#there is SOMEONE out there learning troy's part I just know it

[thelonelynindroid]

There's normal people there's insane people and then there's people who memorise one (1) character half of the Trobed 101 rap just INCASE they ever meet their other half via impromptu public community reference

[baejax-the-great]

Absolutely reeling.

So I knew that the origin of "Hector was a great man, moral, noble, better than all of the Greeks" began as Roman propaganda that somehow has made it to now, the year 2023, and is still taught to high school students.

What I did not know was why scholars shit on Achilles as vehemently as they did (and still do).

My copy of Fagles' translation of the Iliad has a preface by a different scholar who I'm not going to bother to name because he's an idiot (and idk probably dead at this point). I read the entire thing, absolutely baffled, because he would cite a part of the text (that I admittedly had not read yet! at all!), quote it, and then come to the most batshit interpretation based on that quote I had ever seen in my life. His general take was that Achilles was a sociopath who had no feelings for anyone other than himself and his own pride, and every action he took (until welcoming Priam into his hut) was done in service of that pride. To support this, he decided that Achilles did not see Patroclus as a person, but rather as an extension of himself, and thus someone injuring Patroclus was them injuring Achilles, and so he did not care about Patroclus, he only cared about his wounded pride.

Yeah.

That sounded wrong before reading the book, and while reading the book all i could think was, "Did we read the same fucking thing???" Put in context, those quotations still did not support his conclusions whatsoever.

But i cracked open Caroline Alexander's "The War That Killed Achilles" last night, and she solves this mystery of "Hector good, Achilles bad" for me right out the gate (which is good because so far I've only read the preface).

Western Europeans by and large learned about the Trojan war from Roman stories, which became fairly popular, and not the Iliad, which was not translated into French or English until centuries later. As mentioned, these were propaganda that cast the Trojans in a much better light than the Greeks because the Romans believed they were descended from Trojan refugees. This starts a trend that is still going on in scholarly circles as casting the Iliad as a war between "barbaric Greeks living in a shitty, lawless camp" vs "civilized, educated, weaving, real-wife-having Trojans," making the Iliad a tragedy in which Homer for some reason skewers his own people and their warlike culture as barbaric while propping up a dead, foreign city-state. This interpretation is still extant and was the postscript to another copy of the Iliad I have.

According to Alexander, scholars closer to Homer's time saw the entire war as a tragedy--both the destruction of Troy AND the destruction of the Greek army. While this is not covered in the Iliad, very few Greeks actually made it home after Troy. Some that did were then outcast (Teucer for example), some were murdered (bye, Agamemnon), some went on to create new kingdoms in other places (Diomedes), but by and large, there was no going home from that war. There was no great victory with all their loot. The entire thing was a disaster for both sides, spurred on by fickle gods.

Back to the more recent European interpretations of this story, one reason Hector ended up cast in such a "good" light, despite being a dumbass who wants to dishonor dead people just as badly as Achilles ever did, was in order to make Achilles look worse. Why was it important that Achilles becomes a villain in this story in which he is very much not a villain? Because Europeans were involved in so much war with each other and the rest of the world that a young, insubordinate man who criticizes his idiot of a commander, decides his life isn't worth throwing away for this war, and refuses to fight to sack a city was an affront to their values. Young men were to be obedient, follow their commanding officers, and colonize the world for queen and country. Achilles suggesting losing his life is not worth it to prop up Agamemnon's war is a dangerous precedent for all the good little soldiers needed to make their nations wealthy.

It's almost funny that these analyses propping up Troy as a beacon of civilization were made by people living in countries so bent on colonizing the world. They identified with the city being sacked and not the greedy sackers of said city, who they were much closer to. And Achilles, educated, morally rigid, emotional Achilles, is recast as a sociopathic asshole who doesn't care about anyone other than himself, unlike all of those other beacons of selflessness among the Greek leadership.

The tragedy of the Iliad is that Achilles is right, the war is pointless, Agamemnon did dishonor the shit out of him, and it doesn't matter because he's going to die in it anyway.

Frankly, given how badly his character has been interpreted for so long, I think the muses owe him an apology.

[lady-ashfade]

My Oath

day six of celebration marathon

Percy Jackson x platonic!demigod!reader. (God of the unknown because I can’t help myself, he is a oc of mine for my pjo series)

-£ plot: Your father has learned of a new forbidden child. As his number one he sends you to do his bidding. until your loyalty is challenged.

-words: 1k

-£part two?

-£ warnings: angst, plot of murder, new plot, slight spoilers for readers father in “a love watered by blood”, god of the unknown, (Big spoilers. Reader is sent to kill Pecy) , also the song from Epic:the Troy sagas “the horse and the infant” is what this is based off of.

you were no oath breaker.

you bowed at your fathers feet as he sat upon his throne. the place you called home was dark and misty, your fathers doing, it was a place of mistrust but undying loyalty to him. it was you who was called on often as you served at his hand, you proved your worth as a demigod and you became something more when he took you into his ranks. no other gods dared to speak to him and he liked it that way, no fuss or chatting.

they had many secrets. and he could spill them all.

he hated his “family” and they knew it. wars have been taught over centuries and he picked a side with little care. but he did love secrets and nothing was kept from him even in the smallest corner in the world. every whisper was his to hear.

“what is needed of me.” your eyes stayed on the marble floor beneath your knee, your arms thrown over and await his command.

“i have found a forbidden child, again,” he picked at his nails, his body slumped against the throne.

“a son of poseidon, perseus jackson. make his death quick, but i don’t care if it’s painful.”

you slowly looked up at him, you examined his calm and carelessness behavior. a forbidden child was not unheard of to you, as you have been sent to watch a few over the many years. killing was easy for you, no harm came to your mind as the thought of displeasing your father outweighed any death you caused by your hands.

“tell me where to go.” you agreed to the quest.

earth was a strange place, especially since you grew up in a different time. though you watched the mortal realm in the mirror in your room, finding peaceful places and happy memories being created. but it was a curse, no matter how hard you tried to fight it, when your eyes closed you would dream about the horrors of life. maybe it was a way of life getting back at you for being the cause of destruction— a weapon to be used.

creeping into the apartment building, the widow was not able to keep you out since you had many tools. you’ve done things like this, sneak and kill, return and repeat at his command. you never failed— in fear of being destroyed yourself, a gods wrath was a hard punishment for anyone.

the room was dark and only the light from the moon shined in, making things noticeable. the clothes sticked to your skin from the weather that night. drawling your dagger, preparing to kill your next victim and without causing destress or a fight. but it wasn’t a man you saw. it wasn’t a bed.

it was a crib, a few shells hanging above the babes sleeping body.

stepping back in shock and hesitation you stare at the infant. he was so small. he looked healthily. how is he going to cause any harm? you couldn’t kill a child- a baby. someone unwilling to make decisions for themselves. your doubts and thoughts caused your ears to start ringing, the drums getting pressure built on them.

“I can sense you have your doubts,” the deep voice makes your body shiver and look down at the bracelet on your wrist. the only thing your father gifted you, a silver band with a mirror attached in the center. he could see what was happening anytime without fail. all mirrors are a portal for his eyes.

“He’s just a boy- what kind of threat does he pose?” you kept your voice low and hushed to not awake the mother of the babe.

“he is a forbidden child, you know what that entails. you’ve seen it with your own eyes the damage they cause, the wars started with unfair advantages. that child will grow into a soldier, cause chaos everywhere he steps and gets good people killed. you know I am right.” each point he made was the same he used before to justify his actions.

“don’t make me do this.” you plead. you’ve never begged before, never spared a life in all your years. but never, have you been sent to kill someone so innocent.

“you dare beg for his life to be spared? I have given you a order, so do it.”  your father snarled. not many times were you under his accusative tone. you could hear his voice echoing through the throne room along with a slam of his hand.

“i have done everything you asked of me,” you sounded so small in defeat, “but I can not do this.”

just like that you were willing to risk everything you have built. a place at your fathers feet, above others. a place to live and thrive. and for what? the answer is when you looked at him there is nothing to defend, nothing but a open book waiting to be filled.

“you don’t have a choice,” he roared through the mirror and you could feel the vibration. “kill him, now.” he demanded as his nails scratched at the chair he seat mighty on.

“after years of faithful service, I obeyed every order and command, I live alone each day in a room filled with people. you may have made me for a weapon to use, to do your job for you but I will no longer be a slave.” for the first time you spoke back.

“one day he will die, but not by my hands.” taking the watch on your hand and slipping it off of you, then letting it fall to the ground. the last thing you see is your father shouting at you, his face grim and frustrated. stomping your foot on the floor you break the glass, the item becomes useless.

glancing over to the babe who looked peaceful and wrapped up in a tight blanket. it’s been forever since you were this close to a baby. as a little girl you wished for a family of your own, only you had a life of a demigod.

but looking at him made you sick to your stomach. a pit of anger for the boy who had cost you everything. the world was his to explore.

you were left with no home, no family to go to. and you had broken a oath. you swore yourself to never fail a quest or go against his wishes but you had, for a son of poseidon?— world must have been coming to a end.

you tried to hate him, you really did. but there was no one left to fight for. the decision was yours to make, his life was worth more then yours could ever be. you left quickly after that, afraid you had been to loud.

and one day, you’ll meet the boy he became.

Taglist: @itzmeme @ravenmedows @maria699669 @purplerose291

[johnwickb1tsch]

bittersweet ~ a yandere!John Wick x fem!reader sunshine/grump coffee shop AU... Part 20 all chapters

gif credit to dilfgifs

WARNING: NSFW, SEXUAL CONTENT, YANDERE SH!T. Plz take care. I luv u all. 😘

-You try to go as long as you can, but later that night you decide you just can’t stand it anymore. You’re pretty sure it’s been days, and you feel gross.

“Can I…use your shower?”

He turns to you with a small smile. “You mean, our shower? Yes.”

Hoping that’s the end of it, and this exchange won’t get weird, you slip out from under his arm to go into the bathroom. You check your prospects, finding expensive shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, shaving gel…but no razor. You guess you get it, kind of, but really. Then again, maybe you'd better not ask. Why send mixed signals by shaving off your body hair? It’s just an aesthetic mostly catering to the male gaze anyway…

But it bugs you.

You pop your head back out of the door. “Razor?”

He doesn’t even look up from his book.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

This annoys you for some reason. “Just so you know, I am not going to try to kill myself.” Brave words for someone in your situation, but at least at the moment, you mean them.

“I was more worried you might try to kill me.”

You open your mouth again, until he fixes you with that laser-like stare. “Just take your shower, y/n, or do I have to come in there to help you?”

The thought of his large hands on your body slick with soap sends an inconvenient spear of desire straight to your center.

“No.”

You disappear fast as a groundhog into its burrow, closing the door behind you.

“Door open!” he yells in that particular tone, and sensing the shift in his mood, you comply rather than pull his tail some more.

Well done, you, you chide yourself as you strip out of your dirty dress and your ACE bandage in the cavernous shower. He was actually in a good mood, somehow, after you tried to knock his head off with a book. And now you…what? You did something to piss him off, at least a little bit.

Learning his moods was going to take some doing.

It was the only way you were getting out of here alive.

You keep looking over your shoulder, half expecting to see him looming behind you. That man moves silent as a ghost when he feels like it.

It’s creepy. And…kind of hot, if you’re being honest, but that is not a helpful thought.

You feel a thousand times better with all the grime washed from your hair and your body. You wrap yourself in a big fluffy towel that feels like a cloud on your skin, and put off going into the bedroom by drying your hair.

There are products on the sink that you use, face lotions and hair creams, and more expensive versions of the same type that you could never afford. How did he know?

Then again, he has fucking gorgeous hair, he probably knows more about styling product than you do.   

You turn to look at his handiwork upon your bum. The bruise is a red and purple swirl nearly the size of your fist. You can actually see the neat lines of his teeth marks. “Jesus Christ.”

His eye was going to heal way before that was.

When you can’t really dawdle in the bathroom anymore, you war with the next conundrum.

Fresh clothes.

Fuck it. You march out, heading for the closet without making eye contact with the reclining leopard on the bed. You can feel his eyes on you, and fuck if it doesn’t turn you on to be watched like that. Like you are some kind of prize to be desired.

It feels utterly insane to you, to say the least. You’re not that beautiful, but he looks at you like you’re Helen of Troy.  

With your hand on the closet door John clears his throat pointedly.

You know you can’t ignore him. Risking his wrath while you’re wrapped in nothing but a bath towel is so not a good idea.

You turn to find he’s laid something out at the foot of the bed for you already.

“Wear this,” he says. It’s an order clothed in velvet. Polite, but…you sense the unyielding directive underneath.

You pad on bare feet to the foot of the bed. It’s a silky lavender nightie with lace at the bodice. Nothing too wacky. No embarrassing peep holes or extraneous straps. You are somewhat relieved.

Until you see the underwear he’s paired with them.

Your underwear, as a matter of fact.   

Those went missing a long time ago.

Speechless, you look to him, knowing you look like a fish out of water but unsure what to say.

This has been going on for way longer than you even knew, and you didn’t have a clue.

“You took these from my apartment.” You manage not to yell it.

“I didn’t want you to wear them for anyone but me.” He has the cheek to sound grouchy about it, like you did something wrong.

You feel your temper rising like the mercury in a thermometer. You know you’re going to say something stupid, but you just don’t know how to keep it in.

“How. Fucking. Dare you?”

He just sighs, like he already knows how this is going to go. “Don’t play this game with me, baby.”

You bite down on the impulse to demand he not call you baby.

“You could have just…asked me out. I would have said yes, you know?”

He actually looks away as you tell him this.

“Maybe you would have. Until you realized I’m just a bitter old man, and you would have left me.”

You blink at that. How can he be so smart, and yet so blind?

“I knew you were a bitter old man all along! But you know what? I liked you anyway. I thought you were interesting, and funny, and so fucking handsome, and I wanted to fuck you. But now…” You clench your fists, shaking with all the vitriol you know you can’t unleash on this unpredictable man.

This unpredictable killer.

He takes your fury, seemingly nonplussed. You’re not sure any of it registers at all, and it takes some of the wind out of your sails. “This isn’t love, John,” you say quietly, your throat tightening with every syllable. “Love is…having the courage to bare your heart to the sword, and take what comes. You can’t control it like this.”

He tilts his head at this, a wave of that lovely dark hair covering his face. You get the feeling like he’s hiding from you, when he does that.

Finally he asks, “Have you ever been stabbed, y/n?”

Your heart skips a beat, as you wonder if he’s threatening you. “No.”

“Well let me tell you. It fucking hurts.”

Then he reaches down the bed to pluck up the panties, sticking them in his pocket. “I guess I’ll just keep these. You’re not going to need them anyway.”

You glare daggers at him.

He offers you the slightest, smuggest, smile.

“You sonofabitch.”

“Watch that mouth, kitten. Unless you want me to fill it up with something else.”

You bare your teeth with the thought. “I fucking dare you,” you spit, snatching up the nightie to take it to the bathroom to change.

“Nuh uh,” he interjects. “Change here.”

You freeze in your tracks, understanding exactly what he’s demanding of you.

This is how it’s going to be, you tell yourself. He’s going to be sweet, and then he’s going to be insufferable, and if you’re not careful, he’ll get downright mean. Don’t be fooled by the sweet moods, because all the rest is just beneath the surface waiting.

It was so hard to remind yourself of that, when he was being good to you.

You don’t turn around. You moonlighted as a drawing model after college. You can handle this, right? He’s already seen parts of you anyway…

It’s soooooooooo much different than being in that classroom, when you undo your towel and let it fall to the floor. You can feel the weight of his gaze on your bare form. In the end, knowing it’s just your backside, that he’s already gotten way more than an eyeful of…doesn’t really help. With shaking hands you quickly you pull the nightie over your head.

You hope he feels guilty about the size of that fucking bruise, but you have a feeling he probably likes seeing his marks on you.

“Come here.” He practically purrs, and your flesh aches for the sound. Fuck.

You turn to face him, but do not move. Once again, that glorious boner is making an appearance. It’s almost flattering, how often this man has a hard-on when he’s around you. If this had been a normal relationship, you would have made it your mission to oblige him at every opportunity, just to see what the old man could take.

As it is…all you want to do is fight him, and you know you are destined to lose.

He pats his thigh, as though he expects you to sit on his lap. Without underwear. Or a bra. Or a sense of self-preservation.

You shake your head no with the glitter of moisture in the corners of your eyes. You’ve never felt so helpless in your life, and you hate it.

 He frowns at your defiance. My god, no one can do a forbidding frown, like Mr. John Wick. It lodges your heart in your throat, even while you find him magnificent.

“Are you going to make me make you?”

And there it is.

You sigh, and you feel like a piece of your soul exits your body. Good. Good, be empty. He can’t hurt an empty husk.

“I guess so.”

You close your eyes, and you wait. You wait for his rough hands, for the violence that is surely coming to you. You shake like a leaf, unable to stop. You don't know why you'd allowed yourself to hold out some hope, that maybe he really wasn't going to hurt you.

Yet, it does not come.

You open your eyes to find him still frowning at you. He hasn’t moved a muscle.

The longest three seconds of your life tick by. You count them in your thundering heartbeats, and then he scoots over on the bed. “Fine. Come lay by me then.”

You are shocked to your toes. You forget how to move. 

“Now.” He snaps his fingers, pointing to the bed beside him, and you scurry over before he loses his patience with this kinder offer. Cautiously you crawl up beside him, and when he holds up his arm you understand the cue, snuggling into his side with your head on his shoulder. 

Alright, this, you can do. 

This feels almost…normal. The way your head fits into the divot of his shoulder is just…divine, if you’re being honest, and your body shudders as you suppress a sob, hiding your face against his chest. It’s not fair, that you still want him so much, and you mourn for the promise of sweetness that was snatched from your table before you ever really got a chance to taste it.

“Shh,” he soothes, touching your hair, his big hand dwarfing the crown of your head. “I’ll try to remember to be patient with you.”

You nod against him, wanting to believe him, knowing that makes you a sad little fool.

“But my patience has its limits. Remember that, kitten.”

Oh. You weren’t going to forget.

He continues to hold you, and eventually your heart slows, the tension in your body finally relaxing.

It’s incredible, really, how you just can’t leave well enough alone.

Now that you’ve both calmed, you feel bold enough to ask, “John?”

“Yeah, baby?” His lips on the top of your head make your eyelids flutter, it’s so sweet.

“Do you…at least know that it was wrong, to break into my apartment?” You feel like the answer to this one question will help you gauge everything about his state of mind.

He is silent for a long time. Long enough to let your imagination run rampant with the things he might do to punish you for this impertinence, after he was so generous as to just let you lay down with him and snuggle.

Yet there’s no anger in his voice when he answers, “Yeah. But I’ve been breaking the law my whole life, sweetheart, and no one’s stopped me yet.”

It’s the truth, and a nice neat little warning, all wrapped up in one.

You should be scared again, but you just sigh against his chest. Maybe you’ve used up whatever hormone is responsible for adequate fear responses for the day. Or maybe…his games are working on you already, claiming your sanity inch by inch.

You lay there in his arms, and eventually you start to doze. He strokes your hair, a sweet and lulling touch that makes you curl your toes. When those featherlight fingertips find their way to the back of your neck, and the tops of your shoulders, you cannot help but squirm. In your half-asleep state, this is your kryptonite, and your leg tangles with his, your pelvis pressing against his hip. It feels like the most natural thing in the world, to crane your head towards him.

Only when you feel him shift to lean towards you for a kiss, do you realize what you are doing.

You turn your head at the last second, and his grip on you tightens from comforting to bruising in a nanosecond. “Wait—”

He has you on your back before you can blink.

 “Are we still pretending you don’t want me, kitten?”

“I…”

Suddenly his hand is between your legs, manhandling you like he owns you, raking up your thigh to swipe at your folds. He finds you soaking wet with slick, of course, and he makes a point to press your clit with his thick fingers as he withdraws. It sends an agonizing jolt of desire spreading through the cradle of your hips, the ache in your stupid little cunt nigh unbearable. You hardly recognize the keening sound that escapes your mouth.

Was that you?

It worsens ten-fold as you watch him bring his fingers to his lips, sucking them clean. “Tastes like lies to me.”

Goddammit.

“John…”

You can hardly believe it, when he slides off of the bed, leaving you cold and alone, confused and filled with desire. The pulsing ache between your legs drowns out any rational thoughts you might have had a moment ago.

“Little liars don’t get to cum. I’ll let you think about that tonight.”

You feel like you did that night in Italy, watching him walk out the door when all you really want is to feel his thick, insatiable cock teeming inside you.

Which is fucking insane, of course.

And you were thinking he might be the crazy one?

 “Same rules, sweetheart. Don’t you dare touch yourself tonight. I’ll fucking know.”

With one last baleful look over of his shoulder he touches his hand to the lock, and sweeps out of the room. He leaves you stunned on the bed, disheveled and unsure, once again, of what the fuck just happened?

[lvckyyz]

Hey! This is a different person who liked the headcanons of the gods being parents. I was wondering if you could (maybe, idk lol) make a part three having Hermes, Eris (goddess of discord), and Iris (goddess of rainbow)?

💖

godly parent III

the gods relationship with their children (part one, part two)

hermes who doesn’t mind if the unclaimed demigods call him “father”

hermes who sneaks in the camp to give ideas of new pranks to his children

hermes who has a normal cellphone to make it easier for his kids to talk to him

hermes who gets called out by his snakes for not remembering his kids birthdays

hermes who wishes he wasn’t so busy so he could take better care of cabin 11

hermes who almost cried when he received a "happy father's day" card from cabin 11

hermes who learned from his mistakes and is trying to be more caring with his kids

hermes who sometimes brings little souvenirs from all around the world to his kids

eris who gifted her cabin with a tree of golden apples so her kids could create trouble in the camp

eris who visits her kids almost every day without caring if she’s going to get in trouble

eris who sits together with her children in the mess hall during her visits and laughs loudly whenever they make someone mad at them

eris who turned chiron into a squirrel when he tried to tell her that she shouldn’t go against zeus rules

eris who almost begged mr. d to help her in when she was prohibited to go to camp half blood

eris who hosts tea parties in the underworld to keep in touch with her kids that already died

eris who confronted zeus when he told her that her kids would be punished if she kept seeing them often

eris who allows her children to prank the gods when they visit the olympus

iris who always picks up when her kids try to call her

iris who pretends to not hate hermes because she doesn’t want her kids doing anything wrong just to defend her

iris who was too afraid to disobey zeus but still make rainbows on her kids’ rooms so she could feel closer to them

iris who once spent the day in camp half blood and let her kids teach her how to make friendships bracelets, which she still wears all the time

iris who thinks her kids are ashamed of her because she’s scared of going against the rules

iris who tells her kids all the gossip from the olympus

iris who always end up forgetting she’s a goddess when she’s around her kids

iris who hates that she can’t do more to protect cabin 14

⤷ author’s note:

thanks for your request!! you don’t know how long it took me to remember that eris is the one from the war of troy😭 and i didn’t know she had a cabin, but it was so fun to write about her!

⤷ part four

[most-normal-eccles-cake-ignorer]

Good Omens: Lockdown, Aziraphale’s SAD-ASS desk, and how they get to 'Our bookshop' in S2

Welcome to part 2 of me reading reeaally far into the Good Omens: Lockdown video! (part 1 from Crowley's POV here) This post assumes the item choices in the Lockdown visuals are intentional. What follows is going to be my headcanon regardless, but if you're into the Word of God, Lockdown is canon 'If you want it to be.' and I want it to be, sooo checkmate! >;D

Also this is something of a long boi (~13 minute read without following the links >.>), so if you're into unhinged analysis of details and literary references that indicate Aziraphale is in his longing era and want to learn more about author and fave-of-Gaiman, G.K. Chesterton, either get comfy or mark this to read later when you have time!

C: What? A: *somehow surprised even though HE CALLED* A-ah, hello. It's me! C: I know it's you, Aziraphale. A: *regaining composure* Yes, well, just calling to see how you were doing in lockdown.

The video starts with shots of Aziraphale and Crowley's da Vinci sketches (and some sushi remnants)... Babygirl is flipping through the time-goes-too-fast-for-me version of a facebook album, thinking about his crush. vERY chill of him. (also the paper looks new and he's eating on top of them, suggesting these are prints and he has multiple copies of them... sooo normal)

If we look closer at the still of Crowley's portrait, we can see part of the spine of a book that reads Kei- Chesterto-. This is, of course, author Gilbert Keith Chesterton, to whom Neil and Terry (and Crowley) dedicated Good Omens:

The authors would like to join the demon Crowley in dedicating this book to the memory of G. K. Chesterton A man who knew what was going on.

In this post by @azfellandco about Chesterton, you can see a photo of the dedication page and also read the book excerpt where Crowley describes Chesterton as 'the only poet in the twentieth century to even come close to the Truth'.

C: I'm bored. I'm so very very bored - transcendentally bored. There's nothing to do here!

As Crowley is explaining his nap contingency plan, we get a shot of Aziraphale picking up his mug of hot chocolate, then the image below of the 2/3rds gone bottle of Courvoisier cognac (i mean maybe he is baking with it let's not jump to conclusions), and then the stack of books beside a framed woodcut print of witches dancing with devils...

...that I used reverse image search to trace back to page 17 of a book from 1720 called The history of witches and wizards: giving a true account of all their tryals in England, Scotland, Swedeland, France, and New England; with their confession and condemnation.

Interestingly, the text above and below the picture reads:

At their Meeting they have usually Wine, or good Beer, Cakes, Meat, or the like; they Eat and Drink really: When they meet in their Bodies, Dance also, and have Musick...

Beside the framed print of Aziraphale's idea of a really great night out is a stack of books that includes (going from top to bottom):

Homer's The Iliad, Book 2

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century by Richard Kieckhefer

a book by Hilaire Belloc with no visible title

The Club of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton

The Iliad (according to sparknotes) has the following major themes:

....Interesting, ok. Book 2 in particular starts with a god (Zeus) messing with someone (Agamemnon) via a dream that says he will be successful in taking Troy if he launches a full assault, balls to the (city) wall. Agamemnon, who is supposed to be leading the Achaean army to conquer Troy, believes the dream but then in a weird twist decides to test his army and be like 'jk actually I'm giving up and going home' and then is mad when the soldiers are like 'sick, to the boats!' Then Odysseus, who sparknotes tells me is the most eloquent of the Achaeans, gives an impressive speech to inspire the troops and reminds them that they vowed 'that they would not abandon their struggle until the city fell.' ...No way that could worsen Aziraphale's internal conflict about being a bad Angel who thwarted the Great Plan. >.>; Orthodoxy we'll get to in a second.

Then there's Forbidden Rites which is a medieval necromancy guide translated from Latin with added commentary - Aziraphale is perhaps studying occult topics in an attempt to understand Crowley better? And then there's the Hilaire Belloc book on top of the second Chesterton book, a collection of related stories/episodes?, The Club of Queer Trades. The book's Wikipedia page says:

Each story in the collection is centered on a person who is making his living by some novel and extraordinary means. To gain admittance [to the Club of Queer Trades] one must have invented a unique means of earning a living and the subsequent trade being the main source of income.

Aziraphale and Crowley have rather novel/extraordinary jobs and they're both peculiar-queer and gay-queer. Neat. The narrator in the book is named Charlie "Cherub" Swinburne - also neat. >.> He goes on an adventure with his friend, a retired judge and president of the Club of Queer Trades, Basil Grant, (who Oct 2021 GoodReads reviewer Cecily said is "described as mad, mystical, and a poet, with almost no friends, but who “would talk to any one anywhere”) and Basil's younger brother, a private detective named Inspector Constable Rupert Grant. The last line of the book is:

Thus our epic ended where it had begun, like a true cycle. (something something "It starts, as it will end, with a garden.")

Anyway, the Belloc book and The Club of Queer Trades are placed back to back in such a way that they almost look like they could be one book with two different aesthetics, or... two halves of a pantomime beast?! (stay with me I needed a segue)

Belloc and Chesterton have what is essentially a ship name:

It was coined by George Bernard Shaw (if you are like me and didn't know why you've heard of him: he wrote, among other things, Pygmalion, which was adapted into My Fair Lady). Shaw apparently liked to gossip about Belloc and Chesterton with H.G. Wells (again if you're uncultured like me: he wrote, among other science fiction-y things, The War of the Worlds).

In the Feb 15, 1908 issue of The New Age newspaper, Shaw said:

He continued:

"Chesterton and Belloc are so unlike that they get frightfully into one another’s way. ... They are unlike in everything except the specific literary genius and delight in play-acting that is common to them, and that threw them into one another’s arms.”

Shaw says Belloc is 'a bit of a rowdy', and 'cannot bear isolation'. Hmm. Then he says Chesterton is 'friendly, easy-going, unaffected, gentle, magnanimous, and genuinely democratic'. HMM.

“They share one failing—almost the only specific trait they have in common except their literary talent. That failing is, I grieve to say, addiction to the pleasures of the table.”

Ok ok I think we can see where this is going.

(^ from Staged S3E6)

Now, someone did ask Neil Gaiman about this similarity, and he said the Lockdown video was filmed by Rob Wilkins in Terry Pratchett's library, and that he suspects 'Belloc is there because he was on Terry's shelves beside Chesterton.' And it MAY VERY WELL BE that NONE (0) of the book titles are meant in any way other than 'these are books from Sir Pratchett's library that looked nice on camera and ofc we wanted some Chesterton refs and maybe some demon-y stuff for Crowley' but that is WAY less fun so I am choosing to take them as intentional: these are books Aziraphale is actually reading (along with the sushi and many cakes he is actually eating). Let's put ourselves in Aziraphale's shoes and try to imagine how it would be to read this stuff during lockdown while you pine for a demon with slinky hips after you got in big trouble at work for Armageddoff (and work happens to have defined your worldview and general purpose in life).

C: welll... ngk then people might follow my bad example and get ill. Or even die—

As Crowley acknowledges that he ought to be out making peoples' lives worse, we see Orthodoxy by Chesterton open on the desk.

Orthodoxy is described as a ‘spiritual autobiography’ and is considered a classic of Christian apologetics, i.e. the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines (in this case, Catholic) through systematic argumentation and discourse. Wikipedia also says Chesterton's The Everlasting Man contributed to C.S. Lewis' conversion to Christianity, so overall it sounds like he must've been fairly convincing. (and so maybe reading it also poked at that work-related-but-religious-trauma-adjacent stuff Aziraphale has going on?)

You can read Orthodoxy (and probably any of the books I mention bc theyre all old) on project gutenberg but I will include this part of what is shown on the righthand page bc it just reminds me (and so probably Azirapalala as well) of a certain angel squeaking happily at a nebula:

"I felt economical about the stars as if they were sapphires (they are called so in Milton's Eden): I hoarded the hills. For the universe is a single jewel, and while it is a natural cant to talk of a jewel as peerless and priceless, of this jewel it is literally true. This cosmos is indeed without peer and without price: for there cannot be another one."

Ok great, so Aziraphale is diving into the works of one of Crowley's favorite authors bc he misses him, that's cute. What else? Oh he already wrote him a letter right before calling - THE WICK ON THE WAX STICK FOR THE SEAL IS STILL SMOKING. sO CASUAL asdashgfjds

something something 'either call on the phone and talk, or appear mysteriously; don't do both'

When Aziraphale gets to 'I've never had so few customers, not in two hundred years!' We get a close up of this glass of cognac with droplets still on the side — I take back what I said about baking, Aziraphale is drinking it~

He's not drinking a wine, eg Châteauneuf-du-pape, which would be ~14% alcohol by volume (ABV), or a sherry (15-20% ABV); he is drinking Courvoisier cognac, a hard liquor (40% ABV). Crowley's Talisker whisky is 48.5% while we are on the topic. This is stronger than what Aziraphale usually drinks which means... he could be a bit tipsy.

As Aziraphale starts talking about the would-be cash-box burglary, we get this wide shot of the desk:

In the top left hand corner, we see two stacks of books, most (all?) of which appear to be Chesterton when I zoom in. Some of them have Chesterton's name visible on them, others have the publisher name 'Darwen Finlayson' on them, which according to my googling is a house that published several of Chesterton's works. If Chesterton was truly 'a man who knew what was going on', then perhaps this is Aziraphale seeking not just to feel closer to Crowley, but also to make sense of the warring ideas in his mind. Interestingly, Chesterton has also been described as 'The Eccentric Prince of Paradox'.

C: *clearly amused* Did you smite them with your wroth?

The screen then shows two occult-y books and a flickering candle (lower left image). Then Aziraphale explains about his cake~, and as Crowley cuts him off because he's about to nervously ask to come over bc he is so so lonely & down bad for a certain angelic bookworm, we see a map of Oxfordshire on top of Pilgrim's Progress (lower right image).

The two books beside the candle are Satanism and Witchcraft (presumably the 1862 book by Jules Michelet that comes up when I search the title), and another called Magic: An Occult Primer.

Satanism and Witchcraft is described on Wikipedia as 'notable for being one of the first sympathetic histories of witchcraft' and says 'Michelet was one of the first few people to attempt to show the sociological explanation of the Witch Trials.’ Sympathy for people who like to eat/drink/dance with demons, if you will?

Magic: An Occult Primer is a 1972 book by David Conway, a Welsh (CACHU HWCH!) magus and is described as 'a seminal work that brought magical training to the every-magician'. It also includes an appendix called The Occult Who's Who, which is somewhat reminiscent of Hastur's Furfur's book about angels. In Chapter 11: A Word About Demons, it says in regard to summoning them:

"Assuming that the form has turned up in the right place, it will soon begin to act and talk in a very friendly manner; do not forget, however, that its winning ways conceal a sinister intention-- namely, to get the adept out of the circle, and into its clutches.”

...okay?? Aziraphale's desk has a flickering candle on it throughout the video, and we get a close up of the flame when Crowley offers to slither over:

and just like that, Aziraphale has summoned a demon~~

Naturally, he freaks out:

A: *panicking*Oh I— I— I— I— I'm afraid that would be Breaking All The Rules! *nervous breathing* Out of the question! I'll see you… when this is over.

But why? Isn't this what he wanted? Let's go back to the Pilgrim's Progress shot from right before the successful demon summoning and zoom in:

In a similar vein to Orthodoxy, Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, is an allegorical Puritan conversion narrative. Christian is the main character / stand in for anyone who wants to be in the allegory and Hopeful is well, hopeful, from what I gather. A slightly larger continuous excerpt is here for the curious, but here are some bits I thought were especially interesting in the part of the book shown above:

Christian: Why, what was it that brought your sins to mind again? Hopeful: Many things; as, If I did but meet a good man in the streets; or, If I have heard any read in the Bible; or, If mine head did begin to ache; or, If I were told that some of my neighbors were sick; or, If I heard the bell toll for some that were dead; or, If I thought of dying myself; or, If I heard that sudden death happened to others; But especially when I thought of myself that I must quickly come to judgment.

Perhaps the pandemic is bringing Aziraphale's "sins" to mind again, on top of the whole choosing faces thing to avoid 'quickly coming to judgment'. And then:

Hopeful: I thought I must endeavor to mend my life; for else, thought I, I am sure to be lost forever. Christian: And did you endeavor to mend? Hopeful: Yes, and fled from not only my sins, but sinful company too, and betook me to religious duties, as praying, reading, weeping for sin, speaking truth to my neighbors, etc.

UM??? While I can't say about the praying or weeping for sin, he has definitely been reading and the whole 'giving a good talking to' the burglars could be 'speaking truth to [the] neighbors'...?

Anyway to recap:

Aziraphale has been poring over books about dark magic and demons as well as a ton of books by an author that Crowley loves and who formed a partnership w a very different person in a sort of yin-yang, pantomime beast situation

He has been looking at pictures that remind him of their fun times w Leo in Florence and eating sushi and cake cake cake (and forgiving sinners) and drinking hot chocolate and cognac trying to fill a void but now he's tipsy so he wrote Crowley a letter, stamped it with a wax seal and then thought 'I should call her' BUT

His recent brush with attempted death penalties, the death toll of the pandemic, and some of the religious books he was reading have also filled him with guilt/fear over disobeying Heaven, who he knows could still be watching him and Crowley, so he feels much more conflicted than usual AND

He probably has some inkling that he wants to go ape shit on that ox rib if it comes over to hang out (lol editing to add bc i remembered ox rib discourse: ape shit in an emotional way! whether you hc them as ace or not I just think he really likes him and I’m using ox ribs as a stand in for general forbidden joy/love, not specifically sexy stuff)

So he has to say no.

Anything else might cause him to spontaneously discorporate into a plume of pining and cognitively dissonant gay smoke, which may be all well and good if you only think there's a God, but if you KNOW it and the angels are absolutely recording you and Heaven just tried to kill you and your wife colleague, it's... kind of a big deal.

C: Right. gnnehh. I'm setting the alarm clock for July. Good night, angel. *dial tone*

We don't get to hear Aziraphale's response, but besties you and I both know he is not feeling tickety-boo. He spent like a month putting off calling Crowley (UK lockdowns started end of March, the call is at the beginning of May), finally got drunk and said what the Hell, it'll just be a fun flirty chat in between his temptations, and then it turned out Crowley was depressed and not going anywhere and Aziraphale made him even sadder. And then it got worse because it wasn't all over in July, or in October, even.

I think Aziraphale ends up with a lot of time and brain space in which to think about how Orthodoxy and Pilgrim's Progress were only written to guide *mortals* and how it really wouldn't be so bad if he spent more time with Crowley, would it? Heaven hasn't reached out in actual years again, things feel safer. Crowley is essentially Good and spending time with him would be sort of ministering to the downtrodden and afflicted, and Aziraphale does miss reporting his good deeds (lol you know, whatever rationalizations you need to get you there).

More than anything, he thinks about how hollow everything feels without Crowley; how no mouthful of food or drink tastes as satisfying in his absence because it wasn't ever just about the 'gross matter'...

So when lockdowns end, Aziraphale begins to summon his demon again, but this time with much less inner struggling. It all comes so naturally, when you let it. By the beginning of Season 2 in 2023, they seem delightfully comfortable with their shared routines and places (see also this lovely post by @nightgoodomens). Our car. Our bookshop.

Aziraphale might take longer to catch up, but he does get there.

(SHHH DON'T THINK ABOUT EPISODE 6! STOP! I'M HANGING UP!)

“The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.” ― G.K. Chesterton

[sadquickchristmassnowman]

hey so i’m new to the community fandom and i really love trobed. i was wondering what was your trobed centric episode masterlist like? or if it’s possible, is there a way to send me the post? sorry i’m new to tumblr so i’m still learning how this app works. if you see this, thanks :)

hi, welcome! I've found that community tumblr is probably my favorite fandom space I've ever been involved in, and I hope you've had a good experience so far. I totally get the New App Learning Curve thing, I'm historically very shit at learning how to use new apps, even though I'm "young" (20), but I eventually got it and you will too, Trust 👍👍👍

anyway, Yes one of the first things I did on here after joining was make a trobed-centric episode masterlist for someone who was asking lmfao. since it was one of the First things I did there's some formatting and other things I'd do differently now, and I've actually been looking for an excuse to go ahead and get that done, so. here we go.

the trobed-centric episode masterlist (revamped)

1x05: advanced criminal law

plot B

abed takes the "friends mess with each other" rule too far; he creates a whole fake language and spends a lot of money on trying to convince troy that he is an alien

"from now on, abed, friends don't mess with each other"

(this is the first time they do their signature handshake)

1/5 gayness, pretty platonic

1x10: environmental science

plot B

it's the "somewhere out there" episode what more do I need to say

3/5 gayness, something's happening fs

1x11: the politics of human sexuality

plot C

abed keeps beating troy in athletic competitions, making troy feel threatened. he eventually admits that abed is the better athlete and they make up

2/5 gayness, pretty platonic but it has its moments

1x22: the art of discourse

plot C

troy and abed work to complete abed's list of quintessential freshman year of college experiences list

2/5 gayness, they repeatedly put completing the list above looking cool in front of women

1x25: pascal's triangle revisited

plot C

troy is moving out of his dad's house and wants to move in with abed, but abed says no because he's afraid being that close and spending that much time together will result in constant annoyance, and will destroy their friendship

troy realizes that "too much of a good thing can be bad" and instead agrees to move in with pierce

1/5 gayness

2x02: accounting for lawyers

part of plot A

jeff gets sucked back into his old life as he reconnects with alan, a coworker from his old law firm. troy, abed, and annie try to gather proof that jeff's friend is the one who got him fired in the first place

more trobedison centric, and is actually the first episode where the three of them are established as a Trio™

"all I heard was suck" "YOU CHLOROFORMED THE JANITOR" "I usually have one foot out of reality and even I'm freaking out right now"

1/5 gayness, pretty platonic. they're the sillies ever I love trobedison

2x06: epidemiology

part of plot A

it's the zombie episode, come ON

trobed have coordinating costumes but troy bails during the party because he doesn't want to look lame and nerdy in front of women, which hurts abed's feelings

abed sacrifices himself to save troy once they are the last two standing during the "rabies pathogen" breakout

"I love you" "I know" (oh my GODDD sedate me)

5/5 gayness. you get it.

2x09: conspiracy theories and interior design

plot B

the original blanket fort 💯💯💯

2/5 gayness, just guys bein silly (and in love???)

2x15: early 21st century romanticism

plot B

troy and abed fall for the same girl and decide to take her to the valentine's dance together, after which she can decide which one of them she wants to date

she picks troy, but troy gets upset that she didn't pick abed (because why wouldn't she pick abed, he's so cool) and breaks it off almost immediately

I"happy valentine's day" "it is now"

5/5 gayness jesus christ this one is INSANE

2x18: custody law and eastern european diplomacy

plot B

britta likes troy and abed's new friend, lukka, who she finds out is a literal war criminal. she keeps this information from troy and abed because she doesn't want to ruin their friendship with him, but they find out eventually

2/5 gayness they're attached at the hip in this one

2x19: critical film studies

random moments

this episode is more focused on jeff and abed, but there's a lot of classic Troy Gets Jealous™ moments so I decided to include it. plus the end tag is them randomly having dinner together at the fancy restaurant (a date 😔)

basically troy is afraid that jeff is a cooler friend to abed than him

3/5 gayness even though they barely interact, troy is so silly

2x20: competitive wine tasting

part of plot B

I almost didn't include this one, and it's not even on my original list, but whatever

troy pretends to be traumatized, originally to seem less shallow in his acting class, but he keeps it going in order to attract britta. he tells abed about it and abed Does Not Like That At All

"troy. nothing good can come of this"

I wouldn't call abed being jealous a Rare Occurrence but he generally conceals it way better than troy does

2/5 gayness, could be interpreted as abed just worried about relationships forming under false pretense, but to Me he's jealous

2x22: applied anthropology and culinary arts

plot C

pierce buys the rights to troy and abed's handshake (a la Indecent Proposal) which "corrupts" it

"pierce tainted our special handshake with his blood money and now we can't get the magic baaaack :((((("

eventually they do indeed get the magic back

3/5 gayness idk there's something about the way they interact in this one that is inexplicably gay to me lmao

3x01: biology 101

plot C plus random moments

"speaking of figuring things out, me and abed have an announcement" "..." "troy and I are living together :D"

cougartown gets moved to midseason, then cougarton abbey ends after 6 episodes, abed's routine keeps getting thrown off, and troy is just extremely supportive and protective throughout

4/5 gayness troy loves him a lot!!!!!!

3x03: remedial chaos theory

random moments

(I know this ep is listed as 3x04 on streaming services but in canon it takes place here and on the dvds it's listed as 3x03. there's a joke about it in the episode too if you didn't know. anyway)

"troy and abed's new apartment!!!" "bienvenido a la casa chez trobed!" "wanna stay up all night talking in our bunk beds?"

all their pictures on the wall and their matching suits lol

the end tag "evil troy and evil abed" & troy's soft "what's wrong :("

3/5 gayness they're lowkey married your honor

3x05: horror fiction in seven spooky steps

random moments

troy's whole story he tells where they Literally become attached at the hip

"my partner"

troy dancing while abed's humming daybreak

2/5 gayness

3x06: advanced gay

plot B

troy deciding whether he wants to do plumbing or air conditioning and deciding all he really wants to do is watch tv with abed

gay symbolism? gay symbolism? gay symbolism?

4/5 gayness mostly for the conversation at the hawthorne wipes gathering. I could write an essay on just that

3x07: studies in modern movement

plot A

annie moves in with troy and abed. very trobedison centric

"kiss me woodsman troy!"

3/5 gayness once again casually in love they're soulmates your honor

3x09: foosball and nocturnal vigilantism

plot B

annie breaks abed's $200 special edition dark knight dvd set on accident, trobedison shenanigans ensue yippee!!!

"awww is that the grappling hook I got you for christmas???"

3/5 gayness for the same reasons as before

3x10: regional holiday music

part of plot A

literally putting this on here just because of the christmas infiltration rap (and baby boomer santa)

3/5 gayness it's glee club what can you do

3x11: contemporary impressionists

plot A

(once again, I know this episode is listed as 3x12 on streaming services, but in canon it's supposed to chronologically be here, and is listed as 3x11 on the dvds)

the study group helps abed pay off his debts to a celebrity impersonator website by playing characters at a bar mitzvah (after troy scolds them for trying to ground abed in reality)

they have an argument at the end ugh

3/5 gayness troy loves abed a lot and abed doesn't realize that he's doing something wrong

3x12: urban matrimony and the sandwich arts

plot C

(see the above disclaimer about episode order)

troy and abed decide to be normal for shirley's wedding rehearsal

troy and abed being normal 🤝

4/5 gayness they blow off a girl to be weird again

3x13: digital exploration of interior design

plot C

blanket fort: redux (oh god)

vice dean laybourne escalates what started as a minor disagreement in order to drive a wedge between troy and abed. it works

5/5 gayness, if a sitcom doesn't have the two codependent fanonical gays go through an unnecessarily dramatic "break up" then I don’t want it

3x14: pillows and blankets

plot A

🎶troy and abed are in conflict🎶 *cries*

pillow fort vs. blanket fort

they eventually make up but not before they hurt each others' feelings a Lot

5/5 gayness the dramatics jesus christ

3x16: virtual systems analysis

random moments

so this episode is more focused on abed and annie, and troy and abed actually don't Technically interact with each other very much at all, but. you know

abed kinda freaks out when troy and britta go on a date because it "messes with the fabric of the group" (🤨 I know what you are)

troy calls annie to "check on abed" boy you are on a date with a woman

4/5 gayness just from subtext you get it

3x17: basic lupine urology

random moments

troy and abed play detective as they try to figure out who sabotaged the group's biology project

"we can't both do the zinger"

4/5 gayness no explanation

3x19: curriculum unavailable

random moments

the study group is expelled from greendale and abed gets arrested for spying on campus, so he's supposed to have a psychological evaluation

troy is just very protective of him in this episode, plus the flashback clip where he and Annie are comforting him as he's freaking out about daylight savings

"our adventures are VERY manly"

4/5 gayness

3x21: the first chang dynasty

random moments

oof baboof with you two! (all the plumber shenanigans are hilarious)

mostly putting this one on here for the goodbye scene at the end of the episode, though. god

"he said, 'I know you hate when people do this in movies.' sorry I got emotional"

3x22: introduction to finality

plot B

abed "goes crazy" without troy (who's off at a/c repair school)

when troy comes back he prioritizes abed over britta (who he supposedly has romantic feelings for)

"I miss abed so much" "you're afraid you'll go crazy without troy"

4/5 gayness one could say they're a little codependent

4x03: conventions of space and time

plot A

troy gets jealous of (read: goes "psycho girlfriend on") abed's new inspector spacetime superfan friend toby

britta, even as troy's literal girlfriend, calls abed troy's boyfriend and supports troy through the whole thing

"for the first time in my long history of being locked inside things, I knew someone would come" let me just put my head through my wall really quick

5/5 gayness even though troy has a whole gf. that's how gay this episode is

4x11: basic human anatomy

plot A

troy and abed pretend to switch bodies, like in freaky friday, in order to help troy process his feelings about his relationship with britta

5/5 gayness holy SHIT y'all. I could write thousands of words on this episode. it is so hard to justify troy's actions in this one without reading him as a closeted gay person not lying

5x03: basic intergluteal numismatics

random moments

including this one because of how abed comforts troy and pushes him around in a wheelchair for the entire episode

3/5 gayness it's the casual married-ness again smh

5x04: cooperative polygraphy

random moments

this is another one I didn't include on my original list but I decided fuck it

the bit uncovering the actual origin of their patented handshake is so funny "I can't even look at you right now" "then you should know I'm crying"

also just the. look on abed's face when troy agrees to go on the trip at the end. "cool. cool cool cool." "that's a lie" UGHHHHH

4/5 gayness again. so typical

5x05: geothermal escapism

plot A

do I need to say a word

ouch ouch ouch OUCH

5/5 gayness especially the deleted dialogue from the last scene (I've posted it before but lmk if you don't know what I'm talking about. disclaimer it makes me want to launch myself off the empire state building)

alright. there it is folks. I was going to make another subsection of other random iconic trobed moments and cite the episodes they're from but basically every single episode has at least one, so that list would be Way too long to qualify as a supplement to this one lmao. however! if you have a Trobed Moment™ stuck in your head (or any Moment for that matter) and you can't remember which episode it's from feel free to ask me, I'm confident that my internal community database will be able to Remind You. anyway. hope this was helpful. bye

[blues-valentine]

HSMTMTS: Ricky’s story arc as told by his songs. From I Think I Kinda You Know to Love You Forever (Part 1).

I’ve been thinking about how every song Ricky has performed on the show (my focus will be mostly on the original songs) tell us what his journey has been in the course of the show.

Ricky’s journey has been about changes and the future, leaving his childhood behind, how his parents relationship affects his own as well as the ability to be emotionally open. How he viewed love at the start of the show vs how he views love now. About new starts. About how happiness is a process and something he also needs to create for himself. And his songs reflect this journey very well. For this post. I'll focus on Season 1 and Season 2 for Part 1.

I’ve made countless of posts about Ricky’s growth over the course of the show and there’s some points I won’t be focusing too hard on but check them out for context: (X) (X) (X) (X)

Let’s start with the first song we hear from him on the show: I Think I Kinda, You Know. When we start the show, one of the things we learn is that the reason Ricky and Nini broke up is because she made a post on Instagram singing him this very song and telling him she loves him. She was expecting him to say it back but he freaks out and runs away. Then, the first day of school, he expects things to get back to normal with Nini but she’s dating again, has flourished (Nini’s words) and wants to audition for the lead at the school musical. Ricky decides to join too and sings this song to her during auditions in hopes of getting her back. He mentions during his little monologue that the reason he didn’t say it back is because his parents don’t say those words to each other anymore. Ricky’s parents relationship and divorce did affect the way he viewed his own romantic relationships.

Some lyrics: “It’s just three little words, yeah, it’s not a big deal, it’s not like I can’t help felling all that I feel and by now I’m sure you’re thinking it’s too obvious but just in case it’s not what I’m saying it’s I think I kinda, you know” and he closes with “guess I’m saying I don’t not love you.” He does not directly acknowledges that he loves her in front of people. He feels unsure. Nini doesn’t take this as a good sign.

Ricky gets the role of Troy. Nini gets the role of Gabriella. Still, Nini isn’t convinced that Ricky is serious and calls him out for invading her space and taking the opportunity from others. In the next episodes, Ricky tries to be a good Troy to prove Nini he is being serious but she isn’t impressed. Nini breaks up with EJ due to his jealousy (and that he food poisoned someone). Ricky takes Nini’s words about not belonging on stage, thinks he is making it worst with her and wants to drop out of the musical. But later, a conversation with Gina about how he has his own style makes him change his mind. In his family unit, everything is a mess. He finds out his parents are getting a divorce and his mom might be leaving SLC for good. He goes to talk to Nini and they share a nice moment where they agreed to still be there for each other as friends despite the chaos around the musical. He tells her about how different everything is and how scared that makes him feel. In Ricky’s mind, he wishes everything would go back to normal (and that includes Nini as his girlfriend).

I don’t even need to explain how much Ricky hates changes. It’s a statement he drops every episode until he has to overcome it full on.

By the homecoming episode, he is convinced him and Nini are over because she friend-zoned him. He goes to the dance with Big Red. In this episode, he is unreasonable annoyed that Gina brought EJ as her date (and can’t even understand why) and after a bit of a setback with Gina, he goes to apologize and their first connection occurs. Both of them have some family drama so she can relate to his situation. After, when he drives her home, he discovers a new side of Gina and confesses the reason he stayed on the show is because of her. The school musical, Troy, and having that space has allowed him to cope with his family issues and so her encouragement is something he needed. Ricky becomes the first person that gives Gina another chance instead of thinking she’s the bad seed, which brings up another song: When There Was Me And You.

I always wondered why they’d give this song to Ricky when is a Gabriella song so it must mean something for his arc. And does. On 106, Ricky offers an acoustic idea of the song which gets rejected by the drama club, except for Gina who asks to hear it. You’d think it doesn’t mean much but the song implies a lot of things with the camera blocking. It subtly implies that the idea of his relationship with Nini is related to his internal issues. We first have Ricky singing the first lines to Gina as: “I thought you were my fairy tale. My dream when I'm not sleeping. A wish upon a star that's coming true. And everybody else could tell. That I confused my feelings with the truth. When there was me and you” all of this while Nini is outside. And just when Nini enters the frame, here comes the lyrics: “I'm only left with used-to-be's and once upon a song. Now I know you're not a fairy tale. And dreams are meant for sleeping. And wishes on a star just don't come true.” Back to Ricky and Gina: “'Cause now, even I can tell…” and then frame changes on Nini leaving: “That I confused my feelings with the truth” and lastly, back to Ricky looking at Gina: “because I liked the view when there was me and you”. It subtly implies what the show keeps telling you. He feels like he needs to be with Nini because it’s the status quo in his life. Gina represents different and new and that’s scary. Nini feels steady…safe.

By 107, Ricky and Gina have become closer and their connection is very apparent. Ricky learns his mom has a new boyfriend and doesn’t know how to deal with the situation. He thinks about calling Nini since he thinks she’s the only one able to ease his mind. Just for Gina to show up and be what he needed, by understanding him and encouraging him. At this point on the show, he is very focused on his friendship with Gina, not on getting back with Nini, even when he knows she’s single now. Thanksgiving ends badly when Gina gets a call from her mom telling her they have to move again. In Ricky’s perspective, the one person that has helped him and encourage him is leaving him too. And in a way, this validates his biggest fear: Good things won’t last and changes aren’t positive.

The next episode, Gina had already left. She’s not even in this episode. Ricky is insistent and keeps texting her despite Gina not responding. In Gina’s absent, he bonds with Nini over their childhood memories and when his parents were together. They almost kiss (after Gina finally texts him she’s gone). And he is then basically back to normal now. Nini still likes him. Everything will be fine. He is back to status quo. This is when Ricky and Nini’s most important duet comes: Just For A Moment.

This song isn’t featured on the show (just on the soundtrack) but it’s acknowledged on 109. Ricky’s singing the first verse of the song to Big Red and it says: “I feel in love with the only girl that knows what I’m about…” but then Big Red thinks is about Gina. And I just think it’s funny the first and only time this song is mentioned, it’s used to remind the audience of Ricky and Gina's situationship. And the song itself is self explanatory, it’s about two people that still have feelings for each other but the most important thing is that the song talks about momentary feelings. Not long lasting. It goes: “When we're underneath the lights my heart's no longer broken. For a moment, just for a moment. When we're singing side by side there's so much left unspoken. For a moment, just for a moment. A moment in love. A moment in love. But is a moment enough?”. That’s the question. The song also talks about giving it another try in a better place and a better time. It’s basically about Season 2 and their second attempt.

The season finale has some moments such as Ricky singing Get'cha Head in the Game and getting distracted over his mom bringing her new boyfriend. This causes Ricky to drop out on the second act and seeking Nini from advice, only for that to be Gina (a recurrent theme). During intermission, his mom tells him not all couples are meant to be together and some people change. This is foreshadowing to Ricky and Nini. And just when he thought he was ready to step back and just watch, Nini is singing Breaking Free with him. Everything in Ricky’s life is changing but Nini is a constant. And you’d think him finally saying i love you on the finale is a full circle moment but is it, truly? I’ve said this, Ricky blurting out the words was more of a desperate attempt to hold onto something safe (X) since everything else in his life was changing. Gina came back only for one night (or so he thought). His mom has a new boyfriend and a new life in Chicago. He said the words Nini wanted to hear and talks about childhood (the thing he won’t let go of). Everything about Ricky’s confession feels a bit fearful and unsure. Just like that very first song.

Ricky ends Season 1 in denial about himself. He went backwards because he thinks getting back with Nini is what will make his life right again. He said “Maybe I’m just who I’ve always been” but that’s not true. He changed. He met Gina. His parents are not together anymore. And he cannot cling to Nini (who’s changing too) to achieve that desired normalcy/safety.

Season 2 is the lowest point emotionally for Ricky. He is back again with Nini but despite saying the big 3 words their relationship just proves to be out of sync. Does not help that his abandonment issues (because his mom thinks getting a divorce is running from your child) makes him clingier and paranoid while Nini wants to try new things. It doesn’t help that his life keeps changing and he can’t find a sense of fulfillment. Or the fact that Gina is back and he knows their relationship is still a big question.

Season 2 starts with Ricky and Nini’s second chance at their relationship. Everything seems to be perfect. The first song Ricky sings for the season is “Perfect Gift” which is a very cliche Christmas song. But it foreshadows one of their issues thought out the season. The lyrics are: “The perfect gift that I could give to the perfect gift (…) You were a home for me when I had no one there. I promise you that I’m not going anywhere…” and continues: “When seasons change and I’ve lost my way it’ll be okay with you by my side”. This sentiment later explodes with the song Nini wrote about the Beast (Ricky): The Rose Song. Nini felt like the Rose, trapped inside a glass. Ricky views her as this perfect girl. She feels like a something and not someone with deep layers. Ricky is holding onto Nini to maintain some sense of normalcy and this makes her feel trapped which leads to their communication issues. Ricky learns two things in 201: Gina is back at SLC for good and Nini is leaving for a music school in Denver.

Side note but I spoke about how funny it is that the same episode Ricky calls Nini “home” in his childhood home, he finds out he has to move. Talk about symbolism. So, for the following episodes, Ricky and Nini’s relationship is not compatible. It doesn’t seem like either of them know what the other wants or needs. Ricky is trying really hard to hold onto the remaining of Nini while he keeps falling apart and looking for a sense of happiness that he isn’t getting. This season, especially the first half, it feels like he cannot connect with the drama club and Gina, who used the only person to motivate him to exist in that space it’s not speaking to him. And I won’t try to repeat myself too much, I’ve said this before, Season 2 Ricky wasn’t trying to be insensitive on propose. I feel like Ricky didn’t think he had that much of an impact on Gina, probably due to his own insecurities. He had a girlfriend. He was scared and in denial. Ricky was not emotionally ready to be with Gina. And he tried really hard to avoid their situation and ultimately accepted her choice to be distanced.

On the Valentine’s Day episode, we get that very nuanced scene between Ricky and Gina that I’ve explained before (X). During this day, Ricky has been trying to sing a song for Nini but he does not find the motivation to do so since they have been out of sync the whole day. It’s Gina who gives him the idea of singing it to her over the phone. I don’t know if I could say “Even When/Best Part” is an important song because lyric wise it tells us what we already know about him clinging to her but I love the fact they sing the songs separately and they never manage to sing it together. It represents their relationship at this point extremely well.

This season actually draws a lot of parallels between Ricky and The Beast. He spends the majority of the first half kind of isolated and you can see he isn’t trying to connect with anyone except for Nini. He laches out constantly and isn’t putting effort on his own happiness but relaying on Nini. He even makes that comment to Miss Jenn. They were metaphorically The Beast and The Rose. And Gina’s arc was in a way also paralleling The Beauty/Belle (X) and this is reflected in how “Home” a song for Belle is used to point out Ricky and Gina issues from Gina’s view. So, in the next 5 episodes we don’t get Ricky related songs but emphasis on Ricky and Nini’s deteriorating relationship. We get songs like Granted and The Rose Song that are basically reflections of Nini’s desire to branch out and be herself. It all reaches the climax for Ricky’s arc on 108 when he decides to break up with Nini. He points out what we’ve been saying: he wants to protect what feels safe and by doing so he isn’t a better person. All of this takes form with Let You Go. It’s a song Ricky needed to sing to close off this part of his arc.

As the song says, he is letting go of Nini and the fantasy because their romantic relationship is broken and there’s not way to fix it without further hurting each other. Some lyrics that are key: “Tear the treehouse down, give up the fantasy”. The treehouse that represented their childhood, what was keeping their relationship alive. And “I'm pickin' up pieces left and right. Now that our hearts are both untied. It'll take time. No one can say we didn't try”. I’ve said that it was important for Ricky to have the reassurance that he at least tried to safe their relationship which is why he needed to get back with Nini on Season 1 so they could discover for themselves that they were not longer compatible and it wasn’t helping them.

Funny enough, the next episode after that it’s titled “The Transformation” making reference to The Beast “transforming” into the Prince. They even rehears this very scene. After Ricky breaks up with Nini, there’s notable differences. It’s like as he sings, picking up the pieces of his life. He helps Carlos make a song for Seb and opens up. He fully commits to the show and it’s actively taking part in it. He apologizes to Miss Jenn and accepts her relationship with his dad. The only relationship that seems to still be at odds is his relationship with Gina. And I feel a huge part of that has to do with the fact he learns EJ had a crush on her and wants to take her on a date and he might’ve thought he was doing Gina a favor by keeping the distance. It’s important to understand here that Ricky was respecting her choice to put boundaries w him.

The songs that Ricky sings as The Beast, aren’t particularly expressing something about him but I think the fact he managed to fully finish the play in the second act speaks about him understanding that he made a commitment to the group and I think it was important for him. Lastly, Ricky’s very complicated Season 2 arc ends with “Second Chance”. A song that is not just meaningful for Ricky’s arc but the others as well. For Ricky’s arc, it’s all about starting over.

In the last episode, Ricky speaks to Miss Jenn about how difficult everything has been for him and how he still isn’t sure about what he is, he came as a skater and is leaving with his second opening act as part of the drama club. He says he isn’t happy yet but it’s getting there. At this point, he is looking to move on and be a better person for himself now that his chapter with Nini is over. Ricky is finally accepting changes are impossible to avoid and that he needs to go along with it and embrace new opportunities. His part for Second Chance is very especifit: “Who knew that love could be so bittersweet when it finally meets the end? But there is somethin' in this summer wind. A moment to begin again” check notes: summer with Gina. And it continues with Ricky repeating “begin again, begin again” and another thing I think is interesting is how at the end of the full version there’s a question Ricky and Gina seem to be the only ones to sing about “what can make the fire burn? what can make the tide turn?” And you hear Ricky’s voice asking “what does it take?” As I said, Second Chance is Rina coded.

Ricky’s journey to self improving and embracing new chances starts on Season 3. I will tackle Season 3 and Season 4 in Part 2. Sorry if this was too long. If you like this please reblog, it took me so long to gather all of this.

[starsandhughes]

Guide to Penalty Box: Sissy Lore, Character Relationships, Bits, History

i reread all of penalty box so you don’t have to! this post is mainly for my benefit, but also for anyone new to the series <3

General Masterlist — 22-23 Season — 23-24 Season

Sissy

Basic Things About Her:

She is NOT legally a Hughes! She grew up with them and they took her in when they moved to Michigan for Jack when he went to USNTDP. They call her their sister, she calls them her brothers, and calls Jim and Ellen mom and dad

Her birth parents were neglectful and mentally abusive. She often stayed at the Hughes house even in elementary school. They put a bed in their game room for her before the move where she got her own room

She is an event planner and has her own business!

Very, very obsessed with The Hunger Games series

She will quote it, reference it, and force everyone to watch it any chance she gets

She's a runner when she's drunk!

The whole group has air tags they use for parties because of this, and even then someone is normally physically attached to her

A story of her running away is in Cruel Weather (Part Two)

She '146' tattooed on her wrist. The 1 is for Trevor, the 4 is for Quinn and Luke, and the 6 is for Jack (and later, Jamie)

She'll joke around with Jack if he gets her on her nerves that the 6 is only for Jamie now

She has the date she moved in with the Hughes's on her collar bone in Roman numerals

She's a sleepy girl! Can't get ahold of her? She's most likely sleeping

She has many sons. Most of the UMich team 101 is a fatherless child, but some have fathers!

Fatherless children: Dylan, Mark, Adam, Luca, Seamus, and Rutger (Fathered children are listed under their father)

She's a bitter! Everyone is used to it, but any time it happens for the first time with someone new, someone has to explain that it's her little deranged way of showing love. Ethan will stick his arm out if she bites Luke (or anyone) to demand love

She goes under people's shirts when she's overwhelmed with emotions. When she does it, you know she trusts you

Sissy & Co are big fans of game nights and she is very, very competitive! They have monthly game nights in whatever way can

Every teammate, on all the teams, adore her and she loves them so much

She gives the teams (mainly the Ducks, obviously) good bags after each game! The more she learns at each player, the more personal the bags

She calls Troy and Dani Terry mom and dad, and she also calls Shatty mom

She's a huge Dallas Stars fan! Her favorite is Robo, and she always (with slim exceptions like if Quinn and Trevor etc play each other) flies to see any of her friends play against them.

She will drop everything if anyone, anyone needs her

She's terrified of storms

She's picky about who gets to call her Sissy and will fight over it.

Sissy exceptions: Dylan because he's known her so long, Cole gets a once a month pass, and Spencer Knight can anytime

Gives creative insults and has no filter

She's a Pink Whitney girly

She has weekly face times with Petey and Matty

She's so clumsy. Extremely so. She is frequently bruised because of it

She's really touchy and will cuddle and fall asleep on anyone

She's a Slytherin

She keeps scrapbooks! For literally anything and everything!

She loves poetry, and frequently uses Atticus poems

Random Lore:

She will leave at any given moment and tell no one. And not just to go out, she'll hop on a plane to see any of her boys. She won't even tell the person she's coming to see. She'll just show up. None of this out of spite, she's just forgetful

Once, she missed Quinn and spontaneously got on a plane to go see him while Trevor was gone without telling anyone. Not Trevor, not Quinn, no one. There was a big freak out. (This was not the first time)

She rented a minivan out of spite during the 2023 development camp so that she could take some of the Ducks boys out after it to get them know them better (it did not take long for the under 20s to call her mom)

In high school, she made her own NTDP hoodie with Jack's, Trevor's, Cole's, and Alex's numbers on the back and wore it every game

She'll occasionally give out gold star stickers (she's basically pavloving them) and once Jack annoyed her and she took his back

She gets her boys a trophy for their first goals of the season

There's a yearly tradition where the day before training camp begins for everyone, Sissy and the Hughes boys (and whoever wants to join) get together to work out together. Sissy is forced to participate but she does not do it for long before she taps out

Brock calls her Princess Hughes and she calls him her Blonde Princess

Frequent Gags:

She gives, and receives, penalties of various minutes for random things. It started from the Shoulder Check Showcase where Trevor did not get a tripping penalty (when he def should have)

Putting someone on probation

Telling someone they aren't friends/sons/etc for a random amount of minutes

Teasing between anyone is done if a "big" word is used. College dropout jokes are made

Random hashtags

Sap is said a lot. At any given opportunity. No one can stay serious for long. Also Simp, but less frequently

"Who's Sissy's least favorite Hughes" "Quinn" (this a gag with random commenters)

Various contracts will be mentioned. Mainly the Best Friend Contract and the Princess Treaty. I have no real explanations or full components of said contracts

Trevor protesting not being able to call her Sissy

Any mentions about high school or senior year. It's all a mystery. It is frequently said that she was crazier.

Most common insult is human dildo

She'll occasionally create the comment section herself and tell the boys to say nice things or specific things

What Jerseys She Wears:

Ducks: She rotates between Trevor's and Jamie's

Ducks vs Canucks: Trevor, Quinn, and Jamie have to play air hockey to decide. If there's no time before, they play iMessage games

Ducks/Canucks vs Habs/Kings: Trevor's or Quinn's

Devils vs Canucks/Ducks: Quinn's or Trevor's

Devils vs. Habs/Kings: Jack and Luke play rock, paper, scissors

Habs vs Kings: Alex and Cole play iMessage games

Panthers vs Anyone: Matty and Spencer play rock, paper, scissors when Spencer is playing. Otherwise, she wears Matty's (except for Canucks and Ducks)

Anyone vs Stars: Jason Robertson's (Robo)

Trevor

Nicknames: Z-Baby, Sweet Boy

He had a crush on Sissy since the moment her saw her

First Date: March 16, 2018 (Junior Year)

They also say their first real kiss was that day, since the other two were practically forced by their friends

Officially Dating: March 22, 2018

First time they said I love you: July 18, 2018

Engagement Date: April 14, 2023

They'll cuddle in any way possible (post on gen. masterlist)

Sissy will "train" with him. And by train I mean she's more like his personal cheerleader, but she'll do some things with him on a lower level

Big PDA couple

They'll sleep anywhere when they're drunk. Counters, tables, closets, horizontally on the bed, anywhere. It phases no one anymore

Sissy will take any and all of his clothes, so all of their clothes are mixed together in their closet. She'll steal clothes from anybody, so sometimes he's accidentally put on someone else's hoodie with their perspective team on it

There's a tradition on his birthday where everyone (that can be there) has a sleepover in the living room. They make a giant fort and watch movies and it's pure chaos

They have matching tattoos of otters on their hands so that when they hold hands, it looks like the otters are

They call each other sweet girl and sweet boy

He kisses her to wake her up. She calls it "Disney Princess style"

Leo is their first and only adopted son

More headcanons are listed on the general masterlist!

Quinn

Nicknames: Quinny Baby, Quinny, Huggy, Quinnjamin

He's not only her big brother, but he's also Sissy's best friend in the entire world

They have a Best Friend Contract

There is a rule that everyone knows that they do not let go of each other until they're both ready. No one else is allowed to touch her, and no one can take her away from him. Not even Trevor

Her going under shirts started with him (blurb: here)

Her and Quinn's son is Cole McWard! (blurb: here)

Trevor asked him for permission before he asked Sissy out. He's officiating their wedding, so it's like it has come full circle. (Fic: here)

She cries every time he leaves, especially after games when she barely gets to see him

He is a professional "Sissy catcher" because she will stand on surfaces that are not meant for standing on

He's the one that bought her Robo jersey

She gave him a "Best Big Brother In The Universe" trophy when they were kids and he still has it

He has a list of random things Sissy says when she's lovey clingy drunk

They officially became best friends when she was in 4th grade

Before Trevor, she had a boyfriend in freshman year. The breakup was hard for her because it was her first one, so Quinn drove down from UMich to be with her for a couple of days

She’ll call him anything under the sun, but she often uses Quintin when she’s upset or in pain (sometimes randomly). She used it a lot in middle school

Jack

Nicknames: Jacky Boy, Soulmate, Howdy Rowdy, Twin

She met everyone through him. They were in kindergarten together and were thrilled to live near each other

They have the same birthday (hence twins)

Jack often jokes he's older than her because he was born 4 hours and 36 minutes before her

They tend to make bets. Everyone had an "intervention" to stop them and limit to Ducks vs Canucks games, but they do not listen

They spontaneously went to Vegas in the peak of the bets starting. Only Trevor knew.

They have a special connection. They know what the other is saying with just a look. They call it "Hugheslepathy"

Sons: Luke and Ethan (He's her first officially adopted son)

Luke is a son because he accidentally called Sissy mom during the one month her and Jack dated (they decided it was too weird and broke up) (it was before the move)

She gives him a painted puck every year on their birthday, and he gives her a charm for her charm bracelet. When he knows it's full, he gets her a new one. (Full imagine: Sweet Sixteen)

She's changing her middle name to Rowden after her and Trevor get married to match him

They will wrestle each other, but he's always careful to make sure she doesn't hit her head on anything with how clumsy she is

They are THE unhinged duo

Sissy cried and slept in Jack's bed for weeks after Quinn left for USNTDP

Luke

Nicknames: Lukey Moosey, Moose, her son

He was the one that first called her Sissy

She's very protective of him and always feels the need to stay strong around him. When they were younger, she'd hold it together if she was upset or hurt in front of him. She also did it in the hospital after the car crash.

Just like with Quinn, if he needs her physical touch, she doesn't let go until he's ready. It's just a rarity.

Cute childhood Luke story in his Debut post!

Luke walked in on Sissy and Trevor making out during the spring break they first got together. He had a talk with Trevor alone warning him not to hurt his sister, despite him being so young at the time

Jamie

Nicknames: Jamie Baby, Ex Husband

Him and Sissy are very close and very supportive of each other

When he got hurt, she left the stands to be with him. She stayed home from games while with him to take care of him when it was the roughest

They used to be "husband and wife" and she calls him her favorite ex-husband

They had silicone rings and everything

They used to joke that Trevor was their kid (he hated it) until they got engaged

It took him a while to fully warm up to her because he's so quiet, but they easily became as close as she is to the other guys when he did

When Sissy and Trevor fall asleep on the couch, he'll carry her up to bed and then wake up Trevor so he can go to bed himself

When he learned why she goes under people's shirts, she made sure to tell her that it was okay for her to do it to him

He sat on the floor and held her hand while she did an online interview to work an important event because she was anxious about it

It was her idea for Jamie to move in with her and Trevor

Cole

Nicknames: Coley Woley

Known as Best Friend Number Two (fic: here)

She'll call him Best Friend Number One to mess with Quinn sometimes

Sissy's man of honor for the wedding

Has a once a month pass to call her Sissy

They've kissed, but it was more of as a joke. Full story on the Engagement post

Sissy, Cole, and Alex have a yearly "Best Friend's Weekend" with no boyfriends/girlfriends or brothers. It started in high school

In high school, Sissy would often go to Cole and Alex's room to smoke, vent, etc

Him and Alex 100% knew Sissy liked Trevor before she really knew herself

Sissy is the nicest to him at all times. He hardly gets the aggressive but loving teasing and belittling (also out of love)

Just she like was there for Jamie, she flew out to see Cole and help out after his surgery in the 22-23 season

Alex

Nicknames: Turc, Turcs, Lexi

Her main smoking partner after high school (especially since he lives so close)

He stole her bong and will not give it back

Sissy, Alex, and Cole have weekly movie nights where they facetime and use watch parties

Once when she fell asleep on him, Quinn threatened him to not move even though he had to pee until Alex was "about to pee on her"

He calls her Girly Hughes

Matthew Tkachuk

Nicknames: My Rat, Matty Ratty, Matty, Rathew (rare)

Sissy had the biggest crush on him in middle and high school and talked about him all of the time

She'll often joke to Trevor that she'll him for Matty when he's on her nerves (lovingly)

She begged Quinn to invite him to her sixteenth birthday party and she got so excited she fell over the couch (fic: here)

He calls her Little Mouse (occasionally sissy)

They have adopted Mackie as their son! It happened when the team went to Universal Studios (Oct. 4, 2023) when Sissy flew out to them without telling anyone (again)

She facetimed him angry when she found out through twitter he played with a broken sternum (and also cried. she's a crier)

She flew out there after and yelled at Brady in person

Spencer Knight

Note: he has not been in the series until the summer before and preseason of 23-24

Nickname: Spency

He had a big part in the egging on for Trevor and Sissy to have their first kiss at a party (full story: Knight in Shining Armor)

He has Sissy pass, and it's not limited. There's not really an explanation for it, but he wasn't as close in the group like the others, so she let him as a way for them to be closer

She was THRILLED when he got drafted to the Panthers, and called him when Matty got traded saying that he was going to love "Her Rat"

She flew to Boston without telling anyone for his first game during Trevor’s rookie year. That’s what started her thing of randomly going to see someone without telling anybody

Hughes Childhood/HS Things

When Quinn first went to USNTDP, they all would have facetime sleepovers. Quinn built his own fort in his dorm, and Jack, Luke, and Sissy built their own. This is still done today, but anyone can be involved

Forts are a big thing for them. They built a fort at any given opportunity (and still do)

They have a yearly "Brothers Weekend" with Sissy where it's just them four

Quinn walked her to class in elementary school. He always made sure her hair was how she wanted before he left to his own class

He gave her hoodie when he left while she was in middle school so he was still "walking her to class"

There's a yearly twister game at the Lake House every summer and has been since they first started spending summers together

"Hugheslepathy" isn't just for Jack and Sissy, theirs is just the strongest. They can all practically read each other's minds

Quinn officiated a wedding between Sissy and a poster of Finnick Odair. Everyone was forced to attend. Luke was the flower boy.

---

more will be added as the series develops!

[swe3troses]

10 things I Hate About You pt.2 (Jack Hughes X Reader)

‘I hate the way you drive my car...’

Bianca got up with a start looking at her father offended.

“But she’s a mutant! What if she never dates!”

“Then you’ll never date, ooh I like the sound of that,” her dad says smirking as he rubs his hands together before continuing,

“And I get to sleep at night, the deep slumber of a father whose daughters aren’t being impregnated!” he said facing Bianca before his very out-dated pager beeps notifying him that he had an emergency call at work, he points at Y/N and quickly says

“We will talk about Sarah Lawrence later!” he says as he walks out the front door

“Fine.” Y/N replies going up the stairs to finish her book without having to be annoyed by Bianca.

Bianca’s nostrils flare as she rushes towards the end of the stairs looking up at Y/N 

“Can’t you find some blind, deaf guy to take you out so I can have one date!” Bianca shouts

“Sorry Bianca you’ll just have to miss out on the witty repartee of Trevor ‘eat me’ Zegras.”

“You suck!” Bianca says walking away

“You suck!” Y/N mocks back walking up the rest of the stairs.

Luke waited in the library for Bianca, he had learned French and found time in between hockey to be able to teach her French, something Quinn thought he was an idiot for.

Bianca storms in, Luke thought she looked gorgeous. Bianca had her long black hair in a ponytail and a red headband to hold back any falling pieces. She was wearing a red long sleeved crop top with a floral skirt and tiny red heels. Luke’s throat went dry as he opened the book, his hands shaking.

Bianca rushes towards Luke, being almost a foot shorter than him and that makes Luke go wild, he just stares at her before Bianca speaks “Can we make this quick? Troy and Dani are having an incredibly horrendous public breakup in the parking lot,again!” she said, smiling up at him.

His cheeks turned red “Well, uh I thought we would start with pronunciation?”

“Not the gagging, hacking and spitting part please.” she said folding her arms over her chest

“There is an alternative, French food, with me, this saturday.” 

“You’re asking me out?” she said her red lips growing into a smile

“That’s so cute? What’s your name again!” she said, making luke embarrassed.

“Luke Hughes. Listen, I know your dad doesn’t let you date, but I thought that if it was for French class he would,-” he said before Bianca spoke again.

“Oh wait a minute, Lyle..”

“Luke.” 

“My dad came up with a new rule, I can date when my sister does.” she said before Luke cheers

“Really? Do you like beach houses because me and my brothers have a beach house and-”

“A small problem Luca, In case you haven’t heard, my sister is a hideous breed of loser.”

“Y-yeah I noticed she is a little antisocial…Why is she like that anyway?” Luke asked leaning closer to Bianca 

“She used to be really popular, but she got sick of it or something. So then she became some moody indie rock loser.” Bianca replies as she makes a smug face at the talk of her ‘bitch’ sister.

“Yeah..but I am sure there are many men who wouldn’t mind going out with a difficult woman…like…Extreme dating!”

“You think you could find someone that extreme, and you’d do that for me?” Bianca replied holding his hand 

“Hell yes! I mean…yes.” Luke said before shrinking down in his seat. Luke’s mind immediately went to his older brother…Jack Hughes.

     Luke and Quinn saw their brother at hockey practice at around 2pm, Luke had already told Quinn and decided what was going to happen. He was pushing people into walls and gliding the puck into the net with such ease and then doing a very cocky celly, the rest of his teammates looking at him with fear.

“Hey brother, what’s up my man…” Luke said as he approached

“Yes, Luke? Is there something you need?” Jack said as he went to sit on the bench taking off his skates as his brother talked to him with his gear still on.

“Can you maybe take out this girl, Y/N, you’re the only one I know who could handle her-” He tried to say before being interrupted

“No way Luke, I am not taking out some chick, for your benefit.” he said as he walked to the locker room, not even glancing at his brother before taking off his jersey while walking into the locker room showing his toned back and his chest guard.

“God, of course he said no.” Luke said as he got on the bench as he took off his skates while Quinn skated off the ice and sat next to him.

“What we need…is a backer…someone who could convince Jack…” Quinn says before looking at Trevor and immediately knowing who his target was.

“Hey Trevor…” Quinn said as he skated towards Trevor. Trevor gave him a look.

“What’s up Hughesy, what do you need?” Trevor said as he skated around the ice rink.

“I need you to ask Jack to date Y/N L/N. Now here me out, all you have to do is pay him, and you may score a date with Bianca…” Quinn said desperate to help his little brother out.

“Fine, Bianca sounds nice…Ok I’ll do it, you owe me.” Trevor said before skating off the rink and going towards the locker room and approaching Jack.

“Hey Jack…buddy…Wanna go out with Y/N L/N for a couple bucks?” Trevor asked Jack as Jack stripped down to his boxers grabbing his regular clothes which consisted of a white t-shirt and blue swimming shorts. Jack gave him a confused expression.

“Why does everyone want me to go out with this chick? She got brownie flavored nipples or something?” Jack asked while taking out his vape and taking a hit.

“It may have something to do with her younger sister…Bianca L/N…But I’ll pay you 50 bucks a date.” Trevor said as he smiled

Jack didn’t even care, money is what caught his attention, he couldn’t get a job because he was too focused on hockey, so getting money for taking out a girl, a girl he thought was kind of pretty, it was perfect.

“Fine, I’ll do it, but I want the money in advance. Now I’m gonna go try to ask this girl out while you sit here in uniform.” Jack said before taking another hit and walking out of the locker room with a mission on his mind.

“Hey girly.” Jack said as he approached Y/N who was at her locker grabbing her books for psych.

She looks towards him with an amused smile. She was wearing a white long sleeve top, a long blue skirt and black chunky sandals, her h/l h/c hair was let down with half of it up.

“Why hello?” she said looking at him with a slight smirk

“What are you doing pretty girl?” Jack said as he looked at her

“Trying to grab my notebook for psych as a certain white boy is pestering me.” she said as she finds her book and slams her locker closed

“Mm I wonder who that boy is.” Jack said as he smirked at her “Do you maybe wanna go out sometime?” he asked, using his charming white smile to grab her attention. “I’ll give you a hint.” she says as she pulls open her locker revealing a mirror and pointing it at Jack. Jack looks at her with a shocked but amused face..now this girl has caught his attention, he is still in it for the bet, but Y/N…she was starting to make this a bit more fun and exciting for him.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is short, drivers ed and summer assignments are driving me crazy...anyways heres the next chapter, the third chapter will be uploaded soon, thank you for reading sorry for the delay

[flower-slut004]

Enchanted

(part one)

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Yn demanded while looking down at the man below her.

She had come back from hunting and came back to her house when she noticed something was off. Things were moved and cans of food were empty.

Didn't take YN long to find a man in her bedroom admiring her gun and knife collection.

The man below her didn't speak a word, just stared in awe at the woman on top of him. His eyes fixated on her face.

Yn pressed the knife against his neck with more pressure than before causing Troy to let out a gasp. "Troy... My name is Troy," he finally sputtered out.

"Was that so hard Troy?" her voice dripped with venom. "Why are you here Troy?"

"Typically when people ask for someones name they also introduce themselves."

Yn squinted her eyes “and typically people don’t break into other peoples homes”

Troy chuckled “I don’t know if you noticed but the dead have risen and are eating the living. A stranger breaking into your home is the least of your worries.”

Yn scoffed "Trust me, I've learned that the living are much more dangerous than the dead."

Troy smiled up at her, he was in a trance. He swore the women who had his life in her hands was a siren.

His eyes traced over the shape of her lips, he was fixated on the scar on her nose, and he attempted to count every one of her eyelashes.

Troy saw her lips were moving but no sound came out, all that he could hear was his heart beating in his chest.

It wasn't until Yn smacked him across the face for him to snap out of it.

He hissed in pain and glared up at her.

"I was asking you a question." she snarled. Troy eyes shifted back to her lips and shuffled under her. He looked back at her face and waited for her question.

“Where did you come from… Troy”

Troy sighed as he rubbed his face “My family had a ranch but i was ran off it just for defending myself..” he explains.

Yn sighs at his explanation and looks around her tiny home. She looked back at the man under her and makes the decision to get off of him.

“I’m trusting you won’t kill me… considering you don’t have any weapons on you” she helps him up.

Troy smiles genuinely for what felt like a lifetime. “Thank you….” he breathes out.

Yn holds a hand up “You’ll have to help around here though…”. Troy nods frantically.

“I’ll do anything…”

Yn eyebrows raise as her flips curved an inch.

“Anything huh?” she smirks causing him to blush.

Troy stays quiet as he watches her walk around the room and opens a door that lead to outside.

“You can start with cleaning the chicken crap.” she smiles at the man’s annoyed expression.

Troy sighed as he rubbed his neck and nodded. Yn snickered as she begin to walk away but was stopped by him.

“I never did get your name….”

Yn looks up at him “Yn”

Troy smiles at her name “Im enchanted to meet you Yn”

[ladyloveandjustice]

I liveblog the Odyssey (The Liveblogyssey)

'I've been listening to and reading The Odyssey (Emily Wilson's translation) and I've been rambling a lot to my partner, so I thought I would also liveblog my first impressions! I read parts of The Odyssey in high school and college but never the whole thing start to finish.

Athena spoils half the plot right off, I mean obviously I knew it already, but still. We start near the end of the story with Odysseus trapped on Calypso's island, Telemachus really upset that the suitors are EATING ALL THEIR SHEEP, and the beginning follows Telemachus around as he travels around to try to learn about his dad and if he's alive. Which... we know he is so that takes a little of the tension out of it.

(Seriously, Telemachus is very fixated on the sheep thing. I get that it's a big source of food but maybe you should be a little more concerned about your mom fending off 108 suitors bud).

Athena in disguise goes to meet and accompany him, appearing as an older man, and this translation is very simple and accessible (though there are definitely moments of beautiful prose) but this sometimes leads to really awkward lines like Telemachus telling Athena in disguise "I will give you a precious, pretty treasure as a keepsake to mark our special friendship" which like. are you hitting on him Telemachus you just said you think he's fatherly.

Telemachus is going thru it though. so you can't help but feel bad for him. "My mother says I am his son, but I can't be sure [...} I wish I were the son of someone lucky, who can grow old at home, instead the most unlucky man alive is said to be my father." Like that one of the times you feel the connection going back thousand of years so fiercely, the idea of having no connection to your father because you've never met him and he doesn't even feel like your dad, just a story, and too bad you can't be the son of someone who's around.

Meanwhile, a super unintentionally funny lin from young Mac is "The poets are not to blame for how things are, Blame Zeus." which yeah, that sums up most of Greek myth doesn't it! (also very funny of Homer to be like "be nice to poets, they're cool".) He also tells his own Mom to go back to the kitchen so he can assert to the suitors he's in charge and there's a man in this house, but we are reading a story from 8th century BC so.

Anyway he goes around with Athena travelling and learning about his dad, and honestly, the Odyssey is so funny. Love the part where Nestor is like "oh if only Athena favored you as she did her father" and Telemachus is like “Yeah Athena’s not on my side” :/ and she's just. sitting there with him and says”hmm are you sure I think she maybe is probably"

(and then she's like "btw to gods don't control who lives and who dies TELEMACHUS we can't even protect our mortal loved ones (but please ignore all the times we've actively killed people) and also! also! I think your dad should be grateful to go on a cool quest and be alive when he could have just died the second he left Troy, think about THAT!!!)

then she just randomly turns into a bird and leaves after ensuring Telemachus has good sleeping arrangements. Telemachus never reacts to this, everyone else is just like "omg Athena!!" he says nothing I assume he was just standing there in slackjawed shock for the next couple of hours and going over all the embarrassing things he said.

Also we get to see Helen! And I knew from earlier Greek studies that people today acting like she was dumb just because men found her attractive was misogynist nonsense. But now I get to be extra mad because the woman isn't just not dumb, she's really intelligent and observant!

Not only does she immediately figure out who Telemachus is because she saw him when he was a newborn (how??) and relays that during the Trojan war she was the only one able to recognize odysseus when he came to her place in disguise and gave him intel, but most importantly she talks about "the day the Greeks marched off to troy, their minds fixated on war and violence. They made my face the cause that hounded them". Just subtly calling the whole army out. She knows they didn't actually go to war for her. She knows she was just an excuse, and a weak one at that. She knows they wanted this war, they wanted this violence.

So yeah, Helen is smart as hell! Screw that "Everyone wanted Helen of Sparta I wanted someone a little smarter" shit from Epic, sexist nonsense, I'm glad that song was cut.

She also mentions that "Aphrodite made her go crazy" when she agreed to run off, which could be literally true (Aphrodite did tend to do that) or a clever way to protect her reputation after leaving her husband.

Helen also has drugs, which I imagine is a big reason everyone liked her. The total package. But uh, she also does drugs everyone's drinks without apparently telling them. With what sounds like superpowered magic weed or something, to make them mellow and calm and erase anxiety and depression. It says "Whoever drinks this mixture for the bowl will shed no tears that day not even if her mother or father should die" which uh actually seems kind of dangerous! But Telemachus is goin' thru it, so maybe he could use it. but apparently it doesn't work (or takes a long time to kick in} because Telemachus gets upset anyway and says things like "This makes it worse! Courage could not save my father's life!" and wants to go to bed. (PS she got the weed from Egypt, and it's nice that the story is very complementary about Egyptians, calling them the "healer's people").

And then we've finished Telemachus's depression session and get back to Penelope. THE SAGA CONTINUES IN PART 2.

[hollis-art]

I want to here data Spider-Man backstory soooooooooo bad please

coming right up!!!!!!! it's in the form of a story because that's how my brain works and i love explaining things when it comes to spiderman or data. its lots of words and i spent like 2 hours writing it and reworking it to make sense

The crew of the Enterprise has taken notice of a nearby planet whose population is soon to be doomed by a phenomenon that they seem to be unaware of. While this planet has made contact with alien life, they are not open to doing it again. It would very much be a violation of the Prime Directive to intervene, but the Enterprise does their usual method of completely disregarding the law and helping the alien species anyways. They'll get yelled at for it later, but their current focus is the wellbeing of this planet and their people.

As they always do (I think they do, at least. If not, then they really should), the crew gets their hands on any and all information they can find on this species and their culture before they do anything. After some digging, they find that this world is the home to many super-powered individuals. While the population is more saturated with those without special abilities, those with powers are often the ones with the most say in what happens. And because the crew needs people to hear their warnings, they needed someone whose abilities could be interpreted as superpowers. Troi's empathy and Worf's strength was something of great wonder to humans, but it wouldn't be nearly as interesting to the species who already had great quantities of both of those traits.

So, as they typically do, they turn to Data for help.

His strength is greater than Worf's, his intellect is forever growing, and the most important part for this plan: Data had the ability to copy things by simply watching or by downloading it into his database. He was the perfect person for the job.

After what seemed like hours of discussion over what abilities or powers Data should obtain, it was Geordi who brought up the idea of Spider-Man.

Data, who had never taken it upon himself to learn about any Earth Superheroes, found the concept quite captivating.

Rather than getting bitten by a radioactive spider, Data's bite was in the form of a program that Geordi made to mimic the powers that a lot of the Spider-People tended to present. The program also included many arial aerobic and gymnastic lessons compressed down into only a few seconds. While the two worked together on installing some web-like spinnerets in his arm compartments, the other crew members focused on the equally important task of creating the costume that Spider-Data (as they have been calling him) would wear.

The role of a superhero was seen as the highest honor you could have on this world, and the ones with recognizable and unique costumes had an easier time spreading their message. The crew had this in mind, but the main purpose of the spider-suit would be to hide the fact that Data doesn't look the way this species does. There is a great variety in how they all present, but Data appears much more Human than they do.

Once everything has been planned and thought out, the identity of Interweb has been formed.

(The name was also Geordi's idea. Data had followed Geordi into his quarters while trying to come up with a name for people to know him as, since 'Data' was not the sort of name anyone on this world would know. Data was pacing around the room, listing off a long, long, long list of concepts and ideas, when he found that he had been pacing from the floor, to the wall, to the ceiling, wall and floor again. Geordi, who was just trying to get ready for bed, looked up at him from where he stood on the ceiling, and gave him his opinion in attempt to get Data to get the memo and leave. Data nodded in appreciation, returned to standing on the rightful surface, and left for the night. The only indication that he had been there was the shoe scuffs that he had accidently left on the ceiling)

It only took one actual training session to see that Data was already ready for this very important job. There was no improvement needed to be seen in his form or methods, and he had planned for everything. Well... Almost everything. Once he had been brought down to the surface, he had quickly realized that his sidekick had snuck into his bag when he wasn't looking.

And within a week, the alien planet was saved by Interweb and his "cat" Spot :) (No one on this planet knows what a cat or a spider is, but they weren't gonna say a thing about it because they had just been saved by the two of them and they're very thankful about it)

[joondaya]

long post on the hsmtmts initial core 4 and their relationships and development i guess:

a lot of yall think getting into a relationship solves every existing problem within these characters and then get shocked when these exact problems get brought up again. the dumbest thing is that yall then bring up the argument “why spend the whole season building them up only to break them up in the next” or “you’re ruining their character development” as if we are not watching the same show and the answers are not right in front of you.

ricky accepted moving on from nini and it took her making a move and almost kissing him for him to realise he could go back to that and have one thing stay the same. he was terrified of change while she running towards change. i’m not saying he didn’t love her, but i’m saying that loving her was not the only reason for him to run back on his path of growth. and then in season two he did not like the person he was becoming with nini. ricky is not out of character this season but actually falling back to his character. because i don’t know what show yall were watching in season one but he was always goofy and carefree around gina. when he was reminiscing his friendship with nini he talked about himself as someone who was carefree and easygoing. he is not acting weird now just because yall did not pay attention to his character. he finally restored his relationship with his mother and no longer in a relationship where he feels he is being left behind, of course he no longer acts like an angsty teenager. please think a little.

nini got called out for making her life about boys and she tried to find her own person. but people seem to forget that besides that silly song that she did not actually grow from boys. in fact, right after that conversation with kourtney she was already getting jealous of ricky and gina. and right after that song she was already trying to kiss ricky. she needed that second chance with him to realise that an “i love you” wasn’t the problem of their relationship and they needed to work a lot more than just ricky’s feelings and communication. she also needed to know that her song wasn’t just for show and she actually needed to define herself and not having relationships define her.

they have not once been on the same page throughout season one and that was an argument people made before season two even aired and for some reason some of you were still shocked how things unfolded. (some even blamed outside drama but that’s another topic altogether) i feel like some of you guys are just not watching the show because this is a disney show, the subtext is not that deep. most of the things are right in your face.

and for some reason yall doing it again this season and i’m confused what part of the show have you missed? ej’s anxiety has been ongoing since season one. he is a guy that has never known anything less than perfection, and we could see that it comes from his family. he doesn’t work well with pressure and doesn’t really know his own way if things are not mapped out for him. he freaked out with having to play troy last minute, and freaked out with not being accepted into duke. mr mazzara told him to find a story and learn from it, so he focused on gina. now i’m not saying he hasn’t or couldn’t learn from gina, but that it was a pivotal moment in his life to finally learn about himself but he chose not to. now he is at camp with his girlfriend, with a responsibility he did not ask for but obviously wouldn’t turn away because that’s who he is. he had the summer mapped out for him but not anymore and that freaks him out. delivering anything less than perfection also freaks him out. this is something he should’ve started dealing with since last season when he realised his sense of self came from his family expectations. just like ricky, he got into a relationship to delay a growth that’s impossible to stumble upon. in addition, this guy severely lacks communication skills for someone that has been implied to be in several relationships. it happened with nini, it happened in the season finale with gina, and it’s happening once again. he creates scenarios in his head and goes with it instead of talking with the other person. in fact, he communicates his problems with anyone (ashlyn and now val) but the intended person. contrary to popular belief, “i’m no longer cunning” is not growth. specially when all his actions of redemption in season one was to make himself feel better. his character development is only starting now because besides not accepting that duke offer his dad practically bought him, he actually had no growth.

and then you have gina, a girl who entered a relationship in order to feel safe, seen and loved while not being over ricky. and deny it all you want, but that scene in carlos’ party wasn’t closure. her having to be away from ricky to create a path for ej and have her focus on it is not moving on. it’s only just creating a diversion that would eventually go back to its original path. this is also not me saying that she doesn’t like ej. it’s me saying that her heart has never been 100% with him because she never actually retrieved it from ricky in the first place. moreover, her character growth has never been about her “dropping the attitude” but about opening herself up to others and not run away when things get complicated as she never actually had the opportunity to form relationships and know how to communicate in them. that she doesn’t have to compromise who she is in order to feel loved and accepted.

and to just be clear, i’m not saying that these ships can’t eventually find each other again. but it’s never a surprise when a breakup is eventually coming towards them. and using “but they spend the whole season building them up” as an excuse is not the take you think it is. and that their character development is more than just “i did bad things and now i don’t” when they’re not actually growth. a lot of yall take one song or dialogue as character development and fail to realise that their actions are not following along and then call it “repetitive” when it gets brought up again when it hasn’t even been solved in the first place.

and i’m also not saying rina is above them. (although i do believe they are) but what i’m saying is that ricky and gina always had story arcs that flowed together and yet, it wasn’t time for them. so for me it makes no sense to question why rina is still a thing because you just do not understand the concept of slow burn and do not understand that these characters and their storylines have always been intertwined from the very first season. i understand the denial in season one, but if you finished season two truly believe they were over and done with, you’re either obtuse, or you were settling for extremely bad writing.

[nicheknowledge]

JayKyle Mermaid Au

Jason is the mermaid here who is part human and Kyle is an artist and guild member of the Green Lanterns (a crafters guild that is reknowned for their innovation and how they get the job done). One day Kyle’s sketchbook goes overboard while he’s travelling and mer-Jason catches it, recognizes the lady in one of his idle sketches as his birth mom and is like “someone on this ship knows who my mom is”.

he susses out that Kyle is the artist and basically sea stalks him and the ports that he’s on hoping that he’ll run into her. Meanwhile Kyle gets this awful hair raising bad vibes feeling that he’s being watched. The next time he’s on deck there’s a ship wreck or an attack or something on his ship and he’s drowningggg, but his mer stalker is like oh wow opportunity knocks i guess and saves Kyle like “how do you know my mom?” and Kyle is like wtfh we need to help these people despite him being half drowned himself, this heroic quality piques Jason’s interests yada yada they actually talk, the situation is laid out and Kyle who earlier in the last few years got help from Connor to find his dad is like “I’ll pay it forwards, I guess.”

Starts the adventure^tm where they get into shennanigans, accidently become pirates, hide in high society, make deals with suspicious sea witches, learn more about each other, talk about the meaning of home and mothers and the value of building new homes.

Also at some point they meet Donna who knows Jason, the pseudo Lost Prince of Gotham or governor’s son idk who Bruce is yet, thru Dick. Because this is my story and I’m in love with Ms. Donna Troy, she has custody of Robbie and is having a good time with a Ms. Dewitt who is recovering from a hostage situation from a few years ago.

Anyways this is when Kyle finds out that Jason isn’t a mer-mer but a half mer who is also the adopted son of Bruce Wayne that is shrouded in rumors. But lol Sheila is a mermaid-pirate and had a kid with Willis, dropped off said kid because that gets in the way of pirating, leaving Willis-fisherman and Catherine-school teacher to take care of this bbyboy who tends to turn aquatic in the sea. And when they died Jason decided to live in the sea where he ended up saving a drowning Bruce who kind of just adopted him from there.

More shenanigans... A visit to the guild house and upcoming projects and a general, yo Kyle you got stuff to do. Something something the idea of wanderlust and concept of home again something something maybe the treasure was the friends we made along the way something something don’t go chasing no waterfalls please stick to the waters and lakes that you’re used to or something like that you feel me?

ANDDDD it’d be called “A fin to every tail”

[pholiabanna]

what's on your s5 wishlist? the silly, goofy things!!!

I'M SO SORRY FOR ANSWERING THIS SO LATE finals were killing me and I wanted to wait and write a good answer to this.

First of all I'm really excited for the 4 og boys to be together again, because we haven't had one full season of them being in the same storyline yet, which I think is criminal. I really think putting them back together will bring back the season 1 feel that made everyone love this show, and I can't wait!

I'm also so excited about learning more about the upside down. The ships and characters are awesome to analyze, but I love the supernatural part and knowing that we're gonna learn what the Upside Down actually is, and why it's stuck on the day Will went missing, among other things, makes me impatient because I need to know rn.

Now I know those weren't really goofy things but I needed to put them because they are a must for me. Moving on to the silly things:

If the season takes place in 1987, the Duffers have the chance to do the funniest thing ever and include a rickroll in a creative way. C'mon, it has to happen

A lot of people are advocating for byler to get murray'd, Erica's or Jonathan'd, but I actually want them to get Argyle'd. I imagine a scene going like: Mike and Will talk about El and Mike's breakup and the camera switches to Argyle smoking a joint in the background, while he says "Whoa Wheeler you were dating supergirl? And I was here thinking you were with mini Byers this whole time, dude, that's not cool man, that's so not cool!"

I need more Erica and Lucas sibling bickering moments, they're the best

I know this won't happen, but imagine Mike's sexuality is revealed through a conversation about movies where he reveals he finds Fast Times boring af and he "doesn't understand the appeal every man sees in that movie". I mean, at this point Fast Times has become the Duffer's favorite sexuality metaphor

I know Max probably won't wake up early on, but I'd kill to get more Elmax scenes where they just bond like normal teenage girls again. Max already taught El how to stand up for herself and how to know what she actually likes, but I think it'd be so cool to see her find out what her hobbies are. I'd love to see a scene where Max just teaches El how to skate, and El keeps trying to cheat with her powers but Max tells her that's not fair.

I need Lucas and Max to go on that movie date as well, I don't care if it's impractical

Also even though I don't really care about Dustin/Suzie because they aren't a very focused on relationship, I think it'd be cute if there was a scene where they reunite in person

More Joyce, Jonathan and Will scenes together please!!!

They need to go around town riding bikes again, bring back the whole s1 vibe

Please let us see Mr. Clarke's pov, mans probably so confused every time he helped his students the town was destroyed. Also, they can't win without him and that's a fact

Troy has to show up again, only so that they beat him up and this time El breaks his leg

Alternatively, Lonnie comes back and Jonathan beats him up (with the help of Will maybe)

Nancy notices Jonathan's tendency to interrupt byler moments and puts a leash on him

I need a new iconic song tied to another iconic scene I can obsess over. Something that can top even the Running up that hill scene

Someone needs to acknowledge the fact that they are straight up calling 001 Vecna as in one of the Dnd characters, when actually he's just some guy named Henry who would probably be so confused as to why they're calling him Vecna

These are all I could come up with but I'm sure deep in my mind there's many more things I wish for and if the Duffers deliver even one of them I'll be satisfied!