantasy relationship with i would unreservedly like this. but it establishes the new “normal” for how they interact over this season so it’s ultimately really gross.

(2) the body swap episode fucking nails troy and abed’s relationship. it’s, maybe, the only episode that i felt got abed right. and i love how perceptive abed is show to be able to talk to britta as troy. and what this shows about how close and platonically intimate troy and abed’s relationship is and i love it! i love that troy and britta’s relationship just didn’t work. that so rarely happens on tv, and it feels really real. also... the dean trying to body swap with jeff entertains me a lot. the lenord is the valedictorian subplot doesn’t actually make any sense, but whatever. annie and shirley’s rivalry is good here. (even though it doesn’t really make sense to me that shirley’s grades are that good? she’s definitely smart enough to get straight a’s at a garbage community college but her focus is elsewhere—starting a business and having a family would be more important to her than that extra work.)

- abed and rachel are not enough to redeem the rest of the episode they are in (this is the ultimate low point of what we see of troy and britta’s relationship and, actually, also troy and abed’s relationship, ugh.) but ABED AND RACHEL!

things that are generally, not episode specific, not quite right:

- i wish britta and troy’s relationship explicitly acknowledged that britta is not a healthy person and is explicitly attracted to unavailable men. troy is as available as she can handle—she can only put up with his genuine kindness and attentiveness as long as she knows she comes second to abed.

- the way the dean interacts with jeff is very uncomfortable. i keep thinking about the bit in season 6, where the dean likens him coming out as a scarf trick. his obsession with jeff is orders of magnitude less creepy when he’s showing the same focus on other things. the singlemindedness is really ick.

- kind of feels like they softened off a lot of jeff’s pricklyness. do not approve. and a lot of the winger speeches feel really trite and far too honest.

- troy is really reduced to abed’s sidekick. his relationship with britta gets very little screen time and he has nothing else going on. the whole truest repairman plot just evaporated and isn’t replaced with anything else. and we loose a lot of the complexity of troy and abed’s relationship that is built up in season 3.

- the hacked together cameras in the documentary episode... why in the world does abed have less access to tech here than he did in earlier seasons? it’s such a stupid gag. (but ken’s performance as “kevin” is really good; he is so fucking earnest, it’s adorable. that’s good, and the school board members showing up is good too.)

- why has jeff moved? his apartment looks totally different than it did in earlier seasons.

- annie and abed have approximately no meaningful interactions this season and they are my favorite. so that’s garbage. annie knows him better than to set him up with a caricature of a manic pixie dream girl.

[demisexual-deesaster]

Maybe Lilith x a new Siren/ ex bandit leader?? Just the conflict of her suppesed to be against her but falling for her instead

Ahhh this is an interesting ask! Thank you! I'll do my best to honour this request :3 In this HC, the reader will be the vault hunter! Major Spoilers for the fate of a character from Borderlands 3 included, so read at your own risk! Some non canon moments have been added too. Also, oof, this got really long I'm sorry haha

Moving into new Pandora territory because of the damn Calypso twins was annoying to say the least. More than three quarters of your bandits had become mutinous bastards, and you'd almost taken care of all of them, and had almost taken back your home, bit obviously, the Calypso twins had to ruin it with their grandstanding. You barely escaped with your life that day.

You meet Vaughn a few days later, and after seeing your 'super awesome banditness!!' he sent you on a super secret scouting mission, and after your concerns about this supposed Vault Key fragment, he assures you that it's in safe hands. "Go Sun Smashers!" He cheers.

When you return, it's to Vaughn hanging upside down from a chain, and when he sees you, he yells from happiness. "Oh thank goodness you're here! I was getting lonely all by myself! Yeah...stuff happened..." He explains everything to you. You and Vaughn haven't been the best of friends. While you're sarcastic, witty and quick on your feet, Vaughn is...the complete opposite.

You meet Lilith a while later, even if you have to rescue a robot and claim a COV Base as your own temporarily. That woman is no joke, and with the way her eyes sparkle, you know she means business. She doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about having to welcome an ex bandit leader, and when you realize that this is THE Lilith of the Crimson Raiders, your bandit instincts scream at you to turn and run.

Of course, you don't. You owe Vaughn that much. She warily tells you about everything that happened, even though her tone is light, you can sense it. She's probably desperate for help, given how COV trashed their HQ. As you're heading to the Holy Broadcast Centre, you truly wonder if this woman can be fully trusted, or if she can trust you.

But as you keep completing mission after mission for the Firehawk, it becomes clearer to everyone–Vaughn at least, as he won't stop teasing you about it–that you're probably one of Lilith's most favourite Vault Hunters. Oh yeah. You weren't just a Crimson Raider now. You were a Vault Hunter. Things were looking pretty good. Until everything went to hell.

After you rescue Lilith–she said she could walk, but no way were you going to let her, spluttering as she was– and carry her aboard sanctuary, you escape by the skin of your teeth. When Tannis calls you for something, you don't notice the brilliant blush that's dusting the Firehawk's cheeks. She starts calling you killer affectionately from then on, and you can't help but smile giddily when she does.

The crew of the Sanctuary, Lilith's family, are am interesting bunch, and you feel yourself becoming a part of them and caring for them more and more as the days go by. Be it sabotaging radios for Moxxi, scanning vehicles for Ellie, salvaging parts for Claptrap, killing people for Zero and animals for Hammerlock or finding logs and drops for Tannis, you enjoyed every last one of them.

*SPOILER*

Maya and Ava had breezed easily into your life, though Maya's death had been a big blow to the Raiders. You liked Maya, so it hurt even more that you were powerless to stop it. Ava had been assigned to you, so you were the one who held her back when Maya died. When everyone gathered on the deck, Lilith's back was turned away from the group. No one seemed to know what to say, their grief towering. So you thought to say a few words.

"I'm not good at speeches but...Maya was...strong, from what little I knew of her. Everyone here was very close to her, and I'm sure that they miss her more than I ever could. But I think if Maya were here, she'd want us to take the fight to them, to win for the Crimson Raiders, and to come out on top. So if anything...we don't just owe this to the world anymore. The Calypso Twins have to be stopped. We owe that to Maya."

During the speech, Lilith had turned to you, and her eyes were wide, brimming with emotion. You'd awkwardly cut yourself off, suddenly feeling like a child, and Tannis had taken over, but Ava had stormed off, bitterly spouting things about how you were there and should've taken action, and blamed both you and Lilith for her mentor's death. After everyone had left, you went to check on Ava, but the girl didn't let you in, so you went back to Lilith, the latter thanking you for checking up on the girl. "Did you really mean what you said?" She'd whispered, and you'd nodded. "Every word."

*SPOILER END*

It's slow, but after that incident, you can see the difference in behaviour when it comes to how Lilith used to interact with you before, and how she does now. Lingering glances, shy smiles–you didn't know Lilith could be shy!– and, something which took you by surprise the first time, hugs and hand holding. It's something you looked forward to everytime you went on a mission. A brief but small hand squeeze, and a hug that lingered too long when you returned. It was so obvious to everyone that even Tannis and Claptrap had begun to take notice.

After one particularly grueling mission involving that ass Killavolt, you were in Tannis' lab, the woman berating you for not wearing shock resistant shields as she dressed your bruises. "Honestly! It's like you want to be hurt!" She huffs, and five minutes later, she's told you to rest for a while until Rhys contacts your team. You'd begun to protest, shirtless as you were, when the door opened, and Lilith walked in, frowning. "Hey Tannis, could you help me with–"

Her eyes had widened, and you remember feeling a lot naked than you were. It would've been funny, had your eyes not been as wide as hers too. You willed your hands to move, but they stayed as still as led. Tannis meanwhile, was completely oblivious, and continued to poke your abs with her fingers, ignoring Lilith. "Just a moment Lilith. I have a very stubborn patient I need to examine."

It had seemed the words hadn't registered, because Lilith had begun walking towards you, and out of nowhere, she poked your abs. You yelped, wincing, a red blush colouring your face. "Lilith! Honestly! Stop poking my patients like that!" Tannis huffed. Lilith, startled out of her revere, had nodded and mumbled a "Sorry Tannis. Take care of yourself, Vault Hunter." Vault Hunter. Not Killer. Why did it feel you'd screwed something up? It was probably nothing, right?

So...turns out, it wasn't. Lilith had become increasingly distant. The hugs had stopped, and so had the hand holding. There was some tension in the air, though you didn't know why. Moxxi had assured you, telling you that this is normally how Lilith dealt with feelings, and while it was a comforting thought that your feelings were reciprocated, it still didn't help that Lilith was treating you like this.

After a particularly deadly mission involving the COV, where Tyreen herself had made an appearance. You'd been hurt really bad, but you'd saved the life of innocent people. An explosion had knocked you back, and you'd tried getting up, but had found yourself crushed beneath Troy's boot heel. "Careful Troy. That's my super fan you know! We don't wanna beat her up too bad!"

She'd echo cast your broken and beaten form across the galaxies. "What is up everyone! We've got a special video today. It's my very own superfan, the second biggest heretic in the universe! It's the Firehawk's Dog! Do you have anything to say, Vault Hunter?"

You'd said nothing, glaring at the camera instead. Troy had chosen to plunge a knife inside you, and you'd cried out in pain. "That's what I'm looking for! My my Lilith! You've been working my super fan to the bone! That's supposed to be my job! Well! There's no harm in sharing, right? Sharing is caring after all!" She winks, and smacks the camera with a cackle, and Troy decides, for added dramatics, to twist the knife in more. You scream, and their laughter is the last thing you hear, before you black out.

When you wake up, you're on Sanctuary, or, more accurately, in Tannis' lab. She tells you that the Calypso's had left you for dead in the desert, and that Ellie and Vaughn had helped bring you back. Everyone had been worried sick. It was a miracle you were alive. "Is everyone okay?" You'd croaked out, and Tannis had nodded. "Are you?" She'd asked, and honestly, you were a little sore, but you were fine.

"Lilith was beside herself you know." Moxxi says, and you realize with a start that she's been there the whole time. "After Roland and Maya...well...you can see why she has trouble getting close to people, trouble admitting she has feelings."

You understand what Moxxi means. At first, Lilith's apprehension was understandable. You were a former bandit leader, and she is the leader of the Crimson Raiders. Both of you should be hating the other, yet you'd grown impossibly close. Now, it seemed Lilith was fighting a war with herself, debating whether or not what she felt for you should be pursued.

"I need to see Lilith." You mumble, immediately knowing what you had to do, and ignoring Tannis' protest, you walked to her room. She wasn't there. She wasn't at the bridge either. Giving up, you walked back to your room, where you found her. She was on your bed, holding a picture the two of you had taken on Pandora. She'd looked up, when she saw you walk in, and you were surprised to see tears in her eyes.

For a second, no one moved. Then, slowly, you walked to Lilith, stumbling over to her, and she'd shit to her feet when you finally crossed the distance between the two of you.

Hugging Lilith for the first time in weeks felt amazing. You finally felt complete, as if two halves of a whole were reunited. "Are you okay?" You mumbled, and Lilith spluttered out a laugh. "You got stabbed, crushed under a boot and nearly bled to death, and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

"Yes." You said simply, smiling when you felt Lilith sag against you. "I will be." She whispered, and she was right. Both of you had already been through a lot. Both of you were hurting, but when she broke the hug, leaned in, a kissed you, again and again and again, you knew, that neither of you were okay, but both of you would be. In time.

Whoo! This was way too long for my first imagine, oof. Hope you enjoyed this, and if you did, don't forget to like, follow and obey!! ;) Kidding!!! Seriously though, likes comments and reblogs help us a lot!!! So please yeah? :3

[scullys]

I am dying for more of your community opinions! Could you elaborate on your favorite characters, episodes, or dynamics? Or honestly whatever you want, I just love hearing people’s first time community takes

hell yeah i could. although not everything is completely processed in my mind so it might turn out confusing lmao

okay so favorite characters are jeff and annie obviously (and holy fuck my brain might be starting to develop an opinion about how sitcom couples are actually better than drama couples) i love jeff and his vulnerability underneath all the crap. he really is the one that feels the most huh that’s so adorable i can’t even begin- and annie oh my god i’m so attracted to her? she’s such a badass and such a cutie at the same time??? i’m scared of her but also aroused???? probably how jeff feels all the time too. again i really hate the age difference i do not feel comfortable with that at all, but it really really helps the fact that jeff was so aware of the creepy aspect and the power imbalance and just admired her from afar. also that it was acknowledged and so we know for a fact that he really is deeply in love with her as a person, despite her age, and that he respects her and is smart enough to know that a relationship at that stage of her life wouldn’t do them -especially her- any good. i’m actually quite satisfied with the way they handled most of it EXCEPT I REALLY WANT THE MOVIE WHERE THEY’RE FINALLY READY AND IN A RELATIONSHIP THANKS.

abed comes next because i relate to him a lot, from not understanding social cues to taking jokes too literally to oversharing to absorbing fictional characters’ personalities to make me feel more comfortable in my own body, to being a source of endless useless information but struggling to do simple math etc etc i might have issues and then troy because he’s just so fucking funny, his timing his delivery his loyalty his sensibility everything and troy and abed together make me emotional. i want a friendship like that so badly damn

hot take i really don’t like britta. i noticed her characterization changed A LOT in the second half of the show (jeff pointed it out twice “you seemed smarter than me when i met you” and “when did you become the group’s airhead?”) and though i don’t particularly love her ‘airhead’ part it did give her an adorableness that softened me towards her because before that i really found her deeply obnoxious. her fake wokeness got on my nerves sooo much. that episode where britta becomes friends with a girl just because she thinks she’s a lesbian and it would make her look cool and progressive? oh my god i wanted to slap her lmao. i like her personality as it was in the last season. she still has that “anarchist” attitude (visualize me rolling my eyes or clenching my teeth whichever you prefer) but she takes herself a little less seriously?? idk maybe it’s because her life’s such a mess at the moment and so she doesn’t feel as entitled and pretentious but i empathized with her a lot more.

i’m pretty indifferent to shirley as a character. i like her more in relation to the group as a whole. i love the thinly veiled rage she has and her changing from a sweet high-pitched voice to a deep threatening voice in a second gets me everytime. she is super religious and pretty homophobic sometimes so that’s annoying but it’s not shoved in my face every single episode so i got to like her a little bit.

pierce was hilarious and i kinda missed him when he left because of that tbh but he and chevy chase can go fuck themselves

i adore ben chang. that’s it. i enjoyed prof duncan whenever he popped up, didn’t know john oliver was in this show before

i couldn’t tell you my favorite episodes because i just finished binge-watching yesterday so it’s all a blur but as soon as i start rewatching i’m gonna be able to tell everything apart lmao off the top of my head: the timelines episode, the ass crack bandit episode and well the series finale. i remember laughing really hard at particular episodes but i don’t remember which ones they were so

overall this is one of the very few shows where i found myself saying “holy shit that’s good” out loud, be it for the dialogue, the writing in general or the concepts they came up with. it’s gonna be a comfort show for sure i love it so much. i’m downloading all the seasons right now so i can start giffing

[musesonawhim]

about Britta Perry

characters I’d like for her to interact with: mostly just the study group? at least for now, and especially after the show ends.  

icons: only from Ibiza for now, not made by me

about community and this muse: she’s a test muse, I can't promise to pick the perfect phrasing she'd use. I didn’t memorize Community episodes but I did watch it several times and can google if needed. 

page in construction and important to read due to trigger-y themes and my own take on her. Keep in mind that Britta's actions aren't always right and I do NOT consider them okay. The most important things are bolded, it’s up to you whether to read the rest or not. 

She will definitely do 'woke' things just for brownie points or mean well but not research enough to discuss a topic, sometimes actually defending the wrong side because she listened to a loud vocal minority.

I consider her straight because I believe that if Britta had felt even the slightest attraction to women she’d have used it to win arguments in every way possible, being the person she is, and made it a constant topic of conversation. That and she said so (and denied Annie a kiss)

Very important: Britta has been molested as a child by a man in a dinosaur costume, specifically at her 11th birthday party, and told her father, who didn't believe her and took his side after she told the restaurant owner. This was both mentioned in the show, albeit subtly, and confirmed in the official website and confirmed by Dan Harmon. That is an important part of Britta to me, and explains some of her issues. There will be references to it in threads with tags such as "rape tw" and "abuse tw" since we don't know how far it went and it tends to be the most common blocked tag for people who can be triggered by it, and if requested 'pedophilia tw', just in case. Please do tell me if you’d rather avoid this topic completely, I can’t always ask everyone beforehand and I promise you I will not as questions about it nor be upset. Your comfort comes before my roleplaying. I would love if she got to share this and vent to a few important friends while she works on it through therapy, which I headcanon was an on and off secret thing during the serie, especially after she decided to study psychology, and became permanent at the end of the season while she worked as bartender.

This also means that what her parents did to her, not believing her, drug testing her as a child because she laughed too much and so on, will be portrayed as the abuse it was, not a laughing matter, and I'm in favor of Britta never rekindling their relationship and being angrier for a longer time with her friends for talking to them behind her back, even if she never told them just how bad they were with examples, but eventually lets it go because of that very reason. We can write canon divergent threads where she’s more forceful about not wanting their friends to interact with them in a more serious way, or even tell them what they did, but otherwise canon isn’t that different if we have just Britta cut them off her life. 

CANON “DIVERGENCES”

This may be an odd choice but I can't write Britta in a cartoonish way*, so in the present, as in after the show, I'd like to write her a bit more like she was in s1, capable of having an adult conversation (it’s a process but she’s getting back to that), the Britta who had the ability to be 'more' reasonable than in later reasons, and to have her behave more realistically even if still messing up a lot and with her ridiculous moments. She's still overdoing it with activism and going about it in often inappropriate/incorrect ways in her desperate attempt to be a woke and good person. She still says things she shouldn't say and gets needlessly defiant too. What happened in canon happened here too, except her forgiving her parents or talking to them again like I wrote above, or joking about them paying for her. She works hard to return all the borrowed money, especially after the show is over and she moves to a new and extra cheap place.

To keep the show canon the way it was, since her decay works in a tvshow but it’s not doable for me as ‘Britta simply opened up and was always that way’, I headcanon many of her behaviors around the middle of the serie -between s2-s3 until more or less the last season- as both a bit of a breakdown (when excessive; after all saying that she was always drunk/high doesn’t sounds as her being okay) and as her being a lost woman trying to find herself, and even playing up some of the 'dumbness' to fit in with her new persona and to shield herself from pain, because she would hide her real self to keep it from getting hurt. She becomes a bit more well-adjusted after the end of the serie, also because she puts an effort into not being high or drunk, and the therapy is starting to work, while still trying to heal from her past and still having trouble being a fully responsible adult - still the woman who postpones laundry and has weird cats. She joins her canonically unnamed brother (that I’ll name Walter) who works with disabled children after she gets her psychology degree - not actually as therapist, she becomes more of a helper who can give them advice while still working at the bar too.

*She went from being able to read Pierce's actions in the second episode correctly and say "He offered me a 100 dollars to switch cards with him just so he could be partners with Jeff. I think he thought getting closer to Jeff would bring him respect in the group. I think he spent his whole life looking out for himself, and he would trade it all for a shot at some kind of family" and invoke the freedom of information act to request copies of Annie’s notes 

to being so dumb she didn't know it was weird to say to Jeff and his own father that "I just want to acknowledge there are a lot of emotions flowing right now. You two are probably feeling a strong impulse to sleep with each other, and hey, that's normal." when applying psychology notions, talk about 'edible complex' or "what, I have 3d vision now?" and I just can’t see that happening, the person she ‘really’ was in later seasons couldn’t have pretended to be actually smart for a year and a half. Nor forget how people speak or even move normally, there is a difference between opening up and showing your dumb side and that.

RELATIONSHIPS - not necessary to read, just my take on them

To be clear, when it comes to the study group, I’d die to actually have Britta bond more, in a more genuine way, with everyone and straighten things up when they don’t work, and just really feel close to them all, more than canon showed, so what I’m writing here is just the way I see things right after the end of the show and they can be made better later.  Jeff is the closest person to her in terms of being a peer that she understands and that seems to understand her, whether it's written in a romantic or completely platonic way (I’m okay with both, but Britta may slightly resent Annie if in threads she’s portrayed as back together with Jeff, since she never seemed completely okay with that to me). She does care about his opinion in particular, while she is a little more able to shrug off the mocking from the rest of the group (see the concert she tried to pull off so he wouldn't win). Abed is also particularly special to her, since she considers him one of her first real friends ever and there was never a romantic or sexual interaction to mess that up. I don't ship her with Troy but I recognize her past feelings for him, even if ultimately they didn't fit. Her relationship with Annie may bring up some defensiveness, I’d love for them to be friends but during the show there was more constant disagreement than bonding (though living together helped), so I’d like for them to become friends instead of assuming they support each other. Shirley was possibly the closest female friend to her, who taught her more about how to be ‘socially girly’, with things such as bathroom breaks together and comforting Annie. Even there were plenty problems with the two disrespecting each other’s beliefs so often. Pierce was, well, Pierce, and she tried to be nice to him mostly out of ‘duty’ because that’s how people should behave. She’s less close to Frankie and Elroy because most of that school year she was drunk or high or in her own world but I like to think things got better after the show, especially with Frankie who gives her such a good vibe.. 

[theangriestpea]

Cherry Popper

Summary: After Toni leaves Lavender and Sweet Pea high and dry, they call upon their best friend to finish what she started. Takes place during 3x16

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Lavender x Fangs

A/N: Thank you for 100+ followers! This is my gift to all of you! A threesome fic between Sweet Pea, Fangs, and my OC Lavender! This can be read as a one-shot, however it is a part of Mercy Killing canon! It just doesn’t take place anytime soon in the fic.

Word Count: 2.2k+

Warnings: Smut, Double Penetration, Anal, Virginity losing?, Threesome, Some dirty talk

Sweet Pea and Lavender stood in their underwear, Toni having just walked out of the auditorium after pulling them in for a random (but very promising) threesome. They stared at one another, wondering what the hell had just happened.

“That was a bit of a letdown.” Lavender finally breathed out, crossing her arms over her chest. “She got me all revved up and then just left.”

Sweet Pea smirked at her, “I’m sure I can help you with that.”

“Pretty sure you only have two hands Sweets.” Lavender pointed out dryly. No, she was much more interested in exploring the inner workings of a ménage à trois in this particular moment. “Unless…” She mumbled, “We call Fangs.”

“You want to fuck our best friend?” Sweet Pea asked, looking a little offended.

Lavender scoffed, “you’d be fucking me too, dummy.” She said, hoping that he wouldn’t punch Fangs for her just suggesting it.

Sweet Pea was obviously thinking it over, a varied range of emotion crossing his face. “Alright, I’ll call Fangs. But only on one condition.”

She gave him a skeptical look, “What?”

“I get to pop your anal cherry.” Sweet Pea said with a triumphant smirk.

Lavender’s face turned bright red, “Sweets! We can’t just…do that here!” She said, talking more with her hands than with her mouth.

“All or nothing, sweetheart.” Sweet Pea said, still smirking at her. “Come on, Fangs always has lube in his locker just in case. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt.”

She chewed her on her lower lip, staring him down in his tank top and boxers. The way he had torn his belt off earlier had just done things to her. She needed his hands on her now or at least as soon as possible.

Lav let out a sigh of defeat, “Fine, call Fangs. Bring lube and condoms because I know you didn’t bring any.”

Sweet Pea shot her an annoyed look, feeling very called out because he was always forgetting condoms in crucial moments like these. So many times had their quickies come to an abrupt halt because he didn’t have a rubber and Lavender refused to risk him just pulling out. She tried to convince him to keep one in his wallet but he’d always forget to replace it after using it.

Pea made quick work of the phone call. Fangs had pretty much the same reaction he and Lav did when Toni beckoned them into the auditorium to begin with. He was definitely confused but also excited. He ran into the auditorium, door slamming behind him, and armed with condoms and lubricant.

“Is this really happening?!” He practically shouted, eyes wide at seeing his two best friends in nothing but their underwear.

“That was like…record breaking fast.” Lavender said, pointedly looking at the clock on the wall with a teasing look on her face.

Fangs hopped up on stage, “so do I like, need to get naked too?” He asked, obviously too excited to even think straight about what to do in this kind of situation. This was like…a wild dream come true.

Lavender turned her back to both boys and sauntered over to the bed that was hidden in the wing of the stage. It was a prop for Veronica’s bedroom during JD’s Meant to be Yours scene. She could hear Fang’s belt clang against the hard floor of the stage, making her chuckle lightly.

“Yes, Fangs, and we were thinking of going the…DP route.” Lavender said as she sat down on the bed to look up at him.

Fangs glanced at Sweet Pea, “so which hole do I get?” He asked crudely, earning a punch to the arm from his friend.

Lavender laughed at him. “Come here.” She grabbed him by the waist and brought him closer to her. “Let’s just start with a kiss. Pea can watch, he kisses me all the time.”

She looked at her boyfriend, asking him if he was okay with this with a simple look. Pea gave her a slight nod before peeling off his tank top. Fangs was somehow already in his boxers. Lavender was definitely impressed by his speed.

Fangs leaned down at Lav’s urging. His lips meeting hers softly at first, but Lav made it deeper. She ran her tongue across his lips to get him to open his mouth. Of course he did, having had plenty of wet dreams about making out with his best friend. As wrong as he always felt about it, this felt right.

She pulled him down on top of her, laying back so that he was on top. Her eyes darted to Sweet Pea who was rubbing himself through his boxers with an intense look on his face. He seemed to be enjoying this at least.

Lavender and Fangs continued to kiss one another passionately, Fang’s hands wandering along her sides playfully. She let out a light moan, touching the defined muscles of his abs as he nipped at her lips.

“Rhodes, get on top.” Sweet Pea ordered. Fangs rolled over onto his back, pulling Lavender on top of him. Their lips didn’t even part, tongues entwined together. Fangs hands slipped behind her back and he expertly unhooked her bra. Lavender ripped it off of her to free her breasts.

Fangs’ hands cupped both of them, squeezing playfully. She noticed that his hands weren’t quite as big as Sweet Pea’s but they felt great nonetheless. Meanwhile Sweet Pea was slipping down her underwear. He grabbed the small bottle of lube that Fangs had brought and popped it open.

Lavender took her underwear off completely so that she was fully naked on top of Fangs. Sweet Pea squeezed the bottle, lube oozing out and dropping between her bottom cheeks. She jumped at the feeling of cold liquid against her suddenly.

Fangs chuckled at her reaction, her lips suddenly breaking away from his. “Pea!” Lavender whined at him for not warning her first.

“Don’t pay attention to him, I’m the one you’re kissing.” Fangs said a little possessively, catching her lips with his again. Lav kissed him back, feeling Sweet Pea’s hands on her ass. He smacked her once, making her let out another whine. His finger went to her hole and he rubbed the lube in, making sure it was all over his finger before slowly starting to insert it.

A small gasp came from her lips, annoying Fangs that she was breaking away from him yet again. It felt so foreign and she wasn’t sure how she felt about something suddenly being in her ass. This was an alley she’d never been down before despite Sweet Pea trying to convince her on numerous occasions.

His index finger was all the way in, “How does that feel, baby?” He asked, wanting to know if it was okay for him to go further.

Fangs was watching them, growing hard at the erotic scene in front of him. He pinched Lav’s nipples to help ease her obvious anxiety. He understood his role in this more now, to help keep her distracted while Sweet Pea prepped her ass for himself. He knew she’d never done it before, because Sweet Pea told him practically everything that went on in the bedroom (mostly because Fangs was curious and asked all the time).

“It feels weird, but it doesn’t hurt.” Lavender said, encouraging him to start moving his finger in and out. Despite the somewhat discomfort, it slowly started to feeling good. Fangs was still playing with her breasts, the feeling of two different sets of hands on her practically setting her on fire.

One of Fangs hands wandered down to lightly rub her clit. “You’ll love it, just relax.” He cooed softly into her ear. Lavender moaned lightly at his touch, her hips rocking a little to meet both of their touches.

Sweet Pea added a second finger, the stretching causing a little bit of pain. Lavender stiffened as Fangs kissed down her neck to try and distract her more. It didn’t take too long for her to get used to Sweet Pea’s fingers. Soon enough she was moaning, not only from that but also from Fangs rubbing her clit.

Sweets leaned over and started kissing her shoulder blade lovingly. Four hands and two mouths on her, god she was already going crazy. “God damn, you’re so hot.” Fangs muttered against the flesh of her neck. His hand that was on her breast moved to her core, inserting two fingers. She sucked in a sharp breath. “And you’re so wet.”

“Are you going to cum on our fingers, baby girl?” Sweet Pea asked, nipping at the back of her ear. He inserted a third, stretching her more. The pain didn’t last long as the ecstasy she was feeling from Fangs’ hands was overpowering it. “You’re taking my fingers so well. You’re almost ready.”

“You’re too big, Sweets.” Lavender moaned, her eyes shut as her forehead was resting against Fangs’ shoulder. “This is too much, I’m already going crazy.”

Sweet Pea laughed, “You’re the one that wanted this.” He pointed out. “Inviting Fangs was your idea.”

She just whimpered in response. Fangs pulled his fingers out. Lav lifted her head to look at him with hooded eyes, “Fangs? Why’d you stop?”

“Because I want my dick in you, not my fingers.” He said as a matter-of-fact. Sweet Pea pulled his fingers out as well and suddenly Lav felt very annoyed at having no neither of their hands on her.

Sweet Pea handed Fangs a condom. Both boys took their boxers off and readied up. Sweet Pea squirted more lube onto his penis to get it ready, rubbing it up and down his length. “You go first, bro.” He said, knowing it’d be easier for Fangs to slip in first. It would also help take her mind off of any pain she might feel from him.

Fangs lined himself up with her entrance before thrusting up into her. Both parties moaned in unison, the sound making Sweet Pea’s needs grow.

“Sweet Pea was right, you are tight.” Fangs said, making Lav blush slightly. She grinded her hips down against him to feel more friction. “Someone’s eager.” He added as she bit her lip to hold back another moan.

Sweet pea grabbed one of her hips. Fangs stopped moving so that Sweet Pea could enter her. He pushed in and Lav let out a small cry of pain. He stayed still, waiting for her to get used to him. “You move first, it’ll help.” He told Fangs.

Fangs started to move again, thrusting in and out of her. He put his hands on her waist to hold her in place. Lavender moaned, the pleasure from Fangs was definitely overpowering the unpleasantness of Sweet Pea in her ass.

As soon as sounds of pleasure started to spill from her mouth, Sweet Pea started to move slowly. He could even feel Fang’s member which wasn’t something that he was expecting. Them moving in and out at the same time, keeping pace with one another. Pea’s hands were on her hips to help further keep her steady.

Lavender didn’t know how to feel, the completely exotic feeling of having both boys inside of her, both of them moving simultaneously. Whatever pain she had felt was gone now. She was overwhelmed by the dual sensations. Their harmonious moans only making more heat pool in the pit of her stomach.

They pumped faster, Sweet Pea going a little softer than he normally did since she was still getting used to his size. “Fuck baby, you feel so good.” He said, “Do you like both of us fucking you at the same time?”

“Yes,” Lavender mewled. “God, it feels so amazing!” Fangs used one hand to play with her clit again, knowing it would drive her even crazier.

She moaned out loudly, the sound echoing in the auditorium. None of them cared about how much noise they were making. The sound of skin against skin loud in the open room.

All three had the feeling of orgasms rising inside of them. Lavender’s was definitely the strongest and she knew she’d probably hit her peak first.

Sweet Pea grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled, forcing her to arch her back. His pace increased again and Fangs followed suit quickly to match him.

“Gonna come, baby?” Sweet Pea asked, knowing very well how to read the pitches of her moans.

Lavender only whimpered, feeling close to the edge. Sweet Pea reached around with his other hand and groped her breast. Between their members moving in and out of her, Fangs’ hand on her clit, and Sweet Pea’s hand on her breast, Lavender was forced to her peak. She came hard, biting her tongue to keep from screaming loudly. She didn’t want to alert anyone else outside of the auditorium.

The boys had their orgasms almost simultaneously moments later, all three panting heavily. Lavender was collapsed on top of Fangs and Sweet Pea pulled out so he could lay down beside them on the small twin bed. They didn’t really fit but there was a soft comfort in being so close together, basking in the afterglow of their escapades.

“Now I can say I’ve had sex with both of you.” Fangs said happily, an arm wrapped around Lavender’s waist affectionately.

Sweet Pea elbowed him playfully while Lav laughed. “You’re such a dork.”

Suddenly they heard the door squeak open and though they were all hidden on the side of the stage, all three jumped up. They comically scrambled to the other side of the bed to hide, hearts racing.

“Hello?” Kevin’s voice rang out. He had thought he had heard people talking but wasn’t sure. After a moment he left and the three broke out into laughter.

[sdvbrsb]

running anywhere from 40 to 50 miles per week

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[abdicatedarchive]

you know too much || cody and bella

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: art building // spring 2021.

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: cody x bella.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒: none.

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒: cody holds up his end of the agreement.

Cody begrudgingly entered the art building and went to the correct room to find Bella. He realized he was already five minutes late, but he went to the water fountain and took a long drink. Cody was dreading entering the room. It was part of the deal though, and he was willing to make it work. With his bag resting on his shoulder, he walked into the art room and shrugged it off his shoulder to put it on the ground as he pulled up a stool next to Bella. "Abs" said Cody as the chair made a loud noise as he moved it under him. Slouching down to be at her height he smiled, might as well fake it till you make it. "What kind of art are we doing today? The Ghost scene with the pottery? Am I just posing? What's the deal" he asked.

Bella had came in an hour earlier to do all her prep. This was the last project for the semester and she wanted it to be accepted into the exhibit that was being held after this term was completed. She kept checking her phone to see the time, nervous that Cody wasn't going to show up at all. Thankfully he did, but the moment she heard that nickname, her heart sank. All it did was remind her of her ex boyfriend. "You could just call me Bella." she flinched a bit from the noise the chair made. "I did my ceramics class last semester, but if that's something you're interested in, you can borrow my tools. I'm going to be painting. One subject, two styles. Realism and expressionism. But I need photographic references so I will be taking pictures of you. I apologize in advance, photography is unfortunately not my forte." Bella looked over at the clothes he was wearing before grabbing a tape measure. "Can I take your measurements? Just from the waist up?"

Cody didn't know why she was acting so weird at the nickname, he just wanted to do something nice that could be like a them thing. Something very tangible that would show people that they were dating. But, he guessed she was as hard to please as his ex. This was going to be a nightmare. Cody nodded and stood up, "just don't put me in a skirt and we're gucci" said the boy, laughing a little to himself. He was bi, but when it came to clothes he definitely dressed like a straight man. No expression there, just clean cut and awkward. "I also happen to be a pretty good model, a girl last semester used me for her photography class. It was kinda fun" he said with a shrug as he put his arms out so she could measure him better. "I don't know too much about art. I was supposed to go abroad for an exchange my sophomore year, get a little cultured. But I opted out of it because of you know" said the boy, making conversation. He wasn't sure why he was sharing so much, but that was the extent he knew about art. His missed opportunity.

"I feel like with your height you'd look really nice in a skirt." Bella said as she looked Cody up and down for a second. "But I don't want you to be uncomfortable so I won't. I don't think this will be a full body painting anyways, I want to focus on your face more. Adding a nice shirt won't hurt though." She began to take his measurements and write them down in her notebook. Bella assumed he was talking about his ex girlfriend, and she already promised she wouldn't bring her up again. "I'm sorry, hopefully you'll get to travel soon. It's never too late to go and explore. That's the beauty of art, it will always be there. It's all around us." she smiled to herself. Bella believed that there was some good that could come out of this weird situation they were in. She spent most of her life trying to avoid people like Cody, but if they had to spend all this time together, she might as well get to know him better. How bad could it be? "I think that's why I admire photography so much. It makes one fleeting moment last forever. Do you enjoy photography? I was doing some fake girlfriend research by looking through your instagram and saw that post you made."

“I might do a summer program. It’s just hard with sports” Cody explained, he definitely wanted to go abroad. It felt like a right of passage, they all had their place that they felt was their second home. He was hoping his would be Amsterdam, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He faltered when he realized she had put actual thought into this and looked through his Instagram, he had given hers a peruse for the same reason. He just assumed he was more in this than her. “It’s the only class I’ve enjoyed here. I guess I’m just not a school person. My teacher said I have the eye, not really sure what that means. I’m not an art guy. I’m an athlete: head empty” said the boy, realizing that he was talking about himself a lot. He never really talked about himself, usually just about other people or tangible things. Cody found himself opening up like he did with AP, and that was a dangerous game. “How did you know you’re an art person? Clearly you have passion for it if you’re going to defy your parents plan” he asked to turn the subject to her.

"You must have that natural talent for it, that's a great gift to have. If you have anything you'd want to show, I'd love to see it. Sometimes art could be really personal so I understand if you don't want to show people. There's some stuff I keep to myself." Bella told him with a friendly smile, sure she wished she was better in the photographic field, but she enjoyed what she was good in. "You could always be both, like Troy Bolton. But switch the kind of art and the kind of sport, unless you like musical theater and basketball too." Bella kept quiet once she finished the measurements, did he have to include the part where she was defying her parents' plan? Was it that obvious that they weren't supportive? "So when I was younger, I didn't speak too much. My mom thought something was wrong with me, but I think she was just being dramatic." she shrugged her shoulders as she started to jot down some notes for herself. "They took me to a specialist and she first suggested writing to express my thoughts. I didn't enjoy that cause it felt like homework, so then she suggested art and that one stuck for me. It was a kind of release for me, but it wasn't so literal. I did it my own way. Sorry, I don't know if that made sense."

"How about this?" said Cody as he took a picture of her and posted it to his story, "photography and an evil scheme" he teased. He didn't really show the pictures he took last semester to anyone, it was something he kept to himself. He hadn't really thought to why he did that. "Somehow, I don't think High School Musical is the answer to every situation" said Cody with a shrug. Cody had to laugh when she said she had to be taken to a specialist, "A specialist, are you fucking kidding me?" he was laughing pretty hard at that. He wasn't laughing at her, not necessarily, but it was too funny not to laugh at. She was always surprising him, he thought she was just comfortable being weird. Letting her freak flag fly. She never seemed worried about what people thought, the only weak spot being her parents.

Bella looked like a deer in headlights as he randomly took a picture of her, "I would appreciate a warning, Cody Summers." she said with a small frown, hoping she didn't look completely stupid in the picture. "I'm sorry, are you more of a Camp Rock person?" she asked jokingly. Him laughing at her didn't feel too great, she just stood there awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. She regretted bringing that up, she simply could have told him she found art when she was a kid, but her rambling got the best of her yet again. "No I am not kidding." she mumbled. "It wasn't my decision, but I guess I'm grateful that something nice came out of it. I'm not sure what I'd do without art." Bella walked over to her canvas and started outlining a rough sketch at first. "Is that how you feel with your sports?" she asked, wanting to take the attention off of her.

"I promise at the end of this I will look stupid so you can post it, or I'll send you an embarassing photo" said Cody shrugging it off. She looked pretty in the photo, and a little mad. It was perfect, very believable. No one would buy that they were a completely happy couple, but a fun one they definitely would. He noticed her mumbling, and he almost felt bad for laughing. It was just so hilarious that she'd been tested. "Sports has been a natural thing, especially with Charlie taking an interest in it. Dad really liked the idea of us doing sports. So I got into it, it was the only way I could play with Charlie and Marshall when I was little" he explained, sports wasn't really a question at home. It was just the answer when it came to the boys, there wasn't time for the arts. Charlie was sensitive sure, but he never did anything other than the baking.

"Maybe I'll post a picture of you in a skirt. Then we could be even." Bella said with a smile, it was mostly a joke, but she wouldn't mind posting a funny photo of him. As she was listening to Cody talk about sports, she couldn't help but wonder if that was his actual passion or not. It didn't have to be, but she hoped he had some kind of passion in life. "But is that how you feel with your sports?" she asked again, she wasn't sure why she was being pushy about it. "Like it's almost apart of you? Like it's your calling?" she asked with big eyes.

"You have to make me a skirt first" said Cody with a small chuckle, "you know us Summers, it's tailored or nothing" he said, mocking Channing's voice with the last line. When she asked if it was his calling, he just shrugged. "I mean, it's something I'm good at. I'm okay at plenty of things, but shouldn't I spend my time doing something I'm good at?" he replied. Cody just kind of followed in Charlie's footsteps a lot of the time. It felt like the easy answer, because Charlie was arguably the happiest of them all. To be happy was the goal, to be comfortable. It was still hard though, being in the shadows. "What is a calling anyway? Some excuse people throw out when they want to change everything about their lives for no reason or upset people who love them" he added cynically.

Bella thought that his first statement was some kind of invitation to take his measurements and actually make him a skirt, so she quickly picked up the measure tape once again and walked up to him. "I'm not that good with making clothes, but skirts are generally easy. Maybe I can even get someone from the fashion design department to make it." she said with such excitement, maybe a little too much excitement. Cody was just so tall, the skirt would look great. "Hm, I guess. But I would like to focus on what I really love instead and get better at that." she shrugged her shoulders, they seemed to have two very different mindsets. Especially after hearing what he said next. This is why she did like get pushy about topics like this, there were just some people that viewed things so negatively. It made her think about how she was upsetting the people who loved her. "Maybe changing everything about your life isn't so bad. Especially if it's for something you love. As long as you're not hurting someone, of course. But there's a difference between hurting those people and those people just not being supportive."

He hadn't been serious at all, but he figured wearing a skirt would probably pull him a pretty big favor. She had a fair point, but people just not being supportive. He wasn't going to give her that one though because his parents had his best intentions in mind. They always did. They had high standards because he should meet them, and it wasn't like he was actually good at anything besides sports. His photography teacher was just being nice because he actually paid attention in class. "I mean that's why sports medicine is the way to go for me right now. Sure, the classes are boring but it'll be meaningful work for when I'm a washed up athlete" said the boy, wondering if he was sharing too much again.

Bella frowned up at Cody once he referred to himself as a washed up athlete, "You should be kinder to yourself." she mumbled, though it was pretty rich coming from her, Bella was her worst critic. She was always putting herself down, especially when it came to her art. It was just never good enough. Nothing she ever did was good enough. "I'm sure you're great." She had been to a few games, but she couldn't exactly pin point him out on the field. They all looked like little ants out there to her, and they moved too quick for her to read the names on the back of their jerseys. "Just getting to play college football is a big deal. So many people don't make that cut. Have you tried pursuing football professionally?" she asked, trying to stay on a topic he would like. "I know that's really difficult, but you're pretty much one step away from it. It's very possible."

"The odds of that are very slim, and I don't know if I want to commit like that to a sport that can really fuck with your brain. College seems like enough" said the boy. He had given it some thought, but he wanted something more stable. Something where he couldn't peak so easily. He was worried he had already plateaued in his football abilities, "I mean with art you can always improve or change styles and master something else. With football there's just ... football" he explained. He wasn't sure if he was making sense, but with art there was always something new or exciting it seemed like, football hadn't changed much.

"That makes sense, I was terrified of flag football back in p.e. class. I can't imagine actually tackling people." Bella understood where Cody was coming from, there wasn't much change in football, and if you didn't absolutely love it, it may not be as exciting after all those years. "Maybe you can try some other sport in your free time. I tried tennis because I really enjoyed wii tennis. Not the same thing at all. Who knew, right?" Bella let out a quiet laugh, she was one again rambling and she didn't know why. "Then I tried badminton. That was a lot more like wii tennis, I was quite a fan." She backed away from him once she finished the rest of the measurements and felt rude for bringing the topic back to herself. It's not like what she said was really important. "There'a a world of possibilities if you want to try something new."

Cody listened to her as she rambled on, and somehow he was actually paying attention. She had a way of commanding a room in a weird way ... he couldn't take his eyes or ears off of her. Maybe that's why she attracted so much negative attention from his friends. People don't like what they don't understand but still like on some level. "If we ever need to prove we're dating to our siblings, a family event of wii games would probably do the trick" said Cody with a small laugh. It was a family favorite, especially because Channing was horrid at wii sports. How can you be bad at Wii games? Excellent question, but Channing found a way. Just Dance was more her speed, so they always voted on Wii sports. He ignored her questioning about him trying new things, it just wasn't in him to do anything new. To break the mold was scary, it was just one of those things were he was destined to live here and work a 9-5 until it was time to move on to the next 9-5.

Bella smiled at Cody and nodded, it was going to be difficult for her to be around his family and lie the entire time, but something like wii would probably help her relax and just have fun. "I will never deny the wii. She has a very special place in my heart." Bella had some fond memories of her siblings playing games together when she was younger, but as time went on, the more separated she felt from them, so she kept those old memories close to her. "Wii resort was a popular one with my siblings. We used to have board game nights as kids. Oh, and uno. They loved uno. Fiona was ruthless when it came to that one." Thinking of those times warmed her heart, but it quickly made her realized how different everything was. "Are you close with them? Your siblings, I mean."

The thing about the Summers household was that it was very closed doors. By the time they were old enough to make their own food, they were all eating in their rooms and shutting their doors behind them. Claire and Charlie definitely set that trend, especially when they had friends over. The tolerance for my little sibling has to come was very low. "Not really. I'm on good terms with Courtney, and not necessarily on bad terms with anyone. We just don't really spend time together unless it's mandated or requires more than one person" he explained. He didn't exactly have a want to know his siblings better, it was an accepted thing at this point. Also, they weren't exactly great people. Maybe him and Charlie would become better friends at some point, but that was down the road. "What about you and your siblings? Close?" he asked.

Bella knew Cody came from a big family like herself, but she had hoped his relationships with his siblings were a bit different. It’s not that she had actual problems with her siblings, it was just that she didn’t have too much of a relationship with them at this point, and sometimes she blamed herself for that. The older she got, the bigger the divide became. Her siblings were just so much like her parents. Granted, they were a lot better than her mom and dad, but they still had that overly professional, composed, sometimes harsh personality. “I guess we were when we were younger, but not so much anymore. They’re more closer with each other. I think it’s the age difference.” she shrugged. “But one of your cousins go here, right? That must be fun for you both.”

He nodded when she mentioned Stevie, "yeah, me and her don't really get along. Her parents don't really let her hang out with us anyways, and my parents aren't exactly approving of it either. So I definitely let that get the best of me. Plus Courtney and Channing were really cruel to her, so the animosity was always there" he explained. He knew he didn't treat Stevie well, but he was following the example. Stevie didn't like him anyways, why bother being kind? "Do you know Stevie well?" he asked, worried about what might have been said about things he definitely did.

Bella listened quietly, maybe bringing his cousin up wasn't a great idea. She assumed they were cool with each other, because Stevie just seemed to be cool with everyone she knew. But her parents were also pretty weary of that side of the Summers family. The Langston's cared a lot about reputation, and Stevie's family didn't have a great one. "I know her, but not well." she answered, looking back and forth between her rough sketch and Cody. "Our groups would sometimes mix." she said, referring to the art and music kids. Bella didn't exactly have her own group. "I do know some of the people in her band. The ones that graduated with us. Miles Cambric, him and his family were always nice. Maybe I should get to know her better, I do see her around often."

Cody didn't really like the idea of Stevie and Bella hanging out, Stevie was a pretty good sleuth. She could smell societal bullshit from a mile away, including a fake dating scheme. He didn't take her as one who would out them to their families, but who was to say. Maybe he should be nicer to Stevie to save his own ass. "If you want to, but she's definitely going to ask you why you're dating me when you could date someone else. Repeatedly probably. She really doesn't like me" he warned, hoping that would stop her. He didn't want to be controlling, that was something that his ex really imprinted on him as bad. Alexandra was deeply controlling and manipulative.

Bella had always been someone that was easily influenced. She thought the other person had her best interest at heart when telling her to do or don't do something, and that usually wasn't the case. But did she ever learn? No, not really. "Oh, so should I stay away? At least for a while?" she asked. It was just easier for someone else to make the decisions. That and she was already starting to get questioned by her friends as to why she was dating Cody. Their friends never seemed to mix well. "It's not like I've talked to her too much anyways."

"Maybe for the best" said the boy, nervous about getting found out too quickly. "You have complete freedom to do whatever you want. It's just a warning. My friends have been asking a lot of questions, but luckily with guy talk I can just shake it off pretty easy. I know your girlfriends might not be giving you the same easy time" he said with a shrug. He never really knew what to say, but he found the words just pouring out of him when he was around her. It was kind of like talking to a weird reflection of himself.

Bella couldn't help but laugh a little when he said she had complete freedom. Of course this wasn't the case, but it sounded like he was gifting her it. She quickly saluted the boy and smiled, "Thank you, Cody Summers. Because of your generosity, I will also grant you complete freedom to do what you want. Please do not make me regret that." she said jokingly. "Yeah my friends have been asking. I just say I really like you and you shouldn't deny what your heart wants. They still question me about it though." she shrugged. "How do you answer? Maybe my answer isn't believable enough."

He saluted back. The question wasn't going to paint him that well, because he usually would just say that she was really good in bed. It was an easy way to stop the suspicions. They would be going on about the fact that she's so weird and he would come back at them about how weird girls do the craziest stuff. "I usually just say the sex is really hot" he said, cleaning up what he usually said with his friends. "That it was something that I didn't want to let get away from me so it made sense to go ahead and give dating a shot" Cody added.

Bella was having a decent time with Cody so far. She was scared that he'd be pretty rude, especially because helping out with her project was not something he suggested. Thankfully, that hadn't been the case yet, but hearing him speak now sort of reminded her why she wasn't too fond of his crowd. Couldn't he have just told them he liked her? It made it sound like he was just using her for sex, and if she had to lie about dating, she at least wanted it to look like a sweet relationship. Now she looked like she had a type, that type being shitty people. "...I'll just stick with my answer then. I uh, don't think saying something like that to my friends would sound more believable. They'd probably question me even more than usual." she forced out a laugh.

It was weird. For the first time he actually felt bad about his friends. Like they should be better. That he should be better. He shrugged it off, "it's just whatever works to keep things going. My parents have been awesome the last while. No questions about anything, my mom is sending cookies later. I played a game of basketball with my dad the other day" said the boy, trying to move off the topic. "Have things been going better for you at home?" he asked. He was hoping this would pay off for her too. If she bailed then things would be hard again, and he wasn't interested in that.

Bella looked over and smiled at Cody, it was nice to know that he was getting something good out of this. She wasn't sure if he was in the same boat as her, but Bella always wished for a better relationship with her parents, and it seemed like this whole plan was helping with that. "That's really good, I'm happy for you." she said sincerely. "Yes, a bit. My mom has been in a really good mood lately. I told them both about this project and they said they wanted to go to the exhibit." Her smile widened as she spoke about the exhibit. It was the first time they ever showed any interest in her art. It may have only been because she mentioned that the work was based around Cody, but she would take what she could get. "My siblings also wanted to hangout with us both. Veronica said she would bring her girlfriend, and she's really sweet. She owns the bakery in town with Laney Kestner." she began to explain. "Nate isn't seeing anyone, and Fiona is always a mystery, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had someone with her."

Cody smiled, this was good. As long as she was getting what she needed from her family then their agreement was in the clear. The second it stopped benefitting one of them it was over, and he wasn't ready to be back in the dog house with his family. "Bassist Bakery, I know the one for sure. Me and Val hung out a few times" he said with a nod, "their cupcakes are really good. I'll pick some up sometime soon. For the gram of course, but we'll still get to eat them so that's good" Cody added. "Is Nathaniel okay? He's so uptight. Whatever happened with that girl he was seeing? Charlie was talking about how they were going to be engaged" he asked, curious to know what was going on. The guy had a whole tree up his ass basically.

"Mm sounds like a delicious plan." Bella nodded. The food around here was pretty good, but nothing could beat the local businesses in their hometown. Her expression softened as Cody mentioned her brother's ex. "Oh, Cordelia. It was kind of rough, my whole family makes it very known that they do not like the Maddox's anymore, at least most of them." Cordelia's younger sister was always a favorite, so she got a pass. "They were, my brother had bought the ring and was going to ask her, but right before he could, she broke up with him. Then not too long after, she was with another man. A little suspicious but I don't want to assume anything." she explained. "They were together for a while, and it seemed like he really loved her. But between you and me, she was a pretty rude lady." If there was something Bella and Nathaniel had in common, it was that they were really bad at picking their partners.

He was surprised to hear the whole story, it was definitely cleaned up around town. The big families, if done right, could move their way around a scandal very secretively. No one wanted their names rubbed in the dirt. "That's crazy" said Cody, shocked honestly at the story. "That's really uncomfortable, I had no idea. Honestly, I felt the same way with redacted. I had a lot of plans for the two of us" he admitted. He knew he asked her not to talk about Alexandra, but it reminded him of it and he felt weird even saying something. Like he shouldn't have.

"Yep, she's married now and has a kid so Nate tries to avoid her as often as possible. It's kind of hard when we all live in the same neighborhood, and she's always trying to put her nose into his business. Like I said, rude lady." Bella wasn't too sure if her brother would want her talking about this, but she just hoped Cody wouldn't bring this information back to Charlie. She stayed quiet for a moment when he mentioned his ex. Bella had promised not to talk about Alexandra, but she didn't want to seem uninterested either. "I'm sorry, but maybe you could still see those plans through, just with someone else, or even yourself. Like that trip you mentioned before, you should still do that."

"If my ex had a kid, I would also avoid at all costs" said Cody laughing a little. He already did avoid his ex at all costs, but every time she asked for something he was at her door in minutes. "Plans are a little late, they were about staying together for college. So approximately four years too late" he replied, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "Enough about her though, sometimes I don't know when to shut up" said the boy, shocked he was sharing so much. It was something about how they had both been treated so poorly by the same family, like they had this trauma bond. He couldn't keep sharing like this. It wasn't good.

"Oh, I get it. I shouldn't have suggested anything, sorry. I promise, no more mention of she-who-must-not-be-named." Bella always tried to look at the bright side of every situation, but sometimes, like now, it would only make her look stupid. Or at least that's how she felt. "You're fine. I bounce back and forth between both extremes. Most times I don't speak too much ... hence the specialist back in the day." she mumbled. "But sometimes I can't stop talking. My mouth starts moving faster than my brain and I don't know when to stop or what I'm even saying. Then once my brain catches up, it's like, what was I talking about? where was I going with this?" She was very much proving her point in this moment. "I think I overwhelmed Landon, I couldn't stop talking when I was around him." Bella immediately shut her mouth the moment she brought up her ex, she didn't really intend to mention him. It just sort of came out.

Cody didn't know a lot about Landon, other than the fact that even Cody thought the guy was a pretentious douche. It was definitely something he didn't like about being over at Alexandra's house: Landon's presence in the building. "They both suck" he replied simply. Cody just didn't want to get into it, he didn't want to know her like this. Like they actually cared for one another. Like they were friends. They weren't. This was a deal, a deal they were both putting up with until a better solution came along. //END